#I absolutely fit that one though even if I don’t feel like one specific character | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

charmandabear · 2 months

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Office Hours - Chapter Eight

Summary

When whining about season selection to your therapist turns into confronting the complicated ways that Astarion makes you feel, she challenges you to really explore what it is that you - or perhaps your subconscious - want.

Pairing: Astarion/f!Reader Rating: Explicit Word Count: 2.6k Tags/Warnings: imagined D/s dynamic, light bondage, ascended Astarion lines, vaginal fingering, masturbation

Thank god this girl is finally getting into therapy, am I right? I don't have a ton to say other than now that the major conflict I had planned is winding down, it's going to be a lot more about exploration from here on out.

Once again, Zaria is out here killing it with these screenshots!

Read on AO3 ~ Masterlist

You massage your temples in an attempt to ease your headache. Season selection has been going terribly – every meeting just ended with everyone talking in circles. Today, it’s Alfira’s turn to make her case as to why hers is the best choice.

“I just think that it would do our students a lot of good to have this outlet to talk about their mental health,” she insists, bleeding heart that she is.

“I’m not necessarily saying I disagree with you,” you begin, gears in your head turning as you formulate your thoughts. “But isn’t Heathers, like, dark to the point of troubling?”

“Well sure, it’s dark, but what do you mean troubling?” Her eyes are big and round, and you try to imagine someone as tender as Alfira blocking a scene like “Dead Girl Walking.” It’s not easy.

“I’ve seen the way teen girls talk about the character JD, it’s a little concerning.” You fold your arms and lean back in your chair, studying Alfira’s expression carefully as it twists into a frown.

“I mean, sure, some of them think he’s cute, but I don’t think anyone is looking at him and thinking ‘boyfriend goals.’”

“Are you sure? Have you seen the TikToks for that one song? What’s-it-called, the ‘open the door’ song.” Your fingers twitch towards your phone, fighting the urge to pull up the app.

“Yeah, ‘Meant to be Yours,’ I’ve seen them, and I think they’re fairly harmless. They know it’s not real, you know?” She fiddles with the pen in her hand, not taking her eyes off you. You squirm, uncomfortable under her persistent gaze.

“Maybe you’re right. I don’t know.” You look down at your notes, giving yourself a second to think. “Something about the way they talk about JD makes me feel icky. JD as a character makes me feel icky. Besides,” you add quickly before she gets that puppy dog look in her eyes, “I don’t know if building around a theme of ‘mental health’ is specific enough to be interesting. I’m not even sure I can think of a classical play that fits into that.”

“Perhaps Hamlet?” Lucretious says with a smirk, and you groan loudly as others in the meeting titter.

“Gods, please, literally anything else,” you whine.

The discussion continues, going absolutely nowhere, until the clock ticks over and everyone starts to pack up their things. Another meeting gone, and you’re no closer to having a season for next year. You put away your notebook and Alfira comes up beside you.

“Just think on it a little more,” she implores. “The kids have talked a lot about wanting to do Heathers, I’m just advocating for them.”

“But do you think it’s a good, timely choice? You, the professor?” you ask suspiciously, trying to scope out her intentions.

“I really do, yes. I think there’s a reason why they’re drawn to it right now.”

You chew on your lip and look at her a little longer. Then you sigh and acquiesce. “Fine, I’ll give it another read. It’s been a while since I’ve seen it, maybe there’s something I’m missing.”

“Thank you! I appreciate it, and I know the students do too,” she says, giving your arm a little squeeze. You soften, finding it difficult to perform your usual stubbornness with someone as sweet as Alfira.

Something is still gnawing at you, though, and you can’t figure out what.

***

You arrive at your therapist’s office a few minutes before your appointment. You sit in the waiting room, the white noise machine humming pleasantly. At 6:00 on the dot, Jaheira opens the door and waves you forward.

“Come in,” she says in her thick Russian accent. You walk past her into the office, which has a cozy, natural vibe. Between all of the plants and the bookshelves, you have no idea what color the walls are. You toe off your shoes and settle on the couch cross-legged as she sits across from you in an elegant red chair.

“So tell me, how are things going?” she asks, crossing her legs and letting her legal pad balance on her knee. You fidget uncomfortably, trying to figure out what to bring up first. But the season selection meeting is still so fresh in your mind, and you have so many thoughts bouncing around your head. Before you can stop yourself, you’re filling her in on all the details, including your feelings about Heathers.

“I just don’t understand why she’s so insistent on this musical, it’s not even really that good,” you grump, picking at your cuticles. She taps her pen to her mouth contemplatively.

“And this character that bothers you so much, JD? What is it about him specifically that gets under your skin? Surely you don’t feel this way about all bad guys in plays.” She tilts her head as she speaks and your eyes dart around the room, both avoiding her gaze and trying to gather your thoughts.

“I don’t know, there’s just something… Honestly, I think it’s the way these teen girls talk about him. I can totally see some of myself in them, too. I feel like if I were a teen when this musical came out I’d be foaming at the mouth for him.” You roll your eyes at the imaginary version of yourself you’ve conjured.

“Is that bad? To find the villain attractive?”

“It’s not just finding him attractive, it’s what qualities they find attractive. The toxicity, the obsessiveness, the violence. I don’t want them to take that into their real lives, you know?” Your words ring in your ears with double meaning and you quickly shut the errant thought down. Not Jaheira, though. She picks up on it immediately.

“We’re not talking about JD anymore, are we?” she asks softly and you fold your arms across your chest. You’re silent for a good long time, various thoughts and feelings barreling through your mind like a train, while she just watches you patiently. Finally, you muster up the energy to speak.

“I just… don’t like that I like it. Every time my body gets turned on by something terrible that he does, I feel betrayed. Like I’ve violated my own consent. It makes me feel sick,” you say in a very small voice, fixing your gaze on a small succulent on the coffee table in front of you.

“I believe you said last tenday that he thought it was all a game, correct?” she asks carefully, and you nod. She continues, “Well, what’s stopping you from playing along with him?”

You stare at her, that ringing in your ears coming back. Your stomach lurches, but you genuinely can’t tell if it’s from aversion or excitement.

“I mean, I don’t want to think of my relationship as a game,” you say with slight disgust. She shakes her head.

“Not the relationship, no, but perhaps other things. If you two agree on the rules ahead of time, find a safe way to tap out if need be, what’s to stop you from having fun?”

“What, like kink?” you ask with incredulity. It’s not something you had ever considered for yourself.

“You could call it that, but it doesn't need to be anything so formal. As long as you agree on your boundaries prior.” She looks at you with that penetrating stare again, like she can peer directly into your thoughts. “Can you trust this man?”

You genuinely don't know the answer to this question.

She doesn't let the silence linger for quite as long this time. She continues, “Try it on your own, first. Just fantasy. Give yourself permission to go as dark as you want. Just make sure you have a bottle of wine and a good friend on hand.” You immediately picture a smiley Shadowheart.

There's still something tugging at your mind, though.

“But doesn't it say something about my, like, feminist values if I want to get beat up in the bedroom?” You pick some lint off your sock so you don't need to look at her, but you steal a glance up at her anyway. She’s raising an eyebrow.

“What does it say?” she asks in that tone she uses when she's pushing back on one of your biases. You swallow your instinctive response and really think about an answer.

“I don't know, like I'm a bad feminist or something,” you finally mutter. Jaheira barks out a laugh.

“Please, what, do you think you're going to go to Feminist Thought Jail? That the Feminist Police are going to come and arrest you?” Her tone is snide but it makes you crack a smile nonetheless. She knows that you sometimes need a firm hand to keep your anxiety in line.

“Your homework,” she continues, glancing at the clock, “is to let yourself explore this fantasy, however you want. Whether it's just in your mind, or in writing, you can touch yourself or not, it's up to you.” Your cheeks redden slightly at getting “masturbate” as therapy homework. “Just make sure you're listening to your body. I think she knows what she wants more than that brain of yours.”

You take a deep breath and put your feet on the floor again, slipping your sneakers back on.

“Thanks, Jaheira.”

“You're welcome. It's literally my job. I'll see you next tenday, yeah?”

You nod, slinging your bag over your shoulder. You exit her office, ideas for your “assignment” bouncing around your head.

***

You get back to your apartment and kick off your shoes. You drop your bag and immediately head into the kitchen to pour yourself a drink. There’s absolutely no way you can do this stone cold sober. Your eyes flit between the fridge handle and the wine rack above it. Red or white? The image of Astarion licking your blood off his lips invades your mind.

Red. Obviously. Unfortunately.

You catch yourself. You don’t need to be so judgmental. You like red, and if it adds to the experience because it makes you think of him, so be it.

Your desire to cringe is potent nevertheless.

You bring the glass into your bedroom and dim the lights in an attempt to set some sort of mood. You pull a candle out of a Bath and Bodyworks bag on your dresser, trying not to think about how much time you spent trying to find one with the right smell. You set the candle and your wine glass on your bedside table. You strike a match and watch as the wick catches light, the flame bobbing around like a chipper little parakeet.

While staring off into space in the direction of the candle, you take a long, deep sip of wine. After a moment, you lie back on your bed and stare at your ceiling. Echoes of the fire dance across your vision. You take a deep breath, nervous about where you’re about to let your mind wander.

You conjure up his expression from the night you saw Taming. That snide grin, fangs bared, blood dripping down his chin. You remember him closing his hand around your throat and something deep in your core constricts. You let your hand slide down your front, taking your time, and his words reverberate in your ears.

Little love, do you think you’re in control?

You unbutton your jeans and your hand slips below the waistband of your panties. You dip your middle finger into your slick and let out a shaky breath.

You insolent little brat. I will absolutely ruin you.

The thought brings a voiceless moan to your lips. Your ring finger joins your middle finger and they lazily run along your folds, spreading your wetness.

Your eyes shoot open – you hadn’t even realized they were closed. You can feel the judgment, the anger, the frustration, all bubbling up inside of you. You take a deep breath, acknowledge it, and let your imagination take over again.

You visualize him smugly peering over his glasses at you, the round wire ones, and he points down to his feet.

On your knees, darling.

His voice in your mind is smooth like velvet, low with just a tinge of threat. You look up at him, your bound hands resting in your lap, a collar around your neck. He holds the leash.

Back in your bedroom, your back arches as you slide your middle finger into your cunt, just barely up to the second knuckle. You whimper at the thought of him pulling the leash tight. Your breath moves high into your chest, making your tits heave with the exertion. You move your other hand to your nipple, gently rolling it between your fingers as another needy moan works its way into your mouth. You savor this one slightly, lending it some of your voice.

The collar is replaced by his hand, his fingers tight on your neck. He pulls up on your jaw, bringing you to an upright position on your knees. He kisses you, rough and hungry, your hands twitching against their cuffs.

You let a second finger join the first inside your cunt, tilting your pelvis to get a better angle. Your jeans constrict your waist, and in a huff you shove them down past your hips and kick them off your feet. Your fingers immediately dive back into you and you groan, thinking about his hand yanking your hair back and exposing your neck to him.

In your fantasy you say something, anything, the words are garbled nonsense in your mind. But he laughs cruelly, a far cry from his high pitched giggle that you love so much.

“Don’t be stupid, darling,” he spits, and your legs fall open to let your fingers in further, the top of your palm coming into contact with your clit. Your hips cant into your hand, your throbbing pussy aching for more friction, more heat.

“Fuck me, Astarion, make me yours,” you whine instinctually, his name sweet and bitter on your tongue. Your conscious mind recoils – do you want him to call you stupid? You’re already insecure about that as it is.

Fantasy, your subconscious coos. It’s just fantasy. You take a deep breath and give yourself permission to keep going.

He traps your naked body with his, caging you in without a means of escape. His eyes glint with something feral, like a predator, as he buries his nose into your hair. You squirm and moan for him, the line between fantasy and reality blurring. His fangs scrape across your jaw as his words spit rapidfire into your ear.

You precious little thing.

You’re mine, remember?

I shall lock you in a room and keep you all to myself.

You’re going to be wonderfully obedient.

Your fingers slide out of your cunt and you move their ministrations to your clit, rubbing in quick, small circles as his imaginary voice rattles in your brain. Your feet push against the mattress, pressing your hips into your fingers as you desperately chase release. Every part of you aches to be held down by him, his cold hands gripping your wrists as he fucks you senseless. His palm slapped across your mouth to muffle your cries of pleasure. His fangs deep in your neck as his cock thrusts even deeper.

Your hand stutters as it tries to keep pace with your fantasy, yearning to feel every inch of him across your body. Your stomach tightens and your pussy clenches and you come in a crashing wave all over your hand. You continue stroking yourself through the end of your climax, eventually succumbing to stillness. The only sensations you feel are the slowing throb in your cunt and your breath wracking through your lungs.

You let your hand linger in the sticky mess between your legs, turning your head to face the flickering orange light from the candle.

What do you want?

You’re very good at asking me that. I’m not sure you’re good at answering it yourself.

So… what do you want?

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gamermattsgf · 4 months

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Coming of age movie hot takes // Matt + Chris

YES, I realise that this is not a proper piece of writing, but don’t worry babies, mommy has got u covered for the weekend coming (hopefully) *nervous laugh*.

You guys can ignore this absolute yapping if u want but it’s really something that I must get off my chest because I think about it an unhealthy amount and make up too many scenarios for each of them in my head with themes and certain plot lines included. Plus, I feel like some of u are absolutely gonna eat this up lol.

But… here are my individual hot takes for both Matt and Chris and what kind of coming of age films they look like they’d star in + with specifically random but accurate details included. (Obviously these are all my own ideas and they may be vastly different to someone else’s, but I felt as though tumblr was the perfect place to brain dump this onto all of u lovely readers)

Matt:

So first up is Matt. Matt gives very much one of those low budget indie coming of age movies where the quality may not be as good but the cinematography is beautiful, as is the plot line. Matt’s movie is the kind of movie you would go to watch and sob at for the entire time because it’s so irrevocably soul-crushing that it tears your heart up piece by piece. If he were to be in an indie movie I feel like it would low-key give off the same kind of energy as something like ‘All the Bright Places’ or possibly even ‘Five Feet Apart’.

Something absolutely tragic is bound to happen in Matt’s movie, and I feel like him dying due to some kind of terminal illness is a high possibility because I don’t know why, it just fits his vibe in a really weird way? Like- his coming of age movie has to be unbareably depressing for some reason.

He’s delicate and gentle, one of those really interesting characters that has so many layers/complications to him. Him and his main love interest share such an odd but heart-warming relationship that you just can’t help but be stuck thinking about the movie days after it’s finished. It bothers you so much that their happy ending was just out of reach.

For the soundtrack, I’m mostly getting Phoebe Bridgers vibes (specifically her Punisher album), something that’s mind-numbingly sad and fits the overall heartache of the cinematography so well that you just want to cry whenever something like ‘Smoke Signals’ or ‘Halloween’ plays beneath the ensuing dialogue. Also, in addition to Phoebe, I also get heavy Current Joys vibes such as ‘In a Year of 13 Moons’ and ‘A Different Age’. The very thought of imagining it makes me want to flat out sob.

Outfit / aesthetic wise for Matt, I envision very much warm brown leather jackets and baggy blue jeans with beat up sneakers and knitted sweaters. He always carries a tattered notebook and drives around a beat up pick-up truck. He smokes red Marlboro cigarettes and constantly seems to have one neatly tucked behind his ear (what-? It would literally look so pretty matched up with his beard and fluffy hair combo… don’t kill me). He’s shy and likes to keep himself to himself but is also hopelessly in love with our main character that also sort of keeps to herself, so he decides to pursue her before it’s too late.

I also feel like this Matt would for sure write 100 love letters to the main character but she would only discover them hidden within his notebook after he had died because when he was still alive he would never tell her what he was writing down whenever they shared moments together. Possibly Matt never got the chance to confess his feelings whilst he was alive, so they stayed forever friends and nothing more right up until he slipped through her fingers at the very end…?

(Bye I’m sobbing, why the fuck does my mind have to be so vivid and imaginative??)

Chris:

For Chris I feel like it’s a little different. His coming of age movie would definitely be a mix between a light-hearted comedy of the classic ‘underdog that finally gets the girl’ whilst also incorporating really important life lessons into the mix of the colourfully bursting screenplay. In contrast, the cinematography is just as beautiful as Matt’s, but in a hazier way, so I’m getting very much party + late night hang out vibes from what Chris’ gives off. This includes darker, more moodier lighting, almost like ‘Euphoria’ in a way. I think his movie would more so correlate with either something like ‘Perks of being a Wallflower’ or even something like ‘10 things I hate about you’. I think the added comedy matches up with Chris’ personality in real life perfectly.

There’s definitely got to be one of those cliche scenes where they lock eyes at a party and all of the other guys on the football team are staring at the most well-known girl in school but Chris only has eyes for our main character. There’s some form of blue/pink/purple flashing lights and everything seems to take place in slow motion as they tentatively peer at each other from opposite sides of the random fish tank before them (Romeo and Juliet style) or some other form obstacle in the way.

For Chris’ soundtrack, I’m thinking something a little more upbeat, and I was possibly debating on Lorde, her songs fit Chris perfectly in my opinion, and no one understands the young mind quite like she does. The emotional vulnerability of her songs mesh together beautifully with Chris’ love language of touch and teenage curiosity and I can just envision something like ‘Perfect Places’ or ‘Hard Feelings’ playing over the back of one of those ending monologues where the movie cuts to a bunch of different scenes as maybe Chris says something really sappy and sentimental over the top of them in his voiceover.

Finally, outfit / aesthetic wise for Chris, I would normally put him in his baggy light-wash jeans and then pair it with a white t-shirt and some form of a zip up hoodie with a backwards cap, but to be honest, most of what Boston Chris used to wear way back when works pretty well too. I’m thinking, typical high school student attire, he’s on the lacrosse team, and is always wholesomely trying his best to impress the girl he’s had a crush on for years with his skills, giving the movie that light, feel-good atmosphere that leaves you with a fuzzy glow after you’ve rewatched it for about the 5th time.

(Again, actually sobbing, I wish these two brief ideas of movies actually existed wtf)

Author’s notes: I’m sorry if this is literally so stupid but I think about it so much, and I think about a lot of other possible movies the triplets look like they could star in. In fact, I even have a whole entire second series sitting in my camera roll of me explaining what horror movies I think each of them would look good in, so if u guys end up liking this one, then I would consider giving u a breakdown of my horror movie ideas if anyone were to wish it hehe. But thank u for listening to my rant and I hope it makes as much sense in your head as it did in mine… 🎀

People who I think would entertain this yapping and enjoy what I have to say here: @luv4kozume @luverboychris @lovingmattysposts @luvmila444 @rootbeerworshiper @nicksmainbitch @lacysturniolo @thesturniolos @strniohoeee @asturniolos @sturniolosreads @sturniolosstar @meanttomeet @sturniolowhore @mattscokewhore @matthemunch @mattestrella @vecnasnose0 @ellie-luvsfics @imwetforyourmom @breeloveschris @kvtie444 @stursweet @bernardsgf @fake-sturniolos @mattslutt @1800chokedathoe @orangeypepsi

#matt sturniolo #sturniolo triplets #chris sturniolo #christopher sturniolo #matthew sturniolo #sturniolo #nick sturniolo #nicolas sturniolo #sturniolo smut #sturniolos #matt sturniolo x reader #chris sturniolo x reader #sturniolo fanfic #sturniolo x reader

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ichayalovesyou · 1 month

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Why Do Old-School TV Duos Have SUCH MLM Vibes?!

I think there’s something very specific about the formula and writing style of non-serialized/semi-serialized shows from the 60s to 80s that featured two grown men going on wacky dangerous adventures that makes my gay little literary analysis brain go absolutely off the wall bonkers. I’m trying to figure out why!

I’m writing this on my Trek blog because I don’t think this pattern in people actually shipping these types of relationships the way they do if fandom as we know it wasn’t born via TOS in syndication. That being said! I also think it has to do with the way these shows are designed that makes myself and others OBSESSED with a specific character dynamic that feels (to me) damn near impossible to replicate in modern television. In a way that’s more than just fandom, it’s in the way TV like this was written at the time!

Further explanation under the cut!

🏳️‍🌈🏳️‍🌈🏳️‍🌈🏳️‍🌈🏳️‍🌈🏳️‍🌈🏳️‍🌈🏳️‍🌈🏳️‍🌈🏳️‍🌈🏳️‍🌈🏳️‍🌈🏳️‍🌈

I think what it usually boils down to is this. There’s a charming protagonist whom without the series could not operate, frequently top billed or the title character! (See: Wild Wild West, Starsky & Hutch) BUT he doesn’t have anyone to play off of! So what do they do pretty much every single time? Give Mr. Idealized Vision of Time-Period Masculinity For Genre a second guy to rhyme with!

See but the other guy has to play opposite but parallel to our hypermasculine protagonist. So what frequently ends up happening is that in order to play off our “normal” guy, even though he’s also a white dude, is that he’s still somehow Other.

They’re always perfect for each other, and they always get into scenarios that would be written, shot and interpreted by conventional audiences as romantic IF either one of those characters were a woman! Especially at the time these shows were made in.

If the one is aggressive, the other is gentle. If the protagonist is violent, his counterpart is intellectual. If the one is stoic, the other is emotional. Which (while one size def doesn’t fit all) usually makes the second guy come off as much more queer-coded (and sometimes other minorities like neurodivergent/disabled etc) than the other because of the traits associated with masculinity vs gayness at the time! Our prime examples in these gifs are Spock, Hutch, Artemus, and also *BJ!

*(M*A*S*H is a bit of a unique case since the show flirts with queerness more openly in ways that people more into the series have explained better than me but I think it still fits the formula I’m discussing.)

Here’s the thing though right? We’ve got two best friends, and the show NEVER really feels right if one of them is missing unless the focus of the story is how A & B operate without each other while trying to find the other one. They stick with and rescue each other unfailingly in scenarios that might destroy a regular friendship.

Hell, there’s often stuff that would emotionally/physically destroy a regular person/character in modern media. But because it’s not serialized they always seem to pull through seemingly through the power of friendship alone or dealing with it off-screen! Emotional consequences? Yuck! (Unless it’s M*A*S*H or Starsky & Hutch, like I said, not monolithic)

Here’s the thing that some people might say throws a wrench into the interpretation I’m discussing. What about the absolutely non-stop parade of conventionally attractive women the main protagonist (and less frequently the supporting man) goes through?

I would reply: how many of those female characters actually emotionally impact our protagonists as characters long term?

The answer is of course, because it’s NOT serialized, almost none! Kirk can watch Edith Keeler get killed by a car accident and still be making eyes at Spock the next episode. Hawkeye can have a “life changing” romance with a Vietnamese humanitarian woman, then share a blanket with BJ next episode like she never existed!

The Doylist explanation of course is not just the fact it wasn’t serialized but also just, constant, blatant 20th century sexism. Which SUCKS!!! As well as not wanting a long term love interest to throw off the character dynamic of our duderagonists. It’s the 20th century tv equivalent of bros before hoes.

However the Watsonian explanation always seems to result in no love interest EVER being more important than what the two protagonists have no matter whether you think they’re queer or not. No attractive woman could make our reputed babe-hound protagonist abandon his buddy. There’s no earnest romance our more queer-coded supporting man doesn’t end (or get ended for him) often for the protagonist’s sake.

Now some of these women are incredibly well written and straight up GOOD matches for our guys. So why wouldn’t they get involved in something long term UNLESS!! They were in love with each other the WHOLE time?

What if protagonist (frequently the babe hound) doesnt know he’s queer, or knows but doesn’t know he’s in love with his bestie, or any number of similar fruity explanations? The supporting man also runs into this explanation but people tend to believe he’s already aware that he’s queer but either also doesn’t know he’s in love or is keeping it to himself because time-period homophobia and/or thinking (probably not unreasonably) that babe hound is straight?

Between the inherent closeness of being narrative foils. The regularly scheduled life or death drama creating sometimes insanely romantic (in the narrative if not a literal sense) drama between the two. The revolving door of weekly women they never seem to get attached to enough to leave one another. The non-serialized nature resulting in sparse personal information/history about the protagonists as a result.

I think between the very NATURE of the way tv shows were written at the time. Plus the way fandom was shaped by a dynamic that has rippled through how media works and is interpreted by fans for decades upon decades. It’s not hard to imagine getting really emotionally invested in the possibility of the protagonists being in love is a fantastic way to enjoy the media!

In conclusion, it’s really fun and easy to go “these bitches gay! Good for them good for them!”

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mysadcorner · 4 months

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Hiiii, i read and loved the spider reader x jason todd headcanons, could you maybe do one Kryptonian reader x jason todd pls? sending love!!!

Jason Todd x Kryptonian!Reader Headcanons

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- credit to the images owners - Please be specific about the characters wanted in headcanons and read the request rules -

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Jason is going to be a bit confused when he finds out that there is another Kryptonian on Earth, and he may even be a bit suspicious of you if you turn up out of nowhere and aren't associated to or mentioned by Clark at all. To him it seems like more than just a coincidence at first until he let's himself trust you properly.

Of course you're going to be incredibly stronger than him, and Jason is not going to be able to hide his attraction towards this. He can't decide between people who will finally let him relax and settle down, and those who could absolutely destroy him, so being stronger than him is definitely something he's going to give you a lot of attention for.

Jason is more than happy to accept your help when he's in some challenging situations, even though it may not happen often. Other times he just likes your company, it can get quite lonely if he out on patrol by himself, or sometimes he just wants company other than his family.

Jason feels a lot better knowing that you can take care of yourself better than the majority of other people could, and he doesn’t need to worry about you being injured any time soon. This puts him at ease when the two of you are in dangerous situations, you’re something he doesn’t have to as to his worry in the moment making you so much easier to work with.

If you didn’t have the opportunity to grow up on Earth and adjust to the company of other people properly, then he will be willing to help you as much as he can. Even if it’s only a little bit, he’ll go out of his way to help you get accustomed to certain things or even sit and talk to you for a while about things you might want to know about just as a peaceful way of spending time with you.

introducing you to other people - If you’re new to the whole vigilante and hero scene then Jason may introduce you to people, if any members of the justice league haven’t gotten their hands on you and kept you with them first. You won’t meet the conventional type of people you’d expect, bur he’d try to keep introductions to only those with good intentions.

Since you’re having a hard time, or at least keeping things in just like Jason is, he’ll feel much more comfortable telling you things than he does with other people, at least surrounding the concept of not fitting in or being understood well by others. You’re free to tell him anything and express any worries you may have and Jason will listen intensively - just don’t tell anyone that he does or he’ll be moody.

#dc x reader #dc #dc x you #dc comics headcanons #dc comics #jason todd x reader #jason todd #dc jason todd #jason todd fluff #jason todd headcanons #jason todd headcanon #jason todd dc #jason todd x you #jason peter todd #jason todd x y/n

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discotenny · 5 months

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Gift Giving (hypmic)

Hypmic characters and the gifts they give you

Featuring EVERYONE (excluding Rei and Saburo)

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Buster Bros

Ichiro

I feel like he’s the type of guy to gift you experiences rather than physical items. He’d take you to a fancy cafe you’d been eyeing, maybe a movie you wanted to watch, possibly even plan a surprise picnic!!

He dresses up for the occasion too! Even if you don’t expect it, he’s out of his usual jacket and attire- sporting something he seemingly newly bought. Ichiro will absolutely light up in smiles if you compliment his outfit and effort.

Ichiro feels like his time with you is more valuable than any gift he could give. He has so many other responsibilities on his shoulders so he uses his “gifts” to make up for any time lost.

Jiro

Jiro worries himself over trying to come up with a gift to get you. He doesn’t have much money, with most of his salary going towards helping his siblings. When the time comes to give you a gift, he’s embarrassed- bumbling over himself with apologies for the supposed shittiness of his gift.

But oh, oh, oh he’s so sweet :C. He’ll hand make a card for you, educating himself on paper craft so it’s the cutest it can be. There’s paper cuts that litter his hands as he gives it to you.

Jiro immediately leaves the room, not wanting to see your face as you read the letter, in which he pours his heart out for you to fully see. Run after him and kiss his face will you?

Saburo

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Mad Trigger Crew

Samatoki

Samatoki gives you a leather wallet... that he made himself!!

One of the old men who he buys meatbuns from told him about a class that would 'fit his vibe.' And when he begrudgingly took the class, the old man was totally right! Samatoki gets really into the task, hiding the new hobby from you because he wants to surprise you with a gift at the end of the class.

When he hands you the wallet, you can tell it wasn't professionally made. There's stray burn marks on the front, mildly messy seams holding it together, and a tag inside that is signed with his initials and yours inside of a heart. Samatoki is so, so proud of showing you his accomplishment though- and hopes you enjoy it as much as he enjoyed making it.

Jyuto

Jyuto gets you a personalized music box.

It's of your favorite song. One you would always play for him whenever you were given aux in the car- that he would always playfully say was becoming annoying to hear. One he only seemed to tolerate instead of actually enjoy listening to it.

But he knows the joy it brings you to listen to. He sees the smile on your face when you turn the volume louder, the shine in your eyes when it surprisingly comes on the radio. It's why, despite his mild dislike of it, he buys you a music box so you could play it whenever you want. Just so he can see your smile whenever he can.

Rio

Rio is a man of practicality. So he gets you a self care box!

He kind of throws everything into it, multiple body washes and bath bombs, a variety of different scents- he has more experience in self preservation instead of self care. But just from the amount of... stuff inside- it's clear he thought a lot about it!

When he gives the box to you he has a little trouble explaining what it's for. It's a rare sight to see, Rio stumbling flustered over his words trying to explain he wanted to make sure you were taking care of yourself in ways outside his understanding. If you offer to show him how to use all the stuff he got you, he'll gladly accept!

Fling Posse

Ramuda

Ramuda gives you an outfit he specifically designed! In his mind, there's nothing more meaningful than something made from hand.

He’s poured over it for weeks, wanting it to be absolutely perfect for his perfect partner. Ramuda knows your tastes to the smallest detail, so he knew just what to do to make sure you'd like it. And its comfortable too!! Made with the softest fabric he could buy, so despite whatever flashiness it has it's super comfy to wear.

When actually giving it to you, he makes you model it right in front of him! He's kicking his feet and squealing as you twirl around in whatever he gives you, excited to see you in something he created.

Gentaro

mfeafeiafjewamawe Gentaro gifts you a notebook.

It's unsuspecting first, with a plain, brown, leather bound cover. He's unusually casual about it too, handing it to you under his sleeve with a meek smile. Usually, Gentaro would make a show about whatever gift he gives you, jokingly saying you should bow to his feet in praise for his effort.

However, once you open up the notebook, you'd find it's filled with words of love. Poems, short stories, letters, all of it written by Gen to you. It's so, sickenly sweet and romantic you'd never expect it from him. When you look back at him after peeking through, he's red in the face, flustered to hear whatever feedback you may have.

Dice

Dice gives you a special lucky charm!!

He spent months hunting it down. Seeking through pawn shops and all the shady back alley sellers he knows. When Dice gets a good idea in his mind, he sticks to it thoroughly, the only thing on his mind being the joyous reaction he expects you to have.

And what does he give you? The matching piece to his earring of course! If you don't wear earrings, he'll have it converted to a keychain so you can carry it on your bag. Dice thinks it's the perfect good luck charm, both for him and for you :3

Matenro

Jakurai

fewafewafewfeaw Jakurai gets you one of those mini books that's like "30 things I love about you."

You know, the ones that have a different prompt for each page that you have to fill in. Despite the small space, he gets really detailed, and it's so sweet and romantic and yuck !!! They're all wildly different responses, ranging from how he thinks you always look wonderful to how he thinks you truly saved his life just by being in it.

When Jakurai hands the book to you he's shy about it, apologizing about the responses because he wasn't able to fit all he wanted to say. Of course, he'll gladly say it in person if you're insistent 😚😚😚

Hifumi

Hifumi comes to your door with a bouquet of flowers. He's all smiles as he stuffs petals and stems in your face.

Ooh, he was insistent on picking out the flowers himself. Hifumi has a company discount with the local flower shop his club works with- so he was all in on getting as many different flowers as he could find (as in, all the flowers he found pretty[as in, all of them]).

He also put together the bouquet himself!! It's a little messy, with some broken stems and falling petals. However, he's just so happy to give it to you that you can't help but find it adorable.

Doppo

Doppo gets matching keychains for you guys!

He likes being subtle about a lot of things, including his affections. The keychains he gets are the type that look regular on their own, but together they can link to form a heart or your initials or something romantic like that.

Doppo will often link your keychains together in public, smiling to himself as he sees the connection. Whenever he gets anxious in public and he's alone, he'll hold onto the keychain tightly, being reminded of you. Yes, while it was a gift to you it also was a gift to himself, to have a reminder of you with him always :CC

Bad Ass Temple

Kuko

Kuko is so shit at giving gifts I'm so sorry. He has to ask his friends what gifts to get you and they're all so sick of it LMAO. Ichiro tells him to take you out somewhere, and that eventually gives him the perfect idea for a gift.

Kuko says his gift to you is a day of him being on his best behavior. He says it with a smug smile, expecting you to tell him how good of a present it is and is shocked to see your confusion.

He gets legitimately upset when you tell him that his best behavior shouldn't be a gift. The day ends with him promising you that he'll get you an even better gift next time, which leads him back to the drawing board as this dude is just so, so shit at giving gifts.

Jyushi

Jyushi writes a song for you!

He's not the lyricist for his band but he has a heavenly voice to back up whatever he writes. But he puts EVERYTHING into writing the song for you. Jyushi throws in references to your relationship, to specific dates or moments in time, to things only the two of you would know. He sees it as his magnum opus, and is very very proud of being able to perform it to you.

If his band doesn't want to perform the song with him he makes Kuko and Hitoya help him. Sure, it may have taken a few tear filled begs, but with their help he's able to perform the song he spent so much time working on, just for you

Hitoya

Hitoya makes you a playlist!

He's a bit of a classic guy, and would've made you a mixtape if anyone still used those on the daily lol. There's a lot of different memories within your relationship related to different songs, and he wanted to compile all of them for you two to listen together. Hitoya makes the picture of the playlist a photo of you two on your first anniversary, one where you're holding hands by the sunset and smiling.

It's sweet, cause he plays it first without telling you what it is. With every song that passes you recognize where it's from, and he's left smiling like a kid when you beam with joy asking him if he really made a playlist for you.

Dotsuitare Hompo

Sasara

Sasara gets you a build-a-bear bear!!

He goes in store alone to buy it, and goes a little overboard in designing it. Sasara gets a bunch of overpriced accessories, stuffs it a little too much with stuffing, and picks one of the most expensive dolls because it was the cutest.

Sasara records his own voice messages so they could play whenever you squeeze the doll's hand. And oh my goodness, he recorded so many. There's multiple shitty jokes, several wild compliments, and a myriad of 'I love yous' said in various different tones. Just don't hug it too much, he might get jealous ehehe.

Rosho

Rosho gets you whatever you want.

He gets really concerned when trying to get you gifts, worrying over what you would like best, if you already have it, or if you'd think it's too much/too little. So, eventually he'll just go ahead and ask you what you want as a present.

As long as it's in reason, of course. If you say some ludicrous thing like a yacht or a new car, Rosho will get sad and say you know he can't afford such luxurious (why would you do that to him LMAO). But he'll take you to the shops and have you pick out anything you want, buying it with no question as he just wants you to know he loves you so so so much :CC

Rei

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A little late to post on Christmas but fwjhshshshshf. I tried to keep it neutral on the occasion since not everyone celebrates holidays and Kuko canonically doesn't know who Jesus is. I lowk couldn’t think of anything for Saburo so that’s why he’s not here bakbdkdbdksns

This isn't my best work as I was a little too tired to put these into anything else other than thought formatting but whtverrrr

I hope you enjoyed !!! I'll see if I can post anything else b4 the new year but eheheehhehe we all know me

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fincalinde · 7 months

Note

you’ve mentioned a few times in your meta that you view nmj as being hypocritical, and i’m inclined to agree with you! would you share some specific quotes from the text that you feel especially support this reading of his character? 👀

It is one of my favourite words to apply to him, isn’t it! I think that’s because a) it’s true, and b) NMJ’s reputation for righteousness (and his belief in his own righteousness) grant an in-universe illusion of consistency that often bleeds through to external readings of him. So I press the point, because it’s fundamental to his character and I usually see it elided or reduced to all-bark-and-no-bite-grumpy-bear-with-a-heart-of-gold fanon NMJ.

And oh yes, there’s an absolute wealth of quotes supporting this. As always, I use the EXR fan translation because I’m old school.

Christ, this got long. Click for more.

It’s all relative, man

First we need to establish what NMJ’s principles supposedly are.

[Nie Huaisang’s] brother, Nie Mingjue, was extremely resolute when carrying out orders, quite renowned in the cultivation world. […] Nie Mingjue had always taught his younger brother with extreme harshness, particularly caring for his studies. (Chapter 13)

[…] he took over the Nie Sect before he even reached twenty, doing everything in a direct, forceful fashion. (Chapter 21)

When he lived, Nie Mingjue was often exasperated by the fact that his brother didn’t meet expectations, so he disciplined him strictly. (Chapter 21)

In spite of Nie Mingjue being a junior to Jin Guangshan, he conducted himself in a strict manner and refused to tolerate Xue Yang no matter what. (Chapter 30)

Without any hesitation, Nie Mingjue scolded, “Drinking the water he brought you while speaking such spiteful words! Did you join my forces not to kill the Wen-dogs but to make idle talk?!” (Chapter 48)

“A proper man should carry himself with proud righteousness. There’s no need to care for the talk of those idlers.” (Chapter 48)

As we can see, NMJ is all about righteousness, but we don’t get too many details confirming what that righteousness entails. We’re expected to make assumptions based on context: that his values are in line with the ideal values of his society, and that he’s living his life according to those principles (and enforcing said principles on others).

This is worth keeping in mind. We know NMJ is ‘righteous’. We know, in a general sense, what societal standards for morality are in this setting and we see the tension between society’s theoretical standards, its actual standards, and the moral frameworks of characters such as WWX and LXC. And there’s tension between those standards and NMJ’s moral framework, too. But though WWX attempts (and fails) to opt out and LXC attempts (and fails) to find a better way through open conversation and consideration of context, their failures are not due to hypocrisy but instead larger forces at play. In other words, they go up against society and society wins.

NMJ has a problem with society too, but for him the problem is not with its rules and assumptions—it’s with the individuals who make it up. He has no problem with the system. To NMJ, the system is a good thing. If only the people in it would rigidly conform to the rules, everything would be fine. And an outlook like that can only ever lead to hypocrisy, not just because human beings and their actions don’t fit into rigid categories, but because by not attempting to navigate the system (LXC, JGY, JC) or even attempting to opt out (WWX, LWJ, XY), NMJ positions himself above society, as a moral arbiter.

This is why he feels entitled to upbraid JGS, who is a generation above him. It’s why he feels entitled to harass and attempt to murder JGY for not being loyal to NMJ over and above his filial duty to his father. These actions are after he’s reached the point of no return with the sabre spirit, yes, but they didn’t come out of nowhere. It’s just the nadir of a path he’s been on presumably his entire life.

All the information is on the task

NMJ is very good at bending his supposedly rigid principles when it’s convenient for him, while not offering any grace or understanding to others who do the same. And ‘others’, let’s be real, usually equates to JGY. The horror vortex of NMJ’s obsession with controlling JGY really cannot be escaped.

Let’s start with the biggie. JGY is naturally the one who calls NMJ out, because he’s the only one who can see the emperor has no clothes, and by clothes I mean leg to stand on.

“But, Brother, I have always wanted to ask you something—the lives under your hands are in any regard more than those under mine, so why is it that I only killed a few cultivators out of desperation and you keep on bringing it up, even until now?” (Chapter 48)

“Are you saying that all of the people you killed deserved their deaths? […] Then, may I ask, just how do you decide if someone deserves death? Are your standards absolutely correct? If I kill one but save hundreds, would the good outweigh the bad, or would I still deserve death? To do great things, sacrifices must happen.” (Chapter 48)

Chifeng-zun, my man, he has nailed you. The point is not to start drawing equivalences in quite the way JGY is doing—I would certainly argue that if you’re killing undeserving people for the greater good you’d better have one hell of a greater good to be aiming for, even in the crapsack world of MDZS. JGY’s argument is partly a numbers game, but I want to set that aside, because it’s a distraction from his core point, to which numbers are irrelevant: can NMJ truly justify every single murder he has ever committed? Because if he can’t, he’s condemned by his own supposed standards. Note JGY’s use of the word ‘absolute’. NMJ is a moral absolutist! Is he absolutely sure? And if he is sure, does it matter that he’s sure? Why is his certainty more important than anyone else’s?

NMJ never once grapples with these questions. If he did, he might be able to pull the teeth of his own hypocrisy by acknowledging it and engaging with it. But of course he’s not capable of that, certainly not by the time of this scene.

And speaking of NMJ’s hypocrisy re: who does and doesn’t deserve to die…

“Very well! I’ll kill myself after I kill you!” (Chapter 49)

But Roquen, you cry! NMJ says such an utterly mad thing because he’s battered and beaten and not thinking clearly, not to mention past the point of no return with the sabre spirit as he’s been cultivating with resentful energy intensely throughout the war! That’s why he walks it back after LXC intervenes!

To which I say: it is almost as though context matters!

And yes, I’m aware of the context. I’m aware that just before this bit of dialogue the narrative claims JGY pointing out ‘if I hadn’t killed them you’d be dead’ is a subtle way of saying ‘you can’t kill me because you owe me your life’ as though that’s purely manipulative rather than being, you know, true. ‘Even if you refuse to accept I acted for the best, please don’t kill me and I’m going to subtly remind you that you owe me to maximise my chances of getting you to not kill me (after I just risked my life to save yours when it would have been 100x better for me personally if you died)’ is hardly an outrageous position.

It’s interesting, though, isn’t it, that NMJ never again mentions taking his own life as a matter of principle, despite the fact that he subsequently attempts to murder JGY again for the apparently unforgivable crime of … not being able to overrule his abusive father about XY, and then having the temerity to complain to LXC about NMJ’s attempt to murder him.

Obviously the Jin are a huge threat after the war, but these are all pretty feeble reasons for piling on JGY. Sure, maybe JGY would also have tried to protect XY if JGS weren’t around, but the fact is that JGS is around and he’s calling the shots. Besides, once JGS is out of the picture JGY has no issue disposing of XY (with Dr Evil levels of ineptness, apparently), so that’s a fairly decent indicator he’s not ride or die. As for the fact that JGY is making nice to NMJ’s face but complaining behind his back, well. Regardless of any genuine desire to vent to his only friend, I have no doubt he was indeed trying to drive a wedge between NMJ and LXC as a strategic move. But is it wrong of him to do so, considering NMJ is a genuine and present threat to his life and LXC is just not getting it? And does any of the above, including his struggle to maintain his position and all the other work he does for his father mean he deserves death—immediate, extrajudicial and violent death?

Let me put it this way. NMJ is making JGY responsible for his father’s actions and his father’s orders—the question of whether JGY is on board with his father’s instructions is academic, because he has no choice in the matter. JGY cannot opt out of his situation. The only opt out is death, and that is not a meaningful choice because no one else is getting vilified for having the audacity to fight for their place in their world rather than lie down and die. And even if JGY really were a cackling supervillain 100% on board with his father’s diabolical plans, NMJ’s focus on him to the exclusion of JGS is driven by emotion and not by a rational evaluation of the morality and logistics of the situation.

And when he’s insisting that JGY deserves death (and trying to mete it out to him) NMJ never again considers for a moment whether, if JGY really deserves to die, then maybe he does too.

As a third example, to make it a hat trick, we have this:

However, Jin Guangyao wasn’t his subordinate anymore. Only after they became sworn brothers would he have the status and the position to urge Jin Guangyao, like how he disciplined his younger brother, Nie Huaisang. (Chapter 49)

“Brother, it really was my father’s orders. I couldn’t refuse. Now. if you want me to take care of Xue Yang, what would I say to him?” (Chapter 49)

NMJ is perfectly aware that according to the rules of their society and the moral framework he himself subscribes to, JGY’s highest authority is his father. But NMJ can’t accept that. He thinks he should be the ultimate authority over JGY, and though he couches it in moral terms about wanting JGY to follow the correct path, what he really means is what he himself considers to be the correct path. As always, he doesn’t listen to JGY’s perfectly valid points about how it’s not possible for him to do the ‘right’ thing as he just doesn’t have that kind of authority and will only end up making his own life worse. I don’t have a quote demonstrating this, but considering everything we know about NMJ, I think we can infer he would not take kindly to JGY ordering NHS to do something futile and self-destructive in the name of the correct path, purely on the grounds that JGY is now his elder brother.

I’ll acknowledge again that JGY is absolutely an accomplice in his father’s schemes, and the originator of a fair few of them since he’s politically gifted. But it’s just not possible to untangle JGY’s complicity from his need (and his right!) to survive. NMJ is correct to be concerned about JGY as a risk, because he’s a huge asset to JGS. But once again, making JGY a target is not the moral or even the sensible thing to do. We know JGY enjoys aspects of what his father asks him to do. We also know that once his father is out of the picture he gets rid of XY, purges the Jin of corruption and pushes through the watchtower project. When he has agency as a clan leader he doesn’t follow his father’s political agenda to the letter, to say the least! So there is certainly a large dollop of truth in his claims that he has no choice and he’s unhappy and vulnerable.

And then a bonus, something not linked to JGY to demonstrate that NMJ’s hypocrisy extends beyond his personal vendetta.

Nie Mingjue spoke coldly. “If she responded with only silence and not opposition when the Wen Sect was causing mayhem, it’s the same as indifference. She shouldn’t have been so disillusioned as to hope that she could be treated with respect when the Wen Sect was doing evil and be unwilling to suffer the consequences and pay the price when the Wen Sect was wiped out.” (Chapter 73)

Charming. Funny how NMJ says this after spending the war fighting on the same side as the guy who invented demonic cultivation and controls an army of desecrated corpses, violating every possible social and cultural principle they have. But the Sunshot Campaign would have failed without WWX’s contributions, so I suppose NMJ thought that compromise was acceptable. It’s all right for him to stay silent and not oppose WWX, since WWX has been useful to his own agenda. What’s not acceptable is staying silent when the consequence is your own violent death and literally no good whatsoever being achieved thereby.

Aside from being a hypocrite, NMJ is also pathologically incapable of self-reflection.

Finish him!

At the end of the day, NMJ’s principles are inherently contradictory because he’s living in morally relative world where the narrative expects us to take context into account and root for a protagonist who brutally tortures his enemies to death and a romantic lead who find+replaces his ethical framework with ‘Wei Ying’.

It is simply not possible for NMJ to be both righteous and rigid, so when he chooses to be rigid he foregoes being righteous. Even in his moments of flexibility, he continues to apply harsh standards to others that he refuses to apply to himself. That’s what makes him a hypocrite. He isn’t a bastion of absolute morality in a sea of corruption. He’s in denial about the nuanced reality he’s living in, and placing himself on high as a moral authority with no actual mandate. Hypocrisy inevitably results, and the consequences are hugely damaging to everyone around him.

#ask #thatswhatsushesaid #roquen meta #like i said he is FASCINATING #but in a horrifying kind of way #i should also sling in the tags a clarification #that i literally do not care that wwx has an army of desecrated corpses #i'm just pointing out that like you know #it's relevant #if i applied my actual real life moral standards to this text #i wouldn't be able to engage with it all #bc everyone is a walking war crime

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sherl-grey · 7 months

Text

dangerous words I fear but I’m craving some OFMD critical but civil discourse… s2 finale spoilers included below the cut. this is incredibly long FYI bc I’m truly desperate to get all my thoughts out

I want to preface by saying I loved S2. I think I loved it more than s1, I think there were some absolute GENIUS moments this season (the entire Calypso episode was *chef’s kiss* my favorite), and I think the cast, crew, and DJ deserve a lot of love and, of course, a renewal for another season.

I know there’s been a lot of anti-finale-critiquing posts out there (and yeah, I also don’t want to see baseless hate or, god forbid, people trying to interact with the cast/crew with anything less than love and respect) but personally, I think the biggest sign that I love a show is me wanting to pick it apart. I think digging into the writing and decision-making and characters of a show means you really appreciate the choices that were made even if you don’t agree with them, because you’re working to understand the story on a level most people only dive to if they’re forced to in an English class. No story is going to be perfect. No story is going to be written specifically for me unless it’s literally by me. But sometimes I still want to study it like a bug under a microscope, you know?

So here we go: I didn’t like the finale, and I didn’t think it fit very well with the rest of the season/show. Weirdly enough I didn’t feel a need to discuss online until I started reading the interviews DJ has been giving about the finale (specifically the choice to kill Izzy and Ed/Stede’s ending) and I’m so curious as to whether others interpreted things the same way. (Yes, they’re DJ’s characters. No, I don’t think all viewers are obligated to interpret things the same way as writers did—that’s half the beauty of storytelling and media consumption.)

Izzy’s Death

Let’s unpack the big one first. I think a lot of what DJ/finale defenders (if I may respectfully call fans who enjoyed s2e8 that) have mentioned is that Izzy’s arc was over and he’d served his narrative purpose. I’ve got a few different issues with this:

1. Part of what I love(d?) about this show is that I did not think this was a show that kills characters once they’ve served their narrative purpose, or a show that kills characters as punishment/retribution for mistakes/earlier actions. To me, OFMD symbolizes the idea that everyone is deserving of love, forgiveness, and second chances. I truly trusted that no one on the Revenge crew would die in this show, and to be proven wrong was a bit disheartening, to say the least. Will talk more on the suicide notion in the next bit because I think it was symbolic, but Izzy also now represents a suicidal character who finds the will to live again. I’d argue that a “full arc” for a character like that should be ending in happiness, not death (and especially not with a line like “I want to go” or whatever the specific words were).

2. DJ seems to describe Izzy’s role as being a mentor to Blackbeard, which I personally struggle to see at all. Despite the Captain/First Mate status difference, I think most signs have pointed towards them being roughly equals—the unrequited love Izzy feels for Ed, the way the two of them stand right up to each other when everyone else would be afraid to, the clear shared history and longevity of their friendship/companionship. (If anything, I’d argue Izzy takes on the mentor mantle for Stede in s2, though it’s a bit glossed over because of how crunched for time everything was.) I certainly have trouble seeing the “father figure” relationship that DJ mentions in interviews, because I think Izzy is the one crew member that puts himself on even ground with his captains.

But even humoring that, Ed’s story has been about shedding Blackbeard. And DJ has a great quote in the Entertainment Weekly interview where he says that Izzy and Ed are both Blackbeard, that the two of them together are what makes Blackbeard “happen.” So in theory, if we’re killing Izzy off to further Ed’s storyline, it’s to ultimately kill Blackbeard, right? Especially since his line at the end is to “just be Ed.”

Except we already have metaphorically killed Blackbeard, several times. I think S2E3 is a really interesting episode because in season 1, it can be argued (and is, by Chauncey Badminton) that Stede kills Blackbeard in his own pirate-y way—with kindness. The crew is also somewhat a part of this, as they all accept and love Ed for who he is and not only because he’s Blackbeard; the crew follows the example of their captain and it changes who Ed is as a person. S2E3 is a crew under Blackbeard, and they also kill Blackbeard following the method of their current captain—violence. And this “death” is, in my mind, the death of Blackbeard while Stede symbolically saves the part of him that is just Ed. (Bonus: we also get Ed trying to sink his leathers, and while it might just be because he’s on a damn boat, it’s interesting that Blackbeard’s clothes are drowned/sunk while Ed’s metaphorical comeback was being saved from drowning by Mer!Stede.)

So Ed’s half of Blackbeard is dead. If we stand by DJ’s idea that Blackbeard is half Izzy, we’ve still got half of Blackbeard left, right? Well, that would’ve been right immediately post-S1, but then they gave Izzy a beautiful arc that seems to be a shadow of Ed’s S1 track. Ed and Izzy are very similar characters, but in S1 Ed is on the receiving end of love, acceptance, and admiration—namely from Stede, but also from the crew. Meanwhile, Izzy is subject to contempt and hostility… once again, namely from Stede, and also from the crew. Ed blossoms under the love during S1 until that’s taken away; Izzy simply moves in the reverse direction. He continues to be an antagonist while being treated like one, but once others start treating him with kindness (Fang hugging him, Jim and Archie amputating his leg while Frenchie lies for him, the whole crew making him the unicorn leg), he too becomes a part of the family. And wouldn’t you know it—Izzy has a near death scene as well, a suicide no less. Izzy is the one who is responsible in S1 for “bringing back Blackbeard,” so the symbolism of him pulling the trigger on himself is huge. This is Izzy killing his half of Blackbeard! Because Izzy Hands continues to live, even if it takes him some time to remember how to live without Blackbeard at first, and his relationship with Ed effectively dies here.

(As a side note, this growth arc and the way Izzy fully transforms into a member of the Revenge crew afterwards—whittling Lucius a shark and talking to him about forgiveness, dressing up in drag and singing to the crew, cracking silly jokes about Ed and Stede’s relationship—are also why I find the “Izzy Hands is the symbol of traditional piracy and his death is symbolic of traditional piracy dying” argument to be weak. In season 1, he was that definition, but we’ve literally watched him grow out of it. He’s no longer symbolic of something stagnant that will remain the same or be destroyed—he’s symbolic of something that grows and adapts to the new situations, that survives when all of the rules change on him.)

And then we have the return of Blackbeard: Pop-Pop pushing Ed to go back to doing “what he’s good at,” Ed fishing his leathers out of the ocean, Ed killing a ton of people because he thinks Stede is likely dead or at minimum in captivity/grave danger. This bit seems to go against everything the season was building towards; Blackbeard was almost entirely gone, but Ed is now the one who brings him back because he thinks Blackbeard is the one who can save Stede. And that’s fair, but what does that have to do with Izzy at this point? Why does he need to die for Ed to put that part of him away again? While we’re not owed a main character having a death that serves a narrative purpose, I’d hope for that to be the case, and I struggle to interpret what happens to Izzy as beneficial to either plot or character.

3. I think the actual core arcs of the show are character arcs and not plots. I get that they might’ve been trying to wrap plots with Zheng and the British in case they aren’t renewed, but I don’t think it was necessary—the pirating has always been secondary to the rom com and the found family, IMO. In S1, we had two main characters, but I’d argue Izzy got enough focus and attention to be a third this season. Which left us with a great character-driven story: we’re watching all 3 of them come into their own and discover who they are individually, while also discovering that the changes in themselves are causing friction between them now that they’re growing into new people. Which is an amazing story to tell, if you ask me, but the fulfillment of that story requires all three characters to be there. The conflict to be resolved is how these characters can become the people they want to be and still coexist together, because on some level they’re family now. Notably each pair combination of these characters grows together or apart (or in Stede/Ed’s case, both) during this season. Ed and Izzy are growing apart because they hold each other back from becoming the person they want/need to be; to complete this narratively, I would’ve expected the next challenge to be finding a way to become friends again as their new selves while letting go of the fact that they used to have a toxic relationship when they used to be different people.

Ed and Stede’s S2 Ending

So Izzy’s death is the big talking point, but I also think DJ’s take on Ed and Stede was interesting. He said that they deserved a happy ending for the work they put in this season. I agree with him in theory, but I’m curious as to whether others agree that they put in a lot of work. I think Stede followed through with his goal to come back and tell Ed how he feels, and to stay instead of running away from his problems. I think Ed followed through with trying to understand who he is and what his needs are while also trying to find the courage to open himself up to love again. But critically, they never talk. E7 makes a point to highlight the miscommunication/lack of communication between them, and then in E8 they still aren’t shown talking.

(I realize part of the issue is the limited amount of time and the amount of plot shoved into episode 8. I get it; personally, I think the plot should’ve been sacrificed for the characters. At this point, we were 7 episodes into a very character/relationship-heavy season. Plot could’ve waited for a potential S3.)

What’s more—there’s a huge, glaring gap between where they left off and where they end up. Ed left in S2E7 after he begins panicking and realizing Stede is becoming deeper entrenched in pirate life just as he’s finally finding his way out of it. Not once do they talk about this, but suddenly they’re retiring together? And right after Ed says Izzy was his only family and Izzy calls the crew his family (which… is also an unearned line, as Ed and the crew have almost no bonding or forgiveness this season, since we focused mainly on Izzy with the crew and Ed with Stede), they leave the crew to do their own thing? They’re all relatively minor things that could be fairly easily addressed by dialogue, but they fact that they’re not only serves to underscore the way that Ed and Stede really aren’t on the same page.

I want them to get their happy ending. They deserve it. I’m just not sure that I agree that they earned it to the degree that it was received, with retirement alone together without their crew, if that makes sense.

Positivity Tax: Calypso Love 😊

I’ve probably got more to say but those were the big ones on my mind after reading the Vanity Fair and Entertainment Weekly interviews. Just to counterbalance some of the more critical things I’ve said, I wanted to share some loving analysis of the Calypso episode:

1. It’s a minor thing, but the way this episode shows that Ed’s actions as Blackbeard had consequences is amazing. Despite him arguably committing the more grievous wrongs in S1, he’s the one we get the least redemption for in this season (his apology to the crew wasn’t great, and most of his screen time is spent repairing his relationship with Stede), so for him to have to face something that happened because of his past actions is cool, especially because it was done in a way that doesn’t further damage his standing with the crew.

2. The way Stede saves the day is incredible. Competent Stede this season has been an absolute joy to watch, and his success in this episode is twofold: first he wins his way, with signature Gentleman Pirate flair. He listens to Ned’s crew, helps facilitate communication between them, and encourages them to stand up for themselves and demand better treatment. That’s a very classic Stede win. But then he wins in the traditional pirate way, and it’s absolutely glorious; he’s been working towards becoming a better pirate, both in terms of stomaching violence and building up the necessary skills. Ned’s crew can be taken down with kindness, but Ned himself is a pirate and will only be matched by another. I genuinely cannot think of a more perfect way to show that Stede is still himself while also showcasing the newer side of him that he’s been working towards this whole time.

3. Speaking of that newer side of him, the way this episode starts to open up Ed’s insecurities? The combination of seeing his least favorite parts of himself reflected in Stede as well as watching Stede grow into the career that he’s trying to leave? Amazing conflict development.

4. I’ve already talked so much about Izzy but the way this truly caps off the crew’s acceptance of him as part of the family is gorgeous. He’s an entirely new man at this point and there’s no jokes made, no friendly ribbing… just love and acceptance. It highlights both his newfound comfort and familiarity with the others as well as the extent to which they care about him.

5. Less analytical, but it’s also just a really pretty episode.

Considering the fact that I have zero OFMD mutuals and this was a whole essay (I’m on mobile and can’t see how long this is but I’m honestly scared), I would be shocked if someone made it down this far, but if somehow people are here and open to civil discussion… I’d love to know how you felt about this, if you thought DJ was right, if you were a little more on my wavelength and thinking things weren’t adding up, etc. Realistically I’m not sure if anything could change my mind as I’ve done a lot of stewing, particularly about Izzy arc, but new perspectives are always refreshing. Much love to the fandom and of course the creators, who hopefully never see this and get their s3 renewal 🤞🏼

#ofmd spoilers #our flag means death spoilers #our flag means death #sherlgrey.txtea #i am SO going to regret posting this aren’t i #i guess worst case scenario i delete #but I suspect most likely scenario is no one reads this lol

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ectonurites · 1 year

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Mike & Superman

So, I want to take a second to discuss the Superman comparison from the van scene in relation to Superman in the comics (specifically his origin, or at least the version of it that Mike as a character would likely be familiar with).

(Stranger Things S4E8)

The general situation I think we're all aware of is that Mike compares El to Superman and since El's his girlfriend (even though they weren't in the best standing the last time they'd talked before this, that's still more or less the situation) he makes an attempt to parallel himself to Lois Lane. Which makes enough sense at first glance—Lois is Clark's primary love interest, this is pretty common knowledge even among people who aren’t terribly invested in Superman lore. But from the way Mike trails off here, it's clear that he feels he doesn't measure up to Lois, he's just some 'random nerd' as he says.

Is that his self-doubt and insecurity talking? Absolutely. But I don’t think he’s wrong about one aspect of it—that he doesn’t fit the role of Lois Lane when we compare El to Superman. He does fit into the story in a different way though!

What I primarily want to talk about is rooted in his specific phrasing when he starts this comparison, "Superman landed on his doorstep." As evident from the bit of the conversation right before this, when he says that he's talking about when The Party found El in the woods, when she'd recently escaped and just 'needed someone'

(Stranger Things S1E1)

And much like El, Superman did once crash land in front of some kind strangers when he entered into a world/society unlike the one he came from and definitely just 'needed someone'...

But Superman landed in front of Ma & Pa Kent, not Lois Lane.

Clark's origin has had many many retellings over the years, but from literally the late 30's this has been a consistent element of the story in basically every iteration—be it comics, movies, cartoons. Considering the time period Stranger Things takes place in, when talking about the comics (and like, we know our characters are comic nerds) I'd consider the Silver Age/Earth-One retelling to be the most relevant (because while Crisis on Infinite Earths did just happen in 1985, the Post-Crisis Superman lore updates weren't getting established until later in 1986 after S4 takes place):

(Superman Vol. 1 #146)

And I mean... 'It would be suspicious to just suddenly have this child we found, so we'll try to have them be discovered somewhere else as if we hadn't been the ones to find them' sure sounds familiar

(Stranger Things S1E2)

But anyways, my point here is that the people who are there for Superman when he’s new to Earth—the people that take care of him and give him a new name—they welcome him into their family:

(Superman Vol. 1 #146)

(Stranger Things S1E2)

(Stranger Things S1E8)

...they're not his love interests. Like, Clark and Lois meet at the Daily Planet when they’re both adults:

(Superman Vol. 1 #146)

They don't meet until after Clark has already spent years growing up on Earth, not when it's all entirely new to him! Lois isn’t his first girlfriend/teenage love interest, Lois is a person he falls for once he is his own fully realized adult person.

Mike doesn’t fit the role of El's Lois not because he's not good enough or any of the reasons his self-doubt might try to make him believe—he isn't El's Lois because that's just the wrong comparison for their situation altogether. When considering El to be Superman, with the way Mike starts this comparison he's (whether on purpose or not) paralleling himself far more closely to Superman's parents—his family—than Superman's love interest.

#stranger things #stranger things analysis #anti mileven #mike wheeler #idk if anyone has pointed this out before but i have not come across it 🤷‍♂️#tho i have seen many many people talk abt the ways mike & el get. family-coded a lot. and this is just another thing to add to tht pile

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dollsinvogue · 7 months

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Don’t get me wrong I actually love mermaid dresses and I think it actually looks good on this rendition of Sally…but I’m bored. I think this is the fifth or sixth mermaid dress we have from monster high skullector dolls now and while I do still think it looks good on Sally, I feel like it’s not her.

Now let me start by saying I’m a huge Nightmare Before Christmas fan so I was not happy when these dolls were teased because I had minimal faith (sorry mattel!) but I’m actually very very happy about these designs. Do I think they could be better? Yes and that’s what I’m going to talk about in this post.

First thing first. Mermaid dress. Nope. I actually wholeheartedly believe that the dress in the first image below is what inspired her Skullector dress (I also think that the figurine pulled it off better but I believe it’s because of the long skirt, I would personally not be a big fan if a collector doll had a long skirt that covered the shoes, especially for a brand like monster high who makes some of the most incredible shoes!)

(I believe all of these figures are official Disney figures, somebody please correct me if I’m wrong)

These bottom looks (specifically the last one) is what I really leaned into and would have preferred, I drew up a little sketch of a dress I think would have fit her better.

I think her gown should have had a larger skirt, the whole reason that her original dress looks scrappy is because it’s literally made from scraps that she finds I think that they could have kept the scrap patter but given her more volume, the sleekness of her actual skullector dress seems like they’re trying to use minimal fabric which isn’t super fun for a collector doll. On the sides of her skirt I have her little fabric pieces that match Jack’s iconic pinstripe pattern and the tendril (?) bits he has on his skullector outfit, I think it’s a nice way to make them look cohesive instead of the orange and black striped thing they have going on.

I LOVE the mesh on the bottom of Sally’s skullector dress and in my reimagining of her that is still absolutely there but perhaps underneath the main skirt or even overtop where the spider web bit is at the waist.

The first thing I did when I saw this doll was zoom in and check for raw edges and I actually laughed when I didn’t see any. Mattel you have given us several skullector dolls with raw edges and the time that you actually make a rag doll character who has ripped and sewn fabrics YOU DONT GIVE HER RAW HEMS?? Don’t get me wrong I’m not complaining but it’s just hilarious to me because this is the one time they could really get away with it and I would just shrug and not be able to complain.

Last things I would change about these dolls are; give Jack a little top hat or something, I think it would add a dramatic flare which is what we should expect, it might not stay on his very round head and I would not want them to use a peg of any sort though (seriously doll companies, think about utilizing magnets.) The red on their shirt and hair seems so loud it’s almost glowing, it’s a bit weird to me but it could just be pictures and contrast. And lastly …WE SHOULD HAVE GOTTEN ZERO 🥲 imagine how cute a little see through Zero (think like Rhuen) would be!!!!

#okay i’ll shut up now #I feel very passionately about tnbc #monster high #monster high skullector #doll collector #dollblr

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mabzgonmad · 2 months

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Agent Phoenix head canons (real not fake but cringe)

Hi tumblr. This is my first text post don’t make fun of my poor outlining 💔

ok so i feel i should section this i have a lot to say

hopefully this is entertaining..btw a lot of this is based on my own personal actions when playing as the Phoenix also I’m not completely set on a lot of these

Sections:

- kinesium and communication

-communication generally

-sexuality / gender

-appearance

-relationships (still not 100% on these)

Kinesium and Communication

We should note that Phoenix (gonna call him AP from now on for simplicity sake) is completely mute minus a few noises such as coughing or gasping.

Also note that Roxana Prism doesn’t even know the full power that kinesium can have when harnessed by a person such as AP. (We know this from her remark of shock at the very end of IEYTD 3)

The agency being full of people with kinesium in there head giving them the ability to use telekinesis means all of them are connected in a way. AP is able to use the connection of all the kinesium to communicate telepathically with anyone in the agency. The first time they did this is was to The Handler on one of their early missions. They had no idea they could do it and actually they were calling handler a bad name. Once the handler just heard a voice in his head replying to what he said to AP he thought he was going crazy. AP didnt know how they did it and they eventually sat down with handler and they figured it out. AP eventually was able to regularly reply to the handler during missions and communicate with more ease to fellow agency members.

Outside of people with kinesium in their brains, AP uses sign language. Though they will only do this if they absolutely need to talk to someone outside of the agency. When it comes to Zor members they will refuse to reply to them at all. They will make rude hand gestures or faces in response, no coherent replies to anyone.

This is with exception to Dr.Prism. They regularly tried to reason with or converse with her specifically in Mission KBOOM. Dr.Prism doesn’t have kinesium in her head (i think?) so they used sign language to talk to her. She would know ASL because i think id be agency policy for the sake of deaf agents and AP.

Example of AP using sign to communicate. (I think here, they didnt want handler to know their reply but wanted to reply… by thinking of responding to handler he accidentally let him know what they said.. lol)

Sexuality and Gender

I don’t think AP would care enough to consider labeling their own gender or sexual orientation.

But they know they don’t identify with any gender and are gender less but do not mind being called “he”

So in simple terms they use They/He pronouns

As for sexuality, they like someone romantically once in a blue moon, and even then they arent very expressive about it. They knows from his like maybe 3 crushes in their life, they like whatever and whoever as long as they fit his type (No clue what his type is!! Probably;y more masculine people low key. Men kisser.)

Appearance

They look like this to me 😍

Gorgeous ain’t he?

Relationships

Bullet points for here bc im getting lazy

-Handler

they’re bestie baes! Honestly best buds! They’d kill for each other !

-John Juniper

homosexual.

-Fabricator

any conversation between them would be full of “KYS” “NO YOU KYS!!”

-Dr.Prism

enemies to besties basically

-Dr Zor

violent and evil dynamic happening here. Nothing but hatred between these two.

I care not for thinking about anymore or any other characters!

OK TY FOR READING THIS IF YOU READ IT ALL SORRY THE IEYTD BRAINROT IS REAL LOVE YOU

#agent phoenix ieytd #ieytd #art #ieytd fanart #ieytd 3 #ieytd2 #i expect you to die #ieytd fandom #ieytd hc #headcanon #send help #im normal about this

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mossy-paws · 2 months

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MOSSY HAI!!! @hyp-fixator here....

I have... a few questions!!!

First, if you've figured it all out, what fishy species will all the phighters be? This could include Npcs/Deities too if you wanna :D

Second... what would be your favourite pair to write about in this au?? It doesn't even have to be a ship, literally just- which sillies do you wanna talk about the most, and GO HAM WITH THE ANSWER!!

and lastly, I heard you talk about ships and whatnot in your fishy broker headcannons? Does that mean that theres some phighters who are mermaids and some who aren't? And like....... what do they do.... AUGH THIS AU IS SO GOOD

Literally holding onto you. Like. More fish food pleaze... pleaze.... donate some fishy scraps for the less fortunate pleaze..... insert miserable cat eyes/lh

HHEHEHEHEHEHEHE SO FUNNY STORY I actually woke up really early this morning and I saw this ask and I had to physically restrain myself from answering it because I didn’t want it to be really rough LMAO OKAY SOOOO!

This is a pretty popular question actually HAH, I’m not gonna list all of them since I’m a little paranoid about the ideas getting reused/stolen and I don’t really want that SOOOOO as a teaser here’s some of the ones I’m gonna be doing next: :3

boombox is a seal, katana is a lionfish, skateboard is a shortfin mako, banhammer is an orca, scythe is a seasnake, shurifin is pretty much just a mermaid that can shapeshift to resemble the shurifin skin, vinesplash is the same, and slingshot is a flying fish! I have all of the other characters figured out but those are all the ones I’m giving away

2. OHOHOHOHO THIS IS A FUN ONE! The main center focus of the au I would say is shurifin and Medkit, technically they’re supposed to be friend/just fully platonic but I can see it being interpreted as not! Also, Subspace and broker because they absolutely HATE eachother and banhammer and boombox because of the orca/seal motif (banhammer specifically thinks boombox is the perpetrator of a crime that he did not do (scythe and broker just pinned it on him) so he’s on like a manhunt for poor boombox who’s just really confused LMAO)

3. HEHEHEHEH YEAH! So pretty much a good chunk of the mermaids and stuff have powers, mainly the ability to shapeshift and such, broker and scythe are both mermaids who can shapeshift to resemble demons (they are also pirates as well, and are wanted by BOTH worlds for 1. Raiding ships, and 2. Selling out OTHER mermaids for money/riches). Medkit works with scythe and broker because he needs the money. Medkit, sword, venomshank, paint buckét, spray paint, etc are all regular demons! Sword and venomshank have their own shop and are trying to get Medkit to join it so that he can get away from broker and scythe and avoid prosecution as venomshank’s ship is more noble/looked up too.

(As an add on to the shapeshift thing, Rocket, shurifin, and vinesplash all can to an EXTENT, not fully though like how scythe and broker can. Other Phighters also have other abilities that aren’t tied to powers but I think are just cool, specifically like boombox having echo-location because of being a seal, slingshot being able to “fly” (more so glide) because of being a flying fish, or skateboard just being incredibly fast because he’s a mako shark which are the speediest sharks in the world! They aren’t powers but their fun quirks that I feel fit their characters!)

also,,,, soon my friend,, soon,,, I am cooking with this au so HEHEHEHEHE

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homestucksimplified · 11 months

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The 12 Classes of Time.

“Time is the Aspect of music, of death, of rebellion, of not accepting what comes in the way that it comes. Time is an Aspect that caused much suffering in the comic, but it is also the savior-Aspect. Time Players seem to “go against the clock”, they are usually either terrified of death or completely alright with the idea of it. They work in melodious ways, are impatient, and enjoy the destination more than the journey itself. They are hardly stable, extremely dedicated and stubborn. Time Players are fighters, sometimes even in a literal way. They also tend to be revolutionary, depending on the Class. They can be related to music, since the ticking of the clock is a reference to melody and heartbeat”.

“In more miscellaneous descriptions, Time Players can be enjoyers of History. Since Aspects can be literal sometimes, many Time Players struggle with the concept of Time, are bad at keeping track of time, feel like they don’t have time to do all that they want to do, like they have to catch up. Time is the opposite Aspect to “Space”, which is patient and conforming. Time is an Aspect of change”.

Sburb Players each have a combination of an Aspect and a Class. Aspects are understood to represent what a player’s goals and actions in life are caused by. A Class is within an Aspect and understood to represent the way they deal with their Aspect.

The Sburb Classes are Maid, Page, Mage, Knight, Rogue, Sylph, Seer, Thief, Heir, Bard, Prince, and Witch. (Lord and Muse*).

(*Classes Lord and Muse seem to only be possible in either Cherub society or in two-player sessions. They are very absolute and it’s rare for a human to identify with their descriptions. I will have to leave them out here and only write about the remaining twelve :)

Adding the Classes to the Aspect of Time will result in twelve God Tiers. My analyses of them are as follows:

1st God Tier: Witch of Time

Witch is the Active Class of manipulation. Witches are known to “control” their Aspect or through their Aspect, both literally and figuratively. A Witch of Time, specifically, would be extremely rebellious — it is the most rebellious Class paired up with the most rebellious Aspect! —, somewhat disrespecting of the concept of time. This might mean they’ll be constantly late for meetings, or will be obsessed with the passage of hours and minutes. Witches are good at manipulating, and Time being the Aspect of death, Witches of Time are manipulators of death; that can be a very powerful God Tier. If there’s one God Tier who would play Chess against Death to not have their souls taken away, that’s the Witch of Time. They to me sound like they’d be incredible at making music, controlling the Aspect of music in whatever way they can.

Witches of Time will be aware of their surroundings, be skeptical, and again, very rebellious. They will hate being told what to do. In relation to other people, they may have a hard time being social, mostly only doing it to fit in, but wishing to be somewhere else instead. They’d also be good at influencing others’ taste in music, or any opinions they might have about the end of life. Speaking of that, not only would they fight death, they would also be completely uncomfortable thinking about it. They will hide that, though.

Witch of Time is a canon Homestuck God Tier. Damara Megido is the character that holds that title.

2nd God Tier: Heir of Time

Heir is the Passive Class of manipulation. Heirs are known to “influence” their Aspect or through their Aspect, both literally and figuratively. An Heir of Time, specifically, would be extremely quick-tempered, not at all patient about change. They would be punctual, believe they always have to be way ahead, struggle with the speed of things and be very stubborn about their ideas. Having a Class of manipulation, these Heirs would be great at influencing others, sometimes even subconsciously, to the point where they might change reality. They may lie about their past and do it so well that they start to believe the lie themselves, switching the way time worked for their lives.

Heir being a Passive Class doesn’t mean they would manipulate “less” than a Witch would. It just means the Witch would be bolder about it, while an Heir’s manipulation might be hidden. One “controls” and the other “influences”, after all, Heirs will cause results more indirectly. Heirs are also known to “become” their Aspect, sometimes even literally, so you know who we can conclude might be an Heir of Time? The Grim Reaper itself.

On a lighter note, this God Tier would also be good at music. However, I think they’d be better at listening to it than at making it. Maybe they’d have a perfect pitch, or be potential judges of talent shows.

3rd God Tier: Mage of Time

Mage is the Active Class of knowledge. Mages are known to “understand” their Aspect or through their Aspect, both literally and figuratively. A Mage of Time, specifically, would be knowledgeable about death without even meaning to. I can picture them having some sort of intuition about the underworld not knowing where it comes from. They would “understand” time, so their path might be about awareness of rebellion, of change, an incapability to stop it, spirals of thoughts even after understanding the patterns. I have read that Mages “suffer” through their Aspect, and I really see that in most Aspects. I always think of Mages having speedy minds, and in the case of Time Players, that might be even more sped up. Mages of Time would be focused on the changes around them. More literally, about the changes on the clock, the passage of time. They would be stuck with the knowledge that nothing ever stopped, never be able to take that fact away, and some might like that, while others won’t.

They would be heavily impulsive, possibly irrational sometimes. They would feel like it is “too much”, sometimes, the way the gears won’t stop turning. Most of all, they would be experienced and again, impatient. They would already know how everything is meant to go.

4th God Tier: Seer of Time

Seer is the Passive Class of knowledge. Seers are known to “study” their Aspect or through their Aspect, both literally and figuratively. A Seer of Time, specifically, would be interested in learning about dark and philosophical subjects, having an unusual interest in death, History, and the combination of both. The player with this title might be a History student, an archeologist, or have that as a hobby only. They are rebellious like any Time Player, but are much more knowledgeable and aware of it, and so might seem like a calm and collected person. Compared to other Time Classes, they would be saints. They would probably not hold the belief that impulsiveness is a bad thing, and as of result wouldn’t get too anxious about it. They would be great with organization and order, even in their thoughts. Their main motivation is learning about Time, after all.

Seers of Time wouldn’t fear death. They accept it easily as part of life. (They oppose Heirs of Life in that, imo.) In general, I see them being chill individuals, or at least they appear that way. A Seer of Time is easy to get along with, and possibly very helpful. In Sburb at least, they are extremely powerful.

It can be literally as well, with them always “keeping an eye on time”, being good with schedules and deadlines, etc.

5th God Tier: Thief of Time

Thief is the Active Class of stealing. Thieves are known to “take” from their Aspect and through their Aspect, both literally and figuratively. A Thief of Time, specifically, would be very confident in their abilities and personality. To put it more literally, they would be Masters of the clock. They’d always know what to do and when to do it and would rarely doubt themselves in that way. They’d be somewhat selfish, for example believing they should be the ones to control situations instead of sharing the power. Time is a very strong Aspect, and to be sure of your own ability with it is to be extremely trustworthy. Actually, I think they’d be very selfish. But still worthy of trust. And, of course, strong and willing to change circumstances. They’d think of themselves first, of their own death, of their own rhythm, but this doesn’t mean they won’t care for anyone (they will. They are still normal human beings [or trolls] after all).

A Thief of Time would be difficult to control. They wouldn’t like being controlled, really. They believe their plans are the correct ones, and trust that the ends justify the means. This seems to be a trend with all Thieves, and not only Thieves of Time. They would probably have some characteristics that people wouldn’t notice at first, being surprised when they found out. This can mean anything from a random adoration to a moral belief of sorts.

6th God Tier: Rogue of Time

Rogue is the Passive Class of stealing. Rogues are known to “redistribute” their Aspect or through their Aspect, both literally and figuratively. A Rogue of Time, specifically, would sacrifice their own time for others. Sacrifice seems to be a Rogue characteristic, going along with their Robin Hood personas. Not every Rogue would be selfless, but even the ones that weren’t would have an inclination inside themselves to share everything with others who need it. They’d share mostly, because of the Aspect, ideas relating to time and rebellion and music and death. They could be great Historians or, more literally, History teachers for real. Rogue is not really the Class of “teaching” or anything like that but they would be great at sharing their experience in every way. Rogues of Time might doubt themselves when it comes to their power. Maybe they’d be self-conscious, slightly scared of death, think that they don’t have it in them, but like every Time Player, they will have to come to their senses and learn to deal with their amount of power. And they would especifically use their powers to help the less fortunate in Time, and this can mean people who are close to death, people who are lost in reality (what’s more real than time?), enigmas about existence, or even people who are too passive and don’t know how to deal with change. Rogues of Time will be fair and less controlling than other Classes, but also completely remarkable and shiny.

They will be powerful once they develop themselves. They may take some time (literally), but it will always come.

7th God Tier: Knight of Time

Knight is the Active Class of utilizing. Knights are known to “handle” their Aspect and through their Aspect, both literally and figuratively. A Knight of Time, specifically, would deal with all kinds of rebellion-related issues. They would be into change enough that they wouldn’t know how to stand still (this applies to many Classes of Time, but especially Knight). They will fight for their Aspect, and since that is Time, they will fight, and fight, and fight, and fight. And time won’t stop for them. They’ll have to handle everything that comes with it, and be strong in the face of danger. More abstractly, they’d be a person who always feels like they have to defend their own autonomy and personal power. They would have it in them, know what they’d have to do, be realistic even when they don’t want to. However, they would possibly like putting off things they don’t want to deal with, for as long as they can, because they’re so sick of having to deal with and deal with and…

Knights of Time will probably have death around them, possibly from a very young age. Time being the Aspect of death and Knight being the Class of handling, they’d just have to work through and handle a lot of grief, to the point where they’d be, pretty much, apathetic to it. This applies to many God Tier titles, but especially to Knight of Time. They would also be confident, or at least pretend to be, and again, would never stop. They just keep going, literally.

Knight of Time is a canon Homestuck God Tier. Dave Strider is the character that holds that title.

8th God Tier: Page of Time

Page is the Passive Class of utilizing. Pages are known to “rise” their Aspect or through their Aspect, both literally and figuratively. A Page of Time, specifically, would be doubtful of their own understanding of the world and how they should behave. Pages tend to be naive or easily manipulated, and when it came to Time these players would be easily convinced or guided toward patience. Time is about everything but patience, yet these Time Players will askew themselves from action by the influence of others. They would maybe have delusions, a complicated relationship with reality, or they might just rely a lot on what they fear losing.

Pages usually empower themselves (or others) through the development of their own powers, and I don’t only mean this literally. A Page of Time will learn about limits and where they stand (not only where others say they should stand). With music, they might be really attached to it, possibly not being able to do much without headphones on their heads. They will seem fragile to other people but would have the potential to become an indestructible destruction machine. If they want to be evil, then they are pretty much the scariest type of evil there can be. But if they want to use everything for the good, it’ll be great to be around them. Just don’t ever doubt them when they learn about it all.

9th God Tier: Maid of Time

Maid is the Active Class of construction. Maids are known to “create” their Aspect or through their Aspect, both literally and figuratively. A Maid of Time, specifically, would be “made of time”. Yeah, this can be really literal. They’d always be on time and know how to manage life’s rules pretty well, even if in their own turbulent way. They might be anarchists! since they have all of time in themselves and already are fed up with everything and would just be so motivated toward rebellion! They would also be attracted to Time principles, as in aging, growing, and especially death itself. Maids will be really enticed by their own powers, and their struggles in life might be about having TOO MUCH of whatever their Aspects are.

Being full of time can be being made to make rules, to change and destroy what they’re unhappy with to create more. But it can also be living to a very old age, or dying in a really unexpected and absurd way. They are made of action, and are creators of destruction. They will be extremely unpredictable, one of the most unpredictable God Tiers out there.

Maids of Time will deal correctly with their Aspects, they will certainly be gravitated to it without much trouble. What they can do is create trouble, but whatever they do they simple believe is the best way. If there’s a list of the most chaotic titles, Maid of Time is there.

Maid of Time is a canon Homestuck God Tier. Aradia Megido is the character that holds that title.

10th God Tier: Sylph of Time

Sylph is the Passive Class of construction. Sylphs are known to “build” their Aspect or through their Aspect, both literally and figuratively. A Sylph of Time, specifically, would be used to having to take care of many things, passively creating Time and managing time. They would likely be mostly accepting of things but rebellious every once in a while, surprising everyone around them with sudden insatisfaction. Though they construct the Aspect of rebellion, they do it softly, in the shadows, and that way are very discreet about their ideas. Inside, they would be chaotic even if they don’t notice it, but it wouldn’t be as clear to others like a Maid of Time would. They might have strange interests, excited about History and historical wars, politics, death and somber music. I imagine Sylphs of Time bonding with Seers about topics like Romanticism, which was an emotional and spontaneous artistic movement that stained the world we live in. (Romanticism is a good mixture of Time + the Aspect “Heart”.)

Sylphs would be singular for sure, and complex when it came to their views of the world. I imagine them being quiet, despite being Time Players. If it’s possible for a Time Player to be collected, they are the closest to it. Literal meanings can involve making excuses for people being late, always making time for everything they have to do, or, because a Player’s struggles are also marked by their God Tier, struggle with making time for everything they have to do.

11th God Tier: Prince of Time

Prince is the Active Class of destruction. Princes are known to “wreck” their Aspect and through their Aspect, both literally and figuratively. A Prince of Time, specifically, would be really controlling, possibly chaotic. They can be unpredictable, one of those people you’re not even sure of their intentions. This would be a very complicated God Tier, because Time is the Aspect of destruction, and Prince is the Class of wrecking, so they would be about “the destruction of destruction”, so… construction?

Princes tend to go against their Aspect and more toward their opposite one, because they wreck their own. Unfortunally there wasn’t a Prince of Time in Homestuck, but with that information we can theorize a Prince of Time would act like a Space Player, adoring creation and attempting to be patient and thinkers of the big picture. The thing is that they would still be Time Players, and so wouldn’t be able to deny the core parts about their own Aspect, and would be pessimistic, rebellious, motionful, etc.

The Prince of Time would be hard to detect because they destroy change, their impulses are to go against impulse, and they are walking contradictions. Still, they would be really motivated and good at solving puzzles. They would share those obvious traits with Space Players, sometimes being mistaken as one, but when looking closer it would be ridiculously easy to see: they are ultimate Players of Time.

12th God Tier: Bard of Time

Bard is the Passive Class of destruction. Bards are known to “deconstruct” their Aspect or through their Aspect, both literally and figuratively. A Bard of Time, specifically, would be entitled to control but not be so bold about it. Since they are about deconstruction, they would slowly and indirectly deny Time and its characteristics like death and rebellion and motion. Bards will rarely accept that they are Bards, having trouble with their Class from it not being innocent enough but also not aggressive enough. But Bards would be easily detectable as Bards. And they’d be incapable of going against what they want to go against.

Like Princes, the Active Class, Bards will envy the other side (that being the opposite Aspect) and somewhat wish they could be in their easier shoes. They’d silently desire the patience and acceptance of Space Players, though they wouldn’t actively try to copy them. A Bard of Time’s struggle might be with how their world seems to always be spinning around them, how death seems to be present wherever they go (even abstractly, like there being bones on the walls or dead animals in the streets), with how they couldn’t figure out music or anything that didn’t follow their own idea of melody. They’d be… confused? I think Bards are usually confused with their Aspects. They’re good at figuring things out, though.

#sburb #god tiers #classes #time #maid of time #page of time #mage of time #knight of time #rogue of time #sylph of time #seer of time #thief of time #heir of time #bard of time #prince of time #witch of time #homestuck

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heraldofcrow · 5 months

Note

Do you have any specific neurodivergent headcanons for bb characters by far?

Yep!! Sorry for the wait on this, I was adding to it little by little.

Without further ado—

Wait, I forgot, I need to clarify something. I don’t really believe neurodivergence refers strictly to autism and ADHD like many often try to say, so with that in mind, my answers might be more varied.

• Rom

Rom is my main headcanon for neurodivergence in Bloodborne because I suspect something is up with her basically being called the “mentally disabled spider” in Japanese, while also having been the only person in Bloodborne to have ascended. With that in mind, I see her as an autistic savant. Perceived as a fool due to stunted outward development, but a genius beyond what others could even understand.

• Laurence

This one is maybe odd, but I have Laurence as someone with bipolar disorder and autism. I don’t have some in-depth explanation for this one other than it fits with the character I wrote for him.

• Gehrman

Clinical depression, like from the time he was a really small kid. He was just different from the start and saw far more than he should have. He was never a very hopeful or upbeat person.

• Bloody Crow

I write Crow with severe psychosis that stems from schizophrenia. There are signs of him being autistic as well, but his schizophrenia is the main thing he struggles with. It is NOT what makes him a villain later on, but when his delusions get out of control and trigger his mania…well, you don’t want to pair it with hatred and anger. Sadly, Crow is overflowing with both.

• Micolash

Micolash was not brought up in an environment where he was able to develop empathy for others, so he was always a bit sociopathic. This wasn’t actually much of a problem for years though, because he tried and learned via others about socalization and interpersonal relations. Sociopaths are not inherently dangerous and neither was Micolash. He was a decent person for a long time.

However, tragedy always strikes, and darker emotional issues and beliefs were what allowed Micolash to eventually weaponize his own sociopathy, committing worse and worse atrocities without feeling the pain of his victims. I like to imagine he was fully aware of how he thought about the process. The problem wasn’t his lack of empathy, it was his choice to utilize it in an evil manner.

• Adeline

Adeline has both Borderline Personality Disorder and clinical depression. The traumatic experiences in her youth left her with a lot of unresolved emotional tension, poor kid.

• Maria

I have her as Crow’s biological sister, so as siblings, they both actually struggle a bit with the same mental challenges. Maria doesn’t really have schizophrenia like her brother, but she experiences severe bouts of depression that can lead to hallucinations and psychosis. She also deals with extreme memory loss at times and heavy PTSD.

• Ludwig

Ludwig has ADHD but people can’t really tell because he is hard on himself about keeping his focus intact. People like Maria absolutely notice his struggle and his periods of low self-esteem. He is too tough on himself :(

• Eileen

This one is actually my favourite headcanon, but Eileen has DID and has at least one other alter that she formed when faced with a horrifically traumatic event as a child. Her alter is a stiff, austere military officer-type, who is comfortable with emotionlessness and treating Eileen’s line of work as a task that must be completed.

Eileen’s alter is harmless and she is aware that she is different in this sense. It’s actually what draws her to Bloody Crow, who is already so terrified of his own mind that he finds comfort in knowing his mentor and mother-figure is not too different.

—

Some of these might change, but I am happy with most for now. I love psychology and studying it, so I think of it as a worthy challenge to try to write characters with unique mental states and accurately so. It can be a little scary because I know people really care about how several of these mental illnesses are depicted, but hopefully I am not screwing anything up too much. 😅

#thanks anon!#hope you like these #i know and have known people with almost all of these disorders so it feels kinda personal writing them tbh #asks #anonymous #bloodborne #bloodborne headcanons #neurodivergent headcanons #rom the vacuous spider #gehrman the first hunter #laurence the first vicar #lady maria #bloody crow of cainhurst #saint adeline #micolash host of the nightmare #ludwig the holy blade #eileen the crow

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spectrum-core · 4 months

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hi if you don’t mind me asking I’d love to hear more about serrated duo parallels?

Alright, just to make sure we are on the same page because I'm not sure if many people know who am I even talking about when I say serrated duo, I mean this pair of goofballs who I love very much.

Fuckass essay about them and how this thing even came to be (which is not what you asked for but it's still important I think) under the cut, as a warning though this is EXTREMELY long, i'm also writing it assuming the readers have played ruina to completion, have at least glanced at the ruina artbook once and are decently familiarized with the pjm universe and its terminology.

"But Spec", you may (and reasonably so) say, "these guys show up in different story tiers, one is a glorified ranged attack tutorial with a minor lore exposition attached to him and the other doesn't even have anything going on due to being a general reception, what the hell".

So let's get into this, more meticulously organized than some essays I've submitted for my uni classes because I care that much about these guys (don't be like me and do your uni projects, please).

Table of contents:

How the fuck did this even come to be 1.1. Me yapping about character dessign

Liwei as a character 2.1. The surface 2.2. Emotional internal nature 2.3. Resentment

Dong Hwan as a character (sorry can't separate him into many categories bc there's NOTHING THERE man i'm absolutely grasping for straws here i KNOW it, but please bear with me)

Summarizing parallels

If you don't feel like sitting through my attempts to contextualize how this ship came to be and me desperately grasping for straws, feel free to skip all the way down to part 4

1.- How the fuck did this even come to be

Honestly the whole thing started as a sleep deprivation shitpost I rolled with because yeah i like these two guys a lot (if you read that one post talking among other things about why I like liwei so much in the first place, the short reply also applies to dong hwan and... Yeag, the only thing that's better than one hot guy is two hot guys and so on).

There was also an interesting aspect about this because maybe it's just me but based of liwei's dialogue lines and keypage text he suggests not trusting, or even liking/admiring/looking up to, high graded fixers (despite feeling that he's supposed to). With an emphasis put into colors because, I mean, he fucking died because he met one at the wrong moment, but I feel it's a general thing he feels for grade 2s and above.

With this in mind, putting him to interact with a grade 1 is... at the very least it has the potential to put them into a funny mutual vitriol kind of dynamic with lw constantly thinking "what's the deal with this guy? does he expect me to praise him just for having a high grade? well, tough luck, i'm no bootlicker" and dh constantly thinking "what's wrong with this man? is he unable to recognize greatness even if it punched him in the face...? should i punch him in the face?", but it becomes far more interesting when you try to imagine (and, with dong hwan being an absolute background character we can only assume things of from extremely vague hints, pretty much all we can do about him is imagining) what made them both special enough for each of them to think "wait, hold on, i actually like this guy" of the other.

After the initial shitpost stage was over, we (the guy who came up with serrated duo while sleep deprived and me) started talking about why we liked both characters and we essentially concluded that, at least dessign wise, they are the same type of guy (ofc I also added a couple of characters I like and who fit the criteria to my post but this post isn't about them).

1.1.- Me yapping about character dessign

On top of that, if you pay attention specifically to liwei and dong hwan in there, you can notice that there's a pretty neat balance of common and contrasting themes in their dessigns, almost in a two sides of the same coin way, so here's a non exhaustive list:

both characters have a primarily monochrome/dark aesthetic going on, with their eyes being the primary colored element that stands out in their dessigns (yeah, you could say that dh has brown hair too but it's a dark shade of brown that doesn't catch the eye nearly as much as the bright-yet-deep shade of red of his eyes)

on top of that, liwei's eyes are blue while dong hwan's are red (i thought they were reddish brown at first but that's just an effect of the transparency, if you separate the sprite in it's different parts, you'll notice his eyes are actually red), which happens to link with a certain trope about two-sides-of-the-same-coin pairs... (will elaborate on this later trust me).

despite the previously mentioned similar monochrome aesthetic, there's a clear contrast between their styles and how they wear their clothes, with liwei having a much more "only informal if it's more practical that way" type of look, with a focus on practicality over trying to stand out too much (for the most part at least, he was dessigned with the idea of a cool guy in mind after all), while dong hwan is essentially wearing a business suit in the most fucked up way possible (really, what the fuck dong hwan), which of course makes his dessign incredibly memorable. To further elaborate on this (and to add details that don't really follow this formal until unpractical/informal AND unpractical pattern): -Liwei's clothes stay in similar shades of grey and black giving him a more uniform look, while dong hwan uses more contrasting shades in his clothing (despite wearing primarily black clothes, that light grey shirt absolutely stands out, and by extension he does) -Liwei wears long boots, while dong hwan wears regular shoes -Liwei wears a long coat, while dong hwan wears a short jacket -Liwei has a fully buttoned dress shirt with a tie, dong hwan wears his shirt unbuttoned, in an universe where clothes are basically like armor this is essentially him saying that he's confident that his opponents won't be able to hit him in the chest, or that even if they did he wouldn't get too hurt from it, and it's a dessign detail that absolutely stands out in an universe where most characters only show skin in their head, neck and hands at most, as we know since its stated in multiple keypages and cutscenes, if a character shows more skin than the absolutely bare minimum, then that means that A. they are inmensely strong, and B. they are even more confident in their capacities, with this being a tactic to intimidate potential enemies for many factions -Liwei wears fingerless gloves while dong hwan wears regular gloves, while at first glance this detail seems to subvert the pattern, let's be real here... have you tried to hold any object and using it properly with gloves? unless you're wearing latex gloves or something made of very thin fabric that shit's absurdly hard, of course i assume there's weird city tech involved in dh's gloves but at least that's my own personal impression of that particular contrast)

and going back to common but not really details: both characters have something noteworthy in their ears (this is most likely just a result of the characters being visible as chibis in game so the best way to give them memorable dessigns is by slapping somewhat unique stuff in their faces and heads BUT IM GRASPING FOR STRAWS HERE OK) with liwei's earpiece (which serves a practical function) and dong hwan's earrings (which look cool as hell, going in line with both characters' general priorities)

similarly, both have something in their opposite eyes, with liwei partially covering his right eye with his hair and dong hwan having the scar going through his left eye.

the right-left motif is actually very relevant in their dessigns. You see, most character sprites in ruina switch the hand in which they're holding their weapons for certain frames (or at least, this is not uncommon to see), either for rule of cool, clearer silhouettes or whatever reasons. However, in every frame in which liwei is visibly holding his knife, he holds it with his left hand (and when he uses his pistol he holds it with both hands), suggesting that he may be left handed. On the other hand (see what I did there?), dong hwan consistently holds his knife with his right hand, in every. single. frame. of his sprite, suggesting that he's right handed instead.

And of course, both of them have elements in their opposite legs too, with liwei having these two stupid fucking belts (affectionate) in his right leg while dong hwan has... whatever the fuck that thing is, in his left leg.

Of course I'm not here saying that they were given contrasting dessigns on purpose, but all these details end up making both of them looking really cool when put together, specially with how their dessigns emphatize their personal preferences and priorities, something I will elaborate upon in each character's section later.

2.- Liwei as a character

Liwei is one of my favorite pjm characters as a whole, yes i like him more than ayin, yes i like him more than angela, yes i like him more than carmen, yes i like him more than dante, yes i like him more than your favorite sephirah/patron librarian/sinner, no im not saying i think any of these characters is bad or poorly written and in fact i think pjm has made an amazing job with protagonists so far catching my interest even with characters i thought i wouldn't vibe with at all, but i have a thing for unremarkable background guys.

As you may have guessed, this means that i have a lot, and i mean A LOT to say about him.

This also means that I have a very specific interpretation of him, this interpretation, while clearly taking bases from what we can see of him in game, is entirely fanmade and i'm not trying to claim this is what anyone intended to convey with him, but it's what makes sense for me.

This interpretation also strays away from some other fan characterizations I've seen of him. So if you think he's actually, at his core, a serious, formal, emotionally detached and unbearably professional, even outside work hours, guy who's deeply dedicated to the honorable task of murder and who is in good terms with the shi association or holds them in high regard? sorry, but for me he's nothing like that.

2.1- The surface

"But Spec", you may say again, "he does act emotionally detached during his cutscene, he even says that people die all the time! are you sure you are actually reading this character right?"

Of course I'm not, I'm just saying that I'm reading him in a way that makes enough sense to me, but I do have reasons to believe that the serious and emotionally detached attitude is an akward mixture of a facade he puts up to be taken seriously by others and an incredibly unhealthy coping mechanism, so let's start by analyzing his artbook profile...

Wait a minute, is that..?

Ok, I'll see myself out and continue writing the actual character analysis this is what people are here for.

Anyway, going back to the character profile, you may be inclined to see it and assume "well, that actually just proves that he's a serious and formal dude" at first, until you realize that artbook profiles, due to their in-universe explaination being that they were compilled by roland and angela from the information they could take out of the guests' books, are most likely to be about what the guests perceive themselves as/would say to describe themselves rather than what they actually are when looked at from an outsider's perspective. Further proof of the artbook profiles being subjective comes from how the profiles change almost erratically for distortions and ego users, with people in the middle of both states simply not knowing how to describe themselves, the fact that we lack any information about the agents of the head as they were never booked, or how characters such as tomerry have...

This, which I mean, it's very clear that's just tomerry talking about themselves.

Now, liwei's personality traits, or at least what he'd use to describe himself, are "Meticulous, Efficient, and Sharp". We know that he has to be efficient at the very least, considering the nature of his job and guns in universe, the same thing goes for meticulous, we can assume he wants to do things the right away so that he gets paid, sharp as a personality descriptor can take multiple meanings and frankly i don't know which was the original korean word used to describe him so i can't tell which is the right one but most of them seem pretty accurate, at least when looking at him from a surface perspective.

To be honest, I don't think any of the traits mentioned there is precisely wrong, I simply don't think that they are the main or core ones, but they are the traits liwei tries to show, at least.

Another interesting detail is that all full stop fixer artbook profiles have food related items for the likes and and dislikes sections, except for stephan disliking dangerous jobs.

Not particularly noteworthy for this category in particular but still tangentially linked to a point that I believe is also a core characteristic of all three full stop fixers and that is key to understand all three of them, their dynamics and the choices they make during their reception: they are Poor As Shit, because guns and bullets are expensive of course, we also get to see this in stephan's obssesive fixation in money (come on nobody actually checks their bank account as a hobby... right, guys?), and of course this ties in with wanting to be seen as someone serious and professional people will trust with their money AND with the idea of them having the need to maximize efficiency to... well... you... you know... not end up even worse than they actually are.

2.2- Emotional internal nature

Alright, and here we dwell into the actually spicy part of the essay, at least for liwei's character: the moments in which the mask of a professional and emotionally detached guy cracks and he shows his more emotional, and mostly caring, side. This is focused in the way in which he treats stephan and tamaki (compared with how several other faction leaders treat their underlings).

While I should probably need to read all the dialogue in the game to make sure this is a particularly notorious detail, something that inmediately caught my attention is... the fact that liwei never uses a single honorific when refering to other people, neither he's bothered by stephan's more informal speech and the fact that he doesn't refer to him by any honorific or title either (sure, you could say this is because they were in a life or death situation but also y'know, it says something about you that the people below you don't feel the need to use formalities when talking to you), the only person he calls by title instead of first name is... well, the blue reverb, whose real name we can assume he didn't know, with also him being someone perfectly capable of killing not only him but the guys standing beside him as well, you'd want to be as respectful as possible when talking to a guy like that and trying to negotiate.

(even then he doesnt use any sort of honorific towards him, at least in the english translation of the text, he simply refers to him by title)

He neither uses any title or honorific when talking to angela, despite keeping a formal/respectful attitude, i honestly believe that he is genuinely formal and respectful but... you know, that's not the beginning and end of who he is.

Of course, this isn't a major point, but I think it's worth mentioning considering how important honorifics can be to establish the speaker's relationship with the people a message is directed to, they can be used to distance oneself from others. So in a way it could be seen as him putting himself at an "equal" position relative to stephan and tamaki, as opposed to trying to assert that he's their superior (at least in the context of the mission they were working in, since his title is merely fixer, not operator, president, director or anything implying some form of leadership on his end).

Another extremely important detail is his inmediate first reaction once argalia shows up and ruins their plan is... not coming up with a plan b, not trying to fight him in any way, not doing anything about trying to save what little money they can, he quite literally tells stephan "forget about money, we need to survive now".

His initial reaction is directly just yelling at his team to run away, and this stays consistent once he:

Notices that stephan and tamaki are beginning to argue over the future of their mission and how much money they lost.

Realizes that they can't outrun argalia as long as they're wielding their heavy (and again, extremely expensive) equipment. This says a lot as it shows that he cares enough for the people under his care to let the office go bankrupt if it means they can live.

Needless to say, stephan and tamaki refuse to do so and while he clearly isn't precisely happy about the inevitable confrontation with argalia, he doesn't argue about this, he does understand their concern about money, he's not like the other authority figures who will ignore their underlings' concerns at best and ditch them once they outlive their usefulness at worst (at least, that's what i imagine he thinks as he makes these choices).

Not to mention, once they are in a, if only slightly, safer situation in the library, his inmediate response is trying to comfort stephan and tamaki, things dont look good but theyre at least alive, for now.

And there's this line which... doesn't seem to fit at first glance with the idea of him wanting his office to survive at all costs... right?

That is until you realize that he says that line during yet another argument between stephan and tamaki, as an attempt to get them both to calm down, this could also fit in with him trying to keep or restore the cynical, stoic and serious act, but then again we get to see his more emotional and sincere side once he:

Gets killed, quite literally saying that he didn't want to die yet, at least to me this line alone is enough to pretty much confirm that he didn't really mean it when saying that trying to delay their deaths was pointless, but if you need more, he also acts against that same line when he...

Sees his allies die, and inmediately starts freaking out.

Wins the reception, in which case his inmediate first concern is, again, not money, lost ammunition or anything, but rather if stephan and tamaki are okay and if they will be safe once they return.

I don't think that line was him fully lying though, it does say something about him that makes enough sense to me and fits with the rest of the characterization: that his cynism runs much, much deeper than stephan's.

Tl;dr he is extremely caring and emotional deep inside, and even though he tries to suppress that side of himself it always finds a way to show itself, I feel like in other contexts this makes him prone to emotional outbursts and generally make him an unpleasant person to be around... save for people who are already familiar with his personality quirks and the fact that he is Like That.

2.3- Resentment

Of course, this dissonance between the person he tries to pretend to be to fit in/keep his job and the person he actually is made him grow a pretty strong disliking of... well, everything he considers related to the fact that he has to act like that to get enough money to feed the people in his office.

I also feel like he feels genuine guilt over the fact that his job is essentially just glorified murder, I have no base for this other than the more detached way in which he refers to the church of gears, it almost feels like hes forcing himself to not care because its them or him and his office, and that he has genuine self-hating tendencies because of it (which he also uses his stoic act to hide, he doesn't want to worry his office and become a burden to them, after all), in a way he may be trying to overcompensate by being nice to his office to feel like there's people he can help/protect.

But this hatred towards himself also manifests in the form of hatred towards anything he can blame over him being the way he is and working the job he has.

As I said before, I don't think liwei likes colors, or most high grade fixers for that matter, you may also extend this to figures of authority, influential organizations or even the city's society as a whole (and honestly? i do personally, i don't think he's actually capable of forming any particularly healthy bond with people outside his office because of this, and even then saying that the relationships he has with his office are healthy is... generous to put it softly, this is not to say that he secretly hates the other people in the office, but rather that he fears that they may secretly hate him, because he's the highest graded member of the office, he hates people sitting above him so it only makes sense that people below him hate him for being above them, right?), and of course I'm not saying this because I'm projecting or because I think it's cool and edgy and sad but I actually have bases for this from what I can see in the game.

The first example of him not trusting high grade fixers AND influential organizations being one of the very first things he says when being introduced: that having an important person, from an important organization, belonging to an important section of said organization, approach him and give him a request was shady as fuck.

And he turned out to be right, as Yujin was planning for him and his office to get sent to the library and die there so she could read their books and find some passage saying shit like "well we were found by the blue fucking reverb and our only choice was to come here and die even though we were royally fucked either way life sucks see you all in hell my final message 🖕🖕🖕🖕🖕" so she could use that on her favor.

In this topic too, I'm personally firmly opposed to the idea of full-stop office being affiliated to the shi association and this is the hill i'm willing to die on, but I digress.

We see this same resentment on an even deeper level in his keypage where he talks about colors (and we can assume this view extends to other high graded fixers, and to a lesser extent to the hana association), he doesn't sound like he wants to become a color, he doesn't sound like he even likes the concept of colors being a thing that exists in the first place.

The most important lines from these fragments to me being the following:

"A color is the dream [...] of all fixers who wish for freedom.", freedom is a VERY relevant concept in project moon and ruina makes a very clear point about how nobody is free in the city, roland says it, most plot relevant guests say it, some patron librarians say it too... a huge part of the story is how angela comes to terms to the fact that turning human wont grant her freedom and how she ultimately becomes free by embracing her nature as a machine (so free indeed that the head decides to kick her and the entire library out of the city, not only shes a machine that acts like a human, which is already a major city wide taboo, she made a choice that no human in the city should ever make). Essentially, liwei seems to see colors (and im assuming that by extension high graded fixers) as the ultimate example of an impossible aspirational class (think of these "self made" enterpreurs who received extremely generous financial support from their rich parents to start massive companies as the closest irl equivalent, except that obviously not the same, i will elaborate more on this later).

"They put forward the colors as great and successful people that other fixers will look up to. They dream of earning wealth and fame, and to be free like them one day." Why would he be talking in third person here if he too admired colors, or wanted to be like them, or thought that were free in any way? Also that separation between money and fame (something that colors objectively do have since they can afford exclusive high tech weapons and armor) with freedom (something that is debatable, but liwei seems to assume colors don't have) feels too much like a deliberate choice to further push towards that point of him seeing colors as not only an impossible goal to achieve for the average fixer but also that the ideal of a color as someone who is free is something impossible to achieve even if one were to become a color.

"Colors are assigned by the 'Hana Association'. [...] The title of a color is forcibly given to fixers who qualify essentially. Can a fixer be truly happy with freedom that was forcefully handed to them?" This particular fragment, specially the last sentence, is absolutely key for Liwei's characterization, and the final and most important part of him saying "wait, no, colors aren't free, because nobody is" to me. It is also worth noting that this fragment can be read in multiple ways, all of them are important and accurate for his characterization.

He thinks that the responsability and risks that come with being handed the title of a color are far greater than the prestige that comes with the title, can you really say that someone who cant afford to decline requests due to being contacted by the most important organizations in the city, whose closest friends or family WILL be regularly targetted by rivals either to extort them for money or just try to attack them to the point in which most high graded fixers abandon any personal attachment to others, who will have to see the horrible things that happen in the city in an almost day-to-day basis and will likely have to do even worse things in the name of corporate interests is free? Can you really call it freedom if you can't refuse it? Essentially he is saying "actually every single aspect of being a color is terrible and to make matters worse that life is forced on them after they go through extreme miseries in the hopes for a better life but all they get is more of the same if not even worse, they aren't free and shouldn't be refered to as such."

He thinks that in order to become a color (or any highly graded fixer, really), you must essentially lose yourself, which is to say abandoning all friendships or familiar bonds, only keeping shallow interactions with people, desensitizing themselves to whatever horrifying shit they may have to see, abandon all sense of morality as they never know what their next request will be and "im sorry but i dont do xyz, it does against my personal morals" isnt an argument that will work in a place like the city, this also fits into the whole "actually having a much more chaotic emotional side he's trying his absolute hardest to supress but failing" theme mentioned in point 2.2., someone who is so deeply emotional and whose actions are ultimately defined by what is the most likely to keep the people around him alive is obviously not going to like the idea of keeping his distance to them, or to dispose of people with lower grades than him because they were supposed to be expendables anyway.

I don't remember the exact quote and i dont feel like looking for it but in one of gebura's cutscene she claims that all power in the city only serves to strike those below but never up. You have to climb to get stronger and then you'll only be able to assert dominance (through violence) over people weaker than you are, and she grew to dislike this, as she wanted to protect others but was never able to do so because of how the city was dessigned.

Of course, liwei reached the same conclusion but he took the much simpler but much more unhealthy approach of assuming "well, if things are like that, then that must mean that everyone in a position of power (over me) must be responsible for this".

Of course this also comes with the side effect of him being as caring for the rest of the office as he can because he doesn't want to be like other figures of authority as i mentioned in point 2.2, but thats not to mean that things are all fine in the office, i feel like there are several moments in which he internally curses his position of authority but not quite (bc i don't think he's actually The Big Guy In Charge of the office, really), most obviously the aforementioned moment in which he yells at tamaki and stephan to drop their guns so they can run away and live when they clearly dont want to, i feel like at moments like that he feels like they only do things because he tells them to and they "can't argue" (except that they do, fortunately for him the enviroment in the office is healthy enough for the rest of full stops to not abuse this fact, but the "what if"s are absolutely eating him from the inside). As ironic as it sounds his earnest desire to not be Like The Others is the same thing stopping him from being the perfect and efficient leader he wishes to be, and he probably isn't sure of which thing he values more than the other (it's staying true to his own morals and keeping the people under him safe).

However, there's a key detail here that's worth noting: liwei has a tendency to treat everyone else as equals, sure he is formal and respectful when doing so (pressumably even when talking to people he'd rather never interact with if we assume his conversation with argalia was actually how he is and not him just walking on eggshells to not get killed) but he doesn't bother trying to make a clear distinction of who is above and below him, no matter what their title and rank may be, and for people who are used to being looked up to by everyone else this will be seen this as him insulting them in some way, it may come from a sincere desire of him to come off as insulting while not breaking any (major) social convention in an act of malicious compliance or just the type of person he is, that's up to you to determine.

"But how the hell does any of this relate to dong hwan?" we'll get there right now.

3.- Dong Hwan as a character

This is kinda... the hardest point to talk about, because sure I can yap all I want about him but... it's hard to without going "Source: I made it up" too much.

So, looking at his combat sprites you may notice one thing: he is unbelievably hot for real what the hell he has an incredibly smug aura, most people who care about him to some extent i've seen tend to depict him as a very prideful person, and honestly i dont think differently either.

HOWEVER, i feel like despite this he's still a levelheaded guy who can aknowledge his own flaws. On top of that, i think he's a pretty charismatic guy and he's capable of noticing other people's strenghts, and he'll let people know about their own strenghts too.

Also, to contrast with his smug and cheerful exterior, his combat lines depict him as someone very serious when at work, he doesn't even react emotionally to getting killed.

His first "on kill" line is also particularly interesting, as it shows that he prefers to work on his own (unlike everyone's favorite monochrome moody boy), which makes sense considering that he comes alone to the library when you fight him, he may belong to a one-man office (which is the closest a fixer can do to be fully independent, as far as we are aware).

His keypage story also fits this more serious and analytical personality but not much of it is particularly noteworthy from a character analysis perspective, it doesn't say much that you couldn't notice from his combat lines anyway.

Another important factor to me and to contrast him to liwei is... okay, this may be the fact that he's a solo fight and he is, pressumably, an independent fixer, so he's not titled as a member of a particular organization, instead his title (for him, his reception, his keypage and his book) is "dong hwan, the grade 1 fixer", which i mean, again, is most likely just so we dont fight this guy with zero context on who he is and what hes even doing in the library in his own is he stupid? but i like to imagine that the in universe explaination is that he has tied his perception of himself and his own self worth to his grade, to the point in which using both his name and grade is what comes naturally to him when introducing himself, since books are essentially physical manifestations of the soul, then it just makes sense then that his book will give both his name and grade the same importance. This may come from a need to compensate for something else and i actually like to imagine that's the case because it adds yet another layer of parallels with liwei (source: trust me).

Another point is... remember that I mentioned how food was a very consistent thing in the full stops' likes and dislikes sections in the artbook? this point is also not relevant but dong hwan is frequently assumed to be the owner of that pub that shows up at that short side story about roland and angelica which i never watched because i Literally Can Not Care about angelica sorry, but, hey, it's a cute detail, i think he should cook for the full stops.

I feel like there's something to be said about dh's red eyes because in pjm when a character has red eyes you know that means one thing: they will be a big deal, but dong hwan, other than looking incredibly fucking cool and carrying me through the snow queen suppression (FUCK THE SNOW QUEEN ALL MY HOMIES HATE SNOW QUEEN) and star of the city tier 1 (thank you dong hwan i love you dong hwan)… he is rather unremarkable on the grand scheme of things, he's a general reception so you don't even need to defeat him to beat the game, and he only serves to give us some insight on who the fuck was the vermillion cross, and even then he does a terrible job at explaining who he was other than "well, he was a guy i guess" and honestly, the relevance of both liwei and dong hwan is ALSO an important factor in these parallels, as with one being the guy who introduces the concept of colors and the other being the guy who introduces one particular color fixer by casually mentioning being friends with him, both feel like characters who would be much more narratively important in any other story, but here they... aren't.

4.- Summarizing Parallels

Aka the part you may want to skip to if you don't care about me analyzing characters with little background info about them.

So, basically a list of personality (and background, i guess) traits they have in common and how they're different:

Both characters are putting some sort of facade, with liwei trying to act serious and stoic so he's taken seriously while dong hwan... i dont think he even knows what the facade he's putting even is, he's been putting an act for so long that his mask became his true self

In both characters' cases, the first impression they give isn't really the kind of person they truly are (in lw's case this is a deliberate choice and in dh's case i assume that's just the type of person he is), HOWEVER, while liwei acts serious and analytical (and to some extent he is), his true self is far more emotional and prone to form deep bonds with people, while dong hwan has a more passionate, smug and cheerful external attitude but he's much more serious and levelheaded deep down

Both characters have different, conflicting views about their grades, however these differences ultimately lead to both of them being able to treat each other as equals, or as close to that as possible in the city, i feel like liwei can see dong hwan as someone of worth so to speak for reasons unrelated to his grade, while dong hwan does see liwei as a good person (well, good is a subjective term specially in a place like the city) and far better at teamwork than most people in the city, in a way both value something in the other that the other never stopped to consider "hey this is actually a good thing i have"

Both characters are (pressumably?) trying to compensate over something, with liwei putting his professional and formal act to compensate for his sentimental self while dong hwan puts a strong emphasis on his high grade for... who knows, really, i just like this parallel being there because i think it adds a lot

Both have problems forming relationships, with liwei being a generally unpleasant person but being capable of forming deep, meaningful relationships with the people capable of seeing through it, while dong hwan is a charismatic guy liked by almost everyone he's met, but whose relationships tend to be shallow

Not really a personality thing but both characters have a thing for being remarkably unremarkable guys, dong hwan is obviously forgotten by most ruina playes because he's a general reception and the biggest impression liwei leaves in most players is "OH SHIT HE HAS A GUN", even though both are pretty intentionally dessigned with the intention of making them look cool however ive very rarely come across full stop or liwei fans (by which i mean people who like them particularly instead of "actually the entire pjm cast is cool and that includes them) and dong hwan fans are.... yeah, i think ive met like, 4 of them at most (thanks guys i owe you my life)

Something about their combat styles including their passives, liwei's only visible passive is called Concentration and gives him extra strenght for the first turn of a fight, after which he relies in the fact that his attacks weaken the enemy, so he comes off as the sort of guy who prefers to keep his distance and figure out the opponent's weak spot(s) (something he canonically is good at doing) to keep an upper hand at combat, however despite this he's still lacking in both strenght and technique, being only a grade 4 (which i mean let's be real the grades go from 9 to 1 and i feel like a majority of fixers are in the lower grades so he's still pretty much above average but he isnt doing all the cool shit you see the stronger characters do, because that's not the kind of character he is). On the other hand dong hwan's passives have much more cooler sounding names (Fervor, Carver of Scars, Toughness...), all of them focused on either inflicting bleed (status ailment that gradually makes the opponent lose hp)/buffing him against enemies with bleed or buffing him as he gains emotion levels, and his focus is just inflicting bleed like crazy, as well as delivering harder blows against people with bleed, prioritizing raw damage over strategy (but likely being able to figure out an opponent's weaknesses as well, brute strenght alone are most likely not enough to get you far in a world where the powerful people are INSANELY strong bc physical enhancements are commonplace)

I feel like in a way both admire each other, liwei admires dong hwan's capacity to keep a cool head at all times when at work and not letting his feelings have too much weight over his desicions, but dong hwan admires how honest liwei is about himself as well as his capacity to work in a team taking in consideration what will be best for the team as a whole even if it's perjudicial for him in particular.

In Conclusion

Your honor, two of them

#library of ruina #anon #spec-reply #this isnt probably very coherent #and probably not very exhaustive either #but i started writing this 10 hours ago and ive only stopped to eat and i barely proofread this anyway here you go anon #.🔫

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