#not to say I don't wanna discuss

[unhingedselfships]

Finally making a post on the gods/monsters/myths AU ideas. Some of them. I'll forget things prolly lol

So for those who know it, the general concept fits (ish) in Ayakashi Romance Reborn world building. For those who don't, short version, monsters/myths/etc exist passably as and among humans. They have a "human" form and their "monster" form. Pretty basic premise but there ya go.

My thoughts from these are pulled from a few different places, headcanon, character personality/background, their tattoos.

Kiryu Kazuma, the easy one, he's a dragon. A lot of people associate Kir with fire, and fair, but with the dragon, I go for water. River/water/etc. His dragon specifically is a rain deity.

Daigo took me a bit to settle before I gave up and was like "fuckit yer' a god now". Or rather, he's an avatar of a god. Sort of. Specifically as per his tattoo, Fudo Myo-oh/Acala. Fudo Myo-oh carries a sword (Kurikara) and rope for subjugating and restraining demons. So I HC him as something of an enforcer of sorts. Keeping the supernatural part of society in line.

Majima was one I flip-flopped on. So I'm keeping both ideas. I tend to lean towards Inugami by default. However naga also suits. With the naga I feel it fits base Majima wonderfully, ties to his tattoo, etc. Inugami however, fit his past, the year of torture he endured. There are aspects of both dogs and snakes that fit him well.

Akiyama doesn't have a tattoo. But I still had some ideas for him. Phoenix (ho-o) fits with his history of rising from the "ashes". He's hit the bottom more than once and always returns. Buuuut. I really liked the idea of him being a "crossroads demon" peddling deals. Perhaps less malevolent than they tend to be depicted, but the same basic idea. Alas, I could not find anything similar in Japanese mythology so.

[bixels]

Just gonna have to wait and see, right? Just wait and see! Just gotta wait and see! Who knows, we'll just have to wait and see! It's anybody's guess, we'll just have to wait and see! The future is exciting, we just gotta wait and see!

[die-tenebris]

don't wanna derail the post I saw this discussion on- it was all in the notes anyway, so it certainly isn't op's problem. I'm gonna say this with so much love:

Calling somebody a 'theyfab' is not punching up. If someone's being transmisogynistic, say that, or call them a bigot. Naming the tangible harm done to you will always be the most effective thing to do.

The cis people who created that term made it with the explicit intent to mock and insult people's identities. No matter what you mean when you say it, this is its origin and to most people, its only meaning. It describes nothing about the discrimination you face.

People afab are marginalized, especially if they're queer. You cannot "punch up" on a fellow oppressed group. I understand the specific vitriol that they inflict on you hurts.

You don't need a word to call somebody, you need and deserve adequate justice for the tangible harm done to you; and my heart aches that nobody queer- especially trans women- ever seems to receive that.

I'm aware I can't make anybody do anything, so I'm not gonna try to tell you not to use that word. I just want to say it can't ever address, undo, or heal any harm done to you. It can only redirect it.

[welcometogrouchland]

Batman #149 by chip zdarsky is mostly unremarkable, but I'm really fascinated by how it makes a great case for 'good' endings not saving 'bad' stories*. Because there's a lot of interesting concepts in this issue (bruce having to deal with his rapidly aging and decaying clone making him think about his own life, re-establishing a 'nest' so to speak for his family after pushing them away, etc) but bc of the OOC slog that came before it, almost every moment w/ the batfamily comes off as unearned and disingenuous imo.

Like, everything with Damian is the perfect example in this. Because in isolation it's...fine. admittedly it's a missed opportunity to not go deeper into how Damian would feel about a clone of his dad who tried to kill considering Damian's relationships with clones of himself (the heretic rejects and respawn) or with former enemies who wanted him dead but who were manipulated and/or brainwashed (like suren and maya).

Zdarsky doesn't go into any of this but you could maybe excuse it as the issue not being about Damian. However, coupled with the previous bizarre characterizations of Damian in 147 and 148, it ends up not being fine- instead it starts to feel...icky how Damian (who, despite often being drawn and written as white, will never have his connection to the non-white al ghuls forgotten and will always be effected by racism even when not portrayed as a poc) is constantly written as overly violent, uncaring and narrow minded in this run. Coupled w/ trying to recanonize the morrison origin for Damian it's like. OH this is badly written and laden with subtle bigotry, sick**

That's me going into detail on it with Damian but it's applicable to other things in this issue- the way Cass, Steph and Duke have all been ignored or turned into jobbers makes their inclusion in the 'family' here feel hollow instead of satisfying. Bruce proclaiming that Zur was still a part of him and he needs to accept responsibility for his actions (when it means taking in clone son) wrings hollow when just last issue zdarsky was bending over backwards to separate Bruce and Zur bc otherwise the Jason thing would get really awkward. Ends are achieved through means that feel hollow or strange. I'm at my destination but damn why'd the bus have to do all that???

I only really have opinions on this latest arc of zdarskys Batman bc it's the one I've read the closest (bc I'm a hater, masochist and avid follower of even the bad damian storylines) but it's not saying great things.

Bc zdarsky can do one thing good in this book, and it's write Bruce and Tim. And yet this entire story, whether of his own volition or editorial mandate, includes other characters who aren't Bruce and Tim, the fabric starts to unravel in very telling ways.

(p.s, I think pennyworth manor is an interesting idea but I feel like in execution it's just gonna be 'bruce living in a house haunted by the memory of the people he couldn't save' but with a different dead guy this time. Illusion of change and whatnot)

*whether or not the ending is good is up to you ofc, as is your opinion on the proceeding arc! I saw some ppl complain that the ending was too "WFA" for them, which I get even if I dont think it'll literally be the same premise. If anything it's probably a lead into the new tec run. Likewise many ppl who aren't in the weeds of Damian and Jason characterization liked the previous arc! But I have my opinions and rest my case before the bench

**disclaimer, I'm white and portrayals of bigotry in comics are complicated and subjective, but I am basing my point here off what other poc comic fans on socmed have been saying about 149. Also the "sick" is sarcasm incase that wasn't obvious

[mystiquedrops]

Sorry if this is a stupid question- but I saw some people saying this but-

Is Whit really a people pleaser?? If so, how? And when?

(Aside from wanting to make people smile/being emotionally repressed, I genuinely can't see how :'))

Or maybe I just forgot-)

Sorry if this is a stupid question, just curious !

[biracy]

I know this can be contentious (and even just mentioning this kind of analysis as a serious one makes a lot of people who don't understand what literary analysis is very angry) but I actually think it's pretty cool that people can draw both transfeminine and transmasculine reads of Jesse from hit TV show Jesse out of the text of the show. Something something shared experiences something something solidarity. You get the idea

[trillscienceofficer]

this is obviously still a very styled and artificial presentation etc (as everything about Seven always is) but I can't deny that seeing her lightly beaten up does something

I wanted to add a screencap from s2 of picard (after she gets beaten up there too) but somehow this looks less styled and more convincing than that LMAO

[bijoumikhawal]

also it really is shit how several popular bloggers were like. Horribly bigoted towards ace people when it was cool, but once it stopped being trendy they 1) deleted those posts so receipts couldn't be pulled 2) maybe put up claimed "redactions" or said "omg its been years if you really wanna know wether i still hate those people dm me" but never apologized for their behavior lmao. I don't think any of the people who did that actually changed, I just think they know it's not such an acceptable/fun target to bully anymore. It's really sick how that type of bullying was encouraged for years and how few people repented for their behavior.

[away-ward]

Hey KO, pd said the reason damon named fane.. fane was to honor rika's father since he respected him after realizing her father still wanted to raise him despite his origin. he wasnt named to honor rika but to honor her father.

That's great actually, and it makes sense. Thanks for the clarification.

[commsroom]

Hello !! Do you have thoughts on Rhea :]

yes, i do!! with the caveat that we have such limited information on lovelace's crew, what we do have is almost entirely filtered through her perspective, and we kinda... know rhea the least. as much as i find eris a fascinating character too, i wish we'd heard more of rhea.

which is kind of the first thing: rhea is the only AI character in wolf 359 who doesn't have a voice. (we don't hear hyperion's voice, which is supposedly not integrated yet, but he's not even really treated like a character in the scene he's in. and that's a whole other thing.) for hera in particular, she feels a physical disconnect from the others, but the fact that wolf 359 is audio only makes her an equal presence from the perspective of the audience. (which carries over to the live show, where the other characters may not be able to see her, but the audience can, etc.) rhea's situation is kind of the opposite, where her words can be seen by the others, but the audience can only hear or infer her words via what the others read out loud or respond to.

rhea clearly cares about her fellow crewmates, and seems to get along with lambert in particular. lovelace's log: "and communications officer lambert is... communications officer lambert. so an enormous stick in the mud. [...] i heard that, rhea. you are expressly forbidden from telling him i said that." - a sentiment it's easy to imagine early minkowski expressing about eiffel and hera, for the opposite reason. in a more direct parallel, rhea reassures lambert that he "does a great job"; in bach to the future, hera tells eiffel he's "actually very good at his job." the difference in context highlights their priorities; eiffel and hera are having a heart to heart about worthiness, while rhea really is talking about lambert's job - work is important to him, and most people around him don't respect or appreciate his work. what we can infer about rhea is that she's... well, the kind of person who would be lambert's friend. straightforward, rule-following, and professional.

(even something like "see, rhea? i told you someone read [my reports to command]" indicates that they talk to each other a fair amount, but also serves as a mirror to eiffel's belief no one listens to his logs.)

maybe the most interesting thing to me about rhea is her defense of eris: "it's just the way they programmed her, back off." ... again, the complete opposite of how hera might respond. eiffel tries to "defend" her in a similar way in ep 7 - "you can't really hold that against her; it's just her programming" - and she finds it incredibly insulting. with all of that taken together, with how lovelace, lambert, and rhea are in many ways intentional opposites to minkowski, eiffel, and hera, it really makes me wonder how rhea identifies or perceives herself.

i think hera is functionally human, both in her singular, consistent image of herself, and in her role in the narrative. eris appears human to lovelace, but is clear that it's how she sees "a version of herself." whether that refers to that iteration of eris having multiple versions of herself, or if it refers to all of the iterations of her who exist: either way it's a reflection of the way eris exists, and her acceptance of that. by extension, the fact that we don't encounter rhea in any way other than beeping sounds and implied words on station monitors... kind of says something narratively, i think. going back to her lack of voice, even that level of distance and abstraction takes her further away from 'human' perceptions by the audience, while she's obviously still a full person with her own priorities, perspectives, and opinions. i think it's very interesting to consider she might prefer her state of (lack of physical) existence in a way hera clearly does not.

[confinesofmy]

i'm rewatching hannibal and its such a rich portrait of the infantilisation (yet also exploitation) of autistic adults. like will graham really is out here fighting for autonomy and peer respect and mutual empathy and just a goddamn ounce of understanding and he's doing it all while his brain is cooking in its own juices and his new best friend/therapist is trying to figure out if he wants to fuck him, kill him, eat him, or all three but if so which order.

[ssentimentals]

dating seungkwan feels like...

singing your heart out in karaoke. it's this rare sense of comfort when you are not afraid of acting silly and receiving weird looks; it's about never being called 'too much' or 'over the top', it's about knowing that you are perfectly fine the way you are, knowing that you are enough, knowing that any form of you will be accepted and loved.

('why i can't be somewhere in the middle?!' you lash out in frustration. 'i'm either too much or i'm not enough why can't i be just-just..' you trail off, unsure of the ending. 'ugh.'

'just what?' seungkwan asks. he was silent during your rant, listening closely but not scheming in. 'just fine? just enough? you already are, dear. in fact, you are so fine that if they reject you it's only because they recognize competition in you.' pure sincerity in his voice makes your eyes fill up with tears and seungkwan rushes to your side immediately. 'no more self-doubt, dear, only confidence in your capabilities. and you are perfectly capable.')

seungkwan is someone who joins you in any of your antics; when you suddenly start acting like you're in the movie - he instantly plays along, when you want to dance under the rain - he's spinning you in circles and hums some tune, when you feel like screaming - he takes you somewhere far and lets out all frustrations with you.

('my fort is better,' you proclaim proudly, giggling when seungkwan huffs dramatically. 'don't be a sore loser!'

'we need an opinion of a third person or else it's not fair.' he quickly takes pictures of both of your forts and sends it into the group chat, asking which one is better. 'loser cleans the bathroom whole month and i'm definitely not doing it!')

he is the soft hum of your favorite song, he is a bubbly laughter that lights up your mood, he is a steady hand to hold on to when you need support; seungkwan is many things but above them all he is loud. Loud in the way he proclaims his love to you ('i will go to the roof right now and shout 'i love you' from there if you don't believe me!'), loud in the way he shows that he cares ('where is your hat? and scarf? don't make me go all mother hen on you, you know i will!'), loud in the way he is not ashamed to let everyone know that you two are together and that he is so, so proud to have you.

('you look very..proud,' you comment, sliding to the seat next to your boyfriend. seungkwan's hand wraps around your shoulders and he quickly kisses your temple, ignoring whistling from the boys. 'wanna share why?'

'i'm just so proud that you are with me,' he answers honestly, grinning. 'everyone here loved you, boys came up to me to say how nice you are and i'm just- really happy. and proud.' he smiles and squeezes your shoulder: 'i knew they would love you.' but then his face changes and he adds: 'but they can't love you too much cause competing with my friend for you is not ideal-'

'oh my god, boo,' you interrupt, rolling your eyes on his dramatics. 'don't go overboard, okay?' you ask and when he nods, you peck his lips, smiling. 'good. and just for the record - i'm proud to be with you, too.')

seungkwan goes into relationships all in, treats them like his most important solo project on which succeeding is the only option. he is serious, diligent and although he usually tries to laugh his efforts off, he does try to be the best for you. he's doing it all, he searches on google the best gift ideas, checks reviews of new places, asks his friends for an advice, reads forums - all to be able to give you the best experience. he is shy inside but tries to come off as confident as possible and with you he grows, matures into someone he's really proud of.

dating seungkwan feels like a car ride with windows down: sometimes wind gets too strong but that doesn't deter the happiness and freedom you feel in your chest. you know that we are just tiny humans but seungkwan makes you feel like you are so much more, like you are moon and sun and all of the stars; he makes you feel like living is best when it's done loudly.

a/n: the way this one sucked the life out of me when i wrote it..god. check out my other works here - nini <3

tag list: @pearlygraysky @woozionascooter @smalliechelle @jaetaimjadore @yeow6n (let me know if you want to be added!)

[the-magpie-archives]

Daisy and Basira's relationship is such a sweet agony, because at its foundation it's so transparent, so honest. They both know what they're doing, however much they pretend to lie or hide it. Such is the situation they're in that there's no choice but to cling to eachother.

Have you ever been in that sort of situation? The type where the closest person to you is deeply morally flawed and you're realising just how in the wrong you are, but their hand is the only one to grasp. You see the claws along their fingertips and you turn your head and hold them close.

On many occasions Basira talks about the wrong Daisy's done, she knows where Daisy's kill spot is, she figured that's where Jon would be. And yet she never tries to convince everyone that she's capable of fixing daisy, because she knows she's not. Daisy knows this just as well, and perhaps it's a foundation of their trust.

To be loved is to be changed but to be changed is to be hated; a relationship where you accept each others flaws is a commodity, and a rare one at that. Whether those flaws are mundane or deeply damaging, these kinds of connections have a tendancy to grow beyond the point of return.

To know that you're in the wrong together is a comfort. It's not good, nor is it right, but it's a place you can sit. A place you can stay. And as your comfort grows so does that leeching wrongness you protect, and in the end it may just eat you up.

To continue the way Daisy and Basira did was what drove them towards their end, but even at that last painful moment there was a tenderness, a rose in the thorns that makes the wounds worthwhile.

[dabihawksluvr]

To those who see a lengthy post, and respond by saying 'nah I ain't reading all that'.

I will say this as kindly as possible.

You are being an asshole.

[autumnrory]

absolutely do not care if a celeb endorses a candidate i don't think that's necessary whether they speak out on politics regularly or not but doing the both sides nonsense? now? is incredibly annoying

[azmaarts]

*Resurrects from dead*

*Posts this*

*Proceeds to dwell back in hell.*