#I hope this made sense lol

[jays-therapist]

I don't know if this a hot take or not but I really disagree with the idea that Yukio is jealous of Rin's power and physical strength? Rather, I think it's Rin's emotional strength that Yukio envies.

I have a lot to say about this lmao, so I'm just gonna put it all under the cut that way people who don't want to read this long ass analysis don't have to. Also, manga spoilers.

Blue Exorcist is a fun shonen manga because it measures strength outside of just "how hard can i punch this dude." Often, when characters talk about getting strong, they're talking about wanting to be mentally resilient; they want the ability to persevere, to be independent and face their fears/emotional turmoil on their own. Shiemi is a good example of this, I think. She constantly talks about being strong, but usually in the context of naviagting the world after living so long in isolation, and struggling to support her friends. Yes, she wants to get physically stronger, but at the core, she just genuinely wants to have a strong spirit (like a weed), and to be emotionally strong enough to help carry her friends' burdens.

Now, back to Yukio.

The biggest reoccuring theme in Yukio's jealousy is how he puts his brother on a pedestal, while constantly downplaying every good thing about himself (they both do this lol). You'll see this a lot in the examples I bring up.

There are four scenes I really want to focus on when discussing just how Yukio defines strength: his flashback in Chapter 29, his inner monologue in Chapter 37, his suicide attempt in Chapter 93, and That Time He Shot Rin in the Head in Chapter 96.

In Chapter 29, Yukio has this five-page montage of flashbacks, depicting specific moments where he felt both admiration and envy for Rin. And each of these moments highlight Rin's empathy, his care-free behavior, his kindness, his ability to inspire others, his desire to protect his little brother. Not his habit of setting things on fire.

This is important because Yukio fundamentally believes that he is not a good person. He believes he is not kind, selfless, or brave. When he, as a child, cries because he can't adopt a puppy he wanted, he's envious that Rin is just happy to see the puppy in a nice home. When his brother rushes to save him from bullies, Yukio's upset that he couldn't do it on his own, that his brother feels he is so weak he can't even take care of himself.

From Yukio's perspective, these are examples of Rin either outshining him inherently or looking down on him. No matter how strong Yukio gets, he will never not be able to feel bad for himself when the puppy is given to a different family. He will never be able to prove to his brother that he can do things on his own. He was born with this weakness and he can't seem to kill it. He can't win, and he hates it.

In Chapter 37, after defeating the Kraken, Yukio and Rin have a little heart-to-heart. Here, we see Yukio's true feelings towards Rin's claims of "surpassing him", which is that Rin already does. Yukio feels that if anyone needs to surpass anyone, it's him. He will always come up short where it counts, whenever he needs to let things go or be more empathetic. Yukio is strong of body, but weak of spirit.

So, with this in mind, when Yukio falls to his knees in Chapter 93 and says, "I was weak, and I couldn't get any stronger," he doesn't mean, "damn. wish i could've harnessed the demon power in my eyes to blow shit up." No, he's admitting defeat. He tried so hard to be strong, both physically and mentally but especially mentally, and he failed. He couldn't carry burdens like his father and brother could, like his friends could. He was cruel and cowardly. He hurt people he loved, and as long as he continues to live, he will keep hurting the people he loves.

What is strength to Yukio? It's resilience. It's taking risks. It's independence. It's Rin.

(Or at least, how Yukio sees Rin. As I've said before, he likes to put Rin on a pedestal.)

In contrast, weakness is cowering. It's waiting for someone else to solve the problem. It's hurting good people who haven't faulted you. It's Yukio.

That leads us to Chapter 96, and this---

This is kind of the crux of it all. Yukio is suffocating on his own perceived weakness and seeking to escape it. Here, Yukio is burning every bridge (the fact that this is literally taking place on a bridge is pretty ironic) that could possibly allow him to return to the Order to ensure he does what he needs to do. To be strong, he needs to be independent. To be independent, he needs to be alone. He can't let his brother solve all of his problems anymore.

So, like. Yeah. In conclusion, I think Yukio is heavily inspired by his brother's strength of character, just as much as he feels abased by it, and that's why his ideas of strength steer closer to broader concepts like bravery and self-determination rather than "let's hit the gym and summon Satan." He uses physical strength as a mask to conceal his perceived emotional weakness.

[bunji-enthusiast]

Out of curiosity, whats yer thoughts on catnap? And of dogdays friendship with him?

You have given me a chance to yap ✨

(Spoilers ahead for those not caught up with Poppy Playtime.)

Personally to go off from what I understand of Catnap, he’s more tragic to me than anything. Bro got killed and transformed, infused to what his official appearance is now.

He used to be Theodore, as you probably would know. Just imagine going through all that, just to die all over again.

Catnap is fully and willingly offered himself up to the Prototype—I think. Imagine being killed by the only person who saved you, who you thought you can trust.

Though all things considered, he’s hellishly smart, but I’m surprised he didn’t kill us in-game on the spot. He had every right to do so, instead he let us run around.

Why is that?

I mean of course he still was hunting us, toying with us for sport—but he didn’t kill us immediately. That speaks a lot on his confidence in keeping Player in line.

Rightfully so, Catnap was doomed from the start. Like nearly every other toy in Playtime Co.

…

Idk if that made any sense.

Now to elaborate on your other question, DogDay and Catnap appeared to be very good friends. Even from when Chapter 3 was still being teased, though it seemed from the start Catnap instigated a lot of things.

Even going so as far as to sever DogDay’s legs as seen in the game. From that scene alone it seemed Catnap wanted DogDay to change his mind, be on Catnap’s side and work with The Prototype.

He’s so complex I love it.

[luckyfrogtarot]

To piggyback on the previous post I reblogged it really left me thinking about my own experiences with consuming a lot of pick a cards and some personal readings I’ve done as well.

When it came to consuming pick a cards there was also a time where I was watching just about any video I could to reaffirm my choices/thoughts. I think once one gets to that point they might have to take a step back to reconsider why they’re doing this. Pick a cards are fun and I still watch them now and then. I tend to watch certain readers sporadically, mostly for the vibes they have. I think once you find readers who you feel resonate with you though, the readings can actually be accurate a lot of the time and it’s easier for you to pick out what applies to you and what doesn’t. There are a lot of tarot readers out there and not all of them are going to resonate with you so finding some that do is great. With that being said there are times where even the readers I follow post readings that I don’t resonate with and that’s ok. Remember to listen and to trust yourself on what could be for you and what isn’t.

To speak about personal readings, I have noticed that people don’t realize how profound tarot can get. Tarot serves best (imo) to answer complex questions, to delve deep to the root of a problem (with the person’s permission ofc). Sometimes love readings don’t necessarily do that. I’m not saying love readings aren’t good or that they’re all superficial because even I find them fun and some can be profound. Yet I have to agree with the post from before some people use it to reaffirm something or to hold on to someone who will no longer be there for them. I will see people who will ask me about their love life and most of the time all I can recommend is shadow work.

I knew someone who would go to so many different tarot readers to get an answer for something that she subconsciously knew. To this day I wonder how these readers channeled and answered her questions when to me answering them would’ve been something that I would struggle with. Not because I couldn’t answer them but because what higher purpose would it serve this person if I did? (Other times I genuinely just couldn’t answer). At some point this person asked me questions too and was dissatisfied when I told her what I saw because it did not reaffirm her ideas. This has happened to me with a few other people who have asked for readings. Mostly because I suggest growth for them and don’t say things will be okay if they really won’t be.

So what I think what I’m trying to get at with this rambling is if you’re caught in a loop of pick a cards ask yourself in what way will these readings serve you? Will they help you grow into your best version? If not then you can take them as just some fun readings that you’ll soon forget or an inaccurate reading that wasn’t meant for you.

Edit: I have to mention I really don’t like those readings on tiktoks the ones that are persistent and say “this message is for you” my reaction is always “nuh uh it isn’t 🤨”

-🍀❤️

[klance-daydreams]

Hi love ur blood btw, but may I ask: why no spam liking?

thank you!

i suppose spam liking shouldnt be a /huge/ problem like i wouldn't block anyone over it but just seeing that i have 60 new notifications...from one person...that liked all recent posts that are not even my own...

it's just annoying is all 🤷

[akumanoken]

What kind of attires are Souji’s favorite?

Oh goodness!! He has a few for sure!!

He's a huge fan of traditional clothing, especially in the spring when the buds start to burst. He calls it "utsukushii josei season" and so often he's out in full makeup enjoying the season.

His streetwear is definitely pastel. He's very sweet and cute when he's out and about. Whether he's dressed in a feminine style, masculine, or something in between, it's always soft and pastel as much as he can.

and if he's out on a date or like out to match with Aya he goes a bit more mature, though he will pick a soft color if he can. It's not all dark colors but this was more for the style of the dress. Aya would never deny his babe his soft colors. He especially likes when souji wears sweaters and skirts.

like this

[manlymothman]

dont mind me just thinking about silly puppet musical (aka, yet another ave q rant)

i think one thing about ave q that i dont see many people talk about is just how genuine it feels for an adult show. like, yea, theres bits that are supposed to make you laugh, but it isnt too overbearing and it doesnt take away from all the serious moments.

like, kate and princeton do actually love each other. theyre relationship was never played up for laughs and princeton sleeping with lucy was never taken in the direction of 'haha men are horrible and women are so emotional!!!' and i love that. (not even to mention how theyre both adults in a happy, loving relationship which is ALSO so rare in most popular media)

another character i like to think about is christmas eve. yea, shes sort of a stereotype (the crazy, racist old asian lady who talks way too loud) but shes also still very very human and genuine (has experienced racism herself, has a husband she argues with but loves nonetheless)

tldr: ave q is awesome because it takes its characters seriously

[femmespoiled]

What do your relationship check ins usually involve? I love the idea :)

❤️ mutual

hi, it is an amazing idea! it isn't mine though, unfortunately hehe I saw online on this account (this is a tiktok account btw), they have a whole playlist about it and I'm so glad I came across their account.

Basically, this concept is to make sure that you keep building up your relationship and that you're able to take a conscious look at it week by week and can address pertinent things, instead of letting things "fester". In that account they provide a list of questions, from them and other creators, about different relationship aspects such as relationship wellness, physical intimacy, partnership preferences, communication, life goals etc, so before you schedule a relationship check in, each of you look back at how your week (or whatever time period you decide, it doesn't have to be a week) together was and what you'd like to talk about in the check in about said week, you make a list of questions and you decided how long it'll be, our time limit right now is 30 min, then you sit down with each other and go through it. There are many nice and light-hearted questions and many serious questions so you can talk, for example, about a disconnection that might have happened, you can discuss reassurances, you can let the other know what they can do better, what you'd like to revisit etc.

This week we went for questions about appreciation and positivity, relationship wellness and communication.

In order to keep it in the time limit you kind of give more objective answers, like if you have something you want to revisit or talk more about something, let's schedule a time to go through that, I'll be ready, I'll have my notes so I know all the feelings and thoughts I want to express - because a last minute thing we can kind of get lost and get frustrated about not being able to express ourselves as well as we'd like - and focus on the list because it's kind of an overall summary of the week with points that need attention (positives and negatives), so you can talk about how you want to tackle that and when.

[ringside-rally]

22 and 30 for the music asks? 😁

Hi! Thanks for the ask!!! This is actually my second time writing this, my first draft got deleted 😭 curse you, Tumblr!! (No, but seriously, I'm so mad. That took me forever to write out!)

22 - a song that moves you forward

This one is tricky! There are many different way you could interpret the prompt. But for me, I'm choosing a song that makes me want to keep going, and do the best I can. For me, that song is "Goodbye Nostalgia" by Coda, written as an Anthology song for Noriaki Kakyoin. While i'm not a Kakyoin kinnie, I certainly can relate to his story, and the themes of "overcoming loneliness" in both his character and song.

For me, my "emerald" is also my friend. Seriously, he is the best friend I ever could have asked for. Hearing it always reminds me not only of us, but how much our friendship has improved my life. "惨めなあの僕にはもう戻らないと誓うんだ".

Listening to it is always a reminder to keep moving forward, like Kakyoin. To your goals, and ambitions. To keep improving yourself, and not looking back on your 'former self'.

"それが君に見えるのなら 僕はもう独りじゃない 絶望の帷を出て希望の意味を知るよ"

30 - A song that reminds you of yourself

When asked this question, two songs immediately come to mind. I'm the type of person who loves inserting myself in media, so it's easy to see how I can relate and also see myself in different songs, whether through lyrics, concepts, or even just the feel of the music.

The first song is called "The main character" by Will Wood. To be frank, I'm not a really big fan of will wood. However, I feel like this song is 'so me', I like it, haha. I've always been a 'main character' sort of person. Not by wanting the spotlight, or attention. More the subtle fact that I'm my own protagonist, and that I'm unique to myself. Also, I am my own favourite person, haha.

"So, God forbid I'm seen just as an average human being I mean, imagine if protagonists just died in the first scene I'm the gap between a tragedy and comedy Don't come at me I'm the main character, and you have to like me"

I think the song also represents my 'fictional' side, in a way. In real life, I'm not very sociable. I like to keep to myself, basically. However, when I imagine myself, I'm always meeting new people, super perky, super 'out there', which I think is potrayed pretty well in the song.

The other song is one pretty special to me, Brandy, by Looking Glass. As to why is kind of funny, and not at all like my other answers.

In 2020, I designed a stand for myself, named looking glass. The name was based off 'Alice through the looking glass', seeing how I was (and still am) a big fan of the franchise. However, it soon led me to finding the band 'Looking Glass', and then, Brandy. I took Brandy as my persona/self-insert name, and now, it's really grown on me. It's even my nickname! So, while I don't relate to the lyrics and theme of the song, there's no way I can listen to it and not think: "Hey, that's my song!"

"The sailors say, "Brandy, you're a fine girl" (you're a fine girl) "What a good wife you would be" (such a fine girl) "But my life, my lover, my lady is the sea"

[stinkyme]

Any headcanons for Fyodor’s past?

I think I spoke about it before, but I think that he definitely has some big mommy issues lol, either her being neglectful, dying or dying by his hand

but, I do think he probably has somebody we are yet to be introduced with, somebody who possibly led him to take a path and beliefs he did

we know he maaaybe didn't grow up religious (given irl dostoevsky who had that mind opening later in life), but inhereted religion after heavy trauma of possibly getting executed OR did grow up religious, however it was quite traumatic on its own

i also think he didn't lie in previous chapter, irl Fyodor has a book named "The Double" and it's about dual/split personality disorder + taking Dead Apple scene, I would assume he does have two people inside him that are in some sort of conflict.

Maybe he developed his other persona through trauma of his own ability to protect him or his ability itself manifested the way it did from trauma. Because we see that most abilities in BSD are trauma based and related. Aku -> coat that allows defense and offense of his fragile body, Nikolai -> probably needed versatile and flexible ability that allows him to hide things or use them when needed in order to survive, Atsushi -> a beast that manifests under a full moon, but also can be triggered when he is heavily triggered and abused.

So, my guess is, like with Atsushi - his tiger manifested on its own because it probably experiences same pain that Atsushi does. Atsushi has no recollection of it -> tiger provokes itself as a defense mechanism, wiping memory and as much pain as possible. That's probably why headmaster abused him so much, to lift the amount Atsushi can take so tiger doesn't show. But back to Fyodor -

Fyodor was growing up and being abused either in religious setting so his ability or his other persona manifested when that would happen. Or when he was almost executed, that persona took over completely. Possibly, maybe he was literally a lab rat like Chuuya since Sigma asks *what* are you, trying to hint that Fyodor isn't exactly a human being, so I think he had quite traumatic upbringing in one of three scenarios or possibly all three :)

+ he was probably in prison before or in some sort of locked environmemt given how good is he dealing w jail, bringing books and all and since he is very smart in general + learns japanese, I would assume he was doing all of that while locked up somewhere, even before jail in Yokohama

[snekverse]

when I was younger, I always assumed that MCD!Zane was a mama's boy when he was little (I think it was because he had her looks and my brain was small lol). It made the whole "Garte corrupted him cuz he was young and impressionable" thing hurt even worse (sorry if you don't want rambling in your inbox)

for sure for sure u are so correct!! they're all a bunch of mama's boys in every universe tbh, but MCD hits different. In my head (and my rewrite) Garte's like,,, awful and the kids seek out Zianna for comfort and safety whenever they can, and she always does her best for them. She sorta acts as their anchor to reality, and it'd be Garte's biggest struggle with influencing any of the kids bc he needed to separate them from Zianna, from warmth and comfort and safety and reason, and this literally only gets harder for him when the kids start dropping like flies bc then she starts holding on tighter. Zane was both the hardest and easiest to infect bc by the time Garte properly got around to weaponizing him (after Garroth and Vylad were both gone), the poor kid's mental health was at an atl which made him kinda vulnerable and impressionable but Zianna's mental health was ALSO at an atl and she couldn't bear the thought of losing her only living son!!! On some level I think adult Zane is still a mama's boy, but he's been so corrupted by the idea of duty to his nation implemented by his father as well as Zane's own goals that he's repressed that side of him.

[oseathepebble]

An Analysis of Tsukiko's School Uniform

So I was reading this post by @raven-at-the-writing-desk and it had me thinking, why does Tsukiko wear the uniform the way they do

So Tsukiko wears their uniform properly, like Vil and Malleus. Their vest and blazer lining are gray. And instead of an armband, they have a ribbon, similar to Grim’s, tied in a bow where the armband would normally go

This why wearing their uniform like this fits Tuskiko’s character:

Tsukiko is made to fit into what people want them to be, but will never truly fit in

Let me explain. Tsukiko is made to be what people need them to be. For their friends, they’re put into the therapist position, helping them overcome their past trauma and bad experiences. Though they’re willing to be in this position, it’s still not what they originally wanted. For Crowley, they hide their whole gender identity and just be a “boy” for the school’s reputation. Yes, Tsukiko is genderfluid and can identify as a guy sometimes, it causes major gender dysphoria at times. But they still do it because they are forced to fit into what other need them to be

This then extends to their uniform. Crowley gives Tsukiko a whole uniform because he wants them to fit in and be like a normal student since that’s what he wants them to be

Yet even with all of this, Tsukiko still never truly fits in

Their blazer lining and vest color are gray, which is unique to them as they’re the only (human) student who belongs to Ramshackle dorm. They don’t have an armband and instead, have a ribbon. No matter how hard Crowley tries to make them fit in, they will still manage to stand out. Being a magicless student from another world attending a school for mages, they will never fit in

This extends to their looks as well. Their hairstyle and height are average. Though they mostly fit looks-wise in with the people they grew up around and went to school with in their home world, one thing stands out about them. Their eyes. Tsukiko’s eyes are both blue and purple, unique to them

No matter what people make Tsukiko become, they will never truly fit. The uniform truly does reflect the person wearing it

[clementimetodie]

what is it about games like GTA5 and Skyrim that makes one really good in 3rd person but terrible in 1st person and the other really good in 1st person but terrible in 3rd

[theghostofashton]

What’s your view of Blaine’s parents and how that has affected him? Where does his self esteem issues come from? Is a lot of just because he’s gay and he thinks he’ll always have to pretend to be something he isn’t, to stay safe?

hi anon! thanks for the ask! these are really good questions! my answers are going to mostly be rooted in headcanons, unfortunately, bc we really didn't get much concrete info to back one interpretation over another.

i'm gonna link these two posts where i went in-depth about my headcanons for blaine's family, but to your question about how that's affected him, i've always felt like that's where blaine's desire to talk about things comes from. he needs words and that verbal reaffirmation to feel secure, and i feel like it's the result of him lacking that growing up. for example, in tested, kurt almost seems surprised that blaine is assuming he's judging his body, saying his instrument is as fine-tuned as ever, and it reads to me like something kurt has never stopped believing. he loves blaine, he thinks blaine is incredibly attractive, it all goes without saying. but if he doesn't say it, blaine doesn't believe it. that need for verbal reassurance and lack of trust without it has to come from somewhere, and i've always felt like it's a result of him being affected by his upbringing.

the frustrating thing when talking about this is that....we don't know, a lot of this. it's all headcanons and interpretations because we don't have nearly enough canon to say with certainty where blaine's self-esteem issues come from or why he has this hero complex and need to be needed, in the first place.

in the past, i've headcanoned that it comes from a fear of abandonment and of losing control of the way that others see him, and we see that in things like his relationships with his father and his brother, the way things turned out with the warblers, the events leading to klaine's first breakup, etc. there's this pattern of betrayal that blaine doesn't have any control of, that i can see messing with his head and making him feel like he has to be needed, to be loved, because if not, that love could be taken away from him at a moment's notice.

going along with my idea that his parents were absent, and kind of (unintentionally) neglectful as a result, i think a lot of self-esteem issues can also come from that. just the absence of emotional support and validation. his parents' intentions def may not have been malicious, but all this happens when he's too young to understand why they're acting the way they do. i can definitely see him internalizing blame for it, despite it not being his fault in the slightest, bc there's no one there to tell him otherwise, you know?

as for whether it's his sexuality, i would say that i don't think that's the cause, but i do think it compounds on things blaine is already feeling. in his mind, that created distance between him and his father, and there's a level of guilt he seems to internalize for not being the "ideal son" his dad wanted. (as i said in the posts i linked, we have no idea what his father actually thought, we just have blaine's interpretation, which is not reliable, so this is not me saying his dad was this huge homophobe that didn't accept him, just that blaine's perception based on his circumstances makes him feel abandoned by his dad)

[koreofitall]

okay

Anybody else think about the duration of time between their friends/s/o sneezes?

For example, my best friend/roommate sneezes in multiples and rapidly. Their fits are awesome! I'm talking between 4-9 sneezes, THEY'RE GREAT! I always tend to notice, especially because we live together, the duration between them. What I mean by that is I notice whether or not it's been a specific amount of days or weeks since I last heard them sneeze. It makes me want to hear them again 😅 fun fact, and surprisingly enough, even with their horrendous allergies, IT'S BEEN WEEKS!!!

But this doesn't just apply to them lol, I notice it with other friends too. Even co-workers!

Anyways YEP! Anyone else? Just me?

[savemefromanepicoftimewasted]

Talk Shop Tuesday: What's one goal that you're working towards and what steps are you taking to try to achieve that goal? Why is this goal something you want to achieve? <3 -@fieldsofview

yes! hi!

i'd say a personal goal is to try and actually write more. I love writing more than anything but when writers block hits, it hits and unfortunately it usually takes a lot for me to work through it. Normally i can sit down and either reread something or watch whatever piece of media the fic is based off it and it usually helps. I recently rewatched TLoU and honestly it made me want to write part two to a Joel fic i had so bad, unfortunately i was at work(my boss doesn't mind if I watch shows, as long as i do my work)so i couldn't get to my laptop and write.

so i'll use this as a way to spread some advice, if you've noticed you've hit a wall of writers block, DO NOT FORCE YOURSELF TO WRITE. what will end up happening is that you'll get stressed out and abandon the piece altogether. if you're trying to get back into the swing of things, reread, rewatch, do what you know can usually help get you into the flow of writing. if listening to a certain album helps fuel the ideas, then by all means do that. if rewatching the show/movie/game helps, do that. never force yourself to write, it'll only deter you in the long run.

[zukos-tiny-burnt-ear]

tell us more about shenzu and maiko

Oh sure, I'd love to!

So like I mentioned in the post about them, I really only made them cause I was like "I should name some of these crewmates so I'm not constantly going 'one of the crew members said/did this, etc'" cause it just gets a little wordy and redundant. Originally they were just gonna have names, and that be it, but then I went ahead and drew them cause I like designing characters lolol

And then I wanted to give them some basic personality, Shenzu being the cool one and Maiko being her goofy emotional support himbo. I think also they both sort of see Rokei as like a little sister, they like to tease her but they care about her as well.

I do get a chance for them to make an appearance in the equivalent of book 3 (I haven't gotten there yet but it's in my brain lol), and then they'll show up at the very end (and maybe a brief mention in the epilogue)

Last thing, there's this tiktok my partner showed me a while ago that made me think of them

Like imagine they're using the like catapult or trebuchet to just yeet Admiral Zhao's boots into the water

Anyway, thank you for the ask!