Cookie of the Week: Licorice Cookie

This Cookie of the Week is...

Cookie name: Licorice Cookie

Pronouns: He/Him

Rarity: Epic 

Position: Middle

Type: Magic

Lore: Before joining Dark Enchantress’s side, Licorice was once a diligent wizard from the Licorice Village, a village he is not happy to be known from. However, because of a lack of recognition for his talents for many years led him down the road of Black Magic. Ever since then, Licorice has been loyal to Dark Enchantress (even if he complains about his failed plans and Pomegranate). He is mostly the antagonist GingerBrave and his friends go against throughout most of the main story. The last known canon time we see him was the attack on the Crème Republic while his last known time in general was during the BTS collab where he and others crashed the concert.

Personality: Licorice is seen as arrogant but his ego is very fragile. He has a massive admiration toward Dark Enchantress, due to his statements toward her are all positive. He also tries to exaggerate his boasts about himself (but his ego gets knocked down easily). He tends to complain about his failed plans and Pomegranate (one of which has a great amount of hatred towards). He is also known to have smaller abilities like sewing.

Skills: Licorice's Skill is called Licorice Servants. This skill has Licorice summon a powerful Black Lightning and Licorice Servants. This spell will increase the party’s Defense and the Licorice Servants are resistant to movement interrupting effects. The Licorice Servants will be replaced when the skill is activated again. He will become resistant to interrupting effects. With his magic candy, his skill becomes Licorice Curse. The Licorice Servants will become reinforced with dark magic and the enemy with the highest DEF is inflicted with Licorice Curse, both a DEF and Healing-reducing debuff are added. They also become Silenced and Poisoned.

Costumes: Licorice has two costumes: ZZ Skull and Pale Reaper. Both can be obtained at any point in the game, only ZZ Skull is part of a costume set (B.A.D. 4: Leader Contest), and both do have special effects on the skill and the Cookie Decor.

Cookie Decor: Licorice does have a Cookie Decor that he shares with three other Cookies, Round Table of Darkness. His interaction is pretty funny and does change based on his costumes.

Thoughts: He’s baby girl. If you know, you know.

Character Analysis

THE BASICS: 

Character’s name: Roderick Varmont

Role in story:  Antagonist/Conquorer/Emperor

Physical description:  Jude Law

Age: 49

MBTI: INTJ (the architect)

Enneagram: Type 3 (the achiever), 3w4, 368

Zodiac: Capricorn

INTERNAL: THE MOST IMPORTANT THINGS YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT YOUR CHARACTER

What is his/her greatest fear?  Being worthless

Inner motivation: To feel valuable and worthwhile, want to be affirmed, to distinguish himself from others, to have attention, to be admired, and to impress others

Kryptonite: being ignored/dismissed, like…not getting his due/having his fears confirmed by outside opinion basically

What is his/her misbelief about the world?  Grind into the dust or be ground into the dust!

Lesson he/she needs to learn:  There are other ways to make a difference!  It’s not just kill or be killed!  Tbh, I doubt he’ll ever get there tho so good luck, world!  Also that you can be valuable without stamping the world w your image!  He might get ~there but the fear of being worthless thing will still fuel his ongoing quest for utter control/making his mark so the behavior will never end and obv that’s super fun #unproblematic <3

What is the best thing in his/her life?  Power and control!  Oh, oops, ig he loves his family too *awkward silence*  No, but in all seriousness he actually views the former as being in service of the latter!  He’s helping his family, even when he taunts and torments them etc, by making them stronger!  And he’s super protective in his super messed up way and tbh the fact that they’re not all daily thanking him is baffling!  But *dramatic swoon* he’s willing to take on everyone’s, even their, hatred and wrath and fear to help them!  Bc if there’s one thing that being a good dad def is, its traumatizing ur kids for life!  Ok but actually the best thing in his life is also the worst thing and that’s the ever-haunting memory of his dead wife who atp he’s sanctified in his memory so she has absolutely no flaws and that actually makes the whole thing so much worse on literally everyone! yayyyy! and obv its still sad bc she’s gone etc etc etc napoleon rotting in exile w/o josephine feels etc except he’s technically still on the top of his game and running from his feels…

What is the worst thing in his/her life?  Fear...He fears nothing!  *cough*  Anyway, it’s def those idiots who’re standing in his way!  But he def lives by the Tywin Lannister code of bring your enemies to their knees…and then help them up when they become ur allies (but never forgive!  never forget!  or you’ll get stabbed twenty-three times/shot while on the privy!)  Anyway, ain’t nothing gonna stand in ~his way too long <3

What does he/she most often look down on people for?  Stupidity, greed (ironies…), small thinking, lack of focus, impracticality, lack of a strong worldview (he ~can appreciate optimism as long as its ~grounded tho, it can even be inspiring, tho he never trusts it he’s more like ‘that’s beautiful if only it could be true…’ sorta deal…but if it isn’t sufficiently grounded, he dismisses it as foolish etc)

What makes his/her heart feel alive?  Surveying his realm and taking in the splendor of all he’s accomplished!  Holding his wives and children *cough* what? no ahem i didn’t mean that i meant…smth way tougher *eyes emoji*

What makes him/her feel loved, and who was the last person to make them feel that way?  His dead wife -- wait waht  No, but its just being loved and appreciated as much as he loves and appreciates – being supported, someone who sees his good traits for what they are, someone who silently forgives his many many faults even viewing ~those for what they are without ever making him feel small but rather makes him feel powerful etc, someone who sees his vision and is a partner in it while allowing him to take the reigns of it and working in the bg to help so he gets the glory which he can then shower his loved one with it and/or at least they share the glory equally that’d also 100% work for him but basically his contribution is super super important and he’s in no way eclipsed and gets to share in his glory w his loved one etc <3 (speaking of, he’s probs sanctified/deified/publically mythologized and revered his dead wife oops), someone who sees him as he is first and foremost without making him feel weak for someone ~knowing his weaknesses??? idk!! tis ethereal but that’s the skinny

Top three things he/she values most in life?  Family/love, accomplishment, legacy!

EXTERNAL: NOT NECESSARY, BUT GOOD TO KNOW AND SAYS A LOT ABOUT YOUR CHARACTER

What’s his/her favorite book, movie, and band?  He’d probably obsessively read the Iliad<3  Tragically, tho, he’d be an Achilles stan *sigh*  But!  He would, indeed, loathe the movie Troy even if he’d generally like Brad Pitt, otherwise.  Honestly, he is probs that one outlier whose in the bg shouting 'justice for agamemnon' too smdh Another go-to fav would be Wuthering Heights bc he’d eat up that tragic irony stuff idk what to tell you tbh.  Modern stuff?  He’d probs enjoy GoT and Succession (Logan Roy, you’re a real one) and – I haven’t seen it but probs House of Cards if its what it sounds like it is?  He’d also really love history and military history esp

Is there an object he/she can’t bear to part with and why?  He’s kept his wedding band/bracelet/ring/earring/sweater/whatever from his first wife and still wears it and always will!

Describe a typical outfit for him/her from top to bottom.  Yknow that super dramatic all-armor outfit Jude Law wears in Legend of the Sword?  Yeah.  That.  If not, some medieval!toga type thing probs idk I just feel like he’s always like tryna look super chill but actually being super dramatic yknow?  Like, a toga looks on one level super laid back its literally just this cloth you’ve sorta wound around yourself, but also its got big imperial aesthetic™ moments happening?  That’s the vibe except ~medieval fantasy~ aesthetic

What names or nicknames has he/she been called throughout their life?  klsdjfklsdjf Your Grace, Your Majesty, etc

What is his/her method of manipulation?  Charisma, persuasion, also – ‘you, fetch me a block!’ usually does the trick, too ;D  (really he does what he likes ;D) so yeah threatening, cajoling, weaponizing his own self-imposed iconography, also that story about julius caesar and the pirates is classic him and imma probably steal it <3

Describe his/her daily routine.  Awakens just before daybreak to watch the sun rise over a grateful world (what? yes he does have a lil thanos in him too shhh) while eating some small snacky foods bc mornings are for coffee and contemplation <3 then he has his correspondance brought by his viziers which, together, inform him of the events in the realm and he gives orders, signs things, sends out correspondance.  some days he will then hear petitions but that’s probs 1) a full day activity and 2) probs once or twice every couple weeks.  he generally will take his noonday repast w at least one of his families/family members for a sort of private take on what’s going on w them, and his dinners include the whole fam – all available wives and kids all together in a dinner time fete weird enough to make even tywin lannister feel awkward most likely ;D

Their go-to cure for a bad day?  Going on a ride through his empire, sometimes w an entourage sometimes in disguise and thus witnessing, firsthand, all the difference he’s made!  sometimes this makes the bad day worse for a bit, if he sees smth he doesn't like, but then he can go fix that one (1) thing and that makes him feel better even about the thing(s) he can’t fix.  sometimes, depending what’s amiss, he’ll throw a lil impromptu get together (read: BIG FUCKING PARTY) and enjoy feting his friends and fam but tbh this frankly backfires as often as it helps but he will never learn <3 also he doesn't usually participate sm as sit up on his throne and watch everyone else??? idk he's weird

CHARACTER GOALS:

How is your character dissatisfied with their life? HAHAHAHAHAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA how is he ~not dissatisfied?????? an ordinary life will N E V E R satisfy and, while you couldn’t accuse him of that, ~not feeling like a god 24/7 is such a terrible, wretched curse that he must bear its so tough being him only he knows this pain etc etc etc sdlkjfakljsdf anyway, basically, no matter how much he accomplishes it will never be enough, he will never be satisfied, never allow himself to breathe and be content etc etc etc it sucks to rule the world

What does your character believe will bring them true happiness or contentment? PROVING HIMSELF BY CONQUERING THE ENTIRE WORLD!!!!!!!! leaving his stamp by making the world a better place and eradicating corruption wherever he finds it improving the lives of everyday ppl, spreading enlightenment, etc, etc

What definitive step could they take to turn their dream into a reality?  well, he’s already taken some but there’s always smth else to conquer <3

How has their fear kept them from taking this action already?  well, in this particular way it hasn’t buttttttt it has prevented him from being the good husband/dad he’d like to be and tbh since his kids will probs be his truest legacy, since his empire will eventually fracture in the way all empires do, he’s really fucked that all up bc he’s too obsessed w his empire and w making them ‘strong’ to actually be a good family man etc. and thus his own cycle is ultimately self-defeating

How does your protagonist feel they can accomplish their goal while still steering clear of the thing they are afraid of?  he basically thinks he’s pulling off the biggest fake out in history faking it till he makes it and thus proving himself worthy!!!!!!!  joke’s on him tho bc he’s royally (heh) messing it all up <3

A weird thought that kind of hung out in my head for a while that is sort of relevant to this blog's theme, but also kind of isn't, but I'm honestly not sure, but I have no better place to dump it into, so whatever. Feel free to ignore this if you're not interested >>

Yautja. Predators. However you want to call them. They have a very particular, hunting and honor-centric cultural mindset. But. What would it be like for someone in their culture to just... not be into that? There are people who are basically entirely averse to romance, in spite of how central it is in our culture, so how would some who is, uh... akynig, not interested in hunting? And how would such a person, perhaps, adapt to another society, lacking this aspect of Yautja culture but carrying across many others?

The worldbuilding nut in me is always excited about those things but it is a very rare opportunity to discuss it in any manner >>

i dont rly know anything abt the predator film franchise so i cant rly add much but i do enjoy the idea of like. alien cultures and what that means for the individuals within that culture.

idk how comparable this is but i was just recently watching a video that was talking abt the ferengi from star trek and how upon their original introduction they were kinda this one note species because their sole characteristic was being a hyper capitalistic culture built around hoarding wealth, but in deep space 9 we start to actually see individual ferengi characters outside the context of this monolithic cultural concept and come to understand that their greed is not like some innate personal trait but the result of the values and demands of ferengi society.

theres def a larger discussion to be had abt the way a lot of popular scifi tends to narrow entire planets worth of people down to singular traits and how thats kind of a major weakness when it comes to like world building and imagining alternate societies, but when thats a thing the franchise is already doing it does open up an interesting avenue of like, how many ppl within this culture actually share this valued trait? how many are just going along with it bc its what you do? how many have so deeply internalized it that even if removed from this society and its rules they would unconsciously mirror it? is there a space for counter-culture in this world?

it seems like itd be harder to analyze stuff like that in the context of predator movies tho since, from my limited understanding, it seems like the yautja were at least originally designed simply according to what would make them serve best as a scary antagonist. i do think its cool tho that there seem to be a lot of fans who are trying to give their species more depth and complexity than the source material affords them. again tho im probably missing a lot of actual context lol.

[ i have decided to reply to all the salty munday asks except one here to avoid clogging the dash with negativity

why except one? beacuse. thinking about it, that one in particular ended up being more an excercise for me to let out some really bad memories that. turns out i suppressed until now? i guess. and i’d rather approach it in another way, explain it in better details and give a proper warning before talking about it

for the rest

join me under read more! and fair warning my mood isn’t one of the best so don’t expect me to have. the best english nor a lot of tact asfndmg ]

4. What are some things you are tired of seeing in the RPing community? asked by @tellnxlies & @badmusejail​

[ people not putting their money where their mouths at? like the amount of ppl who preach about sending stuff before reblogging memes and not doing anything about it? or seeing promo hour, posting their promo and moving on without promoting anyone else, even worse if later on they complain about cliques.

it’s this... problem that a lot of fandoms have, i’m sure, but i literally have no problems with this kind of stuff in any other RPC i’m in. it’s this constant complain about lack of interactions, and then not daring to take a step further to take the first step ]

7. Things that you will not tolerate? asked by @kotoyin & @tellnxlies

[ ofc the usual stuff; p/edophilia, r/acism, you name it. the usual things that i don’t even mention in the rules because the few people who were into that shit literally didn’t give a damn about much lighter rules, they wouldn’t have cared if i said, hey! maybe don’t interact with me if you want to do unspeakable things with a child?

but for more personal stuff, i despise people who treat me like a moron. i had my fair amount of “oh i’m sorry i don’t have a tumblr” from anons who def have it, or “i know you have this in your rules but since we’re friends i figured it was worth a shot” when it comes to ships or fandoms i don’t rp with. ]

14. Your opinion on muns making canon characters Trans/ gender fluid etc.? asked by @hxdrostorm​

[ the same i have for any other interpretation when it comes to gender, sexuality or even mental health: i don’t see the problem as long as they don’t make it into their character’s Only Personality Trait or turn it into nothing but fetish (because, yea, been there, seen that) ofc if the mun is cis it’s heavily encouraged to do research or contact trans/NB friends and mutuals to ask for help, but. yea ]

15. What is your biggest pet peeve? asked by @turnecoat​, @hxdrostorm​ & @skullkxd​

[ People Who Just Want To Ship Get Out Of Here

seriously ik i’m digging my own grave by playing characters that are. arguably “the fandom favorites”, but if i had a nickel for every person who jumped in my askbox expecting my muses to be immediately in love with theirs, ESPECIALLY if they’re characters, ocs or canons, i 1) don’t know anything about since even every canon character has very personal interpretations and 2) i have no idea if they’d have chemistry i could buy this entire site

i know some want to rp just to have a ship, and that’s FINE, i don’t judge! but don’t shove me into your nothing-but-ships blog my dudes

especially if you expect me to do all the hard work and your muse is perfect/did nothing wrong/deserves to have my well-known often antagonistic and shut-in muses to bend over and be lovey dovey to yours right off the bat ]

16. How much does it take for you to get angry/upset? How long does it usually last? asked by @hxdrostorm​

[ sdfnmdf it depends so it turns out!!!i have problems dealing with my anger, and that mixed up with funny mental health issues really make my patience change from day to day. if one day i could laugh at something, the next day it could frustrate me right away; sometimes it lasts five minutes, sometimes all day :^) ]

20. Wild card: The mun discusses any situation/problem they want. asked by @kotoyin & @turnecoat​

[ if i see the height discourse again one more time i will start biting people ]

Have you played the great ace attorney? If so do you ship anyone from it? It probably has my second favorite ship behind Narumayo(that being ryususa) so I'm really curious(And if you haven't played it you really should)

^You'd think I'd blame work or steam engine brainrot but no, this is what a lack of rangu does to a mf lmao

So if you know any good, funny, voice-acting talented, nrmy/rysu shipper, anglo-speaking youtuber who played aa please let me know~!

I mainly want to know if you anglos got, at least, good (no need to be great xd) content in your side of the fandom... like i doubt it, but id like to be proven wrong lol~

AND NOW UNTO THE ACTUAL ANSWER:

I'm currently on the last case of the first game☝️ on the part bout the stereoscopic pictures, so I already know that Susato is leaving :(...... BUT MAN IF THAT WASN'T A RYUUSUS MOMENT!!!!!! ^0^

Hell yeah, by virtue of being pre-narumayo, ryuusato is a something I ship and the moments keep piling up~! And I already know that they'll be more, specially on the escapades extras xdd (i mean one of Phoenix's parents needs to be born right?)

____________

One of my kayworth jp artist also makes barogina (cause duhhhh prosecutor x thief) and I'm not sure if I fully buy it as well... the ages are still on fine territory but it's clear that their dynamic is more... antagonistic.

That being said, I do like the "stoic man softens the angry lady" thing lol. More in the Barok treats Gina like the adult she is and realizes that being a grown-up isn't that bad x3

But I gotta keep on going to know in what direction will these characters go yknow?

(Now we enter spoiler territory)

Things I know bout Resolve despite not going through it yet:

They add more female characters (?

Kazuma didn't die actually

And ngl, pre-mitsumayo (asosusa) kinda bangs and so does pre-narumitsumayo (asoryuususa) but I still prefer my ships monogamically so I'll just have to wait and meet (and re-meet xd) everyone else before deciding on a good lady for him... or maybe just keeping him single lol

____________

It doesn't seem to be any good ladies for Herlock nor good boys for Iris and I'm def not shipping them togheter haha maybeifiriswerealateteenbutsheaintfuckxd

If anything it looks like the devs made sure that NO ONE ships Sherlock x Watson cause they kill one and make the other a 10 y/o... of course it doesn't necessarily stop anyone and it looks more like they tryna see how far the fans could go... but it did stop me so here we are~

____________

And I guess that's it lol, we'll have to wait and see~~

Hebi Anon

Addendum: I should clarify, the three Noto generals are asking questions about what they don't understand OF THEIR OWN VOLITION. No real challenge or reason other than wanting to know "why". Which, again, is more than what Taro does.

I don't want to root for the Noto because my opinion on their motivation is "Oh get the [REDACTED] off your high horse. If you don't understand people and their flaws then you don't get to make any calls about what happens"

However, TO ME the same applies to Taro. And only one of the two is actually trying to fix that problem. AND IT'S NOT TARO. And you already know how my neurodivergent ass tries to navigate the world.

I feel like it's a problem when someone can empathize more with the alien, "murders people for human flaws" antagonists than the main protagonist

. Ok so I def answered this in the last ask >:].

I'll call Tarou's problem the

Rock-Paper-Scissor Dilemma

Perfect representation of Tarou's loop. He tries, something about him sabotages any attempt he can make at winning/reaching success, he doesn't understand, but he willingly tries again.

It's a fixed loop. Only with outside interference will Tarou be able to disrupt his loop and change/learn/win.

For you, people answered your questions with: "Just do it. That's how it is." So you attempt to do it based on your understanding, and if you crash and burn, well. There's nothing you could do about it, because those other fools were the ones not giving you the explanation/directions you needed.

Likewise, Tarou is perhaps at even more of a disadvantage because he can't even voice his frustrations. He doesn't know how to voice those questions "Why? I don't understand." All he knows is his own frustration, not how to communicate it.

So likewise, he tries, based on his understanding, and he fails miserably.

The reason he connects so easily with Sonoi is because Sonoi never once judges him, or comes in with preconceived notions of how things should be. He asks questions. Listens. Shares his point of view. When asked for clarification, gives a logical and visually well-thought-out one.

No one has done this for Tarou before.

Can you imagine, not understanding something, not knowing how to even voice that you don't understand it, or what about it you don't understand; and then meeting someone who lets you state your facts. Just listens and asks questions. And then not once judging your own lack of understanding, and instead choosing to share his viewpoint, as well as clarifying and giving a logical example that helps you follow and grasp a concept you previously couldn't?

I'd cry too.

Tactics Ogre Reborn: My Little Anecdotes Turned Accidental Character Rant?

(wall of text warning)

Recently finished my first playthrough of Tactics Ogre Reborn and I feel the need to gush so enjoy this as I throw it into the darkest depths that is my tumblr. I (kinda surprisingly) really enjoyed this game (honestly I love tactics games and story-heavy games so I really don't know why I was so surprised in the first place ^^''), I wouldn't call it perfect by any means, I do have quite a few issues I'd like to touch on (Palace of the Dead say hi) but like it is really good, def recommend (also out of context spoilers?)

Having just completed the main story’s chaos route with the princess ending (I think it was called that), it’s a lot to take in. I think the story and characters really shined in chapter 2 and chapter 3 but I was a little bit disappointed in the resolution in the final chapter (4), A lot kinda happens but there is a lack of character drama since protag-boy Denam is mostly alone and it being my first time through a lot of the bigger plot points felt a little lost on me (kind of my fault though cuz I got burned out in chapter 4 because of the amount of side-content and especially *The Palace of the Dead*, I’m getting to you). One really nice detail I think is the character notes you get after every battle or cutscene, it doesn’t just add details about your characters but villains, antagonist and just generic units you have to kill (say Yay!). It really gives you the sense that everyone has their own life and it makes it that much more painful when you have to take others.

Character-wise I enjoyed the cast a lot, I both like and dislike the fact that you have to go out of your way to learn about the side characters though. It did make every detail more rewarding and memorable but at the same time I would have liked *some* indication as to how I was suppose to know beforehand? Like, take Arcylle’s backstory with Leonar being locked to in-battle dialogoue which can be missed or just accidentally cut short if you finish the battle too early, and that’s just one of many. This is not the game for people who need a perfect playthrough cuz you will lose your mind. 

My personal favorite characters were the Four Phorena Sisters (especially Cistina and Sherri), Arycelle, Hobyrim, Cressida and Catiua. I kinda desperately wish we had a proper resolution to the Sisters since they are kinda built up in chapter 2 and 3 but nothing ever happens, they never get to talk with each other once they’re finally together again, that would have been a great ending scene instead of just three silent characters and one pursuing the main character, which didn’t really add anything (other than sequel-teasing I guess? Whoops). I wish more time could have been dedicated to those kinds of interactions, I would have loved a support-like system, or just more optional scenes thet aren’t obscured, to flesh out the characters even more. Still I think it’s impressive how they manage to make you think so much about the characters and want to learn more about them despite the lack of dialogue or story around them. Also not saying I want more dialogue for dialogue’s sake but I want to see proper resolutions to character arcs that were teased throughout the story.

Similarly I think Catiua deserved better. She’s a really interesting character being led astray by insecurities and being kind of selfish, only really caring about herself and her family, but I think that makes her a very human character. I think the moment with Denam where she realizes just how strong their bond is, “blood be damned” is really sweet but 4 her character development does a 180* way too quickly. It feels a little unearned having her “queen persona” yap on about duty and people when she herself didn’t learn anything about that in the story we see. It would have added more to her character if she was allowed some agency when she joined the dark knights, kind of like Vyce’s pathetic walk to doom.

I do wonder though if some of my complaints will be rectified in other story routes cuz it could definitely be possible that they split up some story events or things change so much that some characters become more relevant in the main story? (but in that case just take it as a complaint about the Chaos route specifically idk)

I almost forgot to rant about the palace of the dead which is a 100 floor dungeon (which is ridicolulsly long, 24 hours, I’m no christian but jesus christ) that I walked into blind, proceeded to lose my mind cuz it was never ending, only to find out I was 50% through it and got to stubborn to quit so then I dropped the game for like months (only really doing a few battles every now and then) but I finally freed myself this week, it is no more, never attempt this. Your one reward for beating the boss is one 30 second ending scene being alterted (anything for you Cressida <33 //but not really) and an item that skips the dungeon which…thanks would have liked that beforehand but I will take it for the postgame dungeons.

Also slight note but having looked up some character details I found out the naming of the characters is based in goetia mythology (specifically the names of demons) but not all characters match their derived demon. Arycelle starts out as air-based in the game but her name is derived from Alloces who is associated with fire? smhsmh

i remember your complete adoration for character playlists and love encouraging ur hf so QUICK THINK FAST DAMIAN PLAYLIST

JOKES ON YOU I ALREADY HAVE ONE MADE. it's much longer than this but these are some of the ones on there

the main character -- will wood

So, God forbid I'm seen just as an average human being I mean, imagine if antagonists lacked any evil scheme I'm the gap between a tragedy and comedy Don't come at me I'm the main character, and you have to like me

i see this as recently coming to gotham damian, who is facing a lot of mistrust or downright hatred that, after being raised the way he was, is deeply different than what he thought meeting his father would look like. he's used to being treated a very specific way and had a LOT of very specific misunderstandings about bruce's character, and finding himself alone while feeling these things is,,, rough

brutal -- olivia rodriga

I'm so insecure, I think That I'll die before I drink And I'm so caught up in the news Of who likes me and who hates you And I'm so tired that I might Quit my job, start a new life And they'd all be so disappointed 'Cause, who am I, if not exploited?

and also

All I did was try my best This the kind of thanks I get? Unrelentlessly upset (ah, ah, ah) They say these are the golden years But I wish I could disappear Ego crush is so severe God, it's brutal out here

this is a more adjusted but still new to gotham damian-- he knows how he's viewed, what he is, who he is, and while he's been raised to accept it, now that he's on his own, without any ally, well. it's starting to get under his skin

teenagers -- my chemical romance

do i need to explain this one. do I. do I really need to

rat -- penelope scott

i wont post the whole song but like. every lyric in it works. so you get a lot of em.

I come from scientists and atheists and white men who kill God They make technology high quality complex physiological Experiments and sacrilege in the name of public good They taught me everything, just like a daddy should

I studied code because I wanted to do something great like you And the real tragedy is half of it was true

'Cause we're so fucking mean, we're so elitist, we're as fucked as any church And this bullshit west coast dogma has a higher fucking net worth I bit the apple 'cause I loved you, and why would you lie? And then I realized, you're just as naive as I am Oh, you're so traumatized, it makes me wanna cry

Well, I don't wanna eat the rich, I'd have to eat my heroes first And my tuition's paid by blood, I might deserve your fate or worse

i can see this song applying to any of the robins and their relationship with bruce, but damian def fits the most out of all of them

oh no! - MARINA

I know exactly what I want and who I want to be I know exactly why I walk and talk like a machine I'm now becoming my own self-fulfilled prophecy One track mind, one track heart If I fail, I'll fall apart Maybe it is all a test 'Cause, I feel like I'm the worst So I always act like I'm the best

just because damian is self aware of his trauma-- which I very much believe he is-- and how it affects him down to his very blood and breath, he can't undo what has been done to him.

seventeen - MARINA

Oh, you were embarrassed of me 'Cause I used my tongue freely Bet you wish I couldn't speak 'Cause when I do, you know I tell you why you appear weak

and

You teach me how to behave I felt you question the way I was brought up as a baby Well, you don't know fuck about my family

damian is very aware of how his family-- both talia and bruce-- are viewed, and how it reflects on him, and on his own behaviors. well, in his view, tough shit. he is who he is

little big boy -- madds buckley

Brimstone fire and eyes aglow Little big boy's making the whole world know his name Raised on pillars and shining lights, Breathing smoke for the right to keep his place Never satisfied 'till they all see How big this little boy can be Well the water's rising Tide's comin' in Does little big boy know how to swim? In a pond filled with fish bigger than him Oh little big boy's gonna see how little he really is

it's all fun and games until you're robin-- can league training really prepare you for the horrors of gotham?

interlude: i'm not angry anymore -- paramore

'm not angry anymore Well, sometimes I am I don't think badly of you Well, sometimes I do It depends on the day The extent of all my worthless rage I'm not angry anymore

damian is adjusting to his new family and new city and hey, even some new friends! but trauma doesn't go away overnight

lullaby - shayer james & kate douglas

Mother, all my life you taught me People can't be trusted And we have to fight to stay alive We'll always be the enemy Oh, eye for eye and limb for limb The blood that I've been swimming in Oh, mother, I've grown tired of this Mother, I've grown tired of this There's beauty and there's empathy Some people might've cared for me I hid my heart and stayed inside Instead of moving with the tide Oh, mother, I've grown tired of this

how do you rationalize loving your mother while also being aware of how she's hurt you, how she's forged you into a weapon? how do you live with that?

this is home -- cavetown

Get a load of this monster He doesn't know how to communicate His mind is in a different place Will everybody please give him a little bit of space? Get a load of this trainwreck His hair's a mess and he doesn't know who he is yet But little do we know the stars Welcome him with open arms Oh time is slowly tracing his face But strangely he feels at home in this place

damian is viewed as a monster and a danger, sometimes even by his own fellow heroes, but at the end of the day, he'll have people who love him for who he is, not despite who he is

So, given your well-documented appreciation for a certain traitorous toa-turned-nightmare, what are your thoughts on Bionicle's other prominent insectoid tragic bastard: Krika?

I feel like you may have described such thoughts before, but if so, I have forgotten and would love to hear them again :P

First of all aaa thank you so much for sending me this ask. It made me super happy to see it here, I always love recieving asks, especially ones with interesting topics. Also slfklmsddlkfsm you refering my Nidhiki loving as well documented made me freaking grin so hard you have no idea.

I have mentioned Krika a few times, but those were a while ago and were either short or silly meme posts. I haven’t really expressed my deep or complex thoughts on him (save on really liking how his design and characterization are a paradox). But I do like Krika a lot. In fact, there was a time Krika was either my second favorite character if not outright favorite. While I’m not sure if he’s in my top 5 anymore (blame there being quite a few characters I like a lot), he’s definitely a big favorite of mine and I have a soft spot on the guy, so much so that my online alias (Kirika) is partially after him. As such, I’m happy to share my thoughts on him.

For starters, let me tell you I ADORE Krikas design. He probably has one my favorite designs in the series, being a skeletal robobug. I always loved me sharp monstrous yet slender designs, so Krikas fits right uo my alley. Theres something so eerie, yet utterly badass about him I cant help but adore. ALSO HIS COLORSCHEME. White + black +red is such a kickass colorcombo I can’t help but adore it.

One of the reasons this post took so long is because I wanted to take a picture of my Krika but sadly I couldn’t find his mask for whatever reason :C. As such, have a cutesy(?) Krika doodle as consolation.

Now or his characterization...Krika is one of the most interesting characters in the series in my book, and a fanfavorite for a good reason.

By far the main reason Krika is a such a beloved character (for me and many others) is due to him being a complex and even sympathetic villain in a franchise that (up until that point) had mostly lacking them, favoring more simple “pure evil bastards” style when it came to characterizing its villains. Sure, in the early years the foes the Toa had faced off weren’t really that evil, just creatures that were just doing what their purpose was (Bohrok probably are the best example of this as they weren’t completely animals/drones but rather just designed with a benefical purpose in mind). Even Makuta himself had some sympathetic implications in the earlier years (remember the Mask of Light oddities). But once 2004/5 started to do a shift from “antagonists are mooks/drones” to antagonists being characters, the villains became more “ambitious warlords and cunning masterminds” type.  I have talked many times how the series kinda has a bad habit of characterizing its villains in not only in a very samey way (Greg has his preferred archetypes and BOY does it show sometimes) but also...simplistically? Sure, some of them did have implications of emotional complexities but a lot of time this was more unintentional than intentional depth (Best examples of this by far are Nidhiki (more or less confirmed, Greg just saw him as an ambitious and selfish bastard who got what he deserved, while parts of the fandom kinda read him in a more complex and sympathetic light) and Takadox (not sure if his complexity is confirmed to be accidental but Takadox def has some characterization quirks that make him a bit more complex than most of the series villains)) . Krika feels different from the way Greg usually writes his villains as not only is he one of the rare intentionally complex villains the series had til this point (Brutaka being the other one I can think of) but also the first and only sympathetic/anti-villain the series had after the change of how it characterized it’s villains. This, is what I feel made Krika such a refreshing and beloved villain in the community, for how he feels unlike any other .

But now, lets go deeper into Krikas character and analyzing his complexity, shall we?Krikas defining character trait is that he is the reluctant and regretful antagonist stuck in the role of a villain, because he sees it as his only purpose. He doesn't want to be a bad guy, and resents his place in the world, but at the same time, he sees him as having no other choice. For Krika, were he to revolt, Teridax would kill him instantly, and Krika does have a sense of survival.

A big reason I like this part of Krikas character is how it tackles one of the central themes of the series, that being the idea of determinism, fate and nature vs nurture. Whether its intentional or an accident, Bionicle does tackle the idea of pre-determined Destiny and whether our “code” or experiences has an effect for ho we are as people. The Makuta are a species that essentially is “programmed” to be arrogant and haughty and are p much all evil because its the survival tactic due to Teridax wiping out anyone who opposed him. Yet despite that...Krika still has a coincidence, he still feels regret over his actions and hates who he is. He knows he is evil because that’s what his species is meant to be, yet he absolutely hates  that notion. I think this quote sums his character quite well:

"Do you know why we Makuta hate Toa so much? It's because you are what we could only pretend to be, once upon a time -- heroes who do good for no reward. And so we call you fools, and even slay you... because we could not be you."

And just that duality within his character and how it tackles a major idea of the series is so so SO fascinating for me. Krika is a character that really dances between the idea of whether a creature that’s designed to be evil can be something else or if its his destiny, his programmig (for lack of a better term) to be evil. He has self-awareness and does somewhat try to fight aggainst it, given how he did oppose Teridax orders a few times (see him sparing Miserix for instance) and eventually started actively oppose him.

Another thing I LOVE about Krika is his nobleness and how he honours his opponents. He still acts respectfully towards his enemies, which shows his “not like the other girls” nature in action. He really has this honorable warrior born in the wrong side of conflict, which makes his character tragic.

However, while Krika being complex is a good thing, I can’t help but wonder if he’s a bit too complex for the series good. I have brought up a few times how despite the complexity of the plot and world, the characters themselves aren’t too complex (most of the time anyways) and the series isn’t really that interested in exploring them (most of the time anyway). As such, while Krikas complexity is more than welcome, at the same time I feel that he isn’t explored as much as he could’ve been. Theres also his death, which I’m very mixed on. On one hand, I feel he having a tragic fate fits his character...but also it’d been really nice had he switched sides and joined the Toa to stop Teridax. There’s also the fact that thematically speaking, Krika dyingbefore he could turn good kinda enforces the idea that bad beings are always bad and can’t be redeemed, something which doesn’t really sit with me.

All in all, Krika is a great, interesting and tragic character who adds something new to the franchises roster of villains. He may been with us for a short time, but the short time was incredibly memorable and he was utilized as best as he could considering Gregs writing style and how we really had only an arc to spend with him.

TW for saneism a little in this one because i HATE fandom but espessially the FE:3H fandom

Real ones remember the dimitri theme this blog used to have

Dimitri is literally just psychotic canonically hallucinates, probably psychotic depression tied to his PTSD. Here's more thats actually canonically 100%:

(the psychosis is all but named. He literally just hallucinates ingame multiple times consistently)

Sadly the plight of being openly psychotic means a HUGE amount of the fanbase is saneist towards him, i see people who often imply because of his psychosis that he is "unfit to be ruler". Many of which openly think the answer to his mental illness is killing him, despite canonically being a very good ruler...??????

As much as I thought 3 houses sucked (and it does theres so many issues i have with it.), i also have to say it was REALLY nice to see a main character deal with mental illness in a way that wasnt graceful and pretty. While there are issues with Dimitri's writing as a psychotic character he's def better than most. + 3 points for being actually canonically dealing with hallucinations. He also exhibits other psychotic and even more specifically schizophrenic symptoms such as "flat" expressions and tone of voice, issues processing and dealing with emotion, difficulty in conversation and expressing what he's thinking, breaking fragile objects because he has trouble "controlling his strength", unpredictable agitation, low interest level in many things, and lack of ability to be happy when doing things which would generally make someone happy. And with how greasy his hair looks even before timeskip i'd say probably struggles with hygiene. we havent played it sense the year it released so idk if that last ones untrue or not

And he's not an antagonist. And generally liked by many.

not much more to say

deserves better

as in deserved better fandom? deserved better in story? deserved a better media? all the above

also off topic but this is gay they cant trick me i know he's not straight . fellas is it gay to get buried beside another man. Guys will "Behave more like a family" in private and say no homo. Theyre married.

(both pics are same guy he just has a timeskip dif as a teen and adult)

I LOVE THIS GUY its really awesome to see him be a good ruler and I would also fight anyone who talks shit about him now I heart your blorbos hes OUR blorbo now

jotaro kujo x reader

anonymous asked: “Can I get a Part 3 Jotaro and reader that returns from Egypt where he finally confesses his feelings? They had moments during the journey but now that they can reflect, he decides it's time to come clean. I def love it to be NSFW but I'll let you decide. Thank you!”

sure!! ty for the request! :) kind of nsfw??? not really though haha . .. 

no matter what part of the world you belong to, joseph would probably invite you back to japan. jotaro would be happy that the old man made such an offer to you. not that he’d show it.

you’d allow jotaro and joseph to reunite with holly. that’s what the whole trip was about, wasn’t it? you would stand outside while holly’s sweet voice would comfort the two men. you couldn’t help but smile. all the sacrifice, all the slaughter -- it all led to this moment. 

it would be ten or so minutes until jotaro would finally step outside. the silent shutting of the door caused your attention to focus on the student. joseph was still inside with his daughter, but jotaro had come out to address his company. “hey,” you begin. his aquamarine eyes focus onto your set. moments like these were always so intense. “so, i’m guessing she’s all better?” you decide to speak again once the silence stills too long. jotaro nods. “yeah. the old man is gonna stick around for a couple of days to make sure she’s alright. --” it’s your turn to nod.

“and you?” his words are thrown casually. jotaro often tried to play up moments like these: attempting to appear aloof and casual. you almost laughed. “well, your grandfather is gonna buy me a ticket back to home. so whenever he does that is when i’m leaving, i guess.” 

he gives a simple hum and decides to head back inside with his mother. it’d take a day or two before jotaro approaches you again.

it’d be early in the morning. probably because he decided to sleep on the decision. but as soon as you woke up, he’d find you with a strangely serious scowl on his lips. it was so odd to see him so intense outside of battle.

he wasn’t scared of rejection, or so he thought. but when you were right in front of him, the familiar feeling of anxiety bubbled in his core. he almost died and lost his mother -- why was this so fucking scary?

the uncomfortable silence would make you awkwardly clear your throat. “.. is -- er, is there anything you need, jotaro?” his eyebrows would furrow even deeper at this. “obviously.” you almost scoffed, but he continued. “i guess there’s no beating around the bush,” his fingers meet the brim of his cap thoughtfully.

the confession is straightforward and calm. “i didn’t want to tell you this during the trip.” he didn’t explain why, but you could infer it was because of both of your missions: him with trying to save his mother and you with trying to defeat dio. “ .. but we’re home now. so -- i was wondering if you’d like to get .. something to eat .. sometime.” confusion raised one of your eyebrows upward. “ .. uh .. i mean, yeah. whenever you want, just let me know. we can get something to eat anytime, jotaro.” his eyes had never once left yours. it was far too intense under his almost harsher gaze.

“not like that.” he begins and you narrow your eyes. “not like that?” you repeat. “but like what? ... oh ...” did he mean romantically? with romantic implications? like .. dating? the softest of gasps escaped into the tensed air. he responded with his typical lack of enthusiasm. “stop being so dramatic.” 

you immediately respond. “it’s not every day that the guy you’re interested in asks you on a date!” though, once the words left your mouth, it was his turn to become embarrassed. pulling his brim downward to hide his flushing expression, the boy merely clicked his tongue. “whatever. wear something pretty,” he turned before you could spot the growing smile on his lips.

drunken laughter spilled from your lips at one of jotaro's dry responses. while, typically, you'd be annoyed by his antagonistic one-liners, alcohol made his personality all the more bearable. his intoxicated smile seemed to widen at your bubbliness. a jotaro smile was truly an oddity. it only proved his inebriation. the two of you had just returned from a filling dinner held at a quaint little restaurant with obvious romantic undertones. it was just the right amount of romance and casualness -- and jotaro was, surprisingly, a gentleman. he ditched the stupid get-up he normally wore for a button-up and some slacks! he even combed his hair! to say that he cleaned up well was an understatement. his attractiveness was augmented when he attempted to give a shit about his appearance. so, the two of you were drinking away the remainder of the night when the date concluded. jotaro's idea, of course. the plane to head home was flying in tomorrow, the probability of this being your last time together for a long while was undeniably high. to be honest, it was all jotaro could think about.

the clearing of his throat seemed to pull you back to reality. "ahh," you were immediately apologetic. your empty can of beer met the nightstand quietly. you had forgotten how intimate the moment had turned. the two of you were stationed on his bed, facing each other. it was so odd to be this close to him. "sorry 'bout zoning out. -- guess i'm just thinking." jotaro doesn't respond, so you merely shrivel under his stare. there was something about him that was always just so intimidating. you swallow thickly in an attempt to ease the tension in his bedroom, but unfortunately, this does little to help your situation. the amplified emotions from the alcohol led you to believe he was upset. "about what?" his cool voice reaches out to you, immediately causing you to frantically blink. thoughts were becoming harder and harder to grasp at. "uhh," the alcohol sloppily fogged your brain, but you managed to push through. you shift on the mattress and he sways with the movement. "well .. i guess i'm just thinking about .. how i'm leaving soon." honesty dribbled from your lips. you felt your shoulder softly connect with his wall. the softness of his bed seemed to envelope you and ease you toward slumber. you closed your eyes and relished in the tranquility of it all. you supposed most girls would be thrilled to be in jotaro's bedroom, but you were just soothed by it. jotaro stiffened at this. you couldn't spot the way he casually slid his eyes over your limp figure and determined his desires.

while he sat across from you, the electricity within his eyes seemed to spark while taking you in. while he may have been drunk, he was certain that your absence would cause him unwarranted emotions. -- but you deserved better. the adventure was over, after all. you belonged home.

the truth didn't stop him from wishing you could stay.

the fault of his mattress fluttered your eyelashes open, to which you were met with an approaching jotaro. you stirred slightly, but he quelled your movements with a firm hand. the re-establishing of eye contact was difficult, but once connected, you were certain that looking away was impossible. the silence of the kujo home complimented the budding passion perfectly. his larger figure sloped closer yours, broad shoulders cast dark shadows over you in the dim lighting. 'what is he doing?' you question internally. the proximity was indecent; his hands tentatively gripped onto your knees. "jotaro," his name left in a simple whisper. you could feel his hurried breaths against your own set of dried lips. the half-lidded nature of his eyes screamed infatuation while his towering frame asserted dominance.

the softest connection of lips caused comfort to flood your system. jotaro kissed you; a tender and appreciative tether of skin to prove the thoughts that have always rattled in his mind. maybe one day he could disclose his love with words, but for now? actions would suffice.

it didn't take much longer for your date to deepen his kiss. powerful hands that experienced fifty days of bloodshed and harshness touched you compassionately. traveling up to the swell of your thighs and giving them reassuring squeezes, jotaro admitted his attraction, effortlessly. the kissing -- the groping .. it was all too much. you hummed against his touch as he continued traveling upward, only to quell his touch on your lower back. as always, he took the reins in the interaction.

the kiss ended with the raven-haired man now on top of you. the coolness of his bedspread provided relief to your flushed skin. you stared upward into the winsome features of your soon-to-be lover and he returned the gaze. " .. what are you waiting for?" you manage, hoping to speed the process. his stare was always so penetrating. a rare chuckle leaves his lips, no doubt spurred by the alcohol flooding his system, as he begins to reach for the buttons of his shirt. the reveal of his toned muscles almost causes you to sigh. "impatient brat. there's only one outcome for tonight. why rush it?" his assertive words send chills down your spine. though, you were glad the somewhat intimate moment passed. if he had stared a little longer, it would've made leaving all the more harder.

but, you decided not to think about that right now.

Edser/SCK anon asks (36 spec)

I accidentally deleted an ask that was interesting, if you don’t see yours here, resend it!

(Asks below the cut)

Anonymous said: Do you think that scene of Eda confronting Selin about it is the end of the episode? I'm so drained, Liza. When will this suffering end?

Oh honey, we have SUFFERED. We have. No doubt about it, but I’ll talk more about that in a minute. (We can overcome) 

First the fragman, could it be the end of the episode? I suppose so. It’s no fun thinking that it might be the cliffhanger and we have to live with that for 11 days instead of 4, but here’s the interesting thing, according to people who look closely at these things, the outfit Eda was wearing when confronting Selin, Hande was wearing that today while filming at Art Life. We also know that at Art Life the set was dressed for some sort of party or event. An event that had the word ‘love’ on the table. So which comes first? The confrontation with Selin or the Art Life scenes that do not include Deniz or Selin?? I don’t know.  The other wild card factor is Bige’s availability. I’m sure most people have heard by now that, sadly, her father passed away this week. This show does not work on a timeline where they can wait.  So they might have had to write her out of a few scenes already in this episode, and it’s unknown what her availability will be for next episode. That could end up changing things a bit, so we’ll see.  Maybe there will be a second fragman that gives us more context.

Now back to feeling drained by this storyline. I get you. I feel you. But here’s how you shake if off. Boil it down for yourself. Why do you continue to watch this show? I’m going to guess it’s for the same reason I continue to watch this show.  Edser. Eda and Serkan are still magic together in every single scene, and Hande and Kerem’s chemistry can turn even the most turgid, ill-advised story or scene into gold. They are worth watching whether they are looking into each other’s eyes or reading the phone book.  

So... my advice is to emotionally distance yourself from the plot. The plot is just the device to keep these two actors on screen together playing these two characters. And that sentence is truer for this show than for any other show I’ve ever watched (and I’ve watched A LOT of shows.) It’s all about these two characters and these two actors. So ultimately the plot doesn’t matter. Let the plot go. There is nothing to worry about, Edser is endgame, Edser is the reason this show exists, they are all the matters on this show. So knowing that, just enjoy their individual scenes, appreciate them for what they are and don’t tie yourself into knots over the nonsense these hack writers throw at us. It will all be fine in the end. 

Anonymous said: I kinda find it funny that what Erdem suggested turned out to be the way Serkan got his memory back. It was a scene fit for a romcom. Obviously it wasn't how I pictured him to remember but at this point I'll take it. Lol! Erdem should be a fortune teller or something!

You’re right. Erdem was on the right track. It would have been funnier if Erdem had hit him to get his memory back and once it worked, then Engin could have held Serkan down, while Erdem continued to bonk him in the head to bring back more memories.

Anonymous said: i totally feel the mixed feelings with the fragman, but it seems like its an ep with great edser moments where they're together and trying to solve this problem, at the same time they just couldn't keep the drama out of the fragman this time?! at a time where everyone is relieved and positive for the first time in weeks?! just seems like a bad move by the production imo and i'm not even that concerned with the plot like others are. another anon said this, but there is def selin fatigue

Selin fatigue is real!!!! But to be honest I was in Selin fatigue by ep 29. And it’s just gotten worse episode by episode. (though we had a bit of a reprieve from her in 34-35) but the fragman brought the fatigue back with a vengeance. The producer has tweeted before about how the show has to have drama, so, I guess that’s where we are. Drama. They think this is what sells, I guess?

They produce those fragman’s with the Fox viewer in Turkey in mind. So perhaps that’s the kind of tease that works well there? I have no idea. Honestly, I think they’re not worried about online fans and international fans because they know we’re so invested that we won’t give up. 

Anonymous said: Normally i would also calm down with the pregnancy thing, it’s probably selin’s last desperate attempt at keeping serkan BUT you know why it scares me? Because they’ll probably introduce the “Kemal is Serkan’s biological father” storyline and I hope that it’s not correlated to selin’s fake pregnancy...like, Serkan would never leave Eda but this Kemal thing will probably remind him how he never had a real father growing up so i hope this doesn’t push him to be by Selin’s side. However, it’s also true that I really don’t think that he and Selin had s*x so I also don’t think they can follow this path. I’m so confused I think we just need to wait and see haha

Yes, we need to wait and see. I see no reason to go down this speculation path unless we’re forced to, because it seems very unlikely to me. Clear it from your mind, and then, if the worst happens, we’ll deal with it then, not now. 

Anonymous said: Idk if u follow sck news on twitter but they posted pics/vids from set today in the office and it looks like a party with food and a sign that says “better together”. Someone commented a theory that serkan will orchestrate a surprise engagement party for eda while she talks to Selin and the ep will end with her turning down the proposal bc Selin is “pregnant” and then we have to wait for the next ep for serkan to tell her it’s not possible 🤡🤡 what do u think?

Yep, I follow sck news, who doesn’t? ;) I think this speculation is plausible, and as long as she’s upfront with Serkan about why and Serkan is able to shut it down immediately next ep, then I can live with this as a cliffhanger. 

Anonymous said: Part 1. You mentioned in a previous ask how Engin didn't tell Eda that Serkan remembered everything when he made it in time for the wedding. Honestly his lack of action was not surprising, upsetting or disappointing. That's just who Engin is. He's a talker, not a doer. Engin is Serkan's friend similar to how Ceren and Fifi are Eda's friends (I'm talking pre amnesia plot). They care about their friend's happiness. Engin has always talked reason to Serkan especially about his feelings for Eda.

Part 2. But Engin's reason for doing that is Serkan's happiness. Of course he wants Eda's happiness but mostly only because it's tied to Serkan's happiness. He has stood up for Eda before like when Serkan accused her of working with Kaan or when he said she deserves to know the truth about her parents death, but whatever Serkan says goes. He never acts in opposition to him. So if Serkan says he won't stop the wedding, Engin isn't going to do anything despite believing Eda should know the truth.

Here’s the problem with this, it’s not just him not caring about Eda. It’s him not caring about Serkan. He should have done it for Serkan, knowing that Serkan would regret his inaction the rest of his life.  It costs him nothing to tell Eda at that moment and let her make the decision. 

That’s one of my biggest problems with this cockamamie plot. From the first Fragman of 29, I said it was impossible that Selin could have hidden him away and rekindled her relationship with him because the other character wouldn’t allow it. Oh but they did. This storyline ruined pretty much every single supporting character, (outside of Melo) because otherwise, if they would have acted in-character or even like normal humans, it never would have worked. And that continued all the way up to this stupid fake/real wedding.  Writers... if you have to ruin every supporting character to bend and twist and make it so your antagonist isn’t immediately jailed or carted away to a mental hospital, that is a sign that it doesn’t work and you need to go back to the drawing board. 

Anonymous said: I have to say, they really do well with the casting on SCK. Especially when they want actors who look like they are related. Eda and her grandmother looked like they were related. It was great casting. Now Serkan and the new character look like they could be related. They have similar features. If the point is for us to speculate that they are father and son, I think they did a good job.

Yes, they really do. I’ve also always thought that Neslihan looks like she could be Kerem’s mother, they have the same coloring. Evrim looks like she could be related to Hande.  They have done a great job with that. 

Anonymous said: That fragman for ep 36...part of me wants to hope that it will all be solved pretty soon, since we got edser separated for so long we deserved them together now. But part of me also knows these writers suck so I’m expecting the worst. I just wanted edser together again 😭

You and me both, babe.  You and me both. 

In the meantime, lets remember to enjoy this show while it lasts. And if we can’t enjoy the plot, as I said above, let’s think about the things we can enjoy.  So if in this episode there are a dozen great Edser scenes and then one that rips out our hearts... let’s concentrate on the dozen, okay? The one that rips out our hearts will resolve itself soon enough. 

Dong Yi 60

(Only the freshest takes on the most current dramas on this blog!)

This was not my first drama from this director (I think it’s my fourth, after Dae Jang Geum, Yi San, and The Flower in Prison), so I knew what I was signing up for, and I liked what I got! The romance was honestly kind of fascinating--not just the way that the king was completely wrapped around Dong Yi’s finger, but the way that it never totally felt mutual. Like, I believed Dong Yi was the most important thing in the world to the king. But to her, I would say the king was probably in her top 5 priorities? Def her top 10. Like, she for sure loved him, but there were so many things that she clearly cared about more. Which brings us to that utterly bonkers final episode.

The question of what you do after you get rid of your primary antagonist is a big one: for example, I know people really hate the last stretch of Queen Seondeok for the lack of Mishil (I’m a Mishil hater and love the ending of Queen Seondeok because it was when we finally got to see her be queen, which was very much what I was there for). And you have that challenge here, as well. What do you do once Jang Hee Bin is gone? And I’ll confess I was sorry to see her go! I really loved Lee So Yeon’s performance, and the way the character was crafted was very compelling to me, as we see all of her good qualities slowly eroded away with the help of what must be the most utterly noxious mother and brother in world history. But when she died there were still five-ish episodes, so we had a minor villain upgraded and a new conflict, and then... that ending.

If we leave aside the ludicrousness of devoting the final episode to Dong Yi leaving the palace to be a social worker/crime fighter, there is quite a bit to like there. Because Sukjong never felt completely essential to Dong Yi, because her life in the palace always seemed like something that had happened to her rather than something she had sought out, there is a definite poetic satisfaction to seeing her getting out of what is objectively a miserable place to live and devoting her life to work that she cares about. But it’s hard to set aside the fact that that was definitely not a thing royal concubines were allowed to do! Even by the standards of this drama, which posits that Choi Suk Bin was the daughter of the leader of a crime-fighting organization who at one point was banished from the palace and gave birth to Yeongjo in a hovel, it strains credulity to watch her kiss the palace goodbye and run around inspecting corpses and clearing people of unjust murder charges. But hey, it’s fun to watch.

But then there’s the final transition, which is so bizarre it just beggars belief. Dong Yi and the king are strolling around the market when they witness a kidnapping. Absolute nonsense business leads to her wanting to get over a wall and demanding that the king get down so she can use him as a stool (a callback to their first meeting, which was very very cute). He complies, she steps on him, we hear his back crack, she hoists herself over... and we smash cut to Yeongjo��s coronation. It just makes no sense! We didn’t bring Dong Yi and the king to any kind of narrative rest point. In the literal middle of a scene we cut 15 years in the future, by which point they are both dead! It’s just so weird, I truly can’t get over it. And the little coda we have with Yeongjo at her tomb and Chun Soo meeting the Dong Yi lookalike (reincarnation?) is perfectly fine, but the entire time I was just reeling from the whiplash. Probably, as one wise viki commenter said, everybody involved was just tired and ready for the drama to be over, so they didn’t really try that hard. That does kind of track. But honestly, prior to that, I was so emotionally with the drama (I was sobbing when the commoners came to build Dong Yi a pavilion for her birthday), plot silliness be damned, and then that just ruined it. So by the time we get the final shot of Dong Yi and the king reuniting in heaven, which should have broken me, I was instead just trying to figure out what the fuck I was watching. A good ending forgives a lot of flaws, is what I’m saying--and a bad one magnifies them.

Alas, Dong Yi. I still liked it overall. I just am always rooting for dramas to stick the landing, and it’s sad when they don’t.

I Want to Pursue the Mean Side Character! by @tsun-angelique / @tsun-angelique-art​

a yuri visual novel review!

so here’s that review i promised! i mean, finally lol

so, as a bit of background, here’s the synopsis of this short-and-sweet (and even a little subversive) yuri visual novel:

Beatrix is used to being misunderstood by her fellow peers. With her sharp eyes, tall height, and ringlets, she looks like the mean villain straight from a novel. Thus, she decided that if she was forever going to be seen as the mean bully, she might as well resign herself to the role. However, things change when she becomes fast friends with the new commoner transfer student, to everyone’s surprise including her own. And more weirdly, this new transfer student seems to understand her better than anyone else and can see her for her true self rather than the part she had been reluctantly forced to play!

visuals: the game’s design overall is really clean and easy-to-navigate. the art style is manga-like yet still really distinctive (and expressive!) :00 even though it’s a brief game, the love and care that went into it is obvious

characters: the cast is slim but def memorable! yes, even the antagonist, edvard. and not just bc he gets royally dunked on, but bc he represents all the false and unfair expectations imposed on beatrix (and his own archetype is picked apart a little, as well)

as for our main girls, i especially love how lily looks past beatrix’s Snobby Rich Girl exterior to see the genuinely kind girl beneath :’) the convenient archetype assigned to our MC, and the role she’s been forced to accept, isn’t her true self—and it takes a truly empathetic friend (and inevitable girlfriend) to understand that. not to mention, lily is just a really fun character lmao! her fourth wall breaks, her distaste for Edvard, and her faithful heart-eyes for Beatrix provided a LOT of entertainment

story: the game’s narrative hook (which is accomplishes well, esp for a limited story) is its twist™ on character types, otome games, and the isekai genre. not only does it tap into that universal experience of wanting to romance the non-romanceable but eye-catching NPC, but it’s just genuinely a very cute story about being understood for who u are. and lily, as the isekai-ed love interest, provides plenty of entertaining lines hinting at where she “transferred” from

if there was anything i felt was missing from the experience, i would say the lack of dialogue trees (even just a few) inhibits the replay value. then again, in many ways, the story is perfect the way it is—a fun, gay parody of otome games that doesn’t eat up all of ur free time :0

totally scientific rating: 7.5 bridal carries out of 10 ^_^

Hi! I’m part of the lgbtq+ community and Severus is my favorite HP character and I was wondering (if you have the time and feel obliged) if you could please give me a few examples of how he’s queer? It’s been a few years since I reread the books, and def before I came out, so I’m a little in the dark here lol Thanks!!

First of all, I just wanted to apologize for how long it has taken me to properly respond to your ask. I’ve been dealing with some ongoing health issues that have turned me into something of a moody writer. I’ll get random spurts of energy and inspiration and then hit a wall of absolute writer’s block assisted by a major case of executive dysfunction every single time I try to respond to the multiple asks languishing in my inbox. Fortunately, I found myself involved in a discussion just today that addressed your ask so perfectly that I wanted to share it with you.  In the very least, that discussion has also managed to shake off my writer’s block temporarily so that I have found myself in the right head-space to finally be able to give this lovely ask the thought and attention that I feel it deserves. 

Although, in regards to the Snape discourse I linked above, I feel that I should warn you in advance that the discussion was prompted by an anti-Snape poster who made a rather ill-thought meme (I know there are many in the Snapedom who would rather just avoid seeing anti-Snape content altogether, so I try to warn when I link people to debates and discussions prompted by anti-posts) but the thoughtful responses that the anti-Snape poster unintentionally generated from members of the Snapedom (particularly by @deathdaydungeon whose critical analyses of Snape and, on occasions, other Harry Potter characters is always so wonderfully nuanced, thought-provoking, and well-considered), are truly excellent and worth reading, in my opinion. Also, as I fall more loosely under the “a” (I’m grey-ace/demisexual) of the lgbtqa+ flag and community I would prefer to start any discussions about Snape as a queer character or as a character with queer coding by highlighting the perspectives of people in the Snapedom who are actually queer before sharing any thoughts of my own.

In addition, I also wanted to share a few other posts where Snape’s queer coding has been discussed by members of the Snapedom in the past (and likely with far more eloquence than I could manage in this response of my own).

Source

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Along with an excellent article in Vice by Diana Tourjée, in which a case for Snape being trans is convincingly argued. 

Importantly, you’ll notice that while some of these discussions do argue the possibility of Snape being a queer or trans character others may only discuss the way that Snape’s character is queer coded. That is because there is a distinct but subtle difference between: “This character could be queer/lgbtq+” and: “This character has queer/lgbtq+ coding” one which is briefly touched on in the first discussion that I linked you to. However, I would like to elaborate a bit here just what I mean when I refer to Snape as a character with queer coding. As while Rowling has never explicitly stated that she intended to write Snape as lgbtq+ (although there is one interview given by Rowling which could be interpreted as either an unintentional result of trying to symbolically explain Snape’s draw to the dark arts or a vague nod to Snape’s possible bisexuality: "Well, that is Snape's tragedy. ... He wanted Lily and he wanted Mulciber too. He never really understood Lily's aversion; he was so blinded by his attraction to the dark side he thought she would find him impressive if he became a real Death Eater.”) regardless of her intent when she drew upon the existing body of Western literary traditions and tropes for writing antagonists and villains in order to use them as a red-herring for Snape’s character, she also embued his character with some very specific, coded subtext. This is where Death of the Author can be an invaluable tool for literary critics, particularly in branches of literary criticism like queer theory. 

Ultimately, even if Rowling did not intend to write Snape as explicitly queer/lgbtq+ the literary tradition she drew upon in order to present him as a foil for Harry Potter and have her readers question whether he was an ally or a villain has led to Snape being queer coded. Specifically, many of the characteristics of Snape’s character design do fall under the trope known as the “queering of the villain.” Particularly, as @deathdaydungeon, @professormcguire, and other members of the Snapedom have illustrated, Snape’s character not only subverts gender roles (e.g. his Patronus presents as female versus male, Snape symbolically assumes the role of “the mother” in the place of both Lily and later Narcissa when he agrees to protect Harry and Draco, his subject of choice is potions and poisons which are traditionally associated more with women and “witches,” while he seemingly rejects in his first introduction the more phallic practice of “foolish wand-waving,” and indeed Snape is characterized as a defensive-fighter versus offensive, in Arthurian mythology he fulfills the role of Lady of the Lake in the way he chooses to deliver the Sword of Gryffindor to Harry, Hermione refers to his hand-writing as “kind of girly,” his association with spiders and spinners also carries feminine symbology, etc.) but is often criticized or humiliated for his seeming lack of masculinity (e.g. Petunia mocking his shirt as looking like “a woman’s blouse,” which incidentally was also slang in the U.K. similar to “dandy” to accuse men of being effeminate, the Marauders refer to Snape as “Snivellus” which suggests Snape is either less masculine because he cries or the insult is a mockery of what could pass for a stereotypical/coded Jewish feature, his nose, Remus Lupin quite literally instructs Neville on how to “force” a Boggart!Snape, who incidentally is very literally stepping out of a closet-like wardrobe, into the clothing of an older woman and I quoted force because that is the exact phrase he uses, James and Sirius flipping Snape upside down to expose him again presents as humiliation in the form of emasculation made worse by the arrival and defense of Lily Evans, etc.). 

Overall, the “queering of the villain” is an old trope in literature (although it became more deliberate and prevalent in media during the 1950s-60s); however, in modernity, we still can find it proliferating in many of the Disney villains (e.g. Jafar, Scar, Ursula, etc.), in popular anime and children’s cartoons (e.g. HiM from Powerpuff Girls, James from Pokemon, Frieza, Zarbon, the Ginyu Force, Perfect Cell, basically a good majority of villains from DBZ, Nagato from Fushigi Yuugi, Pegasus from Yu Gi Oh, etc.), and even in modern television series and book adaptations, such as the popular BBC’s Sherlock in the character of Moriarty. Indeed, this article does an excellent job in detailing some of the problematic history of queer coded villains. Although, the most simple summary is that: “Queer-coding is a term used to say that characters were given traits/behaviors to suggest they are not heterosexual/cisgender, without the character being outright confirmed to have a queer identity” (emphasis mine). Notably, TV Tropes also identifies this trope under the classification of the “Sissy Villain” but in queer theory and among queer writers in fandom and academia “queering of the villain” is the common term. This brings me back to Snape and his own queer coding; mainly, because Rowling drew upon Western traditions for presenting a character as a suspected villain she not only wrote Snape as queer (and racially/ethnically) coded but in revealing to the reader that Snape was not, in fact, the villain Harry and the readers were encouraged to believe he was by the narrator she incorporated a long history of problematic traits/tropes into a single character and then proceeded to subvert them by subverting reader-expectation in a way that makes the character of Severus Snape truly fascinating. 

We can certainly debate the authorial intent vs. authorial impact where Snape’s character is concerned. Particularly as we could make a case that the polarizing nature of Snape may well be partly the result of many readers struggling against Rowling subverting literary tropes that are so firmly rooted in our Western storytelling traditions that they cannot entirely abandon the idea that this character who all but had the book thrown at him in terms of all the coding that went into establishing him as a likely villain (e.g. similar to Heathcliff in Wuthering Heights, Snape is also coded to be associated with darkness/black colors and to represent danger and volatile/unstable moods, while his class status further characterizes him as an outsider or “foreign other,” and not unlike all those villains of our childhood Disney films which affirmed a more black-and-white philosophy of moral abolutism, such as Scar or Jafar, the ambiguity of Snape’s sexuality coupled with his repeated emasculation signals to the reader that this man should be “evil” and maybe even “predatory,” ergo all the “incel” and friendzone/MRA discourse despite nothing in canon truly supporting those arguments; it seems it may merely be Snape’s “queerness” that signals to some readers that he was predatory or even that “If Harry had been a girl” there would be some kind of danger) is not actually our villain after all. 

Indeed, the very act of having Snape die (ignoring, for the moment, any potential issues of “Bury Your Gays” in a queer analysis of his death) pleading with Harry to “look at him” as he symbolically seems to weep (the man whom Harry’s hyper-masculine father once bullied and mocked as “Snivellus”) memories for Harry to view (this time with his permission) carries some symbolic weight for any queer theory analysis. Snape, formerly portrayed as unfathomable and “secretive,” dies while pleading to be seen by the son of both his first and closest friend and his school-hood bully (a son that Snape also formerly could never see beyond his projection of James) sharing with Harry insight into who he was via his personal memories. For Harry to later go on to declare Snape “the bravest man he ever knew” carries additional weight, as a queer theory analysis makes it possible for us to interpret that as Harry finally recognizing Snape, not as the “queer coded villain” he and the reader expected but rather as the brave queer coded man who was forced to live a double-life in which “no one would ever know the best of him” and who, in his final moments at least, was finally able to be seen as the complex human-being Rowling always intended him to be. 

Rowling humanizing Snape for Harry and the reader and encouraging us to view Snape with empathy opened up the queer coding that she wrote into his character (intentionally or otherwise) in such a way that makes him both a potentially subversive and inspiring character for the lgbtq+ community. Essentially, Snape opens the door for the possibility of reclaiming a tradition of queer coding specific to villains and demonstrating the way those assumptions about queer identity can be subverted. Which is why I was not at all surprised that I was so easily able to find a body of existing discourse surrounding Snape as a queer coded or even as a potentially queer character within the Harry Potter fandom. At least within the Snapedom, there are many lgbtq+ fans of his character that already celebrate the idea of a queer, bi, gay, trans, ace/aro, or queer coded Snape (in fact, as a grey-ace I personally enjoy interpreting Snape through that lens from time-to-time). 

Thank you for your ask @pinkyhatespink and once again I apologize for the amount of time it’s taken me to reply. However, I hope that you’ll find this response answered your question and, if not, that some of the articles and posts from other pro-Snape bloggers I linked you to will be able to do so more effectively. Also, as a final note, although many of the scholarly references and books on queer coding and queering of the villain I would have liked to have sourced are typically behind paywalls, I thought I would list the names of just a few here that I personally enjoyed reading in the past and that may be of further interest should you be able to find access to them.

Fathallah, Judith. “Moriarty’s Ghost: Or the Queer Disruption of the BBC’s Sherlock.” Television & New Media, vol. 16, no. 5, 2014, p. 490-500. 

Huber, Sandra. “Villains, Ghosts, and Roses, or How to Speak With The Dead.” Open Cultural Studies, vol. 3, no. 1, 2019, p. 15-25.

Mailer, Norman. “The Homosexual Villain.” 1955. Mind of an Outlaw: Selected Essays, edited by Sipiora Phillip, Random House, 2013, pp. 14–20.

Solis, Nicole Eschen. "Murder Most Queer: The Homicidal Homosexual in the American Theater." Queer Studies in Media & Pop Culture, vol. 1, no. 1, 2016, p. 115+. 

Tuhkanen, Mikko. “The Essentialist Villain.” Jan. 2019,  SBN13: 978-1-4384-6966-9