#please don’t get me wrong he’s a complex person and he’s going through a lot and his grief and desperation not to be an imposition shouldn’t | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

teddy-bear-queen · 10 months

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Bro I have to say this I swear-

I see people trying everything to make it seem like Wukong is a lot worse then he is. I understand you like Macaque, I do too! But the entire point of their relationship is that they’re both in the wrong. The difference is, Wukong got, well, character development. It just feels super annoying to discredit Wukongs hard work in JTTW because of things he did prior.

I’m not saying Wukong is some saint, or an amazing person even while the story is taking place, but he is NOT as bad as some of the people in the LMK fandom make him out to be. I assume it’s because Macaque is the goth shy boy (/hj? /lh), but Macaque literally comes out just to manipulate MK and steal his powers. He’s making the exact same mistakes Wukong did, fighting for power so that he can protect himself. Get stronger. Etc.

Season 4 Special Spoilers:

I don’t think Wukong was ignorant in saying that Macaque doesn’t come to help him. I mean, he got beaten by the Jade Emperor and presumably everyone just left him there and ran off. I’d be pretty mad too. Of course, Macaque was hesitant to begin with, and that’s fair. But he was already there, he could’ve tried. But Macaque has a habit of shying away from fights, only really fighting others to settle a score (S1 E9) or if he has to (LBD arc - both working for and against her, but the S1 E9 relates here, too.) I’m not saying this as an insult, more of an observation. He’s not a coward by any means, a coward would be Peng, who leaves mid-battle in fear of being hurt or losing. Macaque finishes his fights (still knowing when it’s reasonable to retreat), but more often then not prefers to prevent them in the first place. (WHICH IS WHY THE DIVORCE SCENE HITS SO HARD, you know he’s been bottling that up ;v;)

ANYWAY back on topic. I definitely think everything Wukong said there was true. I don’t think he was trying to lie or manipulate Macaque by saying “everything I did was for us”. This is further confirmed when we see him later, tired and completely defeated.

He has nothing to hide here. He’s at his lowest point, stuck in a mountain, tensions high from being abandoned by his sworn brothers, being abandoned by people he held dear. Macaque was trying to be nice, but if I were stuck in a mountain and offered food from someone who left me in such a vulnerable state? I probably wouldn’t take the it either. ALSO. We still have NOT seen these things from Wukongs perspective! Every single time something is revealed from his past, it’s narrated by Tang, Azure, Macaque, etc. Wukong has never (from my memory) spoken about his trials first-hand. This is why I love the guy so much!! What’s going on in his head? How does he feel about these things?

These are such complex characters who have been through so much, so it really bothers me when people look at Sun Wukong and decide to demonise him because of the past which, not only has he moved on from, but we have never even seen his side of the story on. Why did he kill Macaque? Did he kill Macaque? (I’ve seen theories he didn’t, we don’t know rn tho)

Wukong went through a lot of pain to change. Wukong is haunted by his past and in genuine distress over it. You can’t tell me this isn’t a man filled with deep remorse for his actions.

He’s not perfect, but he’s a hell of a lot better. It just really frustrates me that people disregard and discredit the work he put in to get to this point.

THATS IT THATS THE POST

This is really disorganised I’m sorry, I just keep seeing people act like Wukong is the scum of the earth and I honestly just do not get it.

Please don’t send asks about this post, just reblog or comment.

I don’t want to deal with passive aggressive (or just straight up aggressive) people.

As a final note: No, Wukong is not perfect. He’s still a deeply flawed character even with his development. No, Macaque isn’t the scum of the earth. They both have their own problems and they both fucked up. They both did something wrong. That’s the point.

#suki speaks #lmk #Lego monkie kid #sun wukong #lmk sun wukong #lmk wukong #wukong #lmk macaque #six eared macaque #analysis #?#more of a ramble #or a rant #it’s 11:30pm

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tatiejosie · 1 year

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oh hey look, i’m projecting again

Some small Earwig doodles in these trying times, I’m going through the Horrors as usual so I don’t have the time to do much. That being said, have some depressed Bella, supportive Earwig and out-of-the-loop Mandrake

I wrote a very small one-shot as a caption but I’m not exactly confident in my writing skills. Here goes nothing -

“I know you’re upset. C’mon, tell me what’s wrong.”

Bella sighed. Earwig thought that she was being ignored for a moment, but she saw that the witch was miserable as she seemingly searched for the right words.

“There’s nothing to say, girlie,” she sighed. “It takes a lot of strength to keep things going… and some days you just don’t have it in you. That’s all.”

Earwig rested her head on her mother’s shoulder, watching pensively. She could notice it when Bella was more exhausted, but she couldn’t figure out why - she hardly knew anything about the witch past a very superficial level. Whatever difficult past or heartbreaks she’s gone through, Earwig would wring it out of her mum eventually. But not now.

“What about Mandrake?” The girl piped up.

“What about him,” Bella muttered in response.

“Do you talk to him when you’re sad?”

The witch huffed bitterly. “Certainly not. No reason to.”

“I mean… I reckon it would be nice to speak to him when you have a lot on your mind,” Earwig smiled as she inched a little closer to Bella’s face. The witch only sighed in response, staring into space.

“You wouldn’t want him to worry about you, would you?” Earwig pressed.

“He’s not… like that,” Bella replied exasperatedly. “I shouldn’t expect him to care about this. It’s my problem, I’ll deal with this on my own like I’ve always done.”

The witch did not want to sound so bitter. She couldn’t deny that she was miserable most of the time, but what else could she do other than repress it? Pretending to be functional was her only way to keep face. And Bella did not want to involve Mandrake into this. Part of her wanted him out of her mess because he didn’t have to see how bad it was… but deep down, she just didn’t want to know that he wouldn’t care if he knew. The probability made it hard to even think about.

Earwig furrowed her brows. “You think… that he doesn’t care about you?”

“I never said that. I just meant that we’re not… that close when it comes to that. Y’know, feelings and the like.”

“But you’re sad, why wouldn’t he care? What does he do to make you feel better when you cry?” the girl inquired curiously.

“Oh please,” Bella scoffed. “I’m not some snotty child, girlie, I know how to keep things to myself.”

“Okay, maybe not cry, but you do look miserable! I saw it, Thomas saw it, I’m sure Mandrake knows it when you’re sad!”

“Yeah, he probably does. Doesn’t mean he has to do something about it.” Bella retorted irritably. “Go away now, I’m exhausted.”

She gave the girl a light push to shake her off, before rolling over to bury her face in a pillow. Thinking about her emotional isolation was the last thing she needed right now.

Earwig sat next to her mother on the bed, deep in thoughts. It was obvious from the start that her parents were repressing a bunch of unresolved issues, but she had expected more… solidarity between them. That was kind of pathetic.

She knew that Mandrake was a caring person, there was no reason for him to just ignore Bella. Maybe he didn’t want to seem intrusive. Maybe he doesn’t know what to say. Or maybe he would rather not get involved with Bella’s personal issues, like it’s better to leave it be. That sounds like him, Earwig thought. But it wasn’t right.

She figured that she still had a lot of work to do on her parents and their ridiculously complex situation.

#earwig and the witch #bella yaga #mandrake #ghibli #art

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kishimotomasashi · 1 year

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A symptom of having been in the online Naruto fandom for a few years now and having Sasuke as my favourite character means that I’ve been incessantly exposed (at the very least, on Tumblr) to arguments about Sasuke not receiving his due justice, being condemned by the narrative for expressing anger at the crimes committed against him and his family, and how the ending of the Naruto manga completely dropped the ball regarding any and all of its political plot threads, leaving the status quo intact, and the only change regarding Sasuke in particular is that he is now complacent with it.

These are arguments that I entirely agree with! And I don’t think there’s anything wrong with their frequent discussion, seeing as Naruto is a very popular manga and new fans will take the place of the old ones. It doesn’t surprise me that the discourse hasn’t slowed down, because new people are discovering it and will want to chime in. This is fine and natural.

But for me, from the perspective of someone who’s been here a while and has seen talk of this happen over, and over and over and over and over again, it understandably gets a little... exhausting. Especially since, as far as I’ve seen, the discourse rarely goes outside of “here is how Sasuke was wronged, here is how the shinobi military industrial complex is fucked up”, and so it feels like I’m seeing less interesting conversations regarding it and more parroting the same universally agreed upon ideas over and over.

It’s just... boring. Because even when the discussion goes outside of “this is why it’s wrong” and enters “here’s how it should have gone” territory, I rarely see it go anywhere beyond “Sasuke should’ve remained angry” “Sasuke should’ve never gone back” “Sasuke should have rejected—“ etc, etc. Sasuke and the Revolution discourse rarely goes beyond Sasuke’s personal vindication regarding Konoha. And to me, it’s just... is that really as far as our imagination extends? Is Sasuke’s anger really the most important thing to focus on? Should anger be the main driving force behind changing a world that is undoubtedly unjust?

My answer to all of those questions is, obviously, no. And I’m writing this to explain why, to propose an alternative to the vindication tunnel vision there happens to be regarding Sasuke vs Konoha/Shinobi System discourse, that I believe even the ending of Naruto (barring chapter 700 and onward to Boruto) provides a solid basis for.

First let’s talk about chapter 699, and Sasuke’s decision not to stay in Konoha but to journey around the world instead.

Now when people talk about Sasuke’s journey, they mostly focus on the part where he calls it a “journey of redemption” and so a lot of discussions concerning whether or not he should have stayed in Konoha revolve around that line and its reasoning. It’s all “he doesn’t NEED redemption” or “oh please journey of redemption is bullshit, stay in Konoha to heal with your friends”.

Which is a damn shame because what he says in the panels above? Before the “you have nothing to do with my sins” thing? Is significantly more interesting. In fact, I consider it a monumental statement for him to make, indicative of his development; it’s the culmination of all he’s been through to get him to this point.

This line is Sasuke recognizing his own limitations related to the volatile emotional state he was nearly constantly in beforehand; Sasuke’s view of the world was incredibly selfish. It was selfish in the sense that his own goals mattered before anything else, that anything slowing him down in his hurry to reach them was an obstacle; it was an incredibly unhealthy view of the world, one that ended up making him hurt himself and others. That his goals are sympathetic and understandable doesn’t really change the reality that he did put himself in danger and was a danger to those closest to him. When we meet him for the first time in Shippuden, at Orochimaru’s hideout, he says word-for-word:

“I don’t care what happens to me or to the rest of the world, so long as I can get my revenge. Nothing else matters.”

And even when the truth about Itachi is revealed to him, this doesn’t exactly change. It’s only his range of targets that expand, and what he did to get to those targets in the 5 Kage Summit arc are unarguably his lowest points in the entire series. While there is a double-standard regarding how Sasuke’s anger and hatred are treated in the narrative, it’s not incorrect to say that his laser focus on them were ultimately harmful in the end, and that to grow he could not continue to rely on them indefinitely.

In fact, Sasuke is always shown to be at his best when he’s not so angry his view of the world is only concentrated on what he alone can see. Sasuke when observant of others is kind, has compassion and understanding and a willingness to prioritize others’ safety: we see this when he protects Team 7 all throughout part 1, and when he protects Team Taka in the Killer B fight. When he’s not clouded by his own rage, Sasuke also has a better willingness to learn: when Itachi left him after their fight against Kabuto, he went out of his way to learn more about the village he’d come to justifiably despise, to understand Itachi’s own point of view, and to learn the point of view of those that had built it. Sasuke in general is someone who doesn’t accept things so readily and is constantly questioning things even when he’s set his mind to them, and he is also someone who does have a clear idea of justice: needless human suffering on a large scale is something he’s disgusted by (see how he reacts to Itachi before he learned the truth and to Orochimaru). When he’s truly of the mind to sit down and listen, that potential is increased tenfold. He came out from under the Nakano Shrine after speaking with Hashirama and the other Hokage seeing the shinobi system as something that causes needless human suffering on a large scale, and though he’s not quite at the ideal point yet, the idea to do something about it (to dismantle that system) is there.

And now here we are, chapter 699: Sasuke’s anger is no longer his main driving force, and he is learning to accept love back in his life, and what does he say? That he’s going to look at the world, now, with new eyes. That he’s going to take advantage of this new healing state of his, to properly observe the world because his perception of it isn’t obstructed by his unhealthy vengeance fixation anymore. Sasuke, who already has the capacity for compassion, who already has a sense of justice, who knows how to listen and observe, is now going to take the time to use these foundations to build himself a more expansive perception of the world. He’s showing willingness to look outside of himself!

Now before I talk about the point I really want to get to, I want to talk about anger. I know anger is often portrayed as something awful in many stories (including this one), as something that is a personal failing next to those who can just endure what is thrown at them with little complaint, and that it’s a narrow view of it. Anger is a very useful emotion, and sometimes a necessary one: anger helps you perceive injustice done to yourself or others, anger can help you prevent people walking all over you and help you to recognize that you’re not getting something that you deserve. I’ll never condemn anger.

And I don’t condemn Sasuke’s anger! I am very firmly in the “Sasuke was right” camp; I don’t think he has to kiss up to a government so cowardly it wiped his people from the face of the Earth in the dead of night, I think a system that can justify a crime that outrageous while it continues to perpetuate itself needs to be entirely dismantled. And I believe that though there are limits to how seriously you should take this shounen animanga, the fact that these plotlines were introduced in the first place as well as every other time shinobi militaristic violence was clearly shown as being evil but were given shitty resolutions means that it is both normal and in fact encouraged to point out that these introduced plotlines were given really, really shitty resolutions.

Though while anger and pointing out how wrong things are are incredibly useful, when you really want to start talking about revolutionary action, incentive to change the world, I think that anger alone is insufficient.

Specifically in Sasuke’s case, as I’ve said above, Sasuke’s anger is ultimately selfish. He sees how he himself was wronged, and that’s great, but like... he’s also not the only one who suffers under the shinobi system. He’s not the only one it’s brought incredible wrong toward. Even when he demonstrated growth during the 4th War and was willing to expand his own knowledge to better understand why Konoha exists as it is, he wasn’t sharing what he’d learned with others, he wasn’t reaching out to build connections, to build solidarity— he was working on his plan entirely alone.

(And yes, we can talk about how the narrative purposefully makes the villain characters seem more unreasonable though they have justified feelings on why the system cannot continue as is, but again, as I’ve said at the start, we’ve had those conversations at length already.)

I believe genuine change, the desire to see a better world, has to fundamentally come from the desire to see people in a better place, not from vengeance. I think to get there, you need to see how other people live aside from yourself, you need to work at helping them see their lives becoming better as well. “No one’s free until we’re all free”, etc. I think your outrage at injustice has to extend to everyone outside of yourself, and your fight against the injustice be also a fight for them.

As I’ve demonstrated, Sasuke in chapter 699 in the space where he can actually work at doing that, to work at doing direct, radical action. Travelling as he wants to do will introduce him to more people, to more perspectives, to more ideas on how to meaningfully combat the injustices of the shinobi system and to directly help people to escape suffering the worst of it.

Recently I watched the Sasuke Shinden anime, and though it was still incredibly imperfect in its politics, it introduced the idea of Sasuke doing the closest thing to everything I am saying right now: it introduces shinobi being forced to fight in a human trafficking coliseum, and Sasuke being told by one of the characters, Chino, that being an inactive third party to injustice makes you just as guilty to it, which leads Sasuke in the end to free all shinobi forced to fight in the coliseum.

It also introduced the idea (and I was genuinely surprised that anything Naruto-related was actually willing to go there) of the Uchiha Clan, and by extension Sasuke, being victims but also being perpetrators of the same system that got them killed. In Shinden, they were hired by a feudal lord to deport another oppressed kekkei genkai clan called the Chinoike (that Chino is apart of) to a land unsuitable for any human to live in, and rather than help the Chinoike escape this fate, they simply carried out the mission order, which caused suffering for the clan. While I don’t think that that plotline was handled as well as it could’ve been, it really hammers in the point of it being important to learn about the position and suffering of others and to do something about it, because despite your own suffering, your participation in the system that perpetuates it still makes you complicit. And Sasuke accepts this! When he learns about the Uchiha and the Chinoike, he relates it to when Chino told him about being an audience to injustice making you just as bad if you don’t do anything about it. I think Sasuke Shinden is a good, if imperfect, snapshot into the very potential I’m talking about.

In fact, all of this is why I really believe it to be important that Sasuke travels and works outside of Konoha rather than within it; because as we’ve seen with Nagato and Amegakure, being apart of the Hidden Villages themselves, fighting in their wars and participating in their ranks, makes you complicit in the crimes they commit against the other smaller nations. Everyone we’ve seen fight in the wars, the Sannin, Kakashi, everyone in allegiance with Konoha and yes, including the Uchiha Clan, share responsibility in the crimes the village commits, even if they’ve personally suffered at its hands as well. Nagato, Konan and Yahiko are certainly justified if they don’t care that your war buddy died in front of you since you both had a hand in the destruction of their village for your military village’s interests.

This is also why on my blog, I am constantly advocating for the potential Team Taka represented. They were all shinobi working outside of the framework of the Hidden Villages, with little allegiance to them, and given that Sasuke in the ending is open to apologizing for his behaviour and accepting bonds again, they could’ve easily travelled together again in the ending and done just exactly everything that I’ve been talking about in this post. And they could’ve become closer than ever!

I think it’s telling, in a way, that what finally got to Sasuke in the end was genuine empathy; acceptance to realize there are other people around like him, that might share what he feels, and this is done through Naruto, someone who saw his own loneliness in him but that Sasuke rejected because he felt (understandably) defensive that anyone should get how he felt at all. Sasuke healing in learning that he can understand people other than himself, safely, is a big step into learning to properly observe and accept others, and then that’s another step that could lead into genuine revolutionary consciousness.

My conclusion here isn’t that any of this was something Kishimoto was actually going for. It’s that despite everything, there are already interesting building blocks in Sasuke’s canon characterization in place where you could create a meaningful story about resisting oppression and fighting for change, one that doesn’t surround a myopic, vengeful idea of it. I dont think of that as an interesting path for Sasuke’s character, especially since he already spends most of the series with nothing but vengeance in mind. I think he has the potential to do better, and we have the potential to write fix-it stories in which he does better than that.

#send post #the ground is soft and I'm ready to dig #really wrote 2k words of Sasuke in 2023... well.#I genuinely think this is the only proper Naruto ''essay'' I've ever written lol #edit: no I am not calling Sasuke Shinden canon #no I am not calling Sasuke Shinden canon #I am calling it an EXAMPLE for POTENTIAL that the anime+novelists provided #that I actually kind of like

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blaqueswanzaghouliishiilikeda · 1 year

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bare with me bc im fatigued but unable to sleep so i’m just here thinking and need to get my thoughts out, but i think much of louis’ passivity stems from his relationship with his mother and family. we don’t really see him become passive until claudia arrives. please correct me if i’m wrong but i believe that side of him is awakened once that traditional family structure is solidified in his home and i think the du lac family has a lot to do with why he’s like that and not just that he’s incapable of acting or choosing.

i see him and i see the child/mother that doesn’t want to repeat his mother’s failings on his own family but takes it so far to the extreme that it means he refuses to confront anything ever bc he feels he’s communicating the unconditional love he never received. he really is someone who wants the ones in his life to know they can be loved through anything. whether or not people receive it in the way he gives it i don’t think should be put on his shoulders as much it is.

he doesn’t have healthy understanding of discipline/consequences bc he was punished for things he couldn’t help like his queer identity. it doesn’t really seem like growing up he got into much trouble, again correct me if im wrong. other than paul his pimping isn’t really admonished by the du lacs bc it affords them their lifestyle. they are willing to distance themselves from it bc they get the house and the staff and the honeymoon trips etc. but they won’t overlook who he is. and it outweighs anything else. and that’s a weird thing to process being punished for bc the only thing you can do is deny yourself. but they know. so you hiding it and they know and they show you they disapprove even if you’re trying to play by their rules. it creates a complex.

then there’s paul. he’s the only one who really took it on to take care of paul and establish a relationship with him. i think florence probably didn’t push back against his institutionalization and grace seems to agree he belonged there. louis was the only one who saw how it negatively impacted paul. he loved paul that was his favorite person and then he killed himself and florence blames him for simply being there. this is where he starts to go from the favored son to the scapegoat which is a fucked transition to experience and i think its super underestimated how badly louis is impacted by it. it also happens when he starts to openly entertain lestat so it’ll never matter that his last moments with paul were expressions of love bc his all florence sees is that he’s been acting in sin and so of course he must of done and said something to kill her baby who he was raising and caring for in her place btw. when paul was upset he went to louis not florence. the last thing he ever said to paul was he loved him and he still died and florence blames him for it. he’s always punished for loving as far as he’s concerned.

then he does make “a choice” to become an immortal monster/companion/wife, which given all the circumstances is very much not much of a choice on his part, but he decides to go with what he wants and that choice is at the center of the unraveling of almost all the things he cares about and links to his human identity. and he clings to his human identity so i believe that fucks with his ability to trust his own decision making for sure. it’s the loss of his role in his family slowly but surely and everything he did he did for them. he always struggles with his decisions about how he supports his family and how he copes w the impact it has on his community. so if in choosing his own desire to love and be loved for once strips him of his family and his community what does that say about the decisions he made along the way? what was it all for? and then on top of that he didn’t even know what he was choosing in choosing immortality with lestat. he’s rocked by being faced with the reality of his choice so much so that he forgot his brother died for a moment. he’s probably developed an inability to take a step in any direction bc every step leads to a new rock bottom and he doesn’t trust himself anymore. that’s a very real thing that happens.

so how does that manifest when he has his own lil nuclear family?? well

with claudia he doesn’t ever want her to feel like she could ever lose his love for her for any reasons. like his family showed him. so bc his own punishments were correlated with who he was and not things he did really i don’t think he’s able to see disciplining claudia as guiding her towards better actions i think he sees it as punishing her for being as she is which he blames himself for and also for loving (where charlie is concerned but i’ll get to that…). it was his choice to bring her into this life so how can he trust himself beyond loving her unconditionally. that’s what he wants so that’s what he gives. claudia does what she does bc she’s a vampire and she didn’t choose that. he did. so he retreats when the consequences of that crop up and becomes passive. he doesn’t want to take a step in any direction on top of the patriarchal structure that the father is the law of the house, but then charlie happens.

claudia didnt kill charlie out of maliciousness. it was young love with all the demanding of the insatiable hunger of a vampire. even lestat recognizes that she got carried away so to louis punishing her or even makeing her feel bad for the action was too deeply entwined with punishing her for loving at all and that is a sensitive thing for him. he doesn’t handle it better than lestat that’s not what i’m saying what i’m saying is he doesn’t have the tools to guide her through this. what he has is the desperation to not repeat what harmed him growing up. it’s after this that he decides lestat cannot be the law of the household where claudia is concerned until he realizes his approach seriously blinded him to the fact that claudia ,yes is a doomed child vampire, but she’s a doomed child vampire making decisions and her actions have serious consequences for all of them and he doesn’t have the tools to guide. he can love her through anything, but how can he of all people really guide her. this isn’t as simple as no running in the house and listen to your elders. the mother is learning her daughter is her own person (and vampire) not an extension of her and with character traits like her father too. (plus the mother has to realize that she can’t heal herself through her daughter) whew. so louis decides to step back and to let lestat be the law again and then claudia LEAVES and on her way out she challenges his decision to turn her at all (with good reason. these two vampires should not be raising a baby!!) louis is literally so distraught he wants her to come home but he can’t bring himself to go after her and bring her home. he doesn’t want to take a step!! he doesn’t want to decide. it never leads to what he thinks it will. i don’t think he believes he can trust himself to make good choices. so he loves her unconditionally on broadcast for every vampire within radio earshot to hear because that’s what he can do. thennnn she’s harmed while she’s gone and i’m sure he’s feels in a way responsible. he wanted to be her protector so badly (when actually she’s his but i’ll get to that in a bit) and wasn’t able to. and of course there’s that scene™️ in ep5 with being put in a position where he was pressured to choose between lestat and claudia and because it LOOKED like he MIGHT choose claudia and because he didn’t IMMEDIATELY choose lestat disaster ensued. that’s a lot. fuck.

and when the nature of his relationship with claudia shifts more to siblings because she’s getting older, wants more agency and claudia realizes she is also a replacement for grace, this is where the passiveness that is the result of his relationship with grace developed. bc while its true claudia takes over for grace, she is the sister to louis that grace never ever was. on top of the fact that her solution for their issues was “you’re dead to me,” grace never actually accepted and supported his queer identity truly like claudia and she definitely never protected him like claudia either (defending mama du lac in regards to paul comes to mind and also her husband being the replacement son). and louis needs and wants both those things as well as someone who won’t abandon him like grace did and he let’s claudia be them but takes it to the extreme where the last two are concerned. Louis doesn’t think he can save himself from his situation and claudia believes she can save herself and him. she isn’t gonna leave him behind. he leans into that heavily. it’s not just that he can’t and won’t make choices to get them out of their situation it’s also that he’s traumatized by his past choices and also he’s also loving lestat unconditionally as well on top of that (in the way he’s able to). i don’t think louis could see a way out like at all. he was shrouded in darkness. the best he could do was compartmentalize his love for lestat to protect himself when things were at their worst that was his flashlight in that darkness. but like when it was necessary for the success of the plan that he allow himself to love lestat fully he said if i feel it there’s no way out of this fr fr. he knew he wouldn’t make good choices. choosing lestat is the decision he will always make for better or worse. but that’s at the expense of claudia on top of choking her.

like idk we joke about his inability to make decisions but that trait in him is drenched with trauma. and his family is a huge part of why imo. i just get so upset when i think about them. i really rambled on and on here. not sure how much sense this makes but i guess this ties into my feelings about this as well. but yeah not choosing as a trauma response and not just as a way to get out of confronting his problems even tho that is a symptom. if that makes sense. idk. my brain is mash potatoes right now.

#iwtv #louis de pointe du lac #ldpdl #the de pointe du lacs said he can go to hell #and he went and started a family there with his rich french white husband #who’s doing it like him #claudia #if i keep opening doors that lead be to a new level of hell im not prepared for i’d develop a fear of opening doors #thats the tldr of this long ass post i guess #i planned to mention that a lot of claudia’s kills are attempts to create a companion as well #in regards to punishing her for loving or in this case wanting love and seeking it out #the placement of the claudia tag is driving me crazy bc it reads like a response to the question before it #but actually just had the thought that i should tag her name bc it’s pretty relevant to all this #re: paul’s death - and he probably already blamed himself for not noticing #for going up there #for not stopping him #etc. all these decisions!!#we want him to make better decisions or any decision but like he doesn’t have the tools. he wasn’t prepared for what motherhood really was #no matter how much he wanted to be one

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james-vi-stan-blog · 2 months

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why do I feel like the previous anon was a dig at me for asking questions about the kind of people James and George were😃I could be wrong though.

my only thing about why I’m hoping all of them in the show will show their flaws or how much of a bad person they can be is because I know it’ll be so much easier for people to understand or even sympathize with George simply because Nicholas is playing him. I’ve probably mentioned this before but I fully believe it has something to do with looks.

Nicholas is incredibly attractive so a lot of people feel more inclined or gravitate towards his character to feel sympathy, maybe defend, or ‘babygirl’ George even through problematic issues he’s had (that might be in the show but idk what they’ll include) but compared to Tony portraying James? I don’t think he’s going to get that same energy or thought process because his character might be criticized more simply because some people don’t find Tony/James attractive. I’ve seen this happen many times and it’s just odd people haven’t picked up on that.

I’m not saying people aren’t allowed to make up their own opinions about how they perceive the the characters or force my opinions onto others. I honestly can say that I feel sympathy for George and James (even Mary) but I think a lot of people aren’t going to realize how much looks would come into play when their formulating their opinions about the characters.

I’m sorry if I’m not making any sense, I have a hard time writing my thoughts! also I’m not trying to start anything so I hope this doesn’t come across as rude or anything😭

-✨

I don't think asking "good or bad" type questions is necessarily pointless… after all, people do have vices and virtues, and they can make good, bad, or downright evil decisions. I think we can even evaluate relative badness to some extent (like the 5th Earl of Bothwell, there's a phenomenally shitty person). Rather, it's a binary vision of good and bad guys that's toxic for the study of history. I think it's also limiting for media. If you (general you, not you, ✨) are going into Mary & George just looking to be entertained, there's no need to have several essays cited that George Villiers Is A Good Person™ Actually before you've even sat down. Not every story is meant to be didactical. What is about to unfold in front of you could be a villain's tale, some complex shade of tragedy, etc.

But to the main thrust of your ask, honestly… I too worry about this. The halo effect and lookism are well-documented phenomena (known and understood even in the period itself… I mean… why was short, stuttering, shy Baby Charles so invested in his iconography, but to depict himself as strong, masculine, handsome, and therefore virtuous and deserving to rule!!!) and also applies to media depictions of historical figures. It's totally a real thing that when a historical figure gets played by a popular actor, people will tend to be softer on that character, not even purely due to "beauty = goodness", but also because the pleasure of the visual spectacle inclines us to excuse what we're seeing. (Actually, even outside the appearance of the actors, people tend enormously to excuse the actions of a protagonist. It's just sort of an effect of the medium.)

That said, I believe the vast majority of people who say "I support George's rights and George's wrongs!" are just being silly and having fun and are perfectly capable of rationally judging what they're watching. You guys are great, please have a great time, tell your friends about the show so that more people learn about James VI and the Villiers family!!

But yeah, rarely there's… I don't go on Shitter but saw a screenshot of someone saying they hoped Somerset/Buckingham would be the main ship because Laurie Davidson is hotter and they don't want to watch an "ugly" (??) "old man fuck" and that just disheartened and disgusted me. You know, gayness doesn't exist to be hot and entertaining. Queer stories serve more purposes than fetish fuel for oglers. And this story is about real people who actually existed…

Also, I've got thoughts about people who think it's wrong and disgusting for James to have fallen in love with handsome George Villiers but also vociferously and openly thirst over Nicholas Galitzine and want to see him naked in queer roles. 😑

Anyway I'm happy to see these figures in almost any interpretation but I really hope George Villiers will be allowed to be magnificently terrible because… c'mon… it's George Villiers. The icon. The legend. The Duke of Buckingham himself. I feel like watering down his character would be cheating him of the glory he's due.

#mary & george #james's weird stan rambles again

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pigeonbboi · 2 years

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okay I am really autistic and think abt them all the time so

golden wind theories/ hcs abt the main gangs mental illnesses

okay I dont think we talk about how mista probably has ocd enough. we see that he has intrusive thoughts/ obsessions and while we don’t see him have a lot of obvious compulsions but he often acts in a way that may seem irrational to some and has strict routines and fears something will go wrong when they are interrupted. he counts things obsessively, has rituals, etc etc.

short aside: pls don't think I am glorifying/ romanticizing anything I talk abt here these are theories and if anything I say is inaccurate pls lemme know!! I did research abt what I talk abt here but these are my own personal theories/ observations/ how I relate to them :)

I see a lot of people hc narancia as having ADHD but I am here to further my everyone in bucci gang has autism agenda. /hj I am autistic and relate to him. how he has trouble reading peoples intentions and trusts too easily is smth I really relate too! That's not to say he couldn't also have ADHD but if you read him as autistic it adds a lot of depth to his backstory <:) he's also highly empathetic and struggles regulating his emotions.

god sorry this is cringe

oh obviously he's also dyslexic :)

moving on this is obvious and more a plea to people to do research and write realistic recovery for leone being an alcoholic.

I would also love to see more people talking about Bruno. Specifically within the context of bruabba and his savior complex, I can't help but think he would be a little bitter than he is always the one saving people and that he's not allowed to be weak despite all the trauma he went through at a young age and joining the mafia at 14. It would definitely create more vulnerability issues to play parent to not only three traumatized children but also your so, the one who you are meant to feel safest with. I think a lot of Bruno's savior complex issues stems from him thinking that the crimes he has committed in his past and continues to commit as part of his role within Passione make him a bad person, and to atone for these sins he "saves" others. You can see how angry he is when he takes Narancia to the hospital and then he says he also wants to join the gang. To Bruno this is akin to spitting in his face. 'You would throw away the second chance I gave you to make the same mistakes I did?' idk I love him and so many people treat him as if he is perfect and I think he deserves to be complex and maybe resent his family for treating him as a therapist and savior and not always like a flawed human being. basically please let us have more dysfunctional bruabba family I need them to live.

I could write a whole essay on fugo so I shall save him for another time and because I don't trust my own intelligence to talk about him. fugo peak.

A lot of dude bros get mad at Giorno's "lack of personality" as if it doesn't stem directly from him being neglected as a child. He was punished for showing normal emotions as a kid so he hides them as he gets older. He could also totally be read as autistic and thats a hc that holds a special place in my heart. Opposed to Narancia, who is on the high empathy end of the spectrum, Gio, partly as a response to how he was raised, has lower empathy which also effects how he communicates with others. I think he is such a complex character and wish more people devoted time to analyzing him rather than writing him of as boring.

Thats all I have the mental space to write about for write now but I care these idiots so much and please tell me what you think!! Bucci gang 4 eva.

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natequarter · 2 months

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I was reading your posts about how badly most/all historical fiction and period dramas are when it comes to faithful portrayals and was wondering about your thoughts on Wolf Hall, whether you read it, watched it, or both. And also, are there examples that you feel do it well? Or are there examples where they get it wrong but you still enjoy them? (Can you tell I’ve been on a historical fiction kick lately?) I know that’s a lot of questions, so please don’t feel obligated to answer them.

oh boy, this is... complicated. i'll start off with wolf hall, because that will probably be easier: necessary disclaimer that i have not watched or read all of wolf hall, but i have read a significant chunk of the first book.

firstly, i actually enjoyed reading wolf hall a lot. there are a couple of bits that grated me when i read it (iirc it suggests that henry viii was to become archbishop of canterbury before the death of his brother, which is emphatically not true; nitpicky, i know, but it's one of the misleading "fun facts" you often hear about henry viii), but for the most part i found it rather refreshing. i have to praise hilary mantel's writing style, of course; it's beautiful prose, and a relieving change from first person present tense narratives, which are bad. (disclaimer: this is a personal opinion. i happen to think that 99% of all first person narratives are utter shit.) in terms of plot events, i think my favourite parts of wolf hall are cromwell with his wife and children, and him grieving his wife and children; the quiet reminders of their absence are heartbreaking.

now, onto the things i didn't like. i didn't love the tv show; nothing wrong with it, necessarily, it just didn't click with me - and it probably didn't help that when i watched it the screen light to room light balance was very off. and as for mantel herself... quite a few people have pointed out that her treatment of the women (notably anne boleyn and jane parker, her sister-in-law) in her series comes off as misogynistic, and i personally find the treatment of thomas more grating. essentially, she buys into a lot of the old narratives of jane parker being 'scheming' and betraying anne boleyn and her brother george; and her depiction of anne can similarly come off as that of a scheming woman and nothing more. there is an argument to be made that we're seeing this through cromwell's eyes, so naturally he's going to be biased against certain people - but mantel is the writer and she chose what she wrote. she seeks to balance out the classic depictions of cromwell as scheming and more as a literal saint, but it tips over into just making more look like a villain - things such as him choosing to educate his wife are warped into more being... evil? somehow? there's a double standard with cromwell vs the other characters: when cromwell is pious, it's devotion; when more is pious, it's fanaticism, and the same with cromwell vs the women in the books. finally, hilary mantel was transphobic. i'm not here to argue about that one.

granted, i don't think these things make wolf hall unforgivably bad, by any stretch of the imagination. i think it's a complex, flawed book and the same applies to the show. i think this youtube review summarises it well overall - and of course these things are always nuanced and complicated and so on and so forth.

there are shows which do historical fiction absolutely horribly, like the spanish princess. i have no interest in defending that, because, as far as i'm concerned, it's a mess not worth attacking; that's been done to death. i would also consider the vast majority of books by philippa gregory and alison weir to be a major waste of time. weir is also a non-fiction writer, and her non-fiction is exactly as bad, so for the love of good, please don't pick those up either. both authors like to draft in rape, magic (dear god, don't talk to me about the fucking magic), not-like-other-girls female characters, incest (???) and a bucket load of misogyny in lieu of actual plot. neither of them are good writers, either.

onto works which do an alright or complicated job. i think wolf hall belongs here - it does some things very well, some things... not so well. i'd also put becoming elizabeth here - as you've said, this is one where they get things wrong but i can still enjoy it. the show covers the reign of edward vi (1547-1553) and the teenage years of elizabeth i (about 13-19, so literally her teenage years). the good parts? it's a fantastic depiction of edward vi and mary - both are brilliantly cast and the acting from them is amazing. it incorporates black characters into authentic period roles, the clothing is really well done, and it shows most of the important parts of edward's reign. the bad parts? well, elizabeth is played by a woman in her late twenties. this lets the whole thing down, frankly. it's supposed to be a show about elizabeth, and yet edward or mary could easily replace her as protagonists - i don't think the actor playing her is great, personally. and then there's the fact that this show portrays the grooming of elizabeth by thomas seymour. the show actually makes their relationship out to be genuine and the two sleep together, a deviation from history and a particularly troubling one given that the real elizabeth was uncomfortable with seymour's advances and actively tried to avoid him. it also spends six of its eight episodes on seymour when seymour was beheaded a third of the way through edward's reign. thus, it has its upsides and its major downsides - oh, and the characters say fuck a lot, which is mildly annoying. but i can enjoy it, as long as elizabeth's not talking and they're not focusing too much on seymour... a bit of a letdown from a show supposedly about her.

there's also the tudors, which is a bit of a mixed bag - it makes some inexplicable changes from history, but it often uses quotations from tudor sources in its dialogue. the casting can be a bit... wonky, but it does have its moments, and offers a somewhat more balanced version of more vs cromwell. i don't particularly like it because it often modernises the characters a bit - and i don't want that! making characters act like modern people seriously misses the point: this is historical fiction, not a modern thriller or whatever. the girlbossification of historical women who were often seriously held back by the men around them and wielded influence in rather different ways to what we think of as strong women is exhausting.

and there is historical fiction which i really enjoy. dissolution (and its sequels) is a murder mystery series by c. j. sansom, narrated by the fictional matthew shardlake, a disabled king's commissioner working for cromwell. he ends up investigating the murder of another commissioner at a monastery in scarnsea. it deals with the issues of religion, gender, and disability in very interesting ways; matthew is not infallible and clearly holds some very tudor views of the world. it's a richly-written world and it really does feel like you're in 1530s england, and i really recommend it. i also like becket (1964) and the lion in winter, neither of which are particularly striving for accuracy - but they're good dramas and brilliantly acted, and, you know, maybe henry ii was secretly in love with thomas becket. (both are heartwrenching films and i will never be over: 'You give the lions of England back to me like a little boy who doesn't want to play anymore. I would have gone to war with all England's might behind me, and even against England's interests, to defend you, Thomas. I would have given away my life laughingly for you. Only I loved you and you didn't love me. That's the difference.' my feelings on bill (2015) are more or less the same - it's an intentionally ahistorical film, and it works because it's well-written and not trying to accurately represent the past. the '70s series like the six wives of henry viii and the shadow of the tower are really enjoyable, too - because they actually cared about making decent series about the tudors relying on the actual events which transpired during the era!

i'll leave the question of costuming out in the open; i think this youtube video has some good points on whether period-accurate costuming is essential. i like it, personally, but i'm not going to be furious at a missed french hood; the only thing that will truly make me furious is a french hood with no veil. either bother, or don't bother! don't... don't do neither, jesus christ! as for historical accuracy in general - i think that's a question which will never have one true answer. personally, i do value a rough adherence to the historical timeline, at least for fairly well-know facts like, i don't know, henry viii having two sisters? why does the tudors merge them into one person? what? anyway. i think these posts offer some valuable insight into how vague and murky a concept historical accuracy really is and how it can be wielded as a weapon against people rather than in the interests of a good story (read at your own peril - they are quite long). there is also the problem of hindsight - as readers, we know that edward vi will die at only fifteen. the average person at the time did not! well, not until 1553. the point is, books where the narrator has seemingly prophetic powers or knowledge of future events are unrealistic. what i think is most important is writing stories that more or less accord to the timeline of history in the general details and capturing the attitudes of people who lived in the past decently. this is what really brings historical fiction to life, in my opinion. these also offer up good opportunities for parody and satire - a film which intentionally gets history wrong Because Incest is frustrating, but a film which intentionally gets history wrong to parody it, like blackadder, can be incredibly entertaining. inaccuracy is not always bad. that said, if you don't make henry viii ginger, i will hate you forever. soz. as for language - it's ridiculous to expect dialogue to be written 100% in middle english or what-have-you, but the occasional 'god's bones!' instead of 'oh my god' would be nice, and an avoidance of just putting a load of fucks in there...

and finally, for the elephant in the room... misogyny. there are certainly other -isms which permeate historical fiction as they do everything else, but this is the big one. so many depictions of women in historical fiction uncritically buy into the narratives of misogynistic medieval commentators which we have inherited from centuries of men recycling them. like calling women sluts, or witches, or writing them as genuinely sleeping with a male relative - taking the slander against them literally. like boxing women into a few stereotypes - docile and submissive; scheming bitch; old hag; and whore. like sexing up rapists and groomers. like forgiving historical men for things we condemn historical women for.

i hope this helped! i have many thoughts, none of which are easily summarised. i don't know if there's a right answer to this. but i do know one thing: the white princess is bad. thank you for the ask!

#asks

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margalitarry · 2 years

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the aftermath | c.b

_________________

colby brock x reader

hi omg this is my first time posting a fanfic please give feedback i wrote this in one go at like 1am last night LMAO.

word count - 1.4k

_________________

it had been months since you had to smile and stand surrounded by people you don’t know. your best friend katrina insisted she couldn’t go alone to this party; despite her now sitting and talking with her boyfriend. although being around strangers wasn’t anything new. you learned to deal with the easy attraction of people, especially after your very public breakup with harry styles four months ago.

you and harry had dated for almost a year, you couldn’t keep up with his schedules and it quickly became argumentative and messy. he was stressed with tour and you were stressed with your own career. the night you’d broken up you both had been in a parking lot in a screaming match, of course there being someone to record and spread the video everywhere.

“y/n?”

you snap out of your trance and look up from the floor to see colby brock, also one of your best friends who you’d met through katrina. after the breakup you had pushed everyone away, especially katrina and colby. you felt guilty but you couldn’t help smile in relief at a familiar face.

“oh my god! i had no idea you were coming here, i didn’t see you with sam and katrina.”

“yeah it’s been a minute since i’ve seen you though, do you wanna step outside real quick?”

you nodded but felt a pit in your stomach form as he lightly grasped your hand leading you through the party, giving a few quick smiles and ‘heys!’ along the way.

you and colby have a much more complex background together than you and harry had. it was always just the wrong time for one of you. it started in 2018 after you both met, colby couldn’t get out of your mind and you were stuck in his. for a year you had been friends with benefits and it was working for the both of you, until colby had taken interest with another girl. you knew you and him weren’t labeled therefore it wasn’t your place to say anything. jealously surged through your veins when he told you he wanted to try to take things seriously with her and you went back to being just friends. they dated for year but even after breaking up colby and you remained strictly friends.

things had only gotten worse after you met harry and had began getting and taking new opportunities for your image and career. colby and harry never liked eachother, especially after the breakup. colby felt even though you two weren’t together he had still taken you away from him, in reality you felt ashamed and embarrassed for thinking you could keep up with someone like harry.

“how are you? don’t give me bullshit either, i know it’s been hard.” colby asked once you and him sat down on the sidewalk a little further from the party.

“i don’t even know, i don’t even miss him. i just feel guilty about everything ever in my life.” you openly told him, you felt awfully comfortable in this moment.

“you didn’t have to push me and kat away. at least not kat. she was more heartbroken than you were i think” colby slightly laughed but still in a serious tone.

“i know but it was just embarrassing to even date him! i mean- obviously not because he’s harry styles but to think i could put myself in the spotlight and become that person. it was embarrassing for me.”

colby sat in silence taking in your word and voice he hadn’t heard much of in months. he was mad at you but couldn’t help the sting in his heart as you continued talking.

“just by dating him i’ve become someone i’m not, you always told me how you feel like you’re a different person on and off camera but i’m a different person at all times now! i don’t want this life i have but i’m stuck with it forever now with nothing i can do about it.” you felt a few hot tears run down your face, staring into the black pavement between your shoes.

“i know it’s tough but you aren’t alone in this and you’re acting like you are! i can name ten people at the damn least who would’ve one hundred percent helped you through this including myself. we just wanted to be here for you and you wouldn’t let us.” colby ranted letting his voice slightly crack at the end only making you feel worse.

“i know and i don’t know why i didn’t. but at the same time it would’ve been helpful if you had pretended to like harry at times! he at least wouldn’t call things out about you in front of our group, him next to us. why would i run to you guys after you didn’t support me?” you argued back quickly. this conversation had been going in the opposite direction either if you wanted it too.

colby felt awful as the words came out of your mouth, all of his anger turning into guilt as your face glistened even more in the pale moonlight as a result of your tears. he watched you completely begin to breakdown as you let him put his arm around you moving you into his side comfortably.

you both sat in silence for at least half an hour just enjoying each other’s company despite the argument that had just occurred. colby once again softly grabbed your hand and helped you stand up with him.

“i’ll drive you home, i assume katrina probably drove tonight.” colby calmly said still holding your hand as you both slowly walked back towards the party.

you began to talk before being interrupted quickly, “i’m just really sorry-“

“don’t be, i didn’t want you to ever be in a position you felt like that especially because of me. we don’t have to talk about it anymore tonight.” colby whispered just before you walked into the party once again and letting go of your hand.

you and colby both said your goodbyes to a few people and quickly exited the party. you had to walk a little far because of where he parked for coming so late. not a little far, but a good ten minutes. you asked him about his next location for his and sams channel for small talk. he boasted about the history and murders that had happened there, explaining almost all of it in the time it took you to reach his car.

you both sat in silence for almost the whole drive back to your place, neither of you knowing what to talk about. both of you guys were filled with racing thoughts you just wanted to spill out, anger and apologizes for everything. you don’t immediately get out once he pulls into your driveway though, but start to talk.

“i just-”

“you know-”

colby laughs at you both speaking at the same time, allowing you to speak first though.

“i don’t know, i know this didn’t go how we wanted it to, but i don’t really know which other way it would’ve gone. i just really am sorry for everything in this last year.” you rambled, not finding the words you wanted to say.

“i know and you shouldn’t be. we just didn’t know what was going on and were really worried for you for a little bit. you know i’ll always support you.” colby said also at a lost of words.

you still didn’t get out of his car as your brain urges you to just ask him to come inside for a little bit, to watch reality shows and drink wine just like whenever you both didn’t want to go to an event, to take turns on your guitar, to even just sit in silence a little longer. you didn’t want this night to end yet even though you knew another argument could result in him staying.

colby watched you stare at the ground and then out the window, he wasn’t necessarily waiting for you to get out of the car. he was enjoying the tense yet comfortable air between you guys letting his own thoughts race through his mind; still looking at you.

“you don’t have to go home right now, i mean unless you want too - obviously go home but you know. you could stay here for a little bit?” you blurted out.

“uh yeah no, i mean yes i’d love to stay for a little.”

you smile to yourself as you both exit the car and walk up to your apartment.

#colby #sam and colby #colby brock #colby x reader #fanfic #colby brock x y/n #colby brock x reader #colby brock fanfic #y/n #harry styles #harry styles x y/n #angst #potential series?!?#please leave feedback #idk if this is good #i’m worried it’s bad

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quinloki · 8 months

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I’mma muse about some stuff and it’s going to get a little lot dark so please tread carefully.

Topics will include assault, trauma, trauma processing, projection, and messy healing.

And oddly enough, it all started with realizing what defining moment it was that made Marco my #1 blorbo over Eustass Kid.

I love Eustass Kid - from canonical character to head canon king, I just love him. He is, as I’ve said, to me the quintessential dom - the quintessential Kinkster. Maybe it’s the aesthetic, or the misfits of the misfits vibe his entire crew has going on, or maybe I’m just projecting my own ideal onto a big beef cake.

Of all the mental/emotional deep dives I could go on, I’m not here to muse on that.

I realized Marco had overtaken Kid for me when I found myself craving dark fics with Marco. Not the kind where he’s being dark, the kind where Teach has his face in the dirt and his ass in the air and is threatening to slaughter all the survivors if Marco struggles against him.

And I realized that one of the biggest reasons for that - and I think most dark content - is the validation it provides. That the things I survived weren’t as avoidable as I used to believe, they were neither my fault nor within my control.

It’s a validation that even strong people can be victims and being one doesn’t make you weak or worth less.

It provides a way to navigate the healing after ward, and because we see the darkest parts of the trauma we can see the messiest parts of that healing too. The good days that weave between the neutral ones that are tied down by the awful ones.

The validation that healing is messy. For our heroes as much as for us, for the people we admire and disdain.

And fiction, fan fiction especially with the added layer of connection I feel that exists, let’s us apply those traumas not just from the hands of villains, but also heroes, such as they may exist in the original world. Good guys can do bad things - the person your community exalts Can be the villain who hurt you. The delinquent who broke your nose can also be the one who pulls you from a burning building.

We are complex.

It’s easier to process that complexity on the canvas of fictional characters sometimes than to face it directly. And I think that’s okay. I honestly think it’s wonderful - a beautiful, if not often misunderstood side effect of creativity.

And sometimes? Sometimes we break those beloved characters and end the story with them shattered. Because that could have been our end. That is the What If we hadn’t survived.

And I don’t think we’re always aware of this - I know a few people who don’t even realize how traumatized they are. They’re flippant, coping with humor, about things that make your blood run cold when you hear them. Sometimes denial fuels people, and they’re okay because they’re too strong to be a victim, too functional to be broken.

So we don’t realize why that drive is there. Why we want to see certain events presented in fiction. Why it feels like relief, or why we cry at parts we wouldn’t expect to prompt tears.

But kink, fic, bdsm, etc. as long as you aren’t exploiting or harming someone real, then I don’t think there’s a single thing wrong with how dark your content gets.

(If you start actually wanting to harm someone though, please seek professional help. Your fantasy/coping lines are blurring with reality and you’re gonna need external assistance carving that line back into place.)

But, odd as it is, to me, bad things don’t happen to Kid (I mean the canon material beats him up enough as well). Kid’s the rock that weathers everything so his crew stays protected. So *I* stay protected. Even if he was broken he’d never admit to it, not in any way that would lead to processing it and healing from it.

But to me, he doesn’t break.

Marco can. But Marco can also heal from it, and I’m not talking about his Devil fruit. I’m talking about wounds you can’t just bandage or regenerate. He’s strong, so strong, but he’s been through the ringer, and you only need to apply a little more pressure… and then heal with him afterward.

That makes him, to me personally, more relatable. And thus back to the seemingly innocuous reason for this - that’s why he’s my #1.

#quin muses #mentions of assault #trauma #trauma processing #projecting #musing on the need for and important of dark content

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nrrrdgrrrl2002 · 1 year

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So I saw a really well made analysis on why splinter and raph are similar

(Please read it btw it’s well made)

So I wanted to explain why I think two other characters are similar.

Who are they?

Yup.

Lemme explain.

For starters, personality traits they share

Determination

Both put their all into any goal they want to achieve.

For shredder, this is killing splinter

For Leo, this is being the best ninja

This determination can be a bane and a boon, making both goal driven.

Both can also be extreme when these goals aren’t met.

See

Leo becoming extremely doubtful of himself/lashing out when he believes he can’t be a good leader. Whether it’s cause his brothers don’t respect him or he’s severely injured.

For shredder, he also severely lashes out when he can’t complete his goal. To the point he was willing to mutate himself to reach this goal.

Destructive anger

While splinter and raph have more obvious anger issues, Leo’s and shredders anger, when unleashed, is far more destructive.

Using two examples that are similar.

Shredder has killed many in his rage and destroyed the lives of many others. He doesn’t handle failure well at all. Shredders whole character is based on him being so stuck in his own anger he doesn’t think about the fact that what he’s doing is horrible.

While Leo tends to get stuck in his own head when he’s angry. Doing things like trying to take out a mother ship with a scout ship when his home planet has less than an hour left before being destroyed. Why did he do this? He was angry at fugitoid for not telling them something and got so caught up in that anger he didn’t think through his actions.

Hypocrisy

Shredder

“Mutants are vile creatures”

Turns himself into a mutant

“Karai. You are my daughter and I love you”

Constantly finds ways to mentally torture Karai for his own gain

“It’s your fault Karai is a mutant!”

Was the one who cut the chain

I could go on

Leo

“Donnie you can’t kill viziozo. It’s wrong”

Beheaded shredder

“Raph you can’t be this nightwatcher vigilante going off by yourself. We’re a team”

Goes off with Karai and shini to stop shredder without telling his team despite the fact that they would want to help.

“Mikey leatherhead is dangerous. Don’t try to be friendly with him”

Is constantly trying to get a known foot clan member on their side.

Idealism

Shredder sees himself as a victim who’s trying to protect his daughter and avenge his love (ok this is probably moreso delusion)

Leo sees himself as a true hero like captain Ryan and does everything he can to be like that.

Honor

Shredder is not an honorable man, but boy does he think he is. Shredder puts a lot of emphasis on what he thinks honor is,

Just like a certain blue clad turtle.

Black and white morality

Both of their moral systems lack nuance and complexity.

“I’m the hero for taking hamato yoshi out of this world”

“I’m the hero cause I let this mugger who beat up a blind man go”

“This person is evil cause they’re against me”

Taste in women

This is gonna sound weird but

Both seem to be attracted to women they know or at least, should know they shouldn’t be with.

For shredder, it’s Shen. A married woman. A woman married to his brother. He knows this, yet still tries to pursue a romantic relationship with her.

For Leo, it’s (Blegh) Karai, a foot clan member he thought was shredders daughter for a bit (so his cousin) who he then found out was his sister. Does he stop pursuing her after finding out she’s splinters daughter? NOPE. Even in season FIVE he was trying to flirt with her. Even Donnie and Casey stopped being weird towards april by season 4.

They also seem to want women they can save.

Shen is unhappy with her marriage at the moment and wants to move to America? I’ll give her that. I’ll get her away from her awful husband and save her!

Karai is a member of the foot? I’ll redeem her! Karai is splinters daughter? I’ll do whatever it takes to save her and bring her home! (That one’s not bad) Karais trying to lead her own foot clan? I’ll save her from herself!

Now. Here’s the big question.

Could Leo become like shredder?

HELL NO!

Why?

Splinter and his brothers. They could be d••ks to Leo and put too much pressure on him, but they make it clear to Leo that they love him and appreciate him for what he does and sacrifices (eventually)

I don’t think saki had that. His father didn’t seem to love him much and then there’s the whole “genociding his biological bloodline and then lying to him his whole life”

Leo and shredder may have similar traits, but just like how, despite being similar, raph would never become splinter, Leo would never become shredder.

This probably isn’t that well explained but my brain wouldn’t leave me alone until I made this analysis.

Hope y’all enjoy!

Feel free to add any parallels y’all have noticed!

#tmnt 2012 #tmnt 2012 leo #tmnt 2012 shredder

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docholligay · 6 months

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The House in Fata Morgana: Door Five--1099

I have never reviewed a visual novel before, but iscahwynn made me a very generous offer and a long line of patience, knowing that we are trying something very new. To that end: Please don’t spoil me for the game at all! If you are reading this, I have only gotten through the part written above, and I don’t want to be corrected, even if I’m wrong, even if I’ve missed something, i don’t want to have anything confirmed or denied, and I don’t need any trigger warnings or extraneous explanation. Iscah would like my pure, naive experience of the game. Thank you!

Non-spoilery: Our ‘true’ story--I was going to go into this thing about how all stories are true in some way, but we’ve all been here for me saying that sort of thing and you don’t need me to say it again--is actually a lot neater than I thought it was going to be by the selling of it in the bit with the landscape painting. Not in a way that’s overwhelmingly disappointing or anything, but there’s not a lot of room to feel dislike of Giselle. She’s an overwhelmingly positive and cheerful girl who Experiences the Horrors and stays positive and cheerful, and I DO love that in a character, but I would be massively overselling it to say the idea of it being a more complex tale carries through. But, it’s a much more human story than the one we’re given in door four, with people tripping over each other, bruising each other, and a total lack of magic of any kind.

Spoilers below

I will give this to the writers all day long, i love that they let Michel be such a fucking jerk about everything. They make him very hard to like, and that makes it easy for us to understand Giselle when she straight-up tries to get him killed to get herself out of a shitty and unfair situation. (If I were going to criticize something in this door pretty majorly, it would be that I don’t care for Giselle never being responsible for any of her problems ever. I would have been happier to have had her, say, agree to sleep with Antonin under duress instead of straight up being raped and having “Harlot” carved into her flesh. That one earned a bit of any eyeroll. Or even if she took the position at the Bollinger estate initially because she wanted to grasp for social position! Something like that, where at the very least, I could go, “Oh honey, you got yourself in over your head) So much of this story echoes the fourth door, especially in the beginning, but they really give you the impression that some of Michel’s problems are Michel’s fucking fault, and I love that. He’s so caught up in his victim complex that he doesn’t understand Giselle is afraid of him because HE IS ACTIVELY MEAN TO HER. Amazing.

That complaint about Giselle being voiced, I DO like that she’s not a pushover in the same way the White Haired Girl was. Giselle yells, and says that things are fucking unfair, and is pushy, and I love that about her. She’s a far more fully realized person even if I think the writing plays it a little too careful in order to make sure you understand that Giselle is the victim here.

Continuing in the vein of “Let’s be confused about the white haired girl,” it seems like my theory that they were the same person was incorrect, and it was some sort of lost love? Who the fuck is marrying off these albino children in France in the 1090s? So if it’s a romance that went awry, is she the Devil he made a pact with? (Supposedly) Or is she the witch, and because it’s her casting all these stories as a jealous (??) woman, she is making the white haired girl out to be this perfect angel who would never do anything bad or wrong? But if that IS the gambit, why bother trying to convince Michel that he’’s the white haired girl? Is it because if Michel came back as a woman, Giselle wouldn’t be into her? They would be literally together forever but also not “together” in the way they planned. I don’t know.

The whole situation with the village seemed like a bit of an odd inclusion for me. I realize we need to give Giselle a way to betray Michel, too, so that they can build trust with each other again and all that. But it takes a fair amount of time simply to put Giselle in a bad enough situation that we can’t feel too angry at her for selling Michel up the river. As I stated earlier, this isn’t a thing I need--I could have lived with her being mad about the fact that Michel treated her like absolute shit and threatened her with a fucking knife, and selling him out--but I recognize tht they want your feelings about Giselle to be completely uncomplicated, and so unfortunately we have to endure quite a bit of misery porn when it comes to her.

I do feel bad for the girl that she has to beg for death in order to get a fucking word in edgewise.

I realy wanted something to come out of the rose, and how he didn’t know how to handle it, and so he accidentally plucked it, and realized he’d been so interested in it that he killed it. I thought for sure he was going to accidentally kill Giselle or something, because he didn’t know how to handle something he was unaccustomed to, however beautiful it might be and however much he might love it, but that never materialized.

I loved that he had the realization that the person he was becoming wasn’t. In many ways, him, but he didn’t want to be the miserable bastard he had been. That this new person he was becoming was in every way better, and that he had only ever more possibility.

The end was…fine, I guess? I don’t know, I’m certainly not disappointed with it in any way and I think it fits with the story and my expectations of it, so I’m not complaining by any stretch of the imagination, I just didn’t feel much about it. I guess that’s the downside ot a story being more real, is that there is no beautiful poetry in most of our ends. I don’t think Michel did anything wrong in saving Giselle, I think he did the only thing he could do, the only gift he had to give her.

I am very intrigued to see the Maid’s side of all this.

Bollinger as in like, Bollinger champagne? Hilarious. Amazing. I’m getting myself some when i finish this game.

I noticed in this door that there seemed to be less portraits of the characters. I don’t know if that’s to focus us in on Michel and Giselle, or if it’s because we’re running out of free cash, or what, but it was odd to me that at the very least Amedee didn’t get a portrait or anything.

On the note of art, man could I have done with less of Giselle breasting boobily everywhere I am concerned also that these artists don’t understand how breasts attach to the body.

#Doc plays the house in fata morgana #Commission review #Doc plays games

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killian-whump · 2 years

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Top 10 Colin Moments...

Here they are!! My Top 10 Colin Moments!!!

Because, really, I have so many of them, I couldn’t narrow it down to only 5, because I’m me and also because, like, there’s two ways you could do this... You could do, like, Top Moments Where He Acted So Good or you could do Top Moments Where He Looked So Good or you could do Top Moments That I Like for Stupid Reasons That Are Still Somewhat Valid Because Personal Choice Is a Subjective Thing and You Don’t Always Have to Have Important Reasons for Liking Something, You Know... and I could go on and on!

SO! I’m doing my Top 5 Colin Moments from a “This impressed me” perspective and my Top 5 Colin Moments from a “I just really like this” perspective. Some of them overlap. Most don’t. Let’s go!!!

TOP 5 COLIN MOMENTS (performance-wise)

5. You Gotta Be Fucking Kidding Me

I have some complex love-hate feelings about The Rite itself, but one thing I unequivocally love is this scene. The slight eyeroll, the eyebrow twitch, the dialogue... Michael Kovak has had enough of these fucking frogs in his motherfucking hotel room. This scene puts Colin’s greatest strengths to good use. It’s adorable. It’s relatable. It’s understatedly funny. And if he’d been allowed to be this charming and likeable throughout the entire film, I have no doubt that America would’ve absolutely fallen in love with him. Alas, he wasn’t and they didn’t... but this scene, especially when compared to the rest of the film, perfectly illustrates the “certain something” that Colin undoubtedly has.

4. This Fucking Coward

I really think Colin’s acting in Storage 24 gets brushed aside too often. Yeah, yeah, I know; it’s a budget indie horror flick, it’s not a serious work... blah, blah, blah. Screw that. As ridiculous as the entire premise is (like all horror flicks) and as unimpressive as the film as a whole is, Colin streaks through this film thoroughly convincing the audience of two things: (1) he’s an asshole and (2) he’s scared out of his fucking mind. Most impressive is the scene above, where Mark’s fear overwhelms him to the point that he makes his most reprehensible decision yet. If Colin was a woman, I swear this role would’ve seen him getting endless offers for more (and better) horror flicks and he could’ve been the next latest hottest Scream Queen - because giving believable terror is a prerequisite for that job. But scared men in horror flicks are usually just side roles of someone’s nerdy friend who’s in the wrong place at the wrong time and gets killed off in the film’s one “comedic death” scene after a combined 7 minutes on film. It wasn’t a useful performance, so it gets ignored. But dammit, you guys, it was a good performance. Dude was fucking scared.

3. DA WHUMP

Look. I’m a connoisseur of whump. I watch a lot of it. I’ve seen tons of actors perform whump scenes. I’ve seen good acting, bad acting, and every flavor in between. So please believe me when I tell you that Colin does an absolutely amazing job with almost all of his whump scenes - and especially the ones in the Underworld arc of OUAT - and extra especially in the scene the GIF above is from. Drooling blood is something that is almost always NOT commendable, impressive, OR sexy - and yet, it’s all three of those things when Colin does it in those scenes. We also get winces, shudders, trembling, and even a bonafide whimper of all things. That man acted his fucking ass off in a scene where many, many actors would’ve phoned it in and let the stage blood do the talking for them. Believe me, I know this stuff - and if my lot in life is to be the weirdo that continually reminds the world how good Colin O’Donoghue is at portraying half-dead guys in bloody peril, I’M OKAY WITH THAT.

2. Dark Colin Rises...

I really think Colin did some of his best acting in the JJ Sneed episode of Dolly Parton’s Heartstrings. It really did a great job of showing off his derring ‘do... and his ability to flip on a dime and go from inspiring “what a charming rapscallion” responses to “holy shit I’m in danger” ones. I got literal chills the first time I saw JJ Sneed and he went full-on nasty on his cohort for the first time. Granted, we’ve seen Colin go dark in other roles (sometimes literally, hey-oooo), but JJ Sneed brought us some of the most realistic and unapologetic darkness we’ve seen - and Colin nailed it really well. Chills, I tell you people! Chills! This is precisely the kind of role Colin’s perfect for - and he nailed it so well.

1. The Entirety of His Role as Captain Hook

Look. Cheating is what I do, and I’m doing it right now, and if you didn’t expect me to do it, I mean, that’s really on you, isn’t it? But in all fairness, I’m not entirely cheating here anyway, because this entry isn’t about the individual scenes - it’s about the fact that he didn’t just play a role here; he built another whole human being that is so profoundly loved and understood by so many people that he lives on to this day in our memories and our hearts, and continues to have adventures in fanworks and lore. And it’s all the more impressive because Hook is so different from Colin himself in a lot of ways. Where Hook is ostentatious, bawdy, and confrontational... Colin is shy, considerate, and too nice to be an actual human being. My money’s on “angelic cherub that fell off a cloud, got amnesia, and was raised as a person.” but that’s a subject for another day...

TOP 5 COLIN MOMENTS (personal taste)

5. My Crazy-Ass Son

It might not be his best role. It might not be the best movie. But dammit, I love this completely batshit crazy character. Maybe it’s that I’m still pretty sure they had him step on a bear trap in the beginning of the film just so I could watch Colin wince and limp through the rest of the film. Maybe it’s the deep “monsters aren’t born, they’re made” philosophy of it all. Maybe it’s that he’s endearingly oblivious to his own evil anna’s disinterest proper marriage procedure everything. Maybe the jokes are too good. Maybe he just looks hot killing people. I dunno. I just adopted him for some reason, and woe be the person who tries to diss my crazy-ass son, ‘cos I fucking love him.

4. Detective Rogers

Here’s the thing. Colin did an amazing job acting like someone entirely unlike himself for 6+ seasons. Then, in the seventh season, he got a chance to create a cursed version of an alternate reality version of that same character and... he gave us this. And I’m gonna be honest, I don’t think Rogers took as much work for him to portray as OG Hook did, because he injected more of himself into Rogers - answering the age-old question of “What if you took Hook’s sexiness and combined it with Colin’s natural cupcakey goodness?” Now, do I think Rogers took expert acting chops to present to us? No. But do I love him with the burning passion of a thousand suns because he’s got more Colin in him than anyone else he’s played? Yes. Yes, I do. I would throw small children off a moving train for this man, but he would never ever ask me to, because he is a pure and precious peanut and I love him. (And yes, I’m cheating again. What are you going to do about it, huh? Just try and stop me.)

3. The Words

I mean... Come on. If you don’t spontaneously turn into a thirteen-year-old girl and start giggling and blushing like crazy every time you watch this, I don’t know you. It’s the Mountain Lodge Candle of music videos. You don’t actually need a man in your life; you just need to watch this video and know you’ve experienced the best that the male species has to offer you.

2. DA WHUUUUUUMP

Netflix probably still has my account flagged as “That nutter who watched the same two episodes of a 7 season series over and over and over again without ever watching any of the other episodes”.

1. Colin Himself

Colin’s managed to do the one thing no other living actor or actress has ever managed to do in my 43 years of life on this planet - he’s amused, delighted, and impressed me enough off screen that it’s out-weighed the value of his work in my life. Don’t get me wrong, I love the work - and I want more of it! - but the man himself is just as enjoyable to me. Be it interviews or selfies or “!!!” tweets or dominating at trivia/games or whatever-it-is-he’s-up-to, I just get a kick out of the guy. He’s fun. He’s silly. He's kind. He makes me smile. I hope we make him smile sometimes, too :)

#colin o'donoghue #top 5 lists

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seaside-writings · 1 year

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(Part 5 of 4)

Hello, all you wonderful, lovely people! I'm here with another prompt list for you all!

I know it's been a year since I posted a list having to do with the Scream franchise, but yesterday was the day that the fifth movie aired in theaters, and I thought it would be fun to celebrate by making a prompt list for it just like I did for the other movies.

As before with the other four lists, I’ve changed some stuff in the dialogue to help things be a little smoother.

I will also be linking the four other prompts in this list so if any of you want to check them out you can! And if you use these or any of the others prompts please credit/tag me so I can check what you created because I'd love to see it!

Now with all of that out of the way, please enjoy this prompt list!

I hope you all stay blessed and safe throughout your day.

Lots of Love & Wishes: Celia 💙

(1, 2, 3, 4)

Prompts:

“What’s your favorite scary movie?”

"Do you remember the beginning?" "Not really. It started with a kill scene, right? They always started with a kill scene,"

"I’ve been through this. A lot,"

"It's happening, three attacks so far. Do you have a gun?" "Of course, I have a gun,"

"There are certain rules to surviving these types of movies. Rule #1: never trust the love interest. Rule #2: what is the killer's motive? Rule #3: the first victim always has a friend group that the killer's a part of,"

"Whatever his link is to our past, it's pulled us all back here,"

"I won't rest until he's in the ground,"

"You ready?" "For this? Never,"

"This is your life now, which means that whoever this is is going to keep coming for you,"

"Something about this one just feels different,"

"The killer is a part of something in the past,"

"You said we were going to finish this, so go finish this,"

"I'll be right back!" "... He's dead,"

"You mean like Halloween?" "No, not like Halloween," "Sounds a lot like Halloween,"

"You know that part in the horror movie where you’re screaming at the person to get the fuck out? This is that part; get the fuck out,"

"Are you kidding me? I've been stabbed nine times,"

"Have you ever been stabbed?"

"It's an honor,"

Bonus question, do you think I made it inside your house before you could rearm the alarm?

"The attacks were all on people related to the original killers,"

"You got stabbed a billion times, got dumped by your famous wife, and crawled into a bottle. I think it's safe to say, you're on the suspect list,"

"A non-answer counts as a wrong answer. Time's running out. Tick-tock, tick-tock, tick-tock, tick-tock, tick-tock, tick-tock, tick-tock, tick-tock,"

"She was attacked," "What? Is she-" "She's alive, but in bad shape. She was stabbed,"

"When there's a psycho out there, you make yourself harder to find. You delete social media, tape over your phone camera, and disable GPS,"

"Well, it's elevated horror," "What does that mean, (elevated horror?)" "You know, it's like scary, but with complex emotional and thematic underpinnings. It's not just some schlocky, cheeseball nonsense with wall-to-wall jumpscares,"

"I mean she could still die," "What the fuck!?" "Or the killer could come back for her,"

"I mean I've never seen "Gone With The Wind" either, but I don't consider it like a huge hole in my cinematic education,"

"I'm just telling you, arm up, okay? Pepper spray, pocket knife, taser, anything,"

"Every decade or so, some idiot gets the bright idea to put on the mask, kill his friends, and get famous too. The last time it happened was in 2011,"

"I have to make sure we don't get sliced up by some lunatic who saw Friday the 13th and thought, "You know what? That Jason guy, he's got some pretty solid ideas,"

"Oh, they're not the only ones I'm going to hurt; I had to get you back here somehow, didn't I?"

"And where were you when all of this happened?" "I was watching, Netflix," "Ooh, yeah, super solid alibi, bro,"

"Or, and I'm just spit-balling here, you're the killer,"

"It doesn't freak you out that my real father was a serial killer?" "I mean, yeah. A great deal, yeah,"

"Give me one good reason why I should talk to you," "The original killer is my father," "... That's a horrible reason for me to talk to you,"

"Because nobody takes the true fans seriously, not really. They just laugh at us, and why? Because we love something? We're just a fucking joke to them! How can fandom be toxic? It's about love! You don't fucking understand, these movies are important to people,"

"Thank goodness, you're okay! Because I really, really wanted to be the one to kill you,"

"Never fuck the daughter of a serial killer,"

"It's good to hear your voice,"

"Promise me. No matter what you hear or what you see on the news, don't come here," "No offense, but I have no intention of ever stepping foot in that town again,"

"You wanna fuck with me, asshole? I'm right here. Come and get me!" "With pleasure,"

"Whoever this killer is after, I'm glad they have you to protect them,"

"You are a lot of things, but you are NOT a coward,"

"Why are you doing this?" "Why? You wanna know why? Maybe it's because you're a selfish bitch who can't even make a decision to save the life of someone you love. Maybe you're too weak for this franchise," "Maybe you're right. Or maybe I'm just stalling for time, fuckhead!"

"You have to shoot them in the head, or they always come back,"

"I want you to help us kill him," "You want me to help you and the host of a morning show to commit murder?" "Correct," "Yeah,"

"I put a tracker on her car," "You did what?" "Seems like something you would do," "I'll take that as a compliment,"

"Oh, there's two of you... again,"

"You know, I'm a really big fan?" "Go fuck yourself,"

"You really need some new material," "I got you here, didn't I?" "You might actually be the most derivative one of all. I mean, really, the same house?"

"I started all this," "No, you didn't, the sick bastard started this, and we're gonna end it. After tonight, no more books, no more movies, no more fucking killers,"

"Help me! Help me! He stabbed me!" "What do you think?" "Trap,"

"Someone had to save the franchise!"

"You did all this just to make me the hero of your fucked-up movie?" "Sweetie, you’re not the hero. You’re the villain,"

"Fuck you!" "Well, now you’re just quoting the original,"

"What are you gonna do now, huh? Make a scary phone call to me? Pop your head out of the closet in a mask? You know, 'cause you're the villain? And the villain dies at the end! Those are the rules!"

"Wait! What about my ending?!"

"You know what the biggest problem of this franchise is? There’s no Michael Myers or Jason Voorhees, no bad guy to keep coming back. But the illegitimate daughter of the original mastermind? Now that’s a fucking villain,"

"Can’t have a bona fide Halloween without Jamie Lee!"

"I'm introducing a new rule,"

"You're not the reason Dad left. You didn't choose where you came from, or who you came from. I don't blame you for that. I blame you for leaving me, too," "That's never gonna happen again," "I know,"

"This time, it's gonna be the fans that win,"

"You really should’ve listened to him! He nailed it in one! "Dude, look at the love interest!" Are you fucking stupid?"

"I can't believe I get to do you both! No last-minute saves this time! Your story's over! Time to pass the torch!" "It's all yours, bitch!"

"Enjoy the torch,"

"Please, it's not my fault! I'm just a dumb kid, I just wanted to be a part of something!" "Apart of something? You killed me best friend!"

"I’m so sorry, we can’t let you live, either. I mean, surviving this many times, that would just be ridiculous,"

"You're not going anywhere without me. Don't worry, I'm gonna hold your hand the whole way there,"

"Not really a fan of scary movies," "That checks out,"

"I still prefer The Babadook,"

"It's always someone you know,"

"I've seen this movie before," "Not this movie,"

"Careful, they always come back,"

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overheaven · 8 months

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hypmic spoilers

hahah nooo don’t humanize Rei he’s so sexy and unknowable…

no but really i do want him to always be at least a smidge “irredeemable” if you know what i mean. “redemption” is so trite and misused in fannish type stuff these days so i don’t even like using that word but it’s the best i’ve got. i really hope his motivations don’t end up wholly justifying his actions yknow? i don’t think he needs to be a villain (i don’t think there are any villains in hypmic actually, just antagonists. characters with wildly different motives and morals yknow.) but i would be very sad if all of his edges got smoothed.

while i love guys who are just Bad and Gross all the way through, it makes for an interesting character that he was “good” (or at least “honest”) at some point but then he got burned or even just backed into a corner and had to play the villain to get [his loved ones or even himself] out safely. again, Hypmic just doesn’t have many characters who are just evil for the sake of being evil, the main characters DO often have good intentions and multilayered backstories, complex conflicts that they have to deal with and navigate imperfectly. they all get messy. but i do fear Rei’s choices being undermined by a big HAHA IT WAS ALL AN ACT!! AND I’M SORRY!! moment. he’s a lot like Ardyn from FFXV for me, where yeah the guy as we know him was forged in grief and genuine good intent, but that doesn’t absolve him of the dubious things he’s done on the way here. remorse doesn’t mean shit when you’re digging your heels in and continuing to stomp down a path of spite.

i mean he even tells Saburo that one time like “even if i had a good reason for it, i still abandoned you kids.” so he’s aware of the role he’s been given, he’s not biding his time until he can shuck off this slimy facade and reveal a kind sad repentant man uwu— he IS a bit of a scumbag and he knows it. & he doesn’t expect his family to forgive him! (also i personally would love if he’s been kind of like. leaning into it too much and yknow. might as well have fun with it! if you want me to be a suspicious scheming conman, i will be! he’s committed to the bit too much etc etc. his solos are all about hustling and manipulating people and all that… it would be charming if that’s a genuine side of him just as much as his more “noble” ideals are)

ULTIMATELY i don’t want fans to end up with a really shallow take of “aw he was just a wife guy all along 🥺 he made some mistakes but he’s trying to take the world back from these Evil Women 🥺 he loves his sons 🥺 which means he’s Good, actually” UGH. like that’s my worst nightmare lol. but i guess other interpretations don’t have to be my problem even if that comes to pass because yknow he’s subject to my own He Would Not Fucking Say That sense when i come to this fandom & i can always pretend i do not see it i just. (claws at my skull) please let him be gross. just let him be sleazy and mysterious. he can have a heart of gold underneath but please understand that he’s still Like This now and he can’t go back.

THAT ALL SAID i don’t take issue with the most recent events, he’s still not showing us all of his cards and he’s still always cryptic. there’s a lot of potential for him to still be dishonest and stubborn, weaving webs and burning things down, all that. Otome is posed as someone who had good intentions but became “corrupted” so to speak. Rei even says he thinks something of this nature & that’s why he’s trying to destroy what she’s done in order to correct it all. so narratively, Otome is the Big Bad and Rei is “on our side” (i.e., on a team, part of the main cast) but we really shouldn’t forget that he’s a foil for her. whatever ideals he has are not The Solution just because he’s on this side— they’re his ideals, not the story’s ideals. his goals & methods are probably just as Wrong as hers by now. also i love them both a LOT i think they should both get worse.

i don’t have a conclusion to this post lol. just pondering the state of things and admiring the complexity of this character that i love, and how you can’t have his complexity without baggage, and hopefully things will get even MORE complicated as the story goes on… it’s great.

also i hope he pays attention to Jiro soon because i don’t want my baby suffering from too much middle child syndrome please please please let him have a one on one with Jiro too

#hypmic #rei amayado #amayado rei #meta #tagging this in case anyone wandering the tags might be interested in some meta #i wrote half of this on my phone and half on my computer i think hope the formatting isn’t weird. fuck the mobile app #pangs stuff #rei tag

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