#sorry my ted talk is a ted rant

[jaybejaybeyes]

The more time passes, the angrier I get about the Meljay ending. Or, more accurately, the lack of one. And no, I’m not even talking about the criminal absence of a single meaningful, soul-baring conversation between them after act 1 s2. I’m talking about all the wasted potential here. Because just imagine the depth the show could’ve explored if it’d actually leaned into their fallout.

Think about how broken Mel must’ve felt after she reached out to Jayce, vulnerable and raw, only for him to turn his back on her. That could’ve hardened her, made her colder, crueller. And Jayce? Who’s such an openhearted, trusting guy with Mel? The only way I can understand him pushing her away in ep8 is if he knew he was about to sacrifice himself fighting Viktor and couldn’t bear to let her get hurt (that said, I hate that trope, there’s nothing worse than one half of a pairing deciding unilaterally to take away the other’s right to choose whether to stay or leave). At least that explanation would’ve been something. But we got no introspection from Jayce, no reflection on their relationship, only his outburst that felt out of left field.

And the tension we could’ve had?? Them wrestling with their conflicting I-need-to-destroy-arcane vs I-am-arcane???

But wait, let’s flip it around for a second. What if they never fell out? What if, after everything, they had a tender reunion, realising they were now (still!) the only people who truly understood each other? What if Mel finally let herself break down in front of him, letting herself be vulnerable, and Jayce found a (however fleeting) reprieve from the madness of his mission to stop Viktor?

Imagine the old Jayce, the one who dreamed big and loved deeply, breaking through the armour the new Jayce’d built up. Imagine their bond with Mel deepening in the aftermath of not one, but two shared traumas (first, bombing, then ending up somewhere unknown, suffering horrors against their will). Picture them finding some solace in each other, healing together, clinging to the idea that maybe,  maybe, they could have something resembling happiness again.

And when the inevitable heartbreak came, it would’ve been absolutely devastating. Not because Jayce “chose Viktor over Mel” (we don’t tolerate this sentiment in this house), but because Jayce knew he was doomed. He knew that Viktor’s fate was entwined with his and that he’d have to make it to the end alone, whether to save Viktor or destroy him. Maybe he even told Mel this, and she understood, because she saw what Viktor meant to him, and she knew their connection was special on so many levels. 

And yet she still hoped. She hoped Jayce would defeat the Machine Herald and come back. She hoped she could finally stand up to her mother and find freedom. Maybe they even dreamed of running away together someday, like, hijacking one of the Noxian ships and leaving everything behind to process their traumas (okay, two kudos and I might think about writing such a fic, lol).

But instead of any of this character study, we got... nothing. Not even a satisfying reason for their fallout. No contemplations from either of them about what they meant to each other. Just a glaring void where their dynamic should’ve been. So, so disappointing.

[damian-lil-babybat]

DAMIAN WAYNE IS A GREEK TRAGEDY

When I say Damian al Ghul Wayne has almost all the ingredients of a classical Greek Tragedy, it is not an empty claim.

1. Tragic Hero: The hero facing his destiny with dignity. His virtuous character forms a bond with the audience, while his tragic flaw results in the audience’s fear for him, and his terrible punishment reveals a sense of pity.

Damian is the hero of his own story. In his mind, he was given a destiny, a standard to live up to. It came from his grandfather, as Hafid al Ghul, son of the Demon. It came from his mother, as her Alexander, with Talia deluding herself as Olympias. It came from his father, as the son of Batman.

He thought himself perfect on all those role, mighty ones they might be, heavy and overwhelming even, but he persevered in ways that should be impossible and ultimately achieved the pinnacle of a perfect heir for all of them.

2. Tragic Flaw: The human limitations of the hero or an error in judgement leading to the downfall. He attempts to escape from his destiny; however, he unknowingly runs toward it. His attempt leads him to his “damnation”.

But what he thought was perfection, was his downfall. For even if he was designed and raised to be perfect, those roles are fashioned by imperfect mortals. As the son of the Batman, he was all too much of a monster to even be treated as child, let alone a son. As the son of the Demon, he was too soft, kind, and all too human, to sit upon the al Ghul's immortal throne. As the great Alexander, he was deemed as a mere pawn, a victim of circumstance, and not a victor of his own fate.

He was set up for failure before his story even began.

3. Catastrophe: The horrible ending of the play: death, suicide, ruin etc. Upon the truth being revealed about Oedipus’ origin, Queen Jocasta commits suicide by hanging herself, Oedipus stabs his eyes with the pin on Jocasta’s dress and pleads to be exiled from the city.

And just like all tragedies, it ends up in death...so many deaths and sacrifices. Repeat and rinse, the cycle continues with each redeeming arc punctuated by his death or ruin.

And just like Sisyphus, one must imagine him to be happy. For how else could he endure these unending trials?

4. Central Belief of Destiny: The belief of the fact that the actions were preordained by the gods and the flaw was inevitable. Even though Oedipus attempts to flee from his preordained destiny, the belief in inevitable destiny becomes the reason for his destruction.

How else could he keep harking on to his destiny? Desperately clinging to it like a promise gold once he touched it like Midas' cursed hands? But no, everything he touches turns to dust, every height he scale would be pushed down reverting him back to his old bare bones of an unwanted worthless child from both side of his parents, even how much he tries to make things right. Every person or thing he treasured is another ammunition for plot purposes to make him more tragic than he already was.

Damian had tried to flee before, but fate always brings him back. Because Batman needs a Robin. But Bruce already has a Robin, doesn't he? Because Damian needs to be Robin? Just cause, who would he be then? When all those titles he earned has been discarded and thrashed in the light of Batman's justice?

And the only one title he could be proud of is always threatened to be taken away if he just as much cross an invisible line that keep on changing depending on whims of the doomed narrative.

5. The Chorus: Approximately twelve masked men, forming a specific group, make comments on the ongoing play by singing and dancing.

Due to its form of media, Damian has no twelve singing and dancing masked men. XD

BUT If I have a say on this, I'll give Damian his own set of bardic troupe narrating his life story, and maybe somehow DC writers would finally admit he was loved and wanted, and was never alone and actually have family, companions and friends along the way!

https://www.byarcadia.org/post/ancient-greek-tragedy-101-the-introduction

AND THAT IS WHY it makes more sense for writers to like and, or dare I say, even love Damian's character.

A lot of great fanfictioners in AO3 actually root for this little guy. So it's nice ✌️

[cowboygideon]

Vi is such a fantastic character because she's buff, and she's allowed to be buff. Like she's not "girl buff" with giant tits and a giant ass and then just vaguely defined arm muscles (and I mean "girl buff" as in how television depicts women who are supposed to be muscular, like superheros and soldiers and athletes.) She's a great character for a bunch of other reasons, too, but I'm tired of the media being too scared to give female characters genuine muscles (and combat skills that aren't completely reliant on just speed or agility instead of strength—or their ability to seduce men and catch them off-guard enough to beat them.)

[tiresiasbuttlicker72]

I HATE PEOPLE WHO MAKE NIGHTMARE KIND AND NICE !!!1!1! NO THE FUCK HE WOULD NOT TAKE CARE OF LITTLE DREAM HE WOULD INDOCTORNATE THAT BOY INTO BELIEVING HE (MARE) WAS THE ONE AND ONLY TRUE SAVIOR LIKE HE DID WITH PASSIVE !!!!!!!!!!1! HE DOES NOT CARE ABOUT HIS CREW THEY ARE PAWNS TO HIM !!!! DISPOSABLE !!!! IF ONE OF THEM DIED HED PAINT IT AS A NECESSARY LOSS TO KEEP THE OTEHRS STILL BRAINWASHED !!!!1!1! ITD BE NOTHING MORE THAN A MINOR ANNOYANCE TO HIM BC HED THEN HAVE TO FIND A REPLACEMENT !!!!!!!!!!1!111!!1! LET HIM BE EVIL AND AN ABSOLUTELY DEPLORABLE AND HORRIBLE PERSON WHO ISNT EVEN DESERVING OF THE MONIKER "PERSON" !!!!!!!! HE HAS BEEN ALIVE FOR CENTURIES HE DGAF ABT ANYONE OTHER THAN HIMSELF !!1!!!!11

[thornieta]

Rewatching Lost and I’m on s2 and I forgot how ominous the others seemed before their ‘official’ introduction?

Like it’s so laughably funny in retrospect that they were painted as these inhuman, incomprehensible collective entity. The tail-end survivors are under the impression they’re some kind of supernatural force, capable of moving through the jungle without leaving trace, and possessing a knowledge of the island’s layout that they can’t even dream of replicating.

I see a lot of complaints online that the show was better before the Others were revealed but honestly I love that, in a show full of bored gods and ancient temples, the Others were just people. People who’d grown with the jungle, adapted to tread lightly and move fast. People who spent their time bickering over book clubs and watching TV. I loved the later addition that the crash shook up their way of life almost as much as those on the plane; suddenly faced with a new group of people, unaware what that will entail for them.

In conclusion I really enjoyed the gradual portrayal of the Others within the show; their slow transition from omnipresent malevolent force, to a group of people thrust into a unique situation.

(I still firmly hold the belief that everyone was collectively winging it for a solid 90% of the first two season. I mean, there’s no indication that plane’s regularly crash; I can only assume that the last ‘surviving’ addition to the island was Rousseau. None of those mfs were at all prepared for 60+ people to suddenly appear. Props to Ben for coming up w a plan in the .5 seconds he had to register a PLANE CRASHING bcs that could not be me)

[souracidicgrapes]

we are losing what it means to function as a society cuz why are people not tagging what’s in their fics!?! i purposefully click to exclude a tag and then i see an author write “sorry this has tag” in the description. tag! your! works! the system is there for a reason!!

on a more serious note tho tagging is actually rlly important on a site like ao3. it is one of the few sites that has no censorship or blocking because it’s an archive, and for some reason ppl aren’t realizing how rare that is! the tagging system is specifically made so people can decide what type of content they want to interact with and avoid but for some reason theres been a recent spike of ppl wanting ao3 to have an algorithm or to start blocking certain material, which goes against the whole point of the site! the tagging system is there to prevent readers from interacting with content they don’t want to see, but the whole system is futile when things aren’t properly tagged.

srry if this might be an unimportant issue to you but it must be said.

[fankitcanuwo]

What are your thoughts on boss, as a character?

I ABSOLUTELY LOVE BOSS AS A CHARACTER

SPOILERS FOR "CHARLIE IN UNDERWORLD" BELOW AS I GO ON MY TANGENT

Edit: I wrote like a whole A$$ essay under here so uh- just be warned 😭 sorry for the long answer @leahisnowlosinghersanityx ! Can I call you Leah? (Mainly a joke since your user is long haha ^^')

(I really love silly ghosts okay?)

(I'm a little rusty in the story, and I am replaying ciu recently, but I haven't gotten past the second(?) Chapter yet, so please forgive me and correct me on any mistakes I might make ^^')

OK, so. Boss to me isn't a bad guy, so to say. He has flaws and makes PLENTY of mistakes throughout the series.

In Underworld office, Eugene first meets Boss when he saves his life. At first he seems cold and distant. But my first impression of him when I was playing the game (for the first time) was that there was something deeper going on behind his defensive walls.

And as the chapters went by, it proved true for me when I saw how soft he got around the other's and Eugene. He even got angry for River's safety and Eugene (unintentionally) putting her in danger. He does care for the people of the underworld office, and he will continue to do so, even after the end of the second game.

Over the course of the first game, I became VERY fond of Boss, especially with his arcs with the others. (Like Eugene being a surrogate son to him, and the relationships between his friends)

As for the deeper parts of his character, over all, I believe that Boss is a deeply troubled character who has a deep sense of self loathing.

In the monster Eugene ending, he describes that Eugene, angry and wanting to lash out with vengeance, reminds him of himself, and tells Eugene there might be hope for him still, taking him into the team with the others, though all of them are pretty upset in ANY ending that Eugene is no longer mortal.

Boss does not see himself in a positive light. Or at least, not often. And it shows here, as well in a lot of other places too! Especially if you know where to look.

In "Charlie in underworld", we get more knowledge and insight into boss's life before he was a ghost.

(Again, I'm rusty on the lore, so please correct me if I'm wrong)

Boss, back then, didn't veiw himself in a positive way either.

When Boss's "friend" (I put friend in quotation marks because I don't think Boss considered him a friend, even if the man was trying to be his friend) was recently married. He brings up the wedding to boss, either why he didn't attend or other reasons, I can't remember.

Boss seems bitter about the fact that he himself can't seem to find a single person who would be interested in him. The man feels bad, and I don't remember much of the conversation, but I believe that Boss was bitter about this, which is why he was so closed off.

While we didn't get a true name for Boss, i believe he was reffered to as a shaman of sorts, which is also interesting.

Throughout the flashbacks, We see that for the majority of his life, if not all of it, Boss has been pressured by tradition (I think) and family, the weight of which is always on his shoulders. If I remember correctly, his family in specific protected a ancient area in which was one of the MANY gateways between the afterlife and the mortal realm.

I believe that his mother shamed and disgraced him for being unable to find anyone to marry, or to get a wife, to which I think (correct me if I'm wrong) BOSS APOLOGIZES FOR. (Which ticks me off- but it's fine)

he is tasked to protect the cave alone for the rest of his life I believe- but I also think there was more to this.

I probably missed this, but apparently (again, correct me if I'm wrong, i cant remember this well) Boss encountered a man/ghost during his time in the military (which also probably changed him) and promised that he would try his best to bring his son's spirit to rest or something.

Boss died in the cave he was protecting, and he kept protecting the area (or maybe other areas like it) even after his life was over.

After he shares his memories with Eugene and Charlie, I believe he explains himself more, which brings to light that he still blames and faults himself for everything in his life. To which, as Charlie, we have the option to call out that all of that is BS and it wasn't his fault thst so many things went wrong in his lifetime, but also calls him out on his selfish actions. Which I agree with strongly-

OKAY- now that I'm done with the boss biography, I'll actually start getting to my point. (Sorry guys)

Boss kept the ghosts of the underworld office around mostly because he was lonely. He was desperate for company and companions, and so he selfishly kept them from their own journey in the afterlife so he could continue doing his job with company. Even going so far as to essentially hold River hostage by keeping her keepsake away from her.

By no means are these actions excusable, what he did WAS terrible. But in the end, he did regret it, the entire time. He had just let his fear and anxiety control him. In fact this shows constantly.

When the others in the group constantly talk and confidently say that "he is never wrong" and "boss is always right", Boss tends to simply reply with "...". Which I interpret as his guilt, because HE KNOWS he's lying to them, and he isn't always right, but decides to say nothing.

And while River is overpowering Boss, threatening and probably planing to tear him to shreds, she scratches his neck/throat with her claws. As she does, the wounds become pure white almost immediately, which causes River to stop and hesitate. She realizes something and then warns boss that this will be a reminder for him, a penance if you will, and then moves on to the other life.

I believe that why his wounds turned white, is because boss actively believes that by letting himself be hurt and 'punished' is a good decision.

In other words, he believes that letting himself be hurt and possibly destroyed by the people he hurt, is what he deserves. He believes that he deserves pain, hurt, and perhaps even physical punishment, because of the hurt he had caused the people he cared about the most.

In the end, he is willing to try and forgive himself, to try and make things better, but he thinks it's best if he leaves Eugene and Charlie alone to continue their lives, without his influence, so he leaves. He leaves to find himself in the world, because he wasn't able to when he was alive.

And I wish nothing but the best for him.

Boss is a VERY deep and intriguing character, and he is one of my all time favorite game characters EVER.

Hes like an ACTUAL human being- not those flat idiot and single-minded/purposed characters on hallmark TV shows.

He has FLAWS. He had Strengths, weaknesses, regrets! EMOTION! As much as Boss tries to keep up his walls and hide his true feelings from others (with only a few exceptions to his friends), we can see throughout the games that this isn't the case. I think the most aware of this would be Joan, who seems to understand him a bit more than the others, and gives some wise words on how once you get to warm up to him, and he warms up to you, then you'll see that he's not as tough as he looks.

Charlie also seems more aware of this as time goes on, especially later in the game.

Boss may also see Eugene as a son-figure because he never had one. He was never able to get married and have a family. Eugene grows on him very quickly, and it shows through his actions.

Boss is just a very big softy, a confused, hurt, possibly scared, afraid to be alone, and troubled softy.

And i love him, and want nothing but the best for him in his journey.

I know this will likely never happen, but I would love to see more of him in the story of the Underworld office series <:].

Thanks for coming to my Ted talk 😭

[serial-serializednovelreader]

It's crazy to me that people call Jonathan a himbo, he's so methodical and clever! It makes sense that Mina would be attracted to someone bright too

Yes, anon, you’re so speaking my language!!! I do wish people would stop calling Jonathan a himbo because — nothing against himbos — but Jonathan is not one of them! And yes, it totally makes sense that Mina would attracted to someone as clever as him, and since she’s also so smart, I’m sure the feeling is mutual.

Before y’all come shouting in my inbox “what do you have against himbos??” and “Jonathan is totally a himbo, what are you talking about?” Let me clear things up:

First of all, I love himbos!!! Kronk from Emperor’s New Groove — peak himbo, imo — is one of my favorite characters. Am I attracted to them? Well…no. As you can probably tell from my last Nova’s Notes, I’m more the kind of person who’s attracted to cleverness or when people nerd out. BUT I cherish himbos for all of their wonderful qualities and if I ever get the opportunity to meet one in real life, I would love to be friends with them! <3333

Secondly, for anyone who’s still saying Jonathan is a himbo…

Himbos have to embody all three qualities equally to be considered himbos! If they are not kind? Not a himbo. Not strong? Not a himbo, I’m sorry! I do make the rules of himbo, I simply follow the rules.

Now on to our good friend Jonathan Harker’s case.

He is undeniably kind. From what we’ve seen so far (not to mention later), he is not only loving to his fiancée, he is kind to strangers as well. He takes gifts from the villagers, even if he does not understand them. Just a couple of entries ago, he was willing to risk his life over a child he didn’t even know (and the same night after he had screamed running away from the women, too). Some of the Dracula Daily book club on here suspects (as do I) that some of the reason he’s so eager to spring into action the next day is to put a stop to Dracula’s evilness for other people, not just for himself. Heck, he’s even talked about Dracula’s good qualities after finding out he’s a prisoner!!! So, kindness? Yes! ✅

As for strong, there’s not as much evidence here, but I would call him somewhat strong because not just anyone could successfully scale a castle wall twice in one day like that! That takes a lot of strength in your core, arms, back, etc. Sure, Dracula can do it — but Dracula is also a vampire with super strength. Maybe it’s easier than I think it is, but I’m not exactly going to look for a castle to try it!! So for Jonathan to crack his knuckles and go “yeah, he can do it, why can’t I?” is both hilarious and shows that he must know something of his own strength. However, he’s also a solicitor and I doubt he’s built like a bodybuilder. So, strong? Maybe not as much as a typical himbo, but let’s give him the check mark because Lizard Fashion is nothing to sneeze at. ✅

Now for the ditzy part….I’d have to say no to that. Himbos are meant to not be “the sharpest tool in the shed” (yes, I did have to hit you with a Smash Mouth reference, sorry not sorry) and Jonathan is farrrrr from that.

Everything he has done so far has been methodical and smart. I covered this in my other Nova’s Notes (you can look under the hashtag on my page if you want to see more :D) so I really don’t want to go through too much I’ve already gone through, but the arguments I’ve seen for him being a himbo — based on the entries we’ve already read — are that he’s not smart because he:

Doesn’t heed villager’s warnings

“Let’s” himself become a prisoner

Is nice to Dracula after he knows he’s a prisoner

Talks about his fiancée a lot (???????)

For the first point, we’ve gone over this, but here we go again — he doesn’t heed the villager’s warnings, no. But keep in mind none of them actually say “The Count is a super dangerous man!! Don’t trust him!!!” Here’s the passage:

“When I asked him if he knew Count Dracula, and could tell me anything of his castle, both he and his wife crossed themselves, and, saying that they knew nothing at all, simply refused to speak further. It was so near the time of starting that I had no time to ask any one else, for it was all very mysterious and not by any means comforting.

Just before I was leaving, the old lady came up to my room and said in a very hysterical way:

‘Must you go? Oh! young Herr, must you go?’ She was in such an excited state that she seemed to have lost her grip of what German she knew, and mixed it all up with some other language which I did not know at all. I was just able to follow her by asking many questions. When I told her that I must go at once, and that I was engaged on important business, she asked again:

‘Do you know what day it is?’ I answered that it was the fourth of May. She shook her head as she said again:

‘Oh, yes! I know that! I know that, but do you know what day it is?’ On my saying that I did not understand, she went on:

‘It is the eve of St. George's Day. Do you not know that to-night, when the clock strikes midnight, all the evil things in the world will have full sway? Do you know where you are going, and what you are going to?’ She was in such evident distress that I tried to comfort her, but without effect. Finally she went down on her knees and implored me not to go; at least to wait a day or two before starting. It was all very ridiculous but I did not feel comfortable.

So here’s the thing: you can see that the only thing the innkeeper’s wife explicitly warns him against is going to the castle that night because it’s a day in their culture where evil spirits are considered to have full sway.

The innkeeper’s wife does ask him if he knows “where he is going and who is going to” — he says no, but she does not speak further on the matter. When he asked about the Count before this, they just refused to speak! I know that may seem like an implicit warning — and it is — but some people on here act as if Jonathan was supposed to have known why they were crossing themselves and immediately have left? Like, he obviously feels uncomfortable, but as he states before and afterwards: he has a job to do. If you were in his position: a newly-appointed lawyer (or position of your choice), and you went to a place where the locals told you not to visit your client that night because it was a night where evil spirits would come out: would you honestly believe them? And if you asked about what your client was like and they just crossed themselves and refused to speak on the matter, would you simply leave the town and tell your boss “nah, sorry, the villagers warned me against him. I decided this client’s not for me”? I guess that honestly depends on you, but I would think not if you want to keep your job!! I know that’s not ideal, but to be fair, he also is not given a fair warning before going in.

There is also that incident in the carriage where he hears those villagers talking and he picks up bits and pieces (including the words werewolf and vampire) but a) they’re not talking to him and b) he doesn’t pick up enough to even indicate who they’re talking about!! In fact, he thinks they’re badmouthing him!!! (Which is understandable, he can only hear a bit and he’s translating on the fly). Again, how he is supposed to automatically know: “oh, Count Dracula is a vampire and I must flee this place immediately.” We know that because Dracula has been a pop culture icon for 100+ years, but Jonathan doesn’t have that kind of knowledge. I feel it’s kind of ridiculous to call him not smart for not knowing this.

However, and this is important, he does take some of this warning to heart. He does take the crucifix and the other vampire-repellent gifts the villagers bestow upon him, despite his skepticism and ignorance of the culture (thanks, English colonization /s). He feels uncomfortable and anxious before he even goes into the castle, literally saying goodbye to Mina in his diary in case he doesn’t make it back!! He keeps the crucifix in his room and uses it to ward off bad dreams and for safety against Dracula (which is not really how he’s supposed to use it, but he wasn’t really told how, so I don’t really blame him for that).

I don’t think a himbo would’ve picked up that something was amiss at any of these points, not until it was too late at least. I think for this test, just picture Kronk (or your fav himbo) in this situation. Would they even notice something was up? Or would they go cheerfully towards the castle?

As for the second point — this is kind of unrelated to the himbo question but — what kind of victim-blame mentality is this????? I have seen people unironically (at least I’m pretty sure it is?) post that Jonathan deserves the abuse he’s getting because he didn’t heed the villager’s warnings (which I already talked about above) and/or he’s “rude” to Dracula. I’m sorry — WHAT???? So if you’re rude to somebody they’re to allowed to lock you up in their castle???? That’s a fair trade? I beg your pardon?! Just…ok. Believe what you want, but maybe let’s not blame the guy who’s been a prisoner in a random stranger’s castle for a month and is sure he’s about to die? Yes, this is fictional and not that deep, but still — weird take.

Back to the himbo question, I mean, he doesn’t really let himself become a prisoner. He’s at Dracula’s castle for a job. Once he’s done with that job he’s ready to leave, but Dracula makes him stay because he literally locks him in!!! He then explicitly tells him he will stay longer and Jonathan has to accept because he is there in place of his boss, and saying no would be like speaking (negatively) for his boss — and Jonathan is not going to do that. Correct me if I’m wrong, but I don’t think a himbo would be able to see all of that subtext within that conversation. I actually don’t know this kind of interaction between a true himbo and Dracula would go, but I imagine not well. Dracula thrives off of interesting conversation and wit, as well as being able to maintain a facade of host and guest. I just don’t see if someone like Kronk could maintain that for long because he would probably be like “but I don’t want to stay longer, let me go” or something, which would end the “game”.

Moving on to the third point, he is nice to Dracula after he knows he’s a prisoner for a reason. When he realizes he’s locked up (which he realizes super fast, by the way), he sits down and has a good, long think about what he can do. More passage evidence!

“I am thinking still, and as yet have come to no definite conclusion. Of one thing only am I certain; that it is no use making my ideas known to the Count. He knows well that I am imprisoned; and as he has done it himself, and has doubtless his own motives for it, he would only deceive me if I trusted him fully with the facts. So far as I can see, my only plan will be to keep my knowledge and my fears to myself, and my eyes open. I am, I know, either being deceived, like a baby, by my own fears, or else I am in desperate straits; and if the latter be so, I need, and shall need, all my brains to get through.”

So he knows Dracula is up to something (or he’s jumped to conclusions) and either way, talking about it is a bad idea. The only way through is to act like nothing’s wrong for now and try to get information out of Dracula. Other than that, he’s going to need to use his brains! Yes, he does talk to Dracula and acts nice — but it’s with a plan and a purpose. Dracula has creeped him out from the start, but he has always been able to maintain good cheer around him. Now, he will put that to use.

So for this himbo test, it’s kind of similar to the second one. Were Kronk in this situation, he would make it by for a while because he probably wouldn’t notice the doors are locked. But once he did…I’m not sure if it would be like the second point where he’d immediately tell Dracula “hey why are all of the doors locked” and the game is up or if his shoulder angel/devil characters would come out to help him. I guess it depends! And to Kronk’s credit, he has figured things out before (e.g. figured out who Pacha was and in relation to Kuzco) *but* it took him like 12 hours after the fact and that’s not how Jonathan operates. Jonathan figures out things pretty quickly. Does he need time to think sometimes? Yes. But he’s pretty much always thinking and trying to figure out more once he’s at Castle Dracula. I just don’t see these two in the same vein here.

For the final point, I haven’t seen much evidence for this, but it needs to be addressed. I think sometimes people tend to equate WifeGuy with “no thoughts, head empty only for wife” and that can be true!!! There are definitely characters like that and I do love them so. Jonathan is undeniably a WifeGuy (and Mina’s not even his wife in name yet), bringing her up anytime he gets a chance. I would argue though that just because he’s in love and brings her up a ton doesn’t mean he’s also not clever and methodical. You can be in love and smart: these can coexist. Mina is a very smart character from what we’ve seen already and she’s in love too!

I don’t really have a Kronk case study for this one, but like anon said — I think Mina is attracted to Jonathan for his smartness and it goes both ways. They love each other for many other reasons (there’s a lot to love!), but I imagine that’s kind of the cherry on top for them.

Why does this matter? I think calling Jonathan a himbo is reducing his character a bit here. Again, I’m not saying being a himbo is bad, but it does discredit his methodical ways and strategy he has in the castle. His methodical nature is part of personality and pretending that doesn’t exist erases his character, in my opinion. Additionally, it raises the question: could a himbo become a lawyer? I…don’t think so…but maybe? Find me a himbo who’s a lawyer and prove me wrong I guess! Wait is Phoenix Wright a himbo…? Question for another time.

In conclusion, Jonathan Harker only passes 1 part of the himbo test (kindness) with flying colors. The strong test he only passes by the tail of his lizard fashion, and as for ditzy? He fails miserably. Recall that for someone to be a true himbo, they have to possess all three traits equally. Even if you could make the case for one, you’d still be missing another. So, no, I don’t think Jonathan Harker is a himbo. You can maybe argue with me that he has himbo moments (if that’s a thing, idk), but overall? No.

[evi-anxiety]

Do you think the paladins regret not spending more time with Allura and get to know her better than just a princess?

Like "do you remember when we were not in mission or training, and she would act totally different. I wish we all could spend time like that back then, not princess or paladins, just friends"

I definitely think there's an interesting divide between "Princess Allura" and just "Allura".

It's clear that the Paladins saw Allura as some kind of leader figure, you know, being the princess of Altea and all that stuff. That being said, I think the loss of "Allura" to the Paladins was a two-way struggle.

On one hand, the Paladins kind of blocked out Allura as being more than a leader pretty early on. We can especially see this in the earlier seasons, where they will do activities and stuff without her present (I think "Space Mall" is a great example of this). I don't think this was done intentionally, but Allura's death forced them to confront this fact.

On the other hand, I think Allura also contributed to this divide. She had a lot on her shoulders, not only being the leader of a dying race, but also the leader of Voltron (in the sense that she was teaching the Paladins how to be Voltron). She was their space guide, their sense of security, and they put a lot of trust on her word.

That being said, she also made a lot of mistakes as a leader, and I think she put the pressure of those failures on herself. So she built this sort of persona of herself to the other Paladins. Leader first, then her second.

To answer your question, I 100% agree that the Paladins regret not spending enough time with just "Allura". They were so caught up in their own needs for a person to fall back that they failed to realize Allura had her own troubles as a person of authority. They cared about her, of course, but I think as a found family a lot of characters had trouble showing that they care.

Idk, maybe after Allura's death they try to come up stories about her outside of missions, and they just. Can't.

[aleksanderscult]

Analyzing one of the Darkling's most notorious lines

Even though nobody asked for it, I want to analyze one of Aleksander's most controversial lines.

And it's none other than:

"I will strip away all that you know, all that you love, until you have no shelter but me."

Most people say that it's proof of his evilness and he can have no redemption and blah, blah. But we miss the big picture here. It's too easy to take a line, say it's evil and move on. I'm not that kind of person. I always look deeper (as you have already noticed) and in this line too there are so many things that can be drawn from about the way he was raised, his mentality at that point of the book and the lengths he would go to take Alina for himself.

Because, my dear people, it's more than a toxic line.

1) I'm gonna start with the most obvious one which is his possessiveness. I've already analyzed this point here so I'm not going to dwell for long.

In the beginning, Aleksander was (more than) willing to kill Mal 'cause he was the greatest obstacle between him and Alina. But as the latter gained more and more allies and friends the number of the people that Aleksander had to kill increased. He knew that she created bonds with most of them something that contrasts his own situation. Because he has none. He has soldiers. He has allies. He has his nichevo'ya. But he has no bond with anyone. Except with Alina. A girl that is too dependent, too caring with her friends so he has to do something about it. There is no way Alina will ever love him as long as those people are alive and he knows it. She will always fight him and push him away as long as there are beloved places to fight for and familiar people to turn to.

So what can he do about it? Destroy everything she cares about and apparently he has already started. He burned the orphanage, the place where she grew up, and killed the only mother figure she ever knew. If, one by one, her comforts are destroyed then Aleksander will be the only person she knows. Yes, in the beginning she will still fight him but as Aleksander has said "You will find I have more practice with eternity". And in the end he would win. Alina would give up. She would surrender to him and give herself completely to the Darkling 'cause he will be the ONLY familiar face she knows. She would forgive him and love him since what other choice could she have? There is none other left.

And for Aleksander it would be the same but for him it would be a victory. Because they have each other at last. No one would keep her away from him and he finally has a person that he can share the eternity with.

(Not me saying that I won't dwell for long and I wrote two paragraphs)

2) This one I consider the most important. This whole "I'm gonna cut you off from every person so you'll have only me" doesn't sound kind of familiar??🤔🤔

Ah, yes. Baghra of course!

For those of you who have read "Demon in the Wood" you know what I mean. But for those who haven't I will explain.

When he was a child, Aleksander kept asking his mother about his father.

Where is he?

Is he dead?

Who was he?

But he never got a good answer. He never knew anything about him.

It's possible that Baghra told him that he was a powerful Heartrender. But even that is not confirmed in text. We, the fans, guess it because the Darkling always showed favor to Heartrenders. And he might did this out of some repressed fondness for him.

But anyway back to Baghra. It's obvious that she didn't want him to think or feel anything about his father. She chose to keep everything a secret to her son in order to cut him off from any bond he could create with his father.

I believe she did this for two reasons:

A) Because she's not one for sentiment, as the Darkling himself had once said. She's not the type of person to say to her children "Oh my sweeties! Your father was tall and handsome with dark hair. He was a really good man". Not in a million years I imagine her to behave or say something like that.

B) Because she wants him for herself. When she was a child her mother didn't care at all for her. She only showed love towards her otkazat'sya sister. And the same went for her father. She saw a powerful Grisha bring an otkazat'sya back to life and he got killed for it. So, two members of her family died leaving her behind.

And when she gave birth to a powerful son, she wants him to stay with her forever. To love her and be his only companion. She didn't treat him with open love. She didn't kiss him goodnight and there is evidence that she verbally and emotionally abused him. If he ever did something that she didn't like, that didn't go along with her opinions and plans, she opposed him and scolded him. But she did it because she knew that he would always forgive her. He would always come back to her because there is no one else like them. Powerful, immortal, filled with so many and similar experiences.

They say that sometimes victims replicate the same pattern when they grow up.

And with the Darkling it's true.

Now he does the same to Alina. And whatever else he also did to her is a result of Baghra's upbringing that he repeats. He wants her to depend on him, to turn to him for love and company. To forget everyone else. Because no one will understand her like he does. And when he kills people she cares about, when he destroys places that mean something to her, he does it because he knows that she'll forgive him. Because she'll realize that he's the only one that will stay with her forever. Everyone else is dust and bones but not them.

Furthermore, eternity will make her tired of fighting him and hating him. "You'll tire of everything" as the Darkling said. Just like he did.

So yes, in this infamous line we can see that Baghra's manipulation and abuse towards him affected him and rubbed off him.

Here he speaks like her.

3) I think we all agree that the Darkling's dream to provide a safe home and life to the Grisha and put an end to the constant wars that Ravka suffers from is noble and reasonable. He's actually the only person that DOES something about this.

But by book three the Darkling's mentality has gotten worse, in large part because of Alina's constant rejections. She keeps slipping away from his hands, she keeps fighting him and she always keeps her power away from him. A power that he desperately needs and awaited for hundreds of years. All of these have made him almost mad from fury and despair and even though his strategic skills haven't been diminished, he now seems more concerned about having Alina than giving the Grisha a haven. He's no longer mentally stable to do it especially after he saw his mother commit suicide. Right now, he's willing to go to extreme, brutal lengths to have her and fuck the world and the casualties that are needed for this.

In conclusion, that line of his goes deeper than "oH mY GoD hE'S sO EviL! ThE ToXiCiTY!".

Yes, he's toxic and that line was toxic as well but what can you expect from a person that was raised by an abusive parent, never had a home, never had friends, didn't know how to form healthy bonds with others, saw so many loved ones die a mortal death and couldn't stop the wars that plagued his country?

Toxicity was the only path eternity would allow him to take apparently.

And if you want to know my opinion. I don't see the Darkling as the villain, but as an anti-villain (an anti-villain is a character that has a noble goal but the means he uses to achieve it is controversial and catastrophic, like Magneto).

A man that had a viable plan to stop the Grisha persecution but when you are immortal and see atrocities again and again for hundreds of years your heart becomes colder and harder. I don't think he took pleasure from killing people (like Voldemort, for example). For him they were just casualties of a war that, according to him, needed to be sacrificed. And he saw them this way because they were dust and bones for him. There was once a time (when he was much younger and more innocent) when he saw people as people. With their own lives and emotions. But the constant loss of people he cared about made him stop trying. Stop trying to make bonds and feel emotions (and this aspect of him was confirmed by the author itself in an interview).

Just like he said in the same scene:

“I have lived a long life, rich in grief. My tears are long since spent. If I still felt as you do, if I ached as you do, I could not have borne this eternity.”

He used to cry but not anymore.

He used to feel grief, sorrow and emotional pain but he forced himself to withdraw from any sentimentality.

He had closed his heart a looong time ago.

(UNTIL ALINE CAME AND PIERCED THAT ARMOR HEHE)

[saltcxrcle]

RANT INCOMING

i’m aware this is just a me thing and a headcanon but…

you can’t sit here and tell me that sam and dean don’t exclusively go after white women as love interests 😭😭

we only see them be paired up with white women and it lowkey irks me.

and yes i know geographically that the show mostly takes place throughout the country in small towns in the midwest where it’s predominantly white people with some minorities sprinkled throughout.

but the only POC that we see either of the guys with is dean with cassie and that’s it 😭 (i may be wrong and that’s okay).

i would have love to have seen dean or sam with a POC as a love interest (or just a little more poc representation in general).

(this is a me thing and biased bc im half asian) but sam would have been into asian women (THERE I SAID IT).

i’m highly aware that i’m complaining about POC representation for a show that ended almost over 4 years ago, but as i watch the show, i can’t help but notice this.

don’t get me wrong i LOVE the show but it doesn’t mean that i can’t criticize it.

but yeah that’s my 2 cents on this (i def have more to say but i just wanted to keep this short lol)

[hedwig221b]

I must must must tell you, Eros mania is one of my all time favorite sterek fics! And trust me when I say I’ve been ballsdeep sterek since like ages lmao! I especially got intrigued by the “cat and mouse” game “stiles” was playing pushing the limit of what is/is not cheating despite him being taken over by an evil spirit. The part where real Stiles gets horrified by what’s happening and begs for mercy from Derek sobbing on his feet, it realllly made me yearn for a plot like that in the future lmao. One where their love is put to test with adultery~ in loose terms because it depends for people what is seen as cheating and what not. But 🤔 yeah really loved this aspect in the story, wouldn’t mind to see it explored some more in your future works hehe. Thank you for bestowing this masterpiece upon us mere peasants

Thank you soooooo much, darling! 💗💜💗💜💗

Eros Mania Amor is one of my faves as well, so thank you for sharing the love! Stiles playing and being all flirty with anyone other than Derek was sooo weird to write, I was like "Derek! Come get your man" all the time lol, and he definitely did!

I know it's weird to say this, especially considering what happens in the fic (nothing happens!!!) but cheating in fics is sooooooooo not my thing. Sorry! Like, EMA situation is the only way for me to explore the "cheating" aspect, or that one scene I did in Predators. Or the whole situation of Angel, Ignited.

It's when one of them has to, or forced to. Never because they would actually cheat. And they suffer the entire time because it's so unbearable and unnatural to be with another. Like, that scene you mentioned with Stiles falling to his knees and begging for Derek's forgiveness despite him not really cheating (I'll stand on that)... I fucking love that scene.

I mean I can't read them basically with anyone other than each other, I'm so not a multishipper it's bad... Can't even handle exes, I swear, I start yelling and crawling up the walls at the bare mention of st*dia or st*lia or st*o, or Derek with that bitch... and another bitch... or even the badass one god bless her I know she is loved by the fandom but that man is off limits 🚫

So yeah... I mean, I can always twist things like in EMA, but never truly cheating. They are obsessed with each other forever and always 💗

[uhbasicallyjustmilex]

me facing off against the same paragraph for the third night in a row:

[sweepweep]

My hot take on D1:

Hifumi is not the perv of D1. Sure he’s a little odd, he submits like a dog to Celeste, and he loves fictional women, but like so do most of us. He makes some icky comments, but NONE of that even COMPARES to TOKO.

Hifumi’s a little freak but Toko is downright creepy. She stalks Byakuya, ignores him repeatedly telling her no, and makes so many comments about and to him. Not to mention to tons of pervy things shes said to about most of the cast. She’ll accuse them of being creepy then openly enjoy it, meanwhile whoever it was about didn’t even consider the creepy side. Makoto spaced out when meeting her, she accuses him of “undressing her with his eyes” then smiles and giggles and says something about not really minding while blushing

She assumes the perviest of everyone and just really makes them all super uncomfortable. She ignores them asking her to stop

Hifumi may be a bit of an oddball and a bit freaky, but most of it is towards Celeste, who PLAYS INTO IT and ENCOURAGES IT, and fictional women

TLDR: Hifumi’s uncomfortable and odd, but Toko is a literal stalker and ignores all boundaries, making her the perv of D1

[genghisthebrain]

gale being the prim reaper is the most hilariously incorrect take I’ve ever heard in my life

[stop-breaking-my-heart-telltale]

if dorian didn't show up, do you think louis would have shot minnie?

I do. I know some people think either he wouldn't have or he would've missed so that's why the writers had him shoot Dorian instead, but mmmmmm no, I don't personally think so. I like to think that if he had taken the shot, his shaky hands would've caused him to shoot her fatally.

Mostly because I'm already so normal about the fact that of the Ericson crew, Marlon and Louis are the only ones with a body count. Well, that we know of, but shown to us in the game, at least. Plus, we know it's Louis' first kill.

Like yeah, Clementine and AJ become part of the crew and they have bigger body counts, and if we're counting indirect kills caused by actions, then Tenn has a count... and I guess everyone has blood on their hands for blowing up the boat... but I'm talking about killed directly with a weapon like....... I lied, I'm not normal about that at all, Louis and Marlon are the ones who have killed someone in Louis' route. I'm also not normal about the fact that Louis kills Dorian and then even as he's clearly in shock, he tries to go with Clementine to get AJ, and then later on when they talk about it, he says it feels like bile but not quite and he's glad he has it in him to do it.... listen, listen, listen... I'm obsessed with that.

Anyway, so if Louis shot Minerva, I think he would've accidentally killed her and can you imagine? He's already enough of a mess after killing the woman who pinned him down and tried to cut his finger off [or succeeded] but he knew Minerva, they were friends before the twins were taken. Even Violet couldn't kill her even though that would've been the smarter thing to do, and we know thanks to meta knowledge that killing her would've saved lives, but Violet couldn't, and I don't think Louis would intentionally either.

Speaking of Violet, if Louis killed Minerva, I hate to think about what that would've done to Vi. I think she might've actually left at that point, like what was planned before it got changed to her being burned. I don't think she would've attacked Louis over it, though, like yeah she attacked Clementine in the cell but Louis? I don't know, but I don't think so just because it's Louis and he'd be a mess about it anyway.

Though if he did kill her, it would be a neat parallel to draw... y'know, because Louis forgave AJ for killing Marlon even though he was pissed and heartbroken, and Violet was annoyed with him the entire time... but could she ever forgive Louis for killing Minerva? Y'know? We already have a similar parallel with AJ shooting Tenn, but still.

If Clementine killed Minerva in that moment, though, then I could see Violet attacking her since in her eyes, Clem proved her right.

So yeah, I get why they added the Dorian kill to his route. It adds another compelling element to Louis as a character, but we also need Minerva alive for episode 4; Louis can't kill her, he can't miss, and he's not going to stay with her because we need Violet to stay on the boat and him to be on shore for all routes.