aspiring genius

[patronsaint-ofmystery]

to me zaeth is the character that zac has always been meant to play. he’s getting his life together but he’s still stupid as hell. he’s an asshole but it’s mostly for the bit. he’s stuck in the 80s. he doesn’t care at all but actually he cares so deeply. because if there’s one thing a zac oyama character is going to do, it’s love their friends so deeply and profoundly whether or not they’re willing to admit it.

[familyromantic]

That's unironically the most normal person attitude to proship vs antiship discourse that I've seen

[the-witch-of-the-wandering-ways]

Vote BINGO

(And Amelia/Helena tbc)

[sydsketch]

hey look! it’s the fantasy high sophomore year illustration i made for the 2026 worlds of dimension 20 calendar!

[miidniite]

a story told in 5 images: featuring Ally Beardsley, Brian Murphy and Smiling Nixon

[clarinettecobblestone]

I aspire to be more like Nancy Danderhoof

[everybidenjusthavegoodtime]

mark, my words. *mark brings me my dictionary* thank you mark

[fishbonesart]

They're besties :)

Toph's dog is called Badger!

[s-leary]

Amazing moments in Dads: my friend’s dad’s critique of Frankenstein was, “I just don’t think the author had read science fiction before.”

[dandeliont3aandsageleaves]

Brennan's face as Zac fucking pops off was so good. Just the joy of Zaeth saying all the right things and coming into his own-

[luridorangeandviolentviolet]

I think Nancy danderhoof is firmly a d20 pc for the ages. Dare I say better than wealwell? Maybe even….Gilear?

[from-and-for-nerds]

Love how everyone in purpee inmediately senses vesper's pure energy and makes it their goal to get that girl a zoo

[luridorangeandviolentviolet]

As a young white woman, Madeleine d’Artois perfectly exemplifies the societal nuances of existing in that niche within our current cultural ecosystem.

Historically, young white women are often viewed as relatively innocent, fragile, and incapable of substance because of misogyny, but are also assumed by a predominantly white culture to be the pinnacle of desirability across the board because of a long standard of racism and white supremacy. This creates a walking contradiction—the expectation of “purity” and infantilization being forced to coexist with the desire to remain at the top of every cultural hierarchy by maintaining the belief of their ultimate sexual attractiveness. When you put these two things together, you get the phenomenon known as white woman tears, in which a white woman (often young) can weaponize both her perceived innocence and the unbearable burden of being so “objectively” the standard of womanhood, and therefore sexual desire, to achieve social or cultural gains, often by targeting black men and feeding into racist stereotypes of them being animalistic, sex-driven predators driven to the purity and allure of white women. In short, though white women in some ways are oppressed and looked down upon within these systems, they still ultimately can and do benefit from them, especially if they are self-aware of the societal niches that they’re supposed to fill and the corresponding implications.

Madeleine has this practically down to a science. This episode’s scene in which she describes herself as an idiot, too stupid to take any blame for her actions, perfectly characterizes her ability to weaponize her whiteness, her youthful appearance, and corresponding beauty to absolve herself of any failure. However, her ability to ooze sexual charm and weaponize the same features in a different, more sensual way makes it obvious just how aware she is of this dichotomy and how intentionally she uses it to her benefit, switching the ways in which her race and gender influence her perception.

[luridorangeandviolentviolet]

Additionally, I think it’s very interesting that Ermine, a fellow white (or potentially Asian? The point still stands—Asian women also face similar standards of infantilization) is the person that seems to be most overtly aware of and irritated by madeleine’s routine. After the disaster in the very first episode, she is the one to shift the blame onto Madeleine and insist that she is responsible, despite Madeleine wailing that she is too small and young to have done anything wrong. And of course, through their interactions at their meeting, she bluntly and violently calls out the inauthentic nature of Madeleine’s denial as she again attempts to weaponize the stereotypes of her appearance to wriggle out of a tough spot.

I interpret this two ways. First, the rather more straightforward explanation that Ermine knows Madeleine and is irked that she’s delusional enough to think that these tired old lines will work on her. But the more compelling explanation, I think, this that Ermine, as a fellow white (?) woman, has chosen not to lean into the stereotypes of white femininity and strive for soft, informal power and has instead placed herself in a more traditionally masculine role of formally enstating herself as a higher-up in the defined political structure. By comparison, Madeleine perpetuating this image and these stereotypes makes Ermine look weak and less competent or worthy of respect. Furthermore, in Ermine’s position, she is inside the inner mechanisms of white femininity—she knows these lines, she knows this game, and actively rejects it. Everywhere we see Madeleine’s loose curly hair and draped, gauzey fabric and easy sexuality, in contrast we see Ermine as sharper and more gated, with high collars, hair tightly pulled back, and more structured lines. Ermine is the primogen of the tremure clan—there are no pretenses, no tears, and no weeping from her, only a desire for overt power that transcends what white women are not allowed to want in the agreed upon societal narrative. Of course Madeleine’s games wear on her—she will not feign stupidity and pretend like she doesn’t know the score. She will call her out swiftly and with vengeance to preserve her dominance of the situation and regain control of the narrative.

[plant-based-person]

going a little insane over the fact that while The Raven Cycle was being published, same-sex marriage was legalized not just across the US in 2015 but *in virginia* in 2014. assuming the books take place around when they were released, the gangsey grew up in a world where gay marriage and even civil unions were banned in their state, and at an extremely pivotal time in their lives, suddenly, it was legal. ronan lynch was maybe seventeen to nineteen years old when suddenly, he could marry a man if he wanted to. ronan lynch, Catholic extraordinaire, was in love with Adam Parrish before he could marry him. and then he could. isn’t that something.

[luridorangeandviolentviolet]

As a young white woman, Madeleine d’Artois perfectly exemplifies the societal nuances of existing in that niche within our current cultural ecosystem.

Historically, young white women are often viewed as relatively innocent, fragile, and incapable of substance because of misogyny, but are also assumed by a predominantly white culture to be the pinnacle of desirability across the board because of a long standard of racism and white supremacy. This creates a walking contradiction—the expectation of “purity” and infantilization being forced to coexist with the desire to remain at the top of every cultural hierarchy by maintaining the belief of their ultimate sexual attractiveness. When you put these two things together, you get the phenomenon known as white woman tears, in which a white woman (often young) can weaponize both her perceived innocence and the unbearable burden of being so “objectively” the standard of womanhood, and therefore sexual desire, to achieve social or cultural gains, often by targeting black men and feeding into racist stereotypes of them being animalistic, sex-driven predators driven to the purity and allure of white women. In short, though white women in some ways are oppressed and looked down upon within these systems, they still ultimately can and do benefit from them, especially if they are self-aware of the societal niches that they’re supposed to fill and the corresponding implications.

Madeleine has this practically down to a science. This episode’s scene in which she describes herself as an idiot, too stupid to take any blame for her actions, perfectly characterizes her ability to weaponize her whiteness, her youthful appearance, and corresponding beauty to absolve herself of any failure. However, her ability to ooze sexual charm and weaponize the same features in a different, more sensual way makes it obvious just how aware she is of this dichotomy and how intentionally she uses it to her benefit, switching the ways in which her race and gender influence her perception.

[nonbinarybadkids]

In another life I just want to do fantasy taxes and sell pottery on mars with you

[sampungmgadaliri]

Zaeth's and Madelaine's character development, growing spine, is juicyyyy.