#role of media

[ruporas]

trigunned the hades or hadesed the trigun (id in alt)

[immult]

here for the wlw mlm violence again <3 because you just Know she has not forgotten about the Maude thing back at the ball <33

[fairy-bard]

i’ve been loving watching critical role recently if for no other reason than because i get to watch a decent portion of viewers actively falling for cult tactics lmao

a forbes article describes cult tactics as when cult leaders “censor dissenting viewpoints, promote a distorted narrative and use relentless repetition and peer pressure”

ludinus needing to monologue at everyone he meets. cherry picking what information to let people know (ie the orb). showing popular world leaders (gods?) at their absolute worst as a means to win over the vulnerable. creating dissent between cult prospects and the people who they’re close to outside the cult. doesn’t take no for an answer. repeating his points over and over, in whatever context he thinks will be most persuasive. targeting people who’ve lost everything. convincing people that they’re special

matt is a genius.

[ddenji]

i technically already posted this panel but the gender dynamics in csm are so beyond anything else in shonen rn. yoru occupying a more traditionally masculine, agressive, perpetrative space here and denji always, always, always occupying the space of the female, the subdued, the taken advantage of. his wording here is so defensive, trying to deflect the act, because he is always being acted against. yoru, the living embodiment of war (a traditionally male system and responsibility!) being trapped in the body of a teenage girl. fujimoto does a good job of subverting traditional gender dynamics in some very subtle ways earlier in the manga, but this one seems far more blatant and disturbing in the context of denjis entire experience.

[crescent-moon-mollymauk]

Sometimes I just feel so lucky that all of Bells Hells is canonically queer (aside from Dorian who isn't confirmed queer, iirc, but I mean, look at him and tell me it isn't heavily implied). Like, it's just awesome. Just so casually queer in a way that isn't ignored but also never makes you feel like it's being done for brownie points. To have two nonbinary party members, one a sweet little queer robot and one a scrungly punk who is definitely somewhere on the bi/pan disaster scale, two sapphic lovers (imo a psychic lesbian cowgirl and a demi-bi, socially awkward undead lady), a sad little gay man, a polyamorous bi/pansexual (and probably demiromantic, imo) who is living her best flirty life, a scruffy, old, little bi/pan werewolf, whatever fruity thing Dorian's got going on, and the absolute biggest bi/pan disaster paladin I've ever seen. Like, it's just so incredible that we get to witness this kind of story, and for free!

It's so weird whenever I watch more main-stream media and it's just so very cisgender and heterosexual. I've gotten so used to such gorgeously gay and queer stories that I don't want to go back to anything else.

[lunarconjunction]

More of my tf au thing with these guys…

[shorthaltsjester]

there are literally no standouts in downfall because everyone sat down at that table and said hey you wanna see something cool and proceeded to Become their characters but idk if it’s because they’re beside each other and that aids the dynamic or just because it’s the delicious similarities and insurmountable distance between the god of death and the god of (in various ways) life but ayden and emhira’s interactions were so chewy and delicious. i’ll be thinking of their exchange fairly early on after ayden cast lesser restoration on that old man and emhira not cruelly but just simply stating “you cannot heal everything.” and ayden’s equally simple reply “we can always try.” emhira seeing the family trist has built and wondering at the presence of children, “surprised there is laughter in such a horrible place” and i know she’s speaking of hawk’s hill but i wonder if she is also speaking of exandria itself in some ways. the delicious space between in and out of character that only really happens in improv stories where as brennan is narrating and says “in this dark room” and nick interrupts and adds “it is not dark.” brennan’s incisive point in the cooldown that while the love that ayden and trist have for mortals and for exandria is warm and the kind of love someone would likely Want from gods, there is something maybe more honest or whole about emhira who says . actually these mortals are little shits that will kill you not because they fear you but because they hate you. whose very existence should be (and still often fails to be) a reminder that the gods can be usurped by mortals. the insight nick shared in the cooldown that ayden does not forget emhira’s origins but in a way dismisses them, that the god of death is a different beast. ayden wanting to find. way to save the people of aeor, insisting that the prime deities Win if they can find a way to do so. emhira reminding everyone that death is inevitable (and she does not add anything to clarify that she intends such a statement to only exist for mortals) as she argues for them to work to take down aeor and the people in it. the fact that the god with the most present connection to mortality is also the one given the most explicit clarification that she Is the god we know as SILAHA calls her the matron, brennan’s narration clarifies purvon is her champion, taliesin as asha asks for clarification on the recognition of emhira as a god and prompting the familiar spectre of a woman in a white mask.

i want to be very clear that when i say there are no standouts i Mean it because i’ve been awed and endeared and intrigued by every single character choice everyone made and as always brennan’s narration is so incredibly well suited for the mission impossible greek tragedy vibes that comes with this story and i’m so fucking delighted by the fact that laura, ashley, and taliesin are playing gods that their characters have known quite well in the past. i’m incredibly excited by what we’ve already gotten to see from abubakar, nashir, and nick and cannot imagine what other greatness is to come. i’m psyched to see the relationship between asha and the law bearer and am delighted that (perhaps for now perhaps for the whole arc) it is being seen through the lens of “my wife promised me a visit with apples and all i got was a rock ice emissary”. i also have many incoherent thoughts about the fact that, of the players who appeared as the same character in the opening and the story, taliesin’s ash and asha are the ones whose name remains the most unchanged.

i’m obsessed with the fact that this creature sent as a stand in by the god of law and duty believes his primary gift is love. while there is a certain mourning and sadness to every god we see, that SILAHA has a certain playful whimsy and jofyful curiosity about the world. that the only one of them who has been mortal before stops to steal an imp necklace from the neck of a drunk on the train (and that moment between brennan’s narration that this man will be dead by morning but, with death standing invisible in front of him, he is incapable of seeing it coming, and then laura as emhira breathing in deeply and brennan having that spark a coughing fit. they are Story Telling). asha seeing the erased image of a god, of a family member and saying “there’s a hole in all of us.” brennan narrating “this is a place where they tried to kill a story. it’s a very frightened thing to do.” (and god. the motif of fear. especially given the very present fear felt by the gods in current day exandria. they’re doing insane things in the critical role 3 part departure).

trist reminding ayden “he never tells the truth” and asha contesting “he only tells the truth, it’s just rotting.” emhira and asha both as perhaps the less Good™ much more neutral but doing so in such different ways, asha as bitter and hungry while emhira seems uncomfortable but there’s a familiarity and a certainty in her discomfort with mortality (the law bearer would also be included here but the emissary seems much more like trist and ayden (for now) than emhira or asha). something as insignificant as trist and her husband speaking to their children and affirming that little lies are okay while trist has lead a significant part of her life likely dishonest about who she is. the fact that there’s a certain childlike quality to the emissary who they’re all charged with ensuring makes it to the end of things even if they cannot. the fact that nahal (unclear which god they were, and i’m assuming it’s the first god of death but regardless still an absolutely compelling development in a short amount of time) in those opening moments is horrified by the concept of away which is unfamiliar to them only to soon after look upon their family and say. maybe away was better. Especially if those were words spoken by the god who would one day be replaced. these three episodes are going to haunt me and i’m excited to meet the ghosts.

[quipxotic]

You know one of the things I really liked in c3e95? Orym getting mad. So many times he's pushed his own feelings down in order to complete a goal or be a steadying influence on the rest of the Hells. But this time - due to shock, maybe, or indignation or a sense of betrayal of having one of his own attack him in his sleep, or maybe because Dorian is back and he feels supported just by his presence - he let it all out. He said what he thought and didn't filter it to soften the impact.

Really introverted characters can be hard to dig into because they are so self-contained. It helps when the form of story they're in allows the audience to see events from inside their head or hear their thoughts, and so much of Campaign 3 hasn't allowed that (or maybe Liam has just not chosen to take those opportunities for what are no doubt good character reasons). But I want to know what's going on in all of Bell's Hells' heads, including Orym. If a moment of shock or anger is what it takes to get us there at last, so be it.

[towards-toramunda]

(I’m gonna need you all to pinky promise me that if like… Orym or Dorian die or something else happens where they can’t end the campaign in a relationship you don’t start harassing the cast for queer baiting again! Like please pinky promise me with a cherry on top that you won’t have a vile harassment campaign over a ship again please I’m begging)

[lotus-pear]

doing a social experiment where i am introducing my friend to bungou stray dogs solely through knkdz content/official art and portraying kunikida and dazai as the "main" implied relationship in bsd. no skk, she does not know chuuya, i have not mentioned chuuya, and she will not meet chuuya until episode nine. this is solely for the purpose of seeing whether or not new bsd fans' pyscholgies are skewed bc of skk or whether they start the show solely for them. after she meets chuuya i'll ask her which pairing she prefers more

[edelgarfield]

i love shadowgast, i think their journey together learning how to be better people & healing is beautiful.

but nothing annoys me more than when Caleb gets all the credit for Essek's redemption arc, or when Essek's relationship with Caleb is automatically placed on a pedestal above his friendship with the rest of the Mighty Nein.

because it is straight up untrue. it wasn't even Caleb that did most of the legwork reaching out to Essek, it was Jester. Yes, their magic lessons, and Caleb's understanding went a long way towards showing Essek that he could change, but Jester was the one who consistently and repeatedly reached out to him. I am of the firm belief that without Jester, the Mighty Nein would never have gotten past Essek's initial standoffishness.

And furthermore, Caleb was Essek's friend first. I don't think it's ever been confirmed, but IMO most of Essek's initial attraction to Caleb was 1) academic 2) performative, and any genuine physical or romantic attraction didn't start developing until post-reveal. I'm not even convinced Essek was romantically interested in Caleb, or at least able to identify it as such, by the END of the campaign. Essek values Caleb primarily as a friend and any romance on top of that is a bonus.

Essek's relationship with Caleb is not inherently more important than his friendship with the rest of the Mighty Nein just because they're dating. He loves all of them, and expresses that multiple times at the end of CR2. It was their friendship that changed him, not his interest in Caleb. Caleb values the Mighty Nein's friendship more than whatever budding romance he had with Essek. Essek's entire life doesn't, nor should it revolve around Caleb! Caleb is an important part, yes, but he values and needs the love he receives from the rest of the Mighty Nein just as much.

As someone who's aro/ace-spectrum and has little to no interest in romance, every time I see Essek's relationship to the Mighty Nein reduced to his relationship with Caleb, it feels like a slap in the face. It validates my deepest fear that I'm just an accessory in my friends' lives, and that no matter how much I love them or what I do for them, I'm inevitably going to be discarded when someone they want to date comes along.

People will watch 500+ hours of a show that emphasizes over and over the importance of friendship and platonic love then turn around and reduce it to romance alone.

[artplague]

Ashton "I was soft once" Greymoore

[immult]

lest we forget. imogen calling laudna honey in the most down bad fashion.

[orenji-iro-no-sora]

We all know that haikyuu is packed with life lessons, especially about growth and competition but one of the things that brought me so much comfort in life is the story of Miya twins. Both Osamu and Atsumu were hard workers but what differentiated them when it comes to volleyball prowess was their priorities. Osamu being a naturally gifted athlete was a major push in Atsumu's life; they made each other better (and worse in some ways). But it was Atsumu's choice to become a professional player and a great setter that pulled him ahead. Atsumu was dedicated to it and if Osamu wanted he could've reached the same skill level (or maybe even more).

Basically as long as you love and want something enough, despite there being "better" people out there, you'll reach greatness in your own right. And I think it's beautiful that consistent effort, even if it takes longer than "natural talent" (which is a topic for another day), will get you where you want to be.

Also, you can be good at something and even have potential to be greater and yet not choose it. You don't HAVE TO pursue anything just because it's expected or even possibly the most natural course for you to take. What matters is what you love.

[utilitycaster]

It's weird to me that people are like ORYM'S GOING DARK like sorry but while mechanically I don't think he's necessarily going to become a paladin this is like... righteous strength of conviction, not murderhobo. It's not like, dark to go after a death cult or someone who tried to assassinate you.

[gildedoak]

“Just take it. It’s called a Lantern Lily.”

I have had a frustrating week IRL and needed to draw something cute. SO, TIME FOR ASHRYM CONTENT. I also enjoy designing fantasy flowers! The Lantern Lily is not actually a lily, despite it’s name. Technically a type of bellflower. It gives off a faint glow during summer nights to attract pollinators.

Image description below the cut!

Medium: Copic markers, Sakura Micron pens, white gel pen, and metallic and color shift watercolors by Iuile.

[Image Description: An embarrassed Ashton leans against a lone tree with his hammer slung over his shoulder, shoving a large flower at Orym and not making eye contact with him. The glass portion of his head glitters, but instead of the usual round bokeh-lights, they give off little heart shapes. The bellflower has purple petals, transitioning to a vibrant yellow at the edges, similar to a sunset, and has heart-shaped leaves. Blushing, Orym smiles, reaching out to take the gift.

Second image is a closeup of Ashton, from the waist up.]