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#like their relationship is very different but also similar in some ways
patchodraws · 1 day
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my hot take for today, rwby gets better when you realise that blake definitely did have a crush on sun in the early days but didn’t follow up on it because she realised post-fall that her feelings were stronger for yang and that sun just wasn’t the one.
1) it makes all the eclipse moments in early volumes not feel like they’re shitting on bumbleby (the eventual canon couple)
2) it highlights that yes, blake is indeed bi
3) it tells a very realistic story of how some crushes just aren’t meant to be
do i still think blake had a bit of a crush on yang at beacon? absolutely. do i still think yang fell first and was so head over heels for blake at beacon? absolutely! blake seriously has a type, and sun and yang are both that type.
the difference comes in how they treat her. sun may be fun and flirty, but he’s also senseless and pushes blake out of her comfort zones far too often without realizing why she doesn’t appreciate it. yang on the other hand is patient with her, invites her into her life to have fun without pushing her way in and trampling all over her boundaries.
and that’s what’s fun about sun and yang being so similar !! like, not only does blake have a type, but it shows the variance in that type and what she needs in a relationship. it’s a great narrative !!
and it works extra well when you consider that sun doesn’t get jealous and actively encourages blake to go on her own way (subtext: to get her girl), because then it makes him somewhat of a narrative foil to ilia, who was jealous of adam and let that jealousy fester, as opposed to sun, who let go of those conflicting feelings to let blake — who he undoubtedly loves — be herself and do what she wants. (it’s also why i really love the dynamic of sun and ilia, himbo and lesbian duo getting over the girl they loved)
long story short, eclipse isn’t bad but it also wasn’t meant to be and that’s okay. better, even, for the story they wanted to tell for blake.
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nayatarot777 · 2 days
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What Has Your April 2024 Been Like?
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• Pile One •
You’ve been extremely dedicated to a craft or to the creation of something which has required you to overcome your fears. Stepping into courage has been a focal point of this past month as it seems like you’ve realised that certain shadow traits have been intensifying within you. It seems like you’ve stopped feeling sorry for yourself and you’re now focusing on actually overcoming obstacles that you’re facing. I’m seeing the visual of someone climbing a mountain that requires a tough journey, and while you feel fear towards uncovering certain things on this path, you’re still pushing through it. You’re using the tears that you’ve shed as motivation to get yourself the fuck out of this rut, so overall, you’ve been dedicated to improving yourself more than anything. This has come after experiencing a relationship that was one-sided, full of toxicity (maybe even abuse), and fake generosity. However, you’ve been dedicating yourself to increasing the strength of your spiritual protection by not allowing yourself to be comfortable in victimhood. 👏🏾👏🏾👏🏾
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• Pile Two •
Seems like you’ve been going through a period of your spiritual awakening, Pile Two. This April, you’ve been expanding your consciousness towards manifestation, the manipulation of energy, spell-work, or anything similar to those metaphysical things. Seems like you’ve stumbled upon a clear solution to expose your energy to the world/the universe. Or just to put your energy out there. You’ve experienced a rebirth this April, and it feels like you’re looking at life through a new set of eyes and a new type of understanding. You’ve realised that your magickal/energetic abilities are magnifying because your intentions and energies are. There’s also something here about a fake friend. Perhaps this fake friend is involved in hard drugs (primarily pills is what I’m seeing) and it’s almost like you’ve been of service to this person. Constantly putting their needs and their healing above yourself and your own. There’s also something about someone being fake religious around you. For some of you, this message is about how you’ve recently realised that the religion that you’ve been taught just doesn’t align with you (hence why you’ve broken free from this and are expanding your own consciousness past the limitations put onto you).
Extended Reading: What’s In Store For You In May 2024? - On Patreon (£4.50/month)
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• Pile Three •
This April, you’ve rejected someone’s offer that would’ve cost you something major. This offer was dangerous and presented to you with the intentions of trapping you in something. This could’ve been from a guardian (like a parent) or someone who’s just your familiar in some way. Someone who’s meant to protect you. The energy of children is out here too. There’s something to do with a birth of a child (perhaps some of you have some type of relation to a midwife or midwifery). There was some type of responsibility that someone tried to put onto you in relation to children or a child. You saw the truth about whatever this offer was, despite this person trying to talk you out of seeing and believing the truth yourself. Despite this, I’m seeing that April was a very joyful month for you. Thanks to listening to your intuition and using your higher mind to avoid burdens and responsibilities that would’ve weighed you down. You’ve had the feeling of being high on life from all of this joy. You’ve been going out and enjoying yourself more, or just indulging in hobbies that make you happy. I’m seeing a xenophobic person (someone who’s discriminatory towards others of a different nationality) coming out here. Some of you weren’t the one doing the rejecting with whatever this tempting offer was - for some of you, you were rejected yourselves, but this was divine protection. You may have been dealing with some fragmentation in relation to your intuition, due to someone manipulating you out of seeing the truth or manipulating the image of something to seem more appealing than it actually would’ve been.
Extended Reading: What’s In Store For You In May 2024? - On Patreon (£4.50/month)
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tyrantisterror · 2 days
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While we’re on the subject of characters who “make you truly question makes one villainous”, what do you think of the take that villains, or at least ‘true’ villains, shouldn’t be sympathetic at all. That villains should simply be motivated by petty selfishness and cruelty. On one hand, that doesn’t sound like it makes for compelling stories, but on the other… most real-life villains really are motivated by nothing but greed and selfishness. And gain power by making people sympathize with them.
"Villain" is a word that has a lot of nuance to it that people in turn tend to overlook in favor of reducing it to "the guy it's ok to hate." "Antagonist" has the same problem, perhaps even worse, but that's another conversation.
Definitions don't help because more often than not they end up being intensely reductive of the broad scope of meanings the word has - again, another word with a similar problem in this regard is "monster," which can mean a bunch of a very different things that are all nonetheless recognizable by bearing some element of "monstrosity" to them.
So, like, one valid definition of villain is "an evil and unsympathetic character the audience is meant to hate." And I imagine if you gave that definition to most people, they'd agree - until you get to sympathetic characters who are still unmistakably villains. Like, would anyone say the word "villain" shouldn't include people like Doctor Octopus in Spider-Man II, or Mr. Freeze in Batman the Animated Series? Is Shakespeare's Macbeth excluded from the realm of villains because the play hinges on us finding ways to sympathize with him despite the horrific evil of his actions? Is Milton's Satan, perhaps the most iconic take on The Devil Himself, excluded from the conversation because Milton gave him pathos?
Villainy can be about the nature of your actions, and it can be about your relationship with society, and it can be about your choice of fashion and hobbies. It can be all of these things or none of them. Villainy is a form of being othered, one that has so many tropes attached to it and folded under it that the aesthetics of it can be divorced from the morality assigned to them easily. Villainy is so vast and complex a concept that a story can analyze it from a dozen different angels and still not capture the full scope of it.
Or, as one movie on the subject put it so succinctly:
youtube
It's about presentation.
As a writer and a reader of fiction, I love looking at time-tested tropes from a lot of different angles, and prying them apart to see how they work, and then seeing how far they can bend and twist until they break and become something else. I think locking yourself into one simple definition of what a villain can be is very limiting, creatively speaking, and think it's far more interesting to explore the concept from different angles. There's room for simple, pure evil bastards, sure, but there's also room for multifaceted evils, or characters will all the trappings of a villain but actions that ultimately speak to a nobility of spirit others have overlooked. The complexity of the trope is beautiful, why not explore it?
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itisnotaphasemom · 1 day
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I might not be able to put this the right way, and maybe others have said this already,
but to me, the main thing about Cloud and Aerith is the way he tries to grow for her and because of her.
In a way, they could be quite similar. Both are incredibly lonely, and they share similar trauma. Both have lost their mothers in tragic, malicious ways. Both are confused about their identity and past. Cloud learns how much just he has forgotten and that something is very wrong with him, just like Aerith keeps finding out how little she actually knows about her ancestry or the circumstances of her mother's death.
Cloud and Aerith both realize this and are able to sympathize with one another. Aerith is incredibly patient with Cloud and him trying to uphold the walls he built around himself at all times.
I think Cloud knows there is a fundamental difference about them, though. And, that is that despite everything that has happened while Cloud has been putting up walls and has become hardened, Aerith has not. While Cloud looks to the past, is angered, shut off, and distant, Aerith has gone the opposite route. She remained soft and hopeful. It's not to say she isn't sad or lonely or angry, which she is, but she isn't faulting the world for this. She wants things to get better, instead of wanting revenge.
Generally, I think there are relationships that make you look to the past or to the future and I don't think there's right or wrong in that if it isn't too extreme.
But I think Aerith makes Cloud look into the future. I think he's always been either checked out about looking either way, or obsessed with the past, about what happened and how to mend it.
Aerith makes him believe in a future because she has been through similar things and she has come out on the other side hopeful. Because she is still good to people and because she still loves, she still cares. And I think this makes Cloud want to grow, too.
And he's showing this in some of Aerith's darkest moments. When she acknowledges her dark thoughts on the beach, he reacts with understanding, and he helps her going forward, supporting her when he can (even without the obligatory merc fee). He encourages her to speak out about her past at the lantern festival. I think as someone being taken in by a stranger as a child, essentially putting her guardian's life at risk and bringing heavy baggage along, she learned to have to be pleasant at all times to be loved. Through Cloud, she learns that this other side of her, the one that is struggling with embracing her difficult past and path forward, is also worthy of love and protection. She says to him on the beach, she is sure, he will love future Aerith, the one she is growing into right at that moment - she, too, is changing because of him.
These moments show he really wants to be there for her the same way she is there for him. He wants to make her happy and support her. He wants to protect her while she protects the world. He feels responsible for her, and it's a role he wants to grow into, and he does.
In a way, Clouds world just gets a lot bigger while Aerith is in it. When she is there, he actually laughs, he smiles like he does with no one else, and finally, he even cries holding her in his arms, when he was on the cusp of being turned into an emotionless weapon just moments before.
This, in turn, makes Aerith open up to him in a way she doesn't do with the others, too. They both see a side of the other person nobody else gets to see.
I think this is amplified in the ending when Cloud is literally the only person who knows what happened to her, that witnessed her death and who's able to see her afterward.
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starrylayle · 1 day
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been thinking abt how the marauders era relationships would pan out in every universe and here are my thoughts!!
Wolfstar — lowkey controversial but I don’t think they’re soulmates — they’re more, kinda-wrong person, right time. I think they’d only end up together when things go to shit. Which is part of why I love them so much and why I love them in the canon universe. James and Lily are dead, Peter is a traitor, remus is unemployed and sirius….poor sirius. So yeah, They’re just two fucked up lads trying their best to love despite the world being against them. In universes where they don’t fall in love, can imagine they think the other’s a little off-putting or perhaps no really strong emotions. I think that’s why their connection in the canon universe is so special to me, because I just don’t think they’re relationship would be as prominent if circumstances were different (in other universes).
Prongsfoot — they’re literally soulmates. In every fucking universe. Sometimes, it’s platonic (tho never strictly), sometimes, romantic, sometimes an intense sexual bond as enemies?? Either way they’re always a little bit in love with each other. I do hc James as straight in the canon universe but yeah they definitely made out. And in other universes where James is queer they’re having the time of their lives. Anyways so yeah. Soulmates in every universe.
Jily — Love Jily! I see them as a first love situation. Some universes (like the main one) their love becomes immortalised. However, in others, maybe they move on and find other people, but since they were each other’s first love they always have a special place in their heart for each other <33
Jegulus — …………………………………………………………..
Prongstail — always doomed in the long run. Kinda childhood friends to lovers to ……. . A bit of unrequitedness because I don’t think James could ever love Peter enough. And in every universe Peter always has an inferiority complex and bottled resentment. They’re relationship rarely ends well.
Snily — ooh this is an interesting one. Similar to prongsfoot, I think they’re also a kind of doomed childhood-friend-to-lovers. Except I think that in the universes where Sev does not end being a bigot, they could probably date for a bit. They wouldn’t last tho and would remain as friends. In one universe Lily is an out and proud Lesbian and Sev is a closeted t-girl and they date for a bit but eventually decide to become friends (Lily still supports transfem!Sev in her transition tho). Canon universe tho,,, Sev had a crush on her and maybe Lily did too, but fifth year and James lol.
Nobleflower — ooooh love me some sapphic friends-to-star-crossed-lovers! I feel like in every universe they’d be on opposing sides, depending on circumstance.
Marylene — Friends to lovers, right person wrong time in the canon universe, but in other universes they’re thriving. They still would have had some sort of codependent, homoerotic friendship leading up to it lmaoo.
Dorlene — I like to think they’re always rivals in some context. Sometimes it leads to a fiery relationship, and sometimes it’s just aggressive sexual tension while they’re on opposing fields.
Jeverus — oooh people hate this but. Toxic rivals/enemies to lovers. Sometimes it works out, most of the time it doesn’t. The hate they hold for each is very strong but so is the sex
anyways this was fun!! Lemme know what u guys agree/disagree with! Maybe I’ll do a part 2 lol.
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bolithesenate · 2 days
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Hi! For some reason it wont let me ask from the blog I want it to, which is why the random name, but I really love your stuff! Quick question - what do you think would he Dooku/Sifo Dyas/Jocasta/Jaster’s main rule(s) for Padawans/foundling-child-thingy?
Sorry if this is boring or smthing its just Ive decided your word on these things is law!
Thank you!!! Xxxxxxx
eyyy!! never apologize for blessing my inbox with asks! especially not about the blorbos!!
Now, I'm not entirely sure on what you mean with 'what their main rules on children' are.... but that just means my answer gets to be more elaborate.
Sifo-Dyas:
In my head he is the most child loving of the bunch. He would THRIVE on taking a Padawan and honestly I could even see him have a biological child most out of all four of them. But he bars himself from either because of his visions – since there's no telling on how they would interact with a Master/Padawan bond or smt similar he isn't willing to risk a child's wellbeing for his own desires.
That being said, he lives all the more vicariously through Dooku and Jocasta when they take Padawans. (As well as visits the Crèche any day he can) In any universe he and Jaster are a thing he definitely tries his best to be of assistance there as well, even if just as a long-distance-father. He doesn't care if someone claims it's attachment. Raising children is only good and just and if he can help in ANY capacity he will do so and you'd have to kill him first to make him stop.
(And even then his Force ghost probably would find ways to meddle)
Dooku:
Dad-in-denial-supreme.
His stuck-up ass will loudly proclaim he doesn't like children and that they are too noisy and erratic and then turn around and immediately take the next best street urchin under his wing. Provided they look at a lightsaber with even a modicum of interest.
I mean, considering the NUMEROUS apprentices he has in the different flavors of canon (Rael, Qui-Gon, Komari, Sev'rance, Grievous, Assaij, Savage) this man simply is MADE to teach.
In fact, people wiser than me (hi Jess), have famously said that he'll actually go stir-crazy if he doesnt have someone to drill in makashi.
He isn't the best at emotions, but that's what he has Sifo for. And also he WILL offer each and every one of his Padawans/Apprentices/pseudo-children a place in House Serenno's actual lineage, even if just to spite his dead father and brother. But only after they turn 18/are knighted. Whichever comes first. (similarely to Jaster, he refuses to paint any more of a target on a child's back than strictly necessary)
Jaster:
As absolutely child-loving as most Mandos are. He would have adopted many more children already if not for the target that his existence as Mand'alor paints on them.
So while he tries to find them good homes, unless he is directly responsible for them or honor bound in some other way to adopt, he might refuse to say the words (even if it pains him gravely).
In any universe where he's in a relationship with the rest of the blorbos, you better bet he sees their Padawans as his foundlings-by-extension. Even if all the Jedi WILL argue that it is not the same (except Sifo, Sifo can has and will support this interpretation of the Master-Padawan bond until his dying breath). Although, again, he might not ever make it official. Politicians have many enemies. MANDALORIAN politicians doubly so. That isn't beneficial for a child's health long-term.
In any universe where he never gets to be Mand'alor tho he has like 10 foundlings MINIMUM.
Jocasta:
Last but not least. For her, children/padawans were a very distant thought most of her life. Biological ones she would never have in my opinion – either she's infertile to begin with or she got a permanent solution to prevebt pregnancy early on.
And while she did eventually take on three Padawans (yes, Olee counts even if she was stolen from her), she always considered them more students/peers than children in the familial sense. She just isn't very maternal in any capacity, but that is fine.
While she isn't involved a lot in the child-rearing aspects of whatever kids the other three drag along, she very much IS always up for bending some rules in favor of her precious nepo-niblings. Being the Head Archivist lets you get away with quite a bit.
Especially if it ultimately benefits the kid in question academically.
I hope the answer you were looking for is in here, otherwise let me know! I'm always up for talking more about the blorbos!
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nicolikesmoms · 3 days
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I am going to try to explain something as best i can so it comes out how i mean it but that is something i am the worse as doing. I think that when it comes time to cast rachel in pjo i think she should be white, not because of her original character or i that i think we shouldn't have diverse casting. I think that rachel being white may not have been that important in the books, if rick does it for the show it could make it a bit more layered in some sense, if rachel was white, rich, ect it would contrast to annabeth in a new way. Now when annabeth is insecure about Rachel and percy being close it is bit deeper i guess, now it's oh no Rachel feels societial beauty norms more than me because societial beauty norms are inherently racist and exclude people of color, or like if percy and rachel got together it would be like rachel is giving up more than her cause of her not being a demigod so she is putting herself into more danger, or she has money and her family is influential anf she is setting herself to lose that, ect. When this is stuff that annabeth already doesn't have like white women are constantly praised for doing a lot less than woc in many ways like in feminist movement, i also think it could leave insecurity about being in an interracial relationship, even if it's legal (cause remember it wasnt always legal in the us) it's still not completely excepted by everyone, so now if annabeth and percy get together it leaves room for insecurity about being the cause as to why percy is being treated differently together because they are together in a way that rachel anf percy wouldn't and i know rhis is a kids show but i think even if tjey don't mention it, it leaves room for people to perceive or i cant find the word i am looking for, but it would be very similar to how annabeth in the book was blond and it was don't base someones intelligence on stereotypes but in the show annabeth was black and it still carried the same message but now because poc are veiwed as less intelligent in a lot of spaces because of how they speak like aave, their hair or systematic oppression like public funding in predominantly black areas ect., it takes the same message but makes it more relatable to this time period and for more people, i think that is the best i can explain. If i said something wrong please tell me i would love to learn from it and correct i, this is just my opinion and if rachel was a woc i would not be super mad or like send death threats, (the bare minimum), i will be happy with whoever gets casted these are just my thoughts on what would make an interesting dynamic
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saintarmand · 15 hours
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wait I need to hear about the Daniel Lestat parallels
in answering your question i ended up typing a lot about a lot of things... some of which i think is pretty good and some of which is messy nonsense. enticing sneak preview:
daniel and lestat's similarities
the show overall as a story about how substance abuse affects families
how daniel mirrors both louis and lestat as a husband and as a father
facts, conjecture, and lots of theories about different aspects of daniel's backstory:
how antoinette may parallel armand, madeleine, and daniel's daughter
how daniel might mirror claudia???
like lestat, daniel can be pretty arrogant. they both love to lecture. "this is just how it is, listen to me, i would know! i have so much experience and knowledge to share." classic old white man behavior. hell, they're both old bisexual white men even. like lestat, daniel doesn't think of himself as racist but is still throwing microaggressions at both louis and armand.
daniel & lestat, danlou & loustat
lestat and daniel are both judgmental of some of louis's life choices (though usually different ones) and are not shy about saying so. they both make faces at louis eating animals—daniel also just louis eating in general ofc. but WE KNOW he still secretly thinks it's sexy and is also perhaps a bit jealous when louis is drinking from a hot guy, much like lestat. (don't pick the jacked sailor louis!!! great aesthetic but NO.)
so personality-wise, daniel is a combination of both louis and lestat. (he even has some claudia in him with his quest for the truth. i bet claudia would love to be a journalist, digging up dirt on people, exposing corruption! she's already a prolific writer too. but i'm getting sidetracked.)
both loustat and danlou are fond of each other, attracted to each other, but are also constantly bickering, sometimes in all good fun and sometimes not.
we see daniel yelling at louis in the show, and he's always yelling at armand in devil's minion. like lestat, he has a lot of anger in him. i bet he could throw a punch too back in the day. and while i don't think he was abusive to his wives, we know he wasn't a good husband either. especially while he was using.
and this is where we get to the most important parallel between them: lestat's "overindulgence" in killing is analogous to substance abuse. of course drinking too much blood doesn't actually make him act the way he does, but what happens in the show is still very reminiscent of the way alcoholism and drug abuse contributes to relationship problems. the substance itself doesn't lead to abuse, but it exacerbates things.
human blood is drugs actually
in the books, lestat talks about getting drunk a lot when he was human. louis calls himself a drunk too, and in the show their relationship starts by them going out all night almost every night. then they start going out every night to drink human blood. louis feels pressured to drink in order to please lestat, but eventually he wants to cut back. lestat is angry, telling louis it's stupid, there's nothing wrong with drinking, it's pointless, it's gonna be so hard, you won't be able to do it. and of course he feels like it's an attack on his own blood drinking. louis doesn't ask lestat to quit with him, but out of respect for louis's choice, he doesn't drink around louis anymore. lestat starts having parties at the house all the time. louis is totally fine with it, he's there, it's fine, it's fun. at least until it starts to get out of hand. and then lestat's fucking around on him too. eventually louis has a big relapse, things get way out of hand, it costs him his job even, lestat's like lol welcome back! told you this would happen! so louis breaks up with him.
but whooops he comes back carrying a child. you know, in his arms! he really wants to keep the kid. lestat acquiesces. louis doesn't go back to drinking human blood, but he doesn't have to because lestat has a new drinking buddy, a 14-year-old girl! he gave her a taste and she loved it! yay! louis tries to warn her about potential consequences. he's had a lot of them. she was a consequence even, but a good one. but she likes drinking with lestat, and eventually she starts going out on her own. and it gets out of hand.
daniel is sober now, "like louis", but he had a big drug problem back in the day. louis asks him about the "best he ever had." black tar heroin is nothing compared to what lestat gave louis that first time. yeah, it's not just drinking, it's hard drugs that lestat gave his kids.
louis's family doesn't know what the hell he and lestat get up to all night but they know it's nothing good. he stopped coming over for months, even years, but one time he showed up, watched the baby for just a second, dropped him on the floor. he wasn't invited to the kids' birthday party cause they're afraid of him. he showed up late and broke the door. they cut him out entirely. are he and his... partner, the right kind of people to adopt?
one time the cops get called. they raid the house but the evidence is well hidden. mostly. they refrain on calling the child welfare league but they don't like what they see. louis and lestat lecture claudia; louis about the drugs themselves, lestat about not hiding her tracks well enough. and speaking of, are those track marks on her arms? we don't do that kind of thing in this house!
claudia tells louis he's the one who brought her into the house. enabled lestat to give her a taste. she leaves home, staying somewhere new every night. she's still using, on her own and in dangerous situations. eventually she returns home. it's safer with someone watching your back.
lestat and claudia say louis's abstaining comes off judgmental. so he starts using again too. they throw a big big party with great party favors. claudia puts something in lestat's.
in season 2 (and i'm spoiling the whole plot), claudia and louis will travel around looking for people who are into the same stuff. the ones they find are pathetic, living like trash. then they find a group having some real fun, big parties. louis's not into it, but he's into armand, who doesn't mind that he doesn't use as much. claudia will get sick of the parties but get louis to give this woman she meets a little taste like lestat did with her. but armand doesn't want claudia around. armand and louis will keep using together, meet a guy in a bar. give him a taste of the good stuff. eventually louis will want to cut back again, and armand accepts it, even helps him. but louis's not much fun anymore.
just this once, daniel is a step ahead of louis; daniel's second marriage has already fallen apart.
daniel and alice
daniel compares louis to his first wife when he tells her about her dyeing her eyebrow; she thinks she has a flaw and tried to cover it up, but daniel likes her the way she is. lestat treated louis's aversion to killing like a flaw, and louis internalized that, calling himself a botched vampire, but daniel likes that about him. louis is like alice in a way.
some wild conjecture: what if alice was an addict too? what if daniel somehow contributed to her addiction like lestat did with louis? what if alice stopped using like louis, while daniel continued like lestat? or maybe she never used any drugs, but started drinking due to strain on her marriage; a more indirect cause. and what about the kids? what if, like claudia becoming a blood drinker like her parents, daniel's kids ended up inheriting his addiction too? becoming alcoholics as teens or adults? or maybe it affected them even more directly, like one of them accidentally ingested something he left lying around, and almost died like claudia? okay, that got dark... maybe daniel avoided getting his kids directly involved, perhaps by simply not being around much, and that's one of the differences between their stories. narrative foils aren't supposed to be identical after all, just further the same themes. a parent's substance abuse affects the children, one way or another. we don't know the details, but like lestat's fledglings, daniel's kids don't talk to him anymore.
daniel proposed to alice "after he got his shit together" but we don't know when this was. we do know daniel had a daughter by 1978 (7 years before car seats are mandatory) though we don't know how old she was—probably under 6 given he was imagining her in a car seat. we can probably assume alice is the mom, and based on her commenting on this part of his memoir that he never owned a buick, we can probably assume they were together around this time, or at least in contact. we also know he used black tar heroin in 1978.
this is only like semi-canon but on his linkedin page it says he started working as a freelance investigative journalist in 1982. it could be a random date but i imagine he's "got his shit together", working real jobs. so maybe it was around this time that he and alice got married. if we're assuming the devil's minion mind wipe theory is true, it would also be very fitting if the confusion of lost memories was what drew him specifically to investigative journalism as opposed to the portrait pieces he did before that. he doesn't know what the truth is anymore, so he starts looking for it wherever he goes.
and speaking of devil's minion, if daniel was cheating on alice with armand, then he's a lot like lestat indeed. but his secret lover is so secret he himself doesn't even know about him anymore. (or maybe alice did know there was someone, and felt very gaslighted when daniel suddenly started insisting it never happened after basically admitting it before? or maybe daniel's denials just suddenly got so convincing she agreed to marry him?)
two marriages, two children?
in 1985, daniel and alice were talking past each other when she told him she was pregnant. he was like remind me again later
louis and lestat didn't have another kid together, but lestat did make another vampire: antoinette. lestat had a child! while the marriage was going badly, a few years after getting (back) together. just like our boy danny.
after "breaking up" with lestat, louis will also have a "child", madeleine. he's giving claudia a "sister" while he's dating armand.
so here's a two-part prediction: 1. alice dumped daniel before their second child was born. 2. daniel met his second wife before his second child with was born.
so like lestat turning antoinette, daniel got alice pregnant BEFORE getting dumped like lestat (pun intended).
and like louis turning madeleine, daniel's second child was born AFTER he met his (soon-to-be) second spouse.
what if, like armand, the second wife didn't like daniel spending much time with his kids? it's been known to happen. we know absolutely nothing about this second marriage but i think we'll get something in season 2. is there something daniel shares with armand as the types of husbands they make? i bet there will be
daniel's childhood?
we know where daniel is now, and a little bit about how he got here. but the thing we know absolutely nothing about is where he started.
daniel was already struggling with drug abuse by the time he met louis and armand, doing what he "had to" to get high. we know it's not really the only reason he frequented gay bars, but still. he was at a point where he was willing to play the crack whore. so what led to it? addiction doesn't come from drug use alone, and genes aren't enough either. there's always something you're struggling to cope with that leads you to drug abuse. so what was it? his sexuality could be enough, but i bet there's more to it than that.
if we're looking for lestat parallels, rape trauma works. maybe his interest in claudia's assault was personal, his flippancy a defense mechanism? certainly a possibility. but childhood trauma seems like the safest bet, doesn't it? lestat certainly had it. but i don't wanna focus on him now.
i mentioned earlier that daniel and claudia share a passion for the truth and for writing. what if he had some of her childhood too? abusive parents, parents abusing drugs or alcohol, parents fighting a lot, parents cheating on each other. pick as many as you like. maybe he was even a band aid for a shitty marriage. maybe there was a difficult divorce. maybe one of his parents had an awful new partner and said they'd dump them but never did, or got back together every time. picked someone else over him over and over again. he certainly had a lot to say about that! maybe he gets so incensed over being lied to because his parents always lied to him too. maybe his outburst wasn't about louis at all. maybe memory is the monster. maybe his parents cursed him into the darkness. lestat's did, and he cursed his own children in turn. i bet that's what happened to daniel too: they fuck you up, your mom and dad; the poison drips through; we dance on the strings of those who came before us; memory is a monster. maybe daniel became his own father too. his father or his mother or both. it's usually both, right?
this is louis's story first and foremost but parts of it are claudia and lestat and armand's too, and daniel functions as a funhouse mirror for all of them!!!
whew
in adding the chapter headings i ended up moving things around so idk how coherent this is but i fear proofreading would only result in me editing this forever and i would really like to avoid locking even more posts into the drafts vault. 😭 hopefully it coheres? thank you for reading and please let me know your thoughts!
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Still thinking about Dundy today.
Thinking about what a compelling and absolutely stellar choice it would have been, had Hickey recruited him onto Team Mutiny.
Thinking that, out of all the lieutenants, Le Vesconte may well have been the best choice.
Like, I don't actually believe that he would be seduced so easily. I believe he's ultimately a good person who's loyal to command (at least while Fitzjames still lives) and who, above all else, is loyal to the men.
But he's also pragmatic and ruthless, is capable of subterfuge, and ultimately, is willing to be at least somewhat complicit in the deaths of some men if it ensures his own survival and the survival of others.
And that's not nothing!!!
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I'm half asleep and running basically entirely on hyperfixation fumes so this thought process might be literally nothing but I'm thinking about how we as the viewer don't get to start making decisions in the Markiplier Cinematic Universe Canon until after the DA's death in WKM. We experience the entire series through their point of view and it's presumed we continue to inhabit their character throughout the canon (at least through date and heist, I'm ignoring space for my purposes bc my grasp on how that fits into the story is fuzzy at best on a good day lmao) but it isn't until after the events of wkm have played out that we start making decisions on their behalf
But anyways something something at the end of wkm they die at the hands of Wil, and they give up their body to Damien and Celine, and their story to Mark, and their autonomy to the viewer. Someone who isn't eepy as hell turn this into a more coherent line of thought for me
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rotisseries · 1 year
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have very mixed feelings about will with powers like sometimes it's !!!!!! and sometimes it's. hmm. nah
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deva-arts · 9 months
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Some obligatory hiatus doodles
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#amontag#vincenttag#soniasanderstag#vincent's waterproofing in action! He got a haircut recently but his mohawk is as stubborn as his personality.#Also a very rare moment of introspection from vince here. he's sorting things out. just a PSA here though I doubt I will ever make him date#Way too many things going on with him to consider a relationship of all things. He can have friends and family though :3#Amon has a few other forms. I was considering doing this sooner but now I'm extra happy with the idea#Why does he only have three? why only apex predators? that's some lore I'll divulge at a different time#He uses his croccy form most- including when he's humanoid because it's most convenient. No shedding and lots more defense#he can tank bullets and quickly get down to business too. not to mention his croc-form dulled his emotions when it came to his old work#even when he looks 'human' he is always in one of those three forms. He also dislikes getting fur in his clothing.#Adra has a similar influence from these powers but doesn't have any shifting. More like little characteristics#Vincent usually covers Amon's lack of speed and evasiveness while Amon covers Vincent's lack of defense and (comparative) strength.#They bounce off of each other's vibes way too well sometimes but can get the job done in a chaotic but efficient way. Sera buddies them up#She sometimes carries missions with Amon because of his previous experience and range of powers for certain missions.#vincent doesn't like taking orders from Ser specifically but has surprisingly learned the concept of restraint and polity from amon.#ARK_SYSTEMA
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nightwing secret files | nightwing 139
so in nightwing secret files and origins, there's a hurt/comfort storyline called "lost pages: teen titans." dick's robin and he's grieving for his parents and having a hard time, and he's gone off on his own, and wally comes and finds him. and then in nightwing 139, there's a hurt/comfort story where tim's robin, and he's grieving and he's gotten kidnapped and tempted into trying to resurrect his loved ones, and dick comes and finds him.
both of these comics are wonderful & i would now like to share my favorite parallels.
brooding over memories:
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anger turning into tears:
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outstretched hand of affection:
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teary removal of mask:
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hugs and family:
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anyway i love these stories separately but i also love all the little ways they echo each other <333
#i really love post-crisis nightwing comics you guys#something something paying it forward#history doesn't repeat itself but it does rhyme#dick grayson#tim drake#dick & tim#this is a little hard to articulate and obviously the storylines are very different but there's still something compelling to me here#both about dick and tim's similarities and about the role of friendship in their lives#one aspect of dick and tim's brotherhood that i like a lot is that in some ways in his relationship with tim#dick is often the kind of friend that his titans friends have been to him - and i find those parallels really moving#often he's got an instinct for the right thing to say or do because tim's dealing with things he's been through before#and he also ends up kinda low-key revisiting some of his own issues because tim has a bunch of the same ones#because their issues are so similar dick's attitude toward tim is sometimes kind of a proxy for his attitude toward his younger self#like in graduation day when he's being hard on tim in pretty much the exact ways he's hard on himself#and donna's pushing him to be more understanding but of course that's the precise thing that dick's bad at doing#because he doesn't know how to cut himself any slack ever about anything#which makes it doubly touching to me when he gets past that#because it's not just about extending grace to tim but also to himself#which is really hard because it's really hard for dick to forgive himself for anything#so it's the collision of his uncompromising attitude toward himself and his love for tim#and the love always wins in the end *cries*#parallels
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bumblingbabooshka · 2 years
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Worf/Tuvok Because if their wives can get together so can they!
#OK BUT THIS SOMEHOW CLICKS??#First of all I just love Worf and Tuvok a lot#also...both dads#and Tuvok is like A+ dad while Worf seems to have a rocky relationship with his son#idk - I am basing this ALL from the wiki#and I'm picturing Tuvok and Worf having a 'bonding with kids' montage#where I'm sure a klingon child's energy/natural temperment is different from a Vulcans in some ways but in some ways very similar#since Vulcans have STRONG emotions and as children would need to be taught to control them#I don't think Tuvok would be too phased by Klingon childrens' emotions he'd just deal with them differently than a human or klingon would#Picturing Worf not knowing what the hell to do with Tuvok's 4 pack of quiet well behaved children who follow him around like ducklings#but I do headcanon that he has at least one wildcard (Elieth) and he and Alexander get along like a house on fire#hmm what else...#Klingons use poetry in mating rituals and Tuvok likes poetry! Imagining Tuvok reading Worf poetry without knowing the implications#and then ALSO Tuvok and Worf sparring and Tuvok kicks his ass#Worf looks at Tuvok kicking his ass reading poetry and wearing vulcan robes like 'This guy's GNC as FUCK'#they're also both more serious and very ... what's the word? patriotic?#Ughheugh. No. Patriotic might as well be a slur.#They're both deeply connected their cultures v_v and I think they'd have a lot of boring old man convos about it#It doesn't SEEM like either would have a straightforward relationship to that culture either...with Worf apparently being raised by humans#(I assume on earth?) and Tuvok having struggled to fit into Vulcan society in his youth to the point where he says he wishes he hadn't been#born Vulcan! Very different from him in canon...I just think they'd talk a lot v_v#cliche little moment where Tuvok shows up to one of their talks in a Vulcan robe instead of his uniform (not thinking anything of it)#and Worf is like '!??/?? ?? d ress?? dress??' but he's kinda...into it....uh oh#Tuvok gives Worf flowers and Worf doesn't know what to do with flowers but he tries his best to care for them#hmmm......thats all v_v#thanks for listening#Tuvok/Worf#Tuvok#Worf#ds9
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abyssarts · 1 year
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i never ended up finishing this so fuck it. madoka redesign from last year
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unproduciblesmackdown · 7 months
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thinking about how of course billions is about people trapped in eternal battle world, and trapped because they won't ever exit, and don't want to because that's the only way they can define their idea of themself or like move through life, to the degree they have to just create or find another battle if one ends or they don't have enough going on at once or they're unhappy about anything & can only respond to that the only way they'll respond to anything: finding someone to consider a target to Defeat & being like nice, i'm so competent & active as a person, so with any other issues in my life, i'm sure it's not my fault at least
and it's been clear that to be someone at the Center of the show means needing to be inflexible enough to never leave that life, which also probably means never engaging in genuine self-reflection besides like, fuming in distress for 5 sec & then immediately searching for blame for someone else, or calling up your designated moral supporter who'll tell you you're upset b/c you're very complex & sympathetic & maybe if you do [xyz] you'll be able to Keep Winning, so like, don't worry, we'll never get too off track here. you have someone like connerty who cares so much about playing by the rules ft. ethics, but he was also someone completely inflexible who would give a shit like "ha ha you broke the law" and be Defeated b/c like yeah damn you do got him in that situation. he may then have gained the flexibility to throw a punch when he's already imprisoned but he's still just gotta retire & pursue some completely different goals
this in contrast with like, what a coincidence (surely not) that the more flexible characters are the ones who also do introspect & reflect & genuinely think about & question themselves ever, & how even beyond that, being in this world of people who overwhelmingly are thee opposite & aiming for a static sense of self & thus strategy for navigating life & all interactions & situations, the more reflective parties also tend to accept both Blame & the fruitlessness of pushing for more/different/better from the people & relationships & situations they're amongst. those willing to take on responsibility at all surrounded by people casting all of it off, always, w/the former already primed to take blame & the latter primed to be looking to find the blame in anyone else, a powerful mismatch....which allows the flexible parties to also put up with shit for longer lol like if they got fed up that quickly or recognized the dead-end here they'd just leave the show lol. like wow can't believe taylor spent their whole life already stuck having to deal with someone who's so very much like these bullshit central men & those trying to emulate them, & perhaps also then have a lifetime of experience extending endless patience & sympathy with little to no expectations for more from people who put up with such a bullshit man & his effects on everything around him, like, what do you mean taylor's mom hasn't seen them b/c douglas didn't want to see them b/c he wasn't yet motivated enough to have to exercise begrudging shows of basic respect. whilest sure seems like taylor felt more concern & basically stated their responsibility re: trying to make their relationship with their dad work / basically take on the task of making his life work for him according to his sense of himself (genius! who deserves the recognition thusly!) and doesn't seem to take on this role re: their mom, who nevertheless is just presumed to move closer to them along w/douglas. and here's taylor never truly putting their foot down re: wendy, no matter what, able to have no real positive expectations in how wendy treats them or thinks of them, but also always able to extend sympathy / decent treatment themself
thinking of like team ben out here as the Nicer axe cap or mpc people who also happen to be people absorbing the L's, blaming themselves for being at the bottom of the hierarchy & being subjected to the always negative treatment doled out to them accordingly, and, winstonesquely, still generally like extending genuine gestures of amicability, efforts of constructive actual communication, etc, & this being shut down & likely punished by all the people around them who won't handle that kind of thing. that Of Course nobody's actually supported around here, like, at best they'll get some kind of "well you're actually talented & valuable :)...." (so why aren't they already treated in a way such that they're aware of this?) "....so just have more confidence already god!" wherein (a) again that just means it's Their Fault that they're having a miserable time at the hands of others & (b) their having "confidence" doesn't really mean like, an emotional buffer between their sense of self-esteem & the message of inferiority in how they're treated, it has to mean externally acting different in some ways, more like A Winner, more like everyone else. the limits of ben trying to sometimes be a buffer for tuk as that kind of friend/mentor role, where either it simply fails or ben's Help is more unilateral "correction." that generally only any increase in aggressive hostility gets them anywhere, and really not that far.
the way dollar bill could always act however he wanted & they could always clean up his messes / save him from himself / just flatout blame other people for what dollar bill did to them or someone else; success in being a mini axe in that way for sure. dollar bill going off the rails over his literal dollar bill & that's not a problem, he's validated b/c he's upset, & b/c rudy knew he'd be upset it's really all rudy's fault....who just so happens to be more of a loser, what with his glasses & possible masturbation ever and all. whilest even when dollar bill is like every season being shit at his job & life, well, just find a loser to trounce while everyone ignores this, cheers you on, takes on responsibility for fixing things for you, blames the person targeted probably. dollar bill couldn't even do in office transphobic hate crime physical attacks, or that but while yelling the r word at the autistic guy he's already harrassing & threatening, without it being really basically the target's fault, & hey, as long as no investors are watching. and we're still dragging dollar bill back to the office b/c uhhh yeah!!
& then of course there's winston, who, like a loser, says things in real efforts for real communication with others, that they winningly can only bring themselves to respond to as "he's not allowed to talk, that's out of line, i have to punish/deny this to reassert our respective status" except for, sometimes, taylor actually communicating in turn, or even simply receiving the information. winston in a duo with the very winning & worthy rian, being something of a quasirival for 5 seconds but even during then, and since, trying to be amicable to establish an actually positive dynamic, trying for actual communication, engaging flexibly & actively based on her feedback & her terms & etc to try to find some more success; versus rian completely inflexible, unwilling to respond to efforts to communicate, unwilling to have an actual relationship with any flexibility & genuineness in turn, or see winston as a person of course, and engage with real emotions. which is hardly an exclusive response of hers, like, everyone else is just the same, she's just also the one interacting with him more often and personally bullying him & standing next to him & immediately responding with clear contempt when he tries things like earnest expressions of "hey rian could you not do what you just did b/c it makes me feel like shit, probably b/c that's what you're trying to do" and "hey that was cool what you just did b/c it makes me feel like—" b/c like, what a loser. real winners cannot handle engaging with another person as a person. when you can just make up & stick to a narrative about "oh but i don't hate winston, who i feel is inherently beneath me. i wouldn't wanna feel bad about killing him, not when i could feel fine about administering more of a death by a thousand cuts with some other people helping out & hey maybe it was their cut that did it after all....but also if you're like 'pwease' then eh sure" or that winston's got a lesser inner existence anyways, some classic dehumanization, no complexity there, & hurting him isn't real, & it'd never be you in his position anyways! especially the more you're buying into "yeah i'm more of a person / more deserving / more real & sympathetic & correct than him :)" & being cheered on as you act that out. pretty cringe of winston to be earnest, flexible, openly trying & wanting & needing things, sounds bad & silly. unlike the winners around him who really cannot handle him or any of these things about him. of course near equivalent in loserness, tuk, is the person with the realest most amicable relationship with him. both of them too incompetent to realize their mutual failings in this, ha ha, real winners are repulsed & fleeing & can't handle a basic exchange with either of them. and the imbalance re: how little others are willing to give them in interest, consideration, time, words, etc, while they're always trying Too Much re: the disinterested others, totally proves their unworthiness
winston and tuk always having to stay at the bottom of the hierarchy, winston only able to be shitted on even as he extricates himself, ending up surrounded by people who will only act "correctly" according to their superior roles & this mf wags only processing anything as "did that reinforce my being a correct/winning person???" & only responding by trying to reassert to others how much of a winner they are, which requires establishing a loser, and crushing them. winston having recognized / gotten fed up with a bullshit scenario & had realistic expectations of those around them & spent those years being treated like shit yet never crushing an enemy to restore his ego & also spent those years trying to communicate and work with others and share actual info and make actual connections & now independently choosing to make a big shift in his life so that things can be different? is definitely the contemptible loser here while everyone else looks very good faffing around for an episode getting some temporary ego boosts & being very "correct" in every response to winston, even pointing out that rian even noticing something genuine & positive from winston in the absence of it anywhere is first & foremost incorrect, which rian will Also immediately drop in the face of that "well yeah it's more correct to prioritize Anything else. like that he's pathetic & mpc 5ever" like wuh oh rian being doomed from 5x08 "time to embrace acting more correct now" & being truly inflexible from that point on, never had a moment of conflict not resolved by [ignoring that] &/or again just getting someone more correct to declare how it'll be answered. taylor at their most flexible and Taylorest and most juxtaposed with central men & static ossified "winners" when they are also at their best in engaging with winston. taylor Like winston & vice versa in so many substantial & interesting ways, despite their relating to / sympathizing with / devoting much more effort & interest to people more like the central men. that here we are, when taylor might have to give up on Being A Winner, someone who'll walk away with status & resources & a seamless transition into some established business foundation, to really get the wins that matter, against pince, &/or to clock out of a sunk cost factory, &/or to not have strangled every part of themself that can be in conflict with this general situation into eternal dormancy. don't You dare blame latency lol, the taylor who gets to exist outside the conditional "well i guess you're a winner who's very useful to me, like dumping work on you & blaming you if it goes awry. and you can act like a Real winner in the ways that really matter (crushing people)"....is also a taylor who can be rejected & shut down & shut out & have their value denied & be treated shittily despite even knowing they'd be / are good at this shit, superlatively even, & could never feel okay just being regarded as a tool stashed away at someone's disposal. & Has been treated shittly & is liable to accept blame, unilateral responsibility for other's selves & feelings & actions & lives, & marinate in self-loathing. while people who refuse any introspection, questioning, responsibility, awareness, etc, & refuse to handle the least of genuine interactions/relationships with others as real people, are glad to scoff at them & dismiss them & imply or assert their superiority, like, wow have You got a lot to learn, or maybe you can't b/c you're inherently inferior. all just like re: winston!
tl;dr shoutout to the flexible characters who like can & do reflect & change things up actually, just so happening to always be Losing for this in the [only way to win is not to play] arena of fake winners seeing if they can consider themselves superior to everyone else & only even possibly correct always & forever, in the pyramid scheme of social hierarchy & also capitalism
#real winners quit! it's winston#society if rian Wasn't quickly boxed in & given the ''prominence'' of being Used for other characters#and where we could more truly have this like triumvirate of seeing yourself in both the other two parties in tmc lol#almost a similar fate re: lauren showing up Worthily Yet Zanily! then Most offbeatness falls away / dating is in the bg#& she's mostly Around & doing general [just competent things] But she was also flexible enough to do things Wrong actually / be doomed lol#which we Knew b/c of the relationship that billions would only eventually crush as the Cost of xyz....#rian's offbeatness mostly gone too; ''what am i gonna do next!'' Conveniently/contradictorily; going Bazinga; snark instead of aggression#general [just competent things] that'll last until ppl quit last minute; if they do. she started out secretly pretty inflexible already#& is really locked in by now; very similar to wendy who also never really considered ditching her life of ''i love to feel like i'm toying#w/ppl's lives & enabling some mf with more power'' & really isn't that different from prince; who tf else isn't also totally inflexible#team ben's endurance come from what insulation / teamwork they can find w/each other & just staying out of the way really#& also just the writing like ''of course they can & will stick around for years despite how they're treated. bit of Loser Feelings as#Lesser Feelings after all b/c haha i mean come on they may be nice but do they seem Epic to you?''#which is just as true / even more so re: winston. until he; in another [the Actual winner's move]; finally leaves#and gets like the most bass boosted [WHAT A FUCKING LOSER] treatment on his way out b/c what else could or would anyone do#winston billions#anyways he & the Loser Nerds like him have so much more maturity & flexibility & allowed capacity for actual growth lol. cringe comp!!#and this may be at all on purpose Of Course. show's aware central ppl are peak shit & intractible. show also does think winston's a loser#&/or is certainly trying to have their cake and eat it too with him and like tuk as well & even to a degree w/e goes on w/spyros etc etc#and Illustrating a lot of the ''deserved'' aspect through static inflexible Assumed Universal Facts abt what seems wrong & unworthy#like fucking yourself literally! objectively Bad. having glasses. knowing the diff b/w a vagina & vulva. not being ''''attractive''''#[jumpscare of Blaring Tangent dialogue abt that all overlaid on itself into 1 second of 9000 decibels]#taylor is also Flexible re: philip who is Flexible re: them in turn. definitely Something and Promising as has been established lol#visit taylip hq nothingunrealistic.tumblr.com for so much more. and this blog for [thinking abt winston] hq in turn. covering ground
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