#I'm not sure all of these are unpopular opinions but some of them definitely are

[archduchessgortash]

Unpopular Opinion

An 'evil power couple ruling Toril together' ending for Durge and Gortash is a horrible idea, and I'm glad that it doesn't happen in Baldur's Gate 3. If it ever did, it would not be a happy ending for either of them.

If that's your kink... cool. It's such a popular ask in the fandom that I'm sure someone already wrote it months and months ago.

My kink is redemption, but hardly anyone seems to want that for Gortash, and it makes me sad. I really think it should have been an option.

Here's why I don't want Durge and Gortash ruling Toril:

Durge and Gortash have both been abused, manipulated, and treated like complete shit by their families, their caregivers, and their gods. Bane's treatment of Gortash isn't exactly clear except that he tortures his soul for failure even though Gortash did everything he possibly could to succeed in the Absolute plot. By the time we meet him in-game, Gortash has become as bad, if not worse, than his abusers. Pre-tadpole Durge was a piece of work, too, although Sceleritas does mention that they struggled to stay the course that Bhaal had set them upon even before their lobotomy.

We know that one of the themes in Baldur's Gate 3 revolves around cycles of abuse. Even when the victim-turned-abuser isn't arguably 'as bad' as the one who hurt them, if they choose the same sort of path, they lose everything they were ever really fighting for: themselves.

I know Ascended Astarion stans will stomp their feet and say he hasn't become Cazador 2.0. To them, I say: 'You're right. He hasn't... yet.' However, he has eternity now and a delusional slave of his very own to bring out the worst in him. There's a reason that spawn Astarion mentions how he felt everything he'd learned since meeting his new friend/partner slipping away when he thanks them for stopping his ascension. Because that is what ascension does to him. Astarion loses. Cazador wins. Even dead, he has won. That the fandom doesn't get that boggles my mind.

Some fans like the idea of evil Durge and Gortash taking out Bhaal and Bane, becoming gods themselves. In my opinion, this is so much worse. Killing or torturing their abusers as revenge isn't 'finally showing them' or proving their strength. It is, in fact, a mirror of their abuser's own weakness manifested in their victim. Gortash has already crossed this line. Dravo Flymm is effectively dead, animated only by his tadpole. This is another reason I wish Karlach had the option to forgive Gortash--not for him--but for her.

Gortash intellectualized his own abuse so hard that he actually thinks he was helping Karlach by giving her to Zariel. He has not truly dealt with anything that was done to him. He projects it onto the people around him and makes his own problems into everyone else's. I believe this is why there's no ending in which he survives. That, and running out of time and money to do him and Wyll justice with their storylines.

I don't like Durge and Gortash becoming worse together. A history of abuse does not excuse its continuation. I don't want to watch them be overtaken by their own weakness, to weep as I gaze upon the manifestation of their inescapable cowardice.

I want to see them win, but my definition of winning is not ruling. My definition of winning is choosing to no longer emulate their abusers, to become what tiny glimpses into their back stories show us they once had the potential to be.

The idea of Durge and Gortash enslaving the world and ruling it brings to mind a line from one of my all-time favorite songs: Veteran of the Psychic Wars by Blue Öyster Cult.

'Did I hear you say that THIS is victory?!'

Well... it is. Just not theirs.

Repeating the cycle of abuse is nothing short of ensuring the legacy of the abuser.

Like I said... I want Durge and Gortash to win.

[antianakin]

hey, just wanted to say that i appreciate you creating this space to discuss more uh....unpopular takes on star wars. obviously fandom is a hobby and i don't want to ruin anyone's fun! but i also want a space to push back against fanon interpretations without treading on anyone's toes, you know?

like the whole obi-wan catholic guilt trope, jedi repression trope at large...i'm being dramatic but as an asian person, sometimes it sucks that this is such a prevalent idea about a heroic group that was influenced by buddhism and is very asian-coded. i'm not wording this well but just like how stories about european knights often reflect *the very best* of western values like chivalry, honor, gentility, i could really see a lot of the best of asian culture (a huge over-simplification) in the jedi.

but all that being reduced to "oh actually it's totally catholic guilt" or a inadvertently a regurgitation of prevalent asian stereotypes (the jedi as a group suppress individuality, they don't express emotions, they are too harsh, too unforgiving, lack compassion) is...frustrating to see, even though it's everyone's right to interpret & relate to things as they see fit.

especially when focused on obi-wan! even if we assume that obi-wan is repressed, secretly attached to an unhealthy degree but hiding it, or whatnot - the man quite literally airs the dirty laundry in front of mace and yoda, perhaps the "highest" members of the jedi. he says that he thinks anakin is arrogant, isn't listening to him. i dunno but a repressed person who hates confrontation and vulnerability probably wouldn't do that. he should've gone "haha nope anakin and i are totally fine masters, totally fine" instead of looking for advice & airing out his frustrations.

people getting angry at obi-wan for putting the jedi order over anakin is still annoying, but at least accurate. like yes! obi-wan does put the good of his culture and the galaxy at large over his old padawan! good for him!

but honestly all popular fanon obi-wan tropes go round on a roulette wheel waiting for me to pick one to be petty about lmao.

I definitely get what you mean about wanting a space to push back on common fanon interpretations without stepping on anyone's toes. That's obviously exactly why I made this blog in the first place. It's why I named the blog "antianakin" at all, it's supposed to be a giant neon warning sign to people that I'm not going to feel ashamed of some of my more negative opinions. It's why I use anti and critical tags as much as possible, and don't use the more general tags most of the time (aside from just... "star wars"). This is my space to put my feelings out there, positive AND negative, and I work really hard to make sure I'm not invading spaces that are meant for being positive.

I also often don't reblog people's posts that I completely disagree with JUST to talk about why I don't like their take. I won't invade someone's Jedi critical post in order to tell them that they're wrong about Star Wars. People have tried to tag me into posts like that, but I'm not interested in doing that kind of thing. If I DO want to say something about what I've seen, I make my own post about the issue.

It's interesting that you mention that stories about European knights often reflect what's viewed as the best of Western values, because so often when I see people talk about what would make the Jedi BETTER (or Legends versions of the Jedi that they think were done better), it's usually pretty clear that the Jedi are being turned INTO your more typical European knight to reflect those exact values. They're often wandering on their own, doing what they personally believe to be right whenever and wherever they want, defending the helpless wherever they find them by just riding in on a white horse and slaying an enemy or a monster. And of course some of those values they uphold are about what love and relationships should look like, too, so they all end up in committed monogamous relationships (even if it's with more than one person, it's still usually monogamous). This is one of the reasons I started getting frustrated with the High Republic novels by the third one because it started having that vibe that the "good" Jedi who stuck to more "traditional" ways of doing things and "traditional" values were so much more like your typical European knight, while the Jedi character doing something more modern and more political was losing his way and struggling with a desire for things he was repressing.

It's a feeling we've seen come up time and time again and it keeps getting tossed out in more recent shows, too, the idea that the Jedi "lost their way" from what they should've been, that they once used to represent something worthwhile and losing those traditional values is what caused their destruction and the only way to keep it from happening again is to go back to that. It's not hard to see where that storyline feels compelling, obviously, but it IS sad to see the values that the Jedi DO have in the Prequels in particular getting tossed aside as unworthy and to see their defeat being rewritten as THEIR failure instead of everyone else's.

I've had people tell me that this story feels like it has more nuance to it than the Jedi simply being the heroic victims and the Sith being pure villains. And I get why people think that, I just think that there's a lot of nuance they're MISSING in the story being told, and that that nuance exists EVEN WITH the Jedi still being the heroic victims and the Sith being clear villains. I am more than happy to help critique some of the WAYS that that story got told in the Prequels, the issues in the structure of the Prequels and how it maybe muddied some of the messages that the story was trying to get across, but I also think that that critique is SEPARATE from my feelings on the intended narrative itself. I don't think that the narrative itself is bad or lacking in nuance simply because it may not have been told perfectly. And, personally, I think that some of the more "nuanced" Jedi critical takes often seem INCREDIBLY simplistic themselves.

As for Obi-Wan, fandom will do what fandom does to its darlings. I've certainly done my fair share of simplifying my faves down to shadows of themselves because I happened to enjoy the shadow sometimes in its own right. But I do think that there's plenty of evidence to contradict a lot of people's more popular interpretation of Obi-Wan as a repressed, damaged, traumatized waif. I don't mind a LITTLE of that sometimes, usually when I read fics set in the early years of his apprenticeship with Qui-Gon following some of the events of Jedi Apprentice, but it comes with the context that Obi-Wan is still VERY YOUNG at the time and is dealing with some fairly specific things that have just happened to him and is still learning how to do that in a healthy way.

By the time you hit The Phantom Menace and ESPECIALLY the Clone Wars, Obi-Wan should no longer be a repressed, traumatized waif of a person. That's when it stops being believable to me because the character we see on screen in that time period never fits that description. Like you said, he's ACTIVELY confrontational to his superiors. He does do it with Mace and Yoda (and he does it in ROTS as well as in AOTC) and he does it with Qui-Gon during his apprenticeship, too.

The one other time I was willing to accept some of this characterization was in the Kenobi show where we do see him being more repressed and traumatized and less willing to stand up for himself when faced with confrontation with people like Owen. But one of the reasons this worked for me is because, much like with those JA fics, it comes with a VERY SPECIFIC CONTEXT, and it's done with the intentional purpose of giving Obi-Wan somewhere to develop. He also doesn't stay particularly submissive or waif-like for long, we see him gain back a LOT of his willingness to stand up for himself and confront people by the second episode. The message wasn't that Obi-Wan had ALWAYS been damaged and traumatized or that he was always "meant" for sadness or whatever, but that he had the capacity to find happiness IF HE CHOOSES TO ACT LIKE THE JEDI HE ONE WAS. The only reason he's struggling is because he ISN'T acting like a Jedi anymore. He's not finally figuring out how to handle his traumas, he's GOING BACK to being the person who can handle his traumas.

Anyway, yeah, I feel you, I have definitely experienced the roulette wheel of petty frustration at fandom interpretations of Obi-Wan lol. I can barely handle the "he drops his lightsaber all the time" joke because I feel like it often makes him come across as childishly incompetent.

[sakuraryomen01]

I'm horny so I'm writing about my thoughts.

warnings: nsfw, fem reader, mdni, blowjobs, sex in different positions, some size kinks, nipple play, possible breeding, man handling if u squint

words: idk I didn't count but it's a lot

ft:: yuji, kuroo, bokuto, and sukuna

Yuji Itadori🐅

He's been brain rotting for a while and it's annoying how much I think about him, but I love him too much to make him move out.

I love thinking about how heavy his cock must get when he's hard, and ready to come. It'd probably tilt with a thick vein pulsing along the underside so it makes him × 10 more sensitive when you suck him off. He's probably not super long like kuroo would be, but he'd definitely be on the thicker side.

I wouldn't be surprised if he turned out to be ashamed about being average, but I'm drooling over that stretch baby boy dw 🤤💞

He'd definitely taste.. interesting. I don't see him tasting super sweet like gojo or something, I see him tasting like a savory meal if that makes any sense?

Something like a meal you'd never want to forget or finish early. If yk what I mean, ty. 🙏

He'd definitely try and be gentle during sex and hand/blowjobs. Yuji knows he's a strong boy so being careful of his grip and thrusts is something he has anxiety about often. When he's close though, he'll be in cloud nine and forget what he's doing.

Bucking his hips while his thighs tense and practically vibrate as his climax nears. Praising him is such a great way to tell him "I'm okay" even though his cum's covering your face and lips.

Different positions he loves: doggy, reverse cowgirl, and missionary

While Yuji does think that your sex life needs lots of spice, he's really willing to do whatever it takes to make you cum! He loves the simple things, but watching you masturbate in front of him gets him drooling and hard.

Kuroo Tetsuro🐈‍⬛

He definitely makes me want to scream daddy at the top of my lungs but then want to cuddle him and kiss his forehead for hours while reading my favorite book or watching a horror movie.

Daddy? I'm sorry. Daddy? I'm sorry.

I get the vibe from kuroo that he lives to eat pussy to relieve his own stress.

Work getting too much? Eat pussy. Staying up too late fucking? Eat pussy + the cream pie. He'd like a girl that'd know how to edge and tease him, even though he'd flat out deny this.

He'd feel hot and heavy over constant teasing remarks or suggestive compliments. Offering a massage during a game would also make him want to kiss you and cuddle you for hours.

Kuroo loves spice.

He'll bring in some kind of toy like a vibrator or ask to fuck on the couch instead of in the bedroom.

(I wouldn't doubt he'd try role-playing.)

Kuroo's just above average with a slimmer cock, but it's big no matter how you put it. He's probably not a sweets guy, but I'd end up making him something like strawberries to make him taste like candy.

Kuroo himself probably tastes like bokuto and yuji since all of them are incredibly athletic and active in their daily lives. He's not ashamed of himself either and probably grooms regularly to keep it "presentable."

Positions and places he adores: the hook, standing doggy, anything that involves a counter

He'd probably try doing role plays that involve his job or his past. Like, volleyball coach fucks captain or something. He's a wildcard tho so I can't say for sure 😃

Bokuto Kōtaru🦉

A owl man that's energy is so contagious and sexy I'd like to eat his ass like a fucking meal— he's the obsession, he's the moment, he's a himbo sweetheart.

Bokuto doesn't hate his ass or his massive man tits, but he doesn't like that they steal the show. We all know that his ass was stolen from a bakery and that those thighs are illegal.

This might, or might not, be an unpopular opinion BUT I would eat his ass any day. I love this man's body sm it's like a plus with his sweet and energetic personality.

He'd be so touchie when it comes to sex, and he probably has a cute nickname for it tbh. He knows that his thighs are a weakness so he'll use them to slick up your pussy and panties while he's busy playing with ur tits and neck.

"feel good baby? Like my tongue?"

Verbal, loud, fast, and rough.

Bokutos strength shines through when the bed's creaking, your ass is jiggling beautifully on his pelvis, and your screams are nothing short of gorgeous. Bokuto loves to use your tits and hips as his personal love handles.

Massive calloused palms that are rough to the touch but feel amazing rubbing and flicking at your nipples.

His moans r loud but so hot. He'll also chuckle in a low tone if you cum more than once around his cock in the first round. (I would, I have.)

Positions? Yes: doggy, missionary, against the wall, in his lap, mating press

His cock is a proud 8 with a thickness that makes u think he stole a muffin or two to feed it. Damn does that stretch hurt but it sounds really good in your pussy!!!

Sukuna Ryomen😈

A devil in life, a devil in the sheets. He'll break your back and break you in one sitting but torture you with his many tongues. It's funny to think about Sukuna being disappointed when he first reincarnates since he doesn't have those swoll coc—

Sukuna is so wild during sex it's like a ride of its own. I'm basing this more on how he is in the manga and anime rather than a romantic version. So, let's begin shall we? ^^

Lord Ryomen does love a little challenge even though it thoroughly annoys him. Having a woman that's fully submissive for him and only him but will get on his nerves regularly makes him want to make sure you know your place over and over.

What better way than to fuck you with his monster cock(s)?

The Vessel version of him is definitely rougher than the true form. True form is bigger, but has a little patience in my opinion. Vessel version has none and since he only has one, he'll make another just to punish you.

My own personal favorite part of Sukuna isn't the tattoos, surprise surprise! I love them fucking biceps and that face. Both true form and vessel.

Tracing my fingers along them as a past time yes, but I'll be holding onto those arms for dear life while burning his face into my brain. Seeing how his eyes will shine while forcing my pussy to accommodate him.

Positions or mild suggestions?: Anything that allows him to fuck your pussy(and asshole let's be honest), does enjoy a show so maybe cowgirl, cuddle fucking when he's lazy or tired

His cock(s) have a powerful taste seeing as he's a cursed spirit rather than a normal human. I doubt he'll taste any better than what it normally tastes like, but I'd still suck it like my life depends on it 😭

Sukuna doesn't have an official size in his vessel for seeing as he can just change it to what he wants. But in true form, he is definitely over 8 inches and thicker than anything.

Take a Coke 2 liter bottle and imagine Sukuna's cocks. That's probably about accurate.

Loved writing for my favorite boys, and I honestly loved imagining them. I'm tagging some ppl I think would enjoy this, but if you want to be removed for any reason pls lmk!!❤️

Tags: @yuujispinkhair, @xxnghtclls

[nerdy-talks]

Obey Me! Nightbringer Lesson 35

It might be a very unpopular opinion, perhaps I will be entirely alone on this, but...

Is anyone else not into this?

I consider Lucifer extremely old fashioned, which certainly isn't a bad thing. So I feel like this gesture came from a very thoughtful, sweet, even innocent place.

But I'm the type of person who likes to wear what I wanna wear. I definitely wouldn't want someone else choosing my outfit for me.

Despite that... I chose the blue outfit xD

You're damn right there is.

Choosing my outfit and my meal?

Lucifer, my dear... you're crossing into unfriendly territory ( • ＿・)

Mainly because I'm a picky eater, but I also like to make my own decisions lol

Not gonna lie though, the power struggle is a turn on~

I wasn't sure which choice I wanted to go with, so I tried them all.

The first choice resulted in Lucifer basically dismissing us/brushing off our comment.

The second choice earned a pretty snarky/lowkey hostile comment from Lucifer.

In the end, I chose the third option.

That's a very bold claim you're making there, Lucifer. Try not to be too overconfident~

Ugh, there it is... "In fact, I know you far better than you know yourself."

Realistically speaking, if anyone ever said that to me, I would instinctively respond with an annoyed "fuck you."

But that's not an option here. And I can agree that staying in the Devildom would be the best choice, since I would be happiest in the Devildom.

Only problem is that we have to return to the "present", a detail that Lucifer is still unaware of.

Still.... Claiming to know us better than we know ourselves... for some reason, that statement makes my skin crawl.

It feels soooooooo manipulative to me. And declaring it as "fact" makes it even worse.

And yet... there's something about manipulative Lucifer that I really like~ (≖⌣≖)

I know, I'm fucked up and have equally fucked up kinks lol

Then we reach this part :

You supposedly know me better than anyone else, myself included, yet you laugh when I say that I feel depressed?!

He really is a sadist... (˶ •̀⤙•́ ˶ )

As someone who actually does have depression, this would have likely pissed me off while also making me feel super sad/gloomy lol

Though I know Lucifer probably didn't mean it in a bad or negative way. I think he's just enjoying the challenge that comes with our stubbornness. It may seem like I'm making excuses for him, which I absolutely am. And that's because I love this sadistic old man, so it's all good xD

[gumikon]

Unpopular opinion: I strongly dislike the ending (Spoilers)

It seems that in the fandom a lot of people is happy or satisfied with the ending but it's not my case. I'll try to express my opinion as best as I can. But first, let me get this straight. I absolutely love the anime. It's just that the ending didn't sit right for me. For the next reasons:

I didn't like how Mytho and Rue ended up together. Allow me to elaborate: Mytho wasn't in love with her. I didn't feel or saw any moment within the anime were he expressed feelings for her. I just saw a girl heavily traumatized and in need of love of some kind who was obssesed with Mytho because she didn't feel she could be loved by anyone else.

I don't deny she loves him in a certain way. But I don't think them ending up together was a wise choice. Her love was so unhealthy and abusive towards Mytho, that it didn't make sense for me he fell in love with her. I saw people say that Mytho kinda has this Hero Complex when he wants to save everyone and takes pity on weak and fragile creatures and it definitely seems that way when he makes Rue his princess. Not because he has feelings for her, but because "Poor thing, she loves me so bad and has suffered so much :("

Rue marrying Mytho feels kinda like a "reward" for her suffering and obssesion

Rue needs friends, independence, heal from her past and the abuse, maybe come back to studying ballet, try to find her parents. Not marrying the prince whom she was always obssesed. That won't solve anything for her. I empathise with her because I also was a survivor of psychological abuse and that shit is tough. Don't get me wrong, I love Rue as a character and she deserves to be happy.

But It gives vibes of "Character who was obssesive with A-character and was abusive towards them, but look! She has an awful past and her life was a mess, so A-character will marry her just because he took pity of her" Mytho was Rue reward for her suffering and obssesion, so she can now magically be happy. I know people will disagree with me, and that's fine, but this is my honest opinion on this matter.

Fakir and Ahiru loved Mytho like no one else did

Okay, this point is my point of view as a shipper but I also think It's important. Throughout all the anime it was crystal clear for me that Fakir had feelings for Mytho, besides their Prince/Knight dinamic. Yeah he was overprotective and not very healthy over Mytho but for a good reason actually. He wanted him to be safe. And my darling Ahiru was the most selfless person ever, and they both were in love with him. I'm 100% sure. So even though I never thought my OT3 would be canon, for me they are.

There's a lot of the 'But Mytho and Ahiru love was platonic/idealized' my brother in christ, Ahiru did EVERYTHING she could and more for Mytho. That's love. Same for Fakir.

[the-bird-and-the-flute]

My experience reading william's so far

I'm at chapter 12 btw. Also, if you didn't read liam and harrison pls don't read this. Also, this may be an unpopular opinion about kate

yall, seriously. wiliam's route is sth else hahaha

So far, his MC to me is so so. I was not expecting her to fall in love so easily, which frustrated me. I thought it was going to be a slow burn like liam's but apparently that was not the case ('I'm reading chapter 12).

idk if kate is always like that in other routes (I'll definitely try to read all of the boys cuz they are all so batshit crazy and I love that) but she is way more gullible than I expected. Girl, you just don't trust a bunch of villains like that. They are not ordinary guys. Wake up!

I know it's not as if we could control who we'll love, but she deadass fell in love with harrison and william so fast imo. Particularly, I didn't like that.

In harrison's, I think she fell in love because he is so nice and polite. He seems the most normal guy of all of the boys. Just like lots of you mentioned when they released the EN server.

And in william's, it looks like that good girl falling in love with the bad guy, that one your parents always tell you to never get close to. Also, she could have fell in love with william because he was the one who taught her how to express herself and show her true colors.

It gives me the impression that kate sees william's as some sort of savior or deity. No matter what he does, she will trust and follow him. Not a fan of that tbh. And I'm saying that as a william lover.

But, at the same time, I like the fact she is not trying to erase her personality like other MCs in otome/josei just to please others. I'm pretty sure she will do something crazy in the next chapters, so I'm looking forward to it.

Also, I loved that in chapter 11 or 12, she realized she wanted william to kill avatus (is that his name? ahaha). Thank god a MC that is not that prude girl who accidentally is caught up in the middle of a bloodbath and tries to convince the suitor not to kill someone because killing is bad.

And william is so vicious. And that's exactly what I love him lol I highly recommend you read his route if you want to know who he really is. Just playing the events is not enough.

I noticed playing the events and his bday story that he loves freedom. But it never occurred to me that that was not only because he valued free will, but because it is some sort of kink of his.

While reading his route I have this impression that he is also being selfish doing that. And he is aware of that. After all, he is a villain. So, in the end, he also gains from their freedom.

And he not only applauds people when they do what they want but he is also considering letting people use him as they please in this process.

How many other women did he have sex with just to please them? And that reminds me of liam's route. Because liam and willliam to me look the same when it comes to that. I remember when liam implied he fucked a woman just because she wanted to.

I was shocked they had sex so soon on his route ahahha. I liked that kate was honest saying she wanted to have sex with him. I wonder if it's canon she is a virgin. She doesn't seem to be experienced at all.

But, at the same time, I have this bittersweet feeling that she is going too fast to experience everything she didn't try before without thinking about the consequences. I know in the end she will get what she wants, as she is the MC, but this could have ended up on a REALLY bad note for her because william is not in love with her. And if they say later on that he was in love with her since the beginning, I don't know if I'll buy that tbh. Let's see if I'll change my mind.

Did you imagine if the bad end was william rejecting her after fucking kate over and over again for 1 month? This girl would be devastated.

That being said, I love william to death. He is exactly the bad guy I was looking for - manipulative, strong-willed, seductive, has good manners and he is not ashamed of living his best life.

But I can't self-insert in his route. Kate sometimes seems too emotionally dependent on william for my taste. Luckily, in william's events, I think she has a more pleasant personality and is more independent.

I also love the plot so far. Seeing William exterminating butterfly is so fucking entertaining. He has the most wicked ideas of how to order someone to die.

And the revelation he killed his dad was also shocking to me. As I saw in liam and harrison's route that liam's dad was alive and harrison loved his father, and roger's seems to have a nice or normal relationship with his father, I thought we would get the chance to meet william's dad too. But yeah, that is not gonna happen lmao. And I'm glad william killed his father. That guy was hideous.

I wonder if other people in william's family have that curse as well.

Oh, and harrison was so accurate in describing william here. William is not only cruel when he kills people, but when he flirts with them too, even if it's unintentional.

[buddiebeginz]

In the middle of a rewatch right now and I'm at s4. I know what I'm about to say is unpopular because I've had people angry at me before when I've made posts about it but I feel like one of the characters who the show and fandom too often treat like they can do no wrong is Maddie. I love her and I especially love her relationship with Buck but there are some storylines with her that forever drive me crazy.

I think all of the characters have made mistakes at different times that's part what I love about the show. That all of the characters are relatable and we've watched them grow and change and have to really deal with the messes they make.

Maddie though I feel often gets a pass because of what she dealt with from Doug or because she essentially had to raise Buck.

In s3 Maddie used her position at the call center to stalk a woman. To lie to her and pretend to be her friend so she could try and save her from her life. I get that a big reason Maddie did this is because she wasn't in a good headspace after what happened in s2 with Doug but it was still all kinds of messed up. She even lied to Chim about it. Sue at the call center tells her she needs to go talk to a therapist and Chim calls her out for lying but for the most part no one makes a big deal about it even after she continues to get involved in that woman's life.

My bigger issues with Maddie though are connected to Buck. In s4 Maddie finds out Buck is going to therapy and he won't really tell her why. She gets worried about him and decides without telling him to not only tell her parents that he's in therapy but to invite their parents to come for a visit. Which I found to be so thoughtless. Whatever relationship Maddie might have with her parents it's clear they didn't have that with Buck. You can tell that by the whole baby box thing.

She should have asked him before talking about his private business with parents Buck wasn't even in contact with. She definitely should have talked to him before inviting them to LA. He should have had the option to not see them if he didn't want to. If you watch 404 when Maddie tells Buck their parents are coming he talks about how it's basically too late to do anything about it now. How Maddie waited until they were already almost there to even tell him they were coming. Maddie also talks about how Buck had been in Texas (for the Lone Star crossover ep) so she literally waited until he was away and had no ability to voice his opinion on them coming.

Even worse than just bringing the parents there is that Maddie kept Daniel a secret from Buck, long after both of them had moved out of their parents house. Like I could understand her not really having a choice when they were little and both still living at home. And I know Maddie had a lot going on with Doug for a while but when she came to LA she should have found time to sit Buck down and talk to him about their brother. Instead she decides to tell Chim before she ever tells Buck and lets Buck find out accidently.

I know some have argued that she was just trying to protect Buck but I'm sure she would have wanted to know if she was in Buck's position. Also keeping Buck in the dark about the truth of his own life and family for his entire life isn't protecting him it's just being cruel.

I will always hate how the show handled all of this stuff with Buck because I think he deserved to be angry at least for a little bit with Maddie and he deserved to be able to tell her how her keeping this from him made him feel and the show didn't give that to him. I'm not saying I didn't want them to make up of course I did and I love their relationship but I wanted some accountability from Maddie and the show never gives that.

[utilitycaster]

Unpopular opinion: parts of the cr fandom are really dismissive/ reductive of Travis’s characters. It feels like it’s due to Travis being seen as THE cis het man of the group, and by extension his characters must be heteronormative and bad, despite the fact that you could have queer interpretations of his characters. At the very least, Travis’s characters explore masculinity and the different ways it might look. It’s like the people who are all “ew men are gross and shitty” and act like that’s an absolutely normal reaction to a man just existing.

So this is another one in that I agree with the initial statement, but I'm actually not sure re: the reasoning why. I think it's possible but I could not tell you for sure.

I used to, again, think this was people carrying through Campaign 1 elements well beyond the point where C1 had ended, and so Grog having an intelligence of 6 was being applied to Travis; and this definitely does come through to an extent when people treat Fjord (objectively as smart as Beau without her circlet) as stupid or act shocked that Chetney is the brains of Bells Hells or that he can play a Cerrit, Fjord, or Nathaniel. However, again, I think this is one of those opinions that pops up among people who weren't around for Campaign 1 (or early enough in C2 to be exposed to it regularly) so I don't know if that's the case anymore. It could still be - it could be that Approved Fandom Opinions get passed down even when the logic behind them has long since been lost; that's a really common thing in institutional memory. But I can't say for sure.

I also have in the past credited it to, as you said, people assuming his characters are the cishet guys and then writing them off. That's still possible - I've seen both Fjord and Chetney called "token straight" despite considerable evidence of bisexuality, and they also paradoxically are both commonly headcanoned as trans while still getting called "token straight," which sort of ties into a post I would need to find from someone else from quite some time ago about which cast members are granted agency by the fandom in their choices vs. which are assumed to be the victims of circumstance. And I do think that there are people in fandom who have decided men are icky or whatever, and I used to think this came from a place of bigotry and a slide towards t*rf ideology but I now do genuinely think it's just idiots who don't grant interiority to characters outside their own limited understanding.

But I think it's also useful to consider a few things, most of which I've brought up before:

Travis is extremely offline. He is not here to entertain your headcanons; he has been politely but openly dismissive of some (imo, really fucking dumb) fanon/fan theories. I think the cast frequently talks about how it's their table, and I think that's valid and correct, but Travis is one of the players who lives it the most. He is playing this game with his friends, and he'd like it to be a good story, but if you don't like it, he is not here to make you like it. I think that really fucks with the parasocial connections some people desire with the cast.

Travis's characters tend to examine masculinity as a performance but also the general performance of the self, and the fact that you cannot in the end control how you are perceived entirely, and I think that really unsettles people who have equated presentation with reality and are again, looking for external validation of the self.

Travis can play it big but he's often extremely subtle, especially with his more serious characters, and he's not as easily quotable out of context as some others at the table. I think because he is a lot more naturalistic than dramatic at times (Chetney notwithstanding) and isn't as pithy and quotable in his characters as many of Taliesin's PCs are, and a lot of the strength is in the delivery, he gets overlooked despite being very good with words on the fly.

And finally: this would be a whole post on its own but people are still very foolishly wed to this idea that pressing the big red button in D&D is Wild and Chaotic and haha Big ADHD Man when it's actually how you play D&D if you're not a coward; the button is where the story is stored, and a lot of Travis's strength is that he is extremely good at understanding what the GM wants and supporting it with sufficient grace that it's only visible if you know what you're fucking doing.

[getvalentined]

i want to ask you all of them is that allowed? ALL OF THEM

exercising great restraint, i limited myself to most of them

❤: Which character do you think is the most egregiously mischaracterized by the fandom?

🧡: What is a popular (serious) theory you disagree with?

💛: What is a popular ship you just can't get behind, and why?

💚: What does everyone else get wrong about your favorite character?

🤍: Which character is not as morally bad as everyone else seems to think?

🖤: Which character is not as morally good as everyone else seems to think?

💖: What is your biggest unpopular opinion about the series?

💔: If you had to remove one major character from the series, who would you choose?

💕: What is an unpopular ship that you like?

[ Unpopular Opinion Ask Game ]

I will be putting most of these behind a cut so as not to stretch anyone's dash, but I'll take 'em all!

❤️ · Which character do you think is the most egregiously mischaracterized by the fandom?

Honestly there are so many characters who are grossly mischaracterized by fandom that this is hard to say. I'm going to go with the most popular and most mischaracterized, which is Sephiroth.

This man all but asks permission to have opinions in CC:

Sephiroth: I would prefer not to believe it, but… Zack: Then don't believe it. Sephiroth: Very well, I won't.

He also seeks permission to leave the company:

Sephiroth: […] Depending on what happens, I may abandon Shinra. Zack: [says nothing, but looks at Sephiroth with obvious trepidation, clearly uncomfortable with the option] Sephiroth: …Until then, I'll remain loyal to SOLDIER.

When Zack doesn't respond affirmatively, Sephiroth drops the prospect of leaving and never brings it up again.

This man is not socially confident, nor is he remotely dominant in his behavior. He's not eloquent or debonair, he's quiet and awkward and has been brought up in such a way that he's all but incapable of making decisions for himself. We can very easily blame Hojo for this, controlling and demanding as he is, but for some reason the fandom portrays pre-Nibelheim Sephiroth as some sort of Daddy Dom sex god in spite of the fact that he almost certainly died a virgin.

🧡 · What is a popular (serious) theory you disagree with?

Where do I even start? President Shinra is not Cloud's father. Glenn is also not Cloud's father. The identity of Cloud's father doesn't matter at all, actually! Hojo did not sexually assault Lucrecia to produce Sephiroth. Vincent did not "abandon Sephiroth" to Hojo. Gast was not a good person. Just because the Cetra may actually have been self-important pieces of shit as a culture does not mean Jenova is secretly good. Sephiroth was not born in 1984. This is all extremely stupid.

💛 · What is a popular ship you just can't get behind, and why?

Censored to keep it out of searches, the two that I avoid like the plague are Va|enwind and AG$ZC.

The first because it really bothers me that C!d is canonically abusive toward Shera for half a decade, still manages to get his act together enough that they get married post-Meteorfall, and then Va|enwind shippers straight up act like she either doesn't exist or like she somehow deserved the way he treated her. I've literally discussed this with people and had them assert that nobody likes Shera anyway so it doesn't matter how he treated her, she's "barely relevant to his character" and "easy to ignore." Multiple people have told me that she'll probably be removed from the FF7R series altogether because she just doesn't matter.

I mean, Shera is in the OG, in OTWTAS, and it's revealed that C!d named his new airship after her in AC, and she's mentioned multiple times in Dirge, but sure! Not important at all! The dev team didn't even cut Johnny but they'll absolutely cut C!D'S FUCKING WIFE because she makes him look bad and gets in the way of a popular noncanon ship! That's definitely how this works!

I don't like the Big Polycule because I don't think the character dynamics actually work all together, and most people who write it do so in such a way that everyone seems to be in high school for some reason. Like working for Shinra is the same as high school? As someone who has worked in a corporate setting as an adult, and has family who have been in the military and law enforcement, I find this whole trope to be really strange and it puts me right off.

Further, even if we ignore the canon that Cloud wasn't even on active duty until after both Genesis and Angeal had defected, hadn't even seen either of them in person until Modeoheim (where Zack held Genesis back so Cloud could pursue Hollander and then Angeal beat the shit out of the poor kid to stop said pursuit), and didn't meet Sephiroth until the Nibelheim mission, there's still a lot about it that grinds my gears. This is not shade toward people who don't care about this kind of thing, but I'm personally uncomfortable with the concept of two teenagers (Cloud is 14-16 and Zack is 16-18 prior to Nibelheim) being in a sexual relationship with three adult men who are up to 10 years older and in positions of power over them, particularly how this is always treated in-story like a great thing that is no big deal. If that power dynamic were ever played with or discussed in any way it might be different—I can appreciate some dangerous or unhealthy relationship dynamics in fiction—but I've literally never seen a Big Polycule shipper address it at all. Between that and the characterization mismatch, it just rankles me really bad. (Also, while I'm not particularly squicked out by the fact that Genesis and Angeal are canonically related, I feel like they had some issues with that, and it would definitely fuck up the sexual dynamic there.)

💚 · What does everyone else get wrong about your favorite character?

You already talked about how Vincent is fucking hilarious, and I've talked about it myself in the past, so I won't soapbox about that. Honestly I think that's secondary to the thing that I feel everyone gets the most wrong about Vincent, which is that he's no longer in love with Lucrecia postcanon.

His entire character arc over the course of the series, from BC to Dirge, is him learning that he was wrong about her, she made mistakes, it's her fault he's so fucked up to begin with, and then forgiving her for it. It's him setting aside his idea of her and seeing who she really was, looking past the brilliance of which he speaks so fondly to see the mistakes that only he is still "alive" to pay for—and in doing so, reaching an understanding so deep that he's willing to give her the absolution and release that no force on Gaia can offer to him.

He thanks her for saving him, because he understands that's what she was trying to do, and he is grateful that even if she was never in love with him (which she wasn't) she did love him enough to do that. He's grateful that she loved him enough to throw away years of her life in the attempt to save him, just like he lost his entire life in his attempt to save her. They're foils of each other, but they're over. At the end of Dirge, he thanks her and he leaves, walking into the light for the first time in decades, free of the self-loathing he'd been burdened with by his misunderstanding of Lucrecia.

I think it's a beautiful, bittersweet story, but Vincent's ability to move forward afterward makes it more sweet than bitter. By portraying Vincent as still every bit as obsessive and love-blind as he was up until the events of Dirge, folks do a huge disservice to his character arc. I don't think it's impossible for him to fall for her again postcanon, if she somehow returned to the world of the living (which she won't, she's very clear that the majority of her spirit has been eroded by that point and there's no way she could come back), but it wouldn't be the same relationship. He still loves her, I have no doubt of that, but he's not in love with her anymore. That's the whole point of his character arc. It's only way he can be free, and he deserves it.

🤍 · Which character is not as morally bad as everyone else seems to think?

Genesis. Genesis Genesis Genesis. I'm not gonna wax on too much here because I already have a fucking manifesto so I won't go into too much here, but Genesis is only the antagonist of CC because Zack is with Shinra, he's not the looming, manipulative liar that people portray him as in the slightest. He doesn't actually lie, like, at all. That's the problem. He is so brutally honest it ruins his relationships with literally everyone he's ever loved, because he can't fathom someone not wanting to know the truth. That's not a moral failing, that's a misunderstanding of emotional processing—because he's autistic as hell and nobody ever wants to talk about it.

He's described by Gackt himself as being "a sweetheart," the way he dresses indicates that he's used to fighting in very close-quarters while everyone else aims to keep as much distance as possible, he constantly puts himself down while elevating his loved ones, and he's not the one responsible for the accident that ruined everything.

And yet. Somehow. Bad guy forever. Okay.

🖤 · Which character is not as morally good as everyone else seems to think?

Angeal. I have a tag for this. 'Nough said.

💖 · What is your biggest unpopular opinion about the series?

The "official timeline" provided by the multiple contradictory Ultimanias is wrong. This is proven by the actual source material, but god forbid you try to make people do basic fucking math.

Oh also Rebirth's ending was phenomenal and I'm sorry that it didn't go how people wanted it to go, but it's still exactly what it should have been for this point in the story. Sorry.

💔 · If you had to remove one major character from the series, who would you choose?

This is...difficult. Almost all the major characters in the series are integral to the story in some capacity, so removing any of them would make it something else altogether. Yuffie could be removed from the OG without affecting the plot, but she couldn't be scrapped from later titles, so that's out. The main party member I'd be most personally invested in removing would be C!d because his backstory is very triggering to me as a survivor of domestic abuse, but that would break the story. I dunno how to answer this one—just because the character isn't integral in every title or I don't like them doesn't mean they should be removed. The series I love wouldn't be the same without them. I think they can all stay.

💕 · What is an unpopular ship that you like?

I am a load-bearing pylon in the Tseeve tag, which I think is a travesty, but folks wanna pair Tseng with his shitty boss instead so it is what it is.

[negrowhat]

For the Ask game can you do both Black and White from Not Me 😊

I'm excited! This is my first one! Also sorry in advance but as much as I loved Not Me I've only ever seen it once and that was the year it came out so I might be a bit fuzzy on some details.

White from Not Me

How I feel about this character.

I love him. I thought he was a fantastic character. I love that he was so intelligent but acted more on his feelings than anything else and he had such a high moral compass. I know his heart was in the right place but a lot of times his emotional decisions for sure impacted the group heavily and in dangerous ways.

I thought it was so cool to see how swiftly and almost seamlessly White managed to take over his brother's life. I loved watching him pick up new tasks and easily become skilled in them and a lot of his plans did seem to work out in the end. He was very selfless and humble and he truly cared about the people around him and his community.

And he did change the dynamic of the entire group for the better. There was definitely a stronger sense of brotherhood in the gang with White posing as Black, he had that sort of energy that pulled people in. Also I LOVED seeing him keep Sean on his toes. I know Sean had to be questioning his sanity when out of the blue a guy like Black begin acting amorous towards him.

All the people I ship romantically with this character

Just Sean and maybe Gram for the briefest of moments.

My non-romantic OTP for this character

Black and White?? Hello TWIN POWER! But also GramWhiteYok was a pretty fun trio (specifically that scene when everyone else found out White's true identity.

My unpopular opinion about this character

I think that White should've worn his glasses when he pretended to be Black. How fucking funny would that have been. And if anyone questioned him about it all he had to do was tackle them...that is very much on brand for Black.

One thing I wish would happen / had happened with this character in canon.

I wish that we had gotten a follow up about him and Black. I wanted Black and White to stay together after all the dust had settled. I think those brothers need each other even if Black thought that would weaken him. I don't think Black would really ever trust anyone else besides his brother.

Black from Not Me

How I feel about this character

I think Black is badass. Much like his twin he is extremely intelligent, but unlike White he relies heavily on his intelligence. The only emotion he allows himself to express is anger and considering the way he grew up I'm sure it was to keep himself alive. I love that he was about that action. I love that he was so swift and cunning and strong. But he was also so protective, not just of his brother, but also his friends. He honestly had every single right to be mad at the world and I just couldn't fault him for being so hardened on the outside. And if I was doing some illegal, life threatening shit I would want him on my team.

All the people I ship romantically with this character.

TBH I didn't really ship Black with anyone. GASP! I KNOW! I shipped Black with feeling safe lol. That boy needs a hug.

My non-romantic OTP for this character

Sean and that's just because of how much they argued. It was fun to watch them go back and forth even though things did get a bit out of hand.

My unpopular opinion about this character

If Black and White were identical in all aspects then his ass should've been wearing glasses too. Unless he was wearing contacts. Was he? He probably was but come on! GLASSES! I know it's not practical considering what he does but I'm bummed about it.

Also he shouldn't have beat Sean up. I know he was in protect mode for White but he beat the crap out of Sean and it was so hard to watch.

One thing I wish would happen / had happened with this character in canon.

I wish he had stayed. I know he felt like he didn't belong where he was anymore and I know his supernatural bond with White could definitely work against them, but I wanted him to stay. White wasn't the same helpless kid he was the last time Black saw his twin. And like I said, I truly think Black would've been happy with his brother at his side. I think his brother is the only person he truly trusts and he could use someone he knows is on his side. I do hope he pops in from time-to-time to see his brother, and the gang, and to get on Sean's nerves.

GIVE ME A CHARACTER and I’ll break their ass down

[aftgphoenix]

How do you feel about Kevin ?

I'm not really sure what you are looking for, anon, so here's a random jumble of thoughts that I hope makes some sort of sense. Thank you so much for the ask!

I think he's such an interesting character and one that I wish we could learn more about. I would love to learn more about his childhood with his mom and then his experiences at the Nest! I wonder if Kayleigh was a good mom, if she spent a lot of time with Kevin, if she let him explore other interests aside from exy. Imagine little Kevin dragging his Mom through different historical sites as they travel around the world for exy! Once Kevin's in the Nest, I keep thinking about Riko and how his friendship with Kevin developed into them being "brothers" and Kevin being Riko's pet. Imagine the slow slide as Riko let his sadistic side grow. I think it probably got noticeable worse when Jean arrived but I imagine it was already bad before then.

With what we do know, though, I think he's hiding a boatload of trauma that he'll likely keep repressing as long as he can until everything implodes. I would love to see him really start working through that in his fourth and fifth years with the foxes with Betsy. Actually, that would be a super cool fic to read! If anyone knows of any/writes one, please let me know!

His growth in the series was really cool to read too. He is still learning how to be his own person with his own thoughts, interests, and personality. He's learning how to be brave and to take a stand against his abusers. He's learning how to overcome the cult mindset from the Nest and he's learning to let Riko go. He's learning how to live a life with more than just exy and to care for others in a way that wasn't allowed in the Nest. He will always be connected to exy, but I think even if he had been raised in a healthy place, he still would have been exy-obsessed. I mean, his mom created the game and his dad is an exy coach (and presumably a really good player prior to that).

I hope he's able to find healthier ways to cope than getting drunk. He deserves so much better than that. (On a side note, my husband's family has struggled with alcoholism and it isn't fun at all. It tears apart families and can cause a lot of negative impact on the kids, even without an abusive aspect.) I understand why he does it, though, because I can't imagine having to live with the memories he does. I mean, watching Nathan kill that man would be traumatic enough but Kevin has seen so much more than that and I know it haunts him.

Unpopular opinion, I know, but I also like him with Thea. I like the idea of him falling in love with someone who isn't very familiar with exy but I just don't think that's very likely to happen. Instead, I like to imagine that he and Thea get a boatload of therapy and rekindle their relationship, first as friends, relearning about each other, then moving into a romantic relationship while they process the absolute horrendousness that the Nest's sexual culture was (what do you mean Riko was in the room? Yikes!!!). 

He's definitely one of my top favorite characters (but let's be real, I have about twenty favorite aftg characters). I love reading fics about him! Hopefully this makes sense and maybe answers your question? Either way, I had a lot of fun writing this all out! I love getting asks, so thank you!!!

[littlepuddingsworld]

in the language of love

CW unhealthy relationship (threat of physical violence, emotional manipulation, controlling behaviour), low-key forced relationship, mild dommale elements?, mildly abusive-ish reader? [taekjoo]

unpopular opinion, but LEEWON looks more like a chaser than someone who enjoys being chased and you are ready for this conversation. the same goes for taekjoo. I mean. look at them!!! yes, they look like 11/10 babygirls, but they're not 'bitchy' at all,,,, I do not know how to describe it. it's like.

CHU WANNING would love to have special attention paid to him, including partially, but unobtrusively, disturbing his space because "you can", but LEEWON and TAEKJOO give completely different vibes. like. they would chase someone just out of a desire to chase and emotional intensity, like when someone runs away from you and you want to catch up with them because. CHU WANNING would never do that. and if LEEWON is still playing and clearly not fully into these catch-ups, then TAEKJOO really looks like someone who would do it out of pure impulse and then did not understand why, but if something provokes him, then he goes for it. he just looks so composed on the outside, but he's completely fucked up on the inside, and I'm here to say that he's definitely that type who catches up to catch up because if he is provoked inside to catch up, then he will catch up.

especially yanderes.

I am sure that LEEWON would be no better than Caesar, if not worse, because if Caesar is "just" emotionally unstable and does not cope well with emotional situations, then LEEWON would be absolutely destroyed by the very fact that you may not want him (not just emotionally, but generally, as a person, that you may consider him insufficient decent) and he would clearly be prone to physical aggression and gaslighting, telling you what you should and shouldn't think because you obviously can't draw enough conclusions on your own, so he'll tell you what you should think about and where to look, because you're his partner and you have to behave accordingly.

he's someone you'll never win in conversation because, yes, he's emotional and choleric, but he doesn't move on emotion; it is important for him to be the best and the most, and he clearly would not think twice if he feels that you are not reacting enough or looking around, and I am sure that any attempt to pull away would cause a reciprocal approach, more than aggressive and clear, until you agree.

... you're just moody.

what he does is fair and right. so why are you acting like you're unhappy about something? he's doing everything for you - and you keep thinking that he's not good enough? why don't you try to stop thinking if you don't keep the good of the two of you in your head, unlike him? just stop it. he'll think for the two of you. just being around is enough for you. stop twitching. do you doubt his right? do you doubt his authority? do you doubt him?

exactly.

so. stop. it.

...

...

...

... do you want him to just... cook for you? your favourite dish.

or he can order a delivery, since you make that face. and he can massage your shoulders. you shouldn't look so sad and bothered, really. you look a lot better when you know he's right and you only take his words in. It's just the two of you in your world. you do understand that, don't you? you're smart, you just don't have the same thoughtfulness as him, but that's okay. he will explain to you what should be in your head and who. don't look at the others. others are outsiders.

there's only him for you.

... in the end, at some point you will simply realize that it is easier to do what he says and move with him along the current than to try to convince him somehow or, even more so, try to leave. he wants the best for you and he knows what's best.

your futile struggle only delays your mutual happiness. together.

TAEKJOO doesn't think twice - but he's not someone you can easily fool. he trusts all his senses and is more than smart enough to understand what is wrong around him; he keeps his feet firmly on his feet. perhaps that's why you don't perceive him as a threat at first - he's dangerous, no doubt, but not in... that sense. he doesn't smell dangerous. he seems calm, collected, logical, rational - someone who do not do something without meaning or with intention to just have fun or hurm.

TAEKJOO doesn't spend a lot of time thinking, he doesn't talk a lot out loud (more precisely, he talks, but for some reason you like how much he talks), he's not the most intrusive, even if you feel he's emotional. it's even a shame when you realize that what you used to think was the 'norm' wasn't. TAEKJOO doesn't smell dangerous, you never feel danger from him - at some point you just realize that everything

is

wrong.

you're just playing around. it wasn't serious. you just like to annoy him a little bit sometimes. he is so emotionally collected, but so emotionally sensitive, and you just like to poke him a little, especially when he is so obedient, malleable, follows you when he understands that you are ready to lead and he can trust you with it. he just wasn't cut out for it - and he is... cute. he's not trying to fight for dominance, he just wants to do his job well - he doesn't get into your personal space, doesn't get into your soul, doesn't force you, and he's so charming that when you realize something is wrong, it's just too late.

TAEKJOO follows passion, instinct - when there is an impulse and it leads somewhere, TAEKJOO follows it. you respect that.

until that impulse doesn't turn against you when you get all "bored and stuff and-"

and TAEKJOO is not the kind of man you want to run into when he wants something. he is malleable, even a little flexible, allowing you to do what you want as long as you lead where you need to go - he does not have that flexibility, but he has enough physical strength to convince you to stay put.

sometimes you two need to talk.

in private.

TAEKJOO is not someone who will offend you or force you - but sometimes you just leave him no choice. what's wrong? not as fun as when you were teasing him? what a pity. he just got a taste of it.

obviously, you only understand physical language, right? he is not one of those who hits or even fights, even if it is really easier at times, but it is much more convenient to talk to you this way. he's not "intimidating". he's just talking. it is his... comfort zone. you like to push him out of it, don't you?

it's fun for you to know where to hit and constantly, constantly, constantly push there with the idea that he's probably having as much fun as you. and then just "get tired" because "it got boring."

did you get bored? 'not enough adrenaline and thrill', right? just get up and walk away as if nothing had happened? he is patient. he's really patient - you know that yourself, you are not as dumb as you sometimes behave to get away with your "little silly things".

he's not the best with emotions, he's not the "smartest" with it, he's "more of a critic and evaluator than an actor" — but even he has patience.

and you really better not provoke him in the future.

it's easy, right? just be there for him. don't look around. don't flirt with anyone. don't look at anyone for too long. don't think about anyone for too long. don't praise anyone too enthusiastically besides him. don't talk about anyone around him too lovingly. speak lovingly only about him. don't talk to anyone heart to heart except him. don't ignore him. don't be gentle with anyone else.

... his mother will love you. he will introduce you soon. it would be awkward not to introduce her to his future spouse. after all, you wouldn't waste his time and energy, wouldn't take his feelings if you weren't serious, right? there is no point in delaying the logical continuation. his job is not the most suitable for family life, perhaps, but this does not mean that it is the only possible one if you are burdened by it. after all, the feelings of lovers are much more important, right? his mom will be thrilled.

after all, he loves you so much.

[ambrosiagourmet]

I notice no one has asked yet so for the character thing: laios! Or if you want to go for a less common one: the winged lion

Laios!!!!!!

First impression

Honestly its hard to even limit this within the confines of starting the actual manga. I genuinely think I'd have to say my real first impression of Laios was the "autism be damned, my boy can work a grill" joke that gets passed around a lot 😭

Impression now

Older brother.

Loves his friends and family so much. Let him infodump!!!!! A guy that can character arc so hard he becomes a king because its the only way to deal with the things he can no longer let himself look away from. A guy who wants to eat a good meal. A guy who wants everyone to eat a good meal.

A guy who can be all that and still kind of pettily complain that he doesn't get to hang out with monsters anymore & can mope about it soooo annoyingly. A guy who decided to eat the concept of all-consuming hunger because it was the only way to deal with the problem so he might as well try. A guy who can completely change his life by deciding to share his special interest. A guy who can imitate a dog really well.

Favorite moment

Don't make me choooose... okay I'm gonna do three:

1. Assembling Falin's bones with Marcille

The humor. The patience. The slow realization that, despite how absurd of a task it is, it is actually all possible. The moments of admiration for the way skeletons work, the love of the details, the care of assembling all three skeletons just to make sure they get Falin right. Iconic scene.

2. Killing Falin

"Unable to make myself accept. Unable to make myself resist" lives in my soul now idk what else to say. Life is so vibrant and horrifying and raw and beautiful and to let yourself fully be a part of it you must take up space. You must consume. You must fight. You must take and be taken from. Ourgh

3. Talking Marcille down

I love that he looks so goofy on his way up to her. I love the context of how much he refuses to give up on her leading up to this, and how he refuses to give up on her now. I love how everyone is part of this scene, but he's the first one to cross the threshold. I love how she almost blows him up but can't do it (fun fact: this exact situation/post was how she killed Mithrun a couple of chapters ago. It was close).

I love the way he appeals to her mostly just with messy honesty, and I love the silly three rules callback. It's such a sweet chapter.

Also honorary mention for the final page of the story, which gets me every time.

Idea for a story

I'm actually currently fiddling with a longer story concept dealing with the question of Laios needing an heir. Dungeon Meshi is grounded enough in politics that it genuinely feels like a question that the characters will have to grapple with at some point. At the same time, there's no way that like arranged marriage and even having kids in general are not messy topics for Laios and I don't think anyone involved would want to force him to be miserable.

(I also don't personally like the idea of Falin as his heir ftr, bc I think forcing Falin into that role sucks and I don't think anyone would go for it)

So how DO they deal with the issue? Idk! I might write a long meandering story about it! Maybe! I want to, at least.

Unpopular opinion

Ughhhh I don't realllly want to poke this with a stick but yeah I definitely think my most generic (apparently????) Unpopular Opinion with Laios is just that his relationship with Marcille is meaningful and loving. I personally don't view it as romantic and they mean a lot to me as a platonic-life-partners kind of thing, but I also think that dividing relationships in general into Ships TM and Definitely Not Ships isn't really appealing to me personally. I just care them.

(at the same time I really do worry about trying to write about them and it being taken as romantic despite me very intentionally not framing it as such. idk, navigating this stuff is complicated.)

Favorite relationship

UGHHHH LIKE. It is probably him and Marcille. But it's so hard to rank that against him and Falin. Both relationships mean a lot to me and I love them and I love to think about them.

Because him and Marcille have more on the page interactions to dig into and because I don't see them discussed as much, I do tend to gravitate to Marcille & Laios stuff above all else. But like.... don't make me actually commit to picking.

Favorite headcanon

I can't think of a strong answer for this so I'm going to make one up on the spot: I think he giggled to himself soooo much when he included the winged lion in his king outfit but made it so that it looks like the wolf head is eating it. I think he continues to giggle about it years later. I think he gets dressed in the morning and puts on his cloak and goes "get ate, idiot" as he fastens it around his shoulders.

Oh actually for a more genuine headcanon related to the story thing I mentioned above: I think Laios is really good with kids but would be scared of having any of his own. I think he'd have trouble with the classic "I don't want to mess them up the way my dad messed me up" abused kid struggle.

[kotemf]

Date night

  Foxiyo week is finally here!

A quick A/N, I created this series, They killed Palps and everything is fine, and I thought that I could tie my fills for Foxiyo week to this series as I think it goes well with the prompts. You don't have to read the series to understand this, don't worry, it's just some barely connected one shots. All you need to know is that Palpatine is dead, Riyo and Fox are dating already and they sorta accidentally adopted a clone cadet. I hope you enjoy reading!

  Fox was trying to work.

  Riyo seemed set on getting him to stop working.

  "Could you please stop doing that?"

  "Doing what?" Riyo looked at him innocently. It wasn't her practiced 'I don't know what you're talking about' face she used when convincing politicians and other influential people that she didn't manipulate them at all, no. She actually didn't realize just what she was doing to Fox just sitting on his desk.

  "Sitting there like that."

  "Why?"

  "You're distracting me."

  "Am I now?" Fox shouldn't have told her that. She just realized just how difficult it was for Fox to focus with her around and she was going to use that. Fox watched in horror as Riyo went over to him and sat on his lap.

  "Riyo! There is a CCTV!" Fox hissed. He hoped no one found any reason to go through the footage in his office. It wasn't that he would get in trouble, he was a commander after all, but Thorn and Thire would never let him live that down. Fox made a point of scolding every trooper who brought their significant other to their office because that was their workspace, they were supposed to be working, not stuck staring at their partner like Fox was in the moment.

  "Then take me somewhere where there isn't," Riyo challenged him. And Fox couldn't really refuse her this, could he?

  "Just let me finish one report."

  "One report."

  Fox knew better than to even try doing anything more.

  They ended up in a random park a few levels down from the Coruscant Guard headquarters. Fox used to try to take Riyo to more popular dating places, like fancy restaurants or the cinema, but somehow Riyo being a senator and making about three times more money than Fox always ruined it a bit. She always insisted on paying at least for herself in not them both. Riyo liked to talk about equality. Fox didn't really see what was equal about Riyo paying for basically everything, he would very much like to treat her to a nice date sometimes,  but he knew how to pick his fights. Instead of arguing, he just suggested places that were free, like the park. It seemed to be working so far.

  "This park is pretty nice. How do you know about it?"

  "I passed through here a few times, patrolling or chasing after a suspect. You know, doing the usual Coruscant Guard commander stuff."

  "Are you implying your job is more exciting than mine?" Riyo asked, mock offended.

  "More interesting? Maybe. More dangerous? Definitely not."

  "Come on, it's not me who is chasing after the worst scum of the galaxy on a daily basis."

  "You've been in the senate for three years, that's not even a whole election period. You've received an insane number of threats, you've been almost kidnapped, twice, you've been shot at, five times, you've been almost stabbed-"

  "So what if my job isn't the safest?"

  "Don't interrupt me, I'm explaining why you're my biggest headache. Well, second biggest headache."

  "Just second? Who is the first?"

  "Well, senator Amidala holds the record for the most assassination attempts at the moment." Fox looked at Riyo. She looked strangely determined. Oh no... "Riyo, it's not a competition, you know that, right?"

  "Yeah, sure."

  "You know, maybe you should learn some self defense if you're planning on keeping pushing for unpopular opinions in the senate."

  "If you teach me."

  "Of course I'll teach you." It wasn't like Fox could deny Riyo anything, especially when it was something that was going to protect her. Most people assumed that he, as a guard, was the one who had a risky job. It was a risky job but so was being a senator. Fox has been working around the senate ever since he got deployed from Kamino, he was working to protect the senators. So yes, he knew how dangerous the job of a politician could be. Voicing the wrong opinion could lead to numerous assassination attempts. And while it got better after the war was over, senators could still be in danger.

  "What do you say we start tomorrow?"

  "Tomorrow? Sure. You will want to get Sky out of the house, though. The kid is good. He would laugh at you. Now that I think about it, where is he? Where did you ditch him for today's evening?"

  "He is sleeping over at Thanh's."

  Fox should've probably assumed that. Their adorable little cadet was best friends with Cody's adorable little cadet. By nat-born standards, they were cousins, by clone standards, they were brothers. It was rather complicated so they all just opted to call them friends. Thanh often visited them, he liked Riyo's huge villa that apparently came with the post of a senator. Sky in return spent a lot of time at Cody's house, because Cody being a stay at home dad while getting doing some courses on one of the many universities of Coruscant could watch the kids in the afternoon when Riyo and Fox were busy. Sky was technically old enough to stay alone at home for a few hours but Fox always felt calmer when he knew someone was watching over him.

  "We should do this more often," Riyo said suddenly. "Just take a break and go out."

  "Yeah, we probably should." Fox knew this. But they were both busy and most of the time they weren't working was spent with their son. Not that Fox minded, he loved their child. In fact, sometimes he was tempted to just leave work and become a full time trophy husband. Just get Sky ready for school, then watch some holos, get his nails done, cook lunch and drop it off at Riyo's office, gossip with Cody, then pick Sky up from school and tend to him for the rest of the day. That sounded pretty boring.

  "What do you say we go for a dinner on the weekend? Senator Organa recommended me a good restaurant."

  "I'm not sure." It wasn't that Fox didn't want it. He immediately felt guilty when he saw Riyo's soft smile falter. He rushed to explain. "I wanted to spend the weekend with Sky."

  "We can still do that. This would be just one evening."

  "Alright, sounds great."

  "Let's enjoy our walk now, shall we?"

  "Of course," Fox agreed easily. Problems will always be there, a nice, quiet night at the park won't.

[birdmitosis]

Voice of the Cold for the ask game, i hope I got here first D:

[ask game here]

OMG, you did! :D And I am so happy to answer about Cold.

First impression

Pretty sure my first impression was of him in the Spectre route, and I was curious, a bit positively inclined, mostly on the strengths of how well he fit how we got him and also how hot his voice was. 😔 Yeah, I'll admit it. I looked forward to seeing more from him and was intrigued by the seeming discrepancy between his "emotionless" claims and his blatant grudge against the Narrator.

Impression now

I LOVE COLD SO MUCH. Ohhh, he is as much of a trauma response as the rest of them and is both driven to keep himself safe and also experience something new (which is itself not safe) and also not care about safety... He is dismissive and deeply caring and he can't stand stagnancy and yet he feels at home when everything unravels into the Long Quiet. One of my Top 3 faves I think.

Favorite moment

There are a lot of moments I could choose here but I think I still have to give it to my bias: Cold in the Wraith chapter alongside Paranoid. Especially this sequence:

This has lived rent-free in my head since I first saw it, it just hits me so hard in a "none of them are fully wrong but none are fully right either" way and says so much about Cold in the context of other things... Especially the absolutely wild "If you can tolerate joy, you can tolerate pain" line, like UM EXCUSE ME?

(But the whole chapter is great, with Cheated as well as with Paranoid, but I have a bias for so many moments with the Paranoid version, like the "you think you are brave" line from Wraith and the fact that Cold must have helped with the efforts to toss the body into the void... Wraith is a severely underrated chapter, I feel!)

Idea for a story

Look, because of the way I fandom, all my ideas are for shipfic and ParaCold is 1000% my OTP, soooo...

That said, a specific idea I've actually had that I still kinda want to use with something, that I may have mentioned before, is Hunted making a point that they need each other (as a group) and at their best they cover each others' blind spots and shore up each others' weak points.

When Cold pulls something along the lines of his "I'm special" thing, Hunted ends up challenging him to a "play" fight (no actual wounds being left, "wounds" marked with something like chalk or berry juice or something, fake blade, etc.). And by the time Cold calls that he's "killed" Hunted (and so obviously he's right that he doesn't need help/he has no weak spots that actually matter), Hunted can point out that he's managed to land enough "minor" blows that Cold would be bleeding out by now too, because he doesn't guard himself at all.

(I also kinda want to look more into a super queer TTRPG called Moonlight on Roseville Beach because I wanna play around a bit with an AU for it where the six possible player character "origin stories" are filled by Hero, Contrarian, Cold, Paranoid, the Princess, and the Narrator... "[In] Moonlight on Roseville Beach, it's the summer of 1979 and you work in the village by day while protecting yourself, your housemates, and your neighbors from supernatural monstrosities and occult horrors by night," and it's in a queernorm setting where LGBTQIA+ characters are considered the norm, with a "focus on queer people succeeding at keeping themselves and their communities safe (at least for a time).")

Unpopular opinion

TBH I also agree that Cold isn't all that edgy. I think he's quite straightforward most of the time and definitely has some issues -- I think he likes prodding at some of the other characters more than some people realize but also less than some people act like, he really does jump to "we could stab" very quickly as a response, he seems happy to encourage potential violence against himself if he finds it interesting in some way, he has a surprisingly big ego -- but also blatantly cares despite how he often talks, is curious and wants new things, and seems to like connecting with the other voices and even, sometimes, the vessels.

I also think he isn't as hard to get along with as some people think, in the sense of, I think he has like three different "modes" when it comes to interacting with people:

He vibes with how you do things, in which case he goes along quite well, is agreeable and calm, and seems to like you. (Skeptic in the Drowned Grey chapter is a clear example, but so is Cheated in the Wraith I think; IMO Hero and Hunted would go here as well.)

There's enough push-and-pull there that he finds you interesting, in which case he can get a bit intense, prod you some just to see the push back, might sometimes go along just to see what you'll do, and it's a bit harder to tell if he likes you (but honestly he does). (IMO Paranoid would go here, and I do actually think Smitten goes here as well.)

Neither of the above apply, in which case he's just bored of you, and if forced into constant proximity with you, annoyed. (Stubborn in MOC is the most blatant example; IMO Broken would go here as well, ironically outside of if you somehow managed to get Cold alongside him in the Tower route.)

(The first two can be true simultaneously for some people; I feel like Contrarian would be in both. Weirdly, I feel like Opportunist is somehow in both #2 and #3? Stubborn could eventually go into #2, under better circumstances. And the Narrator fits a special category of "fuck you" where He doesn't quite fit #2 but there are some similarities, Cold just doesn't like Him.)

...This got a bit weird and long and out of Unpopular Opinion territory, huh. WELL, TL;DR Cold isn't edgy and actually likes a good number of the other voices.

Favorite relationship

I mean, y'all can guess this one, right? >_>

No, but honestly, as a ship it's definitely ParaCold. But in a totally platonic way, I also really love his dynamic with Hero in the Spectre route, especially if you free Her, and with Skeptic in the Drowned Grey chapter (okay, okay, I can see that one as either platonic or shippy). And his dynamic with the Narrator fascinates me but I can't ever see them getting along.

Favorite headcanon

I love the idea that Cold picks up new things all the time, and whether he sticks with them or not he gets surprisingly good at them first. Skills, hobbies, other languages. I can imagine his handwriting getting better more quickly than a lot of the other voices because of this, and him also managing to bond with the others over doing their hobbies with them.

[mantequillamcwhoremick]

hah i so knew someone would have already asked for Kenny lol if you are still bored - Kevin? 🫶

Omg thanks for the ask!!! Hheheheheh this is an interesting one....

Favorite thing about them:

There's literally so little about him so it's hard to pinpoint something canon to deem my favorite thing but I guess I would say his adult design. idk it just speaks volumes about his character, especially when you compare how well put-together Karen looks next to him. I have a million Kevin McCormick ideas and a oneshot about him and Kenny in the works.

Least favorite thing about them:

I have a hard time with this part of the ask meme bc most characters don't have something I blatantly don't like, even their worst flaws are interesting and engaging. So I'm just gonna say I hate how little info there is to him

Favorite line:

"'Just take a seat in there, kids.'" /mockingly (S15, "The Poor Kid") he has like 4 canon lines or smth but the way he imitates the police officer here just kinda speaks volumes to me about his character

brOTP:

lol idk I'm just gonna go with Kenny, they deserve some genuine screen time together

OTP:

this one is fairly common but Shelley & Kevin. It makes sense. Do they have any canon interactions? No. Have they ever even been in the same frame together? Not that I remember. Is that gonna stop me or all the fantastic fanartists I've seen draw these two from rooting for them? Absolutely fucking not. They're two very outsider-coded kids, and by what we've seen of Kevin's characterization and Shelley's boyfriend Larry Feegan (who died </3), he could definitely be Shelley's type. It would be an entertaining dynamic to explore in canon & fic.

nOTP:

/

Random headcanon:

I think he is autistic and/or has another developmental disability. It just checks out with what we've seen of him, how he's been characterized, and I'm pretty sure he has inherited his parents emotional problems as well, since we see him physically fighting and insulting Stuart in s15's "The Poor Kid" even though Carol is telling them both to stop and Karen is crying. In the "Bigger, Longer and Uncut" "Blame Canada" song it is revealed that Carol thought Kenny had the stuff to become a doctor or a lawyer, and given the aforementioned headcanon I kinda can see Kevin being written off as a good-for-nothing by his parents. This is supported by Carol calling him, alongside Stuart, a "drunk piece of shit". I can imagine him getting into lots of problems when he's older, as evidenced by how old and shabby he looks as an adult next to Karen, who probably looks as put-together as she does due to having grown up receiving support from Kenny.

Unpopular opinion:

I see him being characterized as a good brother to Karen and Kenny sometimes and as much as I would love that to be true, I doubt they have a good relationship, if any at all. He seems more like a super distant kind of older brother to me, who occasionally becomes Kenny's problem when he comes home drunk or high or when Kenny has to pick Kevin up from the police station because their parents are working or just being neglectful. I can imagine Kevin being an inspiration to Kenny for all the things he never wants to do to Karen, even if it never should have been Kevin OR Kenny's responsibility to step up for their younger siblings in their parents' place. I can see Kevin even resenting Kenny and claiming he's their parents' favorite, similar to how Shelley does with Stan.

Song i associate with them:

I'm sorry I can't think of one hsdjhaskjd but I'll edit this post once I do!!

Favorite picture of them:

It's a yucky picture I'm just a big fan of his adult design <3333