#because i'm sure that in the future when he is redeemed

[planet-poptropica]

⋆ You guys need to stop giving me IDEAS djhsbdjhs-/j I instantly had to start doodling a concept for....uh, her/them. (I can’t come up with a name for her.) I’m sure this won’t be her final look, but I tried my best with what I had. I’ll explain her design in the tags, but I think it’s pretty self-explanatory. ⋆ ⋆ Anyone have any name ideas? ⋆

[non-man049]

After finally getting around to watching Kill The Moon I was very much surprised, pleasantly in fact.

While the abortion metaphor is 100% a valid reading you can make of the story, I don't buy it being the true conflict and message of the episode. Knowing that apparently Peter Harness didn't intend this to be an abortion metaphor, I can let it pass as what is probably a writer's political views subconsciously leaking into the script.

Judging the story literally and not metaphorically. It's about choosing if it's right/worth to kill an innocent being to save the lives of many.

This is literally the trolley problem.

Then you remember that this episode works as a sort of prelude for Mummy On The Orient Express and the true intentions of this episode come to light.

This is a story about having no "good choices", about taking risks when you aren't sure what's going to happen.

Clara is put way more in a bad light than what most people say. Clara is left speechless and with no counter arguments to what Lundwik argues and concedes to letting earth decide. When she finally pushes the button it was clearly a sudden and irrational move.

Clara outright says she didn't know what was going to happen, that she wasn't planning to press the button. Clara didn't make this choice because of knowing what was for the best, she did it because she couldn't bear the weight of intentionally killing an innocent being. She gambled, she took a leap of faith and it paid off.

Beyond the choice itself. Another big aspect of the episode is why The Doctor put Clara in this situation.

The Doctor is lonely. Everybody knows that. But even when companions are close to him, he still feels alone because there's nobody in the universe like him.

He can relate to some, but there's always a thing or two getting in the way (for example Time Lords being dead). So he craves, he strongly craves for someone like him. When The Doctor is asked why he wants to rehabilitate Missy a big reason he gives is the fact she is the only person somewhat similar to him.

The Doctor desires someone he can relate to so badly it makes him want to redeem the person who destroyed 1/4 of the universe.

And now in an adventure with her he finds a situation in which they have to decide if they are willing to stop the birth of a living being to save the lives of many? That sounds familiar.

Just like Nine brought Rose to the future so she could also experience what it's like seeing your planet explode and be the last member of your species, Twelve put Clara in this situation so she could experience what it's like to be the one who makes the big choices.

The Doctor all the time makes decisions that affect the lives of many. Decisions that most of the time he isn't sure if they will work. He risks it all every day. It brings him a lot of pain but he feels forced to do it because he thinks no one else can. He always has to save humanity because he thinks none of them could do what he does.

This... Sadly brings out the uncomfortable truth. Which is that The Doctor does look down upon humans. Don't get me wrong, he adores them, he would give it all to be like them. But he is aware that he considers himself superior to humanity, which is a side of him he (usually) tries to keep in check.

Humanity is for The Doctor what animals are for humanity. We love animals, we admire what they can do and even envy them in some areas, but we still don't consider them as capable, as intelligent as us.

This side of The Doctor can be seen as far back as the first episode of the revival. Calling humans stupid apes, and describing them as a species on it's first baby steps. Because of it, he wants them to be better, he knows how amazing they can and will be and wants them to achieve their potential.

What I'm getting at is that he feels like he is the only one who has to make the big choices, he feels alone taking that burden. But at the same time, he likes it, he enjoys taking these decisions, and he would be more than pleased to have someone right by his side taking them as well.

This is about nurturing Clara into becoming something greater. In his eyes, this means stop being a little human and grow to be the tiniest little bit similar to him.

All of this makes me remember that one moment in The End Of Time Part 2.

The Doctor said humans look like giants, he never said they look bigger than him.

[e-louise-bates]

Recently I've been mulling over the way Faramir and Boromir are presented in the LOTR movies, and why I find even their brotherly relationship unconvincing (I'm sorry, Boromir fans, but I do). I feel that everything about Faramir in the movies is presented in narrative as though he is a lesser version of Boromir, and the big issue for him is that he's always trying to live up to his brother's ideal, and his father is always criticizing him and Boromir is always trying to build Faramir up. It isn't just that Denethor thinks of Faramir as a lesser Boromir, it's that he genuinely is, and he needs to come to terms with who he is (and I guess he sorta does that when he rejects the ring? but then fails when his father tells him to go retake Osgiliath? and then there's never really a satisfactory conclusion to his arc because he just gets healed and falls in love with Eowyn and decides there's hope for the future after all and everything's ok?).

Whereas in the books Tolkien tells us outright--Boromir is a lesser version of Aragorn, but Faramir is a lesser version of Gandalf. Faramir has the wisdom that his brother and father lack, and Denethor resents him for it, but Boromir respects him for it. Tolkien tells us that Faramir is certain that in all of Gondor there is no one like Boromir, and Boromir thinks the same (which I am pretty sure Tolkien means as Boromir thinks Faramir is the best of the best, but could also be interpreted as Boromir agreeing with Faramir that he, Boromir, is the best, which is kinda hilarious to imagine). Boromir is not always trying to build up his little brother, who is desperately trying to win their father's approval. Boromir recognizes the ways in which Faramir is superior to himself, the same way that Faramir recognizes Boromir's strengths.

Faramir in the books is a strong and capable leader of men (all of whom love him and are wholly loyal to him) as well as a mighty warrior, but his true strength lies in his wisdom. When he obeys his father's order to go attempt to retake Osgiliath, it is not a desperate attempt to win approval, but an acknowledgement that Denethor is still in command and he, Faramir, is bound by oath and virtue to obey his orders, even when they wrong. The quiet plea for his father to think better of him when he returns is a glimpse into the pain he feels at his father's constant rejection, but that pain does not control him, nor is it his driving motivation. Faramir's goal, in all things, is to be a man of virtue, even as Boromir's goal is to be a man of honor. Boromir finds that under the ring's temptation, honor breaks, and though he is redeemed it takes his death. When Faramir is confronted with the same temptation--a stronger one, even, as he has not spent weeks and months with Frodo as a companion and therefore has not built a relationship of trust and loyalty, and he has not heard with his own ears the strong warnings against using the ring!--virtue holds fast. Boromir redeems his own honor by his death, but by his life Faramir redeems the line of the stewards of Gondor, which is why he is able to receive the task of redeeming Ithilien once Aragorn is crowned king (and why he is actually a better husband for Eowyn than Aragorn would have been, but that's a whole other post).

All of this was lost in presenting Boromir as the superior-in-every-way elder brother, with Faramir as his shadow-self, who failed the same test with the ring but in a weaker way (and then passed at the last minute because ... Sam gave a moving speech about good in the world being worth fighting for and not giving up, and he decided that was a good reason to let them go destroy the ring after all?), and whose entire character was defined by desperately striving for his father's approval and never getting it, and then somehow just being ok at the end.

[phoebepheebsphibs]

What does the bad timeline au look like for your boys 👀

OOOOH, here we go!

(So, I did hint to this in the NFIF/UIFY Crossover when DvD met Omega, and Omega ran a simulation to see what DvD's future would be like. It was a general explanation, but I'm gonna go deeper into detail now --)

2020: So, first off, the Krang attack in 2020, same as in canon. Leon, 'Phael, Mikey, and DvD manage to survive the invasion by some miracle. For the first year, they just focus on staying alive and hidden from the aliens, but by the end of that first year the reunite with April and their friends and discover the beginnings of the Resistance. (Karai was separated from them all as well, but no one has seen her yet and so they all assume she's dead.)

2023-2025: Several years pass, and there is still no sign of Karai. While the boys are out doing a supply raid, they get ambushed by a Krang attack and are caught in a collapsing building. 'Phael freezes in panic and Leon takes a hit to rescue him, though the two are trapped in rubble together as they wait for Mikey and DvD to dig them out. However... Leon doesn't have that long, and encourages Raph as the leader of their family to stay strong and take care of Mikey and Donnie and April and everyone else...

Leo dies, having saved Raphael.

2025-2030: The three mourn their brother, but do their best to help lead the Resistance. In 2026, Cass gives birth to a son, and 'Phael helps her to raise the child. However, during these five years, tragedy strikes again. Michelangelo's hypoglycemia has been acting up due to the low rations, and in spite of their promptings to take care of himself, Mikey has been intentionally skipping meals so the others can take his rations, effectively starving himself. That, coupled with the injuries he gets from his ninpo overdrive, finally takes its toll on his frail body.

Mikey starves to death.

2030-2035: After Mikey's death, Donnie and Raph have a hard time staying cheerful. And to add to the grief, Cassandra dies in battle as well. But some good comes to light, as the group receives word of a lone stranger roaming New York and saving survivors while battling the Krang. After investigating, they discover that Karai has survived and become something of a folk hero! She joins their Resistance, bringing her own group of survivors with her. During this time, Raphael has grown to be a force to be reckoned with, and even the leader of the Resistance! Donatello is working around the clock to create weapons and grow nutritional, non-contaminated plants that they can eat safely. It's hard work, but no one said the end of the world was easy. DvD discovers a formula and equation that may work for time-travel, but he is unsure... he starts to build the machine.

2035-2044: The Resistance is not looking good. They can barely go above ground anymore without being picked off and slaughtered. The food and supplies are running low. 'Phael realizes that the end is coming, and there may be no escape. He has Donnie work full-time on the time machine, as it is their last hope. The Resistance grows smaller and smaller with each passing month, until it seems like it's just Raph, DvD, April, Karai, and Casey Jones Jr., along with a few special people like Big Mama Frida Kahlo. Finally, in 2044, the Krang find their hideout and begin to slaughter the last of the Resistance. Raph has CJ and Donnie evacuate into the labs with the time machine, and while Raph holds them off, Donnie begins to power the machine with his ninpo and what little electricity they have left. Raph instructs Casey on what to do, that he's sending him back in time -- not necessarily to stop the Krang, but more importantly to save Casey from the attack. If nothing else, Casey must survive. If Raph can do nothing else but make sure that his boy sees a world without war, where he is healthy... that will be enough for him. That will redeem his mistakes, how he let his brothers die because of his failures and fear. Casey has to live. He tells him to find his family, warn them, and to find his sister as well, because she -- Suddenly the Krang break into the room, and Casey is thrown into the time machine. Dee's ninpo goes into overdrive and powers the machine, though it costs him his life. Raph manages to hold the Krang off until the machine does it's duty, and then...

Raph and Donnie die sending Casey Jones Jr. into the past.

And yes, I did cry writing this.

[frayazicat]

what if Triplets Dan, Danny, and Ellie?

like, people like to make at least Dan and Danny twins, but why not all three?? i never see that happen.

here's what i'm thinking. Reveal Gone Good, but Danny now has to tell his parents about the OTHER TWO biggest secrets he's kept from them; Dan and Ellie. he's a little hesitant cause this is not Phantom Planet compliant so they don't know about Vlad.

Dan's still in his thermos timeout thinking about what he's done and Ellie is...somewhere.

so, he tells them about his clone and his future self. this includes what Vlad has done to him. does it include who did this? maybe, i don't know. dealer's choice. anyways, the Fenton parents want to meet their new kids.

Team Phantom gets in touch with Ellie to get to FentonWorks as soon as possible while Danny introduces them to Dan.

it..might not go as planned, might end up fine, that's also dealer's choice. but! in the end, they somehow redeem Dan. Ellie arrives and the duo are welcomed into the family!

but, there are two problems now.

1) how do they explain away their new children?

and 2) Dan is full ghost (and adult-sized, i'm not sure the parents are old enough for a kid his age) and Ellie is an unstable clone - both half Vlad, and really not wanting to be half Vlad.

their solution to the second problem? make new bodies for them! they made two fully stable Halfa clone bodies from Danny, had Ellie and Dan fuse their cores inside these clones near the end of making them, and waited for them to pop out of the tubes at the same age as Danny! this might take some help from Clockwork and Danny to pull off without more melting clones..

anyways! now, they have three Halfa children. all they have to do at this point is find a way to explain the sudden appearance of TWO MORE KIDS!

their solution for THAT problem? hack into the database and change the medical files so it showed that THREE kids were birthed instead of one; Danail Jack, Daniel Jackson, and Dannielle Jacklyn Fenton. Dan, Danny, and Ellie.

but the parents take it SO MUCH FURTHER. they bribe the local schools and hospitals, they make fake receipts of things bought for them and fake records of government child support, and they even photoshop younger versions of Ellie and Dan into the family photos to make it legit. heck, they might have even gone back in time via Clockwork to add the birth certificates! they're THAT committed!

so, we got a new family of six gaslighting, gatekeeping, and girlbossing their way into legitimacy.

"What do you mean we only had two kids this entire time? Look at these records! Look at how similar they are to their triplet brother! The evidence says otherwise!"

"Listen, if you just play along and say nothing contrary to anybody who asks, we'll stop ghost hunting or driving for one month every time you do so. Sound good? We'll even put in some money to sweeten the deal."

"If we never had these children before, then why do we have memories of Dan viciously beating up Danny and Ellie's bullies at school?"

that sort of thing.

they're COMMITTED. it's INSANE. the town is going CRAZY.

where did these kids come from?? did we seriously forget about two teen kids for sixteen years??

(things go off the rails when Sam and Tucker get in on the action.)

now, i'm putting this under DCxDP, cause of just ONE little detail. Ellie's obsession involves moving, right?

well, what if the Fenton family becomes a wandering family of crime-fighters/mad scientists with an interest in the occult?

what if they get on the JL's radar because of one too many supernatural cases being solved by the Fentons in the JL's local cities?

they're at Gotham? suddenly, it feels as if the air is lighter and that it's not as drenched in evil and insanity as before. what did they do? fought the curses in the local Lazurus Pit like someone wrestling a pig in their mudpen.

they're in Metropolis? Lex woke up one day to find his entire stash of Kryptonite was missing with no trace. what did they do? the triplets broke in after sensing the gems and ate them like candy, their natural ghostliness shorting out the security feed as they do so.

they're in D.C.? all of the ghost relics in the local museums have been stolen with only a note saying, "Sorry for the disturbance! These were too dangerous for the living, so we put them somewhere safe! Don't worry! :)" left behind. what did they do? they took them and chucked them into the ghost portal where some allies on that side put them in safe places.

and that's all i got.

TL,DR; Fenton family goes full mad scientist in order to welcome Dan and Ellie into the family before packing up and wandering the states, effectively gaining the JL's attention with their suspicious and crazy appearances.

(i hope i didn't accidentally steal this idea from another. if i did, i'm sorry. feel free to smack me or something if that's the case.)

[beevean]

So I'm putting some thoughts about how I see Charlastor in order, just in case I'll need them in the future lmao

Alastor craves power, control, and freedom. These are his main drive forces. The reason Lucifer's presence in the hotel rattles him so much is because he is both more powerful than him, a mere demon... and because he is a more important person in Charlie's life, and she asked for his help rather than Alastor's. While most of his taunting Lucifer about being a better dad than him comes from a place of wanting to hit the King of Hell where it hurts, he's also clearly consolidating his hold on Charlie's heart... who doesn't protest the fact that this consummate liar is calling her "his daughter".

(related to this, Charlie beams when Alastor calls her "good girl", which is completely normal I'm sure 🙂)

Alastor is implied to have been forced by whoever is holding him on a leash to protect the Hotel, going by his wording in Dad Bead Dad. By the end of S1 he is sick of it and wants a way out... but it's also implied he was growing a little fond of the hotel.

Charlie's feelings for Alastor seem to be ambivalent. By Hello Rosie, she's still fully aware that Alastor is a sadistic jerk who delights in people's suffering, and she is extremely reluctant to make a deal with him, putting every stipulation she can think of. However, she has also defended him against Lucifer by saying that he trusts what she's doing, and she's comfortable enough to talk to him about her personal problems with Vaggie even as it's clear that he couldn't care less lmao

Alastor giving his beloved mic to Charlie could be seen as a sign of genuine trust as well: by that point, he doesn't need to go the extra mile to manipulate her, since she owes him "a favor".

Alastor's touchy tendencies have been downplayed since the pilot, when he even slapped Vaggie's ass to annoy her. But he still enjoys touching Charlie a lot 👀 Both in a creepy, possessive way (bro really laid on the bed next to her...), and in a genuinely cute, friendly way. Charlie clearly doesn't mind the latter.

In short: related to the fact that Alastor enjoys being at the center of everyone's attention and is pissy when he gets ignored, Alastor wants to be important to Charlie for reasons yet to be disclosed, and he's willing to charm her in any way he can to make her trust him above others. He keeps his cards close to his chest, but he has been a real help to her, making his possessiveness and manipulation more disturbing.

Charlie is, as of now, in an in-between state where she still doesn't fully trust Alastor but she is growing fond of him and perhaps sees him as an odd friend of sorts - look at her wide grin when he comes back in the finale and she hugs him! She is not stupid, but she does see the good in everyone, and Alastor is no exception.

Alastor might also be eager to use the power of the Princess of Hell for his own purposes... namely, gaining back his full freedom. He might actually need her, perhaps even more than she, as of now, needs him.

In a general sense, both of them might be corrupting each other. Alastor is inherently a corrupting force in a Faustian way, manipulating others to gain more and more power, and so far he seems to be succeeding in getting Charlie to his side by playing the part of the helpful, resourceful hotelier. But Charlie is also an extremely positive force, and as I said before, Alastor seems to like her a little in his own cryptic way. I doubt that this would be enough to "redeem" Alastor... but it would be interesting to see him fight with himself against his newfound affection :)

(bonus: really curious to see where Husk would fit into all of this. I doubt he'd be happy to know that Charlie made a deal with his owner...)

[coffeecatcraze]

Hello. I like your Chaggie analysis posts and wanted to ask you if you could another analysis on the couple. In this case, a tumblr user, angeltheninth, said they saw an interview of the couple's VAs and one of the highlights include saying that "Chaggie is at the core of the show". I was wondering ig you could do an analysis on what that could mean in the future and how it applies even in season 1. Again, only if you want to, and if not, I totally understand.

Ohhh this was fun!! I took a while to think about it and get it written out for a few reasons (such as working on fanfics and tragically having to do adulting things), and I'm sure I didn't pin down all the little ideas circling my brain about this, but here are my current thoughts on the matter!

To kick off with the obvious, they're the ones who started this. Charlie had a dream, and Vaggie was the only one who believed in her; and even with how hard it's been, they've still been fighting to make the hotel work. And it DOES. They're the first people since Lucifer and Lilith to look at things and say "hm, that doesn't seem right, let's try this" instead of just going along with it. Lucifer and Lilith led everyone into a new era with their dream of freedom, and with the Sir Pentious being redeemed and ascending to Heaven even after Sera said it as impossible, a new era looks to be exactly where Charlie and Vaggie are heading with their dream of protection. Yes, protection, because Charlie's goal to redeem demons comes from a desire to save their lives, not for the sake of making them better people. Protection has been a MASSIVE theme this season, expressed in song, dialogue, and action; and Charlie and Vaggie are the ones who kickstarted it in the first place.

And as far as "redemption" goes, using "redemption" as a term to encompass personal growth, Vaggie was the first person Charlie ever redeemed. She found her badly injured and took her in, helping a complete stranger out of the goodness of her heart; and Vaggie, a former participant in annual genocide, threw her whole self into Charlie's dream of redeeming Sinners to save Hell. Vaggie's redemption didn't come in the form of active encouagement towards it as a goal, but just as a result of being around Charlie. Charlie redeemed her without even trying. Vaggie was her first redemption story and she didn't even realize it until Rosie pointed it out. In other words, Vaggie was always walking proof that Charlie could redeem people who did horrible things. She never wanted to get back to Heaven; she was after redemption for her own sake, and for Charlie.

Choosing redemption for redemption's sake is the core of it all. Pentious wasn't trying to get into Heaven when he sacrificed himself; Angel had no way of knowing Charlie could see what he was doing at that club, so he very easily could have fallen back into old habits and called it a cheat day. But because they were genuinely becoming redeemed thanks to Charlie and Vaggie's efforts, they made selfless choices. Vaggie's redemption was real, and now these other souls Charlie took in are following in her footsteps. In other words, Vaggie was the original redemption story, and if she could become a better person even with all that blood on her hands, she knew other people could too; she supported Charlie's dream because she knew it worked, and she stayed by her side no matter how hard things got for them. Their relationship is what set the first ever real redemption into motion; they're at the core of redemption itself.

Themes of protection and love are also INCREDIBLY important in this show, and I'm not gonna cite my assorted Chaggie posts like a bibliography, but I feel like I've talked quite a bit about them being loving and protective. Their relationship is steady and stable, and there's an implicit understanding between them that comes from years of being together. They have rough spots but they get through them. They love and protect each other fiercely. Angel, Husk, Pentious, and Niffty have been learning to love and protect as well. How could they not, when they have such a great example to follow? If not for Charlie and Vaggie being such a united front, things would have turned out much less favorably for everyone.

Working together is what gets them through the hard times; they can't do this on their own. Look at what happened when they were off on their own missions in 1x07! Charlie was struggling until Rosie helped her sort through her conflicted feelings and realize that even though she was hurt, she still loved Vaggie and knew Vaggie believed in her; Vaggie was absolutely getting her ass kicked until Carmilla reminded her what (or more specifically who) her reason for fighting was, at which point she held her own, regrew her fucking wings, and impressed one of Hell's top Overlords. They succeeded because even with things so tense, they knew they had each other and they weren't alone. And isn't everyone supporting each other what that hotel is ultimtely all about? It's basically rehab, and for that, a strong support system really pays off. Their relationship essentially embodies the concepts that guide the hotel.

I know that's a lot more overall analysis than specifics about the future or season 1, but I feel like there are some implications in there, and it's hard to lay them out more explicitly in a frame of temporal reference. (Thanks for running out on me with no refills, ADHD meds, that's sooo helpful for getting coherent thoughts together...) They are indeed, in so many ways, the core of both the Hazbin Hotel and the show itself. I'm flattered you like my analysis posts enough to ask me about this, and I hope it was a satisfactory answer!!!

[sapphic-agent]

I think one of my main annoyances in Hori writing is him trying to redeem every villain and hero that some of them just doesn’t deserve that redemption.

Like; it’s reminds me too much of Naruto. But the difference is Naruto isn’t being held by modern standards since it set in a fictional world with ninjas while bnha is set in 200+ years in the future in modern japan.

I absolutely despise Endeavor and how he abused his family as a whole; in modern society he would have been put in jail, and yet he still gets a redemption arc. It’s feels like it’s cheapen all of the todorokis trauma.

And shoto being bakugo friend is another thing, since bakugo is so much like endeavor… like, if I had a classmate that act so much like my abusive parent that I absolutely despise I wouldn’t be close to them at all.

It’s gave me bad feeling how Hori just brushes all of the trauma the characters have from the actions of other characters selfish acts.

When I started reading the manga in 2015 I thought the concept is really good and having a main character with anxiety and socialization problems (in the start) made me hooked, because I had those things too. But looking at it now 8 years later I just feel so much dissatisfaction and disappointments..

You have a great point about Naruto. I mean, I'm not a fan of Naruto because of reasons, but it's the same concept as to why I like Vegeta better than Bakugou despite Vegeta technically being a worse person. Because MHA and DBZ are two very different shows. One is about becoming stronger and being able to face any threat to the world no matter what, the other is trying to push a narrative about morality and being a "true hero." The Z Fighters do have their own moral compasses, but it varies between every character. So there's no overarching theme that's beating us over the head.

Someone described this problem with MHA perfectly; it's constantly preaching about morality while willfully being tone deaf about its own overlaying issues. And that wouldn't even be so bad if so many of these issues weren't set up in the beginning to be addressed later.

I talk a lot about Bakugou, but I think we should focus on Endeavor like you mentioned. Not only are they similar in nature (temperamental, overzealous, dangerously ambitious), they're also two characters who benefit the most from the system in MHA.

...And it's barely ever acknowledged.

I mean sure, Dabi calls Endeavor out and it leads to the public losing faith in heroes. But not only does the family he abused and/or neglected choose to help him (I can't get over Fuyumi and Natsu taking blame for Touya when they were LITERAL CHILDREN wtf, not to mention Rei), why he was allowed to do this is never addressed. People knew he wasn't the kind hero All Might was, and it was something his fans admired along with his strength. Because as long as you have a strong quirk, you're admired in the MHA world and allowed to get away with whatever you want. Yet this is overlooked so easily.

(I like Hawks (because of Zeno Robinson mainly), but him dismissing this is so weird?? Why on Earth would Horikoshi go out of his way to introduce a character with an abusive father and make him an Endeavor fan? With no moment of clarity either?? There's something really off about that)

Bakugou's apology (one day I'll make a post critiquing this scene) is a little better in this regard as he does acknowledge that he was enabled because of his quirk. But again, it's really just skimmed over and only referenced to give Bakugou an excuse.

And the people who do question society and its system are either villains who are use it as an excuse to cause destruction and hurt people (the LOV and Overhaul) or bloodthirsty murderers (Stain). I would have loved for Horikoshi to introduce a group of vigilantes or anti-heroes who work outside of the HPSC and call out how discriminatory their system is.

Someone's talked about this before, but the Todoroki and Bakugou "friendship" was so forced and unnecessary. Bakugou has, at every turn, been completely unsympathetic towards the fact that Todoroki was abused and yelled at his sister for talking about it in her own home (but sure, let's call Bakugou an abuse victim I guess). Todoroki should have at the very least remained indifferent towards Bakugou like he was in the beginning.

Izuku deserves so much better than how Horikoshi treats him. He's either used as a tool to make Bakugou better or he's shoved into the background of his own show. He was so relatable in the beginning of the series only for the plot to suck his character dry.

[starsfic]

Sibling Home

Random fic idea where the deal Shamura struck with the Mystic Seller involved a promise to not fall into the fear of the future like the Fox did.

With the promise broken with the genocide of the sheep and Shamura in purgatory, the Mystic Seller decides to give Shamura an opportunity to change.

-_-

Kallamar, in his opinion, was settling into the cult... fine.

Did he sometimes foam at the mouth remembering the power he used to have? Yes, but he had been powerless as a teenager until Shamura found him and he had survived. Did he sometimes get violently angry and scared at the fact that he and Narinder were in the same area again? Yes, but Narinder seemed to be doing everything in his power to keep as far away as he could. Did his ears hurt and sometimes he couldn't hear? Absolutely, but it was fine. The Lamb was... decent and made sure he didn't die. The cult was even versed in sign since the Lamb didn't really talk outside sermons.

Yes, Kallamar was fine. The Lamb had been nice enough to set him up in the healing tent, allowing him to bring new discoveries and lessons to the doctors there. Heket and Leshy visited him on his lunch break to talk and gossip (if burrowing through the ground and making him jump was considered visiting by Leshy). Kallamar had even been seeing a few cuties!

Yes, all was fine...

"Um, can all of you leave? Not you, Kallamar, I need to talk to you."

Until today.

Kallamar felt sweat bead up as all the healers left. Nobody was hurt or injured, so he couldn't have them as shields. It was just him and the Lamb, and the Lamb was talking.

"WHATEVER IT IS NARINDER DID IT-"

"Kallamar?"

The quiet, familiar, voice made him freeze. The Lamb stepped past, revealing familiar lavender fuzz. It was contained in brown pants and a cream sweater that had been thrown out years ago when Leshy outgrew it. (None of the siblings had never truly dropped the habit of hand-me-downs.) Ichor-stained bandages were no longer wrapped around their head, except for a small bandage across their forehead. Still, Kallamar lurched forward on instinct, hands moving to keep Shamura's skull together...

Except their skull wasn't cleaved. Instead, a small cut was across their forehead.

"What happened?"

"I tripped," Shamura said. They sounded dazed, but their voice was clear and full, not the stumbling sentences that Kallamar had grown used to over the centuries. "There was a rock." A hand raised and pressed against his cheek. "You...you look so much older."

Kallamar didn't respond to that, raising his eyes to the Lamb. "What happened?"

"I don't know. I freed them from purgatory, and they came out like this," The Lamb gestured to teenage Shamura, much younger than the day Kallamar had fallen to them. "I asked the Mystic Seller, and they said it was because Shamura broke their deal. This is apparently so they can redeem themselves."

Kallamar glanced down, in time to see the Purple Crown blink as it formed around Shamura's wrist into a makeshift bracelet. He bought back the insult that rose up at the sight- his crown hadn't tried to make a break for him- and focused. "Okay. I have no idea how to fix this." Or even if it could be fixed. Another thought occurred to him. "Have the others seen-?"

"Oh, no. I might be light-hearted, but I'm not an idiot."

"Good, because I don't know how to explain a-" He turned his attention back to Shamura, who looked vaguely annoyed at being talked about. "How old are you anyway?"

"I'm-" Shamura paused. They blinked. Panic lit up their eyes. "I don't remember. I don't..." They rubbed their forehead, eyes darting back and forth. Kallamar fought back a wince, remembering older Shamura panicking, trying to remember something that they just read. "I remember you and Narinder and...two others-"

"Yes?"

Oh, fuck. Fuck life and whoever made Lamb think it was a good idea to bring Shamura to Kallamar. Narinder stood in the healing tent, hand visibly bleeding, and staring at their oldest sibling. Shamura stared back, eyes going wider.

"Nari?"

"...Nope."

[somegirlontheinternet135]

NO ONE F*CKING TOUCH ME!!!

Alright, I know a lot of ppl weren't the biggest of the last Beast Yeast update, and to that I say it's understandable, they could've done a lot more with what they had in my opinion. . . But from just the first trailer alone, this looks really redeemable!!

For now, let's hope it's better than what we got last time!

You already know the jist, time for predictions!~✨ (Of course, spoilers ahead for the trailer!)

Given we now have Cacao heading off to Beast Yeast with his gang, I suspect that this'll be a common thing throughout the future Beast Yeast updates, with Hollyberry and Golden Cheese probably coming to Beast Yeast and meeting the owners of their respective soul jams

This'll probably end in them reuniting and creating some touching moments, before the final battle with Dark Enchantress (and or the Beasts)

But that doesn't mean we should leave everything in the last Beast Yeast update as after thoughts. From the 3rd Anniversary interview devs did, they confirm that Shadow Milk Cookie will be a looming threat within the Beast Yeast saga, though it is mostly unknown to us how. We do have a decent idea of what is to come

Back to the update, I think it'd be kinda cool, and very fitting, to have each of the characters represent the 5 stages of grief, with Mystic Flour representing death itself. I took a liking to this idea because firstly, death is a very present theme within the update so far, and secondly it's due to one scene; you know it, you love it, the Thanos snap scene! Within those short seconds of our favorites turning into dust(or well flour) we have Crunchy Chip yelling out to his majesty, practically begging for his life how "he doesn't want to be sick!" as everyone else accepts their fates

More on the subject, that'd be another interesting thing to see in this update, seeing Chip placed in such a vulnerable position like this could introduce a side to his character we've only briefly seen. As yes, this isn't the first time we see Chip get jumpy around the idea of death; if we turn back time, back to the Odessey, when the gang meets Seaweed Cookie, he's horrified by the fact they were walking over corpses (aka cookie crumbs) And this doesn't go unnoticed either, as he gets called out by Wildberry, which causes him to backtrack. I wouldn't even be surprised if his implicated fear of death may be part of the reason he's the Crunchy Chip we know & love today, maybe he uses his relationship with wolves as a means of protecting himself? Wolves are an apex predator after all! Will this add anything to the story? Possibly not, but would it flesh out Crunchy Chip as a character? Absolutely! (Sorry for the tangent, I thought this was all worth talking about cause it's such a cool idea!)

Now, we can't go anywhere without discussing the massive elephant in the room. . . Dark Choco Cookie's sudden return. Unlike most things, we do have a good idea of why he decided to follow his dad & come back. Firstly, it's a update focusing on Dark Cacao Cookie and his kingdom, it's a no brainer Choco would show up. Secondly from the Warm Together update, we know that he's been healing alone for a long time, so logically speaking, he wants to reconcile with his father, once & for all. And this is just my idea, but it'd really be cool to see Cacao & Choco work together in defeating Mystic Flour!

And that's all I got for now!✨ Surely, I'm only scratching the surface of what update has to bring, but I would say these are some solid ideas!~ Regardless, I'm super excited for this future update and the second trailer!!~

Please let me know what you think! Be on the lookout for my other projects And as always, stay tuned^^

[rist-ix]

I think it’s a hugeeee spoiler or not, but would Valtor tbhtbh marry bloom? Like, propose her, and do the whole thing, even just like they both together, and Darcy doing the ceremony. Or he don’t think that’s it’s necessary? Hope you doing good!

Gonna be honest, memes aside I don’t think marriage is necessarily the cornerstone in their relationship than it is in other fictional — or even real life — pairings.

Big part of that might be that Valtor, for one, lives outside of any official systems. There are villains that do crime but still kind of have a clear position in society (the Darkling is a General and coups his way to tsar-dom, most vampires in any vampire story do pretend to lead a somewhat normal life, villains with a royal title automatically has a rank that comes with a fitting one for their romantic partner etc.)

Valtor does not. His crimes are motivated by pettiness and his hunger for power, he builds up political figures to do his dirty work when it’s practical, but does not have any political ambitions for himself — he doesn’t wanna be king of the cosmos, he just wants to be the most powerful, and that everyone knows it. He's kind of a cryptid that way, because he appears, wrecks shit, and leaves as he pleases. The most official thing in his life was probably his imprisonment on omega, and marriage tends to very much be an official kind of thing in nature, even if it’s held in private and off the record. Official-ity IS kind of the purpose.

The only real power Valtor seems to believe in is, well, power. And they already do have a magical connection, which I think would be more important and meaningful to him than - what he considers to be - a social ritual.

Add to that that Bloom is a guardian fairy, very grounded in day-to-day life, and a princess, where marriage tends to have political implications, and I don’t think she herself would be very interested in putting a legally defined term on their relationship, unless we're talking about a redeemed Valtor maybe.

That being said!

I am not very set in this headcanon! I'm pretty sure pulling a marriage off in a fic would be MORE than doable, and really interesting on top. It's just not very intuitive for me, so I’m gonna stick to the plan and go with my gut. Doesn’t mean it’s not gonna happen in a future fic, or that it’s not a really cool concept.

[bethanydelleman]

I was thinking about your Edmund vs. Frank poll and it made me revisit Frank's arc. I'll go straight to it - this guy exhibits massive red flag behavior at times.

The worst of it was the box hill episode. The day before, Jane had refused to walk with him (for very reasonable reasons though I'm sure she was also acting more out of frustration at Frank than any actual caution there). He outrageously flirts with Emma the next day in Jane's full view knowing she dislikes it. It's obvious he's doing it for revenge - to hurt Jane or get a reaction out of her. He brings up marriage completely out of the blue, brings up their engagement and makes a veiled threat to break up with her, and - this is what I can never forgive him for - he makes the comment about women in their "own set" which I'm sure is a dig at Jane's family's poverty. (please correct me if I'm wrong). And when Jane says something along the lines of "maybe we should break up" he loses it again and makes a dig at Jane's appearance and personality this time - asking Emma to find him a wife who is "lively, with hazle eyes", the opposite of Jane basically. And he wanted JANE to apologize to him after that.

Now the whole thing is very delightful to read as a reader. We can very easily see through Frank and his actions as those of a spoiled brat who has never been denied anything in life; with very little emotional regulation or control over his reactions. But imagine how horrible the whole thing must be from Jane's perspective - to be insulted like that by someone you love and plan to marry.

Frank's greatest redeeming quality is that he loves Jane. He really does love her, there is no denying that. But you can still be horrible to people you love. I also keep thinking about Andy's comment that Frank subconsciously resents Jane for the power she has over him, which makes him act out on her - the premise of the concealment allows him to hurt her, slander her character, criticize her personality and appearance all under the cloak of hiding the engagement. The ABC game is the greatest example - he already believed that Emma knew about the engagement by then, so there was no point to it except to harass Jane with a tasteless joke at her expense that he knew she didn't find funny.

The thing is I can totally see Box hill and ABC game becoming a pattern in their marriage later on. Whenever Jane doesn't do something that Frank wants her to, I can totally see Frank going unhinged, make veiled barbs at her in company accusing her of having married him for money and making digs at her for coming from a poor family; or express regret at having married too fast and young; or even making slight fun of her with their other guests like he had done with Emma. Later he is going to apologize profusely, love bomb her and buy her lavish gifts. But that doesn't change the fact that this is abusive behavior. You may say I'm overthinking it but consider - all of the future behaviours I noted is based on things he has already said or done canonically in the book.

One of your anons said that Frank had the potential to become Arthur Huntington in the future and unfortunately I can see that. Though I agree with you that Arthur had never loved Helen and Frank does love Jane, but you can still be abusive to people you love. I think of all Austen heroes Frank has the potential to become abusive in the future - because the abusive traits are already in his personality. Although I'm sure this dark side of his character probably appeals to a lot of Frank Churchill's fans.

I know this turned out to be Frank hate rant but I do like Frank. He is super fun to read on the page, and his love for Jane is endearing inspite of everything. And unlike the actual villains like Wickham and Willoughby, he doesn't have harm in his heart and all the harm done is because of his poor emotional regulation and lack of situational empathy. But my point is that a novel from Jane's perspective would be a lot darker than Emma is, and I doubt we will like Frank as much as we do then.

I don't regret voting Edmund because he annoys the fuck out of me, but I doubt he would ever make digs at Fanny's poverty, or make deliberately hurtful comments at her when he loses his temper, or make fun of her socially.

I know you like Frank so sorry if this comes off as hate, I promise it's not. Just a new perspective on "the worst Frank did was not talk to his father." Jane loves him inspite of everything and I can also see why. I hope she fixes him and they have a very happy married life.

English is not my first language so sorry for any mistakes.

Your English looks perfect to me. This question is in response to this question.

I don't know if Frank is as bad as you present him or as Andy thinks (I heartily disagree with him). Frank is a spoiled brat and he doesn't have much emotional regulation, but I think a lot of his acting out at Box Hill and the day before is due to his frustration at the engagement taking so long, not at Jane herself or her situation. He talks about how his aunt has only ever denied him a few times, one being going abroad. I think when Frank entered the engagement, he thought he would win his aunt over and it would be done and he'd be happy. The separation is wearing on him.

I think he has a bit too much fun "keeping" (he is not good at this) his secret but he also does not take the secret as seriously as Jane. He's annoyed with her because he wanted to walk her home and she said no. He's desperate to spend time with her but he can't. I think his problem at Box Hill is he takes Jane's rational secret keeping as a rejection of him (it's not). He thinks Jane's love is wearing out.

I could see them having a very happy marriage now that the moral dilemma facing Jane (secret engagement) is gone and Frank is more free to do as he pleases.

[jewishvitya]

CW - talking about antisemitic depictions and about the house elves and the depiction of slavery in the books.

I'm having a frustrating day with a lot of physical pain, so I'm not the best at judging currently if I should be posting all of these thoughts. It's a response to multiple arguments by rude anons that I blocked (not for being rude, for being transphobic), but the arguments themselves stay on my mind and I just. Need this out. Ignore this, it will be all over the place, I'm basically venting. Hoping it'll be the last bit of HP criticism I post.

I'll tag it for you to block, as usual.

I've been asked what I expect of Rowling, since my criticism of the goblins included the books. She already wrote the books, they're printed and they're out there. She can't just change them, criticism does nothing because she has no path to correct her mistake.

First of all, with her transphobia - as far as I'm concerned she has blood on her hands at this point. The way she emboldens transphobia endangers lives and erodes queer rights. Anyone who contributes to the current push against trans people is complicit in trans genocide - and she made herself a symbol of that movement. Even if she did a 180 on her issues with Jewish stereotypes, she wouldn't redeem herself.

But she isn't the only one who wrote a story and then realized that her story has deep issues. What does it look like, if an author doesn't want to perpetuate those?

From what I know of Tolkien (and I know nothing LOTR or anything, just heard this from other Jewish creators who discussed this issue, treat this paragraph like I'm repeating a rumor) - Tolkien did stumble on an antisemitic depiction while writing his dwarves. Then he course-corrected by creating a more complex and nuanced picture of the society in his future works. Basically, he leaned into the idea of his dwarves as a Jewish allegory and made it a better and more respectful allegory. They have wonderful cultural details, like having foreign-language names used outside of their community - and names in their own native language that they call each other. Half of my family comes from France, and my mom was born there. She had a Hebrew name and a legal French name. That's extremely common among Jews in some areas of the world.

This response is what I would have expected if an author cares about being respectful of Jewish people. Acknowledge the issue, and try to do better.

But what if the issue was brought to your attention after you completely finished your story? In that case: "Yes, I'm sorry, I didn't realize I was writing an antisemitic narrative with my depiction of this fantasy race." Support the voices criticizing your work, and apologize. Let it be an example of tropes to avoid, and encourage others to be careful of the same pitfalls.

What you don't do, is act horrified and say "Oh, how could you, I never intended to make the goblins an antisemitic allegory! Surely if I don't mean it, it can't be hurtful!"

Also, if you truly care, you don't then abuse the memory of the holocaust when you write spin-offs of your original story, including its imagery to support a bigoted villain's argument.

Marginalized people understand that not everyone knows what we do. The stereotypes and the harmful ideas that weaved themselves into popular culture are about us. We know that it's invisible to people who aren't the target, and as a result aren't forced to learn these things. To many people, it's just a trope they're used to seeing. Like villains have hooked noses - it's practically a shorthand for an evil character.

All the stories we tell are based in some measure on stories we heard. Narratives and tropes feed off each other between different pieces of media. It's easy to pull together a harmful narrative without realizing, when the tropes that make it up usually go together, and are so common they're everywhere. So we know a person who means no harm can create something really hurtful, without knowing it.

That's why we criticize media: we want you to see and be aware.

In addition to this, I've been accused multiple times of ignoring the fact that these books discuss bigotry and condemn it. I'm not ignoring it, I know they do - or they try to. But Rowling wrote a story against racism without understanding it and without interrogating it in herself. She only knew to condemn it when it's rude and violent and outright hateful. Not the foundations of it.

So, sure, say she didn't mean to write something harmful. What does she do when she learns she did? Nothing. And not just about the issue of the goblins - about everything. I detailed the problems with her depiction of lycanthropy, but she did the same thing with the house elves.

There's lore about creatures called brownies. They'll perform chores for you, but they'd rather not be seen while they do. If you try to pay them, they'll get offended. If you give them clothes, they'll leave. This is a very partial description, but you can see the inspiration here.

And then she turned them into a slave race. They're bound to their enslavers, possessing powerful magic but using it in their service, forced to punish themselves for disobedience and endure extreme abuse. Kreacher actively wishes to have his head put on display when he's too old and weak to be of use.

To show the reader the horrors of freedom for an elf, JKR turned poor Winky into a depressed drunk with no purpose in her life. Winky's story is horrifying.

Only Dobby takes care of Winky for that whole year. She never recovers during it. Then she's made to witness the interrogation of Barty Crouch Jr., which upsets her and causes her distress. As a result, she hears about Crouch's death through a toneless forced confession - and the interrogation continues around her. That same day, she watches the last member of the household she loved have his soul taken by a dementor, and then she's left alone with the body while Dumbledore argues with Fudge. Only after, he sends Madam Pomfrey to do what she can for Winky, and take her to the kitchens where Dobby will take care of her again.

And Rowling wrote all of this. Did she think this is an example that even compliant house elves suffer and get neglected, even by the sympathetic wizards? Was this a lesson that even those who don't seek freedom suffer and lack agency in this system?

No. Rowling turned it into a cautionary tale against freeing slaves. Unless they're "weird" like Dobby.

Maybe she didn't try to be racist, but this fits disturbingly well with the arguments against ending slavery in reality. That enslaved people will turn into aimless drunks. That they need to be enslaved to have purpose. That those who want freedom have something wrong with them.

And I know this was criticized. What was the response to the criticism? Nothing direct as far as I know, but after all of this - there was an article published on Pottermore to argue that Winky's story is a warning against freeing the elves. It was taken down fortunately, but after this article the arguments against freedom are no longer the opinion of characters within the world - it's a message given to us by real people.

She doubles down. Every time. People keep yelling that she had nothing to do with Hogwarts Legacy, she's not responsible for the way it builds on her original canon. Well, she seems to approve of it. It continues painting the same line with the same brush - just bolder.

She doesn't care about the racism, she doesn't care about antisemitism - she just wanted to use the nazis as her easy villains. She doesn't have the imagination for any other kind.

[lukevonhagen]

my take on marius von hagen: part one, his approach to romance

marius has been with me for over a year now and he pretty much occupies my thoughts 24/7, and this was something i have been itching to write for a while. so... strap in, grab your juice box and your cheetos and let's get this show on the road yeah?

Fair Warning, this will not be under a read more, so i apologize in advance if it gets pretty lengthy. (edit: this post is abt 1.8k words long, wow sorry lol.)

this is going to be a character analysis... sort of; it's an analysis of the version of marius that lives in my brain rent free. given that this is an introductory post to what i believe might be a series of my insane marius ramblings, i think i should provide some insight as to what said marius is like in order for the rest of this post to make sense.

first of all, i embrace realism and i reject canon. in marius' sweet wonders card, he finally reveals the significance of the z dog tag he's always wearing. while i think it's really magical that he was able to move on from blaming himself for his mother's death by having an epiphany staring at the ferris wheel... well, i like to make him worse and i just don't think, ultimately, that it's likely or realistic. the marius in my head has a very hard time trying to justify his own existence. i'm not saying he doesn't want to live, or that he'd put himself in any kind of danger, but i believe that he works very hard in order to justify being alive (to himself). not only does he still grapple with the loss of his mother and the role he believes he had to play in that, but there's a part of him that also blames himself for giann's disappearance.

marius believes that he is a vortex that sucks in everything, that destroys everything in its wake. we know for a fact, above all else, that marius doesn't want other people to have to go down with him.

i also believe (especially due to this description) that marius personally manufactured the image he has as a playboy, as opposed to it being a reputation that was given by others which he eventually leaned into.

allow me to elaborate.

marius, in his desire to avoid people being chewed up in his life and spat back out, would want to control the situation as much as possible. there are a few reasons why i believe he'd make this reputation for himself, which are 1) having control of the narrative of himself and making sure people do underestimate him is precisely how he maintains the upper hand in many scenarios (because let's face it, no one expects ditzy, arrogant marius von hagen to be able to outsmart them), and 2) it's much easier to push people away when he makes himself seem incompetent and undesirable. he may be one of the richest men on the planet, but sometimes money isn't enough to redeem an awful composition.

all of that having been said, marius additionally has to have severe trust issues due to the fact that he has a lot of influence and wealth people undoubtably want to use him for, and said influence is the source of a traumatic experience he went through as a child that would forever change the way he'd interact with others in the future. if you remember, marius vaguely alludes to an incident in will of the trees.

he mentions it again in the card in the darkness when he and rosa get trapped in a dark cave and he begins to panic, only this time he's a little more detailed about what happened to him in order to explain his anxiety to her.

then, he actually gives the details of what happened in his personal story.

mc remembers the hints marius had dropped to her a couple of times regarding this incident, so she then asks:

i don't believe marius actually blamed himself for his mother until this was said about him. his mother is the root of all things; he thinks that if he was never born, she would have never died, and perhaps she and giann would still be around and would be happy and healthy. he convinces himself that his existence destroyed his family. the stress of his feelings and anxiety makes him extremely sick as a kid.

all of this was too much for a young marius; now, remember when i said that i reject canon? that's important, because i don't think he ever properly recovered from this episode. i fully believe that marius does need and should go to therapy as an adult, and hasn't done so. my headcanon as to why he didn't, and why he gives off the impression that he's fine now and everything is fine now, is because he wised up and realized that he was being a burden on others and his mother's death would be in vain if he did so.

marius, tired of being a strain on the people he loves, pretends to be mentally sound to avoid his father and brother worrying about him. the way he chooses to cope with this is to disassociate himself with these events that happened to him, to the point where he talks about them like it wasn't him personally that experienced it. (i might touch upon this again in a future post if it becomes relevant.) he can't let others know that things bother him, because it can be weaponized; it would make him look weak, and the last thing he wants is anyone worrying about him but himself, or anyone to take advantage of that weakness. consider this as a strategy he adopted from the "conceal, don't feel" philosophy.

that having been said, a personal acceptance to "get over it" to stop feeling like he needs an emotional babysitter in his relatives =/= a lack of resentment towards others for how that was handled. marius nearly died due to the cruelty of a jealous relative, and his family was right in trying to protect him (as burdensome as he feels he may is), and he learns pretty quickly that he cannot trust others.

he still is one of the most influential people alive, and that means there's going to be a slew of people walking in and out of the revolving door leading into his life that are going to want to take advantage of that fact. it also goes beyond just people wanting to manipulate him, but he doesn't enjoy playing along in this circus of social hierarchy, and doesn't enjoy the people hanging around in these spaces. because they're ingenuine, they have no merit to him, and quite simply put he's looking to fill his life with color and sincerity.

i propose that... in order to consider a romantic relationship with someone, despite how much he longs for one, he would need to deeply get to know the person first and it would take a significant time to do so... and i know what you're thinking, it's just like a regular relationship, right? getting to know someone before deciding if you want to be with them? except, to marius, this is extreme; this social sphere he occupies has effectively chewed him up and spat him back out, because he's at the top of the top. his father is the wealthiest man in the world. marius by virtue of being a von hagen is essentially on the same level as royalty, and his family name is not enough to protect him. he has to be sharp, and he needs to be alert and constantly on guard.

he'd have no idea what someone's intentions may be with him when he meets them and he knows better than to blindly trust a person's seemingly apparent good faith, but also... he's so worried about dragging people down that he'd be almost afraid to consider it. it isn't enough that people want to use and abuse him to their hearts' content, but they'd try to tear up anyone else who went in there with him, and marius would be afraid of that outcome. he's already ruined the lives of his mother and his brother in his failure to protect them from the circumstances that removed them from his life. he would be unwilling to cause someone else he cares about to be put in the same situation, and he wouldn't be able to bear it if they also ended up abandoning him.

all of that leads me to say: i believe he would be more scared and avoidant upon realizing he was falling in love with someone, rather than immediately trying to pursue it with all he's got like he would his other endeavors.

the reason? it's so simple to pursue art. art is an arbitrary passion of his that doesn't impede on anyone else but himself, nor is it influenced by any outside forces; marius has full control over it. the same goes for his company; no one is going to sit there and hold his hand with his newfound ceo duties. he's always been capable of pursuing things on his own. romance is different; romance involves putting his young and fragile heart on the line to go after a whole other independent and outside entity not knowing whether or not he's going to face rejection.

eventually, i believe he'll completely learn to get over the hurdle, but in the interest of transparency... i think he's going to need a nudge from the other person first. a sign it's reciprocated, before he has to put his heart on ice.

i think it's on brand for marius to be a tease when you meet him; it is a genuine facet of his personality, but it's also something that feeds well into his reputation. he's assuming that people are going to know exactly who he is when he runs into them on the street, so he doesn't even bother dropping his pretense. but, i do think that extends... he doesn't drop that mask right away, it takes months and months, and lots of patience and understanding in order to unravel the mystery that is marius von hagen. he's going to want to gauge whether or not it's something he wants to commit to, and if it is, he's going to have to be prepared to unpack all that baggage. he would have to believe that this is going to be a happy ending for him, that his fairytale won't be a tragedy, in order to see a path forward. once marius goes into something, he doesn't step out.

so, he won't put up that much of a fight if he starts to fall in love with you, but that doesn't mean he would be eager make that leap of faith without getting a hint that there will be a safety net ready to catch him when he falls.

[jimothystu]

Instagram AU: One of the Boys Part 2

Part 1

Summary: YN is best friends with Trevor and by proxy has become "one of the boys" with him, the Hughes brothers, and Cole. Fans begin to speculate whether she's dating one of them or if she really is just friends with them all. Pairings: Reader & Jack Hughes, Reader & Trevor Zegras, Reader & Quinn Hughes, Reader & Luke Hughes, and Reader & Cole Caufield Notes: Wow, I did not think part 1 of this would do so well dnbsjndskj thank you everyone!! Here's part 2! Please lmk (in an ask or in tags or sth) who you want the reader to date/any ideas for future social media aus and/or written fics!! Tag list: @sammiejane22 @jackhues (join here! And/or lmk if you want to only be tagged in this series)

Liked by jackhughes, trevorzegras, lhughes_06, joshnorris, and others

_quinnhughes: I stg she stops to take pictures every two seconds

Tagged yourusername

View top comments

yourusername: Kay but you always ask me to send you the pics after

Liked by _quinnhughes

trevorzegras: 😂 she’s the worst

⇢ yourusername: I’m not that bad!

⇢ trevorzegras: You made me stop the car on the side of the highway once so you could take a picture of the sunset

⇢ yourusername: That was one time!

⇢ _quinnhughes: @/yourusername Trev and I finally agree on something just roll with it

Liked by trevorzegras and yourusername

yourbestfriend: So aesthetic omg

⇢ yourusername: Right? Think Q might be a prodigy photographer

Liked by _quinnhughes

jackhughes: "She thought the sky was pretty, but I thought she was prettier"

Liked by _quinnhughes

⇢ yourusername: Awe shucks 🥰

⇢ trevorzegras: That's disgustingly cheesy dude 😂

⇢ jackhughes: Ik I'm quoting a romance book or something

⇢ lhughes_06: What were you doing reading a romance book

⇢ jackhughes: I wasn't! It's just one of those sayings yknow?

⇢ trevorzegras: No??

fan2: Stop this is so cute 😭

Liked by trevorzegras, jackhughes, nsuzuki_37, and others

colecaufield: YN in her natural habitat

Tagged @/yourusername

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yourusername: Why you gotta do me so dirty 😭

⇢ colecaufield: 😂😘

Liked by yourusername

⇢ fan11: WHAT DOES THE KISSING EMOJI MEAN ARE THEY DATING

⇢ fan3: @/fan11 nah pretty sure she's dating Z

⇢ fan7: @/fan3 @/fan11 yall are delusional she's just friends with them all

⇢ fan3: @/fan7 let us be delusional 😭

trevorzegras: Did you guys have a party and not invite me??

⇢ colecaufield: You weren’t here 🤷‍♂️

⇢ yourusername: Also not a party! Just wine and takeout

⇢ jackhughes: Sounds like a party to me

⇢ yourusername: @/jackhughes then you need to go to more parties because that’s just sad

Liked by colecaufield

yourbestfriend: Can we have a wine and takeout date soon??

⇢ yourusername: Ofc!! ❤️

Liked by yourbestfriend

Liked by _quinnhughes, lhughes_06, jackhughes, trevorzegras, and others

yourusername: As an honorary Hughes bro I decided it was my duty to teach these guys how to cook for themselves. Everyone please pray for my kitchen

Tagged _quinnhughes, lhughes_06, jackhughes

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jackhughes: It hasn't burned down yet!

⇢ yourusername: "Yet" is the keyword here

quinnhughes: Hey I didn't do too badly

⇢ yourusername: You were probably the best out of you three

Liked by _quinnhughes

⇢ lhughes_06: You said my food was good though!

⇢ yourusername: Yeah but I didn't say it was great or the best

⇢ lhughes_06: Ouch

⇢ yourusername: You can try to redeem yourself next time!!

Liked by lhughes_06

trevorzegras: Wow why weren't @/colecaufield or I invited to your cooking classes? We're basically honorary Hughes too

⇢ yourusername: Bc you two are lost causes

⇢ colecaufield: Wow! Rude!

⇢ yourusername: @/colecaufield Suzy literally had to teach you how to make pasta

⇢ colecaufield: That was just for a video!

⇢ trevorzegras: Yeah! He can make pasta without his captain's help

⇢ yourusername: I'll believe it when I see it

⇢ colecaufield: Fine come over next time you're in mtl and I'll make you pasta

⇢ yourusername: It's a date!

Liked by colecaufield and others

⇢ trevorzegras: So glad you highjacked my comment to plan your date

elblue6: Good luck!

⇢ yourusername: Thanks Momma Hughes! I'll need all the help I can get lol

[the-ultimate-puppteer]

Really enjoying your rwby imagines there's not enough of them in the fandom, how woukd rwby be with an s/o who has a dark past and is trying to redeem themselves however due to this past some don't trust/hate them

Team RWBY with an S/O who has a dark past and is trying make up for it by becoming a hunter

Reader is gonna be one of the students at Lady Browning's Preparatory Academy For Girls but it's for juveniles instead of just girls cause I'm going for a GN. Reader anyway in this they worked with Roman and Neo in Roman Holiday and a couple afterwards

Blake 

•I'm sure you know but this girl was probably the most understanding outta everyone 

•After all she was part of the white fang, and while it's different from being an assassin it doesn't change the wrong she's done or the lives that were lost that could've been prevented 

•She knows it's the same for you and she's so glad that you decided to leave your old life behind and try to make up for it by protecting others

•She does understand the distrust and hate you get for your past though

•Doesn't mean she doesn't hate it when people try to start stuff with you because of it or spread rumors about you faking your remorse

•She's very quick to defend you in these situations, saying how while your past won't change at least you're trying to make up for up for it by helping others

•And for that he's always going to be a better person than those who can't see past a person history and judge then for it

Weiss

•Not gonna lie this girl was shook when she found out about your past

•And had a bit harder of a time coming to terms with it then the other girls 

•It doesn't change her feelings for you don't worry

•She just needs time to process this new information 

•She is glad and very proud that you left that life behind you and want to change

•She's very quick to thrash anyone who tries to start anything and she is very good at making them feel ashamed for their mistrust or hatred of you

•Yes your past is dark but at least you're not letting it define you and are choosing a brighter path of saving others

Yang

•Okay so this girl probably processed the information the best outta all the girls

•She may have been a bit shook but it's kinda ambiguous 

•Still all that matters to her is who you are now and who you are now is amazing 

•Probably the girl who's going to throw hands with the people who hate you and talk shit behind your back

•You tell her it's fine but she's not letting people talk shit about her love

•Afterwards if their words or people treatment of you gets to you expect to cuddled into the bed by this sunny dragon queen

•You're past may have been dark but your future is full of light

Ruby

•Oh boy so you probably thought she'd take this well but your only partially right

•Ruby is shaken when finding out about your past

•The person she loves and cares for use to kill people and from a young age at that

•You need to explain things to her pretty quickly and comfort her while doing so

•Afterwards she's able to come to terms with your past and is happy that you decided to change

•what she hates are the people who hate you, she can understand the distrust but they don't even know you abd are judging you

•She finds that unacceptable and after yelling at them to leave you alone she drags you off to hang out so she can cool off

•Sure you may have done dark things in the past but at least you're trying

•That's far more then most people would attempt to do

•And for that she's going to forever be by your side