#LET MEAN CHARACTERS BE MEAN!

[lesbiradshaw]

people love looking at asshole characters and making up reasons to explain away why they’re a dick to everyone they meet when half the fun with them is the fact that they’re mean and a little bit demented! i love them for that! stop taking it away! you’re not making them nuanced you’re making them BORING!

#they can have Reasons and still just be a raging asshole btw like these two things can coexist #likeeee idk how exactly to put it into words but when people try and like. scrub away the fact that theyre quick witted & agressive & + #willing to cross lines to win an argument or protect their point by chalking it up to them being Sassy Slay Queen or whatever… #it ​takes away from their personality idk like them being an asshole is a character trait and without it… yawn. its like declawing a cat. #LET MEAN CHARACTERS BE MEAN! #cant even tag who this post applies to bc i fear i would be crucified by a white mans fandom #carolcore

[foundfamilywhump]

the question, you see, is not ‘is it too ooc for this character to cry’ but rather ‘what circumstances would push this character to cry’

this is the whump wisdom, go forth and make that character cry

#gav gab #‘it’s sooooooo ooc to make that character cry’ no you see I think it is ooc #to put this character through absolute unimaginable hell physically and emotionally #and NOT let them cry about it #sometimes canon framing and media format and genre #limit the ability to let a character emotionally Feel all the insanely traumatic shit that’s happened to them #that doesn’t mean that in a different medium or genre exploring these things #it would be ooc for them to do so #send tweet. let those characters feel and emote. it’s not ooc or cringe and anyone who tells you it is is a reductive dick

[stromblessed]

Mizu, femininity, and fallen sparrows

In my last post about Mizu and Akemi, I feel like I came across as overly critical of Mizu given that Mizu is a woman who - in her own words - has to live as a man in order to go down the path of revenge.

If she is ever discovered to be female by the wrong person, she will not only be unable to complete her quest, but there's a good chance that she'll be arrested or killed.

So it makes complete sense for Mizu to distance herself as much as possible from any behavior that she feels like would make someone question her sex.

I felt so indignant toward Mizu on my first couple watchthroughs for this moment. Why couldn't Mizu bribe the woman and her child's way into the city too? If Mizu is presenting as a man, couldn't she claim to be the woman's escort?

However, this moment makes things pretty clear. Mizu knows all too well the plight of women in her society. She knows it so well that she cannot risk ever finding herself back in their position again. She helps in what little way she can - without drawing attention to herself.

Mizu is not a hero and she is not one to make of herself a martyr - she will not set herself on fire to keep others warm. There's room to argue that Mizu shouldn't prioritize her quest over people's lives, but given the collateral damage Mizu can live with in almost every episode of season 1, Mizu is simply not operating under that kind of morality at this point. ("You don't know what I've done to reach you," Mizu tells Fowler.)

And while I still feel like Mizu has an obvious and established blind spot when it comes to Akemi because of their differences in station, such that Mizu's judgment of Akemi and actions in episode 5 are the result of prejudice rather than the result of Mizu's caution, I also want to establish that Mizu is just as caged as Akemi is, despite her technically having more freedom while living as a man.

Mizu can hide her mixed race identity some of the time, and she can hide her sex almost all of the time, but being able to operate outside of her society's strict rules for women does not mean she cannot see their plight.

It does not mean she doesn't hurt for them.

Back to Mizu and collateral damage, remember that sparrow?

While Mizu is breaking into Boss Hamata's manse, she gets startled by a bird and kills it on reflex. She then cradles it in her hands - much more tenderly than we've seen Mizu treat almost anything up to this point in the season:

She then puts it in its nest, with its unhatched eggs. Almost like she's trying to make the death look natural. Or like an accident.

You see where I'm going with this.

When Mizu kills Kinuyo, Mizu lingers in the moment, holding the body tenderly:

And btw a lot of stuff about this show hit me hard, but this remains the biggest gut punch of them all for me, Mizu holding that poor girl's body close, GOD

When Mizu arranges the "scene of the crime," Kinuyo's body is delicate, birdlike. And Mizu is so shaken afterward that she gets sloppy. She's horrified at this kill to the point that she can't bring herself to take another innocent life - the boy who rats her out.

MIZU'S ONE MOMENT OF SOFTNESS AND MERCY, COMING ON THE HEELS OF HER NEEDING TO KILL A GIRL TO SPARE HER THE WORST FATE THAT THIS RIGID SOCIETY HAS TO OFFER WOMEN, AND TO SPARE A BROTHEL FULL OF INNOCENT WOMEN WHO ARE THE CASTOFFS OF SOCIETY, NEARLY RESULTS IN ALL OF THEIR DEATHS

No wonder Mizu is as stoic and cold as she is.

And no wonder Mizu has no patience for Akemi whatsoever right before the terrible reveal and the fight breaks out:

Speaking of Akemi - guess who else is compared to a bird!

The plumage is more colorful, a bit flashier. But a bird is a bird.

And, uh

Yeah.

I like to think that Mizu killing the sparrow is not only foreshadowing for what she must do to Kinuyo, but is also a representation of the choice she makes on Akemi's behalf. She decides to cage the bird because she believes the bird is "better off." Better off caged than... dead.

But because Mizu doesn't know Akemi or her situation, she of course doesn't realize that the bird is fated to die if it is caged and sent back home.

Mizu is clearly not happy, or pleased, or satisfied by allowing Akemi to be dragged back to her father:

But softness and mercy haven't gotten Mizu anywhere good, recently.

There is so much tragedy layered into Mizu's character, and it includes the things she has to witness and the choices she makes - or believes she has to make - involving women, when she herself can skirt around a lot of what her society throws at women. Although, I do believe that it comes at the cost of a part of Mizu's soul.

After all, I'm gonna be haunted for the rest of this show by Mizu's very first prayer in episode 1:

"LET" her die. Because as Ringo points out, she doesn't "know how" to die.

Kind of like another bird in this show:

#blue eye samurai #mizu #akemi #kinuyo #bes #women are birds okay they are BIRDS #the let me die line is so SCARY AND SAD like a part of Mizu wants death but she cant? she doesnt know how?? excuse you show??? #when all these other delicate birds are dying all around her #akemis character gets more and more gutwrenching upon subsequent rewatches because whenever she says her life is in danger #NO ONE BELIEVES HER - certainly not other women #because shes rich and pampered and that means shes safe and is worrying about nothing right? right????? #and it turns out that all of akemis instincts were right and she was in danger the ENTIRE TIME #also I need to make a post just for kinuyo because I am sad

[phereshift]

personal opinion but. the reason tiktok’s ‘zepotha’ isn’t doing great isn’t because of a lack of cohesion or poor reasoning behind it (although I’m sure these would’ve contributed). It’s because when I was first introduced to Zepotha it was as a fake movie concept. And when I was first introduced to Goncharov it was as me spending the entire morning trying to figure out why Tumblr was obsessed with some random movie.

#pherrie rambles #goncharov #zepotha #you need less ‘hey guys lets do this’ and more #‘hey guys do you ever think about [character]’ #unreality #omg anyway its kind of fun to post about internet events that mean nothing to me LOL i get why you all do this now

[poorly-drawn-mdzs]

Happy Thistle Debut Day!

#dungeon meshi #Thistle #Old dungeon meshi fans remember the days when it was ambiguous what gender Thistle was. #Now we know Thistle uses he/him pronouns but in my heart Thistle is still non-binary. Clowngender elf with poor coping skills. #I hope the anime-only watchers know that this is a character to keep an eye on. #Love (in it's many forms) and desire (in it's many forms) is the main course of Dungeon Meshi and THIS silly jester? #My goodness. What a perfect encapsulation of how one can hurt other's so deeply in the name of love. #The actions we take to 'protect' other's is often the route to doing the most harm. #Love is letting go. Sometimes that means control and sometimes that means saying farewell forever to someone.

[tagerrkix]

rage.

#welcome to today's episode of “me trying to draw 76 different emotions at once” #rage+grief???sorrow??? anguish????? #hmmmmmmm #definitely pain #and a hint of fear #no but like he's angry but there's sadness underneath you get what i'm saying #the kind of rage caused by something that left you traumatized and you just can't stop thinking about how unfair it was #like “i didn't deserve this nobody deserves this” kind of rage #well anyway #i don't even care about anatomy at this point #just let me see how much i can distort the face and still have it somewhat resemble the character #didn't mean to draw him crying again but my hand slipped oops #astarion #bg3 #baldur's gate 3 #bg3 astarion #baldurs gate 3 #astarion fanart

[onionninjasstuff]

#rise of the teenage mutant ninja turtles #rottmnt #rottmnt donnie #rottmnt mikey #villain pb&j duo #i wanna draw comic #brain let me draw comic what are you doing #what do you mean we're going to draw and render 9 characters for someones dtiys #brain im divorcing you

[brujahinaskirt]

arthur is rude to that one sex worker because the guys are fucking around as they oughtn't be and he actively wants the source of their distraction to go away. that is how he operates through the entire game: deliberate, utilitarian intimidation and strategic unpleasantness to achieve a goal. it is an early game commentary on arthur meant to position him as a big dog that barks. it is not a commentary on his views about women which are clarified many times afterward. you guys realize that right

#arthur morgan #rdr2 #redmeta #this is one of the most wildly misinterpreted but also most obvious scenes where writers are teaching us how arthur moves through the world #i really don't mean to seem short here #i am just exhausted of reddit mentality low literacy “ARTHUR WOULD SHOOT U IN THE FACE FOR FUN HE HATES WOMEN AND SLUTS” takes #my mistake was imagining a world where your average man online could intellectualize about narrative art #unless it is spoonfed to them on a shotty slug that says I'M STRAIGHT BUT I'D LET [MASC CHARACTER] FUCK ME

[purrvaire]

I'm having a moment

#good omens season two #im *dkdhskjsksksk * [crash][explosion] wooo weeee [sirens] good lord #just put me in the fridge and let me out when the season comes out #IM PACING BACK AND FORTH LIKE A MADMAN #i can't express how much i LOVE this story and these characters and what they mean to me #im meming to cope honestly im giggling and rolling in my bed because i CAN'T EVEN #I'M UNABLE TO EVEN #aziracrow #ineffable husbands #my dads (real) #good omens #user purrvaire

[kokoa-la]

Ngl I just find it so funny if Danny just accidentally becomes friends with someone trying to rob him like-

___________________________________

“Get up!”

And he was up, hands above his head and everything. The guy in all black proceeded to pat him down along his pockets while pointing a gun at him otherwise. 

“How do you not have a wallet on you?”

“I’m a college student, I can barely afford tuition.”

That’s a lie, he was on a full ride scholarship, but they didn’t need to know that. 

“Oh you too?”

Did this bitch just say ‘you too’ ? No way.

“‘You too?’ Are you doing this to pay for college???”

Ancients, the school system sucked if he had to resort to crime for this.

“Yeah- you wouldn’t believe how expensive my major is, the textbooks alone cost more than my rent!”

“Holy shit, no kidding. Yeah, why are textbooks so expensive? Why am I paying hundreds of dollars for something that could have been a 2 dollar pdf?”

“Right! I tried asking my professor instead, but he said he’d fail me if I didn’t have the right materials! It’s driving me nuts. Like how am I supposed to pay for all this?”

How Dannt started making conversation with his own robber, he didn’t know, but he was happy to finally complain with someone. He hadn’t exactly made friends since he got here.

“Personally I buy used books, and the more trashed they are, the cheaper. Then, you can just use the pdf version but still have the textbook in class. It’s honestly so much easier. Or you can see if you can borrow it from the library and just bring it in for the classes he checks it, then return it after to avoid the fees. That option is a bit more troublesome though.”

“Oh shit, no way! That’s awesome, I never thought of that, thanks man! Man, I wish I talked to you sooner.” 

“Yeah, it’s all good, maybe just avoid the crime after this? There’s tons of online jobs you can do during class and stuff. I don’t know, there’s always another option than crime. You sound like a good guy, just desperate.”

The robber turned friend (?) lowered his gun and sighed before returning the items in the bag to everyone. He then apologized to the cashier and then to everyone else before giving Danny a hug (how long had it been since he’d gotten one of those?) and leaving. Danny was so proud of him he almost cried (again). 

______________

I know it's a bit weird and out of place, but that's bcs its a snippet from a fic I'm writing on ao3 😭

But still, I need more of Danny befriending ppl trying to jump/rob him

#dc x dp #dp x dc #danny phantom #danny fenton #college au #prompt #dc x dp prompt #dp prompt #college is too damn expensive #sometimes the guy trying to rob you is just a desperate college student with a mean professor who won't let him use a pdf #justice for side character a

[welcometogrouchland]

ANOTHER SKETCH DUMP! Featuring more of me playing with lineless art. Batman reborn era trio (dick, damian and steph) I miss you...when will you return from war. Also featuring Steph designs bc I've seen ppl dissatisfied w/ her current look, some good mom Talia, and Jason Todd poetry club. Duke is confused not that Jason would start a poetry club but that he'd have such mid poetry opinions. (ID in Alt)

#dc comics #batfamily #damian wayne #stephanie brown #dick grayson #talia al ghul #duke thomas #cassandra cain #mine #woo new art tag. please god let me keep this up all year #uhh anyway yeah! still a big backlog of sketches but i got burnt out which means i had time to collect some #i feel like my art looks. extremely different w/o lines compared to with? idk i worry that's it weird/off-putting #but hey at the end of the day I'm hardly worrying about my brand integrity on tumblr dot com #duke and cass being at poetry club is based on them canonically being into poetry and for a good while duke and jason got along well #Steph is there for both jason and cass' emotional support (unfortunately there's a design flaw. she can't do both simultaneously) #(which is fine bc cass is fleeing the scene at the idea of having to casually hang out with jason) #(they're the exact amount of similar and more importantly different that it's like putting two firecrackers together. bad) #i really like the steph mask designs... it'd be fun to do something with them but idk what y'know? #I'm just like. if we're assuming that her mask has to be different from both babs and cass then this is what I've got as alternatives #i mostly wanted to practice character interaction with the talia and damian one... and also i love them #looking at james gunns batman movie proposal. you keep your hands OFF HER MR GUNN #please if shes evil in a movie they're never gonna let her be good in the comics again 😭 #dc when you inevitably cave and do your next big reboot let the ppl finally have the son of the demon origin (w/ tweaks of course) #idk it's canon in my heart. heartcanon if you will <3 #anyway yeah uhhhhhh enjoy?

[chucktaylorupset]

I think there's something to be said for fanfiction that loves canon in a way that’s rude. Like thank you for this wonderful thematic tragedy made out of this character’s entire arc ending in death, it was emotionally and intellectually moving, but also fuck you fuck you fuck you they live, this time and every time they live, they never died, their flaws are not their undoing, actually they have no flaws, actually they save everyone, actually who cares about a story, any story, where this one dies, actually i cared about that story so much i made a new one, actually i cared so much i unmade the old one, you gave me morals and i left them for the mortal, but they’re mine now and i will never let them die, actually thank you, actually fuck you, strongly worded letter to follow

A kiss for canon and spit in its face all at once, it’s great

#my post #i use and plan to use the 'canonical character death tag' WAY too much to post this but still #fanfiction #everybody live nobody dies au #and a five #this is about your blorbo absolutely but before that it was about #robb stark #to crown him is to kill him #on the one hand he must die because there are no good kings #king of the north was the death knell of robb the good brother robb the good son robb the loving friend #on the other hand #he was the nicest sixteen year old in the world #on the other hand fuck you there sits the only king i mean to bend my knee too #what if king was just a name for a brother who loved you #love that story of thematic importance about the inherent devastation of feudalism #but fuck you he's perfect and he lives #fuck you let him be soft and let him be mine #in general im against sandpapering your blorbos but actually my blorbos are soft and round and perfect #boubas if you will #and who cares if theyre a little unrecognizable #the version of them that gets to live #resurrection and comes back wrong but with the multiverse of what if they lived fanfiction

[ryllen]

When he saved me on Glorious Masquerade, I finally understand why people like him (so thoughtful huhu .. TT TT)

#u're not proving anything sebek FSFGDH seriously tho pls stop being the most insane person in NRC and live for urself a lil' #twisted wonderland #twst #malleus draconia #sebek zigvolt #twst yuu #twst mc #glorious masquerade #fanart #fsdsh honestly tho i always think that i like diasomnia the least from all the other dormitories #but here i am making fanarts of them instead #life works in a mysterious way #and sebek was the last character i ever get to think of fshdshd #then i pulled him on the masquerade gacha #and everything went so fast after that #FSHDH SERIOUSLY THO HE ASKING FOR SOMEONE TO LET HIM SIT ON THEIR LAP FSHD #i just thought he said that meaning azul should have let grim sit on yuu's lap sooner #WHY DID HE MEAN SOMEONE SHOULD GIVE HIM A LAP SEAT AS WELL FHSDH #NRC full of bois with wonky thoughts fhs #seriously tho i thought malleus saved me because i am the mc but he actually thought of me not being able to use magic that's why #he saved me he's gonna make me c r y

[syn0vial]

my gun-loving, car guy, "i'm the straightest man i know" brother who just finished baldur's gate 3 talking about astarion:

#astarion #baldur's gate 3 #we had a long conversation about the end of the game #mostly about astarion and karlach #he says he took multiple days to decide how to handle karlach's ending :`D #but i was just so amused by his reaction to astarion lol #he's like ''i loved my paladin's bromance with astarion! he's my best friend!' #and i was like ''oh that's nice i never even got out of neutral approval with him when i was playing paladin'' #and he was like ''you can check characters' approval? o.O'' #so while astarion was def his paladin's best friend‚ i'm not so sure his paladin was astarion's best friend if you know what i mean 😂 #he was also unhappy that his character just let astarion run off at the end without trying to follow him and make sure he was okay #and at gale for making a snarky comment about it #he was like ''i should have let him ascend 😭'' #''if this was real life i wouldn't just let my friend run off like that!'' #also: ftr despite my facetious description above let it be known that my brother is the kindest most accepting brother a dyke could ask for #he just also has a lot of stereotypical ''straight guy'' interests

[relaxxattack]

people will really write rose as a badass girlboss as if her main character trait isn’t hubris. as if her main story arc wasn’t her fucking things over for everyone time and time again by assuming she was better and wiser. oh you think rose is a girlboss? rose who intentionally allowed herself to be corrupted by morally ambiguous terrors because she thought it might give her a slight mental advantage on the game? rose who willingly went along with the manipulation of a groomer because she thought his idea of putting a tumor into the universe was smart? THAT rose? that rose??? why don’t you ask her where the green sun is. since she’s such a competent and intelligent boss bitch

#rose lalonde #homestuck #this isn’t to say she’s not a bad bitch because like. she is. she did let herself get corrupted to kill jack and it was sick as fuck #she looked cool doing it and i would probably let her step on me or whatever #that doesn’t mean she’s smart or knows what she’s doing ever though #rose is a petty and emotional mess #and a silly little freak too #i say this because she is literally my favorite character by the way. this is not haterism #im just tired of the Perfect Smart Alt Girl Trope #have any of you seen beetlejuice #hsmeta #my meta #op

[poy-elp]

Emonette and Emodrien

#Please please please let them be mean af in the Paris Special #miraculous fanart #miraculous ladybug #marinette dupain cheng #adrien agreste #shadybug #claw noir #character design #my art #poyelp