#ALL I KNOW OF HIS CHARACTER IS HIS VOICE AND FANON

[heartshapedcreaturefromcriptoon]

Uh, yeah....

Like, Viv...?

Babe?

My precious Baby Girl?

I love you, and while I can look past a little bit of jokey tackiness in the announcement trailer (even though it's still a major eye roll ...🙄)

If that little, um ...typo? Was in anyway meant to be an intentional pun, or if the entire last part of that paragraph and wording about "visuals" with *that* spelling was meant to invoke some sort of unneeded innuendo and complete tonal whiplash in the minds of your audience after just releasing such an emotional song for this kind of character with your brand new voice actor that you supposedly handpicked debuting for him, I'll be the first to admit that this wasn't it and this is not how you promote the new material, especially after Roman just proved himself more than capable of providing Angel Dust as a character with more respect, dignity, and pathos than I honestly believe Kovach had ever intended to or could. And this tweet shows a lack of respect for both Roman and Angel Dust as a character, which was already there, at in the fanon and fandom, mind you, but should've been dealt with and forgotten once... certain people involved in the original pilot moved on.

Like, everyone's talking about how Blake's voice braking immediately gave them chills and how beautifully serious he seems to be taking this character when it counts, in the way I still believe Kovach never could and wasn't prepared for. And then you go back to social media and where are we? Right back to making jokes about cum.

Which I'm certainly no prude and don't mind when the mood calls for it, but right now it very obviously didn't and I love this series but I'm sick of how it's constantly killing it's own vibe and and mood through it's own marketing by caving to it's "cringe" reputation every. single time. something actually good happens for it. 💀

I'm aware that they were never gonna hire a sensitivity consultant for writing Angel Dust specifically because it's a cartoon, but maybe the people involved could let their only Sex Working character have the same amount dignity from his shows (outside of all the cringe ass marketing) that he's allowed to have within the actual canon? For five seconds?! 💀

I don't like using the term "brainrot" at the best of times, but the leftover hunicast brainrot feels so real right now and I can't believe that little mouth covering emoji ether. Like she's aware of exactly how she's making things sound, she has to be, and in this case it's the sheer tonal dissonance of it all that's really quite tactless of her and actually unfunny. It's in poor taste, even. This shows marketing is constantly eating itself and ruined everything for everyone trying to promote this show to any actual adults outside of fandom spaces and I'm starting to agree about our little emo girlypop needing a social media manager. This is legit the most cringe, most unprofessional thing I've ever seen her do now regarding her own staff remembers outside of expecting her own fans and supporters to act as her personal therapists on her patreon and tumblr, which is something she should've especially kept nuked and never reopened, considering she (rightfully so) doesn't seem to particularly care for it, since she hasn't actually updated it, as far as aesthetically speaking, in years.

And again, if any Antis or ~"criticals"~ attempt interaction with this post, I will shoot you in the foot, just like this shows shitty marketing keeps doing to poor Angel outside of his actual canon. So no wonder why he doesn't like his feet then, l o l! 🤭

#Hazbin Hotel #hazbin hypocritical #Angel Dust #angel dust hazbin hotel #hazbin hotel angel dust #hunicast #hanicast critical #hazbin hotel cast #vivziepop #viv medrano #michael kovach #can suck it ... #Blake Roman #Deserves better than this ... or at least *that* tweet... #And that was her response to his FIRST TWEET man ... #I can tolerate all her cringe posting about the nepotism Owl Shitty musical like it's good and her Seth Rogan Sausage Obsession and her #being a little emotionally unstable bc the bullying and I know she's not in charge of the shows marketing but giving into the idea of her #own comfort character being some such kind of dumpster THE MOMENT the new voice actor that you hired takes over debuting an emotional power #ballad that you've just wrote in an attempt to afford the character a little more dignity than he was given previously by fanon is a BIT su #to say the very least of it .. LOL! 🤭 #undescribed #twitter #media comprehension #media literacy

[itsalwaysforyou]

you only exist if someone sees you

kenny ortega, descendants / mxmtoon, used to you / taylor swift, mirrorball / natalie wee, never been kissed / marya hornbacher, waiting: a nonbeliever’s higher power

#jay sees himself as a commodity #something to be used #he is chameleonic. he shifts into whatever role is needed #he can be the brawn. the charmer. he can play dumb & be the voice of reason & the hand to wipe your tears #he has to be perfect. he has to seem effortless. he is unfazed and relaxed #but underneath his perfected exterior he is terrified. he has no self worth. he has made himself so malleable to others’ hands he doesn’t+ #know who he is outside external pressure. #he lives for others. he lives to give and serve and protect and impress #he steals for his father and protects his gang and wins the tourney matches #and that’s all he’s useful for. who is he if he can’t give? #it’s strange for a thief; he gives rather than takes. #anyway! #lots of jay feelings #i love that boy so much his character is done so dirty by fanon so am i here with my correct interpretation #descendants #descendants web weaving #web weaving #jay son of jafar #jay descendants

[cyjammy]

Vox and Alastor’s Dynamic is so FUN

Hazbin Hotel Season 1 Episode 2 Spoilers ahead!

I have to talk about Vox and Alastor’s “rivalry”. I love how Alastor just couldn’t care less, he’s witty, he’s emotionless and that makes him all the more powerful.

Well, not emotionless since he does express outward disgust towards anything digital, but the fact he can keep himself composed because he knows he is the shit and that’s what makes him my absolute favorite.

That showed through in the pilot and the show didn’t fail to deliver. I love how he’s handled. Viv’s characterization is wonderful.

Most fics I have read with Alastor have shown him as vunerable despite the story never alluding to that and it’s such a breath of fresh air to have canon content of Alastor being his authentic self.

My god do I love a character that’s strong and not swayed by emotion, but they can be handled well too. I.E. VOX oh my god. Every fanon had him pegged down as the victim to Val’s wrath, but he’s the mastermind behind the scenes. A complete subversion of everyone’s expectations. And that’s for another post I’m about to go crazy on, but I digress.

Vox is a man up in his ivory electronic tower with villainous intentions, but he falls short because of emotion!

Handling Velvet’s demands to get Val together? A quick pep talk with himself and he’s got it.

Addressing unforeseen circumstances with concerned sinners? Easy.

But Alastor?

He sees RED. He let Valentino have it when he even thought about going on a rampage over a sinner under his thumb.

When it comes to Alastor, Vox goes on a hate campaign and makes a fool of himself.

Meanwhile, Alastor was minding his business, and Vox couldn’t deal with that.

So much so he causes a blackout in the Wrath ring!

Why? Because of his rejection sensitivity.

He is this all powerful overlord with companions in his rule and when he asks someone of similar station to become his equal he gets rejected.

It’s unheard of for him. He cannot fathom it.

Because that makes Alastor a factor he cannot control.

Val says that Alastor “almost beat him”. Val may not have witnessed that fight and Vox spun it around to claim he came out on top.

But if he did, he definitely wouldn’t let Alastor get away.

Valentino and Vox have known each other for a long time, as shown in a photo in the background in the episode.

So either this spat began before they had met and Vox lied or Valentino witnessed it. I'm excited to see which way that goes.

In terms of influence, Alastor seems to win that battle. Vox is in charge of electrical currents and anything in the digital space.

Alastor is so far removed from that Vox has no influence over him. He refuses to be involved with new technology.

But with Vox having an army of sinners under his wing through subliminal messaging, he had security and power.

With Alastor’s return he brings CHARISMA and he’s doing it SO FUCKING WELL.

This is not a battle, it’s a slaughter, and Alastor is WINNING. With television there are so many ways to captivate a viewer but with radio all the host has is their voice and personality. It all has to be shown in a medium that doesn’t have many options for uniqueness.

Alastor defends himself with grace. He throws out compliments to his fellow overlords while still having it be a slight to the man who began the fight.

THE Vs ARE PREENING AT HIS PRAISE. THIS MAN IS GOATED.

It's night and day, but that's probably because Valentino and Velvet are tired of Vox's shit. I love this parallel so much!

Vox needed to be the person he was with Valentino at all times if this is a battle he wants to win, but he’s so bitter he will never see that.

He’s stubborn and that’s his main flaw.

And I fucking love it.

Alastor knows what he’s thinking and how to avoid it.

Always a step ahead. And their duet showcases that perfectly.

Alastor uses his opponent’s power against them, seeing the slanderous TV campaign and immediately going on air.

He does that in the pilot as well and seeing that this has become a habit for him is so fun to see.

Alastor is not to be messed with and I feel like people decided to gloss over that. But it’s so in your face you cannot deny it.

Alastor is TERRIFYING with a chilling deposition that will give you nightmares if you dare cross him.

Give him the respect he fucking deserves.

And the music and the visuals of the song — A whole fucking masterpiece.

I’m in love with their dynamic so far and I can’t wait to see where it goes.

So far Vox is the obsessed fanatic that couldn’t handle rejection.

There has to be more than that.

#hazbin hotel #hazbin vox #Vox #Alastor #Hazbin hotel season 1 episode 2 #i love this show #it’s so good

[hollowed-theory-hall]

Sirius Black was the best adult in Harry's life and I'm forever salty that we didn't get to see more of him

So, I love Sirius Black. He's a complex and interesting character that I love dearly. He's handsome, smart, brave, not as reckless as some fanon make him out to be, and above all else, he tried his best to be a good godfather to Harry.

I truly believe Sirius could've been an amazing father figure (more than he already was) to Harry if given the proper chance. And he's a much better parent to Harry than Arthur and Molly Weasley.

Here are some quotes along with my ramblings to prove it.

So, what I'm going to cover here are some quotes from Sirius and Harry that show their dynamic and how much Sirius cared and tried to be there for Harry. Also, I think Molyl and Hermione are wrong about Sirius seeing Harry as a James replacement.

“He came back to the country just because my scar twinged. He’ll probably come bursting right into the castle if I tell him someone’s entered me in the Triwizard Tournament —”

(GoF, page 290)

Harry wrote to Sirius at the beginning of GoF about his dream with Voldemort and his scar's reaction to it. Sirius left everything immediately to return to Britain — a place where he is hunted down and is a wanted man. All because he wants to be close to Harry, so he can spring up to protect him if the need arises.

Harry is correct in his assessment here.

“Poor old Snuffles,” said Ron, breathing deeply. “He must really like you, Harry. . . . Imagine having to live off rats.”

(GoF, page 534)

Ron is absolutely right. Sirius loves Harry more than pretty much anything. He would and does go incredibly far for Harry. I don't think Molly and Hermione are right about how Sirius sees Harry as James. He just doesn't.

He doesn't treat Harry as an equal to him, but as someone he needs to protect. Someone he is responsible to protect.

He stays around Hogwarts, eating rats in GoF so he can better protect Harry. He wouldn't have done the same with James because he treated James as an equal, not as someone he needed to protect.

“It’s not my fault you haven’t been told what the Order’s doing,” said Sirius calmly. “That’s your parents’ decision. Harry, on the other hand —” “It’s not down to you to decide what’s good for Harry!” said Mrs. Weasley sharply. Her normally kindly face looked dangerous. “You haven’t forgotten what Dumbledore said, I suppose?” “Which bit?” Sirius asked politely, but with an air as though readying himself for a fight. “The bit about not telling Harry more than he needs to know,” said Mrs. Weasley, placing a heavy emphasis on the last three words. Ron, Hermione, Fred, and George’s heads turned from Sirius to Mrs. Weasley as though following a tennis rally. Ginny was kneeling amid a pile of abandoned butterbeer corks, watching the conversation with her mouth slightly open. Lupin’s eyes were fixed on Sirius. “I don’t intend to tell him more than he needs to know, Molly,” said Sirius. “But as he was the one who saw Voldemort come back” (again, there was a collective shudder around the table at the name), “he has more right than most to —” “He’s not a member of the Order of the Phoenix!” said Mrs. Weasley. “He’s only fifteen and —” “— and he’s dealt with as much as most in the Order,” said Sirius, “and more than some —” “No one’s denying what he’s done!” said Mrs. Weasley, her voice rising, her fists trembling on the arms of her chair. “But he’s still —” “He’s not a child!” said Sirius impatiently. “He’s not an adult either!” said Mrs. Weasley, the color rising in her cheeks. “He’s not James, Sirius!” “I’m perfectly clear who he is, thanks, Molly,” said Sirius coldly. “I’m not sure you are!” said Mrs. Weasley. “Sometimes, the way you talk about him, it’s as though you think you’ve got your best friend back!” “What’s wrong with that?” said Harry. “What’s wrong, Harry, is that you are not your father, however much you might look like him!” said Mrs. Weasley, her eyes still boring into Sirius. “You are still at school and adults responsible for you should not forget it!” “Meaning I’m an irresponsible godfather?” demanded Sirius, his voice rising. “Meaning you’ve been known to act rashly, Sirius, which is why Dumbledore keeps reminding you to stay at home and —” “We’ll leave my instructions from Dumbledore out of this, if you please!” said Sirius loudly.

(OotP, page 88-89)

This above quote is a long one, but I love it. I mean, this shows a big contrast between Sirius' approach to parenting and Molly's. Sirius, while not seeing Harry as his equal, does see Harry as a capable wizard who deserves to know the full picture. Sirius knows Harry would be in more danger when ignorant and wants him as safe as possible. He thinks Harry deserves to know things that pertain to him, and I have to agree with him here. Keeping Harry in the dark is what eventually cost Sirius his life.

Molly, on the other hand, is intent on keeping Harry, Hermione, and her kids ignorant. She has the same intention as Sirius: to keep them safe. But she tries to keep them safe emotionally, even when this ignorance can and does place them in physical harm's way.

And Sirius is right. Harry is capable. And a 15-year-old shouldn't be treated the same as an 11-year-old child. And let's be real, Harry was never a regular child with how he grew up, and I think Sirius sees his maturity and treats him accordingly. Sirius actually gave Harry advice to not approach danger in GOF and Harry listened to him because Sirius treated him with respect, which works best with Harry who never really had parental figures.

“I don’t know,” said Sirius slowly, “I just don’t know . . . Karkaroff doesn’t strike me as the type who’d go back to Voldemort unless he knew Voldemort was powerful enough to protect him. But whoever put your name in that goblet did it for a reason, and I can’t help thinking the tournament would be a very good way to attack you and make it look like an accident.”

(GoF, page 334)

This is an expert from the Fireplace conversation Haryr had with Sirius before the first task. Sirius shares his theories with Harry because he needs him to know who to watch out for. Because everything he does is to keep Harry safe. And this is the same approach Sirius wishes he could take with Harry in OOTP. Because he knows it works. Keeping Harry informed means that if he does put himself in danger, at least he would inform Sirius about it; Which would allow Sirius to protect him.

I'm not copying all of them, but Sirius' letters to Harry throughout GOF are so caring and sweet. Harry deserved to have more of his godfather in his life:

Nice try, Harry. I'm back in the country and well hidden. I want you to keep me posted on everything that's going on at Hogwarts. Don't use Hedwig, keep changing owls, and don't worry about me, just watch out for yourself. Don't forget what I said about your scar. Sirius

(Gof, page 240)

This treatment encourages Harry to actually share everything with him and ask him for advice. Something he doesn't do with Dumbledore ever. (Harry actually doesn't like or trust Dumbledore all that much until book 6, it's usually Hermione who trusts Dumbledore fully)

“Sirius — how’re you doing?” ... “Never mind me, how are you?” said Sirius seriously.

(GoF, page 331)

Sirius again, shows his responsibility towards Harry's well-being over his own (both here and in the above letter).

Sirius is the only adult who actually talks to Harry about the Dursleys with sympathy:

“But if they do expel me,” said Harry, quietly, “can I come back here and live with you?” Sirius smiled sadly. “We’ll see.” “I’d feel a lot better about the hearing if I knew I didn’t have to go back to the Dursleys,” Harry pressed him. “They must be bad if you prefer this place,” said Sirius gloomily.

(OotP, page 116)

We know Sirius would love nothing more than for Harry to stay with him. He's lonely and bored at Grimmauld and would love to have Harry there. But at the same time, he doesn't want Harry expelled from Hogwarts and is trying not to be hopeful for it.

Sirius understands the Dursleys are awful, he just know the full scope, but it's more of a reaction than we get from most adults in this series. To me, it looks like Sirius is annoyed by how limited he is in helping Harry. He can't really do much about the Dursleys or their status as Harry's guardians.

“So you want me to say I’m not going to take part in the defense group?” he muttered finally. “Me? Certainly not!” said Sirius, looking surprised. “I think it’s an excellent idea!” “You do?” said Harry, his heart lifting. “Of course I do!” said Sirius. “D’you think your father and I would’ve lain down and taken orders from an old hag like Umbridge?” “But — last term all you did was tell me to be careful and not take risks —” “Last year all the evidence was that someone inside Hogwarts was trying to kill you, Harry!” said Sirius impatiently. “This year we know that there’s someone outside Hogwarts who’d like to kill us all, so I think learning to defend yourselves properly is a very good idea!” “And if we do get expelled?” Hermione asked, a quizzical look on her face. “Hermione, this whole thing was your idea!” said Harry, staring at her. “I know it was. . . . I just wondered what Sirius thought,” she said, shrugging. “Well, better expelled and able to defend yourselves than sitting safely in school without a clue,” said Sirius.

(OotP, page 371)

I love this scene as well. Sirius cares for Harry's safety first and foremost. Harry being safe is his top priority at every given point. And he's reasonable and logical and treats Harry like someone to protect, not like a friend.

Like, Harry when he has a problem and needs advice throughout books 4 and 5, he calls Sirius. He's Harry's go-to parental figure for advice, and Sirius takes his rule seriously. He gives the advice he honestly thinks is best and ensures Harry's safety and continued survival to the best of his ability.

“It matters because we don’t want to draw attention to the fact that Harry is having visions of things that are happening hundreds of miles away!” said Sirius angrily. “Have you any idea what the Ministry would make of that information?” Fred and George looked as though they could not care less what the Ministry made of anything. Ron was still white-faced and silent. Ginny said, “Somebody else could have told us. . . . We could have heard it somewhere other than Harry. . . .”

(OotP, pages 476-477)

Again, Harry's safety is Sirius' first priority above everyone else. Harry's happiness and privacy also take precedence over most other things. He doesn't want Harry under even more scrutiny from the ministry and the Wizarding World and protecting him from that is just as important to him.

To me, it feels like people who say he treats Harry like a James replacement didn't read the books....

“It must have been the aftermath of the vision, that’s all,” said Sirius. “You were still thinking of the dream or whatever it was and —” “It wasn’t that,” said Harry, shaking his head. “It was like something rose up inside me, like there’s a snake inside me —” “You need to sleep,” said Sirius firmly. “You’re going to have breakfast and then go upstairs to bed, and then you can go and see Arthur after lunch with the others. You’re in shock, Harry; you’re blaming yourself for something you only witnessed, and it’s lucky you did witness it or Arthur might have died. Just stop worrying. . . .” He clapped Harry on the shoulder and left the pantry, leaving Harry standing alone in the dark.

(OotP, pages 480-481)

And I love this too. How he tries to comfort Harry and make everything easier for him. When the rest of the Order were gossiping about how dangerous his connection to Voldemort is, Sirius is honestly trying to get Harry to worry about it less.

He might be lying here, but he is right about sending Harry to sleep after a sleepless night like they had. And he is right about Harry being in shock and needing the rest. I just, really like how much Sirius cares. Harry just doesn't have other adults in his life who care for him like Sirius does.

But some part of him realized, even as he fought to break free from Lupin, that Sirius had never kept him waiting before. . . . Sirius had risked everything, always, to see Harry, to help him. . . . If Sirius was not reappearing out of that archway when Harry was yelling for him as though his life depended on it, the only possible explanation was that he could not come back. . . . That he really was . . .

(OotP, page 808)

This. Scene. Just kills me.

Like, Harry understands how much Sirius cares about him, and how Sirius always puts him first. He knows the only way Sirius won't drop everything to come and when Harry calls for him is if he can't.

Because Sirius escaped Azkaban when he realized Harry might be in danger from Peter, not for his own safety, but for Harry’s. Sirius dropped everything and moved to live in a cave and eat rats when Harry's scar hurt. He stuck around Hogwarts and Hogsmead during the Triwizard Tournament, when it was crawling with ministry officials because Harry might need him. He was willing to do so much for Harry. And Harry knew this.

I think, given time, they could've had an amazing dynamic, and I wish we had more of Sirius and his care for Harry. That we saw more of his approach to parenting Harry.

#harry potter #harry potter thoughts #hp theory #harry potter theory #hp #hp thoughts #sirius black #good godfather sirius black #hollowedtheory #sirius black was a better parent figure for harry than the weasleys #pro sirius black #I also wanna talk about how smart sirius is #but that'll be another post

[punkitt-is-here]

Is there some kind of in-show detail (or comics I guess? Don’t know too much about MLP lore) that makes everyone think Big Mac / Orchard Blossom is trans or is this just a widely accepted fanon thing? Love it either way just wondering if there’s an origin

okay, quick and dirty and by no means comprehensive, but my reasoning comes from two Season 5 episodes, Brotherhooves Social and Do Princesses Dream of Magic Sheep?

In Brotherhooves, Mac desires the same kind of admiration that AJ gets from Applebloom and through a series of mental gymnastics decides his best option for this is dressing up as Orchard Blossom, a Dolly-Parton-lookin' horse gal who is exceedingly confident and talkative, extremely energetic, and also like kind of flirty from what I remember? Mac basically transforms into a completely different person. In the end its revealed he didn't even have to do that because people who aren't someones actual sister have always been allowed in the competition.

In DPDoMS, the entire town is trapped in a shared dream and they're told they can imagine anything, and the first thing Mac does is transform into an alicorn princess, an exclusively female (from what we've seen) type of pony. There's also some misc. stuff here and there, like how seems to enjoy cute or effeminate things like Smartypants as long as no one sees him doing it, and how little he talks (which I've seen folks HC as him not enjoying his own voice).

Was this all a secret plan by the writers to showcase a closeted trans character? Nah, almost assuredly not. It's all mostly jokes around a big manly character having interests in and doing things that are stereotypically very non-masculine. But! I think that's the fun of it. As a rural trans woman, I saw those little dots and thought that connecting them let to a genuinely very compelling idea of a trans character, and I'm glad other folks have had the same idea to take the canon and see where it takes us. :)

#my posts #mlp #big macintosh #horsetalk #orchard blossom #asks #anon

[piratecaptainscaptainpirates]

The thing that still annoys me so much about fanon characterizations of Ed is how we're shown, over and over again, that Ed's first reaction is almost never violence.

And that's impressive, in itself, because of how this show is about pirates who are otherwise not shown as shying away from violence in the sligtest. In the early episodes of s1, we see characters who we're supposed to love engaging in violence gleefully - like Roach begging to torture the hostages. It would have been understandable for Ed to be just as violent as everyone else.

But Ed's complicated relationship with violence makes him actually one of the least violent characters in the show. Repeatedly, we're seen that it actually takes quite a lot to goad him to the point of violence, and he almost always gives others a chance to de-escalate first. In s1e5 he asks the racist captain "what's that supposed to mean" after he insults him and doesn't start shouting until he doubles down; in s1e10 he reminds Izzy that "I am still Blackbeard" to try and get him to back off, and that was after Izzy told him he "should have let the English kill you!"

And so much of his violence is performative, too. Like with threatening the captain in s1e5 - the way he pulls out his knife and starts threatening is so practiced and casual. During the raid montage in s2e2 Ed doesn't participate directly (except for shooting a guy who was probably dead before he hit the floor). Stede says he's seen Ed maim a few people so we know that's not out of character but we don't see it. In s1e9 Ed specifically lists cutting off toes and making "some poor bloke" eat it as something he hates about pirate culture.

The writers of this show have gone out of their way to depict Ed as a person who is not, by nature, violent.

It takes a lot to actually goad him to react with violence, and Ed has so much trauma around believing that he is somehow uniquely predisposed towards violence. Even when Izzy is threatening him in s1e10, Ed looks fucking terrified, not just because of what Izzy's saying but because Izzy reacted to Ed finally choking him with glee and told him "there he is" - that violence is all Ed is good for. Ed is absolutely horrified by own capacity for violence, even though we're shown time and time again that he is not a very violent person.

So, when I read about Ed having "anger issues" or being somehow uniquely violent among a cast of pirates...this show is not subtle. At all. It beats us over the head with Ed's hangups about violence and how being forced to react with violence feeds into his self-hatred. Other people who try to insult and manipulate Ed, who act as the voice of his self-hatred, tell Ed that he's violent, and it concerns me that so many people seem to believe them.

#ofmd #our flag means death #someone needs to take his face in their hands and tell him that people have been lying to him about what he's like for ages

[blackfliesinbluesugar]

Prefacing by saying I have been a hardcore Hazbin fan since mid 2019, pre-pilot release. I am not an embittered anti.

Hazbin's pacing doesn't make me angry, it makes me sad. I think about this show setting up like a normal cartoon, letting us get to know the characters, letting us see them day-to-day and strengthening their relationships with each other and how they cope in different silly or serious situations, and I get... just, upset. This isn't a cartoon, this is a webcomic, and it's a webcomic based off some lady's twitter where she gave us a character sheet for everyone before we clicked on so the comic wouldn't have to waste time explaining it. I'm sad.

Who is this Camille lady and what do I care if she killed an angel? Her daughters? Who? I don't know either of their names and I don't care enough about her or them to check. I just met her today! If she dies, if her daughters die, what difference does it make to me? A random decent character design is gone? Ok??

What do I care if Vaggie has self esteem issues? I don't know her, I just met her! I'd care so much more about her song if I cared about her! I'm just expected to care because, hey, Hazbin had a huge fandom pre-release, so why wouldn't I care? She's had so much fanon and speculation, that practically did all the set up for me, right?

,,,nO. I still need you to do the work! I want to know who these people are before I see all their trauma laid bare, because otherwise all they are to me IS their trauma, and it's tough to get invested in that in a world this bleak with a cast this huge.

Helluva Boss did the same thing - Octavia is introduced in episode 2, and then in that same episode we get some big emotional dramatic moment with her and her father that feels like it should have capped an entire character arc. And yeah, I like Octavia, I like her design and her voice and her relationship to her family, but I sure didn't care when she cried about a conflict I only learned 2 minutes ago I was meant to be taking seriously. She gets another big arc for her issues in s2e2, and I cared a LOT MORE, because not only have I actually met her before that episode, I had the entire episode to develop on her specifically and lead up to the emotional climax! It didn't just play happy dappy with her all day and then make her break down, it was a clear progression. Same with Fizz - I enjoyed his recent episode with Blitzo, because I have had several episodes to build up both their individual characters and their relationship to each other and past tension. If that had been their first episode together, I would have again, not cared one bit.

Man.

#hazbin hotel critical #hazbin critical #helluva boss critical #hazbin hotel #helluva boss #criticism #critique #not salt #not anti

[nikethestatue]

So I've been thinking about this. For 3 years, I am sure we've all heard the same thing: Oh, Azriel was OOC-out of character-in the bonus chapter.

(Then this OOC behaviour apparently explains his 'lustful' thoughts about Elain, his short temper, his obsessiveness, etc.) Because of course the fanon Azriel is a noble knight, who is devoid of sexual thoughts, is only 'a freak in bed' in SJM's imagination, and ... well, you get the point.

So now HOFAS is almost here, and I've read the first chapter and 2 bonuses and what's fascinating to me, is that every so often, I catch myself thinking 'oh, wow, Az is speaking!' and 'oh, wow, I am so not used to him talking'. And then I realised that we know NOTHING of his character. Like, what his voice is, what HE is in SJM's mind is completely unknown to us. Because (much like Elain) he's been completely hidden. We've had small glimpses of him--he is caring, calm under pressure, steadfast, polite, beautiful. All of are impressions of others about him. We've never seen 'the real Azriel'. And honestly, I am obsessed with the idea of seeing him as he is. As SJM thought of him as a character.

Because the glimpses that we did get, speak of someone who is definitely shrouded in mystery. When we get to see a bit of him in reality, speaks of a person who is cruel and impatient. Someone who actually gets easily annoyed. A man who wants to do it 'his way', and who is hard to control.

In Nesta/Bryce bonus, he snapped at both Nesta and Bryce. Pretty harshly. In the first chapter, he was pretty much ready to kill Bryce numerous times, without any remourse. In his ow POV, he was annoyed with Gwyn, and while he didn't snap at her, he was like 'I am not answering any of these dumb questions' or 'demonstrating'.

I am thinking that maybe the only time that we did see him IN Character is when he is with Elain, actually. Maybe Cassian? Because Cassian accepts him as he is, and doesn't push and kind of is aware of how Azriel is. And Elain...well, she is the only one who can read him? Who knows what's going on with him without speaking.

So I am thinking that in his bonus, Azriel was very much the real Azriel.

And I am so ready for him, and for Elain, to tell us their story. They really are two of the most interesting characters that we know nothing about.

#elriel #pro elriel #elain x azriel #azriel #azriel and elain

[shirefantasies]

How would the fellowship confess to their crush??? 🤭🤭 ty<3

oh hoo yes ma'am/sir/friend 😌 the pleasure is all mine! Expanding this to everyone cuz I wanna as always & incorporating some TH fanon (?) lmao

How LoTR Characters Confess to You

Aragorn

Upon your ride into battle he would hardly be parted from you, and you him, so it suited you very well to remain alongside the Three Hunters. Gimli had quickly leapt from his mount, axe blazing in what little daylight remained, and Legolas had not strayed too far behind. Aragorn had become surrounded in that time, crowds of striking enemies surrounded. With a cry, you charged through them, alerting numerous other fighters to your rapidly growing cause. All but seeing red, you fought hard, leaving none spared until your dear friend was safe again. When you dismounted, Aragorn pulled you aside under the guise of checking your wounds. "What would you have done if none joined you?" At that question, you smiled. "I had faith. But had that faith failed, I still would have rode to you." Steady though his gaze was, his hand briefly faltered before it took yours. "As would I for you, my love," he replies and you feel a tug, giving in to the sweat and adrenaline and letting him pull you into his lips.

Legolas

"What are you thinking of?" The words almost startled you, turning your head swiftly to face the woodland prince striding over, that curious look alighting his dark eyes. Heat crept to your face, for your thoughts were hardly ones you would have shared with the object of your feelings. "The future," you replied. Not entirely a lie. Legolas's brows knit. "Uncertainty? Even in these times, there is hope. For you especially, I think there is brightness ahead yet." His words bring the pensive downward tug of your face back up into joy. "Really? And why is that?" You cannot help asking, unsure what Legolas sees for you when it is so unclear for yourself. "Meleth nîn, you care so deeply for others and yet so little for yourself. All that you bring into this world is that brightness. Whether it is to others or you keep it to yourself...or even a family." A look of...questioning? Bashfulness? illuminates the elf's face. "Perhaps I have my own dreams for your future. I am sorry." At once you rose, throwing your arms around his neck. "Do not be. Perhaps our thoughts were more alike than I realized!"

Boromir

“I thought I would never see you again.” “Don’t say that,” you shake your head, peering tearfully down at Boromir. His wounds were grave, far beyond anything you thought he could have survived, and yet there he remained. Hardly had you left his side, even sleeping there with his gloved hand in yours, hoping against all hope. By the Valar’s grace did he speak to you, his voice a low rasp that had you leaning in even closer. “No, it is true. For all my thoughts of Gondor, of laying eyes upon the white towers glistening in the sun once more, I thought of you also. At what pain would it be that I never see you again. I would be a fool if I never spoke my love to you.” Tears rush again to your eyes, this time with the soar of your heart as you grip Boromir’s hand tighter, leaning down to stroke his cheek and finally press your lips to his.

Gimli

“I…got you something.” Pausing, you swivel back to face Gimli, taking a step closer and seeing the way his eyes bore into yours. “‘Tis nothing so fair as you deserve, but, well, I hope you might think to accept it.” Your brows furrow a bit as you tell him whatever it is, you’ll surely treasure his gift. Smiling bashfully, the dwarf extends a hand and produces a beautifully engraved bead. The writing is unmistakable, a short Khuzdûl inscription, and on either end lies a tiny cut of your favorite stone. “Gimli, this is beautiful,” you breathe, eyes wide and shining. “Not half so as you,” he shoots back, lashes fluttering a bit, “do you know what it is?” You smile. “Yes.” “Are you sure?” “Yes,” you repeat, leaning down to rest your forehead against his.

Frodo

So long. So long has it been since he has seen you. He has no right to you, not such as the dear hopes falling almost silently from his lips that you had waited for him. Especially having been given nothing to wait for! Yet upon return to the Shire, much as Sam’s is of Rosie Cotton, Frodo’s first thought is of you. The first night he returns to the Green Dragon with his beloved friends, celebrating adventure and pain and wonder and darkness and light beyond their wildest nightmares and dreams, Frodo’s eyes meet yours. Before he can wonder what to say you’re dropping the spoon that was in your hand and rushing over to him, falling into his arms and nestling into his embrace. “I missed you,” you say, and those three words are all it takes for something to snap in Frodo’s heart. “And I you. More than missed you, I saw you like a guiding light, a beacon in darkness. All the time I was away I loved you.”

Sam

He’ll confess nowhere but the most beautiful spot he can find, that’s for certain! Sam leads you eagerly to the Shire’s finest garden, taking your hand softly to guide you beneath an arching trellis covered in sweet pea blossom. “I knew I had to take you here,” Sam tells you, reaching down to take both of your hands. You feel a flush of heat under his sweet gaze. “Why is that?” “Well, it’s the perfect place to tell you how long I’ve loved you. Surrounded by all these beautiful flowers and yet I’ve got the best one.” “I don’t know about that,” you tell him, almost losing your composure at the way his face falls before you continue, “I think I do.” Blooming across Sam’s face is the purest look of pleasant surprise, and you can’t resist cupping his cheeks before the both of you close the gap completely.

Merry

Beautiful accident. That was the phrase you had heard so often used, and such was it. One last stand had been gathered, one final fight for Frodo, and you were rising to the occasion, though not without protest. “They want me to stay behind,” you complained to your dear friend Merry, “but my leg is mostly healed. Only illness or grievous injury could prevent me from joining everyone I love in defense of this world.” At that, the hobbit grinned. “That’s why I love you.” Stunned, you gaped at his flippant confession, watching his own jaw fall open in shocked pause. Smiling, you grabbed him by the shoulders and pulled him in for a searing kiss, uncaring of the way your armor clanked together or the jolt of pain in your side with the sudden motion. The feeling of Merry’s lips against yours claimed all your head and heart.

Pippin

Confesses his feelings quite unexpectedly in Lothlórien. Long have your days been and heavenly is it to have some rest. Pippin remains there at your side as you take in the astounding city in the trees, and again when you retire for the evening, taking to your makeshift quarters. You speak there, sighing and recounting without many words all that the journey has brought you through. "More than we ever would have dared imagine has happened, even just in the past few days," you comment. "Yes," Pippin agrees, fixing you deeply with his green eyes, "but one thing has come from that." "What?" You ask. "Telling someone I love them doesn't seem so scary now." He pauses, searches the surprise on your face. "You don't- you don't have to-" His words are utterly cut off, though, by the passionate fall of your lips upon his.

Faramir

What place is more wondrous than a library? None for you, thank you. Faramir was well used to finding you there and soon joining you, poring over books from his childhood and whatever dusty tome you insisted on dragging out next, grinning at the way he chuckles. He knows it’s the very place to tell you how he feels, having found the perfect way to do it. It begins with a tale of two lovers, simple as that. He means to ask your thoughts on it but you give them freely. “This is a favorite of mine. How I long to live in such a story as this one,” you sigh at the sight of it. “And how I long to give that to you,” Faramir replied simply, hand creeping toward yours across the illuminated pages.

Eomer

Comes running to you before anything else after a battle. Panting, he stops before you, eyes wide. Concern cuts across your face at the sight of him there, sweat still upon his brow and chest heaving beneath his armor. You say his name, ask it more like a question, and he slides his helmet off, giving you a better look at his intent visage. Before you can speak further, his hands are upon your waist, pulling you into him as his lips collide with yours. Even beneath the salt of his exhaustion, you can taste him, feel the fervor until he pulls away, eyes glistening with pride. “We won!” Hand on your hip, you fix him with a look. “Will you celebrate with me, my love?”

Haldir

Retiring to the meadows was a favorite pastime of yours, taking time to yourselves beneath the gentle brush of the breeze. Pensive as ever, Haldir stares off at seemingly nothing, brows knit. Laying a hand upon his arm, you stir him from his thoughts with a look as your gazes join. His eyes search yours, you nod encouragingly. Haldir tucks the flower he’d been twirling idly between his fingers and tucks it behind your ear. “You can imagine what has been on my mind, I trust.” Attempting to lighten whatever clouds rolled across his mind, you nudge him, smiling. “Not at all! You are a mystery as always. Proceed.” “Have I not made it clear that I am in love with you?” Feeling heat surge to your face at the intensity of his words, you let yourself get swept up in emotion, smiling and tucking a strand of golden hair behind his ear. “Well, perhaps we should make it even clearer.”

Eowyn

Eowyn is so giving and caring to you, you feel as though your heart might burst. She cooks for you even if it isn’t the best, bless her. She gives you extra blankets when you’re cold, defends you against the slightest of negative words. Never leaves your side, fights for you in every sense you could state it. So of course you thank her, tell her again and again that you do not know what you’d do without her. That her gracious heart is a true gift. But one day? One day you question instead. “Why,” you ask, “do you give so much? Sometimes I feel I have so little to offer in return.” “Do you not know?” She replies in earnest, blue eyes shining. “Are you not aware I love you?” Fear colors her words. She wants to be enough, you realize. All her actions were to show you that. Caressing her cheeks, you tell her that she is all you could have wanted and more, smiling into the kiss you share.

Arwen

Memories abound as Arwen makes her feelings known. “Do you recall when my father first summoned you here?” “Yes,” you giggle, “I told him his home looks like a painting!” “He was charmed by that,” she assured you, “as was I. When I first saw you, I knew you were different. Not just as one from outside our borders, but that you brought some quite splendor.” Heart struck by her words, you try to even half-echo Arwen’s compliments. “I felt the same. There you were practically glowing as you welcomed me, beauty and strength beyond that of this world. Now that I know you, such is only multiplied, tenfold when one sees your heart.” Blue eyes swimming, Arwen embraces you, whispering her love for you in her native tongue.

Elrond

This is a private conversation. Thus Elrond leads you upon the most peaceful night of the season to a bridge beneath the stars. Twinkle as they do from their home far above your heads, the stars are the last thing to gain Elrond’s focus, his attention affixed solely upon your eyes. “You have drawn my thoughts more and more of late, meleth nîn.” “Oh?” You inquire simply, summoning a chuckle from deep in Elrond’s chest. “Indeed you have,” he lays a hand upon yours, “for to know you has been one of the greatest honors afforded to me. I care about you.” You mirror his soft smile when your name escapes his lips, gentle as a wish. “Then it is as I could only have dreamed,” you reply.

Lindir

Playing the most heart-wrenchingly gorgeous melody you’ve ever heard, Lindir watches you the entire time. Heart aflutter, you send him a smile and he looks pleased. Upon finishing, he strides over, looking with amusement at the little applause you give him. Words pour forth from you before you even realized you’ve formulated them, gushing again and again about the way his song touched you. “To know such love…what a dream,” you sigh. Lindir almost starts at that, raising his eyebrows. “Well, the song was about you, you know.”

#lord of the rings #lotr #lotr imagines #lotr x reader #the fellowship of the ring #aragorn #legolas #boromir #gimli #frodo #sam #merry #pippin #faramir #eomer #haldir #eowyn #arwen #elrond #lindir #ask #anon #requested

[blicketdabest33]

Y'all remember that MCYT PJO au I asked for help with awhile ago? WELL HERE'S THE CABINS AND MY EXPLINATIONS BEHIND THEM!!

#1 Zeus Cabin: Jimmy, Joel Jimmy: He's a Zeus kid, but everyone somehow forgets about it. Joel: He's competitive and strong. Also, because Jimmy is his half brother through godly parent, i get to make a fun bit about him dating Lizzie. And one of his origins in Afterlife SMP was a thunderborn

#2 Hera Cabin: Scott Scott: Scott's whole thing is loyalty. Hera is the goddess of marriage and is insanely loyal to Zeus. However, I feel like Hera should get at least one affair. So now Scott can use peacocks as weapons.

#3 Poseidon Cabin: Skizz Skizz: Poseidon kids tend to be really, really loyal to a fault and heroic, both qualities I think Skizz possesses.

#4 Demeter Cabin: Sausage, Shelby, Bdubs, Stress Sausage: This man built Sanctuary in a jungle and has flowers in his hair. He sells wood. There is no other place to put him. Shelby: Mushroom gnome, spooky mangrove witch, powerful storm witch, i need not continue. Bdubs: Moss man. Stress: SHE HAS FLOWERS

#5 Ares Cabin: Martyn, False Martyn: His planet is Mars, which is the roman version of Ares. He ended Limited Life in such a violent way, i can't help it. He was also red for the majority of Secret Life. False: I just feel like False should get to kill people more often.

#6 Athena Cabin: Grian, Pix, Owen, Xisuma Grian: This sums it up pretty well

Pix: Smart man. Archeologist and definitely a nerd. I wanna see him skipping out on training just so he can read history books. Owen: He likes to explore and discover new things in Pirates. In Rats, he's a tinkerer. In New Life, he's an explorer who wants to study hybrids. In Empires, he's a Llama who's curious about how humans work. Just a very curious character overall. Xisuma: Admin. I'm not elaborating.

#7 Apollo Cabin: Gem, Oli, Lyarrah Gem: She is an Apollo kid because of her Empire in S2. She's the sunlight princess. Apollo kid. Oli: MUSIC. MAN. Lyarrah: She writes the captions for the hermitcraft recap.

#8 Artemis Cabin: Pearl Pearl: Y'know, Artemis could've just like... had a kid, even though she took that oath. It wouldn't even have to be with a guy. Gods can change to whatever gender they want. Anyway, Pearl gets to be an Artemis kid because her symbolism is moon, she loves dogs, and will commit murder and hunt at night.

#9 Hephaestus Cabin: Doc, Mumbo, Tango, Impulse, Cub, Zedaph, Fwhip, Iskall Doc: Redstone Mumbo: Redstone Tango: Redstone Impulse: Redstone Cub: Redstone Zedaph: Redstone Fwhip: Redstone AND has a red scarf (don't ask me how that's relevant) Iskall: Redstone

#10 Aphrodite Cabin: Keralis Keralis: Okay, I don't know why, but Keralis gives me the vibes of a very charming person. His voice is nice to listen to, so imagine how useful it'd be if I gave him charm speak.

#11 Hermes Cabin: Scar, Etho, Joe Scar: Trader Scar, scammer extraordinar. Etho: All i must say is Shady-E's. I get "jack-of-all-trades, master of none, often better than master of one" vibes from him. He's funny, he's mischievous, it just works. Joe: Comedy man. Excellent delivery. And, yet again, i look at this man and go "That right there is a multi-talented man with a habit for mischief."

#12 Dionysus Cabin: Joey, Beef Joey: *points at his season one empires theme* i need not say more Beef: Idk, food. I don't really have a reason. I don't know too much about Beef.

#13 Hades Cabin: Zloy Zloy: Zombie man. He writes the Hermitcraft recaps in the dark at 2am with nothing but pure spite.

#14 Iris Cabin: Katherine Katherine: SHE. HAS. COLORS. and also I couldn't put her in Demeter cabin because Shelby is already there and i am NOT excluding Nature Wives from this au

#15 Hypnos Cabin: Bigb, XB, Wels Bigb: Sleepy stuff, right? WRONG. Gaslight. Go in everyones dreams, make fake prophecies, peace out, and cause chaos. XB: I look at his fanon design, I see an alien, and I go "aha he sleeps" Wels: This guy (@dingdinghq) said so and i completely agree. Something about sleeping in S6.

#16 Nemesis Cabin: Edit: wels not here no more

#17 Nike Cabin: Ren Ren: VICTORY. I don't know much about Ren's story in the Life Series, but I look at this man and see someone who has won a lot.

#18 Hebe Cabin: 

#19 Tyche Cabin: TFC TFC: Man goes mining and gets really lucky. That's it.

#20 Hecate Cabin: Lizzie, Cleo, Jevin Lizzie: Witchy vibes. Also, Arson. Cleo: Arson. She uses her magic for Arson. Jevin: He's a magic slime. Also, Arson. All Hecate kids love Arson.

#mcyt #scott smajor #trafficblr #hermitblr #hermicraft #tangotek #jimmy solidarity #joel smallishbeans #ldshadowlady #bigbst4tz2 #zombiecleo #tfc #martyn inthelittlewood #inthelittlewood #rendog #docm77 #ijevin #welsknight #pixlriffs #zloyxp #katherine elizabeth #shubble #geminitay #pearlecentmoon #fwhip #mythical sausage #joey graceffa #vintagebeef #keralis #iskall85

[thesoftboiledegg]

"Mort: Ragnarick" was pure fun, but a different kind of fun than "Rickfending Your Mort" and "Rise of the Numbericons: The Movie."

"Rickfending Your Mort" was a laid-back clip show that gave the viewer a break after the insanity of "Unmortricken"--a smart decision but not one with a lot of substance. "Rise of the Numbericons: The Movie" has been controversial. I thought it was entertaining, but it would've worked better as a YouTube short.

If "Unmortricken" represented lore episodes at their best, "Mort: Ragnarick" was the best of classic Rick and Morty adventures: a wildly imaginative plot, goofy satire, fantasy science and Rick and Morty working together as a duo, reminding us how much they need each other.

Rick's the driving force behind these adventures, but without Morty, he's just a miserable old man trying to distract himself. Morty's the heart and voice of reason. He also gives Rick something to live for. Without him, Beth, Jerry or Summer, why do anything?

Rick pretends to live for science, but "science" just caused decades of grief and isolation. His family isn't a concept; it's an entity that loves him back.

Bigfoot, an evil pope, Pokeballs, Valhalla, clone bodies, infinite energy sources, zombie Summer, Rick screaming "PO-O-O-O-OPE!": only Rick and Morty could combine all those concepts into one cohesive episode. I never thought "Wow, that took me out of the story." The Pokeball came close, but the end credits scene tied it all together.

Jerry's scene was a standout, too. Chris Parnell's reading of "Nana!" was genuinely sweet. It seems like Jerry's becoming a (mostly) willing participant in Rick's schemes instead of a helpless guinea pig. Is Rick learning that releasing his iron grip on his family makes them more attached to him, not less?

I also loved it when the Vikings called Rick a witch. He loves crystals, plays with magic, has two crows as familiars: damn right, he is!

You have to suspend your disbelief a couple of times, mainly when Bigfoot attacks Rick in the kitchen (he crushed Rick earlier like it was nothing, but now Rick walks away with a few scratches?) Still, the little character moments overshadow these flaws.

Judging by old posts that I've seen floating around, I think Rick and Morty's relationship is finally becoming what fans wanted it to be in seasons 1-3. Rick's still mean, but he's less dominant and more of Morty's mischievous co-conspirator. An alien mobster freaking out in "The Jerrick Trap" because of Rick's "touch my grandson and die" policy is straight out of fanon.

Rick's more physically gentle, and Morty responds in kind. He grabs and supports him when Bigfoot attacks him at home and touches his arm during their weird, overdramatic Bigfoot send-off. His pained cry of "Rick!" when Bigfoot nearly crushes him is heart-wrenching. Operation Phoenix is back online, but Morty's tired of watching him die!

Season five is when Rick started showing emotions on his face besides that cold, pissed-off glare--we all know the one--and in season seven, it's accelerated to Rick crying in front of others. He matches Morty's feelings instead of pretending that he's above human emotions.

Needless to say, dudebros have been flooding Adult Swim's Instagram comments and Twitter replies with "Rick and Morty is shit now!" "Rick's too nice!" "Rick and Morty has gone woke!" Justin Roiland's firing gave them more fuel, but they started even while he was still on the payroll.

Their favorite line is "Rick isn't Rick anymore!" And they're right. Rick's not the asshole from seasons 1-2 who had a couple of redeeming qualities. He's not the monster that he was in season three and parts of season four. He's not the defeated man in season five who started to realize that he's hurting people but still wanted Morty to look after him like a child.

Season six is when he started to grow up--not a lot, but enough that he began taking on adult responsibilities instead of thinking he's a teenage boy who sees another teenager as his peer. I wish we saw more therapy appointments, but while they're mostly off-screen, we're definitely seeing the effects.

This doesn't make Rick a great person or atone for what he's done. Some of his crimes are beyond atonement, and not just the obvious ones like blowing up planets. This is a universe where everyone has a body count and events that should've destroyed Earth have no effect on civilization. Death and destruction don't mean that much.

His worst crimes are the personal ones: destroying Morty's psyche in "The Vat of Acid Episode," treating his family like garbage for most of season three. You can't atone for that. You can't apologize for that.

However, I don't only judge characters by their past. I judge them by their capacity to change.

Walter White is a brilliant character, but he's not a personal favorite because his arc is a slow descent into hell. Rick's slowly climbing out of his crater, and while it doesn't erase the past, it's still happening. For me, that's more satisfying than watching a monster become a bigger monster.

Of course, he's still not above cosplaying as Odin while wearing a golden crown that literally says "GOD." But the former "no girls allowed" alpha male has become a dedicated therapy patient who's also a thirst object that would make bros cry about double standards. Sure, Rick, you're a god, now put on that weird half-shirt and prance around a little.

#rick and morty #rick sanchez #morty smith #review #mort: ragnarick #season seven

[incorrect-riordanverse]

finally reading tsats here are my live thoughts (spoilers, obviously):

i’m so excited because some pages are darkly decorated and its so cool. still don’t vibe with the title though (the sun IS a star and its peeving me)

why are we talking about dating darth vader 😟 where are we rn (anakin is a yes, but DARTH VADER???)

maybe i’m too old but the jokes are not funny 😭

“this whole place feels like my soul. empty and dark. dark as the pit of the underworld.” <- i don’t care if he’s joking nico would never say thissss 🙏😭 we’re only 10 pages in but please stop butchering my fav character he’s not himselffff i am cringing so bad

i know i’m being dramatic but if they do nico dirty in this book i’m going to end it all

oh my god i don’t think i’ve thought about the words “significant annoyance” in so long. bringing back good memories for sure.

i can tell which parts were written by riordan and which parts were written by oshiro. i don’t think their voices are blending very well together…

also, maybe it’s because it’s the start of the book and they’re trying to familiarise new readers quickly with the characters but it feels like they’re making nico the caricature of ‘emo and shadow and ebony darkness dementia raven way 🥀⛓️🖤’ and will the caricature of ‘happy and sunshine and blonde and flower gleam and glow ☀️🌈🫧’ and i usually like this dynamic when it’s not blatantly pointed out every other page. i have faith they’ll show more complexity than this later on though. future yan will let me know by the end. (future yan here, im not at the end but the characterisation def does get more complex thank gods)

oh ok so it is bob the titan

since when was nico’s actual name niccolo??? how did i forget this detail??

“you have to listen if not you’ll share my fate.” “ominous much?” <- ok he’s finally himself again guys it’s all good

the one-sided beef nico has with percy will never not be funny

“cookie monster appeared over the mouth of the jar, reached inside and gobbled up nico like the chocolate-chip cookie he was.” <- nevermind i’ve gone back to hating this book again

“what was one straight boy when you spent your whole life longing for the impossible?” <- i’m reminded of that time a few years back where everyone made ‘having an unrequited crush on percy’ nico’s whole fanon personality, so i’m glad they addressed this somewhat. this boy has been through so much and people really thought crushing on percy was the biggest thing to focus on about ‘nico angst.’

“we made a mistake. you have to fix it.” <- call me a red flag but if i was nico i would do anything and everything to not go. i would medicate myself so highly on sleeping pills that i can’t dream (doctor bf can go kick rocks). i would track percy and annabeth down and haul their asses into tartarus instead to do it. and if i had to go i would only go in to kill bob myself for sending me those traumatic ass nightmares. no thx. bro willingly jumped in himself and now wants me to save him. nuh uh.

not cupid being will 😭 its like his aphrodite 😭 i am not well.

they always have a really good and emotionally moving scene and they ruin it with a dumb joke. let it be heavy 👏👏

something’s really fishy and i have a feeling that it might not be bob calling for him

if this whole “grumpy ball of darkness” thing continues i will actually lose it

you can’t tell me the percabeth pep talk was actually needed. i will forgive it because i miss them though

im sensing tension in the gap between nico’s connection to the underworld and his relationship with will and i’m here for ittttt. give me the dramaaa

who is the gorgyra girl and why is she in their business sm?

oh shit a will solace pov??? christmas came early 🙏

nevermind that whole nightmare sequence was so fucked up 😭😭

somebody HELP HIM i never thought we would get will angst (nico angst fs, but will???)

DONT JUMP IN THE STYX PLEASE

SOMEBODY TELL HIM HE’S HELPFUL OMG

nico strangling epiales in his sleep is so fucking cool he’s literally HIM he’s literally THAT GUY

#first 100 pages pretty much and im. im. ok. #the whole part with epiales is so cool so far. #unfortunately im not a fan of oshiro’s writing in this book. and i can tell which parts is him bc his authorial voice is so diff to riordan #oshiro isnt a bad writer but… its really really peeving me #i wish riordan had a consultant rather than a co-author. i think he’s in his element when he’s going solo #nico di angelo #riordanverse #incorrect riordanverse #rick riordan #hoo #heroes of olympus #percy jackson #trials of apollo #toa #will solace #solangelo #annabeth chase #meg mccaffrey #lester papadopolous #tsats #the sun and the star #rewriting

[littledead-ridinghood]

Jason’s final monologue in Under the Red Hood is so impactful and important because he’s being honest. His speech hinges on the fact that he’s being open and honest with his feelings on how the last few years affected him. I’ve seen many people argue that because Jason is an unreliable narrator at times, that means he is an unreliable narrator all the time, therefore nothing he says can be trusted. Unfortunately, this feeds into the “anything can be canon behavior for Jason because he’s written so inconsistent therefore I don’t care and besides fanon is better anyway so there” argument where actual consistent character traits often get ignored.  

While, yes, Jason can be an unreliable narrator, and while, yes, Jason is written incredibly inconsistently, this doesn’t mean there’s nothing consistent about him. I remember a couple of years back, some people were arguing how absurd it was for Jason’s opening line to be: “Bruce, I forgive you for not saving me” because it would be impossible for anyone, especially “someone like Jason” to not hold a grudge against a person for not making it in time. They couldn’t buy the fact that someone could concede like that. Of course, Jason is lying here, how could he not, in some part, blame Bruce? But this completely side-steps that Jason does that all the time, pre and post-death. Some of his last words were forgiving Shelia for murdering him and apologizing to Bruce for not being good enough. He doesn't blame Catherine for forcing him into the parental role for both him and her and Jason usually places Willis strictly in the “it’s complicated” box. He constantly takes the fall in his tumultuous relationship with Bruce like his apology letter to the man at the end of TFZ. It’s not out of character for Jason not to place the blame on Bruce, but rather forgive him and dictate his ire to where the real blame falls: the Joker. Again, he doesn’t even place the blame fully where it belongs because he doesn’t mention Shelia’s role. (yes, DC wants us to forget about her role in his murder. Especially in UtRH as can be seen in all the bad robin!Jason rhetoric, but that outer world meddling affects the inner story) 

It’s a cop-out to claim that because Jason is unreliable at times and inconsistent at others that means you can subscribe whatever meaning you want to his words and actions. He’s not his own character anymore, he’s an OC to fit you’re narrative which strips him of his story. By saying he’s actually lying(whether over if he forgives Bruce or so he can blame Bruce later on because “he needs something to be angry over”), it strips away the farther-son tragedy of this moment.

Jason is having a contained breakdown. He’s trying to keep it together, and that’s why when his voice breaks on “doing it because–because he took me away from you” and he starts crying, it’s impactful. He’s raw and alive and it’s still not enough to be seen. He has no point to soften the blow with “I forgive you.” He has no reason to lie about that when trying to get his father to see him. If it was just about the joker then Jason could’ve said “I blame you for not saving me and to redeem yourself, you have to kill the Joker.” But Jason Doesn’t ask him to kill the Joker but instead demands to know why he’s free without consequence, why he is still breathing.

If Jason wanted “to push his goalpost farther with Bruce,” he would prey on Bruce’s blaring guilt complex. It’s incredibly telling and significant of Jason's character that he doesn’t do that in this moment. Therefore, we can assume that if Jason had succeed in killing the joker, he still wouldn’t use that to guilt Bruce.

Jason instead talks about how much he loved Bruce–still loves Bruce–and how the man meant the world to him, and how he feels used because he thought he meant the same to Bruce. By saying he’s lying in this moment to trick and ruin Bruce, you are undercutting some of Jason’s most consistent behaviors: his desire to love and be loved, his desire to be a part of a family, his desire to be important to someone, and how he will put up with almost any and all maltreatment to get that connection.

Jason “pushing his goalpost” further highlights how many don’t understand his emotional distress tied to his murder and instead want to place him solely in the “completely delusion” category where his victimhood is undermined. It’s not about getting Bruce to kill, at the end of the day, the ultimatum was to kill Jason, not the Joker, it’s about wanting his father to understand what he needs to feel safe. That is Jason’s request. Not the clown. Him. He’d rather his father kill him with his own hand so he’s not forced to live on the same earth any longer with and share the same air as his murderer. What makes this as an ultimatum is that Jason fully believes that Bruce loves him too much, therefore, the man would never kill him allowing Jason to achieve his peace. Whether you agree with Jason’s methods or not is a different matter, but that is the tension in this contained scene.

Furthermore, a lot of meta lately says that if Bruce had let Jason kill the Joker then he would guilt Bruce by saying “why would you let me do that? You tainted my soul and hands!” which ignores: 

A. Jason’s actual legitimate reason for wanting the Joker dead. The former belief falls back on the “Jason is so delusion and dramatic!” trope, the “he’s not the right kind of victim” trope because he’s angry instead of submissive and “actually has no good reason to be angry, he’s just being difficult for the sake of.” It completely undercuts Jason’s actual trauma with getting no justice. Bruce preaches Judge and Jury, but Jason got neither. So many victims get neither, and Jason’s anger represents that. What gives Bruce the right to say Jason’s not allowed to play his own executioner in relation to his victimhood when he never got the morals and ideals that Bruce himself preaches so thoroughly? 

And B. more obviously, Jason killed in UtRH before their big confrontation? Famously, the duffle bag of right-hand mans’ heads. He killed in front of Bruce already as well? Captain Nazi? Like, also in lost days, which is a prequel to UtRH, he kills? What’s the actual argument here? Loosely, It reminds me how everyone wants to blame the entirety of Jason’s takeover on pit madness. This “you’ve tainted me” argument sounds as if Jason is not aware of his actions and traumas. Not to say he’s completely sane or not delusional at times throughout his publishing history, but to think Jason would be pissed at Bruce for letting him kill the Joker is to dismissively say “no, you don’t know what you need, but I do.” 

No, the Joker being dead won’t fix everything, but with the joker dead, it would literally be removing a real-life constant trigger of Jason’s. Yes, Jason is a synecdoche for victims, but he is also that himself: a single victim. Joker is a stand-in for everyone who’s ever gotten away with a vicious crime free of judicial step-in or failure, but he also is just that: Jason’s murderer. Yes, they both metaphorically represent something bigger in this scene, but on a fundamental level, the Joker is also just the person tormenting Jason and nothing more. By saying Jason doesn’t actually want what he wants stands in for saying victims are too wrapped up in their trauma to understand what’s causing it. It’s mitigating and demeaning how bad it actually was/is. Jason’s murder in comics still holds such power over the mythos today even though “everyone’s died. He’s not special” for a reason and it’s because his life is actively shown to be affected by it.

Jason has been shown to have PTSD-induced panic attacks around the joker (Lost Days), and about the joker (famously the rebirth issue where Jason hallucinates murder victim him), it’s not far off the say that whenever Joker commits a mass atrocity, that it affects Jason in some way. 

And we canonically know that it does! In Lost Days, Jason breaks down in tears in the streets over all the families that have been and will be destroyed by the Joker. So that Survivor's Guilt train of thought is canon for him: “those people are never coming back, I’m here and I’m not supposed to be, but they’ll never return”-esque

No, killing the Joker won’t fix all of Jason’s issues and trauma surrounding his murder, but that’s obvious. Yet, have you ever been in a bad relationship and part of the issue is literally just being around that person? The healing process starts when you step away. You can’t heal in the same environment that’s harming you. This goes hand in hand with how Jason will only begin to heal as a person when away from Bruce because he’s such a dominating, constant trigger in Jason’s life (again, proven in canon when Jason backs away from Gotham and the Bats). No, the joker being dead won’t fix everything, but it will allow the process to begin where Jason isn’t constantly rehashing his trauma every time the Joker escapes. Jason has tried to heal on his own except the clown keeps coming after him. Whether it’s him attempting to burn off his face or in his mind when Bruce physically drags his murder to the forefront of Jason’s thoughts shoving him into a breakdown over how he’s trying so hard to heal. Part of the reason it’s so hard for Jason to move on is because his trigger buttons are constantly being held down for extreme amounts of time. It’s not that he heard or saw something that brought him back to his murder, it’s that Jason is literally being held in a constant state of panic, grief, fear, and unsafety.

By saying Jason is looking for something to be angry over and he’d find that in Bruce if he let him kill the clown, it frames the moment as a winning vs losing moment that Jason will always lose no matter what. This is a faulty understanding of how healing works and is reminiscent of Three Jokers. You can’t win at healing like Geoff Johns tries to say Barabara did and Jason failed at. Healing is something you do with ups and downs. At the end of the day, it’s a son yelling at his father to help him. It’s not about winning or losing, joker tries to make it about that (“everyone still loses”), but that frames the interaction in a much pettier light. This strips the moment of both Jason and Bruce's raw, exposed wire in water, vulnerable emotions. This looking to be angry argument is also reminiscent of the fandom's love for pit madness which strips Jason of his righteousness. Jason has very understandable reasons to be angry. His life was stripped and stolen away from him. It’s like when people say Robin Jason had anger issues which completely ignores what he was angry over! He hated rapists and pedophiles and big, authoritative tough guys who beat on women! He wasn’t angry all the time over everything; he had very real, systematic issues that upset him in overwhelming ways. Boiling him down to “he needs to be angry” wipes Jason of his motivations.

Jason doesn’t plan for a future. Really, he never even thought Bruce would kill for him in the end. When he first came back, sure, he thought Bruce would kill the joker and make Jason “the last person he ever hurt”, but in their final confrontation, Jason just asks “why on God’s earth is he still alive?” and then “I’m going to blow his deranged brains out and if you don’t like that you’ll have to kill me. Shoot me right in the face”: his ultimatum. In the confrontation, Jason doesn’t even believe he has a full claim to be upset over the Joker for just himself. He talks about Barabra being hurt by the clown and is pretty rescind to his murder in the fact that he says he was one of so many corpses filling dozens of graveyards made specifically by the Joker. Again, “last person he’d ever hurt,” Jason is fairly fine with being dead and doesn’t even think he deserves to be back, but because he wasn’t the last person the clown hurt he pushed that as his climax for why he’s angry. 

Really a better commentary focuses around “well, what does Jason think is going to happen after?” because Jason clearly doesn’t want to be alive. He sets up like four ways of suicide in his final scene. One of my mutuals a while ago posted their thoughts on what they wanted the after to be. They said they wanted to see a story where Jason killed Joker in this showdown. They believed he would probably enter this dissociated shock over the joker’s dead body, over the fact that it was just that easy, that it’s over. But, this fact would lead Jason to the realization that he doesn’t need Bruce to “save” him (i.e. protect him/keep him safe). This has literally been rotting in my head for months, you have no idea. And I truly see this as the outcome of the showdown if it had gone that way. Sure, Bruce didn’t stop him, but he also didn’t stand up to protect Jason from his murderer. Jason, just like in every other aspect of his entire life, had to protect himself. Once again, he has performed his own emotional labor, and that would probably break him away from Bruce’s chains. He got what he wanted and he didn’t need anyone else to do it for him. This interaction further shattering the heroic image he upheld Bruce to. I think that’s a much more realistic outcome based in Jason’s characterization rather than him throwing a fit over the fact the Joker’s dead therefore he has nothing else to be angry over when Jason is shown to be angry over a lot of other things as well.

#hello discourse! I am participating after seeing this drag on for like a month #jason todd #jason todd meta #this is more a combo of what I've been wanting to talk about for a while(the importance of Jason being honest in UtRH) #mixed with the current discourse(jason's just looking to be angry over something)

[bajablastflavoredsaxreed]

Hi there hello i have decided to write out all connections my brain has formed between the mechanisms and tma(gp) so here we are. please add on if you have anything i live on this shit

-disastrous effects on my spotify wrapped

-mysterious tapes

-opening doors to apocalyptic events

-tim who blows things up (and fucking dies doing it)

-jonathan sims (and his naming conventions for characters he plays)

-frank voss playing characters who could kill me

-tim ledsam (having problems with Eyes)(do you see what i did there)(because. because gunpowder tim’s eyes got burnt out. but also bc. the character he played in tma gets avatared by jarchivist via the Eye)

-jessica law (playing a character trying and failing to be a person who is also associated with dolls and who has an unwaveringly cheerful voice)

-morally dubious characters becoming immortal and inhuman technically through their own choices but considering the circumstances that the choices were made under puts their autonomy and free will into question

-queer as hell

-tumblr-based fandoms

-extensive lore

-individual stories told with an overarching metanarrative throughout installments

-archivists

-others tragic stories told with an unnerving sense of glee

-twists on tropes found within their respective genres

-slam poetry-esque prose on occasion

-big ass polycules in fanon

-jonathan sims playing a tired grumpy nonbinary coded character who needs to Know things

-lovecraftian inspiration

-childhood trauma

-gay computers

-alexander j newall is there (to varying degrees obviously lol, he does show up like once in TBI)

-cults

-allusions for days

-british

-supplemental additions outside of the main story that add to the world and characters (fiction on the mechs website, what the ghost episodes and mag fluff:epiphany)

-great music (sam jones i owe you all of my worldly possessions)

BONUS: these are siblings. to me

#tma #the magnus archives #the magnus protocol #tmagp #the mechs #the mechanisms #baja’s blasting #obviously these are both independent peices that are fully seperate from one another! they do not exist as extensions of one another #i love connecting shit omg #i gotta make one of these for tma(gp) and hatchetfeild #long post

[hollowed-theory-hall]

Harry Potter is Actually Really Clever

So often, I feel like Harry is underrated in his own series and I want to talk about how much I love Harry James Potter. Harry is my favorite character in the books and I want to showcase some moments of Harry proving the Sorting Hat knew what it was talking about when it comes to Harry possibly doing well in Slytherin and even Ravenclaw.

(I have more moments listed in my notes, and I'm in book 6 in my current reread, so I definitely am not covering everything)

Let's start then with the words of the Sorting Hat itself:

“Hmm,” said a small voice in his ear. “Difficult. Very difficult. Plenty of courage, I see. Not a bad mind either. There’s talent, A my goodness, yes — and a nice thirst to prove yourself, now that’s interesting….So where shall I put you?” Harry gripped the edges of the stool and thought, Not Slytherin, not Slytherin. “Not Slytherin, eh?” said the small voice. “Are you sure? You could be great, you know, it’s all here in your head, and Slytherin will help you on the way to greatness, no doubt about that

(Philosopher's Stone, page 88)

The Hat says Harry is brave enough for Gryffindor, clever enough and talented enough for Ravenclaw and has the ambition and thirst to prove himself for Slytherin. And the hat isn't wrong about it's assessment of Harry. Harry is clever and talented and I so often find it underplayed in fics, or ones that do include it, acting like it's fanon characterization when it's really isn't.

Harry Potter is canonically a BAMF.

So, here I'm going to talk about his cleverness and give some moments of Harry being clever from the books.

(I'll have a different post for his magical prowess.)

Harry Has Brilliant Memory

So, Harry James Potter practically has close to an eidetic memory, and no one really seems to mention it.

An eidetic memory is described as an almost perfect recollection of images or events. And Harry actually shows himself as being very capable of it:

Angelina: “…Harry, didn’t you do something to your glasses to stop the rain fogging them up when we played Hufflepuff in that storm?” “Hermione did it,” said Harry. He pulled out his wand, tapped his glasses and said, “Impervius!”

(Order of the Phoenix, page 379)

In thus scene its raining during a Quidditch match and Angelina asks Harry about a spell he used a year before. Harry remembered that moment, remembered Hermione was actually the one who cast the spell, a spell he himself never cast before this moment, and he then casts it perfectly from memory.

Harry remembers the incantation and wand movement perfectly enough to succeed on his first try.

Actually, almost every time we see him cast spells he gets the wand movement and incantation right on the first try (even his first attempt at a patronus worked, the happy memory just wasn't strong enough)

In general, they moments we see Harry fail at casting spells on the first try is when he overthinks it and fails himself like that.

Harry stared at the letters in brackets. Nvbl . . . that had to mean “nonverbal.” Harry rather doubted he would be able to bring off this particular spell; he was still having difficulty with nonverbal spells, something Snape had been quick to comment on in every D.A.D.A. class. On the other hand, the Prince had proved a much more effective teacher than Snape so far. Pointing his wand at nothing in particular, he gave it an upward flick and said Levicorpus! inside his head. “Aaaaaaaargh!”

(Half-Blood Prince, page 239)

Harry tends to fail potions, and nonverbal spells when Snape is breathing down on him expecting him to fail, though, in this example, the moment Harry feels he can succeed the spell and isn't overthinking it, he casts it perfectly and nonverbally on the first attempt.

He is the same with potions:

Snape, meanwhile, seemed to have decided to act as though Harry were invisible. Harry was, of course, well used to this tactic, as it was one of Uncle Vernon’s favorites, and on the whole was grateful he had to suffer nothing worse. In fact, compared to what he usually had to endure from Snape in the way of taunts and snide remarks, he found the new approach something of an improvement and was pleased to find that when left well alone, he was able to concoct an Invigoration Draught quite easily. At the end of the lesson he scooped some of the potion into a flask, corked it, and took it up to Snape’s desk for marking, feeling that he might at last have scraped an E.

(Order of the Phoenix, page 660)

When Snape wasn't breathing down his neck and stressing him, even without the Half-Blood Prince's superior instructions, Harry is good at potions. He accomplishes the potion to a level of Exceeding Expectations easily. The problem is never his skill, memory, or talent; usually, it's stress, being stuck in his own head, or carelessness (did anyone diagnose him with ADHD?)

Another example of his eidetic memory in OOP:

“Well, you know, they do work well on non-magical wounds,” said Hermione fairly. “I suppose something in that snake’s venom dissolves them or something. . . . I wonder where the tearoom is?” “Fifth floor,” said Harry, remembering the sign over the Welcome Witch’s desk.

(Order of the Phoenix, page 508)

When Harry describes St. Mongos for the first time (about a week before the above scene) he reads a sign that describes what is located in each floor of the hospital.

A week later, without reading that sign again, Harry can recall where the tea room is since he has that sign he read once a week ago, memorized.

Harry is Sneaky

Harry is a proper sneaky slythein and actually has more cunning moments than some slytherins in the books. Here are a few examples I have from my notes:

“Should call Filch, I should, if something’s a-creeping around unseen.” Harry had a sudden idea. “Peeves,” he said, in a hoarse whisper, “the Bloody Baron has his own reasons for being invisible.” Peeves almost fell out of the air in shock.

(Philosopher's Stone, page 197)

Harry is a good liar and scared of Peeves like this in his first year.

“…He likes to keep in touch with me, though . . . keep up with my news . . . check if I’m happy. . . .” And, grinning broadly at the look of horror on Uncle Vernon’s face, Harry set off toward the station exit, Hedwig rattling along in front of him, for what looked like a much better summer than the last.

(Prisoner of Azkaban, page 435)

But their attitude had changed since they had found out that Harry had a dangerous murderer for a godfather — for Harry had conveniently forgotten to tell them that Sirius was innocent.

(Goblet of Fire, page 24)

Again, Harry lying and tricking the Dursleys so they won't hurt him. Leveling Sirius as a threat against them.

“Not unless you can answer my riddle. Answer on your first guess — I let you pass. Answer wrongly — I attack. Remain silent — I will let you walk away from me unscathed.”

[the riddle and Harry thinking through it]

“Spy . . . er . . . spy . . . er . . .” said Harry, pacing up and down. “A creature I wouldn’t want to kiss . . . a spider!” The sphinx smiled more broadly. She got up, stretched her front legs, and then moved aside for him to pass. “Thanks!” said Harry, and, amazed at his own brilliance, he dashed forward.

(Goblet of Fire, page 629)

I skipped the sphinx's riddle, now the riddle isn't a hard one, but still, Harry isn't stupid. But he thinks he is. He even tells himself during that scene:

Harry’s stomach slipped several notches. It was Hermione who was good at this sort of thing, not him. He weighed his chances. If the riddle was too hard, he could keep silent, get away from the sphinx unharmed, and try and find an alternative route to the center.

(Goblet of Fire, 629)

But it's just Harry and his low self-esteem. He solves the riddle quickly thinking aloud near the Sphinx and he does solve it, and is amazed by it because he doesn't think of himself as smart, even though he is.

Most of the riddles to the Ravenclaw common room are probably along this line of difficulty too. It just goes to show he isn't stupid.

“There,” she said, handing it to him. “Drink it before it gets cold, won’t you? Well, now, Mr. Potter . . . I thought we ought to have a little chat, after the distressing events of last night.” He said nothing. She settled herself back into her seat and waited. When several long moments had passed in silence, she said gaily, “You’re not drinking up!” He raised the cup to his lips and then, just as suddenly, lowered it. One of the horrible painted kittens behind Umbridge had great round blue eyes just like Mad-Eye Moody’s magical one, and it had just occurred to Harry what Mad-Eye would say if he ever heard that Harry had drunk anything offered by a known enemy. “What’s the matter?” said Umbridge, who was still watching him. “Do you want sugar?” “No,” said Harry. He raised the cup to his lips again and pretended to take a sip, though keeping his mouth tightly closed. Umbridge’s smile widened. “Good,” she whispered. “Very good. Now then . . .” She leaned forward a little. “Where is Albus Dumbledore?” “No idea,” said Harry promptly.

(Order of the Pheonix, page 630)

Harry is clever enough to recognize drinking anything Umbridge gives him is a bad idea, so he doesn't. And he does so without her realizing.

“even if you do cause a diversion, how is Harry supposed to talk to him?” “Umbridge’s office,” said Harry quietly. He had been thinking about it for a fortnight and could think of no alternative; Umbridge herself had told him that the only fire that was not being watched was her own. “Are — you — insane?” said Hermione in a hushed voice. Ron had lowered his leaflet on jobs in the cultivated fungus trade and was watching the conversation warily. “I don’t think so,” said Harry, shrugging. “And how are you going to get in there in the first place?” Harry was ready for this question. “Sirius’s knife,” he said. “Excuse me?” “Christmas before last Sirius gave me a knife that’ll open any lock,” said Harry. “So even if she’s bewitched the door so Alohomora won’t work, which I bet she has —”

(Order of the Phoenix, page 658)

Harry can and does strategies. He planned how to get into Umbeidge's office. He employed his friends and actually led them. Being a leader and a strategist — rules we see him grow more into later.

Harry’s mind was racing. The Death Eaters wanted this dusty spun-glass sphere. He had no interest in it. He just wanted to get them all out of this alive, make sure that none of his friends paid a terrible price for his stupidity . . . The woman stepped forward, away from her fellows, and pulled off her hood. Azkaban had hollowed Bellatrix Lestrange’s face, making it gaunt and skull-like, but it was alive with a feverish, fanatical glow. “You need more persuasion?” she said, her chest rising and falling rapidly. “Very well — take the smallest one,” she ordered the Death Eaters beside her. “Let him watch while we torture the little girl. I’ll do it.” Harry felt the others close in around Ginny. He stepped sideways so that he was right in front of her, the prophecy held up to his chest. “You’ll have to smash this if you want to attack any of us,” he told Bellatrix. “I don’t think your boss will be too pleased if you come back without it, will he?” She did not move; she merely stared at him, the tip of her tongue moistening her thin mouth. “So,” said Harry, “what kind of prophecy are we talking about anyway?” He could not think what to do but to keep talking. Neville’s arm was pressed against his, and he could feel him shaking. He could feel one of the other’s quickened breath on the back of his head. He was hoping they were all thinking hard about ways to get out of this, because his mind was blank.

(Order of the Pheonix, page 783)

This is a bit of a long quote, but I really like it. Harry gets the Death Eaters at an impasse because they can't destroy the prophecy. Then, when they threatened Ginny, he changed tactics and got them talking to buy time.

And even when he says his mind is blank:

“What?” whispered Hermione more urgently behind him. “Can this be?” said Malfoy, sounding maliciously delighted; some of the Death Eaters were laughing again, and under cover of their laughter, Harry hissed to Hermione, moving his lips as little as possible, “Smash shelves —”

...

“NOW!” yelled Harry. Five different voices behind him bellowed “REDUCTO!” Five curses flew in five different directions and the shelves opposite them exploded as they hit. The towering structure swayed as a hundred glass spheres burst apart

(Order of the Phoenix, pages 785-786 and 787)

He's still the one coming up with plans and pulling them out of there.

And if we look at his grades:

(Half-Blood Prince, page 102)

He is very far from failing academically. Actually considering how little studying Harry actually does, he receives very high grades, even for Hogwarts' abysmal education standards. Harry is naturally smart enough and talented enough that with the bare minimum of effort, he can get almost exclusively Es (his failing being in History, an exam he didn't finish, and Divination, which Harry has only been thought bullshit in).

Makes me wish we saw him put in an active effort. I bet it all would've been Os with his memory.

Even Potions, which Harry is supposedly bad at, he got an E...

I just... Harry is just really smart and it kind of frustrates me how I don't see enough fics that treat Harry being clever and with a cunning streak as if it's canon, even though it very much is.

I don't know, maybe I'm just reading the wrong fics...

#harry potter #harry potter theory #harry potter thoughts #hollowedtheory #hp theory #overthinking #wizarding world #harry potter analysis #harry james potter

[sandy-the-glader]

Hi I've never really done a request before so I'm not entirely sure I'm doing it right but I love your Adrian Chase work and I was wondering if you could do Vigilante x assassin reader. Like reader is secretly a current or former member of the league of assassin's and how would Adrian react to finding this out

Secrets

Character: Adrian Chase x ExAssasinFem!Reader

(Little bit of fanon Adrian tbh)

Type: Angst with some fluff at the end.

Length: 1.4k words

Summary: Adrian is going through a box of your guy's old stuff and comes across your old assassin suit. He asks about you and your past with crime and he just has one question. Why?

Trope: Established Relationship

A/N: Honestly you guys can make a request however you want and this was perfect. I'm a people pleaser so whatever works for you guys anyway I hope you like a one-shot more on the angsty side :) Ps I'm going to be taking a small break from requests (there are only two I've gotten) and finishing a few George Karim one-shots I started a while ago but have gotten caught up in requests since.

Adrian gripped the suit tightly in his large hands. What? He recognized the design and symbol almost immediately. His eyebrows knit together and with every passing second, he was more and more confused.

His sweet loving and caring girlfriend couldn't have been one of the most well-known assassins. One who he has tried to hunt down himself many times but every single time coming up short-handed. Someone he really used to hate until she disappeared for the better (that was his thoughts anyway) and was rarely mentioned again.

He had the day off and was just wanting to go through some old stuff and make space for other things he and his girlfriend needed to store away.

He really couldn't believe it though. You were always so positive and optimistic about everything he would have assumed murder would be the last thing you thought about. You honestly could say the same thing about him though.

He felt almost betrayed that you never brought this up in any conversation. Did you know who he was? How did you even feel dating a hero? He told you who he truly was a few weeks into dating so you would know what you were getting yourself into and you said it was fine you even loved the idea. The truth was that you felt protected from your past when you were with him but he had no way of knowing that.

The longer he held on to the suit the more he wondered. Was there more he didn't know about? Do you still do this in your free time?

He continued to dig through the box of your old things. Mask, weapons, more clothing, it was all there. All the proof he could need to confront you.

He stood from the spot he had been kneeling on the floor and took a large inhale. He needed a minute to really think about and understand what was going on.

-

Once you got home Adrian set your suit on the bed and walked to the door to finally get some answers he had been craving for all day. The door made small clicking sounds as you unlocked the door. Finally, the door swung open revealing a tired and smiling Y/n.

"Hi Adrian!" You smiled, hugging him as soon as you stepped through the doorway. He slowly wrapped his long arms around you and greeted you with a quiet voice. "Man, I am tired." You said.

He was nervous. He didn't want to break up with you at all but he was confused about how and why you would get into any of this stuff. He had to snap himself out of his thoughts because he had realized you pulled away and now were explaining your mess of a day.

"- and she got me all these papers really late but they had to be in like a week ago." You explained setting your bag down on the couch and slipping your shoes off by the entrance.

"Hey baby?" He spoke nervously.

"Yeah honey, what's up?" you smiled looking up at her Adrian. His face is slightly pale and his eyes are wide. "Are you okay?" Your face softened as you inched closer to him. He stumbled back slightly and you were confused. Did I do something to him? You wondered scanning his facial features, trying to gather any information you possibly could.

You were good at reading people and you could obviously tell something had shocked him. You waited for Adrian's response. His eyes flickered throughout the room everything but your eyes.

"Adrian, what's wrong?" You questioned scared and concerned. You had rarely seen him like this before.

"Um yeah, I just have a question." He nodded trailing off to their shared bedroom. You shuffled through question after question in your head like Adrian had been doing all day. You slowly followed your boyfriend into their room and there you finally noticed your old suit. Everything came flooding back. You had no words at the moment. All of your thoughts had escaped and your head ran empty.

"Where did you find this?" You finally said swallowing thickly. You stared at Adrian with fear. Fear that you thought you had escaped a couple years ago.

"What is this?" He asked even though he knew very well what this piece of fabric meant. You sat next to the fabric and just looked at your hands that were placed in your lap. "Y/n." He said firmly but you could hear something else in his voice.

Fear.

"What is this?" He repeated with a shaky voice.

"I..." You tried to collect your thoughts. You didn't want him to be afraid of you. That's why you liked dating him. He liked you for who she had become not who you used to be. He was kind and showed patience with you and you could never repay him for that.

"I need you to explain. Is this why you never talk about anything from your past?" He spoke now with a firey tone. You looked up and saw his eyes shining with tears beneath his glasses. This is all because of me That thought alone made the truth fall from your lips.

"I used to be a villain." You said. "Obviously." Adrian sat down wanting to hear more of your words.

"Why?" Was the only word that left his lips.

"It was a very low point in my life. I was forced into it since I was a teen and I couldn't stop it. Until I ran away to Evergreen. I was forced into so many painful crimes." You didn't want to talk about this or even remember it for that matter but Adrian deserved to know. He opened up about his past and told you he was a damn superhero. "When I ran away to Evergreen it was to escape far away from those people who tried to make me someone I'm not. Never once did I want to hurt those innocent people. I've tried to forgive myself for what I did each day at a time but I've seen some things no one in a lifetime has seen." You suffered every day from those horrible memories.

"Did you know of me?" Adrian asked softly.

"Vigilante? Yes. Adrian Chase? No."

"Did me telling you that I was Vigilante change anything about our relationship?" His voice trembled. You couldn't blame him.

"No. I loved- no I love you for who you are. When I first met you at Fennel Feilds it was like a beam of hope shined down in my life finally and that was you. Your silly quirks and beautiful personality seemed to make my life better than it ever had been. You made me have something worth living and I really don't want to lose you, Adrian." You let a couple of tears drip down your cheeks but quickly wiped them away because in your head you shouldn't be the one crying about this it should be Adrian. Sure it was a tough patch in your life but you had kept this from Adrian since you met.

"Why didn't you ever tell me this?" He spoke softly.

"I didn't want you to think any less of me." You held the suit in your hands and stared at it. "Finding out that you were a superhero that was after the villain who was me was scary. I love the way you see me. And I don't want you to think of me any differently but I understand that this must change something."

"I mean..." He trailed off. "I just wish you told me sooner. Y/n believe me I love you. I want to spend every moment with you and like that's a lot for me." Adrian showing his dork side again made a smile break out onto your face. "And since you are my girlfriend I might be able to let those things go. You said yourself you were forced into such awful things at a young age and no one should ever have to go through that. And It's not like you're doing any of this activity now right?" He questioned to make sure.

"No of course not."

"Good." He scooted closer to you and hugged you tightly. "I'm sorry you went through that though. You can go over it some other time but I can tell you need dinner."

"Thank you, Adrian. You know I was a little scared you might kill me." You admitted.

"Oh if I was only talking to you and not dating you I would have." He said bluntly.

"Oh my god." You chuckled.

"What? It's true and you know it is!" You shook your head and he looked at you lovingly and proud that you had the courage to share some things from your past. "Now come on I'm starving." He whined.

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