#that’s what makes them interesting am i wrong?

[erwinsvow]

Heeeey, Shea. How are you?

I just wanted you to know I love your stories. Kook trio reader and shy reader are my favorite. 

I know that's not how it went, but I really think in another universe, Rafe would have trouble getting to date shy!reader because she just wouldn't realize he was flirting hard with her. Maybe a bit of self esteeming issues or because she's inexperiente. But, anyway, I see her being completely oblivious about all his efforts and being like "he's so nice, guys. No, he would never flirt with me. You guys are insane" and everyone else would be like "girl... what?".  

Thank you for your stories, they keep me smiling. <3

- T.

hi t!!! thank you so so much for your kind words, it means so much. i am so glad you love the different readers on this blog! i think your idea is so cute and funny, it suits them perfectly. here's a little bit based on what you sent and i hope you enjoy ♡

since the day you had met rafe—truly met him, not counting the multiple instances where you had passed him in tannyhill attached to sarah's hip when he hadn't even realized you'd been there—you had been a little confused about the newfound attention he was giving you.

you felt it was strange. sarah was always going on and on about how mean rafe was, how badly he treated others and how he never spared a minute to talk to anyone. but she must have been exaggerating. right?

the rafe that you were becoming more and more acquainted with was nothing of the sort. from the time he had driven you home a few weeks ago to now, he had been nothing but nice—offering you a ride everytime you were at tannyhill, asking if you wanted anything when he was on his way out. he even went out of his way to find you at the country club, stopping to say hi even if it was in the middle of one of his golf matches.

it was nice. it was really nice. everything sarah had told you about him seemed to be completely wrong, but then you realized it. rafe was probably trying to be a better brother, and starting with being nice to sarah's friends was likely a good jumping off place.

with this notion firmly stuck in your mind, you proceeded to go about your days, smiling sweetly at rafe when he was being so nice and reminding yourself to tell sarah—her brother was making a big effort, and it deserved to be recognized.

"did i see rafe walk away from the course to say hi to you?" sarah asks, and you look up at her, a little surprised. you hadn't brought it up yet, and in all honestly, didn't know when you would.

your other girl friends look a little closer at you—surprise evident on their faces too. you hate being the center of attention but somehow it feels even worse like this—they're all getting the wrong impression.

"yes.. he's being very nice. i think he's trying to make it up to you, y'know, for being mean like you say he is."

"by being nice to you?"

"by being nice to all of us," you add quickly, looking at the other girls, waiting for them to pitch in.

"he's never been nice to me."

"i don't think he's even ever said hi to me."

"so how exactly has he been nice to you?" sarah asks, and you feel your face burn. they still have the wrong impression and you have no idea how you'll correct them.

"well not much," you lie, clearing your throat. "he just gave me a ride home a few times. and he said hi a couple times here. and got me a soda from the gas station the other day."

"not much?" your friend questions.

"he never asks me what i want from the gas station-" you interrupt sarah, eager to make sure they stop speculating.

"he was just being nice. it was nothing, i-"

"what's next?" sarah asks, cocking her head at you. "don't tell me, he lets you pick the music in his car?" she laughs, and the others do too, but you stare back at her blankly.

"just once or twice," you mumble, suddenly finding your drink and the misty glass far too interesting.

"oh my god. he's totally flirting with you." you whip your head up so fast you think you got whiplash.

"you're insane. that is so not what this is. he was just being nice."

"if any other guy did this, you'd be picturing your future wedding-"

"it's not just any other guy, it's sarah's brother. do you see the kind of girls he goes out with? that's how i know he's being nice, i'm nothing like them-"

you feel incredibly flustered, face hot and playing with your hands like you do when you get nervous. your friends are laughing, and though you know it's not at you, you still hate the feeling, feeling like you might burst from the intensity of the emotions you're experiencing right now. first and foremost—the fact that maybe rafe wasn't just being nice to you.

"yeah?" you hear, though you don't look up. "then why's he walking over here right now?"

[meraki-yao]

RWRB Movie Thoughts: Philip

Honestly I might be the only one, but I wanna know more about Philip in the movie. And at the very least, I am begging for a redemption arc in the sequel.

Because they fucking cut the Kensington Breakfast scene, we barely get any of Philip in the movie. And the consequence is while we know that just like the book, Philip is an antagonistic character, we're not sure about his stance on the matter.

So the thing is Philip in the book isn't homophobic. And by that I mean that in the most generous sense: Queen Mary straight up says it's unnatural, which is the textbook definition of homophobia, but Philip says, and I quote from Henry "Essentially, I gathered that he was not surprised to discover I am not the heterosexual heir I'm supposed to be, but rather surprised that I do not intend to keep pretending to be the heterosexual heir I'm supposed to be" and from the man himself "I don't care if you're gay, I care that you've made this choice with him, someone with a fucking target on his back, to be so stupid and naive and selfish as to think it wouldn't completely fuck us all!"

Philip isn't necessarily against the concept of homosexuality, he's against bringing that into their family, and is worried about the conservatives turning their backs on them because of that. In a way, his stance is closer to the King in the movie than the Queen in the book.

Other stuff we can learn about Philip from the book:

he's...kind of racist, but in the form of microaggressions (his comments on Pez during Wimbleton)

He is genuinely in love with Martha, and he's kind of a hen-pucked husband (his retelling of his and Martha's suitor photos)

He started off a people pleaser, then the Queen took that and made him an asshole (explanation of why the change of attitude after Alex and Henry's photoshoot)

He wanted Arthur's approval but never got it, and resents Arthur a bit because of that (his argument with Henry before they met with the queen)

He wants to get along with his siblings, he just kept doing it the wrong way

My point is, even though a relatively minor character, Philip's motivations and character is actually painted out pretty logically if you take a closer look. His redemption in the book, his change of attitude, it makes sense if you looks back on it.

And while I can't fault the movie for cutting down details like these, this is just the way adaptation works and Matthew did an excellent job of picking and choosing, it does leave space for questions and curiosity.

The only thing I can get out of movie Philip is 1, he also loves his wife, since they're childhood sweethearts 2, the King dismisses him 3, he didn't know Henry was gay at all.

From the deleted Breakfast scene bts from Taylor and Thomas, we know that Philip is in that scene, and that Philip sees something, and is in shock.

Bur from the bts of the Thanksgiving scene, he and Martha are at the Brownstone: he's forgiven.

So here are my questions:

Is Philip homophobic in this one? Or is he also more mad about the family aspect?

Does he, at any point in the 65 deleted scenes, act like he wants to be a brother? Like he genuinely cares about his siblings

What is he reacting to during the Breakfast scene? In the book, when Henry came out to him it was just him, Henry and later Shaan, but the Breakfast has all of the Super Five there. Is he really gonna make a scene in front of all five of them?

Why is he forgiven? What is his change of heart?

I don't know, I think it's probably just me who's wondering about him of all people. But I would really like to see more of Thomas in this role (the photobooth shoots he did with Nick and Ellie, peak sibling energy) and I'm just really interested in Henry's family dynamic in the movie-verse, given that I feel like it's less black-and-white and more... realistic? than the book? There's also part of me that's somewhat sympathetic towards Philip despite being a Henry-coded girl because I feel like if I was a less feeling person, I might have ended up just like him.

Anyway, yeah. Philip redemption arc in the sequel please!!!

[torgawl]

all this time i had headcanoned that neuvi kept an eye on younger wrio with the intention to take care of him and you're telling me it's true? sobbing.

i can't stop thinking about how it probably hurt neuvi so much to issue that sentence to someone so young and so hurt. even furina left the trial and was unable to keep her act. how gut-wrenching it must have been, especially with wrio admitting his crime and accepting punishment so easily. that ammount of resignation in, basically, a kid... it can only come from a place of so much pain. the chance to rewrite his own story and making the fortress his home truly meant so much to wrio. but i also think for someone like neuvillette, who is characterised for his immense love and compassion towards others, it must have been cause for great turmoil to know what was to come, and that the sentence he was issuing was just an extension of that kid's already hard life. the ammount of guilt in his heart versus the impartiality required of him as a tool of justice; in a way, a reiteration of the question that has haunted him throughout his long journey as fontaine's iudex: "is this what justice means to you? answer me, neuvillette!".

no wonder wrio is so fond of the melusines, too. we already knew from his own character story that they were the ones helping him when he spent time in the streets, but to know he wouldn't have made it without that help... of course he cherishes them so much, of course he holds sigewinne in such good esteem - who was likely the closest to a familiar embrace during those harsh days. i find it rather wholesome that wrio doesn't know it was neuvi's doing, too. neuvi was almost his guardian angel, and i'm sure the melusines were also happy to finally be able to do something for a human in need.

i had always wondered if neuvillete's help with giving wriothesley his duke title came from a place of wanting to fix what felt wrong so long ago during that trial because it felt deliberate, like the good deed of someone who intentionally kept an eye for the other and was proud of their journey. having sigewinne confirm neuvi's concern and curiosity with wrio's experience in the fortress is very dear to me. it reminds me of how genuinely happy neuvillette was when he noticed wrio's vision the day he gave wriothesley his title, like a silent aknowledgement of how far wrio had come and the good man he had become. you cannot tell me neuvi wasn't filled with pride seeing that former small hurt kid become someone so genuinely good-hearted, doing something as great as reforming meropide. maybe even relief, seeing things had turned out well for him despite his disturbing past and neuvi's own hand in his fate, in such a heartbreaking way.

their relationship has always been so intriguing to me because there's so many layers of complex feelings throughout their timeline. i find that most people ignore neuvi's struggles with his own 'humanity' and the constant theme of heart versus judgement, and how it likely played a role in his interest in wrio as well as their later nurtured friendship. but i also find wrio's reluctance in accepting neuvi's concern for him quite telling. he's reserved and we don't really get any insight besides what he tells sigewinne and his almost dismissive response, but i am so sure he feels grateful for neuvillette's unconditional support. neuvillette almost filled the empty place wrio's family left behind. not in a literal way, but how he kept an eye out for wrio is akin to how he keeps an eye out for the melusines. and can we talk about how neuvi was likely the first 'human' (in his own perception at the time) or older adult to be consistent in his life? i cannot imagine the weight such 'simple' things like consistency and unconditional love - and i mean this in an all-encompassing way - have for someone with the family-related trauma wriothesley has. wriothesley says it himself, his childhood has left permanent wounds in him, one of which is not being able to trust others. but to be able to find such reliability in someone else, that may also be healing to his inner child. they're very dear to me!!

[a-french-coconut]

Solangelo

His day begins wonderfully.

Truly, it's one of those days where you wake up and think :

Nothing can go wrong !

And for two minutes, nothing goes wrong !

He doesn't stub his toes on the bathroom counter, his hair decided to cooperate on this fine day and the sun doesn't burn his eyes when he gets out in the open air.

Then, he sees Kayla an Austin trying, and failing horribly, to hang an enormous bander on Apollo's porch.

For one second, he is left in utter incomprehension as of why they would hand a sign saying Hyppe Bathdirt Will !

Then, to his grand horror, the bright orange letters makes a lot more sense when they spell Happy Birthday Will !

It's August 23rd.

Will's sixteenth birthday.

And Nico doesn't have a single gift to present to his boyfriend tonight.

Nor does he have a romantic date planned out, no fancy restaurant, not even a picnic on the beach.

"Nico !"

Kayla screams his name, making with her hand the universal sign of get over here.

One he can't ignore considering the bow hanging loosely on the girl's shoulder.

He has learned the painful way Kayla doesn't take too well being ignored.

But it's no problem, he's a demigod who fought two wars, survived Tartarus, he's capable of making a plan, of thinking rationally. He can still get Will a gift, doesn't have to be something big or shiny. It can be flowers or a box of chocolates.

What flowers does Will like ?

What kind of chocolates does he eat ?

Knowing him, he could eat the plainest almond chocolate or a specific pistachio with rose petals and lavender flavored one.

He had seen his boyfriend gulp down a raw egg yolk, claiming its "protein values.". From since, he likes to keep his mind open to any culinary gustos his boyfriend might have.

"Hey Nico, could you-"

"Help me."

"-help us ?"

Kayla drops the banner, eliciting a groan of frustration from Austin, and looks at him seriously.

"Nico Di Angelo, if you tell me on this day of all day that-"

"I forgot."

It's quite interesting to see Kayla's face reddens with anger, then slack with disbelief to finally settle in a disappointed glare.

"You've been dating for-"

"Four months, twenty-two days and five hours, I know, I keep track."

"Stop cutting me off or I'll shoot you."

"Hum, not to interrupt but Kay, we really need to put-"

"Austin," Nico cuts him off, "I am in dire need of both your assistance. Who, or what, is more important, the banner or me ?"

"The banner." The two children of Apollo answer at the same time.

First step of the plan, failed epically.

On to phase two, bargaining.

"If you help me choose a gift for Will, I'll buy you whatever you want for your upcoming birthdays."

"My birthday was two months ago."

"Yeah, and mine is like, in five months."

Phase three, the one he wanted to avoid.

"Please."

It's not that he isn't polite, he wouldn't want his mother turning in her grave, but he deems a annoying little sister like Kayla isn't worthy of his respect.

Not when she obviously takes great joy in seeing him in such a predicament.

One he caused himself, but that's not the point here.

"Okay, we'll help you." Kayla relents.

"For free even !" Austin adds.

They look at him expectantly, while he looks them waiting the just promised aid.

"The magic word if you may." she enquires.

"I already said it."

"The other one."

"Oh, thank you."

Kayla's face glows, while Austin, bless his gentle soul, gives him a gracious "you're welcome."

"I was thinking to get him something like flower or chocolates-"

"Boring."

"Okay... then Star Wars thingies ?"

"He already has every merch ever created."

"Flip flops ?"

"Don't feed his weird fetish of flip flops, I beg of you."

"Hum, lipgloss ?"

"Now you're just out of ideas." Kayla cackles, "and nice to know Will's lips are as chapped as they look. He thinks that because dad is the sun, we are immune to it. And he's the doctor. A miracle everyone is still alive."

"My preference for Will's lips are no concern of yours," He replies, cheeks slightly red. "And don't talk bad about him on his sacred day."

"It's not like he can hear me."

"Where did you even sent him ?"

He should have known something was missing when Will didn't barge in his cabin, pulling open the curtains like the psycho he is, always ranting about how he needs more vitamin D.

"He's in New York the whole day," Austin pipes up, "he's spending his birthday with his mother and then we will celebrate together tonight."

"Which means I have the rest of the day to find him a gift."

"Yep, open to suggestions ?"

"That is literally what I asked of you. Tell me, Kayla, do you perhaps miss a few braincells ? That would explain a lot of things."

"At least my remembering my boyfriend's birthday date cells are working."

"Okay, stop fighting you two." Austin intervenes, placing himself between the both of them. "I think you should get him something that remind him or your couple. It would be a sweet gift, right ?"

"What he said."

"I'm keeping that in mind, thank you Austin, and Kayla, for your assistance."

"You're welcome, now come one Kayla, we really need to hang that thing..."

Something related to their couple...

What could symbolise their relationship, the love they feel for each other ?

Better to have other ideas if inspiration doesn't come.

"What's on your mind, Nicolas ?"

"Don't call me that, Stoll."

"Only if you guess which one I am." The son of Hermes leans on him, looking at him expectantly.

"Connor, now get off me."

"Nothing could have prepared me to this betrayal-"

"So you're Travis, get off me."

"-from a such close friend, who I have known for years-"

"Aren't you supposed to be in college ?"

"-and still doesn't recognise- oh yes but this my best friend's birthday !"

Travis hugs Nico, ignoring the his protests.

"He's turning sixteen ! I remember when he was a small, fray child, such an easy victim !" He sighs, shaking his head, "they grow so fast, don't they ?"

"Mmmhh !"

"What ? Oh sorry, there you go."

He lets him go, Nico putting two good meters between them to avoid any kind of other physical attempts.

"What are you getting him ? Must be something nice !"

"That's the problem, hum, I don't have anything."

Travis' face falls.

"But-" he stutters, "you're his boyfriend !"

"I know !" Nico snaps, "I know and that' why I need to fix this."

"Do you have any ideas ?"

"Austin and Kayla think that I should gift him a present related to our relationship."

"That's a good idea !" Travis' face brightens.

"But I don't know what, yet."

"Oh..."

"Yeah..." Nico mumbles, twisting nervously his skull ring.

"Ooooh" Travis says, excited, " I know the perfect gift !"

"What it is ?"

"A motorbike !"

"Travis..."

"It's perfect ! And he already know how to drive, we used to do races in his grandpa's farm fields and he loved them !"

"There's no way I'll find a bike in less than twenty four hours."

"No, but I can ask Nyssa to build one," Travis shrugs, "she'll have it ready before sundown."

"Tell her that I owe her." Nico screams to Travis as he sprints toward the forges.

---------------------------------------

"Shhh ! He's coming !"

"Yeah , I see him."

"Is he glowing ?"

"Obviously, Lou Ellen, he just spent the whole with his mother, who he adores."

"Shut up Travis."

"Make me-"

"If you two ruin this surprise, I'll send you to my father right now."

"So grumpy, and it's not a surprise. Have you not seen the gigantic banner ? By the way, why is it not on Apollo's cabin like it was supposed to ?"

"We had complications."

"That's slight way to say that you didn't want to help me, Kayla."

"Don't listen to Austin, Travis, he's lying."

"Everybody close their dam mouths ! He's getting closer."

"I understood that reference."

"And I understood that reference."

"Gods give me strength."

When they hear Will's footsteps passing their hiding place, Cecil mouths to the group a countdown.

"HAPPY BIRTHDAY WILL !" They all scream while standing up to hug Will, who is effectively glowing.

"Guys, you really didn't need to do all of this." His boyfriend says, cheeks a bright red.

"Nonsense Willy !"

"Travis ! You came !"

"Everything for my best friend."

They hug, Will laughing at something Travis whispers in his ear before his gaze falls on Nico.

The way his face lights up, a beautiful smile gracing his features, makes Nico's heart pound faster, skeletons butterfly flying in his stomach.

"Nico !"

Will's hugs are the warmest embraces Nico ever felt, they're comforting, heart-warming, familiar now.

Even so, he never gets tired of them.

"Happy birthday, amore mio." He whispers in his ear.

After lot of embarrassing stories, Travis being the main reason of that, and new created memories, it's finally time to open the presents.

Austin and Kayla gave Will a charm bracelet, with customised charms relating different stories the three of them shared.

Drew offered him a very nice sweater, something about she can't have friends wearing only flannels and cargo shorts.

Travis' gift was a photo album, enchanted by Lou Ellen so that the pictures were alive, going from their childhood to today.

Finally, it's Nico's turn.

"I actually have two gifts for you."

"So thoughtful of you." Will smiles, looking at him fondly.

"The first one is Travis' idea though."

"Yeah, you can thank Nyssa later too."

"What did you- oh by Apollo !"

He has to say, Nyssa did a wonderful job.

The motorbike is gleaming, freshly painted and even though Nico has no knowledge of bikes, he can see that it is a true beauty.

"This is amazing !" Will swoons over the bike, "I can't wait to get my licence to drive it !"

"You know, technically you don't need-"

"Travis, I'm going to get my licence."

"If you insist."

Will rolls his eyes before looking back at Nico.

"Thank you, love, this is a wonderful gift."

Nico's throat goes dry, nervousness jolting his body.

"I have to warn you, the second gift is, hum, well, I'm afraid you might find it too intensive."

"Nico," Will takes his hands, "nothing from you is too intensive."

"Then here you go."

He takes out of his pocket a little box and opens it.

Two matching rings, one golden and the other black, are inside. On the metal is engraved "I love you".

Will's breath hitch and Nico is afraid to have gone too far.

"I know this is a big gesture-"

Will kisses him, a light kiss since they have a public but Nico feels the passion behind it, the underlying love and affection Will holds for him.

"I love them", his boyfriend softly says, putting on his ring, "I love you too Nico di Angelo."

"Oh my gods, did they just get engaged ?"

"Cecil, please shut up."

Will laughs, his cheerful laugh that you can't help but join and soon, sounds of joy and happiness echo in the night as they party the whole night.

"How did you get the harpies to leave us alone ?" Will asks Travis, contently seated next to Nico, an arm around his waist.

"I'm full of surprises."

"He volunteered to help them the whole week in kitchen duty."

"Cecil ! Stop spilling my secrets !"

[coraniaid]

A random ask if you're up for it: what's a terrible take about the Buffyverse you've seen on tumblr but have not yet publicly kvetched about?

I'll be honest: this question prompted a moment of minor panic on my part because my very first instinct was to say something like "hmm, no, I don't think I've ever seen a bad take about Buffy on here I've not immediately complained about". Which is an admission that, were it accurate, should probably prompt rather more introspection on my part than I'd enjoy.

Thinking about it though, I don't think that is really true. In fact, I probably don't say anything negative about most of the bad Buffy takes I see, either because they're not particularly widespread (I try not to publicly disagree with other people's headcanons or even argue against popular posts if it would be obvious who I was responding to) or because they're about characters who I just don't talk about on here at all (either because I don't find them interesting or because my understanding of them is so at odds with the wider fandom's we'd be talking at cross-purposes).

(Or, sometimes, I don't say anything negative because I'm too busy enthusiastically reblogging the post in question, if we're being brutally honest about what counts as a "bad take".)

One concrete example I don't think falls under those headings and which I don't remember complaining about before is the way people talk about Buffy's speech in Selfless. Now, I'll be honest: I don't really like Selfless that much. It's in the top half of Season 7 episodes for me, possibly even the top third, but that's a pretty low bar. But what I do like a lot are Buffy/Faith parallels, and this episode has a big one in Buffy's speech towards the end of the episode:

At some point someone has to draw the line and that is always going to be me. You get down at me for cutting myself off, but in the end the Slayer is always cut off. There's no mystical guidebook; no all-knowing council. Human rules don't apply. There's only me. I am the law.

Obviously this reminds the audience of Faith's similar speeches in Season 3's Consequences, when she tells Buffy that the two of them are "better" than ordinary humans and then later that "you know I'm right. You know in your gut we don't need the law. We are the law."

We obviously aren't meant to agree with Faith in Consequences. (The fact that she follows this speech up by almost immediately defecting to work for the Mayor, commiting at least one cold-blooded murder, having a sobbing emotional breakdown where she begs somebody to kill her and then turning herself in to be judged and punished by the very human laws she sneered at earlier is something of a clue.)

A lot of people point out the parallel but then try to explain that what Buffy is saying is actually substantially different from Faith, and that Buffy is right while Faith was wrong. in Myth, Metaphor and Morality Mark Field (who I don't think is actually on Tumblr, technically, but who I'm referencing to avoid talking directly about the many people on Tumblr who agree with him) ties this in to the wider themes of Season 7, and describes the difference between Buffy and Faith as being that Faith is trying to avoid responsibility (for accidentally killing Allan Finch) while Buffy is taking responsibility (for doing what has to be done and killing Anyanka).

And yes, Buffy is doing something different to Faith here. She is not trying to say that she doesn't have to be accountable. She is not making excuses for her own mistakes or bad behaviour. She is trying to do (what she perceives as being) the right thing.

But Buffy is wrong as well. She is proved wrong within this episode. She doesn't have to kill Anya: in fact, she fails to kill Anya (indeed, given what we see of vengeance demons in The WIsh and in Older and Far Away I don't believe Buffy could possibly have killed Anya, but I know that vengeance demon lore is even less rigorous than vampire soul lore). The problem of Anya being a vengeance demon is resolved, not by Buffy, but by the people she was giving her speech to. The people who she was arguing didn't have a say.

Buffy is wrong, too, within the show's established lore. There is a mystical guidebook (even if her Watcher didn't have her read it), and there is a Council (even if they're far from all-knowing, Buffy could have been making use of their resources ever since she asserted her importance to them in Checkpoint, but she chose not to do this). And Buffy isn't alone. (At least Faith got the number of Slayers right in her speech!)

And Buffy is also wrong in terms of the wider season arc. Season 7 is not about Buffy saving the day by heroically taking all the world's burdens on to herself and making all the decisions. Her attempts to beat the First this way end disastrously; cutting herself off from her friends and her family and the very the Potentials she's trying to protect.

(Yes, the climatic scene in Empty Places is poorly written, but the season does very deliberately have Buffy fail to establish any sort of rapport or connection with the Potentials and spend less and less time with her friends. Buffy isn't blameless for those relationships falling apart, even if having her friends and sister kick her out of her own house is absurd.)

Instead of being the lone voice of judgment, Buffy beats the First and saves the world by not isolating herself. By working with her friends; by realizing they can do things she can't; by sharing her power with the Potentials (because "my power should be our power"); by reconnecting with Faith; by accepting help from Angel and from Spike; and by realizing that the people who "made up the rules" for Slaying thousands of years ago made a mistake.

The whole point of Chosen is that it is a refutation of the vision of being a Slayer that Buffy outlines in this episode.

Quoting it uncritically as if it sums up who Buffy is as a person is like, well, using Andrew's speech about "the Dark Slayer" to describe Faith. (Which ... oh, yeah, people also do.)

[nicosraf]

Could you speak a little bit about your approach with the female humans in A&M?

Miriam seems happy or at least secretly pleased to wed Armoni who married her against his will through force and coercion. Idith and Samyaza had some dubcon and even a bit of non-con going on. The men in your story (and people in real life) blame Eve and label women as sinners/evil.

Satan and the demons often use 'she/her' pronouns. Even Samyaza, a character which many readers are frustrated with for the hypocrisy, has a femme and sapphic reading.

A lot of current retellings usually have a "feminist" spin or at least an attempt to give their female characters more agency. You seem to have a somewhat more authentic take but instead of choosing sides of good and evil your characters seem to exist is a deep morally gray area (at least that is how I read them).

Anyways, I was just wondering how you decided to interpret the female characters?

Hello! It's pretty straight forward actually! I was just more interested in trying to depict women, like those in my real life, authentically than anything else. My mother is a good person, but she's also a bad person at times, the same goes for my sister, my other female relatives, and all my women friends, though I'll admit I based most of the women in A&M off my female relatives.

I think A&M's feminist narrative is glaringly obvious and simple at times, but I didn't want to do "women good, man bad," even if some characters — like the Watchers — have this reading. Women in real life perpetuate sexism and do wrong things all the time, and that doesn't make them not victims of patriarchy. Eve isn't suddenly not-a-victim because she hurts one of her children. (And ABM is about this too: you can be a victim and do bad things. You can be a victim of abuse and an abuser.) (Point 2: I think your commitment to a cause shouldn't rest on your perceived moral purity of those you support; womens wrongs don't negate the need for womens rights)

I realize women characters will be judged harsher. (I do always notice how Eitan and Idith are treated differently by some people!) I know women just existing in movies or books puts them under intense scrutiny. Here's the thing though: if someone is the type of person to scrutinize women characters, looking for a reason to hate them, then I don't really care about their enjoyment of my book in the first place.

Not that I should be the one dictating what feminism is or isn't, but I think I can say that one part of it is that women deserve to have all the gray complexity that male characters have and that the genderqueer angels/demons have.

Oh and I've seen the backlash against feminist retellings of myths lately (the "girlbossification") that I don't think I can comment on it too much given I am, you know, a man — but, for A&M, I wanted to depict humans fairly realistically, knowing this might make them seem simple, unlikable, weak, or even boring compared to the fantastical, long-lived gay angels. It's important to me because A&M is an introduction to humanity. My approach in Angels #3 will be different, but... you'll see.

TLDR: I like writing women, and femmes generally, who are flawed despite how much they may have suffered.

[frozenjokes]

After years of thinking... I finally want to know what is CUBGUY and his boyfriend's MBTI aka the 16 personalities

You’ve opened Pandora’s box with this one my man because I am a psych major that HATES personality tests however that did not stop me from taking the test three times (this one which I hate specifically because the commercialization of personality tests to measure worth is evil BECAUSE THEY DONT WORK. THEY ARE NOT A GOOD MEASURE OF PERSONALITY OR WORTH AND HAVING TO TAKE THIS FUCKING FOR LITERALY JOB APPLICATIONS INSTEAD OF IT JUST BEING A FUN THING TODO IN YOUR FREE TIME IS FUCKING AURYRHEUSHDHUDUSHDJSHSJAHSUSUSJ KILLING BITING MAIMING GRAGAGSHGEHWDGSHHS I HATE. HER.) anyway. I can be normal about this subject I promise.

normal elsa: haha hey guys! I took the personality test for my ocs! yippeee!!! from left to right we have Cub, Scar, and Grian. thanks for the ask! this was fun!

but it’s not about having fun is it

so anyway I took notes. So you may have noticed some things don’t look quite right here. I mean, Cub looks fine! That’s pretty accurate even! Scar too, look at him go! … wait a minute. Grian’s not nice!!!! Or poetic!!!!!!! Is altruism even real????????????? (It is and I feel strongly about this but altruistic as an adjective to describe a person i believe is doing a disservice to the definition because what they MEAN is ‘selfless’ not altruistic but while we’re on the topic of selflessness Grian is fucking NOT)

So why did this happen. I don’t really care that the personality test got someone wrong, but I am interested in Why that happened, and why a test like this will never get a character like Grian correct.

Put simply, the answer is that this test wants to make you Feel Good. Now, having fun isn’t a crime and oftentimes personality tests are there to have fun, but the danger of something like this is that the MBTI isn’t presented as a low stakes fun activity, it’s presented as fact. Look. This is you! This is a good, objective measure of your personality, aren’t you great? You’re awesome :)! Here’s a list of vague-enough sentiments that probably apply to you based on the questions we asked. Yippee! its a really clever and extremely affective trick.

While the little blurb for Scar describes him relatively well, nearly every description of his ‘personality’ besides extroversion read pretty inaccurately, and that’s because the focus is so positive. The thing is, Grian and Scar are largely very self serving people (/neutral tone). They are often more worried about themselves than others, they’re impulsive, and that’s not all they are, but it’s pretty impossible to get at someone’s actual personality without recognizing what makes people flawed.

The closest I think the MBTI test gets to probing at this idea of potential selfishness are questions that are meant to test thinking versus feeling. Do you consider someone’s sensitivities in if they conflict with reason? Are you more concerned with facts or emotion? Logos versus pathos. That kinda stuff. But ultimately the MBTI test doesn’t really care about selfishness, it doesn’t care about flaws, it just cares about making you feel good baybe! So these neutral questions don’t really come back in any meaningful way. The MBTI is concerned about making caricatures of people, not accurately measuring their personality and that Matters because its so often treated as scientific, at least good enough to be used in consideration for jobs and work and school and all sorts of stuff.

And I could go on but the problem with modern personality tests goes so so so much deeper, even in more controlled, more science oriented fields like psychiatry. The system for diagnosing personality disorders is somewhat similar to a personality tests are at the very least aided by them, falling on a straight lined spectrum of Openness, Consciousness, Extroversion, Agreeableness, and Neuroticism. But this system Sucks and everyone knows it sucks because comorbidity between clusters (A, B, C) of personality disorders is Insanely High. I wish I had the exact percentages, but I can’t quite find the information I’m looking for, but the point is that if the rate of comorbidity between different disorders is So High, how do you know these disorders are correctly defined at all? If a person more often than not has Disorder A and Disorder B at the same time, who’s to say they’re all that different at all? In general, a lot of the criteria for diagnosing a personality disorders is Really similar, so in general it’s a section of the DSM that needs a pretty massive overhaul.

I don’t envy personality psychologists man their job is Tough (and in my opinion, kind of impossible. there’s too many roadblocks in making an objective test. It is. Eugh.)

TLDR: the MBTI test is about as decisive as a fortune cookie and it literally can’t be anything more because then you would realize its lying to you. amen

[evansboyfriend]

am i the only person who doesn't see buck as a people pleaser?

i see him as caring and attentive and someone who goes the extra mile to help the people he loves. he's someone you can rely on to be there when you need them.

people pleasing is a very specific trauma response behaviour that essentially means ignoring your own wants and needs, prioritising others over yourself, making yourself smaller, trying to keep the peace, not rock the boat.

that's not the buck who quit his job when he was desked. who sued the LAFD to get his job back. the guy who told the newbie "you're my problem" and ripped off bosko's temporary label from his designated shelf. or how about when his relationship with ali ended because she couldn't handle his risky job, and buck wasn't willing to compromise on it? when he told taylor kelly that they can wipe the slate clean between them but not continue their relationship? when he broke up with natalia because he realised she wasn't really interested in him as an actual person? if he ever displayed this behaviour, might've been with abby, which was a wholly fucked up relationship with buck looking for commitment (maybe for the first time in his life?) with a woman who wasn't looking for anything serious. but even then when he had doubts he talked to bobby about it.

my point is, when buck's upset about something, he doesn't stay quiet about it. he doesn't neglect his own wellbeing and doesn't compromise his peace just to make others happy. he'll go about it in very wrong ways, especially in the earlier seasons when he was still young and hadn't even began unpacking his childhood trauma, and he's matured since then, of course. and I think he had that "people would be better off without me" mentality but i don't think ive seen it since his coma, when he said that being buck is enough. he has grown so much (and i hope he will hold on to his newfound self esteem, i hope nothing will ever make him doubt his own worth).

but even in s7 - when he was bothered and did something about it. again, went about it the wrong ways. but he went to talk to maddie when he hurt eddie, admitted his mistake, made up with him (even though we didnt see it on screen). and then again when he thought he had sabotaged his first date with tommy, he talked to maddie and eddie, and then he reached out to ask for another chance, and invited him to his sister's wedding, insisting tommy should come as his date because he wanted him there (i'm not saying he wouldn't have taken no for an answer, but he knows what he wants and is vocal about it). and - throwing a bachelor party for chimney, who didn't even want one, but buck wanted to do the nice thing for his friend/future BIL and he made a theme around things chimney likes. being there for eddie and christopher but setting his boundaries ("i dont think i can explain this") because he cares about them and wants to help them any way he can.

this doesn't read as people-pleasing behaviour to me. buck is someone who cares so fucking much, no doubt about it, his compassion for others is endless. but he also goes for the things he wants and stands up for himself against things he doesn't tolerate.

[klaprisun]

One Sunny Day

(Stardew Valley)(Haley x Female Farmer)

Chapter 28

As promised, I decided to stay for dinner at Haley's. Emily has taken off to a shift at the saloon so we have the house to ourselves.

"What do you want to have to eat?" Haley questions me as she skims through the fridge for something to make.

"I'm fine with anything. I'm not picky," I shrug while sitting at the kitchen table, particularly interested in looking at Haley bent over looking in the fridge.

"Really? I set you up for a perfect joke and nothing?" Haley had whipped around with her hands on her hips. I feel my face get hot and I just shrug again.

"I figured it's too soon for that..?" I sheepishly say while giving her a goofy grin. I have never been so nervous and tame with jokes like that around other girls before. I don't want to say the wrong thing and make her run for the hills.

"It's never too early to make a joke, silly," she sings as she searches around the kitchen for food. Haley has also never given me back my cowboy hat either. She is still strutting around wearing it.

"I'll keep that in mind," I reply while I follow Haley's pacing with my eyes. She is making me dizzy from watching her.

"I really don't know what to make for you," She whines as she covers her face with her hands. Standing up, I make my way over to her and rest my hand on her shoulder. With my other hand, I take the cowboy hat and tilt it up. She takes her hands away from her face and looks up at me with her sparkling eyes.

"You could make me Algae Soup and I'd still eat it. Make whatever your pretty heart desires," I gently shake the cowboy hat on her head, causing her to giggle.

"Sit tight. I have an idea," she says as she leads me back to the kitchen table and sits me down in my chair.

When she returns to the kitchen work space, she immediately gets to work. Pulling all sorts of things from the fridge, stirring in large bowls, measuring ingredients, she was putting in work.

She finally slows down with the cooking and takes whatever it is from the oven.

"Ta da! It's pepper poppers!" She exclaims, holding out the tray of them with oven mitts on. "I know it kind of clashes, but I also made a fruit salad to go with them. I just love fruit salad so much."

"I think it's wonderful, Haley. Thank you," I say with a huge smile. She gives me a smile back and sets the pepper poppers on the table. Next, she brings over the fruit salad bowl and places it down.

"Dig in!" she announces while taking a seat across from me.

"Oh I will," I mutter, already taking a huge bite. Uncivilly, I use my hands and fingers to eat the pepper poppers. I should've known better and tried to be more polite, but I just couldn't wait a second longer.

Before you know it, I cleared my plate entirely. Haley, who is only on her second pepper popper, stares at me in disbelief. I start sucking my fingers clean of grease and cheese instead of using a napkin like the hooligan I am. However, the gesture makes Haley start blushing. When I catch her gaze, she quickly looks down at her food and takes a bite.

"Sorry... I'm not very polite. I'm used to eating alone at home," I apologized to her.

"You're alright. I can tell you enjoyed it," she waves me off, still looking down at her plate with a blush.

"Am I disgusting you already?" I nervously laugh, unsure why she is looking away.

"Quite the opposite actually," she mumbles, finally looking back up at me. I feel my cheeks heat up now at the seductive look she is giving me.

She finishes her last bite of food and takes her plate into her arms. She reaches across the table to take mine, but I knock her hand away.

"Tsk tsk tsk. Let me help you. These are my dishes after all," I scolded her playfully. She backs up and goes to the sink to start the dishes. I follow after her.

"You don't have to help, you know? You are a guest here," she sighs while scrubbing one of the plates.

"Don't matter. I want to help you," I retort while grabbing a towel to start drying the dishes. Since it was only the two of us, washing the dishes was going to take no time at all.

"How'd you know you were into girls?" Haley blurts out after a few minutes of silently washing dishes.

"I absolutely despised the thought of being with a man," I answered with a chuckle. "Now women..." I bump her with my hip and wag my eyebrows at her. This causes her to chuckle with me and she shakes her head.

She suddenly puts down the dish she was washing and turns her whole body towards me. I realize she seems to be in a serious stance, so I finish drying the dish I had and turn to face her.

"You said you've had one night stands. Why did those not work out? Why did you never want to settle down with someone?" She asks me very forwardly.

"I just never liked them enough to be more than a one night stand. I couldn't see a future with anyone, and mostly was focused on having fun rather than settling down. I didn't care about anyone enough to continue a romantic relationship..." I sigh, thinking back to the city days. I look at her to see if she was satisfied with my response.

"What makes me different?" I notice her take a deep breath and kind of hold it.

"You had my attention the moment I got here. My brain and body knew what I wanted and it was you, Haley. You aren't like everyone back in the city, you are so much more. How I so desperately hoped you'd be into girls so I'd at least have somewhat of a chance with you," I rest my hand on her cheek. She leans into it as she listens to what I have to say. I slowly creep closer to her so that we are only inches apart. I gently tip her head back so I can see her beautiful face that was hidden by the brim of the cowboy hat.

Neither of us saying another word, the two of us start leaning in closer to each other. I start lowering my head down to her as she brings hers up closer to mine. I didn't dare close my eyes yet so I could watch as her lips got closer to mine. We both freeze for a moment, making sure we are both okay with it. I slide my arm around her waist and pull her in closer.

Just as our lips are about to connect, the front door bursts open startling us both. We both quickly back away from each other and go back to doing the dishes. Haley fumbles one of the dishes she tries to pick up and it falls back into the sink. I start drying an already dry dish.

"I hope y'all are decent," Emily shouts from the front door, dramatically covering her eyes. I hadn't even realized how late it had gotten. Somehow, the time slipped by and it's already 11 o'clock at night.

"Wow. Old married couple much? I give you guys the house to yourselves and you are playing house?" Emily judges teasingly.

"Can't you go back to the saloon and stay there permanently?" Haley rolls her eyes, annoyed.

"Ouch. Did I just cock block or something?" Emily bursts out laughing at her own joke, making Haley more annoyed.

"I should probably get going. It's pretty late," I bend down and plant a kiss on Haley's cheek, causing her face to flush pink at the sudden gesture. It calmed her down immediately, bringing her out of the annoyed state.

I set the dish towel on the counter and head towards the door.

"Thank you again for dinner. It's my turn to make dinner for us next time." I give Haley a quick wink. "See you later, Haley."

"Don't forget your hat!" she calls after me, taking it off her head.

"Keep it until next time. It'll give me an excuse to come back," I call back to her as I step through the front door.

[roman-roy-apologist]

smth y’all need to realize is just because a character was abused it doesn’t mean that they don’t also perpetuate abuse and it doesn’t just give them a free pass to do anything

[dailykugisaki]

Day sixty-three | id in alt

A puppet and a witch.

[jinxphobic]

I think I have discovered I particularly enjoy extremely very amazingly well written very very very very very very very flawed women and not just that they are hot but everything about their characters and being their biggest apologist and analyzing everything and anything ever 😍🤤

[welcometogrouchland]

IMPORTANT UPDATE FOR BATMAN AND ROBIN (2023) FANS!!!...he eat a burger [ID in alt]

(taken from Nicola Cizmesija's insta, who's on art for B&R issues #5 and #6)

[crystallizsch]

I want the infodump on Jamil and Yuusha ma'am I beg

THIS HAS BEEN UNANSWERED FOR A MONTH IM SORRY AUGH

but thank you so much yes im okay im normal about them i’ll do my best (for context i mentioned in the tags of one of my posts a while back wanting to infodump about them, but i forget which one it was jfkdlsjhl anyways-)

this won't be a full info dump because i think that would somewhat restrict my dynamic of them if i put it all into words (if that makes sense) ;;;

and i realized i lowkey dont have a coherent timeline for them (yet); i just put them in random scenarios of what i think would be fun at the moment

to make up for it i'll also put a silly self-indulgent sketch dump all below ;;;

I JUST REALIZED I DRAW THEM MAKING EYE CONTACT A LOT (bc something something there's a level of trust that jamil wont use his snake whisper on yuu anymore)

okay now for some random jamiyuu dynamics/hcs/lore

yuu fell first -> yuu lost feelings (bc why would you trust someone who took advantage you) -> ✨ then something happened ✨ -> jamil fell next but harder.

highkey disliked each other -and showed it- in the beginning bc of the whole scarabia drama; then an -accidental- act of service got them to think differently about one another. like "holy shit maybe they're not so bad after all???"

extremely slow burn.

very competitive with one another which then bled into their "flirting" / affectionate acts when they eventually became closer.

basically: “sweetheart” but rivalry -> “babe” but platonically -> “bro” but romantically pipeline.

(“are you flirting or starting a fight”)

yuu kinda throws around “love you” a lot, especially to her close friends; so -during their “platonic” stage- for some reason, jamil was the only “friend” she has not said this to. but it’s okay it’s not like jamil had referred to her as the “f-word” (friend) anyway.

had a mutual agreement that their romantic relationship is temporary because of yuu wanting to go home; they’re just going to “try it out” “no hard feelings”.

yuu made jamil promise to never use snake whisper on her ever again.

jamil: personal beef w/ bugs + afraid of them; yuu: personal beef w/ bugs (w/ a few exceptions) + not afraid of them, just generally pissed at their existence.

dancing and music lowkey became one of their love languages.

kalim genuinely became one yuu’s best friends because of how much they hit it off. jamil always third wheels them no matter the circumstance.

yuu loves grim more than jamil; jamil knows this very well. and so does grim.

[brookheimer]

just love hearing kieran culkin talk about succession/roman because he always talks about, like, the process of it and it’s so interesting — the scenes that are kept, the scenes that are taken out, the choices writers made he didn’t agree with, the choices he made that the writers (originally) didn’t agree with…. always really hammers in not only how collaborative the show is in that input from the actors is taken very seriously but also just how much culkin cares about roman like as a character? which i mean ya know all actors do. but culkin always talks about being a fan of the show first and an actor in it second and i think that’s such a huge thing. like, the way he cares about roman isn’t just as the actor playing him, it’s as a fan of the show — he’s approaching it not just from, like, a This Is My Job angle but also from the perspective of a fan who is just genuinely invested in the character of roman and would feel frustrated if they saw him do something that didn’t feel in-line with his character! kc would hate tumblr just like he hates all social media but he would indeed kill it on here

[crocodilenjoyer]

for a guy who’s so chill and laid back and casually open about his views on things shanks is ridiculously hard to read and it makes me very nervous