#he’s just really compelling guys

[desperatepleasures]

ok hear me out. kabru wanting to fuck laios but also not wanting to fuck him because he is absolutely certain that sex with laios would have to involve some kind of weird monster roleplay. but because kabru is kabru he overthinks this and spends an unhealthy amount of time figuring out how to negotiate around this and deciding what he would or would not be comfortable with (all without actually talking to laios or making any kind of move whatsoever).

then eventually they do get together and before they hook up for the first time kabru is like okay we need to talk first and he goes into great detail about exactly what he is and isn't willing to do and what monsters he is and isn't willing to roleplay as

and laios, to whom it has never occurred to blend his monster fixation with his sex life, just listens like "😳😳😳" and develops several new fetishes on the spot. and at some point laios is like wow I'd never thought of that before! and kabru is like oh. oh no. I've made him Worse.

[tubbytarchia]

Seeing some more lean towards toxic FH, but as in, Jimmy being the toxic one for not leaning into the ship, etc, and that's a little bit upsetting but 99% funny. They hate to see my son act of his own accord and winning!!

[skitskatdacat63]

I don't know how I'd ever convey this in art but. Thinking very deeply about how in boy king au, a very crucial part of characterization is that Seb is a wolf in sheep(or lamb more specifically)'s clothing and Fernando is a sheep in wolf's clothing.

Seb is very unassuming, very delicate, seemingly very vulnerable and malleable. But, deep down, he can be very ruthless. It's in the the way he hesitantly declares war, with a spark in his eye and a suppressed smirk. In the way he challenges someone to a card game or a horse race, proclaiming that he's not great, but winning every round and prancing around the room and mentioning it ad infinitum. The way he's able to instantly turn the tide in a debate in one fell swoop. By showing all his cards constantly and letting himself be vulnerable, he's making himself invulnerable. No one would ever consider him to be able to make big moves, so he wins every single time, because no one even thinks to expect it from him.

Fernando on the other hand, is constantly committed to having a looming presence and harsh reputation, but deep down, he's soft. He knows what happens to people when they're vulnerable, and he's not going to let himself be taken advantage of. The way he keeps a brave face when being informed of the marriage proposal, but goes back to his room and cries. The way he proclaims that he was always going to be the rightful ruler of Spain, but confides to Flavio that he never thought there was any real chance of it ever happening. The way he takes himself so seriously in public, but inside feels so giddy whenever he can make someone laugh. Everything to him always feels unstable and ready to crumble at any moment, and he's not willing to contribute to that by letting himself relax.

I think thats why it's very difficult for them to get along at first, because they have completely different approaches to how they carry themselves and make their way through life. Seb is confused at Fernando because he feels that he's very bland and overly serious at first, but truthfully he's not really seeing the actual Fernando. And Fernando finds Seb to be naive and easily taken advantage of, but that's because he's never seen Seb at his most cruel. Seb really loves when he eventually gets to see Fernando being vulnerable, and Fernando really admires and respects Seb when he sees him being serious. I think it just takes a while for them to show the other their full and complete selves, even the parts they can sometimes be ashamed of. There's this very compelling dichotomy in Seb laying out all his cards, but still being very difficult to read, and Fernando keeping his cards to his chest, but his intentions often being easily seen through.

[jahiera]

pondering on a meta diving into Gale's abstract brand of selflessness (willingness to go away to a corner of the world to die so that none of the faceless masses will be harmed by his mistake) vs his personal selfishness (willingness to stick by tav despite being repulsed by tiefling camp murder + general vocal approval or interest in accumulating more power) and Gale's status as someone who is good aligned but generally ineffectual at enforcing actual good (the way that wyll or karlach will actually leave the party) which is fascinating for a fairly good-aligned person. just love when the Good Guy is actually kind of fucking weird. edit: tumblr cut off my tags Okay. and how all of this ties back in an interesting way to his relationship and power imbalance with mystra. he was wronged, deeply, but he also desires still that ... status / closeness to divinity in some way, by her influence. Gale thinks that he would be a better god simply by virtue of his mortality but he cannot escape the appeal of holding himself apart from others and being more than, greater than, something closer to godliness and thus inherently removed from mortal values and standards of right and wrong, which the gods themselves don't adhere to in the same way.

[every-sanji]

[sevendutchies]

People in this fandom will really look at The Fool, Patience, Lacey, Carson, Sedric, Hest, Davvie, Lecter, Kennit, Ash/Spark, and yes, even Fitz himself, and still have the gall to call it queer bait.

These characters are explicitly queer, their actions impact the narrative, they are well written, and their identities are treated with respect. That is the best possible queer representation you could ask for in any story.

I've seen people on tumblr basing the likelihood of if they read this series on whether or not it's "actually gay" and I'm here to tell you that it is. There are queer characters. There are queer protagonists. And no matter what you see people in the fandom say, Robin Hobb wrote some amazing queer representation in a genre that rarely sees it at all.

EDIT: and I think it's pertinent to note that, no, characters who are questioning or struggling with their feelings about sexuality instead of knowing 100% does not make something queer bait or "less gay"

TLDR;

Queer bait = disrespectful marketing ploy that exploits queer audiences

Queer bait ≠ "my two favorite characters never have sex"

[crimeronan]

Hunter notices Amity is really distressed about that new kid Odalia somehow has, so he eventually suggests kidnapping because Odalia sucks as a parent and why not? Amity is still in her bloodline deduction state of mind so she blurts out that people will then make the awful mistake of assuming Grimwalker Alador is THEIR child, which is the wrong thing to say because for Hunter that's hilarious and even more reason to go kidnap him.

i love the shitpost horror-comedy universe where lumiter just keep acquiring grimwalker babies that look like them. in increasingly stupid & ill-conceived ways. between luzwalker and aladorwalker anyone who knows the three of them is like damn hunter why does the universe let you have unprotected sex with Two girlfriends. while hunter is out here like. ok. i have literally never even Attempted to touch either of these women in my life. and have no idea What The Actual Fuck is going on. however i Will commit to the bit if prompted.

[johndoe-lesbo]

This is how I view Joe & Rhys’ relationship dynamic

[maxwell-grant]

From Shadow Magazine #39: Road of Crime

I want more of you to appreciate how often part of The Shadow's plan to uncover in-depth crucial information about a case or it's suspects boils down to "send Harry Vincent somewhere and let him make new friends", and the fact that it works.

For further context: Graham Wellerton is a very smart, very cagey and very bitter ex-criminal currently trying to turn over a new leaf and redeem himself through extensive philantropy with his evil bastard uncle's inheritance (he is the main character and the story is about his redemption). Wellerton spends much of the book trying to ignore the people after him that forced him into criminality, but he's so paranoid that, just before the climax, he ends up viciously and venomously turning on the people that pulled him out of jail and overlooked his past and housed him and inspired him to try and better himself, even spouting how stupid he was to trust anybody.

I was right when I was crooked. I trusted no one then. I refused your friendship because I suspected everyone who ever pretended to be my friend.

That same guy also repeteadly let a stranger from Michigan into his home for chat with never the slightest bit of suspicion, not even when Harry's visit is interrupted by Wellerton's wife (the person that basically forced him into crime). That same guy has also spent this whole book scared of The Shadow, terrified that The Shadow will pick up his trail again and come for him, regardless of his attempt to reform (completely unaware that, not only has The Shadow never once lost his trail, but has been working silently to ensure he stays reformed).

That guy? Never once suspected Harry. Nobody ever does unless they're villains. Harry Vincent is just The Most Trustable Man Alive.

[bandtrees]

reblog to gently feed him a cheese puff out of the palm of your hand

[clownprince]

Starting a collection. Please feel free to add

[filmnoirsbian]

I want to be clear that I don't hate the fact that the saw movies are a family soap opera of petty serial killers who refuse to accept that they're serial killers, I just wish the rest of them were as interesting as John and Amanda. And, unhappily for us all, they're not.

[mindshelter]

“you go blank inside” babygirl. you are dissociating

the abuse that hal suffered at martin jordan’s hands (and words) are. pretty indispensable to understanding hal’s time as a GL leading up to becoming parallax... hal became part of the corps pre-conditioned and primed for easy indoctrination. despite recognizing martin’s behaviour as abusive, and hoping to never become like him, compliance at one’s own expense was all hal knew. it was what felt safe, what felt familiar, and made up that last tendril of sanity—the universe couldn’t be that cruel, and a parent wouldn’t be so hateful for no reason. there must be something hal can fix—can compromise—to be accepted. if only hal could have given martin what he wanted, whatever that may have been. if, if, if. 

fealty won’t earn you happiness—only survival. 

when that illusion finally crumbles—when the realization that decades of loyalty to the corps and to the long-deceased father has reaped zero reward—so does the remainder of hal’s belief system. 

captions below: 

1. dc comics presents: green lantern (2004)

Willpower. Absolute concentration. Split second timing. Where does that come from?

Instead it’s all feed in more trim and if you’re still nose-down, put your feet in the stirrups and blow the canopy before you red out. You do what you do. You go blank inside.

2. back issue #80, on Green Lantern

Fearless people tend to be cocksure of their actions and tend not to question anything, including authority. I recall a number of John Broome[-written] stories where Hal was totally (and happily) subservient to the Guardians of the Universe. 

3. zero hour: crisis in time (1994) #0

I used to be the errand boy for the Guardians of the Universe. It was a thankless job. I knew that. I had never asked for anything. 

The one time I did, I was denied. It dawned on my just how unfair the universe really was…

4. green lantern (1990) #63

Your rules. Your rules kept me from any happiness. I served the corps more faithfully than anyone, and my loyalty got me nothing. 

5. dc comics presents: green lantern (2004)

Like what you learn at the end of someone’s arm. You learn to go blank. 

Like maybe things with him would change if could just give him what he wants. If you would just take it like a man. But nothing ever did change. He just kept calling you a loser. And if he ever had a warmer opinion, you never heard about it. You took that like a man, too. 

6. back issue #80, on Green Lantern

I always believe it is very hard for people to actually change their personalities. So the best Hal could do was reach a happy medium, intellectually realizing he should be feeling differently about a situation, but emotionally having trouble doing so.

7. dc comics presents: green lantern (2004)

I don’t think I can do this anymore. “Fearless.” It’s all a crock.

8. green lantern (1990) #50

9. dc comics presents: green lantern (2004)

You go blank inside. 

Maybe sometimes that’s all that stands between this thing on my finger and the hot green end of everything. 

[laufire]

it really is a pity that, between what little I've seen, and what I already know of steph/tim going forward (in both continuities), it's... not gonna be my cup of tea. because I have to say, their first meeting? REALLY works for me lmao.

[wherestarsarestillasleep]

Tenmyouji biker speech is like the most important scene in vlr to me. Without that it looks like the narrative never even questions akanes explanations and plans and motives and like i guess that's easy to do when you playing video game are also viewing it from a dozens of timelines at once as means to the true end perspective. And the other characters in that bonus chapter like clover and alice are so bizarrely understanding and not mad at her for kidnapping them. But it being junpei of all people who forces you to think about how every timeline goes on and is the single linear world there ever was for everyone else in it. When akanes plan is so much "i am going to kill jumpy 6000 000 times so i can make a happy world with jumpy :)". It's so important and it singlehandedly fixes something that wouldve really really bugged me and it makes akane and sigma better characters when it's explicit the game isnt just like exclusively believing theyre simply correct

[edettethegreat]

10/10 manga for pulling a “we’ll defeat you with the power of friendship!!” “That’s… incredibly ignorant of you. I’m significantly more powerful, whether or not you have friends won’t impact this fight”