#Just needed to get this out of my system TBH

[togo--mimori]

I have a LOT of feelings about kaisers backstory. Mostly positive? My opinions on his character have only really gotten better tbh. Like, he's not a good person. But he is definitely a product of his environment.

I think he does care about Ness in his own twisted way. But he doesn't know how to recognize positive emotions. He doesn't know how to form lasting relationships without manipulation and insults.

Kaiser never got therapy, or even really a trustworthy adult (that we know of yet) to sit him down and try to break through the shell he formed after all those years. It's all he knows, it's all he has to work with. He has no frame of reference for friendship and love. New emotions and feelings are scary, they feel wrong sometimes. So he sticks to what he knows and does it the best he can.

The only thing that's changed is we know WHY Kaiser is how he is. I don't have it in me to hate him now that it's confirmed he's incredibly mentally ill due to his fucking awful and unstable formative years. He's a bad person, but he hasn't always been. But he's not beyond hope or help, like anyone is.

Not supporting anything he's done, just appreciating a well written character. Seeing bits of my broken past mirrored on a fucking rat tail anime man has been an experience.

[crystallizsch]

DID SOMEONE SAY FILIPINO TWST (no one did it's just me 😔)

below the cut is stock photos of what is a trike/tricycle in the philippines (what they’re riding on) if you're unfamiliar!! and also some rambling about my heartshackle trio ;;;

i referenced the one on the left, there's usually supposed to be a screen where ace is popping out (and also i think deuce would prefer riding the one on the right where it's an actual motorcycle and not just a bike)

i like to think that the trio found this tricycle trashed and broken somewhere and they tried to fixed it up so they could all take a ride on it

ace and deuce kinda fought who’ll be the first to ride it and deuce only won because they all agreed deuce was the one who actually knew (for the most part) how to fix the thing

++++ some more concepts/hcs between them in this au(???) 😳

all three of them are childhood friends who grew up in the same neighborhood and went to the same elementary school. unfortunately in high school they ended up in different schools, but they all still remained close friends 🥹

grim exists but as a regular cat who “belongs” to yuuna (yuuna was just grim’s favorite out of the three). technically he’s just a neighborhood stray, yuuna can’t really keep him as a pet at home (and neither can ace/deuce) but somehow grim keeps finding the heartshackle trio whenever they’re all together. and so grim just became part of the group.

yuuna has a physical album of photos dedicated to all the times they go to jollibee. they take a photo with the jollibee statue every single time they all go there.

[didi-doof]

two yippees 💖 they are besties (and competing against each other in this poll, but they stay silly)

[skufdaddyswansea]

Jimmy and Swansea at Their Worst

The crash of the Tulpar sees Jimmy thrust into a leadership role for which he was hopelessly unprepared, and in the months that follow, his chain of poor decisions leads to dire consequences for all those aboard, himself included. But he wasn't alone in that marathon to rock bottom. If we follow his footsteps downward, we'll find Swansea's right there next to his.

At the surface level, the two already have a lot in common. They're both brash to the point of rudeness, openly dissatisfied with their lives, and have short fuses.

Notably, Swansea can also be overly critical of Anya.

...But, to be fair to him, he's like that with everyone.

When they really start to converge is after the crash. Looking at Swansea's relationship with Daisuke, it's almost a microcosm of Jimmy's relationship with the crew. While he initially makes an effort to do the right thing, he inevitably gives in to his worst impulses and fails. In Swansea's case, he falls off the wagon. This may look like only a personal weakness, especially compared to Jimmy's more outwardly destructive behaviour. But in his position, even the harm he does to himself reflects outward.

Daisuke is the only other member of the Tulpar that we see "indulging" in the mouthwash. Swansea has no idea that he's sprawled on the floor, sick on dental hygiene products, devoid of his characteristic cheer. If he did know, what could he even say? After all, Daisuke was only following his example.

Later on, Swansea's alcoholism prevents him from protecting Daisuke in a much more literal sense.

All his secrecy and isolation were for nothing.

One of the major reasons he withdrew from Daisuke was because Daisuke was much too naive to hide the cryopods from the others; he probably never would have accepted that everyone else would have to die for him to survive. Swansea took extreme measures to guard the Utility room from Jimmy, all to protect Daisuke. But in doing so, he gave Jimmy the perfect opportunity to take advantage of those very traits he wanted to protect.

In this moment, both Swansea and Jimmy fail Daisuke. They both let their weakness blind themselves to danger. And they both realize their mistakes far too late to save anyone.

But it's through this ugly truth that Swansea is able to break off from their path. With the last of his hope gone, he can do what Jimmy can't: he accepts it. And he does what he knows is right, even if it breaks him to do so.

I think Swansea also sees some part of himself in Jimmy. Maybe even what he could have been if he didn't fight so hard against his demons. That's why in his final act, he tries one last time to get through to him. It was too late to make things right with his kids, or for Daisuke. Or even himself.

Of course, he knew it was futile. Jimmy was never going to listen. Because what really set them apart in the end was irreconcilable; the gulf between them was shaped by their ideals.

Swansea wanted to be a better man. Jimmy wanted to be a hero.

[bloobluebloo]

Did Nintendo really think it was fine to talk about how Rauru was recognized for his "heroic deeds" by the other tribes in Hyrule and that they "peacefully" accepted his ascension to the throne he created...while he also had a cache of nukes called the Secret Stones? What heroic deeds? The sealing of demons? Who were these demons exactly and where did they come from? Were they not originally from the depths, the same depths that were strip mined? The same strip mines that are conveniently placed under all the villages in Hyrule? How about all the other weapons the Zonai developed? Surely the tribes unified under Hyrule solely because they truly believed Rauru to be peaceful and heroic, there must be no other reason they would feel compelled to submit. On the other hand, you have the Gerudo who have their land and kingdom which has withstood the ages, whose martial culture has allowed them to protect themselves and allowed their kingdom to flourish and advance. How strange it must be, really, to be wary that a Zonai who has nuking powers in his hand, who had gone around Hyrule erecting shrines with a conveniently placed effigy of himself and his wife granting blessing in said shrines, suddenly decides to form a kingdom under his rule and consolidate all the land’s power into his hands. The Gerudo's wariness of Hyrule is totally unwarranted when Rauru sends countless invitations suggesting that the Gerudo renounce their kingdom and join Hyrule as a vassal state...peacefully of course. The fortifications Hyrule erects conveniently alongside the Gerudo borders is nothing of concern because Rauru's kingdom is about peace, unlike the Gerudo who are about war only. Rauru using his nuke-like power to wipe out a Molduga attack is totally not a show of excessive force to dissuade the Gerudo from resisting and to compel them into joining Hyrule. Rauru deeming Ganondorf an evil being and deserving of being kept close like a dog on a leash despite his eventual show of fealty is totally not the final nail in the coffin of trampling over the Gerudo's sovereignty. Ganondorf's innate distrust of Hyrule should be treated as a symptom of his evil nature, exacerbated by the fact that he is a freak of nature born with round ears that mark him as an enemy of god, and not as a valid concern that a king should have when a neighbouring kingdom is trying to force him into submission. It's funny how Hyrule's founding is treated as this ideal flourishing kingdom of peace and light when the Gerudo have had a kingdom for far longer, flourishing under their own strength. Why isn't the kingdom of the Gerudo spoken of with praise, when they were said to be more advanced than other tribes, when they notably did not enforce their rule on anyone else, when their motive was to protect themselves and their people? If Ganondorf already had a powerful kingdom at his behest, and if his motive was truly *only* steeped in greed and power, why didn't he do anything *before* Rauru came to power? Was Ganondorf not a hero to his people? Did he not protect his land and earn his title? Why is he being forced to relinquish it, and why is his desire to eliminate the kingdom that forced his submission considered inherently evil? 

To be honest, considering Nintendo is a multi-billion dollar company who certainly has the resources, the fact that they decided to put this sort of lore in an artbook considering today’s political climate and thought nothing wrong of using this to showcase just how good and heroic Rauru is and how bad, evil, and selfish Ganondorf is is truly offensive. It is so overt, you simply cannot look at this and say “oh it’s just fiction that was created in a vacuum”. 

Anyways, when I said Ganondorf was a force of resistance I was right.

[feral-bird-enjoyer]

Was thinking about kanade while cooking.

Tw for blood, mild gore? implied or referenced cannibalism???

The ingredients don't matter, after all.

[oatmealdoodles]

I just watched the episode so im still realing from the experience, but oh my god guys it was SO GOOD!!!! Im gonna make art i just need more time, but for now have my unconnected thoughts

⚠️spoilers? Under cut⚠️

OH MY GOD Kinger was SO good in this one!!!! I didn't really like him before, he was just a one-note comedic relief, I didn't expect him to go full-on dad mode with Pomni and have such a sad backstory. That flashback almost made me cry. Now every time he hides himself in his dark pillow fort or mentions a bug im gonna think of this…

Just the idea that he hides in the dark as an attempt to hold onto the little memories of his wife that he has is so sad, i really hope we see more of this side of Kinger. Also Sean Chiplock (Kingers va) frikin KILLED IT.

Also the “Your beautiful honey” killed me dead, probably my favorite line of the episode. I can’t believe we got confirmation of Queenie after theorizing about her for a year now.

Bro the animation popped off in this episode. Not just in the horror aspect but the shaders were fantastic. You can tell Netflix gave them a shit ton of money because everything just looks amazing. Like look at the texture on Kingers eyes, immaculate. Had me blown away the whole time.

Dont have that much to say about this but Zooble be expressing some hardcore gender dysphoria/body dismorphia rn.

I honestly just can’t sing this episodes praises enough, im coming of the high so my opinions might change later I just wanted to get this out real quick so you guys know I watched it and that content is coming soon.

edit: I did like Kinger before, he was just far from my favorite

[toaverse]

I was willing to mostly accept Viktor's season 2 arc if they made his loss of humanity actually forceful, that it wasn't his choice.

How heartbreaking would it have been if Viktor lost all his powers due to the hexcore being destroyed and could only float in the astral plane, slowly realizing with horror that he's at Singed and Ambessa's mercy and that he can't do anything to stop them from turning him into a monster.

Imagine Viktor holding onto Sky as she slowly fades away, begging her to stay with him before she's ripped from his grasp.

Imagine Viktor screaming with grief, knowing he won't ever be the same, as he feels his humanity fading away, using every bit of willpower he has to fight like he fought to live back in season 1. But he can't win this time.

-

Instead, Vik himself told Singed to "start the process"...

[paigemathews]

So I just finished rewatching Hocus Pocus (bc I'm planning on reading Hocus Pocus and the All-New Sequel and wanted to refresh my memory) and honestly, this movie works really well in the Charmed verse?

The strongest point is that the Sanderson sisters are totally evil witches. They betray the Wiccan Rede but don't steal powers, so they remain witches rather than warlocks. They each have a dominant magical power like most witches in the series do. (Winifred has electrokinesis, obviously. Mary has an enhanced sense of smell, which. proof that they're not warlocks bc what power is that to steal? I initially thought that Sarah's was suggestion, but it's actually enhanced allure or luring like the Siren and Darla the succubus.)

Their book, which would technically be a grimoire, has similar magical protections and abilities like the Halliwells' Book of Shadows. Whenever the sisters mention their mother, it's implied that she was also a witch who passed her magic and knowledge on. (You could even theorize that she was a good witch which is why the sisters keep calling their book Book bc of habit from when it was a Book of Shadows.)

Instead of being responsible for their powers or something, they could've made a deal to serve someone who went by the Devil moniker or the master for more power/immortality, especially since Winnie seems to be able to use necromancy like a demonic alchemist.

Additionally, Thackery, while not technically a familiar, may have been acting as one anyways because of his curse. If he interacted with other familiars (such as Kit/Katrina), that might help explain how he learned more about magic in the meantime.

I also have always loved the idea that Allison is actually a witch. There's the way that she's called a "good little white witch" at point in the film, which is admittedly loose evidence but great inspiration. Her mother apparently worked at the Sanderson sisters museum, but it's also been closed down for seemingly quite a while with the amount of dust and cobwebs, so why would she be so familiar with it? It could be a situation similar to Paige's storytime where her mother tells her about it to prepare her in case. Allison's family could be witches guarding the book and candle to keep it from falling into evil witches' hands.

Allison may have not been told that she was a witch bc of the possibility of it skipping generations in her family, but she was still taught that would be relevant. If she did develop a power, I'm actually partial to intuition because a) she sensed something was wrong before they knew that the witches were back which is why they grabbed the salt in the first place and b) she seemed to know that Max was going to do something reckless to his life before he did anything. (None of this is strong evidence lmao, but it's fun.)

Dani would totally become a witch practioner after finding out about it. I don't think Max would, but I think he'd learn a lot about it to prepare in case anything else happened and bc Dani and Allison are into it.

But I definitely think that the film could've happened in the Charmed universe!!

[swimmingferret]

would you recommend infinity nikki as a game? i heard it's got like, loads of micro transactions and stuff since it's a gacha/lootbox game

Well the base game is entirely free with no paywalls anywhere and you don't actually have to buy anything. Like if you want certain outfits you really like sure, but you get enough crystals while exploring and doing the special events you don't need to unless you're one of those 100% perfectionist types and even then if you're crafty you prob don't need to do it. I don't mind buying stuff now and again but that's 'cause I got disposable income lol. It just means you'll need to do more grinding for items or crystals but it's actually fairly easy enough to do. I actually found the fact you have to play it constantly online as more annoying than the store.

The base game has more than enough content for you to ignore the store entirely. The game is also good if you like open world exploration and dress-up games, which I both like so I've been playing it a lot lol but yea, store is not essential. I just like this game a lot cause it's cute and pretty and open world like Portia and whatnot

[silent-sentinels]

i think it'd be cool to like. let other select plurals know we're plural without letting everyone know we're plural. like some kind of secret passphrase in our bio on main that only plurals used. limp wristing at the gays yknow.

[rorydrawsandwrites]

When the AU of an AU Jax design is so far removed from the starting point it may as well be an OC

[overleftdown]

saltburn and consent; an investigative tangent

felix, venetia, and farleigh all consider sex to be transaction rather than emotional. you can see this in the casual way felix approaches sexual intimacy. you can see this in the way farleigh is described to use sex as a tool. you can see this in the way venetia uses sex to fulfill her need for validation. i'd like to explore how this sort of... complicates consent, within these on-screen dynamics.

i'm going to start this off with venetia. in venetia and oliver's first one-on-one interaction, you can see that oliver doesn't yet understand what to do with venetia. he plays his normal, unimposing, nervous, slightly awkward but well-intentioned character. venetia is the one to lean forward, pushing and testing oliver's boundaries. you can infer from later scenes that venetia enjoys testing the boys felix brings back to saltburn. part of this is venetia's own neglectful upbringing; she's starved of attention and therefore validation. she needs to be appealing, and she needs people to want her. this dynamic tangibly twists once oliver has been handed venetia's vulnerability by elspeth.

what is important to understand about this film is that sex is more so about emotion than physicality. this is portrayed in the way that emerald fennell avoids any nudity or exposure in her sex scenes. this is portrayed in the way that oliver exhibits no real confidence until he knows where others are vulnerable. he's unable to exude any strictly sexual dominance; he can only step into his dominance when he knows why these people hate themselves. so, when oliver is given insight into venetia's psyche, he is being given her vulnerability. to me, the sex was merely oliver's way of stripping a wire raw so that a current could effectively travel, so to speak. this is where consent gets tricky. oliver was non-consensually given any real power he had over venetia prior to the actual sex. if oliver had simply slept with venetia without knowing her insecurities or mentioning them, he wouldn't have had any power of her.

now, farleigh. what's interesting is how this dynamic of power, vulnerability, and sex shifts even more with "quickstart." farleigh didn't want oliver's pity, or sympathy. in fact, he recognized that this vulnerability was taken from him by oliver. he might've thought that felix confided in oliver about farleigh's troubles, or maybe he knew that oliver had eavesdropped. either way, oliver entered that conversation believing that farleigh would be just as insecure and starved for validation as venetia (i'm sure farleigh is, but we all react to our misfortune differently). i think the difference between farleigh and venetia in this area is quite interesting. both of them use sex as a way of gaining something. venetia is using sex to fulfill her need for validation, while she grows more and more bored by the material world. she's not afraid of losing anything, she desperately needs to gain something. farleigh does everything to maintain what is tangible, accessible, and real. he sees the material world as an extension of his security, using it as both insurance and escapism. farleigh is constantly terrified, constantly weighing the positives and negatives of his actions.

so, here is oliver, who has yanked the sheet off of farleigh. this is the exposure. instead of biting oliver's proverbial carrot, farleigh does the same to oliver, and in front of everyone. farleigh, just like oliver, understands the power of vulnerability. this is the sort of nightmare where you're suddenly butt naked in front of the whole school. later that night, oliver wills up the confidence to attempt to dominate farleigh, to tame him. again, this isn't just sexual domination. this is "if there's anything i can say to them... if i can help in any way, just ask." this is "we both know i could ruin everything you've worked so hard for. we both know i can help or hurt you." or, at least, that's how farleigh understood it. oliver was planning to ruin farleigh's life no matter what farleigh agreed to. "are you going to behave?" was never just a kinky line to throw around, it's meant to be a threat. what's funny is that oliver already planned to follow through, regardless of whether farleigh decided to "behave." coercive, and painfully hopeless for farleigh.

of course, that isn't to say farleigh wasn't aroused by whatever power play oliver was leaning into. the same goes for venetia. i'm mostly explaining why it's not healthy, or safe, or sane, or consensual. is that not the point of the movie? to question what we find attractive? to stare it in the face and talk about it?

moving on to felix. i'm not really sure where to go with this. i talked about saltburn and its depiction of privilege on an earlier post. to sum it up, farleigh and venetia both have some privilege over oliver, while oliver has some privilege over both farleigh and venetia. oliver has absolutely nothing over felix. both of them are white, both of them are men, and felix happens to be richer than oliver. this is why oliver is... so pathetically desperate for felix. he's obsessed with what he cannot have, control, or dominate. oliver is the vulnerable one, oliver is the one that is eventually laid bare in front of felix. a liar, a manipulator, and pathetically desperate for felix's love. so desperate for someone so powerful to love someone like him.

and, once felix knows this, oliver kills him for it. he fucks the dirt felix is buried under, just to feel like he's taking something after felix took his secrets. oliver understands the power of vulnerability. oliver understands that sex is easy once you've already stolen what really matters from someone. oliver saw the connectivity of human nature and used it, twisted it, just to pull himself closer to felix. oliver's northern star, who he never truly got to have.

[redgearsmovin]

quick lil dave sketch

[neonwizardheehee]

Soo I'm finally back from my family and can now properly answer and think <3

first of all tysm for tagging me in your 2024 reviews @mapofyourstars and @cherikdogfood I've not had that happend before and sometimes have a hard time making friends for a longer time bc i'm so prone to fandom switiching

RIP mcyt fandom i still ove u so much, i wish i knew what happened with me but .. i've seen the treebark zine and it made me cry so much bc I'm so prouf of us but also i was so detached it makes me so scary (1 con to ruin in apparantly i used to not be that weak UGH BUT i digress!!)

Being SO back into the x-men fandom was so not on my bingo card but I couldn't be happier: the amount of nice and insane people in here? all the amazing fanfics and ideas on here?? (srsly I've read 400 alone on ao3.... PLEASE cherik only came bc of deadpool & Wolverine 6 months ago and 257/446 are about them KSKSKKSKS <3<3)

so yeha you two had a lot to do with that (bc i also actually talked to you guys KSKSKSK) but yes much thanks and love and all the best wishes for your new year and i hope i can enjoy your company again :33

@the3rddenialist happy new year to you here too and i hope you had a good time - i love seeing your current drift and vibe so pls imagine me cheering on you even tho i have no idea what is going on /pos

@funky-lady still can't believe we actually met !!! sry it had to be the con where stuff happened unfortunately and i wasn't the best friend to you for SURE but i still wanna say this and appreciate what u did and tbh you're so badass for flying out and doing that fr fr (also happy new year ofc!!!)

@evil-mop-eating-sponge you're the goat for reaching out to me and that's so cool of u and i hope i could kinda do that justice even tho i barely contribute stuff but i still wnated to let u know i think about u a lot and your little notif bubble makes me smile and i just wish u esp all the best braincells for your exams soon <3<3

tagging also my secret favs on here bc i love what you're doing and i SO so appreciate you for that and i can't believe the amazing things u guys do and write <3<3<3: @lordansketil @star-lights-up @stinkrat-aleks

also huge mention to my twelfth doctor bloggers out there I LOVE YOU and it's so insane that the love suddently is spreading hahahah

ANYWAYS: super thankful to be welcomed with open arms into the cherik fandom (I'd NEVER thought i'd finally get comics i am SO fucking happy about that, krakoa i owe u big time!!)

big hug for everyone and ty for reading ik i'm not a writer or an artist and don't have much time anymore but i still love you and this site that brings me peace like nothing else <3

[lab-gr0wn-lambs]

A brief review of The Walking Dead