#shit ass analysis here don't judge

[arttsuka]

Usually, people tend to see the parallels between Jinx&Viktor and Vi&Jayce, nerds vs jocks in a way, I guess. There are more, sure, but I'm here to talk about Jinx&Jayce and Vi&Viktor instead.

(A little disclaimer, I haven't watched Arcane in 2 years more or less so sorry for any inaccuracies)

First things first, the obvious thing, their names.

J for Jinx and Jayce, Vi for Vi and Viktor.

For their appearance (at least in arcane), Jinx and Jayce have a more blue wardrobe and colors. Vi and Viktor have more red/pink instead.

All of them are stubborn but I think Jinx and Jayce are/were more optimistic than Vi and Victor who are more 'realists' (but can and will get stuck to certain ideas/beliefs and will sacrifice stuff to achieve their goals).

Jinx, due to her being younger and Jayce due to him being more 'sheltered' are more childish, easier to manipulate and rile up.

Jinx, mainly because of Silco and his influence in her life, didn't grow up (Powder to Jinx) 'in the undercity'. Sure, they were there, but it wasn't exactly like she was living on the streets with the other citizens, like Vi who we know had a social life (until she got thrown to prison for the ??? time). Viktor also was a direct 'product' of the undercuty. Jayce wasn't.

Jinx and Jayce both have memories from their childhoods that they keep 'close', thinking about them and it let them to change their whole personality, to shape it into something different. The bomb incident was the start of the Jinx persona, the Mage that saved Jayce and his mom were the reason he started to study and why he wanted to learn more about magic in the first place. Vi and Viktor are less likely to accept change, especially in people. Vi refuses to believe Jinx is no longer Powder, Viktor doesn't want to believe Jayce will put other things (fame, his reputation, other people) before him and their research.

Finally, Jinx and Jayce mainly use weapons (and while Jayce wields a hammer, it's still not exactly hand to hand combat). Vi and Viktor both have body 'modification' parts (her gloves and his cane + leg 'prosthetic').

So, to badly summarize:

J

Blue

Childish and optimistic

Weapons rather than body parts or armor

'Traumatic' thing that happened in the past changed them

'Not from the undercity' mentality

Vi

Red/pink

Realist but stubborn

Body parts that act either as weapons or armor (at least eventually)

Don't want to believe people change

Product of the undercity

I'm not very good at articulating my thoughts in a coherent way, I hope all that makes sense

[a-man-in-the-crowd]

A Little Breakdown of the Will Misogyny Scene bc I Keep Laughing About It & Need an Outlet

this scene lives in my head rent-free like holy shit it had me in fucking hysterics 😭 AND LIKE I KNEW IT WAS COMING BC I WAS SCROLLING THROUGH TUMBLR BEFORE I GOT TO IT BUT IT DIDN'T MAKE IT ANY LESS HILARIOUS???

like genuinely there's so much i wanna talk about, it's both a really funny scene and also just like a super interesting scene that gives you a bit of insight into the dynamics of the characters, if that makes sense??

so here i am, going through this scene and 1) just fucking laughing my ass off bc i can never read this scene with a straight face and 2) trying to kinddaaa link it back to some sort of semi-meaningful analysis (though mostly this is just my excuse to ramble about a dumb scene that i am obsessed with for some dumb reason)

warning: non-sensical yapping about a short scene ahead

first of all the set-up to this scene

here, you can see a gay man decide, once and for all, he hates women!

okay but fr the way i see this moment is sorta re-establishing the competitive nature of ada and will's dynamic (at least in this section of the story where ada and monty are dating). obviously, this became apparent in the staircase scene where we see them constantly bickering, but i'd say this is the first we're seeing them genuinely compete for monty's attention/affection.

ada at first gets the 'upper hand' (in reality, neither can really, monty's too out of it to even pretend to give a shit about either of them) by doting on him like a loving girlfriend, tucking him in and everything, and will is just. idk. disgusted by straight people (same, will, same /j). he definitely sees this as ada trying her hand at stealing monty away — and he's kinda right. whether or not she actually is doesn't matter, because this isn't really about monty, except it is?? i'll probably talk more about this some other time, but both ada and will care more about the love that monty is dangling over their heads more than him.

at least, that's my take so far.

anyways, basically this is a game, and ada's just had her turn and she has the advantage of monty being awake. it's will's turn now and he decides to win monty's favour by...

that.

so outside of the very obvious comedy of will very awkwardly and randomly going "women ☕️" (like genuinely i don't think he knows what the fuck he's talking about), something that gets me about this is how CONFUSED monty is. there's a pretty high chance he's confused because of the painkillers in his system, but i'm of the belief that the funnier interpretation is always the better one so...

i like to imagine he's confused for the same reason the audience probably is — that being, will, what the fuck? monty's reaction definitely does have a similar vibe to when will told him he was praying, so i don't think it's a stretch. it'd also confirm that this is a really out of the blue rant for will to go on, something that can be inferred from how awkward and ada-specific his rant is. if he has beliefs that are even slightly similar to what he's saying, he's definitely never expressed them before judging by how nervous he is about it.

though, you know what is in character for will? spewing absolute bullshit, hence why monty's only response is 'sure, will' before going to sleep (that, and the fact he's really tired and barely has any blood in him, seriously it's a surprise he didn't die 😭)

speaking of which. notice how, despite being loopy from the painkillers and blood loss, monty still manages to remember will's name. i can't tell if it's because he's known will longer and therefore is more used to his presence, he cares a bit more for will than he does ada (and there is evidence he gives a tiny bit of a shit about will. though he might for ada as well, we haven't seen much of those two), or that will is a man and therefore worthy of a bit more respect in monty's eyes (something i am NOT ruling out when considering the differences between ada/monty and will/monty). i think it's an interesting detail, though i'm not sure how much it'll get elaborated on.

ada might have the advantage of being monty's most recent fancy (albeit, for reasons definitely related to ada's spectre) but will has the advantage offff... whatever the hell got monty to remember his name of all things

okay so i've already listed my reasons for believing will is spewing bullshit to suck up to monty but i just wanted to pipe in my own personal experience with this sorta behaviour.

i'm trans, right? specifically transmasc and hooolyyy shit did this rant unlock some EMBARRASSING memories of me trying to mimick how i thought men saw women ☠️ he's just like me in the WORST way possible and i can't help but laugh at it he is SUCH a loser

i don't think will is trans, that's not a headcanon i have of him (though i do have that hc for pluto bc well... look at him), but i DO think he's gay (one of the preview images for the locked episodes has him blushing behind monty and i am VERY confident in my idea of what he's blushing for) and at the very least tried to excuse his disinterest in women with shit like this. this is the exact kind of behaviour from a guy who is desperately trying to hide his queerness by being an asshole to women (newsflash, you don't have to hate women to seem more masculine, but will is likely from an older time, i get 1800s vibes though i think 1930s makes a lot of sense too, so i suppose that was never a thought that could've occured to anyone)

i don't think that is specifically the motivator behind this specific rant, in this case he is for sure doing it for monty, but i get the feeling he's pulling this shit from stuff he's maybe said in the past to hide his sexuality

another thing: i touched on this earlier but... most of the stuff will is saying is DEFINITELY directed at ada. i wouldn't be surprised if he's doing this on purpose, using this awkward forced misogyny as cover to insult ada (which isn't out of character, i wanna make a separate post about this but i find that will's 'real' method of meanness is less. outward? then, say, monty's. it's muttered, or condescending, or veiled behind something like what we see in this scene). judging ny ada's expression though, she DEFINITELY catches on.

i firmly believe ada wouldn't have been as aggressive had will not been insulting ada personally

oh yeah, a final little note on this section: anyone else feel like this has the same energy as when you're reading an old book and randomly get flashbanged with misogyny?? like lowkey idk if that was the vibe the creators were going for, but it definitely was giving those vibes. i got immediate flashbacks to when i was reading dracula and at least lime once a chapter they'd mention how mina was too ✨️ womanly ✨️ and ✨️ innocent ✨️ to be involved in the whole vampire situation. except worse bc will is just actively being malicious (which honestly makes this whole scene better, hate the misogyny but love me some will being mean bc it's hilarious every time)

and, how could i forget, the ABSOLUTE HYPOCRISY OF THIS STATEMENT I'M ACTUALLY IN HYSTERICS RN HOLY SHIT WILL 😭 big words coming from a guy whose main job is to copy other people like damn bro projecting much

i didn't mention it earlier bc it was cropped out, but further evidence of will purposely taking this as an opportunity to trash on ada is him looking DIRECTLY AT ADA I'M CACKLING THIS IS GOLD.

but this isn't where the goldmine ends because it all gets topped off by WILL REALIZING MONTY ISN'T AWAKE TO SAVE HIS DUMBASS AND THEN PROSPERO JUST NOPING OUT OF THIS WHOLE DISASTER

will, i love you, i am your number one apologist but... nah bro you did this to yourself you're on your own LMAO

i sincerely hope ada rocked his shit bc that was a hilariously pathetic display and will needs to learn the consequences of his actions (though, i was hoping getting beat by a crowbar would be enough to get it through his skull 😭)

anyways that's all i have to say about this scene for now, i feel like it's pretty easy to tell who my favourite character is. i swear i like the other characters, it's just that will had me in a chokehold the moment he appeared and the fact he has very little lore behind him makes me incredibly desperate for any crumbs i can get ☠️ i have wayyy more to say on will, but like i'd need to organize and gather myself if i actually wanna say anything meaningful

[hg-aneh]

Hi,ik I've been asking questions frequently but I'mma do it again bc I'm that petty;

In the AziraCrow relationship/marriage/or whatever. Who do u think is the housewife/husband? 😀

if we're talking about traditional gender roles applied to marriage ((which i believe would NOT apply to them in canon as they're both nonbinary supernatural beings)), i have to preface this by saying that i rlly don't agree with them as a concept

[if ppl choose to engage in them and not judge others for not doing so then good for them (idgaf akfbsjf)]

i hate that they're still being imposed onto people and that they haven't been left in the past for some contexts

i also want to clarify that the following """analysis""" I'm going to make is all for the sake of poking fun at gender roles and satirizing their entire existence.

Having said that, these are my headcanons:

Aziraphale-housewife, Crowley-husband

Why? Simply because husbands are fucking useless and I like to bully Crowley cuz he stinks and he sucks c0ck and b4-

I'm just goofing around 😭

In my little bubble world, they'd be neither (or both if you wanna see it from that POV)

Let's start with this:

If we take the definition of a traditional husband, which is basically "i work and do nothing else cuz I'm a man and men have their mommies i mean wives do everything for them" and take the Work part away, which is what we'd do if we were to place the ineffables in the south downs aka their retirement shack, then you get a useless fuck

And in reality, they both do jackshit (that's the whole premise of s1) so????? does that mean they're both husbands???

For further insight let's try to affirm Aziraphale is the housewife.

Aziraphale bakes, so he's probably a decent cook too; that's "housewife" material. He also happens to be very pretty and plump and a blonde, which I've been told are pretty ladylike things to be (/sarcasm)

(There are no pretty male blondes in ba sing se good omens)

He dresses in light, dainty clothing and talks with an accent only girls and women talk with, as well as getting his nails done and using make up for his magic act, and he says "please" and "thank you", which are things only women do (I'M BEING SARCASTIC. I'M BEING VERY SARCASTIC. god i hate gender rolesAAAA)

Now this is where the comparisons end cuz let's face it, Aziraphale is a lazy fuck.

You KNOW the bookshop smells like mold and he just miracles it clean every now and then.

He'd rather sit his plump (pretty) blond ass on the couch and read the day away than actually get to doing the baking and cooking or caring for the kids (plants) if it's not a hobby activity

Now let's do the opposite and try to affirm Crowley as the housewife.

He's clean (does the cleaning), he's of service when needed, he organizes when he's stressed (read the book), he- he drives a car...

OH SHIT. MAN ACTIVITY!!!!!🤯🤯🤯 (we're still being sarcastic here, it's not over EFJSJF)

In all seriousness though, trying to fit these two into gender roles, even as a joke is kinda difficult even in headcanon-land ajbfsnf

At least that's my opinion

For every traditionally "feminine" thing you have one of them do, the other outdoes that by a mile. And vice versa with the traditionally "masculine" things, like "being useless" and "car" /sarcasm is back.

So which one would be which? I think they're both dumbasses who fight over who gets to do what in the household (neither of them wants to do anything except for cuddling) and come up with an agreement to divide each chore :)

y'know, like normal people in a functional marriage (my parents lol)

[dialalagirl]

Can you like elaborate on your ratings for the diabro bc I' kinda'm curious okie

most certainly. your girl LOVES deep-diving so:

mandatory disclaimer: I am not condoning ANY of the fucked up shit they do nor do I think that any of them are LEGIT good boyfriends nor am I judging anyone's personal preferences. you do you boo~

additional disclaimer: my analysis is based near-solely on HDB 'cause it's my favourite and the sole reason I'm still in this fandom other than my lovely fans, 'cause imo all games after MB are straight burn-them-at-the-stakes material

Subaru: marry me plz bae. his response to the trauma with his mom (trying to pacify her and feeling a fuck-ton of self-hatred) hits way too close to home for me and is way too well written in HDB. even the HDB ecstasy scene where he almost rapes yui (although 110% horrifying) is analytically logical. he thinks himself as a corrupting body and does not understand why yui does not view him in this light (it's some messed up attempt at the self-fulfilling prophecy). he ultimately does not go through with it, showcasing the promise for renewal and diverging from his mother's fucked up image of him being his rapist father. I could ramble on forever about why I love his character, but I'll end it here before I get annoying

Shu: he is such an annoyingly sexy blonde, but I can't help it. I love his lazy ass. his apathy is not only logical, but personally relatable (one of my personal ways of dealing with trauma). plus the ending where yui becomes blind and he finally gets his act together, chef's kiss

Azusa: very interesting divergence from the other DL bros where he is the one who enjoys pain. his past is so fuckin' sad and his ending more so, even if it is kinda straight ass (like why are we naming children willingly after his abusers, who tf knows)

Ayato: in logical progression with his past, his depiction/obsession with being the best and being the mostly fragilely self-assured man I have ever seen is for the most part well-written. if I had to summarize my feelings towards him based on a single scene: when he actually enjoys learning math from yui, it breaks the fuckin' annoying ass trope of 'dumb ego bro who don't gaf', he actually responds well to praise. I just happen to see him more as a brother than a romantic interest haha

Laito: one of best written characters in the DL franchise from a psychological perspective. I have gone in length about this in another post, but I will reiterate here that his character arcs or lack thereof (depending on whether you look at HDB or MB) are wholly believable and in line with his personality as sourced from his childhood sexual trauma. personally, I am just not into perverts or the fedora getup 😂 plus bro needs to pay a fuck-ton of childhood support and I am not getting involved in that financial mess

Reiji: I have gone in length about this in another post, but to summarize: perfect depiction of the extremes of childhood emotional neglect in HDB, and his mixed feelings regarding shu are an analytical goldmine. suffice to say, his character arc in HDB is chef's kiss (when he gives up his plans of resurrecting his mother to save yui from coredelia, I was officially sold). admittedly, he's a smidge too dry and cold for my taste, but overall great character!

Ruki: kills a kitten yui takes care of for no good fuckin' reason, feeds her date rape drugs 'cause he is a jealous bastard, and is a overall Campbell soup of a man that rips off Reiji's rizz. also his past is ass. am I supposed to feel bad that the servants treated him like ass when he treated them like ass, or what? his obsession with becoming adam makes little sense tbh, since logically he knows he can do diddly squat (for that matter, the whole eve plot makes 0 sense, but that's a whole other story). but occasionally, I am forced to admit he does pull on the heart strings when he has nightmares

Yuma: eats humans, punches the daylights of yui whenever the fuck he wants, makes her a table, and for some reason resents that yui has dreams??? plus, amnesia is such a boring trope, I'm sorry. I don't see the shu/yuma chemistry. just a totally 'why did we need this plot'. i don't even understand how he can grow a garden if he is such an aggressive ape? but whatev. controversial opinion: his design is just meh

Kou: let me start off by saying that his backstory is chef's kiss psychoanalytically. no complains there. but bro is such an annoying irredeemable shit as a grown vamp. fucker literally puts yui on a dog’s leash, takes her on a walk on all fours in the park, and proceeds to punch the daylights of the one kind samaritan who tries to help her out. not to mention one of his many amazing tests of yui's love: turning the gas on everywhere and threatening to turn on a lighter to kill the both of you. like da fuck is this supposed to prove???? considering that he has the magic eye that can see your true intentions, why on yezus' green earth is he bothering to do ANY OF THIS SHIT (since obivously yui is a genuine bean)? 'cause rejet wrote a shit character, that's why :)

Kino: discount ayato with a hard-on for video-games ('cause I guess that makes him relatable to the fellow kids?). that's all I have to say

Kanato: he looks like a child, behaves like a child, and--as far as I can tell--has no meaningful character arc. even his vampire ending in HDB is just making yui go delulu, so. his history with Cordelia admittedly piques my psychoanalytical tendencies tho :')

Carla/Shin: first off, designs are straight ass. granny and one-patch monocle man have literally nil redeemable traits and their backstory is unabashed nonsense, I'm sorry. we really didn't need founders and genocidal viruses to fuck up the already inconsistent world building in DL. also, who the fuck logically banks on one skinny blonde girl to revive an entire species? suffice to say, I have read none of their routes in detail and I don't plan to

[knightobreath]

oliver's epic ii2 movie act 1 trailer analysis

ok so ! theres a lot. im going through it scene by scene

steve cobs KEEPS calling mephone. what the hell is his plan here. i would say mephone should just block his ass but i have a feeling that he is unable to. I predict that he's gonna have to answer at some point.

(also, i went and checked, but the sound that played is the same as the hang up sound from ep15)

also hotel oj party yayyy everyone gets to hang out and have some fun before everything goes to Shit!

this shot's just fucked up man. i don't think i need to explain what this parallels.

this is either a realization or someone walking in, and i think it's the latter because there's little build up. I cannot tell who it would be based on his reaction only, but it Would be someone in the hotel.

OR. what if it's another hallucination like with 4s in the iii finale? That would explain why there's no light from a door opening.

baseball was already upset before seeing taco & mepad

his reaction BARELY CHANGED when he did see them (the eyebag line showed up after he looked through the door)

mepad is comforting taco, who is likely worked up about you know. talking to pickle and mic

man i actually like the bullets format im going with this from now on

mic is happy! I don't have any predictions for the context of this scene

we're getting stuff on knife and trophy!

can't really extrapolate from this scene, hard to tell if trophy was throwing the can there on purpose or not.

test tube, fan, and paintbrush are going to play a very active role in the episode

As pointed out here, they're in the area that Paintbrush burned down in episode 12.

This area has a direct tie to Cobs with the painting, it's possible that they're trying to stop him on their own.

The device test tube is holding is a reused asset, and was both the time machine from episode 12 and the gem detecting device from episode 13. due to this reuse of the asset, we can't know for sure what it does here.

My prediction is that the device is being used to detect something meeple-related.

I'll note here that mephone is only shown inside of the hotel for the duration of the trailer, I believe that he might be hiding in there for most of this act while the contestants go out and actually try to fix things.

NOW THIS IS INTERESTING. Knife and suitcase are traveling in the Grand Slams balloon from Theft and Battery.

Since it's only the two finalists, this could be a part of the final challenge.

Hot air balloons in ii have only been used twice. once in theft and battery to get to mecloud, and once in the great bluish bake-off to get to the end of the desert.

I predict that because of cobs's importance to the plot of this episode that this balloon is going to mecloud, although I'm not entirely sold on the idea.

I predict that this goes before the scene where they're outside of the hotel.

tt and pb have an idea! and they're confident in it.

Judging by paper's expression, this was brought on by something Not Good Happening.

blah blah somehow i connect this to meeple shenanigans okay moving on

simple! suitcase and knife entering the hotel

hi lightbulb

Cobs is PERSISTENT. voiceover backs this up

He must call mephone a lot during the episode

Mephone is clearly running off so people don't see him constantly receiving these calls. i bet hes having a complete crisis over it. panic attack

I predict that as the justification because hotel OJ seems to be a relatively safe space. Theres a total horror to it, a looming danger only one person can really see. He's being hunted down in the middle of a party.

I predict that Cobs's presence in this episode is mostly through this looming horror.

Then there's the flashback of episode 15 with mepad being mad at mephone, voiceover is mephone asking mepad for help, and i'll take a break from dissecting visuals for a sec

MEPHONE: We can't escape him this time! MEPHONE: You have to help. MEPAD: We no longer work together. MEPHONE: Then, don't do it for me.

The voice lines may be put together from other parts of the episode

ehehe i get to talk about mepad. Okay

Mepad not working with mephone extends beyond the show. He actually just doesnt want anything to do with him anymore. oh my god

listen. i would write a whole essay about mepad and mephone rn But i have more scenes to get through.

mephone being the one guy that mepad refuses to help anymore is sending me Dude you fucked this up bad. you ruined your relationship with the one guy whos willing to help literally anyone. but it also shows how out of depth he was coming back from iii because his previous development is not helping him with his mental health this fucked

the "don't do it for me" is said over a scene showing all of the hotel oj guests implying that mepad should do it for everyone else. while this is definitely true i think mepad should also just do it for himself. please. please have mepad start doing things for himselffffffffff PLEASE

I'll touch on this more as i go through the visuals

taco knocking on pickle's door. it's happening chat

and i think he saw her

judging by the eye height though? I'm not actually sure. Taco isn't that tall, so either he sees Mepad or someone/thing else. Most likely has to do with taco though.

off topic but does oj seriously decorate his hotel's walls with images of cups and oranges. someone get this guy an interior decorator PLEASE

Don't have much to say here. not much is happening and there doesn't seem to be any implications with this bit.

whys paper so mad at those hats

off they go!

i bet these two will be running around in the background of everything a lot.

likely not using mepad's teleportation because it's flashy and noisy, which doesnt work well for stealth.

everyone's here! except for nickel, who doesnt show up at all in this trailer. don't know what to say about that.

salt also isnt in this particular shot, but she was at the party in another shot earlier.

Oh and mephone. He's probably stepping outside to take a call hehehehehehehehehehehe

pickle also isn't here, but i expect he's either avoiding the party for some reason or preoccupied with a certain sideplot. Or both.

ANIMATION ERROR SPOTTED!!!! BOMB IS ON A LAYER BELOW TROPHY!!!!!

everyone seems to be having such a nice time enjoying themselves! it would be a shame if something horrible were to happen and several characters were to permadie

*cough*but of course that wouldnt happen. Um

the final shot of the trailer is mepad

i love mepad

i hope he doesnt die

this means hes gonna have another big role in an episode...

it seems a lot of the plot is gonna hinge on the decisions made by mepad. specifically if he's gonna help mephone or not

okay I'm tired. i may add more later. WAIT my final thoughts,

BIG PREDICTION: Mephone will try to hide the cobs calls at the party but will get found out. When he's found out various characters (including tt pb and fan as shown earlier) will try to help in some way. This is act 1, so a lot of stuff will be set up but there wont be any big deliveries.

Mepad will play another big role.

Taco WILL talk to pickle.

Any big deaths, especially permadeaths, will either happen right at the end of this act or in a later act altogether.

more toilet. please animaitonepic Please show us toilet again. i have hope since we saw the ep12 challenge area.

this party is not ending well.

i need to rewatch season 1 i barely remember it

[sharonisthebettercarter]

billy butcher and addiction--

felt there's a need for a good and proper analysis for this fucker (as well as i can manage, maybe throw in a bit of a rant on poor fandom etiquette, 'three laws of fandom' are an oldie but a goodie lol) so here we go i guess--

i wanna start by saying this is a full scope character deep dive (sortaish?? best i can do take it or leave it--lol i might go further in depth on specific scenes or whatnot later, i'm longwinded but i'm tryin' to condense as best i can for this, aaaaaaaaaaand long long post ahead--) that def includes elements solidly confirmed in dear becky and probably leans more on comics billy overall, but def does intertwine and interlock with show billy (as they are essentially the same, garth ennis' own words went something like 'he's a perfect billy butcher' lol)

i'll try to avoid spoilers (??) for the most part like dear becky, but there are some things that may need more context (there is quite a bit of in the show that works well enough to represent anyway but i guess we'll see how this goes, i may end up talking more about the show elements and how they parallel with comics billy anyway)

i also think it's worth mentioning that there's a lot to billy (especially in the comic) i feel fandom either ignores, dismisses or doesn't want to acknowledge, or just doesn't notice.

whether from personal bias/prejudice, desire (fitting billy into that 'alpha's alpha' toxic masculinity 'dom top' fever dream 'mold' so to speak, probably--no, definitely the *worst* way to interpret and easiest way bungle up his character, it completely misses the fact that billy has built *that* 'daddy approved' version of himself as a *facade* to *hide* his own shame and insecurity, and he is *so* much more complex than that nonsense (and genuinely uncomfortable and unhappy being that way-beyond the subtle guilt of a constant high). can we talk about the ways in which fandoms promote and perpetuate toxic masculinity--what, no time we'll be here all week?? oh, okay. jesus fucking christ that is exactly as bad if not worse than the maga chud interpretation and unironic worship of homelander--), lack of personal experience/familiarity, understanding--fuck it, even lack of education in media analysis or reading comprehension (if not both), and *especially* being pro-censorship/americentric/*stuck* with purity culture blinders (or even some part of them lingering)

all of those can def make media (and characters like billy) that isn't 'cookie cutter america-approved' fairly difficult to understand or accept (i guess??)

i've seen so much listed to hell and back in attempts to describe comics billy. 'he's a piece of shit' *YES*. 'he's just wish fulfillment for the author's hatred of superheroes' *no*??? let me not get into the complete hypocrisy of someone who writes or enjoys fanfic--the epitome of *wish fulfilment*--unironically complaining about other authors doing this and thinking it's a legit complaint. how does *anyone* read the entire story and come to *that* conclusion???

did you even bother reading the comic? no, i don't mean glossing over it with a completely closed mind while actively ignoring and dismissing everything important put in front of you and designed to make you think because the blood and guts or other is too distracting apparently, i mean *actually* reading it thoroughly and making an effort to think about what's being presented and why, waiting for the drop *instead* of jumping to judge (as is the american way)

and to some degree, i get it. i wouldn't say this comic is the easiest to digest (especially if completely unfamiliar with many of the themes presented, even the show has sparked some ass takes and interpretations) there's also plenty of common misconceptions, one in particular about garth ennis 'hating' superheroes. this is actually not true, what he hates is how the superhero *genre* has bottlenecked the comics industry and what is more likely to see success in it (and as a fellow creative, i completely understand how frustrating that would be, his main interest is actually war stories)

it's def one thing to say, 'nah, i don't vibe with the style' or 'it's not really for me/my taste but it's fine if others like it', i get that, satire and horror aren't for everyone. honest critique is fair even.

but it is a whole 'nother thing entirely to pretend your own personal tastes are *the only 'correct' creative law* and then *vehemently* oppose or hate something an artist created and denounce, harass, or fuck--dehumanize the people who enjoy it, if not the artists who work(ed) on it.

i'm sorry, this is a tangent cause it's def not limited to the hate the boys comics or ennis gets *at all*, it's especially prevalent in *literal* kids media like teen titans go where the thing in question is simply put--*NOT MADE FOR THE SHITHEADS NONSTOP COMPLAINING ABOUT IT* when they can literally, *LITERALLY* just *accept* that they weren't the *target audience* and move the fuck on with their day, happy as can be. *instead* of shitting on something *or the people who like it* to make literal *children* or other people feel bad about liking it.

it's one thing to try and educate people or have discourse and discussion, it is another entirely to *bully* them over something so *stupid* as *fiction*.

i especially have a problem with this shit when i have *several* artists tell me that they don't feel *safe* or *welcome* being themselves, liking or creating what *they* want to make in a fandom *because* of the fandom attitude and normalization of *hate* within that fandom.

i *thought* fandoms were supposed to be about *love* so what the fuck is this human tribalist false dichotomy bullshit??

and of course, that's not always the case. there is also an unbelievable level of respect that is given to fanartists and fanfiction writers, and that is *beautiful*. 'don't like, don't read'. *PERFECT*. curate your own content, complain or rant in your own spaces--you're entitled to an opinion, but *accept* that it still has a right to exist and other people still have a right to love it (and aren't wrong for that, opinions cannot be objective), *even if you don't like it*. just don't engage then, it's that simple.

now extend that level of courtesy to the people, artists and writers in the industry.

no, i'm not trying to shut down criticism of media, proper critique is how we learn and grow and understand better and in turn *create* better. yes, they can fumble the fucking bag too, especially when adapting something from a source material and--like *some* fanfic writers out there--think they can do it 'way better'.

but the people in the industry? who bend over backwards, going on strike in some cases, breaking their necks to work on and create the things that we *love* and latch onto?

they're people too. and whether the thing they make goes *exactly* how we want or not, however you feel about the money in the entertainment industry (which they see barely a dime of if those fucking strikes and constant mistreatment are any indication), they don't deserve to be treated like scabs.

that mentality of 'not my personal taste = universally bad' and 'anyone who disagrees with my opinion is wrong' is fucking gross and *extremely elitist*, just straight up announcing how pretentious, obtuse, willfully arrogant and ignorant, and *lacking in self awareness*--the number one easiest way to be the *shittiest* kind of artist/writer/critic--you are. it is *exactly* like cishet white men complaining about something being 'bad' because it's 'woke' or has anything *besides* a cishet white man for the protagonist.

*god forbid something isn't tailor made specifically for them.*

swear to gawd, i got a list of different bullshit and circle jerking i've seen all across different fandoms for different reasons. no i'm not mad at any one person in particular, just a little salty from recurring problems and gatekeeping (ghoulfucking-GHOULFUCKING OF ALL THINGS I--I CANNOT) if not straight up bullying (does it really make a bitch feel *so* much better to try and hurt other people for liking what they, and let's be honest, are not willing to give the time of day?) in fandoms. (the complete audacity of people to complain about a media being 'childish' or 'bad' because 'insert nonsensical trivial bullshit here that holds no weight because it's personal taste if not flat out wrong and not actual critique' and then turn around and throw the biggest fucking tantrums about it--let me not get into the whole sharon carter debacle jesus christ--)

same shit. different pile.

also, fuck me. i keep *forgetting* that genuinely valid critique (*not* personal taste/opinion, proper critique pertains to things like techniques used, composition, narrative consistency and plot holes, goals of the artist/writer, accomplishments of those goals, etc.) is something that needs proper education and understanding all on its own which not a whole ton of people get or even know, which just goes to show--i'm a dumbass too. (but i won't deny that plenty of 'critics' are full of shit and *know* this but use their 'personal taste' as 'critique' *anyway* because... they enjoy being complete assholes and discouraging other artists i guess.)

y'all, take a class or two in art critique and literature analysis. you'll learn all the cool lingo (to later forget if you're like me~), and maybe (hopefully) walk out with a bit more of an open mind wanting to encourage more art in the world, even if you don't personally like it. take a moment to *listen* to differing opinions in their *entirety* and you might even gain a new perspective.

*no one* should be ashamed to ask questions or admit they don't know or understand something and fuck the people that would make you feel that way. *we can and should help each other.*

but stagnant or hostile fandoms with no self awareness and perpetuated elitism circle jerks? *really* fucking shameful, regardless of the form or where they are.

ANYWHO--

ugh, fuck. okay. i think i'm done with that tangent, back on topic--

BILLY BEAN~<3

and i want to reiterate that *again*, dear becky *does* confirm pretty much everything i'm going to discuss here tho technically speaking, nothing is spoiled here as it's just reiterating what is implicit (if not stated outright) throughout the series.

as far as dear becky goes, it's a good final gut-wrenching piece to the series and i loved it, but it definitely leaned on more of 'tell' instead of 'show, don't tell' (no duh in context, but probably because the rest of the comic did the 'show'--very well imo but it still flew over peoples' heads and made them misplace their brains--i'm sorry, i've just lost so much patience for the lack of reading comprehension and media literacy, but honestly? ennis is genuinely too good at knowing how to spark a strong emotional reaction in readers. and can we talk about the dense mofos that *make* authors have to 'tell' just to confirm something that is heavily implied--what, no time? oh, fuck, fine.)

OKAY--

addiction.

what about it, and why am i mentioning it. well. because if it's not clear by now, william butcher is an addict.

and it is one of, if not the core element that drives him to do what he does.

not becky or becca. not justice.

addiction.

and i don't mean traditional substance abuse (though he admits there has been as much in his life, especially with alcohol, his drug of choice is a bit more complex and maybe not so easy to spot on the surface for those unfamiliar with addiction).

in the show, we even see him mention that he's 'done 'em all' and there's *nothing* like temp v--and it's because temp v *amplifies* his *addiction* to the highest level it could exist on.

something else to note, there's a ton of stigma and widespread (ableist) misconception surrounding addiction still (which may be part of why people may not want to recognize it in billy), but it is absolutely a clinical mental disorder and people who suffer from it should be treated as *medical patients*, not reduced to violent criminals and scumbags. (fuck you drug war and prohibition, you are the root of organized crime and you're racist as shit.) it's also possible to become addicted to *anything*. and i mean *anything*.

if you can repeat a behavior and your brain no longer cares whether or not that behavior is causing you harm because there is a *compulsive* urge for that *repetition* or a specific result from it? that is addiction. money, anger, pain, violence, self harm, attention, love...

you'd think the last one might be okay, but it's not. it's an easy way to get caught in the infinite loop of an abusive relationship, just with promise of it. no delivery necessary.

but it doesn't have to be drugs that cause addiction. hell, gambling addiction is a thing all it's own that can get *incredibly* severe.

and listen, too much of *anything* can be horrible for you. fucking coconut will give you the runs if you eat too much that shit is *not* fun pun intended--

i digress.

in billy's case? he's actually addicted to two i just listed.

violence. and self harm.

i mentioned before that what drives billy has next to nothing to do with what happened to becky or becca.

there's a common misconception that, at the end of the day, billy does have some level of good intent behind his actions, and to a degree this is true in the *complete reverse* of what people often assume, and this is proven repeatedly in both the show (with just what we have seen) and comic (where its laid out too heavily to ignore).

setting aside the fact that there's *never* a good 'rEaSoN' to commit or even attempt *genocide* (EVER. i have ZERO patience for the constant apologism of this bullshit, SWEAR TO GAWD FANDUMB--) and billy's genocidal tendencies on their own, the idea that 'he goes after homelander for becca' or 'justice' has been completely debunked.

'justice is not vengeance'

something to always keep in mind.

but... in the first season? hughie called him out on this.

butcher calls him a 'disgrace to robin's memory', and hughie--bless his little heart, responds with 'i think i'm doing this *for* her.'

it's an interesting response, because hughie is essentially saying--

'you'll *die* for this woman, but that's not what she would have wanted. i'm going to *live* for robin, and for *annie*, because *that's* what she would have wanted.'

and he's absolutely right. billy loved becca, would have died for her. but he refuses to listen and *live* for her.

the group therapist too even before hughie. she literally laid it all out, front and center in the clearest way possible, 'it's a defense mechanism', and then butcher had his little meltdown just before telling hughie about becca, everything he can, including *using* other peoples tragedies and his own *specifically* to manipulate hughie and try and make sure *starlight* can't *save* him from what butcher is trying to turn him into.

*so that hughie stays stuck on his reason to die, instead of finding one to live.*

in the second season, *becca* herself calls him out on this, multiple times.

'you put me on this pedestal but i never knew how to save you'.

'--i didn't come to you, i went to vought--.'

and that's just it, becca (and becky in the comic) is *intimately* familiar with billy's *addiction* and the underlying mental health issues he *wouldn't address*. she didn't tell him what happened even after the shock of it because she *knew* that it would just become a reason for billy to *give in* and be his worst self to a degree where she would *lose him* regardless of what she felt or asked for from him.

she felt she had to *suffer in silence* to *protect him* from *himself*, something that ends up *destroying* her.

becca wanted to *save* billy, but more importantly, she wanted *him* to *save himself* because she *believed in him*, *so much*.

'i never wanted that for you.'

she doesn't want billy to drown and suffer or cause harm in his own hatred and addictions. she *loved* him so much so, that she was willing to *drown herself* if it meant she could save *him*. she loved him *too much*.

billy's mum too, even tries to help in her own way. (she is much less aware of billy's activity in the comic, but we'll come back to her. for the show, this was likely in response to seeing the news about *stillwell*, something his dad fucking *praised* him for)

'--that he wouldn't have this hold on you--'

billy's actions are almost entirely driven by the *addiction* his father forced on him. on doing the things that would make his 'daddy' *proud*. and the thing is, he's *fully aware* of this.

he constantly *says* that *becca* is his 'reason', that she was his *cure*, but she's the *excuse*. his *new addiction* and *self medication* (also billy, you fucking cunt you *know* what you do and have no leg to stand on when it comes to self medicating--)

both in the worst of what he does and his rejection of addressing his own traumas, and she is *unwilling* in this endeavor. she never wanted this hate to consume him, she never wanted all of this death with her name as the signature, *she never wanted billy to be his father*, much less be something much worse.

he even admits as much in the third season when he hallucinates lenny who tells him his actions would 'break becca's heart'

billy responds something along the lines of 'becca's dead, it doesn't matter what she thinks'. (a line presented in the comic even more harshly, but it drives the point home perfectly.)

when he sees lenny again in his nightmare--

'i'm not that bastard--.'

'come off it billy, you always have been. cause anyone who's ever loved you, you end up gettin' 'em killed, don't ya--.'

'--the last person on god's green earth tryin' to stop you from bein' a monster, and what do you do? drag him down to your level... when he dies... and he will... then no can stop you.'

OOF OUCH OWIE--. the lenny stuff hits so damn hard but it represents *perfectly* what butcher's own *internalized beliefs* are.

mallory calls him out on it literally every season.

'--but billy! not the others!'

'it's like asking a cockroach to not be a cockroach--'

'--because it wouldn't stop with just homelander--'

'this was never about ryan or becca, it was always selfish. the hate inside that you want to let loose on the world.'

'--i was wrong... you are your father, always have been...'

and then there's billy's subsequent impulsive reaction to push ryan away, and *be his father*.

but hell, even in gen v when mallory is speaking to shetty.

and truthfully, billy was even showing *withdrawal* symptoms at the beginning of the third season.

billy himself, even *self punishes*, picking fights he knows he *won't* win as a way to counterbalance *and* satisfy his own addiction, infinite loop. vicious cycle.. (ooh i will def be coming back to the big one here--), and we see this in one *HUGE* way, and in many many smaller ways, but even in the more literal sense of going to bars, starting trouble, and laughing or smiling when he's getting beat the fuck up or *losing*.

it's even highlighted in the show, billy *seeking out violence* and conflict whether he should or not, *especially* when unnecessary. getting his own face busted up and smiling because of it is something that happens multiple times in the comic (even on accident in one instance), and is def given a place in the show. it's easy to pass off as billy simply being a masochist (which is def true lmao he does admit as much), but there's also more to it than that and it goes hand in hand with his *addiction* and--

what he thinks he deserves.

billy *hates himself* so *severely* that he actually *does not believe* that he is capable of the *good* that others, such as lenny, becca, his mum, and hughie are willing to *see* in him. he *completely* believes it when others say that 'he is his father' (internalizes it, struggles with it, and frequently acts on it).

he puts on a show. bravado, posture, and 'confidence'. and he's so good at putting on that front, that he can fool himself, even for a moment. and those that believe it will even *enable* him. and the people he feels *nothing* for? again, he maintains the front. he lives his life *masking*, *faking it*--so fucking hard. homelander could never--

and it's not even necessarily the result of toxic masculinity. don't get me wrong, he def has some issues with that lingering (y'all, if you have *say* you're an 'alpha' and posture out your sweet little ass off 24/7, you're def *not* an 'alpha' lmfao), but it's more so his own *trauma* that forces him to *cling* to that.

but when he *loves*, and he loves *deeply*, he completely rolls over and shows his belly like a kitten<3... when he was with becky, he was happy and comfortable, and all of that *ridiculousness* just melted away completely... he didn't feel any need for it because he felt *safe*, because this constant *insecurity* and feeling of being *threatened* all the damn time looming overhead had suddenly cleared up with becky there.

it's not even so much that billy doesn't feel fear. he might not traditionally (at all if his amygdala is damaged), but considering the fight or flight response, billy's *default* setting literally *is* that *fight* response. he's the way he is because he is *always* afraid and he's been conditioned for it to manifest itself as *rage*.

we see bits of his love come through in a few moments he has with people he has genuine care for. (the way he loves his mum and she instantly calms him down is genuinely so sweet.)

but it's always gonna come back down to 'daddy dearest'.

because of him, *billy is afraid of living*.

and--

his father. *is proud of him*.

billy is *just like him* or *everything he wanted to be* as a *man*, or at least is compelled to *project* this on the surface. and everything in *billy* that *is* his father, *just like him*, is *everything* that billy *hates*. so it manifests into an *intense* self loathing and spiraled addiction that magnifies the worst of what his father *forced* on him.

he *doesn't want* to be *his father*, but he feels, and fully believes that *he already is*. his self hatred is another form of *hating his father*, because *he is that man's legacy*.

so *billy* doesn't *believe* that he deserves love or goodness or care from other people (a parallel we see in homelander, presented a bit differently.) so he 'doesn't care'. makes excuses to not care (about people in general, if not just the very *prominent* antisocial tendencies), or leave, or push them away, lashing out to give *them* the excuse to leave him, because he is *afraid* and in his own mind, *unworthy*.

he's *afraid* of being loved, of *losing* that love, of *hurting* those he loves. he is *afraid* of being his own father.

but it's all he's ever known, all he's ever been *conditioned* to be. intoxicated, ever present, it's this terrible thing that destroys him but he *can't* stop. *addiction*.

and what better way to protect those he loves than to keep himself as *far* away from them as possible? than to *make* them hate him. than to do the *wrong* thing, to *disappoint* them. self sabotage. self punishment.

he can't stop himself. he deserves it.

lather, rinse, repeat.

so what does that mean for homelander, or even the reason he goes after homelander? the *real* reason.

'there must be *some* good in him because homelander 'must be' this 'ultimate evil that *must* be stopped', right?

not really. he's a symptom of a much greater evil, but he was never the root of it. if billy really wanted to solve the problems at hand and get *justice*, he'd go after *vought*, NOT homelander.

homelander is not even the real villain in *billy's* mind, in all actuality.

what homelander *is*?

temptation.

he is... the *ultimate* final high for billy. in terms of addiction to both *violence* and *self punishment*.

he doesn't actually go after homelander because he wants to 'stop him' or even kill him. not really. there are times billy starts a fight *expecting* to *lose*, *wanting* it. homelander *is* one of those times to the most intense degree that billy could find. and he even senses this when they first meet--unnecessarily, privately insulting the man because why?

because he feels *threatened*. because he feels *insecure*. because if homelander is *truly good*, even with *all that power*--

then billy has no fucking excuse--

it is, in essence, the same exact reaction that lex luthor has to superman. forcing himself to *challenge* him because of a *constant* sense of *fear*. (except lex *is* afraid of dying, so 1000% a huge coward lmao--)

but~, when he finds out homelander is *bad*?

homelander is billy's *failsafe*

to stop the person he feels is the most terrible evil of all *and* to set the world on fire in the process. a way for billy to kill two birds with one stone. compelled by his addiction to *chase* this ideation relentlessly.

homelander is to billy--his ultimate end, self punishment, a death wish, a *suicide attempt*.

and a way to *unleash his hatred onto the rest of the world*, *to make it burn*, even after his death. (this would be why despite many many MANY warnings to *not* push homelander *because of the catastrophe this will ultimately instigate and the loss of life this is bound to result in*--billy does not give a shit about the potential consequences. he welcomes them--)

if homelander were a *nuke*, billy would want to *launch* him. right now, homie is more like the *demon core*, incredibly dangerous and in some instances lethal, but not *yet* explosive.

billy *wants* the *warhead*.

it was why he got *so excited* at the *chance* of homelander offering him 'scorched earth'.

the man read billy like an open fucking book, and set the bait--

y'all, in other words, homie straight up went to billy's house and offered *crack* to the *crack addict*--fuck yeah he's gonna take that offer!

homelander never actually perceives billy as a real threat *at all* (safe to say, this is the main reason he doesn't kill him. there's a bit of personal complex combined with the deals/blackmail/request involved, but this would also be why he doesn't *hesitate* to 'kill' billy at herogasm. he genuinely gives no fucks about this poor man or his many anal complexes and daddy issues beyond the mild entertainment he gets from him and just how *easy* it is to read billy or rile him up. maybe a *dash* of novelty being found in billy's obsession with him. i'll go into the homie side of things in depth maybe someday soon lol but for now--)

and here's the thing, homelander isn't the *only* failsafe. he is simply the *ultimate failsafe*

included in all the possible bad habits billy has is pawning off his *responsibility* and personal accountability, even his *will to do good* onto others.

i mentioned before that becca (becky) was like a new addiction for him. and she was. in a sense, billy was using her to self medicate. she loved him, gave him love and made him feel good, no pain, no shame--but also no pause to think about that pain, self hatred and self doubt and actively address it. she was a way to not worry about his own *goodness* because she was an *easy* reason for him to *want* to be good.

and something important to note?

billy feels that he has *cheated* on becca/becky *since* the day she left/died. (there's a whole ass deliciously intricate story there but i'm trying to avoid the spoilers lmao. kind of a freebie hint i guess.)

lenny and hughie similarly make an effort to *hold butcher back* and reach out to him. (everyone does honestly, but not everyone is so successful with it). and butcher lets them, but *also* removes the agency of his own choice in the matter.

he doesn't just *let them* make him *good*, he doesn't believe he's capable of stopping himself on his own--but he believes in *them* because they *are* good, *truly good*.

hughie all on his own is *another kind of failsafe* and lo and behold, even calls butcher out on this by the end of the third season (theme is prevalent in the comic a lil different but again spoilers lol):

'i don't think you want to do this. i think you want me to stop you.'

*ding*ding*ding*!

nail on the head, hughie... butcher does not believe he can stop himself. so he sets up *failsafes* to do as much.

and let me just say, it is *unbelievably* shitty of him to do that, to pawn off the responsibility of his own behavior, whether good or pure evil onto other people. but i get it. and it fucking breaks my heart for him.

because *that* is addiction. it feels like mind control. aggressive compulsion. you feel ashamed, and hate yourself, and don't care if you hurt yourself or even others. but you keep *hoping*, *wishing*, *leaving a breadcrumb trail* so that *someone*, *anyone*, will come along and--

*save you. from you.*

and when you stop believing in yourself, in your own willpower to fight against this *thing* that just completely *destroys* you from the inside out... without *anyone* on your side, what else is left to do but to numb the pain?

i was able to recognize billy's addiction right off the bat because i've *been* to a lot of the places he has been. including the addiction. and he makes me so *fucking* mad because it's like seeing a version of myself *still stuck*, *still lost*, *still trapped* by my own issues and self loathing, and all of the abuse i've gone through--

and the biggest fuck up, the biggest *abuser* is me.

i can't *escape* me. *no one* can escape *themself*.

that fucker breaks my heart to pieces because *i have been there*, and i know just how fucking hard it is to *be* there, just how much harder it is to *get out* and start to *learn*--*who is it you really wanna be? who are you without this drug?*

and something he even says in the comics on a few occasions is--

'i'm not really here, i'm somewhere else watching this happen'

asserting that he *truly* believes that he has *no control* over *what* he is. (in contrast with homelander, who feels the weight of something similar but more literally in some regard, and in relation to so many other aspects in his life with the world around him.)

billy butcher *is* the *true villain* of *his own story*

of his own making.

he's not after homelander or even vought. he doesn't blame society or even his father at this point. he blames himself. and he's *given up* entirely on fighting himself. he's looking for his *overdose*.

*that's homelander*

ain't that a kick in the head...

it's part of what makes their relationship and dynamic so incredibly electric and titillating. it's got nothing to do with becca or becky.

butcher sees homelander as an easy way out. as a way to control the narrative, *maintain his own*, and *stop the bad guy* without bringing someone *good*, like *hughie*, down to his level.

he *sees* the parallels, a kindred spirit. he *knows* the potential. and he wants to be the *spark* to light all that *gasoline*.

because then it won't be his fault anymore. his *guilt*. he'll have passed on his *curse*.

likewise, he actually goes after supes in general for a similar enough reason, and it ties in with why he *doesn't* go after vought directly.

billy actually *likes* the status quo. to a degree, *needs* it, *needs vought*

because *vought* is the *creator* of his *supply*, feeding this addiction. and we hear billy say this in both the comic and show--

'with great power comes the absolute certainty that you'll turn into a right cunt.'

and billy actually believes this--about himself.

when he says it about other supes and even his intense hatred of them, it is a *projection* of his own issues and what he believes to be true for himself (that he would do the absolute worst thing imaginable given the opportunity). and in a way, going after them is in some ways a metaphor for stopping and destroying himself, hating himself, as much as it is a way to maintain his addiction.

and--

maintain the narrative he has built--that he is the true villain.

and if that's the case, well... it takes a *hero* to stop a *villain*, right?

but also--y'all remember that scene in the suicide squad where polkadot man imagines everyone as his mum? how he imagines starro as his mum?

yeah, that.

that's basically billy. every fucking supe, including starlight, and kimiko, and let's *really* not talk about what this means about him sleeping with maeve in context with his 'supe=daddy' issues, but even the person he sees in the mirror. *all of them* are *his father*.

listen, i'm not kidding. billy's daddy issues are seriously severe, so fucking bad, i--

his actions aren't for becca or becky or ryan or justice. even he *knows* that's bullshit and admits as much (which just makes fandom denying it that much more fucked). but they're not even *just because* or because he's genocidal, antisocial, or anything else. he *does* want someone to stop him. he's sane enough to recognize his actions for what they truly are *behind* the mask.

billy's actions are a volatile and violent *cry for help*, because he never learned how to *ask*, or even how to *believe in himself*.

he never truly learned that *he never had to be his father*, and he didn't *need* becky or becca, lenny or hughie to *be good*.

i actually think billy's greatest magic trick is convincing even the audience and readers that he is a *total*, complete piece of shit. and don't get me wrong, he is *def* a huge, massive, incredibly rank and ripe piece of shit--.

and y'all, i'm sorry if you believed him and got played like a damn fiddle, him and homie def throwin' in some hard balls--

but he's also still human. he also still needs just as much if, honestly? maybe even more, fucking *help* than homelander. which kind of draws back into their parallels. the tomfoolery of fandom might have you believe that billy is less complex or more put together than homelander, but their situations go hand in hand and the evidence suggests (if not confirms) something quite different.

billy's plight and even goal in some sense is *convincing the rest of his world that he is a monster*. driven by the addiction his father gave him. enabled by the world around him.

homelander's? it's actually the complete opposite. his struggle is with *his world convincing him that he is a monster*, and in turn, against his own instincts, *growing* into that role. when in reality, he never got the chance to decide for himself, it was decided *for* him a long long time ago.

'i think, therefore i am.'

'i can, therefore i must.'

however, *our actions cannot define who we are, because we can choose our actions*. good or bad are not something you inherently *are*, they are something you *choose to do*.

it paints what in turn becomes quite the brutal and tragic picture when these two forces meet. homelander and billy are both of the mindset that they *don't have a choice*.

and this bit is a bit more of a personal thought, but regarding billy's mum, she was *becky*. she was sweet, and kind, and cared for her family more than anything. *it didn't matter what she suffered, she was willing to drown if it meant saving the people she loved*.

as much as i adore how cute becca and billy were, i don't think she would have saved him.

i think the implication is that she would have either 'drowned' trying and become his mum, history repeating itself in a vicious cycle as billy spread his disease to any child they could have.

or that she would have lost her mind. and in turn *become* the person billy spread his disease to, if not another enabler for him. if not billy's choice of drug, maybe she would have taken up something else and eventually overdosed. i would even say the show implies this outcome with both becca and hughie, as the more butcher pushes--the more worn down they get.

if you put enough pressure on someone--they break.

becca was *good* for him. but billy was so, so fucking *bad* for her.

it begs the question of whether or not billy *is* right, if he really is this monster, *fated* to become his father in the worse of ways. of whether or not it's too late for him.

he's certainly not 'normal' or 'right' or 'good' or even an 'anti-hero'. at best, you could maybe call him an 'anti-villain', he is meant to be the deuterantagonist.

it def doesn't help that every time he has the *chance* to do the right thing, *someone* goes and enables him, gives him a reason to do the *wrong* thing.

fucking maeve in that last episode of the third season. but she's def not the only one, and def not the only time. (and yes, if it wasn't clear enough, being completely fucking indifferent to killing *thousands* of people to go after *one* fucking guy is in fact, the *wrong* thing to do.)

butt.

rewatching the scenes with lenny and billy's reaction, and even the final fight, showed something of a *possible* silver lining.

billy *enjoys* rejecting his father. actually pretty fucking greatly if we're being honest. generally speaking, it's when he *rejects* his father and everything that man represents that billy is at his *happiest* (lmao the epitome of an unfulfilled submissive sweetheart and bratty bossy bottom~<3<3<3)

there's a moment, where soldier boy says something along the lines of--

'--fuck you. you're weaker than he is.'

in regards to homelander. it's sort of glossed over, but this is billy's reaction to essentially being called a 'disgrace' so to speak by a toxic 'alpha male'.

y'all see that? it's a smile. lmao a smirk.

this is a moment where billy is protecting *ryan* and keeping his promise to becca. it's a moment where billy is *doing the right thing*, all on *his own* (mostly lol i'm sure there's a roundabout way to justify it in his head). and i think that's key.

it's not just a moment he's proud of himself and has a legitimate fucking reason to be proud of himself, (oh btw, we shoulda *all* been proud of billy in this moment), it's a moment he's *breaking through what his father made him* and his own *addiction*.

and he's doing it *selflessly* and--*without setting that responsibility on another person*.

so we *know* he has it in him, he always has. even becky *in the comic* kept trying to convince billy that *he is capable of good without her*. and again, we actually saw this in the second season when becca and ryan were reunited and billy *changed* his plans, *for becca*, instead of doing the selfish thing and selling ryan back to vought.

but if billy doesn't believe it himself...

i don't think billy is right about himself. but it is very *very* difficult for someone to *correct course* so to speak, once they have their *core beliefs*, lay out their own destiny and start along a *self fulfilling prophecy*, something him and homelander *both* do.

enter ryan.

and suddenly (lol probably in part due to reading dear becky lol), there was a bit of... not so much new, as *confirmed* perspective in play after that rewatch, something to *look* for and ponder in regards to *why* ryan may have been added for this story, a question in mind--

'would it be wrong of *ryan* to want to save his father?'

was it wrong of becca or becky, hughie or lenny, even his mum, to want to save billy?

how would *billy* even begin to answer such questions?

a different answer for the two would be a clear hypocritical bias (which lol i would not put past billy, but i also wouldn't be surprised if he maintained consistent thinking by answering *yes* to both)

. . .

y'all...

i still can't say i'm particularly optimistic about things turning out alright for either gent or ryan, butt~<3

garth ennis literally made the saddest, most pathetic, deliciously sweet, perfectly precious, extra emo tsun tsun baby boi ever, and put him right under our noses.

some a y'all fucking sneezing all over him, straight up sleepin' on all his *best* bits. how are we not utilizing billy butcher *properly~<3<3<3*????

;)))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))

[lyssified]

vent time people

school is fucking wack u guys.

i hate my schedule so much, all my good classes are on my day 1 sched and all my bad ones are on my day 2 sched which is just not it in general

the impostor syndrome is literally real like i'm taking advanced math this yr and my 5'2 bright red hair, heart earrings and neon pink converse ass walks in and it's this navy blue and black serious looking room and it's like. u ever get the intense vibes you just don't belong somewhere

like that was me w this math classroom

also for film like i'm an advanced film student now. our final project is a 10minute MINIMUM video essay analysis of any piece of media and the cultural/technical significance of it. and everyone is out here saying their fav movies and it's like all these like game changing silent films or like cinematographic masterpieces and i'm SO SO intimidated by all of these people. just let me make movies why do i have to share my opinions.

literally even lunch is stressful cos i got invited to eat with the cool people from theater and hoooly fuck thats pretty scary.. umm. so now i'm also self conscious over my pretty fucking normal food choices for lunch. like are they going to kick me out of the table for eating pasta?? no but i'm still worried abt that shit

moral of the story everyone is probably (definitely not) judging me all the time and im not here for it <3

[kharmii]

Omegaverse/Blankshipping

Someone sent me an anonymous ask talking about Omegaverse, but they ended it with this: *not an anti or looking for a fight tho! just really interested in fd history overall. plus i vibe w literary analysis :) pls dont answer this ask! this was an impulse info-dump on my end lol*

I'll respect that, but I want to talk about a few points they wrote on here for the fun of it. Save it about touching grass. I do that all damn day. Sometimes I just want to go online and say some goofy shit. (USUAL WARNINGS APPLY: R-18 EXPLICIT OFFENSIVE)

Anon wrote: tho tbh i am kinda sour about the fact that male omegas dont have periods :))

Really?! That seems misogynistic and also unhealthy af. Since this whole fandom is a dog analogy to me, I'd compare male omegas to those grody messes of English bulldogs that are unable to do all aspects of breeding without human intervention. They should have let natural selection run its course and let all those flabby lumps of flesh die out. After all, they can't birth without c-sections, and they can't even do the deed to make puppies. Breeders have to rely on artificial insemination.

Whoever created this kink obviously didn't world build outside of the asinine fetish. A male omega would obviously require a c-section so they don't hemorrhage to death squeezing an infant out their rectum, and they would most certainly have a period, but the menstrual blood might not have any place to go except back up into whatever version of ovaries they have. Then from there it would turn into fibrous tissue surrounding all vital organs. They'd all need routine laparoscopies done to remove the severe endometriosis growing around their vital organs, otherwise they'd constantly be in the fetal position suffering severe chronic pain.

Also they wrote: it's mostly a way to make your mlm ships "work". wc i guess makes abo theoretically weird and harmful w the way it makes gay ships approximate heterosexual relationships? also there is some ingrained misogyny to it... its a slippery, slipper slope. but nggl, thats not something you should put into mind as much! the things ppl enjoy are not complete reflections of their beliefs or who they are hehe

It doesn't work with mirror twins who are genetic copies of each other and therefore can't be opposite genders.

The blankshippers keep throwing out that 'your fantasies have nothing to do with who you are irl', and they have this huge persecution complex like they think so many people are out to judge them and harass them. -Come to find out, they are cliquish and JUDGEMENTAL AS FUUUUUCK. They will stew over some little slight and then label you as a horrible person over it....but don't you dare judge them for the sick-ass weird shit they are into. I found this out when a bunch of them were gossiping on Discord about me (it's fine; you can keep on keepin' on and I won't hold it against you *wink*). Two of them blocked me, so I can say mean stuff about them, and they will only find out if someone goes out of their way to tell them.

One clown, "Tombstone" was secretly stewing with resentment while we interacted back-and-forth when I'd reblog his/her posts. I thought we were having fun, but this person didn't like how I interpreted fan art wrong when I'd attribute my head canons to other artists images, and I supposedly used the word 'retard' when reblogging one of his/her posts. The only time I remember (goofing around) doing this was a long-ass time ago, calling Emmet a 'crazy-retarded God-killer'. I thought he/she might have been talking about this, but no go. He/she said that I should stop saying mean stuff about Emmet on his/her posts, yet he/she constantly dehumanizes Emmet, is into torture porn about the twins, and turns them into a serial killers and/or monsters. There's nothing meaner than that.

Another clown, "Dingo" is like....good riddance. This artist makes Emmet's facial expressions look mentally retarded af. He/she likes drawing Ingo's jacket but has issues with Emmet's for some odd reason. Also, he/she is the one who did a gross bull/cow drawing where Ingo was wearing a full arm glove that presumably goes up a cow's vagina that's roomy enough to accommodate an entire human arm. -Nothing gross and inappropriate about that. Nope. No sir. -Also did dog-fucker. I can almost see the invisible stink lines coming out of them.

The worst part is that he/she draws the twins looking gross and skanky with scruffy hair. They don't seem like the skeevy tramp-stamp sort of dudes. Sure, they look like clownish creepy puppets, but they also look rather crisp and shiny and fresh. They look like the sort of guys who would smell pretty....walking into a room engulfed in a cloud of good-smelling cologne. Even when Ingo was in Hisui, I'd bet he was the type to bathe in the hot springs twice a month, instead of just once a month like is customary for Pearl Clan members. When he'd reunite with Emmet and be told he was rather ripe, he'd reply, "Why...I was just in the hot springs a week and a half ago!"

Art credit to: ℃эŁ@cal_1d2d Twitter.

[hyunnie]

Kingdom is not that serious?? Sorry but i had to unfollow you really don't give a shit about their hard work amd it shows... Vote once and call it a day ??? You know you have to vote for three groups per account? That vote doesn't even count wtf you have to have at least 5 or 10 accounts, if not what are YOU doing ????? for real it doesn't even take that long meanwhile they are practicing for HOURS, don't dare you say you care for innie if you are not even supporting him, it's the least you can do.

lmao okay bye you’re not gonna see this since you unfollowed but i gotta respond it’s just so juicy i can’t resist

1) kingdom is not that serious as in there’s no grand prize so people going out and buying sim cards just to vote and making voting strategies is a lil ridiculous lol. end of the day judges rankings and all that shit doesn’t matter. kingdom is just a place for them to plan and perform sick ass performances and scream about their friends doing sick ass performances too. literally in like 2 years all those groups will look back on kingdom and be like “oh yeah that was fun” and that’s it.

2) i don’t give a shit about their hard work?? LMAO i’m literally on here every thursday screaming about how good skz were in their stages. i even made fucking analysis posts about their dancing on kingdom performances on my side blog so???

3) bitch i know how the voting works believe or not i vote every week albeit with 1 account like a normal sane person lol. think about this: if you push people to vote with multiple accounts then kingdom becomes about who has the largest fandom instead of who actually performed the best. it diminishes everyone’s hard work cause for example skz could do absolutely nothing on stage and stays will still vote like crazy just to win. ikon blew it out of the park with their intro stage but because their fandom wasn’t active/people planned to not vote for them they ranked poorly. that’s proof of this whole show being a numbers game already. voting only works if people vote once and vote while being critical.

when i said vote once and call it a day i meant vote once each week i should’ve clarified i guess?? also why tf would 1 account not count why would you need 5-10 accounts for your vote to be legit wtf lol thats not how it works are you sure you know how voting works

4) i don’t care for innie? thursday i was screaming about how his voice crack wasn’t even noticeable and that it added emotion to the performance. i even sent him messages on bubble about how well he did even though i find that shit so cringy so idk where you got that i don’t care about him from

5) voting is the least i can do? bitch i basically give jyp all my money to fund those boys i think that’s sufficient enough support lol

anyways kingdom is bullshit and mnet is bullshit. all the fandoms know it, hell even changbin knows it lol. but i’m such a sucker for good performances and so whipped for skz that i gotta tune in every week lol

[morporkian-cryptid]

Also can we PLEASE talk about the COSTUME DESIGNS in this because HOLY SHIT!!!!!!!

Costume analysis under the cut!

Warning: intense nerdery ahead

Disclaimer: This play takes place in the Azuchi-Momoyama period, the one right before Edo, and I don't know enough about the history of Japanese fashion to judge whether it is historically accurate - I mostly know about Edo-era fashion trends.

Lupin

Lupin. Lupin's outfit holy shit. I did not think it was possible to so accurately transcribe his modern outfit into a kimono but THEY FUCKING DID IT. Look at the kimono's collar!!! IT'S HIS TIE!!! He has a yellow tie!!

His coat isn't a traditional Japanese haori vest, it has a western-style collar. And he's wearing a rapier whereas all the other sword-wearing characters have katanas. The rapier has a ROSE sculpted on the pommel because he is a GENTLEMAN and from the COUNTRY OF ROMANCE do you get it?????? They did NOT have to go to that amount of detail but THEY FUCKING DID!!

I am 90% sure that the plant depicted on his coat has some sort of significance, but I can't identify it. The pattern on his obi belt is tortoise shells, which symbolize longevity and are often associated with pine trees (see Goemon's costume analysis).

He even has his fucking white-and-blue striped underwear in the waterfall scene like are you KIDDING ME.

Sir. Sir why are you so dramatic. Sir please CHILL.

Goemon

Honestly they did Goemon dirty, especially considering the attention to detail that went into all the other characters' costumes. He looks like a bad L'Oréal commercial and his kimono looks like it's synthetic. Like, come on!! He's a main character on Lupin's level in this play!

Although thankfully his hair is only Like That in the promo pictures; in the play it's actually way fluffier, and he's honestly pretty damn cute. Look at this lad.

The drawings on his kimono are, I believe, pine needles (or at least they look like the stylized pine needles from the game of hanafuda). Pine trees symbolize eternity, longevity, and have a connection to godliness (in Buddhism I believe). They're also almost always a part of the decor in No theatre.

Fujiko

Unfortunately I don't have much to say about her costume other than "she's fucking gorgeous". I am certain that the plants adorning her kimono have been chosen with a certain meaning in mind, but again I cannot identify them (and I left my book on hanafuda flower symbolism at my parents' place).

Her complex obi knot tied on the front of the kimono, and her low-dropping collar exposing her back, were high-class fashion statements back in the Edo period. (The back-exposing collar is the kimono equivalent of our decolletage/low neckline.) Basically, she's being super fashionable and sexy. Also look at that hairpiece!! It's so pretty!! And the thick hem at the bottom of her kimono is also traditional of that period, it was to keep the kimono in shape as you walked.

Fujiko is, of course, played by a male actor, as are all female characters in kabuki - you can read more about why here; it involves a shogun's ill-advised attempt at limiting prostitution and is one of my favourite bits of Japanese history.

Jigen

Okay so, I am a bit confused about the choice of a green lining for his cape, considering that's not a color he's ever worn, but it looks good. Overall his costume is pretty neat, and SO DAMN DETAILED. Like they did not have to embroider his cape or give him such a pretty cloak tie or a thick-ass decorated collar. WHAT.

While he does have a hat (he's holding it in his hand on the promo pic), he doesn't actually wear it during the play. Kabuki heavily relies on actors' facial expressions, so I guess they decided adhering to the og chara-designs wasn't worth hiding the actor's face. Instead, HIS HAIRCUT LOOKS LIKE A HAT ARE YOU FUCKING KIDDING ME THIS IS AMAZING!!!!!! XD Kudos to the fucking genius in the costume department who decided to do that.

His matchlock looks like a tanegashima, although I am not nearly knowledgeable enough in firearms to tell the difference between a Japanese matchlock and a European one. In any case it looks pretty damn cool.

I think his pipe may be a reference to the giant silver kiseru pipe that the OG Goemon Ishikawa has in the opening scene of the play Sanmon Gosan No Kiri. However I've never seen one made entirely of metal with a swirly design like this.

I think he has a ponytail - it seems this way on the poster? but it's not visible in the promo pics.

Zenigata

I AM GOING INSANE about Zenigata's costume. I mean LOOK AT IT!!!! His kimono's got ZENIS drawn on it!!!!

A zeni is (or was? I'm not sure) a 1 cent coin with a hole in the middle. They gave their name to Heiji Zenigata, Koichi Zenigata's fictional ancestor from a 20th century series of novels and movies. Heiji was famous for using zeni coins as a throwing weapon, a move which inspired Inspector Zenigata's handcuff-throwing move.

Kabuki Zenigata's hat is the one that policemen in the Edo era wore, according to Aime - although I couldn't find any confirmation on Google in under 5 min. Personally it reminds me of the shape of the hat Modern Zenigata wears in the anime, so it checks out.

His baton is a jitte, a weapon that was indeed used by the police during the Edo era (so I'm going to assume it was the case also in Azuchi-Momoyama).

And look at the makeup on that guy!!! The eyelashes!!! The cleft chin!!! This is fucking awesome!! They put in so much effort to transcribe the anime character designs into the kabuki costume designs, it's really impressive and you can tell this kabuki play was made by people with a lot of love and respect for this franchise.

Misc

Also can we talk about THE FUCKING EMBROIDERY??????? I am going INSANE I mean LOOK AT IT!!!! LOOK AT THEIR FUCKING CLOTHES!!!!! There is no way you could see that level of detail from the audience, yet they still put in the effort to create FUCKING EMBROIDERED COSTUMES. I am this close to zooming in on all the photos and trying to identify every symbol and visual and research what they mean in traditional Japanese visual arts. Like SERIOUSLY. These embroidery were obviously designed as a conscious choice, not just for the aesthetics. I think it's tiny dragons on Zenigata's clothes, but I'm not sure. And Lupin's got a bunch of tiny kamons on his coat.

Also, same-color embroidery (I mean, embroidering something in the same color as the fabric so that it only shows through light reflection) is a technique that was especially developed in the Edo era because of sumptuary laws. Japan had a strict caste system, but like in a lot of caste societies, people of the lower castes were often richer than the higher ones. The shogunate passed laws to forbid lower-ranking citizens from dressing above their station, like enforcing plain colored kimonos, which rich artisans and merchants worked around by developing single-colored embroidery as an extra-subtle law-compliant Fuck You.

Man, I fucking love Japanese history 😁

The book seems to at least somewhat describe the costume designs (there's one page specifically about the "kabuki introduction scene" costumes), so I'll try to translate it through OCR and I'll report back when I do.

Bonus: secondary characters' costumes!

HAVE I MENTIONNED RECENTLY THAT MY SISTER IS THE MOST AMAZING PERSON ON THE FUCKING PLANET?????? 😭💕

She went to see the new Lupin III kabuki play on my behalf, called me on the phone for an entire hour to give me a detailed report and listen to me nerd out about the anime references, and then she sent me official merch of the play for Christmas all the way from friggin' Japan. She is amazing, I do not deserve her 😭

[nightswithkookmin]

RE JIKOOK TENSIONS

My last post wasn't intended as a comprehensive analysis of the leaked footage circulating on social media- neither is this. I will share my analysis later. Promise.

However, I think y'all know where my head is at with regards to what I think is going on in that footage and I have to stick with that for now. Until further notice.

I have read all of y'all's thoughts and opinions on the footage, and I have to agree with most of you about not jumping into conclusions-but for a totally different reason of course.

Apart from a suspicious comment that spent an eternity critiquing my use of similes and metaphors in my last post- which I found really bizarre, I think everyone else's opinion on this matter is valid.

I mean, we all don't know shit now do we? Lol. We are presented with the same set of facts upon which we are tasked to interpret based on our understanding of Jikook's dynamics. Right?

When I theorize and speculate on Jikook, often it is based on how I see them mostly. And when I read your thoughts and messages I assume they are based on your own understanding of Jikook and Jikook's dynamics which I respect.

So explain to me again why y'all think JK is zoned out, stressed out of his wits due to his introvertedness but somehow the person he is supposed to be dating isn't attentive to him?

What am I missing?

Isn't this the same narrative other shippers spin about their ship? Claiming two people are in love but dismissing when they don't provide evidence of that love they feel so much for eachother?

I don't expect anyone to buy my weird ass theories about Jikook but God, the scenario y'all's describing sounds nothing like the Jikook we all know and love. In my humble opinion.

You think JK would be stood there having an episode, looking like Edward Scissorhands if he was head of the Volturi and Jimin wouldn't be all up on him to ease his stress anyway he could in an instant? Y'alls tripping.

Now, I am not disagreeing with y'all- but I'm judging you harshly. Lol.

C'mon now, this is Jimin. This is the man who runs across stages to wipe JK's tears away. The same man, that y'all swear by heaven and earth is in love with JK- or was that a lie too? Chileeeee.

Y'all got me all kinds of fucked up. Lol.

Jimin is super attentive to JK. He knows him better than anyone in the group- better than us. He cares and caters to him. He straps on his imaginary tootoo and plays head cheer for Jk when he is down and worn out- I will fight anyone who says otherwise.

He is JK's clutch. His catalyst. When JK is feeling any kind of way he finds his way to Jimin. Remember AAA 2018, when he was so nervous and anxious he kept rubbing Jimin's arms back and forth to calm himself down?

Mama 2019, on stage where he embraced JM in the most beautiful way we ever seen because he was happy nervous?

How many times have we seen JK grabbing Jimin and pulling him to himself when he is nervous?

Jimin is always the first one to pick up on these cues you are talking about. He is always the first person to know about these moments when JK has them. And tries his best to make JK feel at ease- y'all are breaking my heart.

Seriously, does this sound like Jikook to you?

Isn't that one of Jikook' tells? Do you see anyone besides JM in the group doing these things for JK without fail? Isn't that one of Jikook's distinctifiers? What is going on here!

You think JK would go through all that and JM would be congregating with the extroverts akekeking his butt off in a distant corner not noticing, not caring? Does that sound like Jimin to you?

I get your intentions here I do. Jikook is perfect from heaven, they don't fight- even though they themselves have admitted to squashing one for Jesus multiple times, but God forbid any one should assume and speculate that they have couple fights from time to time and suddenly we are the reason Jikook Antis exist. This is ridiculous.

When it comes to Jikook, if it looks, sounds, talks like a duck- it usually is a duck.

We've seen how JM is when JK is feeling a bit grumpy and isolated from the group. Jimin would ask everyone to shush it and give JK the floor- everyone, JK says I'm sexy let's hear him explain why.

He would bring JK into the conversation, crack Jokes and name drop him randomly Just to make JK feel part of the conversation.

In the new Jersey VLive where JK was tensed up didn't Jimin notice immediately and started rubbing his chest back and forth because that's what JK does to calm himself down when he is nervous?

Have we not seen Jikook at photoshoots? Did y'all not see winter package 2019?

Are y'all telling me JK was going through all that and JM couldn't pick up on his mood? Just tell me you don't believe Jikook is real and go. I'd rather you say that than make JM out to be this emotionally deaf to JK's needs.

Jikook is complex but they are not complicated.

They speak each other's love language. Jimim cares about JK a lot. More so than he cares about anybody else in the group.

He is equally a shy person but he puts that aside to love JK shamelessly. It's clear that whatever had transpired, Jimin just wasn't in the space to be that person JK needed in that moment and the others equally couldn't get it up for him because none of them know how to get through to him the way Jimin does.

I agree JK was probably going through his own shit. I agree it's highly possible that he had zoned out. But where does that sit in Jikook's dynamics?

Signed,

GOLDY

[sn4kebites]

hello im Late To The Party lmaooo but i think i've gathered my thoughts enough to form a decent ask 🦥

i honestly feel like the content in the tags is just so ... stagnant. like you go through any x reader tag and it becomes very apparent very quickly that everything is basically just half-assed copy-pasted headcanons that honestly...don't really involve that much thought. and the sad thing is that's what's popular, because its so easily consumable and so easy to mass produce, so ppl see that that type of content gets attention & followers so they start to copy it and it starts a cycle of boring content lmao.

i feel like this was really clear a few months ago where all these blogs under networks started popping up and you genuinely Could Not tell the difference between them...from the same themes to same content to literally the same carrds lmao (on a side note....the fact that so many of them had a "besties" list did not sit right w me lmao.... like it just screamed high school clique and clout chaser to me). like if that's all you're producing i genuinely cannot imagine being proud of your content like that ... and judging by the way so many of the blogs die out within a 2-4 month period . 🥴

and what makes me mad is that whenever we point out these problems and criticize the community all we get in return is "you're just jealous" and "let people read what they want" and a slew of hate anons putting u down to defend their favs. but the thing is, no one is telling them to stop. no one is telling them what they can and can't read—hell, even i end up reading that type of content occasionally because its just, exactly what's on the tin. it's easy. it's consumable.

but what is a problem is that this community settles for mediocrity. they raise the blogs that create this type of content onto a pedastal and act like they're the second coming of shakespeare when literally all they make is "how hq boys hold your hand" and "hq boys as tiktok trends" with no original thought at all.

there's no unique voices, at least not anymore, and i genuinely believe it's because of the burnout that this community has caused for them. writing is a hobby you do for yourself first and foremost, i know that. but there comes a point where when all you do is pour your heart and soul into creating fics and it gets little to no attention at all and that popular blog who made their 12th headcanon list about how hq boys as tiktok trends gets like 1k notes... i don't blame them for leaving :")

i might have more to say that i'm forgetting atm but these are My thoughts [folds hands] . if you made it through all of this JDKALW my apologies 🐌🐌

WHEW MEG WHEN YOU SAID HOW HQ BOYS HOLD YOUR HAND I FOLDEDDDD PLEASE UR SO RIGHT

i feel ppl are so dismissive of it but it's like so genuinely an issue and you cannot talk about it because people will really just call you bitter and it's like man i LIKE blogging. if i hated i wouldn't be here and me thinking about these things is not me being bitter

it's literally just evaluating the way content is percieved and how that has leaked itself into writing. fic writing is a form of meta analysis. when you focus so much on consumability i feel like you lose such a fundamental aspect of it

like.. character building, and plot and development - all of these incredibly important things get lost when people are too bothered to read anything over a thousand words. and it MATTERS because the core of fandom stuff is analysis and characterization and exploring a world anf these concepts and when you completely lose the space for that it's.. frustrating 2 say the least

and it's like.. i LOVE shitposting. i make fake tweets and shit like that because it's so entertaining but it's weirdly depressing to see how quickly those posts tend to circle around like IDK there's just.

I AGREE WITH ALL OF YOUR POINTS COMPLETELY THE WHOLE THING IS WILDLY FRUSTRATING