#please be extremely careful out there

[dw-flagler]

something that always bothered me about the worm fanfic scene is that they always try to cram everyone together. There's always the scene where taylor meets lisa in a coffee shop or whatever. I get it, it's a fanfic, you can't just make up a character for her to meet.

But one of the things i always liked about worm was that it stayed away from the comic trope of making everyone connected. Like, if Worm was a comic book, Armsmaster would be her teacher, She'd end up being friends with Kid Win, Cherie would attend Winslow, Annette would end up being still alive and a secret agent for Cauldron but with amnesia or something, over-the-top soap opera shit, right?

What I always liked was that in Worm, Taylor's just some girl. She only knows one hero out of costume, and it's the girl who ruined her life. Her dad's just the head of hiring for the union. Her mom was just a college professor. If you asked the mayor about Danny Hebert, he'd say "who?" A lot of fanfics have him be like seinfeldian rivals with the mayor, but like he just writes petitions. If you asked Lustrum about Annette Hebert, she'd have no clue who you're talking about, because Annette was just like a member of her organization.

What I'm trying to stress, is that in superhero comics, everything's connected. Everyone knows everyone. Everyone's a super genius, or met at The Science Expo, or their dad was a famous crime fighter. Comics have all these sorts of big dramatic irony reveals. In comic books, there is never a character who's just some guy.

This sort of thing is great for making everything feel connected, and it's good for keeping out extraneous exposition.

But Worm doesn't do that. It's all just like. They're just regular ass people. Of course they don't know each other. They live in a city with 300 thousand people, none of them would have ever met each other if it weren't for capeshit.

And, I mean, it does remove a lot of the potential for shenanigans but it really does a lot to make everything feel more real.

There's also something there about capeshit being a metaphor for shared trauma where like these people would not know each-other were it not for shared trauma.

The undersiders, the great team, the bestest friend team, they don't meet if not for capeshit. They have no connection to eachother outside this. These are kids who would have never met, they would never have come within 20 degrees of separation were it not for the fact they have powers. This is integral to worm's worldbuilding. It's maybe the closest you ever get to a positive aspect of gaining powers, and yet for so many capes there is no undersiders, just the fighting and loneliness and eventual violent death.

#*grue*somely? hahA! please clap #also as always i should clarify it's The Undersiders: Bestest Friend Team (& also Alec & Aisha) #the whole “brought together by capeshit” is PAINFULLY obvious in breakthrough btw #literally a therapy group #like come on now #in the worm fanfic scene this is the equivalent of that coffee dog in the burning building being like “this coffee is a little bit too cold #there's bigger fish to fry here #we've got rationalist fics out the wazoo dw who cares about the (extremely minor) comic book-ification of the worm fandom #worm #wormblr #wormposting #old drafts post i didn't post until now #maybe you can see why

[rmbunnie]

Red Hood Characterization

This is really long so I'm putting a cut here, I've been thinking about Jason Todd's character motivations and the question of whether or not his actions are based in a Moral Code (I don't think so, not to say he's without any morality) and I talk about that in more depth here.

I saw someone say on here that Titans: Beast World: Gotham City was some of the best Jason Todd internal writing they'd seen in a while, and I've been a Red Hood fan for 8 years or so now? pretty much since I read comics for the first time, so I went and checked out and I thought it was good! The way the person I saw talking about it as if it was rare and unusual made me wonder though, because as well-written as i thought his stances on crime were, there wasn't really anything in it that went against the way I conceptualize Jason?

This kinda plays into a larger question I've been thinking about for a while with Jason though, which is that, do people think that the killing is part of a fundamental worldview that motivates him a la batman, and that worldview is the reason he does the things he does?? Because 8 years ago i was a middle schooler engaging with fiction on the level that a middle schooler does, so I simply did not put much thought into it beyond "poor guy :(" but ever since I actually started trying to understand consistent characterization, I don't really see Jason as someone who's motivated by a moral code in his actions the way batman or superman is!

tbh my personal read is that he's a very socially-motivated guy, his actions from resurrection to his Joker-Batman ultimatum in utrh always seemed to me like every choice made leading up to his identity reveal was either a. to give him the leverage and skill necessary to pull off his identity reveal successfully, or b. to twist the knife that little bit more when he does let Bruce find out who he is. Like iirc there's a Judd Winick tweet like "yeah tldr he chose Red Hood as his identity because it's the lowest blow he could think of." And I think that's awesome, I think character motivations rooted so deeply in character's relationships and emotions are really fun to read! I also think it's where the stagnation/flatness of his character comes from in certain comics, because if his main motivation is one event in one relationship that passes, and he is not particularly attached to anything in his life or the world by the time that comes to pass, it's a little harder to come up with a direction to go with the character after that, because there isn't much of a direction that aligns with something the character would reasonably want? But I do think solving this by saying "all of the morally-off emotionally driven cruelty he did on his way to spite Batman was actually reflective of his own version of Batman's stance that's exactly the same except he thinks it's GOOD to kill people" isn't ideal. To be fully honest, it seems to me like he never particularly cared one way or the other about killing people to "clean Gotham of crime," he just did everything he could to get the power necessary to pull off his personal plans, and took out any particularly heinous people he encountered along the way (like in Lost Days.) Not to say I think the fact he killed people keeps him up at night anymore than everything else in his life events, I just never really thought he was out there wholeheartedly kneecapping some dude selling weed or random guy robbing a tv store for justice.

Looping wayyy back to my question, Is this (^) contradictory to the way he's written/the overall average perception of the character? Because like I enjoyed his writing in Beast World i have zero significant issue with anything there, I just didn't believe it would be a hot take, like yeah, that is Jason. It's been a while since I've read utrh and lost days, but I don't think my takeaway directly contradicts either of those too bad iirc. Idk all this to say I think Jason killing and being alright with killing is an obvious and objective fact, but i guess i've always seen it as more of a practical tactic than a moral belief, and I think taking the actions made during the lowest points of a character's life where he is obsessively focused on this ONEEEE thing and trying to apply it as a Motivating Stance to everything he's done after that, doesn't really follow logically for me.

#edit: i am so so open to discussion and disagreement on this but please try to have something substantial to say. god bless! #like ofc jason kills but to me it was less “everyone I've ever killed deserves death objectively” #and more “when people are dead they stop doing things like heinous atrocities and trying to kill me" #i don't even think he wanted the joker dead (only) because he thinks he objectively morally deserves death #although the joker is one of the most extreme cases possible and he if does think that he's VERY justified #i really do think it was just about bruce #and wanting bruce to avenge him to show he loved him and he mattered and wanting his dad to give him security #all the killing was about the clown and everything with the clown was about bruce #i've NEVER forgotten the bit in lost days where he has the joker tied up at gunpoint and doesn't kill him #i think if it was only about a moral greater good situation he would have taken him out then and there #if you disagree i'd love to hear why provided you can be civil and not an jerk #also if you disagree PLEASE PLEASE put screenshots and comic issues if possible #i'd love to check them out and form my own stance on them #just know that if you say like. battle for the cowl. or the Tom King batman annual or something i probably won't care too much #comic characterization is ever-changing and inconsistent i truly believe that the best thing to do is just read the important stuff #and try to form your own stances from there #because there's never gonna be 100% of comics involving a character that align with each other perfectly and that's just a given #jason todd #red hood #dc comics

[paimonial-rage]

Character Ask Meme

Lyney 14, 15 and 23

[Character Analysis Ask Meme]

Would Lyney be honest with you?

With his outgoing and fun personality, it oftentimes is easy to get caught within his flow. Lyney is the charming sort, after all, that one may very well forget that he is subject to the same struggles as the rest. Get to know him well enough, though, and you will quickly realize that this is not a fact he wishes others to know. More than a desire, he needs to be seen as someone in control, as someone without weakness. That’s his role as the big brother. And if that means lying, avoiding, and omitting the truth to accomplish it, then as an accomplished performer he will do as he must.

Does Lyney prefer to pursue or be pursued?

With a penchant for flair and dramatics, it’s clear to see Lyney prefers to pursue the people he’s interested in. Really, it’s one of the things he goes all out. With a trick up his sleeve, he won’t hesitate to dazzle you with flowers pulled from nowhere and fireworks from his tophat. He wants you to be enchanted. He wants you to be impressed! You are, aren’t you? You like it, don’t you? So focused on charming you that he often loses sight of much else. Fun fact, should you attempt to turn the tables, however, you can expect his mask of self-confidence to fall to reveal a rather flustered expression beneath.

Headcanons under the cut!

Headcanons

Self-focused - If there’s one thing that’s true about Lyney, it is that he is a very busy person. As a person with multiple masks and roles, his thoughts are often preoccupied with House missions, performances, new tricks, and things of the like. So, much to the dismay of others, it’s easy for things to become buried under the multitude of other tasks he needs to take care of. How often the simple things become forgotten—where he last left his wallet, tea time with his siblings, the sale on picture books at the bookstore. During those times, he really can’t help but appreciate his siblings and their ability to keep him on track. Really, he doesn’t know what he’d do without them!

Relationship-focused - It doesn’t hit you at first, but it doesn’t take you very long to notice how hard Lyney tries for your relationship. Normally this would be a good thing, but it is different with Lyney. Every day he tries to charm you. Every day he attempts to enchant you. You tell him he doesn’t need to try so hard, but that only seems to light a fire beneath him to do even more. You see it in his eyes. He needs to know you are still in awe of him, that you like him as much as he does you. And then it sinks in, doesn’t it? He doesn’t trust you. He doesn’t trust your feelings for him. You’re not sure if he ever will.

#genshin impact #genshin x reader #lyney #lyney x reader #my writing #character analysis #okay let’s talk lyney for a bit #i think the biggest thing to know about lyney is that at his core he is an insecure person #insecure and anxious #imo he’s extremely attached to his title of ‘big brother’ that he needs to fulfill the duties if such #he needs to protect his siblings and be a person others can rely on #this belief is so strong that he refuses to rely on arlecchino for help and snaps at freminet for trying to get him to open up #he really cares about the way he’s perceived #remember when the traveler found out he’s part of the fatui and he spends his time bending over backwards to try to get them to trust him #‘like me! like me! please. i’m trustworthy i’ll never lie to you please!!’ #honestly imo that’s just one if his faults like lyney is unstable #idk what possessed arlecchino to make him her successor like he’d crack under pressure #lynette is a way better option #but anyway bc of these things he would not trust his partner in a relationship. he wouldn’t rely on them #he’d never feel secure which would prompt him to keep trying too hard to ensure he’s still the person he thinks you fell in love with #the most important thing to remember with lyney is that he is a performer and the face he shows to the world is essentially a mask #on a separate note tho anon like… #you probably didn’t mean it but i am not a machine that generates text whenever you order me #answering these things takes time effort and energy #so like… if you’re going to send in an ask please at the very least say please or thank you #hell even a heart emoji would suffice LOL #sorry the headcanons are not the most romantic i’m no good with overtly romantic things

[mixelation]

would itachi meet toris old clan? how would that go?

no, i can't see that happening. she doesn't consider herself one of them, and they effectively kicked her out as a very small child, meaning THEY don't consider her one of them either. plus by the time itachi is in the picture, they're mostly. uh. dead?

#part of why they effectively kicked her out was that they'd decided to march everyone off to otogakure #so they HAD the option of handing a kid they didn't even really care about over to other sound country ninja #if she'd been a part of the clan through age 12 itachi might have an extremely belated #'wait i am about to get in laws. do we have to draw up an inter-clan contract. i don't want a rando clan calling on the uchiha' #'please tell me you don't have any clan techniques we might get accused of stealing' #so under those circumstances he might want to meet them in a purely political capacity #just to be like 'she's OURS NOW i am putting an uchiwa on her back AS WE SPEAK this is NOT an alliance you MAY NOT CONTACT HER' #....although in an even MORE divergent scenario where tori WASN'T treated like crap #yeah he'd probably want to meet them. itachi: that's how interclan marriages work??? #reborn au

[sysig]

Delusions (Patreon)

"Could I have your hand, sir?" Max didn't move, which Dexter was, sadly, getting used to.

"Sir?" Max jerked, then turned and stared at him, lost and blank. "Your hand, please."

Max's hand lifted shakily, and he laid it gently in Dexter's upturned palm. Dexter gave a quick and quiet "thank you," then turned it over in his own hand, observing him closely.

Too closely - his knuckles were rough and his fingernails were dull and cracked in places. His once-soft, not-a-day-in-his-life-subjected-to-hard-labour hands were now, already, toughened and split and scarred in places, especially the heel of his palm. He turned it over again, this time to stop looking so intensely. He had only wanted to give it a cursory glance to begin with.

"Do you know what I see, sir?" he asked as conversationally as he could manage, running his fingers along Max's abused flesh. He seemed to be at least half paying attention, his eye gazing down between them, and he'd occasionally twitch, encouragingly Dexter thought. He seemed to want to curl around him, then stopped and shook, his hand squeezing into a fist. Dexter coaxed him back out, encouraged him to hold himself lightly.

"What do you see?" He was almost startled by Max actually continuing their conversation, that happened so rarely now, shaking and quiet as it was. He took a deep breath, was he really going to do this?

"I see a hand, with five fingers." Max remained quiet, though his brow curled, and a guarded look came into his eye, though he still wasn't looking at Dexter. He felt a pang of guilt, but he had to try. "What do you see?"

Max's eye unfocused and began to water. He looked up, but not enough to reach Dexter's gaze in return, instead staring through his chest, and he felt just as hollow and empty as he must look to him.

"Do you take me for a fool, DAX?" Quiet and as close to angry as he'd heard since they'd been here.

No, not angry.

Betrayed.

He swallowed down the stinging lump at the back of his throat. He had to put on a brave face, had to keep his composure if he wanted Max to get better. That was the only thing he wanted, more than anything.

"Of course not, sir. Genuinely, what do you see?"

Max pulled his hand away and turned his body, his bandaged side facing Dexter. Shutting him out, pointedly. Dexter's empty hand curled into a fist, he was no better.

"Please, don't..." Max took a shallow, shuddering breath, and several beats before he spoke again, even quieter. "Don't ridicule me." Dexter could hear his breath catch, and he wanted nothing more than for this all to just stop.

"Sir, I didn't-"

"I've had enough of that." He shook his head stiffly, the action strange and wrong, like he had forgotten how. He stilled, his head turned even further away. "More than enough."

#Doodles #SCII #Helix #ZEX #Dexter Favin #And a drabble-fic under the cut #I ended up writing that the night after I read - I was a bit too inspired while busy so it's a little on the unfocused side haha #I would've cleaned it but I worry it wouldn't make it out of that stage! Please enjoy it for now <3 #This set is mostly periphery ideas - inspired by events rather than directly shown ♪ I suppose the first two kinda count tho #But they're more directly of the little scene I wrote ouò Poor ZEX </3 #And Dex! He's usually so capable! But he's stretching himself so thin ahh it's hard to watch in the best way #Of course he doesn't want to give ''Max'' over to just anyone - anyone at all really - both of their trusts have bottomed out #But how much could he reasonably care for him in that state? When he's still being actively haunted and most importantly - Not Max #He needs helps he needs support he needs to sleep and shower but a second with his eyes off Max and - then what? He'll immolate from fear #It's hard to imagine him crying but pushed to this extreme? To the thought of losing Max utterly and completely? Hhhhh #I do also just love him being possessive even outside of how terrible the situation is - he's always had his glimpses but this situation #Brings out the worst in him <3 In terrible ways #Really his method is just setting ''Max'' up nearby and prompting him over the sound of the shower like that's not nerve-wracking at all #Like he already doesn't answer half the time if that #As for the mini fic I was really interested in Dex's line about indulging ''Max's'' delusions #Apart from the fact that they're not delusions - not that anyone believes him outside of the Institute - what it means to indulge is weird #I saw one example of how to handle delusions that stuck with me - how not to deny them outright while also not reinforcing them #Since it's not actually helpful to be told ''That isn't Really happening to you'' when to you - to ZEX - it really is! How invalidating #And so rather to take the approach of ''I don't see/feel/hear what you are - I can't find any evidence of it myself'' and extrapolating #Dex taking the approach of ''What reality are you experiencing right now?'' and trying to build from there! #Unfortunately ZEX has already been treated like....well like all that - he's not in the mood for games even well-intentioned ones #He /knows/ he's in a human body. He can feel that and see that and understands that. It doesn't change who - what he /is/ #The idea of a completely broken ZEX is so sad to me :( He's so strong and prideful and vivacious - Max really is another him </3 #It's not the same but he was saved from death! To fall into torture... But even despite that I want to see him succeed! As much as he can #Even in that small and shaking way I want to see him be hateful and spiteful - angry. Powerful <3 Fighting ♥

[dtfans-for-palestine]

(❗❗❗❗❗❗❗❗❗project is on hiatus ❗❗❗❗❗❗❗❗❗)

MASTERTHREAD

Here you will find how to donate to Gaza in various sources as payments for the commissions that you want and the post with the artist/writers/editors/translator availables in this project ^^

All you need to do is send a screenshot proof that you donated the amount and you are good to go :D

Where and how to donate or buy e-sims

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Translations in french and Spanish available too 4 dollars (the minimum for an e-sims) as staters price ( Will be negociated with the length of the work )

#free palestine #free gaza #aid to gaza #commissions as donations to gaza #we are just trying to help and boost the people want to donate since they get something out of it and help at the same time!! :')) #dttwt4palestine #dttwt #dream team fan for palestine #please help us boost this and reblog if you see this the account got no reach #the situation in gaza and Rafah is extremely urgent and they need alm the help they can get #we accept commissions for every fandoms as artist and mostly mcyt/dreamteam/muffin crew for the writers/ and some artists too ) #care for gaza #e sims for gaza #fund raising collabs of artist and writers #fundraisers for gaza #all eyes on rafah

[lgbtlunaverse]

Not every single child - adult caretaker relationship is automatically a parental one and I'm very aware fandom is overeager to label them as such and I've talked about that in the past! HOWEVER!! I firmly believe that in the event of a time travel au where post-canon lan xichen - squarely in his 40s and feeling like he aged an extra two decades since guanyin temple - were to somehow be transported back in time and meet 7 year old big-eyed "never done anything wrong in his LIFE" baby Meng Yao it would take him all of 3 hours to decide that he's a stepdad now.

#in canon xiyao are equals and despite their societal power difference they are in fact both very careful to treat each other as such #as much as xichen's feels protective towards jgy he respects him even more #but that dynamic would change significantly with such an extreme age difference plus postcanon lxc's... everything #also... more than anything a-yao needs a decent fucking father figure. someome PLEASE adopt that boy #lan xichen is not the stepdad he is the dad that STEPPED UP! #the 3 hours are him speedrunning all the stages of grief on loop at the sight of a small living meng yao #and then he's grabbing him and meng shi and they are getting out of there!! #mdzs #meng yao #lan xichen

[solarisgod]

It aren’t about anyone here, but while it's already been stated on guideline, to make a personal psa in depth, if we notice the Starwake System and especially Micah are being infantilized / overly sexualized / excessively underestimated, it's a hardblock. A prominent pattern we notice is when most prompts we're given from a mun involves Micah being comforted / assisted, which we personally find it demeaning. Especially as an Asian individual who experiences all of these three aspects in the rpc / on the internet and especially in real life, I'm really not in the mood to let our muses, especially my most beloved Asian OCs, be subjected to such treatments.

With Micah in this case when it comes to infantilization and the underestimating, they are extremely emotional and sensitive as they can be childish and dependent, just as I am too, but no muses should be always babying and underestimating them. Micah is quite powerful and skilled, and they were quite known to be highly aggressive and wrathful when they were younger--- they CAN be so as wrath is actually their biggest vice, believe it or not, it's just they actively choose not to / try not to due to experiences and mindsets while they had gone through sessions with both their personal therapist and alter therapist with Phoebus who helped them find ways to manage their anger issues and intrusive thoughts. There's just so many layers and factors to their "childlike" traits that I can write essays on, but basically, their traumas and lack of certain experiences and treatments and having certain needs make them the way they are. I'd never write characters as silly or childish to poke fun or coddle and people shouldn't either nor narrow characters into one trait because they happen to have foolish or childish traits.

Being small and petite or emotional and gentle, what have you, should not make one a weak person and I really wish more folks can understand that, truly, speaking out for both characters and people.

#𓁹 ༑ ࿐ྂ ⩇⩇ : ⩇⩇ ⚠︎ [ 𝙴𝚇𝙸(𝚂)𝚃 : 𝙶𝙾𝙳 ] * ‹ PSA . › #[ once more not about any of our current mutuals but it is based on past roleplay experiences with recent irl ones ] #[ got a white man few days ago looking at me funny with a ' you ordered this? ' when I was getting UberEats order from him few days ago ] #[ and was like ' hahah these are heavy be careful ' and pretended to drop the bags of food by quickly lowering 'em down ] #[ when I was going to reach out to take 'em from him ] #[ and my Asian placement colleague on Halloween told me I got ' baby hands ' which is just... well alright ] #[ I punched my phy. and emot. abusive and toxic mom as a self defense in few cases with these hands when she tried to hurt me ] #[ so... ain't so baby ] #[ I'm just exhausted being treated this way and the same with our OCs ; knowing being Asian is a factor to these mindsets and treatments ] #[ my significant beloved is the only person who can baby me as even I wouldn't want our other starmates to treat me that way ] #[ same with Micah being okay with Adoniram and Warlock and their starmates doing so ] #[ when it comes with a lot of build over time on the trust and confidence ] #[ that we're not being taken advantage of and being judged on and being underestimated all at once ] #[ just please be mindful how you're treating and thinking about someone ] #[ anyways yeah I'm just. yeah! this needs to be said. we extremely appreciate the read ; thank you so much ♡ ]

[nyx-aira]

#joker out #i hope people listen #because as they said it's becoming dangerous #i don't mind queueing and I've met some lovely people this year because of it but it is getting extreme #please take care of yourselves #and of course enjoy the show :))

[taegularities]

hi hi. uhm small thing regarding cmi. if you're a reader, do lmk what you think please 🤍

#so i got an ask regarding cmi that discouraged the hell out of me #they weren't talking badly about it but kind of comparing me to another author on here and asked me #to postpone my update so they're not overwhelmed with all the reading they'd have to do #i usually don't compare myself with my friends or other writers on here and don't care about posting dates #but that discouraged me more than it should've and i can't get much writing done rn lol #just wanna ask.. if i absolutely had to and didn't finish.. would you guys be okay if i posted cmi8 next weekend instead of this week? #and if i do finish... will y'all be around this saturday? #i'm extremely down for some reason lol but i've been outlining planning changing writing etc this chapter for months now and... #want to make sure you guys are around to read and interact #the community labels are already very bleh so it'd be bleh too if cmi8 didn't get any interaction yk? #in any case.. yeah lmk #and please don't ever compare authors to each other guys :') it no feel good #or ask someone to postpone cos of another writer.. #fic: colour me in

[sskk-manifesto]

(´･ᴗ･ ` )

#I really like the “We're the bad guys' enemy” line. For someone I generally despise Dazai has all my favourite lines in this show… #Idk I can't really vibe with the unbalance that there is between s/kk. #Like when push comes to shove‚ Dazai has the power to keep Chuuya alive or let him die. #I understand why they make a compelling dynamic in their complexity‚ but it just doesn't do it for me. #I'm a little sad my opinion on them hasn't really changed since I watched the anime for the first time... #Also; I really can't vibe with Chuuya allowing Dazai to kill Q. Yes I know Chuuya cares about his comrades deeply. #Yes I know it can be interpreted as Chuuya seeing himself in Q as a living weapon and being disgusted by it #(though I honestly don't think that was intentional of the author). #Yes I know Chuuya is a mafioso and kills people. No I don't think your personal issues justify you being a dick to other people I'm sorry. #Back to my main annoyance with the episode: I must have already talked about this but I hate hate hate the narrative #“the mafia works for the city” “the mafia deeply loves the city too” it's so so sickening and insulting please stop I'm begging. #Please visit any actual city with a rooted mafia presence for once in your life (signed: someone whose hometown was destroyed by the mafia. #The writers really don't know what they're talking about and‚ politely‚ it's offensive.) #Also b/sd keeping being extremely nationalist with Mori (who's largely depicted unsimphatetically for the first part of the episode)– #bringing up western thinkers and subtly mocking Fukuzawa for not knowing them– #and Fukuzawa (the righteous man. the noble spirit and just soul in this episode and Mori's antithesis)– #stepping forward to say that he knows strategists from the east (because who else would he need?) #I don't know if it's meant to symbolize the conflict with an hostile and invading foreign power (the Guild). #But it does come across as. A very isolationist way of thinking. #I know it's subtle but it's really evident for me. And I didn't want to talk about this any further… #But by bringing actual examples of this I hope I can better explain why I think that b/sd holds nationalist views– #and that I'm not just making it up out of nowhere. Otherwise I fear I'd only come off as pettily hostile to b/sd in everything #That's it. I feel like I've been losing a lot of mutuals over my main recently due to not shutting up (sorry) #so I suppose it's only fair I lose them on here too pffttt. #Tune in next week for more bad takes #random rambles

[naranjapetrificada]

Consider this your opportunity to be an Astrology Bitch and go off about Leo Stede!

(signed, a Virgo sun, Cancer moon, Capricorn rising who simultaneously is and is not an Astrology Bitch, more of a Tarot Bitch tbh)

Okay! You asked for it lol.

I should start by saying that I'm an August Leo sun. Stede is a July Leo, as confirmed by the show:

July Leos are...different somehow? It's not a bad thing and it's not their fault, and if anybody else comes for them we August Leo's will throw down for our siblings, but there's something about the vibes! Maybe it's the Cancer proximity, idk. If anything my anecdata suggests that they're more well adjusted than the rest of us. 🦁❤️🦁

Anyway, I immediately sat up and noticed when they cut to the gravestones because it's second nature for me as an Astrology Gay. Obviously I didn't know Stede at the time and I don't actually know what went down as the character was developed, but I wouldn't be at all surprised if I learned that at least one person in the writers room was a fellow Astrology Gay.

So I completely forgot about his birthdate because a) ADHD and b) swooniest romance I'd ever seen, but I started thinking about it again when I showed up like a year late to the fandom and saw people talk about whether they were Ed coded or Stede coded. I am heavily, heavily Stede coded for neurodivergent reasons, but he also exhibits certain Very Leo traits that I recognized immediately.

Leo stereotypes:

Let's get the stereotypes out of the way because while they do apply sometimes (especially for Stede), there's no need to rehash them in detail.

Leadership, which he struggles with at first but a) takes up the mantle of it anyway and b) improves enough that by the end of the season the crew that wanted to mutiny saves his life.

Good hair. Nuff said.

The man has an auxiliary wardrobe for fucks sake.

His "theatrical instincts are finely honed" and while Izzy says it to encourage the fuckery, it's not a lie.

The Revenge

If an 18th century Leo was going to custom build a pirate ship and money was no object, they would 1000% build the Revenge. I could see arguing that a Taurus might build something similar, but honestly I'm not sure a Taurus would become a pirate by choice. Maybe a Taurus might build like, a pleasure yacht or something. A Libra might build a ship that's as good-looking as the Revenge but sharing expensive tastes isn't enough to convince me either. Stede's money allowed him to build and decorate luxuriously, but plenty of rich people used to comfort didn't have ships like the Revenge. As Nigel says during his tour, it's just so incredibly him.

Now for some feelings stuff:

Leos love it when other people are happy, and when we can be involved in fostering that at all for people we care about we are ON IT. Stede wants to create space for others to get what they need to make that happen. Literally in the first episode he talks about the Revenge as somewhere for his crew to work on their trauma and communicate their feelings.

The above is also an extension of Stede's instinctive generosity. Canon doesn't tell us where Ed got his clothes for the French boat party in episode 5, but given that Stede has an auxiliary wardrobe (which he shared with Ed almost immediately) the most likely scenario seems like he loaned (or maybe even gave!) it to Ed. Another possibility is that it was on the ship where Frenchie found his and Oluwande's outfits, but the purple jacket in particular seems very extra in a way that says "Stede" to me.

Speaking of episode 5, let's talk about the party game. Obviously the main takeaway is that Stede has enough of a handle on passive aggression to make the French assholes tear each other apart, but it's not just the passive aggression, it's in the delivery. With sufficient motivation (Ed's hurt feelings, if not his own) we see Stede command the room with confidence. He chooses his targets well. He knows just what to say to get them to agree to play the game at all. The fire wasn't part of the original plan but it shows just how powerful those hard-won skills are when he wants to apply them. (This doesn't feel like it merits its own bullet point but Leos are protective, ride-or-die friends, something else we see in this episode.)

Stede's love language, imo, is quality time. There are arguments for others (there's also a really good meta about his love language causing miscommunication with our touchy-feely boy Ed, if I can find the link I'll edit) but quality time seems the most appropriate to me. Another part of the whole generosity of spirit thing is that he seems to enjoy what a friend of mine called "engineering experiences" for people i.e. crafting activities and jam sessions for the crew. The most obvious of these is the treasure hunt for Ed, which of course comes out of his fear of Ed leaving, but it's also a way for them to spend time together. I'm not at all surprised that a lonely, bullied kid would grow up to value quality time.

I would also extend this to the clearly routine (but still extravagant) breakfast for two that we see Calico Jack crashing in episode 8. Not to mention the first breakfast he and Ed ever share up on the maintop in episode 4. It's not fancy, but he wakes Ed up to share in that moment because he's enjoying the sunrise and the marmalade, and I can't think of anything more Leo than enjoying something then immediately wanting to share it because someone else might enjoy it too.

Stede's not perfect of course, despite all those seemingly positive things I just said. In the way of some Leos he is frequently thoughtless, up to and including when he didn't make to the dock. I can't speak for every Leo but I have definitely accidentally flirted with/been read as flirting with people before, whether I was attracted to them or not. And yeah his quarters are nice but he could have used some of that space for more crew quarters, right? And how could a Leo possibly misread "what makes Ed happy is you" as badly as he did?

Well I may be an Astrology Binch but I mostly like it (and anything else that puts personalities into discrete groups) as an analysis tool. It's just a fun lens to examine behaviors through, IRL and with fictional characters. Also, the show is clearly trying to examine things like trauma and self-loathing in ways that are gonna inform character behavior way more than a hypothetical astrology enthusiast in the (admittedly pretty queer) writers room. But the vibes? The vibes are so there.

#There's also an entire essay I could write about Leo traits people don't notice or care about but I can do that later #Rhys isn't a Leo though Taika is #Rhys is an Aries and Aries/Leo friendships and relationships can work out extremely well #I appreciate Taika for his Leo vibes #which are not the expected ones #I love seeing a Leo who seems occasionally bored during interviews and stuff #more grumpy Leo representation please #stede bonnet #because this next one came up in the results for Stede's name I'll add it too #stede bonnet has a caretaking kink #which isn't not a Leo thing either lol #ofmd #our flag means death #ofmd meta #our flag means death meta #character meta #astrology is fake but #fictional character astrology #oh also let's not forget all that sunny Leo energy that's part of so much Stede fanon #that feels relevant #afaik we don't have a birthdate for Ed #but it wouldn't surprise me at all to learn he was a Scorpio because the man can BROOD #I can also see him as a couple other signs though so I would need to think about it for a bit longer first #also I couldn't shoehorn it in but something about the difference between confidence and self esteem #Leos can definitely have one but not the other #*points to self*

[noxcaelestia]

I uh haven’t drawn a thing in nearly a month… I simply wasn’t able given these past circumstances.

But I have been indulging in my music tastes lately while unable to create.

#text post #delete later #I may try drawing something this week as my hand heals #there’s been something floating in my mind I wanted to draw for a while #please don’t hold me to that since it’s cold af old drafty house season #im fairly intolerant to sudden extreme temp changes #if I’m not careful I’ll be knocked out for days if not weeks

[hylianengineer]

I'm really mad about how my university is handling the heat wave - or rather, not handling it. They haven't sent out any notices or warnings. They haven't told people what safety precautions they should be taking. They are flat-out refusing to acknowledge this as a public safety risk.

EXTREME HEAT IS A SAFETY RISK! Heat related illness can KILL PEOPLE!

But we're not gonna talk about that. We'll complain about the weather like we always do and then we'll move on with our lives.

#hylian rambles #extreme heat #vent post #please be careful if your area is having unusually hot weather! #drink more water than you think you need! electrolytes too if you're gonna be outside for long! #wear loose and light colored clothing #don't be more physically active in the heat than you absolutely have to #its okay to take longer to get places to avoid making your body generate all that heat by going fast #if you get a headache or dizziness or nausea or excessive sweating you need to cool down asap. shade. ac if possible. fluids. #you can also pour water on yourself or put cold packs on major arteries (neck armpits groin) #if you or anyone passes out or gets confused or delirious get medical help immediately that is an emergency called heat stroke

[anarcho-masochist]

Okay, I thought this was universal but maybe my last three therapists were right that it is not:

Is it normal for boredom to be truly unbearable?

As in, worse than anything else, would rather get eviscerated while fully conscious, will do anything to escape it which might actually include suicide if no satisfactory options are available?

#it's bad #and no it's not 'when you aren't distracted you're forced to experience existing pain' #I'm not generally suicidal. There are a lot of things I enjoy and want to do. I have plenty of problems but I tend not to care about them. #I do have things to do. Usually even if I don't want to do anything I can entertain myself since I can't switch my brain off anyways. #Literally infinite things to think about #The problem is when none of it feels interesting or exciting enough. Which doesn't make any sense at all. #If I'm unbearably bored and a friend makes the mistake of talking to me I get really toxic. It is a problem. #Usually I have great self control when it comes to destructive or toxic behaviors but not so when I want to end it all because nothing is #interesting enough. #It's like 'if I do something really extreme I'll stop because bored' #Bad things happen... #Or I try to overdose or slit my wrists #better yet is when I try to get myself killed because suicide isn't good enough.... great reasoning (disappointed) #I met three of my ex boyfriends that way #Note to self to stop fucking men i get in knife fights with PLEASE #it is ALWAYS a bad idea. Has never turned out well. #Invariably they always either have anger management/impulse control issues or they're just arrogant jerks who want to be tougher than you #sometimes both #Man really rambling in the tags here. Should probably delete that. Oh well. POST

[starlooove]

Ok but Dana being like ‘you don’t get it you don’t get it you don’t get it’ and Jason can’t respond bc he DOES get it! And he reacted worse! Dana, if a bit irresponsible, is doing smth purely productive for her community. Despite her issues with her sister she’s not targeting her or being fueled purely by anger (eh..complicated but yknow) etc. Jason DOES get it and he doesn’t know how to approach Dana besides telling her to just relax bc for him he went 10000% and then hit rock bottom and THATS when he had to pause and step back. If he and dick had that convo when he was at HIS worse it would’ve ended in a fist fight at best. He gets what Dana’s going through but he doesn’t know how to approach her because she’s coping! She has her supportive loving community around her, there’s never a question of whether she’ll go to bat for her sister; unlike early RH Jason! He doesn’t know how to deal with her because she has that safety net and the worst part is that he knows she’s disregarding it to an extent bc she’s never been in that same position he’s been in; she can’t ever be because she’s good and he’s not and he needs her to keep that and if he has to hound her and be backup and the voice of reason; by god if he has to be the Batman to her red hood he will!

#guys can you tell I’m losing my mind #btw for everyone who forgot there’s a point in time where Jason was JUST villain #like his future was Gotham rogue not whatever the fuck he is now #that’s how u got ooc ass titans tower #but also shit I enjoy like him getting locked up and deciding to take every nigga out in that jail too 😭 #his beef with Dick was so unnecessary at that time like it came from NOTHING #anyways #i really like that jason is clearly seeing himself in Dana #but he doesn’t go to extreme measure not just bc she’s not going to methods as extreme #but bc he also knows what he would’ve wanted and hated #WHICH THATS SMTH I DIDNT MENTION #jason basically going ‘i hear u but please take care of urself’ is NOT what he would’ve wanted to hear #he would’ve wanted someone ten toes down behind him #and he’s kinda half providing that but what he knows he NEEDED in hindsight is that voice of reason and space to be comfortable and sad #and he HATES that he has to provide bc he knows exactly how it’s causing a tiny bubble of resentment or how it’s coming off as condescendin #he KNOWS it’s pissing her of but he KNOWS that’s the best he can do and what she needs #ugh u don’t get ittt #also the way jason exploded outwards in a way that intentionally hurt others #but Dana is running herself ragged and unintentionally hurting those closest to her in the process #smth smth white mens emotional expression vs how black women are allowed to express the very same emotions #but more like how they’re socialized to do so #but thats a diff story #guys I’m loving it #Dana Harlowe #IM COMING MY BABY <3 #and #jason Todd #too. ig. hi.