#it's a really complicated situation

[pynkhues]

https://www.tumblr.com/pynkhues/785589149650550784/havent-bugged-you-in-a-couple-weeks-so-okay?source=share

This is such a great discussion of Lestat and Gabrielle's dynamic. In light of all this though, what do you think Sam Reid meant by Lestat's power coming from other people's desire at a formative age (paraphrasing)? One potential interpretation is Magnus, but I don't know if I'd call that power, or if 34 counts as a "formative age" -- though it definitely was a formative experience)? Maybe he just meant the enmeshment that you described, or the fact that his looks were a bargaining chip with many people when he had nothing else. But it does kind of make it sound like Gabrielle (or someone else?) sexualized him from an early age in a way in a way he could distinctly perceive. Do you think this could reflect on the writing choices for the show? Maybe it is accurate to say that the little sway he had in life came from Gabrielle's desire for him, but it just seems a little off, especially since I don't know what power he gained from that....

I'm glad it's interesting for others too, anon! I always find the dynamics in both Lestat and Louis' childhood homes to be really fascinating, and Lestat's relationship with Gabrielle really does feel like the most complex in many ways.

Just to quickly clarify - I do think Sam was referring to Gabrielle when he talked about Lestat being hypersexualised at a formative age, and I think she did sexualise him, I just don't think that necessarily involved physical sexual abuse, nor do I think Gabrielle was simply predatory towards her son. I talked about it a bit in this post, but she pretty explicitly feels a degree of ownership over Lestat's body - again, she basically claims his penis as her own - and while I personally think that the enmeshment trauma (which is a form of incest) there is the primary Thing Going On, so to speak, there is also a really complex question of whether or not it's about sex or gender for Gabrielle.

Again, she chooses to dress as a man after her turning - hell, more than that, she chooses to hunt young men and wear their clothing specifically - and I think that there is so much to unpack in that generally, but I think the fixation on young men does seem to start with Lestat. In some ways, it feels like the 'do I want to be you or be with you' question, which you could almost argue is reciprocated in Lestat, and - again - can actually be symptomatic of enmeshment where those distinctions between identity and relationships effectively don't exist.

In that sense, I think Gabrielle will probably, as she is in the books, be very conscious of the fact that she has a beautiful son, and I think that his appearance will factor into how she feels about him and maybe even his status as her favourite child. How that interacts with her feeling she can live through him too is a question, and I think there is an inherent sexualisation and an objectification of him that's tangled up in all of that. In terms of power - - I don't know, but I think he probably views intimacy as something that his looks can buy him, and I think there's space for the show to play around with the fact that Gabrielle does spend the last of her family money to buy his freedom as the rest of the family rots. How much that's about her feeling personal escape in that as she uses him as a sort of avatar versus how much of it is her freeing her golden child from the opulent squalor of the de Lioncourt family chateau as she stares down death is anyone's guess right now.

[qaanngi]

Hapee seasonal 🎄

[kindalikerackham]

Tommy calling him, "Evan," Ana calling him, "Edmundo,"

They weren't expressions of intimacy, not really. They were intimacy shortcuts.

Your friends call you this fun goofy name, and you're kinda strict about that? Well what if I call you something reserved for family? Something that ties you to a life I don't actually know about... This way, I can slot into being your family....

So they do. With these shortcuts, they gave themselves access to a raw part of Buck and Eddie.

Which, don't get me wrong, they were romantic partners. These doors were allowed open by the named parties. Although I think there's pretty clear evidence that both Buck and Eddie weren't necessarily understanding their own emotional investment in these relationships, but I digress...

All this is to say:

When Eddie calls him "Evan," telling him that he's not expendable? It's not a shortcut to intimacy. It's a deliberate expression of existing intimacy. It's a bid to recognize what they already are to each other.

Eddie is saying I know you. I see you, your childhood, your fears. I am speaking to the part of you that feels unloved, unwanted, like spare parts. I am speaking to the part of you that thought it was good to get hurt sometimes, that extended that feeling into a career of service and self-sacrifice. And I am saying, you are enough. That the part of you that felt unloved is enough. And that I want you here, that you dying is unthinkable, and that you should also consider it unthinkable.

[mollysunder]

I think it was a mistake for s2 of Arcane to gloss over the implications of Amara and the Black Rose's deception in Mel's story because it fundamentally unmoors her perspective. Mel believed that violence like war could be avoided through diplomacy, and she applies that philosophy by maintaining the complex political environment in Piltover where every house is in some way content.

In the face of the nobility's discontent with Jayce's anti-corruption measures, Mel sought to appease them to stave off retaliation. Through her lesson to Jayce, Mell didn't just help potentially enrich her colleagues but also the woman and by extension the organization that KILLED HER BROTHER AND STOLE HER FAMILY'S ASSETS.

Can you imagine the horror and disgust she would feel at having trusted Piltover to be different? Mel thought she understood the game but she wildly underestimated the machinations of the nobility in Piltover. Mel accepted Piltover's corruption as a means to avoid violent conflict, only to indirectly enable the recent violence harped upon her own family. And the worst irony is that even though politics and corruption have largely been viewed as a cynicism game, for Mel this was an avenue she genuinely believed conflict could be avoided but in fact it was just more insidious.

The opera scene was a lesson for Jayce in politics, but the effects should be the real education for Mel as she heads to Noxus. From what I can tell Noxus is in its pre-Trifarix but post-First Invasion of Ionia, which means Swain has his demon powers but he hasn't overthrown the emperor yet. She will probably ally with him as they're both opporpsed to the Black Rose's existence, however once he's in power he will alienate a large portion of the nobility as they root out the Black Rose's influence.

The challenge for Mel (possibly as Guile) is to deal with these disgruntled nobles because as Piltover proved, you can appease them through corruption all you want, but once their ideology is truly set against you, diplomacy becomes a far more complicated balancing act.

[disgruntledwyvern]

James and cyprians relationship truly does fascinate me. They hate eachother for such valid reasons, James was directly involved in cyprian’s brothers death and the death’s of the rest of the stewards. And cyprian is a representation of the people that drove James out for something he couldn’t control and tried to kill him. They’re also both just. Complete dicks.

And then in dark heir we get that scene by the river. Where James is clearly trying to reach out to cyprian and grappling with his own conflicting feelings about the stewards. Where he directly says that he didn’t enjoy seeing cyprian kneel to the Devil like he’d made Marcus kneel. The entire exchange really hammers in that these are two teenagers raised in what amounts to a hardcore cult, but who had very different experiences of leaving that environment. James’s treatment and the way it shattered everything he’d known all his life and left him to figure it out, and the way he clearly built the stewards back up in his head after the fact, vs cyprian never questioning it or having any reason to stop believing in the steward ideals or the things he was taught. Both of them have the mentality of extremely isolated children in their own ways, kids think in black and white and now with the stewards gone they’re both being forced to confront that things are gray. But cyprian clearly isn’t ready for that yet, and he certainly can’t accept that from James yet because James is responsible for the deaths of hundreds of people cyprian cared about including the torture and murder of his brother. So the exchange ends up being a conversation of their conflicting viewpoints where they can’t yet really make any real progress.

It’s tragic because they’re the only two people left alive with the experience of being raised with the stewards from birth, of never really having a choice about it, but they both have different experiences that are so at odds that they can’t actually find solace in that shared situation.

[nonbinoclard]

they could never make me hate you, miss oranje

[transingthoseformers]

I cast body dysmorphia on to tarn

I was just thinking about that a bit ago!!!

Especially since it makes a certain nice amount of sense considering his experience with the empurata, his tank reformat, his eventual transforming addiction (which has to be an interesting discussion considering the themes around cybertronians and transforming), and the mask which (as mentioned earlier) he's been wearing since he first got reformatted

It's an interesting discussion when considering the context around Tarn and identity, and dysmorphia sucks. Bad. So so bad. So of course I have to agree with applying it to him, for the situations.

[momentomori24]

So I watched Weeby's newest Wheel of Fate video and she made a point about how Wolfgang's mum, due to her abusive husband, may have had an aversion to men, which is why she only represented women and children. But then she added how Wolfgang looking exactly like his abusive dad may have extended that aversion to apply to him as well and OH MY GOD THAT WOMAN IS COOKINGGG

[occasionalsnippets]

thinking about how from an outsiders pov who doesn’t know of fd mc having a past life if, it would make sense that she wouldn’t view herself as part of the family. she’s basically been a parent to tim for most of her life so she wouldn’t really view herself as someone her age and more as an adult, she’s only tagged along for tim, she becomes a teenage ceo and had to be a parent to a grown ass man basically all at the same time.

Alskfj you’re falling victim to FD MC’s unreliable narration. Things may have been like that in the beginning but it’s gotten a lot better, like, way better.

Once everyone kinda gets over themselves they're trying so damn hard to show them "I WANT YOU TO BE FAMILY". MC is unfortunately, pretty shit at reading those signals and maintains the "I am here because I care but you don't have to worry about me".

The batfam take care of what is them and theirs even if MC can't understand it when it's directed towards them.

[pirateprincessjess]

how many dog ears do you own and how are they all SO cute? also are they associated with any specific like. characters or personas? like do you have a bunch of dog ocs? or are they just for cuteness? either way i love your collection 😻

I have 4 pairs of dog ears! The green and black one are my favorites!

They aren’t really for OCs or Personas (though I do have some puppy OCs). I just find them to be gender affirming.

At the end of the day, I am a woman. But if you want to be more nuanced, my gender is woman in a puppy kind of way. A puppy girl!

I’m not saying that I identify as a dog, because I don’t. I’m a human woman whose gender happens to be a little bit puppy.

I’ve been posting puppy stuff on main lately because I’ve been more comfortable presenting this way lately. I feel cute, and I feel good about myself, and I’m excited to share that self love.

[fishandshesmygills]

can i be messy this summer

[rustedleopard]

Going insane thinking about Martlet at the end of the Aborted No Mercy Run.

You have a human standing before you. They have proven themself to be just as dangerous as your mentor said they'd be: through the Dark Ruins, Lower Snowdin, and the Dunes, they had carved out a trail of dust and death and misery. Dozens of your fellow monsters have fallen under their gun.

And yet! This human granted mercy to you and a bunch of half-rusted robots. Is that enough kindness within them to make them worthy of redemption? Should you let them go unpunished? Families have been irreparably destroyed, friends and fellow citizens have been slaughtered on their quest for vengeance. This wasn't some frightened kid defending themself; all of their actions--all of those deaths--were deliberate. If people knew that you took them in, they'd tear down your doors demanding bloodshed for all the grief this human inflicted on the Underground and brand you a villain. No matter what you do, whether it be to kill them or grant them mercy, dozens are dead regardless.

And yet, this human, Clover (though you're the only one who knows their name), isn't attacking you. Even when you've thrown away the only chance you had at defeating them, they're not attacking you. They're listening to your idea about staying with you, they either agree or hesitate at the prospect of staying with you before agreeing. They've agreed to put their tendency towards violence/dustshed behind them and to try to be peaceful. You've never been quite sure if you've made the best choices until after you've made them, but this one? In this moment, this one results in the least amount of violence and death between the two of you.

Is this the best choice and outcome for this situation? I don't know, I'm not qualified enough to answer that. But if it wasn't for Flowey's meddling, it would have worked.

[t-u-i-t-c]

"You're looking for a place to die, aren't you?" "A place to die...?"

[a-rabid-snake]

barbecue comic to make my crippling mental health issues go away?

This is the first time I don't like what I'm doing.

I would say something else, but my condition is so disgusting right now that I won't say anything.

[pain-is-too-tired]

Michael was the first Head Cousonlor in the Titan War forced to rise to his position during or after battle.

He was suddenly in charge of the second largest cabin at camp. He had likely had to prep Lee for the funeral pyre, maybe even all the others that died then as well. At least likely had to cover them in a temporary burial shroud.

Its no wonder he's bumping heads so hard with Clarisse, it's just hardly been a year since Lee's death and she has the audacity to throw a fit over a chariot that his cabin had put the work to take. Yes both cabin fought in that skirmish but the Apollo cabin still were the ones that had taken the chariot themselves.

He's not really throwing a fit same way she is. He's really just setting his foot down(even if he's doing so harshly).

He doesn't even give much of a fuss when he does give her what she wants and she still refused to fight. He probably just called her some harsh choice of names then didn't dwell too hard on it any more. He doesn't even seem angry during Williamsburg. He has more of a "What can you do" attitude about it.

Michael understood more than almost anyone how serious the war was. He wasn't willing to be walked over but he wasn't willing to put his pride over lives either.

Michael was likely head medic even when Lee was alive(hc that at some point Lee gave him the position since he'd been more skilled in healing abilities then Lee)

He saw so many deaths of campers he knew. He was close to. He saw the disaster the war brought from the beginning.

His and Clarisse view of war vastly different for this reason. He saw how bloody and terrible war could be, Clarisse only saw glory. It shaped both their choices in TLO.

[transingthoseformers]

i once dreamed of a trailer for a tarn solo movie. he was stranded on earth with nothing but dumb little organics for company and he was waiting for megatron (his gay was showing)

YAY TRANSFORMER DREAM

Situations where we're focusing on just one bot on Earth are always interesting, especially in a decepticon context (especially one as specific and specialized as Tarn)

can you imagine him getting attached and then finding out it's his Lord's plan to kill off humanity, giving him a choice to make