i'm curious, do you have any thoughts on whether its more narratively fitting for n to have zekrom in black or reshiram in white? its been a debate for ages, i'm personally on the zekrom side and dont really understand the reshiram argument

OOOOH ok i think i did overhear a snippet of that debate on your blog a while back but of course i didn't understand any of it yet. i have been thinking about that... my first instinct would be to agree and say zekrom the dragon of ideals is more fitting. buuuut i really do think you can argue both ways so i will do so here

so! truth and ideals. what he wants and what he thinks is true. what he wants, deep down, is undeniable- he wants pokémon to be happy. that's his ideal world no matter what. what he seems to want specifically is the separation of pokémon and humans. that's the ideal that he works toward, and it's because he holds a misguided view of reality. what he believes to be true is that keeping pokémon is abusive. because of this factoid, because he firmly believes the world is a certain way, he feels spurred to action to remedy that. he values that which he perceives as truth and wants to bring it to light. both truth and ideals are therefore thematically relevant to him because they line up- hold firm to the truth you know, not letting anyone else tell you otherwise, and let it drive you to make changes for the better in the world and seek your ideal.

BUT. does he really believe that idea about abuse to be true? at first, yes of course. but as he says- from the moment he begins traveling the world, and more specifically upon meeting the player- he begins to notice that pokémon seem happy with people. he doesn't understand. this goes against everything he had been told about the world. so, do these experiences make him change his mind about what the truth is? maybe bit by bit. does he admit the error of his ways and step down and step off? NOPE.

and that's the crucial bit. the real, actual truth is right there in front of him but he can't bring himself to acknowledge it. he has committed himself to a certain ideal and he's going to see it through or fall gloriously while trying. he's set his heart on conquering unova and making it perfect, bringing about the noble ideal of happiness for humans and pokémon alike- except by now he knows that's founded on a lie. would reshiram, the dragon of truth, really accept him as a hero with that sort of dissonance in his heart? or would it rather accept the hero who truly does understand and accept the way the world is, as a mixed bag of good and bad?

but on the other hand you could argue he's well aware of and in acknowledgement of the truth. he truly has witnessed the abuse of pokémon before. that isn't a lie- it's just a statistical minority that he's only just now finding out is a minority. but even if it is- for a guy who loves pokémon that much, that's completely intolerable. it doesn't matter how many trainers are good people- even one hurt pokémon is one too many. it's not worth the gamble of continuing to let it happen. so even if he has witnessed the truth of the majority of the world now, his truth isn't all wrong either. it's still very much significant to him. he has a fuller understanding of the world than most do, as someone who's seen both the good and bad of it. and he does admit something like this to the player at mistralton- he knows they're a good and kind trainer, but still says the separation needs to happen, even though that would bring about injustice to good trainers.

in this situation, he can probably recognize that there's both something to be gained and lost either way, whether trainerdom continues or not- and also that those two aren't necessarily equal. there will be pain for certain pokémon if it continues, and there will be pain for MANY people and MANY pokémon if it stops. maybe in that situation after having travelled the world he can understand by now which option is truly better. which is the real ideal world, the lesser of two evils. but that sad fact of pokémon abuse is so significant to him that he'd rather still forgo the world as it is now. he clings so stubbornly to a certain truth that he forgets to look at the big picture of things and consider what really is ideal.

in the end though the question is, i guess- which is more thematically fitting for him to fly off on and keep as his best friend? he's learned his lesson in the end that he was doing the wrong thing, and determined that the two dragons representing truth and ideals don't need to fight. but even so it's not like the two dragons reunite. he still stays with one. and he still lost the fight to the player with the other one. so the real question is, in the greater scheme of things, which one won the fight narratively? truth or ideals? what lesson did he learn? what lesson did we learn?

SIKE i think that's taking things too far lol. like i said it could go either way and also they don't need to fight. and the dragon isn't purely symbolic it's also like his bestie at that point of course he's gonna keep it even if he's a changed person lol. anyway hope you enjoyed my academic essay i only completed my degree in this particular field of study about 18 hours ago so i hope i'm qualified enough to talk about this

guy who so desperately tries to find god. who wants to have faith in a higher authority to guide him out of the hole he's in. from the weight of guilt from simply existing, as the person he is. but every time he thinks he's answered his higher calling it turns out he's made the Morally Incorrect choice and his path to goodness and holiness was the road to the devil all along

"the fault, dear Brutus -" (Julius Caesar)

Quotes from A Critical History of English Literature by David Daiches. Panels from Death in the Family, Under the Red Hood, Lost Days, and Batman and Robin.

Reading/thinking about Sol some more, and I do think there's a need from some viewers for him to be either the pure selfless "healthy romance" choice OR purely selfish and unworthy of Joe, and imo he's neither, and that's what makes him interesting and human.

He hurt Joe by assuming the worst of him (in like, a very specifically, viscerally hurtful-to-queers way) and running away; he expects to be able to pick up where they left off as soon as he comes back, and really struggles to calibrate to the fact that Joe neither held a grudge against him nor pined for him this whole time. He just... moved on.

A lot of the ways Sol tries to support Joe or intervene in his toxic relationship with Ming are blatantly compromised by how much Sol wants Joe to choose him instead, but he's also right about Ming. I find him compelling because he goes harder than anyone before Ing in consistently, materially trying to be there for Joe, but there's always that level of selfish motivation to Sol's actions where he doesn't just want to protect Joe from violence or danger, he wants to redirect Joe's feelings from Ming back to himself. (And sometimes he fails to protect Joe not because Joe won't let him intervene but because he's too busy fighting Ming to pay attention to the guy they both just knocked to the ground!!)

If Sol really let go of the idea that Joe could ever want him again, would he still be as ride-or-die for Joe? Is the sincerity Joe showed him something he's repaying in kind, or is there always something he still wants from Joe lingering in the background? Is it possible to sincerely support someone you haven't stopped hoping will one day choose you? And when Joe refuses to let Sol help him, is it because he can't let himself burden a junior, or because he is intuiting and avoiding those strings that come attached to Sol's help, or both?

To me all of those questions are a lot more interesting than like "does Sol deserve Joe" or anything along those lines.

thinking about todd and his resolve toward… not quite isolation, but being alone in a room full of people again. he goes along to the study room to sit on his own and do his homework, he sits at the poets table and follows along with what’s being said while keeping quiet, he goes to the meetings at all but doesn’t necessarily contribute (in fact, if you watch him when cameron is telling the story ‘from camp in sixth grade’, you can see that he recognizes it before any of the other poets but doesn’t voice it until they all have). he’s not alone, necessarily, if you want to get technical about it, he’s just lonely, and he’s generally okay with that. he doesn’t have friends and that’s fine, he doesn’t participate in class and that’s fine, he doesn’t have a relationship with his family and that’s fine—he could live without any real connection and he’d have been, more or less, fine.

the thing about when he says “i can take care of myself just fine!” is that he isn’t really wrong, you can infer that he’s been doing it his entire life anyway, it’s that ‘taking care of yourself’ isn’t the same thing as really living or being happy. todd’s an introvert, certainly, and even as he gets closer to the group he defaults to sitting quietly in the background, but he’s also denying himself community out of fear not introversion. todd isn’t friendless because he’s an introvert, although that definitely plays a part, he’s friendless because he pushes anyone that might want his company away. if anyone has every wanted for his attention in the first place. (neil’s unwavering interest in him is unique (even when it comes to the rest of the poets, who are fine with todd coming along and joining the group, but aren’t really hellbent on him being there in the beginning) and his refusal to accept it is a direct result of being so lonely growing up.)

there’s obviously something to be said about the implications of his parents neglect, and the more than likely fact that he grew up friendless, and how those both play a part in in him being so skilled at dodging social interaction/being so avoidant of it, but by the time we see him in the movie he’s all but accepted his fate as being alone his entire life. he’s already accepted being the family disappointment, and he’s already accepted he’ll never amount to anything, and he obviously doesn’t like it, but he’d have managed living with that knowledge without the confirmation that it was all wrong. would he have been miserable? almost certainly. but he’d have managed. he’d done it for that long already, anyhow.

mie im so sorry i just keep sending you stuff i swear this will be the last onw for awhile

nanami, the handsome, but moreover, respectable and good man of the town, the owner of the bakery in the capital. every mom in town is literally pushing their daughters into his presence, just hoping that he might notice them. he doesn’t, though, as his greatest love in his current life was baking and taking care of his ancestral family business.

nanami who returns from a neighboring country after a year long apprenticeship and god… he’s even more skilled but also even more handsome; broader, taller and somehow even more charismatic. the knights believe that the rigorous curriculum he endured makes him a perfect candidate for you. you are both acquainted, through the countless times you had visited his bakery to have a taste of his town-renowned pastries. they’re so full and smooth, so obviously crafted with love and care. it’s nothing surprising though, as he’s so pleasant himself, the gentle and fleeting touches between you two when you visit him in the silent and dark hours of the early morning, away from the eyes of the court, always make you unusually bashful.

you think nothing of it until a knight hands you a list of the most eligible men in the country and abroad; accomplished and noble men alike, but at the bottom of the list lies nanami’s name. you must admit, he’s quite dear to you, and he would make a fine consort.

— doc dad levi anon

Hehehe. First of all, I’m sorry you sent this in literally MONTHS ago, and I let it rot in my drafts. Finally stumbling upon it again, and I would like us to consider: it’s Satoru, your head knight and personal advisor, who pushes for Kento to be a candidate. Kento is well-loved, strong, determined, skilled, and most importantly in Satoru’s eyes, seems to care for you, and not just the throne you sit upon. 

Satoru also knows a thing or two about the elders of your cabinet, and when you give him a look when you see Kento’s name, Satoru does a terrible job of hiding his grin, “What, do you not approve?” 

You frown, “That’s not the matter, and you know it, Satoru. He doesn’t deserve to deal with the council’s disapproval if I were to pick him. He has a life of his own, one that I will not uproot for trivial reasons, nor for you to entertain yourself by upsetting the elders.”  

Satoru hums at your explanation, carefully taking the scroll from your hands and rolling it into his. He lets that smile creep back onto his lips when he eyes your furrowed brows, expertly flicking the end of the rolled paper in the middle of your forehead. 

“You ought to be greedier, my princess,” Satoru chuckles, “And have a little faith in me. I was left in charge of your list of bachelors, but those old idiots approved of every name—I didn’t even have to make a case for him—I’d say it’s a sign! He’s quite handsome, don’t you think? Other princes are boring and desperate, plus think of all the fine sweets he could teach the kitchen staff to make!” 

You should punish him for hitting you, but you can’t seem to care, only letting his words swarm your mind. So, you heed your advisor’s words, and luckily, Kento makes time for you, graciously allowing you to visit the following week, long before the bakery is to open for the day. You have to question him honestly, unable to drink the tea he’s brewed until you ask, “Did Satoru put you up to this? He can be protective and intimidating when he wants to be, but you needn’t fear if he’s threatened you. I’ll ensure you’re left alone, and I apologize on his behalf if he—” 

You pause, only because you believe this is the first time you’ve heard the baker laugh. It’s light, warm, steady, even. You know Kento to flash an earnest smile from time to time, an enamored one when he’s teaching Yuuji a new technique that he masters quickly, a gentle one when feeding the birds stale crumbs—but true, ringing laughter is new to you. 

“I was neither threatened, nor coerced, by Gojo,” Kento clarifies, reaching for a wooden jar of honey to his left, “He proposed the prospect to me a little over a year ago, and I informed him that I would be willing, so long as I had your mutual approval.” 

“A year ago?” 

Kento nods in confirmation, sweetening your tea to your liking before closing the jar, “He told me it would likely not come to this, but that your elders have been planning to arrange a contest for your hand, should you not choose a suitor within their preferred time frame.”

You nod slowly, grimacing slightly at the reminder—you know it’s only thanks to Satoru’s pestering, and quite frankly, frightening reputation, that they have not had you to take a husband by force. Still, it doesn’t explain why Satoru would be informing Kento of such sensitive information long before an official call for eligible bachelors. 

“He is the one who arranged my apprenticeship, and who provided for Yuuji in my absence, but I accepted both of my own volition. Just as I have accepted the honor to court you, if you’ll have me,” Kento finishes stirring your tea before placing it carefully in front of you. When he looks up, he can see the steam of the hot water dancing in front of your face, swaying slightly when he speaks, “And I am prepared to fight for you hand, and your freedom, if it comes to it.”

Appreciating Simon and Betty's ending because sometimes loving someone with your whole heart doesn't prevent you from being blind to their inner struggles. Sometimes you mess up a relationship even while trying your hardest because you failed to stop for a moment and truly consider their needs from their perspective. And it doesn't make you a horrible person and it doesn't mean you were using them and sometimes it's even still an overall good experience for both of you. And still, you two are not gonna work out, and you've changed and it's time to move on.

europeans wanna be oppressed so fuckin bad

Two ends of the Nezha-Based-Character-Design spectrum

*inhale*

i sWEAR TO PRIMUS THIS COMIC FUC—

my tags on my prev reblog re: dean's misinterpreted attitude toward monsters just got me thinking abt sam and the bloodfreak stuff in general and like, as we know a lot of the early seasons were framed in sam's pov so a lot of the time it' him who's feeling like a monster and projecting that onto others to confirm his own beliefs abt himself. like when he finds out abt john telling dean to kill him if he goes darkside sam suddenly is in agreement w/ john saying john's right and dean has to do it because dad said so !!! anyways that's just preface to what i want to say which is, sam isn't really a monster. what i mean is, he's not a monster in the inherent sense that he seems to think he is, and that's part of the reason why dean pushes back against the demon blood stuff because he knows sam can be saved and for dean his number one job is to save sam because the alternative is following john's order and that's something he just cannot do. so it makes sense that dean would do whatever it takes even if that's being a little mean or forceful (calling him a monster, echoing john by telling him not to walk out that door to give sam pause, forcing him to detox) because he does not want to kill his brother.

but anyways, sam is not a monster in the way he (and a lot of fans) thinks he's a monster. he was Not born a monster, it's not something that is intrinsically and inherently part of him. and i'd argue there's really nothing special or "chosen one"-esque about him (aside from the lucifer bloodline making him a better candidate for vessel purposes), he was just a regular baby who was dosed with demon blood, which in the text is treated as a drug / addiction. there was nothing special about any of the babies azazel dosed, they were just the children of people he'd made deals with. i think pretty much any baby (possibly even adult) who's fed demon blood from a powerful enough demon (like a Prince of Hell) would develop psychic powers. so it's not something completely out of his control that's turning him into a monster like a virus or a vampire / werewolf bite where he can't stop the progression. it's not happening to him he's making active choices to strengthen those powers and the more he feeds the more he wants it. everything w/ ruby is framed as him knowing he's doing something "wrong", the sneaking around, the lying. and i think dean's response is along the lines of "we need to get you help. we need to stop this because it's something that can be stopped. and if we stop it then i won't have to see you lose yourself or go too far. because if you go too far and start hurting people then i might have to kill you and i can't do that so please just let us save you." and i think that's fair. yes he and bobby maybe go about things the wrong way but i think it's born out of desperation. and also it's not a rejection of "this is who you are and we hate you for being a monster" it's "you're making choices that are leading you down a dangerous path and we're scared we may lose you so we're trying to stop you from going too far down that road."

like the end goal of all the bloodfreak stuff (ruby's end goal) was to free lucifer and freeing lucifer would mean sam becoming his vessel. they obviously don't know all that at the time, but in hindsight it's like, yea we should've curbed that bloodfreak stuff sooner. also heaven was telling dean to stop sam too and that he was going down a dangerous path and that if dean doesn't stop him they will (likely meaning death) so again, of course dean's gonna try to do whatever he can to stop sam even if it's by not great methods. (also heaven was playing him too bc they also wanted lucifer to be freed so that Destiny could come to pass)

poäng appreciation post 💛

Revenant is soooo mid which is disappointing because I was looking forward to it due to the actors and writer (this isn’t a flop like Jirisan, which I gave up on after 2–3 episodes, but it’s not really good). BUT. BUT!!!!!!!!!!!!! I’m suffering from “poor little meow meow middle-aged man” deficiency and Professor Yeom Haesang suffers so much. I can’t believe I was like “Oh...okay” about his casting because I’m planting my palms against his windows, peering at him in his little cage and being fed because he’s had the worst life ever and it keeps getting worse. HAESANG *____*<3

Size difference.png (Patreon)

pasta, I just thought about this, and broke my own heart: if you think about it,Cyro def took a bunch of pics of Jane, to have some pictures for her adulthood, to look back and can think how at least she had somewhat of a good childhood. but Cyro only found her in her teen years. which conclusion: both Jane and Matt don't have baby pictures of themselves. Or pictures before they become adults, from Matt side, Foggy def took pics, but Jane side? Even tho Jane ex-partners took any, it wasn't the same as Matt's.

This is absolutely true, and it really is heartbreaking. Ciro did take a lot of pictures, and he keeps them with him in family albums (hoping one day he can share them with her), and he did his best to make up for what she missed - cheesy posed family photos, a couple birthday shots, opening Christmas presents, but like you said, those were only a few years of her life. He had her from 16-18 and that was it. There are no other pictures that Jane knows of, no baby photos, no 1st birthdays and family get togethers, no christmas pics of her getting her first bike. It goes back to just how much was taken from her - any culture or heritage her family might have, languages, holidays, and yes, photos too. She'll literally never have an album like that to show. If she has kids with Matt, there'll be no pictures she can compare to their faces. There will never be ridiculous, silly restaged photos of her at 2 and her now. She'll never know what she looked like then.

As for Matt, at best might have a few left but there wouldn't be many I don't think, and while he'd probably keep them just because you're supposed to, he ultimately would have very little to remember those early years with or to show to others. Certainly not with his childhood at the orphanage (I imagine the nuns and Lantom, while well meaning, were probably too busy to focus on making sure they took pictures for him of milestones, either because they didn't think of it or because they'd just assume they'd mean nothing to him).

Both of their pictures would come much later. Foggy I guarantee has a ton of them, especially from college. Jane has a few in her memory box, but even those all look like different people, different identities, and it's difficult to recognize her in each pic with the way her hair, makeup, tattoos, clothing, and eye color (contacts) all change. So in that way, you're right. Even when her exes early on took photos, they weren't of her. And that means other than the photos she has with Ciro, she doesn't really have any photos of of herself, not really. They were taken more for her to remember her friends and lovers in those shots; not whatever identity she lived at the time.

Which is another reason the photo she takes with Matt means so much, and why that scene is sort of heartbreaking in hindsight, why she was so shocked looking at it. That was the first time since she was 18 that she allowed a photo to be taken of the real her, a photo that wasn't posed or calculated. And it's the same with Matt. For once, he was letting someone take a photo of all of him, all of his facets - the Devil and Matt Murdock both, vulnerable warmth and sweat from his run. Even in the past, when he was with people who knew, there were no pictures like that. It's another reason he wanted it in the apartment. He can't see it but he can touch it and remember what it felt like, remember the way they both felt. And he wants her to see it too, and hopefully one day get the same feeling looking back on that photo that anyone else might looking at photos of them as kids, playing in the sprinklers or riding bikes with their parents or just having fun.

It may not replace all the baby photos they don't have, or all that they've missed out on... but it's a start.

oooughfhfg in my head about Maksim tonight folks