#thought about the consequences as well

[cheesenchalk]

i never know how to phrase it but something about the way beatles biographers and people in general view paul's reflexive placating persona and determination to smooth things over as manipulative or duplicitous and john's reflexive barbed persona and habit of lashing out as brave and subversive despite both being equally defensive mechanisms to shield themselves from the world that resulted in them saying things that weren't true says more about how we culturally view kindness or friendliness as inherently untrustworthy or flimsy and anger and carelessness as more believable as someone's true nature than it says about either of them in actuality

[undertheredhood]

bruce 'tired single dad' wayne: *lecturing jason once again on something he did during a fight*

jason 'theatre kid extraodinare'' todd who immediately starts fake crying on the spot: do you just not love me anymore?

[gnomewithalaptop]

Thinking about Tim and Cassie as narrative reflections of each other -- about how they both started out as normal kids with no obligation to their mentors, good kids who just wanted to help, and how gradually, bit by bit, that choice they made as thirteen-year-olds lowkey ruined any chance they had for a normal life

[poorly-drawn-mdzs]

Gaslight, Gatekeep, Girl found dead in a hidden room.

[First] Prev <–-> Next

[mamawasatesttube]

peak timsteph to me is like, some situation where they are in the heights of their divorce era, but something happens that gets steph real rattled, and tim doesn't want to comfort her himself but he doesn't want her to be completely alone with it either. so she hears a knock at the door and opens it to find a plate full of steaming hot mashed potatoes. he's nowhere to be found but she knows no one else would've known what her number one comfort food is. the presence of the potatoes means something. so does his absence. who else knows her like he does? it haunts her every time she sees the scars on the nape of his neck. (not that she sees those often. there's a reason he keeps the cowl up and his hair long, these days.)

[captain-astors]

Creature. (The rendered ones are referenced from manga panels)

[shima-draws]

I briefly considered a roleswap AU where Cora is the one to be enslaved by the Celestial Dragons and get horribly mistreated by them but then I realized it would be over in five minutes bc if Law saw that he would literally burn Mary Geoise to the ground with ZERO hesitation whatsoever

[bleedingwidow]

hello and welcome to another segment of widow takes lyrics and associates it with challengers!!

i was listening to talk to strangers by tv girl and i was like hmmmm. and yes i know very well what ive linked it with is NOT the theme of the song whatsoever but i cant help myself

they approach one another,

they don’t realise the danger

‘danger’ being how everything ended up

lust turns to boredom

boredom to lust

pretty self explanatory hehe

that’s not the important part

that happens later

this argument could be (and plays a part in) the reason everything went toppling down, but i feel like things could’ve/would’ve panned out very differently if tashi still had the argument with patrick and didn’t get injured. all in all the knee injury was (in my opinion) the thing that changed everything

v2 that’s not the important part

that happens later

ok this scene was obviously a very significant moment in all of their lives. what i mean by this is that yes, this is very important for them all, and the full circle is like coming back to that point in their lives. like another first meeting.

that’s all thank you for coming to my ted talk!! i love challengers i love tv girl i love music i love u guys.

[incesthemes]

"their relationship is romantic" "their relationship is familial" "their relationship is platonic" you're thinking too narrow. their relationship goes beyond labels. the family is inherently queer. their platonic love is romantic. the erotic is familial. each one is the other and the other is them

[chompe-diem]

SOL HAS A +2 TO CHARISMA???????

[shalom-iamcominghome]

Okay, I have decided that this section about the philosophy of religion is funny like...

They're defining judaism as one of the west's Largest Religions, and then this entire section is all presupposing that the g-d you're debating about is the xtian god like... I get that we're discussing mostly xtian philosophers but... I don't believe in a hell that g-d would send me to if I didn't believe in Him, and this entire text presupposes that things like hell are real. What's funny about it is just universalizing xtian belief and philosophy about g-d as though jews for example would feel compelled by the arguments. I'm feeling so uncompelled by these arguments and I'm a theist 😭

What's funny is the fact that judaism (and islam!) were presented as Major Western Religions but only one islamic philosopher was discussed and there is no mention of anything other than xtianity.

[captainsparklefingers]

WELP.

THERE GOES COGNOUZA.

[thecrowsart]

"I got the feeling that Mr. Yorishima... wanted to give a loquat to Natori, and I got one because I just happened to be there. Yet I got the sweet one. Natori gave Mr. Yorishima a sour face. And I thought there's no winning even in such a tiny thing."

[henry-fox-biggest-stan]

Out of curiosity: why do you think Philip hates Alex specifically? (cakegate aside) Do you think he'd just be okay with Henry dating some upper-class English guy?

Why I think he hates Alex

He has no been kind to him once in the book. Also Alex ruined his wedding cake. Not a great first impression.

I don’t think there’s more to it tbh. Alex hasn’t been kind to him either, and Philip sees Alex being so “open” with the public, having fun with it, his public persona completely different to their (Philip, Bea, and Henry’s) public persona, and just being the compete opposite to what monarchy considers proper, so he doesn’t like him, let alone want him dating Henry.

Answering your second question,

I think it’s not based on Alex not being an upper-class English guy, but more based on how Alex is as a person, as in his personality. And also the fact than he’s the son of the president of the states.

“I don’t care if you’re gay,” Philip says, dropping that big fat if like Henry hasn’t already specifically told him. “I care that you’ve made this choice, with him”—he cuts his eyes sharply to Alex as if he finally exists in the same room as this conversation—“someone with a fucking target on his back, to be so stupid and naive and selfish as to think it wouldn’t completely fuck us all.”

Alex is, since the start of the book, very different to Henry. Interests and family aside, Alex kind of enjoys being in the public eye. At least at the start of the book. He likes being in front of a crowd, make them scream. Is true than Alex is probably the most private one out of the White House trio, but just because he doesn’t share his private life to the public, it doesn’t mean he doesn’t get along with them. One of the first scenes of him we have is him talking about how he and Nora like creating rumours and being in magazines and all.

I have a point I swear, just wait.

Monarchy (Philip, Henry, Bea), is the complete opposite to this. They stay out of directly interacting with the public, they don’t have fun with it like Alex does. Not because is a personal choice (which that too) but because they can’t, because they have a reputation to uphold. And isn’t everything about monarchy based on reputation?

Alex, Nora, and June, also have reputations, but theirs are handmade, you could say, while Philip, Henry, and Bea’s and premade, they had no choice on them, they are just something they have to do, something the have to look like.

Alex, Nora and June chose their own reputations, they decided how they wanted people to see them. They had control over that.

All three of them—himself, June, and Nora—have their roles.

Nora is the cool brainy one, the one who makes inappropriate jokes on Twitter about whatever sci-fi show everyone’s watching, a bar trivia team ringer.

He looks at June—ahead of him now, caramel highlights in her swinging ponytail catching the midday sun—and he knows her place too. The intrepid Washington Post columnist, the fashion trendsetter everyone wants to have at their wine-and-cheese night.

But Alex is the golden boy. The heartthrob, the handsome rogue with a heart of gold. The guy who moves through life effortlessly, who makes everyone laugh. Highest approval ratings of the entire First Family. The whole point of him is that his appeal is as universal as possible.

For example Alex is not his public personal (aside from heart of gold). That’s something he created. The whole point of him is than his appeal is as universal as possible.

Stopping myself here because if I don’t I’ll go on yet another rant about Alex (I love my boy so much).

But basically in the book there’s a deep contrast between Alex’s family and Henry’s family, one is warm the other is cold. Alex has, and has always had, a choice. Sure, being on the public eye was not something he chose, it just happened because his mother wanted to be president, but he could choose everything else. His public persona, his decisions, who to date and who to not date. They didn’t even stop him from dating Henry. Just told him than he has to know what he wanted, to choose. But they didn’t stop him.

Henry is the opposite. He can’t choose how to present himself, how the world sees him. He can’t even wear ties with patterns.

Patterns are considered a “statement.” Royals aren’t supposed to make statements with what we wear.

They aren’t supposed to make statements.

The Royal Family are, as a rule, expected to stay out of politics, and refrain from giving their personal opinion on certain topics, so as to remain impartial.

Dating Alex, son of a political leader, is a statement. Is saying “I support this and I do not support that”.

And, Alex wants to be involved in politics, he talks about how he wants to make a change, how he genuinely cares, and the fastest way to make a change is making it while being on positions of power, somewhere people can hear you.

Alex’s whole reason for wanting to go into politics, when he knows so many past presidential sons and daughters have run away screaming the minute they turned eighteen, is he genuinely cares about people.

He has a very visible political position. People know what he supports and what he doesn’t, what he wants to do and what he doesn’t. And since he likes being on positions of power, because that gives him the possibly to make a change (even if at the end the change he did was unrelated to politics but about who he was as a person), he doesn’t get out of it. He continues being on it, he doesn’t mind attention on him, as long as they see what he wants them to see.

Philip sees Alex always on the public eye for one reason or another, a photo shoot, a new rumour, etc, and sees how his public persona is different to theirs, “wilder”, not so formal.

And, conservatives hate Alex. He is everything they stand against, even before knowing he was bi. He’s a grandchild of immigrants, he’s mixed race, he’s brown, he’s outspoken about his views (which are opposite to theirs), he’s the son of the first president who’s a woman, and who is also a democrat, he comes from a mixed race family, etc etc. Monarchy is supposed to be neutral. Alex is the opposite from neutral.

Philip’s main problem with Henry being gay is than he wanted to come out. Henry’s gay? Ok but he can’t come out. And that’s not based on homophobia (no matter if it sounds like it), is deeper, Henry coming out would challenge everything. First, he wouldn’t be neutral anymore. Monarchy is built upon manipulation upon privilege upon capitalism, etc. Henry coming out would threaten everything, all the rules, all the stuff would have to change, people would be asking why he didn’t come out before, and if Henry said the truth, their reputation would be dammed. And many many people would stop liking them. Some would not like them for being homophobic, other wouldn’t like them because Henry is gay. People from both sides would be against them. Their reputation (as mentioned as repeatedly through the book as repeatedly as I’m mentioning it now) is something that must be perfect. They can’t make statements, they’re perfect, formal, they’ll continue the bloodline, etc. If Henry is gay and people know, it no longer affects him, but all of them.

And many people see queerness and something political. Again, Henry wouldn’t be neutral.

I think than if Henry married a woman (hopefully a beard, someone who knows he’s gay and doesn’t care to cover for him) and had affairs with men, and Philip knew (than he was gay), he wouldn’t mind. He did what he had to do. Henry’s reputation is good, their reputation is good, they’ll continue the bloodline, etc. Because Philip, like Henry, was taught to leave their wants aside, and focus more on monarchy and what’s good for it.

The thing with Philip is, he isn’t evil. And many seem to forget that. He did bad things, and I’m holding him accountable for them, but at the end of the day, he was just brainwashed by Mary, specially after Arthur’s death. He was vulnerable after his father died, his mother wasn’t there mentally, he felt like he had to step up, be the “man of the house”, and he clung to his grandmother (the only adult in his immediate family who was physically and mentally there for him), and Mary took this opportunity to make him into the version of him monarchy wanted him to be (rule follower, defends their reputation no matter what, cares more about monarchy and what people think of them than what he wants to do.), which is just what Mary tried to make Henry to be too.

But he was on about Martha, and land holdings, and the hypothetical heirs they have to start working on, even though Philip hates children, and suddenly it was as if . . . as if everything you said last night came back to me. I thought, God, that’s it, isn’t it? Just following the plan. And it’s not that he’s unhappy. He’s fine. It’s all very deeply fine. A whole lifetime of fine.”

She probably tried with Bea, but Bea saw the manipulation right away and it didn’t work, or she didn’t get to try because with Arthur alive, that man would have never let her do that to his children, and with Arthur gone, Bea was like Catherine, mentally somewhere else. After rehab, she was still mourning, but she had Henry, she didn’t need her like Philip did. Because I think Henry and Bea were closer than Philip and Henry/Bea even before Arthur died, after it and Mary’s manipulation, they just drifted more apart.

If Casey wanted us to believe Philip was bad he would have made him be bad until the end, made him not change. Philip did change. Henry is even trying to make amends with him. Maybe he hasn’t fully forgiven him, which makes absolute sense and just because Philip was a victim it doesn’t he mean he was a victim inside their relationship, than he couldn’t continue the cycle of abuse. But Philip realized the cycle of abuse, realized he was continuing all this time. And tried to stop. That’s growth. Maybe not forgivable, not after everything, but he’s trying.

Philip came to Kensington two weeks ago to apologize to both Henry and Bea for the years since their father’s death, the harsh words, the domineeringness, the intense scrutiny. For basically growing from an uptight people- pleaser into an abusive, self-righteous twat under the pressure of his position and the manipulation of the queen. “He’s fallen out with Gran,” Henry had told Alex over the phone. “That’s the only reason I actually believe anything he says.”

Mary isn’t trying, Mary didn’t decide to support Henry at the end, didn’t try to do better. No one forgives her, and we are not supposed to see than she’s trying to be better, because she isn’t. “Isn’t Mary also a victim of this cycle of abuse, wasn’t she like Philip, brainwashed by her own parents probably (and her parents by their parents and so on), and continued the cycle?” Yes, but she doesn’t actively try to be better, doesn’t realize that, doesn’t even feel bad about it, different to Philip.

Answering again with shorter answers.

Why does Philip hate Alex specifically?

Because Alex is the whole opposite to what they stand for, he’s a walking statement, and he’s so himself, different to monarchy with their perfect flawless formal public personas.

Would Philip be fine with Henry dating some upper-class English guy (before coming out and everything than happened after he did)?

As long as he kept it secret, Henry could date whoever he wanted as long as he didn’t want to make it public, as long as he planned on marrying a woman and following his duty, as long as that someone was responsible, and didn’t have a “target on his back”, and Philip says Alex has.

Again, holding Philip accountable for everything he did, just explaining the reason why he did it.

Does this make sense? Because in my head it does but I don’t know if it does when I write it down

[torgawl]

if wriothesley doesn't appear in any quest once we get to remuria, what even is the point?

the parallels between wrio and king remus are crystal clear. remus who descended upon meropis (a name very familiar to anyone who knows of the fortress of meropide) in his golden fortuna, the legendary ship of remus that is also called the bringer of civilization and glory (wrio who built a ship to deal with the misfortune upon fontaine) is an example of it.

wrio also has connections to hades with the cerberus motif as guardian of the underworld. it's curious that the tower in remuria is described not only as not built to receive heavenly oracles, serving as a guide to ships traveling between islands, but also as a border of reality and dreams. if this is not necessarily literal but a metaphor or allegory, it could fit very well with the idea of a portal between domains or realms, like life and death.

wriothesley also parallels another character in the genshin universe and that person is arlecchino. they were brought up as orphans, taken in by an institution with corrupted leaders, which they reformed and achieved a leading position of. and funnily enough, she has ties to purgatory (a place for punishment, much like the fortress). as i have said in another post, purgatory has been described by dante as a tower leading to heaven. but we also know that celestia in the genshin world is associated with the demon realm - archons being named after ars goetia, an anonymous grimoire on demonology. although the concepts aren't the same in theory, is it impossible that the game has used elements of both? wriothesley and arlecchino's themes are similar enough to overlap. even though i don't expect wriothesley to be lore revelant anymore, i do think his ties to remuria and his role as someone who punishes others for their sins, much like arlecchino, is very much purposeful.

[patchwork-crow-writes]

Practice Makes Perfect

Breathe, Ralsei, you think to yourself, you've got this.

You wipe the sweat from your paws, smoothing out the front of your best satin dress - the one with the lacy frills all along the hem and the beautiful rose gold trimming all around the black heart window. Dress for the position you wanted, so you'd read - and while you couldn't possibly face them like this just yet, you know that this would be the garment that would seal the deal... so to speak.

You glance over the rim of your spectacles at the figure stood in front of you - this stalwart mannequin has been with you since the beginning, a taciturn companion in the long, lonely days leading up to the heroes' arrival. It looked a little different now, however - since confiscating it from that shameless Addison, you'd adorned it in a rather fetching suit of armour, and you'd remarked aloud about how dashing the effect was. Over its face was a photograph you'd crudely stuck on at the last minute, just to complete the illusion. It's slapdash work, but looking at it now you can't help but notice your pulse speed up a little and your breath run dry.

God, if a mere facsimile of the real thing could invoke this in you...

...no, focus! Now is not the time to get lost in reverie, no matter how pleasant. You have a job to do, and you're determined to see it through.

Now then. You play through the steps in your head. First, give them a warm smile - nice and easy one to start off with! Then, you step forward confidently before raising your arms up... or is it the other way around? You briefly consider going back over the courtship manual you'd been reading, before realising - confound it all! - that you'd placed it back on the shelf in the castle library. Oh, conceited prince, who thought you had all the answers!

...you'd definitely locked the bedroom door, hadn't you...? W-what if Lancer or Queen walked in... or heaven forfend, one of the lightners...! You flick a wrist in the direction of the door, and your scarf obeys, lashing out towards the handle and giving it a quick twist. The gnarled oak rattles in its frame, but remains put, and you breathe a little sigh.

...alright, well, forget all that just now. This is just practice after all, it doesn't matter if you don't get it exactly right first try, does it? And so, with resolve renewed, you step confidently towards the mannequin and raise your arms...

...do you go over the shoulders or round the waist...? With shoulders you'd have better access to their face and hair, but a waist hug would increase the overall contact between you... but would that seem too... desperate? Perhaps a mix of the two, with one arm over and one under, would be best... more of a "good pal" or "bro" hug, as you believe they're called. But then, why go to all these lengths just for something like that...?

JUST HUG THE DAMN DUMMY RALSEI, you scream inwardly, and before you can object, you rush forwards, almost tackling the mannequin to the floor as you envelop it in a tight embrace at the waist.

You shiver a little at the coldness of the metal as it presses against you, but the cloth jumpsuit beneath is delightfully warm and soft to the touch, and you almost fancy that it pushes lightly back against you, as if responding to your gentle caresses. You bury your snout into the crook of its neck; sweet apple mingles with rich notes of chocolate and blueberry in your nostrils, making your fur stand on end and your mouth salivate uncontrollably. A shuddering sigh escapes you, electricity dancing across your extremities, flushing your skin with wanton heat and jump-starting your frail heart into overdrive.

You don't remember the last time you'd felt this way; so close to heaven you could almost taste it, the fulfillment of a beloved object returning to its rightful owner. You whet your lips with your tongue as you prepare to administer the coup-de-grace, your mouth a hair's breadth from its cheek, breath hot and heavy with the promise of eternal rhapsody...

'HEY RALSEI GET OUT HERE!' calls a terrifying voice from somewhere outside, and you let loose a shriek. You try and push yourself away from the dummy, but in your panic your claws dig into the fabric and pull it on top of you instead. And almost in that exact same instant, the lock on your door fails and in walks Susie, rubbing her shoulder.

'We've been waiting AGES for you to come down! The hell you been doing up... here...?'

You lock eyes with her, feeling like you might burst into tears at any moment. She sweeps her gaze across you and the mannequin tangled together on the bed, and you realise with clasping horror that you'd somehow managed to wrap your legs around its base in the chaos. The desire to sink back into the primordial darkness whence you came is overwhelming as hot shame stings your cheeks. For her part, she looks mortified.

'...uhh, should I come back later, or...?'

'IT-IT-IT ISN'T WHAT IT L-LOOKS LIKE SUSIE!' you whine up at her pitifully, knowing full well that it will do absolutely nothing to convince her otherwise. 'I-I was practicing hugging w-with the d-d-dummy and it... it fell on t-top of me and...!'

The dragoness snorts, and then falls about in peals of laughter. You note that the shame you're feeling is now tinged with annoyance.

'You... up here with that... I-I can't dude, I just...!' she breathes in-between attacks of bellowing laughter, holding up a claw as if telling you to make it stop.

'Susie, p-please...!' you say, extruding yourself from the dummy and standing upright with what little dignity you can muster. 'It wasn't that funny! ...was it?'

You stand there and wait for her to compose herself. You try to keep in mind that it could always be worse - what if Kris had decided to walk in instead? You really would have shrunk away into nothingness if that were to have happened...!

'Y-you're not going to tell them, a-are you Susie...?'

She looks at you, eyes still creased with mirth, jaws clamped shut to try and stave off the giggles. You realise in that moment that mere platitudes will not work here.

'...how many cakes would you like?'

'...let's start with three,' she replies after a moment, still grinning from ear-to-ear, 'and we'll go from there. How's that sound?'

...well, three wasn't so bad. You could dash those off in ten minutes, and you'd doubt even Susie would be able to handle anything else after that...

'Th-thanks, Susie...' you mouth, no more breath to articulate your words. 'I d-don't know what I'd have done if they'd found out, so...'

'Found out what?'

Susie's grin twitches again as you turn to look towards the door, almost shrieking a second time when you see Kris stood there, staring directly at you and the discarded dummy dressed exactly like them on the floor by the bed...

...nothingness it is then, you think, as you collapse into a heap of clothes onto the floor.