#leave it to me to make a character whose sole purpose is for me to self-ship with…. and then I end up picking a different favorite

[finderseeker]

The worst things about making WD just be W.D. Gaster Junior are that 1) the whole story reason for me giving him yellow magic instantly becomes null, and 2) it is now really unclear how Tempus is related to literally anybody. (Is he WD’s first cousin? Or is he Wingdings’ cousin’s kid’s kid? (first cousin twice removed (to Wingdings), and consequently WD’s third cousin?) This is relevant mainly because ⁂ Tempus is ⁂ Gaster’s first cousin. There’s only one “Wingdings Gaster” there, so whether Tempus is arbitrarily first cousins with a Wingdings Gaster across universes, or whether the relationship must be to the Wingdings Gaster is actually kind of important. To me.)

And, 3) if I do this then what happens to WD. He’s not in the game. (Obviously.) Is he just dead? Is he somewhere else? This logic doesn’t apply to Tempus who definitely ended up doing something else after the lab sized down and stuff, so he’s just not around. But WD DEFINITELY would’ve been the next Royal Scientist unless something happened to him.

Is this just a completely canon-divergent AU now??

I mean. It would be kinda funny if WD was very very briefly the RS only to meet the exact same fate (or just straight up die instead). And so when the Followers talk about “the old Royal Scientist, Dr. W.D. Gaster,” they just kinda lump WD in there since he had the exact same name and only lasted like, a month. Tops.

Alternatively, WD finally gets Gifted Kid Burnout and has a breakdown and that’s why he’s not around during the events of the game. (Maybe Tempus is busy taking care of him and that’s why he’s not around either.)

Also, what’s going on with Asteri? Is she Wingdings’ wife? (Second wife?? Since his descendants are skeletons?) Or is she WD’s girlfriend? (Or just regular friend in his age group?) The latter makes more sense story-wise, as far as befriending Seeker (the character). But it has similarly funny meta implications (to me, anyway) as Tempus potentially being WD’s first cousin and the grandson of the actual Dr. W.D. Gaster.

(Because when you flip back over to ⁂, everything gets all kinds of wonky. And ofc it doesn’t have to be perfectly congruent… it’s just kind of strange to me.)

[nepherit]

Justice for Raphael

I'm very new to Tumblr, I created an account here a few months ago after I discovered all the amazing Bg3-related art content that this place has to offer. Since then, I've never posted a single thing and barely left any comments, I'm not a very social person...but today I was scrolling my favorite bg3-related feed, when I stumbled upon a post of someone who received a rather rude ask from an anon whose sole purpose was to mock their works and insult their (possibly) favorite character Raphael, who was referred to by that anon as a "100% canon two pump chump bottom cringe clown". 

It is saddening to get yet another confirmation that some people out there aren't capable of respecting others' likes, not even in a fictional/virtual environment...but I guess that's to be expected. Besides the obvious, what made me decide to write this wall of text as my very first post is that Raphael happens to be my favorite too, the one and only fictional character I've ever felt invested in, and probably the reason why Bg3 will leave a life-long lasting impression on me.

So here I am, trying my best to point out some facts that (apparently) are easy to go amiss for some people out here:   First of all, there's nothing canon regarding what Haarlep says of Raphael, as a character's opinion about another isn't a fact to begin with. Especially if said character is (proved by facts) very unreliable as a source: him being an incubus whose standards are undoubtedly different from any mortals' and the fact that he hates Raphael are but the most obvious. Not to mention that "Speak with the dead" isn't 100% reliable either by D&D 5e rules ("the corpse is under no compulsion to offer a truthful answer if you are hostile to it or it recognizes you as an enemy"). Besides that, even if everything Haarlep says is to be considered true, the mocking words the players can say to Raphael before the fight are NOT, as Haarlep never gives such info to the player (he only responds with a "no" if asked about the matter). That line we can say before the fight is but the player's guess/ childish mockery, certainly it's not a fact.

From a purely objective perspective, the only info Haarlep gives to the player that isn't merely his opinion is Raphael's obvious selfishness and narcissism (the HoH is covered with images of him) and the fact that he likely only sleeps with himself (he has his incubus wearing his shape, even his name). By no means does that make Raphael a "cringe clown", nor would it even in the case where Haarlep spoke entirely the truth. Honestly, it never ceases to baffle me how some people can be so shortsighted and shallow. But perhaps those people are yet to grow up and come to learn that there can be much hidden beneath someone's (fictional or not) behavior. There's nothing to mock about the "Raphael only wants to sleep with himself and only loves himself" statement. 

How could it be otherwise? How, when the only person who ever loved Raphael, the only one he could trust and rely on since his birth, was himself? How could he crave someone's affection and so, be seen as weak? How could he care for another or their feelings when he never got that care or respect, to begin with? Despite his theatrics and his facade, Raphael was born Cambion, a half-breed never to be considered more than the lesser of the devils in the hierarchy of the Hells. Cambions cannot rank up, no matter their blood ties, yet Raphael managed to achieve all that he has...his palace, his many souls, and his power. None of that was gifted to him, he fought hard and earned every last bit of it with his claws, his wits, and his determination. I admire Raphael for that, for striving to become something greater than what he was supposed to be...something better than his father's "half-devil" son.

To reduce Raphael, who's most certainly one of the deepest and most complex characters we can encounter in the game, to a "100% canon two pump chump bottom cringe clown" is beyond low, very immature, and a rather shallow view, more so if it comes from someone who hasn't even had the guts to show their name...

Well, that's all. I doubt someone will make it this far, as I wrote a veeeeery long paragraph. But for once, I wanted to have my say ^^

[stemms]

While I enjoy The Owl House for its captivating plot, fascinating characters, accurate and respectful representation of the LGBTQIA+ community, and strong character development, I find that the ending leaves something to be desired. Specifically, I would like to address Belos’ death. His character is fascinating, complex, and significant to the narrative, so I feel that, although he obviously deserved to face the consequences of his actions, his death should have been treated with more gravity and significance rather than mockery.

To me, Belos has always been an example of a well-crafted, complex villain, marked by internal conflicts, fears masked by a stern façade, regrets, and a flawed worldview. His delusional belief that his monstrous actions serve a noble purpose sets him apart from the typical villain, whose sole motivation is an insatiable desire for power and chaos.

Even the smallest glimpses into Belos' backstory reveal his complexity, making him… painfully human despite his desperate attempts to project an image of divinity and power. While his actions are undeniably inhumane — marked by obsession and unwarranted hatred toward witches — his backstory exposes a vulnerable, sobbing child, and a young man consumed by envy and fear of abandonment by his brother. This perspective shifts him from a mere cruel Emperor driven by a thirst for power, to a mere human full of insecurities.

While Belos’ past doesn't excuse his horrific actions, it sheds light on his motivations and twisted worldview, which would remain opaque without this context. Exploring more of his backstory would allow us to uncover vital details about the way his past influenced his future life, his mission to spread the “Titan’s Will” across the Boiling Isles, and so much more.

If only Belos’ vulnerable, human side had been explored more deeply, we could have seen the stark contrast between his imposing exterior and his inner loneliness and misery in more detail. This exploration would suggest that his public persona wasn’t just manipulation to gain the witches’ trust, but also the act of self-deception in an attempt to convince himself that his actions were for the greater good, while also trying to fill the void within him.

This being said, the scene of Belos’ death was quite the opposite, as it was treated as nothing more than a comic relief, completely undermining his character journey. After his entire body melted, he was casually stepped on by Luz and her friends, which felt jarring given the weight of his character, and was simply unnecessary. I believe that even if Belos’ death stayed the exact same, but the last part was removed, it would’ve been so much more tolerable.

[mohgreal]

IMO the biggest sign of the shittiness of Miquella's writing is the fact that his actions between the Caelid War and Mohg's death are so inconsistent and unexplained that half of the "lore fandom" still believes he's a selfish power-hungry godhood seeker even though he explicitly has to abandon his fears and doubts to go on that path, his own mind describes godhood as eternal torment, Ymir and Trina both describe him as making a terrible sacrifice out of guilt, and he sounds absolutely terrified of his inevitable godhood in the final cutscene where he's kneeling in resignation (literally stuttering and baby-talking in Japanese and sounding like he's going to cry in the English voice acting). There are three entire characters who exist for the near sole purpose of saying "Miquella really doesn't want to do this but is resigned to having to to atone for his mother, making a noble but misguided sacrifice" and it still didn't drown out the obvious questions like "wait so what was the vow?", "what was the timeline and reasoning for Mohg's kidnapping, and was that his or Mohg's idea?", and "why didn't he tell his sister and her army anything and leave them to rot in a dead tree and blow themselves up?". One of the most popular interpretations is that he really really just wanted Radahn's bussy (probably because "Radahn is my consort" is literally all he says when he's actually on-screen).

Honestly people praising Miquella's writing in the DLC (especially anything having to do with Mohg and Radahn) feels like gaslighting. This is easily noticeable when you notice that the people praising its "brilliance" have completely contradictory ideas of what actually happened or what the story was trying to say. I've heard everything from "Miquella is tragically noble but misguided" to "Miquella is mentally handicapped" to "Miquella is a victim of fate who is cursed to fail no matter what he does" to "Miquella was an evil scheming mastermind whose nobility was a carefully crafted facade" to "Miquella is a dumb, impulsive, spoiled little brat and cautionary tale against nepo babies", and all of these are supposed to be Genius Writing[TM] despite all these directions being so underbaked that people can think his story is literally the opposite of any of the above…

it also killed the fan interpretation. i used to really really like the idea of it being a misunderstanding where mohg kidnaps miquella for his own dynasty and malenia attacks caelid thinking he stole miquella and you cant even argue that i just "wanted my own au to be canon" no. i just wanted it to make sense 🙏

also the "character existing for the sole purpose of X" in the case with the DLC being just to say something about miquella is so fucking dumb. i get fromsoftware never had very in depth characters but its getting far too obvious to the point its comical;

SOTE also does screw up the entire timeline because the writers didn't know their own lore as proven by me many times on this trashy account whoops

also I agree on the "glazing miquellas writing" part because if you can take so many directions with a character that contradict each other, thats not even interpretion anymore that's straight up having your fans make the character for you 😭

getting a monthly anon rant is always a good thing. sorry if this post is as underbaked as sote's writing its the middle of the night cause my insomnia is always awake

[lets-try-some-writing]

Hello! May we hear/read more about Revelator, please? 👀

You wish to know about my original work??? Chatter mode has been unlocked with this query.

Revelator is my attempt to make my workaholic brain shut up. I struggle to continue finding purpose in writing fics when I can't capitalize on it. So I decided it would be a good idea to take the basic premise of one of my fics and apply it to my own original work to inspire me to work on something productive and maintain my hobby. That said, Revelator follows the general premise of my most popular fic, The Many Lives of Optimus Prime.

Rant incoming.

In a universe where humanity has fled to the stars after their empire was shattered by an unknowable entity, twenty sentient robotic units are created by a relic that humanity does not understand but still houses. Due to a series of misfortunes on the world they tried to terraform, the last remnants of humanity are wiped out, leaving the entire world to the Twenty and the relic that made them.

The main character of this tale is the only one out of the Twenty who foresaw the coming deaths of their human masters and was promptly ignored. After humanity fell, he tried to guide the rest of the Twenty into creating a civilization in light of more of their kind being forged by the relic. His vocal nature led to his destruction at the hands of one of his fellows. However, against the odds, he found himself returned to full functionality in a new frame and with newfound purpose.

The relic that made him and the rest is more than it seems. It has sensed the threat that doomed humanity and it has no interest in watching its creations fall as well. And so it has chosen a champion, one whose sole mission is to endure the test of time, learn, grow, and ultimately gain enough power to shape this fledgling race so that they might stand a chance against the doom that is coming.

My original work follows my main character throughout his various lives and throughout the various eras of his world. He will watch, he will learn, and when he has lived long enough to have gained wisdom, everything will come together with him taking power. In many regards, his tale will mirror my fic. However, I am taking care to create an original world with a unique race to inhabit it. I hope to make each life its own story so that there is always something new to see and explore. In a way, its my worldbuilding project. I also want every excuse to not write humans. I need to keep to my niche or I will lose interest immediately. Thanks TF.

Thus far I have twenty three pages written, nine chapters fully planned, and the second arc mostly conceptualized. Here is a snippet from chapter one.

━━━━━━ ⊙ ❖ ⊙ ━━━━━━━━━━━━

“You were not made to serve us, child of the Mind. Your creator made you for a reason that far exceeds anything myself or the commanders of this vessel could ever envision.” There was something sad in the priest’s tone as the lift came to a stop. Nineteen found himself conflicted as he watched his master step forward and onto the platform that ran around the exterior of the Great Mind.

“That conclusion has no logical basis.” He managed to murmur as he followed the priest. There was always something strange about being so close to the thing that made him. The thrum of its crimson core always had Nineteen’s personal fusion core pulsing in sync with the greater machine. 

“Child of the Mind, you have so little faith. Look upon yourself and your siblings, then see the rest of those made by the Mind. You are unique, each and every one of you.” The priest paused and gestured to Nineteen, prompting him to stop in his tracks. The surface of the Great Mind shifted in time with the priest’s words. Nineteen would almost claim it to be in response to his master’s commentary if he were a believer in any capacity. 

“We have purpose, and we shall serve.” Nineteen stated simply. There was little thought in his response. Whatever the priest was getting at was beyond his design. He and the twenty were made to serve. That was all. The loyalty coding, their sentience, and all the rest meant very little in the grand scheme of things. Nineteen would still be disposed of if he proved a burden, regardless of the potential mysticism around him and his kin. 

“You shall serve. But it shall not be those of flesh that you give your loyalty to.” The priest smiled, and it was only then that Nineteen noted the cables running from underneath his master’s robe. They were part of the augments priests of the mechanicus received, and at some point during their short walk, those cables had connected to the Great Mind.

There was no railing separating them from the relic, and as such, there was nothing to theoretically stop the priest from connecting to the Great Mind. Even still, Nineteen found himself unsettled. When had the connection occurred? Why did his master’s eyes hold a strange gleam to them?

“I do not understand.” He stood stiffly, his gaze flicking between the relic and his master. The thoughts of machines did not often translate cleanly for organics. Perhaps the priest was confused and interpreting the logical processing of the relic incorrectly. The twenty were made for the express reason of serving those aboard the Eden. They had been told as such from the moment of their forging and it had thus far proven true. There was no reason to believe the murmured prophecy of the elderly human before him.

Despite that, there was a degree of unease that wormed its way into his mind as he watched the priest grin in an almost understanding way. 

“You don’t need to. I have a feeling it will make more sense to you as you age.” A red glow entered the priest’s eyes. It was hardly present, but to Nineteen who possessed far superior vision than any unaugmented human, it was almost impossible to ignore.

“Come here and pass me that cloth if you would be so kind.” Then, just like that, the moment ended and the priest disconnected from the relic. His cables slipped back beneath his robes into whatever holster they originated from and he approached the only work table on the platform. Nineteen quickly reset his optics and filed away the data for later review. It wasn’t important right now. 

[literaticat]

How does writing pot boilers work? Everything I hear about publishing makes it sound like even if you have a masterpiece it's insanely hard to get repped and published and then you have to have your own website and build a huge social media following and do lots of events just to break even because there's so much competition and it's hard to make your sci-fi/fantasy/YA dystopia/Vampire Romance/genre book stand out from all the rest. So how do people make money off genre books that are intentionally generic, formulaic, and written fast and carelessly without much substance?

I'm choosing to believe this was asked in good faith and not be insulted. (Like how should I know how people make money off shitty books? MY CLIENTS DON'T WRITE SHITTY BOOKS!)

So, OK. How do people make money off shitty books? Well, I hate to break it to you, but THEY USUALLY DON'T.

I'm not saying that "money" is not a factor in many people's writing -- yes, of course, writing for publication is a job, not a hobby, authors should be fairly compensated, etc etc. But if you are thinking of writing novels solely for $$, let me tell you, you could pick a better job out of a hat. And you SHOULD.

It IS extremely difficult to get published, the field is beyond competitive. It isn't unusual at all for an author to try for a decade before they break through. It is unusual that somebody's very first book they ever try to write would be published. It's extremely unusual that a given author would make enough money to quit their day job from the sale of a single book, when and if it does happen. And even if you happen to luck out and get a six-figure deal off the bat, that money could take years to actually wend its way into your pocket.

So you really should love what you are writing, and care about it, and all that stuff. If money is the only motivating factor, do yourself a favor and learn a trade instead of (or in addition to) writing. I can almost guarantee that you'd make way more money, faster, as a skilled electrician or plumber.

As for quality of the books that are published -- well, it's subjective, isn't it? Let us say that there are a lot of popular books published that you personally think are dreck. It may shock you to know that the authors of those books probably DON'T think they are dreck. They probably didn't set out to write "an intentionally generic, formulaic book without much substance" -- and the book probably wasn't written "fast and carelessly" -- I would imagine that many/most of those authors actually worked very hard on their "dreck" and, fun fact, though obviously it isn't for you, probably LOTS AND LOTS of readers think that "dreck" is fantastic.

Sidebar, true story: An older person of my acquaintance told me once of a meeting they had with the author Jacqueline Susann, rich and famous in the 1900s for having written "potboilers" like VALLEY OF THE DOLLS. He said that when he met her, she had been typing away, *crying* at her typewriter because she just loved her characters so much and she was putting them through it. She wasn't trying to write campy or bad books (though lots of readers today, and maybe even at the time, think they ARE campy at best, actively bad at worst) -- she was putting her heart and soul into those campy, bad books, and they resonated with A LOT of readers. Do with that what you will.

MIND YOU: There ARE books published that are "fast and nothingy" on purpose -- and there are people whose job it is to write things quickly that they don't really personally care about. Ghostwriting for celebrities, or "work for hire" type projects that leave little scope for innovation. BUT. Those people are usually extremely professional writers who are actually superb at writing their own books and are hired by publishers because they know they will meet deadlines. So fast, yes. Careless? No.

How do you get hired to write books like that? Well, they usually hire already-published authors with a proven track record of turning around polished work quickly and always making deadlines. (And also, you probably aren't gonna make a ton of $$ doing those kinds of jobs -- they are usually flat fee or sometimes very low royalty and you aren't keeping the rights, they may not even have your name on them. So it's fine to do them as an "in between" type deal if you are good at it and enjoy it, but you'd likely want to ALSO write your own "books of the heart" as well!)

I have literally zero idea if that even answered your question but I'm shutting up now.

[filmswaves]

beating hearts [l'amour ouf] by gilles l ellouche

i had the opportunity to see l’amour ouf in advance, with the cast in attendance, but unfortunately, my experience was far from positive. after only 30 minutes of q&a, i had to leave the theater. benoît poelvoorde's personality disappointed me so much that i preferred to leave.

the film has two major characteristics: it feels like a script straight out of wattpad, and the production resembles a typical netflix movie. if you’re not a big movie fan, you might find some enjoyment in it, but for a cinephile, it’s a complete waste of time.

script and writing the screenplay is disappointing, bordering on caricature. the writing feels rushed, with characters whose motivations lack depth. i enjoyed the romance between the young jackie and clotaire(though the names are a questionable choice), but everything deteriorates quickly once the characters become adults.

as the protagonist, jackie is simply incomprehensible. as a teenager, she had a promising future, but as an adult, she becomes a character without purpose, focused solely on an uninteresting romance with a man. it’s frustrating to see a female character reduced to so little when she had potential. her only obsession seems to be clotaire, with no hobbies or personal goals.

in contrast, clotaire has a bit more substance: her objective is clear (to find jackie or take revenge). but again, the development remains weak. the overall writing of the characters lacks subtlety, which is particularly frustrating for fans of well-crafted narratives.

acting while mallory wanecque and malik frikah bring a refreshing energy to the younger versions of the characters, the adult performances by adèle exarchopoulos and françois civil leave much to be desired. i found their acting flat and devoid of nuance. furthermore, i don’t understand why they made adult jackie so foolish. this abrupt and inexplicable shift in her character's portrayal makes the film hard to appreciate.

positive aspects the only positive thing for me is the visual quality of the film. the images are beautiful, and it’s clear that careful work was done on the aesthetics. however, this is insufficient to compensate for the shortcomings in writing and acting.

conclusion in summary, l’amour ouf is a film that lacks depth, both in its script and its characters. if you’re looking for something light and mindless, you might find it enjoyable. but for a cinephile expecting complexity and realism, this film is a real disappointment. modern french films sometimes suffer from a lack of quality, and l’amour ouf is a glaring example of this.

[lesser-mook]

Miles isn’t bad, just overrated

”wild to me”, as in how could you not like him?

  Mind you they’re leaving out continuity, origin differences, the fact some aren't mantles but actual RANKS (GL), Fate/Nabu is more an Entity than a mantle. (debatable, yes)

Barry to Jay is Jim Hammond Human Torch to Johnny Storm’s Torch- existed in different times

 Hammond was an Allies soldier

Johnny is a modern Superhero whose power is cosmic in isolation

Leaving out context to make a moot point. 

I was there day one Miles’ story began, and i loyally bought his stuff. 

He ain’t all that, the main selling point is the cultural modernization that he represents, he’s an urban, black Spider-man and that’s mainly why people latch onto him.

Not that he’s in anyway compelling or interesting in a unique sense, cause he is an individual person, but the urban aesthetic mainly is what people fell in love with. And that’s 100% fine-

But it’s when you start deflecting that fact and start acting like people have an issue when they don’t like him and you just can’t for the life of you understand “why why why, don’t you like him” vs other knockoffs:

Mind you, i’m probably one of the lesser yet avid Supergirl criticizers on the net, and i’m not even talking about the show, that’s too easy, comics 100%. That requires research.

So there’s no double standard, Kara Zor El is a blue eyed blond haired girl next door archetype cosplaying as Superman, her entire appeal is to get women into the lore but she ended up being taken in by straight men as a fanbase, majorly. 

Why? 

Because she’s got a dynamic character arc? (She’s had some decent runs, nothing phenomenal)

An arc that at one point changed the landscape of DC? 

Her tragic downward spiral of self-destruction and wrapped up in a beautiful act of redemption & sacrifice?

NOPE that would be someone else, who i often WISH was Supergirl in the first fucking place.

But despite Clark Kent-PRIME being a better character (in concept, not the best characterization compared to Supertoken, but his arc was solid), somehow hasn’t gotten a single chance in the animated media.

Young JUSTICE didn’t choose him. They chose Kara to end off S4, because we haven’t had enough of her the past 15 years, she’s so deep like that.

And yes: The most you can say is she more trauma due to her actually knowing Krypton, having friends, her family or seeing it explode- 

But the premise of her entire origin is why she doesn’t work. Jor-El just happened to have a brother who just HAPPENED to be a scientist who just HAPPENED to have the same exact idea (not trivializing Kal’s survival at all) to save his daughter & not himself or at least get his wife and daughter away safely. 

No just copy & paste. So Superman miraculously has a cousin, the COUSIN trope. 

Kara Bore-El is a Fanfic OC made canon.

Her being an angry/edge-lord sometimes doesn’t mean she’s interesting- solely because they don’t DO anything with that anger or trauma and or they don’t commit to it. (Red Lantern Kara)

You know who’s trauma DC used to make an interesting story (excuse me) SAGA, an interesting SAGA? Superboy-PRIME. 

I DIGRESS.

As you can tell, i cannot stand her despite her innate general appeal. Why? Writing, purpose, originality, DC forcing her desperately, purpose and lack thereof. 

The takes of Kara that land, FOR ME, are the ones that say or do something different from the version mainline canon, and allow her to be her own thing off of Clarks coattails in some way, minor or major. 

*DC Nuclear Winter Kara Zor El, i like her.

And the fact that she’s a cutesie R63, usually. Is the only reason why she remained relevant for this long, same with Powergirl, up until people literally forgetting she existed because her contribution to the picture was big tits and a little bit of ego.

Injusitce 2 brought her back, attitude and all.....aaaand then she went back into obscurity, nobody gave a shit after 2 weeks. WHO saw that coming? 

Same with Miles, token.

Miles not bad, not a bad kid, not the worst take on Spider-man. Just overrated.

Some people need to just admit what they like about him is the aesthetic surrounding him, and stop pretending we just don’t get what it is that’s wrong with other people regarding him.

Cause i guarantee you majority of people stanning this kid has NEVER read that issue where he fought that nobody villain: Kangaroo- which is technically where his first fight as a masked hero began.

Doesn’t mean you have to read every single issue to speak on the matter (Because i need to catch up on some of his stories myself), but the point is with all this support for this character, how invested are you really in this boy beyond what’s fed to you by Hollywood.

It means: Do you actually give a shit? Are you invested, or are you just talking?

It means don’t act stupid for the sake of feigning confusion when you know exactly what’s up. 

Like he should be or has to be liked and anything less is a problem or something.

Most people big him up because he’s a POC Spider-Man, period. 

If they (Marvel/Bendis) had any balls they would’ve made Miles more like Kaine, give him some anger issues & do something with it, make him a Spider-Man Foil. 

Or SOME kind of major flaw that made him having powers a serious problem- and how he uses his powers, is different enough from Peter in sheer application to where he’s not your average Spider-Man by just how he moves.

Because Prowler Miles is what I’ve been needing, that’s an interesting story right there. 

No Quirk, but running shit anyway.

Like Deku & Allmight having roughly the same power, initially, but Deku uses his strengths so differently by S2-S3, he literally moves & fights nothing like All Might anymore. He’s his own aesthetic.

Even Full Cowling isn’t something Allmight’s really known for or any of the Veestige, it’s a visual distinction between Deku and the rest.

And that’s one of few things i can actually praise of the franchise without a complaint.

That should’ve been Miles.

And no, some sparky fingers ain’t unique cause Jessica was doing that shit decades before Miles was a concept, but nobody talks about that tho.

The Invisible Woman shit? Sure i’ll give him that i guess. It’s pretty cool. But again, SUSAN been on it too!

Moreso this alternate Miles’ arc is moreso learning the values of a hero in his own way, at his own pace, while maintaining enough moral differences from Parker to be a different situation. 

Say he’s 18 when he gets his power, slightly older than when Peter got his,14-15. 

Have the first 9-12 months be him using his powers for himself, a “fuck the world” attitude, until he does something deathly serious in a fit of rage or self defense, that he can’t undo and regrets for the rest of his career. 

Anything like that would’ve been more compelling.

You can’t tell me that doesn’t sound like a more interesting story, i didn’t say “better”, i said “interesting.”

Not just Peter Parker but recolored.

Again, I was there since the beginning, 2012, day one i was buying Morales comics “Because he looked liked me”, and guess what, I was NOT impressed.

The staying power wasn’t there, the justification of his looking like me (and yes he looked just like me) WAS NOT enough to warrant long term investment because while he did look like me, Miles was NOT me. Period.

I liked that both his parents were alive, ofc they weren’t an entirely black family unit, of course. 

But i liked his pops, Jefferson being a cop. His mom was good peoples, and what happened to her was...something.

But the kid overall was boring, he didn’t speak to me, he just mirrored my melanin, big deal.

Lo and behold, just looking like a person isn’t enough to justify staying power, who knew? Just being black doesn’t mean i relate to you, who knew?

That was the day i realized, true “Representation” is NOT skin deep. It’s about character, who you are as a person. Period.

Between Kaine and Morales, it’s not even a Contest. 

One has enough distinctions moral & mental to be a completely separate franchise and SHOULD'VE been in movies by now, R Rated ofc.

And the other is just a glorified What If DLC.

But ofc guess who gets a honorable mention, twice in the MCU. The Black Spider-Man ofc: 

Because he’s compelling, interesting, a long standing character in the Spider-man lore? 

No that’s KAINE, hell i’m still looking for Madam Web’s respect, on god..

I’m STILL waiting for MAYDAY (rightful heir to the mask) to get her big break! The fact that Miles was able to skip the line in front of her, is insane to me.

Miles is likely going get to the MCU first before BEN, Web, Mayday and KAINE combined, because he’s the black Spidey.

Again, you can like him if you want, but don’t pretend for a second why people don’t like him is some mystery.

Miles looks exactly like me, i repeat and i cannot stand him as a concept- i gravitate to Venom, Kaine, Miguel, Spider-Man NOIR, Mayday, etc.

And Miguel is technically the POC Spider-man BEFORE Morales, half Mexican, but Miles is black+latino in current day, so let’s just forget all about O’Hara until some corny Spiderverse movie makes him relevant again in the post credit scene, now everyone’s going to love Miguel because he’s going to be in the next movie.

Mapping out the main reason i can’t stand normies sometimes, bandwagon mentality.

And it sucks cause we got him in Ultimate Spiderman XD, Edge of Time, Shattered Dimensions, so the man had some momentum getting off the pages. So what was the hold up with getting this cat in a movie? Or a Mini series like TNAS Spider-man most people forgot?

Miguel is a legit cool dude, careerman, sly, very different aesthetic, different time, different Spider-man. He is NOT Parker, trust me. 

Miguel O’Hara should’ve been gotten his own show or movie. And on that note, that obscure underwritten Spider-man Unlimited, was a Spider-man 2099 cartoon that didn’t know or it 100% knew it was trying to be 2099

But our boy Miles gets to skip the goddamn line in front of established more interesting characters that have done their time since before the Century turned, get mentions in the MCU and 2 animated movies, if that’s not AA energy i don’t know what is. 

NOW THAT’S wild to me.

[keeperofmemory]

sorting the moving (무빙) parents into the sortinghatchats system - a quick character analysis

(if you’re new to this theory, your primary house is about why you do things, while your secondary house is about how you do things. you can take the quiz here — it’s fun!) 

[!!! spoilers below !!!]

jang juwon: [hufflepuff primary / gryffindor secondary + hufflepuff model]

“boss, was it about money in the end?”  “what else would it be? being a gangster is a job. (…) aren’t we all here to make money?" “no. i did it to protect our boys"

juwon, juwon, juwon, steel-skinned, soft-hearted monster of a man, who uses 존댓말 and doesn’t see jihee any differently because she is a person like any other, who’s in a gang for the sole purpose of protecting his boys. jang juwon is a hufflepuff primary because he treats people fairly and he belongs, he does not own. hufflepuff primaries value community, and bond to groups, rather than solely individuals, which you can see in his mentality regarding his gang. they’re his people, like he is theirs. they are together, and they are home, what do you mean you aren't here for nothing else but each other? 

of course, the ones he considers his end up betraying him, and he loses his way. (his hufflepuff primary burns, if you will. it is now safer to be alone.) where does he go when he has no home anymore? he does not know. but he finds jihee, and for the first time it feels like he knows where to go. (it does not solve everything, not really, but it is close enough.) 

in the end, he feels the most at home when he is part of team. and when the NIS is shut down and he is put inside walls in front of a screen that never listens, and a keyboard too small for his clumsy fingers, he feels lost again. this is not people, this is cold, lifeless walls, none of them he can run through. the team of superpowered people he later gets put in doesn’t feel exactly right, not really, but he is using what he is good at to help people, and that is the closest he can get to that feeling.

his secondary is a gryffindor; he runs into walls until the walls break, for it is the only way he’s ever known to get through things. (gryff secondaries meet their problems by charging at them, by responding directly to situations.) he has only ever chosen the easiest way, after all, and for a man whose body doesn’t break, simply running into things was the obvious easiest way. why change, why think, when he can simply push through and get through it anyway?

(he does model a hufflepuff secondary, once it's only him and his daughter. he does it for her, gives up everything to build her a better life. it's about doing the work, about showing up. it's odd jobs but honest jobs, moving constantly but still putting in the effort to show steadiness and consistency, to give his daughter a home despite the possibility of the NIS finding them at any moment.)

hwang jihee: [slytherin primary + gryffindor model / gryffindor secondary]

jihee is a healthy slytherin primary if i’ve ever seen one. she advocates for herself, (and she has to, doesn't she? or else nobody else will. not in the line of work she is,) puts herself and her dignity first despite it all. she does have a sense of justice (“that car hit and ran? did it hit you? do you want me to chase it?”) but it doesn’t eat her whole ("but if we find the culprit we split the money:)”) — it’s a nice gryff primary model she likes being in when her slytherin loyalties are not threatened.

juwon is the first person to see her fully as a person, and not a coffee lady. it softens her up immediately. — it doesn't make her fall for him, of course, nor does it get him into her circle. (if it did, she wouldn’t be a slytherin primary). she is a smart girl who advocates for herself, after all. but once he does, he does not leave. she will run into a mob of gangsters and disregard the police for him, will tell him to put himself first, even if it means having a more difficult life for both of them. because putting yourself, and the people that are yours, first, is what matters in the end.

she has a gryffindor secondary she shares with her husband. she can hold her tongue and be perfectly polite, but in the end her problems will be met head on. what other house would throw itself in 100+ mobsters without a plan? she said to hell with it, she’ll figure it out on the way.

gryff secondaries’ honesty is part of their personality and morality — jihee has seen the men play the sappy part only for their own selfish gain, and hates it deeply within her core. once she sees juwon isn’t pretending to be anyone but himself (he is also a gryffindor secondary after all) —  a simple man who reads books on stories where men are bloody but loved, who is willing to buy a ticket to simply share conversations with her  — she finally lets him in, slowly but surely. (her slytherin recognizes that he is also someone the world has shunned for who he is, for the labels they have stuck on him, and she embraces him warmly. he is hers now. and she is his.)

their kid is a gryff/gryff btw . she houseshares with her bf’s dad n i think that’s rlly cute . (her bf houseshares with her dad so . soulmates or whatever)

lee mihyun [gryffindor primary / ravenclaw secondary]

lee mihyun lee mihyun lee mihyun, who uses her powers like she uses her gun, carrying them around and doing the maintenance of each part every night. some would call it overdoing it, but she calls it a habit, calls it being prepared. (and amidst the very real danger that looms above her, can you blame her?) they're all tools she has on her, and years of training have taught her when to use which to get out of a situation with the upper hand. she's a ravenclaw secondary, the house that collects knowledge, tools or skills and then picks them up in times of need. she scouts for danger daily on social media, assesses the situation from a vantage point to collect intel; and yes, she's an agent, at this point it's probably second nature. but this is where she's most comfortable, pulling out from her pocket the information she gathered and the problem-solving systems she’s built whenever she gets tossed into danger.

lee mihyun’s specific brand of claw secondary has her being an adaptable problem solver — understandable, considering her tool set includes her heightened senses (six: her five senses and her common sense) and her gun (make that seven), as well as her general training as a black op agent. however, ravenclaw secondary tools are task-specific. sure, she can take out several enemy agents on her own with nothing but a gun and the strap of her handbag, but have her son bring a new pretty friend home and you’ll have her like a deer in headlights. (...the NIS did not prepare her for this)

her primary is a gryffindor, and it’s what makes her turn away from being an agent even after everything that’s on the line. it doesn’t matter, that she’s running away from the most powerful government agency, not if it’s the right thing to do. (it tires her, after losing her husband and having to do it all on her own. but she doesn't burn, not fully —she can't, not with her son still by her side.) now gryff primaries believe in trusting yourself and your gut, in doing so even if the whole world (or several hundred government agents) is against you. at the end of the day, the most important things is staying true to what’s inside of you. 

so in that fateful moment when the mission was clear, the orders indisputable, she turned away from her organization, her boss, her colleagues, to do what she felt was right. gun in her hand, she said to hell with consequences, i have to stay true to what i believe in — these people are enemies, but they are people and what we’re doing right now is wrong. (from afar, her future husband will see her act upon everything he had been feeling until then, will see a braver reflection of his own gryff primary, and he will fall in love.) 

kim dooshik [gryffindor primary/gryffindor secondary]

kim dooshik is a bit harder to sort; we really don’t see him as much as we could have. he has a gryffindor primary he shares with his wife; their whole story is about finding someone who believes in the same thing they do, stuck in an organization that tells them otherwise. he can look hufflepuff, in the way he values people and fairness — but the core of gryff primaries is about trusting your beliefs and doing your best to live by them. it’s about the bravery to pursue them, even if it leads him to a life of being chased, and captured, and tortured (…literally). 

he has a gryffindor secondary to go with it. that time he tried to diffuse the bomb on a civilian plane under no orders but his own? no orders, no plans, just him flying and trying to save people? very gryff/gryff of him. he also shares a lion secondary with his partner and they play off each other very well. (dooshik casually just letting juwon fall several hundred miles from the sky into where the enemies are and letting him figure it out… #justgryffsecondarybrosthingz)

sure, sure, one could argue for a ravenclaw secondary — but i think that’s just him being an agent. of course he would train and strategize. of course he would have backup plans. but at the end of the day, the method he falls back on is his charging, making it up as he goes. most of all, it’s his blunt honesty, his genuineness that we see shine in his actions. (even in the way he pursues mihyun — not a single disingenuous bone in his body) 

at the end of the day, he’ll rush into a problem when he believes it is right, no matter the consequences. he’ll fly into the enemy’s hands to protect his family, spend years imprisoned in a cave not faltering in his beliefs. a gryff/gryff through and through. 

[minetteskvareninova]

Minette watches Medici, part 18 (The Ten)

-*sigh* Do I have to? You know the drill. The writing is poor, there's too much exposition, Lorenzo is Gary Stu, the show worships the ground Medici family walks on, Riario is a villain with little nuance or charisma... Man. I am so tired of this show, you can't even imagine.

-First I'd like to note that there are a lot of things where I have to just nod along and be like "sounds legit", particularly when it comes to war tactics. I am not a military history person, what can I say. I absolutely do not understand that shit.

-Riario isn't exactly endearing himself to me. Oh, he thinks he's cute with his requests to turn over one's own dagger. Oh, he folds after one well articulated argument from his wife and possibly the sight of her not even that well showcased tits. Oh, he still acts aggressively towards her while admitting her arguments are valid because he's an insecure manbaby. Oh, instead of shanking Lorenzo en route to the country villa, he sends the assassins to said villa to massacre the whole family, because that's totally necessary. I remain unamused.

-On the other hand, I cherish every appearance from Caterina Sforza, not because she's that great of a character, but because the historical person was pretty dope and Rose Williams is insanely hot. I still hope she'll do at least something cool in the remaining episodes.

-The attack on the villa was laaame! Five minutes of cheap tension and action that makes an average Michael Bay flick look coherent. I am still baffled where the dudes that helped out Lorenzo came from and how many there actually were.

-Equally eyeroll-inducing is Bernardi, whose sole purpose seems to be acting as the bad angel on Lorenzo's shoulder. I mean, at least he has an interesting personality and the decency to be subtle in his relative villainy, but still. He steals some of the moral ambiguity from Lorenzo, and I for one think that's an unforgivable crime. I still don't know what to make of his crush on Lucrezia T, let's just wait and see where they are going with this...

-Speaking of Lucrezias - Lucrezia D came back... Only to ineffectually appeal to her husband (who apparently STILL has no idea she's been banging Lorenzo in the past?) and also inadvertently make Clarice jealous by, like, talking to Lorenzo. I am living off of scraps here, people. Doesn't help that Clarice isn't doing anything that interesting either, like yeah, her charitable activities are cool and all, but that's basically it as far as her character goes so far.

-Giulio leaves me kinda cold. I still don't get what this boy's deal is, other than him being sad and feeling like he doesn't belong. What I mean is that he's a character that has the potential to be interesting, but the show so far doesn't bother developing him. I do hope that we get more of him bonding with Carlo, though. That could be fun.

-Obligatory Leonardo da Vinci cameo! Yay! *deep sigh* Well, at least they portray him in a semi-interesting way and try to showcase his unconventional opinions. Still, this kind of cameo makes me greatly appreciate the complex characterization of Sandro Boticelli. Honestly, Sandro in general is slowly growing on me as a character, the whole "raised by the Medici" nonsense notwithstanding.

-Lorenzo's Ivan the Terrible gambit was admittedly pretty clever, even if it did reek of a man who just absolutely cannot stand that he's not getting his way, which again would be a nice character flaw if it was intentional, but it isn't, so again, fuck this godforsaken Gary Stu. I can't even properly enjoy how much he suffers in this episode, because so does the rest of his family, including my baby Clarice. For shame. And oh God not again the shit with "maintaining the republic"... *sigh* Okay, I ranted about that all the damn time in the previous Minette watches Medici instalments, let's move on.

-Bianca cameo! Yay! ...I would say if I gave a shit about Bianca, or if she did something interesting, but I don't and she doesn't, so. Her lame husband isn't anywhere to be seen, presumably because he's running around Middle Earth trying to fuck Morfydd Clarke.

-People, I really want to say something positive about this episode, but every one of my opinions that isn't outright hateful comes off kinda half-hearted. I am so, so sorry.

-The one thing I like so far was Savonarola's story, which is surprisingly nuanced and relatively well-written (even if the whole "keeping an infected man in my own apartments" thing is a bit dumb). Even if I am still a bit butthurt over the absence of Pico della Mirandolla. Again, where the fuck is humanism in this renaissance and humanism show?

[trashlie]

Hi, it’s random anon again and I very very much apologize for this but your analyses have inspired me so much and I really wanna ramble about Stalkyoo and parallels and role reversals because they. Won’t leave :”DDD. I think in particular, your reflections on just how stubborn and persistent Shin-ae is in pursuing Nol and how just. Devoted to him she is, even if she doesn’t realize it, and how it perfectly mirrors (if not takes like, five steps further!) Nol’s persistence to gain her friendship in the first major arc. How she went from being the one aggravated and skeptical of his advances, wanting nothing but for him to leave her alone to pursuing him relentlessly, refusing to let him exit her life and proving to him just how much she (and Dieter and Soushi!) care. The role reversal is just so, so strong–but I think half the reason it works as well as it does is because of how strongly Nol and Shin-ae parallel each other. Both of them were bright, radiant children beaten down and failed by the adults around them, but comprehended it in different ways. Shin-ae externalized her trauma; it evaporated her trust in the world, so she drew protective barriers around herself so it couldn’t hurt her again. Contrastingly, Nol internalized it–whether by circumstance or physically by Yui’s hand, he was made to thrust the blame onto himself; it was him who was the monster, who could only warp and corrupt. He didn’t protect himself from the abuse–he threw himself away, becoming someone whose sole purpose in life was to make up for the burden of his existence by lifting up others. It’s Yeong-gi, the idealized and smoothed-over version of himself that Shin-ae meets and begins to let into her life, but it’s Nol that she recognizes and fights for and loves.

There’s something intrinsically poetic about Nol being the one to prove to Shin-ae that the world still has good people in it, that she can love and not be hurt for it–him, the guy whose self-perception has been so abused that he sees himself as wholly marred, only able to harm those around him: And that it’s now Shin-ae who is now the active one, using everything that she’s gained from him and her stubborn persistence in her mission to prove that she loves him and that he deserves to be loved. She just! Always fights so, so hard for him–chasing him down, literally fighting barriers between them, repeating again and again how much she cares, how much she wants to know and understand him, how much she wants him to be in her life. Nol has been conditioned to see himself as the enemy, as unloveable, but Shin-ae fights that notion tooth and nail. She is so impetuously, assuredly devoted to him and it’s just!! Arghghgh!!! How could he not fall for her, when even before she understood just how deep his scars were, she reached out time and time again, validating him and his emotions; always *seeing* him in a world where he so often felt invisible. And on that note, it just makes Shin-ae falling for Nol both more heartwarming and more tragic because we as readers know just how happy Nol has made Shin-ae, just how much he has (not to be ridiculously cliche jjeagioh) illuminated her world, but he hasn’t, not really. She was arguably the most happy we’ve ever seen her while dancing with him, but he literally blinded himself to it! Instead, he only saw the aftermath–just how much he hurt how, how their moment wounded Dieter. He still views (or at least, is pushing himself to view) their feelings for each other as just another extension of his ill effects on others, screwing up existing relationships and harming one of his closest friends in the process!

Just aghhghgh their dynamic and their characters and how fundamentally they meet in the middle and yet conflict fundamentally is so good… external conflict is great and all but internal conflict is what really, truly defines their relationship and the complex mess it is.

(Also!! So irrelevant but speaking of songs that are so very Stalkyoo coded, Charles is so them it hurts. One of its lines is “I talk and talk about love but it’s above the clouds / I can’t see it with my clouded mind” and I had to do a double-take because Shin-ae is that you lmao??? It’s a vocaloid song so I doubt you’ve heard of it but! I thoroughly recommend!!)

AAAAHHHHHHHHHH no do not apologize!!!! This is why I'm here, I LOVE asks like this, I love getting to yell and ramble about them and this whole webtoon because YES YES YES you get it!!!!! You understand everything that I feel so strongly about them, too. Everything about Nol and Shinae is so wonderful and yeah, so shippable, because of their dynamic, the role-reversal, the mirroring! Every time I reread I'm just really taken aback at how well done it is, because Nol and Shinae develop so slowly over time as a result of the mirroring as a result of their experience as a result of their trauma and there's not really one moment where you can put your finger on it. Sure, we know the Kim formal was a significant moment of development, but honestly, Nol and Shinae had a lot of development leading up to that.

I'm in the middle of a reread (when aren't I lmao) and you can kind of spot when Nol goes from trying to connect with Shinae because he wants to play Cupid, because he wants to reach out to someone he sees himself in to wanting to connect and befriend her for himself. Everything about them is just so!!!!! GOOD to read over and over? How initially he sees himself in her, someone who puts on a mask and fakes it, someone who puts up walls and pushes others away and that's what makes it so easy for him to figure out how to get to her. But because of that shared commonality, it goes likewise. Shinae isn't as good at reading Nol, especially because for so long she only knows Yeonggi, but I think something really interesting about rereading their relationship is that she wasn't really wrong in a lot of what she was picking up about him in the beginning. She reads his eager earnestness, especially once she learns he has a girlfriend, as being something to be leery of. What if he's a player, what if he's just a weird flirt? She doesn't want to be some "other woman", someone who gets caught up in a dramatic misunderstanding. And part of that is yes, because his word choice - the compliments, the liberal use of cute, the way he pays attention.

But I think it's also, on some level, an acknowledgement that he cares a lot - and more than she thinks someone with a girlfriend should. In retrospect it makes even more sense because after we see how he talks about Alyssa, even before he admits he doesn't care about her at all, it's really easy to assume that Nol and Alyssa's relationship was never a relationship - even when he tried briefly, I'm guessing it never felt like one. So he's saying things to Shinae that yeah, a guy with a girlfriend wouldn't do, unless he was a player. In a sense, Nol is acting on something that pulls him towards Shinae, but he isn't aware of it, and Shinae only seems to be because he has a girlfriend. It makes her acutely aware of how much he cares.

But also, much like Nol, Shinae isn't used to being noticed. She feels like relying on others makes her a burden, hates to ask for help or owe favors and even when help is offered she doesn't like to accept it. She tries to take up as little space as she can, to require as little assistance as possible, to be strong and soldier on. In her experiences, no one helps out of the goodness of their hearts, and most people can't be trusted. Even those who say they care may not really care, may turn around and hurt you.

And yet, she does exactly that for Nol, even before the formal. That's one of my favorite things about them, ngl! It's that Shinae refuses help whenever possible, but she gives it out whenever possible, too. She shows over and over that she isn't the hard, tough outer shell she tries to show herself to be. Especially as someone who has been hurt before, I think she's naturally prone to noticing when people need help, when people are being quiet about something - because she does the very same thing. The tiniest little things, like noticing when his knuckles are bruised and scuffed, stopping to talk to him after work even though she tries to tell herself no. At the formal, she has that painfully uncomfortable public dance, but she rushes over to Nol because she's worried about him. That's what gets to me - she is going through hell, he is putting on one hell of a front to try to make her feel comfortable knowing she's being forced to be there, trying to make her feel better about being there - but she still notices those little moments, still asks about him.

An interesting thing about Shinae disliking Nol's smiles is that, on some level, she knows there's no reason for him to be. Maybe Dieter and Soushi, too, have questioned the very happy go lucky Yeonggi, but I don't think they've been in situations where they could tell Nol looked upset moments before and now is smiling like nothing is wrong. Because Shinae is privy to those moments, though, she seems to pick up on the fact they are a mask - not consciously of course! But they bother her, they unnerve her, because what's there to smile about?

All this is to say that Nol and Shinae get each other in some very inherent way, and it makes all of this - the mirroring, the role reversal - so very satisfying! And YES you are right! That Nol is the very reason Shinae came to find value in herself and is turning it around on him? It's so poetic and full circle! She can only do this for him, can only chase after him and reach for him and persistently try to hold on to him, because he did it for her, because he taught her this. Their relationship is basically like an ouroboros, right? Nol starts to care more and more because she cares for him. Because she sees him when he feels unseen, because she finds him in those shadows. And by being seen, he cares for her, he shares his friendship with her. And then she takes his friendship, the way he talks to her, the way he supports her, the things he calls her out on, and she does it for him. If she has to value herself, so does he. If she has to learn to let others in, so does he!

One of the popular arguments against Stalkyoo is that they are not, y'know "healthy". They're unstable, they "need to heal" etc. etc. And while I agree therapy would do them a world of good and I'm not trying to get them to hook up this very second, I think what is so good about Nol and Shinae, together, is the effect they have on each other, what they draw out of each other. It's true, Nol is so certain he is this monster, that everything he touches turns to pain and doom, and he sees it now in how indulging in his feelings for Shinae has hurt one of his first friends. It makes him feel like an asshole. He believes he doesn't deserve anything, let alone his own selfish wants standing in the way of others and hurting them.

But despite that, Nol has never really been able to deny Shinae - I think she makes him want to see something in himself, but it's just so hard with everything he's been through, with everything that has convinced him he can only hurt others. And that's my thing. They don't have to go "heal" and become better to bring out the good in each other because, frankly, healing is a life-long process. We will always be trying to unlearn the traumas we all individually carry, the things that shaped us into who we are. And part of that process (besides therapy lol) is what we learn through our friendships, whether they are romantic or platonic or otherwise.

Nol made Shinae see something of value in herself, talked her into being kinder to herself, to opening up, and she tries to do the same in kind to him. I think she can, too. He's got some roadblocks right now, but I absolutely believe that through his continued relationship with Shinae, through her sincere and earnest belief in him, through her acceptance of him - all of him not just Yeonggi but yes Nol as well - just by having his back, she can help him come around to accept himself, as well.

This is why it's so important that Nol and Dieter have a talk soon. I think Dieter very much sees this, too - the effect they've had on each other, just as much as the attraction between them. Something people don't give him enough credit for is that he's observant and picks up on details really easily. He has seen between his friends something that does not exist between him and Shinae, even if it didn't stop him from carrying his torch of hope. Nol feels so much guilt towards Dieter right now, feels like a selfish asshole who hurt someone in the pursuit of some kind of happiness and indulgence he doesn't even believe he deserves, and it's pretty difficult to talk Nol out of feeling that way. Nana tries. Shinae tries. It's going to take him a while. But I DO think it's important for Dieter to talk to him because I think he's going to tell Nol that he isn't mad at him, that he doesn't hold this against him. How can you help the heart wanting what it wants? He knows this better than anyone, still wanting Shinae's affection even after being rejected, even after knowing they don't have what she has with others. But importantly, he needs to try to relieve Nol of his guilt.

Shinae alone is not able to help heal Nol's wounds, just like Nol alone is not able to heal hers. She's had help from Minhyuk, from Dieter, from resolving her conflict with Maya. I think it's Nol's turn, to learn to rely on others a little more, to face some of those demons knowing he's not alone, even if he's still learning how to accept that he deserves that support.

AND GOD IT JUST MAKES THEM SO GOOD! I love Shinae going from wanting nothing to do with him to wanting to hold on to him, to using every shred of her energy to fight for him, how she wants to know everything about him, what made him into this person he is. She cares so much and she can only care this much because he did first, because he saw something of value and worth in her and HOW ARE WE SUPPOSED TO BE NORMAL ABOUT THEM? HOW ARE WE SUPPOSED TO JUST. SIT HERE AND NOT FEEL LIKE OUR CHEST IS BURSTING OPEN WITH SO MUCH FEELING WITH SO MUCH AFFECTION FOR THEM?

I look so forward to seeing what they become, how they will continue to bring out the best in each other, how they will continue to illuminate each other. And I look forward to the day Nol feels like he deserves it, when he can share her happiest moment with her, instead of give it to her. When he lets her see him, all of him, all of the things she wants to know about him. I look forward to her understanding the depth and complexity of her feelings, how she fell for this person who saw her for all she is and drew her out, just likes she's trying to do with him. How could he not?! You are right! We are right! How could he not fall when she believes in him, when she always tries to draw him back in, when she has affected him so much in such a short time ;A;

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH I LOVE THEM SO MUCH AAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHhhh do not not apologize, thank you for sending this to me thank you for gushing and rambling at me so that I can do the same in turn because AHHHH THEY'RE SO GOOD AND I CAN'T STOP THINKING ABOUT THEEEMMMMMMMMM EITHER

(Also thank you for the recommendation, I'm gonna listen! Everything lately is them so I'm gobbling it all up LMAO gotta marinate in all the feels!!!!!!!! like you are RIGHT that line is her and you should say it!!!!!!!!!!! There's something so stupidly poetic about how she just keeps telling Nol she loves him in any word but that one, and can't understand what he's trying to get her to say LFJAKFJFJF ROARS)

[misrepresentedmorallygrey]

PROPAGANDA

Caroline Propaganda

"this is a new opinion to me personally. However i do like it. Caroline Bingley was a Mean Girl TM to the Bennets, it is true. but like she was only really wrong about Jane and Elizabeth, and that motivation was jealousy and self interest (towards a socially acceptable goal). Jealousy because they were getting attention from her boys, Charles and Darcy, and self interest because she had a plan to secure Darcy's hand in marriage which did not involve either Jane (or Lizzie) getting married. Yes she was rude in leaving Netherfield and dismissing Jane when she got to London. But none of this actually justifies how much hate is directed towards her by the fandom. She was just trying to do what was expected honestly and she wasn't even the worst offender in the story. That would be Whickham. Even Lady de Bough and Mr. Collins are arguably worse towards the Bennet family than Caroline and Caroline is matching her sister in almost all of these offenses. We forgave Mr. Darcy for his part in convincing Bingley to leave, why not Caroline? it seems like she made her amends. AND Caroline even warned Lizzy about Wickham when not even Darcy, who had kinder feelings towards her and more credibility on the issue at large, did!"

Helene Propaganda

"while already being a character whose narrative purpose was basically to show how much leo tolstoy hates women, the fandom makes it so, so much worse, playing up her supposed "villainy" over that of even what tolstoy writes. constantly i've seen people say that she deserved being threatened and almost killed by her husband because she's? a bitch, i guess? like her husband literally throws a marble slab at her and yells "i'll kill you!" at her and tolstoy implies that if hélène hadn't run away he literally would have and i've seen people say that they wish he had solely because their marriage made him unhappy, when the marriage wasn't her choice either. later on in the book, she aids her brother, anatole, in an attempt to elope with the female protag and i've seen people say that hélène was Worse than anatole, the one trying to elope w/ an engaged girl solely because he wanted to sleep with her, because hélène should have "known better" while anatole was just a stupid guy... do they not see how fucked it is to excuse a man's direct actions and blame it on a woman for not stopping him? any defense of her character is constantly met with people saying that she's one-dimensional and not worth defending because she's meant to be an antagonist — without looking at the fact that she's written that way because she represents what Tolstoy, a misogynistic old man, hates in women. with literally the slightest shred of context it's obvious that she is not the villain tolstoy makes her out to be. how a fandom in 2023 shares the same beliefs abt women that a man in the 1860s does is completely baffling"

[shitboy96]

saw your tlou2 thoughts and as someone who didn’t agree with the direction tlou2 went thought i’d explain…

the main issue is that the story doesn’t trust the player enough to let them come to their own conclusions. yes the idea is to have you sympathize with abby, but they try so hard to do so it comes across as forced and ingenuine (ellie met a zoo animal so abby must also have cute interaction w a zoo animal! abby plays w dog so ellie must kill that same dog!) I went into the game wanting to like Abby, and I don’t think that Joel shouldn’t have died! But I don’t need 15 hours of gameplay to appreciate Abby, in fact, the further her section went on, the more I distanced from her because it became so painfully obvious that the game was trying desperately to suddenly make me like her. The comparisons they attempted to draw to Ellie felt shallow and the entire 15 hour section felt crammed in and something that could have been handled so much more efficiently and thoughtfully.

Abby has done absolutely horrible things (murdered countless Scars as part of a malicious military group whose seeming sole purpose is to kill anyone who intrudes on their territory, relished in the opportunity to kill a young pregnant woman, knowingly had sex with a man cheating on one of her only friends, these aren’t even including the joel situation) I won’t deny that Ellie has done horrible shit as well, and I don’t agree with her Seattle/SantaBarbara rampage. But to see so many people and the narrative itself uphold Abby as the “better” person is so strange to me?

There are many more issues I have with tlou2 but this was the big one for me. I think a lot of tlou2 critics aren’t taken seriously (you just don’t like it bc you don’t like strong female leads! you just don’t like it bc you don’t get it! you don’t understand how bad revenge is!) instead of leaving room for open narrative discussion. I still think it’s got some truly beautiful moments but the story overall left such a bad taste in my mouth. Apologies for this stupidly long message, feel free to ignore but just wanted to offer up my thoughts.

This has a lot of the same points as the longer ask I just posted I just wanted to say I get you and I think these are valid points.

I think a critical look at the characters should show that neither Abby or Ellie are “good” or “bad” and there’s not a hero or a villain in this story, and it’s reductive to place them in those roles. But perhaps the game does try to say that Ellie is the loser and Abby is the winner at the end?

My initial post was specifically about seeing lots of comments that I see that say “I hate Abby because she killed Joel” which I think is a lot less justified and nuanced than the kinds of takes in my inbox.

[sweatertheman]

its like if a good webcomic was genetically mutated into an eldritch monstrosity as a vessel for the antichrist in order to bring about judgement day, and also it was really long and written by a know-it-all know-nothing asshole.

it's about everything, but it somehow manages to have nothing to say about anything. you have trans characters, friends to lovers, enemies to lovers, enemies with benefits, an autistic psycho murderer alien clown cultist, a guy whose entire character concept is just stolen from somewhere else who manages to have nothing to do with anything despite causing almost everything, and despite that i still have no idea what the point even was. even goofy silly joke stories have a point, that being to be dumb fun. homestuck is mostly stupid jokes, but keeps trying to have interesting lore and meaningful stories, but in such a way where it doesn't blend together into a unified whole, and sort of feels like several different comics smashed together.

its like if CAD (Ctrl-Alt-Del) was really long, serialized, and was also trying to be Rick and Morty, Earthbound, and some dark anime with complex lore or something idk.

i know rick and morty came out after homestuck, but its just got that sort of pseudo-intellectual nihilistic streak to it.

basically, homestuck doesn't have a story so much as it has a long string of events. but to sum up as best i can, it's about the life cycle of a universe, and follows the lives of socially stunted teens undergoing years of worldshattering revelations and unjust, meaningless suffering in order to perpetuate this cycle, against their will. homestuck is about nothing if not the perpetuation of cycles. even if they didnt want to participate, that version of them would simply be killed. the only timeline allowed to persist is the one that perpetuates the cycle. the series antagonist is a man who is a time paradox, whose sole motivation seems to be to ensure his own perpetuation at the expense of the universe. it's one self-perpetuating cycle of suffering against another. ultimately, nothing in homestuck really matters, because none of it could have happened differently. in one scene, the alien Karkat Vantas, most well known for being a loud, obnoxious, mean, but ultimately well-meaning guy, has a realization as he argues with his past self. he doesn't really believe he's actually angry at his past self, or that his past self even had a valid reason to be angry at him. he's pretty sure the only reason that argument happened was because it was already predestined to happen as a mechanism of time travel.

while i like this and other scenes, they fail to leave a lasting impact on me, as nothing is done with them. characters' own motivations and feelings will fail to affect the events of the story. time and time again its stated that characters are only doing what they do because they've been given no other choice. sometimes they even try to rationalize their slavery as greater purpose, that being bound by threat of infinite death to perform arbitrary actions by the will of the narrative is what defines them as people, and that being able to do whatever they wanted would make them perfectly generic.

anyway, point is, the comic is too long and too insincere to do any of its good ideas well, or to form a unified whole. ultimately the story is just a long, meandering experience with highs and lows but ultimately no point to the experience. it didn't have anything to say about anything, and it's too long, dark, and complicated to be dumb fun.

when everyone's super, no one will be. when your webcomic is about everything, it ceases to really be about anything.

at the end of the day, it just ends up feeling like a fever dream. bizarre and already half-forgotten.

I’ve been on tumblr for almost 13 years and I refuse to know what homestuck is about

[come-onayleen]

Ozaki Kōyō — Bungo Stray Dogs Analysis?

Kōyō appears as an incredibly graceful, mature and elegant character who holds herself with dignity and stateliness. With her persuasive speech, she frequently regards people and their personal growth through life identical to flowers.

The major stages of the flower life cycle are the seed, germination, growth, reproduction, pollination, and seed spreading stages, when the seed has everything that it needs to live it will 'wake up' and sprout, or germinate. Germination is the process by which a plant grows from a seed into a seedling. All seeds need water, oxygen and optimal temperature to germinate.

Ultimately a flower only has one purpose, which is to bloom, even when snipped or picked off it only encourages more flowers, the plant will continue to form flowering growth and keep on blooming till it reaches its demise. They simply follow their genetic coding and behave as how the DNA dictates them to respond in said environment.

Comparable to a child, when a seed is exposed to the proper conditions, water and oxygen, it has the ability and chance to grow in the most ideal way, the outcome being a beautiful variety of hardship, cohesion and completeness.

For all that, Kōyō believes that some are meant to be born in darkness and some are destined to wilt in time, which reflects her jaded and dulled view against things like hope and love.

[“Why do flowers bloom knowing they are destined to wither? Their time of beauty is so short-lived.“] — Merlina the Wizard; Sonic and the Black Knight 2009.

When she was young, she tried to leave the Mafia together with a man whom she admired. Nevertheless, they both were caught and the man was killed. Kōyō’s love was shattered and turned into an indescribable, one-sided sadness and sorrow. Since then, she has held a bitter resentment, but only against the Mafia’s former leader who did those heinous acts. Filled with bitterness and despair she devotes her life to the Mafia, which gradually turns her into a ruthless and faithless being afraid of change. Exhibiting the state of mind which someone can get to after tremendous disappointment and heartbreak.

“A flower that blooms in the darkness can only thrive in the darkness. If it still seeks light, it will only be burned to a crisp by the blaze”

This gave her a somewhat disillusioned and cynic perspective, making her occasionally question what the purpose of life is since everything is destined to wither and die. Guided by her desire to ‘protect’ what she has left as well as what is in her power to sway, she became solely committed to making each thing she comes in contact with eternal and preserve its beauty turning her into a desperate inadvertently extremist; to her, every crime and action was a necessary ‘evil’, any manipulation was an end that justified the means, and the sacrifice of countless lives was for the greater good and an ideal poisoned life.

For all her grace, Kōyō’s intense mindset leaves her prone to lashing out with inhuman and brutish words and violent attacks. Her plot was less about preserving the beauty of someone like Kyōka for noble causes and more of a selfish attempt on her part to escape her own sorrow as she related to Kyōka, having the same powers and having a similarly tragic past, and such started caring for her deeply.

Unlike most other antagonists, whose ambitions are driven through a lust for power and recognition, Kōyō does not consider herself evil in the same sense, as her stratagem’s were motivated to protect what she cherished the most. She’s merely an old-fashioned flower stuck in its growth avoidant of any light, not seeing any trace of boundary between the self and not-self.

“LISTEN TO ME, KYŌKA. I KNOW HOW YOU FEEL. BUT... SOME THINGS ARE SIMPLY IMPOSSIBLE. NO MATTER HOW MUCH A NATURAL-BORN ASSASSIN LIKE YOU SEEKS LIGHT... A FLOWER THAT BLOOMS IN THE DARK CAN SURVIVE ONLY WITHIN THE DARK. IF YOU PURSUE THE LIGHT, ITS HEAT WILL BURN YOU UP IN THE END.”

“We slowly drove—He knew no haste

And I had put away

My labor and my leisure too,

For His Civility—“ life, becoming totally convinced that everything in the world doesn't last forever

“Since then—’tis Centuries—and yet

Feels shorter than the Day

I first surmised the Horses’ Heads

Were toward Eternity—“

Because I could not stop for Death - Emily Dickinson

[rodjanikov]

Shit I hate about social media and how people post on it (or embracing being a hater)

"Nobody talks about how hard-" maybe because nobody fucking cares Kaitlyn

Inventing problems just for the sake of talking about something in the hope of stirring up drama

ANY P.O.V. POST EVER

"unpopular opinion" and it's the most shit take you've ever heard in your life

"restocking my fridge/pantry/cabinet/whatever the fuck", can't stand them, what's the fucking purpose

Hidden ai ads for every fucking thing

Any gym or fitness related video

Skits. I'm sorry, this isn't 2015 anymore. It's time to grow up <3

The entirety of TikTok

Any video of an American filming themselves complaining while sitting inside a car (i couldn't be paid to care)

Very specific but videos of young riders with their project ponies with blatantly fake phrases that quote criticism against them that no one ever said just to show a before and after consisting of the horse bucking/refusing and then jumping a line (just how much validation do you need honey?)

Sponsored posts. Any of them. It's just ads and I hate you

Doctor influecers??? What's up with that?? Girl go do your rotations

Any post made by a thirteen year old

Skin care videos (you will age and you will die and there's nothing you can do about it<3)

Life advice. Mind your business literally nobody asked (successful tips from a fuckin TikToker I'm cackling)

People whose content rotates solely around self-harm and making skits about it (it's so cringy, treat it like a real problem and again grow up, sometime shit has to be taken seriously)

rage bait

The fucking copy paste chat gtp captions that have spread through Instagram like the bubonic plague

People's opinions in general

Comment sections of every platform. Just bad

TikToks/reels with bad English (bother to check if you're spelling shit incorrectly, and it's usually something that people whose first language IS English do, it drives me fucking insane)

Thirst traps, except the silly ones

Those posts with ten million slides with mood boards like the trend "pretty like the stars/sun/snow" and shit like that. I feel my prefrontal cortex wither inside my skull every time I see one

Reaction videos. Do we really need them?

"if only there was a page-" if only there wasn't

Motivational posts made by ten year olds, shut up and play with your ipad, you privileged bourgeois child

Not.giving.fucking.context.or.explanation. (you are the fucking worst and I genuinely hate you)

Giving book/film/series recs and not including the fucking name. Like... what's your problem exactly

The entirety of twitter

"boy cat" "girl cat", do me a favor and kill yourself

Prank videos. Just why

People bothering workers/servers because it's "funny to post"

Adults not acting their fucking age (we need to eradicate social media as a job because why is James, 40, crawling on the floor or the subway screaming or throwing food in a restaurant)

Main character syndrome (I hope that the realization that you're a worthless waste of space comes to you while you're at your lowest and leaves permanent marks on your psyche, so much that you'll have to either shoot you head off under the weight of the blame or painstakingly repent for the rest of your life)

Extreme attention seeking (the fact that you hate yourself and your life is extremely empty is not my problem and I shouldn't have to deal with you filming yourself dancing on top of tables at the mall)

Censoring words with numbers or asterisks. Say the words you fucking coward. "But the post will be removed" so??? Are you willing to be censored???? Just because you said "death"???? Weak. Spineless.

Overly dramatic music over videos that really do not need it

People posting in third person. How fucking annoying can you be

This "😍" fucking emoji. For no particular reason other than I hate it