#“if magic is a part of them why should i make them feel ashamed of using it”

[angeart]

u know there could be doubt but honestly if the love is requited, either friendship or romance, i don’t think i’d be too bothered. i would hope they would trust me with their heart without the use of charm magic, but if they need that element of control i’d allow it. i have a friend with really bad control issues bc of her childhood, and she has specific boundaries that i follow that make her feel safe, and loved. if magic is a part of them, why should i make them feel ashamed of using it, just because it goes against my sensibilities? u know? i love everyone a little bit, i don’t mind sharing more of my heart. it would be different if it would be malicious or cruel, a love curated for possession or vanity, but if it’s simply for companionship i wouldn’t mind. i’d let them write the runes on my arms if it laid their heart to rest easy.

oh i love this take. (and you word it so beautifully <3)

there'd maybe be a period of some internal turmoil, contemplating personal agency and if his wishes are true. if we're talking scarian - would grian want to be here if scar didn't charm him? (without knowing if he's charmed at all) would he want to be by scar's side, of his own volition, or is it a trick? can he trust his own feelings?

but once he's secure in feeling like he's exactly where he wants to be, and that this is what he decides he wants, instead of fighting against it and constantly spiraling... then yes. yes.

i think that's a good dynamic and understanding and way to view it!

[cybrasigilism]

Could I request a nsfw fic of soft dom thanos x reader reassuring them because they feel shy during intimacy? (I’m such a sucker for soft doms☹️) btw I love love your work ur one of my favorite writers :3

aww i’m so honoured! thank you so much for the love 😘

Judge Judy (Thanos/Player 230 X Reader)

warning: smut (omg someone sound the alarm bells) | not proofread | lowercase intended | ooc thanos? (writing him a lot softer than i think he would be) | protection not specified (don’t rely on the pullout method pulease) | praise | soft dom!thanos | reader has female genitalia | PiV

character: thanos/choi su-bong (player 230)

A/N: it lowkey felt strange to write thanos super soft n’ sweet? i can get behind a gentler version of him, don’t get me wrong! and thank you so much again for your kind words :) hoping i did your request justice! (+ the title of the fic is taken from a Tyler, the Creator song title, please check it out Judge Judy is really good)

MDNI! 18+ content under the cut, reader’s discretion is advised

─────⁺‧₊˚ ཐི⋆♱⋆ཋྀ ˚₊‧⁺ ─────

you were beyond ashamed of yourself.

here was your boyfriend, putting down his all for you, and you still couldn’t escape your mousey state, still hiding away as much as possible in that shell of yours. even as he had his hand between your thighs, working absolute magic, you couldn’t muster up a moan. you were absolutely horrified of making any noise. sure there was the occasional gasp for air and slight moan but you held back as much as possible; gripping the sheets, biting your lip, anything to stop that voice of yours coming out. you almost slipped up when he started kissing your neck, leaving hickeys anywhere he spent a particularly long time on.

it got to a point where enough was enough for thanos.

he was desperate to hear you, he wanted so badly to draw moans and whines from your lips, but you were positively petrified. before he moved forward to the actual sex part of the ordeal, he pulled away, now looming over you as you laid there, wide eyed and just so quiet.

“what’s the matter, baby?” he asked, looking you up and down. you exhaled sharply, looking away in shame. “i’m sorry, i’m just..nervous, that’s all.” he cocked his head to the side, eyebrows crinkling upwards in a look of concern. “nervous? for what? we’ve done this before..” he had every right to be confused, you knew that. if you could get naked in front of him, why was your voice where you drew the line? “was it something i did?” he wondered, and you felt your heart break into a million pieces.

��no! god no, i just..” you started, feeling your shoulders tense as you found yourself scavenging for words that should have come all too easily to you. “i don’t want to be obnoxious..?” the look of concern on thanos’s face slowly let a smile creep through and he chuckled a bit, you felt your cheeks grow hot with embarrassment. “don’t laugh!” you cry out, covering your face. “i’m sorry! i’m sorry, i just wasn’t expecting that, that’s all.” he explained, calming down. he grabbed your hands, moving them down from your face, able to make eye contact once more.

“be obnoxious all you like,” he started, his gaze had become softer than you’d seen it before, “you don’t understand how badly i need to hear you.” you gulped, grasping his hands in return. “i don’t…i don’t think i know how…” you felt your eyes shift again, you didn’t know how? he took your chin to redirect your line of sight once again. “if that’s all it is, i can help you.” he assured, you felt the tension in your shoulders ease. “just follow my lead, okay sweetheart?” you nodded, leaning forward to initiate a kiss, to which thanos happily accepted.

this time, you weren’t gonna hold back. you were terrified, sure. but you were not gonna hold back.

⁺‧₊˚ ཐི⋆♱⋆ཋྀ ˚₊‧⁺

and hold back you did not. fuck, you didn’t even know you were capable of such sounds. from the moment he thrusted into you, you were more vocal than either of you knew possible. thanos was certainly not disappointed, he had gotten more vocal in response too. you know he had told you to follow his lead, but now it seemed you had taken the role of leader.

“there ya’ go, that’s my girl.” he praised as he bottomed out once again in your tight cunt, maintaining a steady pace as he pumped in and out of you. you couldn’t imagine forming words at this point, he consumed all your thoughts, ridding you of the ability to form intelligible dialogue. “god, you have such pretty moans, fuck.”

his relentless praise caused you to clench around his cock, which made him make sluttier sounds than you, which was currently saying a lot. with your newfound voice, an endless cycle of pure ecstasy laid ahead, and it was better than any drug in that cross that thanos wore.

─────⁺‧₊˚ ཐི⋆♱⋆ཋྀ ˚₊‧⁺ ─────

apologies that this one is shorter than the others, but i felt it was best short and sweet! thanks for reading and for the recommendation! as always, any advice/constructive criticism on how to improve my writing is appreciated and requested!

have a good rest of your day/night lovelies!💋

Tags: @gongyoosgf @kvstjwonnie @pink-apples001 @fiicalapsiholoaga

[onebizarrekai]

Kai don't be shy and tell us the lore abt fatal flaws pretty please :3

sorry I'm too shy… I can't do it…

jk. which lore? I can give you some of my ideas I've been brainstorming. I don't know how many of these are repeats though.

fatal flaws is not exactly modernized; it's very possible they're in an ambiguously semi-post-apocalyptic setting, one that's rebuilt but it's been long enough that people don't remember. their country doesn't have any relationships with the outside world. even if there are other people out there, it's likely believed that there are no other civilizations out there, that the mainland is a barren wasteland.

"being a sorcerer" is the kind of rumor that makes you an immediate outcast. it's not illegal to be a sorcerer, but society has turned against them due to prejudice and the sorcerer parasite. the parasite basically kills sorcerers and turns them into 'zombies', like fungal hosts. it's a contamination; they're not born with it. but regular humans think that they're born with it.

miles and arthur lived in a poor sorcerer district in the countryside that existed under the radar, they hadn't been found by the government yet, but the parasite got in. miles lived with his single father and arthur may have possibly never known his parents. (note the big maybe) when the parasite hit, the military found them. the two of them had to escape.

vick grew up in the capital city and was taught in school that the military is infallible and that sorcerers are dangerous. growing up getting into fights and getting in trouble, she eventually went to training camp and got a job in the city guard due to it being well-paying, but it wasn't a particularly good or welcoming job. they eventually told her she "had to quit" due to her badly representing their government with her temper. she didn't start changing her mind about sorcerers until adulthood.

blue is just Some Guy, there is definitely nothing weird going on with him, nope, totally nothing weird. he definitely isn't trying to hide his backstory or anything. he is just a regular delivery boy.

arthur has very confused opinions about sorcerers. he grew up seeing himself as a normal human, and eventually became ashamed of being one once he realized what it meant. he thinks justice is very important, and people should be punished for wrongdoings, but his desire to take crime more seriously just perpetuated the laws that hurt sorcerers. he's not opinionated like miles about it. part of him thinks, "wouldn't people be happier if everyone was the same?" and the machine happens, "why don't we use people's magic to power the city and make it a better place?" he's… complicated.

hacker's a regular guy, but he lives upstairs in randy's restaurant like miles does, and he works for randy. he does Computer Shit. he did used to be affiliated with a gang and his stupid ex still tries to get his attention sometimes.

bunny is a sorcerer kid who likely lost her family to the parasite. I haven't picked apart her story yet, but randy took her in while vick was working in the guard. he worries a lot about her schooling; he and hacker try to do it themselves because randy's afraid of sending her to public school, since bunny's a sorcerer and she's autistic. vick is sort of jealous because she feels like she never got any special treatment growing up.

crystal comes from a surrounding island where people aren't known to live at. she keeps her identity on the down low, because while she's not technically a sorcerer, what she actually is would freak people out even more.

Once Upon A Time™, Charles L'bard the First arrived on the island we now know as our home. With his Big Might and Big Charisma, he smote the cursed monsters and their henchmen that resided there and became a hero. The people crowned him the Island's Hero, the Lord of the Sun, and he became the first king.

many generations later, the populous demanded an elected official instead. this did not make the royal family very happy……

[scoobydoodean]

sometimes i see people make the complaint that dean is "always right" and validated by the narrative but like. that doesnt feel right. like there's gotta be situations where he's wrong, like him thinking garth was drinking the koolaid in the werewolf community but then realizing that the people garth was with were mostly good (the evil cultist nonwithstanding) and even admits he was wrong to garth.

I always think this complaint is funny because it's such an obvious tell that they're bitter about their fave making a mistake and they want it to be Dean's fault still somehow.

Dean is definitely not always right, but I'd also like to point out in the situations most people would probably be thinking of (Ruby lying and misleading Sam to slowly turn him into her "anti christ superstar", Cas popping Purgatory) Dean was not the only person who thought these things were a bad idea? He was just the person closest to each respective person doing the shady thing (Sam, Cas) so his pleading and concern sticks out way more. But literally every single person in Cas's life besides Crowley said popping Purgatory was a bad idea!!!! He hid it from his angel and human friends because he knew everyone around him would object. Sam did the same RE: Ruby. He hid it because he knew it was a bad idea. He also claimed from the beginning that he had no interest in trusting her and just wanted to use her—he just failed to notice when he started legitimately trusting her (4.01, compilation). And the angels were the ones who told Dean in early season 4 that Sam was working with Ruby and pressured him to make Sam stop (4.03). Dean didn't even know Sam was drinking demon blood until 4.20 which I also feel like a lot of people forget. Pam (4.15) and Chuck (4.18) had both confronted Sam by then and told him what he was doing was wrong. Dean also comes around and works with Ruby as a teammate by 4.09/4.10, which is why it stings for him even more that Sam keeps working with her in secret (and this is because Dean doesn't know about the blood and Sam doesn't want him to know, because he's ashamed). I actually have trouble even thinking of a situation where Dean was the only one saying something was a bad idea when that thing turned out to be a bad idea?

Dean also concedes to others arguments (whether he should have or not) more often than people want to admit, which means he doesn't usually end up ultimately causing huge problems by going behind everyone's backs and refusing to turn from whatever path he's started down while everyone around him pleads with him to stop. Like when Dean was going to throw himself into the sea then did not do that, or when he was going to kill Sam for Death at the end of season 10 then did not do that, or when he was going to kill Jack in season 14 then did not do that, or when he was going to kill that guy in Croatoan then did not do that, or when he was going to go no contact with Sam after 5.02 then did not do that. Or when he accepted Sam and Mary wanting to work with the BMOL, or when he accepted Sam and Cas wanting to bring Jack back with risky magic in season 14.

But yeah Dean isn't always right 100% of the time. There's plenty of smaller, episodic examples of this, but for some larger ones: The number one thing that Dean is wrong about is that he (most of the time) doesn't think he deserves to be saved (he spends over half of season 3 refusing to help with the main plot of the season which is saving him). He was wrong when he said in 5.18 that Sam wouldn't be able to resist Lucifer (Sam is able to do that with Dean's help in 5.22). Dean was HUGELY wrong in 6.20 when he refused to believe Cas could have been lying to them and kept trying to make Sam and Bobby feel guilty for doubting Cas (and his trust in Cas is part of what ultimately leaves him so devastated!) He was wrong about plenty of things in season 9/10 because he was going crazy, but one would be trying to murder Gadreel who they kind of needed at that point. I mean Dean is kind of the "antagonist" of season 9/10 in the same way Sam and Cas are sort of the antagonists of season 4 and 6 respectively. He took on the Mark of Cain without considering the consequences. Everything converges to the ultimate goal of trying to save him from a curse he took on with very little forethought (and yes he was depressed etc). We could argue that Dean was "right" about The Book of the Damned, but the thing is that Sam also knew Dean was right about the Book of the Damned. He just didn't care that Dean was right about it, used the book anyway, then said he'd do it again when he saw the fallout. Dean was wrong about Jack in early season 13. He and Jack are also framed as wrong for the whole Chuck suicide bomb plot Billie talked them into in season 15.

[witch1nghour]

𝜗𝜚 ⠀𝗕𝗬 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗣𝗥𝗜𝗖𝗞𝗜𝗡𝗚 𝗢𝗙 𝗠𝗬 𝗧𝗛𝗨𝗠𝗕   ﹔  cartoon villain sentence starters   .  please   like   or reblog   if   you   plan   on   using   .   don’t   claim   as   your   own   .   

long  live  the  king.

I  kinda  like  the  dark.

and  he  shall  smite  the  wicked,  and  plunge  them  into  the  fiery  pit!

arise,  my  messengers  of  death!  our  time  has  arrived!

you  poor  simple  fools.  thinking  you  could  defeat  ME?

i'll  make  him  writhe.  I'll  see  him  wriggle  like  a  worm  on  a  HOOK!

if  you  won't  bow  before  a  sultan,  then  you  will  cower  before  a  sorcerer!

magic  mirror  on  the  wall  -  who's  the  fairest  of  them  all?

now,  I'm  going  to  close  my  eyes  and  count  to  ten,  it  makes  the  chase  more  interesting,  for  me.

if  only  there  was  someone  out  there  who  loved  you.

there`s  no  escape  this  time.

they  called  me  a  fraud,  those....  but  once  I  bring  back  this  creature,  my  name  will  be  cleared. 

beautiful,  isn't  it?  I've  spent  a  lifetime  tracking  it.

and  here  they  come  these  bandits  and  think  the  bird  is  theirs  to  take.  but  they  soon  find  that  this  mountain,  is  a  very  dangerous  place.

tell  your  emperor  to  send  his  strongest  armies!  I'm  ready.

ha!  you  really  should  have  thought  of  that  before  you  became  peasants!

are  you  a  gamblin'  man?

well,  I  see  no  reason  why  you  can't  go...if  you  get  all  your  work  done  and  if  you  find  something  suitable  to  wear.

off  with  their  heads!!

fear ALWAYS works!

it  tore  me  apart,  but  I  finally  learned  an  important  lesson:  you  can't  count  on  anyone,  especially  your  heroes!

you  let  one  stand  up  to  us,  then  they  all  might  stand  up. 

that's  the  last  time  I  lose  to  you.

you  are  no  longer  in  control.  I  am.

the  storm  provides!

they  laughed  at  us,  but  now  it's  our  turn  to  laugh  back. 

after  today,  you  will  never  be  ashamed  of  who  you  are.

you  and  the  dragon  are  coming  with  me.

magic  makes  people  feel  too  powerful…  too  entitled.  It  makes  them  think  they  can  defy  the  will  of  a  king.

both  of  you,  faithless  fools  who  would  dare  to  take  up  arms  against  the  king  of  light  and  shadow...  so  you  choose!  and  so  you  shall  feel  my  wrath!

our  grudge  will  be  settled  at  last!

i  should  have  warned  you,  you  are  alone  here,  you  have  always  been  alone. 

still  here  you  are,  trying  so  desperately  to  save  this  miserable  world  refusing  to  accept  your  true  role. 

i'm  sure  you've  been  told  I  was  the  first  of  our  kind  but  I  assure  you,  there  have  been  many.

your  destiny  is  to  destroy  the  world.

you  may  come  out  when  you  learn  to  be  a  loving  daughter.

i’m  glad  he  sent  you.  i  was  afraid  I'd  been  forgotten. 

and  with  this,  I've  finally  have  the  power  to  destroy  you!

i'll  not  leave  here  empty-handed!

did  you  really  think  you  could  escape?

i  will  finally  be  able  to  return  to  the  mortal  world,  and  this  time...you  won't  be  there  to  stop  me.

you  ever  tried  going  mad  without  power?  It's  boring.  No  one  listens  to  you!

i  will  hunt  you  down  for  all  eternity!  I  swear  I  will  never  rest  until  I  destroy  you  if  its  the  last  thing  I  ever  do!

now  you  know.  knowledge  is  power.  use  it!

it's  nothing  personal.  it's  just  business.

this  was  never  your  city.  it’s  mine.

I  haven't  even  been  a  part  of  your  life,  how  could  I  ruin  it?  I  wasn't  even  there.

time  has  done  nothing  but  made  you  weak.  we  have  our  own  plans

join  me,  and  i  will  show  you  how  to  harness  your  destiny!

you  are  never  going  to  escape  again.

[ellesthots]

hihi elle-

sorry if this is a weird question, but is it weird to actually get turned on by smut/fanfictions? ive always had this problen where i felt it was wrong/weird to feel that way but is it really??

- 🎀

hiiiii not a weird question at all, don’t worry!!

it’s not weird whatsoever to get turned on by smut or fanfic!! it makes sense why you’ve struggled with it feeling wrong or weird or bad to feel that way—we live in a very sex-averse, sex-negative culture. it tells us that we should feel bad, gross, or ashamed about consuming material that makes us feel aroused, whether that be written words, audio, or video. but that doesn’t make it actually bad, it just means many people haven’t unlearned their biases about sex and sexuality and are trying to make it everyone else’s problem.

people devalue things that are sexual or have any sort of sexual tension. people complain about romance books not being literary or serious, that smut has ‘ruined people’s brains’ or isn’t ’actual reading’. when people say things like that, it sends a message that we are bad or wrong for enjoying that. but again, that doesn’t make it true, it only illuminates a bias of the person saying it. a bias we do not have to accept!

also, think about how people react to horror content: devaluing it, it rarely wins big awards, lots of people ‘cannot understand why someone would enjoy that’. compare that to how people speak about romance books or smut. people get deeply uncomfortable with media that gives them physical, bodily reactions. they want their books to be sterile so they remain comfortable, and don’t have to interrogate any of their biases or learn anything about themselves and their preferences.

smut (and writing in general) is such a beautiful thing to me: how cool is it that words on a page can make someone feel something so intensely? that i or someone else can put together words in a certain order and it can make someone aroused, or happy, or sad, or excited. it’s absolute magic. it’s lovely! how fun is it to read something and feel physical feelings in your body, feel your body or mind shift? that is SUCH an awesome experience and journey.

and being aroused is just that: another feeling. we don’t judge or moralize people feeling sad at books, or happy at books, or crying, or feeling anxious, or angry, or any other emotion or body experience. arousal, sex, and sexuality are just another part of the varied and vast human experience.

also: with smut, getting turned on is usually a big part of the point!!! authors writing smut know that people will (hopefully) get turned on by it. within this, it’s also normal to engage in self-pleasure/masturbation to sexual media, including smut! it’s up to individual authors whether or not they’re open to readers telling them they engaged in sexual activity while/after reading. personally, I’m fine with people sharing who would like to. but in general, authors expect readers to be turned on and potentially act on it when they write smut!

you are sooooo fine to feel turned on by smut/fanfic! embrace it!!! the next time you read some smut, let the judgment and negative feelings pass through you. i used to feel shame about sex and enjoying smutty media, but now I’m sooo passionate about not just reading it, but writing it, too!

hopefully this was helpful <3 thanks for sending this in! my page is very sex-positive and I am always so excited to talk about it and help people unlearn shame about it. part of why i write it! feels like a lil bit of activism against the anti-sex rhetoric that can make people feel so bad about themselves :)

[richardsphere]

Watching sublimation now

Ok they at least manage to sell Mari as genuinely interested in becoming her friend. (low bar, and i hate that i doubted they'd do even that). I think i figured out why Adrien and Sublime get along seemingly so well. (its the fact that they're both Disney Princess-parodies.)

---- Ok Mari... please no breaking the harp what the fuck is wrong with you. That'd be real messed up. Like legit "hero complex" shit. Honestly even the fact you're going out of your way to stalk her hoping to swoop in and "solve" a problem when she has one is kind of emotionally manipulative already... Like she's behaving like a fucking Friendship Vulture.

OH THANK FUCKING GOODNESS the string broke on its own. We havent sunk that low yet. (imma place a bet based on the currently-established tone of the character: Sublime fixes it herself by using her magic hair as a replacement string. Disney Princess-shit) MOTHERFUCKER THAT WAS ME JOKING. ---- as an aside... I think the fact that Mari has fallen so far from "normal girl"-status that they need a gold-medal winning paraplegic, 3-instrument virtuoso disney princess to make her feel self-concious in comparison is probably a bad sign in and off itself tbh. Like Sublime feels lika a writing-room admission that Mari just plain isnt relatable to real children anymore. (note: the paraplegic thing is relevant cause it draws on that whole "inspiration porn"-thing to make Sublime even more perfect.) --- Adrien is trying to get his two friends to meet. Which is nice. Tikki is starting to feel a bit ashamed of Mari's behaviour. (at least someone in the writers room must've realised this isnt looking too good) Ok, i thnk i just heard Blond!-parent refer to Grey!-Parent by name. but i cant make it out so i'll refer to them as Blond and Gray until it's more clear. I dont like the way that Blond!parent seems to be legitimising that old "disabled people need to pull themselves up by their bootstraps and learn to adapt"-mentality. Like i know its just 1 scene, and might not be reprasentative of her overall character. But first impressions matter y'know.

---

Ok i dont like defending this minor moment, but i will acknowledge that its hard for a person who doesnt usually hang out with amputee's to mentally connect that "proshtesis mean the part is detachable" (that should be clearly part of the definition, but there's a difference between knowing in theory and mentally adapting to the reality). So Mari's conclusion that Sublime had been vaporised isnt as stupid in-universe as it obviously is out of universe. (Also, is her name really "sublime"? Like i get that some people name their kids shit like "Hope" and "Faith" but "Sublime", what kind of pressure to put on your kid) --- Ok so Sublime is doing some really weird self-hypnosis pep-talk in the mirror. (some kind of trauma, presumably from whatever lost her the legs....)

Ok mari... dafuq was this supposed to help you? And she supers-up for selfish reasons. (didnt Tikki use to say that the powers werent supposed to be used for selfish reasons. I sure hope that the show actually starts letting the implied concequences occur sometime) --- Ok so we're just plain-up not supposed to like Blond!parent. Good to know. Yup mom is definitly using the name as a form of emotional blackmail "you must excell and be amazing and perfect or you wont live up to my expectations, which is why you're named what you are named". ok we see the tiny bubbles as she steps, showing that mari did fuck this shit up before she transformed into Bug. But at least it isnt intentional... like its clearly her fuck-up clearly her mistake but the out-of-context i read when i woke up this morning at least misrepresented the intentionality. (though no, it did not misrepresent the guilt). --- Oh the "hands in front of mouth-what did i say" screenshot i saw posted above the "we moved Revalator forward in season" announcement is from sublimation. thats a fucking goddamned relief, at least a sliver of a chance that episode isn't a "truth-telling" akuma. Still likely given the name, but now its at a 25-30% chance of a rescheduled, early-season Gabriel reveal instead of 55-60% estimation. --- Welp. Sublimation's very fist use of her power is mental/psychological. That removes one possible defense for the "mari shrugs off Self-Improvement Magic" allegation. (I didnt want to root for "the mom's idea of Improvement is limited to the physical body" cause it'd be ableist. But it'd have been some degree of cover for "Global Gaslighter isnt affected by the power" if it was just physical) Blonde's name is Caroline. --- Oh now i understand why they had to establish that Sublime and Family are from Out Of Town. If they didn't establish that, this entire fight ends right there. at the "release the akuma and I promise i fix everything" line. (cause she cant World-Healing-Wave without the Akuma). --- Next scene and... goddamn it mari wasnt even TALKING about the magical reset-bugs when she talked about fixing it.

And she has a magic pager that can reach Adrien in his civilian identity now. That is new, (it's also not-yet established, and feels like a big violation of the "Mari cant know Chat's Identity" rule because its not established how it reaches Civilian!Adrien) ---

No you arent volunteers, you two were drafted by an ancient cultist, and you've made it repeatedly clear that as far as YOU (lb) are concerned, no one is allowed to retire, or even refuse service should you decide to bring them a miraculous. Even if they have very good reasons to make that decision (IE: Chat in the New York Special) they cannot leave. This show is setting some very dangerous lessons about the nature of "volunteering".

Ok so the source Im watching the episode on is definitly incomplete and begins cutting left-and-right at this point. going straight from Chat putting Bob in the trash, to cat mid-sentence on a roof. Doesnt even show LB getting hit. So i have found a more full, less choppy version of the episode. But that one is entirely in spanish. Which i dont speak. So im going to watch the choppy-edited scenes in english, then go back to the spanish one until it catches up with the english. (its the best i can do right now) I might still miss a thing here-and-there so full disclosure. God spanish-cat has a deep voice. Yup they just tank the hits like claimed. "Our characters are perfect, no potential for growth or development left in this show". This scene is the equavalent of "you can stop watching the show now". THE EVERLOVING FUCK IS AN "ANTIKUMA"? Like Lila just gets the ability to make her Akuma's turn into a giant "superpower-sealing" laserstorm? --

Ok so the show now acknowledges that Mari was the one in the wrong. (hence the mirror). But it also claims that Mari cannot improve because she is so perfect it renders her immune to personal improvement magic. Cant have it both ways here. I guess you could argue that Sublimations´ Improvement Powers dont actually do mind-controll, they make people better and that means they could only make Chat and Bug better heroes thus guaranteeing a beat-down when they get hit. But that still feels like mixed messaging if the episode is meant to end on the "the mirror meant you were the villain" conclusion.

--- Ok so... Lila was in the audience. Which suggests its actually marinette that she's stalking. (Ilustrhater implied she was stalking the date between Mari and Adrien, but failed to imply further. So having it clarified which of the two she's going after is actually important). I dont like it tbh, Lila's motivation for going after Marinette is shallow unless its a stable-timeloop where she's just following orders from her future-self about doing the things that let her future self know Mari is Ladybug down the line. (And im of the opinion time-loops are kind of a shallow motivation themselves) At least stalking Adrien would make sense because she has Gabriels' files, and knows Gabe once suspected Adrien as a possible Cat. Either that or Lila just plain knows mari is ladybug, which would go against the entire point of the london special. --- Looming Tomoe is ominous. It also feels strangely xenophobic? like the way the shot lingers on the city of paris framed by a Japanese Dojo, Bonsai tree and Japanese swordrack? it feels like a shot that is meant to warn the audience against the threat that "foreign influence" poses to "our beloved homeland". Having representations of Japan "swallow" the capital like that feels mighty deliberate. And i dont know if thats me over-analysing one shot or not, it just feels uncomfortable. Unless we're gonna have an extremely ableist "she was only pretending to be blind so people would underestimate her"-reveal, the looming shot of her looking out at the city she is ready to conqueer doesnt work unless she's y'know: looking out over the city she is looking to conquer.

--- Well... at least the episode proper is better then the things i heard out of context made it sound... but only ever-so slightly. Im happy that at least the broken prosthesis was clearly an accident, even if none of the lead-up to it felt anything but forced. (not out of character, forced. Mari's decision feign a Soap-Based-Akuma makes no sense) But the mixed messaging is fucking blatant. Simultaniously saying "Mari is in the wrong this episode" and "Mari is perfect and even actual magic cannot improve her" is kind of bad. In review: Could've been worse, should've been better.

[yandere-fics]

♡ You Kill Darla But She Comes Back ♡

(formatted different than the other ones of these I did but this doesn't have city or kingdom magic so her body would start to literally rot if it dragged on too much.)

♡ Darla was your dream girl, so pretty, so sweet, so smart, everything you could ever want but always so out of your reach with that group of bastards she called friends for whatever reason. Everyday you would bite your lip and nails raw mentally pleading with her as she passed you in the halls to get away from them, she didn't need them, you would give her everything you knew she needed if she'd just look your way, she didn't need to be popular or pretend to like those bastards, you knew she wasn't genuinely happy when she smiled at them, but she would be when she smiled at you, you just had to get her to notice you which admittedly was hard but your love for her triumphed and she finally became yours. ♡

♡ Except she wasn't truly yours, she loved you, you knew that, but she still paid attention to those friends of hers. It was a mockery of your feelings towards her and not something you could abide, you just couldn't allow it, it was all wrong, every part of it was wrong. So you did something about it, your Darla would never have to put on a fake smile for any of those friends of hers again because in death she would be yours. ♡

She really had just the prettiest smile, it wasn't hard to make her look pretty even in death, you could tell if she were alive and awake right now seeing all of this she'd hug you, thank you for finally saving her from having to put on a show for all those people.

"Hmm, I should get a better coffin..." Her hair looked so pretty on the pillow you'd chosen for her but your love needed a better bed to rest her head on really. Something expensive would suit her but you hoped your love would understand you were sort of on a budget, for now you would settle for laying flowers on her every day and giving her a soft kiss. You had initially planned to bury her in the forest so you could be the only one who would know her final resting place but when you saw how pretty she looked dead, you just had to keep her near you, it was only fair.

You'd been so caught up in your thoughts that you'd failed to hear her shift in her coffin, not noticing until her hand reached out of the coffin and clutched your wrist.

"Babe, you had better start begging for forgiveness right now, why the fuck would you hit me with a bat?!" She didn't seem to know that a lot had time had passed since then, she seemed to only remember you hitting her and didn't know that she had died from it yet. You bit your lip, sure it was nice to hear her voice again but if she was up again then you'd have to share her and you didn't want that. You'd have to knock her out again.

"Y-you were gonna break up with m-me..." You looked down, you had to fool her by looking ashamed if you wanted a chance to get her down again. You didn't even notice that she was looking around the room and putting together the pieces of what had happened, a plan forming in her own head. You didn't know until it was too late, her scarf wrapped tightly around your neck as she strangled you.

"It's my turn to keep you, it's only fair since you killed me and I probably have no friends left." That was the last thing you ever heard.

[theelegantmentalist]

What was life with your family like? Do you miss them?

You do know how to poke at the skeletons in one’s glittering closet,don’t you? Hm, well since you asked SO nicely let’s raise the curtains and give you the truth…

Just a quick note—this story includes some difficult themes like sexual abuse, you’ve been warned!

Act one: My father. ♠️

Father saw me as an investment. A shiny little star he could polish up and sell to the highest bidder. He didn’t tuck me in at night, he signed contracts. Didn’t ask how I was—only how I looked. And when I cried? He called it weakness. Said I was lucky. Said I should be grateful for all the work he’s done for me. He was after the money, always kept it for himself. After all SOMEONE had to support his alcohol addiction! That man could make a bottle disappear in the blink of an eye and bruises appear on me!✨How magical!✨

Act two: My mother.♦️

My mother was a failed star. Always the understudy, always waiting in the wings for a spotlight that never found her. She spent her life chasing applause that never came… and when I was born, I became her second chance.

She taught me everything—how to charm, how to lie with a smile, how to make men twice my age laugh and lean in closer. She said I was brilliant, gifted, lucky to be wanted. She said I was going to be everything she wasn’t.

And in public, she played the part of the perfect mother. All warm touches and proud smiles. But when the curtains closed—She disappeared.

I was fourteen when I told her what my manager was doing. What he was making other men do to me.

She didn’t cry, she didn’t scream. She said, “That’s show business, darling.”

Said I was weak for not handling it better. Said I should be ashamed for making them feel uncomfortable and ruining my chances! Taught me how to choke down my pain in any situation. She looked at me like I’d embarrassed her…like I was breaking the illusion.

I wanted her to hold me. Just once. To tell me it wasn’t my fault. That I didn’t deserve it. That I was still real. But she didn’t,she just told me to fix my face before the cameras rolled.

Act three: My manager.❤️

Older, sharp-dressed, always with a smile that didn’t quite reach his eyes. He called me brilliant, irresistible, mature for my age. Said I understood things no one else my age could. And just like any emotionally stunted child—I believed him.

He'd bring me gifts. Whisper things to me behind the stage. Brush his hand against mine just long enough to make me freeze. And when the door closed, when it was just us—I let him. I let him do whatever he wanted. Soon I found out the truth, I was just a pretty face he could use to charm investors, smooth over negotiations. When he brought me into meetings with older men, I eventually stopped asking why. Just applied my best make up, and brightest smile! ✨Let the show begin!✨

My parents knew. They didn’t care. They were too busy calling it “opportunity.” By the time my mother came around, I already knew how to cover the bruises and smile on cue.He was the reason I learned to turn myself off and call it professionalism.

Act four: Friendship ♣️

I didn’t have real friends back then. Not a single one. Every “friendship” I had was just… business. A favor. A photo op. They liked the version of me that smiled on cue, laughed at the right time, made them look better by standing next to me.

I was never me. I was marketable. Charming. Safe. And deep down, I think I knew it. I knew none of them actually cared. So I kept performing. Because it was better than being alone. Or so I thought. Anything was better than those cold nights lying across rumpled bedding begging a piece of cold metal to take your life while some strangers body was the only comfort you knew.

Act five: The end 🃏

After the petrification, I didn’t expect much. But Senku changed everything. One night, he handed me a bottle of cola made just for me. No words,no expectations. Just a simple, quiet way of saying, You’re important to me. One night I was humming Lady Gaga’s Bad Romance, loud and messy as always, the night was stressful. That’s when he got up and danced with me. Not like I was a performer, but like we were just two people—no masks, no games—having fun. The way he looked at me with those eyes..and in that moment, I felt something I hadn’t in a long time: safe. Warm. Genuine…like I had waited all those years for him, for this moment.

Do I miss my family? Short answer: no.

Honestly, I’m far more excited to step onto this new stage alongside Senku and the kingdom of science embracing all the fresh opportunities the Stone World has to offer.

[jewishregulus]

wait no i need to hear more about jewish regulus pleaseeee, enough with the catholic guilt

i think people always default to catholic imagery and aesthetics in media bc they think it is a safe religion to play with and or just view it as like a default option which really hurts my soul . this isn’t particularly regulus related but like jewish vampires jewish southern gothic etc etc all have such huge potential . and it feels really disingenuous everytime i read abt just how aesthetic and cool catholicism or whatever is …. i’m sorry but judaism has just as much media potential: people simply don’t care enough to represent us . this is why these violent delights (pauljulian book not the other one) will always win . i feel like many gay dark academia books fall back on like religious guilt (catholic edition) that it was such a refreshing read to see it not only explored w jewish people but patrilineal jewish people as well. truly my favorite book ever for this reason

focusing on regulus now : i view regulus as a very religious person : i think he has a positive relationship with religion and the concept that there is something out there that loves him no matter what: that the unconditional love he craves does exist , and he doesn’t need to do anything to work for it . i really think finds joy in more mystical elements of judaism as he grows , i think he’d wear a evil eye and a kabbalah bracelet and just genuinely feel at ease practicing jewish magic . i think his favorite holiday would be yom kippur bc of the sheer joy he feels being so connected to hashem. and being able to reflect and atone for what he is done and receive forgiveness would be very healing for him! i think religion is a main difference for sirius and regulus, as i hc sirius to not be religious, but their culture is connecting them. sirius may not be religious but he IS jewish, and their practices and beliefs still float through them. judaism is not just a religion but a family almost . i feel deeply connected to jewish strangers knowing we have this cultural connection. i think regulus would feel that way too!! plus i think the black family would be very ashamed of their identity, and attempt to hide it out of fear in a similar way wizards hide their identities bc they fear muggles. i think regulus learning to embrace his identity is very key to him healing from the black family. i think he can make some mean latkes and matzah ball soup and he doesn’t play around abt his bagels . i think he’s a gefilte fish liker!!!! sorry!! he’s on team applesauce on latkes and he thinks if you use sour cream you should die . sirius uses sour cream. he’s got a jewish american princess vibe . he’s my cousin i love him to death!! plus i think there is something to be said abt tattoos being normally frowned upon in jewish culture and regulus taking the dark mark . a sacrifice to his identity put upon him by his parents who already wish to hide and erase this part of their family out of shame and fear . (not saying his parents forced him to take the mark this is just not the post where i analyze regulus taking the mark and his parents role in it.)

ps. this is also why i hc regulus’ favorite color as purple, bc purple often symbolizes redemption/atonement in jewish culture !!

[istoleyoursk1n]

How would the origin character (plus halsin too ig he can come to) react to a transmasc/transman tav (like tav romancing them and then like coming out to them if that makes sense)

•❅───────────✧❅✦❅✧───────────❅•

Origin + Halsin reacting to a transmasc Tav coming out

.

.

: ̗̀➛ ASTARION

“Oh darling, was that it? Don't you know I adore you regardless? Were you seriously worried that I’d dismiss you just like that? Oh my love, not in a thousand centuries.”

(Assuming he hasn't seen you completely bare)

Surprised but unbothered. You’re still you correct? Then what's the problem? This new revelation doesn't change how he views you in the slightest. He adores you, everything about you.

He’s surprisingly accepting, brushing it off easily, and immediately thanking you for sharing such information with him.

Goes on a tangent on how it shouldn't ever be something you should be ashamed of.

He’ll drain the blood out of anyone who dares say otherwise. (He already has)

You’re perfect and as long as you’re comfortable with it all, then he has no qualms.

Not much changes about your relationship other than the fact that he’ll only continue to love you more till his undead heart ceases to exist.

: ̗̀➛WYLL

“Oh! What wonderful news! I couldn't have guessed. Well, does this call for a celebration? A peaceful night out? Whatever you wish, it is yours, love.”

Surprised as well, but the shock quickly turns into joy. Don't mistake his chuckling for mockery, if anything he's happy.

If you allow it, he’d gently take your hand into his own, kissing your bare knuckles with that same tenderness you've grown to be smitten with.

This new sprinkle of information doesn't bother him at all, in fact, he’s grateful that you’d feel safe enough to share such a thing with him.

You're handsome just as you are and he’d never ask for you to change.

If you have top surgery scars, he’d speak with the weight of a thousand love letters of how gorgeous they are and how it’s one of his favorite parts of your body.

He’ll swear on his oath to beat the shit confront anyone who dares try to insult you for who you are.

Know this is something he’d always accept you for.

: ̗̀➛GALE

“You are? Well isn't this a pleasant little surprise? Good on you! Perhaps that's why I fell for you? You were just utterly TRANScending!” (bare with him please)

Oh?… Oh!

Confused, takes a few moments to process the information but he's definitely accepting. He just never realized.

Either way, he loves you. You’re still the man he fell in love with all those nights ago, why should he think of you any differently? He’ll praise your body regardless.

He’s pleased to know that you were comfortable enough to share such information with him. He can understand how difficult it might be to reveal such things aloud.

Perhaps he could even help in some what? Learn some magic to make your body look the way you wish to make you feel more comfortable.

This hardly changes a thing about your relationship other than a few curious questions about the whole process but he never digs too deep out of respect.

Consider anyone who tries to mock you for this, deceased. (He will fireball them off a cliff or consume every magical artifact they had on them.)

Nothing, not even this, would stop him from being with you.

: ̗̀➛KARLACH

“For real?! No way! Never could have guessed! Well either way, I still think you’re pretty damn cool!”

Shocked, excited, then shocked again.

Never actually thought of it as a possibility, I mean why would she?

This just gives her the excuse to love you ten times more! What else did you expect? She’d welcome you with open arms (as long you don't burn of course)

Assuming she can touch you, she’d already be lifting you up into the air, giving hug after hug as she chuckles and jumps about with you in her arms.

As long as you are happy and comfortable, she is too, she wants to make sure your whole ‘coming out’ moment is one filled with joy.

Will absolutely demolish anyone who tries to be mean to you because of this (as if she wouldn't demolish anyone who makes fun of anything about you).

Her love for you is the one thing of hers that’ll never burn out.

: ̗̀➛SHADOWHEART

“Hm. Quite the revelation, not one that I am disappointed to hear in the slightest… I’m happy for you and if there is anything that I can do for you I’ll be right here as always.”

Surprised but not too shocked by the news. She's not bothered by it at all.

Your trans? Cool. As long as you’re happy then she sees no reason why she should say anything negative. She's happy for you either way.

All she sees is the man she fell in love with, her newfound information doesn't change that.

Accepts you immediately with a warm smile on her face.

She doesn't need you to be anything more or less than what you are now, and if new changes do decide to come, she’ll welcome them with an open heart.

Her glare is enough to ward off anyone with the intent of insulting you for who you are.

You were her light in a world full of darkness, loving you in this life to the next.

: ̗̀➛LAE’ZEL

“Is this supposed to make me see you any differently? To see you anything less than the warrior you are? Zhak vo’n fynh duj, that is what you’ll always be.”

And?

This changes nothing, but if coming out to her made you feel any better then of course she’s glad her as-stoned face as she appears.

She still respects you and sees you as the same admirable individual she completely fell for.

You've proved yourself, you've fought hard for her, for your friends, for yourself, and you've done so much to light her heart aflame. This wouldn't deter her fiery love for you.

If you have top surgery scars? Even better! She loves them as much as she adores all your battle scars. A precious mark she could always praise.

You can't stop her from cutting the heads off of anyone who dares try to insult you though.

Even before the words escape their lips-

Nevertheless, you are still the one person she truly bleeds for.

: ̗̀➛HALSIN

“You are? Well. I’m honored to be the one you chose to share this with, my heart. Know that even so, my love for you is as boundless as the ever-flowing river.”

Not bothered at all by the news.

He's seen too many things in his life to ever make him surprised or revolt at this new information.

In the end of the day, he loves everything that you are and thank the Gods that he was blessed to gaze upon someone as gorgeous as you.

Immediately accepts you as you are as well, why would he ever ask you to be any different?

If you have any top surgery scars, he litters them with gentle kisses, just as he does with every little scar on your body.

You can see him visibly tense whenever someone dares insult you. He's a snap away from mauling them but he keeps it together for you.

You’re his to love, to protect, and he wouldn't have it any other way.

•❅───────────✧❅✦❅✧───────────❅•

[lowkeyed1]

Willow Month 2023: Day 3 - Favorite Episode This is a tough call for me, because it's very close. I love Episode 7: Across the Shattered Sea because it has so much gorgeous character development for everyone and so much beautiful scenery, but Episode 4: Whispers of Nockmaar just barely shades it. I think it's the whump. This ep is basically 45 minutes of whumping on poor Graydon and.... he suffers beautifully.

This poor kid starts off the ep infected with dark magic. He and the group both know it will eventually corrupt his entire system, cause him to become possessed and try to kill everyone, and they will have to kill him. And they spend the first part of the episode chaining him up and not doing anything about it, except Elora comforting him.

They finally decide to do something and this leads to him restrained even more, splayed out on some kind of bench. He spends a lot of time writhing and moaning in pain. They tear his shirt open while he gasps, exposing horrific scarring he feels deeply ashamed of and doesn't want to talk about, while he sweats and groans even more.

Then they throw a bucket of liquid on him while he writhes around some more and it's obviously painful and I should probably just acknowledge it's not just the whump I love in this episode? They did NOT have to make this whole thing so BDSM but they really did, god bless them. Plus lovely grace notes in the script referring to him being ravaged and also reamed -_-

ANYWAY we go on from here to his having hallucinations about his painful past, then the possession really starts to set in and he gets aggressive, then starts talking in the voices of loved ones to scare and distract people. Then we have a break in the action and when we get back to Graydon...

well. all right then. Spoiler, he's fully possessed here but acting like he's not. You can tell because they flat-ironed his hair! Lol, but also he's uncharacteristically comfortable with his exposed flesh and touching other people which seems like a nice, subtle hint.

Trust me, Graydon in his right mind is never leaving that many buttons unbuttoned. He leads Elora up to the tower so he can complete the banishment ritual Bavmorda was trying to do to baby Elora at the end of the movie, but then everyone else shows up and he gets whumped on some more...

Literally I would die, as an actor, if I had Erin and Ruby holding me down and Amar crawling on top of me and pretending to pummel me but like. That's the biz, I guess?

At any rate, Kit convinces Elora that she is magic enough to fix this, so she goes and almost-but-not-quite kisses him (she does call it a kiss later) and sucks the evil out of him. He tells her he never doubted her, and the boy is clearly smitten after that

Unfortunately, Elora had a vision of him shoving his brother out of a tree when he was possessed as a child and feels like he might be sketchy. So he's giving her a big smitten smile when they leave....

(credit to willowgifsdaily for this gif)

...but that smile starts to falter bc she's giving him this look in return, yikes

Anyway, that was good wholesome fun for the whole family and kudos to Disney+ for realizing they needed to put in a bondage-themed whumpfest to really sell me on the show! And kudos once again to my boy Tony Revolori, who sells every inch of this episode just amazingly. The emotional range is all over the place and there's no part where he falters in just performing the absolute shit out of this one. This episode changed my brain chemistry forever, I think. And that is why Whispers of Nockmaar is my favorite episode of WIllow! Send help!

[tictactotallyokay]

I’ve been thinking about the Dead Men a lot recently. Like, A Lot. I think that the series glosses over a lot of their trauma. I know Phase 2 shows Valkyrie struggling with her trauma but it doesn’t show the others. And after fighting in a centuries long war these guys have a vast array of mental health difficulties. Content warning for the rest of the post regarding mental health, trauma, sex and self harm. These are my personal headcanons

Anton

Anton self-harms. It’s subtle. So subtle that it’s just treated as part of his personality as him being stoic and stubborn. But in LSODM we see him refuse to take some leaves offered to him by Dexter.

Yeah sure he applies the ointment but it would be impractical not to in case it affects his reflexes or fighting abilities later on. But he chooses to continue to feel the pain because he thinks he deserves it. Part of that is due to what the gist does when he releases it but part of it is because of the gist itself. Because Anton has all these “bad” thoughts that are fuelled by anger and hate and they create the gist. If he can create something so violent then he thinks it makes him a bad and dangerous person.

This feeds into part 2 of how he self-harms. He isolates himself. He has his hotel that goes all around the world but in doing so he cuts himself off from his support group. The other Dead Men would be the best people to understand how he feels but he’s too scared of hurting them. Because one day his gist will take over and he wouldn’t be able to live with himself if it hurt his friends.

Saracen

Saracen has PTSD and trust/attachment issues. Yeah, all the others have varying levels of them too but Saracen is constantly in survival mode from his. It’s why he’s secretive about his power. Not because he’s ashamed of it but because if people know what it is he’ll lose his edge. In LSODM Saracen noticeably changes when a wraith jumps out at him.

He’s so used to seeing through things, knowing what’s coming that when something comes that he didn’t know he’s scared. Helpless. Powerless. He doesn’t have the type of magic he can use to save him in the heat of the moment like all the others so he needs to know what’s coming at all times so he can keep them at arms length.

The reason Saracen gets around is because he’s scared of trusting someone. If they get too close to him he’ll be weaker, vulnerable. He won’t know what’s coming. It’s why he goes from country to country. From one bed to another. And it gets pushed aside like it’s just him being a play boy but I think he actually wouldn’t mind being close to someone if he felt like he could. Dexter is probably the closest person to him but he still kept him at arms length by not telling him his power and happily not talking to him for years.

To curb being alone all the time Saracen finds comfort where he can. It’s why he prefers more luxurious things. Because he’s not in a war anymore so why should he have to sleep on the ground? Sex is a good way to get a rush of endorphins so he does it as often as he can. Food is also a good way to get endorphins. Saracen finds comfort in it and the fact that there is no longer the worry that his next meal might be his last. So he feels more comfortable eating whatever he wants when he wants it. It’s his way of getting through the day. It’s also why I HATE the “jokes” that are made about his weight and that all his friends constantly body shame him. But he doesn’t object or correct them because otherwise they’ll know more about him. And he can’t have that.

Dexter

Dexter has body dysmorphia and control issues. He accepts that he can’t control the things around him because he’s a soldier and he’s been in unimaginable situations. But the one thing he can control is how he looks. How much he works out. How defined his muscles are. He’s fine traveling and sleeping rough because he can still control how active he is and how much he exercises. In the same way that Saracen gets his endorphins from sex and food, Dexter gets his from exercise. It’s how he can put up with all of the nonsense that goes on with the others. In some ways, his appearance is all he has. Saracen has his secret power. Erskine had his crusade with Corrival. Anton his hotel. Dexter is known as being the person with the toned physique. If that gets taken away then who is he?

Ghastly

Ghastly has survivor’s guilt. He’s seen too many friends die and so many times it should have been him. It’s why he puts so much effort into making armoured clothes. Because he is going to do everything in his power to make sure his friends don’t die again.

[chloe-caulfield94]

Why do you think Max didn't keep in touch with Chloe for those 5 years? Was it anxiety and guilt because of William's death? I don't really believe she wanted to "move on" from Chloe, as some people say. What are your thoughts?

I don't think there was ever a point in time when Max decided to cut contact with Chloe or to move on from their friendship. The five year gap just happened, due to a number of factors. Unfortunately, this is how it sometimes is - we end up hurting people we care about, even though we never meant to.

In Episode 1, when looking at a picture of her and Chloe playing pirates that she kept in her dorm room, Max says that she will eventually contact Chloe, and that she should do it now, because the longer she waits, the harder it will be to reach out.

So why did Max put it off for five years?

William's death certainly hit Max hard too. He was like family to her, like an uncle. In the recording William left for them to unearth, he says he's "bloody proud of the both of them". I don't think that in the immediate aftermath of William's death Max was able to comfort anyone, because she herself lost someone who was essentially a family member.

Max was thirteen when she was separated from Chloe. Even most adults have no idea how to comfort someone experiencing grief. So when she was done grieving William in her own way, she was probably hesitant to contact Chloe because she didn't know where to begin. Of course, the most important part of emotionally supporting someone is actually being there for them. There are no magical combinations of words that make people instantly feel better. Even if Max didn't know what to say, even if she would say something stupid or cliche, the mere fact that she reached out to Chloe would've made Chloe feel better. Less alone. Less hopeless. But once again, Max was thirteen/fourteen then. Let's not expect from a girl barely out of her tweens the emotional maturity that most adults don't have.

After some time contacting Chloe became harder and harder, because Max felt ashamed of her silence. So by putting off reaching out to Chloe she also put off dealing with that shame.

At some point Max also probably assumed that Chloe moved on or wouldn't forgive her. Max, before being reunited with Chloe, had serious problems with self-doubt and self-loathing. She tore up a photograph that would've won the contest, just because she didn't believe she could produce anything of value through her art. The entire nightmare sequence in Episode 5 is just that - Max's fears and doubts trying to overwhelm her mind. "Other Max" is that part of her that always tell her she's not good enough. That no one would want to be her friend if she didn't have her awesome power. When you have a part of your mind telling you things like that, it's easy to believe that your best friend has already moved on and you shouldn't even bother reaching out.

[mdhwrites]

Is TOH Worse By Having Character Arcs?

In a story theoretically about inclusivity, finding your space and accepting who you are... Is it right that so many people change as drastically as they do?

This is going to be a bit of an odd topic because pop culture nowadays reveres the concept of the character arc almost above any other aspect of writing. If your characters do not exhibit change, how can they be deep or interesting? Where is the story in a character who mostly stays static? And that's not a bad instinct because a character overcoming some major flaw or corrupted ideal they hold onto is very compelling.

However, character arcs are like any part of writing: They are a TOOL for the writer to use. Just like with any tool, it won't fit every job. Not every story needs large, grand arcs. So was The Owl House a story where this tool should have been applied?

I argue no, despite the fact that its character arcs are such a lauded part of it. This isn't entirely because there is no space for character arcs in its themes but that its goals are... touchy when it comes to the idea of change. That requires us to first ask what those goals are in the first place.

Well, the show isn't always very good at defining these but if I'm being generous, we'll go with: The idea that one shouldn't be ashamed for who they are.

The need for a space where you can feel safe and like yourself.

Self expression and self determination being the greatest virtues in both people and society.

As a base this isn't bad. The middle one is dangerous because it can very quickly become isolationist but they do all point in the same direction of a story that wants to make sure that 'the other' doesn't feel wrong simply for not conforming to what society expects of them. Whether this is stereotypes pushed upon them, anxieties over things like sexuality, generational gaps, etc. like that, there's PLENTY to explore. Even if you want to go less severe, there's just a lot of quirks, especially in modern society, that can lead to someone feeling fake or wrong or weird, including feeling like you lean too much on your own stereotype just because you genuinely like makeup or the like.

The problem for TOH becomes that only the more extreme version actually supports real, long term character arcs. Someone who is deeply entrenched in a toxic element of society figuring out ways to be themselves despite the prejudice before them. In the show, the only person who actually faces anything like this is Eda since the society of the Isles actually DOES push down on what she believes is her identity as a wild witch. Unfortunately, Eda's arc isn't about grappling with her position as a wild witch and how that separates her from the world and family but more about softening up, getting rid of the activities she used to love/kept her alive and becoming maternal rather than embracing the wild side that made her a wild witch in the first place.

In other words, her arc is about flipping her character around rather than about embracing who she is. Which, you know... Goes against the goals of the show.

Pretty much every arc is like this. Amity goes from being extremely driven about magic and caring about her future in this world, as well as having anxieties about her family to the point where she takes drastic action to get ahead... To caring only about her girlfriend and marginally about maybe keeping some okay relations with her family. Instead of any of her drive, intelligence, cunning, etc. like that being refined by smoothing out the rougher edges and realizing she shouldn't be cruel in order to succeed in her ambitions, her ambitions are blamed on someone else and otherwise her character entirely inverts for the sake of... Luz. Which, you know... Luz needing a maternal figure for her found family is much of why, in hindsight, it feels like Eda became motherly. For Luz.

Hunter becomes a soft boy because when he gets his staff back and reminds her that he is a loyal member of the EC, she disapproves. Hell, 90% of what Hunter ever does in the show is for someone else's approval or survival, with him even ending up following after an ancestor almost 1:1, making him probably the least self-accepting character in the entire cast. Lilith falls under similar issues. She was driven and even had appeared to have softened with age, wanting to usher in new witches into their best forms as part of her job, and then... She stops. She gives up on all of her ambitions besides a little bit of a grudge against someone else and is turned into a joke for the most part. Even her trauma is mocked which doesn't seem to have literally ever been something she would have accepted, young or old nor is it something a show about acceptance should include.

And you might notice that most of the problems for these characters I'm describing aren't for themselves. Solving them isn't about self actualization. At best, they are about getting out of shitty situations but you can do that without changing the core of the character. You can have Luz save someone from death but then have who they are reject Luz anyways because of her position in society. People are complex like that. After all, if you wish for acceptance for what you care about, you naturally have to extend that kindness to others and their interests (so long as those interests aren't hateful/harmful, etc. like that. Do not tolerate Nazis.)

Amity for example is at worst a bully. She isn't hateful, she's just mean as a function of how she sees EVERYONE as an enemy. A competitor who she needs to guard against. You can develop her, because not all development forms a character arc, into still being driven, still desiring to be better, but now she understands that she doesn't need to be an island. That she can drop her guard sometimes and when she needs to crush something, it's an actual enemy. Instead, her desires, beliefs, friends, family, etc. are all put to the pyre. They are not allowed to coexist with the 'correct' version of her, not without them having to also change in a similar manner to her. To a state that the show is willing to deem acceptable in a wider sense.

Why is that a thing in a show about self acceptance and realization? How is that self-expression or self-determination? How is that understanding?

And that's why I think in the end, The Owl House's character arcs hurt it more than anything else.

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I also have an Amazon page for all of my original works in various forms of character focused romances from cute, teenage romance to erotica series of my past. I have an Ao3 for my fanfiction projects as well if that catches your fancy instead. If you want to hang out with me, I stream from time to time and love to chat with chat.

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[lukedanger]

WIP Wednesday

Something I started working on last night after getting Ember's 'Lawful' ending in my DLC playthrough of WotR. The way she acts felt like a really cool thing to try and unpack.

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“Trever said you were cold,” Elaina pointed out as she stepped up, then gestured towards a spot next to Ember. Ember nodded, scooting to the side a little to make it clear that Elaina was welcome to sit down.

“A little,” Ember admitted after the paladin’s plate armor finished clanking as she sat down.

“Did you exhaust your magic?”

“No, it’s not that. I have enough tricks. I just… should I use them?”

Elaina frowned as she thought back. Ember had been so happy when Nocticula had shown up at Baphomet’s altar, even with her sadness from having to be stern. Yet now that she thought about it, she had not been engaging much with Daeran or Woljif over the campfire.

“Is this about the fire spell you used to save the Redeemed Brotherhood?”

Ember nodded.

“Do you want to talk about it?”

“I want to, but what can we say?”

“First, let’s get the fire going…” Elaina paused as she considered her warm stomach. Firebelly was good for personal warmth on the march and protection from flames, and made a good party trick as she leaned forward to do her best dragon impression.

The low brazier burst to light at the spat fireball. Ember’s eyes lit up at the sight, caught between wanting to laugh at the otherwise serious paladin with angelic wings and halo acting like a kid, and the fears she was wresting with.

“How are the Redeemed Brotherhood doing?” Elaina asked as she settled back down, checking to make sure her wings would not accidentally hit Ember if they flapped. “As people, not the order of battle.”

“Better,” Ember remarked as she looked at the fire. “Still scared. I try to help them, I heal them and they thank me, keep calling me a saint…” Ember paused. “But I still see the fear, when I punished the silly ones. Made them realize they were doing a silly thing with grandmother’s fire trick.”

Elaina glanced up at Soot, the crow looking away ashamed.

“I just wish I could help them not be scared,” Ember admitted as she now looked at her burnt hands. “Like how you and Seelah always have that aura, and how you use tricks to share it with us.”

“That only helps with compelled fear,” Elaina shook her head with a sad smile. “The fear you saw in the Brotherhood? That was their own. And what you feel? No magic can chase away that fear, not without destroying who you are.”

“Then who am I?” Ember looked at her. “I’m just a little girl with some tricks who got caught up in an epic quest. Somehow, I’m revered as a saint now? With a book and everything? Then you called me that too. Why?"

“Because of your fear.”

Ember’s mouth opened and closed a few times, confused as she tilted her head. “How?”

“You saw how your power terrified others, and you were afraid of what you could become. You did what you had to do to save their lives, and refused to consider it a good solution.” Elaina paused, her angelic wings briefly flexing. “You want to help everyone, but you know how greatly you could harm them.”

“Because I think I could be very bad, I’m very good?”

Elaina smiled. “Exactly. Doubt is a part of integrity, Ember. The fact that you know you can be a bad person with your tricks means that you can protect yourself, and others, from that.”