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atopvisenyashill · 1 year ago

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that bit about joffrey is FASCINATING have you ever written about this in depth? I've always loved his character but I would never be able to like. Describe why exactly he is the way he is so I really appreciate your analysis of him loving BOTH parents and incorporating only their flaws - I always just assumed that he hates his dad and is annoyed by cersei (still loves her) but then the way we sexually humiliates and abuses sansa etc is so robert-coded like of course he emulates the bevavior of his father.

Also slightly off topic but i always forget that Joffrey is like canonically so good at all the proper princely things (thinking of that scene at Sansa and Tyrion's wedding when she's so upset that a monster like Joff could be so good at dancing) and - not to go on about GOT again - but I wish we had actually gotten to see that and him being charming etc. Huge props to the show for giving Joff the perfect wardrobe (the only thing they did right) but also f them for waiting all that potential

yes, they really said joff gets to have all the swag and then the moment he died they put cersei in that fuck ass bob and no one in the lannisters was allowed to serve again smh. and thank youuu i actually had to stop myself from rambling over him before haha, but i'll go into more detail here! so this was the comment from the other post-

joffrey is a kid just ruled by his first, most base instinct. his instincts, his core emotions, tell him to love and trust both robert and cersei, and imo he twists himself into a MONSTER to try to appeal to both of them. no one else matters - not his siblings, not his uncle, not his grandfather, not the realm. he needs to be the sort of vicious person they could both be proud of, he needs to be better than them both at violence, so he absorbs all of their faults and none of their virtues.

i definitely do see very often that people feel he only loves one or the other parent and while I do understand that reading, I don't think it's quite how Joffrey operates. I think he does love them both, and holds them both in high esteem. I do agree that he's annoyed by Cersei but that doesn't mean he doesn't value her opinion (as much as Joffrey puts value on anyone else's opinion, I mean).

Joffrey and Cersei

Joffrey relies on his mother more than almost any other male character we see in the series. We see him call for Cersei basically every time he's hurt, in trouble, or wanting to whine about something. Not only that, but you have everyone from Robert to Renly to Tywin himself saying that Joffrey is doted upon and inseparable from his mother. A few choice quotes:

"Fear is better than love, Mother says." Joffrey pointed at Sansa. "She fears me."

He takes Cersei's lessons to heart, however flawed they are. Her opinion matters to him, he wants her to see him as strong.

Nine cases out of ten seemed to bore him; those he allowed his council to handle, squirming restlessly while Lord Baelish, Grand Maester Pycelle, or Queen Cersei resolved the matter. When he did choose to make a ruling, though, not even his queen mother could sway him.

It's Cersei he listens to the most. We know that if a little King, even with his mother as Regent, doesn't want to deal with her, he can simply ignore her - that's what Jaehaerys does with Alyssa, after all. But Joffrey doesn't do this; he'll fight with her, he'll insult her, and he's not shy about doing it in public but he never disregards her out of hand.

Joffrey lurched to his feet. "I'm king! Kill him! Kill him now! I command it." He chopped down with his hand, a furious, angry gesture . . . and screeched in pain when his arm brushed against one of the sharp metal fangs that surrounded him. The bright crimson samite of his sleeve turned a darker shade of red as his blood soaked through it. "Mother!" he wailed.

His instinct, every time, is to turn to her for help. He loves her. He adores her. She's the only person around who tells him he's strong and smart and will be a good king. He leans on her for guidance, for comfort, he talks to her about fucking whores. He shares everything with her because he doesn't have a single friend. She models anger and violence for him constantly, she excuses his disturbing proclivities, so he molds himself to be the person she wants him to be, the king she wants him to be. People - including Tyrion and Tywin! - are always wondering why Cersei is blind to his cruelty, but the reality is she knew he was cruel and loved him for it.

Tommen did as he was bid. His meekness troubled her. A king had to be strong. Joffrey would have argued. He was never easy to cow.

For Cersei, cruelty is strength and in her eyes, Joffrey is as strong as they come. This isn't by accident; just like his constant cries for her are reinforced by her rushing to coddle him, his cruelty is reinforced by a mother who sees it as strength. It's almost like what Coldhands says to Bran - Joffrey is a monster, yes, but in Cersei's eyes, Joffrey is her monster.

Joffrey and Robert

Joffrey had never had a close friend of his own age, that she recalled. The poor boy was always alone. I had Jaime when I was a child . . . and Melara, until she fell into the well. Joff had been fond of the Hound, to be sure, but that was not friendship. He was looking for the father he never found in Robert.

From Cersei's point of view, I think she knows very well that Joffrey is searching for love, acceptance, and himself in Robert. She doesn't like it, but she seems to accept that it's natural for Joffrey to search for some sort of father figure, and doesn't seem to begrudge him that - imo, I think because she knows Robert is always going to reject Joffrey for his cruelty.

“Why would he [care]? Robert ignored him. He would have beat him if I’d allowed it. That brute you made me marry once hit the boy so hard he knocked out two of his baby teeth, over some mischief with a cat. I told him I’d kill him in his sleep if he ever did it again, and he never did, but sometimes he would say things…”

Whenever they interact, the few times they do, there's violence. People always take this as Cersei not allowing Robert to "teach" or "properly discipline" Joffrey but, well...does the above seem like helpful discipline? Knocking out your child because he freaked you out? Punishing extreme violence with more extreme violence? And it's not just Cersei that this moment sticks with, because Stannis brings it up as well-

"Joffrey . . . I remember once, this kitchen cat . . . the cooks were wont to feed her scraps and fish heads. One told the boy that she had kittens in her belly, thinking he might want one. Joffrey opened up the poor thing with a dagger to see if it were true. When he found the kittens, he brought them to show to his father. Robert hit the boy so hard I thought he'd killed him."

Since Cersei says Robert would "say things" and we see him threatening Cersei (the "or I'll honor you again" line), I don't think it's a stretch to say that Robert threatened to beat Joffrey nearly to death several times over.

And yet...Joffrey compliments his father, especially in comparison to his other relatives.

He wrenched free of her. "Why should I? Everyone knows it's true. My father won all the battles. He killed Prince Rhaegar and took the crown, while your father was hiding under Casterly Rock." The boy gave his grandfather a defiant look. "A strong king acts boldly, he doesn't just talk."

And Cersei believes this came from Robert-

"Father, I am sorry," Cersei said, when the door was shut. "Joff has always been willful, I did warn you . . ." "There is a long league's worth of difference between willful and stupid. 'A strong king acts boldly?' Who told him that?" "Not me, I promise you," said Cersei. "Most like it was something he heard Robert say . . ."

And of course, Jaime is the one who pieces together why Joffrey sent the catspaw-

“Yes, I hoped the boy would die. So did you. Even Robert thought that would have been for the best. ‘We kill our horses when they break a leg, and our dogs when they go blind, but we are too weak to give the same mercy to crippled children’ he told me. He was blind himself at the time, from drink.” Robert? Jaime had guarded the king long enough to know that Robert Baratheon said things in his cups that he would have denied angrily the next day. “Were you alone when Robert said this?” “You don’t think he said it to Ned Stark, I hope? Of course we were alone. Us and the children.” Cersei removed her hairnet and draped it over a bedpost, then shook out her golden curls. “Perhaps Myrcella sent this man with the dagger, do you think so?” It was meant as mockery, but she’d cut right to the heart of it, Jaime saw at once. “Not Myrcella. Joffrey.” Cersei frowned. “Joffrey had no love for Robb Stark, but the younger boy was nothing to him. He was only a child himself .” “A child hungry for a pat on the head from that sot you let him believe was his father.”

When you put it all together, you have a child who is ignored by his father unless he's being threatened with a beating, who is constantly calling him a monster, who watches his father harm and humiliate his mother day in and day out, who has no other paternal figure around but this violent, angry man who he is supposed to model himself off of, and a mother who encourages his cruelty because she believes it's the only way to protect herself, to protect her son. He's not just emulating his mother's cruelty, he's emulating Robert's violence specifically when he humilates Sansa at court, when he openly talks shit about Cersei - it's what he's seen modeled for him as kingly behavior!

The Abuse And Jaime Of It All

King Joffrey's face hardened. "My mother tells me that it isn't fitting that a king should strike his wife. Ser Meryn."

He knows Robert is abusing Cersei and he takes her dislike of it seriously even as he doesn't make the connection that she means he shouldn't be striking his wife period. Whether it's because Cersei directly told him (which could make sense; she's purposefully hiding it from Jaime but perhaps she confided in Joffrey) or because he witnessed it himself, he's aware of the abuse enough that he takes his mother's comments about not personally striking Sansa to heart.

"No," [Robert] thundered in a voice that drowned out all other speech. Sansa was shocked to see the king on his feet, red of face, reeling. He had a goblet of wine in one hand, and he was drunk as a man could be. "You do not tell me what to do, woman," he screamed at Queen Cersei. "I am king here, do you understand? I rule here, and if I say that I will fight tomorrow, I will fight!" Everyone was staring. Sansa saw Ser Barristan, and the king's brother Renly, and the short man who had talked to her so oddly and touched her hair, but no one made a move to interfere. The queen's face was a mask, so bloodless that it might have been sculpted from snow. She rose from the table, gathered her skirts around her, and stormed off in silence, servants trailing behind. Jaime Lannister put a hand on the king's shoulder, but the king shoved him away hard. Lannister stumbled and fell. The king guffawed. "The great knight. I can still knock you in the dirt. Remember that, Kingslayer." He slapped his chest with the jeweled goblet, splashing wine all over his satin tunic. "Give me my hammer and not a man in the realm can stand before me!" Jaime Lannister rose and brushed himself off. "As you say, Your Grace." His voice was stiff. Lord Renly came forward, smiling. "You've spilled your wine, Robert. Let me bring you a fresh goblet." Sansa started as Joffrey laid his hand on her arm. "It grows late," the prince said. He had a queer look on his face, as if he were not seeing her at all. "Do you need an escort back to the castle?"

I think it's pretty clear that Joffrey is dissociating here which also explains his very detached way of looking at Robert's abuse of Cersei. It freaks him out enough that he uses Sansa as an excuse to leave (giving her the Hound, then running off himself) but he doesn't show it. He's not even particularly upset during this scene, not throwing a tantrum or making whiny remarks like he does when he's usually upset. He only has a "queer look" - the stress of trying to reconcile his adoration of Robert and his love of Cersei just makes him fully shut down instead of confronting it.

Joffrey gave a petulant shrug. "Your brother defeated my uncle Jaime. My mother says it was treachery and deceit. She wept when she heard. Women are all weak, even her, though she pretends she isn't. She says we need to stay in King's Landing in case my other uncles attack, but I don't care. After my name day feast, I'm going to raise a host and kill your brother myself. That's what I'll give you, Lady Sansa. Your brother's head."

I think people often take his comments about how women are weak to mean he doesn't view his mother as a competent advisor. But you notice a pattern here - he gets shitty with her when it's about Jaime specifically.

"A great many people are sorry for that," Tyrion replied, "and before I am done, some may be a deal sorrier . . . yet I thank you for the sentiment. Joffrey, where might I find your mother?" "She's with my council," the king answered. "Your brother Jaime keeps losing battles."

"She's with my council" he says, because he sees no reason to not let Cersei run things without him, something Robert never lets her do. But "your brother Jaime" not "my uncle Jaime" which is a shift because he doesn't stop calling Renly or Stannis his uncles even after they rebel. He knows, he suspects, and what he resents is not Cersei fucking Jaime but Jaime fucking Cersei.

My read on this is that Joffrey sees his mother as weak for allowing herself to be seduced by Jaime, and sees Jaime as a lecherous seducer who is the cause of all his problems. If only Jaime hadn't seduced his mother, maybe his parents wouldn't hate each other. His claim wouldn't be under question. His mother should have just taken the abuse and bided her time instead of putting herself in danger and having bastards.

He loves his mother. He loves his father. And that's the human heart in conflict with itself that resides in Joffrey. Does he honor his mother, the only parent he has, or does he honor Robert, the patriarch he is supposed to emulate? If he has no other example of what strength looks like, is he even capable of figuring out a different path for himself?

#joffrey baratheon #asks #valyrianscrolls #anons #cersei lannister #robert baratheon #rani attempts meta

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smol-guppy-wuppy · 1 month ago

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Realized I can share these guys now that I have lore for them

Info below!

A pair of split spark siblings who care for one another very much.

Hookline is a relatively cool, collected, and calculated bot, while Syncer is more of a rough, run in without thinking kind of bot.

Both are incredibly sweet, but Syncer isn't the best at communication. He kinda just stands around until prompted to speak haha... He comes off as rude, mean, intimidating, you name it! Given he's pretty blunt when he does speak and also has a crazy case of RBF. He's actually more calm than his sister when it comes to certain things, but usually resorts to more physical altercations (dragging people away. not fighting haha) if things aren't going well. He isn't very good at sparing feelings at times, if that weren't obvious enough (he really doesn't mean to!! Would try his best to make up for things if its REALLY bad. He truly always means well)...

Hookline is soft spoken, but very verbal! She loves discussing topics she's well versed in (Syncer does too, but is obviously more reluctant and apologetic whenever he finds himself rambling when given the opportunity). She can be pretty patient! But with her, things can really be the calm before the storm. If her patience is stretched thin to the point of breaking, well— she can be prone to blowing up and getting SUPER serious (it's not the worst thing. but she WILL make you feel soooo super guilty)... She can be pretty worn down by unruly and overly reckless bots (cough. Lovebug. cough).

They both get along fairly well but there's definitely plenty of sibling banter and butting heads at times! Very much a "nobody can be mean to my sibling but ME" sort of relationship.

The two joined a recon mission when still living on Cybertron in hopes of finding a safe place for an additional base of operations. It was located on a different planet, seemingly harmless.

Things went well, but eventually Hookline found herself drawn to something different. She wanted to take a peak around neighboring places, curious if they were similar to where they had resided.

This was something her brother noticed. He asked her about it, and she simply denied her curiosity. He could obviously tell she wanted to go out, sooo he convinced her to take one of the smaller ships to explore the few neighboring areas. Although she was hesitant, she let him drag her around just this once.

It was um. sort of the wrong call!! They wound up a little too close to a pair of Decepticon scouts who happened to be in the area. They ended up in a bit of a high speed scuffle with the 'cons, which left them crashed and landed upon an entirely different planet.

Their ship wound up at the bottom of the ocean on Earth. From there, the Decepticons merely assumed them to be dead, so they moved to investigate the sighting of other Autobots that had been in the area.

Hookline and Syncer were stranded for a brief period of time without backup, thus they decided to explore the new place they found themselves in.

The ocean being such a vast place full of life immediately had the two enamored and drawn to the wonderful life that resided within. Then upon visiting the surface, the twins found what seemed to be an abandoned base of sorts. Obviously not Cybertronian, but what they assumed to be the species that resided on the planet.

The place was a castle of sorts, lost to time, yet filled with all kinds of history. The two of them found tapestries depicting what seemed to be valiant heroes, along with pages of books about the life within the sea they had crashed into.

They immediately grew fascinated by the art and history they found. So much so that the two ended up finding new looks entirely! Both their modes changed into what you see now, Hookline choosing a nurse shark, and Syncer going with a Hammerhead, while both of their bot modes were shifted to look like the valiant knights they had seen so much of.

The two received backup weeks later, but were actually hesitant to leave the planet. They wanted to know more about the life upon it, especially that of the sea...!

But they reluctantly wound up going back to Cybertron, despite their wants. After all, with a still raging war, they were clearly needed.

Eventually they do find themselves back on Earth, getting to learn sooo much more as they join team Prime :)

#art stuff #transformers #transformers fanart #transformers oc #transformers original character #maccadam #maccadams

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cesussy · 4 months ago

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songs(well, mostly lyrics) that remind me of aventurine <3

JAKSJKAJAJA kinda nervous this is my first post on tumbrl so ahahjaus im so in love with aventurine i cant stop thinking about him lately💔 so some of these might sound delusional😭(but i like to think that i understood his character right so.. 😌) ALSO!! i doubt anyone is gonna see this but let me know if you'd like some other character from star rail<3 (or genshin, zzz etc, i have the games i like on my description profile, but you can just ask and if i know the character ill try my best to answer😌)

back to the topic<3(songs down bellow):

Million Dollar Man - Lana Del Rey

"You're screwed up and brilliant, look like a million dollar man.. so why is my heart broke?" - this song reminds me sm of himmm, the whole idea of a man who is so fascinating but so distant and cold at the same time, like the kind of person you can watch but never get too close

"You've got the world, but baby, at what price?" - i think this fits well with everything he had to endure only to work for the ipc.. you know, like, the idea of an illusion of freedom, he has money and all, but.. is he really, truly, free?:(

Big Spender - Peggy Lee

"The minute you walked in the joint, I could see you were a man of distinction.. A real big spender. Good lookin', so refined.." - ok i really have no explanation for this one, i think it speaks for itself😭

Luxurious - Gwen Stefani

"Working so hard every night and day and now we get the pay back, trying so hard, saving up the paper, now we get to lay back" - this one i feel it more, like, in terms of vibes, the whole sensual vibe, the song having the whole theme of working for money but it still has a rich vibe to it, you know?

Money Power Glory - Lana Del Rey

"I want money, power and glory, I want money and all your power, all your glory" - you'll see a lot of Lana, but I really think he fits with some songs. as for the lyrics, the song itself doesn't fit with his lore totally, but i like the chorus, i think it fits with WHY he likes the idea of having money, back then when he was a slave.. he meant nothing to the world. now that he has it, he is considered powerful.. glorious. i like to think that he understands this mentality, how much, unfortunately, money controls the world

"My life, it comprises of losses and wins and fails and falls" - i think this really works with his luck, how he always emerges victorious even after so many hardships he has to go through

Beneath the Mask - Lyn

"I'm a shapeshifter at Poe's masquerade, hiding both face and mind, all free for you to draw" - it feels a little silly to put a persona song on a star rail post😭 but i feel like beneath the mask works so well with characters that don't show their true self(haha did you get that) to the world, which works so much with the flirty, confident persona(im so funny) aventurine puts on, the "mask" he so created to conceal his feelings

Summertime Sadness - Lana Del Rey

"Think I'll miss you forever.. Like the stars miss the sun in the morning sky" - this line doesnt really work with him😭 but it plays in my mind once in a while while thinking of him<3 especially in the (!! spoiler for the 2.1 quest? !! tho i think everyone finished it already) quest where everyone thought he was dead

Numb Little Bug - Em Beihold

"Do you ever get a little bit tired of life? Like you're not really happy, but you don't wanna die? Like you're hanging by a thread, but you gotta survive 'cause you gotta survive.. Like your body's in the room, but you're not really there? Like you have empathy inside, but you don't really care?Like you're fresh out of love, but it's been in the air.. Am I past repair?" - i actually found this song on an edit on tiktok with him and i think it fits so insanely good with him. i recently saw(again, spoilers for 2.2 quest?😭) the messages he sent to the trailblazer after argenti rescued him and i noticed he told the trailblazer something like "but i survived, and im happy about that". i cant tell if he was being sincere or not, but id like to think that he indeed was happy to get the chance to keep going; i like to imagine that aventurine has an interesting view on death, he doesn't fear it and he probably wished more than once he could just vanish, but i think he accepted that he still has a long journey ahead of him

The Death of a Bachelor - Panic! At The Disco

"I'm walking the long road, watching the sky fall" "I'm cutting my mind off, feels like my heart is going to burst. Alone at a table for two, and I just wanna be served.." - the first line fits so well with whatever happened with him and acheron and that whole black nihility hole; as for the song itself? the lyrics dont exactly fit, but the whole vibe is so him<3

i also made a playlist with some other songs as well if youd like to check it out(not all fit lyrically, ive added some just for vibes), you can check it out here!! aaand let me know if you have some songs that remind you of him! id be happy to listen to them<3

#hsr aventurine #aventurine #aventurine headcanons #aventurine honkai star rail #honkai star rail #star rail #hsr fanart #aventurine hsr #ipc #hsr ipc #penacony #aventurine x reader #hsr aventurine x reader #aventurine x you #kakavasha #fandom #hoyoverse #hoyo games

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grassiestars · 3 months ago

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🌻 :3

hi omg hi can i talk about my au. my zits band au. yeah of course i can. no specific topic just thoughts i have of these guys

i think theyd be that one band in secondary school (high school? middle school??) or college or something who cover songs in their dads garage. came across this band the other day called trueblood (yeah you can punch me. this might sound like someone asking who msi is, to which i respond, i don't know either.) and like theyre a really good band btw you should listen to them i really like their careless whisper cover. reminds me of my zits. this is how you know the fixation is taking over your brain btw.

on that note, i really think zedango is taking over as well lmao. still love my ranchers but zedango is a very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, close second. im really surprised theyre not a popular ship like skizzpulse. maybe skizzpulse isnt that popular but compared to zedango, the former is like hollywood celebrity levels of popular. kind of insane because of how zed and tango act around each other like HAVE YOU SEEN THESE TWO??? HELLO??? enough about these two in general but i think the idea of them formerly dating is funny. theyre exes but they broke up on wonderful terms actually and still love each other platonically. don't think ill make this canon in the au but its a funny thought. also do you guys like aroace zed. maybe just ace. who knows he can be an enigma

i think i should actually start talking about the BAND and not just them kissing..... so zed is the lead singer right. vocalist. singer. whatever you call it. and i am making him play keyboard because it looks fun. im literally making zed and oli the same person. how did i do that. broken heart emoji. also i think more bands should 1. have keyboard players and 2. make them the lead singers. no longer shall the lead singer be a guitarist. where my drummer singers at. even a bassist lead singer is rare tbh. sometimes it's just a singer without an instrument which i find fascinating. how are you singing without keeping your hands occupied. that just feels so weird like there's no dance and nothing for you to play while singing so youre just holding the microphone How are you doing that.

moving on theres skizz. "youre not moving in zits order?!" no. skizz is the lovely lovely bassist i love bassists so much ill literally learn the bass guitar. im aware that he can play the drums but i think impulse is better suited for the role in the band. plus who says skizz cant play Both? haha checkmate losers he can play both because hes Skizz and hes Awesome. i think he would play the nastiest bass like ever in a really good way. absolutely sick bass lines. no one can hear the bass over the guitar or drums or everything else but when you can, its groovy as hell. this applies to a lot of bass lines btw. have i mentioned that he would be background vocals? its an idea that im on the fence about, but the thing is like impulse is busy absolutely demolishing those drums, and tango would be too shy to sing, which leaves skizz. and skizz is like an angel right. so his singing is different from his talking. yeah. yeah are you with me. no probably not but thats okay i HAVE been yapping for a while now..... but like hear me out guys. do you see the vision. background vocals skizz. hear me out.

yk how i said tango would be too shy to sing? is that ooc? im not sure i feel like he would refuse if asked to sing in front of their audience but would go all out in karaoke. which reminds me in their middle school band days they would follow the Classic Band Formula of two guitarists (one of which is the lead singer), one bassist, and one drummer. so technically zed kinda knows how to play guitar but prefers the keyboard if that makes sense. anyways during that time i like to think that maybe tango was the lead? AGAIN this is all just ramblings in my head that no one will read BUT STILL. i think tango would have been the singer at some point in their career before it eventually became zed. just a fun thought. BUT ALSO BUT ALSO theres this one fic that inspired this whole au called "Birdsongs". its rancher centric because of course what im reading is rancher centric, but more importantly, TANGO PLAY THE ELECTRIC VIOLIN!! THATS SICK!!!! I KINDA WANNA ADOPT THAT IDEA!!!!!!! ill ask the author soon enough if i can but the idea has been rotating like a microwave dish.... electric violin tango...... violin tango....... piano zedaph..... violin and piano duet........ tango and zedaph duet.................. oh my god.............. if you can't guess my favourite hermits i suggest you take off the blindfold

OH MY GOD I GET TO TALK ABOUT IMPULSE. first and foremost. impulse with a mullet? yes. impulse with lip piercings? yes. impulse with eyebrow piercings? yes. impulse with earrings and ear piercings? yes. impulse with eyeliner? yes. impulse with chokers? yes. impulses whole purpose in this au is to play the drums and be eye candy (/j). i just think itd be fun to make him a pretty princess because he is one. is this an appropriate place to put an impulse doodle i havent shared yet

wow what a stupid guy i cant believe he exists! i didnt draw the eyebrow piercings unfortunately 💔 but thats alright. anyways hes the drummer. hes cool i like him. not sure what else to say. is there lore in this au? no. so there's like nothing to address

OH on the topic of there being no lore— yeah there's no plot or storyline that i intend to make, unlike a bunch of popular aus ive seen out there. this one is for my own benefit and joy and comfort and have i mentioned joy? i just really like zits, theyre such a fun group with a fun dynamic and cute interactions. I love them so much its inevitable when an au spawns. on that note you should go watch their chained together stream from earlier today

#grassies shenanigans #asks open #zits band au

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aingeal98 · 1 year ago

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Hi, so I was reading some of your Stephanie Brown meta & kudos, serious props yours is excellent. I also noticed you seem to be among those who picked up on the worrying undercurrent of Stephanie's relationships with older men. So double kudos for that.

Especially as its one of those things that tends to get glossed over in fandom & I am unsure at times if some writers even grasped what they were doing. Though that may say more about how girls tend to be treated/viewed as adults rather than children, teenagers or victims, save when its convenient to judge them as such.

Sorry not sure where I am going with this, but I think your stance it from that "Five ships that won't happen" section of the Steph ask as well thought out and covered a lot, so third kudos just for tackling that heavy topic so deftly and efficiently.

Ah thank you! Stephanie's relationship with men is so fascinating to me because she's been hurt so many times and the dissonance between her canon and fanon versions are pretty grim yet interesting. Like in early canon she was the Faith to Ariana's Buffy, the Veronica to the Bettys that were Tim's other love interests at the time. And various writers had various ideas about why she was the way she was, a common theme being that she had difficult relationships with the men in her life and had been hurt in the past. Be it a villain, a friend of her fathers, Cluemaster himself, or a shitty clearly too old guy named Dean. I don't think it was meant to be a pattern, more likely just individual ideas about trauma Steph suffered in her past that ended up turning into a consistent trait.

So you've got an abusive father, at least two cases of SA that I can remember (her babysitter and Black Mask), a pregnancy with clear subtext that the father was older than her, and the general way Batman treats her.

Not to mention she was a minor when all this happened. Like Steph has so many issues that she deserves the chance to unpack but instead they've just kind of... softened her down. Like her Batgirl run was the first chance she'd gotten to be the actual hero instead of The Girl in a story written by sexists, and she deserved every second of that. There had been too much injustice done to her character and her Batgirl run did a good job at setting the baseline for giving her a decent narrative. But afterwards, the New 52 could have delved more into her psyche instead of leaning into her waffles and sparkles fanon characterization. But because the New 52 is the worst, it didn't. And now here we are.

It's one of the reasons I'd really love to write a story about Steph realising she's bisexual, because I think in some ways her view of men are due to feeling trapped by heterosexuality and the patriarchal society. It's hard to explain fully without going into a whole other meta but the way she reacts to Tim showing her bare minimum decency is heartbreaking. Like yes men are awful and have been awful to her but she still likes them, she's going to settle down and marry one eventually right? She just has to find the right one, and Tim didn't treat her like complete garbage so he might be it for her!

And then for her to realise that no, she doesn't. She can marry a man if she wants to but if she wants romance there's also women... I really think bi Steph could be so much more than a simple "Oh hey I like girls now cool lol." Like it would shake a significant amount of the misogyny she's internalised and directed towards herself, it could alter the view she's taken of the world, and it would allow her to see her past trauma through a different lens, maybe with less subconscious self hatred.

Sorry this turned into a giant ramble haha, but thank you for the ask!

#dc #stephanie brown #dc rambles #asks

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numberonetacostan · 6 months ago

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I can't get the idea of the s2 contestants seeing s1 out of my head.

I'm not really sure if they'd see it as just normal II or they'd be weirded out about it, especially how they look since retain their animation quality from whatever episode they came from where the s1 contestants would be a bit more 'not all there yet' as Lightbulb said herself (although Mic does technically have a s1 design it shows up for a moment in the finale and nobody actually acknowledges that version is there).

My main reason for this though is compared to the other seasons s1 feels like a fever dream, in a good way though you know?

I think atleast some things other than the quality of just the world over all would weird them out but I'm also not exactly sure what, I mean yeah they've never seen someone spit lemons or chew the solid metal 'leaves' (how she does that is another question to them atleast) but they also have the knowledge that it's an act and the s3 contestants have seen an (attempted) show takeover, not by a meeple product but it's still happened.

Maybe things like people getting things from Walmart or the way people just up and murder each other, like with Knife burning Marshmallow which seems to be taken a lot more seriously in Truth or Flare than it ever was in s1 and they seem to take the idea that someone could've killed Blueberry on purpose pretty seriously in s3.

Hi there!!^^ Welcome, and thank you for your submission!!! :]

The idea of the season 2 (and season 3, for that matter) contestants seeing season 1 would be interesting. I don't think there would be a full-cast rewatch, what with contestants like Knife eventually feeling ashamed about some of their actions during the seasons, and Taco's presence in it in general, since she herself is a rather taboo topic in the hotel. But, if anyone was interested, Fan could certainly show them season 1! Meaning Testy has definitely seen the first season as well, yeah? They'd probably find the lower animation quality a bit odd, but make about as big a deal about it as the contestants did during episode 12 of season 1; not liking it but also not finding it particularly shocking or unusual.

Haha, yeah, that's a pretty good way to describe season one. It's a lot looser and rough around the edges, but still a ton of fun!! <- #1 fan of ii season 1. Who's gonna take that title from me? I'll find you. Move your furniture 3 inches to the left and take all of your bath towels.

Taco's...fascinating oral capabilities are so interesting. I like to think the lemons end up in her little shell inventory, and she can spit them out from there, because that's my best explanation. As for her being able to eat metal and spit it out into another shape? Idk man, Taco is one of the contestants with the most odd abilities, ask Mephone. I like to give her gijinka fangs, we do see her with sharp teeth in s2 ep11, so maybe that's it? It would probably end up written off as some weird thing Taco did for her cover, since they wouldn't be able to ask her how she did it. Testy might have a bit of a tizzy over how it could be possible though, hehe. Mic might also be interested, since she has the opportunity to actually ask Taco, and she would want to know what that mouth do. Completely platonically, of course. Of course.

The Wal-Mart would probably confuse them, since it doesn't seem to be an actual place on the island, but rather a place they're programmed to accredit random accusations generated by Melife to, yeah? The s2 players could try asking Paper or Marsh what Wal-Mart is like, but their descriptions would be vague at best. The murder would be more upsetting for them depending on what point in the timeline they're at. Early s2 still has some casual murders, but later on is when they get serious about it, yeah? Depends on the contestant, really.

#inanimate insanity #ii taco #taco ii #loomy's answers #inanimate insanity hc #ii mic #mic ii #tacomic #loomy's metas #paper ii #ii paper #marshmallow ii #ii marshmallow #test tube ii #ii test tube #ii fan #fan ii #knife ii #ii knife

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squidthusiast · 10 months ago

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What’s your favorite fic by theashemarie? I want to read her stuff, but I’m so intimidated by how much there is!! Where do I start?

OH ANON HOW I’VE BEEN DYING TO ANSWER THIS ONE!!!!

You’ve opened up THE can of worms my good fellow…

I am so sorry for the person i’m about to become

I’ve actually spent the last couple days making a simplified compilation of Ashe’s works, to make it easier for new readers to visualize them.

It’s the reason why it has taken me some time to answer this haha.

As for my favourite fic…. That’s such an insanely hard question to answer T_T

I’ll put the compilation & my thoughts under the cut to minimize dashboard noise.

(Disclaimer: i’m not a writer so some of the terms I use are from my loose understanding of literature!)

Warning for rambling ahead!!

I tried to make the fomatting as straightforward as possible! If there are any other questions you can drop a comment :)

As for the fav fic stuff:

I don’t think I can have a hard singular favourite of Ashe’s fics, because they’re all different and encompass different themes and vibes and ideas, and fuck man they’re just so good. Ashe has a masters degree in writing and it SHOWS, but also just her writing style & way of developing stories.. it’s so captivating, rich and thoughtful. I love analyzing their work & being rewarded with the amount of detail and effort that is put into it.

Here’s a couple that fucked me up particularly good though, if you must know:

LDR AU | Meet Me on the Rink | And Take Off Your Mask | Simulacrum | Language Barrier

At least two of these majorly impacted my life & mean a whole lot to me because of the themes, topics and characterization in them.

I think one of my favourite things about Ashe’s works is how visceral and raw and real they feel while you read ‘em. There’s a real strong focus on the plot, which makes for a fantastic build up throughout the story. There’s also emphasis on characterization, and by the gods it’s deliciously crafted. The direct and indirect ways in which Ashe portrays the personalities, flaws and motivations of characters… MAN.

A lot of people read fics for a quick hit of fluff or angst, so plot-heavy, meaty fics with a lot of undertones and somewhat unconventional themes can be very different from typical expectations.

Still, I stand by the fact that it’s exactly because of this that Ashe’s work is so refreshing and fascinating to read through, and I strongly encourage everyone to give it a try, especially if you like Off the Hook.

She also has a lot of oneshots and shorter stories that I listed above, if longer ones feel daunting. They’re just as good!!

I’m really grateful that they share all of this work online; creating entails a lot of work, whether it be art, writing, cosplay, etc.

Posting it for free on top of that??? I think we need to appreciate our fic writers more, honestly. They’re a huge pillar in fandom spaces that often goes unnoticed.

That’s my little ramble on the topic, thank you for reading if you went this far!

I hope this helps Anon, and if you need more pointers or thoughts you can hit me up again.

With all that said, big shout out to @theashemarie , this is my big propaganda post for you all to follow her and/or check out their work, and leave her a comment if you enjoy the fics!! I know they appreciate them a lot :)

#squid asks #theashemarie #I had to update the list again because ashe posted a new fic lol #it was really funny #finally I am free as well #this has been eating at my brain for days!!#i’ve been wanting to work on other stuff but #I REALLY wanted to answer this ask asap #I’ll get to my other ones eventually too. thanks for sending them!#I love getting asks #fic recs #off the hook #pearl houzuki #marina ida #pearlina #splatoon #squid rambles #moot’s work

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eldritch-nightmare · 2 years ago

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yandere sully headcanons.

a/n: don't look at me i couldn't help it okay i'll work on requests soon just let me have this. dear god it's been so long since i've written anything i hope i still know what i'm doing uhm i listened to stockholm syndrome by erra on repeat while writing this (i am obsessed w the song okay) so if that influenced it a bit then yeah it's 5am ignore the messiness and typos i just Had to write this in one sitting.

warnings: gn!reader, yandere behavior, obsessive behavior, thoughts of kidnapping, actual kidnapping, thoughts of cannibalism, kinda slight possessive behavior, scopophobia, mentions of restraints, technically a precursor to the yandere sully bot now that i'm looking at this.

He's oh so confused when he first starts feeling things towards you. It's only a brief burst of confusion, only because he's never felt this way for another person before.

Sure, he'd burn the heavens and hells for Liu, and he's pretty buddy-buddy with Eyeless Jack but this? It's new to him.

The confusion doesn't last long, that's for sure. Sully knows exactly what he wants, and he's rather in tune with his emotions so he's able to figure things out quickly.

The intensity of his love certainly surprised him though. The first time he thought 'I want to lock you up and make you mine', he took a step back and was like 'Hey man, that's pretty strange...' but he gets over this pretty quickly, obviously, or we wouldn't be here.

Besides, it's not like he's going to act out on these thoughts, right? I mean, sure, you're the most fascinating person he's ever met but he has restraint. He has a lot of restraint, thank you very much.

Haha... well... about that...

You see, Sully does have a lot of restraint, so he doesn't actually act out on these thoughts and desires for a really long time. He's fine with watching you from afar.

And also because if he did, it could lead to trouble.

He also knows that Liu would be very unhappy with him if he acted out on these desires, and Sully actually really cares about Liu and his boundaries and stuff. Sure, he could totally keep it a secret since they don't share memories and whatnot but still.

So he's content with just watching you from afar and having these thoughts. Shall I provide some examples of the thoughts he has about you?

They'd look so cute chained up and in tears.

God, I just want them to say my name like a prayer.

They're so adorable when they laugh... it makes me want to eat them.

I wonder how they'd react if I took them away from here just so I could keep them all for myself. No one will know where they are except for me... they'd never be able to get rid of me...

Wouldn't it be cute if they realized I want to make them mine? They'd probably run, but that would make things so much more fun.

I honestly think I'll kill anyone who tries taking them from me. They're mine, and I have to protect what's mine.

I love you I love you I love you I love you I love you I love you I love you I love you I love you.

He loves literally anything and everything you do. You could never bore him, even if you try really hard to. He could listen to you talk about some topic he doesn't care for for hours because it's you who's talking.

Honestly, I'm not entirely sure if he'd bother hiding his obsession with you from you. He definitely hides it from Liu, Liu cannot find out, and the others, but I feel like it's so obvious that Sully wants to just devour you.

The way he looks at you certainly sends chills down your spine, and there's something in you telling you to keep your distance, for your own safety.

He doesn't even care to be subtle when he's watching you. You can always feel his gaze on you whenever he's around, it's almost as if you're the only thing he can focus on whenever you're around. It would be kind of cute if it didn't unnerve you so much.

But it's not just that.

It's... the way he looks at you. The... the pure smitten look in his gaze as he watches you do such mundane tasks. The way his gaze always lingers whenever something or someone else needs or wants his attention. His eyes feel like they're going to consume you whole if you look into them. It's only with Sully. You never feel like this when you're around Liu.

He's well aware that you're uncomfortable with his gaze, and he thinks it's adorable how you avoid interacting with him and how you try hiding away from him whenever you're forced to be around him.

God, he could just eat you up.

And it's so hard for him to see you getting along so well with other people. He just wants to pull you away whenever you get too close to someone.

Oh man he's so very casual with all of this as well. You think it's weird and disturbing, he thinks it's romantic and a part of everyday life.

You've thought about mentioning this to Liu a few times but... what could he do? It's not like he can control Sully. Besides, Sully hasn't done anything that makes you feel as if you're in any immediate danger, he just... watches you. And smiles, occasionally, in a way that makes you unnerved to imagine what he could be thinking about.

Well, until now, that is.

What can he say? He has restraint, sure, but even he can't help but give into his desires every once in a while. And this time he just... decided to take you away.

Not while you were awake, of course.

No, he would never let you be awake for something like that. It's also just easier snatching you while you're peacefully asleep, blissfully unaware.

And you're so cute when you're sleeping, did you know that?

He lets out such a dreamy sigh as he watches you sleep on the bed he set you down on. He had brought you deep into the woods, keeping you in a neat little abandoned cabin that he managed to fix up nicely in his spare time.

Only he knew about this place. He didn't share it with Liu. It was his place. And now, yours as well.

Sully thought about restraining you to the bed... he even has a decent-length chain just for that, but...

Not yet.

He knows the chances of you running when you wake up are incredibly high, and honestly? He wants you to run. He'd love to chase you, it'd be fun for him.

You entertain him in ways no person has ever been able to. You make him feel things he's never really thought of or felt before. You're... interesting to him, which really says a lot.

He's never been so intensely interested in something before, let alone someone.

You're just special like that, he supposes, and he can't wait for you to wake up so the real fun can begin.

The only real concern that Sully has is Liu. Liu, bless his heart, would never approve of this. He's too nice, too compassionate. He wouldn't want Sully to keep you captive in a cabin in the middle of the woods. He wouldn't understand.

So, Sully does intend to keep this a secret from Liu. And the others. It's not like they'll suspect him of doing anything.

After all, he's just the guy uninterested in his surroundings, why would he have anything to do with your disappearance?

#sully x reader #sully x you #creepypasta x reader #creepypasta x you #yandere x reader #yandere sully #yandere creepypasta #yandere sully x reader #yandere creepypasta x reader #scheduled.

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rivetgoth · 2 months ago

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About to watch Videodrome for the first time ever at my local independent movie theater. I've somehow managed to avoid learning anything about the movie so I'm going in completely blind, and am so excited. I've loved everything by Cronenberg I've seen so far and look forward to finally learning what Videodrome is about.

I really appreciate your views and perspectives when it comes to art and would love to hear your thoughts on the movie once I've actually seen it if that's something you're down for

Omg first of all enjoy the movie!! Secondly thank you for this ask, I’m really honored you’d ask and be curious to hear my thoughts on something 🥺🖤

Overall I’d say I think Videodrome is a really gorgeous movie. It’s got such iconic visuals that are so entrenched in this now-very-nostalgic 80s aesthetic and it’s also just very sexy and erotic which I love. Debbie Harry is soooooooo hot in it and while I’m not attracted to James Woods himself I think him as Max Renn and Nicki Brand are a very sexy duo. I also just, like, deeply admire and respect Cronenberg’s uncompromising vision as an artist.

That said, I’ll admit (maybe sacrilege to say!) that as an actual film Videodrome has never deeply resonated with me on like, a personal level. I’ve seen it a couple times (2 or 3?) and each time I’m left with the sentiment that it’s very well done, gorgeous on the eyes, and not something that I was able to particularly sink my teeth into as much as I’d have liked!! Even now when I try to recall the story beats off the top of my head I struggle to remember exactly what happens haha. It feels a bit scattered to me and I struggle to connect to the main topics as they’re presented, and while I’m sure I could if I really tried, I also find myself just interested in other themes in other films and have more of a desire to focus my attention elsewhere. 😅

I think the thing for me with Videodrome is that for better and for worse it is so explicitly and directly about a single form of technology in a single moment in history—Thee Television. This is understandable, as an early 80s film by a man born in the early 40s. This was thee dawn of the age of The Television as mass-owned, commercially produced product, fully acclimated to a permanent spot in our homes. I think in that regard the way it explores the concept of The Television and its relationship to humanity, the human psyche, human sexuality and the body, is so so so fascinating. However, it also hinders, for me, my ability to connect as much, because I just don’t find as much fascination with The Television as Cronenberg!

As a man born in the late 90s, I find myself way more drawn to science fiction that engages with Thee Computer, and that’s purely because that was the vice I grew up with, the strange new technology that was taking society by storm, that served as both extra parent and window into all of the horrors humanity has to offer lol. Cronenberg’s own eXistenZ, not coincidentally also a child of the late 90s, is much more thematically resonant to me (although unfortunately Jude Law and Jennifer Jason Leigh don’t have nearly as much charisma or chemistry as James Woods and Debbie Harry) in the way it uses transcendental philosophy to explore the potentiality and implications of the advent of digital worlds/space, or even, for non-Cronenberg examples, something like the anime Serial Experiments Lain (1998) or Jane Schoenbrun’s We’re All Going to the World’s Fair (2021), both media dealing with things like the way The Computer can warp one’s sense of self and identity, even one’s reality, and the way one interacts with others and the world around them (not entirely unlike Videodrome does re: The Television). And when I think about media that really heavily features The Television that I have connected to deeply, like Skinamarink (2022) or I Saw The TV Glow (2024), both are pretty strongly about the nostalgia (negative for the former, positive for the latter) of growing up with television, rather than interest in The Television as an entity of its own, imo, which once again I think speaks to generational difference and just difference in life experience and subsequent interests.

That said, does a movie need to be “resonant” to be great? Of course not. As it stands I think Videodrome is a fantastic work of art and I totally get the appeal. I think in particular, I was talking to Angel about it (who LOVES Cronenberg and has wonderful insights on his work that I don’t tbqh) and I really liked the way she discussed the way that Cronenberg appears to ask in Videodrome how similar or different the human body is to The Television: If one can send signals to a TV or insert a VHS in order to feed it information and give it commands, can the same be done to a person? I find that sentiment really cool and interesting. And I do love the ending and the questions it leaves about what’s real and fake in a post-television world. I guess I just also have never had a moment where the movie fully clicks into place for me—Personally, I think that Crimes of the Future (2022) is probably his best work. :)

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boundwithpurple · 2 months ago

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is it ok if i ask you for some advice?

if so, i was just wondering what you would do in my situation because we seem to have similar bearings about our interests (and i have ocd), and i also noticed that you have a mutual you can countenance artistic disagreement with. my closest confidante confessed to me that she finds my equivalent of daemyra/hotd for you to be extremely stupid and beneath my interest - which she hates - which she has nursed for a couple of years without telling me, all the while permitting me to mentioning i am working on a fic or talk about why i like it etc. (as you do); she actually snapped at me over it so it was kind of like "losing her top" sort of situation - i am very aware that i can talk about topics at length of any variety, but that is the tenor of our acquaintance, in that we both enjoy talking about things at length, so i didn't ever get the feeling i had tested her temper, and to be honest there was definitely conversational encouragement which is what caught me so offside!

my issue is that as much as i have weathered in fandom over your typical nonsense, this has actually hurt the most. there's a lot of stuff bound up in it (she feels intellectually inferior to everyone; she doesn't allow herself to be happily invested in something because it's too fraught; actually she doesn't ever permit herself to be happy, frankly, which is incredibly sad and makes me feel sad) but most of all was the fact that her support for me had been rock-solid. mind you this was both ways just for the full context: i helped her through rocking back and forth crying in my spare bedroom at 4am when she had to do her bachelors thesis and i helped her get the actual draft done that week staying at my place, and i was there for her the whole year actually. there's a mutuality here.

i guess i feel conflicted because it's like, one it affects our friendship and two it affects my interests, because i don't want to blog about them anymore and if i'm writing i have to keep it a secret even to myself. i also feel that it's not... well it's not mutual anymore, because i'm very respectful of her interests even where they diverge strongly from mine, i always found it fascinating, but she doesn't return it? and the real pain here is that i don't even know if i can bring it up because she has said she does not see a problem with her behaviour and i essentially need to get over it. but she did lie to me, she allowed me to expound upon things that bothered her, and i guess, well, i feel like an idiot. i know it's important for her to feel intellectually superior to me but did she have to do this to me???

i actually am at a complete loss, and it's such a specific issue i can't really ask for help from anybody, from traditional avenues, especially because most people don't really get fandom or even necessarily understand this sort of rapport that we had. you don't actually have to give me advice haha... just any of your thoughts would probably make me feel a lot better, if you feel like it. thank you so much for reading and i hope you take care and have a good day

oh no! i’m sorry to hear that. that’s really painful. obviously, we all have developed interests our friends can’t follow us in, and have to check ourselves to make sure we aren’t monopolizing the conversation and boring them stiff. you emphasize mutuality and your willingness to listen to her interests, so it sounds like that isn’t the case, and even if it was, she didn’t handle it the right way. there is a kind way to say “hey i love you love this and i want to listen to you share about your writing, but can we talk about something else?” and it does not sound like that is what happened. it sounds to me like she was very cruel to you, because i think it is always cruel to be mean about a friend’s interests. i don’t think that’s understanding what true friendship is about, to place an issue of taste above valuing the gift of a beloved person’s enthusiasm and intelligence animating it, whatever it might be.

i have friends who love things i think are bad. i have friends who think things i love are bad. in the latter instance, i am not scared of what this will do to our friendship, because i think of friends who like things i think are bad - do i think that makes them stupid? do i sneer at them, even internally? i truly do not. and i think if anyone in my position would think less of me because of a divergence in taste is not a friend who i can really rely on. it’s not that taste does not matter; as anyone who has made friendships in fandom based on shared love of something and similar opinions knows, it is the stuff of which real bonds are made. but i think that simply makes those differences an opening for curiosity into another’s unique viewpoint on the world.

it seems like you have a good awareness that this says more about her and her own hangups around taste and earnest emotional investment than it does you, but knowing that intellectually and conquering the shame something like this triggers for you emotionally are two different matters. but to reiterate: we all like dumb stuff. what you like may not even be actually dumb - that’s her opinion - but even if it was the most dogshit piece of slop in the world, that’s really fine. fandom is a pretty silly hobby, which often consists of people devoting great amounts of intellectual and artistic energy to incredibly mediocre fiction for their own entertainment and enrichment. it’s a good time. it’s not the sum total of your passions or interests. maybe she is the one person who possesses purely impeccable high brow taste, but i doubt it, and if so, i think worrying this much about it is a sad way to live.

as to what you have to DO here - unfortunately to truly resolve this you need to have another go at an honest conversation. you need to share how this made you feel. it sounds like this is a fandom friendship, and so talking about media and fic is the substance of much of it. i have not been in the same fandom as many of my longest fannish friends for years, but like you i always find hearing about what they are into interesting because i like talking to them. if she can’t respect the source of your current fandom interest, she still needs to respect you, and allow you space to talk about what you are doing, the activity of writing and your creative engagement, which does not require personally liking the originating source material. if that’s not something she’s willing to do, that’s also fair. i would also talk about boundaries around this and if she is still willing to hear about this subject and how much. but that comes second to you being able to say that you were hurt and her being able to hear that, because without that i don’t think this is a friendship that can really survive the wild twists and turns in enthusiasms (she’s putting gif sets of WHAT on my dash?) that any strong fandom friendship lasting in the long term requires.

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plumblossomcafe · 3 months ago

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Ch.90: The Night-Bird Falls at the Curtain's Call (1/2)

Paimon: You must have a whole bunch of questions after our last conversation with Nahida? Paimon was ready to ask her a million more questions, but... didn't wanna seem too pushy... Like, about these "Descenders." So... does that just mean people like you, who come traveling to Teyvat from someplace else?

Y/n: If you want answers to your questions, we can go find Nahida and see what else we can find out.

At the entrance of the Sanctuary of Surasthana, two men could be seen arguing about a certain topic

Aqaba: Come on, serious suggestions, please. I'm not trying to write a thriller here! It's supposed to be an essay, you understand? An essay. That means facts and logic.

Sawada: Well, if it's facts and logic you're after, you shot yourself in the foot with your choice of research topic, didn't you? "The Tatarasuna Mystery"... When so much remains unexplained, there's little to be objective about. Unless, of course, you restrict yourself to textual criticism.

Aqaba: Yeah, well... This is my teacher's area of research. I can't change that. But it's fascinating enough without having to sensationalize it, don't you think? The strange location, the missing details, a mysterious person... I want to write my essay on something interesting, and I'm interested in getting to the bottom of all this. That's the only reason I came to you!

Sawada: Yes, you came to me, so all the more reason to take my advice! The fact is, it's the dramatization that will make people want to read it. There's no getting around that.

Aqaba: Uh... Okay, but...

Paimon: Did one of them just mention Tatarasuna? But that's all the way in Inazuma... Is it just Paimon, or is it kinda unusual for someone in Sumeru to wanna write a paper about that? ...Huh, everyone here's just going about their business — maybe it really is just Paimon. Guess people here are free to research pretty much anything.

Y/n: Still, let's go listen in.

Paimon: Great! Let's go find out what this "Tatarasuna Mystery" is all about.

Upon approaching Aqaba and Sawada

Aqaba: Alright, I guess I'll go with my textual criticism and your editorial direction for the first draft. I have a feeling that the missing kabukimono will end up being the main focus of this paper. *sigh* If only we knew where to find those travelers... From what they say about them, this seems like the kind of thing they'd know about.

Aether: Looking for us?

Sawada: Oh, you're the travelers, you say? Hmm...

Paimon: Hey, what's with that face? Don't believe us?

Y/n: If you don't believe us, we'll go.

Sawada: No, no! Of course I believe you two. Actually, I first heard about your great exploits when I was still in Inazuma. This is my first time coming face-to-face with you and your mysterious silver-haired companion... I couldn't believe my luck, and out of force of habit, I started, uh, examining the evidence... Sorry.

Aqaba: Sawada, for the love of... Haha, sorry, we don't get out much, so our social skills are kinda lacking...

Y/n: It's fine

Aqaba: I hear you've both helped many people a great deal, and been to many places. Would you be able to tell us about Tatarasuna?

Paimon: Actually, we don't know much about that place either. In fact, we only came over here 'cause we heard YOU talking about it, and wanted to learn more.

Aqaba: Ah... I see.

Y/n: Sorry, we can't help this time.

Aqaba: My teacher chose this area of research as a personal challenge. He said it's difficult to get into, because even Inazumans don't know much about Tatarasuna's past. But who'd have thought that—

Sawada: If you don't mind, I'd love to show you all my outline for the book I'm writing about Tatarasuna.

Aqaba: Hold on, Sawada. Don't you think that's a bit of a deep dive for a first read?

Sawada: Fair point. In that case, please ease yourselves in gently by taking a look at Aqaba's latest essay draft.

Aqaba: Let me give you some background. This all started with the discovery of some records in Tatarasuna. The writings mentioned someone by the name of "Mikoshi Nagamasa," who crafted a fine blade. But in the end, he threw it into a fire to destroy it and killed his servant, Katsuragi. Why? Well. No one knows. Apart from the sword-maker, his servant, and the one who wrote this all down, the records also mention a "kabukimono." This seems to be an Inazuman word for an eccentric stranger — someone who dresses funny or acts in an unusual way.

Y/n: !? "Wait..."

Sawada: That's right. Aqaba's teacher has spent quite some time researching these events on the ground. This kabukimono lived in Tatarasuna for a while before disappearing without a trace, and shortly afterwards... as Aqaba mentioned, things got pretty ugly.

Paimon: So first the strange person goes missing, then a murder happens? Hmm, seems kinda fishy to Paimon!

Sawada: Yes, my thoughts exactly! So I helped out too. I asked everyone I could think of if they knew anything about what happened back then... and WOW, did I get LUCKY!

Paimon: Stop shouting!

Sawada: This part's important. I just wanted to make it stand out. It just so happens that a friend of mine works at the government records office. He looked into it for me, and I can now confirm that all the aforementioned individuals did, in fact, live in Inazuma over four hundred years ago. Even back then, Tatarasuna was already at the center of Inazuma's smelting industry. The man in charge was a government official named Niwa. Curiously enough, it seems like he went missing, too.

Y/n: *bitting her nail*

Aether: "Could it be...!"

Paimon: Wait, so there are TWO missing people in this story now?

Sawada: That's right! What's more, "Niwa" is a name with a lot of history to it. Have you ever heard of the great swordsmith clans of Inazuma?

Paimon: Oh, the swordsmiths? Yeah, umm... like Isshin Art and so on?

Sawada: Wow, yes, you really know your stuff. That makes things easier. So basically, this Niwa was a distant relative of the Kaedehara Clan — the last practitioners of Isshin Art. Something then seems to have happened in the Kaedehara Clan leading to their downfall... I don't know the details, but taken in light of everything else going on around that time, it makes you wonder whether it's all connected somehow...

Paimon: ...The Kaedehara Clan...

Aqaba: ...Sawada, you left out the biggest detail of all!

Y/n: "This story is about him..."

Aether: There's more!?

Sawada: Oh! Yes, of course, how could I forget! Brace your minds, ladies and gents, for they are about to be blown. Or maybe you won't believe your ears... I wouldn't blame you, of course, because in all my years as a writer, this is by far the most—

Aqaba: Get to the point, for Pete's sake!

Sawada: ...According to information acquired by Aqaba's teacher, the kabukimono was not a human... But a puppet.

Aether: ...!

Paimon: A puppet?

Aether: "The Shogun puppet that the Electro Archon made should be ruling Inazuma with her as we speak... It couldn't be her. The kabukimono has to be The Balladeer, but... what was he doing 400 years ago in Tatarasuna?"

Aqaba: Aha! Judging by the looks on your faces, you do know something after all?

Paimon: Uhh... Uhh...

Aether glared at Paimon and hoped she could keep her mouth shut.

Paimon: Ah, no! Paimon just meant... "Uhh, how creepy!" The way you described it makes it sound like a ghost story!

Sawada: I agree. It does, but considering that non-human races in Inazuma are by no means uncommon, spooky events are to be expected... And that's exactly what my book is about — please, take a look. *hands Y/n the copy*

Y/n: *quickly skimmed through it*

Aqaba: Oh, and please read my essay draft as well!

Y/n: *Also quickly skimmed through it* "No doubt this is about him"

Aqaba: Sawada was encouraging me to follow his more creative approach, but I think essays should be grounded in facts. I don't think explaining everything away with mysterious forces will cut it...

Y/n: "Oh I knew this day would come when I would try to explain his past to Aether so he can have a differentperspectiveof him Sure, I don't know it fully but I understand it through subtle mentions from both him and Dottore, but I didn't expect this day to come. Wat to do, what to do????"

Aqaba: Ooh, how about if I plug the holes in Sawada's narrative with political intrigue? Like, um, I could put a turf war between rival factions at the center of the whole series of events.

Paimon: Wait, you're allowed to just make stuff up? Pretty sure you've gone from "essay" to "guessay" there.

Aether: Yeah, sounds more like a novel... "Has this guy ever even written an essay before?"

Y/n: "I need to get out of here and ask Nahida what I should do..." Oh! I just realized that I need to go buy some shrimp meat, I'll leave you guys alone

Aether: But you just bought-

Y/n quickly scurried off before Aether could continue his sentence

Sawada: Aqaba, look... Your teacher has researched this extensively. I've reached out to everyone I could think of... Whatever information we have now is all that there is to know. This is as much detail as you're ever going to get. Besides, if there really was a political power struggle going on at anything like the level you seem to be suggesting, what hope would we ever have of finding out the truth?

Aqaba: ...Ugh, good point. Okay, back to the drawing board, I guess... Gimme some time. I need to find a new angle on this.

Aether: We'll leave you to it

Paimon: We have some other stuff to do, so we'll have to say goodbye for now. Good luck with your essay!

Aqaba: Alright, thank you. If you find out any more info about all this, please do let me know! Thanks so much.

The now duo quickly scurried off

Paimon: Hey, so that thing they were talking about... It has to do with The Balladeer, doesn't it?

Aether: Yes.

Paimon: Okay... Then, even if we did know something about it, we probably couldn't share it with them, huh? After all, we kicked his butt and got him locked up. Information about people like that is usually super confidential, isn't it? If you ask Paimon, Aqaba should just pick a different topic. There must be as many essay topics as there are trees in the forest. There's no point in—

A familiar figure walks past, scaring Paimon

Paimon: Aah!!!

Aether: What's wrong!?

Paimon: Hey, did you see that? He literally just went by. Over there... it looked like, like... The Balladeer!? No it can't have been, he got locked up... Quick, let's catch up and see!

Y/n could be seen pacing back and forth in the Sanctuary of Surasthana while mumbling incoherently with a bubble on top of her head that looks like it's about to pop due to her instability of emotions. During this, Nahida seemed confused and didn't know what to do until she saw Aether and Paimon

Nahida: *relieved* Aether, Paimon, there you are. What happened? Y/n just came in here- *is interrupted*

Paimon: Nahida, bad news! We just saw The Balladeer, strolling around in public! Did he escape, or...? *sees The Balladeer* ...Aah! It's him!

The Balladeer: Hmph. Sure enough, you're here.

Paimon: Hey, what are you doing in the Sanctuary of Surasthana!? Aren't you supposed to be locked up!?

Y/n: *Finally fed up* Can everyone just shut up!?!

This caused her bubble to pop spilling all the water on her

Aether: *concerned* Are you okay?

Nahida: *sighs* I know you must have a lot of questions. Please, allow me to explain after Y/n tells me what happened.

Y/n: W-Well you see

Nahida: You don't have to pressure yourself if you don't want to. Let's just change the topic for now, and hopefully once this is over you can explain what happened.

Y/n: Alright

Nahida: Now, back to the topic at hand, It was my idea to set The Balladeer free. We made a deal, and he's gonna do some investigation in Irminsul for me.

Paimon: A deal!? You sure you trust this guy?

The Balladeer: What did you expect? Why do you think Sumeru would keep me around otherwise? ...Or maybe killing me is all you can think about? But if that's the case, why haven't you done it already?

Paimon: Don't flatter yourself. It was... Nahida said there's still some mysteries in you to figure out!

The Balladeer: Ah, so if it were up to you, you'd finish the job? Guess I had you all wrong. There I was thinking you were just getting cold feet.

Aether: ...

Nahida: Ugh, well, that escalated quickly. Not a good start...

Y/n: Ok, Let's all calm down and not start a fight

Paimon: But Paimon's worried about you, Nahida! Don't let him trick you!

The Balladeer: Haha, it's not every day you see people questioning the wisdom of two gods known for their wisdom. Just when you think you've seen it all.

Paimon: Don't you dare try to drive a wedge between us!

Nahida: As long as the terms are reasonable, I don't think there's a problem in making a deal. Even with The Balladeer.

The Balladeer: Well, I for one have no reason to doubt you, considering you even struck a deal with The Doctor.

Nahida: Yes, one in which I gained valuable information. You'll come to understand more about that in the fullness of time. The Balladeer's power was all but completely spent after your battle. He's no longer strong enough to be a strategic threat to us. That puts him in quite a precarious position. Plus, he's a former Harbinger with knowledge of many of the Fatui's sensitive secrets. Being stuck here in Sumeru could make him a sitting duck, depending on how the Fatui plan to respond.

Paimon: Wait a second... former? You mean, he's not a Harbinger anymore?

Y/n: Well, in the eyes of The Doctor, you could immediately interpret that he had no intention of welcoming back a loser, so...

Aether: ...So he tossed him out like trash.

Y/n: Basically

The Balladeer: Sometimes it's you using them. Other times, it's them using you. Most human relationships are this way... certainly all the stable ones are. That's how it was between me and the Fatui, and also between each of the Harbingers. So, as long as you have some value to offer, nobody will ever abandon you. But after recent events, even I have to admit that I'm not worth quite what I used to be...

Aether: *mocking him* Really? What a crying shame.

Y/n: Knock it off

The Balladeer: ...Hmph, well, if the Fatui are gonna re-evaluate my utility, I need to have a backup plan for myself.

Nahida: As we discussed, I don't like causing harm to living beings, and you said you need protection. So, why not join forces with us?

Y/n: It's a win-win when you think about it, you get protection, and we get information

The Balladeer: I think your two friends have made their objection to that idea fairly clear, don't you? And they're your's and Beur's friends, so I guess you both will be siding with them.

Paimon: Yeah, obviously! Nahida, Y/n, don't listen to him!

Nahida: Then let's put that discussion to the side for now. We still have time. Today can be a trial run. Where we go from here will depend on how well we manage to cooperate today.

The Balladeer: Alright. Then I'll do what we agreed.

Nahida: Good. Go now, and keep in touch.

The Balladeer leaves

Paimon: Nahida, are you... are you serious about this?

Nahida: Yes. I have my reasons for this decision. In fact... I'm largely doing it for your benefit, Aether.

Aether: ...For me?

Nahida: Yes. As me and Y/n told you once before, there's information about your twin in Irminsul.

Paimon: Oh, yeah. Actually, that's the whole reason we came to see you today. So you have an update on that?

Nahida: Mm-hmm. You may remember me mentioning that the Fatui had not included your twin's details in the "Descender" category. This is an extremely important point. It's possible that the Fatui have other information that even I don't know about. And since The Balladeer used to be one of them, he'll be better acquainted with this information than I am.

Y/n: Nahida told me that he was granted the power to connect with Irminsul when he almost became the god of a new era. Even though he no longer has the Gnosis, some traces of its power remain in him. He can still connect.

Nahida: The amount of information in Irminsul is vast beyond description. Sifting through all of it without knowing what to look for would take too long, even for me. So I asked The Balladeer to search in Irminsul for any information about the Descenders. He's more familiar with this kind of information and should be able to find it more quickly.

Aether: What if he lies to you?

Paimon: Exactly! Or what if... Paimon just doesn't trust him. He's treated us as enemies every time we've run into him.

Y/n: You guys still trusted me even if I hid my identity to you, so why can't we trust him as well?

Nahida: Y/n is right. Sometimes, everything is dictated by which side you're on. How things will go in the future depends on what information he brings back.

Y/n: Aether... I'm doing this for you, I know what your heart desires most of all. We've traveled together for a while now. You never mention it, but I can tell that you have an intense longing... A feeling of being all alone in the dark, searching for the one candle whose light still burns.

Nahida: As Sumeru's deity, it is my responsibility to be on guard against The Balladeer. But as someone who counts you as a friend, I want to do something for you. If this deal with The Balladeer can give you the answers you've been longing to find, then it's worth it.

Aether: ...Thank you, Nahida, Y/n.

Y/n: No problem

Nahida: It's my pleasure, really. You're Sumeru's hero! You've more than earned it.

Paimon: Hmm, Paimon's still worried about this idea... Is there anything we can do to help?

Nahida: I was going to contact you about that, but then you suddenly showed up of your own accord because of Y/n. Seems like we have a telepathic connection. In fact, I was going to ask you three to supervise The Balladeer on my behalf while he carries out the task I assigned.

Y/n: But it's a fraction of his power that he has left, I don't think it's that serious

Nahida: Yes, even though he only has a fraction of his full power left, that's still a fraction of a former Harbinger. If you could accompany him, it would put my mind at ease. Of course, I'll be there to help guide you through Irminsul from the outside.

Aether: Got it.

Nahida: Great. Thank you. Prepare yourselves. I'm going to transport you into Irminsul.

The trio enters Irminsul, unlike before the scenery holds the air of peace and a beautiful clear sky

Paimon: Wow... It looks pretty different here compared to last time. The colors are gentler... Guess that must be because Sumeru's at peace now.

When The Balladeer came into view, they approached him immediately

The Balladeer: Look at that, hot on my heels. You know, you didn't have to cut your catch-up short just to keep me company. Oh, but I guess you panicked when you realized that I might enter Irminsul ahead of you.

Aether: Nahida sent us to babysit you.

Paimon: Shut your beak, jailbird! There's no way a prisoner gets to be so smug!

Y/n: Hey, I thought I told you two to knock it off!!

The Balladeer: No, it's alright, I understand that prisoners have to put up with harassment from some of the guards, but right now, I'm on temporary release, so maybe you two should think about taking Y/n's advice and backing off a little.

Nahida: Sounds like a successful rendezvous.

Y/n: Tell me about it...

Nahida: I need to be quite clear about something. In a few moments, you'll be entering into the innermost region of Irminsul. It is an environment like no other, and the most important place in all of Sumeru. Unlike anywhere else, Irminsul's inner region consists exclusively of torrents of information. You must put aside your differences and be extremely careful as you navigate your way through. I know there are many grievances between you on both sides, but it is essential that you remain calm after entry. This is as much for your own safety as anything else.

Y/n: Alright

Aether: ...Understood.

Paimon: ...Fine, let's call a truce, but only until this mission's over...

The Balladeer: Let's cut each other a little slack, shall we? We are gonna be traveling together, after all. Per my agreement with Lesser Lord Kusanali, I'll be at the front. It's my job to lead the way and get rid of any obstacles in our path. *refers to Y/n* All you have to do is keep your pretty eyes open and try not to fall behind.

Aether: *held his arm out in a protective matter*

Paimon: Ha! You sure are confident, Paimon'll give you that. You make it sound like you're even more experienced at adventuring than us!

The Balladeer: If there are no further objections, I suggest we get going. Or did you need some time to mentally prepare yourselves?

Paimon: You...! Ugh! The snark on this guy! It's unbearable!

Aether: There's no need for all the biting sarcasm. Focus on doing your job.

The Balladeer: ...Hmph. We can start now.

Nahida: Irminsul access granted. Initiating connection procedure...

A small glowing sapling can be seen as Nahida said those words

Paimon: Is this a small sapling? *sees The Balladeer go ahead* Argh, darn it! C'mon, let's catch up with him!

Soon, they all entered the innermost area of Irminsul

Paimon: Wow... So this is the inside of Irminsul...

Aether: It's different than what I imagined...

Paimon: Ohh... Paimon's never seen anything like this. And it feels like a sacred place...

Y/n: Irminsul is closely intertwined with the entirety of Teyvat. Every bit of information flowing here means something.

The Balladeer: Pick your jaws up off the floor. It's time to go.

Paimon: Why is it that Paimon just wants to do the opposite of everything he says...

The Balladeer: ... *ignores them* Lesser Lord Kusanali, we will now proceed to the heart of Irminsul.

Nahida: Can you still sense where the heart of Irminsul is?

The Balladeer: Yes. Permission to begin searching for information there?

Nahida: Permission granted. Go ahead.

The Balladeer: Let's go. Stay close, don't go running off.

Paimon: Hey, so... say we did go running off in here. What would happen?

The Balladeer: ... *smirks*

Paimon: Wh—What are you smirking at?

The Balladeer: I was just imagining the look on both of your travel companion's faces if you went and got lost. Anything's possible in here — you can't rule anything out. So if you wanna stay safe, your best option is to stick close to me.

While following The Balladeer, many small saplings kept showing up

Paimon: These sapling things have spread out...

The fragments have dissipated, and the space seems to have been affected somehow...

The Balladeer: Those are all packets of information from inside Irminsul. Be careful not to touch them.

Aether: "The location's changed. Looks like we've been transported to another path."

Paimon: It looks the same in every direction...

Aether: "This space is indeed unusual... But it seems that The Balladeer is more used to it than me and Y/n."

Paimon: ...No wonder he mentioned about getting lost. Whaddya know, he was actually telling the truth...

The Balladeer: Hehe.

Paimon: Is he mocking me again? What is it this time!?

The Balladeer: There's a time and a place to lie, but this definitely isn't it. So why don't you relax your guard a little?

After walking for a while more, they finally approached the center of Irminsul

The Balladeer: We're here.

Paimon: What a huge tree...

Aether: "This is the center of Irminsul. All the information in the world is flowing through it..."

Y/n: "If the information of everyone in Teyvat are stored here, can I learn more about Father and maybe about Mother?"

The Balladeer: Lesser Lord Kusanali.

Nahida: Good, you made it. Are you ready?

The Balladeer: Ready when you are.

Nahida: Then please begin. Preparing to access cognitive currents. Establishing waypoint...

Paimon: The Balladeer's actually doing what Nahida tells him... Guess he must want to stay alive.

Aether: "He hasn't put up any resistance, and he seems good at working on the frontline... Maybe he had a similar role in the Fatui? First Aqaba and Sawada's stories, now this... What a strange individual."

Nahida: The rest is up to you. If you discover anything at all, make sure to share it with us.

The Balladeer: Will do.

Paimon: Huh... For once, we're the ones with nothing to do...

Nahida: "Aether, Y/n, Paimon, would you like to talk?"

Aether: "Nahida? ...Is this a telepathic conversation?"

Nahida: "Yes. I've also invited Paimon to join."

Paimon: "Huh? ...What the... We can talk to each other inside our heads?"

Y/n: "I'm guessing that you don't want us to disturb The Balladeer."

Nahida: "Hehe, that's part of it. Plus, we're all friends. There's nothing wrong with us talking like this once in a while."

Paimon: "Paimon's never tried this before. This is great! So, Paimon's been wanting to ask you something. Don't you think The Balladeer's a bit of a walking contradiction? He's always talking back, but he seems to listen to what you say..."

Aether: "Yes, and he seems to excel at doing odd jobs for others..."

Y/n: "..."

Nahida: "As I've told you before, there are still some mysteries for him to resolve. Things that are clear as day to me, but that he has yet to understand. Perhaps today will be the day that he finds some answers."

Aether: "Is it about his past? The "betrayals"? And the other events in Inazuma?"

Nahida: "Well done. Smart and attentive as always."

Y/n: "Betrayals?"

Aether: "Yes, I caught a glimpse of a few things when I ran into Haypasia at Pardis Dhyai..."

Aether states what he saw in The Balladeer's mind while in Pardis Dhyai...

Y/n: "So you made contact with that part of his mind... Well, it's true. "Betrayal" turned The Balladeer into the person he is today."

Paimon: "Huh, Paimon thought nothing could get under that guy's skin. Turns out he can get hurt and angry just like anyone else."

Nahida: "Everyone has a history, Paimon. Even if you're a puppet created by the Electro Archon."

Paimon: "Speaking of puppets, we ran into two people at the Akademiya today talking about an essay. Turns out their topic was about the Tatarasuna incident... Nahida, do you know anything about that?"

Nahida: "If you mean the mysterious events, the kabukimono, and so on... Yes, I know about all of that."

Paimon: "Really? Because from what they were saying, it sounded like lots of Tatarasuna's history is still unexplained, and most of the information we have now is just from people filling the gaps with their imagination. At least, that's what they thought..."

Y/n told Nahida about the story Aqaba and Sawada are writing...

#yandere genshin impact #calamity: yandere genshin impact x reader #yandere aether x reader #yandere platonic! nahida x reader #yandere platonic! paimon x reader #yandere wanderer x reader

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pynkhues · 3 months ago

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You absolutely nail the educational neglect thing. Both the personal shame, the social exclusion, and the fascination with educated people/desperate to learn with whatever diy tools you have (because good education isn't just learning a thing, but also how to learn in the first place).

Tho low key, in whatever au Lestat did get an education i can't imagine he wouldn't be fighting with bad teachers/authority figures. Equally, with a good teacher, esp a music teacher, he would shine like the sun.

(x)

Thank you! And yeah! It's actually a topic that I think about a lot, especially because I think the show's really going to explore it given the way they've already threaded in him being bad at spelling in s2, and Louis weaponising Lestat not finishing books as an indication of him being shallow/unintelligent in their fight in 1.05 (I strongly suspect Louis doesn't know that Lestat was never taught how to read or write / I don't think that's something Lestat would want Louis to know about him, especially as Louis reads as highly educated to me. That said, given how cruel Louis can get in a fight [I love him, your honour, haha], I wouldn't put it past him weaponising it even if he did know, honestly). Their educational gap too is just an interesting dynamic in a relationship too, and I can't imagine the writers wouldn't want to explore that.

Plus it really is such a huge part of TVL too, particularly in terms of Lestat's attraction to Nicki, and later his draw to Marius, and I think it's just so formative to who Lestat is as a character. His curiosity and wonderment with the world is a huge driving force for him as a character, and I do think that's born out of that educational neglect. I'm really curious as to what the show does with it, especially because I think they've been clear already that vampirism isn't an instant educational tool like it is in the books i.e. Lestat miraculously knows how to read and write the moment he's turned in TVL, and correct me if I'm wrong, but I don't think there's ever really language barriers in the books? But the show demonstrates that Claudia has to teach herself the languages she can later speak, and even as they're travelling, Claudia can speak Romanian, but Louis can't, and Sam's already talked about Lestat having to learn to speak English (and doing so on the ship to America), which makes me think he and Rolin have probably discussed it.

But yes! I think Lestat could be a pretty difficult student with anyone who wasn't a very good teacher, haha. I think he'd need someone both warm and really patient, because even though Lestat's so desperate to be taught, he's still Lestat, haha.

There's also a sense of frustration which comes with not being able to do things you think you should be able to do. One of my nephews has a rare motor disability which severely effects his ability to speak, and I help my sister with his homework from his speech and occupational therapists quite a bit. He can get really frustrated, especially because he knows what he wants to say, but the words will come out wrong (i.e. screwdriver might come out as driverscrew, or he'll temporarily lose certain sounds completely, so suddenly might not be able to say any words with an 'at' sound like 'that' or 'cat'). His therapists, my sister and I are all really patient with him, but he's not always patient with himself, and I mean, he's only 7, haha, but I actually do think Lestat would fall into that a bit too with not giving himself the time and space to get it wrong when he feels he knows how to get it right.

With the right teacher though - - yeah. Shining like the sun is a good way to put it! :-)

#it's a really interesting thing to consider an au with him being taught from a younger age #because i actually do think it would fundamentally change his character?#his relationship to the world really does feel steeped in that lack of ever being taught #and it's really interesting to consider what that means in his dynamics with both louis and nicki #it's part of why i'm not concerned about the age gap between nicki and lestat on the show #i think him being educated in paris while lestat has never left the auvergne is a lot more important than them having been the same age #plus all the french revolution stuff drastically shifts their dynamic now of course #with lestat being a broke aristocrat and nicki (and all his college friends) being a part of the bourgeoisie #lestat asks #iwtv asks #iwtv and education

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hazshit-hotel-hater · 1 year ago

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I'm not a "ship" person whatsoever but I do scroll character tags on occasion and see quite a bit of Vox and Vel together as well as what seems to be a lot of what I'm assuming is female original character stuff. I've even seen some Charlie and Vox too. So it's out there, but unless you're scrolling through character tags I can see how it might be hard to find. Personally, I also block/filter a lot of the big "ship" tags so maybe that also makes it easier for me to stumble across this stuff that "slips" through since I don't know if those pairings have names.

I get your point though. I do think many are inclined to erase his bisexuality when it's convenient. Interestingly, they also erase Valentino's pansexuality too. The same with Husk as well, but I check his tag a lot less so who knows.

What disappoints me, and I know I'm about to come off as nit-picky right now lol, is the lack of research people put into their "sexuality" headcanons for the characters with reference to their different eras. When reading some of them, you'd think the idea of "gay rights" was a completely new and foreign topic that only emerged after the early 2000s. I get people want to go for the simplistic "repressed and doesn't know what being [insert identity here] is" for some of the older characters but that completely ignores a fascinating and rich tapestry of queer history that could create far more interesting (and still accurate) stories for the characters/their backgrounds. I would really encourage those who haven't already or are generally unfamiliar to dive into this history as it might inspire their character ideas while also educate them on the work, art, and activism our queer elders have contributed to the community we have today.

I think this may partially relate to character ages being under explored as well. While I've seen debate on what is canon/has been decanonized many of these characters, as far as we know, died in their late 30s and beyond. That's a lot of life to live and experience. While certainly many people throughout history (and even today) kept their sexuality hidden from the public due to culture, shame, and safety that doesn't mean there weren't many incredible private venues/spaces that could be utilized to explore those feelings/identities in secret.

I could go on and on about this but I've totally strayed from your original point (I'm sorry!) and I'm very tired haha. I just think there are multiple factors coming into play here with these character interpretations and, for me, the biggest missed opportunity is the lack of historical research. But end of the day people should have their fun! Just an observation.

Completely agree with this! I doubt my response will be as long since I just woke up but other characters doing certain things or not knowing about sexualities is interesting, it just seems like a lot of people think older people don’t want to explore any of that like it only just happened recently as you said. I like to joke about Angel being shocked about gay marriage and not knowing a bunch of current terms but thats about it. With him being in the mafia when he was alive makes it much more interesting as well, I’m pretty sure around his time the mafia was blackmailing men in gay bars but dont quote me on that I might be wrong.

Anyway for Husk and Valentino pan erasure I see that a bunch too. Not exactly erasure but just… ignoring it? Moreso erasure on Valentino’s end because Ive seen people get mad at people for shipping Valentino with a woman and was like “hes gay dont do that” no he isnt. Also dont ship Valentino with anyone for the love of god. But like people are super used to just making up headcanons that they dont bother to look up actual canon stuff. I know Hazbin isn’t the best but if you want canonically LGBTQ+ characters use what you have and add on later. Or headcanon a background character, thats what I did with Molly.

People are very focused on modern day queerness and forget that this stuffs been happening for decades and it’s a bit sad. Also I seem to have strayed from my own question as well?? Anyway ty for mentioning this! Its very interesting 🩷

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fallandfigs · 17 days ago

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Sorry if you get this twice, tumblr was acting up so I'm not sure it went through. But Hawkeye for the ask game.

Thank you for the ask and for resending! Tumblr did eat whatever was sent before... But without further ado - too many words about Hawkeye:

How I feel about this character

Oh Hawkeye. I love him. I really do. But also. There are moment he drives me up a wall. He has such main character syndrome – which is fine because he IS the main character. But I am, at heart, an ensemble-lover. And I can’t help but wish some of his storylines had been given to other characters (I am the only person alive that wishes Carry On, Hawkeye had been about Margaret and Henry, a combo we almost never saw, instead of Margaret and Hawkeye, who’d already had at least one bonding episode). That being said – I do still love him. I love how dedicated he is. I love that he loves being a doctor. I love that he cares. I love that he’s funny. I love that he knows when to laugh. I love that he knows when not to laugh. I love his ego. I love his anger. I love that he loves selfishly and unselfishly. There’s a reason so many people have him as their number one character of all time. And I get it – I really do. I just wish the show was better at knowing when to let him play a supporting role once in a while and I wish the show was a little better at dealing with his flaws. See, e.g., Fallen Idol. An episode with so much potential that just…comes out muddled.

But back on topic – I love Hawkeye. He’s great. He’s complicated and interesting and there’s a ton to chew on. But I don’t think I understand him as well as many many others on tumblr do (yourself included!) and a part of me thinks that comes down to the later seasons having somewhat inconsistent characterization as compared to the Gelbart years.

Anyway, with all of this said, he’s my second favorite character in the show and I love him and think about him often. I actually have a whole thing (essay?) about him and Carlye that I want to get around to writing one day but we’ll see if I can ever make it coherent enough for human consumption.

All the people I ship romantically with this character

Trapper. Just to add on to this, I see Hawkeye and Trapper as some kind of like…soulmate equivalents. They have a connection that defies categorical definition. No matter when or where they met they would have been important to each other, and I love that. It’s actually a huge part of why I think they stay in each other’s lives post-war. They’re friends because of who they are and not because of the war. The war just so happens to be where they met. But they were both young surgeons in the Boston area – odds are their paths would have crossed in any universe and I stand by that (despite how delusional that sounds haha).

Frank

Scully (unironically I think they’d have great sex and a lot of fun)

OMCs

OFCs

Any and all threesomes. Literally any of them.

My non-romantic OTP for this character

Trapper (of course)

Margaret. I actually want to elaborate on this one because the Hawkeye-Margaret friendship means the world to me. They’re so similar and yet they're ideological opposites. I tend to think Hawkeye would struggle to stay friends with anyone regular army after they’re back home, but Margaret is kind of the exception to that in my mind. They’ve been through so much together that no one else can really understand and the connection they have exists in this strange liminal space where they respect each other and care about each other but would never have been friends but for these circumstances. And there’s something fascinating in that for me. I’m not quite sure if it’s like…OTP levels, but I do think it’s important and unlike any other relationship in his life.

My unpopular opinion about this character

I have so many I’m not even sure where to start haha. But probably the big one is there’s basically* nothing wrong with him but the war. Like. That’s it. That’s the primary issue he's dealing with. In the early seasons at least, there’s a kind of necessity to this – the commentary is only effective if Hawkeye is generally OK before the war. The war is THE problem in his life. It’s what causes everything else. And as a result of this, I do generally think he's OK after the war too. He's forever changed, because that's the whole deal. But he's not ruined. He's gonna be alright, I think, after some time and recovery.

*Ironically, I do tend to headcanon Hawkeye as having some kind of mental illness (something in the cyclothymia family of slightly less severe mood disorders), but (a) it’s a headcanon and (b) I see it as enhancing the above. Like he was managing before the war, but being drafted has been the thing that tipped him over into more noticeably non-functional episodes.

One thing I wish would happen / had happened with this character in canon.

This is an interesting one because like…what doesn’t happen to Hawkeye, ya know? But actually, on a not so serious note, it would have been nice to have seen Hawkeye on R&R with or without another main character (although my preference would have been with Trapper because I'm me). But I think there's a lot of opportunity there for comedy and commentary.

Also, selfishly, I'd love it if Hawkeye made more references to Trapper and Henry in the later years. Sitcom logic of the time dictates references to past characters had to be limited, but I do think from a character perspective they would have come up more.

#thanks again for the ask!#I should write more about Hawkeye honestly #he's so interesting but I get intimidated #hawkeye pierce #mashposting

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