#And..this is really hard to say honestly. No interpretation is necessarily..wrong.

[endothermic-rain]

Auugh I get you so much :( whenever I get into media that has a community so focused on themes and symbolism (for good reason!! It's so fun!!) I always feel so stressed out because. Oh no, what if I've interpreted something wrong through my silly fanfiction/fanart/etc?? The fear...

Finding a fandom that's focused on themes and symbolism at all is a rare treat askgj. It is very fun! It is something to be cherished and enjoyed.

I think a good balance is necessary. Silliness is a way of life. It's good to have. I think we are allowed to have fun with it. Think of it as putting thumbprints on something you love. We can take a piece of media and put a little of ourselves in it. I think that's a beautiful thing.

Honestly misrepresentations and misinterpretations are only really bad when the person's a jerk about it. When someone acts like they're somehow better than others because of their takeaway from a piece of media. It's gross, and, frankly, really, really lame.

I don't believe that is what we are doing, so half of the problem doesn't apply to us. And interpretations are, well, interpretations! We see things through our own personal lenses. You can stick as close to the source material as possible and someone's going to disagree with you. And that's okay! They are allowed. And so are we.

At least, we are thinking about these things. We're considering the source material. We're respecting the original. Doesn't make us better than anyone else, but it shows our hearts are in the right place.

And it's one thing to have an interpretation, and it's another thing to just. Be Wrong about some events in media. Like it's one thing to interpret..let's say, a character's actions as selfish, and another thing to claim that they did something they Clearly Did Not Do. And even then, it's still allowed! You want to take some of the stuff from media and go off and make your own thing? Sure, you can do that. Have fun.

So, I think..I think we are allowed. To have interpretations. To have takes. Even if they aren't the best. Even if they're wrong.

If we can tolerate someone else's bad takes, then..I think they can tolerate ours. Because our enjoyment matters.

Anyway thanks for the message I'm going to cherish it forever.

[chukys-mouthguard]

back with another song related request but this time it’s when the party’s over by billie eilish, typical angst turns smut or fluff with jamie drysdale (or trevor zegras)

as usual can’t wait to see what you come up with and i hope you had a good weekend 🫶🏼

nothing is better

2k words

genre: angst; ending is suggestive of smut or fluff, whatever your heart interprets it to be

featuring: trevor zegras x female reader

request: yes

note: this was honestly hard for me because the song was really difficult to interpret, but hopefully i did alright 🫶🏼

Trevor’s finger hovered over the screen, debating on whether or not he wanted to toy with his emotions and call you. It was late. His eyes glancing at the clock, 2:42am. Surely you would be asleep.

Though his call wouldn’t necessarily be unexpected, he did this almost every time he went out with the boys. Getting drunk, missing you, and ending up at your place. The “relationship” one that you surely should’ve expected from a young NHL star like Trevor. It was strictly sex, to put it bluntly. It’s what worked for you both, though you’d occasionally questioned why it couldn’t be more.

Trevor telling you he wasn’t ready, he couldn’t handle his schedule along with a relationship. And he never saw things with you being more than what they were.

But he was lying, to you and to himself.

He wanted to have everything and more with you. Date nights, to see you at his games wearing his jersey, posting tons of pictures of you on his social media to show you off. But he knew that he was only bound to hurt you. His schedule being so demanding, and you deserved a boyfriend that could be there for you whenever you needed them. Not one that would be gone weeks at a time, whose game days left no time available to be with you.

And while he knew a relationship would end with him breaking your heart, he couldn’t help but feel simply hooking up wasn’t any better. Knowing that you longed for more, and while he did too, he’d never give it to you. It seems cruel, unfair even for him to knowingly continue being friends with benefits. It wasn’t something he necessarily enjoyed doing, but he kept it going because it meant he could still have a part of you. Even if that was for only a few hours every now and then.

So he tapped your name on the screen, holding the phone to his ear as his fingers traced over his steering wheel while he waited to hear your voice.

“Trev, it’s almost 3 in the morning. Really?”

Your tone immediately told him it was wrong to call, but he couldn’t help that he’d wanted to see you. Not even for the sex, just to be with you. To fall asleep next to you and pretend for a little while that things were different. Until the morning came to pull him back to reality and he’d have to leave, not knowing when he’d see you again.

“I’m sorry, I can head home. I just, I wanted-“

“It’s fine, you can come over. Just, hurry up. Please.”

He could hear in your voice that you wanted to say no, to tell him another night would work better.

Anything.

But the second you’d heard his voice, to know he wanted to see you, even if it was just for sex, you folded. Taking any moments with Trevor you could, knowing all too well you’d regret it in the morning.

As much as you knew this would never be more than strictly sex, you kept it going because you were so sure it could be more one day. That Trevor would stop telling you he couldn’t handle it. That it was for the best because he would only hurt you in the end. But even in him trying his best to protect you, it broke your heart every time he’d walk out the door. Never knowing when you’d see him again, simply having to wait for a night that he reached out or you were desperate for him and he was free.

Though you couldn’t help but admit you felt dumb, letting yourself be stuck in a strictly sex situation with someone like Trevor. It was almost a classic trope that if your friends knew they’d criticize you for. Confirming your own thoughts of being stupid for holding onto something he’d clearly told you would never be more than what it was.

You never having discussed your feelings about it all with Trevor, just tucking them away because what was the point? Surely he cared somewhat, but not enough to be in a relationship with you so why bother boring him with your displeasure with the way things were?

A simple “here” text came from Trevor letting you know to head to the door. Opening it just as he prepared to knock.

The tan, brown haired boy smiling that signature grin down at you as he walked in. Wrapping you in a hug and kissing your head, lightly chomping on gum he’d probably popped in his mouth on the drive to eliminate any lingering taste of alcohol, remembering how you hated the taste of beer when kissing him.

“How are you? Missed you.”

The words tugged at your heartstrings, but you tried your best to ignore it, not reading much into it as it was something he’d always said.

“Tired, not really in the mood if I’m honest.”

He could see on your face you weren’t yourself, normally you were happy to see him, no matter the time. But it was clear you were upset, something clearly on your mind.

“So, let’s talk.”

You laughed, crossing your arms over your chest as he pulled out a chair and sat at your island. Talking wasn’t something you did, and you weren’t sure what his intentions were. It was late, he didn’t come for this, why would he come for this?

“Talk? That’s why you called me at 3am, to talk?”

“Well you’re not in the mood, I’m not gonna make you sleep with me if you don’t want to. So, what’s wrong?”

His tone was a bit snarky as he shrugged, waiting for you to explain yourself to him. But you knew there was no point, the second you’d start he would cut you off and tell you we’ve been here before, you know my feelings about it.

“It doesn’t matter. You don’t care.”

Shaking your head you retreated to your bedroom, figuring if he didn't want to sleep with you he’d leave. But instead he followed you, grabbing your hand to get your attention.

“I do care, why the hell do you think I don’t?”

“Because you only talk to me for sex Trevor!”

Your words echoing through the apartment as he dropped your hand. This wasn’t a side he’d seen from you before, even in previous times where you’d brought up wanting more. It was clear to him you weren’t happy.

“That’s, that’s not entirely true. I mean, sure it’s sex nothing more serious. But to say I only talk to you for that? That’s bullshit.”

“Name 5 times you’ve called or texted where sex wasn’t your main reason for doing it?”

Counting to ten in your head you waited, Trevor not able to formulate a response. Telling you all you needed to know.

“Exactly my fucking point. Just, go home Trevor.”

Climbing into bed you’d hoped he would get the hint and leave, but that small part of him that so desperately longed for more with you stopped him from walking out. Knowing he’d lose you for good if he did.

“You think I don’t want it to be more than just sex? You think I like the way things are?”

“You tell me that you like things this way!”

“Because I’m lying y/n! I’m lying to you and to myself!”

His shouting caught you off guard, Trevor sitting at the foot of your bed and resting his head in his hands. Trying his best to figure out what to say, but knowing it wasn’t going to be the right thing.

“Lying? So you just think this is some type of game? To toy with my emotions like that and lie that you don’t want those things with me?”

His fingers gripped at his hair as he knew this was going to do the opposite of fix things. This would be it, because it was clear he was no good for you. He cared too much about not caring at all. To pretend that he had all these reasons for not being with you, when in reality it was simply that he was afraid to hurt you. Lying just to avoid the negatives, when there was no guarantee they’d even come, it was wrong.

“No, I, it’s not a game to me at all. I just, I can’t give you more. I told you from the start if we took things further you’d end up hurt. And i care too much about you to do that.”

“And what do you call this? Cause this shit hurts. To know we could’ve had those things, but because you were too scared of something that wasn’t even guaranteed to happen, you just used me? What the fuck Trevor.”

He saw the pain in your eyes, tears welling up in them as you tried your best to be strong. Ignoring the thoughts of you were right after all or the fact that you ended up looking like a fool for believing you could change his mind.

“I, I couldn’t lose you. Even if I only got you for a few hours every now and then, I couldn’t lose that. Lose you. So yeah, I lied to you and myself, I lied to convince myself that I couldn’t be more for you. That I wasn’t good for you. And, you let me in, but I still hurt you. The point of me saying all of it was so you didn’t get hurt. I’m sorry, I really am. But please don’t think I didn’t care, because in reality I cared so fucking much.”

His words meant nothing to you at this point, to know you could've had everything you wanted with him. That he’d been hiding the fact that he wanted the same thing. It broke you. The way he would do what he could to always convince you not to walk away. And you let him stay, walk all over you. You let him hurt you like this.

“I fucking hate you Trevor.”

Wiping the tears from your face you stood up, crossing your arms as you waited for him to get the hint it was time to leave. His eyes regretful as he saw how hurt you were, reaching for your hand but you retreated.

He couldn’t see you this way, not because of him. Though this is exactly how he’d imagined, it didn’t mean it hurt any less.

“Please, don’t hate me.”

His voice above a whisper as he stood up, pulling you into his chest and fighting off your attempts to break free. Eventually giving in and crying into his embrace. His hands tracing circles on your back as he attempted to calm you down. Giving you time to breathe before he’d pulled away, taking your face in his hands.

He searched your eyes for any clue as to what was going through your head, but all he could see was the hurt behind them. It broke his heart to know that he caused this. That you could say you hated him. He never wanted that, he never imagined things would turn out this way.

Pulling you in for a kiss was all he thought to do, hoping that you’d reciprocate and take back the words you’d said. The moment his lips touched yours you felt yourself falling deeper into the hole he’d dug. Wanting so badly to stand firm in your feelings, but knowing you’d miss him the second he left you.

Trevor rested his forehead on yours as he held your hands, trying to convince himself that this was it. That it was time to walk away and give you the freedom you deserved. The freedom to no longer be hurt by him.

“I just, I can’t leave you like this, upset and saying you hate me.”

His voice was soft, wavering as you could tell he was trying to ignore any emotions he’d felt. Clearly trying to convince himself that he needed to be done, but failing.

“Then don’t leave.”

[myfairkatiecat]

Not to be rude but I think it's quite silly to say OP's religious beliefs are irrelevant, and cannot be referenced, because they are not explicitly mentioned in the post being reblogged, when op has stated directly that they are homophobic because of their religious beliefs, and the post being reblogged is being accused of homophobia. Like, if some guy made a post saying "I think no women should be able to have jobs because that makes them less dependent on men and therefore I can't get a girlfriend", then made a separate post saying "Media nowadays glorifies women having jobs too much!! Stay at home mothers need more representation!!!" I think it would be extremely relevant in that situation to say, "Ok, this guy has clearly stated biases in this conversation, which calls into question whether this post is REALLY just about representation in media or whether it's indicative of OP's real life agenda." (Not trying to conflate religion with being an incel here btw, just giving an example of another time when knowing more information about the source of the post changes the way you might interpret it.)

The person reblogging that post didn't just say "OP's username is religious so I'm going to read this as homophobic!!!", they linked a specific post in which OP directly stated "My religion prevents me from accepting LGBT people, and I use my religious texts to justify why being LGBT is wrong." How is that not relevant context for their post griping about how fandom makes everything gay?

Ooh, let’s work within your hypothetical!

Some guy is being misogynistic on their blog but then makes a valid post about how stay at home mother’s don’t get enough representation in media.

If the post that says “stay at home mothers should get more representation!” says absolutely nothing about how women actually shouldn’t ever get jobs, then it’s a good post about the validity of mothers we choose to stay at home and how they deserve more representation in the media! There is therefore nothing wrong with reblogging and agreeing with the post, and going into the reblogs of that post to tell everyone “how hard is it for you to just look at their url and blog and realize they say other stuff that you DON’T agree with?” would be kinda rude.

Reblogging a post boosts the signal on what was said in that post. It doesn’t subscribe you to that person’s entire belief system.

Furthermore, the original poster, Gracie, says very very little about that topic on her blog to keep from offending anyone. I’ve never seen her try to force her beliefs onto anyone. She’s super respectful while also believing, as her religion states, that her God is the one true God. This is a belief claim about a system that would therefore according to her beliefs apply to everyone, but she isn’t forcing anyone to agree with her. The post that was cited in that reblog in which Gracie says explicitly her beliefs regarding the LGBT community and scripture was in a response to an ask that was sent to her. She didn’t even volunteer the information, someone asked her for it, and she replied honestly. I have never seen Gracie be anything but respectful, and if you knew her, you’d know she’s super kind and never would want anyone to feel invalidated or uncomfortable because of something she posts.

No one, including Gracie, is forcing you to agree with her religious beliefs. If they make you uncomfortable, I highly recommend not scrolling through a Christian blog. When people are reblogging her post, they aren’t even necessarily saying they agree with everything she’s ever posted. That topic is entirely separate. If you want to converse civilly with Gracie about why she believes what she believes, I recommend being respectful to her. If you’d rather ignore her all together, I point you towards the block button.

If somebody’s religion or belief system makes you uncomfortable enough that you don’t want to engage with any of their content, that’s your choice, but the people in the reblogs aren’t being “dumb” for not “checking who the source is,” they’re just saying they agree with the post they agree with.

Imagine agreeing with a post you agree with! Novel concept.

In short, posts are independent pieces of text. Reblogging a post doesn’t say anything except “I agree with this piece of text and want to share it.” If that piece of text doesn’t say anything about OP’s religion, then their religion isn’t relevant to the post. It’s as simple as that.

I hope you have a blessed day <3

[theroundbartable]

(sending hugs)

what are your thoughts about aithusa? personally i love her way to much, but she rarely comes up in fandom discourse

HEY :D Thoughts about AIthusa, huh? I have many of those. Thoughts, I mean. In my brain. They like to swim around and create a whole mess of things sometimes.

I think the reason why Aithusa doesn't come up in fandom discourse often is because there isn't very much to say. Aithusa was born, then color coded as a sign for the golden future of Camelot and was then abandoned by Merlin. Tortured by a crazy guy. Then raised by Morgana and used to create the sword that later killed Arthur. Whenever they come up in fandom discouse, it's mostly about Merlin doing his job as Dragon Lord right or wrong. But you wanted my thoughts, so I'm gonna allow my head to spin weird shit around the ungendered Dragon. (That is why I will use they/them pronouns for Aithusa.) When it comes to Aithusa's name, not the canon translation, I mean what it literally means, it's hard to find, since they used old English for the language of magic, and I think Greek for the language of the Dragon Lords (which doesn't necessarily have to apply to the Dragon names) and I haven't seen anyone make a post about it. All I get from Google translate is "Hey you" in Gaelic and that's a bit useless. Or well, this:

The automatic language recognition in Google would let me interpret Aithusa as a gift to the world. Or Arthur, depending on your shipping interests. Or, you know, if I could make up the Old English maybe pseudo-parts of the word (the writers were very lazy in BBC Merlin, they are literally quoting Beowulf when Merlin magics the blue ball in the poisoned chalice.). Something fitting I found in my old English dictionary is agan, meaning to possess, and to own, and thus (spelled with a thorn which my keyboard doesn't have) meaning as follows. So, in my absolutely amateurish and interpretational, and way too far reaching ways, I would say Aithusa could mean: A(gan) thus (a): To own the future.

(Again, you asked for my thoughts, this is not canon and probably pointless, I just needed to go down this route first.)

In the fandom wiki, we find THESE informations on Aithusa.

So, things we do know are very few

Aithusa is a baby

Aithusa was tortured and is therefore crippled

Aithusa cannot talk

Aithusa probably has Stockholm Syndrom because of Morgana

But you know, I think it's very interesting to know that Aithusa is the Light of the Sun, the literal sign for a Golden Future and that very sign can be hurt by a mere human. Not only does this mean that humans can kill Dragons (the Dragon lore doesn't make any sense, I swear to god) but it's also meant to be symbolism. Merlin, just like Arthur, is shown to be his own doom through Aithusa. They are hidden, tortured, kept from living their truth, abandoned by everyone who should be leading and protecting them.

With Aithusa being born it means that at that point, Merlin had already fulfilled his destiny. At this point in time, the golden age is already there and it should have been a sign for Merlin to speak up about his magic. He never did, that's why Aithusa remains mute. And just like magic itself, when harmed or in danger, Aithusa can easily be used for evil.

Apart from the symbolism and their part in Arthur's death, Aithusa doesn't contribute much to the story, I think. Yes, they console Morgana and they are like the continuation of the Dragon lineage, but that's ultimately pointless. Aithusa will be, inevitably, be the last Dragon. Which is honestly really cruel, but again, parallel to Merlin himself. That's where Aithusa's arc ends, unfortuntaley. Personally, knowing all that, I find Aithusa hard to use as the character they are in canon. With what little defines their character, you have to ultimately change everything about them to use them in fun fics and comics and stuff. That's why they end up as a little dog creature so often.

Don't get me wrong, I love Aithusa. But I love FANON Aithusa, just like I prefer fanon Sir Leon over canon Sir Leon. Because fanon Aithusa is like a domesticated chicken that Merlin keeps in his rooms or fights custody over with Morgana while Arthur is either oblivious, supportive, or being gaslit. But maybe I am overlooking a lot of things. So, if any of you like to disagree or add anything to my points, feel free to engage ^^

[antianakin]

Yo. What are your thoughts on people who unironically claim that - prior to his talk with Yoda - Luke was right about the Jedi Order in TLJ?

There's definitely other people who can probably discuss this more eloquently than I can, but basically the argument I've seen that works the best for me is that the whole point of Luke's journey in TLJ is that he's WRONG. Luke loses himself to his own fear and grief, and that turns him into a bitter, resentful person. And what we often see when people hit that sort of rock bottom point is that they refuse to be truly mindful and self-reflective and instead turn their fear into anger and then lash out at someone else just to have someone to blame that isn't themselves. And, within the context of Star Wars, the Jedi so often end up that scapegoat. There's even a pattern I've pointed out in other posts of Jedi choosing to turn on their own when they lose themselves to darkness (Krell, Barriss, Malicos, even Bode to some degree, and obviously Anakin).

But just because the Jedi often end up scapegoats for other people's failures doesn't actually mean these people are RIGHT to blame the Jedi for the galaxy's woes.

It also would quite honestly just make zero sense if Luke was right because he talks about wanting the Jedi to all die out, he wants there to be NO MORE Jedi at all, and then the end of the film is that Rey goes on to continue being a Jedi and Luke makes the big declaration that he won't be the last Jedi as a triumph over Kylo and the First Order. None of that seems to indicate that Rey continuing to become a Jedi is a BAD THING the way Luke would have thought earlier in the movie. So if Rey becoming a Jedi is a good thing, then it automatically means Luke thinking all the Jedi should die with him was WRONG. This is basic media literacy.

Luke is unkind and cruel and insensitive throughout the entirety of his interactions with Rey. And he is very DELIBERATELY written this way, you're supposed to be sort-of taken aback and cringing away from this version of Luke. This version of Luke is broken and warped from the person we last knew him to be. This is not a kindly master of any kind, so why would we listen to anything he has to say while in this mindset?

One of the other things done in TLJ to really slam home that Luke's perspective on things isn't always trustworthy is the comparison between the two flashbacks to Kylo's turn. Luke and Kylo both have very different versions of that night and so it's implied that we cannot necessarily just take Luke at his word when he says things. Luke is not an inherently trustworthy person anymore. So when he says shit like "The Jedi should die with me" it's said within the context we are being given that Luke is now untrustworthy and consumed with bitterness, so EVERYTHING HE SAYS has to be taken with a bucket of salt.

Luke isn't right about the Jedi, he can't be in order for any part of his story to make any sense and for the ending of the film to be in any way satisfying.

What I WILL say though is that this entire storyline is pure bullshit anyway and executed in the worst way possible. It's written in such a way that it's not hard to see WHY people would jump to the interpretation that Luke was right about the Jedi. I hate that they have Luke saying these things to begin with, I hate that his entire relationship with Rey consists of Luke being an asshole and refusing to teach her anything except how awful the Jedi were when he barely even ever KNEW the Jedi. This feels like a character assassination of Luke for no good reason. Making Luke into a broken hero completely sidelined Rey in her own story and made that entire plot about LUKE'S growth instead of Rey's. So not only is it really jarring and uncomfortable to see Luke as a bitter old man instead of a wise master, it's an absolutely shit writing decision that sidelines the first main female character of a Star Wars movie in order to focus on a man. Making Luke a kind, wise master would have forced the story to focus on REY and REY'S fears and doubts and REY'S growth and development into being a Jedi because Luke has ALREADY HAS HIS FUCKING STORY TOLD AND DOESN'T NEED TO GO THROUGH IT A SECOND TIME.

There's just so much that is badly done about this storyline, so I can't really blame people for reading it as "Luke was right about the Jedi being bad and it's good that Rey is going to be a Jedi only because she's going to be a different KIND of Jedi that is better." It's so so awful and I appreciate that TROS tried to fix it by making ghost!Luke a kindly master who retracts some of his statements about the Jedi when he sees Rey again, but the damage was already done and it was too late. That being said, I do think that despite how badly it's written, the intent is that Luke is WRONG and he is very much an unreliable narrator in TLJ and people don't really pick up on that in their interpretations.

[eddiegettingshot]

different newer anon that mentioned theyre on season 5 here!! im a writer (author aspirations, but still) and i took tv analysis classes in college. im on s6 now but ive watched season 7 in its entirety already so i feel compelled to say that i think buddie will be endgame. season 7 especially has been insane in regards to that especially in terms of the deliberate choices they’re making. scene blocking, framing, wardrobe choices,

the scenes with maddie and eddie in 705 sealed it for me. you dont write “if you have something you need to tell eddie you will when you’re ready” or “this doesnt change anything between us” unless you’re planning for that. otherwise that’s actually just really terrible writing and considering some of the absolutely wonderful work we’ve seen here (im side eyeing the current eddie arc dw) i find that hard to believe to be the case. everything is so deliberate and goes into telling the overall story. it also just feels like the natural place the narrative is going anyway

its a possibility though dont get me wrong! but from my short time here is clear that tim minear knows that the audience would pitch a FIT if they got baited based on the karaoke stuff and has said before he doesn’t want to bait the audience.

its also clear to me that they were trying to go there in s4-5 at some point and knowing fox didn’t let them makes so much sense. considering abc allowed it within 4 episodes on their new network im thinking we might see something come season 8 (i do think we may see a moment or two in the final episodes of the season but considering its shorter who knows)

honestly the part i can’t stop thinking about is the terrible writing… because like i truly genuinely will not be able to actually believe buddie is happening until i see it confirmed in the text, so when i watch the show i’m not necessarily like this supposed to be a Hint, i’m fully willing to believe i’m just being baited. and my thing is that, IF it’s not leading anywhere, then it seems like excessively bad storytelling to write a relationship where there’s so much ambiguity that literally EVERYTHING about the couple is up for debate - because narratively, it is! the bcktommy relationship is being written like they’re laying down buddie threads that can be picked up later, which is objectively doing THEIR STORY a disservice! it literally boggles my mind that people spend so much time getting angry at other people for being Delusional and talking around eddie’s existence when instead they should be like why tf is so much of this being written so that it can be interpreted that way? it’s a relationship! it’s very easy actually to write two people as being unequivocally interested in one another! i literally dislike these two characters together (BECAUSE of some of the narrative choices obviously) and i’m sitting here like, if it’s not to make buddie happen, then what the hell is this storytelling? like even just thinking about 7x04, maybe WE know that tim said oh buck was into tommy all along because we read interviews, but if you JUST watch the show and only consider the text, it’s unclear all the way to the kiss - BUCK LITERALLY SAYS “YEAH I GUESS”??? not even a solid yes? it’s just so crazy to me like if i were actually into this ship i’d be throwing a fit and complaining incessantly about one half of it getting the love interest treatment lol

[paigemathews]

"A Warren. It's a family trait. So are the short tempers, the great cheekbones, the strong wills, and, of course, the powers. All blessings. All signs of where you came from."

Honestly, thinking thoughts about Warren witches and the short tempers. We see this one best through Piper obviously, but I was thinking about the way that this manifests in especially Wyatt out of all the next gen kids.

I feel like Wyatt really represses a lot of his negative emotions. Don't get me wrong, I do generally think that he's a pretty kind, optimistic person in general, but I also interpret him as someone who has this kind of fear at what he's capable of. I've mentioned this before, but the way I went about "depowering" Wyatt, for lack of a better word, to a manageable level is that he locks down most of his powers so that his control is somewhat resigned to not using them because while he's not necessarily afraid of his powers, he's afraid at their potential power. I mean, my Wyatt is currently hovering around 23ish in my next gen stuff, and that is an intense amount of power (and pressure) to put on someone who is still trying to figure out what the fuck they're trying to do right now. However, the issue is that a witch's powers are closely tied to their emotions, so with Wyatt basically locking down his powers, he basically locks down those emotions as well. The trigger for a lot of the particularly destructive powers, aka the ones Wyatt ruthlessly extinguishes in fear of unleashing tend to be rooted in stuff like anger or fear.

So when it comes to Wyatt's temper, I think it's really hard to actually unleash it. One, I think that he's just kind of hard to piss off in general. Chris and Mel have always been the two to start fighting, so he tends to take on a mediator role with them (especially bc the only other next gen kid to stand a chance is Peyton, Phoebe's eldest). So he's pretty good about letting shit roll off his back, because both of his siblings will turn their anger on him if his interference goes poorly. Two is that he's at least. kind of aware of other people's expectations of and for him, which don't really tend to be very human. He's pretty awkward with some of it, because so many people expect this saintlike, godlike figure of the Twice-Blessed and he's a 23 year old working as a library assistant at Magic School trying to figure shit out. (Especially when it comes to the magical politicking bullshit, Wyatt's so earnest and open that he struggles with it. It's an interesting time when the Marks family manages to drag any of the Halliwells to a witch event bc of the layering expectations and personalities for each Warren.) But he's pretty good at the compassion and gentleness that people expect, and he leans into that when he can sense those expectations. Thirdly, and I'll relink this post, Wyatt internalizes the fuck out of shit. He doesn't really blame someone else, even if they've wronged him. Instead, he fully takes on the blame and guilt himself and basically self-flagellates himself about it.

For the most part, he's very difficult to anger. However, when someone actually does manage to piss him off, there are two possibilities. Firstly, he basically unleashes it if he's able to, aka evil beings. Secondly, he hardcore represses it. Not even in a swallow the acid in your throat type of way, but like he ruthlessly shoves it so far down that he can't even taste the burn in his throat anymore type of way. In that case, he just blocks it out and pretends it doesn't exist until he basically believes it. The biggest thing is that when it comes to short tempers, no one really realizes that Wyatt even has one.

Needless to say, and actually the inspiration for this is that repression demons can wreak a whole lot of havoc through Wyatt if they can get to him. It'd be a source of pretty significant power to the demon and damage to those around Wyatt, and the guilt he'd have afterward? Could honestly power another repression demon. An important part of growing as a person and as a witch for him would need to be embracing and dealing with his emotions, all of his emotions, in a healthy manner instead of just repressing them entirely. I feel like that'd make some cool plotlines for growth, especially with the empaths in the family.

[imakemywings]

After the juicy "Celebrimbor not talking to any of his family" take, you've hit us with another equally juicy (but probably controversial lol) take of Russingon which is something I've been riding for a while now, @spiritofwhitefire spoke nothing but facts. Still, on a serious note (no offense, I really love that ship so much) the constant characterization of Fingon as blindy forgiving, and always siding with Maedhros (or like being desperate to be with him) was probably what made me sour a bit on Russingon. Fingon has other personalities and motivations besides being Maedhros' love interest or being his hype man but seriously, he's Fingolfin's son, and seeing how close and loyal Fingon was to Fingolfin, I am sure, he would be genuinely pissed at Maedhros. I can't imagine him instantly forgiving Mae or something, and even if he did, does his forgiveness mean something to Mae because, at the end of the day, Maedhros is still doggedly loyal to Feanor. Anyway, this is just me being fixated on your tags, "not wanting maedhros to die a miserable death at morgoth's hands doesn't necessarily equate to total instant and complete forgiveness, "honestly a huge fan of their friendship never fully recovering..." please tell me more. I love your headcanons.

I don't mean to be in opposition to so many popular fandom takes 😅I'm usually not this bad about that...

Sure, maybe Fingon is a saint who harbors no resentment...but I'm not particularly interested in that take. #1, Fingon is presumably made a kinslayer in Alqualonde for the sake of the Feanorians, whom he believed were under unjust assault, but who were, in fact, the aggressors. #2, Although Maedhros does not partake in the burning of the ships at Losgar (something it's implied Fingon learns eventually), neither did he make any effort to stop it, and that decision of the Feanorians' helped condemn the rest of the Noldor host to the Helcaraxe, where, among other things, Fingon's sister-in-law dies. I would say he certainly has grounds to be angry with Maedhros and furthermore, to distrust him going forward.

Not to say these specific things are entirely or even primarily Maedhros' fault...but I think it would be very hard not to be angry with a cousin/close friend who had helped to put you in these positions, particularly depending on how Maedhros handles the situation after their reunion (i.e. whether he apologizes or doubles down or tries to pretend nothing is wrong).

This definitely relates to my general feelings on Maedhros becoming the center of everything in this fandom but yes, the way Fingon orbits around him in so much fanon gets quite old. I'll be honest and say I don't ship Russingon even a tiny bit so it's doubly grating to see Fingon reduced to either Maedhros' hype man (if alive) or his angst-generator (if dead) and have that romance be cast as so core to everything Fingon (or Maedhros!) does. And I do think there can be plenty of crunchy drama even without the romance aspect (Anyone who's had a friendship go sour can probably attest to this).

But in terms of actual character motivation and reactions--I think it's just a lot more interesting if there are actual consequences to Maedhros' actions in terms of a relationship that was really important to him, rather than Fingon just completely forgiving Maedhros everything always so that there's no friction in the relationship.

For one, as I talked about here, their relationship already had problems before the rebellion of the Noldor. How bad things got between them in Tirion is really up to our interpretation, but it is very apparent things were not kosher between them even before Losgar happened, and before Alqualonde. I can't imagine that doesn't color later events between them.

For another, Fingon's motivations in seeking Maedhros out in Thangorodorim were political. They were also personal, but the first motivation mentioned in his decision to seek Maedhros as Melkor's prisoner is to reunite the Noldor. And as I mentioned in those tags, just because he didn't want Maedhros to die a miserable death or experience indefinite torment at Melkor's hands doesn't necessarily mean he forgave him, or even still considered him a friend. MOST of us would not want to see someone we know suffer Maedhros' fate, regardless of what they had done to us.

"Then Fingon the valiant, son of Fingolfin, resolved to heal the feud that divided the Noldor, before their Enemy should be ready for war...Fingon had been close in friendship with Maedhros...Therefore he dared a deed which is justly renowned among the feats of the princes of the Noldor." ("Of the Return of the Noldor")

If nothing else, I imagine their relationship was always complicated after this. To your point above, Maedhros is deeply committed to fulfilling the oath of his father, and as the Nolofinweans and Arafinweans were there when the Feanorians swore to deal death on anyone handling a Silmaril, they have to be aware of at least the possibility that that may cause trouble someday (I'm sure they did not anticipate the scale or severity).

So Fingolfin, Fingon's father, is king (thanks to Maedhros)...but Maedhros is loyal to his oath above all else. And Maedhros still holds considerable sway over the Feanorians (I would venture to say it's a common theory if not outright knowledge that, should push come to shove, the Feanorians will obey Maedhros, not Fingolfin). How does Fingon feel about that?

To me, these things, in addition to Maedhros' earlier behavior (being part of the initial kinslaying at Alqualonde, not trying to stop the burning of the swan ships) mean that Fingon can never fully trust Maedhros again. There will always be at least a sliver of doubt and mistrust there, wondering at Maedhros' ulterior motives, at his end-game plans. And I don't think Maedhros is very good at making this not the case because he is always trying to play 5-D chess, and he's not always sneaky about it.

That bit above about how the Feanorians are loyal to Maedhros over Fingolfin? I imagine that goes doubly when Fingon becomes high king. Whatever respect the sons of Feanor might have had for Fingolfin as their elder they almost certainly do not have for their young cousin. And I do love takes where Maedhros (successfully or unsuccessfully) sees Fingon as far more malleable than Fingolfin and is trying to manipulate him from behind the scenes. (Particularly if this interacts with any insecurities Fingon may have about his abilities as king--to think that even Maedhros sees him as a weak ruler/weaker than his father!)

I don't mean to suggest they were never close again after the rebellion (although you could perhaps make the case), but that there was never the same level of trust, ease, and companionship in that friendship that there had been before. Forever after, there was always political calculus involved, because of the kingship, because of the oath, because of Maedhros' refusal to disavow the actions of his family (Admittedly--we don't know what position he took on Alqualonde or Losgar afterwards; it's never stated or even implied, iirc. However, based on his response to Celegorm and Curufin's attempted coup against Finrod [nothing] and the attempted assault of Luthien [nothing] and attempted murder of Beren [nothing], I will extrapolate the headcanon that he was not keen to admit to either of the earlier instances as being a mistake.)

Anyway to me it's sooo tasty if they stayed (sort of) friends and yet there was this unspoken mistrust that was always there after that, perhaps alongside a kind of golden nostalgia for the "old days" of their friendship.

(Also juicy drama to me if Fingon becomes a lot closer with Finrod than he had been in Aman due to Helcaraxe trauma/responsibility bonding and Maedhros has to grind his teeth and live with the fact that Fingon trusts Finrod more than he trusts Maedhros now. And lots of love for fans who also explore Fingon's canonical friendship with Aegnor and Angrod! )

There's also the fact that Fingon bites the dust before the worst of Maedhros' actions. I simply cannot see Fingon justifying the assault on Doriath, or Sirion, or the kidnapping of Elrond and Elros, or the assault on Eonwe's Elven guard. Absolutely, there is grief in seeing someone you loved and valued become someone you cannot support, but I can never buy into post-Mandos takes where Fingon just handwaves everything Maedhros did after Fingon's death.

So yes, there it is. Maedhros and Fingon's political drama charged friendship fallout.

[defectivehero]

What do you want to see/read more with heroes and villains?

This is a great question, and I can only hope that I'm both doing it justice and also interpreting it correctly...

I suppose I'm not quite sure. If I'm being perfectly honest, I haven't quite been active in the hero/villain community on Tumblr in at least a year. The concept was staring to bore me, and I soon felt pigeonholed by the same broad labels that were supposed to be freeing for my writing.

As you've probably noticed, I haven't been very active on this blog recently. I'm writing a lot of fanfiction on AO3 and my other Tumblr... and now, I find that when I have the itch to write, I turn to fan fiction because it has pre-established characters and universes that I can then bend to my own will and desires. It's much easier to avoid the pitfalls that can plague the hero/villain content, because there is already at least some minimum foundation of knowledge required for fanfiction pieces to be comprehensible to the audience.

With that said, I think I'd like to read more hero & villain pieces that utilize one or more of the following qualities:

Satire. I really enjoy pieces that—to some degree of consciousness—have a sense of awareness. It doesn't necessarily matter how this awareness is cultivated, but it can manifest in different ways. Here are some examples that come to the top of my head:

the hero thinking about their role [either in life or in the story] as a hero, and how this commitment to heroism influences their own actions. sometimes, this shows through in their backstory; other times, this shows through in their own conceptualization as a hero.

same thing goes for the villain–how they interpret their own villainy can have a massive impact on the story. how do they see themself? do they think themself to be evil—and if so, to what degree—or perhaps taking on the burdens that others aren't courageous enough to take?

some acknowledgment of existing tropes. I've seen this executed quite well in a simple moment of dialogue, with a hero or villain poking fun at the situation they find themself in. humor is an effective weapon during moments of tension in stories, and it also introduces a new feeling to a concept that may already exist elsewhere. (but, again, as I'm sure most of you have seen, if humor is the only thing going for the piece, then it is likely going to feel uncomfortable or even cringey. gotta have some balance!)

I also enjoy pieces that don't spotlight romance. This is mostly because, a lot of times, the romance can feel either rushed, forced, cliche, or a combination of any of these. A hero falls in love with a villain, forbidden relationship, blah, blah, bLAH. It's been done a million times before. And, honestly? There's much more nuance and creativity in the components of a rivalry/tense alliance/hard-won friendship than in a hero/villain love story. Don't get me wrong, romance can really enhance a story—but I prefer it to show through in smaller actions and ambiguous, undefined relationships. It feels more meaningful that way.

Lastly, I'd say that I really enjoy stories that use a hero/villain dynamic but show it through different characters. This can show through in mythical beings, creatures, and humans that aren't a "hero" or a "villain." Detectives, pirates, vampires, fairies, aliens... There's nearly limitless potential!

The truth of the matter, in my opinion, is that the hero & villain dynamic has already been thoroughly explored. This community on Tumblr has been around for a while. Selfishly speaking, I miss the days when heroes & villains were a new and fresh concept—when the tag didn't have many followers and there was an air of excitement and intrigue to it all. About a year (and a half?) ago, I got so frustrated with this that I purged my entire blog and nearly deleted all my work.

The reasons I've detailed are why I've been recently struggling to write the dynamic. I don't want to create something that has already been created and, unfortunately, that is very difficult to accomplish now. But! This question has gotten the rusty cogs of my motivation to start whirring away. I'm going to challenge myself to utilize and uphold these standards I have listed out here.

[radfemsiren]

Hi siren! Both you and zendayaimdb have made good points about the human hair situation. While I do agree that there are certainly aspects of it that are dehumanizing (the line of thinking that led to the tiktok trend you mentioned), I’m not sure that I would say it is inherently so (e.g. It’s not inherently dehumanizing/wrong to have someone work for you, but it is dehumanizing/wrong to have a literal slave). I’m also not sure that I would say that the majority of those who partake are aware of the extent of exploitation in the industry. Ignorance of course doesn’t absolve one from critique, but you seemed to imply that most folks are very much aware, which is unlikely to be the case. People donate/sell their own hair willingly in the US all the time, so some might erroneously apply that dynamic to how hair is acquired on the industry level.

Somewhat in a similar vein, the chocolate industry is horrendous for a multitude of reasons. It isn’t wrong to want chocolate, and though it's important to push people away from buying certain brands, it might seem a bit inflammatory to approach things from the frame that consumers themselves are exploiting children for the unethical ways that some companies have chosen to acquire their product.

Bringing it back to human hair, the reasons why some black women are driven to want human hair is definitely something that needs to be challenged. They aren’t the only demographic though, and some people cite utility as their reason for preferring human hair instead of prestige.

Ah, I hope I’m making sense? I can elaborate more but this is getting long lol.

Hello thanks for the ask! No you definitely make really good points. Zendayaimdb is correct that if we approach this conversation, we need to mention how black women are facing extreme pressure to not embrace their natural hair. That’s definitely a fair point that I agree with.

The chocolate comparison makes sense and you’re prob right that I might be overestimating how many people are aware of how bad the hair industry is. But it’s also different since hair is also a part of the human body, so that adds another layer of women being objectified. I think my metaphor about the slave girl was an extreme example but i used it to illustrate my point that oppressed people exploit other oppressed people, esp Asian women. I would have chose a less extreme metaphor but it’s honestly such a unique situation that it’s hard to find something comparable 😅

The main point of disagreement is on the word dehumanizing. Human hair is part of the human body, and I think viewing other women as something to be harvested for your own needs fits that word. It’s not necessarily a body part, it can be cut off and discarded harmlessly… but it’s also very sacred to cultures around the world, comes from the body, and is usually always with the rest of you… so it’s uniquely a body part and not one lol. That makes this industry very complex and unlike any other exploited product.

But ya! I think me, her, and you pretty much agree on like almost everything. Me and her both agree that

- black women are dehumanized for their natural hair

-the hair industry is exploitation and should stop

-we should stop engaging in exploitative beauty industries and embrace our natural form

She seems really cool and I think we have just a small disagreement on how the approach should be, so that’s fine. No hard feelings over here , I think people interpret my words as angry when I don’t mean them to be lol. Maybe I’ll work on my phrasing

[1mpulsee]

// have a rant on Bart having a “parent” figure and also just his relationship with Max M.ercury in general . disclaimer some of this is headcanon and also I haven’t read all of their appearances together + my memory is bad so if some stuff is inaccurate my bad but this is the interp im going with regardless bc it feels right to me lols

// when he leaves the 31st century, Bart never really fully acquires a “parent” . like yes, he has Max M.ercury . and don’t get me wrong, Bart loves him like family and looks up to him in more than a mentorship way . Max was one of the few people in the flash family who willingly took him in at any point, and he always treated Bart like his own family . even though they had their moments (some of which I ignore because sometimes comic writers make Max way too fucking mean to Bart for no reason) he arguably has treated him the best out of any of them, believing in him and defending him from other speedsters (cough Wally cough who said that) who don’t always have faith in Bart . they get along really well despite their vast differences, and they’ve come to genuinely respect each other .

// HOWEVER (as far as I know) Bart never really calls Max his father . he’s said multiple times that Max is ‘more than a mentor’, and it’s obvious that they have a close familial bond . pretty much any time Max shows up, Bart immediately and enthusiastically gravitates towards him . in the recent runs, Bart very brashly goes to Timepoint to find Max because he’s missing, even against Wally’s advice . every single time something bad has happened to Max, it has effected Bart deeply . he either goes into a frenzy trying to save him, or when there’s nothing he can do, he’s inconsolably depressed .

// but even with their extremely close familiar bond, I don’t think their relationship is necessarily parental (or at least not exclusively parental). it’s honestly rly complicated to me writing Bart and I think the characters themselves as well . multiple characters have told Max that Bart is “like his son” and Max is “like his father”, but even then neither of these characters seem to refer to each other as such . it might just be because of the age difference and deecee thinks it would be weird for Bart to basically have an elderly adoptive father ?? but calling Max Bart’s “grandfather” or “uncle” don’t exactly feel right either . (the former being kind of loaded, and the latter the term they use for their civilian cover. in their civilian personas, Max is Bart’s biological uncle which is not true obviously)

// while I don’t think Bart (at least in my interpretation) really has a close attachment to the idea of ‘mother’ and ‘father’, or even Meloni / Don in general (just because he’s barely known anything about them and never really interacted with them at all) I think Max is definitely the person he’d consider closest to a parent, even if I don’t think their bond is just that of a parent and child . I don’t think he’s against coming to see someone as his parent, but for Max, it just isn’t as simple as “he’s my father” . Max has always just been ‘Max’ to Bart, and the only consistent term of endearment we really see Max call Bart is ‘my boy’ which definitely seems pretty parental but at the same time he also doesn’t say anything like ‘son’ . Max does have a canon biological daughter - (which was a whole thing in the impulse comics that I don’t wanna get into here this post is long enough lol) and he uses language with her that’s way more straight up parental, so … yeah, Max and Bart’s bond is hard to pinpoint if you ask me and honestly that lines up with these characters lol .

// all this to say while I think Max & Bart do somewhat consider themselves to have a parent & child bond I definitely don’t think that’s exclusively what their relationship is like . if I had to try and describe it I’d say it’s a mix between Parent & Child, Grandfather & Grandchild, and Mentor & Mentee . Bart in the 31st century doesn’t really consider anybody his parent, and honestly isn’t too bothered by that fact most of the time . he’s happy with what he’s got, but sometimes he does feel a sense of longing for a ‘real’ parental relationship .

// tldr neither me nor these two characters fully know or understand what Max & Bart’s relationship is supposed to be but they don’t really care because they love each other like family and would die for each other . I think just saying “yeah Max is his father” would kinda diminish how these two are so different from everyone else around them and just how complicated the two are and their history with each other is . so it will stay somewhat undefined for me & them .

[legendary-cookies]

About your DE/Matcha related questions, I think the stark difference, the only one I could find when examining the lore, is that DE created Matcha entirely herself. Where Sugar Swan DIDN'T birth Wind Archer. I know it's common fanon misconception that because she made him into how he looks NOW that she must be a mother/creator to him, but he existed well before that. His lore consistently states he was the wind itself that loved to roam dessert paradise. And that when the home he loved was in peril, she gave him a physical body to protect it. It's implied that Sugar Swan and MT were familiar with him long before his cookie body was a thing, so in actuality, he's more like a trusted friend to them, willing to be reborn anew to protect both of them. So not family, and it seems none of them view each other that way in any official text.

I mean, I agree that it is never explicitly stated that Sugar Swan is Wind Archer's mother specifically, but it's very heavily implied she created him

Personally, I wouldn't really call it a misconception that people interpret it as Sugar Swan being Wind's creator/mother because in general it's pretty vague so I think it could be interpreted anyway

No interpretation is necessarily wrong or right until they delve more into it in canon and I can admit that as someone who does headcanon Sugar Swan as his mother, I could definitely have a bias

But while I do get your point in that Matcha was created entirely by Dark Enchantress (literally little to no evidence against it because Matcha said it herself she was created by DE), I would argue Sugar Swan did still technically create Wind because it's stated that she helped with/created the Cookie world which, I would imagine, includes the wind

And while he as a living being may or may not have been created by Sugar Swan, his life as a Cookie is purely because of Sugar Swan

So in my opinion, it's very debatable on if Sugar Swan is canonically Wind's parent because honestly in canon he treats Millennial Tree and Sugar Swan as superiors as opposed to parents, I think it's safe to say Sugar Swan did in fact create him

In general though, I think the Devs need to elaborate more on the lore especially about the Legends because there's not a lot to go off of and it seems like the relationship charts may not be 100% accurate because like the previous examples, DE and Matcha have a family relationship in Ovenbreak and have a creator-creation thing going on, Sugar Swan and Wind basically do too but do not have family on their charts, and then Princess and Tiger Lily are canonically sisters but also do not have family on their charts in Ovenbreak

There's also the question of if Kingdom and Ovenbreak are two separate universes, but that's also hard to figure out, especially since there's that thing about Pure Vanilla and White Lily being in the background of Roguefort's trial

I do get your point though that Matcha and DE isn't the same as Wind and Sugar Swan

[kyouka-supremacy]

Hey! I was summoned by the tags you put under my post bc I also very much enjoy discussing ethics. I might make this into its own post so I'll try to not elaborate too much...

I think that I can't just decide for everyone if the difference between doing good for the sake of goodness or in order to save oneself matters, but for me, in most cases, including Dazai's case, it doesn't.

I like to believe that morality is a choice one can decide to make, and I don't think it's fair to take that away from them, regardless on how they might feel on the inside. It's a wonderful thing to act morally because it's your "natural" tendency, but I think people also have the right to do so deliberately, for a reason that they choose, without their choice being minimised. They're two different processes for sure, but if the outcome is good, then the action is a good action, and, if being moral is a choice, then I don't think I have the right to decide that only one intention or emotion that will lead there is good enough.

Also, doing good for your own sake and for the sake of others are mutually exclusive at all. One feeds the other, and if we were to put every person's actions under such scrutiny, we would ultimately run in circles.

So, for people outside the story, I would say that the debate does matter, but for the sake of the people involved, it doesn't, because the outcome is the same, especially since Dazai is so opaque as a character, and what he really feels about the things he does is so hard to read, so at the end of the day all most of them experience is his actions.

[Post this is referring to] Thank you for your elaboration, I loved hearing your opinion on the matter!!! That's close to consequentialism, isn't it? The consequences of one's actions, how much good they produced, are telling of it being morally right or wrong. I don't necessarily agree, but that's definitely a valid way to see it!!! I personally believe one's intentions are the most relevant aspect to take into account when judging whether and action is ethically rightful or not. Note that that is judging the moral of the action itself, and not giving a judgement on the person; people can have a million reasons to act selfishly, and in my very “humans are always inherently good” worldview more often than not it's caused by society rather than an actual preference to not be altruistic. But that doesn't change the fact that even a good action, if it isn't moved by good intentions, won't ever be passable of being morally right to me. Besides, then, wouldn't the other way round work to? Someone well intentioned, who's however incompetent, and ends up with their actions putting more bad in the world– as long as they're acting with a true desire to help others for the sake of it, their actions can't be considered morally wrong for me.

To clarify, with reference to your ask; I don't think people who do something for selfish reasons, and end up doing good, are morally rightful; but if they decide to do good, well, isn't that a well-intentioned aim itself? Then I think they stop being selfish to the extension that they consciously decide they're going to do good. That's not morally reprinandable at all.

Now, regarding Dazai... Honestly, I don't think Dazai is a good person. Because he never meant to do good for the sake of it. But now, the thing is, I don't think anyone in bsd is meant to be interpreted as good or evil– nobody, not Atsushi, not Mori, no one. When it comes to bsd– I do think bsd expresses a more or less nihilist worldview. And I know pretty much everyone else disagrees with me on this, I know, I'm sorry. But I do think there lies an undergoing message that good and bad are ultimately the same, and equally meaningless– it's there in Oda saying “Neither good nor evil mean much to you”, it's there in the way it makes you root for mafiosi like they were the good guys, it's there in the way Dazai never even considered to make amends for the bad things he's done (because they were never bad to begin with, because good and bad mean nothing anyway), it's there in the way it constantly shows good people doing bad and bad people doing good in a way that basically equalises them. To me there's really no point in discussing whether Dazai is good, because he is most evidently not, but that's only because he was never meant to be interpreted as such to begin with. Please refer to this post for further details; it's not surprising at all that Dazai switching over to the “good side” didn't come with a radical change of heart, and that he basically stayed the same, because how could he become good when that's no different than being evil, and those both mean nothing anyway?

And I know most people see bsd's core theme as finding a reason to live, and maybe it is, but even then I think that wouldn't be by denying its nihilism, but rather accepting it and finding a reason to live in spite of it: to me all of bsd really sums up in “that, at least, is a little more beautiful”.

[bleakbluejay]

I did one of these. This is still missing a lot of my favorite movies but I think it gets my brain across. I like to laugh. Under the cut I'll talk more about each selection, if you care to read :3

Feel free to do this yourself and tag me! I love to see what my mutuals are thinking.

Favorite Film/Big Personal Impact/Bad Day Cure: Better Off Dead (1985) is my favorite movie ever. It's a dark comedy about a teen boy named Lane Meyer who, devastated after his girlfriend breaks up with him for someone hotter, tries to kill himself. He fails every time. His friends (the French exchange girl Monique and the weirdo who snorts jell-o Charles de Mar) help him build his confidence in himself and get over her. The sense of humor in this movie is impeccable. It's so surrealist in a time long before surreal comedy became as prominent as it is now. Honest to god, if this movie came out today (with a few mild tweaks, given some social sensibilities between now and then having changed) it would be a total fucking hit. 100% chance if you message me saying "hey I'd like to try out Better Off Dead" I will find time to watch it with you. This movie has had insane impact on my sense of humor and how I see the world.

Best Script: I don't know if I've ever heard a script I've really liked or thought was flawless. All my movies actually have a lot of awkwardness in them. The best script I can think of is Forrest Gump, if we're talking overall quality. Script I like the most is a tie between Better Off Dead, The Lost Boys, and Moulin Rouge.

Favorite Movie Poster: This was a very hard one. My knee-jerk reaction was to select Star Wars OT (either ESB or ROTJ), Indiana Jones (the 3rd one), Back to the Future (any of them), or Adventures in Babysitting. I honestly just love old 80s movie posters in general. I settled on The Thing (1982) because I love the eerieness and stark, simple colors and shapes. It's also my favorite horror movie in general, but there' no slots based on individual genres.

I'll Watch It Some Day: Blade Runner (1982) and Sin City (2005) have been on my watch lists for a very, very long time. I want to watch more noir-typed films, especially ones with gimmicks that mess with visuals (cyberpunk in Blade Runner, and comics in Sin City). I'm so, so bad at watching movies, though LMAO

Best Long Movie (3+ hours): I'd rather roll around in a sea of broken glass than watch a 3 hour long movie. 2.5 hours is my limit. I like Forrest Gump (1994) a lot and I watch it every time I catch it on cable. However... if we're counting limited series that could be interpreted as movies... Color of Magic (2008) is really fucking good. It's split into two parts, with the overall runtime reaching 3 hours. But the fact it's split up feels better on my brain.

You Like, But Everyone Else Hates: 50 First Dates (2004)... I know Adam Sandler is bad. I know. I know. But. This movie is a guilty pleasure for me, as are a couple other of his movies. I know if taken literally and in the real world, this movie is creepy. But I like romantic comedies. I think it's sweet he loves her so much and wants to make it work. And I love Drew's character a lot, too. In a way, I also love how this movie challenges relationships that are "meant to be" -- given how Drew's character is only interested sometimes but hates him others. It puts into perspective "right time, right place/wrong time, wrong place". Leave me alone.

You Hate, But Everyone Else Likes: How to Train Your Dragon (2010) isn't necessarily a bad movie. I had the misfortune of being a 12-13 year old who really liked the books this movie steals its name from, and being an amputee myself. Something about how they totally butchered the story I really loved, and something about how they just decided to make Hiccup an amputee just like that, it rubbed me, personally, the whole ass wrong way. I can't bring myself to like this movie. It is what it is.

Underrated: Shaun of the Dead (2004) rocks hard and fast. It's silly and funny and has incredibly fun cinematography and I associate this movie with me and my mom watching it together in our shared room when I lived in the swamp ass of the United States, Missouri, so I'm extra sentimental about it. There's so many really solid jokes. In general, I love Edgar Wright films, and I love Simon Pegg and Nick Frost films, so together it just makes me go yippeeeee!!!

Overrated: Being a horror fan who doesn't like Halloween (1978) kinda sucks sometimes. I think it does beautiful things with lighting and shadow and camera, and I respect how it influenced horror as a whole genre. But I think the movie is boring as hell and isn't really that good as an overall movie. Watch Texas Chainsaw Massacre instead.

"Why do I like this?": My grandfather showed me Robin Hood (1938) while I visited him this summer. I typically hate older movies because my attention span is terrible. But I liked this one. I loved the costuming and the sets and I loved Errol Flynn as Robin Hood and I loved the colors and all of it. I was having the time of my life. I want to emphasize again how much I love the costuming. I love medieval shit so much that I want to throw up, and having the grace to allow medieval costumes to be relatively accurate (with creative liberties) and colorful? Oh my god. The embroidery on the outfits, dude. Ohhh my god.

Great Soundtrack: I watched Valley Girl (1983) for the first time with my mom like last week and I adored it. I grew up listening to the soundtrack, though, because it was one of my mom's favorites. It's really my style. Honorable mentions for this category are also Garden State (2004) (I didnt watch this, my mom just had the soundtrack CD in her car), and Moulin Rouge (2001), which we'll get into shortly.

That Cinematography...: In an effort to avoid mentioning Edgar Wright movies an extra time (Scott Pilgrim, Shaun of the Dead, and Last Night in Soho have very honorable mentions here)... Fight Club (1999) was so fun visually. It was punchy and wicked and it felt like living in a comic book to me. Vamp (1986) is a movie I saw last week with my mom so it's fresher in my head, but I really loved so many of the shots and the lighting choices. Two scenes in particular stand out to me: 1st, when the strip club ghouls are sitting in their dark office, with green light cast from the blinds shining on them; 2nd, when our protagonist is winding back a bow and arrow with which to kill our antagonist in the sewer, and a shaft of light hit the fletching of the arrow, I was hooting and hollering.

Favorite Protagonist: Picking just one was impossible. Lane Meyer from Better Off Dead (1985) is a psychotic, depressed, emotionally imbalanced teenager with an amazing sense of play and lessons to learn. Simon from Dinner in America (2020) is a blunt, feral, possibly autistic punk kid with a love of fire and a love of beating ableist ass. Ellen Ripley from Alien (1979) is played by Sigourney Weaver, which is a plus in itself, but she's a capable, badass woman who is intelligent and cunning. AND she makes sure to save the cat. Honorable mentions include Quentin Smith from Nightmare on Elm Street (2010) for being my specialist boy, Indiana Jones from Indiana Jones (1981-2023) for being a silly guy who inspired me to look into archaeology as a kid and also punches nazis, Donnie Darko from Donnie Darko (2001) for being another psychotic, depressed, emotionally imbalanced teenager with an amazing sense of play and lessons to learn, and Han Solo from Star Wars (1977-2015) for being stupid and cringefail and funny and a true hero against the Empire.

Favorite Trilogy: Asking me to pick between Star Wars the Original Trilogy and Indiana Jones is an impossible task, dude. They occupy the exact same place in my brain. They were both series that I grew up watching since I was old enough to look at a TV screen, and that influenced my whole sense of self. And they both have Harrison Ford, who is one of my favorite actors. They both have adventure and romance and father problems and a call to corruption we must reject and supernatural forces. They just occupy the same part of my brain.

Biggest Letdown: I watched Bram Stroker's Dracula (1992) like two days ago and it was one of the worst movies I've ever seen. I thought it would be good because it was hyped up, it's full of actors I adore, it's about vampires, it's goth as hell. But other than the beautiful camerawork and special effects and stuff, I just wanted it to end. I was bored at best and disgusted at worst.

Biggest Surprise: When Dinner in America (2020) came out, it didn't find American distribution for a long time. But... I was in a very strong Kyle Gallner phase kickstarted by Nightmare on Elm Street (2010) and Cherry (2010). The idea that he was in a punk love story got my hackles up. Eventually, I was able to see the movie, and it was nothing I thought it would be, but it was perfect for me. I fell in love with it. It's a very surprising movie.

"Not the best, but I'm having fun"/Depressing Movie: Moulin Rouge (2001) had my brain in a twist from ages 12-15. I watched this movie over and over and over, to the point I knew half the script by heart. I was in love with the characters, the movement, the pacing, the story, the music. As I got older, I became more aware that the movie kinda sucks. But I still love it regardless. It's an incredibly fun movie. When it isn't ripping your heart out. I love you Ewan MacGregor and Nicole Kidman. Mwah.

Criminally Overlooked: I love you Lost Boys (1987). I love you SoCal 80s fashion. I love you punk vampires. I love you filthy city aesthetic. I love you grandpa. I love you saxophone man. I love you kids thinking they're badass vampire hunters. I love you milfs.

Favorite Active Director: Edgar Wright rocks lmao. I love his style of scene transitions and camera movement. Nobody does it like him. Any time I'm watching one of his movies, I can fucking tell. I'm a simple guy, you put moving pictures in front of me and it's fun and colorful, I'll clap my hands and holler.

Favorite Animated Movie: This is hard. I picked two. Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron (2002) was one of my favorite movies as a kid. It had horses, good music, it's the wild west, and prominent Native protagonists (which were rare when I was a kid...). As an adult, I could recognize more what an awesome movie it was and what a great story about colonialism and fighting back against assimilation it was. Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse (2023) is one of the most visually beautiful films I've ever seen. I was totally lost in the animation the whole movie. I think when I see the next in the series, undoubtedly even more beautiful, my eyes will melt and my head will explode, as though I were viewing the Ark of the Covenant in Indiana Jones, beholding something that should never be beheld. There's a lot of honorable mentions to possibly put here, like Ice Age (2002), or The Last Unicorn (1982), or Venture Bros: Radiant is the Blood of the Baboon Heart (2023), or Lilo & Stitch (2002), or Brother Bear (2003), or Over the Hedge (2006), or Balto (1995) or... the list goes on. As a kid, I was disabled and stayed inside most of the time, so I watched a lot of movies and TV, and have a lot of things I liked.

Not Usually My Thing, But...: Phantom of the Opera (1990) is so... different. They took a lot of creative liberties with the stories and the characters in this one, and I really like those creative liberties. I don't really like Phantom of the Opera. But I like this. I watched it because I was in the middle of a Game of Thrones rewatch, and I was really admiring Charles Dance, and my best friend is a Phantom fan, so I compromised between my special interest and theirs. Charles Dance is an incredible Phantom, in my opinion. I like how in this version, he feels like more of an overly supportive gay best friend to Christine than an obsessed stalker lover. I also love the costumes.

[neechees]

Im the reading anon and i would like to apoligize, i didnt meant to use your inbox as confesional i was trying to ask for help but english is my second language and something went wrong with my ask (i think) but i promise i only asked for advice, it was not meant to upset you or make you uncomfortable. Im so sorry it wont happen again

I forgive you, then. & it's not that it made me uncomfortable necessarily, I just don't know how to reply to asks that aren't questions & aren't relevant to anything posted recently on my blog, so I don't know what people want me to say. And I tend to get quite a few of those every so often, some from people who want to try start shit on my blog without dealing with any notes or backlash since it's anonymous (like, some people will leave hot takes in my inbox waiting for me to react somehow. Or bait that might inspire discourse).

But, since you've now clarified you're asking for advice, I'll respond that way.

It honestly CAN get hard to get back into reading, I go through those moments every so often & feel uninspired to read. I guess you just gotta try different things & see what works for you, or maybe a certain book will reinvigorate you. Recently "Sharp Objects" by Gillian Flynn got me out of a reading stunt because I liked the pacing, & the style of prose the author gave, even though I'm not usually into murder mysteries. Sometimes re-reading old books I liked & haven't read in a while gets me inspired again. Some people also try audiobooks & listen to them while they're working or doing chores. You could also try reading a book together with other people or joining a book club!

If you don't mind getting spoilers, I'd suggest listening to a podcast episode or a video essay or even watching a movie adaptation (or maybe a few or all of these!) of a book you've thought about reading first: that way you can get a feel for what the book contains & sometimes this can inspire you to read it for yourself. Some people say that listening to other people's interpretations or opinions of a book before you read it first can too heavily influence & ruin your later opinion of the book when you read it yourself, but I don't necessarily think this is always true. I've done this many times & still come away with my own interpretations & opinions completely seperate from that of others', & disagreed with them on certain things.

I know it can be scary, but honestly I think there's hope & not as impossible as it seems. There are so many books to discover, and I don't think people can truly ever grow out of reading if it's something they really enjoy. But good luck!

[vtori73]

Hmmm... I'm... I'm really bad at talking with people. Like I can do casual, but that's... really it. I don't know how to talk to people otherwise, I want to make friends with others but it just doesn't work out.m because I just can't. I mean, I guess it also just kind of seems like the people who I want to or would like to be friends with don't want to ever really be my friends and random people who do want to be friends aren't people I want to stay friends with after getting to know them. I mean, that is not necessarily true though, it was more so the fact that I just felt like they kind of got tired of me or more correctly I got insecure and felt like they didn't really care for as much anymore or I wasn't much of a factor in their lives and me noping out wouldn't matter especially since we didn't really know each other for that long.

I know, I'm still in the wrong, I gh0sted them basically and I'm not trying to defend it but I just find it hard to think it was that big of a deal. I get it for people you've known for years but someone you've barely just started knowing shouldn't be like a big deal, while you can still believe it sucks (& it does) I don't think people you barely know have to explain themselves to you and such especially if there isn't really much to explain. Literally I just didn't see these relationships going anywhere so I'm not saying it was okay but it also wasn't the worst most evil thing in the world because again, I didn't know these people that much and they were the ones who came to me first so I gave them a chance and let them in, honestly some would say it would have been ruder of me if I had just been honest about not wanting to be friends anymore.

But this is also a pattern with me I've noticed but moreso out of genuine low-confidence and anxiety I have for interacting with others. I try to make sure I word everything right and reread what I wrote to make sure I don't accidently write something that could be interpreted wrong, I avoid using emojis because they can specific meanings that I just not aware of because I just take them at face value or if I do use them I try to use the most common/neutral/known ones in person I just try not to talk or say too much in fear of saying something stupid or weird and i dont want to weird people out and when I do talk and actually talk about something a bit more important or anxiety inducing I tend to shake (tremor) or use to I'm not sure if that still happens since im more able to share opinions more often now but its probably still there just situational. If I leave a comment and I don't get a reaction soon enough I start to freak out that I said or did something wrong so I end up deleting it to get rid of the trail, to make up for it or hide it before it can be seen in case I did write out something weird.

I know how I never really had a normal relationship, friendships included because when I had the most friends in my life, which was highschool, I was a big people pleaser and went out of my way to try and be liked and to keep the friends I had. Nothing really horrible but one example I can actually remember is that despite the fact that we went quite a few times to the movies together I was never actually... asked for my opinion on what movie to watch it was always decided, and I never thought much of it till later after these friendships started dissolving. I was also the one that put in the most effort but barely got any back, again nothing horrible but not great either. I noticed how once I did start trying to voice my actual opinions and such I got less and less interactions from others because something I probably always knew deep down that was confined for me was that I wasn't mostly tolerated because I was easy to be around and deal with and once I wasn't I wasn't really worth the hassle anymore.

Maybe I'm misremembering though, maybe I'm being rough on those old friends but that's what it seemed like to me. It's probably also why I do find myself noping out of these new relationships, because i worry or notice they are drifting away and I don't want to give them the chance to gh0st me so I leave instead. Some of them though I don't regret after finding out about specific opinions they hold. I find myself sort of glad though that I did, glad I left instead of put up with people with opinions I can't stand personally just for the sake of not being alone.