#and you get the core code

[gayofthefae]

A great example of investing vs not investing us in a scene on purpose, I'm gonna use two different shows' examples but you'll follow along regardless:

In The Bear, Carmy promised Sydney he would work on the menu with her but spends time with Claire instead.

In Stranger Things, Mike intends to look for El, who is crying alone somewhere, but instead stops to talk to Will about their relationship.

In the first, we root for Sydney. In the second, we root for Mike and Will. Why?

In The Bear, they tell(show) us "Carmy promised Sydney he'd work with her" then have him spend time with Claire instead. Additionally, we are shown Sydney alone without him and irritated about that throughout. Now, they have made every moment with Claire he is happy and relaxed - something we should be rooting for because we never see him like that - instead recognize a broken promise and stress he is causing someone we care about.

In Stranger Things, we see Mike and Will looking for El together before it comes up in an argument about looking for her that they haven't talked all day and they stop walking, stop looking for her, to argue about why they didn't keep in touch. After this conversation is over, they continue walking to look for her and the camera zooms in to reveal they just walked past the closet she was crying in. But in this scene, they have given us permission to become invested in Mike and Will's conversation by allowing us to temporarily forget about El. In not telling us where she was until after, or even confirming/showing that she was still crying, we were able to treat the scene as if it were just about Mike and Will, dropping the urgency to find her completely and allowing the pause on it to happen.

Had they shown him with Claire then revealed that he had stood Sydney up, or even omitted the clips of her upset with him, we likely would have been able to root for Carmy and Claire.

Had they started the scene with El crying in the closet, not yet having been found, or at any point shown her overhearing the fact that they stopped looking and started talking about something else, we would not have been invested in their conversation at all.

THAT is how they manipulate who you side with. That is how they make you root for who they want you to root for. That is how they, as I say, don't write what you want, but make you want what they write.

So simple, so small: order of clips, inclusion of the affected character or not. And it changes entirely what you thought were your own voluntary desires for how the story goes next.

It's the same situation, it's fascinating to study. One person shirks their responsibilities to someone who needs them to spend time with another love interest. And they got us to root for different people in near identical situations. But not identical shot lists.

THIS is the shit I LOVE to study. How to puppeteer an audience while letting them think they formed their own opinions. AMAZING.

[https-tempted]

do I believe in love? I believe in obsession and sudden disinterest.

[tangramkey]

i love my Basketbot Portal AU

[flowersfromunderground]

[doodlingwren]

Tried to make a character reference for Mariya from the new Saint Seiya spinoff since I couldn't find a character turnaround 🎀✨

Mostly I drew this for practice purposes and well, for having a reference of her outfits. Might be useful in the future... who knows!

Hope you like it! 🌟

[brokenheartwithheartbreak]

Watched the 9 Years Later reunion zoom video today and ishfjs. Cody saying he believes Theo’s still trying to make some friends and find a pack, “maybe thinking about texting Scott, probably doesn’t” just fuel to my headcanon Theo never really ‘makes up’ with the McCall pack more than is necessary to coexist around the same people - read: Liam - and kind of just. Idk tries to find himself outside of the DDs and the horror and everything he was once he got a second chance

[brainrotisseriechicken]

..

extra:

(it was a spring morning)

(he was a frail boy with no friends)

(he ran into you from across the wall)

(you said hello to him, and asked him to play along)

(at that very moment, he received his lifelong—)

extra 2: oscar boogaloo

yeahhhh....iykyk

[brainrot-jikan]

im not the biggest alhaitham/kaveh shipper (because im a rare pair ho) but it seems to me that in alhaitham/kaveh getting-together fics tend to be... unequal.

the beautiful thing about alhaitham and kaveh is that they're both equally right and equally wrong and equally dicks about it. but the writers for alhaitham/kaveh much more frequently seem to give alhaitham the burden change (the burden of the character flaw) instead of kaveh.

in any good character arc, the main character has a fatal flaw or misconception, and by the end of that arc they have addressed that flaw in some definitive way. scrooge was a scrooge and learned that being that way was detrimental; merlin from finding nemo was overprotective to a fault and had to learn that he couldn't (and shouldn't) control everything and to let go; the wolf from little red riding hood learns that you should stop while you're ahead.

stories centering around romance tend to lean heavily on character arcs, which makes sense. and since romance generally requires two individuals to be vulnerable and open and emotional with each other, it makes double sense that alhaitham/kaveh authors zoom straight into alhaitham's lack of emotional vulnerability.

this bothers me.

in society, individuals are expected to experience and present emotions in a specific way. if someone dies, you cry. if someone smiles at you, you smile back. if you're at a party, you're supposed to be having fun. if you don't do these things, you're seen as impolite at best and a inhuman freak at worst. when these behaviors are frequent it's often viewed as emotional immaturity, or a lack of ability to feel at all. the inability or lack of willingness to conform to societies emotional expectations of you is seen as a flaw and a reason for exclusion.

alhaitham is canonically disliked and avoided for being the way he is. he prefers it this way, but that doesn't mean the people perpetuating this avoidance are in the right. they are the societal pressure to conform that alhaitham blows off. alhaitham could be the way he is for a lot of reasons: avoidant attachment style, trauma, following someone else's example (eg. his grandmother), or just his base personality. it doesn't MATTER. he is the way he is. kaveh having to accept that should be part of the story.

putting the burden of the fatal flaw on alhaitham, making the way alhaitham treats kaveh and the people around him the problem, feels invalidating. it implies heavily that alhaitham's way of interfacing with the world, alhaitham's very SELF, is incorrect. my suggestion is to flip a larger portion of that burden onto kaveh. kaveh 👏 character 👏 arcs 👏

some examples/recommendations:

- make kaveh project his insecurities onto other people but especially onto alhaitham; he's overly reliant on other people for his own self worth, and he perceives alhaitham's lack of positive feedback as a direct reflection of how alhaitham feels about him. but learns along the way that alhaitham doesn't hate him, kaveh's actual struggle is with hating himself and being unable to his own self as worthy of love. maybe throw in how you are responsible for your own recovery, other people can help but you can't rely on them to carry you through self actualization.

- or, kaveh tries to make alhaitham behave more like a "normal" person, to be more pleasant and emotive and forthcoming, and then realizes he's in the wrong for trying to make alhaitham into something he's not, possibly for all the wrong reasons (not because he likes alhaitham better like that, but bc society says that's healthier and a better/more conforming way to be)

- or you could go ahead make alhaitham's issues the main problem but they're too complicated to overcome in a short period of time, so kaveh has to accept alhaitham is doing his best in his own way and not push for unrealistic and unhealthy changes. he could alter his own behavior to give alhaitham space and time and a safe place to land.

that got sappy so it's past time for me to dip out. go forth and ship things; but maybe consider letting alhaitham be a rude stone-faced bastard if he wants to be.

[zan0tix]

Your Jake is literally my favorite Jake *ever*, oh my god he's so cute. I get so fucking hyped whenever I see a new post from you. Your art *never* disappoints.

A little doodle just for you as thanks! 😁

My fav girly gay of all time.. Im so glad so many people love my design for him he is my pride and joy as with my other alpha kids :3 Its an honour to have mine be your fav 🙏🙏

BUT THANK YOU!!!! Im so happy my arts nice enough to make people excited for more 🥰 all your tags are what makes posting worth it!!!!

[hballegro]

local man acts how he always acts and is accused of homosexuality

[phoenixwithapencil]

I want to stick AC Cloud and degraded Angeal in a room together I think they could be guilty bastards mired in the past together and they’d somehow come out sadder than they came in

[kaeyachi]

Kaeya had always been an efficient and hard-working individual (he had to be to support Diluc in the background as his brother rose thru the ranks after all).

He has so much free time because he completes all his work way ahead of schedule. And if he still has enough time, he adds more to the workload in secret.

And once all of that was done and over with, he makes time for everyone. He has to. He feels as if every moment has to be given to someone else.

No one knows how he does it. No one has to know.

Every mission has a dozen strategies in line, and every battle plan is made with efficiency in mind. His perfect record will not be tarnished. He can't risk it (even if it baffles others that he would willingly activate a ruin guard just to prevent a failed mission. Jean disagrees with his methods, but Kaeya can say that the results say otherwise)

He needs to be quick.

Efficient.

Perfect.

And so he comes and goes like the wind.

Kaeya values time because he knew every second counted. He can't just stand there as if he were frozen. Time could run out in an instant.

Kaeya had only been late once his entire life.

He'd rather he never be late ever again.

It took one day of being of being imperfect for everything to fall apart. On that tragic day...had he gotten there on time... then maybe...

.

.

.

" Come on, let's get moving, traveler. We're not frozen in place after all. " Kaeya teasingly says. He stiffles a giggle at the traveler's exhasperated sigh.

"Yeah yeah, we've heard enough of you calling us a slacker. Can't you be a bit more patient?" Paimon whines at him.

Kaeya snorts, but acquiesces, hiding the shaking of his hands at the thought of being idle.

He imagines hearing a clock ticking.

Kaeya knows that that is his own problem. He tries his hardest to relax as he waits for the traveler to finish whatever they're making on the alchemy table because, seriously, it is supposed to be a relaxing day. There's nothing major going on, and his schedule is once again empty as intended. What's the hurry?

Kaeya taps his foot on the ground as he waits. He wishes he could take his own damn advice when he tells others to relax.

[dandeydraws]

be father and mother / you'll know what to do

[necrotic-nephilim]

If you want to be bothered. Maybe this for dick and Bruce???

i ALWAYS want to be bothered these are always the highlight of my day tbh you're a delight for letting me just yap <3

Dick. For the canon isn't real square I am Specifically talking about the Tom Taylor Nightwing run. Usually I ignore bad runs but given this one is ongoing (though about to end THANK GOD and get replaced by Dan Watters who i have high hopes for since i adored his Sword of Azrael (2022) run but i digress) so I counted it. Especially since it's so debated if that run is bad or not, for some reason. I'm a 90s Nightwing truther. I love Dick so dearly and tbh recently I've been more enamored with him the more I read his Discowing era, I didn't used to be as big of a Dick stan as I am these days.

Bruce. Honestly where do you even start with Bruce. I want to fist fight him and also patch him up. He got me into comics and superheroes as a whole but I roll my eyes whenever he shows up in a story. He's a bastard and usually not a good father but also complex and should be dissected under a magnifying glass. I love him dearly. He's also just the worst. I think that's why I love him. I'm always a fan of unabashedly Complicated Asshole Bruce who's generally not always the best person, particularly not to the Batfamily and that being the driving force of his relationships with them, especially in shipping.

And for bonus points, Tim. Because know above all else, I'm a Tim Drake kinnie /deg. He's been my number one for a decade and I've yet to uproot him from my brain. He's literally the Worst half the time and I love him for it. And the canon isn't real refers to Tim Drake: Robin because... that sure was a comic. And that's about all I can say about it. Pre-Flashpoint Tim I miss you so dearly. I think it's fun that I want to put him in a blender and drink the juice but also want Nothing Ever to happen to him.

[sillyfudgemonkeys]

Me: *points at Rangi before Kyoshi is found to be the Avatar* Me: Sugar Mama-Nepo Baby. Me: *points at Rangi after Kyoshi is found to be the Avatar and inherits all of Jianzhu's wealth* Me: Sugar Baby-Nepo Baby.

[vitamin-zeeth]

thought I was getting over the hsm era but I've just been struck with inspiration for an au and now I might have to write it. Have I written fic in the last 3 years? Nope. Have I ever written fic over 1000 words? Also nope. Do I now think I can totally plan and execute a multi chapter au for a fandom I have been in for less than a month? For sure