#if you do make him the villain you need to put genuine effort into it

[mockerycrow]

Talk About Sensitivity In The COD Fandom **Important.**

THIS IS NOT A DEBATE POST. DO NOT BOTHER.

Hey, everyone. After the reveal of Makarov in the trailer (as well as general concern), I think a chat about sensitivity is important. Since the trailer’s release, I have seen a major increase in simping for Makarov posts as well as genuine romanticization of Russia and/or Russian Soldiers. First, I want to talk about the romanticization of Russia and/or Russian soldiers because it’s seriously getting out of hand. I need you guys to realize that Russia is an ultranationalist country and yes, maybe not everyone who lives there believes what their government does, but it’s important to know a big portion of their population does. I have seen multiple posts and edits of this man right here (pictures below).

THIS GUY IS NOT SOMEONE YOU SHOULD LIKE, AND PEOPLE NEED TO UNDERSTAND THAT HE DOES NOT LIKE YOU. This is one of the most popular Russian Soldiers amongst the internet due to the way he wears a mask, gear, has an accent, and is buff. He makes videos teaching soldiers how to kill people—innocent people in Ukraine who are just trying to survive. I have seen people straight up ignore when someone tells them what this man has done, so let me put it this way—he does not like you. He wants you dead. He is racist, a homophobe, transphobe, antisemitic, etc. He absolutely hates The West, and he does not like you unless you are a cis, straight, white 100% Russian. Even if you’re a woman, he DOES NOT LIKE YOU. If you American, HE DOES NOT WANT YOU ALIVE.

[This part is not targeted; just a general statement.] Second; there is a serious problem with how you guys address Makarov as a character. There is absolutely no problem enjoying him as a villain because I do too, but you guys have to realize that Makarov is an ultranationalist—which is exactly what Russia is right now, an ultranationalist terrorist state. “But he’s fictional, it doesn’t matter! it’s not that deep!” It actually is that deep. I keep seeing content for Makarov and I can’t force anyone to stop making “fluffy fics”, but I need y’all to have some fucking decency towards victims and people affected by the war. I know people who are affected by the war who feel ill seeing posts painting Makarov in a good light. If you are going to write Makarov, do NOT romanticize him as a character—do NOT paint him a decent or good light, because you can’t. Write him like the bastard he is. And no, this isn’t a “let people write what they wanna write” situation. You can do that, but please be expected to be judged and blocked by me and many others. Makarov is quite literally the characterization of everything that is wrong with Russia, and what HAS been wrong with Russia. Makarov is not a bad boy, a rebel, etc, he’s a fucking terrorist. Please be for real. “But the military in general is bad, so why does it matter specifically around Makarov?” Please see above my previous reasons. Thanks.

The overall message of this point is to be fucking respectful. There are actual people dying and slaughtered for no reason other than ruined pride and a lot of Ukrainian folk seek comfort and distractions in the internet and their fandoms. This ruins it for them and quite frankly, sometimes how Makarov is being written? It’s completely insensitive. Anyway, below are a few links where you can directly support the efforts and the people of Ukraine. Peace and love, and please write with critical thinking.

#call of duty #call of duty mwii #cod mw2 #cod #mw2022 #mw2 2022 #modern warfare ii #ghost x reader #soap x reader #gaz x reader #price x reader #makarov x reader #vladimir makarov #modern warfare #cod mwii #support ukraine #call of duty modern warfare #call of duty x reader #ukraine 4 life #love y’all #mwii #important #do not skip #read this #please read this #compassion is good #use your critical thinking skills #use your fucking brain #american here. forever love ukraine. sending my regards #just. use your brain please.

[bored-storyteller]

WARNING: Angst and spoilers of Spider-Man: across the Spider-Verse. Implied Spider!Reader. I don't know Spanish so I limited myself a lot to try not to spoil anything, even though it's one of the best sides of Miguel. If anyone has any suggestions for me, they're welcome.

Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse, Miguel O'Hara x reader

The right part

You wouldn't be able to say exactly when you gave your affection and trust to Miguel; maybe it was that time when the world seemed a little quieter than usual -although it wasn't for real, of course-, where everything that was important was developed on orange screens and he, the big, thick, arrogant Miguel, worked with little Mayday crawling on his lap.

Spider-man's impassiveness hadn't made you aware of her sweet presence until the little red head had sprouted from over his shoulder, she had looked at you with those big bright eyes and she had smiled at you smugly.

You laughed tenderly and at that point Miguel too turned to look at you to understand what you found so funny.

Well, maybe that was the moment you thought that Miguel O'Hara really could be the really good guy.

But in the same way he can't tell when you became a partner, someone that he should have protected in the first place.

One evening you had dragged yourself to him at his request, evidently exhausted after a mission out of dimension. He could imagine you were tired, but he needed you, and you hadn't complained.

You sat side by side, in silence, each concentrating on his own part of the analysis you were doing.

"A little more..." you had started to murmur at one point, and he remembers it well, because when he had looked at you out of the corner of his eye, it was the first time he had seen you with your sleepy face. Yet, despite this, Miguel didn't expect to feel the weight of your head leaning gently on his shoulder.

Your efforts to stay awake had melted away, and in that moment your face was calm, your cheek pressed against his muscle and it genuinely felt like not even an earthquake could wake you.

As much as he should have woken you up, there was only one thing that was buzzing in his head at that moment: you had completely abandoned yourself to him. You were one of the best people around there in his judgment, and you trusted him enough to completely lower your barriers with him.

"What would I do without you?" He had thought unfiltered in his head, and that fleeting thought had slowly become essential.

And you had become a problem.

Miguel couldn't think of you as someone who could be on the wrong side, at least in big matters, so when you first mentioned that maybe he could let Gwen visit Miles Morales he thought you didn't really understand the situation

"I admit it's risky but...do you really think you can keep them away from each other?" You put your hand on his arm, reassuring, and for a moment he feels you close and accomplice, but you kept talking: "they can change things."

Neither he nor you knew what things two unconscious little teens had to change, but he wasn't surprised that your sensitivity was moved by their distance.

And it hurts him that before your eyes he was passing for the villain of the situation.

“No soy el malo.” He'd muttered to himself, in a vague plea to make that thought a reality, and then he'd turned to you trying to remain calm and maybe somewhat kind: “Look, I don't do it because I'm happy to do it. But I know what happens when the canon breaks, you know, and Miles Morales-”

“You can't compare him to you. It's different, the dynamics are different."

You'd interrupted him with a seriousness he'd never seen on your face, but he certainly wouldn't falter before you, though his eyebrows had drawn together in a look of painful questioning.

“It's the same thing, you know what I lost-” He tried to tell you, but you were even stronger.

"Your Life. But was that your life?”

You had spoken those words with a firmness he hadn't expected, and for a fraction he stood there motionless, speechless and out of breath, as if he had just been punched in the stomach, one of those punch that completely empty the lungs.

His subconscious understood the implication of that question, but he wasn't ready to accept it. But what if that meant giving up on you? Giving up what might really have been his, of that one Miguel O'Hara?

He didn't know how to react, because his claws were pressing, he wanted to shout, but it wasn't what he had to do, he knew it. He hadn't hit rock bottom yet.

You watched him expectantly, as if you were waiting patiently for him to woke up from too deep a sleep; but he saw the exact moment you gave up, the moment you looked down and started turning to leave.

And his hands had grabbed your shoulders: “Repítalo.” A break. "Repeat it."

He had growled it, a low growl that he really didn't want to let out though, because he didn't want to be like that with you, and he really didn't want to hear those words again.

But you weren't afraid, even though he was hurting you as he held you in his grip. His fingers loosened slowly, not enough to let you go but allowing you a softer, more careful touch.

There was a sorry stuck in his throat that desperately wanted to get out, but he couldn't take it, he couldn't.

“No, Miguel. Forget it." You told him with an infinite sweetness in your eyes, looking at him with a feeling that he was afraid to call by name.

Your hand had reached up, caressed his cheek and he, despite himself, had leaned a little against your palm, looking for your presence.

"I don’t want to hurt you." You told him, and he believed you and accepted it.

He couldn't and can't picture you on the wrong side, so you should be together, next to each other. Yet when he passes you to chase Miles Morale, Miguel knows you won't be with him.

You didn't try to stop the kid, despite everything and everyone, despite him asking you to.

You, one of the best people he knows. He can't believe you're choosing the wrong side.

“We are the good guys.” He says. “We are.” He repeats.

He repeats it to the crowd of heroes in front of him, but he repeats it to himself, to his chest and to his heart.

He's the good guy there, he must be. But you can't be the bad one.

He knows you'd subscribe to Mayday's raspberry if you weren't busy avoiding looking at him. He knows you'll be close to Peter as soon as he's gone.

He would like to tell you too that he doesn't need you, that he doesn't want you, he would like to save his arrogant pride and show you that it's not you who chooses not to be with him, it's him who chases you away. But Miguel O'Hara isn't heartless, he couldn't lie that stupidly.

You don't look at him when he stops in front of you, and he doesn't look at you either. He doesn't want to see when what might have been his life slips out of his hands.

“Are you going to hate me for this?”

If you're going to end his hopes, he wants you to do it now.

You're surprised, he knows it, you know you're now trying to study his expression - his pain - that he tries to hide from you.

"Let’s go out together." You say, your voice is cracked and weak “when this is all over, let's go out and have some fun for once. Okay?”

His instinct tells him to take you in his arms, but his fists clench and for a moment his eyes closed shut, pushing something inside him that threatens to come out.

Here is your special power, your disarming heart, your love for him that goes beyond tragedy. He knows you're not sure there will still be a together for you two when this is all over, but you hope so.

And as he walks away from you in silence, he knows that you are one of the best people he knows, the only future that still shines, and that you will try to save him. Maybe you won't succeed, because not even a hero can save everyone, but you will try, and you will believe until the end.

#miguel o'hara x reader #miguel o'hara #miguel o'hara x you #spiderman into the spiderverse #spiderverse #spider man 2099 #spider man: beyond the spider verse #fanfiction #x reader #reader insert #angst #slight fluff

[lunar1an]

thinking a lot about wildbow's early works (worm, pact) and his more recent moralistic works (ward, pale) and the sheer difference in narrative empathy

in worm and pact you have characters who do fucked up things but it feels like a lot of effort is put into understanding the people behind them and where they're coming from. rachel's dogs maul people but there's a whole Arc of taylor learning to vibe with her and befriend her and of rachel getting what she needs (a place alone with her dogs where she can let other people in at her own pace) and growing as a person. all from the angle of 'this is genuinely good for rachel and helpful'. we want her to succeed because we care about her.

in pact we see how sandra duchamp grew up, how she's just as much a victim of her family as she is someone who perpetuates that harm, and while she's an antagonist the story doesn't spoonfeed it to us--we're allowed to see her human and sympathetic moments and we're allowed to feel bad for her while also wanting her stopped.

it felt. i don't know. like the story in general respected these characters, respected the reader's ability to empathize with those characters while also knowing Murder Bad or whatever.

but then the major worm fandom interpretations shifted. you had reddit and other popular sources going on about how taylor was actually horrible and an unreliable narrator, and how the undersiders were actually ~super fucked up and evil criminals~. pact and twig were spared this for the most part by virtue of being less popular with those crowds.

and i'm not sure if the morality discourse got baked into wildbow's brain by osmosis or if he felt like he wouldn't be appeasing his fandom if he didn't address it or what.

but by ward suddenly that narrative empathy, for the most part, is missing. it becomes conditional -- the protagonist and others do not extend empathy towards others until they Properly Recognize What They've Done Wrong. any improvement, any attempt to do better isn't legitimate unless the Bad Deeds are addressed and atoned for by whatever inconsistent standards the narrative adheres to. what matters isn't riley being in a healthier place and making connections--ward thinks that we should be rooting for riley because she recognizes she messed up and is constantly making up for the atrocities she committed.

i think it's kind of reached its peak in post arc 13 pale though. every time empathy is extended it's near-always accompanied by a patronizing little reminder of "mmmm, well you did Bad Things too".

you aren't allowed to just say "well damn i sympathize with charles", for example, because the narrative constantly reminds you that actually he is Still Doing Bad and therefore you aren't allowed to feel for him. it doesn't help that the story continually one-ups itself on thinking of ways to make charles over the top evil either.

but either way it's just. bleak. in a story purportedly about community building it's shockingly uncaring. you can't just sympathize with a morally grey character or take them As They Are without the story casting judgment and constantly reminding you of their verdict. it's just exhausting and makes any positive message the story tries to send feel hollow

OBLIGATORY NOTE: this essay does not mean "actually all fallen and e88 and etc should be empathized with". what it does mean is that in a moralistic work it becomes telling when ex-nazi rune gets her own interlude and a bunch of pagetime to show how she's 'doing better' while that same courtesy isn't extended to many villains who are traumatized and might have, say, legitimate reasons to not want to be arrested or feel like they have no other option, or legitimate reason to not support the heroes, but oh. they do Crimes so actually none of that matters as long as they're still Doing Crimes.

#parahumans #wildbow #uhhh this discusses every web serial except for twig p much so general spoiler warnings ig #also keep in mind this is about characters who werent created from the get go to be pure antagonists #its fine to just have characters who are evil. sometimes people just suck #but theres a difference between that and the story going 'actually your circumstances and any nuance doesn't matter because you suck'

[kustas]

Sorry for the incoming long rant.

I just rediscovered your blog, and I always enjoyed your thoughts on WHA and wanted to rant a little bit. I found a post of yours talking about how WHA is getting less nuanced and I feel the same way. I feel like in an effort to make every character feel like a person, the manga treats everyone’s issues as if they’re on the same level. I’m not sure if that entirely makes sense, but it feels like the manga is trying to make you sympathize with everyone to some extent, even though that doesn’t really work. For example, there is a chapter that pissed me off so much that I had to put the manga on pause. It’s the chapter where Coco shows off a spell that can clean water, and the townspeople are uninterested because they don’t need it. And the moral of the chapter is that Coco should make her spell for everyone. No. No no no. These people need to learn some damn compassion and realize that they need to help end what suffering that they are able to. The moral of the chapter should’ve been that these people need to stop thinking of only themselves. Everything else was aimed at them, so Coco’s spell didn’t need to be for them. It shouldn’t have been for them. There is also the situation with the knights. You went into this already but who gives a shit if they are offended by a grieving husband taking out his anger in them when they are a part of the system that caused his grief. The manga wants you to sympathize with everyone, and while I don’t think these people should be one dimensional their issues should not be treated on the same level as others. Anyway, sorry for the weird long rant, it’s just everyone treats this manga like it is The Most Flawlessly Progressive Manga Ever and your one of the few I’ve found who acknowledges is flaws without devaluing its strengths

Thank you for your ask! I agree with what you're saying and think you worded it very well. It's a bit of a shame it's so rare to find people openly critiquing the series in the community, while it's nothing serious (and minimized by being a bit of a hermit, lol) I've seen some animosity for doing it, I assume because many assume critiquing art means you don't like it or are opposed to what it's trying to do! Which isn't true. Granted Witch Hat Atelier contains many an obvious fantasy metaphor for real life social issues it should be under more scrutiny than normal if you ask me, because those are serious topics that affect people's real lives. I do have faith in the author's serious handling of touchy topics, but in the execution there are things I'd do differently for sure...

The manga wants you to sympathize with everyone, and while I don’t think these people should be one dimensional their issues should not be treated on the same level as others.

WHA has in its writing strong expectations from the reader regarding how you think of its cast I find hard to read through a lot - the latest arc in particular, comparatively, has much of its character based moments revolve around if they're good or bad in a way that implies it'll change how you think of a character and it disturbs me. Qifrey and Sasaran are two early examples of characters that do *not* play into that - Qifrey's beginning arcs simultaneously show him as a shady manipulator and genuinely good teacher who betters the life of his students, and it participates so much to the dramatic tension. Sasaran is a villain of the week who while shown to be a huge cunt, has a backstory that implies his original motives were not nefarious ones, and his life was not easy.

Compare this to a character like Dean who, as much as I'm a fan of his concept, falls rather flat because he's, depending on the chapter, pushed as good/bad to the reader, regarding his moral alignment. Characters who are just meant to be despicable don't have the same level of attention placed to their writing which is a similar issue. It feels insecure, like if the story was saying: we have those important characters, their role is to bring up difficult situations, please don't hate them, like them, see, they're nice too! And giving them chosen positive traits. People don't work like that and it feels cheap. Fandom's obsession with villains should show well a character being despicable doesn't make them unlikeable, and I'd like WHA's characters to be less "good"/"likeable" myself to make them a bit more human. This would detonate a fandom nuke given I still regularly see passionate debates about how mean and terrible characters like Agott or Custas are but hey

As for priorities in the depicted suffering of characters in universe - yeah, it's true some scenes feel a bit off in that department...the water cleaning scene you mention did not rub me the wrong way too hard, because it's centered around Coco, who's our main character, the story bending to give her a central role makes sense, and her unique position in witch society and how it relates to helping others are, with the responsibilities of witches, very important to the story. The apprentice backstories are an earlier example I had trouble taking too seriously because while they're all terrible, tiny silly Riche and her brother's experience with physical child abuse felt drawn with the same intensity as Agott being pushed to mental disarray by her rich fancy perfectionist family. It's all hard to complain about and might sting less if the writing was a bit less dramatic and preachy, but that might just be a me issue, I've seen many fans praise WHA's writing wholeheartedly, so...

What I am hoping is that the latest arc will conclude and lead to the shorter previous structure and we'll get individual attention brought to character stories, one after the other, instead of the all at once formula going on right now... We'll see!

#no real conclusion. if u wanna discuss more feel free to:) #ask #witch hat atelier #sounding like a broken record at this point but if you want a kids having variousproblems manga that im #o does characters right: read sunny

[yugiohio]

*taps the mic* is this thing on? Good....

SHUT THE FUCK UP ABOUT BABYFACES VS HEELS FOR FUCK'S SAKE !

I have two very sincere questions to ask the readers of this post, especially if they are ones who have made complaints about the lack of clarity of both Hangman and Swerve's roles in their feud:

Do yall really need for either Swerve or Hangman to be clear-cut villains or heroes ??? Have you all been so indoctrinated into the characterization done by MCU/CW/Netflix shows to the point that evil characters have to have a redemption arc in order for the story to seem worthwhile to you? It is of my personal opinion that some of the best villains are simply evil for the sake of being evil (Does Scar from Lion King mean nothing to any of you??? Homie was big mad for literally NO reason and we stanned accordingly). Even though, in this case, Swerve does have a reason for his actions and at no point has asked for the audience to see things his way. To approach this feud meta-textually, it seems as though Swerve literally doesn't care if he's morally right in his decisions because he knows he's wrong, but it's a means to an end: the AEW World Championship. In Swerve's mind, the person who would be next in line for that championship would be someone in a position of comfort and (pseudo) power, i.e., Hangman Adam Page. So that's who he chose to go after. This is the beginning of the story, lads.

This brings me to my next point: while Hangman Adam Page is a victim of Swerve's aggression, he knows that in order to defeat Swerve, he has to resort to Swerve's tactics. He's still the "hero" if you really need him to be, archetypically, he still aligns with the classic literary hero. But at the end of the day, he's also a dude trying to avenge his family and reclaim his pride, so to speak. Even Hangman does not care if he's seen as the bad guy.

Continuing on from meta, none of this is even for us as audience members, this became about the mutual fixation between these two the minute Swerve admitted to the first thought on his mind after being in a coffin for two weeks was Adam Page. Hangman Adam Page stopped caring about being booed after Wrestledream when he saw that no matter how hard he fought, the crowd would never side with him. For him, this has been about revenge every since Swerve broke into his home and cut a promo over his sleeping child. Swerve has been trying to bring Hangman to his level since October and finally, finally he has Adam right where he wants him and all yall can fuckin focus on is which one of them is the babyface and which one is the heel so you can decide who to root for. Are you incapable of making that decision for yourself? Does Swerve really need to ask for Hangman's forgiveness and make amends before you can yell whose house it is??? If so, then GROW THE FUCK UP.

Please stop pretending as if you care about narrative structure in wrestling if you can't even be comfortable with an evil person saying that they are evil and making no effort to change that while also relishing in tearing down another person just for the fun of it. Swerve said he was going to take that cowboy to hell and that's what he's doing: mentally, physically and emotionally. Hangman said he'd take Swerve to hell in November, your precious double turn happened months ago! But yall aren't paying attention like you say you are or you would've noticed Hangman's gear no longer being bright and flashy, you would've noticed his attitude change or the multiple times he has attacked Swerve more or less unprovoked. He's not playing victim anymore, now he's also an aggressor. Which is what Swerve thought he wanted until their third match up. After taunting Adam mercilessly that he beat him twice, Swerve was actually genuinely worried during their rubber match because Hangman was putting up a challenge for him and he had no backup to secure a win, he would have to fight Hangman with all he had in him. That's why Swerve needed that definitive win, to actually prove he deserved to be in the proverbial spot that Hangman Adam Page is in in the company. Hangman also knew that and that's why he laughed and left the ring. In his mind he had fulfilled his goal of ruining Swerve's chances of becoming AEW World Champion.

That's your "heel" vs "babyface" narrative spelled out for those who needed it because god forbid a story have morally and ethically gray characters driving the narrative.

#swerve strickland #hangman adam page #strickpage #hangswerve #aew #wrestling #wrasslin #yall are pissing me tf off #just let this fuckin story play out before you say it #makes no sense. do not AdaMJF this story. Yall got too distracted with trying to make max a babyface to the point where he'd do underhanded #shit and the crowd would boo/iwc would disparage him when he never said he was anything more than a scumbag. #then yall tried to say him being a babyface ruined the story when HE NEVER TURNED FACE. EVER. #you felt sympathy for the devil bby. that was the point. he got over as a heel because thats wtf the people lowkey wanted. #if you think swerve is cool AND morally reprehensible then youre doing it right. if you think he needs to apologize before becoming champio #then maybe go watch greys anatomy or some shit idk. let the rest of us enjoy an evil man living big willy style please & thank you

[treblrebl]

Cam - The Unsung

Booth should add Cam's name to his list of saints. That woman has one HELL of a thankless job as the administrator of the Medico-Legal lab. The irony of her position is that the better she does her job, the less it looks like her position is needed. And being the calm, steady one in a team full of highly individualistic, radical personalities means that her own specialized intelligence often gets ignored. When you have 'works-on-a different-plane-of-thought' Brennan, affable-yet-utterly-mad scientist Hodgins, and queen-of-lateral-thinking Angela on your team, your astute leadership skills and pathological expertise are not given their due importance.

Which is a bloody travesty. The Medico-Legal lab's job is not only to determine the truth, but also to make certain that the analysis can be utilized and presented successfully in court. Before Cam, the team was essentially a group of genius scientists working on individual remains on an as-is basis. Booth was correct in Season 2 when he told Brennan that Cam's objective is to ensure a successful prosecution. And in order to safeguard the findings of the team from being thrown out on a legal technicality, she is bound by the rules of the Justice Dept, the FBI and the Jeffersonian board. It sucks that time and again her team chastise her for doing so.

I mean the poor woman was treated like a traitor by her team for not lying to the authorities when Brennan was framed by Pelant. I mean, sure Angela, Cam should just lie about the evidence implicating Brennan. It's not like evidence in murder cases has a long chain of custody, and any fudging would be soon discovered. It's not as though Cam wouldn't immediately nuke her career and possibly her freedom by actively sabotaging a Federal murder inquiry.

And look - I love Hodgins but I'm surprised how fans of the show either ignore or simply brush over the times he blatantly uses his financial privilege without considering the ramifications to other people. I mean seriously, do we really think he would be so free to full off half his shenanigans if he wasn't the last scion of the Cantilever group, and thus enjoyed donor privilege? He regularly swipes items from other departments and exhibits, often without approval. He brews alcohol in Jeffersonian owned instruments and sets off minor explosions. His intentions are never ever malicious, and he is genuinely an adult version of the boy who loved to take everything apart to see how things worked. But let's face it - ANY other person would have faced severe consequences for these actions. Remember the Founder's Day party? It would have been Cam's job to take the heat for the decimated Mexican succulents and unauthorized drinking in the workplace. I wonder just how much she's shielded her team from - and whether she's ever been acknowledged.

Gods even in the episode where Wendell comes back after his chemo and lets Cam know that he takes medical marijuana to deal with the pain - did she have ANY recourse but to let him go? She stuck her neck out for Finn but Caroline bulldozed her, and with justifiable reason. She was stuck between the same rock and hard place with Wendell. And wow, the way Angela and Hodgins immediately painted her as a moustache twirling villain laughing at Wendell's pain infuriated me. They should realize how hypocritical their stance is - after all when Brennan left for Maluku and Booth for Afghanistan they had a proper cause and mission. Hodgins and Angela left simply because they could, and because they didn't want to put in the effort of breaking in a new team, however temporarily. Cam was left in the dust.

So here's to Camille Saroyan - woman of infinite patience, empathy and the ability to handle rambunctious adults. May she one day get the recognition she deserves.

#bones tv #bonestv #camille saroyan #cam saroyan #angela montenegro #jack hodgins #this is a rant

[trashlie]

In Which I Demonstrate that Nol Cannot Deny Shinae; the man is down bad

(I need someone to understand HOW CLOSE I cam to titling this “I can’t deny your eyes, you know I try to read between the lines” i’m so sorry i’m so very on my pop-punk bullshit right now)

One of my favorite dynamics of Shinae and Nol as a pairing and just in general part of how they interact is that it has been shown to us time and time again that Shinae has so much more power (for lack of better word lol) over Nol than I think has been given credit for sometimes. I think often people get very caught up in how Nol’s so very torn in his battle of what he wants vs what he thinks he deserves and the hurt that he ends up causing that sometimes they miss what the true root of it is: that though Nol genuinely believes he does not deserve good things as well as he believes harm will befall all those he cares about and thus he should stay away from the people he loves to protect them - he can’t. He fails. He tries over and over, he gave Kousuke his word, he makes the effort to pull away, but in the end he always caves, he always fails. 

When it comes to Shinae, his resolve crumbles. 

I LOVE IT!!!!!!!!

It’s such an important dynamic BECAUSE Nol is such a victim of what he believes and has been made to believe it’s hard to get through to him. How do you convince someone that all the abuse that has traumatized him wasn’t true. How do you take someone like him who has been made to feel that he is nothing but a worthless mistake, that he only creates problems, that he is a monster, that he brings doom wherever he goes that it’s not so? Especially with his own father telling him these things, with Kousuke tearing him down at every opportunity, with what happened when he was locked away, with the fact that Yui can, in fact, bring harm. And has? 

And yet, despite believing these things, despite internalizing that abuse to the extent that he cannot see anything else - his resolve still crumbles. Shinae has such an effect on him that I think deserves to be talked about, because she sees him when others don’t, she cares for him when others are accustomed to him caring for them, she picks up on these little things without being fully aware of them and in turn, Nol cannot help but want to stay close to pull her closer. And that’s exactly why he has to distance himself from her, from his friends - but we know the harder he struggles, the harder it becomes to maintain his resolve. 

I’m a sucker for it! I love watching the war on his face, the expressions that shift, the way he tries to weasel out of situations and ultimately fail because he can’t very well tell her to her face that he can’t be close to her, that he can’t stay her friend. But because he can never draw that boundary, he keeps moving the line in the sand. It doesn’t matter; he always fails in the end. 

This dynamic begins really early in! Shinae I think we could argue some other earlier moments also quality, but for this I want to specifically focus on post-formal moments, because I think what I love especially about this dynamic is that Nol has given Kousuke his word, has determined that he put Shinae in danger by taking interest in her and engaging in an indulgent friendship, and that for the sake of protecting her from further harm (and also due to his feelings of guilt) he needs to keep his distance and ease out of his friendship with her. 

But post-formal it’s not so easy. Shinae has gone from trying to fend him off to a stick to openly expressing concern for him. She now takes a leaf out his book and reaches out to him - over and over and over. 

It would be easy to not call her back. Catch up later and casually brush her off that he had a big family thing, that he fell asleep early. And yet, in the end, he fails and he winds up returning her call. Even though it’s a call for her reassurance, it’s just as much a call for him, taking in her concern for him, that little admission that maybe he is the villain like they think. He has a way of slipping up with Shinae, always confessing something real. She disarms him as much as she pulls him in and GOD I cannot help but adore this dynamic! 

Another thing that goes hand in hand with this dynamic is that not only does Nol struggle to maintain that distance and create a berth of space between them, but he also continues to struggle to not go above and beyond for her. Shinae isn’t good at accepting favors or letting people do things for them, and I think if she knew that he completely took the blame for her tardiness in addition to going out of his way to go pick her up, she probably would get pretty annoyed. But as it stands, he does exactly that - not only takes the blame, but goes out of his way to pick her up. 

It’s something about his expression after their call, when he looks like he’s torn on what to do, or perhaps torn on what is the best option? Torn on knowing that part of him has already made up his mind he’ll go to her even though he’s trying to convince himself he shouldn’t? He struggles with her at all times and ultimately she always has that effect on him - he just is unable to make himself resist, to NOT go to her, to NOT help her. 

(It’s like when he gets mad at how Kousuke is treating her as an employee and calls him out on it! It’s things he doesn’t need to do, but it’s the fact that he can’t help it that betrays how much he cares, how much she affects him, how much he is unable to just walk away.) 

Nol definitely seems aware of this, too. The moment he gives her the opportunity, he won’t be able to push that distance, so he tries to take advantage in the moments he can. Finding Shinae in the locker room leaves him the opportunity to sneak out, but unfortunately for him she takes notice of him and stops him in his tracks. Part of it is, of course, what he told Kousuke - that he can’t just suddenly cut her off without explaining why, and it’s difficult to ease things when she’s the one who keeps reaching out now, keeps grabbing on to him.

But again, we see that his undoing is that he cares. He’s never seen her like this and she’s willing to actually open up and talk about what’s bothering him? It’s so unlike her! (I love him telling her she has to use words because he can’t help her otherwise lol) 

But what this moment demonstrates is, again, just one of my favorite parts - even when he TRIES to distance himself - he angles himself away from her, body turned away - he always ends up angled right back in. Nol and Shinae have this magnetic draw with each other and even when he makes the effort to turn away from her, he can’t help but be drawn back in, angle right back in to her. It’s something really fun to take note of when you reread, watching the way they just veer in towards each other, drift towards each other.

I’m sure he isn’t aware of it. She sure doesn’t seem to be! It’s just gravitational. Where she is, he will move towards. Where he is, she will drift towards. Their body language conveys that closeness! 

For MANY reasons, the moment they share after work, before Shinae starts her shift at the Wac is one of my FAVORITES. I always feel like it’s the clearest representation of this dynamic, too, of how Nol tries to point himself away, tries to push that distance, but he can’t and he even admits why! Nothing will stop him from caring - she has just wormed her way into his life, wormed her way into his heart. He cares about what happens to her, how she’s treated, how she’s doing, how she’s feeling. He cares and he can’t just stop being her friend! He cares and he can’t just pretend he doesn’t. 

It must take a lot of effort for him to consciously be aware of this - having to be conscious about turning away from her, of creating that space that’s so hard maintain. 

None of it was supposed to be real to matter and yet here he is, helpless against her, unable to stop himself from caring. 

To Nol’s credit, we do see him trying to make more effort - but also to his credit, the harder he tries to pull away, the harder Shinae fights. It’s funny and kind of ironic, because he’s one of the reasons she’s trying so hard. He’s the one who has helped her see value in herself and to open up and rely on others, and as a result, she’s practicing all of her new friend skills on him. How is he supposed to keep pushing her away when she’s literally calling him out (because she now knows him well enough to do that!) AND she’s making him talk through things. 

Shinae doesn’t want another Alyssa repeat and she’s not going to let Nol get away with just pulling away without an explanation. What else can he do? 

I like that’s really surprised he actually stayed - he could have faked a call from Nana that he had to head home, could have found some other excuse. But she demanded he would wait and he gave her his word. 

I love them ;A; 

Time and time again, she disarms him. Time and time again his resolve is put to the test and fails when it concerns his feelings, how much he cares, what kind of significance she has to him. Shinae saying out loud that their friendship must not have meant anything being the trigger that makes him finally act on what he always denies himself - a hand reaching out to her over and over that never makes contact, that he always talks himself out of finally making contact and pulling her into that tight, clinging embrace. On the one hand, we know it began as fake, that it wasn’t supposed to mean anything and certainly not to him.

But we know it was so real. We know that there was a moment where he went from trying to help Dieter, to trying to help her instead, to befriending her for his own enjoyment. It was all so very real, even if it hurts in the end. It was all so real to him and even if he needs her to be angry at him, even if he (thinks he) needs to walk away and leave all of this behind, he still can’t bear to have her think none of it meant anything, none of it was real, none of it mattered when it mattered so much to him. When it mattered so much that he finally embraced her!!!!!!! 

EVEN IN THIS MOMENT! HIS RESOLVE CRUMBLES. And though he’s able to pull himself together enough to do what he set out to do, let’s not forget that it was only because he was reminded her of injury, of what he believes was the culmination of him befriending someone and pulling them into the nightmare wake he leaves where he goes. It was only because he was reminded that she could have been another life taken from him that he was able to walk away. 

(And yknow. Proceeded to retch as a result. alfjakfjkafjkafjk) 

He goes as far as blocking Shinae, Dieter, and Soushi, because he knows he’ll cave. Because he can’t bear to see their messages, to ignore their calls, to see how much they are trying how hard they are fighting and reaching out, because just like when Shinae questioned if any of it was real, he knows he’ll cave. He has to implement a means of denying himself access to them, to nearly physically block them out. 

And yet, in that moment, at a party he doesn’t want to be at on a day he doesn’t want to exist on the eve of him serving time for a crime he doesn’t deserve, he goes and looks at his spam. 

He knows what’s in there waiting for him. He knows what he’s going to see.

He still does it, anyway. 

And there she is, a message received just now about feelings he feels but thinks he isn’t allowed that he shouldn’t have. 

I love this pathetic man, please I need more. 

He tries SO hard, even after hearing Shinae’s unprompted love soliloquy heartfelt sentimental explanation of what Nol means to her, to turn his back, but he can’t. 

His mother’s words are right there, and though they aimed for Rand, they come to land with him. The world can’t punish you forever. Does he not deserve their love, their friendship, the people who matter to him? Does he not deserve to be left alone by the world, to live his life as much as anyone else?

Even when everything he fears lingers over him - he’ll regret this because nothing good comes of indulging, because nothing good comes from letting them in because not only does it put them in danger but it makes it harder and harder for him. 

Like, not to be cheesy but we already know I am so - every time he lets them down, every time he breaks their hearts, he breaks his own, too. 

There’s no more fighting it. There’s only them and an empty hospital room, and a rare of sense of peace and calm, his head on her shoulder, finding comforting (literally) leaning on someone for once. For one moment, he grants himself an opportunity to stop trying to be so strong, to give in to seeking comfort. 

When she reassures him he’s not at Hirahara Memorial and he actually turns his face in towards the crook of her neck? Allowing himself to indulge in this peace in this comfort in this warmth?

GODDDDDDDD I love it he deserves it I want MORE  

And just like that, he’s no longer fighting. I’m including these even though it’s not really a “Nol tried to refrain and failed in the end” because a. we deserve them and b. I think by virtue of Nol acting on his desires and indulging in what he wants while Soushi and Dieter are sleeping in the bed on the other side of them counts enough for this list. Because refraining is no longer on the brain. Because everything Shinae does disarms him and he can’t even pretend to keep the wall up anymore. 

Shinae gets so embarrassed about giving him her gift because she feels like it pales compared to what Dieter did, but probably also because there is a sense of sentimentality to it as well, and it doesn’t miss Nol. It’s the fact that it’s their Orange of Fate, what she drew on his face, and the words she uttered when they first met that have now been taken back. 

It’s how he went from being told all people suck that she wants no friendship to chasing him outside of his school and fighting so hard for him, calling and texting and trying to reach him, it’s how she took advantage of the opportunity when it presented itself to tell him how she feels and what he means and she got so shy about him seeing this gift and it strikes him so much because he knows what he means to her and she means it, too, she’s that special to him, too

And the hand that earlier in the night reached for the spot she denied him does it once again and this time his fingers are in her hair, this time he’s so close in her space, this time he doesn’t deny himself what he wants and what he wants is to be so close to her, what he wants is to stay in this dream as long as he possibly can 

And the most indulgent of them all. 

Let’s not pretend this is not for him. Let’s not pretend this is the most indulgently he’s ever acted on what he wants. Shinae outrules fullbody dancing and he’s like oh bet? lmaoooooo 

He wants the dance. He wanted it back in Minhyuk’s room before Kousuke showed up and everything went to hell. He wants it now and he’s acting on it. There’s no reason - present in his mind lol - for him to refuse what he wants. 

He has refrained SO MUCH. He has refrained for SO LONG. So many times he reached out to her. The dance offer at the Kim formal that Kousuke stared him down into rejecting. Every time he’s felt suffocated by the weight of the world, by the burden of the guilt he carries, by the inherent belief that he’s a monster incapable of providing good, every time he’s been reminded he only brings people pain, every little moment that reminds him he doesn’t deserve any of the things he seeks out, the enjoyment he indulges in. So much of it has weighed him down and in that moment he acts on it

on what he wants

on what he needs

on what he feels 

He acts on the feelings that she is special that she brings him comfort that he wants and wants when she’s in his proximity

He acts on the dream from which he’s afraid to wake and he asks her to dance with him

Despite his back injury. Despite the whole night reminding him that pain follows him wherever he goes. Despite their friends sleeping just a bed over. 

He gives in and he indulges. 

Honorable mention goes to Nol staying outside Shinae’s door at Hirahara Memorial, despite this being a place of trauma and fear for him, despite how much he hates hospitals, despite Kousuke sending him away. It gets honorable mention because I acknowledge part of what compels him to stay outside her door is that he feels so guilty and he needs to see/know for himself that she’s okay - but I think it still counts because of just how compelling it is for him. That this is a person he has grown to care about so much already, a person who we now know he literally is alive for/because, since it was only when he saw her in the pool that he determined he couldn’t stay down there and had to return to the surface to save her, to carry on as Yeonggi for a little longer. 

He stays outside her hospital room because he can’t help it.

He could go home, he could change out of his damp clothes, he could crawl into bed and try to forget this whole nightmare of a night, if only for a few hours, but instead he stays outside her room, unable to leave. 

At every opportunity, Nol is so compelled by Shinae. 

He cannot deny her. 

If Shinae wants it, he will ultimately yield it to her like he has his heart.

I’m being good and not including anything from 231 but JUST YOU WAIT FOR THE FOLLOW UP, especially those of you who don’t fast pass. JUST YOU WAIT. 

#I Love Yoo #ILY Brainrot #Stalkyoo #Aegi #Shinae Yoo #Nolan Oliver T. Lochlainn #I would howl in the tags but I've already done my howling throughout this post lmao #this is my FAVORITE Stalkyoo dynamic #i love how Shinae disarms him and he admits little bits of truth #i love how she gets to him in a way no one else has simply by SEEING him #simply by caring about him #because no one else does it like her and when she does it just pierces him #how can he help but want more #how can he help but indulge #how can he help but fall for this person he can never truly turn away from #this person to who he's always drawn #he tries to turn away to face away and next thing he knows his whole body is angled towards her occupying the same space #the way he physically NEEDS to be near her and doesn't always clock it LMAO #WHEN HE PUT HIS FINGERS IN HER HAIR LIKE THAT AFLKJAFAFJLAFJAKLAFKAFJALJAFKJAF #AFLJAFLKJAFLKJFKLJLFAF #AFLJAFLKAJFKAFJAF #I HAVEN'T RECOVERED OKAY #i love him i love them #i love that he cannot deny her he cannot resist her #he has seen the forest for the trees and god they are so majestic god they are so beautiful and fantastical #HOWLS

[natsmagi]

Do you mind explaining the war in great detail for me? It confuses me a lot and I feel like I can never fully understand it

OH MAN. THE ENTIRE WAR ?? IN GREAT DETAIL ???? ME ?????? omg the war has like. So many moving parts and theres so many characters involevd all of which doing what they do for their own unique reasons (which tended to lean selfish) and i am just a mere switchP i do not know the inner-workings of all these guys (plus if i had to sit down and try to psychoanalyze wataru and truly understand what was going on inside that mans head i feel like id evaporate) BUT!!!!! there is actually a section of the enstars wiki COMPLETELY dedicated to the war that you can read! https://ensemble-stars.fandom.com/wiki/The_War

but, to summarize; eichi had always loved idols his whole life and naturally wanted to become one. but when he had enrolled at the esteemed yumenosaki he noticed none of these students took being an idol seriously, which really got to him as eichi could die at any moment, and now he sees no one taking what he had always dreamed of seriously? so he crafted a plan with the help of keito (who has ties to the student council) and tsumugi (who is on good terms with practically everyone) to make the students feel like they could be the heroes rising from the ashes by "defeating the villain" that put yumenosaki in such disarray (even though this was of their own making). And who would be more suitable to play the antagonist against people who are selfish and lazy and dont care to put in effort themselves? why, the newly established Five Eccentrics formed completely against the members will of course! the five eccentrics who are naturally gifted and perfect in every way, unlike the other students who have now become "the underdog." and, since eichi is aware of how lazy these students are, he created a protagonist, Fine, to defeat the five eccentrics. fine was meant to represent the underdogs, hence why eichi made tsumugi officially considered the unit leader since he was the only one who was actually fitting of the title "underdog who came from nothing," and could thus set a greater example than the likes of eichi or hiyori who were born into wealth

the war was eichis meticulous plan to basically save the idol industry? or at least yumenosakis reputation, and eichi needed this done FAST because again; he could die at any minute, and he NEEDED to see it out til the end. and because he needed this plan executed in such a short amount of time he didnt care about spilling blood, ruining relationships, or making himself the villain in the end. eichi is a very self-loathing person, and during the war he had failed to realize that some people might actually genuinely like him as a friend. that part would lead to eichi unintentionally hurting those he held close too such as tsumugi, but his plan also ended up hurting the likes of leo, who he never even wanted to be part of the war to begin with because itd feel like kicking a lost puppy. only for the war to then affect leo probably the greatest of them all, as the events of Checkmate made him a depressed shut-in for half a year or so. once the war was over, the regret eichi felt was so great he didnt think he deserved to live, only for wataru to then show himself to eichi and express a desire for them to join forces and plan a second revolution, where they will be the villains and "defeated" by the shining new idols who will set a better example than they ever couldve

#SORRY IF THIS IS INCOMPREHENSIBLE #SHITS SO FUCKIGN COMPLICATED BUT LIKE #I HOPE THIS HELPS ?? MAYBE ???? A LITTLE ???????? #the war is such a good character study #i should reread the reminiscence stories #if i get shit wrong dont be mad at me pls its been like a year or two since i read all these stories #ask

[let-us-cultivate-our-garden]

The reason why I loved anime as a child is because they tried to give a villain motivation. I think it's good to have a sympathetic villain, because it teaches kids that someone's past doesn't excuse their action. After all an explanation =/= justification. That's why Belos fails in my opinion, they tried to hint a deeper motivation, but ultimately refused to go through with it.

I really appreciate that you clarified that explanation does not equal justification; too many folks in the fandom seem to think that explaining Belos' backstory is unnecessary because he's too evil and having a sad history would somehow "redeem" him.

A major problem this show has is that the villain characters are just villains for the sake of villainy and the good characters either have sympathetic reasons for making mistakes or are simply misunderstood.

Characters are tools to tell your story and if all of your villains are flat and one-dimensional and the good guys are just misunderstood, then what are we, as an audience supposed to learn? That only good people make mistakes and for reasons that can be forgiven? That the world's bad guys aren't worth the time because we can easily explain away their motivations? That we're better than them because our intentions were good even if our actions weren't?

It's also just a boring way to tell a story; if all you do with your villains and hero characters is give them the same arc then there's no excitement for the audience. No intrigue as to how these characters will interact with each other because you've already given the audience the blueprint.

Good stories live and die by their villains and if your villain is just there as an obstacle, then you end up with a very basic story. Now, not all villains need to be sympathetic. Heck, most Disney villains have very flat characterizations but they're charismatic enough to pull it off. But those stories are also very simple and there's really no need to explore the motives behind the villain's actions. And that's okay.

TOH however, wants to be more ambitious and deliberately added parallels to Belos and Luz, therefore inviting the audience to speculate about its central villain and how he arrived in his present condition. More importantly, the show continued to tease the audience about his backstory and its relevance to the finale and how it might play a role in Belos' demise.

But then we get nothing. No pay off. Just a simple one-liner explanation that casual fans can interpret as Belos being a shallow villain.

And Belos would be perfectly fine as a simple villain who was just an obstacle, but the show put in the time and effort to depict him as more nuanced only to drop the ball in the end. You could essentially write out Belos' backstory and very little would change, that's how little it plays into the overall story.

Belos' story could have been a cautionary tale, in fact people did read it as such, but the show backed out at the last minute and absolved Luz of any guilt by essentially saying, "there's no way you could ever be like the villain, because your motives are genuine while his are not."

And with that, the audience can rest comfortably that they can never be like the villain because their ideals, motivations, and goals are just while the villains are liars who want to destroy everything.

Now why does that sound familiar?

#the owl house #toh critical #toh criticism #emperor belos #philip wittebane #luz noceda

[dilatorywriting]

Question! regarding vil and perhaps, leona as a s/o, i'd like to ask if you have any angst thoughts abt them?? do you think vil would be controlling or leona being too 'i-dont-give-a-fuck' type of person? TRUTHFULLY, i feel like vil being too controlling would be because he wants to bring out the best in someone he loves which Yuu/Reader would understand while Leona is someone who is more 'subtle' or shows his affection or care thru words or actions.

ANOTHER QUESTION I'M SORRY IF YOU'RE OVERWHELMED but, if you ever continue your Heroes Vs. Villains stories.. would you make a Mufasa-like character to be the 'Hero' in the story? (i've been wondering for a while if you ever did think of one! cuz i assumed that Heartslabyul would be Alice, Scarabia = Aladdin, Ignihyde = Hercules)

LASTLY IN MONSTER MAYHEM, what 'monster' do you think Vil or Riddle would be? 👁👁

Oh my I have so many thoughts on these poor bois and they would have So Many Issues.

Which of their habits would be more 'angsty' I think would depend on the individual and their own preferences--because they basically sit at opposite ends of the same sliding scale (Vil caring objectively far too much, and Leona not enough. All based around the same fear of themselves not being worth it). Personally, Leona's apathy would sting far more for me than Vil's obsessiveness, but everyone vibes differently.

For Leona, I feel like he's so ingrained into the 'why try when I'll never get anywhere' mentality that it would cause a lot of issues. Because it's one thing already to not be putting effort into a relationship. It is another entirely to very openly and actively show that that's your intent. Like I know for me, I would absolutely break if I went to talk to someone about how I feel like they don't actually care, and they just scoffed and were like 'yeah no why would I? What makes you worth it?' Whether they mean it or not (and surely Leona wouldn't actually mean it. He's just lying to save his own sorry skin), feeling like you're not worth anything when you care so much in return is a genuinely miserable experience, and in my opinion, it's very very hard to come back from that unless said reciprocating person is super chill and understanding. For someone who had, say, already pre-existing self-worth issues, that would just be the end of it. So I think in turn to counteract that, Leona would need someone who was very sure in themselves. Not like egotistical, but someone with a very strong sense of self and independence that could handle that weaponized apathy of his. Because that is just a recipe for absolute disaster--a perpetual spiral of being ignored, feeling upset about being ignored, being ignored harder out of making a point that he really doesn't give a shit, and just ack. An absolute nightmare.

As for Vil, I see a lot of his inevitably controlling behavior being born of that same sort of 'I'm not good enough' fear Leona has, just... being terribly misdirected. Like, he would certainly push you in a good way! Doing his best to keep you healthy, and happy, and moving towards being the best you that you want to be. I just think with him one of the big things is that when you have so many of your own confidence issues, cruelty starts to feel like white noise. When your own head is constantly spewing all kinds of vitriol at yourself, you start to think it's normal. So I'm sure he'd accidentally casually say something absolutely bitingly mean. And maybe it'd only really hit when you were already having a bad day. But it would, and it would suck. And he would feel terrible about it. Which would unfortunately just feed into the rest of it. Because he has to be better, to make up for it. And that means taking his role as your guardian and self-proclaimed instructor up to the nth degree, because he has to be the best for you to also be the best. Which might only exacerbate the unpleasant comments or controlling behavior. The big difference with Vil I think though, or at least what makes the difference for me, is that I don't think there would ever be any doubt there that he does care. It's that he cares too much and too hard that's the problem. While Leona pushes away, Vil claws in as close as he possibly can. And depending on how you deal with that sort of codependence, it could definitely cause a lot of strife. If you're someone who isn't particularly independent or strongwilled, someone who likes being given direction and purpose (*cough* like I may or may not be *Cough*) then you're going to probably be able to handle that a lot better than someone who was already very strong in their own sense of self and where they stand in life.

But ahh!! Sorry for the absolute SLOG of a ramble. I just love both their Problematic Personalities SO MUCH, and Vil in particular is my favorite.

For the rest of the ask!

The thought with Leona for a Heroes vs Villains was to have it be a Him vs His Family sort of situation majoritively, with a surprise guest in the form of a Twist-ififed character I shant say. In case I do ever get around to writing it. (but I will go hint hint and say there's only so many villainous animal characters in disney movies. so like. do with that what you will. And also like, lions vs tigers--always a vibe 😉 anywho!)

For Monster Mayhem, I've decided Vil 100% is a siren. Have the outline for it ready to go and everything. Riddle I picture as a Sphynx sort of creature, with a massive penchant for trapping people with his strange, archaic, laws

#Asks #Vil Schoenheit #Leona Kingscholar

[mariejordans]

I agree Jordan Marie and cate are the best most interesting characters if they're going to kill someone it should be Andre like you said he's useless and also unlikable as a person lmfao he ain't doing anything right. I love cate and I love villains so whatever way they go with her as long as it's believable I'm all for it. My thing with them killing more characters is because we're in the endgame now as in the boys probably has 2 more seasons to go and they're also going to start killing a lot of people like by the end I expect most of the main supes and at least half of the boys to be dead so as the gen v characters get pulled into that they're also going to start getting killed off but idc they better not touch Jordan and Marie I'm not kidding I already have hives thinking about stranger things maybe killing Steve in the last season I don't need this 😂😂😂😂

right EXACTLY jordan marie cate 🔛🔝

i genuinely didn’t expect them to pivot on cate’s character bc i really thought they’d stick with cate wanting to be good/wanting to be a hero, trying to earn her friends’ trust back, but i’m SOOO glad that they’re going the villain/anti-hero route. especially with marie and cate now on opposing sides and them basically being each other’s narrative foils, like i need them to go full on villain with cate like it’s just too good a set up for a really complex relationship between marie and cate.

*sighs* okay so my thing with andre is that he COULD’VE been a really interesting character. like, daddy issues, bisexual, doesn’t really care about being a superhero and lowkey in love with his best friend (the writers are cowards for not making the throuple happen) like there were so many ways his character could’ve been done, but then he ended up being a stereotypical nepo baby. it’s kinda like the writers put little to no effort in his character development and didn’t even try to make him likable 😭 he just constantly gets thrown around by the other characters, he slept with his best friend’s girlfriend, and he’s just kind of a dick in general. really the only thing i found really genuine and likable about andre was his love for luke, and to a certain extent, cate. but beyond that, he’s just not a very sympathetic character to me idk 😭

honestly, i’m not suuper attached to any of the boys characters, maybe it’s bc i always end up taking super long breaks between binge watching but if they decided to start killing off main characters, i think i’d be fine (except kimchie or starlight pls don’t touch them thx) but THEY BETTER NOT TOUCH MARIE OR JORDAN OR I’M STARTING A RIOT IN THE PRIME VIDEO BUILDING FR like you could even take cate from me just dont touch limoreau…

i’m gonna be honest, i kinda wish gen v was less tied into the boys and got to stand on its own more bc i really need homelander to stay FARRRRRR away from marie and jordan and cate. butcher too. but also bc i really liked the college setting but seeing as how we now know the entire college is a scam, it might completely move away from godolkin, which is a shame bc i loved the superhero college-sky high esque concept of it and i wish we had gotten MORE of it before we got into all the plot heavy stuff but…it is what it is ig 🤷🏼‍♀️

#again its early pls excuse my nonsense 😭 #gen v #gen v rambles #marie moreau #jordan li #limoreau #gen v spoilers #gen v theories #cate dunlap #andre anderson

[nakasomethingkun]

i need to gush about step by step episode 7 because it’s another episode that makes me love this show more and more!!

i know that some people are very unhappy that pat got back together with put, but honestly, i’m glad he did, and i understood why he did it. from the very first episode, it’s established that pat is young and single and very ready to mingle. plus, he and put used to be very in love, and it seems like they didn’t have proper closure. spending more time with put probably rekindled some of those fond feelings they used to share, and who here isn’t a sucker for nostalgia? and, on a less serious note, like hello have you see put?? why WOULDN’T pat want to take him back?? if my ex looked like up poompat and he begged me to give him another chance while flaunting the shark he crocheted to take advantage of my fixation on sharks and all things cute, i’d give him another chance too.

anyway. this episode showed us why pat and put used to work and why they didn’t, and it showed us why they’re not going to work in the present. for example, food is very important to pat, and yet during the dinner scene, put didn’t seem to be interested in the food (or in pat, tbh) or in the effort pat put into preparing it, which serves as a stark contrast to how jeng is wrt food. with that said, i appreciate how put is not a bad person (or a dramatized villain). he seemed genuinely remorseful of his past actions that led to their break up, yes, but he knows to apologize when he realizes he’s hurt pat about the meal and he respects pat’s boundaries during their night at the hotel. the thing is, he and pat have changed. they used to be in love, and put might still love pat, but time has passed, and things can’t be the same between them between they are different people now.

plot wise, obviously getting back together with put is important for pat’s character to realize his feelings and work through them, but it’s also important for put’s character, i think, because the man needs to let pat go and accept that they won’t work out (and i think he knows this too, deep down).

i also love that this episode is starting to get at the main “problem” at hand: jeng and pat being boss and subordinate. jeng’s feelings are very obvious - jaab seems to have gotten an inkling, and so does chot. but as jaab said at the start of the episode, it’s all very unprofessional if he really does go out with pat. given the power imbalance, it would also be very inappropriate and easily become unhealthy. i look forward to how this show will handle this aspect, since - in terms of the romance plot - the boss-subordinate dynamic would be one of their biggest hurdles.

jaab of course assumed wrong (i.e., jeng did not have dinner with pat), but his point still stands. even his little brother knows it’s not professional! of course jeng is taking things fucking slow and being really careful about what to do about his feelings!! plus, he and pat are in different phases of their lives. pat is young and emotional and has a lot to prove to the world - and do you know how hard it can be, to be in your 20s? well, it’s fucking hard. pat dating his boss is just gonna create a whole new fucking mess in his already stressful life.

so to the folks complaining why pat is looking at other men when jeng is right there: first, jeng is his boss. second, jeng is his fucking boss. third, dating your boss would be the last thing on your mind when you just started your career, work in what used to be a toxic and highly stressful environment, and your boss used to be really rude to you and made you cry. shifting from seeing jeng as his boss to a potential romantic interest is going to take time, and i like that the show is giving pat that space. also, i think that we would like jeng a lot less if he isn’t so professional lmao. jeng told put to separate his personal life from his work, and i think he’s telling this to himself too.

which brings me to another thing i love from this episode: more put and jeng interactions. ever since episode 5, i have always enjoyed seeing the tension between them. they always say one thing that means a different thing, and episode 7 gave us more of this. side note: i thought the seafood dinner scene in ep 5 was BRILLIANT, because at first glance it’s just the characters saying not much of anything, but it’s more than that. it was trying to further establish how jeng is the born winner that put just accused him of being earlier (e.g., he co-own a successful restaurant, he’s a good cook, he doesn’t mind hosting a wedding for free and giving his brother money because he’s filthy rich).

this is just word vomit, but god, i love this show. waiting 2 weeks for episode 7 was so worth it. other than all of the above, we also got to see chot singing up’s song and the ost for lovely writer lmaooo and if the translation is correct wrt his period, he might be trans?? diversity win!!!!

#step by step #step by step the series #there were more things i wanted to write but #they're all just stray thoughts #this is already an incoherent mess as it is #can you tell that i wrote this after eating a whole bag of chocolates and was on a sugar high #my post

[tubbytarchia]

I've been thinking about fWhip/Jimmy even though I've barely put in any effort to look for Whimmy content and just gotten notable videos/clips from other people, because I thought it probably had good cute material and I could redeem it for myself. And I'm so sorry to all fWhimmy shippers out there but my stance is basically the same as with (mostly traffic and some other SMPs, but not all) Flower Husbands. Which is to say it makes me feel pained for Jimmy lol. If you happen to be a fWhimmy shipper who's already put off then for the love of god you don't have to keep reading but anyway

Most of this is because of Legacy and Empires S2 but hh okay the whole deal about nobody taking Jimmy seriously on E2 ever, right, so when his deputy (fWhip) also fails him, and Jimmy in all his seriousness expresses his disappointment, and fWhip immediately kisses him in response upon Sausage's encouragement to do so????? And Jimmy lacks any good or defensive retort and then fWhip also starts shooting him as Jimmy's leaving because yeah sure why not!! I know to a lot of people this is probably funny and quirky but to me this is once again Jimmy's current feelings and seriousness being completely disregarded again like "omg shut up little cute guy and kiss me already" vibes (negative). Like I cannot begin to express how fucked this response is... Similar to when he made signs arguing against Jimmy's decision to fire him and it included stuff like "you're disrespecting yourself. You can do better babe" like jesus christ is Jimmy really nothing more to you. And another clip where Jimmy gives fWhip a kiss and fWhip INSTANTLY hits him with his hammer thing like why were you so quick to do that. And also why did you do that at all lol wow Im so sorry I think the more I look the worse it gets. Sorry fWhimmy shippers I dont think I can save myself from this hell

I'm sure they're way better than this in some other SMPs but as far as they go as a ship uhhh this is all I've gotten. Their appeal is that Jimmy tries to be serious but no one takes him as such including fWhip who just finds it adorable, and that Jimmy likes to be insulted by him...? This is what I've gathered and, obligatory: I'm not here to police anyone, I dont care, only expressing my personal thoughts from what I've seen because I'm genuinely intrigued about anything Jimmy related. In E2 fWhip just ends up feeding into the bit of making a fool of Jimmy and it hurts me the same as it has with all the other members driving this bit into the ground. Jimmy having trusted him and then having to fire him meanwhile fWhip is acting like... the way that he is, just makes it so much worse for me uwaa. And I obviously have seen very little of E2 but Jimmy is almost always so polite if not hesitant even when he tries to be scary and take revenge etc. (Eg when he was unfairly being doused in lava in Legacy, he STILL hesitated to stop that and as such made a very poor attempt to break out of his cage even when he was in totally full right to do so because that was bs. And his entire villain arc in E2). That and he always gives such love to any one of his partners, only for people like fWhip to be relentlessly mean and never return the sentiment to a point where it'd make for anything mutual... I think I need to see season 1 of Empires or something. There's got to be stuff there. There's got to be something. There's got to be some genuine mutually cute ship potential for this somewhere that isn't just them being buds. Although I think fWhimmy is too far gone for me. Pensive

#blabber

[unhonestlymirror]

This scene genuinely left me speechless. Imagine that your mom was murdered before your eyes, and now you have to live with a step-sister who's doing her best at making you happier and protecting you even from her own mom. Yes, your step-mom is a bit of a heartless bitch, although I believe there were plenty of ways to make her stand on your side if I were Lisa, it just required a little bit of talking and simple psychology, although Lisa is good in neither of them. Lisa is also not very close to her father either, at least, through her eyes, we see him as a completely careless and passive person (although he's actually not like this).

However, Lisa is relatively close to Taffy.

How can she throw Taffy's mom's corpse like this and look at it like this and don't have Taffy's face before her eyes? How can she smile like this when she herself lost her mom, who was murdered?

Even if Taffy's mom was a complete monster (although my mom, when she's really angry, can say even more horrible things, and then apologise for that later because "she was not herself", so idk, angry moms often say one thing and do another, you shouldn't take it close to the heart.) Although, Taffy's mom wasn't a complete monster, objectively. I really appreciate how the movie makes us see her as a villainness that deserves to be punished - but, in fact, she's not. Asking a teen who broke a mirror on purpose being drunk af to clean the bathroom - how is that a punishment? In my family, cleaning after yourself is a normal thing to do. In my family, my dad whom I love very much and who never raised a hand on me, would actually slap me in the face several times if I came back home high and drunk. I guess it's a normal thing to feel when your child comes back home high, drunk and probably raped.

Those words about Lisa's job were truly heartless (although we still don't know the full context and the rules within this family, e.g., they may pay for all the life-studies needs of Lisa but for everything else, like unnecessary stuff, Lisa may pay all by herself, which is also objectively not a bad thing.)

The Taffy's mom & Lisa interactions are based on complete misunderstandings and the lack of desire to talk with each other and listen to each other - which eventually led to the tragedy. But still, about the Creature - who the fuck do you think you are to believe you can fix this family's problems with murder of their fucking mom? who is clearly not in her mind while having a severe mental breakdown and yelling those horrible things? Arguments like that are being solved through calming down -> some tea -> talking - NOT FUCKING VIOLENCE AND MURDER. Taffy's mom would be a monster if she never come to Lisa's room but just straight up went to the phone and called for the orderlies from the mental hospital. Although, I don't think in the US a minor can be placed there without the agreement of both parents at least???

Any family, even the healthiest one, still requires a lot of effort put in it. Families which are being sewed together due to someone's death require even more effort. It is always a long way of tears, screams, hurtful words, neglect and misunderstandings - but it's worth it. And it never, NEVER becomes better if you apply more violence, it only makes things worse.

And when Lisa didn't seem even a little upset after Creature cut off Taffy's mom's ear - it made me so disappointed. It's like if Taffy never existed before. It's like if Taffy never had any place in Lisa's heart. I believe a human with a heart would have never reacted like Lisa did. Moreover, Lisa doesn't think at all about what her dad will feel after losing his second wife due to murder.

I turned off the movie for a while after this, and I've cried a lot. I don't understand it. As a Ukrainian refugee who saw death - I don't understand it. I don't even want to understand it, this is so heartless and inhuman. When you experience death - even the death of people whom you really hate puts you into grief - because those terrible people still had a chance to become better - but now they never will. They never will! Cause they were murdered! They are dead!! Do you even understand what death means?!

And then Lisa sees Taffy, who just lost her mom, with that guy - and she still doesn't have any regrets in her mind. Honestly, fuck this shit. Lisa is a bitch who doesn't give a single fuck about her close ones, and Creature is a good match for her.

#just some thoughts #lisa frankenstein

[atlasscrumpit]

Steve Rogers x Reader

"Why the fuck is she joining us!?" Tony shouted as Steve groaned and rubbed the sides of his head.

"Tony calm down, and yes. Y/N is going to be staying here, she won't be joining the team yet but Fury wants us to train her and help her turn over a new leaf. She's powerful and could be a good addition to our team. I know we've all had our issues with her in the past but she wants to change and we're going to help her." Steve replied as the team sighed in annoyance.

"Look, I know this is going to be hard but have some empathy, please. It's not often we have a villain that wants to make up for their mistakes." Steve continued as the team nodded.

"She'll be arriving tomorrow, everyone be on your best behaviour."

--

You stood in the elevator beside Fury as you mindlessly played with the hem of your shirt.

The doors opened and you looked ahead to see Steve and Tony waiting.

You stepped out with Fury beside you as you smiled.

"H-Hey, guys." You muttered as Steve smiled, Tony didn't exactly look happy.

"It's good to see you again, Y/N." Steve said with a smile.

"It's okay, you don't have to lie." You replied, laughing a little.

"It really is, Y/N. I know we've all had our issues and differences but we're all glad that you're wanting to change and of course we're here to help you along the way." Steve said making you smiled even more.

"Thank you, Steve. That means a lot to me... A lot has changed since I saw you guys and I want to do whatever I can to make up for what I did." You replied, Steve could see how nervous and actually genuine you were being.

But, unfortunately Tony just saw the person that put Pepper and Peter in comas.

--

You were in the kitchen with Steve, starting to make dinner for everyone.

"You sure you're okay to have dinner with everyone?" Steve asked as you looked at him.

"Yeah, I am. I want them to see that I'm putting in an effort I guess. Thank you for being so nice to me, Steve." You said as he smiled at you.

"That's okay, Y/N. I'm kind of good at putting myself in other people's shoes. If I were in your position I'd want someone understanding to be on my side." He replied making you blush a little, you really were thankful he was here.

Everyone was definitely right when they called him a saint.

--

You sat beside Steve as everyone began to sit down at the table for dinner.

"We sure she hasn't poisoned this?" Nat muttered as you looked away.

"I can garentee there's no poison, Y/N actually makes a great sous chef." Steve said making you smile.

The night continued on and you did your best to ignore everyone's small jabs at you.

But, eventually it got too much.

"Shut up!" You screamed, slamming your hand on the table.

"Here we go." Tony muttered under his breath.

"Just stop it! I'm trying my hardest... You've all done shitty things! Bucky was a fucking murderer, so was Nat!" You shouted as everyone looked at you.

"You know what the difference is, Y/N?" Bucky growled at you as you glared at him.

"We didn't choose to do those things, you did. We were forced, but you fucking chose to hurt and kill people, didn't you?" Bucky growled as you grabbed your glassed and threw it at the wall beside you, causing it to smash.

You stormed off into the elevator and tried to ignore everyone.

The doors closed and you quickly pressed the button for the roof.

As soon the doors opened again you ran out into the cold air until you reached the end.

You screamed in frustration as tears formed in your eyes.

After a few minutes of crying you heard a noise behind you and saw Steve.

"You don't have to fight for me, Steve... They're right." You whispered as he stood beside you.

"Maybe they are, but does that mean you don't deserve a chance? You did bad things and you're making up for them, not many people would do that. This isn't going to be easy, Y/N. But, I can see you're trying really hard. The others just need time to try and understand and move on from what happened." Steve said as you turned to him.

"Can I have a hug?" You whispered making Steve smile softly.

He opened his arms and let you hug him tightly.

His arms wrapped around you and you closed your eyes, relaxing a little.

"Thank you, Steve."

#Mcu #Marvel #Steve Rogers #Steve Rogers x reader #Bucky Barnes #Tony Stark

[brain-bumbler]

hey. hey. you know that one au you did? where dion got a job in the mailroom? think about it again. think about its wonder and greatness. and gimme deets 🤲

oh that is my greatest work ever. i will forever have so much to say about it.

Dion starts out not enjoying the job or looking forward to it, just doing it since his mom won't stop talking about how proud she is of Raz and Frazie, and he needs something to do to fill the hours. Plus a paycheck is nice.

But despite his reservations, the minute Raz walks into the mailroom Dion has his feet up on the table smirking like his swivel chair is a throne. Big brother instinct to show no weakness.

Raz is torn because this is sort of his brother making an effort to ger more involved in psychic stuff. He genuinely wants Dion to do better and learn to cope with the changes in their family.

But also, he's ten. The Psychonauts is HIS thing in his head. He wants Frazie to join him because she was his secret psychic buddy that he probably trauma bonded with and he wants to heal the divide between them. I think it'd be normal for him to not be 100% stoked about it. Like oh great, maybe the mailroom is where evil villains are made and Dion's gonna decide to turn to the dark side.

At first Dion is jumpy and standoffish with people. But luckily he unlocks the pure dopamine of sorting objects for his repressed adhd-autism brain. He completely zones out during his shift and then snaps back an hour after closing time when the packages stop coming. Holy shit stacking boxes of different sizes into cubes like tetris and then sorting them based on color, he's not showing it but his brain is just enjoying it So Damn Much.

He gets so hyperfocused that he forgets to slack off and act superior and grumpy. He clears out the blacklog in 3 days and then designs a new sorting system. It needs revisions but that just means more stacking and sorting fuck yeah!

Gisu was expecting him to skip work to come see her but he's in the ZONE and its hard to break him away from it. But after awhile it is easier to leave because he needs variety in his day, which makes flipping across the Motherlobe and finding new ways to deliver mail great.

He makes up challenges for himself. Can he sneak packages to people from the vents like a spy, something he'd never admit to thinking was cool? Can he do deliveries while playing "the ground is lava" in his head?

Also he keeps writing letters to Gisu that have to be "hand delivered" so they can meet up. Hollis lets it slip since he solved their budget crisis by discovering Nick was stealing money, and Dion is insanely effective at his work. If only she could get him to wear anything business casual.

Dion's biggest bad habit is skipping meals. He doesn't like eating in the Noodle Bowl without someone he knows, it makes him nervous. So if he doesn't bring lunch he ends up skipping it, or even if he dues he just throws it away without telling anyone.

He makes the mailroom the most popular part of the Motherlobe tour by putting on an acrobatics performance that enthralls all the visitors. Maybe he slips out some pamphlets for the Aquato circus, it never hurts to advertise!

Having the alone time and investing in something not related to his family is really good for his personal mental health and boundaries.

#psychonauts 2 #psychonauts #ask bumble #dion aquato #dion's mailroom au #Gonna think of a snappy title for it #dion's mailroom debut #hmmm needs work #thank you for the ask i love this au i wanna talk about it more