#I'm just terribly bored also and I would love to interact with other people who like star wars

[jedisandspacepirates]

So if anybody wants to chat about Star Wars or Skeleton Crew, @ me or message me. I really would love to talk to folks and share thoughts about what we've seen.

[hollowed-theory-hall]

hello 👋👋👋

thoughts on Blaise Zabini? there is some scenes in HBP when he's cold pureblood who is looking with hate on Harry

in fics he's usually portraits like pretences boy, no biggot, but in canon he's like it actually

wanna read your opinion ;)

Okay, I actually really like Blaise Zabini and find excuses to write him into my fic. Like I think he's a bitchy bigoted asshole but I love him anyways.

I love the conversation we have with him, Pansy, and Draco at the beginning of HBP, since it's our best look at how the Slytherins interact with each other. I used it a lot in my Theo Nott meta because it's a really good piece of character work that I really like. Like, it shows how none of them are really friends and I'm here for it. I love their scathing friendship where they would all sell each other for one corn chip.

With all that, let's talk about Blaise:

He's good-looking. His mother is mentioned as being incredibly beautiful and clearly her son got it from her:

He recognized a Slytherin from their year, a tall black boy with high cheekbones and long, slanting eyes;

(HBP, 143)

He can be cold and aloof. Like, Blaise is often described as looking bored or indifferent, and it's not common that he shows much of an emotional reaction:

Crabbe and Goyle were gawping at Malfoy; apparently they had had no inkling of any plans to move on to bigger and better things. Even Zabini had allowed a look of curiosity to mar his haughty features.

(HBP, 151)

(Haughty is a word often used for attractive characters in HP, to my above point)

Now, Blaise is intelligent. Like, he seems very aware of people and what bothers them most (which he uses to be an ass). He's not quite a bully like Malfoy, but he likes knowing what's going on with everyone. In the other quotes I bring up I'll mention that as bored as he looks, he's clearly interested in the gossip. He loves having information others want. He likes having that power over Draco, particularly since they seem to have a kind of ego war going on on the down low. (in my opinion, Zabini wins since he's the one who actually manages to look cool and collected).

We also know he's in NEWT potions, so, he likely had an O in Potions adding to the point about him being intelligent.

As I mentioned, he is kind of an ass:

Zabini did not make any sign of recognition or greeting, nor did Harry or Neville: Gryffindor and Slytherin students loathed each other on principle.

(HBP, 143)

“Of course,” said Slughorn, watching Harry closely, “there have been rumors for years. . . . I remember when — well — after that terrible night — Lily — James — and you survived — and the word was that you must have powers beyond the ordinary —” Zabini gave a tiny little cough that was clearly supposed to indicate amused skepticism.

(HBP, 146)

As he pushed past Harry into the darkening corridor, Zabini shot him a filthy look that Harry returned with interest. He, Ginny, and Neville followed Zabini back along the train.

(HBP, 147)

But he's an ass in a very different way from Draco. Draco is in your face with mean comments and making fun of things in an obvious very verbose way, Blaise is an asshole in an aloof kind of way. Like, he thinks himself too good to go out of his way to bully people, and he doesn't need to actively do anything. He's all scathing looks and raised brows and subtle acts of minimizing and belittling people.

He isn't actually close to the other Slytherins and treats them not that differently from how he treats Harry.

It was fortunate that Goyle and Zabini were snarling at each other, [...] “So, Zabini,” said Malfoy, “what did Slughorn want?” “Just trying to make up to well-connected people,” said Zabini, who was still glowering at Goyle. “Not that he managed to find many.”

(HBP, 149)

Blaise doesn't have respect for Draco, Crabbe, or Goyle, and he doesn't need to say it, he shows it. He snarls at Goyle like he would at Harry (who he disrespects and thinks less of). He says there aren't many well-connected people, clearly meaning everyone in the compartment besides himself. He's a dick.

Like I mentioned in the post about Theo, the Slytherins aren't actually friends. Draco uses Blaise's last name, not the first one. They aren't close and they're both aware of it. @indigo-scarf wrote a great post about how Draco and Blaise aren't actually friends, but it isn't unique to them. Crabbe and Goyle turn on Malfoy instantly in book 7 when they think him weak. Even in OotP, they do nothing to help Draco when Harry and George attack him. And Draco clearly doesn't actually trust any of them as in HBP, his main confidante, and friend is Moaning Myrtle. All these Slytherins hang out together because it serves them, not because they like each other.

Similarly, Theo clearly hangs out with Draco in books 5 & 6 only when he has no choice. Pansy is dating Draco, but is making eyes at Blaise like Draco is her second choice. But Blaise doesn't seem interested in Pansy in any way and thinks she is lesser than him as well. Blaise and Theo clearly aren't friendly either as they never hang out and Blaise calls him by his surname, etc. Basically, none of them actually like each other, though I assume some of them do respect each other (to different levels throughout the books. Though I headcanon Blaise and Theo have some grudging silent respect for each other as they consider each other intelligent and on the same level, while they both look down on most of the rest of their year including Draco, Pansy, Crabbe, and Goyle).

Malfoy sat up very suddenly, knocking Pansy’s hand aside. “He invited Longbottom?” “Well, I assume so, as Longbottom was there,” said Zabini indifferently. “What’s Longbottom got to interest Slughorn?” Zabini shrugged.

(HBP, 150)

Here again, Blaise is ridiculing Draco subtly. Basically saying "well, duh, don't be an idiot," without outright saying that but making Draco feel it all the same.

He's also showing how he ravels in getting an invite when Draco didn't. Blaise likes having the cards and power in a situation.

“I wouldn’t bank on an invitation,” said Zabini. “He asked me about Nott’s father when I first arrived. They used to be old friends, apparently, but when he heard he’d been caught at the Ministry he didn’t look happy, and Nott didn’t get an invitation, did he? I don’t think Slughorn’s interested in Death Eaters.” Malfoy looked angry, but forced out a singularly humorless laugh.

(HBP, 151)

And Blaise knows how to get to Draco who is clearly upset. Draco wishes his snide comments were on Blaise's level. I just really enjoy how Blaise shows his disdain for people. And how he thinks of himself as better.

“And you think you’ll be able to do something for him?” asked Zabini scathingly. “Sixteen years old and not even fully qualified yet?”

(HBP, 152)

Again, in the above quote, he belittles Draco and shows his doubts about him and how much Voldemort actually wants him in his service. And he's 100% right that Voldemort is expecting Draco to fail, something even Draco didn't quite realize yet.

All this isn't friendship. It's acquaintances who dislike each other but need each other is what it is. I know that when I'm writing them, that's what I go for. They were raised to see other people as connections or tools, not as friends. So real friendship is rare with these sorts of purebloods, it exists, but it's rare. Like, some of them probably like each other and enjoy each other's company, but I imagine they wouldn't like, actually trust each other.

Ginny calls him a poser and she is somewhat correct. I think Blaise does believe in everything he says he does, but he isn't as cold and bored as he appears. I think he likes knowing gossip and information others don't even if he appears nonchalant about it. That is definitely a pretense, but the bigotry isn't.

I know many fics paint Blaise as someone who isn't actually a bigot (because he's black) but he is. I think he is one of the characters who's honestly an unapologetic blood purist:

“A lot of boys like her,” said Pansy, watching Malfoy out of the corner of her eyes for his reaction. “Even you think she’s goodlooking, don’t you, Blaise, and we all know how hard you are to please!” “I wouldn’t touch a filthy little blood traitor like her whatever she looked like,” said Zabini coldly, and Pansy looked pleased.

(HBP, 150)

He sounds exactly like Bellatrix "Blood Traitor is right next to Mudblood in my book" Lestrange.

Obviously, he says what he is supposed to and what he's been taught all his life, but I think these are his honest views from what he knows. Like, in the Wizarding World skin color clearly doesn't matter much, but blood, oh, they care about blood.

This is somewhat interesting considering the Zabinis aren't among the Sacred 28, whether it's because they immigrated to the UK after Cantankerus Nott wrote the pure blood dictionary or they really are not pure-blooded enough, is unclear. I headcanon it's the former and that the family moved to Britain more recently, after the dictionary was written in the 1930s. And, it kinda makes sense. Like, if the Zabinis were in the continent and backed up Grindlewald, and then after he fell they needed a new start someplace that didn't have as strong feelings about Grindlewald and them, so they moved to the UK. Grindelwald never reached the UK and therefore, they could live there without that stain attached to their name. That's like, my headcanon about the Zabini family.

Despite all his Slytherin tendencies and intelligence, Blaise is quite arrogant. I mentioned he's prideful and thinks himself better than Draco, Crabbe, and Goyle for example, but he thinks himself so above others that he's untouchable. You see it in how loos-lipped he is regarding his mother's crimes:

Zabini, who was interrogated after McLaggen, turned out to have a famously beautiful witch for a mother (from what Harry could make out, she had been married seven times, each of her husbands dying mysteriously and leaving her mounds of gold).

(HBP, 145)

Like, how do you accidentally let that slip in casual conversation?

It's clear he thinks he and his mother are above the law and that no one could do anything to them. He believes in this so much that he doesn't care outright mentioning she maybe murdered her husbands in a room filled with people who don't like him. He feels that secure in none of them doing anything or being able to do anything. (I bet his mom bribed a ton of people).

In my headcanon, Blaise and his mother are pretty close and are each other's only confidantes. Like, they sit together to gossip and judge people. She asks him whether he thinks this next husband is good enough or rich enough. I headcanon she's also cold, bitchy, and arrogant and Blaise models his persona after her (and perhaps her brother or father, but only relatives on her side).

I also imagine he knows his mother killed his father and that she sat him down and explained why so he does back her on that decision. He has his doubts deep down about his mother's ways, but he isn't ready to examine them, or planning on doing so any time soon.

So, yeah, I think Blais is an asshole pureblood bigot who doesn't really have friends and is so incredibly arrogant. But he isn't a bully, he shows his disdain through cold looks and indifference. He also has the potential for interesting character dynamics with his mom and I like him a lot.

[worriedvision]

My first Honkai ask.

Honkai men when you walk in on them kissing an acquaintance of yours who's a chronic boyfriend-stealer.

Okay so I have tweaked this a little where the friend is someone who keeps stealing the readers crushes when they're about to make a move, like full on being supportive and all that to humiliate them. I've only gone for Dan Heng, Gepard and Sampo - well, Sampo's goes a lot better than Dan Hengs and Gepards. Obviously kind of angst for Dan and Gepard

--

Dan Heng:

When he was kissing your friend, it was after she convinced him you were not actually into him. Twisting your interactions with him intricately so that you sounded horrible, telling him you saw him as a piece of man candy you'd brag about before saying how she would treat him oh so well.

As the kiss had intensified, you opened the door.

Your mouth flies open, a myriad of emotions coming to mind. Devastated, angry, numbed. The friend was never truly kind to you, you realised as she was kissing the man you told her you were going to confess to. She knew the time and place you planned, and she went a couple of minutes in advance. She fails to hide her smirk when she pulls away, looking slyly at you.

"...So that's how it is." You nod, your lips forming a thin line. "Fine. Have fun."

Dan Heng had also caught onto the mischievous look your friend flashed, as well as how conflicted and hurt you looked as you watched the whole thing. She turns back to Dan Heng, leaning in to continue the session before she's cut off by him firmly planting her away from him.

"Aww, whats-"

"Leave. I was foolish for listening to you, I don't know you." Dan Heng admits, rubbing his temples.

"My friend would have bored you, just saying." Your friend giggles as she leaves the room, no sense of shame as she leaves him to figure out how to act next.

Gepard:

"C'mon, just a kiss." Your friend asks, Gepard trying to figure out how to let her down nicely. "I want more practice, and you're the ideal height."

"Look, I'm flattered by your request but I have feelings for someone else." Gepard replies, her rolling her eyes before pulling him in closer.

"If you make them jealous, I'm sure they'll act on their feelings if they return them right?" Your friend giggles, Gepard processing what your friend had just said, your friend glancing over as you walk in on the moment starting.

She pulls him in, wrapping her arms around his neck as she cuts him off. As guilty as Gepard felt about not finding another way to stop your friend, he did enjoy the kiss. His hands go to her waist as you see him leaning in and closing his eyes, deepening the kiss. You rush off to his sister, the person who also told you he liked you back.

Serval was concerned when she saw you running into her shop, knowing your plan to confess to Gepard. When you explain to her how your friend was starting a makeout session with Gepard, Serval was gobsmacked. She knew her brother well enough to know he loves you, why would he even let your friend close?

Pulling out her phone, she types in a series of messages explaining how he really stepped in it before deciding to spend time with you, trying to keep your mind off her foolish brother and your terrible friend.

Sampo:

Your friend was silly to think Sampo wouldn't confess his feelings and embarrass her publicly when she tries to kiss him in public, the place you planned to confess.

Sampo wasn't stupid, he knew damn well your friend was a bit of a bitch. He heard all about her from various people, and when she started her usual talk he knew her plan. She always did this right when the other friend was about to confess, and he wasn't foolish enough to fall for that trap. She begins to put on the flirtatious comments, and Sampo can see you out of the corner of his eye.

"As much as Sampo Koski enjoys receiving compliments from strangers, he only has feelings for one _! He has no room in his large heart for a woman he knows nothing of."

You heard the whole thing, as well as everyone who was out at the time, and your friend is shocked.

"There they are, the one who I love and cherish!"

[arcaneconfessions]

Look I know that not every bad thing popping up about arcane "fans" is what the actual general fans of arcane are like, but damn.... I fear and would hate if any of these "fans" get a hold on to other champions of league. I say this now because of the current thing happening after the "Welcome to Noxus" cinematic.

Way before I knew of league, I came across storyboard for a cancelled movie of league featuring Katarina and Garen. I love that draft animation, it became the first lol content I consumed and the first league ship I actually like. I'm not a league player, I just love animations in general so I watch complete, wip, or abinded vids in youtube. I just found the pairing interesting after reading all the comments in that video, which was posted before arcane.

I'm all for fans shipping characters, but what's happening currently is quite sad. For any of you can't understand my dissappointment with what's happening, imagine: CaitVi has been hinted and has interactions that they're in a relationship for years, other champions know it. Now, still follwing along? Good. Now, the moment one of them are introduce to the general audience (let's say it's Vi), people latched onto to them because they look cool (understandable). Then someone asks, are they for the guys? IMO, it's fair question especially if you didn't know the character at all. A veteran fan comes in and answers, " No, she's lesbian and in a relationship with a Piltover Cop : Caitlyn kiramman". Then suddenly people who never knew these characters lores, hates on Caitlyn even if they don't know anything about her and made judgements as well as starts attacking fans of the CaitVi ship, just because Vi is in a relationship with another woman. Like I get it you don't like the ship because of actual criticisms, espcially if you actually know the lore of these characters but to hate a character because you want them to be for the guys only.... it sounds fucking terrible right? RIGHT?

Look, I get that the amount of wlw ships we have are still lacking, but please for the love of whatever or whoever you respect, please don't start attacking fans of hetero ships. KatGaren is the first ever relationship league of legends, and league have created comics about them for years and other characters from different regions also knew about it. (This is not some fanon interpretation.) It might not be as toxic as toxic yuri and yaoi we all grown to love but istg, a cliche, Vanila and bread straight ship are still good. Please 😭.

Some of ya'll are making me understand why people are annoyed then starts saying the "Not everything is gay" phrase Garen is not even my and otther people's favorite champion (because he is seen as boring, plain, or bland), but ya'll got people defending him. Heck, even haters of the KatGaren ship is defending it now because of how much ya'll start attacking the ship just because someone said Katarina is not for the gals only.

I thought ya'll clowning on Jayce is already bad, but ya'll attacking Garen despite not even being introduced, animated or even alluded to is insane. Please give this spin to win, by the books, himbo a chance guys. I sincerely fear what happens to this fandom when we get a Demacia focused series. I'm hoping that by the time they announce it, we all became chill and not become a mirror of what the game community of league is like and became known for.

- sincerely from a league lore and arcane fan

.

[riacte]

So like, are we gonna talk about how there is a problem in this fandom about some creators, mostly female ccs, being critized by fans whenever they "overshadow" the more famous hermits? No shade to any of the hermits, they are wonderful and i am sure this is the last thing they wanted to happen, but i am starting to notice a pattern. And it s always with the same excuses! "They did not play by the rules" "Someone else did the work for them" "It was boring and anticlimatic". And although I can think of some cases of this happening to male ccs (well, one case, and it was to a non-hermit), women have to deal with a looot of shit every time they score a victory, and it s terrible that this is just a routine at this point. And like where do the critics come from? Are these ccs supposed to lose in purpose and act as secondary characters to those who have more views or subs? I just don t understand

Oh yeah there's definitely a misogyny / popularity problem. It's always been around, got a bit better, and now post-Covid, it's getting worse.

Women can do everything and anything and they'll be criticised by some assholes. If False was proactive and killed every reaper who came near her? She would be "mean" and "a bully". If False kept her distance? She would be "barely online" and "not deserve a win". If False was on all the time, "the trappers wouldn't have time to lay traps". If False wasn't on because of work purposes (the meeting) or to EAT (because women are human beings who LIVE), "she wouldn't have a chance to die". I found it sad to see False explain herself and justify her jokes and actions. AND that is wholly dismissive of any irl things that may or may not have been going on.

Also... the popularity gap is getting worse. Some hermits have stagnating or even negative growth in terms of viewership and subs. It's unfortunate because everyone is free to watch who they want, work with who they want, everyone has limited time and attention span, so there's no real solution. Which is why I'm all for spreading propaganda. And I feel like my mains False and Ren are in the middle in terms of this— not the most popular, not the least either, so they kind of get left out when it comes to "underrated hermits" discussions. Idk. I know this has been a problem since the birth of Hermitblr and I know from the pov of a fan I do have it much, much better than some other fans who main other people. My main duo interact alllllllll the damn time. And I know I am guilty of sticking very closely to my main povs.

We have to drown out the trolls. Be vocal about what we love. I love seeing all the nice comments on vids. <3

[bluegekk0]

I've been in such an emotional slump lately. I fear that I upset my friends without realizing and now every interaction I feel like they're mad at me. It's like every time we chat I get the impression that they're annoyed with me, I keep thinking they're being sarcastic and trying to tell me to shut up in subtle ways, but I'm scared of asking cause what if I'm overreacting like I usually do? I just hate it so much. I feel like I'm such an exhausting person to be around and a little voice in the back of my mind keeps telling me it would be better for everyone if I distanced myself.

And I'm also fighting really hard against the idea that people in general are getting bored of me. I know engagement is not everything, I know that drawing for myself should be a priority. It makes me happy, and I draw what I love BECAUSE I love it. But it's so hard for me to not hope for validation and feedback when I've been compared to others all childhood. And it stings so much when a drawing I'm super happy with maybe doesn't perform as well as I hoped (at least compares to the number of people who follow me). I don't know if it's not reaching people here or if it's just getting too repetitive for people to care anymore. Or perhaps people see my self-reblogs as desperate and get discourages from interacting for that reason? Maybe they're right for that.

I've also been looking into and educating myself on the experiences of autistic individuals since I suspect I'm on the spectrum, and I do relate to many of them, plus every test I take indicates that I might be autistic. So in theory, self diagnosing would help, right? I could stop worrying that I'm broken somehow or a failure of an adult, and just accept that my brain simply works differently and maybe even be more kind to myself. That sounds good. But then the doubts keep creeping in. I don't remember if I showed any signs in my childhood, I barely remember anything from it. So what if I'm wrong, what if there were none, and I'm just overanalyzing symptoms or even faking them? How can I consider myself part of the community if there is a chance I shouldn't be there at all? What if I'm just lazy, what if I'm an introverted, anxious loser who put themselves in this situation by being incompetent at everything, now trying to find excuses?

I don't know. There's so many exhausting thoughts that have been dragging my mood down for the past few days. And I guess I'm just waiting for it to pass since I'm so scared of actually going out there and getting help.

Well, there goes another oversharing session. I usually feel bad talking about this with my friends cause I don't want to put them under the obligation to respond. And with how terrible I am at responding to their struggles (not that I don't care, I'm just so, so bad at responding to emotions and putting my thoughts into words that don't make me sound robotic) it often feels too one sided. So I guess this is a way for me to scream into the void and give people a choice if they want to ignore it or respond. I could just write it down in a diary or something, but part of me is hoping that maybe this experience resonates with someone and I'd feel less alone. Or maybe I'm simply just desperate for advice or validation that would feed my ego.

[tollingreminiscentbells]

Hi there! I just finished devouring your accu au and just. Wow. I had to say something, because I haven't enjoyed a fic like that in a while. I'm very, very, VERY picky with my smut - especially when it comes to alastor, ESPECIALLY when he is actively being tagged as ace - and I am pleased to say that the emotional and physical intimacies of your writing truly astounded me. Not only did I, as an ace, feel comfortable with the scenes, but I enjoyed them and the way Alastor interacted with them. His "delusional" not-sex moments were my absolute favourite, and I found myself smiling when he would defend his view of sex. Obviously everyone is different, but for me personally, I feel like you are one of very few writers who actually got the asexual-but-not-sex-repulsed bit perfect. I truly related to some moments and the relationship between Al and Lucifer was so understanding that it made everything feel fluid and real. To me, smut is something that I find boring half the time - the times I do enjoy it are always when there's some juicy character growth mixed in, and your writing has that in spades. I applaud your skills. Accu made me so happy to read; it was an absolute delight. When I saw on your tumblr here that you're working on another fic, I thought I might be in heaven. I am so terribly excited to see what you've been working on, especially with all the history and research you've mentioned putting in to this new fic.

I also read your Alastor selfcest fic, and as someone who is quite easily swayed by selfcest, I must say that I enjoyed that one, too. I would love to hear what other fantastic Alastor ideas are in that intelligent, magnificent brain of yours.

In the interest of forcing this to become the norm instead of hiding behind my anxiety, I am extending a formal invitation to chat about hazbin or whatever else if you so desire. I would love to talk about ships and fics and be friends. Of course, no hard feelings if not!

I wish you all the best and hope this long-ass comment finds you well. May you continue to write what pleases you. Thank you for your time.

Love and Support, Loliqua

Oh, thank you so much for this message! It's delightful and made my day! I've said before that I consider A Terrible Beauty, specifically, some of the best writing I've done in probably the last 5 years, and that whole AU is very special to me. It makes me happy beyond words, really, when other people love those fics like I do.

It's funny. When I started writing for this fandom I didn't talk about my own asexuality. I actually didn't consider it relevant information at the time. I've talked about all of this since then, but I write Alastor's relationship with sex in a way that is similar to my own. I write sex scenes for the character development and these particular sex scenes are a reflection of real lived experience. Genuine ace rep, you could say. I think that's what resonates with some readers and I'm just so glad that it landed with you!

When people talk to me about All changed, the two things most frequently mentioned are "I love him violently", and the delusional not-sex. And you know, if that is my legacy in this fandom, I will feel like I did my part and made a worthwhile contribution.

And I am indeed working on another fic! A Momentary Radiance, wherein Alastor sells his soul to Lucifer while still alive, kills a few people, and romance ensues. A lot of references and homages, as well as the historical fiction aspect, which you'll see most clearly in the content of Alastor's radio show. I took a more traditional approach with this fic, so I've been working on it quietly since early July. Despite my major international move not long ago, we are finally almost across the finish line.

Then there are . . . several other fic ideas that I'm trying to ignore for now. It's getting out of hand. And if you want to hear about the madness, I am always more than happy to make friends!

💜

[megpricephotography]

So I'm thinking about a dog in 2024 and I am absolutely in love with border collies.. I know thier energy is insane.. This is my question, do you walk everyday, of course you do, how far do you walk? What would I be in for? Do they bark often? I also enjoy black Labradors.. Your blog is quite amazing.. 🙏🐕

That’s wonderful you might be getting a dog next year! Whichever breed you decide on, I hope you find yourself a fantastic companion & enjoy many happy years of adventures together :) Thanks, I'm so glad you enjoy my blog!

I’ll answer your 2nd question 1st: barking. Yes!! Some are louder than others... but most border collies like the sound of their own voice. They'll likely be more vocal than a labrador!

Now... exercising. Border collies are energetic. They need to run regularly & are always eager for a walk! Like most breeds, BCs are happiest (& easiest to live with!) when they're able to combine using their brains, with getting physical excise.

Many pet dogs, even "high energy" breeds, are able to fulfil a lot of their need for mental/physical exercise by going on regular walks... Walks where the dog is most left to its own devices but has the opportunity to run & fully engage its senses, exploring & interacting with the environment. If the owner wants to get more involved & play with the dog too, then great! However, if the owner is tired after a stressful day, then they can mostly mentally switch-off & relax in nature, while their pet has fun & tires itself out!

Unfortunately (& I think it's part of why they have a rep for making hyper/crazy pets), border collies are often pretty terrible at exercising themselves on this sort of walk - where they have to occupy themselves independently!

BCs want owner participation!! They want YOU mentally switched-on & involved in their activities - exploring the wider world is only as interesting as you make it! If they aren't kept busy herding livestock for you, or doing sports like agility, then a BC needs you to come up with other forms of entertainment/exercise, which you can do together. It doesn't need to be complicated, or involve you doing lots of hard physical exertion - but keeping a pet BC well-exercised & contented will take some mental effort, on your part.

They'll often benefit far more from a slightly shorter outing, where your focus is on them & making a real effort to engage & interact - rather than a much longer walk, where you're present but disengaged & expecting the dog to exercise itself.

For some people, the prospect of a pet who demands lots of engagement & interaction, could be more work than an active dog who "just" needs regular long hikes! However, if you like the idea of having a HIGHLY interactive dog - who thrives on doing stuff with you, then BCs can make wonderful, engaging, fun companions.

This got way too long... below are examples of how I keep Flynn "busy" & help him burn off mental/physical energy outdoors! My health isn't very good - I can't go very far & never go fast but Flynn doesn't mind... as long as we're interacting.

All pics below were taken a couple of days ago, in 2 adjacent fields.

Left to occupy himself, Flynn could spend hours out in these wide-open spaces & he'd still be bouncy/bored later. Not because he's insanely energetic - no, the daft dog simply wouldn’t DO anything tiring! If I ignore Flynn, he accepts it & potters along the path... & that’s the problem! He's an athletic, intense dog & he just potters! He's happy but barely using up any energy!! If I want Flynn tired, I have to give him reasons to use his body & - more importantly - his mind!

I take the part of shepherd & sheep & get Flynn herding me across the fields. We play hide-&-seek in the woods. He does tricks & balances on things. I take photos as it's another chance to interact. We might play search games too - I make him wait, go hide a toy/treats, then send him out to find them.  

A "game"(?) that's developed over time, is that Flynn loves to find & show me interesting stuff in the environment. Stuff he will not play with alone, but massively enjoys if I join in: piles of leaves, mole hills, tree stumps, good ground for digging! The more animated I am in reacting, the more enthused Flynn gets & the more he’ll exercise - racing way ahead to find the next fun thing & the next! He enjoys it if I show him stuff too!

Anyway, here he is in the 1st field, lying motionless but focused, as he waited for me to arrive & investigate the puddle he’d "discovered". It IS an excellent puddle.

Here he is, extremely excited at the prospect of supervising me stepping into the puddle & making a splash: 

Flynn's holding a nasty soggy chunk of grass because this was such a thrilling moment, he felt he needed to have something to bite on, or he might be tempted to nip my boot!!

Here he is in the 2nd field, intent on stalking closer, because I’d crouched down & just me doing that is EXCITING: 

I crouched to look for fossils. Didn’t spot any, so I grabbed random pebbles. Flynn finds it genuinely fascinating to watch me choose, pick up, examine & toss small rocks away… He'll eagerly "help" me do this, for as long as I'll let him. He darts after each stone, as I chuck it away, then quickly rush back to watch me choose another. Here he is, concentrating very hard indeed, on a vital Pebble Examination:  

Despite not going far, Flynn was mentally (& physically) tired out by the time we got home! Clearly, he'd done important work: herding, hiding, puddle-finding & pebble-inspecting ;-) Once Flynn's exercised, he'll happily sleep for hours on end.

[effen-draws]

HUGEEEEE fan of your de!swap fic! Just finished reading chapter 5 and WOW what a chapter. I'm soooo glad to see that suzerainty popped up, the original scene with that game is my favorite scene, and I'm overjoyed to see that it carried over to your fic!!

Curious question, what was your motivation behind choosing what skills Kim has? I love all the skills you created for the fic, and I'd like to know your thought process behind it

Thank you so much!!! I’m super glad that you liked the chapter! The Suzerainty scene was hella fun to write:-D And I’m very happy that you like the skills as well! 

But, yes, the skills. Oh man, anon, the skills. You have opened up a can of worms here. You’ve given me an opportunity to rant here, anon. So I really hope you’re ready for a long post because I have plenty of thoughts, my friend. 

But before we actually get into any of my skill related thought processes and ideas I’d like to preface this post with 2 things!

Many of the skills (and generally the early parts of the fic) are inspired by a hodgepodge of many different people’s headcanons and art here on tumblr! Which, because I’m one of god’s favourite clowns with a terrible short term memory, I have no idea what came from  where! I looked at and read a lot of the things that later inspired me before I ever thought of writing the fic at all. And I never thought about writing any of my sources of inspiration down before I had already finished the draft of chapter 1! Which I kinda feel terrible about! The readers with a better memory than I might remember that I wrote in the first chapter that if anyone saw anything that looked familiar they should tell me so I could give proper credit. (Which I still implore any keen eyed reader to do!) So yeah, this is just to say; I’m not a genius who came up with all of this on my own and I was inspired by many cool people so don’t give me too much credit!

BUT! If anyone ever wants to write or draw anything using the skillset I’ve made for my version of swap!Kim, then you are so very welcome! So don’t sweat it if you want to reuse a name, concept, or the entire set! I’d just be happy to have inspired you:-]

Anyways sorry for the preamble. I just needed to get that said before I go down my rabbit hole:-)

So, let’s get to it! (For real this time I promise, anon) Here are a few of my general thoughts about my Kim skillset and some individual insight into more of the “interesting” skills! 

There were a few things I considered when making the skills. For one I needed to figure out what skills were needed because of narrative necessity and what were needed for characterisation. For an example HANDS ON is almost only a “Kim is physically interacting with his surroundings and I need to describe that” skill while TORQUE DORK, on the other hand, is a fluff skill that’s there because of Kim’s interests in machinery. Besides their personalities the skills also need to serve a role in telling a story, y’know? Whether that be description or character. That’s also one of the reasons that Kim only has 16 skills instead of Harry’s 24. A fic is a different medium than a game so it’s not necessary to have quite so many skills. But, if you want my non-boring justification for that, I also just think that Kim is far less scattered brained than Harry! The man is simply more together even when he’s falling apart so he therefore has a few more “multi purpose skills”:-]

Speaking about Harry, I felt like it would be important that Kim’s skills felt unique to him even if some of them started out as reskins of Harry’s (I mean, how do you make a skill responsible for logic without giving it similarities to Harry’s LOGIC skill??). Not that they needed to stand out completely but rather I didn’t want to feel like I was applying Harry’s voices to Kim’s head. Which also means that Kim’s skills just can’t do the same things that Harry’s can! For one they aren’t as psychically inclined even if they can take guesses and read people in similar ways (which they’re partially that good at because of narrative necessity, but hey man, don’t look at me I’m just trying to tell a good story here!)

One thing which I also really wanted to stress with the skills too is that many of them have “rivalries” or “alliances” with one another. Some of them are complete opposites (EYES vs. OUTSIDER) while others will almost always back each other up (POISE & COMMAND). This animosity is there because; one, Kim is constantly trying to keep himself in check and is very harsh on himself so therefore no skill can ever “win” for long. Two; I’m a BIG fan of the thought of “Kim’s centrism is killing him”. So therefore every skill is almost always pulling him in different directions and opposing each other while Kim is trying to thread the needle of just existing. And because there’s this constant infighting Kim’s mind becomes a very hostile place to be. One last general consideration before I get into some individual skills! I really love how having a high level skill in DE also has its downsides! They have blindspots! They have one track thoughts and motivations! And it’s dangerous to only listen to one of them! So I attempted to show that with Kim’s high level skills like VOLTA DO MAR and POISE in the fic:-]

Anyways: individual skill thoughts! I don’t have something to say about all of them but I'll quickly go through my thoughts on some of the more interesting ones in order. (Also I’m so sorry for rambling so long, anon. Here's the part of the post I think you're interested in.)

Starting off with PUZZLEBOX and NOTEKEEPER! If I’m honest I think these two are inseparable; Note provides information and Puz connects the dots. They’re quite obviously Kim’s deductive and note taking powerhouses. Note does however also have a purpose as a narrative device since it’s the one that recalls past information (that Kim can remember). They’re a little like a narrator in that sense. Anyways I don’t have many thoughts about these two but I think they’re kinda cute in how “dumb” they can be despite being intellect skills:-]

FANTASME is not a skill that gets a lot of the limelight but they do have a good amount to say even though they’re a low level skill. They’re kind of a CONCEPTUALISATION and INLAND EMPIRE mix I guess. They’re focused on Kim’s “nerd” things (that isn’t machinery or paperwork) and escapism. They know about art but they don’t really “get it” as Harry can. They’re also the driving force behind Kim’s existential dread as you have seen in chapter 4.

BLEEDING HEART is what I labelled as the “feelings” skill, and they were kind of an EMPATHY clone in the early concepts before I really figured them out. Because all they really want for Kim is for him to feel. Their second priority is making sure that Kim feels for the people around him as well. To Bleed it doesn’t really matter what emotions Kim is feeling as long as they are being felt and that he isn’t hurting or “burdening” anyone. They’re sad, suppressed, and visceral. Another thing about them is that similarly to how ESPRIT DE CORPS is the “gateway skill” that Harry uses to read Kim, BLEEDING HEART is the “gateway skill” Kim uses to read Harry in the fic. This is mostly because I don’t think Harry can be understood through the lens of the RCM like Kim can in the game.

EYES is interesting to me. Because they aren’t the RCM but rather swap!Kim’s understanding of the RCM personified. Which both means they’re brutally honest about how the police sucks but that they also cannot let go of duty and loyalty for the life of them. They are aptly named after Eyes; Kim’s last main connection to the RCM and its office culture. Which is very cool but also not my original idea! And because of the reasons mentioned prior I really don’t remember who came up with that stroke of genius but I would honestly like to thank them personally. (If I ever get my hands on the post I saw it in I’ll link it here)

I love the idea of OUTSIDER. Kim having a skill that’s specifically manifested because of how alienated he feels is so interesting to me! That how much the world has failed him is ingrained in him just speaks volumes, y’know. Outs don’t have too much of a narrative purpose compared to other skills but I do love them regardless. They aren’t completely my original idea either, but unlike EYES, I have no idea where I got this one from. (Again, if I find the source I’ll put in a link, but for now my cursed memory can produce nothing.)

JOIE DE VIVRE is the most fun little guy in Kim’s mind to me. They are what makes life fun (as their name suggests) and they ultimately represent indulgence. They are essentially good to listen to occasionally but not constantly. Because Joie is all about base desires which they want fulfilled now. “Hey! Smoke that cigarette now! Hey! Fuck that guy now! Hey! Avoid your responsibilities now!” And if they don’t get that they will immediately trash talk whoever shut them down. And, to say the least, they are constantly being repressed by the other skills. Kim can’t get rid of them but, oh man, does he wish he could.

VOLTA DO MAR is my swap!Kim’s signature skill. And it shows: they are used to being in control. They are all about keeping Kim going and they generally serve a similar role like VOLITION does in terms of keeping Kim sane. But they are really nothing like VOLITION. They’re mean. They’re efficient. They’re a completionist and simultaneously a survivor. They will shut down anything they deem unnecessary while also dealing with any odd situation which Kim simply needs to roll with. Volt ultimately thinks they know best and is thusly kind of a dick. 

NERVE is a kind of “physical skill all in one” with the added on flavour of repressed anger. NERVE’s name then, of course, both comes from the biological nerve and because of the “that struck a nerve” saying. They just want Kim to follow his gut and retaliate for once. They’re the physicality of anger and instinct. Which has pros and cons… 

POISE is an interesting little fella to me. They’re kind of like a teen who’s obsessed with being cool and keeping up face and facade in my eyes:-) And since they’re also such a high level skill they get to talk a lot, and with their focus being reputation a large part of that talk is about how embarrassed Kim should be. They’re a personification of self consciousness and intrusive anxiety riddled thoughts and yet they’re also one of Kim’s most useful skills, both in regards to reading others and not being read himself. They’re sort of a necessary evil in that sense.

Oh man. That was a ramble. And I didn’t even talk about every skill. Well, I’m all tuckered out now but thank you so much for the ask, anon! I kinda took it as an excuse to just talk for once so I hope that alright:-] 

I don’t know how many people (if any) will find this interesting so, to the people who got this far, I’ll tell you my swap!Kim’s 5 highest level skills as a token of my appreciation for reading:-) Number one is of course VOLTA DO MAR, followed by POISE, BLEEDING HEART, NOTEKEEPER, and then lastly COMMAND. Extra fun fact; EYES and OUTSIDER are always the exact same level and this makes them furious.

Anyways, thank you again for reading my fic and this long ass answer to an otherwise simple ask! I hope you have a great rest of your day:-]

[olderthannetfic]

Having more fandom friends around my age/mindset (context: late 30s, rare fandoms, reads some nsfw but not the type to post about it a lot in my main account) might be nice. I ignored the fandom part of myself a long time due to my RL friends being shitty about it (I dumped the worst of them) and I'm trying to enjoy it more.

But I keep leaving comments on fic and art and don't get any reply, let alone a conversation or follow. When I do get a response, the person stops posting fic in that fandom shortly afterwards. In an earlier more active fandom, I would send requests to people (clearly open for requests!) and 99% of the time I'd be ignored, or they'd draw the request at a level clearly before their usual stuff then delete it because they didn't like it (their words).

I'm not writing anything inappropriate or critical? I try to make my comments more interesting than 'i love this write more thx', maybe they get too confusing and off-putting to read? It certainly isn't because my ship is too weird because even non-shippers ship my current OTP lmao

I am trying to be realistic about it, maybe they aren't replying because they don't have the energy, or they have a life and they can't reply to the comment immediately and forget to, or they moved on, or they think I'm a tit which is totally fine?

The issue is it keeps happening, it's depressing, and the follows I do get are people in the same fandom who only like the parts I'm not invested in at all, have really tired takes and are significantly younger to the point I'm concerned about looking like a creep if I interact with them at 100% of my full power. It feels very much like I'm wishing on a monkey paw.

I have a very small number of friends I can talk to about fandom stuff I will cling onto with both hands. I just wish there were more. This is mainly me venting but if anyone has any suggestions feel free.

--

Hmm... Well, I share your suspicion that if you're the common factor, you're at least somewhat contributing to this situation. It may not be that you're offputting but that you inherently like things most other fans don't like—not just rare ships but also rarer tropes.

Or it may not be rarity exactly but prompt style: while tons of people love found family and slice of life, a lot of prompts for those are so generic and boring that they inspire exactly zero new plotbunnies. Meanwhile filthy kink is not for everyone but often has the seeds of a specific fic in a prompt, so if you do like it, those prompts are super inspiring.

A lot of people are pretty terrible at responding to comments. I'm extremely hit or miss on AO3 myself. I'll respond to a zillion things on tumblr before I remember to actually answer comments on AO3. Partly, it's that I get said comments in my email inbox, not on AO3 itself, so I read them and appreciate them but am not in the space where I'd respond right at that moment.

Sadly, people making one fanwork and moving on just comes with the territory when you're in rare fandoms. It's much easier to make friends who like to vid Asian dramas or who are learning a language for fandomy reasons or who are doing fandom historical preservation than friends who share your exact current taste in blorbos and who will continue to do so.

In my case, I love rare things, but I also love to move from fandom to fandom rapidly, and I find it really stressful to have friends who end up resenting that.

I tend to befriend fans whose overall vibe I find compatible more than people I share ships with: people who will probably be in fandom for life, people who are loud and proud about it, people who are interested in fandom history and pan-fandom meta. I also tend to be drawn to accounts that are not only horny on main but horny for kinky shit that draws haters. It does a wonderful job of weeding out the whiny children and finding me fans with a spine. Hilariously, one of my closest offline fandom friends with whom I share the most character opinions doesn't even like sex scenes. But that's not somebody I'd have gotten to know online.

It's going to vary for the people you're approaching, but that may be one reason they're not as enticed by the sight of another fan of their current rare fandom: they may have totally different types of criteria for fandom friends.

It's hard to know how much of the problem is you without examining your internet presence more, but I get why going "here's my account, plz critique" is not attractive. This ask seems fine. No particular writing style red flags jump out at me.

I've definitely known people who were dicks about my tumblr popularity and wanted to know why I didn't reblog them... but it turns out they interacted with me only once every six months so I don't remember them or their tumblr is entirely shitposts or their writing style is incoherent or they sound angry all the time.

One problem you may be running into is that findable fans in their 30s and 40s are self-selected for Fandom For Life types who already have a bunch of close fandom friends. They're likely doing a lot of socializing in private with people they've known for ages. I like to think of it as people with very full dance cards. They tend to be the most attractive because they're living happy, fulfilling lives, but that same quality makes them too busy. Meanwhile, people who are sad and alone and desperate for friends are often less visible and less compelling. If someone figured out how to connect with them, they'd be a great friend, but fewer people are trying.

It's not that every compatible late 30s fan is too busy for new friends. It's that the fans who are visible enough that you know they exist and know their approximate age are a very specific slice of overall fandom.

As fans age, some of their fandom friends leave fandom or die, so there can be periods where people are going "Shit, I need new friends!" later on, not just in college and such. But I'd say late 30s is a tough-ish period. A lot of people are busy with young kids and/or haven't lost their inner circles from younger years yet.

In general, a lot of my closer fandom friends aren't actually looking for new friends and haven't been in quite a while. Some don't even post publicly anymore. I'm something of an exception because I'm both extremely friendly and always on the lookout for minions to convince to go to Escapade con or take up the banner of fandom preservation yadda yadda. I have a vested interest in remaining open to new people.

Thoughts, everyone? Have you gone through friend-seeking and full dance card phases?

[okaystoptellingmetomakeanaccount]

Okay. K - Diari Del Klondike has got to be one of the goofiest, dumbest, most illogical series yet with only 2 episodes. Barbieri is all like: yeah I'm going to make these stories to be consistent with Rosa and fill up the parts that he didn't write. So you expect that he's going to think about continuity. Then this episode he introduced Glomgold in the Klondike. You serious? That's not only going against Rosa, that's going against BARKS! BARKS?! You don't contradict Barks, that's sin in the Duck comics world. Scrooge doesn't know who Glomgold is until when they meet in the first ever Barks story. Rosa went around this by making sure that Scrooge never learns Glomgold his name in LaToS Chapter 6 The terror of the transvaal. Gervasio went around this by just avoiding these characters to directly interact in the past. They don't meet aside from that one Rosa appearance, so he makes sure that they don't meet. Glomgold can take over Duckburg and fake his curriculum vitae all he wants, but he doesn't interact with Scrooge. Meanwhile Barbieri is all like:

Does he just not know or does he not care? 'I will be building upon Rosa' is a pretty big claim. But that's obviously not the case here so, like, huh, what, why,, i am confusw.

Then look at the random new 'lore' he creates that only rivals the bullshit Kari Korhonen pulled in the McDuck Diaries(funnily enough also a diary. It seems Scrooge has a lot of those together with the secret one that Donald finds). Korhonen had literally every single character be ancestor or family member of present day character. It was weird, but I don't mind it too much compared to what Barbieri did.

Cause for some reason we need Blackheart Beagle to also show up in the Klondike with a new name?????? Huh?? Where did that come from? Why? That's the goofiest thing ever.

Then we need to give Scrooge this treasure that he actually holds very dear even though we have never seen it before.

Then we need to give Scrooge a dog sidekick that he just has had through his Klondike period.

Then we establish that he was actually best friends with Goldie all the time even though she drugged him, he kidnapped her, she stole from him, they beat the shit out of each other, and Rosa shows that their relationship is very rocky and terrible which is what made their love story so good. But no now they're bffs. Sure.

And I don't get the whole diary thing either? What point does it serve? It only makes everything more annoying to read because it gets broken up by HDL talking. Is it just to fill up pages? Idk

Then Scrooge's glasses why does he need those why why why why why

You get the chance to write about the Klondike, arguably one of the most exciting things in the donald duck universe and you decide to write the lamest stories ever. It's not like Barbieri can't write cool shit.

Some of his Wizards of Mickey chapters are the only wizards of mickey stories ever that are in the inducks top 10000. If you somehow manage to write good wizards of mickey stories you're a goddamn wizard (pun not intended).

So why is K so incredibly dull? I don't get it. I only have questions it's so weirddd

Why does it have references to life and times even though it directly contradicts it? You don't have to adhere to the Rosa Canon but then why do you say that you do? I don't get it.

Why is Flintheart Glomgold just chilling with Soapy Slick? This feels like a fever dream. You were somehow allowed to do this, this is crazy, so why is the result so boring? How? How can Soapy slick and Flintheart Glomgold be boring? *insert Tumblr blabbering*

There's so much goofy stuff. Scrooge as hulpsinterklaas is canon.

Only the Dutch will understand that this is a big deal.

Why would panini want a new series taking place in the past? Why did they ask Barbieri to write this? Or was it his own initiative? Even then, why would Bertani give the green light? The Klondike is a holy part of the duckverse. Or can people just do this if they want to? I can't imagine that. Rosa and Korhonen couldn't just write about Scrooge's past. They needed to have a reason (the reason usually being demand from the publisher). But if panini wanted it, then why don't they promote it? They have only placed these stories in issues where the cover could be something else.

A big new part of Scrooge's past is revealed!! That will sell well! How do we let the people know? BY MAKING THIS

THE COVER OF COURSE! (tbf they probably wanted a last chance to use it before it fell in the public domain. A last time they show everyone lmao look we can use this and you can't)

It's just such a strange series. And all the random OC's that pop up as well, but those are the least weird thing.

Anyway what I said was mostly ranting because that's funny. If you want to see people actually discussing this weird thing then you should read the papersera thread (use Google translate if you don't speak Italian it works fine)

[kitkatopinions]

I think that people have the weird idea that other people's liking for villains or desire to see them redeemed comes exclusively from whether or not that villain committed bad actions. And it's like, yes, bad actions are considered as part of why I'll like or dislike villains or want them to be redeemed, but there's a lot more to it. Typically it looks something like this

For instance, Emerald grew up as a houseless orphan, that's a sympathetic and interesting backstory. Her motives are to try and please the abusive woman she has a misplaced attachment to, that's a sympathetic motivation. She's shown care towards Mercury. Her personality is so interesting. As a villain her possible dynamics with Team RWBY who she deceived - and specifically with Ruby who she interacted with the most - could be very interesting if she got redeemed. Her writing was consistently good for six seasons and only just started suffering from bad writing in the last season she was in. The voice acting has been consistently good. There's at least a strong fear element at play in some of her villainy, that's at least a bit of coercion. She was clearly unhappy in her villainy. She's not directly abusive past her regular every day fighting. My sis and I started writing for Emerald when we did a 'V6 rewrite' before volume seven came out and I love how we write for her. And the rwby writers rushing her redemption arc and not paying attention to her emotional state so far leads me to just want to write a good redemption for her. So her chart looks like

The fact that she killed Penny doesn't make her unredeemable to me. I don't feel obligated to hate her just because she did a very bad thing. If she didn't do bad things, she wouldn't be a villain at all. People getting angry because she's done bad things and 'gets to be redeemed,' is weird to me because like, I'm just sitting here thinking about how the problems with her supposed 'redemption arc' to me are things like the writers bypassing her attachment to Cinder and not giving enough time towards unpacking Emerald's emotional state, and not giving it a slow enough burn.

While meanwhile Cardin's list looks like this

Cardin has technically done less worse things than Emerald. But do I want him redeemed? Do I like him as a villain? No. In fact I like him less than almost every single other RWBY villain. He is so much more boring to me than Cinder or Salem, so despite not wanting Cinder or Salem to be redeemed, I would much rather see them redeemed than Cardin. He might technically have not committed as terrible of things as... Every RWBY villain, but also he's boring, badly voice acted, I'm uninterested in his dynamics, I feel like every other villain is more interesting and also the majority of them are more sympathetic, and pretty much the only way I think he should have been given more attention is as a cautionary tale about how racists shouldn't be given law enforcement badges.

"How could you like Ironwood and not Cinder?" Because even though 'wants to bomb a city' and 'wanted to destroy Vale' are very similar acts, the act itself doesn't matter as much as the writing, how the character was done, whether or not the character is sympathetic - Ironwood was on the hero side for like seven seasons, he's going to have more people who wanted him to stay a hero than 'villain from the start, badly voice acted, and increasingly badly written for' Cinder who only got a tragic backstory in volume eight that many people felt was also disjointed and badly done.

Like, yeah, Neo tormenting Ruby and killing Little makes her a lot harder to redeem in the show, but I don't like her less, especially because she's existed since V2 and I started writing for her when V6 was still coming out, and I think it's actually gross that the writers had the disabled woman get her body taken over and someone puppeteering her mouth to SPEAK and then had her commit suicide. I'm not just going to obligatorily require myself to stop liking her because people who kill mice characters I already found annoying no longer 'deserve redemption.'

Like yeah, Roman's a horrible little bitch tbh who tried to kill a fifteen year old and attacks people with a laugh, but at the same time he's such a fun, dynamic, interesting, and well written character that I love imagining him as a good guy. Why do I like him more than Cinder when Cinder has a more sympathetic backstory and has been around a lot longer? Because the writing for Cinder has sucked since volume four, she's horrible to her underlings, and her voice acting has always been awful, plus Roman's possible dynamics with the heroes are much more interesting to me than Cinder's connection only to Ruby and weirdly Jaune when even that hasn't been well explored, Roman was a less serious villain making the transition from villain to hero easier for him than it'd be for Cinder.

People actually measuring whether or not they feel like they're allowed to like villains based on whether or not they exceeded some ever-moving bar of 'evil-enough-to-be-a-villain-without-being-too-much-of-a-villain sounds exhausting and very unfun. Like watch people try to justify why people have to hate Adam but don't have to hate Hazel. Watch people try to justify why people have to hate Ironwood but don't have to hate Cinder. It's so silly lol. I can't imagine living like that. If I like a villainous character and they do something that takes it too far for my personal tastes, I number one understand that what I personally consider too far for a fictional villain isn't what other people consider too far and number two I just cut it out of my headcanons and keep enjoying the villain and writing redemption arcs into my fics anyway.

They are fictional villains, the fictional actions they do to other fictional people in their fictional stories oddly isn't my only concern lol.

[hanako-san]

Hello! If you don’t mind a little scenario can I ask imagine if aoi was the protagonist instead of Yashiro?

She summoned Hanako and her wish was something different like wanting to be his friend and throughout the arcs it was her instead of her “best friend”

As in she’d be Hanako’s assistant and be bound to him I’d to imagine it maybe I just dislike Yashiro too much but my strange self thinks aoi would be a better fit.

Hello! That's such a lovely question. I have the one you're talking about. I will be happy to share my idea.

-

Aoi summons Hanako and her wish was something else at the beginning. In my scenario, she decides to summon Hanako to kill her because she is fed up with everything. She can no longer stand the mockery of jealous girls and sleazy guys who try to hit on her. She changes her mind when she sees Amane and runs away.

Amane being summoned by Aoi asks her to tell her wish so that he can fulfill his duty. She replies "I didn't think you would come. My wish? I'm not sure what I want" and Aoi asks him if he can be by her side until she won't decide, having no choice, he agrees to it. They spend a lot of time together and a bond develops between them.

At one point, Aoi says that she wants him to be her friend, but she doesn't want to force everything, and Amane agrees because he likes spending time with her.

Kou appears and tells her everything he knows, that Hanako is a murderer, and she doesn't care and she also confesses her original wish that she had, but thanks to him, she wants to live and move on and she believes that he must have had a really important reason for his actions. to such an act because he doesn't think Hanako is evil and at that moment he says his real name. Amane blushes and his heart beats like crazy. She also says firmly that she will be by his side! ​

teru gets angry that Kou fails to break them up and takes matters into his own hands and tries to get rid of Hanako. Aoi stops him and also swallows the mermaid's scale because she will bond with Amane and Amane also swallows the scale and Teru has to let go and leave in anger. A mermaid appears and Amane protects and saves Aoi. In my version, they are equal and help each other and rely on each other.

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How do you like the short description? It may sound boring because it's an abbreviation. I didn't want their bound to be like the original one, forced and artificial for such a selfish and trivial reason

Anon I see you are like my old self. I also thought that I shouldn't hate yashiro, that it was strange that I hated her so much. But I understood that there was nothing wrong with it. She is a character like every other character from jshk Hanako, Tsukasa, Teru, even Kou, Akane etc are hated, so why wouldn't I hate her? Her character writing is really terrible and she is getting worse and yahshiro nene has the right to be hated! and she has the right to have haters. It's really time to say it. She is no exception to other characters - her age, personality traits and naivety do not exempt her from hatred and criticism. Her personality, her character as a whole, her actions and behavior are not to everyone's liking. There will be people like you and me who will hate and dislike her and that can't be changed. There's really nothing to regret about hating her. She really can't hide from negative assessment, hatred and criticism.

Not only you. I said many times in tags that Aoi would be a better main character. She has depth, her character is really well written and her interaction with Amane was exceptional because despite everything she stopped pretending to be tough and opened up with words and emotions and Aoi also knew Amane for a while and quickly knew who Amane loved and I'm sure they would get to know each other really well if they spent a lot more time together. It's really a pity that Aoi is not the main character. It's nice to see that I'm not the only one who has doubts about these 'best friends' between Aoi and yashiro.

Anon,please be my friend:)

[nerves-nebula]

Are you ever you ever insecure about your art? And could you explain you answer to that?

Venting to you now

Drawing has taken a lot of effort for me, more than usual recently. I started working on something I originally felt really passionate about. It's more common for me to very quickly give up or get bored so I was really excited to be able to post some artwork. But I ended up not liking the result and I'm not sure if I'm willing to try something else. I've given up on trying in a lot of parts of life to try and save energy to do something I thought I was passionate about (art) but I am still lacking the motivation. The reason I reason I really wanted to share it was because I'm terrible with self-motivation. If I can't make at least one person genuinely go 'oh, neat' even for just a second and even if they soon forgot later, I'd feel like I'd have a reason to keep living (to keep making art). If the only people who'd see it end up disappointed I'd want to disappear.

It's not what art should be. I know it's value is like a person's. It's worth more than how someone reacts to it, right? But I can't apply that rule to myself. I should seek support from the people who 'know' and actually care about me, but I don't want their appreciation. I want some imagery status of a 'good artist' because that's what seems to give me dopamine.

I also wanted to mention how much I admire how open you are with your struggles. I want to be the same but I'm scared of people thinking less of me. I know that's dumb but I don't know what I'm good for if I can't make people happy. If I'm not going to be content with myself I want to not be a nuisance at least. I like to think that if I stopped caring about my impression on people, I'd be better off. But I'm scared that I'd have to learn to like myself. I don't like myself and I have no interest in liking myself. I don't see the point.

oh boy, this is gonna be a long one. also, don't take anything i say too seriously, i don't know your situation and I'm barely an adult. anyway, response under the cut

soo lately I'm less insecure about my art and more frustrated when things don't come out well. but i still post that shit !!! I'm still insecure if i'm doing, say, a project for homework, and i don't think i did as well as I could have, but in my personal artistic endeavors it's more about getting it done than it being perfect (for example, my webcomic! my motto is any comic made is better than no comic made and if people don't like that then it wasn't for them in the first place)

the thing about me is that drawing and art and stories is all i've ever had. it's my main form of interacting with the world. these days i make art the same way I live, which is to say in spite of wanting to kill myself. I would LIKE if my art was perfect, and i would LIKE to not be in pain. but i AM in pain and i have to live anyway, and my art ISN'T perfect but i'll make it anyway.

and i like when other people's art isn't perfect either, when it isnt super polished. I think that definitely helped. seeing artists whose work i fell head over heels for when it's never been more than sketches and a bit of shading. it really cemented in my mind that it isn't art being technically perfect that makes it worth while.

i've gotten a lot of people saying kind things to me, saying how much they enjoy my art and my blog in general. and though it doesn't always help, it sometimes inspires me to imagine the number of people who appreciate my stuff who might never mention it to me. I myself am used to lurking and not interacting very much (a habit I'm trying to change since I know artists & creators love feedback most of the time) i know it sucks to not know if anyone gives a shit for sure, but you really can't make that your only reason for doing art, cuz half the time you prolly wont even know if your art deeply affects people or not. it's fine to want that attention but you gotta have something else goin on too, at least I do.

i also know the fear of worrying that you'll lock yourself into something you don't want to do, or something you'll lose passion for. for me, I generally rotate a cast of characters & interests around for years a time before making significant progress. There were spans of times where I'd go years without thinking about loose stitches, but none of that time developing other stories & characters was wasted. it gave loose stitches enough time to properly cook, and the story is still developing under my hands as i draw it, influenced by my other stories and other characters.

it's ok to abandon something and pick it up again years later, or to never pick it up again at all. it's ok to hate the way something turns out but to keep making it anyway because you have to move forward (at least, I do)

moving forward despite not liking the original product is the only way to progress, I think. I don't super like a lot of the first pages of loose stitches but I'm still grateful that past-me posted them because that means present me is at page 76 !!

If I can't make at least one person genuinely go 'oh, neat' even for just a second and even if they soon forgot later, I'd feel like I'd have a reason to keep living (to keep making art). If the only people who'd see it end up disappointed I'd want to disappear.

the problem with this mindset (in my opinion) is that some people aren't going to like your art and that's got nothing to do with the art itself. if you want to find people who go "oh, neat" then you have to keep posting until they see it. trust me, they're out there. like, i don't post for people who can't stand the idea of child abuse, i post to FIND people who want to interact with stories about child abuse the same way i do.

it would be insane to stop trying to find those people because someone else was disappointed or upset by my art. which isn't to say you gotta lock yourself into doing one thing, but that you gotta post what you care about, and people who also care will find it. posting fandom stuff with the same themes as your original art certainly doesn't hurt either, if you REALLY want to find those people faster.

It's not what art should be. I know it's value is like a person's. It's worth more than how someone reacts to it, right? But I can't apply that rule to myself. I should seek support from the people who 'know' and actually care about me, but I don't want their appreciation. I want some imagery status of a 'good artist' because that's what seems to give me dopamine.

art should be literally whatever. it's worth is literally whatever you want, it can be a big deal or not. i'm not sure what part of being a "good artist" gives your brain the Good Feelings juice but I'd investigate that feeling more and try to figure out the roots of it, cuz then you might actually be able to figure out what it is that motivates you. approval is nice, yes, but i like approval for things i enjoyed making even more.

I also wanted to mention how much I admire how open you are with your struggles. I want to be the same but I'm scared of people thinking less of me. I know that's dumb but I don't know what I'm good for if I can't make people happy. If I'm not going to be content with myself I want to not be a nuisance at least. I like to think that if I stopped caring about my impression on people, I'd be better off. But I'm scared that I'd have to learn to like myself. I don't like myself and I have no interest in liking myself. I don't see the point.

i always find it amusing when people refer to my "struggles" if only because I don't really consider them that way. to me it's just like, a thing that happened that sucks. i don't consider myself "struggling" with it, even though I guess that's what's happening. also, let's be real here, it's not like I'm using my real name. this is an anonymous tumblr blog. though, my openess on here has actually lead to me making more art about it IRL so. eh.

anyway, lucky for you, you can stop caring about what other people think without necessarily liking yourself! for me, it's about spite (sort of). I don't like myself much more than I used to, I just decided I hated everyone else more haha. I still care what people think about me, and I'm still scared of what people might do to me, but I'm also not bending over backwards to please people i dislike. I just get annoyed at them instead.

i did this basically just by repeating it until it became true, lol. there's only so many times you can petulantly say "well fuck those guys anyway they suck" before it becomes your true first reaction.

at some point, i decided i needed to pick and choose who i wanted to please, because it can't be everyone. that's just literally not possible. so i looked at the kinds of people i liked and appreciated, and basically disregarded everyone else. it's the whole "don't take criticism from someone you wouldn't take advice from" thing (not sure where that comes from)

obviously you should probably try to internalize the idea that you even HAVE to be "good for something" but that's way easier said than done. i find it more useful to devote yourself to finding a few things (causes, people, philosophies, niche interests) instead of just general usefulness. because then you can form stronger relationships, be useful, AND not burn yourself out trying to please everyone.

take all this advice with a grain of salt though, I definitely need therapy and this Bitter Angry Defensive persona will probably need to be deconstructed soon... idk. i think it's outlived its usefulness to me but i'm not sure what to do next hahah.

sorry if none of this was helpful or the point. im not even sure why i wrote this much, i kind of just ramble sometimes. i hope you figure it out!

[helix-enterprises117]

Top 5 Favorite Depictions of Master Chief

It seems odd that I made this a list since there aren't very many takes John that exist; at least not in the same way various takes on Batman exist. But here we go.

1.) Paramount's Master Chief portrayed by Pablo Schreiber. - People tend to forget that Master Chief's characterization is very minimal, so one can more or less expand on the character in any way they'd like and it wouldn't necessarily be out of character so long as they adhere to his core traits: He's a cool badass who shoots aleins and doesn't afraid of anything. While I do appreciate that season 2 made John a more reserved, almost big brotherly, if kinda strict, guy who just wants to help humanity and everyone is just getting in his way (moreso like the games); season 1 John was more interesting to me because he was more emotive, expressive and open as a person (not THAT open, he still had his own secrets). For me, the departure from the source-material is exactly WHY I love the show and this take on my favorite video-game character. In fact, Show!John (particularly 'season 1 John') is my main influence on my own take on the character in my AU. Besides, let's be a bit honest with ourselves here, Game!John would make a terrible TV protagonist. (I also really like the 'Chosen One' stuff with the Forerunner relics, it gives John a greater sense of importance in the grander story and it makes his connections to the Halo stronger; it's yet another element I took for my version of Chief).

2.) Nylund's Chief. - Halo: The Fall Of Reach and Halo: First Strike are among the first books published during the franchise's infancy. Eric Nylund's take on the character is basically just Game!John, but fleshed out enough for me to want to care about him in a context that's not in a video-game. He's a driven and ambitious übermensch (in the "transcends basic human limitations" variety) who is at his happiest when given an order and will do anything to win, but cares deeply for his fellow Spartans and the men and women under his command; I also like the added detail of him being a former schoolyard-bully who matured and learned to be LESS of a douchebag. Nylund's take on John allows me to look at Game!John and think: "Yeah, I can understand why he's like this!"

3.) Halo 4/5 Chief. - This is the most vulnerable we've ever seen John in any context and it was 343's first real attempt that cracking open Chief's shell to see the man underneath. Emotional-vulnerability aside, I really like how proactive Chief is in these two games; he's more involved in the plot and actually makes strategic plans throughout the course of both games (well, if not 5, at least 4). It puts emphasis on John's leadership skills and makes him more active in the stories he's in; not to knock against Bungie, but their Chief struck me more as a follower than a leader, and while Bungie!Chief gave his own advice from time-to-time, he didn't feel as involved as he should've been even if it was Bungie's intention to make him a slient-protagonist.

4.) Legends Chief. - I like that this is one of the few times, up until Halo 5, where we see John interacting with his fellow Spartans. With Spartan-1337 and Daisy-023 as characters, we get to see two sides of John: His deadpan straight-man aspect and his softer side. If you've seen Halo Legends, you'll probably know where I'm getting at. In "The Package," we also see John's strong coordination with Blue-Team and the others, and I really like that.

5.) Forward Unto Dawn Chief. - Sort of the least interesting version of Master Chief on this list. I only really put him on here because he's a surprisingly really good attempt at translating Game!John into a live-action setting, but there's a reason why we see this Chief for a short period of time: This would get boring after a while.

@ionlymadethissoicouldleaveanask, @makowrites, @mrtobenamedlater, @authortobenamedlater, @biomecharnotaurus, @killer-orca-cosplay.

[wyldblunt]

For your whispers characters: best at going undercover, and who gets the most in character when under cover.

@commanderfloppy

YEYEASSSSS

donner - he's a natural. he's good at blending in, mirroring, and putting people at ease, has a quick wit and can always think on his feet, and only merrit and glyndwr are better than him at actual stealth (either magical or physical). the only problem is he gets cocky, and ends up getting distracted/fucking around/taking unnecessary risks pretty frequently. and he DOES love getting in character, it's fun for him.

merrit - okay i KNOWWWW i spend a lot of time making fun of him for how bad his undercover assignment in astorea went but in his defense he fell in love. if he is not literally in love with one of the people he's supposed to be undercover around he's actually really effective. better at going totally unnoticed than blending in, but takes none of the dumb risks that donner does, and is usually wayyyy better at actually staying focused on the mission than anyone else in the squad. merrit gets an extra paragraph here re: getting in character, tho... because in path of fire, HE'S the one who does the whole "pretending to be archon iberu" thing, and he. uh. gets way, WAY too into it.... because 1. he's high off the excitement of glyndwr trusting him with an operation this elaborate and important, and 2. after years of surviving under nightmare court office politics, all this bullshit passive aggressive "per my last email" shit is stuff he's INTIMATELY familiar with, and he gets a little too stoked about FINALLY being able to do it to other people. he was practically trembling with glee when he got to whip out that "your name WILL come up" shit, because he's been on the receiving end of that kind of evil corporate intimidation a billion times. and now it's HIS TURN. NOW IT'S MERRIT'S TURN TO THREATEN YOU AT WORK AS A WEIRD POWER PLAY. HOW DO *YOU* LIKE IT, HUH? I'M THE NIGHTMARE COUNTESS NOW! ME! ME!!!!!!! ...anyway, it leads to this interaction:

3. damage - honestly really good, especially at getting people to like her (and therefore getting away with shit or talking her way out of a corner), and she takes it more seriously than you would expect -- much like donner, she's disrespectful and insubordinate when she's off the clock, but once it's go time she really focuses in. the problem is her short term memory sucks ass, so especially in extended undercover missions where you have to keep track of a cover story/stay consistent in a bunch of interconnected lies, she's really likely to accidentally blow her cover by saying the wrong thing. will get into character if the role is fun, but if it's something boring she has a hard time keeping it up. 4. daimhin - they try REALLY HARD but it just doesn't come naturally to them. they overthink things, get nervous, and freak out. dav's real strength is in more straightforward field missions where they can flex some heavy arcana, not in anything that involves social skills -- at most, they're good for covering damage's aforementioned slipups by hitting everyone in the room with a quick rewind. but in general.... when it comes to undercover missions, daimhin is not invited. also, TERRIBLE at getting in character. 5. glyndwr - surprise! he sucks!!!! like merrit, his strengths lie in pure infiltration (not being noticed at all) vs actual undercover work (convincing people you're someone you're not), but merrit at least CAN do the latter. glyn is no good at it, he already hates performing any kind of social posturing at all -- and now that he's one of The Commanders, the idea of him going undercover without heavy disguises/mesmering is pretty bleak to begin with. he just can't inhabit the role of anyone else... he's Glyndwr, and you are going to end up able to tell.