#who asked?

[hatingfromacrackedscreen]

Wakabas character arc, her need to break out of the ‘normal best friend’ archetype, her desperation to feel special and thus have worth in Ohtori, become extra fascinating when you look at her as a spiritual successor of Usagi’s normal best friend from Sailor Moon, Naru.

Naru has a really interesting character arc in Sailor Moon. She is the first person we see attacked, and she’s what gets Usagi to get in her first fight. This is later paralleled in Utena, when Utena gets in her first duel on Wakaba’s behalf. As Sailor Moon goes on Naru gets attacked more and more, but eventually gets relegated to the background as Usagi gains her other sailor friends and they become more important. Naru makes less appearances, and besides being an occasional victim is completely separated from her former best friend Usagi’s special, double life. However Naru doesn’t take her removal from the narrative ignorantly.

In the second season finale a giant evil crystal has been placed by the villains in the center of Tokyo. Naru sees Usagi running towards it and confronts her about it. “You know what this is don’t you?” She asks her.

I love all of this for Naru, but all of it also applies exactly to Wakaba. Wakaba who realizes her friend Utena is special in a way she’s not. Who sees the most visual aspects of the massive machine Akio has running Ohtori, but doesn’t know enough to stop it or change it in any material way. Who lashes out at Anthy in her jealousy at the way she’s the most special person in the school, and subtextually how she is becoming more important to Utena than her. Wakaba, like Nanami, wants anything but to be “another fly in the swarm,” a seeming nightmare for the girls of Ohtori.

Even in character design the two mimic each other. Both have brown hair, with a small bow at the back of their head.

Naru gets to break a bit from her archetypal role at the end, and Wakaba does more so. In the last episode of the series, after Utena has left, we see another girl jumping onto Wakaba and calling her “her prince,” just the same way Wakaba did to Utena in episode 1. It’s not immediate, but Wakabas revolution will come, and she will have her own “normal best friend.”

I really love Wakaba as a spiritual successor to Naru, with Naru’s small insecurities and worry taken to the next level in Wakabas character. And how at the end of the day they may not save or revolutionize the world, but they love their special best friend, and that support is something they hold true until the end.

#since almost all of the utena staff came directly from sailor moon it’s always so fascinating to see how tropes and ideas in Sailor Moon #are re-explored and given new light in Utena #naru osaka #wakaba shinohara #sailor moon #revolutionary girl utena #utena #utena meta #who asked?

[margolovescoffeeandbooks]

"this isn't you, avery."

#who asked? #the inheritance games #the hawthorne legacy #the final gambit #grayson hawthorne #jameson hawthorne #avery grambs #nash hawthorne #xander hawthorne

[pauls1967moustache]

ok then. blocked.

#hater-ass #who asked?

[froggoswyou]

Here's a come-back for someone who told you something that you didn't asked

#who asked? #frog

[tabellae-rex-in-sui]

Speaking of 18c dirty talk, normal gay men did the Achilles/Patroclus, Zeus/Ganymede allusions.

But Fritz did the Swan/Leda thing cuz there's something fundamentally wrong with him

#literally who let him do that #why in earth #leda and the swan bitch?? #who asked? #''ah yes you are like zeus when he turned into a bird and im like that girl that got fucked by the bird'' #fuck off what the fuck

[o0giebo0giepo0ky]

I’ve been drawing 4 the past 5 days and I can’t stop 😍

#welcome home #send help #preach the gospel #wally darling #barnaby b beagle #who asked? #partycoffin #thisismyartdwididntsteal

[midnightfrappe]

i realized i haven't draw my y/n in a serious way, only silly and medium rare (🍖i don't know how to explain it)

i will try to yassificate them and maybe talk a little more about them

#maybe #who asked? #no one #but idc #y'all follow me and now you will suffer #rambles

[firesharkk]

Có thể cái này có thể sẽ giúp ích cho bạn

#smirk #ý kiến của bạn hay đấy nhưng mà.. #who asked? #who care?

[disableddyke]

#disability #ableism #disabled #meme #had a teacher who would always make this autistic girl feel stupid whenever she asked questions and would respond loud enough for the class #to hear the annoyance in her voice #catch on fire <3 #greatest hits #10k #15k #20k #30k

[hatingfromacrackedscreen]

One of my favorite things about the Animorphs rotating pov is how you get to see character development happening so subtly but from so many different angles. One of my favorite examples is with Cassie & Marco’s relationship, from when she left the team to the David Arc (books 19-22), and how it explains so much of their dynamic for the rest of the series.

Marco and Cassie have one of the most interesting dynamics out of the Animorphs because of how often they disagree over conflicts/strategy, but also because of the fact that they usually end up being the de facto strategists of the team (They also both are like, in love with Jake, which also leads to really interesting moments but this isn’t about that). Naturally this puts them at odds with each other often, especially during Book #19. Cassie quits the team and voluntarily infests herself so she doesn’t have to kill Karen, something that Marco doesn’t understand and also is upset about, because now he may have to kill Cassie. After book’s end Cassie makes it back to the team and Aftran begins the peace movement. There’s a lot of threads that contribute to spiral from the book, and Cassie and Marco’s relationship is one of the subtler ones. What’s important to note is that the next book, book #20, is a Marco pov. We get to see his thoughts, and all is not forgiven. He reminisces about the recent Cassie-related events, and says something along the lines of “yeah I’m not really chill with her after the shit she pulled with Aftran.” Which I support Cassie fully, but fair enough! Not only did Cassie voluntarily cause their biggest security breach at the moment, but also he thought he, a 14 year old, was now going to have to kill his friend, another 14 year old. I would be pissed too. (Also this is another great subtle narrative thread leading into the David Arc, which derives its most central tension from this same dilemma)

However the culmination of the Cassie Marco tension comes not from either of their own pov, but from the next book, book 21 which is a Jake pov. The Animorphs all morph bugs to break into a hotel that has a Yeerk conspiracy involved, and they come close to the 2 hour limit. They all morph back successfully except Marco (the weakest morpher) who is stuck as a several foot tall giant grotesque flea. Everyone’s freaking out, but it’s Cassie who’s comes forward, places a hand on Marco, and soothingly guides him through his sheer panic, and into demorphing back to his human self. After Marco breaks down and sobs on Cassie, and Jake even notes he’s never seen Marco cry like that. Which is significant since Jake has known Marco grieving through his mother “dying”. Jake doesn’t note it, because it’s a situation he doesn’t even know about, but in this moment Marco forgives Cassie. Marco never gives her shit for the Aftran situation again, either in his narration or in others. And I love that it’s something that’s not explicitly said by Jake in this book, or Marco or Cassie in later ones, but all of the resolution of that tension between them beautify resolves in a book that’s not either of their povs and doesn’t even explicitly mention it.

Not only is that a knack to Animorphs’ character writing, but it sets the foundation for their relationship going forward. It’s why Cassie still goes to talk to Marco in Book #35 through his issues with his dad remarrying, and he ridicules her a bit but hears her out. And then by series end, when Cassie gives the morphing cube away to the Yeerks, and Jake tells everyone. Is Mr. Marco “ruthless bright line from A to B” pissed at her? No he’s over it and back to being chums with her. Because that’s Cassie his bestie now❤️ And I love that no matter how often they’re at conflict later in the series, after the flea incident it never gets as serious in Marcos narration as it was to him before, in book #20. Animorphs’ character writing amongst multiple povs is just so so soo good.

#cassie and Marco are always one of my favorite underrated animorphs dynamics #THEYRE SO INTERESTING #I love Cassie and Rachel’s relationship more prbly but I do think Cassie and Marco are more interesting foils #Animorphs #cassie animorphs #Marco animorphs #Jake animorphs #animorphs meta #Cassie&Marco #animorphs 19 #animorphs 20 #animorphs 21 #who asked?

[feluka]

oh god shut up. you didn't even know the damn kid.

"The children are always ours, every single one of them, all over the globe, and I am beginning to suspect that whoever is incapable of recognizing this may be incapable of morality." — James Baldwin

#i am honestly not even sure who you're referring to #the most recent child deaths i've reblogged are #nex benedict (the nonbinary kid murdered at school) and hind rajab #if you can't see why either of these should shatter your heart without personally knowing them #then you're entirely beyond any hope #asks #edit: this was about hind.

[i23kazu]

how i feel when someone reblogs my stuff with a really really nice tag

#[📍regular broadcast!] #the sillies #thank you to everyone who has interacted with me over the past few days HEHEHE #asks will be put off until tonight ; i have 2 more meetings hehe

[phantomrose96]

I think we should have a turn of phrase for "I'm not in the right, but I AM annoyed with this situation, so I just need to go bitch to a friend about this before I suck it up and go do the right thing" because more and more I'm finding this is a critical element of functional adulthood.

#the person who's re-emailed me asking for help with something: yes I should get back to you. yes I will get back to you #but in the meantime I will look at the email like 'I am busy right now! I have deadlines! do not bother me about this unrelated thing!' #and like in 15 minutes when I'm ready to be an adult again I'll get back to them

[zytes]

this manatee looks like it’s in a skyrim loading screen

#misc #I encourage anyone dyslexic to try rotating him in your mind. I can’t do that; which is why I’m asking you to. #also: a bunch of tags are surprised this isn’t ‘shopped #it’s the lighting. backlit by the sun (which is diffused through the water) but also forelit artificially #the artificial light - a flash pack or something - casts a hard shadow under the creatures arm #which normally wouldn’t be possible if backlit by the SUN; you’d see a less-hard/more-fragmented shadow above water #as light sources ‘compete’ in a sense - and since there aren’t any light sources which can outshine the literal sun #it looks a bit weird when the darkest shadow is being cast from any other origin point - which is what’s essentially happening here #I don’t know the mechanics of how light travels through water; but I know the effect is substantial even with relatively short distances #also: it’s been balanced and color corrected by the author of the photo - who made deliberate choices to bring out the full potential #so it’s not like it’s a fresh and untouched export #but the kind of ‘tacked on’ appearance of the creature is a result of the lighting conditions within the image

[inkskinned]

because sometimes there are invisible tests and invisible rules and you're just supposed to ... know the rule. someone you thought of as a friend asks you for book recommendations, so you give her a list of like 30 books, each with a brief blurb and why you like it. later, you find out she screenshotted the list and send it out to a group chat with the note: what an absolute freak can you believe this. you saw the responses: emojis where people are rolling over laughing. too much and obsessive and actually kind of creepy in the comments. you thought you'd been doing the right thing. she'd asked, right? an invisible rule: this is what happens when you get too excited.

you aren't supposed to laugh at your own jokes, so you don't, but then you're too serious. you're not supposed to be too loud, but then people say you're too quiet. you aren't supposed to get passionate about things, but then you're shy, boring. you aren't supposed to talk too much, but then people are mad when you're not good at replying.

you fold yourself into a prettier paper crane. since you never know what is "selfish" and what is "charity," you give yourself over, fully. you'd rather be empty and over-generous - you'd rather eat your own boundaries than have even one person believe that you're mean. since you don't know what the thing is that will make them hate you, you simply scrub yourself clean of any form of roughness. if you are perfect and smiling and funny, they can love you. if you are always there for them and never admit what's happening and never mention your past and never make them uncomfortable - you can make up for it. you can earn it.

don't fuck up. they're all testing you, always. they're tolerating you. whatever secret club happened, over a summer somewhere - during some activity you didn't get to attend - everyone else just... figured it out. like they got some kind of award or examination that allowed them to know how-to-be-normal. how to fit. and for the rest of your life, you've been playing catch-up. you've been trying to prove that - haha! you get it! that the joke they're telling, the people they are, the manual they got- yeah, you've totally read it.

if you can just divide yourself in two - the lovable one, and the one that is you - you can do this. you can walk the line. they can laugh and accept you. if you are always-balanced, never burdensome, a delight to have in class, champagne and glittering and never gawky or florescent or god-forbid cringe: you can get away with it.

you stare at your therapist, whom you can make jokes with, and who laughs at your jokes, because you are so fucking good at people-pleasing. you smile at her, and she asks you how you're doing, and you automatically say i'm good, thanks, how are you? while the answer swims somewhere in your little lizard brain:

how long have you been doing this now? mastering the art of your body and mind like you're piloting a puppet. has it worked? what do you mean that all you feel is... just exhausted. pick yourself up, the tightrope has no net. after all, you're cheating, somehow, but nobody seems to know you actually flunked the test. it's working!

aren't you happy yet?

#almost wrote the champagne line as ''effervescent'' but legit could not write it without saying ''effervescent like a snail'' #ah tumblr... #writeblr #warm up #idk . having trouble writing rn #ps i don't like to talk about it . it is my medical information. but before you ask. yes this is about being on the spectrum #i really don't like when ppl make my writing about how im [whatever ID]. i want it to ring true for the people who it rings true for #i don't want it to be like ''awwwww look at this person!!! she's the EXCEPTION!!! :)" ..... #no.... not really..... #idk something gross happens whenever i admit to certain conditions and i turn into like inspiration p*rnography #like yes they actually let us use keyboards these days #furthermore i just... dont feel comfortable talking about this part of me. i had too bad of a childhood. adhd is one thing... #this one im like. still coming to terms with. which is like. my own journey. #idk. just please be kind. some things are more private than others. this one feels private to me. #i do not know how to help others w/this . and i do not know how to help myself. i will talk about it if im ever ready. idk if that will #actually ever happen #ty in advance i love u im kissing you we are kissing somewhere on the spectrum

[daisywords]

One of my biggest nitpicks in fiction concerns the feeding of babies. Mothers dying during/shortly after childbirth or the baby being separated form the mother shortly after birth is pretty common in fiction. It is/was also common enough in real life, which is why I think a lot of writers/readers don't think too hard about this. however. Historically, the only reason the vast majority of babies survived being separated from their mother was because there was at least one other woman around to breastfeed them. Before modern formula, yes, people did use other substitutes, but they were rarely, if ever, nutritionally sufficient.

Newborns can't eat adult food. They can't really survive on animal milk. If your story takes place in a world before/without formula, a baby separated from its mother is going to either be nursed by someone else, or starve.

It doesn't have to be a huge plot point, but idk at least don't explicitly describe the situation as excluding the possibility of a wetnurse. "The father or the great grandmother or the neighbor man or the older sibling took and raised the baby completely alone in a cave for a year." Nope. That baby is dead I'm sorry. "The baby was kidnapped shortly after birth by a wizard and hidden away in a secret tower" um quick question was the wizard lactating? "The mother refused to see or touch her child after birth so the baby was left to the care of the ailing grandfather" the grandfather who made the necessary arrangements with women in the neighborhood, right? right? OR THAT GREAT OFFENDER "A newborn baby was left on the doorstep and they brought it in and took care of it no issues" What Are You Going to Feed That Baby. Hello?

Like. It's not impossible, but arrangements are going to have to be made. There are some logistics.

#idk what to tag this #worldbuilding #writing fiction #historical fiction #fantasy #a real-life example: my dad (a pediatrician) was once entrusted with the care of a baby who was born with a rare condition #this was in a place without great hospital/medical access and anyway they were going to fly the baby over #and he specifically asked them to bring the mother and baby #they show up with baby and...the baby's uncle #and he was like. y'all. do you think I asked for the mom to come just for fun??? We don't have formula here. what is the baby going to eat?