#with all its flaws

[entropyofnuance]

Also also also. Let’s talk about John Winchester. Let’s talk about the fact that your abuser can love you and you can love them back. And the way Dean feels his emotions so strongly which leads him to be so full of love and also so full of anger. He is a reflection of John Winchester in this way. Dean loves his father as his father loved him and they are both severely traumatized and they are both soldiers in a war they never asked to be in and have only been taught love and anger and responsibility and failure and fear. When anything threatens their loved ones, even if it’s another loved one, the threat must be taken out. This is absolute. It’s why John was so hard on Dean. It’s why Dean is so hard on Sam and on Cas and on Jack. It’s why they yell so loud and punch so hard and hug so tightly. They are desperate men. At their core they are scared by what they have had to become strong against and a man that has something to lose is a man who should be feared.

John Winchester loved his kids. He loved them enough to want them safe at any cost, even if it made him the villain in their story. Dean knows this kind of love. It’s the only love he’s ever had. He knows it like he knows the beat of his own heart, it’s his as much his as it is his father’s. Fits him like John’s old leather coat. Dean understands the loss his father has gone through. He understands what losing Mary meant. The burdens they carried were the same.

Sam has known a kinder love. The love of his brother. His brother who would keep him safe against any monster. A love that didn’t have the weight of responsibility, and so Sam never posed a threat to the safety of John’s loved ones. Sam understood love to be stolen Christmas presents and the last bowl of cereal and a ruffle of hair during class change. Because of Dean, Sam never understood John’s love, and so he focused on the abuse. He focused on the love he couldn’t find from his father. Oh man oh man oh man. I could write a thesis on them.

Oh god I’m going to keep going. John had to leave. He had to find what killed Mary. He had to leave Lawrence and go on the road and find Azazel. But he refused to leave his kids, the way his dad left him, because he loved them so much. And yes, he would leave to go on hunts, but he always came BACK. John had been hurt before and so he taught his kids how to defend themselves so they would never go through the pain he has felt. He taught them to never turn your back on your family. He taught them how to hunt the ghosts and demons that could take from you those you love most. He was obsessive and so deeply sad and Sam and Dean are cut from the same cloth.

“Everything you’ve done, you’ve done for love”

(I also just want to clarify: I am not condoning John’s behavior. He 100% abused his sons and that was not okay. I also recognize the differences between him and Dean and how important they are. However, I wanted to point out that the static “villain” title for John Winchester is doing a disservice to understanding the beauty and complexity of Sam and Dean both, and his love, however painful, is just as important to the plot as his hate is)

[the-media-pit]

final destination 3 you are something so special to me with your alt kids who are into science and statistics and your popular girls who sneer at the idea of listening to pop music and your freak main character who thinks knowing details about spongebob is weird and loserish behavior

[sleepyvib-es]

I will never get over the fact that rick riordan's favorite way of uplifting other characters is to tear percy jackson down

[anghraine]

It's always been intriguing to me that, even when Elizabeth hates Darcy and thinks he's genuinely a monstrous, predatory human being, she does not ever perceive him as sexually predatory. In fact, literally no one in the novel suggests or believes he is sexually dangerous at any point. There's not the slightest hint of that as a factor in the rumors surrounding him, even though eighteenth-century fiction writers very often linked masculine villainy to a possibility of sexual predation in the subtext or just text*. Austen herself does this over and over when it comes to the true villains of her novels.

Even as a supposed villain, though, Darcy is broadly understood to be predatory and callous towards men who are weaker than him in status, power, and personality—with no real hint of sexual threat about it at all (certainly none towards women). Darcy's "villainy" is overwhelmingly about abusing his socioeconomic power over other men, like Wickham and Bingley. This can have secondhand effects on women's lives, but as collateral damage. Nobody thinks he's targeting women.

In addition, Elizabeth's interpretations of Darcy in the first half of the book tend to involve associating him with relatively prestigious women by contrast to the men in his life (he's seen as extremely dissimilar from his male friends and, as a villain, from his father). So Elizabeth understands Darcy-as-villain not in terms of the popular, often very sexualized images of masculine villainy at the time, but in terms of rich women she personally despises like Caroline Bingley and Lady Catherine de Bourgh (and even Georgiana Darcy; Elizabeth assumes a lot about Georgiana in service of her hatred of Darcy before ever meeting her).

The only people in Elizabeth's own community who side with Darcy at this time are, interestingly, both women, and likely the highest-status unmarried women in her community: Charlotte Lucas and Jane Bennet. Both have some temperamental affinities with Darcy, and while it's not clear if he recognizes this, he quietly approves of them without even knowing they've been sticking up for him behind the scenes.

This concept of Darcy-as-villain is not just Elizabeth's, either. Darcy is never seen by anyone as a sexual threat no matter how "bad" he's supposed to be. No one is concerned about any danger he might pose to their daughters or sisters. Kitty is afraid of him, but because she's easily intimidated rather than any sense of actual peril. Even another man, Mr Bennet, seems genuinely surprised to discover late in the novel that Darcy experiences attraction to anything other than his own ego.

I was thinking about this because of how often the concept of Darcy as an anti-hero before Elizabeth "fixes him" seems caught up in a hypermasculine, sexually dangerous, bad boy image of him that even people who actively hate him in the novel never subscribe to or remotely imply. Wickham doesn't suggest anything of the kind, Elizabeth doesn't, the various gossips of Meryton don't, Mr Bennet and the Gardiners don't, nobody does. If anything, he's perceived as cold and sexless.

Wickham in particular defines Darcy's villainy in opposition to the patriarchal ideal his father represented. Wickham's version of their history works to link Darcy to Lady Anne, Lady Catherine (primarily), and Georgiana rather than any kind of masculine sexuality. This version of Darcy is a villain who colludes with unsympathetic high-status women to harm men of less power than themselves, but villain!Darcy poses no direct threat to women of any kind.

It's always seemed to me that there's a very strong tendency among fans and academics to frame Darcy as this ultra-gendered figure with some kind of sexual menace going on, textually or subtextually. He's so often understood entirely in terms of masculinity and sexual desire, with his flaws closely tied to both (whether those flaws are his real ones, exaggerated, or entirely manufactured). Yet that doesn't seem to be his vibe to other characters in the story. There's a level at which he does not register to other characters as highly masculine in his affiliations, highly sexual, or in general as at all unsafe** to be around, even when they think he's a monster. And I kind of feel like this makes the revelations of his actual decency all along and his full-on heroism later easier to accept in the end.

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

*The incompetently awful villain(?) in Sanditon, for instance, imagines himself another Lovelace (a reference to the famous rapist-villain of Samuel Richardson's Clarissa). Evelina's sheltered education and lack of protectors makes her vulnerable to sexual exploitation in Frances Burney's Evelina, though she ultimately manages to avoid it. There's frequently an element of sexual predation in Gothic novels even of very different kinds (e.g. Ann Radcliffe's The Mysteries of Udolpho and Matthew Lewis's The Monk both lean into this, in their wildly dissimilar styles). William Godwin's novel Caleb Williams, a book mostly about the destructive evils of class hierarchies and landowning classes specifically, depicts the mutual obsession of the genteel villain Falkland and working class hero Caleb in notoriously homoerotic terms (Godwin himself added a preface in 1832 saying, "Falkland was my Bluebeard, who had perpetrated atrocious crimes ... Caleb Williams was the wife"). This list could go on for a very long time.

**Darcy is also not usually perceived by other characters as a particularly sexual, highly masculine person in a safe way, either, even once his true character is known. Elizabeth emphasizes the resilience of Darcy's love for her more than the passionate intensity they both evidently feel; in the later book, she does sometimes makes assumptions about his true feelings or intentions based on his gender, but these assumptions are pretty much invariably shown to be wrong. In general the cast is completely oblivious to the attraction he does feel; even Charlotte, who wonders about something in that quarter, ends up doubting her own suspicions and wonders if he's just very absent-minded.

The novel emphasizes that he is physically attractive, but it goes to pains to distinguish this from Wickham's sex appeal or the charisma of a Bingley or Fitzwilliam. Mr Bennet (as mentioned above) seems to have assumed Darcy is functionally asexual, insofar as he has a concept of that. Most of the fandom-beloved moments in which Darcy is framed as highly sexual, or where he himself is sexualized for the audience, are very significantly changed in adaptation or just invented altogether for the adaptations they appear in. Darcy watching Elizabeth after his bath in the 1995 is invented for that version, him snapping at Elizabeth in their debates out of UST is a persistent change from his smiling banter with her in the book, the fencing to purge his feelings is invented, the pond swim/wet shirt is invented. In the 2005 P&P, the instant reaction to Elizabeth is invented, the hand flex of repressed passion is invented, the Netherfield Ball dance as anything but an exercise in mutual frustration is invented, the near-kiss after the proposal in invented, etc. And in those as well, he's never presented as sexually predatory, not even as a "villain."

[curiouscatastrophe]

On my bullshit once again, this time with @outkclassed's ford labs au!

I love him :) I was supposed to connect him with some wires in the back, but I have too much fun with him being modular!! Rearranging his ass!! He's contemporary art now <3

You can't be mean to him because he is only three apples tall 🥺🥺

and of course, his place of honor

[electronicmail]

I'm sorry that was really mean I still love you despite your britishness

im american. im from los angeles

[smile-files]

even if we each are nothing, i can still feel your hand holding mine... and isn't that worth everything?

[gaywineauntsstuff]

Dick Grayson is my favorite lil guy

And my favorite way of consuming content of my favorite lil guy is the core 5 titans

There is also about 5 billion pieces of media where these 5 interact and some of it sucks so here I am scrapbooking canon together with glue and scissors so I can talk about how I view Dicks relationship with the other OG titans and how different these relationships are from one another while all still being boiled down to found family love

Dick & Donna: Listen. To. Me. These two aren't besties, or fav teammates or siblings. These two are the sun and earth revolving around each other except they each think the other one is the Sun. Dick Grayson and Donna Troy are the blueprint for platonic soulmates. Dick and Donna make everyone around them believe in ancient story by plato "humans once had 4 arms and legs and 2 faces and the God Zeus split them in half for their hubris and now they are destined to roam the earth forever looking for their other half". If y'all think Dick wasn't doing well after Jason died?? Donna Troys death fundamentally changed who Dick Grayson was and how he was written in teams for years. Donna Troy and Dick Grayson absolutely have debated getting platonically married (not canon but it is in my heart) and the only reason they haven't is BC if they do, Donna will kidnap Dick and never let him within 1000 feet of Bruce Wayne and Gotham.

Dick & Roy: remember how I said Dick was fucked up post Troias death in the comics? yeah? Roy Harper is the only reason he made it out of that period of his life alive. These two are like fire and Gasoline, they're quick and angry and always inexplicably near each other. They are VICIOUS with one another in a way they almost never are with anyone else. They try so hard to ruin their relationship bc implicitly they know (unless its the new 52 which I ignore for my own mental wellbeing-hey I did say this was a scrap book of canons) they'll always be there for each other. Roy Harper never misses, Dick Grayson cannot fall and yet Dick is there to hold Roy when his hand trembles and Roy is there to catch Dick when he loses his Grip.

Dick Grayson is the first person Roy calls to get Lian

Roy Harper is the designated keep Dick Grayson alive even if he has to tie the bastard up-

Dick (and wally depending on the run) help Roy with his addiction)

these two are each others roman empires

Dick & Wally: to cut back on the pretentious seriousness of this post. Every time these two are drawn together be it 80s road trips or being the most likeable part of tom Taylors run. Wally west always reads like he's about to invite Dick to swing with him and his wife. If you see them as platonic, romantic (right person wrong time is my favourite Fanon flavour but canonically I like em besties) or somewhere in between Wally West is always Dick Graysons best friend. There is something so wholesome about the fact that Wally canonically stalks checks up on Dick Grayson as much as he does his wife and twins and Dick who is a bat, notorious for expressing their love via breaking into your house and doing your casework for you. Is getting stalked checked up on by someone who loves him without it triggering his "see obviously you're not good enough they're literally babysitting you" paranoia. its like meeting your partners love language needs but its for deeply messed up individuals. They canonically call themselves best friends, and while Dick will always love Roy he always Likes being around Wally (as well as love him but that's a given)

(sidetone are you even besties if people don't think you're dating when they meet you?)

Dick & Garth: The amount of trust, love and respect that tempest holds for Nightwing melts my damn heart (but then again everything garth does melts my damn heart, baby Garth you will always be famous) they are such an underrated pairing and I love the fact that no matter the media, whether they're rivals like in the cartoons or Garth deferring to Dick as leader to the point where he disobeys aquaman (rebirth) Bc yeah THATS how much my purple eyed perfect boy trusts wing. There is always this really sweet understanding that Garth can go to Dick for advice (he asks for Donna advice in titans and advice on his relationship with Dolphin in the comics). And him and Dicks reunion post RIC? I love them sm. Its just... There was also a period of time where Garth was the only titan with sense and tbh sometimes its refreshing to see that when the rest of them (except donna she was dead at the time we never say a bad word about donna in this household) are being fucking insane

[whump-in-the-closet]

what are ur fav tropes for stoic whumpees? love da blog

stoic whumpee tropes that are a 100/10:

"I'm fine" and then immediately collapsing in front of their loved ones in a bleeding pile, revealing a hidden injury that has festered for far too long

silent, muffled crying with shaking shoulders and a bloody hand clamped over their mouth because they view crying as weak and beneath them and they're stronger than this, they're stronger, they can take it--

the moment they close their eyes in defeat and it's all over and they fucking know it, and when they open their eyes again all that remains is a glassy-dead stare

adamantly refusing medical treatment even when they need it. Shoving away everyone who comes close to them, a choked sound in their throat, fighting back with everything that's left in them.

when they kneel at Whumper's feet, eyes on the ground, white-lipped and tense. The only betrayal of emotion is their clenched fists and tight breathing. In every other way, they're compliant.

refusing to talk about what they endured at Whumper's hands after they're rescued, but the scars tell the story for them. They don't have to say a word, but their team's pitying gaze follows them wherever they go

normally unaffectionate and distant but exhausted and defeated they rest their head on Caretaker's shoulder or Whumper's lap, just finally admitting--nonverbally-- that they can't take it

reversely, more willing to be tortured than to ask for help-- If I'm breathing, I'm fine

stitching their own wounds back up with an unsteady hand, painful stitch after painful stitch. Deep breath and pull. Working in a dimly lit apartment with bleeding clothes on the floor around them and the bed unmade

sacrificing themself for their team. "Take me! Do what you want to me. Not them." And their team watching as the torture takes its slow toll and Whumpee-- the one they look up-- falls apart.

[basil-does-arttt]

'beyond all ideas of right and wrong, there is a field

i will be meeting you there'

[bugwolfsstuff]

'Apollo will just forget his lesson and go back to old habits after a few years. He wont change—'

Okay explain why you think that other than 'hurr durr he's a god and they don't change' because that's a stupid fucking reason. That's Hermes' mentality and he is NOT a good role model (I love him tho)

And honestly presuming someone will always go back to being a bad person after they tried to better themselves because time has passed/their upbringing is straight up a bad mindset to have in general. You WANT people to be better. Prematurely deciding they'll give up and stay bad is how you make sure they stay bad.

[cubbihue]

Would the Hazel puppet we see in a few of the shows episodes be a kind of very basic changeling? Its obviously made out of way less unwishes than Chimmy but the similarities are too striking to be ignored.

YES! YES IT ISS.

Hazel's puppet is a very basic changeling. So basic, that it's only purpose is to complete one specific set of actions. When those actions are done, it disappears! It's quite literally and physically a sock puppet.

The differences between Hazel's changeling and Timmy's changeling is that their lifespans and construction is different. They serve different purposes.

Bitties Series: [Start] > [Previous] > [Next]

More information about changelings that's ultimately just world building ramblings. Lotsa paragraphs.

Hazel's changeling is short lived, low on unwishes, and more specific to the job.

Her changeling is a one-and-done tool. It only has to do one thing. "Distract the Teacher." "Distract the Mother." So it doesn't need a lot of unwishes, it just needs enough to do its job! As a result, it is made of low quality cloth, it can't verbalize, and it doesn't make its own actions.

Hazel's changeling favors Perceptional Magic. This is why Mr. Guzman doesn't recognize that Hazel's changeling isn't Hazel. He can't see that it's made of felt and sticks. It's constantly pooling out perception magic to warp how its being viewed.

For this reason, the changeling doesn't actually need as much connections as Timmy's does. It can exist by itself, or with Hazel, so long as it has just enough Unwishes to keep it alive. Maybe not stable, but, alive.

By contrast, Timmy' changeling is on the opposite end of this spectrum.

Timmy's changeling is a continuous tool. It must persist and adapt and grow. "Go to school" "Get a job" "Find a partner". It needs many unwishes to face many situations and scenarios. So the changeling has a more difficult build.

The magic it favors is different. Timmy's changeling requires Environmental Magic. People see it for how it looks. It has human skin and can speak the human tongue. But what it requires is a suitable environment. Otherwise, people will know it for what it is. Wooden and hollow.

The more developed and high-tech the Changeling is, the less it's recommended for it to see it's real counterpart. The bigger the amount of Unwishes, the more you want it to be stable and calm. Especially when that changeling's job is "Be Human".

[kumzorg]

im sleep deprives so i sketched some of my goobers

[sacredqueerness]

Rest in peace Pope Francis 🕊

The last things he did in life (besides meeting JD Vance, which I'm so sorry you had to do that on your last day) was to give an Easter Sunday homily about hope, peace and liberation. Including a prayer for peace, justice and humanitarian aid in Gaza, for peace in Lebanon, Syria, Yemen, Ukraine, Myanmar, Congo, Sudan and all over the world. He chose to spend his last day advocating for global peace and disarmament, international humanitarian aid and for the liberation of prisoners of war and political prisoners.

He passed on Easter Monday, the day after resurrection, after sharing his dream and prayer for a world free from unjust death. I hope his memory will be honored by making his final prayer a reality ❤️

[laurellala-comics]

I want so badly to live in blissful ignorance and imagine that an ace attorney world with Fem!Phoenix and Fem!Edgeworth would be totally the same except with cool women lawyers, but I fear the casual sexism of the early otts would heavily impact the plot :(

[blissfulbluee]

Thinking about how that year Gi-hun was like this

He was probably so torn up and guilty over trying to manipulate Il-nam into losing the marble game. Despite him failing and Il-nam willingly losing anyway, he definitely felt like he played a huge part in his death. Then all of that turned out to be for nothing but a man who not only faked his death, but all created the games and is responsible for all of the suffering the games caused. All for entertainment.

When we talk about how the games change people, we forget to comment on Gi-hun’s attempts to manipulate and trick another player in order to survive. That’s mainly because the reality was that Il-nam was the one who created game, but if we look at it at surface level, how do you live with yourself after doing something like that?

When he argued with Sang-woo about pushing that man, I’m sure what happened came to mind. When he argued with In-ho, telling him just the type of people the games created, he wasn’t exempting himself. Gi-hun not only knew that the games had brought out selfishness and desperation in people he knew, he knew he became that himself, even if Il-nam ended up faking his death and being the creator of the games.

That’s why I hate the hero complex and self-righteousness claims. Maybe hypocrite can work if you don’t think he ever felt convicted for things he did, but Gi-hun is fully aware of how apathetic people act in death games because he did it himself. He actively is trying to prevent people from making the same mistakes he did, not pretending he is a high and mighty hero who thinks of the players as something to be fixed and that only he can do it—nor does he see them as pawns for his goal. He sees himself in all of them, even the most violent and selfish.