#sometimes characters are just like me for real. sorry!

[pleasantlycrazyworld]

this is weird but vigilante girlfriend and frank who needs her help with some mission and at some point he gets mad at her and scares her

weird but how do u think he'd act when he comes to find her again? just had this idea and i feel like you write really good and show his character well

That’s not weird at all I mean that’s Frank Castle in a nutshell! Thank you for the request too, I've been wanting to write for Frank but I had no ideas.

Summary: You’re a vigilante like him—just a little brighter, a little less bloodthirsty. You patch him up, you work together sometimes, and even though no one says it, you love each other in that aching, unresolved way.

The job had gone sideways. That wasn’t the problem, things always went sideways. What messed him up was you. The way you darted into the fire to cover his ass, reckless and burning with that same fury he saw in the mirror. You weren’t bulletproof. You weren’t him. But you acted like it. And when the dust settled and you stood there, breathing heavy, bleeding but grinning like the chaos was your oxygen, Frank snapped.

“You think this is a game?” he barked. “You could’ve gotten yourself killed. You think that would’ve been worth it? Charging in like some goddamn idiot?” Your smile died instantly, the light draining from your face. You flinched like you’d been hit—not by his words, but by the way he threw them. His voice had been too loud. Too sharp. Too much like every man who ever tried to make you small. You stepped back. One, then two paces. The expression on your face cracked something in him he didn’t know could still break. “Just trying to help,” you said quietly, and then you turned and walked.

Didn’t yell back. Didn’t argue. You just walked. And he just let you go.

+++++++++++++++++++

Frank didn’t sleep that night. Not because of the wounds or the heat still aching in his fists but because your face wouldn’t leave his mind. The way your shoulders curled inward, the way your eyes widened and brows pinched, the way you stopped looking him in the eye. The way you left like he was just one more man who didn’t see you clearly.

You weren’t afraid of danger. But you looked like you were afraid of him. That was enough to make him hate himself.

“Fuck”. He groaned knowing he had to go find you. 

He found you on a rooftop, wrapped in your own silence. He didn’t say anything at first, just stood there, watching your silhouette against the city lights. “I ain’t good at this,” he finally muttered. “Never really was” You didn’t turn. “Yeah. I noticed.”

“I didn’t mean to scare you,” he added, voice lower now. Raw. Like gravel under water. He clenched his jaw when he still got no answer, no response at all from you. “I know what it’s like to be yelled at by someone who’s supposed to have your back,” he said. “And I-I did that to you. I—shit—I’m sorry.” That made your head turn, just a little. Frank Castle didn’t apologize. Not real apologizes, not like this.

You let the silence stretch between you, long and aching. Then, finally, “I wasn’t scared of you hurting me.” He nodded slowly, but he could feel his shoulder ease, feel his chest finally lighten after hearing that. Waited. “I was scared I made you hate me,” you admitted, voice tight. “Like I disappointed you. Like you finally got sick of me.”

His body tensed all over again, how could she ever think that? Frank stepped closer. Not all the way just enough that you could feel his heat at your back. “You’re not the problem,” he said gruffly. “It’s me. I saw you get hurt and I—” He paused. “I don’t have a word for what I felt. Just that it came out wrong.” Finally, you turned to face him. There were still bruises on your cheek, dried blood near your temple. But you looked at him with that same impossible soft heart, the one he didn’t think could still want him. And he saw it there, still.

Wanting.  Loving.  Trying.

“I don’t want you to be afraid of me,” he said, softer now. Like it hurts to admit it. You took a step forward, closing the space. “Then don’t raise your voice like I’m an idiot for caring if you live or die on me,” you said. “You don’t get to protect me and then punish me for doing the same.”

His jaw clenched. And then he nodded, “Okay, you’re right.”

Three words, honest and heavy.

You reached out first, fingertips brushing his wrist. “I’m not going anywhere, Frank. But I need you to stop treating me like I might break if you tell me you care.” He stared at you like you’d said something holy. And then, barely, he nodded. “I do care. I care too damn much.” You smile softly up at him, looking at him as if he was worthy of everything. “Then next time, lead with that.” And he would. He’d try at least. 

It wouldn’t be perfect, not right away at least but Frank Castle would do it the only way he knew how: fiercely, protectively, like it scared him, but tonight he realized nothing could scare him as much as the idea of losing you did.

If you like my work, please let me know! Reblogging, commenting, and liking are huge and easy ways to let me know you're enjoying my work, and it keeps me motivated to post way more!!! Requests are open <3

Tagging:

@malfoys-demigod

@sweety18

@iamsofabulous

@luvrgirlsworld

@blackhawkfanatic

@methodgurl

@creptolli

@hellskitchens-whore

@confetti-cakemix

[elladcat]

Fluff | Yandere CRK x Baker Reader | Chapter: 1

「Sweet Little Baker」

Note: It was really hard to write that part without reminding me that I tried to do that in real life. I'm not really good with words but if you ever feel like you're worthless or wanting to do something like this then please don't do it, your loved ones will always love you no matter what even if they're not perfect or anything, and they'll be sad if you're gone, so what I'm trying to say is that you're not alone and you're special in your own way even if you don't think that you are. Sorry if I sound so cheesy when I said this.

Summary: You used to play cookie run: kingdom until you stopped playing it to focus on your life, leaving the game dormant for years. Then one day, you were reminded about it and finally played it again, not realizing that the cookies were aware of your absence and took the chance to drag you to their world so you wouldn't abandon them again.

Warning/Tags: yandere tendencies, platonic/romantic, horror, depression, suicidal thoughts, attempted suicide, self-hatred, angst, cookies are monsters literally, isekai, etc.

~~~~~ ~~~~~ ~~~~~ ~~~~~ ~~~~~ ~~~~~ ~~~~~ ~~~~~

[Narrator POV]

Your life is normal and you're fine with it. You live in an apartment and have a decent job to earn money. You also got in touch with your parents since they're worried about you, and they often text or call you to make sure you're alright. Sometimes you find it annoying, but you don't blame them for their behavior.

Everything is fine in your life, and yet why aren't you happy?

You sigh and open the door of your apartment after a long day at work, doing your usual routine before night falls. You head to your room to change into your pajamas before plopping down on the bed. You pull out your phone and see a lot of text messages from your mom asking if you're eating well and doing alright. You sigh and reply to her message as usual before closing the app and searching on youtube to watch something to distract yourself from that heavy feeling again.

You watch some cat videos and gaming videos about your favorite youtubers just to put a smile on your face, even if it's only for a little while. Just then, a single video catches your eye. It's about a new update for your once-beloved game cookie run: kingdom, and it features new playable characters known as the beast cookies. They look so interesting and are apparently the parallel of the ancient cookies. It also introduces a new story called Beast-Yeast, as well as beascuits, topping tarts, new toppings, other new playable characters, etc.

The video reminds you of the first time you were introduced to that game. You were looking for a new game to play out of boredom until you stumbled upon a game called cookie run: kingdom on play store. You found the game interesting, so you downloaded it and played it for the first time, and that's how you grew attached to the game and the cookies you had collected.

Whenever you got home from school or finished doing your chores, you always played that game to your heart's content, making your cookies stronger, doing tasks, completing missions, granting wishes for them in the tree of wishes, trading, building houses and stuff, and even decorating your Cookie Kingdom to make it more lively for them because they deserve it.

You remembered how your cookies loved what you did for them and their home. You thought it was strange for them to say that, but thought that maybe the developers added some fourth wall break dialogue, like most games do. So you shrugged and smiled, happy to see they were enjoying themselves in the Cookie Kingdom.

It sounded weird, but you used to talk to them as if they were real people. Whenever you felt down or that life was hard to deal with, you would talk to them, telling them about your struggles, your fears, your frustrations, your hatred towards one of your classmates, teachers, and even your parents. Sometimes, you wished that they were gone for hurting you. You remembered how you ended up crying in silence while tapping your cookies to say something to make it look like they were comforting you, and that made you happy, even for a little while.

But as time passed and life became even more difficult, you rarely played the game until eventually, you stopped playing it to focus on your life instead. It was hard for you to not play and interact with your cookies anymore, but you had problems in your life that you had to deal with, and so you left cookie run: kingdom on your phone, untouched, for years.

You tried your best; you really did. School was hard, but you tried to study harder without help so you wouldn't feel like a burden to everyone. You made some friends who were nice to you, though they probably felt bad for you since you spent time alone because you didn't know how to socialize with others very well. Your relationships with your parents weren't the best. You tried to make them happy and proud of you, but sometimes it didn't work out the way you wanted it to.

You tried to be good; you didn't mean to make your parents mad by making a mistake or doing something bad. It felt like your world slowly crumbled each time you reminded yourself that you're not good enough for them. Then, one day, you did something that you still regret to this day.

You didn't know why you tried to do it; maybe you believed that once you were gone, you wouldn't have to feel depressed anymore and that you wouldn't have to carry the burden of being born if you just closed your eyes and never woke up again. So, when your parents were asleep, you tried to end your own life, but it didn't happen; you're still alive. Maybe you didn't cut your skin hard enough, or maybe the knife wasn't sharp enough to make you fall asleep, but regardless, you're still alive. You ended up crying and told your parents what you were doing last night. They were obviously horrified by what you had planned to do. Eventually, they cried with you and hugged you tightly.

You felt so guilty and ashamed back then, blaming yourself for making them worried because of your stupid actions that you were trying to do to yourself. Luckily, you only had deep bruises on your body, so your parents put medicine on them to hopefully help them heal better. Your parents took you to see a psychologist to help you with your mental health issues, but they just wanted you to be cured because you overheard them talking with the psychologist in the other room while you were sitting outside, and that made you feel like it was your fault for having them in the first place.

You knew that your parents were trying to help and knew what was best for you, but sometimes you just wished that they would try to understand you better. However, you knew that even if they did, they would probably just do it the same way, trying to make you normal. Sometimes, you hated them, but you also felt happy that they still cared about you, even though you felt guilty about it.

After that incident, your parents always helped you when you were feeling troubled in your life. You felt bad, but at the same time, you felt happy that you no longer had to worry about anything, thanks to your parents' persistence in helping you whenever you felt confused or worried about something.

Years later, you graduated and found a job and an apartment to move into. Your parents still help you, even though you don't live with them anymore. For a while, you felt happy with your life; you didn't feel depressed anymore, and you could do whatever you liked now that you live alone. Though life can have ups and downs, overall, you manage to get through the day without any problems.

But then that heavy feeling returned, and you didn't feel happy anymore. You didn't know why you were feeling like this; you thought you were doing better. You did what your parents and the psychologist asked you to do to make you feel better. Maybe it's because of the bad day you had when you got yelled at by your boss for running late at work, or one of the customers was rude to you and even spilled coffee on your uniform for doing something wrong, or something else. But whatever the case, that heavy feeling just came back again to remind you that you're still worthless, even if you try to be better.

You tried not to think about ending your life again and tried to think of positive things because you didn't want to go through that again, just to make your parents worry about you even more. You hated yourself for not getting used to it, thinking that you should stop being a selfish moron for believing that your life is meaningless and wanting something more in your mundane life.

Why can't you be normal like everyone else, you worthless piece of shit!?

You shook your head at that awful thought and exited youtube after finishing watching the video. Maybe playing cookie run: kingdom again isn't such a bad idea. You'll play the game and interact with your cookies again, even if it's for nostalgic reasons. With a smile and a little bit of excitement, you updated the game and started playing it, expecting to see the familiar devsisters intro at the beginning.

But it didn't happen; instead, there's only Pure Vanilla Cookie standing there behind a black screen, looking straight at you with a somber expression. Then he spoke to you, but no text appeared on the screen, nor was there no sound to convey his speech, which sometimes happens if the voice actors didn't have time to voice act the characters. No, he really is speaking to you in his full voice.

Pure Vanilla Cookie: "Baker... you finally returned."

Y/n: "W... What?"

This didn't happen before; is that what happens if you don't play the game for too long?

Pure Vanilla Cookie: "We thought that we would never see you again, but you finally came back to us!"

He smiled.

Pure Vanilla Cookie: "I'm not mad that you left; you have your own reasons for leaving us, but I think it's best that you live here with us so you won't have to face something that is troubling you anymore!"

Y/n: "W-Wait, what?!"

Before you have time to react, you see a flash of light, and your world fades to black.

~~~~~ ~~~~~ ~~~~~ ~~~~~ ~~~~~ ~~~~~ ~~~~~ ~~~~~

You heard voices ringing in your ear, and they all sound so familiar.

Strawberry Cookie: "A-Are they really the Baker?"

Wizard Cookie: "Of course they are, dimwit! Why do you think Pure Vanilla Cookie brought them here if they're not the Baker?"

GingerBrave: "Baker, are you still here with us?"

You groan and sit up, feeling so dizzy that you rub your temples to ease yourself from the irritating headache you're experiencing.

Y/n: "Wh... huh?"

You open your eyes but quickly widen them in shock. What you see in front of you leaves you feeling confused, wary, and filled with dread. It's like you're being surrounded by predators looking straight at you, but they don't look hungry. Well, maybe some of them are, but what confuses you the most is why they look like cookies you know so well, yet why do they look so different from what you remember.

They don't look like cookies; instead, they look like monsters from folklores you used to be obsessed with as a kid. Although some of them look like hybrids of two or more creatures, you have a hard time figuring out what they're based on. You look at them with nervousness, and you can't even form a sentence of your own.

Y/n: "I-I... um..."

Custard Cookie III: "You don't remember us, Baker?"

The little prince said in worry as his sheep ears lowered to reflect his real emotions.

Chili Pepper Cookie: "Don't tell me you forgot about us!"

She looks rather annoyed as she crosses her arms, though there is a slight hint of worry in her eyes.

Y/n: "I-I do remember you all; it's just that y-you don't look like cookies..."

The coo—no, everyone looked at you weirdly as they muttered to each other about what you just called them.

GingerBrave: "Cookies? What do you mean, Baker? We have always looked like this before you came into our lives!"

Y/n: "But you all were..."

You stopped your sentence when you heard a familiar voice.

Pure Vanilla Cookie: "Alright everyone, let's give them space since they are still in shock after I brought them here to their kingdom."

Y/n: "Wait, kingdom....?"

You turn to the voice expecting to see Pure Vanilla Cookie, but you're met with a tall, bipedal sheep creature that kind of resembles Custard Cookie III, except he has four ram horns that curl up and down and four eyes, but they're closed because of the noticeable scars on his face.

Y/n: "Oh my god, your eyes! What happened?"

He smiled at your words and shook his head.

Pure Vanilla Cookie: "You don't have to worry about me, dear; it's not that important."

You wanted to know what happened to him that gave him these scars, but then you remembered what he said earlier. You stood up from the grassy floor and looked around the place; it seemed so familiar, but you wanted to know if it was true or not.

Y/n: "Where exactly am I?"

Just then, Gumball Cookie spoke up to explain where you were.

Gumball Cookie: "You're in the Cookie Kingdom, Baker. You did amazing decorating our home like this; it's a masterpiece!"

You blushed as you felt flattered by his compliment, and you scratched the side of your neck sheepishly.

Y/n: "Oh, um, I'm glad you all enjoy it."

Cherry Blossom Cookie: "Of course, we all enjoy it. You did so much for us, and we're all grateful that you gave us a place to call home!"

Everyone agreed with her, and then Cream Puff Cookie came forward with a somber look on her face.

Cream Puff Cookie: "But then you left without warning, and everyone is heartbroken when you're gone. Did we do something wrong to make you leave, Baker?"

You widen your eyes in surprise at her words. Just then, everyone starts begging you not to leave them again; some of them even tear up in sadness at the thought of you disappearing from their lives again.

Pancake Cookie: "Please don't go!"

Cherry Cookie: "We need you here!"

Pumpkin Pie Cookie: "Please stay with us, Baker; Pompon and I don't want to feel sad anymore."

Just then, Snapdragon Cookie came flying towards you and hugged you tightly as they let out baby noises, as if to say that they didn't want you to go away. You looked down at the little fellow; they didn't look like they were made of dough; they looked so real to you. You wondered if these former cookies were meant to look like monsters in their world rather than what you thought they were in your world.

You look at everyone for a moment. They're all worried about you leaving them behind again because they love and care about you. You always thought that they didn't have real emotions since they're characters from a game, but you were wrong; they do have emotions, and those are fear, worry, anger, and sadness in their eyes.

You're left speechless; no one is worried about you besides your parents like this before. You always thought that no one would love a worthless trash like you. You're just a nobody who's forgotten by everyone because you're not memorable enough to stay in their minds, and yet these people never forget about you even after so many years, and they love you so much that they never want to let you go.

All these feelings of worry and dread about them suddenly wash away from you; all you really feel now is sadness and guilt, and you can't help but cry. Everyone widens their eyes in surprise when you cry as you hug the baby dragon back.

Y/n: "I'm so sorry; I'm so sorry for leaving you all behind!"

As you said that with tears in your eyes, all of the children start hugging you and crying with you. Most of the adults join in, while the others stay with somber expressions on their faces. Pure Vanilla Cookie stares down at you with sadness. You were unhappy with where you came from, but you don't have to worry about that anymore because he'll make sure that you won't go through that ever again.

[To Be Continued]

[nightbornfeyre]

This fanart is absolutely beautiful and captures exactly how Feyre felt. I just love it. What breaks my heart, though, is seeing people in the comments of the artist’s Instagram defending Tamlin. This fandom can be truly unhinged sometimes.

What’s even more disturbing is that many of these defenders are women—women defending a character who was always written as a textbook abuser. And what really destroys me is this: if Feyre had still been human, if she hadn’t shielded herself, she would have died. And Tamlin’s first reaction isn’t concern—it’s to make it all about him, and then about them. That’s such a painfully accurate representation of abusive relationships.

He literally blows up the study just because she’s trying to express how she feels. She wasn’t screaming, she wasn’t attacking him—she just said, “You’re drowing me to...” and that alone triggered him. That’s terrifying. And when he says, “Let’s move on. Let’s forget about it,” it’s exactly how real-life abuse often plays out. When a partner hits you for the first time, it’s usually explained away: “I was angry,” “It was just once,” “It was an accident.” And then comes the line: Let’s move on. I’ll do better.

What’s so tragic and honest in SJM’s writing is that she shows us this wasn’t a one-time thing. When Feyre returns to the Spring Court, Tamlin destroys the study again. It’s a clear sign that if she had stayed, this cycle of rage and apology—of “I’m sorry” followed by more violence—would’ve repeated endlessly. He was never going to change. She had to leave to save herself.

People are free to say they like Tamlin or feel sorry for him. That’s one thing. But blaming Sarah J. Maas for how she wrote his character, or excusing Tamlin’s actions by using his trauma as justification, is not just missing the point—it’s deeply concerning. His behavior reflects real-life abuse. These are the exact patterns women face in toxic, violent relationships.

You can say, “I pity him” or “I wish him healing,” sure—but it must also come with acknowledgment: Tamlin is an abuser. And Feyre was a victim. And she was absolutely right to leave. She endured so much before she even realized she had the right to walk away.

And let’s not forget—Tamlin’s anger issues existed long before the events Under the Mountain. Even in Book One, Lucien hesitates when he says, “Tamlin gets into... moods.” That pause speaks volumes. It shows Lucien was already tiptoeing around Tamlin’s volatile behavior, trying to soften the truth. The red flags were always there.

In real life, aggressive men rarely “snap out of it.” They don’t magically gain emotional control. They harm whoever happens to be in their path. That’s exactly who Tamlin was. And Feyre was right to choose herself, her peace, and her safety.

Guys, this fan art of Feyre and Tamlin in ACOMAF, when he could have really hurt her if she didn’t have her powers is making me want to cry.

The fear in her eyes, the way her entire body is rigid, her sadness and anxiety—this is so so well done and it’s breaking meee.

"Feyre, please," he breathed.

He dropped to his knees, taking my face in his hands. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry."

I couldn't stop trembling.

"I'll try," he breathed. "I'll try to be better. I don't.... I can't control it sometimes. The rage. Today was just ... today was bad... Today-let's forget it, let's just move past it. Please."

🎨 Art is by tangerine.eileen

[obvithe-bestsoph]

you should do more kenan yilidiz like muslim vibe moments or blurbs

muslim hcs.

masterlist requests

a/n: this is just my prior knowledge, so sorry if there are any inaccuracies, please let me know!

- he’s soft when you ask questions about his faith, and he loves that you’re curious. kenan never acts like you need to know everything. if you ask why he doesn’t drink, or what ramadan feels like, or what a surah means, he doesn’t overexplain or get awkward. he just gives you the real answer, calm, thoughtful, sometimes poetic. “it’s about discipline,” he once said, when you asked about fasting. “but also about peace.” - kenan reminds you to pray, but never guilt-trips you. if you’re running late for dhuhr, he doesn’t make a scene. he just peeks into the room like “want me to wait for you?” and if you’ve had a rough week and missed a few, he’ll say something like, “come sit with me for a few minutes, maybe we can reset together.” always kind. always soft. he leads with love, not harshness. - he’s a little obsessed with your modesty, not because it’s his to control, but because he respects it. he never tells you how to dress. never acts like hijab is his business. but when you do dress modestly, whether you cover or not, you’ll catch him glancing at you like you’re made of gold. “you look beautiful,” he’ll say, and you know it’s not just about how you look. it’s about how you carry yourself. how you hold your values. - kenan always makes wudu before prayer, and offers to wait for you so you can pray together. he does it with quiet focus, and when you’re around, he always pauses after he’s done to ask, “you want to pray with me?” it’s not pushy. just gentle. a shared act of peace. you lay out your prayer mats side by side, and somehow, even the silence between you feels spiritual.

- during ramadan, he brings you suhoor in bed, even if he’s half asleep. some days, you both wake up together and cook. other days, when you’re struggling to open your eyes, kenan shuffles in holding a plate of dates and toast, still blinking away sleep, whispering “bismillah, eat something.” then you both drink water like you’re racing the call to prayer.

- when you’re overwhelmed, kenan doesn’t push advice, he just reminds you, “make dua.” you’re stressed about uni. or work. or life. kenan doesn’t rush to fix it. he just listens, holds your hand, and says, “did you talk to allah about it yet?” it’s not preachy, just a soft reminder that you’re never alone. sometimes, he sits beside you as you make dua out loud, nodding quietly, whispering ameen at the end.

- when you’re sick or anxious, kenan reads qur’an softly in the room, not for show, just for comfort. he doesn’t ask. he just opens his mushaf or his app and recites whatever surah comes to heart. his voice is calm. slow. careful. the room feels warmer when he reads. and when he’s done, he places a hand on your head, whispers, “may allah ease whatever’s heavy.” it’s the safest feeling in the world.

- he doesn't try to charm your baba, he tries to earn his trust when meeting for the first time. kenan knows your baba isn’t looking to be flattered. he’s looking for character. so kenan talks about his values. how seriously he takes salah. what kind of home he wants to build one day. he’s open about not being perfect, but always trying to stay close to allah. your dad may not show emotion, but afterward, you hear him mutter to your mama, “he seems like a good man.”

[evilneo]

sometimes im like "damn why is there not more discussion about [canonically abused character]'s and [canonical abuser who has no regard for autonomy or boundaries and is also a parental/familial/older figure of some kind]'s abuse through a lens of CSA bc im a victim of that and they resonate with me and also it would not be a stretch at all to view it as that even tho its not canon". and then im violently transported back to the real world where the internet is mainly split into either "we discuss it but only bc we fetishize pedophilia and incest LOL we dont care about survivors" or "we have a complex about this and we think if you hc characters in this way youre as bad as the first camp. what do you mean were basically telling survivors that their experiences are too disgusting and shameful to talk about? shut up" and well i think both camps are Dick Heads‼️‼️‼️‼️

[theelmoarchive]

THE SUCKENING!!!!!!!

Can you tell who my favorite is

I love drawing these guys so much Emizel is slowly filling every sketchbook page i flip

[anghraine]

One of the weirder parts of being formally tested for autism as an adult—apart from the hellscape of hours of math hell—was that they kept asking me for my conclusions or opinions about things I had very little knowledge of. These weren't basic facts you'd expect someone to pick up in the course of a standard US education, and I kept repeating that I would have to do actual research to form opinions on subjects I had no significant information about.

Obviously, "not opinionated" isn't a major problem for me when I do have a reasonable amount of information, but my eventual diagnosis specifically mentioned that I kept repeating that I would have to do more research to acquire the necessary baseline of data for forming opinions on [whatever], and that the phrasing of my various refusals tended to be identical or very similar (I didn't see any need to alter my wording when I was simply repeating the same position over and over).

*cough*

Anyway this is also about Star Trek. (Surprise.) I knew Spock would be relatable before we started the grand TOS watch, but did not expect him to be the most relatable character on television ever, and his continual refusals to deliver opinions without enough data for informed theories was actually a big part of this.

[dreamsy990]

some of the less nice thoughts about being aroace

extras below the cut

sketch

closeups on my favorite panels

bonus: adios

[pokemonblack3white3]

Girlies I have got to stop feeling guilty about creating art I enjoy

[wackywatchdotcom]

something i genuinely adore about tadc is how painfully flawed everyone in the circus is. and not in a small way

everyone does SOMETHING that negatively impacts the others. but it makes the fact that you are supposed to sympathize with and really connect with them all the more potent. because its easy to want to put a bunch of characters in a bad situation together and to just have them all be nice to each other and everyone and never make mistakes because theres no reason to hurt each other, and most of them dont TRY to, but the way they cope is so, so realistic for each of their personalities, and it doesnt always mesh with the others, and sometimes it exceeds self destructive and Just Hurts Others, Too

they still generally care about each other and the mistakes they make and the ways they end up hurting each other dont lose their weight but like. it doesnt take away from their humanity and the fact that they are all trying so hard to manage in an awful situation

and the characters seem to have sooome sort of understanding of this too. not fully, because the characters dont tend to be 100% communicative, but when they hurt each other, it often makes EVERYONE uncomfortable. because these are the only people they have. these are their friends. and theyre all coping. but it doesnt change how much it affects them (best illustrated by ragathas lines at the start of ep 2 or gangles 'i love her, but after a while it gets kinda hard to tell how genuine shes actually being'). its not all like this, theres a good amnt of variety, but characters knowing this but not really knowing what to do about it is very painful in an effective way

(i think a subtle example of this is how zooble handles gangles situation in ep 4- they were so genuinely trying to help her because they care. but could tell as the day went on that oh, this is not working at all and its making things worse, and they leave gangle alone- something that very genuinely couldve been the moment she abstracted, because of the mask zooble gave her- and we dont get to have a super blatant explanation of zoobles thoughts on it, but they reach a fairly healthy conclusion about it that helps both of them, and i like that a lot, because on paper zooble could be placed at fault but the narrative doesnt dwell on it excessively, because thats not the point. i dont know if that tangent makes sense but i think about it sometimes. i think zooble wasnt 'to blame' but it was still a mistake, which is a hard balance to strike, and having them help at the end feels extremely effective at rounding it off!!!)

but like. in general its complicated balancing making characters in a bad situation act flawed because it can run the risk of seeming like the story is scolding them or blaming them for the situation theyre in, or like youre expected to not sympathize with them despite it (though the inverse also has complications- if characters in a bad situation never mess up, it feels unrealistic and hard to relate to, and can imply that their innocence is why whats happening to them is bad at all), but the show handles it so well

even the characters who are genuinely trying all try in different ways- some of them have similar outlooks or attitudes towards these thing but theres vital differences for ALL of them- sometimes it works and sometimes it doesnt. in fact some of the more painful mistakes characters have made in the show have come from them so genuinely trying (like the thing i mentioned w zooble, or basically Everything Ragatha Does, or pomnis first attempt at helping gangle, etc), which hits harder than if every mistake characters made had wholly selfish and cruel goals.

i mean, there is a selfishness to many of the characters' actions but imo not in a way thats not warranted. because all of them are in a horrible setting. its uncomfortable to watch characters be selfish. but it is a natural instinct to survive. its not the foundation of most of their actions, but when it is, its uncomfortable but hard to completely disparage them for in a way that makes you feel kinda conflicted

and like. it hurts to be doing your best and for that to make things worse, but its what happens often in the show. because no one in a bad situation is gonna handle it well. by the very nature of trying to survive something is gonna give, but it makes the themes of the show so much more powerful. that making sure the people around you dont feel unloved, cherishing them and finding meaning with others is no less important just because everyone is fucking up. it complicates things, for sure, but it doesnt make those characters exempt fromt this. theres a reason pomni tells gummigoo that she doesnt want "anyone" to feel like theyre nothing, and that kinger doesnt add ANY quallifiers to making sure people feel wanted and loved (not that i think either of them were thinking SUPER super hard, but it conveys smth from the perspective of the narrative

it gets complicated when you add in jax for sure, since i think on the surface he IS the exception to this concept- none of the characters like him, including pomni or kinger. but i think this is something thats gonna be examined further down the line, bc hes the main complicating factor in this reading of the show, but i feel like thats on purpose. hes universally disliked (and so is caine, in a different way) and his actions arent mistakes. they are him coping. the show has made it clear that he can be a complex person AND also a piece of shit. his actions dont detract from the fact that hes a person and the show reminds us of this. so it makes things so messy, but im genuinely super excited to see how the show examines that. where his character goes is, imo, going to be a massive piece of how this show fleshes out this concept

[iwritenarrativesandstuff]

literally the easiest way to make someone care about a character and make them feel well-rounded beyond basic traits like personality, sexuality, ethnicity, etc, is to give them an actual character arc, and it’s shocking how many people do not seem to fully realize this

you cannot just cram a bunch of tropes. tropes are not the main event, they are tools to tell the story you wish to tell. emotional impact comes from the lead up, so you can’t just jump ahead and expect the payoff to work. “I want this character to just ___ already!” but they’re not there yet. that’s where the arc comes in - how do they get there?

and! most importantly, and this is something I really want people to think about when writing - the most important relationship your character should have, always, is with the world and society around them. defining your character purely through their interactions with other characters are, I find, how a lot of female characters end up feeling flat or not engaging with the themes as much as the male characters, and also how queer and non-white characters wind up as devices for other characters’ development instead of being more fleshed out

[taraxippos]

I never touched it but I feel like i only ever hear positive things said about song of achilles.. in (rough strokes at least) what makes it dogshit to you?

Okay it's been a while since I actually read it so some of this might not be spot on accurate. Sorry if at any point I say 'the book never does xyz' and it actually does once or twice but I think my underlying criticisms are accurate

-Patroclus is made into like this soft gentle tender quivering little yaoi boy. In the source text, he's shown as compassionate and moved by the suffering of his own men (and apparently having some medical skill, tending to the wounded in the camp), but very much invested n combat and very, very good at it (pages worth of descriptions of the guys he's killing left and right). In this, the arguably more complex character from this 8th century BC text is flattened into Being A Healer, he doesn't want to go to war he just wants to help people, he only goes because Achilles has to but he doesn't want to fight he's a HEALER he's a gentle lover NOT A FIGHTER who just wants to help he just wants to help everyone around him he HEALS while Achilles is a doomed warrior who is so good at fighting and KILLING its a DICHOTOMY GUYS!!!LIKE THE BEAUTIFUL SUN AND MOON DOOMED LOVERS SO SAD patocluse HEALER . (I Think he's specifically characterized as being BAD at fighting but might be misremembering)

-I don't remember much about Achilles' characterization I think it just makes him less of a jackass while not adding anything of interest and levels out into being mad boring.

-Not getting into the literal millenias old debate whether the mythological characters Achilles and Patroclus were being characterized as some type of lover by the original oral sources of the Iliad or its Homeric writers. We will never know. We don't even know what (if any) culturally accepted conventions of male homosexuality existed in bronze age Greece (we know much more about their descendants). But there are some interesting elements of their characterization in this direction, with how unconventional their relationship is WITHIN the text itself- Patroclus is described as cooking for Achilles and his guests (very specifically a woman/wife's job), Achilles chides Patroclus like a father, but there's also scene where Achilles' mourning of him directly echoes a passage of Hector's wife mourning her husband, Patroclus is explicitly stated to Achilles' elder, and is overall treated as his equal or near-equal, closest confidant and most beloved friend (to the point that pederastic classical Greeks would debate over who was erastes (older authority figure lover) and who was eromenos (adolescent 'beloved')- many took it as a given that this text depicted their present-day cultural norms of homosexual behavior but it existed so Outside of these norms that it had to be debated who was who). Their relationship is non-standard both within the text and to the descendants of the civilization that wrote them.

Basically what I'm saying is this book had opportunities to like, explore the unconventionality of the relationship (being presented here as explicitly lovers), explore the dynamics of why Patroclus wants to do 'women's work' (besides being a tenderhearted softboy), the weird dynamics where they take on paternal roles to each other but also roles of wives, how they feel about being this way, and just kind of Doesn't. Which I guess isn't an intrinsic fault (because it omits much of what I just talked about to begin with). it's just like.... Lame. This book takes jsut abandons everything interesting about the source text in favor of flattening it into bland Doomed Yaoi.

-The conflict that sets off the core story of the Iliad is Achilles and Agamemnon fighting over Briseis, an enslaved Trojan woman taken by Achilles as a war-trophy, Achilles spends most of the story moping because he was dishonored by his 'trophy' being taken. Achilles and Patroclus and everyone else are raping their captives, all the women in the story are either captured Trojans (or in the case of the free women within the walls of Troy, soon to be enslaved, and are slave owners themselves). Slavery as an institution and extreme patriarchal conventions are innate to the text and reflective of the context in which it was developed. You cannot avoid it.

But obviously you can't have your soft yaoi boys doing this, so the author has them capturing women to Protect Them from the other men. Their slaves are UNDER THEIR PROTECTION and VERY SAFE (and they might even Like And Befriend Them but I might be misremembering that. Briseis does though). Our heroes have apparently absorbed none of the ideals of the culture they exist in and the author seems to think "they're gay and aren't sexually attracted to their captives" would translate to them being outright benevolent (also as if wartime sexual violence is just about attraction and not part of a wider spectrum of violent acts to dehumanize and brutalize an accepted 'enemy')

In the source text, Briseis mourns Patroclus as being the kindest to her of her captors, who tried to get her a slightly better outcome by getting her married to Achilles (which probably would be the Least Bad of all possible outcomes for a woman in that situation, becoming a legal wife instead of a slave), and wonders what will happen to her now that he's gone. This is a really really sad, horrible, and compelling dynamic which could be fleshed out in very interesting ways but is instead is tossed entirely aside in favor of them being Besties. Like brother and sister.

All of the above pisses me off so much. If you don't want to engage in the icky parts of ancient/bronze age Greece then don't write a retelling of a story taking place in bronze age Greece. I'm not gonna get mad at children's adaptations of Greek myths or silly fun stories loosely based on them for omitting the rape and slavery but it is SO fundamental to the Iliad. If you're not willing to handle it, either fully omit it or better yet set your Iliad inspired yaoi in an invented swords-and-sandals setting where you can have all your heartbreaking tragic doomed lovers plot beats and not have to clumsily write around the women they're brutalizing.

-The author didn't seem to know what to do with Thetis and she made her just like, Achilles bitch mother who spends most of the story trying to separate our Yaoi Boys (iirc her disguising Achilles as a girl and hiding him on Scyros is made to be more about getting him away from Patroclus than trying to save her son from his prophesied doom in the Trojan War) until she sees how much they loooove each other and I think helps Patroclus' spirit get to the afterlife or something in the end?

-This is more of a personal taste gripe but it has that writing style I loathe where the prose feels less like a story and more like an attempt to string together Deep Beautiful Hard Hitting Poetic Lines that will look great as excerpts on booktok (might predate booktok but same vibe). It's all very Pretty and Haunting and Deep but feels devoid of real substance.

I really like The Iliad and The Odyssey in of themselves. They're fascinating historical texts that give a window into how 8th century BC Greeks told their stories, saw their world, interpreted their ancestors, etc. And genuinely I think these texts have 'good' characters, there's a lot of complexity and humanity to it.

WRT the Iliad- all of the main Achaeans are pretty fascinating, the one singular part where Briseis Gets To Talk and laments her situation is great, Achilles fantasizing that all of the Trojans AND the Achaeans die so he and Patroclus alone can have the glory of conquering Troy (wild), Achilles asking to embrace Patroclus' shade and reaching out for him but it's immaterial (and the shade being sucked back underground with a 'squeak' (the squeak kinda gets me it's disturbing and sad)), Hecuba talking about wanting to tear out Achilles' liver and eat it in a (taboo, exceptioally pointed) expression of rage and grief for his mutilation of her son's corpse, just one tiny line where the enslaved women performing ritual wailing for their dead captors are described as using it as an outlet to 'grieve for their own troubles' is heartrending, etc. A lot of grappling with anger and grief and the inevitability of death, a lot of groundwork laid for characters that could be very interesting when expanded upon in the framework of a conventional novel.

And Song Of Achilles really doesn't do much with all that. I know a lot of my gripes here are kind of just "It's different from the Iliad", I would have thought of it as mostly mediocre and forgettable rather than infuriating if it wasn't a retelling (and I DEFINITELY have strong biases here). But I think the ways in which it is different are less just a product of a retelling (of course there's going to be omissions and differences) and more a complete and utter disinterest in vast majority of its own subject matter, to the book's detriment. I think a retelling has a point when it EXPANDS on the source, or provides a NEW ANGLE to the source. This book doesn't Really do either, it just shaves off the complexity of its source material, renders the characters into a really boring archetype of a gay relationship, and gives very little else. Its content boils down to a middling tragic romance that has been inserted into the hollowed out defleshed skeleton of the Iliad.

Bottom line: I definitely would not be as mad about it if I wasn't familiar with the source material but I think it's fair to expect a retelling to Engage with/expand on its source, and I also think it's weak purely on its own merits. This book was set up to disappoint Me specifically.

[witchzvamp]

first of all, these boys need to learn when shut the fuck up omg it's better than get more and more into this mess! everyone is so damn dumb, i was dumb when i was a teenager but god not this much

second, fou4mod is not all THAT, not enough to have TWO boys trying to get him like you guys (baabin) are better than this! i mean he such a mess like omg he doesn't need you guys in a weird competition to know who he gonna end up with he needs therapy and if you guys like him so much send him to therapy asap; all of you guys need therapy actually

third of all, i don't know how should i feel about bua?? he's a sweetheart but i don't know if he really does feel something real for baabin; i understand he's in need of real attention and love but it's like he clings to the first person he thinks will be good for him, which is a little unhealthy (actually VERY UNHEALTHY); but love him regardless

and i have nothing to talk about baabin bc he let me down so much and depending on what he does next week's episode i gonna become his hater #1

[princsstwilightsparkl]

saying "if aroace people can date, then can lesbians date men?" is absolutely aphobic narrative btw!

[konmics-n-stuff]

I really resent the Young Justice tv show for … a lot of things. TBH.

[thefloatingwriter]

relating to your reblog.. no one actually gets beetee i fear. minus you mostly. but the consensus of him being a chill tech guy and not in part a mass murderer both in the arena and in the rebellion & also pretty morally grey in a sense? yknwwww. yknw!

yes yes yes. all do this yes. he’s morally gray. it is so obvious he is morally gray it is practically written on his forehead. his morals are definitely questionable. that is so obvious and yet…

at this point i think i need a therapy session simply so i can rant about other people’s interpretations of beetee. because. do you even understand him. did you even read the trilogy. like i don’t even know what to tell some of you at this point except that you just don’t get him like i do.