#but who doesn't yknow

[possamble]

do you have any particular thoughts regarding marcille being a half-elf? its interesting to me considering the fact that she seems self-conscious about being a half-elf, but denies it when its brought up

i remember marcille looking visibly uncomfortable over laios simply asking her how old she is, which i think the only reason she might feel nervous about this is because it might reveal her as a half-elf to him.

she's never corrected anybody whose called her an elf either.

never mind the circumstances of the reveal, in which thistle goes on about how half-elves are inferior and accusing her of wanting to become full blooded elf, she seemed particularly upset like he struck a nerve-

i wish the half-elf thing was built upon more. also, underrated marcille line:

okay so i revisited this sequence just to make sure I could back myself up and it's just... man. there's a lot going on.

the first reaction we get from Marcille is this huge panel that takes up half of the page

she is viscerally affected. flushing to the tips of her ears with the intensity of it. and we see it again, a few pages later

so it might seem like she's embarrassed about it and lying to herself, but... I really think it's just that Thistle is accidentally hitting sore spots. If you really look at what he says to get these reactions

"you'll live out your entire life [...] and die that way too"

"a hundred years from now, nobody will be there"

Hear me out. I think, if he stuck to harping on about her inferiority without bringing up how terrifyingly long-lived she is, she wouldn't have been as bothered. But right now, Thistle is accidentally hitting all the marks on Marcille's deepest fears-- and this is after the Winged Lion promised her that her dreams could come true in an extremely vulnerable moment, so it also hits her slightly guilty conscience as well.

I do truly believe that Marcille isn't bothered about being a half-elf the way that people assume she'd be bothered by it. To her, the biggest problem with being a half-elf is that it's isolating.

On one hand, it's not hard to imagine why she'd distance herself from elves in the west. A lot of them can clock her as a half-elf on sight, unlike other races, and therefore she's always branded with this weird stigma of being Othered -- I would even say that she considers herself lucky for being born outside of elven culture instead of having to grow up in it. I mean, just... look at the way elves talk about her.

Skipping past the uncomfortable implication of what 'not tolerating the existence' of half-elves would actually entail, this is incredibly fucking annoying. You can see why she wouldn't want to be around elves much. You see a lot of Marcille reacting badly here, but honestly, almost all of it can be attributed to her freaking out that her bluff completely failed. She's honestly more paying attention to Izutsumi's footsteps and trying to coordinate an opportunity to escape.

And in the end, you see her built-up frustration at being asked if she wants to be a full-blooded elf like 2-3 times in a row.

Yeah, yeah, "the lady doth protest too much," and all. But we know Marcille. We know that she's a lot more embarrassed and horrendously unconvincing when she's being prodded about something she's actually self-conscious about.

Moving onto the flipside of things, it might seem weird that she "pretends" to be a full elf around other races, but it's not really that strange if you think about it. Again, people are weird about her being infertile or whatever, and a lots of them don't even know much about what sets half-elves apart from everyone else. I mean, look at how uncomfortable Laios is just asking her about it

and look at how exasperated and resigned she looks

And like... she's right. Where would that come up in normal conversation? Why would she go out of her way to tell them? She's functionally a normal elf to other races anyway -- got the ears, the abnormally long "childhood", and the huge mana capacity. Unless it's directly relevant or important for people to know, I don't think it's all that strange or indicative of insecurity that she prefers not to bother with it.

(This combined with her sense of being an "outsider" to elf culture also explains why she thinks elf superiority is embarrassing. She sees the way elves treat short-lived races from the "outsider" perspective nonetheless, and thinks it's obnoxious; especially more so because she usually has to play the elf around short-lived races and deal with the reputation of arrogance that elves have built up.)

The sad thing is, this all means that... she doesn't actually fit in anywhere. She doesn't like going out West much because of how elves treat her. But she's also an outsider in the continents she was born in, treated like this exotic long-lived alien choosing to live among short-lived races for some reason. She is always an outsider, the Other, no matter where she goes. Add in the fact that she'll live longer than literally anyone she knows, and it's honestly kind of heartbreaking.

And I think that's the crux of it. Marcille really doesn't act like she's at all self-conscious about being a half-elf because of any feelings of inferiority or being half-made or whatever. She considers herself a perfectly legitimate being and might even, in some ways, consider herself superior to normal elves because she's not blind with elf supremacy or whatever. (And whatever "elven biases" she displays, all of them are born more out of the fact that she's kind of bad at conceptualizing how other races age and mature compared to herself, not that she actually considers herself better or more mature simply for being an elf.)

I think that whatever self-consciousness Marcille has about being a half-elf is, instead, related to terror and loneliness. The reminder that it ensures she'll never truly belong anywhere for the rest of her very long life. The reminder that, in truth, even she's not actually sure how old she is by other races' standards (hence the discomfort when asked how old she is). She doesn't want to not be a half elf, or be a full elf or full tall-man-- in her ideal world, she's still a half-elf. She just gets to live out her life at the same pace with the people she loves and doesn't have to say goodbye again and again and again until she dies.

and one last very important panel, right after Mithrun tells her that all her desires would be devoured

In her ideal world, she's still a half-elf and reality magically starts marching at her pace. But failing that, the second best thing is that she's still a half-elf-- but one who is able to accept reality and let go of her fear.

(But the rest of the story pans out the way it does because, to Marcille, taking reality apart and reshaping it was less scary than simply and fully reconciling with it.)

#asks #dungeon meshi manga spoilers #marcille donato #manga panel analysis #this is probably riddled with typos sorry #readmore cut bc it got long lmao #i ended up babbling about it bc it's such an important character detail to me #bc like... wow. she's so normal about it. she's literally just chilling. #the only thing that really bothers her is the material reality of it and how people treat her #the stereotypes the stigma etc. etc. #otherwise it just.. #literally doesn't factor into her criteria for self-worth at all #the basic truth is that marcille likes herself on a fundamental level #she's not plagued by a deep and festering self-loathing the way a lot of characters in her archetype are #she likes herself and is proud of her successes and accomplishments #its just that shes terrified of failure and can have *episodes* of self-loathing when she fucks up #but who doesn't yknow #i know its a very slight nuance that makes very little difference in how her 'overachiever' problems manifest but its there #the sword of abandonment issues that hangs over her head has nothing to do with her self-worth or self-esteem or meeting her own standards #it has to do with the fear of not living up to *other* people's expectations and not being useful enough to be worth keeping around #she's good enough for herself but she's always so so so scared that she's not good enough for other people #i wont say much about what ryoko kui is saying using this as an allegory for real world racial biases but #dungeon meshi's treatment of marcille's relationship with her being half-elf is so incredibly important to me because it gets it so right. #a trauma about inferiority or being a half-being isn't inherent to the experience of being 'of two worlds' at all #that's something that's unfairly drilled into people by their environment #the *inherent* anguish is the loneliness. the constant longing. the fact that you are always homesick no matter where you are #always just a little bit of an outsider and never fully at home #and dungeon meshi gets that. #edit: cleaned it up a little

[aromantic-diaries]

Post number 69420 about the bi to aspec pipeline but it's like saying you don't have a preference for either coke or pepsi and later learning that just you don't really like soda

#aro #aromantic #arospec #ace #asexual #acespec #i do like soda on occasion. but not coke or pepsi i'm more of a dr pepper guy (superior) #now that i think about it i do seem like the type of person who doesn't really like coke or pepsi and prefers dr pepper #idk man i feel like every time i drink coke a building explodes #not just cause it's kind of bad for you but yknow. big corporation bad.

[homkamiro]

If you have time, may you please draw some scout wearing a bunny suit while in a match?

...and also probably sniper's reaction to it..

Normal latex bunny suit is kinda boring, so I tried designing some sport related Scout's bunny suit cosmetic and this is how it turned up

And Sniper's reaction!!!

#scout wears a hood since he originally was supposed to wear a hoodie #but i scrapped this idea to make the outfit more open like a traditional bunny suit #but i liked the idea of hood with a bow so i left the way it is #hop top name is actually a mix of “crop top” and “hop” since yknow he can jump #short bun is a mix of “shorts” and “bunny/bun(like his tail)” #and hare hopper fits since hopper is a way to name a person who fastly travels from one area to another #the longears doesn't need explanation #team fortress 2 #tf2 #team fortress 2 fanart #tf2 fanart #tf2 scout #tf2 sniper #sniperscout #speeding bullet

[puppetmaster13u]

Prompt 85

Dan is very grumpy. He’s not pouting, despite what the others would claim, he’s brooding. How many times were they going to get de-aged?! And this time they were all clones! He did not sign up for reincarnation, nor for getting turned into a literal baby. 

He doesn’t care if this world has heroes or villains or whatever, he’s going to bite the next person to pick him up. Happily if it’s one of the scientists currently scrambling around as alarms go off. 

Though he’ll happily do the same to the new colorful people too. Honestly he’s just feeling particularly violent, and it’s not like he can murder with his tiny baby hands. At least his so-called siblings look just as ready to attack as he does. 

#dcxdp #dpxdc #clone fenton siblings #No idea who all of their doners are #But one is definitely Martian Manhunter #He can't fully read them but the babies feel angry and violent when first picked up before settling #food helps #how long does it take before human babies can eat solid foods #YKNOW WHAT #What would be *hilarious* #If the siblings are clones of Martian Manhunter and Batman #Where the one child's fire powers came from they aren't too sure but there was some experimentation done so #Jordan doesn't say #Jazz is delighting in the natural passive empathy being upgraded to mind reading #Dani is going to be such a gremlin with shapeshifting #Danny wasn't happy about the reincarnation until Alien then he got excited #Oh their other dad is rich- ew- but wait! He has a space station you say...? #prompts

[txttletale]

like, i think that neon white is obviously gunning for the 'embrace your inner cringe' ethos, but it doesn't work for me because my cringe middle school self wasn't drawing edgy half-demon half-vampire anime twinks with 100 belts, she was sneering at those people for not understanding that Real Art was writing a 10,000 word dictionary for your conlang for your fantasy world thats Like DND But Better (twice as many types of elves and the roman empire is there)

#tattletxt #and obviously in case the subtext is not clear enough this is not saying that one of these is better than the other yknow #just articulating why this specific homage to a specific subculutre doesn't speak to me #similar to stuff like vylet pony or the sparkledog renaissance--i think this could be a powerful reclamation of a certain moment in culture #for somebody who is v. much not me

[gummi-ships]

Kingdom Hearts Dream Drop Distance - Braig / Xigbar

#kingdom hearts dream drop distance #khddd #braig #xigbar #my gif #his pointy shoulders deflated with age #...do you ever wonder about his scarf? #radiant garden took pride in its beauty and ansem the wise was a ruler who was beloved and admired by his people (despite... yknow) #so is it safe to assume that being a guard of this world being tasked with protecting the castle/its ruler/and the townspeople- #would be considered a prestigious occupation? #yet we see braig wearing an old tattered scarf #it's a curious addition to his uniform that looks out of place among other guards #i dont think it was added to his design to help him stand out because cmon it's not like he's competing for relevance with dilan and aeleus #braig fights from afar with his guns it's not like he's some scrappy guy that might have messy clothes from battle #i wouldn't be surprised if this was ephemer's scarf that he somehow came into possession of #and is holding onto it with the possibly of it being used as some kind of medium/waypoint #who's to say he's not still wearing it under his organization coat? just because we can't see it anymore doesn't mean it's gone #riku had an entirely different outfit under his own organization coat so who knows what xigbar has under there #i like to think braig used to be scolded for wearing the scarf because it covers up the uniform's emblem #and wearing old ripped articles of clothing isn't part of the image the guards would presumably have to uphold #but eventually they gave up on making him take it off because he just does whatever he wants #just something i think about from time to time #xigbar has always been so mysterious and cryptic i can't help but keep an extra close eye on him #especially since he's been revealed to be so much more than what he seems. who knows what tricks he has up his sleeve #i don't think it's outside the realm of possibility

[picnokinesis]

“The clock will strike for everyone. Even you, Doctor.”

I mean, what was I meant to do, NOT make a thoschei Goncharov au? Honestly, this film has been out since 1973, and Doctor Who has been around since 1963, you’d think someone would have done this before me. But I guess I have to do everything myself around here.

(And yes, the Doctor is Goncharov and the Master is Katya, because these two have THE most ‘bitterly married soon-to-be-divorcees’ dynamic I’ve ever seen. Tell me I’m wrong)

#goncharov #unreality #doctor who #the doctor #thirteenth doctor #the master #jodie whittaker #sacha dhawan #spydoc #thoschei #thirteen #goncharov au #SKSKSK LISTEN #it's about the THEMATIC IMAGERY OF CLOCKS AND TIME RUNNING OUT #it's about goncharov's character being centred around LOSS and IDENTITY #yaz would be andrey which is interesting #no clue who sofia would be here but it doesn't have to be a straight au i guess #slightly obsessed with the inherent gender swap though #like take goncharov but make it trans and gnc yknow SKSKS #I guess you COULD make an argument for the master being andrey #something something him trying to pull the doctor into a world of violence #but eh #he's katya in my heart #also SHATTERED MIRROR IMAGERY?? need i say more?? #taka draws

[w1ngedv01d]

One of my favorite interpretations of 3rd Life Scarian is that Grian has been doing wifey shit for free since like, day 2, and is very in love with Scar but in denial bc he doesn't think Scar would see him that way

And Scar's equally in love oblivious ass who just thinks they're besties doing bestie things and hasn't considered that love is on the table for either of them so isn't actively making an effort to show interest

#3rd life #grian 3rd life #scar 3rd life #scarian #and yknow scar proves grian right in his perspective bc of the friendship pass betrayal #that vindicates all his secret fears that scar doesn't actually care #but while scqr knows he messed up by screwing over his bestie who did so much for him... #HE STILL DOESN'T KNOW GRIAN LOVES HIM and he definitely doesn't know grian is suoer insecure about it!! #so he can never truly fix what he did wrong bc he doesn't understand the depth of the betrayal #angst

[mwagneto]

GENERATION GAP WIN. my (<- born in the 2000s) grandma (<- born in the 1930s) saw my bootyshorts that say enemy of the state on the ass and laughed and said they were great. world health restored

#also she's the first and only family member to remark on them so far and I've had them for ages #granted she's also the only one who speaks english but yknow #she said i have a great sense of humour. it's especially funny coz she usually doesn't like anything crass #but then neither do i so. she's just like me fr #barking

[isogenderskitty]

i think it's interesting how steph is like... the nerds see her as part of the popular group, and sure we see her talking to the cheerleaders a little, but other than that she doesn't really seem to be one of them in the truest sense? i could fully believe that she feels like the tiniest bit of an outcast there, like she's just cool enough for max to give her a pass but she doesn't really click with them that well. she feels to me like the bridge between the popular ones and the nerds, which is appropriate i suppose for her place in the story.

#idk i just keep turning this feeling around in my brain #that she doesn't Quite feel like she's actually proper friends with that lot #in my mind steph is pretty lonely before she starts talking to pete and by proxy the other nerds #like... i feel like the cheerleaders are friendly with her but they don't really Get each other #or enjoy each other's company That much #maybe even on their side there's some slight intimidation factor of her being the mayor's daughter and it's still a bit isolating #poor girl :( #but it's ok now she has real friends :] #... well. at least one. i honestly can't tell if pete and steph would even hang out with grace after everything #even ignoring The Ending And What That Implies #even if that didn't happen #i still don't think??? they would be besties with her #which is interesting for like. yknow. the main protag group who's been through everything together #npmd #nerdy prudes must die #hatchetfield #stephanie lauter

[endtimers]

i love when gameplay fuels headcanon. i always have wyll casting speak with animals on himself (bc he can do it without expending a spellslot/using a potion) and i've had him talking to SO many rats. which now has me thinking that wyll is exactly the kind of person who would do that. like beyond the practical purpose of information gathering it's just the exact kind of odd-yet-charming thing he would do. he talks to the little guy! those others deem as unimportant! you never know what interesting or helpful things you'll hear from them! wyll ravengard i love you so much!

#bg3 #wyll ravengard #bg3 wyll #agh he's so underappreciated #anyone who just calls him a boring prince charming type doesn't really know hi. #him* #he's a weirdo!!! he's just also incredibly charismatic!!! #babygirl i want to talk about everything with you #wyll ravengare character of all time To Me #yknow it's odd i'm a galemancer first and foremost but i've posted so much more about wyll #something about him. :^)

[mamawasatesttube]

tdr is literally 2013 era tumblr fanfic — gay relationship with zero substance, too afraid to give anyone a personality or conflict, complete disrespect of legacy characters, and blatant misogyny. truly the best of all worlds thanks megan

genuinely i did have the thought while reading it that 13yos on fanfiction.net have written better stories than this. at least i can forgive a 13yo for not knowing what character flaws are. but the fact that megfitz got paid for this shit? insane. there's so much that's just so bad in here. the misogyny also cannot be dismissed it's true. acting like he was just settling in all his previous relationships? that line pissed me off soooo bad. i Know meghan doesn't even know who zoanne wilkins is lmao

#also sorry but i just would never be able to trust a white guy who's so into conspiracy theories #like i don't think megfitz intended for him to come off skeevy bc yknow he is perfect and has no character flaws right???? #but the fact that she can't flesh out characters and has to rely on gimmicks and cheap shit like Evil Homophobic Parents #and therefore just kept reinforcing oh btw hes sooo quirky he thinks all this weird stuff about heroes hehe!!! #just made me go ummmm. ok. at what point is he gonna get into the racism and antisemitism #like ofc she wouldn't do that on page bc he's flawless and just hashtag quirky!! #but she doesn't THINK about how like. it reads. to reinforce over and over that your white guy is prone to cults and conspiracy thinking #anyways. impressively bad comic all around thanks meghan #answers #mysterycitrus

[inkperch]

*sits bolt upright*

Vaggie and Emily roleswap where Emily figured out Sera was keeping something from her and snuck out down to Hell to learn what, and happened to meet Charlie while disguised as a Sinner and is just. Actively sneaking back and forth from Heaven to try and slowly peel back the beuracratic interference with Charlie's dream from Heaven while also actively helping her run the Hotel in hell-

*goes back to sleep*

#Meanwhile Vaggie I'm imagining like. Just got fired? When she didn't kill someone? And got reassigned a desk job #Which like. Could even be how Emily figured out something wasn't right in hell- #Ngl Chaggie would not be off the table in this au #As a like. 'Vaggie knows all along the exterminations are wrong but is too scared of Lute doing Canon Things to her to do anything about it #And then Hell's princess comes along singing about how she has a dream and cares so deeply for her people it hurts and reignites that fire- #Plus the 'oh god the one person who believed in me was lying to me' would. Yknow. Hit a LOT harder with Em actively lying #Instead of Vaggie hiding from her past so hard she doesn't even want to acknowledge it- #vaggie hazbin hotel #emily hazbin hotel #hazbin hotel #charlie hazbin hotel

[primordialervoid]

Seriously though, what's with the abuse apologism in this show? If they didn't have the time to give Ed a proper redemption & reconciliation arc OR if his violence was meant to be mild and insignificant as it targeted people supposedly desentisized to this sort of treatment...WHY make a plot point of the crew struggling to cope with their trauma? More importantly, why introduce realistic consequences of said trauma and turn them into a joke? Why make these characters seem foolish for not instantly forgiving the guy who gave them symptoms of PTSD?

(Izzy's "I'm in denial about what this man has done to me and you should be too" presented as a positive moment of him teaching Lucius his wisdom. YIKES)

It's not even about Ed's actions, but the way the narrative did everything to sweep them under the rug as fast as possible... which. Wasn't subtle at all. It made Ed's arc in season 2 obnoxious at best

#Yknow that thing with how many people enjoy fucked up themes in fiction only as long as the work doesn't try to present them #as anything different from what they are? #Cause it starts to feel off otherwise #I believe this is what made some people who were previously Ed fans resent him/his characterisation in s2 #Anyways #ofmd critical #ed teach critical #ofmd s2 rant

[south-sea]

i think a lot of people don’t always realize the difference between “this is how i interpret canon” and “this is how i want to write it because that’s what’s fun to me”. a lot of times the latter is all headcanons or AUs are, not an indication of what the writer thinks “is” or “should be” canon

more power to those who are super tuned into actual canon and know these details like the back of their hand, but sometimes people just wanna use a series as a sandbox, not a ruleset. genuinely nothing but respect for people who ARE that knowledgeable, but i and a lot of other people are just here to have fun with characters we enjoy—and want to put them in more accessible settings

#this isn't meant to be grandstanding or anything i'm just thinking aloud. i know i've said stuff like this before it just hit me suddenly #thinking about those weird anons from a while back who were really getting on my case about this #and i could not wrap my head around what the problem was because it’s like. that’s why it’s an au? #why are you mad about details of an au not lining up with canon #that’s the whole point of it being. an au #like of course shadow would normally be able to visit certain places. of course he should already know omega. #but there is a deliberate reason why second chance shadow can't/doesn't #and now i realize it's probably because they were seeing my posts entirely out of context #but still don't go attacking people for out of context posts either?? #i'm shocked no one's seriously gotten on my case about aruna's hive yet because it's a prime example of 'intentionally nowhere near canon' #and like overall just don't be a penders and you're fine #lord knows i've got plenty of 'characters who have strayed so far from canon they may as well be OCs' in my pocket #but i still acknowledge they're not by definition OCs yknow #sometimes you just wanna use a funny lil guy as groundwork and then do your own thing #sea talks

[aroaceleovaldez]

i always see so much of Nico ships where either Nico is the one pining or the focus is almost completely on Nico pining and i feel like we’re missing a lot of opportunity here. Where’s the inverse? Where’s the POVs from [other character(s) of ship] of them falling hard for Nico and just absolutely losing their mind pining over him because he’s so impossible to read that they can’t tell at all if he likes them back or not. Them doing some complicated social dance cause they cannot for the LIFE of them figure out Nico but they’re trying so hard until they finally just tell him outright and find out Nico has liked them back this entire time and they lose their mind just a little bit more. WHERE IS IT.

#pjo #riordanverse #nico di angelo #shipping #examples: one of my favorite headcanons is that Will got a crush on Nico the first time he saw him during the Titan War #when he brought reinforcements n stuff. cause yknow. the dude showed up in thematic armor with three gods and parted an army #and then ensues like a whole year of poor Will helplessly pining over him but a.) Nico is never around and b.) Nico is barely aware of him #ergo why Will is acting Like That in BoO cause he's BEEN TRYING SO HARD TO GET NICO TO NOTICE HIM #on-and-off for a WHOLE YEAR #and he is DETERMINED to at least be Nico's friend by the end of the summer #just so that he can stop losing his mind over it #secondary example: i write a lot of pre-HoO Jason stuff and i really love the potential dynamics between him and Nico then #with Nico being this rogue who randomly shows up #and Jason keeps getting flustered by this guy who doesn't seem to care who he is at all. which is part of the reason for getting flustered #cause Nico keeps treating him as an equal! which is kind of a big deal for Jason #and at the same time they're doing this diplomatic dance and the two of them are just being SO overly formal #because they're both like that. so it just sounds like theyre flirting like Victorians #and poor Jason is so distressed post-HoO when he realizes he'd forgotten all of that. and now he has to START OVER #and Nico is NICO so of course it's impossible for Jason to gauge exactly where they stand #etc etc those are my two most detailed examples