#this interpretation feels way better like they both actually made their decisions for a reason

[monstertsunami]

OKAY ONE LAST POST ABT THE FINALE. aka: how we almost got petrigrof homura/madoka level timeline fuckery

i had a huge revelation while coping. the final bus stop scene is REALLY important, i have a feeling it was a little more than a visual parallel. golbetty was basically communicating with simon the best she could by hijacking his mind and putting him in situations- the whole bit with casper and nova was her heavyhanded way of explaining to him what shes been thinking about regarding their past . not in a breakup way, not in a "were not good for each other" way, she doesnt regret it. its never been about blaming simon, he was only ever a bystander. shes just telling him how she feels, what would need to change. he realizes this and understands! she takes him to the bus stop and we all know how this goes. he passes the "test" and meets her on equal footing, shes so so happy. and she is SO ready to drag him onto the bus before he stops her. the bus stop is an ultimatum. if he follows her, they potentially both die in the mushroom war. he isnt there to take care of marcy and ooo gets overrun by vampires. every other horrific alternate universe without a simon in ooo could come to fruition if they never pursue the enchiridion. but they could start all over here, with a healthier beginning. they could both be so so happy. betty offers him the chance to go back and fix their mistakes, to study petroglyphs together. but there are no do-overs. not unless youre a god of chaos merged with a woman with a penchant for disrupting time to be with your fiance, that is! i believe this was more than a metaphor, she was 100% ready to pull some timeline bullshit to get a new begining. but this time she lets simon decide if he wants this- a chance he didnt get when she jumped through that time portal so long ago. simon makes his choice: this isnt how it happened. he has people that care for him back in ooo, hes okay with where his life has lead him. he has marcy and finn and everyone else- he doesnt want a do-over. now that hes finally seen betty again hes ready to go back and finally live the life she gave him. shes okay with this. its bittesweet but her wish contract is fulfilled, simons safe now, and she can move on. he chooses to continue his life as it is, and so she chooses to continue hers, wherever her reincarnation leads her, without him for once.

TLDR; the bus stop and the petroglyphs were an offer from betty to pull some timeline bullshit and give them a happy beginning. one last crazy chance to fix EVERYTHING. but its time to end the cycle. its been doomed since the start, and they wouldnt have it any other way.

#schizobabble #fionna and cake #fionna and cake spoilers #f&c spoilers #petrigrof #simon petrikov #betty grof #this is 99% copium #but like. i was so fucked up over the idea that what we got was the only option. she leaves him. thats it. #this interpretation feels way better like they both actually made their decisions for a reason #like there is no way that betty- crazy even without magic i love her for it- would just move on that easily #and simon! his only tether to sanity had been betty! shes the only thought that could offer him comfort in his depression! #giving them another option they didnt take makes their motivation and last meeting make more sense. to me. #pleasee understand that this is literally just me being in denial that the canon ending could ever do them bad. #i need this to make sense to me and be satisfying in the most canon compliant interpretation possible. or ill never recover

[cleromancy]

the fact that preboot jason never found out tim took jason red robin costume once he "got fired" (-tim, only in the privacy of his own head)/"graduated" (-dick, well-meaning)/"got thrown out with the other garbage" (-damian, hilarious)/"left" (-tim out loud, ignoring them both)

the way tim (reliable narrator) was like. yeah this costume is already tainted and i have to be willing to do morally gray things to prove bruce is alive. so thats why im wearing it. because its tainted. this is the most logical course of action and also the only reasonable explanation i retroactively landed on for a decision i already made

tim also having no way of knowing what the universe jason GOT THAT COSTUME IN WAS LIKE OR WHAT BRUCE DID FOR JASON IN THAT UNIVERSE

and its like well MY interpretation is that. yeah of course he wants to take on one of the outcast's identities to bring bruce back. and then of course hes going to just hang it up when bruce comes back because hes going to stop feeling like an outcast just as soon as bruce comes back and everything goes back to normal. This definitely doesnt signify a major change in the status quo or his role in the family (he *is* still family they signed the papers and everything, they gave him the name, it wasnt just pity its real hes still family he *is*, he hasn't been cast out, he *hasnt*) or his priorities or-- its temporary. when bruce comes back everything is going to be better and he wont need this suit anymore and hes going to hang it up just as soon as he stops feeling this way and everything is going to be fine.

smash cut to bruce upon his return doling out one (1) hug and immediately fucking off on a globe trotting vanity project and Tim just left staring after him like Oh. okay

(and like bruce was never like. going to be able to magically fix anything even if he *had* any interest in doing so. this was not a reasonable expectation tim had. some of the shit tim is losing his absolute marbles over does not actually even *need* to be "fixed." to be excessively clear.)

anyway i think jason "do you really think youre that good" "so work *with* me" "join me. be my robin" todd deserved the chance to really gleefully dig his fingers into every single one of those sore spots. GO FOR IT JASON. MAKE HIM WORSE

also like. god battle for the cowl was so unserious on every possible level but can you imagine if dick at the time had been like "i still cant figure out how he GOT OUT OF PRISON. he used the jla codes! how did he even get those!" and tim (guy who gave jason the fucking codes in robin 182) was just like

yeah. weird

#can you imagine wjat if those comics had been good. much to fucking think about #jaytim #dc #timothy jackson goodtimes drake #rambles #text #jaytim text #tim text

[sukifoof]

Can you elaborate on your interpretation of Flowey's ability to SAVE as a metaphor for trauma?

hi meant to answer this when u first sent it But things were busy and i also have So Many Thoughts SO prepare for my flowey rambling!! i might go a little more into depth about grief and the specific kind of grief flowey has so just be cautious if thats triggering at all

anyway the thing that stands out about saving to me most is that it's linked to control. the person saving has the choice to go back, or repeat everything however many times they like, or just move on and let things play out. flowey himself mentions he knows that power, that was the power we were trying to stop-- when given that sense of control people are bound to uhhh Not Have A Great Time! and it really reminds me of what ptsd and survivors guilt is like to deal with; the idea that somehow you could have stopped it or that only if you did this certain thing you could have saved someone or yourself so much trouble. flowey's ability to sa ve is grown from this belief that if only he made the right choice everything would have been fine, and a need for control for when he might have to make such a decision again in the future

he even says himself that he could have stopped whenever! just let everything go on. but he can't, at least he can't emotionally take something like that. flowey can't move on because of his need for control and stability in a world where he's trapped himself. it's like... a lot of times people who are in a bad state of mind subconsciously don't want to get better, because they're used to feeling the way they are. it's scary to move on and change because sometimes feeling so sad all the time feels like it Must be You, and then who are you if you're happy? there's also flowey's guilt, where he's probably questioning if he even has the right to be happy if chara is gone. especially when he clearly blames himself for what happened to chara. so he'd rather sit here in a world where he's in control and bored because at least he knows what's coming. people are predictable, but it offers him some weird stability

the other thing that really gets me about his ability to save is that he can only go back to waking up as a flower. at this point, chara is already gone, and he can't go back to being "asriel". it feels like... no matter how much he thinks about chara, who they were and their death and his inability to keep them from dying and how they filled their water to the top of the glass, he can't go back. he can reset everything all he wants, but he can't go back to before chara died. and adding onto that, wanting to return ends up idolizing chara in his brain. who knows if he even still thinks of them as they actually were. it's part of the reason why no one feels real to him. he has this distinct disconnect with himself and others because he needs to be in control and know everything, while with chara he felt they were "special". that they're the only one that could possibly understand.

and it makes sense that he feels that way! the only person who experienced his trauma was chara. he has an emotional wall up because the underground can't truly understand what he's feeling. no one feels real to him both because of this emotional wall but also because he's convinced himself that he's in control, that he knows exactly how things are going to go. he has this superiority and inferiority to others and a terrible savior complex because of his trauma, and it shows itself in his ability to save. it's like... he feels so trapped and out of control that he's desperately trying to hold onto any sense of control he can get but he doesn't realize how much his refusal to let go and heal is hurting him.

gonna talk about grief when it comes to suicide specifically here so WATCH OUT!!!! okay i have warned u all i am going to talk about it now. feel free to leave if it may be triggering i am begging u to not put urself through triggering bullshit <3

anyway i think the fact that chara took themself out and asriel felt like he couldn't tell anyone because this was for the sake of freeing everyone is really. that's the nail in the coffin. the heart of his control issues. i feel it might be a bit difficult to understand if someone hasn't gone through that grief themselves, but when someone you've known and loved has told you of a plan to get rid of themselves for the sake of everyone else, it leaves you feeling helpless. after all, if someone plans to do it, they will do it. you can't control that no matter how much you might want to. the fact that he lived through that-- that he couldn't stop chara, that he couldn't save anyone not even himself, that he might have made the wrong choice-- that's the thing that's eating at him. he constantly talks about how If Only Someone Made The Right Choice Everything Could Have Been Prevented. he's taken up chara's death unto himself. if only he did the right thing, then maybe chara would be here. but that's not how it works. chara was their own person, but asriel doesn't know how to be his own person.

that's why him saying he doesn't regret his choice anymore after so much time is so important!! it's him finally accepting that he needs to let go of chara and start living for himself. so his ability to save and finally letting go of his ability to save is so important to his trauma and cycle of self hatred. that's why he begs us to let frisk go. he knows what it's like to live through that cycle. the ability to save can be a metaphor for plenty of things but i think with flowey specifically it's an incredibly well written way of establishing what trauma feels like and the need to be in control after feeling so out of control of everything during the event. i hope that my deranged rambling makes any amount of sense cuz i think about this so very much

flowey is such an important character to me cuz he's really helped me analyze my own process of thinking while dealing with that kind of grief and it's kinda helped me come to terms with what happened. i love flowey sooo very much i really hope we get to see him more in the newsletter stuff cuz i neeeeed to see him being happy and living his life after his trauma i love the fact that he has a ribbon from papyrus cuz hes finally living for himself and his friendships and i am GOING to CRY !!!!

#undertale #utdr #flowey #asriel dreemurr #asriel #utdr analysis

[duchessofostergotlands]

just listened to the pod and although i agree the william doesn’t HATE women’s football, a lot of your arguments relied on “whataboutism”…. like sure the late queen or charles didn’t go to support their patron sports team, or the prime minister didn’t go either, but that doesn’t absolve william. you downplay the importance of his attendance but also stated he’s the reason you even know about some female players. but anyway, i also think he should definitely step down from the FA presidency - it involves too much passion for a “neutral” figure head

I can understand why you've interpreted it that way - to the point where I already had most of this answer prepared in my drafts - but it's inaccurate. I can only speak for the things I said in that episode so if you have a problem with something Grace said you can talk to her (she'd be happy to argue with you and tbh I think it's pretty telling about your view that you chose me to message and not Grace...) but that segment of the episode has two parts:

Why I don't think it's a big deal William didn't go and

Why I'm upset by the general narrative from the public and press

There were only two reasons I didn't think it was a big deal that William didn't go. I can show you my notes if you refuse to believe me.

The work he does for the England WNT and the men's national team is not drastically different now. It's not the same situation as it was in 2022 when William had done absolutely fuck all for women's sport and we both criticised him extensively. The players themselves have spoken repeatedly about the support and engagement they feel from him and

It's Australia. It's 10,000 fucking miles away. Spending tax payer money (from all four nations of the UK) to send a leader in climate change to Australia for what is effectively 5 minutes of work celebrating England is frankly absurd and I genuinely cannot fathom why anyone ever thought he'd go. Especially as it risks inflaming tensions given no one has been to Australia since the change of reign. If you listen back - I don't know, maybe you skipped over this bit, maybe you chose to disregard it - I clearly state that the problem wasn't that William didn't go to Australia it was that he didn't prepare for the fact he wasn't going to Australia. We both stated that he should have done more to support the team but he should have done it from home.

So if you can tell me where the whataboutism is there that would be grand as those were the only two arguments I made.

The rest was about the general narrative - as I said in the episode - and has no impact on my standpoint on William's decision in any way. It wasn't about William at all from my perspective, and what I said was entirely about the undercurrent of bigotry in the criticism of William. I am a Scottish woman and I don't think it's wrong that I find it upsetting when people believe English women matter more than anyone else. See the disparity in the reaction to William not going to Australia vs the reaction when Welsh people spoke about his lack of support for their team. At least he actually wanted the English women to win!! Whether you care or not, it is a problem that William got crucified for not going to Australia, and yet Welsh or Scottish people (and tons of other groups) get crucified for just politely asking for him not to want us to lose. In the course of a conversation about football and the public reaction to inequality in William's support, it is natural that a Scottish woman would mention the fact that the public and the press have shown nothing but bigotry towards us for the entire 17 years William has been President of the FA. It's natural that I would mention that even if William's support for the English women's team could be better, the public and the press treat the English women's team a million times better than they treat the Scottish or Welsh or Australian women's teams. If now isn't a good time to discuss it because it's "whataboutism" but every other day of the year is also not a good time to discuss it because it'll lead to a public hate campaign by the press and the public, when exactly is the right time?

So I don't consider it whataboutism because I was not saying that William's choice was any better or worse as a result of my point. I consider it a related conversation about my personal issues with the fact that people are claiming on social media to be holier than thou because of their standpoint in this while at best deliberately ignoring and at worst actively celebrating other, worse, forms of inequality. If you consider that whataboutism I truly don't care, because I'm right.

#also we very very very clearly stated that the conversation about the queen was in response to people claiming she would have gone #we didn't bring it up at random #ask #dianawonder #prince william #british royal family #on heir #on heir podcast #the fact i'm genuinely scared to post this because of the hate i could get #but no one was afraid to post that william was wrong to not go to australia #tells you everything

[snicketstrange]

I really love your theories about Beatrice surviving the Baudelaire fire and Lemony being the biological father of all 3 Baudelaire siblings rather than just Violet. I never considered that interpretation of the events described in the story related to Lemony and Beatrice, but I think it's very interesting to think about, because I feel like it adds a lot of layers to Lemony's motivation for writing the books. What I want to ask is, why do you think Lemony never tried to reach out to the Baudelaires after he was finished writing the books (other than the fact that he lost track of where they were and that he might have had a reason to believe they died since their boat, The Beatrice, was destroyed)? I see it as his guilt for being partially responsible for what the Baudelaires had to go through and his decision that they would be better off not knowing that he was actually their father (maybe also a bit of guilt related to Bertrand?)

Great questions. I think it's important to highlight something about this in TBBRE. "Tomorrow afternoon, the semi-retired amateur geologist has promised to put me in touch with current members of the F.F.P. so I can determine if there is any truth to the rumor that Violet Baudelaire came into contact with them on her way to Briny Beach for the third time. Interested parties might turn to Book the Thirteenth, assuming I live to write such a book." Lemony actually looked for more information about the Baudelaires. He actually tried to follow their trail. Everything indicates that either he couldn't do it, or he thought it was better to pretend he couldn't do it. I would bet on the second case.

There is a picture of the boat Beatrice, which is apparently a "photograph" of where the boat sank. If it is a photograph, there is strong evidence of manipulation of the location to make it appear as if the Baudelaires had died.

Notice Violet's bow. What are the chances that this bow came out of her hair (note the bow is in a knot, so it was tied) and landed delicately in a barrel? Where did that barrel come from in the first place? Klaus' glasses: what are the chances that the glasses came off Claus's face and landed on a string? And finally, Sunny's kitchen appliance: why would it be tied with a rope? And what are the chances that this rope, on its own, made several turns around a piece of wood? Fourth evidence: seagulls: they are birds typical of regions close to the beach, not deep waters. For me, this scenario was set up to fake the death of the Baudelaires.

After that, in times another significant image:

Both images are on TBL posters. From what is written in TBL, I can guarantee that this cave is a hideout for Lemony. Note that Lemony Snicket found that scene, and took photographs of strange features and was studying them. He must have come to the same conclusion as me: the Baudelaires faked their own deaths. I think when he realized this, he stopped publishing the books. But that doesn't mean he actually gave up on finding them.

#asoue theory

[onigiri-dorkk]

Some Erwin, Levi and Armin thoughts/analysis after rewatching S3!

This watch-through of AOT has been sooo fun for so many reasons!! I'm excited for 3/3 and having new animated content to indulge together.

This time, I feel like Erwin stood out to me the most as a character. I had this realization that he is very much like Shigure Sohma of Fruits Basket -- both Erwin and Shigure are characters who are seen as 'good' because they do all the things to help others and better them... However, we find out that all that they've done for others was really just motivated by their own selfish and childish desire of attaining the thing they wanted. For Shigure, it was Akito. For Erwin, it was learning the truth. And because of this, it almost clouds the good things they've done for others, making them teeter between being inherently 'good' or 'bad' characters.

Erwin was the Commander of the Scouts -- the one who would always lead people to victory or to advancement (in truth, in strength, etc). People trusted him, saw that he was special, and they said yes to literally everything he would suggest or plan because they trusted that he was doing all things for the sake of humanity. Even Levi devoutly followed Erwin because of this. Erwin simply used this mask of 'Commander for Humanity' to do whatever the hell he wanted in order to advance himself to the truth that his father died for.

Because of this facade, throughout the entire series we only ever see him operating as a Commander -- all of his actions, mannerisms, words, decisions are made and done as a Commander in authority. Literally we never see him just... live or operate as a human. Of course, it is a time of war so there isn't much time to see any of them operate that way, but at least with the Scouts, Hange, Levi, etc. we still get some scenes of them just sitting and having meals or drinking tea, etc. Erwin though? Zero. It's like he was so fixated on his dreams, and the reliance of utilizing his identity as the Commander, that he never let his guard down and never let himself just be human.

When Levi and Scouts found out Titans were just humans, Levi was distraught that he'd been killing humans. When Erwin found out, though, he smiled with excitement 1) emphasizing how much he didn't care totally about humanity, since they really were killing humans and 2) also emphasizing his desire for truth, even if those truths were, well, terrible. It was that moment of Levi asking Erwin why he was smiling that started the trajectory of Levi realizing Erwin, the man he had been following and obeying for years, was never really fighting for humanity at all.

Then, the scene in Erwin's office when Levi threatens him to stay back for the mission -- Levi asks, "Is it more important to you than the survival of humanity?" And Erwin says yes -- you can feel the disappointment and almost anger that Levi had towards Erwin, like he'd been deceived this whole time. After this scene is when Levi goes into the mess hall and beats up Eren and Jean fighting (lol). They say that it was actually Levi's pent up anger about Erwin that made him beat them up.

Then it's followed by Levi sitting on the ground (which, tbh!!! I can't imagine Levi willingly sitting on the ground unless it's swept and bleached LOL) overhearing Eren, Mikasa and Armin's conversation. This is interesting because there's some supplementary material that suggests Levi had meals etc with Erwin -- however you interpret that (shipper or not) they were indeed close, so it goes to show how angry/disappointed Levi must have been to have chosen to sit alone and away from people at that moment.

And of course, the classic Armin scene where he's raving about the sea. Like Erwin, Armin had a dream of seeking if something he had heard from his parents was really true. The only difference is that Armin was genuine about it; he had been willing from the start to let go of his dream which was further exemplified in "Hero" where HE himself chooses to give up his dream so that Eren can live that dream for him -- whereas Levi technically had to be the one to tell Erwin to give up on his dreams and die. Armin wanted to bring others along with his dream: he shared his dream to Eren and Mikasa, and he wanted to see the sea with Eren and Mikasa. Erwin kept it all to himself, only wanting the truth for the sake of himself -- and only revealing his dream when he was about to die.

For Levi to overhear the EMA conversation about the sea was so timely. If Levi hadn't had that telling conversation with Erwin that revealed Erwin's false and disappointing leadership, Levi wouldn't have angrily sat outside to overhear Armin talking about the sea, and then Levi would not have considered choosing Armin over Erwin in the end.

That said, it would have been suuuuper interesting to see Erwin survive. I used to think Erwin would have been part of the Jaegerists, but now that I really stop to think of it, with how obsessed he was about discovering truth, I am actually confident he would have been against Eren's Rumbling, which would destroy the very outside world he had lived his entire life trying to find out about.

Personally, the moment Erwin would have read Grisha's books about the outside world, part of me head canons that Erwin would have tried to escape Paradis Island. Or maybe when they'd all go to Marley, he'd disappear to live in the outside world.

Anyway, wow this was a lot more than I expected to write about LOL but just thought I'd give some Erwin appreciation! I was really taken by his character in this 312903801283th watch-through of AOT!

#attack on titan #aot #shingeki no kyojin #shingeki #erwin smith #commander erwin #aot analysis #onigirianalyzes #levi #Levi ackerman #captain levi #armin #armin arlelt

[raincitygirl76]

I’m beginning to think Tumblr is the website for normal, non-insane internet people. Which is bizarre, because I’ve met some real eccentrics on Tumblr.

I was discussing Young Royals on a different platform, and came across someone who was convinced Simon had lied to Linda about the bullying Sara endured at Marieberg. Apparently Simon minimized it all to make Linda feel better about her terrible parenting, and to think Sara was lying about being bullied. I found that a remarkable assertion, and asked them about it. They had based this entire elaborate theory on a few lines of dialogue from one scene in episode 1.01. Their interpretation of that scene was not my interpretation.

But they were passionately defending Sara, and convinced she had excellent reasons for all her morally dubious decisions across both seasons, because Simon is a toxic brother. They didn’t directly SAY Simon deserved for Sara to ally herself with the sex offender who posted child pornography of him, but it was heavily implied that he had it coming for all the times he’d made his sister’s life hell. At which point I backed away slowly and disengaged.

I’m not saying Simon is an angel. He clearly isn’t, or August wouldn’t have had blackmail material on him in 2.06. And the Eriksson family dynamic is definitely dysfunctional. Simon isn’t a perfect brother. But this idea that he actively worked to conceal the extent of Sara’s bullying at Marieberg from Linda, just to stop Linda from feeling bad, it’s not based on anything in the text.

In any event, even if Simon HAD repeatedly told Linda not to worry about Sara getting bullied, Sara was just exaggerating (which I doubt he did), it clearly didn’t work. Sara was so scared of her bullies she stopped going to school for so long that she had to repeat a year. There is NO way Linda, as the custodial parent, could have been unaware either of the extent to which her daughter was being bullied, or that she had to repeat a year of school as a result of repeated absences. It’s absurd.

Linda is a flawed parent, and both she and Simon make plenty of mistakes in their interactions with Sara. It’s hardly surprising Sara feels like a third wheel in her family sometimes. But August is a SEX OFFENDER who victimized Sara’s little brother. Demonizing Simon doesn’t actually make Sara’s decision to ally herself with August any more morally defensible.

But rather than continue to argue with this passionate Sara fan on the other platform, I’m bitching about them behind their back on Tumblr. Childish, but probably better than getting into a heated argument with someone who will never accept that Sara is anything but a victim of her malicious, cruel mother and brother.

It’s okay to like a character who is flawed, and makes bad decisions. Simon dealt drugs, Wille has made so many bad decisions that threatening his cousin with a deadly weapon is only the worst of them. Even my darling Felice is a kleptomaniac, on her own admission. But demonizing other characters on flimsy evidence to justify bad decisions taken by your favourite character, it’s just silly.

Not to mention that Sara herself, in 2.06, seems to finally realize that by repeatedly protecting August, she has done a great moral injury to her brother. Also that August wasn’t worthy of her faith in him. So this Sara fan is justifying Sara’s actions in a way even Sara herself is no longer trying to do in canon.

There are crazy people on the internet. Even crazier than me. Which takes some doing.

[bionicbore]

Y’know I kinda wanna elaborate on the HC I mentioned, where I said that if Donald hadn’t found out what Douglas was doing and intervened, Douglas would’ve eventually cracked and fessed up

Mostly I wanna elaborate that he wouldn’t have fessed up because of ethical guilt (though I do think he may have something somewhere inside him that would give a damn about ethics. He did seem pretty excited to do good things after all) but more because he’s got the emotional strength of a wet tissue and would feel personal guilt after getting so attached

I’m gonna put most of it under a cut ‘cause it turned into a full on Douglas study I guess

Like... obviously I’m prefacing this with it being my own interpretation of the guy, but Douglas was a pretty emotional dude in the show. His entire redemption was rooted in his emotional attachment to his family. His morals never 100% improved, and the growth we did see was almost entirely motivated by “My family won’t like me if I’m a bad guy :(”

And while he’s not a particularly GOOD dad, he is a dad. Literally every kid Douglas gets more than 2 minutes of screen time with, he goes into some kind of Dad Mode

So, the way I see it, I don’t think Douglas would’ve lasted if he got to keep the Rats for longer than he did. It’s never actually said how old the kids were when Donald found out, but they couldn’t have been older than like... 3? Tops? Possibly even younger, technically. If Douglas actually got to watch those kids grow up in whatever messed up environment he had them in to keep them hidden (Which, I’ll be honest- based on comparing the brothers’ lab quality, was probably a worse environment than Donald’s lab) I don’t think he would’ve been able to commit. Not with the original trio, anyway

ALSO. I wanna bring up Donald, ‘cause he’s also a factor in of himself

Yeah, the brothers fight a lot, and did fight a lot. But I think it’s worth remembering that despite that, these two founded a company together. They invented things together. They work together seamlessly when they get in the zone. Douglas, despite all the animosity, was ecstatic at the prospect of getting to work alongside his brother again, and was genuinely sad when Donald didn’t feel the same, but chose not to fight Donald’s decision

Douglas cares what Donald thinks of him, and I bet he cared a lot more before Donald discovered what was happening and made his own judgement call. The two of them had to have been incredibly close, and that probably would’ve weighed on Douglas, too

But Donald found out on his own, and he didn’t waste time. He saw the children, he saw the conditions, the plans, the schematics. There was absolutely no way to rationalize what was happening here, Donald had to get these kids out and away. His little brother was using their assets to make deals with terrorists regarding the creation of bioweapons in the form of children

And Douglas was left ghosted by the most consistent presence in his life for the past 20+ years, locked out of the company he helped build from nothing, and separated from these kids who have also been a consistent presence in his life for entirely different reasons

And Douglas is notorious for deflecting and pushing back when someone else decides that he’s in the wrong. All that potential turmoil means the time between Donald finding out and Douglas “dying” was probably like. Intense. To put it mildly

All this to say: Douglas is still a DICK lmao and the point of this post is NOT to be like “Douglas deserved better” or even “Donald is to blame.” It’s more about how Douglas is a notably emotion-driven character and how it affects his dynamics and actions, both positive and negative

It’s also my favorite kind of angst- where technically, things could have turned out okay, or at least better than they did, if everyone involved hadn’t been such a mess

#Lab Rats #Douglas Davenport #I'm only tagging Douglas 'cause he's the focal point but Donald does get a fair bit here #Anyway Douglas fascinates me 'cause like. I definitely don't want him or his actions to be underplayed #Like it really doesn't matter if he wouldn't have gone through with it. Especially not at the time everything happened #The fact that he got as far as he did is damning enough #But also he is SO pitiful and his emotional reliance on others is interesting #Especially in contrast to how nonchalant he tends to act #He's perfect for exploring how consequences effect someone #Which is why I draw him with such tired eyes and like to write him being Fucking Miserable #And I'll say it. Dude was a SOFTIE in the actual show #Seriously- in no particular order: #He made Chase some good soup. He went above and beyond to save Leo's arm. He gave every Rat a new ability for various reasons #He stood up for various kids on numerous occasions. He cried when Leo became an instructor #He saved a stray dog. He put a kid up for adoption to keep him safe. #He encouraged his robot son's passion for drama club. He actively helped Donald with the indestructible car #Look me in the eye. Make direct eye contact with me and tell me #That this man could raise 3 flesh and blood children from infancy #And simply pawn them off as disposable weaponry #You cannot convince me. Douglas Davenport is too pathetic to commit to that bit #He's willing to kill a kid but that goes out the fucking window if he spends more than 1 non-hostile hour with said kid #He acts like he hates his brother's guts but will literally drop it the minute Donald's nice to him in any capacity #... See now I went and wrote TWO essays #Kill me

[simmyfrobby]

I have to ask have you ever considered the Matthew & Jesus dichotomy for Marchand & Bergeron bc you get both the reviled apostle (tax collector/resident ice pest) & the worshipped savior (Bergeron the same in every interpretation) + Matthew (along with other apostles) took on some of Jesus's role after his death to spread the gospel (to be a good leader? What does it mean to inherit Bergeron's legacy) - this being a much more obnoxiously optimistic approach to both Marchand + Bergeron and the post-Bergeron bruins ofc

Okay so first of all this is a much kinder interpretation of Marchand so I actually really like it. It still touches on a lot of the same notes (saint/sinner, love, devotion, loss, legacy) without having to deal with the betrayal. Excellent take. Thank you for sharing it!

"Bergeron the same in every interpretation" made me feel so !!!!!!!!!!! and also it reminded me of this:

(Last Days of Judas Iscariot.. again)

Now here comes my defence of Judas as Marchand

(.. again)

(I'm sorry)

(I love talking about it)

So part of the reason Judas is an easier fit than St. Matthew is because there is just so much more written about him in terms of poetry

(and theatre, which I assume from your ask you've already read my other post about so I won't repeat all that)

Here's a few of my favourite Judas lines:

To: Judas Iscariot, Thérèse Naccarato

"Damned to hell, damned in verse, damned to an eternity without him."

The Sacrifice, Frank Bidart

"Wiping away our sins, Christ stained us with his blood—; 

to offer yourself, yet need betrayal, by Judas, before SHOULDERING 

THE GUILT OF THE WORLD—; 

… Give me the courage not to need Judas."

The Judas Passion, Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment

"I was called to sin-as-virtue, to virtue-as-sin… of course with a kiss: kiss of repentance, kiss of inexpressible sorrow"

Sadly there are less poems about the other saints/disciples. I did initially look into St. Peter (Jesus washing his feet, Peter cutting off someones ear in the Garden of Gethsemane), but I ultimately found it less compelling than the Judas narrative.

(the three acts of denial killed it. Marchy never shuts up about Bergeron, actually)

It's just.. the DRAMA of it all. BETRAYAL WITH A KISS. Killing the one person you love more than anyone in the world. This idea of Judas, who is universally seen to be the worst person in the whole entire world, just being so Human and Flawed and wonderfully relatable. Judas' REGRET after the fact when its already too late!!

It's just so !!!!!!!!!!!

There's doomed by the narrative and then there's damned by the narrative.

(somewhere on this app there is a post about how as a kid who grew up Different, seeing monstrous and unloved things makes you go: "but what if I loved them. what if they were secretly good. just misunderstood. what if I gave them a hug." and so maybe there's an element of that in there too)

Marchand's narrative arch needs some violence and some villainy and awfulness and questionable decisions I'm afraid (said with love). It is important to me that Judas' crime occurs AFTER he's gotten to know Jesus. It is not a Part Of His Life Before. One of my favourite things about the Bergeron / Marchand dynamic is that Bergeron sees Marchand exactly for who he is - good and bad - and loves him anyway. He doesn't try to change any part of him. That's love baybey!

Also Marchand fighting anyone who even looks at Bergeron funny?? Where is that post that goes: it my fault my love language is acts of service and all I know how to do is kill?

But ok sorry for rambling. Back to your ask: the retirement point you bring up is something I've been playing with as well. I'll post the first draft of this poetry post because the original poem was actually a LOT MORE BLASPHEMOUS, but it also does a better job explaining the parallels between the narratives..

Full poem can be found here.

It's just.. casting Marchand as Judas and Bergeron as Jesus doesn't just change the way I look at their dynamic, it also changes the way interpret the Bible story. OF COURSE THEY LOVED EACH OTHER. Because look: Bergeron and Marchand love each other.

#Im sorry #you asked about Matthew and I made it about Judas again #BUT THE NARRATIVE!!!! #AND THE POETRY!!! #AND THE ART!!!! #you are right though. Matthew would be a good fit I just love drama #thank you for the ask <3 #it speaks #I should make a judas tag at some point probably #brad marchand #patrice bergeron #tw: blasphemy #judas tag #poetry post meta

[pinkprimrose05]

Yugo for the ask meme?

Banana boy! The idiot! The silly himself! Took me too damn long to get to this, but better late than never, I think. Here you go!

Favorite thing about them: If I had to put it in one word, that'd be tenacity. As Yuugo himself put it, he doesn't even know what giving up means, no matter what sort of adversity he faces. This persistence is honestly admirable for someone who grew up in an environment that relentlessly pushed him down at each and every turn, and it's a quality I strongly respect.

Shoutout to his baby vibes, though. Yuugo is precious and must be protected at all costs (even if I know he can damn well protect himself).

Least favorite thing about them: Yuugo's single-minded approach to things is usually endearing, but sometimes it can be rather frustrating. One such example is choosing to duel Yuuri as payback for kidnapping Rin... instead of -you know- going back to find Rin himself? I struggle to even justify that by way of magical fuckery, because as far as was shown, Yuugo was very much himself when he made that decision.

*sigh*

Favorite line: Would it be cheating the question if I say too many to count? Because it's true. This boy says the dumbest things sometimes, but he also has his sweet moments and I love every single one of those. That said, Clear Wing's summon chant deserves an honorary mention. I think it's very neat.

brOTP: Imma throw a curveball and say Yuuya. I was always intrigued by the idea of possible interactions between the two, and the interactions we got in Yuugo's Duel Links event did not disappoint at all!

I just think they're very neat together. They're both adorkable idiots who can't seem to hold the braincell right, and the small differences between them only make the dynamic more interesting. They're also a lot more perceptive than they might let on, and I think that'd lend itself well to interactions where one of the two is feeling down. I'd love to see more of these sillies together, honestly. Please let them tag together sometime.

OTP: I kid you not when I say my primary reason for shipping him with Rin is because of the ship name pun (Ringo is literally just apple in Japanese), BUT! I've come to appreciate it a lot more overtime, because it's actually pretty interesting for a cliché ship dynamic if you squint hard enough. There's a lot of ways to interpret their relationship, and a fair amount of room for emotional growth on both sides too. I think it's nice, but alas, we never really got much of it onscreen.

(That's what fanwork is for, though!)

nOTP: I don't know chief, I just don't see what's there to ship in his and Yuzu's friendship. I guess it does offer the interesting concept where they're both trying to cope with the loss of their loved one through the other, but that just.... sort of rubs me the wrong way. I see them as great friends, but nothing past that at all.

Random headcanon: I think we can all agree that Yuugo's entire demeanor just screams ADHD. Strong hyperfixation on one interest? Check. A tendency to ramble at the smallest prompt? Check. A general inability to just hold still? Check. A crippling case of constant airheadedness? Check!

He and Yuuri invented ADHD/Autism solidarity in the ARC-Verse.

Unpopular opinion: Not sure if this really classifies, but I actually really like how they handled the "Fusion" joke in the EN dub. Seeing them try and pull a new wordplay every time is mildly amusing at worst and downright hilarious at best, and my personal favorite is the one where he says his name and the Obelisk Force reply with "Yugo? You go where?"

Song i associate with them: Seeing as I've been pretty much living under a rock when it comes to actual popular songs and not obscure lyricless tracks, I'm afraid to say my limited song collection has nothing that quite fits. However, his Duel Links theme is a certified banger and I'm so glad they went with such an amazing, completely original track for the boi, because it actually goes so hard wtf-

Favorite picture of them:

Look at this silly boy. This goofy lil kiddo. Precious sunshine child. I wanna squish him in the sweetest hug ever and never let go. Yuugo deserves all the good things and I love him so so much.

#yugioh #yugioh arc v #yugo (arc v) #asks #baby boy. baby #banana child my beloved #tysm for the ask gyppy

[onewomancitadel]

Given the theme of controlling magical powers and the control of magical lineage (the whole thing with Ozpin priming a Maiden successor, Ironwood imitating this) effectively subverting 'the point' of the powers (organic gifts, self-determining, non-gameified) both in-universe and narratively, I think it is an organic conclusion to assume that this was true of the silver eyes. Effectively 'breeding' more warriors (which... gets borderline eugenicist quickly, but that's not really the thing R/WBY would be interested in; it's more the gameification of the power against its actual intended purpose) in the same way that Salem took to simply culling them and later turning them into her pet alchemical subjects.

Actually, that Salem took that approach at all is quite telling; it's the sort of thing you sit there asking, 'Hey, why didn't the bad guy just do x?' when you're not reading the narrative really correctly, but it is intentionally doing something thematically. If Ozpin and Salem have both got it wrong in the same way, then clearly someone else needs a better answer, and it's not simply going to be 'fixed' by doing it his way.

Which is why I think Summer had Ruby to pass on the silver eyes. Summer is the 'failed' heroine (who is a source of inspiration and then disillusionment for Ruby, so that she might grow beyond it) and team STRQ were - well, Raven literally said as much - the team R/WBY of their generation. So I think it is absolutely very likely that in the way that team STRQ failed - includes a failure to ever fix this relationship to magical powers in the story. Of course, it's not like Summer didn't end up loving Ruby (or Yang by extension); the idea here is that she couldn't resist that, and that's part of the conflict. How could Summer stay with her baby, whom she's condemned to being a silver-eyed warrior, when there's Salem to fight? And that was the very reason she had one at all? That is like, actually meaty conflict. Summer having a child borne of ostensibly practical purpose in contrast to Raven's borne of love, where both of them wrestled with it and made different decisions, is actually really interesting. Even more interesting that I was right Raven knew of Summer's disappearance. They both each had to contend with the reality of motherhood in the face of Salem.

As I have gestured to this interpretation in the past, this explains the slightly weird dynamic of team STRQ - and obviously with Volume 9, this explains the implication of subterfuge with Summer's relationship to Tai. Because I do think there is more to Summer on this front, and it wasn't a storybook romance. I'm not trying to say it 'wasn't' real, but we've already been shown it has more tooth to it than at first glance. I also personally think it's fucking weird Tai had a kid with both Raven and Summer, and this feels like the only explanation (rebound and SEW progeny and subterfuge) which tonally fixes it. If it's 'shitty romance with Raven, then pure amazing tragic romance with Summer' it's just... not very interesting to me, both in giving complexity to Raven ('complicated') and to Summer (more than a Madonna). That the emotional dynamics of team STRQ are a total mess is also probably to do with their general protagonist failure shenanigans (Tai and Qrow visibly don't seem to get along much anymore; Qrow and Raven have ostensibly denounced each other; Raven and Summer had a peculiar rapport; etc.) and at least team R/WBY is keeping it relatively straightforward in that department.

But also that Summer's love for Ruby is partly what drives Ruby's power altogether is part of the ironic answer here. It was never purely about having kids to pass on the powers; it is about something deeper and more emotional than that because the power is symbolic. This higher awareness, I want to say, that the characters have of these powers, and the narrative consequences of that, are explicitly being unpacked and redeemed. This is basically the answer to people who write bad theories on Reddit which ignore narrative logic lol.

If Summer really is a Grimm-human abomination still, then the cure - Ruby's silver eyes - will be Ruby recognising and loving her mother, not the mere lineage of the silver eyes. She can't just use them like laserbeams to kill evil monsters. So, in a way, there is an ironic balm to Summer's intentions to pass on the powers. Because her daughter loves her (and forgives her).

I think that this is equally true of the Maiden powers - in that it is never strictly about 'who's the next Maiden?' game that people want to play, that characters like Ozpin and Ironwood literally play and handpick the successor. So we've seen this before, and we'll continue to see it. It's quite telling that Ruby and Cinder both have the potential to redeem (or have begun to redeem) these ideas.

#and set my teeth in the silver of the moon #mother maiden crone

[denimini]

If I would have to guess where Jimin and Jungkook are standing with each other right now I would say exes that are back to being friends but still have feelings for each other that they both agreed to not act on for whatever reason. Like a lot of people I think they were a couple, in my opinion starting from sometime 2017 up until early 2022. (Although I think they started to be intimate with each other before 2017.) They broke up though and like the other anon said I think the first drastic change was Jungkook moving out of their probably shared apartment in early 2021. Obviously we don't know for sure but all things point to them living together in 2020. We know now that Jimin was in a really dark place back then, so if Jungkook was his boyfriend at that time, it makes sense to me that he would want to be around him most of the time to make sure he's ok. Maybe they did notice though that living together doesn't work for them, so Jungkook moved out. And while they were ok after that, I personally think there was something off with them in mid 2021 too. It seems like whatever was off was temporal resolved because during the end of 2021 they acted like teenager who just started dating. Especially Jimin. With all that blushing and being shy around Jungkook. Obviously whatever this was, it wasn't there to stay. And they definitely made a hard cut in early 2022. No other explanation for them being completely out of each other's lives so suddenly. I think their break up was a mutual decision but not without hurt feelings. But which break up doesn't hurt at least a tiny bit? So they distanced themselves from each other. Suddenly we saw Jimin spending more time with Hoseok and Yoongi, something he didn't do for years. And Jungkook suddenly was very close to Taehyung again, again something that wasn't the case since 2018. I think it's very possible that Taehyung hooked Jungkook up with a friend of Jennie's. It wouldn't surprise me. And I think this could very well be the reason for Jimin and Taehyung being distant to this date. Jungkook started to miss Jimin though, it seems. And yes, maybe he wanted to get Jimin's attention again which is why he did all the very Jimin centric lives. And he definitely lit up like a Christmas tree whenever Jimin commented on his lives. Jimin though was way more cautious. You could still tell how much he cared about Jungkook but in my opinion Jimin protected himself and his heart by still keeping Jungkook at an arm's length. And the way he continously answered questions about Jungkook but only to tell us how they didn't see each other? He could've easily ignored the Jungkook questions. But he didn't for some reason. So why? Why did he feel the need to clarify that despite Jungkook's numerous invites he didn't "give in"? I honestly don't know what changed but ever since shortly before their New York trip they seemed closer again. And especially after that trip. The flirty live was a big what the fuck to me because I wasn't used to that anymore. And Jimin pretty much giving people room to speculate that he was with Jungkook on Chuseok by posting their shared art on Instagram? That's not the Jimin of early 2023/late 2022. But then, on the other hand, we have Jimin most likely not spending Jungkook's birthday with him. And while that still is up for interpretation, if Jimin was able to post something that implies he was with Jungkook on a holiday, he could've also mentioned that he saw Jungkook on his birthday, if he actually did. Jimin didn't mention it though, which is why I assume he didn't see Jungkook. And that makes me think that while they're still feelings involved they decided they're better off as friends. At least at the moment. It will be interesting to see if the whole scandal might effect their relationship and what their relationship will look like after military service.

I do agree that the first serious shake uo was in 2021 but by JM's bday they have mended things and were in a good place. In 2022 though, I think things officially ended between them. Otherwise why would JM live with Pdogg? It wouldn't make sense.

Tae being somehow involved with JK's love life is possible to me. And there is definitely a lot of tension between him and Jimin for whatever reason , but it looked it was something major if it lasted for so long.

Jimin was definitely keeping JK at an arms length. The JM of the past always found a way to showcase his and JKs relationship and shut up the mouths of those who doubted them, yet in the beginning of this year it was like he deliberately made sure to make it clear that he and JK were not seeing each other. Maybe he had someone in his life and was being respectful to them or maybe he avoided being connected to JK romantically because he knew what JK was doing (hooking up with different people or having a more serious partner). Either way, JMs behavior in JKs live post NY completely surprised me, because just like you, I was completely unused to it by them. This wasn't something we have seen from them for at least an year and a half , if not more.

Jimin not being with JK on his birthday also makes me believe that although they might have patched things up/ hooked up again/ recognized there still have feelings for each other/ they are not in a committed relationship as of now.

As a whole, JM and JKs relationship in the past two years is very confusing, hot-and-cold and it reminds me a lot of them in 2015-2016. But while they were very young, immature and inexperienced then, there are neither of those things now. Things are different and MS is also coming up, which may be a factor.

Just like you, I'm interested what there relationship and interactions will look now in light of this whole shitshow.

#jimin #jikook #kookmin #jungkook

[spreadyourwingsc]

Sy and Soirse. Chapter 8.

 Summary: Sy and Soirse figure their way through their relationship, before, during and after Sy is deployed.

Disclaimer: This is the first story I have ever written and published. Capt Syverson is not my own.  Soirse is, I don’t intend to offend anyone nor anyones culture with my story, if you feel that this content belongs to you or anyone else, please let me know and I will delete it.

TW: This story contains: violence, attempted SA, strong language and mature scenes, please proceed cautiously, you’d been advised. If there’s something I missed, please let me know

AN: I’m open to any suggestion and advices, I don’t know where the story is going yet, but if you want to help me write it, or better it!, please let me know!

Chapter 8

6 years later. 

If one would told her that she would be back to that same old town that basically ruined her life, Saoirse would tell them they were crazy, but after of years of job searching in New York she just couldn't see her in there anymore, she got reconnected with her older brothers, and met some of her nephews, her mother was thrilled that her kids were together again, so it came to a surprise when she told them she would be relocating back. 

Her parents were ecstatic to say the least! She graduated last year with a major in literature, concentration in teaching. For some reason she wanted to teach children how to process their feelings and emotions through writing and reading. 

So when her mom told her that Smallertown was growing more popular and actually growing, they've decided to build the school there, and were looking for elementary school teachers, she jumped at the opportunity. 

She didn't really know what made her make that decision, she was just kind of lost in her life at the moment, and it was the only option that seemed available at the moment.

“So do you guys think the author was in a great deal of pain because of how they described the ladybug?” she asked after one of her students' expositions to which they’ve answered yes.

“One thing is for certain, in literature, we can always interpret what the author is trying to say, but when it’s not literal, it's just assuming, a lot of people are not very explicit in their words, that’s why the use metaphors, so it’s not visibly explained but it is still there”, she was so passionate in her explaining, she took time to notice the figure standing by her classroom door. 

She gasped, Sy was standing there, still dressed in fatigues, with his duffel bag hanging from his shoulder, and a bouquet of flowers in his hands, they locked eyes for a bit, but the moment was lost when the bell rang, indicating the end of the school day.

Without another word , Saoirse turned around, erasing her writings from the board and picking up her papers on her desk with shaky hands, 

“Hey” he said entering the room after the last kid was gone, but she ignored him. Too stunned to speak.

She rushed her way out to the school parking lot, walking past him, he was flabbergasted, he knew he was in no place to blame her but at the same time he didn't think it would be that painful.

He tried to go after her but she was too fast, she got  in her car and left him there just staring at her. 

“Welcome back private Syverson” The Principal caught him by the school entrance, oblivious to what  just had happened.

--

She went to her parents home straight from the school, when her mom saw the state her daughter was in, she held her and comforted her just like when she was little, it broke her heart to see her like this. but at the same time she couldn't help to feel a little bit of hope , everybody thought Sy was dead, or at least MIA so for him to show up like that unexpected was a shock to everybody, including both their parents.

She went home after crying to her mother all afternoon, deciding on a glass of wine and a warm bath, she was lost in her thoughts.

When the water finally got cold, she got out and decided she would go to bed, it's not like she was antisocial, or did not have any friends, but on this particular day, after seeing him, she didn't have much energy to do anything else.

6 years have gone by without hearing from Logan, she understood that the military had certain rules! but he could've written!!, She knew it might take a while but after the first five letters she sent had gone unanswered she understood that he was purposely  ignoring her. which hurt, it did hurt a lot because never in her life she thought that after everything they’ve been through, he would up and disappear on her.

She knew the military changed people, but she oh so hoped that it wouldn't change him. not her Sy. 

But her Sy was already gone when it went three months without hearing from him, then six, then it was a whole  year, it was the next year when his mother let her know that his commanding officer sent them a letter saying that he was alive and doing fine. but other than that. gone. 

The next few days were far calm, she was trying to avoid him at all cost, because, what else was she supposed to do, it's not like they could pick up where they left off. 

Sy on the other hand was a mess, he knew he was on the wrong, he wanted to reach out to you, and to his family, but he was training to be a killer machine, turns out his swap from jail to military was only for him to become a lethal weapon. stripped from all feelings and pain, gone to the most tortuous training just so he could be able to go in the most extreme live threatening missions, and come back unescathered. 

Sometimes he even wished something went bad and he ended up dead, but there was always that slight hope that he'd come back to you, that's the only thing that kept him going. 

“My boy” His mother approached him and moved his head so she could sit on the couch with his head on her lap, tears welled up on her eyes as she remembered the once little boy who used to lay like this with her, he might be a grown ass man now, but in her eyes she would always see him as her little boy.

“Mama, I’m so sorry” he cried to her, hugging her legs to him.

“Shh, its okay, my dear, but I am not the one you should be apologizing to”, she coed

“She hates me, mama, and i- i couldn't make it up to her, I- they took away all my communication mama, they used me, all i would do is train, eat, sleep and then in Iraq-”

“Logan, honey,” her heart was breaking by listening to everything they put her boy through. “The most important thing is that, you’re here now, you’ve changed, she’s changed, i might be biased, but there’s a reason why she also came back”.

“What do you mean came back, mama?”  he sat up all of the sudden, all attention to his mother.

“She went to college to New York, we thought she was never going to come back after-” she stopped “I really shouldn't be telling you this, baby, it’s not my place”

“Ma I-”

“You know what you have to do”. his mother nudged him 

--

Thanks for reading!

#captain syverson

[taaboh]

Back at this again cause this got me curious on what you think. Plus, I was thinking about this as of late and you're the only other person I know who is an active Yagami rper.

Anyways, what is your thoughts / HCs that led Yagami to be a detective? Out of all the occupations he could go for, why a detective? Did your Yagami get inspired to be one or did he come up with it on the spot and winged it from there?

WHOAAAAA A SERIOUS CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT QUESTION ON TAABOH DOT TUMBLER... thank you becksan 😭

so we know that yagamo's a huge nerd-- he's into reading fiction books, and he actually keeps up with mystery novels here and there. it isn't the primary reason he decides to be a detective, but i like to think that's part of what made him remember "oh, right, such an occupation exists."

but for my interpretation of yagamo who suffers from permanent "nobody tells me where to go" syndrome, being a private investigator allows him these things:

HE'S HIS OWN BOSS!! he was grateful for genda law office, of course, but both shintani and gendasensei himself were liable to tell him to back off once he "wrapped up" a case as a lawyer, especially if yagamo tried to step out of line in a defence attorney's duties in the event his client was guilty

he gets to help the people of kamurocho!! he jokingly says that if kamurocho wasn't such a dangerous place, he wouldn't have much business, but you can tell that he really does care for everyone and hopes for their safety, even those he doesn't know personally. "detective" is a fancy title, but taka runs an anything agency more than a detective agency at this point just because he’ll do anything for anyone who needs help

being a lawyer, he's definitely had run ins with detectives or hired some himself. i can also 100% see him, in the event of hiring someone he didn't approve of, thinking about how cases could've been investigated better because he's a perfectionist snob like that. but again, he wouldn't be allowed to investigate further really without being judged for it

following the death of emi terasawa, he feels personally responsible for not seeing the signs or investigating them. at the time he feels like it's his fault for not recognising everything about shinpei okubo, who he believed to be guilty. i imagine that after his period of depression (which isn't very long, since taka eventually goes to his coping mechanism of Always Having Something to Do), he decides he never wants to go through that again and that he will first and foremost dedicate himself to finding the truth. he trusts his hunches the same way, of course, but he'll never come to "proper" decisions until he's properly investigated everything

it’s not even JUST emi-- there’s the way that his parents were murdered in vigilante justice because the prosecution failed to present a case to convict the defendant. despite taka wanting to honour his birth father through becoming a lawyer just like him, even at age 15 he was made aware of the limitations in defending people. the only difference in the shinpei okubo case is that this time it happened to him. if cases were investigated properly and all the evidence-- all the truth-- was brought out, then juries could come up with the fairest decision possible. but you need a good detective for that

i feel like at the beginning of judgment, taka wasn’t particularly attached to being a detective. he was going through with his decision, of course, but he only really realised how much the job mattered to him towards the end. “if i never pursued these truths, justice couldn’t have been served for the people that died and no longer have a voice”. and the importance of the truth isn’t limited to the main story too-- in the sidecases, for example, finding a cat allows the legacy of a dead crime boss to live on honourably instead of being used for selfishness. which hits harder after everything that happens to matsugane

i don’t think he was FULLY dedicated to being a lawyer. i feel like a lot of it was just him being fifteen and making a promise to matsugane because of the guilt of his parents dying and the lack of closure he had with all that. i feel like choosing to be a detective and choosing to follow through with it were his first major personal decisions for himself, and when he commits to it by the end of judgment he’s reached a point in his life where he finds fulfilment in what he does

so to answer the last question, i think becoming a detective was a mix of winging it and thinking about it. like he thought “oh, if i was a detective, i could have investigated these cases more”, and out of guilt he decided to just go on and pursue it. but as he goes through the motions and starts to do the work, he falls in love with it along the way and decides this is how he wants to spend the rest of his life, as long as he’s allowed to do it. as opposed to it being a decision brought about by guilt and fear, it becomes a decision made out of pride and joy. he loves this. he isn’t going to be doing anything else, because being a detective allows him to be his truest self and follow his personal code without anyone allowed to say anything about it.

hope this made sense 🤡

#digitalmadness #( headcanon. ) #( ooc. ) #[ i wish i were more articulate in english but this is the best i can do!!!! ]

[abysscronica]

2/2 By “choosing” this relationship with her kidnapper (haha get it? Kid-napper?) she is able to freely make that decision and effect the situation she’s in and gain a feeling of security in that she is in control of what she wants. By falling for Kid and accepting that he’s fallen for her back she is effectively creating a situation where she knows she holds some sort of power of him. (Again it may not actually be Stockholm syndrome and all of her feelings may be 100% genuine but I just like to look at possibilities from both sides especially in stories where there’s so much up to interpretation)

Oh dear, 😅 I was also going to talk about her relationship with killer and the crew and about how you used the flashbacks to tell the story of her and Aokiji’s relationship, but even though these are just thoughts and ideas spurred on by a rereading of only the first chapter I feel like I’ve rambled on for long enough haha.

(I’m sorry if I’m looking too much into this story and sounding crazy trying to analyze it like this and try and connect dots and make conclusions where there are none, but when I love a piece of media I love to look as deep into it as I can and make theories of why I think things are the way they are even if I know it’s not that deep and I’m just sounding nuts. Over analyzing is how I show love basically haha. This is actually the first fanfic I’ve ever have such layered views about and that I felt like looking into how certain things could be interpreted adds to it as an experience. And it’s also what made me love the kid pirates so thank you for that! So yeah, I’m sorry this went from “hey this is what I liked about your story” to “the way in which you write makes me want to delve into the mindsets of these characters and makes me think of them as very complex multifaceted individuals who’s situation can be viewed by a million different angles and still be amazing” I know you didn’t ask for an essay about a fan fiction of an attractive angry pirate, but I hope you can find some kind of enjoyment or amusement from reading the ramblings of a fan of your work!)

(Also on a final note I’m sorry the text from my last ask was so large I have no idea how that happened 😅 so I hope this is better!)

Here we go!

First of all let me say that there can be more than one interpretation to birdie's behavior and personality, this is the whole reason why I don't always draw clear-cut lines: I love to see what you guys feel about it.

If I may add something to what you've said about birdie and her own perception of control/freedom on the Victoria Punk, let me say that the environment she grew up in plays a role as well.

Being in the Marines for around a decades constricted her actions and way of thinking into the tight ranks of a military organization, so she never had much liberty to begin with. The ways around a Pirate ship are actually much looser.

Then there's the fact that birdie was always ill-suited to follow the strict rules from the Marines and respect her superiors, to the point she was infamous for not always following orders. BUT, because she felt she had chosen that life herself, and because she didn't want to disappoint Aokiji, she always forced herself to wedge in. She limited her own freedom.

On the contrary, as a prisoner of the Kid Pirates, she didn't feel any obligation to them. Sure, she was much more vulnerable and in a very dangerous position. And yet, ironically, she is mentally much freer than she ever was in the Marines. She doesn't feel she owns any respect to the pirates until they earn it, and she doesn't feel she has to follow any rule until they force her.

It's true that, as you said, at times she seems to "forget" her position as a prisoner, but in the back of her mind, she's always acutely aware of it: she uses the very concept against Heat, during the crisis caused by Drake, when he urges her to have food and she asks if he's "forcing her" to eat. And later she almost embraces being a prisoner when Kid puts the bracelet on her to re-establish their roles and put her at ease (that she is not a pirate).

So the thing is, is she really choosing a relationship with her kidnapper, or is she just looking for an excuse not to be the one to choose?

This opens up a Pandora box on how messed up she is, so I better stop here. 🥲

Just one word on the power balance between Kid and birdie. Even here, the lines are blurred, and I'll leave to the readers to decide who holds the most power and when (obviously it's Kid most of the time, the interesting part is guessing if/when it shifts). One thing I can say though: I don't think birdie ever cared for "fixing" the bad guy. She never tries to make Kid a better person, not even with herself (or hardly so). It's just that she occasionally thinks to be immune to the monster, just because she got to experience some more hidden, softer parts of him. And then she's violently reminded that she's not, you already exposed this very well in your own words.

I hope this is interesting for you and I touched all the points you wanted! :D

I'd love to know what you think about the relationship between birdie and Killer, please don't ever limit yourself if you wanna talk to be about stuff!

Thank you again for this exchange, it's fun!

#eustass kid #eustass kid x birdie #captive

[symwinter]

The Various Character Problems and how I’ve dealt with some of them

(plus an episode list for seasons one and two please ask me questions it’s the only way I feel valid in posting this stuff)

Finally decided to talk more about my rewrite unprompted and what better way than to talk about the holes I have in fact, walked myself into and how I’ve mostly managed to deal with them. For both my convenience and yours, I have ordered these in a numbered list from the most dealt with to the least dealt with.

1. The Félix Problem

Felix was by far the easiest to deal with, especially since I got rid of the zodiac kwamis and changed what the peacock miraculous does. Rather than assistant to the emotional terrorist, Félix is Adrien’s kinda shady cousin. He still does get some people akumatized in his debut episode (which might also mark Alya’s first akumatization cause there’s zero way my Alya would think Chloé is Ladybug), but he makes no attempts to kiss Ladybug while disguised as Adrien and does explain why he did what he did and is mostly sorry for it. He then continuously and kind of sporadically pops up for the rest of season three, especially given that season three takes place from May to August.

2. The Lila Problem

Why was main problem came in the fact that I didn’t know if I wanted to use her canon-ish portrayal or pre-Volpina fanon interpretation. Not to reveal my age I guess, but I was watching miraculous ladybug before Lila was introduced, and all we got was a teaser image of the back of Volpina’s head. I was there in the fandom whenever everyone thought Vino was gonna be Chat Noir’ rival for Ladybug’s affection. And even post-Volpina still had shades of that with Lila pursuing Marinette and then we got jealous Adrien. At this point, what I’ve landed on is Lila still lies about being friends with Ladybug, Ladybug politely asked her to maybe not do that, Lila gets akumatized, and maybe Adrien reveals he knew she was lying the whole time. Regardless of when Adrien reveals he knew Lila was lying Lila targets him rather than Marinette, by actively attempting to befriend Marinette, not knowing that she knows Lila’s a liar. I don’t think Leah will be like a man antagonist. She’ll probably just be like a Chloé.

3. The Emilie Problem

Trying to decide if Adrien’s mom was dead or not would be easier than it is but it’s not. In fact, I have three possible endings for her. Number one is that she’s just straight up dead and her body is like I cryogenic pod so it doesn’t decompose. Gabriel‘s goal is to bring back his super dead wife.

Number two is that Emilie is in a coma. This has the same markings as Emilie just being dead except less angsty because we could have Emilie come out of her coma when she is taken to an actual hospital instead of a weird cryogenic pod.

Number three is Emilie ran away in the middle of the night. This is the most of the options and the reason why is because Emilie is dead or in a comashe had no choice when she left Adrien with Gabriel, but running away and leaving her son behind means she made a conscious decision that her happiness and survival is more important than her son’s. I have two specials that take place after this series ends that could explore this fact depending further, what happens when Gabriel is caught. Option one is that Emily comes back once Gabriel is caught and we get some eggs Adrian’s feelings about his mother learning that she could have come back at anytime or even though she could’ve taken him with her and she did the follow up of that and can they even reconcile that fact? The other option is that a learning that Gabriel has been arrested she stay away. Emilie is aware of the fact that she abandoned her son and he might not want to see her and maybe it’s just easier not try and change that. That being said, Emilie could have like a letter sent to Adrien explaining things and offer an olive branch and it’s up to him if he chooses to take it.

Not gonna lie this might be my favourite of the three, even if I think it be the least satisfying for the show, specials not included.

4. The Luka Problem

I don’t know if people were expecting this to be the main problem, but it is. Unlike Kagami, I feel that Lucas’s entire existence is contingent on Marinette dating life was written to her midseasons love interest. And yes, Kagami was written to do the same, I feel like she just has a bit more going on. Actually I only realized that I hadn’t figured out what to do with Luka because I realized that I backed myself into a corner when I decided to put Frozer, an episode that is about a date before the introduction of Kagami and Luka. I honestly don’t even know when or where I’m gonna introduce Luka into the show. Because of how quickly I have the show going, I can’t really have episodes where Marinette dates Luka and Adrien dates Kagami and so I feel like Luka’s entire purpose has kind of been removed. I mean I could, but it feels cruel to write those characters dating when I know they’re gonna break up because I have the main endgame couple as Marinette and Adrien.

Episode list time:

(as you can see I swapped Frozer with Chameleon to write myself out of that corner).Also I do use the French names of the episodes. I am both sorry and not sorry. I also hope that the episodes are legible if zoomed in, this post is already so long.

I only have three episodes of season three planned atm: Félix, Argos, and Befana.

#symwinter’s trash writing #miraculous ladybug #symwinter rewrites miraculous ladybug