#I just find reading other peoples Takes helpful for clarifying my own opinions

[kellylor]

Me, watching the last two episodes of Good Omens S2 this weekend: Ok I see why lots of people are upset, but this emotional beat is the middle of my favorite kind of romantic arc and I trust the writers. I feel completely normal about Aziraphale and Crowley.

Also me:

- immediately starts rewatching S1 but only the Aziracrow interactions

- spends two days scrolling through the ineffable husbands tag on tumblr, despite repeatedly claiming not to be interested Fandom Discourse

[doin-just-fine]

MAJOR UPDATE: Questioning systems or systems in a doubt spiral pls read.

I recently told my therapist about potentially being a system. This was a scary move because she has previously had some iffy takes about systemhood. But I told her because I trusted that she would meet me where I was at and help me navigate , at the least, the general idea of not understanding my own brain if nothing else which I was ok with. I told her and it went as expected. I explained why I thought I might be a system but also the doubts I had about it and how it was distressing me to not understand myself. She agreed to use the language I was using for it and was happy to help me through (as is her job) and also because whether it was systemhood or not it was something in me that was trying to be seen and we would work on figuring out what it was.

Fast forward a few session, and I was going through another bout of "what the fuck even is my brain". I was starting to realize that my "systemhood" is very different from the things I've been seeing online. In the ways that it's different to other systems is: - I'm always in the front, always in the captains chair - I have no amnesia because I never switch out - My hyper-vigilance never lets me dissociate fully though i definitely "check out" in my own way - Head mates just feel like vague ideas or emotions

But the ways that are similar are: - These vague ideas or emotions have opinions and feelings that are different from my own. - Though they are vague, I can definitely tell they are separate from what I have come to understand as "me" - I become "a different person" in the sense of my attitude, vibe, behavior, and opinions change from where they were 5 mins ago, but I am still me, just a different me.

Anyway, I was already trying to make sense of all of this and was not planning on talking about it with my therapist because nervous... However, my therapist ask me about it first. She asked some clarifying questions about my partners system vs my own and how they are different. When I explained what I just wrote above to my therapist she said "Thats what I thought and I owe you an apology."

Basically, my therapist, like any good therapist should when confronted by something they don't know a lot about, had been doing research on complex forms of trauma and coping. Things in the same vain as CPTSD and Plurality including those two topics. She had specifically been reading a book called "The Body Keeps The Score" (TW it is a book about trauma and studies of trauma so it has details of case studies that some people may find incredibly triggering). I did some research on what exactly the book was talking about in regards to "systemhood" and from what I've found, chapter 14 at the end of a section called "Writing to yourself" and the first parts of chapter 17 have interesting information regarding systemhood and how its not entirely limited to things that are diagnosable like DID or OSDD. It seems to talk about how we all have several selves and trauma can get in the way of those selves communicating effectively. My therapist told me about this book and what she learned from it and apologized to me because the book made her realize that she was wrong and that I was in fact a system....

The session ended and I just kind of sat there... not sure how to feel but definitely feeling relief and validation.

After doing research on the book to write this I have some words of wisdom. If you are a questioning system or are doubting your validity remember this: The human brain is so incredibly complex and no one actually understands how it does anything beyond its basic physical functionality... the conceptual abilities of our mind are a mystery. How we define self is just theory. If you don't fit into boxes, labels, identities, or diagnoses that does not mean your experiences aren't real. You are going to be ok. Understand YOUR mind and how it works for YOU, not through a label or diagnosis. If those things come later, great! Do not let them destroy you just because you don’t fit perfectly. I am a system. Simply. No types, labels, or diagnosis. I am a system. I have a unique experience because my brain is no one elses. I am a system. I may not have people in my head in the traditional sense but I'm also not alone up here either. I am a system. I am a system. I am a system. Nobody has the right to deny me this for they do not live behind my eyes.

As I understand myself: I am a system.

[undertale-fic-librarby]

This is the anon of the UT! papyrus/reader fanfics that are the ebodiment of that one lalalala sound that shows up when u see baby bill on tiktok

Basically its just

Silly

I want a silly fanfic with cute stuff

Just wanted to clarify so its easier

Okay thanks byebye💃

Howdy, thanks for asking! Here are some fics that might fit what you're looking for!

Heart of Gold by SapphireWolf1122 (Teen And Up, Incomplete)

You are a journalist who is curious about the monsters who have been roaming around. After some pushing, you get assigned to write about some monsters that have been going missing. You soon find yourself making friends with them but an old friend has come back into your life and she is determined to take revenge one specific monster for a crime that should have been impossible for them to commit. As more monsters start to go missing and you do what you can to help your new friends, suspicions start to rise and loyalties tested. But as investigations and shocking discoveries are made, you can't help being drawn to one particular cinnamon roll skeleton...

The Scarf That Smelled of Spaghetti by Tan (Teen And Up, Incomplete)

As an art student with a passion for anatomy you one day find yourself stalking a skeleton. Regardless of the excuses you tell yourself you wonder if this deep interest in the skeleton man goes beyond just art. Before you have a chance to question these feelings his brother begins to plague your nightmares confusing you even more. -- Takes place an ambiguous amount of years after the barrier is broken. Characters have matured in their own way over time from being exposed to the human world. Plenty of Undertale character cameos mixed in. Story reads similar to a rom-com manga/anime where the main story arc is the reader's relationship with the skeleton brothers and other sub-plots mixed in. Primarily a PapyrusxReader story with SansxReader moments. Each chapter is about 3k words, give or take.

They Help You Put A Little More Backbone Into Life by liltreede (General Audiences, Incomplete)

Do they really have to play Christmas music already? Is it REALLY NECESSARY? No! No it isn't! They need to stahp. Fluff fic because Pap doesn't seem to get enough love in my humble opinion and Christmas music already playing on the radio made me both bitter and inspired. Previously Titled: It's Not Even F*king Turkey Day Yet! Changed title because I decided to make it a multi chapter story instead of a series of one shots. Surprise! This actually turned into a semi serious story with like actual plot and stuff. ;)

In love with the color green by Yours_truly_Oll (General Audiences, Incomplete)

You always liked hiking. People? Not so much… So when the opportunity to move away presented itself you gladly took it. What opportunity you may ask? A new place close to the mountains and numerous hiking trails and with a cheap rent to boot! Why was the rent so cheap? The answer is simple: this town was right next to the infamous mt. Ebott and right now was mostly populated by monsters who came to the surface a year ago. A year had passed but most people still couldn't accept that fact, hence the price of the house you bought. You needed a big move on and that was just that. You hoped you would get along with your new neighbors…

Slumber Hearty by ToiletPaperPrincess (Teen And Up, Complete)

You've been having problems with nightmares lately, but if there's one thing Papyrus loves, it's solving problems. (Can be read as platonic or romantic, with a specifically romantic alternate ending. UPDATE: Now with epilogue!)

Here's a few more fics that are similar to what you're asking for!

[maxphilippa]

The Misinterpretation of Taco's and Mic's relationship. [An toxic "friendship" analysis.]

Today I bring another analysis that yes, was an option on the pool I made, and I do know that other option won, but I'll do that post once I feel like it (most likely tomorrow since I find it rather easy to do). But today I will be talking about one of the most sugarcoated relationships in the fandom, and that is Taco's and Mic's relationship.

And before you read this and get angry at me: it is not my problem if you view them in a different way, this is an analysis, nothing more, and this is what I realized meanwhile rewatching S2 again and again as time paases. I am not asking for opinions if you will come as aggressive towards it and I apologize if this comes as mean, but I am very tired of how some people might act whenever someone shares a different point of view.

However, in this post we'll be discussing topics such as: manipulation, self esteem issues, and such. If any of these topics are complicated for you, just a heads up as well.

Alright. Let's start with the basics.

Their first interaction(s).

Okay, for starters, their first interaction was already started with a left foot, with Taco reading Mic's dairy out loud and pointing out the entries in which Mic felt the most vulnerable as a whole, let's take in count the fact that Mic was already struggling a lot with everything and how her own team leader was treating her, so hearing someone list all of her insecurities outloud in a careless tone was certainly not the thing that she needed in such an complicated emotional moment.

She was, in fact, so stressed and felt basically worthless, that she started crying just from hearing that, since it does count as "making fun of her struggles" in a way.

She's obviously affected by this, again, this is THEIR FIRST CANON INTERACTION.

And Mic is obviously hurt by this, her voice even breaking a bit.

And she quickly takes an defensive stance the moments she sees Taco as well. Of course she would, she was in an emotional moment and she just touched sensitive topics for her.

And here we go, my favorite part! Taco belittling Mic and making fun of her! (It is not my favorite, if you can't tell, I hate it.)

Okay, so as we can get from their first interaction, what Taco does is essentially use a mix of flattery and making fun of Mic so Mic would listen to her. Taco tells Mic that she's bold and that her playing method is diverse, but however, what she needs is direction on what she does after all. Again, she says this as she then insults Mic again, and basically tells her that she would be nothing without her help, and makes her doubt herself as well.

Let alone that Taco's intentions are pretty clear ever since they first interact, her main interest being half of Mic's gainings if Mic won the challenge thanks to her. Taco clarifies that it is for bussiness matters, nothing more. And she makes sure that Mic has doubts over her decision.

So if you realize she still continues the flattery + making fun of Mic as a person, and then, Taco ends up telling her "well, but that's your choice"

That's.

That's an manipulation tactic.

To make the person feel guilty over the things they did and reconsider their own choices. The cherry on the top is that after Taco crosses Mic's boundaries, tells her that she is PATHETIC (and that's an strong word), she ends up telling her that she can be much more.

You would thing that things could get better? Answer is no.

Let's take a look to Mic as an character. She's selfless. In Brian's own words, Mic goes under the radar always, but she always wants to make things fair for everyone as much as she can.

So she felt guilty and uncomfortable over the whole first interaction Taco and her had.

She is uncomfortable and doesn't know what to do after this whole interaction, and you can realize this by the way she talks and shows herself to others, she's clearly stressed enough.

Mic didn't want to be alone after what happened with Taco, and Nickel telling her "especially you, Mic, you're kind of an wildcard" was something that made Mic angry as well.

She didn't want to be alone after that happened.

When Fan and Mic are talking about Spoiled Lemon "A Party" song, Mic says "So everything he does is decided by someone else? Nice message", and that's foreshadowing to what Taco does to Mic shortly after.

When it comes to the words of gaining, even Mic shows her distaste at Taco's words. She's not having it and she's tired. And yes, I do know that the scene plays it out as an small joke, but Mic still says it.

And in their next interaction- the first thing Taco does is insult Mic and basically tell her again that she needs her.

So. You guys can see an small pattern here. But that's somewhat obvious, after all, Taco herself said that she likes to mess with people.

The Line At Spoiled Lemon's Concert falling on them.

"She made me feel like I needed her."

Taco's manipulation towards Microphone happened. Taco made Microphone feel like she needed her in order to succeed in the game, despite Mic trying to have her own voice, this also goes down to their final interaction on the show, Mic finally breaking up their contact.

Because Taco hurted her in ways that are profound. Mic never needed her to begin with.

Pushing Mic's boundaries.

Let's begin with an small fact. Mic started to trust in Taco because Taco actually did help her on the maze and their small interaction at SL's show shows it. However, just because Mic considers Taco an associate now, a friend even, doesn't mean that Taco's behaviour goes on a better direction. Even though she... "stops" belittling Mic at times, she still uses flattery for Mic to stay next to her side. Because that's the main thing with Mic.

She gets attached to those who show that they care for her. She got attached to Soap, and even got somewhat invested on Cheesy after seeing how her opinion actually mattered a lot for her.

Taco made Mic think that she needed her, and that's explicit, though Mic even questions it.

"But it can't be manipulation if she's conscious of it"

It can be. But the thing is that Mic started trusting Taco. That's why the tactics seem to be not there, but Mic's discomfort and uncertainty remains despite everything.

Taco pushes Mic's boundaries and gets angry when Mic "threw away" her gift (the taser), but just as Mic was TRYING TO EXPLAIN HERSELF (imagine explaining yourself to someone as to why you couldn't hurt someone that has ultimately helped you, that's not healthy), Taco quickly does flattery again, and that reassures Mic that she's doing something good.

Taco is telling Mic what she wants to hear.

The thing is that Taco is doing to Mic what she did to Pickle.

It isn't downright explicit until Ep 14 + once you rewatch those scenes after what Mic says, but you can tell in a way. Taco accomodates her working style according to Mic's personality and behaviour.

Because Taco later on does take a friend-lier approach, but that is because Mic considered Taco a friend, and if acting like a friend is what would make Mic stay, then so be it. Kind of like what she did to Pickle, she acted as his best friend until the very end, and when she failed to get what she wanted, she said stuff to him that marked him forever.

Now she knows what and what not to do to make sure that her plan goes well.

Mic is sensitive and naturally has an heart of gold. So she has to adapt herself to that. Taco becomes softer, yes, but she's still manipulating Mic during it.

And let's not forget a very VERY important fact about them too, and it's how Knife was the one that reached out/noticed that something was wrong.

Knife, Pickle's best friend.

Knife, who has seen how Taco hurted Pickle on the past and saw how she admitted that she was just playing around and everything.

Knife, who saw the damage that Taco did.

Yes, Knife was the main factor on Mic's growth alongside Taco, but the thing is that Knife was there to make Mic realize that Taco was using her.

And now, that means something too. Knife is part of Taco's past. Let's not forget the fact that Mic knows little to nothing about it, but after what Knife tells her about Pickle, she reconsiders her choices for a brief minute. But Mic defends Taco. Because Taco finally has what she wanted: Mic believes in her, therefore, she won't leave her side. Mic defends Taco despite everything because she genuinely thinks that she's changing and found it nice when Taco admitted that she wasn't being completely honest.

But let's also talk over the fact that Taco has been constantly pushing Mic to hurt/let her friends get hurt in many ways, and meanwhile Mic managed to make it up for the Balloon situation, Mic straight up stopped everything just to save Knife and tried as much as she could to get him on their side.

It gets so bad to the point where even after she tells Knife that Taco's changing and if he doesn't want to join them, that he could at least not say anything, but Knife gets emotionally vulnerable with her.

And that's something she didn't exactly expect.

Hearing Knife mention how Trophy manipulated him, when they're talking about Taco, made Mic think too much again.

In fact, Mic is sad + stressed after what Knife told her.

Then yes, on the next episode, Mic does joke about what Knife told her, but we know that she really wouldn't do that at all- she wants to think that Taco is her friend, and jokes around like you would do with one, but even then Taco did drop her after Mic said it.

Which is ironic, because Mic dropped Taco first before Taco could do a Pickle again.

Episode 14.

The ep 14 has many Mic and Knife interactions and shows the down fall of her friendship with Taco, but let's talk about the Knife scenes first before getting to the fall of their friendship.

Knife reaches out once again and tells Mic to stop doing that to herself- to have some dignity, that is, because Mic can do better, but Mic once again decides to defend Taco because... Taco's her friend, right? She has a voice here, no one is shutting her down, no one is dragging her...

Right?

The timing of what Taco is doing to MePad as Mic speaks is intentional as well. It is what Taco has been doing to Mic since the start.

Literally. She literally shut Mic down by touching her voice button the first time they met. Like. It's right there.

Again, Microphone's body language whenever she's with Taco is rather awkward, and of course she's not a big fan of the fact that Taco harmed one of her hosts to do something. Mic has always been trying to do things without hurting others directly, so Taco being able to hurt someone is something that she doesn't like.

Also, adding to the fact that Mic wanted Taco to promise that she wouldn't hurt anybody once they go to save Fan, and yet decided to believe Taco when she said "not necessary, teamwork prevails".

But of course, as all things... the wolf in sheeping's clothing will eventually show it's true self.

She got herself INFRONT of an species she doesn't know, TO PROTECT THEM, instead of trusting Taco

AND THAT SAYS A LOT AS WELL.

It's not only because Mic realized the truth, but because she puts everyone else first before her own person, she's too selfless and didn't even question trying to protect The Shimmer, she just did because she wouldn't get behind what Taco did any longer.

And now, with the end of their friendship...

"See? This is what happens when you listen to me, Mic. Delectable, isn't it?

Finally, a taste of recognition, finally, I can finally-"

It's the realization sinking in.

It's Mic finally realizing that Knife was right.

That Taco was using her the same way she used Pickle.

The same way she used her once best friend.

She never had a friend in Taco.

And Mic even says it- it just proves my point again of "Taco accomodating herself in order to maintain Mic by her side", MIC HERSELF SAYS IT.

"Making him feel like he was doing what he wanted? Like he was heard? I thought I gained a friend. Turns out? I gained nothing."

And when Taco says "surely it couldn't have been nothing-" is her denial- because she couldn't just mess up like she did with Pickle, right?

But she did. She was alone, again.

And Mic shows it via turning her gain down.

Which is a nice call back to Taco saying "it's your game, you have so much to gain", Mic has nothing to gain after that.

Mic's Elimination and The End Of Her Character arc.

This part is the most explicit one when it comes to how toxic their friendship actually was.

How Mic started doubting about herself, how she started explaining that she didn't make the best choices, how she felt guilty over that.

Goddamit, even Mic says "I heard it so often... that I never heard myself.", when referring to the voice in her head.

The realization of Taco's true self was so bad that Mic started having an identity crisis and started doubting if everything she did was because she wanted.

And it's not even doubting either, she affirms that.

And the aftermath is complicated since Mic is still having troubles accepting it. She still cares for Taco because she thought of her as a friend, yes, but she knows that what Taco did wasn't okay and how badly she hurted her.

But Dios mio, Knife even says that Mic looks relieved after cutting ties with Taco because she is. She no longer has to be around someone who lied to her, who made her feel like she was special when it was all just sugarcoated lies.

And she warns Knife about Taco afterwards. Mic wanted a friend, and she might have lost Taco, but she knew what to do thanks to Knife. He was the friend she needed the most.

Of course then Taco shows up and seems to have regrets as well. Do I think that she regrets it? Yes, in a way, the same way she regrets what she did to Pickle, but saying sorry won't fix anything either.

Microphone doesn't want to know anything about her, the same way Pickle does.

After all, that's why she left the show and decided to start over.

And with that, I'm done.

[c0la-queen]

Clarifying the Hybrid AU

So this is nothing bad, and nothing has happened! I've just realized that there are a few things about the Hybrid AU that may not make sense without context, and it deserves its own post to explain.

Also I'm stepping out of my comfort zone a little posting this, so please bear with me here! I was raised in an environment where I learned to be ashamed of my more "unconventional" preferences, so I've almost always kept them private. But this is something that I want to share with you guys! So I'm trying to be strong here!

Now, this is mainly talking about Hybrid Reader.

I use this Hybrid AU as a form of self-indulgent comfort. Sometimes, in my brain, there are days where I just want to stop having to think, stop having to make decisions. During these times, I get so much comfort from the idea of a "handler" being there to take care of me.

I know to some people, this can seem irregular, or even a little weird. And everyone is entitled to their opinions! But my recommendation to you is that if you don't like it, please don't read it. There might be some other people who, like me, find this kind of thing comforting. So if I can share a little happiness with them, I think it's worth it to put this out there, even if I feel a little flustered doing it.

Additionally, don't think that this AU is all some kink! None of this needs to be taken in any kind of sexual context unless it's specifically written to be NSFW.

Now, here's a few cosmetic bits of the AU that are important to note:

All hybrids are legally required to have a human caretaker known as a Handler. A Handler's job is to take care of their hybrid, as well as keep them out of trouble.

Not all Handlers and Hybrids have relationships that are inherently romantic. Some may have a platonic relationship, some may be familial. It's a case-by-case situation.

Not all Hybrids are the same. Depending on what kind of Hybrid they are, they may have different temperaments, behaviors, needs, or purposes. Some Hybrids may be used in the military, others may be used in occupations like farms. Others simply live as their Handler's companion, providing company in their lives.

Now for a few self indulgent bits, mainly about our specific Bunny Reader:

A Handler getting their Hybrid a collar is very common. It's kind of a big deal to Hybrids, and they'll become extremely attached to their Handler if given one. Again, it's not an inherently sexual thing! For me, collars are a source of comfort and security. It's like something that helps ground me and put me at ease.

Kennels can also be a thing in the AU. Again, just like the collar, it doesn't need to be sexual! It would be a place where the Hybrid goes to calm down when in a panic. If you're picturing some tiny, cramped, bare metal cage, that's not what I'm talking about! Hybrids would want a decent sized kennel, and they would fill it with blankets and pillows and anything else that brings them comfort.

I apologize if to some of you, this seems weird! I don't mean it in any way that is gross or degrading. For me, it's all about having someone love you enough to take care of you when you need it. To trust someone enough with someone that you know they'll keep you safe.

And if anyone else does find any of these ideas comforting and you'd wanna read more of it, please reach out to me in my inbox! I am more than happy to share some of the comfort that I get from this AU with other people. I hope someone gets the same happiness from it that I do!

Sorry if I rambled a little here, and thank you for letting me take a chance here! Mwah mwah! 💚💚💚💚

[i-need-some-advice-on]

Hi hi I'm the anon from the AITA ask. I ran into an issue... It's gonna be long, strap in.

I'm in an online study group with people of various ages, mostly older people catching up with life and a few young adults. We have this young lady, let's call her Molly, she's always online and constantly helping out others who miss classes or don't understand study material etc. Everyone dotes on her but at times I think these grown adults depend on her too much for even the simplest tasks.

Molly happens to be a huge people-pleaser. She's "blessed and so grateful" if you link her a PBS channel, she says "agreed, you're so right" about contradicting opinions, she says "you all know so much better than me I am graced by your presence" if you give her a tip on writing. Completely unironically and no it's not the friends being dramatic thing, she's in fact new to the internet outside of facebook. You can also tell when she lies to make everyone happy.

I've had experience with this kind of people and over time this has become one of the worst kinds of people in my eyes, I cannot deal with them, but I still try to be considerate. This study group has a bunch of garden variety misogynist men who take advantage of her eager to please nature. She's also got a lot of internalized misogyny to work through because she always finds problems with the women in our group. And Molly uses this kind of weird overly emotional speech with tons of emojis after every couple words, which everyone calls cute.

Today I had a slight falling out with some of the men in group who tried to make a really nonsensical and insulting joke about a privacy concern I had raised, and I noticed Molly laughing at my comment with some others. When I called out everyone who laughed at me, casually I have to mention just a "what's so funny?", she got defensive and started to profusely apologize with her emojis and saying things like "omg nooo 😭 I didn't mean you hurt you 😱 I apologise for everything 🤗 that happened 😥 Please 🙇‍♀️ you have 🥺 to understand 😭💔🙏" after giving an excuse that had nothing to do with what was said by me or the guys who were joking.

Molly has a tendency to be overbearing, sending me classnotes and schedules personally despite me never needing or requesting them. I've communicated multiple times that I appreciate her thoughtfulness but I'm also up-to-date with all things study related. She's much younger than me and I'm a busy working adult, so I'm not exactly the best candidate for her to befriend. I also prefer to keep to myself and discuss stuff with my own friends, and leave the young people to do Their own thing, have fun use emojis whatever. Keep this in mind because now:

She's been constantly PMing me apologizing with a hundred emojis, it's getting harder for me to read let alone take her seriously. I clarified what exactly happened and what exactly she did that annoyed me, told her to slow down the emojis for a bit so I can read her sentences, tried to communicate that she needs to be sincere and she has read none of it. She's still going at it like all she needs is a "It's okay you're forgiven". And I don't know how to avoid her, we're not allowed to block classmates or switch anything.

I need advice on how I can maintain my distance and still help her be more genuine about everything, less lying less "politeness" and "respect". Clear communication is getting ignored, and I do mean clear, I'm autistic and I can't sugarcoat or twist words.

Thank you for reading through.

.

[oddballwriter]

“Stay, Boy!”

꒦꒷꒦꒦꒷꒦꒷꒷꒦꒦꒷꒦꒦꒷꒦꒷꒷꒦꒦꒷꒦꒦꒷꒦꒷꒷꒦꒦꒷꒦꒦꒷꒦꒷꒷꒦

Summary: You and Evan go out on a date but while walking to the place of your date, some bozos heckle at Evan and then at you.

Warnings: Mentions people being drunk, the drunk people heckling and being assholes, one of them lowkey hitting on the reader, threatening violence. Degrading talk (and not in the fun way). Evan getting pissed off. Lemme know if there’s something I need to add.

Author’s Snip: This idea came to me when I was thinking of the fact that I light-heartedly refer to Evan as being a “lap dog boyfriend” and then my brain just sort of came up with this.

Notes: I wrote this while vaguely tired but also wanting to write something. Because of that, this isn’t proof read. I’ll do that when I have the time.

I’ll shut up now. Enjoy!

꒦꒷꒦꒦꒷꒦꒷꒷꒦꒦꒷꒦꒦꒷꒦꒷꒷꒦꒦꒷꒦꒦꒷꒦꒷꒷꒦꒦꒷꒦꒦꒷꒦꒷꒷꒦

  You and Evan had been busy with your own respective thing and hadn’t had much time to go out on a date for a while. Sure, you two called often to check up on each other and ask how your days where and maybe even texting a random “I love you” from time to time. But it didn’t feel the same as being right next to each other. To say you and Evan where practically glued together was a bit of an overstatement in your opinions. But I’d be lying if you said that you two said you weren’t a little bit attached to each other. 

  As soon as your schedules cleared, you two didn’t think twice about planning a date. Nothing special. Just a small outing somewhere pleasant while the weather was decent. There was a park that he knew about that was fairly large and had things to do there. 

  However, Evan had actually parked his car a bit far from the parking lots, claiming that they were always full and there was no use trying to look for a spot. So you two would need to walk there. No problem at all.

  “Shit,” you muttered, pausing mid walk. “What?” Evan questioned. “I forgot something in the car.” you responded. “Oh. Do you want me to go get it for you?” he asked even though he had already begone to walk the other way back to the car. “No, no,” you said. “I can get it myself. We aren’t too far away from the car.” you clarified. “Stay here. I’ll be right back.” you requested and Evan gave you a nod. With that you turned and sauntered away back to the car so that he didn’t have to stand there for long. 

  Almost as soon as you were away from earshot, Evan heard what sounded like whistling and a “Stay, boy!”. It sounded like someone calling and commanding a dog but he couldn’t see anyone with a dog along the sidewalk. The whistling continued but now there was the sound of laughing. 

  When he looked around to see where it was coming from he saw that it was coming from a building a few strides ahead of him where three men were loitering around and staring at him. 

  “Can I help you?” he asked. “No, you can’t!” one of them said, “We were just noticing you staying put for your owner!” another one shouted. Judging by how they talked they sounded drunk off their ass even though it was barely past noon. “Are they gonna take you for a walk in the park, boy?” one of them heckled. Evan shook his head and just ignored them. The men just went back to babbling amongst themselves when they realized that they couldn’t find anything else to use. 

  But when you came back, you didn’t even have time to tell him that you had everything now before they started up again. 

  “Oh look! Your owner’s here!” 

  “What’s their deal?” you asked. “Nothing. Just some drunks.” Evan responded before taking your hand and about to continue walking until one of them spoke again. “What breed is he? A mutt?” they shouted. “You got space for another? I can roll over for you?” another one said. That comment made you really uncomfortable which Evan immediately picked up on. 

  He changed direction, still holding your hand, as to where you two were going and have you cross the street. But not before shooting a glare at the men. 

  “Oh! He’s a guard dog!” they continued to heckle and laugh. 

  “Hey! Shut the fuck up before a punch you guys fucking sober!” Evan shouted back. You had to take a hold of his hand using both of yours. You knew Evan hated being confrontational and fighting outside of self defense. But he got a temper when it came to you when you were uncomfortable. Although you found it endearing that he would get defensive of you, you did not want Evan getting into a fight when you’re meant to be on a date. 

  You two kept on walking on the other side of the road and ignoring the men, who were now continuing to heckle by barking at the two of you and a few more phases being thrown that you didn’t pay attention to. 

  They rest of your date went smoothy and when you walked back the men were gone. Most likely shooed away by someone who was done with their drunken bullshit. 

[musteladraconis]

alright thats it this is my rant about palworld because i need to just speak about it. if you disagree with anything i say or have an alternative perspective then ill be happy to read them but anyways.

this game makes me so incredibly upset and just. enraged. pure unbridled anger.

just want to clarify some things before i start:

1. im aware of just how dogshit nintendo treats pokemon fans like myself, giving us the worst framerates imaginable, pushing out shitty low quality games so that people stay interested or whatever their motive is and so on and so forth, you've heard it all before i dont need to go over all of it again.

2. im not against using ai for some things. it can even be really beneficial. however when you use ai to steal from other artists and use it to make creative work then its inexcusable and should never be used. no im not talking about animation programs that use ai for tweening or any ai that's used to help make an artists job a tiny bit easier or faster, im talking about generative ai that takes artists work without their knowledge and uses it to make money. so when i say ai in this post i am specifically talking about generative ai.

alright with that said lets get into why i absolutely hate this game.

feel free to correct me if im wrong throughout this post.

ive been looking into the company's background and as many people already know the founder promotes the use of ai and greatly enjoys it. but yknow what i also found out? its that he also hates new and creative ideas! and he promotes using ideas that already exist to make games.

(citing SomeOrdinaryGamers video on palworld)

oh yeah. yeah that's right. pocket pair is the company that made palworld! lemme show you what else they made

notice anything? no? alright let's try again.

how about now.

yeah. yeah this is breath of the wild and hollow knight!

and also. it's one thing to steal from nintendo, it's another to steal from indie game developers and FAKEMON ARTISTS.

YEAH. YEP! EVEN THE FAKEMON ARTISTS ARENT FREE!!

WEIRD 'COINCIDENCE' RIGHT???? THAT THEIR DESIGNS ARE 99% THE SAME???

SURELY THIS GUY MUST ENJOY HAVING SOME KIND OF ORIGINALITY RIGHT? RIGHT???

WRONG!

"IF THERE ARE GOOD IDEAS IN THE WORLD I PICK THEM UP AND I DONT NECESSARILY HAVE TO BE PARTICULAR ABOUT ORIGINALITY"

nintendo hasn't sued him yet. i dont know if its because they cant find a 1 to 1 rip off or some other reason like them not needing to worry about him but i hope some of you understand just how bad this is for artists jobs. while yes there would have had to be artists that modeled the models in game there is basically no creativity or originality here. 'but what about the idea of giving pokemon guns' you might say. sure, thats a cool idea i will say. i like the concepts but i despise the methods used to achieve this goal.

many other games that are similar in using monsters like pokemon have successfully made their own unique creatures and people have enjoyed those games.

shin megami tensei has its demons for example! including... including... sigh. the green dick on wheels. yeah you heard me. the green dick on wheels.

BUT wouldn't you rather that than a 1 to 1 ripoff of wooloo?

you could say that oh wooloos just a regular sheep which yeah i can accept that argument but there are so many more that you can look at where the similarities are just... Bad. the cobalion one for example (just look up cobalion palworld youll see what i mean).

and not just the megami tensei franchise either. mutahar also mentioned other games, like cassette beasts which looks really fun

and those are good designs! the game itself looks cool and fun to play. digimon also exists!

if nintendo ever does anything to the pokemon franchise that just absolutely ruins it more than anything else they've ever done then ill rethink my opinion about this game, but for now im mostly just upset about artists jobs being taken from them and artists original designs too. while nintendo can be so shitty to pokemon at times, there are artists behind pokemon designs that had their work and original ideas blatantly stolen.

i highly recommend checking this link out to support your favourite pokemons artists directly if theyre on the list.

to finish this rant off, i just want to say that originality is one of the most difficult things to achieve in video games. i get that, im an artist too and being original is extremely difficult because everythings been done at least once. but it doesn't excuse how closely these games are 'borrowing' incredible, iconic and ORIGINAL ideas from others and not just once but repeatedly.

[kimmingtonjames]

TRIGGER WARNING: discussions of trauma.

I don't usually make text posts-- hell, I usually just reblog art and funny shit-- but there are a number of people discussing "trauma dumping" and friendships and I wanted to give my two cents. In the discussion, one side sometimes flatly tells people to not trauma dump on friends, and the other flatly says that the former is destroying or doesn't understand the concept of friendship. But in my humble opinion, the truth has a little nuance.

Now, just to clarify, trauma dumping is generally understood to mean the venting of traumas onto others without regard to the emotional impact of the disclosure. This post is not about occasionally venting to friends about day to day frustrations, though it touches on it. And this is going to be a very personal take, so I'm asking you to read it as such-- that your situations and tolerances may be different, and that's okay. The overall goal is to encourage people to work on their communication, no matter how different their personal situations may be.

Also just going to say that if you feel you've trauma-dumped on people, it doesn't mean you're a bad person. It just means you might need some better language and the ability to discuss boundaries when you express yourself in the future. That's it. That's the whole deal. You've got this and you're going to be okay!

First, I'll discuss the actual trauma-dumpers.

Ever worked a retail job where the occasional customer sees you behind the check-out booth or stocking shelves and, with little to no preamble, starts detailing the history of their lives and all the hardships they've faced? That it doesn't feel like they've taken account of the fact that you might be busy, may have your own trauma that could be triggered by the topics they're talking about, or that you really aren't in the proper place to help them? This is conventional trauma dumping, and it's a boundary issue-- the consent of the other person is not taken into account, the timing and placement of the conversation is not appropriate, and the other person cannot leave the discussion comfortably.

First of all, if you're going to be discussing potentially triggering subject topics, it's best to ask first. After all, given that you're already suffering from a specific trauma and know that pain, you wouldn't want to inflict it upon others. You know that stress. And if you routinely find yourself discussing distressing stories from your personal history to near-strangers (unless the topic is very specifically brought up, which sometimes it is and that's fine), then you may actually be better served by a therapist because you may also be handling feelings of isolation. That shit's serious and you deserve real help from a licensed professional who can guide you through it better than a stranger ever could.

Now when it comes to established friends venting trauma or triggering daily life situations, things are MUCH more comfortable and nuanced. First of all, I would hope that you all have friends you feel genuinely confiding in. Friendship is supposed to be based on a mutual openness which includes the desire to know the struggles of each person involved-- and here I would like to stress the word mutual. Many of my friends have histories of trauma-- some of them extensive-- and to maintain openness while still being cognizant of the other person's day-to-day abilities, we maintain the practice of check-ins and what are functionally topic tags (because not everything distressing is an outright trigger). Let me give you an example.

FRIEND: Hey. I'm having a really bad day today. Do you have the energy to talk about [list terrible things that happened or are ongoing here, with triggers and specific potential issues mentioned to provide context]?

If yes:

ME: Go right ahead. I'm here, you beautiful beast. Oh, and are you looking just to vent or do you want advice? I want to make sure I understand what you need.

If yes but some potential triggers are listed:

ME: Go right ahead. If we hit some stuff I'm struggling with, I'll let you know and we might have to come back to those another time, but I'm here, you glorious bitch. Oh, and are you looking just to vent or do you want advice? I want to make sure I understand what you need.

If no:

ME: Hey! I love you but I'm really overwhelmed/busy right now. Is there someone else you can talk to until I get my energy back and check in to catch up, you bountiful treasure?

I also make sure personally that when I have an ongoing struggle or mental health issue (something longer-term that could become a little more draining for the listener over time), I'm also checking in on their side of things every once in a while, even if it's sort of silly and trivial. I want my friends to know that even if I'm worn out, I care about them as people. What games are they playing? What books have they read? They mentioned their Aunt Edna having a medical problem-- I should ask about her. These check-ins are good reminders to your friends that even when times are hard and you need a lot more shoulder to cry on, you're still in touch with them somehow. They also help break tension if you're worried you're kind of spiraling. (Sometimes when I feel a spiral happening, having my buddy detail a little baking misadventure or hunt for yarn. Yes, you can tell what my friend group is like now. Yes, we are cozy people.) And check-ins should be done kind of randomly. If you do them right before venting, it can kind of look like a weak effort to seem connected, like you usually think of them when you need help and not in general. Send funny memes they'll like in the early hours. Ask if they've ever bitten into a banana whole. Just make sure you're showing them that you think of them both when you're happy and when you're sad.

When some people complain that they feel like they've been trauma-dumped upon, it's a reflection that they don't feel the relationship is mutual or that expectations haven't been set/met. And if you have a mom friend or an intuitive friend in your life you go to for support a lot, ask for ways you can offer some of that love and energy back. You'd be surprised how much it means to them.

And to address an ugly but important possibility-- sometimes it's because other folks don't have the same understanding of friendship that you do. You're allowed to make new friends and let go of old ones if your expectations of the friendship don't meet up. Don't let yourself be discouraged again and again by going to people who you feel don't really know or invest in you because you'll keep breaking your heart. Look outside your sphere and see that there's other people looking for someone like you.

Anyways that's my take. Add what's important to you or things you think might help. Take care and be safe.

[serenafromoculis]

Regarding self-doubt

I am pretty sure I am not even within the first billion people throughout this week to say that being an artist involves constantly doubting one's own ability to do... Anything. I am also pretty sure I am not the only person who's turned to look at their own work on ocassion and felt so viscerally frustrated that they find no choice left other than to cave in to self-loathing. "I'm a sack of shit", "I am going to starve to death", "My ex might have been abusive but she was the only one who truly loved me", etcetera, ad infinitum. This can suck, not only because it makes you feel like wet ass, but also (and more importantly) because it stops you from creating your delicious Art Soup!

Now, this is where this post gets personal: I have personally found a way to deal with this feeling, as of late, and it's a weird one. This might not work on everyone (that's the preface to basically all artist advice to ever exist), but I have immense amounts of spite for those who have wronged me and just about enough self worth for it to work on me. This technique is...

Externalising Self Hatred

What I mean by this is, remember when your abusive father told you that he wished you'd have been a phycisist? Remember when your friends looked at your drawings and ripped directly into your artstyle? Remember when some guy on the internet commented "looks like shit" after you posted something and refused to elaborate?

Maybe the specifics here are a bit personal to me. But I'm sure that, in a broad sense, most artists have had experiences like this. And I also want to clarify what I mean by this: I'm not talking about the time you got legitimate criticism. I'm not talking about the time someone saw a thing you wrote and told you how it could work better, so you tried it and your artistic vision felt even more realised than before. I'm not even talking about the time you heard something about your art that got you into a literal mental breakdown, but which implementing afterwards demonstrably helped you. I'm talking about the time Some Guy with no knowledge or curiosity regarding your artistic vision and with a knack for "constructive criticism" shat on you in a way you either immediately or afterwards came to realise was total horseshit. I'm talking about the time a friend said something hurtful and apologised afterwards because they realised it was unfounded. I'm talking about the time someone acted like your father.

Every time you feel the self hatred coming alone, every time your thoughts start diverting themselves from "I'll rewrite these past few sentences, I'll clean up these variables to make it run better" and becoming "I am a sack of shit and I deserve nothing but immediate death", every time your thoughts take the path that makes you feel like maybe you should have never made anything in the first place, imagine that rando who commented on your art saying it. Imagine someone else saying it to you, instead of you saying it to yourself. And, again, maybe this won't work on you, but I value my own opinions on my artistic vision extremely highly, and if someone came to me and told me some of the things major depressive disorder tells me, I would not be hurt, I would be LIVID; angrily defending my artistic vision and telling them not to critique me again until they were actually aware of what it was that I was trying to do.

Now, this is what works for me, but I genuinely do believe that in general, looking at your own gripes with yourself, artistic or not, from a different perspective than you usually hold is one of the key parts of actually realising what things you should keep in mind and get better at and what things are just mindless slop that you're better off dealing away with. Presenting perspectives to your brain as coming from the outside is really helpful because it forces you to scrutinise them and to check if they actually hold any substance or not.

That's it. Thanks for reading.

oculis

[foggyparadisecandy]

On Resilience and "Being Strong"

I know these types of posts where I lay out what passes for deep thoughts in my mind aren't my most popular but I'm dropping this stuff out to clarify my own thoughts.

If any of y'all benefit from these words, that's great. If you disagree, drop me a comment or a DM because I'm still figuring stuff out myself.

The hard truth is - like most of the stuff I've written since late April - I'm writing this for one person in particular even though it's unlikely she'll read it. Well, that is what it is. I'm writing it for her anyway.

Let's get to it.

Life is hard and messy. I'm optimistic as hell but even I recognize that sometimes life throws a brick upside our head. That shit hurts! Sometimes, we might not even feel like we're going to make it through.

How we react and bounce back is called "resilience." Resilience does not mean "being strong" or "toughing out bad times."

Nah.

Bend Don't Break

There's an old parable about the mighty oak and the lowly reed. When life sends a nasty windstorm their way, the oak snaps and the reed bends and survives.

Take from that what you will but, for sure, it's a great visual about the importance of reslience.

A resilient person is flexible, adaptable, resourceful, creative, solution-minded, and know how to process and work through life's difficulties - like the metaphorical brick upside your head - in constructive ways.

Resilience doesn't mean you are going to be free from stress or difficulties. But you are going to be better equipped to bounce back, faster, and possibly stronger than before.

Treat Yourself with Kindness

You can learn and become more resilient with a tiny bit of effort. There are a lot of ways of doing this but my favorites are tied up in my four principles:

FORGIVE YOURSELF LOVE YOURSELF FORGIVE OTHERS LOVE OTHERS

Being kind to yourself, forgiving yourself, knowing you are doing your best - and no, you aren't perfect lol - helps you find a genuine path to loving yourself.

Mix in some gratitude - an attitude of looking at the good things in life that happen and, more importantly in my opinion, the things that you are proud of that you've done or accomplished.

You're pretty fucking good. You might forget it. Hell, you might not believe it :( but re-read those two paragraphs and do your best to start catching the negative stuff that tells you the opposite messages.

It takes time and it isn't easy but work it. Become your own best friend. You are always with you so it might be a good idea to become friends with yourself.

Forgiving Others

As far as forgiving others goes, well ... look ... this shit is hard to do. I understand. Someone does you wrong, it's a natural animalistic instinct to lash out and get revenge.

Fuck that. Another old parable goes: before you start off on a journey of revenge, dig two graves. One for them and one for you.

And if it isn't clear from that parable, you are harming yourself if you live for revenge. And maybe you aren't looking for revenge. Maybe it's just that person that hurt you still looms large in your mind. Bugging you. Pissing you off. Making you sad. Angry. Fearful. Whatever it is.

Well ... fuck that too.

Letting someone that hurt you live on inside your mind, hurting you further? That's double damage. Let it go. I wrote about catharsis a few days back - get to it. Vent out those emotions and feelings as much as you need to - take as many passes as you need - and get them out of your head - speak them out or write them out. And each pass you make, focus on releasing the emotions. Feel relief as you spew it out on to the page or out in the air.

And ... do your best ... I get it ... it's fucking hard ... but forgive them. They did a shitty thing. There are a lot of reasons people do shitty things. If you really want, you can try to understand them but if they are really assholes, you would have to be an asshole to understand an asshole. Fuck those people. Let them go. Forgive their pathetic choices. Assholes gonna asshole. They would love to know you are still hurting. Fuck. Them.

And if it's a good person who did a shitty thing? That's a bit easier. Forgive them. Talk it out. And ... if they do it again? Well ... that's a different discussion. I would still forgive them but disengage. They clearly are on a path that doesn't respect you. They might be a good person but you aren't vibing ... other people out there are waiting for you.

If you really can't forgive, go back to catharsis and keep grinding out the feelings and purge them little by little. Eventually the offenders won't loom so large in your life. And when they are small and hold little power, do your best to forgive them.

Loving Others

Ahhhhh ... yeah ... this is easy for most people. Sometimes it's too easy.

We want to connect with others and sometimes fall in with those who aren't deserving of our love or time. Watch out for that. I speak with a lot of people and it's clear that connecting with others in an authentic honest open ways is hard in so many ways.

It's easy to fall into relationships that don't always match our energy levels or maybe they aren't completely vibing with us. Maybe they don't treat us kindly.

Well. I'm sure this will be a big suprise: be open, honest, talk it out with them. They may or may not respond the way you want. It's ok.

Be strong. Remember "LOVE YOURSELF" comes before "LOVE OTHERS." If you aren't vibing, they aren't respecting, you are mis-aligned with energy levels and goals, it might be hard but ... move along. Find the right friends. The right loved ones.

Remember: you deserve the best, accept no less.

And when you do find the right people, be brave. Be authentic. Be transparent. Be loving. Be open.

The real jam in life is deep, meaningful connections where you are truly seen by the other person.

And I mean TRULY seen. They know you, warts and all, and they still have your back. They still love you. They support you. They care for you.

It's not easy to find these people. None of these principles are easy.

But if you keep working at them and keep them in balance, you will build resilience and be able to take that metaphorical brick upside your head and bounce back faster.

Develop Skills

The other piece of resilience is that you develop ways to deal with certain things in a healthy way.

I'm a big fan of catharsis - talking it out or writing it out. Another fundamental skill is keeping track of automatic negative thoughts (ANTs) that spring up and squish them fast.

Hold those ANTs up and look at them. Most of the time, they don't have any basis on reality. They are just self-judgments against ourselves. Maybe we are imagining what others are thinking about us (pro-tip: most people don't think about us at all - too busy worried about their own shit). Maybe we made a simple mistake and are over-exaggerating its importance. Maybe someone else made a mistake and we are taking it as they don't like us or we are hated.

There are a lot of ways to look at and squish those ANTs. Maybe I'll write them up in a separate post.

Obviously, I have had my own struggles recently with a lot of these things. I'm applying all these things to my own life and getting healthy.

They work with effort and dedication. It's like saving money or getting healthy - it doesn't happen over night. But it pays off in the end.

You got this.

[justahumblesideblog]

Steve: The Character Arc Given To Us Through Subtext Part 2

Continuing onto the montage with a bit more detail. Like I said before, while the main objective is to show King coming to terms with his Titan heritage, it also works as sort of Coven Guard Steve’s “last hurrah” before taking off his mask and becoming Steve the Rebel.

There are some things I want to touch on that happened before this, but they feel like they have more weight on Steve’s arc than than this little act of Good Samaritan-ness. Still though, I think this has value to the person that Steve really wants to be moving forward.

Judging from the ice pack on their head, I think it’s safe to say that the accident that caused they wheel to get busted also caused a rather nasty head injury to the poor older demon. In “Any Sport in A Storm” Steve is put into a moral dilemma about forcing kids into the harsh training required in joining the Emperor’s Coven. Earlier in the episode Steve voiced his past desire to be one of the best, joining the EC because of that desire. Here in this moment, he is helping two demons using his magic. The little one waving happy as they continue on their way. It’s a small moment, but I can see it as Steve finding peace in giving those small moments of kindness to others while still getting recognized. Sure it’s no as glamorous as the Emperor’s Coven, but it’s real and not manipulative.

Now this personally is my favorite detail of this sequence:

Throughout the montage Steve is seen with this book titled “Synergy in the Emperor’s Coven.” Perhaps it was his way of finding closure in his previous life while King did his own soul searching. Despite bein mg disillusioned with the EC, maybe he needed to take the time to put everything into perspective before fully letting go. In the end, Steve goes from reading it, to placing it on a rock while skipping stone, to ultimately ripping pages out of the book to complete King’s attempt to mimic his father’s final resting position. In my opinion, it’s a cool way to have Steve’s own journey of self-reflecting in the background while we focus in on King’s journey of self-discovery.

“Wants can change. So can people.”

Then we get to the part I’m sure a lot of people hoped for, but maybe didn’t think we would get. The grand unmasking. Of course the conversation King and Steve have leading up to that moment shouldn’t be overlooked. Again, it’s really cool how the show’s subtle arc with Steve played along with King’s arc of with both of them reevaluating what they want in life. King wanted to be respected and fear as the king of demons. Now that he knows he’s a Titan and people like Lilith are treating him differently though, he realizes that he just wants to be a person. Meanwhile, Steve doesn’t seem to just want to be the best or at least doesn’t think his best means being part of the Emperor’s Coven anymore. So what does Steve do once King’s decides he no longer wants to be seen as a scary monster?

“Me neither.”

Once again, all the kudos to the writers and storyboarders of this episode, and everyone else involved in mapping out this man’s arc that happening nearly entirely off screen. Steve has been going the whole nine yards by not only joining the rebellion, but also sneaking out therapy (also therapy exists in the Boiling Isles! Rejoice!). Another little small detail I really liked about this scene is that King had to double check whether or not Steve actually quit being a scout because this man has been living in subtext land for so long that things had to be fully clarified in order for the story to continue.

Now what does King (along with a newly rejoined Lilith and Hooty) do once the soul searching is done! Why, surely they must join the rebellion against the Day of Unity! Oh, but how on earth can they do that if they have no way of knowing where or not even knowing of the rebellion in the first place??? OH WAIT!

That’s right, Steve has been going on his little soul quest as preparation before heading down to the headquarters with his fellow CATS! The last time we saw this man before this episode he was working under Darius, so it just makes sense that he would be involved with the rebellion at least since after the events of “Any Sport in A Storm.”

In short, Steve finding and inviting King onto his self reflection journey, lead to both Lilith and Hooty following after then in pursuit of King, which ultimately lead all of the residents of the Owl House together again. There’s something so admirable with how the writers just let this sequence go unsaid. Like, they could have easily been like:

King: Now that we figured things out, what do we do now????

Steve: WELL I GOT AN IDEA!!!

But nope! They just cut out after Hooty wrongfully attacked poor Steve, and King, Hooty, and Lilith are just there at the CATS hideout. Steve working for Darius while questioning the morality of the EC? Steve just seemingly randomly at the Owl House for Lilith’s job party? Absolutely important to get him and King acquainted. Bold. Inspiring. Legendary. All the shoulder pats for The Owl House crew.

Also, just having Steve at the Rebel low table with the other big players of the rebellion? Just planing with Darius and Raine along with Raine’s Bard protégés? Being an established member of the rebellion before any of the main characters? Amazing. Rock on Steve. You earned your place in the spotlight for the reminder of the series.

[pikahlua]

I’ve been reading your metas on Ochako, and I absolutely agree that she revolves around Deku too much, even now, to the serious detriment of her character. But then I also see people countering that claim with something along the lines of, “Well, Bakugou’s character also revolves around Deku.” I don’t necessarily agree with that claim in general, but deep down, part of me wonders if they might be right. What do you think?

I hope I haven't been so careless with my words to have ever said something like "Ochako revolves around Izuku too much" without much context, but if I did, please let me clarify.

There's nothing wrong with one character revolving around another. I have no issue with any character, be they Ochako, Katsuki, or anyone else, revolving around Izuku. I don't believe any character can revolve around another "too much" in the sense of quantity. This is all just vague phrasing referring to a much more specific phenomenon.

My issue with Ochako in relation to Izuku's character is that she does not stand on her own in the story. I like Ochako very much especially in the early story arcs, but as the story progresses, a lot of scenes to do with her character become lazy shortcuts in terms of writing. The reason her later interactions with Izuku are insufferable are not her fault nor are they Izuku's--they are Horikoshi's. (I will, however, express a caveat on this opinion a little further down.)

I can describe most characters' arcs in a way that allows them to stand on their own in the story even when they "revolve" around Izuku. Katsuki's character arc unpacks the dual "victory and rescue" pillars that make up All Might's "symbol of peace" by demonstrating the ideal of victory while simultaneously showcasing his journey to understand the "rescue" pillar from square one. Iida's character arc demonstrates the ways in which a hero must navigate rules and principles, how a hero must come to their own conclusions on what value the rules and principles actually provide and when is the right time to uphold or break them. Kirishima's character arc is about self-acceptance, self-improvement, and comradery in the face of societal messages that conflict with one's own personal values. Shouto's character arc is about finding the balance in one's identity between what's inside and outside the self, how a person takes their hardship and pain and trauma and uses it to save others instead of perpetuating the cycle. Hell, Mineta's character arc is about learning what it means to be "cool" and "attractive" and "admirable" in a hyper-sensationalized, commercialized, oversaturated superhero society. All of these character arcs rely to varying extents on Izuku acting as a foil or paradigm-changing force.

Ochako's character arc is...

...uhh...

...

...all over the place or nonexistent, and I can't decide which.

At first, it seems like her character is designed to mirror Izuku's. She is a very nice (if a little bland or awkward) person who just wants to help people but slowly learns that developing her strength/combat skills would just as well serve her goal of becoming a rescue hero. This is a similar character arc to Izuku's, but there's no chance on earth her arc would show more depth or nuance than Izuku's own character arc. So is she on the same arc? Or is she there to bump Izuku in the right direction when he strays from the path? Either way, that's not development for her. Indeed, the way it works out whenever they talk in the latter half of the story is they just totally agree with each other. No challenge, no insight, nothing. They're just like "Yep :)" but in the longest, most boring way possible. Every time.

She's not tied in to the plot with All For One or Shigaraki in any way at all. There is no connection between her and the villains except Toga, who seems to have been designed entirely to face Ochako. But Toga herself is kind of shallowly developed through most of the story. There is no crux of Ochako's character she challenges other than...they both maybe sort of crush on the same boy. What a life-altering showdown that's gonna lead to! [/sarcasm]

The crushing is played for laughs and kinda cute the first two or three times, but the problem is that after Katsuki vs. Ochako, we get such a good moment where Izuku tries to cheer up Ochako but Ochako cheers him up instead. It seemed for a moment like she did have something meaningful to teach Izuku in his journey to heroism, but then we've had no moments like that between them since. It's just virginal blushing and stuttering over and over and over again with no developing relationship between them. They don't grow as a result of being in each other's stories, or if they do, we're made to just assume it happened while they blushed or something. The "crush" moments are shortcuts in the writing that don't demonstrate any actual development from point A to point B. They're just fluff that accomplish nothing in each scene. It's useless and boring. Poor writing, like I said.

But...if we assume there is no IzuOcha endgame, if we treat all the IzuOcha teasing as a subversion...

Maybe we have something here.

You see, later in the story, Toga does sort of develop into something a bit more interesting with her disdain for how society tries to force her to repress herself such that she could never be happy. But...is Ochako the proper foil to this arc? I don't know. Am I supposed to believe that Ochako's occasional jealousy at others for merely interacting with her crush Izuku is the same level of depth? That Ochako's repression and decision to ignore her feelings is...correct and good? That this is the solution to the problem Toga presents? I really don't want to believe that. I think there must be a middle-ground these two "rivals" will reach.

At best, I want to hope this is a question of imposition on others and the violation of people's boundaries, about making others happy without sacrificing your own happiness, about respecting others' feelings while also being sure to respect your own. And if that's the case, Izuku is really just a bystander unrelated to all of this--which is why I think this is the part of Ochako's story in which most people have taken any interest. It ties a lot more of their interactions into Ochako's development than their crushing moments. Take for instance how Ochako is against going to rescue Katsuki when he's kidnapped: she warns Shouto that Katsuki will probably feel humiliated if they go save him. That insight becomes a key factor in Izuku's rescue plan--and it's entirely because Ochako recognizes they need to respect Katsuki's emotional boundaries.

That's not the only moment either: at the sports festival, Izuku is not keyed in to Ochako's anxiety. When he figures out what is going on, he offers his advice for her match, but she rejects it. She realizes she needs to disentangle herself from Izuku's shadow to make it on her own as a hero, so she accepts that she and Izuku should be rivals. And when he tries to comfort her after her match, she does not accept that either. She’s sad, but she’s not willing to be vulnerable with Izuku at all. In fact, she cheers him up instead. What I'm getting at is: these two are at their most interesting when they oppose each other. They never successfully open up to each other, and each time they seem to want that, nothing meaningful happens. But when they maintain their boundaries and actually find conflict, well, that's where Ochako as a character seems to thrive. But she thrives on that with relation to everyone, not just Izuku. It's interesting when she pisses off Katsuki, when she teases Iida, when she notes the differences between her family's financial means and Momo's, when she sides with Kirishima over all the other girls in class, when she decides to throw down and get competitive. These are the moments when she stands on her own and isn't just a redundant female version of Izuku.

It's why at this time I don't want IzuOcha endgame to happen. I don't have a problem with either character or with the ship. I just think that result doesn't serve their character arcs very well. They haven't developed a relationship like that in the story to justify such an endgame. They do better when they conflict--at least so far. Horikoshi is gonna have to lift a ton of extra weight to carry them to a point where a romantic relationship between them makes sense and satisfies.

And I'm not actually convinced that's what he's gonna try to do in the end anyways.

[heretherebedork]

Are there any specific BL shows you would recommend to someone just getting into the genre?

Hmmm. This is always a hard one for me! Because there are so amazing ones but so many of them should come with warning and also if I start on the really good ones what happens when you finish those and realize the rest aren't that great?

Also, how do I give advice without knowing who I'm advising and their taste? That's the biggest issue for me with an 'intro course' because you never know what people like and don't like. There are people who hate every. single. show. I've recommended here.

Now, to clarify, I started on what I call the Netflix route. I watch The Untamed and then SOTUS and then found Viki and watched Love By Chance and that got me into the fandom. Would that work for everyone? Not a chance. But it just goes to show you that anything can get someone into a fandom if that's what they like.

So this is a list of BL shows i feel show the best of the industry... and a few on the list that are there because they show you what MOST of the industry is like as well. Take a sampling. Try a few shows. Don't limit yourself to any single country or genre. Sample.

There's SO much out there. You never know where your taste may take you. Search BL on My Drama List. Ask multiple people for where to get started. Look at gifsets on here and see what appeals. My taste may not be your taste, my idea of amazing may not be yours, my idea of the best of the best may not fit in with what you like.

So... ANYWAY. Disclaimer out of the way! Here's my list of where to start based on what I think is a good intro to BL itself through amazing shows and also trope-filled shows.

1. A Tale of A Thousand Stars: The story of a rich young man who needs a heart transplant, gets it from a young woman who was a volunteer teacher in a poor village and falls in love with one of the soldiers in the village. Absolutely lovely. Just fantastic. Gorgeous characters, amazing setting, fantastic story. Seriously. This will spoil you for a lot of lesser shows but if you start with it you'll know how good the genre can get.

2. Cherry Magic: Adachi is an office worker who considers himself awkward and boring and not very good at anything... until he turns 30, gains the power to read minds from being a virgin and discovers that the top worker at his office, Kurosawa, has a huge crush on him. The softest, sweetest, most gentle BL and just fantastic. Highest of the high recommendations. Seriously. A great place to start.

3. He's Coming to Me: Mes is a ghost. He's been dead for a long time. And Thun has been visiting, and seeing him, since he was a child. When Thun is going to University, he ends up taking Mes with him and their real adventure begins. Warning for death but holy shit is this one good. So good. Absolutely amazing and wonderful, plot-driven, a need to watch show.

4. Until We Me Again: WARNING: SUICIDE AND DEATH. In and Korn were forbidden lovers 30 years ago. Dean and Pharm dream of them every night and recognize each other on sight. Fate brings them together but can fate really lead to true love? An amazing show, absolutely beautiful, deep characters, deep plot, filled to the brim with emotion and highly recommended but heed the warning, okay?

5. Be Loved In House: I Do: When Shi Lei's new boss, Yu Zhen, takes over the jewelry store and introduces a rule that everyone working there must be single, Shi Lei is ready to throw hands for his friends. So what happens when he slowly finds himself falling in love with that strange man? This is just such a soft little show, filled with joy and softness and idiots. Absolutely a great place to start yourself on Taiwen BL.

6. All the Korean BL movies: I know that this is just a label but, like, literally all of these are soft and short and a great place to start to just get a feel for the shows coming out of Korea. Not as trope-y but just generally... good. ALWAYS watch the movie version.

Wish You: Tiny musician catches the eye of someone working for a record label

Where Your Eyes Linger: Bodyguard and the boy he guards

To My Star: Puppy movie star (who's more neurotic than he lets on) meets stiff chef (who's softer than he lets on)

Color Rush: In a world where a portion of the population can only see in shades of grey until they meet the person that lets them see in color... and are considered dangerous for this... a mono meet a probe. The best of the bunch!

Mr Heart: A marathon runner has stopped winning and another young man is hired to help him get back to winning. Honestly the weakest of these in my humble opinion.

Nobleman Ryu's Wedding: Historical Idiots being historically soft and historically stupid. That's is. Young man dresses as a woman to cover up that his sister ran away from an important marriage but the groom ends up loving him regardless.

7. Light on Me: A student who's never had a friend is convinced to at least give it a try and joins the student council where he meets a sweet young man, a jokester and an awkward and confrontational young man... and there's a lover triangle because what else would there be? Oh, this one is SO good and so soft and very emotional and sweet and has a fantastic love triangle and introduces you to tropes very smartly. Definitely a good place to slip into the genre and see how the tropes get played.

8. Ingredients: A chef lives with a musician and takes care of him every turn. Yes, it's an extended ad series. But it's also soft BL filled with every trope imaginable and it's a good place to just let yourself get used to Thai BL and how it feels.

9. Oxygen: When a rich young man who can't sleep finds himself at a coffee shop in the middle of the night, there's no way he expected to meet the love of his life. But when the barista offers him warm milk to help him sleep? He's lost. I put this one on here with a few reservations because there's a side pairing that is just horrible (skip all scenes with the doctors and the coffee shop coworker for your own good, okay?) but the rest of the show is just so good and so soft and I love it so much.

10. My Engineer: A sassy freshman meets a senior engineering student who is SERIOUSLY into getting sassed. A quiet introvert meets an extrovert who refuses to give up. One friend has been pining for years and has decided friendship is good enough. This one, again, goes on with reservations. It's a good start for getting into most of the more typical Thai BLs. Gives you the regular tropes, gives you the more typical relationship and friendship things... This is a good place to start if you want to be prepared for most of what you're going to watch, frankly.

There. I'll stop there. I think that's a good set. @absolutebl may have some more ideas? I kinda went basic on this list, no denials. And maybe a bit weird as well. No denials.

[lunamadrigal]

The Bruno hate going around on my dash is saddening :'(

Has there been hate? I haven't seen anything. Or maybe you mean the Papa Bruno AU discussion? You'll have to clarify.

I'm assuming you mean the Papa Bruno AU? These are my own thoughts to take with a grain of salt...

Everyone should be allowed to express their opinion on their own blog. I do not personally read Papa Bruno AU fics but I absolutely understand the reason why either side feels the way they do. Please indulge me for a minute here.

Why do people write fanfics and read specific tropes, arc or storylines?

One simple answer is to process feelings, experiences, traumas but also depicting things they crave emotionally, consciously or subconsciously.

Grew up in a family of divorce and want to read about a parent team that is wholesome and together = Julieta & Agustín

This is just a simplified example in the most basic form. But leading to what my point is regarding the Papa Bruno AU.

One way to process a traumatic event is to project onto these fictional characters, write it out and depict your own grief/story and when you take all that into consideration it should be handled a little more gently cause it is completely possible those that find an escape through this specific trope/narrative might need to do so for reasons you or I cannot see so glaringly.

An abusive home life situation where a child once wished a family member would have saved them from is an example of finding solace in one's own trauma through that type of narrative.

Does that mean that your favorite fictional characters will deviate from the canon script in terms of personality, arc, etc.... ? Of course. That is the point of using writing as a tool for processing any sort of own experience, whether that be the writer or reader.

Same needs to be said for our minority community (gay, trans, ace, people of color, an endless list) when utilizing the same methods to see diversity in our favorite genre or fictional characters.

Can it make some uncomfortable to see their favorite fictional characters go so far off canon script and is that a justified emotion? Of course. But is there room in the fic community for both points of view so everyone can find comfort in characters within a story that helps them? Also yes.

Both emotions are valid but we can leave space for those stories whether we agree or disagree with them. I don't think we'd disagree as to why they are needed for some individuals.

(I'm ofc referring to what others call the Papa!Bruno AU with Mirabel, not any fic where Bruno is a parent)