#dimensional manipulation

[estrangedandwayward]

Still thinking about larys helping aegon off the floor, a display of physical strength which he would normally keep hidden, a brief slip of his mask of helplessness he told aegon about last episode. He disarms himself in a way, by showing the strength most assume he doesn't have

[randum-famdoms]

JK Rowling’s books are a building. And she stopped after creating shitty, waterlogged, deeply structurally unsound blueprints and half the scaffolding. Then left it to the elements (aka her Twitter), damaging it nearly beyond repair.

And the fandom looked at this, and put on hard hats. And they tore down that scaffolding, and took those blueprints and changed it into something that would work, and they built the most beautiful building you’ve ever seen.

The building JK Rowling designed was deeply flawed, it would never pass inspection, it would collapse under its own weight and lack of structural integrity within seconds of being built. The aesthetic design was tragic and hideous and offensive. But the fans looked at all of that, and said to themselves, “this building is fucked up, it will never be good if left like this, and everything about it is terrible and makes zero sense. But goddamnit, I have trauma and I can fix it because it must be done and no one else will.”

JK Rowling may have designed that original building. She may have had the initial idea. She may have built that unfinished scaffolding. She may have drawn those blueprints.

But this building is no longer JK Rowling’s.

[ppg-villains-defense-lawyer]

One thing I think that's significant when Sedusa was manipulating the Gangreen Gang vs when she was manipulating the Professor or the Mayor is that it was the only time she didn't use a disguise. She was open about being a villain and, presumably, a seductress (kinda hard to hide when your name is literally Sedusa). And I think that speaks to how well she knows her victims and how to approach them.

The Professor is a pretty clean cut, nerdy guy whose type is similarly clean cut, nerdy women but if not nerdy than at least good. Wholesome. Maybe even kind of introverted, as we see with Ms. Keane. So Sedusa emulated that archetype to a T, pretending to be this sweet, soft spoken woman and literally naming her alter ego Ima Goodlady. With the Mayor, she probably picked up real quick that he already had a crush on his hot secretary, so she just took over Ms. Bellum's identity.

With the Gangreen Gang, she knew that unlike the others, if they knew she was a villain, that that would be a bonus, not a turn off. She knew they were lonely and isolated and craved outside affection and played into that, and knew they'd take her "seductress" reputation as a challenge instead of a deterrent. Basically the classic "bad girl/boy" fantasy where, sure, they use and manipulate other people, but with me they're genuine. I'm the exception to the rule. And because I can get this unloving person to love me, then that means I have value.

[kent-farm]

You’re Vibe.

—Kamilla Hwang, The Flash, “Legacy”

[t-n-c]

The sexual/sensual coding in Aaravos and Viren's interactions: The Sequel

Also known as "Why I don't like the revelation in s5."

Trigger warning--This discussion is going to mention manipulation/coercion, homophobic stereotypes, and sexually-charged abusive/invasive behavior under the read more so please proceed with caution.

Alrighty so before I start talking about tdp s5's major reveal in the Viren + Aaravos relationship I'd like to discuss the interactions they had with each other before and after the reveal and my thoughts on them. Here we go:

First thing I'd like to note is that Aaravos is still showing the creepy, invasive behavior that concerned me in my original post. Throughout the scene he and Viren share he:

Touches Viren

Invades Viren's space

And manipulates/controls Viren's body

And in addition to controlling Viren's body, we've also find out that Aaravos can straight up move Viren's very soul if he wants.

And like I addressed in my previous post, he does all of this without asking for Viren's permission and/or showing any care for Viren's wishes--hell, he explicitly ignores Viren when the latter says he doesn't want to be in the prison with him.

That being said, these actions alone aren't the most concerning issue for me; that isn't to say that they're not concerning to me all, but it's nothing that hasn't been done before in their relationship--it's nothing new is what I'm trying to say.

However, the revelation about Sir Sparklepuff being their child is new--and imo it adds a whole new level of creepiness to the relationship.

Allow me to rehash what went down a bit:

Aaravos reveals to Viren that in order for his resurrection to be permanent, he needs to preform a spell that requires the "blood of his child"--Viren protests and claims that he'd never sacrifice his children.

Aaravos responds that he never expected him to hurt Claudia or Soren and reveals that he has a third child he can use--

Viren is confused and claims he doesn't have any other children--then Aaravos reveals that Sir Sparklepuff is his and Aaravos' child

He tells Viren that Sir Sparklepuff is there for him to use for the spell and that he will teach Viren how to use his "living essence" to reclaim both his life and his "future."

There's a lot (and I mean A LOT) of things about this scene/reveal that worry me; I'll try to sum it up neatly, but it's probably going to be pretty lengthy regardless. Here we go:

Concern 1) Viren had no idea that Sir Sparklepuff with his child, but Aaravos did

No matter how many angles I try to see it from, this feels violating to me; considering how Viren didn't know what the spell would do and how desperate he was at the time, his willingness to perform the original spell is dubious enough already--to then have it revealed that the spell produced a child that's biologically his really disturbs me. It might just be my opinion, but I feel that it adds a level of predatory to Aaravos that's unnecessary at best and horrifying at worst.

Concern 2) The lengths Aaravos has gone to keep Viren alive (and presumedly on his side).

This includes:

a) Telling Claudia the spell that would resurrect Viren.

b) Preserving Viren's body for 2 years while Claudia gathered everything necessary

c) When they first met, he chose a spell that would create a being that would not only allow them to communicate, but could also be used to resurrect Viren if the need arose.

Now assuming the writers planned this all from the beginning (I have my doubts, ngl) this shows a great deal of effort and premeditation on Aaravos's part to make sure Viren sticks around--whatever his plans may be, Viren must play a pretty big role in them or else he would have just moved on when Viren died the first time. (It's either that or he has some strange sort of fondness for Viren, which leads me to Concern # 3)

Concern 3) As of now, we have absolutely no info about how their relationship is going to be portrayed going forward

While Viren's fate is a bit ambiguous at the end of s5, I'm 90% confident that he's going to live through s6 in one way or another and assuming I'm right and that happens, there are a few paths the writers could take in how they depict the relationship

Option A) They sweep everything under the rug and pretend the sexual coding in the relationship never existed.

Option B) They portray Aaravos as a complete monster who was just using Viren for one thing or another and has now discarded him since he got what he wanted from him.

Option C) They portray Aaravos as having some dark sort of attachment to Viren--one that won't allow him to let Viren "leave him"

All these possibilities are iffy imho, but I'm honestly not sure which would be worse.

Going with Option A feels lazy--like the writers don't want to deal with the dark themes they chose to put in and decided to take the easy out.

(Granted, it wouldn't be the first time the show has dropped important plot points/developments--no one seems to have found out that Viren and Aaravos sent the assassins at the end of s2, for example--but it would still feel cowardly to me)

Going with Options B or C both feel gross--with Option B it feels like Aaravos would be the epitome of the Predatory Queer-Coded Villain--he would have effectively used and abused Viren in a violating way (i.e coerced/forced him to bear their child) and abandoned him once he was done with him. It would be pretty hard to make a case for him having a "kind side" after that.

That being said, Option C isn't really any better--Aarvos would still be following the "Predatory Villain" stereotype, the only difference would be that he'd fall more into the role of an abusive partner than the "pure evil" role that some older queer-coded villains were placed in.

TLDR: I don't like the revelation of Sir Sparklepuff being Viren and Aaravos' child because I feel it follows the reoccurring theme of possessive/violating actions from Aaravos toward Viren that I've worried about all the way back in s3.

[godisasimp]

Stellarons Hunters in a nutshell

[rxttenfish]

tbh tho this is EXACTLY what merfolk relationships look like

and they just keep track of this. in their heads. all the time.

[mickmathersartblog]

"Strange Traffic at the Wormhole"

digital collage & digital painting by Mick Mather

(click image to view actual size)

[toboldlywrite]

I made the mistake of making Spidersonas of Star Saga characters just for fun and now my brain is drowning in a whole-ass AU

[strangelyregular]

how have analog horror creators not gotten their hands on old geometry videos yet? am I the only one who sees the potential here???

[labyrynth]

okay so apparently this is the "quick and dirty" version, except that it's...a lot less quick than I intended.

Was Mo Xuanyu a threat to Jin Guangyao (and/or his position)?

No.

Why Not?

To his Position: Jin Guangshan brought mxy to Koi Tower after Jin Zixuan died to threaten jgy's newfound position as heir...except that jgs never legitimized him. Mxy's presence would be much more effective as a threat if he was legitimized, so why didn't jgs legitimize him? Most likely, he didn't want to piss off his wife (even more than she already was, anyway), but mxy's general lack of skill and...uncharismatic nature weren't exactly "ideal heir" material.

To Jin Guangyao himself: [i.e. reputation, safety, etc.] lack of will, mostly; according to Jin Ling, mxy basically idolized jgy. but also, lack of ability: if he had the ability to make himself seem like someone to take seriously, his situation with both the Jins and the Mo family would have been completely different.

Did Jin Guangyao perceive Mo Xuanyu to be a threat (to him and/or his position)?

No.

Why not?

He isn't stupid. He would know everything I mentioned above.

Jgy's upset at mxy's presence wasn't because mxy was a legitimate threat to jgy, but because Jin Guangshan, the father he had been working so tirelessly to try to earn the approval of was actively trying to undermine him and spite him. Who wouldn't be upset?

Did Jin Guangyao fabricate a story about sexual harassment as an excuse to get rid of Mo Xuanyu?

[canon-typical content warnings]

No.

(Aka, did Mo Xuanyu actually sexually harass Jin Guangyao? Probably. At the very least, he probably did something that looked a lot like it to an outsider.)

Why not?

Comes from MXY's Account: when mxy summoned wwx, he had written several notes that explained his situation. It's after reading mxy's own notes that wwx concludes that mxy was sent home for sexually harassing other men (ch2)

WWX dismisses this theory: when wwx witnesses the argument between jgy and qin su, he theorizes about what the letter might say, and considers the possibility that jgy may have played a part in mxy's removal; he dismisses the theory, concluding that mxy getting kicked out was most likely legitimate (ch47)

No need to remove MXY: mxy's presence alone isn't a substantial enough threat to warrant addressing, and he ceased to be a potential threat entirely when jgs died, with no path to legitimacy.

MXY has no grudge against JGY: If mxy had done nothing wrong, but was still disgraced and sent back to his abusive family, it stands to reason that he would hold a grudge against the person who slandered him and sent him back. Adding one more person to his vengeance list wouldn't cost him anything extra, but he's satisfied with just the Mo family. he doesn't appear to even make any mention of jgy in all of his notes. (wwx doesn't realize the person sexually harassed was jgy until ch47)

Not how JGY would handle a threat: if mxy was in possession of some piece of information that jgy didn't want him to know, there's no reason to just...send mxy home. the information is either consequential or inconsequential. if it's inconsequential, it isn't worth the hubbub of such a damning rumor (see next point), and if it's consequential, it isn't worth the risk of letting mxy wander around freely when he could keep him close (with mutual blackmail), imprisoned (a la sisi), or just kill him (we already know he's not a very good cultivator, and hey--accidents happen).

Not a rumor JGY would create: circulating a rumor that "the bastard son of a whore turned sect leader was involved in homosexual incest" when said bastard son of a whore IS actually involved in incest (albeit unintentionally) is just knocking on the devil's door. if he's making up a rumor, there's literally no reason to have it hit so close to home, especially if it's something as attention grabbing as "bastard son of a whore turned sect leader receives unwanted sexual advances from his own half-brother"

in conclusion:

headcanon whatever the fuck you want, but the way that the text currently is, Mo Xuanyu was never a threat to Jin Guangyao, Jin Guangyao never thought he was, and Mo Xuanyu wasn't just some hapless uwu gay baby that fell victim to eeevil Jin Guangyao's Power Hungry Plotting

sometimes...other people do bad things...and make mistakes...and it's because they're exercising their own agency.

Speculation Zone: I think mxy probably was trying to come onto jgy, and had been for a while, with jgy doing his best to gently rebuff his affections and keep things under wraps; he really Does Not need any more scrutiny or speculation about his character. Based on the way he reacts in the present (especially when he shows up at Koi Tower), I'm guessing it was probably Jin Ling who saw, probably panicked and ran away, and told the first person he saw...and the rest is history.

[robotsprinkles]

okay.

so I don't have anything against warhammer 40k (from what I've seen it seems pretty cool).

and I don't know enough about the general fanbase to have a solid opinion on it

but the subset of wh40k fans who're obsessed with barging into any discussion of various sci-fi factions and declaring that wh40k or even just the imperium could destroy said faction/universe — or in some cases literally saying "don't be salty just cus all your favorite settings get solo'd by a space marine lmao" really drive me up the wall

like. shut the hell up.

that 80-90% of the time I see someone bring up wh40k in contexts that aren't about 40k it's to announce just how 40k is so so so so much stronger than every other sci-fi series and could wipe the floor with them really doesn't paint 40k fans (and 40k by extension) in a great light

also — and I'm sorry for bringing up the Alternity every time this happens but I mean. if people are going to be stupid then so will I — have fun beating the Hytherion when it travels billions of years into the past and eats your entire galaxy (or universe) before it even forms

(yes, transformers alternity is stupid as hell. fun thing to bring up in stupid nerdfights over whose universe is the strongest though.)

[layzeal]

lowkey i really like wang lingjiao

[electrosquash]

I want to express how i feel but any action to express myself would be an expression of my BPD. This makes me feel like a caged animal and boy i am circling my cage. Ruminating faster and faster and faster and FASTER

[iron-cutting-meteor-sword]

[reads a lupin fic] [goldilocks voice] characters in this one are too healthy and well adjusted :/ [reads another lupin fic] characters in this one are too fucked up and genuinely evil >:/ [reads another lupin fic] contrived plot line :/ [reads another lupin fic] everyone but Jigen/Lupin/Fujiko is out of character :/ [reads another lupin fic] everyone is out of character :/ [reads another lupin fic] resolved plot lines too quickly :/ [reads another lupin fic] too self indulgent :/ [reads another lupin fic] no one acts like they even like each other :/ [reads another lupin fic] way too soft and cuddly :/ [reads another lupin fic] way too dark and gritty :/ [reads another lupin fic] way too horny :/ [reads another lupin fic] this one’s anti-horny :/ [reads another lupin fic] so many headcanons that feel tacked on :/ [reads another lupin fic] this one is too hot :/ [reads another lupin fic] this one is too cold :/ [reads another lupin f

[theg0ddesspersephone]

If you're feeling really ambitious write down how you are using your power to. If you are confused by any powers these should all be on the powerlisting(.)fandom(.)com page