#it’s the ones who make literally everything either man does solely about the other

[merakiui]

Mera! I'm not sure if youve done this before but who are the winners and losers(and their tap out times) for no nut November??

Winners

✧ Riddle - the rule is to last the entire month without cumming; you know he's going to take it way too seriously.

✧ Jack - something something Ace and Deuce (losers) tease him about being easy, and he has his pride as a wolf and he always brings his all to competitions so,,,, he will ultimately win.

✧ Ruggie - if you bet money or food on him losing, he's going to win just to make sure he gets that from you. He is very serious and dedicated.

✧ Jamil - unfortunately, he only wins because he's too busy. </3 rip Jamil. You'll have all of December to make up for what you lost.

✧ Rook - no one knows how or why he does it, but because Rook was in the mood to see how he would fare in NNN he ends up winning somehow. He is so bewildering. Epel wants to know his secret.

✧ Azul - he would've gone in the loser category, but something tells me Azul is another type who is too busy to bother with NNN. And so he'll win solely because his mind is on other things (academics, Mostro Lounge, contracts, money, etc).

✧ Silver - he wasn't even trying to win. He just can't stay awake long enough to deal with his arousal. :(

✧ Sebek - miraculously, Sebek survives the entire month, but that's only because he treated the entire thing like it was a form of training. Also, he couldn't let Silver win all of the glory!! >:(

Losers

✧ Deuce - he lost the first day because he forgot what month it was and by the time he remembered it was NNN he had literally just came in his hand. T_T better luck next year.

✧ Ace - genuinely tries to do better than Deuce so he isn't teased for having a weak dick, but he folds like a week or so in.

✧ Cater - he is not winning NNN. </3 I think he can last at least half of the month if he isn't spending his time scrolling through risqué content.

✧ Trey - he's too stressed playing big brother to the underclassmen and making sure Riddle isn't overdoing it with the beheadings to pay attention to NNN. Stress relief is one of the few things he looks forward to when he has free time and isn't using it to do other hobbies. But also,,, he doesn't care as much for NNN as others might.

✧ Leona - another one who doesn't really care about NNN. He's a few days in when he loses, but he's not even participating.

✧ Floyd - lost right at midnight LOL. Not that he had any plans to genuinely try. Bragging rights isn't a good enough reward. Why is he going to suffer through a hard-on just for something as measly as bragging rights? :/

✧ Jade - you'd think he'd win because he's Jade, but it's precisely because he's Jade that he loses. He'll push himself to see just how far he can go and how many days he can last. While everyone else plays normal NNN, he is playing X-games mode. This eel is going out of his way to purposely get aroused just so he can edge himself throughout the month. Ultimately, once he's had his fill of fun and sated his curiosity, he'll handle his business. <3

✧ Kalim - he forgot NNN was a thing for a moment. He's the type to be like "Oops, I forgot about that! Can we pretend those four didn't count? Let me start over!" T_T he probably lost three days in.

✧ Vil - he is not going to deny his body what it needs all for a silly challenge. Firstly, masturbation can be healthy for the mind and body. Secondly, there's really nothing substantial to gain from a challenge like that. Vil sees no point in it.

✧ Epel - this means everything to Epel. It's to test his restraint as a man! To prove to himself that he isn't going to fold so easily! To show that he has what it takes to be strong! (He loses at the end of the first week. He really was trying his best...)

✧ Idia - no chance he is winning. He'll give it his best effort if he's feeling it, but it's impossible to resist the temptation when he's watching hentai. He either taps out in the very beginning or somewhere in the middle of the month.

✧ Malleus - he doesn't even know what NNN is, but based on these rules he lost towards the end of the month. In his defense, the horny nature of a dragon far surpasses that of the pride gained from winning NNN.

✧ Lilia - he goes on and on about how he may be old, but he's far from impotent. Thus, he will prove just how impressive his restraint is. After all, back in his day, it was impossible to find the privacy to get a good wank in when sleeping outside in inclement weather conditions. But perhaps that will serve him well now as he proceeds to win this NNN without trouble! ...he loses in just five days.

✧ Rollo - he is above these foolish, filthy challenges. Or so he claimed, but suddenly your undergarment is wrapped around his dick on the last day of November. He is strong, but lust is stronger.

[matan4il]

911 ep 709 first watch reactions

The way this ep starts with giving us a clear shot focused on the front, solely on Buck sitting between the man he's dating and the man he's been married to for the past six years, and only on them. XD I'm here for it.

Oh, Bobby. :( Feeling unworthy of his medal, and remembering his dad, and how everything went wrong after he got it. </3

Aaaah. Man, IDK. The openly and explicitly homophobic and racist captain cartoon just feels like an easy target now. Prejudice doesn't seem like it mostly gets expressed that way anymore, and when we only teach people to reject that kind, we not only fail to teach them to recognize subtler forms, we may be misleading them to think those more nuanced ones don't count.

Love Athena trying to "save" Bobby by contacting Amir. I'm always a sucker for a couple where they both save each other.

I enjoyed the little play with "Mother Hen," and I know it's not specifically about Buddie, but it is damn funny that when she's told she's raising more kids, they're the ones the camera focuses on. lol Raising a kid together for 6 years, still a couple of morons in desperate need of parenting from their colleagues. Even when Bobby's "wordless goodbye" moment with Buck is letting him cook for the 118, Eddie's by his side and they're doing it together. I swear, 911 said, "Take note, this is what a marriage looks like" and then just kept hammering the point for 6 seasons now.

Okay, I am pretty sure that, while Bobby's acceptance of Buck's first relationship with a guy, is really lovely, "Because we haven't had to talk about it" is not an actual good criterion for discerning whether someone is good for their partner or not. People whose spouses are abusive don't talk about it, either. :/ I am NOT saying that's Buck and Tommy, because it obviously isn't, it just feels like a line thrown in there to be cutesy, but which isn't actually helpful to people, who might take it too seriously.

I AM GONNA LOL FOREVER. So, just like Buck's bi awakening was all about Eddie, now Eddie's messed up whatever he has with Kim is gonna involve Buck, too? Gotcha. Battlefield boyfriends being off-battlefield boyfriends once more.

So... Buck was going to see Tommy, in an ep where TPTB have already paid for Lou in the role, so might as well use him as much as possible, but instead a non-emergency run in with Eddie's current whatever-Kim-is makes Buck ditch Tommy, and run straight over to Eddie's to help him? Look, I'm obviously a One True Pairing kind of shipper, so Buddie are it for me, as much as I can enjoy and see the value of Buck and Tommy as a stepping stone, and nothing will make me stop shipping Buddie (especially not after the tsunami eps), but 911 is feeding me way too well with how it frames these scenes and stories, I don't think the show's trying to get me to stop.

Man, if anyone's ever had a doubt that Eddie is the world champion at denial, this kitchen scene will def cure that.

"I'm worried about you." "Yeah, I'm worried about me, too." And then Buck, the one person who can ALWAYS penetrate through Eddie's denial wall, no matter how thick it is.

Eh, IDK how much the part where they try to re-define Shannon as the love of Eddie's life works, or how much it just serves to show he's still in denial, just a different kind than before, when Buck got through to him that he can't go on like this with Kim. For one thing, in his little retelling of their dysfunctional r/s, Eddie doesn't mention that Shannon was leaving him a second time, even before she died. Literal denial and repression.

So I'm gonna choose to believe Hen and Karen will get Mara back, because I can't deal with that particular storyline otherwise.

Kim's reaction is too deranged for me. Who does something like that, even if we assume the kindest of intentions? And then Marisol and Christopher's timing... I didn't sign on to watch a soap opera, but I guess I'm getting one free of charge?

"Now you gotta save yourself." If that ain't a painful summary of what growing up means, IDK what is. the conversation with Bobby's dad in his sleep was a good, painful scene, built right, leading to him hopefully getting his closure through saving his wife from a fire, and leaving us with just the right amount of suspension for next week and the season finale, where we'll see if he can let go of his past mistakes without a doppelganger dressing up like his dead wife...

Thank you for reading! If you’re looking for more, you can find my s7 reactions tag here, and more of my Buddie meta and content in my pinned post. xoxox

[greenerteacups]

my heart aches for one Theodore Nott after reading the latest update 😭 GTC, could you tell us more about your thoughts on him, his characterizations, how you manage to write him so poetically and beautifully, and (a shot in the dark, but i'll bite) the role he'll play in books 5, 6 and 7? congrats on another chapter GTC, i love you tons 🩷

Thank you so much, friend. I love talking about Theodore Nott. I'll gladly bite on that question.

To start off, Theodore's middle name might as well be "THE FOIL," because everything about him is tailor-made specifically to Say Things About Draco Malfoy. He practically hands Draco a card saying "I AM YOUR JUNGIAN SHADOW SELF, PLEASE HANDLE WITH CARE" upon introduction. They meet when they're both fresh off the train. (Hermione beats Theo to Draco by a matter of hours; there's a ton of ways this story spins differently if minor details about the first chapters were changed, and that's definitely one of them.) Then Theo and Draco ride in on the boats together. (Admittedly, I was not aiming for subtlety points with this intro. They are literally "in the same boat.") Immediately, Theo is throwing out narrative parallels like he's getting paid for it: they both have a dead parent. Both parents died under weird circumstances. Their fathers were both Death Eaters. Both of them are the sole heirs and only sons of great wizarding houses. Then they go into the Great Hall together, standing in line, but — and @piedrafundamental left a really banger analysis of the Sorting Hat scene in the comments on that chapter, but I'm going to crib just one line — crucially, "M comes before N." Draco's sorted before Theodore is, and he goes into Gryffindor. Immediately after that, Theodore's shunted into Slytherin, and their paths diverge. Call this the prologue of their relationship. They're not actually gonna get to know each other until Book 2 and Book 3, but this is the part where the narrative is basically jumping up and down and waving its arms at you, going "HEY! THIS GUY! IMPORTANT TO THE STORY! GET WORRIED ABOUT WHAT HE'S DOING, OKAY?"

Then we meet him again in Book 2, and just like Draco, a year at Hogwarts has changed him. He's a little more confident, a little more cocky, a little more comfortable, and — hey, look! He's got a weirdly intense friendship with a girl around his age, too! (Surprise, surprise, Draco is with Hermione when he meets Theo again, and who makes her debut in that moment but Pansy Parkinson?) And there's Daphne, the third leg of the Slytherin Trio, the kind of girl Draco probably would end up with in Slytherin — pretty, sociable, cunning, knows his family history (literally cites it to him in their first introduction, like c'mon), is the sister of his canonical wife, etc. etc., we got layers to this shit like lasagna but this post ain't about Daphne so we gotta move on — point being, either way he flips, Draco's going to be the fourth of a quartet. Which is the entree into the Slytherin politics storyline of Book 2, a.k.a. "the temptation of Draco Malfoy," where Theo is — I mean, to be honest, for once he's really not doing anything that sinister; from his perspective, he's kind of just putting his fucking back out trying to make a friend? He's drawing Draco in a regression towards prejudice and comfort, naturally, but that's not how he sees it. But there's a counterpoint between what Theo's offering and what waits for him in Gryffindor.

So that's the starting block of his character. The rest of the work is building a real person out of that; obviously, you can't just go "this is Foil Man, does whatever a Foil Can" and expect people to be interested. Part of what makes Theo interesting, to me, is that the traits he shares with Draco include a lot of what we tend to like about him — he's driven, intelligent, cunning, and brutal in the defense of those he loves — it's just that the people he loves, the people he surrounds himself with, are deeply prejudiced people committed to doing profoundly bad things. He's been trained from birth in the art of making bad people happy, and he's gotten good at it. And he's just enough of a coward (again, pot and kettle) that he can't imagine a world where that's not the case.

And it drives him fucking crazy that Draco won't admit that. Because I think Theo thinks if he can get Draco to admit they're similar people, it'll validate the choices he's made — like, yeah, he's fucked up horribly, but anyone would do the same, if they had to face what he has. Even Saint Draco. And of course, Draco is absolutely unwilling to go there with him, because:

(a) he very much does not want to believe that his years of grueling internal growth and struggle for betterment are just the product of some good luck with a hat; i.e., a suggestion that is not just insulting but terrifying because it suggests how very close he could be to regression at any time; but also:

(b) it is a fundamental tenet of Theo and Draco's dynamic that Draco does not like Theo as much as Theo likes him. Because where Theo sees his mirror in the light, Draco sees his mirror in the dark. And it's an increasingly ugly picture.

[kingmagnificoofrosas]

I just cannot get over this one kid in the cinema who went "But he isn't evil!"

We are talking children here! Children don't really know or understand anything about ptsd and trauma (mostly, yet) they just observe! And if a KID between the age of 5 and 10 observes Magnifico and can read between the lines and conclude he isn't evil, what excuse does that leave for haters calling him one?

Now, more analysing cause you've been loving those and I enjoy doing them 🛡⚔️ (I might repeat some points but in a alightly different way)

Every single arguement I've seen haters or anti-Magnifico people make so far was either straight up stupid, ignorant, uneducated, defiant, baseless and or senseless. And then we also have the hardcore Amaya/Asha fans who just go on hating on Magnifico just "because!"

Or those who go "He's the worst villain ever." Yeah, Sherlock, maybe thats because he isn't one? 🤨 Like, seriously, you take Magnifico, compare him to aaaaall the REAL villains like Jafar, Frollo, Scar etc. And you wanna tell me he was anything like them because his trauma forced him to get himself posessed by evil trapped in an evil book and only went bonkers after he was literally posessed? And his sole motivation was to protect and keep safe at all costs ?

And then come the arguements 🫴🏼

"He's vain and narcissistic!"

Because he acknowledges the fact that he's handsome and like's to see himself in mirrors? 🤨

"He didn't grant every single wish! He shouldn't have kept them."

He didn't grant every single wish because of his trauma caused fear/paranoia and kept them for the same exact reason. However, he always meant well.

Yes, I agree that a traumatized person shouldn't be in any leading position, nor should they be in the position of making important decissions. But lets take a look at his motivations and goals again!

His motivations :

- Never have anyone suffer a fate like he did

- Never have people have to see their hopes and dreams get shattered

- Never have his past repeat

Quote - "Everything I do is to make sure that never happens again!"

His goals :

- Protect and keep people safe

- Make sure people live happy, content, free of hardships and strive

Further comparisons

All the other villains when singing - Sing openly about their evil plans, desires etc. showing they're evil!

Magnifico when bursting into song :

"promise as one does, I will protect you at all costs. Keep you safe here in my arms. I will protect you at all costs."

"If you're ever feeling like you're lost, I'll come find you. Man all fronts, there's no ocean I won't swim across to be right by you. And not just once, here and now I swear on my response. I'll remind you-"

"I let you live here for free and I don't even charge you rent. I clean up all your messes and I'm always there when you need to vent. I give and give and give and give, you'd think they'd all be content. And all I really want is just a little respect."

Back to the arguements Anti-Magnifico people make and even more comparisons ⬇️

More for the vain and narcissistic

Gaston - treats everyone like trash and thinks the whole globe spinns around him only. Doesn't care if he walks over dead bodies looking good.

Evil queen - Wants to kill her stepdaughter because she's prettier than her.

Mother gothel - Kidnaps the baby princess, locks her up because the magic hair makes her stay young and pretty, doesn't give a toot that the king and queen are suffering immense heartbreak and guilt. And to keep the princess locked in, gaslights and belittles her.

And then we have Magnifico ✨️

"I'm handsome and I know it." Likes to look at himself in the mirror and is happy and content with his looks. Hurts not one single fly with it. Doesn't put others down.

"He's power hungry!"

Why did he want to keep his power? - Because he was terrified if he would lose it, he wouldn't be able to protect anymore and his past would repeat.

"He threatened everyone and destroyed wishes!"

Again, he was posessed? Do people understand what posessed means? Amaya knew this book would control him! Not him controling the book!

In the end, I don't even care for people who disagree with me. But one thing I just don't get is : Why are some people so out to prove to us Magnifico-defenders that he's evil? Like, are these guys for real? We push forgiveness and love and the other side pushes hate, ignorance, unforgiveness and bitterness. Why does someone feel the need to spread negativity rather than positivity?

I won't stop defending Magnifico 🛡⚔️🩵

[narutorarepairweek]

Prompt List 2024

As previously decided through popular vote, this event will take place in August of this year. The exact dates will be August 4th - 10th (Sunday-Saturday). Each day will have two different prompts to choose from - as always, please keep in mind the following about the prompts and the event in general:

You can choose one prompt or both per day, or you can skip a day. There is no minimum or maximum participation requirement

You can take the prompts as literally or as loosely as you like

For any prompt with a / in it, you may use either the first or second option, or you may use both. Feel free to have fun with it!

This is a tumblr event. We will not be making an AO3 collection, nor will we be on any other platform. You are, however, more than welcome to host your content on other platforms and share a link on tumblr for us to promote.

Please review our updated rules and regulations post

Feel free to look at our FAQ

No bashing of any kind, of ships, content, or people. Don’t be a fucking bully, you’ll get your ass banned and blocked so fast

Please review the disqualified ships list for this year before you start creating

Tagging rules will be below the prompt list, under a cut. Please remember to tag your content properly as outlined in the updated rules and regulations post. The mod team is small, and the way we reblog/tag content is clicking OPs tags to quick add them - there is no way we could properly tag our reblogs otherwise.

By tags, we mean the actual tag section of a tumblr post. Putting everything at the top of your post is amazing and wonderful, and a practice we do commend, but it does not count in this regard. Use the actual tags section or we will not reblog your content. If anyone has any questions about this, our inbox and DMs are open - we are here to help and want to promote your content.

A special thank you to those who submitted prompts this year. We included as many as we could :)

Sunday 4th: Poison | Unlikely Alliances

Monday 5th: Hanahaki | "You came." "You called."

Tuesday 6th: First meeting/Last meeting | Madara Quote*

Wednesday 7th: Catherynne Quote** | Red String of Fate

Thursday 8th: Seasons | Murphy's Law/Yhprum's Law

Friday 9th: Amnesia | Dialogue prompt #2***

Saturday 10th: Free day | Radhanath Quote****

Quotes and second dialogue prompt are below the cut

*Madara Quote: "Man seeks peace, yet at the same time yearning for war. Those are the two realms belonging solely to man.

**Catherynne M. Valente Quote: He'll burn you down like wax if you let him.

***Dialogue prompt #2: "If I'd known where our paths would lead us, I'd have run the other way when I met you."

****Radhanath Swami Quote: In the heart that harbors the weed of selfish greed, the flower of love cannot survive.

[eddiediazismyhusband]

lmao buck didnt ditch tommy last episode, he just made a pit stop before going to spend the night with tommy, like do you think he spent the whole night there? and yeah, this episode, if he does leave tommy to go help eddie, that's what friends do ?? like what do you expect him to do, just ignore his friends life completely falling apart? buck is an adult relationship and adults respect the fact that they arent always going to be no 1 first priority ALL of the time. tommy respects that, especially because eddie is actively in a spiral, and honestly it's really refreshing to see such a healthy depiction of the balance between romantic/platonic relationships. i mean how many times have other couples been interrupted by similar emergencies, this is literally the emergency show like. yeah obviously when there is an emergency, the characters are going to drop everything and go to it. I swear you people have never had adult relationships, romantic or platonic, because you see a normal healthy relationship and are incapable of enjoying it. "not anti bi buck, just anti tommy kinard" not anti bi buck, just anti any relationship buck has with a man that isn't eddie

wow what did i say?? that was quick!

if you think buck left eddie’s house after hearing eddie say the words “yeah me too” in reference to being worried about him, then you do not know buck at all.

also when have we seen tommy respecting anything with buck? you all live in these made up scenarios that lou blabs on cameo when in reality all we have seen is tommy constantly be dismissive towards buck unless buck is actively paying sole attention to him. that is not a perfect and healthy relationship.

tommy is constantly speaking down to buck, calling him “kid” and refusing to call buck by the name he chose for himself. that is not the sign of someone who cares about buck to me.

as for being against any relationship buck is in with s man…. give me a man who actually shows that he gives a flying fuck about buck. give me a man who isn’t constantly being condescending and rude. give me a man who’s whole backstory wasn’t as a tool to put hen and chimney through hell at the 118. if buck was dating literally any other guy i wouldn’t be anywhere near as fed up with this plotline; but the fact of the matter is we have BARELY seen anything between them that isn’t tommy being a dick to buck unless buck is kissing him. that doesn’t read as a positive and healthy relationship to me. you all claim to care about buck so much, but then actively defend everything tommy does that is rude and condescending to buck as if buck somehow deserves it.

i am capable of enjoying normal healthy adult relationships because i have watched this show for seven years. i have seen these characters drop things for emergencies. i have picked up on the patterns they have laid down in previous storylines. i have experience working in filmmaking and know how to read into things.

normally i look at these asks and laugh because i don’t like to give a platform to people like you who hide begind anon to try and make buddie shippers out to be monsters but the fact that that post hasn’t even been up for ten minutes and you already felt the need to type a whole anon ask about how wrong i am when none of what you’ve pointed out has any canonical evidence of living in the truth? i have to laugh.

the block button is free. filtering out the anti tags is free. if you’re one of my followers…. when have i ever posted anything that would make you think i was pro tommy in any way that got you to follow me in the first place?

since you sent the ask on anon and i have no way of doing it myself, i invite you to go to my page and press the block button… the anti tags exist for a reason and if you don’t wanna see anti tommy content, either filter out the tags or block my blog. simple as that.

[madamegemknight]

How about MOTU hot takes? From any iteration (the 80s cartoon, the comics, the cgi reboot, the other serious reboot)

rubs my hands together maniacally. boy oh boy crispy you are ENABLING me here we go >:3

The 1987 movie really isn't as bad as people make it out to be. It's not great, don't get me wrong, but the people who made it were clearly passionate about what they were doing and it's a fun (if somewhat aggravating at points) ride. Dolph Lundgren is a good He-Man who understands that the character is just as much about his heart as he is his muscles, the way it and the Power Tour serve as sister experiences to each other with their incorporation of music and Earth storylines is fascinating to examine, and while Julie's subplot about her dead parents is utterly pointless, I think Kevin and Julie are two genuinely likable characters who deserve a second chance in the grander scheme of things.

The Greatest Show on Eternia is the worst episode of the Filmation series and should have never been made, but the way Masters of The Multiverse chose to "address" it was immature, childish, and nearly tipped the comic into edgelord territory for me. If something is bad, you should take the time to figure out what went wrong, then try and fix it - you shouldn't murder the only tolerable character in that episode and then have an aside about how the Eternian Circus is being thrown into chaos because of that murder that does nothing to progress the overall plot!!! wadda heck!!!!

CGI!Krass did literally nothing wrong. She was a deeply traumatized kid who was absolutely correct regarding pretty much everything (especially wanting to guard the Tiger Tribe instead of running off and ignoring it forever like Adam did, considering the later reveal that the Dark Masters kidnapped Justine), and the fact that the show is more willing to blame her flawed behavior on "evil rock that makes you evil in her helmet" than acknowledge she watched her parents die and literally cannot be in enclosed spaces without Adam as a result is legitimately disgusting. CGI tries so hard to have their cake and eat it too that they end up portraying Krass as in the wrong for wanting things to stay the same with Adam while ALSO establishing in one of the tie-in books that if she'd never met Adam she would have never even partially recovered from her trauma.

Speaking of which, considering that this IS apparently a hot take outside of my own little circle of incredibly cool and correct mutuals: CGI Season 3 is bad. It is so bad it makes the flaws of the previous two seasons, which I could mostly ignore up until that point, painfully obvious. It is genuinely upsetting to me that a series where the SOLE SURVIVOR OF A GENOCIDE BRAINWASHED INTO BELIEVING THE PROPAGANDA HE WAS FED ABOUT THE COLONIZATION OF HIS PEOPLE is made into a villain will be some kid's introduction to MOTU, ESPECIALLY considering how tolerant and accepting the Filmation series was.

Orko is a good character and plays a vital role in the franchise overall! Wow yeah it's weird to remember how that used to be a hot take in any non-tumblr MOTU fan community until like...2021. Crazy that huh.

Maybe not a hot take per se, but I don't personally think that Trollans have that different of a lifespan/age rage from Eternians. As far as I'm aware, the only implication of that being true is from the UK comics, and even there it's said that "it has been suggested" that Orko is over 500, not that he is - and this is also the same comic that said that nobody knows what Trolla is like, something that is patently not true, so I'm gonna go out on a limb here and say that maybe the UK comics have some slightly incorrect information and possibly shouldn't be blindly trusted when determining major factors about a character! There are several times in the Filmation series that he either flirts with or shows a very clear attraction to adult Eternians (something that would be Weird if he was aging at a different rate than an Eternian), and while he does call Adam "kid" when they first meet, that's just how Orko talks - he says "atta boy" unironically for crying out loud. I have always envisioned Orko being around the same age as Adam, if a little bit younger, and while Trollans probably do age at a different rate on account of being a different species, it's probably not to that extreme of a difference otherwise it would have been mentioned elsewhere.

Netflix She-Ra is not special for having Adora start out as a brainwashed soldier who has a crisis over realizing she's been fed imperialist/fascist propaganda her entire life. That is literally the plot of The Secret of The Sword, which was released in 1985. I love Netflix She-Ra dearly and always will, as without it I would have never become a fan of MOTU in the first place, but head in my hands if someone calls it bold and innovative for doing things that the OG series did back in the 80s one more time, I am gonna wind up on the evening news 🙃

[morimess]

Everyone makes fun of Linebeck for his crate. And I will agree, it's a ridiculous concept at first- a grown man hiding away in a crate to get away from his crazy ex-lover, while a random kid fights her.

But what if we're thinking about the crate all wrong. What if the original purpose of the crate is not for Jolene, but for miniblins?

Ok, so- in game there are only 8 ships piloted by hylians. We have imposter wind-waker (1), brother of the imposter wind-waker (2), Beedle (3), Jolene (4), the old wayfarer (5), the merchants in the SE sea (6), the Man of Smiles (7), and the SS Linebeck (8). Everything else is pirate ships piloted by hordes of miniblins.

Most people will first see Linebeck use the crate as a hiding spot when you fight Jolene. And this is probably where the seed gets planted that the crate is solely for Jolene's visits comes from. But, he uses that exact same crate when the miniblins board your ship.

Now, you can beat the entire game (not at 100%, but still beat it) without ever once having the miniblins board your vessel, so I don't blame people for forgetting that this is a thing they can do- especially when you have to try to even get them to board your ship.

But I think even more telling evidence is what happens when you encounter a vessel that's been overrun by the monsters.

The most common vessel to see this happen is in the 2nd vessel mentioned. On this vessel, you board the ship to see miniblins abound, and the ship's captain face-down on the floor. After you defeat all the miniblins, you talk to the guy and find out he's-thankfully- still alive, and he may just give you a treasure or two for your troubles.

You leave, and forget about it- but if you ever sail back to that ship, you'll find it overrun again. And this dude is, once again, face down on the floor.

The point being- I think playing dead is a legitimate strategy that most of the people still sailing use to fool the miniblins into leaving them alone. Linebeck, however, has found a way to avoid the threat of pitchforks being jabbed at him if he accidentally moves, and has just started hiding in a crate.

This is in character for him as, even when you first start sailing with him, there is no offensive capabilities on the vessel, whatsoever. He just has a jump mechanic too help him run away more effectively. If Linebeck truly is more of a runner than a fighter, I 100% believe he would use the "play dead" method over fighting the things any day.

Now, most people think Linebeck is a coward who lets Link do all his fighting- and while the fighting part is true, I would like to remind everyone of the fact that only 8 vessels are still in the water, and his ship is one of them. He would not be one of the only ones left if he was just a coward and dumb. And I don't believe he's alone in the "play dead" method either.

I actually believe the only person actively fighting the miniblins is Jolene- everyone else either plays dead, has attack crows that stop any miniblins wearing anything shiny from boarding, or keeps them locked in a cellar for gods know what reason.

But, when it comes to Jolene boarding the ship- well, he already has a crate good for hiding in during most other pirate attacks, why wouldn't it work on his ex? You know, the girl who likes to dress up like a pirate.

And, I mean, it technically does work. It stops her from attacking him right away, and allows the player to distract her until she gets bored enough to leave. We only find out she caught on because she outright tells us she knows where he's hiding during the last encounter.

But this is just another thought on a growing pile of "Linebeck wasn't really cowardly, he was just a normal guy- if not smarter than average- who we were constantly told was cowardly by the literal Spirit of Courage, who was traveling along with the former holder of the Triforce of Courage. There could not have been a more skewed judge of his character."

[the-martyrfication-of-the-matron]

Small facts about each of the divine warriors:

Irene: She cannot cook in anyway shape or form and even when offered she refuses to learn. She will only eat food raw and all of the other Divine Warriors just serve her first before they start making their food, unless Menphia and Shad are dealing with a high bout of animalistic instincts. (being a meif'wa and hell hound respectively)

Irene was not a modest woman or had any form of personal boundaries. Like, she would walk around topless without a care in the world and if she was ever cold at night, she would never just put on more clothes but instead join a tent or sleeping bag with another warrior. Shortest of the Divine Warriors.

Shad: He is the warmest man ever, unfortunately he leans on the end of "Your skin is literally leaving first degree burns" than nice space heater. He also smells like wet dog whenever he gets wet, before his skin eventually evaporates it. Due to how water reacts to his skin, he does take dust baths like a chinchilla. Full on rolling around in sand and then claiming he is clean.

After turning full evil, he decided to continue his bloodline for the sole purpose of pissing Irene off. He met a woman one day and was like "Hey, I am not gonna be a parent to this kid, I just want to do this to piss off my ex." and the woman just looked at the large demon man and said bet. The woman then met her wife and they became the first matriarchs of Falconclaw. Tallest of the Divine Warriors.

Enki: While not necessarily having the most stable form, he is the lankiest and physically weakest of the Divine Warriors. He used bows and magic, he was never going to be the most muscular. The only times he was ever considered "strong" was when he choked a man out after stabbing them in the back. Certainly a wizard and not a fighter.

Enki was the most strategic of the Divine Warriors as well, mostly due to the fact that he hoards knowledge like a dragon hoard gold. He 100% info dumps in every conversation, like you see a cool bug, he knows everything about that bug. The kid that rants about dinosaurs at the playground. 3rd shortest of the Divine Warriors. Shorter than Shad, Esmund, and Menphia but taller than Kul'Zak and Irene.

Menphia: This woman will take a nap anywhere, the moment she is not fighting or training she is in the softest spot in the the sun. Imagine trying to talk diplomacy and one of the divine warriors is asleep on the table. It's not short napes either, full cat naps.

This womans is so cut, like one would imagine that a woman who is part cat is soft but noooo. This woman has abs and shoulders for daaaaaaaays and don't get me started on her thighs. Crushing a watermelon is the least she could do. The 3rd tallest of the divine warriors.

Esmund: Before being a Divine Warrior, he was a human lumberjack from a small farming village. A very large lumberjack but not a king or knight that some would present him as. He was a small farm boy who saw a hot latina goddess and decided to say follow her to the end of the earth.

While not being the tallest of the Divine Warriors, he is the biggest. Look up "bear" in a dictionary and it is this man, broad, hairy, and thick. He is also the perfect cuddling temp which created a lot of "Poor Farm Boy Panic" whenever Irene would share a tent with him. (I think he was like, 6'8-6'9, Shad being 7ft)

Kul'Zak: He had a peg leg after saving Esmund from a Leviathan but he made sure to never hold it against the man, he already suffered from survivors guilt. He rather enjoys the leg, it allows him to spin while playing the fiddle much easier. Losing the leg proved to be more beneficial because when sirens walk on land it feels like their feet are walking on hot coals and sharp glass but with one less foot it was less bad. (Think original my little mermaid.)

While being the 2nd shortest of the Divine Warriors, he was also the technical largest, not that it was really known. He was a creature of the ocean and chose to explore land. What he looked like in the ocean was much longer and larger, over twice the height of Shad with his tail being a beautiful mix of blue, cyan, green, and emerald. Goes full mermaid, though difficult to switch to this form after losing the leg.

I feel like his mermaid tail should be lacking a fin or something, or be otherwise impaired. Just to have the ‘lost a leg’ experience in the water too.

[coconox]

certified delulu post about nocti

a.n. this'll be a compilation of thoughts from my initial reactions to sands of wrath to his voicelines to literally everything about him. THIS WILL HEAVILY BE A NOCTI X SKK!READER KIND OF THING because i'm all in for a lil self insert to feed my delulu visions. also as a heads up i did read the story using google translate so if i quote anything it's basically what google translate told me but i edited it to make some grammatical sense. and yes there will be spoilers

a lot of context will be left out so if you don't wanna be confused by names check out this lore doc that gives a summary of er-5 or pgr lore in general, this post just talks about er-5 lol

EXHIBIT A: TRIGUN AU

have you seen trigun (ESPECIALLY trimax) cause if you have this makes so much more sense

noctis is vash and nigel is knives

both are brothers and have almost opposite ideologies

i did think of wolfwood and livio as another option but nigel does fit a bit closer to resembling knives

VASHWOOD (where nocti is vash and skk is ww (or the other way round, honestly either still works)

nocti: but you must promise me that you won’t die before i come back! no…. you’re not allowed to die even after i come back! i will definitely find a way to save you!

skk: of course, partner…..

this had me in TEARS I WAS NOT READY

nocti fist bumping you just made me think of this scene with vash and meryl

HE ALSO CALLS YOU PARTNER AS HE FIST BUMPS YOU the way i had this realization so late into writing all this

sands of wrath setting literally looks like a place you’d find in no man’s land

nocti’s voiceline telling you to smile more, similar to ww telling vash to smile more (and i mean their genuine smile, not the fake one they use in front of people)

EXHIBIT B: NOCTI AND SKK ARE MARRIED

they are married and own a bar together hear me out—

you two enter a town in which neither of you are welcome because you’re both from babylonia, the mayor decides to put you two in a hotel room till the harvest festival is over

you two are in separate beds, but neither of you can sleep, so you two do what any pair of roommates would do—

—have a 6 hr "light conversation" :D

first actual convo with nocti, you both take turns to ask questions about why they’re here, what’s going on, etc

nocti asks why you trust him so easily, you respond with “it’s intuition” which is a response nocti seemed to like

you also state how you hope he returns to cerberus and fall asleep. nocti in a way states he also wishes to go back to cerberus and sleeps as well

at some point nocti leaves the hotel room to find demont, who is the reason you two ended up working together in the first place, but there was an attack by hetero creatures and nocti swiftly got rid of them

after talking to the mayor, max, about wanting to be just a resident in town, he takes you to a bar, in which that’s where you find nocti

ya know he could’ve talked about ANYTHING and his drunk ass decided to talk about HOW HE PROTECTED YOU??? COINCIDENCE??? I THINK NOT

you find nocti and he offers his hand out to you to dance with him, you reluctantly agreed and you two end up break dancing together

this was him proposing to you i’m just sayin—

the night passes and you two begin living your lives as residents of new oakley

when he first calls you partner, it was originally solely because temporarily they’re no longer considered members of babylonia, and so to fit in with the whole wild west type style, nocti refers to you as “partner” and you agree to do the same to him

first time it’s used outside your interaction with him was when nocti has small talk with vann

vann: you’ll only obey orders from that commandant, right? these are the rules of the sky garden

nocti: i don’t listen to anyone’s orders, but if it’s a request from my partner, that’s a different matter

NOCTI WHY ARE YOU SAYING THAT LIKE WE’RE ROMANTICALLY PARTNERS?????

this isn’t the first time he does something like that he’s very consistent about it

truly a devoted man

also “MY partner” ????? he also pretty much refers to you as his partner throughout the whole story i got whiplashed when we were back to being called skk in his affection story

after you and nocti find demont there’s a small good cop bad cop scene (which i found hilarious), but at the end demont couldn’t reveal much vital information due to dying from poison

nocti realizes this poison is something only nigel can control, and stormed out into the center of town in a fit of rage trying to find nigel

calming him down and telling him to retreat to not make a big scene was practically impossible, that is till you shout “trust me— partner!!” and nocti finally calms down and retreats

HELLO??? CALLING HIS NAME HE DIDN'T BAT AN EYE BUT BEING CALLED PARTNER MADE HIM ACTUALLY LISTEN??

i'm absolutely speechless

you two cook up a plan to find out what’s really going on +bonus hand holding at the end

your part was to just do your job as a bartender while nocti handles the investigating, and eventually nigel shows up

nigel asks what’s the difference between a human and a construct, you respond in a way a bartender would explain it, but nigel wants an answer from you as a commandant rather than a bartender

he ends up poisoning you and leaves, nocti arrives a little while later after discovering what the plan is for this town in the next few days

i remembered that before we split up i told him not to be reckless, but in the end i was the one that was careless and ended up in this miserable condition. i no longer had the strength to stand, so i could only slide down to the edge of the bar. at the beginning, i said big words that would make nocti return to cerberus in an honored manner… i didn’t expect to be the one to make him sad for his companions

skk: i'm sorry…. nocti….

nocti: HEY! don’t say such depressing things to me so quickly

nocti then enters a panicked state of not knowing what to do cause skk is poisoned and there's no known cure for it

nocti gritted his teeth. he didn't even know how to give first aid. he regretted not learning more about first aid from vera before

GOT ME SOBBING, EMOTIONALLY DAMAGED, SHATTERED INTO PIECES

you tell nocti to go help the mayor cause if the mayor dies the town will fall

nocti is in pure disbelief that at a time like this you're more worried about someone else and he refused to leave you here

after some reassuring nocti goes ahead and takes care of what's going on in town and immediately after checks if you’re still ok

he hears a painful scream in his communication device and he SPRINTS back to where you are and finds both vera and 21 there attempting to take care of you

21 comments on how nocti is a lot more powerful ITS BECAUSE HIS LOVER IS DYING RIGHT IN FRONT OF HIM AND HE WANTS TO SAVE THEM BUT DOESN'T KNOW HOW

there’s an encounter with the purifying force, wanting nocti dead since they believe he’s the cause of their aircraft crashing

you tell them that it isn’t his fault and after essentially a stare down between the purifying force and cerberus, the purifying force leaves you all alone since they trust you (thank the overlords for you working with them before and gaining a good work relationship)

you, cerberus, max, and vann think of a plan on what to do next now that you all know where nigel might be located

nocti will go and fight nigel alone since it’s the reason he even came here in the first place while the rest defend the town

you establish a m.i.n.d. connection with nocti, which in turn gives him the poison as well since you’re basically almost a walking corpse at this point

the fact that nocti, with NO hesitation, established a connection with you makes it LOUD AND CLEAR that he will stick with you no matter what even if it leads to his death

cue another hand holding scene, and nocti leaves

vera and 21 get very VERY concerned over your health, yet you’re still adamant about keeping the connection with nocti

21: they want to keep a deep m.i.n.d connection w nocti

vera: DO YOU WANT TO DIE?! if you're deeply connected, your consciousness will be completely bound to him…. if he dies, you also die

skk: he… needs….. me…..

this is LITERALLY a moment where one cares more about their partner THAN THEIR OWN WELL-BEING ㅠㅠㅠㅠ

transitioning over to nocti’s side, he finally confronts nigel

nigel mentions that in order to cure the commandant he needs to be killed, but just HEARING that name come out of his mouth made nocti more full of rage than he’s ever had

this part alone SCREAMED nocti being like "you do NOT have the right to say my partner's name after what you did to them, i am no longer doing this for myself, i'm doing this FOR THEM"

so anyways nocti gets his ass beat 💀💀, nigel lecturing him that he’s still confused and is only driven by anger

the cutscene if you wanna watch it

"commandant… you must be disappointed with me…. damn it… are you mad at me? haha.. me too…. leave everything to me from now on. let’s make that bastard taste our true wrath, partner..."

“i can’t die here yet…. my partner is still waiting for me to come back.”

similar to 21's comment earlier, nigel notices how nocti's steps aren't noisy and chaotic anymore, but steady, firm, and powerful now BECAUSE HIS PARTNER IS ROOTING FOR HIM TO WIN AND HE NEEDED THAT BOOST OF ENCOURAGEMENT... THAT'S WHY YOU WERE SO ADAMANT WITH KEEPING A M.I.N.D. CONNECTION WITH NOCTI

this whole fight scene had me SCREAMING

“my partner and i will use all our strength… to beat you to pieces”

if you still haven’t gotten it DO YOU SEE IT NOW??? HIS MAN IS FULLY DRIVEN TO HIS FULL POTENTIAL BECAUSE HE LOVES YOU AND WANTS TO.. NO... NEEDS TO COME BACK TO YOU

nocti wins and nigel essentially retreats but with a new found respect for his brother

but before he retreats he asks nocti the same question he asked you: what’s the difference between humans and constructs

he gives his own answer and guesses yours (since he was rather confident enough with knowing a lot on how you think) and it boils down to them having the same answer but different font

the place nocti and nigel were fighting in collapses, forcing nocti to leave and never see nigel again

you and nocti are back in the hotel room recovering, and a few locals come in to beg nocti to stay and not go back to babylonia

“but i made a promise with my partner, i want to return to cerberus in a dignified manner…”

after more silly banter everyone leaves you and nocti alone to rest, but neither of you can sleep

nocti brings up the question nigel asked him, and you gave him your actual answer, which is pretty close to what he guessed

nocti: haha… just as i thought, i know you better

skk: but maybe i know you better. for example, what you look like when you’re drunk

nocti: WHAT?! DID I DO ANYTHING WEIRD WHEN I WAS DRUNK???

skk: forget it, stop talking, i’m sleepy

nocti: HEY!! TELL ME NOW!!!!

he’s a literal blushing mess after you told him you saw him drunk

your honor this is literally a newly wed couple

gotta of course mention his affection story so read here for a summary of that as well

the way he ONLY uses the best quality and probably most expensive ingredients to make your food

nocti giving a damn about this whole pancake thing only because YOU care

LIKE HE'S PUTTING HIS PREFERENCES ASIDE TO MAKE YOU HAPPY

MORE HAND HOLDINGGG this time in the form of you helping him mold the pancake shape +bonus nocti blushing

both literally wanting to do the whole working at a bar thing together again in the future that is like PEAK ENDGAME for their marriage

+bonus boss being supportive and naming the new drink and dish that was made after you and nocti

the whole affection story just very clearly and vividly plays out nocti and skk working together flawlessly at the bar like their chemistry was SO GOOD !!!!

very sorry for any grammar errors i'm very hyperfixated on him rn and i needed to scream about it somewhere

anyways thank you for coming to my ted talk i will now think of nocti in a wedding dress /hj

[iwritenarrativesandstuff]

Actually regarding my last Hatoful post I made, I don’t think enough attention is given to the way Sakuya has been completely un-personed by Le Bel. He’s not only “raised in a sheltered and classist environment”, everything he is is a regurgitation. There is not a single thing Sakuya says in early game that isn’t what his “father” told him to - this doesn’t exactly excuse his behaviour towards his classmates, but it is also very concerning. You would expect Sakuya’s arc to be about the pressure and expectation he feels as the next family head, but while it certainly does seem to be a lot of work, he doesn’t really show much indication that it’s gotten to the point that it’s too much to bear. He handles responsibility very well. He’s just. Unhappy. Sakuya runs away from home in freezing cold weather and collapses in the street, all because he deigned to think about loving music. He hadn’t even come around to thinking about actually pursuing it as a career. This alone seems more like Sakuya hit a breaking point than one isolated incident - there is likely a lot more going on behind the scenes that we are not privy to for Sakuya to be that subservient and that terrified of Le Bel. Hiyoko even internally notes that he’s always acting way angrier than he actually is - anger is a reactive emotion, and if he reacts aggressively, he won’t have to think about these things that challenge the worldview Le Bel has indoctrinated him with. He is literally too frightened to challenge Le Bel, even within his own mind.

Similarly, Yuuya takes on a job that restricts him from forming any semblance of a stable identity or from letting the mask fall. Ever. Sakuya deflects with anger and his high-born reputation, and Yuuya deflects with a flirty laid back persona while allowing everyone he meets to believe every rumour they spread about him. And people treat him horribly. He laughs it off with the whole “that’s a little cold” or “bit harsh” but. Like. It hurts him. I don’t think he’s genuinely ever built up a tolerance against that kind of badmouthing, and the sad part is that the worst of it comes from Sakuya, his own little brother who he would and has done everything for. But he won’t ever refute it or defend himself, because it helps him keep his cover at the school, and also probably in part because he feels he deserves it. Yuuya does not like himself, largely due to his constant guilt. He even doubts his competence at times, when his efforts as an agent fail (see early HoliStar). He has no idea what his future will look like. He has no plans for himself. He acts in defence solely on behalf of other people’s happiness and safety and receives the words of the man he hates most spat in his face by the little brother he would do anything to protect. And yet, to him, it will always have been worth it.

It would’ve been so easy to make them polar opposites but I do love how the writing actually shows a number of key similarities between them that pop up in certain situations.

Their correct answers in their routes typically involve standing up to them or telling them off in some way (Sakuya’s bossiness, Yuuya’s flirtation)

Sometimes make rash decisions due to their anger or irritation (I mean. Sakuya. A lot but also. The egg.)

They are both quick to take on responsibility for others in a crisis situation and tend to handle it fairly well for the most part (rip to Sakuya with the giant tank that showed up at his mansion. to be fair Yuuya couldn’t stop it either.)

Kings of not being honest about their true feelings or personality. Like ever. Masks and defence mechanisms up constantly. (Yuuya is at least a little more self-aware; he does genuinely seem to care about justice - while Sakuya, as stated previously, has very little in the way of an identity at all and is not self-aware in the slightest lol)

Anyways I feel insane about the fantail brothers. That is all.

(Art above is by the author Moa btw. You can find it on the wiki!)

[writerswho]

Morticia takes in the scene before her, trying not to regret the choices she has made in her life. Gomez is sitting at the foot of the stairs, a wound on his chest staining his clothes and everything around him with blood, Larissa is next to him, just as dirty, a dagger lying at her feet. Pugsley and Wednesday watch from their places beside their mother. The boy worried, the girl amazed.

Morticia sighs deeply and asks her children to go to their rooms, Wednesday complains and says that she wants to hear their cries, Morticia assures her that she will be able to hear them from her room, this makes the girl smile. She grabs her stunned brother's arm and drags him upstairs, not caring about stepping in the blood. Her bloody footprints paint the stairs to the top. 

“An hour,” Morticia says as the children disappear upstairs. “I left you two alone for an hour!” She tries to control her voice, but it is impossible. Morticia doesn't like to shout, but there are times, like this, when she feels she has to.

Larissa and Gomez exchange glances, their married expressions resembling those of a mischievous child afraid of being scolded. Gomez swallows dryly and attempts a smile that looks more like a grimace of discomfort than anything else, “Cara mia…” he begins, charming as always, but Morticia's sharp gaze kills any excuse he might have thought of. 

“Would you believe me if I said this is cranberry juice?�� Larissa regrets her words as soon as they leave her mouth. Morticia's eyes fall on Larissa, who is silently praying to anyone who will hear her. The woman in black does not move, does not speak, just stares at them in a silence that consumes their souls. Morticia takes another deep breath, and they can see her breathing against the cold air of the mansion, or she is literally fuming. Either way, they feel a shiver run down their spines and a fear for their lives of an intensity they have never felt before. 

“Do not insult my intelligence,” her voice echoes heavily through the walls of the mansion. Morticia is cross, and that makes Gomez and Larissa's bones quiver. A cross Morticia is a very, very dangerous thing, even Wednesday knows that.

In an act of fear and basic survival instinct, Larissa and Gomez share a look one last time before one stabs the other in the back. The short man recounts the events that led up to that moment, blaming solely and exclusively the taller woman, who tells her side of the story, blaming him for everything, especially his own wound. Any other person might have trouble understanding what they were saying, not only because of the speed with which they spewed out the information, but also because they insisted on speaking together, shouting in a failed attempt to choke out the other's voice. Morticia, however, was no stranger to filtering, analyzing, and understanding everything that came out of their mouths. 

Larissa was trying to work and Gomez felt lonely and abandoned, and even when their wife repeated that Morticia and the children would not be long in coming, their husband, being an incorrigible dramatic, did not stop whining in the blonde's ear, whose irritation with work had already taken all her patience, leaving nothing for the man. 

“I had work to do, and he wouldn't shut up!” Larissa squealed in a mixture of desperation and irritation.  

“All I wanted was a little love and affection!” Gomez wails dramatically. 

“Did you have to stab him?” chides Morticia. 

“You weren't there, you didn't hear what he said to me.” 

“What did he say?” 

“He said, ʽwhat are you going to do, stab me?ʼ” 

“To be fair," Gomez interjects, “I would have stabbed me, too."

Morticia falls silent again, there are days like this when she wonders what she was thinking when she agreed to marry the two biggest idiots in the world. The answer, of course, is that she loves them, idiots or not, with all her heart. The woman with the long black hair glances at her husband once more, studying his wound from which no more blood is coming, she very much doubts that her wife has managed to do any permanent damage, the Addams Family curse would never allow it. 

Morticia examines the surroundings, the amount of blood on the floor is alarming at first, but she knows her husband and how he likes to dramatize everything, even a superficial cut, and although this makes no sense, it makes perfect sense to an Addams. Then her eyes fall on poor Bruno, sprawled out at the bottom of the stairs, his white fur dyed crimson. 

“You two will clean up all this blood,” she commands. “And bathe Bruno.” Her spouses open their mouths to speak, but soon close them under their wife's gaze. 

In silence, they decide that cleaning up some blood and giving a polar-bearskin rug a bath is easier and less dangerous than provoking Morticia even more, although Bruno really wasn't happy about having to take a bath at all, and has bitten Gomez at least six times. Still, it was definitely the safer choice. 

[dragonballwish]

My Dragon Ball hot take is that if you go off of solely Toriyama's original manga Goku is a deeply caring person who loves his family but is not suited to the day-to-day responsibilities of being a family man, and thus really COULD be called a "bad dad".

But also that Toriyama clearly isn't writing a family drama and that would be depressing as hell so I'm happy to accept the filler and fanon that improves the Son family dynamic. People insisting that Goku's a shitty parent should lighten up.

And even if Toriyama is behind the story, I can't accept the way Goku is characterized in Super most of the time because he was never so callous after growing up before.

This is the most reasonable hot take on a topic where goku-goers are very divided LOL, perfect middle ground !!!!

I think people who think goku is a “shitty parent” either have outstanding parents or simply are taking it too seriously, because honestly the series doesn’t give a whole lot of information about his home life, but going by what we DO have is enough to tell me he is a pretty good dad, who takes care of his kids where he is physically able to, if that makes sense.

Half of the series he’s literally just not available to because he’s fucking DEAD (+ does not know something is happening to his kids so cannot just come back to help) so you can’t count that as bad parenting, and the other half of the series, he’s doing what he can to help his kids (and the world) in a world that is quite literally full of villains who are trying to kill them all. If I had to choose between forcing my kid into a situation where they are prepared to fight back vs letting them and everyone else die? Yeah I would want my kid prepped to fight back. For example.

Therefore. I think goku is definitely unconventional in his parenting because there is no room to be a regular dad, and he’s definitely not like 100% good dad either, there are definitely places he could have done better.

And you’re totally right that there simply not enough info on the day-to-day in Toriyama’s canon, and super doesn’t do much good to his character hahaha,,, if all of that was written in, I think Toriyama would not actually write it in a way that is very deep anyways ??

I kinda ended up rambling. Mostly I agree with you, even though I don’t consider him a “bad dad”. I think he’s def not the best one, though.

[ tell me your dragon ball hot takes, complaints, and grievances <3 on anything and everything db !! ]

[senka-mesecine]

What do you think all the boys in Platoon did before the war professionally speaking, job-wise? What were they?

---

― Chris Taylor was a student and he pretty much says so himself. After that, he was a college dropout by choice --- another bit of information he's open with; but once upon a time there was probably the firm assumption that he'd graduate and take up, say, an established family business of sorts or something hereditary everyone in his family was involved with one way or another with where a prestigious trade is concerned --- something that could've been generationally attached to his surname and passed down from father to son, his path in life well-paved out for him in advance with not too much wiggle room for anything else and certainly not for self discovery. For lack of a better descriptor, his parents probably excepted him to become something as fancy and typically upper to middle class as a lawyer or a doctor --- one of those 'safe' jobs where you'll be settled for life --- and he undeniably went and earned their disappointment and even anger when he went on to leave everything behind, voluntarily enlist and become anything but.

― O'Neill seems like someone who genuinely had the most commonplace life of all pre-Nam; managed to graduate high school on time. Might've done a sport or two. Red on the small time local wrestling team with his O'Neill death grip. Wasn't poor but he wasn't some fat cat either --- being perfectly middle ground common in every regard. Got briefly employed at some, say, mom-and-pop type business and he developed all the manners of a slightly nervy civilian with slightly nervy civilian problems. Then came the war and his slightly nervy civilian problems turned into properly agitated and anxious O'Neill problems. Man's undoubtedly the poster child of being perfectly average in every regard; not too hardened by his civilian life to be able to be some kind of fierce leader but certainly neurotic enough to tactically brownnose whoever is top wolf in order to have a tiny vestige of power through them and survive. Wouldn't surprise me if he was an irritated grocery clerk before the war.

― Bunny was unemployed for the simple reason that he was far too young to even properly get educated and actually find a career of any genuine and lasting variety by the time he was drafted and shipped off overseas; meaning that he never had enough time to actually ponder a future, a trade, a profession, how to make a living or anything of the sort --- almost like being in the army and in Vietnam literally freed him of the burden of thinking of that whole nonsense in general, which is, among other less savory reasons, precisely why he likes being there in the first place. It's a big rock off of his back, really. All he has to worry about there is not dying (and even if he does, he won't know it's happening) and he says so himself. He does what he wants which is exactly the way he enjoys it best, like a kid let out of a cage without proper parental supervision. If a profession would need to be assigned to him he'd probably just label himself a soldier because he isn't like to relate to anything else.

― Much like Bunny, Junior was probably too young to actually have a job; they're extremely similar in that regard, except the sole difference is that I can envision is Junior thinking that he was an amateur political activist fighting against 'the man' back home --- which isn't an unusual phase for a teenager turned young adult to have, this proclivity to being overly imaginative and for the lack of a better word, overblow their own importance. He might've been at a rally once or twice, got arrested for the simple reason he got caught being at the wrong place at the wrong time and for a commonplace act of boyish stupidity, he probably ended up enlisting to avoid getting the slammer, which is both hilarious and slightly tragic. Not that he admits to it when asked. He thinks of himself as a bit of a dissident back home; this is something he swears by. The white man's holding him down and that's why he's here. But, when he gets back? He'll be a politician and then they'll all see who Junior is.

― Rhah Vermucci was a small time street dealer since forever. Heroin. Crack. Opioids. Weed. Pills. You name it. Whatever was going big in the early 60's in lieu of the wider spread addiction and narcotics epidemic, he was peddling. Not so much for the profit of it but because he genuinely believed drugs are the answer to everything or at least most of anything --- that they open the mind and the senses to new, unexplored horizons and that he's basically preaching a message of general enlightenment by selling to people, just as likely to give out samples for free, not unlike a preacher converting individuals to a whole new religion. He might've at one point very seriously considered something unhinged like travelling the overland Hippie trail through Afghanistan, Pakistan India, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and all the way to Thailand for the simple reason of wanting to find out what other elixirs he can sample Far East but it never quite panned out for him like that because he either ended up jailed or he got drafted. Or both.

― King was probably too impoverished for even the basics of education, too impoverished to hold down a job, too impoverished to self improve, too impoverished to do much of anything or have any chances of betterment and upward mobility in any sense that mattered in the long term and so really, him being a prime candidate for the draft was really a given and he's probably aware of it too. With no opportunities behind him in the past and no opportunities in front of him in the future, it's really a shocker how he maintained such a positive, friendly and genuinely kindly outlook on the world as a whole, being someone Not in Education, Employment, or Training. By extension of not getting any major privileges or having been dealt good cards his plans post-war would more or less involve simply...living, regardless what he does. Maybe working in some factor a couple of months and then hitchhiking to a Bob Marley concert only to do some moonlight in case he's strapped for cash. Wherever the road takes him so long as he's home and free --- everything's gravy compared to what he left behind.

― Wolfe was an Ivy League graduate of sorts or undoubtedly someone from a well respected military academy like West Point and a family background just as affluent; he's the type of guy you'd nonironically see at a golf course wearing a white polo shirt with a cashmere pullover tied around his shoulders in the middle of a work week or decked out in a white uniform, socializing at an officer's joint, shooting the breeze with a pinkie ring on his finger, like someone who's part of an exclusive club. And he was. His profession is as such simply that he's on the downlow wealthy and well educated enough to not need to have a clear cut job, but rather being something of an army office jockey; someone perhaps unfairly and continuously earning his stripes and rank unearned promotions through the mere fact that he might've known the right people and that he kept getting recommended for a position he was underqualified and under experienced for in the practical sense. Suffice to say, if we had to put an actual label on it, Mark Wolfe is what we'd call a Nepo Baby today.

― Elias struck oil in Oklahoma somewhere and he was, as unlikely as that sounds now with how carefree, enlightened and liberated from the material he seems, a millionaire and a businessman in his own right for a while. So much so that he moved to LA, upgraded on his social class practically overnight, splurged on everything ranging from a mansion, expensive cars, luxurious things, an overly spending prone celebrity woman who bankrupted him and got him hooked to some of the worst habit imaginable, costly drugs and other experimental opioids and he went through said newfound wealth as quickly as he acquired it, somehow burning himself out in no time at all, landing himself embroidered in a police raid, arrested for possession of vast quantities of narcotics, ending up in jail and cutting a deal to be drafted instead of rotting behind bars for years. Somehow, Grodin's life story is so incredible it almost sounds made up. Thing is, I don't figure there's much of anything he'd go back home to in the first place because he lost everything, which is why he kept re-enlisting for three years in a row even though he doesn't believe in the cause he's enlisting for anymore.

― Barnes seems like he would've been something in the vein of being a road construction worker, a sharecropper, someone putting down railway tracks, a miner, day laborer, a welder, a tool pusher, an oil driller or anything and everything that demanded hard, grueling physical labor on a daily basis or him being a roughneck through and through from a young age, which means that by the time he ended up in the war tour after tour he was already as tough as nails by default. Being a soldier almost came naturally as a result seeing as how he was already used to difficult conditions and adversity way before he was ever given an uniform, meaning that his temperament could've been that of a hard-ass from the get go as well. That's just about how he more or less always was like to some extent, give or take. He, outside of someone like, say, King, probably comes from the most impoverished background of all the men in his platoon and by extension, he's the keenest survival skills of them all as well. Suffice to say, life wasn't easy and tremendously nice for Barnes and as a result, he isn't an easy or a nice man either. Not that he's looking for any sympathy or handouts.

[thesilverlady]

Well i disagree, Aemond is 100% Condal's self insert , giving him the traits , characterizations and roles of other characters while woobifing him at the same time and try to make everything he does 100% an accident he didn't mean it or a total sad victim. Condal has taken other characters traits like being studios, a family person, has good leadership skills (Jace), being good with the sword, sweet, polite, and close to his sister and mother (Daeron) and gave it to Aemond. Hell even Aegon is getting nerfed and his sole existing in the show is to give some character development points to Aemond, showing how he is the " worthy heir" *gags* because he read some books and trains when it something literally every noble man in westros does. Condal has ruined the moment of Aegon and Criston when it's a defining moment for both of their characters by inserting Aemond there to simply to give us one of the cringest lines iv ever heard. Notice how Ryan adapted Mushroom's silly rumors about Aegon&child fighting pits and Daemon taking teen!Rhaenyra to a brothel and leaving her there, killing Rhae when there is literally none in the book who has linked Daemon to her death . while Aemond calling Rhaenyra a whore , mocking her for being a woman and killing luke intentionally which weren't some rumors by a silly jester, but 100% facts that did happen all either get cut or waterd down. And if the leaks are true Aemond is going to torturing Blood and avenge Jaeherys which was Aegon's role in the book by the way so even the greens are getting nerfed for Aemond

I'm not disagreeing with you at all about the point you make. As a matter of fact I do agree about how Ryan has handled pretty much all the characters, throwing them under the bush except one.

However using the term "self insert" is just plain incorrect. Because by dwfinion alone, self-insertion is a literary device in which the author writes themself into the story as a fictional character.

Ryan Condal is not GRRM

I know for hotd Ryan is credited to be co-writing episodes but calling it self insert kinda gives the vibe as if he has created the character on his own.

Don't get me wrong. I do think show Aemond is basically his Original Character in this live action fanfiction. But he has used outlined ideas from an existing work aka &b to add his own spin.

Do i like it? no. Do I think he has done all the characters dirty? yes

the only difference here is me wanting to avoid using this term self insert because he's not the creator of these characters.

As for the rumors.... well, I fully expect show Aemond to be painted as some "gray" character and try to give him redeeming moments (like him getting angry at the kids death and trying to avenge them) While somehow tone down his canon villain moments (like whatever he was doing with Alys, burning rivelands, and the eradication of House Strong).

I mean, they already changed the cause of Luke's death (with Aemond losing control of vhagar - Despite dragon lore not working that way). Nothing will surprise me anymore.

[sweetcloverheart]

Clover Rants Miraculously - No Defense

Spoilers for script/ s5 finale leaks below, so readers beware and all that!

“But why are people defending Lila and Chloe? They helped Hawkmoth and are cruel to Marinette for no reason!”

Look, if I have to choose between two teenyboppers acting out out of spite and a middle school celebrity crush and a grown man who’s actively making bad choices that are hurting his loved ones with himself not even giving a damn because “he just really loves his wife”, then the decision’s practically being made for me - especially if I’m told I have to treat said teenyboppers like they’re Satan incarnate solely because they’re big meanies to the MC instead of everything else they’ve done in series while the man in question has to be celebrated and given everything he wants despite all the pain and bs he’s put both the leads and entire city through because dead coma wife made him sad :C.

And at least the show was honest about Lila being that petty and egotistical enough to team up with a supervillain because it might give her power (and also ruin Marinette’s day) - half the stuff she pulls doesn’t surprise or upset me that much because I was told from the jump she’s a little jerk with no attempts to excuse/humanize it (or telling me I need to feel bad/like her or I’m “bad” too like with Gabe). Meanwhile, of the two times Chloe joined Gabemoth, one required him to go out of his way to manipulate and isolate her into saying yes (Like yeah, she was already told she couldn’t be QB anymore and shouldn’t have been that upset/shocked Ladybug got a different hero to help fight her parents, but that doesn’t change the fact that Gabriel and Nathalie purposely made Chloe think Ladybug didn’t want her help specifically so she’d turn on her more easily), while the other was Chloe...trying to get out of gym class and thus waits for an Akuma to just show up and posses her (as opposed to Lila straight up grabbing one from the air that just happened to be passing through and giving Gabemoth her own evil plan to take down LB just because), so that one was just a regular Akuma of the day plot with a minor twist. Otherwise, Chloe’s just a self-centered jerk who does whatever makes her feel like she’s the best but overall is frankly harmless (as Marinette and co either ignore her or quickly undo her nonsense) unless she’s throwing daddy’s mayor title around - something that was also told to me at the start. The fact that the show is only now trying to make these two seem like, King Ghidorah levels of evil/bad (especially when they took no time to help build up Lila to her future big bad status like they clearly wanted it to seem like due to never using her more) when they’re done nothing to really earn it (yes, even with the events of “Ladybug” and “Miracle Queen”) is...kind of silly, especially in comparison to Gabriel’s crimes. Yeah, they should face some form of consequence for the bullying and deliberate akumatization, but on a scale that actually matches those actions.

On the other side of it though, Gabriel is literally doing everything he can to make his son and said son’s girlfriend miserable as possible as he torments the people of the city into becoming his willing/unwilling goon squad to fight two magical teenagers for their Miraculous, yet we’re supposed to just see it as “a misunderstanding” and accept him getting rewarded with the wish and Emilie’s revival because “oh, just let the poor magical terrorist have his dead wife back! He really is sorry and feels bad about it - not enough not to use his son as a bargaining chip for an evil magical eugenics cult and backstab the heroine after she gives him a chance to repent and steal her magical objects to get the Wish, but he really rweally fweels bwad”. If Chloe has to be disowned and Lila forced into one of her many alt-identities as a result of their actions, then Gabriel should not get to have his happily ever after self-sacrifice, even if it does end up hurting Adrien in the long run.