#the easy solution to this

[knightofleo]

Angela Orosco Silent Hill 2

[stars-obsession-pit]

Danny had been put through serious hell by some ghost scientists from the GIW in the name of “research”, and his ghost form remained incredibly unstable in the aftermath. Even during the stretches when he could best hold himself together, he was still visibly covered in wounds.

Clockwork did offer him the option of being de-aged to recover more smoothly, but he’d said hell no. He had absolutely zero desire to be further reduced—especially not mentally when his mind had been one of the few things the scientists couldn’t take from him.

Besides, he has a job to do.

Though he may have escaped, not everyone else had. He refuses to leave them in that nightmare.

And when the news caught wind of a his attacks, it exploded into a massive media circus.

No matter how much the GIW tries to spin Phantom as an insane monster, a heavily mutilated teen attacking secretive labs does not paint them in a good light.

[obsob]

hmm anyway. holds u in my arms

[vaguely-concerned]

This might be due to the fact that on my first playthrough I ended up creating a Rook more emotionally guarded than any of the companions except Minrathous-route Lucanis and perhaps Neve, so I was primed to look for it, but I never got the sense that the companions don’t care for Rook (the thought never even occurred to me until I saw other people post about it) — to me it seems much more like it’s Rook who keeps the last bit of distance, Rook who pulls away when the companions try to extend their care or worry too directly, who keeps themselves slightly apart. (Rook who is so full of grief they cannot know as grief and thus process that there’s no room inside them to let anything else all the way in, perhaps.) They deflect and flinch back when someone gets too close or approaches them too overtly about their feelings — especially when it brushes up against the theme of grief. They can offer care to all the companions who are grieving, come along to any number of funerals as emotional support, but the moment someone turns that towards them they shut that shit down Immediately, like when Taash almost gives the whole game away with ‘Like you’d know? You act like you haven’t lost anyone!’ and Rook just blandly responds ‘We’re talking about you’ and doesn’t engage. But they can also admit that they struggle with accepting compliments, or knowing what to say, or having confidence in themselves without Varric’s help.

Despite all their determination and even in their most stoic no-nonsense incarnation, Rook is awkward, with the struggles that entails. Someone who is eager and happy to be the helper wherever they can, and helplessly unequipped to know how to be the helpee, as it were. It’s not that the companions don’t return Rook’s attachment to them, there’s MUCH more of a ‘okay so what are the ways you will allow me to be good to you??’ desperation of care vibe behind all their invitations to conversations and hangouts together, to my mind. They bring Rook to their favourite places and share the things they love with them, they ask to spend time together (many times just to have their company, not because they have a problem they need help with! Sometimes the problem arises anyway b/c video game quest narrative of course), they bring them out for some direly needed grass touching, they introduce them to their families. Everyone is clearly getting the sense that Rook does Not want to talk about Varric especially (this is in fact what Harding says in banter, if she’s still alive after the reveal :’( ), but they are absolutely SCRAMBLING to find ways to show that they’re there for them even so. AND from the companions’ perspective, with the situation as they have the means to understand it, accepting that Rook isn’t ready to have that conversation and backing off is also a kind thing to do. (tl;dr: To Me Rook is that weirdly socialized friend who is a great hang once they’re actually there but you have to directly invite them or they don’t quite know how to initiate the contact themselves lol) 

Just as a crushing sense of responsibility for their family is a trait that is built into Hawke no matter how you play them or how you make them respond to that, I feel like Rook — however helpful and earnest, warm, charming, jocular, stoic or straightforward they seem at a surface glance — is always someone who struggles deeply with connecting to themselves and other people. (Emotional Intimacy, the Final Frontier.) As, indeed, is the case with all of the Veilguard companions too! It’s clearly a deliberate theme. These are all lonely people struggling with their sense of identity and belonging in some sort of way. AND having, working on and eventually starting to overcome these difficulties also makes Rook a direct foil for Solas, who doesn’t learn that lesson unless you corner him at the end of the world to force feed him his medicine lmao. They don’t manage to break out of the regret prison under their own steam, it’s because even struggling and grieving they have managed to create mutual bonds with other people who show up for them in turn now — and with all the protective walls of denial around what happened to Varric crumbling and making them less of a stranger to themselves, Rook is finally able to let them. An outcome Solas seemingly didn’t even consider to guard against, because he’s become that deeply entrenched in his loneliness, the utter isolation of the self — he can no longer truly imagine an alternative. (It’s not that he can’t form these bonds, obviously, it’s that he resolutely refuses to value them. Whether it’s because he feels like he doesn’t deserve it or out of a need for control or the martyr complex where he must sacrifice everything he loves on the sacrificial pyre of fixing his mistakes, all of the above and more, the result is the same. Mind!Varric, who I think is mostly Solas speaking, even calls this out directly. So yet again a situation where he has some self awareness about it and it doesn’t help At All haha. Solas falls to the temptation of making people into tools again and again and again, no matter how many times it comes back to bite him in the ass and the eternal solitude it traps him in.) 

And that deep deep loneliness… There but for the grace of… well the theological state of thedas being what it is right now, let’s just go with the grace of Something, Presumably go you as well, Rook. The same capacity/tendency to pull away from connection clearly lives in them as well in some form (again, for whatever reason and with whatever motivations and instincts behind it for any individual Rook). Solas and Rook coming together to create a blood magic paper doll of the mind Varric in response to acute loss and loneliness is one of the most deep , deeply fucked up and invasive acts of intimacy I’ve ever contemplated. I don’t think that’s accidental, there’s something There’s Something Wrong With You (there’s something wrong with you that’s also wrong with me (derogatory)) here that resonates no matter how both parties would hate to hear it. (A fitting legacy for Varric and his wild ‘I made my best friend into a story because it’s the only way I know how to love with this desperation of sincerity’ brain to leave in the narrative, methinks. I feel he’d appreciate it on a craft level, if nothing else.)

If you read through all of Rook’s potential backstories, one of the common threads through all of them, along with a certain maverick ‘I’ll do whatever it takes’ streak, is a sense of profound alienation. They did something or have some sort of quality that made it hard for them to fit in with the group they’re from, causing a conflict that cuts them off from parts of their identity as it’s been up until now. All of which also adds to how important Varric is to them — he was clearly able to break/see through some of that and be closer with them, even in the relatively short time they spent together. No matter what else goes to shit, they can trust that a) Varric sees them, b) he genuinely likes them and believes in them not despite who they are, but for it, and c) he’s got their back, we’re in this together kid. And then he is gone, and it takes them the whole game to be able to bring themselves to accept that and know themselves again, be able to let new relationships in fully. The very understandable ‘the last time I let someone in, they got stabbed before my eyes and the world ended’ flinch away, even if they’re not consciously aware that’s what it is. Anyway I love Rook. So much space to play around in here as to WHY they might feel or react like this, even when the framework is more defined.

[mischievous-thunder]

What are you gonna do now, Honey Badger?

[riverdeansart]

what tim wants, tim gets

[germiyahu]

Shut the fuck up! 🤢 The Democratic Party stands for: economic opportunity for the poor (which a majority of Chasidim are btw), racial justice (which Jews have always been a part of, as recipients and activist allies), LGBT rights (which most Jews approve of), environmentalism (literally a core tenet of Judaism), pluralism/democracy/the rule of law (a thing that 99% of American Jews proudly support), I could go on? Like I really could.

This reminds me of an interview I saw years ago where a man was talking to Likkud voters and he interviewed a woman in Ashkelon and she kept saying "Bibi keeps us safe [from Hamas rockets]" and the interviewer asked "is there anything another party could do to sway your vote?" and she cut him off and said "nothing, nothing, only our safety matters."

But at least then, you know Bibi is also a Jew, and has a vested interest in the security of his fellow Jews. He may be a corrupt criminal and possibly a monster, but he will never be insincere about keeping his people safe. I can understand why Likkud voters can put everything else to the side if that's what they care about most. What the fuck does the Republican Party, the party that happily hosts Nazis and radical Christians who make supercessionists look like unhinged philosemites, offer to Jews? How are they keeping Jews safe when it's clear their real goal is to use Jews as a sword and shield to consolidate power and hurt their personal enemies?

Do you really want to be the cynical bargaining chip of delusional Christians? Isn't there more to living a Jewish life and being part of a Jewish community?

Trump's stupid ass deport Hamas students plan solves a very current problem that helps a few thousand Jewish college students, maybe it helps discourage the constant marches that incite harassment and property damage, literal hate crimes? But in the long run, especially with his "Shalom Mahmoud" shit, he is putting a target on Jews' backs and the Republican Party as an establishment cannot make a significant dent in American antisemitism, even if they were sincere. This is just a drop in the bucket. They welcomed the Tate brothers back to America with open arms??

They can't actually quell leftist antisemitism (they might make it worse) and they have zero interest in dissuading rightist antisemitism. The Democratic Party also couldn't do all this alone. And I'll grant, whatever side of the aisle you're on, you're going to inherently view the other side's messaging as disingenuous at best. Republicans think Democrats' messaging about the poor, racial equality, etc. is all virtue signaling and often "the real racism" etc.

You might not see how that for the majority of Jews who are on the left side of the aisle, they see the same thing when a Republican starts grandstanding about antisemitism. They're not likely to abandon the rest of their values for this illusion of safety. There are millions of Jews in Israel who refuse to vote for Likkud for similar reasons, and they're frankly in more danger and their right wing nutjob politicians actually want to keep them safe and actually can do something about it at the level of the State. Likkud doesn't punish Jews who are "disloyal." Why would American Jews give up even more for even less?

Utterly moronic.

[starteas]

How does it feel knowing Glitch is willing to give millions in free government money to already-successful Hollywood bigshots like Dana Terrace (who got off pretty easy compared to all the animators who lost their homes and had their art erased) yet couldn't spare a single penny for a small artist like you with extremely modest goals?

It feels great knowing that Glitch is extending a hand towards showrunners in a time when the animation industry has been struggling. With tax write offs, cancellations and shows being outright removed from streaming services, I’m so glad to know there’s a company who’s wanting to try their hand at and give industry showrunners a chance.

I don’t know what world you live in where animated showrunners are considered “successful Hollywood bigshots” or given millions in free government money, but it sounds a hell of a lot better than showrunners being forced to live paycheck to paycheck because— surprise!— being a showrunner in television animation does not pay as well as you think it does, and in itself is hardly comparable to celebrities who live amongst Hollywood. Even in some cases, those celebrities don’t make as much as they should despite their long spanning careers, experience or what have you.

Glitch does not owe me anything. I’m just honored they took the time out of their day to promote my crowdfund, promote Lumi in their Glitch Inn video and host an entire event shouting out other indie productions.

I’m not looking to be a charity case. I don’t even consider myself modest, considering the goals I had ended up being bigger than I thought them to be; though it ended up working out in the end. I’ve still got a pilot coming out, and I’m damn proud of that fact. I’m not looking to be pitied because a crowdfund didn’t work out. I tried, I failed, I learned from it, that’s all there is to it— and I’m happy that Glitch was there to give their support, anyway.

[hanafubukki]

Imagine getting angry at Fellow for his comments? At first you could handle it: you’re used to the insults, the breaking of facades, threats to your life, but what really ticked you off? When he told you that you would never understand being poor and living off the graces of others. Now that? Had you ticked off.

But what can you do? You and the other three were slowly becoming puppets and even if you did get free of this spell, you wouldn’t be able to take Fellow or his puppets down.

Then adding on the fact of breaking the spell…Professor Crewel did say that True Love Kiss is a tried and true method…and your boyfriend is right there.

It can’t hurt, now can it?

You use what mobility you have left to lean in, Lilia curious about your actions.

You hear Fellow make snide comments about love birds and to enjoy it while you two still can only to let out a raspy exclamation when the spell suddenly disintegrates from both of you.

Lilia broke out in laughter, “Now why didn’t I think of that?”

“Because I’m wiser and I actually listen to my professors,” you point at the fox behind you, “Now honey, make that one regret his words please.”

With a kiss to your cheek and a wink, Lilia faces Fellow Honest, “Gladly, Dearest.”

You ended up giving Lilia multiple kisses whenever the spells struck him and Fellow Honest learned first hand why Lilia was a feared Phantom General in his youth.

[mellosdrawings]

May I ask what you like about Jamilkal?

Oh my gods ok Imma try not to infodump but also stay clear while I'm rambling.

So, mostly I'm a "platonic soulmates KaliJami" believer. It's less about romance or lust or whatever else and more about them just... gravitating around each other in a way that simply cannot be described with the words we usually associate with love.

Especially since you gotta add the hatred/hurt aspect to it all. The power imbalance. The fucked up situation they're both in. The traumas they've both gone through.

They love each other. They hate each other. They need each other. They keep sabotaging each other. They can't imagine their lives away from the other. They drag each other down and themselves all the time. They care so much for each other. They keep hurting each other.

It's all about tragedy. There is no way for them to heal and get a better relationship but by being separated. But they could never willingly part ways from each other. They'd need to be forcefully pulled apart, and even then they'd probably fight tooth and nail to get back to the other. Even when they're apart they can't stop thinking about each other. The other is seared in their DNA at this point, it'd be like cutting a limb to force them away from each other.

You might think "yeah but Jamil tried to kill Kalim." While he was overblotting, yes. As did all the overblotters, whether or not they loved the people they were attempting to hurt or not. But Jamil, while he did try to ruin Kalim's reputation and have him leave the school, never intended on hurting him. He could have done so much worse, Kalim and his family have so much faith in him, and the only thing he did was trying to get Kalim fired. He would have ended back under the Asim service as soon as school was done. He never meant to get rid of him forever, just push him away long enough so he could find himself.

Which he couldn't. Because fate simply refuses to leave them separated. Because Kalim or his father insisted they stayed together. And now you might think that Kalim is the one pushing this relationship, but have you heard just how much Jamil refers to Kalim? Kalim can live without Jamil, but damn is Jamil obsessed with Kalim. To an unhealthy extent.

Yes it's because of his upbringing. Yes it's because he fears for his and his family's sake. Yes it's because he's an overbearing mom friend. Doesn't change the fact that he has Kalim under his skin 24/7.

The point isn't that it's healthy. They could never be healthy together, no matter how much they try to change their dynamic. Jamil stifles Kalim's growth by being overbearing. Kalim stifles Jamil's growth by constantly relying on him. They feed off each other. Their flaws feed off each other. They just keep making each other worse.

And that's just such an interesting dynamic to explore. They're made for each other but they can't be together. Their story can only end well if they separate. It's as tragic as you could make.

So yeah. That's why I love KaliJami. They're a tragedy. They gonna burn together and they're gonna do it clinging to each other.

And boy, if that ain't love.

[g0nta-g0kuhara]

I think there is a really interesting analysis that can be done with v3’s ending and how fiction can hit different people in different ways, Especially depending on conditions outside of the story itself. I think the message v3’s ending was trying to get across was successful, considering the fact that many people did understand and feel it even on a first experience. But for many people it hit in the exact opposite way as intended, which is bizarre. I wish I still had the spoons to write an essay on this

[tatretot]

*ham-hamifies your desert duo* :3c *ham-hamifies your jizzie* :3c *ham-hamifies your imp & skizz* :3c

[thats-highly-significant]

It genuinely blows my mind how Red Dwarf has multiple episodes where the problem is that Rimmer has been unloved for his whole life and has a series of genuinely harmful neuroses as a result of his general upbringing. And in one of those episodes (cough cough terrorform) the solution is to make Rimmer feel loved and accepted, and he gets better! And yet! Because it was an episodic BBC comedy from the late 80s they didn’t want to change the status quo too much between episodes so Rimmer just never ever actually gets better. There’s something kind of awe-inspiring about creating a completely insufferable character who usually operates as the punching bag to Lister’s straight man, and then taking a lot of episode runtime to tell the audience in explicit terms that he is the way he is because of a tragic series of life events, and that he could get better if someone bothered to show him some compassion, and then just going straight back to Well, It Is Time to Laugh At Rimmer. It’s like well why don’t you just fucking kill me and be done with it

[soft--dogs]

awrrrgggrrooo just messaged my doctor, tryin to get my testosterone debacle sorted out... >_>

[omegalerc]

okay, question: would u say max and charles are mates? cuz if max and charles are mated, how does the omega auction even go? wouldn’t max have first priority or something? especially if charles is pregnant??

anon this is such a loaded question but i thank u for asking. the answer is quite complicated; a lot of my lestappenanel situations are curated but what emotion i am specifically feeling at the time. sometimes charles and max are mates with twins on the way, sometimes they are fuckbuddies by contractual and heat/rut partnerships, and sometimes charles is just. Getting sold tf out of at the omega auction. you see omegaverse lestappen can exist in so many different lifeforms it’s quite beautiful really.

[just-null]

he wants kiss, but he doesnt out right ask for one. (he got one.)