#not saying that those interpretations are bad ofc!

[limnsaber]

DINLUKE QPR DINLUKE QPR

life partners (not romantic, not platonic, but a secret third thing)

Lukka you’ll have to forgive me for keeping this one in I’ve been waiting & searching for the words. Ty so much for sending it in

THATS LITERALLY HOW I FEEL ABOUT IT!!!!!

Listen. I like dinluke. I think mainstream dinluke is so fun. The jokes are fun and the fics are fun and I love fandom!! I love this sandbox that we all get to play in together! And yet sometimes I look at what people are saying and I go ‘wat are you talking abt…’. This isn’t bashing anyone to be clear!! This is abt how seemingly my interpretation of the ship is shared by no one. That is okay of course :) I do hope that I can convince you…

Cause when I think about it. I can’t picture them in a relationship. Or the traditional one with grand romantic gestures and attractions. In SW love always makes the fate of the universe, and that’s always true and will always be true. But these are two men that have managed to find balance within themselves. Not to say that their characters are finished, but to say that a Romance often comes with a revolution— changes in a character, large and small, but often also changes in situations, changes in goals, changes in their futures. Din and Luke already have that. They know their chosen paths, and exactly where they belong. It’s one of my greatest frustrations that Romance(s) for this pairing often lead to both characters changing their lives and their creeds and their beliefs for The Romance. Two people who shoulder their respective dying cultures? The Din Djarin that’s been hunted his whole life for his culture, the Luke Skywalker that spent three movies becoming what he is and ending completely ready to die for it? I can’t imagine that!! The removal of the helmet, the abandonment of aspects of the Jedi creed? I can’t imagine that!! And I can’t imagine them being attracted to each other like that either!!

It’s taken me this long to get here, but I had to get through how I felt about the ship to be able to talk about what I’ve felt about them. Luke Skywalker has no romantic pairing or displayed attraction to anyone in the ot, and that’s never treated like an issue! It’s wonderful! Din is asexual the vibes are there. To put it into words, he treats everyone with the same amount of devotion that he’d treat anything— that’s just him. That’s how he acts. He has a small moment with Omera, but that’s less about attraction to Omera and what Omera represents — a village and a community that can raise their kids in the sunlight, the peace that Din truly wants. D&L both have something they want greater than a partnership or Romance— a duty, a peaceful existence for their people. Anything that’s resonant with their characters will exist in between that.

So I can’t imagine a romance! The phrase I’ve been using recently has been ‘ghiblimance’. Because they do reflect each other as people. They would change from their interactions with one another. But not because of an attraction, but because of who they are, what they can teach to each other, what they value, and how their lives intertwine one way or another.

LITERALLY. “Not romantic not platonic but a secret third thing” is EXACTLY how I feel about it!! Similarly one of my favorite phrases describing it is ‘not romantic but not not romantic’!!! They don’t need attraction or The Romance to reflect each other as people.

I believe their paths will (“should”) keep intertwining. That’s where you get the life partners part of it from. For the things they can teach other and for themselves.

I’m sorry, I’m just not interested in them kissing. I’m interested in how they complement each other as people, and how they, their creeds, and their lives come together for themselves and for Grogu.

[danothan]

i wanna do succession handcanons (bc ofc i do) but i also realized that i have never and will never get anywhere close to wealth to even guess the way rich ppl dress or keep up their appearances. would they all regularly get manicures

[kisakis-boyfriend]

Hey! I just wanted to rant/thirst to you about Freminet, so spoiler warning for some of his locked/upcoming voice lines bc I’m going absolutely insane over how he manages to flirt so submissively. Freminet may be truly sweet and innocent, but you can’t tell me that he isn’t purposefully advertising his subby nature. This guy automatically declines tasks from ppl other than his family, but offers himself up to “be of some use to you” in the first greeting 🤨. He straight up asks for orders with zero shame but it’s really the subtle things that are making me obsessed. I can’t really explain properly but it’s kind of like how a brat baits a dom into being more aggressive except he does it in a soft way?? He’s almost one of those mildly manipulative uwu boys going “I’m so shy 🥺👉👈 plz fuck me.”

Example A: Probably the best known example of this is one of his ascension lines where he goes “You didn't have to do this for me, you know. I'd obey you regardless.” Wtf bro, you can’t just say that?!? Being a bad liar doesn’t excuse you from not even trying to hide the horny. Please stop before I bend you over. I know some ppl interpret this as sad but imo it’s one of the most boldly sexual things to come out of his mouth.

Example B: Freminet mentions always having a home at the House of Hearth. And when you ask him to join your party he either says “At your command.” or eagerly asks us to take him (with us). But in the last option he replies with “Well, *fake ass sigh* I’ve got nowhere to go…” like he’s actively fantasizing about us making him come (along). I can just tell he’s smiling while saying this shit, he ain’t slick.

Example C: In an upcoming event the Traveler jokes about wanting to try on his helmet. Immediately the whore behavior jumps out and Freminet responds with “Well, if it’s an order…” Then there’s legit an option to say back “Yep, that’s an order”. Excuse me?!? Are you fucking kidding?!? I am actually gonna go feral rn. Like ofc Paimon interrupts saying “Hey, now’s not the time!” Paimon knows Freminet won’t get anything done once I slut him out like he’s obviously begging to be. “We don’t want to bother him now.” Bother him??? Bitch, he won’t be able to talk or walk once I’m done with him.

Anyways, that’s the end of my rant, but like wtf Genshin? Atp they might as well just let us give the kinky mf a contract and a collar

Bonus Points: The way Freminet will use his soft, raspy voice to randomly bust out a line more romantic than the actual poet characters in-game is crazy. Traveler just said goodnight like a normal person, wdym "May your dreams be as dazzling as the starry night above the ocean, and your dreamless nights be naught but filled with serene respite." Excuse me Prince Charming, how the hell am I supposed to go to bed without you in it now?

HKJFKSFSBDKDJSF

Anon please, I thoroughly enjoyed your analysis and now I cannot unhear these voice lines as anything except subby begging behavior 😵‍💫

Freminet has us all whipped with his pretty voice, short-shorts, and flirting. He knows exactly what he's doing and has no shame, it seems

[stryshttu]

the scriddler nation doesn't appreciate Riddler 2022 as I do so I'm here to make you love him

He's one of the best interpretations of Riddler and here is WHY.

“he's a desyassified version,” “he doesn't wear expensive suits full of question marks,” “that suit was boring” NO!!!!! IT WAS THE PERFECT SUIT FOR HIM TO START!!! He literally comes from the lowest point, and he talks about how the men in power and corruption keep the low income/poor people at the bottom. Ofc he can't afford those shiny beautiful suits because he doesn't have money for it. Also the military suit was GREAT. He paint it and designed his own symbol which is amazing, a gun sight with a "?" in the center.

Also, he fights againts corruption and classism? 😭 Why would ppl hate that? He fights for the people that were forgotten like him.

“it's not the same story of his father and blah blah blah” ok, they changed his origin story A LOT, and I can get why you get mad at it. I also get mad when I am used to the southern granny Scarecrow story and ppl change it to the story of his father experimenting of him- BUT regarding the Riddler's origin story, it is so so great. Eddie HATES LIES AS WELL, HATES CHEATING, because ppl used to tell him that he could have a better future, and gave him fake hopes. He just wanted an opportunity to be better and when that promise of renewal broke, he broke, too.

He grew wanting to please everyone, be a good boy for the nuns and the other children at the orphanage, even if he didnt agree in somethings or if it was difficult for him to act "normal" (masking his autism- we will talk about that soon), but NOBODY thanked or pleased him. As he got older, he still followed orders from his corrupt boss and the goverment. But what did they do for him? NOTHING. And when he does something for himself ppl tag him as self-centered.

He became the Riddler for the others that also needed help, not only because of him, and ppl still think he's selfish.

He's implied to be autistic (you can notice this more in the comics of Riddler: Year One by Paul Dano), he is non-verbal since kid (canon), as an adult ppl say he doesn't talk and call him weird. He doesn't know how to interact with people in a "normal" way. He also seems to vocally stim with riddles and weird silly noises that you can hear in the movie.

The catholic guilt content? PLEASEEEE. We need to take advantage of that. He even did a catholic reference riddle!!! (That one of the sins of the father)

We can also see that topic of him dont knowing if he's insane or not, (or denying being it). He knows his situation is not good, and HE TRIES to be better, listening to podcast about mindfulness and stay positive- but at the end, everything gets worse to him. He's very smart and is afraid that his biggest and greatest thing about himself (his mind) is also the worst thing and can turn againts himself because of a mental illness. We saw it in the movie when Batman calls him "sick and twisted, etc etc," and he has a mental breakdown. Yes, that scene is DEEPER than you think. His mother died in Arkham when he was in the orphanage as a kid, now imagine that the guy you always admired says to you, “you're gonna die alone at Arkham” just like his mother did and no one cared. He doesn't want that, he wants to be remembered. He doesn't want to end up like his mother- alone and mentally ill.

He makes funny jokes in the movie! He's so goofy!!!!

AND CAN WE TALK ABOUT HIM BEING A BIG BOY?!!!! CHUBBY RIDDLER SUPREMACY!!!!!

And please he has the same bad habits as Arkhamverse Riddler, you cannot hate this version of him if you love Arkham Knight Riddler. He doesn't sleep well because he plays the DETECTIVE role (YES! HE ALSO GOES THERE AND INVESTIGATES- or else how tf would he have evidence of all the corruption and know all that information?) and claims that Einstein only took naps. He doesnt eat well. His lastname is Nashton (a reminder that is canon that Arkhamverse Riddler had the same lastname before changing it to Nygma). And in this page called "nigma. org" is well known and ppl call him a genius, which suggests that we will soon see how he calls himself E. Nygma.

And yes, he is also a little bastard insufferable, and if you dont think so, then I guess we didnt watch the same movie.

THERE'S SO MUCH MORE OF HIM BEING ONE OF THE BEST ONES!!! but i'll end it up here, thank you for your attention.

[normoully]

no plz tell me all your thoughts about the gregory hate so I can reblog it💀

OHHH boy this is gonna be a long one buckle up

Ever since Gregory was first announced I believe most of the fandom have interpreted him as this frail child who was always on the verge of tears and needed G.Freddy’s protection (think C.C 2.0), but once the game came out most ppl were shocked to see this kid actually has a lot of bite to him and kicked ass (ppl’s first reactions to him destroying the animatronics still make me laugh).

This was MY first introduction to him, so I wasn’t completely taken aback but still pleasantly surprised. Most if not all his actions made sense or at least made sense for a 10yr boy to think/act. Giant robots coming after me with the intention to kill (and insulting me for no damn reason)? Yeah I’d probably add an extra kick in there for good measure. Then came the first repair scene, when Vanessa revealed the high possibility of Gregory being an homeless orphan everything just clicked into place for me.

OF COURSE that’s why Gregory was so aggressive, he had to learn how to fight on his own to survive he’d probably had to face even worse than this! He wasn’t going to let that all go to waste bc some weird murderous rabbit lady wanted to drag him into her plans. It explains why he brushed off G.Freddy’s worries about him bc he’s used to have to just keep moving and bare thru pain, especially in an environment where that’s really the ONLY thing you can do. It’s why he’s so blunt and can come off as rude bc he was most likely never taught how to behave “correctly” bc really who has the time?

He was just using all the knowledge he learned on how to survive from a cruel and harsh environment for another. But this time he has an ally for once, an adult (father) figure who actually cares about his wellbeing, it’s no wonder why he became so attached (but struggles to show it bc he’s not used to it). And through all that easily irritable aggression, there are moments to remind us he’s still a kid.

A useless fridge magnet? Yeah that is pretty lame man.

Now imagine my shock when I see others hating on him and calling him a villain. “How could he KILL the poor animatronics? He was so mean, he’s the true monster!” Wh- DID WE WATCH THE SAME GAME? You mean the same animatronics that says he doesn’t have anyone to care about him? Yeah real sweethearts they are. Gregory isn’t a damn monster, he’s a survivor! He’s doing what he only knows best, IT’S TO SURVIVE!

“How could he be so mean to G.Freddy??? Those are his friends! He made Freddy feel bad!” Trust me when I say that Gregory cares about G.Freddy ALOT, did you see his reactions whenever G.Freddy got hurt??? That’s his father thank you very much!

“How could he have killed Vanny in that one ending?! He’s the real villain!” …Do I even need to explain this one?

And ohhhhhh don’t get me started on the awful “bratty gremlin devil” Gregory HCs. Now this isn’t to say that Gregory can’t be a gremlin or whatever. He can be, he is a bit cheeky, but then some started to intensify it and made it his entire personality. No, Gregory wasn’t just itching to rip Roxy’s eyes out or do the next batshit insane thing, he noticed the other upgrades and put two and two together (It gets more weird and slightly disrespectful when they add in the homeless thing as if that automatically makes someone act “feral”….tiktok.)

And then we have the complete opposite where some portray him as what I mentioned in the first paragraph. The poor helpless child who cant handle anything by himself…even though that’s complete bullshit (he’s also usually portrayed to be obnoxiously sweet for some reason). I don’t think many ppl realize how often were not in G.Freddy during SB, and Gregory is described to be quick on his feet and wits (plus his tools) and he doing damn well by himself! [Obviously this isnt to say that he didnt need G.Freddy’s help and protection, ofc he did, he just didnt need to RELY on it like some ppl make it seem he did].

(I know we went a bit off-topic for the last two paragraphs, trust me it connects)

All of this comes down to simply that some just can’t accept the fact that Gregory isn’t their perfect victim. He doesn’t crumble to the floor and beg for G.Freddy to help him up like they want him too. He’s not shy and sheepishly asking for help like they think he’s supposed to. And when they realize that part they try to push him into the other far end where he’s crazy, cold, and cruel. But he’s not. He cares, and he cares deeply. He’s still a little boy, he cried and tried to cover his face when he saw Vanny die. He should be leaping in victory, he killed his killer after all right? But he didn’t, bc despite everything she was still a human being, and he was so scared.

He has complex trauma (duh), he’s not this way or that way, and I get it. It’s hard to write or draw that kind of trauma for Gregory, especially when SB didn’t really give us much. But the way ppl act as if that’s what he actually is is soooooo frustrating. In my opinion the fact that his trauma is so complex and the fact he’s not your typical written victim is what makes him so interesting! And I feel like a lot ppl were slowly getting around to it…

Until GGY and Ruin happened and the hate came back so much worse, Welcome to the real Freddy Hell.

[sailorgundam308]

how is karlach coded as a person of color? genuine question

In terms of character design and representation: she has southeast Asian, even pacific islander (depending on the area ofc) features. Does that mean there are “asians” or “Europeans” in Toril? No. But visual representation of real groups is huge for people’s self validation. That said, southeast Asian peoples are a wide and varied group but they stand in contrast to the “white Asia” of Korea and Japan (and China to some extent), for example. The “white” Asia is rich, desirable, stylish, culturally relevant in the global stage - and their skin is whiter, to top it off. On the other hand, SEA is seen (not only in the west but ESPECIALLY in these rich Asian countries) as poor, underdeveloped, inconsequential - and darker skinned. No surprised there.

In Asia you might not have the concept of White as in White US Americans, because whiteness is a social construct that will change depending on the location and cultural/historical context. What US people understand as white and poc might differ from what other people in other countries understand it as. Still, in East Asia being literally lighter skinned is the desired beauty ideal and brings with it all the highly privileged misconceptions of “if you’re light skinned, you’re richer, more educated, more well behaved, more beautiful” and so on. SEA peoples have, in general, darker skin tones - therefore, they miss (to say the least) on these “advantageous pre-conceptions”. Also, even within certain SEA countries, being lighter than another is a desirable thing. There is an entire beauty industry here based on “whitening”. Literally making your skin look whiter, because that is more “beautiful and cleaner”. (In Japan, the amount of things you can get to cover your skin from the sun is not due to any cancer concerns, I guarantee you.)

Karlach, having features reminiscent to some SEA people, puts her in this dynamic. Not because this dynamic exists inside the BG3 world, but because the people with whom her character design (her face design at least) resonates are those same people who are seen as less than due to their geographic location and tone of their skin.

I also am under the impression that in some countries, Asian people are also commonly included in the “poc” umbrella, though I cannot be sure where this is true and even if that depends on “what Asia” you are from.

If you get into Forgotten Realms, and Toril lore, things get even more layered, because Karlach is a tiefling. And tieflings are discriminated against for their appearance - something that comes from their heritage and they have no control over. Tieflings are plane touched people, meaning their ascendancy is made of humans mixed with devils/cambions. Is basically because their blood has some devil blood in it that the “devil like” features like horns, tails, claws etc appear. Unlike the aasimar (who are the same but mixed with divine blood) who are accepted and seen as beautiful, the tieflings are discriminated against by most if not all populations in Toril. They are outcasts, often having to settle in marginalized/unfit areas and form their own communities due to the unwillingness of others to interact with them. There is something to be said about how the comments of “devil” towards a tiefling and some religions’ interpretation of indigenous peoples (or even black people) as being cursed or in cohorts with the devil. Aka, this shit is problematic.

You can have an insight on how bad this was in Baldur’s Gate city by a story Karlach tells. She says her mother died of an illness that would have been easily cured if treated early. But mom cliffgate was refused medical care because no physician in the city wanted to visit and help a tiefling family in the outer city. By the time one accepted to go and help, it was too late. The disease had advanced and could not be cured, and so Karlach’s mom died prematurely. I guess that illustrates very obviously the degree to which tieflings are marginalized and discriminated against in Toril. If that is not an analogy to the struggle of peoples of color in a generalized manner, I don’t know what is.

[gab-loves-darlin]

some things i feel like Quinn talked abt in those “hours” of tortue: (MWUAHAHAHA)

- Darlin’s relationship w/ gabe (even better bc david was in the room too so combo hit ykwim)

- the intimacy side of their relationship…? thingymabob (just to see that vein pop out of sam’s forehead)

- lying to sam abt once being Darlin’s mate (immediately after sam’s done, one of the first things darlin does is tell him thats not true)

- just some more general biting talk (i cant get over how excited quinn sounded when he got under sam’s skin oh my daySss bro i hate him RAHHHHH)

- he’d talk abt how they’d vent to him abt their parents (whether or not you think they were bad but i meaNNNnnn we all kinda agree that they weren’t outSTANDINGG right?)

- all the angsty teenager things they’d say abt the pack, word for word (quite literally quoting things they’ve said)

- how pathetic he thinks they are (a light dusting of general badmouthing as a garnish 🤌 oh ya know, the usual)

- i can totes imagine him going on an uninterrupted rant (not from lack of trying on sam’s part) about all the mischief they got up to and how Darlin was and still is alot like Quinn (just writing it makes my blood boil bro imagine being tank, a bloody forced to be voiceless victim UGH!!)

BONUS!!!

how Darlin was when they were listening to him:

- (i feel awkies showing yall my interpretation of tank’s personality but here we go!!) initially, they would sigh alot, roll their eyes, mainly bc they were still conscious of david’s presence, they didnt want to show just HOW effected they were by just him being there yk? but that totes fell away quick when he brought up fred

- darlin loves fred and bright fight me

- then ofc we have the part where he was talking abt them. they were speechless, unshedded tears brimming as he just kept going and going and suddenly david was gone, henry was gone, and quinn’s eyes seemed to catch their own a bit too often…

[avidabsurdist]

Every time a new Brandon Sanderson book is released everyone updates their suggested reading order but all you need is the patience to be uninformed and enjoy the book!

But depending on your preference the best story to start with will be different.

If you want a crash course on the basics of The Cosmere's magic physics (Aka Investiture) so you can hypothesize on how other magic works I suggest the short story "The Emperor's Soul" as a starting point, it gives a solid overview of Realmic theory and covers Identity (a rather difficult idea to communicate) very effectively. (this is the start of the PhD route)

If you want something that's more like a traditional fairy tale as an intro I suggest Tress Of the Emerald Sea, which doesn't require a PhD in the shattering to understand. (though if you're going the PhD route I suggest reading this one later because if you're questioning the magic it's a far more confusing one)

Warbreaker is a good middle ground, if you're going the PhD route I suggest this second (it covers Intention which "The Emperor's Soul" doesn't), It's not a bad starting place either, it was my first book in The Cosmere and it's up for free on The Sand-Man's website. It's also all-around an excellent book.

I'm going to be (a tad) controversial and say I enjoy Elantris, it's certainly not Brando-Sando's best work but it was his first, and it's not a bad book to start with! just keep in mind that many of the issues in the book are things he improves on in later books.

Mistborn is two (soon to be 3) series, we distinguish them by 'Era' and they should be read in order if you want to make sense of what's going on.

Mistborn Era 1 (3 books) is also an excellent place to start, it's a YA-style series so you follow a teenager in a Post-(more like perpetual)-Apocalypse, but it's also an Epic high fantasy so if you like those and don't mind romance It's a good one.

"Mistborn Secret History": read this after Mistborn Era 1 if you're going the PHD route read anytime before The Lost Metal (Era 2 Book 4) for everyone else. (PhD track: if you want the most out of it I suggest also reading White Sand first)

Mistborn Era 2 (4 books) is a high fantasy Western set in the same world much later in time, 10/10 no notes, it's excellent.

The Stormlight Archive, TheBigOne™ It is planned to be a 10-book series with accompanying Novellas. I suggest reading in chronological order including the short stories, published so far that would be:

The Way of Kings

Words of Radiance

"Edgedancer" (novella)

Oathbringer

"Dawnshard" (novella)

Rhythm of War

Start with this series if you thirst for sprawling high-fantasy novels with page counts that would make grown men weep (the Audiobook for RoW was like 48 hours long)

The entirety of Arcanum Unbounded is not required reading, (unless you're on the PhD track) but it contains both "The Emperor's Soul" and "Edgedancer", you should probably read Elantris, Mistborn Era 1, Alloy Of Law (MB Era 2 Book 1), and Stormlight (up to Words of Radiance). If you enjoy Graphic Novels and dislike spoilers/rereading stuff when you haven't finished it yet I suggest skipping the White Sand excerpt.

White Sand is also not a terrible intro, it covers a theme in B-Sandy's work that isn't directly related to the cosmere but will give you a good insight into whether you'll like his work or not: the idea that skill is developed, not just inherent. if you're like me and dislike graphic novels GraphicAudio™ (actually a company not a joke) Has an Audio rendition that has some narrative differences from the Graphic novels (iirc at least one character is a different gender) But the Graphic novels also have a random boombox on a planet with no electricity so either should be fine.

Yumi and the Nightmare Painter is in a similar situation to Tress of The Emerald Sea except instead of a classic European Folktale Vibe it's got a Western Interpretation of Anime Vibe, ofc it's high fantasy like all Sandon Branderson's work so it's world is inspired by Japanese culture rather than just being Japanese.

The Sunlit Man read Shadows for Silence in the Forests of Hell (Arcanum Unbounded), and at least Oathbringer (Stormlight Archive 3) before this one, unless you like being thrown into the deep end, Mistborn Era 1 & 2 would also help.

There are other routes than Ph.D., there's also the Galactic Politics route, The Secret Society route, The Worldhopper Watcher route, The Ancient History route (Aka The Shattering route) ect

if you want specific reading route recs just tell me what you're looking for I can help!

[souryam]

I've always been bothered by the analysis that Lily didn't care about Severus. Not only because I love their friendship and ship them together, and also because I think it cheapens the relationship as a whole and makes things fall a bit flat. I do understand where people are coming from tho. She does defend James to him, and is implied to be physically attracted to him even while being friends with Severus (I disagree with her already having a full blown crush, but I do think she found him handsome), also she's pretty emotionless when he's trying to apologize, which leads people to believe she was only looking for an excuse to ditch him. Which I strongly disagree.

First off, I don't think they would've lasted that long if she didn't love him a lot (as a friend or as a crush that's your pick). Their friendship lasted 6 years, and JKR confirmed that a huge motivation for James, personally, bullying Severus was jealousy she felt of Lily's attention and affection, he saw Snape as a threat. Potter watched Lily all the time, hit on her all the time. Lily is described to have a temper. It is almost impossible to me to believe that James wouldn't have noticed that Lily was bothered by Snape and outright wanted him gone from her life, therefore rendering his motive for the bullying flat. We see he is even more cruel when Lily stands up for Severus, mocking him further (as we see on the train scene in Prince's Tale and in SWM), exactly because he believed that they both liked each other (romantically or platonically)

Also, a scene that sticks out to me is the one in DH when Lily is insisting for Severus to stop hanging out with Avery and Mulciber. If she was just looking for an excuse, wouldn't she have given the ultimatum then and there? She clearly didn't like them, thought they were cruel, and they hurt Mary, which is implied to be an acquaintance if not a friend of hers. Why stay as long as she did, "making excuses" for him to her friends as she says, if she didn't want the friendship anymore? Her lack of emotion when he's apologizing can be easily explained away by how angry she is. That scene didn't happen after days or weeks from SWM, it happened in the same day and she clearly didn't want to speak to him in the moment, it being the only scene in which he demanded her attention in a sense. In Lily's POV, that was this friend she had for almost a decade, her oldest friend, who had just turned on her for no reason, when she was trying to help him. A lot of people ignore how bad Severus is at expressing his feelings and telling her hard things about his life (as seen in him using euphemisms for his father's behaviour when we know that he was being brutally whipped), so it's very possible that he wasn't transparent with her about his insecurities or how bad the marauders' bullying affected him, so she never thought much of it. Might be a little insensitive, but hey, she was a 15 yo. It always seemed to me that he presented himself way more as a shoulder for her to cry on than the opposite.

Also, the memories that were given to Harry were not meant to show the pretty moments of their friendship, at least not in my interpretation. Yes, it had some cute moments to make clear to Harry that they were friends, but to me it was way more about showing Harry the conflict of Snape's life from the start, the Dark Arts and the DEs, which he was very tempted and interested by, and the Lily, who's a symbolism for Light in his life. She was the one pulling him away from them, warning him, and he wouldn't listen. That's why basically all their scenes have some sort of conflict. To show Harry how his entire life, he was in between those two sides being pulled back and forth, and when Lily's pull was gone, he headed straight in to the Dark Arts, and ofc, that didn't end well at all.

This got super long for no reason and it's prob very badly written but it was mostly a word vomit lmao I just rlly like them and yes they had their problems but most friendships do :( they would've worked it out in another universe...

[trans-luis-serra-navarro]

I’m sure I’ve BRIIIIIEFLY touched on it here before?????? But I wanted to set the record straight on what’s my own interpretation of Luis;

I See floating around a LOT that Luis was indoctrinated/brainwashed by Los Illuminados which like,,,,,,,,,,, no???????? Like,, ignoring the fact that I have seen SOME people turn this into racist/classist rhetoric-

Luis has been out of Valdelobos for YEARS. He left when he was a CHILD- he worked as a scientist for the majority of his life; there’s no way in MY mind that he would’ve fell for the same religious rhetoric the villagers who were already extremely devout Catholics did cuz he probably left that religion ages ago!!!!!!

I personally think it’s more likely that he was blackmailed into working with Los Illuminados- he comes home, finds what he was hoping to be a safe space taken over by a cult, tries to make a cure for the sickness they’re using- and when he finds out that he was working for them and that their intentions are to basically mind control the world, it’s already too late and if he tried to run NOW, he would’ve been chained up and tortured (AND HE ALMOST WAS. IN SEPERATE WAYS. HE WAS LITERALLY ABOUT TO HE TORTURED BY THEM FOR TRYING TO BREAK OUT.) hell maybe LI held the lives of the villagers over his head or something cuz those were his family too!!!!!!!

Some people even say he was ON BOARD with Los Illuminados’ plan??????? @/blveherb has a GREAT post debunking this but the note people point to in-game a lot- there one where he remisces that the world may finally know peace under their rule- is literally just that. Him making an literal observation that anyone would have made. That doesn’t reflect his actions/morals/wants?????? He LITERALLY says in the next paragraph that he doesn’t want that too Hello????

And yeah there’s probably a good chance he WAS curious by the Plaga and had that kinda icarus-burnt-wing thing with it!!!!! Cuz he’s a scientist ofc he’s gonna be interested!!!!!!!! But that doesn’t reflect his dang morals!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Another thing I see a lot is people trying to point to Luis and say that HE made the Bioweapons like the regenerators and he used live humans?? N o ???????? IN-GAME we get told that a COMPLETELY DIFFERENT scientist made them and it is HEAVILY IMPLIED that Luis was the ‘horrified’ scientist that tried to convince them to stop

(Also cough COUGH a lot of these ideas come from the RE wiki either making shit up or combining og and remake info so people who aren’t able to play the game or read the files get misinformed cough C O U G H )

((Alsoalso hahahahaah can you guys imagine how guilty Luis must’ve felt watching the other scientists slowly die knowing that the only reason he’s survived is cuz of his charm and his childhood connections to the village hahahahahahahahaha-))

This is just my stance on it, and what I think makes the most sense for his character- SO many people want him to be the perfect ‘bad guy turns Good’ character and that he only decided to change after meeting our golden white boy protag Leon and all his actions prior to that were all outta malicious intent. Like,,, to me I feel like it just erases a lot of his upbringing, trauma, and real-world Spanish history which rubs me the wrong way

Edit: adding this too cuz people won’t be able to see the reblog:

Again this is just my own interpretation!!!!!!!! There is HEEEEEEEEAPS of merit and REALLY COOL discussions to be had with interpretations that play into Luis being brainwashed by the cult, or him having a Frankenstein/Icarus like curiosity about the Plagas etc!!!!!!!!

Just don’t. Yknow. Be racist. Or completely misinterpret his character and morals

General good rule of thumb: if you can give the same amount of grace to a white character, try giving it to Luis.

[loveyourlovelysoul]

It is believed that the way we see ourself can reflect also in how we think others see and perceive us, and therefore in how we interpret their reactions about us (and from here we also create our need to please them and try to control their feelings for us).

If our self esteem is low and we focus only on what's wrong about us (flaws and all), it's ofc natural for us to believe that others will only notice our wrongs and flaws as well (and we'll notice more and give even more importance to what they say when they criticize us or not give us what we may need -even not with bad intentions-: our brain looks for confirmations about this inner belief, basically that we're not good enough). But we cannot predict how people will act and therefore not even how they will react about us cause it's impossible: we cannot read anyone's mind.

Building up a better relationship with ourself, may help us also in our relationships with others cause: we know our worth and won't make anyone else's (un/intentional) behaviour mean anything about us; wecan love ourself despite whatever happens (cause we know we tried and we're not just our flaws and wrongs); and we know we can survive anything cause we don't depend on others but first and foremost on ourself.

When dealing with others, try to focus less on how you perceive yourself and fear they may perceive you (notice your flaws, imperfections, judge you...) and try to enjoy more and show more of yourself. In particular if your insecurities are about your look. People see of us only what we let them see of us, so don't block yourself cause of your fears, let them experience more of you, show your fun side, your gentle side, your caring side... just be yourself without letting your worries change who you are or get too insecure. Let people decide how they perceive you based on exactly what you think (don't wear masks to please them): you cannot control their feelings ever (as they cannot control yours: and I guess you like to be free to think what you want, right?). And btw, it's not that you're any less if someone doesn't appreciate you: we cannot like everything and everyone anyway. Find those that appreciate you, keep trying, be open.

(me + source)

[acoyote]

some thoughts on the final chapter of houseki no kuni (spoilers ofc)

Phos got their final wish :'-)))

the prayer Phos learned from Kongo, as Aechmea describes it, deconstructs unpurified spirits into their purest elements. perhaps we can consider these elements the atoms and energy that make them up, since according to Buddhism (as i understand it) the body and spirit are not entirely distinct, so whatever corporeal remains of a being that make up their spirit could also create a physical form through the arrangement of those elements, as we see with the lunarians. these atoms, no longer arranged with impurities in that form after the prayer, travel through the universe to eventually end up at a certain point- where Phos and the pebbles end up too.

like Pitapat describes in his song in the final chapter, the atoms come together to form those crystals within the flowers. with their elements arranged in their purest form, no longer arranged with impurities as the body of a lifeform which allowed for the processes that create an ego/sense of self, they are each their own little universe rather than an individual conscious being, just like the wider universe composed of pure elements that they (and we) exist within. an "alternate universe" as Aechmea calls it.

Phos falls onto one of these crystals and breaks into miniscule fragments, tiny enough to enter the little universe within the crystal as something like a big and beautiful comet. you can see the reflection of the Phos comet going by within the crystal. in that way, they’re able to see everyone again. in this new world, Phos’s extreme fragility allows them a unique way to connect with others and brighten up their universe, rather than alienating them as "useless" like it did in the gem society. what they felt was inherently a flaw of themself can now be seen differently; being fragile was never itself a bad thing, it was only the environment they were in which made them see it that way. it's bittersweet because everyone is completely different now, not the selves that Phos knew, but that is only natural. change would happen no matter what, but only through the series of events that did play out, this outcome where they can be with the others in this way, in a peaceful world where Phos can now accept themself as they are, was possible.

(credit to RizaCreator for making the connection for me in her video between the place in the universe Aechmea says purified spirits go to and where we end up at the very end. that really helped my interpretation)

[hawkogurl]

Yeah, I basically had a similar reading on Insomniac!Harry as you did, I think - I do like him a lot, and I definitely see why he would the most popular version of him in the fandom right now, but he's a very smoothed over and simplified version who feels written to be as broadly loveable as possible, if that makes sense? I read a very thoughtful critique of the game recently that described Harry as being Peter's 'comically perfect' best friend, and I think that gets at the game's take on him and ties neatly into what you said about how the characters in Insomniac feel like they're written mostly to serve Peter's story and character, which is not necessarily a bad thing when he's the protagonist, but can flatten characters into narrative devices who don't necessarily feel like full characters; and any time Harry could be perceived as doing or saying something flawed, he's justified, or at least it's understandable, and it doesn't help that the last part of the game where he's Venom was rushed (not the fault of the devs for being pushed by corporate to meet a deadline they couldn't meet ofc) and it's not really clear how much is the symbiote amplifying his emotions, manipulating him, or outright controlling him like a puppet for its own agenda - but any way, it's very easy and probably correct to read him as not being truly at fault for anything.

Regarding Norman, my take is that I don't necessarily mind an interpretation of him that focuses on corporate greed and lack of ethics while exploring what if Norman was villainous, but genuinely loves and cares for his son in this universe, but MSM2 weirdly wanted both that and the usual drama from Harry being jealous of an abusive Norman choosing Peter over him, so we got that awkward scene where Norman is doing no such thing and still being a great father, but Harry mistakenly believes he's choosing Peter - so it's manufactured drama to follow the universes where Norman is abusive and Harry has issues from that, but here, everyone is still a good or at least neutral person at worst and it's all an honest mistake, which goes back to what you said about taking the edge out of the characters here - doesn't mean they're bad, like you also clarified, but definitely softer.

Can’t form intelligent thoughts because I need to go to sleep but I’m going to say I agree with all of the above. He’s very palatable in a way that just becomes boring for me. I’ll probably come back and contribute later when I’m not barely conscious.

For now, I agree especially because them wanting the Norman drama but also sort of pussying out of the Norman drama sort of like… feels like a good example of what I mentioned in that when you write an established character but change a major aspect of them, you need to compensate. They wanted the benefits of those arcs but weren’t willing to either include the original arcs or do the work to come up with something that can get to point b in a different way with what they’ve kept. It’s not the best writing decision in my opinion. And I agree with that articles assessment he feels like, comically perfect. Scrubbing away all his unsavory aspects lost him a lot of the ways he’s flawed and interesting because it often feels he exists solely to progress Peter’s arc rather than having the personal drama he often has.

I don’t personally like these softer versions. I’m not gonna say it’s bad or wrong to like those versions, but they definitely feel watered down when it’s not looked at in isolation or looked at more critically. It rapidly became boring for me.

[pansear-doodles]

ah yes

my problem

the fact that i project onto arti and kinda see them as myself (i dont want to kill people tho but rather its the exhibited fear that i end up hurting others and myself, and losing those who are close to me)

i wish i can unproject but no! theyre my favorite and i like seeing them be happy

it is no wonder i feel that deeper sadness whenever theyre depicted in their grievances or bitter anger (because whenever i get angry i always get upset or sad afterwards)

and yet i find it a familiar and comforting feeling

this is a huge factor of why I portray them usually as "less angry than most artificers". been hearing some talks of people not liking this fanon characteristic much but for me personally its just my headcanon.

ofc, i acknowledge that what they did is shitty and theyre definitely getting their consequences, though it doesnt hurt to at least sympathize.

some people find comfort in the opposite- letting them drown in the anguish, and that's just as fine. pretty much the reason why i avoid watching artificer amvs and videos surrounding them because 90% of the time its artificer angst. im not saying theyre a bad thing though because thats the thing about their character. (and im not forcing people to make happier artis in general)

really its nobody's fault except for myself that i see a part of myself into arti, a character whose canonical story is all about that angst and shit, with my own interpretations being semi-divorced from that. i have always projected onto the loneliest characters in the past (werewolf cookie from CR and legoshi from beastars to name a few), but arti is definitely a new experience. feels a bit too real.

just wanted to leave some thoughts

[absolutewodka]

I wanted to say something out loud (not doing it, as I'm obviously writing)

I absolutely disagree with the people's interpretation of Aziraphale's character as a naive one (he sure is in his own way), especially during the scene where he responds to Crowley's crushing "you can't leave this bookshop" by his own terrible "nothing lasts forever"

I do think Aziraphale clearly understood the "You can't leave this bookshop" as "You can't leave me" (This guy has been reading all Jane Austen's books, please) and I absolutely think his response was exactly how he wanted to respond to that. He can leave him, and he will a moment later actually.

He says it because nothing does last forever, as he spectated this particular humanity truth for 6000 years. And I think at this one moment, he thinks he might be one of the people who can actually make it last a little bit longer. (Which is an absurd idea of course)

I really like to think about this line as an imagery of one of Aziraphale's huge ego-trip. He, with arrogance blended in love and tenderness and sadness, also 'forgives' Crowley as he can't love him before making a difference upstairs. And Crowley, in Aziraphale's mind, surely doesn't understand all of this better than himself, or else he would have accepted Metatron's proposition.

And he makes the assumption that 'making a difference' might be more important than everything, as he naively (as I said, he is naive in his own way) truly thinks he could make a difference in Heaven, Metatron did choose him after all ? (I'm also quite sure he does fully realize how ironic that might be in context of season 1)

That of course doesn't change the fact he loves Crowley deeply, more than everything even if he doesn't realize it at the moment. Or maybe he does, because he asked again and again that Crowley joins him in heaven, almost crying that he needs him despite knowing that of course Crowley can't, won't, never will join him upstairs.

My point being : I truly think Aziraphale knew exactly what every word meant as he let them all out of his mouth carefully or not. Maybe he regretted them, maybe not. I also think he refused to kiss Crowley back (he kinda did kiss him back tho, in his own way, as everything he does) for a million reasons and none of them were particularly naive, or even pure or whatever.

In conclusion, in my own interpretation of season 2, it's all about Aziraphale not being naive, being in control, making choices, lying. We're past the cute angel can't-take-his-own-decisons phase. Doesn't mean he's mean or cruel.

Means he never made such a human decision in 6000 years before the day he chose to do something else than truly love something, someone. Even if he thinks he had made the decision to do so.

quick edit : I wanted to add something : I'm absolutely in love with Aziraphale's character in S2, the joyful cute angel he remains the whole 6 episodes, and my point (Aziraphale being in control of his complicated negative responses to Crowley) is extremely specific to the lines I talked about in the post, extremely specific to those scenes in particular and absolutely isn't about the whole season (except the part I'm talking about S2 Azirpahale's character evolution about lying, having his own opinions etc) and all of it that I said is my own point of view, my personal opinion and could be very wrong of course <3 and ofc I think Metatron is the bad guy and probably threatened Azirpahale on way or another. My point remains valid imo

[thestupidhelmet]

Hello! I saw a comment you made where you said one can be a critic of Hyde’s character when deserved but also a big fan at the same time. I would love to read that meta! Something that tends to frustrate me about Hyde discourse is that ppl write off his worst moments as being ‘OOC’. But truthfully he could be petty, vindictive, wasn’t always a great friend, and so on. Like all of the characters ofc.

I do think his worst moments after season 1 are OOC, a character manipulation to serve plot and punchline. But despite the fact I don't believe an in-character Hyde would make certain choices, I've analyzed them nevertheless as choices he's made.

I'll link metas I've already written about Hyde's less than stellar behavior after this one. 😂

First, I'm writing this based on Hyde's new core characterization developed in "Prom Night" (1x19). Once his main role as Eric's antagonistic non-competition competition for Donna's romantic feelings, he needed to be overhauled and was transformed into a nearly different character, outside of facts about his upbringing and more superficial traits.

Second, I'll be discussing negative aspects of his character. I've written plenty about both those and his positive aspects, but I haven't often focused exclusively on the negative.

Hyde is depicted in the show as having internalized his mother's aggressiveness but externalizes it in a much milder form -- until season 5 when the writers ramp up that trait to serve the story arc they came up with and the season 5 cliffhanger.

Before season 5, however, Hyde derives pleasure from screwing over Eric with Red but not in any way that's dangerous to Eric's physical or emotional well-being. More impish, mischievous, and obnoxious.

Hyde can be arrogant. He closes himself to other points of view unless someone touches an emotional truth or an aspect of himself he's unsure about.

Hyde can be lazy. He doesn't enjoy working harder than he believes is necessary. This fact applies to emotional work as well as schoolwork and work to earn money.

Hyde has trouble owning his mistakes (but isn't incapable of it).

Hyde has addictive tendencies. Before season 7, Bud is canonically Hyde's biological father. Bud and Edna are both alcoholics. Hyde clearly inherited the alcoholism gene and shouldn't touch alcohol at all. He narcotizes himself against emotional pain with beer and pot.

Hyde can be thoughtless about and dismissive of other people's feelings, a trait his parents passed on through their thoughtless treatment of him. He's also uncomfortable being present to his own feelings and has trouble processing them. This creates a double whammy, and his thoughtlessness and discomfort is often expressed through sarcasm and humor.

At least once, Hyde uses Fez's naivete and lack of U.S. teen cultural knowledge to manipulate him when Hyde believes it will benefit himself. (Fortunately, it leads to Hyde's comeuppance and actually benefits Fez.)

Hyde has low self-esteem and big trust issues. These are simply facts, not judgments. But they explain most of his bad behavior. He's a survivor of childhood abuse and neglect, the child of two alcoholics, and is ultimately abandoned both parents before he's eighteen.

With the support of Red, Kitty, Eric, Donna, Leo, and (eventually) Jackie, he's able to overcome much of the hurtful, destructive ways his emotional wounds manifest in his behavior. While people grow and change in layers, they generally don't do a personality 180 after major growth. When Hyde acts against his nature and character development -- without a foundation for it being substantively built over many episodes, as it is for Donna in season 4 -- it is what's called in writing character drift or, as many of us say, OOC.

Now, links to other metas. ☺️

Links to many, many metas I've written about Hyde.