#i understand why so many people are upset

[suguruhul]

i understand why people are upset about gojo's ending, but it definitely aligns to what gege planned for him as a character. not many people (if more than one: suguru) really cared about gojo satoru beyond the facet of being the strongest sorcerer alive, their main weapon, the six eyes.

from beginning to end, from birth to death, gojo satoru was made to serve jujutsu society.

you can count on one hand how many times the other characters are shown to really care about his mental, emotional and physical status beyond the fact that he can actually fight to protect them and the world. this is just how his relationship with others was. he was more an entity than anything else.

the few who got close (suguru and arguably sukuna) and tried to get close (shoko, yuji, yuta...) were still met with a barried he put between himself and other people, mostly because gojo himself recognized his role as the strongest, and to a point even enjoyed it. he didn't care for his family, had a few friends and wasn't even the typical mentor figure you usually see in anime. even the way megumi talks about the years they spent together is proof of that.

the people in this world mourning him as the strongest is something they need to do. but people mourning him as gojo satoru, the man, don't really exist in it anymore.

gojo only cultivated superficial relationships with every and anyone that came his way because he actually acknowledged his importance to the world. that doesn't mean, somewhere, somehow, deep within himself he didn't long for it. unfortunately, he didn't achieve that in his lifetime.

gojo wasn't written to be a happy character. he was written to show what the pinnacle of jujutsu society has to offer: tragedy, loneliness and war. however, that doesn't mean he was unfulfilled with it: he liked being the strongest, he liked fighting, he liked being gojo satoru.

people who cared about him, he acknowledged them. helping his students, his friends and colleagues. people who didn't, he dismissed. that's who he was.

so no. i don't think people "moving on" from his death is out of character. i think it's pretty much spot on to his character setting. he had his own version of a happy ending: dying in battle against his greatest enemy, meeting a loved one in the after life, and helping build a better society/world to the youth he fiercely fought to protect.

i think that, for him, in a sense, it was enough. for the fans... that's another story.

[raven-at-the-writing-desk]

Hey um, what if the Overblot boys told each other their backstories?

Mmm… Well firstly, I think it would take a lot of effort to arrive at a point where all of the OB boys would even feel comfortable being that emotionally intimate with the others. Many of the OB boys are highly guarded and resistant to putting themselves in compromising positions. For example, I can easily see Azul being paranoid that the others would use his background as blackmail; he would not risk having his own vulnerabilities becoming public knowledge. Would Leona really be okay with being sentimental in front of various people he dislikes, especially Malleus and Vil? Would Idia feel safe unpacking his trauma and grief in front of his peers? Etc, etc, etc.

Secondly, I think that even if the OB boys were hypothetically at the point where they were okay sharing their backstories with the others, it wouldn’t change much about their immediate circumstances?? The OB boys generally don’t strike me as particularly… empathetic? At least not automatically empathetic. It’s something they would need to put effort into and actively work on. I imagine that they’d otherwise just pull a Zuko-style “That’s rough, buddy” or potentially even say something tactless that rubs their peers the wrong way (for example, not fully understanding the situation or even downplaying one another’s trauma). Riddle (someone with very little to no experience with social media and entertainment mediums) might not get how being a celebrity influences Vil’s life, Leona might insult Malleus (someone whom he has a bone to pick with), everyone might still be upset with Malleus for what he did to them in book 7. etc. Each OB boy only has their own experiences as the lens through which they see and interact with the world, and it’s not that easy for just anyone to put themselves in the shoes of another person.

Hearing a (for lack of a better term) traumadump doesn’t necessarily mean you’ll connect with it or understand just how grueling it was for the person who experienced said trauma. It would usually take a significant amount of time and reflection (ideally facilitated by a licensed mediator or professional) to digest those stories in group therapy and to make sure that everyone actually understands one another. A surface-level story retelling alone in most cases isn’t (again, for lack of a better term) “enough”, especially with how self-centered, emotionally immature, and different many of the OB boys are.

Think of empathy like a skill or a muscle. It isn’t innate. You need to develop it and train it, and not putting it to use can lead to atrophy. And given how arrogant and independent your usual NRC student is… yeah, it’s definitely going to be something for them all to work on.

If you want to think of it another way, it’s like how different players will react differently to reading the OB boys’s backstories. Someone who experienced bullying similar to Azul could more easily empathize with him while also not fully “getting” the full scope of other stories they hear. Maybe they can’t understand why Riddle still cares about the mother who mistreated him. Maybe they don’t see why Jamil sacrifices so much for his family. It doesn’t make the player a bad person for not understanding all the stories, it simply means they have a limited perspective. The same is true of the TWST characters; they, too, have incomplete points of views.

Maybe knowing their backstories in advance would change some scenes in small ways (such as book 6, when they split up and then butt heads with each other). They’d know where the other boys were coming from, and how that informs how they act in present day. However, I maintain that I think not much would change from the original. In a stressful situation like book 6, they could easily slip up and say something insensitive/make assumptions about their behavior based on their background/overlook or not even consider their background in the first place since they’re so focused on the current task. For example, Azul, feeling insulted that Riddle is underestimating him, could make a snide remark that just because his mother was a control freak doesn’t mean Riddle also has to be. Jamil could still see Leona as a spoiled prince because, despite being treated like an outcast, he still grew up in immense privilege as royalty. They can so easily fixate on their own interpretations of events that it colors how they perceive others, rather than how they can relate to others no matter how similar or dissimilar their experiences were.

In other ways, I think the OB boys sharing their backstories with one another stifles potentially meaningful development. Character growth in TWST isn’t a sprint, it’s a marathon, and we’re here for the long haul. What does depositing all the backstories in their laps achieve for the OB boys? It artificially puts them in a situation to “better know” their peers rather than let it happen organically or allowing them to grow closer through their own efforts. Let’s look at the Deuce-Epel beach scene from book 5. Do you think it would have been as impactful of a scene if Epel explained his life in the countryside and how he got his traditional views on gender norms to Deuce? Personally, I don’t think so. The scene we currently have has them bonding and connecting through a shared activity (shouting at the sea), then having a heart-to-heart without a heavy backstory exposition. It’s through that, not explicit backstory sharing, that the two form an attachment and become genuine friends.

Those are all my thoughts!! ^^

[cosmicjoke]

when comforting someone who's crying, do u think levi would be the type to be like "hey what, no, stop, dont cry" or would he just let them cry their hearts out

Mmm, well, I think people have a tendency to grossly mischaracterize Levi when it comes to this sort of thing, which really confuses me, because if you pay even he most minimal attention to his character, that shouldn't happen. I often see people assume that Levi would shut someone down who's crying and tell them to toughen up or stop acting like a baby, but Levi actually almost always does the opposite. He's incredibly compassionate and understanding toward people having emotional breakdowns.

Take the soldier during the Female Titan arc who endangered their whole unit by going back for Ivan's body, for example. Instead of scolding him and getting angry at him for endangering them, Levi instead gave him Petra's badge and told him it was Ivan's. He saw how much emotional distress that kid was in, and he showed him incredible compassion and tried to help him in any way he could, and at his own expense.

He does the same for Eren multiple times throughout the story. When Eren first joins Levi's squad, and he has that incident where he manifests a Titan arm, and his squad reacts with hostility, in the aftermath, Levi does his best to comfort Eren by explaining his squad's reaction and letting him know it isn't Eren's fault or anything to do with him personally, but more so a result of his squad's learned experience from surviving so many dangerous situations. Levi again comforts Eren after the disastrous encounter with the Female Titan. He sees how upset Eren is, how much he's beating himself up over what happened to Levi's squad, and instead on blaming Eren like Levi could, he instead cracks a joke about Erwin being late, trying to make Eren laugh. And again, during the Uprising arc, when the cavern they're all in is about to come down on their heads, while everyone else is screaming at Eren and chastising him for crying, and telling him to man up, Levi apologizes to Eren for having to ask for his help again. He doesn't yell at Eren for crying, or put him down for being emotional. He understands completely why Eren is upset and he extends him a great show of sympathy and kindness. And afterward, he makes sure to thank Eren for saving them and also gives him the credit for them being able to finally take a step forward in the fight for humanity. And finally we all know of the moment when Hange pushes Eren too hard during the Titan experiments, and it's Levi who notices Eren isn't doing well physically and tells Hange they need to give him a break. The same, again, after the RtS arc, when Eren is losing his cool while locked up in the cell, and Hange is basically harassing him over it, and Levi tells her to just give Eren a break.

Or Levi being the only person to thank Connie for helping them confirm that Titan's are in fact human beings. Levi was aware of how hard that was for Connie, given the way they confirmed it was through him having to identify his mother, and he wanted to make sure Connie was aware that his courage and dedication went noticed and appreciated. Again, Levi was the only one who noticed and took the time to thank him. We see this with Levi multiple times throughout, like when he thanks Nifa for riding all night to deliver Erwin's message to him and his squad, or when he takes the time to apologize to Hange over her squad getting killed during the encounter with Kenny. Or when he understands Mikasa's emotional outburst at him during the Female Titan arc. Mikasa is downright unkind and incredibly disrespectful toward Levi during that scene, but Levi understands she's upset because Eren has been taken and might be dead. He doesn't yell at her or try to defend himself, he just tells her how they're going to try and get Eren back, and helps her. This after Levi has just had to observe the dead bodies of his own squad. And yet another example is when Hange is laying into Shadis for his admission about his own weakness and his failure to live up to his role as Commander of the SC, and again, it's Levi who tells Hange to give him a break, showing compassion toward Shadis for his struggles. Of course there's the pivotal moment of Levi's great compassion during the RtS arc with Erwin, and allowing Erwin to rest and showing him incredible respect and forgiveness for Erwin's very human foibles and weakness.

If Levi sees that someone's emotional distress is real and warranted, he's always going to show compassion and understanding. That's something so many people miss about his character, all because he has a gruff manner and way of speaking, and it's such a shame people make this mistake with him, because it's really what defines Levi. He's such a good person. He isn't mean or cruel or dismissive of people's feelings. He's literally the opposite. He's more aware and empathetic toward people's feelings than anyone.

So, to answer your question, Levi is definitely the sort of person that will allow someone to cry their heart out if he really believes they're in pain or otherwise distressed in some way. I don't even think that's up for debate. There's so many examples of just that in the story itself.

[eelfuneral]

Hi Bad Batch fandom, let’s sit down and have a talk for a moment.

1. If you liked or were okay with Tech being killed off, then that’s fine, but it’s also fine for people to not like that story beat.

2. Expressing displeasure with a writing decision in one’s own space is not “toxic”. As long as no one is being harassed, it’s not an issue, so please stop getting mad at people for doing this.

3. It is entirely possible to enjoy The Bad Batch over all and still hate the way Tech’s storyline was handled. This isn’t a zero-sum game, and criticism doesn’t always equal “hater”.

4. If a person has made an emotional post about not liking the way that Tech was killed off, that is NOT your cue to reply with a lengthy rant about why you think it was well done. There are people in the “Tech should have lived” camp that would be fine with debating you, but someone venting about how much this plot point upset them is not going to be among those people. In fact, you are being kinda mean.

5. Tech’s treatment as a character holds a great deal of emotional weight because a massive portion of his fanbase is autistic people who felt represented by him. We have been begging you guys FOR MONTHS to be empathetic, even if you don’t understand why we are reacting so strongly to a fictional character. Please start being more mindful.

6. Please stop calling people (even if you were among them) “delusional” for suspecting that Tech could have survived while Season 3 was airing. This was such a mainstream fan theory that Screen Rant covered it and Star Wars Theory brought it up. Casual fans who weren’t part of the online fandom were also into it. Also, actual delusions are a symptom of many deeply stigmatized mental health conditions, and using this medical term as an insult (self depreciatingly or not) further contributes to this stigma.

There has been an undercurrent of unkindness in parts of this fandom for a while now, and I hope that we can all get past this. I’m tired.

[momentov1vere]

Been thinking a lot about Agatha All Along and at this point, because there’s too many hints for both people Teen could be, my current theory (and stop me if this makes no sense) is that he is Billy and Nicholas.

Basically I think he is Nicholas, Agatha (unwillingly) gave him to Mephisto in exchange for the Darkhold, and at some point Billy’s soul got put into Nicholas.

Marvel has done weirder things so stay with me here!

This is just for fun bc I’ve been thinking about it and want to write it out bc theorizing is fun!! (And if I’m right that just makes it more fun)

I could also be going insane and this may not make any sense! But here’s why I think this:

(minor spoilers for ep. 3)

1. There’s a lot of Nicholas Evidence

Marvel is sometimes really bad at being subtle even when they try to be and I feel like they wouldn’t have done a Mephisto name drop without meaning to bring him in.

Teen looked a little freaked out/ nervous (as if he was worried he’d be caught) when Jen mentioned Agatha’s son being an “agent of Mephisto”.

Plus, he looked upset when Jen said Agatha gave up her son for the Darkhold (like he didn’t want to believe that his mom would do that). He’s basically been attached to Agatha at the hip this whole time so he could be trying to bond with his mom even if she doesn’t know who he is.

So basically that whole Teen/Jen conversation was either a huge red herring or a confirmation that he is Agatha’s kid.

Nicholas is apparently a big Fantastic 4 villain and they have a new movie releasing next year so having him be Nicholas would lead into that movie (maybe).

2. There’s a lot of Billy Evidence, too

Teen said “a lot happened to me at 13 too” which (according to other people on the internet) is when Billy Maximoff’s soul inhabited Billy Kaplan.

Nicholas (to my knowledge) doesn’t have any big events happen when he’s 13 so this would be a hint towards Teen being Billy.

He keeps writing down things about magic so he could be very early on in understanding it even if he has been studying it for a while (as he says he has).

Plus we see him surrounded by blue magic at some point in a trailer & one of his character posters has a blue background, which is Billy’s magic color in the comics. Another one of his character posters has him dressed very similarly to young Billy from Wandavision (blue headband, red shirt, etc.) so either Marvel is messing with us or they’re being super obvious about it.

To conclude:

Marvel likes messing with characters and timelines & making really big changes, and I wouldn’t put it past them to combine two characters even if it doesn’t make much sense. They don’t really care about ages (ex. aging up Kate Bishop and aging down America Chavez) so I don’t see them finding issue with Nicholas (who should be like, old) and Billy being combined into one person.

Basically I know it doesn’t make a ton of sense but I think so far there’s enough evidence to say he’s either character, so I decided to be different and say he’s both! I won’t die on this hill but if it’s true that will be really funny and I’ll feel very smart. (Marvel don’t hire me bc I don’t know how people would feel about this and honestly it doesn’t make much sense)

Maybe he is Nicholas and just had some crazy stuff happen to him at 13 (maybe that’s when he enlisted with Mephisto!), or maybe he’s Billy and just didn’t want to believe that Agatha would give up a child in return for power because he idolizes her.

Marvel will have to explain his reactions to certain things if he is just one character or the other though bc some of them are too coincidental.

Whatever the reveal is, I just love this show so much it’s so fun and I can’t wait to see what happens next :))

[crescent-blades]

Refusing to talk to them | Kokushibo

| Warnings: slight hurt 💔 and fluff 💞| Warnings: None | WC: 0.7k | A/n: Kokushibo and y/n are married |

𖤐ˎˊ˗ Masterlist

  ̗̀➛ You two rarely argued, if at all. Both of you were understanding of each other, and Kokushibo being a man of little words along with his calm disposition really made it nearly impossible to engage in any arguments with him.

  ̗̀➛ But for the first time, you two had argued, so intensly infact- that for the first time you witnessed a side of him that you had never seen before-- he was so angry that for the first time- he had raised his voice at you.

  ̗̀➛ after the argument, he himself was pretty heated. Frustration had boiled up within him, and in an effort to release the pent-up energy, he just started training himself, perfecting his strikes and accuracy; as the frustration built up within him would be released in a series of slashes

  ̗̀➛ As time passed, the intensity of his anger began to fade, and he realized that the argument was ultimately all trivial anyways..

  ̗̀➛ Almost an entire day had passed since your heated argument. As always, Kokushibo, your husband came home, expecting you to have forgotten thibgs like him and moved on. Only to see that you were just completely ignoring him.

  ̗̀➛Kokushibo would be slightly taken aback at your behavior, deep down, hurt even. Did he really mess things up that bad? No.. he could not--perhaps you were still grappling with the situation.. So he just dismissed it entirely, beleiving that you'd forget it all eventually..

  ̗̀➛Until that time never actually came. What began as one day stretched into two, then three, until almost a week had gone by, and you still chose to completely disregard him. Refusing to even acknowledge his presence.

..."How childish--"

  ̗̀➛ He'd think.. yet deep down, he felt concerned. Why were you behaving like this? The only person who he had managed to form a connection with.. someone who he had genuinely learnt to care about had abruptly just cut all ties with him?

  ̗̀➛ A sense of pain began to settle in his chest-- in his heart.. yet still, he attempted to dismiss his feelings, regarding the situation as insignificant as he'd ventured out to release his frustrations through training, until even that ceased to provide relief anymore..

  ̗̀➛ But the the thought of you- your words, the smile that lit up your face when you saw him, those comforting embraces, and your soothing presence—had vanished. All of it, the argument he once considered trivial now kept replaying in his mind over and over--

Your silent treatment had deeply wounded a demon who nobody could even lay a scratch on.

  ̗̀➛ He understood that now even training wasn't helping with anything. Deep down, he sought your embrace once more.. he though the only way to undo all of this would be to make amends with you.

  ̗̀➛ So the next day, he decided to reach out to you. He was infact, a man with little words. Conversing with people seemed trivial to him, but as for you, not conversing with you seemed draining-

"The moon.. appears quite lovely today.. does it not?"

  ̗̀➛ He'd try talking to you, bringing up conversations, hopinig to draw you out, yet you remained unresponsive..

"Y/n, my dear... I understand I must have said things that must have.. upset you.. but please let us forget about these trivial matters.. my heart.. longs for your presence.."

  ̗̀➛ he'd apologise to you, for the hurtful words he had used. Definitely, having him yell at you like that, he brought out a side you never saw in him, and it definitely had hurt you. You would share your feelings with him, and he would listen attentively, do his best to understand you..

  ̗̀➛ But in the end, he'd never let you stay mad at him for too long. He didn't want to lose you. He valued your presence in his life, as you were someone in many centuries that actually understood him, and he learnt to genuinely love you. And letting some silly arguments jeapardize your entire relationship was something he'd never let happen..

  ̗̀➛ He'd write heartfelt poetry for you, to cheer you up.. he'd write about your beautiful smile, your delicate touch among other cherished qualities. He would craft a beautifully written love letter along, with some beautiful flowers hed give to you from time to time. Although he may not be a man of many words, he is dedicated to ensuring your happiness in every possible way.

[glisten-inthedark]

The Experiment | Part 2

In case y'all missed it, I asked one of my best friends to watch Stranger Things and here's what she had to say about season 1 and 2 .

Now, here's the updated version of season 3 that she finished so fucking fast and I felt guilty because she told me didn't sleep because she was desperate for answers, my sweet summer child.

This time around she'd update me as she watched the episodes and needless to say I woke up today with way too many messages

She's 100% convinced that Mike is gay because she said and I quote: "What teenage boy takes off the hands of his girlfriend like he did?".She also said that Mike should remember that friendships are important too, she doesn't understand why he's avoiding his friends and focusing too much on El.

She loves Max Mayfield BTW (again, sweet summer child). She 100% agrees that El needs to learn how to be herself without the influence of others.

She said that the biggest problem she has with Mike and El is that El didn't even know what a friend was the first season, how can se be in a relationship? However, she does think that if Mike learns how to listen to her they might work it out but she's not sure they should. "Ok I guess they're not going to work it after all" says her after their break up. Also, she was like: "shouldn't he be more upset about this?

In comes the rain fight scene and I think the conversation deserves to be in a mural somewhere. This is what she said and I apologize for the language and for how she talks about Mike but this deserves to be translated in it's entirety because her rant was epic.

"Why. The. Fuck. Was Mike being such an ass?! He used to be so sweet to Will and now he's treating him like this? Hell nah! Like, I get that he wants to spend time with his girlfriend and that's fine, but that doesn't mean he gets to treat Will like this!

And who the fuck said anything about Will not liking girls? Will didn't! So why the fuck would Mike say this completely unprovoked? Like, this is the kind of shit Will's bullies would say! I don't know who the fuck this Mike is, but it's definitely not the kid from last season.

"Oh se he goes to apologize to Will but doesn't apologize to El?" She asked me after she calmed down from her seething rage. "Inch teresting"

"Oh boy, Billy is gonna die. Am I supposed to want him not to?".

"How the fuck did Soviet Union manage to build this entire lab underground without anyone noticing? And this is I'm thr hight of cold war too, makes no sense but what do I know?"

She absolutely adores Robin, she thinks she and Steve will get together.

"Am I supposed to feel bad for Billy?" Needless to say, she doesn't like Billy.

"What. The. Fuck. Am. I. Watching?" She asked during the people turning into slush scene.

"Oh. So I guess Robin and Steve won't get together after all" lmao I laughed.

"Oh they do want me to feel sorry for Billy, huh"

She had a mental breakdown over Hop's "death". She sent an invoice crying and cursing me for bribing her into watching the show.

She also noticed how unresponsive Mike acted after El told him she loved him and was like: "is this boy ok? Like, I'm sorry Bia (my nickname) but you're telling me he just stood there with his eyes opened while she declared her love and kissed him? Am I watching this right? Answer me dammit!" (She was angry when I refused to tell her anything lmao).

Now, bare in mind that I haven't told her about Byler at all, didn't even tell her I ship it because I wanted her to be as unbiased as possible. She told me she had thoughts/theories and I told them to share them even after she claimed she didn't think she was right.

This bellow are her thoughts and hers alone, translated from Brazilian Portuguese to English.

"I just feel like Hop's letter is telling us something about Mike, maybe? Like, how he's afraid of change, of confronting his feelings, maybe? Like, I know you won't tell me, but I don't think this scene is about El leaving at all, I think it's about Will leaving.

"But I have a theory? I don't know, but the scene parallels the scene from when they find Will's body, right? But he comes home and holds his mom and I think this when he realized he has feelings for Will? Maybe? Or at the very least he realized he isn't straight.

" I didn't think Will was gay until I saw his reaction to what Mike said, and I think Will felt that he was stupid for believing that Mike cared for him at all. He destroyed the castle because he lost his childhood, he lost everything when he wasn't even looking, and I also think he called himself stupid because he thinks it was stupid of him to hope Mike could ever think of Will that way.

"I don't think Mike truly loves El, and he's coming to terms with the reason why he doesn't"

She then begged me for information which I refused to give her, obviously. But this is part 2. Now onto the last season *laughs maniacally *

[captain-sodapop]

In the middle of season 7. Each rewatch, I feel like my focus goes to something new, and this time around, it's really sticking out to me how - because the show presents Sam through the lens of Dean - how Dean thinks there is something inherently wrong with Sam from the start. And that never changes. Like yes, Dean loves Sam, he really does, but but it's always something. If it weren't for the fact that Sam's psychic abilities and the demon blood (things he didn't ask for, by the way) made him different, it would be the simple fact that Sam does not buy into Dean's worldview. When Dean confronted Sam about Amy, when he called Amy a freak, it was heartbreaking to see Sam's hurt reaction to that. If Sam himself weren't dealing with severe mental illness due to his own trauma (which Dean finds freakish), he would be a freak simply by association by empathizing with Amy.

And speaking of Sam's hallucinations and mental health struggles in season 7 in particular (which, Dean obviously has his own struggles that deserve sympathy, but that's not what we're focusing on right now), it's all a repercussion of what Sam has been dealing with since the beginning of the show. We know that Sam has always felt like there was something different about him, and if you take John's journal into account and remember Lucifer showing him all the demons that have been following him his whole life in "Swan Song", then there's always been something...well, supernatural about him. Brady gets possessed, introduces him to Jess, he starts to get visions, he discovers he's psychic and has powers, that he's Lucifer's vessel, that "you didn't need the feather to fly, Dumbo, you had it in you all along"...then he goes to Hell, where his soul is stuck for months, being tortured by Satan himself. And because Cas brought him back without his soul, Dean's trust issues with him continue through season six and into season seven. He doesn't trust that Sam is stable. He doesn't trust that Sam isn't somehow wrong. Somehow a freak.

And it's not fair. It's so sad. You can understand, in a way, why Dean is wary. But Sam didn't ask for any of this. He does bear some responsibility in certain situations, yes, but he was forced into these things, or manipulated, or was simply born that way. There is nothing inherently wrong with the fact that he was born with these abilities.

It goes against Dean's worldview, though. It goes against the idea that his family should be all-in on what they do, that Sam should just fall in line, that the world is black and white and that there is something inherently wrong with people who have these abilities and differences that makes them less than human.

Remember when Sam got pissed at him for not telling him that Jack was planning to die in order to defeat Chuck? And Dean was upset that Sam asked ethical questions? So Sam, who is - according to many, including sometimes his own family - supposedly less than human, is the one asking and confronting these ethical questions, is pushing back against the popular worldview of the people he is associated with, and that pisses them off. They get upset that Sam pushes back. (God, if I'm not careful, I'm going to go into analysis of how Sam's hair represents his resistance.)

Look. Sam is the protagonist of the show. We see him through Dean's eyes, and because of Dean's worldview, the way we see Sam is skewed. And maybe that's the point. Maybe we're supposed to be questioning Dean more than people do. When Sam says in season eight that the trials are "purifying" him, that he always felt as if there was something wrong with him, we shouldn't be agreeing; we should be horrified at the fact that he has gone through life feeling subhuman. We should be questioning the world around him and the community he is a part of that simultaneously seems to detest his very existence.

The guy is literally part of a hostile environment, and every time he tries to break away, he gets guilted back into it. Either he serves the system, or it'll kill him.

[justaragdollysblog]

Could you do a hurt/comfort Carnival!bunnydoll fic where Jax is having a mental breakdown over why he wants to hurt the players so much? I loved your last abstragedy fic <3

AHHH thanks so much!!!! I don’t know the absolute most ab the amazing digital carnival, so i hope this is okay!!

AU belongs to @sm-baby !

TW: Angst, Hurt/comfort, Mentions of death/murder, Mental breakdown

A Beast with Chains Still

Bites

———————————————————————

Jax lay in his room, which was more akin to a cell at this point. The chain around his neck had long since been cumbersome. He knew he was the reason for it.

He, like everyone else, had ‘woken up’ and realized the gravity of everything. That, even if they were trapped, no one would ask questions. No one would come find them. Even if they did, he hardly expected he’d be offered a way out.

Not after what he’s done.

He felt his ears start to droop, as he remembered what it felt like to hurt those players. People who meant well, at the wrong place at the wrong time. He didn’t know why exactly he slaughtered them, but he felt…somehow refreshed after.

But that was then, and this is now. And, how he wished it wasn’t. How he wished he was wearing his scarf again, teaching whoever wandered into his level about animation. He’d trade the softness of his scarf for the cold metal any day.

He recalled when he was first locked in his room. When he clawed at the door, begging for anyone to let him out. To understand what he was feeling and why he acted that way. One of his peers did, though:

Ragatha.

She would visit him very frequently, bringing him food and talking outside his door. Sometimes, on a rare occasion, she did enter his room. Those nights were spent in heavy silence, but her presence helped.

Jax could feel his heartbeat, or whatever he had in there, quicken. A lot. He gasped a bit, moving to try and hold his ears, like he did when he was upset and no one else was around.

The chain clunked against the floor as he grabbed his ears, and he started to sob at the hollow sound. It was a terrible, ever-present reminder of the fate he made for himself. A cell within a cell.

He hated that he felt this way. He hated that his first instinct with his newfound sentience was to lash out. It didn’t get him anywhere but more alone.

His breathing was frantic now, and he let out a strangled whimper as he feebly grabbed at the chain around his neck. The walls were blurring together, black and white, black and white everywhere. He was about to scream, when he heard a knock-

“Jax? I heard sobbing. Can I come in?” He recognized the voice almost immediately. Ragatha. The good-hearted, formal doll that had accompanied him on so many nights like this.

He took a deep, shaky breath. “…Yeah. Yeah, you can come in.” The gentle turning of the doorknob could be heard, and then an even gentler snap of the lock.

He didn’t meet her gaze. His breathing was still frantic and choppy, but slightly less so. Ragatha frowned and made her way over to him, kneeling down next to him. “It’s okay. Just try and focus on me.” She soothed.

Jax tried to calm his breathing, but the rattling of the horrid noise from the horrid chain didn’t help. He gasped again, shutting his eyes tightly. Ragatha smiled a bit, holding the chain in place.

“I won’t let it move, if you can try and breathe. It won’t make a sound, Jax. I promise.” Ragatha had a firm but kind grip on the chain. Just like she always was. Jax tried to breathe for several minutes, eventually returning to a rhythmic pace.

Ragatha smiled again, looking at him through a half lidded, understanding eye. “There we go. I knew you could.” She cooed, voice hushed. Jax felt himself wanting her to talk like that more.

“…I don’t know why I want to hurt them, doll. I don’t know why I did this to myself.” He muttered, voice catching on the last few words. Ragatha sighed a bit again, but a kind sigh. She was not incredulous or exasperated. She could understand, to an extent.

“I understand. I don’t think it’s right that things happened the way they did. But, I’ll always be here, bun. Even if the others warn me not to, I’ll find a way. I won’t leave you.” She soothed, putting a gentle and slow hand on his cheek.

Jax was entirely too tired and lonely to resist the touch or convince himself how much he didn’t need it. He moved his head into her hand, eyes closing. He really was tired. He could feel sleep and some semblance of peace pulling at his mind.

Ragatha scooched closer, laying his head down on her lap. She began to pet his ears, and she looked down at him with a smile full of empathy and understanding.

“We’re gonna be okay, bunny. No matter what.” She pressed a small kiss to his forehead, and he pressed his head deeper into her hands. How long had he been craving a touch like this?

Jax knew in the morning, he’d have to be alone again. He’d deal with it when it rolled around. Her touch was too soft to consider it going away right now.

He really needed this.

———————————————————————

WOOOO done! i hope this was good! if it wasn’t similar to the request, pls lmk! i went w this like after he was already locked away lol

reblogs are always appreciated! see you guys soon!

[dr-spectre]

while i originally didn't think much about s2's story

after seeing your posts about hypno callie i am 100% with ya

fact that it gets misinterpreted so much is agh. painful

Im glad that I was able to inspire you to change your mind!!! I used to not think much of Splatoon 2's story, too, until the autism in my brain whispered, "Callie Cuttlefish...."

(I'm about to get ranty in this post, so get ready.... if you wanna move along and don't wanna see someone get upset over a squid woman then by all means do so!)

I think the main reasons as to why the story of Splatoon 2 gets misinterpreted a lot is because in media circles, people will use the words "brainwashing" and "hypnosis" interchangeably and they genuinely don't know what hypnosis is actually like. Nintendo and the Splatoon devs probably don't know either. Like I don't think in Splatoon 2's rushed development cycle they bothered to look up the definition of hypnosis and they just made up the Hypnoshades to make Callie "evil" in a quick and easy way because "ooooo hypnosis is mind control/brainwashing ooo" WHICH IS FALSE!!!! VERY VERY FALSE!!!!!

Splatoon 2 was most likely rushed and it impacted Callie's storyline. You can clearly see what kind of story Splatoon 2 was going for from the concept art and Squid Sisters Stories prequel series. The tale of two cousins drifting apart and Callie growing resentment in her heart....

While we SORTA got that in the final game, Callie's arc got muffled due to a lack of understanding of what hypnosis actually is and media out of Splatoon continuing to use "brainwashing" as a cheap and lazy way to explain things which most likely had a strong influence in Splatoon 2's development, despite a lot of evidence proving that's not what happened to Callie... and there's not much we can do about it... ugh.

They also hid a lot of important story details behind optional content and social media posts. The sunken scrolls explaining Callie's growing mental issues, the relationship chart which disproves that Callie was kidnapped, etc, etc....

Also people tend to take Marie's perspective very objectively because we follow her as Agent 4. So when she says that Callie was "squidnapped," people believe it. When Marie says Callie was "brainwashed" in the rematch fight, people believe it. Including inkipedia and people who analyse splatoon.... the people who seek out objective information take the overthinking and worried Marie with a lack of knowledge as the well of truth.

Slight tangent but, you know what's kinda funny to me? Inkipedia wants to be very objective on Splatoon yeah? Well on Callie's main page it says, "Callie went to the octarians willingly," yet another parts of the site, it says, "she was kidnapped." Hmm... and of course, them flip-flopping the words "hypnosis" and "brainwashing" despite those words being OBJECTIVELY TWO SEPARATE THINGS THAT CANNOT BE USED INTERCHANGEABLY!!! But they use brainwashing more because Nintendo NoA used it.... oh well, tangent aside...

That's why so many people fuck up and you know what? I don't REALLYYYY blame the common fan over this. I dont! It would be unfair of me to get mad at someone who doesn't know any better because Splatoon 2 did an AWFUL job at properly fleshing out Callie!!!! When people hear what I have to say and either agree or respectfully disagree but still get my points, i get happy, and im glad more people are looking into Callie in a different light! She was treated like TRASHHHH for 7 fucking years!!!

Im only mad at certain parts of a certain wiki, and people who go over the timeline and make 5 hour videos and claim that Callie was KIDNAPPED DESPITE THERE BEING A FREELY AVAILABLE FUCKING RELATIONSHIP CHART THAT LITERALLY DISPROVES IT!!! BUT NO!!! YOU JUST HADDDDD TO READ A SINGLE INKIPEDIA ARTCLE AND YOU DIDNT EVEN BOTHER TO LOOK ANYWHERE ELSE!!!!! Putting in so much effort yet these loud voices in the community drop the fucking ball on Callie because she's silly.... ugh...

If I see another person in 2024 that says that Callie was kidnapped.... I swear to FUCKINGGGGGG god bro....

WHY DO NINTENDO PUSH THAT SHIT THEMSELVES?!?!? WHY DO THEY SAY CALLIE WAS KIDNAPPED?!?! WHY DO YOU WANT THE OCTARIANS TO BE SO FUCKING EVIL AND UNREDEEMABLE?!?!?! YOU GUYS MADE OCTO EXPANSION FOR FUCK SAKE!!! ITS SO ANNOYING!!! IM STILL NOT OVER THIS!!

UGHHHH!!!! When will it end.... I'm gonna keep repeating this stuff until I DIE it seems!!!

I dont wanna seem like I'm above anyone btw. I dont want to be like that. I'm just... really autistic about this sort of shit and I get very very picky about people's word choices and stuff when it comes to this.

I just want a character I love to be treated better... okay? That's all... it is getting better which I'm VERY happy about but... the loudest voices in the community, the people who analyse stuff and make timeline videos and analytical videos, still say the same bullshit since 2017 and I'm getting tired....

[cyanide-latte]

Honestly the most gratifying thing about my undercut that doesn't have to do with gender is that now I actually get genuine compliments on my hair.

I have naturally very curly hair. It is also very dark but has been steadily turning white since I was 15 (I'll be 35 in October.) I've had it long before, and most often in my life I've had it cut very short in a boyish style.

And my entire life, the comment I heard most was "is your hair naturally curly?" (always said with a dubious tone even when I was little, because I guess other 5-year-olds must have been getting perms) And it's usually always followed by "I wish I had hair like that, I'd kill for your hair" or some variation thereof.

I was told this was a compliment. As an autistic child who hated my curls for the longest time, this frustrated me. It never sounded like a compliment, it never felt like a compliment, and if they wanted my hair so bad, they ought to find a way to trade with me.

As I got older, into my late teens and early twenties, I made peace with the curls, even though I still got those same "compliments". But since I'd been getting increasingly white hair since age 15, they were now accompanied by people criticizing my "highlight job" and my choice to "mix in blonde". Looking people square in the eyes and saying "I don't have highlights, my hair's just been going white since I was 15" usually got semi-gratifying results when people backpedaled like hell, but a lot of them also would then criticize me for not dying the white to hide it.

I was constantly trying to alter my style for my hair my entire life and I don't even like styling my hair, but it caused me no end of upset to hear these things. I figured I was always doomed to be miserable about my hair. My body is already sensitive as hell to so many things I can only use specific products on my hair safely, but it hurt that my mother and grandmother tried so hard to help me understand people did like my hair, when the comments I heard sounded like criticism and an insinuation that other people deserved my hair.

And then 2020's COVID lockdown meant I couldn't get my summer cut to shorten my hair so I wouldn't overheat. At least, the person I usually went to couldn't do my hair.

So between desperation to find a way to keep all the weight of thick, heat-trapping dark curls off my neck and shoulders, and the desire to try something new as a subtle means of better expressing my gender, I decided to try an undercut. My partner and I looked up photos for reference, used an electric razor that was typically reserved for his hair, and decided what to do. Several layers underneath in the back would have to be shaved off completely (more than we initially anticipated, believe it or not,) and I wanted the shave to come around my left side. Just shave the left half of my head, because for some reason heat would constantly get trapped there as well as at the back of my neck. (Dunno why that didn't happen the same way with my right side, but hey, we've established I'm pretty odd.)

It was a relief, both physically and in terms of gender euphoria when I looked in the mirror and heard my partner's loving exclamation of "oh! there you are!" And it was also a relief when my mother and grandmother loved my new hair, especially when my grandmother said "that suits you best of all. You should always keep your hair that way." (Grandma passed in February of this year, and she never wavered in her love of my new hairstyle.)

But then, it started happening. Not just with family, friends and coworkers, but random strangers, at least once a week, often more than once a week. Someone would come up to me and say "I LOVE your hair! It's so cool!" I'd never heard that before.

I have quickly learned an added benefit of the undercut is that, with the left side of my head being shaved, it's incredibly easy for people to realize that my hair IS naturally curly, and to see my white pattern where my hair is growing back in on that side. And I've gotten compliments on that too! Both people talking about how dynamic my curls make the undercut, and several others telling me that my white pattern is beautiful and they hope I never think to dye it.

It's slowed down a bit since then but it still happens every couple of weeks. A little while ago at work, a regular [teen] patient came in with her mom, who approached me to ask about my undercut because she (the mom) has been hesitant to let her child try an undercut, but on seeing my hair, she changed her mind and wanted to know about my experience. Said kid still doesn't have an undercut yet, but they've been changing up their hair and presenting more queer in their dress, and they've started shyly waving to me when they see me. And yesterday, during grocery shopping, as I was waiting for my partner to get back from grabbing something, an older lady slowed down, came over to me, and just said "Excuse me, pardon me, you just have the most beautiful hair. That style is so striking, and your curls are wonderful with it. That's all. I just wanted to tell you you have gorgeous hair" and then she left.

It's so strange how that impulsive choice to take a shot on a new style not only became something I love for me and my personal expression of self, but is the thing that finally, truly has brought me compliments on my hair for the first time in my life. Real compliments that make me feel good.

So I guess what I'm saying in this overly long ramble is 1: I'm forever grateful this has happened and is happening to me, 2: for anyone struggling with similar, this is a reassurance that things can and will get better, 3: change can be terrifying but this is a very good example of a drastic change that wasn't going to have harmful repercussions for me personally, and the fact it turned out so well is both a confidence- and courage-booster. It's worth taking a shot on, because so far it's brought me nothing but joy. Sure, it requires frequent maintenance to keep up with the shaving part because my hair grows fast, but it's a small price to pay for a cooler head (in more than one sense!) and the positive interactions that have resulted.

[loustatapologist]

Coming here with the most unpopular fucking opinion: i fucking loved this episode. That ending was so fucking upsetting i kept looking away .

Truly hannibal season 2 ending level of fucked up

[mickeym4ndy]

You can spend a lot of time trying to justify everything a character has done, and it’s great to look at the reasoning behind their actions that people might not understand.

But you can also sometimes say yea it’s understandable why they did it but it was still a shitty thing to do, and that’s okay. Humans make mistakes, your favourite characters will too. It’s ok. It doesn’t make them bad people.

[cluescorner]

I cannot imagine being a Damian stan right now. You've got both Zdarsky's bullshit (where he clearly doesn't give a shit about your boy) and The Boy Wonder (where Juni Ba clearly gives so many shits about your boy) coming out on the same day. The whiplash must be insane. I hope y'all get some nice warm soup for your efforts jfc

[yellowsubiesdance]

i think i’ve learned a lot when it comes to not applying my own values to the media i consume

for my script analysis class yesterday, we discussed two gentleman from verona, and nearly every classmate of mine was up in arms about how sexist the story is.

and i'm not saying it's not, or that it's not infuriating to read. but i'm also not putting my energy into getting upset about something written 500 or so years ago. and i'm not about to put my own beliefs onto these characters that are not me. i'm going to let their choices speak for themselves, and interpret it in the context of the story.

all that said, this now brings me to the point of alastor in episode 5, and how viscerally people are responding to it. those of you up in arms about the choices he’s making, and the violent threat he gave husk, you’re missing the entire point of his character, of this place they’re in, of the story being told. he’s an overlord, and he became an overlord by killing much bigger overlords and broadcasting their deaths over the radio.

HE IS NOT A GOOD PERSON.

if you started this show with the belief that every character working the hotel is a good person, you’re in the wrong place. watch the good place if you’re looking for a good wholesome story about getting dead sinners into heaven, because that’s not what this show is about.

you’re more than welcome to hate him after seeing the way he exerted power over a being whose soul he owns, but you’re doing the media you’re watching a disservice by writing it off so quickly. if you don’t like to be uncomfortable watching media, watch something else. this is an uncomfortable show, it handles uncomfortable topics, and it’s going to be an uncomfortable ride, and if you’re not up for something like that, then you should take a break from it and pick up something else. you don’t have to get online and defend your own ideals while you watch a show that goes against your ideals.

[angelnumber27]

It’s so embarrassing and heartbreaking being in so much pain over losing someone while knowing they don’t give a fuck if you live or die. Your favorite person becoming a stranger is a special kind of hell.