#literally do not even perceive me for this one. i just think those middle aged divorcees should fuck nasty

[blessyouhawkeye]

is the concept of tedtrent delusional? yes. is it going to be canon? no obviously not. but am i having the time of my life? also yes.

[canisvesperus]

I’ve seen some discussion on this, so allow me to explain something.

Some people do not seem to grasp why artists like me draw so much fashionable Eridan. He’s not fashionable at all, just look at his canon outfit, they say. Well, it is simple. Eridan is one of the few trolls actually experimenting with fashion at a young age in the comic. Look me in the eye and tell me you too weren’t a hot mess trying to dress “fashionable” in middle school. Yet, chances are that if you had that awareness and drive early on, you will also develop a sense of style and grasp on aesthetics earlier in life compared to your peers. This was my experience. I was well known for being very stylish as a kid, but this didn’t happen overnight. Indeed, if you were one of these kids you most definitely started off with some odd or disharmonious clothing combinations that you threw together in an attempt to express yourself aesthetically despite inexperience in that type of self-expression. I can’t speak for everyone else, but I usually draw young adult Eridan. Obviously given some time, his tastes would develop and mature into something derived from those original aesthetic visions, but far more cohesive.

It’s clear he’s trying to assert his individualism and status in his clothing choices, and most of y’all shrug him off as having bad taste while not also foreseeing the intent and vision behind those choices. I see it, and so do other artists. We differ in how we portray this derivation because there are frankly a dozen different directions he could take it depending on the circumstances of the post-canon/fix it scenario. This is why you may see me refer to the Eridan in my depictions as “my Eridan”. I don’t presume to depict something identical to Homestuck proper, nor am I particularly interested in doing so. If you’re the type of person who is married to the events of canon and cannot consider a scenario involving an older Eridan who was allowed to grow and change, this is why we are not seeing eye to eye— and I’m certain this is the root cause of various other discourses as they pertain to portraying the character in post-canon fanworks. That’s fine. That’s your choice. My choice is different.

Eridan consistently demonstrates concern (an excess, really, which backfired for him in the cruelest of ways poor thing) with respect to how he is perceived, hence the consciously thought out image-crafting and classic Eridan façades that his own peers call him out on for being poorly executed, transparent, and otherwise not believable. They were kids. This is normal. Of course he doesn’t have himself figured out yet. It’s a process. Some people in this fandom believe his façade in the most literal and uncritical of ways but this is all a story for another day. Is his drip game shit though, without regards for fan interpretations? If you’re asking me, I don’t think it’s really that bad considering his age. I really don’t think it’s that bad. That kind of scarf with the cape is a bit much to wear around the neck. Maybe he’ll swap the big scarf for something similar in function and category but less top heavy— a cravat, jabot, bandana, or lavallière? If the cape is too overwhelming for the rest of the outfit, a smaller caplet, shawl, or a coat will work. To accommodate some of the alternative neckwear, a shirt with a collar would be preferable. What many people perceive as a turtleneck sweater, need not be entirely sacrificed. Put a sweater vest on that boy. I see lots of complaints about the shoes and pants. More discreet pinstripes and more formal shoes (field boots, paddock boots, oxfords) will work. Of course he can go in the opposite direction, less formal, in that case the cape can go and the long scarf can stay, get some cool sneakers, consider denim bottoms or casual slacks in a single color, accents welcome. However this isn’t the derivation I pursue so I feel less qualified to speculate. He could ditch all of it even. Start new and fresh especially if he were to go through a markedly subversive reclamation of identity and character redemption sort of process. In any case, he can work with it!!! You just have to believe in him.

I believe Eridan had a lot of narrative potential that was wasted, possibly out of disinterest for the character. It’s only predictable that artists like me simply want to devise a world in which these characters had a chance to actually live their lives. I truly do not understand why there has to be so much confusion over this. That‘s all.

[colossal-niamh]

Just a big list of some stuff I think is neat

I haven't been super active on here in a minute so I'm just gonna lighting round a bunch of stuff I've been watching/reading X-Men '97- Fucking incredible. This is probably my favorite piece of non comic superhero media since Spectacular Spider-Man. The animation, the melodrama, the narrative showcasing the struggles of building a better tomorrow and existing in a world where your existence is perceived as a threat. Can't wait for season 2 The Crow (1994)- Wanted to get to this before the remake comes out. This is very much a situation where I procrastinated on watching something I knew I'd like and when I finally got around to it I went "Yeah I was right I liked it a lot!" The Crow is equal parts mournful as it is hopeful for a better tomorrow, a balancing act between the grief of loss and celebration of life. A damn shame we lost Brandon Lee so young because he was enthralling the entire film, an irreplaceable talent. The Venture Bros- I was making my way through the series on my own for a good while now. Showing it to some irl friends gave me the excuse to rewatch it all before I see the final season because I LOVE Venture Bros. it has firmly cemented itself as one of my favorite shows ever. I can't even get into it here or this will just become a Venture Bros gush fest. X-Terminators (2022)- Literally just read this today, what a delightful little book. it's a bit weird dropping in here as the book's smack dab in the middle of the nearly finished Krakoa era of the X-Men books. Luckily this needs little to no context as it's 4 of most fun women in the X-Men cast cracking jokes and kicking Dazzler's shitty ex in the dick. Also said ex is a literal blood sucking vampire Shin Ultraman- The last of Hideaki Anno's Shin trilogy I needed to see. Ultraman is admittedly the one I'm least familiar with out of the tokusatsu big 3, but this film made me far more interested in it than I was before. a great action flick about keeping the flame of hope lit even in dire situations. I liked all of the Shin movies but here's how I'd rank them; 1. Shin Godzilla 2. Shin Ultraman 3. Shin Kamen Rider Steven Universe- Soooo, I was one of those kids that listened to shitty criticism of SU back when it was airing and it ruined my perception of the show for years. It took until recently to realize the critics I listened to were not only bad at media analysis (and just a bad person in general) but also outright lying about the contents of the show. to rectify this mistake I've been rewatching SU and man, I was so wrong about this show. It's exceptional stylistically and narratively, and teaches some genuinely well thought out life lessons to it's target age demographic. It's not garbage, it's great! RRR- Admittedly I watched this further back than anything else on this list but that doesn't matter because YOU NEED TO SEE RRR! This movie is 3 hours of distilling the power of friendship and anti-colonial sentiment into the most Dudes Rock movie ever put to film. by the end I was screaming my head off like a crazy person for 20 minutes straight. what are you even doing here reading this? GO WATCH RRR!

[sigynpenniman]

Sort of an addendum to my previous post about how emotional I get over platonic and queerplatonic love but I’m currently almost 70,000 words into a novel that’s centrally about a character with a literally supernatural ability to give people the comfort they need even when they don’t want to admit it and the question I’m becoming fascinated with as well as the growing thesis statement of this very novel is why we only allow comfort to the most miserable. why in western cultures we have locked physical affection behind only the barriers of either family or sex and it is not allowed outside of those spaces except, notably, in cases of extreme misery. the biggest and burliest of men will hold someone’s hand if they’re in enough pain. the toughest people will ask someone to stay with them if they get scared enough. it’s not weird to rub your friend’s back if they’re grieving. and this is good. and I am glad we have built this space into our societal perception. but why is it only here. why is it only acceptable and “not weird” to want your hand held when things are THE MOST bad. why is it only okay to offer and receive physical affection in the most dire of circumstances. and yes there is a component here of people being embarrassed or afraid to ask for these things and needing to be in sufficient distress to overcome that but that angle is not the only one where the perception exists. it is perceived as just as weird to offer as it is to ask. it’s not only when the pain is unbearable that you want a hand to hold it is also when the pain is just a little. why is it only acceptable to give and receive certain types of care when you feel you could not survive without it. why is this how we treat almost all avenues of comfort, of accommodation, of safety, of ease. why is relief only okay to ask for when you have no other option. why is making the experience of living and the minor stresses and pains of mundane existence just that little bit softer not seen as reason enough. why do we only provide pain relief when we have to. why do we offer as little pain relief as possible. why is the question only ever if things are bearable and not if they are comfortable. “bearable” isn’t good enough “bearable” was never good enough nothing which can possibly be enjoyed or at worst experienced passively should be endured if there is any other option. the supernatural superempath at the heart of my story who occasionally ends up holding the hands of middle aged men because they managed to punch through decades of fear and conditioning to make someone feel safe enough to admit they just need that little bit of comfort even though they’re not, like, dying or something, is there not just because I’m me and I think that’s soft ground to dig in. they’re there to ask you question: don’t you want to live in this world?

[literaticat]

I'm trying to figure out the best way to protect my mental health in the face of my debut year. Do you have any tips for authors who are being perceived for the first time?

I have been sitting on this one a bit because I don't want to give BAD advice, and also it feels like a huge topic? I dunno, I guess I'll just dive in and see where this goes . . .

First of all: CONGRATULATIONS on your forthcoming debut! Hooray! I hope you are allowing yourself time to celebrate and have fun, and not just letting your anxiety run amok.

If you know that you are an anxious or otherwise easily freaked-out person by nature, it's a good idea to set some boundaries for yourself NOW so that they will hopefully take root and be relatively simple to continue. You might start by identifying your triggers and trying to like, overcome them in advance.

For example: I KNOW this about myself -- I have ADHD and anxiety. If I don't have a schedule and a list, I will derail and just start procrastinating which sends me into a spiral that can take ages to dig out of.

I also know about myself that if I have to do something in the middle of a work day, like "go to a lunch" or "go to the dentist" -- I might as well write the whole rest of the day off as a loss, because there's NO WAY I'm getting anything done once I come home.

So I set a schedule for myself and (try to) keep to it. I make lots of lists, set lots of reminders, and when those days come where I know there's a mid-day situation happening, I block those times out so that I don't feel bad for not doing anything when I come home because I was already scheduled to not do anything. :-)

I also don't look at news during the work day because if I do, I will for sure just go down a rabbit hole. I also try not to answer work emails after 7pm or on weekends. I also have a timer app-thing that kicks me off twitter / insta during the work day if I'm on there for more than 10 minutes.

All of this is my way of managing my time, which means that when I am AT WORK, I actually get things done (hopefully!) -- and when I am OFF WORK, I actually practice self-care and DON'T WORK, which means I'm less likely to stress out and burn out.

Now -- I don't know what YOUR struggles are. But identifying them will help you figure out strategies to combat them, right?

I'd suggest that ways to combat the terror of being perceived MIGHT include strictly limiting what you share about your private life online, and limiting your social media use by means of a timer or some such that will allow you to dip in and post something if you want to, but won't allow you to get fully sucked in. Setting boundaries about the time you spend on responding to emails and things of that nature. Learning that it is OK to say no to things (but allow that sometimes it might be good to say YES to things even if they make you a little uncomfortable to think about, because those things MIGHT be great opportunities!) -- and while yes, it IS great to make friends with other writers who are in a similar boat to you -- also, if you have good friends who are NOT WRITERS, who don't really get that life at all but just want to go on a road trip or something like that, KEEP THEM, because it's healthy to have interests and activities that DO NOT include writing, obsessing about writing, obsessing about sales or whatever, and writer-world gossip.

In other words - make taking the time to enjoy yourself and the world outside of writing a priority, not a "luxury when you have time but you never have time" -- a PRIORITY. Take walks, or play pickle-ball, read a great book, or hug a puppy, or whatever it is -- just give yourself the chance to GO OUTSIDE AND TOUCH SOME GRASS (literally or figuratively) when you can, because surely, whatever your mental health challenges are, sitting on the internet absorbing writer drama will not be helpful to them.

Also, if you don't have a therapist, it might be a good idea to get one.

[zapgraptrash]

1) What is the character’s go-to drink order? (this one gets into how do they like to be publicly perceived, because there is always some level of theatricality to ordering drinks at a bar/restaurant) Masuyo – I just spent ages trying to like find something Safe that they’d order every time they were somewhere that does Not have Japanese things. I can’t really pin down something specific but it WOULD be something specific. Something strong, probably a whiskey. If there ARE Japanese drinks available they would actually take more time to decide on something rather than just getting something safe and easy. I feel like they’d like melon flavoured drinks

2) What is their grooming routine? (how do they treat themselves in private) Ricky – she spends the most time on picking out a hat (if not at work). She wouldn’t spend like hours getting ready before going out but she would make sure that she looks impressive, or at the very least just noticeable. In private though she’ll just wear pyjamas all day if she can. If there is nobody to see then it’s not important to spend all the effort on looking presentable. The guinea pigs won’t care lol.

3) What was their most expensive purchase/where does their disposable income go? (Gets you thinking about socio-economic class, values, and how they spend their leisure time) Zapper – guaranteed his bike(s) are the only thing he’s ever spent a lot of money at once on, he will never just drop a load of money on anything. Even the bike took saving and planning and negotiating lol. He’s one of those people who will put 10% of every paycheck into savings immediately. Most of his disposable income probably goes on things like gardening supplies or fuckin. Cleaning supplies. Or bike maintenance. And maybe committing to the bit of annoying Grappler.

4) Do they have any scars or tattoos? (good way to get into literal backstory)  Dom – her standard issue tattoo is right in the middle of her chest just because. I don’t think she’d be bothered about getting any others, maybe covering that one up with something post-trashland. But she is always covered in like, small burns and scars and shit because that happens when you like to play with fire and explosives.

5) What was the last time they cried, and under what circumstances? (Good way to get some *emotional* backstory in.)  Slyger – slyger cries most often when he’s stressed. So it was probably recently. He makes everything out to be really high stakes so it could be literally anything lol. His pc keeps crashing because skyrim has too many mods loaded. He can’t find that ONE type of salmon at the store but he KNOWS they have it. He wants to watch the new episode of the telenovela he's obsessed with but REALLY wants to watch it live and probably won’t get home in time.

6) Are they an oldest, middle, youngest or only child? (This one might be a me thing, because I LOVE writing/reading about family dynamics, but knowing what kinds of things were ‘normal’ for them growing up is important.) Jeffrey – he’s an only child of a single parent who put like All her stakes on him. Has to live up to super specific ideals and if not You Are Making Me Look Bad In Front Of The Rest Of The (surprisingly large) Family. Like this is only his mother’s side of the family too, he has cousins and second cousins all over the place. He might have some half siblings from his dad but he’ll probably never know I guess!

7) Describe the shoes they’re wearing. (This is a big catch all, gets into money, taste, practicality, level of wear, level of repair, literally what kind of shoes they require to live their life.) Thaddeus – they’re good quality leather biker boots with a bunch of decorative buckles. He spent a Lot on them and they’ll last ages, unlike the boots he used to get which were like ok but they wore out really easily and he Had to replace them because it’d fuck up his prosthetic foot otherwise. Before he lost his foot he’d just wear shoes until they disintegrated.

8) Describe the place where they sleep. (ie what does their safe space look like. How much (or how little) care / decoration / personal touch goes into it.) Granox – if slyger wasn’t around to decorate and such there wouldn’t be that much around, mostly just one or two cool things he found on the ground. Also it’d just be a mattress. Because he keeps accidentally breaking bedframes by jumping onto them and not realising how fucking dense and strong he is. Funnily enough though he actually keeps the bed made way more than slyger does. So long as it’s comfy enough he can sleep, he doesn’t Need much else.

9) What is their favorite holiday? (How do they relate to their culture/outside world. Also fun is least favorite holiday.)  Grappler – Valentine’s Day because it’s the easiest day of the year to have sex (hooking up with other single people whilst single)/easiest day of the year to commit to the bit of annoying Zapper while also being genuine about it. But also boning Zapper. It’s like a whole day where the “objective” is to show affection to your partner and tbh that is how he thinks he shows affection the best. His least favourite day is Veterans day/memorial day because he just (correctly) associates them with his dad and the US fucking around in southeast asia/his dad treating his mum as a trophy wife. He probably doesn’t like have the ability to articulate WHY he hates them so much, but his default answer is that it’s a scam that vets get 2 holidays for being pieces of shit.

10) What objects do they always carry around with them? (What do they need for their normal, day-to-day routine? What does ‘normal’ even look like for them.)  Vilius – she always has cigs, a lighter and a taser on her. maybe a knife too. Probably operates off cartoon logic since I never draw her with pockets or a bag lmao. But like she almost always has a fuckin glass of wine or something on hand. If she’s not like, inside where there are glasses to pour booze into she probably has one of those tiny little bottles of something. This is fine.jpg

[kcollective]

Yes! I developed the word 'kenoconism' from combining kenopsia and onism. Both are terms that seem relevant to us

Some of them have an idea of what they want, and I'll guide them through ideas. I have a list of name ideas, and will also look up names for new alters

Yes, me (Aspen -🕷️). I go by the name of the body, Aspen, sometimes Juniper, and sometimes Waylon

Oliver. He literally considered "Oliver" then was like "idk...let me google gay guy names" and Oliver was the first suggestion lmao

Probably Qwerty or Unnamed (I named it that because it doesn't have a name)

It's usually based on mannerisms, though it's not always clear for some alters

Yes - me, for sure (though sometimes I identify with specific ages, like when regressed). I'm not sure if anyone else is ageless; maybe some dormant alters are?

Oldest in terms of how long they've been around or alter age? I would say that Naia is 'older' in terms of alter age than most of us but she's not even middle-aged...there's some dormant alters that are either old or ageless or something. I've been around the longest (literal OG core here lets go)

Yep, I do, and so does one of the littles. Idk about anyone else

Children

Yes and no. We're very gay/bi/aroacespec heavy. Most of us are somewhere on the aroace spectrum, with few exceptions

Nonbinary for sure. All the currently active alters are nonbinary. There's a slight masc lean though

A lot of us, actually. I'd say most of the currently active ones, myself included, identify with xenogenders/neopronouns

Definitely Blue. Absolute gender-hoarder

Yes? I'm not sure if it's that I consider the body to be trans so much as I, the host and core, am trans, and my experience and identity is most relevant. I've also gotten gender-affirming care. I don't know if the idea of the body being transgender makes total sense to me, but yeah, we're trans

Hmm...we have a mermaid, fairy, mouse, rock-humanoid, chaos being...maybe some dormant religious deities? I'm also a shapeshifter void-thing, so

Me (sometimes), one of the littles, and Qwerty

Acorn is a mouse! I am sometimes an animal/furry. Blue is therian but physically human

Being a shapeshifter stuck in a single, human form

Somewhere between the two - humanoid, but not fully human. There's a few humans, a lot of humanoids, and some other things

Yes, technically, but they're religious introjects who are now dormant - we don't have any other introjects

When the two (three?) religious introjects were around they were very connected to it and acted exactly like it. However I don't super remember what they were like

The Bible 💀💀

No

Nope

Yeah, kinda, simply because I want people to stop spreading SO MUCH MISINFORMATION and stop harassing systems. I don't really like syscourse, I just want people to stop spreading harmful opinions and listen to research. It feels like I have to be part of syscourse whether I like it or not, because when people with different views on it engage in it, it's fine, but when I do it, suddenly it's bad evil syscourse

No, I never have been. If anything I've accepted that cultural context for disorders is what defines them as disordered in the first place, so while I don't believe in literal endo systems, I understand that some cultures' views of mental illness and neurodivergency is through a spiritual lens, which shapes how those conditions are viewed. It's similar to how hallucinations are viewed as spiritual happenings in some cultures, which in turn defines how they're perceived and treated. Disorders are relative not only to inherent disordered behavior but also to the social context they're in, so from a sociological standpoint, people viewing mental illness as something different is one that I can respect, even if these beliefs aren't literal and are rather non-scientific, as with many metaphysical faiths.

Please don't think that your trauma "wasn't bad enough" to cause a disorder, or that you must not have trauma if you don't remember it. If you are a system, and you're not from a culture which has metaphysical plurality beliefs, you have a complex dissociative disorder. Denial is VERY common, and downplaying trauma can be hard to overcome. However, you still formed from trauma, and you need to accept the fact you have a trauma-based disorder in order to recover and be functional.

Collectively, we believe that DID/OSDD is traumagenic and that 'endos' either are in denial or are part of a culture in which spiritual explanation rather than medical explanation exists for plurality (which is still traumagenic, just not viewed as disordered from within that culture). Some of us have different emotions on the matter, such as how some of us are more likely to be very uncomfortable with people trying to downplay OSDID, and others are more likely to be angry.

Depends on what's being said. Overall I think it's harmful, since some of the topics exclude people for no good reason (like thinking introjects, nonhuman alters, or neopronouns = faking). I also think that the idea of labeling basic information about systems as 'syscourse' is insulting and demeaning, as it boils it down to petty internet discourse rather than what it is: addressing ableism.

Oliver :3

Me, of course /lh /hj

Wilt being disgusted by food and leaving front if someone tries to eat anything apart from raw meat - then, on the other hand, one of the littles is vegetarian and doesn't like to be co-con or fronting if anyone is eating meat

I have too many thoughts on this. I think that my perspective would be much, much different from anyone else's due to being the host/core/original

Not sure; maybe certain songs or fashion? Or certain foods?

anti-endo system ask game

this post is for anti-endo systems only, endos dni

if you don't want asks from a specific category I would recommend specifying that in the tags

name asks

1. do you have a collective name? how did you choose it?

2. how do new alters choose their names?

3. are there any alters who identify with the body's name?

4. which alter has the most stereotypical name?

5. which alter has the weirdest name?

age asks

6. how does alter age work for your system?

7. does your system have ageless alters?

8. who is the oldest alter? how old are they?

9. does your system have alters who age slide or age regress?

10. does your system's littles want to be treated like children or adults?

queer asks

11. do all alters have similar sexualities?

12. does your system have more male, female, or nonbinary alters?

13. do any alters use xenogenders or neopronouns?

14. which alter has the most gender?

15. do you consider the body to be transgender?

nonhuman asks

16. what alter is the strangest species?

17. do any alters in your system have wings?

18. does your system have any animal alters?

19. what is the weirdest part about being a nonhuman alter?

20. is the majority of your system human or nonhuman?

introject asks

21. do you have multiple alters from one source?

22. are most of your system's introjects connected to their source? disconnected from their source?

23. what is the weirdest source that an introject in your system has?

24. are any of your system's introjects in relationships with other introjects?

25. do any of your system's introjects have non-canon source memories?

syscourse asks

26. do you engage in syscourse?

27. were you previously pro-endo?

28. if you could tell all pro-endos one thing, what would you tell them?

29. does your system have a collective opinion on syscourse, or does it vary?

30. do you think that syscourse is more helpful or harmful?

asks for the current fronter

31. who is your favorite alter in the system?

32. which alter has the most based takes?

33. what is the funniest piece of system drama?

34. do you enjoy being part of a system?

35. what's something you like that no one else in the system likes?

this post is for anti-endo systems only, endos dni

[dovahnap]

So on a road trip recently my husband and I listened to a couple episodes of the Search Engine podcast—one about the creepy search-engine-for-faces that renders everyone subject to the panopticon that I had some thoughts on (what a scary future!!!) but the one that gave us most conversation was the two-part season finale where they tackle the question of what it takes to get into an exclusive gay German techno club called Berghain.

A few thoughts:

First: I’m pretty sure I could get in.

Second: I don’t think I would want to get in.

Third: I think (First) because (Second).

Fourth: Despite (Second), thinking (First) makes me happy.

Nothing sounds less appealing to me than a loud, crowded room that is probably too hot because of all the drug-and alcohol-induced activities. It sounds like a headache. It sounds boring. I must admit I was surprised at PJ Vogt’s professed love of clubbing because I imagine him as being middle-aged and therefore too old for clubbing (as a This-American-Life-style podcaster I find it impossible to imagine him any way but alone in a closet speaking intimately into a microphone, also as a mouse), but I suppose we all contain multitudes.

But anyway. Despite this, if I could magically be teleported to the front of the line, stand before the implacable bouncer, and be either granted admittance or rejected before being teleported back to my bedroom, I think I would just out of curiosity. It’s not quite the same impulse that made me take innumerable buzzfeed quizzes back in the day, or get really into the MBTI; I think it’s an ultra-mild version of the one that compels me to take internet IQ tests (and then DNF them out of fear), or post a selfie to the amiugly subreddit: the desire to be judged. I’m usually pessimistic about my place in any ranking system, but I care little enough about getting into Berghain that if I were given the thumbs-down it wouldn’t affect me much. Still, the thought that I could get in is a bit of an ego boost. That’s literally it. The thought that I could be one of a Select Few—even for something I have no interest in doing—is shamefully appealing.

Generally, I don’t like anything where exclusivity is one of the main selling points. If something would lose some or most of its value were it available to everyone, then its value isn’t intrinsic. However, as the podcast points out, if Berghain were not exclusive, it wouldn’t be Berghain. The vibe, as an emergent property of the club’s attendees, must be cultivated and maintained via a sommelier-like taste for people. Clubgoers at Berghain are not only consumers of an experience, but participants in and creators of, and not everyone fits.

The argument makes sense. Gatekeeping keeps communities from being diluted into a lowest-common-denominator experience. If you’re overly inclusive, you become generic and lose whatever appeal—beyond brand name—that made you valuable in the first place. To hear the bouncer tell it, he’s something of a curator of people, benevolently allowing in those who are meant for Berghain and sending those who would fit better elsewhere off to elsewhere. I get it. Vibes must match.

But still, the exclusivity is inarguably part of the appeal of Berghain. If the exclusivity were not a part of Berghain’s reputation, it would not have a four-hour wait to get in. People—even people like me, who have zero interest in the experience of clubbing—want to be let in there precisely because it is hard to get in. I hypothesize that even if every person line had impeccable vibes, a good portion would still be turned away because being perceived as exclusive is just that valuable. To be part of an exclusive club is to be elite. To be elite is to be special. And not just special on your own, but special in the same, rare way as a select few other people.

I’m sure for the regulars of such exclusive establishments there’s a real sense of belonging. But what percentage of tourists who successfully camouflage themselves and gain admittance really enjoy the experience? How much of the night is about ego, and how much is genuine appreciation for techno culture? I think that’s part of what the bouncer is theoretically trying to control for, but I’m sorry—clubgoers are not nerds quizzing each other on the history of electronic music. No matter how much the podcast tried to convince me that actually there’s a deep, somewhat rational and meaningful distinction between who gets in and who doesn’t, I am not convinced.

I’m trying to figure out why this bothers me so much despite believing both that I would get in (resting bitch face would work in my favor, I think) and knowing that I wouldn’t want to be there even if I did. I guess it’s the knowledge that people value exclusivity so highly to the point that they would subject themselves to something they probably don’t even like that much in order to belong somewhere exclusive. And it’s the knowledge that I am not immune.

If Berghain truly is a place for gay, artsy techno-party people, then it makes sense that it is not the place for most people since most people are not gay, artsy techno-party people. But do that many people even want to be gay artsy techno-party people? Is being amongst their numbers that desirable, even to nerdy podcasters? Is being amongst their numbers that desirable to nerdy podcasters precisely because they know that they are the opposite of a gay artsy techno-party person? Is that why I get some enjoyment out of the idea that I would get in?

I guess my real question is what are the would-be attendees of Berghain trying to prove? And to whom are they trying to prove it?

I don’t know. I think I like the idea that I would turn them down. I would look at the bouncer and tell him that *he* is not invited to *my* party. I am too cool for the coolest club ever, actually. I am a rock. I am an island.

Instead I am writing to no one on Tumblr.

On second thought I would probably not get in.

[whitherwanderyouspirit]

Gonna jump back to the sun damage part of the post chain briefly since I didn't get around to responding yesterday -- I think that makes sense for the change to act like a temporary hold, like putting pressure on a wound until medical attention can be applied, but something else occurred to me: if the injury carries over in some capacity instead of the change acting like a temporary bandage, would it end up as a similar condition on the human form? Like sun damage transferring over as sun poisoning? Also fairly painful with its own set of nasty symptoms and runs the risk for serious complications, but presumably less lethal and easier to heal from than partial-petrification of a giant patch of stone-dermal layer.

If part or all of the injury carried over but applied differently due to the different biology at play, it would afford the option of choosing to heal in a form better suited to recovery. Particularly in the case of sun damage, it opens a door for changelings that regular trolls don't have -- one more way to avoid death by sunlight. Sun poisoning eventually heals and the skin returns to normal. And if damage carries over between forms, presumably healing would as well?

Skipping down to the bottom two posts re: healing factors -- I agree completely. Just based on the turn around time we see between Nomura and Walter getting damaged and when they appear recovered, accelerated healing seems likely.

Also agree with Pinky regarding the situation not being as cut and dry as Walter explains it in the moment for two reasons. One: there seems to be a sort of bleed-over, at least in moments of heightened emotion. Specifically, the glowing eyes, the little growls the characters make occasionally when angry in human form. Also not emotion related but Walt's ability to turn a freaking couch on its side like its nothing when they're setting up traps for Angor Rot. I have to wonder if he even picked up on the fact that's not something normal middle-aged men can just do without working out.

Which brings me to number two: I do not think Walter is the most reliable narrator when it comes to understanding what it is to be a troll. I would suspect none of the changelings are based on their upbringings and having a combination of Gunmar and the Gumm-Gumms drilling propaganda and negative behavioral patterns into them for literal centuries, and then dealing with Bular on a regular basis. We see little hints of it, the most prominent that comes to mind being when Walter's describing gravesand to Jim and tells him that "changelings use it to get in touch with their trollish nature." Which tells me a couple of things: he equates rage and anger with trollish nature (and given who has formed his understanding of what it means to be a troll, I don't think that's a surprise -- he doesn't have any positive examples that the viewer knows of), and he doesn't believe he and the other changelings possess those traits innately (at least not to the same degree that he perceives "regular trolls" do).

There's also a couple of subtle signs shown on screen that hint at other slight differences, like NotEnrique drinking milk (or at least formula) with no issue, despite the seeming implication that trolls don't like the taste of cream and possibly other milk-based dairy (human Blinky vs troll Blinky, then again shown in the background when Aaarrrgghh squirts the can of whipped cream in his mouth and makes a face like a kid who immensely regrets putting that in his mouth, prompting him to eat the entire can to get the taste out of his mouth). So possible adjustments to taste buds to accommodate a more human diet. And then the obvious physical build discrepancies between the smaller, scrawnier changelings when compared to regular trolls.

It probably boils down to a ship of Theseus situation -- how much of the troll can be changed while still being considered a troll? Walter seems to identify that form as "fully troll," despite the differences the audience picks up on, that he is probably aware of himself on at least some level. The regular trolls in the series probably would not agree that he and the other changelings are "fully troll", ergo the "impure" slur and referring to them as abominations. Blinky even establishes that the regular trolls consider them "changed," and based on what we the viewer see, he's probably not just referring to the brainwashing regimen they've been put through, but a perceivable, physical change.

I wonder what the equivalence is between damage the changelings take in their human form versus their troll form.

I know we see a few examples, like Nomura limping after she injured her leg and Strickler's injured arm. But I'm thinking serious injuries--like if a changeling got shot in their human form, would their troll form merely have a crater? If they get stabbed in troll form, would their human form just have a nasty welt and sharp pain?

Makes me wonder if they could choose which form to recuperate in based on the nature and severity of their injury.

[dragongirlmesilune]

Stealing Fire

(I wrote this for my friend @ibrithir-was-here it's based on their Endless Heirs AU, plus the recent 'The Sandman Universe: Nightmare Country' comics, which I feel would fit into their AU quite well, as it seems a certain golden eyed anthropomorphic personification is messing with their older brother YET AGAIN. Also, Daniel is about 18 in this.)

The last thing Madison Flynn remembered was her dead friend Kells snapping her neck on the orders of two murderous gimps, while said dead friend was being stabbed by a man with teeth for eyes who was apparently not only a serial killer, but also a dream, and now she was in some unending white void, probably dead, and her only remaining friend Robbie would probably be joining her momentarily.

She was pretty sure the situation could not get any weirder.

She was quickly proven wrong.

"Um... Excuse me? Madison Flynn?"

She whirled around at the sudden voice- and came face to face with a guy about her age.

Or, at least, it had the general shape of a guy about her age.

It- he, really, was white, unnaturally white. From his skin to his hair (which seemed to float about in defiance of gravity) to the robe he wore, everything about him was as white as a piece of paper. The only exceptions were the emerald that hung from a chain around his neck, and his eyes, which were black voids dotted with pinpricks of light.

Stars. Madison realized.

He has actual fuckin' STARS inside his fuckin' EYEBALLS.

The being seemed to notice her discomfort and took a step back, a slightly worried look on his face.

"You- you don't need to be scared. I'm not gonna hurt you..."

It took her a moment to find her voice. "Am... am I dead?"

"Unfortunately."

"Are you death?"

He snorts a bit at that. "No, I'm not Death, thats my auntie. I'm Daniel. Cori asked me to talk to you."

It took Madison a moment to realize who he was talking about. "The Corinthian?"

"Yeah. He kinda works for my Dad, and he asked him to save you. Except, Dad is a bit... intimidating, so he decided to let me do the talking instead."

"Who... Who exactly is your Dad? What exactly is he?" Madison had a feeling the answer was going to be something big.

Daniel smiled gently. "Dad has a lot of names. Lord Shaper, King of Stories, Kai'ckul, Onerios, The Sandman... the name he uses most often is Morpheus, but his true one is Dream of the Endless. As for what he is... well, I think of him as a very polite Lovecraftian eldrich horror- insanely powerful, but you can't perceive his true form because your mind would melt into goo."

"I... see." Madison said, even though she really didn't. "And what does that make you?"

"I'm... complicated." Daniel scratched the back of his neck awkwardly. "You ever seen that movie Wolfwalkers, where the people's spirits become wolves while their bodies sleep? I'm kinda like that, except instead of a wolf, my spirit turns into... this." He gestured to himself.

Madison was silent for a moment, before she finally responded. "So which one of you is responsible for those bullshit dreams about my middle school bullies apologizing to me?!"

"Actually, neither of us is." Daniel said, his voice grave. "And that's a huge problem."

"What do you mean?"

He sighed. "Whenever a being dreams, they come to a place called the Dreaming. But when Dad examined your body, he discovered you hadn't been there since you were little. Somehow, something has taken your ability to enter the Dreaming and has been feeding you false dreams in its place. And this 'Smiling Man', this waking nightmare you keep seeing who looks a little like Cori? Neither Dad nor I made him, and we've literally made every dream and nightmare there is. And it isn't just you either. There have been at least fourteen other people who've seen the Smiling Man- and most of them have died horribly in the past six weeks. Cori wants to hunt it- and whoever is behind it- down, but he wants your help doing it. I'm probably going to be coming along too, just so he doesn't start eating eyeballs again. And before you ask, no I won't be looking like this, like I said before, I'm a human when I'm awake."

"So, my options are to help a serial killer and a demigod solve the mystery of my death or just like... fuck off to heaven or something?"

"Pretty much."

Madison thought about it. From what Daniel had said, someone had been messing with her head for a long time, and whoever had done it was not only responsible for her death, but the deaths of multiple other people and judging by the way they had torched her dormroom and butchered Kells, they didn't care about collateral damage.

She had every right to rest in peace... but she couldn't.

Not when innocent people were dying and she could do something to stop it.

She stuck out her hand. "I'm in."

"Great!" Daniel said, grabbing the offered appendage. "Now hold still, I've never made a once-living person a new body before, and I don't wanna mess up."

"Wait- 'New body'?!"

Everything went white.

-------

The door to Limbo opened, and the Prince of Dreams stepped through, into the bloodstained living room where his Dad, Matthew, and the Corinthian stood waiting amongst several sleeping humans.

"So?" Dream asked.

"How did it go?"

Daniel smiled. "See for yourself."

There was the sound of wings, and a raven came to land on the floor. Unlike Matthew, however, this bird had plumage as white as Daniels robes. The raven glared at Daniel with black eyes for a moment before opening its beak to speak in Madisons voice. "You could've said I was gonna come back as a bird!"

He shrugged. "Well I couldn't exactly bring you back in your old form could I? Walking around with a dead person tends to draw unwanted attention, and this way you can go between the Waking and the Dreaming without my help. Plus, now Matthew doesn't need to run himself ragged trying to keep an eye on both me and Dad."

"Well I still would've preferred a warning! And who's Matthew?"

"That'd be me."

Madison let out a squawk of fright as she laid eyes on the tall, eerie figure of Dream, swathed in night colored robes with flame-licked edges and with an omen of death perched on his shoulder.

No wonder he let Daniel do the talking.

"Madison, meet my Dad, Dream of the Endless, and his raven Matthew."

"Hi."

"Greetings, Miss Madison." Dream nodded before looking at his son.

"She is white, Daniel."

"Hey, it was my first time! And I think I did a pretty good job, all things considered."

"I was not criticizing your work, merely stating a fact."

"Uh, my Lord?" The Corinthian said.

"I don't mean to alarm you, but Agony and Ecstasy are gone."

Sure enough, despite Dream having put them to sleep, both murderous gimps had vanished without a trace.

"Oh you have got to be kidding me!" Daniel shook his head in disbelief.

"Interesting..." Dream mused. "It would take a considerable amount of power to recall them without my notice."

"Narrows down the suspect list, I'd imagine."

"Indeed. I suggest we return to the Dreaming for now, to formulate a plan of action."

"Sounds like a plan to me Dad."

"W-Wait! What about Robbie?"

Dream shook his head. "I can do no more for him, unfortunately."

"If its any consolation, he'll probably think this was all a dream." Daniel said.

"Hes holding my dead body!"

"... mostly a dream."

"Enough. It is time we leave. I trust you will be right behind me, Daniel?"

"Of course Dad."

"Good." Dream pulled a worn leather pouch from within his robes and opening it. "Corinthian, Matthew, with me."

"Of course, my lord."

"Sure boss."

Sand began to swirl about the three like a tornado, engulfing them completely until it stilled, revealing an empty space where they had been moments before.

Madison just stared. "... wow. That was... something."

"You get used to it." Daniel said, tilting his head away from his left shoulder.

Madison let out a caw and flapped her wings, steering herself towards Daniels open shoulder. "It's funny."

"What?" The young demi-Endless asked as she settled herself.

"I just remembered an old story I heard about a white raven." She said as he pulled out his own pouch.

"Apparently Raven was originally white and had a beautiful voice, but when the gods took fire away from mankind, he flew up to the sun with a twig in his beak to bring it back. His feathers were charred black and his throat was half cooked, but he returned to earth a hero."

"Well then," Daniel smirked as the sand began to swirl around them.

"Let's go steal fire from the gods."

[feralaot]

random scouts hcs!

I did a post like this for the warriors my beloved (here) and people seemed to like it so here's one for the scouts :) had some input from @afrival for this one luv u

no warnings I think

eren

if he had twitter he would have a vaporwave bart simpson profile picture and tweet lil peep lyrics. also uses way too many hashtags

he's scared of snakes and hates armin's ball python

his eyes are probably crusty as hell and mikasa has to wipe em for him because he won't

when he's losing an argument he goes "ooh you wanna kiss me so bad" and it always escalates things but he doesn't stop

almost exclusively wears american eagle

"what's a pronoun".mp3

uses the 💯 emoji in every other text message he sends

armin

sends his friends pictures of cats cuddling/hanging out and says "me n you <3"

genuinely can't stand when people have dirt under their fingernails. he gets so mad at eren bc his nails are dirty asf and armin forces him to clean them

he calls himself sexy a lot (e.g. "that was really sexy of me")

chews on bottle caps then is like hmm why do my teeth hurt

he hates feet. toes look weird to him. nobody in his house is allowed to take their socks off

unironically uses faces like ^-^ and :3

acne :(

mikasa

she's really bad at giving advice. don't go to her for help she'll literally be like "that's tough"

probably has like 4 instagram accounts made just to follow eren

solid black profile picture and no bio

maybe now and then she'll put a my chemical romance quote on her story but that's about it, she doesn't respond to dms or anything

doesn't wash that damn scarf so it's probably stinky

sticks staples, pins, etc through the tips of her fingers for no reason other than she likes freaking people out

probably hisses at people

jean

the only possible relationship dynamic somebody can have with him is rivals to lovers

very short social fuse and has to stay home for several days after public events bc it's just exhausting

he's an introvert adopted by extroverts (connie and sasha) and has to deal with their shenanigans. truly the mom figure between the three of them

marco has to listen to him ranting about connie and sasha's foolery and doesn't have much advice to offer bc he doesn't know either

for a long time he only knew "straight" and "gay" and when he found out about the concept of bisexuality his mind almost imploded

he sighs and yawns a lot and doesn't even realize he does it. people always think he's either annoyed or tired

probably dresses like a diet e-boy. crewneck king

connie

the kind of kid in your high school gym class that wears mismatching neon clothes. bonus points if it's nike

also the most likely to start a food fight for funsies

he doesn't yell often because his voice cracks when he does and it's embarrassing

sasha and him hate cafeteria food so he always brings an ungodly amount of food in his backpack instead to share with sasha. connie's backpack is 90% food

unironically says things like "pogchamp" and "rad"

he works at zumiez and probably lives there. always rocking their latest drip

jumps up and slaps exit signs

sasha

randomly breaks into song (usually disney songs) and connie will automatically duet

manages to fall asleep in any situation. on buses, while watching movies, sometimes even mid conversation if she's zoned out enough

tried to take armin fishing one time but he almost cried because he felt so bad about it

at least reiner will fish with her though. the himbos always come through

her instagram is all pictures of fish she caught and now and then there's an awkward candid pic of niccolo

stayed overnight in a walmart one time and got away and brags about it but she won't admit it was an accident. panicked and spent the night eating snacks off the shelves to "survive"

while she's talking her voice slowly gets louder and louder and she doesn't realize it until people tell her to stop yelling

historia

pulls people by the ears to bring them down to her level

also kicks people in the shins a lot, if she's arguing with someone they'll usually keep their distance to avoid getting shin kicked

loves climbing on ymir's back and just being carried around like the little creature she is

posts inspirational quotes on her story

would definitely be a cheerleader in high school. nobody would guess a prep like her is dating some grunge girl w a pretty much opposite personality

she always has bandaids with her for some reason. if someone gets scraped she'll whip out a bandaid immediately. her friends call her "mom" sometimes

hates grilled cheese so god damn much. can't stand it

ymir

"damn I don't remember asking".mp3

is always the first one to comment on historia's instagram posts. her comments range from "beautiful my queen!!!" to "damn ma yo ass fat"

she always called reiner gay as a joke then he came out as gay and for a while she thought it was her fault

her and reiner have wlw and mlm solidarity, they're bffs for that matter

if someone tells her that her music is too loud she'll say "huh?" and turn it up

similarly if someone scolds her for something she'll go "hm? repeat that, I'm a little deaf in this ear"

"bro stfu you always tell me you're gonna fire me for being late"

levi

really really hates cooking pasta because straining the water is for some reason more difficult than it should be

"do not underestimate me, bitches"

always refuses to get his hair cut at places in shopping centers. especially walmart great clips

makes monkey noises when he sees something he likes. he started doing this as a joke to mock zeke but it evolved and now he can't stop doing it randomly

will not hesitate to knock someone on their ass if they're talking shit

coffee makes him jittery so he drinks tea instead but won't admit to anyone that he lowkey also has a redbull addiction

hange calls him a catboy but he doesn't know what that means so he's always like "yeah" bc he thinks it means he's a cat person

hange

buys levi shoes from the kids section and doesnt tell him bc he likes them anyway

such a millennial, they say shit like "doggo" and "adulting"

"for practical reasons I don't exist. do not perceive me"

probably wants to marry mothman

levi has had to scold them on several different occasions for bringing live animals into the house

legally isn't allowed to cook bc they can and they will blow something up

goes on tipsy rants almost nightly

erwin

white skechers king

hosts barbecues in those white skechers. he talks shit about people with nile and pyxis like a bunch of gossiping middle aged fath- wait

his profile pictures on social media are probably pictures of himself taken from awkward angles with an empty expression. it's always posted like six times as well

when levi is getting Out Of Hand he'll pick him up from under the arms and carry him away like "okay, that's enough" and levi kicks around but can't escape

rubs his hands together a lot like a fly. nobody knows why he does it. what are you scheming

falls asleep on couches while watching sports games

[swinging his keys around his finger] "let's rock and roll"

[joshjacksons]

Joshua Jackson interview with "Mr Porter" (2021)

Minutes before Mr Joshua Jackson joins me in a booth for a Friday afternoon drink at a vibey hotel bar in Santa Monica, he’s confronted by his past. Or rather, a woman in her early twenties who is binge-watching Dawson’s Creek, the teen show about a close-knit group of high-school friends coming of age in a sleepy American town, which made Jackson incredibly famous between 1998 and 2003. The series, which also made household names of Ms Michelle Williams and Ms Katie Holmes, went off air 18 years ago, but is now streaming on Netflix, to the bemusement of Jackson, who played lovable rogue Pacey Witter. “This girl was like, ‘Are you...?’ And I’m like, ‘Yes, I am. He got old. I’m sorry to break it to you,’” he says, before ordering an iced tea and a charcuterie board to tide him over until dinner time. “It always surprises me when young people say they’ve just got into Dawson’s Creek. I’m like, ‘Is it a costume drama to you? Do you feel like you’re watching a historical documentary?’”

The idea of a Friends-style reunion episode or a Sex And The City revival feels equally far-fetched to Canadian-born Jackson, now 43 and wearing it well in a pale green linen shirt and tailored linen trousers by Oliver Spencer that complement his fading brown hair and Cali-tanned skin.

“I don’t know why you’d want to [bring it back],” he says. “Nobody needs to know what those characters are doing in middle age. We left them in a nice place. Nobody needs to see that Pacey’s back hurts. I don’t think we need that update.”

And Jackson doesn’t need Dawson’s Creek. From Mr JJ Abrams’ sci-fi series Fringe (2008-2013) to the Golden Globe award-winning The Affair (2014-2019), from Ms Ava DuVernay’s ground-breaking true-crime drama When They See Us (2019) to the recent Ms Reese Witherspoon and Ms Kerry Washington-produced Little Fires Everywhere (2020), he has commanded the small screen – with a collection of dynamic and diverse work – ever since.

His latest role as Mr Christopher Duntsch, the Texas surgeon convicted of gross malpractice when 33 of his patients were left seriously injured after he operated on them and two of them died, in chilling Peacock crime drama Dr Death, is only stepping his career up another gear.

“I’ve never played anyone irredeemable before,” says Jackson, who is joined in the eight-part series (based on the 2018 Wondery podcast of the same name) by Messrs Christian Slater and Alec Baldwin. “He is charming, gregarious and has a high-level intellect, but he’s also a misogynist, probably a sociopath, certainly a narcissist and a complete incompetent who is incapable of seeing himself.”

If Duntsch is terrifying, then Jackson’s portrayal is even more so. The artist formerly known as Pacey is virtually unrecognisable (thanks to prosthetics) in the opening scene, but the real challenge for Jackson was allowing himself to view someone who is so “spectacularly evil” as a human being in order to walk in his shoes. “It’s a more damning portrayal of the man to make him into a human being, rather than just make him the bad guy,” he says. “He really believes he’s the hero, he’s the genius and that he’s the victim, so once I got past my own judgment, all the other things fell into place.”

Jackson might have his pick of stellar roles – and challenges – now, but it has not happened by accident. Take it from someone who has been in the business since landing his first job aged 14 in Disney’s live-action movie series The Mighty Ducks, opposite Brat Pack alumnus Mr Emilio Estevez.

“You try to make it look like it happens accidentally,” he says, “but there is no way to do this and not be ambitious. I’d say I’m extremely ambitious because I’ve been doing this cutthroat job for nearly 30 years. I’m in the pay-off phase of my career now. One of the benefits of surviving for as long as I have is you get to learn from your own mistakes.”

Such as? “I wouldn’t say, ‘I wish I hadn’t done that,’ because it all becomes bricks in a path, but [after Dawson’s Creek] I was not choosy enough about the things I was doing. You get stuck. You start trying to perform the performance you think people are hoping to see you do. I was so used to working all the time that I just worked all the time. There was definitely a conscious moment in my mid-twenties when I realised I wasn’t really enjoying the work that I was doing. My manager at the time just said, ‘Take a breath. You’re burnt out.’”

The turning point came in 2005, when Jackson was offered a role in the two-hander Mr David Mamet play A Life In The Theatre, opposite Sir Patrick Stewart. “God bless him, Patrick could have made my life miserable because I had no idea what I was doing, ” he says. “I hadn’t been on stage since I was a kid and now I was in the West End in over my head. But it reminded me that I actually enjoyed being an actor, that it’s not about the red carpet or travelling around the world. What I really enjoy is working on good material with good people.”

It’s no surprise Jackson’s time on Dawson’s Creek led to a career crisis. From the ages of 19 to 24, he lived with his fellow cast mates in Wilmington, North Carolina, filming day in, day out, in an arrangement he likens to college. “You get to the end and they’re like, ‘Here’s your degree. Go live now. You’re an adult. Go out into the world,’” he says.

But most graduates don’t have to deal with global fame. “It’s transitory. You’re only ever cool for a moment and then you become much less cool. I was always pretty dubious about flatterers,” he says, recalling a time he was stung in London in the mid-2000s. “I went on a date in Hyde Park with a woman whose name I will not use – she was socialite-famous – and she was acting completely bizarre, looking over her shoulder the whole time. I came to find out that she had hired a photographer to follow us through the park and gave a whole story to the tabloids about how I was going to meet her family.”

It was his growing fortune, rather than fame, that caused Jackson the most anxiety. “Suddenly, at 19 years old, I was making more in a week than most of my friends’ parents would make in a year,” he says. “It was lovely to have the money, but it was that feeling of nobody is worth that kind of money. You feel like a fraud and it took me a long time to forgive myself for not being the thing that I was perceived as.”

Born in Vancouver, but raised in Topanga, California, until he was eight (before moving back to Vancouver following his parents’ divorce), Jackson bought his childhood home in 2001 and lives in it today with his wife, British Queen & Slim actor Ms Jodie Turner-Smith, and their 15-month-old daughter.

“My father unfortunately was not a good father or a husband and exited the scene, but that house in Topanga was where everything felt simple, so it was a very healing thing for me to do,” he says. Fast-forward to 2021 and his baby daughter now sleeps in her father’s childhood bedroom. “There was a mural of a dragon on the wall in that room that I couldn’t believe was still there, years later. The owner [who sold him the house] said, ‘I knew it meant a lot to somebody and that they were going to come back for it some day.’”

Becoming a first-time parent during a pandemic sounds stressful, but it afforded Jackson months at home with his wife and child that his normal work schedule wouldn’t have allowed.

“I now recognise how perverse the way that we have set up our society is,” he says. “There is not a father I know who works a regular job who didn’t go back to the office a week later. It’s robbing that man of the opportunity to bond with his child and spend time with his partner.”

Despite his obvious career ambitions, fatherhood has changed Jackson’s priorities in “every possible way”, he says. “It’s 100 per cent changed how I approach my work and my life. That has been made so clear to me in this past year. For me to feel good about what I’m doing day to day, my family has to be the central focus.

“There are plenty of things left for me to do, but now the thing that gets me excited is experiencing the world through my daughter’s eyes. I can’t wait to take her scuba diving. I can’t wait to take her skiing. I can’t wait to read a great book with her. I’m not worried at all she’ll be a wallflower. She’s been a character from the word go.”

Jackson met Turner-Smith, 34, two days after his 40th birthday. He had been single since his 10-year relationship with German actress Ms Diane Kruger ended in 2016. “I was not looking to fall in love again or meet the mother of my child, but life has other plans for you,” he says.

The couple met at a party. Turner-Smith was wearing the same The Future Is Female Ejaculation T-shirt Ms Tessa Thompson’s character, Detroit, wears in the 2018 film Sorry To Bother You. “That���s what I used to break the ice. I shouted, ‘Detroit!’ across the room. Not the smoothest thing I’ve ever done, but it worked. We were pretty much inseparable from the word go. It was a whirlwind romance and I can tell my daughter I literally saw her mother across a room and thought, ‘I have to be next to this woman.’”

A self-confessed “useless” shopper, Jackson gives his wife full credit for his current wardrobe. He is jewellery-free, apart from a wedding band and a gold signet “JJ” ring on his little finger (a present from his wife), and discovered tailored sweatsuits (by Stampd and Reigning Champ) in the pandemic.

“Jodie has influence in the way that a wonderful wife encourages you, through love, to dress well. She was like, ‘We’re going to throw away all the sweatpants from your past and I’m going to get you some that actually make you look like an adult male and you will still feel comfortable around the house,’ and I’m like, ‘What an amazing idea!’ Who knew you could get sweatsuits that actually look good on your body?”

Jackson’s style has evolved, he says, “from slovenly teen to it’s-nice-when-your-clothes-actually-fit-you”. The penny dropped after he auditioned for his former co-star Estevez, who was directing the 2006 Mr Robert Kennedy biopic Bobby. He said to me, ‘You only got this job because I know you. You came in here to play a very well-put together 1960s political operative and you’re wearing jeans and a hoodie.’

“I had to grow up a little bit. We are very much raised in Canada to never, ever show off, so it took me a while to recognise it’s OK to look good when you go out.”

Still, when you’ve grown up in front of the camera, “every pimple literally documented”, and lived (very successfully) to tell the tale, you can probably be forgiven for the odd fashion faux pas.

“I wore a silk Ascot to an event once in Paris and I still have nightmares about it,” he says. “I looked like Fred from Scooby Doo, but you live and learn.”

[fishyfod]

Winter & Yang Parallels and Contrasts

A comparison of Winter Schnee and Yang Xiao Long, and how they are shaped by their society and circumstances.

Or a thinly veiled excuse to gush about two characters I like

[gif by 5by5brittana]

This is split into four parts:

Pre Volume 1 backstory and characteristics

Relationship with younger siblings

Parallel Journeys between V1-5 and V7-8

Rough Speculation for Volume 8

Spoilers for RWBY V8 E1-7. Under the cut because this turned out very long.

Also, take this with a grain of salt? I wrote this for fun. This really is just, me going off the deep end.

I. Childhood and Upbringing

Winter and Yang are both the eldest children of their respective families, and have spent most of their lives growing up in the shadows of their legacies: the Schnee name and the fallout of team STRQ. These legacies are tragedies, and for better and for worse Winter and Yang are in the unique position where they also know the before, the brief time their families were whole (at least on paper). As their families broke apart, Winter and Yang have felt the need to fill the parent role for their younger siblings (more on that later).

This is the curse of the parent-sibling*, in which the lines between adulthood, childhood and parenthood are all blurred together when one is still a child. Winter grew up as Willow and Jacques’s facade of a marriage slowly fell apart and Willow turned to alcohol, leaving Weiss and Whitley under the care of  Jacques - a manipulative abuser - and someone had to step up between him and Weiss and Whitley. Klein, it should be noted, was the exception to the rule, as most staff reported to Jacques. Yang never had Raven, she lost Summer and for a while Taiyang after he shut down - someone had to take care of Ruby. Qrow just couldn’t be a full-time replacement to any of them

* [I believe the professional term is ���parentification”.]

[RWBY Official Manga Anthology Vol. 4: I Burn]

This is Winter and Yang’s own personal tragedy, and as inspiring as it might seem from the outside - a mature, responsible child that helps parent their younger sibling - it is not at all healthy for the child in question. It does not matter if things might’ve improved later, the damage has already been done. Parent-siblings tend to become caretakers as well, and this manifests in both Yang and Winter, albeit in very different ways.

Which leads me to the next point, which is to emphasize the differences in both of these scenarios. The expectations from the Schnee name are very much a product of high-class society and Atlas superiority, which is very different from STRQ’s private falling out. Winter is roughly 7 and 10 years older than Weiss and Whitley, so she’s about 12 when Weiss (5 at the time) would become more aware of Jacques’s behavior, 17 when Willow began drinking. Yang was about 6 when Summer disappeared and the trek to the woods happened, and it is unknown for how long Taiyang shut down. Willow became seriously depressed just before Winter left for Atlas, whereas Taiyang eventually got back on his feet. Winter was abused by Jacques, Yang was abandoned by Raven.

Winter’s speech often involves doublespeak with hidden meanings, a strict deference to decorum, and a fair share of veiled (or unveiled) insults. She is closed off, and rarely engages in open physical contact. In private with her siblings or close friends, she tends to be softer, and may hug or pat on one’s shoulders. She has learnt this behavior in order to navigate Atlas society and quell her father whilst protecting herself and her siblings. Unfortunately, Klein appears to be the only staff to put the children’s needs before his servitude to Jacques, so even Winter’s interactions with Weiss and Whitley are soured by this prim, and at times, hurtful behavior; even then appearances must be kept. This is why Winter doesn’t act like a typical “Mom friend”, and why her need to take care of others manifests differently: in her conscience and willpower to protect others. Hence, she trains to become a huntress, the personification of protection, a way to help despite her difficulties expressing that need more conventionally.

Yang is open and outgoing, an easy conversationalist and very physically affectionate with her peers. She is upbeat, and also tactful at the same time. Why? Some of it has to do with her severe abandonment issues, making her more prone to bask in her connections to others. Equally important are the experience and circumstances she had growing up. She grew up in Patch, a relatively small community that is at best middle class. She had Ruby - only two years younger - to entertain and to teach, and in such a small household that also means many chores and mundane responsibilities to take on. By all accounts, Taiyang made enough of a recovery from his depression to parent well enough, and seems a fairly affectionate person himself. With all this encouragement and learnt skills, little hinders Yang from caring for Ruby and others openly and proudly. Ergo, Yang acts like a “Mom friend”.

These are Winter and Yang’s main personas, one uncaring and one unreserved. It is only natural that away from prying eyes or when put on the edge, they drop the facade and act contrary to it. For example, when Winter is angry or provoked, she lashes out and loses her composure. Usually, when Yang is angry she acts quite cold and restrained in her anger, and tries to project an unaffected persona. Alone with those she loves, Winter is more open and talkative, where Yang allows herself to be melancholic.

Yang may be open and candid, and could even be described as wearing her heart on her sleeve, but she is extremely reticent when admitting weakness or sharing her own personal grievances. Which is incredibly like Winter, though she is also taciturn in general. They have a tendency to avoid creating truly personal connections with others. They’re both used to putting on mask of strength and reassurance, and are quite adept at controlling their emotions (to a point). This is a defensive mechanism - they emulate the adults in their lives (who know the values of keeping up appearances) since they do not believe they will be taken seriously otherwise. They have internalized that no one will act on their behalf unless they offer something in return. By acting quasi-maternally to their younger siblings, they continue this act because it’s how they think a responsible adult should raise children.

[RWBY Official Manga Anthology Vol. 2: Mirror, Mirror]

The “practice” in home on their sisters developed in them the belief they should put others before themselves, even outside their family. Selfless as it may be, without moderation this behavior could be quite unhealthy. The lack of concern to themselves makes them feel lost and without purpose, with low self esteem and self-destructive tendencies.

Winter gives up the luxury of the Schnee inheritance for servitude in the army, a perfect place for someone who believes herself expendable. She says her personal feelings don’t matter, and is willing to throw down her life for others. Sounds familiar? Yang wants to become a huntress, which conveniently allows her to help others while drifting along life with no true purpose. She has very low self esteem initially, and her semblance literally benefits her taking hits for everyone else.

Intertwined with this, is a desire to find purpose, and to find value in oneself. They seek independence and a sense of control. For Winter, this meant training in the Atlas Academy and abdicating the title of Schnee Heiress. She remembers well when she could no longer rely on her father’s allowance. For Yang, it’s having a bike of her own and going out at night. She becomes protective of her appearance and long hair.

It’s worth noting that particularly a physical aspect of this independence - fighting - was something taught to them by the neglectful parents. Taiyang taught Yang to fight hand-to-hand before Beacon, and the hereditary nature of the Schnee semblance means Willow was most likely Winter’s first mentor.

Part of this behavior is also a need to escape the situation at home. With Winter that goes without saying - Jacques is abusive. Yang wants to leave the home she held together when she was a child; note her desire to travel the world, and her attempts to distance herself from Ruby so she won’t have to be relied upon even at Beacon.

In a sense, they’re both searching for the same thing - a parent to replace the ones who failed them. Ironwood and Raven both offer to be their replacement parent, at the cost of asking the children to leave with them to a new home, the one they’re leading and ruling. This doesn’t fix their family problem, and personally I believe neither Winter nor Yang full-heartily saw it as a solution, but they were both desperate enough to find anyone - anyone at all - that would take a weight off their shoulders and put them first. Yang searches for Raven, hoping she’ll find in her a mother despite everything. Fortunately for her, Qrow saved her from running after Raven prematurely. Unfortunately for Winter, James’s close friendship with Jacques meant he has known her from a young age, had observed how Jacques manipulates her and her family, and eventually offered himself as a savior from her situation at home. He had subtly groomed her into thinking the military - and more importantly, himself - was her only option to escape Jacques.

Despite this major difference, some similarities between Yang and Raven’s relationship and Winter and Ironwood’s relationship persist: the bandit lifestyle Raven offers Yang is militant and violent, similar to Ironwood’s army. Yang’s learnt conditional trust in authority would fit quite well with a bandit hierarchy built on perceived strength. Winter’s authoritarian outlook lends itself quite well to rise up in the ranks of the military.

Lastly, I’d like to point out the “inherited” philosophies of their respective replacement parents:

Raven’s philosophy: The weak die, so the strong survive on their own.

Yang’s philosophy: If I am not strong, I am weak and will be alone.

Ironwood’s philosophy: Every sacrifice is worth the cause.

Winter’s philosophy: I am not worth anything, so I can be sacrificed.

They’re all destructive mindsets, but the children inverted the implied destruction caused to others into their own self-destruction, in concordance with their shared need to put others before themselves. Part of the children’s progression will be to rise above these philosophies.

II. Yang & Ruby vs. Winter & Weiss

In the previous section I explained why Winter and Yang both act quasi-maternal and how it affected their growth and character. Now let’s examine their primary familial relationship, with their younger sisters Weiss and Ruby.

The simple truth is that much of what I said about Winter and Yang’s childhood is equally true for Weiss and Ruby, which could be explained quite easily - there’s only so much a child can do to replace adults. The important distinction is that for Weiss and Ruby someone did put them above everyone else, and that’s Winter and Yang. Consciously or by instinct, the elder sisters wanted to provide the younger sisters the safety they felt robbed off, and to give them the opportunity to grow and live as children like they couldn’t. In turn, the younger siblings put them on a pedestal and idolized them.

It is heavily implied Winter acted as a buffer between Jacques and Weiss, and was her confidant. Note how fluently they communicate their true thoughts  to each other by hiding them in sneers and insults, yet drop all pretense in private and speak clearly what’s on their mind then. Winter worries about Weiss’s health and well-being, and isn’t interested in her studies and ranking; this is a deliberate choice to belie what Jacques instilled in Weiss, to put her happiness before her image. Winter mentored Weiss’s semblance training and is her harshest critic. She was Weiss’s main motivator to rebel against Jacques, and advised her to cut ties with the Schnee name like herself; she warns her of the futility in trying to reason with their father on his own terms. Winter encouraged Weiss to follow in her footsteps as a huntress, and also in her decision to figure herself out independently.

Yang, in her own words, was the one to hold everything together following Summer’s disappearance. She protected Ruby from feeling loveless and alone as she herself felt, by putting herself there where Taiyang couldn’t be. She gave her attention, she read to her and hugged her. She played with her and entertained her, and went along with every joke and scheme Ruby wanted to make. She enables Ruby to let loose and have fun, to take pride in her accomplishments and to stand up for herself. It’s important for Yang to show her support and pride in Ruby as frequently as she does, most likely to compensate the times Tai couldn’t. Among her family, Ruby goes to Yang when she is worried and afraid. Yang truly was Ruby’s best friend growing up.

Note how both Winter and Yang instilled values in Weiss and Ruby that are better than their own, and encouraged them to be better than themselves. They want them to actively search for happiness, although they themselves seem incapable of following the same advise - Winter went to a thankless job with little reward, Yang is afraid of forming friendships that are not just surface deep. The younger, prodigal sisters are assertive and have set themselves clear goals and ambitions in contrast to their elder sisters, who both prefer to follow and dedicate themselves to others.

[gif by deshieart]

The idyllic picture I described here is not complete. Winter and Yang may have significantly improved Weiss and Ruby’s childhood, but in their limited power as children - or perhaps their simple human limitations - there are blind spots in their relationships. There are issues the younger sisters have separate from the ones the elders tried to shield them from.

Winter still grew up in Atlas and under Jacques, and she is not immune from the dangerous influence of both. Early on, Weiss seemed to believe in similar ideas, and part of that behavior is due to Winter’s influence. Although Winter’s escape from home is understandable, it must’ve left some Weiss bitter being left behind. Winter forwent the Schnee name, where Weiss wants to  change it for the better, and part of me can’t help but think Weiss’s conviction was affected by Winter leaving home.

As she grew up, Yang had two main caretakers - Taiyang and Qrow - who both experience difficulties addressing and sharing their problems openly. Yang, in turn, learnt not to share her own issues and put on a reassuring facade. She compartmentalizes, keeping her issues separate from what she shared with Ruby. But children are more perceptive than we might think, and Ruby must have picked up on Yang’s behavior and took it in. Ruby has her own version of keeping to herself - she ignores her problems and represses, avoiding the issue altogether with seemingly no healthy outlet. [x]

The narrative of the show tends to juxtapose these relationships against each other, cutting from one to the other and comparing them side by side, parallel or anti-parallel. The most obvious contrast is in their warmth: in Volume 3, Winter and Weiss are polite and reserved even privately, having lunch at an outdoor cafe. Yang and Ruby are loud and brash, playing video games and ribbing each other with their uncle. Winter pushes Weiss to confront Jacques directly, Yang seems content to support Ruby’s initiative by following her.

In volumes 4 and 5, the narrative matches the sisters in opposites: it is Yang and Weiss that are bound home and want to leave, and Winter and Ruby fighting in Mistral. Yang and Weiss overcome their personal struggles, and view their sister as their salvation, but end up finding each other first by chance (incidentally, Yang “returns” to Raven at the same time Winter returns to Atlas back to Ironwood). Meanwhile, Winter and Ruby become aware of Salem and the larger war at play.

When they are united with their sisters, this trend continues as Yang initiates the hug with Ruby and stops her nervous blabbering, and Weiss hugs Winter to stop her alarmed frenzy. Yang and Weiss reassure Ruby and Winter of their well-being.

[gif by sirianhewigxiii]

Come Volume 7, Winter returns as a full-time character and we see how after their respective reunions, the sisters return to their preestablished roles. Winter and Yang support Weiss and Ruby in their decisions and actions, listening to their younger sisters as they did before. Now, however, the sisters are on a more even footing: Weiss is now free of Jacques like Winter, Yang acts more assertive like Ruby. As a result, the relationship is less one-sided. For example, though Winter is not as doubtful of Ironwood as Weiss, she listens to her input and divulges a secret to her, showing that despite having differing opinions they begin to see each other as equals. Yang goes along with Ruby’s plan to hide Salem’s immortality from Ironwood (and even takes it a step further when she reveals Amity to Robyn), but she’s not afraid to tell her she doesn’t feel comfortable with that decision. It’s a step up from what they had before.

In the finale of Volume 7 and the premiere of Volume 8, the bonds between sisters are challenged, and they separate from each other. Winter chooses her loyalty to Ironwood over her trust in Weiss, Yang chooses her conscience over her innate trust in Ruby. Mind, these situations are not completely the same: the split between Ruby and Yang is pragmatic and they still view themselves as united, the split between Weiss and Winter is ideological and they are on different sides of the conflict.

I’ll leave my speculation what will happen to the sisters in the latter half of Volume 8 for the last section.

II.V - Winter & Whitley

A brief aside about Whitley, would be to ask if what I said about Winter’s relationship with Weiss could also apply to Whitley. The answer is of course no, Whitley and Winter clearly have an entirely different relationship here. Frankly, pinpointing its exact nature more precisely is difficult, since the center of the Schnee narrative is Weiss and we have little interactions between the Schnees that don’t involve her. I cannot offer you a definite reason as to why the difference exists, but I have a few guesses.

I’ll assume what we see of Weiss and Whitley in volumes 4 and 7 is similar to what Winter and Whitley had, and take into account Weiss’s statement that Whitley never really liked Winter (or her).  As Willow pointed out to Weiss, Whitley was left alone with Jacques, and began imitating him and emulating his hurtful behavior. Jacques took him under his wing, when Willow was at her worst, Winter away, and Weiss in the process of leaving. Deep down he understands he was being abused by Jacques, but with the cards stacked against him his damaging attitude becomes clearer - and particularly, the likely reasons he resents Winter and Weiss for.

[gif by chittychittyyangyang]

So how come Weiss and Whitley turned out so different, and how does Winter factor into this? For starters, I’ll point out again that Winter’s influence on the Schnee household is very limited, and that humans tend to make mistakes. For her to gloss over Whitley, or to presumably ignore him, could be due to several reasons. Perhaps connecting with someone 10 years your junior was just too difficult. Maybe Jacques intervened more often with Whitley, seeing as he was younger and impressionable.

It’s difficult to tell what exactly happened here between Whitley and Winter, and I don’t think specifying here is helpful. I’ll sum up by saying that however their relationship turned sour, I lean towards the reason being human error rather than malicious intent. Family situations tend to be complicated.

III. Yang & Blake vs. Winter & Penny

Here I want to talk about more subtle parallels between Yang’s journey throughout volumes 1-5 and Winter’s journey in volumes 7-8.5. The major comparison here would be between Yang and Blake’s relationship, and Winter and Penny’s relationship.

Before I begin, I’d like to stress that although Bumbleby is clearly romantic in nature, here I’m more interested in their development separate from the romantic aspects of it. As such, it’s not my intention here to argue in favor of romantic Winter/Penny, though I have nothing against it. I view it more as a platonic relationship with some familial undertones.

I explained in the first section how Yang and Winter keep people at arm’s length, so it’s natural to wonder about the exceptions to that rule, their relationships with Blake and Penny respectively. When they meet their new partners, Yang and Winter seem mostly set in their ways, with no real tangible goal beyond wanting to help others where they can. To them, Blake and Penny are a breath of fresh air, determined and purposeful, and they’re challenged by their perspective.

To me at least, how Yang and Blake interact during Beacon is quite similar to what we see of Winter and Penny’s relationship in volume 7. It starts off as a working relationship, but the continuous presence around each other has lead it into easy affection. It’s a give-and-take of differing personalities finding common ground, though here the more apt analogy would be Yang/Penny and Winter/Blake. They begin feeling safe with one another, opening up and sharing intimate details about themselves, and the other’s opinion and well-being matter to them. They even work well together as fighting partners.

[gif by chittychittyyangyang]

Yang tells Blake about Raven and her complicated family life, partially in an attempt to stop Blake from overworking herself. After Winter’s outburst at Jacques, she shares with Penny her vulnerability regarding her family, and tells her she can’t let her emotions take control of her. Neither Blake nor Penny accept their lessons at face value, and question those beliefs. Was Blake’s determination really like Yang’s quest to find Raven? Are Winter’s emotions truly a hindrance and Penny should follow suit? Still, their disagreements don’t stop them from caring about each other, as we see when Yang hugs Blake and Winter holds Penny’s hands.

Blake is a faunus rights activist who fights for what she believes in, and Yang admires her for it, and is also subtly inspired by her. Penny is dedicated to her role as the Protector of Mantle, and Winter is endeared by her devotion to the cause. In both cases however, this beautiful aspiration is soured by Adam and Ironwood, who use Blake and Penny’s noble efforts for their own gain.

Next both relationships experience a “falling out”. Yang fights to save Blake from Adam at the end of Volume 3, and sacrifices her right arm trying to protect Blake. At the end of Volume 7, Winter and Penny fight Cinder, and Winter sacrifices her body (and purpose as a Winter Maiden) for Penny. We have Yang and Winter, defeated and critically injured, left behind by Blake and Penny, both running away from their controlling abusers Adam and Ironwood.

There’s an interesting tidbit here about their natures as characters, as both “falling outs” hammer on a shared flaw between the couples. Yang and Blake are both afraid of putting their trust in someone else, one is afraid of being deemed unsatisfactory and the other afraid of hurting by association. Winter and Penny are both self-sacrificial, the former thinks her opinion and thoughts are worthless, the latter wishes to put all the weight of the world on her shoulders. The finales and aftermaths of volumes 3 and 7 are a cruel display of these flaws.

Yang and Winter are both injured enough to require a replacement for parts of their bodies, a robotic arm and an exoskeleton. The supplier of both limbs is Ironwood, who projects himself onto both women, “rewarding” them for selfless acts of heroic sacrifice like he sees himself. He saw Yang’s fight the the tournament, criticized her harshly for it, then heard about her noble sacrifice and told her he wishes she’d return fighting soon. He groomed Winter to be his second, scolds her when she disobeys him, and after her injury emphasizes her importance to him. It seems to me that Ironwood attempted to make Yang indebted to himself like he managed with Winter before.

The process of recovery for both women is difficult, and in Winter’s case rushed. On a purely physical level it could be argued they have recovered from their injuries, as both eventually return to the field after their recovery. If we consider their emotional state, things become trickier; though Yang was at first offered a fairly lengthy recovery period on her own terms, in Volume 4 her main motivation to recover is not for herself but for other’s sake - appeasing Tai and worrying for Ruby. Similarly, Winter’s recovery is overshadowed by Ironwood’s orders and the current situation’s time constraints.

This behavior on Yang and Winter’s part is not so strange to me, when I consider Taiyang and Ironwood’s roles in their lives. Because of Taiyang’s issues when she was a child, Yang learnt to put others before herself, particularly when it concerns Ruby and Tai. Yang’s recovery becomes less about herself and more about others after Tai subtly insults her intelligence and her “moping”. I view this as falling back into old habits, Yang learning that if Tai is put through too much then she’s taken too much space (she puts on her arm after overhearing Tai saying he has to stay to take care of her), and must compensate by putting Ruby (and in a sense Tai) first.

[gif by sister-ilia]

After accepting Winter to the army, Ironwood acts as some form of surrogate father to her. Winter looks up to him because he offered her safety from Jacques, and looks for his approval constantly. Look at her reactions when she’s scolded by Ironwood for misbehavior. Ironwood offered her asylum in exchange for subservience. When Winter is in her hospital, he first reminds her how reassuring it is to have her on his side, and then proceeds to kill a councilman for disagreeing with him. It’s an indirect threat against Winter, one carefully cultivated throughout their working relationship in the military.

Regardless, the physical recovery is only part of a larger process Yang and Winter have to go through. Volume 5 made it quite apparent Yang suffers from PTSD and emotional trauma from her fight with Adam, and Blake leaving triggered Yang’s fear of abandonment. She faces Raven for the first time, and is haunted by Blake’s mere mention. She struggles against the past - the parent she wanted to put hope unto - and the future - the hope she has in Blake.

Winter faces similar struggles in the first half of Volume 8 parallel to Yang in Volume 5. She is traumatized by the fight against Cinder, most likely with PTSD as well, and Penny leaving as she did has shook her inner beliefs. For the first time, we see her visibly struggling to adhere to Ironwood’s orders with ease, and she’s deeply concerned for Penny’s well-being. She is torn between her loyalty - to Ironwood, the parent she put her trust in - and her moral compass - to Penny, who challenged her to follow her feelings.

Coincidentally, RWBY chose to portray Yang and Winter’s stress with a shaking fist, where they were injured. Having said that, Winter displays many similar physical ticks like that before her injury, but the deliberate focus on the same tick as Yang is too great for me to ignore.

Both of these struggles are also marked by a decisive choice to take action and be assertive, which is remarkable where these two are concerned. Yang forms the plan to find Ruby via Raven and refuses her offer to join the tribe. Winter forgoes Ironwood’s orders to bring team JYR to custody, and instead relies on them to save Oscar from the Whale.

Yang’s recovery does not in Volume 5 either (nor does it end in Volume 6 for that matter), but at the moment Winter’s parallel arc is unfinished. I’ll speculate about this a bit more in the next section.

IV. Rough Speculation

So when I say rough speculation, I mean it in two different ways. One, is that I’m mostly focused on characters arcs, and they’ll be fairly abstract. Two, is that I’m fairly sure most of these parallels are accidental and not intended, so I don’t hold much hope any of these will come true. Instead, think of these as “if I wanted to make these parallels intentional, how would the story proceed next?”

One parallel I do think is intentional is between the sisters. It is the first time we observe both relationships put into the test, and the outcome of this split will obviously change the sister’s dynamic with each other. How will these two relationships compare to one another by the end of the volume, I do not know, the current arc isn’t finished yet. I can only comment on how I want and hope these relationships will proceed. Currently, I see the physical split between the sisters as an opportunity to reevaluate themselves independently of the other’s influence. And, I think this change will be positive for all of them.

Though it’s obvious Yang’s choice deeply affects Ruby and will contribute to her expected breaking point, I think Ruby will come out stronger at the end of it. Yang’s choice to take charge herself is obviously very important to her growth as a person. Given how RWBY framed their split around a mutual understanding both sisters’ viewpoints are correct, I don’t think their reconciliation will be one-sided - they will come to understand where the other is coming from, and their relationship - and team RWBY - will grow from it.

Despite the difference in circumstances, I think Winter and Weiss will echo this development as well. Jacques may be mostly neutralized, but the Schnee family won’t be miraculously healed because of it. At the moment, Weiss is facing that reality now with Whitley and Willow, and I think her arc this volume will lead her to begin healing her family in earnest. Winter will almost definitely leave Ironwood, and for the first time in her life she’ll be free from someone seeking to control her, free to follow her conscience. It will also give her an opportunity to reconcile with her family without Jacques’s influence, which ties in quite nicely with Weiss’s arc - Weiss pulling her family together, Winter letting herself be pulled to them. Weiss and Winter’s bond will come out stronger, and the Schnees will finally have a chance to heal.

[gif by wnterschnee]

You might’ve noticed I put a lot of emphasis on when and where Winter and Yang make choices for themselves, because I think these moments are vital for them to grow as a person. Starting with Volume 5, there’s a been a slow progression where Yang asserts herself more often, which culminates in her decision in Volume 8 to break away from Ruby with her own objective. Like her, Winter in Volume 7 quite often disagrees with Ironwood’s plans, yet follows them anyway because of her loyalty to him. This loyalty is no longer enough to sway her in Volume 8 when she starts disobeying his orders.

Again, I’m comparing two unfinished arcs, but I’m excited to see where this development will lead us. Having Winter and Yang parallel each other like so would really hammer home how similar these two can be beneath the surface. If at some point it involves more direct contact to drive each other, that’d just be icing on the cake. For now I’ll enjoy that their only personal interaction with each other is Yang telling Winter “[she’s] still just following orders?”, followed by a glare - hopefully this preludes a future conversation between them talking about this exact point.

I’ve already touched upon predictions related to the first two parts of this analysis, what about the third? Here we can go a bit wilder, because we already know what happens to Yang (and Blake) in Volumes 5 and 6. How would I mirror Volumes 5 and 6 with Winter (and Penny)? When I think of Yang’s recovery arc, two major scenes at the ends of Volume 5 and 6 come to mind.

The first is her confrontation with Raven in the Maiden Vault, an incredibly powerful scene where Yang properly confronts Raven and calls out her cowardice. One of the reasons it works so well is how difficult it is to realize Raven’s place in Yang’s life is not clear cut; Yang hates her for abandoning her and shirking her responsibilities as a parent, yet there is still love between them. Raven’s reaction itself is both an admission of care when she concedes to Yang, and also another failure on her part by leaving her off with the responsibility, running away again. In simpler terms, Yang reluctantly confronts someone she cares for deeply, yet isn’t on her side.

Who would be the Raven to Winter in a parallel scenario? One possibility is Ironwood, who holds a similar position to Winter as Raven did to Yang. Ironwood is an almost paternal figure to Winter, but he’s making wrong and dangerous choices, and Winter seems to realize it as well. He used her and exploited her, but also offered her safety and stability. Even after Winter defects, I don’t think Winter will want to fight him physically (if she’s capable), and would probably attempt to sway him with her words. Admittedly I don’t foresee Winter’s attempt at non-aggression to be successful like Yang, so it might come to blows anyway.

A second possibility it to put Penny in Raven’s place. Given that Penny’s also Maiden like Raven, and she’s on her way to the Atlas Vault, there’s some potential thematic parallels. Given their established relationship, I think neither would want to confront each other physically, and would rather talk instead. It’s possible here Winter and Penny will switch metaphorical roles, and it might be Penny that gives Winter the final push towards the heroes sides. It’s also possible, given Penny’s hacked plot line, that Winter will instead have to sway Penny back from whatever the hacking did to her. The last interpretation would also fit in quite well with Winter and Penny’s arc focusing on personal choice and feelings winning over.

The other incredibly important scene in Yang’s arc is the Bumbleby vs. Adam fight. Blake and Yang finally liberate themselves from Adam, Blake’s abuser and Yang’s personal enemy, and they defeat him by working together. Yang is freed of her personal demons, Blake of her literal demons, and in the aftermath of his death they mend their relationship. Their trust in each other won over strength.

[gif by sister-ilia]

If a parallel scene to the Nevermore fight would exist for Winter and Penny, I can think of three characters that could fulfill Adam’s role. Cinder already set her eyes on Penny and is fairly likely to fight her again, and in their previous clash injured Winter. It matches fairly well plot-wise, but I don’t think Cinder is enough of a personal villain to either Penny or Winter to match the same gravitas as Adam. For similar reasons, Watts, Penny’s “puppeteer”, can also fill Adam’s proverbial shoes in this imagined scenario, but I fear he’s too inconsequential overall.

Or, it could be Ironwood in Adam’s place. Ironwood seeks to control Penny (like Adam did with Blake), and acts as Winter’s personal demon (like Adam was to Yang) by continuously conditioning her to repress herself. Like the Nevermore fight, there’s a motive for them to avoid killing him, but given Ironwood’s current state of mind he might push them to that edge in self defense. Even if Ironwood’s defeat would not involve death, it would be a liberate Penny and Winter, freeing them from his control once and for all - but a Pyrrhic victory all the same. I’ll admit, this might be my favorite way to defeat Ironwood.

Coda

I’ll emphasize one last thought regarding these character arcs -  it is my strong belief character progressions, and healing arcs in particular, do not have a clear and set timeline. What I outlined here are not endings, but steps in the way. RWBY seems to agree with my train of thought, and with Yang in particular we see this in her current arc: yes, she has progressed immensely from Volume 3, but the healing process does not simply end, even if it may seem that way on the surface. I approach Winter’s character in the same manner; I have high hopes of her character and as a person, but change is an ongoing process, and I’ll treat it as such.

Thanks for reading my analysis! I know it’s a bit long and messy, I’ve had to skim through some ideas that could be expanded upon, so send an ask my way if you’d like me to elaborate on anything.

Other interesting reads:

Kali-tmblr’s essay regarding siblings relationships.

Tumblingxelian’s review of Yang’s Volume 4 arc.

Petracore’s review of Winter’s Volume 7 arc.

Theseerasures’s comparison of Winter and Yang.

Schneefamilyincorrectquotes talking about Schneeblings.

[thethermocline]

in much the same way as I did for other lotr races in this post, or this one, or this one, I now have some thoughts about dwarves.

... And also more thoughts on elves.

I cannot help it! They are so interesting. But mostly this is about dwarves, I promise.

A brief acknowledgement and recommendation - a lot of this is inspired by Jacob Geller's "Fear of Depths" video (here).

So I need to veer into headcanon territory right here at the very beginning. Where and what did the lotr races come from?

Yes, yes. Canonically they were designed by the Valar. But from what. What was the base material?

God/esses could hypothetically make something from nothing, but Tolkien was Catholic. Therefore I propose that humans in lotr were made from earth, like they were in Christian mythology. It follows that other races were made from different materials, yes? So... What were they made from?

I propose that hobbits were made from flowers. Why? I don't know. Feels right. This is my weakest idea, so I'm putting it first.

Now, elves. Elves canonically woke lying in a field, staring up at the stars, didn't they? (I've not read the Silmarillion, this is what I've heard other people say.) What if the elves were literally made from starlight, or perhaps from the stars themselves?

This would tie very well into their departure from middle earth at the end of the third age. On a very basic level, they do not belong in middle earth. Their time there was always limited. For humans in ME, it is "From dust you came, and to dust you shall return," but elves are star people. They were always meant to return to their fundament as well. So they sail out on a straight line (elves perceive and interact with Tolkien's world as if it were flat whereas everyone else experiences it as round), and in so doing they are leaving earth, and settling into a land above the earth.

Yes. Valinor is essentially a star. That is what I am saying, correct.

It's not a perfect comparison, but you know what, on a symbolic level I think this lines up. I'm quite satisfied with it. Also, elves being made of starstuff would explain why they glow. (Is that fanon or canon? I feel like it's referenced in the text but I'm not actually sure.)

Now. Dwarves. Dwarves came from rock. They are meant to be underground, to explore and mine and live below the surface. But, like.

Have you ever been in a cave?

It is terrifying. Underground ventilation can sound like the whole cave is alive, and breathing. Natural tunnels are just the right size for you to just barely fit - right up until you can't, and you become trapped. Caves are sometimes wet; you'll hear the dripping of water in the darkness, and feel the wetness under your hands, further creating the feeling that you have been eaten alive. It's disorienting underground, very easy to get lost, with much twisting and doubling back. And it's dark. You don't have to go very far down before sunlight cannot reach you and torches illuminate very little of your surroundings. Acoustics make things even worse; the rock will enhance certain sounds and swallow others, which I'm told is incredibly disorienting and off-putting.

What kind of creatures live in caves?

If you were Mahal, working off of a basically humanoid template, how would you alter that to better fit survival underground?

I propose that dwarves are expertly made to orient themselves underground; they can build routes in their head that twist over themselves, that go above and below as well as around and across. A dwarven map cannot fit in a single image on a two dimensional piece of paper.

Perhaps they invent origami, or something similar? I do not know. But their navigational abilities would be far different from ours, and while we are easily lost underground, I think dwarves would be easily confused above ground. I also feel that dwarven eyes are far more sensitive to light, and perhaps they invent sunglasses, or tie dark fabrics around their eyes when they come up to the surface (which, lol, would make that Lothlorien scene quite different. But, when I write these things, I'm not saying that this is what is canon or what Tolkien intended. I'm just taking these ideas and running with them for my own amusement. And, I hope, yours.)

I've seen the term "stone-sense" in fics before. I think that's exactly right. Listening to and being in a sort of constant communication with the stone around them would be an essential part of survival for a dwarf.

It would be awfully traumatic for a dwarf to be, say, carried in the air by eagles, I think. Better than burning alive, perhaps, and yet somehow I feel the experience would haunt them to their graves. Similarly, I think that's why the Paths of the Dead were so awful for Gimli. The stone was dead. He could hear nothing. It was a fundamental perversion of the way the world has always worked for him up until that moment.

It is said that the dwarves receded, and grew less after the third age. But perhaps they simply found life on the surface physically painful. Maybe they didn't retreat into their caves for distrust of other races, but because of a growing inability to withstand the elements.

Anyway. Those are my dwarf thoughts today. I hope you found them interesting. ☺️

[idreamtofmanderleyagain]

Five years ago, the women on this site who treated me like trash over loving Labyrinth and shipping Jareth/Sarah were almost always obliviously consuming Radfem propaganda, or were out and out Radfems/Terfs themselves.

They were the types of people who casually threw the word “pedophile” around against grown women who shipped an adult Sarah with Jareth, aka literally one of the most popular ships for women in fandom for 30 years.

Pretty much invariably, these women had serious sex-negative anxieties, which included a severe paranoia about any and all kink and fetish, and porn in general. I saw a lot of shocking, fear-mongering propaganda surrounding sexual expression. Pretty much invariably, their method of approach involved immediate personal shock-value attacks on anyone they perceived to be “bad.”

Today, you can look at the way some people react to other popular so-called “problematic” ships and recognize the same toxic, fear-mongering rhetoric coming from women who consider themselves regular, trans-inclusive feminists. Sometimes it even manifests in the words of very well-meaning people (including myself here), who feel the need to talk about specific issues that pertain to their own experiences of trauma and oppression.

The people who shit on Labyrinth often seem to not really be able to comprehend that the Goblin King, like the film itself, is canonically a representation of a teen girl’s psyche, a soup of fears and anxieties and desires and dreams. He’s not a literal human adult preying on a literal child, and to read the film that way seriously undermines the entire point of the film. 

When I (and people of many fandoms) say “This is fiction, calm down,” I’m not just saying it’s not real so it cant hurt you and you can’t criticize me. I’m trying to call attention to what fiction actually is - artistic representations of feelings and experiences. The Goblin King is Sarah’s fiction. Therefore, he can be anything she or any woman who identifies with her wants him to be, including her lover when she’s grown and ready for such a thing.

I once took an alarming dive into Beetlejuice fandom to see what content was there (the cartoon was a favorite when I was little). Chillingly, what you’ll find is an extremely wounded fanbase, with a sharp divide between the older women who had long been shipping BJ/Lydia because of their love for the cartoon series (and whom were previously the vast majority of the Beetlejuice fandom), and a massive amount of young people riding the wave of the musical fad who had decided that the entire old school Beetlejuice fandom was populated by literal pedophiles. 

I saw death threats. Suicide baiting. Constant, constant toxic discourse. It did not matter how the BJ/Lydia fandom dealt with any particular issues that would exist in their ship, in fact I’m certain that the people abusing them cared very little to even consider if they were trying to handle it at all. The only thing that mattered was that they were disgusting subhuman scum asking for abuse. If you have at any time reblogged recent Beetlejuice fan art or content from fans of the musical, you have more than likely been engaging positively with the content of someone participating in toxic fandom behavior.

Nobody is really sticking up for them, either, as far as I saw. It’s really hard to imagine how painful it must be to have such a large group of people explode into into your relatively private fandom space to tell you that you are evil, vile, and deserve constant abuse, and also you are no longer allowed into the fandom space to engage in it’s content. But I think there’s something very alarming indeed about this happening specifically to the BJ fandom, and I’ll explain why. 

The pop-culture characterization of Beetlejuice, which is heavily influenced by the cartoon series to be clear, has always in my mind been a vaguely ageless being who matches with the psychological maturity of whatever age Lydia is supposed to be. He’s more or less like an imaginary friend, a manifestation of Lydia’s psyche. In fact, I would argue that i think most of us who grew up with the cartoon or it’s subsequent merchandizing before the musical ever existed probably internalized the idea as BJ and Lydia as this ageless, salt-and-pepper-shaker couple beloved by the goth community, similar to Gomez and Morticia. In each version of canon he may be a creepy ghost in the literal sense, but any adult who is capable of identifying literary tropes (even just subconciously) would read cartoon!BJ as an artistic representation of a socially awkward outcast girl’s inner world. Lydia’s darker dispositions and interests, which alienate her from most others, are freely accepted and embraced by her spooky magical friend. BJ/Lydia in the cartoon were depicted as best friends, but to my memory there was always an underlying sense that they had secret feelings for each other, which I identified easily even as a small child. In fact, their dynamic and behavior perfectly reflected the psychological development of the show’s target demographic. They are best friends who get into adventures and learning experiences together, who have delicate feelings for each other but lack any true adult romantic/sexual understanding to acknowledge those feelings, let alone pursue them.

Though I haven’t seen the Musical yet, I’ve read the wiki and I would argue that it embodies this exact same concept even more so for it’s own version of the characters, in that Beetlejuice specifically exists to help Lydia process her mother’s death.

This is not a complicated thing to recognize and comprehend whatsoever. In fact, it looks downright blatant. It’s also a clear indicator of what BJ/Lydia means to the women who have long loved it. It was a story about a spooky wierd girl being loved and accepted and understood for who she was, and it gave them a sense of solidarity. It makes perfect sense why those women would stick with those characters, and create a safe little space for themselves to and imagine their beloved characters growing and having adult lives and experiencing adult drama, in just the same ways that the women of the Labyrinth fandom do. That’s all these women were doing. And now, they can’t do it without facing intense verbal violence. That safe space is poisoned now.

Having grown up with the cartoon as one of my favorites and been around goth subculture stuff for decades, I was actually shocked and squicked at the original Beetlejuice film’s narrative once I actually saw it, because it was extremely divorced from what these two characters had evolved into for goth subculture and what they meant to me. It’s not telling the same story, and is in fact about the Maitland's specifically. In pretty much exactly the same way two different versions of Little Red Riding Hood can be extremely different from each other, the film is a different animal. While I imagine that the film version has been at the heart of a lot of this confused fear-mongering around all other versions of the characters, I would no more judge different adaptations of these characters any more than I would condemn a version of Little Red in which Red and the Wolf are best friends or lovers just because the very first iteration of LRRH was about protecting yourself from predators.

I would even argue that the people who have engaged in Anti-shipper behavior over BJ/Lydia are in intense denial over the fact that BJ being interested in Lydia, either as blatant predatory behavior a la the film or on a peer level as in the cartoon (and musical?) is an inextricable part of canon. Beetlejuice was always attracted to Lydia, and it was not always cute or amusing. Beetlejuice was not always a beloved buddy character, an in fact was originally written as a gross scumbag. That’s just what he was. Even people engaging with him now by writing OC girlfriends for him (as stand-ins for the salt-and-pepper-shaker space Lydia used to take up, because obviously that was part of the core fun of the characters), or just loving him as a character, are erasing parts of his character’s history in order to do so. They are actively refusing to be held responsible for being fans of new version of him despite the fact that he engaged in overt predatory behavior in the original film. In fact, I would venture to say that they are actively erasing the fact that Musical Beetliejuice tried to marry a teenager and as far as I’m aware, seemed to like the idea (because he’s probably a fucking figment of her imagination but go off I guess). The only reason they can have a version of this character who could be perceived as “buddy” material is because...the cartoon had an impact on our pop cultural perception of what the character and his dynamic with Lydia is. 

We can have a version of the Big Bad Wolf who’s a creepy monster. We can have a version who’s sweet and lovable. We can have a version that lives in the middle. We can have a version who’s a hybrid between Red and the Wolf (a la Ruby in OUAT). All of these things can exist in the same world, and can even be loved for different reasons by the same people.

I’ve been using Beetlejuice as an example here because it’s kind of perfect for my overall point regarding the toxic ideologies in fandom right now across many different spaces, including ones for progressive and queer media, and how much so many people don’t recognize how deeply they’ve been radicalized into literalist and sex-negative radfem rhetoric, to the point where we aren’t allowed to have difficult, messy explorations of imperfect, flawed humans, and that art is never going to be 100% pure and without flaw in it’s ability to convey what it wants to convey.

This includes the rhetoric I’ve seen across the board, from She-Ra to A:TLA to Star Wars to Lovecraft Country. We don’t talk about the inherent malleable, subjective, or charmingly imperfect nature of fiction any more. Transformation and reclamation are myths in this space. Everything is in rigid categories. It is seemingly very difficult for some of these people to engage with anything that is not able to be clearly labeled as one thing or another (see the inherent transphobic and biphobic elements of the most intense rhetoric). They destroy anything they cannot filter through their ideology. When women act in a way that breaks from their narrative of womanhood (like...not having a vagina), then those women must be condemned instead of understood. Anything that challenges them or makes them uncomfortable is a mortal sin. There is an extraordinary level of both hypocrisy and repressive denial that is underlying the behavior I’m seeing now. Much like toxic Christian conservatism, these people often are discovered engaging in the same behaviors and interests that they condemn behind closed doors (or just out of sheer cognitive dissonance). As an example, one of the people who talked shit to me about Labyrinth was a huge fan of Kill La Kill, which to my knowledge was an anime about a teenage girl in like, superpowered lingere (hence why I stayed the fuck away from that shit myself). Indeed, they even allow themselves plenty of leeway for behavior far worse than they condemn others for, and create support systems for the worst of their own abusers. 

Quite frankly, I’m tired. Instead of talking about theoretical problematic shit, we need to start talking about quantifiable harm. Because as far as I can tell, the most real, immediate, and quantifiable harm done because of anybody’s favorite ships or pieces of media seems to consistently be the kind that’s done to the people who experience verbal violence and abuse and manipulation and suicide baiting and death threats from the people who have a problem.

[thotsforvillainrights]

*crashes into inbox* PLEASE tell me your thoughts on the rest of the liberation gang you're writing is so good and I've been wondering if you'd write for them after the anime episode! If you don't wanna answer to avoid spoilers tho that's cool cuz I get it can be hard to explain opinions on characters without them

I have honest thoughts on everyone so far and I’m actually hoping I can get a good spot on their personality so far! Forgive my language because I’m about to spill it just how I feel it

~Geten~

-I’ve been writing about him for such a while now just by going off of instinct and descriptions everyone has given me. So long that I have my own opinion formed about what he was supposed to do and sound like. That’s why when I saw him for the first time today I said “Sheeeeeesh.” His voice is a so much hotter than I thought it would be in sub so I’m wondering how he’ll sound dubbed. I hope deeply he’s an adult like how I’ve been perceiving him for a LONG while and not a minor. I still have no idea if they’ll ever state his age or what. So I’ve been trying to tread lightly when it comes to simping. Beside that, I had no idea he can pull Ice from other places and use it! I thought he just shoots that shit out like Rei or Todoroki or something. All in all, he’s still my baby

~Curious~

-First thoughts: “Maaan what a bitch.” She’s such a bitch to me but I think my opinion is biased because I love Toga so much. Aside from that, I really love her! She gives me those ‘gaslight, gatekeep, girlboss’ vibes yknow? Like I feel like she’s a mean girl but she gives me such accomplished and confident vibes. It’s hard for me to hate her and love her at the same time. I’m 99% sure someone is going to ask me to make a scenario of her pegging someone soon. Also, I love her character design! The next time I feel nervous about ordering my own food or going to the doctor by myself, I’ll just take her confidence and smugness to my own self. At least that’s what I gathered from seeing her for only one episode. Sucks what happened but let’s pretend it didn’t, and that she had more screen time

~Destro (or ReDesto or whatever)~

-I hate this little bastard man. I’m not joking. I’m not kidding around. I hate him so much. I would literally pay money to snap his stupid little nose in half like a carrot. I used to wonder in the Naruto fandom why so many people just hated Sakura so much for seemingly no reason. I couldn’t understand it because I never had a character in anime that was like that for me. Now I know. Now I know what it’s like to hate a character for no reason. He looks like the type of person that clicks their teeth together extra hard when they talk. He looks like the fucking Lucky Charms mascot. I cannot stand him and I wish the worst on him. Now that I’m done ranting about him, I will make sure to put my everything into writing him. Despite my opinions, I will write for him as if I love him because I want to make sure his stans feel comfortable here too! It’s only fair that I contribute to the Destro content for everyone. This I swear!

~Skeptic~

-Is he like a Gorillaz fan or something? He looks like the average Gorillaz fan. I feel like I’m in the middle with him. Like for some off reason he’s kinda cute but at the same time eh...Anyway, I think his puppet quirk is really cool and DAMN that boy be on his shit when it comes to watching people or whatever. I still don’t have a whole bunch to go off when it comes to his personality but I think I can get something cooking for him like I did for Geten back then. I heard from some of my friends that they cut a lot of stuff from the manga in the anime for this arc so maybe that mean I wont get to see too much more for him. Either way, I kinda look forward to writing for him yknow?

~Whoever the fuck this is~

They didn’t even give bro a name yet...not as far as I know. I guess it’s trumpet or something? Goggle said it was trumpet. I haven’t added him to the list yet because He hasn’t spoken even a little bit since the arc started. The man is kinda fine as hell ngl, but he’s giving me very serious 👇🏼 vibes.

(Welp that’s about it! Thanks for asking me because I was very ready to talk to someone about it lol)