#you need a more compelling reason than it's scary and big

[jonathanrook]

i'm sorry i know but the marmora trials kinda suck :/

[warping-realities]

Where Would You Rather Be? (Redux)

A collaboration with the amazing @johnbrand

“You know I love you, right?” Malcolm reaffirmed to his boyfriend. “And I’m here for you, babe.”

It had been a hell of a week for Shane. He had been living in the city for almost ten years now, moving there for college and then sticking around after graduation. It was a scary transition, but thanks to the quick friends he made, the ride was a bit easier. One of them, Shane’s freshman roommate—who he had lived with and then kept close since they met—got an eviction notice the week before. Shane had been as supportive as he could through the whole mess, but watching his buddy pack up and leave was a real kick in the gut. His friend would now be living hours away, no longer right next door.

Shane nodded his head, followed by a quick “Thanks, babe.”

“I’m happy to be the shoulder you can cry on, I know this sucks” Malcolm sympathized. “Still wanna grab dinner tonight? We can bail on the plans if you need some time.”

“Nah, I’ll be fine,” Shane said with a slight smile. “Plus, it’s our third anniversary—you’ve done more than your fair share, and I’m super grateful for that.”

Malcolm chuckled, quickly snatching Shane from behind. “Then maybe you’ll have to show some gratitude later tonight.”

Rolling his eyes, Shane still returned the passionate kiss from his boyfriend.

That night, he found himself back in his own home. After climbing a few flights of stairs, he was surprised to find his buddy’s old apartment door wide open. Curious, Shane peeked in, and without thinking twice, he stepped into the familiar space, now filled with unknown furniture, boxes, and other random junk scattered around.

Before he could snoop around, a voice from behind barked at him to move aside. “Get outta the way, bro!”

The rich baritone caught Shane so off guard that he jumped a bit, scurrying as a big dude stomped through the doorway before dropping a few boxes. At least six feet tall, the buff, masculine intruder immediately intimidated Shane. Shirtless, barefoot, and rocking some tiny shorts that could easily be mistaken for underwear. Probably due to the effort of hauling all those boxes, the muscular man gave off a strong, manly odor that quickly overwhelmed Shane’s senses. In fact, all of his senses, although he didn’t really realize it. The stranger smiled cockily, sizing Shane up with eyes glinting with mischief before speaking.

“Mind being useful and helping me organize the rest of my stuff?” the man asked. Shane, a bit freaked out by the pure masculinity in front of him, didn’t say a word. The guy didn’t need his response, though, knowing Shane would help him out no matter what. Shane couldn’t explain what came over him; his mouth was just hanging open while cardboard boxes were dumped into his waiting arms.

In minutes, he was soaked in sweat, having to peel off layer after layer of clothing as he helped the stranger organize the apartment. His mind screamed at the absurdity of the situation, yet he kept doing what the man asked him to do like a robot. After an hour of relentless work, the guy, noticing Shane’s drenched clothes, pulled out a change of clothes from one of the boxes still piled in a corner.

“Put these on, thank goodness I wear extra-large, bro, so they should fit your chubby ass!” he said, flexing his muscles and releasing another wave of that masculine musk from his armpits.

Drowsy Shane picked up the clearly unwashed tank top and gym shorts, reeking of that same animal musk but concentrated from days of use. That scent almost made him hurl.

“What are you waiting for, man? Put these on already. We still got work to do.”

Once again, not understanding why, Shane felt compelled to obey, stripping down in front of his new neighbor until he was left only in his underwear. He was already putting on his shorts when the man interrupted him.

“No, man, you gotta let the jewels breathe. Not that they take up much space, from what I can see, but there’s no reason to squeeze the poor things,” he quipped, bursting into laughter, and Shane, even without getting the joke, found himself laughing along. When he was finally dressed in the provided clothes, completely engulfed by the animalistic smell, the man approached him with a grin.

“Back to work, man, a little more exercise and maybe you’ll fill out those clothes just right,” he said with a smirk. Shane just nodded and kept working.

Before he knew it, another two hours had flown by, and the apartment now had a minimally organized look, unlike the previous chaos. The night fully enveloped the dimly lit room.

“Martin,” the mysterious man finally offered his name, alongside a giant meaty hand that crushed Shane’s. “Are you my new neighbor?”

“Uh... yeah,” Shane finally spoke, pointing to the wall their apartments would share.

“Cool, bro,” Martin replied. “Wanna chill on the balcony with me for a bit?”

Shane checked his watch, noting that there was still some time before he had to get ready for his dinner date. “Sure.” Following the muscular alpha outside, Shane took a seat on the wicker couch while waiting for Martin. He did his best to plan out the remaining time he had. Not realizing that the tight outfit now seemed to hang off his body, which in the last few hours had shed a good amount of fat while gaining a little muscle, revealing a face that was somewhere between cute and handsome.

“Sit over there,” Martin directed as he stepped onto the balcony. Shane didn’t think twice about getting up and moving aside so Martin could sit on the couch. It wasn’t until he moved to the other side of the coffee table that Shane realized Martin wanted him to sit on the deck.

“That’s right, faggot. Sit in front of my feet,” Martin said, the friendly smile fading from his face as he propped his giant, smelly feet up on the table.

Shane was shocked, offended by his neighbor’s sudden bigotry. The lame joke about the size of his dick was one thing, but this vocabulary was degrading and... the smell of a full day’s work was coming off those giant boards Martin called feet. And Shane train of thought completely derailed. So he did as he was told, taking his seat in front of the two massive soles placed before him. Somewhat exasperated by the incomprehensible actions he had taken up until that point and anxious not to miss his meeting with his boyfriend, Shane shifted uncomfortably in the awkward spot, to the point that Martin himself noticed.

“You got any plans tonight, fag?” Martin questioned.

In a flustered, embarrassed, and strangely lustful state, Shane answered, “Yeah, I have an anniversary dinner with my boyfriend.”

Martin snickered. “And when is that?”

“I should start getting ready in 10 minutes,” Shane’s response was robotic. “I’ve gotta shower, get dressed, wrap my present, and then travel.”

Martin mulled this over for a bit, relishing the fact that Shane would wait for his next prompt. He was completely overtaken by the scent that wafted from the other man. Martin’s natural musk and body odor held an authority over him like nothing else ever had.

“Let me make you a deal, faggot,” Martin finally said. “You can bounce now, get ready, and have a great night with your loving boyfriend. Or you can stay seated right where you are, at the feet of a straight man, waiting for my next command and finally discover what it’s like to be a real man!”

Shane didn’t reply, shocked by what Martin was insinuating. With casual indifference, Martin wiggled his toes in front of Shane, knowing the silence was already his answer. But in true alpha fashion, Martin made sure to hammer his superiority home.

“Where would you rather be, faggot?” he asked, with his feet releasing another wave of potent funk towards an already completely subdued prey.

They stayed there without saying a word: Martin laid-back, comfortable, and minding his own business, and Shane at his feet. Neither got up as time ticked by. In his head, Shane’s plans slowly morphed. He didn’t need to wrap Malcolm’s present, he didn’t need to shower, he didn’t even need to change. Eventually, the anniversary dinner came and went, and Shane was still at the feet of the straight man.

“Well, now that you’ve made your choice I gotta keep my promise, right, sissy boy? But to be my bro, you gotta become a real man, don’t you, Shotgun?”

“My name is…”

“Shut up, sissy boy. You’ll be able to talk when you’re a man and have a place to sit by my side, not at my feet!”

Imbued by Martin’s potent scent and words of dominance, Shane fell silent.

“I don’t give a damn what you were known for, Shotgun,” Martin retorted, making the smaller man shiver at the sound of that nickname. “I don’t care about your art degree or the lame job you do or the degenerate things you do with your fag boyfriend. And that doesn’t matter to you either, Shotgun, because it’s not real, but what I’m gonna tell you now is that it is real, and your jelly brain is gonna do its best to make it happen.” The man concluded, lifting both arms and releasing the most powerful wave of musk yet, taking Shane... or Shotgun?... what kind of name is that? That didn’t matter, only the wave of nauseating smell that invaded him.

“Take it like a man, Shotgun,” Martin ordered, and he obeyed. “What you’re gonna do is very simple, I want you to think about all the jocks who humiliated you in school, the fraternity brothers who often give each other nicknames just like yours, Shotgun, which you certainly mocked but deep down envied. I want you to think about all the real men you and your faggot friends called toxic behind their backs without having the guts to face them. I want you to picture yourself as one of them, with all the stereotypes of white cis straight men, yada yada yada bullshit that your liberal faggot mind has stored. I want you to take all their traits and slap them on yourself. Habits, behavior, conduct, appearance, desires, thoughts, everything! Yeah, everything you think about guys like me applied to you. When you’re done, Shotgun, then we’ll talk man to man, and only then I’ll wanna know more about my new bro. A bro who scored this awesome apartment for a fellow frat brother moving across the country as soon as he heard someone just like him was moving here, just for the spirit of brotherhood that exists between real men that your old self would never have been able to grasp! Do it now!

The wave of nausea hit its peak; Shane felt the vomit rising in his throat but held it back, swallowing it down again, while another sensation took over his head, a feeling of being invaded and violated, his mind dominated by a relentless buzz, his vision flooded with a myriad of colors, while his whole body itched as if a million ants were crawling over him. The whole situation was overwhelming. And it got worse when his memories and recollections started to twist and reform, everything he was being tangled up in a whirlwind of misinformation. He found himself facing several traumatic situations from his life, but in reverse roles; the bullying he suffered turning into the bullying he practiced, the sports activities observed from afar being felt and lived, the toxic behavior going from being judged to being experienced and appreciated. And with that, new memories surfacing, time in the gym sculpting his body to perfection, nights of sex with various women whose names he didn’t even remember, his work at the art gallery replaced by a finance job earned not through talent but through connections made via his fraternity brothers. At last the image of Malcolm, the great love of his life, being erased. In an internal scream of despair, he tried to cling to that safe harbor, but that ship had already sailed to new waters, taking with it his humility, knowledge, empathy, and kindness. Leaving only inflated self-confidence, privilege, and respect only for those he considers equal or superior.

As the night wore on and Shane’s inner turmoil reached its peak, his exterior was undergoing its own transformation. His muscles were going into overdrive. They just kept contracting and expanding. Over and over. Lost in jumbled thoughts, he couldn’t feel his bones stretching longer. But each one was stretching out to its new length, growing denser to support his new weight. His average build quickly disappeared as muscle packed onto his recent lean frame. Little by little, he felt constricted by Martin’s clothing. The shirt pulled at his chest and shoulders while the shorts barely contained his thick, muscular ass, with his thighs growing like tree trunks, stretching the fabric to its limit. His shoulders broadened, turning into large round orbs jutting from his sides. Two mighty pecs pushed a bit in front of him while a firm set of abs grew more defined right underneath. His biceps bulged out of his arms while his forearms widened to support the new strength building within him. Amid the chaos of conflicting memories, his average-sized dick, the butt of Martin’s jokes, quickly grew to new heights. What had been his maximum hard was now his flaccid member. His calves grew to the size of most men thighs. Meanwhile, his feet grew well beyond the previous size 8, increasing to the point of competing with Martin’s stinky paws, which had to be at least size 13. The changes also hit his face, which took on a more squared-off, rugged look, with his button nose growing and turning into an aquiline nose that could’ve easily been broken in a fight, which only reinforced the raw masculinity taking over from his previous cuteness.

Finally, a smile formed on his chiseled face, oozing confidence and displaying his internal arrogance for all to see.

Seeing that smile appear, Martin knew his work was nearly done. And when that new Shane let out a fart and a burp, he knew it was all over. Feeling that new putrid smell mix with his own musk, he turned to the other man.

“Damn, Shotgun, you’re rank!”

“I didn’t get the name Shotgun Shane for nothing, man; it was for the shots I could take back in college, but I almost got called Stinkbomb for what I let out. Now, if you’re gonna complain about the smell, you better get those damn feet outta my face!” Shane shot back, his arrogant smile widening. This made Martin lift his feet off Shane’s face while cracking up.

“I knew we’d be best bros the moment we met, Shotgun,” he said, admiring the result of his handiwork.

“Me too, bro; way better having you as a neighbor than that faggot who lived here before.”

“If you compare me to some queer again, I’m gonna mess you up.”

“You can try!” Shane replied, flexing one of his powerful arms before continuing. “But you’re right, there’s no comparison, dude. To make it up to you, how about I take you to check out the hottest club in town? Celebrate the move by picking up some chicks?”

“Now you’re speaking my language, bro!”

….

Martin hated waiting on others, even though he himself had no problem showing up late. Apparently, Shane inherited that same trait during his transformation. The other man had gone home, took forever in the shower, and then posted some pretty provocative videos on his social media. The first one showed off his well-developed muscles while he seductively invited all the girls interested in him to meet him and his best bro at a city club.

In the second video, he just slid the camera down, revealing the huge package he had stuck in his underwear. All of this under the suggestive caption, “You really gonna miss this?”

Martin was super stoked with the results of his actions. Moving to a new city was tricky, but having a bro made it a whole lot easier, no matter that bro had been crafted by him. Still, he wondered if he hadn’t put too much of himself into the other man while he waited for him with a frown and his arms crossed. After a reasonable amount of waiting, he saw the gigantic figure strutting toward him down the first-floor corridor and was sure he had indeed put too much of himself into the other man, which could lead to some friction in the future when they had to sort out their power dynamics, but at that moment, that didn’t matter; he just wanted to have a good time, and there wouldn’t be better company than someone who was practically him in another body.

That became even clearer when Shane stopped in front of his irritated face and flexed his muscles playfully.

“What’s with the ugly mug, dude? You wanna throw down?”

“The ugly mug is because you took your sweet time, Shotgun! And you can joke all you want, but you can’t compete with this,” he replied, flexing one of his powerful arms. “Now let’s go after some hot chicks, or what?”

….

Malcolm didn’t quite know why he was in that dump of bigotry and toxicity. He just felt like something was missing and couldn’t quite put his finger on what. His trip to the place was the result of an Instagram video where one of the typical patrons invited all the interested bitches to come on down. Malcolm didn’t consider himself a bitch and usually would’ve laughed if someone said he might be into a dude like that, yet here he was. Knowing he had no chance of getting close to that man radiating toxicity. But only when he saw that self-proclaimed Shotgun Shane chatting up a hot young woman did something stir within him, a memory of a passionate kiss shared just that morning.

“S-Shane…?” he murmured, though he didn’t know exactly who this man was, he felt something deeply wrong was going on. While he stood there, dumbfounded, the man made his move and kissed the woman, which made him decide to leave the place as he was hit by another wave of strangeness and sadness mixed together.

However, he wasn’t the only one watching the scene; on the other side of the club, Martin saw his supposed wingman score before he did.

“Damn, I really put too much of myself in that dude,” he muttered as he weaved through the crowd. That’s when he saw Malcolm hurrying along with a look of confusion.

Well, if his wingman bailed on him, he could just make another one, right? It’s not like there was a shortage of material to work with, as that other faggot’s presence left abundantly clear. He just needed to be a bit more careful not to overdo it again, although he didn’t really have that refined of a control over the final result, and the most likely outcome would be ending up with another bro exactly like him. But he didn’t care that much; to him, there wouldn’t be better company than his own, and if someone asked him where and with whom he rather be, the answer would always be the same, he thought, smiling as he approached his future bro.

[subliminalbo]

Mind Control in the Wild #3: Shivers

Hotness: 1 Context: 4 Creativity: 4 Final Score: 2.33

CW: Sexual assault

You can watch Shivers for free on Tubi.

While mind control creeps into David Cronenberg's early work enough to make you wonder if he's a secret weirdo like me (this is a joke, Cronenberg is such a fucking weirdo), none of his films come as close to an EMCSA plot as 1975's Shivers. Often miscredited as Cronenberg's feature film debut, I would say that it is his first notable film.

Like many of the shock horror films of the 1970s, Shivers was panned by contemporary reviewers for its violence and gore. Also like many of the shock horror films of the 1970s, it's not really that gory at all. In the 80s, Cronenberg would codify the body horror genre with films like Videodrome and The Fly, and Shivers does play with similar tropes, but it never goes as far into the gore as you might expect. It does feature plenty of bloody parasites being vomited up and the eruption of one from a host's stomach that would be replicated to better effect a few years later in Alien, but the horror in Shivers is largely found in the actions of the parasites' hosts.

To put it more bluntly, David Cronenberg's Shivers is about sex zombies. It's an apocalyptic story where humanity ultimately succumbs to a parasitic invasion that, to use a direct quote from the film, turns the world into "one beautiful, mindless orgy." I imagine that it watches a lot differently for someone who doesn't have a mind control fetish.

There's enough brutality in this movie that I felt the need to include the content warning up top. It is about people being compelled by preternatural forces to commit sexual violence and ultimately that's a big reason that it ranks so low in the hotness category. There is a lot of mind control sex in this film, but there isn't a moment where it's being played for anything but horror. It may not be very scary to a hypnofetishist, but it's more likely to make you interrogate your fetish than to scratch an itch.

The entire film takes place within a large apartment complex in Montreal where a mad scientist has developed a sexually transmitted aphrodisiac parasite with the intention, I guess, of making the world sexier. The disgraced professor uses one of his young students as a guinea pig, and we open on him brutally murdering her before killing himself. The medical staff at the apartment is left to piece together the story, learning too late that the professor's student was a carrier of the parasite and that she was sleeping with several men in the complex.

The first third of the film is largely dedicated to this mystery while establishing the handful of characters that we follow. It's very slow, but once the parasites begin infecting the tenants, the pace ratchets up. From a story structure, it checks a lot of boxes for me. We get enough of a glimpse of these characters' everyday lives that we know who they are and we feel for them once the weird shit starts happening, but that also makes it more exciting when these characters become victims. I preach a lot about the importance of establishing characters in mind control stories before throwing them into the mind control. There are many scenes in Shivers that introduce random strangers who immediately become victims, but there are plenty of long set ups and payoffs. The film ends with every character infected; what we're really watching is the serial recruitment of an entire apartment complex.

I've used that word "zombies" to describe the infected, but it's not exactly one to one with Romero's living dead. In some scenes they shuffle around mindlessly, but in others they speak clearly and appear capable of (mostly) rational thought. The infected are alive, which means that they can be easily killed. In one scene, we see an infected tenant flee from gunfire, so we know that they retain a sense of self-preservation over the compulsion for sex. Cronenberg's follow-up, Rabid, features a far more straightforward zombie apocalypse where the infected shuffle and growl and leak shit from their orifices before ultimately falling into a coma and dying. If the parasites in Shivers aren't fatal and its hosts are just super horny forever, is it really an apocalypse?

Shivers is the kind of movie that exists on the boundaries of hypnofetish content but never fully crosses over. It's not interested in being sexy with its premise at all, it's a body horror movie. To anyone who might be interested in watching it, my biggest warning is that Cronenberg is known for taking things too far, and in a couple scenes he shows that even children aren't immune to the parasitic infection. It's nothing explicit, but the implication is enough to make it the only genuine horror in the movie and likely a reason to avoid it.

Still, it's hard not to respect the influence that Shivers has on the squicky mind control community. Later parasite invasion movies would go much harder in the zombie apocalypse direction, like 1986's Night of the Creeps and 2006's Slither, the latter of which features a parasite in the bathtub scene that is reminiscent to one in Shivers. But beyond influences in mainstream media, you can see Shivers' DNA in random hypnokink webcomics or EMCSA stories or in those parasite porn videos that are everywhere on Reddit. It's a classic case of one man's horror is another's kink. So watch it with caution: it's a little boring, it goes a little too far in one direction while not enough in another, and the parasites look like dried turds.

[moonlitlex]

ok hello. legend of ruby sunday.

i literally can't believe how underwhelmed i am honestly. like i'm not even angry i'm just underwhelmed. i've been pointing to rtd being bad at payoff as a reason i was unenthusiastic for this episode, but this is bad even by his standards.

as that other post i reblogged said, the other first parts of the season finales rtd wrote were actually good STANDALONE episodes while legend of ruby sunday is like a 45 minute long exposition dump. the actual solutions used are kind of questionable but something like army of ghosts or stolen earth is compelling on its own without needing the full season of setup to go with it. legend of ruby sunday underdelivers on its own.

like ok payoff wise i'm only gonna address the decision to use sutekh as the big bad. it's a questionable decision backed up with bad writing. like really... you're gonna pick sutekh.... guy who was in ONE classic who serial? in which he functions perfectly fine by the way! but like.... him?? he's your choice?

and what do we really know about him from this episode? that he's evil? he brings death? you can say that about half the doctor who villains that exist in the first place except the rest of them also come with opportunity for interesting commentary like the being engineered for hatred and killing with the daleks. sutekh doesn't really have any of that. so he's a shallow bad guy.

what he does have that's sort of unique at least in nuwho is that he's a god, and we haven't really done too many god-type antagonists, so that may be novel. unfortunately, rtd already shot himself in the foot by using both the toymaker and maestro recently. it's not novel anymore. it's not new and crazy anymore.

and like, usually the doctor showing real fear actually meant something, but he's been doing that really often recently. he was scared in wild blue yonder, then in the giggle, then in the beatles episode, then in boom, and now he's scared again. this doesn't really help sutekh's case because it seems like all the doctor does nowadays is walk into situations that freak him out.

and what i think this does is make sutekh a particularly bad season antagonist, because nothing makes him special.

do you guys remember how rtd introduced some other season antagonists? in army of ghosts or doomsday (dont remember which one), ten walks into the room and sees the void ship and for once, even the doctor is freaked out by something! he never gets freaked out by things! it actually meant something. when he realizes it's the master in utopia he's kind of terrified and it works because moments of the doctor being scared are reserved for situations that are actually scary. in legend of ruby sunday, he gets scared again, but we don't have that full season of him being unflappable, partly because he just has more occasions of getting freaked out by things than usual and partly because it's just a shorter season and we've only had him for 7 episodes (pre this one) so he's had less opportunities to be delighted at being in some type of crisis situation

and like character wise? does anyone get any character development?

the doctor is basically the same person he's been so far, with the added element of oh he thought this woman was susan. but she's not. so he doesn't really get anything.

ruby wanted to find her mother and was upset she couldn't. which was already her character ever since she was introduced. so she doesn't get anything either.

and the rest of the characters are just doing what they need to to make the story progress or standing around in the scene. and like i don't need mel or kate to be more fleshed out really because i think they're fine. but rose? she already had no character and she still has no character, and also now she works for unit.

and rose noble brings me to donna and ten3. where the fuck are they? like genuinely where are they? it needs to at least be addressed... like are we to understand fifteen is fighting sutekh while ten3 is doing the dishes at the noble household? or did he just wink out of existence at some point between the giggle and now? like there should be at least something about that? and i don't really care if that's going to be addressed later because it's been bugging me in both of the present day episodes we've had this season and fixing it later isn't really going to do anything to fix my initial viewing experience

anyway. this episode was ass. as usual. i can't believe some of you are liking this season i feel like we're watching entirely different shows

[little-elf-wanders]

I'm also just going to preface that I rant about Solas a lot and I'm highly critical of him because he's apparently a character with a lot of power in how the rest of Thedas will survive or die. This doesn't mean I can't accept being wrong if I am, if he has a genuinely good plan he hasn't bothered to explain to anyone yet, I'll listen but so far... I'm not collecting breadcrumbs and calling it a cake.

I don't mean any of my posts to attack what you love, if you're a Solas lover/apologist, that's completely fine with me, I actually read and enjoy some of your takes about him. And you're all wildly talented. His character just rubs me the wrong way enough times that I just can't justify things away. That doesn't mean I entirely hate him. There are things I do enjoy about him, and that any character can illicit strong emotion in people isn't a bad thing to have. I'm truly hoping there's some secret I'm not in on, but I'm not hinging it all on being attracted to him, either. (I'm ace as fuck, which might be why I haven't been swept up in loving him. Because I know some - please read not all, majority of you have been very understanding -will defend him to the death simply because they love the romance. Or maybe they're hopeful and trying to find evidence to back it up. I just don't view him through rose tinted glasses and there's issues, he's a flawed character - none of this is a bad thing, it creates narrative, it's just the approach some fans take to it can be exhausting, on both sides.)

If it's been a big misunderstanding of Solas in general in Veilguard, I'll also be willing to accept that provided they give us more than 'trust me'. But as of now he's still a dick that isn't one all the time. And if he's an actual god, that explains why he's a dick. Though I believe it was said they weren't gods, their powers just came close. Which just means he's a very strong magister and thus, still a dick. A slightly less dicky version of the others but. STILL. There is substantial amounts to be critical about. And I will be.

This is just a PSA to say if you don't like me ranting about him, I'll make sure to have solas critical in the tags so you can blacklist it if seeing criticism of him upsets you, he's fictional at the end of the day so my rants don't mean I want to tear away your joy, just vent my own grievances in my own space. My intention isn't to upset anyone who loves his character. I have empathy for his character, it just... y'know. There's parts I wish could have been handled differently. Especially how we spoke to him because it was all, in my opinion, just ego stroking him. Which just isn't compelling to me nor what romance should be. (Though he was a late add to the romance roster so some things can't be helped.)

I know how serious people take this, which is the only reason I'm saying this now, and I'm only making this post just to make sure people understand criticism isn't hate or shitting on what you love - at least it's not intentional on my end. Because I have seen some feel like it's a personal attack. I'm saying it isn't for this blog. Love him to your hearts content, you could be right in the end. But you could also be wrong. My take is, regardless of what side you're on, you still cared enough to put in energy which isn't a wasted game or character, and it's enjoyable to see all the passion. But please also understand that being critical doesn't = scum of the earth wanting to kill your enthusiasm. And the fandom sometimes need to learn how to separate certain feelings when discussing subjects. I won't judge you for loving Solas or any other romance or character. But I will have my views of said fictional characters.

I'll make an active effort to be aware of how the criticism comes out. (This is just in case I have unintentionally upset anyone who's peeked in and thought I'm the worst because of it.) Fandom culture is just scary and my anxiety has been acting up because I know how loved of a character he is. Maybe this is a dumb post to make but. Can't be too careful. But also if you do want to discuss things, I'm always open to chat about it!

[babydin]

You're My Person

Pedro talks you through some relationship anxiety that has triggered from tabloid bullshit.

- Pedro Pascal x trans woman reader - 18+, preferred but no nsfw, all fluff. - Transphobia, body dysmorphia, anxiety . - 851 words - Comments/likes appreciated. Requests are open! - A/N: I ran a poll to see if I should post this and majority voted yes. I also meant to post this yesterday on TDOV but I passed tf out. I realize the subject of this oneshot can be heavy for a lot of people so please read with caution. Please know that you are valid and you are loved and you are safe with me.

“Unclench your jaw, tell me that’s wrong.”

“You’ve got a look.”    You look up at Pedro as he joins you on the couch with a bowl of popcorn, the curtains drawn in preparation for a late-night scary movie. Maybe he was right, maybe you did ‘have a look’, you had been sitting cradling your knees while he busied himself in the kitchen making popcorn, picking at your knees and staring into space.

“Unclench your jaw, tell me that’s wrong.”

Pedro had a way of speaking that was so attentive, every word he said, the way his eyes looked at you; a car could’ve driven through the house and he wouldn’t have taken his eyes off you if you were still talking. You weren’t going to say anything to him about your sour mood, but he had a way of noticing the little things. You start to pick at the skin around your thumbs and tell him “Someone saw us today.” He took one of your hands to stop you from picking at yourself and offered his own hand as a fidget which you gladly took, fussing with his fingers, sizing up his palms in comparison to your own. “I’m sure a lot of people saw us today, amorcita. What happened?” “There was a post on Twitter–” The mention of the word made him grunt disapprovingly. “It was a pap’ shot and a link to an article. I’ve never been photographed with you before so I–” He almost wanted to interrupt you and you could see it on his face, but he allowed you to continue despite his personal issues with Twitter.

Your thoughts drifted for a moment and another one came in as you considered the words that were in the article. They focused heavily on your looks, on your body, they’d even gone to so much trouble to find out you were transgender and what your deadname was; it was like reading your own unauthorized autobiography with some unintentionally transphobic click-bait headline along the lines of ‘Who is this on Mando’s arm? Not who you’d expect. Click to find out!’ “Do you ever wish I was someone else?” Pedro’s brow creased, “I don’t follow.” A breath catches in your throat and you hug your knees a little tighter with one arm while the other still holds Pedro’s hand, afraid of his answer to your next question, “Do you ever wish I had a woman’s body? Like do you ever want me to–” He had already started a string of no’s and shushing, his grip tightened on your hand and he leaned forward to set the bowl of popcorn down, because such a conversation needed both his hands free. “Don’t even finish that sentence. I won’t let you. I won’t… let you.” You let out that breath on a sigh. “I love you. And you are so much more than your body. Okay? You are a beautiful mind, and a generous heart, and a soul so big it can barely be contained in a human vessel.” He pulled your hand towards his lips and kissed the tips of your fingers. “If you want to change it should be for yourself… not for me, certainly not for some toxic TMZ horsepiss.” You didn’t know how you were so lucky to land this man, the man with the biggest heart and the kindest words who had so much love and appreciation for everyone he met until they gave him a reason not to. You had had the longest conversation with his little sister Lux when you had first met her, and you had been so enamoured by her and her journey that you felt compelled to come out to her the moment you were alone together. She had talked for hours about how supportive Pedro had been during her transition and now you were seeing it in real time. “If you want to change anything about yourself,” he carried on, “I will stand by you, I’ll love you, I’ll nurse you. If you are happy with yourself now, then I’m happy too. But I don’t ever wish for you to look different or sound different or feel different… The only thing, the only thing, I would change about you is how other people’s perception of you makes you feel. I wish you could see yourself through my eyes. I recognize that I cannot relate to the struggles you have being transgender, because I am not, so this probably sounds disingenuous but please don’t feel like you need to change for me. Please. I’d never forgive myself.” If you did have any doubts, they had been melted away by his attentive words and his hands caressing you like you were so precious. “You are so dear to me.” you told him, not wanting to scare him with the L word because you knew if he heard it too many times in such a short space of time he got itchy and started to panic. He smiled a smile that seemed to be just for you and pulled you into his chest to hold you there for the rest of the night.

[thoughtsinadaydream]

The Spooktacular Halloween Movie Challenge: October 28, 2023

Five Nights at Freddy’s (October 27, 2023)

Desperate for a job so that he can keep custody of his little sister Abby, Mike Schmidt accepts a position as a security guard at an old animatronic pizzeria called Freddy Fastbear’s. It turns out the job isn’t as simple as it may have seemed. Can he keep his sister safe against the tide his new job brings?

Released only yesterday (theatrically; I believe streaming was two days ago) and available on Peacock, this long anticipated movie adaption of the video game is already getting some boos from the critics, but I expect that ratings will take an upswing as the audience puts their two cents in. I have only watched some let’s plays of the original and some adaptations of the game; I haven’t played it myself. That being said, I know enough to say they captured the spirit of the game pretty well. There are some shot for shot copies of some of the game’s jump scares, and of course, there are similar musical stings, Easter eggs, and a pizzeria matching the original layout pretty faithfully as far as I can tell. That’s all good news for people who were excited for its release because they loved the game.

What made me appreciate this film was the effort they did to put some more depth to the story. After all, you’re pretty much a faceless security protagonist in the original video game, listening to the history of the place through tapes and trying your best to stay alive in a struggle against unstable electricity and relentless monsters. Interesting for a game, not really interesting for a movie. Instead they gave Mike Schmidt a story, a pretty compelling reason to make the choices he does, and people to protect other than himself when things go awry.

You can probably tell that I liked it. The practical effects were great. Using puppetry instead of CGI gave it some realism, the music could be both haunting and fun depending on the circumstances, and I became pretty invested in not only the three main characters but the puppets too.

I should warn that it’s honestly not that scary, which seems to be why most of the critics were irritated, but to be honest, I don’t think it would have been appropriate if it was scarier or gorier. The makers probably knew their target audience, mostly kids up to 20s, maybe early 30s adults. No need to scar children for life who just wanted to watch such a huge pop culture icon adaption. And to be fair, the game is not gory either. It’s got jump scares, that’s pretty much it. Hard to be mad at a video game adaptation for keeping the same tone. I had a good time. It looks like a lot of people who are familiar with FNAF agree. Try it out if that sounds like fun to you.

**Edit: to be clear, critics are rating the movie pretty low, around 20-30%, but if you really dig into it, audience scores are hovering at around 90%. Pretty big schism to make early judgments on success**

[practically-an-x-man]

I've tried writing horror before and while I think I got some aspects down, I'd still like to ask. Do you have any advice on writing horror?

Ooooh, good question!

Once again, under the cut because this is for sure gonna be another long ramble:

So the first thing to consider is that horror is a massive genre, and there are a lot of ways it can take shape. You aren't going to write a gothic psychological thriller the same way you would an 80s-style slasher, they require completely different pacing and atmosphere. The first thing I'd recommend is figuring out what pace you need to set, and sticking to it.

Obviously there are a lot of different types of horror, and I could give you more specific pointers if you have a particular genre or theme in mind, but I think it boils down to two types: horror that is scary because of what you (the audience) see, and horror that is scary because of what the character sees.

The first type is more common in movies, since you're able to lay it all out on the screen. Since films are visual-focused, and only require the audience to pay attention to what they are physically seeing, it's much more common for a film to be scary because of what is on the screen. Examples would be The Babadook, The Thing, It Follows, A Quiet Place, American Werewolf in London, etc. - you see exactly what the threat is, and it looks scary, and that's where the fear comes in.

The second type is more common in books, since writing requires a level of reliance on the reader's imagination. You can describe your perfect horror monster in as much detail as possible, but if the audience isn't imaginative, it doesn't matter. If the reader of your book decides your monster looks like a big cartoon butterfly, you're never going to convince them otherwise. So more frequently, it relies on the character's reactions to what they experience, using emotions and experiences rather than sheer visuals to provide something scary. An example here would be Pet Sematary (the book) - we never actually see what is it that brings things back to life, all we get is a vague shadow in the woods, but we know through Louis' reactions to seeing it that this thing is very big and very unsettling.

Now, there are spillovers in both categories, of course. Movies like Bird Box and The Little Stranger don't ever show us the entities, just characters' reactions to them, and that works. And books like Jeff Vandermeer's works (Borne, Annihilation) have a lot of description into this strange, surreal world, and that works. I'm not trying to say that all horror movies are audience-focused and all horror books are character-focused. But I am saying that if you want to write a horror book, you want to write a character that the audience can connect with, since everything we see is through their eyes. Even with my earlier example of Annihilation, the descriptions are told through the biologist's experiences - we still view things through the character's eyes, but the character happens to have a perspective that allows her to describe what she sees in great detail.

So, all that to say... write a strong character to put your experiences through. Everything you write goes through that character. If the character is afraid, the audience is afraid. If the character is in pain, the audience is in pain. That's the crux of horror in writing. Movies can get by with terrifying visuals, but a book is only as good as its narrator.

My other piece of advice? Commit. If you have an idea, you commit to that idea. If you waver because you think an idea is too dark, or you think the audience won't like that, it'll show. A good idea done half-assed is still only half as compelling as a stupid idea done with full commitment. And since horror relies so heavily on tapping into the audience's emotions, they will know if there's not heart in what you're writing. I mean, the phrase "cult classic" exists for a reason.

Commit to the idea you have, tell the story the way you think it should be told. Do your research, treat sensitive topics with respect, the goal is not to be cruel to your readers (and being too explicit with it is often just seen as crass), but don't water down your story just for the sake of being marketable. Not every story needs a happy ending. Not every protagonist needs to make good choices, or even be a good person at all. Cliches are not necessarily bad, it's all in how you utilize them.

And lastly... write what you want to write, but I'd advise you not to overshoot. It may be tempting to get super ambitious with it, but if this is your first experience writing horror, try to start small and focus on individual scary moments or deep emotions before you try to introduce a whole larger world. Large-scale horror can definitely work (I'm gonna cite Annihilation again but it's a great example), but some of the most effective horror pieces work with an incredibly limited scope. Ex Machina has a three person cast, and 90% of it takes place in a single glass room. Late Night with the Devil, a new favorite of mine, is a single episode of a 70s talk show. SAW takes places in a bathroom. Misery is largely just two people in a single room. Having boundaries, in the setting and the characters, allows you to establish things quickly and move on to diving into the experiences and emotions of it all, which is what really becomes scary.

TL;DR: The audience sees everything through your protagonist, so focus on them. You don't need incredible detail to make something scary, you just need to express emotion. Commit to your ideas, don't half-ass what you write. And define yourself a clear boundary, tell a simple story well instead of getting lost in lofty ideas.

[mousieta]

2022 Drama Rankings: Dropped Shows

Bulgasal

Year: 2022 Country: Korea Platform: Netflix Episodes watched: 2/16 I so wanted to like this one, I was quite excited for the cast as I enjoy Lee Jin Wook, Kwon Na Ra and Lee Joon quite a bit in other shows. The premise, also, felt very Guardian-esq in a good way. I enjoy a good immortal series and Korean fantasy with a dark gritty edge? Yes, sign me up.

Unfortunately I could never get past the first two episodes. It fell victim to the trap that immediately kills my desire to continue watching a show: I started rewriting the whole thing *as* I was watching it (at least with Love in the Air the rewriting didn’t start for me until I’d seen the whole thing). But once my writer brain kicks in to redo it all, the show is done for me, its no longer fun, it is work and frustration.

I just didn’t care for the writerly choices as they felt poor and led to the overall tone of those first two episodes being very flat, emotionally. I just didn’t care about any character enough to make the flaws worth it.

Business Proposal

Year: 2022 Country: Korea Platform: Netflix Episodes Watched: 2/12 This was sharp and slick, and very cute. I made it, again, through about two episodes before I realized I just didn’t care enough to keep going. The cute felt a little too much, as though the show were depending on that and its bag of tropes rather than believable characterizations and moving plots.

The writing of what I saw seemed fine, the acting was fine, the directing was a little to into itself but it was fine. Fine, fine, fine, and in a lineup of much more compelling shows, I just didn’t feel like spending my time with fine.

F4 Boys over Flowers

Year: 2022 Country: Korea Platform: Netflix Episodes Watched: 3/16 I think I may just be Boys Over Flowersed out, y’all. Again, like Business Proposal, it was cute and fine. I made it through three episodes and just kept forgetting to watch more. I guess I don’t love BrightWin enough to watch heterosexual shenanigans.

The casting seemed spot on and I love that Thailand now has their own version which seemed to do well. I have the Korean version which was my first and the Chinese version which is my favorite and I think that’s enough F4 for me.

The Wind Blows from Longxi

Year: 2022 Country: China Platform: Viki Episodes Watched: 9/24 Of all the shows on this list - and maybe any other on my Dropped list this one and the next make me the saddest. I got quite far as well, nearly halfway. On paper, this has everything I need. The writing is good and intense with layers of conflict and constant guessing at the twists and turns of the plot. It is slick and well-directed and the acting is phenomenal. It also has a delicious staple: a tense and fraught m/m love/betrayal dynamic. This should have been catnip but for some reason I was  always either too mentally tired to engage, or would get distracted watching other things. Dropping this was definitely an ‘it’s not you, it’s me’ thing. Hopefully, someday I’ll have the capacity for it because I think it would be an excellent and captivating binge watch.

Heroes

Year: 2022 Country: China Platform: YouTube Episodes Watched: 19/38 This is another one that dropping made me sad. It was delightful and has Baron Chen!! An OT3 Romance! Delightful DMBJ connections!! All I can say is what did it in for me was likely the platform. I don’t have the fancy YouTube so watching commercials made it impossible for my ADHD brain to keep focused on an episode, I kept getting lost in the plot (which isn’t why I was bothering to watch but would have been nice to follow) Now that it is on Viki I might give it another go when I’m in the right mood.

Strangers from Hell

Year: 2019 Country: Korea Platform: Netflix Episodes Watched: 5/10 This was so, so good. Amazing. Gripping. Twisted. Lee Dong Wook was terrifying and compelling, Im Si Wan was as good as he ever is. Everything about this was good. I am just a great big old scaredy-pants who cannot tolerate anything suspensful or scary (I never have been able to).

I did my best: I only watched on brightly lit weekends in the middle of the day, and only one episode at a time. With those restrictions I managed to make it to episode 5 before I just couldn’t take it anymore. Highly recommend if psychological horror is your jam, you will be very pleased with it, I think. I just…can’t watch anymore. Dong Wook I still love you though! I just love sleeping through the night more.

2022 Drama Reviews Masterlist

[spacexfucker]

I find this really interesting. I was pretty big into cannibal research in college and I'm also a huge horror fan and you're so right. The "it's human!" angle is really old. I think it peaked with Soylent Green, honestly.

The relationship people have with meat (in the US) is so distant. My partner frequently helps me breakdown cuts of beef or chicken and that's been fine. But I brought up the idea of us buying rabbit (or even raising our own meat rabbits to save money on meat over time) and he was very against it.

My family when I was a kid was very poor and we took what we could get, essentially. We lived in and around more rural communities with people who raised animals for meat and who hunted. We got deals on rabbit and quail and fish and deer. In more financially secure times, we've talked with farmers to buy whole sides of beef to be broken down and stored.

I don't really have a line in my mind about acceptable and unacceptable animal meat. Human obviously has moral connotations that people put more umph behind than say, dog or rabbit. But people get pretty upset about those, too. I think it's most interesting when horror plays with the emotional impact of meat over moral impact.

A horror movie is best with stakes involved. What compells you to eat this? Is it necessary? Is it inevitable? What happens when your tongue enjoys something your brain rallies against? But we don't usually dive into that. It's just: this is human and that's scary.

You hear the way people talk about real life situational cannibalism in which people have to eat members of a party to survive. Most people tend to be on the "that's horrifying but necessary" side. I think horror would play better with the cannibalism angle if it pushed those confines to a near breaking point. When do we believe human meat is no longer reasonable to eat? What do we tell ourselves when we do that? Is the horror the meat or the fact that there is a world in which people could rationalize eating you?

I think I like the idea of secret meat having nebulous origins that are vaguely human as much as it is bovine or even plant based. An amalgamation of tissues that can be traced to tens or hundreds of different mammalian sources. Sure it has human but it also has mink and bat and whale and mole rat. How is that being processed? Why are there so many? Where does it come from? How is it being done?

I like the eldritch horror aspect of wondering how a meat cube that can have varying degrees of different mammal DNA comes to exist. Does it appear in our fridges overnight? What's up with the declining local fauna populations? Why have missing persons reports trippled? People are disappearing but so are dogs. Endangered species are wiping out completely. The president disappeared on live television; just blinked out of existence. Cars are careening off the road empty. Zoos are turning up empty overnight. Birds haven't stopped flying from city to city in clouds of thinning static.

And people have to eat The Meat. Cows are disappearing far faster than we can raise new ones. The dairy industry has collapsed. The Meat is cheap and sold in stores so Walmart doesn't loose its profit margin on fresh meats. Buying cow or pig is a luxury people can't afford now, locked away behind padlocked freezers that you need an employee to open.

There's Meat enthusiasts now who buy truckloads of the stuff. There's grilling parties and tiktok recipes for marinating The Meat and tenderizing. People start losing just different limbs instead of wholly disappearing. And its random. Sometimes it's a head. Sometimes it's a foot. Sometimes it's your liver. Bodies litter the streets and offices and churches for a day or two before disappearing completely. Monkeys are falling out of trees with missing arms and tails. Whales are losing whole chunks of blubber. Your dog is missing his tongue.

People are turning to veganism or vegetarianism in an effort to stave off Dissappearing. It doesn't help. Plant matter is showing up in The Meat now, and people say it tastes even better. There's popup auctions for "best cuts" of The Meat. Whole slabs are appearing in fields and in the middle of highways and in the center of cities. Some only a few dozen feet, others hundreds. It sweats in the heat of the day. No wild animals eat it. No bugs lay their eggs upon it. Whole cities no longer have bird song or the buzzing of insects. Bees are officially extinct.

World governments fight each other about who's fault this is. Conspiracy about invasion of hostile terrestrial powers overshadows concern about dwindling resources. We're not having children quick enough to account for the massive deaths. The ecosystem of the world is crippled and dying.

Most of the people left at this point form the Cult of Those Who Remain. There's talk about sin and how your purity is why you're left. Other people rove in gangs to hunt anything "Real" left. Refusing to eat The Meat. The Meat Obelisks begin to move and multiply. Joining together seamlessly. People start to talk about God. This is his return and it's using its creation to form itself on our plane. A throbbing hum can be heard in every corner of the world, driving the last few thousand people to near madness. The whole world is quiet except for The Hum. Slabs of Meat move across any terrain without any resistance. Bursting through houses and moving over mountains with ease, absorbing anything it comes into contact with. Flesh melts into its sweating, trembling slab like butter.

There's no resistance. There's nothing to fight. There's just Meat.

I'm so tired of the way suspicious meat is always human meat like for once I just want to be surprised. Let it be something else I'm so tired of it being human meat

[oldkitty]

Ahsoka episodes 5 & 6 - thoughts. *Spoilers, spoilers, spoilers*

There is plenty to love about Ahsoka so far, but there is plenty I find frustrating. First the positives; it continues to look and feel expansive and it is beautifully shot. Rosario Dawson is sublime as our hero and the rest of the Rebels gang are fun to watch. Baylon, Shin and Elspeth never looked more villainous. The fight scenes are thrilling and the whole look of the show is immersive. This show is done with profound love and plenty of wonderful homages to other genres by its creators.

Now for my own personal frustrations. The show has for some reason not attempted to build any of the characters from scratch for the uninitiated, so I feel they - our heroes and villains - are bereft of urgency, passion and narrative, e.g. Hera will do everything - including risk her career and son to help Ahsoka. Why? Yes, yes, I know, watch Rebels and "once a rebel, always a rebel", but for someone not versed with her background, her sense of loyalty at all costs is not explained at all, i.e. there is no foundation to build on, you are just expected to accept this situation in good faith. It really feels like coming late into a theatre to watch a play mid way. You just about get who is who. You don't get a sense of why.

Episode 4 came the closest to scratching the surfaces of our heroes and villains, only for most of Episodes 5 & 6 to plaster over these scratches instead of digging deeper. Yes, there was the long drawn out live action Anakin and Clone wars dream/flashback sequences to give our hero the impetus to keep fighting, but for me it felt indulgent and slightly negligible solely because you do not see any conflict with Ahsoka prior. She is so self assured, so determined with her quest to find Thrawn I felt that even without Anakin giving her the support to choose to live, she would have resurrected and continued on regardless.

The show's greatest strength for me continues to be Sabine's prickly yet fond relationship with Ahsoka, because at least you get a sense of a friendship that is a little broken but not irredeemable , and with Sabine, I get a sense of personality, of conflict, of what drives her actions. She desperately wants to tap into the Force, she misses Ezra and she clearly has love and respect for Ahsoka, but there is resentment there. Instead of leaning into these potential kindle to a potentially explosive blast of self-realisation and character growth - we get a very linear quest to find Thrawn and Ezra - two motivations that elicit very little emotional investment. I only care because Sabine clearly loves and misses him.

Which brings me to the big bad of the show. Does Thrawn make THE convincing villain so far? I mean he looks great, acts with disdain with his most loyal followers and shows little regard for Baylon, Shin and the space whales. Plus he has a big bad ship with legions of troops and he relies on the scary red Witches. But are those enough to make him compelling? Does he make me fear for Sabine and Ahsoka's lives? Does he make me quake in my boots at what he could do to the rest of the galaxy?

There are two more episodes of this show. It will no doubt dazzle visually, and I hope they capture some passion and emotion, some impetus and inner conflict with our heroes and villains. Because the story progression is painfully superficial for me. It really needs to build a sense of urgency, a sense of dread, or just something - other than nostalgia for animated shows - that would make me genuinely root for our heroes while genuinely fear the villains in the here and now.

[rivertapes]

Star Struck

Leo V. x Daughter of Ares!Reader

Warnings: Swearing

“She’s beautiful..”

“She’ll break your bones in an instant.”

Leo gave a glance towards Piper as she rolled her eyes, “She’s scary, doesn’t show much love to people.” Piper finishes her statement as you kick down a cabin member in a sword duel.

“I win!” You yell out as a set of hands clap in your achievement. Snapping back you see that it’s Leo, the child of Hephaestus. “Using the sword I made for good work I see!” You nod, he was the weird type. Not only that he would be the only one that cheered you on for your wins. It’s like he followed you everywhere.

…

As you were taking off your armor, you see the ray of chaos and follow him. The only reason why you knew of him was because he would show off the weapons he made for everyone here along with some of the other Hephaestus children. You liked some of the confidence he had, he wasn’t afraid to do a lot of things. Only thing that scared him was you yelling at him out of anger, but you didn’t know that.

“Hey Leo!” Yelling out to the kid he turns around, that goofy smile he had was plastered onto his face. You had no idea what you were doing, or why you were following him- but you were compelled to do so.

“Hello miss, how may I assist you?” You were two steps in front of him, closer than ever. You didn’t know what to say, “Uhm, is this armor good? I don’t think it really fits me?” Dear Gods you wanted to face smack yourself. He chuckled, “Maybe it’s a little to big for your shape, doesn’t look like it fits you- I’ll make a special pair for ya’, follow me.” He insists and takes your hand, you don’t complain.

…

“Ok spread out your arms..” you do as he says, he was basically measuring your waist and you were getting looks from the younger Hephaestus children. They looked about 9 to 12 and giggling, sending a quick glare they stop and get back to work.

“Alright Y/N, I’ll make one for you tomorrow- it’ll probably be done before dinner tomorrow!” He still had that goofy smile on, you didn’t know how to feel about it. Many at this camp feared you except for your cabin mates, but this guy?

He was blushing.

“Hey your face is red.” You state putting your leather jacket back on. Leo touches his face and feels the burn, “Oh that- yeah that just happens sometimes!” He states with his voice getting a little high, everyone knew that he was hiding something when his voice got high. You heard a thing or two from others around camp. “Alright if you say so…” you wave him a goodbye as Piper walks in.

…

“You didn’t say anything to her did you?” She sighed, Leo ran a hand through his hair. “I don’t know how to tell her, she’s so mesmerizing sometimes I feel like I’ll ruin the moment.” He leaned back into his chair and looked at the measurements.

Piper saw his staring intensely at the paper, “It’s not gonna walk up and leave- if you want her to like it give it some nice touches around the sides.” Piper then grabbed his hand and they walked off to dinner like the others. ‘Nice designs huh…?’ Leo thought, he needed to make this something you’d love.

…

The next day you felt a certain someone was shooting glances at you. Looking across the main yard you see Leo in his workshop staring at you, using this to your advantage you send him a smirk and a small wave and go back to polishing your spear blade.

This drove the boy crazy, he loved the smile you sent to him. You never sent anyone a smile other than your cabin mates. After that you heard someone run across the main yard’s grass and stop in front of you. The shoes automatically said it was Leo.

“Hello Valdez,” you say standing up, “did my smile snatch you?” You place the spear over your shoulders. He couldn’t help but blush even more, Gods has he fallen head over heels for someone he barely talks to. You only finally spoke to him yesterday and you could tell that he was star struck. Oh you knew he liked you, this scrawny kid was in love with you.

“Oh I just- I need to check the measurements, they sort of feel right but I don’t really know if they are, oh plus the waist-” “They waist area doesn’t look right, does it?” you cut him off, he just nods a little fast in response. You laugh it off, “Ok measure me again.” Stating that you grab his hand and walk him back to the workshop.

…

“Ok I’m gonna need you to bring up your arms again…” he asks as you do what he says. You feel the string of tape go across your waist, but also a pair of hands on it as well. You couldn’t see him since you were facing behind him, but you could tell he was nervous. “Why are you nervous?” He didn’t say anything. You sigh in your head, he was either jabbering or not saying a thing.

“Alright so the measurements were-” “The same, huh?” You turn around and grab the paper out of his hands, the writing of the measurements match up as yesterdays. Pulling the paper down to see Leo, his face is red. Laughing you place the paper down and signal him to go outside the workplace with you. You grab your jacket as you exit the place and Leo quickly follows you, the other people in the shop were giggling- they knew how much Leo liked you, it was obvious and even to you.

…

You guys stood next to each other by a tree in the thick north woods. It was awkward for him but you were laughing inside, but not in a bad way.

“Why do you like me, out of all the other girls here? Aphrodite cabin has a lot of cute ladies.” You say quickly going from his side to standing in front of him. He stood in shock, “What do you mean all the other girls?” He knew he got caught in the act, “I mean yeah I like you and all but why would I stare at all those other girls?” He finally said it.

“Do you just like me, or do you love me?” You ask stepping forward a little, grabbing his arms lightly knowing your strength. He takes a deep breath, “I love you!” he yells out, “I could never look at another girl other than you; you’re strong, independent, hell the way you look is eye catching of course I was going to check your measurements again! Your touch makes me go bonkers and- and-”

Cutting him off you place a finger on his mouth. You giggle from him saying bonkers, it was hilarious. “Bonkers? Is that so?” Your smirk also drives him crazy, “oh my god, of course-” “Also my touch?” You say grazing your other hand up his arm to his shirt collar. He straightens his back, “…yes…” he answers hanging his head low. You pick up his head to look at you, and just like that you slowly give him a kiss on the lips.

He’s struck, you pull back and his eyes are widened. “Get over it Leo, it was just a small kiss-” he quickly pulls you in for another one, this one more passionate.

He can’t believe what he’s doing, but you started it with the first small peck. But you quickly realize that he’s good at it, he knew what to do. After a few seconds you pull back to see him red in the face. “Your face is red-” “So is yours.” He points to you with that smile he has, Gods he took your mind over.

“So, do you want to go on a date tomorrow? You know like around the camp and do fun activities since like Chiron won’t let us leave camp so I’ll try to make it nice for you-” You laugh cutting him off, “Yes I would love to..” you grab his hand and drag him back to camp. “Also you know you can keep your hand on my waist, I don’t mind if it’s you.” He nods understanding and you laugh again. Leo Valdez was the sweetest boy here.

“So about the armor…”

[Hope you guys liked this small one shot, hopefully it wasn’t bad!]

[irasceris]

"Oh, God no." He shakes his head, like the notion of trust was the craziest idea either of them had laid out on the table. "Even if it is a trap, it's a stupid one. In theory, the dagger gives me my pick of Originals to put down if I need. Kinda the upside here: one-size-fits-all." Which does beg the question of why none of the Mikaelson siblings had thought to do this on their own - pluck one from another's chest and plunge it into Klaus instead. Would save a whole lot of time and trouble, but he chalks it up to blind brotherly loyalty. No reason to worry about that now, since it's in decidedly smarter hands. "I don't think she would have handed it over if she was worried I'd use it against her, so that might mean she trusts me." He cocks his head, like it's just occurred to him. "Or just has a big fat crush. I wasn't about to argue with her about it."

Since he's not allowed to keep touching stuff he takes a seat on the foot of the bed, hands folded in his lap to show that see, he can listen if you tell him to (but only more than once, and use the least scary doe eyed glare he's ever seen). Damon opens his mouth, then closes it again, thinking. Back to compulsion, "Can I tell you a secret?" If memory serves, Caroline had only made him promise not to tell Bonnie or Stefan. Granted, she had probably been under the impression Elena would have dropped him for good by this point (which is fair, he had the same idea at the time), but this technically doesn't break any rules. What if he doesn't name names? That might fall within his right. Look at him go! Forget what Caroline said about it. He's making this personal growth streak work. "Klaus is a control freak, so my guess is we'll have an easier time killing him than getting him to lift the compulsion. But. I know of one person he's compelled to ... never be compelled. I don't know at what point that cancels in on itself, but that might be something." Not specifically an option for Damon, but it's a point they can investigate magically.

the protests half out of elena's mouth die quickly after he indulges her and finally starts explaining. "wait, what? you and bonnie?" it comes as a shock. bonnie hasn't been a fan of damon from the start, to say the very least, and she's made no mention of this—certainly not to elena, anyway. it's not that it helps her feel less guilty for bringing damon here, but it—ugh, never mind, she can't concentrate on anything while damon's waving bonnie's underwear around like that. elena reaches for it once, twice, three times before she successfully manages to grasp the fabric. "damon, will you be serious!"

his jeremy-invoking question is a bullet dodged, and one managed only because of all the more information he's forcing her to unpack. and she willingly does, in no hurry to circle back to that realm of thought. "you have a dagger," she says, slowly, processing. but he asks that ... frankly dumb question (what's been on your mind?) as she is, so she busies herself with stuffing bonnie's underwear back into her drawer while she considers the potential punishing sincerity of her response. "you. removing your compulsion, figuring out if it's possible, how many of klaus' siblings are actually team klaus." elena flicks him a look, presses her fingertips harder against the dresser, adds, "are you sure you can trust rebekah? what if it's a trap?"

[yukidragon]

Don’t you think Jack’s requirements to “never do what you don’t want him to” makes Jack quire the unique yandere? He practically operates on genie rules. Unlike other Yanderes who have quite a lot of freedom to just up and kidnap and tie up their lovers in a room, Jack can’t do those things. He’ll definitely have to be smart and cunning to resort to other methods to bypass those rules in order to “take care” of his obstacles.

Jack’s limitations and personality are what draw me to him the most, and his lore is fun to play with.

Honestly, I’ve had mixed feelings about the yandere genre for a long time. I could get the appeal in the fantasy of the obsessiveness, but the lack of consent was always a huge turnoff for me.

I’ve loved horror fiction since I was little, but not when it would go past my comfort zone. While have expanded that comfort zone to accept darker concepts, one thing that is rigidly a hard no for me is sexual violence and non-consent.

The fact that non-consent is romanticized in a lot of “romance” stories makes me really uncomfortable. It’s not treated like the awful horror that it is, or how damaging it is to a person.

I understand, on paper, why the fantasy of non-consent is appealing, but it’s not for me. The fact that non-consent is so heavily tied to yandere romance is why I never really got into the genre until Sunny Day Jack.

Sex and horror are treated as two separate aspects of SDJ. There’s a comfort in that, knowing Jack not only doesn’t want to force MC to do something they don’t want to do, he can’t.

Unlike a lot of other yandere characters who sneak into the MC’s room at night and commit SA in their sleep or kidnap them and threaten bodily harm if they don’t give in sexually... A big selling point of the game is that Jack is not going to do anything like that to the MC.

In fact, the demo is being edited to make that point clearer that everything sexual related to him is entirely consenting on the part of both Jack and MC. There’s even going to be a softcore mode for those who don’t want sex in the story at all.

I just adore how Snaccpop Studios is keeping the comfort of its players in mind. It’s one of the reasons why I am such a huge supporter of theirs.

Jack is a morally gray character. His manipulative behaviors are still wrong, and he’s still doing some horrifying things... but none of it will involve SA. I find a great comfort in that, and it’s allowed me to indulge in his story in a way that I haven’t with other yandere stories.

Plus, it makes Jack far more interesting that he needs to solve his problems through intelligence and charisma rather than through brute force. It keeps him as an intimidating and even scary antagonist, but it makes him even more compelling to consider what makes him tick and how he’ll work within the limitations given to him.

Sometimes, it’s the limitations that turn something into a great work of art.

@channydraws @earthgirlaesthetic @sai-of-the-7-stars

[aspoonofsugar]

Trust in RWBY

We have seen our protagonists going from questioning the adults around them:

Ruby: This is a lot to take in and it all sounds crazy, but... I’m willing to do whatever I can to help because I trust you. But why couldn’t you trust me?

To asking to be trusted and treated as equals:

Qrow: Ruby stop.

Ruby: I need you to trust me.

To finally being the ones that have to choose if to trust:

Ruby: I'm trying to do what I think is best, but I really can't tell if what's best is what's right, or if I'm no different from Oz.

It has been a compelling journey that has marked some important steps in the characters’ growth and has led to a specific understanding of the theme of trust:

Weiss: Trust is a risk.

Let’s see what this means under the cut.

OZPIN AND DISTRUST

Ozpin: I’m not saying I have reason to think you’ll betray me. I’m saying I have reasons for the things I do, the secrets I keep.

Ozpin embodies distrust. By this I do not mean he is malicious or has bad intentions, but simply that he lacks the ability to trust.

Ozpin explains it himself in the quote above. He doesn’t think RWBY wants to betray him, but he does not trust them to be strong enough to accept the truth about the battle they are fighting.

Ozpin’s behaviour is actually rational and even realistic. He has gone through many lives and he has been betrayed multiple times. He has also seen good people either die or lose to their worst fears and instincts.

So, he has chosen not to trust because it is the least risky option. It is less risky from a practical point of view:

Ozpin: I feared that making you all aware would only add anxiety and negativity. It seemed like the safer option.

But also from a psychological one:

Ozpin: Do you really think Leo was the first?! That he didn’t say those exact same words to me?

Still, this approach ends up damaging Ozpin instead than helping him. This is because it leads the group to discover about Salem in a bad moment and in a bad way. As a result, they all find themselves in danger and all trust is lost between Ozpin and the group.

Ozpin refusing to take the risk to trust creates a conflict that could have been avoided. This is made even more poignant by the fact that Ozpin’s fear about the protagonists abandoning the mission is proven wrong:

Weiss: I’m sorry... for what I said...about giving up.

Yang: Me too. We can’t quit until the lamp is safe.

Sure, the kids struggle, but in the end they all choose to keep fighting despite the frightening stakes.

In other words, Ozpin keeps saying this:

Ozpin: Now, all of you have a choice. If anyone wishes to leave now is the time. There is no shame or disgrace in abstaining, only in retreat.

But he doesn’t give all the knowledge to make an informed choice hence why he acts hypocritically:

Ruby: So all those times you talked about having faith in humanity, that was just for everyone else?

In the end, despite Ozpin being right about the necessity not to lose to fear, he himself has become a victim of it:

Ozpin: The single quality that is common across every living creature on this planet... is fear. It's funny then, that as common as fear is... we so easily underestimate its power.

This is because trusting others is ultimately scary. So, is there a way to avoid this fear? Is there a way to trust that is not dangerous?

RUBY AND CONDITIONAL TRUST

Qrow: Ruby, Oz only trusted himself with the whole truth. You’re trusting others, but you’re making sure they prove themselves first. I think that’s a pretty big difference.

In Atlas, Ruby chooses not to tell Ironwood the whole truth and her behaviour is compared to Ozpin’s. However, her approach is actually slightly different.

Ozpin has no intention to share the truth with anyone. He himself states as much. He has no reason not to trust RWBY, Qrow, Oscar and JNR. They have accepted to help him and have been fighting bravely for him. Still, Ozpin has no intention to fully trust them out of fear of a future betrayal or of them being too weak to shoulder the truth.

Ruby instead wants to tell Ironwood:

Ruby: We are. We will. But you saw how things looked when we flew into Atlas.

Still, she wants him to prove himself trustworthy first. So, she approaches the idea of trust in a conditional way. She is only trusting Ironwood if he shows he can overcome his most worrysome tendencies, like his paranoia and need of control.

It seems rational, right? It is a way to trust others with no risk. It is an attempt to have both “trust” and “safety”.

And yet it fails badly for two reasons.

a) Even if Ruby’s approach is different from Ozpin’s, it suffers from its same problems:

Ozpin: Please, now is not the time.

Yang: No, we're past that! I wanna know why you're still not telling us everything!

Weiss: None of this matters right now!

Ironwood: Loyalty always matters!

Nobody likes to have important pieces of information hidden from them, especially when they are putting much on the line and think they can count on you:

Ruby: I thought… you said we could keep it.

Ironwood: Well, that was before you lied to me about the Lamp. Before you lied to us about Robyn, before Salem was right on our doorstep.

b) Ruby spends volume 7 trying to understand if she can trust Ironwood or not. In the end Ironwood makes some steps in the right direction:

Ruby: He’s doing it.

So, Ruby chooses to trust him with the truth... only for everything to go bad immediately after.

Why does it happen?

The point is not that Ruby was right in not trusting Ironwood or that if she had immediately told him the truth things might have turned out differently. The point is that Ruby thinks she can reach a point where she can trust with no risk, but she is proven wrong. There is not something like trust without risk because every person is different and has different strengths, weaknesses and thoughts.

This means there will be times when people will disagree about important matters:

Yang: Ruby... when we came here, we said we’d follow your lead...but... things haven’t exactly worked out.

And even times when they will let you down:

Ruby: But sadly, General Ironwood can no longer be trusted.

If you want to trust others, you must accept this reality because not doing so is actually even more dangerous.

IRONWOOD AND CONTROL

Ironwood: Ozpin believed the best way to fight Salem was to do so in secret. Whether that was the right choice or not isn't for me to say. But we find ourselves in a position of needing, well, a new approach.

Ironwood’s new approach is about using Amity Colosseum to tell the world about Salem. So, while Ozpin doesn’t want to tell anyone, Ironwood wants to tell everyone.

Still, is his approach rooted in unconditional trust?

The answer is no. Ironwood’s approach in volume 7 is on paper very similar to Ruby’s:

Qrow: Huh, so that's why you withdrew your troops, to handle the panic that would break out in Atlas.

Ironwood wants to genuinely trust, but, just like Ruby, he wants to do so only when some conditions are met. When it is safe. When he is in control.

Unluckily, this pursue of safety and control leads him to take many unpopular decisions until the situation spirals more and more and Ironwood is forced to make a choice:

Oscar: The panic you were worried about? It's already happening. The secrets you're keeping? They're about to be in the open anyway. It's time. Tell the truth.

Does he open up? Does he trust? Or does he keep his secrets?

Ironwood chooses to trust. He tells Robyn and the Council the truth and later on he works with Robyn in order to stop Watts and Tyrian. He even discloses important information about Amity, so that he can lure Watts out.

He takes some risks and he catches both Watts and Tyrian and solves his conflict with the Council and Robyn.

So, everything goes well, right? Except for one little miscalculation:

Ironwood reacts to this miscalculation with anger and paranoia:

Ironwood: We have made a critical error.

Moreover, he starts second-guessing his choice to open up. What if it is all just a trick? What if he is playing into Salem’s hands?

The point is not if he is right or wrong. The point is that if you want to open up and to trust others, this is the price to pay. This is the risk to take. Not everything will go exactly as planned. You won’t control everyone. Ironwood is unable to accept it. He psychologically needs to have everything and everyone under control.

Gravity is not about Ironwood losing it for no reason and starting to act dumb. It is about Ironwood showing the viewers that he is unable to trust and that everything that he has been presenting as trust is actually just control:

He tells Winter and Penny the truth not because he trusts them, but because he thinks he can control them:

Ironwood: Penny is completely under my control.

Weiss: Doesn't it bother you? He practically groomed your entire military career.

Ironwood doesn’t do so consciously or maliciously. When he tells Winter, Penny and the Ace Ops and when the protagonists arrive in Atlas he is honest. He is really trying to trust and to open up. The problem is that for him “trust” means “you are going to agree with me on everything and are going to do what I tell you”.

This is well shown by his reaction to Blake and Yang telling Robyn about Amity Colosseum:

Ironwood: Are you with me? How did Robyn know about the Global Communications Project?

There are two reasons why this reaction is thematically wrong.

a) Yang and Blake telling Robyn works out in Ironwood’s favor, but he still gets angry and this is his reasoning:

Yang: Robyn is on our side! She always has been.

Ironwood: We didn't know that for sure.

It was dangerous. It was risky. But, as seen with Ruby, trust itself is a risk. And risks are always dangerous.

b) Trusting a person means to trust them even when you disagree.

Blake and Yang take a risk Ironwood disagrees with, but in the end it pays off. Moreover, they do so to help Ironwood, not to betray him. They are simply approaching the conflict with Robyn with a different method. If the General wants to trust others, he should accept that sometimes people would like to face problems in a way different from his and he should learn to let them.

This is also the point of the divide in volume 8. It is important that, even if the divide is thematically about this: 

Yang: We need to get out there and do what we can for Mantle.

Ruby: We need to do what we can for everyone. What about Amity? And telling the world about Salem? We can’t do this alone. We need help.

The people who choose not to follow Ruby’s leadership (with the exception of Jaune) are:

a) Yang and Oscar, who were against not telling Ironwood the truth:

Oscar: Ruby, hiding things from Ironwood, doesn't that feel like what Ozpin did to us?

Yang: I trust Ruby, but I think he deserves to know what he's stepping into. We all did.

b) Ren, who is supportive of Ironwood because thematically his and Nora’s story in the Atlas arc is about expression and repression with Ren repressing his feelings (like Ironwood and the Ace Ops).

It is a way the narrative tests Ruby, so that she learns and does not become like Ironwood:

Ruby: But that’s how Salem got this far - by dividing us. We have to stick together.

Here, Ruby sees separation as something similar to distrust, but she is wrong and Oscar calls her out on this:

Oscar: No. What Salem wants is to turn us against each other. Just like this. Jaune has a point. We can work separately and still be united.

Finding a way to be united even if separated is after all specifically what trust is about. It is actually one of trust’s strongest attributes and what makes it different from control.

OSCAR AND TRUST

Oscar: You want him to trust us? Then trust me. 

Oscar shows other characters and the viewers what trust truly is.

a) Trust means to have hope for a person despite differences, mistakes and conflicts:

Oscar: (to Ironwood) Trust is what I'm hoping to fix. I know we can still figure this out, all of it, together. Please.

Oscar: (about Oz) He trusted my judgment and it saved us. I want to reciprocate that trust. There's a lot to sort out, but... Oz really wants to help.

Oscar: (about Emerald) You don't have to forgive her. You have every reason to feel that way. Just maybe give her a second chance.

Sometimes it turns out badly:

Sometimes it turns out well:

What is important is not to let a bad outcome stop you from trusting again and this is what Oscar teaches Ozpin:

Ozpin: I failed all of you. I should have trusted you with the truth and should never have run the day you discovered it.

b) Trust means to make an act of faith first. Like Oscar does with Hazel:

Hazel: After all that, you’re just going to give Salem the password?

Oscar: No, I’m giving you the password, and hoping you’ll find the truth for yourself.

Hazel has done nothing to gain Oscar’s trust, but the point is that trust is not gained, but it is given. Oscar chooses to do so with Hazel.

This bet pays off and Hazel’s reaction is to trust as well:

Hazel: Actually, I think all my questions are answered now.

So, trusting is difficult and it does not work all the time. Still, when trust succeeds you are able to do great things that are impossible on your own. Sometimes this even happens in an unexpected way.

This is shown once again by the divide in volume 8.

On one hand Yang’s group wants to do their best for the people of Mantle. They focus on the here and now instead than on the bigger battle. However, they blow Monstra up, temporally kill Salem and have both Emerald and Hazel defect.

On the other hand Ruby’s group wants to focus on the bigger picture. They wanna come up with a plan to solve the larger conflict, but they instead find a more efficient way to help the people of Mantle.

YJRO would not have had such an impact on the war if they had not done their best for the people close to them (the people of Mantle, Oscar).

RWBN would not have found a way to help Mantle if they had not gone to Atlas to do something about the bigger picture.

This is an example of people with different priorities still working towards a common goal and discovering that what they pursue is not all that different, after all.

Trust is powerful specifically because of this. It combines together different people and it makes them overcome their differences and conflicts, so that their strength is multiplied.

This is also well shown thanks to the Schnee sisters:

Weiss: Don’t worry, they’re sisters. Sometimes sisters just have very different ideas about what’s right.

Weiss: Well, you'll never guess who I just heard from.

Weiss disagrees with Winter’s choice to side with Ironwood. Still, she loves Winter and trusts her to do what is right in her own way. This is why when Winter texts Weiss, her little sister is ready to accept her help. It could have been dangerous. It could have been Ironwood’s trick. However, Weiss trusts that Winter would not do something like that, despite her loyalty to Ironwood. She believes in her sister and things go well.

So, trusting is a risk, but also:

Yang: Look, blind optimism isn’t great, but no optimism means we already lost. We need hope. We need to take risks.

It is necessary to take risks even if it is scary and if things might not go well. This is what Ruby struggles with in the Atlas arc and this is what she finally realizes:

Ruby: That’s actually a risk we haven’t considered.

It is not by chance that once she understands the theme the protagonists are able to overcome the dead end they are in.

Despite this, things are not all good and well just because of that.

Even when everything seems great. Even when the power of trust is blooming... trust is still a risk and it might not work out.

CINDER AND MANIPULATION

Cinder: I suppose I have all of you to thank for one last lesson. Sometimes, if you want to win...You simply can't do it alone.

Cinder does not trust, but manipulates others:

Cinder: You deserve this, Arthur. We'll be back.

She takes people’s wishes and uses them. She amplifies and twists feelings, so that she can trick others.

She does so with both allies:

Cinder: I've been... instructed not to kill her... But you... You have no such orders. You can do as you please.

And enemies:

Cinder: You’re just a tool to be used!

It is Cinder’s focus on people’s emotions that makes her much more dangerous than Ironwood.

The General’s control is an attempt to make others conform to his ideals and it is rooted in repression. However, feelings can’t be cancelled and if you keep acting against others’ wishes, you are bound to meet resistance.

Cinder instead aknowledges others’ feelings, but she sees them as tools to get what she wants. Her manipulative skills bring together different people and multiply their strength just like trust does. However, Cinder gets to walk away risk-free:

Cinder: You should have never threatened me Neo...

She “kills” Neo and Watts in retaliation, but also, so that there is nobody left that can tell Salem the truth about the Lamp or Ruby:

Cinder:  Before our allies fell, Neopolitan… killed Ruby. And before Ruby and her teammates fell, they used the Lamp’s final question.

So, Cinder is able to realize the safe trust Ruby yearns, but it turns out that it is just manipulation. And yet, it is precisely because of manipulation that the protagonists are defeated in Atlas.

It is symbolic that the key to Cinder’s victory is the password Oscar tells Hazel out of trust:

Oscar’s risk with Hazel works out, but it still backfires in the form of Neo learning Jinn’s name.

Similarly, while the heroes are finally learning the theme, trusting each other and coming up with a plan... so while everything seems to finally be going well... Cinder is secretely observing them and preparing her counter-attack:

Cinder: What have Ruby and her teammates planned?

This does not happen by chance. Cinder wins through manipulation to hammer home how difficult and dangerous it actually is to trust and to take risks. It shows that the line “trust is a risk” is not something said in a light-hearted way and never addressed again. Trust is a risk and risks can go bad. Very bad.

However, giving in to distrust, control and even manipulation is not the right answer. It is true that If you refuse to trust nobody betrays you, but at the same time nobody is left to help you when you need it:

Cinder is so focused in manipulatiing others that she fails to notice she herself is being manipulated. Moreover, her mistreating and betraying others is simply pushing her more and more into Salem’s hands. She is doing well for Salem and not for herself.

This is specifically why, even if she wins in Atlas, she still does not get what she wants:

Penny: I’m right here! I’m what you want!

PENNY AND FAITH

Penny: You were my friend.

Winter: Thank you… for trusting me with this. When you’re...gone

Penny’s final choice is one of faith. She knows she can’t survive her injuries, so she chooses to trust Winter with the Maiden power.

In this way Penny cements her role as the embodyment of friendship, trust and faith. This role is underlined thanks to Penny’s strong link to Amity (which means “friendship”):

Both Penny and Amity are meant to be two of the best expressions of Atlas technology. Penny is a robot with a soul, while Amity is able to unite the world again. They are examples of how technology does not have to be controlling or heartless, but they are both lost. Not only that, but they are lost specifically because of Cinder and Ironwood, who represent two different sides of Atlas society and its contradictions.

Cinder damages both Amity and Penny in their fight and Ironwood has both fall to hack Penny. Similarly, both try to kill Penny until Cinder finally succeeds. So, Penny is specifically a victim of Atlas society. She is controlled and weaponized by it (Ironwood) and killed by its hunger for power (Cinder). Still, Penny never stops loving her home and the people around her. She keeps on having faith in humanity even when things turn dark.

She dies, just like Amity falls, but her final sacrifice still saves everyone and Amity manages to transmit Ruby’s message to the world:

Ruby’s message and Penny’s choice are both extreme representation of trust. They are acts of faith because they lack any form of control whatsoever.

Penny will not be around to see that Winter uses her power well. She will never know, but she believes in Winter.

Ruby has no way to control the panic her message is going to cause and the transmission being cut means any additional information Pietro had planned to add is not transmitted. She can only hope that eventually humanity will pull itself together and unite against Salem.

Both Penny and Ruby can only have faith and give others a choice. Making a good use of the fourth gift given by the Gods is the only way humanity can survive.

Penny’s death is tragic, but it is used to convey a specific message, just like Pyrrha’s one was:

Jaune: I think… I think she knew she wasn’t going to win. That she might not come out alive. But… she also knew she was the only one that could try.

Ren: So she did.

Nora: Maybe we should too.

Jaune: Yeah, we should.

Pyrrha teaches the protagonists that even if it is a losing fight, they must keep on fighting for what is right. Penny teaches them that even if there is no reason to, they must not give up on trust.

Both lessons are connected to the idea of risk. Risks must be taken because to risk means to challenge fear. It means to challenge Salem.

[makeste]

BnHA Chapter 325: Deku VS the Outside of U.A. ~Conclusion~

Previously on BnHA: Ochako was all “dear bloodthirsty mob, this kid you see standing before you has fought harder than anyone and put his life on the line to protect you all, so please chill the fuck out, jesus christ. like, putting aside that he’s humanity’s best hope and so it’s very much in your best interests to let him rest and recover someplace safe so that he can keep fighting for us, are y’all seriously going to turn away an injured and exhausted child in front of his sobbing mother?? seriously?? come on now.” I’m paraphrasing here but that’s basically how it went down. Anyway so then the mob was all, “...” and Deku collapsed to his knees in tears, and Gigantic Fox Lady and Kouta ran over to give him a hug but then the chapter ended.

Today on BnHA: Horikoshi is all “FINE, YOU CAN HUG HIM”, which, was that so hard?? The U.A. Clown Mob is all “come to think of it, we’ve kind of been taking the heroes for granted this entire time, maybe we should be less passive in the future. anyway so Deku if it’s not too much to ask, can you please save everyone and fix everything.” Deku is all “I sure can, and by the way I forgive you for swarming around all menacingly two minutes ago and trying to deny me basic shelter and stuff.” Ectoplasm is all, “hey Todogang get a load of this. [walks in a circle].” Hawks is all, “that’s literally the greatest thing I’ve ever seen.” Rat Principal is all, “anyway so that’s what your students did today, hope you’re enjoying your new *~*ROBOT LEG*~*, Aizawa.” Aizawa is all “[lots of exposition about Kurogiri and for some reason, Toga, while being all brooding and sexy].” All Might is all “[standing here right outside of U.A. doing absolutely nothing and being foreboding AF]” and that immediately sucked away all of the warm fuzzy feelings from the hugs, goddammit.

each new week has become a waiting game of “when will Deku finally get to take a bath so people will actually be willing to go near him and give him the hugs he deserves.” the stakes have never been so compelling. I’ve almost forgotten about AFO entirely

lmaoooooo

me: for the love of god will someone please give Deku a hug before I die of old age

Mineta: YOU GOT IT!! --

Iida: [SWIFTLY CUTS HIM OFF] NOT YOU

fucking losing it at Mineta’s crying face. he really wanted to hug him. I legit feel bad but this is also the funniest thing I have seen all week, omg

somehow Kouta, who last week was only a hand’s breadth away from touching Deku’s head, is now twenty miles away from him in this new chapter

can I make a Loki reference here. is this recap a good place to insert a joke about someone using a TVA time-rewinding device to fuck with my poor boy Kouta over here. well anyway there it is

AND NOW HE’S BACK ALL OF A SUDDEN OMG

(ETA: since when is he “niichan” omg?? can’t handle this cuteness.)

BUT THEY’RE STILL NOT HUGGING HIM FFFFKFFFFF. WHAT DO I HAVE TO DO. WHO DO I HAVE TO BRIBE AND/OR BLACKMAIL

OH NO KOUTA IS CRYING THAT’S IT I’M DONE FOR

“when I heard that lady I knew that I had to go, but then stop again within inches of actually touching you because you smell like week-old rotten onions.” listen Kouta, I’m not saying I don’t get it, but you all can’t keep doing this to me. it’s the way you guys keep teasing it. like, if you’re gonna hug him, hug him. don’t just stand there with your arms held rigidly out in front of you like a molded action figure

OH MY GOSH BUT HE SAID THE THING

KOUTA SWOOPING IN AT THE LAST MINUTE TO TAKE ALL THE CREDIT FOR FIXING DEKU LIKE THAT ONE KID IN THE GROUP PROJECT WHO DOES ABSOLUTELY NOTHING BUT STILL TAGS HIS NAME ONTO THE REPORT ANYWAY, WHAT A KNAVE

GASP

(  ´͈ ᗨ `͈ )

SHE PICKED HIM UP LIKE A LITTLE BABY OMG?? she just leaned right over and lifted this child like he was a small animal. like a lil baby futon that she was about to hang up to dry. oh my god

-- HEY WHAT

(: well that’s extremely fucked up. though sadly not too surprising given what we just saw these past couple chapters

incidentally, I hope that anyone who was legitimately defending the civilians’ perspective earlier takes note here of how quickly that line of thinking -- “we’re just trying to keep our families safe” and all that-- can lead to straight up bigotry. if you’re willing to deny a child shelter and protection simply because he’s not YOUR child, and because you’ve decided based on Internet rumors (no real-world parallels there, I’m sure) that he might present a threat, it’s really not that much further of a leap to discriminating against entire groups of people simply because you perceive those groups as being dangerous. I’m sure the people who turned Gigantic Fox Lady away also told themselves afterwards that they did it to protect their families. “better safe than sorry.” “she’ll be fine, someone will take her in, but as for us, we can’t afford to take that risk.” people can come up with all kinds of justifications for treating other people as less than human, and the really scary thing about it is how fucking easy it is

one last quick side note, which is that Horikoshi does a great job here of showing how scapegoating works, given that AFO is the one who’s really to blame and who presents the actual threat, and yet Deku is the one who ultimately winds up being the target of the mob’s fear and outrage despite him being as much of a victim as they are. gotta love that irony, which unfortunately plays out far too often in the real world as well.

anyway I’ll get off my soapbox now, sorry about that. let us continue

YES, FINALLY OH MY GOD!!!!

AND THAT’S THE STORY OF HOW GIGANTIC FOX LADY BECAME THE GREATEST HERO. PACK IT ALL UP, WE’RE DONE HERE KIDS

holy shit. the real MVP right there. thanks for getting it done champ

jesus christ I have had it up to here with these people

literally the bar is set so low at this point that I’ll go ahead and take it. helping him because it offers them a tactical advantage is at least one step up from not helping him at all

“WHY NOT SHIKETSU” MOTHERFUCKER I SWEAR TO GOD

-- thank you!!

okay this one guy with the antennae hair is having himself a character development speedrun here

-- okay, but this part?? fucking this part, right here??

can we repeat that again?? the part where this guy acknowledges that the problems of hero society were caused not just by said heroes, but also by said society?? the part where he acknowledges that they treated the heroes like celebrities who were putting on a show for them?? the part where he acknowledges that when push came to shove, the vast majority of those heroes, when faced with a situation that offered no reward, were nonetheless willing to put their lives on the line to protect the very same people who then turned around and blamed them rather than thanking them?? are the civilians of BnHA even allowed to have actual deep thoughts about this stuff. holy shit

bro!!

ANTENNAE HAIR GUY SHOVING KOUTA AND GIGANTIC FOX LADY OUT OF THE WAY TO SLAP HIS NAME ONTO THE END CREDITS AS EXECUTIVE PRODUCER. CONGRATULATIONS SON YOU FIGURED OUT THE CORE PHILOSOPHICAL QUESTION AT THE VERY HEART OF THE MANGA. WAY TO GO BUD

meanwhile, on today’s episode of “one more chapter to go till the big volume cliffhanger, how else can I drag things out let’s see”

it’s a panel. of people’s feet. just a bunch of normal feet. with sneakers and shit

this All Might shirt guy is getting more screentime in this arc than 90% of the class 1-A kids

I guess I’m supposed to feel sorry for this dude now that he’s all “if we let you stay here do you promise to somehow magically fix every single problem that we are now currently facing?” those are some ridiculously exacting standards my dude. come on now

KACCHAN SIGHTING

thank fuck I’m not the only one who’s thoroughly unimpressed by absolutely all of this lol. I feel better now. meanwhile Iida and Kouda and Kiri are ready to run over there and hug them all. you guys are way too forgiving. damn you and your pure hearts

anyway so Deku’s like “yeah, definitely”

(ETA: almost forgot to comment on the “I’m no longer alone” part – he basically corrects the guy and says “sorry, but you’ll need to direct that question towards all of us, not just me, because moving forward we’re a team.” good stuff.)

you know what though, all joking aside... fuck yeah. because perfect victory, right. the strongest guys don’t settle for anything less. so I guess Deku has pretty exacting standards himself

also can you all just take a look at this fucking kid who’s got so much light in his eyes now that I’m gonna need eclipse goggles. hot damn. “you’re welcome” says All Might Shirt Guy as he is frantically interviewed by several local news networks asking him how he daringly managed to save Deku all by himself. “well I guess I’ve just never been the kind of guy who can sit back and let a bunch of rabble-rousers blame a little kid for all of humanity’s problems. someone had to step in and take action, you know?”

oH MY GOD THE SCENE IS FINALLY ENDING

don’t let the door hit you on your way out All Might Shirt Guy

but meanwhile, sudden Tododrama action??

oh shit

there are honestly so many ways in which Ochako’s very moving speech could have wildly backfired that I genuinely have no clue where this is headed lol. how exciting!!

so now Horikoshi is once again stalling for time with random filler panels, but this one is 10x better than the shoes lol omg

(1) was Ectoplasm’s jacket always this oversized. (2) did you guys know that if you go back to chapter 319 you can see that Horikoshi gave us a sneak peak at Enji’s Sad Detective disguise and I in fact made a joke about it in the 319 recap not realizing it was actually the stone cold truth. (3) did Shouto deliberately speed up out of impatience because Hawks was walking so fucking slow and he couldn’t take it any longer. (4) and what, I ask you, is up with these dramatic speedlines. so many mysteries here. what a masterpiece

everyone is acting all shocked about something ahh what’s going on

wait what

what the heck. did they just loop around behind everyone. what was the point of that lol. “anyway, so this is what they look like from the back” well okay, thanks for that Ectoplasm

(ETA: so it seems like they were actually hanging out someplace else away from the crowd this whole time, I guess? here I thought they had more faith in Enji’s disguise. I guess Shouto and Hawks don’t particularly want to attract this crowd’s attention themselves right now either, though.)

I am so fucking confused lmao

speaking of All Might WHERE THE FUCK IS HE lol. but yes, good, OFA brings everyone together, and Hawks is very deeply moved about this out of the blue all of a sudden. you know how it is

aw heck yeah now this is another filler panel I can get behind

Mineta really wants that hug, good lord. I genuinely love this actually. Mineta if you could just stay little and cute and keep crying about how much you love your classmates in a non-gross way for the rest of the series I would be so appreciative. you’re doing great

IIDA IS HOLDING DEKU’S HAND THIS IS NOT A DRILL. ONE TIME WASN’T ENOUGH FOR MY MAN HE’S ADDICTED NOW

what did I tell you. Kiri wants to get all of the mob’s autographs now. Kiri you’re a peach

Shouji having a conversation with another mutant type is a very nice touch! we really need to get to his backstory soon. I feel like that casual remark from GFL earlier was kind of hinting at more to come

is this the first time we’ve ever seen the Yaoyorictionary in action?? never forget that Viz tried to call it the “Yaoyorozu Reference Book” because they hate fun

last but not least, KAMIBAKU IS BACK ON THE MENU, FUCK YEAH. Kaminari trying to spice things up and introduce a little bit of controversy by smacking Kacchan on the back of the head for god knows what. I will be deeply disappointed after this if I can’t find at least one person unironically declaring that KamiBaku is now toxic and abusive

lfkdlWLWK TODODRAMA??

oh my god. Shouto’s face. Enji’s face. the back to “oyaji” again. the blunt, not-taking-no-for-an-answer, “I don’t know how much louder the universe can scream at you that doing things alone is not it, so hopefully you got the point” directness of it. fffdlkslj I’m so ready for this Horikoshi please don’t fuck it up my expectations are so high

HOLY FUCK

I SCROLLED DOWN AND HE WAS ALL “( ❛‿❛)” AND I JUST WASN’T FUCKING EXPECTING THAT OKAY. JESUS CHRIST. GIVE ME A SEC

lol okay moment over and now Enji’s pulling his hat down all dramatically like a world-weary Cowboy

OH MY GOD WERE YOU FACETIMING??

AHHHHHHHHH

(ETA: not to put Iida down or anything, but it’s kind of strange that Aizawa is all “the class rep sure did great” when Ochako is the one that was giving that whole big speech for like twenty minutes just now lol.)

(ETA 2: “thank god Iida stepped in just in the nick of time to keep Mineta from hugging Deku.” sorry Mineta I really do like you lately but it’s still low-hanging fruit lol.)

HE LOOKS SO SAD??! HE LOOKS LIKE HEARTBREAK ITSELF??! I AM BESOUGHT WITH THE URGE TO REACH INTO MY SCREEN AND PULL HIM INTO THE SAFETY OF MY ARMS??? MY GOD, AND I THOUGHT DEKU NEEDED HUGS

AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH okay I was gonna just hold down the letter H for a full minute and count it out loud but within about ten seconds I realized I needed to chill lol

-- but then again NO, I DON’T NEED TO CHILL, I HAVE ZERO CHILL, ACTUALLY, BECAUSE IT’S AIZAWA WITH A ROBOT LEG AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

COMPLETE WITH ROBOT TOES FOR THAT EXTRA TOUCH OF AUTHENTICITY!! I LIKE HOW HORIKOSHI PUT ALL THIS EXTRA “!!!” EMPHASIS AROUND IT IN CASE WE COULD SOMEHOW POSSIBLY FAIL TO TAKE NOTICE. “REMEMBER, EVERYONE?” SAYS HORIKOSHI HELPFULLY. “REMEMBER THAT TIME AIZAWA CHOPPED OFF HIS OWN LEG?” oh wow now that you mention it we somehow forgot all about that. like who do you take us for

OH NO NOT THE SAD BOYFRIEND ANGST THAT I WAS SECRETLY LOOKING FORWARD TO WITH GLEE

well at least he’s not M.I.A. or back with the villains again like I thought he might be. still, that’s gotta be brutal to know your friend is in there somewhere, but to not be able to reach him again no matter how hard you try. that’s the kind of angst that pays off in final battles just when you most expect it. such is my hope, at any rate

what’s this now??

trying to decide if this is Horikoshi’s way of saying don’t worry about that, or his way of saying definitely worry about that lol

anyway so Aizawa is out here being all irresponsibly handsome once again. when is someone going to do something about him

here for Sexy Robot Leg Eyepatch Aizawa clenching his fists and making speeches about revenge. pretty sure we’re all here for that

WELL, WELL, WELL

IT’S ABOUT FUCKING TIME

I’M VERY GLAD YOU’RE ALIVE AND SEEMINGLY WELL, THOUGH!

BUT WHAT THE ACTUAL FUCK THOUGH, ALL MIGHT

ffff. bracing myself for that cliffhanger next week. you’d better not touch one hair on this man’s head Horikoshi. I’m watching you