#I love my man who manipulated a poor teenager

[giac222]

We got spoiled (again) with the recent progress report! We now have an episode 3 preview video. Thank you Nemlei and Kit9! 🙏🏻

Teenage Andrew and Julia!! They’re so cute. I assumed we’d see them in their teen years, plus I was wondering how Julia and Andrew started dating in the first place.

This could mean something or nothing at all, but Julia’s wearing a choker… guess who else wears one? 👀

Uh oh. Well, we already knew Ashley didn’t like her… at all 💀.

Something to keep in mind: When Ashley was little she hung around Nina and Julia (bottom left picture), but my guess is the only reason they hung out with her is because they wanted to get closer to Andrew. In a previous progress report there’s a screenshot of Andrew asking them if they could invite Ashley to sit with them at lunch sometime.

When you look at the bottom left picture, they’re happy and smiling while Ashley doesn’t look too thrilled. There’s flowers around them, but when it comes to Ashley one bounces off of her head. They hung around her, but clearly left her out. Thinking about the flashback scene of Ashley’s birthday, she brings up how her friends are always busy when she asks them for anything, even when she hasn’t said a date. So yeah, Ashley wasn’t treated very good by them.

Looking at the top left picture of Ashley and Julia labeled as “friends”, we can see there that Ashley doesn’t like her lmao. In the episode 3 preview video, it was pretty obvious Julia was crushing on Andrew, hard. So, even after Nina died, Julia probably still attempted to be “friends” with Ashley to get to Andrew. I could be wrong, but Ashley probably saw through her bullshit and knew what was up. Ooo I just know she was NOT happy. Especially because she already went through something like this with Nina crushing on Andrew.

Yeah, I’m not surprised that she tweaked out when Julia and Andrew started dating.

Oh man. I think it’s safe to assume that the rumors in question are about them having an incesteous relationship. After Julia asks this, Andrew thinks to himself “(why in the ever loving fuck would she ask me this?)”. I asked myself the same thing lmao.

He says he heard about it, then Julia gets all flustered and nervous. I don’t think she asked it out of malicious intent. She also reassures him by saying that she thinks everyone knows that the rumors aren’t true, and that she wanted to let him know that in case he needed to hear it. (Technically they aren’t rumors, but that’s not the point 😂).

Now, let’s get into the most sinister part of the preview 🫣.

Holy shit 🧍🏻‍♀️. It’s time for the people who say Ashley is solely the problem to face the truth 🫣. I mean the look he’s giving her…. omg. He asked Julia out because he knew she liked him and could use that to his benefit. It’s a way to stop the rumors, so why not? Poor Julia :/.

I mean the flashback of them in his dream from ch. 2 was enough to prove to me that he never really cared about her, but now it’s right in front of our faces.

Andrew you manipulative mf 💀. I’ve always held the opinion that he’s just as bad, if not worse than Ashley is. We’re absolutely going to see this proven in ch. 3. His mask is going to fully come off.

[reyreadersblog]

My unpopular TIG opinions.

Since y'all are expressing opinions out here..who am i to leave out? Now have in mind that these are MY opinions, some of these are unpopular some of these are NOT, some of these are even underrated facts but let's just ignore that..

(Please don't hate me)

1. I DON'T CARE ABOUT EVE, and i don't want her to be with Grayson..bcs APPERANTLY and very unfortunatly there are people out there who ship Gray and Eve..crazy..i know, i really don't care about her, i already made a whole post about why i don't like her at all, she's a manipulator, she's a liar, she's a backstabber. She traumatised poor Gray and threatened Ave. I respect your opinion if you like her and i truly understand where some of you are coming from, but i just can't manage to like her, don't hate her i just dislike her. Even if she gets a redemption arc..i can't seem to understand how i'll like her character after what she has done, but if i will..."forgotten but never forgiven"

2.underrated characters, there are so many of them in this books, for example Zara Hawthorne. I love her honestly, i could never hate, i understand she may have done some wrong things...but i love her nontherless♡♡ and same goes for Alisa Ortega.

(Honorable mention) also come on, give my man Oren some appreciation he deserves, you think following teenager around is easy? Even if it's his job and he gets paid, it's still tiring..😔

3. Uhh..i am scared to say this...i prefer Nash and Alisa to Nash and Libby...WAIT, WAIT, WAIT...DON'T KILL ME YET..LET ME EXPLAIN FIRST🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻, i saw @hawthornesbiggestfan 's post, and that encouriged me to say this, read that post bcs that explains exacly how i feel. I love Nash and Libby, they're super cute, i can't wait for their wedding and think they are going to have a very happy family...but..i'm still at the restaurant😔, EVEN THO we never got to know Nash and Alisa's story, smtg about those two had me invested in them from the beggining, like imagne Alisa growing up and Nash slowly developing a tiny crush on them..young love..passion..childhood lovers...love confession..ughh, also the fact that Gray, Xan and Jamie already saw her as their family, like an older sister. Such a shame we never got to see their story. Again, i'm not saying i dislike Nash and Libby tho if it had been love triangle between Nash, Libby and Aliso...i would choose Nash and Alisa...

3.Avery is freaking underrated, yk what's sad? SHE IS THE MAIN CHARACTER, and she doesn't get enough hype (i've made a post about this too) meanwhile people are swooning over Hawthorne brothers, and yes i am one of them but i love Avery to death, i even saw someone comparing Avery and the brothers saying "oh she's so boring..Hawthorns are way better than her..blah..blah..blah" technically they were saying fuck poor people, i know for a fact NONE of the brother would last an hour from where she came from (iykyk), she's a girlboss, and a main character for a reason.

4. As much as i love Averyjameson, i have to say their story is pretty much over, We'll probably get some cute moments from them in tgg or in games untold, but they ARE NOT a main couple anymore.

5.TGG IS A NEW SERIES, please understand that it's new book series with new characters (at least most of them) stop attacking JLB, it's her books, it's her choice.

6.Lyra Kane's haters don't make sense to me, especially those one who mock, and laugh at her lovers saying "you don't even know her, i'm gonna laugh at y'all when she turns out to be Eve 2.0" uhm...sir..miss..shut it. I respect your opinion if you're a Lyra netural bcs it's true we don't know many things about her and i totally understand if you can't love her yet, but don't hate, we know we're delusional most of the times, but that's what headcanons is for, for fun, alight, let people have fun.

7. Will all due respect i have...Averygrayson shippers are...dumb..yikes..sorry, but it's the truth, i'm tired of talking about this, it's been 4 books, Avery is happy with Jamie, they're perfect for each other, their relationship status is great and Gray is most definetly getting a new love interest..but of you still ship and have faith in them..do so..who am i to stop you? Just don't be disappointed when it won't be ture.

8.i may be judging too early but Savannah and Gigi being in the game..doesn't sit right, tbh honest it'a NEPOTISM at it's finest, i love both of them so much..but..nah. again, idk for sure..it may be some trick, it's JLB after all.

9.there are too many repetitive charcter traits..Jameson and Rohan, Grayson and Savannah, Gigi and Xander, Eve and Emily, every single dad, exept for Isaiah.

10.Speaking of Isaiah, he is extremly underrated, i mean he is the best dad in the series and somehow people talk about Sheffield Grayson more than him.

Sheesh...don't kill me in the comments please, i'm too young to die🙏🏻😔

(I'll probably do a part 2...

[dum1s-writings]

Well, hello! It's nice to see an active total drama writer in here! I love this show so much and the fandom is like dead 💀

So, I had this idea...

It could be headcanons or a fic/one-shot, whatever you feel like the most!

But, what about the reaction to the TDWT crew to Chris bringing his niece with him?? Like, the reader is just a sweet 19 y/o teenager who looks for their safety and actually cares about them??? (Total contrary to his uncle lmao).

It doesn't have to be with one character specifically, most like how they would react overall to the reader wanting to protect them from Chris (AND PLEASE MAKE THE READER PROTECT CODY FROM SIERRA I BEG U)

Anyways, have a nice day!!! <3

~~~The Nice McLean~~~

I fucking love Total Drama!! I firmly believe Leshawna should've won the first season. I'll try to add my least favorite characters from World Tour to avoid being biased.

Warnings: Chris McLean, Sierra's stalker behavior, attempted manipulation from Alejandro, Duncan being kind of an ass, does Cody being a crybaby count? I'm making it count.

Pronouns: They/Them

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Alright contestants I have another surprise for you." Chris looked at the tired teens. From behind Chef came another teen. They smiled and waved to the other teens.

"Another contestant?" A few questioned simultaneously.

"Oh hell no. Their mother would kill me." Chris slung his arm around them and tugged them close. "This here is -Y/N- McLean, my nibling."

"Heya," their smile got bigger "I hope we can get along."

Everyone was too shocked to speak for a moment. Sierra was trying so hard not to flip her shit. Chris McLean's nibling was actually in front of her.

"So you're related to Chris?" Harold finally asked.

"Yeah. My mom is his sister." -Y/N- answered truthfully.

"Think of -Y/N- as a co-host. Another Chris of sorts." The older man smirked. "They'll keep an eye on you famous wannabes while I can't."

First of all we'll get the obvious out of the way, the cast fucking love you, after getting to know you. Obviously at first learning you're related to the devil host, Chris McLean, they immediately thought this season would be twice as torturous. But give them a couple of days or weeks and most of them would willingly jump from the plane for you. The others may take some time.

I'll start with the ones that take no time in becoming your fans:

Cody: for him the moment he saw you give a genuine smile was when he trusted you. Having dealt with Chris's shit for so long made him aware of a real and fake smile. Also when you demand Sierra leave him alone? Oh yeah he likes you even more now. Expect a lot of clinging, as much as he can, crying for one reason or another mostly Sierra and excessive praise for the small things.

Lindsay: my sweetheart, so pretty so.....not traditionally smart. She saw you looking super nice in your outfit and that was it. Anyone with fashion choices as good as yours are definitely trustworthy. Please become shopping buddies after the show is over.

Owen: this big lug. He really tries to see the good in everyone. More often than not he's wrong. But he's genuinely happy he's right about you.

Sierra: she knew about you before anyone else. Obviously she's going to trust you from the get go. You're related to THE Chris McLean. That trust may or may not waver...TBD. Either way watch yourself around her. Keep a close eye on your belongings.

The neutral ones who need a bit more time are:

Noah: he just doesn't trust easily. Take no offense to it. I think only Owen was lucky enough, being an actual giant ball of sunshine and stupidity. Perhaps if you sneak him some Noah-Safe food he'll trust you faster.

Gwen: poor girl has been scorned by the world so often. It's left her with a few trust issues. Maybe stick up for her and watch some good horror movies together. Reassurance is the key, she was painted as a bad guy from the beginning. Let her know she's more than that and it's okay to admit she did wrong. Help her move past that.

Leshawna: this bad bitch (lovingly) knows her worth. She wants to make sure others know it as well. Don't talk down to her and hype up her plans and ideas and she'll consider you worth her time and respect. Also keep Alejandro away from her. Please. My queen deserves better.

DJ: he's a softie and a Mama's boy. He does want to trust you. But after his failed restaurant with his Mama it might take some time. People in power never helped him or his Mama. In fact he wonders if they were sabotaged. Help him find ways to "reverse his curse" and he'll definitely trust you, also maybe offer his Mama a job as a chef, especially if it's a higher position in a private kitchen.

The ones who just straight up dislike you and take a long time to like you are:

Alejandro: his family caused him so much trauma. He doesn't trust ANYONE. He may act like it, nodding to your advice and being nice. But alas tis all a front. He's really just waiting for the perfect moment to betray you. When that time comes and goes and you're still nice to him? Yeah....you may have started chipping away at his walls.

Heather: the queen bee. The head of every group project. Highschool taught her to look out for herself. So did the first two seasons of Total Drama. She'll bitch at you and talk shit about you "behind" your back. Just brush it off and continue being nice and you'll win her over, eventually.

Courtney: the Type A Psychotic Crazies and debate team caused Courtney to believe only Courtney can help Courtney. She'll refuse to trust you and judges those who do. In fact it's not until she's kicked off will she finally trust you. Maybe meet up after the show and talk to her, she'll apologize to you and own up to her wrongdoings.

Duncan: the runaway delinquent. The hardass he is doesn't trust you, purely because of your last name. Chris ruined his life, more than he himself could have. Being stalked no matter where he went for 2 years put him on edge. Abolish Chris's stupid "must always sing" rule and his opinion on you might change.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Hopefully this works. I didn't know what to do for most of it. I was winging it big time.

[heyhellohihowareyou]

Why “Ball Game Tournament Time” is underrated as hell

BASEBALL EPISODE! BASEBALL EPISODE! Any anime that has a baseball episode in it is bound to get Hailey hooked!

And this one is about her Sugi boy! She’s all for him getting more screentime!

Out of context picture

I’m pretty sure that this was the episode that started the “Jiriki Hongan Revolution” intro (Correct me if I’m wrong) and since it’s tied as my fav AC intro, this episode gets points for starting it!

Baseball fanatic Koro is best Koro!

Anyways, did I mention I love baseball episodes because I love baseball episodes

Found a cute side character with freckles. Appreciate her NOW!

Two very good boys right here!

Kimura gets to do something! We must savor this moment while we still can!

Awww a cute Mimura!

I live for a badass Sugi boy (Even though this one is in Shindo’s head 😅)

Also, start the count for how many times Shindo looks like he’s about the piss himself

Ain’t this such a great episode! 3-E is succeeding and showing the main campus kids what’s what! Boy I sure hope no one ruins-

Bitch. Can you please stay out of my feel good sports episodes and not traumatize people at all? You’re bringing down the vibes man 😕

Well the girlies are back at least! Kind of wish we got to see them play though.

Kayano: “It’s just that the other team had huge jiggly boobs! It made me so made that I couldn’t concentrate!” Kaede sweetie you are not beating the allegations 🩷💜💙

Nothing to say except I like Maehara’s bewildered face

GAKUHOU STOP FUCKING MANIPULATING TEENAGERS FOR FUCK SAKE

I hate the man but those eyes though

Irina: “Aha! I think I get it! So you hit a ball with a stick!” Never change Irina. Never change.

Oh my god EVERYONE SHUT UP RIGHT NOW AND LOOK AT MY BOY!!!

Did I mention that I adore Sugino. Well, I ADORE SUGINO!!!

I swear to god Gakuhou doesn’t have life WHY ARE YOU HERE!?

Also, anyone else felt bad for Shindy this episode? Sure he was sort of a cocky bastard for the first part but man is he put through hell here.

Karmster using his bitch powers to good use (Yes, Karmster is his new name now)

Also this should be a meme template

I saw the glowing red eyes and my first thought was “Baki?”

Nothing to say except that I find Isogai’s little sigh cute

Bewildered Shindy

Gakuhou: “Crack a skull if need be.” Why aren’t you in jail yet?

We love Karmster’s little bitch face

Karmster: “Swing like you’re trying to kill us.” My guy is in distress

Nagisa: “That’s got him pretty shaken up.” Pretty Shaken- MY GUY IS TRAUMATIZED!

Again, poor Shindy. Like seriously get this boy some help.

I’ve caught two bright smiles in one screenshot!

Sugino: “Didn’t mean for things to get so crazy.” Shindy needs to go to therapy

Juuuust Karmster

Hadn’t mention before but I love listening to Sugi’s dubbed voice. For someone who shares a voice actor with the loud mouth that is Katsuki Bakugo his voice is nice to listen to

Sugino: “It was about being proud of my new friends. I wanted to show them off.” Sugino I fucking love you.

Welp that’s it. That was a good ass episode that we as a fandom should talk about more! It’s season 1’s version of leader time to me. In fact it’s part of my top ten favorite episodes of the series (I really need to make a list) I don’t say it that much but Sugino as a character brings me so much serotonin so watching this episode was a joy for me! Combined with the fact that I love baseball this episode was an absolute delight.

I keep forgetting how bad I feel for Shindy boy here. Like, he was just slightly cocky and he ended up getting manipulated left and right. Seriously, I wouldn’t be surprised if he ended up having nightmares about the 3-E students sniping him in his sleep or something.

Anyways, like I said. This is a good episode and we should really discuss it more. We should discuss Sugino more. DISCUSS THE BOY! <—— Barely discusses the boy in question

[angelofthepage]

Memory Joey - What is your source?

Hi I did not get my full eight hours of sleep, and I am chomping at the bit with a new thought, so prepare for a slightly unhinged Kat theory about Joey.

Last night I was chatting with my partner in crime Beth about a number of Bendy things, but one of my many takeaways from that conversation was a new angle of looking at Memory Joey. So, recently I shared that I was frustrated with the narrative shift of Henry and Allison being ink copies, because it feels like it cheapens the original BATIM and doesn't do anything to serve the Joey Drew Redemption Arc (tm) narrative. We as the player know the man has a body count. Even if you take these two characters out of the mix, he's still responsible for the deaths of multiple other characters, mostly in the books, but like, come on, the whole "I own thousands of them" comment about souls in BATIM? The coffins with secret names on them? Joey you ain't slick. We spent too long establishing that Joey used his employees for their souls across MULTIPLE MEDIUMS to suddenly throw all of that out the window, and I don't entirely buy the idea that these two aren't the real deal. Granted, it still leaves us with questions about how the ink demon works given, there was also time dedicated to establishing that he was imperfect because he's soulless, but that's for another day.

But then, last night we talked about how none of these characters know Audrey is the daughter of Drew. And if they did know that, would their reactions be different? Would they still try to help her? I'm not sure. But it got me thinking about how there's a lot of things we the player know/believe that the characters don't. And that's when it hit me.

Memory Joey's story wasn't for us. It was for Audrey.

Now, that sounds obvious, like no duh, he's talking to Audrey for the whole scene, of course it's for her. Memory Joey doesn't know we as the players exist, he's got nothing to prove to us. But hear me out: that sequence wasn't meant to give us as players new information or prove he's a changed man, we weren't the ones who were supposed to believe in it. Audrey was. He has EVERYTHING to prove to Audrey. That's the daughter of the man he came from, his precious little girl, the first time he made something with the ink machine out of love, and she doesn't even remember that he's her father. Joey Drew, throughout his lifetime, cared a lot about how people saw him. Having shoes and a suit that didn't make him look poor, appearing financially stable to investors, the nasty things he had to say when he thought he wasn't being recorded, acting like he had control when everything he knew was falling apart, Joey was always trying to keep up appearances. And while I'll believe that he can mostly let go of that with time and growth, I don't think he could deal with Audrey, his daughter, seeing him as the bad guy. Especially when she doesn't remember Joey? Trying to make a good impression, sharing that yes, he did bad things, but he wasn't all bad? That he changed? That's covering Joey's ass something fierce.

Audrey isn't aware of Joey's body count. She doesn't know what happened to his employees. How Sammy became a cultist, how Susie was mistreated and manipulated to be desperate to be Alice. The entire story of Buddy Lewek and Norman Polk. She knows NONE of it! She doesn't know what he did. She doesn't know there were so many teenagers, just a little younger than her, that DIED because of his machine. And until you get the note about the kids that came before her, she has no idea she's not the first.

I often give Memory Joey a pass, he doesn't strike me as someone who would want to lie, especially to Audrey since he clearly cares about her. He delivers his slideshow presentation so earnestly, it feels like he truly believes this is what's true. But then I'm left questioning, what is his source? Why does he believe that they're clones? But maybe...maybe he is lying on purpose. I think it could be an equal opportunity for both. Joey was a liar in life, he lied about so many things (which is frustrating when he's the one giving us most of the information we look to to figure out how the heck ink works, Gent can you please give us some notes to cross reference?). Why wouldn't he lie to appear better to his own daughter? Memory Joey making that distinction for himself, that he himself cares for how Audrey sees him and Joey, would be a really valuable detail for his character, but him not knowing and believing all the information that someone like Joey left behind for him (since I'm assuming that's where his understanding of the cycle comes from) would also be interesting for his characterization.

But here's the kicker: by introducing the idea that Henry and Allison are not truly their human counterparts, if that turns out to be untrue, you've made a grave mistake Memory Joey. Audrey doesn't know any of these people were human before they became ink. I mean maybe she can deduce that other humans are in here given Allison's whole "I remember my first day" speech, but then Memory Joey throwing this at her, Allison is a creation rather than someone who was once alive? Who's to say she'd think twice about it? Wilson treats everyone like they're just ink and not worth caring for after all. But if she finds out about the sacrifices? That many of these ink creatures were once human? Oh Broseph my dude, you are gonna have a lot to answer for, more ways in which her trust in you will be utterly broken. That is a very messy, delicate balance. I kind of want to see that. I want to see him have his world view turned on its head, learning that he was wrong about Henry, and have him genuinely not know that he was fed bad information. Let him process that, let him struggle, and let Audrey grapple with the truth too.

Yeah, I don't necessarily think Henry and Allison are clones. Inhuman, yes, but clones? I think we need more than Memory Joey's word to know that for sure. So I ask again, sir, what is your source?

[victoriadallonfan]

Mistborn: Well of Ascension Review

Is It Good: Yes

Does It Have Flaws: A lot

Is It Problematic: Sometimes

Would You Reread: No

Would You Recommend: Yes

Spoilers below

I’ve listened to positive and negative reviews of this book to help formulate my thoughts

So overall, I think there’s a great book buried underneath a slog of really repetitive material.

Brandon is great at writing a mystery, but it’s hindered by the fact that we get incredibly uninteresting scenes that just have Elend, Vin, Zane doing the same song and dance over and over again.

I was 200% more invested in Sazed investigating the Hero of Ages compared to the political drama Elend and Vin dealt with. Or Vin dealing with “wanting to wear a dress” (more on that later).

I really love how Eldritch and Sinister the cosmology is, even as I knew from Stormlight Archives what it would be. It’s handled far more horrific here in a good way compared to Stormlight, which was a letdown imo, so this was enjoyable.

I also really love Sazed’s magical abilities. Allomancy is neat, but the story points out that Mistborn are just.. so powerful they make other Allomancers feel pointless, worldbuilding wise. But Sazed’s powers are more limited while also being far more interesting in applications, so I loved that we got to see that more in depth.

Most of the characters are good, and enjoyable, even Breeze.

Now for the bad.

Breeze and Allrianne relationship is just… disgusting. I really don’t understand the purpose of having a near 40 year old man having sex with a barely legal woman who just recently turned legal iirc. Why was this added as a story beat? Why are some of the characters that aren’t Vin and OreSeur not more grossed out by it?

And no, having the “she seduces me!” reveal does not help.

Secondly, none of the antagonists are good. Sure, they are hateable, but they all lack any sort of impact. Zane is the worst because he is quite possibly the most cookie-cutter CW Bad Boy stereotype in existence, monologuing like a bad anime character about how “we are different”/“why do we listen to them?”/“they just don’t understand us” ala Lysanderoth. And he dies from the worst “reveal” I’ve ever seen; it was so cool how Vin used pewter dust to blind the Inquisitors and improvised weaponry to bypass the skill gap. Here it’s just: “Lmao I just wait to attack bypass your precog, get good”, which I’m pretty sure does not track at all with what we see in the first book (or this one).

Despite Lord Ruler having little presence in the first book, he at least had PRESENCE

Finally, the way this book handles women and skaa is just so odd. It feels as if the story/characters/Brandon treat women as having a hive mind for being obsessed with fashion; in fact, it’s part of Vins struggle that she loves dresses but can’t find the “strength” to wear them. Meanwhile, no male character obsessed over fashion nearly as much, even Breeze who admits part of his design is an act for others. Likewise, there’s no woman who thinks fashion is stupid or just indifferent.

I don’t hate the idea of Vin struggling with newfound femininity vs her own biases, but it’s just so blandly set up that I can’t feel invested.

And I will lose my damned mind if I have to hear one more “you can never understand a woman”/“teenage girls aren’t rational” comment, even from other women characters!

Also, besides Tyndl and Vin, there aren’t any really any women in power nor is that explored. Even Allrianne - who is just… meh as a character over all - has no political power without her father and she’s basically a femme fatale cliche as well. None of the Skaa have female leaders, for example.

And speaking of Skaa, those poor guys. Going from brave freedom fighters and rebellions, even prior to Kelsier, to idiots who are treated as fools who need the privileged Elend and his like to guide them all to the right answer (or they become manipulated or are in fact corrupt). I don’t even hate Elend, but the way Brandon puts him in this position is just such a shame. The story doesn’t even let him explore his ingrained classism or racism/specism for the Skaa or Kandra

Like I said, there’s a great book under all this stuff. But it’s pulled down by - in my opinion - a lot of faults that verge on problematic.

Good but it could be better

[spicedfink]

Someone posted their opinion on tophabe and I'm not going to @ them since people are apparently being weird but it did make me want to voice my tophabe take because tbh it made me feel insecure and like I needed to explain myself because they were right and so real for what they said.

My thing with (s2) episode 8 is first off I can only process parts of it at a time because that episode made me uncomfortable Second is there is one major factors I take in when thinking about tophabe and a few minor factors: The biggest thing is Joan the canon end game love interest as far as we have been shown tried to point blank kill everybody which is objectively worse. As for minor factors I'll use bullet points: - Cleo also manipulates Abe not to that degree but for longer - All the cast are kind of bad people but the show only framed Topher's actions as bad which I found weird when I really thought about it then they said Harriet was a theater kid and I stopped caring about what the writing was meant to convey - Him giving good advice first in s2e8 reminds me of how I used to give a friend of mine bad advice as a joke when they kept ignoring my real advice and for some reason they took my joke advice seriously. - Topher wasn't in the classroom with Abe so he didn't know the teacher had been hitting on him so it feels like he's just making shit up on the spot - I don't see how Topher would have seen this working. Like it shows him being right there when it starts but like how? I know it's just because the plot said so but the actual "go sleep with this gross person" seems more like a "oh Abe would never actually do that" line of thought - like it reads more as "if I can get Abe insecure he won't ask Joan out" then "Abe will defiantly go for this" (still shitty but less) - It's a cartoon and their actions are exaggerated - s2e8 was such a horribly done episode all around that I can't do anything other than cherry pick it - poor mental health is hardly an excuse but man do I believe his therapist isn't doing him any favors (which is why I have his change therapist in my fanfics) - The fact they're still shitty high schoolers meaning they all have the most room for growth and I'm projecting my own journey of because and actual good person and figuring out my sexuality onto him (obviously wasn't his level of shitty but I said dumb shit and did weird emotionally charged things thanks to how I was raised and poor mental health) - Episode 1 of season 2 Topher got the t-rex arms so I attached myself to his character right then and there ("he's autistic just like me") - I like happy things. The show gave a character who they made clear was suppose to be disliked and bullied for being horrible and didn't show him do anything actually that bad until episode 8 out of 10. And before that ranges from normal weird teenager things he'd logically grow out of, trying too hard to be socially accepted and being mentally ill??? Like no. No I'm personally not going to think this character is a horrible person incapable of growth... And this is why my serious non one sided tophabe headcanons are all for when they are older because I really think Topher would, you know grow up and regret his past actions. Also since I see Topher as queer: internalized homophobia and the such are a bitch (speaking from experience)

I don't actually have a good reason for why Abe would like Topher back past I just think it'd be fun. If Abe gets with Joan and is friends with Cleo I think he should still be friends with Topher though

[allfillernothriller]

Welcome to Unhinged Hours, a series of posts that will be tagged as such in which I will overshare my cringiest and most awkward thoughts because I've no self-control over my need to vent. And who knows. Might help someone else.

Don't mind the dubious syntax and weird grammar.

[cw brief mention of abuse]

When I was 17-19, I was mortified to discover I was attracted to (much) older people. During my early twenties, the majority of my crushes were in their thirties. I knew the age gap was too big and I was too young, so I did nothing about them and naively thought this was something that would fix itself with time. I thought "at least I know I find people in their thirties attractive so I just have to wait to reach mine and date people my age then" (lmao good one past me). Well. As I'm inching ever closer to said thirties, it's more and more evident that the issue clearly did NOT fix itself, those old crushes are nearing their forties and I haven't stopped carrying them in my heart. They're attractive in new ways. When I look at pics from back when I first developed a crush, I find that my current 27yo self isn't physically attracted to their 32yo self I was originally attracted to anymore. And I know for a fact that 21yo me wouldn't have found 38yo [redacted] hot. But current me is still attracted to current them (38yo [redacted] is indeed very hot). And you might wonder what's the issue here, so lemme tell you. I've been frequenting online feminist spaces for a decade. I've read countless accounts of teenage girls and young women who were manipulated and abused by older partners. I've read an inordinate amount of warnings, the gist of all of them being “don't date older folks during your formative years, don't believe them when they call you 'mature for your age'”. And let me be crystal clear — I still think it's relevant and infinitely important to relay those accounts and protect girls and young women, and help them spot red flags and predatory patterns. It absolutely is, I am not blaming feminism for my existential struggles. I am simply giving you context. The thing is, I've internalised this as “don't ever pursue older folks, period” (which is a completely different thing, I knew that then and still know it now but couldn't help it) and as a result I've been lugging around self-inflicted guilt and shame for years (and don't I love the internalised biphobia that adds to it when the person happens to be a man /s). And these crushes I've been telling you about? They're one-sided! They've never expressed any interest, so that's always been a safe situation for me, but did that prevent any self-loathing from taking root in my brain? Course it didn't! I can't seem to shake the feeling that there's something wrong with me and I've grown tired of this. Scolding myself over human emotions is getting fucking old.

That brings me to today's crisis — at which point in one's life does it get easier to accept? How old is old enough to stop caring about the age gap? When will I stop blaming myself? How do I drop the guilt?

Because if it was "just" the fact that I'm still swooning over the same people (who are now soon-to-be 40), that would be too easy, wouldn't it? But nooo I just had to go and get a new crush on someone who's already in their forties. Where does this end, please?

(You might've noticed that the overuse of the word 'crush' and choosing to focus on the physical aspect of attraction here is a poor attempt at a euphemism. I mean some of them are simple crushes, as for the others... past a certain point, still calling them crushes is just denial on my part. I'm basically fooling myself.)

“This is a crisis. A large crisis. In fact, if you've got a moment, it's a twelve-storey crisis with a magnificent entrance hall, carpeting throughout, 24-hour porterage and an enormous sign on the roof saying 'this is a Large Crisis'.” (Blackadder Goes Forth, ep. 6)

[xjulixred45x]

I want to hear your pure an unadulterated thoughts on Emperor Belos. Just want to hear your two cents on that guy

**crack my fingers** MY TIME HAS COME

I am going to say that first of all, Belos is a GREAT CLASSIC VILLAIN, he is irredeemable, he does HORRIBLE acts for SELFISH reasons and in general he is a bad person, but they also allow us to know his motives, his history and how he became what he is. now (although we never got to see it in its entirety IN THE SERIES thanks to the clipping--I DAMN YOU DISNEY).

I really like him as a character, his design as an emperor is GREAT (apart from the fact that the symbolism is good that he has pure light tones in his cape but in his underwear they are dark tones, like the character's intentions with the witches who appear to be good but they are much more vile than he lets on), his first appearance as an old cuchi is deceptively pleasant, and FOR THE LOVE OF GOD, I LOVE HIS MONSTER DESIGNS, THEY ALL REPRESENT VERY WELL THE CRAP THAT HE IS INSIDE. ESPECIALLY THE ONE AT THE END OF THE SECOND SEASON.

Although I definitely think that what I liked most about the character would be his historical accuracy and how that ends up being related to his origin story.

the story with his brother is sad- BY CALEB! Obviously, I'm not saying that he didn't screw up by not talking to Philip at the time or taking him with him, but probably Caleb (similar to him) was trapped in the Boiling Isles and didn't abandon him on purpose. We do not know if he had any intention of returning or how much he tried to do so, precisely because Philip did not care and was convinced that his brother (who loved him with all his soul and RAISED him) had abandoned him.

I like the theory that Philip tried to kill Evelyn first, because at that time it was very common to believe that women "tempted men and incited them to sin" and that if he killed her her brother would return to him, BUT OBVIOUSLY CALEB WOULD NOT LET HIM KILL HIS PREGNANT GIRLFRIEND.

AND YET BELOS HAS THE CHANCE TO BLAME HIM FOR HIS DEATH, SAYING THAT "HE WANTED TO SAVE HIS SOUL" (a very puritanical and timely thing to do, since of course the church did not kill bad people, noooooo, they were SINNERS who went against God, if they killed someone innocent they were giving them ✨the gift of eternal paradise✨ and other shit).

He is someone UNABLE to accept the blame for his actions, so he ends up blaming EVERYONE for what happened to him, the witches, the islands, his brother, everyone BUT HIM, the one who killed him and the reason why is in this shithole.....

However, he has a great ability to manipulate the situation to take control and benefit. Philip is a writer, it is much easier for him to see himself as the hero of the story instead of the vermin he is, thanks to this he can invent Belos.

He has such an exceptional capacity for manipulation that he Gaslighted all the Boiling Islands where he could talk to the titan (the equivalent of god in the series), to follow his system of covens by the "will of the titan" causing them to stop doing things. something that was IN HIS NATURE and on top of that they proclaimed him EMPEROR.

This man has the will to do HORRIBLE things in order to stay in power and remains powerful, he feeds on Palismanes, he mutilates his body to make magic, he has irreversibly damaged people with sigils/he has killed them, CLONO A HIS BROTHER AND KILLED HIM THOUSANDS OF TIMES.

HOLY SHIT- HUNTER MUST BE THE LONGEST GRIMWALKER EVER AND HE'S JUST A TEENAGER!!! AND IT IS SURELY BECAUSE BELOS LIED TO HIM ABOUT UNITY DAY. without counting his good share of EMOTIONAL MANIPULATION, PHYSICAL AND PSYCHOLOGICAL VIOLENCE and other things that this poor child had to face living with Belos.

and that he was the most similar to Caleb...

Also, the way he manipulated Luz, a 14-year-old girl, into believing that it was HER FAULT what she had done by "helping" him find the Collector? AHHHHHHGGGG I hate him SO MUCH BUT HE IS SO IN CHARACTER AND WELL BUILT HGGAAAAAAA----

In general, Belos is a TERRIBLE PERSON and human being in general, but an EXCELLENT villain who ended up as he deserved, being trampled and begging for salvation in a pathetic way :)

______

MIS PENSAMIENTOS SOBRE BELOS

voy a decir que primero que nada, Belos es un GRAN VILLANO CLASICO, es irredimible, hace actos HORRIBLES por motivos EGOISTAS y ek general es una mala persona, pero tambien nos permiten conocer aus motivos, su historia y como se convirtio en lo que es ahora(aunque nunca llegamos a verlo completo EN LA SERIE gracias al recorte--TE MALDIGO DISNEY).

Me gusta mucho como personaje, su diseño como emperador esta GENIAL(aparte de que esta bueno el simbolismo de que tiene puros tonos claros en su capa pero en su rop interior son tonos oscuros, como las intenciones del personaje con las brujas que aparentan ser buenas pero son mucho mas viles de lo que deja ver), su primera aparición como viejo cuchi es engañosamente agradable, y POR EL AMOR A DIOS, ME ENCANTA SUS DISEÑOS DE MONSTRUO, TODOS ELLOS REPRESENTAN MUY BIEN LA PORQUERIA QUE EL ES POR DENTRO. SOBRETODO EL DEL FINAL DE LA SEGUNDA TEMPORADA.

aunque definitivamente creo que lo que mas me gustó del personaje seria la exactitud historica que tiene y como eso se termina relacionando con su historia de origen.

la historia con su hermano es triste- POR CALEB! obvio, no digo que el no metio la pata al no haberlo hablado con Philip en su momento o llevarlo con el, pero probablemente Caleb (de forma similar a el) quedó atrapado en las Islas Hirvientes y no lo abandono a propósito. no sabemos si el tenia intenciones de volver o cuanto intenti hacerlo, justamente porque Philip no le importaba y estaba convencido de que su hermano(que lo amam con toda el alma y lo CRIO) lo habia abandonado.

me gusta la teoria que dice que Philip trato de matar a Evelyn primero, porque en esa epoca era muy comun creer que las mujeres "tentaban a los hombres y los incitaban a pecar" y que si la mataba su hermano volveria con el, PERO OBVIAMENTE CALEB NO DEJARIA QUE MATARA A SU NOVIA EMBARAZA.

Y AUN ASI BELOS TIENE EL DESCARO DE CULPARLO POR SU MUERTE DICIENDO QUE "EL QUERIA SALVAR SU ALMA"(una cosa muy puritana y en epoca de hacer, ya que claaaaro que la iglesia no mataba malas personas noooooo, eran PeCaDoReS que iban en contra de dios, si mataban a alguien inocente le estaban dando ✨el regalo del eterno paraiso✨ y demas mierda).

es alguien INCAPAZ de aceptar la culpa de sus acciones, por lo que termina hechandole la culpa a TODOS por lo que le paso, a las brujas, a las islas, a su hermano, a todos MENOS A EL, a quien lo mato...

sin embargo tiene una gran capacidad de manipular la situación para tomar el control y verse favorecido. Philip es un escritor, le es mucho mas facil verse como el héroe de la historia en vez de como la sabandija que es, gracias a esto se puede inventar a Belos.

tiene una capacidad de manipulación TAN EXCEPCIONAL que Gaslighteo a todas las Islas Hirvientes en que el podia hablar con el titan(el equivalente a dios de la serie), que siguieran su sistema de aquelares por la "voluntad del titan" haciendo que dejaran de hacer algo que estaba EN SU NATURALEZA y que encima lo proclamaran EMPERADOR.

este hombre tiene la voluntad de hacer cosas HORRIBLES en pro de mantenerse en poder y seguie siendo poderoso, se alimenta de Palismanes, Mutilo su cuerpo para hacer magia, ha dañado de forma irreversible a la gente con los sigilos/los ha matado, CLONO A SU HERMANO Y LO MATO MILES DE VECES.

SANTA MIERDA- HUNTER DEBE SER EL GRIMWALKER MAS LONGEVO DE TODOS Y ES SOLO UN ADOLESCENTE!!! Y DE SEGURO ES PORQUE BELOS LE MENTIA SOBRE EL DIA DE LA UNIDAD. sin contar su buena parte de MANIPULACIÓN EMOCIONAL, VIOLENCIA FISICA Y PSICOLOGICA y demas cosas que este pobre niño tuvo que afrontar viviendo con Belos.

y eso que era el mas parecido a Caleb...

tambien, la forma en la que manipulo a Luz, una niña de 14 años, en creer que era SU CULPA lo que habia hecho al "ayudarlo" a encontrar al Coleccionista? AHHHHHHGGGG lo odie TANTO PERO ESTA TAN EN PERSONAJE Y BIEN CONTRUIDO HGGAAAAAAA----

en general, Belos es una PESIMA PERSONA y ser humano en general, pero un EXCELENTE villano que termino como merecia, siendo pisoteado y rogando por salvacion de forma patetica :)

[sallyastral]

I received this comment under this post. I admit I oversimplified what I wanted to say, so I think it might be interesting to answer more specifically also taking into account my knowledge of psychology, which I am still studying in high school.

First of all, I never said that the relationship between Miles and Gwen could be abusive or manipulative: I rather think that, due to their traumas and their poor management of emotions (especially on Gwen's part, who is still clearly hurt by Peter's death), they would unconsciously hurt themselves psychologically. A manipulative relationship is made up of a stronger subject and a weaker one, where the first is able to apply his supremacy over the other, but this does not seem to be the case at all.

I also think that the one who would suffer the most after the events of ATSV is Miles, for multiple reasons. First of all, it seems that many underestimate his trauma: remember that Miles witnessed two murders in one day at the age of 14, and had to cope with the loss for a year and a half completely alone. While Gwen had Jess and then Hobie to help her cope, Miles couldn't tell anyone about his identify or the fact he literally saw his uncle get shot. It was also confirmed by Sony, with the announcement of the release of a short film focused on this, that Miles suffers from panic attacks so strong that they give him actual hallucinations.

The only hold Miles had was Gwen, the only person who, if she had been there, could have understood what he was going through. And although many (the film itself does so) romanticize his obsession with Gwen, trust me when I tell you that from a psychological point of view it is a very bad sign: it is a symptom of dependency.

As I already mentioned, Gwen too is still hurting and coping, helped a bit by Hobie's company, she's still not ready. Her speech about Gwen Stacy falling in love with Spider-Man and everything going shit was her way to tell Miles "I'm not ready, because I'm afraid I'll fuck up everything."

They are two teenagers coping with massive losses in their lives with no psychological help.

And as we saw in ATSV, Miles was even more hurt and traumatized by what happened, abruptly destroying his obsession for Gwen. The whole Spider Society thing is far from being even half solved actually, it just started, and Miles will probably hardly forgive Gwen for what she did.

But if he did forgive her easily and he reverted back to his old self (thing I hope doesn't happen because it would just erase Miles' growth), realistically, their relationship would become codependency, which is a relationship in which neither partner is whole in themselves, but together they sort of mesh into a single, functional unit. These relationships are uncommonly stable, while they last, because each partner needs what the other provides, and outwardly the relationship can seem healthy and happy, but the longer it persists, the more the dysfunctions become apparent.

In conclusion: I don't think they'd work now, but maybe in the future, healing from their losses and traumas, they could actually work. Just not in BTSV and the immediate future.

To reference another comment I got under the same post no, I don't think two people with issues can't stay together. They can, if their relationship doesn't end up in codependency. Issues or not, codependency is always unhealthy.

[thricedead]

are u into svsss bcoz i've been meaning to ask someone who knows: what the fuck goes on in there question mark

I would not say I'm into it because it rests extremely low on my danmei rankings list, but I did read it (and own the oficial english TLs)...

Brief plot summary: Shen Yuan, a fan of male power fantasy xianxia webnovels reads a novel that it so intensely bad and insufferable it causes him to suffer a stroke (?) and die on the spot. He ends up isekaid into that very webnovel, reborn in the body of the protagonist's extremely bad tempered and violent shifu, Shen Qingqiu. At that point, the protagonist Luo Binghe is still a somewhat scatterbrained and puppy-eyed young teenager, but Shen Yuan/Qingqiu is aware that Luo Binghe will later end up a hardened and ruthless man who rises to power as emperor, kills his abuser (IN THIS CASE SHEN YUAN HIMSELF) and goes on to rape thousands of women and kill thousands of men. With the help of an inexplicable deus ex machina system of instructions, Shen Yuan realizes that he has to change the plot of the novel and raise Luo Binghe into a kinder man to evade his own death. He starts treating Luo Binghe with some basic human decency and gentleness, but this causes the boy to fall obsessively in love with him. Luo Binghe turning gay fucks up the novel hierarchy and throws the story off course, the characters exit stasis and the story begins evolving changed by Luo Binghe's ardent affection, and Shen Qingqiu's reluctant reciprocation once they reunite after Luo Binghe grows up. The plot itself and the background characters failed to be really original and intriguing compared to MXTX's following two works, so I'll skip through the majority of it unless you or anyone is REALLY interested in order to address the truly unsavory romance that really sullies my very beloved concept of "metafictional awareness alters the course of the story" that I wrote abt both academically and privately. Binghe/Qingqiu is a really grating relationship even for a reader like me who can stomach a lot in terms of unsavory BL, since Binghe has an extreme teacher/student kink and that sort of play (which I find mortifying as a victim of teacher SA I'll be real) extends thruout their encounters and well into their marriage, but I also hesitate to blame the older Qingqiu for this dynamic because he is more or less just constantly being assaulted and harassed and having sex acts he doesn't enjoy performed on him. Book 4, or the collection of extra side stories, is pretty much just Binghe assaulting Qingqiu in 1000 ways and it's supposed to be cute because Qingqiu doesn't hate it as much as before LOL. I would have been sick to my stomach reading it if MXTX's quality of writing at the time were not really poor and flowery in a way that reads as hilarious, one can only read about Binghe's meteorite-hard pillar of jade finding a hidden jewel within Qingqiu's hidden cavern so many times before becoming desentisized and just liveblogging it on tumblr for 3 likes.

Despite it all I don't regret giving this pillar of western danmei enjoyment a read because it offers a solid BG for critical analysis of MDZS and TGCF, novels which I enjoyed as leisurely reading significyntly more. "SVSSS is a parody" was uttered in its defense too many times to count, but I fail to see how that statement holds water considering it was (at least in western danmei circles) taken very nearly completely at face value, and considering that equally absurd and discomforting sexual power dynamics are very present in MDZS and TGCF. Looking at MXTX's entire opus its kind of insane how much of her pussy she put into putting that Enstars post thats like "if the younger person manipulates and abuses the older person in the couple, is it still a problematic age gap?" Into practical action LOL bizarre woman

[thepoetsvortex]

Lupin rant by request- he gaslights Snape calling him “Severus” like they’re friendly. Then he has the nerve to pull that boggart stunt to humiliate him while Snape is brewing his wolfsbane potion, which he puts off drinking. What is his problem? Being a werewolf is the worst thing to happen to him but he’ll gladly put the students at risk. Who cares how Sirius sneaks into the castle, who cares if he made it inside the Gryff dorm with a knife, Lupin wants to keep his job because his comfort matters more than the safety of children. Bleh.

Thank you so much lovely anon this was some A+ insight

There really are very very few people in the book who are ALLOWED to call Snape, Severus. That’s Lily Evans, Albus Dumbledore, and Narcissa Malfoy. I mean, and probably his mother, but that’s IT. Lupin is totally violating his very clear boundaries here (yet again) and part of me wonders if this isn’t for Harry’s benefit at least in part because he makes it seem like “oh Harry, look how wise and mature I am. I don’t hold grudges, unlike someone *eyes Snape* and this definitely makes me, the calm, repentant one, more trustworthy than the man who referried a Quidditch match and actually cursed someone sharing a body with the Dark Lord to save you, when I have done no such thing.” It’s manipulation and it’s nasty.

And don’t even get me started on his calling Snape’s justified anger about 7 years of literal abuse “a schoolboy grudge” 🙄

The Boggart incident wasn’t funny as you well know- it was sexist and overall, if he’s trying to get on Snape’s good side, a really really bad idea. Snape is canonically sexually humiliated and demeaned more than any other character. First by Petunia, then by James Potter. And now- now it happens again as an adult in front of his own students and in the same place where he already has so much trauma. All because of Remus Lupin. No one can defend how Snape treats Neville, and it should be addressed, but not this way (canonically it hurts Neville too because it just makes Snape even more mad).

Yeah why does Lupin put off drinking the potion anyway? We never really get a clear answer on this. The first time he waits until Snape leaves so he can intimidate him. He even makes Severus bring it to him, which is just 😡😡😡 What is his problem indeed. Moony certainly seems to be on a good old power trip at the moment. Except, you know, the lives of children are involved but who cares about that am I right.

R.L.’s relationship to his lycanthropy is so weird. Usually he’s all “woe is me” about it, because no one could ever understand, and he’s a monster, poor baby. He knows how to gain undeserved sympathy more than anyone in the series. Then the rest of the time he’s like, endangering Hogsmeade villagers from the time he’s a teenager, running around with animagi thus violating the ONLY condition of his schooling, forgetting his potion- which almost has deadly consequences- and, of course, let’s not forget nearly abandoning his wife and unborn baby because he MIGHT share the same condition (as if you dolt).

Oh it’s worse than that anon. Lupin doesn’t just want to keep his job. He wants to keep Albus Dumbledore’s trust. He wants to keep him out of the loop and in the dark. Right now, he’s got DD wrapped around his little finger and he can’t loose that. I fully believe if he could give up Sirius without exposing his own school day crimes, he would 100% have done it in a heartbeat. Nothing is more important to this man than Dumbledore’s trust and affection. Which ironically, is a trait he shares with Snape who has a much better claim on Albus. Then also, the fact that Dumbledore doesn’t try to keep Remus at the end of POA shows us Lupin lost this trust anyway (there’s some irony for you). So good job I guess?

Anyway, I really love Remus as a character because he is so beautiful and complex and there’s so many layers and I hate reducing him to sad bookworm who would never hurt a fly.

Thanks for indulging my request! What a great ask! I can’t wait for more 😀

[ravencromwell]

For the character ask game, Athos Dane: 7, 10, and 20.

7. A quote of them you remember: "No one suffers as beautifully as you." And before everyone starts laughing at my terrible cliche—it is terribly cliched, I would pair it with "My plaything is dead". The no one suffers as beautifully as you comes just after Athos's interlude with Beloc where Beloc tried, and did real damn good for a teenager, to be defiant, but eventually answered Athos's questions about his name etc. without yet having the Soul Seal on. Contrast this to Athos's "Sing for me, Holland" in ACOL, which Holland refuses to do.

Yes, Beloc is undoubtedly fun, but fundamentally, he knows how this game is going to go. The fact that Holland still has defiance, after seven years, seems to just fucking enthrall Athos. He makes Holland fill the blood goblets partially just to fuck with Kell, but also for that flicker of rage and humiliation Kell notices as being so out of character. Fundamentally, he doesn't know when Holland will give him the last scrap of power, and that's what keeps him coming back.

But any love or fascination or what have you is utterly gone once Holland is no longer a spectacle: my plaything, he says, in his own pov while talking to his sister. He feels "annoyance at his servant's incompetence" The one time he mentions Holland by name, it's to tell Kell how he and Holland are fundamentally flawed when compared to Athos.

Everything this man did for seven fucking years around Holland was either about furthering his goals or getting some kind of reaction, be it in his choice of conversation topics or experiment subjects.

Holland has a line that is so fucking sad to me in that context in ACOL where he says he never screamed if he could help it, out of the quixotic hope if Athos didn't get a reaction, he'd just kill him already. There's something so fucking tragic I don't have words for the fact that Holland's refusal to stop being a person, at least in small ways, and even the ways he tried to provoke Athos, were so much of what made him interesting enough to never let fade into the background as a particularly useful pair of hands. Because as we see with essentially sending Beloc out as canon fodder, and again with the dismissive "my plaything" comment after Holland's dead, once there's no longer potential for interesting power dynamics, he's bored moving on. 

10. Describe the character in one sentence.: "Intelligence has never tempered my desire. It merely ensures I take what I wish without consequence."—Athos Dane, to his hypothetical biographer, poor bastard.

20. A weird headcanon:

He may have learned to read on the coast primarily to sniff out magic, but when he arrives at the castle, he finds he quite enjoys books outside of magic. Vortalis was a military histories fan, which Athos "journey of the battle" absolutely fucking devours for the play by play.

Astrid likes the White London version of Caesar: careful, methodical, only moving when the field was to his advantage.

Athos, though, it's the underdogs. The White London Hannibal bringing his elephants in what everyone called folly; the Lord Caradoc/Caratacus resisting a much larger force. Just _immensely his jam.

And once he got started, he wanted more of anything Holland thought might rouse his interest. I don't think the Danes had any _reason to go to Grey London, but I suspect that by God, if the Mareshes Antari could go, they sent Holland there on the semiregular (I will play with the toys, too!) One of the things Grey had neither Red nor White did was a thriving fiction culture. And if you're one Holland Vosijk, who wants to be able to bring back some escapism for yourself, you'd better be prepared to bring back gifts.

Which leads me to: Athos Dane, sometime Shakespeare fan and more often critic.

1. Huge, huge fucking fan of Iago. Iago knows how to properly manipulate some people. (Except of course, as is the problem with so many people, he got squeamish in the end. If he had killed the messengers from Venice when they found him in the alley, he would never have needed to kill his wife and certainly never have been tortured and executed. But Iago pre–Othello Act Five: _spectacular.

2. Huge Richard III fan—likes all the histories, honestly. But that "winter of our discontent" monologue: gets him _every time. Richard, now there's a man who knows how to embrace being hated. (Though that he cares at all about fool's opinion of him just demonstrates he lacked an Astrid. Without that one person for unconditional affection and non-judgment, he could only embrace it so far.

3. Hamlet completely cracks him up in an awful way. Or rather, the ways in which Holland and Hamlet's desire for revenge mirror one another. "You thought you were Hamlet, coming down that hall and did not understand we were not his foolish uncle!"

4. The rest of it: Romeo and Juliet, the comedies, most of the other tragedies, just _trash. Characters too weak to dominate the way they should or unrealistic ("blood never denies blood what they want" he says of the Capulets etc. smiling beatifically at Astrid.

5. Astrid has the copy of Titus Andronicus. Major Queen Tamora fangirl "We shall serve the Arnesians their royals in pie," Athos says, when Astrid sighs over missing their opportunity with Holland.

Athos is very theatrical, has a multitude of ideas for how to stage the Shakespeare sets with magic when they take Arnes, and is very keen to read other plays.

[imruination]

I get what you are trying to say but Darkling did not love Alina. He loved her power. He saw not value in her as her own person. Yes, the Darkling and Alina’s dynamic is complicated but it’s not supposed to be seem as a “romantic undertone” is abuse, is gaslighting, is a man using his power on a vulnerable teenager. The OP was asking the right questions. That phase should NOT be romanticized because it’s pure evil and disgusting. It should not be interpreted as “grey”. Abuse is abuse. There’s not layers to consider, especially coming from the darkling. This is a years old being that has mastered the arts of manipulation, not a teenager or a simple person.

** TW ABUSE**

Hi nonny. Not gonna lie, the first thing I did when I read this ask was laugh because I spend every day trashing the darkling as a person, and suddenly I’m defending him? What is happening? It’s much more complicated then that though. I’m gonna link you to this post if you’re interested because I think it’s very relevant.

I want to start this off by saying that if I say something that comes across as controversial, I am speaking from my own personal experience with abuse in real life, and not because I think the darkling is an innocent baby.

I mentioned liking the romantic undertone of d/arklina in the books BECAUSE it was very problematic. One of my favorite themes in Shadow and Bone is power and corruption. If Mal represents Alina’s old life, and her tether to humanity, then the Darkling is the opposite. He is immortality and unlimited power no matter the cost. It’s a complete disconnect from the average human population, from little poor orphan girls. I like that the darkling manipulates her, and attempts to seduce her because that’s what power does. Absolute power corrupts absolutely. It tricks you into wanting more and more until you’ve crossed a line that you weren’t even aware was there.

I personally don’t believe in the idea of “pure evil” in real life, and by extension realistic characters. I think ideals can be evil. Behaviors can be evil. I do not believe humans are born evil, and whatever behaviors they are exhibiting are likely something they have learnt from the world around them. Does that make the behavior okay? Of course not. They are still a person though.

In real life I completely understand why it would be comforting to view something like abuse as very black and white, and it’s really not my business how someone deals with something that traumatized them. For myself though, one of the hardest lessons I’ve had to learn in my life is that abusers aren’t evil, they’re just people. If there are no layers, and the abuser is just inherently a bad person, I am not holding them accountable for all of the choices they have repeatedly made.

I have to disagree, I think the Darkling did love Alina. I believe he yearned for nothing more than an equal and a companion. The hero to his monster, without which neither could be complete. But what he was yearning for was a lie.

I like Baghra’s quote on this being “Know that I loved you, know that it wasn’t enough.” She learned how to love from a toxic family, and a toxic environment towards all people like her. Aleksander learned to love from Baghra. You can love someone and still abuse them. You can love someone and try an control them. You can love someone and choose power over them.

It’s all very ironic. Love can be toxic and all consuming to an unhealthy degree, and that’s the very thing that lead to the Darkling’s downfall. I don’t see this as romanticizing abuse (again from someone who’s been through it). Real people are grey. He should have wants and goals and feelings as a character, that doesn’t mean he’s even redeemable. It’s tragic.

The darkling wasn’t able to stop the cycle of generational trauma and violence. He was once a young boy who wanted love and equality. He grew into a centuries old man who abused those around him to meet his goals. He perpetuated violence.

But who does succeed in breaking that cycle? Alina. Like it or not, the entire point is that she could eventually grow into the mirror image of the Darkling. It’s all about individual choices. She does not have to return the darkling’s love and team up with him just to make herself look brighter. She does not have to risk it all for power. She does not have to throw every part of that little orphan girl away until she’s unrecognizable. But she so easily could. And that’s terrifying.

Mercy is at the end of the day, Alina’s true super power. She does see that scared little boy inside of Aleksander, and that’s a good thing!!! Not so she can be in love with him and live behind some white picket fence, but so she won’t repeat his mistakes. She sees the darkling as a human just like everyone else. If she didn’t, I think that might be very bad for everyone.

[slightlyrebelliouswriter23]

I think everyone dogs on Taryn because this is Jude’s pov. We get an insider look into how much she’s hurt and that it’s coming from her own twin. But if Jude can break bread then the taryn’s haters should to. If they dislike taryn as a person, they need to take that hate up with the man who made her the she is: Madoc.

I also have a head cannon that in the future Jude and Taryn continue to grow as people, now that they can finally get out of the constant survival mode. I think they grow closer the older they get.

you're absolutely correct, nonnie.

i think people will be shocked to find out how Taryn-neutral i am. despite everything i've said to defend her, my thought when finishing the series for the first time was exactly that: if Jude can forgive her, then we should be able to, as well. it was a very simple, no bells-and-whistles forgiveness. i think Taryn is extremely interesting, i think her character is poised and ready for a beautiful arc, but i wouldn't trust her as far as i could throw her.

also, i've said this before and i will say it again: Madoc getting every single exemption and grace from the same people who condemn Taryn to shame on main is some kind of bullshit.

the mental gymnastics you'd have to do to say that the dude who continuously tries to manipulate Jude and her actions for his own gain, who continuously patronises/underestimates her throughout the series, and who straight up murdered her parents in cold blood in front of her cos he felt slighted, is more redeemable than a teenage girl who was 1) just trying to survive in a cutthroat world and 2) honestly was just doing what Madoc told her to do? would be laughable if it weren't so damn sad.

this isn't to knock on Madoc, either. i think he's a fantastic villain, an extremely fascinating character, and i love the dynamic between him and Jude. but there's no denying he's done some straight up reprehensible things to all of his daughters. and the lengths some people will go to defend him while at the same time tarnishing Taryn's name is wild to me.

now, i'm not saying people can't dislike a character just because. Taryn is Not a likeable character. so if your opinion of her is "she's just not for me", i think that's valid.

what i am saying, however, is Not Liking Things to the point where you make hate posts using main fandom tags, send people asks demanding they defend why they like a certain character, start discourse in the comments of posts celebrating the character you dislike, is the antithesis of fandom.

fandom is meant to be a joyous celebration of the fictional worlds/characters/things we love. if you don't like something in fiction, that's fine. but the moment you make your poor opinion of something other people's problem is the moment i take issue.

–Em 🖤🗡

p.s. i love and agree with your HC. i think that is an accurate representation of irl sibling dynamics, as well.

In Defence of Taryn Duarte

more theories/analysis/opinions

[arcplaysgames]

yeah because Mitsuo is not the killer, I know this, you know this, we all know this

if finding a fake killer gets me tuna tho i'm in, i'll frame a man every day, i don't care

WAIT WAIT THE STORYBOOK FROM THE SUN LINK IN P3P GOT PUBLISHED? Man its a dark children's book. Beautiful but nihilistic. You know the kids who read that are going to have a lot of difficult questions their parents do not wanna answer. Good, though.

Summer Festival! Nanako is adorable. AND GET THIS. BRACE YOURSELVES. MAKE SURE YOU ARE SITTING DOWN AND HOLDING ONTO SOMETHING.

DOJIMA ACTUALLY SHOWS UP TO TAKE CARE OF HIS DAUGHTER. I KNOW. I KNOOOOOOW. Shocking. Usually this girl is being raised by six teenagers and the human personification of a mascot character.

A STUNNING turn of events!

Teddie is such a manipulator lmao. First he suggests everyone pair off to enjoy the festival bc That's What You Do At Festivals, then gets the boys deliberating who should go with who, then while everyone is all turned around, he swoops in to take all the girls out around the festival so no one is 'left out.'

lmao. i love Teddie. I'm actually trying to pin down why Yosuke's horny boy bullshit annoys me but Teddie does not. It may be because he's SO flagrant about it, he's SO over the top, you know going in its a Yes, And scenario. Or, you can slap him, lmao.

After, Rise invited me out to a one on one date to the festival. She's very funny and boisterous but I think I'm friendzoning everyone in this playthru. I haven't found anyone I wanna date. And I know there is one more option coming so I don't want to accidentally pen myself in, like with Akihiko and late-comer Aigis. Poor Aigis.....

Not about to let anyone begin to assume he's a good dad, over in the Hierophant SLink, Dojima reveals that his wife died in a hit and run while Nanako was in nursery school. Which explains why Nanako barely remembers her.

Dojima's whole deal is that he's still working that case, still trying to find out who killed his wife. He claims its for Nanako, that someday in the future, she'll appreciate it.

And listen. The trauma of your spouse being murdered is not a joke. That's really heavy stuff. Your life falls apart as a pillar is just suddenly taken out, and surviving the loss of that kind of load-bearing structure is very fucking hard. I got zero judgement there.

However. Nanako doesn't give a shit. Her mother is a distant figure that doesn't affect her life anymore but via her absence. There is zero doubt in my mind that Nanako would remember Dojima more fondly as a man who stepped up to be her fucking father rather than having the closure for, sorry, a woman she has likely already forgotten the face of.

So again: get your shit together, Dojima.

SUMMER BEACH EPISODE. lmao poor kanji on his bike. also, Teddy is in bear mode. WHY is Teddie in bear mode? That seems much harder to travel with.

I'm not even gonna squint at Yosuke. Yosuke, someday, you will look back on your youth and feel so goddamn embarrassed at yourself. You are the very model of a modern repressed bisexual.

LMAO irl cackling. his response is so blaise. "why would i????" hahaha

lmao i missed it but chie and kanji were racing at like mach speed.

Of course because we need shenanigans, Teddie has been pulling at swimsuits to no avail. Well, almost no avail.

Hey, what is with the lightning bruiser boys and their tiny swimsuits, lmao. We are creating such a Specific trope here with them, it's bemusing. The venn diagram is something all right.

(Wait i JUST fucking noticed that Kanji has a fucking scar in the exact same place Akihiko does. What the fuck. That is a WILD coincidence.)

FUCKING YOSUKE AND REVERIE'S AVERTED GAZES LMAO. gdi teddie.

the voice acting here is a fucking treat, i cannot tell you enough.

everyone's doing amazing, sweetie

compared to the spring camping trip, this is a ten out of ten