#but it has so much in it

[turtleneck-wambsgans]

the three acts of the ‘nero & sporus’ scene

i just rewatched the nero & sporus scene for like the hundredth time and i have thoughts

within itself, the scene has what are essentially three micro-acts:

i. “let’s game it out”

ii. “what do you know about nero and sporus?

iii. “let’s fight like chickens”

the first act is set in motion by tom’s goal of applying the thumb screws to greg.

tom visits greg apparently holding the power- he is in a position to control greg and get him to sign the jda. he does so by attempting to strategise with greg about how greg can land a gig at parks, as he sees himself as a mentor for greg with these things. 

however, it soon becomes apparent that greg has already figured out exactly what he needs to ask for:

TOM: So, I guess you've already gamed it.

tom is clearly taken aback by greg’s show of strategic prowess. tom sees his place in this dynamic as the boss/possessor of power. this gives him a sense of control over greg - his knowledge and experience positioned him as someone greg needed. in this way, greg simultaneously functioned as a display of tom’s authority, as well as a friend/confidant. 

greg does genuinely thank tom for his willingness to help him, but he doesn’t need tom’s advice anymore. tom is left questioning both his level of power and his place in greg’s life.

the second act shows tom starting to reckon with these notions, causing him to dictate a narrative that establishes his place in greg’s life.

tom immediately seeks to regain some semblance of power by harkening to a story that greg did not know:

TOM: Sporus was a young slave boy. He was Nero’s favourite.

for the purposes of this post, let’s focus not on the prophetic nature of the story, but rather what it says about tom’s perception of greg. firstly, the comparison to a “young slave boy” further re-establishes the power that tom feel like he should have over greg. 

more importantly, we know that tom sees himself as nero, and greg as sporus - so when he says that sporus was “nero’s favourite”, he is clearly telling greg that he is important in tom’s life. tom is covertly telling greg that they need each other, for any number of reasons. 

it explains why greg is absurdly accepting of tom’s confession:

TOM: I’d castrate you and marry you in a heartbeat.

greg is not weirded out by the objectively insane thing tom has just told him, because he understands what tom is saying - he gets the feeling that tom is making a promise to him. tom is being highly vulnerable in this moment, and greg can see that - it’s why he asks: 

GREG: Are you okay, Tom?

tom realises that greg has seen his moment of weakness, and feels somewhat threatened by it.

the final act shows a flashpoint of tom’s anxieties about prison and his personal & professional vulnerability.

tom switches the tone of the interaction from vaguely tender to completely insane in a matter of seconds, when he says:

TOM: See if you can wrestle me into the ground, Greg.

on the surface, this is tom being tom - obnoxious, strange, menacingly playful (note: this also does play into the imagery of ‘the mad emperor nero’, which speaks further to how tom perceives himself and greg and nero and sporus). however, this proposal actually acts as a mechanism through which tom’s true thoughts about his situation are revealed.

GREG: I don't wanna do it! 

TOM: (mockingly) "I don't wanna do it! I don't wanna do it! I don't wanna do it!" Neither do I, Greg

tom isn’t talking about play-fighting when he cries “neither do i, greg”. tom is talking about going to prison. tom is between a rock and a hard place. he volunteered himself to go to jail, but that doesn’t mean he wants it to happen.

and what of the alternative? losing any leverage he has with logan, and existing in a marriage that is draining him. tom can’t see a way out, and everything in his life is shifting beyond his control. he doesn’t want to lose what little power he feels he has left. 

so, when greg shuts him down, tom reverts to roy-style mockery to build some sort of shield around himself.

TOM: It was a joke, you idiot. You're so hard to riff with. I mean that is a big career obstacle right there for you.

tom attacks greg’s ‘lack of humour’ as a potential hurdle for his success. here he is trying to diminish greg in order to show him that he still has control- that greg still needs him to guide his career. 

in one last show of chaotic defiance of his situation, tom knocks over the coat stand in greg’s office and storms out.

this scene is a culmination of all the pressures that tom is experiencing in the middle of the third season. 

he thinks he is going to prison. his marriage is in a shambles. he thinks his only true confidant/friend/??? doesn’t need him anymore. he’s weaker than he has ever been, and he has no idea where he is going to end up. so, achieves three goals in this interaction. 

1. he brings greg back to waystar

2. he strengthens the bond between himself and greg

3. he tries to regain control over his situation

this scene reinforces tom’s arc across the season, including his strengthening relationship with greg, and his betrayal of shiv in the finale. it is clear that tom appears to be over-confident, but is ultimately vulnerable - a testament to the complexity and depth of his character.

#this scene is only 4 minutes long #but it has so much in it #it's overwhelming #tom wambsgans #greg hirsch #tomgreg #tnwg #tnwg overanalyses #nero and sporus #succession

[tariah23]

Oh…. Well, it’s over for Crunchyroll I guess

#Crunchyroll #piracy #funimation #money hungry ass streaming service #rambling #I’ve never paid for a streaming service in my life thank god #I appreciated using others accounts but I personally cannot see myself paying this much for a service if I had the funds 😭! #get back to pirating kings!!! #anime has always been one of the easiest forms of media to pirate anyway so y’all got this #CR is definitely not worth paying for though #CR is certainly not worth paying this much for even if it’s a yearly one time fee #capitalism #the fact that CR has always had pretty bad quality as a streaming service anyway #it buffers every time you pause or rewind anything

[powdermelonkeg]

Important rules/tips I've learned as an adult that helped with anxiety

If people are mad at you, it's their responsibility to tell you, not your responsibility to guess

If they're mad at you in secret anyways, they're the ones in the wrong, not you

If people don't like what you're doing, it's their responsibility to tell you

If they say it's fine when it's really not, they're the ones in the wrong, not you

People are allowed to be wrong about you

If they are wrong about you, wait for them to bring it up, because if you try to, you will inevitably overcorrect

Some people are committed to misunderstanding you. You will not win arguments against them. Yes, even if you explain your point of view. They do not care. Drop it

The worst thing that will happen from a first-time offense is being told not to do it again. Maybe with a replacement if you broke something

You can improve relationships and gauge willingness to talk to you by giving compliments. It's like a daily log-in bonus and nobody thinks twice about it

Most things are better after you sleep on them

Most things are better after you have a meal

Most things are better after you shower

Your brain makes up consequences that are irrational. If the worst DOES come to pass and someone acts like they do in your head, they are overreacting, and you are entitled to say "what the fuck"

If your chest hurts after you feel like you've made a social error, that's called rejection-sensitive dysphoria. It means your anxiety is so bad that it's causing you physical pain, which is a good indicator that you're overreacting. Tense yourself, hold it for 20 seconds, let it go, then find a distraction

If you're suddenly angry at someone after you feel like you made a social error, that's also rejection-sensitive dysphoria. You are going to feel annoyed about it for awhile, but being genuinely pissed off is your anxiety trying to find something to blame to take the responsibility off your shoulders, and getting scared because it can't justify itself. Deep breaths, ask yourself how much you ACTUALLY want to be angry at that person, then find a distraction

"Sour grapes" is more healthy for you than stewing. Deciding you don't like someone who's perpetually annoyed with you, won't talk to you, etc. makes letting go of anxiety over them easier

If people don't like you, they will find reasons to be annoyed with you when they otherwise wouldn't. If people do like you, they will find reasons NOT to be annoyed with you when they otherwise would. People do not ping-pong between the two

You DO have to make a conscious choice not to think about something. If you're having trouble circling back to it, say out loud that you're done thinking about it and why. Then find a distraction

When you're upset, part of you is going to want to make false bids for attention (suddenly texting differently, heavy sighs, etc. but when someone asks you about it, you tell them it's nothing). Do not listen to it. You gain nothing from it except more misery

People like to help people they care about. It makes them feel good about themselves

If you think you're insufferable for needing help, see above. Yes, really. They get a serotonin kick from it

If you think you're insufferable for mannerisms you have, you either have to consciously choose not to do them, or accept that they're part of the package that comes with you. Being apologetic about existing does nothing except make you more miserable

If you do things you don't like when you feel meh about it, it makes it easier to do them when you hate it

If you avoid things you don't like when you feel meh about it, it reinforces and magnifies how bad it feels when you hate it

Seriously. Read those last two points again. If you can make yourself make a phone call when you've got nothing to lose, you will slowly lose that panic you get when you have to make a phone call you haven't prepared for. You do have to CONSCIOUSLY take that step

Hobbies that make you care for something get rid of that nagging feeling that you're not doing enough. Go grow some rosemary

If you don't engage with your hobbies regularly, you will feel miserable, and anxiety will spike

Hobbies are things that give you a bit of happiness. They do not have to be organized or named to do that. Go be creative in something. Play with coins. Make up lists. Start a new WIP

No one cares what you look like

If people point out things they don't like about how you look unprompted, they are being rude. You are entitled to say "what the fuck"

People who like you will find you pretty to some degree. Minor things about your appearance go completely unnoticed. Literally, scars and dots and blemishes do not register to someone who likes your company

You looking at yourself in the mirror is 10x more closely than anyone is going to look at you

If you're anxious about your body type, and you're creatively inclined, make/write an oc with that same shape. Give them nice things and make other characters love them. Put them on adventures. You'll start to see yourself in the mirror more kindly

You care about wording and perfect lines/colors way more than anyone who views your work ever will

Sometimes when you're upset, you're going to feel like not eating. Do not do that. Not eating makes you more miserable

Same with things you normally enjoy. Denying yourself helps no one. You are punishing yourself for being sad. Stop it

Both of these will take conscious decision to break the habit of. Make yourself do it anyways, and it will slowly get easier

And again, to reiterate: If someone is mad at you, it is THEIR responsibility to tell you, not your responsibility to guess

#anxiety #long post #i have been an adult for the better part of a decade and it has gotten SO much easier as i internalized these #swearing tw

[bellwethers]

Tough.

#forgive me if the get along shirt has been done #I think it works for a lot of characters in this show #big toph love #I had so much fun drawing her #also still working on roughing up my style bit by bit #toph beifong #atla toph #fanart #atla #atla fanart #avatar #avatar the last airbender #the last airbender #atla katara #katara #toph avatar #toph atla

[greykolla-art]

It’s healthy to step out of our comfort zone’s a little!😜

#grey art #god this show has possessed me help! #I have other things to do aaa!😂 #hazbin hotel fanart #hazbin hotel comic #hazbin hotel #charlie morningstar #vaggie #nifty #alastor #hazbin vaggie #hazbin niffty #hazbin alastor #chaggie #i should probably rest my hand before I cripple myself #but this made me giggle so much I had to finish it!😂😂😂

[artkaninchenbau]

Crocodile finds a strange stray cat an 11-year old Nico Robin (AU where they met 13 years earlier. Robin's been on the run from the World Government for 3 years. Crocodile's 27 and has not set up base in Alabasta yet)

It seems like I have become possessed. By some sort of demon.

Bonus:

#My art #One Piece #Nico Robin #Sir Crocodile #Y'all the OP brainrot is BAD #According to an SBS Crocodile would absolutely spoil his child rotten if he had one. *We all know how Robin's childhood went* #Scary mofo who does not know how to parent a child but boy does he have the spirit + Child who has never had proper parent in her life #They'd make. An absolute disaster of a duo. This AU concept is so fucking funny to me okay #But also sad because I would fucking die for baby Robin she deserves the fucking world #This poor girl has never been spoiled in her entire life AND NOW PAPADILE IS HERE TO SPOIL HER #You know it's funny. I know 11 yo Robin should LOOK older than 8 year old Robin. But Crocodile is a fucking giant so she's still baby sized #Also I just had too much fun drawing Robin looking as pathetic as humanly possible lmao #She's a like a wet kitten in the rain 😭

[shayneysides]

hobie: kill yourself

pavitr: WHAT THE HELL BRO WHAT DID I DO

original format from @ha-youwish in this post!

#across the spiderverse #spiderman atsv #pavitr prabhakar #hobie brown #gwen stacy #miles morales #astv fanart #spiderman #sorry im overtagging so much i just spent way longer on this than i should've #also the post editor seems to have compressed the image to hell so i rly hope it doesn't post so fuzzy #anyways. pav is so so silly #astv #spiderverse #spiderverse fanart #again i'm sorry for overtagging this movie just has SO MANY TAGS #spiderband #spiderman across the spider verse #edited because it suddenly started getting a ton of notes and i hated that i mischaracterized pavitr in it

[izzenithal]

Percy “Has Been Waiting to Use This Meme as an Excuse” Jackson, and Annabeth “Never Seen a Meme” Chase

#this has probably been done before but #i enjoyed making this silly thing this morning #also is annabeth aware of memes in the show???? annabeth how will you bond with Percy #he definitely has a hyper detailed Minecraft world #anyway #pjo series #pjo tv show #percy jackson #percy jackon and the olympians #annabeth chase #fanart #pjo comic #my art #I’ve been really enjoying the show!! i need to reread there’s so much I’ve forgotten

[ghostpyre]

Very cool life update: I am hopefully getting a tattoo of my favorite cave painting ever by someone who is equally obsessed with lost species of humans, I made bread for a friend who biked to get it from me, I have begun packing my belongings, and I think for a moment it is okay.

#mine #i am also at the library downloading books so ha! yes! very much a win!

[kellinrk800]

TRISHA PAYTAS WHAT HAVE YOU DONE

#uk politics #trisha paytas #september 8th #queen elizabeth ii #king charles iii #she has so much power thank you trish #british royal family

[miothle]

Farewell, Kakavasha.

#honkai star rail fanart #honkai star rail #hsr aventurine #hsr kakavasha #hsr fanart #my art #fanart #art #im crying so much this scene was so beautiful and yet the most heartbreaking one #as someone who has had a difficult life #seeing him choosing to keep on living is #crying sobbing throwing up #im rooting for him sm

[keymintt]

a comic/zine about coyotes

#art #comic #coyotes #comics #my art #digital #zine #idk what else to tag this if anything #i just think coyotes are so fucking cool and excellent queer symbolism. if you think about it #< he has thought about it so fucking much #shoutout to the handful of ppl who kept me company on stream last night too hehe #sorry if you get a version with typos they should all be corrected by now. i unfortunately have adhd and made this in two days #busted out all the illustrations for this in...one night for phx zine fest lmaO #our group found out two days before we were tabling that we got taken off the waitlist. had fun today tho #greatest hits

[purpleminte]

God sending his silliest soldier:

#random #good gif #espurr #I just love the walk so much #it just screams ‘step aside bitches this ass is mine’ #this kitty has murder in their eyes #powerful

[reineydraws]

jason is a grandpa's boy and u cant take this away from me!!! they cook together, they discuss literature together, and when jay comes back, they clean their guns together haha. ofc they celebrate their birthday together too! 😌

✨️🎂 hbd jay & alfie 🎂✨️

#jason todd #alfred pennyworth #batfamily #batfamily fanart #dc #dc fanart #batman #red hood #dc red hood #they have one of those relationships where jason outright says he loves alfred the most and alfred refuses to say he has a fave grandkid #but it's kind of just concensus that it's jason cuz he's the only one allowed in the kitchen #i am also a heavy believer in the hc that for a while there jason wouldnt meet up with anyone but alfred #and theyd meet for tea and stuff outside the manor #i love those fics #i was gonna draw an in-between angsty one where alf has a picnic by jay's grave with tea and cake for two but i dont have the energy 😅 #i was also gonna draw a red hood and agent A one with the guns they were cleaning but again: no more energy 💀 #mb i'll save that one for later. i still love the idea so much. :')

[keets-writing-corner]

Thinking a LOT about Lucifer in the latest Hazbin episode. Idk what I was expecting but not this??

As I was watching my immediate thought was just "huh... Lucifer is kinda of weird..." but as the episode went on I realized the issue

the dude is off the chain depressed, like he says it as a joke but holy cow it is SO BAD

He's manically just creating rubber ducks cuz his daughter really like it that one time but it's empty, it's never good enough but he keeps doing it, maybe cuz he doesn't know how to pass the time otherwise.

like I get the feeling he HAS better things he SHOULD be doing than making rubber duck after rubber duck. At first I was like, "Bruh why isn't the king of hell doing anything?" aaaaand then it became clear...

The dude is disassociating so bad he can barely hold a conversation let alone remember information. He clearly WANTS to, he wants to be involved with his daughter so bad, he wants to care about the things she's doing so bad, but his depression keeps interfering. It's like he can only hear every other word and he grasps onto the ones he does hear semi-out of context. Like you can see every time he catches something that he hadn't before and he just "well shit I didn't catch that part"

and that's why he reacts so weird when people talk to him. He is struggling so bad to engage with the conversation he's only getting 50% of it

does that look like the face of a man who knows what the hell the conversation is even about??? he is STRUGGLING

like Charlie spent so long telling him about the hotel, and he STILL didn't understand what she wanted. Yeah it comes off as ditzy but literally I've been in that position where your brain just "nope, not doing this right now" and nerfs your conversation comprehension. So as someone who's BEEN in that position, to me it feels exactly like what he's dealing with. He's sorta engaged with the conversation, but only as much as his brain will allow

For example, when I'm dealing with this, this is what someone talking to me feels like this where the crossed out parts are what I missed and bold is what I catch, "Hey! You know I was thinking for dinner we could either make some chicken with rice? But if you don't feel like cooking, pasta is super easy and you love that right? What do you want to do?" you can kinda get that someone is trying to talk to you about dinner, and towards the end you get the impression that they asked something that needs your input so you can decently put 2 and 2 together and try and pass off, but crucial bits were left out, I would have no idea that either chicken or pasta is in the conversation only having heard "rice". When someone is just talking at me, I can decently pass off as being engaged but the second I'm required to participate in the conversation I'm screwed. Seem familiar? At which point I have 2 options, try to give a bullshit answer, or admit that I missed what they were saying and ask them to repeat

Lucifer, unfortunately, is trying so damn hard to hide that he's dealing with like 24/7 dissociation, so he can't admit that he's missing entire chunks of the conversation, hence his really weird replies. He does eventually get the full picture and then he and Charlie start having the real conversation

Also, the Alastor/Lucifer rivalry was hilarious but also really indicative of more of what Lucifer is dealing with

Alastor is, unfortunately, really good at picking up people's insecurities, and thanks to Charlie's description earlier and watching Lucifer clearly trying to overcompensate, he immediately picks up on the fact that Lucifer KNOWS he struggles to be a good dad (we know cuz it's cuz of the depression, hard to be engaged when your brain keeps turning off) and decides to rub salt in the wound by pretending he's been acting as a surrogate father to Charlie. Now why Alastor decided to pick a fight with the king of hell is beyond me, I do not understand Alastor (and I LIKE IT) (maybe it's cuz Alastor thinks he's hot shit and was expecting Lucifer to at least have heard of him but Lucifer just treats him like a nobody? who knows)(why would Lucifer listen to radio anyways when he can't even pay attention to a conversation it'd just be white noise)

But yeah I just was expecting someone who oozed either charisma or presence and instead I got a depressed dad who's dissociating so bad he can barely function and be present in his life. The only thing it seems he CAN do is make rubber ducks cuz his daughter really liked it that one time

Idk Lucifer is tragic to me. Whatever the full details of what heavan did to him absolutely broke him and he can't deal with it. He's aware of it, and he doesn't know how to fix it, so he tries to over compensate and sorta makes an ass out of himself but no one says or does anything cuz this guy is supposed to be THE king of hell

Suddenly it's making a lot more sense why he just rolls over and lets heaven do what it wants and even told Charlie to go in his place the start of the show. He's not in any headspace to hold a basic conversation let alone negotiate! He didn't even know who Alastor was, he's been so out of touch

idk I like him, he seems sweet, I hope Charlie brings some light back into his life. He really needs to get out of that rubber duck room

#hazbin spoilers #hazbin hotel #lucifer #lucifer morningstar #analysis #dissociation #look idk what to tell you all #I watched the episode and everything makes so much more sense #when you realize he's only intaking like 50-60% of the conversations #he's not bad at listening his brain is literally preventing him from getting everything #literally I've been there #the difference between him and me tho #is that he can't show it #he's the king of hell #he has to bluff his way through conversations #but yeah literally rewatch the episode with this in mind #and watch him reply to the things he DID catch #anyways #NEW BLORBO???? #who'd've thought I would go into Hazbin Hotel #and come out with freaking LUCIFER as my favorite character #I love him #he's so sad

[bbbbbbbbatman]

Bruce gets accosted by reporters and one of them asks "Is it true that you're in competition with Superman to win Batman's affections?" and he is so taken aback bc what the fuck are they even talking about? There are a million questions going through his head such as, since when was superman into batman? since when was this public knowledge? wtf did bruce say to imply that he was into batman as well? And he doesn't have an answer to any of these questions so he just smiles and says, "No, I'm not. The word competition implies that Superman has a chance, which he does not."

why did he say that? Bruce doesn't know, it just felt like that's how Bruce Wayne would've responded bc what's more Brucie than fighting with Superman for Batman's heart? anyway, upon reflection, this was maybe not the best response in terms of long term consequences, but he's committed to the bit now.

a week after all this goes down, news reporter Clark Kent is caught saying that Batman deserves better than Bruce Wayne, so is a third suitor putting his hat in the ring to win over batman?

#superman was already iffy on bruce wayne #now he has a true hatred for the man for #1) declaring his intentions toward someone he has feelings for #2) not only implying that he is better boyfriend material than /Superman/ #but that he’s so much better that superman isn’t even competition #/bruce wayne/ #notable playboy and idiot #a better choice as a boyfriend #the absolute arrogance #batman #bruce wayne #superman #clark kent #superbat #dc #dc comics #mine