#the One and Only True Difference

[inkskinned]

he says i hate everyone except you and that is addictive and that is kind of romantic and beautiful because you're young and you're kind of a sarcastic asshole too and you don't like bad boys, per say, but you don't really like good ones either. and you like that you were the exception, it felt like winning.

except life is not a romance book, and he was kind of being honest. he doesn't learn to be nice to your friends. he only tolerates your family. you have to beg him to come with you to birthday parties, he complains the whole time. you want to go on a date but - people are often there, wherever you're going. he's just so angry. about everything, is the thing. in the romance book, doesn't he eventually soften? can't you teach him, through your own sense of whimsy and comfort?

at first - you know introverts often need smaller friend groups, and honestly, you're fine staying at home too. you like the small, tidy life you occupy. you're not going to punish him for his personality type.

except: he really does hate everyone but you. which means he doesn't get along with his therapist. which means he has no one to talk to except for you. which means you take care of him constantly, since he otherwise has no one. which means you sometimes have to apologize for him. which means he keeps you home from seeing your friends because he hates them. you're the single exception.

about a decade from this experience, you'll type into google: how to know if a relationship is codependent.

he wraps an arm around you. i hate everyone except you. these days, you're learning what he's actually confessing is i have very little practice being kind.

#i used to think it was romantic too and then i was like. now i see it as a HUGE red flag #writeblr #it is also almost EXCLUSIVELY said by immature ppl who think this is normal #fyi even if u think it's funny and ur like 'im an introvert it's just TRUE' like. you need therapy (ily tho) #healed introversion is just ''i would prefer to be by myself'' not ''i hate every person'' ... hate is not normal. that is not healthy #im sorry. i know it feels accurate. but if you're walking around with that kind of rage.... #1. you're making a LOT of assumptions about every single person u have ever met. which is often unfair and unkind #and also usually involves judging people based on their worst moments or little mistakes #2. you are being unfair to the person who is ur ''exception'' #3. there is a VAST difference between ''ur my favorite person'' and ''the ONLY person i like.'' #idk i think this is just a personal bias thing tbh #im sure there are people who have this experience normally #but i have YET to find a man who thinks like this and ISNT absolute DOGSHIT. although tbh.... like. im sure he exists #when u hit like 30 some of the things that were once kind of hot now just sound fucking exhausting. like ''im in a band'' #edit in the tags: i used to kind of be like this too. but the thing is that like. my life became so much more peaceful #once i started believing that people are generally good. like yes i am mad at the world at large #but it's just.... a very hard way to live. you're not a bad person or wrong for the ways other people hurt you and taught you to be angry. #but that anger will continue to hurt YOU. it will punish YOU. it will prevent YOU from making new deep connections. it will protect you yes #but it will also cause MASSIVE blowback. bc if you lose the One Person... your life will fall apart. i know this personally. #i really recommend just trying to be... cautiously optimistic instead. like. yes #people can be horrible and cruel and there are some communities (incels for example) that aren't worth that optimism #but i think like... most people will hold a door for you . most people want to help you find your wallet . #i hope one day you are able to find peace. i hope that rage eventually smooths over. i know how hard it is PERSONALLY #and i know what must have happened to you. and im deeply deeply sorry we share the same wound. #but i promise - sometimes we all need someone else to help us carry the weight. eventually the rage has to die so that we can let help in #i had to spend years biting at outstretched hands. i still often do. im still very wary . and my heart breaks that you flinch too. #here's the thing: i don't blame you. but we were both acting out of fear and pain. .... not out of healthy behavior. and ... change #was needed. i needed change too. rage was useful for a while. then it just left me isolated and bitter. i had to (with effort) #choose to let that rage go. and let people in . VERY SLOWLY THO LOL

[maegalkarven]

Also the reason I write Gortash so obsessed with Durge and literally holding them above everyone else is because

Imagine: You meet a child of god. A child of cruel and evil god who is an awful murderer. Killing is their Sole Purpose, the reason why they were even created.

And that person one day REFUSES their father, their GOD. Why? Because of you. A child of god defies a god for you. They are made for killing but refuse to kill YOU when their god commands them to.

They get betrayed and disgraced because of you. You think they're dead. BECAUSE they chose you over everything else.

And then they return and alright, the memory is lost, but it's still them. You know it's them.

Like imagine the power trip Gortash had to have upon the revelation what Durge disobeyed their god for HIM.

Of course he'd be obsessed. The child of god said only he matters.

#durgetash #the dark urge x enver gortash #dark urge x gortash #listen they fit in a way what works only for them #someone else would fall short for gortash. but durge? durge is his perfect match #they do not exist without another they affected each other too much #changed each other too drastically #mutual destruction and mutual salvation #they truly need no one else but each other #obv it applies to my durges your durges can be different bc they're yours #but yeah that's true for my three durges they and gortash are inseparable #“often bought together” #“do not separate them” #Gortash often is the only person who can keep levi in check

[canisalbus]

are you okay with folks writing about your guys? i know they're very personal to you!

I'd consider it an honor! They are very personal to me that's true, but it always makes my day/week when people draw gift art of them, and I find written works comparable to that. If you end up writing something and posting it somewhere, please let me know, I'd love to take a look as well.

#I'm not a writer so it's very interesting impressive and inspiring to see them through another art form #one that is so different from the visual art I make #just try to be nice to them #you don't have to stick to my canon but it'd be preferable if they stayed sort of true to their character #and an arbitrary rule but whatever you do please don't kill Vasco I really don't think I like the idea #Vasco is only allowed to die of natural causes at old age #answered #anonymous

[sporkandpringles]

my problems with discovery's spore drive have nothing to do with the wacky mushroom science. Like this is Star Trek™ not some bonefide diamond on the Moh's Scale of Sci-Fi hardness like The Martian. I know to expect the writers playing a bit fast and loose with physics and how the real world works. I'm here for that wackniess, actually. Love me some technobabble about mycelial spores or tetryon particles or whatever! the thing that doesn't work for me is the way the spore drive acts narratively, and how the technology was introduced within the timeline of the series. Like it's just obvious that the writers aren't willing to let anyone else but Discovery have access to the spore drive. They twisted up the Glenn in season one, so Discovery is the only ship with a spore drive. They hemmed and hawed about genetic modification in season 2 so no one else got a spore drive. They purged records of the spore drive's existence from history and claimed that no one else had tried to make anything like it in 900 years despite a massive dilithium shortage and canonical search for other methods of propulsion in season 3. And then at the very end, just when you think, oh hey maybe the entire population of Kwejian will make for a nice crop of new spore drive pilots, the writers fucking blow up their whole planet just so they don't have to let anyone else have the spore drive. And to be fair, they can't really let anyone else have it, or else Discovery loses it's right to be "the only one we can turn to in a crisis". And that's really all it has going for it. So, I get it! Still hate it, though. And, even moreso than all the silly narrative contrivances that are used to nerf transporter technology so that the plot can still happen, this bothers me. Because sure, all the ion storms and interference can get a bit stupid. We all make fun of star trek for inventing a technology that could immediately yoink our blorbos away from their problems, only to turn around and force it to not work when it's needed most. But at least there isn't just one ship that has the ability to use the transporter at all. That would be ridiculous. Everyone would want their own transporter. And yet, that's the situation we have in Discovery. Only one ship can travel across the galaxy in the blink of an eye. The show writers keep contriving to keep it that way. And given how useful instantaneous travel is, the fact that it hasn't been replicated once, by any species in the galaxy, not just the Federation, in 900 years is just stretching the limits of my willing suspension of disbelief.

#sporkandpringles original #gripes #star trek discovery #the spore drive #I think it's a cool concept #but the timing is weird #and even if we say 'oh the Federation didn't use it for moral reasons' like... #...do you think that would stop the Orions? the Romulans? literally anyone else who isn't the Federation? #I don't think so #'oh it was top secret' #so is no one studying the mycelial network? #are there no other mushroom scientists? stamets is the only one? #we know that's not true another one was on the Glenn #if different societies are expected to independently invent warp drive then why not also the spore drive?

[camels-pen]

the difference between zosopp and sanuso (romantic OR platonic) is that Usopp is Zoro's specialest little guy and Zoro is someone Usopp hangs out with and looks up to and hides behind when things get scary, but Sanji and Usopp are best friends. They horse around, they beat each other up, they confide their worst fears trying to one up each other. Usopp hides behind Sanji sometimes, sure, but idk, Sanji's weaknesses are more obvious (bugs, fighting women, etc) so there are times when Usopp has to stand in front of Sanji too, yknow?

Like, how do I say this, all the crewmates are equal- Usopp and Zoro are equals- but with Sanji it feels like more... comradery? Zoro's a rock in a terrible storm- even rocks tend to get weathered and chipped and worn down, but they overall stay strong and steady. He has trouble being vulnerable and there are times when the burden he's placed on himself to keep the crew safe is crushing his chest. Usopp would help with that and be very understanding, but the point I'm trying to get with that is that those moments are few and far between. So I feel like Usopp, especially after Water 7, would take Zoro's lead on something like that, and keep most of his worries to himself or only talk about them sparingly unless they're really bad and/or he can't hide them.

Sanji is like a tree in a storm; he can be strong, yes, but it feels like he bends and sways with the storm, and has more obvious breaking points. He can relate more to Usopp's struggles rather than resorting to blunt honesty that might border on callous like Zoro. And while, with Zosopp, I tend to think of scenarios with Zoro being blunt like that as a good thing- because sometimes when you're spiraling, it's nice to have someone say exactly what's great about you and shoot down all your worries with straight facts that you can't argue with- I can also see this as being a bad thing. Anxiety can really twist up your brain sometimes, you know? And despite the words, the tone could still mess someone up if they're already feeling like a burden on others in some way.

With Sanuso it's a lot more understanding and thoughtful words. It's distractions and comfort food and patience- the kind reserved for Usopp- until Usopp talks about whatever's troubling him. Compared to Zosopp, it doesn't take as long for Usopp to open up, since he's done the same thing to Sanji at times and it's more familiar to him to talk and commiserate with Sanji about his worries and doubts and such. However, there are times stuff like this has absolutely no effect and Sanji will end up at a loss, no idea what to do or how to help over the course of several days with Usopp being quiet and keeping his distance, and he'll end up working himself up about it which will only serve to make Usopp feel worse and. yeah. bit of a vicious cycle with them.

So it's like. Usopp can be weak with both of them, but since I see Sanji as the type of guy who'd be more open with his worries (at least compared to Zoro), there's less of a need to 'perform' and be his best self around him. He's comfortable around Zoro, yes, but he is constantly wanting to show that he won't be a problem to him. On the other hand, while he's more open with Sanji, and Sanji with him, they tend to relate a bit too much with each other and they both have issues with causing trouble for others and being 'deserving of love' so failed attempts at consoling one hurts the other and creates an unpleasant cycle of misery and avoidance before some other crewmate (Zoro) tells them to quit being stupid and just fucking talk to each other.

#one piece #sanuso #zosopp #long post #nemotime #does this make sense or is this the ramblings of a person who's only got 3 hrs sleep #bc thats me. 3 hrs sleep. ugh #listen okay its like. zosopp has their own growing pains to get through yknow? zoro will eventually get the whole #'oh usopp isnt as open with me bc he wants to seem tough and is also kind of doing the same thing i do. thats bad for him' #and it'll be a whole thing about making a promise between the two of them to try and be more honest with their fears and seeking help #when they need it #the sanuso thing is like. i hope i didnt mean to make it seem like sanuso is 'better' or w/e bc its just a different thing #sanuso got their own problems to sort out. 1. Sanji's everything 2. boundaries on special treatment- #i'm not gonna go seriously into this but both relationships start out not the best and get better over time yknow #also i know usopp's afraid and freaking out a lot but for this post i meant his deeper fears and insecurities #not 'i've got can't-go-on-this-island disease' lmao #the tl;dr of this post is: Usopp is more closed off with Zosopp. Usopp and Sanji have similar issues that cause problems with Sanuso. #also the way i see these ships will probably change at some point. who knows #there was a post i saw recently that was like 'hey sanuso bc romance trio were already chill with each other so sanuso became chill with #each other in an 'alone together' type of way and also they have the same issues' and i thought 'wow so true bestie' and here we are #also. man. usopp taking on / copying the behaviours of his loved ones regardless of his age is just. my jam. in a positive or negative way #maybe i'll make a post about that explaining it more. maybe

[ganymedesclock]

To explain The Goblin Problem and not go on a tag rant on someone else's reblog, I will explain it in the nutshell.

The Goblin Problem is when a story establishes a group of creatures to serve as recurrent antagonists (not necessarily all one species; in a lot of rpg games this can broadly apply to "monsters") THAT:

Are never negotiable, or the negotiable parties among them are Token Heroic Orcs- that is to say, they are seen as objectors or 'good' versions who have absolutely no connections to, and hold no objections toward you attacking, the rest of their brethren, who they have forsaken as the price to be paid for being good.

Have obvious unique technology; they may attack you with weapons found nowhere else in the game, demonstrate the ability to speak, have their own obvious language, tame a creature that nobody else tames so that it's thus impossible that they are stealing already-tamed specimens from someone else

Are characterized primarily or exclusively as raiders who attack others, with the justification this means they are inferior creatures parasitically dependent on Good, Civilized Settings, e.g. they cannot possibly be sustainably hunting, gathering, or practicing either nomadic or settled agriculture.

Are often defined as having no choice to be evil or are created by a greater evil to serve as thralls, and yet, will not under any circumstances be regarded as indoctrinated victims, or if that is mentioned, there will nonetheless be an overarching lack of narrative concern as to where or how the survivors should live after the greater evil is taken care of, or if effort should be made to challenge the indoctrination and give them the ability to choose their lives.

What this ultimately creates is that they are unambiguously people, who obviously check all the marks of sapience, who are quite possibly wearing clothes, but the goblin or orc exists as a stopgap. You want your fantasy hero to get into a swordfight but you don't want him to kill another human being. So you invent something that wields a sword but is in some way "not a person", which is senseless. Unless you want the nature of this swordfight to be that a chimpanzee picked up a knife, at which point they are not going to use reliable sword techniques.

#writing ruminations #the goblin problem #way too many fantasy stories take basically racist myths and then go 'well but it's different if this is Literally True' #'and applies to a species I made up that's also ugly by white western able-bodied standards' #and the underpinning motivation is you need a conflict token to move against your protagonists #and you don't want to suggest they're butchering animals- even scary ones- or hurting People #so you invent fake-animal-people whose job is only to be mean and have no apparent role in an ecosystem #and it's. I don't know how to tell you that's bad chief #even in a black-and-white good guys vs. bad guys clean cut narrative you should REALLY not split morality along race or species lines #hell in an extremely straightforward good vs. evil narrative you kinda gotta think about that MORE

[fras-redacted-shapes]

Alan Wake (whose face and voice we find on Thomas Zane and Casper Darling, respectively) ends up in an antagonistic relationship with Alex Casey (whose face and voice we find on Sam Lake and Zachariah Trench, respectively).

Casper Darling and Zachariah Trench? By the end, their relationship was antagonistic.

The Casey-Trench voice was once a guide-friend for Wake-Darling.

And then, they were fighting.

One was suspicious of the other, thinking he was lying, hiding something.

While the other was unaware of the darkness that was growing and consuming the former's mind, his ignorance letting it fester. Feeding it, even.

The original faces, Thomas Zane and Sam Lake? In this latest iteration they've spoken with their own voices while in the Dark Place, only in the presence of a camera.

Alan Wake and Zachariah Trench? In the end, while in a nightmare dimension, both get shot by a woman who both of these men meddled in their lives, threatening the well being of their loved one.

At least one had a hand in his fate, willing it, accepting it. The other? He was fully gone, his will overtaken by the nightmare.

A version of Alex Casey did say it after all. He and writer, they were the same.

And finally, the real Sam Lake? By happenstance he offered his face for a collaborative project, and became a symbol. Even if he tried to fight it, tried to replace it, he had to concede. The story demanded it, as if writing it wasn't enough, the narrative claimed his visage.

There's no need to make overt mentions or put the image of the Ouroboros in posters. The serpent is interwoven in the fabric of the narrative itself.

#now we're only missing a scene with tom zane and sam lake being best friends and the mirror image will be complete #not so much theory crafting more like rambling #because Alex Casey hated Alan's gut the first time he met him on Cauldron Lake's shore lmao #remedy writing in mirroring-self-consuming #self-generating loops and spirals #alan wake 2 #remedy connected universe #control remedy #zachariah trench #casper darling #tom zane #alan wake #dunno where I read that Ilkka Villi's accent was too thick back then so Remedy went with a different actor for Alan's voice #which if true it would an excellent companion to Sam Lake giving his face to Max Payne due to limited budget #One was like: we only have enough money to pay for James McCaffrey's voice #The other: yeah we can afford two actors for Alan Wake #Then a few years later: we are going to exploit all these little fun facts and make them an integral part of the narrative #remedyversetxt

[earlgodwin]

the irony of cesare slutshaming juan for sleeping in brothels had me with tears in my eyes considering his very first scene in the show is him rawdogging a prostitute like his life depended on it...like babygirl we see you!!!

#like they're such whores i'm screaming!! but also so on brand when you think of it. since the real ones both were fucking sancia byeee #i believe the scene where cesare fucks that girl is just a glimpse of the show adapting the Real cesare's General Manwhorishness™ though! #if you're the borgia family enthusiast you already know that cesare has sired 7 illegitimate kids because of his romantic exploits lmao #cesare borgia i love your hypocritical ass fr like yessss #also love their rivalry so much because there's cesare who always wanna one-up juan in every aspect and be seen as the serious and driven #which is true about the hypercompetent and ambitious part!! but he fulfills his duty in the family in ways that are not conventional #meanwhile with juan...he fully embraces his hedonism and isn't ashamed of it. while he's aware that cesare outdo him in everything... #the only thing he has over cesare is his position as a gonfaloniere!! so he winds cesare up with flexing it!!! #the difference is cesare is as much as he hollers about doing everything for the family...he pretty much does it mostly for selfish reasons #his desperation for juan's position and rodrigo's attention made him sabotage the family more than persevering it etc #while juan is genuine but is reckless and incompetent but he Really tries yk? he really does! but he spiraled bc he feels weak and insecure #oh well both brothers are idiots in their own ways #i miss them fr #cesare borgia #juan borgia #the borgias #juan and cesare #text post

[birdricks]

honestly beth and jerry have maybe my second favourite relationship in the entire show just for how interesting and tragic it is. like its brushed aside a lot in favour of other stuff but they were really both just kids... and the saddest part about them is that they maybe do love each other but its always in some way artificial

#‘i would find you in any lifetime’ but they never really had a choice #rick and morty #makes stuff like rixty minutes wayyy more sad #like they say they only had summer bc they blew a tire on the way to the clinic… JAW DROP. #but also stuff like jerry talking beth back thru their first kiss and her admitting to hating it #alsooo like. ik they bring up a lot that beth was 17 but jerry was also like. 17. or around it. they were BOTH kids and they both had to #make hard decisions. and they both did everything wrong and are both unhappy #like as much as ppl cling to that one speech abt jerry being a parasite i think its true for both of them #they both need each other in a sick way. yhey both love each other and they both hate wach other #its just their different personalities and they way they view each other that sets them apart #rick views jerry as a parasite bc well.. beth is his daughter and a lot like him #and also u can argue he was projecting a lot in that scene #but in the end its beth who ends up going back to jerry #she needs jerry as much as he needs her. bc he gives her that unconditional love she missed growinh up #..anyway #do they have a ship name btw. berry. jereth. lol #for the record their relationship is terrible. but i love thinking abt it its sooooo compelling to me

[carnivalcarriondiscarded]

do you ever just sit there thinking about your favorite ocs while violently shaking. god. clenches fist. They're So.

#every time a song from their Joint Playlist comes on i go fucking feral #the betrayal the refusal to Let Go the haunting the persisting love the renunciation the resentment the abandonment the resignation #the overwhelming desire to do good vs the fear of admitting you were wrong vs the two people you love most tearing each other apart #AGHHHHH FUCK FUCK FUCK IM SUDDENLY DEEP IN THE ORIGINAL SAUCE #five seconds i was Normal. scribbling welcome home #then One Of The Songs Came On and now im losing my fucking marbles #perceived betrayals leading to real betrayals.... #going too far and now its too late you're Committed you cant go back #he came to you thinking he could make you understand and you could work together to make things Better #and instead you ripped his heart out and left it bleeding on the floor for everyone to see #THEY MAKE ME MORE INSANE THAN LITERALLY ANYTHING #absolutely unprompted #the oc Unwellness comes and goes in waves but its the only true constant obsession with my life #god those three... my dearest darling Trio.... how old are they turning this year? #is it year eight of having them? year nine? #one of the two is for sure how long ive had My Specialest Boy Light Of My Life The Reason I Am Still Alive #the other two came after... maybe only mere months after but he was the first and he is just. i love him so fucking much #he is so so personal to me. he has a permanent place carved out in my chest #he sleeps on my ribs <3 #the other day i was reminiscing about his development over the years. his changes his different Versions #and fuck... he's really changed with me huh?? #his past selves are echoes of my own self over the years #like he is Very different from me but at the same time. i created him with little pieces of myself sewn in #we hold the same views the same beliefs. im not him and hes not me but we're Kindred yk yk #i think i need to go listen to his playlist.... how long is it now... let me check... 15 hours 13 mins... 228 songs... #my gay 5'2 powerhouse of a guy. him <3 #maybe 'them' too he's played fast and loose with gender over the years. holy shit wait #his development echoes mine... i characterized him as 'fucks with gender norms' long before i realized my own gender fuckery #god damn. i love him even more now. i didnt think that was possible. im going to cry. hes so important to me #he has been with me through my worst years... and will be with me through all the hard times to come <3

[5-pp-man]

no you don't get it. i literally love stories where they dive into people's hearts/minds (literally or figuratively) sm it's my favourite type of storytelling.

#p5s #fairy ranmaru #shiguang daili ren #limbo the king #king in limbo #pet anime #pet manga #pet 2020 #dmmd #homunculus #homunculus manga #sankaku mado no sotogawa wa yoru #the night beyond the tricornered window #sarazanmai #id invaded #paprika 2006 #wonder egg priority #tedpost #it allows them to portray emotions in such visually interesting ways #and is a great way to make parallels between the person who's mind they're in and the main characters #these were all the ones i could think of rn but i bet theres more that i havent seen yet #also i only mentioned scramble here because i think it does this concept better than regular p5 lmao. #FEEL FREE TO SUGGEST ME MORE OF THESE #doesnt matter what medium or genre!! could be a book a movie idc i eat stuff like this upppp #EDIT; updates the post after reading ltk and checking if tricorner fit this desc #EDIT; added homunculus too because whilst technically he never actually enters anyones minds he does visualise them into the real world #so its the same end result of seeing a person's true thoughts and feelings. but a slightly different method to get there

[sciderman]

Sometimes i remember a comics moment i randomly came across somewhere, where Sam Wilson mentiones a musical and Steve Rodgers says he doesn't like musicals, to whitch Sam goes "Guess that means you really are straight" and even tho i don't care about Cap America or the Avengers, the moment stuck in me for that quote by Sam. And like....Sci, any ideas if straight men actually don't like musicals or is that bullshit?

actually i think i know more gay men who hate musicals than i know straight men who hate musicals. i've had a drag queen stop me point blank when i was about to sing a barbra streisand song, and i know so many gays who pointedly hate abba. so based on my experience i think the inverse is true. most of the straight men i know are kind of impartial about musicals, but gay men? hate.

my theory is that a lot of gay men don't want to fall into stereotypes, maybe. but thaaaaat's just a theory! a gay theory.

#sci speaks #i'm trying to understand the gays. they are a mystery to me. #i've seen a lot more toxic masculinity coming from gay men than i have from straight men. #i think it makes sense. they have less women in their lives. so they reckon with a lot more masculinity. more dick measuring. #also gay men have some of THE most unhealthy romantic relationships i've ever seen in my life. #this isn't a blanket statement on everyone but just from what i've seen. it's such a strange pattern i've observed. #lesbians? healthy. straights? usually healthy. gay men? universally a tire fire that makes me say “if you hate each other so much ??” #“why are you together??????????” #i have never met a cis gay mlm couple in real life that was healthy. every single one of them made my eyes widen in horror. #i want them to be healthy. please treat each other better. #the number of bitchy bitchy fights i've seen between mlm couples in public that make me so terrified #but i know mlm relationships in general are usually less... affectionate than wlw relationships. even and especially friendships. #just an observation. #i hate to say that there is a definite difference between amab vs afab experiences when it comes to relationship dynamics but. #of course there is. there is. as much as i want to say gender and sex do not matter. it really does. #it makes a difference. it does. #which is kind of why i'm glad i was born in the body i was. when people say “trans means you feel you were born in the wrong body” #im like.. i don't think that's true. i don't think that's true for me. #i wouldn't be me if i wasn't born the way i was. and i want to be me. but i'm a boy. i'm a boy but in the body that i have. #my body is still a boy's body. because i live in here. #sorry this went off on a tangent. #but yeah i know my brain would be different if i was amab. and i don't want all those other issues. #i think the only reason i'm so peaceful and serene is because i'm afab. and afabulous. #i see cis guys and im like.. yeah i don't want what you got. #once again! lucky to be me! i'm lucky. im lucky i have a vargooba. thank fuck for that! #couldve been so much worse off. could've been born with a dick and would be fighting for my life right now.

[bylertruther]

el has never been able to kill vecna. she wins the battle by casting him away, but she fails to win the war. he's patient zero for powers, absorbed the powers of all the lab kids, has the upside down and all of its monsters on his side, and has even absorbed her powers.

she's a force to be reckoned with, but she's not stronger than him. not even with the help of everyone fighting together and hitting vecna from every single angle was she able to defeat him. she isn't the cure, she wasn't the right choice, the risk did not pay off, they rolled the die and they came up short, the odds were not on their side, and blahblahblah insert every other phrase that people used in this season alone to defend that choice here.

she fights, but she doesn't come up with plans. she knows him from her childhood, but she doesn't have direct access to his mind. she's brave, and she's strong, and she's powerful, but it's not enough to win on her own in a one-on-one fight.

will knows vecna's plans. he knows how he thinks, what he thinks. he has a direct status update on how he's doing. he's the first to know when something is happening regarding the upside down and vecna. he's familiar with the upside down, with possession, with the man that's eluded them for so long. he has access to invaluable knowledge that no one else does. it's not something that he has to think about—he just knows. and he's never been wrong.

the demogorgons knew where he was, but they never killed him or camped at his house. we know that he was dragged to the library, which is where the rifts collide, instead of being instantly killed like so many other victims. we know that he manipulated the lights in a way that is different to how the teens did it in season four, and that he also managed to make them move in a circle the way that the lab kids did. we know that there was a point in time when vecna wanted to kill everyone but him. we know that there was a time when vecna wanted him and sent in dogs to get him back. time in the upside down is stuck not on the day that el first opened the gate at eight years old, but on the day that will entered it. furthermore, if henry entered the upside down as we know it on that day years ago, then that also means that will was able to shape it to look like hawkins.

dustin rolled an eleven and lost. eleven went against vecna with the help of everyone and lost. the gates opened up and max is now missing. it's a repeat of season one. everyone that told them this was a risky idea and that they weren't ready was right.

meanwhile, mike and will worked together as a team with no daylight between them in season two, and they managed to close the gate and save the world. they failed to do that in season four, because they were keeping things from each other and thus weren't working as a true team. when they finally start being entirely truthful with each other again in season five, we'll undoubtedly see them save the day again.

will told el that they would fix this together. erica subbed for lucas against vecna, rolled a twenty, and won. will was positioned next to a "the cure" poster, is the only person truly aware of vecna, has a greater connection to the upside down than we previously thought and capabilities that we've yet to uncover, cast the winning fireball against their campaign villains before, was associated with the number twenty and one, has beat the odds more than once, is vecna's character foil, and is confirmed to be getting a bigger focus next season.

it's all right there.

#mine #long post #i have made 98304983098409384093940 different iterations of this post but thts just bc i know it to be true. and i can talk abt it forever #and ever and ever bc there's just so many things that become contextualized now with s4 that all point to that direction #even from way back when!!! not just from s4 scenes alone!!! and even with things that the duffers have said!!! #it's not evn pure bias bc i did NOT go into season four thinking tht will was gonna save the day and be The One or whatever #i literally thought he was jus going to be sad and gay again like he was in season three LMAO n i had made peace with tht #i only got that idea after the fact bc it was all there!!!! they ended it with his big revelation!!! they dropped so many hints abt things #that need to be explored that should not be possible!!! i just. HEWWO #will was benched after season two but season five will be his Moment

[finitevariety]

have to say I really loved how Shiv brought up the waiter. Does she give a shit about him, or that Kendall killed him? Nah, not really. Will she weaponise it to appear more moral in the moment? Yeah, absolutely.

It's like she said to Mencken: she's flexible. She LARPed as progressive to get her career in politics and genuinely believed she believed all these things--it's easy to believe you believe nice things, when the shit you actually do care about isn't in conflict with those beliefs. But then she wrangled Gil and Logan into a handshake, and she played her card as a woman to silence a victim--and, by shooting the one with her head above the parapet, many more victims--of institutional sexual abuse. She has even hurt herself by sailing too close to the wind in her girlboss liberal lean-in shit sometimes, with her dinosaur cull comment at Argestes, or with overplaying the hand she thought she had at Tern Haven.

She was viscerally angry at having to take the photo with Mencken, and perhaps angrier still when ATN called the election for him. Not because he's a fascist, although he is, and not because she dislikes him--although she does! She was angry primarily because the photo nuked any chance of a political career for her going forward, and because the call for Mencken hurt her chances with Matsson.

Did she ever make any of that clear in the moment, though? No. She talked about fascism and morals and things do happen, Rome. It is easier to wear that cloak that sometimes helps her--the woman cloak, where she claims to care for the group that she belongs to and steps upon its members at the same time--than it is to admit personal rage or vulnerability. That would be hysterical, and grasping, and not CEO material.

Shiv's relationship with womanhood is like Peter Pan's with his shadow. She used to be able to cast it off, or feel like she could, and now it is sewn in to her very fabric: it's everywhere she fucking walks.

She hates that there is not a play she can make that will separate her from the group of women-who-experience-misogyny. And still she makes use of that group, because it's one of an increasingly limited set of options she has. She was never allowed to gain experience--so she's inexperienced, and implausible, and shut out. It's the treehouse, again, Kendall up there playing king of the fucking castle. Shiv must have spent some holidays like that: Roman might have stayed with his mom in England on shorter breaks from military school, and Shiv was left to snotty, whickering horses and fucking tennis, throwing rocks up at Kendall whenever she saw a limb emerge from a window or doorway.

Anyway, if Shiv can't have the high ground, at least she can try to claim the moral one when it suits her. That's what I see as the context for her jab about Andrew Dodds.

#succession #shiv roy #there's a bigger thing here about like. shuffling through things that are true and using them as the face or reason for a bigger truth #that is less virtuous or more painful to admit #and that's shiv all over too: s1 'we're adults' instead of actually even attempting to talk it out #that WAS her attempting to talk it out #'love is bullshit' and 'box set death march' instead of getting into why she's so afraid of vulnerability #i love shiv so much lol #and also: KENDALL DOES THIS TOO. #fuck the patriarchy! he shouts #playing rape me on the speakers #it just hits differently for obvious reasons and is miles more transparent and manic. #roman is the only one who's not doing the dance

[scintillyyy]

honestly, though. sometimes when the drakes are discussed it does seem a little "oh, they never would never do <insert terrible fanon trait here>, they just <insert a different trait they....also never really did and is actually kind of contradicted by canon? here>"

#honestly i'm usually fairly forgiving about the second because i'm sure i'm guilty of it too lmao #and it's also like. that's usually more of personal intepretation/reading thing which should have different viewpoints #variety is the spice of life and all #& i like defending the drakes AND talking about how they failed #but sometimes the thing that is confidently stated they do instead is something canon directly contradicts. #they never would force feed him something he's allergic to #they would just have super strict expectations of his behavior & not be affectionate #meanwhile the expectations are limited to don't wear a t-shirt to a wedding rehearsal and jack is shown hugging tim like every 5 issues #(and janet is dead and can have no expectations but the only time we see her she's like “you can be whatever you want to be sweetie :)”) #and they are shown having a very iconic outing with him and they treat him nice & want him to have a good time & are very loving #i too want to swing the pendulum the other way but that second one does apply to both good and bad traits lmao #“jack was just trying to get close to his son” well. no he really wasn't. #or “jack never cared about his son & never tried to listen to him” well that's not exactly true either #god i love them. my polarizing flawed family.

[awildofnothing]

Imagining an ending for CR3 where a single instance of true resurrection is on the table and they have a choice between making Laudna un-undead and getting FCG back

#would love even more if it was reincarnation instead #because I would love to see FCG in a different body still grappling with all the existential angst and realizing that’s a big part of life #but idk how realistic it would be mechanically to have only one instance of reincarnation- true rez is much higher cost I think? #cr3 spoilers #critical role spoilers #cr spoilers #critical role #cr3 #I also have wondered this whole campaign- would laudna change her form if given the chance? #like her storyline could go either way- learning to love herself as she is Or saying I want a chance at a diff. life that was taken from me