#admittedly it doesn't make a TON of sense

[substituted-shinigami]

Hey guys, anyone want to do discussion points or what if scenarios? It might be fun!

Here's one: If Rukia, Renji, and Byakuya got kicked out of Soul Society after the Soul Society Arc, what would their living situation be?

A while back (which for me could be anywhere from 1 to 10 years, lol), I saw a post about this. I believe the philosophy was that the whole Aizen situation was a media nightmare and so they kicked Rukia and Renji out as part of a cover up. Byakuya tried to stand up to them and got kicked out too. Even his own family disowned him for all the "trouble he's caused them over Hisana and Rukia". 

So according to the post, their living situation was similar to the Advance Team Arc, with Rukia living with Ichigo, and Renji and Byakuya living elsewhere (I believe they were sharing an apartment?). I think I've seen other posts about this where they actually ended up either living with Urahara or the Visored.

Now obviously this didn't happen and would never happen, so don't worry about taking this too seriously. This is literally just a "What if it had happened?" scenario. Where do you think the characters would have ended up? How do you think it would have panned out?

This is already getting kind of long, so I'm gonna put my thoughts on it underneath a "Keep Reading" tag

Personally, I think Rukia would have stayed with Byakuya. This might sound strange, their relationship was strained at best, but I think her choosing to stay in Soul Society was her choosing to try again. She wanted to try again to connect to the people in her life. So even if they got kicked out of Soul Society, I don’t think she would have given up on this dream. (Plus it means she could teach him all about the living world!)

I think the real question would be Renji. Sure Byakuya and Rukia living together would be super awkward to say the least, but they're at least siblings. But Renji isn't. He's not entirely on the outside, being childhood friends with Rukia. But they've been separated for about 40 years and have a lot of emotional ground to cover! 

On one hand, they don't have status to worry about anymore, she's no longer a noble and he's not a lieutenant, but on the other hand they haven't had a chance to properly discuss all that happened between them either. And if they are living together, they might choose to NOT have those necessary discussions in order to keep their living situation stable.

On the flip side, Renji and Rukia tend to thrive in dangerous situations where it's them against the world. So while they may be dancing around those hard but necessary conversations, they are ALSO dancing around all those hollows in Karakura Town and punching them in the face with some SUPER SICK COMBO MOVES!!!

So basically they will eventually be fine, but not as quickly as they would have been if they had just, you know, talked first and punched later.

So here's my final thoughts. Rukia would be living with Byakuya. Where they would be living would be determined based on if Byakuya had been able to hold onto any of his wealth and then been able to trade with Urahara for some World of the Living funds. 

Renji I could see still living with Urahara, but depending on Rukia’s and Byakuya’s situation, I can see it taking all three of them getting part time jobs to get by. Also, I doubt Urahara would take all three of them in. They could technically live in his basement, but unless he had a use for all three of them, I doubt he'd take them in. (Although the idea of all three of them doing secret missions together as some sort of mission impossible secret task force is pretty cool!) The visoreds tend to stick to themselves, so I kinda doubt they'd take them in either.

So yeah, maybe all three of them DO get a very stuffy, very angsty apartment together, and are extremely relieved when the Arrancar finally attack. xD

So what do you all think? Do they all stay together? Do they all split up? A combination of the two? Where do they all live? Feel free to comment or reblog to let me know!

[regainingparadise]

Relistening to TMA Season 5, I am again struck by how goddam badly Martin and Jon need couples counseling.

I love them both. I ship them very much. But oh lord they have issues

Like, these are two individuals who, under the very best of circumstances, would really need therapy both individually and together. They are both people with plentiful quantities of relational trauma from childhood that neither of them have worked through even the slightest bit.

And then you throw them into the apocalypse. And you add a metric fuck ton of guilt, helplessness, and the dynamics of being "The Antichrist and +1"?

On a surface level--Jon is in a perpetual state of information overload. Martin is in a perpetual state of "can you please just explain the basics of what's' going on in a given situation and not just say "it's complicated" or launch into a gruesome monologue"

But on a deeper level, their childhood relational traumas have left them each with opposing avoidant tendencies: Jon is unwilling to broach a difficult conversation, which leads him to hide information until he's confronted. Martin, on the other hand, has a finely honed ability to ignore information that he doesn't like until he no longer can hide from it.

Biggest example of their avoidance tendencies: Martin's Domain

Way early on, when we barely understand any of how the hellscape works, Jon mentions it, Martin shuts it down hard and deflects quickly with a bid for affection from Jon

Martin is in deliberate denial, but Jon admittedly wasn't particularly clear to start with.

"We all have a domain."

Jon means it, presumably, as "Me, You, and other 'Avatars.'" Jon is used to being grouped with those empowered by the Entities. Martin isn't. (see also: MAG185: Martin" Is that how these creatures see us now? As one of them?") But that's not what Jon says. And this is MAG167--they've only been through four domains, at least that we've seen. Jon is speaking from a place of knowledge, and assuming his listener has that same knowledge.

And when this issue comes up much later in MAG183, Martin has spent 17 episodes ignoring or forgetting that he has a domain, not letting that information in so that he has never processed it. (See also: Mag170: "Sometimes I wonder if I forget things on purpose. Easier not to think about them, I guess. Easier to just let them… slip away. They can’t hurt you if you don’t think about them.").

Martin confronts Jon on his avoidance (because while Martin may be good at ignoring things he doesn't like, he's far better at bringing up challenging topics), Jon is able to manage some A+ communication on his feelings and the genuine challenging of figuring out how to share upsetting information when he has All The Information, Martin accepts that. I just desperately want a therapist to be there and make them continue this conversation and practice ongoing good communication skills!

Though they resolve this, even though Jon has an explanation that makes sense...he was really leaving this conversation to the last minute. Would he have "[brought] it up at the crossroads" as he claims to Helen? Or would he have avoided it entirely, as she accuses, or waited till they were at the threshold, as he does with The Desolation and the Hunt, leaving Martin to confront terrifying situations without forewarning or planning or explanation.

Again, Jon kind of tried to bring up some of the potential issues with Basira and Daisy before entering the Hunt domain, but kept it Vague and Ominous ("Things aren't...good"). Martin took that vagueness as an opening to avoid engaging with potential bad news. The teensiest bit of therapy for either of them about their communication issues could have let Jon add "I know you're exited but FYI here are some specifics that you should know" and/or Martin go "I'm excited to see them but given that nothing is good right now, can you be more specific?"

Instead, Jon approaches difficult conversations by being Vague and Ominous, Martin gets snarky or passive-aggressive at the vagueness, upset or aggressively avoidant at the Ominousness, Jon closes back up like a turtle into his shell, and the conversation only comes back up when the situation has drastically escalated, leaving them both more upset.

Jon wants Martin to trust him, because explaining what he knows implicitly is an ordeal for him, and because his upbringing by his grandmother has suggested that communicating is generally unwanted and burdensome (See: MAG081 A Guest for Mr. Spider).

Martin wants to know what is going on, because he's in an awful hellscape of shifting rules about what can and cannot hurt them, completely dependent on a brand-new romantic partner for his survival and purpose, and also because his upbringing and coping mechanisms as a caretaker rely on him knowing enough to help, and his time as an archival assistant has given him some not-inconsiderable trauma about being left in the dark (See: MAG118 The Masquerade) (There's also another post in my head about how MAG118 primed Martin for both the Lonely and his development as a more confrontational character in S5)

All that to say.

Martin needs therapy to deal with the way he chooses not to absorb information he doesn't like. Jon needs therapy to understand that sometimes it's ok to bring up important topics even if the other person will be upset. They both need therapy to cope with all the guilt and helplessness around the apocalypse so they stop taking it out on each other. They need therapy together to learn how to work through their conflicting coping mechanisms.

[a-dinosaur-a-day]

Opinions on owning pet parrots? I'm doing a degree in animal welfare and have pretty much come to the conclusion that the smaller species are fine if you can provide what they need but the larger birds like the greys, outside of being rescues, shouldn't be pets at all.

Okaaaaaaaay so time to make everyone mad at me again I guess

parrots have been human companion animals for longer than Judaism has been around, so, I don't think we can just say "it's wrong" and force everyone to stop doing a thing that's been done for that long. Like, this isn't a human randomly taking home a tiger, this is a long going process with many species of parrots now being near-domesticated in the strictest sense of the term

Parrot ownership is in fact ancient in many "tropical" areas and the idea that it's a new thing is... white supremacy! what a shock!

in the United States (I am not talking about other countries, just my own), literally no companion parrots are wild caught anymore. They're bred. Bred as companions. If we were to outlaw larger parrot ownership, many birds would be without a home, and that's morally reprehensible

in fact, the kind of backlash against parrot ownership that's risen up in the past decade has directly led to a shelter crisis. most shelters are overfilled and overstressed, which is a *lot* worse for the birds in many cases than home ownership

parrots are pets that have extraordinarily high care needs. They are not good pets for everyone. but no pet is! Every single companion animal has its pluses and downsides, and many of them have many more downsides than pluses. Doesn't mean they shouldn't have a home.

There are some people who are actually able to take care of companion parrots, adequately, in their homes. First of all, we've learned a lot in the past few decades. Second of all, there are lifestyles that work well with even larger parrots and their needs.

So, while the number of human beings on this planet who can adequately take care of large parrots is extremely small, it is not zero. Which means if someone thinks they can take care of a bird well, and has the space and resources and time, then they should be allowed to, if that's what they wish

Because birds in the USA are bred as companions, the vast majority of said parrots would be unhappy in any situation that doesn't involve close contact with humans. Admittedly, all my parrots are "small" (whatever that means), but I know for a fact that if you took them away from our home they would be significantly worse off, because they're bonded to us. That's how this whole flocking thing works

Also, our most recent rescues, who had been stuck in a shelter for 15 years, are definitely happier now getting more individual attention and space. Shelters are supposed to be temporary places for most birds, not permanent homes, because they can't get the adequate level of care and attention that they need.

also, I'll point out that being pets has allowed many parrot species to have thriving populations that are not threatened by climate change, which is something to their benefit. given. you know. climate change. not that pet ownership is conservation, but, it's not that far removed from it - the axolotl population owes a lot to both pet ownership and zoo captivity, for example.

like, it's a spectrum, right? And it doesn't really go along with size, at the end of the day. There are tons of extremely neurotic and high needs small parrots, and many larger ones that are exceptionally chill. So while the vast majority of humans on this planet should not have a parrot, that's not all of them; and while the number that can handle higher maintenance ones is even smaller, its not zero. And I think, given the fact that we have all of these captive bred birds in the states at least, it's not a good idea to tell people that there is no way to ethically practice husbandry with them.

and I'm not the kind of person who assumes I know everything about someone's life in order to tell them "no you shouldn't bring home that cockatoo", so I'm not going to. In fact, I give everyone on the internet the benefit of the doubt if they have a parrot unless a) that parrot shows signs of distress (like plucking) or b) there is clearly something wrong going on (like someone's smoking weed around their bird)

so, no, there's no commonly kept (and thus domestically captive bred) bird I think is a bad pet for every single human on the planet. And it's not my business whether a particular individual should or should not have a particular bird.

[arlerts-angel]

—✮⋆˙ 𝐁𝐑𝐄𝐀𝐊 𝐔𝐏 𝐖𝐈𝐓𝐇 𝐘𝐎𝐔𝐑 𝐁𝐎𝐘𝐅𝐑𝐈𝐄𝐍𝐃, 𝐈'𝐌 𝐁𝐎𝐑𝐄𝐃!

✦ a/n: please don't romanticize this irl | armin is your jealous best friend | enjoy!! 😚

✦ pairing: armin arlert x fem!reader

✦ taglist: @ringsofsaturnnnn @dilfkentolover @ambassadorarlert @i-literally-cant-with-this

✦ warnings: cheating | coercion | ooc armin? | pet names: angel, baby, pretty girl | oral sex (f) | orgasm control | nipple stimulation | unprotected penetrative sex (piv) | amateur porn | creampie | you both send the video to your bf lol | reader is racially + bodily ambiguous :)

✦ word count: 985

armin hates your boyfriend.

he just doesn't understand what you see in him. he could treat you so much better... why can't you see that? if you won't take him at his word, he thinks, he'll just have to show you instead.

it wouldn't be the first time the topic of leaving your boyfriend came up in conversation, but it typically didn't get as tense until now. his hand gently caresses your thigh as he leans in close to you. he watches the hair on your skin raise at his touch.

his lips curl into a devilish grin. "let me show you how you could be feeling, y/n. you don't know what you're missing."

you knew better, in your right mind, but nothing felt more right than being this wrong. his hot breath against your skin and his hand sliding further up your thigh makes your pussy ache, further clouding your judgement.

"armin, we—"

"we what? shouldn't do this? no, angel. you shouldn't. but you want to, yeah? i can tell. just say the word." he breathes, tracing his fingertips across your inner thigh.

you sigh. he's right; he always is. he can read you like a book and you both know it. "one time won't hurt, right?" you think, then nod in agreement. "o-okay. just this once though."

he moves quickly to get you out of your clothes. he swipes his finger up and down your slit, collecting your sticky slick on the tip before circling your clit. "mmm. your pussy's so wet for me. you want me more than you realize, huh angel?" he taunts, moving his finger down to your entrance. he pushes his finger into you and pumps teasingly. armin lowers his head then flicks his tongue lightly against your clit, causing you to arch your back and buck your hips against his face.

"slow down there, angel... if i wanted you in control you'd be riding my face. we're going at my pace, understand?" you nod in agreeance, much to your chagrin. "good." he replies before returning his tongue to your swollen bud, this time with a bit more vigor. you reach down and grab his hair as a familiar flutter in stomach begins. "armin–! please i-i'm gonna c–! ahg!"

"what's that, angel? i didn't quite get that." he says condescendingly and lifts his head to look at you, rubbing your clit tauntingly.

"i'm close..." you breathe. he watches your chest rise and fall.

"really? already? your poor excuse of a boyfriend... he's never tasted your sweet pussy, has he? tell me... how many times do you have to fake it with him? when was the last time he made you cum?" his words hit like a ton of bricks. your boyfriend never went down on you but always expected you to. he used to make you cum early on, but admittedly the spark has faded. "your silence says it all, pretty girl."

he dives back in between your legs, licking and sucking on your clit hungrily and fucking two of his slender fingers into you. for the moment his motive shifted from proving himself right to making you feel better than you had in quite a while. his hand slides up your body to massage your perky tits and pinch your nipples gently.

"ah–! armiiiin–!" you moan as a rush of the senses washes over your body. your legs tense and shake as you ride out the height of your orgasm, slurring curses under your breath as you collect your thoughts. he takes a final slurp of your juices and you jolt at the sudden stimulation.

"felt good, yeah? i'm not done with you yet, though." he winks and presses his lips against yours. you unhesitatingly return the kiss, subsequently tasting yourself. you moan into his mouth as he teases your cunt with the tip of his cock. "hope missionary's alright. it's my favorite." he smiles and pushes his length further into you — hissing as your walls clench and suck him in. you shut your eyes blissfully as his cock fills you. he reaches besdies you for your phone and opens the camera.

"fuck, you feel so good." he groans, aiming the camera down at his cock thrusting slowly in and out of you and his thumb swiping your sensitive clit at the same pace. you open your eyes to see him with your phone out.

"you're—ah!—recording?" you ask, already stupidly drunk on his cock. "mhm. we're gonna send this to your stupid boyfriend. you gonna leave him for me aren't you angel? tell him how good my cock feels." he growls and thrusts into your pussy faster and harder.

he pans the camera up to your nodding head. "feels good 'min", you moan, "you fuck me so good. so much better than him." you look at the camera and armin groans.

"keep looking at the camera baby... just like that. fuck you're so pretty." he huffs, panning the camera back down to your pussy getting fucked.

"ngh–! gonna cum again-!" you mewl as your walls tighten around his length and your second orgasm washes over you. his thrusts become gradually sloppier as he gets closer to his orgasm.

"taking my cock so good baby. can't get enough. y'gonna milk me dry" he mutters under his breath. he inhales sharply and his cock twitches with each spurt of cum. "fuuuuck–take it baby, take it just like that." he groans as the final string of cum shoots out. he lets his cock soften inside you as he catches his breath, then points the camera at your pussy dripping with his cum.

he presses the button to stop recording then hands you your phone. he kisses you, then asks if you're actually gonna send it to him. the two of you send the video to your now ex, and not even five minutes later, your phone starts to ring.

banner/divider by benkeibear

[puttersmile]

Why I like Dogday x Bobby Bearhug

Working off of my last Crittertember post, posting the shipping manifesto for the four of you who are just dying to know, lol.

Part 1 of Post: Here. Just a lot of pictures.

I guess I should start with how I started liking the ship in the first place. As best as I can remember it started with a mildly intense obsession with the Smiling Critters after seeing them in Poppy Playtime Chapter 3. Their carboard soundboards specifically intrigued me. As a fandom we really had ziltch to work with so maybe I was hyper-analyzing their phrases to see if anything could be gleamed from them.

There isn't much unless we are meant to believe Picky is literally a cannibal. I don't think so? I think the voice lines have been corrupted by the metric ton of death that happened within the factory. Be it as it may, what little we fanon-ize about the critters, a lot of it is probably coming from those soundboards.

A post about this already exists on tumblr but at some random point I thought, "Weird Bobby Bearhug and Dogday's cut outs sound like they are talking to one another." Not sure how my brain jumped to that conclusion but it did. As seen in this post with some old oogly art I drew.

And then @meowcola made my dream come true by editing the two voices together. Yhaass! For this I am forever grateful to my fellow shipper.

I don't think any of the other critter's voice lines bounce off of each other as well as these two do (admittedly with slight editing), or even at all. But Bobby and Dogday's cutouts almost seem to have a conversation that don't work played against any of the others. Dogday trying to push someone away that he cares for and Bobby desperately trying to stay with someone she cares for.

Dogday's fall is he cares too much.

Bobby's fall is she doesn't care enough. For herself.

Obviously they are talking to the player actually but my fanon ship brain interpreted it differently. I guess from there, albeit a doomed one, I shipped this ship fairly hard.

The rest of this rambling essay under the cut:

Why I think they work:

Dogday and Bobby’s relationship is mostly about balance. While Dogday’s the brave and daring leader of the group (except when there's a thunderstorm—he tries), Bobby’s the physically strong yet practical one. She’s a total powerhouse,(literal mama bear energy) ready to protect when needed, but only as a last resort. Dogday loves how protective she is, and Bobby really appreciates his loyalty, especially since it helps with her self-worth issues.

One of Bobby’s biggest insecurities is that she believes she’s annoying to her friends. Even though it’s clear she’s not, in the back of her mind, she constantly second-guesses her actions. She’ll wonder if hugging someone is the right move in the moment or if she’s overstepping. Dogday, on the other hand, is someone who thrives on affection and would never get tired of Bobby’s hugs, making him the perfect counter to her uncertainty.

Both of them would share a strong sense of humor, which helps them face life’s challenges with optimism. Dogday is especially good at this.  They know how to lighten the mood and bring joy to each other’s lives, even when the weight of everything starts to creep in.

Bobby’s also got a knack for stepping in when Dogday forgets to take care of himself. She’s nurturing, and in return, Dogday reminds her she’s worth it, which she sometimes forgets. Though Bobby’s not Dogday’s second-in-command (that’s usually Bubba Bubbaphant), she’s the one Dogday confides in emotionally when leadership wears him down.

Over time, Bobby finds herself leaning on Dogday, too, sharing her deepest insecurities and struggles with him.

What really makes them work is how much everyone trusts Bobby. She’s the keeper of everyone’s secrets because they just naturally open up to her. And eventually, Dogday becomes her rock, giving them this deep emotional connection where they’re both vulnerable and open with each other.

Bobby’s practicality also helps balance out Dogday’s crazier ideas. She rarely says “no” outright, but she’s good at restructuring them to make things safer or less chaotic. If safety’s not the issue, then they’re often the ones mediating when their friends have disagreements. They’ve both learned the importance of compromise and work together to bring peace to any tense situation.

I feel like their brief character descriptions show how good they would both be at this.

They’re known as the “mom and dad” of the group, always looking out for everyone’s physical and emotional well-being.

It’s funny how differently they approach things, like planning events—Dogday’s spontaneous energy versus Bobby’s structured organization—but they still make a great team.

In public, they’ve got this super cute Barbie/Ken - Mickey&Minnie vibe, showing their love for each other without hesitation. It’s strong, proud, and they never shy away from letting everyone know how much they mean to each other!

Character flaws/dark side of the ship:

At their darkest, Bobby and Dogday have some pretty complex flaws. Bobby, when she’s at her worst, can be manipulative. She’s got this way of playing on people’s emotions, sometimes twisting things to suit her needs, all while wearing a caring face. It’s like she knows people trust her and she uses that to her advantage, especially if she’s feeling insecure or threatened.

On the flip side, Dogday’s biggest weakness is his fear of hurting others. He’ll go to great lengths to avoid conflict, even if it means letting himself be hurt. He’s so afraid of causing pain or upsetting someone that he’ll bottle up his own feelings or allow himself to be taken advantage of.

This combination can be dangerous when their issues align, with Bobby’s manipulation and Dogday’s passive acceptance creating a pretty toxic dynamic in their worst moments. Thankfully this outcome is incredibly hard for me to see happening. It is still a possibility though.

(In some messed up but interesting fanfiction)

Other Stuff:

On the wiki I saw something incredibly minute but decided to go ahead and make something of it.  There is the idea, at least, that Dogday is named after “Dogstar” aka Sirius, the brightest star in the night sky. If you think about Dogday being associated with Sirius, the Dog Star, and Bobby representing Ursa Major aka The Big Dipper, in my mind it symbolizes how their relationship works.

Sirius is the brightest star, leading the way, just like Dogday, who's bold, full of energy, and always guiding others. Bobby, on the other hand, is like Ursa Major—steady, reliable, and always there to support.

Their relationship reflects that balance: Dogday’s light and leadership are complemented by Bobby’s protective, grounding nature. Together, they’re like two guiding forces—he lights the way, and she provides the strength and stability needed to stay on course.

It’s almost like he can shine brighter because he knows she’s there, holding things together.

And for Bobby, Dogday is the spark that keeps her moving forward, even when she feels uncertain.

It’s also cool how Ursa Major is used for navigation, like Bobby helps Dogday find his way emotionally. Meanwhile, Sirius has been a marker of important times like the "dog days" of summer or the flooding of the Nile river, (The flooding of the Nile is celebrated btw, it's a good thing) just as Dogday marks big changes in Bobby’s life.

They balance each other out like the constellations they represent: one a guiding light, the other a steady, protective force in the background.

I think about the cardboard cutout order. Bobby and Dogday are among the last supposedly, holding out even longer than the athletic Hoppy. I interpret that to mean Bobby on her own has a strong will and some amount of bravery.

Not to throw shade at the others who fell before, as it could have all come down to bad luck.(or bad platforming skills--burn.)  But I bring the “possible” death order up as some might say Bobby’s sweet and caring nature means she is weak or useless. I don’t think so.

This is also why I characterize Bobby as sort of a lady-like yet cute bruiser. Dogday is brave but not the strongest critter by far.  Dogday is  Zelda and Bobby is Link lol.  Bobby Bearhug is his knight in fluffy armor, and Dogday is Bobby’s warm home.

There is a tragedy to this. If Bobby was one of the last two  with Dogday in the game. (Going by the order the cardboard cutouts are seen.) I imagine she was doing her best to support him, only for Dogday to abandon Bobby near the end. As the leader, Dogday did what he thought was best and it broke her, ultimately ending them both.

How the relationship Helps them grow:

Not wanting to end this on a down note I’ll speak a bit more on how the relationship enhances both of them.

Bobby’s practical, more thoughtful approach doesn’t just temper Dogday’s adventurous spirit as what may be expected from a dynamic like this. In fact it enhances his daring. 

Yes, it'll ease him off riskier behavior but it enables him to be a more successful leader with her providing safety nets and or foundations for him to be confident. It's not just him willing confidence from within, there's another external pillar to  bolster his confidence. That pillar being her secret knowledge of their friends. While Bobby won't be spilling secrets, she'd certainly know how to guide Dogday in the right direction when it comes to helping the others.

She helps ensure that his ideas are successful and safe, so he'll not only be able to focus his energy on particulars but he'll have the confidence to be the best leader he can be, knowing he won't just come crashing down to earth.  

In turn Dogday's boundless energy, brings joy and spontaneity to Bobby’s more grounded maybe reserved, structured world.  Though she is strong she likely tends to fall back to what's familiar, to what's safe. There is strength in the familiar in the sense of you know for sure you are strong here, but out there things may be more uncertain. 

Out there you can feel weak. At least that's the perception for some with issues of self worth. But now with his energy, his enthusiasm, his optimism, and his light, she'll have the freedom to step out of her usual comfort zones and perhaps be more than she may have imagined. 

Sooo yeah. This ship is not bad. Nor is it boring. I'll never understand how this sentiment came about. Opposites attract isn't the only way a relationship can be interesting. Okay people?

 And that is all that I have to say! Thanks for listening to my CritterTalk.

[phoenixyfriend]

Hi please consider: Vivi and Sanji are, ostensibly, of the same social class.

Vivi and Sanji are arranged into a marriage.

Vivi's assistant/secretary/handmaid is Nami. Sanji's bodyguard (which he doesn't need but it's a whole situation about being royal) is Zoro.

Technically, for Reasons, Zoro and Nami also get married. On paper.

Every night one of each duo hops the fence, high fives, and goes off to do ZoSan and NaVi shipping instead. (You know, like this post about Mercutio and Romeo.)

Arranged royal marriages but make it shenanigans instead of Sad.

Admittedly I'm not super into NaVi but I am a fan of Zoro and Nami as a duo and I think them bearding for each other would be hilarious.

It's not about military support like the Big Mom thing; Germa want to exchange their tech (desalination plants) to Alabasta for raw materials (beach-beaten sand, used for concrete).

God, this would work out so well for all of them.

Nami is so weird about girls that the flirty friendship just gets treated as Normal, especially since Vivi is fairly shy about romance.

Sanji is ludicrously over the top about girls and will dote on his wife, publicly, at volume, even if they're not in romo.

Vivi gets a marriage that her royal court will allow, to a friend who gets to leave a bad situation, and they can both live with it.

Sanji and Zoro will fight like the bitches they are.

Nami and Zoro will oscillate between saltmates and a dynamic that really has people making "Ah, the old ball and chain, huh?" jokes because of the whole debt thing.

BECAUSE SOMETIMES TOXIC HET MEMES MAKE IT SO YOU DON'T EVEN HAVE TO TRY TO BE IN LOVE

Sanji and Vivi are doing their best to sell it (it's easy, they aren't expected to be in love, they're already friends), while Nami and Zoro, despite actually being friends who would die for each other, are leaning into toxic heterosexuality for the gag.

They want people to suggest couples counseling.

They want to be so toxic that people get concerned.

Someone tries to hand Zoro a pamphlet about financial abuse and he just takes one look, stares them in the eye as he puts it in the trash or shredder, and then says "I can't read."

And leaves.

(Which is not a funny subject, but is a funny reaction.)

Nami: I have a great sense of direction and he has no sense of direction at all. Nami: I'm fun and he's no fun at all. Nami: I've got tons of money and he's got none at all. Nami: We can both drink the rest of the world under the table. Nami: We complete each other.

"That's not a basis for a relationship." "It isn't? Shame."

[doe-eyed-fool]

Fallen {Chapter Eight}

Alastor x (fem)Reader

"I was also thinking we could add some gaming consoles. Just if you get some younger sinners coming through. Doesn't have to be all new, some people like older systems too." I say to Charlie. She was writing some of the ideas I had down as she listened.

So far, I had suggested a television with some movies to go along with it. As well as a Bluetooth speaker for playing music, and some board games. And it wouldn't hurt to add video games as well. "I think I can get my hands on some of those." Charlie says with a smile.

 "Any other ideas?" She asks. "Well, I did have an idea for advertisement. But first I have to ask, why haven't you created a build board yet?" I guess it would make sense for the city like aesthetics of hell would have build boards too. And I've seen tons. Advertising all sorts of things, even admittedly some pretty silly and downright stupid things.

"Well, it's not like I haven't tried." Charlie laughs weakly. "As you can imagine, no one is really taking my idea seriously. So, there's that. Also, there's a ton of people ahead of me trying to get one."

"But aren't you the princess of hell? Can't you just...you know? Make them bump you up to the front?" I ask. "Nah, I don't want to have to do that." Charlie shrugs. "I wanna try and do this my own way, without abusing my power. I've only had to do it once, and that was when Alastor showed up to the hotel. I had to convince him to not pull any stunts behind my back and to basically play nice with the people checking in." She explains.

"I guess even he has to listen to you." I say with a slight smile. "Eh, yeah. But it's like pulling teeth." Charlie sighs. "I believe you." I sigh as well. Charlie eyes me for a second before speaking again.

 "You said Alastor helped you find your way here from a bad spot. But how exactly did that happen? He isn't the most...friendly(?) of people." I felt a twinge of panic surge through me at that question. Though, I had a feeling the question would come up eventually. But I had hoped I'd never have to be the one to answer it.

"Um yeah...I was in bad shape when I landed in hell." I began, trying to make this as convincing as possible. "I was really injured and he helped me. Then he mentioned this place and brought me here. I uh...really want to go to heaven. And when he said there was a place to help me get there, I jumped at the chance."

"I see." Charlie nods. "I guess I'm still just a little shocked that he of all people offered to help someone out. He didn't try and trick you or anything...right?" She leans a little closer to me as she whispered. I smile as best as I could and shook my head. "Nope. I came here of my own will." Charlie leans back. "Huh. Ok. Maybe this place is rubbing off on him after all." She says, her smile returning. 

"Though, I have a feeling he'd deny it if I told him that." She chuckled. "Well, if you can't get a build board right now. Maybe stick to posting the hotel online? Maybe make an account just for the hotel and it's amenities?" Charlie takes out her phone.

"I've tried that. But there's not many followers, and the attention the hotel does get is mostly from troll accounts and overall dickheads." She says as she shows me the phone. She opened up an app called Sinstagram...uh, clever? And scrolled down to the comments under the photos.

And just as she said, it was filled with crude, hateful, and downright inappropriate comments. Very little people were taking it seriously.

"Oh, I see." I mutter. "I know you said you didn't want to use your status to get your way. But, I was thinking maybe use that kind of power in a good light." Charlie gave me a confused look, she stayed quiet, letting me explain further.

"Why not throw a ball and invite some persuasive people? Maybe the overlords? They seem pretty important. You could pitch the hotel to them personally, and if you can catch their interest, they're bound to talk about it." Charlie leaned back and hummed. 

"I do like the idea of a ball but...I don't know, the overlords never expressed any interest in the hotel. Besides, most if not all of them gain from people's sins. Especially in the entertainment industry, like Val and Vox. Those two are unstoppable when it comes to providing for the sinners in hell. Of course, they don't topple over the deadly sins themselves but uh..." Charlie trailed off when she noticed how lost I was.

She cleared her throat. "But, it wouldn't hurt to try...right?" She smiles weakly. I could only nod, matching the grin.

I did feel for her. Starting a project that you're very passionate about, only to be met with hate and dismissive comments has to sting. It seemed like even her own father didn't care about her dream. I wish there was something more I could do to help her.

"Hey, how about those new curtains huh?" I say, trying to brighten the mood. Charlie and I looked towards the large windows, the fancy velvet red curtains that accompanied them. For the past few days, the hotel has gotten a bit of a fixer upper. 

New furniture, wallpaper, and lighting had been installed into the hotel. We even gave the outside a good polishing, thanks to Alastor's help that is. Otherwise it would have taken much longer. And now with a new common room with various forms of entertainment on the way, the hotel was looking better with every passing day.

If it's one thing people could say about the hotel, that wasn't completely bashing or berating it, was that it looked aesthetically pleasing.

"If you did throw a ball, the look of the hotel will surely impress them!" I try to cheer her up. Charlie looked around before turning her attention back to me. "Ah, what the hell? Let's throw a ball." She says with a shrug. "I can't let the what if's get in my way. I won't! I will throw a ball, I will invite those uptight asshole overlords, and my parents! And I'm gonna show them just how effective this hotel can and will be!" I smile at her determination.

After getting to know Charlie, I've learned that she was all but willing to give up. Especially when it came to something she really cared about. And she certainly did care about this hotel. "I hope all goes well." I tell her. "You have a good heart Charlie. I want you to succeed." Charlie smiled warmly before hugging me. "Thanks Y/n."

I hug her back, and shortly after we parted. "Alright." Charlie nods. "I have a lot of planning to do. I'll catch you later, ok?" I nod my head and waved before she hurried off. Suddenly, a pang of anxiety hit me. And it was then I realized, I had never been to a ball before. Of course I hadn't. I mean, I haven't even been to a large party before. "Uh oh." I mutter.

"Something the matter?"

Ah yes. That's something I've gotten use to. Alastor's sudden voice in my ears have became somewhat normal to me over the past few days. I sigh before speaking. "Yes."

What followed was Alastor's breathy laughter that only stopped when he suddenly appeared beside of me. "Let me guess, it's about the ball that the princess is planning? Never had much experience mingling with important figures, I take it?" He asks smugly.

 "How did you guess?" I roll my eyes. "I'm kind of regretting giving her the idea now. Gosh...the overlords scare me enough. But Lucifer and Lilith being there...I think my heart's going to explode."

"Oh, try not let it. The heart is the best part, wouldn't want it to go to waste." I sent him a glare. "Very funny. Im serious."

"So am I."

I groan in annoyance before turning to face him. "I mean it. Im gonna make a fool of myself. Maybe I'll just fake being sick that day." I say with a sigh. "Nonsense! You'll do just fine." Alastor waved his hand dismissively. "Everyone at the hotel will be there, so you'll be around some familiar faces at least." He tells me. And admittedly, that did bring me some comfort.

I hadn't known these people well, but it was better than not knowing them at all. I got along pretty well with Charlie, but I am certain she'll be busy with the overlords and her parents at the ball. But surprisingly, me and Angel Dust had gotten along as well. 

Despite his rather...perverted and lewd behavior, he was actually pretty decent to talk to. And, I also felt a little sorry for him. From context, his boss seemed like a rather cruel and unforgiving guy. Abusive even. Angel's line of work was already tough and dangerous enough. To have a boss like that on top of it all...It must be exhausting.

But even with the somewhat comfort of knowing they would be there wasn't quite enough to convince me. "I don't even have a dress. I can't go to such a fancy event like this." I say, gesturing to my outfit. It wasn't terrible, but it most certainly wasn't ball wear. Causal, is the best way I could describe it.

"Then perhaps you should buy one." Alastor suggests. "With what money?" I counter. "Also I don't know any shops around here to even get a dress. I really think I should just skip out on the ball. Those types of things aren't for me anyway."

"Im sure Charlie would want you there. You're the newest guest in the hotel after all. It'd be strange if you didn't show up." Alastor says with a smirk, knowing he was right. I frowned deeply. I hate that he was right. "Fine I'll go." I say, defeated. "Wonderful! Now, come along." Alastor walks ahead of me.

"Where?" I hesitate before following after. "We're getting you a dress. Not to any shops around here of course. No no, we're going to proper shop for your dress. And I know just the place!" I stop in my tracks. "I already said I didn't have any money." I try to argue.

"Consider it a gift, from me to you." Says Alastor, a hint of false kindness in his tone. I narrow my eyes. No way. He'll want something in return for sure. I cross my arms, still not moving an inch. "What's the catch?" I ask.

"No catch." Alastor says simply. "I don't believe you." I mutter. Alastor only chuckled before snapping his fingers. Before I knew it, we were in front of a store. A big, fancy, expensive looking store. "Alastor!" I snap my head up at him. "After you." Alastor says, opening the door for me. Realizing there was nothing I could do to change his mind, I sigh and walk inside.

The clothes inside of the store looked just as fancy as the store. Soft music played in the background, it being the only noise in the otherwise quiet store. "Feel free to look around." Alastor tell me. I repressed the urge to shoot him a glare before walking further into the store. I didn't even know where to begin. Well, other than finding the women's section that is. "I guess...I just find the best looking one?"

"Or. You could look for one you like?" Says Alastor. "I mean yeah but. Shouldn't it be really fancy and elegant?" I ask him. "The king of hell is going to be there." Alastor looked at the dresses in front of me, he bummed before shuffling through a few. Then he pulled out a red and black dress.

It wasn't what I was use to, but I had to admit, it was a very beautiful dress. And conveniently was backless, perfect for my wings to fit through. "What do you think of this one? Elegant enough for you?" Alastor asks. I had to tear my eyes away from the dress to look at him. "Um, yes. I think that one is fine." I tell him.

He then hands the dress to me before leading me to the fitting rooms. "Go ahead and try it on then. See if we need to make any adjustments." I nod before walking inside one of the stalls and shutting the door behind me. After changing, I turn to the full length mirror behind me. 

To my surprise, I was left in awe at the sight of myself. My new form seemed to have complimented the dress wonderfully. I was actually taken back by how nice I looked. "Almost done?" I could hear Alastor call from the other side of the door.

"I am." I say before opening the door and stepping out. If I blinked, I would have missed how Alastor's brows shot up for a brief moment, before returning to normal. "My, how lovely!" He compliments. "I say it suits you quite well. But what about you? Too tight or loose in any areas?" He asks. I shake my head and look down at myself. "No, it fits pretty well. It's shocking comfortable too."

"Well then, let's check out." Alastor guides me to the register. The cashier politely greeted us, but quick to cower in fear as they noticed Alastor. They rang up the dress, eyes darting from the register to Alastor, as if waiting for him to lunge.

When I heard how much the dress was worth, my jaw nearly dropped to the floor. "Al-" I didn't get a word out before Alastor bought the dress and escorted me out of the shop. As we left, I could hear the cashier sigh in relief.

What just happened?

(I published chapter eight too cause I got hit with a wave of motivation! Chapter nine and ten are in the works!)

[lucydoodlessometimes]

the Lunar secret weapon and the King's best kept secret, one Carswell Thorne!

Cinder | Kai | Cress | Scarlet | Ze'ev | Jacin | Winter

original au

Au-specific character info under the cut

Thorne knows his full name here, which means he could track down his birth records and thus parents- if he wasn't convinced there was no point, as they voluntarily submitted him to die. so.

He braids his hair in much the same way that cress wraps hers around her wrists as stress relief. I didn't find a good way to draw it, but its there.

Thorne is more unsure than in canon in this au, but he is very interested in making cool romantic moments (as opposed to Cress, who was very interested in having them but rarely tried to make them.)

he has a little Thorne! just as eager and cheerful as little cress, but a bit more utility-focused. He quickly got bored of the background work slog, even as a child, and thus programmed little thorne to take over lots of the early searching, filtering, and sourcing of the research Sybil often asks for.

the haircut cress gives him post-satellite is, admittedly, rather good for a newly blind woman.

However, if you have functioning eyes, you can probably tell that it is godawful.

Fortunately, Cress also manages to pick up an escort body for Nansi, who delights in fixing it for him.

(on that note, I think I might change up her look from Iko's even though it doesn't really make a ton of sense? mostly because I want to. Talk me out of it in the tags)

Thorne gives Cress her eyedrops and is very extra special careful about it because he doesn't wanna mess up this thing he's got going on in her direction. He's worried about her!

I made a pass at a butterfly outfit here- I confess, I'm very excited for the blue "dress"

(I may or may not let it be a dress, I think that futuristic sci fi can accommodate a man in a dress so it's really just whatever I wanna draw that day and whatever i think he looks good in)

either way, i let the butterfly sleeves instead take on a capeish feel, as I don't think the draping feel works as well on this kind of jacket. Future changes may occur!

His satellite outfit was kind of meant to give this yucky hospital gown feel, as I imagine Sybil to be rather,,,,, uninterested in the fashion of her little tool.

That's all I got! hope you enjoyed and feel free to add on <3333

[prince-liest]

I feel like this is a risky question but if you don’t want to answer you know what to do. Reading 666 I questioned so many things on love and relationships that I’d already started to question before, but not to such extent. Inevitably this led to a talk with my psychologist (you know how people joke “my therapist will hear about you” well yeah that happened) and asked her what’s the difference between romantic and platonic love if we exclude social expectations. To this she replied it’s sexual chemistry you can have with more than one person, and nothing more. Beside that, it’s technically still just “platonic”. The more I think about it the more sense it makes. In which case, I wanna ask if you agree as an aroace, and in the terms of 666 does that technically mean Alastor loves Vox in that sense? I think you’ve said before he wouldn’t go as far with anyone else, so I guess I’m asking you if he feels genuine sexual chemistry with him, because I do have a hard time figuring that out while reading (unreliable narrator is my enemy) and most of the time I’m even more confused than Vox is on how much Alastor is enjoying anything sex related

I have a couple of things to say about this one, haha. It was interesting to think about, and I'm admittedly more delighted than I should be that I've made it into someone's therapy session, hahaha.

Firstly, I disagree with your psych about how to define romantic love and I think the same would go for a ton of people both aro and allo. "Friends with benefits" is a known concept that is different from "romantic partner" for a reason, and I don't think we'd have so many "we started out friends with benefits but, oh no, we caught feelings down the line, how unexpected!" romance plotlines if friends with benefits was the same thing as a romance apart from social expectations. Also, this way of describing non-platonic love makes it impossible for non-aro ace people to love romantically purely by definition, and I think many non-aro ace folks would disagree with that.

Secondly, Alastor isn't sexually attracted to Vox in 666 regardless. He enjoys the things they do, which is very different. Not to get too clinical about it, but he doesn't even tend to experience sexual arousal unless they're getting up to the very specific type of acts that he's personally into, which is why every time Alastor is taking on the dominant role his internal narration is pretty much just going on about wanting to eat Vox whole - it's entirely a non-sexual sadism thing for him, even if Vox is still getting off. It's possible to enjoy sexual activities for reasons other than sexual gratification, and that's about 80% of what Alastor gets out of their encounters.

If you want to see what it looks like when I write from the POV of a character who is sexually attracted to their partner as a point of comparison, I recommend reading How to Bag an Angel: Take That, Depression! and then contrasting that to Alastor's internal narrative in the 666 chapter where he fucks Vox. But as a straight answer, I write Alastor as a character who sometimes gets off on being forced into submission/humiliation, and not really all that much else.

I think defining romantic vs platonic feelings can be very personal, and both psychologists and philosophers have been trying to do it for ages, so it's something that you kind of have to define for yourself - but that's my view on it as pertains to this fic, at least! I hope that was helpful!

[apollos-olives]

Hi sorry Israeli Canadian anon from earlier. White gays are saying that Palestinians are homophobic??

(Admittedly, i am a white gay. I say that in the sense of "didn't realize ppl were doing this" and not in a distancing way to exempt myself from the shitty things us white gays do. I'm not perfect.)

Okay, putting aside how bullshit it is to label an entire ethnic group as being homophobic - do ppl think that Israel *isn't* homophobic?? Or transphobic for that matter? I actually happen to be trans and when I was changing my name and gender marker on my legal documents, I learned that I can't change my Israeli birth certificate bc to do so requires bottom surgery. Which I personally don't want or plan to get. To put that into perspective, canada (with all its bullshit facade of being such an ~accepting~ place) doesn't require that. Requiring bottom surgery to change gender marker is so fucking antiquated and transphobic.

Also, to be honest, even though I was born in Israel, I'm not super educated on all of the history. Part of that being because for so long I saw the discussion surrounding it being portrayed as oh so complicated. And then I realized that it really isn't. At its very core what it boils down to is: do you support genocide? If your answer is yes, then you support Israel. If your answer is no, then you support Palestine.

(Very much want to learn more about Palestinian history and Israeli occupation/apartheid. Do you have recommendations for articles/documentaries/etc on it?)

hi anon. and yeah. white gays, especially libs, constantly use the belief that all palestinians are homophobic (which also leads to islamophobic sentiments) and that people should not support palestine because of that. unfortunately that is a very overly used belief in arguments, especially in north america. the belief that palestine is homophobic and that israel is very open and supportive is due to pinkwashing, which can be explained very thoroughly on the website decolonizepalestine. this website also has TONS of information all about palestine, the occupation, and the various forms of questions people often ask, while also debunking a lot of myths and falsehoods that are produced from israeli propaganda. very good site to scroll through, and i'm sure many of your questions will be answered just by taking a read through it.

i'm not going to waste time and repeat what thousands of others have already said about pinkwashing, but i do want to mention that pinkwashing does play a huge role in the dehumanization of palestinians and also plays a role in how western propaganda continues to split oppressed minorities constantly, making them against each other rather than uplifting each other.

the belief that all palestinians are homophobic is. honestly. well. it's islamophobic. i'm queer, trans, muslim, and palestinian. i exist. queer palestinians exist everywhere. western and zionist propaganda makes people think that all palestinians are muslim, and therefore against queer people. this is simply not true, since palestinians are very VERY diverse. palestinians are christian, jewish, muslim, atheist, and whatever else as well. it's not a religious thing, it's an ethnic and racial thing. palestine simply has not had the time to unlearn homophobia or had the time to try to advocate for queer and women's rights because we are too busy trying not to die. we don't have time to fight for queer liberation because we're too busy fighting for our HUMAN liberation. we are trying to exist first, then we can worry about the discrimination against queers.

israel also claims to be a safe space for queers, but it is literally the opposite. it's just as discriminatory as other countries, and hurts queer jews, as well as blackmails queer palestinians into submission. like you said, israel does have transphobic regulations, like the whole "need bottom surgery in order to legally get a sex change" and other things like that.

i've been recommending this masterlist of palestinian resources for everyone, but please look through this if you want to learn more about the occupation in palestine. the website i mentioned earlier is very helpful as well.

inshallah we will see a free palestine in our lifetimes.

[twistedminutia]

Which Halloween event has been your favorite so far? Which one would Gray be dealing with in your fic?

I think I'm going to be very mainstream here and say probably the Glorious Masquerade is my favorite. The first is fun, and possibly my second favorite so far, but not as impressive in terms of costumes and characters, the second was interesting, but I didn't like the twist at the end. I haven't completed the Playful Land yet since it's not all out on EN and obviously I only know a few details about the newest Halloween event on JP, so I can't really judge either of them!

In terms of which Halloween event is canon to my fic... the unfortunate answer is none of them! The issues is that my fic follows the continuity of the main story in the game, and none of the Halloween events are canon with the game's story.

The first and second Halloween events can't exist in the main story timeline because they take place in October, but Yuu knows Malleus' name and they're close enough for Malleus to want to set up his Halloween display at Ramshackle Dorm. Yuu canonically doesn't know who Malleus is until February in the main game, so this timeline doesn't make sense.

The third Halloween event, Glorious Masquerade, has a similar issue- it takes place in October again, but Yuu is aware of who Malleus is and they're friendly, when Yuu should only have met him, like, once at this point. Additionally, for more timeline shenanigans, Deuce knows his signature spell, something he ALSO shouldn't learn until later in the year. (Though it's also implied that he doesn't know Azul is shady yet either, which makes sense because they didn't have their deal yet in October... but also doesn't make sense because Deuce didn't have his signature spell yet when he made that deal...)

The fourth Halloween event, Playful Land, doesn't have the Malleus issue (since he doesn't show up) but there's a new timeline snarl- Ortho is shown as a full student wearing his school uniform, and is in the Film Research club and, therefore, close to Vil. But it's October, and Ortho shouldn't have been enrolled in school until about a month AFTER Vil's overblot and the STYX shenanigans, which would mean he's not a student until March.

As for the fifth event, I haven't read it yet, but I'm predicting similar issues to the first three events, namely that it's October, but Yuu knows who Malleus is.

And all five of the events have issues with character relationships. Admittedly, it's hard to say for certain because we don't get a ton of information regarding which characters know other characters, but, for example, Deuce and Epel don't know each other until Book 5 in the main story, but are grouped together in the GloMas event. Jack and Leona are friendly toward each other in the Playful Land event, but this is, at maximum, taking place only weeks after Leona overblotted, so it seems like there should be some more tension there.

In all honesty, most events don't fit well into canon timelines. Epel's hometown event seems categorically impossible to fit in (neither he nor Yuu should be friendly with Sebek, since Lilia implies Sebek has no friendly relationships with other freshmen in Book 7, Yuu doesn't know Epel prior to the VDC, and the event needs to take place during winter, but either Yuu doesn't know Epel, they're training for the VDC, or it's after the VDC, in which case Ortho and Idia should be on bad terms with Epel due to the incident at STYX, which isn't resolved until it's spring) and a majority of the other hometown events are likely impossible prior to Malleus' overblot due to timeline restrictions. The only event that is canon to A Million and One Minutia so far is the first Fairy Gala event, and even then I kind of fudged the timelines and had it happen around the VDC (which Vil was NOT happy about.)

Generally the canon rules for A Million and One Minutia is as follows:

Main story- Highest level of canon, will supersede all other parts of the game and is canon to AMOM unless otherwise specified in the story.

Standard, non-event vignettes- Generally canon unless stated otherwise or contradicted in the main story.

Events, event vignettes- Non-canon unless stated otherwise.

[t00thpasteface]

Hiiiii₍⁠₍⁠◞⁠(⁠ ⁠•⁠௰⁠•⁠ ⁠)⁠◟⁠₎⁠₎

Could you explain the hipster Vs fandom war. I've been on here for like four years and I never knew that existed lol and btw I really really love your art and you are one my biggest inspos for how I imagine and draw my Clark.

i'm not sure i can explain it in a way that makes sense, and certainly not in a way that makes you say "i understand why this was such a big deal", but gl'bgolyb knows i can try.

first, let me take you on a sensory experience... picture in your mind the following things... skinny jeans... nerd glasses... a weirdly dapper fashion sense in a time where everything is baggy and neon... boom, you have 2010-2014 online tumblr hipster culture. and also 70s elvis costello, oddly enough.

although admittedly i don't know his stance on pumpkin spice lattes.

anyway. now that that's burned into your brain, consider a significant population of this exact type of person that has already been well-established on this microblogging platform around the turn of the decade. tumblr doesn't really have an app yet because smartphones haven't taken over everyone's life yet, and online fandom culture is still largely dominated by deviantart as the main "fandom hub". most people, myself included, are getting their main meme fixes from facebook (which your parents were not yet on) or the icanhazcheezburger image-aggregator network. THEN EVERYTHING CHANGED WHEN THE FANDOM NATION ATTACKED.

somehow, a huge crowd of people who considered their favorite books/movies/games to be core personality traits began to set up shop on this fair slate-blue isle. i number myself among this crowd, having been lured here by google-image-searching for miscellaneous fanart in 2011. the "old guard" largely belongs to, and continuously attracts new bloggers within, a burgeoning subculture that 100% defines itself by bucking popular trends and social expectations... whether or not this is actually accomplished by purchasing beverages from starbucks and putting old film filters on every photo, i cannot say.

you may be seeing an issue already arising: hey, if the hipsters hate everything that's popular and gatekeep all their interests, and the fandom bloggers are obsessed with extremely popular franchises and are hell-bent making them even more popular, isn't that going to cause a little friction?

well, yes. it caused a fuck ton of friction. a division arose early on between "the fandom side of tumblr" and "the hipster side of tumblr." some people, like myself, played both sides. others abstained from the rigid dichotomy and considered themselves to be on another "side," like the science side of tumblr, known for explaining relatively straightforward STEM concepts in large essays that began with something like "listen up fuckers."

ahhh, unfriendable. such a narrow little window in time where cheezburger sites and facebook had equal sway in the online zeitgeist.

interestingly, as someone who trawled a LOT of aesthetic tags, the most popular of which was simply #aesthetic (it was shockingly consistent in there), i never actually saw hipster bloggers complaining about fandom bloggers. it was always the other way around, with fandom bloggers bragging about how much they're freaking out the squares to get cool points with other fandom bloggers, all while never actually engaging with the hipster bloggers because their tags rarely overlapped.

hi, marge! we're freaking out the hipsters!

regardless of whether there was any material reality to it, or if it was simply a Minitrue level of entirely fictional warfare, this concept entrenched itself into the fandom bloggers, likely as a way to still feel "edgy" and unique while, again, obsessing over extremely popular and mainstream things like doctor who, pokemon, avatar the last airbender, the brand-new mcu, and other decidedly non-counterculture media. even with things it felt like no one irl had heard of, like hetalia and homestuck, those were online juggernauts nonetheless, the former of which had dominated deviantart for years and the latter of which prompted hotels and convention centers across the world to implement very strict rules about unsealed body paint. people treated fandoms like they were some sort of exclusive country club with membership fees and a dress code. and dunking on hipsters became an entire genre of Fake Internet Story, which were already pervasive on this website.

what's the point of being in a clique if there's no outgroup to flex on? #swag

this whole phenomenon ran concurrently, even symbiotically, with other tumblrisms like "tumblr university" and those horrendous "not like other girls" memes...

which means, of course, it was absolutely dead in the fucking water once DashCon happened in 2014. i don't need to tell you what happened at DashCon (there's a million essays and videos about it if you're one of today's lucky ten thousand who's never heard of it), but all across the fandom side of tumblr, it felt like finding out your parents lied about santa claus. turns out the fandoms you're in don't actually say anything about who you are as a person, a bunch of tumblrinas can't just will a fully functional micronation into existence just by wearing tacky merchandise in a public venue, and magic probably isn't real.

i wish i had some grand way to end this story, but really the moral is the same as it ever was: online drama is eternal, inescapable, and completely fucking worthless. if you only post to get mad at shit, especially if you're just making up a guy to get mad at, cut that out. touch grass. look at images of cats. i don't remember any of the enemies i made from this era, but i fondly remember all the friends, and i'm richer for making those positive connections. that's all for today's episode of Tumblr History with Toothpaste Face... remember to tip your waitress and stay minty.

[ironwoodprotectionsquad]

Okay so I wanted to talk more about the poll listing Hero as a villain song and how little sense it makes to me. Admittedly Les Poissons also doesn't make a ton of sense as Louis is more of an antagonist not a villain but at least Sebastian sees him as a villain so it kind of works. But Hero is called well Hero for a reason, and classifying it as a villain song is strange to put it mildly.

The first lines from Hero that most fans heard where:

I would die Without regret, I'd offer up my life With zero reservations I would fly Into the sun, if that would keep our dream alive

I say most fans heard as those are the lines the song starts on in R/WBY during the Gravity fight. The first lines of the song are:

Take my hand I'm here to protect you Nothing will stop me Understand There's no sacrifice that I won't make I'll risk it all to keep you safe Trust me to be strong I'll be your hero, just hold on

Now regardless of which lines a fan heard first, both convey that James is willing to die to protect people. He is willing to sacrifice himself to protect people and keep them safe. That is not the mindset of a villain. It doesn't meet any criteria for a villain song. TVtropes describes a villain song as: "The Villain Song is an over-the-top, gloating cackle about their Evil Plan, philosophy of life, or why they do what they do" They also mention a villain song can be someone else singing about the villain and what they've done like Cruella Deville or it can be a villain trying to trick or manipulate someone to do what they want like Friends on the Other Side or Poor Unfortunate Souls.

Now lets take a look at every version of villain songs. Hero doesn't discuss some evil plan or really any plan. It's about James's desire to protect people, which definitely isn't villainous. James isn't singing it so it's not him talking about his philosophy and their is no mention about why he does what he does, only a desire to help people. No one else is even singing the song so its not like Cruella Deville and again their is no villainous deeds being discussed so even if someone else was singing about it, it doesn't work as a villain song.

Now some people might argue that it is James tying to manipulate people but again, James is not singing it, so he can't be manipulating someone when he is silently fighting a known terrorist and trying to stop him form destroying Amity Tower and killing everyone. And again, even if he was singing it, it doesn't make any sense to be "manipulating" Watts as Watts works for Salem and is helping end the world. He is not a hero in any sense so the argument James is manipulating a villain because he is a villain despite his only goal at the moment being to stop a terrorist makes no sense.

So, the song doesn't match any sort of definition of what a villain song is. Furthermore, the lyrics are not those of a villain. RW/BY songs are said to be the characters own inner thoughts. A villain would not think about being willing to die for someone or a greater goal. They would not think about offering comfort and kindness.

Now this goes more into head cannon territory but for me parts of Hero like:

Deliver you from harm Shelter in my arms The fear will surely fade Know right now the plan I made will guide us home We'll survive this storm

or: Hope's not gone, just hold on

Are words James wishes might be said to him. Just look a t how happy he is when he's told Ozpin is back and in Atlas.

Vs how crushed he is when he finds out Ozpin is gone again.

For me personally this always read as someone who is tired but carrying the weight of the world on his shoulders because their isn't anyone else who can carry it. He has to but hopes their is someone who can help him, but when he realizes that isn't the case he continues carrying the burden and continues to stand tall and offer hope and shelter to people the best he can.

Back from head cannon territory, I want to focus on this line here: Hope's not gone, just hold on

Offering assurances that the war is not lost, that they just need to keep holding on and not lose hope. Those are not the inner thoughts of a villain. They're the inner thoughts of a Hero. The very name of the song.

Even if we could convince ourselves that Hero has lyrics of a villain song. James is not yet a villain when the song plays (yet is used vey loosely here as volume 8 is just. So bad. He shouldn't have been a villain ever but that's another post). He is actively fighting Watts, someone who works for Salem, someone who is trying to end the world. He is actively working to keep people alive when this song plays. Trying to apply Hero as a villain song to an arc that happens in a volume the song never plays in makes little sense.

The writers themselves said the ending of volume 7 was supposed to be a trolley problem with no clear right answer. So calling him a villain in volume 7 also just doesn't work based on the writers own words. But again, even if the writers now say James was clearly the villain at the end of volume 7, that doesn't fix the issue of James clearly being the hero in the Gravity fight where the song Hero plays.

I don't know how else to put this, but saying Hero is a villain song is so laughably wrong it's crazy I have to discuss this at all.

[omnomnomdomcaps]

What are your top 5 fetishes and associated kinks?

This is a great question, and I'm sorry it's taken me so long to answer. I had to really think about how I wanted to divvy things up, and decided to go with some broader fetish categories, including a #1 pick that you'll never guess! Let's dive in:

#5. Desperation / holding - I don't talk about it a ton here, but I do enjoy me a good old fashioned bit of desperation in my smut from time to time. It's a wonderful way to get the heart pounding, the blood flowing, and the intensity rising, all as our heroine (or hero) teeters on the edge of ego-crushing humiliation. And depending how the episode ends, it's also a lovely way to tie into a number of other kinks on this list! #4. Ageplay - There's a joy to playing pretend, and it never really goes away, does it? Scenarios involving ageplay give us an opportunity to explore fantasies by playing them out together, and the results can be wondrous.

Some people may actually be surprised to see this relatively low on the list, as it is quite closely tied to my #1 kink - which again, you will never guess. But the entries ahead (as well as the one below) occupy hold particular interest because they require no pretending and no voluntary regression to have our dom dominating and our sub reduced to whimpering mush. So let's get into those, shall we? #3. Language play - this one holds an obvious soft spot for me because I've been championing it for a long time in the community. Admittedly, it's not something every couple can try without a fair bit of prep work, but if you do get the opportunity it's a wonderful way to instill a feeling of littleness in your little and a unique sense of control for your big.

Like everything else on this list, it's also a lovely compliment to other fun things! The speaker / non-speaker dynamic could be because the latter is too little to talk, sure, but it could also be because they're a pet (who needs to learn commands in the target language, of course), or because they're a kidnappee in a strange land. The sky's the limit, and the uncharted territory of this kink makes it uniquely fun to explore.

#2. Hypnosis - The true hero of so much of my forced regression fiction and the stuff of many a fantasy, hypnosis wouldn't be this high on the list if it weren't at least a little real. And yes, while irl hypnosis doesn't quite instill the same magical transformations that its literary counterpart does, it can genuinely affect behaviors over time, and can do quite a number on an entranced individual in the short term.

Is it a little bit scary when it works? Oh, heck yeah, but that's what makes it just so much fun. Just don't go too deep alone - stay safe, kiddos.

#1. Asphyxiation - Ha! Bet you didn't see that one coming! Okay, okay, fine, it's not actually on my list (no disrespect to the choking aficionados out there - you do you)

My real top pick is...

#1. AB/DL - Ha! Bet you didn't see that one coming!

Okay, okay, fine, maybe you did. But AB/DL is the tapes that fasten this crinkly world of kinks here together. Diapers, incontinence, pacifiers, baby toys, or some sort of regressed state offer a symbol of submission that clicks hard with so many of us. It allows for the assertion of power without pain, for a total release of responsibility and worry and an incredible ego-boost of control for the respective players, and for the ultimate trust fall between two loving partners (or more - again, I don't judge).

Where you go with that, and what else we incorporate, is up to you. Just be sure to share all the juicy details after.

Keep it kinky, y'all

[nanasalt]

Hi, I'm genuinely curious why you have called Elsa "abusive sister"? What's your, as an Anna lover, main take on Elsa?

Context for my comment.

Realizing on a reread that you asked for an Elsa analysis and I kinda made it an Anna one. They're entwined, though -- it's hard to talk about one without the other, especially when the first question is why call Elsa abusive? The short answer is I was being very reductive in that post for the sake of brevity. The tag directly after is me saying in a quick, off-the-cuff way that Elsa's not wrong:

#see: Anna of Arendelle #suffering is good! #filial loyalty should trump logic! #dying for your abusive sister is good! #Elsa obviously has her own issues but from Anna’s pov?

Believe me when I say that I can go full Elsa apologist very easily. Send a second ask if you want to see that, actually, I do have a lot of Elsa Thoughts. The thing is, there's a ton of Elsa fans out there and Anna tends to get the short end of the stick, despite being - in my opinion - the better sister, and not for nothing, but I think Elsa would agree that Anna is a better sister.

The tragedy of Frozen is that Elsa isn't wrong to isolate herself and try to keep Anna safe, and Anna isn't wrong to sense her sister still wants to connect and try to make it happen. That's what makes it tragic. Anna's desperate attempt to reconnect at the party is what makes Elsa balk, and Elsa balking is what pushes Anna away into the arms of someone who isn't afraid to tell her she's wanted. (Of course, Hans isn't afraid because wanting her won't kill her the way Elsa is pretty sure wanting a sister will.) Anna coming back from a whirlwind of having fun - having a friend - for the first time in years and telling Elsa she wants to get married freaks Elsa out, because Elsa's about to lose her sister to some stranger! Elsa tries to get the situation under control the only way she knows, which is to get away from everyone and self-soothe, but Anna is fed up and presses the argument then and there, which sets Elsa off and reveals the depths of Elsa's problems.

But critically, Anna's not wrong, and she's not stupid.

A major theme of Anna's character is that nothing is explained to her, and she is mistreated as a result. We, the audience, understand why Elsa locks herself away. We, the audience, skip over literal years of isolation for Anna in a three-minute song. We, the audience, see Elsa's anxiety when alone or with her parents. Anna, on the other hand ... to pull from the musical, which I admittedly like more than the film:

ANNA: ... Truth is, I never knew why my parents ordered the gates shut, why the celebrations ended, or why Elsa stopped talking to me. All I ever knew was, I missed my sister. I spent years trying to figure out what I did. I begged to know, to understand, but all my parents would say is, it’s for the best.

Anna blames herself for the fact Elsa locked herself away, and Elsa does not, as far as we see in the story, disabuse Anna of that notion. Sure, you can argue it happens offscreen somewhere after the show, and I'd agree that the arc of Frozen means the girls are going to sit down and realize their parents kinda sucked and gave them both trauma, but that happens after. (Frozen 2 doesn't exist in my head. I don't hold with anything that doesn't admit their parents fucked up big time. The best you can say is they tried to help their daughter, and that is tragic too, that nobody was able to help them do it.)

From Elsa's point of view, she ran away and Anna followed - against Elsa's advice and orders. Elsa felt confident enough to let her sister in and talk about things -- and Elsa couldn't handle it. She shot Anna in the heart as a result, putting them exactly back where they were when they were kids and Elsa was the biggest danger to her sister. Elsa was right to be afraid of intimacy, she was right to protect Anna from herself. The biggest danger to Anna was always Elsa.

This verges into Hans apologism, but we're focused on the girls so stick with me: Elsa literally kills Anna in the story. Hans is a big asshole about this little, "If only there was someone out there who loved you," speech, but he didn't kill Anna. Elsa did. If Elsa hadn't shot Anna in the heart, Anna would not be dying now. If Hans was going to kill Anna, that would've been the place -- and instead he leaves her to die of the wound her sister gave her.

So how does Anna feel in that moment? Narratively, we focus on the fact Hans has been the biggest dick lately, so she's heartbroken by that, but I'd posit she's been let down by the two people she thought might want her: Elsa and Hans. At this point Anna was probably thinking she could get cured and maybe that she and Hans would fix this together.

Instead, her unending faith in her sister should have brought her to this conclusion: Elsa killed her, Hans refused to save her, and they've both abandoned her for dead. In the film, Elsa - by proxy - throws Anna off a cliff right after shooting her in the heart. She could not be more clear about locking Anna out. Hans locked her in, but all to the same effect: Elsa's curse is going to kill her.

Does it really matter why Elsa cursed her?

When I say Elsa is an abusive sister, I mean that from Anna's point of view, Elsa lashes out and hurts Anna because of her own pain. We, the audience, have the benefit of knowing why - but we, the audience, also aren't feeling our fingers freeze solid as our jaw locks up with ice, so maybe we're not getting the full effect there.

Frozen's magic system is simple: magic and emotion are the same thing. (Frozen 2 do not interact.) Elsa's powers are driven by emotion, and they can be driven to great heights or great lows. The tragedy is that she doesn't learn to channel positive emotions, so she only knows fear and anxiety, which spiral out of control as those emotions always do. That fear isn't irrational - she's afraid for her sister, she's afraid for her country, she's afraid to let people down - but it is damaging and uncontrollable.

It literally kills her sister.

Anna dies, not because she threw herself under the sword and got diced, but because she turns to ice. She dies because of Elsa's curse, which ironically saves her from being killed in a bloody way. In that moment, Elsa sees her worst fears come true: she killed her sister. In the musical, she sings:

Anna? Anna - no! This is what I feared, this is why I shut you out so long ago. I'm sorry, I'm so sorry ... Look at what I've done to you.

As she realizes this, the magic begins to undo itself, not because Elsa realized the depth of her fuck up but because Anna committed an act of true love. Anna is brought back to life miraculously by her own self-sacrifice because it was pure and selfless. Which is why my final tags were:

#the narrative posits that [Anna's] suffering was good #actually. #and wanting things for herself was Bad actually

Wanting Hans, the seeming first person to value her, was wrong. Throwing herself under the sword for the sister who ignored her until she murdered her was good. In a meta sense, Anna wanting something for herself was wrong, and being blindly loyal was good. She is literally rewarded by being brought back from the dead to be a continuing loyal companion to the woman who shot her in the heart.

At the end of the day, the fact Elsa feels terrible about this both makes no difference and makes all the difference in the world. Elsa has been awful to Anna, and her being able to recognize that is what makes their relationship so compelling. The fact Elsa is also abused is important; she was locked away from society just as much! While Anna was so neglected by their parents that she spoke to paintings, Elsa was being told to just get better, keep it inside and don't freak out. Like many abused people, when Elsa grows up, she doesn't know how to form a healthy relationship at first. Her first fumbling steps end in disaster, and as musical Elsa begs:

This is all so brand new Let me first learn to crawl Before I try to walk

On one hand, that doesn't matter, because Elsa did abuse Anna for a period of time, via neglect and outright harm, up to and including murder. On the other hand, it matters more than anything, because Elsa chooses love, chooses to reconnect, finds true regret and wants to be better. Anna forgives her, because she loves her.

It's what makes the bones of this story so tragic and compelling. The love is real and the hurt is real. The difference is that both sisters choose to move past it, and I can see there being a good ending where they repair their sisterly relationship.

But for the duration of the story, and the near-decade before? Anna was abused by everyone in her family, and Elsa has to take responsibility for that before they can begin to heal.

[confoundedluna]

can't sleep and brain is on overload so i'm breaking out what is possibly a Controversial until dawn opinion

I don't believe Emily and Mike physically cheated on Matt and Jess with each other.

there's a Ton of evidence seemingly contradicting that, sure, but when you look at it it's Incredibly circumstantial and not the full story

Mike and Emily hugging after she tells Matt she's going to find Sam?

we never actually hear what they're talking about, it could have been a friendly greeting, or hell it could have been comforting because, y'know, IT'S THE YEAR ANNIVERSARY OF THEIR FRIENDS DISAPPEARING AND IT'S KINDA THEIR FAULT

if they were cheating, surely they'd kiss, rather than a pretty chaste hug? okay, sure, there's the risk of being caught, and Ash does of course see them, but I don't really see anything romantic in their body language (though that might be just me)

Emily getting all jealous and possessive and picking a fight with Jess in the lodge?

I don't think that's coming because her and Mike are secretly involved still, I call that Maybe some lingering romantic feelings from what was likely a shitty breakup and mostly bitterness that her best friend is dating her ex that just a year ago she was helping deter another girl from

the big kicker some people whip out is the unpopular dialogue choice when the fire tower is falling, if Matt saw them through the viewfinder, in which Emily basically admits to cheating, right?

except. she doesn't.

her voice in that scene is the biggest thing to me. most of the time, Emily is angry. aggressive. but in that scene, she knows she might die, she's Terrified, and her only hope of getting to safety is yelling at her insistently that she's cheating on him.

"Christ, Matt, we were just talking!" and 'I- I was confused!" and "Please... Matt, I'm sorry!" are her most important lines in that scene, and her delivery is Desperate. she basically whimpers before her stuttered "I", which makes sense. most of Matt's non-choice dialogue, of which there is admittedly very little, makes him sound like a peacekeeper, a mediator. the way he tries to placate Emily when they first arrive, or how he apologises to Ash after scaring her? not the aggressive, fight-starting guy the player can make him be.

so to be Screaming at her in a life or death situation? she knew there was no getting through to him, and she had to say what he wanted to hear if she had any chance of him getting her to safety

none of her words are an outright confession, just enough to Seem like one, and hopefully be apologetic enough that he'll save her so they can talk later, back on safe ground

the "confused" line I call back to 'Maybe lingering romantic feelings leftover from a recent shitty breakup', I haven't heard many cheating confessions so I don't know how many try the confusion justification, but I don't think it fits here

(also, confirmation needed, but on a video I watched of this fire tower scene, I saw a comment saying the devs confirmed she's lying here about actual physical cheating having happened? I don't have a source for that if it's true, but if anyone does that would be really cool and helpful)

and on Mike's part, I look to simply every single thing centred around Jess he did in the game. which was a Lot. they have such a great dynamic, he's clearly very devoted to her, desperate and broken and angry when she's taken and he can't save her, and I just don't see him cheating on her at all, not even with Emily.

so, yeah. while there might have been some emotional stuff left on Emily's end, which does make her kinda shitty since she's with Matt, I don't think they did anything physical while committed to other people like some think they did. Mike I think too devoted to Jess and probably unwilling to go back to Emily, probably associating the relationship with the twins' disappearing. Emily I think does genuinely care about Matt enough to not act on any possible leftover feelings, and this is speculation on my part but she probably wouldn't even if she's just using Matt as a Mike replacement because she's so bitter at Jess for 'stealing her man', but wouldn't want to do the same thing in return to her because she thinks she's better than that i.e better than Jess.

if y'all think differently, I'd love to hear why! or, if you agree with me, I'd still love to hear more! I love thinking about this kinda thing and hearing other people's perspectives