#his character through viewing him in this isolated scenario

[wasteland-nora]

speak on sadist arcade gannon 🗣️

I WILL SPEAK THANK YOU!

arcade is such a fun character. i’m going to start off with a little bit of how i view him, and then go into more of the original post!

arcade is often written as he portrays himself, asocial and boring. or worse, he’s made to be this anxious, unsure, annoying gay-man stereotype.

but arcade is smart, he’s witty, he enjoys snarky banter and cursing in latin. at the end of the day, arcade needs someone who can keep up with him. someone who can get those gears turning in his brain. arcade values knowledge like no other.

there’s always something to be learned, even with a low int. courier. (my original post was a joke about this, he’s a sadist and following around an idiot in a post apocalyptic wasteland would definitely scratch that itch.)

however, no source of intimacy in his day to day life turned into learning as much as he can. he enjoys books on topics that are redundant to the world he lives in, because it makes him feel important.

being a person of medicine, he knows his way around sharp objects, he’s used to cutting clothes, he’s able to perform basic first aid. (…more on this in a minute.) arcade knows his way around the human body.

arcade was an only child, raised around enclave remnants can only offer so much. and while he hates to use the word lonely (“alone and lonely are two very different things, thank you.” he’d say.) he is clearly starved.

for attention and touch, on a level that means something more to him. i think one of arcade’s strongest points is his friendship with julie, there’s no doubt in my mind he loves her, that he values their bond. but she can’t offer what he’s looking for in this regard, and that’s okay.

arcade craves connection. he deflects anytime the subject is himself, because to him there’s safety in isolation. he’s met “several good men” in his life, but none of them stuck around. for how much he craves that connection, he doesn’t know how to do it. showing versus telling. arcade is honeyed words, but faraway in his actions. until six.

and it’s not that he wants to hurt, or own his partner, no. arcade hates the idea that someone could “belong” to him, HOWEVER; the idea of consuming someone is… special. arcade wants his and his partner’s heart on a silver platter so they can dine together.

i’m going to go through two different scenarios, but each have their own flavour of dialogue.

"I've got more experience dealing with egregious injuries than you think. I could fucking rip you apart, and put you back together again. I could even make that hurt, if you wanted. Do you understand me?"

in this excerpt, as composed as arcade is, he’s frantic. perhaps six is a self sacrificing idiot, consistently putting himself in harms way because he wants to protect his friends, arcade specifically. to arcade, he might as well be doing the damage himself. six gets cut pushing arcade out of the way? arcade can feel the knife in his hand. in this version, i picture arcade’s sadism is more emotionally charged/based.

"I've got more experience dealing with iniquitous injuries than you think. I could rip you apart, and put you back together again. I could make it all hurt. Do you understand me?"

this is the same idea, but a completely different tone. this time he’s offering, most likely based on an observation he’s already made of six’s self sacrificing behaviour. six wants a brush of death? arcade can offer that without a (serious) risk.

the change from ‘egregious’ to ‘iniquitous’ tells that the injuries go from generally bad to morally wrong. both are things he’s adept in. medicine or sadism.

all this being said, some fun ideas to consider. (nsfw!)

i want an arcade gannon who will cut through six’s last pair of pants without any remorse, maybe even a low chuckle.

featherlight touches with a scalpel or the carving knife he uses for cacti. dragging it down their tummy, down to their thighs.

an arcade who has a mean backhand, who then takes six’s chin in his hand and gives his head a shake like he’s a bad puppy.

an arcade who has six sit in his lap for hours as he works, laughs when they cry about wanting more.

arcade who will bite, arcade who scratches his partner’s hips.

arcade who lets six sit under his desk, pressing his foot to six’s cock as they suck him off.

[reader-writer-protagonist]

I paused re-reading for two reasons (though I think I’ll go back to it now). One is more logistical which is that I’m rereading in Spanish to practice but Two is the real reason. Orv hurts my heart.

I keep thinking about how tragic kdj is.

I’d love to hug him and tell him it’s okay to receive love but I can’t. And even if I could I know it wouldn’t reach him. He’s a character who’s only ever felt love through sacrifice and only ever experienced value through what he could do for others. The way he latches onto yjh is indicative of his struggle with self punishment.

He can’t help but love and hate and root for this bastard protagonist who keeps dragging himself through more and more cycles. Although yjh didn’t choose that life himself (that he or kdj knows of for the majority of the story, obviously we find out about regression 0 but that’s neither here nor there) yjh puts his all into completing the scenarios. His twisted world view and just trying and trying and trying again and again.

Kdj talks about how yjh is giving up on timelines when he regresses and he’s not wrong but I also think it’s important to note that yjh could’ve succumbed to depression way more often. He could’ve only done the basics of the scenarios and lived in the outskirts like a lot of the side characters we only see briefly. (Especially after that combo event with Japan where it was voluntary) But that’s not in his nature and that’s why he’s so appealing to kdj.

Someone trying so desperately and failing and trying again just trying to survive. Just like kdj. Gritting his teeth through school and shitty jobs and crap superiors. That’s who kdj looks up to, resents, idolizes, and ultimately was raised by. So it hurts when I know kdj doesn’t know any better. He’s only had fucking awful examples at how to receive love. To be thanked. To be cared for. To be pampered. To be worried over. To be so damn treasured that others are willing to burn everything down just to see your stupid blurry smile once more.

Yjh and kdj are foils in the most obvious and excruciatingly painful ways. But yjh turns to look at kdj. To really look at him and changes. He sees this impenetrable wall and fights to get through. Rough and brash and without tact because how else would someone like yjh do it? Even when there’s a crack kdj covers it up with another layer. Layers upon layers that kdj doesn’t even let us see through. Why must he go through all this isolation and pain? Because he chose it. Because he knows no different. And it makes me cry because as much as I understand and sympathize I can’t bring myself to accept it.

[goblins-riddles-or-frocks]

Came across your post about a smarter Darkling and it got me thinking.. what if the Sun Summoner was a boy as ambitious as him but smarter? Like imagine him finding out the Sun Summoner exists after he has already won some other nation?

I feel like you’re describing a scenario where the sun summoner was Nikolai and was raised by his Fjerdan biological father instead sjfhfd

Sorry this took like a full month for me to get to because it kept getting buried under new asks. Relevant context is that at the time there was some back and forth discussion happening about whether Aleksander would behave any differently with a genderbent sun summoner (I don’t think he would!)

Anyway I think he’d absolutely step in somehow upon discovering an ambitious and immortal Grisha on the playing field regardless, not to mention if it was thee sun summoner. But the key word here is “some other nation”

Nationalism is pretty integral to Aleksander’s perspective! He’s going to view a stronger Fjerda as a threat, even if it’s suddenly a haven for Grisha. (I don’t know how anyone’s managing that, but let’s pretend lol. These are immortal characters, they have endless time to accomplish things) If anything, it serves his interests for Ravka to be the only place Grisha can turn to as a refuge— especially when that results in compulsory military service that they’re going to be grateful for

I doubt he’d go all bets are off, kill it with fire, in the face of a successful sun summoner. But I could see him trying to tentatively ally with and earn his trust, while also subtly trying to destabilize anything he’s built

On the more recent topic of how Aleksander approaches, and fails at, manipulation, through the bias of his arrogance, I think this is a scenario he’d go into expecting it to be a delicate situation. So I think he just wouldn’t be as high handed about it. Like S&B proper he probably sees an isolated orphan Ravkan girl, who’s being lifted out of nothing, and takes for granted that it’s going to be painfully easy to manipulate her, and to get her to do what he wants until the collar ensures things. And while he was largely phoning it in, I think it’s relevant to point out that it probably would have been enough if Baghra hadn’t turned on him!

So all that being said, he’d probably be way more careful here, because it’s just overtly much more complicated. But the long game goal would probably be to somehow sabotage said sun summoner enough that he also has to seek refuge in Ravka. Presumably with the intent of fostering a sense of gratefulness both to the country and to Aleksander himself. The amplifier enslavement plan would also 100% still be on, and probably more urgent rather than a contingency, because he could never trust a Fjerdan etc etc

The plan would probably still fail horribly at some point down the line, but it might actually take longer. And the falling out would undoubtedly be very entertaining

[animeyanderelover]

18/25. This character was suggested.

Tw: Yandere themes, unhealthy mindset, unhealthy relationship, possessive behavior, obsession, touchiness, violence, overprotective behavior, degradation, sadism, abduction, death

Yandere Grimmjow Jaegerjaquez Hc’s

🟦The one thing that marks him more than anything is his possessive attitude when it comes to his darling, coupled with his dominant behavior. There is no denial that Grimmjow views his s/o as weak and below him, especially since they’re a human. The man can’t deny that he thoroughly enjoys this fact though, he loves the obvious difference in power between s/o and him and isn’t above tormenting his obsession here and there about it. Partly aware about his rather disturbing attachment he harbors for you, Grimmjow has come to terms of just not giving a damn about it. If he desires you, the most natural conclusion is just taking you and that is what he does. You can’t do anything against it after all. He’s not keen on letting anyone else near you either since you’re only for his eyes.

🟦He tends to be more protective though since he is, astonishingly, lucid enough to know that there are other nutjobs in Las Noches, many of them equally as bloodthirsty as he is without a certain soft spot for you. Against his proud judgement he acknowledges that he worries about your health and safety, heck even your happiness! There is a certain jab in his heart when he witnesses your tears and sadness. He tells you not to think too deeply about it, but Grimmjow is surprisingly touchy when he wants to be. Despite being an Arrancar, he swings into the direction where he is able to show his love more sincerely than a couple of other comrades of his. It doesn’t mean that he can’t be an asshole, degrading you and being blankly disrespectful to you sometimes. If you try to exploit his weak side, he’ll pay you back tenfold because even if he is a hothead, he can be cunning as well.

🟦Once again back to the classic scenario where he keeps you fairly isolated out of possessive and protective reasons. Grimmjow is fairly confident and aggressive so even if he seems quite ready to beat anyone to a pulp who dares to talk to you, it’s more because he’s possessive than jealous. It should be established at this point that this is his darling, his possession, and it is quite rude and annoying in his eyes if someone is too dumb to understand. Even if someone stares too long, it is enough for him to punch someone. That all without being jealous but overly possessive and bloodthirsty. Making him jealous only ends worse because not only will he dispose of the victim but part of his aggression will be let out on his s/o.

🟦As an individual who enjoys the thrill and violence of a battle and is just as much protective, there is no denial that the blue-haired male has a pile of dead bodies behind him. He is eager to kill and rip apart his opponents and this all intensifies only after he has you in his grip. In a twisted way he views it as a sign that he can in fact keep you safe against anyone, by ripping their limbs apart. It’s in the end yet another way to blackmail you as well, a quick reminder that he could travel to the world of humans and wreck havoc where those you cherish live. Worst is that you know that Grimmjow isn’t lying. It will certainly leave you hating him and drowning in misery but in the end it might just be a way to see this all through.

🟦It’ll happen in a heartbeat as soon as he is finally over his denial. What did you expect, honestly? Of course he takes a certain scratch to his ego by falling for an itty bitty thing like his darling. Differently from Ulquiorra and Nnoitra he never complains whether he should just slash you in pieces or not, genuinely. Something simply holds him back and even if it infuriates him, it intrigues him equally. He’s not one to think this abduction through at all, the moment he decides that he wants you he is on his way. No plan, no scheme, no nothing. He merely knocks you out after having cornered you and soaking up the way you cower below him. Once he has you, he realizes that he should have done this way earlier. Trying to stalk you whilst exploding whenever someone got too close to you was never his cup of tea anyways.

🟦I dare to say that he is one of the more pleasant Arrancar simply because he settles down to be fairly laid-back whenever he is alone with his darling and they aren’t really bratty. Truthfully, he doesn’t mind it if his darling is more feisty from time to time since he enjoys butting heads with them and being all sarcastic and mocking with them. As long as they know when to stop it’s totally fine. He isn’t interested in breaking you completely, just enough so he is able to keep you properly by his side. Grimmjow also has his own codex of honor even if he can be disrespectful and sadistic. He won’t push you if he knows that you are already in quite a gloomy mood even if his rather blunt and harsh remarks might still rub salt into your wound.

[yxstxrdrxxm]

He's still the biggest red flag of the current event, but I wanna know if you'd go "yeah, but he's hot so I'd try anyway" lol.

I mean for me, if you did make the boss dateable in some Alternate Universe (even if it's only for a short time), for funsies, I'd give it a shot.

I'd flame out and burn out hard, but I still think I'd give it a try. I'd be a falling fireball, and I'd hit the ground hard. But at the very least, it'd be entertaining.

Also for me, as aesthetically pleasing to the eye the boss is, I'm more intrigued by his story and what skeletons he has in the closet.

I mean, Navia-mun, you hint at his red flags and his treatment of Cupid and Eros, which means there's a story there. Whether or not he's sympathetic is another issue entirely, but I'd like to hear his story.

Also, given his very bright red flags (attire not withstanding), I also think he'd be super interesting to write as a yandere, if he isn't already one in your mind.

To what extent will he go to, if someone's caught his eye? What sort of things would cause him to be obsessed with someone? Which aspects of his personality would end up coming out more if he does end up being matched with someone?

I think these are all interesting questions the Boss character raises, and I would like to see what sort of character he is or would be, if he was datable.

This was a super long winded ask, but the short answer is yes. Yes, if you made him dateable, I'd shoot my shot and see if I end up his match. And then if not, at least my attempt will be an entertaining fail.

Hm... You know, this actually gave me an idea. Unrelated to the event, but as a what if scenario.

(utc for an imagines. tw for yan behavior and tendencies, obsession and possession, isolation, implied murder but not in a way you'd think, manipulation, heavy lean to unrequited love, toxic relationships... And other tws that can spoil him because its a yandere blog. I think that speaks for itself.)

Boss is a yandere that is a mix of possessive and obsessive. In his worklife, personal life, and even to his friends and family, people can just tell that he's distant. Distant and a bit of a cruel man to those who he sees to have some sort of vendetta against him.

He had people that wanted him. He actually had some that were so, so convinced that they were fated to be together. However, it only took one day spent with him to leave, yelling and crying about how he is so 'abusive' and how 'his workers shouldn't tolerate the bs they all go through because of him'.

How amusing, he thinks. Do they honestly think that they had a chance? A sliver of hope that, in some way, he'd love them like how they do? To him, he saw them as obsessive freaks. He was just dishing out who he is.

Now, him falling for someone is almost laughable. He'd probably be the one who'd question why he'd find some form of interest in a romantic relationship. After all, he sees it more as an inconvenience. He doesn't exactly... Get the appeal as others do.

If he were to, God forbid, fall for someone... That someone better be prepared for a man who is more than ready to simply find any means to get to talking with you. He won't plan on showing his hand that he's managing MixMatch and is associated with Celestia Inc. to some degree, since he hates mixing work life with personal life. He'll just... omit it.

Boss is twisted in his perception of who he enjoys being around with. Quite often, you saw how he simply treats his employees like they were just people who can't understand him. It's laughable, actually.

What isn't laughable is his power.

He's not vocal with what he enjoys, opting to simply let you be the judge. You hold the 'gavel', per say; and although he may be the defendant in your eyes, he aspires to be the prosecution.

He wants you to view him more favorably, so it would be convenient for him when things go awry.

He'll treat you better in dates if he had to. God forbid you tell him that he didn't, for he'd rectify it and say that work made him so, so busy to focus on his personal life. He'd be meticulous to what you like and don't like, what you don't tolerate and do...

... And while you're busy focusing on how nicer he became, he'll slowly taint your views, working and worming his way to someone that you can't push away anymore.

He'd slowly push you till you were unable to get your support system back. He'd make extra sure that you yourself will tell them that you can't be near them anymore. He wants you to do the work for him, since if you loved him so much... Wouldn't you do this for your relationship together?

He'd make sure that you understand your place, even if you aren't his worker at the company. He'd deny any sort of reward until he thinks you've 'straightened up'. He wants to see you squirm and struggle on doing just that, because he himself wants to see if you can be strong to withstand the eye of the storm itself.

He'd shower you with love on the first few years, making sure you're well fed-- no, spoiled without a single bat of an eye, and then he has you in the palms of his hands. He's quite well off, so it wouldn't be long to satisfy your greedy mind with things you wished you could afford.

Then... He'll stop.

If you ask him why he stopped, well... You clearly forgot who you're dealing with.

Bit by bit, your relationship will sour. You'll have to work your way into getting the basic necessities because you've been far, far spoiled for his liking. He'll make you writhe as you try to get his affections.

Then, the cycle repeats. Over, and over, and over, and over. He'll make you so spoiled, then he'll deprive you of it.

He doesn't care what violations he's breaking. He doesn't care if you sobbed and kept saying you can't. He does not care if you tell him you're going to die because of how hard he's been on you.

You wanted this life of luxury. You wanted him.

It's not his fault that you can't read the fine print, is it? That you're so busy obsessing over a man's appearance, riches, and even his manners that you forgot the basic decorum. You forgot to act like a proper individual cause you went 'gaga' over him.

And he hates it. He hates that behavior you have.

Really, he doesn't love you like how you love him. He doesn't give any fucks. All he wants is someone who's so dumb to like him just so he'd have a little toy.

What, you're getting mad because of it? Shocker! He doesn't care.

He's not afraid of getting his hands dirty if he was threatened. Unlike you, he had to work for everything he got. In his eyes, no one deserves the fame unless he permits it.

You're fun as a little toy he had, but he grew bored of you. He doesn't want you anymore.

Maybe he can tip those men off to deal with the mess he's faced with.

[minecraftfan11onscratch]

Blue and Daisy's Ignis Fatuus/Dream counterparts in KOSATSU! (+ Blue's Pidgey) Respectively, their names are Azure and Gloriosa.

Some info about them under the cut! (mostly to be sure, TW for animal abandonment mention)

They, in a loose sense, take the roles of Kim/Berly and Vance/Van. Mostly in the sense of “duo of characters who are siblings, and arguably the closest to the Anger-driven character”. Azure also takes Boss’ role in Ignis Fatuus as the introductory enemy/boss.

The devil/angel motif on Azure and Gloriosa’s accessories is a metaphor for younger Steven’s overall view on them. Their hair is also tree colored and patterned as a reflection of their “Oak” surname.

Their lore is taken from Abandon Lonliness and Strangled Red, respectively (the former, however, with less grimness overall).

Blue picked Eevee, but later ditched him for Pidgey. He didn’t want to openly admit to everyone he didn’t find Eevee cool/strong-looking enough, so he dropped him in Pallet Town’s streets, close to Leaf’s family’s door, which unwittingly granted the little Pokémon a new home and trainer on the long run. The main six learning about that, plus him picking on Red and Alexis (especially the latter) and his bossy, overconfident attitude, made him quite the prickly thorn on their side.

Azure ramps up on the “bully” side of younger Blue, with the “first fight” happening he thought it’d be funny to rub off how he and Pidgey are “better” than Gold and Cyndaquil. He mellows out, but just enough to not be considered an threat-and-annoyance.

The older Blue grew. While not all-there mature, he regrets his past behavior and will not hesitate to help the ones he used to tease. He even joins Steven and Alexis with Pidgeotto to fight Red in Two Days Left. By One Day Left, after Red comes out of his house, the two mend their animosity, promising to be friends.

Daisy and Steven had a relationship that started shortly before the latter and his brother got their Pokémon. It stayed afloat and steady even with Steven being nigh-constantly out of Pallet adventuring with his group of friends, his brother and their Pokémon, until the Incident happened and Steven isolated himself. As much as she hated it, later into the timeskip she gave up on trying to reach out for him.

Both Gloriosa and Daisy can read the bond between trainer and Pokémon for whoever leads the party. Along with specifying which kind of "scenario callouts" the lead Pokémon can perform, Gloriosa has no shortage of positive things to say about each of the bonds. Daisy, though, is quick to notice Steven and Blastoise’s... awkward bond between each other, at least until through the days, the two grow closer.

Daisy doesn’t hate Steven for becoming a shut-in (from her knowledge of what happened to him, she understands why he’d do that), but she also can’t bring herself to feel the same way for him again. A new three-days sidequest would involve rekindling their bond again, with a bittersweet conclusion.

[rollerwavegallery]

THX 1138 (1971)

“What’s wrong?”

This is the famous opening line of George Lucas’ masterpiece, THX 1138- an indication that we are witness to a world that is WRONG, so far beyond repair and so far gone that it bears virtually no resemblance to our own. 

The world of THX 1138 is perhaps the most bleak depiction of the future ever created. Unlike other dystopian scenarios in film, it is not the result of any structure which seeks to abuse power- rather, its environment is merely the result of the progression of time. THX is set in a place where humanity is fundamentally broken, has forgotten how to perform even the most basic task, and does not keep adequate sociological records.

Anyone who appreciates and respects George Lucas’ talents as a director knows of the captivating power of THX 1138, which is arguably even better than Star Wars. Indeed, in it we see many of the elements which later defined Star Wars- the robotic officers being similar to Stormtroopers, the line-refracted holograms THX views in his apartment being similar to the projection of Leia which pops out of R2D2 and the chess set aboard the Millennium Falcon, the sleek polished hallways calling to mind the interior of a Star Destroyer.

Of course, THX is a much less commercially appealing property than Star Wars, which explains why prior to Star Wars’ release in 1977, Lucas was only billed as the creator of the mildly successful film ”American Graffiti”. Overlooking THX is a mistake. It is a spectacular science fiction film, one of the greatest in scope ever conceived, and to think that it is George Lucas’ first film, and predates Star Wars by 6 years, only speaks to just how revolutionary the Lucas is in terms of storytelling and vision. 

The film follows three characters- THX, played by Robert Duvall, LUH, played by Maggie McOmie, and SEN, played by Donald Pleasance in one of his best roles. THX is a man who fears illness at the hands of his society, undergoes physical and mental trauma of which we can barely conceive, and in the end escapes his prison through sheer willpower. It is stated near the end that his society is concerned with the cost of his capture more than his capture itself, as his pursuit is abruptly terminated once the effort to bring him in runs over budget. Such are the intricacies of the bureaucracy which THX finds himself in. 

LUH’s fate is left ambiguous, as many things about her are ambiguous- such as the inner feelings between her and THX, which can only be known by them. Their relationship is one of the strongest chemistries ever witnessed onscreen, and McOmie’s expressions in the opening scene, wherein she witnesses the results of an untimely radiation accident, are excellent. 

SEN is the film’s most nuanced character in my opinion, more communicative than THX yet blinded by a lack of real desire to escape the system, despite his declarations in the prison scene that action is required. In one of the most captivating scenes, he and THX open the door which leads out of the prison, only to find a hallway with millions of swarming people- and confronted by the logistics of the masses, SEN is shocked into a state of horror. He is greeted by the abrupt state of conformity after a long period of isolation, which drives him down a path which ends with him as a shell of his former self, not even attempting to hide from the city’s surveillance cameras, being apprehended by officers and returned to prison. So it goes. 

Yet another element which adds to THX’s reputation as a tour de force is, of course, Lalo Schifrin’s masterful soundtrack. It is, like the film, decades ahead of its time, electronic and unsettling in equal measure, with smooth jazz interludes and dark ambient echoes. It tells the story of the film sonically, and is an influential piece in modern Rollerwave. It was notably sampled by Dan Frost on his debut album, “To Every Man,” on the single “scotchGARD”. The song also samples dialogue from Taxi Driver, which is fitting, given Taxi Driver’s similar themes of alienation in contemporary society. 

If there is one downside to THX, it is the director’s cut, which adds in unnecessary CGI which ultimately causes the film to feel dated- not dated by 1970s standards, but rather dated by the standards of 2004 when the CGI portions were added. It is the version you will likely find on any streaming service, so I recommend finding a copy of THX released on VHS prior to 2004. In its uncut, original version, it is nothing short of a masterpiece. 

The CGI shots Lucas added in the 2004 director’s cut are puzzling in that they add nothing to the narrative, and are jarring when compared to the wonderful practical effects of the 1970s. A rat which scares Donald Pleasance in the original cut is needlessly replaced with a strange scorpion creature. Highways are added to the city which make it feel more like the wonderful metropolis of Coruscant than an empty cavern. Most notably, THX’s work with radioactive metal is given the CGI treatment- and it looks abysmal. 

While it can be argued that CGI works well in the Star Wars prequels, given their nature as grand works of science fantasy where anything is possible, it is thematically incompatible with THX 1138, which is aside from the CGI edits extremely grounded and bleak. These cartoony editions feel like a completely separate movie, they are jarring and speak to an older, more cynical George Lucas who was emboldened by the potential of CGI as a new technology and felt the need to go back and touch up what he saw as a flawed film- even though it is in fact perfect in its original state. Any fans of Rollerwave as an aesthetic should avoid the director’s cut at all costs, as it subtracts from the marvelous 1970s aesthetic. 

This is particularly notable in the needless addition of CGI “shell dwellers” in the final portion of the movie, who don’t even look remotely like the shell dweller seen earlier during the prison scene, and whose mere presence subtracts from THX’s chase from the officers. In short, they ruin the conflict. This is a shame, given that THX’s final chase scene is fantastic and displays what can be achieved using practical effects and a vast underground tunnel. 

THX is unfathomably influential to modern science fiction, and unlike Rollerball or Death Race 2000, does not feel dated, despite its obvious 1970s appearance. This can be credited in part due to extremely well-honed performances by a cast who know exactly what they’re doing, and in part to Lucas’ behavior as a director. Every shot is perfectly calculated to achieve the ultimate atmospheric effect, up to and including the satiric clip of Buck Rogers which plays prior to the film proper. Its utopian vision exists in stark contrast with the morbid reality of THX’s world, and also communicates Lucas’ noted fascination with old film serials, which is palpable in Indiana Jones and, of course, Star Wars. 

It’s required viewing for any dedicated fan of Rollerwave as an aesthetic. Each shot oozes with technical prowess, from the gorgeous shopping mall-esque interior of the City’s commerce center to the vast maze of computer servers THX navigates while being relentlessly pursued by his captors. THX is one of the best visions of the future the 1970s has to offer, along with Alien, albeit initiating the decade rather than capping it off. 

More than simply being one of the first examples of Rollerwave in film, and one of the best, however, it is a great science-fiction film which sets itself apart from the crowd, stands on its own, and should be viewed by anyone who considers themselves connoisseurs of science-fiction. 

[carmelo-fantano]

Man Washed Ashore

Our ability to judge humans is not inherent to our humanity, or one dimensional as to be interchangeable with everyone else. This fact is caused by our prejudice, which is caused by our completely unique experiences in life. “The Handsomest Drowned Man in the World” presents us with an incredibly surreal scenario which allows us to look this phenomenon straight in the eye. A drowned man from a land unknown, with features to match, washes ashore on a village.This following analysis seeks to dig deeper into the societal impacts on people’s prejudice and reactions to this inexplicable drowned man. 

For this analysis, I will separate the characters into three groups: the children, the fishermen, and the wives. The common factor which all these groups of people are forced to experience is the setting itself. A fishing village isolated from society except for nearby villages where people are frequently washed ashore into. This can explain their “conservative” view on life in the context of societal roles. It also explains their lack of shock of finding a man washed ashore. This caused them to compare “Esteban” to these societal roles as they state that, “his wife would have been the happiest woman.” and “He could have drawn fish out of the sea simply by calling their names.”

This leads me to the next point. How did these people react to a drowned man washing ashore? The women, who are identified through their husbands, compare this man to their husbands. The men, who identify with their work, only care about the fact that he is a man washed ashore. The difference comes with the children, who harbor minimal prejudice see nothing at all. To the point they barely differentiate him from a whale to be played with, “They had been playing with him all afternoon, burying him in the sand and digging him up again…”

Besides reactions to a drowned man, we can clearly see how societal expectations decided the lives of these people. Women are forced to be at home and separated from work. Men are expected to act as fishermen. And if you survive long enough, you are seen as an elder to be followed. “While the men went to find out if anyone was missing in neighboring villages, the women stayed behind to care for the drowned man.” 

Societal structure forced these people into what they are. The setting of this society gave them all their base ideals. The forceful expectations dictated their path in life. This path in life and the experiences accompanied by it dictate how they see the world. The weight of one’s society will always be carried by them.

[yunsoh]

this moment with yuki stands as a really excellent reminder of where his core socialization struggles started in the series, and shows us where he is currently on his path to healing and better self-esteem.

it’s been a while since we’ve seen how the general student population treats yuki. obviously we’ve gotten the continuation of the prince yuki girls heavily revering him, but we see this still, too, with the rest of his peers -- now also in part because he’s the student council president, but definitely still due to his reputation as the prince. 

this reverence was something that had heavy hand in how he feared being ostracized by his peers, as he was both constantly pushed away from them (above them) because of this false image they had of him, and as he pushed his true self away from them because of his deep social anxiety. he blamed himself for his social standing, simultaneously high and isolating, and believed that any positive traits people viewed him as were fraudulent --

“And I still can’t associate with ‘normal’ people. I don’t mean to turn them away, but some part of me can’t deal with people. I cut myself off from other people because I’m afraid of getting hurt, and because I’m [cursed]… I’m only being nice because I want people to like me… My being nice is entirely selfish.” (ch. 4)

now, as he nears the end of his arc, there’s a visible shift in his character. he’s done a lot of inner work and growth in order to deal with his social anxiety and his self-esteem, and at this point no longer feels isolated or lonely as he did at the start of his story. the isolation he experiences in this scene specifically, while similar to how he was isolated by his peers at the beginning of the story, takes a different color: his self-blame has diminished considerably, in part because he has a social group that knows him as himself, and in part because he doesn’t feel as though he’s faking himself or his kindness around his peers anymore. 

there’s still some sadness as his offers for help get denied and he ends up patrolling alone -- while he’s able to look down at this group of friends from afar with some fondness, it’s tinged with something a little bittersweet. he’s experiencing this scenario once again, but from a different and better place in his life. this bout of being alone, while it no longer conflates with loneliness, is still somewhat of a tender spot for him because of how this scenario previously played out for him in the not-so-distant past.

now that he isn’t self-loathing about his social anxiety, though, there is a part of his self-esteem that isn’t quite realized yet: viewing himself as someone worthy of befriending because of what he can offer.

this ties thematically with his offers of help being declined, but also with the climax of his character arc in season two -- he doesn’t want to just be someone who receives the benefits of being in a relationship, but someone who can give just as much back. while he was speaking about romantic relationships specifically, this extends to his closest friendships as well. we see him carry a lot of guilt over not being able to give as much back to people like tohru and haru, and is later revealed to be entirely unaware of what he offers in his friendship with kakeru, who considers his friendship with yuki to be the reason why he was able to grow into a better person.

he no longer contends with doubts that people want to be friends with him at all -- it’s been proven to him that people can see the real him and still want to be friends with him, even if he doesn’t necessarily like himself. his issue at this stage in his story is if he has anything to offer, as an individual, that would have others seek him out.

this ties back to his earlier insecurities revolving around kyo and kakeru, and even ties to how he views tohru -- these are people who seem to emit a warmth that others are naturally attracted to. he doesn’t believe the same is true for himself, and while it’s not a point of distress for him anymore, it’s not something he’s entirely grappled with. though he’s more secure in his close relationships with tohru, kakeru, and haru (versus how he felt about his role in these relationships earlier on), he does still wish to be a friend that is sought out specifically. 

this scene where he finds himself alone, his help having been denied because of his dual role as the student council president and the school prince, and feeling somewhat like an outsider again as he observes a group of friends having fun, leaves him feeling acutely aware of this current dilemma he’s having. it’s only when machi runs into him, and tells him she’s been running around trying to find him just to say hello, that this insecurity is momentarily shattered for him. 

[an aside: this issue is never fully addressed in the narrative. while it’s a natural progression in his journey through his social issues and self-esteem to understand how important he actually is in his relationships, the way that it’s concluded offers an awkward commentary on how he views his role in these relationships, which up until this point is the primary focus of his narrative. rather than going the route of becoming more secure in his relationships without needing overt confirmation that his friendship is beneficial, the story instead decides to go the route of him becoming so enamored with being sought out specifically -- by a girl who has no other relationships she feels she can confidently turn to, no less -- that he eventually conflates this with being romantically in love with her, and never returns to address this insecurity he still feels within his friendships. it’s a thread that’s lost in the midst of takaya wanting to wrap up his story with a romance that had very little foundation for the sake of having him have a “happy” ending, i.e. an ending with a romance, despite his narrative being about finding happiness in strong and trusting platonic relationships.]

machi is still a new friend to him at this point, and one that he’s been friendly towards since they started working together. while she’s only just started to warm up to him, his offers of friendship and general kindness towards her never hinged on whether he believed she would eventually become friends with him. he was kind to her for kindness’ sake, especially since she was someone who was otherwise intensely reserved, unsocial, and lonely. 

this sounds like an obvious statement because yuki is, on the whole, a kind person, but again: he once believed that he only extended kindness in order to be liked in return. at the beginning of the series, he couldn’t differentiate between him lacking boundaries in order to be people-pleasing, and him being genuinely kind. now that he does understand his own boundaries (as a result of respecting himself more + healing his self-esteem), the kindness he extends is very much of his own unselfish volition. 

that said, his kindness is something he acts on without consciously thinking of its benefits -- he doesn’t do kind things in order to receive something in return, or because he expects that his kindness is going to be the singular thing that helps someone. frankly put, he’s not arrogant. but this also means that when someone does overtly show that his kindness has had an effect on them, it catches him off-guard. (i say overtly because yuki’s kindness has had a deep effect on kakeru, too, but it’s very plainly stated that yuki doesn’t know this because kakeru never tells him directly.) machi chasing after him just to say hello isn’t just a sudden leap in their friendship, after she’s more or less appeared to not want to be emotionally involved with her place in the student council -- it’s a direct outcome of him consistently reaching out to her even when she didn’t react or respond. she’s seeking him out individually because he holds that same warmth that he was previously so wanting of. 

and he has that warmth because he’s overtly, genuinely kind. that kindness that he previously thought of as being selfish is the benefit he’s doubtful that he possesses as a friend. the very thing that he thought he faked only to get other people to like him is the foundation for why others seek him out and love him -- because from the very start, his kindness has been real.

[apocalypticgargoyle]

meet clay, he knows how you'll die.

intro filler chapter sorry

☾ pairing: dream x reader

☾ cw: interact at your own risk; contains graphic depictions of various character death and violence, suicide, blood, gore, and other triggering material. angst, language, guns, adult content, mentions of sex, slow burn friends to lovers

☾ wc: ~4100

Clay pulled the strap of his backpack further on his shoulder as he wove through the mindless sea of college students, eyes scanning the crowd for you, his best friend and the only person he could stand at the early hour. His knuckles flashed white as he sighed, taking the blunt impact of someone walking into him. He removed one of his headphones, mumbling a quick apology and swatting off the enthusiastically apologetic sophomore girl. All he could focus on was how much she bit her lip as she stammered on about not seeing him. It wasn’t alluring to him when most girls tried to sway his affections by looking at him with a puppy dog expression; all his mind drifted to was the dead skin across the body of her lower lip.

He finally nodded and reinstated his headphone, turning on his heel and heading for the front of the building. He received a few greetings from his peers as they crossed his path, people who shared past lectures with him and who had cheated off of him during exams. He wasn’t popular by any means, but he stayed out of people’s business and didn’t express his opinions loudly, so people tended to like him. The autumn breeze picked up as he stood in the dwellings of political science majors on the front lawn, acting as if they hadn’t seen one another in years when it had been only a few days. Clay absent-mindedly looked down at his cellphone, flipping through music as he leaned against the cool brick of the hall’s facade, waiting for you to find him.

Clay’s usual brooding manner was often off-putting to outsiders, with the careless-hollow look in his eyes giving bystanders the impression that he was nothing but a machiavellian. But you always saw the brightness in him; the side that you always experienced was specifically for you, and he made sure to keep it that way. You had wedged herself into his life and he was ever grateful for the love you had given him.

Despite the understood truth between the two of you that nothing was to be left unsaid, Clay still found himself keeping one of the most important aspects of his character unknown to you. His bloodcurdling secret was his own curse, something that would only be poison for another soul to know.

“What’s up, stud?” Somehow a flush of relief rippled through Clay’s body as his eyes locked to yours, pulling him from his isolated shell. Your hair looked brighter today against the dark hoodie peeking out from beneath an all too familiar bomber jacket. The wind fluffed your locks slightly as you continued towards him.

His eyebrows perked up as if to signal he was attempting to downplay his excited demeanor. “Stud, huh?” You smirked at his response, taking one of his headphones and putting it in your own ear, her face angled up to Clay as you waited to recognize the song, swaying slightly.

He chuckled as you shrunk away from him after muttering the song’s artist disappointedly and rolling your eyes, pulling on his hoodie pocket to follow you. As chaotic as his life often felt, he could always rely on the consistency of you. You usually attached yourself to one of his backpack straps, handles, his belt loop, or ended up under his arm, wedged against his side. It had gotten to the point that he felt naked if you weren’t within arm’s length of him, which was rare for the two of you. “So, I have something for you.” He smugly looked down at you, green eyes masking a hidden sparkle as you handed him a can of root beer, making him chuckle.

“Aren’t you sweet?” He popped the tab, taking a sip as you waved at a group of girls passing the two of you before slipping your hand against the crook of his elbow where his hoodie sleeves were pushed back.

“Actually, I was hoping it could be payment for later. I need to head over to the cemetery for some rubbings. History 270 has me getting into some weird shit, huh?” He laughed again at you, offering you the drink.

“And you need wheels?” You nodded and smiled politely at him, beaming at his words. “Yeah, alright. I have to sketch something for art anyway.” He thought about the week’s assignment and then about your little project he had dealt with the prior year. You had acted like the two of you hadn’t been to the cemetery on a regular basis, but he was grateful that you wanted him to come along with you.

You quietly jumped once. “You are my hero in faded denim, Clay. You know that, right?”

The two of you parted ways to your select destinations, one of Clay’s least favorite parts of the day, which was only solidified as he sunk into his seat and attempted to look equipped for the lecture. He spotted an unfamiliar kid shaking his knee in a distant section of the classroom. In any other circumstance, he wouldn’t have thought twice, but the sie of the class had given him the pleasantries of getting his own personal curse out of the way on the first day.

He carefully watched the boy speak smugly to a few of the more athletic kids in the room. One of the athletes pointed to the general direction Clay was sitting in and they all moved towards him. He, yet again, took out his headphones, knowing full well that they would be talking to him for the rest of the class.

“Oi, Shaman,” one of the main guys greeted Clay like they always did: a strange pattern of slapping and shaking his hand. He was thankful he had gotten all of their first impressions months prior and didn’t have to worry about getting their scenarios again, but he geared up to meet the new kid.

“How are you, Punz?” Clay took a deep breath as the new kid was gestured to and brought into the light.

“This is Mark. He’s a transfer from one of the commuter campuses. Mark, this is the mastermind you pay for notes.”

Clay sarcastically smiled at Punz. “My, you flatter me more than any girl. Nice to meet you, man.” As soon as he touched Mark’s hand, Clay’s mind flashed to a dingy-looking barn out in the middle of nowhere before an older man in his mid-thirties came into view with a lever-action rifle in his hand. In another flash, Clay was in front of the man, now kneeling with the gun in his mouth, red, blurry eyes looking straight through Clay. A pang of guilt broke open in Clay’s stomach as he pushed against the handguard lever and pulled it back into place, squeezing the trigger and sending Ckay back to the class. He let out a sigh and fought to plaster one of his less absent smiles.

“Speaking of our lovely girls, Mark here has a question about her.” Clay’s head tilted towards Mark, not exactly squaring up to him, but sending him an amused look as if to warn him not to cross a line, knowing full-well this conversation would somehow involve you. “We all know that no guy would ever intrude on her without your blessing, but Mark sat near her on the bus before his first class and was thinking about asking her out.”

Clay bit back a laugh, feeling like the Vito Corleone. “Well, you know her, Punz, and you know she would be mortified if I told some guy to fuck off, so I would just ask her yourself?” Oh, how desperately Clay wanted to bash Mark for not even telling Clay himself and the fact that the boy before him was nowhere near your type, but Clay knew better than to burn bridges and he felt bad for the way Mark would meet his end.

Nobody, not even you, knew about Clay’s gift. In the going-on-five years of knowing you, he came breaths away from letting his secret slip but has always kept it hidden, hoping to bury it with him after being married to you for forty happy years.

The visions started around his fifth-grade year, beginning with vivid dreams of dying in the midst of the Civil War, feeling the warm gushing of blood leaving his system, and the stabbing pain of being shot multiple times beside a woman who oddly looked enough like you that he almost called out your name. He had lived what he presumed to be his death in the life before this one several times, each vision taking him a few clicks further.

Soon, he found himself catching glimpses of others’ deaths before they happened as soon as they touched him, but thankfully it was usually over with no time passing and he only endured the visions once for each person, fate having already sealed itself. The only person who seemed to mix him up was you.

It was love at first sight for him, but as soon as you touched his arm, bleak snapshots of a boating accident raced into his mind, only to have to re-experience the scenario a few months later with you stepping in front of a train. Even as a measly high school freshman, he promised himself that there was no way he was letting you die in the gruesome manners being predicted to you. He didn’t think changing fate was possible until he witnessed you in action. He hated seeing you so young in each of the glimpses, tearing him to shreds as he knew time and time again that there was no way he could change what was meant to be.

There were even times when he quietly promised you that he’d die by your side if he couldn’t stop it.

As his lecture let out, Clay found you tucked into a corner of the library, smiling to yourself silently as knew you had finally found what you were looking for in one of the massive books before you. There were many moments like this that Clay wished he could pause and remember for the rest of his life. He was proud that you were there for him even though you could have left instead of playing your own little game of library scavenger hunts.

Since knowing you, he had taken note of how you treated other boys, usually as first dates and never true pick-ups. You didn’t care if they called you the next day or not and he was sure you had never even been kissed before. Something about your guys’ relationship gave others the nod to leave it the fuck alone, and that your heart truly belonged to Clay; a responsibility he wished didn’t plague you with. Despite this, he couldn’t bring himself to be with you, only worried that what you had would be destroyed because he knew that as soon as he told you about his gift, you might leave.

You always brought a bag of marbles and a bouquet of flowers to the cemetery. You loved to find the tombstones that looked neglected or ones with older dates, knowing that the possibility of having family members who remembered the person was lower. The trees in the graveyard were reds and yellows with the changing season, leaves scattered over the grass, naturally piling in large masses. This was your favorite for how neglected it seemed to always be. You had a knack for making inanimate objects and lost souls feel loved; Clay often feeling like he was one of these disembodied figures.

Clay leaned his back against one of the massive trees a few paces from the tombstone you had picked, smiling as he watched you carry out her routine. He flipped to a clean page in his sketchbook as you sat cross-legged in front of the great stone resting place, pulling the long-dead flowers from the concrete gauntlet and replenishing a few flowers in their place while setting an equal number of marbles along the grass line of the stone. A daisy was tucked behind your ear as you ran her fingers against the worn chiseling of the dates, smiling slightly. He began to sketch you out. Your eyes drifted to him before the corners of your mouth curled up into a smirk and you returned to her previous position, straightening your shoulders. “Who is it?” He asked, blending a rough edge with the pads of his finger as you tilted your head at the script carvings.

“George McAfee. Born 1926. Died 1963.” The wind picked up, blowing your hair away from your face as you pulled your jacket closer around you. “What was happening in 1963?” You turned your head to him momentarily before looking back at the lucky man. “I mean besides Beatlemania and JFK’s assassination?”

Clay outstretched one of his legs, swallowing as he thought, his eyes fluttering from the page in front of him to you. “Well, Alcatraz was shut down, Studebaker stopped production, the USSR sent the first woman into space…” he trailed off, watching you as the gears began to spin in your head.

“Do you think he died in the Coliseum explosion?” You wet your lips and he couldn’t help but smile at you.

“Maybe he died in the USS Thresher sinking?” He was thankful that he could capture your thoughtful gaze in this picture.

“You’re smart, Dream. Have I ever told you that?” He chuckled at the sigh in your voice. He detailed the bomber jacket you were wearing---which you’d stolen from his closet god knows when---a bit as you placed a piece of paper over the engraving and rubbed a crayon against the stone, his name coming to life on the paper as you came to life on Clay’s. It didn’t matter why you two would be in the cemetery, you always had a type of bond with the dead, surprising Clay due to how bright you were and your power of holding onto so much compassion. He threw his sketchbook into his backpack and slug in over his shoulder, moving to help you up. You decided to give the rest of the flowers to George as Clay stood next to you, gazing down at his grave.

A high-pitched moan startled the two of you, snapping your heads to look over the hedges separating your section of graves and the one beside it. Clay’s eyes widened as they fell to a girl in all black with porcelain skin propped on top of one of the tombstones. You clasped your hand over his mouth pulling him onto the ground next to you as you peered through a hole in the bushes. His mind noticed your arms first. One of them was secured over his chest and the other wrapped around his shoulder from beneath his arm, holding onto him as he steadied himself in the weird crouching position. “Are you enjoying this?” He jeered, looking over his shoulder slightly as he heard you snicker. The girl began to ride the stone harder.

“How many times in your life are you going to see a girl humping a gravestone? Honestly, Clay, how many?” He shook his head as you both looked at the girl, giggling to yourselves. You dug her face into his shoulder trying to stifle the next laugh trying to rip through your body as the gothic girl moaned, letting out more labored breaths. Clay’s face contorted into a twisted look of disgust as the girl tugged on her own hair. “Oh, do you think that hurts?” You took the words out of his mouth, tightening your arms around him as he shrugged.

“I doubt it’s any rockier than sex with a human.” He bit his lip, a hollow sound interrupting him quietly laughing at his own joke as you thumped him in the chest. The girl moaned louder. “Alright, she’s climaxing. I’m uncomfortable now.” Clay stood and Willow popped up next to him, lacing your fingers with his, bringing color back to his cheeks as you slipped the remaining marbles into his pocket.

“Oh, hi!” In the midst of holding hands with you again and trying to slink back to his car, he hadn’t even realized that the moaning had stopped. The girl now stood near the two of you in what seemed to be a black slip. Clay found it hard to make direct eye contact with her. “Are you guys looking for someone?”

“We were, but we couldn’t find him so-” you began, gesturing for Clay’s car and pulling him next to you.

“Well, I can help. Who are you looking for?” A thousand sarcastically vulgar comments ran through Clay’shead but his eyes flickered from her face to the tombstone she was on previously.

“Uh, my grandpa. His name was Rupert Daniels,” Clay managed to choke out. Your nails dug into his arm while your hand squeezed his. The girl looked around at the surrounding stones.

“I don’t see him right now, but I can look?” You both shook your heads quickly and muttered various responses before finally slipping away from her and getting into his car. Neither of you said anything as you pulled off the gravel driveway until crossing the railroad tracks when Clay burst out laughing.

“Do you think she even knew who it was she was gettin’ it on with or did she just pick somewhere random?” Clay laughed harder at your stunned response. “I’m serious. Clay, what the fuck. How can someone even get off in a cemetery?”

“I don’t know, man. Would you hook up with someone in a cemetery?” Clay quipped, wiggling his eyebrows at you, causing you to laugh. You dug into his console, pulling out a bag of M&Ms you had stashed in there last week, popping one in your mouth.

“Only if it was you.”

He giggled. “Excuse me, what?”

“There are just some things you do with certain people, Dream. You know what I mean.”

“I don’t know if I should be flattered I’m the only one you would have sex with in a cemetery, or like, disgusted?” You laughed at his reaction.

Within ten minutes the sun had begun to set and Clay sang loudly with you to the song playing over the radio as Clay sped along one of the county roads near your apartment complex, not wanting the night to end. He loved these moments with you. You turned down the radio and threw your hair back into a ponytail. “So, what do you think of that new kid, Mark?” Something in Clay shifted, taking away the free feeling he had recently possessed next to you. He thought carefully.

He chewed his bottom lip. “Depends on what you think?”

“Well, he seems like a wannabe Punz. And he asked me out. Naturally, I said ‘yes’ because maybe he’s different?” Clay chuckled at your sarcasm, putting his car in park on the side of the street your flat was on and getting out with you. The radio still hummed in the air lowly. “He insisted on Friday, though.” Clay dramatically acted like you had stabbed him in the heart, even though it did hurt. Friday night was their night. It had been a running tradition for movie night every Friday since your freshman year and you had never canceled on Clay for a date. “I know, I know. But I figured that I’d tell him I had diarrhea when it hit eight o’clock and be over at your place with an extra pizza? Your roommate’s working right?” He chuckled with a nod, walking you up the first three steps to your place as you made it to the concrete landing. You turned to him. “And he said he was taking me somewhere fancy, so I’ll snag you some breadsticks.” He tilted his head at you as you winked at him.

“Nah, don’t worry about it. Wanna be Punz might be fun. Maybe I’ll call up Minx and hang out with her?” He joked. Minx was a friend of yours that hung out with the two of you sometimes. He had never really liked her, but she was friends with you and thus he was always civil.

“You’re still my number one, babe.” You pushed him slightly as you climbed a few more steps, leaning on the railing as he waved to leave. “Hey, Dream?” He turned on his heel as you forced yourself to make eye contact. He stuffed his hands in his jeans pockets. “You could kiss me, you know? For science.” You smiled softly at him from where you were perched. He wet his lips as his heart hammered in his chest. He wanted to scale the steps and close the space between you, to knock you off your feet and show you just how much he was in love with you.

He hated himself. “A first kiss should have more magic in it than just for science. As a romantic, you should know first hand.” You smiled at the ground in front of you.

“Yeah, I guess you’re right.” The two of you seemed to shake off the serious moment as you stuck your tongue out at him and slipped inside your house as both giggled.

“I love you,” he murmured as you left, punching himself in the shoulder as he got back into his car.

Clay’s heartbeat pulsed in his ears, making him truly believe he was going to pass out. He had lost his gun at least a mile back. He was running mindlessly now, not knowing how long or where he was going. He trudged through the forest, hearing dogs barking and gunshots erupting around him, the ringing in his ears building with every step he forced himself to make. He wanted to rip open the front of his jacket to release the body heat drenching his collar, but he didn’t move other than propelling his body further and further away from the soldiers. You ran beside him, holding your skirt up while your hair danced around your shoulders like a great waterfall. As soon as his body felt like it might just give out, he would look at you and somehow find more of a drive to pull forward. His breaths were brittle and hoarse as he drew in borrowed oxygen. His lungs felt shallow like they were giving out on him.

You reached back, grasping his hand and pulling him into a sharp corner, hoping to lose the group. You both had managed to weave into the forest, but the dogs were somehow still picking up on your scent. The pair of you finally came upon a clearing and kneeled down out of sight, spotting a house in the middle of a glen. Bullets were streaming through the air. The forest was catching fire and cannons were echoing through the distant air. You squeezed his hand tightly, looking at him with terror in your eyes. He had gotten the two of you into this mess, but he was glad he was beside you.

He pulled you to your feet as the pair of you sprinted for a distant house. A sharp pain stabbed into Clay’s back, making him drop to the ground. How did he not hear the gun? You dropped to your feet, your eyes welling with tears, ripping at his jacket, but he pushed you off, telling you to leave quickly. He leaned forward, eyes locking on the soldiers in gray coming towards them, reloading their rifles. He groaned, pushing himself up, but only having the same stabbing sensation two more times in his chest. He heard you scream, but he couldn’t see you.

His hands were going numb as he touched where the bullets entered, feeling the warm and sticky crimson substance seep between his fingers. The soldiers reached you before you had made it to the house, pulling you to the ground next to him. You were crying heavily as you looked at him. Everything began to run quiet as you held onto him tightly. You were saying something to him, but he couldn’t hear you. He was only aware of his jacket soaking with blood. He coughed, wanting to tell you he loved you one last time, but you were tugged away from him, pressed to one of the men in gray. He raised a hand to you as you fought against the man. And then everything went dark.

Dream Tag List: (hopefully this works)

@karlkitten @pluto-dizzz @more-like-reyna @honk-izzie-was-taken @marrymetheonott @froggyy06 @ghoulandghost @savingpluto @marshmallow-babe @drunkpumpkincake @unstableye @tinyegg @behzzyboo @twist3dtinkerbell @sparkletash @shroomieissmall @clubfairy @camerondiaz48104 @victory-is-here @rat-poisin @alm334 @acidluvs @pachowpachowbucket @bbigbbrainn @cdizzlevalntyne @idiotinnit @generallysleepdeprived @sacvf @phsychopathetic @froggerrrr @robinslie @essencee @jemalovesmarvel @sbi-is-my-onlysanity @jenlouvre @victoria-a567 @miilliiie @bunnylotl @thegirlwhowritesawksh-t @carlyferrell @dumb-chaotic-bi-energy @nyxieahh @quivvyintheclouds @sarcasticmichelle @book-of-anarchy @millavalntyne @lightdreamy @baddiesforcorpse @sunnynapp @fantasy-innit @rat-poisin @wreny24 @deepestofwaters @exenestea @indecisivehusky @fallxnly @alm334 @skaratjung @punzcanrailme @sap-naps @denki-exe @angeltears18 @silvemistxe33 @andreamalik6 @kris-stuff @sun-fiower-seed @where-thesundoesntshine @dilfdream @esmegregory04 @itsparasocial @mlqcool @mcgoddess404 @rinatdawn @chaoscait @peppermintkisses @libbynotfound @speedrunningtherapy @lunxramour @aoonai @loraleiix @ghoulpixiie

[stoic-whumpee]

Any prompts for character B who adopted character A after he lost his family? Character B is a librarian, Character A makes potions and is a shopkeeper.

Character A later, gets himself into a situation everyone thinks he's a traitor, so most people he knows abandon him from that point on. Including his "dad" (character B) and he is devastated.

Angst prompts for when Character A and B meet again? Maybe with a little bit of hurt/comfort?

Hey! Thanks for the ask :) This is a really interesting dynamic I love it a lot :D

The scenario is gonna rely on what kind of person A and B is, so I will try to cover as much ground as possible!

Character A had been devastated after the loss of his first family and had spent a while being on his own. When he was adopted by B, he finally started to heal and learn to rely on other people again. A was very attached to B because B made him feel safe.

That is, until he was at the wrong place at the wrong time and was shunned by the entire community. It would have been okay because he was used to being alone. He didn’t expect the rejection of his new dad to hurt as much. After year of trying to heal from grief and isolation, he didn’t want to return to the life from before again.

A was forced to leave the place he lived in, so he went back to a life on the street/in the wild. The loneliness was more biting than before, and he spent a long time not knowing how to feel about B’s abandonment.

A grew to resent B, eventually viewing his abandonment as a betrayal. When B sought him out to reconcile after A’s name had been clear, A refused to forgive B. He refused to return to the place that was so willing to kick him out for a crime he didn’t commit (bonus point if the community has already been unwelcoming to him because of his job/background) and he refused to acknowledge B. After B left, A collapsed onto his knees sobbing because he felt like he’d lost everything again.

A left his home, feeling he wasn’t welcomed by his adopted father anymore. He couldn’t really bring himself to really leave, however, and kept returning to the house or hanging around the library to quietly watch his dad through the window. He would duck away into his hiding spot every time B looked out of the window.

One day, B stepped outside to find A at his doorstep, badly hurt and shivering in the cold. Maybe he was sick, or maybe he was attacked by people who still hated him from the supposed betrayal. When B leant down to check on A, A clung onto to him, saying that he had nowhere else to go. But when B reached over to touch him, A jerked and scrambled away, apologizing and promising he would leave immediately. A then ran away.

B spent the whole night looking for A, eventually finding him tucked away in a corner, curled up in a ball. He was now burning up and barely conscious. B took him home and took care of him. Once A got better, he planned on sneaking out as soon as he could walk, still thinking that B wouldn’t take him back and was just caring for him out of pity/common courtesy. Maybe B would know and tried to stop him, maybe B didn’t know and came into an empty room one day when A had already left.

B was pressured/threatened into disowning A, even though he knew A was innocent. He had always felt guilty about it, even though it was for A’s safety. He spent a long time trying to prove A’s innocence, while secretly tried to look out for A. Only when he succeeded that he sought A out, trying to bring him home.

Being rejected and abandoned hurt A deeply. When they met again, a part of A wanted to leave forever so he doesn’t have to deal with the pain ever again, and a part of A wanted to fall back into B’s embrace and feel like B’s child again.

A and B reunited after years, and A had grown into a hardened person who barely showed any emotions. He had to be, to survive on his own. But as soon as they hugged each other, A felt like a child again and broke down in B’s embrace, letting out all the pain he had suffered through all these years.

As usual, shoot me another ask if you or anyone wants more prompts or want me to expand on any of these prompts :)

[thelawyerthatwaspromised]

Why Jon Snow Deserves Better

I've been knockin some thoughts around the ole noggin and I think I can finally explain the root of what bothers me about Jon going beyond the Wall with Tormund and gang for no real reason...it's just a totally (and oxymoronic) incomplete conclusion to his Hero's Journey...and here’s why Jon Snow deserves better.

Jon's been coping his whole life with the fact that he was born a bastard, that he will in actuality hold no influence (because of his birth), that he additionally deserves no place of influence or belonging (because he feels unworthy), and his future is destined for obscurity.

His ascension through the Night's Watch should represent a counter argument to all of his assumptions. He really is of noble birth. He is clearly leadership material. He is chosen for power because people believe in him. His fame grows even if his own opinion of himself does not.

Jon is unknowingly becoming the exact opposite of how he sees himself. So you might think "well then isn't it poetic that he ends up where he thought all along?" to which I'd say that symmetry does not always mean satisfying or, more importantly, fitting of a Hero’s Journey.

Jon staying in the far North is like some bizarro version of Benjamin Button - going backwards. It's not a conclusion. It's waking up from a dream sequence. He awakes from his self actualization only to find himself returning to what he always deeply feared - a life of insignificance and isolation.

Why I find this so unsatisfying is that the root of his self-doubt comes from two untruths: that he was bastard-born, and that he is unworthy...and to further make the point that his issues are an anchor on his soul and not just simply his personality - his deep seeded feelings of unworthiness are almost entirely explained by his melancholy over his origins (almost like a "survivor's guilt").

The truth of Jon Snow (noble, brave, charismatic, cunning, thoughtful, empathetic) is the complete opposite of the popular narratives surrounding his character ("bastard", "you know nothing", being murdered for "betraying" the Watch, etc.). His attachments to these untruths and false narratives cause him NOT to pursue his own desires because he believes his real desires are impossible and even wanting these things makes him feel immoral.

Jon Snow devoting himself to being Lord Commander of the Night's Watch is nothing more than a coping strategy. He is living out the "best case scenario" of his sadness every day by being a Night's Watchmen. They have noble goals, sure. They serve an important function, sure. But their lives suck up there. Bastards and 3rd born sons go there. Criminals go there. All are forced to surrender any hope for something more through their oaths.

Think of Batman. He is living every day stuck in the tragedy of the murder of his parents. He wears the suit. He fights crime. But he's pathologically obsessed with his trauma. That's what makes Batman so compelling. So how would it feel if Gotham was cleaned up, all villains defeated, and Batman's conclusion was to keep being Batman fighting low level thugs every night for the rest of his days?

This is how I feel about Jon returning beyond the Wall. There's no function to his actions anymore. He has an expressed (REPEATEDLY over and over in the books) desire to raise a family, to have a romantic love, to be like his *true* father, Ned. Instead, he falls backwards to something that was premised on his being undeserving of the life he would have envisioned. Obscurity, isolation (the wildlings are not his best friends no matter what the show tried to present), and without family. This was Jon's most depressing future, not his most desired.

The one hope I have for Jon Snow's conclusion in the books is that he is given a proper Hero's Journey. That he can overcome his obstacles both externally (represented by the clash of Ice and Fire) and internally (his own deep seeded self doubts brought on by the lies surrounding his birth) so that he can, for once, let go of that trauma. Because, yes, that trauma served a meaningful purpose in guiding him towards humility and empathy and made him stronger in dealing with those external threats.

The reminders of his trauma certainly helped him to live out the campaign charged to him by Jeor Mormont, the Halfhand, and company - but after those external threats are defeated the trauma no longer serves him. It only prevents him from actually living his life. He crawled up through the pile of bodies at the Battle of the Bastards because he had a desire to live, not to die, not to live indifferently. And he wants more than what the Watch and Wildlings can provide him at this point.

Self actualization is what I want for Jon. To find acceptance of himself. To find love. To surround himself with family. To finally, FINALLY feel at home. From my reader's eyes, Winterfell is the entirety of those wishes. This is where he belongs. He IS a Stark. Winterfell is his home. If, in the end, it turns out Jon is essentially a static character (one who practices self-denial from the beginning right until the end) I will view it with nothing but disappointment and dissatisfaction.

Jon Snow deserves better.

[animeyanderelover]

Yandere Chae Yul Hc’s

I said I would write for it! This is just a small post and I will continue my break for one or two more days. It’s just that I really wanted to write for him. He’s such a crazy and somewhat wickedly cute character.

Tw: Yandere themes, unhealthy mindset, unhealthy relationship, possessiveness, obsessiveness, delusions, stalking, clinginess, manipulation, sabotage, threatening, blackmailing, kidnapping, violence, death

(In a scenario where he fell for the darling instead of Sian.)

💜It’s relatively easy to detect how he would be since he is already a Yandere. A very possessive and clingy one if we’re talking about that. He just had a very bad childhood where he was bullied from fellow students due to the fact that he looked like a girl (pretty) and additionally doesn’t seem to be on good terms with his father who doesn’t show him lots of love. So his darling is for Chae Yul like his own sweet sunshine in his so far shitty life, someone who gives him love and sees him for who he is. Obviously the boy has no intention of losing such a precious and cherished person. And usually he is always around his darling, in most cases right next to them to keep other persons away. It’s safe to say that he is the obsessive type who has photos his darling is not aware off somewhere in his room, though the walls themselves are decorated with couple pictures or photos he made of you because you agreed too as well. It’s honestly one of many red flags.

💜Coming with his clinginess, Chae Yul is someone who thrives for affection and love a lot to the point where he sometimes appears to be downright a bit needy for kisses and words of love and praise. As seen in the series, Chae Yul seems to be a person who has no problem guilt-tripping his darling into things that they might not want to do, but he wants to do which adds the point manipulative to the list. Emotional blackmail is a very effective method of his to get you to do what he wants, mostly ditching others to spend your time only with him. He’s honestly hypocritical, believing to do the right things to keep his s/o safe when in reality his actions cause the darling to the point where they push friends and even family aside to spend time with him, the end result being isolation. On a more delusional side as well since he sincerely believes that he can not live and function properly without his darling and is the type to excuse the horrible and disturbing things he does with his endless love for the s/o. It’s for their and his own good.

💜Something that was made quite obviously in the story as well is that Chae Yul is not only possessive, but also extremely jealous. Even the thought of his darling spending time with someone else instead of him can already trigger his jealousy which is why he ends up guilt-tripping his darling so often. It has yet to reach another terrible level whenever he has someone even getting too close to his s/o. He’s a petty little stalker who will follow his darling if they were to meet someone else which he often finds out. I mean, he wired Sian’s room, didn’t he? So who can tell if he won’t do the same to your room, eavesdropping additionally a lot on you as well. As told by Hyunee, he has quite the chilling stare to give every person he views as a love rival or potential threat which can be pretty much everyone and he always ruins any sort of meetings which were supposed to be without him. Because he always happens to appear and tag along as well. Chae Yul makes everyone else just feel like an unwanted third wheel since he monopolizes all of your time and attention and makes it through smothering affection clear what your relationship with him is.

💜He’s a rather aggressive person as it was very clearly seen, not shying back from blackmailing and bribing others up until hurting someone physically. As someone who seems to have empathy issues, he can’t quite consider how others were to feel if he would put pressure on them. He said himself that he wanted to keep Sian safe from others who would ruin her and he has the same sort of mindset with his darling. He can go very quickly from scaring and threatening others to stay away from you to actual violence, though in most cases he can manage to be smart enough to come up with a plan in advance so he won’t get caught easily. He has a rather wide range of attacking people, going from electroshocking them in advance to make them defenseless up to assaulting someone spontaneously when he has been cornered and agitated too much.

💜Already a great monopolizer who guarantees that his s/o isolates themself more from others, in general the darling should never really lower their guard around him. This Yandere is a intense one, a walking time bomb if we have to be honest. And if he were ever to feel like he is being neglected the attention and love he wants to receive or to feel the growing threat of someone else catching your interest and the danger of being replaced, he will snap. Chae Yul is to a certain level a rather paranoid guy, especially if he feels unwanted and not loved. Besides increasing his already horrifying clinginess, what else besides abducting can he really do? Other people will otherwise just continue wanting to ruin him everything. For him it’s him against everyone else in regards of his s/o.

💜It would be too nice to say that he is pretty much the full package to have for his darling. His love is shown in a very twisted way since he harms his darling indirectly with his actions yet perfectly manages to come over in such times as a very doting boyfriend. Plans to marry them as soon as possible, something about marriage is extremely reassuring for him. As exhausting as he will be for his darling, he melts when he actually is alone with his darling and can let his guard down for a little bit. Your scent is just the most calming thing in the world and if he gets to be hold in your arms and you caress his hair, it happens a lot that at one point he just falls asleep for a bit.

[rainecleoud]

do you think morgana wouldn't have had the insane irrational wish to become queen and therefore wouldn't turn evil if she and arthur knew from the very beginning that they're related? :)

first off I think Morgana wasn't completely irrational in her wish to become queen because she wanted the best for magic users and wanted to be safe from persecution and the way she saw that happen was through becoming queen so she could undo laws on magic

She is seen as a little rash in the beginning where she decides to kill uther for killing gwen's dad and because of the anti magical bs. i do think however it was a little ooc for morgana to go completely murder rage, but it can make sense in certain ways (im trying not to deviate from the point here.) I think that morgana and arthur grew up with a semi-sibling relationship like a them vs uther kind of thing, especially when younger (lets ignore the implied arthur morgana attraction is episode 1 please) and that could lead to two main scenarios - either arthur listens to morgana or he doesn't. If she doesn't communicate that much with arthur and they have a strained relationship because of the affair thing, then that could lead to feelings of resent. That would also happen if even after speaking to arthur, he doesn't listen or he still values his father over her. If she grew to resent arthur and watched him, her own flesh and blood, behave like their father, then i think that fury and betrayal would've made her think that Arthur isn't fit to be king either so yes she would've had the urge to be queen. However, if they chose to communicate, then their bond would've likely been stronger and it growing up it would've definitely been more of a them vs uther thing. Arthur has some suspicions about uther's actions especially after other characters highlight it to them (again not discussing it fully here because it will deviate from the point) but has his own relationship issues with him, meaning that arthur couldn't really act on his own thoughts (because he was always trying to please the last member of his family - which was even more isolating because the royal family has more expectations and boundaries in terms of interacting with others.) If he knew that Morgana was his sister, then its more likely that they would have a closer bond, meaning they're more likely to listen to each other. It would mean that Morgana is more likely to tell Arthur about her magic. If not accepted by arthur or told to hide it and then nothing is done then it will lead to situation a. If accepted (more likely), then that means that Arthur's views on magic would be more positive. By extension, that would mean safety for Merlin and other magic users too. After Uther is deposed of (either he dies or is killed or smth), then the future of Albion would be brighter, because arthur would (hopefully change laws.) This would mean morgana would have less of an urge to be queen, because arthur has all the diplomatic training etc. so mabye it would be a co-rule situation. There are a lot if hypotheticals here so tbh anything could happen. also i havent watched the series in a while so there may be some inaccuracies. I dont even know if this makes sense 😭

tysm for the question @inthecrystalofadream i will be sending you a question through shortly....

[kisilinramblings]

I often hear people claim that Adrien would make a better protagonist. In what ways do you think that would not work? We'd probably understand the other characters less since Adrien interacts with them less due to less free time. Adrien's also usually stuck at home with what is shown onscreen as the rare free time he has, so an Adrien pov show would usually show him at home/work? It would also probably work better for a shorter, more serious show rather than a long comedic series like ML.

(Pt 2) Someone could argue that they could just make Adrien have more free time if it was Adrien-pov, but I'd rather not the show compromise the restrictiveness of Adrien's home life like that. With more "free time" to show him interacting with other characters, his isolation from the rest of the cast because less apparent (Compared to Marinette, which the show can work with what its trying to do because she interacts with many characters and meddles into situations, for better or worse)

=====

I think you have made your points, Anon ^^ I can hardly add anything more.

One argument I have stumbled upon recently in favor of "Adrien should be the protagonist" is that Marinette comes from a loving and caring family and therefore she doesn't have problems 🙃

As if a loving and caring family prevented Marinette to be bullied before the story started, to have little to no friend before meeting Alya and had so much low self-esteem of herself to the point she believed her taking actions would only make things worse. Insecurities which still ressurface from time to time, both as a civilian and as a superheroine. (Pharaoh, Timetagger, Miracle Queen, Furious Fu to name those)

The thing about picking a protagonist isn't about picking who has the most tragic backstory ™ as the main character. It's picking the character you want your audience to experience the story you want to tell.

Also, those people often forget that when Marinette became Ladybug, her life changed too! While Adrien jumped on the occassion to be a superhero with both feet, Marinette was reluctant. She didn't even think herself up to the task put on her shoulders (not as her first mission as LB and not when she became the Guardian).

While Adrien experienced freedom, Marinette became burdened.

After making her first mistake as Ladybug and seeing the consequences of it, she spiraled down. Everything is her fault. She only creates catastrophes. She only makes things worse for everyone. She quits.

She only started to be Ladybug again when she saw she was the only one who could help Alya and Chat Noir.

She chose to become Ladybug. She chose to accept the burden on her own.

Becoming Ladybug has allowed Marinette to face adversities such as bullies (Hawkmoth, Chloé, Lila) or her mistakes. It also allowed her to stand up for herself, to acknowledge her mistakes, to learn from them and to make things right. But it doesn't mean some of her mistakes aren't affecting her on the long run.

Becoming Ladybug allows her to grow and become a better person. She inspires people to do the same (both her classmates and the audience) and that is what we see throughout the show.

But by becoming Ladybug, by accepting to carry the burden, Marinette kept pressuring herself so much that she believes everything rests on her shoulders and her shoulders only. As a result, we have seen she has hard time accepting to delegate and share the burden on the long term because she has to keep things under control. She doesn't allow herself to be vulnerable.

Marinette's creativity is her greatest asset and allows her to find solutions to problems but at the same time, it is also her creativity that leads her to overthink things and imagine the worst case scenario.

Also, because of her background -- because Marinette trusts her parents as well as their advices and their rules -- she more easily believes authority figures like Fu, Bunnyx and Su Han. She thinks outside the box, yet she doesn't question people who have more experience regarding the Miraculous. In fact, she listens and relies on them to guide her. She follows their directions, but doesn't question if those directions actually fits her. So she molds herself and becomes someone she doesn't recognize and she feels like she isn't true to herself anymore.

Marinette wants to be a normal girl with a normal life like she used to be, except her secret forever prevents her to ever be that again. And Marinette is mourning that fact. (Gamer 2.0, Miracle Queen, Gang of Secrets, Rocketear).

Adrien? Adrien, in opposition, never had a normal life. Everything is dictated to him. His schedule, how to pose and behave. You have an emotional burst? Keep it down. Even better, hide it! Bottle those emotions up. You have to keep appearances. No wonder Adrien doesn't know who he is. He always had defined himself through others and what they expected of him. He has never learned to define himself on his own.

As a civilian, Adrien is trapped. Both litterally and figuratively. If he makes a mistake, his father tends to punish him severely, stripping away the little liberty Adrien has as a civil. Chat Noir allows Adrien to break free and more importantly, break free, incognito. But it doesn't solve his problems which all boils down to his father's authority and control. Instead, Adrien runs away from his personal problems and it is not a reproach. Adrien has good reasons to do so as it is how he survives. But it is not healthy nor safe for him on the long run.

Whereas Marinette can make various mistakes and has the power to fix them. In other words, she can confront her mistakes. She is allowed to cope with her different emotions. She has the latitude to do so. She is allowed to make her own choices which will affect her as well as the others.

And the show is centered about emotions because life is filled with them and we grow up to deal with those.

But just because Marinette is the protagonist doesn't mean Adrien is irrelevant as a character. In fact, he is the deuteragonist. The second most important character to follow. The one who foils and complements the protagonist.

Both characters have a story that is being told. Marinette's point of view is favored because it is the one that provide the widest array of possibilities and because Ladybug always find a solution to fix a problem.

[toastandjamie]

I have- so many feelings. I’ve been trying to write an analysis since last night but everything I wrote is incomprehensible so this is an attempt: advanced apologies. Originally I wanted to make a post about C!Quackity and C!Tommy’s relationship but then it got me thinking of talking about what makes Tommy so vulnerable to manipulation even incidentally which brought me to Wilbur and Techno. So I’ve decided to just make a mishmash comparing Tommy’s relationships to these three complicated people.

Starting with Quackity I think we can all agree, Quackity GETS Tommy. In a way others on the server(like Fundy or Foolish) just straight up don’t. Quackity treats Tommy a lot like he treats Slime, with this understanding that Tommy isn’t like everyone else and won’t respond to things like others would. Because Tommy in spite of everything really does act like a kid. He acts out because of boredom or frustration especially when he’s ignored. Often others get frustrated when dealing with Tommy, but Quackity has this odd level of patience different from say Sam, Puffy or even Foolish in that he puts himself at Tommy’s level. At the start I think this was just a genuine attempt at having fun with our chaos raccoon but at the moment it’s almost patronizing(a reoccurring theme). Quackity understands that pushing Tommy will only result in property damage, but he also knows that he can’t let him run around unsupervised(because property damage). When Quackity is unaware that Tommy is listening he sounds more than a little frustrated at his antics, but then Tommy throws on a pair of pants claiming to be called Trousers and insists that he is not in fact Tommyinnit. Quackity plays along, he doesn’t try and force Tommy to stop, he humors him. This is something Quackity does a lot with Tommy, and it’s why Tommy still seems to have positive feelings towards him. Quackity humors him the way adults will humor a child who’s insisting that they are a wizard. Through this lense(which I think Quackity is fully aware of) he’s able to get Tommy into a less aggressive state and get information out him. Like why he’s working with Wilbur, and Tommy’s feelings about it. Which also unfortunately makes him super easy to use. I think in the future as Quackity slowly succumbs to the inevitable power hungry corruption that’ll bury whatever soft spot he has for Tommy, we’ll see Quackity take advantage of Tommy’s blatant abandonment issues using the trust he’s built through these small appeasement based interactions.

Moving on; C!Wilbur Soot! This is a land mine let me tell you. Because Listen, Wilbur is obviously, severely traumatized and mentally ill. I don’t think Wilbur necessarily has any malicious intentions towards Tommy. But unfortunately this bad boy is backing a fuck load of unhealthy coping mechanisms and behaviors. Such as his possessive streak! We saw with L’manburg the whole “if I can’t have you no one can!” Mentality, which has now been transferred to Tommy. It’s a move to assert his control over a situation and unfortunately for Tommy he’s a prime vessel for this behavior because he has absolutely no concept of healthy boundaries! Since his backstory and relationships are a bit blurry we can’t make any definitive explanation for where this came from but for the sake of argument let’s say Tommy has known Wilbur since he was young, and Wilbur was always someone with a possessive personality(albeit less obvious due to the fact that he wasn’t traumatized yet). Being raised by or around someone who never sets boundaries with you can lead to a person growing up not able to do so themselves. And wouldn’t you know it Tommy has clearly never had a stable healthy relationship because all of them have been transactional or codependent. Which is, bad.(shout out to Tubbo and Ranboo though for trying to enforce healthy boundaries sadly though the timing of this separation couldn’t have been worse). Currently I think it’s safe to say Wilbur and Tommy have a codependent relationship. One with a very clear imbalance of power, comparable to a codependent parent-child relationship. In which Tommy excuses Wilbur’s bad behaviors out of a sense of responsibility, this feeling that because they’re “family” he owes it to Wilbur to stay by his side. Not to mention how Tommy obviously craves guidance and leadership from paternal/fraternal figures, which he originally found in Wilbur(later in Dream, Techno and Sam afterwards). Tommy very clearly desires a family structure in which he is loved and protected no matter what, and Wilbur fills that role easily and willingly. Wilbur wants someone who’ll be loyal to him and will never leave or betray him, and Tommy wants someone who’ll protect and care for and, say it with me boys, will never leave or betray him. There isn’t anything wrong with wanting someone to be there for you, but because of their complexes and traumas these feelings of fraternal affection are twisted into a relationship lacking boundaries and for Tommy, complete absence of autonomy. Only doing things because Wilbur wants him to me, because he wants Wilbur to be happy and Wilbur is never wrong. Not a good mindset to have when dealing with someone like Wilbur who is destructive as a means of coping.

Lastly another landmine, in the form of Technoblade! Ah yes, bedrock bros. We love them and miss them. But newsflash guys they ALSO had an unhealthy transactional relationship! But here’s the thing about unhealthy relationships, sometimes people are just not good for eachother. There’s no bad guy or good guy. No ones in the right or wrong. They just, weren’t good for eachother. Now whether this was situational or not can only be answered if they reconnect with healthier mindsets but for now we’ll say it’s situational. Obviously, Tommy was clearly in a bad place. Just barely managing to escape exile after a narrowly thwarted suicide attempt: now packing a whole slew of issues, from paranoia, depression, fear of abandonment, low self worth, and just general debilitating stress. Techno was ALSO in a bad place, he just hides it under a sense of self righteous justice: like guys, his only friend was put under house arrest because of him associating with him, and he was then executed under the threat of death of his faithful horse companion. Techno was angry and blinded by revenge. A bad mix when you toss in a traumatized codependent teenager desperately searching for someone to fill the empty void of fraternal leadership left by Wilbur’s death. Tommy really just wants someone to tell him what to do, like let’s not kid ourselves here. Techno offered Tommy protection from Dream, which yay! But also creates an unbalanced power dynamic(bringing that one back!). I genuinely believe that it wasn’t Techno’s intention, but the thing is, the relationship became transactional: a “I’ll protect you and take care of you if you do what I say and help me.” Type scenario. It was impossible for Tommy to really comfortably say no, at risk of being tossed out of straight up given to Dream to face whatever horrible consequences running away had. BESIDES that, they are just two very different people who had very different priorities. Techno wanted vengeance against L’manburg, Tommy wanted to be protected but always had the intention of returning to L’manburg one day(clearly believing getting the discs would be a catch all problem solver). These two priorities are in direct conflict with eachother; as a result they’re partnership would never have worked in the long term. Here’s the kicker to what makes this relationship so unhealthy though, because those things in isolation don’t make an unhealthy relationship but the fact that Tommy’s poor mental state fueled by Techno’s blood seeking revenge made him act in ways HE deemed wrong, makes it unhealthy. Tommy wasn’t lying, being with Techno made him become a person he didn’t want to be, and it’s NOT Techno’s fault. It was the unfortunate consequence of their opposing view points and unhealthy mental states. Perhaps in a world where the Butcher Army never existed the Bedrock Bro’s team up could have been a moment of healing for both characters; but alas that was not the world we are privy to in canon.

Yeah so that’s it for now I guess