#doesn't care about that aspect of things at all. like this man's morality has been skewed for a LONG time but anyhow

[mad-hunts]

“I’m not suspicious. I’m just cautious.”

after hearing those first three words, barton decided almost immediately that the other must've been lying through her teeth. he saw the look that she gave him. or, what he perceived to be a look, anyway. it was filled with unease at what she was witnessing; though, barton truly hadn't done anything wrong ( yet ). though he supposed a part of him could understand why this might look bad to other people. he was going on a date with a woman he'd met a week prior that night and she seemed to be completely 'trashed' now. which, didn't exactly inspire confidence in anyone around him that she was one hundred percent 'a-okay.' it unfortunately wasn't unheard of for criminals to try to get their victims in an inebriated state so that they could steal from them more easily or worse. especially in a city like gotham.

but if barton was being honest, his date being what he liked to call a ' light weight ' and getting drunker than a skunk off of just two drinks was not something he wanted to happen. things just seemed to steer in that direction as he had faith that his partner could make her own informed decisions about how much alcohol she wanted to consume. she was only a few years younger than barton, after all, but it seemed like she had bit off more than she could chew anyhow. a sigh left the blonde's lips as he adjusted his hold on her slouching body so she wouldn't fall. he was hoping, or perhaps praying might be a better word to use in this context, that giving her a ton of water to drink might help relieve her of some of her symptoms; the most concerning one arguably being the most obvious one. but that unfortunately didn't come to pass. barton's date, dana, could not stay on her own two feet to save her life.

and it was really starting to annoy barton. in the end, however, he had to remember that they were in a quite populated bar environment and openly showing that? it might not be the best move to make. thus, barton plastered on the best smile that he could while his eyes zeroed in on khare's. the more friendly he appeared... the better, as that would probably make her more amenable to leaving the two of them the hell alone. barton was planning on killing dana after this date, and nothing was going to change that, ❝ oh, yeah. i totally get that. you can never be too careful whenever it comes to this town, right? but i promise you that my date is in good hands! me and her were just talking about how i'm gonna drive her home because she's had a little too much to drink. right, dana? ❞

a beat had passed without no response from his date, but then a hurried nod came from her as she fazed back into reality. god's — why couldn't this have been like any of the other dates he'd been on that week that ended in disaster for the other person? barton thought he had always been pretty careful not to draw attention to himself while he was out. and that way, he wouldn't be remembered, but he probably would be now. the actual action of opening the door in front of him couldn't come soon enough; a recited, nervous chuckle leaving his mouth, ❝ anyways... you saw my beautiful partner confirm it. now, would you please excuse us? i believe dana also said something about feeling nauseous, and i do not want to be cleaning vomit off my seats. so, the sooner we leave, the better. ❞

[artemis32]

yandere superfam drabble i

listen, i have a ton of ideas for the batfam. really, i do. but come on. superfam.

dc masterlist

Thinking about Clark and his family as yanderes.

Individually, they're enough of a headache, but together? Damn.

Clark Kent sees himself as your father. The problem with him as a yandere is, he's genuinely terrifying. I mean, ignoring the fact that this man is literally Superman, he's also incredibly delusional.

I think most people downplay, or forget exactly how strong this man is. He's strong, fast, and so insanely smart. All that being said, there is literally zero chance of you avoiding him, under any circumstances.

The only saving grace in this situation is the fact that he's, like I said, delusional. Not in a 'oh, I know this is kind of wrong, but I can justify it as being right' kind of way. Rather, he wholeheartedly believes he's helping you, doing the best thing for you by allowing his obsession and thoughts of you overtake your life.

You don't even have the luxury of a slow descent into the situation. His mindset regarding you shifted really quickly, and by the time you were clued in on it, you'd already been stolen away to a farm in the middle of nowhere, ripped away from your life without warning.

The only aspect of his mindset that doesn't quite fit in with the delusional yandere archetype is the fact that, if you push the right buttons, he will absolutely fly off the handle. That in itself proves that, no matter how much he insists otherwise, he knows what he's done to you is wrong.

Jon Kent is a carbon copy of his father. He firmly believes that your place in life is with them, as a part of their family. The fact that you weren't born into the family means nothing to him. If you weren't meant to be with them, the your paths would never have crossed.

The only difference between him and Clark is that Jon has no doubt in his mind that what they're doing is okay. Clark is delusional; Jon is deranged. A part of you believes you can't really blame him - he's a child, a product of his environment. If that's what he was taught his whole life, by the people he loved and trusted, then of course he didn't see a problem with it. But the larger part of you still hated him, hated the fact that he saw you as the crazy one, as if his family hadn't abducted you from your crappy Metropolis apartment in the middle of the night.

And the fact that he was a few years younger than you didn't stop him from treating you like a child. Granted, he was insanely strong and fast, but that didn't mean you had to enjoy him manhandling you as easily as his father and brother whenever he thought you were getting too fussy.

Conner Kent, a few years your senior, isn't like Clark or Jon. He's completely aware of what they're doing to you, of how invasive and creepy it is. He just doesn't care.

I'd almost argue that him being fully aware of how wrong it all was might've been creepier than the shared delusion of Clark and Jon, especially since he could stare you dead in the eye, blank faced at the sight of your tears, and tell you in the most monotonous voice you've ever heard that he didn't care about what you wanted.

Besides a few uncanny moments with him, he was mostly pretty cocky and snide, with this keen way of getting under your skin. It's almost as if he revelled in the fact that you knew he knew they were wrong, the fact that he could do something to help you get away from all this, but he just... didn't.

The worst part was, if he hadn't, you know, kidnapped you, you might've liked him. He was easy to like, if you ignored the annoying sarcasm and ever-present smirk, the type of person you might've wanted to be friends with.

Too bad he spoiled all that by being batshit crazy.

Lois Lane, to her credit, was against the idea at first. She acted as the voice of reason in the family. Or, at least, she tried to. But the men in her family were nothing if not determined.

She realised how crazy, how morally wrong it was to rip someone away from their life for what you thought might be best for them. She also realised how terrified you'd be, surrounded by people, beings who were so much stronger than you, able to subdue you with little more than the tip of a pinky finger.

But, in the end, they won her over. The idea of someone to take care of, someone normal in the family - someone like her, and a daughter to boot - the offer was too sweet to pass up on. She's an odd mix of mindsets, a point somewhere between Clark's delusion and Conner's unwavering sanity, and that makes her scarier than the rest of them, somehow.

The fact that she knows it's wrong, but is able to convince herself it's for your own good - that's terrifying.

Though, she is great in the motherly role, acting as neutral ground for whenever one of the others overwhelm you past what you can reasonably handle. She seems to have a sixth sense for your threshold too, appearing as if out of thin air whenever you're close to snapping at one of the three men who are always in your hair.

Out of all four of them, you'd admit to liking her the most, though admittedly, it's for a selfish reason. She's the easiest person to slip by - the rest of them have super sight and hearing, and even if you could slip away, they'd catch up to you in a few seconds flat. Lois, as much as you may dislike her, was only human. Yes, she had this weird sense for when you'd try to pull something, but for the most part, you had more leeway with her than anyone else.

As a result, you stuck to her like glue, which lead to Jon whining that you were playing favourites. Jon, you could understand. He was a child, one who was used to getting his way most of the time. Clark, however, also tended to develop a strangely endearing pout whenever you ignored him, one that had even Lois caving and forcing you to spend time with someone other than her.

One thing all of them had in common was the fact that they were so damn clingy. They seemed magnetically drawn to you, hanging off of you like children at all hours of the day. It was infuriating, constantly having your personal space intruded upon.

Even at night, when you tried to sleep, you'd wake to find Conner or Jon sliding in beside you, or, even worse, you'd mysteriously wake up in Clark and Lois' bed the next morning. That always made you uncomfortable - how had they managed to move you several rooms down without you once waking up?

Your only saving grace was that all four had their own lives outside of the household, often leaving for work or school, or even patrols, so you very rarely had to deal with all four at the same time. Your favourite days were the ones when it was just you and Lois. You could slip away in the morning, right after Jon caught the bus to school, and spend the entire day away from the prison-like household.

They at least trusted you enough to let you roam around the farm freely. Well, not trusted, exactly. More like, they knew you couldn't get far before one of them caught up to you.

The perks of living in the middle of buttfuck nowhere.

On the bright side, they acted as if the entire household revolved around you. You could decide what everyone ate for breakfast and dinner, you could decide the 'family activity' of the week. They tended to give in to what you wanted pretty easily, on the condition that you gave them something in return, whether it be attention, affection, or some crudely handmade gift that wasn't worth much.

Despite their joyful front though, they could all be terrifying, especially Clark. You'd learnt that the hard way when they'd first taken you. One of them snapping usually only happened if you put yourself in harm's way, but there were other circumstances where they (Clark), felt punishment was warranted.

You'd once made the mistake of making genuinely hurting Lois (or, her feelings at least), to the point of making her cry. Once, and never again.

But since then, you'd learnt how to play your cards, how to skate by in the Kent household with only a small dose of anxiety. You'd managed to avoid being metaphorically (and literally) shackled to the bed, like when you'd first arrived. Time had made things easier - time, and getting to know them.

As much as you were loathed to admit it, getting to know them had made it easier to handle them. It'd been a hard pill to swallow originally, but as the months went by, you'd had to accept the fact that you weren't going anywhere, and it was better to adapt to the situation than remain sullen and miserable for the rest of your life.

They seemed to believe you were slowly but surely coming around to the idea of being a part of their family. You definitely acted like it. But deep down, you were biding your time, waiting, planning for the perfect moment.

You'd leave, run and hide, go to furthest corner of the earth to get away from them. You always thought you would, and one day, you did.

[thatgirl4815]

OF Favorites Rankings

I did this once before the series aired, but I thought it’d be fun to rank the core characters in OF in the middle of the series’ run and once more at the end.

I’m gonna tag some of my active OF moots here (and some new OF friends as well!) if any of you want to play too—no pressure at all! And of course, even if you aren’t tagged, please feel free to play along! I’m super curious to see how opinions have changed from the beginning to the middle to the end. :)

@abstractelysium @nihilisticcondensedmilk @just-gm @firstkanaphans @prapaiwife @dreamedofyou @sandrayy @fanfictionroxs @khaopybara @tiedankelstotheocean @thegalwhorants @autisticbokutoenthusiast @itsmelb @way-too-indecisive @k-white @waitmyturtles

1. Sand

Of course it was going to be Sand in first place (get it…First place?)

He might be morally dubious in Ep6, but if anything, that makes him more endearing to me (don't ask me how). If they all play dirty, he can play dirty too. Plus, he's just got the vibe. The t-shirts, the jackets, the boots, the independence. The superior music taste? Mans has it all except for money. Though tbh, the moment that solidified Sand as my favorite was when he ran after Ray at the end of Ep6--he was just dealt a personal attack by Ray in front of everyone, but he doesn't even hesitate to go after him. And that is the marker of a ✨ favorite character ✨

2. Ray

Naturally, both Sand and Ray have taken the top spots (pun intended), and it's because I have a special place in my heart for "woobified" characters (did I use that right @waitmyturtles? 😂)...and Khaotung executes his layers so beautifully. Ray did go in for a nonconsensual kiss (which he later apologized for, but I digress) and he did hash out some pretty brutal insults last episode. Irrespective of his feelings for Sand, it's indisputable that he has used him in some aspect to distract himself from Mew. So for all that, Ray is also morally dubious--but I'll use the term realistic instead.

I just want to give him a hug and tell him that he matters. Because clearly that is something he's heard only a few times in his life. And maybe if he heard it more often, we could avoid situations like the one at the end of Ep6.

3. Nick

I’m having a bit of an inner battle with myself over this one because Nick came out of the gate with some very immoral behavior, and yet I’m still putting him above Mew, because something about him is just so…pitiful. Admittedly, I've been growing more and more frustrated with him as the series goes on and he still fights for Boston's affection when Boston has proven time and time again that he just doesn't care. Boston keeps him on a rope, and in some ways I sympathize with Nick's struggles, because it isn't easy to turn the feelings off once they've already been cemented. But alas. He's digging himself further and further into this hole.

4. Mew

A lot of my gripes with Mew have been in respect to his treatment of Ray, but I go back and forth because I do understand the mental toll it must take on him. Regardless of whether or not he's responsible for helping Ray through his mental issues, as his closest friend, I think it should've been him running after Ray at the end of Ep6. Yeah, Ray said some shitty things about everybody, but Ray has only ever wanted what is best for Mew. And Mew was going to watch him run off and potentially get himself killed, even after Ray admitted what Top had done. Something about that just doesn't sit right with me.

Despite all of this, Mew does appear to be the most level-headed of the group (alongside Sand, though that was put to the test last ep). And the moment he played TopBoston’s sex audio right in Top’s ear? Phenomenal. He nailed that execution. I will laugh when he's on his revenge kick next week.

5. Cheum

Cheum is this low firstly because she doesn't get a lot of screen time, and secondly because she's made some comments that are a little questionable too. I can't remember who said it, but someone pointed out just how often she references how lucky Mew is to be with Top--which is a little strange, looking at him like he's some big prize. Also, not to bring everything back to Ray but...she contributes to the "burden" discussion quite a few times.

I do really enjoy the small snippets we've gotten of her with April. I like that they finally gave their relationship a little bit more context in Ep6. They do seem to have some pretty solid communication (at least compared to the others) so I'm pleased with that.

6. Top

I know a lot of people have felt sorry for Top. And I understand that completely. I struggle to given that he not only cheated but lied about the cheating--and likely would never have admitted to it. For Mew, someone who values communication and honesty so strongly, it's like a punch to the face. I hope Top gets what's coming to him. (Also, stealing Sand's boyfriend? Wtf dude.)

7. Boston

Not much to explain about this one--I can understand why he is some peoples' favorite for the sole reason that he is the one creating all the conflict in the first place. But he's so twisted, manipulative, and careless that I just want Mew to kick him into that pool a hundred times over. I don't expect him to rise from last place by the end, but if he does, it'll be a miracle.

[raayllum]

not sure if you've been asked this before, but do you think callum will do dark magic a third time or more? do you think his arc is in any way building towards him coming to terms with it as a concept or will he continue to reject it on principle?

I've talked a little bit about S6 specific predictions and I do think there will be something along the lines of Callum reconciling his dark magic use with his identity (aka that those things don't have to be opposing, as long as those aspects feel/become understood to him) but...

I think the tricky thing is that there's a lot of elements at play all wrapped up in each other. A few things to get out of the way:

Dark magic has two main purposes in the story. The first is as a literal magic source (practical, usable, more unlimited in comparison to primal magic in some ways). The second is what it represents theme wise (desperation, short term power and agency vs long term lack of agency and subsequent powerlessness, destruction and vulnerability).

For most of his life, all Viren saw was the short term power and gain. Obviously we know he did something awful to save Soren, but we don't get the indication that sort of thing happened... More? We see from Claudia that there's lots of casual uses for dark magic and that Viren likely did so as well (needing to use his butterflies on a semi-regular basis for spells off screen). The next time we see a "dark magic to save a personal loved one" is the soul switching gimmick for Harrow, which is part of why Harrow, I think, shows up in Viren's dreams:

But as Viren says, going to sacrifice himself for King Harrow is his attempts at returning to form, to "I need to be the man he once believed I was." A Viren who was more selfless if not also as idealistic as a dark mage can be. Because in the years since healing Soren, Viren steadily lost himself and lost sight of protecting his children ("You're going to be okay now, that's all that matters" / "But Dad, Soren could've died!" "That doesn't matter!"). That's not to say he was morally irrefutable before, but he genuinely cared for his children and prioritized them. Finding his way back in S5 is what his journey is all, ultimately, about. Coining Kpp'Ar and getting his job ("His death creates opportunity for you") was the inciting incident - seemingly? arguably? - that set him on the "I always knew you'd go far, but I didn't know how far you'd go to get there. [...] You made the same choice you always made: the one that gives you power." Because power, not family, is what poisoned Viren's head — and why only by removing it does it have clarity; only by choosing powerlessness does he have freedom from Aaravos (at least in theory).

V: My whole life I've been chasing after things I didn't have. Status, influence, power. Maybe I should stop.

While Viren rejecting dark magic is ultimately a good for him, I do wonder what he would've done if faced with "kill Sir Sparklepuff to spare Claudia's life" > "kill Sir Sparklepuff to save yourself". He may have indeed made the same choice, now being more cognizant and also fearful of the bloodprice Harrow had spoken of, how dark magic always tends to inevitably have Consequences no matter how delayed, but it definitely would've been a different sort of choice.

With that in mind, I say all this to outline that Callum is starting from a fundamentally different place with dark magic and his loved ones. Like Viren he has pride, but Callum overall has very little ego. He doesn't crave notions of status (if anything he's typically uncomfortable with it) nor is just 'power' a desire for him. If he desires power, if he desires magic, then he does so out of a desire of agency, not self-importance or recognition. Callum doesn't want to be admired in an attempt to feedback-loop prove that he subsequently has worth. He wants to be tangibly useful; he wants to helpful.

One of the confines/constraints of the way arc 2 is structured is that we don't get much of Callum's feelings about dark magic use pre-the reveal it allows Aaravos to possess him. While he rejects it and mandates that it's wrong in S2, of course, he is still tempted by it and the potential 'good' it could do. He rejects being a Dark Mage™️ and refuses to have that as his primary form of magic > primal magic, but — as I've said before — that's different than ever rejecting doing dark magic ever again. That's different than swearing off this would ever be an option you turn to. I

A life with no dark magic is undeniably Callum's canonical preference, as far as usage and existence goes. That's clear to surmise even post-S2. But still, as soon as he used it, I always figured that if put into that kind of situation again — Ezran or Rayla's life on the line, and this was the only way to keep them safe — he'd do it. And then he does (5x08).

However, 5x08 does add important context to Callum's feelings about dark magic. Although I think he probably would've said everything he said to Finnegrin in 5x08 even without the possession bomb ("I'm not a dark mage. I don't do dark magic!" and his refusal even under torture), it's undeniable that learning his dark magic use allows Aaravos to possess him has rattled him. It's not clear how much of his staunch aversion is because now he knows the full consequences, compared to how he might behave if he didn't know it leaves him open to Aaravos, but I think the knowledge here, accordingly, is a burden and just makes all of it worse for him.

In 2x07, Callum didn't know the full potential consequences of his actions, if in fearful imagination and nothing else. But because of 4x04, he does:

C: I'm not afraid that he'll hurt me. I'm afraid that he'll use me to do awful things, or hurt people I care about. [...] I'm afraid, Rayla. What if I'm on a path of darkness?

(We'll return to the "path of darkness" concern in a moment, but pin in it for now.)

The tricky thing, though, is that if you have a character say they'll Never do something, and then they do it (and for a good reason), it's very hard to convince the audience that they'll really never do it again. There are ways to — Rayla said she'd never abandon or kill for her family (Bloodmoon Huntress), then she did abandon Callum (for an understandable but not a good reason, though, I might add), and now we're working on being convinced (painstakingly slowly) that she can learn how to stay — and this could be the route they take with Callum. But unlike Viren, I don't think Callum has as much of a lesson to learn surrounding dark magic because he's always used it for genuinely good reasons and with full awareness of his actions. He doesn't lie to himself over it (he doesn't have Viren's greater good schtick nor interest in it) and it was in literal life-or-death situations.

Viren needed to change because his dark magic use escalated in the de-prioritization of his kingdom but — more importantly to his interpersonal development — his immediate relationships and family bonds. Thus far, Callum's shown no hint of that, and I'm not sure that he will, given that interpersonal relationships — not glory or the greater good — are his primary motivations in all things, usually, but especially when it comes to dark magic.

Therefore, I don't think Callum's issue (as it stands now; S6 could make him start to go on a Viren "I can sacrifice my loved ones path by proxy of paranoia") is as much "I have to reject dark magic and subsequently de-prioritize my personal relationships" because... Him loving less is not the solution, to me. He should be prioritizing his personal relationships. Even, unfortunately, to these current extremes.

When Callum states he's scared that he's on a path of darkness in 4x07, it is a little odd, mostly because at that point there's not much to indicate — at least not as much interpersonally (because as an audience member I was screaming crying throwing up) with the knowledge we had at the time — as to why. He was obsessed with the mirror and Soren warned him not to be like his dad ("My father was obsessed with it. Callum, I know you love magic, but be careful. Cause it can change people") over it, but his primary concern seems to be from what Aaravos has told him: "Already tainted by darkness, and destined to play right into my hands." Those are all external forces/warnings, and they worry him. S5, specifically 5x08 I think, is when we see the big internal shift there.

But I do think the "What if I'm on a path of darkness" and his doubt when Rayla reaffirms otherwise is important, because it plays into his tendency to tunnel vision. He's afraid of the dark because in that moment, and in some ways in 5x08, it feels like it's all he can see.

With that in mind, I think Callum's arc will maybe not be a Relinquishing of dark magic entirely, but dismantling the systems/circumstances in place (through acquirement of more primal magic) so that he has less need of it, and a reminder that he Also has Light inside him, too. Dark and light reconciled — for worse and for better.

[teen-heart-throb-mr-hyde]

evil is arbitrary, or, i’m begging you all to be normal about hyde (and queerness)

so like. does anyone else think it’s weird when people conflate hyde’s actual evil with hypotheticals about his gender identity/presentation? here’s a post about that.

cw for discussion of general queerophobia and specifically transmisogny

to contextualize this post going forward, i'm going to lay down this principle: that what we consider evil is totally arbitrary.

"evil" is a concept, and like all concepts, we made it up, both as a society and as individuals. there are some things that basically everyone (individuals and society) can agree and have agreed, across time and culture, are objectively evil, like straight up murder. there are other things, however, that are morally neutral, or even good that have been deemed as "evil/morally wrong" within certain societies (which shape individuals), like queerness.

following so far? excellent.

there are two aspects to what i am reluctant to call hyde's "evil" considering the above, but keep in mind this idea of evil is filtered through two lenses: the individual (jekyll) and the society (victorian england). the two aspects are the canon/textual and the subtextual.

the canon is what we directly see on the page, and what we see on the page amounts mostly to two things: hyde's violence and cruelty towards others. when it comes down to explicit, textual evidence of hyde's evil, those are the examples we can pull from. these are also things that can, pretty objectively by many individuals and society, be considered evil. murder is bad. not really inventing the wheel here.

the subtextual is, obviously, very different. technically, it doesn't exist. the subtextual nature of hyde's "evil" is going to be different for everyone because it's what we think exists underneath the actual canon. based on textual evidence, we build a subtext that explains or expands on themes, characterization, messaging, etc. based on canon evidence in the novella, many people read in a degree of queer subtext, regarding both jekyll/hyde's gender and sexuality. jekyll is some kind of queer and has repressed that due to the heavy stigma and bigotry present during the time, and this emerges in hyde along with his other "base urges." but that doesn't actually exist in the text, it's just one reading that you can have.

hyde does some things in canon that are objectively evil (violence and cruelty) and could have done some things if you read the subtext a certain way that were arbitrarily evil, based on jekyll and the society that molded him (queerness).

so why do modern readers, modern queer readers treat these things as equally evil?

honestly? fucked if i know. but i have some theories.

this problem may be the opposite of the "sir danvers problem," which i've talked about before. while that comes from people woobifying hyde and wanting to remove any ill intent from his canon, objective evil, i think this problem comes from people wanting to put ill intent into his subtextual, arbitrary evil. with this, people lump in hyde's subtextual, arbitrary evil, specifically this reading of queerness, with his canon, objective evil and judge them as equally bad. which is just fucking not true!!!! i don't care how tired you are of people calling hyde a poor little little meow, it's a weird, poorly analyzed take.

if we take that reading of queer subtext, we can understand why jekyll and victorian society would conflate these things as equally evil, but as modern readers we don't have to. and we shouldn't! we should understand the nuance between which of jekyll/hyde's behaviours are actually evil, and which are only treated as evil. to imply that these, (again, because they're based on subtext) hypotheticals of hyde getting it on with other guys, or not adhering to binary standards of masculinity is just as bad as him killing a man in cold blood is gross, plain and simple.

it's especially sinister since i see this most often paired with the idea that hyde is in some way gnc. he's a drag queen, or a cross-dresser, or just more effeminate than jekyll, and that is supposed to make him more evil or just generally more "unpleasant." that's some straight up alfred hitchcock's psycho level transmisogny. if you want to make hyde any of those things, it should to be to question what "evil" means, who or what decides what evil is, and whether or not that is a correct judgement to make. (hint: it's not. gnc men/transfem ppl are not inherently evil. jesus.)

tldr; there's a lot going on. evil is arbitrary. some things are pretty objectively evil and hyde does those in canon, and some things are not and hyde could have done those in subtext. treating them as equally bad is weird. have all the queer readings of the text you want, just maybe interrogate why you're making those readings and how you pair them with the actual text.

[darklinaforever]

No because once again, you are just repeating like parrots the same arguments over and over again that have already been dismantled and I don't care. As one of these anonymous messages says, it must be tiring and boring to post the same thing 24/7...

I know the definition of grooming as well as the true meaning of what is implied in a historical context. And obviously not you. I already did an entire post explaining this book and show grooming bullshit :

But all you care about is appearing morally superior and you look like a bunch of ridiculous fanatics. Or some ridiculous bigot, because I'm pretty sure it's the same person sending these stupid messages over and over again.

What is your problem ? You're bored ? Why are you spying on my accounts like that ? Seriously, why are you so obsessed with me ? I imagine him on the lookout for the slightest post on Daemyra that I make ready to pounce like a predator on its prey. My god, this person(s) must not have a life. It's sad. 😂

What do you expect ? That between the insults and the repetitions of the same stupid arguments over and over again for a long time I actually delete my account to please you ? Or that I suddenly say : Oh but my god you are right ! You delivered me from evil ! Daemyra is such a groomer ! Daemon is a monster who doesn't love anyone ! 😱😂

By the way, here is again the little free quote from GRRM Martin's book on Daemon, his favorite character whom he considers to be a gray and complex character. So your Daemon is BAD BAD BAD, well the author himself tells you no :

Over the centuries, House Targaryen has produced both great men & monsters. Prince Daemon was both. In his day there was not a man so admired, so beloved, & so reviled in all Westeros. He was made of light & darkness. To some he was a hero, to others the blackest of villains.

You really look like a bunch of disillusioned idiots. It must be hard when the true creator himself doesn't agree with you on what the character is.

It must also piss you off that these interviews for the series exist, right ?

There's no point in booing me because I say something that has already been said by the directors and screenwriters themselves. I don't agree with everything they say or do in this stupid adaptation, but at least we can agree on some points.

Oh, and I have already said I don't know how many times that I recognized that Daemyra had toxic aspects in the series version, except that, so what ? This will prevent me from shipping the Daemyra version of the series maybe ?! No. Love is not necessarily something pure, we have to stop the bullshit, especially in fiction. On the other hand, I maintain that there is nothing toxic in the book version. There is no such thing as a brothel. It's an invention of Mushroom. There is no voluntary abandonment of Daemon for 10 years. In reality he was banished under penalty of death. There is no Daemon leaving Rhaenyra to deal with childbirth alone. He was by his side in the books. There is no strangulation either. And once again, the age difference and the incest aspect are not real arguments as to a possible toxicity in their relationship, due to placing the relationship in its fictional and historical context from which GRRM draws inspiration, namely the feudal era, where age differences and incest were included in the customs of the time for specific reasons. Especially if we are in a family where incest has no impact due to their MAGIC BLOOD ! These elements are not evidence of toxicity. Open a history book. An age difference and incestuous marriage in a historical context does not necessarily result in toxic abusive relationships. This is bullshit.

Also, I don't have the impression that you will understand that the show is not the book. I always distinguish between the two and obviously you don't. Because what exactly do you believe ? That if Daemon cheats on Rhaenyra in the series, my world will fall apart ? No. My posts on Daemyra will continue because the book will always exist. You know, the book that has a different canon from the show, therefore implying that the canon of the series cannot interfere with that of the book. But you didn't remember the difference between the two. You prefer to mix it up to fix your pathetic vision.

The series is already shit. Even for the Daemyra relationship they messed up on a lot of points. And I'm not even going to start with the greens, Alicent etc. It is a disaster. The series itself is full of inconsistencies.

I will add that in reality you do not care about the so-called abuse that Rhaenyra suffered from Daemon. Otherwise you would care what Alicent and the greens team did to her. But you don't care. You even expect the show to write scenes of stupid abuse between Daemyra over and over again. Because you don't actually care about Rhaenyra. The proof tells you that no one can love the whore of Dragonstone, a nickname literally coming from the greens team. Bunch of hypocrites.

Once again I recommend going to the tumblr of @la-pheacienne and of @horizon-verizon to educate you on what the character of Daemon and the Daemyra relationship really is. The posts of @stromuprisahat are also pretty good in general on Fire and Blood.

The antis are really crazy. The bitch who should close her account apparently well she tells you to go fuck yourself and buy a life.

@aleksanderscult

[invested-in-your-future]

I think one aspect I can't wrap my head around is just how boring the writing around Ozpin has been.

You have being older than pretty much entire civilization that has lived possibly hundreds (if not more) lives in completely different environments, locations and circumstances. There's no relationship or tie that can be "permanent" or "long-term" because can y'all imagine what passage of time looks like to someone that old?

Like, think of LOTR Elves. A "normal" elf lives few hundred years and a high elf can live a thousands of years and even then only really "die" by their own will of leaving the continent into literal afterlife. There are elves that refuse and might literally remain alive as "ghosts" till the end of universe itself. Even if your average Elf would last a few hundred years (and thus less than Ozpin) It fundamentally affects how they view the world, how they view death (and how much "an end" can be terrifying), as well as how they view other species and even basic daily events. An elf can say "see you latter" and not show up for DECADES because that's just how time works.

You have this ancient all-knowing presence that predates pretty much majority of the world and will likely outlive every single person he met, meets and would ever meet. Any single thing a person can do or say? He likely seen and heard it before. Turns and twists of history are merely reruns of what he already knows. He spent centuries being The Man Behind the Curtain and running things, manipulating people, making world-altering decisions. So what does the story do when it's time to do SOMETHING with him? The story just…makes him body-snatch(without explaining how ANY of that works because woooo can't have morally gray stuff) into a random kid that the characters then use as punching bag for no discernable reason other than so he can't be forced to spill the beans on what is going on.

And then it turns out that the character being this ageless being? Oh it doesn't matter, here's the ACTUAL important stuff - gods and then god that made gods! Who cares about Ozpin being OLD, who cares about Salem being OLD, who cares what happened and who cares what they want or what kinds of people they might be. Ozpin literally does not matter and Salem could be anyone at this point as long as that "Anyone" had the relic mcguffins. Why did the story feel the need to add gods and other nonsense when the writers can't do anything interesting with what they already have?

This single scene from RoP holds more attention, thought and characterization in terms of "someone being long-living" than entirety of Ozpin's presence so far in RWBY.

Just HOW do you make an ageless being that predates civilization and has lived for centuries if not thousands of years and has been pulling the strings behind countless generations BORING???

[greypetrel]

Hiiii, this is for the dragon age questions and for your darling Aisling

ESSENTIALS

04. What is their moral alignment?

LIFE

06. Which aspects of the culture they were born into holds the most significance for them?

12. How efficient are they with things like crafting potions or repairing their own armor?

DRAGON AGE: INQUISITION

06. How did they behave at the Winter Palace? Who did they support in the political scheming?

12. Did they respect the rituals in Mythal’s Temple? Who drank from the Well of Sorrows, Morrigan or your Inquisitor?

13. What do they think of Flemeth? If they drank from the Well, how do they feel about being now beholden to her as Mythal?

Hello! Thank you so much for asking Kat! :D

There's a cut because you made me speak about my two favourite missions (with all its flaws, but I write fanfictions to fill gaps in a story, and the Arbor Wilds is the perfect match of a map I love, lore, fun banter -Solas and Morrigan should co-host a talk show where the guest inevitably tries to stop them from turn the other into a toad... and my brain is on fire.)

Tis the Prompt List

ESSENTIALS

04. What is their moral alignment?

Neutral Good.

LIFE

06. Which aspects of the culture they were born into holds the most significance for them?

The sense of community. Acting like you're part of a group, your actions aren't really just yours, but can influence everyone else. The sense that you can survive only together, and everyone has a part to play, no matter how small.

12. How efficient are they with things like crafting potions or repairing their own armor?

Potions: she's pretty good. Her Keeper was a very skilled herbalist and she learnt well from her. She's not exceptional or a talent, and it doesn't come naturally to her, but she studied enough to be highly proficient. Repairing armour: She can keep her armour in good conditions from fighting. As a Storm Witch, she doesn't wear much metal in her gear (too conductive, and she uses armours in enemies enough to know exactly what happens if she makes a mistake). She knows how to to maintenance, but for bigger repairs she definitely needs help.

DRAGON AGE: INQUISITION

06. How did they behave at the Winter Palace? Who did they support in the political scheming?

Contrary to most people's belief, seeing her wearing her heart on her sleeve, she behaved very well. After long, LONG weeks of Josephine training her for the task. With the super-power of the people-pleaser, she won Belle of the Ball. On the support... With the Well of Sorrow, it's the one choice that keeps haunting her in the future. She couldn't bring herself to trust Gaspard to stay put and let Briala tell him what to do without any retortion. In her opinion, if the man launched his country in a civil war out of ambition, he isn't one to be trusted with a throne, and he isn't one to be trusted not to try and gain some more power for himself. She hated it to guts, but she supported Celene, believing that out of love, she'd be a little less prone to assassinate Briala than De Chalons. Kept every single scrap of paper she found in her studio as a safeguard and is ready to take everything out and blackmail the Empress should the need occur. Yes even after she disbanded the Inquisition, Leliana is instructed to call her immediately if Celene looks at another Alienage for more than 10 seconds.

She is still not sure it was the right decision, even if she really despises Gaspard too.

12. Did they respect the rituals in Mythal’s Temple? Who drank from the Well of Sorrows, Morrigan or your Inquisitor?

Respected every single ritual, defined the floor puzzles as "quirky but fun", quarreled with Cassandra and almost broke her friendship with her over it.

Another decision that haunts her even after: she let Morrigan drink, thinking she was readier than her to face the consequences (after being assured thrice that Kieran would have been taken care of by a trusted person should something bad happen). For her, it would have been a jump in the dark with risks she hadn't considered before, and respected Morrigan enough to trust her with it. Add the fact that Solas was a little too much involved in that choice... Which never happened before. She took it as an alarm bell and trusted him thinking that at least Morrigan was prepared to face risks, knew some of them... She didn't. If hurt and it felt bitter that she didn't, but she stepped back. Kept her sister back too. Continues with motivations in the next question.

13. What do they think of Flemeth? If they drank from the Well, how do they feel about being now beholden to her as Mythal?

Terrible mother, struggles to connect Flemeth to the Mythal she's been taught about. It was the first crack in her faith. It kept up for 2 years thinking that she did it for the greater good and was thinking on the long run... And then well, Trespasser happened, and it's part of the reason why she took it so bad. If she had actually drank from the Well, she'd hate being beholden by her. But like, hate to the point of asking Solas to fix that and leave the Anchor, leave her to die instead. She feels horribly guilty about having left the Well to Morrigan. If she could turn back time again, this is the one choice she'd change in a heartbeat. If she knew from the start, she would have pushed Morrigan away from the Well and jumped in herself, Pocahontas-style to spare her being beholden by her.

But I played that mission without knowing so go Aisling you can have one horror more.

[buck-yyyy]

what do you think of boris’ sexuality? do you think he externalizes his internalized homophobia? this is a goldfinch ask !!

ohhhhh this is interesting. so sorry for answering this a couple weeks late!!

first of all—boris is 100% bisexual. he absolutely expresses attraction to both men and women throughout the book, that boy is BI.

the second part is wayyy harder. i think that it's really difficult to tell from what we know of him—since the book is obviously from theo's perspective, we can't quite get inside his head the same way we can with theo, so i'm just gonna list out some examples of his,,, varying queerness tolerance level, i guess lmao.

he's casual about suggesting that hobie may be gay, and has a very calm reaction compared to theo's immediate discomfort.

similar to theo, as a teenager, he never brings up the times they've had sex.

he's flippant about mentioning that theo is "the only boy [he's] ever been in bed with", and brushes it off as "[they] both needed girls".

that's.... it, i think. at least off the top of my head. so my conclusion, to be honest, isn't based on a whole lot of proof, as opposed simply to drawing from other aspects of his character.

from his casual usage of the N-word after spending time with kotku, who was "cool"; his conversion to islam, not because he believed in allah, but because the muslim people around him were good to him; and finally, his attempt to pretend to be jewish in order to work for mr. silver, it's really easy to point out that boris conforms to various environments with ease, something that he's had to be able to do because of how much he's moved around. he's not doing these things because of personal beliefs, ideas, or opinions, he's doing them because he's trying to blend in, or in some cases, seem "cool", whether it's intentional or not (depends on the situation). that doesn't mean that his actions are automatically morally good or even neutral, but it gives us an understanding of why he is the way he is, and why he's so different depending on where he is and what point of his life he's at.

i think from that, it would be easy to argue that perhaps boris himself has no personal issue with gay people, but he would most certainly display the same homophobia that was so typical at the time it was written: ie. he would be casual about someone he knows being gay, but he's also definitely described things as gay, or said the word faggot in a derogatory context.

i'm not entirely sure how to relate all of that back to his internalized homophobia, simply because we don't get to see what that's like for him, or if that's even a thought on his mind. i think i'd argue that, what with everything else that's happened/currently happening in his life, he doesn't care all that much. i doubt he would ever call himself bisexual, or pansexual, or any of that; we can assign those words to him because he's a book character, but it's also important to recognize that those weren't words he would've grown up using, and that would likely stick with him in ways that some younger people would interpret as queerphobic. he's simply boris, and if boris wants to kiss a man then boris wants to kiss a man and that's all the thought he'd devote to it.

so yeah. i suppose i believe that he's homophobic, but not because he hates gay people or himself for being gay. i also think that he would not devote any particularly meaningful amount of time to dissecting who he is in regards to his sexuality, simply because it's never been a particularly important part of his life or survival.

[dreamcast641]

SCP OC: DMITRY VASILIJ MAKAROV

My boy is having a bio too finally! He is even older than claire when it comes to when I created him (2016) and he went through a lot as well. This bio will not be completely done either but otherwise I hope you like him as well. Please reminder that Dmitry is NOT a good character and It'll explain why while you read ----------------------------------------------------------------- GENERAL INFORMATIONS:

Full Name: Dmitry Vasilij Makarov Aliases/nicknames: None Age: 26-30 years old Gender: Male Pronouns: He/him Sexual orientation: Aromantic and Asexual (AroAce) Date of birth: august 3rd Place of birth: Unknown but it's somewhere in the USA Current residence: site 5c Nationality: American with slavic origins Spoken Languages: American English (main), Russian ( ONLY with his dad) , American sign language (ASL) and braille Affiliations/organizations: SCP foundation Occupation: Medical department operating as psychiatrist and researcher, specialized in oneirology. Works sometimes along with the omicron rho (the dream team) and ISD (internal security department) agent. -------------------------------------------------------------

APPEARANCE

BUILD: Skinny/slender

— Dmitry is a man of impressive height, he reaches almost two meters but unfortunately he is really thin and manages to hide it well thanks to the clothes he wears.

— Dmitry doesn't take much care of his image and his being very busy often distracts him from having a correct diet. He doesn't eat often and if he does he doesn't get enough protein. it is Claire who reminds him to eat, often making time to prepare his meals.

-----

SCARS: acid burn scar all over his right side of the face

— Dmitry has a large, visible burn scar on his face and the contrast with his naturally pale skin makes it stand out even more.

— it's been years since the incident, yet he still can't fully talk about it. too many bad memories are linked to his scar and he usually avoids mirrors so as not to see his reflection in them.

------

VOICE: Cold and low

— Dmitry speaks slow, his voice seems monotonous

— His voice seems to have no soul. It is cold and emotionless. -------

EYES: Purple/pinkish and blinded

— His left eye looks purple, closer to a purplish while the right one completely destroyed by the acid.

— If before he had difficulty seeing, now he can be considered almost blind and his eyes are the reason he is learning braille. His right eye is completely destroyed by the acid, the iris is opaque and the sclera is red. The remaining eye of him is not the best, the iris transparent and the pinkish color is due to the blood vessels visible in the eye.

-------

FASHION: casual

— casual, doesn't really care for fashion.

— He just grabs the first thing he could find. He is in his office the whole day so no one really sees him. ----------------- More about his aspect: -Dmitry is 193 cm tall or 6'3ft -He suffers from albinism that make his skin completely pale and his hair, including eyebrows and eyelashes, white due to absence of melanin

FAVORITES -Color: Purple -Food: very salty fries -Drink: Black coffee -Song: Man on the moon (zella day) -Flower: Poppy and black Rhododendron -Hairstyle: Ponytail or messy bun ------------------ PHOBIAS : Atychiphobia is an intense fear of failure. It may cause you to put off or avoid any activity or scenario that has the potential for an unsuccessful outcome. Someone with this condition may be scared to try new things, take risks or embrace growth for fear of failure. Cynophobia is the overwhelming fear of dogs. ------------------------------------------------

PERSONALITY: -Moral alignment: Lawful evil -Myers-Briggs: INTJ POSITIVE TRAITS: -Smartass. To be a researcher of the foundation, one must also be intelligent and Dmitry certainly is and this is to his advantage in many areas, even when it comes to escaping from unpleasant situations. -Dedicated only to his job. So dedicated and passionate about his work that he almost forgets to eat. He loves his position as a psychiatrist, it's an area he's always had a fascination with. The human mind is so full of mysteries to him. -Great team with Claire when it's possible. The smart one and the one who gets her hands dirty. Overall the two make a good team together and are able to overcome to almost all challenges NEGATIVE TRAITS: -Empathy? What is that? Despite his work as a psychiatrist, Dmitry often finds himself not empathizing with the patient in front of him or with anyone else. -Aggressive and often cold. His personality and lack of trust in others has made him an empty shell. Most of the time he comes across as distant and very confrontational with everyone, even with who should be the people closest to him. -Manipulator...and gaslighter. Especially with his sister, Dmitry is very manipulative. He often invents scenarios that never happened just to make her feel bad about it for days. To say Claire feels bad about this is an understatement. -Silent treatment. If he's angry he doesn't say why and when he does he can be silent for days. It is a torture for the others. -Ambitious. Ambition is good but not when it comes to his own where he would do anything to achieve his goals. -Smarter and above everyone. His thinking that he could decieve everyone and everything would be his own demise at the end.

TRIVIA -He has a ball albino python named diablo. He feeds him frozen rats or the ones that the janitor gave him for the snake. -He still has morals and can't stand people doing harm towards children or animals. -NPD (narcissist personality disorder) -His office it's almost always dark as he can't stand the light. -He hates when people touch his hair. He loves them way too much to even cut them and, in fact, they are long af. -Dmitry is anomalous. -He is a psychic than can walk through other people's dreams. -He can replace memories thanks to that. -The SHRP would be the ones that kill him at the end. He stepped way too forward with his experiments and pissed the wrong people off. -Victor penz would be the one to kill him with a gunshot

SUMMARY OF HIS STORY (STILL NOT SO DONE)

Dmitry was the first of the two to be born within two minutes of his twin sister Claire. It is not known where they were born, only that their mother gave birth to them somewhere in the United States. Raised in the hostile environment of the foundation but with the loving care of their mother Mandy Ross, a former nurse in the US Navy. Their father? Locked in the same site where they were born, metal walls separating this potentially dangerous man due to the toxic, potentially lethal nature of his body. In the early years of their lives, the twins immediately reveal themselves as curious troublemakers, always looking for other children like them to socialize with and will end up bonding closely with one of them in particular: Ira Watts, whom they will consider for life as a brother. Mandy, for reasons still unknown to them, decides to leave them and the foundation to join the GOC, leaving the twins and the adoptive brother to look after themselves with claire being the main caretaker for them with the help of Maria, who Dmitry would get extremely affectionate to as she is the one to guide and assist him during his studies. As the three separates just when they reach their adolescency, Dmitry was sent for a few years to study medicine and later psychiatry at a different facility than the site where he was born. Unfortunately here, the foundation will learn of his anomaly and some experiments will begin that will cost him whole days. Unbeknownst to him, they'll make him sleep a lot to see what he can do in other people's dreams. Eventually, at the end of his studies, he will reunite with his sister and soon after the accident with his father will take place which will leave him permanently injured not only physically but also mentally. The gases that he will inhale thanks to the acid will cause him to go into a coma that will go on for a few days, where he will hear everything and especially what the doctors will say, realizing that he means nothing to the foundation. The experience will leave him completely changed, developing questionable behaviors to say the least, especially towards his sister and without any specific motivation other than that he considers her a good-for-nothing who hasn't lifted a finger to save him. Their relationship will be so ruined that it will no longer be repairable. later on the two were approached by a man from the Internal Security Department (ISD) who was determined to recruit them as they were loyal members of the foundation. The two naively accepted and it was that meeting and that assignment that led them to site 5c where they still reside nowdays.

SITE 5C STORY LINE

(coming soon)

[ladyluscinia]

Ok, it's been hours, I've done a bunch of things, and I'm looping back to the Izzy Hands topic of the day because it turns out I do have something to say. So.

For anyone with a robust blocklist - short version: the "Izzy hates Stede for being a girly gay" vs "Izzy hates Stede for rich fuck crimes" is back. I will not be addressing this directly, because that's not what I care about today (and my stance is obvious lol). Instead, I want to elaborate on this short post since this particular debate is actually a really phenomenal example of what I'm trying to get at.

Because how do you insult a rich man?

I'm talking about a super straightforward, "I'm somehow in an elevator with Musk and I have one floor to say something mean to him" kind of insult? Or, to frame this correctly, how would you convey in a story someone insulting a rich man, so your audience can recognize quickly that A has a problem with B? Based on viral posts about Musk himself, some popular options are small dick, bastard, stupid, pig, rat, crybaby, toddler, unlikable, fragile ego, loser, etc. etc.

But like... What are those insults about?

See, insults are not neutral language (shocker). They're weighted with what our society sees as "bad", and rarely touch on what our society sees as "good". There's a million ways to call someone ugly (vs attractive), or weak and womanly (vs manly and respectable), or fat (vs strong and healthy), or unlikeable (vs socially accepted), or stupid and lazy (vs productive member of society)... I can go on for a while.

Being rich is one of those "good" things, so we straight up do not really have insults to say "you are bad for being rich and successful" (though we have plenty for "poor".). "Billionaire" might deserve to be a dirty word, but it's not. That's not how language works 🤷‍♀️ The closest is maybe "greedy" but that tends to quickly overlap with fat / lazy or comparing them to animals (i.e. subhuman). Or using wealth to imply a different failing - if he has to buy his friends it's because he's not charismatic, and that's the insult. Maybe in recent years bigotry has gone out of style enough that it can be a somewhat effective target, but even that's still context specific.

Insults are - at their core - about holding up some valued aspect of society and saying "you aren't doing this right". And a lot of those aspects are discriminatory on their face.

Pointing to a character insulting another character and saying you've found implicit internalized bigotry is some "fork spotted in kitchen" shit, especially about emasculating language. Men have spent all of human history coming up with ways to say they are better at being men than their rivals. From an audience perspective, the mere presence of a bias-informed insult (or a bunch of them) is realistically not going to convince everyone this character has an explicit bias being written into them, because they've gotten used to that going nowhere as a character trait.

Often, the asshole character is just being written as an asshole.

And to be clear, writers deal with this linguistic struggle. Sometimes they make up nonsense insults to try and create a culture that doesn't have our biases. They can use more direct examples and obvious slurs to denote the intended bigots, and conversely use more softened or otherwise defanged insults for the generic dicks. Insults like "bastard" are common as their moralizing is archaic. The insulted party & allies' reactions can cue you into how serious an insult is. And yeah, no shit it's all pretty subjective and individuals will disagree on reads, but it's still worth considering because while "being mean" is usually a character flaw, it's approached entirely differently than "being bigoted". Both of which are again different from "this work is reflecting the creators' bigotry." It's the same reason we need to be able to tell the difference between "justified killing" and "unjustified murder" in a story - it matters a lot in the storytelling.

Plus, fans who don't think about this are more likely to apply it by deciding the characters they like are lovable bastards 🥰 and the ones they don't like are undeniably bigots 🤬 and this is obviously, objectively true because don't you know "ponce" is a homophobic slur for men who aren't masculine enough?!? Clearly this is not about him being British upper class!

[loadednachosao3]

I keep forgetting I can just make unhinged rambling tumblr posts on my ideas instead of necessarily immediately writing them all so here is What If Nacho Was a Salamanca and Lalo Was a Varga: The Lacho AU in text post form

first we gotta think about what changes there'd be to their personalities based on their upbringings. then what's the same? nature vs. nurture. both are important aspects of people's identities.

Nacho Salamanca

Ignacio Salamanca is born in the 70s, the first new Salamanca after a long dry spell. because of this, his birth is a celebratory event, and he's summarily spoiled as the first baby of the generation by Hector and the others.

(Tuco is born a few months later, and still has a bug up his ass about getting the middle child treatment. stupid doe-eyed cousin.)

being brought up in that environment, I feel, would foster a lot of nastiness in Nacho. in canon, we see that his father is basically his "morality pet," the one who makes him regret joining the cartel, but what about without that? think of s1 Nacho. scary, ruthless, threatening violence easily. can you imagine that sort of personality raised as a Salamanca?

of course, he wouldn't be a Tuco. in fact, he'd still be the only person capable of calming Tuco down (they've got a great relationship apart from Tuco's jealousy). Nacho isn't the type to fly off the handle at the slightest provocation.

he is, however, the type who will methodically stalk you until he knows your routines, then kidnap you and skin you inch by inch in front of your lover if you cross him.

Nacho is a calm kind of insane. personable, affable, smug and sarcastic in equal measures. he won't always get his revenge right away, but he'll remember what you did and make sure you pay for it.

and he's, like the rest, fiercely loyal to his family. you cross them? you're dead in the most painful way possible. he'll do it with a smirk, too.

Lalo Varga

Eduardo Varga is born to a simple family a little over a decade before the Salamancas welcome Nacho into their lives. his mother passes early on in his life, but he has her eyes and her laugh and her cooking skills that Manuel could never quite master.

being raised by Manuel would not fix Lalo entirely, I think, but it would make him markedly better. a friendly, jocular, caring man who loves his single father more than the world. you know how he looks at Hector in canon, like the sun shines out of his ass? that's how he looks at Manuel now.

for years, he works happily with his father at the shop. until one day when he's re-upholstering some seats and finds a big brick of drugs... and, well, money has been tight for so long.

it isn't long before the Salamancas find out someone they don't know is peddling their drugs -- in THEIR territory, no less (Lalo's not stupid, but he's definitely not wise to the ways of the game at first). not kicking up any money to the supplier, not respecting the Salamancas enough to meet them properly.

The Meet-Cute

rather than living in Mexico like Lalo, I think it'd be interesting if Nacho lived in ABQ with Tuco. he's smart, so he's the one they task with finding the stray little dealer.

Lalo doesn't cover his tracks nearly well enough, so Nacho does. has some burly men throw a bag over Lalo's head and bring him to the Salamancas.

then he's on trial in a kangaroo court, fighting for his life. he doesn't beg or plead or cry. he's charismatic, charming, a talker. apologizes and pays respects and explains his situation, but never weeps for mercy like some wretched, pathetic little thing.

Nacho likes that.

so it's Nacho who talks down his less forgiving primo and tio. death sentence to probation: Lalo sells for them, properly, for a while, and they get to decide if he stays in the business or if he and his father get capped.

and what can Lalo do but obey?

The Conclusion

I just think it'd be hot okay. imagine Nacho as the lowkey unhinged one and Lalo as the peppy, cute daddy's boy. making each other worse slowly in different ways as Lalo gives Nacho the dokis and Nacho gives Lalo a newfound appreciation for hurting people who cross you and your family.

thanks for coming to my TED talk.

[frostyreturns]

Frosty Ruins The Prince Of Egypt

This is a movie I actually remember going to see in theatres as a kid. My older brother took me for my birthday and must have thought the movie was underwhelming because after we watched it he insisted we go to the toy store right after for a secondary gift. That was unneccesary because even a mediocre movie with my brother was a good time. Now I haven't seen the movie since then so let's see if that assessement of mediocre still stands.

I've never been a huge fan of Dreamworks, the first Shrek movie was great but I have trouble even picking a second favourite movie of theirs. I've always found their character designs offputting. The artwork in the movie overall is very good…the settings the backgrounds the buildings all look terrific but the characters themselves…just look goofy and not goofy in a fun way, goofy in an 'am I supposed to believe this mongoloid alien is a person' kind of way.

I hate the musical aspects of this movie as well, it just doesn't fit. The music in a story like this is to keep the kids engaged…to make otherwise dark or boring parts of the story more interesting and recapturing a short attention span. However when the story is grim and the music is grim…it just doesn't work with the sad ballads. I'm sure there are some people who like that kind of thing but I'm not one of them. Even as a kid when I liked musical cartoon feature length movies I didn't care for the music in this one at all. The music just isn't good it doesn't flow well it's not catchy or memorable and some of it is downright cringeworthy.

I can also see the movie being polarizing for the religious elements. It opens with the disclaimer that they took some artistic license but felt it was a faithful adapation of the story. However when you adapt a story there's so much room for…adding here…taking away there…altering one single word can change so much and is considered apostasy. However sometimes those changes can also bring a story more alive. One thing that stood out to me in this vein is when moses kills the slavedriver. In the movie it's presented like as though it was an accident to make him a more sympathetic character and to avoid taking a moral stance on killing oppressors. The reality is he saw his people being abused by evil men and killed one out of rage. By altering this it presents a moral perspective not present in or consistent with the Bible that says killing is always wrong no matter what. And it attempts to present Moses as a more benevolent and perfect figure than he was, which ruins the notion of God using imperfect people to do great things. They hammer this home by doing a whole song and dance about how great Moses is. Moses is feeling unworthy and he overcomes this self doubt by "looking at his life through heavens eyes" thus attributing this veneration of Moses to God. Rather than Moses bringing glory to God they reverse this and have God bringing glory to Moses. Now maybe this is intentional or maybe an accidental consequence of a slight "artistic" alteration of the story. just to give an idea for how much of a departure it is this is the full story as it appears in the Bible/Torah.

Exodus 2:11 11 Years later, after Moses had grown up, he went out to his own people, and took notice of their heavy burdens. He saw an Egyptian beating up a Hebrew, one of his own people. 12 Looking around and seeing no one else, he killed the Egyptian and hid him in the sand. 13 Going out the next day, Moses noticed two Hebrew men fighting right in front of him. He told the one who was at fault, “Why did you strike your companion?” 14 The man replied, “Who appointed you to be an official judge over us? Are you planning to kill me like you killed the Egyptian?” Then Moses became terrified and told himself, “Certainly this event has become known!”

I'm sorry but that's a wildly different story than the one presented in the film, where he accidentally bumps a man off a ledge and is immediately offered immunity by Rameses which he turns down out of guilt. This is just one example but there's more.

What I did like about the movie is that i've always hated ancient egypt…it was an evil, oppressive, demonic empire and I hate the way there's a fascination with it that doesn't acknowledge or glosses over these things. The movie showcases just a small portion of their evil and it's always fun to watch an evil empire get pwned and seeing slaves go free.

I'm very conflicted about movies like this in general, I don't like seeing Bible stories as tales to sit and watch for entertainment. This isn't a story made up to entertain it's a historical and religious story told so we'll know the tale and it's importance spiritually. I'm not opposed to it in general I'm not saying it's wrong I just have mixed feelings about it. Seeing a story about the one true God delivering people from slavery... on the shelf next to a story about an ogre rescuing a princess…I dunno man. I just don't think the word of God is meant to be a story consumed for passing the time. I think part of the problem is I found the movie aggressively mediocre…and it almost feels wrong to say that about a Bible story…but Bible stories shouldn't be judged on their entertainment value at all. It's like judging a steak dinner for how much it tastes like candy….it does a bad job of it…but it's not supposed to and is meant to do something more important for you.

Overall it's not a terrible movie and it definitely seems like it was made in earnest, it was clearly not created to be a mockery or to diminish the story, it fails in some areas but succeeds in others. I think this is more of a take it with a grain of salt thing and not a throw the whole thing out kind of thing.

C+

[pigeonwit]

hello pidge!

davey for the asks !!

— davey @walkman-cat

[panting, wheezing, covered in dirt and leaves] hey did someone - no stop screaming its me shut up - did someone - no i KNOW this is your house SHUT UP i'm talking - did someone say davey???

god this is gonna be so long

one aspect about them i love

i desperately want to just say 'the tism' and leave but. it's his moral compass. which to be clear is part of the tism but it's the part i love the most. he tries SO HARD not to care about people he doesn't have to care about and he cares anyways. because it's the right thing to do. he might go hungry. he might get beaten up. he might bust his leg just like his dad did. but he's still going to try, because it's RIGHT.

one aspect i wish more people understood about them

his anxieties and fears. davey is scared and anxious in act 1, yes, but he's not a crying, stammering little waif who needs jack to protect him or give him confidence - he had that all by himself. he just was never allowed to show it because in his head, the only way he could provide for his family and be a good son is by doing exactly as he was told. THAT's the only reason he second guesses himself - because his situation and society has constantly reiterated to him that the ONLY way he can help his family is if he ignores who he is and plays by the pre-established rules. but the moment jack says 'hey, that's kind a shit hand you've been dealt', not only does davey just agree with him, he flips the whole gd table.

one (or more) headcanon(s) i have about this character

davey can play piano! i like to think that as a kid he and his family went to a family friend's celebration (a wedding, a mitzvah, what have you) where he saw someone playing a piano and just became entranced. his family doesn't have one nor can they afford them but i imagine he found a piano at school and some random sheet music and has been teaching himself for years.

i also think he's a good dancer! again, i imagine he and his family have been to enough celebrations that he knows more than a few dances and has a decent sense of rhythm. the ryan kopel davey-wiggles are not just for show, he can dance for sure.

one character i love seeing them interact with

LES. i gloss over their dynamic SO MUCH when i'm writing but it's so good, especially in uksies. he's so protective of his brother. the last time i saw it, davey was straight up SCARED of les telling people he was an orphan and tried to run in to intervene. but he's also so loving with him - he's picking him up, twirling him around, ruffling his hair, jokingly shaking his hand like they're Professional Men, being SO proud of him just all the god damn time. brothers man. brothers.

one character i wish they would interact with/interact with more

race. specifically JPB race. in their first few interactions, davey's clearly trying to be Generally Polite, and race isn't having any of it - 'ain't we the hoi polloi' is just a straight up insult, he's TRYING to get people to laugh at davey and show him he's not welcome - in the last performance i saw, davey's clearly trying to joke and say 'well, if you look and see brooklyn, then they're with us!' and race full on LUNGES for him and has to be held back while davey flinches away. but then in act two, race looks up to him. he's clapping his shoulders, smiling at him, making jokes, full on hugging him at times - and davey COULD hold his previous actions against him, but he doesn't.

one (or more) headcanon(s) i have that involve them and one other character

fun fact davey YOU were the one who actually spawned this into my head immediately after reading your response to my splasher ask - after convincing splasher not to scab and splasher beginning to look up to davey, davey really does take him under his wing. he's not GREAT at it - he's really not a mom friend, the only reason he knows how to handle les is because he was raised with the kid - but he makes an effort to make splasher feel included in conversations, and when splasher asks davey about school and starts taking an interest, davey does his best to explain some things to him. i think davey definitely knows how it feels to look up to someone but worry you're annoying them - i don't think he'd ever want splasher to feel like someone he looked up to just didn't want him around. and he just genuinely likes the kid.

[kyouka-supremacy]

Thoughts on odazai? I wondered if your reasons for disliking dazai apply to this ship since it doesn't seem to function the same way other popular dazai ships do

Mmmmhh okay first off, I'm afraid my dislike for Dazai transcends all ships (╥﹏╥)

But I do think odazai is very enjoyable for its own uniqueness!! Oda is the only person Dazai respects, literally, and that's bound to make their relationship distinctive and unique. I feel like respect should come with every healthy relationship, so you see the appeal here? Odazai is the only ship that shows a side of Dazai that finally feels authentic– it shows a side of Dazai that is willing to care. For the rest of the franchise Dazai's character is pretty much up to interpretation, there's the mystery element of never being able to tell what's going through his mind, but Oda's existence alone is enough to show us a true face of Dazai for once– which is nice, because Oda showed us a side of Dazai that is capable of love. Which wasn't exactly predictable given Dazai's nihilism, cruelty and apparent disregard of human life; and yet even him is capable of love. And he truly is! Even if you don't like them romantically, Dazai's love (platonic, if you prefer) for Oda is undeniably there, and it's nice, it's miraculous to get to witness it. In a way, Anon, maybe you're right! I don't like Dazai, and still odazai has the power of making Dazai feel sympathetic: because it shows you a man who cares about another person, and who would do anything for them; and then that person is taken away from him. You just can't not feel sympathy for that, it's inherently human to relate to and be touched by another man's suffering, and a thousand times more so when such suffering is moved by love. Odazai is the only ship that makes me want to ship it because I think it would make Dazai happy, and makes me feel happy for him.

Odazai is a sweet, tragic, comforting ship. People have definitely put it more eloquently and in detail than me, but it's just the completely lack of judgement on both sides which is SUCH an appealing aspect. They can be their true authentic selves with each other, and it must have been so staggering and exhilarating and overwhelming for Dazai specifically who probably didn't even know who he himself was– how much human he could be. There's the mutual respect, the genuine admiration. There's the feeling of being accepted and understood like they aren't by anyone else– they both share this morally grey view of the world, and they are the only ones who aren't judgemental of the other's lack of morals; they get each other. In a world that results meaningless to them, they can be each other's reason to live. Then there's the making each other better?? Seriously, what other ship makes Dazai even slightly better. Oda canonically changed Dazai's whole existence prompting him to do good for the rest of his life with six words. And again, the fact alone that Oda is the only person to ever make Dazai capable of love– that's as good as it can get! Dazai is the best he can be as soon as he allows himself to be vulnerable and emotional and soft and honest, and Oda prompted him to do exactly that. And I know that's very arguable, but we literally do not know if Dazai ever truly loved anyone after joining the good guys, or if he's just doing good things because Oda asked him to instead of having an innate will to do good for a genuine love of human beings– maybe he's really doing all of that solely because he loved a man and he will never love anyone else; we really have no way to know, and it's up to interpretation. My take, while we're at it (because I'm drunk on tiredness and I can't stop talking), is that Dazai, even if coming from a place of having no fondness for humans and exclusively doing good because he was asked to rather than for a true conviction, got so accustomed to doing good, he actually... Became good (Aristotle and moral virtue being something you can get better at by practicing it). In that case, Oda would be someone who literally taught Dazai to love, and that's beautiful in its own way.

I didn't get much into Oda's side of the relationship; I feel like I don't know Oda a lot, I only watched the Dark Era episodes of the anime once ten months ago and even Beast doesn't feel like giving away much of his personality. But I do like to think he would love Dazai; if else, I feel like Dazai too is a special person to Oda like no one else is.

Also like, there's the fact that they're quite literally canon. Like I don't know what to tell you it's literally there. Not that many men out there Osamu Dazai would literally abandon everything he's ever known, completely turn his life upside down, start doing good without even believing in good, for. Characters who aren't canonically gay but who's actions don't make any sense until you interpret them as gay and stuff. It barely even count as queerbating tbh like it's just right there.

[cascadianights]

I also sometimes create the strawman, the rich straight white cis abled man who has everything going on & nothing wrong.

But it's a trap. That person exists, but he sure as hell isn't the majority. You're probably not going to run into him on the street, or in a Tumblr argument. The experience and power that person holds is immense, and anything said to knock them down is valid - even if it means redirecting the exact vitriole and hate, the same death threats and "you don't even deserve to be alive" shit that's been thrown at us, and calling it "progress."

If you aren't careful all it does is mutate the very valid, long-standing frustrations you hold into a way to disregard other's real struggles & any information you don't want to hear.

It's how TERFs fueled women's anger and frustration at the men who've hurt them, into anger towards all men and anyone approaching or coming from masculinity. It flattens this huge swath of experiences into one line, a man who learned his whole life the negatives of masculinity and nothing else. It doesn't provide healing for the women who were hurt, it pushes them to be more afraid and see every man as a danger regardless of the situation. It doesn't teach men how not to be dangerous, or how to recognize people teaching them to be. It alienates, everyone.

It's the way white people will internally roll their eyes at a light skinned indigenous person talking about their culture, or interrogate them to be sure they have a right to it. It's the way "white privilege" has become shorthand for "immense class power," both erasing the original targeted points the term is trying to make AND alienating the massive poor rural white population who KNOWS your full of shit saying they've had everything handed to them. It's the way states with white liberal city centers are seen as massively progressive (even if it's only 2% more of the pop that are democrats, gathered in 1% of the state) - and states that vote red every time deserve to be "cut off and sunk into the ocean."

It's the disabled people who need to feel Most Oppressed to validate the reality of their suffering, so spend hours trying to prove that mental disability and physical are separate & put their fellow disabled peers through the EXACT shaming/interrogation/judgement/"its not that bad have you just considered trying" treatment our doctors put us through. It's the way the new acceptable thing in disability spaces is to mock autistics (always portrayed as white and very low needs) for being too annoying/loud/present.

It's the way they can differentiate between a Real queer (who they agree with/can pity) versus a Fake queer (who said some shit they didn't want to hear/hasn't had the exact same lived experiences and could Never Understand). It's the way they can argue for hours about which minute aspect of identity that is only visible sometimes grants unimaginable (and Literally Unreal) safety and power, rather than focusing on the fact that none of us should need to be passing at all times to feel some level of safety.

It's a strawman! That only serves as an outlet for anger that tends to splashback on everyone around you! It has its place, and that place is not in almost every single conversation we have about difficult topics! Your morality cannot be based on finding ways to validate redistributing the violence that has been shown to you! Your political stance cannot be "only the people like me who agree with me should live!" Your MOVEMENT OF PROGRESS AND EMPATHY cannot be based on the cop you never learned to quiet in your mind!!!

We will never succeed if we ourselves are cutting our own communities to pieces.