#it deals a lot with ideas of identity and roles and like. the self?? like who you’re meant to be vs who you are

[mossflower]

yeah that podcast idea i had is now a diary lmao

[one-and-a-half-yikes]

Don't mind me but can you plz rant about colly a lil more... :3

I'll do you one BETTER @ch1-kasak0

I'm gonna talk about Colly AND do an accidental Cuphead analysis on the side lmao

I will say, it is crazy to me that years ago, one of the reasons I had for why I didn't like the idea of Cupanny was because I perceived Fanny as someone un-ambitious, who seemed to have a bleak outlook and no real hope for a better future, something that was completely antithetical to what Cuphead needed in his life.

Obviously I don't hold that viewpoint about Fanny anymore, but I do think it's funny how that critique of mine (which I never shared on here I should add and I regret it lol) came back around but in an unexpected way. The Labyrinth arc was genuinely the deepest look we've gotten into Cuphead. With the thing that hit me the most stepping into Cuphead's dream and really seeing how much of himself is consumed by the guilt he feels about making a deal with the Devil, was how that guilt had basically consumed his personhood in a way.

Mugman dreams of being a pilot for the Calix Animi, of marrying Cala and having a whole, completed family; that his parents never left, that his dad was alive; Mugman dreamed of a future for himself. A fantasy that could never really be real, at least mostly, but it was a future nonetheless. Everyone, except Felix who's a special situation given his circumstances, dreamed of a future. Something that they were fighting towards even after they left the Labyrinth.

Except Cuphead.

He could never envision a future for himself, because so much of what made up who Cuphead was as a child was stripped from him that he's essentially a husk of who he was. We saw the real Cuphead in his dreamscape. He had aspirations, and goals he wanted to reach. But when your whole is spent struggling to survive it's hard to have real goals and aspire to them. It's hard to dream a dream that you hope comes true.

And then the gala happened.

Something that seemed out of reach for someone like himself suddenly seemed like a real, genuine reality within his reach. All because of his love for Holly. His love for her made him finally see a real future. A real dream. For one second, Cuphead didn't think about a bleak horizon that he was walking towards, but instead a beautiful sunrise that he wanted to walk towards hand-in-hand with Holly and it says a lot. It really does. In my Cuphead analysis I did say that his dream was still him in the background playing the role of Cuphead the Supporter rather than playing an active role in his own future where his own ambitions and drive exist alongside Holly's. But it doesn't detract from how much his love made him see something that for the longest he never saw as possible and that means something. It really does.

But oh, bitch I'm not even done yet. Y'all asked for this!!!

There's this one scene, I'm too lazy to go back and find it again (EDIT: I couldn't find it for some reason so my source is trust me bro), where Cuphead and Holly, and maybe Mugs was there I think, were talking and Holly said something along the lines of "I like your childish side" (paraphrasing). And that stuck with me, because when, in the other previous relationships that Cuphead had, has he ever been told that being his actual true self is the part they like the most about him? That the sulking badboy persona who's all rough edges and mysterious isn't nearly as interesting as the real him.

The thing I think a lot of people sort of forget, is that for Cuphead it's not a persona, it's just who he is. Because everything else has been stripped from him via abuse and threats to himself and his brother. From unethical experiments forced on him as punishment, to beatings from the boss when they screw up a job, to being yelled and cursed out by Hat because they messed up during training, and so on. So much of who he is, who he was, was taken from him and all that's left is whatever identity Cuphead needs to put on in that exact moment. Mugman was right when he said that for Cuphead, it's always about the damn mission. Keeping him and his brother safe, desperately trying to right his wrongs, and just trying to not have anyone see his weaknesses means the Cuphead we saw before in the Labyrinth is a ghost. Someone else entirely. A speck in the distance that feels entirely out of reach now to Cuphead.

But there's this part of him that he's tried to keep safe and held close and we see that in the Wonderful Winter arc. When Cuphead and Mugman started chasing each other, throwing snowballs at one another, it's the closest we get to seeing Cup in a light where he's not putting on a persona; the real him. And Holly notices that, too. But not just that she notices that, but that she is intrigued by it enough that she wants to get to know him more.

Holly had a crush on Cuphead, but the Tree Princess chapter is where she really fell for him. Which makes sense cause that's the chapter where she truly realizes the depth there is to his character and how multifaceted he was as a person. He wasn't just a killer thug like she'd first assumed, but a true complex person, just like her and all the other Questers.

And I think that's fucking beautiful man.

Of course I'd love to gush about Cuphead's perspective on Holly, but there's not really enough to say outside of:

You know it's true love when you're willing to spill all your secrets to this one person; to bear your whole heart and soul to them if it means being able to have them back in your life.

[a-town-called-hometown]

in regards to deltarune and character agency, i always assumed the darkners' agency being tied to the lightners' will was a direct parallel to the player character's agency (kris) being tied to the *player's* will (us), and that by making this the game's narrative (darkners are on a plane below lightners and are considered, in a way, less 'real', despite several having desires to break away from this hierarchy) the game is trying to call into question our relationship with the game itself, with the world itself. if the relationship between lightners and darkners feels unfair, then our relationship to kris should be in question as well. characters all have roles to play, but isn't that strange? why the prophecy, why the repetition, why do we, ultimately, have so much control? what gives us the right? it's all layers. us, lightners, darkners, imagine your whole world living and dying at the hands of gods that, out of boredom, could easily abandon you one day, or even destroy you? gods you were made to love and serve, and around you everyone says without them you can never be whole. who wouldn't want to rebel? i think if you're an advocate for kris's agency, you have to advocate for the darkners' agency. for ralsei's agency outside of kris or the prophecy or anything he's meant to do. i think kris and ralsei are narrative foils in this regard, one who blindly accepts his fate, and the other who tries to escape it, a character who does whatever he's told and a character who forcefully slips from our grasp. it just feels like set up to me for a lot more than 'escapism.' i'd say the main themes here are fate, agency, choice and control. even the mystery voice at the start of the game has their plans messed with by the other voice choosing to discard our vessel. every character is grasping at something they can't have, even ralsei can't have his narrative go the way he's planned because susie keeps surprising him lol

yes that's true!!! i would also argue that 'identity' is packaged in with these themes - deltarune is written in such a way where characters are not just grappling with fates and choices outside of their control, but also grappling with roles that they seemingly cannot escape.

the darkners are fantastical & metafictional version of this idea, given that they are both objects who need to be useful in order to not be abandoned and also npcs who serve an rpg-genre narrative function. ralsei especially fulfills several rpg archetypes as the friendly healer companion and as the guide npc. every major darkner has some kind of conflict involving the role they were made to play, whether it's lancer as "the bad guy" or spamton as "the spam email." even queen, who is extremely enthusiastic about her role, runs into issues because she is so zealous that she does not grasp what the lightners might actually want and need.

susie and noelle fulfill a more realistic version of this: the labels of bully and nice girl respectively are roles that neither of them exactly chose, but through a mix of environmental & psychosocial factors and a dose of self-fulfilling prophecy, neither of them know how to escape. berdly, while mostly comedic, is also a character who deals a lot with his real-world designation of "smart guy." susie breaks loose somewhat of her role in ch1, and we see noelle start to follow suit by the end of ch2. given that their existence isn't directly tied to their roles the way the darkners' are, it makes sense that they'd start to question and challenge these first.

kris, as befitting of their protagonist role, fulfills both versions of the idea. their role in the light world is an outcast who lives in their brother's shadow, and in the dark world, they're viewed as a prophesized hero. but they don't have full agency in either of these identities at all. they're being controlled by us, and the perceptions of them as an outcast and hero respectively are imposed onto them by other people.

meanwhile, almost all the other lightner npcs are different versions of characters we met in undertale. i would argue that this is another form of imposed identity, albeit one they aren't aware of. WE view them as their identities from undertale. I highly suspect that this will be something played with a lot more as future chapters go on.

the themes of choice & control all interlock with this idea of imposed identity. in a world where nobody can choose who they are, is it possible for people to eventually break out of what they are assumed to be...?

it's a game made to make us heavily question both a lot of rpg conventions and especially how we view characters in games. I'm very excited to see how the game will continue to play with its ideas of agency. it's such a brilliant idea to tell a story about fate by explicitly tying it to the way characters and worlds are written in games, and also by tying it to audience perceptions related to toby fox's last game. it's going to be so interesting to see how the characters deconstruct all those expectations!

[paragonrobits]

today's hot take; the general reason people giving for paying more attention to Zuko's character arc and presence in the fandom is usually something like 'its hard to relate to Aang because most people aren't monks, genocide survivors or fundamentally alone, while Zuko's history of family abuse and trying to appeal to a father that never cared for him is much more relatable', and that's honestly NOT a good thing to be saying as if it was a fact

the first point being is that this involves some really broad paint to look relatable at all. Zuko has suffered neglect, physical abuse and mutilation, and a great deal of emotional woes in his family. That is something many people share. However, the SPECIFICS of his life aren't particularly broad for a lot of people; not many people are princes, or heirs to dynastic power that informs their responsibility to the world, or have a complicated sibling relationship because they are competing for royal position, or were specifically in an honor duel that ended with them getting half their faces burned off with spiritual pyrokinetic martial arts powers.

This is, of course, splitting hairs. But that's sort of the thing; the metaphor and idea of Zuko being relatable breaks down if you analyze it too much, because all the details that define him as a character make him dramatically different from most real life people. it informs everything about him, and it seems that in order to take the really broad look that he's used ("Zuko is more relatable because abuse, family obligation and feelings of self-worth and shame are a big part of his character") honestly come off making his character feel... kind of nebulous. You have to focus to actually make his character significant, and removing any aspect of it loses a big part of his character. And that focus also makes him different from most viewers past the whole concept of them projecting onto him making any real sense.

And that's what it comes down to, projecting. And the thing about it is, people aren't any more like Zuko than they are like Aang. They're not royal children (presumably), they don't have firebending powers (again, also presumably), they're not heirs to a throne of dynasty power, and they're also not heirs to a throne of dynastic power in a setting where their destiny and obligation to a world scarred by their ancestors is not abstract at all. Projecting onto Zuko because you can feel some similarity to your own past of abuse is, when you get down to it, a matter of just emphasizing specific aspects of his character.

Aang is not really hard to identity with. He's a fun-loving trickster who wants to shake things up and save the world from itself, suffering under a great deal of loss, isolation and grief; these are many things that can be identified with, every bit as much as identifying with Zuko because of family situations or history of physical and emotional abuse or neglect.

Yes, he's a monk, and yes, he is an incarnation of the spirit of the world itself, with the power over all the spiritual elements and destined to right the wrongs of a world out of balance. This is not something most viewers have; a good majority of viewers are probably not Buddhist either, or schooled in it, and won't understand the attitudes that are important to understand Aang.

But the same thing also applies to Zuko; much as the principles of Buddhist morality and theology underpin Aang's character and the setting itself, Zuko's own situation is also laid out in the story, tied to it in the same way as Aang's character. Relating to either of them is perhaps not a good idea, so much as it is understanding their perspective, character arcs, and cognitive understanding of their feelings and role as characters for the narrative of the series.

I think relating to a character is honestly not the best thing; at its worst, it basically demands that characters conform to you, and ONLY you, with the implication that anyone else is unworthy to have any kind of perspective like that. It's better to understand a character on their own terms.

And in all honesty? Zuko's whole character is not really some pan-universal exemplar of suffering from duty and ancestral crimes. It's laid out through the story very clearly, and the same thing is true for Aang. His story and why it is significant is laid out through the series, its just a matter of listening to it and letting yourself resonate with it, even if its different.

[clueless-fan-critic]

Barbie: Yeah, I’m a Guy Who Watched the Barbie Movie.

Sooooo... I’ve watched the Barbie movie. And I am a man. So deal with it.

What is the Barbie Movie?

Basically, the Barbie Movie is about... well, Barbie. Everything pink and feminine as far as the eye can see. The movie itself however is taking it in a far different direction.

The film’s director Greta Gerwig is basically a surprising director to have for the film. Gerwig is known for her female-driven movies like Ladybird and Little Women to name a few. So it’s no surprise that Barbie is on a journey of self-discovery about her identity as a woman and a Barbie.

There’s also this whole Barbenheimer meme going on, but I’m talking about Barbie.

After Watching...?

The Barbie Movie is both a jaunty jab at the stereotypes of both male and female roles and Mattel, as well as a beautifully hilarious film thanks to Margot Robbie’s portrayal as the classic or stereotypical Barbie. Robbie’s Barbie goes though a transformation from the definitive Barbie to a fully grown being. Her existence is put into question as she learns more and more about the real world and the harsh truths that come with it. She slowly discovers that she’s more than a Barbie, but an actual person with autonomy and choice.

America Ferrera kills it as a lover of Barbie who had to live with Barbie’s standards in the real world. Ferrera gives a powerful speech about the constant frustrations of what it’s like to be a woman, perfectly encapsulating the highs and lows of the gender in a completely human way. Ferrera is the perfect person to take on this role based on her work from Ugly Betty and Superstore, showing more humanly real traits than superficial perfection.

Ryan Gosling’s Ken as an antagonist made a lot of sense once you think about the theme of film. Ken is essentially the butt of the joke that Barbie takes for granted, making him feel inadequate. So when he finds the respect he craved in the real world, he starts to build a “Kendom” for him and his fellow Kens to feel good about themselves and step out of the shadow of the Barbies. It is exactly how we all think would happen if Ken found out about patriarchy.

It basically tackles both ideas of feminism, patriarchy, hyper femininity, and toxic masculinity in this film without making it too preachy or forced in your face or that men are trash and women are perfect. No, it takes those ideas in a way that addresses the flaws in each set of philosophies while not demonizing or glorifying any side. They’re just opposing ideas with their own problems to deal with and some good ideas that are taken too much as fact without common sense.

The scene that moved me the most was Barbie’s choice to become human after experiencing life and having a conversation with the creator of Barbie Ruth Handler. Combined with the haunting Billie Eilish song “What Was I Made For” and flashes of various girls and women living life, it was a beautiful tribute to what Barbie was initially made for: a tribute to a daughter from a mother.

What Was Barbie Made For?

Barbie was made for those who think Barbie is just a doll that goes against modern women and those who believe Barbie to be an inspiring figure to strive, but most of all those who know the full history of a mother-daughter relationship in its creation.

If you love Barbie, you’ll love the movie. If you hate Barbie, you’ll love the movie. If you don’t know Barbie, you’ll love the movie.

[gamerism]

Kiryu Kazumi is an interesting exercise in fandom, in my opinion. And I wanna talk about that.

[Kazumi is the fan created drag persona for Kiryu. Often Kiryu is genderfluid or exploring identity through her.]

Kazumi places a few tiers down the "non-canon fandom iceberg". She exists in response to Goromi who is already a very minor thing in canon, and was written as a Bit/with the intent to make an offensive joke about drag/ect, the fandom were the ones who made Goromi mean more than that. So Kazumi is a layer down from all of that already.

Despite her existence being entirely fanmade, she's not a vehicle for the fandom to cannibalise the source material into something unrecognisable purely for fanworks' sake. Though she might look it on the surface.

If the fandom decided to make Goromi mean something because she's the most blatant moment of queercoding for Majima in a long history of queercoding for him, then her theme is ultimately masculinity in canon.

Which is absolutely what Kazumi is about. Kiryu sits at the very beating heart of Like A Dragon's themes about masculinity. Be it toxic, be it ideals, be it the kind of appearances you're expected to maintain in the yakuza. Kiryu shoulders the heavy burden of them all.

We see him exhibit both positive and toxic masculinity throughout the series. But what the games have rarely brought up for him, is the rejection of masculinity in any context, or at least, femininity in equal amounts.

This isn't really surprising, if they're unwilling to make Majima say he's gay with his own mouth after using queerness as a means to Other him and make him seem dangerous, untrustworthy and even scary...they're certainly not going to have their shining beacon of Honour, Kiryu, do that. (Majima's queerness and coding has changed role somewhat over time and is generally more neutral or positive in positioning now. But even as recently as Yakuza Kiwami, it was being used in a negative way.)

So Kazumi serves the purpose for fans who wish to delve more deeply into that thorny complex relationship to masculinity.

[Kazumi In Kiwami 2 On NexusMods] By kiryussideburns.

Personally I find the idea of Kiryu exploring Kazumi as a means of escape, as a means of fully free self expression (something Kiryu has never had), really really interesting. I also find the time frame she's generally written in interesting. Most people place her post-2005. Kazama is dead. This is a hugely important factor in Kiryu's willingness to take the risk to explore gender expression. Kazama is not the kind of man who approves of any (perceived) weakness in men. In Kiryu and Nishiki's lives he's who instills a lot of toxic aspects of masculinity in them. I'd also hazard a strong guess that he's homophobic, though we don't actually know that.

The next largest factor is that December 2005 is the point where Kiryu leaves the Tojo Clan permanently. Kiryu definitely still cares a great deal deep down about his image and public perception within the underworld after leaving, but his day-to-day is no longer dictated by the rules of that life.

(Some people, me included, also dabble in Kazumi in 1988. But the same things essentially apply there. Kazama is in prison & as far away as he can functionally be while alive. And Kiryu is out of the Tojo Clan temporarily.)

As someone so enamoured with this exploration of gender expression for the character, I was floored when LAD Gaiden allowed Kiryu to wear makeup. Seriously, I had to go lay down to calm down about it when playing Gaiden day of release.

(Gaiden's lighting is very contrasted, I did my best to find a screenshot where you can actually see the makeup.)

The makeup, nail polish and pearl earrings in the Boutique was kind of unbelievable to me. I know RGG didn't really mean anything by it, that they didn't make those customisation options because they were going to touch on these themes. But even the hint of that in canon, it was so much more than I ever expected....even if it did go nowhere, as I knew it would.

It kind of gives me hope that Goromi might mean something more than just an offensive joke (in canon anyway) in the future. Or if not Goromi than something else, in LAD9 or such. Either way Kazumi will continue to be fandom legacy for gender expression, presentation and what the expectations Kiryu & other characters have resting on them mean.

[bullet-prooflove]

Heyyy I asked for Bode NSFW Alphabet! Can you do B D E Y Z? Thanks love ❤️🔥

B - Bondage (do they like it? do they not? do they prefer to be the one being tied or the one doing the tying?) 

I think due to his time incarcerated Bode could not deal with having restraints in the bedroom. I think it would really fuck with him. When he does submit to his partner I think he would hold his wrists, one crossed over the other above his head as a gesture as a symbol of that restraint. He wouldn’t move from his position unless he’s ‘allowed’ to.

However I do think he would enjoy a blindfold, maybe a silk eye mask could be something. I think he’s a very sensual person and that would be something he’d be very into especially if his partner was bestowing tender kisses all over his body.

D - Dominance (do they prefer to dominate, or be dominated? do they have experience as a Dom? Do they have a Dom that they trust already? What kind of things do they enjoy as/with their Dominant partner?) 

I imagine he would be the more submissive of the two, he’s been forced into a lot of dominant roles during his time in prison and I think that submitting to someone, trusting them would be a huge relief for him. His partner would be a very soft Dom, someone who builds him up, tells him how good he is, how he deserves his pleasure. He flourishes under that tenderness and it builds his confidence making him feel safe and loved.

E - Extra info (any other fetishes? feet? leather? role playing? blood? fantasies that they might want to experience not on this list?)

I honestly feel like after prison, this is a journey of self discovery for Bode because he doesn’t know what he likes. I think sex before that was with Kara and that was usual teenage stuff. After that he steered towards addiction so everything else was getting fucked, while he was fucked. With the right partner he now has the space to learn what he liked and to try new things.

I can easily see him coming to his partner with a new idea, something he’s seen, read or heard about and being can we try this whilst being a little shy. I could also see him accidently discovering thing like when she runs her hands through his hair, she tugs just a little and he realises that gets him off.

Y - Yes, Master (what kinds of names are used during sex? do they like being called master / mistress, daddy, etc…? what names do they call their partner?) 

His first name is a big one because in prison it’s mostly last names, it’s a way of de-humaising people, reducing their identity. He loves hearing you say his name. He likes it when you call him baby as well, I think it gives him a sense of belonging, he loves the affectionateness of it.

Z - Zones (what are their erogenous zones? what spots on their body should be touched, bitten, kissed, when someone wants to get them in the mood?) 

He loves it when you kiss his thighs, he’s very sensitive there and the light brushing of your lips makes him feel like he’s cherished. Kissing his neck always gets him in the mood, especially if your hands are in his hair.

[awakentheeldritchabomination]

First Random Writing Dump

CW: mentions of self harm and emotional abuse

As decreed by the poll, most of ya’ll seem fine with a little bit of word vomit, and since I have some time, I’m just gonna spew a bit of my thoughts on my version of Charlie so far. It won’t be much, just a jumbled list of rough ideas. I don’t know how set I am with these, but here goes:

- They may or may not be renamed

- They use they/them pronouns but don’t correct people who misgender them; they find gender to be an odd concept, and they can’t quite grasp why people care so much about it

- They know a lot about human history but have not personally interacted with many people beyond what is necessary (until later)

- Their capacity to empathize with the plight of humans comes from guilt, their mother, who is still going to be Lilith… maybe…., a horrific chance encounter, and their relationship with V (gotta pick a name for her lol)

- Still, growing up in a privileged position largely removed from the sinners’ reality while being surrounded by reminders that these people invited suffering through their own wickedness has given them this sense of innate superiority; they are semi-aware of the fact that their elitist mindset exists and is not…great…but they prefer to bury it under toxic positivity and pretend it’s not an issue

- They have been trained to fight (heaven and hell are still basically at war, after all), but they’ve never had a real battle, and they’ve certainly never killed anyone before; the weight of dealing death terrifies and paralyzes them

- They are aware of what they are, and they deeply fear what they are capable of

- They are not very well acquainted with their demonic form, and they’d rather not be; it’s often triggered by ugly feelings they don’t want to confront

- Yeah, they’ve got some things going on deep down. Beneath the sunshine and rainbows and genuinely good intentions, there’s this raw, wriggling darkness, gnawing on their insides like maggots; they don’t know why

- Spoilers: it’s the manipulation and emotional abuse Lucifer subjected them to as well as the resentment harbored against both parents for deciding to bring a child into a realm meant as an eternal torture chamber for evil people; they don’t consciously recognize the abuse they experienced because of strategic subtly, gaslighting, and isolation from other experiences. Both they and Lilith know something about Lucifer is off, and it creates this eerie, underlying fear that permeates every interaction, yet neither of them know how bad it actually is; Also Lilith likes to make excuses just like: “Oh, don’t be like that. He’s just doing whatever coz he loves you :)”

- Their warring sides will come to a head; the anger inside them will boil over, and they will be a terror

- Lucifer cuts them off after a falling out that occurs because of the hotel proposal; they will only be accepted back once they’ve “come to their senses”

- Charlie and Alastor have a weird relationship; they’ve got this yin-yang, mirrored image thing going on; they:

1. Are both biracial and are torn between different worlds

2. Have distanced themselves from one (their blackness. Yeah, Charlie is technically half black. But it’s a little more about their relation to the whole of humanity for them), but while one is actively trying to seek it out, the other has been conditioned to avoid it

3. Are performers (which will play a role in discussions of identity, y’know, what it means to perform an aspect of identity; what is whiteness vs blackness; queerness vs heteronormative ideals; how we generally define them and individually express them. But it’s also just “hey, we both like doing a thing. Oh, wow. Neat.”)

4. Have a volatile amount of anger that makes them violently lash out

5. Have strictly opposing yet similarly extreme moral principles

this will also be present in their designs (they have opposing coloration: blue vs red, white on black vs black on white, etc.); then there’s the wolf vs deer thing… I feel like I’d need a separate post to go through all that. I feel like this is already a lot lol

- They kinda feel conflicted about being friends with Al because he allows them to cut loose a bit and have fun, and they weirdly enough have a bit in common….but like…. dude ate people…..uhhhhhhh (does that make them a bad person if they like a literal murderer?), but then they think “I’m not supposed to judge. I’m supposed to help (and I’m totally fine….right….?). Meanwhile, V’s just like, “No, babe, please judge”

- They don’t like absolute silence, and they don’t like being alone; it allows their mind to wander into dangerous places; since Alastor is a literal radio that spits out music and static constantly, they sometimes just seek him out when their thoughts are too loud. Like, he just becomes a sentient noise machine for them basically

- Charlie’s got a habit of chewing on things when they’re nervous—pens, the inside of their cheek, their nails—coz dog (or….wolf….dragon….thingy); it’s usually harmless, but when they feel especially bad, they bite themselves (sometimes they bite the stuffing out of pillows as a substitute); when they start to more aggressively gnaw on their nails, V usually tries to guide their hand away

- They hide under the bed when they are feeling particularly miserable and anxious

There’s a lot more crap brewing, and I didn’t go into as much detail as I could have…. But I think that’s enough for maybe the week idk. If anyone’s at all curious, I might make another post about V or something.

Leave thoughts in the notes if you wanna!

[stuck-in-the-ghost-zone]

HI MAC!!!! DROPPING INTO UR INBOX FOR ENRICHMENT!!! i am still thinking about villains au tidalwave and a mark being a hero actually. what do u think that whole fuckin Dynamic is like between them. bc tide is clearly a well known hero right?? made specifically to be hero, one of the fuckin elemental guys w all of his brothers, etc. and mark is like. more on the level of locust man or some shit. small hero. doesn’t do many public appearances and doesn’t have any statues or anything, very secretive about his citizen identity, works with self made technology instead of getting watch to provide it for him, probably doesn’t have any comic books or figurines of him (and if there r any u just KNOW superhero fans who are collectors go crazy every time they see a poor quality wavelength figurine somewhere out in the wild that shit sells for like five hundred dollars on ebay). he’s just trying to lay low and provide for ashe. meanwhile tide is out here with his face in the public, has comics and figurines (that he didn’t ask for but he doesn’t rly care that they exist bc he was literally made 2 be a hero and that comes with the territory).

tide is Out There!! easily recognizable!! and i like to think that despite that juxtaposition between their roles as heroes, they fight together a lot. if tide is facing a villain, literally everyone knows that wavelength is in the shadows somewhere, either dealing with a smaller villain or setting up a team attack so he can jump out and send an electric current thru tide’s water to (mildly) electrocute a villain until they’re incapacitated. they fight like they’re one person. tide will always stick around for the reporters afterwards and let mark slip away from the public. hey do u think mark keeps his face a secret from all of watch except for tide. do u think mark has shown his face to tide and ONLY tide. hey mac what do u think about villains au tidalwave 🎤

i have a lot of feelings and emotions about villain au mark being a hero youre so fucked up for that. man. its almost hard for me to picture because like. look at him. worlds most miserable morally grey man ever. that drives me so crazy. would he and tide get along? would they act more like friends? or would they still pretend to hate each other. mark acts like hes all annoyed by bigshot heroes how they need the spotlight on them all the time (are they even doing things for the right reasons or do they just like the attention) (sorry ive been reading a lot of worm) .

holyyyyy shit i love the idea that its just. kind of a given that mark is around somewhere whenever tide is. even if theyre not somewhere together, sometimes he just Shows Up. is it a coincidence? who knows not me !! they fight like theyre one person.... they fight back to back totally trusting that the other persons got them. they dont even have to speak they just instinctively understand each other enough to know what to do in a fight. tide is the only one that knows his face. ohguhghhghh. gay as hell to look at another heroes unmasked face. what are you gonna do? kiss about it? ohhhhhhh this is gonna fuck me up dude. hey side note u know how one of pds first missions was fighting wavelength. how would that work in villain au.

[shiorimia]

Team Star's Bullying: Reimagined

So I finished SV and while I LOVE Team Star, their backstories were lacking IMO. Bullying playing a huge role in how they became friends was a great idea, because it’s so relatable! But the game’s reasons for them being targeted basically amounted to “they were bullied because THEY WERE TOO COOL 😎” which was hard to take seriously...

SO I wrote my own ideas for why each Team Star member was targeted at the academy! Enjoy-

(CW for mentioned bullying and homophobia)

Canonically, Mela was bullied for…being too cute? I’ll expand on that. 

Mela is a very pretty girl, even without any makeup. Her natural beauty and (at the time) soft demeanor caught the negative attention of a clique of girls, and they pretended to be her friends. 

Mela eventually told them that she was actually bisexual (having a preference for girls), thinking she was in safe company. The clique IMMEDIATELY spread this private info around in a negative light, claiming that Mela pushed herself on one of the girls. Mela got in trouble and she felt complete betrayal and heartbreak over the actions of her so-called “friends”, who had just wanted dirt on her. 

The bullying and gossip that resulted from this situation caused Mela to completely close down, steel her heart, and keep others at arms-length with fiery threats and emotional glares. She underwent a complete transformation in order to protect herself from being hurt again.

Giacomo actually used to be somewhat of a bully himself, in an attempt to fit in with the other students. He would taunt and goad others to impress his shitty ex-friends. 

He ended up becoming the scapegoat when one of the bullying victims had a breakdown, and all of his friends pinned the blame on him when the teachers interrogated them. After this, he was quickly shunned at the academy and was surrounded by rumors and gossip. 

Experiencing the effects of bullying firsthand made Giacomo realize what an asshole he'd been, and that his old 'friends' weren't so cool after all. He still feels immense guilt for the things he did in the past, and works to make up for it by being overly protective of Team Star. 

Seriously, he will NOT hesitate to throw fists. He will beat someone up in a denny's parking lot just for them.

Ortega is, obviously, on the feminine side and very short. (which is apparently a huge deal for men…) He quickly became a target for being "girly", short, not masculine enough, and rumors that he was gay spread like wildfire. Ortega's love of fancy outfits only added fuel to the fire. 

This made him extremely self-conscious about his identity and his appearance, and caused him to develop a short temper around others. Despite his fuse and tendency to lash out verbally, Ortega doesn’t actually like initiating physical fights; they make him anxious and scared from past experiences. He relies on his silver tongue to shut down jerks.

Ortega often bottles up his emotions and puts on a smug facade, because he believes he has no right to complain or feel upset, considering his wealthy upbringing. While Ortega still has a bratty attitude with the rest of Team Star, he's much softer around them and cares about them….though he’s too embarrassed to admit it.

Eri's bullying involved her body. Society is incredibly harsh on girls who don't fit the "mold", so to speak. Girls are expected to be short, soft and skinny, otherwise you're immediately outcast. Eri, being big-boned and much taller and more muscular than most girls, was the target of many vulgar and gross comments.

Eri, despite what others thought, DID take these insults to heart. She had always been a caring, motherly person, and was sad to see that this is what others thought of her behind her back. She dealt with these feelings through Pokemon battling and training herself until she was too tired to think.

Despite her intimidating aura/stature, Eri does not like to participate in violence unless absolutely necessary. She knows her own strength, and doesn’t like hurting others. She will not be taunted into a fistfight by some random student, as she KNOWS they’re goading her. However, if someone lays a hand on one of her friends, she will not hesitate to fling them into a wall.

Atticus was always an odd person who stood out. His interests were unique, even as a child. Being neurodivergent, the way he expressed himself and communicated was different. Having a love for art and fashion, Atticus was drawn to the more unique and unsettling themes in the industry. He loved to wear makeup considered "creepy" and wear outlandish, fantasy-like outfits. 

He was immediately known as "the weirdo/freak" and was avoided, amongst rumors that he acted creepy towards other students and claims that he followed people around like a stalker. None of which was true, but still resulted in Atticus being alone. He didn't particularly mind…really.

Much like Ortega, Atticus dislikes physical fights. He knows his limits and capabilities. Why bother punching someone when you could recite poems on how pathetic and slimy they are? Or point out how ugly their haircut is?

[pearlprincess02]

olivia rodrigo and joshua bassett composite houses

1st house: the composite 1st house rules the relationship itself and your outward identity together. It shows how people view your relationship, and how you come across together.

sagittarius 1st house: sagittarius is a fun-loving sign in search of adventure, so having the composite 1st house in sagittarius can make you come across as an adventurous pairing. you may travel a lot together, and can be more open to new experiences together. the downside to sagittarius with relationships is this is the commitment-phobic sign, so commitment may be more difficult to find with this placement, whether personal or professional. if you can give each other a lot of space, that can be a good thing, and you may prefer to not make anything official.

1st house ruler in 7th house: the 7th house is the house of relationships, so people with this placement have a strong desire towards the opposite sex. and these ‘desires’ might lead them to stray from their morals if they become too obsessive with concepts like love, s*x, relationships, etc. this can also indicate a person who will have many lovers throughout their lifetime or even at once. but of course, this doesn’t apply to everyone because other aspects in the chart also influence this. 

pluto in 1st house: with composite pluto in the 1st house, this may be a relationship where you’re constantly struggling over power and control. you have to show one another the respect to not try to dominate one another, but this can be difficult. this relationship can also serve to deeply transform you, and you can touch on issues that are deep inside of you and you'd normally avoid. the darker sides to each of you may come out together.

vesta in 1st house: you are both devoted to a sacred mission that is an outward and open part of your relationship. you may also put your shared sense of mission first and foremost, sacrificing what you both would want for yourselves and devoting yourselves to a cause of service. healing and sacrifice are important aspects of this relationship. others may see you both as self-effacing, committed instead to creating routines and rituals that help others connect with their higher vision and spiritual purpose. you may both feel inspired by some idea of purity or cleansing that is part of your regular rituals and practices. this can also show in your appearance or habits together as you may share an intense interest in following practices that relate to spiritual healing.

chiron in 1st house: this relationship compels you both to face your past wounds and deal with past traumas. you are both overtly compelled to help each other face your past wounds. you can help each other overcome your past wounds as you may both embody the past dynamics in a way that allows you both to heal and grow. this relationship can help you both face your past wounds and come to understand past traumas in new ways. you can help each other recognize and channel your unique wisdom and intuition gained from having overcome past tribulations as well. through this connection you can help each other become role models for recovery, change and growth. you can help to spread an important message that empowers others based on your own unique experiences with healing.

pallas in 1st house: you help each other find successful strategies and can stand out as leaders who inspire others. you both embody your ideals, and your outward actions convey the mission you’re on together. other people can recognize your shares gifts for using your intellect and intuition to help others find a path to success. through this relationship you can help each other find connections between your shared mission and your unique personal talents. you have a gift for openly conveying your intuition and helping others to see the bigger picture. you can both easily find patterns and opportunities that others miss. you’re also likely to both have a personal connection to a cause about which you are highly passionate.

juno in 1st house: your loyalty and devotion as a couple is evident from the minute others see you as a pair. as a couple you openly embody your faithfulness and commitment. you make it clear that you are aligned with each other’s ambitions and dreams. this relationship can involve an instant connection and commitment to helping each other succeed. through your connection to each other you both create a foundation for showing your compassion and emotional support. this is an ideal placement for marriage. a commitment to each other’s personal needs is central to this relationship.

2nd house: the composite 2nd house can show what you value in the relationship, how you approach money together, and how secure you are in the relationship together.

capricorn 2nd house : with the composite 2nd house in capricorn, you may be more cautious financially and with acquiring things of value together. this can help you to build more together than apart (depending on natal placements). you can make plans together for the long-term, and can stick with them and act responsibly. you may be more traditional with your values together. the more you accomplish together, the more secure you may feel in the relationship.

2nd house ruler in 6th house: this means a person will earn money through service since 6th house rules over service to others. income and wealth could come from service occupations such as healing, protection, public service, law, armed forces, martial arts, fighting, boxing, legal trade, animal service. a person must work hard and have perseverance to earn money and weirdly enough, sometimes people with this placement earn money through their enemies. however, if ill-placed, this could mean that the person will struggle in saving money, get in disputes easily (make lots of enemies), lose money through accidents and health problems (even addictions), get into high debts, have speech articulatory issues or harsh speech, have eating disorders or dental issues, and spend unnecessary amounts of money on pets.  

sun in 2nd: with the composite sun in the 2nd house, a common value system is important to keep the relationship going, if it’s a personal or romantic relationship. if you don’t see eye-to-eye on your values, this can be a point of contention between you and you can try to convince one another of your views in a stubborn way. this can be an excellent position for a business relationship because this house rules money and assets, and you can benefit one another financially and make more money together.

mercury in 2nd: with composite mercury in the 2nd house, this can be a good placement for a business relationship, and you can focus on the plans and ways you can create wealth and accumulate values together. in a personal relationship, you can take your time getting your points across, and you may be more stubborn about your viewpoints with one another, so you need to make sure you’re being open about your differences with your beliefs and opinions. you may not be quick to get into fights, but can get stuck on them when you do, so try not to hold on to grudges with one another.

venus in 2nd: with composite venus in the 2nd house, you can feel this relationship is more stable than others you’ve had or have in your life. neither of you can feel the need to rock the boat, and you can feel more confident and secure with one another. if in a romantic relationship, you can put more emphasis on passion and a physical connection, as well as loyalty. this can be a good position for a business relationship focused on making money, and you can find it easy to accumulate wealth together.

uranus in 2nd: with composite uranus in the 2nd house, there can be some instability when it comes to your finances and resources together. in a personal relationship, you need to make sure you’re saving and being responsible, otherwise you may find you’re not in a good position all of the time. in a business relationship, this can be an excellent position for a business partnership that makes money in bursts, by commission, or in a sporadic way, as well as one focused on technology or the internet.

neptune in 2nd: with composite neptune in the 2nd house, you can have difficulties dealing with finances and your resources together. in a personal relationship, you may find you have trouble holding on to your resources while together. in a business relationship, neither of you may be very good with money, which can tempt you to get outside help, but you have to be careful you aren’t deceived. it can be good if you work together in a spiritual or artistic business.

ceres in 2nd: you bring comfort and nurturing to each other’s lives. you’re attentive to each other’s material and physical needs and may try to help each other by providing favorite foods and other physical pleasures. you intuitively understand how to help each other feel pampered. this relationship can help you both create a comfortable financial foundation. you may cater to each other’s needs and have the resources to help each other feel secure and cared for. you may also both look to treating each other to favorite gifts and luxuries as a practical way to show each other you care.

3rd house: the composite 3rd house can show how you are together in your immediate environment and what you focus on together day-to-day. this is a house of communication, so it can also reflect how you communicate in the relationship, and what you can think about together.

aquarius 3rd house: with the composite 3rd house in aquarius, the two of you can be much more open to new and different ways of thinking and viewing situations and the world together than you are apart (depending on natal placements). you can take unconventional approaches to daily life, perhaps avoiding routines and standard structure, and may prefer unusual immediate environments. you may focus together on pushing boundaries.

3rd house ruler in the 2nd house: since the 2nd house rules over wealth and riches, this indicates a person who may earn a lot of wealth and money. but, since this means the 2nd and 12th house have a connection, the person also has a lot of expenses. but due to connection of 2nd house of artistic ability and 3rd house of communication, this indicates a person who has artistic ability in communication and could succeed in careers such as singers, writers, musicians, dancers, etc. but this placement could cause unhappiness in family life if the individual is too lost in the realm of making more money. if ill-placed, could indicate a person who spends money on women and immortal activities. also, could indicate death of younger siblings. 

lilith in 3rd: you are both likely to express your rebellious and unconventional nature when it comes to the ideas you share. you can easily stimulate each other’s minds and encourage each other to break with tradition. you can support each other’s creativity and encourage each other to write or express yourselves in some unique way. your communication style also reflects your deep desires and subconscious power, and you don’t try to limit or confine each other’s messages. you can help each other find the power of your voice. you encourage each other to speak your mind and be true to your inner vision.

4th house: the composite 4th house can show how we connect emotionally, what we build together from the ground up, and what the base of our connection is (since this is the bottom of the chart).

aries 4th house: with the composite 4th house in aries, you may be a pair that is particularly active in your families (or your own family if you are related or have children). the two of you can dive in and try to take things over, and family can be very important to you, but you may overdo it sometimes. emotional connection can also be something you feel is important and work on. the base of your connection may be to take action.

4th house ruler in 12th house: the native may have grown up in a family where spirituality was encouraged and practiced - however, the home may have also acted as a form of restriction. the native may find emotional security in their ability to be on their own, away from others. when it comes to the mother, she may have been someone with a deeper understanding of the world - but she may have also been unavailable or hard to reach. the native may have found a lot of paranormal or spiritual activities in their youth, shape the way that they grew up.

eros in 4th house: you both have sexual desires to each other based on your ability to make each other feel at home. you can easily nurture each other, and this helps you both let down your guard and explore your deeper fantasies. you may reserve your sexual arousal and interests and only reveal your shared desires and fantasies when you feel secure with each other. privacy is a big part of the allure in this relationship, and you may both have a discreet attraction to each other, reserving your sexual desires for when you are both in the comfort and privacy of your own home. setting and environment play a role in your arousal and attraction to each other. you may have fantasies related to domestic roles or places you both associate with home and comfort.

5th house: the composite 5th house can show how we express affection, what we love and take pleasure in together. this house can bring creative energy into our relationships and allow us to express creatively together. the 5th house also rules children, so they can be impacted by the composite 5th house with someone you have children with.

aries 5th house: with the composite 5th house in aries, you may have a great deal of energy and drive to focus on the things that you love together. if you have children, you can give lots of attention to them. ​you may want to make as much time as you can for enjoyment and play, but you may find that you want to go play on your own sometimes, and not always together. the two of you may enjoy being physically active together.

5th house ruler in 12th house: this overlay may suggest that the native tends to keep their hobbies and self-expression secret or as a means to escape their reality. they may be interested in spirituality and the paranormal. when it comes to children they may find themselves trying to protect the children around them from reality. they might keep their romantic partners secret or use romance as a way to escape their sadness or their reality. gambling may be done in secret or can often lead to huge losses. 

6th house: in the composite chart, the 6th house can show how you approach daily life and the mundane together, how you work together (whether professionally or personally), and the general health of the relationship

taurus 6th house: with the composite 6th house in taurus, you can take your time together with tending to the little things and the day-to-day tasks and chores or work projects. you may move slowly together, and it can be difficult for you both to move together, but once you get going together, you can keep at it to the end with whatever you’re doing. this can be the same approach with issues that arise in the relationship.

6th house ruler in 2nd house: the native’s sense of security and self-worth is often benefited by the native having a consistent daily routine in place. if the native’s routine is for some reason disrupted the native may not feel secure or comfortable in themselves. the main purpose of their everyday job or menial work is to make income but will also serve the native’s sense of self-worth - the native is often very hard working and the job they do may even be related to finances. their co-workers may influence their self-worth quite a lot and will impact how well they generate income. when it comes to pets the native may spend quite a lot of money on them but may also be able to use their pets as a means to bring money in - above all the native’s sense of self-worth is likely to benefit from having pets. the native may spend a lot of money on their health and fitness as well as possibly preventing or curing illness. the native’s values may be shaped by their experience with illness. 

saturn in 6th house: with composite saturn in the 6th house, you each may feel that there is a tremendous amount of work that has to be done on a daily basis for the relationship. you may nitpick the partnership to death, making it difficult to survive, so you have to avoid that. in a professional relationship, this house does rule work, so you can find it more difficult to work together or find that you have greater focus and discipline together.

celeb's masterlist / moodboard / 7H - 12H

crd:

1h + 1h ruler + composite vesta in house + composite chiron in house + composite pallas in house + composite juno in houses

2h + 2h ruler + composite ceres

3h + 3h ruler + composite lilith in houses

4h + 4h ruler + composite eros

5h + 5h ruler

6h + 6h ruler

[spade-riddles]

Taylor promised MAYhem in May

Mayhem: not controlled or ordered, when people are behaving in a disorganized, confused, and often violent way.

A state or situation of great confusion, disorder, trouble or destruction; chaos.

--------------------------

I read through all of the messages and discussed a lot with a few mutuals. I also recommend looking through the comments and reblogs in the notes of each message. There are so many great ideas flowing. Here are my cliff notes of the 🎃 messages:

From Message 1: HEEL is being used to slow her plans down. As an anon said, HEEL is likely referring to Healy. 

As @ivygrows03 said: We know she's obsessed with dates and timing so maybe this is a way to have everything lined up again, I'm choosing to see this as "the plan is still in motion"

From Message 2: Things were moving too fast, the floor gave way sooner than she expected, and she chose the parachute over the crash landing

From Message 3: This reminds us of the visuals we saw in the music video photos from Liverpool:

"A diamond heist. Dressed in your wife’s black leather and the mask of an illusionist, you’ve impeccably plotted your way into the museum. Somersaulting past ancient artifacts, stopping only to admire a statue or two. On silent feet, you arrive at the display you’ve come for."

"Mere feet away from the light of freedom, someone you recognize steps from the shadows, and cruelly removes your mask, revealing your true identity before you intended."

This sounds like Dianna, based on the Rolling Stones article. But, it is hard to fathom that Rolling Stones would do that to Taylor without her permission. Plus Karlie's WMagazine is promoting Dianna right now. Of course an argument could be made that she is being coddled by KK's magazine as some sort of deal to shut her up. But I am really torn on this one.

Message 4: is more of a 'I cannot share my role in this game' message. But they say that Healy is not the parachute or pivot. 

Back to MAYhem:

@daisyswift3: This is planned self destruction! This is what 🎃 meant by “he is not the pivot, he is not the parachute” bc these stunts have been in the works for a while, which makes sense if this 2nd quarter is the blood moon/glitch from April-June and she’s been planning midnights since the lover era at least. And there were all those "May" Spade riddles. 

This message also talks about their fierce love for each other, and the messy story (likely Karliie's), "business transactions" and "the art of biting your tongue until it bleeds" (again likely Karlie while her image takes a beating). It also teases Halloween as a possible time frame to look forward to. Karlie's fake wedding was in October 2018. We can dare to dream that her contract ends in October 2023, as a 5 year fake marriage contract.

Message 5: This is about the threat.

"The cherry red telephone on the wall rings, and it is with intuitive dread that you answer the call. You recognize the voice. Of course you do."

She recognizes the voice. Is that Dianna? Ugh I just don't know.

Message 6: A key word used in this message is belle: "Watch for words and phrases I use that might ring a belle."

Message 7:

This one is heavy. We get the cute buns in the oven reference, but also a feeling that she feels like some of this is her fault for blowing dandelion seeds too close to the fence line.

Message 8: This one ties it together for me about the MH situation. Taylor is not going to let Karlie be the public bad guy again. This time it will be Taylor taking the reputational beating.

Conclusion: I think that Taylor has a plan here. This was not a last minute pivot. She knows how bad he is for her reputation. She told us from the start that there would be mayhem in May. I keep hearing that he goes back on tour in June, so hopefully this is a short-term (one month) glitch, and then she is able to clean up this mess. We are halfway through May.

[aptericia]

I feel like, when talking about Revolutionary Girl Utena, a lot of people tend to put its themes of homosexuality/romanticism and gender identity at the forefront. However I love how Utena openly deconstructs allonormativity/amatonormativity because it IS a story about love (among other things), and you can't analyze love without analyzing the lack of love too.

Utena is about romantic love and the lack of it. It's about sexual love and the lack of it. It's about familial love and the lack of it. It's about platonic love and the lack of it. It's about self love and the lack of it. It's about love for humanity and the lack of it. Utena is about society forcing people into and away from certain kinds of love without letting them ask themselves what they really feel.

I read Nanami as aroace not only because of her lack of romantic & sexual involvement, but because her story has themes of forced amatonormativity. But really, almost every character's story deals with it in some way. Miki's arc comments on the idea of romance as "pure" and "selfless", and how those ideals exclude sex from his life. Kozue's arc comments on the idea of sex as "experience" and "control", and how those ideals exclude romance from her life. Saionji's arc focuses on his platonic relationship with Touga and how the latter's (assumed romantic) interaction with young Utena spurs Saionji to force Anthy into a romance with him, because "romance is stronger than friendship", and if Touga has romance then Saionji is being left behind. Mikage's arc deals with the idea of the "family unit" and how he projects the role of "lover" and "child" onto Tokiko and Mamiya because everyone (including himself) assumes he must be lonely and unfulfilled without those things. Also, the episode "Mitsuru's Impatience" exists.

RGU is a queer coming-of-age story and it's not afraid to explore many aspects of queerness! ✨🏳️‍🌈

[writing-whump]

I don't chat or DM, but I'll ask a question to get to know your characters better. For the pack-three, how would each of them describe the others, if they were being totally transparent and honest? And how would the three brothers describe each other? I just love knowing OCs inner thoughts, if you don't mind sharing.

Lis! I'm still dying of curiosity to hear your Dylan and Rip thoughts! No pressure though :)

That is a very interesting, thank you for sending this!✨️

Seline:

Matthew has no idea how much respect she has for him tbh. For her, he is very disciplined and dedicated and she admires how much he works on his shadow despite the added difficulty. And she loves how kind he is despite the scary tough guy play he enjoys so much. If she was honest, she would admit that she used to think his shadow and anger issues are his own fault for not trying enough, but she has grown a lot more empathic and understanding of them since living with him.

As for Isaiah, this is the one man she feels internally and externally attracted to. Her friends were falling in love left and right, and she was like, where is it? Where is the big love? Why do I not feel anything? Where is the connection and conversation? She rationalizes her feelings too much. At uni, she started to admire professors, so older smart men that managed to be intellectually stimulating. Isaiah does manage this too, while being so so very kind, generous and empathetic to others. At first she thought he would be someone to let people walk over him, who doesn't respect himself enough, but she has since seen him in his powerful, magnetic and charming moments and his kind moments and his traumatic broken glimpses...and now admires and loves him a big deal. She would not admit for million years how much she is starting to rely on him or better, how much she yearns to rely on him but doesn't quite let herself yet.

Matthew:

Isaiah is like...this giant insane saint to him. Came out of nowhere, saved him once, twice, then five times, then wanted to help train him, gave him chances over and over. He doesn't get why he does it, but he feels like Isaiah let's him evolve and be his best self, and that best self is someone who can be an equal partner to him too. That's really Matthew's goal and wish in being Isaiah's second in the traditional pack roles, someone Isaiah can rely and count on, cause who will save the savior?

Seline is this stuck up little witch that rejected him on first sight, first loathing him, then being afraid of him...but she also makes such an effort to be more than just a witch by aiming for a research career, to be a worthwhile person that brings something to the world and not just her own pleasure and identity as a witch. She has no idea this is something he so deeply admires about her.

Isaiah:

Matthew is mishandled potential to him. Isaiah understands that training makes a wolf, and while his was way too brutal at the end, it was good at the start. He sees Matthew as a child completely failed by his caretakers, someone who deserved more, can do better and will always try his best. If only he knew how. Matthew would not be happy with this description, lol.

Seline is an etherical being to him. Isaiah wanted to find his purpose outside of being a wolf, when he first came into the pack and witches were flocking to him for his powerful shadow, so he stopped hoping there would be one really worth his time. He would describe her as someone who lives in several worlds at once, that doesn't need others for the complexity and beauty of what is in her mind. The fact she lives in her head too much sometimes, so she doesn't notice his secrets, doesn't push his trauma bottoms, doesn't insist on finding out the truth there and then immediately, are big things to him. She doesn't know this is something that he likes (and she would be more careful about it if she knew how much he is hiding). He is a secretive person by nature and nurture, and she is too tolerant and doesn't pry (though sometimes she maybe should).

Hector is...a very dynamic, very goal-oriented, focused and amazing child to him. He is someone of untapped potential, because Isaiah thinks he can do better and will be better, but isn't that far yet. Hector is just 2 years younger, but Isaiah keeps him out of stuff exactly for this reason - he feels too responsible, like he has to shield him, like Hector doesn't have the maturity to handle things yet, especially not if anything about Isaiah would seem imperfect. Isaiah doesn't think Hector forgives imperfection.

For Isaiah, Arnie is way too mature for his age. Knows and sees and understands way too much and isn't emotionally at the right place with it yet. He feels protective of him, because Arnie is too far ahead of his years, because he should be protected and nurtured more than he was.

Hector:

Isaiah is kind of a failed idol who is growing to be an idol after all, but in a different way. He is the perfect wolf, and the traitor of Hector's image of that perfection. He is wasted potential to him, someone who could have been powerful but decides every day to be weaker. (He doesn't yet quite accept nor respect Isaiah's way of life lol). But he is also someone to seek guidance and reassurance from, the only one Hector would actually listen to in certain matters. Hector wants to beat him more than anyone because he also admires him more than anyone (and it is very hard for Hector to respect people in the first place, he is way too judgmental and has one track mind of "strength is my biggest value" lol).

Arnie is for Hector what power without power looks like. The smartness, the boldness, the slyness, the ability to destroy people with words (I don't show this enough but in the RP this is quite the plot point). Hector is acutely aware of his loathing of humans, of Arnie's loathing of humans and of his own respect for Arnie's strength despite it. He is also protective as hell of this kid that would make such an excellent wolf, if only. Arnie is the biggest source of empathy for him.

Arnie:

Hector is a hero figure to him. Yeah he has some flaws, but they are forgettable and not worth mentioning to other people. In fact, Arnie feels like he is the only one close enough to Hector to understand the sheer capacity of Hector's awesomeness, because the sour, judgy, mean and unrelenting attitude is mostly what people get on the surface. But that's way too little. And the only one who can judge, insult or annoy him to be better is Arnie, obviously.

Isaiah is someone defined by gentlessness to Arnie. Isaiah was the main and only source of any mothering soothing reassurance in Arnie's childhood without his mother and an ignorant father. Isaiah was the only mature, understanding and patient one around. Isaiah is comfort to him in such a way that Arnie couldn't give up on the idea of him even estranged and apart from him. Maybe it was because he saw that side to Isaiah who is otherwise seen through his power and skill to everyone else that Arnie believed there had to be a good reason for Isaiah leaving and doing all those "unforgivable" things to the pack.

I went into bit of meta ramblings, because these aren't things the characters quite realise. If they had to answer like in an interview, would be a bit different again.

[aspec-manga-snom]

Aspec Manga Rec: Our Dreams at Dusk

Written and illustrated by Yuhki Kamatani, Our Dreams at Dusk is a manga about self acceptance, dealing with expectations, the power of queer spaces and the relief in questioning one's own identity.

Trigger Warning: Homophobic Comments, Mentions of Sexual Content, Transphobia, and Mentions of Suicidal Intent. I you can handle these topics, I highly reccomend this manga. If not, I break down the main aspec character below the break.

This manga is a masterpiece of identity and the overwhelming heteronormative expectations of society. The manga itself is incredibly contemplative of these topics but also the power and solidarity that comes with queer spaces. A lot of this is my own interpretation and the manga leaves a lot up in the air for the reader to decide for themselves.

Light Plot Spoilers Below:

The main plot of the manga follows Tasuku Kaname and his process of dealing with the fact that he was outed as gay to his high school class. The evolution of his self-acceptance and moving towards living a queer life in the public eye is the main conflict, but he isn't the one I want to focus on.

The main supporting character of the manga is Anonymous. She owns the small house from which a community sprung out supporting many queer individuals who couldn't find themselves elsewhere in society. But her origins are what make her characterization as an aspec character interesting, though she prefers to remain unlabeled.

We are first introduced to Anonymous as she flies through the air and confronts Tasuku when he is contemplating suicide after being outed at school. Multiple times throughout the manga show her often appearing and disappearing at will, seemingly able to do whatever she wishes to do. She is as she says, "nobody".

In listening to one of the older members of the community, they recount giving her the identity of "nobody" because she felt like she couldn't be defined by society because of her lack of romantic and sexual attraction.

Important Note: A lot of the time in Japanese Media the term "Asexual" refers to the term "Aromantic Asexual" in English as it is in this case. An "alloace" would be "Nonsexual". There isn't any adopted phrase for aroallo people, though there are ways of describing the feeling rather than a label.

Anonymous desired to be so because of a lack of social support in Japanese society for people that want to remain "isolated", so she accepted an identity that remains "invisible". Anonymous also identifies as free of gender but is referred to by female pronouns.

This ungrounded identity is really expressed later in the manga near the end, inspiring the idea that your labels aren't your entire personhood and that you are a living breathing person just like everyone else, even if you are Anonymous. Anonymous isn't Anonymous because she is Asexual; she is because she wants to remain undefined as a person. Anonymous isn't a list of labels and personality traits, she is the foundation for a network of support, and that is what is most important to her.

Anonymous is a characterization of the role of queer communities in supporting others without taking on the burden of their identities to try and understand.

TLDR:

Our Dreams at Dusk presents an aspec character dealing with the weight of societal expectations through a disassociation of identity from self. Anonymous exists as both herself and the personification of queer support.

[bookishjules]

Hi!!! Do you have an theories for the tmi gang in twp or the black volume of the dead? What would you like to see happen (other than them getting married, etc)?

what i would like to see most is for them to all make it out the other side alive <3 aside from that i'd be happy with any amount of Them that we can get tbh.

i really have no idea what no idea what to expect from tbvotd, if i'm being honest. i only read through the previous two books once, and both via audiobook. plus, i feel like the events of every book in tec are really dictated by those surrounding it in the timeline. like it doesn't exist in a vacuum yk which makes it hard to pinpoint how i think any of the tmi gang will be involved or what effects the story will have on them.

one thing i am very excited to see is how alec functions as consul and how his character evolves because of that responsibility. while clary has a connection with emma and jace has one with kit.. we're getting further and further from characters with a personal connection to alec. like obviously the mcs of twp are going to be favored by him but idk i feel like there's enough remove to really get that different perspective on him in this position of authority. i can only imagine in tbvotd he will be dealing with some amount of stress in that realm, and we'll get an even bigger picture into what it takes to make such tough decisions. i do wonder if he will end up keeping that role whenever whatever happens at the end of twp happens, or if he will decide to pass the baton and spend more time with his family (speaking of.. i am not ready for max and rafe to be 5 and 8.. <3)

when it comes to clary and jace, i think their biggest involvement in the coming stories will be with janus and ash, and my theories there vary greatly. i do think they will deal more with janus than ash, given janus's personal goals and like entire identity, and ash's responsibility as an mc to not be around parental figures too much, but i'm not too sure in what regard that will be. will jace be the one to have to kill his other self? what the fuck kind of complex will that give him if so? honestly with how much shit jace has had to deal with like mentally, it might be a good way of symbolizing once and for all that whatever part of him he thought was bad or evil is dead and gone

tbh outside of like.. cameos idt we will see much of simon and isabelle until we start dealing with the princes of hell again. because i do think the tmi gang will have a lot of involvement with that. given (a) magnus's parentage, (b) their general experience/history with greater demons, (c) the plot of tec/epilogue of tlbotw, and (d) the all-hands-on deck nature of dealing with the entire host of hell. but yeah outside of that small thing (/sarcasm) they don't really have enough like.. personal stake in the plot, narratively speaking, to be very relevant until that point.