#'anyone'? Certainly some really kind people do care about my character that they're kind enough to make a fanart of her

[sleepyconfusedpotato]

Somehow I stumbled upon your blog, and I gave it a read because you've certainly invested a lot of time in it, and bold of you to assume anyone cares about your poorly written character, lol. Let's pretend you don't message yourself to look important.

[miraculouslbcnreactions]

A few people have defended Chloe and Lila's writing by saying that teenagers being just as capable of heroism as adults means that they need to be just as capable of villainy as adults. I know that's not good logic, but I can't put my finger on WHY it's not good logic, can you weigh in on this?

I actually don't think it's bad logic at all. They're right. Teenagers are absolutely capable of being monsters. A teenage bully may not have the wide reaching impacts of a terrorist, but teenage bullies still do real and lasting harm that can shape victims for the rest of their lives.

This is why you have to be really careful when it comes to redeeming either of these characters (and also Sabrina since she's almost as bad as Chloe in my eyes). You cannot minimize the harm that they've caused by saying "well, they're just kids" or even by pointing out that Chloe and Sabrina were victims of abuse.

Fourteen-year-olds are more than old enough to know right from wrong. Yes, they're not full adults yet, but they're in the stage of life where they're learning how to be adults. That's why we call them young adults! People in this stage of life are very capable of understanding that their words and actions can hurt people. Heck, three-year-olds are capable of that! If you don't think that these teenage characters understood that bullying Marinette was hurting Marinette, then you're arguing that these characters have some sort of developmental disability or psychological disorder or something of that nature that is effecting their development in an extreme manner. If so, then that requires immediate serious intervention by professionals, but I don't think that anyone is making that argument for anyone save, maybe, Lila.

On the abuse side of things: being a victim is not a free pass to hurt innocents. Victims don't get a magic ticket that says, "you may now do one free abuse" every time that they're abused. By that logic, giving Audrey an abusive past would absolve her of everything that she did to Chloe. The same goes for Gabriel and Adrien, which is why this is such shitty logic. Nothing justifies Gabriel and Audrey's actions. What they did to their children was wrong.

The same logic applies to all characters and all types of abuse. Victim status doesn't prevent you from becoming an abuser. It's actually quite common for abuse to lead to more abuse which is part of why you can't grant exceptions on the basis of victim status. If you do that, then you eventually reach a point where no one is accountable because everyone has been abused and is therefore a blameless victim who can do no wrong. No one wants to live in a world like that.

There is of course, a lot of nuance to this topic and a lot of it is heavily situational. For example, I totally believe that certain exceptions have to made for extreme cases that I'm not going to give examples of to avoid triggering content, but you can probably think of some. However, we're not talking about extreme cases here. The characters that we're talking about are reasonably normal fourteen-year-olds. Young adults who have been allowed to be part of society and who know that what they're doing is wrong. And if they don't know that bullying and terrorism are wrong? Then we're back to the concern that something is deeply wrong with these characters and they need immediate serious intervention from trained professionals.

To be fair, Lila may end up being that kind of character, but Chloe and Sabrina certainly aren't. Since Chloe was the character mentioned in the original ask, we'll focus on her for the rest of this. While Chloe has absolutely been abused, she's not some isolated victim who has no idea how the world works. She's been allowed a reasonably normal childhood. This scene from Malediktator is actually pretty solid writing for a character like Chloe:

Ladybug: I'm fine with helping you, Chloé, but first… I need you to tell me what happened. Why is your father— I mean, Malediktator, so mad? Chloé: It's because of this super lame loser named Marinette Dupain-Cheng. She's this horrible girl in my class and she hates me. (Ladybug looks angry, but then contains her feelings) She's ganged everyone up against me and she— Ladybug: Maybe this Marinette girl isn't entirely to blame? Chloé: Uh! Ugh. Okay, it wasn't totally Marinette's fault. She is really mean to me sometimes, but actually, this time, Daddy got angry all by himself. Ladybug:(not buying it) All by himself? Chloé: Yeah, because… there was something he couldn't do… Ladybug:(puts a hand on Chloé's shoulder) Chloé, it's me, Ladybug. You can trust me. You can tell me the truth. Chloé: I— I— Ladybug: Mm-hmm. Chloé: It— it was me. I hurt my daddy's feelings. Because I want to leave Paris, forever.

She knows right from wrong and she knows when she's hurting people. She just doesn't care most of the time because she's never had to face consequences for causing harm so why should she care? It's not like it effects her! This is why she only cares about the damage she causes when it effects her or the people she loves.

That's not a deeply messed up world view. A lot of people only have strong feelings about things effecting those they love. Chloe just needs to work on being more neutral to people outside her circle because that's how we make a happy functioning society. (This is a hint of that nuance I mentioned before. I'll give a few more hints as we go on, but we won't really be digging into it due to word count. Just know that I'm aware of it.)

Giving Chloe an abusive past didn't absolve her of her actions. It just gave us a potential reason for why she does what she does. This actually does make Chloe's abuse important! Once we know the reasons why her character is doing something, we can then understand her character and better guide her story. Understanding that she's a victim means that she can be helped because this isn't some inherent part of her. It's learned behavior and that means that she can unlearn it.

And now we get to circle back to the original ask and discuss why it's still valid to be mad about Chloe and Lila's treatment and why it IS bad even though it's not wrong to have "evil" teenagers.

The reason why Chloe and Lila's lack of redemption is concerning is because full grown adults who have done far worse things are being redeemed based on nothing while these two teenage girls are being treated as beyond hope. If Gabriel Agreste and André Bourgeois are allowed to have happy endings without doing anything to earn those happy endings, then why are Chloe and Lila being treated as devils? What message is this show trying to send to kids? That it's okay to be a terrorist as long as your reasons are good, but be a bully at 14 and you're doomed for life? That's total BS!

It's especially concerning because Chloe's bad treatment of her adult father is being used to justify his redemption while Audrey and Andre's terrible parenting is not being used to give Chloe a similar free pass. Writers, wtf are you doing? No one should be getting a free pass in this situation. They all need to take action to right their wrongs if they want to be redeemed. Andre shipping Chloe off to live with her mother is an adult man saying, "oops, raised that one wrong! We'll let's just pretend that never happened."

Don't get me wrong, Chloe's actions are still fully her own and she needs to own that, but crying, "Daddy" only held power because Andre did whatever Chloe told him to do. He held all the power and was happy to misuse it in order to make his daughter happy. That means that he holds blame here, too. He allowed his daughter to become a total brat by encouraging bratty behavior.

This was not a situation where Chloe was a danger to others for some reason. A situation where Andre was truly doing the best anyone could hope to do in order to keep his daughter placated so that she didn't physically hurt anyone. It was also not a situation where forces beyond Andre's control were effecting his daughter and shaping her personality while he was desperately trying to guide her down the right path. It was just plain old terrible parenting. He spoiled Chloe rotten, got the completely predictable end result, and then threw her out for a better version that someone else raised. What an uplifting message! (That was sarcasm.)

Chloe and Lila would have worked reasonably well in a story where all of the important characters were teens. A story where Lila was always the big bad, Gabriel was a minor character, and Chloe's parents never got any screen time.

That's not the story that the writers wrote, though, so the "teenagers can be evil" defense falls flat because if domestic terrorists aren't evil and child abusers aren't evil, but bratty teenage girls are, then what are we even doing here? This is extra true because the people this show is aimed at are not adult men. They're little girls who may very well relate to Chloe and Lila.

There's also the issue of Chloe being dammed while other teen characters were given a free pass for no real reason. Felix, Sabrina, and Kim have all done equally bad or even worse things. Felix is especially uncomfortable because he's basically a male Chloe who did all of the same actions - and often did them better - yet he doesn't have to give so much as a simple apology for what he's done. He's just good now because Kagami needs a boyfriend.

Chloe outed herself in public while emotionally compromised? So did Felix and he had weeks to plan before hand, too! Chloe did it in a totally reactive manner without any real plan.

Chloe used the miraculous that Gabriel stole? Felix stole the miraculous himself and gave them to Gabriel!

Chloe bulled Marinette? Felix bullied Adrien!

Felix even did some of the same things as Lila! He tried to ruin Adrien's friendships via manipulation and deceit in his first appearance. He knew Gabriel's secret and used it to his own advantage instead of telling the heroes. He used a major terrorist attack as an excuse to further his own goals. The list goes on! So why is he being welcomed onto the team with open arms? And why is no one telling Kagami just how dangerous her new boyfriend is? She wasn't there for most of this so she has no idea who she's dating.

And this isn't even touching the mess that was Derision's terribly delivered message about owning your actions and not blaming others for your bad behavior. That episode makes everything about Chloe's treatment look even more hypocritical.

In summary, the issue is not that teenagers can't be bad guys, they absolutely can! The issue is how all of the other bad guys and bullies are being treated compared to these two and how inconsistent the rules are. Of course, we haven't seen all of Lila's story, so who knows what the end game is for her. Maybe she'll also be trying to restore a dead wife and so she'll get a free pass, too.

[dragon-in-a-fez]

Hi. I read a recent ask from someone else, where you say that you are now divorcing your partner, so this may be a little awkward but; I have seen your post about your (ex-)partner several times now, and I wanted to ask. I am AFAB non-binary. Funnily enough, I’m also pan. But I have recently started to think- albeit in the vaguest of senses- about dating, and I realised that I almost certainly will struggle to find cis guys who will date me and be chill with my gender. So, I was wondering if you had any insights? Feel free to ignore this!

I hope you're cool with me answering this publicly, because it's giving me the kick I needed to say some things I want out there for anyone who sees that post and finds my blog.

it's getting easier to talk about. the truth is, my ex treated me very badly in the last couple of years we were together, worse than I was willing to admit to myself before a lot of therapy and a lot of kindness and patience from friends. there was a lot of gaslighting and intense emotional volatility along with financial and legal abuse. I have lingering post-traumatic symptoms from it - frequent nightmares, panic attacks, even a massive months-long gap in my memory.

but none of that really has anything to do with your question, because the fact is, respecting their identity has fuck all to do with our relationship, or their character, or their actions.

I actually had a big fight with my mother recently because she was upset that I don't talk to her about all this enough, and eventually I was like, "after 7 years you still can't even get their pronouns right, how am I supposed to go to you for support about how that relationship fucked up my life when I have to stop to defend them from your ignorance every five minutes?" she seemed surprised that I still cared about being respectful and I was just like, yeah and that's why you and I have spent 30 years not understanding each other lol

and I think that's kinda the best advice I can give you: don't trust anyone who only cares about respecting the truth of who you are when they're happy with you. they should care when you've fucked up and hurt them. they should care when you're yelling at each other because they're being a selfish dickhead. they should care when you break up, or when they ask you out and you say no.

that doesn't mean they always have to get it right. people slip up on pronouns because of how they're used to talking, or they repeat dumbass stereotypes or ask inappropriate questions because they don't know better yet. but don't waste your time with anyone whose level of respect for your gender is based on their attitude to you in that moment. you deserve better than that. someone who only gets your pronouns wrong when they're angry is a way bigger red flag than someone who just occasionally gets them wrong at random times.

and yeah, you might struggle to find people who meet that threshold, depressingly low though it is. but the good news is, once you do find those people you're automatically in a better starting place than a lot of relationships. and knowing you've found the right person is way more important than how long it takes.

[hahanabi]

deep dive character sheet

stolen from: ree my friend ree :D tagging: anyone who wants to do it ^^

NAME: Sparkle, Hanabi

BODY

height: 144cm / around 4'7 (based on qingque's height, who sparkle shares a model with)

strength ★★★☆☆ — her showiness makes her seem stronger than she actually is

dexterity ★★★★★ — she can do backflips!

health ★★★☆☆ — well she's alive, isn't she?

energy ★★★★★ — it feels almost endless

beauty ★★☆☆☆ — i can imagine some people find her pleasing to look at. but more people likely don't.

style  ★★★★★ — has a distinct style that she has carefully curated. of course, the mask of Sparkle must be a pretty one.

hygiene ★★★☆☆ — she'll be a slob to unnerve people. she'll litter next to a trashcan.

SKILLS

perception ★★★★★ — has the horrifying ability to know how to make someone tick

communication ★☆☆☆☆ — can say what she needs to but it's nestled between layers of deceit and bullshit

persuasion ★★★☆☆ — through threats and lies

mediation ★☆☆☆☆— believes it's more worthwhile to let people fight, most of the time

literacy ★★☆☆☆ — knows a great deal about theater and classical dramas but that's really it

creativity ★★★★★ — could a simpleton come up with half the shit she comes up with?

cooking ★★☆☆☆ — decent at it but no one ever seems to want to eat what she makes… i wonder why?

tech savvy ★★★★☆

combat ★★★★☆ — knows how to scrap

survival ★★★☆☆ — not to say that she has much self-preservation but we can give her credit for pissing off as many people as she has and somehow not getting killed

stealth ★★☆☆☆ — she can do it but prefers a less subtle approach most times

street smarts ★★★★☆ 

seduction ★★★☆☆ — maybe in disguise, certainly not as herself (god help whoever's getting seduced by sparkle)

luck ★★★★★ — she's lucky to not have been killed by her own bullshit

handling animals ★☆☆☆☆ — don't bring her near animals

pacifying children ☆☆☆☆☆ — DEFINITELY don't bring her near kids

MIND

intelligence ★★★★☆ — sharp, cunning, witty.

happiness ★★★★★ — what kind of Fool isn't?

spirituality ★★★★★ — sticks to her Path and her Aeon very closely, though spirituality for Elation Pathstriders doesn't look particularly devout

confidence ★★★★★ 

humor ★★★★★  — no one else is laughing, though

anxiety ★☆☆☆☆ — …nah. not really.

patience ★★☆☆☆ — enough to see her plans through but not enough to stop getting pissed off at some people

passion ★★★★★ — oh she LOVES what she's doing. even though she really shouldn't.

nice        ☆☆☆★☆ mean — her moments of kindness feel very mean

brave       ★☆☆☆☆ cowardly — Foolishly brave

pacifist     ☆☆☆★☆ violent — good ol' rubberhose violence

thoughtful ☆☆☆★☆ impulsive — meticulously plans out certain things but even those come from her impulse to feel amused

agreeable ☆☆☆★☆ contrary — being contrary makes for more fun, most of the time

idealistic   ★☆☆☆☆ pragmatic — nothing realistic about how she sees the world

frugal ☆☆☆☆�� big spender — what, you think those props come cheap?

extrovert   ★☆☆☆☆ introvert 

collected   ☆☆☆☆★ wild — feral like a hog

ambitious / possessive / stubborn / jealous / decisive / perfectionist

SOCIAL

charisma ★★★☆☆ — perhaps at first, you find yourself drawn in, before quickly realizing that it's not good to mess with her.

empathy ★☆☆☆☆ — 

generosity ★★★★☆ — she thinks she's generous

wealth ★★★★☆ — who even knows at this point. i assume she must have some pool of wealth to draw from.

honest  ☆☆☆☆★ deceptive  — even when telling the truth it can't be direct

leader   ☆☆☆☆★ follower — always playing the ensemble role

polite   ☆☆☆★☆  rude

political ☆☆☆☆★ indifferent — doesn't care about the universe at large

BELIEFS

higher power ★★★★★ — Aha is her buddy!

fate/destiny ★★★☆☆ — there's a script for the universe but she can adlib some of her scenes

magic ★★★★★

soulmates ☆☆☆☆☆ — she laughs at the thought

good and evil ☆☆☆☆☆ — they're both cut from the same cloth, two sides of the same coin; it's hilarious to think they're both so different

luck ★★★★☆ — she loves rng!

PRIORITIES

family ☆☆☆☆☆ — what's that?

friends ☆☆☆☆☆ — maybe sometimes…? eh… probably not.

love ☆☆☆☆☆ — nope

home ☆☆☆☆☆ — is the Tavern a home?

health ★★★☆☆ — well she needs to live, right?

praise ★☆☆☆☆ — 

justice ☆☆☆☆☆ — for who? for what?

truth ☆☆☆☆☆ — it's useless to think there is one truth we can pursue

power ★★★☆☆ — could be fun

fame ★★★☆☆

wealth ★★★☆☆ — she'll take on gigs if she thinks there's a good price attached; it doesn't necessarily have to be money

others' opinions ☆☆☆☆☆ — LMFAOOOOO

[popironrye]

What's the appropriate standard for shipping discourse?

Pretty much a vent post on the whole pro vs anti shipping discourse. This is gonna be a long one.

Would love to hear your thoughts on this, but please read the whole thing.

So I like and share a lot of shipping prompts, positive self-ship posts, and no shame attitude to fandom ocs and indulgence in general as a frequent oc shipper. I mean, it makes sense right. I create a lot of fan characters of my own and it's a fun time.

What I can't help but notice is how much more frequent it is to see positive shipping posts with an abundance of 'proship dni' stamped somewhere in the post. I tend to ignore them, as I do not call myself proship because I feel like it's an unnecessary label in shipping spaces, but this one post I saw was a very good self-ship positive post with the same 'proship dni' at the bottom, but the only comment on the post was the op talking about adults being sexual with minors and it made me pause.

If you hear the word pro-ship and immediately think of pedophilia, then I think that's more a you problem than anyone else.

The word 'pro' in proship is a prefix meaning 'in favor of'. As in an 'argument in favor of fictional shipping'. It doesn't mean "problematic shipping", at least not to a lot of people.

But that's where the problem lies. The standards of morality, especially in fiction, is actually incredibly subjective when you think about it and even the darkest of subjects have nuances to why the creator chooses to explore it. Where is the line drawn for what is considered 'the bad kind of proship'? Not every dark theme is created with the intended purpose to 'glorify' it.

You will never catch me defending or engaging in works of biological incest OR pedophilia, I don't care if it's fictional or not/meant to be screwed up or not. I have a problem with those types of subjects, but I certainly won't wish harm on people who do.

But beyond that, there's always the issue with the more pearl clutch types to view other types of ships as morally wrong in all sense, even if the creators don't. Like is it still problematic for fictional adults (both of legal age) because of a massive age gap? Is it problematic to ship villainous characters without completely rewriting them as to not have villainous traits? What about fictional monsters and murders? Are they not allowed to have human dynamics because they're monsters and murders?

Morality isn't as black and white as people think and it REALLY isn't black and white in fiction because fiction should be a place to explore the topics for all kinds of reasons.

In my many years of making fancharacters and sonas, not all of them exist for shipping, but some of the ships I do have are not all gonna be this perfect wholesome cotton candy clouded wonderland of niceness. Characters are flawed, it's what makes them more interesting. While I completely understand a lot of people not liking ships that are straight up abusive and a certain level of toxic (myself included) there are ways to write "problematic" ships in an interesting and thought provoking way.

I've come to a realization something about myself through my sonas. My sona ships either involve giant class difference/power dynamics or some exploitation. Basically it's either my sona lets themselves be taken care of by someone else or they take care of someone.

And for some oc ships, while there are plenty of wholesome cute ones, I've also dipped my toe in morally grey and even villainous personalities. Unwholesome things like mutual drug abuse and criminal activity. Codependent incapability. Brutal enemies to lovers. Actually got a few enemies to lovers funny enough. Huge age gaps (between adults). Master and mentor and of course canon villains being shipped at all.

While none of my ships have the obvious gross stuff people associate with proship, I know plenty of anti ship spaces who would have problems with other ships of mine for being too "toxic" or "problematic".

Basically what I wanna say, if you don't like a ship. Just scroll on. Mute the tags or block the poster, but move on to something you'll actually enjoy. And certainly don't attempt to dox, harass, or tell the posters you hope bad things happen to them.

[bearimba]

Kris (Pokemon GSC/HGSS) Character Headcanons

And last but certainly not least, it's time for the third of the New Bark Town kids, Kris!

Here's my list of headcanons for her:

Her name is actually Crystal, she just goes by Kris because she likes it better (she spells it with a K because when they were kids, Ethan said it was "cooler" and she thought it was amusing so it stuck)

Her pokemon are Furret, Dunsparce, Slowpoke, and Tauros.

She's four years older than Lyra and Ethan more or less, making her about 20 by the time HGSS rolls around. She's friends with both of them, but because of the age gap and some other stuff I'll cover more in a later post, she becomes more of a tired older sibling figure. This does become a slight point of contention, but once her friends leave on their journeys and mature a bit, they're able to reunite on equal ground and much better terms.

She's super chill most of the time but can be incredibly dry and sarcastic. Despite this she's genuinely and openly supportive of her loved ones a lot and would probably kill for them. (unfortunately for them, she's also not afraid to turn her fury on them too if necessary. Sometimes tough love is valid if your friends are risking their lives by being idiots :D )

She's just a little tiny bit of a know-it-all (like the "erm actually ☝️🤓" kind of know-it-all). She's not afraid to speak up and debate with someone about the subjects she's educated in, and while she always tries to stay civil about it, she can't help the occasional snide comment that slips out. Of course, even though she cares more about being correct than "winning", she can't help but feel a bit smug whenever she's right and sulky when she happens to be wrong.

She's also pretty snarky and even a bit judgemental sometimes, but she was raised to be very polite, so she tries her best to keep it on the down-low. Still, lying to anyone about something shallow always leaves a bitter taste in her mouth, so when she's trying her best not to be rude (usually around strangers---she lets loose more around her friends), she'll get really vague or just refuse to say anything if it's really bad.

She's already been on her own journey when she was around 13-14, during which she managed to get most of the badges and dominated the Battle Tower (which has expanded into the Battle Frontier by the time HGSS rolls around. She likes to visit from time to time when she needs to blow off steam). She probably could've gotten all of the badges if she hadn't gotten tired of it. She's a very family-oriented person, so being away from home for so long wore on her nerves.

She doesn't battle often anymore, mostly just to exercise her pokemon, but she can still hold her own even against ace trainers. This is mostly because she uses a lot more strategy compared to most people, as she's able to come up with plans on how to defeat an opponent even if she's never seen their team before thanks to her extensive knowledge of pokemon. However! if her plans happen to get knocked off track, it's much easier to overpower her team.

She takes over the lab from Elm, though it doesn't happen until he's basically forced to retire (the man loves his work, ok?). He still hangs around though especially since his home is literally on the second floor.

She also specializes in evolution, but instead of focusing on breeding like he did, she's more interested in requirement-based evolution (like why some pokemon will remain in their first stage of evolution despite being old enough/having the experience to evolve. or why some pokemon need certain items to evolve. or why some pokemon evolve with trading. stuff like that. it's definitely a wide field but she enjoys the variety a lot).

She has this habit of flicking people's heads if she's annoyed with them. Light flick? she's being lighthearted. Painful flick? she's actually upset. Oftentimes she'll flick herself if she's particularly stumped on something, usually to do with her research.

She owns a bicycle her parents bought from Goldenrod and takes it absolutely everywhere---girl could probably ride across the entire region if she wanted to.

Her pokegear is horrendously outdated, and the screen is so cracked it's a miracle it still works. Regardless, she refuses to get a new one because "it turns on just fine."

She has the worst handwriting known to mankind, but she still insists on scribbling everything down herself. It's like a rite of passage for every new researcher to try and decipher her notes well enough to transpose them into the lab's computer system.

Her love language is sending pictures to her friends. except. most of the time it'll either be motion-blurred pics of random pokemon with captions like "good find today👍" or the world's most incomprehensible memes.

Despite teasing her friends about talking too much, she can be just as bad when talking about any vein of pokemon science, especially with fellow colleages/researchers. She's much more of a nerd than she likes to let on.

[maxphilippa]

Bro I wanna write a Soap x Trophy fic, I need someone to help smoothen out their dynamic.

Are they just the usual "Good girl x Jock" or "I can fix him"?

Alright! Here's something from a personal perspective and on how I imagine their dynamic to be (without Limegold Jokes in the way cause I do hc that Trophy is just some guy after he's with people he loves + had so much trouble getting with), if it comes to a Trophy that still needs to become a better person and Soap who has a generally kind view of others, here's how I'd say it would go + some notes.

Soaphy's Dynamic with Pre-Redemption/Half-Way-Through-Redemption Trophy.

Trophy is NOT a jerk, he is a jock. Most stuff I've seen of him? Trophy being a complete asshole, when that's really not quite true. Of course there's definitely some anger issues he has to work through and he needs to get more comfortable with being himself rather than a stereotype (in a harmful way to himself and others), but here's also the thing. He DID got better once he arrived to Hotel OJ, he still picks up on Cheesy and such, but he's not an complete bitch to begin with.

He's "softer", more relaxed, he's not focused on winning or anything because there isn't a prize. He seems to prefer being alone if anything! He likes photography and finds butterflies nice! He eats cacao nibs and drinks herbal tea and takes care of himself! But he's still pretty strong and most likely works out! Just... doesn't know how to get close to anyone because there's an image he has to put, and can still be pretty mean/rough at times. But he does seem to be just. A bit chill nowdays.

Now, Soap. Oh, Soap. Despite the fact that in my own opinion she was under-developed, and doesn't really bring out too much for her character other than her obsession with cleaning and some scenes, there's still something I like about her. She's sweet and kind, considerate and gentle. She cares about others well-being! And she cares so SO much about everything being on place. But she's not only sweet and kind. She ALSO has a strong attitude because she won't let anyone put her down by any means, and if stressed enough, she shows to be pretty strong and to react out of spite. However most of times she's just chilling.

This two personalities are so different yet match well in a way. There's nothing that they share but just finding a comfort on eachother on a very very weird way. I wouldn't say that it's "good girl x jock" or "i can fix him", but rather a, "i want to become a better person for you and i don't know why and i hate it x oh thank you", in a slowburn type of way.

Because Trophy isn't mean/rough to Soap at all, and I'll put an small scene they had together for an example! When Tissues sneezed on Trophy, Trophy was certainly frustrated/disgusted, until Soap made her way to him and 'polished' Trophy (cleaned him from the bacteries), and Trophy doesn't push her away or anything. He just. Stares at her and seems a bit awkward. But he's not mad or anything, he just lets her do so.

Their dynamic is complicated to be fair. They're complete opposites but still somehow managed to hang out well. I think that they would start off very awkwardly until Trophy starts becoming a better guy for Soap and he doesn't know why. Soap doesn't want to fix him, but rather wants to show him that he can be a better person if he truly wants to. Trophy is very much in denial but still thinks about it at times as well.

But that's how I see them too. It's completely fine if they are a jock x good girl or i can fix him for you! But it's how I think their dynamic would work out as well? At least on this settling of not fully redeemed Trophy?

if it were fully redeemed Trophy i'm so certain that he would be so cringefail and in love with her and he sucks so bad at approaching those feelings. and soap is oblivious. "hahaha wow you're such a good friend trophy!" "i need to kiss you" "what" "WHAT?" /hj

Thanks for asking!

[twigg96]

On my hands and knees crying and begging you to do Charles for the fluffy alphabet thing (if you feel like it, of course!)

Omg @hopeandmanymilestogo yes of course I'll do the fluffy alphabet for Charles!! 💕💕If anyone else would like to choose another letter or character the Fluffy Alphabet is here!!

A - Attractive (what about their partner do they like most?)

Charles finds strong independent human beings to be the sexiest people in the entire fucking world. They can balance a fucking checkbook by themselves? Instant hard on. No but seriously. He really loves when he doesn't need to worry about his partner's well being while he's working. Boy already has five whole adult man children to take care of and raise, he literally can not take on the responsibilities of another human right now. So if his partner is stable in their career, financially stable enough to handle themselves and not asking him for money he's literally turned on by them all the time.

B - Banter (How do they tease each other? Is it always friendly/flirtatious or does it turn nasty?)

While Charlie isn't usually one for teasing or witty banter he will occasionally pick on his partner whenever he's feeling especially in high spirits, or whenever he is wanting some alone time with his partner. He doesn't particularly mind if his partner teases him. As a matter of fact he kind of prefers it. It feels natural, maybe it's from the years of being pushed around and called names from Dethklok, but no one can say Charles doesn't love a dominant partner.

C - Cute (Cuddles, Handholding, Sweet Touches, Caresses, Sneaky Moves)

Charlie is not a man of PDA at all. He believes that it is dangerous in his profession and in reality it truly could be for his partner if the wrong people wanted to use them against him. He is a very powerful man after all. However that does not mean that he will never sneak his pinky around his lover's own when he meets them at the bar of a large social event he curated for Dethklok. That doesn't mean he wouldn't wrap his arm around their waist when he was certain it was only them and the boys left over after the party was over. That certainly doesn't mean that in the privacy of his office or home he wouldn't touch his partner so sweetly that it left goosebumps running down their spines. And that certainly doesn't mean that he wouldn't risk the occasional ass pinch around the boys on nights when they're all getting fucking sloppy.

D - Dates (What kind of dates do they like to take their partners on? Are they creative with their date ideas?)

Charles has learned over the years that IHOP and Denny's are not the most ideal places for repeat dates. Even when they are open almost around the clock and offer a wide array of food. So... he has delegated the date idea job to his partner for the most part. It's not that he never tried. He just always became too busy with work to make long standing plans or put elaborate dates into action, which isn't to say that he never did. It was simply rare, on special dates, Valentine's day and Anniversaries that he planned extravagant venues and dinners. So normal weekly dates sere left to his partner to choose how they spent their time, which always seemed to work for the two of them.

E - Eat (Do they have similar tastes in food or do they share food at the dinner table? I. E. Swapping the tomatoes on the burger for the pickles on their partner’s chicken sandwich)

This boy has a very refined pallet. That however does not mean that he will not eat whatever is on his plate. He has spent years with the pickiest band on the face of the earth. His plate was always the scap plate for the bits that Dethklok refused to eat. A stray pickle here, a tomato there, chicken skin here, greens on the corner. His plate was always overflowing. Charles ate whatever he was given with a sour face. He actually FUCKING DESPISED PICKLED FOOD. All of it. Sour kraut, pickles, pickled eggs, kimchi, Mostarda, all of it. He hated the taste of vinegar and fermentation. He would always give his partner his pickled foods if they wanted it but he fucking loved fresh cut tomatoes and would happily trade for any tomatoes on their plate.

F - Fire (What drives them the most in the relationship?)

Charles' motivation in the relationship is to protect them from the horrors of the world as long as he possibly can by doing whatever it possibly takes. Even if that means leaving them for an extended period time to keep them safe.

G - Generosity (How do they show their partner they care?)

For the first part of the relationship, Charles gifted his partner lavish gifts believing that physical affection was the only affection that would matter in the end. However as time went on he stopped buying the gifts and started making more time for them. Spending time in their shared bed for them time. Even if it wasn't physical actives they shared in and instead they just talked about life, work, or stress. He showed he was there. That he cared for them more than just a text.

H - Hot Head (Are they quick to anger? Are they spiteful in a fight? Will they say things they don’t mean just to piss their partner off? Or are they easy going?)

It takes a hell of a lot to piss Charlie off. But when he gets there he goes the fuck off. Charles bottles up so much that it just gets to a point where he can't hold it in anymore. And while he absolutely will spout off some shit he doesn't mean screaming the meanest and nastiest shit anyone can imagine. He never intends to hurt anyone with his words. After a few days of cooling down he will always apologize but fights like this always shake the relationship and make his partner question things.

I - Interest (What are some of the interests they may share?)

While Charles and his partner met at an opera Charles was more of a Broadway musical man himself. He loved to watch the performances and choreography intermingle to tell a story.

Surprisingly enough, Charles loved to go to sports games. ANY. It was a great way for him to expel some of his pent up emotions.

He also is extremely artistic and loves to make pottery. (Ghost style of course).

J- Jealousy (Are they the Jealous type? How would they act if they were?)

Charles doesn't get jealous (now) because he is extremely secure in his relationship. When it first started however he refused to bring his partner anywhere near Dethklok for five reasons. Nathan, Pickles, Toki, William, and especially Skwisgaar. He believed full heartedly they would be swept away by the charm of fame (or Skwisgaar's sexual prowess) and leave him in an instant. He never specifically told them what to do however he did manipulate them into believing that Dethklok were the worst type of humans and outed them for all their worst behavior.

K- Kids (Do they want kids?)

No. Not at all. He has five adopted man sons he couldn't possibly imagine himself having actual babies and children especially when he knew his man children would have a whole fit believing he was replacing them in his heart... he just couldn't handle that.

L - Likes (Favorite things about relationship and partner)

If he's being incredibly honest with himself, he finds being in a relationship incredibly convenient. He doesn't need to explain to anyone why he's single at his age anymore. He doesn't need to sit alone at a two person booth anymore. Most importantly... he doesn't feel so incredibly lonely all of the time anymore. He was surrounded by an all encompassing loneliness that wouldn't leave before. One that he couldn't explain. With his partner by his side he doesn't feel that anymore.

M- Marriage (Are they interested in getting married at all?)

Yes. Charles started looking at acceptable rings several months into their relationship. He doesn't plan on asking until their both completely ready mentally and stable in their relationship. He also needs to make sure the world doesn't end so it may be a while.

N- No (Pet Peeves in a relationship)

Charles hates when his partner is ultra clingy or needy. He likes it as a bit or sex thing maybe but he can't stand if his partner needs constant attention. He has a job that needs his attention round the clock, Dethklok that are like three year olds, and the world to think about and save meaning his mind is always preoccupied on staying one step ahead on evil. He literally has no brain space left for an over clingy or needy partner. He needs some TLC himself.

O - Orange (What color reminds them of their partner?)

Blue or Green. The colors of nature he finds his partner calming and reassuring in the best of times. He loves to be around the mas they recharge his energy and make him smile.

P - Proposal (How would they or how did they propose?)

Charles would set up an elaborate date for his partner. He'd claim that it was for a special event. He'd rent out the entire venue and hire private staff that all signed NDAs. In the evening the two would eat under the stars and twinkling fairylights Toki was kind enough to provide for the event, promising Charles they would make the moment all the more romantic. Kneeling on one knee as the boys asll brought out desert out on a silver plater, the ring embellishing the cake he would ask the question everyone has been waiting years to hear from him. "Will you marry me?"

Q - Queen (King) (What traits makes them a KING or a QUEEN?)

Charles always holds the door for his partner. He always waits until their in the car and has their seat belt on before he drives anywhere. He does all the chores at home. Anytime it's just him and the boys he will always brag about his partner, he just can't stop himself. His password on his personal phone is always available to his S/O so they can access it if they need. He never cares if they read his messages or emails. He only cares if they answer calls only because they may talk to someone in the press by accident or someone wanting to hurt them. He sends security details out with them everywhere they go when he's out of town. But most importantly, he messages to let them know he got places safe.

R - Rain (What was the most romantic gesture they have ever done for their partner?)

You'd think that the most romantic gestures Charles makes towards his partner would be have to be in one of his grand dates or a glittering gift he bought... but you'd be wrong. Charles is the most romantic in the tiniest of his actions. When he tries the least and he's thinking about it the least. On those days when it suddenly begins to rain without warning, and he offers his umbrella to his partner without a single "I told you so." Letting his own suite get wet all in the name of keeping them dry and warm. On those chilly late early fall nights when the temperature suddenly cools off and leaves his partner shivering and rubbing their arms. He offers his jacket without a second thought. When he comes into the bedroom with their coffee made just the way they like it. When he reminds them of that One Thing they needed at the grocery store or to grab that One Thing before they leave for a party hours after his partner asked him to remind him. When he stares at them like he just realized that all the stars in the sky were his to hold and he whispers "God, you look amazing tonight."

S- Smooches (Who gave the first kiss? When do they kiss their partner? How often do they kiss their partner?)

I full heartedly believe that Charles made the first move and was the first to kiss them.

He never saw the relationship going so far or saw himself loving someone as much as he loved his partner but as the relationship progressed the kisses turned from heated desperate needy sex kisses to slow passionate ones that honestly frightened him with how deeply he loved his partner. Over time he pulled away slightly. He kissed them only slightly. Pecks on the lips and cheek to try and drive home that he still cared but couldn't be that person they needed. But once they had a proper talk about things, and the dynamics of the relationship. Charles found himself kissing his partner in all sorts of ways.

Charles kisses his partner Good Morning each morning they spend the night together. He tries his hardest to wait for them to finish their routine to drive with his partner to work and kiss them Good Bye there but if duty calls and he has to leave early he always makes sure to kiss them before he leaves. If work runs late and he gets home after his partner has gone to sleep he always gives them a kiss on the head Good Night but he tries to be home in time for dinner and a real kiss. Sometimes if he's lucky and his partner is feeling frisky he gets held up in the morning or stays up late with his partner's kisses... But that's not every day.

T - Travel (Do they like to travel with their partner? Where do they dream of traveling to?)

Charles travels all over the place all the time for work. So his dream vacation with his partner is a staycation. However, Out of all the places he's ever gone he never went just to sight see. If his partner ever made the argument that he could just go to relax... he might. It all depends on where and for how long. Charles gets anxious when away from work for too long and worries about seeing important political figures while on vacation and getting dragged into work without wanting to.

U- Universal (How Public are they with their affection? Are they very open with PDA? Do they brag about their partner?)

Being CFO of Dethklok is dangerous work... Charles would make it VERY clear that it is not a problem with his partner and in another world he would show them off proudly. But in the reality they live in it is too dangerous for him to have them on his arm at galas and in magazine photos. People could use the information of their relationship against him and use his partner as ransom for information about Dethklok or money. It wasn't worth that risk. In the privacy of their own home and around the boys (Once Nathan walked in on them however) they were very open. Charles hugged, kissed, and held his partner's waist whenever he wanted without fear.

Funnily enough however... Charles can not shut his mouth about his partner. He tells Nathan how amazing they are, how cute they are, what they did that morning, and how much he loves them almost every day during their meetings. It's like word vomit. He can't stop himself sometimes. He knows it's gross lovie dovie stuff but it feels so good. One time he caught himself telling a gear about his partner on the way to a summit meeting and had to have them sign a binding NDA. He even outed himself to a reporter by telling them about the hickie he had on his neck was from his long time partner but was whisked away by some loyal gears before he could pour his heart out.

V- Valentines (First holiday together. How did they prepare? How did they celebrate?)

This man was never good with celebrations or holidays... doesn't help that he's not exactly religious and doesn't celebrate most holidays to begin with. So when his partner brings him a little trinket on odd August day with a bright beaming smile it suddenly got his mind reeling. Did he miss something?! Was it their birthday? Was it his? When was Easter? He decided to make it up to them the next holiday for sure!

So when Halloween rolled around Charles was READY! He bought costumes for both him and his partner to wear, decked the appartment out in halloween decorations, bought candy and chips, made caramel apples and dip, bought a plastic jack-o-lantern (because he'd be damned if he touched pumpkin guts), got booze, and asked the boys to dress in silly outfits they bought and come to their little party. Charles dressed as a vampire flowing black cape, stick in fangs, fake blood and all. Murderface, Nathan, and Pickles all showed up as various members of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles looking disgruntled over at Skwisgaar who looked mildly annoyed in his white rabbit costume and Toki who looked all too comfortable in his sexy Alice costume. When Charles' partner returned home from work to the surprise party they broke into a fit of giggles in Charles' arms before running to get changed. It has since become a tradition to hold a private Halloween party since.

W- Wicked (What do they do that purposely pushes their partner's buttons?)

"Ummm... Actually-" Charles will "correct" his partner on little things they say or do in an fake annoying voice until they beg him to stop. Most of the time he's emulating Karen's he has heard in the wild while working and makes sure that his partner is aware of this fact. He never means it in a mean way its all playful.

Talking to himself- Charles spends a God Awful amount of time alone in his office with no one to entertain him but himself. Often time he finds a good playlist to listen to and gets his work done. But sometimes he gets his paperwork done early and just waits in his office for something to happen or work feels so heavy it's hard to get started. So, in order to get started or keep going he talks to inanimate objects or even just the air to entertain himself. This quirkiness bleeds into his everyday life with his partner. One time they found him talking to the house plant that they kept as decoration next to the table. "Well... do you have anything to say for yourself?" He grumbled. They asked who he was talking to and he angrily pointed to the dead leaf on the floor with a small grumble. "Kevin is shedding on the floor!" His partner just blinked and walked away.

Over Cleanliness- Living near Dethklok has taught him a lot about the human condition. He knows he never wants to live in a condition that is sticky or grimy and he lets his partner know that. He took over the chores at the house to ensure the best chance however, on bad days he will have anxiety attacks about having a dirty space.

Communication is Lacking - Due to his line of work there are a lot of NDAs and confidential things Charles has to keep to himself. If he has to leave suddenly for a confidential reason his partner will and has received a phone call that simply stated "He left at X time. You will be notified upon return." This never used to other his partner as much until the day they received the call that he "died" and another months later that he was actually alive. Their trust in him wavered so much then that they had to get counseling from Twinkletits at that point.

Explosive Emotions - Charles is the front of a lot of shit at work. He carries a lot home with him. He bottles a lot up for the sake of confidentiality and for the sake of his image. So there are times he tends to blow things out of proportion, or go off with out meaning to because he couldn't bottle any more. He needs a lot of TLC.

X- Xylophone (What song fits the relationship?)

Leather and Lace by Stevie Nicks and Don Henley

Y- Yearning (When do they miss their partner the most? What do they do to placate themselves in the mean time?)

Charles misses his partner the most while he is at work in his down time when his mind is free. If he's busy he still misses and yearns for them but it's not as much of a burning desire for them so he tries to busy himself so the time slips away faster.

Z- Zipper (Do they let their partner pick their outfits?)

YES. Charles has a horrible fashion sense LOL. Some believe it's because he's color blind. And that has some validity to it as he was diagnosed when he was little with a mild case of it but believed it would get better with age. He used to wear mismatched socks, God Awful suite and tie combos and brown and black shoe combos. Now his partner lays his outfits out for him at night so he doesn't have to choose.

These were so fun!!! I think I may just do the Sexy Alphabet in a few days after doing some more of these XD @ir0n-moon

[reveregret]

Hello my favorite person to bug! I figured since you've been dealing with these feelings and tendencies for a long time, you'd be a good person for insight on how to cope with them when you feel overwhelmed with them? I assume part of it has been writing them down, like on this blog? Thanks for your time like always :]

writing everything down has been a big part of how i cope, you're certainly right about that. it's a little ironic considering how i never really understood how journalling could be helpful, but i suppose it was a matter of how it was presented. i never really cared for prompts or rules around it, since that made it feel more like a task than an outlet. i did like making poetry, however. that's actually how i started out. i preferred the almost theatrical nature of it. eventually i just started writing things down as they were, making notes of what was happening or the thoughts i was having.

admittedly, that was mostly to keep track of details and events. i have a strong tendency to try to preserve things, which moved onto memories and that presented through transcribing. this was helpful in some ways and harmful in others. it got quite excessive after a while, to the point that i would only pause if i absolutely had to. it did help with processing, and while trying to find words for certain things it gave me a chance to reflect on my own feelings towards it all. i think writing can be really good if done in moderation.

this blog is kind of a blend between poetry and standard writing for me. i'll put down thoughts i'm dealing with and focus on the way it feels. from there i tend to characterise it. find a flow or order, maybe imply a story. if it's not directly reflective of something in reality, it's reflective of a more internal sense of it. i wouldn't actually kill anyone, for example, but i may make a post about doing so to deal with those sorts of thoughts.

in a way, that's helped me practise perspective. this is a little more difficult to explain, but it's part of how i keep my feelings in check. writing is just processing, but to stop and consider the sides of things can help a ton. finding balance is key. it's easy for me to get stuck between idolising or devaluing others, especially the more conscious i am of them. so i remind myself that the person in question has flaws alongside their positive qualities. or vice versa, depending on what side i'm leaning too far into. they're human, after all; neither perfect or substandard.

however, actually finding balance with that can be really tricky. it can be easy to go too far one way or another. that can work to an advantage at times, though. focusing on things i dislike about someone can help prevent and/or end an obsession, or even regulate one. it all depends. point is, to recognise the imperfections of an individual can keep me from glorifying them too much.

one of the main ways i've been able to deal with everything is finding a more symbolic way to encapsulate it. i like to make characters representative of people, for example. one distinction worth noting is i try to make it very non-literal, so i'll take aspects of how someone is or what they like and make something from that. i try to avoid making it an exact replicate of them to create somewhat of a division. it's still them, but metaphorically.

the way this helps is giving me somewhere to redirect those feelings. creative outlets are great in this sense! i draw a lot, and i'll often focus on the character i've made. it works for what words wouldn't and when i need something other than writing. it can even assist with subtlety, since there's less risk getting caught if everything is represented through that character. its appearance and name are different enough to be not be easily recognised.

another thing i've done is make dolls using these characters. i have my own pattern that i designed so that i can bring them to life. it's like being able to have the person to myself without genuinely trapping them. since i've created an association between the design and the individual, it can be comforting to simply have the doll around. i can even hold it to feign some control over the more protective or possessive feelings.

additionally, i create symbols (or sigils, if you will) typically made from the person's name. taking core elements from the shape of the letters and merging them together into its own unique shape. i'll write it down whenever i'm feeling intensely, or whenever i feel the need to. it can help me feel more connected with someone without actually forcing it. major bonus, it keeps me from writing a person's name too excessively or blatantly. there was a point a friend noticed one of my symbols but didn't think much of it. if it had been the name it represented, that would've turned out much differently.

these are the main ways i deal with everything before it gets to be unhealthy. i'm wary of sharing too much about how i deal with stalking since things that are reduced for me can easily worsen it for someone else. i'd rather support improvement, so hopefully everything i wrote here has value in that way.

[anneapocalypse]

I like your post about gray morality in video games! On the other hand I wanted to add that the gray decision-making you're talking about can have its own pitfalls (distinct from the pitfalls of centrist/apolitical "both sides are bad" apathy). I'm thinking of gritty action heroes who are presented as morally gray because they're pragmatic enough to torture and kill in the name of Truth, Justice, and the 'Murican Way, or just in the name of a macho revenge fantasy. To be clear, this isn't an indictment of gray morality, which I love when done well. Hell, the stories I'm complaining about tend not to be THAT gray in practice, as the bad guys are often SO exaggeratedly bad that there's not a real question of whether the hero is willing to Do What It Takes in the end. My point is more just that that's what people often mean when they condemn "gray morality."

Hi! Sorry this has been sitting my ask box for a while, I got busy and didn't want to just dash off a response.

(We're talking about this post, for those who haven't seen it. RIP my notifications.)

Anyway I'll just say here for the record that yeah, gray morality in fiction can be done poorly! While the line for "done poorly" is going to be different for everyone, I can certainly think of examples I've disliked.

(This got long, sorry in advance. 😩 Also, spoilers for Fallout 3 and all the Dragon Age games, if anyone cares!)

My go-to example of one I think is a real stinker is the Fallout 3 DLC "The Pitt" where the critical decision is... whether to free a bunch of people from being enslaved in horrible conditions! But! in order to free them, you have to kidnap a baby from... the enslaver. Because something something the baby's genetics are the key to curing the illness that afflict the slaves from their horrible working conditions... you don't actually have to hurt the baby, though, she'll be fine. She'll just be taken away from her parents. Who are, again, slavers. I promise I'm not making it sound any stupider than it sounds in the game itself. :P Like the whole concept of putting an infant in your video game inventory and making a break for it is just a little too wacky for me to take seriously, but it feels like you're meant to take it seriously, and apart from trying to inject some ambiguity into the decision, I'm not sure why the whole baby plot would even be there. Honestly, Fallout 3 isn't a game about moral ambiguity. (I think both New Vegas and even Fallout 4 do that kind of thing better.) Most of its major decisions boil down to "Do you want to do the Good Person Thing or the Evil Bastard thing?" That's the game. No one is trying to inject moral ambiguity into blowing up Megaton. It's just a thing you can do if you want to roleplay an Evil Character. I love Fallout 3, I'm just saying, that's what it is. And I think "The Pitt" would have been both more thematically appropriate and less stupid if it had just skipped the whole baby plot and been like "Hey! Do you want to be the Good Person who frees the slaves, or the Evil Bastard who allies with the slaver?" It's morally simple, but the thing is the baby didn't actually make that story or the decision any more interesting to me, so it might as well not have been there at all.

But Fallout 3 isn't the kind of thing I was thinking of when I made that post. I was thinking a lot more about things like the decisions in the Dragon Age games, which don't usually fall neatly into The Good Option and The Evil Option, and are more likely to ask the player to make their own judgments. And a common criticism I see of those games is that they're "centrist" and try to "both sides" in-universe issues because the game doesn't explicitly tell you which choice is The Good One, or it doesn't explicitly reward one choice and punish the other, and that's... not really an interpretation that I generally agree with? But that's a much more involved discussion, honestly. At some point, I'd like to write a post about how I feel Inquisition presents the mage rebellion, because it's such a big topic and big game (and by "I'd like to" I mean... I already have a draft started, whoops). That's just more than I have time to get into today!

But I will say this: I find the plot decisions where you're given an obvious "best option" to be the least interesting choices in the Dragon Age games. The Redcliffe decision in Origins is the most obvious one to me, where I think the option to save Connor from possession should at least have been much harder to find, because in the lore, the fact that mages even can be saved from possession and not just killed is widely unknown because it goes against the templar party line, and the fact that Ferelden's First Enchanter is just like, "Oh yeah, sure, we can totally do that, pack up the lyrium boys" just doesn't really mesh with everything else we're told about the Circles and conventional wisdom on magic. Plus, the fact that there's no consequences for leaving Redcliffe for days with Connor possessed just... makes the decision too easy, for me, because in-universe it feels like it shouldn't be that easy. There's also the werewolf decision, wherein the Lady of the Forest just tells you straight out that Zathrian can break the curse with his own death, presenting you with a "best option" that it feels both stupid and sort of comically evil to disregard (like, from a purely pragmatic standpoint why would you fight the entire pack of werewolves or an entire clan of elves when you can just make Zathrian solve the problem here and now).

The ending decision of DA2 is an example that I feel has a really stark moral contrast to it (which I've discussed before), and one that I think does place certain constraints on role-playing, but in that case I think it's appropriate to the themes of the game, so I don't mind it.

But my favorite plot decisions in Dragon Age are things like the Landsmeet, the Winter Palace, and even the Orzammar quest line. Not just because I love fantasy politics, but because you have to work with what you're given in a way that feels realistic to the setting and the story. No matter how much of a hero you are, you can't waltz into Orzammar or Denerim or Halamshiral and brute-force a perfect solution. Unless you're a dwarf yourself, you're an outsider who doesn't know anything about dwarven politics and no one is particularly forthcoming about the situation because everyone has an agenda! and yet you have to solve this conflict in order to get aid against the Blight. You have to make a decision based on very little information and almost none of it concrete. At the Landsmeet, you may want justice, but it's your word against Loghain's with no proof of what really happened at Ostagar, and if you want to win you need provable charges, you need to show the nobles that you support their interests and not just your own, and no matter which butt you put on the throne, you're faced with the very real possibility of another succession crisis a few decades on so congratulations, you've just kicked the can down the road.

And oh, the Winter Palace, my beloved. You cannot make Briala the Empress, no matter how much you might want to! You cannot abolish the monarchy. You cannot force Orlais to relinquish the Dales and re-establish the Elven state. Your options are: keep the empress whose reign overall has been sympathetic to elves and commoners and relatively diplomatic toward her neighbors, but who also may have just done a good old fashioned massacre to crush a rebellion and maintain her power; let her be killed and put the militant expansionist on the throne; get Briala and Celene back together (maybe with the hope that Briala will continue to influence her); help Briala do a blackmail which surely will work out totally fine and not backfire in anyway; or force them all to shut up and play ball for now, basically just kicking the can down the road. None of these options are perfect by any means! There are interesting and believable in-character reasons you might choose to role-play any of them. And every one has the possibility of unforeseen consequences later on, positive or negative.

I made the original post, in part, in response to condemnations of the kind of decisions I enjoy in these games. And at the end of the day, it's okay not to like those decisions, to prefer more unambiguous choices or more room to indulge in the fantasy of fixing everything. But that's not always the kind of story a game is trying to tell, and I think that's fine, and personally I enjoy the complicated decisions more. And I feel like sometimes those complicated or ambiguous choices are read as if they're either presenting all options as morally equivalent when they're not, or that they're "punishing" the player for a choice if it has any kind of negative outcome, and I don't think that's the case! I think it's fine and good in fiction to explore the ways in which trying to change things for the better can be difficult and how a choice with some negative consequences may still be the best one available, and so on and so forth.

Anyway, I hope I didn't get too far afield here, and thanks if you read this far!

[pangolinheart]

22. Someone my muse is indebted to and 27. Someone my muse envies

Ooohhh these are good ones! I really had to think hard about these! 22. Someone my muse is indebted to rowena for all the weapon mats This one was difficult because Rhiki very rarely views her relationships and interactions with other people as transactional. She's the opposite of Zero in this regard. That's not to say that she's ungrateful for the help of others, nor that she would take without thinking to give something in return. It's more that she rarely contextualizes this as "repaying a debt". People who help her and offer her kindness are her friends, and she does nice things for her friends. She only thinks of this in terms of commerce when the person in question makes clear that they are expecting some sort of repayment for services rendered. And, of course, not many people demand favors from the Warrior of Light. The whole "saving the world" thing is kind of payment in advance....

At first I was tempted to say the remaining members of her parents' adventuring party for supporting her in multiple ways after their deaths, but they really do have a familial relationship, so while Rhiki is grateful to them and wants to make them proud, I don't know that anyone involved would see it as a debt. It's just what families doe for each other. If I had to choose the canon character Rhiki feels the most indebted to, it would probably be Edmont de Fortemps. Being forced to flee Eorzea virtually alone was really difficult on her, so while she wasn't quite as relieved to be granted passage into Ishgard as she was to find sanctuary at Camp Dragonhead, it meant a lot to her that he was not only willing to extend his hospitality to them, but to stake his reputation on their good character. His support during and after the events of Heavensward was invaluable. Then, of course, there's the other thing.... which Rhiki feels at the very least responsible for, though they've shared their feelings on the subject and he's made it clear that he doesn't blame her for it. "Indebted" may be the wrong word, as it's a debt that she feels she will likely never be able to repay, but she certainly feels a sense of obligation towards him. It may also be inaccurate because Edmont doesn't view her as owing him anything at all. 27. Someone my muse envies This one was difficult as well, but for the opposite reason! Rhiki is a little envious of a lot of people. She can find something she likes in most people, but as a consequence can be a little envious of of them. She envies Y'shtola's beauty, intelligence and resolve. She envies Urianger's composure. She envies Tataru's financial prowess. She doesn't envy any of them enough to allow it to affect her behavior towards then, but these are all things that she has at one point or another found herself wishing she had.

She's kind of envious of moogles. They get to goof off, play pranks, and eat kupo nuts all day. Plus they're fuzzy and cute. Sometimes she thinks it would be great to be a moogle.

The specific NPC that keeps coming to mind, though, is Minfilia. She's not really jealous of the responsibility she carried, or her eventual fate, obviously. But, at least when she was alive, she had lots of traits that Rhiki wished she had. She was beautiful and gracious and kind. All of the other Scions loved her and spoke highly of her. Later, on the First, she would also be reminded that Minfilia was strong. She was gentle and caring and unfailingly good -and she made it all look so easy. Rhiki definitely felt as if she could never live up to the standards Minfilia set as one of Hydaelyn's chosen, and she envied the grace with which Minfilia carried all of her burdens.

If Rhiki was sharing a universe with another Warrior of Light, she'd probably also be a little jealous of them. There's nothing particularly special or stand-out about Rhiki other than the fact that she's been granted the Blessing of Light. She's been kind of bumbling her way through being the WoL, just doing the best she can and hoping with all her might that it's enough. So she might find herself a bit envious of someone who's better suited to the roll than she, whether it's because they're more competent, better-liked, or more badass.

[From the Supporting Character Ask Meme]

[miraculouslbcnreactions]

Sorry if you answered this before but do you plan on watching S6 of Miraculous ?

I'm not sure. I'm certainly not planning to watch it as it comes out, but I may watch it once it's streaming. While I'm clearly quite critical of canon, I did genuinely enjoy a lot of things prior to season five. Little moments and character interactions that made it worth watching the individual episodes even though the overall plot kinda sucked. It was a good blend of entertaining in the micro and bad in the macro, making it something enjoyable for my partner and I to watch and then talk about.

Season five wasn't like that. There are a mere handful of good moments and most episodes gave me nothing of value, so I'm very hesitant to give canon more of my time. This is extra true because season five ended the show's first big arc, making it a really good off point as I'll fully admit that seeing Gabriel's ultimate fate was a draw for me. Now? There's really nothing left to look forward to. I no longer care about the canon square, Lila is one of the most obnoxious villains ever written, and both of our "leads" have been character assassinated into characters I don't really want to watch, mostly because they're not allowed to learn and grow, but they have the kind of character flaws that desperately need them to learn and grow for their characters to stay engaging.

Marinette's issues are pretty obvious, but Adrien was done equally dirty, just in the exact opposite way. It's really hard to get excited about for a male lead who isn't strong enough to make it to the final fight after five seasons of promising that it was "us against the world." Especially when every other character was able to overcome the nightmare dust! At least Marinette is doing things and talking to people even if those people aren't necessarily the people she should talk to and her actions aren't the ones she should be taking. Adrien just keeps sitting stuff out and doing nothing to change his situation because one of his big flaws is his passivity and it's aggravating! He's supposed to be an action hero!

And before anyone rants at me about victim blaming, please remember that this is a story and Adrien is a fictional character who - as best I can tell - isn't even intentionally written as a victim. While he is one in terms of what actually happened, the story does not seem to view him as one so I don't think his writing is some active choice to rep victims and, even if it was, I'd still have issues with their choices.

Either way, Miraculous is not the type of show that is here to give us deep character analysis. It's a rom-com superhero show for kids and that is the type of content I tuned in to watch. I was here for Ladybug-the-smart-badass and her faithful, flirty hero partner, but the show is giving me nothing on either front. Ladynoir was barely a thing in season five and I don't think we got a single Ladrien moment. Those relationship dynamics were my two biggest draws. My third tier dynamic was Adrienette and even that failed me because they didn't even give us Marinette growing up enough to be the one to ask Adrien out because, as stated above, the characters are not allowed to grow because that would mean that the episodes have to be watched in a specific order and it leads to terrible writing choices.

I've honestly given the show way more time than I ever planned while running this blog! I didn't expect it to get popular enough where I'd go away for a week and come back to over a dozen asks! I just wanted to vent about season five for a bit because the writing was just so incredibly bad that I needed an outlet to stop stewing over it. I've found that writing a thing down and throwing it into the ether is a great way to get my brain to move on and stop thinking about it, thus the blog.

[seroothincs]

Well now I gotta see your Louie headcanons

Awh, yes the sweet baby boy. He's honestly such a favorite of mine, he's just soo.. Mmm Baby. An Absolute dork who tries to put on his best tough face but ends up being more cuter. I don't have that many headcanons of him since we already know a lot about him as a character, he has a lot of voice lines and is therefore the most involved mafia member in the show. Rather than Legs or even Johnny, but Johnny never says anything so it's obvious why we don't know a lot bout him. Headcanons: Now he's the bit more timid and friendly mobster in comparison from examples like Legs or Johnny, of course he isn't afraid to kill someone that gets into his way but he certainly is the more chatty type of guy you'd meet in college. Of course he's all around the place and eager to follow out Tony's every order, he isn't shown to be bothered when needing to kill someone. Though he does show concern for other people's well being like when he called out Homer's reckless use of a gun in "The Cartridge family", saying that homer could have seriously injured someone. Another example is in the famous scene from "Insane Clown poppy" where Johnny got shot. Paints him as a more sensitive mobster, which is what makes him all the more cuter.

He's usually shown to be the shortest member of the gang, shorter than both Legs and Tony. Johnny as well but I'm not so sure about Frankie in comparison with him. Maybe they're the same height, maybe Frankie is taller maybe Louie is. Anyways, there could be a reason for that, maybe a history of shortness in his family -- or maybe not. OR MAYBE it has to do with his past. Look he's a pretty thin and short dude, has a bit of belly chub but that's normal for a dude like him in an old age. He was extremely thin since his childhood, likely because he was raised by a single mother and back then they struggled to maintain a proper income to care for themselves. Causing for him to grow up a bit malnourished, which both caused his baby face, his short height and why he looked so thin. So you could imagine the confusion and worry when Legs and Tony grew more and more while Louie only grew half of their previous heights as teens.

Possibly and this is just one of my many filled in plot points regarding his backstory. When he was a young adult, so say early 20s, He got his first and only real job, after Anna Maria's death and after he quit college, in an Equestrian facility.

He had been spiraling into a deep depression after the terrible news of Anna's passing, so much so that he didn't see a point in continuing his studies to become a chef and gave up on his dream. Instead he wanted to try a new thing and that was caring for animals, he thought if he was under the presence of them he could feel more at ease and escape from the busy life he had once lived.

The job, working as a cleaner, paid enough of a salary to live off it, though he still was miserable. Tony eventually found him and it took some convincing to do once he got him to join the mafia again.

I should probably mention at this point that Anna Maria (Fat tony's deceased wife if anyone isn't familiar with her) and Louie were really tight best friends in the younger years. They have been ever since their teenage years and even went to college together, I don't wanna get into this too much as I will write a separate post to how the young mafia only consisting of three rose up out of Springfield's slumps into the most feared organization that ever appeared in the country.

This guy will search for anything to function as a lighter for his cigarette. Doesn't matter if it's a grill, gas stove or even a iron. He sort of got an addiction back in his early 20s and now he's trying his best to cut back.

He had much, much, much, much more curlier and luscious hair when he was young. He kind of misses it but that's just what happens with old age, he's also kind of glad that he doesn't have to deal with the thickness of it anymore. So many combs broke when he just wanted to brush through it, so many.

It's no surprise horses are his favorite animals, it's weird for a boy to like them but he got the love for them from his father. His dad was a jockey back in Italy and before he died he had promised Louie he would take him with him one day to the ranch where he used to work at and train at. This promise obviously fell through and Louie only remembered that place after he quit college.

Frankie and Louie are sharing one single braincell and it's almost dead.

Louie and Tommy "The face-shooter" are really close and I think that's because Tommy is just like Louie, both were and are young when they joined. (but I think it's also because Louie is no longer the youngest in the whole mafia and relieved that a 19 year old joined)

Louie and Michael are good friends for two reasons. One: They both are excellent cooks and occasionally when they meet up they cook together. Two: Both are children.

Louie, as mentioned in earlier episodes, is a good dancer. He was shown to be good at tap-dancing in "Mayored to the Mob" so I feel like he had dance class as an after school activity. Yeah sure the others laughed at him because of it but he really liked going to that place, wasn't a big fan of the ballet they did but he loved tap-dancing, he still does it to this day.

Besides his love for dancing, he also has a love for instruments. He has been seen attending the Rolling stones Rock N' Roll Fantasy camp and later in the episode he even dragged Tony and Legs along with him to the concert. A total Stones fanboy. But this makes me think that he started playing guitar when he was a young teen, his idols being Keith Richards and Brian May.

He is, so god damn accident-prone it's not even funny. He has been already through so many tragedies in his life and he continues to be put under them. He always manages to get shot in some way shape or form during gang wars, trips when there's nothing even there for him to trip over, fell out of a three story building that one time and he has so many scars on his bodies to show where he was stabbed. I don't even know how he continues to live after so many things happened to him, guess he and Frankie are really immortal.

What was that? You said your favorite band are the Rolling stones? Bad move, buddy. Now you're caught by an ecstatic Louie. He is such a huge fanboy for the stones and once you mention even the slightest of references at the band he turns into a blabber-mouth. It's cute at times, though his music choice sometimes gets in the way of Legs's when they are driving in the car and want to put on some music. (His favorite album of course is Sticky fingers)

Louie plus Frankie and all of the kids from their mobster colleagues (Including Michael) are loyal fans for the Muppet Show and watch it all the time when they're together. Oh and they of course watch Itchy & Scratchy together.

He loves tiramisu over everything, it's the one dessert he always orders at La Coffee nostra. He also a sweet tooth, both Legs and Tony tell him to cut back since Louie has been through so many dentist's already, so many holes.

He doesn't like to admit it at times but he's forced to when Legs gets on his back. He can be disorganized and messy, his apartment looks like a war zone and I don't think anyone would want to step in his bedroom if they already saw the state of his living room.

And that was it for the headcanons, I at least Think these are all of them. I can never make enough because of the cute boy.

[eric-cartman-my-beloved]

Matt and Trey really said Cartman has a sibling and then never referenced it ever again. Almost 13 years ago Scott said he would be back and we didn’t even see him in Post Covid (Hell we saw Kevin McCormick). I wonder if they’re building up to something but the most likely situation is they just forgot about Scott, which sucks because they have the best sibling dynamic. I have so many questions like where is Scott living now? Did he go back to the mental hospital? Who the hell did he live with right after the chili incident? Is he even alive or did he kill himself? Why did they never reference (even briefly) Cartman arranging to have his dad killed after 201? (Cartman still wishes he had a dad in the teenagers ep and the streaming wars) Does Cartman just want to forget about Scott and what he said? This bothers me so much because if you never watched 201 (a banned episode btw) you would have NO idea they were even related. Like yeah Cartman’s hair is a mix of red and brown (While his mom has dark brown hair) but that wouldn’t lead someone to the conclusion he would be related to the Tenormans and Scott would be his sibling.

So many questions So little answers.

Aah dear Anon, you've touched my heart with this, you've no idea😭 You've put all of my thoughts about Scott's disappereance into words!

Matt and Trey literally made them brothers for the shock value and then made Scott vanish! (Ouch, please don't say "201" was 13 years ago, that hurts😭)

EXACTLY. Forget about Kevin for a second, we even saw the leader of the 6th graders. The *freaking* leader of the 6th graders. (Well, they weren't 6th graders anymore but you get my point.) We saw all of those minor characters, but apparently Eric's brother was not important enough...!

I'm adding this to the reasons to hate the Post Covid Specials. (As if I didn't have enough already... )

Though, techically, Scott did make a "comeback" with "Tenorman's Revenge", but yeah, that obviously wasn't in the show, so it doesn't make up for his disappereance.

I wish trough the depths of my heart that Matt and Trey have something planned for Scott and they haven't completely abandoned him, but unfortunately I'll have to agree. It looks like they've forgotten him... Eric and Scott clearly have the best sibling dynamic, in the whole show, at the very least.

Oh my God me too! Just what is going on in that boy's life right now??

I'm guessing he's living in some kind of orphanage/foster care? We haven't been told anything about other close relatives so far, so... But I do need an official answer at some point!

Ah, no, at least we don't have to worry about whether he's alive or not! I don't know if you've noticed, but he makes a *tiny* little cameo near the end of the vaccination special. So, at least he's alive - that's something.

That's so true and it's so weird! It's like the big reveal in "201" never happened!

After the teenager episode in season 25 I was honestly hoping for them to at least reference Jack in this season (at least a mention!) but alas... I agree that probably Eric is trying to forget about his origins but still, they could have found a way to reference Jack or Scott.

This is something that makes me crazy too! Because "201" happened to be banned, barely anyone remembers about Scott's existence, let alone the fact that he and Eric are related 😭 I still see people get shocked when they learn that they're brothers, and Scott is included so rarely in sibling fanart...

And of course, Eric's hair color can't exactly tell you who his father is.

I honestly think that they should somehow officially at re-release the scenes with Scott somehow, so at least more people will know he exists.

*Sigh* You can certainly say that again...

[mdhwrites]

What are your thoughts on Willow x Hunter?

I… don't care? They're fine. Cute enough, they have something to bond over, both good to each other and exceptionally boring as a couple. They're almost the same person even except one likes lifting weights and plants while the other likes sci-fi and actually matters to the story.

I do not get the hype I guess is what I'm saying. Not that I'm entirely surprised either. It was finally a ship for Willow that wouldn't get you accused of enabling abuse or evil like Boschlow would (seriously people, what the fuck? I don't like the ship but you all need to learn to breathe.) or just all alone like Willuz or Amillow would. For Hunter it was an even bigger reprieve. The show finally told you "Ship them" with a scene without it either breaking up Lumity or being with the CANONICAL LESBIAN.

Seriously, I will not drop that they tie his character arc, effectively starting it three times over, with three different girls and that would be bad without one of them being AMITY. Because each one really does get that "This could be the start of a friendship or a romance" moment with Hunter and that makes me roll my eyes some.

So yeah, they're the safe option. They're the show approved option with no conflict between them, little contrast and it does a good job of entirely making you forget that while Willow questionably worked out before the show (we actually have nothing to go off of one way or another), Hunter almost certainly did. Because child soldier.

Going into that goes into everything that's a mess about Willow though and how much the writers just do not care about her.

So instead, I actually want to talk about two of the complaints about Huntlow that I just think are… The complaint has a purpose but its target is wrong.

"Huntlow stole time from the show."

I actually severely disagree with this. After all, Hunter was always going to get time and his arc is already rushed, to the point where it doesn't really have a middle. It just starts a few times like mentioned above, then Hollow Mind forces a climax on it and we get a little bit of resolution. That was always going to happen because it was a well established as part of the story.

The only question was with who and… Well, Willow was the choice the writers made and they made it for the sake of Huntlow over narrative. And that's the problem. Your complaint is that Hunter's arc is not good and the unfortunate consequence is that giving the arc more focus would have meant Willow just… Not being in S2. Not in a meaningful way because Willow always has to have an excuse from another character to exist.

And the time Huntlow did take? Effectively none. Because they allow Hunter to just consume Gus' role as closest person to Willow, all the Huntlow moments actually get to flow naturally because they have one personal, one on one conversation and then just know EVERYTHING about each other so the rest of it is just glances, blushes, etc. that take no time and you can just move on from.

It's really fucking bad writing but hey! Part for the course.

"It's ableist."

I think the argument for it, what little I've seen, is… dumb. And puts way more importance and impact on the two's magical handicaps WAY more than the show literally ever did. And again, the complaint is kind of missing the real problem.

Eda's curse was an AMAZING disability allegory. Unlike so many shows where the dude in a wheelchair is actually in a SUPER WHEELCHAIR SO HE CAN KICK BUTT LIKE ANYONE EL-

No. Eda was genuinely held back by the curse. She didn't let it hold her back though. She instead took her medicine, watched out for the things that may trigger her and the curse, etc. like that. It wasn't a super power but it also didn't stop her from being an exceptional person. From living the life she wanted. As someone struggling with disability myself due to anxiety and depression… That's what I want.

I don't want characters being super powered from it is not. Or being cured. And Eda gets a super saiyan form, Gus takes out a fucking coven head and Flapjack DIES and their sacrifice gives Hunter magic. The cure to his disability (and I know this was not the intention since Hunter was dying from other things but it still matters) is another person's LIFE.

When I can say for myself that my number one goal in life is not to be a burden for others due to my jacked up brain.

So… I would say people are right to say this gets borderline offensive to disabled people but it's REALLY not Huntlow's problem.

Huntlow's problems really are about the show's problems. The problems inherent to these two characters. But, as I've shown in this blog even, for being able to say SO MUCH about the two characters… There's really not a lot to say about the ship. It's there, it's cute, they don't do anything that would make people hate it outside of… I dunno, being straight? At least there is a positive straight couple in the show that isn't dead.

It's a mess but only because the show is a mess. But it's hardly one worth actually throwing a fit over.

[leakystatue]

those were some pretty cool ideas! i really like the idea of slender having control over how the place looks with his powers! and im pretty curious about the operations of the manor like you mentioned, like how everyone interacts and what is Slenders whole reason for taking all the pastas in

thank youu! alright. So

this is even more unsure for me, but i do have some ideas the mansion operates much like an average family, but with way more people and therefore way more responsibilities. children (up to let's sayyyy. ~13) are expected to do chores, but not much else. keep their rooms Just clean enough to not get bugs. slenderman is certainly not picky about how your room looks, but other creeps may give you a hard time. older folks will have more serious responsibilities based on skill. characters like eyeless jack are needed in the medical center frequently. others may be found preparing meals, and others go out. "Going Out" could mean a lot of different things. i haven't quite decided how i wanna tackle the whole Murderers thing. as a child, my interpretation was always that slenderman would either give the creeps a body quota or specific targets, but i'm not sure how i wanna handle it now. perhaps we can take a vigilante approach? targets who are just god awful people? but that brings up the question of Why would this cryptic creature Care enough to get all those awful people. Hm. i'll think about it. as for why they're all there, i think he takes people in when they have nowhere else to go, but having "nowhere else to go" can be for a plethora of Peculiar reasons.

characters like ben and sally are welcome because they are spirits and have no place in the life of the average person. characters like smile or seedeater are welcome because they are supernatural creatures and Also have no place in the life of the average person. with those characters, it's kind of like. SCP? haha? but instead of protecting the public, slender's intention is to protect the creeps. to be an unnatural being in the public eye is a death sentence at best and lifelong torture at worst. he doesn't want anyone or anything like him to be punished for existing. characters like eyeless jack or jeff are more difficult to explain. jack definitely falls under the Inhuman Creature category (at least my version of him does), but jeff is just some guy. both are threats to public safety, but like i said before, slender's intention is not protecting the public so. anyways, they still fall under the Nowhere else to Go thing. considering jeff was like 14 or something when he killed his family. again. i'll have to think about it more! thank you for your questions :-)