#until they say something bad about my fave characters

[meep-meep-richie]

When i have to defend myself

When i have to defend my fave characters

[wickmitz]

How do you think about Frepper? I'm neutral about this ship, but the fans Frepper attitude towards confuses me, Ivy and Freckle have only been dating for a week and know each other superficially, but everyone already thinks that by the end of the comic they will get married, I think differently, I think that in the end they will break up with each other because they are too different personalities, I literally can't imagine that both of them will be happy with each other in marriage, Ivy is assertive and active, on the other hand Freckle is passive and just agrees with Ivy, this is not a guarantee of a healthy relationship where a partner completely dominates the other, plus to all that, I will not forget how their relationship started, Ivy just decided that they were dating, and without asking Freckle's permission, she just KISSED him, again without his permission, Frepper fans think that it's cute, but when I saw it, I thought "what the hell did I just see?", in general, it's strange for me that Frepper fans are okay with such things, of course later Freckle shows attraction to Ivy, showing that he likes her in some way too, but I still won't forget how their relationship started and how Freckle used to try to escape from Ivy when she squeezed his hand tightly and forced him to her …

I'm not against Frepper, but I don't understand his fans who don't see these issues and who treat other points of view on their relationship (like mine) as … um, as nonconformity? Fans from reddit are just obsessed with Frepper, I don't know about other networks but that's how it is on reddit, I think there are people who have my opinion but are afraid to say it because of fans, of course, I met Frepper fans there who normally accept such an opinion, but still there is a feeling that such a opinion cannot be told

Simply put, Ivy and Freckle are a couple that will eventually break up with each other unless there's an event between them in the comic that changes my opinion of this couple, but that's how I feel about Freckle for now. I didn't plan to express my opinion, but it happened that way, I hope you don't mind it

first and foremost, i don’t mind seeing someone express their opinion in my inbox! you and anyone else are free to do so, even if i may disagree. this blog’s entire existence was made for me to share my opinions ( and love! ) for lackadaisy, as well as engaging with other fans, because what else is the point of a fandom blog? and as far as i’m aware, this is unpopular opinion central! most of my thoughts aren’t exactly the ones with the most voice behind them i’ve found, so i welcome all manner of different views. every fan is entitled to their own perspectives and opinions, and should be allowed to share them as they please! but with that disclaimer out of the way, i’m more than willing to discuss frepper in its entirety.

for me, there’s little confusion i carry where it concerns this ship’s popularity amongst the fandom. freckle and ivy, if we are to strip them down to their bare essentials, are a rather stereotypically ‘cute’ relationship : people enjoy opposites ( see zibwick or vikdecai for example ) and there’s an endearing quality found in puppy love dynamics. seeing ivy wear the pants and drag a shy freckle around by his ankle makes for quality content in a way! think the ‘excuse me, but he asked for no pickles!’ meme … ivy and freckle very much fit that sort of mold, and it helps that most fans are too scared to ship them with other characters in the cast too, due to what they perceive to be a lack of options. thus, frepper is an extremely ‘safe’ ship! you cannot get in trouble for enjoying something that is not only canon, but is relatively adorable ; and so i don’t believe a lot of the fans are actually thinking too deeply about the likely endgame of it all. most don’t! it’s fun to ship, and that’s all they really need i think. it’s also very easy to dismiss ivy’s forwardness as a quirk of being a young girl who’s of her temperament, recklessly boycrazy although still carrying sweet intent. this behavior is easier to hand wave when neither ivy or freckle are experienced at the dating scene as well … freckle due to his extremely religious upbringing and hermit nature, and ivy because of viktor’s constant meddling, which would hold her back more than you’d think. with that said, i don’t think any of this is excessively complicated. some shippers are rather simple minded and do not care for details and characterization all too deeply. enjoying dynamics is, at its core, supposed to be fun -- which makes simple ships like frepper prime targets for a very vocal and tight knit fanbase. there are other things i could speculate about why these two may hit so pleasantly for others, like how there’s an underlying queer theme to it ( what with ivy being the pursuer and freckle the shy, blushing flower ) or that it’s tropey enough to hit the right spots for others … though it all boils back to mere speculation. perhaps they still have time to escape this gangster lifestyle and live happily ever after? and that appeals to the lackadaisy fans who still want some sort of happy ending? it’s all a combination of frepper being easy, i think, and containing two young cats who still haven’t done anything particularly ‘unforgivable’ yet action wise. this is a ship you can root for without an ounce of worry in your heart, and so on and so forth.

but although i understand why others are so vocal about them, i don’t exactly agree with fanon’s views either! while i heavily enjoy frepper, i enjoy them as they are, and that includes their looming flaws and inevitable tragedy. they are bound to break each other’s hearts a lot on their current path ; even if they were entirely perfect for one another, this lifestyle isn’t kind to anyone, meaning if they don’t separate, they could always be forced apart via bullets and such anyway. they are young and woefully inexperienced in a manner of things, the last thing they need is the stress of a rumrunner life driving their every action, you know? i know people see them getting out together, and that is likely on the table! i do see that in many ways, but i’m also of the opinion that ivy and freckle will diverge onto different paths at some point and temporarily call it quits. from where the comic currently stands and given my view on ivy’s arc, i see her growing disillusioned with where she is and the honor and fun she saw within it as a royal spectator will fade ; she will become wary, fearful, and her resilience will die … meanwhile freckle will embrace it, similar to his cousin, fully understanding what it is and what he’s getting into ( like rocky, again ) but being unable to leave his refuge. i know lots of people think freckle will leave the lackadaisy first, but given his old concepts and former title as one of mitzi’s ‘trouble boys’, i think he will become lost in the sauce for a myriad of reasons. frankly i enjoy that twist on their relationship! since i believe ivy’s character development will revolve around maturing, changing as time stretches forward, because her character is ever growing, what with her entire schtick being the fact she’s everything a 1920s girl was during those times. she embodies that unladylike youth and manipulative sweetness, so i’d imagine a lot of her path is falling from such naive thrill seeking and stumbling upon a harsh reality. she will mature, and the very thing that should make their relationship stronger will be what divides them indefinitely. everything they have is founded on this bloody, varnished soaked ground after all … they are young adults who are experiencing what closeness feels like outside of family or platonic friends for the first time, so naturally they will overindulge in their own amateur games ; find respite in the boogie and kiss like couples do on the silver screen, laugh about it, talk about everything and nothing at all … relish in each other’s warmth and stupidly loyal protection. i’m sure frepper will grow closer before any falling out, because as it stands, it’s one of the few things they have in such a scary situation that feels comforting and kind. they will impact each other in the fundamental ways first relationships do and, to move towards your biggest gripe, do things they’ll regret or allow things to happen to them that they’re not entirely okay with.

ivy is very forceful with freckle initially, albeit in her typical saturated way ; and i can see why that would be hard to parse! especially when freckle spends a majority of their first scenes together squirming away and hiding, trying to duck her affections and bolt for it. there is a lot of boundary crossing between them! but not in a necessarily malicious way … like most things with frepper, this circles back to their mutual inexperience and how, in a lot of ways, this is their first ‘serious’ romantic relationship ever. and it’s rather common for such firsts to involve gray areas, since neither party is entirely sure of what their own boundaries are just yet! while freckle did appear frightened by ivy at first, it’s important to note that tracy’s mentioned him having a flight response whenever girls flirt with him … he is prone to run away instinctively, which if you consider his extremely religious upbringing, isn’t exactly a surprise. nina would no doubt look down upon freckle engaging with girls his age due to what most girls his age are currently doing in the roaring 20s they’re living in. sneaking out and engaging in illegal activities, dancing in a way that would disgust most of the more traditional and older generation, casually engaging in any manner of sexual activity before marriage, etc etc. and this isn’t even listing freckle’s cagey nature due to an incident we know was bad enough to send rocky packing for years, and fundamentally changed freckle himself at such a young and impressionable age. he is … very troubled! and rather scared of himself and the world around him … at this stage in life, freckle is perpetually unable to make any progress towards anything he may want, and so i have little problem myself with ivy mostly taking the lead. when left to his own devices and allowed to choose outside of influence, freckle did in fact sneak out of his mother’s house to go to the lackadaisy, surely well aware that ivy’s intention had been romantically inclined. so, to me, he has always liked her ; perhaps found her cute, in a shallow way, saw her eccentric behavior as endearing and frightening in equal measure, and while he’s still wading into this whirlwind pool unsteady and shaken, he -- wouldn’t mind it if ivy pushed a little more, or moved him around to her ( and what she perceives to be, their ) liking. perhaps this dynamic is familiar enough to him that it becomes comforting, since rocky was very much the same way in their adolescence. tugging freckle around and pulling his tail for whatever rocky wanted them to do, with little care for whatever his baby cousin desired at the time, ignoring his protests and chasing him ; nobody’s at fault here either, kids are extremely self absorbed and this is a flaw they’ll usually mature past, and while ivy and freckle are adults during the comic, i don’t think ivy’s outgrown this linear view on things just yet. she is extremely entitled! she is used to being the apple of everyone’s eye at the speakeasy due to her jazz baby status as atlas may’s goddaughter, and this gangster connection excites and awes the ladies she attends classes with at her university too. ivy pepper is used to getting her way and this has only fueled her determined attitude, her ‘pull it up by the bootstraps’ mindset, and in many ways, this is something of a flaw for her. it’s not bad to be confident and headstrong, although when you add that into a dangerous mix of rumrunning and gunslinging, it may become a problem rather quickly. but i digress! point is, ivy and freckle are hardly at fault for the awkward way they handled the start of their relationship, when it’s so new and fresh to them both.

neither of them have boundaries at this moment, as they either have no clue what those are or simply haven’t realized they should set them. so, in turn, there are things that the other may do that could cause their partner discomfort … and it’s mostly done out of obliviousness and good intentions and your classic dose of intense affection. doesn’t mean it isn’t messed up to a degree, but i think it’s rather realistic, and is a hard truth that comes with many first relationships of that sort. sometimes you don’t know how to say ‘no,’ or you agree and regret agreeing later, or perhaps you simply don’t understand there’s certain things you aren’t ready for or genuinely just don’t like. again, it’s a very muddied area, and the two of them are vaguely navigating what is mostly foreign to them. they’re bound to mess up! so i ivy some slack here, and applaud tracy on the realistic writing more than anything usually. young love also happens to be a great device to use for inexperienced characters finding themselves, through the good and bad of their relationship, and frepper is all about that. maybe freckle will inevitably bring up how he feels like he would’ve preferred it had ivy asked him out properly, or gave him time to court her in a traditional fashion … and she will be surprised ( and a little wounded ) by this, since she had never considered it before … too used to her way of things to realize there’s another path they could take. i think this aspect of the relationship is important, and i can understand wishing that more frepper shippers would view it as such, or comment on it's morally gray nature without just calling it ‘cute’ and leaving it at that.

tldr : they will most certainly break up at some point, maybe even multiple times! tracy has said before that they both have some serious maturing to do if their relationship is to be long lasting, and i doubt that maturing will happen to them both at once … since they have different things to work on emotionally. but they will probably strongarm some major personal development within each other, as well as love one another with a fierceless abandon that most kids do. i could see them getting married, i could see them not, but i agree that if they were to be wed happily, they’d have significant hurdles to overcome. but personally, frepper is something i adore mostly due to the impact they’re bound to cause each other, and even if they are to separate and find someone new and more fitting, they’ll always remember one another -- perhaps fondly, and sadly, and with some anger. a time they’d like to forget, but a person they’d like to remember … which is my cup of tea overall! they much more interest me as they presently are anyway, where i can fiddle around with their budding romance and friendship bonding. and as lackadaisy grows in popularity, i do hope there’s more frepper fans who see their complexity and flaws and explore them with all of it in mind.

anyway! i hope this was coherent, and that it was obvious that i agreed with you for the most part. i haven’t really talked about frepper before with anyone so many of these thoughts sort of burst out of me! and i feel like i have more to elaborate upon, but for the sake of simplicity i kept this short. oh well! surely this is enjoyable and informative regardless.

[bamsara]

what are your most favorite tropes? :3c

IM SO GLAD YOU ASKED:

Near death experiences

Emotional revelations due to said near death experiences

Enemies to Friends to Lovers

Mutual Pining but they believe its unrequieted

"you're my worst enemy but you're so important to me"

Drunk chapter where at least One fist fight happens

Bridal carry after someone gets injured

Slow Burn...of course

"i got you this gift because it benefits me and im not telling you how" (the benefit is seeing the other person enjoy the gift)

Force Alliances or Temporary Truces

"I don't like killing but I'll do it for you"

"I prefer to kill my problems but I won't, for you."

Or: "This person has no idea how many people I've killed in order to protect or provide for them and I'm going to keep it that way."

Mean or Villian Character is actaully a really good Sibling/Parent/Child,ect and has someone they care about

Or better, Villian character adopts child AND is a good parent

Everyone knows the pairing likes each other except for the pairing

Temporary (or non-temp)Amnesia

"I learn your favorite things because I plan to use them against you one day" (proceeds to not do that) (proceeds to get them food or items that persons likes just because they like them)

Breaking and Entering. Literally.

Person A is in love, Person B says they're not but they're 10x times worse actaully

Slip-of-the-tongue/Accidental confessions. Doesn't have to be love confessions but just "whoops i was not supposed to say that"

Biting as a love language

One is feral and bloodthirsty but is put in the position of 'protecting an idiot' because the other is also feral and has no self-preservation. Both characters must be badass, just equally stupid

Kiss on the head/cheek while the other person is sleeping

Bloodstained kiss

Heat-of-battle confession about something

Protagonist refusing to become villian or repeat villian mistakes, not in a 'owo i cant do that its bad' and more like 'fuck you you dont get to see what you wanted to make of me'

Signifier of 'this is my friend/family/lover'. Could anything between a ring, a jacket over someone's shoudlers or scent marking, anything

"if im immortal, then you gotta be too or we both dyin"

Knight x Their Charge

Human x Non-Human

Sunshine x Grump

Character that looks sooooo cute. Oh he's a little fucked up actaully

"ahhaha he's such a freak haha. i need him carnally."

They are mortal enemies. They are also best friends.

Hostage / Rescued trope plus Hostage / Doesn't get to rescue because the hostage killed everyone already

Plot info that's missing that's vital to the story and it's revealed that One of the pairing or someone in the group knew the info the entire time

"I said mean things to you because I hate you, so why am I feeling guilty now"

There was only One Bed

Really competent and scary character is really GOOD at a harmless and charming small hobby completely uncharacteristic to their public persona

Nightmares. And then sleeping in the same bed because of nightmares

Cultural differences / Language Barrier

Character gets so surprised flustered they trip over something or break something and it topples and it starts a chain reaction like a cartoon

There are more but these are some of which I can remember off the top of my head. I've written many of these myself in several of my stories and will continue to do so until the end of time, esp my faves

[reixtsu]

Lantern In The Shadows

Multi character x gn reader! Gender of reader is not specified.

Characters listed in the end!

Genre: Angst (comfort in the end)

Warnings: hints is self harm, mentions blood, darkness, self hate

He was the light within your darkness, a comforting lantern that stood upon your domain of blood. He was such a breath of fresh air, someone that you could tolerate in the cursed world you resided in.

However there was one thing that bothered you about him-out of all of the people he could have been with, why did he choose you?

In your opinion, you felt that there were plenty of better partners that he could have been with, and definitely have a healthier relationship with. You felt bad because it seemed like you were a burden to him, as you were always feeling down in the dumps.

Besides, you as the darkness did not want to dull the light that you loved so dearly.

The thought hurt so much, that 'he was making a sacrifice for the world by being with you'. You wanted him to be happy, to not deal with you since you were convinced you were a problem, something that should be wiped from this world. The aching in your chest only felt deeper day by day as you found yourself growing more and more distant from him.

Until one day, the medications were not seeming to work anymore. The emotions ran to its climax, and the feelings of negativity deep inside became shadows that blurred your vision.

The pain, it was too much to handle.

It was suffocating, as though you were drowning a cold sea of your own blood. You reached for the knife, hoping to dull out the agoney, only to be stopped.

"My love, what are you doing?" His voice was god-sent, a comforting tone that brought you back to your senses ever so slightly.

He looked at you with such softness, gently holding your wrist to prevent you from hurting yourself. 

Hot tears trickled down your face slowly, leaving traces of saltiness behind as you stared at the ground, ashamed to even look at his radiant gaze. "Don't look at me. I'm...so terrible."

His heart crumbled at your words, a wave of concern and protection washed over him as he took a step closer to you. "Don't say that. You're not terrible."

"But I am!" You cried out, tears falling nonstop as your throat felt dry from distress. "I don't deserve you. I'm such a terrible person, I made so many mistakes, and I never seem to do better!"

You coughed out the words that have been stabbing at your core every single day, but all you could see is blood everywhere, and your demons laughing at you, saying how much of a failure you were.

"I'm... a failure."

Warm arms wrapped around you and shielded you from the blood, demons, and darkness, suddenly making your cold, numb limbs feel lifelike again. Your lover kissed your forehead, a reminder that you were a treasure to worship.

"You are not a failure, or a terrible person," He whispered into your ear as he rubbed soothing shapes along your back. "You are such a great person with many great talents, values, and potencial. You might not see it yet, but everyone around you appreciates you. Take me as an example, I am so lucky to be with someone like you, who cares and takes care of me like no one else does. If you ever harm yourself, I will be devastated."

One sniff, then two sniffles. You tried your best to understand his words as he stared at you with love. You didn't really believe his words, but you knew that you could trust that he was being honest. The blood sea of darkness slowly seemed to fade away as the gentle light gave you a warm embrace.

In that moment, you knew you were loved, and you were worth his love.

    - KAVEH, kazuha, Tignari, Aether, lyney, THOMA, neuvillette, JING YUAN, Gepard, dan heng, SIGMA, Atsushi, Odasaku (BSD), your faves

Author’s note: This story is meant to be comforting, so I know that I may give some people triggers, it sure gave me a small trigger as I wrote this, but I want everyone to know that people are willing to help those in need, no matter the form.

[princeoftheeternalbog]

Nicknames/petnames op characters like to call you PART TWO

Also suggestive warning for Ace, Marco, Izou

I don't care if law's is ooc btw he deserves to be sickly cute sometimes and yk we kinda saw how he can be when he loves something with that whole sora thing in wano so yeah I'm saying he can be affectionate as a treat.

Anyways here's like all the faves who are not strawhats:

Ace

Baby, sweetheart, pretty thing. Always says them in either the most flirty tone imaginable or the softest. Also he's like flirting with you 24/7 it's so bad but he jist can't turn it off around you like he's so down bad. 100% says heinous filthy shit but tacks on a cute nickname at the end to try and make it sound less intense. It does not work.

OBSESSED with you calling him love or my man and finds it ridiculously attractive. The first time it happened he set his bed on fire by accident and you both got lectured by pops :(. But seriously he just loves any and all verbal affirmation so naturally he adores nicknames. Doesn't get shy at all though, if anything reciprocating his chaotic behaviour makes it 10x worse.

Marco

Love/my love. Sweet and simple and he likes how clear it is to other people. He uses it a ridiculous amount though to be honest like you hear it more than your own name, it's to the point where if he says your name people on the ship don't know who he's talking about😭. Oh and he uses baby when he wants to tease you, like he drops his voice real low, leans really close into your space and speaks right next to your ear. Bit of a bastard tbh.

He blushes easily but doesn't shy away, in fact being called a nickname in return really makes him feel confident and puts him in the mood for affection. Though sometimes the nicknames make him feel...too affectionate. One time you called him pretty bird as a joke and he just sorta sat there, face getting gradually redder until you leaned towards him out of concern, at which point he promptly yanked you onto his lap and started what was one of your most intense make outs to date. Yk, casual things.

Thatch

Cutie, sweet thing, pretty thing. So so gentle with you and it reflects in how he speaks to you as well, even if he's upset or angry he still calls you the sweetest things because you're so precious to him. Though he's also a menace, if he finds out you like a specific petname then he starts discretely whispering it in your ear whenever he passes you to wind you up. Literally he doesn't care if you're having a serious conversation, he'll just slide in behind you and drop his voice to sound like a nice gravelly tone and purposefully make sure to exhale on the back of your ear to make you shiver.

Oh but he can't handle if you do it back, no this man folds like a lawn chair the second you start calling him anything other than his name.

Izou

Darling, dear, lovely, blossom. So casually smooth its unbelievable, also he starts calling you them before you get together. Like after a certain point of friendship and flirting, he just starts doing and saying the most romantic shit(Definitely thinks you're together before you actually are) and the crew are very confused and you're very confused but as if you're gonna complain yk.

This man gets so flustered when you use nicknames with him because it's not behaviour he's used to. Obviously he's been a pirate for a long time but he's actually very reserved and rarely dates so having someone who genuinely cares about him calling something sweet makes him blush so hard and you use that to your fully advantage. He gets revenge later though don't worry.

Law

Love, lovely, pretty, honey, every flowery pet name you can think of. He's so soft with you. He can't help how sickly affectionate he feels around you and it results in him just calling you all sorts of sweet words. He won't do it in public if he thinks you'll be put in danger or if he doesn't feel comfortable but like in front of the crew and strawhats and stuff he doesn't give a fuck. He'll just come up behind you while you're in the middle of a conversation, hand sliding down your lower back, and say sumthin like "are you okay my love?"

Blushes to high heaven if you call him something cute back, he just melts like butter. If he's in a bad mood or like in an argument or something you only have to come up and say hi love and he's all :///))

Kidd

Babe to the public. My love, gorgeous, pretty baby when you're alone. It's not really that he doesn't want to call you those things in public, he just doesn't want enemies to understand how important you are to him but also he doesn't want to keep your relationship a secret because he's obsessed with you and wants to brag about being yours.

Makes him really cocky if you use petnames with him. Like he'll flush but get so overconfident the second you say love or baby or anything of the sort. He doesn't care where you are either, he's just hauling you into his space immediately so he kiss the fuck out of you.

[yuujispinkhair]

cant stop thinking about sukuna treating me so good while on my period…. 🤭🤭

Awww your boyfriend Kuna will make sure you feel better ♥️

Pairing: Modern!Sukuna x Reader (female) Genre: fluff + some mentions of smut Word count: 500 Warnings: 18+, reader is menstruating, small mention of blood, period sex if you want (only as an option), making out. All characters are of age. This story is 18+. Minors don't interact.

Modern boyfie!Sukuna cannot stand the thought of having no control over this thing that causes you pain and puts you through an emotional rollercoaster every damn month. He is so worried when he sees you burst into tears over the smallest things. The only tears he wants to see on you are those of joy when he says something sweet to you or brings you roses or when he has you on his cock, and the tears spill over because it feels so good. It is unacceptable that your period makes you feel so bad!

And so your boyfie Sukuna does anything he can to make you as comfortable as possible. You are his princess, so you will also get treated like one!

"Why are you getting ready for work? Come on, princess, stop doing all that shit and lie down!"

"But I have so much to do, Kuna!"

"No, you aren't going anywhere today. Fuck work! I will write an e-mail to them saying you are sick!"

You have to admit that he is pretty cute when he is so indignant. And it makes you feel so loved to see this protective side of Sukuna. You aren't immune to the warmth spreading through you when you see the unveiled worry in his maroon eyes. And those strong tattooed arms wrapping around you and hugging you to Sukuna's tall and very warm and comfy body are very convincing, too.

Of course, you stay at home. You slip out of your work clothes and put your sweatpants on again, smiling when Sukuna hands you one of his comfy hoodies.

He makes sure you take painkillers and that you rest on the bed. And Sukuna is right next to you. One of his large hands is on your tummy the whole time, rubbing soothing circles on it.

He picks your fave show to re-watch with you and brings you sweets and cooks for you. He is so caring that you can't help but fall even more in love with him. Especially when you see his boyish grin when he is like,

"See? It was a good idea to stay home and let me look after you. Sukuna 1, stupid period 0."

And then Sukuna kisses your neck, being a tease once again, running his pierced tongue slowly over your sensitive skin, licking you, kissing you, sucking on your pulse point until he has you squirming needily and your hand lands in his soft pink hair to pull him into a deep kiss.

A long makeout session with Sukuna is the perfect way to forget about your cramps. His tall, muscular body lies half on top of you, warm and comforting. And his tongue in your mouth feels so good that it makes your head spin.

And if you need more, Sukuna is very willing to give it to you. He isn't squeamish about the blood or about periods in general. If his princess feels better with his cock in her aching pussy, he will make sure to have you on his cock for hours, trying to fuck your pain away.

But whether you want sex or not, what Sukuna will definitely provide to you are cuddles. He is softer than usual, sweeter. Holds you even tighter than on other occasions, snuggling against you like the world's biggest heating pad. Your back is pressed to his chest while Sukuna's muscular tattooed arms are wrapped around you, one hand rubbing your belly and the other holding yours, making you feel warm and taken care of.

You can't stop smiling when Sukuna murmurs sweet nothings in your ear. That sexy, low voice laced with so much affection. There is still some of his usual teasing, but always followed up by a sweet "I love you, princess." Not wanting to risk another emotional outburst and instead just make you feel loved and taken care of.

I hope this could make you feel better if you are on your period atm <3<3 Kuna being so adamant about making you feel better and "win" against this menstruation thing is so funny to me aahahhaa I love him so much!!

Thank you for reading! Reblogs and comments would be very sweet <3

[alllgator-blood]

Man people gotta have bees in their brain or didn't play the game, Heket really cares about her family. She made me regret killing Leshy, I DIDN'T KNOW HE WAS YOUNGEST UNTIL NARINDERE THATS SJAKSIHDKD SORRY *sobing*

Also what song is your favorite from the hymns of the unholy album? For me it's between CHAOS and FAMMINE

THAT'S WHAT I LOVE ABOUT THE GAME TBH I FELT SO BAD RIPPING THE FAMILY APART THE FIRST TIME. I LOVE FEELING BAD FOR ANTAGONISTS!! I PLAYED IT AROUND WHEN IT CAME OUT SO I COULDN'T EVEN REUNITE THEM IN MY FIRST CULT, THEY WERE JUST DYING IN PURGATORY FOREVER. My unholy alliance update cult is called "nepotism" where all the regular cultists live in sleeping bags, get shitty food and have to work all day while the special characters + bishops have all the good shit and just hang out drinking all day LMAO

As for the album, I still can't pick which one is my fave, it's tied between three tracks....I forgot to do my tier list I mentioned, so I'm gonna write my thoughts beneath the cut. I'm glad you mentioned famine specifically because I feel like that one is kinda slept on tbh!!! TL;DR is that heket + shamura + narinder's songs are tied for my favorites for varying reasons

In terms of what song I think should be people's introduction to the album/the most easily digestible one, definitely cult. 100% it's the one that I showed my friend + sister and they thought it sounded the best on the first listen. It's faithful to the original motif and the writing is solid. I could NOT stop listening to it when it dropped, and was so excited to hear that the one with the music video wasn't even the full version so we got more of it when the album dropped....

Chaos is the one that makes me smile when I hear it, because it's SOOO leshy. Like of COURSE his song would sound like that, with the solo at the end and him namedropping himself and saying "my horns are covered by something like fallen leaves" like he doesn't even know his own anatomy. That's SO funny, I didn't like it at first but it 100% grew on me and I love it now

Famine has the best moment out of any of the songs imo, the "make your peace, creature" part goes harder than any other single moment in the album. I feel like she was maybe done the most justice lyrically, that song has the best combination of original lyrics and lines from the game. I actually wish the other tracks were written more like hers, but maybe the fact that hers was so different is what makes me love it so much.

Pestilence is the weakest track for me personally, but I had the biggest reaction to it for the first verses alone where they immediately just use the lines where kall is being a little bitch and begging for mercy. That's the one I wish I could listen to for the first time again, it also gets stuck in my head way more often than the others for some reason

Conquest instrumentally is my favorite by far, but I'm biased cause shamura's theme song is already my favorite boss track. I already talked about why I love this one in the other post so I'll move onto the next one-

Death has the best progression by far, like it's IMPOSSIBLE not to imagine an amv while listening to it. Also the very very end where it gets really fast goes BALLISTIC and is the second-best moment of the entire album. Honestly I wasn't disappointed at any aspect of this song, I don't think I have any complaints it's 100% hype tbh

I'm very glad you sent this ask in because I wouldn't have gotten a chance otherwise to talk about this album, I'm SO feral over it and the only other music I've listened to since it came out was the new king gizzard song that just dropped (they're my favorite band and that's the only thing that could pry me from cheesy cotl metal)

[rachhaven]

If you're looking for fic inspiration but dont have loads of asks, maybe incorrect quotes or headcanons? Good luck in your writing journey!

hi lovelies!!! this was a brilliant starting point, and I think that this sets a good baseline of what to expect from how I write these characters, I adore them all and have my own understanding of them in my head so this is just my opinion. hope you enjoy!!!

Remus – big ol softie at heart- and he looks like one- gets possessive and snappy at the same time closer to the full moon. Chocolate is obvs his fave- but in my head he alternates between dark and milk chocolate- white chocolate is a crime against humanity. Calls his partner dove/ dovey, sweet/pretty/lovely (insert girl or boy or gender) and sunshine (purely because he’s the moon and I think that’s adorable). He loves tea, like obsessed- has to have decaf in evenings because he’s enough of an insomniac- but will have random nights where he’s dead to the world. 

Sirius – also a softie, all of them are lets be so fr- but he hides it behind the cocky, joker man bravado. Coffee addict- every morning, without a doubt- he def has a proper coffee machine because he makes the best coffee and no shop does it right anymore. He’s got snobbish tendencies, he’s trying to outlearn them but its tricky- he prefers m and s food, but the rest of them like a big tesco so he deals with it. Calls his partners doll, love, he’s def the type of guy to use my “x”, like, my love, my dear etc. I see him as being like the best big brother in the world, just exudes comfort and love and gives the best hugs ever. Also,  curls are always long and a mess and only washed when absolutely necessary 

James – eugh the sweetest most adhd ridden soul I’ve ever met other than myself- he’s so gentle but forgets how strong he is majority of the time, hell squeeze in a hug and accidentally hurt someone because he’s def got a sleeper build and forgets his physicality. This guy thrives off dr pepper and I don’t know why, but unfortunately with all the soft loveliness of him there is the gym bro side who will only eat fish and a ricecake some days because he’s doing some weird training plan, but we love him for it. Will happily yap for hours so when remus and Sirius want to sit and read or listen to their vinyl’s he has to be doing something more engaging because he just can’t.

Barty – big shoutout first to @ellecdc because shes an icon who introduced me properly to barty and ev and I’m obsessed now. Treasure is his nickname, tres for short and that’s the only thing hell call his girl other than *other* nicknames during *alone time*. He’s chaos but its organsied in comparisons to james’ pure chaos. He knows where he’s going, what his plans are and anything else like hours in advance, a manic planned person. He totally goes on weed walks, and only shares with people he genuinely cares about. Now there is the other side of barty, the teddy bear- bartybear, for shiggles and giggles, but he’s a sweetheart for those he loves and cares about, he knows violence as a consequence for everything and melts when he’s shown any form of affection and is so so open to learning to be gentle, I know that makes him sound like a dog but imagine him as a puppy and it just makes sense 

Reg – my sweet little love I will pass away before anyone says anything remotely bad about my boy. He’s a tortured soul, metaphorically and literally, he’s had the shittiest childhood out of all of them id say, not in the fact that he was hurt more, I don’t think he was hurt anywhere near as much as the others until Sirius left, but seeing his big brother, his protector, so hurt and trying to save him, then just being left? It makes sense he’s so withdrawn from himself, that’s a lifetime of trauma in a young boy. It takes a lot for him to open up, and he falls back on French for his emotions because then only the people who really care about him will try to understand, he needs love and safety and gentleness, and once he’s got that, the real reg shines through. He calls his partners French pet names, and he’s got the most hilarious dry wit that can make people fold over in laughter, dark humour is a coping mechanism and if there was a degree in it he’d have a phd. 

Evan -  ev. Now, I don’t know much about this beautiful soul, I think he’s the calmest of the slytherins, I love the dynamic I have in my head of him and pandora being the most hilariously yin and yan twins ever, and that they just complete each other. He’s jumpy, but he hides in in a strong boy bravado, but he’s also got the smarts, he’s worked for it, unlike barty who is annoyingly naturally so smart, ev puts in the work and sees the outcomes. He calls his partners sweets or something along those lines, I see him as a baby guy too, when he’s trying to convince you to let him do something so bloody stupid, overall, an angel and a devil in one, and I need to learn more about him. 

Pandora- only a baby bit about her for now, im not too involved in the marauders girls yet other than lily and marlene, but pandora, Dorcas, mary, alice- I want to know more and develop my ideas of them better, ill probably use their names for parties or other scenarios, but I will get there eventually with it. Pandora is a whimsical soul, she cares so deeply, she loves most people, and is just the epitome of luna, luna is a copy paste of her mum, and I will die on that hill. She’s naive sometimes, but the boys all look out for her, and they’d die and or kill someone before anything happens to her. 

Lily – the firecracker- an absolute icon in the meaning of the word, but also the sweetest most genuines soul ever. She loves her books and being clever and reaching her goals, she’s the kind of girl who has the five year plan moodboard under her bed, but she sprepared for anything and is first aid trained to the max and its so hilarious that the second anyone gets hurt they all just scream for her. Her hair is a mess when she sleeps but she brushes it the second she wakes up. She’s the type of girl to call her partner lovie, something short and sweet but she says it in a tone that just melts anyone she’s talking too, she screams maternal and will just coddle you whenever you need it, friend or partner. She thrives off of small touches, she hates pda but a hand on the back or a kiss on the head in passing makes her day. 

Marlene – marlene is genuinely the complete opposite to me, we share dark humour, but she genuinely doesn’t give a fuck what anyone says or does and she’s doing her own thing whether you like it or not. She’s hot as fuck and smokes and drinks and parties as hard as she can, she’s a wild heart but deep down a sweet soul. She doesn’t give fuck what people think of her, but she does push for her to succeed, she hates the thought of failure of being replaced and has attachments to her favourite people because she’s terrified she’s too much for them, but she knows how to handle it, she’s got this life long lesbian thing down to a t. 

[utilitycaster]

I can’t help but feel that the people who are complaining about the people criticizing this campaign are the types that are going to be pissed if BH does just kill Predathos and lets the gods live, especially if that comes at the cost of some supposed deserved happy ending for their faves. And what’s maybe ironic is that I feel that an ending in which BH choses to save the gods, the campaign does rise a bit in my esteem, and might in the eyes of some other critics as well, as it would, i dunno, maybe play into these themes of forgiveness and love and overcoming resentment that keep being used as a defense of this campaign and these characters? 

Anyway, godspeed on the quest to find good faith arguments on why this campaign is excellent. would genuinely like to see one.

Oh definitely. Like...look. I hope I conveyed the point of "I don't particularly think either of us are approaching this with a deep respect for the other, but we can at least make a polite fiction of good faith that, if you actually can come up with an argument that assumes that, I will accept in genuine good faith" and so in that interest I'm trying to scale back on attacking people. But also...I've been down this road before. When people complained about how bad Campaign 2 was, firstly, it specifically took hold either right after a ship competing with theirs became canon or at least was strongly hinted towards; or was in response to Molly not coming back; and secondly a lot of this happened after they'd been effusive in their praise for the campaign up until that point. Whereas for Campaign 3 you can, if you actually wished to do the research, go to my blog or most of my mutuals' blogs and do an archive dig and trace the optimism and excitement turning into skepticism turning into "yeah, this ain't it chief" with fairly consistent complaints (poor pacing, plot-character mismatches, indecision, failure of the characters to ever really challenge each other meaningfully in a way that leads to growth) throughout, coupled with, if I am being honest, a massive deal of grace and patience and "maybe this is the course correction" that was not always earned. Dorym becoming canon did not shift this among the many people who like Dorym and also think the campaign isn't very good, myself included, so I don't really think it's shipping wank that's the problem. I'm not inclined to respect arguments that either, 118 episodes into a campaign that's very close to its end, demand I consider its ~potential~. I have. It has, for the most part, failed to deliver over the course of those 118 episodes.

If a common complaint within the fandom of people who have watched hundreds of hours of this story is "it's unclear what story it is telling and the party is aimless" and small pockets and echo chambers are like NO YOU DON'T GET IT...I don't want to say its impossible for this to happen and that the majority is automatically correct, but were I an outside observer I know where I'd place money in a bet.

And yes, I agree. I think a lot of of the people defending it are either, to be very blunt, in a sunk cost fallacy situation/dedicated to a certain level of contrarianism more so than having their own opinions that exist independent of the fandom; or believe it will give them a happy ending for their faves or validate their belief the gods should die or they just want Exandria to burn at this point for whatever reason. I don't feel it's actually something that follows from the narrative, which, as this post so aptly puts, is just kind of sailing towards the rocks while the crew sort of bickers and doesn't do anything. It feels like the most satisfying endings possible are either achieving what the gods couldn't and destroying this existential threat for once and for all (in which case the gods survive, and hey, they actually did take a third option that no one was really talking about, the indecision was still boring as fuck but at least there's a scrap of payoff), or tragedy befalling them (loss of party members, killing a large swath of Exandria) as a consequence. And neither of those are what they want, which is like. the abstract concept of change and the less abstract and deeply unflattering concept of killing everyone who didn't give you what you wanted.

It is in fact unsurprising that the arguments in the fandom are the way they are. Wow I wonder why people who think "I asked this person for something and they didn't answer so I think letting loose an endless hunger entity to eat them" is a good and noble thing to do can't handle the idea that existing in the world means you and things you like will receive criticism, and other people won't just do what you want if you whine loudly enough.

[loofwoof]

Fave LIs from RC, SHS, and LOD???? 💖💖

Oh boy I have a lot so be prepared!

RC:

Jonas (PSI): I tend to stay away from childhood romances because they always hinge on the past and sometimes the LI refuses to see that the heroine changed (like Wyatt) but in Jonas case?

The relationship is addressed, Lou is hesitant because she is afraid to lose one of her most important friend so she fights so hard against her own feelings.

Yet you can't deny the chemistry and it ends with her succumbing to what she feels.

Jonas is snarky, wild, bold and his audacity know no bounds, but I will always love how he isn't afraid to disagree with Lou even if he loves her. They fight and believe in different things after all.

Friedrich (THE) is another LI I love: Arina can write beautiful characters and relationship and Friedrich is a good example of it.

He is the epitome of too good for this sinful earth but what I especially love is how despite all the things he went through, all the abuse he endured, the many times he struggled with the things he believe...

He is still gentle and willing to help.

Greg (HS:R): Sasha shitty treatment aside, Greg is my fave because he is like a mix of Jonas and Friedrich: Friendly but willing to disagree with the heroine if she is doing something she shouldn't.

What the squad did is always the rough part of his route, but I love how he is willing to make amends even when he isn't your LI. He is always around Lane corner supporting her, making her comfortable and S2 shows he can be a capable leader when Dmitry was unable to lead the squad.

If only Sasha could see his potential...

With LOD:

Caleb (SON): My first LI! this sweet necromancer is a good subversion of your typical person dealing with death: he is cheerful, make good jokes, supports you even if he is dead, and is willing to do everything for his friends.

The wait for him is worth it.

Casper (LOB): Oh god, what can I say about him? Casper is a nutso who scares me Scarlett and is always someone who ends bickering a lot with her.

Yet this guy is willing to go against his own boss to defend his friend and the annoying woman who always occupy his thoughts...

His backstory made me cry a little, no matter what he thinks, I think he deserves love too.

Luther (PS): Superman but edgy is what I used to said about him but damn, what a rough hand Luther is forced to deal with: from everyone hating him because he lost the control of his powers, to losing his family, and now being a runaway, is no wonder why he fell in love with Amelia: she is the one person who supports him even if she doesn't approve what happened before and considering he might die thanks to the serum...

Life is too short to wonder about the what if.

SHS:

Vincent(DB): My bunny man! no matter how maimed, broken, hurt he is, Vincent will always help Robin and I still find hilarious the way she confessed her feelings towards him.

To think he wasn't supposed to be a LI...

Flock(Ragnarok Saga): He is a scoundrel who is willing to cheat and kill but his chemistry with Tsvia is insaneee!

They are the definition of partners in crime: they might bicker a lot, complain about what the other might want to achieve or the ridiculous things they want to do but in the end, they tend to gravitate towards each other...

Together? Together.

Shade (IOF): Ughhh!!! He is Chloe-ex who ghosted her and you shouldn't ever be involved with exes 😤😤😤😤😤!

Yet the chemistry is undeniable and Shade is one of the very few LIs who makes Chloe to lose her composure.

He is a bad boy but compared to your usual stuff, he wasn't abusive towards her: he always protected her and respected her boundaries, waiting for her to make the first move even if he makes his intentions very clear.

He is crass, swears a lot, is a smoker, a bastard, but he is willing to defend Chloe until the bitter end.

Plus, it was hilarious when he was sending his lyrics through text messages and Chloe wondered if he was drunk or what.

Thanks for the ask!

[fumifooms]

Marcille & Chilchuck contrasts & similarities

Yesterday in the Dunmeshi Discord we talked about narrative foils and I ended up writing a lot about my fave duo so. Informal character analysis time. I give some in-depth interpretations on aspects of Chilchuck’s character near the end as well, not just analyzing their characters in how they contrast each other

Marcille and Chil are so foils to me. "Has experienced loss through death and now clings onto the people around her and is overly interested in engaging in social gossip" vs "has experienced loss through rejection and now refuses to open up to anyone until socially starved", both are responding to their experience with loss in fully different ways, socializing and trying to learn all she can for the short time she has with others but trying to keep digestible enough that she’s not too attached if she loses them, vs refusing to socialize so the problem stops before it begins but eventually unable to resist the pull that comes with being a social creature. Like I guess what I’m trying to say is that Marcille engaging with social gossip could be a shallow way for her to vicariously experience social relationships if she feels like forming deep bonds is unsafe. Family is a core motivation and value for them but in different ways. Both want to keep the status quo but in different ways.

Divorcee who avoids love wether it be in the people around him or thinking about his own (past?) romance vs hopeless romantic that idealizes love without herself having been in a relationship or even in love herself as far as we know. Middle child vs only child. Emotional constipation vs emotional intelligence. Streets savvy vs prestigious academic, field experience vs book smarts. Crass vs prim. Overbearingly social vs private to a fault. Never externalizes his feelings and to a degree represses them vs wears her heart on her sleeve and her feelings on her face. They start out underestimating each other in different ways, one by assuming his age and the other by undermining her skills, experience and willpower. Both seeing each other’s motives as somewhat skewed (money and research of shady magic respectively) but growing to respect them.

They also both seek approval and validation from others, unlike Senshi and even Laios who don’t seem to care about outside perception as much, Marcille worries early on that she’s not helpful enough and slowing the party down meanwhile Chilchuck is almost always trying to prove a point early on that he’s capable and mature. Coincidentally enough, Chilchuck’s approval was both the catalyst and the key to resolving her arc about it in the mandrake chapter, meanwhile besides Senshi Marcille is the one whose perception of Chilchuck gets the most changed over the course of the whole manga. Something else notable is how they deal differently with their races being judged, while Chilchuck reaffirms himself as a proud half-foot, Marcille hides her half-elf nature and is embarrassed of it when it’s revealed. Something subtle yet interesting is also how they both are shown to prefer lying in a way that makes them look bad rather than admitting ignorance on something. Chilchuck says that he cheated on his wife and that’s why she left rather than just saying that he doesn’t know why she did. Marcille in the mandrake chapter says that she has used a dog to harvest mandrakes (thus killing it) before while in truth she never has, and everyone including herself is like "That’s horrible… The poor dog!"

Their dad dies. Chil is like "Hm. Cool. Anyways he died doing smth he loved right so haha lemme drink myself into an early death bed too yolo 🔥🤟" vs "He died and it shattered my world and I must devote all my life to wiping death out of existence".

"I am going to knowingly shorten my lifestyle through unhealthy habits actually."

Problem solving approaches

One thing I love about them is how they have complete opposite approaches to problem solving. Besides striving for workers’ rights and job stability for halflings with an union, he’s very "laissez-faire". He won’t do the righteous thing just because it’s the right thing if he doesn’t have an incentive or a safety net, like going to save Falin. He doesn’t chase after his wife to talk it out and make amends, he gives her space and either hopes she’ll talk when she’s ready or figures that he shouldn’t try to do anything about it. He doesn’t mention the mimic he noticed to the others to not make a big deal out of it and hopefully it won’t come up again. He’s a "if the glass is half-full that’s fine enough for me, I don’t need things to be as good as they could be" type, a "leave it alone until it figures itself out" type.

Marcille? Marcille is idealistic and in-your-face. If there is an issue you better believe Marcille will address it and try her hardest to fix it, will talk it out and attempt to understand & strive to make things as best possible for everyone involved. She will FORCE you to talk about your FEELINGS wether you like it or NOT. Leaving it alone? Keeping things as just okay when they could be great instead? No no no no no, that’s not right, she’s going to try and fix it now. She will make you stand up and fight for the best that your life could be, to be honest when something bothers you and do something about it, will make you stop suppressing yourself because you’re scared of things getting worse.

Which, you know, both methods certainly have their pros and cons, but they’re very complimentary in that way. He grounds her into a more down to earth mindset and teaches by example that it’s okay if things don’t necessarily work out and moving on is possible and not necessarily miserable, while she encourages him to not give up so fast or stay quiet on things that bother so much. He soothes and she emboldens 🔥 Funny, because you could have thought it would’ve been the contrary, which is not untrue either, but he’s the "has experienced the harshness of life and has settled for something comfortable but modest" while she’s the "wants to make the world better and goes to great lengths to change it while still trying to find herself & uncomfortable with some aspects of life like loss".

One overly focuses on dealing with issues by changing things around her while the other overly focuses on only changing himself.

——

Chilchuck leaves things alone if he thinks they’re best left unaddressed or thinks they’ll work itself out. Like the mimic he didn’t tell the group about but it backfired later. Like how he didn’t chase after his wife or seemingly tried to contact her at all. Like how he prefers not to dig into people’s personal issues in parties and be left alone to deal with his stuff on his own as well.

Meanwhile Marcille is overbearingly in-your-face and loud and "if there’s a problem we’re dishing it out right here right now. Your wife left you?? And you didn’t try to get her back?? I am going to write out a script and a plan for you to apologize and please bring these piles of presents."

She’s secretive about her fair share of things as well but she’s very proactive. While she seeks to research something that’s a core motivation and life goal to her + save someone she deeply cares for Chil is there for his job and to get money and "hey if something happens I’ll have done my part. I took you guys here now you guys figure out the rest and fight the monsters or something". They both like to have a say in the strategy, Chilchuck moreso as time goes on, but Marcille involves herself much more into almost everything.

Espescially early on, they’re always sticking by each other judging Senshi & Laios together and being like "Am I seeing this shit right. They’re crazy right? Tell me I’m not the only one here with common sense" and forming a 🤝 relationship over it and considering that, it sometimes feel… Contradicting? How they also have a lot of conflict together over time about how different they truly are. But it’s interesting and nice to see how even though they do have arguments it always gets resolved pretty promptly, like they’re truly hashing it out as equals and then when that’s done they’re back to being on the same wavelength. The exception would be Marcille taking a long time to come around on Chil being old, but arguments and debates like the one on dark magic and if it’s okay or wrong to use it, which was pretty serious and not just banter? They came to find a middle ground or at least understanding, and it didn’t seem to lower the respect they hold for another afterwards.

Chilchuck’s repressing habit

I do think Chilchuck has a repressed thing where he doesn’t WANT to think about it about his feelings sometimes, like with his wife- and maybe with his father? But the way he was so casual and nonchalant about his father dying has always struck me. I’m not sure if this is a "my feelings on my father were mixed and complicated at best" thing or a "I just don’t want to spend time thinking about it" thing or something else, but it gives food for thought.

When it comes to alcohol there’s this saying where an alcoholic parent will have 2 kids and one will grow to be alcoholic too while the other will never even touch a drop of alcohol and both when asked why will say "I watched my father". Chilchuck is def the first I think. He gives the vibe of "An alcoholic parent puts a strain on familial relationships?? Pshh, my father was and look at me! I turned out great!" Which is something I’ve heard irl lol which always makes you go like 👀 yes indeed you’re perfectly well-adjusted and haven’t been affected by your father’s alcoholism at all it’s clear as day. On that topic, Chilchuck’s family, both currently and when he was a kid, are very interesting topics to theorize about with the hints and cues we have, how his wife truly felt and what happened for her to feel unappreciated enough to leave, how distant is he from his daughters if they haven’t seen each other in the same year either and Flertom was the only one to send him a letter? But that’s a topic for another day

Chilchuck probably has such a complex…. Of like not being… Like allowed to take space I guess? And he does wish to affirm that right, he takes space and asks for it so very overtly, he formed a half-foot guild to demand better working conditions as one of the biggest examples of that. He grew up poor and undermined but he knows that he’s capable and someone worthy of respect and demands it, and takes every opportunity to prove himself. But on the other end, he doesn’t seem to want to keep his hopes up in general, like asking for something to be better is bound to fail, that it’d be too good to be true. He tries to keep out of where his job doesn’t need him, from a sense of efficiency that cuts down on unnecessary stops but also because he just thinks it isn’t his place to do so. It strikes me that it’s hinted that like… He doesn’t even really consider the possibility of going to his wife and trying to mend the relationship. Like it’s either she’ll decide to take him back on her own or he’ll be left out in the cold waiting, never knowing just where he’s truly at with her and if things are over for good. Like… Shooting his shot and making his case doesn’t even register as an option? Like he’s not worth fighting for, like whatever he did wouldn’t change her opinion anyways?

He def has a "life isn’t like a fairytale where everything goes well" philosophy where sometimes it feels like he just gives up on how things maybe could be better, especially interpersonally. Maybe it’s why he focuses on simple joys like alcohol instead of trying to keep up with relationships which can be complex and very fickle, in his own words. Something like alcohol is predictable, always there to fall back on, safe, gives him sensations without other emotional/social risks attached. Ironic for someone whose job is all about risks, but understandable

He contradicts even himself… Bro yes you’re capable, yes you’re great, yes you matter, now maybe speak about your feelings maybe??? Or do you not think your emotional issues deserve to get fixed and have closure???? Are you so used to being dismissed, overlooked and undermined that you think no one will listen even if you speak up?? And this recontextualize his "I’m not even gonna try and talk this issue out because I know (assume) that it won’t solve anything anyways" approach, doesn’t it.

"I must break my party members’ stuff or lie to them because if I just tell them my opinion and my feelings that I don’t want them to die they won’t care anyways and keep going"

In a way everyone is the glue of the party in different ways, Laios giving the group a direction and a plan, Senshi keeping them fed and grounded, Marcille making everyone more social and encouraging bonds to form, and for Chilchuck he’s the one most focused on actually keeping everyone alive I think.

Conclusion

Idk I’m not gonna repeat every point but have this as a parting contrast:

Guy with shortest lifespan possible who doesn’t mind knowingly shortening his own with an unhealthy habit, here for a good time not a long time, VS girl with longest lifespan possible who wants to lengthen everyone’s life, who focuses on how long she can keep something or someone rather than how happy her time with it has made her already. They’re both loud in their own way, and both are still insecure despite appearances. In a way, both of them focus on taking care of others while overlooking their own demons.

[sk1fanfiction]

okay hi, i've finally caught up and have now read the last chapter so here we go !!

(ch. 22/108 rev) — that was intense omfg, cass !! i'm so so glad no one died (i was a little worried for sirius and tee im ngl, i was surprisingly very very sure that nothing happens to harry despite the whole "he's dead" theatrics). from the beginning when they're getting to malfoy manor you can just feel like it's a whole operation, immaculate from the start. i love it when we get tom's pov bc there's just something so raw with his character, like every time he thinks about dumbledore or voldemort (or his actual father) it's just so interesting.

"that the great wizard of his personal legend would again want nothing to do with him."

stop. every time tom gets rejected by one of his counterparts i get sad like hello?? wdym your own self doesn't want you 😭😭 come here pookie, i want you

"He should not want to be coddled. That was childish and stupid. He was no longer the oldest left in Wool's Orphanage. And Voldemort was not his father."

the daddy issues goes crazy here i fear but i do feel for him, he's never really gotten a proper parental figure (at least until now with dumbledore - "he thinks you the son he never had" just hitsss)

""The little bitch bit me!" yelped another man, this one with a high, wheezing voice."

yes hermione !! people who bite in fights are genuinely my fave

"Tee was struck, as they rounded the corner which Bill had just disappeared around, how much Sirius sounded like this woman — looked like her too, he realised, as they emerged into the light."

i will always always eat up a sirius black x bellatrix black parallel. it's my fave thing !! it feels so symbolic (i also just love the house of black and their drama, they are way more complicated than people give them credit for)

"Recognition flashed in Dolohov's eyes. "You like puzzles, eh?"

oh the irony of saying that to a riddle (icb more people don't make jokes with his name... well i can bc he's a young voldemort but STILL harry go at it)

"I want to commit the murder I was sentenced to Azkaban for!"

i love sirius so bad, he's so hilarious like yes pookie, you suffered in a hell-hole, might as well kill the guy who put you there (ofc i would suggest proving his survival and then killing him but what do i know?)

the whole tee vs bella fight is so funny like girl… that's your dark lord as a jr 😭 but omg i see you've taken the take that bella doesn't know about voldemort's heritage?? (i've seen people think that she is aware and still supports him which kind of doesn't make sense unless she's a hypocrite which strikes me as very ooc for bellatrix unless but then again azkaban + dark arts + grooming + sunk-cost fallacy + fear would be a very dangerous combination for anyone and might very well cause hypocrisy 😭) also nice to know that tom is also struggling to remember his age (he's just like the rest of us)

"He'd forgotten how enjoyable this was. Pushing someone to the edge. Watching them teeter on the cliff."

your honour, he's sick and likes to drive people insane !! (it must say something about me too bc i just found that attractive yikes)

"If you will release my assistant—"

he's so casual about it everything, sigh, dumble will always be a diva referring to a horcrux of a dark lord as "assistant"

ugh harry….. MY POOKIE. i feel like it's just so sad every time he turns into an obscurial, like it hurts ME and i'm not even there so i can only imagine how ruby feels seeing her own brother, her twin she shared a womb with and the majority of her life was by his side felt (she must be feeling esp guilty for her year long camping trip and keeping things from him extra hard)

"Voldemort and Dumbledore were still fighting, oblivious to the rest of the chaos."

they're so obsessed with each other yikes can you at least mind your surroundings? there's a whole obscurial !!!

""I know." He paused. "About what?""

his first instinct to say he's right takes me out (it's also very me so)

"He was probably annoyed about not being first in line."

this is so important though, she's finally opening up !!

the feels in this chapter were so exceptional. i just felt the desperation, the hurt, the panic, the anxiety... and ik dumbledore felt hurt at what tom said ("father and son said what? "what?") when questioned by voldemort but what's curious to me is how ruby tries to act like she expects it (which she might which ig is more powerful since despite it all she was still affected) but she's also deeply hurt by it, just in denial. i do think tom is also unaware that everything he does might've started out a "repaying debts" and "choosing the better options" but definitely along the line he's developed some care for (ruby, dumbledore maybe even harry) and just can't bring himself to admit it or even recognise it. very very interesting dynamics. also, maybe this was like just for narratives sake but... does tom not know ron, hermione, and anthony's names?? 😭 (if he doesn't then that's just hilarious and definitely backs my hc that he's terrible at remembering people's name, esp their first names). also, during my re-read, i noticed that harry and ruby kind of see people they care about in riddle?? (harry sees some of hermione and ruby sees some of harry) and it freaks them out a lot and i think it's because it definitely humanises him to them, esp ruby who would do ANYTHING for her brother as established. i also was wondering about the riddle ring, nice to see ruby's still got it !! idk i just think this series is sick. i have so many thoughts that i've probably forgotten but this is long anyway so i'll end it here !

i'm so so glad no one died

I'm just saving the Major Character Death tag for Year Six (kidding? kidding! am i?)

i was a little worried for sirius and tee im ngl, i was surprisingly very very sure that nothing happens to harry despite the whole "he's dead" theatrics

As I said I don't really have the heart to kill off Sirius (so every threat is kinda empty). And Harry's plot armour is so insane that I was pretty sure I wasn't fooling anyone despite all the cloak and dagger and misdirection and deliberately hiding him from you for the better part of two chapters and waving my hands and yelling HE'S DEAD!!

there's just something so raw with his character

It's the unresolved Daddy Issues (and the fact he's not completely emotionally closed-off yet compared to Voldemort).

yes hermione !! people who bite in fights are genuinely my fave

Well she trapped Rita Skeeter in a jar and came up with the Sneak Curse, she is definitely (canonically) a biter.

i will always always eat up a sirius black x bellatrix black parallel. it's my fave thing !! it feels so symbolic (i also just love the house of black and their drama, they are way more complicated than people give them credit for)

I love love parallels and especially this one, too! It's a shame when they get flattened into the 'Black Madness' or other tropes. I feel like it's not really portrayed in the movies unfortunately (because they both got flanderised).

you've taken the take that bella doesn't know about voldemort's heritage??

Yes, I haven't gone through the Original Texts with a fine-tooth comb to check for Complete Canonicity, though I know a lot of people say Bellatrix probably knew because Wormtail did (but Wormtail is too much of a coward to repeat the Dark Lord's Private Business and blood purity isn't a motivating factor for him, he just wanted to be on the winning side) and Barty at least knew that Voldemort had a bad 'relationship' with his dad, not necessary that he was a Muggle (but I think Voldemort only told him that to make him more loyal), if we just take what we know about Bellatrix and Voldemort at face value, I don't think he would ever tell her that one of his parents is a Muggle no matter how close they were (re: this really short meta and this slightly longer one). Yes, he (both Diary!Tom and Voldemort) told Harry but that's just for the good old 'you're just like me' hero/villain evil speech effect. Maybe this is a heretical take though, idk...

your honour, he's sick and likes to drive people insane !!

"Lord Voldemort is my past, present, and future." (Giving Tom some psychological violence as a treat because Dumbledore said it was his favourite in HBP).

dumble will always be a diva referring to a horcrux of a dark lord as "assistant"

Phineas Nigellus Black said it best, however you feel about Dumbledore, you can't deny he's got style ;)

i feel like it's just so sad every time he turns into an obscurial, like it hurts ME and i'm not even there so i can only imagine how ruby feels seeing her own brother, her twin she shared a womb with and the majority of her life was by his side felt (she must be feeling esp guilty for her year long camping trip and keeping things from him extra hard)

He was literally at his breaking point :(((

Hence the Castor and Pollux mention (at the time I was writing it I was thinking maybe it's too on the nose but they are literally intentionally divine twins-coded so...)

his first instinct to say he's right takes me out (it's also very me so)

Ofc Tom believes he's always right (also, valid).

ik dumbledore felt hurt at what tom said

He was indeed in his feelings.

ruby tries to act like she expects it [...] but she's also deeply hurt by it, just in denial.

Exactly! She has Complex Feelings about Tee for definite (I mean she literally named him and summoned him from the purgatory realm or whatever and befriended him but he's also literally Voldemort).

i just felt the desperation, the hurt, the panic, the anxiety...

I'm so glad all of that came through (I love hurting my characters, ngl)

i do think tom is also unaware that everything he does might've started out a "repaying debts" and "choosing the better options" but definitely along the line he's developed some care for (ruby, dumbledore maybe even harry) and just can't bring himself to admit it or even recognise it.

This!!! Tom is always going to be a character with low empathy IMO but that doesn't mean that he doesn't care at all, even if that's the reality delusion he tries to create for himself.

does tom not know ron, hermione, and anthony's names??

He doesn't. He was never paying attention in the first place lol.

i noticed that harry and ruby kind of see people they care about in riddle?? (harry sees some of hermione and ruby sees some of harry) and it freaks them out a lot and i think it's because it definitely humanises him to them, esp ruby who would do ANYTHING for her brother as established.

Ruby definitely sees Harry in him (because of the canon Harry/Tom parallels 'we even look something alike' and all that) and it (amongst other things) causes major cognitive dissonance. There are definitely Tom/Hermione parallels that Harry picks up in (being Muggle-born/assumed Muggle-born, being know-it-alls) but potentially the worse source of Riddle-related anxiety for him is how Dumbledore sees him (potentially both in the same way) versus the literal existence of Lord Voldemort versus his knowledge of his own parallels.

"Am I meant to feel sorry for him?" It was a genuine question. He could only think of Riddle standing before him the night the castle was attacked. Of the strange, misplaced kinship, of rage and pity. It was like seeing himself in one of those funhouse mirrors; his reflection twisted into something grotesque and disturbing.

[wandringaesthetic]

ugh okay

Netflix Castlevania Nocturne season 2 trailer commentary and rampant speculation:

(mostly about Alucard we all have our faves)

I love how he's animated. He is so still most of the time. Not that he can't move incredibly fast, but there is no wasted movement, does not flinch, at all, ever, facial expressions are certainly there (his little smile when he mentions Trevor, cut out my fucking heart Sam Deats et al), but very subtle. He sounds so much more sedate than he does in the other series, but the dry humor is certainly still there (who are you to call anyone sarcastic, sir?). He has seen and lost so much. Nothing surprises him. Nothing is worth any wasted effort. The impression of incredible age and weariness.

As ever, I like the fact that he is supposed to be incredibly strong but it's usually depicted in a very understated manner, like this has been true since season 1 but it took until it was drawn attention to in season 3 for me to notice he has been wielding a longsword like it's a rapier this entire damn time.

He is literally sitting like an old man exactly like those two football players in that video. What? I'm comfy. Sort of like a bat, too.

He is kind of giving me death flags??? Like more or less saying to Richter that he's got to finish the job if he can't (the reverse of Symphony of the Night where Alucard has to finish it because Richter couldn't and oooooooooo are we going to get evil/possessed/"master of the castle" Richter I must KNOW) A character like Alucard is difficult because he's OP and isn't technically a main character (anymore) so one way to solve him overshadowing the actual main characters is KILL HIM. Also, being passively suicidal in Symphony of the Night is kind of Alucard's whole thing. Like, Again, overanalyzing the 30 seconds he's in in the last season. Stating he has a kill count in the hundreds thousands?? Big if true. He's been spending most of the last 300 years killing vampires. Castlevania vamps are generally not portrayed as obligate evil and he's often defensive/admiring of vampires in series 1. What happened? (I do not like the most obvious potential answer to this. Like, I won't hate it if that's what happened but agh I want him to have had one happy lifetime, at least. Especially if we, again, take inspiration from Symphony and have him fighting their shades/reanimated corpses. Like. I would love/hate that.)

Are we ever going to explain Maria's powers in any way? If we have evil/possessed Richter I do very much like the idea of her marching in to save him.

maybe the single frame here that intrigues me most is Olrox holding back Mizrak. Toxic bara is back, baby. Perhaps it never left.

I am intrigued re: what we're doing with Juste, because, hmm, the Juste/Lydie/Maxim situationship is more or less the same as the Cecil/Rosa/Kain situationship, yes? But we got the bad ending where Lydie and Maxim are dead or worse and Juste probably killed Maxim. Like if y'all had just accepted the homoerotic rivalry as homoerotic maybe you would not be so weak to demonic possession/brainwashing/whatever and it probably wouldn't have to be like this. In contrast with the might-as-well-be-canon trephacard polycule. As ever, I'm fascinated by the implications of something that is probably never going to play out on screen. Aren't we all.

I'm glad Drolta's back, she was fun. She's the sort of character that doesn't need a reason to be back because she didn't have all that strong a reason to exist in the first place she's 99% vibes and that's ok. (though oh. ohhhhhhh. she's the succubus analogue. let's torment alucard with illusory hellworld, yes?)

[marvel-starwarsfangirl]

"The Bad Batch" S3 Review- Spoilers

Alright guys, we made it. After 3 years of this lovely show, it has finally come to an end. I definitely plan on doing a review of the entire show and see where it fits with the other big animated shows. However, that will come after my Crosshair Character Study. For now, let's focus on S3. Like Season 2, I'd definitely say it's a solid 8.5/10 for me. Although, S2 might still be my favorite. I honestly think Rebels might be the only show that has a 9/10 final season for me. Look, I loved CW and Siege of Mandalore is phenomenal, but that Ahsoka arc was not it. The final season of TBB has so much I absolutely loved and so much I wished it handled better. So, let's jump right into it!

This season felt so different for me and I definitely know why. The story is much more plot driven than the first two. In the first two seasons, the Batch were more worried about survival and kinda just went on adventures all around the galaxy. The Empire really didn't know where they were so the stakes weren't as high. Crosshair himself was stuck in the Empire meaning he didn't focus on the Batch as much until they crossed paths with him.

S3, however, sees the Batch and Omega specifically being hunted relentlessly. They need to figure out what's going on or else they will never be free. This shift from the Batch galavanting around the galaxy to a more plot driven narrative does change things up. Looking back, I think the creative team just needed more time. S3 has so much going for it and there just isn't time to flesh out the ideas to their fullest potential. That being said, I am overall satisfied with everything they pulled off, especially Crosshair. This show has solidified him as one of my top 3 favorite SW characters and fave clone. He's so well-written and I adore him.

What I loved:

The atmosphere this season was so dark and I loved it. There was a maturity to the ideas and threat level that I honestly really appreciated. Just like Andor, TBB really demonstrates just how monstrous the Empire is. There is nothing that Palpatine won't do in order to achieve total domination and subjugation of the entire galaxy for all eternity. And Hemlock is right there beside him. That man's passion for his craft knows no bounds; it doesn't matter who's strapped to his table. It's so horrifying to think how Tantiss is probably just one of the many, many inhumane and monstrous things the Empire has running. TBB, like Andor, is peak Empire imo. If there was any doubt that this monstrosity could last as long as it did, these two shows erase it.

I also really loved the character relationships, particularly Omega and Crosshair. Their bond is so beautiful and reminiscent of ones I see in my own life. There's nothing Crosshair wouldn't do for her and it fits really neatly with who he is as a person. Omega brings out the best in him, just as she does all her brothers. This season really emphasized how much Omega's brothers have influenced her. Their lessons really come into play by the end of the season. To see her grow from a naive young girl into a mature (but still childish) teenager/pre-teen was beautiful.

Crosshair this season was everything to me. I could be here for hours talking about him. I was beyond thrilled with how they handled him. He has changed so much and this season highlights that growth in every way. Crosshair remains to be the best written character and nothing about him felt OOC. I loved his dynamics with the Batch and Omega. (The hugs were perfect)! I loved how his struggle was something he worked on the entire season; it wasn't just one and done. I love how the themes of trust were woven so perfectly into his story. Crosshair was perfect (I'll touch on the hand thing later). I couldn't have asked for more (except just give me more Crosshair. I will never be tired of him. I could watch a whole show of just him doing stuff).

I don't have a burning desire to punch Hunter anymore. Yay! But in all seriousness, I have developed a soft spot for him. As much as he got on my nerves in S1, I really do appreciate him a lot more. He does care deeply and has a lot he's struggling with.

Echo showing us why he's the ARC Trooper. Seriously, those scenes of him will always live rent free in my head.

Emerie! Really great character and very interesting.

*hides in a corner* Rampart.

The music and animation were phenomenal. Honestly, both were flawless. The music in particular moved me to tears several times. Props to the animators and Kiners because this is some of their finest work yet. That one shot of Crosshair catching CX-2's knife was outstanding.

I also loved the action, seeing the boys fight together, and final shot of the Batch + the epilogue. There is so much I adored in those moments and the rush of emotions I got each time. The epilogue was so personal and I might do a separate write up on it.

The themes of family and hope were also front and center and I loved every second of it. If anyone asks why I love TBB, it's because this is show about family more than anything. The Batch are a family and seeing them learn to be one is so beautiful. It means so much that Hunter, Wrecker, and Crosshair got to settle down together and raise Omega. It's just beautiful.

What I didn't like:

I wanted more deep convos. Whether it was because of a preference for action or time constraints, the writers just needed to have more deep character emotions and let them sink in. It's why "The Outpost" and Tech's convo with Omega are so well loved; they let us really be with the characters. I wish S3 had more of those moments because they make this show that much better. I just wanted more. And I know this show is capable of that. It sucks knowing what it could've been. So many moments could've hit more had they been given time to breathe or worked in a bit differently.

The way Tech was handled. Hats off for actually keeping him dead. I just wish we got proper closure on that 😐. Although Tech's death looms largely over the Batch, it feels like the writers brushed it off. Why didn't we get a scene of Crosshair learning what happened? I know the time skip implies they all processed Tech's death, but it still felt like something was missing. It felt like the writers expected us to also process it like the Batch and move on. Except, we're not the Batch. We don't know what went on in their heads because they're fictional. The audience relies on the writers to show us that grieving process and we don't get it. It also didn't help that it felt like they were baiting us with CX-2 at times.

Some of the plot lines being dropped for plot/time reasons. Look, I know that it's about the Batch and their journey on becoming a family. However, it felt like more was being set up and it might go no where. One thing I love about TBB in general is how it showed us how the Empire began to change the galaxy the moment Palpatine got what he wanted: total dominance. Clones began to take a stand. Talks of rebellion were already being whispered. I just hope that these storylines revolving around Rex, Riyo, and Echo don't wither away because TBB has ended. Or the Ventress thing. I know they said she'll be back but who knows when that'll happen. I also wanted to know more about the CX Program. That’s what fanfics are for, am I right?

The pacing was brutally fast. This ties into my points about the narrative being more plot driven and lack of time to fully flesh out ideas. It felt like there was almost no room to breathe at times because we jumped from plot point to plot point as each episode progressed. Don't get me wrong, TBB handled this way better than Ahsoka, but I just needed like two more episodes of the boys and Omega running around, ok?

Overall, this season just needed time.

What I am neutral on:

Scorch. Man was done dirty, but I didn't know who he was til this season. Sorry guys. Including him and not giving him anything wasn't a good idea imo though.

Crosshair's hand. I get both sides of the argument, I really do. First off, I'm a sucker for whump. I can't help it. Also, you can say that him losing his hand connects to him severing himself from Tantiss and the pain he went through. But at the same time, Crosshair's trauma isn't going to magically vanish by just chopping off his hand. If anything, it'll just add to the trauma. I applaud the writers for dealing with such a sensitive topic, but from a certain POV the hand chop is a quick fix to a storyline that could've had more substance with another season. I'm neutral on it because again, I see both sides of the argument. I think if we got more of a reaction from Cross, the situation would've been more clear (he was doing some crazy compartmentalization during the back half of the finale, let's be honest here).

Anyways, that's my review of S3 of TBB. Despite it's flaws, this little show still went out on a high note and I am very pleased with it. I love TBB with all my heart and I will hold it cherish it forever. Until next time everyone. I will still be talking about Crosshair and this show, don't worry. No matter what, I will never tire of this beautiful family ❤️

[slaygentford]

every matthew mcconaughey romcom, rated

ive never really had a pet white man. ive had many pet white men characters, yes, but never a little pet white man actor who I wish to give treats and pats to like a purse dog. I never before really understood the phenomenon until my 5th or so rewatch of true detective in the year 2024, at which point something demonic was unlocked in my brain. why? how? a mystery for my therapist, when I had a therapist, but I don't anymore, so now it's a mystery for you. overcome with the insatiable urge to tape his picture to the front of my binder and write "hott" underneath it in sharpie I mentally detransitioned and, embracing my latent teenage girl (the girl I was, perhaps, in another world, one parallel to ours; a darker world, but of equal worth to our own sphere, damned as it may be) --began to watch every Matthew mcconaughey romcom ever made.

listed in my watch order, which was random.

how to lose a guy in 10 days: this is a near perfect 00s romcom, too much secondhand embarrassment to be a real mainstay for me, but it nonetheless hits every beat with aplomb. particularly tickled to see them playing bullshit the card game which was a family and friend group fave for me growing up. he and Kate Hudson have probably fucked, which added a lot to the chemistry. in one scene Kate Hudson described how cute he was rubbing his face into her tits and her friend says, do you want to date him or adopt him? at which point I saw into the void, which then saw back into me. instantly it became apparent to me that he will act circles around whoever he's paired with to the point that it actually becomes kind of comical how good of a performance he's giving in a movie that includes not one but two scenes of a dog pissing on a pool table. that being said bebe neuwirth CARRIED this film on her BEAUTIFUL lithe back. 1 instance of no shirt, unfortunately brief. 7/10. vape I hit at midpoint also a 7/10, coincidentally

NB: after watching this movie I had a dream that I was at the beach with him and Kate hudson and I hated her because she had stolen may man.

the wedding planner: when I watched this I got extremely caught up in two things 1 the fact that he went on a date with another woman while engaged and almost kissed her and 2 jlo playing an italian girl. this led me to think about what race is/was in 90s-00s, colorism, borders of the latinx body and codemeshing. something interesting about the wedding planner is that the leads are in every way the opposite of the character they are playing, with little effort to no effort to make up for that diff (Matthew not at all acting like a wholesome pediatrician and rarely seen with children/jlo not at all acting (like) or being an italian). as a result the fourth wall in this movie is made out of wobbling cellophane, an upsetting and uncanny experience. Matthew doing a tango meant a lot to me as a fan of rust's deranged impromptu norteñas tutorial in true detective. as he is a texan, I think he is essentially one of my people. 0 instances of no shirt. 2/10

failure to launch: at the first incident of animal slapstick (chipmunk related) I had the thought while the scene wore on and on, I feel like I'm on drugs. that's because I was on drugs, which I then remembered, but a joint doesnt deny the truth, only reveal it. there are many sports, and Matthew doing sports. I wouldn't be surprised if the original conception of this movie was more like lars and the real girl or silver linings playbook which then had to get repackaged as a rom com bc some parts of this kind of push at the seams of the haha funny tone which makes for a shockingly bad film but a very interesting way to think about process and what this writer's passion project would be. by the final animal slapstick incident (dolphin, second appearance) I really said what the fuck out loud, like actually out loud in my home. we started off strong with some shirtlessness and a calf shot during the sex scene, but the chipmunk to dolphin to bird to iguana to dolphin pipeline really took the wind out of my sails. 1/10

ghosts of girlfriends past: This is doubtless Matthew's worst performance--and yet what a triumph it is, purely because for any other actor, it would be the peak of a career. Matthew has an incredible naturalism. About 15 minutes into this movie, Matthew gets belligerently drunk at his brother's rehearsal dinner. Through half-lidded, glassy eyes, he delivers with thoughtless verve the exact sort of diatribe a man not only uncaring but also unaware of his cruelty can; and yet, in that passivity, he unearths pathos. I consider it an underpainting--a little window which peeks out of a bad script to a fully conceived person. Throughout its runtime, the film degenerates into a pantomime, even parody, of itself: but with just a series of slow blinks, Matthew conveys a complete psyche, an entire lifetime. I truly believe that he comes to roles even those he dislikes with an inescapable talent and sensitivity. If I could bring half of his effort and spark and originality to my own creative pursuits, that would make for a very good career indeed. His integrity as an artist really is why watching his worst films is so fun: in a game of limbo, Matthew can do the lowest backbend of all. Strong calves indeed. anyway, this movie is REALLY bad. 0/10

fool's gold:

10/10

[incurable-cough-of-death]

I'm not defending Calypso. I don't agree with her actions either.

I'm just side-eyeing the way the fandom is hating on her and not all the other gods that have caused Odysseus pain and torment on his journey home. Why does she get the worst of the hate?

Yeah, trapped him on her island for 7 years. But this is also the musical that has:

God of Wisdom raising him to be a soldier since childhood (something tumblr is very wishy-washy about if it's good or bad in media)

Demigod Cyclops who kills his men after receiving an apology and a gift of wine

God of the Sea who creates a storm to keep him from going home, killed most of his men, tried to drown him multiple times, threatens to flood his homeland, stalking him for over 10 years to try and kill him for pride at this point

Daughter of a Titan/Witch who turned his men into pigs, tried to kill him with a chimera, tried to "seduce" him and then stab him

Thunder King of the Gods who put him on that island in the first place after killing the remainder of his crew and destroying his boat (there's no way Poseidon wouldn't have gotten to him otherwise), refused to let him go until God of Wisdom is near death

Most of those gods/demigods are either beloved by the fandom or the fandom at least finds fun to make fun of. All I've seen from people who don't like Calypso is downright loathing. And arguably, what the other gods did was far worse than what Calypso did. Why are they all getting so much love while Calypso is treated like a monster? Seriously, I've seen people thirsting after Poseidon more and more every time he appears, and he's actively trying to kill Odysseus! People thirst after Circe but she did just as bad, if not worse, than Calypso. So where's their hatedom?

What's the one thing that those gods don't have in common with Calypso? (Spoilers; Calypso is a dark skinned black woman).

Y'all don't have to like her. I certainly don't. But the level of hate for Epic's Calypso is seriously giving off "I hate black people" vibes more than "I dislike this character and character's actions" vibes.

this is a lot of lmao for me.

First off, it's not that serious, it's literally a fictional piece of media and people are allowed to like who they like and dislike who they dislike and there does not have to be some deep ideological reason for it. Second, as an actual Greek Mythology buff who read the Odyssey for school and drinks problematic fave juice in general not just for Greek Mythology, I have always hated Calypso and always will so that dark-skinned hater bullshit does not apply to me at least.

Big point here: all the characters in Epic are nuanced and have different motivations for their actions and they can all be understandable however it is up to the discretion of the audience to decide who they like or do not like based on their actions. PERSONALLY I do not like Calypso because homegirl heard the man say he was married TWICE and was just like "well that do not matter I want to keep you as my sex toy/'lover' forever" with no regard for his wishes OUT OF THE DESIRE to not be lonely. And that actually makes it worse for me than Polyphemus, Circe, Zeus, or Poseidon because they at least are acting out of defense of their name, dependents, etc. Calypso is just wantonly keeping Odysseus against his will because she can and wants to and believes she knows what's best for him.

(Also for the record, I hate Zeus and am not exactly fond of Poseidon although I enjoy the songs he sings and understand his motivation even if I don't agree with it. I do also enjoy Calypso's songs even though their content makes my skin crawl as a SA survivor.)

I UNDERSTAND Calypso's motivation but I do not sympathize with it, it is selfish and ignorant and entitled and i do not feel sorry for her at all for getting left alone again, she made her bed. She thinks that because Odysseus washed up on her island, that means he's destined to be hers regardless of what he's saying his wishes are.

I think the big thing you're missing here is that Calypso is a thief of autonomy; a BIG THIEF of autonomy. The shit that goes down with Polyphemus, Circe, Poseidon, and Zeus only takes up three years. Then Calypso takes SEVEN YEARS AWAY from Odysseus. She is the lion's portion of why it takes him so long to get back to Ithaca. She keeps him from even leaving the island. At least with the others, he had the ability to move around but Calypso makes even that impossible. Kind of make sense to hate her now?

Also, she is keeping him hostage with the intention of using him for sex out of a twisted notion of love and whether or not she actually does so is up to interpretation. But as one friend from the fandom put it, if the genders were reversed, the fandom would be in agreement that the captor is a terrible person and there'd be few to no fans. And it makes a lot of sense for the haters to just HATE her if she's at the very least a sexual harasser if not a sexual assaulter. End of the day, she's a sexual predator no matter how far she got.

Anyways this is fandom so I'm not genuinely upset if people misinterpret my reasons for hating a character but long essays of BS deserve long replies herego~ Also another fandom friend likes Calypso BECAUSE she's problematic so sit with that for a minute.