#I have a feeling anon has some mental issues like me that make them close to ViVi’s charachter

[purplebehittindifferent]

there is one kind of vivi enjoyer and that is ME. everybody else is a fake fan, they don't understand her like i do... Ɛ/>

💜💜💜

[mourninglamby]

helloooo i just wanted to say i've been a fan of your work for a couple years now i think? & dsmp means a ton to me but i had to cut it from my life after the inconsolable differences stream cuz i lost all faith in the creators and the fandom to be normal abt the story. point being i've started looking at your art again and it is seriously so breathtaking and inspiring to me and is reigniting my love for dsmp (which is to say, reigniting my love for the few fans like you who turned it into something worthwhile). i learned so much about myself thru ctommy and made some of the closest friendships in my life in the fandom so it made me incredibly sad to think that time would only ever leave a sour taste in my mouth, and i'm super grateful to you for seeing the story for what it was, criticizing the things that deeply need to be criticized and recognizing the good parts and transforming them into something new. sorry if this is incoherent just wanted to say thank you and i hope you're well!! <3 take care

anon i think we had extremely similar experiences.. To be candid, I never would have even begun to understand what happened to me if I had not watched dsmp. I identify closely with c!Tommy because there hasn't ever been another character like him that resonates with me and my experiences. And I've also made most of my closest friends thru dsmp! There is a silver lining to everything, and I will forever be thankful that I found my most beloved companions and like-minded people thru dsmp.

However, people will always try to make you feel horrible about it, and undermine the importance of this character and the themes in the story because they refuse to try and understand. And the fandom itself is a monster, constantly proving it is not a safe space for victims nor those with more complicated mental health issues. But I want it to be! And I'm beyond grateful that I could provide some comfort for you in the midst of the incessant adversity plagued on us by anti-intellectual assholes. What I and many others do with dsmp is a reclamation of the abuse narrative. I want to explore c!Tommy and his relationships in ways the canon series could not, so I can give myself and others the ending that we deserved. One that upholds victims as survivors, not as means to an end. I don't know if it's appropriate to tack on, but I've been hard at work structuring how I will divulge from canon in Mortis Metamorphosis, and this has only fanned that flame... I'm so excited to share it with everyone.

anyways ..thank you x 1 trillion for this extremely kind message, I read it as I was walking home from work and it made me start crying like a babyyyy but it was cathartic af to know that when I post my work, it's not for nothing and it does reach people... Wishing you nothing but happiness and comfort anony, stay safe and take care of yourself... xoxo.

[entropicbias]

Last couple asks has me wondering what kind of johndave rep DO you like to read/see? Any examples you can think of in fanworks? And just your own interpretation. Thank you

i have got to reiterate that this is just a me thing. i'm not saying this to police anyone on their writing! i'm just really specific about the way i see these two get portrayed.

this is gonna suck and i'm gonna ramble about it for a while cause i'm mentally challenged. i have a hard time explaining my own thoughts with accuracy. sorry i can't keep this short and sweet. i am the type of person to just know when something is done right. i can't tell you why, but i'll try for you, anon. if you don't want to read all this here, i summarized it.

even more simplified

this is so crude. canon dave is really hard to nail for writers for some reason let alone the specific way i see him. i like a more chillaxed dave. some of the things that really throw me off with dave writing is missing the mark on how annoying he is and dumbing his character down to either angst, obama and apple juice jokes, or him being gay. i think john also encounters this issue. not enough research goes into their interests so writers can only represent them with the bare minimum. nicholas cage, con air, and 'dave i'm not a homosexual'. john and dave are assholes. they tease each other and aren't shy of doing that to other people. not that they're bad people! they care about each other and their friends a lot! but they're not afraid of being really honest about their thoughts or overexaggerating something that doesn't really bother them to poke fun at someone. they can make mendacious remarks to be polite, it just doesn't occur to them as often as just blatantly stating their thoughts on something or someone. i also like seeing them have more naturalistic dialogue. for some reason, when i think of that i think of zach from oneyplays or his character charlie from smiling friends. which is dumb even if it gives you an idea. i feel like a lot of this kind of banter is missing from these fanfics i read. at least, in the way i want it to go. think powerup comics.

gay part upcoming. i think the john and dave's relationship is best portrayed as a childhood crush that is unspoken of. a term i recently learned was "demiromantic", and i think that very perfectly describes how i think john's homosexuality would work. i mean, he doesn't really have a problem admiring dudes, which in itself could be called gay but that's not why i think he would be attracted to dave. i think it's kind of hilarious when people attribute john's homosexuality to him being "romantically interested in cage". john's idols are more like heroic figures to him. i don't like it when that is used as evidence that he's gay unless someone is making fun of him. this is the part where i talk about how john insists on the fact that he's straight. i'm not doubting that at all i think john still likes women and it's easier for him to do so. but he can also develop feelings for someone like dave. hence why i think he's demiromantic in that regard. this is exactly what my sexuality is like, so maybe i am projecting. i like to imagine i'm not projecting incorrectly, though. i think he'd only be able to develop feelings for dave in a setting where he is really a prominent figure in his life. earlier acts of homestuck were like this, but unfortunately the johndave relationship wouldn't work out on john's end with the way homestuck went. their friendship was kind of forgotten after a while, which sucks. in an ideal world, they would have remained in contact and then gotten close again in earth c. but dave was written to be with karkat and jade, which either nulls his feelings for john or opens up a whole new avenue of internalizing it. which is dumb and convoluted and i don't care about postcanon.

dave on the other hand would think about his feelings towards john a little more. i like to think that homestuck dave definitely had feelings towards john. i like to imagine they both developed a crush on each other around the same time, but unlike john who doesn't give it the time of day or even considers it as a crush, dave would. and he'd know that but he wouldn't want to act on it because of a plethora of reasons. probably to retain their friendship and his self image. i guess that could give them some 'angst'.

but you know what? i don't even care for romance all that much! they're bros before they're anything else! and that's all that matters to me! just nailing their friendship in itself is gold. john and dave mean a lot to each other in a platonic sense. even if they pursue other romantic avenues or don't, i don't care! i just like people putting them in a similar setting and showcasing their awesome bromance!

fig. 3, i also like davejade. thinking of iterations of him and john in fanworks that i like is really hard cause i don't read much in that department. what comes to mind is mr. tambourine man and some of deacon_blues's comics. kgtac has a really good dave and karkat too. cole is a spectacular writer. but i've finished neither of those comics so i'm just basing it off the very little i've read. also, none of these examples are particularly johndave related. i just wanted to note down examples of john egbert and dave strider writing i enjoyed. i read like, one comic faygos made but that was also pretty good. pinballhazard is also a phenomenal writer and artist. especially for john! you guys should check all these guys out. anyways, thanks for reading all that!

[p-receh]

Analysis time! :D

What better way to make another thesis for certain parts of the last episode?

This post, I'll be talking about how strong the Power Spheres could take over its owner's mind.

As I ever mentioned it before. Even though comic book already covered the story of season 2. Again, we still need to look at the TV ver. Because whatever happens, TV shows is still the roots of Boboiboy's franchise. Whether you like it or not.

We good? Now shall we begin?

Re edit for grammar correction

See, of all every Power Spheres that had been introduced, only Kokotaim gang were not yet been "confirmed" what was their Power Spheres look like. Sure, the only elemental bot that had been shown were Hang Kasa's Crystal Bot and Retak'ka's Light Bot, but that's it.

Monsta already established two rules about the Power Sphere:

Every Power Spheres have their mind and soul. They could talk, think and feel like a living being.

Whatever happens, their contact with their first owner emended to their traits and it impacted to their next owner as well.

My first suspicion obviously came from what Gopal had said before in one of anon ask box about the first debut of Taufan and Hali in OG series.

"In the past, Boboiboy Lightning turn into Thunderstorm because he felt extremely angry. Boboiboy Wind turn into Cyclone also because of felling an absolute joy."

Another interesting aspect is from Mechamato movie. Specifically when Amato in Mecha suit mode was being locked to a flashback scene triggered by Mecha Bot uncontrollable sense of fear.

(excuse me for putting the Indonesian sub ver. :/

*translation note in order:

"Mechabot, Shoot!"

"Mechabot! What's wrong?"

"C'mon Mechabot!

From this point, I think you can guess what I would want to go from here.

As the tweet mentioned. It is interesting to note the similarities between the two. Whenever the Power Spheres' soul take over the owner's body more deeper, their eyes will glow and the scars spreads to their skin.

And by that logic, the Power Spheres consume much more energy than before. Thus the heavy drained out both mentally and physically from their owners.

Amato knew this and to fix the same issue, he convinced Mecha Bot during their final battle against General Grakakus in the same movie.

"Mechabot, close your eyes! I will be the one to handle our moves! Trust me!"

It goes back to one of my ted talks about this topic and a highlight some particular line from Kuputeri.

One of my favorite Boboiboy account also solidified his statement again about Oboi's being controlled by Power Sphere or in this case, elemental forms.

In my opinion what Oboi went through was somehow worse than any other Power Sphere wielder out there.

Not only he wields seven strongest powers in the galaxy but also might be the most unconstrained one to control them. Then again he still not reach his age of consent, but he already hold big responsibility to become the hero and most wanted target in the galaxy.

Think about it, even their original owners were a bit struggled to learn their power. Hang Kasa travel planets to planet only for learning his power with other elemental masters, Kuputeri needs to harness for at least hundreds years until she could tame Beliung/Tempest's, A small crack Ki'rana's body armor could made her went berserk due to the immense power of the Lightning bot.

In common sense, every wielder still has their Power Spheres as their own companion while Oboi hasn't. What Boboiboy only has to contain that grandiose powers? a watch. A watch that went three times modification simply because of the powers that was too strong to keep and use all at once. Not to mention how frequent Oboi uses split and now with fusion techniques is also add to the list.

He barely managed to ease his mind when transform to Beliung, Ice and Blaze worsen Baraju's conflicts with their near 3rd tier transformation, and he was lucky to be saved by 30 minutes Oakuat Juice so he could keep Rimba under his watch.

Now that we come so far, the questions still remains missing:

With how bad the elementals took over Oboi, will it possible they are gonna be the next villain for him in the future?

Does Amato knows about Boboiboy's Elementals powers? Does he also know Ochobot past before sending it to him?

Did the rest of elementals Power Spheres already destroyed after the first Retak'ka's raid or not?

I guess maybe Mechamato series might be the answer of Ochobot and all elementals Power Spheres in the past. Again we still have no clue what happened to him during the season 2 events.

And also this line up post before Monsta split the title for Dwifusion to "Gentar" and "Baraju"—

—announced the third season of Galaxy series after BM3 Gur'latan(quite close too after the movie you know?) . My only hope is that it cover the elenmentals and also other origins of Yaya, Ying, Gopal, and Fang Power Sphere.

Where were they came from? Were their Power Spheres also get destroyed like all elementals did? Are their owners still alive or not?

🤔

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OOT but I just love Monsta's new thumbnail art for full ep marathon of Windara. 😎👍

[baby-girl-aaron-dessner]

I am sos sorry I keep coming to your page to rant but I really need a safe space to vent.

I also feel like I am repeating my self but I just can’t keep it in.

I don’t know if they have always been this way but I feel like the swifties have official reach a new low.

The mental gymnastics they are doing right now to make the album seem like it’s the ultimate masterpiece and that it’s not just about a woman who cheated and still expected a proposal and then couldn’t handle the criticism for dating a racist is beyond me.

Yes the lyrics are really good and yes the growth in her writing is very noticeable but this is not the masterpiece of the century, especially that art is subjective.

Just because you love it doesn’t mean everyone has to. Just because you relate to it(although that is troubling imo) that doesn’t mean everyone will.

I just cannot see another “you don’t get it because you don’t understand poetry or deep thought” essay.

Like chill it’s not that deep.

I saw a video of one of those TikTok famous comedians saying something along the lines of this album is for the 30 year old woman who still trying to figure out their shit and my first thought is “correction - this is for 30 something year old white women who have not figured it out and want a medal for their tantrum”

No offence to anyone, but she is not exactly talking about extremely deep subjects here.

She is not talking about woman struggling with their mental health because they don’t have access to mental health services

She is not talking about what it’s like for woman surviving abuse in any of its forms.

She is not talking about the struggle of woman with their self image.

She is not talking about woman who are a tilll trying to find their voice in this cruel world.

Is definitely not talking about the Palestinian women struggle throughout the genocide.

I have heard this album all 31 songs and the only one I felt like she actually was raw was the prophecy.

Because let me tell you all her other songs, even though many are deep and talk about her struggle with the backlash and how she was being treated by the media, they were in many ways self inflicted. She kept arranging pap walks, she was the one who openly dated a racist, she is the one activity in a PR relationship so she can get talked about, and she is the one who is not on the right side of history by not talking about Palestine.

So she can sit down and shut up about being prosecuted like she is some victim.

I am very sorry about the big ass rant but I am just fucking pissed with all of this.

Hi sweet anon, this is a safe space for you. Please feel free to rant whenever you feel like it.

As someone who has been in this fandom for 15 years approx. I can confirm that Swifties have always been delusional.

Most of the fandom don’t want to understand that Taylor admits to her flaws - e.g. narcissism & cheating - and this makes it difficult to have honest conversations about her work.

Additionally, this is one of the most problematic issues about Taylor: her use of liberal feminism. Many Swifties have come to me over the years and asked, “what makes Taylor’s music white?” In response, I have explained to them that it’s because she lacks an understanding of intersectionality.

For example, If you listen closely to “The Man,” you’ll understand that Taylor isn’t criticising the actions of her male peers, instead, she’s lamenting how she isn’t able to do what they do. Her biggest point of oppression is that she can’t flaunt her dollars. This lacks an intersectional understanding of feminism because her only source of oppression is being a woman. She doesn’t know what it’s like to be queer, poor, POC or confront any other form of oppression.

It got to a point where the alt-right in America loved her and she waited until 2019 to criticise the Republican Party’s policies under Trump. She profited off of their support for years until she decided to take an ethical stance. That’s simply not good enough.

In 2019, when she was sinking into irrelevance after her album “Lover” didn’t do well, she had an activism era. Now when she’s at the peak of career, she no longer cares to be “on the right side of history” because god forbid she sacrifices her fame and wealth to stand up for what is right.

I suppose our only consolation is that she’s self aware. She knows that she is the “anti hero.”

[vanessalocke]

I always thoughts America is best paired with France than England but the fandom is so pushy for the grumpy plus sunshine pair that they completely forget how great other pairings are. It would be great to see England's reactions at the double crossing of his two loved getting together and breaking his heart

Okay Anon, I understand this is your innermost thoughts. However, this is a Dover blog. Mentioning other couples is not a good idea. I will not tag this post.

I remember saying that Himaruya has a thing for love triangles. Fanservice is a good money-making tool, and love triangles are a way to keep readers interested in the story. My friend once told me that for this fandom, the main character isn't Italy, but England. She was right. Fangirls put all their wishes of being loved by many people into England. Exploiting this issue "England's harem" is a very good way to make more money.

One of the things that makes me quite confused with England's fans is that this character's fans always turn their bias into a victim and demand the whole world to pity their bias while I don't see this character as a victim at all. Whoever provokes him will get an elbow in the mouth, I can't understand the victim mentality of this character's fandom. Because of that victim mentality, any character around their bias is the perpetrator who abused their bias. Some of the subjects for this thinking are Scotland, America and France.

When it comes to Scotland, America or France, I've always felt like the fandom has a pretty distorted view of them. Their perspective is distorted even when based on official. I feel like they don't really care about characteristics of Scotland, America or France, what they care about is how many love interests England will have. If you break it down, Scotland represents the patriarchal father who denies them, France represents the handsome guy who they want to love them unconditionally, America represents the guy who rejects their feelings. You know, the typical trope where the girl with father issue falls in love with a bad guy, if that bad guy falls in love with her back then she'll marry him, and if that bad guy dumps her then she can rest easy knowing that there's a male character behind her who's willing to love her despite her past (and even though America isn't a bad guy, fangirls still force him to be a bad guy because their taste is bad guys). These are the three typical male protagonists in romance novels. And their England, is actually a teenager girl who has never grown up with a lot of family issues, low self-esteem and a desire for recognition. They turn their England into a first generation romance novel heroine who is ambiguous with many people and they don't even realize that they've turned their bias into an asshole in every way and still think that their ambiguous bias is an innocent victim.

When I think of the headcanon of Scotland and America, Scotland is Aroace and America is just an innocent child with an upright soul. No more love triangles.

Even in an AU where England and America aren't biological father and son, and England "loves" America like fangirls want (I'm really skeptical about the concept of "love" from an adult towards a child they raised), I still believe that America never had any dark thoughts towards the people he considered family even when he was groomed by adults. I believe in his integrity and love for justice.

In an AU where France has a one-sided love for England just like the fangirls wanted, I think a love country like France will move on soon. His self-esteem is not so low that he would suffer the humiliation of fighting for a lover with someone else (and this person is also someone he is close to, considers him as his younger brother/son), nor would he ever wait for someone else to give him love.

So, to answer your question: even if France and America get into a love triangle with England (like England's fangirls want), they'll both get out quickly. The Vietnamese have a saying "Tham thì thâm", which means if you are greedy and want to have everything, you will lose everything.

And, let me repeat: France does not beg for anyone's love, England is not a victim, America deserves independence. America did not "betray".

I will always love my American baby.

[mbti-notes]

Anon wrote: Hello. 21 y/o infj here. I have a problem with a very mentally unwell intp. He comes to me to seek comfort and advice and i do my best to help him, but it seems that he now has feelings for me and this complicates things. I do not reciprocate these feelings and Im now worried that i may have unintentionally lead him on by trying to help. He doesn’t trust many people to be emotionally vulnerable around them and he relies on me a great deal for emotional support.

He has not outright confessed to me in a way that would give me the opportunity to clearly express my feelings and reject him, but he does often make comments that make it clear he sees me as more than a friend. He is very fragile and has a lot of self loathing, im afraid to say anything that will reinforce any negative ideas he has about himself being unworthy of love. How do i go about setting clear boundaries without hurting him more?

---------------------

For INFJ, the topic of boundaries often involves a reminder that you also matter. If someone truly cares about you, they wouldn't want you to feel uncomfortable in the relationship, and they should be open to hearing about your needs. Generally speaking, you're only responsible for someone else's well-being up to a certain point, in terms of you being an ethical person and not intentionally doing harm. After that point, the other person is responsible for taking care of their own feelings. However, the line is not always as clear cut when there is a mental health problem in the mix.

The question is: Is it unethical to discuss a topic that will undoubtedly be upsetting to the other person? I would argue that if the discussion is necessary for the health or development of the relationship, then it isn't unethical. Also, if a topic is upsetting but necessary to discuss for the sake of someone's future well-being, it would be unethical to remain silent. For example, leading someone on, even if unwittingly, has the potential to be harmful to them the longer it goes on, so it is a situation that needs to be addressed sooner rather than later.

The reality of life is that it's sometimes necessary to endure pain and discomfort in order to make progress or achieve a goal. This is why some people in close relationships fight like cats and dogs and still manage to come out stronger on the other side. Also, keep in mind that shielding someone from pain might actually be robbing them of an opportunity to learn how to handle it better. People generally react worse the longer you keep them in the dark.

Many people fear conflict because they fear negative feelings and emotions getting out of control, a situation which increases the potential for harm. For example, an argument can quickly escalate into a shouting match and hurtful attacks. However, it's important to remember that negative feelings and emotions are not bad in themselves - one should not fear their mere existence. It is people's inability to handle them that is the real issue at hand (i.e. emotional intelligence).

You're questioning the degree to which he is able to handle negative feelings and emotions. When you have good reason to believe that someone's psychology is very fragile, meaning they can't handle a lot of stress or negativity, then it's best to proceed as sensitively and tactfully as you can. However, this shouldn't stop you from being truthful. Being a good communicator involves being able to brainstorm many ways of saying something without being too blunt or insensitive.

Different people have different communication preferences. For example, I prefer direct communication, which is not everyone's cup of tea. I dislike drawn out conflicts, so I would kindly ask someone if they had feelings for me when I picked up on hints. If they denied it, that would be the end of it, because I have to trust the word of a friend. If they admitted their feelings:

I would apologize if I had unwittingly sent the wrong signals.

I would try to let them down as gently as possible by providing plenty of reassurances and guarantees that their feelings haven't changed my desire to be friends with them.

I would make it clear that my only motive for bringing it up is that I'm a person who always wants to know the truth.

I would continue the discussion until we both felt closure.

I would try my best to keep the situation as easy and light as possible so that no one walks away feeling insecure or anxious.

Things might still be a bit awkward for awhile but I'd sit with it and provide reassurances as needed until things returned to normal. I'm able to use this approach because I don't fear negative feelings and I'm confident of being able to work through them and help others do so as well.

Generally speaking, Ts prefer to communicate straightforwardly, in a matter-of-fact way, because they're not always great at reading between the lines. In his case, there is a complicating factor of low self-esteem. You can't control his self-esteem; it's something he needs to heal on his own. The best you can do is try to reassure him that he is very worthy of love; it's just that you aren't the right person. It's nobody's fault and it isn't a statement on anyone's worth. Also, reassure him that you're more than willing to continue being his friend and confidant as needed. Nothing has to change.

If you believe that discussing it openly isn't feasible for whatever reason, you can take a more subtle approach of dropping hints that indicate your lack of interest. You could talk about not being interested in dating, being interested in someone else, etc. Or you can communicate abstractly about how you are generally helpful to many people and that it doesn't mean you have romantic feelings.

Some situations indeed call for subtlety, however, don't forget that every communication style has its pros and cons. The pros of a direct approach include being able to resolve the situation quickly for everyone's sake, but you run the risk of provoking strong negative reactions in the process. The pros of a subtle approach include being able to avoid intense confrontation, but it comes at a cost of effectiveness, as it's more difficult to get the message across and there is more potential for misunderstanding.

Remember that there's no way to communicate "perfectly". Whatever style of communication you prefer, you always have to be flexible and adaptable to what's happening in the moment. No matter how great a communicator you are, things can always go awry. But mistakes don't matter as long as you can recover from them. And the best way to recover is to always strive to communicate from a place of kindness, care, and compassion that keeps everyone feeling at ease.

[mumms-the-word]

tbh i'm actually kind of pissed at larian. regardless of if it's sticking it to hasbro or not, they're leaving the game in a potentially awful state and not delivering on promises they made, like the upper city. You also have SWEN talking about shit that could have been like ketheric's recruitment and what not, which stirs the pot even more and makes me angry. Like stop talking about it. we're already upset enough.

These are all very valid critiques, anon! I have many thoughts but I’ll put everything under the cut since I got a little long-winded because I’m passionate about video games in general.

I do play a bit of Devil’s Advocate here but please note I am not attacking you personally or trying to direct any hate towards anybody at all! This ask honestly gave me space to vent some thoughts I’ve had for months about this game. I did my best to offer nuanced perspectives and acknowledge my own biases. Everyone is entitled to their own opinion, including their own disappointments and praises for Larian, Swen, the actors, and all involved in the making/maintaining (or lack thereof) of BG3.

TLDR: We shouldn’t put Larian on a pedestal as the Best Studio Ever, but we don’t have to grab our pitchforks and say they’re the worst studio ever either. If BG3 is a disappointment it might be because Larian flew a little too close to the sun trying to squeeze 80% of a functional D&D experience into a digital video game package, when (in my opinion) those two game genres are almost inherently designed to not mesh well, disappointing one fan while satisfying another.

———

Point #1, Idk how much Larian is sticking it to Hasbro but Hasbro IS a greedy corporation who has no idea how to make video games and I very highly suspect they’ve been making demands of Larian’s team that are impossible to meet without destroying the work ethic (and health/mental health/financial stability, etc) of Larian’s team. Hasbro just sees dollar signs. Larian isn’t necessarily as interested in milking BG3 for all it’s worth.

If they were, we’d be paying for Upper City in a DLC, and we’re not. Instead they’re choosing to pivot to a fresh new project that isn’t beholden to Hasbro or the demands of WOTC. Does it feel like they’re abandoning the game? Yeah, kinda. But if Swen says that his team looked visibly relieved to move on to something new, that gives me warning bells. Not against Swen, but about the crunch standard of games industries as a whole and possibly against Hasbro or WOTC. I’d much rather his team take care of their very human selves than grind themselves to ultimate burnout working on a game that is functionally complete, if buggy in places and not satisfying for some players because they didn’t get the content they wanted.

There is no perfect game, after all.

And honestly I’d say the same of any AAA studio too. I am consistently frustrated with game studios firing whole departments for the sake of retaining profits and treating their employees like content robots. Games should not be made at the expense of anyone’s physical or mental health, but unfortunately that’s The Industry Standard. (And personally I think Larian or at least Swen is uncomfortable with that.)

(Also I think people forget that making a game the size of BG3 requires the talents and hard work of hundreds of people. Larian was working with, what, 400 people? And that was after they hired like 250+ to even rise to the challenge of making BG3. Who are we even pointing the finger at for all these issues? Swen? He’s one man.)

Should they have promised something they couldn’t deliver? No. But also, I have no idea what issues led them to cutting the content, either. What’s done is done.

BG3 will be an obsolete game in a year or soon anyway, not because Larian isn’t working on it anymore, but because the games industry is just So. Freaking. Big. and pumps out thousands of games a year. Like, I hate to say it, but people are already dropping BG3 for other games like Dragon’s Dogma 2 because DD2 is shiny, new, and has a bonkers character creator.

And there’s nothing wrong with that! We’re not built to play (or work on) a narrative-focused game for 5-7 years, regardless of what any die-hard Destiny fan tells you (note: multiplayers without narrative get a pass purely because the focus isn’t on the narrative, but on collaborative play).

If a game is no longer fun to play, move on and find something that scratches your itch. Go back and play old games! There are so many things out there to explore. I have a To Be Played pile literally right now, a backlog of games I haven’t tried out yet. I’m sure many others do too.

Point #2 (and here I could be wrong, if I’m not already wrong in my opinions above), but they’re not entirely abandoning the game like…at the drop of a hat. They’re still promising at least a handful of hotfixes and at least one more patch with new evil epilogue endings (among other things).

Does that get us Upper City? Likely not. Does that add enough content to give Wyll a more well-rounded storyline, elevate all the romances to Astarion levels of cutscenes and dialogue, and finish Karlach’s questline with an actual solution for her heart? Also likely not. Is it precious to be mad about these losses? No! Be mad!! Wyll deserves justice!!!

I’d love to explore Upper City. I’m a huge advocate for Wyll getting more/better representation. If I could save Karlach without throwing her into Avernus I would in a HEARTBEAT. But these things aren’t in the game, and they likely won’t be. Larian made decisions to meet a (self-imposed? Hasbro imposed? Industry-relevant?) deadline that are ultimately disappointing. We can absolutely acknowledge that we’re disappointed.

But I don’t necessarily think Larian is just being lazy about these decisions, though. At the end of the day we have no idea what contracts Larian is under, what hell the developers have been through, either from the game industry, Hasbro, rabid fans, or excessively cruel critics, or what technical/gameplay/scheduling/financial issues they ran into at various parts of development.

Like the Ketheric thing (Point #3). Was it bad PR to bring up that Ketheric was a “kill your darlings” decision late in development around the same time you’re openly promoting the end of your relationship with BG3? Yeah. Totally. But I’m not surprised they had to cut something like that. Games, movies, books do that all the time. How many deleted scenes from movies have we seen where it could have changed the whole narrative (maybe even made it better) if it had just stayed in? I can think of a handful. It sucks, but trust me, it hurts the writers and developers way more to cut content they’ve poured money and time and heart and soul into than it hurts us, the players who would never know the wiser if they hadn’t said anything.

But also, the game is ABSOLUTELY MASSIVE. On PC you have to have 150GB free just to install it. Can you imagine how big it would be if they had shoved everything they wanted into it, even if they had delayed the game a while to make it happen? 150GB is a lot.

For perspective, that puts it on par with a very, very, VERY tiny sector of PC games at about the same level (or higher) of GB requirements, including Red Dead Redemption 2 (a fantastic open world game that still holds up in 2024), Microsoft Flight Simulator (which requires 150GB because it’s literally just flying through high quality renders of actual Earth), Forspoken (everyone says all the GB went to graphics here and I believe them), Star Wars: Jedi Survivor (which only has about 50 hours of playable content, allegedly), basically any VR game, and ARK: Survival Evolved which comes in at a whopping 400 GB mostly because of DLC. In other words, games that big get that big either because of graphics or like a hundred DLCs.

BG3 manages to fit in gorgeous cinematics, a super complex spell-combat system, a more or less streamlined video game build for complex D&D combat rules and mechanics, 10 potential companions, 8 romances among those companions, several large maps to explore, and branching narratives that would take you days to read every scrap of dialogue for (I’ve downloaded the datamined files for Patch6, and there are whole leagues of dialogue, encounters, and bits that are in the game, unbugged, that most of us pass by because we don’t explore enough). You want to know where most of the GB goes? It goes towards sustaining a D&D combat/narrative structure that was originally never built with video game constraints in mind.

Do you know how many conditions/status effects there are in the game? Over 1100. 1100+ unique descriptions and titles for conditions that debuff or buff your character or your enemies, granting hundreds of actual gameplay affects. Do you know how many spells there are across the 12 playable classes and all unique spells for enemies and allies? Like 400, if we’re getting picky and splitting hairs over stuff like Rolan’s Magic Missile being different than the usual Magic Missile or if we’re splitting out something like Disguise Self into its 32 different variations. Each spell needs a different icon, a different graphic effect, and it needs to do the right kind of damage and cause the right kind of condition or effect, some of which are immediate, others which linger.

We can speak with dead with hundreds of characters. That’s a lot of dialogue. We can talk to ANY named NPC. That’s a lot of dialogue! We can talk to any animal, with or without speak with animals enabled. That’s a lot of dialogue!!

A single playthrough where I try to explore as much as possible takes me 150 hours or more. I have 500 hours in this game and I’ve only got 4 characters and I’ve only finished 2 of them. This game is mind-bogglingly big. Even if it’s not the biggest game in history ever, or even the biggest game by the time of its release, its BIG.

The biggest critique I would have here is one that I’ve had since I first started playing the game, and it’s that D&D systems and video games don’t mesh comfortably well. I think that Larian got distracted trying to make the ultimate D&D experience, catering to a demographic that is known to ignore plot and pursue shenanigans, and Larian felt the need to build in a lot of shenanigans.

I think they got a little overzealous about it, and that’s where we have missing content, and a lot of fluff that isn’t always plot-relevant. If the game feels unfinished, it’s because Larian started too many threads, and while there are endings to all of those threads, many of them feel rushed or unsatisfactory. Why do they feel unsatisfactory? Because we’re offered so much freedom early on, only to be pulled back into the much more limited narrative constraints of a video game at the end. Because the game has to end eventually, unlike a D&D campaign which could go on or explore many other possibilities. But by act 3 in a 150 GB game, we’re running out of time and space.

And yes that’s disappointing as hell and Larian could and arguably SHOULD have made different decisions on what to focus on.

But ultimately, you just can’t fit a full-on, any-choice-goes D&D experience in a game that needs to be packaged neatly enough to run on most PCs or consoles, and Larian was ambitious as hell to try. Contrary to popular belief, I think they did pretty freaking well given the challenge, and no, it isn’t perfect, and no, to confess to my own bias, I don’t have the same complicated history with the game that early access or release day players have because I bought the game like 2 months after it was out and patched twice. But they’ve clearly built a game that people love so much they’re upset there isn’t more of it, or at least upset it isn’t the best it can be.

But sometimes we have to be realistic too. I can only imagine how many more bugs or render issues we’d get if they did try to shove in Upper City at this point. Games can only be so big before they start to become too much for the systems that try to run them and I don’t want the games industry veering towards making games an elitist hobby for only the rich and elite who can afford expensive rigs and $100 games.

(And also, I’m not at all upset that for $70 bucks I got 500 hours of gameplay and I’m not 100% sick of it yet. When EA and Activision are getting players to pay hundreds in micro transactions and DLC and dangling extra maps and new missions behind paywalls? Bish, please, I’m good. You want to talk about an unfinished experience? Dragon Age: Inquisition made us pay for our epilogue content as a DLC. At least Larian built theirs in for free from the start.)

Anyway.

All that said, I’m sure if Larian could turn back the clock and start over, they’d make different decisions about what to keep, cut, and refine. But we’re here now.

If I want to see anything from Larian right now, it’s a dedication to fix ongoing bugs that make the game unplayable or that block the narratives that they have built so that they play correctly (like with the Minthara romance). IDEALLY I’d like to see them add more content for companions other than Astarion, to equalize the romance experiences, but I’m not holding my breath (again, considering things like game development, actor schedules, contracts, etc).

While I’m sad about the permanent loss of stuff like the Upper City and disappointed by all the rushed questlines, I’d rather them fix the bugs that make the game un-fun to play and bow out gracefully once they’re sure the game won’t need constant supervision.

Besides, they’re working on cross-platform mod support, and mods are gonna add and mess with the game for many years to come, so we can pivot to support them instead while Larian works on its next game (and hopefully learns from its mistakes with BG3).

[my-castles-crumbling]

Hi there, mind if I bother you for a advice when you're free?

I'm a Brazilian girl with 14(read all your boundaries for minors and I'm trying to follow reach of them) and basically my life turned upside down for me a bit after the start of 2023(I think?)

My mom fell in a trap on the internet and lost a lot of money from our family, from both close and not so close relatives. Sometime later my dad got fired and we had to cut many things out of our lives because we didn't had the money to keep these things anymore, and my grandparents from my mom's side are not so well (grandpa's has breathing problems and is going blind while grandma's starting to forget things)

And we just discovered that I am autistic (and already knew I had ADHD since 2022) so everyone's trying to adjust to somethings I simply can't deal with, along with trying to deal with the fact my older sister ran away after many arguments about her mental health struggles and abusive relationship and that if my parents try and reach out by me and my little sister she going to cut contact completely (we know where she is and that she's currently ok btw)

My mom already has a lot of problems with her mental and physical health, my little sister has anxiety and still doesn't goes to therapy, my dad has quite harsh anger issues although he mostly keeps them at bay.

And then we have me, the autistic ADHD teenager struggling with school who's about to go to college (I think? Don't know about American/British system works) and really, really, really wants to go to her graduation trip that costs a lot while not knowing how to deal with her emotions and is in the constant shadow of her older sister, all of that while knowing one of her old friends who she had considered a sibling once has been spreading lies and saying their much better without her and apparently is trying to break her friendship with her current best friend (if it is true it's working).

And now I don't know what do I do to put my life back on the tracks.

Feel free to not answer or just ignore this if you want, but thanks for the opportunity of letting me vent. And I'm sorry if there are any mistakes on my English

Hi hon <3

No worries about English at all <3

Honestly, I think you need to focus on the things YOU can change. Unfortunately, you might not be able to change things with your parents, or your sister, or your financial situation. Those are things for adults to worry about. I don't mean that it a way to make you seem like a 'stupid kid' I mean, let them worry about it. You still have time to be a kid- I know it's hard, but try to take advantage of it.

As far as school and friends, these are things we can focus on. Talk with your teachers about what work on in school and what THEY can do to help you. Talk with your best friend about your worries. I know life is scary right now, but focus on those things that you can make changes about. Also maybe if your school has a counselor, talk to them as well? Especially since you have autism, your school should be giving you resources to succeed.

I know this is alll difficult, but take some deep breaths and know that it will be okay and I'm here for you to vent <3

Naming you yarn anon

[out-of-heaven-and-hell]

Rant below the cut

Idk man people nowadays don't understand the difference between 'this person is being genuinely harmful to our community' and 'they were a jerk'

One is deadass a serious issue that should be publicly addressed the OTHER is something everyone does. We've all been a little shitty whether intentionally or otherwise for various reasons, which maybe it's my American nature but everyone has the right to be as much of as asshole as they want to be over the internet

Should everyone be all sunshine and rainbows? Ideally yes but it ain't gonna happen. But even then it's not something to cause a witch hunt over

I get a rude IM? I ignore it. I have an argument with my friends? I keep it private. Someone blocks me for no obvious reason? Shit sucks but I get over it. The fact people blow UP over such small issues is baffling and dumb

And even ignoring all of that 9/10 any situation where 'one party was mean to the other' it normally turns out literally everyone involved was just being an asshole in some way. Like its always funny when people go around sprouting about how awful someone is but they're just as bad or they support someone equally if not MORE problematic

You would fundamentally be better off just IGNORING everyone involved and not associating with that mess altogether which is understandably what most normal people wish to do. Cause big surprise if you make personal issues PUBLIC then why would anyone want to get close to you? Clearly you can't handle these disputes like a normal person

That's not even mentioning some of it is just victim blaming let's be real here, you were shitty to someone they were shitty back in response then your ass couldn't handle it so you blow up about it

Bitches in glass houses shouldn't throw stones take notes

And even then ASSUMING we do have a genuinely harmful abusive individual among our ranks how in the FUCK is messaging random people on anon going to do shit especially if you don't even check to see if they're still interacting with that person or have any consideration for their mental health (surprisingly in a community SO SELF AWARE ABOUT ANXIERY AND PTSD we don't consider triggering others, stressing them out or ya know...giving them unnecessary anxiety)

Like if you're so worried message us privately? Which even then I feel like you should only do with mutuals you KNOW are interacting with said harmful individual. Most of us are NOT going to take a message from a stranger and again RESPECT OUR RULES

RESPECT OUR BOUNDARIES

HOW ARE YOU ANY BETTER THAN THE HARMFUL PEOPLE YOU "WARN" US ABOUT IF YOU DELIPERATELY DONT RESPECT US OR CARE IF YOU CROSS OUR BOUNDARIES

It's not hard. It's never been hard. Ya'll make it hard.

[heymacy]

hi! i haven’t seen mickeyless seasons so i wanted to ask if ian ever has issues about being bipolar like he did with mickey? like him breaking up in s5 for not wanting to see mickey hurt and s10 when he asks if he’s crazy for wanting to be with him! i think i read somewhere that caleb? maybe had a talk about self love or whatever to ian but that dude was horrendous ( not that trevor was best for what ive seen ) so im not sure that counts ahah

hi anon!

yes, ian grappling with his disorder is a very very big theme throughout seasons 6, 7, 8, and 9. in fact i would argue that aside from him becoming an EMT, the bipolar storyline is his most significant one (i typed out my response and it got very long so i'm going to put it below the cut 💛)

in s6 he is fresh off of the diagnosis, the breakup, and coping with mickey going to prison (and he was definitely trying to cope, he still loved him and seeing someone you love locked up is immeasurably hard. i feel like we don't talk about this enough). he feels very aimless and it isn't until an incident (he's a bystander to a car crash and rescues a woman from a burning vehicle) that he finds his new path (becoming an EMT, which he does by the end of s6). caleb was absolutely awful in so many ways but the one good thing he did do was encourage and support ian in finding a new life path, which is the only credit i will give him. there's also a deleted scene in s6 that is so, so important re: understanding how mentally ill people are viewed and treated in society and of course ian's monologue about how he's good at his job because of his illness, which is one of my favorite scenes in the entire show.

in s7, he's getting healthy again and taking his meds, but it isn't without struggle. there's a very poignant and important scene (part one, part two) with lip where he expresses his struggles with his disorder and how hard it is for him to cope with taking his meds and listening to the warning signs for episodes (he was behaving in ways akin to a hypomanic episode/showing signs of slipping into an episode just before the conversation happens). by the end of the season, after he leaves mickey at the border, he's still relatively stable, but the emotional triggers of leaving mickey behind + monica's death start to take a toll on him, which we see in s8. there's also the trevor of it all in s7, but that's a whole other issue. trevor did not have a positive impact on ian's self-esteem whatsoever and even went so far as to demand ian forgive monica and "move on" after knowing 0.1% of the history between the two of them. that scene in particular makes me unfathomably angry and i just know it was deeply, deeply triggering for ian to hear that from someone he cared about.

in s8, we have the gay jesus storyline, which i absolutely detest and hate to discuss, but it's part of his story and it needs to be acknowledged. he's taken advantage of a lot this season, propelled towards some sort of fucked up end goal with very little control over his circumstances, and it quickly spirals out of control. while the writers never explicitly state that ian is hypo/manic during this season, you can watch the progression happen if you pay close enough attention. despite not being given a lot to work with, cameron did a great job at playing the nuances of bipolar disorder this season, showing ian's descent into hypo/mania as the gay jesus movement grows and warps.

in s9, he's in prison for the first time and is noticeably manic. after being released, he starts seeking out meaning and purpose in religion. eventually he's forced to face the consequences of his actions and pleads not guilty to arson by reason of insanity, not only defying the wishes of the gay jesus followers (they feared him going public with his diagnosis and pleading insanity would delegitimize the movement) but also finally choosing to really acknowledge his disorder, reckon with it, and make peace with it, in a strange sort of way. it's a very important and pivotal moment for his character and cameron absolutely delivers during his plea monologue.

if you've see s10 you know how his self-worth takes a hit regarding the marriage storyline, and how he's so terrified of marrying mickey because 1) he doesn't know if he's capable of being a good partner because he doesn't feel like he had good examples of healthy marriage standards growing up and 2) he isn't sure mickey knows what he's signing up for re: his disorder and everything it entails. which, of course, is not the case, because mickey doesn't love him in spite of his disorder, he loves him completely, and his disorder is just a part of that. he wants all of him, always, and that's a huge plot point in s10 and s11 ("i gotta worry, you're my husband" scene my absolute beloved).

anyway. the short answer is that yes, ian spends a lot of time grappling with his disorder and the realities of life as a bipolar human. he deals with issues regarding his self-worth, his purpose, and his relationships. speaking as a bipolar individual, i can say with absolute certainty that coming to terms with your diagnosis is a long, arduous process that takes many years and a lot of commitment to achieve. it's not easy, and though the writers dropped the ball on a LOT of storylines in the show, they did a pretty damn good job of showing how hard it is to cope and live with the realities of bipolar disorder and everything that entails.

if you ever want to see more of his journey, gallavichscenes on youtube has playlists of all of ian's scenes in season 6, season 7, season 8, and season 9. i highly recommend watching the show in its entirety but if you don't want to do that, i recommend at the very least watching the rest of ian's storyline. it colors so much of his story and mickey's and it's hard to fully comprehend the extent of their relationship without understanding that storyline. i hope this answered your question! sending tons and tons of love 💛

[dearweirdme]

https://www.tumblr.com/dearweirdme/750029125678514176/httpswwwtumblrcomdearweirdme7499257226966302?source=share

I love it when anons write dissertations on taekook blogs just to try and make their relationship seem "normal" and exactly like the other members.

Tae was constantly hanging out with jk in 2023. So it took them 3 years to properly mend their relationship after the soop talk?

So Jk and tae were growing apart and since tae wasn't living with them anymore and jk decided to address Tae's mood and their relationship infront of their fans. Instead of writing that festa message, he would've idk, texted him? Instead of addressing their growing distance infront of multiple cameras capturing every angle, they could've talked privately? It's is what people do IRL isn't it?

"If they intended to make taekook follow a script of “being awkward” like you claim, then why did they basically fill ITS with alot of taekook being soft and affectionate with each other" well according to you there's different kinds of closeness. Physical closeness doesn't mean mental closeness. So why are you even taking a note of them being affectionate and soft? If I have any kind of awkwardness b/w me and my friend, I would not feel as free with them as I normally would. I wouldn't be as affectionate and soft with the friend who I have underlying issues with.

Tae left his own room to go cuddle with jk in its. Not to wake him up, just to sleep with him. Jk sat between Tae's legs, for quite some time bcs there were multiple cuts. The instances you gave comparing this are sometimes done as a joke(re. Jin grabbing tae's crotch) or things done for a purpose (re the water wiping). As for that jk caressing jm's bare skin, I've not seen that clip, but even so, those are seconds of touches, those touches don't last for eternity. That's the difference.

"We have seen Tae kiss or sniff Jin and Jimin on their napes" you've seen tae kiss jimin and jin's napes have you? Bcs as far as I remember he's done that only to jk, twice. Maybe your jk shapeshifted into jm and jin?

"eaten food that has fallen out of each other’s mouths" as far as I remember, only jk has done that, with tae.

"what does Jk consoling a crying tae mean" everyone, including jk, was crying that night. Tae was turning towards joon but jk grabbed his head and put it on his shoulder. He did not console anyone else, jimin did. Jimin went to hobi, tae, jk. He is always hyper focused on tae in stressful/important events. We've seen multiple instances where jk goes completely still when tae starts speaking.

"Jk cares about Tae just the same way he cares about all his members" way to generalize their relationships. Be a little mature about this please. I know people love to say that they love each other equally, but realistically that's not possible. There are members who are closer to one than the other.

STOP WITH THE DIFFERENT CULTURES NARRATIVE ALREADY. God I am tired of jikookers and solos bringing up the different culture thing to try and cancel everything that has no other explanation. They live in sk, not saturn. There might be some cultural nuances that might play a part in some narratives but completely dismissing everything...that's just idiotic.

Tae said he wanted to be closer to members in seasons greetings. But he said he had gone on a trip with jk, in '21. Before the wooga trip that you so happily mentioned. You sound like one of those jikookers who used to try and make tae look like the odd one out bcs of wooga. But he is hanging out with jk and wooga together. His friends supported only jk's solo. Wooshik only followed jk and tae. Idc how many times you all try to spin the "they are all equally close" narrative, tae is closest to jk in BTS. No other member hangs out with Tae's friends. You picked up fringes to prove that tae hung out with every member in chap 2 when even jikookers(atleast the sensible ones)know that tae and jk were attached throughout chap 2. Taekookers have a literal calendar to prove that 😂. Solo era, when they weren't obligated to meet everyday, they chose to hangout with each other. Eg, the day tae came back to sk, he was already making plans to go to jk's to eat makguksu(which btw they can't stop talking about), and he flew for that Celine event the day after that.

Tae has said multiple times that he used to share his troubles with jk, that they used to cry together. This is during the time when he had moved out. But according to you tae moving out was one of the reasons they grew apart. Yoongi texted just those two, they were together even when they received his text, no other member knew about it. During the worst year of their lives, they chose each other. How immature are you to believe that two people who have always been so close, who've always been there for each other, who share such a deep bond, will grow apart bcs one of them stopped being fun?? Are you kidding me?!!

So, to answer your question, yes, we do listen to taekook. They are the only ones we listen to. Maybe you should start doing the same. Instead of trying to find receipts that somehow make tae the aloof member, try to focus on your ship, if you have one( I think you do, the one that starts with j and ends with 13 😉)

Hi anon!

To be fair, I don’t think that anon is a jkkr, they usually insert Jm somewhere, which this anon hasn’t done. And I understand that if you don’t pay extra attention to Tae and Jk.. you just believe what is given to you. You take what you think you know of Sk culture and think.. yeah, skinship is just a physical act, it doesn’t speak to their connection.. all of BTS are close. But there are just such big differences between the extent of that skinship and the context around those moments between Tae and Jk and them and other members. When you don’t care to look at the context and the specifics of those moments though.. yeah sure it might all look the same and it fits in whatever you’ve been told to think.

All of BTS are close. Their food and drink sharing is troubling to me 😂🙈. Most of them love an occasional hug, some of them have occasional very little physical boundaries. All of that is a sign of closeness. But Tae and Jk go the extra mile.

If Tae and Jk just had minor awkwardness in their friendship this wouldn’t have been a point of focus in ITS, if Tae and Jk had medium to mayor awkwardness between them we would’ve seen that in the way they interacted physically.

[traumasurvivorshelpingsurvivors]

Hi, the context is childhood trauma though I don't think there is much of a TW. It is more about recovery.

I have been in therapy and been doing my best but recently I felt some barrier inside of me and explored it. My therapist and I were working on some specific happenings from my childhood - minor ones yet. And I found out my issue:

I can't imagine being healthy. The ordinary life seems so overwhelming, I can't imagine working a job all day, socializing all day, this is so beyond me. I can't see me ever being able to do this. But what if I overcame all my trauma and would still be the same person, but then people would expect me to live an ordinary life? And I would expect too. My mental illness is my excuse, for now. I am afraid to lose it.

And second, not the lesser one: In a way, holding a grudge is the only power I have. I feel if I overcome these memories, (I won't forget them but they will be worked into the grand scheme of memories, I guess) then they got away with it. I know it is silly and people say "Overcoming it and living your best live is good revenge" but that doesn't resonate with me. Holding a grudge until the end of time seems like good revenge! It was the only power I had for so long, something in my blocks, when I try to do like the last step to overcome it. Idk. Any ideas?

Hi anon,

My therapist tells me that holding grudges and resentment gives the other person power over you because it means you give them the opportunity to live rent free in your head. You give them permission to use your time and energy towards being angry at or upset with them. Being angry or upset at someone indicates that you believe they should or would behave differently. But if you believed that the behavior that led to your resentment is perfectly within their character and not surprising, that resentment melts away. If you expected them to do that, it almost becomes laughable.

There are ways to respect the damage done and also live a happy and fulfilling life. The real power is making an active choice to enjoy yourself and not let someone else's behavior have power over that. Trauma has been such a core part of my identity for so long that I forgot how to focus on my life as it was happening. I was made to believe that my experiences weren't real which further enforced my own resentment and rumination on said trauma. I struggled to allow myself to be happy because then I felt like I was ignoring what happened. Despite mourning the person I could have been, I've come to realize that I can still give myself, to the best of my ability, the life I know I will never have. I can still try to be the person I could have been, as close to it as possible. I am treating my child self, and I hope that you can too.

-Bun

[thegoodthegrandandtheugly]

(Prev, not a confession) I’ll be waiting for this to be published btw. Do your job. Stop this karna favoritism (i would know when my submissions are ignored). you know he’s nowhere near a saint like yall worship. Read the Mahabharata with your brain!

Here is the submission this anon wanted posted so badly, for the record.

I am a very patient person but I am reaching the end of my rope when it comes to the back-and-forth with Arjuna and Karna fans. Your original submission would have been posted without any issue, but being needlessly aggressive to the mods is a good way to get chewed out and not have either of us make your submission into a post. My time actually is valuable, and I am not going to dedicate any more of it to you after this.

There is no "favoritism". We just haven't gotten much, if any, Karna hate, and if you've sent any in off-anon, then we've probably blocked you, most likely for breaking our rules elsewhere. If you're so desperate to know my own personal feelings about Karna, then here: I think he's okay. There are other characters that I think are more interesting. I also think Arjuna is okay.

While many posts ago I did say that I would make up every submission into a post, that has since changed given the step back Mod M and I had to take to reflect on how we want to run this blog long-term. There was a line we needed to draw, and we have drawn it. You just can't see it.

I don't owe you anything and being this overly hostile is a good way to get blocked and have your ask tossed in the trash. Considering we're being accused of Karna "favoritism", I can only imagine you're an Arjuna fan upset about the amount of negativity we've gotten about him, and to this I say: block our blog, and log off.

Your blorbo is not real. He is part of a giant collaborative artistic process featuring multiple artists and multiple writers and within the thousands of fans that FGO has, there are going to be people who interpret him differently than you and dislike him as a character and dislike how other people interpret him. If that offends you so much, that is your problem, and I refuse to let you make it mine. Go outside, and grow up.

This applies to everyone. Your favorite character is not real and being obsessed with them to the point that any negativity directed toward them or their fans causes you a visceral negative reaction in return is not healthy. Fictional characters are part of art, and art is intrinsically up for interpretation, and your interpretation is going to be challenged. Learn to regulate your negative emotions surrounding criticism of your blorbo, and discover actual coping mechanisms. Google is free.

Here, I'll even do some of the work for you. These are the first few links I found. Here's another one.

And if you have trouble regulating your negative emotions due to mental illness, I understand. But that does not give you any right to force it to be my problem. We are strangers to you.

You don't know me. You don't know Mod M. We would like to keep it that way. Neither of us have even expressed our opinions on who our favorite characters are because of how dedicated we are to staying as neutral as possible, or at least attempting something close to it. We don't want our opinions to potentially dissuade people from sending in criticism.

The point of this blog was to create an anonymous confession zone for the FGO and wider Fate fandom that allowed criticism to allow people a space to vent their frustrations about the fandom anonymously, because just as "people should be allowed to like things", people should be allowed to dislike things, and dislike things without fear of retaliation. They should also be able to like things you dislike without fear of being retaliated against, too.

We're not under any illusions we're doing something radical or supremely important. We just thought a space like this should exist within the fandom. That's it.

And if you don't like us, fgocriticisms exists too, and they're a lovely person. I'm sure they wouldn't mind getting your submissions.

This anon is going to be blocked, and I suggest people keep an eye out in the coming days for unnecessary retaliation against some random person within the fandom who likes Karna who might be scapegoated for the crime of not liking something this anon likes, or interpreting something a different way than this anon does. God forbid they harass them for thinking they run this blog.

This is the most pathetic ask we've gotten. For your sake, and ours, I hope you go outside and take a nice walk if you can. Vitamin D deficiency can cause irritability, after all.

-Mod D

Also, we have had a negative submission regarding Karna sent in and posted before, they just don't get traction because they don't mention Arjuna. If you're going to be a hater, at least be dedicated instead of bitching when it's convenient.

-Mod M

[wolfnesta]

Hello! Can I pick your brain for a moment? I’ve finished all of ACOTAR, and I really do enjoy nesta. She’s real and raw. But I guess where I’m kind of stuck is why she was always spending feyres coppers that she worked for, was it retaliation? Or was it because she was angry at their dad? I hope it’s okay to ask, maybe I just need to reread ACOSF?

I’m honored anon! Since you mentioned acosf I’m thinking you mean when Nesta is drinking and getting rent money for free right? If you mean at the beginning of acotar I believe SJM didn’t have anything in mind for Elain and Nesta other than to make the reader pity Feyre and then later SJM tried to give that behavior meaning by saying Nesta did it out of hatred to make her father get up and do something 🤷🏻‍♀�� I’m kind of meh about that whole thing.

If you mean in acosf, Nesta’s depression seems to make her feel outcasted ‘…had only been able to stand and watch them all, their joy and closeness, as if she were looking in through a window’ and also resentful— with Elain ‘Elain could make her own choices. And had chosen to thoroughly shut the door on Nesta. Even as she fully embraced Feyre and her world.’ and Feyre ‘How could she explain the tangle between her and her sister? The self-loathing that threatened to consume her every time she looked at her sister’s face?’ and also suffers from what seems like ptsd ‘Some days, the sheer dread and panic locked Nesta's body up so thoroughly that nothing could get her to breathe. Nothing could stop the awful power from beginning to rise, rise, rise in her. Nothing beyond the music at those taverns, the card games with strangers, the endless bottles of wine, and the sex that made her feel nothing but offered a moment of release amid the roaring inside her.’ All of which leads to alot of self hatred ‘every damning thing Rhysand thought of her was true— and she’d known it long before he had shadowed her doorstep. … Better to spend her time the way she wished’ (also the many times Nesta insists she ‘failed’). Plus the whole idea that Nesta has never had a choice in her life even pre poverty years ‘So your mother took Nesta creative joys and twisted them into a social climbing arsenal?’ I want to say those are the over all reasons Nesta turns to this harmful behavior. It interesting to me that SJM made sure to include that last part of Nesta’s life in her story because, though I feel like all the unresolved hate for her father is important, I would’ve thought we would also see Nesta heal from her mother and grandmothers mistreatment. But alas.

I want to add a personal note that it was heavily disappointing for me how SJM definitely knew how to portray these difficult aspects of mental illness but then she did what she did to Nesta and I’m like, okay wait no this is awful. This can’t be the same author that is able to show Nesta pushing family members away, not coping well, turning to alcohol and still make it seem that the very people that are supposedly ‘helping’ her can forcibly isolate her, slut shame her, physically threaten her, take her on a suicidal hike, show little to no care for her well being, take all of that and make it seem justifiable. Just. How do two wrongs make it right? Like it can’t be the one and the same author taking this good thing and then adding that to it .Nesta’s self loathing, anger, and her lashing out is an honest nod to how mental illness can manifest itself and I’d give SJM kudos for that except I realize this part of the story that you’re asking about anon was added purely to degrade Nesta instead of for realistic reasons and it’s visible in the way she has her mains react to Nesta. SJM was able to bring all this rawness to the table then butchered it. I know this ask isn’t about the topic here but anon I think you would benefit alot from reading the post because my dear @ae-neon is so much better at articulating a lot of the issues going on in those initial moments of acosf.

Anyhow, I hope that helps ❤️

[mbti-notes]

Anon wrote: Hello, I am an ISFP. I was wondering if there was a way to stop feeling wary all the time. My ISTJ friend is usually nonexpressive and placid. For some reason I cannot help but think that whenever my friend is being uncharacteristically warm and loving to me, that she is wanting me to do something for her. In the past, I've found it surprising but sweet when she has this disposition, because it symbolized to me that we were close and that she isn't usually like this with other people. I usually never have a problem with hanging out and doing nice things for her, and I have always taken people’s cheery spirit at face value without suspecting anything.

We have been friends for a quite a while before any of this appeared. We have supported each other through everything in the past. But my friend has an agreed upon bad habit of gatekeeping (she is extremely smart and wants to get ahead in life, first being going to a good college). She makes a big show of gatekeeping resources and not telling us.

Lately however, whenever she acts warm she has been following it up with stuff she wants to share from her life, usually related to success which I always express happiness for, but whenever I share something from my life she doesn’t take as much interest into listening/processing it than I do. I feel like when I need help she purposefully witholds information/guidance that could help me or just does the “bare minimum” a lot but when she needs help I put all my effort into it.

I do not view friendship as doing favors for each other (I dislike that perspective,) I view friendship as when you both are happy and having fun hanging out with each other. It is just that I have been trying very hard to be there when she wants guidance but it is not being reciprocated fully, rather she in weaker forms and so it makes me feel like her outward affection is stemming from her wanting me to do things for her.

I just want to be able to feel happy that she is happy without having to worry if she is using me. How do I stop feeling this pit of uneasiness or bitterness whenever she is very outwardly cheery?

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The first thing you need to understand is that negative feelings are not an enemy to be eliminated or vanquished. Feelings provide important messages about your mental health, as well as important guidance for moral behavior. In this situation, the feelings are telling you that there's something wrong with this relationship. Getting rid of your feelings isn't going to right the wrong. Feelings won't go away until you hear them and do what's right. It sounds like your approach to relationships might be a bit too passive or naive, meaning that you aren't willing to confront difficulties and complexities head on.

Have you discussed these issues with her in depth? The best way to handle relationship problems is good communication and establishing mutual understanding. If you lack the courage or confidence to speak up as you'd like to, perhaps it would help to improve your communication skills. You have to be able to discuss the problem in a way that focuses primarily on your needs and doesn't descend into accusations and personal attacks. You have to be able to hear every side of the story. You have to be able to negotiate a solution that everyone can accept. You have to be able to face up to the negative side of yourself and others and still feel empathy and compassion.

Yes, I agree that relationships should not be seen as "transactional". But the fact of the matter is that relationships can have serious problems that need solving, if they are to remain viable over the long term. There is well-established research about what constitutes healthy versus unhealthy relationship behavior. Generally speaking, healthy relationships should have a strong sense of: fairness, trust, kindness, emotional generosity. If any of these ingredients are missing, the relationship easily becomes unhealthy.

I'm only hearing your side of the story, so I have no choice but to accept what you say about her as true. Although, with high Se, I believe you're capable of having a decent grasp of the facts. Let's examine the facts: You don't have fairness because, overall, you give more than she does. You don't have trust because you don't believe she has your best interests at heart. You don't have kindness because she hoards information and views helping as a loss to herself. You don't have emotional generosity because she is stingy with care and unresponsive to your needs.

The conclusion I would draw based on these facts is that she isn't psychologically equipped to be a good friend or the kind of friend you're looking for. Her behavior indicates she cares about herself at the expense of others, which means she's not relationship-ready. If you speak up about how the relationship is not meeting your needs and she's apologetic and willing to work on herself, then you can continue in the relationship for awhile to see whether anything actually changes.

It takes the effort and commitment of both parties to make a relationship work. If she's unwilling to acknowledge problems and is resistant to changing her behavior, there's not much you can do to repair the relationship. At that point, you have a painful decision to make about how to proceed. Are you going to draw some boundaries and lower your expectations in order to keep the relationship going? Are you going to consider the idea that the relationship might have reached a natural expiry date?

Keep in mind that it's unnecessary to cast blame; it's better to simply accept the facts about people and the facts of the relationship, and make the most reasonable decision for the sake of your well-being. Unfortunately, relationship breakups are an unavoidable reality of life. To be clear, I'm not saying that this relationship needs to end; that's for you to decide. The main point is that it's not good to let relationship problems fester until you harbor too much resentment/anger and reach a point of no return. You have to speak up every time you encounter hurtful/toxic relationship behavior because it must be changed in order to maintain a healthy and positive social life.