#that is just the nature of people nothing can apply to Literally Everybody

[marc--chilton]

(mgv) babies in omegaverse are slightly less frustrating to deal with due to mgv specific vocalizations. rather than having a catch-all cry that can leave parents pulling their hair out trying to figure out what their pup needs, babies start using specific noises to portray their wants very soon after birth (general starting point for this milestone is around one month). they whine for food, cry if they're lonely, chirp for boredom, etc. not only is it a benefit to the pup, but this stress lifting off the parents can also make the idea of having more pups enticing since this period of not-knowing-what-they-want is so short, meaning most of the other unpleasant parts of having a baby get overshadowed

[thesirenisles]

Mercury’s Prophets⚕️🪽

gemini & virgo

love, mythology, astrology observations✨

🌬️Mercury in the 1st house, 3rd house, 6th house,

🌬️Gemini Sun, Ascendant, Rising, Venus, Mercury, Mars, Jupiter, Gemini Stellium

🌬️Virgo Sun, Ascendant, Venus, Mercury, Mars, Jupier, Stellium

🌬️Jupiter in the 3rd house, Jupiter in Gemini, 6th house

🌬️Mercury Dominant, 3rd House Stellium, 6th House Stellium

🌬️Sun-Mercury Aspects, Jupiter-Mercury aspects

“She leapt from the Earth. The free winds of the skies coursed beneath her golden wings as she raced for the clouds… the burden of her omniscience left behind. Nothing but silence above the heavens.”

Fascinating mythological history below! Do not steal any of my original writing. All rights reserved. © 2024 The Siren Isles Support

Voice of the Gods,

Soaring high above, with Godly knowledge ever-expanding… you are a magnificent being, Mercurian.

Gifted with wings to be free of the Earth 🌍 , one might confuse you for an angel.

However, Mercury blesses you with these wings to be a divine messenger, a literal VOICE of the Gods. ✨.

A prophet of sorts if you will. 💁🏾‍♀️

This energy makes you quite attractive, blessing you with divine looks and energy that is welcomed in any room.

When you speak, everyone listens. (Esp. 3rd house). This is a gift and a curse, of course, but it is still very powerful.

People can spot a Mercurian a mile away with your extensive knowledge and mellifluous way of speaking. You have a silver tongue. You could sell water to a fish in the middle of the ocean. (Pisces, I'm talking about you lol. Stop being gullible!).

The words you say leave a lasting impression and can cut someone deep to their core negatively, while also you could bless them greatly with your insightful knowledge and advice! (Because duh, Duality.💁🏾‍♀️)

You are always balancing two halves of yourself. Gemini of Air and Virgo of the Earth.

At your core, you’re both here to make connections and say what needs to be said!

With your planetary ruler being the fastest orbiting planet in our galaxy, you are always in constant, fast motion.

Ideas.. thoughts.. feelings… are always racing through the mind of a Mercurial being. Most are gifted with a natural claircognizance “clear knowing”, which can look different depending on the placement.

Why is this?

Mercury (Hermes to the Greeks, Thoth or Djehuty to the Ancient Egyptians) rules over commerce, communication, short travels, boundaries, intelligence, trickery, and thievery! 👀 LOL

GEMINI or the 3rd house apply these gifts in their natural settings: to the mind, communication, social activity, siblings (twins).

VIRGO or the 6th house on the other hand apply these gifts to their everyday routines and relationships. Less talking and more analysis & servitude. (The maiden).

The Duality of Mercury ⚕️

Virgo vs. Gemini

Mercury was the messenger of the Gods. He was essential to the communication and diplomacy between the realms. Each one trusted him. So, of course he knew them all well... and their dirty laundry.

🐍 Is it no wonder why they seem to know just about everybody and everybody’s business? Do not deny it, Virgo. LOL👀

Although they held more power individually, Mercury held the power of being their collective voice! (Also rules oration) They entrusted him with how and what was said on their behalf… often being a literal translator. (Powerful!)

This is similar to situations many Geminis and Virgos find themselves in. Many will come to you for advice and insert you into their dealings.👀 (As the middleman.)

Geminis on a social level and Virgos often within the family and relationships.

The Gods' divine trust came with plenty of gifts, which you’ll also find true of lovers in this lifetime. People value you and your gifts, which gives you purpose. (A virgo's dream.)

The most significant gift given to Mercury, was perhaps his trademark wand or staff... known as

"The Caduceus"

Per the Greco-Roman mythology, the caduceus was gifted to him by the Sun God, Apollo. A magical olive branch staff with two serpents intertwining around its base.

They say if it touched the dying, it blessed them with a gentle death. However, when applied to the deceased… they would literally return to life. (DUALITY!)

You’ve probably noticed this symbol at our hospitals, on our ambulances, etc.

I like to believe these two snakes themselves are yet another symbol of Mercury’s duality.

One is good and the other bad. One yin. Other yang. One Virgo and One Gemini👀

🐍Mercury was also known as the trickster God or God of thievery!

This is essential to note because I have a theory (possibly far-fetched, but makes so much sense) that this may have a connection to a certain Garden of Eden… where a certain serpent spoke to a certain woman and convinced her to eat the fruit of …. KNOWLEDGE. 🤯

They say that before the caduceus had it's powers, it was just a branch. Mercury was stuck in servitude to the God's.

But…what if… Mercury being the trickster God convinced the maiden (virgo) to bite of the the fruit of knowledge in the forbidden garden and gained a portion of the powers of Mercury that he did not want.

If Virgo took on the need to serve, then Mercury would be free to frolick the realms with his tricks and thievery. He was also remarked as a habitual line-stepper, or boundary-crosser. (This is unevolved Gemini energy all the way)

This really gets deep when you realize that Virgo's sister sign Pisces (whom in my Neptune post, I compared to Persephone) bit of the fruit of Hades in the same curious fashion and was in more or less words cursed!

This does not mean that being of service is a curse in any way, but honestly, the mythology behind this dual planet is fascinating.

I think Virgo actually bossed her side of the energy up to the max. She is the earthy incarnation of her own genius, often never showing just how intelligent she really is... so as not to reveal her cards.

Virgo can bring her wildest ideas to fruition within the Earthy realm! (After it's perfected to her liking of course.) A gift!

However, Virgo can also have some trickery within her nature… often appearing or putting on a more innocent act than she really is.

But, with Mercurian energy there is always the possibility for their beautiful thoughts to come out a bit... wrong.

This brings me to a very important note.

🐍Please beware of false gossip.

It’s inevitable honestly, as people can’t help but give knowledge to a heavenly messenger.

However, with the optional tongue of a serpent… be mindful of the power you possess Mercurians! (Think: Parsel-tongue in Harry Potter Universe.) It’s nothing to play with because here in this Earthly realm, Saturn is dominant and it is the ruler of Karma.

You are a divine PROPHET (or Prophetess). Please handle your energy as such. 🫶🏾

Mercurial Love Bites🐍✨

In love, they’ll have many admirers in several dimensions.

🐍I imagine a Gemini Mercurian as a sapiosexual, playboy of sorts. You’ll have your choosing of many lovers and will probably choose none… in search of new lands and ideas to learn and add to your beautiful collection.

You'll have an array of different tastes (in the bedroom as well) and will share passion with many, as you are a master of tricks.

🐍 It’s hard to lockdown a Godly intelligent being with the ability to fly away at a moments notice.

Many an earthly sign lover and watery soul will long for you and you will spin whimsical circles around them with ease, for you are too quick to catch.

Nothing too heavy or emotional, you must keep it light for this winged beauty or she’ll float away…

But, I do have to ask…my beautiful Geminis, 3rd housers if it ever gets tiresome to always be on the go?

Connecting too much to your air and neglecting your earthly connections through Mercury could leave you afloat for all eternity… alone. (This can of course be counter-acted with other placements in the natal chart.)

🐍Virgo Mercurians on the other hand are much more Earthy with their approach to love. This is the person who has thought very intricately about what the lover of their life will look like, smell like, and even their speech cadence. She eagerly awaits to be a perfect wife, organizing the home, teaching the children, etc.

Many will try to win her, as her innocent.. maiden-like energy is very attractive. While she may appear innocent, she is not naive!

All of her daily beauty routines, outfit curations, and perfected speech will not be wasted on just any man.

The Virgo's analytical eyes has surveyed many a suitor who tried to win her heart. She is looking for the perfect man. The one whom she can serve and assist while being provided for in return.

Better believe, if she chose you.. you have checked all of her boxes. For, she wants an Earthly promise...(AKA, Where's the money? If you ask me, the perfect suitor is perhaps a Capricorn or Taurus dominant. ) But, my Virgo queens... do not neglect your airy influences of Mercury as well. Life can be more rewarding than the material world.

This was a bit longer than i intended! But, I have never seen an in depth explanation of these dual energies of Mercury!

Thank you for reading! Wishing you blessings! 🪽✨

Neptune Observation♓️✨ Pluto Observation ♏️✨ Mars Observation

@thesirenisles | masterlist | Enjoyed? support🧜🏾‍♀️

[razzle-zazzle]

give us the essay, coward

Okay.

The first example of how Skylor and Cole's flaws and personal issues will drive the conflict of the story can be seen in the lines, "High achiever / don't you see? / baby nothing comes for free / they say I'm a control freak / driven by a greed to succeed / nobody can stop me" as they are excellent for Skylor's character; she has learned from her father how to manipulate and play to expectations, and many of her actions in the AU are motivated by Chen's plans and desires due to Skylor feeling unable to escape being his daughter, his tool, raised with love that is wholly conditional and bound to go away if Skylor cannot fulfill expectations.

The next line "'cause it's my problem if I wanna pack up and run away" is an essential Cole line; it is seen both with Lilly and Zane's death that Cole's response to grief is to first assume extra responsibility, then cave and run away when that self-imposed pressure becomes too much for him. As he enters the Tournament still grieving Zane and facing the sudden inevitability of a marriage he's unsure about, he finds himself wanting to run away from the reality of it. "It's my business if I feel the need to smoke and drink and sway" both works to how Kai processed his grief over Zane with self-destructive tendencies and to how Skylor schemes and manipulates for her father's benefit—and thus, her benefit by remaining in his favor—despite these actions going against her nature and personal desires.

"It's my problem / it's my problem if I feel the need to hide" is again another Cole line about how he ducks away from emotionally difficult situations and prefers to stay closed off, as shown during multiple prior points in the series, not the least being the love triangle and how there was a lot Cole could have and wanted to express to Jay but simply didn't until they were all but forced to reconcile in the arena on Chen's island. This also foreshadows how his refusal to tell the other ninja about the engagement comes back to bite him later, prompting him to nearly close off further.

"And it's my problem if I have no friends and feel I want to die." That's just a Skylor line straight up. It's made pretty clear in canon that Chen is a shitty father, and it's also either said or heavily implied that Skylor had never left the island prior to ToE. Thus, there is an aspect of isolation to her character that Chen undoubtedly takes advantage of, and allows her to connect with Kai so quickly over little commonalities.

And that's not even getting into the rest of the song! That's just the second verse! The very opening lines of the song, "I was pulling out my hair / the day I got the deal / chemically calm / was I meant to feel / happy that my life / was just about to change" are like. Ohhhh they are so "Cole getting the invite to the tournament & Skylor spotting him on the ferry" vibes as they both realize that oh, yeah, that whole marriage thing is about to come up, isn't it? From a more literal standpoint the whole "the day I got the deal" line would imply when they first got their pendants, but they were small children at that point who didn't even really understand what being married would actually entail so reuniting at the ferry seems more poignant.

And the next lines "One life pretending to be / the cat who got the cream / oh, everybody said, / 'Marina is a dreamer' / people like to tell you / what you're gonna be" can apply to either Skylor or Cole! Skylor having to be the loyal daughter (the useful tool) or Cole having to live up to one of his parents' legacies (not to mention the whole phase where he was pretending to be a dancer and lying to Lou about it, especially since in Betrothal Cole also lied to Skylor in the exact same way until s01e09 "The Royal Blacksmiths").

"It's not my problem if you don't see what I see / and I do not give a damn if you don't believe / my problem / it's my problem that I never am happy / and it's my problem / it's my problem on how fast I will succeed" is a little less clear to me; "my problem... will succeed" are very clearly Skylor lines, while "it's not my... you don't believe" could be interpreted in a number of ways. If I was making an animatic, I would likely use imagery on those lines that likens to the biggest complication of the whole engagement situation: Chen. He doesn't care what anyone else has to say about the engagement, least of all the engaged pair themselves. It's all a ploy meant to buff up his own power and prestige—which makes it all the more ironic in the end when it's the connection Cole and Skylor make that ultimately causes Chen's downfall.

And I haven't even gotten into the refrain or the bridge yet! The refrain is just... ough it works so well. "Are you satisfied / with an average life? / Do I need to lie / to make my way in life?" Works so so well with how, for all that the marriage would bring major change to Cole's life, Skylor's status quo of being just another asset for her father remains unchanged. And then of course the line about lying both plays into Skylor and Cole's fake dating schtick and to how Skylor can't live a normal life with her own interests because of the role Chen forces her to play.

"Are you satisfied / with an easy ride? / Once you cross the line / will you be satisfied?" In some ways, just going along with the current would make Cole and Skylor's lives easier, for all that Chen would still continue to make everything a thousand times more difficult. Chen lives in blatant luxury despite his exile, and it's implied that the same is afforded to Skylor (so long as she stays in line and acts the perfect daughter, perfect useful tool)—and in this AU, he explicitly uses this luxury to try and tempt Cole into turning against the other ninja, offering an "easy ride" to being on the "winning side" when Chen's plan goes through. And indeed, though Cole is steadfastly loyal to the ninja and Skylor manages to go against her father in a way she can't hide or take back in the end, there a multiple points in the story where it almost seems like they won't and Chen will effectively "win" at convincing them. But not only is crossing the line almost seen with Cole seemingly turning against the ninja—it's actually seen when Skylor fully turns against Chen, thus crossing the line. As such, the refrain applies to the AU in how Cole and Skylor are both presented with opportunities to "go with the flow" or to go against the grain, and whether they can be satisfied with the actions they take.

The bridge is a bit more general Skylor childhood angst, but could also be applied to the slow death of Lilly and how that impacted Cole as a person. Really, it's the second verse and the refrain that carry this song for this AU, and work wonderfully to showcase how Cole and Skylor's particular issues come into play and drive the story forwards—and how Chen also drives things, in his own awful Chen way.

[donnerpartyofone]

Several years ago when I was consistently finding myself awake between 2 and 5am and wondering what I should do about this, I literally stumbled upon a book in the street that blended research into the cultural history of this sleep pattern with a treatise on the phenomenon of the Black Madonna. This drew me into a series of synchronistic experiences that had begun before the discovery of the book and continued to unfurl, and I would probably sound pretty insane if I described the whole thing in detail, which I will not do. But I think that the nature of existence is so unavoidably subjective that there is nothing inherently wrong with conscientiously developing and indulging your own belief system, so long as it isn't causing you to abuse others or "fly" off the top of a building or anything else that interferes with your ability to function. Besides which I'm such a deeply agnostic person that I don't think "belief system" totally applies to my process. I'm not really interested in religion as dogma, but I am interested in it as a record of how human beings grapple with chaos and mystery.

I try to be super aware of my attraction to synchronicity though, I think that it is not usually a good idea to project that the Universe or whatever is trying to communicate something specific to you personally. Mytholigizing is OK if the results are healthy and you're still assuming responsibility for your choices, we all to do a little narrativizing from time to time to give things meaning and to establish a sense of progress. This all came up for me yesterday because I know that the folks at church are starting to wonder if I'll convert, and of course I can never ever explain to them what I'm really doing there. Sometimes I imagine myself converting and just keeping my esoteric reasons to myself, but I just don't think I can promise anybody that I believe in the literal, historical reality of the New Testament. I also feel like the history of the Catholic Church is so vast and complicated that I could never gain a responsible understanding of what I was actually subscribing to. So I was walking around my neighborhood, thinking about all the reasons that wouldn't work for me, when once again I stumbled upon a book in the street. The book was a memoir chronicling an academic atheist's journey to embracing the Catholic Church. I thought, Oh goddammit I can't deal with this. I mean I COULD ignore it, but then I'll just be like WONDERING about it...so I took it home and snuck it out of my bag after I went off to bed. And to my great relief, it was the most annoying thing imaginable, I couldn't get through more than a couple of pages of it. It wasn't well-written despite the author's bragged-about credentials, and it also wasn't written for a general audience (or if it was meant to be, it failed instantly); it was really by and for smug religious people, if it had anything to offer the unconverted I couldn't detect it at all. It only seemed to underline that as per the horseshoe theory of ideology, staunch atheists have more in common with religious zealots than they do with the rest of us. The arrogant, condescending, self-righteous unbeliever is really not that different from the arrogant, condescending, self-righteous fanatic, and when you realize this it comes as absolutely no surprise at all that one could transform into the other. People who are absolutely convinced that they have a complete and perfect grasp of the whole of reality are just, like, not very good in my opinion. I'm so glad it turned out that I am not controlled by synchronicities and I can't wait to put that book back out on the street.

But then, just to fuck with me, today turned out to be the feast day of the Apostle Thomas, the doubting one who sticks his fingers in Jesus's VIDEODROME hole. The monseigneur gave a very impressive homily that seemed to be about me personally and everybody knew it. I'm the only person there who is under 50 and/or who did not grow up in this (or any) religious community, and so when he began to speak about the craving for empirical proof among "young people in their 20s, or their 30s, or their 40s..." I'm sure it was quite impossible not to think about my bizarre presence among them for the last year and a half. He talked about how Saint Thomas is one of his favorites because only doubt can produce the kinds of questions that, if pursued, can produced a faith that is totally personal and not just passively absorbed from one's society. Then a big point was made of praying for, among the usual suspects, "the seekers" who are searching for God in their own way, perhaps without fully realizing it. I'm glad I forgot my glasses since it meant that I had to keep my eyes closed to keep from straining and squinting, because sustained eye contact with the priest would have made me shrivel up like a mummy.

In the middle he quoted Saint Anselm saying (approx) "Belief seeks understanding," which is something I don't fully grock. It has something to do with taking a leap of faith, maybe, in assuming the truth of a principle so that you can penetrate deeply enough to fully comprehend its meaning. That sounds pretty hard to me, but I guess people do it all the time with all sorts of different things that seem--but may not be--objectively real.

After the service one of the parishioners came up behind me and made a point of saying how good the homily was, and then someone else ran up on me about volunteer opportunities. Actually I wouldn't mind volunteering. They do a regular thing where they make sandwiches for the poor, and the only reason I don't do it is that I'm clumsier than anyone could possibly imagine. Like I'm 100% sure I would make such a big mess that it would do more harm than good. But I could probably handle the thing where they give out clothing to migrants, that sounds really hard to fuck up and like a positive thing regardless of what organization it's attached to. I'd probably rather join the Cathode Ray Mission, but I'll take what I can get.

[sichlitt]

I genuinely don't understand how people can condemn human Griffith for anything he did.

With regards to the sacrifice in the Eclipse, I'm going to be using the concept of INFORMED CONSENT to explain why Griffith did nothing wrong.

The sacrifice in the Eclipse was an agreement to a CONTRACT, and not everybody can give informed consent to those kinds of bargains. In law today, MENTALLY ILL people are unable to consent to contracts and cannot be made accountable for their consequences (I'm using legal arguments as examples of my MORAL beliefs in PRACTICE so please don't start talking about how legality =/= morality, as I'm sure you'd all agree that this law is good in that it protects vulnerable accepting parties from exploitation). This is because mentally ill people lack the capacity to fully comprehend their actions and the consequences of forming a contract.

To be more specific, not every mental illness can or should qualify as a defense. Personality disorders such as BPD and psychopathy do not qualify, because they still possess all of their faculties and are able to understand their actions and show clear intent. Mental illnesses that impede on a person's ability to perceive reality and give informed consent/intent however can ABSOLUTELY be used as a defense to absolve accountability.

This applies SOUNDLY to Griffith. 

This is a man who had just endured an entire year of ceaseless mental and physical torture in the Wyndham dungeon, being deprived of basic human necessities like sunlight or sufficient food and water. He was branded, flailed, whipped, boiled, jabbed with sharp needles, had his tendons severed, his tongue cut out etc etc.

The result left him mentally broken. He showcased erratic violent behavior in his confused and emaciated state (tried to strangle Guts), experienced frequent hallucinations (often conjured by the God Hand) during which he had NO AWARENESS OF HIS EXTERNAL SURROUNDINGS, and most damning of all, he attempted to commit SUICIDE about 10 minutes before being coerced into signing the contract. 

Even the way the Behelit only activates at the owner's most mentally unstable point indicates that the contract for the ascension to a God Hand/Apostle member is inherently coercive BY DESIGN.

These symptoms clearly prove that Griffith was not in the necessary mental state to be able to give INFORMED CONSENT to any contract. He is LEGALLY and MORALLY blameless. 

But that's not all. 

Minors are also unable to give informed consent to any contract, because they are not developed enough to truly understand its conditions or the consequences of agreeing to them. You might say that Griffith wasn't a child and so he knew what he was doing and the consequences of his actions, but that is ignoring the OTHER aspect of being a minor that means that you're unable to give consent.

Most important is the UNEQUAL POWER DYNAMIC between parties. There is such a power imbalance of understanding and trust between a knowing adult and an unknowing minor that any mutual agreement between them of this nature HAS to be considered invalid. Now, I would argue (quite controversially) that the power dynamic between a suicidal emaciated man in a hallucinogenic state being faced with a situation beyond his comprehension and SEEMINGLY OMNISCIENT ELDRITCH BEINGS who can literally READ MINDS and act on the will of God is a MUCH more severe power dynamic between an adult and a minor, and is FAR too coercive to be considered non-coercive and valid.

It's with this unequal power dynamic of knowledge and understanding that the God Hand LIED about the Hawks consenting to be sacrificed. After framing themselves as being pure objective truth tellers and emissaries of God's will, Slan says this:

"Behold, the gifts that await you, at the summit of your bloody quest. Your comrades, each a feather in your wing, have carried you to your great cause. They will surely forgive you, for they have always loved you. Entrust your wounded soul and tattered body to them and you will have life EVERLASTING."

Slan is lying about the Hawks consenting to be sacrificed as informed by the fact that she can read their minds. Griffith acted on the PERCEIVED consent of his men as MANUFACTURED by the God Hand. Her words usher up an image of an afterlife after death, where the Hawks will realize his intentions and celebrate in his successes, which is a far cry from the eternal vortex of souls with endless suffering that the God Hand NEVER told Griffith about.

It's clear from this that the only ones who we can level responsibility towards is the God Hand for taking advantage of him in a vulnerable state of mind, regardless of whether he is at fault for getting himself into that state of mind in the first place (which is much too indirect to draw a line of direct responsibility between Griffith being tortured and being manipulated by angelic beings no one knew existed beforehand). Human Griffith did nothing wrong in this context.

If you disagree with this post then you don't understand how consent works and I'm concerned for the women in your life.

(Please don't bring up Femto's rape of Casca in the replies as I am writing a follow-up post about that. Keep it about the SACRIFICE. Griffith's personality was artificially altered by the transformation so HUMAN Griffith isn't accountable for Femto raping Casca).

I also have a post explaining why Griffith was empathetic and not selfish coming.

[tf2fansderogatory]

physical affection headcanons for the team GO

Ikea: the entire offense class is prone to just running up to you and giving you an absolute huge hug for no reason other than they felt like it. they’re all incredibly physically affectionate people- Pyro because they’re a lil touch starved, Solly partially because he’s touch starved and partially because he sees only one better way of showing affection and that’s acts of service, and Scout because that’s just how he is

modgod: continuing on with the offense class thoughts. soldier will throw his arms over your shoulders and lean on you like it’s nothing, he loves physical contact, it’s his way of showing friendship. you know how big cats will playfully leap onto people? he’s the human equivalent of that. he also headbutts people affectionately (yes with the helmet on, but he’s gentle about it surprisingly). scout is the same way, but he’s a little more aware of when people don’t want to be touched, and he’s also not throwing two hundred pounds of muscle directly onto you. he’ll lean on you a bit, maybe punch your shoulder lightly, but he’s not going to knock you off your feet (not that he could, even if he tried). pyro is the most aware about touching people, and makes sure to ask first, but won’t hesitate to hug you if you say that it’s okay. they can and will pick you up off your feet when they hug you. all of them are dangerously “we will be so physically affectionate to you.”

Modbot: If Sniper were a cuddly man, and I have no doubt that he can be given the right time and person. . . He's not a hugger; he's too claustrophobic! He will, however, shove his thick skull right into another thick skull— Or chest, or shoulder— and will be deeply upset if this isn't reciprocated to a degree in which the two skeleton-havers have efficiently exfoliated each other a la feline nuzzling. His legs will also end up in the other's space, and it will be a very tangled endeavour, indeed. . . But it's not really enjoyable for anybody. This is projection. My dad and I have given each other many concussions.

Secondly, Medic has a strong grasp. . . This simply makes sense, with how tightly he has to hold onto his equipment, and the fact that any medically intrigued individual always has and always will have that unavoidably firm clasp. Unfortunately, Medic's is cold, and this holding habit of his carries over into his inability to respect or understand what personal boundaries are. If he's jolly, he'll hold his friend's shoulder very firmly, which can be funny in some cases (from an outside perspective with taller people), and downright disturbing in others (for literally everybody else, always and forever). He also tends to very casually ruffle hair in such a way that one wants to schedule a chiropractic appointment with a physician that's far far away. He's an unprovoked half-hugger in a way that communicates that he's trying to catalogue blood type through osmosis. It's imposing.

Demoman is the only person on the team with a sense of physical boundaries and weight. If he's casually affectionate, it's languid, no pressure applied. A lot of people would feel safe around him. If he's in love, though, especially with somebody who matches his energy, expect for them to end up in the same hospital bed after a cute fist fight.

Spy isn't naturally affectionate unless it is completely impersonal and unimportant. However, he's happy to invade somebody's personal space by putting his legs on the wrong footrest, or leaning just a little too close when reading something over somebody's shoulder, or really any other iteration of such. He'll pretend not to know, then look all smug about it, and it will never go beyond this. Sharing the same presence is just fine by him. God forbid somebody invades his space, though. . . If a day comes that he doesn't gingerly peel somebody's hand off of anything even moderately close to him (like a table during dinner, or the crown of his armchair), he's fallen in love.

Engineer? I can't say much. He's not likely to initiate anything, but he'll pat backs and call grown men son and maybe, just maybe, let them use his equipment here and there. He doesn't like giving hugs, and he probably smells too much like the sulfur he uses to make his own batteries, anyway. . . Not that these lunatics would care. He won't ever get used to being cute around people, but he'll make a point to be less of a goggled grouch if he knows he's that close to somebody.

Heavy is the one who's only affectionate when it's needed, and he's bloody good at it, but nobody ever has to know when that is for themselves. These displays happen oftentimes before they become a realised necessity: Homesickness is never a problem when this man knows and likes his teammates. Bonecrushing hugs, offers of personal items, and hot drinks are common— Especially for Medic, who he enjoys his quietest hours with. Otherwise, when he's not a fun tag-a-long party-animal exercising his big brother instincts, or a ghost of a presence, he's only the steel-eyed, ginormous bloodbathing beast they see him out on the field as. . . Gruff without some peace and quiet and a little too comfortable with what sometimes isn't good-natured bullying. . . He flips a dime every day, you see, and most of the time—Almost all of the time— it turns out very nicely. He puts a lot of thought into how he thinks, and he loves so much about so many things. His team is on that list. You have no better friend than a friendly Heavy.

[sepublic]

Anyhow, I REALLY appreciate how throughout the whole episode, Rascal was so unconditionally supportive of Hunter, while also imploring him to do the right thing? How Rascal deliberately got Hunter caught by Eda, King, and Amity so he could talk to people who are actually good for him, encourage Hunter to open up... Even perching on Amity’s shoulder in encouragement when she offers a hand;

But by the end of the day, while Rascal wants Hunter to do something else, they ultimately are Ride or Die for him, and will support him until the bitter end? Because when Hunter goes for the key and King fights back, it’s Rascal who helps defend Hunter and aid him in this time of need, and that’s just incredibly important to the kid.

I think with Amity, there’s still that apprehension that her friendship with Hunter is also conditional, like with Belos... That if Hunter does the wrong thing to disappoint her, she’ll also leave him behind- Which is NOT Amity’s fault of course! She simply isn’t the one who can help Hunter this way, she’s got other people to look after already...

But Rascal, Rascal can provide that support no matter what. They’re the person Hunter needs, someone he can count on and trust, someone there for him even at his lowest moments. And this is obviously something that Hunter is realizing and appreciating now, as he sits back and reflects on what happened- Because he really DID need that win so calm himself down, to place him in that state of mind where he wasn’t actively panicking over his existence.

Rascal wants Hunter to do the right thing and will encourage him, try to push him, be disappointed and surprised when Hunter acts contrary- But by the end of the day they’re doing this for him, they’re there for him! And Hunter, now that he’s not terrified... You can tell that he IS taking what Amity said to heart after all, and applying this to his palisman! Realizing he’s found someone who does appreciate him and always will, who won’t leave him for being a ‘disappointment man or ‘failing’, someone who CAN prioritize Hunter over other interests.

Obviously Amity’a advice didn’t quite affect Hunter as she intended... But it DID help and have an impact, and help the kid embrace Rascal! Which of course plays into how he’s found a palisman who can help him wield magic outside of Belos’ control... A friend who is always there for him, pushes Hunter to be better for his own sake, and not some outside goal! Someone who will help defend him, just as King and Ghost leapt to Amity’s protection!

Rascal IS someone Hunter can count on, and it’s only fitting that they perch upon Amity’s shoulder when she makes that powerful speech- Because the two of them do go together to help Hunter. And Rascal will keep him actively safe, not just make Hunter feel better, but assist him with his tangible issues and problems, and any consequences- And that’s something Hunter DOES need, actual help with his situation, hence why he implores Amity to literally help by handing over the key.

So this same episode which tests Hunter’s relationship with others, when he’s pushed aside all other people and insisted that everybody else leave... It’s Rascal who stays, even when Hunter tells them to ‘find a better witch to be with’. And after realizing how Rascal truly does intend to stick around for Hunter’s sake, their love IS unconditional and to the very end, as someone who will pick him up when he’s down...

Well, it’s no wonder Hunter learns how to talk to Rascal properly, and understand them- And he really begins to embrace his palisman and reciprocate, wielding them like a natural and opening up. Again, Hunter really needed that win to pick himself up, and having someone there with him the entire time, regardless of failure or even personal danger, hence why Rascal isn’t afraid of Belos... Hunter HAS found someone aside from Belos, he isn’t alone and there IS someone else he can turn to!

Somebody he has... And Rascal WILL be disappointed in Hunter and go against his will at times, but as someone who’s actually unconditionally invested in him, so they’re not a pushover for Hunter- But someone who can tell it to him as is, and actually do things for his own good, unlike what Belos claims, by acting against Hunter’s self-destructive behavior and basically calling him out.

Rascal is someone Hunter wants and NEEDS, too- Someone who can show him the unpleasant truth, even if it’s not fun. But by the end of the day, Rascal is always going to side with Hunter and never leave his side for ‘failing’ them, as much as they encourage Hunter to be his best, for Hunter’s sake- They’re like his voice of conscience for him! They stick around even when Hunter has failed, even at their own risk and when there are better, safer witches to be around- Because they love him not for being ‘useful’, but for who Hunter just IS.

As Amity said, Hunter just has to let himself meet that person who will make him feel worthwhile. And after seeing how Rascal helped him anyway, he finally has welcomed his palisman... So it’s symbolic that Amity encourages Hunter to find that type of person, while that exact person is right atop her shoulder, offering themselves, and already HAS been- So now it’s up to Hunter to fully realize and accept Rascal into his heart, and that’s what he does at the end of the episode.

Amity’s words weren’t for nothing and DID teach Hunter, actually...! The friend just wasn’t her, but somebody Hunter already had- But any progress is better than none, which is why I genuinely don’t think Hunter ‘stagnated’ or ‘backpedaled’ on his development, not that I’d quite blame him for doing so. Amity wasn’t the only one who realized she didn’t have to prove something to someone!

Honestly? I think this episode ultimately WAS a step up for Hunter, and a positive improvement! It’s just not as obvious, but it’s really there... And it’s why I find Eclipse Lake to end on a genuinely hopeful note, for both Amity AND Hunter, respectively! So I’m not really that disappointed in Hunter, as someone who braced themselves for the worst- Not only did Hunter not regress, he actively learned and has begun to heal even more!

Because I know I’ve compared this episode to Agony of a Witch, but in all honesty... Lilith DID make a genuine mistake and revert to old habits, but Hunter? He’s acting in self-defense, and it’s clear with how he no longer tries to feud with Amity as soon as he has no reason to. Not perfect, but Amity and Hunter both got what they needed, from a tangible and character standpoint- So all in all, I see this as an absolute win, and I’m PROUD of them both! I can’t wait to see what they do next!

[forcebewitht]

✴Twisted Wonderland Theory: Overblots and their Disney Villain Opposites✴

I came to a realization just before I went to sleep last night. All of the people who Overblot are the direct opposites of those whose "souls" they supposedly have.

Although Riddle is like the Queen of Hearts and follows rules very strictly, it is not him who originally made them. He also does not truly seem to wish to do such things, but that is all he knows. So, that seems like it is all he can do.

Leona has the vast intelligence and power of Scar in spades. But unlike Leona, Scar was always consistently moving forward within his goal. He was always seen lurking about somewhere or planting little seeds of doubt in Simba there. He just kept on moving. The only time he actually stopped to "loaf around" a bit was when he won. Leona doesn't have any hope too much in terms of ever winning anything, so he just doesnt even try to apply himself.

Azul has the stage presence of Ursula, alright. But you would never see Ursula get that emotional or anything at all, would you? Especially not basically reveal her plan and what all she had done that quickly. Ursula was secluded because she was banished by Triton for unknown reasons (although widely assumed to be racially based). Azul was secluded both due to his rather shy nature as a child and because of how he looked.

It is unknown how Jafar came to be the royal vizier in the first place, although it was possibly as a long placed cover to ensure that he got his hands on the magic lamp. Jamil, however, was practically forced into his own position by his family being "slaves" and whatnot. Jafar was rather outright in what he wished, but the plans came from his sidekick, Iago. Jamil had no loveable parrot sidekick, so he came up with everything himself. Jafar's plan seemed to take only a matter of days, Jamil's intense planning most likely took years.

The Evil Queen has been known for her cruelty in the kingdom- as it is often told and retold that she actually poisoned and murdered her second husband- Snow White's father- just to become the queen of the lands. She sought to be the most beautiful by any means necessary and had little to no qualms about her actions. Vil, however, is- you guessed it! The opposite. Vil believes that through nothing but hard work and determination that you can be the best you can be/beautiful- otherwise, he would have most likely searched for a Siren-esque spell to make himself the most beautiful. Vil immediately began to realize just what he had done and retreated within himself, overloading his brain with that negative energy needed for the Overblot. The Evil Queen would have simply cursed the little ragtag group from the get go.

So, my current standing theory, taking all of this into account, is this for both Idia and Malleus:

Hades was fueled by his desire to move up and be the lone God running the show, since he worked the hardest amongst any of the others. He plotted and schemed for years and years until the planets were in alignment for his "shot" with the help of the Fates. Hades, in the end, didn't really care about Megara- the "Haha she sexy" girl that we all know and love today. She was the ends to meet the means in a way, and he probably would have either just let her go because he didn't care anymore or just put her back down in the Underworld. I believe Idia will be the opposite. He will try to move up to the pinnacle of the Olympus company with his truly stunning inventions and wow everybody thanks to encouragement from both Ortho and most likely our ragtag 1st year group. But Idia's own love and compassion for his brother will be what causes him to flip out, Overblot, and eventually put a halt to his plans.

Little to nothing was known about Maleficent within the original film- that is certain. But I have been paying attention, and I am seeing some mixed elements from both the Maleficent in the "original" Sleeping Beauty and the Maleficent from her standalone film- Maleficent. While I am not as confident about this as I am with Idia, this seems to be where my brain is leading me. The second Magift tournament shall be held with the Diasomnia arc- not the Ignihyde arc like everybody is assuming, for some reason. Why, you ask? Because the basis for over half of the plot for Chapter 2 was that the Diasomnia Dorm was the best and greatest in Night Raven College at Magift. This is literally going to be the biggest event of the year, as they are going against Royal Sword Academy again. I am suspecting that something will occur with Grim's now "normal" behavior seemingly growing worse (given that I am assuming that he shall suddenly revert back to 'normal' in the next chapter) and it will worsen. Malleus will somehow not be invited either to the event of the Magift tournament itself- or the after party. Maleficent within the original Sleeping Beauty film had no love. No compassion. She wasn't named the Mistress Of All Evil for no reason. But, as we have seen with Malleus, he is quite the opposite. The MC/Yuu will wind up possibly getting cursed by something by mistake, and the love that he has for "us" will really shine through. With the Mirror Hall most likely already ruined from his sheer outrage, his Overblot will finish and he shall be the one to wake us after we successfully view his backstory. This will already set up the ruined and recently horrendous stage for Grim to snap, take the final Blot stone, and Overblot himself.

((Hey hey, my lovely Readers! I truly hope you all enjoyed that wild ride of a theory of mine! Let me know what you think, and we shall see in due time whether my brain is headed in the right direction or not! 💖🔮

[helisol]

dude im not sure you will get it after reading this either, but you Can read it now

okay so first of all do not expect me to adhere to rules of grammar or Proper capitalisation, I am writing from the heart

so it’s been said before by other people but if Quark and Odo didnt look like the aliens that they are but instead like two regular prettybois the fandom would do cartwheels over their dynamic and Not call them a crack ship. because really, their dynamic fucking SLAPS and I’m here to tell you Why.

their surface-level dynamic is “Respected and Talented Security Chief and Cunning Immoral Businessman who are in Love but pretend not to be” and that's just an off-brand version of enemies to lovers! which is excellent and for some people that’s all you really need to get invested in a ship.

but some people look at it and go “Hm, no, that’s not enough. I mean, they work as friends but it doesn’t really have to be romantic.” and to that I say you are Absolutely Valid, not everything has to be romantic.

it just so happens that these two fuckers have one of the most compelling romance stories ever, and it’d be a shame not to explore it.

so before I dive into the internalised homophobia and repression, I’d like to take a moment to talk about Quark as a character.

because if you have brainworms like me you can kind of see that its an honest to god greek tragedy.

this guy comes from a race of people where being kind, ethical and fair is considered Abnormal and Horrifying. and I’m not gonna call Quark out of all people kind, ethical or fair but,,, 

you ever notice how he’s A Much Better Person Than Pretty Much All Other Ferengi?

dont get me wrong, Quark is still a bastard, but every once in a while his True Character shines through. and I say True Character because guys,,, the way he behaves around other people is an Act. he’s pretending to be something he’s not.

he has to try so hard to be a good ferengi it’s honestly painful to watch at times. because he is a SHIT ferengi! 

he loves his friends- because that's what the ds9 crew are. they’re his friends! and it makes him miserable because that's not! normal! for a ferengi!

let’s compare Quark and Rom for a second. 

Quark reeks of self loathing because a lot of the time he just Doesn’t act like a ferengi is supposed to, and this drives a lot of conflict in the show. he knows how a ferengi should act, it’s just that he can’t!! fucking!! do it!! but he still tries and tries to fit into that mold, which straight up ruins his life on multiple occasions.

Rom is also not a Model Ferengi, but he lives without hating himself. and it’s mostly because he doesn’t care about how a ferengi Should act, he’s loved and cared for even when everybody knows that he’s a shit ferengi! because his non-ferengi-ness works to his benefit. it encourages and highlights his abilities as an engineer. the success and love he finds make it easy for him to be content with his true self. Unlike Quark, who doesn’t get unconditional love from anyone.

its so!! tragic!! because you can see what Quark is really like!! his true self!! he’s a nice guy who cares for people!

its right there all the time and it's so blatantly obvious. especially in episodes like “Body Parts”, “Bar Association”, “The Way Of The Warrior” and “Ferengi Love Songs”

his own wiki page literally calls him “a compassionate and generous man by ferengi standards” which pretty much translates to “not really a good ferengi”.

anyway so Quark is a tragic figure or whatever but we’re actually here for the REPRESSED! HOMOSEXUAL! TENDENCIES! that he and Odo both exhibit.

with characters like garak you don’t really need to have brainrot to pick up on those tendencies, because that was something andrew robinson chose to do, on purpose. 

and to be fair, Quark wasn’t intended to be Any kind of representation, not even by the actor. I’m just pointing out that he Does look and act and talk like a little gayman.

I will admit that he is Painfully Straight in the text of the show, but on a meta level he’s just. a dude who has a serious case of repressing his real personality. and taking it a step further- he also represses his feelings towards another man.

and that man is Odo.

a few things on him:

Odo is literally desperate to be a person. unlike Quark, who at least has the comfort of belonging to a society of people with a set of rules and expectations, Odo has never met anyone or anything like him in all his years of life.

like, we all know Odo basically grew up in a lab, right? 

with people who didn’t know anything about him. who he was so unalike that they literally called him “Nothing”

but he still learned to look and talk and act like them (because if he didn’t he’d feel *pain* which is very fucked up by the way?)

so we know for a fact that Odo wants to be recognised as a person- which is why he tries really hard to conform to the ideals of the society that raised him. instead of exploring his nature as a shape shifter he maintains a humanoid form, picks up a job and creates an entire personality around what he wants to be seen as. but not what he really is.

and that's the thing that causes all the conflict between Quark and Odo. the type of person odo wants to be seen as is the polar opposite of whatever the fuck quark wants to be seen as.

In the same way that Quark acts like a Normal Ferengi, Odo acts like a Normal Security Officer.  and in a cruel twist of fate, the Ferengi happens to be the antithesis of the Security Officer.

If you only look at them as the things they act like, and not the things they are, you might say they’re way too different to like each other, right? 

but,,, if you think about the fact that they’re both putting on this act,,, this performance of idealised versions of themselves,,, you can see that they are The Same. They Are Both Gay Repressed Loser Aliens Who Try To Act Like Things That They Aren’t!

Imagine you’re Odo. 

Imagine that you’re Nothing, because you’re not like anything anyone has ever seen- and because you are Nothing you don’t fall in love with anyone for years and years. since who could love something that isn’t like them at all?

But then one day this Thing shows up in your path and you just hate it. Because it’s not like anything *you* have ever seen. It’s disorderly and looks grotesque and it’s criminal to boot.

It’s all the things you learned would make a “Bad Person” It’s everything you aspire not to be, because if you were any of those things you would BE PUNISHED.

But the trouble is, eventually he’s not an “it” anymore, he’s “Quark” and you see him every day of your miserable little life because you live on the same damn station in space and it’s hard to avoid each other.

He also happens to be one of the only things in your life that are constant. He will never leave because he is stubborn and greedy and you just *hate him so much* that you’re convinced he must be doing all of it to spite you. And yet you also can’t seem to leave him alone.

So Odo Must Hate Quark. everything else is a non sequitur for him. he can’t not hate Quark.

because Quark is, and i’m sincerely sorry to apply christian fucking imagery to this, The Forbidden Fruit.

If he liked quark he’d admit some kind of moral failing. it would be the end of his act. but on the other hand...it might be a good thing, because at least he could have quark.

but Odo can never go through with biting into this apple because the consequences are horrifying to him. he could never have quark because, according to his performance, he would Never like quark to begin with.

and here’s a take for you: Odo's Brand Of Internalised Homophobia Doesn't Stem From Heteronormativity. It Stems From The Fact That He Was Kind Of Assigned Asexual At Birth.

and the show sort of alludes to this, for real! not just subtext! canon! except the writers used the wrong person. 

because instead of Odo having these Forbidden Feelings for Quark he has them for,,, Kira.

but since this is My Quodo Manifesto you’ll understand that i am 100% willing to just toss that part of canon out the airlock.

so Odo does canonically have that mindset of “no one could ever love me”  for decades he repressed any and all feelings of love to avoid getting hurt. in the show he breaks this cycle of repression when he takes a chance and enters a relationship with Kira. yay?

but we all know that aint it chief. and part of the reason why That Ship Ain’t It is the fact that Quark is Right There. and he is simply the more interesting choice for odo.

he and Odo literally share the same problem and have weird intertwined character arcs! they are both dreadfully afraid of not conforming to the ideal versions of themselves, so they reject everything that could challenge their Performance!

on some fucked up level they hate each other *and* themselves individually. and this hatred makes them reject parts of their real identities for the sake of protecting their image. which. yknow. in gay people. is internalised homophobia!

so you can see that they’re both repressing A Lot even if you view them as Friends, but the most important thing in this kind of romantic dynamic is usually,,, when the characters *stop* repressing.

and the thing is. the thing that Kills Me with these two. They Never Get That Moment. Thats Why You Need The Brainrot To See Them As Romantic.

The Ascent gives us an example of what happens when they both take their act too far. I mean, who could forget “Fascist!” and “Fraud!” That is what odo thinks of quark’s performance and vice versa, but we don’t really hear them adress the fact that they *are* playing these roles to a ridiculous extent.

We also never get an example of what would happen if they dropped their act instead of over-performing it. or rather we don’t get to see both of them drop it.

And the reason why we never get that moment is because there’s this one key difference between Quark and Odo. 

Quark knows that he’s constantly repressing his true nature and his feelings for odo. We pretty much hear him say so in the iconic root beer scene in Way Of The Warrior. he knows that he’s not a good ferengi but he keeps up his act.

So quark is aware enough to feel that sweet sweet self loathing. But Odo isnt self loathing as much as he is just self sabotaging.

and this subtle difference between them is why, at the very end of the show, we get “That man loves me, can’t you see? It was written all over his back!”

this moment is quark dropping his act and asking odo to do the same. he wants to hear a genuine Goodbye from him because they have known each other for Decades and they are Friends. but odo is so unable to express the feelings he’s been repressing all these years. that he self sabotages again and just walks away.

even though this is like. very anticlimactic. considering I just spent 2000 words talking about how Odo and Quark are Most Certainly Gay For Each Other.

The fact that their ending is so Weird is the reason why quodo is so engaging and appealing to me? especially post-canon quodo.

like, the amount of “what if’s” this ship has are Astounding.

What if either of them had dropped their act a little sooner? What if they both did, for just a moment, and it was the straw that breaks the camels back?

What if Odo comes back after a few years? What if Quark comes to get him?

What if, in that moment in the finale where Quark drops his act, Odo had returned the gesture? What if Gag-Reel Quodo Kiss.gif Real?

with the depth that I read into their relationship, those what ifs are really fun to think about.

anyway its 1 am and i’m not an english major so literary analysis is not like, my strong suit. plus most of this was written in a late night screaming session with a friend who has the exact same opinions as me. i just think aliens hot and in love. thats all.

[feanorianethicsdepartment]

Do you have any personal headcanons about Celebrimbor's mother and her relationship with Curufin? I always thought that it's weird we don't have even the barest information about that considering Celebrimbor's unique position as the only next gen Feanorian. (Sorry if you already talked about this somewhere!)

thanks for the ask! i have, but i'm not going to pass up an opportunity to blather on about my ocs for several paragraphs

curufin's wife (she lacks a name because i hate giving characters names and will delay it until i absolutely have to) is noldorin, she lives in valinor in the years of the trees. i haven't thought much about her family, but i suspect they're middling nobility at the highest the did-valinor-have-social-classes debate is a whole different rabbit hole. she's a metalworker like her husband (she probably specialises in a slightly different subcategory but idk enough to say what) and is a member of the same tirion artisan guild. it's in that context that they meet and begin their Intense Crafting Rivalry

you know that trope where a pair of rivals are so obsessively devoted to one-upping each other it's blindingly obvious that what they actually want is to kiss? that's them, that's their relationship. their specialties are just similar enough they do a lot of the same stuff but just different enough their approaches tend to be radically divergent. what starts as the two of them trying to prove the superiority of their own artistic circle or whatever evolves into them trying to show up him/her specifically, s/he's wrong about x and i know i can do better, why does my family keep asking if we're dating yet????? their competition gets absolutely ridiculous in ways only a pre-scarcity society can get, like building an entire fountain out of solid silicon specifically because he said she couldn't do it (he actually said shouldn't but screw him (not literally cousin oh my valar))

but yeah. their relationship grows an undercurrent of the-only-one-allowed-to-push-around-my-archnemesis-is-me, and they find themselves fighting back to back (occasionally literally) when tirion guild politics takes a turn for the tirion guild politics. they just slowly come to trust each other, more than anyone else, and soon there comes an appropriately dramatic moment for them to suddenly kiss. they're still always trying to out-craftself each other, celebrimbor grows up in a house that's about 70% forge to the background noise of his parents insulting each other's work, but they're comfortable with each other in a way neither of them could have imagined in the early days, and when things get rough they always have each other's backs

things do, in fact, get rough. maglor won't meet his wife until beleriand, caranthir's relationship with his spouse slowly falls apart along with the political situation in tirion, but curufin's wife is loudly team fëanor. she suffers from an acute case of finwean spouse disease, she thinks going to middle-earth to build their own world is an awesome idea, she's deeply embedded in the tirion artisan scene with an entire social circle as think the same way, and when the inevitable civil war flares up she'll probably be even more eager to fight the fingolfinians than her husband. she goes with him and their-still-pretty young son to formenos, and when the trees get eaten and fëanor does the speech she prepares for the adventure of a lifetime

then, alqualondë. i stand by my conviction that nobody on the noldorin side walked in planning to steal the boats, let alone murder the teleri, but it was dark and the world was ending and everybody had sharp things. like everybody else involved in the first kinslaying, curufin and wife got caught up in the battle because somebody shouted 'they're attacking us!' in the distance. she is at first more trying to stop them from stabbing her, obsidian fishing spears glancing off ornamental steel, but then she lashes out and she hits someone in the chest and -

there was this recurring trope in her and her husband’s endless mutual critique. she’d create something beautiful, artfully devised and elegantly constructed, showing off a whole ton of design principles and doing things with the material no one had ever done. he would look at it skeptically and go ‘okay, but what use is it? what is it for?’

red liquid running down the fuller of the exquisite sword she forged herself, light guttering out of another elf’s eyes as he coughs up blood, she knows, sure as once were the light of the trees, what the piece of metal in her hands is for

the next few moments are a blur. she threw the sword into the water, she knows that. somehow she wound up running out of alqualondë, tears streaming down her face, as buildings burned and people screamed behind her. she found a concealed spot by the road, tore off her armour, peeked outside, and watched. when the fires were dying down and the boats were clearly gone, she mustered her courage and went to save her family

in the centuries to come, very few people believe celebrimbor when he tells them his mother tried to get his father to come back by, among other things, appealing to his better nature. nobody believes that it almost worked. but curufin was still only starting out on the road to hellbeastery, and his wife was his eternal partner-in-crime. right there at the beginning, staring out over a burning city, she saw where the road the noldor were walking would eventually lead them, no matter how much they tried to deny it. no dreams could be worth that, she told him. no ideals. and she was always the idealist, wasn’t she?

she was. maybe that’s why he, who had so very few ideals to mark his path, refused to abandon this one. their discussion rapidly devolved into a screaming argument half the camp could hear, much like curufin’s last argument with celebrimbor, centuries later. soon enough, though, it became clear that he wouldn’t turn back, and she refused to go on, and neither of them could change the other’s minds. the only thing left between them was celebrimbor

celebrimbor was eight (-ish in elf years), and completely freaked out, and eight, and knew almost nothing about what was going on, and eight, and had grown up listening to his grandfather’s dreams, and eight, and was surrounded by adults who very loudly thought going to middle-earth would solve all their problems, and eight, and couldn’t tell why his mother was abandoning them. panicking, on the spot, he buried his face in curufin’s smock to wipe away his tears. when he looked up, she was gone

so yeah, curufin’s wife went back with finarfin, that’s why she didn’t go to middle-earth. she initially stayed with nerdanel because almost everyone else on both sides of her extended family remained by (and later burned) the boats, i’m only just realising the horrible curufin argument probably wasn’t even the only one she went through that night, jeez. also she really needed a hug. the sun rose, alqualondë started rebuilding, and she ended up head of her and her husband’s former mutual craft guild, mostly because nobody else with the skills to do it was left. decades turn to centuries, news slowly filters back from beleriand, and her worst nightmares are proven so awfully right

probably the biggest emotion she feels towards curufin in the aftermath is betrayal. they were partners, in every sense of the word, they took on the world and they did it together, using their constant competition to drive each other to ever greater heights. they listened to each other, they trusted each other’s judgement, and she knows he understood the point she was making. him continuing on anyway, and diving face-first into the void - the elf she thought she knew would never have done that. as time passes by, the grief and the loneliness get subsumed by a deep abiding rage. if she ever sees the thing her husband let himself become again, she’ll throw a welding torch in his face

but that anger, that heartbreak, none of that applies to her son. when the hosts of valinor began gearing up for war - she’s the leader of tirion’s most prominent metalworking guild, she can’t not go. while they’re unloading supplies and siege equipment and stuff onto the isle of balar, she happens to pass by this relatively short dusky-skinned noldo hauling some smithing equipment about. as soon as he gets a proper look at her, he gasps. she looks back in confusion, and then she meets his eyes

later, she’ll hear his tales of his adventures in the hither lands, all of the hardships, yes, but also all of the brilliance. later, she’ll learn about the person he’s grown into, someone she can be unreservedly proud of in his choices and works. later, they’ll talk about the future, about his ambitions of making his grandfather’s dream come true, but with open hands and a light to be shared with all the peoples of middle-earth. for now, though, she wraps celebrimbor in a massive hug, and lets the tears flow down her face, because no matter how much they’ve lost, no matter how deep the darkness around them, right here and now, her son is alive

[dancingazaleas]

Can you write a modern au Historia Reiss x fem!reader imagine where the reader is in a band and has a very punk rock style, and Historias the popular cheerleader everybody drools over, and they hate each other but at a party some girl is flirting with the reader so historia takes her and fucks the reader silly in a bathroom and after confesses her feelings to r?

historia reiss | promise

ofc!!! pls i literally love cheerleader!historia. i hope this is good enough <33 !!

18+ pls ! [unedited]

warnings/notes: cursing, use of alcohol and drugs, eventual smut, jealous dom!historia, modern au!, college au!, cheerleader!historia, bathroom sex, degradation, slight praise, enemies to lovers supremacy, fem reader!, finger fucking, hints at pegging, and aftercare

you’re pissed, so pissed that you’re seeing white. you only know that you’re sitting under the bleachers of your college campus and that your best friend, annie, is sitting beside you.

historia reiss, the popular cheerleader adored by everyone, decided it would funny if she pulled a prank on you. the prank being drenched in ice water and then pouring pink glitter on your body from the second floor of campus.

the glitter stuck everywhere, even in your mouth. before you scrubbed some of it off, you looked like a bath bomb. the water made it stickier and made you cold.

you don’t know what kind of vendetta historia has against you, you’ve only just met her two years ago! you hadn’t even really talked her up until your freshman year of college. even then, you don’t think you had said anything rude or wrong.

you just assume she gets pleasure out of your suffering.

you’re ranting about historia to annie, who witnessed the whole incident, still covered head-to-toe in glitter. she’s smoking a cigarette and listening to you absentmindedly, a sign that she’s getting slightly annoyed. she grabs your jaw with her hand and turns your face towards her. she’s taking in a breath and you know exactly what she’s about to do.

when she pulls the cigarette away, she blows the smoke into your face and let’s go of your jaw.

“thanks for that,” you grunt, the smell always seems to calm you down for some odd reason.

“y’know, instead of ranting, you could go home and take a shower,” she looks sleepy as she holds onto her cigarette.

“i know. but she’s just so frustrating! wanna know what makes her even more frustrating?!”

annie decides to play along, she thinks you ranting is funny, “what?”

“she’s hot. scratch that, she’s literally gorgeous. she looks like a fucking goddess and has the personality of a witch,” you shout angrily, following annie’s movements of getting up and walking towards your dorm.

“i dunno,” she snickers, “she’s pretty nice to me.”

“yeah, cause she’s got some sort of vendetta against me. i swear—i have never done a single thing to her!! do you remember when she bashed our band?! does she even listen to punk?!”

annie’s made a mistake in encouraging you, “anyways. speaking of our band, don’t forget we’re playing tonight at eren’s house.”

“you mean at his frat house,” you snort, bumping your shoulder into her’s. you immediately regret it when you pull away and see pink glitter stick to her shirt and a shiver going down her spine.

“yeah, whatever. thank god he’s loaded enough to pay for a band. i can’t believe his dad just gives him and zeke cash,” annie coughs while she chuckles, smoke puffing out of her nose.

you’re laughing at her coughing, slapping her firmly on the back as you walk.

you don’t notice large blue eyes staring at you from far away.

————

you’re trying to ignore the idiotic comments annie’s making while mikasa does your eyeliner.

you, mikasa, annie, and—surprisngly—jean are getting ready for your show tonight.

originally, it had just been you, annie, and mikasa until mikasa and jean had started dating. she vouched that he could play the drums—and he definelty could. he also gets along surprisingly well with you and annie.

mikasa usually sings back-up for you—despite your begging for her to be the lead—and plays the electric keyboard.

annie’s on bass guitar. she gets stupidly smug everytime she’s done playing and the praise she gets from her girlfriend doesn’t help. annie also writes most of your songs.

“guys, we should make a bet,” annie’s twirling some of her hair, eyeing you and mikasa.

“what’s the bet,” jean smirks and raises a bushy brow. mikasa and you give a hum of approval.

“i bet that one girl is gonna be all over (name) tonight,” you snort sarcastically.

“elizabeth? i think she’s trying to seduce me so i’ll partner up with her for this project we have coming up in our music history class,” mikasa’s pullled away, screwing the cap of the eyeliner back onto the bottle. she hands you coal black lipstick.

“you know what i bet,” jean starts, you know it isn’t gonna be good, “historia’s gonna be eyefucking (name) all night.”

you’re in the middle of applying lipstick but you stop at his statement.

“no, before you say something, jean’s gotta point,” mikasa muses, fanning her hand.

“yeah. dunno how you didn’t noticed,” annie shrugs, hopping out of her chair and stretching her arms upwards.

you’re irritated and finished with your lipstick, eyebrows furrowed bitterly.

“anyways,” you grit your teeth, “it’s showtime.”

————

it’s been five minutes since you and the band performed, and after all that belting you just want a drink. you’re walking through the messy and huge kitchen, trying to avoid stepping on spilled shots and egg yolk—who knows—because these boots were expensive.

luckily, most people are partying like a mob in the main room of the smelly frat house. it smells like weed, everywhere. and when you open the fridge you see a long platter of chocolate brownies, is eren alright? you shrug internally, snatching a water bottle that’s sitting on the top shelf.

after you’ve closed the fridge door and opened it, you’re chugging the water bottle like your life depends on it. when you pull away, you try to not notice the lipstick stain and that you’ve drank the bottle more than halfway. you’re leaning on the island in the middle of the kitchen, you don’t plan on partying too much since you’re supposed to be the designated driver for annie, mikasa, and jean.

you’re about to take another swig of your water, eyes staring down at your phone and continuing to read a article. before you can bring the bottle to your lips, teasing laughter from your front is distracting you.

it’s historia, wearing a baby blue v-neck tank top that ends at her ribs. she has a white skirt on, pulled up to the middle of her bellybutton and stopping at her upper thighs. her shoes are white and chunky with sparkly blue butterflies on the sides of them. her makeup’s cute, a light blue sprinkling on the outside corners of her eyes that tickled her cheekbones, a light and natural (for her at least) pink lipstick on her lips coated with shiny gloss. she’s pretty.

“fuck do you want,” you frown with narrowed eyes, you’re praying there aren’t anymore tricks.

“nothing, nothing!,” she’s got a cheery smile on her face, “just wanted to see how you were doing! i cant even do that?”

rolling your eyes, you scoff, “not after you drenched me in ice cold water and then poured glitter on me. it took me two hours to get rid of the glitter in the shower.”

she’s opening her mouth, but you’re already done with her shit, “fuck off, dude.”

you’re stomping out of the kitchen, huffing with frustration. what the fuck was historia trying to play at? she’s such a cunt, pulling these mean pranks on you with no provocation and then coming up to you after and asking how you are?

you’re seething. you’re so angry you’re not even paying attention to where you’re going.

but it’s interrupted when you bump into someone’s back. lower... back.

said person, turns around and looks down at you. she’s tall, and you’ve seen her around campus with eren and zeke. she’s quiet and cunning, you’ve heard rumors that she gets paid to beat people up sometimes. you can’t really judge her, money’s money.

but she’s also gorgeous. glowing gold eyes and choppy blonde hair. she’s wearing a loose black blazer that closes at her sternum and down, with nothing underneath. she’s got some kind of necklace—you think it says ‘p’ or ‘z’—and pretty silver rings on her fingers. her heels make her tower over you more than she probably would without them on.

“shit, my bad,” you sigh and look away.

she shakes her head, the tiniest smile painting her face and her cheeks turn a little red.

“you’re alright,” she hums, “i don’t think i’ve met you. i’ve definitely seen you around, but no one’s ever given me a name.”

“oh, i’m (name),” you smile shyly, “i don’t know your name either.”

she chuckles a bit, somehow wrapping her hand in your’s and leading you to a nice loveseat. her nails are painted black and you feel inclined to put your legs over her lap.

“i’m surprised,” and that’s when you notice zeke and pieck on the couch next to you, “there are a lot of rumors about me. however, i guess whoever told you—or didn’t—left me anonymous. i’m yelena.”

you give a laugh, watching her throw her arm up onto the top of the couch. you’re cuddling her side within seconds, drawing a deep chuckle from her. her other hand reaches to your cheek, making you look up at her. she’s holding your chin with her thumb and staring at you with her hypnotizing eyes.

“you’re just the cutest,” she mumbles, letting go of your face and tapping your nose.

you’re getting embarrassed at the attention, and you don’t know what to say other than ‘thank you’. you’ve never been pussy whipped a day in your entire life, but you think you might change that.

she’s leaning in closer, ignoring the couple, who was staring at you two with amusement, that sat on the couch cuddling. you feel like you recognize them for a moment, but the thought it forgotten whenever yelena kisses you fervently.

she’s running her tongue across your lip and the shiver that goes down your spine makes you realize she has a tongue piercing. she’s pushing you down to lay on the couch, to which you happily oblige, her hand crawling up to your neck.

before you can even let her shove her tongue in your mouth and choke you, your hand is being tugged and all of a sudden your upper torso and body is on the floor and your head is aching. you’re dazedly looking at yelena, who’s just as surprised as you are, then turning to the couple on the couch.

holy fucking hell, how did you not realize that the couple was pieck and zeke. that isn’t even your main focus when another tug to your wrist pulls your lower half off the couch.

“what the fuck?!” you’re suddenly not dazed anymore, “let go of me!”

you’re snatching your arm away and scrambling to your feet, tugging down your short dress that rode up. you turn around to face the assaulter, only to look down and see historia.

historia grabbed you?!

before you can even scream or slap her, she’s, once again, pulling you away by your wrist. for such a small girl, she’s got a tight grip.

you’re stumbling as you follow her, not like you couldn’t, yelling profanities. you pass by annie, who spits out her drink at the sight of you, it startles her girlfriend, hitch. you mouth a ‘help!’ towards her just as you’re swung forward.

it takes you a second to balance yourself out, and before you can turn yourself around, you’re being shoved forward.

what the fuck is her deal?!

you’re pushed into a bathroom, finally turning around to see historia as you fall on your ass. she’s slammed the door closed and locked it, staring at you on the ground.

“the fuck is your damage,” you scream, leaning against the bathroom counter.

“you’re a fucking slut, that’s what!” she’s yelling back, now standing in front of you. her hands are trapping you against the counter, and you’re looking down at her.

“you’re a dirty little slut. you can’t help but get down with a woman when i’m not with you for five fucking minutes,” you can’t even open your mouth and opted to push yourself towards the counter more as you squeeze your thighs together.

“look at you,” she’s laughing mockingly, “you look like a dog in heat. are you enjoying this, you fucking whore?”

you whimper, shaking your head side-to-side.

“you’re a liar,” she’s laughing again, standing on her tip toes to brush her lips against your’s.

“i’m not.”

“if you’re not, go ahead and push me away then,” she smirks, leaning closer.

you look away, listening to the mocking giggle that she was releasing right in your face. her left hand is grabbing you by the jaw and forcing you to look at her.

“can i kiss you,” her look softens and you nod at her.

“yes,” and within a second, her lips are on your’s. the kiss is surprisingly gentle and sweet.

with a bit on your lip, her tongue is rubbing against your’s and her hands sliding under the thin straps of your dress. you’re whining when she pulls away and laughs. your dress is halfway down your body, chest jumping up and down as you pant from the lack of breath.

“look at you, baby,” she turns your head to the side, which gives you a profile view of yourself in the mirror. your lipstick’s smudged in the corner of your mouth, eyeliner’s smuged as well as your eyeshadow.

weak product.

“you need better makeup,” she’s giggling as she leans her head towards your neck.

she’s kissing and sucking almost everywhere on your neck and chest, as if she were marking her property. moans are bouncing off the walls as her hands release your boobs from the strapless bra you’re wearing and sucking on your nipples. honestly, you’re glad it’s off. it’s been tiring having to pull it up everytime it slipped even just a bit.

you tug at her blonde hair when her small hand gropes one tit and her mouth bites at the other. she’s tugging the rest of your dress down with her free hand, and it pools around your boots. she goes back up to kiss your lips, laughing in your mouth as you struggle to kick off your boots. she’s kissing at your cheek and ear, tugging at the waistline of your fishnet tights.

“might wanna take these off too if you don’t want them ripped,” yelping when she bites at your earlobe.

“i...,” you’re catching your breath, “need help.”

she giggles while nodding, helping you shimmying the tights down to your knees.

“jump up on the counter, babe. it’ll make it easier for me,” you’re obident and jumping on the cool bathroom counter, it makes you shiver.

historia’s on her knees, shoes kicked off, and her fingers tickle your legs when she’s sliding the tights off your legs. she’s got a sultry look on her face when she throws said tights over her shoulder, palming your kneecaps. she bites back her smirk when she pulls your knees apart, showing off your black panties. you fall back against the mirror and you lean mostly on your elbows, ignoring the loud bang that came from it.

her mouth’s leaving open mouthed kisses against your inner thighs, pants leaving your mouth. her fingers hook around the waistband of your panties, tugging them down quickly whenever you lift your hips.

your going to close your legs, but her hands prevent you from doing so. her eyes are glued to your pussy, lips spread open and your wetness shining in the light. you’ve got a little hair on your pubis, but that isn’t going to stop historia reiss from changing her name to sasha braus.

she’s sucking at your clit and spreading your legs apart as far as she can. she pulls away from your pussy just for a second.

“keep your legs open,” she says, a thumb rubbing circles into your clit.

it’s lazy and it’s satisfying, but it’s not enough to make you cum. she knows that.

you’re letting out high pitched moans and fingers tangled in her golden locks as she eats you out like a man starved.

‘i wish i had realized that i’m gay sooner,’ you think as historia slowly slides her middle finger inside of you.

you’re throwing your head back against the mirror when she suddenly adds a second finger, claiming that you could take it since you’re a slut.

considering your wetness is dripping down your ass and onto the counter, you can’t really object the statement.

she’s curling her fingers inside you, mouth closed around your clit. your moans go up an octave when she finds the spongy part inside of you, thrusting her fingers in and out of you after she angles her digits.

“fuck!” you moan and start clawing at historia’s free arm, which is holding down your hips.

“h-historia...,” you pant, “gonna cum... pl..please let me cum.”

her laughter sends vibrations across your clit, and that’s what sends you over the edge. you’re crying out as historia helps you ride out your orgasm by slowing her fingers down and pulling away from your clit. historia’s admiring you while she wipes off your juices from her chin, a small smile adorning her lips.

your head is thrown back against the mirror—once again. eyes rolled back and mouth opened in a silent moan. the hand that was gripping at her arm is clenched in a fist that has your knuckles painted white. your toes are curled and your back is arching in the air.

she doesn’t pull her fingers out of you until your calm, letting you catch your breath before she does it all over again.

———

your legs are trembling as she helps you sit down on the toilet.

you know you look like a mess—historia’s been forcing you to watch yourself. the eyeliner and mascara you have on is now smeared and ran down your face since you cried. your lipstick is smeared up and down, worse than last time, and your hair is messed up and tangled from historia pulling on it.

historia’s squatting before you, looking for a rag to wet down and clean you up with.

“next cabinet over,” you breath, throwing your head back.

“you know who’s bathroom this is?”

“yeah, jean’s in this frat too. him and marco share it. this place is pretty nice when there isn’t a party going on,” you giggle, somehow this whole situation seems funny to you.

she’s running hot water over the rag she now has, staring at herself in the mirror. historia’s got hickeys on her neck too and teeth marks on shoulders. she’s got glittery blue on her cheek, must be her mascara.

she turns off the water and wrings it out. she walks over to you, nudging your legs open with her knee. you comply and absentmindedly reach for one of her hands to hold. she takes the offer, squatting in front of you and cleaning up the slightly dried cum and juices on your thighs and vagina.

you shiver and let out little whines and whimpers, still sensitive from the previous orgasms. historia was also still wearing something. something that you didn’t even know she had.

a fucking 6 inch strap on.

“by the way,” you start, “how’d you get your strap-on here?”

“i came to the house before eren started throwing the party. i brought a bag with me and just hid it in the empty cabinet. i think eren wanted to hook up with me and mentioned something about pegging. brought it in case,” she explains, small smile spreading across her face as she starts cleaning your face.

you start giggling again, the hand that wasn’t holding her hand weakly grabbing at her wrist.

“hisu... can i get a kiss,” you pucker your lips when she pulls away the rag from you. she flips the rag to a clean slide, rubbing herself in the same areas as she did for you.

historia holds your cheek and gives you the sweetest kiss you’ve ever had.

“i’m gonna take you back to mine and ymir’s place. you’re still in sub-space and you wobble instead of walk,” she says, squatting down again to help you get your panties on.

she’s able to get your dress on the lower half of your body, but you both realize there’s a fucking cum stain on the chest. historia gives you a jacket that was in her bag, zipping it halfway. the dress stayed sitting at your waist, you’re to tired to get it open even if you have a cover up.

she’s done cleaning everything up within ten minutes, including herself. she throws the rag in a hamper in the bathroom closet that had jean’s name written on it in sharpie.

she’s slipping the bag on her shoulder and helping you walk with the other one. when you walk out, ymir is leaning on the wall by the door with a smirk.

ymir squats down a bit, laughing at your shaky legs every time you took a step. historia and her manage to get you on ymir’s back. you fall asleep before you three can get to the car.

———

when you wake up, your whole lower body is sore. your eyelids feel heavy as you open them, coming to your senses. you recognize ‘dance moms’ playing in the background and historia eating cereal as she watches.

you groan lowly, and historia finally notices your consciousness.

“so...,” you yawn while you stretch your arms up into the air, “talk about last night?”

historia nods while she chews, “so basically, i was jealous that you were hooking up with another girl that wasn’t me.”

“but why would you be jealous...? i thought you hated me,” you rub your cheek against the pillow you’re laying your head on.

historia blushes as she looks away with a pout, “i never hated you... i just... i didn’t like the feelings i have for you.”

“oh,” you lay on your back and ignore the heat rushing to your cheeks, “what are.... the feelings..?”

“i may or may not love you,” she hides her face by holding her bowl full of cereal to her chin.

you don’t say anything for a few moments, trying to think of what you wanted to say.

“i... i love you too. but, that doesn’t just mean i forgive and forget all the horrible shit you’ve done to me. i’ll start dating you when i feel that you’ve... ‘atoned’ for your sins,” you sigh, “it’s gonna take some time but if you want this to work or even start, you’ve gotta make it up to me and understand where i’m coming from.”

she looks at you with slight excitement, “i... of course! i was really mean to you and you didn’t deserve that, no matter how much i disliked you. i promise to make it up to you.”

she’s holding her pinky finger up to you.

you smile and link your pinkies with her’s, “promise.”

[crazy-czech-fangirl]

Kristen Stewart - Howard Stern interview

Yesterday I saw the interview with Howard Stern and wow. I’ve never seen her so openly speak about the Twilight era and relationship with Rob. So I decided to transcript the parts about Twilight and Robert because I couldn’t find it anywhere. If you have time go watch the whole interview it’s really worth it!

****

H: The way they’re covering your romance with Robert Pattinson and all this.. I had him on the show and he said no relationship could survive the intense scrutiny that we were under. It was insane.

K: Yeah it was. I mean we wanted to like keep it ours so it was like this thing of going like..well do you like live openly and share your life in a way that actually entitles you to living it sort of more freely and naturally or do you like put it on lock because you hate the idea of perpetuating this like commodified version of your..something that feels real to you and you’re like ‘I’m not selling you shit’! But then you actually deprive yourself of like so many experiences. Like we didn’t walk down the street holding hands because we were like ‘Don’t wanna give it to them’ but then we didn’t get to walk down the street holding hands. And it sucked.

H: Of course it sucked because the best part of the relationship with anyone..

K: Is screaming from the rooftops!

H: ‘I’m in love!’

K: Yeah!

H: And walking around holding somebody’s hand.

K: I know.

****

H: ....Not only were you falling in love with Rob on the set.. Which by the way I think is the biggest mistake an actor can make.

K: There was nothing I could do.

H: The director was even nervous because the first time you guys kind of auditioned together to see the chemistry..it was an immediate chemistry between the two of you.

K: Yeah, yeah. It’s so weird like actually being honest about this like it’s been so heavily consumed and I have this fear that people would assume that maybe I’m like..’oh cool you’re still pushing that narrative’ and it’s like ‘No I’ve actually never been allowed to just say what happened’. Because I was so self conscious about seeming like an attention seeker.

H: Or taking advantage of the fact that you guys were dating.

K: Yeah exactly. We were together for years. That was like my first..you know..

H: Love.

K: Yeah. I mean like I was super in love with my high school boyfriend. Super in love with him. But me and Rob were like little older and it was like *GOGUM*.

H: He’s a charming guy.

K: Yeah he’s the best.

****

H: Rob when he was here told me with Twilight that they wanted to go a whole other direction . They wanted you to be smiling and him to be smiling. Be a lovable little vampire. And he said it was tremendous pressure to act that movie the way he wanted to.

K: Yeah. Honestly thank god he had that.. I mean he like..he wouldn’t do it the other way. And I don’t think he even had that in his wheelhouse like his body wouldn’t do that. And I mean mine either. I was like..The only reason this is good is because it’s like “Aaargh” and they were like ‘But it’s not fun!’. We took a lot of slack. Like we were constantly being like reprimanded and thank god we stuck to our guns because that’s why the movie works.

H: Yes. Yes that’s exactly why the movie works.

****

H: Would you recommend to other young actresses that they fall in love during their movie or should they avoid it? Because that’s my point. You say you couldn’t have stopped yourself falling in love with Rob.

K: I don’t think it’s really a choice..

H: Isn’t it dangerous because the set is such an aphrodisiac. It’s like..

K: Maybe it’s not real. Yeah but then you could apply that to any other...What is?

H: What is real?

K: Yeah.

H: Because they cater to you, they’re treating you like you’re a star..

K: Mmmm no.

H: No? It wasn’t like that?

K: No. Not at all. ‘Get your ass to set and start smiling bitch’. And I’m like ‘Nope’.

H: But did you have a sense that you were in trouble now that you were in love. Because you’re like ‘oh this is cliched I’m falling in love with my costar’.

K: I thought that was the coolest thing ever and I was so proud of it and I was like ‘We’re like rockstars dude’. I was like ‘Yeah you wish you had this.’ You know when you have that thing and you’re like ‘This is the coolest’.

H: Well it’s cool too because you’re really trapped in like high school or college and at least you have this great outside romance going on.

K: It was fun.

H: But it’s always doomed isn’t it because it’s just too much pressure when you got famous as you did so quickly.

****

H: Trump was consumed with the fact that you and Rob Pattinson had broken up.

K: Sure. Yes.

H: And he started tweeting against you saying ‘Hey Rob you can do much better than Kristen Stewart’.

....

K: You would think that he had more important things to do. It’s absurd.

...

H: Did you ever talk to Rob about it? Did you ever say ‘Can you believe the president of the United States is carrying on about our relationship.

K: Yeah we got back together. We like went through a thing and it fucking sucked but like we really wanted to be together...I don’t remember that particular conversation but we definitely were talking about everything at that time.

****

K: I had people genuinely asking me if that relationship was real or fake. And I was like..

H: Like the movie fabricated it for publicity.

K: Right yeah.

H: But they did used to do that in the old days.

K: I know it’s such a weird studio system old school way of...You really think at this point after all these years like that I’m..like that’s how I live my life?

H: There’s no way a relationship could survive the types of scrutiny that you guys had.

K: We were also just so young you know what I mean like there are stages..life is long..yeah.

H: Was there a point you would have gotten married do you think?

K: I don’t know.

H: I wonder..imagine

K: I wanted to..Yeah no I mean like I think I’ve never...

H: If he proposed you would have gotten married.

K: I don’t know. I’m not like a super duper traditionalist but at the same time like I...every relationship that I’ve ever been in I thought ‘This is it’. I’ve never like casually dated..I mean maybe one or two..Yeah I’m not giving everyone that. But like I’ve never really been the most casual person.

****

K: (what she could have done better while acting) .. and certain parts of Twilight. New moon I totally screwed up the like devastating..I was so in love with Rob and so happy that I couldn’t imagine losing him. But now I’m like ‘oh man I could have really done better work in that movie’.

****

H: (Snow white and the huntsman) That movie did really well. And then they didn’t ask you to be in the sequel.

K: We lived in a different time then you know what I mean. I feel like the slut shaming that went down was like so absurd. And they should have put me in that movie it would have been better..not to be a dick but..

H: You’re sayin there was slut shaming of you?

K: Well they didn’t put me in that movie because I went through a highly publicized scandal. So they were like scared of touching that.

H: Because you fell in love with the director? So that’s why they didn’t have you in the sequel? That was a dumb move.

K: I think so.

H: Isn’t that wrong though? Not to put you in a sequel because you fell in love with the director?

K: Well I wouldn’t say that I fell in love with the director...

H: Oh you had an affair..

K: Yeah that was weird..that was a kind of a weird thing. But I definitely...It wasn’t that big of a deal. Do you know what I’m saying. It’s like literally..

H: No because I’ve actually forgotten about it.

K: Yeah..

H: People at the time think it’s a big deal.

K: The work is so much more important. It’s like what do you care if I..I just thought that that movie actually..we could have made a great second one and we could have done it in a functional and healthy way. And then we didn’t ultimately do that and that’s okay because I did other stuff and it’s fine but yeah..that was weird.

H: So you were blamed for not being in the second movie because you had sex with somebody. That’s what you’re telling me?

K: I did not fuck him.

H: Oh you didn’t fuck him?

K: No I didn’t.

H: Oh so why not clear that up? Why not say that?

K: Who’s gonna believe..It doesn’t even matter

H: I believe you.

K: Honestly I feel like you do and I actually feel like this is the most honest setting I’ve ever been involved with.

H: You have been so honest with this so why did you get pegged as fucking..

K: Well because it looks like..you know you make out with a dude in public it definitely looks like you...

H: Oh oh so it was an innocent sort of thing and the media made it out to be a big deal.

K: Yeah I mean look it wasn’t innocent that was like a..you know that was a really hard period of my life. I was like really young and like um...

H: Well it’s understandable you’re a young woman. Yes ok you were going out with Rob...

K: Yeah I didn’t really know how to deal with that and I made some mistakes.

H: Hey guess what everybody does.

K: Yeah exactly. And honestly it’s no one’s business and people get over shit like that. You know what I mean? It’s really not a big deal. Basically what I’m saying is the work to me genuinely was ignored in a really sort of frivolous like silly petty way. For a group of adult people who were like supposed to be running studios and making films that’s what you..I mean honestly the film industry in Hollywood is so fear based and there are like equations that lead people to massive decisions that you assume are creative that are not at all.

H: Yes.

K: And so like that didn’t fit in their equation. And I think they are idiots because if you take a little risk and you make something good people will watch it and like it and pay you.

[butwhatifidothis]

3H and Bleach: Where the Fuck am I

So, I’m finally hunkering down and trying to write out this post lmao. I’ve mentioned here and there how my personal experience with the 3H’s fandom is similar to my experience with the Bleach fandom’s in more than one way, and - look. Like, I get there’s definitely a semi-universal thing that goes on across all fandoms. I don’t mean for this to say that this only happens within these two fandoms, because duh, of course they don’t. But!! This post is partly me wanting to air years long annoyance towards the Bleach fandom that just so happens to coincide with my feelings towards the 3H fandom, sooo... yeah lmao

I’ll probably be skimming over some bits about 3H, since most people who come across this will already be familiar with what I’d be talking about in that regard vs Bleach, so just a heads up

Note: This is gonna talk about Bleach which will spoiler territory (writing this off the cuff so not sure where this is goin’ yet lmao but I know that much), so if you don’t wanna see that then don’t read this post lol, I know for sure I’ll be spoiling something ahhhh... noticeable, lol

Ableism against the mentally ill

Now, most people reading this post will be familiar with the blog and how this very, very much applies to 3H, but for the sake of this post I’ll lay it out anyway with a brief summary

Dimitri and Rhea are both characters within 3H that suffer from severe trauma that heavily impacts their mental state. Both are the sole survivors of a horrific slaughter, with that slaughter redefining who they are and leaving a permanent marker within their minds in some way (Dimitri with having auditory and visual hallucinations, Rhea with having obsessive tendencies towards bringing her mother back from the dead). Specifically in CF, both characters are set up in the plot as antagonists, with both characters having to relive their trauma in some way due to the actions Byleth and Edelgard take against them (for Dimitri, having his home be razed to the ground and everyone he cares for dying around him, for Rhea having someone use her mother’s mutilated remains be used to end her and her race) and express extreme anger towards Byleth and Edelgard before they are killed to progress/end the story

Now, uh, sad shit right? Not exactly fuckin’ happy sunshine rainbows. These two characters are put through the wringer and are then murdered. They are rightfully not the fuckin’ happiest because of what happened to them before and what happens to them within the present story. But we’ve heard it all before: “They were crazy!” “They couldn’t be reasoned with!” “They had to be put down out of mercy because they were too ~far gone~ to live happily!” “They needed to be killed for the good of everyone!” It’s an extremely ableist rhetoric that gets passed around the fandom as though it’s totally fine to directly state that mentally ill people should be put down if they’re deemed a “lost cause.” Especially worrying because. You know. If they are a “”””lost cause”””” then it’s directly and specifically because of actions Byleth and Edelgard take against them. 

But how does this remind me of Bleach? What kind of similar extreme, worrying ableism exists there? Well, let me introduce to best girl a certain character with... a reputation, to say the least:

Meet Momo Hinamori.

Holy shit it’s so weird writing this out because I’ve been wanting to for years but have never worked up the nerve to do it lol

It should be noted, in the Bleach verse there’s two worlds out of three - Soul Society and Hueco Mundo, though I’ll only be talking of the former - that deal with “souls” (the essence within a living human). Souls age far more slowly than human bodies do in terms of body, not necessarily the mind (so a teenage soul will likely behave as such for a long while) so keep in mind that I’m going to be using numbers that may seem weird to someone who hasn’t seen Bleach lol.  With that out of the way, here’s a similar, if longer for context to those who haven’t seen Bleach, summary for Momo’s character as it relevant to this post:

Momo is a character in Bleach that grows a deep admiration towards Sosuke Aizen, a respected captain of the military force called the Gotei 13. She comes to views him as the most important person in her world due to him both noticing and paying direct attention to her as well as saving her and her friends’ lives during a training mission gone wrong while she was younger. Note that “younger” here means 40 years ago from the start of the story. Aizen would praise her all the time, allow her to sleep over in his quarters, would drape his cloaks over her when she looked cold, and would overall treat Momo as though he was his daughter for most of the time we see them interact in the beginning portions of the show. Note that none of this is sexual in nature, nor is it ever implied to be seen as such. That’ll be important later in this post

To make a long story short, Aizen comes to betray her. He stabs her through the chest and shows and tells her that she never meant anything to him, throughout the 40 years they’ve known each other (which, mind, for a soul Momo’s approximate age 40 years is still a noticeable amount of time), and he was only using her to help bolster his image as a loveable captain so that he can hide his plan from everybody that much easier. He did horrible things to Momo - from setting her alarm clock back to a later time so that she would more likely come across his pinned, bloody fake corpse. to framing her childhood friend for the apparent murder and tricking her into fighting that friend, to far later in the series tricking that friend into stabbing her (hypnosis shit, to sum that up) for literally no stated reason - that ended up mentally breaking her. She couldn’t believe that the last four decades were all nothing but lies and she fell into a deep denial about Aizen’s true nature - someone else made him do everything he did, she must have missed something that would have warned her about Captain Aizen’s unfortunate situation that forced Captain Aizen to hurt her and everyone else. This denial would take the majority of Bleach’s entire runtime for her to get over completely, with her having hiccups in her recovery even as she works up the nerve to fight him.

Now, uh, also not the fuckin’ funnest of times to be had here. The deep, long-running mental and psychological manipulation of what approximates as a teenage girl from a trusted older figure is something that is very clearly horrific and bad of the older figure, right? Like, we’re on the same page here on that?

This wouldn’t be in this post if that was the case. No, Momo was the one constantly on fire for what happened to her. She was one of the most hated characters in the western audience, and there were endless jokes about “lol look at Momo, the pincushion!” “Crazy bitch Momo, better watch out!” making fun of her and her trauma relentlessly. If you managed to find a Momo fan in the early 2000′s you should have also bought a lotto ticket because holy fuck, everyone hated her. She acted in a startlingly real if deeply uncomfortable way in regards to years long manipulation and she was lambasted for it. She didn’t immediately get over decades long psychological abuse and she was called useless, weak, a horrible representation of female characters, stupid - you name it, she was likely called it. To this day I still tense up when I hear that someone likes Bleach and they mention Momo at all because I’m always thinking “does this person think this abuse victim is dumb for being abused?”

Dimitri, Rhea, and Momo are all victim-blamed to a disgusting degree in the 3H and Bleach fandoms. Dimitri and Rhea are always hit with “well if Dimitri hadn’t have fought back against Edelgard/Rhea caused the “”tyranical systems” in the first place, nothing would have happened to them!” and Momo was constantly hit with” well, it’s not Aizen’s fault Momo was so clingy to him, what could he have done!” and I get so fuckin’ mad dude.

But for Dimitri and Momo specifically, there’s one thing in particular that caught my attention:

The “Rejection Theories”

This had my head spinnin’ a bit when I first heard it, cuz I had managed to avoid the theory for a while in the 3H’s fandom, but apparently a sizeable amount of people seem to believe that Dimitri wasn’t just mad at Edelgard in the Holy Tomb because of... you know *waves hand* fuckin’ everything, but that the primary reason for his anger was that Edelgard... rejected his advances to her? And that the dagger he gave to her when they were 13 was a phallic symbol of baby Mitri’s want to have sex with Edelgard? And. Like. What in the fuck are you talking about. 

But like?? Bleach did this shit too with Momo?? It was also a sizeable amount of people - not everyone, but a noticeable amount - that believed that Momo was just mad that Aizen wouldn’t sleep with her? You’d see it pop up in fics so often, that Momo would want Aizen to fuck her and she’d “go crazy” when he denied her and Momo was actually just this shallow bitch who wanted a good fuck like... what.

Like, when I first heard the Phallic Dagger take the first thing that came to mind is “wait Momo was also accused of just wanting to have sex with the person who traumatized her wtf” 

“Actually it was the perpetrators that should be forgiven because lonely and also some shit about ruling better”

Those in the 3H fandom know how often the “Edelgard was lonely!” line gets thrown by just about every one of her stans. Edelgard was lonely and couldn’t trust anyone, so of course she did what she did! If she had someone near her she could trust she wouldn’t have acted like she does in the rest of the game! Nevermind that she “gets” this in CF in the form of Byleth and still acts just as shittily as she does in the other routes, or how being a little lonely doesn’t fuckin’ mean you get to start war. But anyway, we also hear that Edelgard was justified in doing what she did because her ruling Fodlan would have lead to more peace in the end, once she got rid of the power structures in place now (except that doesn’t happen but whatev I guess lmao)

Aizen? He was lonely too! He was far too strong for anyone to truly be able to understand him, and so he tragically fell down a dark path. If he had known someone who could be considered an equal to him he would have never done all the horrible things he did. And the Soul Society is unjust! It needs to be reformed! So him slaughtering hundreds of thousands of souls at the minimum to harvest all of their power to use as his own is justified because it’ll be used to create a more just society under his rule!

Like. Y’all. Lowkey? I’m so fuckin’ glad Edelgard proved herself to be just as fuckin’ awful with Byleth as without because this shit drove me up the fuckin’ wall back in the day. There was 0 ways to prove that Aizen would damn sure be just as fuckin’ bad if he had an “”equal”” to stand by him than if he didn’t, and I get to kinda be right because without fundamentally changing these characters’ backstories they would not give two flying shits about whether or not they had someone “equal to them” (which is still kinda degrading to think about anyway).

Now, this is where I move away to a different topic lol

A split in the narrative cause divides in the fandom

With 3H houses this is really fuckin’ easy to point at: there’s 4 routes, three consistent stories and one radically different story, and that difference in story causes heavy contention within the fandom. It’s very obvious so I won’t go over it much.

But how in the fuck is there a divide in Bleach? It’s not a fuckin’ Choose Your Own Adventure manga, it’s an anime and manga showing off the characters of Bleach’s stories and interactions (with, you know, plot and shit thrown in).

Well. It’s more accurate to say the anime told a story about the characters, and the manga told... the story about the characters.

In terms of plot, the anime didn’t change much from the manga, but hoo fuckin’ boy, did they change shit about some of the characters. Specifically, they changed a shit ton about three characters: the two main protagonists, Ichigo and Rukia, and another main character, Orihime.

Orihime. Got. Fucked.

The anime would make her far more ditzy and clumsy, her crush (turned growing love later on in the story) for Ichigo during more deeper moments that showcases her feelings for him were downplayed if not removed entirely in exchange for talking or thinking about food, key moments she has with Ichigo early in the manga were cut or deadass changed to something else in the anime, some key moments with her relationship with Rukia were cut, her backstory was watered down - so much of Orihime was fucked with in the anime (her fuckin’ introduction was changed drastically). Meanwhile Ichigo and Rukia were given moments that didn’t exist in the manga, they have filler arcs (remember those lmao) that would be stuffed with shit ton of moments for them that have no basis in the manga, other characters would change their behavior from the manga to reflect a sort of “thing” going on between Ichigo and Rukia.

Look, guys, the anime fucked up so bad the fucking mangaka, Tite Kubo, has said he gets stomach aches watching the early anime because it was that awful. And this divide between the anime and manga’s portrayal of these three character helped spawn the ship war of Bleach: Ichiruki vs Ichihime (oh but more on that in a bit). It tanked Orihime’s popularity because people thought she was the stupid dumbass that would stumble ass first into situations when that wasn’t her character at all. And because the majority of anime watchers only watch the anime... yeah, you can see where this went. So just like in 3H in Bleach you have these radically different tellings of the same characters that drove a big-ass wedge in the fandom

Marketing

Imma be transparent, like I’ve said before I managed to avoid nearly every marketing tactic for 3H so it’s a tad hard for me to speak personally, but from what I’ve been told Edelgard was heavily marketed towards the player base pre-release. She was the poster child of 3H, she got the figma, she was in the spotlight - unless you cleansed your board of 3H content you knew exactly who she was. On top of that, it doesn’t stop in-game - loading screen messages would assume you picked BE, Adrestia is the first option to pick when you want to impress one of the lords in the prologue, the BE class is the first option to pick in choosing which route to play, every character has some moment in the game post ts where they express sympathy with the woman who waged war on them for five years (even characters with no business doing so, like Seteth entertaining the idea that maybe Edelgard isn’t that bad during Myrddin). With all of that good PR for Edelgard in and out of the game it heavily impacted how people saw her, and much of it is used by stans to justify her being a good guy (mostly in the game marketing) despite everything else in the game clearly showing that Edelgard is the bad guy

With Bleach in that regard... you have Ichiruki

holy shit it’s so weird talking about Ichiruki i’m still lowkey nervous about talking about them lmao

With Ichiruki stans, they would cling onto outside material that promoted Ichigo and Rukia together as proof that their ship was going to be canon. Spreadsheets, calendars, poems (some of which didn’t even apply to Ichigo and Rukia’s relationship but they insisted they did anyway), novels - outside material that either wasn’t canon or didn’t pertain to Ichigo and Rukia’s relationship. They would shove it in the face of Ichihime shippers that “see, we have all this stuff for us! We ain’t starving tonight!” when the canon (note: in the manga particularly) would clearly show Ichigo and Orihime’s relationship being the one that leans romantic in multiple significant ways. They would latch onto irrelevant shit that ain’t had nothin’ to do with anything and wave around as a paragon of romance when it literally wasn’t even canon

Just fuckin’ ignoring the creators deadass

Creators and developers of 3H: Edelgard is the typical Red Emperor the only difference is Girl

Stans: that’s just a headcanon

Kubo: Ichigo and Rukia have a platonic relationship and I’ve publicly said this since 2008

Stans, now, to this day: Ichigo and Rukia were robbed

Making people reject what they’re stanning for

I’ve seen a few people express that the more they interact with the fandom and see what her stans are doing, the more they grow to dislike Edelgard despite (some) initially liking or even loving her. To put it simply, the same thing happened with Ichiruki - hell, this happened with me with Ichiruki. I can’t fuckin’ stand the ship anymore because every time I think about it I’m reminded of the absolutely rancid, disgusting things Ichiruki stans have to done to others in the fandom, and even after nearly five years after Bleach has ended I still tense up when someone says they like Ichiruki over Ichihime precisely because of the behavior of the stans, just like I side-eye people who say Edelgard is the best lord. Do they like them because they simply prefer them over the other(s) and they’re not totally fuckin’ bonkers, or are they totally fuckin’ bonkers. 

And, like, that’s not fair! I know that! But I can’t help but think that when such a loud amount of people act in such deplorable ways just because someone didn’t like a bunch of lines on paper/pixels on a screen.

To all the nice Ichiruki and Edelgard fans, hope y’all are havin’ a nice day.

Long, crazy ass explanations as to why X =/= X (and if anything actually means Y)

Teacher theory for 3H. How Edelgard totally didn’t hire Kostas to kill Dimitri and Claude and was only thwarted because Claude booked it, but how she definitely actually meant to simply scare away the teacher that was with them so that Jeritza could be pulled from his already existing position in Garreg Mach to teach one class so that Edelgard can kinda keep a sorta closer eye on exactly one of the other classes (and just do shit all about the other one I guess), because Jertiza’d be able to gleam so much from teaching a class for a few hours a day I promise 

But for Bleach, you also have one particularly infamous theory positing shit that don’t real, with enough renown to be known by a specific name, and that’s the Lust Arc = Fail essay

To explain what the essay is about, I have to set the scene up a bit. Imagine, you, with your tiny little monkey brain, are watching Bleach, and you get to the part where Main Boyo is fighting against Villain to save Girly. Other Guy is there too - this is important. Main Boyo tries his hardest to fight Villain, but is ultimately shot through the fucking chest with a laser from Villain and dies. Like, for bit actually dies. Girly breaks down, has a straight up mental breakdown because she always “knew” that Main Boyo could do anything, and now he’s been killed and is dead in front of her. She screams out Main Boyo’s name, hysterically begging him to save her and protect her because holy shit the love of her life has been brutally murdered in front of her what the fuck. But Main Boyo, from literally beyond the line of death, hears her pleas and snaps back to life as a monster, with the sentence “I MUST PROTECT” repeatedly running through his head and being the only sentence he ever says while in this form, with him fucking destroying Villain and even going so far as to directly hurt Other Guy when Other Guy tries to stop Main Boyo from utterly stomping on Villain. Girly is the only person Main Boyo does not directly hurt, and when Villain is damn sure gonna fuckin’ kick the bucket that is when Main Boyo reverts back human. Everyone is more than a little shocked at what happened, but it’s clear from how relieved Girly is when Main Boyo comes back safe and sound that while this event fundamentally will change their relationship (and it does), it is still one that is extremely strong and they won’t let it get between them (and they don’t).

Now, when looking at the summary, you, with your absolutely miniscule peanut of a brain, might come away thinking, “Hm, Main Boyo might kinda care for Girly given that he literally rose from the dead to protect her and only her and went back to normal once she was safe” and you poor fool would be oh so wrong, because actually, this is all proof that Mian Boyo doesn’t care for Girly and that Villain actually cared more for Girly than Main Boyo ever could.

Without diving too deeply into the absolute lunacy of the Lust Arc = Fail essay, that was its main premise. That Ichigo, after rising from the literal dead directly after Orihime begged and pleaded that he protect and save her and then going on to protect and save specifically her (as Uryu - Other Guy - is also a friend of Ichigo’s and got his fucking arm cut off by Monster!Ichigo), is proof against Ichihime being romantic in any way and was not, in fact, a fuckin’ giant neon flashing sign that read THESE TWO ARE GONNA GET TOGETHER. It was the dumbest shit ever, but Ichiruki stans, much like Edelstans with Teacher Theory, clung to it like white on rice. It didn’t matter how much it was utterly debunked, it didn’t matter how the base premise was stupid as fuck, they point to it as the pinnacle of meta for their respective fandoms in their respective spaces.

And all of this leads me to um... the one I’m kinda the most worried about?

Stan Behavior

Edelstans are their own unique brand of awful in that that the shit they spew is particularly... worrying (”genocide isn’t bad if they aren’t human and also they kinda deserved it” “imperialism isn’t that bad really” the mentally ill should be put down if they’re deemed ~too far gone~” among other... wonderful takes...), and their behavior is also quite shitty, harassing content creators that go against the Approved Opinions (Ghast) or forcing people to take down fanart and in general infecting nearly every Rhea space with all kinds of disparaging comments no one asked for. They actively make the fandom a worse space, and when they flare up it’s almost always noticeable (again, Ghast)

Bleach?

Oh boy.

Guys. If you weren’t there for the Canonization of Ichihime (2016). You dodged a fucking bullet.

The outrage was out-fuckin’-rageous. Their behavior was some of the worst reactions anyone has ever seen come from the canonization of a ship in a shounen. This includes, but is not limited to:

Someone tearing apart all 70+ volumes of Bleach and burning it in their bathroom

In fact, multiple people tearing up Bleach and burning it, while keeping the Ichiruki moments and taping it to their walls

A Rukia cosplayer, in Rukia cosplay, printing out the final color spread of the end-game couples and their friends lounging about - with colored ink and all - and burning it, while filming herself doing so

Ichiruki porn being sent to Tite Kubo

Tite Kubo being accused of grooming a 15 Orihime cosplayer with no proof

Tite Kubo being accused of lying about his various health issues

Ichigo and Rukia being drawn cheating on their spouses with each other - and some of that also being sent to Tite Kubo

Tite Kubo being chased off Twitter by Ichiruki stans... again

Ichihime shippers getting sent death threats

Ichihime shippers getting called delusional for thinking their ship had a chance before the endgame couples were revealed, and then being called delusional for thinking their ship had any real basis and wasn’t pulled “out of nowhere”

Tite Kubo being accused of hating women because of Orihime being shown in an apron in the last chapter and Ichiruki stans jumping to the conclusion she became a housewife, and then Tite Kubo being accused of hating women because when it was revealed that Orihime has a job in a bakery to pay for college later they insisted what Kubo should have done was have Uryu, who’s a doctor at that point, pay for Orihime’s college instead of having Orihime pay for it with her own money 

And mind you, this is only the stuff I’ve personally seen and experienced

I am hoping and praying that Edelstans never get as bad as Ichiruki stans did in 2016, but with how otherwise similar they are my hopes are dwindling more and more. I guess I can take solace in the fact that they aren’t quite... that bad yet? In terms of actions, at least? Their sentiments though are infinitely worse, so like... cool

[thejustmaiden]

Jaken = Rin's Dad?

Okay, is this how a daughter treats their so-called father?

Most definitely not.

Rin and Jaken's relationship clearly screams of your typical sibling rivalry punctuated with cute and silly moments of playful bickering.

Yes, Jaken may technically be her main provider, but that doesn't necessarily equate to him being more of a father than Sesshomaru. If anything, he demonstrates more of a brotherly love towards her. As we all know, parents (which Sesshomaru embodies more based on real life patterns and parallels) will leave their older more capable children in charge of looking after their younger brothers and sisters. In this case, that would mean making Jaken responsible for watching over Rin and protecting her if need be. Ah-Un offers protection, too. Think of it as Jaken as the big brother and Ah-Un as the family dog who are babysitting while Sesshomaru as the parent of the household is away at work or taking care of business. I mean, they literally fit that description to a tee and I'm dying at the accuracy of it all! 🤣👌

[Quick! Someone write up a modern au where Sesshomaru finally gets out to have a nice date night but everything goes wrong in the most spectacular way. Like maybe Rin and Jaken catch a ride on Ah-Un to go spy!]

I recently revisited some episodes from The Final Act, and I couldn't believe how many moments like this there were where Rin got after Jaken or when she would "put him in his place" so to speak. Obviously, all of it is mostly harmless. I was only surprised by how often it occurred, not to mention how Jaken would just stand there and take it. Towards a supposed father figure, Rin's behavior is downright unacceptable. There's a certain level of respect a child is expected to show their parents/guardians, and that's just not what I'm witnessing here between them. Like at all.

Rather their dynamic has the nature of some sibling relationships like I mentioned above. So I really wish fans would stop pretending otherwise, because based on what we know of father-daughter relationships- healthy ones at least- they don't appear anything like what Jaken and Rin have. If you could please provide me other examples of where we've seen similar portrayals in fiction or in real life, then perhaps I can get on board.

Look, that doesn't have to mean that because Jaken isn't her father then Sesshomaru must be. They can both be her caretakers without necessarily filling that traditional father role. I'm just saying that if we're going to start assigning titles to characters, let's make sure we are accurate and truthful in our assessments. If you're going to label anyone Rin's dad, then it needs to be Sesshomaru. Jaken doesn't have precedence over him in terms of fatherly attributes, that just wouldn't make sense.

After all, this isn't about what you want to see, this is about what Rin very likely sees. It's safe to assume that she views Sesshomaru more like a father than she does Jaken. She knows she's safe with him (broadly speaking lol) and that he'll come for her no matter what. That sense of security and comfort is what a child seeks and what they should always feel in a parent's presence. She trusts and even idolizes him, just as a young and innocent child tends to do with their parents. At that age, parents are perfect and could do no wrong in their child's eyes. Idk about you, but this describes perfectly how Rin is around Sesshomaru.

Rin adores him and will follow him anywhere- yes, even into danger! That's what the innocence and unconditional love of a child will bring them to do if necessary. Fortunately, at the end of The Final Act we learn Sesshomaru takes Kaede's advice when he realizes that leaving Rin with her in the village is in her best interests. That way she'd be able to lead a more normal and safer life alongside other humans. Remember, Sessrin shippers, that doesn't mean he wasn't still a part of her life and didn't witness her become a young woman over the years right before his very eyes. Therefore, if they eventually do become romantically involved, then most if not all of those gifts had intimate and seductive intentions and it essentially constitutes as child grooming.

I understand from a Sessrin shipper's point of view why it'd be so much easier to claim Jaken as the father. In doing so, they diminish Sesshomaru's role in her upbringing. By refusing to acknowledge the real role he had in helping raise Rin (short periods can be crucial and impressionable too esp. in a child's early years so yes they did assist in raising her not only Kaede), these shippers are better able to justify how their filial-like relationship evolved into a romantic one. So yeah, I get it, if I were a Sessrin shipper I'd probably do the same. It's one of the more plausible arguments available to them, after all. "Let's pin Jaken as the father to fend off antis!" is the best chance they've got, but even so, it's still not good enough. But if you insist Jaken is indeed like a father to Rin, then Sesshomaru is most certainly one too. Who says she can't have two fathers anyway?

The thing is however much you want to deny or downplay what Sesshomaru truly means to Rin and vice versa, nothing will ever change or hide the truth of the matter. Please, stop acting like they're only traveling companions and nothing more. Some of y'all even go so far as to say that they're like strangers. Knowing potentially little about a person is not equal to a lack of love and affection. Making big assumptions such as this to defend your ship is actually doing you more harm than good. Let me elaborate.

According to your reasoning, if that's all Rin ever was to him was a companion and Sesshomaru had no real attachment to her, then what precisely is the basis of your ship? Recall that Adult!Rin doesn't exist yet, thus we have no real idea what she will be like or if she's even alive. So how can you make comments like that but then go on later to say "they have such a unique and unbreakable bond" or "only Rin can be the mother because she's the only human he ever cared for" if all that time spent traveling together didn't amount to much in the first place like you claimed to believe beforehand? Do you see how your rationalizing is confusing?

Contrary to what some of you may think, I'm not just saying all this because I'm an anti and I'm obligated to disagree with you, or whatever other excuse you want to tell yourself. Believe it or not, I'm attempting to give as unbiased and objective of an analysis I can based on widely accepted interpretations of family dynamics, development, and any history we know of.

Of course I respect that at times fans will perceive things differently since that's bound to happen. What's hard for me to wrap my head around however is the unwillingness of some fans- not exclusively Sessrin shippers- to apply basic common sense and sound judgment to their observations and deductions.

Looking at all our facts, then taking the small handful of scenes Sesshomaru and Rin do share together into account, one can logically conclude that their dynamic is akin to one found in a typical parent-child relationship. If you still fail to recognize Sesshomaru as a parent to Rin, then that's fine too. In the end, that won't really change the fact that he'd still take on a role resembling an adult figure overseeing a young child's care and protection. Be it as a vassal, guardian, what have you. Plus, nobody is saying here that Sesshomaru doesn't make mistakes regarding Rin's general well-being, but so do all parents. Overall, I think the majority of us agree that Rin is in good hands. Whether it's in his direct company or in his occasional supervision from his frequent visits to the village.

In other words, it doesn't really matter what exact title you assign him in relation to Rin, as the distribution of power is all inherently the same with any and all adult-child relationships. That bond never changes once you've established it either, seeing as it's a special kind of connection one can only form with a child and a child alone.

I was a teacher for a few years, and speaking from personal experience, you don't need to be a parent, per se, to take on a role of authority in a child's life. I know without a doubt that I could never and will never view any of those kids I taught in a sexual/romantic light later down the road; yes, not even once they become grown-ups who are independent and more than capable of making their own decisions. Those of you who disagree are usually missing the whole point though, because we're not trying to dictate what Adult!Rin can and cannot do like many tend to accuse of us doing. This isn't a question of taking away from her autonomy nor does it fall under "purity culture," which is why people shouldn't continue jumping to these outrageous conclusions and really listen for a change. You're deflecting from the real issue here when you choose to misinterpret what we're saying by ignoring the problem we're actually referring to. You cannot present a valid counter-argument if you persist in twisting our words.

Bottom line: once these kids become old enough to pursue a sexual/romantic relationship, of course they have that right if they're ready. All we're trying to say is you guys ought to stop pushing forward this it's-completely-normal-to-want-to-bang-your-adoptive-dad-since-you're-an-adult-and-can-do-as-you-please agenda and not expect backlash. Ship it if you want, but please stop acting like their romance would be the epitome of a pure and healthy relationship.

Sesshomaru may not wear his heart on his sleeve, but it's foolish to presume he didn't actually care about Rin during their whole time together just because he didn't openly express his feelings until the very end. Surely everybody can comprehend that people handle and process their emotions differently. The way Sesshomaru chooses to is completely valid for the most part, so let's cut him some slack regarding this already.

What I'm trying to get at is that any child whose life you played an influential role in will always be a kid in a lot ways to you even when they're old and wrinkly. Just as they will always picture you as the loved one who guided and protected them when they were most vulnerable and couldn't always fend for themselves. Can't we relate this to children we know personally and apply it accordingly?

Finally, I want to end on this note. Could you kindly take a look at these two images below for a second?

The reason I ask is because of something I recently read that's relevant to the topic. There was this pro-sessrin tweet I saw that stated Rin trying to take care of Sesshomaru when they first met is what a mom would do for a child, which in their opinion, translates to Rin being more like a mother than a daughter if anything.

First off: are you freaking kidding me????

Seriously, so now children aren't allowed to tend to their sick or injured parents?! Parents are apparently superhuman and shouldn't be offered a helping hand from a child, even if they mean well and want to help their parent who's in pain?? Now this Twitter user was mostly being a smartass, but at the same time, it was evident they genuinely thought they offered a valid enough point that warranted no further explanation or clarification.

Secondly, by saying this Sessrin fans don't seem to realize that in actuality they're contradicting themselves and proving the point we've been trying to make all along. Glancing at the first picture and moving down to the second, the role of the one being cared for and the caretaker is reversed. So then by their own logic, Sesshomaru IS in fact like a father to Rin.

What it comes down to is the names you give to the roles these characters play aren't as crucial as the dynamic they share. The specific characteristics of that dynamic are what define the importance of said role, not so much the name in the role itself. So real father or not, Sesshomaru and Rin clearly mean a lot to each other. Close relationships are defined and solidified by the devotion and belonging they have to one another, not solely by the duration of time spent together and their proximity.

Well, that's a wrap! I hope you guys got something outta this blog, and that you enjoyed or found some portions of it interesting. I would love to hear your thoughts on the subject from this fandom, but only engage in conversation if you plan to be respectful. Thank you!

[fun-with-colors]

The thing about Maruki’s reality

Ok, first off: this is not a moral argument. I’m not gonna touch the morals of it all with a 10 foot pole right now. This is about the actual viability of Maruki’s proposed reality. Because here’s the thing:

It’s unstable. 

Here are the facts as we know them:

 “Reality” is based on the collective perception of the world

Maruki is trying to overwrite that collective cognition with his own

Maruki has to actively collect information from Mementos and from screening centers to know what problems to fix, and that is an ongoing process

When people die, their cognition collapses

The way I see it, there are two possible ways his actualization could work, and both have distinct logistical issues that make them incapable of fully achieving his goal of a world where people will always be happy. 

Possibility One: After Maruki’s reality is “cemented,” it stays a live version of his cognition and changes as his cognition changes. 

This is the possibility that is best backed up by game lore. What Maruki is essentially doing is replacing the cognition that reality is based on with his own, instead of the collective cognition. As we saw after the Yaldaboath fight, when public cognition changes, “reality” changes to fit. Based on that event, we can assume that Maruki’s reality will continue to change as his cognition does.

Ignoring the terrifying prospect that after decades of being a literal god, Maruki might become jaded and lose some of his benevolence to become a tyrannical dictator of public thought just like Yaldaboath (because, again, this is not a moral argument), this possibility opens up a small question with huge consequences:

What happens when Maruki dies?

We know that when people die, their cognition collapses. In fact, Shido tried to take advantage of that fact just a palace earlier to try and kill the Phantom Thieves. So... what happens when Maruki dies, if he has written over reality with his own cognition?

To put it another way, if Mementos is based on the public subconscious, then would you expect there to be a Mementos if literally everybody was dead? No, of course not. So, by making “reality” based on his consciousness and his alone, Maruki is dooming the world to oblivion the moment he dies. 

One might argue that Maruki could be somehow immortal (again begs the question of devolution into tyranny, but this is still not a moral argument), but I doubt that. For one, he is still distinctly mentally human. After being beaten by the Phantom Thieves, he literally has Joker fistfight him for catharsis. That’s not the behavior of a man who has transcended his human flaws. And the second thing is that he is still beatable. If he literally thought of himself as a god, then he would be entirely invincible. This reality is built on his cognition. If he believed himself to be eternal, then he would have been. The very fact that you can beat him means that he can, and will, die at some point. 

Or, fine, let’s say that reality won’t simply fade into nothingness when Maruki dies. What if we assume that because this cognition of reality has to be based off of something, no matter how detached that something is from the actual substance, that when Maruki dies, reality will simply go on as it was at the moment of his death, developing naturally and without his further interference? Well, then we run into the same problems as possibility two.

Possibility Two: After Maruki’s reality is “cemented,” it becomes a fixed state of reality, and does not change as his cognition develops. 

This is less backed up by game lore, but I could see it happening based on the way Maruki’s reality is described. We are told that his cognition’s fusion with reality will be complete on February 3rd, and that at that point it would not be a cognition, but would be reality itself. What if we take that to mean that it will stop changing with his cognition?

Well, we avoid the harrowing question of Maruki’s death, but we run into some other issues. 

First off, we know that Maruki has to actually seek out people’s problems to fix them. He did not simply fix everything all at once on New Year’s Day. He fixed everything that he already knew about, but based on the cables going into Mementos and the ongoing screening happening for patients, Maruki is not omniscient. He has to learn what problems exist in the world before fixing them. In fact, the Phantom Thieves can even go into Mementos after Maruki has changed the world and find people whose hearts they can change. Not only does Maruki have to scout out Mementos to find problems to solve, but he takes time to get to everyone. This leads to an interesting consequence if the world stays static after February 3rd:

How could Maruki possibly hope to fix everyone’s problems in only a month?

And, even if he somehow could, here’s another fun question:

What about problems that arise after February 3rd?

Just because there aren’t currently any problems in the world doesn’t mean there won’t be. Ignoring the possibility of political stuff, because the premise of this world seems to be that “happy people just don’t kill,” what about when other people die?

He brought back Wakaba. He brought back Shiho. He brought back Akechi. Great, awesome, people are happy, problems are solved. But... None of those people are immortal. Even if they live long, happy lives, they will die eventually. As will everyone. And Maruki knows and wants to avoid the pain of losing a loved one -- we can see in the loading screen dialogue that he even went so far as to bring people’s cats back -- so what will he do when those people die?  In fact, that particular question applies to both this possibility and the possibility where reality continues to change with Maruki’s cognition. I don’t know what he would do if he could still impact the world. Maybe he finds some way to make it work. 

Regardless, if reality is at that point divorced from his cognition, then there is nothing he can do and people will grieve. And as soon as people have to face the grief of losing loved ones, as soon as that grief comes back, as soon as that person’s cat he brought back dies again, then his goal of creating a world that will never have problems becomes moot. And if the idea behind this world is that “happy people just don’t kill,” then that also falls apart and we end up in just the same world we were in before. If Maruki is incapable of maintaining this ideal world, then it will not stay an ideal world. It will be an ideal world for a bit, but only until something goes wrong, at which point it will start falling apart. 

In Conclusion:

The way I see it, there is no way for Maruki’s reality to be stable. Either he maintains an ideal world up until his death, at which point the world either disappears or stops being an ideal world, or he creates a moment of peace where most people’s problems are fixed... until things start falling apart and it stops being an ideal world. There is no way that his reality can last forever. The longest it will last as an ideal reality is roughly the length of a human lifetime.

Well... There is one possibility that I haven’t discussed, but it’s more of a moral argument. 

Let’s say Maruki is immortal. We know he’s still mentally human and flawed, but let’s say he’s physically immortal. We now have a being that has the mental capacity of a human, who has put himself in charge of the happiness of everybody in the world... forever. 

There’s no way his sanity could last.

[davidcampiti]

A SCREENPLAY IS NOT A COMIC BOOK SCRIPT

I'm frustrated by writers who hire a comicbook artist then send a screenplay as their script.  My first question to them is, "Are you hiring one of our writers to adapt this into a comic book script?"  Usually they'll respond, "No that's the script to work from."

But it's not.  

Word balloons aren't broken out or numbered, SFX aren't identified, the pacing is wrong, and most panel descriptions are missing, causing the artist and the editor to do twice as much work without a corresponding increase in pay.

Here's a good article from Nick Macari about the differences --

I think you’d be hard pressed to find some work of fiction, some type of writing, that you could NOT turn into a comic. That is to say, you could create a comic from notes on bar napkins, a published novel, heck I bet you could even create a comic using nothing but a movie as the source material.

If you’re making a comic yourself, like literally by yourself, it doesn’t really matter how you do it… only the final product matters. If you have some crazy process that gets you a beautiful finished product, good on ya mate.

But for those writing spec scripts, trying to write for others, or trying to entice others to their project, it pays to create scripts that open doors instead of closing them.

In 2020, there are a million writers writing screenplays and pawning them off as comic scripts.

If you want to be one of those guys… as you were.

But if you actually want to write comics, if you want to be a comic book writer, you should learn how to write an actual comic book script, not how to sell some other script as one.

There are lot of useful technique comics can borrow from screenplays.

For the innocent novice writer, it’s understandable to see some technical execution confusion. But for working and professional writers, knowing what transfers over and what doesn’t separates the riff from the raff.

Before we get into it, let’s put to bed, once and for all, why a straight screenplay script is not a comic script. Here’s why;

Director Production Designer Art Director Costume Designer Cinematographer … Camera Assistant Director of Photography Scenic Artist Set Decorator Storyboard artist … Makeup artist Wardrobe stylist Assistant Director Production Assistant Production Coordinator Production Designer … Script Supervisor Sound Mixer Special Effects Coordinator

oh yeah, and actors.

These are a few of the people involved in a film.

Individual roles dedicated to a specific area of production. In essence, a screenplay can deliver fairly minimal information and it’s someone’s specific job to interpret that information, its context, and otherwise apply their knowledge, experience and skill, to turn that information into some tangible, successful element.

If you think it’s the artist’s job to fill all these roles, you’re crazy… and mean to artists.

Ok, you still here?

Good.

Let’s showcase some specific examples of why a screenplay doesn’t hold up for comics;

THE FRENCH CONNECTION

Drug Dealer I don’t…

Doyle Ever pick your feet in Poughkeepsie?

Drug Dealer What?

Doyle Did you ever pick your feet in Poughkeepsie?

Drug Dealer I don’t know what you’re talkin’ about.

Doyle Were you ever in Poughkeepsie?

Drug Dealer No… yeah…

Doyle Did you ever sit on the edge of a bed, take off your socks and stick your fingers between your toes?

Drug Dealer Man, I’m clean.

Doyle You made three sales to your roaches back there. We had to chase you though all this shit and you tell me you’re clean?

Russo Who stuck up the laundromat?

Doyle How about that time you were picking your feet in Pougheepsie?

The drug dealers’ eyes go to Russo in panic, looking for the relief from the pressure of the inquisition.

Russo (in pain) You better give me the guy who got the old Jew or you better give me something or you’re just a memory in this town.

Drug Dealer That’s a lot o’ shit. I didn’t do nothin’.

14 dialogue exchanges, with for all intents and purposes not a single visual description (one minor one toward the end about the dealer’s eyes.). This is likely at least one page of comic with this volume of exchanges and dialogue, and there is literally, nothing cuing the artist as to how this should go down.

THE FRENCH CONNECTION

Mutchie

That’s right, he couldn’t fight legit. One night at the Garden about 1950, ’51—he fought either Jake LaMotta or Gus Lesnevish, I think it was—he took one o’those cream puff punches in the sixth—the laziest left you ever seen—missed him entirely. Down goes Blackjack without even workin’ up a sweat and the whole Garden gets up on its feet and I swear to Christ, everybody starts singin’ “Dance with Me Henry.”

75 words. Way too much for a single panel.

How many ways can you break the dialogue into how many panels?

Is one way to break it up more effective than the others?

Because if it is, and that’s NOT the method you write up, you’re producing a less effective script.

But ultimately, what works in film as a 30 second monologue (doesn’t work in comics), would be far more effective as caption narration over flashback action.

THE EXORCIST

EXTERIOR – IRAQ- NINEVEH- DAY

The old man arrives back at that dig site in a small jeep. As he pulls up two armed guards rush out. When they see who it is the old man gives them a wave and they slowly walk back to there quarters. The old man walks up the rocky mound and sees a huge statue of the demon Pazuzu, which has the head of the small rock he earlier found. He climbs to a higher point to get a closer look. When he reaches the highest point he looks at the statue dead on. He then turns his head as we hear rocks falling and sees a guard standing behind him. He then turns again when he hears two dogs savagely attacking each other. The noise is something of an evil nature. He looks again at the statue and we are then presented with a classic stand off side view of the old man and the statue as the noises rage on. We then fade to the sun slowly setting as the noises lower in volume.

Hey! this has some nice direction, this screenplay stuff is perfect for a comic.

NO.

Let’s break it down;

The old man arrives back at that dig site in a small jeep. As he pulls up two armed guards rush out. When they see who it is the old man gives them a wave and they slowly walk back to there quarters. The old man walks up the rocky mound and sees a huge statue of the demon Pazuzu, which has the head of the small rock he earlier found. He climbs to a higher point to get a closer look. When he reaches the highest point he looks at the statue dead on. He then turns his head as we hear rocks falling and sees a guard standing behind him. He then turns again when he hears two dogs savagely attacking each other. The noise is something of an evil nature. He looks again at the statue and we are then presented with a classic stand off side view of the old man and the statue as the noises rage on. We then fade to the sun slowly setting as the noises lower in volume.

This passage is 15 beats, give or take. One beat a panel, 3-5 panels per page, we’ve got 3-5 pages of comic in this passage alone.

Hang on we’re not done.

If you fill your page with this type of description (you shouldn’t, but let’s say you did), you could get almost double that amount of beats. So one page of screenplay delivering nearly 6-10 pages of comic content!

Tell me, when was the last time someone delivering a screenplay “comic script,” delivered a 2 page script for a complete issue?    Never says I.

BONUS on this example:

Did y’all notice the soundtrack emphasis in this excerpt from the Exorcist script? Of course you can have sound effects in a comic, but no matter how you crack it, comics DO NOT have soundtracks. Relying on film soundtracks in a comic script is a sure fire way to deliver less effective scripts.

BIG TROUBLE IN LITTLE CHINA

JACK Alright, where’s my truck, Wang? I’m outta here. And my money, too.

WANG Forget about your truck, Jack. You don’t wanna go back there. You’ll have to go through the Wing Kong to get it. It’s insured, right?

JACK Of course it is. But that’s not the point.

WANG The smart man comes back for it later…

JACK The smart man calls the cops!

WANG Cops have better things to do than get killed.

We showed the typical lack of visual description a screenplay gives in the first example. [Screenplays tend to focus on the scene setup, then briefly hit key actions of the scene.] Here we have another example of missing visual description, but I point it out for something more specific–LACK OF EMOTIONAL context.

As I point out in the Writer’s Guide, Emotional content is one of the essential elements of each and every comic panel. So not only do we not have visual cues to support the action in the screenplay, but how are the characters delivering these lines!?

JACK Alright, where’s my truck, Wang? I’m outta here. And my money, too.

How many ways can you say this line?

I can say it pissed. Irritated. Fearful. Sarcastically. Comically.  Those are just a few that pop in my head… and I’m no actor.

Leaving emotional context open to interpretation undermines narrative control–in a big way.

A good, effective scene, could die a horrible misinterpreted death.

For the record, you can use parentheticals in a screenplay. This can give emotional context, like the one from Jack’s first line I omitted to make the example more effective

JACK (pissed off)

But where parentheticals do contain emotional context, you use them in a script sparingly. Just like you don’t tell the director how to do his job filling your screenplay with camera direction, you don’t try to tell the actors how to do theirs. (Remember, the answer to why Screenplays aren’t Comic Scripts, there’s a lot of people, hopefully professionals, bringing their expertise to the table.)

CASABLANCA

Ilsa Your secret will be safe with me. Ferrari is waiting for our answer.

At the bar Ferrari talks to a waiter.

Ferrari Not more than fifty francs though.

Ilsa and Laszlo walk up to him.

Laszlo We’ve decided, Signor Ferrari. For the president we’ll go on looking for two exit visas. Thank you very much.

Ferrari Well, good luck. But be careful. ( a flick of his eyes in the direction of the bazaar) You know you’re being shadowed.

Laszlo glances in the direction of the bazaar.

Screenplays live in movement. Unless you’ve got a static insert of a letter or photo or something, everything is in motion and there is constant change (even if subtle) from micro-second, to micro-second.

While comics work to capture movement (and  there are some tricks), it is ultimately a static medium, locked into showcasing moments frozen in time.

What I explain in the “works in movies not in comics article” is that the constant movement and motion, supported (primarily) by actors, but by the lighting people, the art direction people, director, etc. all gives depth and purpose to every single second of a film.

With all these people doing their job, a screenplay can give super general stage direction, like what we see here in this Casablanca excerpt.

At the bar Ferrari talks to a waiter.

Ilsa and Laszlo walk up to him.

Laszlo glances in the direction of the bazaar.

These trivial actions carry no narrative. They work in film because of performance and motion, which steps in to create narrative.Without performance and motion, a single frame captured from core stage direction translates to ineffective comic panels.

By the way, all the examples I’m giving here, are from solid movies. The big pink elephant in the room when writers deliver “comic screenplay scripts,” is that they assume they know how to write a good screenplay in the first place. Trust me, novice writers rarely do.

There’s a lot of technique and skill in writing a solid screenplay. And if you think a good screenplay causes problems converting to a comic, wait till you try it from a shitty screenplay.

Still thinkin’ screenplay is synonymous with comic script? Well you’re wrong sunshine, but what do I know?

I’m just a non-famous full-time mercenary writer, writing almost exclusively in comics and games for a decade or so. :p

I’ve spent a few hours writing this article, but there are plenty of other examples I haven’t touched on.

I’ll come back and add some more as I think of them in my down time. Maybe eventually when the list is so long it takes you a couple hours to read this article,  y’all get it through your noggins that comics are there own medium which demand the attention and respect of a unique format and writing approach. Something the comic book writers reading this, already know. #justsayin

About the Author — Nick Macari is a full-time freelance story consultant, developmental editor and writer, working primarily in the independent gaming and comic markets. His first published comic appeared on shelves via Diamond in the late 90’s. Today you can find his comic work on comixology, amazon and in select stores around the U.S.  Visit NickMacari.com for social media contacts and news on his latest releases.