As A Fandom I Know We Love Traumatizing Glinda.. (I Do Too) But We Need To Start Letting Her Traumatize

Another Scar TCD angst because @stiffyck has ruined me.  Seriously, I'm supposed to be working on the Blackjack AU, but no, now I have brainrot. 

A Scar by Any Other Name

Of course, it was Grian who asked. 

The two men sat on a double chest in one of Scar's many chest monsters, just chatting and having a mid-afternoon snack. 

"So, I've been curious about something for a while.  Can I ask you a question?"

Scar chuckled.  "You just did."

Grian rolled his eyes.  "Can I ask you something a bit personal?"

"Sure.  I've got nothing to hide."

Grian snorted and laughed again.  "I don't believe that for a second.  But I've been wondering: Is 'Scar' actually your real name?"

Scar's smile dropped, and he went ridged.  He knew that someday, someone would ask.  He just hadn't bothered to consider how he would answer.  Pretty much everyone on Hermitcraft went by nicknames; one's they'd given themselves, one's they'd been called by friends enough times that they stuck around, names they grew into by virtue of what kind of person or player they were.  But they all had real names, and most everyone knew the real names of everyone else, though many were rarely if ever used. 

"It might as well be," Scar said quietly after a few long moments.

"Is this..." Grian said cautiously.  He wasn't smiling anymore, either.  "Is this something I shouldn't have asked?"

Scar sighed and shook his head.  "No.  I knew someone would eventually."

They sat in silence for a few minutes, with Scar contemplating how to answer and Grian giving him the time and space to do so.

"I don't remember my old name," Scar finally confessed.

"What?" Grian’s voice was all at once shocked, curious, concerned.  "I know you're absent-minded and bad with words sometimes, but how do you forget your own name?"

Scar looked up, trying to oppose gravity so that the tears he felt prickling the corners of his eyes wouldn't fall.  "When you... when you're alone for so long, when there's no one to call your name and no one to tell your name too, you... you change.  The isolation turns you into someone else, and your brain makes room for more important things than names.  The safest route between your base and fresh water, your supply count, your weapon specs.  I -"  His voice cracked, and he hung his head.  Tears fell as he failed to contain a sob.  "I named myself after a rifle because fighting for my life was all I knew."

"Oh, Scar."  Grian gently rested a hand on Scar's shoulder.  Scar flinched slightly in response but quickly relaxed under his friends comforting touch. 

"That's why I name all my bases after myself.  Scar West Outpost, Scarlandia, ScarX.  That way, if I ever forget my name again, there's something there to remind me who I am."

"We won't let you forget," Grian assured him, squeezing Scar's shoulder.  "We'll never let you be alone for so long ever again."

Scar sniffled and offered up a small, sad smile.  "Thanks, G."

"Always."

They sat there for another few hours. Scar told Grian more about the dead apocalypse world he came from, and Grian listened intently.  There were some things he wasn't quite ready to talk about yet, and Grian understood.  Grian wasn't without his own deamons, after all, so he could empathize. 

When evening came, Grian walked Scar home and didn't leave.  He could tell Scar didn't want to be alone after rehashing the trauma of having lived in fear and isolation. 

That night, Scar didn't dream of zombies or death.  He dreamed of friendship and happiness in a world where he knew in his scarred heart that he would never be lonely again.

Best Tumblr Ship Master List

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- General Tags -

#BestTShip : everything related to the competition

#besttship competition : specifically the polls

#besttship art : art made by me and others relating to the tumblr best ship competition

#round 1 : all posts relating to round 1

#round 2 : all posts relating to round 2

#round 3 : all posts relating to round 3

#round 4 : all posts relating to round 4

#round 5 : all posts relating to round 5

#round 6 : all posts relating to round 6

#winners : posts announcing the winners of various rounds. Will be accompanied by art relating to the winners of the rounds.

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Round 1 Bracket.

Achilles x Patroclus vs Nico Di Angelo x Will Solace

Tara x Darcy vs. Adrien x Darcy vs. Adrien x Marinette

Fred x Daphne vs. My Little Pony Polycule

Snufkin x Moomintroll vs. Will Graham x Hannibal Lecter

Vi x Caitlyn vs. Uhura x Chapel

Goncharov x Andrey vs. Venom x Eddie Brock

Deku x Uraraka vs. Klavier Gavin x Apollo Justice

Nick Nelson x Charlie Spring vs. Langa x Reki.

Firestar x Sandstorm vs. Reigen Arataka x Serizawa Katsuya

Princess Bubblegum x Marceline vs. Bowser x Luigi.

Spock x Kirk vs. Merlin x Arthur

Prince Sideon x Link vs. Aziraphel x Crowley

Todoroki x Deku vs. Steve x Bucky.

Tony the Tiger x The Grinch vs. Eda x Raine.

Edward Teach x Stede Bonnet vs. Ruby x Sapphire

Karkat x Dave vs. Catra x Adora.

Luz x Amity vs. Percy x Annabeth.

Miles Edgeworth x Phoenix Wright vs. Poison Ivy x Harley Quinn.

Rouis x Legoshi vs. Miles Morales x Gwen Stacy

Katya x Sophia vs. Viktor x Jayce.

Rey x Kylo Ren vs. The Onceler x The Onceler.

Susie x Noelle vs. Franziska Von Karma x Maya Fey.

Undyne x Alphys vs. Tao x Elle.

Dean x Castiel vs Hunter x Willow

Alex Fierro x Magnus Chase vs. Sans Undertale x Y/n.

Velma x Daphne vs. Ritsu x Shou.

Cecil x Carlos vs. Zagreus x Thanatos

Bakugo x Kirishima vs. Ava Silva x Sister Beatrice

Korra x Asami vs. Deku x Bakugo.

Viktor Nikiforov x Yuuri Katsuki vs. Mob x Teru.

Mabel Pines x Pacifica Northwest vs. Fred x Shaggy.

Sherlock Holmes x John Watson vs. Sans Undertale x Reigen Arataka

I continue to be...speechless. I'm just so in awe of this show. These siblings will have a lot to talk about

Ultimate Word Tournament!

overmorrow (English) [ˈoʊ.vɚˌmɑɹoʊ] The day after tomorrow.

enhappify (English, Old Dialect) [ɛnˈhæpɪfaɪ] to make happy; to enhance one's happiness. Coined by the show The Ghost and Molly McGee.

hey. btw. dsmp fans. dont stop creating. dont think because its over you cant retell those stories again and again. ive seen that a lot in mcyt stuff recently, ppl being like “sry this is based on smthn that happened a month ago” or “sorry im late to this thing” NO. you are not late! you are creating and you are experiencing joy! im still making art based off of stuff from 2013. there is no “late”. there is only now. keep creating. 

Okay I want to talk about this moment between Morrible and Glinda for a sec because it adds such a wonderfully sinister layer to a scene that is otherwise a triumphant defining moment for Elphaba, and it sets up the dynamics for Part 2 so perfectly.

At this point, we are in the thick of “Defying Gravity.” Everyone’s attention is on Elphaba - and rightfully so, she’s up there declaring war on the Wizard, displaying incredible feats of magic, of course everyone’s attention is on her.

…Everyone, except Morrible.

Morrible has realized that Plan A was a bust, but rather than panicking, she’s already worked over Plans B through Z in her head and has realized that Glinda, not Elphaba, is actually the key figure here. Glinda is actually the best thing that could have happened to them.

Mind you, Morrible hates Glinda. She thinks Glinda is vapid and attention-seeking and completely without talent. It would be extremely easy for her to brand Glinda as an accomplice to Elphaba, have the guards drag her off, imprison her, never have to deal with her again, nice and neat.

Instead, while everyone else is focused on Elphaba, Morrible only has eyes for Glinda. She zeroes in on her, releases her, and comforts her, because she understands what no one else understands, which is that yes, that’s great that the Wizard now has an enemy to unify his people against, but they also need a symbol of hope, something that is the exact antithesis to Elphaba, something to keep everyone at extremes. 

The Wizard himself can’t really be a symbol of hope, because the key to his success is that he remains shrouded in mystery, and yes people think he’s wonderful, but there’s a level of uncertainty and intimidation to him. He is Oz the Great and Terrible, and everyone’s preeeeeetty sure he’s a good guy, but if you have someone like Elphaba out there - who Morrible knows from experience is very smart, very articulate, and has her own sort of magnetism - there’s a potential that she could turn at least enough people against the Wizard to make things very inconvenient.

So what they need, now that they have an enemy, is to have an equally magnetic figurehead representing the Wizard who embodies all these one-dimensional ideas of goodness, someone for the public to adore and fawn over so the association between Wizard and Goodness is crystal clear.

And by bringing Glinda along, Elphaba has unknowingly served that figurehead up on a platter.

Glinda is everything Elphaba isn’t, from personality, to appearance - Morrible has already set Elphaba up by calling her green skin an “outward manifestorium of her twisted nature,” which paves the way for Glinda, who is the perfect conventional beauty, to be an “outward manifestorium” of pure goodness. 

Morrible realizes they need these two lightning rods of Absolute Evil and Absolute Good in order to manipulate people - fear alone isn’t enough; the only way to effectively radicalize the populace is to make sure there is no gray area whatsoever, no room for question: you're either good, or you’re evil. And the Wizard alone isn’t a strong enough representation of “goodness” when by virtue of existing, he has to remain in the shadows. Glinda on the other hand? With her looks and her charm and her openness and her ability to expertly win over a crowd? Perfect for the role.

Now the tricky part for Morrible is taking into consideration that Glinda and Elphaba love each other. But we also know from earlier scenes that Morrible is a master at manipulating emotions. Right from the start when Elphaba is having trouble with her magic, Morrible casually brings up the “Animals should be seen and not heard” disturbance from class, spoon-feeding her just enough to get Elphaba upset, triggering her magic, after which Morrible makes sure to give her assurance and praise to keep Elphaba optimistic about her power.

She’s also aware that Glinda does have quite a bit of influence over Elphaba, because when Elphaba flees, Morrible immediately tasks her with winning her over, rather than simply relying on the guards or even going after Elphaba herself. She knows if anyone has a chance at roping Elphaba back in, it's Glinda.

Obviously, Glinda isn’t successful in getting her back, but while this puts a dent in Morrible’s plans to get control of Elphaba, it does give her an extra weak spot to exploit in Glinda.

So now, at the height of “Defying Gravity” when Elphaba has officially taken her stand against them, Morrible sees Glinda, and Glinda is at her most vulnerable, her most emotionally fragile. Not only is she heartbroken and in shock, she’s also just witnessed in real time exactly how easy it is to turn an entire nation against someone. She’s scared, she’s powerless. She’s just lost the love of her life her only friend, she has no one to turn to - Morrible has definitely picked up on the fact that even though Glinda has countless people who fawn over her, none of them can be considered a true friend except for Elphaba, which means Glinda is completely isolated. Glinda also has a very limited understanding of the bigger picture of what the Wizard is trying to accomplish, and because she’s never been a victim of the system the way Elphaba has, she is still desperately clinging to the idea that everything will be okay as long as she plays by the rules of the people in power.

She has been perfectly primed for Morrible to begin manipulating, not through violence or intimidation, but by offering her comfort when no one else would - when not even Glinda’s only friend would - when no one else is even paying attention to Glinda, because they have the very real and present threat of Elphaba quite literally hanging over them. In this moment, Morrible chooses Glinda, which Glinda has been striving for since the beginning. Elphaba has chosen her principles, the Wizard has chosen his enemy, but Morrible has chosen Glinda, and in this moment of being so alone and so afraid and so betrayed, that makes all the difference.

We also get kind of a parallel shot too - Elphaba really sealed her fate the second her hand closed around the broom. But here, Glinda seals her fate when she gives in and reciprocates Morrible’s hold on her.

THIS is the moment that sets us up for Part 2, with Elphaba and Glinda as our lightning rods for Absolute Evil and Absolute Good, but more to the point, it makes it clear that they’ve BOTH been used, they’ve BOTH played right into these respective roles Morrible and the Wizard need in order to be successful - even if it wasn’t how Morrible originally planned for things to go.

I just love it, because “Defying Gravity” is Elphaba’s song - it’s triumphant, and it’s heartbreaking, and it’s everything a defining moment should be for a character. But by injecting this little moment between Morrible and Glinda into the scene, we also get an underlying current of dread because we know we’re about to see the consequences of Elphaba’s defiance versus Glinda’s compliance and how both serve to benefit the Wizard/Morrible’s propaganda.

TL;DR - when I said "I want to talk about this scene between Morrible and Glinda for a sec" I clearly meant "I'm gonna write a whole essay. Like a nerd."

Something I'm obsessed about is.. How some hermits come off in other people's videos vs their own videos

Scar can feel infinitely more threatening in others' videos whilst in his own pov he seems so fun and cheery. One of my favorite example is his audience with Ren. From his POV he comes off as just messing around, not really listening and just doing his own thing because he doesn't really respect Ren, not really

From ren's pov he comes off as terrifying - you watch Ren have his audience and assert his authority with the rest of his court, and then Scar walks in, and he takes complete control of the scene. Where others listened, nodded, and kneeled - Scar strolls to the throne at his side, sits, and smiles condescendingly as Ren demands scar sell his gigapies.

Whereas from Scar's point of view it's one of his endless swindling moments, when he tries to negotiate the whole thing, from ren's pov he just comes off as... So... Terrifying? Its hard to put into words. He won't budge. Faced with a monarch he supposedly swore his fealty for, for whom he's killed and brought the head of resistance members... He continues to stand tall, chin up, and refuse his frivolities.

It's just... So interesting to me.

Similarly, Joel in the life series - particularly last life - almost always comes off as so unhinged, unpredictable and violent. He's scary in a different way than scar, like an rabid dog.

But if you watch Joel's povs he's so soggy and pathetic. Even in last life. Especially in last life. Rather than a rabid dog he's suddenly a shaking chihuahua, barking and growling at everything that comes his way but obviously helpless.

There's many more examples. How aloof grian comes off from other people's point of view is a good one. It's just... Interesting to me.

I myself struggle a lot with understanding the way I come off to other people. Coworkers and friends will describe me in ways that will genuinely surprise me. When watching the hermits/lifers, you can see this phenomenon from both angles, in a way. It's a nice little case study. How someone comes off when you have an intimate knowledge of their intentions and thought processes vs how they come off from an outside perspective.

Just saw the Mario Movie and I got a few things to say

1) overall, I enjoyed it a lot and referencing stuff from the games tickled my brain. It’s a fun movie and I wouldn’t mind watching it again

2) heLLO???? THE MUSIC????? FANTASTIC. Hearing the little iconic tunes are making me giggle lol

3) the animation is so pretty! I don’t know much about art, but I thought it was really really nice. Lighting was really cool and the detail on the world and characters was impressive

4) Peach was not being an insufferable “Strong Woman” like I feared. She was there doing what she needed to do and not making a huge deal about it. Thank you for that. She’s my main in smash and kart and I would die for her.

5) speaking of Peach, she and Mario did not end up in a romantic relationship at the end. They are partners, friends. If they were to get into a relationship in the far future, I think this is a good starting point to build off of.

6) and speaking of Mario, the guy was pretty cool. The Pratt man wasn’t terrible. I was iffy at the beginning of the movie but I was over it after a short while. I cringed less than I thought

7) I am so so so happy they didn’t pull a “What is this? Im the chosen one? But im just a dude” trope. Mario is just like, “ayo im a guy and im confident that I know how to do plumbing things and I love my brother.” Love that for you, Mario.

8) The Mario and Luigi’s brotherly relationship is everything to me. It was beautiful and all I ever needed in the franchise. I want more. And to get more, i need Luigi to be by Mario’s side and not trapped in a cage for most of the movie. Luigi is my baby and I love him and he’s doing great in every scene. I just NEED him to have MORE screen time.

9) up until this movie, I did not ship Bowser and Luigi, but now I’m considering it. They’re interactions were sus as hell and the chemistry was undeniable. That’s just the truth sorry not sorry

10) JACK BLACK WAS AMAZING AND HES EVERYTHING AS BOWSER AND YES MAN SING IT

11) I love Bowser with all my heart and he was so good in this movie

12) D. K. DONKEY KONG

That was the BEST way to introduce him and I nearly went feral when it happened

13) I need more DK and Mario friendship please and thank you

14) I want more content and I hope the internet will supply me with fun and fluffy (or angsty) content otherwise, I will cry

15) Charles Martinet as the father makes me gakshsjgsksgsskyespleaseandthankyousomuch

16) so this is not “a few” haha I don’t remember everything wanted to say because it’s been a couple minutes since I started thinking and now my brain is foozy woozy mushy wushy bye bye