#you can't ask if it's about murder

[eidolons-stuff]

*Enid & Thing go out into the hallway to talk about Wednesday*

Enid: *major concern* "Is Wednesday alright? IS SHE DEAD?!"

Thing: *signs* "Wednesday is alright. She's not dead"

Enid: *almost faints with relief*

Thing: *signs* "But she did drop a MAJOR bombshell though"

Enid: *confused & lowkey scared* "Was it about murdering someone?"

Thing: *signs* "It was about you"

Enid: "Ok, now I'm really scared"

Thing: *signs* "You have to see Wednesday right now! Come on!"

[feluka]

oh god shut up. you didn't even know the damn kid.

"The children are always ours, every single one of them, all over the globe, and I am beginning to suspect that whoever is incapable of recognizing this may be incapable of morality." — James Baldwin

[thejakeformerlyknownasprince]

One thing I find so interesting is how in book 19, Cassie’s reckoning comes at the realization she may have leaped after Jake said to back off. When she had permission, she didn’t feel responsibility.

I mean, that's Jake's whole dang role on the team, isn't it? As Marco puts it "No votes. Jake decides. Then if it goes bad, we can all blame him" (#25). As with every Marco line ever, he's both joking and... not. Throw in all the times he sarcastically calls Jake "Dad", as a way of calling out someone else for treating Jake like a dad, and it's clear Marco gets it.

That is the point of Jake. He gives the order, and thus neither Ax (who pulled the lever) nor Marco (who made the call) has the blood of 17,000 yeerks on their hands. It's only Jake's crime. Jake gave the order, and so not only can Cassie (in #50) and Rachel (in #47) blame him for David, but he can go ahead and blame himself (#41). Jake gave the order, and so Ax did not actually run from battle (#26). Jake gave the order, and so Marco did not actually let his mom die (#30).

He's their water-carrier, their scapegoat. He doesn't want to be, but someone has to do it.

[summertimemusician]

Linktober Day 6

Mask(s)

Soft and sweet with just a hint of melancholic because 1.I'm tired and probably need a nap father than coffee, 2.I actually managed to make a pretty good mocha and the Anchorage LOZ animatic came onto my playlist before writing this and it kind of influenced my mood, and 3. I'm saving the usual Majora's Mask flare of angst for another prompt because I was having way too much fun dissecting the tragedy of the Hero of Time before sleep deprivation snatched the idea away which is usually my sign to pass the heck out and save the second option for when I have more energy lol.

For the Warriors fans, also Warriors is a disaster of an older sibling but we adore and appreciate him for it in this household, as always can be implied romantic or platonic between him and reader.

You were all but pinned down to the ground, brought down more effectively and unable to find the strength to get up.

Well, not literally, there were no enemies nearby, the chaos at camp had long since died down and there wasn’t anything much to do now that night had fallen, the heavens deigning to put all of it’s glittering jewels on display.

Were it any other day you’d probably focus more on appreciating it in full, the fire was crackling merrily, you were safe and had a full stomach and even with the ever present threat of the Shadow possibly deciding to ambush you all while most of your guards were down, you had your boys with you and the crisp autumn petrichor was a balm on your soul, weary from the journey.

Maybe it would be fine to rest for a little while.

And then the small figure clinging to you flinched, burrowing closer and holding onto your tunic like a lifeline. And awareness came to you like a smack over the head with a log, your fingers gently carding through blond locks as you hum gently. Weighting options and just how quietly you could move without bothering the precious Sprite at your side.

You had guessed Time had been a sweet kid, and you still wanted to lodge a formal complaint with the gods for writing such cruel fate for him because the man couldn’t catch a break and you’re not the only one to take it personally. But he was killing you here, this is how you die, with an adorable but oh so heartbreakingly sad little boy having fallen asleep leaning against you after telling you all sorts of stories about his extensive mask collection.

(You don’t know wether you want to cry, scream or laugh, Mask was so, so young. It breaks your heart, just a little.

Really, the deities of Hyrule must adore tragedies. Bastards.)

Sighing, you decide to compromise, gently keeping the Kokiri boy right where he is, fast asleep and with barely any nightmares as you hum and card your fingers through the spun gold strands, you brush your fingers through the last masks he fell asleep mid through telling the story of how he’d acquired. If you were careful surely you’d be able to reach his pack on his side so he wouldn’t worry later.

A pair of brown boots invade your vision, Warriors crouches down. You think you spot a flash of surprise on his eyes as he spots Mask napping on you, and then fond amusement of a big brother you knew he directed often towards Wind, tone low, “Well would you look at that, out like a light. It’s a rare honor for him to trust anyone like this.”

You chuckle a bit, shaking your head, “I can tell, he’s a good kid. I’ve barely met him for a day and I’d already take on an army for him.”

“Welcome to my world.”, comes Warriors dry response, though you both knew he was a hundred percent serious, his own mask quickly falling away as he gently picked up the Deku Sprout Mask to put it back in the small sprite’s pouch, hiding it’s confused, fearful sadness from your gaze (and it’s an effort, not to twitch, as your rage towards Majora gained even more kindling to burn) as the soldier handled it with the due solemnity of being one of the few Mask would allow to even touch the masks without his immediate supervision, “... I never thought I’d see him again, as...”

“I know.” Your tone was quiet, as you carefully picked your choice of words.

If there’s one thing you knew about any Link, is that they’re all really good elder brother’s and that they are too hard on themselves. Warriors specially, Mask and Wind were his everything, there wouldn’t be words that could describe how gutted he was, after confirming his suspicions with you, regretting not saying anything against Mask joining the battle field back then, loathing himself for not convincing him or Lana into letting him stay in spite of his bad feeling that as soon as the young hero of time passed through that portal he was unlikely to ever meet him again.

... You settle for something simple, instead, reaching a hand to softly pat his head, taking care not to mess his hair too much, “You did good, Wars, it’s not your fault. Mask also knows you did your best.”

He still, sighing, the mask falling away as he guides your hand to his lips, quietly thankful (really, like big brother like little brother, your wonderful, silly, caring boys. You make a point to cheerfully bat away the butterflies in your stomach, ), “... Feels hard to believe that, some times. Thank you.”

You hum, after putting the Zora mask away, Warriors takes Mask’s other side, pulls you closer and breathes.

(Just in case, he lies to himself.)

You quietly listen to his stories about his little brother, and Warriors is content.

[the-monkey-ruler]

Wukong after reaching the nirvana, after his 15 years of journey (Idk if it's 15 years the journey has lasted) did he still eat humans after that time? I've heard in buddhism the human life is not woth at all, it's like an atom, correct me if this is wrong and thanks for your time of answering

(14 years) and no Wukong did not eat humans afterward as that would go against his vows to not eat meat and to value all life. I don’t know who told you that human life is worth nothing in Buddism but human life is to be considered one of the highest levels to be and should be valued as sacred to be able for anyone to reach enlightenment… I think you might be confusing the idea that letting go of personal material and personal desires like greed, want, and selfishness is the same as letting go of your own personality or morals?? Which is not the case. They accept that they are going to but they do not want to die and they accept that all life is priceless which does not mean no life is less worthy. It is even said to be careful when you sweep so that ants are not harmed… Buddism being about letting go of worldly desires and while there is a lot about self-sacrificing and selfishness involved it is out of a place of compassion and love for your fellow man.

As a Buddha, Wukong is supposed to have a sense of lack of self, be able to separate the idea of self from his physical form, and become one with the universe all that jazz but that doesn't mean that life is... an atom? Self-sacrifice in this case means giving up his worldly desires, in order to reach that level of enlightenment. It’s more about not letting worldly desires weigh you down, knowing that just being yourself is enough and you don’t need to desire things that are “better” in order to find fulfillment in your life. All the happiness that you can find in the world is inside you in about accepting yourself rather than, looking for acceptance in the world. The reason why they push for having no desires is more so that you don’t need those desires, like money or fame or glory in order to feel more like a person. You have, and will always will be enough and that’s all that you’ve ever needed. Of course, it’s also important to connect to others that they are also enough how they are, and by showing them through compassion.

Actually just to think that Buddhism encourages devaluing life to the point of suicide or murder… that is very inaccurate to the point of insulting. I am not sure where you got this information but I implore you to do more research as that is… disgusting to think an entire religion is boiled down to such a thing…

And also while Wukong has said he has killed and eaten humans if it is often seen as more of him saying that hypothetically as his power of reviving people only happens with a pure qi. In the book Sanzang asks for Wukong to bring back the dead king in the well because both Bajie and Wujing ate people and their powers are tainted from while Wukong is pure, suggesting that he has never eaten a sentient being.

Has Sun Wukong really eaten people? Look at what he said to the Jade Emperor with clairvoyance when he was just born

https://inf.news/en/culture/93b9d93209bb1de0b7ecd2eef670cbdf.html

[didiwaffles]

Hello I do art once in adhd too

[myrmica]

my reading of lifesteal season 4 is so personal and involved at this point that even if i was going to post more character analysis i would not know where to start. it would require footnotes to documents that don't exist. listen to luddites and lambs by everything everything and you'll get half of it though

[pirefyrelight]

you know I've been seeing a lot of "the Muppets would be the only way to do a princess bride remake properly" and I understand where you're coming from, truly.

But I raise you: Phineas and Ferb crossover.

[nebulouscoffee]

bashir garak or ezri

Oooh great picks! I shall answer for all three😊

Julian

one aspect about them i love

That whole backstory with Kukalaka is SO endearing honestly; it really just gets to the heart of who he is, even by itself- but when paired with the whole 'Jules' reveal, it takes on a whole new poignancy

one aspect i wish more people understood about them

I've seen Julian described as naive a lot, usually because he "assumes the best of people"- and I'm not saying that isn't a valid read, but it just feels very incomplete to me! Yes he's childish sometimes, but he's not a baby lol- he's just strongly, strongly driven by the belief that people can always become better. We see him get VERY angry and snarky and (fearlessly) combative with people he believes are in the wrong; people who don't show any flexibility in their perspectives. But the moment a person shows any sort of inclination towards growth or evolution? He puts everything aside and believes in them. To me, this is not naivety- this is courage; even if (especially if!) he may get it wrong sometimes. DS9 (like the real world) is full of people who'll insist that wrongdoers will never change and only deserve to be punished for their mistakes- and imo, Julian makes a fascinating, refreshing, and essential foil to this. (On a more specific note- he does NOT hang out with Garak because he doesn't fully understand the atrocities Garak committed!! Not beyond 'The Wire', anyway. He literally heard (and at the time, fully believed) multiple stories involving Garak being 1. a Gul during the Occupation, 2. a mass murderer (with victims both Cardassian and Bajoran), and 3. an interrogator of literal children. If not the exact details, he certainly knows the magnitude of Garak's crimes- he just chooses to go to great lengths to save his life anyway. This says something way more interesting about him, I think- about his inclination to believe in anyone he thinks would grow better if given the chance, and his willingness to be the one giving them that chance. Which, incidentally, is also why I struggle to see him cutting off his parents, though I do understand why people find value in reading & writing stories like that)

one (or more) headcanon(s) i have about this character

He is a polyglot, but this is one skill he very much keeps to himself. The reasons why are complicated, and linked with how his ideas of home and family and lineage and history and Earth and connection and talking and talkative-ness and "skill" are all somewhat tainted by the discovery of what his parents did to him

one character i love seeing them interact with

SO many options, but let's talk about Jadzia- I love how they moved past the initial awkwardness of Julian's crush on her into this deep, supportive, fun (!!!) and extremely loving bond. There's a lot they have in common (Extreme Imposter Syndrome Buddies :D) which means they always know when the other needs a good pep talk, and it's adorable. I love how they have no boundaries sometimes (Jadzia buying him porn will always be funny), I love that they're in cahoots, I love that they make each other laugh- they care about each other so much!! I honestly think it was one of the best-written friendship arcs between a male and female character on Trek, which is why I'm always so *sighs deeply* about Julian's feelings for Jadzia being dredged up again in- ///cuts myself off because you've heard this rant before from everyone and their moogie haven't you///

one character i wish they would interact with/interact with more

Fascinating conversations Julian Bashir and Kira Nerys could've had (my beloved): long-term health issues in Bajoran mining victims & Resistance fighters; nature vs nurture and their "dangerous" Augment/Mirror selves; Sisko as Commanding Officer vs Sisko as Emissary; nerding out over Bajoran music; why must Jadzia Dax be so beautiful; complicated connections with cultural roots; Kirayoshi & postnatal care; the concept of "forgiveness"; revisiting that "frontier medicine" scene to highlight how much they've both changed; Kira offering a kinder approach to "Jules Bashir died in that hospital" through the concept of a pagh

one (or more) headcanon(s) i have that involve them and one other character

He never, ever let the whole Jem'Hadar thing go. In fact, he actually set up this secret rehabilitation centre in Goran'Agar's name after the war, which now provides intensive care for all the Jem'Hadar and Vorta left behind in the AQ. He told me himself :)

Garak

one aspect about them i love

It's been years since my first watch, but I'll never forget how excited I got every single time I saw "Special Guest Star Andrew Robinson" in the credits lol. You just know you're in for a great one; he's such a fantastic and scene-stealing character!

one aspect i wish more people understood about them

I just feel like, for a character whose most famous line is "They're all true, [especially the lies]", there is WAYYY too much discourse about him that approaches him from extremes? And it always misses the point imo. Garak was a spy, assassin, interrogator and torturer for the Cardassian government, who participated in (or at the very least, aided) a colonial and genocidal occupation, and expresses supremacist, xenophobic and fascist beliefs for the majority of the series. Erasing any of this is would be erasing not just who he was, but who he is. But the lack of imagination re how to move forward with him if we are engaging with such themes is equally, if not more, frustrating to me. Sure, a lot of the cutesy art and fanfics can have him behaving overly sincere and out of character- but the counter response is always "how dare you woobify this racist war criminal he's violent and dangerous and bigoted and therefore he would NOT do or say or feel any of that!!!", and- okay, so is the idea of him designing and sewing dresses out of character, then...? Is the image of him debating books over lunch with a bib tucked in too woobified? Is the notion of him trying to set up a fellow (Bajoran!!) business owner on a date too fanfic-ey? Because guess what- that's literally how he behaves on the show! Garak is a self-aware self-woobifier, that's literally the whole point, he's "just a plain simple tailor" wink, wink- and without at least some element of that comical mundanity, that sort of absurdist domesticity, the character just isn't recognisable imo. Garak is the con artist who fell for his own con; he's spent so long playing various roles that he now over-performs everything and has no idea where the performance ends and the genuine begins, literally what makes his character work is that you're looking at this war criminal just doing benign stuff like sampling drinks or watching a tennis match or gifting his friend chocolates and wondering just WHAT is going on inside his head- and, "he did horrible things and therefore must be incapable of any form of sincerity or affection or regret and the perception of any of those things is woobification" is such a reductive (and boring!) approach to him imo. I don't mean any of this as apologia; there are many, many ways in which a person can be bigoted and cruel, and Garak is those things- I just feel like people often misrepresent the manner in which he is those things (usually by making him unfunny and weirdly macho, which I just cannot understand at all😂)

TL;DR- Garak the poor sad misunderstood baby who never enjoyed any of the bad things he did and only thinks about Julian Bashir 24/7 is out of character, sure- but Garak the violent emotionless villain who treats all Bajorans abusively 24/7 and will never ever grow or change is... just as divorced from canon imo (imo!! Emphasis on "o"!!)

one (or more) headcanon(s) i have about this character

Garak himself doesn't always fully remember the details of his past; he has this very Cardassian ability to specifically delete anything he wants to from his memory, and he's better at it than most (though, still not always successful). Only thing Garak regularly tops is the List Of People Garak Lies To basically

one character i love seeing them interact with

Well, apart from the obvious- I think every scene between him and Odo in IC/TDIC is incredibly immersive and top tier! The actors are SO good together, and the only reason Odo isn't in the next category is I actually think it's perfectly in character for both of them to just never bring up the whole torture thing ever again

one character i wish they would interact with/interact with more

KIRAAAAA but tbh, I'm more interested in their post-canon dynamic than anything, so instead I'll go with Sisko! Every time these two are on screen together, amazing. The effortless back and forth. The intellectual battling. The subtly flirty line deliveries(!!!) The palpable shifts in the power dynamic. The oddly respectful snarking. Again, the way these two actors are SO GOOD

one (or more) headcanon(s) i have that involve them and one other character

Some may claim that Garak hates the more outlandish civilian outfits that Jake and Julian wear. I say he made them

Ezri

one aspect about them i love

The sheer impact of actually getting to spend a whole season with the next Dax (after years of only hearing about Curzon) just cannot be overstated imo. Like, we the audience got to experience firsthand what it was like for Benjamin to first see Jadzia walk out of that shuttle; for Jadzia to wake up one day and find herself the newest link in a long-revered chain- we actually saw the new host struggling to adjust, reconciling all those lifetimes of memories all over again, rekindling and redefining Dax's old relationships (the relationship with the audience very much included!)- and then on top of that, the new host wasn't even trained to take on the symbiont?? What an incredible character premise! I was obsessed from the moment she said "Hello Benjamin it's me Dax"

one aspect i wish more people understood about them

Ezri is Jadzia's successor; not Jadzia's replacement. She cannot replace Jadzia- that's literally the entire point of her arc, that she should stop trying! She's a fascinating character in her own right, and also extremely interesting to think about and discuss independent of whom she will end up/should've ended up with

one (or more) headcanon(s) i have about this character

Ezri Tigan was not "anxious" in a rambly nervous way like Ezri Dax, but more hyper-competent and "I'm always unhappy because everything I do HAS to be perfect so I'm never satisfied and I hate myself" (which was definitely how she was trained to think by her mother). For this reason, joining with Dax actually ends up being good for her in the long run! Nothing drives an oppressive voice out of your head quite like suddenly having eight other voices in there lol

one character i love seeing them interact with

I know some people don't like her and Worf mistakenly thinking they're in love and hooking up and then realising they work better as friends, but I actually think it's very understandable for both of them, and the friendship they form afterwards is so wholesome. That scene where he asks for her advice and she just calls out corruption in the Klingon empire is one of my favourite Ezri scenes ever :D

one character i wish they would interact with/interact with more

It is my firm belief that Sisko and Ezri's S7 arcs should have revolved around each other. Ben's journey at this point is so tied up in his ever-growing disconnect from linear time and corporeality, and imo nothing grounds this better than his three-lifetime bond with Dax! He should have talked about the Prophets and Benny Russell and the whole concept of destiny with his favourite old worm. It also would've been revelatory for Ezri, who herself is trying to adjust to the non-linearity (300 years of memories she can't easily get in order) and non-corporeality (whose body IS this anyway???) of being Dax

one (or more) headcanon(s) i have that involve them and one other character

I know we all have our theories as to why and how and when exactly she and Julian break up, and while I do enjoy the drama sometimes, I still fundamentally feel like it would be short and amicable and they'd remain close friends for life. Or maybe I'm just a big sap hehe

[annihilatius]

I honestly believe a lot of the pro-Palestine people on the left would be neo-Nazis if they were right wing because the amount of antisemitic propaganda you lot just eat up without an ounce of critical thought because it has the tag "Palestine" on it is genuinely horrifying.

[rotisseries]

so um. how was the raven king. and your thoughts on andrew all of them now please

UNFORTUNATELY I ENJOYED IT VERY MUCH. AND ALSO NOT AT ALL BUT I READ IT WITHIN A 24 HR PERIOD. SO. AND ANDREW I AM SO CRAZY FUCKING INSANE ABOUT HIM I FEEL THE NEED TO WHACK EVERY CHARACTER IN AFTG THAT IMPLIES HE'S JUST HEARTLESS AND CRUEL WHAT THE FUCKKK

[thesmallworldofsamizayn]

i have something very personal and ugly and probably incoherent that i need to get off my chest about israel. to preface im not a zionist, i am jewish and disgusted by israel on a daily basis, and this is me mostly speaking from that. i am sorry and if anyone who follows me doesn't want to read this from me/hates it i ask that you just scroll on by and forget it. and if you do read it and respond im happy to talk but just please take it in good faith. in reponse to this post

[one-winged-dreams]

I look at ONE ebay listing for a crisis core edition of the PSP and now ebay is like "DO YOU STILL WANT THIS? DO YOU WANT IT? I BET YOU DO, YOU BROKE BITCH."

[acacia-may]

Hello, how are you feeling today?

Hi Anon-friend! Thank you so much for your ask and for checking in with me. That's so sweet of you! 🥰

I am starting to feel a little bit better than I was, thankfully. Factoid about me: I have a chronic cardiovascular and ANS disease so I'm not the healthiest on even the best of days, but when it really flares up, I get really knocked down and debilitated. I'm trying out a new treatment that has been helping a lot though, and my sisters have been keeping me company. 😊

In more positive (though unrelated news), my one sister and I been playing a video game/visual novel called "Your Turn To Die" together, and it has been really interesting and very riveting! The storytelling and character arcs are top tier! ✨ I just finished one play through, and I have so many new "Little Trees" 🌲and have collected some new problematic fictional siblings to add to my collection too 😁😂 (I swear I'm a magnet for them 🧲 They always find me!) I'm really just itching to write about them as soon as I feel up to it!! 🥰 (Also, can't wait to tell you all about my sweet, sweet murder prince!! 💖 Devoted big brother, talented musician, and so, so dreamy...)

Anyway... Yes, I am on the mend a bit, but I think it'll still be a little while before I'm back to normal blog activity like writing headcanons, answering asks and playing games and such. Hopefully soon though! I have so many wonderful asks and requests right now and can't wait to be well enough to answer them! 🥰 Thank you so much for all of those, friends!

Thank you so much again for checking in! I really appreciate the support and concern, friend! 🥰 Sending hugs & much love to you! I hope you have a great rest of your day! 💕

[introspectivememories]

tim and bernard give off major sasaki and miyano vibes

[pocketramblr]

am I mistaking you for someone else or are you the one who made Giran Kotaro's dad once?

Haha no yeah that was me, that's a fun au born of a typo but committing to the bit was worth it as it ends up meaning Giran raises his grandchildren and leads to the Todobeards plotline