#the one where he says this and leaves without elaborating and the other character is like???? What do you want me to do

[goodwitchycaro]

that "it's pride month, you know what that means" meme but it's the Wizard and Glinda, but I don't have enough brain cells to do anything with that

[meanbossart]

Love Drow's camp greetings, but now I've got to know-- what would his romance path look like?

(This was a REALLY FUN thought experiment, thanks for asking about it!)

You'd get approval points by: -Picking the joke dialogue options, especially if they're dark or crass. -Succeeding intimidation checks. -Starting fights no-questions-asked with characters that don't immediately show you respect. -Defying authority. -Antagonizing drows, githyanki, mindflayers and goblins. -Being friendly towards animals. -Showing willingness to do what the dream visitor suggests. -Notable boost if you let him take on the Loviatar priest in your stead.

You get disapproval by: -Disclosing to people that you're infected with the tadpole. -Agreeing to help NPCs who aren't offering to get rid of your parasites. -Some deception checks (he doesn't always realize you're lying). -Being distrustful/pushy with Shadowheart. -Siding with the absolute. -Trusting or empathizing with the Emperor at all after he reveals himself (Yes, he will leave you if you bang the squid). -Massive point loss if you don't let him take on Orin on his own.

[More elaboration underneath the cut, CW for terrible relationship dynamics and implications of sexual coercion, especially within the context of BDSM.]

He can be persuaded to allow you to have a one-night-stand with Halsin, but will not agree to a three-way relationship or long-term arrangement.

He will stay with you if you sleep with Mizora without the need to roll for anything, but you will lose a lot of approval.

He will agree to a four-way with the twins at Sharess Caress if you ask him about it, but only after you complete his quest. If he has lost to Orin he will kill the twins during the act. If he has accepted Bhaal, he will ask if you want to kill them with him, but you can refuse/dissuade him from doing so.

In regards to his personal interactions, you would usually get choices between antagonizing him, expressing fear, not taking him seriously at all, or making flirtatious advances.

He's neutral/disapproving towards flirtation prior to triggering a romance (though he still reacts flattered). He's neutral/approving of not being taken seriously and/or being feared, as long as the PC is being somewhat facetious and not expressing outright distrust or doubt toward his capabilities. Basically, as long as what you're saying implies that he's formidable, or makes him laugh, he will like it.

After the romance is initiated, he will enjoy flirtatious dialogue options that put him in the role of the desired, compliment his looks/abilities, or express general affection. You would also get options that paint him in a kind of "sexually predatory" light - he doesn't like those.

You could encourage him to embrace his Urge at the start of the campaign for approval, then he flips to wanting you to discourage it after it grows outside his control. If he accepts Bhaal, this switches it back to where he approves of it being encouraged. If he loses to Orin, he will just agree with you whether you tell him to give into his Urges or keep fighting them.

You can break up with him at any point unless he has accepted Bhaal; In that case, he won't agree to it and say that when he takes over the brain you won't have a choice on the matter. The only way to keep him from betraying you during the ending is to either kill him or staying in the relationship with him and dominating the brain together.

As for the actual romance scenes, it'd be similar to Astarion's route where you get to sleep with him right away, then the following interactions are more focused on other forms of intimacy and developing the emotional side of the relationship. You would get the option to push for more sex every time, which he would turn down out of fear of what the Urge might do if he goes along with it - if you keep pushing even after that, it gets you disapproval.

During the scene that locks the romance path (prior to arriving at Baldur's gate) you can persuade him to have sex, and if you succeed he will lose control and try to murder you during the act. The only way to survive it is to kill him instead. You can be resurrected if you lose (he cannot) but he then breaks up with you.

The "themes" of his romance are supposed to allude to the different dynamics of a maso-sado/dom-sub relationship. If you push him to pursue Bhaal you are setting yourself up for a 24/7, lifelong arrangement. the relationship is reduced entirely to your sexual desire for each other, the pushing of boundaries with no limits, and constant one-upmanship. You are no longer allowed (and outwardly mocked) for displaying any tenderness that isn't sexually charged, and he will become angry with you if during your night together following the finalization of the quest you don't pick the aggressive/violent options during intimacy.

If he loses to Orin, he becomes entirely emotionally dependent on the player character, willing to bend to your every will and latch onto the PC as his new master whether or not they agree to it. He is terrified of his fate and desperately wants to please you so you don't abandon him before he loses himself. You can either take advantage of this and revel in the power you have over him, become frustrated, or demonstrate patience and try to encourage him to hold onto some individuality. You can also just kill him, which he will allow you to do through dialogue options at any point. During the romance scene that follows this path, you can only have sex if you restrain him completely first.

If he refuses Bhaal, you get yourself a quiet, cocky, but loving weirdo who enjoys play-dynamics a healthy amount but is ultimately in it because he likes you as a person. He's willing to compromise on the maso-thing as long as you don't put him down for it, and it is implied that while things may not be perfect, you are both willing to work on it through mutual understanding and patience because the relationship is based on more than just burning desire or co-dependency.

[sovasleepy]

books and bonsai

[ omen x gn!reader ] - you both have your separate hobbies, but omen seems to love yours just as much as you do

tags: just fluff. reader loves books and reading (implied that the current book is fiction but i tried to keep it ambiguous)

notes: requested by @krokrux ! i hope you enjoy :)

“eccentric” and “extroverted” were probably not the best words to describe omen. he was a man of few words, and often times simply a man of several low growling noises.

not to say that you hated those things about him. not even remotely. it was refreshing, really.

it’s no secret that the hustle and bustle of days spent living at kingdom headquarters were… a lot. someone was always awake, whether that be a guard or simply a coworker fighting sleep. training was hard and tensions were tight most days. missions were tiring and often ended with several injuries. even the slow days where you could sleep in and training was minimal weren’t easy. there was something about the cold, metal environment of the headquarters that took away the “home” feeling of it.

one place that did make you feel better was the nearest comfy spot to read a book. today, that just so happened to be a sofa in a lounge room. the pillows and cushions were soft, but the back support good and the blankets cozy.

omen sat at a nearby table. he had a little bonsai tree situated in front of him and small pair of pruning scissors in his hand. normally, if someone was already occupying the space, you would have left.

however, omen was quiet and the sofa looked a little too inviting. you could enjoy each others company without disturbing each other, right?

you had been reading for a while whenever omen finally stood from his chair. you’d been a little too engrossed in what you were reading, and it took you a second to blink back to what was actually happening. the phantom took a few tentative steps toward you. he was quiet for a few beats before he finally spoke.

“can i sit?” he asked. one hand made the slightest inclination toward the seat next to you on the sofa.

you nodded and pulled your feet in a little to give him space. “oh, sure. how’s your tree?”

“good. your book?”

“it’s going good, i like this book. although the main character is kinda pissing me off. i know it’s supposed to be a personality trait or whatever but— yeah, it’s a good book.” you stopped before letting yourself go off on a tangent.

there were another few beats of silence. he tilted his head ever so slightly, as if asking for you to elaborate. when you didn’t, he leaned slightly closer and pretended to read the words on the page, although he wasn’t paying much attention.

“tell me.” he said, leaning back to where he had been before and looking over to you expectantly.

“tell you what? about the character?”

“the book.” omen said. “you seem to like it.”

you couldn’t help the smile that spread across your face. you would jump at any chance to tell someone about whatever book you had read or read about that day, but the offer being laid out to you sparked a warmth in your chest.

you weren’t sure how long you had been talking, but it had to have been a while. your mouth was dry, but you had managed to spill out every single coherent (and some incoherent) thought you’d had about the book thus far. and you couldn’t be happier about it, either.

omen hummed when you finished. he didn’t say anything, except mutter a small “thank you,” before collecting his bonsai and leaving the room. you settled back into the spot you had been before, and continued reading.

the interaction had been strange to you, but you tried not to think too hard about it. of all people, omen was one of the last you expected to hold a conversation with, although was it even a conversation? had he even enjoyed it? or did he grow tired halfway through?

in all honesty, you had presumed the latter.

that was until the next afternoon, anyway. you heard a small knock on your bedroom door, and padded over to open it. in the hallway stood omen, bonsai tree and pruning scissors in tow.

“hey,” you smiled. “what’s up?”

“can i…” he trailed off for a moment while he thought of what to say. then, he held up his bonsai tree and nodded towards it, indicating he was referring to it. “…and you tell me about your book?”

it would be a while before you realized that he wasn’t actually pruning his bonsai most of the time. you weren’t sure how often they needed to be trimmed, but it definitely wasn’t every day, and not for that long. you wondered if he give up the farce and just admit that he liked listening to you talk about something you enjoyed, but you supposed it didn’t really matter. if he wanted to pretend to prune his tree just to listen to you, you weren’t going to complain.

[chirpsythismorning]

Mike's character regression can be explained in large part by one emotion in particular: guilt

Just want to preface this by saying that, this is not Mike slander. I love this dude. In fact, I think what makes Mike such an interesting character is that a lot of his behavior throughout the series can be explained in part by previous moments, and after really looking at all these moments together, what you end up with is a pretty fucked up story.

So while some might want to take this as Mike slander, these points I'm making are a part of Mike and things he has done and said and whether they were intentionally harmful or not, it's Mike. It's all shaped him and his role in the story. The fact that we're seeing a visible shift in his behavior at all, with plenty of moments from the show to back up what brought us here, makes it compelling enough to talk about.

So, without further ado, back to our roots:

Ah yes, the infamous canon proof disputing Mike's I think my life started that day we found you in the woods, claim during his monologue. Not only that, but in this original scene from 1x02, it turns out Mike actually intended to send her away the next day (all of which El could hear Mike saying from the open bathroom door).

Mike outright calling El a weapon, again telling the others they need her because they stand no chance at getting Will back otherwise.

I wont elaborate on this now, because there is way too much to unpack that'll honestly be more worthwhile discussing further on.

For now, this is a secret tool that will help us later.

These next couple scenes right here though, are pretty painful if I'm being completely honest. The way its shot, specifically El's very visible exhaustion, accompanied by the varying priorities of others around her, leaves me feeling pretty unsettled upon rewatches.

I obviously can't remember how I felt when I watched these scenes for the first time, but I imagine I viewed them as this huge romantic moment for Mike and El (I was tricked by heteronormativity, okay?). But, again, upon rewatching them since then, I've realized I get this sort of sad feeling by the end. You'll see what I mean.

El obviously just went through something extremely traumatic. She tried to go find Will and Barb in the void, only to find Barb dead and Will presumably alive, but then slipping through her fingers at the last second (no, literally).

We then got a moment where Joyce held El while the others sat by quietly because she clearly needed a moment of comfort given what she just endured.

Then in this scene shortly after, everyone is leaving to get ready for their final attempt at saving Will.

Now, notice how not only Lucas, but also Dustin make the effort to reach out to El to comfort her affectionately after that traumatic event, with those twos' actions specifically being showcased in sequence?

Lucas, who spent the better part of the season being critical of El, is now ending the season rubbing El's shoulder to warm her up, literally soothing her to make her feel better.

Then there's Dustin, who right after Lucas' gesture makes a gesture of his own, putting his hand on her knee reassuringly, to show her he's there and he's happy she's okay.

And lastly there's Mike, who is so kindly allowing El to rest her head on his shoulder. This placement of Mike and El here is definitely a testament to the fact that Mike has vouched for El this whole time in contrast to the others and so, understandably, she put her head on his shoulder for reassurance, because out of the three of them, he's the one whose been looking out for her the most. (Right?)

Now you might be thinking that this sequence's only purpose was to show Lucas and Dustin's development with El, and that it wasn't intentional that they focused on Lucas and Dustins' priorities in this moment in contrast to Mikes'. And I raise you, this next scene.

Here we have a focus on Mike looking on to where everyone left, while the others beside him are presumably just processing what went down and taking a rest (and boy oh boy do they (El) need one).

Mike on the other-hand decides to take this moment of rest to display the most cliche and universal forms of distracted unrest known to man: he checks his watch.

Mike then stands up abruptly, causing El to fall without his shoulder there for her to rest on anymore, all while her and Dustin are looking on after him, sort of like... Okay?

It's small. It might seem insignificant. But if you actually pay attention to what this scene is trying to make you feel, after really looking at it for what it is, it's kind of sad.

In a moment that chooses to highlight the other boys' acknowledgment of El after what just happened, and not only that, but at the tale end of their final battle of the season, Mike is... distracted?

Mike, who has been presumably looking out for El more than the others in the party this whole time, is conveniently out of commission? And right now when El is looking for his reassurance the most? Mike doesn't even have a moment to say, 'Hey I'll be right back, I just want to check something. Can one of you?--', asking Lucas or Dustin to sit next to her in his place. No. Dude just stands up without even acknowledging her.

If it was any other moment in the show, under less post-traumatic circumstances for El, then I wouldn't even think much of it. But it's at this point in the story when El is essentially at her most exhausted and quite literally seeking out support from others, specifically Mike, that makes his distractedness so eery.

Again, you might still be thinking that this isn't that deep. However, I think based on the events leading up to this, and what follows right here, could quite literally hold the answer to the guilt Mike is still keeping to himself to this day.

So... How are we feeling?

Are we feeling like Mike None of you are thinking about El's wellbeing right now! She could get brain damage from using her powers too much! She's not a weapon!* Wheeler is a little bit of a hypocrite? (I told you that tool would come in handy!)

It's actually quite terrifying how similar this scene is framed to the scene in Hopper's cabin in s3, where Mike pretty much says the exact opposite. In s1 Mike goes from being one of the first people to refer to El as a weapon within the context of them using her powers to find Will, with him being completely un-attuned to the fact that she is exhausted in this moment while the others are saying El's rest and safety is the most important, to then in s3 completely flipping script and saying El was using her powers for nothing, blaming the others for treating her like a weapon and not taking her wellbeing into consideration.

It would be one thing if Mike had a little arc where he acknowledged this script flip. Because that's what it is. It is them having Mike use a word in s1 to describe El, that being weapon, only to say the others are treating her like that with that same word being used. It is them having Mike not agknowledge El's well being after overusing her powers, only to say the others aren't taking her wellbeing into consideration for overusing her powers.

And it would be one thing if Mike had spoke to El or literally anyone about how he felt like he wronged El for planning on sending her away the next day after they found her so that they could go back to looking for Will, or how he said she was a weapon that they needed in order to find Will, essentially being no better than the people she just escaped from, who also used her for her powers. But we don't get that (actually we do.. but it's not acknowledged for what it is aka survivor's guilt. It's instead seen as romantic... another tool for later...)

Now, don't get me wrong, I don't think any of Mike's behavior takes away from what Mike did do for El, because yes he was kind and accepting when the others weren't. But even despite all of that, at the end of the day, he was often at the forefront of expecting El to risk her life for them, even if he wasn't outright asking that of her.

Before you freak out, No. I don't think Mike, a literal child, was capable of fathoming that El was going into these situations risking her life. She's a superhero. El's alternative was literally going back to the lab, running, or staying with Mike. This was her safest option.

After a bunch of rewatches and putting together a lot of these moments as a whole, I've come to a point where I believe that Mike's behavior throughout s1 was him thinking that because of who El was, she's already in danger at all times. That is a constant reality for her. And so why not have her help them find Will, because she is able to, all while he can also help her. And El clearly wanted to help them, because she wanted to help good people and finally do something meaningful with her powers for a change. Unfortunately, she also had to endure PTSD flashbacks almost every single time Mike and the boys had her use her powers to help find Will.

Speaking of Will, he is currently missing and possibly dead. Will also, in contrast to El (for now...), does not have any sort of superpowers.

Mike's concern over the threat of Will's livelihood is much greater than Mike's acknowledgement to the true risks El is exposing herself to each time she uses her powers to help them. That is s1 canon.

Is there times when Mike is focused on El and her well being. Absolutely! But is there also times when Mike is not showing any display of concern to El's well being in the moment, in complete contrast to the other characters around him... Also yes.

And so the events happening the way they did, with Mike himself not fully comprehending the severity of what's been going on during these high stake situations going on around him, makes sense.

And that's what makes it all the more sad that when Mike finally does realize what he's truly been asking of El this whole time, which is to risk her life for them, it's too late.

This whole scene is obviously very emotional. All of the boys are crying, but the focus on Mike calling out for El painfully is heartbreaking.

But what's even more sad to me, is that El has been sort of used to mistreatment her whole life. She's used to having to find any comfort she could get from people in her life, all the while they were using her for her powers. I mean even despite Brenner being who he was and doing what he did, she still showed these signs of wanting to love him despite it. Which is very very fucked up. But knowing what she's gone through, makes sense.

Mike on the other-hand does greatly contrast Brenner because he was one of the first people to actually treat her with genuine kindness right from the start (before he even knew she had powers), making it a lot easier for her to care for him even despite that pesky trait of using her for her powers being almost synonymous with Brenner's very similar trait.

So when she looks back at Mike, and points him out specifically before sacrificing herself, it feels like a few things at once.

It feels like her acknowledging the fact that she appreciated him specifically for taking her in and supporting her more genuinely than anyone has in her entire life.

And yet it also feels like her, either intentionally or unintentionally, acknowledging the unfortunate side affect caused by days of Mike leading the efforts to find Will, with the expectation of her to do things to achieve that, which could have all lead to her demise technically. And so now when it all comes down to it and the stakes are at their highest yet, same as the risk, she's got to a point where she believes there is no other choice but to do just that, risk her life, especially if it means saving them.

While this is happening, Mike is backtracking in real time. He is trying to get El to stop and it's because he doesn't want her to die. Obviously.

But that's the fucked up part isn't it? When he finally realized what he's been asking of her this whole time, it's too late.

Which takes us to S2 Mike Wheeler, known by many for being a boy whose been calling his true love everyday for almost a year now because he's just so in love, but is actually in fact a boy suffering the most intense form of survivors guilt, one that involves a person who genuinely feels responsible for the persons death...

But that will probably take at least another 2,000 words so I'm thinking maybe I better split this into multiple parts.

I will tease that the next part involves one specific detail in particular that I never see anyone talk about, a detail that I think, in combination with what's discussed in this post, is so important to understanding Mike's breakdown for what it truly was at the end of season 2. I will also probably do more posts beyond that for s3-4, to delve into the impacts these moments from the first two seasons have basically put in place a perfect recipe for what is currently going down.

So feel free to stay tuned for those nonsense updates.

Continued

[justsomeoneintoomanyfandoms]

Hello! I loved your platonic headcanons for one piece so much! So comforting! If it's no trouble, may I ask the rest of the strawhats too? Only if you're comfortable, of course! 🩷

Hi Anon! Thank you for your request! Sorry it took so long. I am currently up to episode 451 (Impel Down) of One Piece so please keep that in mind while reading. I hope you like the headcanons!

Platonic headcanons on Usopp and Brook can be found here!

Fandom: One Piece

Characters: Monkey D. Luffy, Roronoa Zoro, Nami, Sanji, Tony Tony Chopper, Nico Robin, Franky, Jinbe x gn! Reader (separate and platonic)

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

Thoughts on being friends with the Straw Hat crew.

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I hope you’re an energetic person because with Luffy as your friend, there’s never going to be another peaceful moment. He’s always dragging you and all of the other Straw Hats into an adventure.

Speaking of energy, he’s got a lot to spend so you can expect him to ask you to fight or play with him a lot. The same way he’s always playing with Chopper and Usopp, you’re now included in the mix.

Gives surprisingly good advice at the least expected moments. You could be sitting quietly and suddenly, he’ll run over to you and provide you with a profound and perfect solution to a problem you mentioned to him two days ago.

However, don’t expect him to have good answers for everything. Sometimes, the best he can offer is “maybe you should have something to eat?” And that’s okay, duality is something you learn to expect if you’re friends with Luffy.

I feel like Luffy is the kind of person to share clothes platonically. Not his hat of course (unless it’s a special/rare occasion) but his shorts and vests are up for grabs. He just thinks it’s cool being able to swap clothes with his friends.

Definitely the kind of friend to give you a huge hug after you’ve been apart. Even if it’s just for a couple of hours, you can still count on a tight embrace when you reunite. He just misses his friends when they’re not around.

This guy will give you the most insane presents you’ve ever received. Whether it’s a shiny rock, a marine’s hat, or a bug he picked up, you never know what you’ll be handed next. Best not to ask where he got things from though…

That one friend you can’t take anywhere without being prepared for anything that might happen. A simple dinner? You’re going to have to be prepared to run when no one can pay for the amount he ate. A walk along the beach? Now he’s fighting the seagulls. It’s always an adventure.

Nap buddies. No elaboration needed. If you enjoy taking naps, wherever Zoro is is the best place to be. Luffy usually leaves him alone when he’s resting so that means you’re likely to be left alone as well.

He’s also the perfect person to train with. He’s got an insane workout regime so don’t even try to keep up with him but being in his presence is a good motivation to try harder.

Speaking of, he’s a lot like Luffy in that he’s very motivational. However, unlike his captain, he’s a quiet inspiration. He might not say it often but if you ever get a few words of praise from Zoro, take that to heart. He really means it.

Says the most out of pocket things sometimes. He won’t even react to it. One minute you could be relaxing together, the next he’ll say something like “hey, have you ever smelt your own burning flesh?” and never elaborate.

At the same time, he’s also that one friend that, while he doesnt say much, when he does speak, it’s either really profound or stupidly funny. There’s no inbetween.

I feel like Zoro’s weirdly good at noticing when people close to him have habits that harm them in some way like biting your fingernails or chewing your lip. He’s also good at pointing out when you’re doing something like that so you can stop.

Amazing at keeping secrets, if only because he usually forgets he’s meant to keep whatever it is secret and just assumes everyone else knows so there’s no need to talk about it.

In the same vein, Zoro will remember the most obscure details about you. You could tell him there’s a spot on your back that burns in the sun easier than everywhere else and a year later, he’ll remind you to cover up that spot when you dock on an island.

The single best person to go clothes shopping with. She’s got an eye for fashion like no other and will always give you honest feedback on any clothes you try on. Just be warned that she’s not paying for your clothes. That’s on you.

Oh my goodness, a second hand shopping queen! She knows all the best places to get good quality and high end clothes for discount prices. It's great going shopping with her.

Despite Sanji being the cook, I feel like Nami’s decently good at baking. She’s got a bit of a sweet tooth in my mind so, as a result, she knows how to make sweet stuff.

That one friend who is brutally honest with everyone, regardless of whether she knows them or not.

Following on from that last headcanon, you might have to bail her out a lot. She has a tendency to say the wrong thing to the wrong person and get in trouble. Good thing she’s got her friends for backup.

I feel like Nami has a habit of getting absorbed in her work and forgets to take breaks. If you want to help out, set up your work station next to hers and remind her to take a break whenever you do.

Really good with makeup and especially doing makeup and face care routines on others. If you need somewhere with your eyeliner or just want to have a spa day, Nami's your girl.

I feel like Nami would enjoy making jewellery from the treasure she finds. It increases the price if and when she decides to sell so it's a win-win. If you've very lucky, she might even gift you some jewellery she's made.

Feeling homesick? No need to worry, Sanji’s on the case. He’s somehow got a cookbook from your hometown or island full of things to make that taste like home for you.

Always doing little touch ups to your appearance, whether it’s adjusting your collar or tucking your hair back. Of course, he’ll always get the go ahead from you first.

Super empathetic. Somehow, he always knows how you’re feeling and will do his best to help you feel better.

However, just because he knows how you’re feeling, that doesn’t mean he always knows how to help. He’s good with comforting people generally but when it comes to something more nuanced, he can struggle at times due to not having much comfort in his life.

Speaking of comfort, he’s that one friend that always checks in with others but is super out of touch with his own feelings and health. Keep and eye on him in return and he’ll be very grateful.

If you like reading or writing, Sanji will ask you to help him make a cookbook or two. He really wants to compile all of his favourite dishes and figures the best way to do that is by making a book. He's just not sure how to go about it and would be grateful for any help you can provide.

He really loves spending quiet time with his friends one on one. Life with the Straw Hat's can be chaotic and loud at best so it's nice being able to relax in companionable silence for a change.

His love of gossip is only rivalled by Nami's. It's something he picked up from the Baratie and he loves being able to share lots of juicy stories with you.

Definitely the mum friend. Some might say it’s Robin but I think it would be Chopper. He’s always keeping an eye on everyone and trying to keep them out of harm’s way as much as possible.

However, this doesn’t mean he’s not a very chaotic influence as well. Once he lets go of his doctor’s instincts, he’s roughhousing right alongside Luffy and Usopp.

This one is more for the readers who experience periods or menstrual pain but if you ever have cramps, he’ll curl up into a ball that you can press to wherever it hurts. This goes for back pain as well if period pain isn’t an issue for you.

Speaking of back pain, Chopper is amazing at giving massages. You might not think it with his hooves but he’s light enough that he can stand on you in one of his smaller forms and really work out any kinks in your back.

I feel like Chopper does have the bad habit of giving unprompted diagnoses and can be a bit naggy regarding healthy living. It’s just because he cares though.

The fastest way to find out if Chopper considers you a close friend is if he asks you to tell him stories. It doesn't matter if they're exciting or not, he'll listen attentively because you're the one telling it.

Love, love, loves doodling on his friends hands and arms. He claims it's so he can practise marking skin for surgeries but he really just likes seeing a visible sign of the fact that he has friends.

Will use you as a reason to get sweet treats, especially if you like sweet stuff as well. Otherwise, he'll use the excuse that “it's a hot day and you've been really active so you should have something to make sure your blood sugar isn't too low, I'll have something too to keep you company!”

Robin is definitely that friend who will make a comment about getting rid of anyone who annoys you that you’re not sure is a joke or not. She does mean well, she just has a…unique way of expressing it.

In the same manner, she knows so many facts, both relevant and completely obscure, that you’ll never have to look far for information.

This sort of follows on from my headcanon about Chopper’s role as the mom friend: Robin is the cool wine aunt. Sure, she cares about her friends deeply, but she’s happy to take a backseat and watch the chaos unfold rather than try and prevent it.

Definitely a daydreamer. She’ll often gaze off into the distance while sailing between islands, clearly lost in thought.

Robin likes memes, especially dark humour ones or ones that Facebook mums would post. That's just the sort of thing she likes and if you're her friend, you'll be shown all of those memes.

I feel like she has a collection of weapons from different cultures stashed away somewhere. If you ask to borrow something, she'll be more than happy to show you how to use it most effectively.

The most responsible driver and happy to drive you wherever you need to go. However, she will be assertive when the traffic's particularly bad so hang onto your seats and buckle up!

I feel like Robin is good at sketching things quickly and accurately. She has a good eye for detail and, if you ask her to draw something, she'll pull together a drawing in a matter of minutes.

Need anything made for you? Franky’s the man for the job. No questions asked (other than what’s necessary of course) and he’ll work tirelessly until it’s perfect. There might be some interesting design choices though.

I think if you’re a creative minded person or have a talent for designing things, Franky would value your input in his designs.

One of the most chill people to hang out with one on one if you’re not super chaotic like Luffy. He’s very adaptable when it comes to his energy levels and will match the mood of the room.

Franky would absolutely be a theatre fan. While that might seem out there, it just makes sense. He’s already got a flair for theatrics and music so it would be right up his alley.

He’s a great listener. If you’ve got ideas or just need to talk through, he’s a good sounding board. He’ll also do his best to give feedback or advice where it’s required.

Franky is weird through proxy. Hanging out with Robin a lot does that to anyone so if you have strange hobbies or interests, you'll hear no judgement from him!

Following on from my headcanon that he'd make things for you, if you like collecting things or cosplaying, or just need props for something, this is the guy to ask. He'll get a few reference pictures and make an amazing replica for you.

Franky has a knack for photography. He's not really sure how he acquired this skill but he's certainly not complaining. If you ever want some “professional” photos done, just ask him and he'll be more than happy to help.

Jinbe loves talking about books. If you're a fan of reading or just want to listen to him ramble for once, bring up books and you're set.

Jinbe plays golf. I’m sorry, I don’t make the rules. He knows it’s not everyone’s thing but he’d enjoy it if you tagged along for a game every once in a while.

He enjoys carrying his friends around and giving them piggy-back rides. He’s got the height and strength advantage, and it makes him feel like even more of an unofficial dad than he already is.

Prone to spouting quotes or sayings from ancient generals and philosophers at random moments. They’re always relevant to what you’re saying or doing though so that’s something.

In the same manner, he’s always got motivational posters laying around. You know those cat ones that way things like “hang in there” and “believe”. If you ever want some for yourself, he’ll happily help you pick out the perfect (purrr-fect) one.

Jinbe’s very good at giving advice. Unlike Luffy who gives good advice sporadically, Jinbe’s a lot more reliable. He’s got a lot of life experience to draw from.

He does, however, try to fix everyone’s problems for them, even if they don’t ask for help first. He only has your best intentions at heart but if you’d rather just talk things out or deal with things on your own, you’ll have to tell him that.

Always checks in on you before bed. It’s his way of making sure everyone he cares about is safe. If you want him to join you in your nighttime routine, whatever that may be, he’ll be more than happy to spend the time with you.

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

Hey, did you enjoy this? If you like my writing, please consider donating to my Ko-Fi page! This will allow me to make some money off my writing, something I enjoy doing.

ko-fi.com/justsomeoneintoomanyfandoms

Important Note: Please only donate if you are financially able to. If you are currently in a position where you can't donate, a like, comment or reblog will mean just as much.

[majachee]

One criticism of LMK I don't agree with whatsoever is that "LMK villainizes Wukong."

It doesn't. It really doesn't. The show's portrayal of Wukong is meant to be a flawed individual with good intentions, and the main themes of the show center around not letting the past define you and growing past your mistakes. While not every villain is redeemed, the clear message of growth is there within the main cast, especially with them being reincarnations/descendents of the Pilgrims. And Wukong's major character flaw is closing himself off, and this is very much connected to these themes.

MK, at the beginning of the series, idolizes Wukong. While he does acknowledge that Wukong was a troublemaker in the past, it's not elaborated on nor does MK really think about it. MK is excited about his new powers and meeting his hero for the entire first season!

It isn't until season 2 that doubt really starts to creep in, where this idea that Wukong is a perfect hero starts to fracture in MK's eyes. We, as the audience, know that Wukong is investigating LBD and trying to keep MK safe by leaving him behind; but to MK and the characters in the show, they take Wukong's word at face value. If Wukong says he's going on vacation, then he's going on vacation. While they're not pleased about it, they don't have a reason to believe Wukong is doing anything else. And that's what Wukong wanted, nobody following him and putting themselves in danger. He's the immortal monkey, he can handle this himself, in his opinion that is.

And then LBD gets the staff, and they finally learn where Wukong truly was all this time. The main group rightfully feels a bit hurt, they trust Wukong but Wukong didn't trust them. We know his reasons, but we can still empathize with the others' hurt and confusion. This doesn't make Wukong the villain or a terrible person, though. He wasn't plotting behind their backs, he was trying to handle the threat by himself.

In season 3, the most vocal person regarding their distrust of Wukong is Pigsy. Even before Amnesia Rules, Pigsy scrutinized Wukong's meditation and even the validity of the map to the Rings. And then Amnesia Rules happens, where Wuking reveals that there aren't just 3 Rings of Samadhi but 4.

Pigsy is rightfully suspicious, and its meant to give suspense to the audience as well. Why didn't Wukong tell them about the 4th Ring?

And then we learn the whole story: Wukong slipped during the ritual, and one of the Rings ended up forming inside Ao Lie. Mei, as a descendent of Ao Lie, now carries the fourth Ring. When it's revealed, Nezha specifically mentions the fire possibly burning Mei to a crisp. This is also when we learn that Wukong's plan was to extract the Ring from Mei and harness the power of the Samadhi Fire hinself.

Wukong's main fault in this entire scenario was his tendency to push people away and keep things to himself. His desperation when they begin the ritual without him also points to him not wanting Mei to get hurt. He also feels responsible for the Ring being in Mei in the first place.

His plan was flawed from the get-go, not because he's an evil villain, but because in trying to handle things by himself he pushed his new friends away from him, and created a situation where they couldn't trust him. We see this trait of his again when he goes to fight LBD alone, he feels responsible and wants to handle it by himself. His mindset is constantly looping between "I'm responsible for this" and "Don't get the kid and his friends involved." And what the show is trying to tell us is that he should reach out for help, and that this isn't a healthy mindset.

In season 4, Wukong's past mistakes are exposed for everyone in the main cast and the audience to see. And his past with the Brotherhood explains so much.

We don't know much about the pligrimage other than the fact that it was mentally and emotionally beneficial to Wukong after he got locked up, so for now I'm going to focus on the Brotherhood.

The Brotherhood assembled to fight against the Jade Emperor, as Wukong was openly rebellious during this stage of his life. After the battle, he had to lock his former friends away because they clearly hung onto this goal of rebellion. We also see in the memory scroll that Azure Lion's "paradise" caused environmental devastation to the surrounding areas, and that after Wukong was imprisoned he lashed out at Macaque. He feels responsible for Azure's ideas of grandeur to some extent, in his eyes he was the one who fed into these ideas and lead their first attempt at rebellion. He was so caught up in his journey towards immortality and strength for the sole purpose of protecting his loved ones, that he ended up pushing them all away and hurting them. He even says at the beginning of season 4 that most of the bad guys MK faced were people he has history with, specifally that he crossed them at some point.

Based on Wukong's self-destructive behavior that's been previously established, season 4 brings a lot of light onto Wukong's behaviors. Once again, he left some things unsaid because he felt solely responsible. When MK and Macaque rescue Wukong from the scroll, it takes MK reassuring Wukong that he can still correct and grow past these mistakes that haunt him — with Macaque offering him a small, forgiving smile to really motivate him.

Wukong's character in this series is that he's a flawed individual who has made mistakes and will continue making mistakes, even with the best of intentions in mind, but that he can grow from them. And that he is going to grow from them with his newfound family. LMK made it's message of growth so painfully obvious here lmao

[foreststranger]

DAN FENG - Tethering The Sky and Reaching For Heaven

ꜱᴛᴀʀʀɪɴɢ *:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ

↳ 『honkai: star rail』dan feng/imbibitor lunae/yinyue jun (ugh can he stop having so many names??? it makes tagging a complete nightmare) x gn!reader

ꜱʏɴᴏᴘꜱɪꜱ *:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ

↳ parting ways with silly dragon guy before he reincarnates and dies idk idgaf abt his backstory 👍👍👍

𑁍 ᴡᴏʀᴅ ᴄᴏᴜɴᴛ: 1.0k

ɴᴏᴛᴇ ꜰʀᴏᴍ ᴀᴜᴛʜᴏʀ *:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ

↳ surprise!!!! yet another short fanfic abt a long haired man! anyways happy early 1.3! i wish everyone a very e6 lynx and good luck on whoever you’re pulling for. ALSO HOW TF DO YOU DO CHINESE DIMINUTIVES/HONOURIFICS IN X READER FICS??? 阿Y/N???? OR MAYBE IN PINYIN??? a’y/n or ah’y/n??? OR WOULD IT BE LIKE 阿[the first character of your name] LMFAO

“What do you mean ‘you’re leaving?’ Where are you going?” You ask, taking a step closer to him, trying in vain to figure him out.

“We won’t see each other again. I’ve… done something horrible.”

“Care to elaborate?”

“…It’s not our main concern as of now. I’m sure my punishment will come for me soon. I don’t know how much time I have left with you.”

“Okay, what’s going on? I still have no idea what you’re talking about.”

“You’ll understand soon. I’d just like to spend one final moment with you.” Dan Feng grabs ahold of your hands, his grip almost painful as his fingers lock with yours.

“Are you… You don’t love me anymore?” A thousand thoughts rush through your head, yet none of them makes sense. “Do you want to see other people?”

“No, no, no. Of course not. That’s not what I meant. I meant that…” He pauses, concentrating. “We don’t have much time left.”

“But what does that-“

“Forget it. Would you just follow me, 心肝? Humour me. Please.” Your eyebrows furrow at the odd hypocorism. Before you can answer him, Dan Feng is leading you towards the dock. Bright yellow ginkgo leaves drift down from the sky, signalling a change in the year as they fall. There’s a scent in the early autumn air, and it reeks of… gloom; fraught with melancholy and a lingering anxiety that seems to cling to you. It whispers into your ear sweet serenades, singing a cacophony of incoming danger. The signal of change grows to a warning.

“Why are we heading towards the water?”

“Please, 亲爱的. Do not question me right now. Just… let us have a simple conversation. Would that be alright?” He sighs as the two of you exit the main area of the Alchemy Commission.

“I guess… You’re acting weird, you know that?” you sigh. “How was your day?”

“Great. And yours?” He answers a little too quickly.

“It’d be better if I knew what was happening.” Dan Feng turns his head to look back at you, a million words he wants to say are hidden behind his watery eyes.

Your shoe gets stuck in a crack in the stone walkway as you’re busy staring at him. You stop to pull it out but Dan Feng yanks on you, your shoe slipping off of your foot as he continues walking.

“Hey, wait! 枫仔! My shoe!” He doesn’t let go, his hand shaking in yours with a sense of urgency. “How am I supposed to walk without it?” You hop on a single foot, trying to keep up with his pace. In response, he picks you up into a bridal carry, cradling you like a parent would for their child.

“O-oh. Uh… okay. I guess I don’t mind…” You look up at his trembling jaw. Whatever’s going on, it must be very important to Dan Feng. If only he’d spit it out already so that you could offer your comfort. But the most you can offer right now is a small kiss. You bring your head up, pressing your lips against his cheek before resting your head back down on his forearm. The display of affection causes Dan Feng to stop in his tracks, but he quickly starts walking again.

“I...” He clears his throat, a light blush blossoming on his face. “That… means a lot to me right now. Thank you.”

“It’s the least I could offer you, 枫仔. You look so sad… Tell me what’s wrong.” He looks towards the horizon and the setting sun, a forlorn expression painting his face. The shadows of the evening light leave him looking especially somber. For a moment, he wants to tell you the whole truth. But he holds himself back to spare your feelings.

“I’m going somewhere. And… I won’t be returning. I am sorry, [name]. Truly. I do not wish to part ways but…” He looks down at you. A tear drips off of his face and onto yours. “There is nothing to be done about it. I… wouldn’t have done it if I realized the consequences sooner.”

“You’re… not joking. Would you tell me where you’re going? And when? Why are you being so vague?” You still couldn’t grasp the concept.

“亲爱的，you would hate me if I told you the whole truth. I could not leave knowing that you despised me. But… I’m sure you’ll find out soon when the news gets out.” Dan Feng looks back up towards the sky. You follow his gaze towards a few clouds that are coloured a hue of red from the sunset.

“I love you dearly. I apologize… I have forgone our future and forsaken you. Please remember me as someone you loved, and not a traitor to the Luofu.”

“Er… okay…? You’re really leaving?”

“Yes, I am afraid so…”

“…I love you too. Wherever you’re going, don’t forget that, okay? I… I really can’t believe it. I’m not gonna see you again. Ever…? Will you come visit me?”

“That is not possible, I fear. Though I wish more than anything that I could.”

The two of you reach the harbour. Dan Feng sets you down on the wooden planks and takes a seat beside you, dipping his legs into the water.

“Your pants are gonna be soaked, 笨蛋!”

“I am aware of that fact.” He pays you no mind, looking on into the horizon again. You gently hold is hand in yours.

“This… this is it? The last time I’ll see you? And we’re just… staring at nothing in complete silence?”

“You are speaking right now, [name].”

“What did you even do?” He glances at you. But as you make eye contact, he can’t seem to look away.

“…What are you doing?”

“You ask so many questions, 亲亲. I prefer it when you’re asleep. You’re much cuter in bed, too.” Dan Feng lightens up a little, a smile on his face as he teases you. “I’m just…” He shakes his head, as if to get himself out of a daze. “I’m just trying to remember your face. I need to make sure I don’t forget it…” His expression returns to how it was before, desolate and heartbroken.

“Make me a promise, 亲亲.”

“Go on.”

“We will meet in my next lifetime. And… we will live out a future that we could not have in this one.” He holds out his pinky finger and you take it.

“Sounds nice. I’ll hold you to it, Dan Feng.”

ask before translating, taking inspo from (not copy), reposting, etc. my work. remember to credit me and if you’re taking inspo from it, please @ me as I’d like to see what you do with my ideas!

[mooneln0ne]

LUFFY WANTS TO FLY A KITE AU QnA!!! Thank you for supporting my mini comic, as a ty I compiled a bunch of questions below.!

it’s a long one, so beware!

Q (Anonymous): What inspired you to write this comic? Outside the horrors what are you trying to tell?

A: Inspiration would probably be the frequent hallucinations I have and my longing to go back in the fields... I miss my cows 😭 As for the story i’m trying to tell.. It’s a bit hard to explain without spoiling the story….

Q: (@oddity-txt): For your kite au- what do ace and sabo see when they look at luffy?

A: Clearly something that isn't Luffy, but it looks like Luffy

Q: (Anonymous): Since Vivi is introduced would she play a key role or would she appear for like just a few parts, would she have a blog like Sabo?

A: She's important to the story!! She's child of the pastor in this au-- Sabo and Ace used to be Altar servers for his church so they have history of working with her before... As for a blog.. No not really. Though if you look close enough you'll find that you can contact Vivi just before the events of the story to pry information.. But unfortunately whatever happens to her is set in stone •ᴗ• Q: (@washingmachineonfir ): Can you elaborate in religion topic in the city? About the house, why its like this? How many kids disappear?

A: The religion in ASL's neighborhood is simple, you know it already. Now about the house? You don't wanna know. As for the kids... hm.. Depends on how many kids can fill a school bus Q: (@courtroomac3): Hi

A: Get outta here boy Q: White boy Flavor of the month...

A: idk Q: (@humoofsegsual) Is there a possible ending in which everyone dies?

A: nods nods, when that happens everything disappears . Don't forget to say goodbye before it happens!!!! Q: (@plastirk): What kinds of trigger warnings are we gonna see?

A: everything in this list

Q: (Anonymous): Why does Nika go after Ace and Sabo?

A: Because Luffy wants to be with them . But Nika doesn’t want to let go of Luffy.

Q: (Anonymous): Does Nika hate Ace and Sabo?? all their interactions with them are with malice 😭

A: I wouldn’t say malice I suppose… I’d say maybe frustration?

Q: (Anonymous): Where are other characters in this? Like Garp, Dragon, and etc

A: They’re living their normal lives somewhere else!! Koby and Helmeppo are employees at the store Sabo often goes to. Vivi is a librarian, her father is a priest in the town’s church, she met Ace and Sabo a lot because they were altar servers back then! Law is one of the brothers’ neighbors, he frequently leaves though. (Copy pasted from my discord)

Q: (Anonymous): Is it true that one of the brothers might die ☹️

A: . Yes! Im cheering for their downfall! but you guys aren’t 😞

Q: (Anonymous): Are ASL biologically related here?

A: …No

Q: (Anonymous): What does the kite have to do with this au?

A: It’s something Luffy owns!!!! Don’t worry about it too much ;]

Q: (Anonymous): Is there a symbolism with the ghost costume? It makes me wonder what was it for other than to scare A and S

A: It’s by far the biggest hint in the first part 😵‍💫 I wonder if anyone caught it at first

Q: (Anonymous): Are Luffy’s friends going to appear? (Zoro, Nami, Sanji, and Ussop?)

A: mhm! You’ll see one or two of them sooner or later

Q: (Anonymous): What wouldve happened if we chose the other option in the first two parts?

A: The first poll would’ve decided on who runs the ‘blog’ ^w^!!

the one who wasn’t pick was cursed to run a tumblr blog lmao

Last Question:

Q: (Anonymous): Why are Luffy’s friends here if Nika just wanted him?

A: Luffy treasures his friends.!!

Bonus:

Q: (Anonymous): Will Detective Chopper have the same horror elements as the Kite au?

A: Yeah, but I suppose it’s more drama oriented

[mishy-mashy]

A bit of a toss to the wind, but what if Shinomori is related to Bruce? Probably not gonna happen but

They have:

Straight nose bridges

Thick necks

Same ears

Spiky yet fluffy hair that's still somewhat cooperative

Both their eyes are flat on top with small/single eyelids, and a bit of a tired or intimidating feel about their eyes

Small pupils (sanpaku eyes)

Mouths that naturally frown the same way

Similar chins and jawlines

Long legs

Both are weirdly, VERY tall, and intimidating on first impressions

Both are cautious individuals that rebel against society in their own way: Bruce by fighting directly, and Shinomori by ducking out

The fact Bruce knew where to find him and gave the Factor to some guy he met in the forest, and being as level-headed as Bruce, there had to be a deeper reason for his choice (unless it's just desperation and Shinomori's the most level-headed existence after Bruce dealt with Kudo's experimenting) beyond simply "Shinomori's a good choice"

Because Bruce was not one of the "as they laid down to die, it was passed to an unfortunate soul" vestiges, he had time and passed it on his own terms. There's also some degree of trust when every user passes on the Factor, and Bruce had space to choose his next person.

Shinomori and Bruce are level-headed and self-sacrificial without thinking. (Technically this applies to a LOT of characters, but-)

Shinomori pushed everyone behind him and got snatched by AFO so no one would be stolen, even though he hid from the guy his whole life. No hesitation at all in this.

Look at how there's multiple "whams", he didn't just push one person. Even Kudo's legs are blurred, his arms are raised, and he looks mid-air, despite being on his feet earlier. Like he was thrown back. Banjo and Nana's mouths are open in shock, and you can tell by their bodies' positions they weren't running (except maybe Bruce).

They all look like they were pushed. En got shoved in the middle of his back, and his blur even lines up with Shinomori's hand, Yoichi got thrown back, and Nana doesn't look like she was running, but that she was being tripped from Shinomori.

Banjo panicked and the first thing he did was yell the news to Midoriya. AFO surprised them, but Shinomori did too.

Like I mentioned in my [Shinomori is cute] post,

"His sense of self-preservation is probably heightened by the nature of his Quirk to keep him out of danger too."

And he still put everyone else before him. Even when he was caught, all he said was along the lines of "I leave the Ninth to you!".

Meanwhile, Bruce was willing to go against AFO in a closed space, back when AFO was at his peak and just killed Yoichi. He wasn't thinking either, he just took a stance. And Fa Jin was not as strong as we see Midoriya use it back then. Meanwhile, this is AFO at his strongest point.

Are both very "Do or Die". And both have died in the Do. (Protecting OFA, when alive and dead; passing it on, cultivating on their turns, giving up their Factors to damage AFO and protect OFA in their own ways [being taken, forceful transfer], etc)

Like Bruce, Shinomori communicates. He's eloquent, and explains a lot for Midoriya to understand about OFA's mechanics.

He explained how OFA couldn't be wielded by naturally Quirked people.

He explained his own life story to elaborate and add reasoning and consequence.

He introduced himself and asked Midoriya questions so he could participate and further his understanding about OFA.

When Midoriya was clearly hurt and tired in his running around alone, Shinomori calls him out with "Ninth, your injuries aren't fully healed yet". He remained and watched him go as Midoriya pushed them all away. And Shinomori could tell their Quirks were only giving Midoriya the power he needs to accomplish his goals. He didn't keep this knowledge from the other users, saying it immediately.

Though he's also a bit roundabout in communication like Bruce

"One For All cannot be wielded by a normal person." meaning normal, Quirked people

"This too, is destiny." *is immediately contrasted by Banjo saying it's timing*

"Do you know how I died?" *knows the answer is no. answers himself* "I died of old age."

"I'll get straight to the point." *has to correct himself before he starts to go on for too long*

Maybe just because they're both tall and have muscles, but. Shoulder blades and biceps. (Oh boy, two things most humans have)

If they're related, it just gives more reason to why Bruce can put up with Kudo; he's dealt with Shinomori and his weirdness

[weirdstuffinthewoods]

Jane Schoenbrun and the Screen Trilogy

Director Jane Schoenbrun’s “Screen Trilogy” seems set to define a period that feels deeply personal to those whose adolescence was shaped by the meteoric rise of the internet and the isolating comfort of technology.

Using a cohesive blend of glowing cool-toned hues, long, lingering shots, and scores and soundtracks that perfectly evoke teen ennui and lonely melancholy, Schoenbrun has used the allure of the screen to craft dreamlike meditations on identity, isolation, and transness that leave viewers feeling so seen.

A quick glance at the tumblr tag, letterboxd reviews, or TikTok videos shows one common thread: Thank you, Jane. And it's well-earned from the beginning. (More under the cut)

With the first installment of the Screen Trilogy, Schoenbrun tackles the questioning of identity through fears generated from unrestricted childhood internet access (something that usually gave the millennial generation something we can never unsee). we’re all going to the world’s fair follows Casey, a teen who partakes in the viral World’s Fair Challenge that leads to an ambiguous separation of self that leaves the audience questioning whether Casey was truly losing herself or merely participating in an elaborate, creepypasta-fueled MMORPG. When speaking about the film with The Hollywood Reporter, Schoenbrun says,

“It really resonated and reminded me of something I went looking for online in my own youth, which was an effort to remove myself from my body and my identity and exist in a space where I could express myself creatively, and perhaps even explore myself personally, outside of ‘the real world.’”

Casey mentions at one point that she can feel herself leaving her body, adding to the overarching theme of dysphoria.

This and many other vulnerable moments are shared through video which is really the only way the audience gets to know Casey, a key piece of information when JLB comes into play. Like us, JLB sees Casey expressing a number of concerning symptoms and thoughts. JLB reaches out to Casey, an adult man reaching out to “save” a teenager he knows nothing about. The adolescents of the internet age know this character all too well.

Between the unspoken disquiet of JLB’s “guardianship” and the time spent with Casey out in the barn in the middle of the night watching ASMR videos with her stuffed lemur, Poe, Schoenbrun’s work reaches out to the kids who, like them, found solace on the internet. We found a world that was bigger than our little towns, we found ways to self-soothe (visual stim videos come to mind as the new ASMR), and sometimes we found people like JLB (we basically made Chris Hansen the hero he is- we love Chris Hansen). For the first time, the isolated, sometimes trans or questioning, internet kid in us felt seen.

Schoenbrun slapped us with nostalgia again in 2024’s I Saw the TV Glow, a magenta-saturated amalgamation of teenage ennui and suburban melancholy that pushes through your ribcage, reaching for your heart without you even noticing until 2/3 of the way through, your frantically beating heart is ripped from your chest among screaming tv static and sparks, leaving you silent in the face of wails of unimaginable pain and need.

Soft-spoken 7th grader Owen meets 9th grader Maddy who’s reading the episode guide for The Pink Opaque- a Buffy-style 90s paranormal teen show Owen has only caught glimpses of, but that he’s totally fascinated with. The two watch an episode together, and as Maddy leaves Owen tape after tape to watch on his own, the pull of The Pink Opaque becomes impossible to ignore.

Schoenbrun is open about it- “I really did live and breathe Buffy the Vampire Slayer. I cared about Buffy more than I cared about my real life”. The same was true for a lot of us. Millennial kids weren’t quite the latchkey kids of the 80s but also weren’t yet the iPad kids of the late 00s. Parents were still learning how to parent and were either too controlling (like Owen’s parents) or too absent (like Maddy’s). Piggybacking on the theme of identity from world’s fair, the kids that didn’t see themselves reflected in popular media or the cliques at school would become masters of escapism, using books, movies, or TV shows like Buffy (it was Charmed for me) to create an inner world where they felt safe, wanted, seen.

Where world’s fair is about the loss and search for identity, I Saw the TV Glow tackles the question of “what next?” What do you do when you know time isn’t moving right, that life isn’t supposed to feel like this? When you learn exactly how to fix it but it sounds absolutely terrifying and insane?

Maddy has no hesitation. “I’m getting out of this town…I’ll die if I stay here. I don’t know how or when exactly, but I know it’s true.” Owen, like Isabel in The Pink Opaque, Maddy says, is afraid of what’s inside him. In Variety, Schoenbrun comments on their differences.

“What we experience through Maddy is this ultimate self-liberation: you have to destroy yourself totally in order to be reborn as who you really are. … Maddy knows that there’s somewhere where she can be full and it’s not worth staying in this place.”

The film encloses a number of deeply disturbing, viscerally upsetting scenes in monologues that connect the audience with feelings of dysphoria, of the disjointed way trans people experience time, and the fear of that time running out in conjunction with the fear of the future. Like world’s fair, the conclusion is ambiguous, but more hopeful in its way. It acknowledges the pain, the fear, the sheer exhaustion of transitioning, but proves it as a method of survival, and reassures the audience, “there is still time”, before leaving them with a cut to pink static where they can cry it out to some Frances Quinlan.

Not too much is known about their third installment, Teenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma, but Schoenbrun explains that it both pays homage to and critiques the lineage of trans and queer villains as sexual deviants. The New Yorker sums it up as follows:

“[Teenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma] follows a queer filmmaker hired to direct a new installment of a long-running slasher franchise. The director fixates on the prospect of casting the “final girl” from the original movie, and the two women descend into a frenzy of psychosexual mania.”

Slated to be gorier and funnier (thank God) than the previous installments, Schoenbrun is now turning to the aftermath of transition and the reclaiming of identity through sex, an important and often overlooked facet of transness. They’ve also sold a book, Public Access Afterworld, originally meant to be a TV show but now taken down in literary form. Schoenbrun hopes it will rival franchises like Sandman or Lord of the Rings in its scope, finally giving trans media an epic of its own.

All this fan can say is I can’t wait.

Sources:

Jane Schoenbrun Finds Horror Close to Home | The New Yorker

'I Saw the TV Glow' Director Jane Schoenbrun on A24 Film's Trans Meaning (variety.com)

How We’re All Going to the World’s Fair Grew Out of Internet’s Subconscious (hollywoodreporter.com)

[likealittleheartbeat]

hey there! can i ask you to elaborate on something?:)

when you reblogged the scene from 'the firebending masters' ep where aang and zuko are judged by the dragons, you said that "now they stand beside the person they thought had what they most longed for" in relation to their yin/yang dynamic.

i remember zuko's monologue in 'the siege of the north' about how aang is like azula and things come to him easy - something that zuko may feel jealous of and long for. but in what sense do you think zuko has what aang longs for the most, and does he acknowledge this?

Such a good question referencing this post and these tags:

First, I’d say that when I talk about longing here, it’s not conscious longing, it’s a deeper subconscious longing for that which will resolve their inner conflict but the character has not necessarily articulated it for themselves or even come to the conclusion themselves. @avatarsymbolism has a nice little post about zuko and aang’s wants and needs. And while I don’t agree whole-heartedly with the wants and needs they land on for the characters—Aang’s need to “mature and step into his role as Avatar” is clearly more nuanced since the Avatar state he masters at the end of season 2, as mentioned in the post, ends up getting him killed rather than serving as a narrative culmination—the framework of wants and needs with the initiator of a characters’ “lie,” which might be better understood as a character’s misunderstanding, is a nice way to discuss it. What I’m talking about with longing is their need.

Therefore, Zuko’s longing is not for the prodigiousness of Azula and Aang. That’s his want. What he needs is restraint, patience, and openness. What the framework of wants and needs hides, however, is something atla does incredibly well. The characters already possess and have demonstrated the features they need, just as an aspect of yin exists within Yang and vice versa. It resists the theory that desire is created by a lack. The problem is not in the characters’ ability but in their awareness of themselves and the bigger picture, the grand design. “Destiny? What would a boy know of destiny?” Jeong-Jeong asks in the episode that directly follows the Storm and the Blue Spirit which have paralleled and intertwined Aang and Zuko. “If a fish lives its whole life in this river, does he know the river’s destiny? No! Only that it runs on and on, out of his control. He may follow where it flows, but he cannot see the end. He cannot imagine the ocean.” The understanding Aang and Zuko reach in the dragon’s fire is their ocean. Zuko finally understands that his dogged pursuit of the avatar and his honor and all the failings to be self-disciplined towards the rules of his father’s court were related to his own values of restraint, patience, and openness to others’ lived experiences. He can finally see a vision of himself that is integrated rather than lacking.

Aang longs for an inner drive, a motivating force, a reason to live and, most importantly, to act decisively that belongs to him rather than the expectations of others for him. Zuko’s clarity on his desire for his honor provides such a stark contrast to Aang on this point. All Aang can manage to do is try to avoid and escape the mantle placed on him while barely even receiving a chance to consider self-determination. The lack of a motivating force is compounded by his survival of the genocide—why go on if no one remains who can understand you? why do anything if it can’t undo the loss?

He is teased by Bumi: “Typical airbender tactic: avoid and evade.” It haunts Aang’s arc as a criticism of his approach to life. He blames himself for running away and leaving his people to suffer the genocide without his protection. He is criticized for fooling around rather than being more direct in mastering the avatar state. He is told to stop thinking like an airbender by Toph in order to master earth—“there’s no different angle, no clever solution, no trickity-trick.” And then he doubles down on himself when he dies and feels that he’s abandoned the world again.

When he reawakens on the ship, we get another parallel to Zuko as Aang asserts a desire for honor, but the goal collapses into the stormy ocean with Aang before the end of the episode. Aang would like to be determined in the same clear way as Zuko, but he keeps having to face his inability to embody that the way Zuko does.

In “the firebending masters,” Aang finally starts to understand that his fleeting nature has an underlying motive. The nomads philosophies resisted the pressures of honor and productivity important to others in order to emphasize the illusion of separation, the potential for unexpected joy, and the inherent value of life. This openness is a drive itself, Aang realizes finally, though its action seems like inaction to others. All the dodging of attacks and duties Aang performed had a greater purpose to render freedom and reconnection, as if an invisible thread had been trailing behind him stringing all the places and peoples he met back together, across distances and even across death and time. He is finally allowed to find his own reason.

[rwbyrg]

RWBY Ship Parallels #1: Fear & Bravery

There are too many ship parallels to put them all in one meta, so I'll make individual posts as I remember them. The first one I want to tackle is how all the canon or hinted-at-being-canon ships all have pivotal moments where the themes of being afraid and/or having courage come up.

Some elaborations under the cut!

For starters, just for context to refer back to throughout the post, the definition of courage/bravery is as follows:

noun 1. the ability to do something that frightens one. 2. strength in the face of pain or grief.

I was initially going to list these chronologically, but we're going to do it on a ship by ship basis instead. First up:

Renora

The first incident for them happens all the way back in V4 during their backstory flashback. Ren underwent a small arc learning from his father that sometimes the worst action to take is not taking any action at all, even if it's scary. He then tries to support Nora by teaching her this same lesson: that they both need to be brave. She expresses vulnerability about how scared she is, Ren confesses to feeling the same, and together they decide to look after each other from that point on. Which makes everything just a bit less frightening.

We also revisit these same themes in their V8 confession. First we see Nora criticizing Ren for running away just because things got difficult:

And after Ren owns up to this cowardice, the things he did out of fear of failure, the conversation shifts. Nora admonishes herself, and Ren lists things off about her that he admires, the last of which - while not using the word itself - calls to how brave of a person she is and cites it as one of the main reasons why he loves her. Because as the definition above states, being strong and helping people without worrying about how much it might hurt you in turn is what it means to have courage.

WhiteKnight

Their heart-to-heart in V9E9 says it all. Weiss has been carrying the weight of failing to save Atlas since it fell, and after Ruby's actions in the episodes prior, she became aware (a bit too late) of how those same failures were weighing on their leader. So when Jaune acknowledges the harm he caused from trying so desperately not to repeat their past mistakes, Weiss is the perfect person to step up for reassurance.

She knows that their failures do not equate to their worth or all the good they're capable of doing. And reminding Jaune of this, calling him a brave and good person in spite of his failures, is what he needed to hear to be able to reach an acceptance he hadn't been able to achieve in all those years trapped alone in the Ever After.

(Also the framing parallel of BB and WK both holding each other is a very nice touch.)

Bumbleby

With BB it's not just one or two moments. Blake and Yang's characters both centre around the themes of cowardice and bravery since their beginnings and we see it come up throughout the show a lot. Back in V2, Yang sees the bravery in Blake when she herself can only focus on the opposite:

Blake: When you figured out I was a faunus I didn't know what to do, so I ran. when I realized my oldest partner had become a monster, I ran! Even my semblance... I was born with ability to leave behind a shadow of myself. An empty copy that takes the hit while I run away.

In V4 and 5 we see Yang struggling to get back on her feet after losing her arm and the trauma she endured at Beacon. Blake tells Sun that she sees Yang as the "embodiment of strength" and we, the audience, get to see the proof of this every time she keeps fighting despite shaking, and especially when she faces off with Raven in the finale.

These parallel arcs culminate with both of them facing off against Adam together, but most especially gets called back to in their mutual confession scene in V9:

Yang acknowledges what she saw in Blake all those years ago, that she doesn't give up on what matters to her, even when people hurt her, she still fights for what's important. While Blake acknowledges Yang's reliability, her strength, and her courage. And both of them, like Renora, cite these reasons as things they admire, and reasons why they love each other.

Now last, but certainly not least:

Rosegarden

One of the very first things Oscar says to Ozpin when he leaves the farm is that he's scared. This comes back time and time again, especially in the Atlas arc where Oscar spends so much of his time counselling Ironwood against letting his fear control him (a conflict Ruby is also a part of). Our little prince even has a theme song titled Fear to really drive it home.

Whereas Ruby has always been the poster child of "keep moving forward", no matter how much the trauma, stress, pressure, and grief weighs you down. You just have to be strong and keep pressing on, fighting the monster that took her mother away. No matter what.

So, much like BB, there are themes around bravery, fear, and perseverance that apply to both Ruby and Oscar's personal arcs. Both of them especially have focus on being brave despite fears of loss. With Oscar, it is fear of losing himself to the merge; whereas Ruby has a fear of losing those she loves.

All the way back in the infamous Dojo Scene is where we first see these themes addressed in their dynamic. It starts with Oscar expressing vulnerability to Ruby about how afraid he really is.

Ruby initially tries her usual strategy; surface level reassurances about just pushing through it... but it doesn't work on him. So after some upset from Oscar, she ends up being vulnerable with him too. Something she hadn't done with anyone else in show by that point.

Ruby admits that she's afraid too, not just for herself, but for the threat Salem poses to the world as they know it and the people within it. Ruby tells him about those she's lost and says that if it had been her instead, those friends would have kept fighting too. That vulnerability, which requires courage in and of itself, is what motivates and inspires Oscar to keep moving forward where Ruby's earlier attempt could not. The scene closes off with one more nod to these themes where Ruby pauses at the door and turns back with one final thought:

In both the above scene and the V4 finale, Ruby cites "fighting for those they've lost and those they haven't lost yet" as her main motive to keep fighting. Up until V8/9 she used this as her greatest source of strength, but that strength is a double edged sword which eventually became her greatest weakness when Neo used it against her. First trapping her in a room with all the people she "failed":

And then landing a finishing blow with making her kill lose one of the people she loves most: Oscar.

Ruby can be brave if it means she can protect the people she loves. But just as Penny's death dealt a very big hit to Ruby's hope, what little she had left was crushed at the thought of losing Oscar (and Little) too.

Aside from that, there has also always been an underlying mystery around what having silver eyes means for Ruby. In V4, she is hunted by Tyrian and in V8 she finds out what her fate would have been had he succeeded. A fate which very justifiably terrifies her and seems to be a theme that will carry on into the Vacuo arc. It is also something that was brought up in the second RWBY x JL movie, I talked about this a little bit in this meta, but I'll share it here as well. In the movie, Ruby opens up a bit about this fear saying the following:

“Did you know I lost my mom when I was a kid? I don’t know exactly what happened to her, I don’t really remember her, I just have stories. And I keep trying to live up to those stories, but… I realize they don’t matter anymore. Heroes fall. And I just want to get as much done as I possibly can before I do.”

This scene directly parallels one of Oscar's back in V6:

“I don’t know how much longer I’m going to be… me. But I did some thinking, and I do know that I want to do everything I can to help with whatever time I have left.”

Both of these scenes show their respective courage around fears related to their issues with identity. Oscar saying he will do whatever he can before he loses himself, and Ruby doing whatever she can before she loses her life as all heroes eventually will.

So to summarize: Renora, Whiteknight, Bumbleby, and Rosegarden all have a scene where one or both partners cite the other's bravery as something they admire or love about the other person. All of these ships also include at least one scene - but often more that just weren't listed here - where they open up and are vulnerable with each other about their fears and motivations. And lastly, with BB and RG especially, bravery and fear are central themes to both their relationship dynamics as well as their individual character arcs within those pairings, all of which narratively parallel each other extensively.

CRWBY is very consistent with how it writes its ships and this is only the tip of the iceberg of all the parallels we've seen between these partners so far. But that's all for now; thanks for reading!

[boyfridged]

in your fic “paint it over” is that how you imagine jason making it out of the explosion at the end of utrh? not exactly the events that follow, but the preferable characterization of bruce digging jay out of the rubble and carrying him to help. and how do you think jason made it out canonically (without the help of bruce) also!!! what are your thoughts on the specifics of jason’s scar and how he’d behave toward it. i liked the part of your fic where jason was temporarily unable to speak due to the trauma his neck received. i think the scar is something that rests on the junction of his shoulder/neck, and that can be hidden with whatever clothes he wears -> no one knows he has it (or how he got it) either. i like to imagine while bruce knows his batarang made contact with jason’s throat it’s never fully registered to him that it scarred until he sees it for himself (and while i believe bruce would turn the moment in head over and over again until it’s engraved in his brain, his delayed realization—to me—is due to his repression of the occurrence)

oh i adore this whole ask. some of it i explained in my notes, but this fanfic is quite dear to me, so i will elaborate.

short answer to whether this is how i imagine jay making it out of the explosion: not exactly?

the premise that i wanted to explore with paint it over is almost the opposite of a fix-it, and definitely not what i believe it should be in canon.

what i wished to explore there is, however, the part of utrh that is perhaps the most shocking to many readers: that bruce leaves jason to die.

in-universe, i think the answer why it happens is surprisingly simple enough: bruce does not come because he is just... not there. my understanding is, that in a way, the events of under the red hood did not happen. there is nothing to follow. that purple mist in the finale of the utrh, that is often read as a force resurrecting jason (not technically wrong, either)- i believe that is the timeline already rewriting itself, making the whole story into something that was not.

and the reason for the above is the infinite crisis. if i'm not wrong, it's also the inifinite crisis miniseries where bruce meets dick right after the explosions in (or of) bludhaven-- that in batman clearly happens in the background of his confrontation with jay. however, in infinite crisis (#4, just checked it now), bruce tells dick: "i wanted to make sure...you're alright... i was in new york when it hit. got here as soon as i could." which could be a lie or a matter of the editorial not being synced enough- but i'm willing to give them a benefit of the doubt given how it ties with that sudden, stunted ending of utrh.

this makes sense for canon for several reasons. in the animated movie, since it spares us the infinite crisis tie-in, bruce says of the whole incident: this changes nothing. it changes nothing because although aditf isn't, utrh is a tragedy; it changes nothing because since his death, jason is necessarily always pushed at the peripheries of the narrative, no matter how much the fate itself tries to fix it, becoming a tragic footnote. the dead have one right and it's the right to remain silent. and that is ironically ensured on a cosmic level, with his violent attempt at being seen hidden in the folds of the timeline. you can also see it clearly in canon -- i believe it was not until the infinite frontier that the events of utrh got just tangentially mentioned (before that, even lobdell barely touched upon it). other than that, they have no consequences; they are barely ever spoken of; they seem to slip out even from jay's solo comics.

this move was necessary for batman, as a character and as a title: let's say bruce does hold red hood as he does in the alt cover of annual 25 (and the cover of the deluxe edition of utrh.) that would implore a reckoning with his failure and his (suddenly non-productive) grief that would either reconstruct the whole myth or lead to some terrifying implications. these terrifying implications are, essentially, what paint it over is about. it's about the worst happening and about there being no way back from it. and jason, in receiving what he wanted (his father's love and care) wants to deny that reality. they both want to. yet even jay cannot ignore it completely -- and i chose to use the batarang injury to emphasize it.

and about the scar: i mentioned it briefly before, but in the au jason aggravates the wounds on purpose, hence it will scar worse and cause long-term issues for his voice. it's a theme i also keep in some of my other stories (to come...) and i very much think this is what would happen in canon if he had to take care of that injury. yet as it healed, i believe he'd take to hiding it, mostly. still, as it stands, my primary take might be that in canon (if it was to follow the interference into the timeline from the crisis at least) jason would simply end up with no scar at all, and only memories for evidence of what happened, which is perhaps worse for him too (but of course better for bruce. and as it happens, this is bruce wayne's story and everyone else is just living in it- or dies in it- for better or worse. and if we're ignoring that metaphysical timeline bullshit, as you said, i believe bruce would repress it all anyway.)

[xviiper-rents-houses]

Hm… what about Yandere Scourge? He’s already got some of the obsessive traits to him.

Oh gosh yes! I do agree, Anon, Scourge definitely has a few obsessive traits that accompany him well into his last scenes in the Archie comics.

Scourge was one of my most favorite characters from the Archie comics, so it's so exciting that I'd get a request like this! It's ironic because I was drafting up some ideas before for him to just release so this request is perfect :D 💚 Prepare for a whole analysis! 🫡

Also, Imma assume you wanted romantic headcanons since it wasn't specified! I can do more in the future if you'd like 🩷

TW: Yandere behavior. I do NOT condone this in real life, this behavior is unacceptable and inhumane. Treat others kindly.

This work talks about physical abuse, (mild in the sense of other characters canonically being hurt) and a lingering threat that the same will happen to you, the reader. Other traits such as possessiveness, obsessiveness and manipulation are talked about in mild detail. Read at your own risk.

He needs to have power, Scourge evolving said power to be a necessity in his life because he wants to be acknowledged, (the comic itself makes fun of his existence, including the desperate ways he goes just to be known). In the comics, rather than earn that respect Sonic gets through being a kind person, Scourge takes that "respect." All throughout the series, he's drawn in these outlandish poses that demand your attention, fighting for some screen time in a comic that he thinks is supposed to be about him, opposed to Sonic, the true hero.

Scourge is everything that Sonic is not. He is supposed to be Sonic's biggest rival, the most devious guy out there, Eggman himself "paled" in comparison but instead, Scourge is Sonic's worst rival. The comics elaborate on this because as stated before, Scourge goes through desperate methods just to have some validation, the comic making fun of him in the process. Scourge is able to achieve his ultimate form and absolutely beat down his enemies without a single scratch yet, he screams at Sonic for running away when Scourge is talking to him. The King has arrived! Show him your respect, now!

Here, you can find Shadow quite offended that Scourge has a crown.

Scourge as a yandere would definitely want power over his dearest. With his relationship with Fiona Fox, she fed into his ego and need for command. She crafted the plans while he did the majority of conquering. However, each time Fiona could have outshined Scourge, she always checked back with her boyfriend because she knew he was supposed to be the main guy. However, with you in his life as his new chick (obsession), Scourge demands respect and control. He's the biggest baddie around, the King, respect. Scourge himself believed that he should be the new face of the comics, obsessing over the fact that he had to one up Sonic. Proof of that? Well, just take a look at the image below. Need I say more on just how petty Scourge can be? (Yes).

You cannot have anyone in your life that is more important than Scourge himself. He is your top priority, as you are the same to him. Scourge has to know where you are at all times, needs you to be by his side and edging him on to do bigger and badder stuff, (he's a showoff and not in a good way). He conquered all of Moebius, (he killed his dad in the process), taking over as King Scourge, crowning Fiona Fox as his queen. Since Scourge is yandere in this AU, he's enraged that Fiona would leave him, (even though she did return to him again) so when he had stumbled upon you, he took you by his side without a second thought. Fiona on the other hand, when she returned to Scourge, wasn't so fortunate as she had been put in her place rather forcefully. This brings up another point: Scourge will make you listen one way or another, even if it means physically harming you. For context, he took the evil counterpart of Antoine, Patch's eye, (hence his name) and constantly threatens him over losing his other eye in case Scourge feels he's stepping out of line.

Here, you can find Scourge absolutely dunking on Sonic about not having a girlfriend anymore. He is also doing his outlandish poses as mentioned before.

Going off of his quote and points before, "Any guy after me is gonna be bland," Scourge fully believes that after beating everyone into submission and having absolute control, you'd have to want him like he wants you. Nobody loves you like I do. You can't be in a relationship with anybody else! They're not good enough, too lazy and all time losers. But don't worry, Scourge is here to make your life so much better. He's got everything under control because Scourge is the King. No one would dare disrespect him and his status! Not ever. Not even you, I mean c'mon, he's King and you've got to respect that. Fiona was well put into her place, wasn't she? Would be a real shame if Scourge just picked up Fiona again to stomp all over her as you helplessly watch, wouldn't it? Doesn't that make you want to listen to him more? Lighten up babe, be his sweet little devilish angel that you are and nobody gets hurt. Too badly. Oh but don't worry your pretty little head, Scourge isn't afraid of some blood! In fact, he loves it. Sometimes, he likes it when you talk to other people. Gives him more of an excuse to leave that said person in a bloody, unintelligible mass of meat and even graffiti over the body because he's just so bad (twisted).

In the Archie comics, I've taken notice of how possessive Scourge is over his crown, a symbol of "King Scourge," the one that everyone fears and will do anything for. Even when Sonic and Shadow teamed up together to try and take down Scourge in a brief fight, Scourge barely manages to pull off beating both of them up and lands just in time to catch his crown. His crown is his identity, he will not lose that. Having you as his lover is now part of his identity because he's absolutely smitten with you. Just like his crown, Scourge cannot lose you or he's nothing. Whatever he had felt for Fiona doesn't matter because you are the new highlight of his regime, the key piece to helping him feel validated. If Sonic dares to take you away from him, oh-oh-oh man, he'd feel real bad just as soon as Scourge became Super Scourge and showed Sonic was a big deal he really is. (Lol Scourge is buullllllyyyyyy).

In summary: Scourge would be possessive, obsessive, controlling, abusive, manipulative and overall, narcissistic.

Thank you for reading my blurb! Lemme know if you'd like to have more!

[ic-napology]

My Scott's Napoleon review (short version)

Ok so I'm ready for my Scott's Napoleon review (late of course).

The beauty of its form and aesthetics can't be argued. I'm not in awe though, because it was a standard I pretended from Ridley Scott and Apple. Sadly, the content made it feel a huge waste.

What do you do with the thought, be it accurate or not, that Europe was ruined by wars because a vile man might have been frustrated by a toxic relationship? Is this idea something worth creating such an e x p e n s i v e movie about? Why so much bling?

To a Napoleonic fan, it would cause a soul-bleeding, because of how shallow and inaccurate all this is. To a non Napoleonic fan, it would be just... I don't know, depressing? Lame? It would be even if they remembered that this movie would contain a personal and artistic re-elaboration of history by a filmmaker (known for doing that all the time).

My main issue with this movie, both as a fan of Napoleon and Josephine and... as a person I guess?, is about how it deals with the "humanizing Napoleon" thing. I am ok with the intention per se. I am ok with giving a personal touch to a story. I'm not ok if that means mortifying him, without leaving any redeeming quality nor charm for balance. It wouldn't sit well with me about any character, whoever they are.

It could have meant adopting a more empathetic frame towards Napoleon's life and character. It would have given insight to qualities, vision and goals of the character too. Empathy doesn't require to justify someone's eventual horrible sides. It could work even in a movie where you mostly want to point out a villain's faults. I would dare say that if you make the viewer empathise with a villain, just before showcasing the worst of his deeds, it would be even more shocking and hard to deal with.

Best villains are the ones you could get some insight and connection with. And this movie fails to connect you with Napoleon at all. "There's nothing we can do", other than despise him.

Ridley Scott can manipulate history and mansplain all the historians he wants, he still has become a coward storyteller.

[summer-nights19]

Knb characters as icks

This is just for the shits and giggles, please don't attack me if I ruin your fave

@neoo SORRY I HAD TO ☠

Midorima-

He's into astrology. This requires no further elaboration.

Kagami-

Is chronically American- no matter where he is, he talks about how thing x is better in America and will fight you if you disagree. Has a lot if those goofy American flag stickers and shirts. He also uses the terms "grind" and "hustle" unironically.

Kuroko-

Is really dry - he's the kinda person to leave you on read or give really short, monosyllabic replies without meaning anything by it, but it makes talking to him SO much harder and more awkward (God save you if you if you're an introvert too)

Aomine-

Sweats like hell during basketball games. This gets mixed with the smell of his cologne and he claims it's his "natural manly scent" (Kagami 100% does this too). It's disgusting. Gets really competitive over small, casual things like card games and gaming matches and gets really salty if you win. CANNOT lose for the life of him.

"The only one who can defeat me is me !"

"Calm down, we're literally playing uno🙄"

Murasakibara-

When he's too lazy to do something, he just pesters/guilt trips you until you do it. You'll both be in bed and he'll need a drink and instead of getting up and going to the kitchen, he pokes you and repeatedly asks you to get him a drink. If you say no, he looks at you like this :< while telling you you're mean.

Kise-

He accidentally acts flirty with others. The kinda guy to just start complimenting and chatting up all the friends you introduce him to without even realising. The fact that he's completely clueless when you confront him about it makes it simultaneously better and worse. Also the kinda person to be flexing his about his rizz all the time.

Akashi-

Has negative communication skills. If he's angry, he'll deadass just ignore you and you have to ask him 50 times before he eventually tells you what's wrong. Is also absolutely terrible at apologising and taking accountability for the role he plays in arguments, but gets pissed if you're the same way.

Takao-

Uses cutesy talk in the most inappropriate situations. You could be geniuenly fuming and he'd be like "sowwyy :333" thinking it's endearing. It's really not.

Hyuga-

Is actually a massive simp. His personality does a one eighty when he's around you, and he changes all his opinions and attitudes according to yours. It's really obvious, but he denies it furiously if someone points it out.

Lmk if I missed anyone and I apologise again for subjecting you to this ☠

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