#because i think that the contrast to literally everything else he does in the movie

[mermaidsirennikita]

no offense to people who love the BBC P&P but imagine being more into the one where he proposes in a room where he's dominated by wallpaper, versus the one where he proposes in POURING RAIN, beginning with this desperate little "ILOVEYOUMOSTARDENTLYPLEASEDOMETHEHONOROFACCEPTINGMYHAND" and escalating to the point where he's almost YELLING because his FEELINGS are coming out SO HARD and he's been quiet the whole movie but NOW HE CAN'T STAND IT (and before people come at him Lizzie is almost yelling also) and the man who's been so repressed this whole movie is like, rolling his eyes at her comebacks, absolutely spitting the "Mr.wickham" while stepping forward in the most irritated manner possible

it's just such a dynamic scene and while I think Keira is great in this movie, I'm glad that over the years Matty Mac has gotten the flowers he deserves because the choice to have it begin as this pleading gentlemanly proposal characterized by the same anxiety Darcy has shown throughout the movie to this very angry and annoyed and even EXASPERATED argumentative state we've never seen him in before (aside from hints like the dance and him fucking off on that horse after seeing Wickham lmao) because he's PISSED at getting rejected by her especially for doing shit he thinks was totally valid lol, then moving into absolute horniness in the end because he's not on his A-Game Honor Code at all anymore.......

[SUBLIME!]

#this is not a post where i wanna hear anyone's opinions about how the bbc one is better i do not care #this is a poster about how everything about this scene is perfect #but ESPECIALLY the anger and annoyance part that matty mac puts in it #because i think that the contrast to literally everything else he does in the movie #is excellent #i feel like the intensity to which he reacts to her in this scene is what really proves the depth of his feeling #more than all of the anxiety does #not to trash the anxiety it's such good characterization but to me it's like... #him being so mad at being rejected and misunderstood by her is like oh he WANTS this woman #he's INVESTED

[maxwell-grant]

“What's impressive?! I've been a boy this whole time!”

(Spoilers for Puss in Boots 2: The Last Wish)

Big Jack Horner was delightfully wretched and felt a lot like he was a Shrek villain stuck in a Puss in Boots movie and it made for a really interesting contrast, with everyone else in the forest going through swashbuckling adventures of personal growth and companionship, while he’s cheating and steamrolling his way through everything with darkly comedic brutality, quite literally pulling Shrek gags out of a bag as he just kills and burns and stomps his way through the magical wonderland.

It’s like he was designed to be the Final Boss of Shrek, except there’s currently no Shrek movies for him to be in so, into the Puss in Boots sequel he goes, almost like this dark embodiment of the shadow cast over the Puss in Boots franchise that it must surpass (and somehow did). He just does not play by any of the same rules everyone else does and it’s great, it lets everyone look better by default. It lets the Puss vs Death story play out in all it’s poetic glory but still gives the movie a proper bastard for everyone to gang up on. I didn’t think of that at first, but I’ve read some comments and wonderful analysis commenting on Jack Horner as a extended pisstake on Disney, an update of Lord Farquaad for modern times, and it’s an analysis that makes a lot of sense.

In that regard: while this couldn’t possibly have been intentional given their release dates so close to each other, I do think it’s pretty funny that Jack winds up connected to Pinocchio, a character who had having a rather busy 2022 if you can tell. Not only is he followed around by a bootleg Jiminy Cricket, but we see that Jack, who was extremely well-off and spoiled throughout his entire life, bears an incandescent bitterness against all magical creatures (and Pinocchio specifically) for taking attention away from his roadside show, which consisted entirely of him reciting his nursery rhyme over and over (even his family was shown bored by it), and so that’s why he wants to own ALL the magic in the world: so that nobody else gets any.

He, who already owns a massive empire and business and land and literally endless collections of powerful magical artifacts he can use to achieve anything he wants a trillion times over, who doesn’t even know what most of what he has does or is worth, is driven by the fact that Pinocchio upstaged him once,

and so nobody else should get to do anything like that ever again.

(Again, not saying this was remotely intentional, just a funny coincidence)

Also wonderful how his ultimate undoing comes from said bootleg Jiminy Cricket, one of the countless employees he’d abused and crushed over the movie, finally having enough and sending him his incendiary “resignation letter”. 2022 saw the year end with a movie where Jiminy Cricket ends a titanic corporate manchild’s reign of terror and life by setting a magical contract map on fire and freeing everyone from it.

It doesn’t even register as one of the best things about the movie only because the movie has SO many best things going on, that it can just casually work in one of the funniest Shrek subplots of all time like it’s easy. Still shocked at how good this film was and how much life they injected into it, perfect movie to end or start the year with.

#puss in boots #puss in boots 2 #puss in boots the last wish #dreamworks #shrek #big jack horner

[grlazul]

affections

some of the ways they show their affection for you. housewardens version

notes: bit of angst at the end of malleus' section, i'm quite sorry guys.

RIDDLE ROSEHEARTS

when most think of riddle, patience is not the first thing that comes to mind. this is because they don't have the privilege of seeing the riddle you get to see. you had been studying with him for around an hour and a half. for the past half hour you had been stuck on a certain topic, no matter how many chapters of the textbook you read or how many times he tried to explain it, you just couldn't wrap your head around it. had you been anyone else, riddle would be incredibly frustrated, and perhaps a bit desperate for them to get a grip, but you were not just anyone. so he sat with you throughout it, vowing to help and find the perfect study method. ace and deuce gawk at his gentle behavior, a stark contrast to the yelling they endured earlier. his favoritism towards you is outrageous, not that you mind.

LEONA KINGSCHOLAR

is tired, very often. he isn't always asleep when he's seen laying around. but can't seem to find the will to get up and do something. despite his constant fatigue, he will always find ways to remind you that he loves you. forcing you to lay with him is one of them, he'll wrap his arms around you and nuzzle into your neck before asking you to speak. it can be about anything really, most of the time you'll talk about how your day went. he always listens, his eyes are shut but you know he's invested because of the never ending remarks he'll make as you go on. someone was bothering you? he's just called them the most hilarious name you can think of, not wanting you to be bothered by such a lowlife. he doesn't have to see you to know what expression you have on your face. it's quite amazing really, he knows just what to say and when to say it, and even knows when he should stay quiet. it's quite simple, really. but he loves it, though not nearly as much as he loves you. (a/n almost called him eepy while writing his part haha)

AZUL ASHENGROTTO

azul is very devoted to his work, but when it comes to you, he is almost tempted to throw it away. he is very aware that his constant giving of gifts does not make up for his lack of presence on most nights. which is why he will put everything aside once in a while and dedicate an entire day to you, his lovely pearl. whatever you want, he'll do it with you. it's only fair after he has spent many a night cramped up in his office dealing with contract after contract. he knows your relationship isn't perfect, but he's eternally grateful that you're willing to work with him through it. one of his favorite things to do is when you decide to have a movie night with him. he'll help you build a fort, make snacks, anything you feel is important to the activity, and will then wrap all his limbs around you while the two of you watch. it's quite endearing really, a normally serious businessman tossing the entire persona for his one and only. don't tell the tweels please... they'll never let him hear the end of it.

KALIM AL ASIM

when on earth is he not showing all of his love for you?? it would honestly be hard to find an answer to that question... kalim is always in your corner (almost literally, he would spend every second with you if he could but i think jamil would lose it if he hears one more nickname such as 'pookie muffin' or 'moopsy'...) however i think his favorite way to show you he loves you is taking you for rides on his magic carpet, cliche i know but it's cute! of course all his gifts mean a lot to him, you're beginning to develop your own mini treasure room in ramshackle for goodness sake, but the time you spend with him cannot compare to any riches. if you're scared of heights, he'll work his way around it! it may not seem as romantic when you're only two feet off the ground, but when it's with kalim, that doesn't really matter.

VIL SCHOENHEIT

now, vil is very busy. and unlike azul, he doesn't have the same amount of control over his schedule. this can be a bit problematic when it comes to your relationships but he always manages to find ways to include you in whatever he's doing. you've never been on the set of a movie? now you have, several times in fact. the directors begin to expect your arrival with his after a while and you eventually get your own chair to watch your star do his magic on set. if you ever find yourself feeling unwelcome or uneasy, he knows how to pull strings. he will promise to ruin anyone who dare to make his partner feel as if they are not welcome. and if you ever feel as if you want to do the kinds of things he does, you better believe this man is getting you in contact with anyone and everyone he can (and this is vil... it's a lot of people). but at the end of the day, he just loves to unwind with you. to fall asleep with you in his arms is bliss, he can't get enough.

IDIA SHROUD

idia is without a doubt, one of the most closed up people on the planet. to see him outside of his room is a marvel in itself, but to see him with his significant other in a cafe? one would have to double check their vision. he really can't believe the lengths he goes for you. to sit in such a place, surrounded by so many normies is honestly a nightmare! he's thankful you let him choose where the two of you should sit, bringing you to the most closed off booth in the space. you'll definitely have to order for him, it's the least you can do after forcing him to come to such a place! jokes aside, he really does try for you. of course he would rather sit in his room holed up playing video games while the both of you chat, but he knows that's just a fantasy. start easy with him, small gatherings first, perhaps you can build his courage up enough to bring him to a bigger place like the mall... oh the things he does for you prefect...

MALLEUS DRACONIA

you were malleus' first friend, and now his first lover. needless to say, he would do practically anything for you. he truly feels that no action, words, or items can express his feelings for you. even the most passionate of poems cannot do him justice. despite his frustration for not being able to properly express his feelings, he does enjoy gift giving. tiny trinkets, photographs, letters, you name it, he has given it to you in some variation. if you collect them and keep them somewhere he will just absolutely melt. you truly are everything to him. something he enjoys very much is when the two of you go into the forest or the meadow to find plants and other things to give to each other. it makes him so giddy, preparing something for you while you do the same. he's practically giggling and skipping as he looks for more flowers for you. once you give him your small bouquet or flower crown, or whatever you have created, he's delighted! he casts a spell that will make them last forever. if only he could do the same to you...

#grlazul #twisted wonderland #twst #twisted wonderland x reader #riddle rosehearts #leona kingscholar #azul ashengrotto #kalim al asim #vil schoenheit #idia shroud #malleus draconia #x reader

[m1ssunderstanding]

Understanding Lennon McCartney Rewatch Part 4.1

This is embarrassing but I'm actually so obsessed with the first five minutes of this episode that I've got it bookmarked in my YouTube account. It's just so perfect!

“Say you don't looooove him, my salamander. Then why did you neeeeeeed him? Ono don't answer.” He genuinely thinks need and love are the same and I really hope he's got therapy for that messed up mindset by now.

Officially honored as the most successful musical composer and recording artist of all time. That damn well better be mentioned in his movie. And people still don't take him seriously. But also. John definitely smashed his TV.

I'm screaming. I love Linda the promoter so fucking much!! Interviewer: I knew a lot of your records had went gold and platinum and– Linda: a lot of them? All of them! Ugh I wish she was still with him now.

And then THIS! “What really happened between you and John?” As the first notes to “I Will Survive” play. It's too good. Everyone has to go watch that bit right now.

Linda coming in for the kill again with her fake posh accent: critics? Critics? Oooooh! … They're always three years behind.

Look at him (to the tune Bitch by Meredeth Brooks) he's a whore, he's a father, he's a star, he's a success, he's a lover he's smug, he's laughing, he's having fun, he's working hard. He's everything.

Interviewing Wings concert goers and this one girl goes, "oh I just got off on all of it" and another one goes “It was great, i came twice!” Literally it should've been me!!!!

The McCartneys are seriously such a big family. And it's been Paul's responsibility since was about 21, really, to make sure they're all okay financially. That Francie story of him crumbling in the street in Liverpool haunts me.

"Why shouldn't they go to the same school as everyone else goes to?" State schools should be the only legal schools btw.

I love what the creator does to contextualize their songs by pairing them with other contemporary footage. It makes it much easier for me to understand why something like “arrow through me” (which I love but none of the people I've shown it to do) would've been so popular.

Oh here we go again. Just show us the marriage certificate already.

Cackling at the contrast between “Old Siam Sir” which is one of my all time fav rockers and footage of the Stones being cringe AF and Dylan being so beyond done he's basically dead.

Oh. Okay. And then they slap us in the face with John's poor baby late 70s demo voice crooning, “Don't want your looooove. Anymore.” “I die each time I hear your name.” I'm fine. It's fine. I'm just vomiting my guts out because I'm sick. That's why.

The pairing of “Mr H Atom” with Paul's would've-been drag show is genius, but what is that clip of some sort of trial stuck in there? If anyone knows, please inform me. (16:15)

John sounds so sad talking about the “endless search for . . . Scotland . . . Within an hour of New York.” I can't help thinking of the Mull of Kintyre. But John was also the one who turned Paul on to Scotland in the first place, ≈always waxing poetic about the heather and the hills≈.

Sean is so adorable. Reminds me of my little guy a bit actually.

Why do I always want to tell Paul to be nice to John? John is worse to him. Idk maybe because John's pain is more visible.

#paul mccartney #the beatles #john lennon #mclennon #Linda McCartney #ulm #understanding lennon mccartney

[artist-issues]

Anyone notice the Compare & Contrast in Cinderella (2015?)

Nothing major, just another reason why this movie is so good: going to talk about Ella/Kit v.s. Lady Tremaine/the Court.

You know how Ella, and more secondarily, Kit, have to hang on to their faith in “have courage and be kind?” And you know how the book-ends of the movie are “Ella saw the world not as it was, but as it could be?”

Okay obviously Ella has to have courage to withstand abuse, but I think more focus is placed on her kindness: she’s kind to mice, she’s kind to lizards, she’s kind to bratty stepsisters and kind to a super-horrible stepmother. And what’s the opposite of kind?

Cruel. Lady Tremaine is cruel, but it’s because she sees the world as cruel. Unlike Ella, who is kind and sees the world as it could be.

How do I know? When she returns from the ball, she (cruelly) points out the fact that the Prince is not free to marry for love, the game was rigged, and then watches Ella for a reaction. And when her girls say, “it’s so dreadfully unfair!” The Stepmother says: “Yes…the way of the world.”

That parallels what another character, presenting an obstacle and contrast to Kit, says in the movie: the King. When he learns he’s dying, he says: “Way of all flesh, boy.”

Why? Because the King—as wise, and noble, and loving as he is (certainly no villain) is succumbing to fear as he gets closer to death. Not fear for himself; the movie shows no hint of that. But he literally tells Kit, “I want to see you and the kingdom safe.”

He’s afraid for Kit. He wants Kit’s safety, and the kingdom’s, and he can’t do what a father should do when he passes; protect. So he’s insisting on a princess, and the divisions that the Kingdom might get, to make it stronger, from an advantageous marriage.

That’s a great foil for Kit, who is kind, but is even braver than he is kind. He’s not being abused, like Cinderella is, but he is about to face a world where he’s got everyone’s fate riding on his shoulders—alone—without the loving father he’s always had. He has to become his own man fast, and defend what he believes in…

…no matter what’s “done.” No matter what’s proper, and no matter what everyone else thinks.

You have the Prince who must be courageous when even his own father is beginning to fear, and you have Cinderella who must be kind even to those who are cruel to her. It’s awesome.

But then, that whole idea of perspective comes into it.

The Stepmother is cruel because she has experienced what she believes is life’s cruelty.

She’s arguing with Cinderella in the climactic scene, explaining that her first husband, whom she loved, was taken from her—and then so was her second, who never loved her as much as he did his daughter, who is so much more beautiful than her own—and all the opportunities for hope that she had expected to come with him. Lady Tremaine thinks the whole world, all of fate, is cruel.

She’s been subjected to hard circumstances—the first thing the audience gets to learn about her is, “she too had known grief.”

Ella’s stepmother has had hardships—just like Ella. She lost “the light of her life.” She lost her second husband. She’s snared in debt, her daughters are mean and (by her own admission) stupid, and she doesn’t even like the house she lives in with them. She’s let her circumstances twist the way she sees the world. Now she believes everything comes at a price, and one that the world is just cruel enough to wring out of you.

Ella, on the other hand, has known even greater grief than her stepmother. We watch her lose her mother, her father, her dignity, and even (briefly) her faith in the course of the movie. By the time she has that conversation with her stepmother, she’s also apparently lost the chance to ever see the Prince again. But does she let it change the way she looks at the world? No!

She keeps seeing the world as it could be. She won’t let her circumstances change what she has faith in; that love is free, courage and kindness have power, and will carry her through all of life’s trials. And the characters that change the way they look at things—the ones who are willing to, like Ella, see the world as it could be instead of as it is, find it to be true. Look at the king!

We know (from what the Prince says: “the wars have brought sorrow on us all,”) that he’s seen hardship. He’s seeing how fragile even his own life is; it’s coming to an end. He has every reason to be afraid for his son’s future when he’s not there to help him.

He’s thinking, “the way of all flesh is to die.” And he’s hoping that by convincing his son to marry a princess, he and his kingdom will be safer. Safety, safety, because he’s afraid for Kit.

But what happens? He meets “the mystery girl,” who is, by definition, unknown, unsure, and unsafe. Clearly Kit is besotted with her; she bumps into him, then makes a darling little speech about how good and brave Kit is and how much he loves his father. And then Kit, who learned to verbalize it this way from Cinderella, tells his father on his deathbed, “I believe we need not look outside our borders for strength. We need only have the courage and kindness to see it.”

And when he passes away, he does so by telling Kit that he should marry for love—even though the girl Kit loves may never be found again; even though, when she does, they have no guarantee it will strengthen the kingdom. But this is the King, acting on faith that those ideals his son believes in, and his son, himself, will be see things through. That’s him, having courage.

He stops seeing the world as dangerous, first and foremost, and starts seeing it as it could be, like Ella and Kit.

Comparing the King’s fear to Kit’s courage, and the Stepmother’s cruelty to Ella’s kindness, was such a good choice. And comparing the way these characters saw the world as dangerous and cruel, versus how Ella and Kit see the world, was an even better one. And they used lines like “The way of the world/way of all flesh” to do it.

This movie’s so good.

#Cinderella 2015 #Cinderella #Lily James #Kenneth Branagh #Cindy #Ella #Kit #kate blanchett #richard madden #the only good live action Disney remake #the only good live action remake #the best live action remake #my favorite princess

[wehangout]

7 for the prompts ask!

Send me a number prompt and I’ll make it smutty

7. holding their hand under a table

"And then we had to go back again because we got the Chadwick cherry tomatoes instead of the Sweet Million tomatoes!"

Ian laughs, and it sounds genuine, but all you can do is frown at Jill and Alan and wonder why the fuck Ian agreed to this bullshit dinner. Jill and Alan. Ugh. Fuckers have been judging you since you threw the chairs into the pool, which, sure, not you're best move, but mostly fuck them.

And fuck Ian for agreeing to this ... whatever the fuck this is. Double date? Casual get-together? No fucking clue. Definitely not a casual get-together, though. Ian made you wear your good jeans and fuck him for that, too.

You shift in your chair and try not to make it obvious. Ian likes this shit and you love Ian. It's that simple. If he wants to go to a nice restaurant with your shitty neighbours, then you go to a nice restaurant with your shitty neighbours.

But when Jill and Alan - seriously, fuck those guys - start talking about Jill's crazy cousin who spent a month in a nut house because she's a fucking psycho ...

Well, fuck those guys.

You literally feel every moment of your body tensing up. You get tight and your hands curl into fists. You want to hit Alan and yell at Jill, but Ian. Ian won't want you to make a scene. Ian doesn't want everyone to know his shit. Ian can fight his own fucking battles.

Slowly, trying to keep your rage from showing, you pull your hands beneath the table and let them curl into fists.

And Ian - fucking Ian - knows exactly what you're thinking and how you're feeling, and his hand follows, reaches beneath the table, grasps one of yours in his own.

Squeezes.

It's not a calm-the-fuck-down squeeze, or a don't-fuckin'-think-about-it squeeze, or even a let-it-fucking-go squeeze. It's an I-got-you-we're-fine-I-love-you squeeze.

It's reassurance and it's grounding.

You grip his hand right back, thankful that the subject quickly changes to some artsy fucking movie Jill and Alan want to see. Ian asks questions about it, his thumb stroking your knuckles the entire time, and it's good. It helps. Ian helps.

You give his fingers one last touch and go back to your food. Everyone else is almost done because you've been too pissed off to eat the shitty portions of shitty food, but you need to catch up. You need to pretend everything's okay.

Kinda hard when Ian's hand stays beneath the table, when it flattens against your thigh, when his long fingers stroke along the inner seam of your jeans.

You look at him, eyebrows raised, and the smile he gives you in return is totally calm, shows nothing but love, and considering the way he moves his big hand to cover your crotch as he does it, it's a fucking contrast.

You turn back to your food, hands gripping your utensils a little too tight, and, for once in this stupid double date bullshit, try to pay attention to the conversation. You listen to the words and take in the subject matter, nodding along at appropriate times, because if you don't you'll focus solely on the way Ian's hand slowly massages at your hardening dick and that would just be - be ...

"Shit," you mutter.

Everyone stops talking and looks at you - Jill with mild disgust, Alan in confusion, and Ian in concern - even as his hand keeps moving behind the tablecloth.

"Everything okay, Mick?"

You swallow and nod. "Yeah, just thought I forgot to do something."

Conversation continues and Ian doesn't stop. He doesn't stop and he doesn't stop, and he continues to just not stop until you grab his wrist and force him to because you're close to coming in your pants like when you were teenagers and would rub up against each other because that's all you had time for. Only then does Ian stop. He lets you breathe. He waits until you've had a sip of your beer and then moves in again.

You glare at him. He ignores you. He moves his hand up and down your hard cock, using his nail to trace the tip through the denim of your jeans, and it's good, it's so fucking good that whatever the fuck yoga bullshit Jill's talking about doesn't matter. It just doesn't matter. Because Ian's rubbing you through your jeans and it just doesn't matter.

But then you stop him again. You have to. Fuck. You're literally panting at the table - quietly, but panting nonetheless. And they just keep talking. Even Ian, his voice calm and smooth, and that - the contrast of everything he's doing above the table and the filthy shit he's doing to you below the table is too much and not enough.

He moves back again and you look at him, face slack, eyes wide, because he can't be, he can't -

Fuck.

You still have to get through dessert.

He meets your gaze, and even though his smile is still soft and warm, his eyes ...

You know that look. Jill and Alan won't have a fucking clue, but you recognise the heat and want and command in them.

He is. He's going to keep going. He's going to take you to the brink again and again, right at the table, knowing the risks, knowing you could possibly make a fucking fool of yourself at the shitty dinner table at the shitty restaurant in front of your shitty neighbours, but also knowing that it won't happen because he won't let it. He won't let you come until he's good and ready and you - shit - you won't come until he lets you.

You pick up your beer with shaking hands and down it in one.

It's gonna be a hell of a fucking night.

#ian and mickey #gallavich #gallavich fic #captainjowl #this one got long #my fic #smut prompts

[noose-lion]

Bsd Quick Analysis: Dazai and Fyodor as narrative Foils

Spoilers: light novels and movie

---

Spark notes version: While Fyodor and Dazai are fairly similar, they also hold a great deal of differences.

Dazai and Fyodor share characteristic similarities and respective roles within their organizations, they have a certain form of control over everything that happens.

I just wanted to point out all the visually symmetrical shots the anime uses with these two.

Something that strikes me though is the way they keep this control. Fyodor holds control tightly, directing each and every action of those that serve him. His lackeys rely on him to make decisions too the point even he complains about his subordinates lack of initiative. On the other hand, Dazai holds the reins of control loosely, extremely so when compared to his Russian counterpart. He directs with near suggestion. He, dare I say, trusts that his chosen individuals to do what he predicts. Which I think there in lies the key difference between Dazai and Fyodor's forms of control. Fyodor moves his 'pieces' while Dazai predicts his 'players' movements. Dazai has the mind of a in the field battle strategist (quite literally what he was raised and trained to do), he can predict who needs to be when and where for the right outcome. Fyodor is more akin to a particularly intelligent war leader. A strategic genius yes, but one that relies on his people to follow his orders directly. Furthermore, he's offensive, while Dazai is defensive. Acts so his opponent must react.

A nod at the different ways Fyodor and Dazai see other people. Fyodor seeing a tool and Dazai never forcing his hand.

They're both geniuses. No matter how one looks at it, they are both in possesion of severe intelligence. Interesting enough, it seems to affect them differently though. Simply put, while his genius gives Fyodor a god complex that makes him feel above other people, that same sort of genius makes Dazai feel separated from other people. Dazai is fully aware that he is just a person, a smart one, but just a person like everyone else. Maybe inhuman, maybe empty, maybe unable to ever feel whole, but no more a person than everyone else. Fyodor sees himself as basically just below god and above everyone else, thats he's superhuman and has special rights because of this.

Fyodor and Dazai move the pieces of their game uniquely. Fyodor in such a way its clear he holds no care for other people, views them (as I said above) as less than him due to their lack of (in his eyes) intelligence. In contrast to this, Dazai actually seems to care (granted in a backwards way) about his 'pawns'. Dazai values people. Maybe not all people, but he does value them. He listens to them, respects their insight and knowledge. Even admires them for their world views, despite not understanding them.

Interesting contrast exhibited here. Understandably, it's through the eyes of Atsushi (unreliable source for this analysis) but still interesting how of them are depicted.

I've heard before that Fyodor is Dazai without the restraint, and while this feels true, I'd argue it's not quite right. It boils down to motive. Fyodor's self professed motive is getting rid of abilities, Dazai's is fulfilling a dying friend's wish to do good.

Fyodor is Dazai loaded with a complex and harmful intent, dazai without the lack of ambition and numbness. Both of them two different sides of amoral, but Dazai is a vessel of circumstance while Fyodor is a creator and manipulator of circumstance.

---

Extra: Working of the assumption that Fyodor's ability doesn't work on fellow ability users (and the fact Dazai's works only on ability users for obvious reasons) one can play around with a few concepts. Note one such concept; Fyodor's ability, again working with the earlier assumption, destroys a person while Dazai's 'destroys' the ability. This would make for a very powerful foil.

#quick analysis #bsd analysis #my stuff #screaming into the void #and the void screams back #bsd #bungou stray dogs #bungou gay dogs #bsd dazai #dazai osamu #bsd fyodor dostoevsky #bsd fyodor #fyodor dostoevsky #fyodor #bsd headcanon #bsd headcanons #bungou stray dogs analysis #jester thinks #bsd meta

[ilikelookingatthings]

some thoughts about trolls 2 that came to me after watching trolls 3.

like...I get it had a big metaphore about how pop kindof takes over everything and forgets the origins of where those songs came from....and the contrast with how the pop trolls books said everyone started to not get along/became less tolerant of other's musics...while the space alien funk trolls said that everything was fine butthen the pop trolls wanted to take overand everyone seperated to protect their strings from the pop trolls...but I kindof lowkey wonder if it was a bit of both? like there werecracks were they were becoming less tolerant and in a poor attempt to bring everyone together the pop trolls thought pop was the best way like barb and poppy kind of did?

but I kind of feel like they gloss over that the pop trolls were isolated and separated from the forest or ways to meet the other trolls? them not knowing there were other trolls and forgetting about the origins of their music makes WAY more sense because they were isolated and being abused and eaten by the Bergens for ages.

So on one hand...I understand its a metaphor for how pop has worked in real life because its so popular and becomes a ear worm...but it also feels a bit unfair because pop always feels like because its so popular it gets isolated out on purpose....

like Poppy feels bd not knowing the true history....and that apparently the pop trolls history lied about a bad thing they did which cause the split......but I also cant help but wonder..wouldn't it make sense for the pop trolls to not have a complete history anyway if they were forced to all live in one tree/garden? if so many of them were being eaten/killed? did any of them escape and try to ask for help? wouldn't it make sense if they had lost a good section of their history because they were literally being harvested? and isn't that a bit unfair then to judge them losing/not knowing the origin of their music/where it came from under those circumstances? I mean were hear them calling themselves just trolls with not being aware there were other types....I mean sure they might not have expected how popular the first movie would be so he different genre idea was added later..and they found a place they could hide from the bergans and still stayed isolated til the second movie.

I keep wondering....did the others trolls know the pop trolls were being eaten by the Bergens? If they did... why didn't they ever try to get the Pop trolls out? and if they didn't why did they all seem to know what pop was and dislike it? if other pop trolls had escaped the tree/the Bergens on an individual case basis...did none of them rely to the other trolls about all the trolls in a desperate situation in the middle of Bergen town?

Were the pop trolls being punished for having attempted to take the strings before? we know that the Happier the troll the sweeter they taste aparently...and in the third movie just absorbing the talent of a pop troll seemed to be kindof addicting.....did the other genre's of trolls let the pop trolls stay captured because it had the Bergens stay around certain areas and not go out to try to find/eat the other genre's of troll...like some type of sacrifice?

like...I lowkey kindof wish we saw some of the trolls ask if there were other trolls why they never came to help them? let the pop trolls be the most consumed because they were the most popular.

also does anyone ever thing the pop trolls and their over positivity at times is a bit of a trauma response o trying to move on from what happened by not adressing it properly?

also does anyone else think maybe pop trolls are addictive? and that the Bergens were so sad and grey after the loss of trollstice because they were also dropping from with withdrawals since they had be cautious not to eat too many because it would dwindle the supply? and why it was only after so long without eating a troll that it seemed possibly to really address that happyness wasn't just something you get from eating a troll?

and why the chef was so insistent to get the king to eat one so she could make him addicted to it?

but also if the other trolls let the Bergens be distracted by the tasty easy to consume pop trolls then the Bergens wouldn't come after them and their genre of trolls? make a comentary about how we judge Creek for not wanting to eaten personally even if it meant sacrificing everyone else to the Bergens...but if all the other troll Genres sacrificed/jusfied leaving the pop trolls to the Bergens in a similar way only with the idea it was saving more trolls after all...I'm kindof curious how they would adress the morality of it.

I also have questions of the pop trolls had escaped the Bergens in maybe two groups(the one at the golf course who were also really isolated) and the ones in the forest...I wonder how certain pop songs made it to the other genres...like the rock trolls.

if some individual pop trolls escaped and would pop in every once in a while with pop music....it just goes back to the question did they ever ask for help?

I mean we know John Dory thought everyone had died/didn't know about the escape plan. Clay ended up with the trolls that got seperated/cut off in the other tunnels...but its unclear if he was the group that got separated or he came across them later while he had escaped the tree at a early point and had heard about the escape from viva....so seemed to think branch had gotten away with Granny.

Did the brothers just wander around andcome across the other genre's on their own? or did the info spread while Barb's tour was happening?

like...sure they couldn't find the pop trolls who has escaped for ages(even more due to the foliage and deadly nature of the forest...but Bergens are also huge..and they never mentioned the other genre's of trolls either...were the Bergen's unaware of the other troll genre's?

#trolls #trolls 2 #trolls 3 #trolls band together #Bergens #grey #eat #happyness #pop trolls

[ripaxed]

Forgive the lazy and rough graphic but, Season 2 team ideas?

Should note I made these with the self imposed and probably unnecessary restrictions of having an equal split of former Ferocious Trout and Frogs of Death members.

Splitting up both Wayne & Raj and, to a lesser extent, Millie & Pryia just feels very natural to me. Wayne & Raj were nearly always together so separating them AND making them compete against each other is just a natural source of conflict. Whereas Millie was of course very dependent on Pryia during the first season to make it far so isolating them from each other seems like the natural next step. This would force Millie to try to make new allies and use whatever skills that stuck from Pryia’s training.

Having Bowie/Raj and Emma/Chase on the same team not only creates the contrast of a very healthy couple vs a very toxic one, but also forces interaction between Bowie and Emma after their fallout.

Also for Bowie, there’s drama in him interacting with Caleb, as he would now know that it was Bowie who got him voted out day one. His reaction in the first episode tells me he wouldn’t let that go.

Axel and Scary Girl can kind of work on any team, so I don’t have much to say for them. Though I do think the idea of Axel and Bowie contrasting against each other to be rather funny.

(I know a lot of people want a Lauren-Damien-Pryia thing to happen and I support that, I just think it can happen with not all of them being on the same team)

I’d like to see Julia and MK on the same team again. It was MK who jumpstarted Julia’s whole villain arc and, more notably, it was Julia who got MK eliminated, which she’d definitely not be over. I could definitely see them having a strong rivalry, or a bit of a villainous alliance. Either way I think they should be gay about it.

Speaking of MK being eliminated, I’m imagining her line about “At least [she] didn’t make any friends” to be some sort of foreshadowing. Who’s the character I think has the best shot of being an actual friend to her? That’d be Zee. He’s shown to be able to get along with pretty much anyone. MK typically avoids having any deep interactions with other characters by overloading her conversations with sarcastic insults, and I literally couldn’t imagine Zee actually comprehending that she’s insulting him. Instead, he thinks they’re just having a pleasant conversation. I see them becoming ‘friends’ by Zee just hanging around her a lot and MK eventually getting used to it (and start to enjoy his company, not that she’d admit that).

In contrast, I actually like the idea of there being someone Zee doesn’t like, that being Nichelle. In Taste Buddies there’s that whole exchange with Julia and Zee about how rather than him not wanting to talk about a very disgusting alien movie because it was gross, he didn’t want to talk about it because he felt it was a weak directorial effort. I could imagine this idea of Zee being a bit of a film buff being expanded to him not vibing with Nichelle like he does everyone else because he finds the movies she stars in to be vapid or something along those lines. I easily see this bothering Nichelle since she’s so used to being praised and beloved. (Should note: I saw someone else come up with this concept, but I don’t remember where)

Speaking of Nichelle, something I’d like to see is her being contrasted with Priya, as she’s someone who actually has the skills everyone believed Nichelle to have. Though, I like the idea of despite that, they actually end up bonding, as I could see Priya’s parents making sure she knows a lot about the entertainment industry (both because of Total Drama of course being a show and in case of a TDA like season) and them getting along from there.

I also want to keep Priya and Damien on the same team. Wether it be to develop them romantically or further their friendship, I’d just like to see more of them together. Maybe make up for the lack of ‘knows everything about TD vs knows nothing about TD’ interactions that I’m surprised we didn’t get in the first season. Maybe they could even have a bit of a brains and brawn duo thing going on.

I don’t have too many thoughts on Ripper, I’m kind of imaging him as an early boot this time around. Still, this gives him a chance to interact with characters he hasn’t before. And maybe Priya finds out he was who suggested that Millie cut her raft, and something happens from that? Could be something there.

#total drama #total drama 2023 #total drama 2023 season 2 #tdi #me #bowie td #raj td #axel td #millie td #emma td #chase td #caleb td #scary girl td #julia td #mk td #zee td #nichelle td #priya td #damien td #wayne td #ripper td

[polarisdelphi]

Another Arthurian concept, we have now Sir Galahad - just like everyone else, with his trusty sword and little "titles" I gave him. Pure of heart and youngest of all seem to fit him nicely :)

Everything about him is constant and reliable - hence so many rectangular and square shapes - but he is very soft as well, very emotional and understanding - so we also have round shapes and edges are pretty much rounded.

And I guess it's pretty clear he's a catholic/christian (hello, yes, I was raised in the religion and TO THIS DAY I still go like "is this catholic? is this christian? it's pretty much the same to me *puts on clown makeup*)

Also, very sober look and sober colours that contrast with how young he looks. Little scar on his face because, you know, not even the most perfect of beings are 100% perfect, it's a little reminder he also has his flaws.

And, of course, upon testing the layers, we have dear Galahad in the church, lit up by some vitrals:

His design is purple, because it compliments Lancelot's blue. Alsoooo, they look very much alike, right? Well, that has a lot to do on my view and my Arthurian world, so let's get to it!

~fangirling and overexplaining under the cut~

First obstacle I got was "Oooooh Galahad is Lancelot's son in a LOT of accounts and most of the early texts as far as I remember".

But the idea and approach I have to Arthurian legend is a lot more on what I call ~realistic~. Not a 100% though, because if you do not believe in magic and the power of new and old gods, you wouldn't think of my version as realistic.

Personally, I enjoy very much the portrayal of Hugh Dancy on the 2005 movie (as you guys know, that Lancelot lives rent free in my head, 24/7, the bastard), and recently I really enjoyed Bernard Cornwell's characterization of Galahad - so when it comes to my approach, I like leaning a lot more to that one because, personally, it makes Galahad looks much more human.

Like I said, I was born and raised in catholic faith. I went to a catholic school, knew and still know all the church songs by heart, have thousands of crucifixes, rosaries, medals of saints and images of saints laying around. To this day, I still go with my mom to church wehenever she wants to and I do enjoy churches - they feel very soothing to me, even if my faith has changed.

This disclaimer matters, trust me HAHAHAHA

All that to say, the guilt is real. With literally everything. And when I started rebelling against the faith I was taught since I was born, gotta be honest, watching that scene in King Arthur where a priest tortures people because they were pagans and says it's God's will and Lancelot just turns at him and screams savagely "NOT MY GOD!!!!" I was

👁️👄👁️

And I only went downhill with this man from there Lancelot was the death of my christian/catholic faith

Ok, ok, why does this matters when it comes to Galahad?

Well, usually, he's Lancelot's son. And/or he is this absurdly freaking perfect young man, the peak Knight in shiny armour. But that doesn't really work for me - I like having something more grounded in a grittier side of history, something more ~dark fantasy~, because we all know medieval times weren't pretty.

All those perfect Knights with pristine behaviours and morals, to me, feel too much like the Bible I grew up with - not real history with real people.

Enter Bernard Cornwell's Galahad. He's Lancelot's cousin and, in Cornwell's books, Lancelot is FUCKING INSUFFERABLE. I am looking SO FORWARD to have this man dead, because he is vile, narcisistic and a lying bastard. Galahad, in the other hand, quite despises his cousin for that. They are different sides of the same coin.

(Another disclaimer: I'm not watching The Winter King TV series 'cause they have NOTHING to do with the book and I am MAD about it, so definitely not based on that)

And what I love MOST about him: he found some balance between his faith and his human condition. He is a Knight, he kills and is pretty good at it, he doesn't shy away from battle and bloodbath. And then he prays to God and asks for forgiveness for his actions, knowing, someday, he will die himself and maybe God will allow him to enter Heaven.

He won't stop living his very human emotions to be this naïve saint walking on earth - quite the contrary, he's strong and feared in battle, and can be pretty much of a little bitch taunting people.

There's where I stand with my Galahad, then. I wanted him to be the youngest, to have this sort of naïve look to him - as well as that skinny constitution and more of a confident but reserved behaviour (quite different than Lancelot, who's posing proudly with his sword and smirking like the sassy bitch he is).

He's still learning things, so his hands are a little softer than others. Nevertheless, he already has a scar on his face, showing he's not that naïve. Galahad is pure of heart and cannot understand evil - he understands it logically but never emotionally - but he isn't a perfect naïve sweet summer child. If Arthur tells him to go and kill, he will do it.

And probably pray later.

That's why here he has the same hair as Lancelot - curly and dark, but a little shorter and more tamed - they are cousins. His eyes are more rounded, his face more oval to indicate he's still young and has a lot of good in him. His purple compliments Lancelot's blues, but his cape is a lot heavier and less flowy and dramy than his cousin's.

He has crucifixes everywhere to indicate his unweavering faith in God - even his sword looks like a crucifix. His clothes are sober in colour, but still regal with the purple, given he is a prince. I looked at some priests clothing to take some aspects of that and work on his armour - so we have things like a high button up, probably thick leather vest with a more off-white/lavender collar... Like a priest.

Not so many details and all that because of his personality: given his faith, Galahad does his best to rely on practicality of a chain and leather armour, sober colours to move around the dark settings of Britain and crucifixes to remind him he's supported by God. After all, not all of faith is just giving love, it's also receiving that love - and, in Galahad's point of view, he can feel and see God in the little things that happen to him every day.

All that faith is important to his character because he's the one that goes after the Holy Grail and succeeds, as far as I've read, something Lancelot didn't manage to do. Since I'm not much into ALL that catholic/christian religion thing, because I do think it outshines all the potential the characters have together and I have a personal beef with it, I think a man at that time who could find the balance between faith and life, without falling in cult behaviour and hysteria, honestly trying his best to live according to those values as far as his flawed human existance allowed him... That is the Holy Grail in itself.

Now, I do enjoy the concept of Galahad and Lancelot being different sides of the same coin, so ooooooooh yes, they have so much potential for philosophical and existential discussions, with Galahad always thinking about the salvation of the soul and trying to put some sense in his cousin's head and make him a better person, and Lancelot just indulging in whatever and dismissing everything he says with a good laugh - that is, when he is not in a bad mood and Lancelot just spits all the horrible things people do in the name of Galahad's God and honestly, there's no reasoning with him when he's like that.

They always end up having a drink together, in silence, thinking about everything they have talked about. Galahad does think Lancelot has a point in there and seriously questions people regarding their morals when it comes to their putrid behaviour in the name of God. And Lancelot knows deep down Galahad's words about him are drenched in truth, even if he doesn't have the same faith: he cannot deny he has too many flaws and too many behaviours that, sometimes, are questionable even to those who don't think they'll burn in Hell.

I did draw a little thing I need to find, with the Knights dining and laughing while teasing Galahad about his upstanding behaviour and not wanting to bed a woman every night they had the oportunity, while he's just "Well, there are things in this world more important than fleeting pleasures. At least I am worrying about my soul. You, in the other hand, are all going to Hell." and of course, he says that with the most content smile in the world, teasing them back. All Knights and Arthur fall silent, thinking about his words. Until Lancelot just side-eyes his cousin and "Are the women from Hell beautiful?" - everyone breaks in laughter and Galahad just smiles with a 'you're hopeless' plastered on his forehead.

That's pretty much how they all work in a nutshell. Big questions, big philosphizing around faiths and morals, big doubts and existential dread. But a lot of teasing and jokes, bloody fields and battle rushes, big feelings and an unbreakable companionship based in loyalty.

Even if he is a very level-headed man, very literate, confident, young, passionate and restrained in his expressions of his emotions out of combat, Galahad is still very pure of heart - Lancelot would never say it in front of him, but he believes you can always find a hint of hope and love in his cousin's eyes.

If that is God or not, well, that's up to you to decide.

#king arthur #galahad #sir galahad #lancelot #knights of the round table #arthurian legend #arthurian mythology #illustration #fanart #yes it's officially fanart for me now hahaha #character design #character art #character concept #character sheet #art #my art #d&d #d&d character #personal take #classic literature #I think my personal take is taking more of a d&d campaign in arhturian legend realms or a dark fantasy sort of shape #a little more realistic than the full on church thing from the classic/ original works #but not entirely realistic I have to admit #I mean #strange women lying in ponds distributing swords is no basis for a system of government #wiser words were never before said

[superectojazzmage]

Okay, so review for Across The Spider-Verse

In short, it was exactly as amazing as hoped, arguably more so.

Absolutely brilliant writing, direction, animation, acting, everything. Takes everything the first movie did right and improves on it while pruning out its tiny few flaws. Continues to truly capture the spirit and feel of the comics and staying as faithful to them as possible while still doing it’s own thing. Demonstrates a remarkable understanding of the character of Spider-Man and his mythos. Genuine and earnest in all the right ways, never demeans or sneers at the source material but rather lavishes it with the love and respect it deserves. Just incredible work from everyone involved.

Some specific notes:

The acting is great. Oscar Isaac and Jason Schwartzman in particular are PERFECT and steal the show as Miguel O’Hara and the Spot. The returning actors like Shameik Moore, Jake Johnson, and Hailee Steinfeld get to really show off their chops.

The humor and drama are balanced even better in this film than in the first one. The down moments hit harder, the jokes get even bigger laughs, and they never step on one another’s toes.

The action scenes are fantastic just like in the first film. Incredible and very creative fights all around.

Animators REALLY like to show off. The first film’s experimenting with different art styles gets taken up to eleven here. Lots of crazy visuals and elaborate changes in look and feel from world to world while still keeping the same broad “vibe”, and they even delve into some Roger Rabbit-esque territory. It’s really impressive. That said, just like the first film, there are some scenes that can get really literally flashy and strobing, so be aware of that if you’re especially sensitive to flashing lights. I don’t think there’s anything that’d cause issues, but just a head’s up.

The writing for the Spot was great; they closely follow his arc from the comics of starting out as a dorky, incompetent joke villain and then evolving into a terrifyingly ruthless and vindictive monster with absolutely broken powers and it’s really well done, like a bizarro inversion of an anime “hero trains to get stronger” storyline. He’s definitely one of the big highlights and was a great pick for villain.

Peter B. is everything Spider-Man should be and his relationship with Mary Jane and baby Mayday are another major highlight. Marvel editors on life support.

Miles and Gwen both get really great character arcs themselves. Poor Miles really gets put through the wringer.

Miguel is spectacularly well-done, just the right balance of sympathetic, charismatic hero and total grouchy asshole, just like he was in the comics.

Spider-Punk is a Giga-Chad.

Jessica Drew is a weird outlier in that she’s not very faithful to the comics version and the points where she IS accurate are based off one of her worst runs, in total contrast to everyone else. I feel like she was maybe meant to be a different character and got reworked into Jessica for some reason mid-production, or maybe that they had to completely alter her to use her. That being said, as a functionally new character, she’s pretty cool. Issa Rae does a good job and her design totally fucks.

The overall plot is partly a really brilliant meta commentary on Marvel’s treatment of Spider-Man Post-OMD with middle fingers fully extended at Spider-Editorial and I’m living for it. There’s also some clear commentary on the nature of adaptations and what Spider-Man as a character stands for, amongst many other things. Some very dense and heavy themes underpinning the narrative, but none of it is intrusive and you don’t need any prior knowledge aside from watching the first film.

You can REALLY tell that this and Beyond The Spider-Verse were one giant script split into two movies, because the ending is honestly pretty abrupt feeling, though it’s made pretty clear that this is just Part 1 and Part 2 will pick up from right there, so as long as you’re aware of that it’s okay. It’s a massive cliffhanger.

All in all, we walked out of the theater EXTREMELY impressed and very hyped for the next film. This was a wonderful movie that really captured the essence of not just Spider-Man but Marvel Comics as a whole. 10/10 would recommend.

#across the spider verse spoilers #across the spiderverse #across the spider verse #spiderverse #atsv #spiderman atsv #spider man #spiderman #marvel #marvel comics #marvel universe #films #movie review #movies #comics #comic books #phil lord #christopher miller #LORD AND MILLER SWEEP

[hunter-sylvester]

1, 8, 16, 17 & 22? For the choose violence ask game ✨

-cracks knuckles- let's go

(I got so fucking rambly I put in a cut so this doesn't clog everybody's dash lmao)

01. The character everyone gets wrong

It depends. My first thought was Hunter Sylvester. But I do see a lot of takes I agree with. I definitely wouldn't say everyone gets him wrong. I guess it's closer to maybe being about 50/50? But he's the character I've seen people get the most wrong I think. To the point where I wonder what fucking movie they watched cause it's not Metal Lords 2022 I know that much. The "he wouldn't say that" is strong.

The other answer would be Riley Finn (btvs) I guess. Because he is WIDELY hated by the fandom and there are just some scenes that I find really endearing. He has shitty moments, sure. He does. I'm not blind to those, nor do I excuse them. (Ultimatums are never ok!) But it feels like most of the fandom hates EVERYTHING about him and there is just an endearing quality to him for me. It's weird because my favorite Buffy character is Spike and it's not like Riley even makes it into my top 10. I don't love him as a character but I just...kinda like him?? Which is already in pretty stark contrast to most of the fandom I feel lol There is just something quite sweet about that goody two shoes soldier boy who's stressing out because everything he's ever been told is true and correct is crumbling around him. It's particularly the scene where he's helping Xander move that really does it for me I think. (I know you've been watching through Buffy for the first time and I don't think you've gotten to it yet so I'm trying not to be too spoilery) But yeah, I don't even have that strong of a defense of him at all. Again, I just…kinda like him. (disclaimer it's been a WHILE since my last watch-through, do not come for me)

08. Common fandom opinion that everyone is wrong about

Eddie being a top/Dom. I have literally nothing to back that opinion up other than I prefer Bottom!Eddie + Top!Steve. I know I'm kinda the one that's wrong on this one but...I like what I like. And I shall be delusional about it lol

This one's not super common but tiny fandom so eh I don't see where people remotely get the idea that Hunter is into Clay. Nor vice versa to be honest. I don't think they're particularly on each other's radar one way or another. At most I feel like Clay would be like "he's kind of a dick...hope he's okay tho" (like after the party particularly) And I feel like Hunter forgets Clay exists when he's not actively standing in front of him.

16. you can't understand why so many people like this thing (characterization, trope, headcanon, etc)

I must preface this by saying I have NO ISSUE what so ever with polyamory. It's all good, there should be more rep and the societal bullshit stigma needs to go. That being said... I just don't like poly skullflower, personally. It's not for me. I don't see it. I don't get it.

Also x reader anything I just can't and I don't get why people like it but to each their own.

17. there should be more of this type of fic/art

Basically any fanart of Metal Lords, preferably Hunter (obviously). But I'll take pretty much anything T-T I would love to have more Metal Lords fics to read too but I'm extremely picky about Hunter's characterization so I don't even know what to say I want more of, we'd be here all day lol

22. Your favorite part of canon that everyone else ignores

I guess I truly don't think I've seen anybody else acknowledge that Kevin is a Fallout fan. Not necessarily my "favorite part of canon" or anything but I genuinely don't think I've seen anybody talk about it. And I do like it, I think it's really fun. (I was going to say Hunter's anxiety initially but I don't know if that is technically canon?? Or if the jacket thing (just the idea of it being one jacket not the whole scenario lol) can be counted as canon. Or even if Hunter being in love with Kevin can be considered canon. It's how Adrian played Hunter but it wasn't in the script. I would consider that canon but it's not widely ignored so...Fallout.)

Thank you so much for sending these 🤘 (And I'm so sorry it got SO wordy asjdlkalsjl)

From this ask game.

#answered ask #my post #itsfreakingbats #ask game

[thebrokengate]

This is way too long but I wanted to hear your opinion on this, so I'd be glad if you answered, lol.

Do you think Vecna is going to try to make Will join him? I think Henry/Vecna/001/Mindflayer (God... the dude has so many personas) is essentially Will's foil in the story. Many people think the parallels between them prove that Will's gonna become a villain or get possessed but I don't think so. Him becoming a villain outright makes no sense, unless he's forced to. I don't think he's fully gonna be possessed because we've seen the same thing happening in S2, so it would be pretty boring.

If the characters try to use Will's connection to Vecna as a way to stop Vecna then I'm guessing Vecna would target Will. I don't think he wants to kill him though. This whole situation between Vecna and Will is kinda weird to me because in no way in the story Vecna actually tried to kill Will.

When he took Will to the UD, he didn't really kill him, Will managed to survive while all of the other characters died in the UD. When in S2, he tried to possess him but again Will states that the Mind Flayer/Vecna actually didn't want to kill him, he wanted to kill 'everyone else'. So what is up with Vecna and Will exactly? Why their connection stayed the way it is (and only got stronger as the series went on), why do they have this connection still?

I used to think El is Henry's foil with all the parallels considered between them, but if you think about it Will seems more of a foil to Vecna. Plus, Will and Vecna have this mysterious connection that still hasn't been fully explored yet and they have a psychic connection.

Other ominous things to consider:

1- Vecna specifically targets Will and takes him to the Upside Down. Why did he choose Will specifically, did he consider Will to be like him? He also didn't kill him in either seasons

2- Upside Down is stuck on the same date Will went missing.

3- Their 'emotional/psychic connection, the parallels between them visually, both being outcasts, both being described as sensitive, both being rejected by the society, both being artistic etc.

4- Will literally knows how Henry feels, what he thinks and how he thinks. He can also sense if he's alive or not. How deep their connection goes?

5- Henry probably knows everything about Will too, then. Kinda creepy if you ask me.

6- Something others have also pointed out, it seems like Henry ''appears'' whenever Will feels sad/devastated. Vecna appears at the SnowBall dance (when Will was forced to dance with a girl, and when the literal script said ''his eyes on Mike'', so we know Will wasn't having his best moment at that scene), Vecna appears in the hospital scene when El and Mike are together and Will is kinda third wheeling again, He appears after Mike and Will fight and Will destroys the Castle Byers (this, honestly, the biggest evidence so far out of everything), He appears during the theater when Mike was late to their ''movie date'', He appears when Mike and El ditch the rest of the party in that hill in S3, etc. Why does he constantly appears when Will is implied to feel sad/devastated.... and those moments always seem to be in the presence of Mike? Does Vecna know Will loves Mike? He seems to, tbh. Don't know if the show outright will confirm this subtext but it's getting too obvious atp, so why not.

Writing this stuff out, it kinda implies that for Vecna to get defeated, Will's gonna play a big role alongside Will's feelings for Mike, and probably Mike's feelings for Will.

(conclusion: Will is Henry's foil and he doesn't end up becoming a villain or getting possessed by him because the story structure doesn't make any sense for Will to end up like Henry when they are paralleled in a sense to show the contrast between them, not making Will the next Henry. I also think Will and Mike's love for each other seem to be the key to defeating Vecna the next season tbh.

Yeah, I don't agree either with the ideas that Will would become a villain by choice (I mean, have those people actually seen Will lmao) or that he'd get possessed again because they've already done that. I mean, you could say they've already done the "join me" thing with El and Henry too, but.. I'm almost thinking that's part of why Will has suffered so much throughout the whole series and has never gotten a win because they want him broken down for a moment like that on a broader scale. A moment where Will, for maybe even a split second, might think everyone would turn against him, maybe even for being "different". The two plots for him - his sexuality and supernatural plot - could be intertwined, and self-acceptance and returned loved from Mike may play a huge part in him finding his strength to turn Vecna away. A classic.. Should I Stay Or Should I Go? moment, one might say. Being foils to each other, I could see Vecna totally taking advantage of the "I'm just like you" thing, trying to get through to him with relatability, some creepy attempt of a heart-to-heart, maybe even promising Will a world where he could have the happiness he wants, but that he could only get it through him. Making him think that he's all he really has and that everyone else already has someone else to lean on. There's something about Will we just don't know yet, some ulterior motives on Vecna's part for why he wants him, and that's still TBD, but I'm interested to find out.

#ask styx #byler #will byers

[dawnstruck]

Do you mind if I ask your top 10 favorite characters (can be male or female) from all of the media that you loved (can be anime/manga, books, movies or tv series)? And why do you love them? Thanks....

I'm probably super late to answer, but this is such an interesting question. The following list is in no particular order; I'll also mostly disregard what I think of the franchises in general, any shipping stuff, and whether or not I think the character was done justice in canon. With many series, I kept reading/watching beyond what I truly enjoyed, because I adored the characters. A good story is important, but I won't truly get invested unless there is a person or dynamic I wholeheartedly love. Also, this got way longer and more poetic than I intended.

Levi Ackermann (Attack on Titan): Love him. Love him to bits. Love that he is technically an overpowered character, but so fallible. Always falling short in a lot of way, often unable to save those he loves. Still trying to do what's right, trying to make the world a better place. He is so full of hurt, and love. I love how everything about him is a contradiction; he is tiny but Humanity's Strongest, a literal son of a whore and the commander's right hand man, a thug with a potty mouth and a cleaning fetish. Levi cares and he cares so deeply. He is such an iconic character

2. Edward Elric (Fullmetal Alchemist, particuarly 2003): Another tiny boi. Full of genius and heart and grief and rage. Edward is intriguing because he learned a really hard lesson when he was just a child. The story literally opens with him making the biggest mistake of his life, and then follows him trying to make amends. I love how is a spunky teen, and a major in a corrupt military, and a big brother, and a prodigy. A loud protagonist like him could easily have been a caricature, but instead he has a lot of facets and depths, and seeing him grow was a delight.

3. Ronan Lynch (The Raven Cycle & The Dream Trilogy): Ronan. Ronan, Ronan, Ronan who is capable of the most fanciful dreams and the most garish nightmares. Whose greatest gift is the worst burden anyone can possibly imagine. He is so tough and so vulnerable. Ronan is bruised knuckles and black boots and sprawling tattoos; he is Sunday mess and hand cream and raven chicks hand-reared in his palm. Ronan grows an entire forest out of a dead language, he would die for his family and friends, and kill for them, too. He prays and dreams and does not talk about his feelings. Ronan is barbed wire: he hurts and he protects, and sometimes he gets all tangled up in himself, only few people dare get close enough to try and unravel him again.

4. Dean Winchester (Supernatural): Hurt boi #4 because they are my favorite flavor. I love that he had to grow up way too quickly. From the beginning of the series, he was such an interesting juxtaposition, hyper-masculine but also geeky, a maternal figure to his brother and a failure in his own eyes, chosen by God and hunted by Hell. He went through so much and still always tried to put other people first. Self-destructive to a fault, insanely quotable, stupidly handsome, and beautifully 3-dimensional.

5. Tanaka Ryounosuke (Haikyuu!!): The joker, the idiot, the loudmouth, the perv even. The backbone of Karasuno that never breaks. Tanaka has such beautiful contrasts in him. He could be such a one-note character (if haikuu had any one-note characters), but instead he is what the team desperately needs. Where everyone else has their moments of weakness and despair, Tanaka is so reliable on the court, which makes the one match where he hits a wall feel so daunting. I love that he messes around a lot but, ultimately, he is always there, from the very beginning. I love his posturing and how he is ultimately just a boy from a small town. I love that he gets the girl. I also love that Saeko is his sister, but she didn't quite make it onto this list.

6. Fa Mulan (Disney, animated original, ofc): Mulan was my crush and my rolemodel and my pre-teen bisexual awakening. She embodied genderfluidity in a way that was way ahead of its time. Mulan is soft and feminine and caring, she is tomboyish and klutzy and wicked-smart, she is strong and manly and suited for war. Mulan's decision to join the army was not born out of a need to run away or prove her worth or to kill the Huns. She did it out of love, to protect her father, her family, her country. She knowingly put herself in grave danger, either by dying on the battlefield or by being found out. To me, the moment she is pulls herself up the pole to get the arrow is one of the most iconic in film history; that shit shaped me. She also managed to bag Shang, and boy, was he the other half of my sexual awakening.

7. the Unicorn/Lady Amalthea (The Last Unicorn): The whimsical fairy tale setting allows for such interesting story setting. The idea that she is the last of her kind, that she didn't even know because she was living in her eternal forest, that she left the sanctity of her home to look for the others, with no idea what she would find... I love that she, too, is ultimately a terrible and ancient thing, much like the harpy. I love her arrogance and ignorance, her wisdom and naivety. I love that she is turned into a human and hates it, and hates it more when she falls for Prince Lear. I love that she has to be brave and fight to save the other unicorns, that she succeeds but is forever changed. She is the last unicorn, and the first that learns to love. It's such a bittersweet ending, such a painful parting, and cherishes it nevertheless.

8. Brienne of Tarth (A Song of Ice and Fire): A tall woman. An ugly woman. A woman who is ugly and stays ugly, who grows strong because and in spite of it. The world has been so terrible to Brienne, many times over, but still she chooses to be kind. She devotes herself to Renly because he danced with her once, to Caitlyn because she showed her kindness, to Jaime even because he finally looked and truly saw her. I love how, especially in the books, we get to see a lot of Brienne through Jaime's eyes, how she grows more beautiful and precious the more he gets to know her. Brienne does not have to change for a man to love her; a man is changed because he loves her. Brienne is valor and strength and hard work through and through. She is a knight and she is a woman and neither has been a easily won.

9. Minerva McGonagall (Harry Potter): Do I even need to say anything? McGonagall, especially as portrayed by Dame Maggie Smith, is an icon. She is a badass. She cares for her students, even if she doesn't openly show it. She is easily the best teacher at Hogwarts, for quite a number of reasons. She is loyal and good and true. She does not pull her punches. She's witty and visceral and the kind of grounded mature character that HP needed, without turning into a caricature like some of the others. Many of the most memorably moments from HP canon, imo, involve McGonagall. From her welcoming the first-years over her feud with Umbridge to her stepping up against Snape and finally desperately calling Harry's name when she believes him dead. I was never a true Potterhead, but God, do I adore her.

10. Stiles Stilinski (Teen Wolf): The sidekick that was the protagonist to most. Dylan O'Brien brought so much to the table here. Stiles is the everyman amidst a sea of monsters, and yet he is the true force to be reckoned with. Stiles was the heart of the show and the brain. He was the snark and the ace up their sleeves. I love my quiet, tormented boys, but I also love my loud-mouthed idiots who are actually crucial for the group to succeed. I stopped watching TW a long time ago, but I still often think about Stiles.

Some honorable mentions:

Sokka (Avatar: The Last Airbender)

Keith (Voltron: Legendary Defender)

Sailor Mars/Rei (Sailor Moon)

Madame Adelaide (Aristocats)

Elle Woods (Legally Blonde the Musical)

Thor (MCU)

Spock (Star Trek)

Newt Scamander (Fantastic Beasts)

Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III (How to Train Your Dragon)

#asks #me

[ialwaysknewyouwerepunk]

Hi Ella! I just finished reading My Policeman, and while I thought it was so heart-wrenchingly beautiful (I very genuinely cried several time during Patrick’s sections), I wanted to ask your thoughts on Marion being the primary storyteller. I had a really hard time sympathizing with her, but it almost felt like that was what the reader was supposed to do? And I know she tells Tom that it’s her confession, but she spends almost the entire time reflecting on her own feelings and trying very hard to justify them, and then just up and leaves them to figure the rest out. I think it’s implied that she’s supposed to be remorseful, but I just couldn’t really feel it. I guess it kind of came across as a straight woman talking about herself with an incredibly tragic love story happening in the background. I really did like the book and am SO excited to see Harry in the movie, but I would be really interested in hearing your thoughts!

oooof yeah omg. marion. i hate her guts, and i truly think that's what the reader is supposed to feel hahaha

OKAY SPOILERS DON'T READ BC I IMPLY WHAT HAPPENS

first of all, as you said: from the start, she's self-absorbed and only interested in her own little feelings and own little life. she'll hurt others if it means she gets what she wants, or even just gets to stay in her own bubble of blindness. it's also totally the writer's intention, imo, to paint her as this selfish, rigid person. someone who wants to keep a lover, not actually love a person. it's in the little things that the reader is shown what a bad person she is, seeding what she does in the end. how she treats the kids her class, even her colleague and friend. how she makes decisions, like life is nothing but a perfect puzzle she has to complete.

i think the author chose her pov as one of the two main ones to serve as a stark contrast to patrick, who genuinely loves tom for who he really is. bc marion has a relationship with the idea of tom. this is, of course, bc tom hides a lot of himself, but it's also bc marion simply isn't interested in digging deeper than the image she has of him. he's her sporty policeman, handsome, diligent and kind, and that's all she needs to know. patrick truly gets to know tom because he wants to, because he slowly urges tom to open up to him, until he finally does. he put effort into their relationship, and loved tom's flaws too.

AND of course she was picked because she is the voice of a lot of english people at that time: homophobic just because it's the norm, the law. because everyone else is. because straying from the path laid out from birth can only mean you're going to hell. not everyone at that time would have turned someone in with the police, because they all knew what horrible consequences came of that, but then that's why marion's character is basically sociopathically horrible. after discovering patrick and tom’s secret, instead of making her way out of the relationship and building something of her own, she ruins patrick’s life and tom’s happiness, just so she can keep tom and their life where everything goes to plan (lol). she literally knows tom can’t love her and goes through with all of her actions. i think she likes the idea of being remorseful at the end of her life, but imo it’s more in line with the catholic confession. lay out your sins and you’re forgiven, right? they’re all gone, poof? no more repercussions. apart from the lives she destroyed, of course. 

i LOVED the book as well hahahah and the fact that marion is so infuriating is a testament to the writer being amazing. she captured two drastically different points of view so believably. i want to reread it atm and i’m trying to bring up the courage to handle it. i just yearn to read the beautiful parts again :’) 

#kind anon #my policeman

[spectroscopes]

I need to just sit down and write my big thesis about these Avatar movies but the thing I keep thinking about is the fact that Jake and his positioning in the narrative is not quite a straight deployment of a “white saviour” trope in the way you would encounter it in another movie. It’s not that the first movie doesn’t follow the beats of that trope and I understand why people find it really annoying but it’s like, Jake is not special. It’s not even that his specialness has nothing to do with his whiteness, it’s that he’s just not special at all. He’s barely even a saviour. The only reason the Na’vi win the climactic battle of that movie after everything he does leading up to it, almost none of which ultimately matters (except that it’s partly his fault it’s even happening), is that Eywa directly intervenes. The only thing he does of any real value is provide information to her about what will happen if she doesn’t. The thing which makes him ‘special’ in contrast to the other humans on Pandora is that he is the only human in the movie with no ideological or material attachment to the imperial project because he is also marginalised by it and the reality is that there are a lot of people in the world who fall into that category and it could have been any one of them it’s just that he’s the one that just so happened to end up on Pandora basically by accident.

I think people can have nuanced discussions about the casting choices in these movies and the decision to centre a character played by a white man in the narrative; I wonder if it would have been more palatable to people if he were played by someone else but the essential story beats were the same. It’s a complicated question because it gets into the ethics of casting real-world racialised people as colonisers (and whether this is intentional or not it is noteworthy that every human character bar one in the first movie who switches sides and fights with the Na’vi is marginalised in some way: disabled, female, not white, or a combination) and also — maybe I’m stupid — but it feels like it would not fundamentally change the story messaging given that the in-universe racial politics don’t directly deal with white supremacy but this notion of human supremacy because it’s an allegory, especially considering the typical problematic optics of this type of story are absent by the time Jake does anything actually heroic since he looks like (and, like, is) a Na’vi the entire time. 

The thing which makes it interesting to me is that the saviour arc isn’t about Jake being innately good or special by dint of his identity either as human or as white. He doesn’t start the movie as a great war hero like the guy in Dances With Wolves or any kind of aspirational ideal: he starts the movie as someone who wanted to be that guy, bought into imperialist propaganda, and got chewed up and spit out by the machine because it was a lie. He doesn’t even see himself as a saviour or a leader by the end of the movie because he correctly assesses that none of this was really thanks to him, in fact he literally says “I’m not officer material”, which points to kind of a traditional mythic idea about the most appropriate leader being someone who doesn’t want the job and is also thematically consistent with the way he is contrasted with Norm who feels that he should have been the one to embed with the Na’vi and resents Jake for being chosen over him. That’s what makes the fact that he so completely fails at his leadership role when tested in the second movie so interesting because it illustrates his discomfort with the idea of being special but it also directly challenges the idea that he even is special. Ronal openly scoffs at this idea when Neytiri suggests it.

Anyway, like, I’m not saying my assessment of these movies is correct or the only valid interpretation because the first one certainly does have its moments in this regard where any reasonable person could go “ugh”. But when I contextualise the reaction to them versus other franchises that are just as guilty of the things people criticise about Avatar (specifically regarding the casting, optics, and centring of white characters) but are not considered irredeemable and dismissed in the same way it makes me wonder if the real issue here is that Avatar is at least trying to tell a genuinely anticolonialist story in a populist medium with direct application to contemporary geopolitics and perceived to be falling short or imperfect and therefore totally lacking in value and meaning in a way that stories that don’t even try or are pushing the reverse are not.

In some ways it feels like maybe it’s a little more comfortable to engage with media which deliberately pulls its punches or garbles its semiotics (or cynically utilises representation politics to repackage overt imperialist messaging as in some way progressive, naming no names) than something which is flawed in well-documented ways but very open about exactly who the villains are, who they represent in the real world, and the idea that indigenous people have an unassailable right to their own land and self-determination which they’re entitled to defend by any means necessary and they’re not just “villains making points but taking it too far” they’re the heroes of the narrative and allowed to engage in truly brutal violence without the movies ever positioning them as in the wrong. Because that is an actually challenging idea to a lot of people who do not want to acknowledge that they themselves are on the extractive side of imperialism just like Jake and maybe the only possibility for self-redemption and the only way to transgress that category is to be willing to die for it, just like Jake. Because, optics aside, tropes aside, casting ethics aside, James Cameron aside, the central message ultimately boils down to, like, “you personally are not that special, you are on the surplus side of imperial relations to the environment, you’re kind of complicit in the atrocities that are being committed to support your lifestyle, which you don’t even enjoy, and you can only redeem yourself by setting aside your own selfishness and entitlement in order to turn against this system of global destruction that you have been a cog in the machine for all your life”. And if Lockheed Martin and even fucking Shein discourse has taught me anything it’s that a lot of people don’t like to hear that.

#also that's a message that is only in this movie and not in the other movies it gets compared to as a means to dismiss it #just found this in my drafts lmao #i go back and forth on all this tbh #but god jake is such a flop by design it’s fascinating #also at this point i’m clearly not gonna sit down and write my ‘big thesis’ i don’t even remember what it is lol