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another-dra-anew · 3 years

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Should you fight the beta dras?

under the cut for length that's it

Maki: No??? she'll beat your ass she doesn't even need the rifle. you have no advantage. if she likes you she'll beat you worse to try and hide that she likes you. do not fight miss maki

Higa: yeah lol. it's not gonna go well and he'll probably beat you but odds are you can get some good smacks in and he'll get embarrassed by that no matter what, so yknow. do it. take one for the team, the pride of embarrassing him will prolly be worth loosing

Tomori: no. if there's a reason tomori fighting you, you deserve it. you'd have to be decently athletic to beat her, and even though you deserve it, shes still gonna feel bad after beating you. why are u such a dick man she's so sweet. don't be the sort of person tomori would have to beat up, for your sake, and more importantly, her own

Hatano: mmmm. maybe. she's strong but i don't think she could really take a hit. however i can't see her fighting anyone??? whatever your reason is for wanting to fight her, she's just gonna throw you off her and run before questioning you later and then you're gonna be embarrassed so?? yeah i'm gonna have to vote no

Inori: hm. yeah do it. but do it in private or smthn don't attack her out in the open. if it happens in private she'll fuck you up a little but her biggest weapon is her teeth, and her lack of restraint, so if you're also the type who will bite people, go for it. the key aspect is that if it's in private she'll be chill with you after but if you embarrass her publicly she's gonna get her revenge. and it will hurt. so yeah it'll prolly improve ur relationship with her but be smart about it

Yamaguchi: ....a tentative no. you could mess him up some and he prolly deserves it but when he keys in on what's happening, he's gonna grab you and pick you up by your collar, smack u back if you need it to stop, then once you're done, his big brother instincts will kick in, and he'll question why you did that. similar to hatano, you're just gonna end up getting embarrassed, and even tho you have a good reason this time around, hes not gonna understand ur reasoning and the only way ur getting down is by apologizing and promising to not do it again so?? i'd have to say no

Uehara: No?????? why tf did you think this was smart dude. the man is 6'6 without the platforms, and those platforms? he uses to curbstomp people at the drop of a hat. also like. he's a sweet boy you have zero reason to try and fight him. his biggest crime is that he'll fuck you up.

Kobashikawa: You probably don't have a good enough reason to. hes skinny and spends most his time at crazy altitudes that will fuck u up physically but he's another one who won't hold back, and dude he's got rings on all the time so... depends on ur resilience but you've got a strong chance if he did something wrong, then he'll forgive u but if he didn't do anything wrong, and you win? he's gonna find someone to sicc on you so like... yeah. and he rlly doesn't do stuff wrong very often so good luck justifying it to the army of simps that will come for u

Iranami: How dare you even think of this. could you? yeah. her physical capabilities are mostly flight based, not fight, and she's used to getting shoved around, but there in lies the issue. she's so sad. and she's done nothing wrong ever. why the fuck would you fight her?? doesn't she get enough bs already???? you could absolutely decimate the poor girl and she'd let you. but what do you gain? you monster

Kurokawa: Yeah! fight her! do it so she can record it and post it on social media. you'll become meme of the month as she beats your dumbass up. she'll probably help you up at the end, be sweet and kind and offer you a cake pop to eat as she grabs disinfectant but there's no healing the bruises to your ego.

Kisaragi: youre not fighting him, you're fighting kurokawa. you could tap this man on the side of the head and he'd crumple, but before you can float about your victory against this poor little kid who hasn't moved from his desk in four days, kurokawa is there to deck you. she is not going to help you up this time, she's gonna knock you into next week. fight kisaragi, and win, but at the cost of everything.

Taira: Sure! but it's gonna go down like that one mushroom post. if you're fighting taira it's because she's inflicting psychological damage to you for fun, and while she knows the name of god, she's not gonna tell you, because you can't kill her, not in a way that matters. so yeah fight taira! you two are in this together now, if you win, she does too.

Maeda: i guess??? i don't think you'll win. this dudes hobbies include hopping fences to hide from people and using his baseball bat to. not crack skulls, but leave decent bruises. i don't think you'll be able to beat him, but i don't think he'll beat you. you two will just tire each other out and call it good because. what reason do you have to fight him? he's long established that he'll throw hands with a kid then have lunch with him twenty minutes later. this is maedas fight, we play by different rules now

Mekaru: sure! why not. she's not meaaaan? but odds are you won't feel too guilty, and irregardless of her physical capabilities, it wouldn't be very lady like of her to throw hands, and that's kinda her priority so. why not

Ōtori: mmmm?? i??? guess??????? but he runs the student store and stuff and he's a good friend to have he'll take good care of u. he made maeda snacks bc he was worried abt maeda eating even tho their some other interaction involved him thinking maeda was talking shit so? you can, and depending on physical ability, you may win, but there's no reason good enough. the loss does not justify the win

Tsurugi: What the fuck is your issue? You cannot sneak up on him. try anything and he will knock you to the floor, restrain you so you can't attack him, then gently soothe u as u realize how much it fucking hurt to full body slam into the ground. he's such a sweet boy and i already know there was no reason for you to fight him. you we're screwed over from the start, and now you feel bad. the only thing youve gained from this is that he probably hugs u as u start to feel really guilty because "shhhh no it's okay we all have bad moments it's alright i'm not upset" but u could've gotten a hug anyways?? so???

TL;DR: don't fight most of the betas they can fuck you up and they're perfect kids so like??? you'd gain nothing even if winning was a possibility (Exceptions may apply)

#dra #ill tag later

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meetmeatthecoda · 3 years

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(star emoji) for Grifting With The Enemy :D

Pumpkin!! 🧡🧡🧡 Hello, my dear friend, thank you so much for your endless interest & support!! 😍😍 And for giving me a reason to re-read GWTE, which I haven't done for a loooong time!! 😂😬 (But, the good news is, it low-key got me inspired to hurry up & finish it!! 😏) BUT - in the meantime - here's some BTS info from my re-read under the cut, which is a lot - fair warning - since it's a 4 chapter fic & counting!! ❤️

LOL I forgot how stressful it is coming up with names for random extra people in fics, I hate doing that LOL But I did think it was important to open with Red NOT being a merciless crime lord who kills anyone who displeases him, cause - while he does have that side to him when necessary - that's not who Red is or wants to be.

I liked including that little moment with Red & Dembe about the parallel parking. I love those father/son & brotp moments for them, they're just the best. I tried to sprinkle those in wherever I could in Red's POV in this fic.

I loved the mental picture of Liz - with glasses & beanie a la The Harem - just leaning casually against a bookshelf the first time Red sees her... & he's immediately captivated, just like in canon. Especially with her eyes, I can't NOT write any version of Red that is not completely blown away by Liz's eyes, I mean, come on I also thought it was important that he thinks she's much younger than she is (intentionally part of her persona) & I'm looking forward to writing the reveal of her true age in a later chapter.

I loved writing a Liz that instantly challenges Red, already having heard about him (& more than that, as revealed in chapter 2) & point blank telling him she may refuse the job bc she has a say too. I liked keeping - & even amplifying a little - that dynamic from canon!Liz of always surprising Red & keeping him on his toes, all while he's trying so desperately to stay ahead of her & impress her.

I LOVED writing the brush pass scene - that moment where Red realizes he has officially underestimated her - & LOL I completely forgot I wrote that part about the condom LMFAO wow past!Coda, mighty daring of you 😂😂😂

Plus, I couldn't help the bonus bit about her stealing his phone & tossing it to him to end the chapter, that was just so fun to throw in there!!

I liked opening chapter 2 with Red still thinking about Liz, just to show how she captured his attention, even before he finds out she's been stealing from him. And I liked writing that revelation without any anger on his part, with him understanding it wasn't a full-scale attack on his empire, she's just a thief taking well paying jobs where she can get them, & instead it just shows him how talented she is. I thought that was an important thing to clarify before moving forward.

I LOVED writing Red & Dembe surprising Liz in her apartment, especially the part with Red's snooping & being confused & surprised by what he sees there. I loved kind of creating/designing Liz's apartment to showcase her true self, not her "young thief" persona that Red falls for at first. I wanted it to be clear that Red is fascinated by her seeming duality from the start (canon LOL) as well as just straight-up attracted to her (also canon LMAO).

Also I gave Liz a loft apartment cause I've always loved those!!

And I LOVEDDD writing Red super confident about surprising her & looking forward to taking her off guard by settling in on the couch & all that macho man stuff, only to be rendered fucking dumbstruck when she comes downstairs with no pants on lmfao & I included that little detail of her usually wearing a knife on her leg to show she's not to be underestimated 😏 & I couldn't help but throw in there Dembe kicking the back of the couch, that made me cackle lmfao

I think the truce was important to establish asap bc I didn't want any secrets or lingering animosity between them. That's for canon 😒 Only flirting & sexual tension here, thank you very much.

I had to include Red being a gentleman & asking if she wanted to get dressed, but I also couldn't resist Liz being confident & careless about it, while still hiding tactfully behind the counter. I thought that was a cute exchange.

lmfao of course, I included their coffee preferences being noticed by the other, I think that's an obligatory thing in any Lizzington fic ever, I'm so guilty of that lmfao

I loved the idea of Red being ready to start on a classic Red's Blacklister Presentation but Liz once again stops him in his tracks (while still secretly being impressed by his presence, of course, & I even accidentally switched POVs for no reason to include that?? nice Coda lmfao) as well as trading barbs & quips with him while Red feels awful & guilty at any accidental slights bc he can't bear to insult her.

AM&R vs. AR&M whoops typo lol

I liked the little snippet of dark!Red we see in their conversation of consequences for his enemies, that way Liz sees a little bit of what he's capable of & Red sees how she's not phased by it.

And that last little flirtation & wink to finish the chapter - lol can't resist

Ooooh, I loved switching to Liz's POV (fully ha) for chapter 3, I enjoyed describing how head over heels she is for Red already, that was fun. I liked writing about her lil movie day & chores she's completed, as well as fleshing out her AU past a little with Sam & her young grifting experiences. And her burning her popcorn while daydreaming about Red cause... same 😏

Ooooh, phone conversations are always so fun to write between them, I love trying to get that perfect mix of joking & sincerity & flirting & pining & pressing the phone close to their ear.

I thought it was important to keep (or rather re-invent, since TPTB seemed to drop it like a hot potato 😒😒😒) Liz's intense interest & respect for psychology, especially as a reason for being attracted to Red, since it kind of mirrors one facet of his interest in her. Not to mention Red thinks at first that it's just a useless, do nothing degree for her LOL

Ohhh, I loved establishing that mutual respect & friendliness between Liz & Dembe early on, that's such a fave of mine, I've always loved their friendship & thought it had a lot of potential. Liz loves & respects Dembe for keeping Red safe & Dembe loves & respects Liz for being so dear to Red.

Ugh, I LOVED writing Liz so completely disarmed by Red's relative state of undress at his safe house (paralleling her pants-less parade in chapter 2, of course) bc sameeeeeeee girl.

I also had fun writing Red blabbing on about some story as he often does, meanwhile Liz has already picked the lock on the safe, once again impressing & surprising him while she admires his different passport pics. That was so fun.

And I loved the quick shift to just a little animosity between them with Red insulting her lockpicks & Liz flaunting her thefts from him. I think those little spats give a little electricity & tension to the relationship, even if they blown over quickly, which they always do. And the fact that Red apologizes & they shake hands & make up is very refreshing to me (since they never fucking do it in canon lol fml) & also it's an excuse to write a little teasing physical contact & sexual tension 😁😁😁

And damn, I forgot how fun it is to throw a little teasing jab in there at the end of a chapter, just for fun - probably bc I'm allergic to multi-chapter fics & never write them lmfao wow

Ahhhhhhhh. I remember how much fun I had writing this whole restaurant scene, partly bc it was a difficult & long process (trying not to make all the flirting & physical movements repetitive while fitting in all the necessary dialogue in a semi-non-boring way lol) but also bc it was so fun writing their back-and-forth while seated at a table alone with nowhere else to go & nothing to distract them. I also wanted to take the opportunity to show Red's genuine interest in her as a person & let them spend some quality time together for the first time. I loved the idea of them losing track of time & Dembe having to come interrupt them with a knowing smirk. Also I def referred to the Olive Garden website for the food they ate cause I'm lame lmfaooo

I thought it was cute to throw in that Liz almost couldn't find Red when she arrived but for the fedora marker he placed out for her & then when she's leaving, she can feel his gaze on her the whole way out. Little parallels like that are my guilty pleasure 😁

Omggg I forgot about the end of this chapter, I remember I wanted Red to surprise Liz yet again & I thought the dessert snuck into her bag was a cute touch. Plus, tiramisu is a favorite of mine 😋 I also tried to make the vibe of this phone call a little softer & more tentative, not so much on tender hooks with lots of tension as the previous ones have been, showing how they're getting used to each other & falling in love at a break neck pace lol

Welp, that's all 4 chapters that are posted buttttttttt a sneaky look at my document that I haven't opened for an embarrassingly long timeeeeeee shows my sketch for the rest of the fic which revealssssss....... a detailed 10 chapter map with an epilogue!! Wow, I forgot I sketched everything out in such detail, this isn't too bad, maybe I should actually write this 😂😂😂 And I promise I will, hopefully sooner rather than later!! ❤️❤️❤️

Well, there you go, Pumpkin, I hope that didn't take you too long to slog through & there was something enjoyable in there for you!! 😂 Thank you so much for your interest again, my lovely friend, & getting me excited about this fic again!! 🥰 Much love to you, always, Pumpkin!! 🧡

Fanfic Writers: Director's Cut

#The Blacklist #Lizzington #fanfic #Grifting With The Enemy #ask games #fanfic writers: director's cut #mine #ask #codewordpumpkin #thank you again my friend!!#:D #i hope you enjoy this #:)#much love!!#<3

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batmansymbol · 2 years

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Hi sleepless, and thanks for all the amazing content on your tumblr. I was just wondering if you had a tag for general writing advice, or if you would be willing to talk about trust building between characters (something you wrote so beautifully in Disappearances!). I'm currently writing ofic where the protagonist has suffered extensive memory loss, and isn't sure who she can trust. I can't figure out her priorities--do you know any good fiction where the protagonist has amnesia?

hi sweet anon! thank you for your kind words. and i do have a writing advice tag here! hmmm memory loss. idk how much use it'll be, since it's in film, but my favorite amnesiac in all fiction is probably jason bourne from the bourne identity. in novels, maybe The Seven 1/2 Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle. and if you're already in dramione space, maybe you've already read @mightbewriting's excellent Wait & Hope? all three of these are so good at accumulation: the protagonists slowly grasp truths about their circumstances in steadily parceled out ways, with no impatience to get to big reveals. starting with amnesia is gold from a narrative standpoint because a treasure-map structure is built in. how will one hint lead to another? i'm not sure how much memory your character has lost, but with bourne & evelyn hardcastle, the protagonists awaken with near-zero knowledge about their pasts. what i like is that the protags discover urges/capabilities within their own bodies and minds. their own psychological and physical wiring is part of the set of clues, which is so appealing because it activates continuity so vividly - solidifies the world of the protagonist before the start of the story. so, when it comes to "who can she trust," i think activating your MC's past will be the most important thing - drawing throughlines that you the author have access to, while the character or reader don't yet. in terms of trust, before your character lost her memory, what were her inclinations? would she have been drawn to people who are open, who are stoic, who ask a lot of questions, who allow her to keep her distance, etc.? (and why was that the case?) i'd assume these gut-instinct reactions would carry over even in the absence of memory. then, when she has that gut-instinct reaction, she may wonder about why she's wired that way, heightening intrigue. i suggest this with bias, bc one thing i personally dislike in amnesia storylines is any variation on "something about this person just innately makes me trust or like them," without interrogation of why that might be the case. to my taste, a writer can definitely show the main being naturally disarmed or drawn to certain people, but we'll want to see the character's own curiosity as to why that's their reaction. isn't that the main emotional pull of the amnesiac protagonist - being a stranger to yourself and relearning yourself? as for slowly building trust between characters who aren't inclined to trust each other, i think it's always useful early on to use surprise as a key element. Character A has a certain concept of Character B - then B does something that unintentionally upends A's preconceived notions. Character A then has to quietly grapple and readjust. after a certain number of pleasant surprises, Character A will be believably inclined to take a more active role in the trust-building: a transition from privately thinking, "who knew you were like that?" to actively asking, "what are you like? i'm giving you a chance to show me." this is all very prescriptive-sounding, hmm. who knows whether it will actually gel with your story elements, anon, but i hope some of it is useful!

#reply #writing advice #also - v much answering this question from the 'speculative memory loss' angle where it's a plot point/kicking-off point for mystery's sake #i'm afraid i know nearly nothing about fiction with memory loss in a more serious or literary context along the lines of dementia

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luobingmeis · 3 years

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I think Undyne's determination has less to do with like something that happened in the past and more like the overlap between determination as an actual physical thing VS a spiritual thing. Whereas the amalgamates were injected with determination by Alphys, Undyne makes her OWN. You've killed her best friend. You're going to kill the love of her life. You're going to kill her mentor. You're going to kill everyone. You've killed HER. But she still has to stop you. Everyone is counting on her 1/2

Undyne's whole motif is letting the monsters of the Underground achieve their hopes and dreams. Theres a reason she is the boss fight in Waterfall, the most backstory rich area in the game. Hope and dreams have just as much weight as determination does, its what helps you defeat Asriel. And Undyne the Undying's design mimics Asriel's because in Genocide SHE is the heroine, SHE is the determined hero that defies death in order to save everyone she loves via the hopes and dreams of everyone (2/2)

Sorry I just really fucking love Undyne Undertale fhfhfndkdk she willingly letting herself be used in an experiment to help her people is Very Good tho too hmmmm

!!!!

sorry ur abt to get a whole essay i love undertale so much.........

(also i use a lot of !!! for emphasis, not bc i’m yelling omg)

(also i’m letting you know this is an incoherent mess, it is 2am here akjsdkjsdjk)

but you can definitely be right!!!! tbh your idea seems much more par for the course than the spaghetti im throwing at the wall

even then, though, it’s stll so interesting bc like!!!! undyne’s courage is undeniable, and her fight to protect the underground plays Such a huge role in her whole waterfall arc. and, in the spiritual sense, she is absolutely determined!! that just makes me WONDER though bc, like, canonically, monsters Are Not determined! they don’t have that threshold!

and then, in looking at determination in the spiritual sense, what exactly makes undyne different? is it that her desire to live and protect the underground unlocks that threshold needed for determination? at one point, could monsters be determined, but then their millennia trapped underground biologically/psychologically stripped them of that? so then could any monster in the underground, when facing high enough stakes, have that determination? or is it just undyne?

bc then i think about the other bosses in either route, like papyrus, mettaton, asgore, sans. where undyne is the monster/boss capable of possessing determination, sans is probably the one least likely to have any threshold for determination (this is bc his entire boss fight is him realizing he can no longer be an observer, he is literally the last line of defense between chara and the annihilation of all monsters). mettaton is complicated bc as a napstablook turned corporeal, i dont even know where to BEGIN with him. but then there’s papyrus and!! it feels like he should be capable of feeling determined. in both the pacifist and genocide route, he is so assured that the human has some internal goodness. while, in the genocide route, that hope could be translated to fear, that still makes me wonder: under what circumstances could a monster’s determination be unlocked? is it not solely life or death? does it require some ulterior motives (aka undyne’s whole character being protecting the underground)? and like!!! it’s just so fun to think about bc, say it is undyne’s spiritual determination being unlocked, it’s so interesting that she’s the one differentiated!! that even papyrus, a character brimming with good and happiness and love, doesn’t have that determination, but undyne, who has a similar type of passion and goodness within her, does!!!

with experiment undyne, i will admit my theory is very much uhh wild! and unhinged! and, while my theory is much more playing in the “what if’s” of the science of artificial determination, it still makes me wonder! especially in the boss fight herself. ever since i first saw her genocide boss fight, i’ve always been a bit fixated on her eye, specifically the one w/ the eye-patch that eventually seems to have Some type of arrow power. while this definitely could have just been A Design Choice (and one i stand by!!), undertale is a game that reveals its complete lore when the pacifist and genocide route are put together. thus, in a hypothetical situation, i don’t think it would be out of the question that undyne’s eye could still Do that even in a pacifist route.

but even then, there are holes to poke! such as why doesn’t she use it? if undyne has been injected with artificial determination, why is she, frankly, normal until it’s a matter of life and death?

(to cut to the punchline before i get into my bullshit: i think it’s bc, at first, it seemed as if the artificial determination just Didn’t Work and had no affect, when in reality it needed to be met with spiritual determination as well)

and, again, i know i’m playing with a lot of hypotheticals right now, and mostly this is me just kinda fun bullshit theorizing, but i think it could have something to do with the fact that she has the threshold for spiritual determination! the reason i even think that she would offer herself up to determination experimentation is bc of the loyalty and love she has for asgore and the underground. i would argue that she is just as invested in asgore’s plan as asgore himself is, and she obviously sees him as some type of father-figure. so that alone gives her this Drive to do whatever it takes for the underground to survive.

so, therefore, i think in regards to this hypothetical experiment undyne, i think it quite literally is that spiritual determination threshold combined with artificial determination

and for that, i quickly want to talk abt the amalgamates and why they tie into this:

the timeline: corpses/souls injected with determination --> no reaction --> corpses wake up and act normal --> ??? happens --> (quickly leads to) amalgamates

and so then that once again raises the question: what differentiates undyne?

i think, for that, we then have to consider another question: if most monsters do not have the physical determination to continue living after death, can that determination be given when they’re already dead? monsters in general already have no threshold for determination, so can that be artificially made if it never existed in the first place?

bc while alphys’s experiment, iirc, was to see what happened when a soul was injected with determination, i think the other much needed question is if monster souls could even Handle determination

and, while we do not know specifically what went wrong with the amalgamates (aka like How did they melt together), we do know that their physical forms really were not able to handle the artificial determination, imo most likely bc they do not even have a threshold for spiritual determination

but undyne is, as you have noted, different!

so, frankly, i think you’re right! i think undyne does have an inherent spiritual determination. it’s uncommon in monsters, but her want to save the world is enough to leave her determined

however, i think That would have just been enough to keep her alive

i think it’s artificial determination that gave her that final form! to reference back to the amalgamates, they were all creatures whose powers we had seen before, but different now and, specifically, more powerful. that very same thing could be said for undyne! her powers are, essentially, things we have seen before, but fucking to Max Intensity

AND THEN!! AND THEN!!!!!

when you do kill heroine undyne, she doesn’t turn to dust first

she melts first, and then turns to dust!!!!!

and, honestly, it’s that small detail that sent me down this rabbit hole, bc the only ever time we’ve seen monsters melted together are the amalgamates!

i think the main difference between heroine undyne and the amalgamates is the fact that undyne, at first, had No Reaction to the determination at first bc, since she most likely already had this secret threshold for spiritual determination, it wasn’t the Biggest of changes. it wouldn’t have had such a drastic reaction on her physical form bc, even if she didn’t know it yet, it wasn’t an entirely foreign substance

the amalgamates, however, aka monsters who had no spiritual determination, could only handle the artificial determination for an unknown amount of time before their bodies began rejecting the chemicals and becoming..... that

of course, then, this leaves me with even more questions, such as could undyne sustain this final form? would her body eventually give out, overcome by determination? was this form only meant for life or death situations?

and uhhh i think this is the end!! if you made it this far and are thinking to urself “damn you’re really an english major when you write like this?? this isn’t even comprehensible” do not fret!! i know this theory is kinda a shitshow, and it’s one of those things where i can keep myself up all night thinking abt this and talking myself in circles bc there are some points that i think have strengths and other points that are probably pretty weak

basically though!! i see the connection between artificial determination and undyne through the fact that her form actually changes, the reveal of her legit power eye, the way her attacks have been altered, and the fact that she melts at the end (akin to the amalgamates’ appearances) before poofing into dust

this has been,,,, a shitshow i am so sorry i hope this was at least somewhat understandable ajkdsjkdsjk

#this is why i cant talk abt undertale past 9pm #bc then my brain just goes brrrr as i write bullshit for 40 minutes #answered #ember360

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itty-bitty-rampaging-committee · 3 years

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Diego: Cha-Cha is literally gonna kill me Allison: i DoNt WaNnA uSe mY pOwEr iM oN a bReAk No hate to Allison but the writers should’ve thought a little more smarter. Allison could’ve rumored Cha-Cha to kill herself and Klaus never would’ve been taken and suffered through the trauma of Vietnam and Dave’s death. I know she doesn’t wanna use it bc she used it for fame but if her siblings were in danger she would use it to save them

O K A Y so anon, I was gonna hold my tongue. I have been for some time. But holy shit these writers sometimes do some characters so fucking dirty and now I'm going to talk about it. From one writer to the other, sometimes, I wanna tackle these bitches. Tackle them with love, yes, but also with a desperation to fix their fucking plots/subplots.

Now, don't get me wrong. I appreciate what they have done. Writing an entire TV show for millions in X amount of weeks is tough. The industry is fucking brutal, and they will rip you apart regardless. On top of that, they need to work around specific logistics: shooting and budgeting requirements, sets and locations, physical capability of doing things, checking the fluidity of the lines, etc. It's tough. But, if I were them, I'd change my tactics for their plotting.

It's hard to write at least seven individual subplots. Because let's think about it: they need entire story arcs from start to a relative finish within ten episodes, but within a specific amount of time. They have the seven siblings' plots, then the overarching apocalypse plot, then antagonists plots and their individual stories, such as the Handler, or Hazel. That, right now, is up to nine subplots and one overarching plot.

That's fucking insane. And incredibly impressive that they made it as cohesive as they did...

Impressive but, sadly, messy.

And that's all because they just have too much shit happening at once, too many characters that are important, and just not enough time. It's because of that, but also the time crunch to write a season in only, say, eight weeks. So then the characters do dumb shit to advance the plot, and are randomly developed in sporadic bursts.

For example, notice how Five always seems to be hung up doing something while chaos is happening? They need to toss him to the side because he could easily fix the plot, and the writers can't think of something good enough to get him out of the way that isn't yet another subplot, and isn't permanent.

So, instead, the Handler draws him into a hotel room "to distract him". He returns Dolores to the department store with little reason or buildup. He has random bricks conveniently dropped on him. There are countless moments where his character is done dirty because the writers couldn't think of another way to sidetrack him.

In all honesty, I'm not sure how to fix every awkward plot thingie for Five. They have the episodes locked so tightly that it's hard to wiggle things around. But that's an error in itself: they should leave the plot a little loose to be able to manipulate things should they need to. Nothing should be completely solidified, in my opinion. However, one of the things they could have done was, instead, give him a better subplot. Or tie his subplot to someone else's.

Another example, like you said, is Allison. Allison doesn't use her powers when she very well should, when people are getting hurt around her. For Allison in season two, it can be implied that the reason she isn't acting against the racism around her is because she doesn't want to change history too much. But she doesn't say that. She says, "I don't want to use my powers because it nearly killed me last time."

And that? That's fucking lame.

It would be far more powerful and controversial, in my opinion, if we saw her conflicted, saw her use her powers against the racism around her and saw it drastically change history somehow, saw her realize that she can't do that again because it would ruin the timeline even though she so desperately wants to.

But instead we are given a half-assed, "I haven't used my powers since then. I can't use them. I'm taking a break."

You know? To me, it feels like the writers were a few steps back, still. But maybe that's just me.

I think one of the things the writers should consider is maybe grouping and splitting the characters, dividing them into grouped subplots. So, instead of at least seven individual subplots, they do this for a few episodes:

Subplot Group A1 - Luther, Allison, and Vanya

Subplot Group B1 - Five, Klaus, Diego, and Ben.

Then this for another few:

Subplot Group A2 - Allison, Vanya

Subplot Group B2 - Klaus, Ben, Diego

Subplot Group C - Five and Luther

So, they did do that for the end of season two. Sort of. They had the siblings' seven individual subplots, but then they merged them a bit towards the end. It allowed them to have some wiggle room and be able to advance the overarching plot easier. Season one didn't really have this at all. I know it can be said that they were so distant from one another that they couldn't work together well. But I disagree. Diego, Allison, and Five worked together fantastically in season one. And the funeral scenes were great.

What I, personally, am writing for my season three spec is to have almost no individual sibling scenes. They will constantly be around another main character, constantly interacting with one another, constantly building more tension, more stress, more frustration, ect. And I will have them constantly running into plausible constraints that make it hard to fix the problem easily. Five is being manipulated by Reggie, Klaus is emotionally wrecked around Sparrow!Ben, Diego has been kidnapped and manipulated left and right, unable to find his family.

You know? Real issues with real intention to drag them apart from one another despite constantly being around each other, all emotional, psychological, and mental stakes. Physical stakes seem sloppy (i.e. bricks dropping out of nowhere, dropping off Dolores, going to the Handler for no reason, not rumoring people because it's break time). Emotional stakes allow you to really fuck up the characters and throw the plot wild.

A good example of a strong emotional plot would be with Five and the Board of Directors/Handler scene in Öga för Öga. He is physically busy murdering people and rounding up his siblings, but he is emotionally strained and caught up with what he has to do, with the manipulation from the Handler, from falling into her trap again, from realizing that he only has so much time to save his brothers and sisters. The emotional constraints are far more powerful and far more realistic over a meager, "I wasn't there for the fight because I was dropping off my mannequin wife without any reason whatsoever, really" narrative they gave us. But that's just my opinion...

Okay, I went a bit off the rails, here.

I apologize.

I guess a TL; DR is that I think the writers need to find more creative ways to stop their OP characters from solving their problems too quickly, all while decreasing their amount of subplots because it's a bit much and they could instead focus on their main plot and character relationships.

Sorry for...ranting. I'm passionate and really want to be in that writer's room...

And of course, this is just my opinion. It can totally be argued against if people disagree.

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taziidcvil · 3 years

Text

My Thoughts on RWBY’s new intro and chapter 1

This is going to be long so is there’s someone or something specific you want to read, I’d suggest using ctrl+f

WHITLEY

ngl i just want to start with my boy bc I’m so glad to see him back. Half of this is speculation and theorizing with no real merit ngl, but it’s something I’ve been thinking of for awhile

First of all this is a,,, very uncertain and conflicted look on his face here. He has his arm wrapped around his stomach and he looks very pensive. imo, Whitley’s going to be faced with a choice, one with no easy answer for him. And an answer that

might not bode well for the schnee family

Those clouds are, of course, Salem’s. Which makes me fear that Whitley may fuck up badly, and end up siding himself with the wrong people and it is likely going to be up to Weiss to bring him back.

Whitley isn’t a fighter. and if Whitley does cause the downfall of the Schnee family, he wont be at use for long. And once Whitley outlives his usefulness, there is no reason for her to keep him around.

But there’s a line that has been in my head for the last couple days. Namely Whitley’s line of ‘what could one huntsman do that an army cannot?’

Again, Whitley is no huntsman, but what it boils down to is ‘what can one person do?’ And I think Whitley is going to have to answer that question himself.

I do think that Whitley is going to have to act at some point. Do something that puts him out for the greater good. I don’t expect him to suddenly join the fight, but I do think he will have his Pacifica moment. Where there’s something that he is physically capable of doing, but emotionally and psychologically it’s a mountain to him. Something only he can do, and Whitley will have to be the one person who changes the outcome of something dreadful. And most likely, i do believe it will involve Weiss

NORA & REN & RENORA (but mostly Nora)

ngl i am STOKED for this divide here

I love renora. it is one of my favourite ships. probably my third favourite i have to admit.

what I don’t like is how its been going lately. while i do have the initial shipper reaction of ‘YES’ to the kiss, nora forcing it on ren sits wrong with me. Even more so their song last volume. It’s a bop of a song, true, but so much of it is nora telling ren to tell the truth only for her to tell him to love her. and while i’m sure he does love her, nora’s forcing it out of him and assuming is not healthy for either of them. Ren needs to come to terms with his own feelings, and these two need a wedge between them for a moment to develop separate from one another.

and while i think ren will come to understand and accept how he feels

i think nora might give up on the pursuit and will put their mission above her feelings

But I do absolutely love the focus on Nora and I hope that’s a sign we are getting her backstory this volume. Nora is going to be a major piece in all of this and I personally cannot WAIT

I will say tho that I think her siding with Ruby’s plan is a little,,, strange to me. She was all gungho for protecting mantle last volume and i find it odd that she’s not on team ‘protect mantle first’. i get that she needs to be in that group because of what is shown in the trailer, but personally i would prefer her reluctantly forced into that group because of her usefulness. to keep the devive, that would mean ren would need to side with the ‘protect everyone’ but I don’t think it would have been that hard to spin his mindset that way

I’ve seen some talk about winter maiden nora and, while i personally would have preferred it, giving the power to penny only to give it to nora next volume is a little,,, cheap to me. ignoring the fact that it would likely mean penny would have to die and i am not about that life

i still think penny shooting lightning bolts at nora to power her up would be OP as FUCK tho

CLOVER

NO I AM NOT USING THE ONE SCREENCAP OF CLOVER THIS VOLUME YOU CAN’T MAKE ME

WARNING: Talk about dead bodies. Both fictional and real.

now i won’t lie, i am avoiding that shot like the fucking plague so I’m working mostly from memory here

I have seen bodies hours after someone has passed. Unless the body has something what effects the colour, here’s a greyness to the skin. Yes, this includes all skin colours. there’s also a distinct blue colour to the lips though clover doesn’t,,, exactly have distinctive lips.

But seeing his body gave me the same nauseous and horrified sensation as seeing a long dead body. Of course not nearly as strong as he’s fictional and it’s animated, but it was the same. that sick greyness I’d expect from a body. ngl that shit,,, i wont say it triggered me, but it got damn close. it brought back memories and left me feeling very sick. It’s obvious he is very dead.

but even with that feeling, that didn’t stop me from being very fucking confused when I realised where the body was.

Now there’s a number of reasons that clover’s body would be there

They could have tried to save him and failed. They’re in a state of emergency and all the doctors are brought to one collective spot to deal with the potential rise of people needing medical attention. Maybe Atlas just works this way who the fuck knows. Most likely, they just wanted the Ace Ops to witness James and having Clover there just makes it easier to do that. but jfc if you’re going to have bodies in the medical area can you not install curtains??

ngl if i was at the hospital and they had a dead body uncovered and in full view of my room i would be

I didn’t want to go back and see that image again, so i poked around the clover tag to see what people were saying in case i’m dumb and missed something. but i think if they were trying to bring clover back, they’d make it more obvious. and they sure as hell wouldn’t have coloured him that way. but I don’t blame people for being confused about if he’s dead or not when they literally put him in with people getting medical treatment and give him a patient number

but talking about Clover fuck i miss you so much brings me to

THE STAFF OF CREATION (with mentions of ‘that’ theory)

Ozpin: [mentions that using the staff will make Atlas fall]

Joanna: [talks about plans to move mantle citizens into atlas’ crater]

While it is debatable what the staff will be used on, I think we can all agree this bitch is coming down. Personally I think it’s how the volume will end. with the staff used, and atlas dropping. It’s a fantastic cliffhanger but fuck imma be so mad if that’s really where it ends.

let me,,, get to that theory first. we all know which one i mean.

I’m not going to lie, i haven’t read much into it. mainly because i’d rather not get my hopes up and be pleasantly surprised than get my hopes up and be disappointed. Do i think it’s plausible? Well... after steven universe i think anything is possible. If it has even the slightest merit behind it I wont rule it out.

Do i think it will happen? debatable. i don’t think it was their plan but i also wouldn’t be surprised if they added it after the reaction to clover last year. but i’m not holding my breath. i’m leaning far closer to ‘no’ but i’m open to being wrong Do i want it to happen? god yes i fucking miss him okay i’m sorry i’m selfish i love my dumb fisherman himbo

the problem though is, if it can be done, there needs to be some form of payment. I know there’s been talk about a life for a life, and these are the options that come to mind: James: Don’t like this. James is a character rooted deep in the story and I think trading his life for Clover’s is,,, questionable. idk something about this doesn’t sit right. Especially when he has far more history with qrow than clover did. Tyrian: this feels cheap. trading a villain for a hero? that’s not even a payment, that’s hitting two birds with one stone. I do believe Tyrian wont survive the series, but this way is,,,, very cheap Qrow: pppppppppffffffttttt honestly this would just be a dick move that’s some monkey paw shit right there

either way, reviving clover would drop atlas and put both the people on atlas and under in danger. so the question is, is reviving clover worth it.

ethically, no. it’s not. one life will never outweigh thousands. but would my selfish ass rather risk thousands of lives for one comfort character? you bet your sweet ass i would. it’s fiction, see if i care. storywise tho, we probably shouldn’t

But there’s nothing in the OP to suggest that Qrow is after the staff. and while it could be left for volume 9, i don’t see this volume lasting without dropping atlas after this volume started with the reminder that’s what would happen.

but ruby is shown reaching for it. (also is it just me or do those look like nuckelavee arms?) which makes me wonder just what she could want it for. Sure, she could be reaching to protect it, and that’s highly possible. but if we’re already talking about bringing characters back, i would not be too surprised if ruby considers the same idea. Namely with summer (though pyrrha is also an option). If she does consider that though, I don’t think she’ll succeed. and I doubt she’d really try if she knows atlas would fall.

though if she wants to use it to save the world, if there’s something she can make with it that will stop salem, then i might believe she’d risk it. but even then i have a hard time believing she’d risk peoples lives.

but who else could and can get her hands on the staff?

PENNY

our sweet and dear penny, who has already suggested giving herself over to salem. and who is shown divided and framed opposing the team

While her being hacked is an option, and one i think james would consider letting watts do, from a story point I believe it’s far more interesting if penny is the one to decide this for herself.

Penny is a protector. And she wants to protect everyone. And one way she could possibly do that is by cooperating with salem. And with that gd whale having docking stations and a whole damn room inside it, penny going to salem fits with the whole ‘being eaten by a whale’.

and if penny is the cause of atlas dropping, that girl is going to be dealing with even more guilt than she already has.

JAMES

me: okay, i know james shooting oscar was a big dick move, but james has done so many good things too. imo it’s questionable writing, but james’ stance is understandable. he’s still a good person-

listen. listen. listen. I... i don’t know what the fuck the writers are doing with this one. it would have been just as easy to arrest him but we just... gun happy i see. but james being gun happy makes me very nervous for qrow and that ‘if you were one of my men, i’d have you shot’. qrow’s out for james’ blood, but I don’t think qrow could ever actually kill him. and normally i don’t think james could try and kill qrow, but these are,,, not normal circumstances, and james has a semblance that will absolutely help him pull the trigger

i still love james. and i still understand both sides of the fight. and i still believe james is a good person. there’s so many good things james has done, but fuck if the writers aren’t trying their hardest to make the fandom hate him. and for the most part, it’s working. my gf already hates him lol

when all is said and done, there’s a lot that james is going to feel guilt for, but it’s guilt he’s willing to bare

while i understand the reason behind making james the bad guy, i will admit that i’m bitter about it. namely because in volumes 2 and 3 there were so many people expecting james to be bad, only for him to prove himself as a good person. and now the story is doing its best to take that back

THE ACE OPS

Again, one of the main reasons i think they put clover there and confused the fuck out of people. I think there’s going to be a divide in the ace ops, and i think we see which side people fall on here

harriet and vine are going to be harder to turn, but i think this moment just planted some uncertainty in elm and marrow. I dont think it’ll be an instant thing, but this isn’t something they’re going to forget. this is going to bother them for a good long while. yeah, the writers are trying to turn the fandom on james, but storywise it’s planting the seeds of betrayal and giving the ace ops a reason to switch sides. but i don’t think they’ll come into fruition until the end of the volume

And while we’re talking on betrayal, Winter is edging herself closer too. but while i think she’ll turn faster than the ops, i also think she’ll be the most understanding and caring of james of them all.

Yang vs Ruby

pitting them together is honestly a good thing for yang’s character. they still love each other. they’d still fight for each other.

they may see things differently, and they may go their own paths, but there’s no animosity. they can work together and have each others backs, even when they don’t agree.

and that’s something team rwby/ornj and friends and james/aceOPs need to work towards

Yang was never happy with Ruby keeping secrets, and personally i think it’s good for her to voice it and go a path she sees as right

Tyrian (and nuts and volts)

we’ve seen a lot of tyrian’s smiles. he is a very animated person who broadcasts his emotions. in fact, the only time he ever quiets down is in front of salem

this smile is the most ‘you bitch you’re lucky mum is here’ smile ive ever fucking seen on this man grhueiorfubgnjfroe

look, i don’t think tyrian and arthur are romantically involved. but i do think tyrian is fond of arthur. whether that’s romantic or platonic is up for debate, but tyrian has always spoken foldly of arthur. tyrian obviously does not like cinder or her crew, though he does love picking on them while i dont think he has that level of dislike for hazel, hazel is the sort of person to not like unnecessary killing, so i don’t see them getting close. Arthur crafted him his tail, and he organized a plan where tyrian got to murder often. out of the bunch, i think it’s rather obvious arthur is the person closest to him, and I also think he’s absolutely looking forward to seeing arthur again

Emerald/Mercury/Neo

first of all, FUCKING FINALLY! MY KIDS HAVE NEW OUTFITS! now there’s things i like and don’t like about mercury’s. personally, i like his old outfit better, but he NEEDED new clothes so i don’t miss it! Emerald is looking GOOD!! i don’t give a fuck what anyone says, she looking fine as hell

hazel tho, what the FUCK did they do to your hair?? who the fuck did this?? how DARE YOU

that’s all i have to say about hazel bc boy is quiet but WHAT THE FUCK HAVE YOU DONE?? while we talking about new looks, winter is looking FIIIIINE too

Neo is, very obviously, finding this whole situation fucked up. i know a vast majority of us thought Neo would turn on Cinder, but at this point i believe she was content with finding a new reason to live. but the more cinder brushes her aside, and the more she gets to know salem, she’s looking more and more disturbed and annoyed with it all.

emerald is an obvious turn. with her whole Aladdin tale, i wont be surprised if she takes the lamp from salem and uses the last question. (i’ll admit though that i’m curious what salem’s question(s) is). now i still think neo will want to kill ruby, but i don’t see her staying sided with salem and cinder. i will say tho that I find it fucking HILARIOUS that salem has no fucking idea who she is. how much of cinder’s plan did salem even know? did she know about roman? did she know about mercury and emerald before they went to pick up her silver eye’d ass? Salem cut Cinder down for ‘acting without salem’s say so’ but how much of that has cinder already been doing before now pffffttt

but mercury’s the only one that isn’t showing that much hint to turning. and personally, that makes sense. Mercury’s been shown plenty of times being disturbed by it all. he’s always stood beside emerald, equally frightened or distrusting. but if salem is calm and mercury’s in no real immediate danger, mercury has always tried to play with the big boys. he has a better poker face than emerald and neo, but he doesn’t belong there nearly as much as he pretends to.

but mr pokerface isn’t perfect. the moment he notices cinder, his attention goes back to emerald, and he watches her. he’s told her before that cinder doesn’t care for them. he’s tried to break that to her, and when they come to face cinder he’s not happy. less so when emerald instantly runs back to her. he knows emerald’s goiing to get hurt, and while he’d like to think he’d be the type to say ‘i told you so’, he’s not going to take pleasure in seeing her hurt

but one think about emerald is that she reminds me a lot of nora. they were both starved and homeless, and were ‘saved’ by someone else. but cinder is no lie ren, and emerald’s gone a very different path. not to mention her ‘saviour’ came much later in her life, and nora is on equal footing with ren and has saved him right back. but nora has been shown to empathise with mantle and its condition. which makes me wonder if emerald will too. she described the attack on vale as ‘sad’. So emerald, how will you feel when you take in the situation in mantle?

CINDER

i’ll be honest, i don’t like cinder. I’m sorry ;n; she just never interested me. she has a nice design, but other than that i just,,, never clicked with her. but i am happy we’re getting a backstory for her. mostly because it’s damn well due, and for her fans. y’all enjoy your food

that is,,, where i’m going to leave it. it’s late and i need to sleep. there’s probably things i missed, and if there is i’ll add to it in the morning. but these are the immediate thoughts that come to mind.

please feel free to discuss. and remember these are just personal opinions and thoughts, many of which probably will lead to nothing.

#rwby #rwby8 #rwby spoilers #rwby v8 spoilers

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ambitionsource · 3 years

Note

Who in the a class is in some kind of therapy?

what a question LMAO. but honestly, a very fair one indeed. while discussing this, es and i ended up basically dividing it into three groups (if someone isn’t mentioned, it just means none apply)

Is In Therapy Currently

Isadora || as we know from the canon of S3, isa is currently in therapy to work through the grief of valerie dying as well as like... the built up abandonment issues, anxiety, and struggles she has articulating or processing emotions lmao. it also helps her learn better methods to work with her autism

Farkle || i mean... we all watched S1 & 2. we know why he’s there LMAO and by god does he need it. it’s good that he’s improving though!!

Chai || she officially started therapy after the events of S1 while she was abroad because evidently her parents divorce really fucked with her emotional state and coping mechanisms -- as well as having sort of emotionally distant parents and having to navigate the world on her own. basically, money =/= nurturing. but yeah i think she realized what she did with tormenting her classmates wasn’t Healthy perhaps and so she sought out the resources to fix it on her own. her parents certainly weren’t going to be much help

Clarissa || clarissa has been in and out of therapy here and there since she was little, mainly for managing OCD. usually she’s fine and her appointments are infrequent (monthly at this current rate), but she tends to go back to her therapist when circumstances get very stressful, like the events of S2 (she mentions going back to therapy in a scene with charlie and haley in 210)

Not In Therapy Currently, but Has Before

Riley || though not by choice, riley went to therapy for a stretch of time in the aftermath of her bullying experience freshman year. by the start of S1, though, she’s on the tail-end of it after a whole summer full of it. she also had stints in family therapy when she was little when cory and topie were having their first bouts of marriage problems, but she doesn’t remember all that obviously. she’s thought about going back for herself because of all the divorce strain, but ultimately opted against it bc she didn’t want to go through cory or topanga. she mainly sticks to talking to eric if things get too overwhelming and using the coping mechanisms she already has

Darby || miss darbs spent some time in therapy in late elementary school due to having issues socializing with her peers. i think she’s always been a bit awkward and desperate to please, so that can get messy with kids cause kids are mean. she was also definitely bullied at that age for being really tall and so i think her parents put her therapy out of genuine concern just with the hopes that like, she’d be able to develop some coping mechanisms and have a safe space to get advice if they didn’t have the answers. and in some ways it helped, other ways no -- her friendships aren’t the healthiest still (as she’s the doormat), but i think she holds her own BETTER with the plastics having gone to therapy than if she never developed those emotional tools at all

Has Not / Is Not but Really Fucking Should Be in Therapy

LUCAS || this is like the most obvious blinking lights sirens wailing example ever. he is a walking textbook for endorsing therapy. between the domestic abuse, mommy and daddy issues, self-esteem in the subbasement, lack of life purpose, inability to read others well emotionally, inability to process his own emotions, the physical aversion due to his trauma, his kleptomania, his risk-taking behavior, his habit of lying, the fact that he has canonically walked off for days at a time with no warning, explanation, or safety net, that he sleeps in a fucking technician’s booth, he used to free-climb buildings SOMETIMES IN THE RAIN, no sense of self-preservation, intrusive thoughts, inability to express appreciation or affection in a normal non-stressful way...... this man is a therapist’s dream and nightmare. they could spend YEARS unpacking him. but will he ever go to therapy? no. because he a) doesn’t think he needs it, b) can’t ask for help ever, and c) could never afford it. and at this point, d) if his dad heard he was seeking help like that he would shut it down instantly. anyway, he’s the biggest case here. underline him in red

Charlie || charlie is a great example of someone who is like coping... sort of... not really... it Looks like they’re coping but they aren’t really and they really need help. like yes, charlie has stability in certain areas of his life that others don’t, and he’s extremely self-aware of his privileges, but i think that’s part of the problem. he’s convinced himself he doesn’t need or shouldn’t get external help because there are people who have it so much worse than him and he doesn’t... he doesn’t really need it, does he? he’s fine. he’ll be fine. and even if he did think about getting “help,” i think his first instinct -- and advice from others -- would be to go to his church leadership, which is not a suggestion made with ill will but just isn’t helpful considering half of his trauma is tied to his relationship with god and the church and faith. he needs a more objective space to unpack all of that, and obviously church itself is not the answer. i think that charlie will be able to work through a lot of his initial issues on his own with time and patience with himself (something we’re in the thick of right now -- we’re just barely in the acceptance phase), but he should really go to therapy in the future just to like... work through all of the long-term trauma he endured from his upbringing and bridgette’s exile and the dueling psychology of church vs sexuality. like... that’s gonna take some time to unravel and he needs to be in the right place to pursue that on his own. will he, i dont know, but i think when he does a certain heaviness he’s been carrying his entire life will finally like... lift. and he’ll be able to breathe better

Asher || so asher is a bit of a clusterfuck LMAO like he’s diagnosed officially with generalized anxiety disorder but he never saw a specialist, his mom diagnosed him since she’s a psychologist. the complexity here is that because of that... well, they say you should never let family be your personal doctors and i think that’s true for mental health professionals too. like emily basically gave asher the generic coping rundown when he was really young, and then he went on to develop his own coping mechanisms with, at least, a very fundamental understanding of what’s wrong with him. but he kind of developed his own complex about it all too, bc i think emily took pride in him being able to figure it all out and be so capable with his own mental health without ever going to therapy and he kind of internalized that, as well as having internalized a lot his mom’s perspectives and opinions as a mental health professional in a way that its like... well my MOM said that, so i feel kind of some type of way about it. so its all really complicated and twisted in his head and he just doesnt bother to unpack it (something, ironically, therapy would probably help lol). the thing about asher is that for all intents and purposes, he does cope well and he is really in tune with his own mental state. it’s just that he could seriously benefit from having an objective party help him untangle some of his neuroses i think and it would take some of the constant stress off his shoulders, but he’s honestly too stuck in his ways at this point to go. that being said, he’s a vocal advocate for therapy and its benefits -- just not for himself

Nigel || as discussed a bit in the ask i answered about him, i just think nigel carries way too much pressure on himself and he could benefit from someone helping him work through things instead of carrying all his stress on his own -- even if its less complex than some others. he’s like same range as clarissa.

Maya || maya has no issue with self-esteem, but i think she could still benefit from someone helping her actually unpack her issues over her dad and why she is the way she is. a therapist who specializes in narcissism would be a good fit for her -- not because she is one, but she does have... certain quirks where i think having that specialization can help unravel her motivations and actions a little more easily

Missy || she’s just a fucking mess. she shouldn’t be redeemed but i think therapy could really do her a favor and maybe make her less terrible and psychopathic towards people who aren’t like her. maybe

-- Maggie & Es

#a class #answered #Anonymous #ask and you shall receive

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kannra21 · 4 years

Text

DaiSuzu headcanons

♛ Suzue is an independent woman and takes pride in doing whatever she wants without worrying about authorities bc her husband is the authority and people have no other choice but to reconcile with the fact. She'd always have everything she needed shipped to her without paying for anything because Daisuke did the transaction in advance, and there were her butlers who helped her in accomplishing ordinary tasks.

Sounds spoiled? False. Suzue knows how it is to live an ordinary life because she belonged in one herself. She was married into a royal family but her old habits never died down. She's still helping the servants even though she doesn't have to.

♛ However, she's sweet and emphatic. Wealthy life didn't get to her head and she's taking care of people she's associating with. And people she's associating with are Haru and Daisuke. They didn't get along pretty well at first, but she made their teamwork at least a little bit bearable. She cared, bc she wanted her husband to be comfortable with his new colleague.

Despite Haru's constant mocking of Daisuke's inappropriate money use and Daisuke ignoring his every suggestion, Suzue invited Haru on all kinds of events in order to pursue a better partnership between the two.

Haru had so much fun but Daisuke was a killjoy. Moreover, he was jealous of Suzue smiling more around Haru which he showed through various gestures such as hand holding and walking closer to her. Suzue noticed that and comforted him by stroking his hand with her thumb. Daisuke rarely showed this side of him but it was also adorable.

When they arrived home, Daisuke needed to apologize. He didn't blame her for having a good time, but he also needed to admit that his jealousy was clearly unnecessary considering that they're actually married. Suzue didn't blame him either but she needed him to promise to get on better terms with Haru.

He shouldn't be doing this for her, but for himself because she cared about how he felt. It seemed like he agreed to all of this just to please her but she didn't want him to feel uncomfortable during the whole thing. She suggested that they better talk things through than pretending for the sake of a mission. He did, and he was v grateful for her.

♛ Her favorite thing to do is laying in a luxurious bath tub with her husband. It wasn't sexual at all. They'd mostly lay together and talk about things or enjoy the comfortable silence. And share a kiss here and there which would come quite unexpected.

Daisuke would always smile on their silent form of affection they held for each other. They enjoyed the warmth of their bodies and Suzue loved to lay her hand on his chest to feel his heartbeat, it was calming. Daisuke loved to hug her like this and put his nose in her hair, it smelled nice.

♛ Despite the fact that Daisuke was often busy with the job of a detective while Suzue's working on her own tasks, she still managed to persuade him to leave that little bit of work they had in order to take a breather.

They didn't go on fancy dates since they’ve been on enough of them already, so now everything they want to do is to lay down in a cozy sofa and watch something entertaining. They craved domestic lifestyle. Daisuke no longer had any need for showing off since he's old money and Suzue felt more comfortable this way so he had no other choice.

Because of their busy schedule, Daisuke looked forward to things like this, he wished he could spend more time with her and forget about this melancholic world they're living in, filled with murders and mysteries.

Moments like this lasted for hour or so because rich people don't spend time on trivial things. They want to make the most of it, so dedicating it is to some closure was one way to brighten things up and enjoying the comfort of each other's company.

Daisuke couldn't share something like this in the past. Sure, there was his grandmother and their butlers, but it wasn't the same. They were caring for his psychological needs but never for that physical part. He couldn't remember the last time he experienced any form of physical affection with anyone. It wasn't that necessary but still, it made him feel more human. And Suzue gave him a sense of security and belonging, something he hasn't felt for a long time.

Suzue felt finally appreciated in a way. She always did things for someone else's benefit and her ideals were mostly exploited and used against her. But now she had someone who respected her in all sense of the word, and she loved him so much. Suzue was aware of Kambe popularity among citizens, people knew what happened to Daisuke's family, but she decided to give it a brighter, more lovable note. This family won't be seen as unfortunate as long as she's here.

♛ Daisuke sometimes felt like he didn't deserve her. She was so persistent with him, so loving, and his cold-hearted royalty never taught him not to be an awkward entity he identified with since birth. For Pete's sake, he wasn't really the greatest at this whole relationship thing. But Suzue knew that, deep inside, he tried to show her somehow and she understood. He didn't know how but she did. Maybe they were soulmates? Who knows.

Daisuke knew of sweet talk but didn't know how to word it properly, and being reserved the way he was made the situation so much more hilarious. He initiated it on one occasion, with his deep baritone voice, and Suzue laughed. He thought he made a mistake until she commented that this was the softest she's ever seen him, it looked adorable on him, she loved it. Since then he never stopped, he got more creative with each day.

♛ She loved having his head on her lap and caressing his face and hair, he never felt happier than being in her arms. How could someone so rational, so serious and dedicated to her work be so mindful, so attentive to others? Her soft hands would sometimes trail around his mouth and he'd kiss her palm and tell her how much she meant to him.

♛ There are times when he brings her breakfast to bed and she's surprised, it was something she'd do for him when she woke up bc she was always the first one to get out of the bed, but not this time. Daisuke was usually the one who slept longer so beating each other to it seemed like a challenge, and a funny one to that. But unlike Suzue, Daisuke let the butlers cook everything bc he was afraid he'd mess up. Daisuke always claimed for himself that he wasn't much of a romantic but Suzue thought he was the best thing that happened to her.

♛ He once dreamed that Suzue was in a serious danger, even HEUSC wasn't able to calculate the probability of survival and he woke up, tearing up a little. She asked him if he was ok and he just hugged her. After some time until he was calm enough, he described her the dream.

She replied that something like this would never happen since he's taking such a good care of her, that she's always safe as long as she's with him, and then he kissed her. It wasn't gentle like any other times, this one was full of longing, it was earnest and determined. He promised that he'd never let something like this happen, this whole time it was left unspoken between them but now he wanted to lay it out, he wanted to let her know. And she appreciated it.

♛ Although they're living a royal life, Suzue has cravings for normal so she took Daisuke to an old restaurant she used to visit often with her parents. The staff was so excited to see them there but Daisuke felt oddly uncomfortable. He suggested beforehand that they better put on some ordinary clothes, carry a gun and a police badge with them.

The less attention they attract the better, he didn't want them to end up like his parents who were too open about their wealth. He became extra careful since Suzue entered his life. And even though it was a local restaurant, he liked the food there. He could see why Suzue was so happy to arrive to that place. This was also the first time Suzue taught him not to judge local food.

♛ Even though Suzue loves diamond jewelry, she still felt a twinge of guilt and asked Daisuke if he should spend the money on something smarter, to which he replied that she was the only smart thing.

♛ Daisuke would often spend his time exercising in his personalized gym. He once offered Suzue to try out some of the equipment, she did as a joke and it made them laugh.

♛ Suzue wanted to feed him one day during their breakfast in bed and he made the most confused face. Why would she do that if he's capable of doing it himself? Suzue tried to explain but his face made her laugh so much she needed to take some time to calm down.

♛ Ah yea and rich people always eat ice-cream with a dessert spoon bc they think it's rude to stick the tongue out. Suzue tried to show him the basic way of eating it and she couldn't expect a more convenient outcome. Some ice-cream ended up on his nose and she needed to take a picture. She's keeping it as her lock screen.

♛ Before her camouflage mission Daisuke is always nervous. He isn't showing it but he's concerned. Well he's not worried about her loyalty, more about her safety and if everything will work out well. He's helping her with simple things such as pulling the zipper of her dress up. And while he's at it, he'd hug her from behind and tell her to be careful. She'd kiss him and tell that everything's going to be ok. It's the only thing he needs to hear.

♛ There are times when he doesn't want to talk about things so he couldn't make her worry. When Suzue notices something and asks him, he'd brush it off, tell her it's nothing and she'd become angry. She hates that the most about him. If he continues to pile up these thoughts, he'd end up doing something stupid. She's always persistent with him and he eventually gives up, telling her about what's bothering him. After a nice talk he realizes that this is better for both of them.

♛ They know what makes the other get goosebumps. Suzue likes lighter touches on her forearms while Daisuke likes the caressing behind his neck. And something simple like sweet words before bedtime makes them happy. It's nice to know that, at the end of the day, they don't grow tired of each other on top of everything else they need to deal with.

Sometimes there's that crippling anxiety of not being too good for the other, but when they return their kindness in the most beautiful of ways, ways that can't be shown through something material, then they know it's worth it.

#fugou keiji balance unlimited #fugou keiji balance: unlimited #the millionaire detective balance unlimited #the millionaire detective balance: unlimited #daisuke kambe #suzue kambe #scenarios #headcanons #thoughts #ideas #hc

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kekeslider · 5 years

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so whats your take on the catra/adora situation

I have a lot of thoughts about this and I’m gonna just unload them all below the cut bc this is gonna get kind of meta-y and pretty discourse-y, and I know a lot of people are trying to avoid that right now. The long n short of it is that I still like the ship.

I’m actually a little baffled by how much people don’t like this pairing now. It all basically comes down to the belief that Catra is abusive towards Adora, but people seem to be conveniently leaving out that Catra has been abused by the Horde as much as Adora. I’d actually argue that Catra’s abuse was harsher, while Adora was the favored child. That’s not to say that Adora wasn’t abused, because she obviously was, but there are different kinds of abusive situations, and in homes with multiple children, there’s often one that the parent/guardian clearly favors and manipulates and the other that gets the brunt of the abuse. Adora was manipulated and lied to and who knows what else, while Catra was physically threatened and harmed, emotionally abused, and pitted against Adora, her own best friend. They have different experiences, and Catra’s experiences have clearly led to the survival instincts she has now. I��ll also point out that members of the crew have stated that Catra’s portrayal is influenced by their own experiences with abuse (source). So flatout saying Catra is abusive and Adora needs to cut ties and leave her rubs me the wrong way. I think Catra is on course for a big redemption arc, because I think people who have been in abusive situations themselves want to tell stories of abuse victims overcoming it.

So that’s sort of the basics of Catra and Adora’s abuse by the Horde, and people have ended up saying, well Adora got out, why can’t Catra? First I’d like to point out the irony of the fandom pitting Catra and Adora against each other in the same way Shadow Weaver did, holding Catra to Adora’s standard. But what makes Adora and Catra different here? There could be a lot of things, you could get into discussions about nature vs nurture, you could argue that Adora has an inherent goodness because she was destined to be She-ra or whatever. But in the end I think it comes down to the different ways they experienced abuse in the Horde. Adora got to switch to the side of good because she thought she was on the good side all along, that’s what the Horde convinced her of, and she didn’t know anything outside of what the Horde told her. Then she also had Shadow Weaver favoring her, and the respect of her superiors and peers, so her life in the Horde was, comparatively, not that bad. But Catra knew it was bad. I’ve seen people calling Catra evil based on her duh, you just figured that out? line. But doesn’t it make sense that Catra knew she was being abused, because she was being treated so much harsher than Adora was? It was in her face all the time, but like Adora, she didn’t know anything beyond the Horde. Abuse was her norm, and she developed certain survival instincts because of that.

But Adora offered Catra a way out right? And Catra knowingly refused, so Catra is evil, right?? This is where I think Catra’s character gets extra complex, because it starts delving into the psychology of abuse victims, and one of the things that’s pretty well known is that abuse victims will often refuse to leave their situation, even when given the chance. That’s what abusers do, they make their victims afraid to leave the stability of their situation, no matter how awful it is. The devil you know, yanno? Adora wasn’t exactly offering Catra safety, she was offering her the chance to join a weak rebellion against the group that was conquering the world, a rebellion which massively failed the last time it was attempted. And leaving the Horde, and then losing? That would make Catra’s situation so much worse.

There’s a lot you can get into with Catra’s motivations throughout the season, but I’ll leave the deep details to Catra-specific character metas. I sussed out 3 big motivations for her from my 1 viewing at the asscrack of dawn.

1. She’s being forced to act against Adora by Shadow Weaver, the woman who has directly abused her her whole life

2. She wants to take down Shadow Weaver as a form of revenge and surpass her in the process

3. She want to prove to everyone in the Horde that she’s powerful and capable without Adora around (reminder that Adora said displays of weakness were a no-no at the Horde, so it stands to reason that being the best and most powerful is a goal ingrained into them as cadets) because Catra has been pitted against and compared to Adora her whole life (this ties in to Catra’s sidekick remark).

None of this excuses her actions, but it does explain her backstory and allows the viewer to get inside Catra’s head and understand why she does the things she does. It deliberately paints her as a sympathetic villain, because you understand her, and it makes you want to root for her.

Catra being sympathetic is a big thing to me, because it’s done on purpose. They’ve planted the seeds for a big redemption arc, one that may run the course of the show, and that’s something I want to see happen. A well done redemption arc is incredible to watch play out. And I’ll remind everyone that the crew has pretty openly loved Catra as a character, and they’re very invested in her as a character, and I personally don’t see how a crew with abuse victims on their staff would create an abusive character and then care about her so much. That goes double for catradora, they’re all interested in them as a duo and post art and content that toes very closely to the line of ship art, and I can’t see abuse victims creating a show just to ship a character with her abuser.

When it comes to Catra and catradora, there’s a few big important things I think people are ignoring.

- Catra has all the groundwork for a bigass redemption arc. It’s something fans have been expecting and hoping for since the first info about the show was released

- In order to get a redemption arc, she needs to do something that needs redeeming. Think of season 1 as Catra’s villain origin story. A redemption arc has no payoff if we don’t see their misdeeds. But Catra’s misdeeds aren’t a case of Cool motive, still murder, because nothing she’s done so far has such long lasting effects. She attacked some people with the Horde, of course, but also keep in mind that this is a kids show, where things like that have to be exaggerated so kids can see that they’re doing Bad Things (remember that time Zuko burned down a whole village, kidnapped Aang, attacked them all multiple times? And he has THE redemption arc every other one is compared to)

- This is only the first season! There’s so much story left to tell, maybe more backstory for Catra, more flashbacks detailing her experiences, etc etc. There’s something like 39 episodes still guaranteed to come, and I’m not expecting season 4 Catra to be the same as season 1 Catra. She’s going to change, her relationship to Adora is going to change, and I want that change to be positive. That’s a big draw for catradora: positive character development

- The crew has stated multiple times that Catra and Adora’s friendship/relationship is very central to the story, and that definitely shows in s1. Telling people not to like this ship is telling them to not fully engage with one of the show’s main foci (and there are definitely positive moments within all the hurt we see. They love each other, in an environment that doesn’t want them to)

- I haven’t seen a single person say that Catra and Adora’s relationship as is would be healthy and perfect. Everyone knows they have stuff to work through. What I have seen is people caring about both of them as characters and friends, people who love each other and deserve to be happy. People WANT a redemption arc for Catra, and they’re shipping Redeemed!Catra/Adora. They’re looking ahead down the path of character development and hoping it leads to romance, because it very well could. One of the big reasons people latch on to ships like this is that it has so so much room for growth and development, for them as individuals, and them as a pair. I know it’s illegal to talk about vo/tron, but you can compare it to people who shipped k/ance and a//urance after season 1. Neither had healthy romantic dynamics in the first season, but people were looking forward to growth and development, and shipping that. The whole point is that you want to see characters grow together. Development is half the point of storytelling. Romantic ships where they basically start out all happy and good are dull because they don’t have the same space for character growth and development. They’re static, they’re boring.

- The crew of the show likes catradora! They care so much about these two characters and their bond, and I don’t see a crew of LGBT people making a romantically coded dynamic between 2 female characters, hyping it up, creating content of the two of them, just to have one be an evil abuser

This is also where I’ll point out that many other antagonistic characters have been much beloved by the fandom and part of majorly popular ships

- Zuko: Zutara & Zukka

- Bakugo: Kiribaku

- Sasuke: Sasunaru or w/e it is

And you’ll notice these are moooostly m/m ships, and people still stan them to this day. But catradora of course is f/f, and we know f/f ships are subjected to much higher criticism than m/m pairings. In fact, the defense for Zuko and Bakugo is their traumatic abuse backstory, so the same should apply for Catra.

I’m also going to say, at great risk to myself, that I think the discourse around this ship is mostly happening because the current She-ra fandom is largely made of of (ex) v/d fans, where discourse was basically a hobby. And for good reason, there was a lot of dumpster fires in that fandom and show, but I think it’s resulted in people coming into this fandom just chomping at the bit to jump on some discourse and be the most Unproblematic and Self-Righteous. Am I basically vaguing myself by saying that? Yeah, kinda, but I’ll have to stand by it. We’ve seen so little of this show and people are already making major decisions about what’s ok and what’s not because they’re coming off of a fandom with a pretty shitty crew, and they’re expected to be hurt again. But the She-ra crew isn’t the v/d crew, and they deserve the benefit of the doubt.

This got really rambly and stuff but the point is, I like catradora. I want to see them grow and heal and love each other, because I care about both characters. It isn’t about shipping an angsty abusive ship, it’s about wanting them to find each other again without the toxic influence of the Horde.

#keke answers #spop spoilers #catradora #discourse #its under a read more but you know just in case #anonymous #ask #abuse mention

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notesofarichlycolorednight · 5 years

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After reading Annabeth saying Luke "always pushed himself too hard",and considering that he's the "best swordsman in 300 years"(surpassing children of Ares and Athena is a huge feat for a Hermes dude),I can't help but imagining him doing an Azula while training her lightning bending (one hair out of place! Almost is not enough!). Like,not wanting his swordfighting less than perfect(But Azula is undeniably a prodigy,and like someone else said,she works hard,but her work pays off rather quickly)

Cont. Since Azula is a natural talent,Luke would also need an inate aid for him,and that’s Roman ancestry (I won’t let go of it)). And we know that what made Azula like that was Ozai’s emotionally abusive BS. What do you think drove Luke to be that much of a perfectionist?

hey anon, thanks for being so patient with me. i’ve been working on a big project, finishing up my thesis, and binge-watching code geass lol

first, i really love the hc that Luke is a legacy of a Roman demigod. like it’s awesome and makes a lot of sense considering what we do know of Luke from both series. so i’m with ya there

i also think that his perfectionism, like Azula’s, stems from abuse as well. now it’s been a hot minute since i’ve watched a:tla, but i’m pretty sure much of the abuse Azula suffered from Ozai was largely verbal, emotional, and psychological (considering he burned and badly scarred his own son, tho, i wouldn’t put it past him to be physically abusive, but from what i remember of the show he wasn’t)

Luke’s abuse was neglect, psychological, and emotional. neglect from both Hermes and May. Hermes bc he was never fucking there, and if he was, he visited May in secret, that bastard. May bc she was psychological incapable of taking care and providing for Luke. the more i think about it, the more shocked and surprised i am that he didn’t starve to death or get sick bc May forgot to change his diaper or smth

it makes me think that her psychological state probably progressively got worse, so she was able enough to take care of him thru his baby/toddler years. regardless of what Rick knows, the fact still stands that she was neglectful, even if it wasn’t until later in Luke’s life

his abuse from May was also psychological and emotional. i mean, imagine, growing up with a mother who’s eyes turned toxic waste green, voice sounded like a swarm of bees, and spouted scary vague bullshit abt his fate? that’s traumatic for a fucking child! both psychologically and emotionally. it’s clear he loved his mother from the fact that he said he was leaving to protect her and that he’d be back for lunch. altho, he could also have just said that so he could leave. so he could hate his mother like he hates Hermes, bc she did decide to take on the Oracle, even tho she didn’t understand the risks, and even after Chiron warned her that smth was wrong, seeing as the Oracle was a rotting mummy by that point. and look, it’s not May’s fault that she didn’t know abt Hades’s curse, but like i said, the Oracle was a rotting mummy, and Chiron warned her abt unknown dangers and risks, and she still chose to do it.

anyway, suffice to say, his feelings are probably very mixed. he probably loves his mother in some way, but hates her for making such a risky decision when she had a fucking baby to take care of. Luke had to leave bc his father wasn’t there or answering his prayers. he didn’t know what had happened to make her like that, and she keeps spouting to him about some painful fate in his future. i mean can you imagine that feeling of being a lamb raised for slaughter and your godly father isn’t answering any of your prayers? trying to stop it? explaining himself why?

and even tho Hermes wasn’t there, his absence is also psychological and emotional abuse. and we see this a lot with a lot of the demigods in the series. they’re always striving for their godly parents’ approval. we see this in Percy, when he talks abt his first encounter with Poseidon. and we definitely see this in Annabeth, esp in MoA. Hermes’ neglect and absence communicates to a child who doesn’t know any better that they are unwanted and unloved. and some children will react by saying, “fuck them” while others will internalize the massage and wonder what they did wrong, as well as how they can earn that approval back (if it was there to begin with). most demigods, i’ve noticed, often react with the latter. bc on some level they love their godly parents despite their less than exemplary parenting, and despite not feeling loved by them

that abuse, that feeling of being unwanted, unloved, not enough, is probably what made him train so much. he wanted to be enough. it’s what made him want Hermes to give him a quest so badly–so he could prove to himself, but most importantly to his father, that he was capable and that he was worthy of his father’s love and attention.

which is why Hermes’s quest was such a slap in the face. retrieving a golden apple from the garden of Hesperides, as Luke says, is something the greatest hero in Greek and Roman mythology had already done. while Percy had a point, if Luke could pull it off, that meant he was as great as Hercules. but to Luke, he wasn’t proving himself to be worthy of Hermes’ love and attention. he was just proving he could complete a task that one of the greatest heroes in Greek and Roman mythology had already done

it’s so hard for me to articulate that difference rn–of being able to complete a task that someone great has done versus being compared to someone great because you’ve completed the same task, but there is a distinct, very fine, difference.

it’s not Luke’s. it’s Hercules’s. therefore, it is not proving his worth to Hermes, in Luke’s mind

which, I think, is the straw that broke the camel’s back. Luke was already angry at the gods for his mother, for leaving him in a house with his mother, for taking away a member of his found family (not doing anything to save her, a show if indifference, another lamb raised for slaughter). now this quest? not to mention, he then failed, and got a nasty scar to show for it on top of more trauma and PTSD wheeeee

so yeah, long story long, it also stems from emotional abuse. oftentimes, perfectionism stems from abuse, unfortunately. (the other is mental illness, and the last is sometimes it’s just in a person’s genes)

thanks for sending this in! and, again, for being patient with me

FEED ME SEYMOUR

#oh god for shame! i do not even know your name #notesofananonymousnight #asked and answered #luke castellan #pjo meta

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