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bonefall · 6 months

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⭕️Hey Bones! Is it ok if you explain and/or elaborate how Crowfeather is abusive to Breezepelt if please?⭕️

I do KNOW that crowfeather is indeed, abusive to Breezepelt, due to the fact that he emotionally and/or physically neglected him - with child neglect being known to BE a form of child abuse - and I also heard that he slashed and/or hit him within one of the books, which I believe is in the book Outcast, in chapter 16.

But I also wish people would talk and be informed about it more within the fandom, because in the parts of the fandom I’ve known portrayed Crowfeather’s neglect on Breezepelt as negative and bad, but not in a way that made me think and/or feel: “Wow, that’s pretty bad. That’s…actually abusive.” I suppose? So I hope more people will talk about it more in that type of way.

Also, please be aware that I have NOT read PoT, OoTS, etc. or barely any warrior cats books, since the majority of the information I got from the series is from the wiki and the fandom, so that probably explains why I didn’t know this part of Crowfeather’s character is as bad as it actually is until now. Also, feel free to talk about Crowfeather’s abuse on Breezepelt I haven’t mentioned and/or don’t know right now as well if you want.

I’m SO sorry that if this ask is unintentionally quite long, and feel free to make sure to take all the time you need to answer it. Thank you!

OH LET'S GOOOO

Breezepelt is both physically and emotionally abused by Crowfeather. I'm not talking about only child neglect; he is screamed at, belittled, and even once hit on-screen.

The fact that Crowfeather both neglected and abused him is very important to the canonical story of Breezepaw. There's actually a lot more to this character than people remember! Even from his first appearances he displays good qualities, a strained relationship with his father and adult clanmates, and is clearly shown to be troubled before we understand why.

As many problems as I have with the direction of Breezepelt's arc (especially Crowfeather's Trial), his setup is legitimately a praiseworthy bit of writing from Po3 which carries over into OotS. To say that Breezepelt was not abused is to completely miss two arcs worth of books SCREAMING it.

BIG POST. Glossary;

INTRO TO BREEZEPELT: The Sight and Dark River

ABUSE: Outcast, Social Alienation, the Tribe Journey.

DARK FOREST: How these factors push him towards radicalization.

For "brevity," I'm not getting into anything post-OotS. I'm just showing that Breezepelt was abused, the narrative wants you to know that he was abused, and that his status as a victim of child abuse is CENTRAL to understanding why he is training in the Dark Forest.

INTRO TO BREEZEPELT: The Sight and Dark River

Our very first introduction to Breeze is when Jaypaw walks off a cliff in the first book of Po3 and is rescued by a WindClan patrol. He's making snarky remarks, and Whitetail and Crowfeather are not happy about it. Whitetail snaps for Crow to teach his son some manners, and Crow growls for Breezepaw to be quiet.

But our proper introduction to him is at his announcement gathering, when Heatherpaw playfully introduces him as a friend,

From the offset something's not entirely right here between Breezepaw and his father. He's cut off by Heatherpaw here, but he's touchy whenever his father is involved, and we're not entirely sure why.

Throughout Book 1, he's just rude, with a notable xenophobic streak. He's a bit of a mean rival character for Lionpaw, as they're both interested in the affections of Heatherpaw and make bids to get her attention, but nothing particularly violent yet.

He participates in the beloved Kitty Olympics and gets buried in liquid dirt with Lionpaw, basically a rite of passage for any arc.

(And Nightcloud has a cute moment where she watches over them until they fall asleep)

As the books progress, the relationship between Crow and Breeze visibly deteriorates. They start from being simply tense with each other in The Sight, to the open shouting and hitting we see in Outcast.

In the very first chapter of Dark River, we learn where his behavioral issues are really coming from;

Crowfeather.

Breezepelt is getting xenophobia from his father. Occasionally he says something bigoted and his dad will agree and chime in, and those are the only positive moments they have together.

(Note: In contrast, Nightcloud explicitly pushes back against xenophobia, chiding Breezepelt for his rudeness to Lionpaw in back in The Sight, Chapter 21. The Sight is the book where a lot of "evidence" that the Evil Overbearing Woman is actually responsible for the rift between father and son but. No. She's not. Though she can be overprotective; Crow and Breeze have a bad relationship when she's not even around in Breeze's first appearance and even his Crowfeather's Trial Epiphany refutes it. Anyway this post isn't about Nightcloud.)

So he starts acting on his bigotry, accusing cats in other Clans of stealing, running really close to the border. What's interesting though, is that this is not entirely his doing. The first time we get physical trouble from Breezepaw, DUSTPELT aggressed it. Breezepaw and Harepaw were just chasing a squirrel and hadn't yet gone over the border at all.

We learn that WindClan is teaching its apprentices how to hunt in woodland, and tensions between the two Clans is starting to escalate as ThunderClan isn't entirely trusting of their intentions.

The second time, fighting breaks out over him and Harepaw actually crossing the border and catching a squirrel. WindClan is adamant that because it came from their land, it's their squirrel. So it's as if Breezepaw is modelling the aggression around him, learning how to behave from the older warriors and his father.

When he joins Heatherpaw and The Three to go find Gorsetail's kits in the tunnels, he's grouchy towards the ThunderClan cats, but very gentle with the kittens. Notably so. When Thistlekit is dangerously cold, he cuddles up next to her, and even assures Swallowkit when she's scared,

Through this entire excursion, he's the one in the comforting roles for the kittens. Breezepaw is the one who is taking time to tell the kits they'll be okay, that he'll protect them, and physically supporting them when they're weak, even when he's terrified.

And it's always contrasted to Heatherpaw who's way more 'disciplined,' as a side note. It's a detail I'm just fond of.

All this to point out,

Breezepelt displays his best qualities when he's away from the older warriors of WindClan, and he's at his worst whenever he's near Crowfeather. Even while he's essentially just a bully character for The Three to deal with. He's gruff but cooperative when it's just him and Heatherpaw interacting with The Three, but mean when there is an adult to please.

We're getting to the on-screen abuse now, but Po3 actually sets up Breezepaw's troubles and dynamics well before it's finally confirmed that he is a victim of child abuse.

ABUSE: Outcast, the Tribe Journey.

In Outcast, Breezepaw's problems have escalated into open aggression towards cats of other Clans, and is now a legitimate concern for his own safety. Yet, he's spoken over by older warriors, and reprimanded at nearly every opportunity, right in front of the warrior of another Clan.

Squilf just asked the poor kid how his training was going, and then Whitetail JUMPS to talk over him so she can complain, RIGHT in front of his face.

They can't even wait until they're alone to grumble something rude about Breezepaw, who is still just a teenager here;

They taught him already that a bit of prey that runs off their own territory still belongs to WindClan, encourage him to blow past borders in pursuit, and started a battle with ThunderClan over this. And then they're pissed off at him for being aggressive, thinking it's deserved to scold him in public.

When Onestar announces that he wants Breezepaw to go on the Tribe Journey, he's devastated by it...

Because he thinks WindClan doesn't like him, and he's right. He's gossiped about, torn into in front of a ThunderClan warrior, and even his own dad doesn't want to be around him. It's clear that Breezepaw's impulsive "codebreaking" behaviors are a desire to prove himself, and once you realize that, the way that he's being alienated is heartbreaking.

But Wait!! Hold on a minute! Where did he get a "patrol of apprentices" from to confront the dogs with, exactly?

Simple. Breezepaw CAN make friends! He actually values them a lot! So much that it's the first thing Crowfeather snaps at him over, out of frustration that his son is also being forced on this journey with him. It's an angry response to his child having emotional and physical needs, resentment that will continue all journey long.

Note that it's plural, friends. Breezepelt has multiple friends, at least one who is not Heatherpaw, and she promises to say goodbye to them.

Up next, they state over and over, Crowfeather and Breezepaw do not like each other. Crowfeather resents being around him and dealing with his rudeness, embarrassed and angry, and Breezepaw is absolutely miserable being sent on a journey to the mountains with a man who hates his guts.

The whole while, Crowfeather is brooding longingly about Feathertail, already thinking about her as soon as he kitty-kisses Nightcloud goodbye, his eyes looking somewhere distant. He makes a jab about loyalty when Breezepaw doesn't understand why they're helping the Tribe.

Breezepaw gets smacked after he's "shoved" at Purdy and acts rude to him, while the other three manage to be polite (while still having internal dialogue about how stinky he is).

Without so much as a, "cut that out," Crowfeather raises his paw and hits him. Breeze is quiet after that.

I don't give a shit how rude your teenager is being. Do not hit kids. Being throttled on the head is not okay.

In spite of the Three not liking Breezepaw, or even Crowfeather, they're constantly noting that their arguments are not normal, and that Crow is a cold, unsupportive father who digs into his kid constantly, and the only time he ever DOES "discipline" his child it's through immediately smacking him.

At one point, the apprentices get hungry, and decide to foolishly hunt in a barn that they know has dogs in it against Purdy's warnings. Once again, JUST like the first two books, Breezepaw is more friendly when Crowfeather is not around.

EVERY time he is alone with cats his own age, he's grumpy but cooperative. Even enthusiastic at times! The minute Crowfeather is in the picture, he's nasty.

Naturally, the dogs show up, but Purdy rescues them. Though Brambleclaw also chews his kids out (and i have strong opinions about bramble's parenting style for another time), Hollypaw is taken aback by the contrast of what a scolding from Brambleclaw looks like vs how Crowfeather reacts.

The narrative is desperately trying to tell you that the way Crowfeather treats his son is not normal.

And then Crowfeather is pissed off that Breezepaw is exhausted from running for his life from hungry dogs,

And he's constantly losing his shit whenever Breezepaw says something as innocuous as "dad im hungry"

Then, Breezepaw is made to watch his dad pine over the grave of a woman who died long before Crowfeather was even considering his mother for a mate. What he feels is jealousy, because he knows his own father doesn't love him anywhere near as much as he loves the memory of Feathertail.

This really goes on and on and on. The ENTIRE trip is like this, with Crowfeather treating Breezepelt poorly, giving him a smack before even verbally warning him, pushing him past his limits and blowing up on him when he asks simple questions about eating or resting.

It all comes to a head in this one exchange, towards the end. Hollypaw ends up snapping at Breezepaw for his rudeness, before having an epiphany.

It's explicit. Crowfeather's emotional abuse, his "scorn" for Breezepelt, is what is driving a wedge between him and all of his older Clanmates. Between EVERYONE in Breezepelt's life who wasn't already his friend. This awful treatment is only making him worse and worse.

Realizing this, she has more sympathy for him, but it's too late. He continues to be rude to her because he feels insulted, and her patience completely runs out. She's just a kid. They're both just kids. She's not responsible for fixing him when he's pushing everyone away at this point.

That's the end of Breezepelt in Outcast. It can't be helped anymore. Any spark of friendship they had together in the barn, or in the tunnels, is gone.

As the series progresses, Crowfeather continues to refuse any personal responsibility for the mistreatment of his son, even pinning all of Breezepelt's behavioral problems on Nightcloud. He is a cold, selfish father who only ever thinks about his own pain and reputation.

DARK FOREST: How these factors push him towards radicalization.

Everyone talks about the Attack on Poppyfrost, which happens in the first book of OotS, in oversimplified terms. YES he is going after a nun and a pregnant woman. I've never said that's not Bad.

But no one talks about "WHY", and that reason is NOT just that he desires power like so many other WC villains. Breezepelt makes his motivation very clear on the page.

Escalating to violence was about making Jayfeather feel the way that he does.

When Breezepelt says that he wants Jay to be surrounded by "lies, hatred, and things that should never have happened," he's talking about the way HE grew up, knowing his father never wanted him, and that his Clan HATES him as a result. Killing Poppyfrost is about trying to frame Jayfeather for her murder, so ThunderClan won't trust him anymore.

When Jayfeather points out the simple truth that what Breezepelt is saying doesn't make any goddamn sense, his hatred "falters." He's blaming his half-clan half-brother for his own treatment because of the reveal, but totally failed to consider that JAYFEATHER'S ALREADY GOING THROUGH IT... so his response is just this pitiful, "s-shut up, man."

Then the ghost of Brokenstar and Breezepelt bounce him back and forth between them like a beach ball for a bit until Honeyfern's spirit shows up.

Breezepelt's childhood abuse and social alienation was a hook that the Dark Forest latched onto, to reel him in. His anger at his half-brother is so obviously misplaced that its absurdity was something Jayfeather pointed out.

We soon learn that it's the Dark Forest who's planting that ridiculous idea in his head;

The narration is SCREAMING, "The Dark Forest is validating the anger he feels towards his father, and redirecting it towards The Three." He's described as 'kitlike,' Tigerstar's eyes are compared to a hypnotizing snake.

This prose could not make it more obvious if it drove to your house, beat you with it, and then spoon fed you the point while you were hospitalized.

At the end of this scene, Tigerstar sends Hawkfrost to recruit Ivypaw. This scene where Breezepelt is being lovebombed, and the command to start grooming Ivypaw, ARE LINKED. That was a choice.

A VERY GOOD choice! Again, as many issues as I have with OotS, its handling of indoctrination is unironically fantastic, and it owes a good amount of that to the outstanding setup of Breezepelt that was done back in Po3. And that setup doesn't work if Crowfeather was merely distant.

Breezepelt was abused by his father, both verbally and physically. It drove him to be more aggressive to prove himself, modeling the battle culture around him. The adults of WindClan judged him based off Crowfeather's responses, shunning and belittling the 'problem' teenager, which eventually drove Breezepelt to the only group that he felt "understood" him.

In a book series that is RIFE with abuse apologia, this is one of the few times that there's any behavioral consequences for abuse and the narrative holds the perpetrator accountable for it.

But people hear Crowfeather's deflective excuse in The Last Hope where he says he never hated him, blames Nightcloud for everything, and just lick it up uncritically.

Gee whiz, I wonder why the guy who never blames himself for any of his problems would suddenly say it was his ex-wife's fault. Real headscratcher!

(Crowfeather's Trial then goes onto, for all my own problems with it, also hold Crow accountable as the reason why Breezepelt turned out like he did. But that's a topic for another day.)

#This is headcanon territory here. But one day I realized I can read Breezy-P with BPD and he became a blorbo.#Never been able to unsee it and it massively endears him to me... Breeze Pelt Disorder...#I actually REALLY hate how his arc was resolved and strongly feel that he should have progressed into a bigger problem #But I equally strongly feel that being redeemed is the ideal ending for him #so if it was between him being pure evil/redemption death or the awful halting we got at the end of oots....#I'd pick the halting over him being pure evil or a redemption death.#I think BB made me REALLY fall in love with him. He's my sweet cheese. My good time boy.#Bones when he sees an angry black cat: ''i can fix you. first i must break you. but then i can fix you''#Like. what i dislike about where he went is that even if your anger issues came from abuse. you STILL are responsible for your actions #but in the end getting that Shitty Dad Approval fixes him. Not his own growth or self-reflection.#it feels like BREEZE gets his agency stripped away for HIS ABUSIVE DAD'S character arc #It retcons in a reason why Breezepelt is not still a problem and then he faded into the background.#while Crowfeather continues to get supporting roles and every now and then Breeze now looks at him fondly #BLECH.#Crowfeather #Breezepelt #Abuse #Child Abuse #Warrior Cats Analysis #And now you know anon!!

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merakiui · 3 months

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Reading your tags on the courtroom post, and we have live reader reaction:

LOL there's Deuce who prepares for the debate with notes and talking points/arguments, and then there's Ace who is confident enough to think he can just succeed through improv. I like to imagine that, if it's for you, they will do anything and everything they can to save you. They were so determined to come to the player's aid during Scarabia book, so perhaps they prove to be worthy saviors. <3

#twisted chit chat #heyyy11 #i need to write more for adeuce orz #i like to imagine ace is one of the top candidates for fwb #because he doesn't want anything serious but then he ends up falling for you #he's so obviously in denial about it too #cater comments about how he's straying into boyfriend territory with some of the things he's doing with you #and ace adamantly denies it: 'what? a guy can't make food for his friend in the morning??? gimme a break cater 🙄'#and cater is like 'i never said that acey :) a guy can make food for his friend sure but you're not doing that are you?'#ace storms off with a red face because he was genuinely trying to put together a nice breakfast spread for you hehe :3c #not just toast and some oatmeal or something like that #he was trying to cook for you <3 #ace you're in love and it's showing :)

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aimasup · 28 days

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throws up my hands in mock resignation but also a hint of frustration Okay Valentino is a cool villain I guess

He's like. Genuinely unsettling. Wish the show struck a better balance with his character sometimes (like sometimes when he's onscreen I have to skip over because I feel queasy and sometimes he's so unsubtle he feels more like a prop than a guy who's going to be a Huge Deal in s2)

#why yes I have been reading some phenomenal fanfiction lately #a lesser me would be agonising over my inability to ever come close to matching the #masterfully characterised works of these talented WORD WEAVERS #but envy is a spoilt housepest and we must spend less time unleashing it upon new targets #instead let's talk about how these fics discovered its possible??#to write Val as not only a 3dimensional character but a deeply horrifying person to WITNESS #to depict how he thinks and what he wants and what he contributes to the people around him #while acknowledging that his actions are supremely messed up #also without dumbing whatever the fuck is wrong with him down to just 'can't do math and needs a sippycup'#those jokes are funny but he's also a dealmaker #he doesn't need to be studied under a microscope! he needs to be gawked at in abject horror! Oh the Potential!#he needs to tell us more about how depraved hell can be by linking us to a portion of the culture full of the dead who cannot die!#anyways. rant over. uh I think I like valentino now? in the same way I like the old man villain from hunchback of notre dame.#just. (gestures) what is this dude. ew. oh my god #my post #personal stuff #hazbin hotel #hazbin hotel valentino #is this anything #again I am entrenching on dangerous territory of 'expectations for this media I consume'#he really doesn't need to be written all shakespearean-like #too attached mayhaps #delete later #honestly worried that if the show does reveal his backstory or whatever it'll try to paint him in a sympathetic light #and then the online arguments will be a headache for a month #villain with tragic backstory ≠ sympathetic villain

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cyanide-sippy-cup · 3 months

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One thing I think many gloss over when it comes to Godzilla is the motivation and personality of each iteration, and how their design reflects that.

Shin is a being of pure agony, a living cancer that kills and destroys as much as it can out of pure rage and hatred at its own existence and those who made it be so. Over the film, it goes from what looks like a dead shark to a monster with razors for teeth and eyes of pure suffering and hate.

Minus One is basically hate personified, a monster that somehow manages to hold a deep personal rage against each and every individual member of humanity. It's hatred runs so deep that it commits actions just to terrify and kill. And it's design forces a terrifying glare, one so viscous you'd believe it really hates you personally.

Monsterverse is more of a disgruntled hero. He kinda gives the vibe of a dude who stands in the corner at a party acting like he doesn't want to be there. He has specific motivations in taking down particular kaiju, motivations that are often confused for attacks. He does what he needs to do and retreats back to the ocean when he's done. And he looks consistently miffed. A face that does lean into a menacing rage when necessary.

Classic goji is, like most iterations, an already existing being from the sea, enraged at the destruction of its home and mutation of itself. It has come to simply destroy, destroy all that has allowed this to occur. It causes hurt and suffering, agony and destruction all in its shared pain and rage. Its design is literally shaped like a mushroom cloud since, yknow, nuke mutation.

#and i can go on and on #showa goji is just a silly funky guy #godzilla #ugh and i love how shin and MO adapt the story of the original #shin focuses on the suffering of the creature. the nuclear mutation caused an immoral suffering. an existence of disgusting agony #MO focuses more on the rageful revenge #and monsterverse has its own little thing going on #i love it #goji is so versatile he can be literally anything and i think that's so fucking cool #gojira #kaiju #toho kaiju #king of the monsters #monster island #anyways hey with the monsterverse headed into silly territory i only ask one thing #PLEASE let me see my boys anguirus and gigan i beg of you. and maybe jet while we're at it #godzilla minus one #godzilla minus 1 #monsterverse #monsterverse godzilla #legendary godzilla #shin godzilla #anyways I'm super late but CONGRATS GOJI LET'S GO #and congrats to the team who put that amazing film together #that Oscar was well deserved #godzilla king of the monsters #ooh and minilla too maybe please 🥺. i bet he'd look real cute with his dumbass face in modern effects #oscars #godzilla oscars

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shima-draws · 1 year

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So are we just playing “send Shima quick doodle prompts to shake off the rust”?

In that case, you can never go wrong with toothcup

AUGH...AUGUGHHG...

I haven't drawn them in YEARS thank you for this

Also like. I know initially my idea was that human Toothless could talk regularly like everyone else. But mute Toothless who can sign is also......so good......

This is Perry's fault for poisoning my brain /j

#HTTYD #How To Train Your Dragon #Hiccup #Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III #Toothless #Toothcup #Human Toothless #I actually DO have thoughts about this.#So this AU...I guess it is an AU now--Toothless and the other dragons can shapeshift between human and dragon form #Which is like. Considered a rarity. And a privilege for dragons #The only drawbacks is that they kinda stick out...they retain a lot of their dragon-like qualities #Which makes it tricky to blend in with humans if that is the goal. But most dragons with this ability manage (if they choose to do so)#It varies from dragon to dragon ofc. But Toothless is one of the few who just CAN'T speak as a human #He's tried. But it sounds like a garbled mess lol #Some of the other dragons have a much better grasp on the human language and how to actually speak #But it's cool bc Hiccup teaches Toothless sign and that's how they communicate #NOW. The difference between Perry and Toothless is that generally Perry is very quiet. Kinda comes with the territory of being an agent #Toothless on the other hand. He's very loud. Even if he's mute #I mean yes he CAN be quiet if he wants. Night Fury duh. He's very good at stealh #*stealth #BUT if he's not focusing on being sneaky he's actually quite rambunctious lol #He may not be able to talk! But he sure does make a lot of other noises!! Most very dragon-like!!#Hiccup unconsciously mimics Toothless every now and then. It is VERY cute #Shima arts #ANYWAY I'm done rambling now lol thank you for giving me the excuse to draw them <3333 #Doodles #Art #Digital art #shima-draws

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a-local-idiots-shitpost · 5 months

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I think the worst (best) thing Twst could have ever made is making Malleus just a little Lizard dude, like what do you mean the once silly looking little guy is destroying everything he can so his dad doesn't leave him??? you think I can take him serious??? the little guy who still throws a tantrum like he's an egg??? you want me to take this man serious???

#twst spoilers #spoilers #maybe spoilers #local shouldn't be allowed to think #like what do you mean I should take Malleus serious as a threat #like I know he's lashing out because nobody bothered to teach him emotional maturatiy #and is terrified on being all alone again because his Dad will leave him and his only friend that doesn't have anything to do with his #family or Briar valley leaves him #and he's scared of being alone again and nothing more than a glorified trophy #but like they also showed him as a silly little baby and I can't take him serious anymore because now all I can think about is him just #acting like a child #and I should stop because funny just goes back into sad territory because Malleus was never taught how to properly handle his feelings

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jemmo · 1 year

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ive been thinking a lot about age in the eighth sense, in terms of age gap and the roles of hyung and sunbae and dongsaeng and the behaviours they entail, and the label of the country mouse, and how, with the events of the end of ep 6, they are paralleling jihyun against jaewon’s younger brother with the accident and how I think there’s a crux at the heart of this that is jaewon needing to see jihyun as not his younger brother. and i get that’s weird and kinda yucky considering the nature of the relationship between the two, it’d be very weird if jaewon simply thought of jihyun as a stand in for his familial little brother, but I don’t think it’s like that, it’s not as simple as that.

I think it’s very clear jaewon misses his little brother, plain and simple. and perhaps that extends into missing having a little brother figure in his life, and when I say little brother, I don’t mean familial. that’s why that initial ‘dongsaeng’ messed with our heads in the first place, bc it can be familial and not, so here, and from now on, I mean not. this is not weird incest territory, don’t worry. I think he misses having someone younger, someone to look after. he misses being an older brother. maybe that’s why he so quickly befriends jihyun. attraction aside, maybe he wants someone to care for, and a freshman, a country mouse that knows nothing of the city, being his friend, teaching him city life and uni life, that’s the kind of thing you’d do with a younger brother, and that’s an experience he’s missed. and I think a sense of responsibility also plays into this, bc that’s probably something he feels he lacks after losing his brother. he was supposed to be responsible, supposed to look after him but he couldn’t, and so now he wants to feel like he can be that responsible hyung, he can look after someone, not so much to redeem himself or prove something, but more for himself, to fill an emptiness by fulfilling that role. idk, I don’t think this is something he does consciously, but his body language, his constant touching and how it’s guiding and comforting, at first I thought it was just a desire to touch and filtered through this acceptable closeness between men, especially from someone older. but now i think there is a sense of actual brotherly-ness to it, which I think adds to this confusing want to be close jaewon has that to some degree comes from jihyun filling that younger brother space jaewon has had empty for so long. again, i think people are tentative to approach this topic bc it does get into weird territory, but I think this whole thing is more… how do I say… it’s like how people say you get with someone like your parents, like how often is the phrase “she reminds me of your mom” said between a father and son in movies and tv. it’s not that you want to date your mom, it’s more that you like and value traits that are similar, they bring you comfort bc you’ve literally been raised to be comfortable around someone like that. it’s not incestuous. and I think a similar thing is happening here, even though I don’t think it’s a driving force, I think it’s part of it. which is important, and I like, bc of how this theme progresses.

as the show continues, we see jaewon’s mask slip more and more, and we see jihyun become bolder, which are two important factors that lead into what I think jaewon ultimately needs to realize. jihyun is not his little brother, and he needs to separate the two. there is this obvious path leading from ep 6 where jaewon thinks jihyun’s accident is his little brother all over again and he regresses and distances himself and blames himself, but what he needs to see is that the accident is different. he needs separation. and that comes in the form of jihyun, jihyun becoming bolder and more confident and forthcoming and, most importantly, responsible. at the end of the day, he is not a child, and in that ocean he is responsible for himself just as much, if not more, than jaewon is. he goes into that ocean knowing he’s not the best swimmer and still does it. is he swept up by jaewon and emotions and the kind of heightened vibe of the day? yes. but is it still his decision? yes, and it’s a bit reckless. he can say no to jaewon when he offers to surf and catch the big waves instead of the safety of the shallows where they were before. you’ve seen him bite back and sass and poke and joke with jaewon before, he is not a cowering little mouse (more on that in a sec), and he still agrees, so he has to take responsibility. maybe jaewon was responsible for his little brother but he’s not responsible for jihyun, an adult with their own mind. and jaewon seeing that, that he can’t blame himself when he’s not responsible for anyone here, might just be the thing that helps him get out of that mindset.

and it’s not like jihyun is adverse to this. If anything, I think in this next ep we will hear jihyun blame himself, accept the fact that what he did was maybe a bit stupid and he should’ve thought first. bc we see time and time again jihyun not wanting to be that innocent, naive country mouse. just think about how much he refutes it time and time again, like in that library scene. he doesn’t want to be that person. that’s why he came to the city. It’s why he’s trying new things and being brave, he wants to grow up and be responsible. and I love that this becomes almost a reversal of the classic hyung and dongsaeng roles in later eps, as jihyun becomes more confident while jaewon regresses into himself. jaewon shows his weaker side and jihyun, the younger, looks after him instead. look at ep 6, how he initiates both conversation and physical contact, something we saw jaewon do in earlier eps. I love it both in terms of this theme but also just for romance sake. as an extension of these roles, you expect the older to make the moves and such, but I love that there are equal moments in this show that jaewon gets to be the one getting hit on, be it the scene where jihyun teaches him to draw or calls him cute when he’s drunk. you’d so typically expect to see a hyung doing those things to someone younger, but it shows equality in their relationship that counters those stereotypes in the simple and subtlest ways and I adore it.

this show has a strong theme overall of what’s expected vs how people actually are, be it from drinking etiquette to romance, but just like in that first scene with jihyun’s bar owner, one thing may be expected, but what people actually want, what makes people comfortable, can be something else. and by jihyun so simply not conforming to the country mouse persona initially put on him in such simple but outright ways, he acts as such a great challenge to jaewon, who wears his mask of expectation so frequently. it may be what’s expected, but have you ever considered that it’s not what people actually want? that they might actually want the real you, and all the so-called imperfection of it? bc when does that mask stop being a burden and start being a safety blanket, that shields you from the pain of actually being hurt in a genuine relationship, that hurts more than the pain of pretending. jaewon says over and over again that he’s tired of wearing the mask, but the mask is, ultimately, self inflicted, and as much as you can blame society and parents for expecting things from him, there’s a point when you become an adult where you get to decide for yourself who you are. again, he said it himself, just as he was afraid to leave the safety of the military, he’s afraid to leave the safety of uni, the bubble where what’s expected is clearly defined and can be performed. after that, the rules aren’t as clear. so much more of it depends on you. it’s the process of becoming an adult, of growing up. it’s a process jihyun is on, but jaewon, to be at least, seems further behind in. maybe bc he never got the chance at a fresh start like jihyun and is trapped by preconceived notions the people around him have of him by knowing him for years. maybe it’s bc of the loss of his little brother, and feeling trapped in that time, and a fear of growing up out of that person he was when his brother was there. maybe it’s bc he still feels trapped under his parents thumb, bc despite becoming an adult, you can never really be free of your parents.

I said this before, but it’s just like how they both said they’re jealous of each other, but what they’re jealous of is a preconceived notion of youth and age, not-knowing and knowing, naivety and experience, when again they don’t match these stereotypes. jihyun is not naive, and jaewon doesn’t know everything. Life experience is not all it’s cracked up to be bc it can’t all be good, but knowing nothing isn’t the bliss ignorance is often expressed to be. I’ve rambled on and waxed pathetically poetic long enough about these two to be embarrassing, but as a show that actually involves an age gap, and neither hides away from it nor exploits it for it’s played up romantic tropes, I adore that they let this factor naturally play into the bigger story being told, bc age actually means nothing here, and more than anything, jihyun and jaewon strive to be equals to each other, in their world void of expectations.

#it’s 2am in the morning and I wrote a thing #I don’t even wanna know how many words this actually is but all this stuff has been gnawing at my brain for a while now #so I just had to get out out in a big luscious overly emo ramble #but I’d love to know what you all think about this #bc going into the territory of jihyun replacing jaewon’s little brother has always been weird to me bc of the whole romantic vs familial t #thing but this show seems to be doing something interesting with it and it actually plays into their themes and I think ultimately wants to #convey that it isn’t the case jihyun isn’t a replacement he’s his own whole person and someone in jaewon’s life that only he can be #and he can fill an emptiness that jaewon feels without having to fulfill an empty role #the eighth sense

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antirepurp · 4 months

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post-06 silver who's permanently fucked up and beyond saving. he lacks any memories beyond a moment of existential terror he had one morning after waking up in a world he didn't belong to, and doesn't remember the timeline he's from that's now gone. someone who slowly loses more and more of their inhibitions the more he starts to vaguely understand the workings of time, but never truly grasping how everything works. his future remains safe and unchanged and the skies are blue, but sometimes when he travels to the past he describes apocalyptic conditions he's convinced are real. everyone believes him, because they could not even dream of arguing against him when he's the one who's time traveling. maybe he catches on to it himself eventually, that something's very wrong with him, but there's nothing he can really do about it. no one has the ability to correct you when you're wrong, to ground you in reality, when they can't tell your lies from the truth. even you don't know where you are really from, where the home you long for supposedly is. is this real, are you even real anymore? did you travel to the past or fall asleep? when was the last time you were sure you were awake, anyway?

#soda offers you a can #lore drabbles #i do like the sound of this i gotta admit #not only does the timeline reset fuck with you so does the excessive traveling #only some of which is your own conscious doing when the rest of the time it's entirely dependent on the whims of chaos emeralds #<- (headcanon territory for why he sometimes pops in the past but imo it checks out)#how about your own telekinesis? does it work the way you think it does or is it fucking with you too?#are you burning out your neurons every time you take flight? are you unknowingly destroying your own organs?#god i fucking love this 'hog when you actually do something with him

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mattodore · 5 months

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Seven Sins Challenge: Which of your OCs fits pride, greed, wrath, envy, lust, gluttony and sloth. Then pass it on...

feel like i’m shamecubing matthias here but 🤷

#river dipping #asks #agena87 #matthias evanoff #theodore doe #dionte duval #echthroi #lykos #ts4 #oc extras #thank you for sending this to me btw <3 made me laugh just bc like. i knew matthias would be forced to look in the mirror for once #…too bad it just made him smile 🙄#theo’s a little greedy too but it’s not like. enough to really classify him with it #also!!! mattodore didn't fit sloth at all… esp. not theo. so 🫵 forcing everyone to see one of my other ocs for once #dionte sleeps a lot…#even before he was turned into a werewolf and started getting prophetic visions he was still there falling asleep on subways #and he was NAWT meant for working. he was meant for batting his pretty little lashes and having things handed to him on a silver platter #AHHHHH!!!!!!!! this puts me down to only four more asks left in my inbox 😋😋😋😋😋#this is so crazy icb how clean it’s looking in there….#two of these are just the same tag game and idk if i need to answer them anymore bc i answered that message from morri that was similar #hm…#um and then the last two are oc questions abt mattodore 😁 one is spoiler territory tho so i don’t think i can answer it </3

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batsarebetterthanpeople · 2 years

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can we talk about how the dialogue in episodes 3 and 4 and the way that we see Izzy and Blackbeard interact in episode 3 implies that Ed doesn’t really get out much and relies on Izzy to filter most of his interactions with other people and Izzy manipulates that to his advantage just all the fuckin time. Like I might be misreading this but they don’t really show us Blackbeard interacting with Fang and Ivan ever really, despite the fact that they’ve presumably been sailing together for some time. And Ed sorta vibing telling ghost stories is the most open and available they’ve ever seen him, despite Ed being pretty open and available generally even when Stede’s not around which makes me think that until Ed and Izzy started fighting, Ed was letting Izzy do a lot of his social interacting for him. And we only see him do this for one episode (episode 3) and in that Episode, Izzy manipulates the way that Ed is perceiving the situation at every possible opportunity. By failing to tell Stede who his boss is so that he’ll get Stede to say something stupid that he can bring back to Ed and by telling Ed unequivocally that Stede knew who he was despite this. He also lies about his own behavior and Ed seems to just take his word for it. He says “I’ve massaged this crew when they were worried about your judgement” but the only time we see him responding to a crew member worried about Ed’s judgement is when Fang asks why they have to follow Stede and Izzy’s response is “How should I know, the man’s half insane. No one asked you to fucking think” which is exactly the opposite of what he says he’s doing.

Ed also seems to think that he needs Izzy. When Izzy tries to leave at the end of episode 4 Ed says all the things he knows will make him stay. At the beginning of Episode 7 Ed is ready to leave the revenge, and I think it’s because Izzy is no longer around. Episode 9 the first thing he does, even after Izzy’s betrayal, when he gets back on the revenge, is save Izzy and reinstate him as first mate. Even after the move with Calico Jack, even after selling him out to the British and then using him as a bargaining chip (Izzy didn’t buy Ed’s freedom in exchange for Stede, he bought Ed. Ed was turned over into the custody of captain Hands by the British which I do think is probably an important distinction) After all of that, Ed still puts Izzy in a position where he can control how the crew sees Ed, how Ed sees what’s going on on the ship, and who Ed talks to.

All of this of course culminates in Izzy being able to completely flip Ed’s emotional state in just one conversation. He basically breaks Ed’s spirit when Ed was honestly doing so well recovering from one of the most intense heartbreaks of his life. Every time Izzy hurls his verbal abuse at Ed, Ed either compartmentalizes and distances himself (”That’s Blackbeard, I’m Stede, remember?”) or he is violently reactive (”Chose you’re next words wisely, dog”) It’s fight or flight, and no one else has that reaction to Izzy’s verbal abuse. Lucius doesn’t give a fuck, Stede matches his energy. Like Izzy’s not a scary character, everyone but Ed treats him like an angry chihuahua when being insulted by him and yet he put’s Ed into survival mode with a word.

I also think it bares mentioning that as soon as Izzy looses his control over Ed he responds by doing something that could kill Ed (i.e. selling him out to the Brits.) He’s going to get back control by any means necessary.

I think what I’m saying is that Izzy is Ed’s abuser, and a lot of people just didn’t notice that because Ed has power over Izzy in that Ed is the captain and Izzy is the first mate, and because the show depicts Ed enacting physical violence on Izzy (i.e. punching him, choking him, and feeding him his own toe). Traditionally when you see an abuser and their victim in media the victim doesn’t enact violence unless it’s in the context of getting rid of the abuser for good and freeing themself, but Ed does it in the context of succumbing to the abuse, which I find fascinating. This show is really good at depicting complicated and messy relationships, and I think Ed and Izzy might be one of the most complicated and messy that there is. It depicts an abuse that isn’t a helpless woman and a domineering man and it flew over some people’s heads but I can’t think of another reason for Ed to behave the way he does around Izzy. And once you see it you feel dumb for not seeing it because Izzy really pulls out all the stops short of hitting him. He gaslights Ed, he manipulates Ed, he isolates Ed from his community, he yells at him, he threatens him, he forces Ed to walk a tightrope and if Ed doesn’t stick exactly to Izzy’s expectations of him he actively tries to do Ed harm. And It’s effective, even when Ed should kick Izzy to the curb he doesn’t because he’s fully convinced he can’t live without Izzy.

#It's also very interesting how Ed's neurodivergency fits into all of this #Like if I may get on my autistic headcanon for a moment #Izzy uses his neurodivergency to make ed feel and appear less compitent #when he's not calling ed week for being in love he's calling him crazy #I also wonder if it's easier to get ed to self isolate because he's autistic but that's more in head canon territory than media analysis #ofmd meta #tw abuse #izzy hands #edward teach #edward teach ofmd #blackbeard #blackbeard ofmd #also making blackbeard and abuse victim is a 10/10 move in my opinion #like anyone can be the victim of abuse even the greatest pirate of all time #Our flag means death #our flag means gay #ofmd

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