#again i'm not being salty about it but also sometimes people Say Things in my tags and i just gotta laugh cause like

[queerofthedagger]

i think it's incredibly funny that sometimes people follow me on here who like, not only don't ship merthur but clearly have one hang-up or another about it cause it's like. that's entirely fair and with the size of the ship i even see how it might be annoying if you're not into it and all, and this is a multifandom/multiship blog and you're more than welcome here as long as you're not being a bitch etc etc etc yada yada. but also. you are aware that WELL over half of all 120 fics on my ao3 are.. you know... merthur right like? insert <we ship merthur here sir> meme

[arcsimper5]

Clarification

Spoilers for TBB S3 Finale under the cut, just a bit of clarification on what I've been posting about since the finale.

I've lost quite a few followers and had some odd comments directed at me for this, so I wanted to just go a bit more in depth on my gripes.

I want to preface this by saying, I enjoyed the finale. I've glad they got their happy ending, I'm glad we got old man Hunter and grown up Omega and they got their peace.

What bothers me the most is Crosshair.

To put this into context, Jennifer Corbett is a Navy veteran. She has seen combat. She has almost definitely seen people affected by PTSD, if not affected by it herself.

Crosshair's hand tremor was a result of PTSD from the torture and the attempted conditioning.

PTSD is a serious, sometimes lifelong condition which can limit what someone can do. Triggers differ for everyone, as do the causes, but as someone who also has PTSD, though mine is from childbirth and the trauma associated, I get shivery and clammy and have panic attacks if I hear certain stimuli, smell certain smells.

Crosshair was meditating. He was coming to terms with his PTSD and how it WAS in his control if he worked on it.

To end all of that, basically going 'PTSD is stored in the hand, lol', was an insult.

Taking his hand was a stupid writing choice. Not only because it served literally no narrative purpose (the bridge scene would have been SO MUCH MORE IMPACTFUL IF CROSSHAIR'S HAND HAD STOPPED SHAKING BECAUSE HE HAD TO SAVE OMEGA), but also because, from that point on, Crosshair's PTSD is never addressed again.

He's cured! Right?! Because they cut off the thing that was being affected by his BRAIN, so there's NO MORE PROBLEMS.

It's cheap. It's lazy. It's poor writing.

The second half of the finale reeks of being rushed and cut and glued back together incoherantly.

We don't get closure for anyone other than Hunter. They sit under the tree, and Crosshair and Wrecker are SILENT.

I expected MORE. The focus on Crosshair and his hand has been intense this whole season, it's been a huge plot point.

But now the hand's gone, so it's all good.

I've seen some people saying that it 'freed' Crosshair from being a sniper.

But you know what? He could have freed himself. He didn't need a personal attack (by a clone who turned out to be no-one - salty about that for other reasons). He could have done it with the love and support of his family.

I expected better from a veteran. That's what's miffed me. I expected better from a writing team being trusted to deal with PSTD.

So I'll leave you with this, because I'm frustrated, but I know it's just a show, and I'm going to let it go.

[randomthefox]

Please observe that Tails is literally saying that he wants to DESTROY Eggman here.

"bwaaaaaaaah?"

Sonic the mediator. I've already talked about this scene before but I'm gonna do it again.

first note that Tails totally initiated this argument apropos of nothing. Tails is feeling salty and he's just throwing out resentment at Eggman because he finds being in his presence intolerable. As does Sonic, but Sonic is willing to tolerate it specifically BECAUSE he blames himself for causing this situation in the first place, as he'll explain. Meanwhile Tails is sitting there thinking "this wouldn't have happened if you'd just fucking listened to me >=/ "

Tails lashing out in this moment towards both of them makes perfect sense from his own perspective.

.... do you, though? Eggman didn't really present a very strong case on that point. It makes sense why Sonic ACCEPTED the argument that they need Eggman for this, because he's acting based on his own guilt and remorse for causing this and he wants to correct his mistakes. But I think it is entirely reasonable to point out that Tails could absolutely do it without needing Eggman around. And it's not like Sonic CONSULTED with Tails and asked if he was fine with the arrangement or anything, he just agreed to it unilaterally even though it meant saddling Tails with having to put up with having Eggman around.

Tails IS speaking from a place of unreasonable resentment here, he's letting his worser demons dictate what he says and is absolutely allowing bottled up resentment and the already agitated emotions in the heat of the moment bring him to accusing Sonic of acting in bad faith. Tails is upset that Sonic didn't listen to him in the first place, he's upset about not being asked if he was okay with Eggman tagging along, he's upset that Eggman EXISTS AT ALL, and now he's saying things that he doesn't mean and which he can't take back.

It's almost like he's an imperfect mortal person, or something.

Sonic's response of "what?" makes it clear that the game isn't exactly presenting Tails as being In The Right in this argument either. Sonic is responding as if Tails accusation is coming out of nowhere and feels unreasonable to him. Which it kind of does, externally. But if you connect the dots, it's perfectly logical FROM TAILS PERSPECTIVE why he is now expressing these emotions.

There's only so many ways I can try to put it into words, but: have you never BEEN in an ARGUMENT before? Have you never been the unreasonable party IN an argument? This is just a THING that people DO sometimes x3 It's completely believable human behavior, and it's entirely consistent with Tails established characterization of having self esteem issues and his behavior throughout the game up until this point.

I literally don't understand why people complain about this. I think they're just stupid.

Sonic's responses REALLY cannot be understated here, also. I'm sorry to raise the comparison because I know some people will believe it undermines my analysis, but if this was IDW!Sonic, he would totally just be an asshole to Tails here. IDW!Sonic would- well frankly, IDW!Tails wouldn't have even gotten to this point because IDW!Tails is a thoughtless drone who just mindlessly goes along with whatever Sonic says with no independent thought. But whenever IDW!Sonic is met with someone arguing against him, he EXPLODES at them and basically treats them like absolute garbage and tires to browbeat them into compliance, usually by attempting to emotionally manipulate them

or exclusively argues strictly from the point of view of things HE cares about rather than things the person he's talking to cares about.

He displays a clear lack of empathy, and a pathological need to be submitted to.

REAL SONIC meanwhile demonstrates true empathy, showing that he understands what other people value. He repeatedly tries to deescalate the situation by speaking in a relaxed or pleading tone, so that he doesn't add more fuel onto the fire of Tails heated emotions.

He tries to get Tails to understand the pragmatic needs of their situation, because Tails is a logos guy and he knows that a logical argument is USUALLY the correct approach to try and convince him. He is taken by surprise when Tails shoots back with a pathos response, because it's very unlike him. But he very quickly adapts by trying to reassure Tails emotional concerns. Look at the way he says "I do trust you-" only to be interrupted by Tails saying he doesn't, so then Sonic repeats himself with more emphasis "I DO trust you, Tails."

He tries to reassure Tails that his feelings are misdirected, that Sonic does value him, and then continues by expressing his OWN emotions to Tails. Explaining what his current feelings are, that he feels guilty and responsible for what's happening. Logos didn't work, so he appeals to Tails current pathos driven frame of mind, and attempts to get him to understand and sympathize with Sonics own pathos state. He even drives the point home by REPEATING TAILS OWN WORDS BACK TO HIM. "Do you know how much that bites?" That's actually a recommended negotiating tactic. Just repeat what the person you're talking to said in the form of a question. It makes them feel heard. It's part of active listening.

Tails being a little brat makes PERFECT SENSE for his character in this moment. And Sonic displays that he is exceptionally emotionally intelligent and knows exactly what to do and what to say, tailoring his approach to suit the flow of the conversation. THIS SCENE IS GOOD.

And Eggman even gets to butt in by demonstrating he's an absolute narcissist with no capacity for empathy whatsoever x3 Honestly this scene is such a rockstar moment for this game, I don't understand what peoples fucking problem is.

hehe, funnee game =3

[miraculouslbcnreactions]

What do you think about opinions that Chloe’s development was ruined in season 3 finale because Thomas didn’t like that viewers like her more than Marinette? I Don’t think that it’s true, but it gave me idea that Thomas ruined Chloe’s already few character development because viewers liked her more than Gabriel.

I've heard this theory before and it seems like a massive stretch to me. It's always possible, but I don't feel comfortable making accusations like this without some hard evidence and I've yet to see any, though it's not like I follow this guy on Twitter or anything. My knowledge of what goes on behind the scenes is all based on random things that make their way to my Tumblr feed. So if someone has hard evidence, feel free to reblog and add it, but the most likely explanation is just bad writing. Why ascribe malice when incompetence makes just as much sense and requires a lot less motivation?

Think about what this accusation is actually saying. It's claiming that an adult man willfully ruined a major element of his passion project (or even just the show that he's known for, meaning that it will define his future career) because he was salty that people liked a character that he created. That seems like a conspiracy theory take to me.

It's also not like Thomas has full creative control of the show! Head writers have power, but they rarely have total power. They're still employees and a ton of things happen between an episode being written and the final version being aired. Producers, directors, censors, and many others usually okay a script prior to an episode being animated because that's the most expensive element. Plus it's not like he's the only one who wrote Chloe's story. Every season two and season three episode is credited to multiple writers. In other words, it seems like multiple people signed off on Chloe's story.

There's also the issue of the air dates. Queen Wasp and Miracle Queen first aired about twelve months apart (October 6 2018 vs October 15 2019). Production times for animated TV shows are about that long, which would mean that Miracle Queen was probably being written or was even already set in stone around the time that Queen Wasp aired. In other worlds, every element of Chloe's journey was probably at least sketched out before the audience ever saw it start. That would mean that nothing in that story was reactionary. It just doesn't fit the timeline.

While Chloe's season three ending was a total mess, it was hardly out of nowhere. It was glaringly obvious that Chloe couldn't stay Queen Bee from the moment that we met Queen Bee. You can't willfully out yourself to the world and expect to stay a hero (or, at least, that shouldn't be a thing Felix). I was honestly baffled when they gave her back the bee in Malediktator and relieved when Marinette finally acknowledged the problem in Miraculer:

Ladybug: I'm sorry, Chloé. I should've told you this a long time ago. I might never be able to let you be Queen Bee again.

Which was, of course, the setup for Miracle Queen, further complicating this theory because it looks like less than a year passed between the world premieres of Queen Wasp and Miraculer (October 6 2018 vs May 15 2019).

I don't know if this made it to your Tumblr feed, but the Miraculous writing team announced that the writing for season six was done back in late March. The show won't air until sometime this winter, well over half a year later, because that's just how animation works and they've supposedly done things to make the animation process faster this season. I just don't see how this Chloe theory works or why it needs to be a thing when her bad writing falls perfectly in line with things like the absolute disaster that was season five. She wasn't a fluke, she was a warning of things to come.

As best I can tell, the entire Queen Bee plot was just an incredibly awkward and forced way to show how dangerous identity reveals were. Which isn't a bad plot to have, but don't do that plot and then let a bunch of other temp heroes keep their miraculous post reveal! Writers, what are you even doing?

If you want my best guess answer to that, then I don't think that the writers planned to make their story feel massively hypocritical. I think that they just did a dumb writing mistake that I've seen multiple shows do: they wrote a really cool cliffhanger ending without planning how to make that ending work in the following season. And there was no way to really make the ending work, so they end up just kind of ignoring it.

The reason why this happens is pretty simple. Most shows try to end their seasons on cliffhangers so that fans will come back for the next season. It's extremely rare to have a solid happy ending that ties everything together. This can lead to writers making questionable calls because they're pressed for time and have to come up with something that will keep the fans wanting more even if that thing makes no sense. It can also lead to writers making questionable calls because they DO have a plan for how the cliffhanger will play out, but when it comes time to actually put that plan into action, it gets shut down and now they have to scramble to make the nonsense work.

Anyway, what I'm really trying to say is that, as much as I like the concept of a redeemed Chloe joining the team, it was pretty clearly never going to happen in canon. The writing only backed that read for a brief moment at the start of season two where we got a handful of episodes that made Chloe feel less like a cookie-cutter mean girl and more like a true character, but then the Chloe plot really got going and I was just waiting for the inevitable fiery end. I actually thought that Chloe was going to be treated as a tragic character and become a true villain in season four. Instead we got utter nonsense that tossed her character all over the place to the point where I have no idea what they're even trying to do with her.

[woodlaflababab]

Gonna be a bit salty here, but I got to the southern raiders and just, how anyone can take 'Katara's side' over 'Aang's side' baffles me. Like, don't get me wrong, I do not hold Katara's actions against her in the slightest. Did she say some things that she,,,, probably should not have? Yeah, but also this is her most deeply rooted trauma so like, fair. Katara's hurt is always heartbreaking.

What gets me is people who watch it and call Aang a bad guy in it? Like? Idk, maybe it comes from my experience of having a best friend who's like, my polar opposite. I love her, and she will 100% point it out anytime I'm doing anything that doesn't make sense to her, which like, yeah, of course, she's my best friend. And when she's doing or saying things that make my alarm bells go off, I tell her.

Do we always agree? No. Sometimes our input to eachother turns out correct and helpful, and sometimes we stick to our guns and things turn out for the best. But the thing about being her best friend is I consider it my job to speak up when I feel like there's an angle she's not considered, even if it's on something we've disagreed on many times and I know she won't listen to me. Just like I rely on her and trust her to always say when she thinks I'm being dumb, which is A Lot, even if it's not gonna change my mind.

Aang was just doing what friends do. Katara was lashing out. Are either of them the bad guy? Hell no. Aang was trying to help, and Katara was experiencing a hell of a lot of hurt, but between someone who is trying to help (even if you don't think it did help) and someone who is blindly lashing out due to hurt, to ever say the person who is trying to help is the Bad Guy, just, I don't get it. I just do not get it.

Then again I also don't get people who watch it and see Katara as a bad guy or being mean when she's so clearly a hurt 14 yr old. So.

[tavina-writes]

i want to share salt. have you ever had a ship that annoyed you so much it starts poisoning other ships you could have potentially liked? because this is me with xiyao vs nielan. like, xiyaos are so fucking loud and proud of the fact that he sides with jgy over everybody else multiple times in ways that turn out to be incredibly hurtful. so it gets to the point i can't even enjoy cute teenage nielan art knowing xichen is going to so catastrophically fuck this up by repeatedly writing off mingjue as just imagining things and lying to him and leveraging their relationship for someone else's benefit and handing his killer the method to kill him and that people are *gleeful* about all that.

Hi Nonny!

First off, I want to offer you a hug, because this sort of feeling about fandom is never a fun thing to experience, and since you recognize that this is a salty ask, you might want nothing more than a "hey I see this and I get it in some part!"

But if you're thinking about how you might improve this situation and like, enjoy interacting with 3zun fandom again/mdzs fandom in general, I have a few ideas:

block everyone whose takes are pissing you off. There needs to be no bigger reason than "You know what, your takes are ruining this fandom experience for me" or "making me slightly more irritated than I would've been." There's no shame or like, anything wrong with this. Ultimately, we all live in this mosh pit of stuff together, and I might think everyone has a right to whatever kind of take they want, but I don't have to martyr myself on the cross of "hearing all sides" or whatever, and neither do you Nonny.

Recognizing which things are fanon and which are canon. This might help, but like, LXC doesn't, canonically, keep picking JGY at every turn. He is a flawed character with his own problems (as are they all in MDZS lol) but this is...not really what's happening? People can say what they want in their meta and their headcanons and interpretation of canon, but that doesn't make it...true.

this goes with 1 and 2 but also: if a fandom or a ship or a trope or something no longer brings you joy Nonny, there's always the opportunity to pack it up and leave it behind, either permanently or for a time. There's nothing wrong with not being "on" about a ship or fandom or recognizing that it was once something you really liked but not something you enjoy right at this very moment.

All that said, I'm personally of the opinion that there's a very loud and vocal part of the xiyao fandom (who exist on my blocklist by now) who've made me lose interest in the ship altogether, because the parts of the ship that I find most interesting -- the deceit, the almost gothic horror vibes, the slowly rotting center of their relationship when it didn't begin that way -- is obviously not what most (or what seems like most) people who ship it are looking for. And overall, I'm sure that it's no loss to not have me there, and that I (a NieYao girlie at heart) would not be welcome in that sandbox, so like, Nonny, I do get you and your frustrations. Ultimately I guess sometimes it's just easier to recognize that not all fandom spaces are welcoming and to find places that serve you better.

[raayllum]

im new to the fandom, so I miss a lot of the discourse (helped ofc by the fact you're kinda the only dp blog I follow), so everytime you mention the s4 backlash I'm like....how in the world could people hate that season or rayllum in it? It doesn't compute for me!

The last ship I was particularly engaged with, has a lot of similarities with rayllum. They were best friends, life partners before they were ever /romantic/ life partners. And they went through a /lot/ of trauma, miscommunication, and being on opposite sides of the same fight, etc etc.

the difference to rayllum was that they never rlly gave each other the grace they need. They also never talked on screen, but unlike rayllum it wasn't because it was the best option for them, it's just that the writers didn't want to include it ever - to the point that when they finally did an episode addressing it, it landed...very flat? Because it was about six seasons in, addressing things as far back as the second season, that they'd apparently never spoken to each other about before (they were tragically engaged when this happened).

Rayllum GENERALLY but especially in s4 have a really special place in my heart, because they feel very realistically messy - but it doesn't feel like it's there so there's some drama to keep audiences hooked. It feels authentic, and is one of those rare cases where it strengthens their relationship. I definitely could buy that rayllum would survive anything that hit their relationship by the end of s3, but getting to actually SEE that and see how much they're willing to work through out of love and respect for each other? Fantastic.

(also like it's such good character development....i am with u in the s4 defense squad. is there a squad? If there is I'm in it)

First off welcome to the fandom and I hope you're having a good time!!

The fact that my blog is mostly discourse free cause while I tag accordingly (fandom nonsense and dragons gets salty for potential blacklisting purposes) I always worry I can dip too far into that on occasion (I do my best not to unless being called out by name, and even then mostly do my best to ignore stuff), but there's not too much discourse within TDP in general — at least not in the Rayllum corner, luckily.

I think that's why the S4 backlash really surprised and threw me for a loop, because my partner and I finished the season at like 7AM on release day and while different than expected, we loved it and thought it was great from the start. Then we went online and people in the fandom who I'd largely always agreed with were having a really hard time with the season and it was disheartening at least to not have many people to talk to about why 1) S4 is TDP's thematically strongest season thus far and that's still true, 2) it's Ezran's best season imo, and 3) it does a lot of things really really well in really interesting ways.

I always try to never come down Too Hard on the s4 backlash just because people are of course entitled to their feelings/opinions then as well as now (even if some people's tunes have definitely changed), but a lot of it did feel sometimes short sighted if not immature.

Like soo many people are still mad that Rayla and Callum broke up in an offscreen graphic novel, when S4 would still be S4 regardless of whether TTM existed and like... if Rayla worrying that she failed (again) and went off on her own (again) to protect Callum was a big logical leap, then that person honestly just wasn't paying attention; there's not much else to say there. I also think it's just a strange choice to assume that Nothing Major would change the second you find out about a timeskip; like, almost everything else is status quo, Rayla being gone is the One Major Change and people couldn't handle that being a Surprise?

Like you said, conflict between a couple is not inherently a bad thing; it can be good and interesting, and this was always a relationship hurdle I think a lot of Rayllums (myself included) expected Rayla and Callum to have to tackle. Not liking how extreme or 'dramatic' it was (ie. season long arc > just a few episodes, or Rayla leaving > just trying to leave) is fair enough, but given that it's rooted in so much of Rayla's character, I'd much rather take a long way around approach that's in depth. I'm also just Glad and Grateful that the show is tackling it and treating it like the issue it is rather than sweeping things under the rug.

The fact that Callum's version of anger wasn't the one people wanted is another issue, but again — his anger went the way I'd always thought it might if he just went through enough trauma, and even if he had yelled at her, I don't think the season would've necessarily gone any different than it did other than them crying more early on. Which I've written and wouldn't have minded, but I also don't dislike the alternative route canon took — of course they were never going to get all variations out there, but Callum is cold as hell and being a bit of a jerk while also being valid and tempering himself because he doesn't want to hurt her anymore than she wants to hurt him (and Callum has always been very very bad at being/staying mad with Rayla or Ezran anyway).

I saw a lot of pushback against Rayllum being 'platonic' (which was annoying as an aromantic person lemme tell you, as though platonic is lesser), being "broken up for no reason" (Rayla being hyper-independent was not a secret and always going to be what threatened to rip them apart; they are also still Visibly and Repeatedly In Love with each other how is that broken up), or that they didn't get to have a Big Feelings Time in S4.

With that in mind, there's a lot that also matters in a relationship beyond just Open Communication, tbh. There's going to be times in life where you're not able to or unwilling to talk about certain things (given that S4 is maybe a week, I think that's reasonable; especially when Rayllum still haven't talked to each other about it as of s5 and no one I saw have an issue in S4 about it has complained about it there) and like... how do you treat each other when you're still mad or confused and haven't talked everything out? Do you still take care of each other, are you still doing your best to be considerate of each other (even if you're also not going to be perfect)? That shit matters just as much if not more as people able to sit down and hash things out.

I think the truth is a lot of the things that pissed people off about S4 would've been true even if the opposite things had happened:

N'than is flat and under developed unlike Ellis → N'than is more developed → why is N'than taking away from screentime for other characters?

The Sunfire plotline feels disconnected from the rest of the story (nvm that Viren's arc from 1x06 onwards doesn't affect any main character again until 3x04) → the Sunfire plot line has more connections to the main cast crammed in → more complaints about pacing and things feeling overly stuffed, as scenes already change from one to the next quite clearly

Callum and Rayla have a big talk sometime between 4x03-4x07 → this doesn't give Callum enough time to be angry / makes him seem unreasonable because he's admitted he was mostly worried but is still not fully letting her in despite her spilling her guts to him (and in what world would Rayla give excuses, again, when she knows he's the one hurting and taking priority in her mind)

S4's humor was bad because there were fart jokes (in one episode) → the crowlord's joke is so much worse than the fart jokes imo and is on par with the walnut joke in 1x06. also 1-2 scenes with jokes that didn't work for you out of 9 whole ass episodes is like. you're just a wuss i'm sorry

The Sunfire plot line is boring → will never not feel like "I just can't connect or be interested in politics and religious disagreements when it's mostly about Black people for Some Reason (racism)" to me tbh

There was no way to please everyone especially after a three year hiatus (because people think, For Some Reason, that how much time it takes for a story to come out should change how that story is written and it really, really doesn't) but yeah. The internet showed their asses and I was Not Impressed lmao

TLDR; a lot of the S4 backlash was "I'm mad this isn't happening now and I'm stressed out/worried that it won't be" as opposed to "this is only a problem if it never happens at all, but I have faith that it will," and I will love S4 forever. The Callum-Viren parallels being ramped up, the theme of duality and moving "doing terrible things for love" to the forefront with multiple characters (Rayla, Terry, Viren, Claudia), seeing Ezran step into his role as king, Callum's arc being shown > told, the set up for the possession plot line, Janaya's engagement and relationship development + Amaya and Janai's independent arcs? Chef's kiss. S4 is my best friend and its Rayllum dynamic is on par with S3 for me, and I am very grateful the fandom's attitude towards s4 and s4 Rayllum is a lot warmer / more reasonable now

When Callum says "unconditionally" in 5x01 and all their stuff in S5 we know and believe it because we've seen them fight and work so hard to come back from some pretty terrible brinks in imperfect ways, and I'll always love s4 for that. The most aspec Rayllum season by far

[mlm-mod-taka]

I will order again! Sorry if it's overwhelming you or something, I really like your writing and you can write at your own pace ^-^

Can I request makoto (once again because I love him), shuichi and hajime (separate ofc) with a man who represses his feelings and can't vent because he was taught that "boys don't cry" since childhood and was pressured by society?

It can be a sensitive subject, you don't need to write if you don't feel comfortable! I'm waiting :)

REPRESSED READER • makoto, hajime & shuichi x male reader

ah, hello! i remember alot of people requesting these three specifically back during the peak of my account. i hope i can still do them justice! though i will admit, i never finished v3 and barely remember it now... so i apologize if shuichi is a little out of character. thats all, i do hope this was worth the wait!

tws/cws: repressed feelings & mentions of societal pressures towards men.

|| -> mod taka <3

makoto has always craved closeness with you. you're his boyfriend, his lover, and he wants to get to know you better, but he knows better than to pressure people who aren't ready yet. so, he waits for you while giving gentle encouragement.

he encourages you by using himself as an example. sharing little things about himself when you two are sleepily cuddling, mumbling things that made him cry when he was younger to you, anything that might reassure you that its okay to be honest about your feelings, that its okay to cry.

theres nothing he won't do to make you feel more comfortable around him. when he loves someone, he'd do anything for them. if he notices even a slight signal of discomfort from you about something, he'll immediately lead you away from it. if he picks up on a subtle mannerism you do whenever you get upset, he'll remember it for the rest of his life.

tries to subtly point out how his classmates show their masculinity in different ways, but are still comfortable being upset or sharing negative emotions around others. he's not as subtle as he thinks he is, with him mentioning takas crying and hiros natural cowardly nature whenever you look down, but you appreciate the thought.

he understands that the problem is bigger than himself, and societal pressures combined with bad teachings made you this way, but the least he can do is to try to make you feel as unjudged as possible so that maybe, you can start healing.

whenever you're sad, he will always present himself as an option for comfort. "i understand if you want to be alone right now, but... if you ever wanna talk to someone, i'm always here for you." if you don't come to him, that's okay, you just need more time. and if you do, he'll treat you like the most precious thing in the world, and will cling to every word you say.

will never rush things. maybe he'll nudge you in the right direction often, but if you're not ready, he'll never force you. is willing to wait for you to open up on your own terms, no matter how long it takes. while he waits, he busies himself by making sure he can be your safe space.

is much more forward with trying to help you. not to the point where its forceful or uncomfortable, but its something that he wants to help you with, and he makes sure you know that.

"you know... men can cry, men can scream their feelings out, and sometimes they do both at the same time. they're still men at the end of the day, even after they do all that." will say things like that to you every once in awhile when you two are alone and if you're having a bad day. being direct and undeniable, while still remaining careful and loving is his main approach.

as caring as he is, he's also quite salty, and holds a bit of a grudge towards the people and system that forced you to lock your feelings in a safe. he has quiet criticisms of the way people perceive men expressing their feelings before, but meeting and loving someone who is an embodiment of the problems these treatments can cause makes him feel even stronger about the issue.

will be defensive if anyone ever tells you to "man up" or to "be a man", even if its just a lighthearted statement. "hey, don't say that to people. what do you know about what men should and shouldn't be able to do?" he'll confront them with a frown on his face.

is very cautious about letting mahiru around you. as much as he enjoys her company and sees her as a friend, her views would definitely hammer your bad habits into you more, so he tries his best to watch over any interactions you have with her.

if you're okay with the idea of it, he'd initiate a weekly movie night where you two watch a bunch of sad movies. it almost always ends in him tearing up and voicing all his sadness about the film to you in hopes that maybe one day, you'll reciprocate and do the same with him.

his approach is more direct, protective, and defensive than how makoto would go about it, but he just wants you to feel unchained around him. he wants you to open up without any fear of getting made fun of, he wants to love you for all you are, ugly emotions and all.

from my observations, he's the most emotional out of these three. that may be a bad thing to other people, but because of this, he'd be the one you can relate to the most in the group.

he could relate to how you feel. while he definitely didn't have it as hard as you, he understands what its like to feel like you had to act a certain way just to be considered a man. he remembers all the times he got made fun of for his fear of exposing the truth as a detective.

others could be so cruel to emotional people, and especially cruel to emotional men. he talks about his personal experiences every once in awhile, a sad smile on his face as he recalls others poking fun at him not initiating eye contact.

however, what comes with the territory of being made fun of for something you know is a part of you, is knowing you're not in the wrong for feeling emotions. he'll reassure you with his own experiences, mainly telling you he'd never make fun of you for crying or showing "cowardly" emotions, because he does those things too.

being emotional or shedding tears is not a weakness to him, its what makes humans human. he wished someone taught you that when you were younger, instead of teaching you horrible, toxic mindsets that would do nothing except stunt yourself.

isn't as active as makoto or protective as hajime, but he's definitely the most patient and understanding. he won't push you into things you're not ready for, but will always be your cheerleader if you do decide you're ready.

is very watchful over you. he juggles with trying to not interfere with the pace of your healing and discovery, while also trying to make sure you don't dig yourself deeper into the hole you're already in.

whenever you might dig yourself deeper, he's always there to be your life line and pull you away from that. he may not want to you to feel rushed, but he also certainly does not want want you to feel slowed down in terms of progress. with a lot of concerned dissuading and serious late night conversations, he always manages to pull you back into the safety of his arms.

he would wait until the end of time for you. no matter how many times he has to talk you out of returning to old habits, and no matter how many times he has to hold back the urge to insert himself into your healing process, he'll always be waiting for you with open arms and a warm, understanding smile.

[canirove]

In The Name of Love | Chapter 14

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Masterlist

"I wish we didn't have to leave already."

"Same" Pedri sighs while playing with my hair.

"What if we run away and don't go back?"

"Val!" he laughs.

"Yeah, you will miss Gavi and Ferran too much."

"And you will also miss your kids way too much" he says, kissing my head.

"Not really. I have my favourite one with me" I say, hugging him tighter.

"And you say you don't do cheesy" he chuckles. 

"That isn't cheesy."

"I beg to differ" Pedri smiles, back to running his fingers through my hair.

"Can I confess something?" 

"You love it when I'm cheesy."

"No" I reply. "Well, maybe a bit. When it is more cute than cheesy. But that isn't what I wanted to confess."

"Then what is it?"

"I've never liked it when people touch my hair. Until you."

"What?" he laughs.

"I'm serious. The only person who was allowed to touch my hair was my hairdresser. And now look at me, looking forward to moments like this, to us cuddling and you touching my hair and running your fingers through it while I just relax and enjoy the moment."

"You have the softest hair ever. And it always smells so good…"

"It probably smells like shit right now" I laugh. "I haven't washed it since we arrived."

"It smells salty. Like the sea. I like that smell."

"You are so weird sometimes" I laugh again. 

"But you love it."

"I do" I smile. "And I love this. Us in this place. Can we come back this summer?"

"Sure. But I was thinking about taking you somewhere else."

"Where?" I ask, moving to look at him. "Dubai? Mykonos? Ibiza? No, wait. Miami? That seems to be the new place where all the football players go."

"Are we that predictable?"

"Yep."

"Shit" Pedri laughs. "But are you sure you don't want to go to Ibiza? To that place called Ushuaia?"

"Wait, what?" 

"Oh, so now Ibiza isn't that bad, is it?" he smirks. 

"Are you being serious?"

"Isn't there where Martin Garrix has a residency or something?"

"Yes, something like that. I've been wanting to go for ages, but no one has ever wanted to come with me."

"Not even Marc?"

"Marc?" I snort. "I asked him to go many times because his family spends the summer in Formentera, and he always said no despite knowing Martin is my favourite artist. But then I had to go listen to the boring ones he likes."

"Such a supportive boyfriend…"

"I know. We never did anything I like, you know? He didn't like football either, but the friends we have in common do and we forced him to watch it."

"Then what did you have in common?" Pedri laughs. "Because the sex wasn't good" he smirks.

"But that's something I know now" I say, sticking out my tongue. "He was the only thing I knew, like, my whole world. I couldn't see that there was more out there, more beyond him. And now that I do, I want to make the most of it."

"Then do you want to go to Ibiza?"

"Will you take me to watch Martin?"

"I asked first, Miss Valeria."

"Ok, yes. We can go to Ibiza and do whatever you fancy doing there, watch Martin, and then come back here and disappear."

"I like how that plan sounds" Pedri smiles.

"And I like you. Very much" I say before kissing him.

━━━━━━❃━━━━━━

"Val, be careful."

"I know what I'm doing."

"Sure" Pedri snorts.

"I did gymnastics at school!"

"It's been a while since that happened, tho."

"Did you just call me old?" I gasp.

"What? No, no, I just…" he says, his cheeks turning a dark shade of pink.

"You are so cute when you blush" I smile.

"Oh, you were messing with me… Ok. Ok. If you fall, I won't help you."

"I won't fall. Ready?"

"Yeah, I guess" he sighs.

"Ok. One, two… three!" I say before doing a cartwheel.

"That was…"

"Perfect" I smile. "Told you I still remembered how to do it. Let me try again."

"Val…"

"One, two, three!" I say again, this time doing two cartwheels, one after the other.

"You are gonna end up on the sea" Pedri laughs.

"Lucky me, there is a handsome young man who will help me."

"Handsome young man… that's new. Last time I warned you about falling into the sea, you just called me young man."

"Things have changed" I shrug.

"Have they?"

"Now I like you" I say, walking towards him.

"I'm pretty sure you've liked me since the moment we met, Val" he says. 

"Umm… nope."

"You are such a bad liar" Pedri laughs.

"I'm not lying" I say, stopping in front of him.

"Then if you didn't like me, why did you let me kiss you that night? Why did you let me do what I did to you on that rooftop?"

"Because I needed to forget."

"But there were other guys looking at you, I saw them. Why not them?"

"I don't know" I shrug.

"C'mon, Val" he says, wrapping his arms around my waist and pulling me closer to him. "You know."

"I don't." 

"Val… You liked me."

"I didn't."

"Val…"

"I didn't! But I did suddenly find you attractive."

"Suddenly?" Pedri laughs.

"Yes, suddenly. I had seen you on tv and online, and in my head you were just a kid who needed the longest nap ever and who had two sticks for arms. But that night, you looked different. You definitely were the hottest guy in the room" I say, moving my hands up and down his arms.

"Was I?" he asks with a cheeky smile, closing the space between us a bit more. 

"Yes, you were. And have you seen your lips? They have "kiss me" written all over them."

"Really?"

"Really. And now you are going to annoy me with this for weeks" I say, rolling my eyes.

"Weeks? Nah. This is something I will tell our grandchildren."

"What?" I laugh. "I haven't even said yes to being your girlfriend. And keeping in mind how much you've annoyed me, I'll probably say no."

"Ok, then say it. Say you don't want to be my girlfriend."

"Fine" I say, putting my arms around his neck, one of my hands moving up and down the back of it just the way he likes it.

"I can't focus if you are touching me like that."

"Pedri…"

"Val, I'm serious" he whispers, closing his eyes.

"Pedri, I…" I say, completely ignoring him and moving closer to him.

"Val…" he says, his arms tightening around my waist.

"I want to be your girlfriend, Pedri."

"You what?" he says, opening his eyes so fast and so much that I fear they may pop from their sockets.

"I want to be your girlfriend" I grin.

"Really? Like, are you sure?"

"Very sure."

"You aren't teasing me, right?"

"I don't joke about serious things."

"Oh, ok, that's… wow" he says with a nervous laugh.

"Thought I would say no?" I ask, arching an eyebrow.

"Honestly, with everything that has been going on in Barcelona and how much you were struggling… yes. I thought you would not want to complicate your life even more."

"I mean… dating you has its… downsides. Like the fact that you work for one of the ugliest football teams ever."

"Rude!" he says.

"But it doesn't make my life complicated, Pedri. Meeting you has been the thing that has made my life simpler. Happier. The thing that has improved everything. And I want it. This. You. Us."

"I want it too, Val. I want you. I want us" he says, his lips brushing against mine. "Can I kiss you… girlfriend?"

"You can, boyfriend" I giggle, my teenage self coming back with the full package. With the butterflies on the stomach, the cheeks on fire, the knees feeling like jelly, the oh my god I can't believe this is happening.

But I don't mind it. I'm not embarrassed of feeling like this anymore. Of Pedri making me feel like this, like a girl in love for the first time. 

Because right now, on this small beach, with the sun setting behind us, I'm the happiest I've ever been, and I wouldn't change it for anything in the world. 

[grishaverse-chaos]

The Darkling

why I like them: could have been SO GOOD in theory okay? I will never shut up about this because "character who everyone thinks is evil is actually just the victim of a smear campaign and some really bigoted propaganda" is SUCH a good character concept and I wish darkling fans were right about him because it would be so fucking cool and aesthetic

why I don't: he uh. he isn't that. he could have been so fucking iconic and instead he was just a vicious murderer. who grooms teenage girls.

favourite episode/scene: LOVE the bit where alina stabs his hand in s1e8. tbf that's more of a fav alina moment than anything else lmao, let me think... okay fr I love the "fine. make me your villain" scene bc it just really showcases who he is as a character and how he sees himself (hint: those two things are not the same)

favourite season/movie: imo he's better written in s1 of the show than in s2, idk though. and I do love his story in the kos duology lmao

favourite line: that one bit in rule of wolves where he says "everything I have done has been for ravka" because it's so clearly Not True and yet.... he clearly thinks it is.... so where does intent stop and impact begin...... it's deep okay

favourite outfit: purely for shits and giggles I'm going to say his black kefta in s2 where there's bits of gold bc I loveeee people being haunted by those they've wronged and I think alina haunting him really fits into that theme

otp: no thank you! in all honesty he prob could have been Fixed™ if he'd had a genuine relationship at an earlier age but he didn't so I refuse to inflict him on any other character. darkolai is interesting to consider though bc I feel like the ways they see themselves clash so heavily.... it's about self image and it's about villainy and law and justice and power and and and. they would Not be a good relationship but I think they should interact more for the Narrative

brotp: his sister ulla! they'd have such a fun sibling dynamic lmao I think it'd be sweet

headcanon: tbh I don't tend to think about him much beyond the big narrative stuff so I'm struggling to think of something that fits the genre of "headcanon".... but let's humanise him a little! I bet he reads really literary fiction and gets ever-so-slightly pretentious about it lmao

unpopular opinion: is it unpopular to say that despite his original good intentions he's a bit of a dickhead and not as smart as he thinks he is? in some corners of the fandom it totally is but idk

a wish: at this point there's not much more that could be done with his character beyond what's already been set up (him being mercy killed so he's not suffering in the thorn wood for all eternity) so I'm going to say that I hope his stans get better reading comprehension bc dear GOD some of the takes I see (posted in the alina tag btw I'm not deliberately seeking them out) are absolutely horrendous. is that too salty? perhaps. idc though it's my blog and darkling stans are free to block me if they don't like my takes

an oh-god-please-don't-ever-happen: I swear if he goes NEAR alina genya or zoya again I will reach through the fourth wall to kill him myself. only half joking btw I'd be so pissed. imo they've all had the closure they need narratively and for him to seek them out again would be a dick move of the highest degree

5 words to best describe them: used to have good intentions. that might be cheating but idk if I can pick 5 random adjectives lmao

my nickname for them: I call him darkles sometimes (bc it's funny and also I think it'd piss him off if people called him that in-universe) also a lot of less positive nicknames ("that prick", "shithead" etc) but idk if that counts

[shannonsketches]

Can I just say I love how you can be somewhat critical about certain things about totk without completely and unnecessarily trashing it and even adding humor. I wish more people were like that.

Aw, thank you! I'm just trying to make sure folks feel safe to enjoy things here (as long as, yknow, the respect goes both ways).

I definitely used to be someone who would trash stuff unnecessarily, and I'll always credit a mutual (although I did forget their handle,,,I'm so sorry) I had at the time for just letting me go on a long rant about why something bothered me and went, "That sounds really personal, but that got nothing to do with this." And all at once I realized I'd been projecting my needs/wants/expectations onto other peoples work (commercial or otherwise), and holding strangers responsible for serving me, specifically! Which is an absurd thing to expect from anyone!!

And sometimes I still forget the world doesn't revolve around me, glorious me, and I have to go back and apologize and do my mental health homework to figure out why I reacted a certain way, and why I took something so personally. But it's been really helpful to try and do the homework first, or type that whole salty take up and delete it or draft and review it again in the morning, before you make a stranger (or a friend!) feel bad or unsafe with you for the crime of enjoying something you didn't (which I have done, many times, and feel very bad about).

Plus, I've learned that if you're someone who is always analyzing and critiquing things, those moments can be really good practice for (respectfully! privately! in your own space! not on that stranger's post! not in that poor dev's DMs!) considering what you might have done differently, assuming you had the same parameters and resources available. I find this is especially good practice if you plan on entering a creative field! I promise you get a lot more sympathetic with how things turn out when you force yourself to dream within a budget and a deadline.

(also being nice to professionals is good practice! Some of them are jerks, true, but 99% of devs artists designers directors etc are just doing their best under a ton of stress and pressure to make everyone happy, and they're usually really proud of what they're able to accomplish, and they are absolutely not getting paid enough to deal with the comment section)

Once you let go of that need to be Correct and have control over stuff that isn't about you, you end up having a lot more fun and a lot less limitations for playing in the sandbox, and with other creatives! Plus you learn about yourself, and what your priorities and tastes are. You become a better story teller and collaborator when you can not only find but actively look for the good in things you may have completely dismissed as a kneejerk reaction to not liking something about it.

And again, I'm definitely still an ass, a lot more often than I'd like to be. I still struggle with that need to be Correct and to have complete control over my sandbox. I still get defensive and have to navigate rejection sensitivity when someone's idea contradicts mine. I definitely understand the reactivity when something means a lot to us, and it takes practice to share when you're used to being protective! But it's so, so worth it.

You meet such amazing people and find such wonderful, supportive communities when you embrace two cake theory. I highly recommend making an effort to expand your perspective and be a part of that support.

Supportive Community Pro-Tips from a Fandom Old Guy:

You don't have to adopt a theory to enjoy or appreciate it!

If someone's takes upset you, just block them. It's okay.

Don't critique someone's work unless they ask for critique

Don't RB someone's work with negative/contradictory comments, just make your own post

DO freak out in the tags/comments/inbox if you like something

Obviously don't wish harm over ships/headcanons/etc, just block!

Remember someone else's work is not about you

Remember someone else's work is Not About You

Are they experiencing a thing? Are they sharing their experience with you? That's a gift! Treat it like one!

Elitism is a mind killer. Newer ≠ Lesser, Older ≠ Greater. We all have stuff to offer and we all have stuff to learn.

and if I may impart the most important thing I've ever learned in fandom:

BE NICE TO EACH OTHER, WE'RE ALL JUST MAKING STUFF UP!

Thank you for the lovely message and for letting me ramble I'm!! Sorry this got so long and preachy, haha

[writteninlunarlight-years]

(May 9 2024: Hi Luna! Just cause I'm worried mine was one of the ones that got deleted I'll resend my ask and if it didn't get deleted then please ignore this!)

-----

Gender:

Female

Pronouns:

She/Her

Race:

Rock gnome

Class:

Multiclass Paladin/Cleric (Probably an Oath of the Ancients paladin and a cleric of Lathander but I haven't given it much thought yet)

Alignment:

Neutral good

Sexuality:

Straight

Appearance:

3.2ft tall with tan skin, curly dark auburn hair that falls down to the middle of her back, middle parted bangs dyed blonde that frame her face falling down to the bottom of her ears and thin blonde braids falling down to just above her shoulders. She has bright amber eyes and visible eyebags, her face giving off a feeling that she's tired and been through a lot, but learning to be content with the life she's lived.

Personality:

Around people she's unfamiliar with she's quiet and reserved at first, worried about how they would perceive her but once they've gained her trust and given some of her trust in turn, she's bright and outgoing. She likes to talk about anything she can think about that interests her or would interest the people around her. Regardless of whether she's opened up or not though, she's incredibly loyal and would fight for their safety if needed. Having lost many people in her life - whether they intended to leave her or unintentionally because of tragedy - she's deathly afraid of being abandoned which is why she works so hard to be good and to do good by others, hoping to quell the nagging voice in her head that tells her she's never good enough or kind enough for anyone to really stay in her life. She tries to hide her overwhelming fears and insecurities with her bubbly personality but often times at night, in the comfort of her tent or in the darkness that veils all secrets, she lets out all the worries she's been holding in all day and just... cries it out until it's time to get back up and continue on with the journey.

Likes:

Tea - both hot and iced, animals but mostly cats above all, a nice blanket to just wrap around herself when she's relaxing or resting, reading, would doodle from time to time, salty snacks, not-too-sweet sweets, magic and the possibilities it offers has always been a wonder and beautiful to her, the rain, the feeling of being helpful and useful to others, and being alone

Dislikes:

Vegetables, coffee, VERY strong smells/scents, spiders give her the creeps but she also would not like to kill them, being in large and loud crowds, and being alone

Extra fun fact:

Once she's opened up, oh boy she's a yapper. If she finds something that extremely interests her, she will not stop talking about it for weeks. Sometimes she will stop herself before saying anything because she's scared that the company she's with will find her annoying, but a lot of the times her Need To Talk will override her feeling of being a burden and just infodump you with why this thing is so interesting oh please listen to her she just HAS to let it out or her average sized 3.2ft body will explode.

-----

(May 9 2024: I will also add this other request of mine in the same ask again)

Also as a separate request (hopefully I'm doing this right or if it's okay) as a Galemancer could I please ask for a Gale x Stelle falling in love and learning to love again type of story?

I had already planned on having Stelle romance Gale in the playthrough I'm planning but I genuinely want to see your take on who would be a nice matchup for her whether that end up actually being someone else entirely!

I really appreciate you resubmitting! I had yours written in my notebook, but since you were an Anon, I didn't know how to notify you! I was swayed about what to choose, but I am confident.

~~~~~ MATCHUPS ~~~~~

BG3

Gale

~~~~~ HEADCANON ~~~~~

Gale is less than pleased with the turn of events in his life. First, Mystra dumps him and leaves a bomb in his heart, then a mind flayer ship kidnaps him, probing his mind, and now he is on an adventure with a band of misfits.

Well, the bright side is that you were there. Yes, you were sometimes quiet and reserved, but you were one hell of a leader.

You were kind to all your fellow companions, never turning anyone down for their weird habits or issues.

You were also quite attractive. When you fought, you were ferocious like a tiger, but when you were at camp, you were calm and docile like a house cat.

When he opened up to you about Mystra and his Tryssem Tara, he was surprised by your eagerness to know more about the cat than about a God.

He found you interesting; all your morals, hobbies, tics, and everything was so fascinating.

When the news came of his potential death, and you were so worried for him, he felt light, happy even.

He was scared to love again, even if he liked you a lot. He was too scared to love you and be hurt once more.

As time passed and he continued to live for you, he fell harder and harder.

He could listen to you talk for hours on end about so many things. You made life bright again, even with a ticking time bomb.

~~~~~ BLURB ~~~~~

After a long, hard battle, the group went to camp; you and many others had wounds far exceeding what was expected in battle planning. Shadowheart and Halsin took turns healing the group; you were the leader, so you asked to go last and just heal yourself. Heading to your tent, you passed all the comrades you grew to call friends. All had agonizing faces due to the pain from their wounds. The feeling of guilt began to gnaw at you. You could have saved everyone this pain if you had just made some better callouts, were a bit stronger, or faster. What stung the most was passing by Gale's tent. He had requested a magical artifact before battle, being fresh out due to some bartering. You told him you'd give him some after the win from today. All you could think, looking at him wincing in pain while lying there, was, 'Stella, how could you be so damn foolish.'

You made your way to your tent, and once inside, you undressed. Slowly relieving yourself of the heavy armor, you started looking for your wounds. You weren't as severely scuffed up as everyone else. Sadly, they all took a lot of hits for you Dressing the wounds you did have every sting and bandage felt like a penance, you should have been just as injured not your poor friends As you dressed the last wound a crack of thunder was heard Peeking out the opening of your tent you saw everyone healed and resting, you all would definitely need a couple days of rest to recoup fully though The rain began soon after, you closed your tent now alone it all came to a head.

The overwhelming emotions took over, and you couldn't help but drop to your knees and cry. The storm ragging on outside covered your cries of pain and torment. How could you let this happen? Thinking back on it, you realize the person who took the most hits for you was Gale. He has always done so since you two had a rendezvous to learn about the weave. The one you lov- no cared about was injured and starving due to you. The tears kept coming, holding yourself close, letting the pain and anguish leave your body. Why were you chosen for all of this? What plan did Lethander have for you? As your body wracked with quivers, suddenly you felt warm. Tan arms were wrapped around you, and bristly chin pressed against your shoulder in the crook of your neck. Jolts ran through you; turning around in the stranger's arms, you were shocked to find Gale there. He looked down at you, reclaiming his hold on you. "Don't you normally love rain? No need to cry, my love, just rest. If you need to cry don't cry alone I will be here for you Stella."

As if breaking the damn, you let it all out, wrapping your arms as best you could around Gales's neck. Crying profusely, he just held you and cradled your head. As the whimpers died with the storm, you two soon found yourselves wrapped together, warm in your tent. Gale cradled you against him, his warm chest below your head. He stayed with you the whole night. As day broke and you had awoken you saw him there resting peacefully, though still injured he was alright and you can only assume he found something to curb his hunger. Smiling, you leaned over and whispered in his ear, "I, Stella, vow to always love you, Gale Dekarios of Waterdeep." As you moved to get up, you were pulled back down into said man's chest. "And I, Stella, vow to stay by your side and love you." A couple extra minutes in bed with your loved one couldn't hurt.

~~~~~ EXTRA ~~~~~

(You were brewing some tea for yourself at the fire. The camp was resting for a bit before heading on the next lead for the brain.)

Y/N: A nice fresh cup of tea really solves all issues.

Gale: I beg to differ. Coffee is much better.

Y/N: How could you say such a thing that's disgusting?

Gale: (Laughing) No, it is much better than leaves from a plant.

Astarion: Gale, are you numb? Coffee is also from plants.

[triforce-of-mischief]

Sorry if this is rude, and you don’t have to answer, but I remember you leading the charge against people posting about fanon things they didn’t like when there was drama with Ovegakarts’s tumblr. You were a big advocate for positivity, and keeping negativity private, because people who *did* enjoy the things being talked badly about might see it and get discouraged. Now I see you ranking popular headcanons featured in fic as “stupidest thing I’ve heard in my life.” What happened?

good points, anon /gen

i think that there are some key differences between what i and ovega did, the first one being that i will say straightaway that i am willing to listen and change. i understand that my posts may make people upset, so i will explain my reasoning in allowing them to see the light of day.

i reblogged an ask game and requested lu fantheories/headcanons, the good and the bad (objectively), so i may place them how i wish on the given chart. when ovega's post gained traction, i wrongfully gave them a good-faith assumption that they hadn't intended for their post to spiral into negativity. when i collected and posted my thoughts, it was with the intention of being salty, so i warned for and tagged it as such. i encourage you to block #fandom salt if you don't want to see it anymore, and #fandom negativity for heavier stuff.

for anon's long ask, i tried to keep the layout reasonable. the post editor shows that the charts are small and arranged in a grid, with the explanations below the cut. my initial opinions were to be visible at second glance, while elaboration required an opt-in interaction. however with tumblr being tumblr, the charts are huge and i had to edit the post again so the readmore works. if you think that isn't enough, i'm happy to put the entirety of the post under the readmore.

not all of my opinions are negative, either. i like some of the headcanons/fantheories, and lift them up as much as i state my dislike of others. yes, i did post negativity publicly, because i believe it's about consent. it's healthy to dislike things and talk about them, and i got a clear invitation and answered it as respectfully as possible. if people start commenting things like "this fic i read is so stupid for doing this" and "i hate these people for thinking that", i'll shut it down because that's when it becomes a direct attack. as with all things, it's about context and nuance.

in direct reference of the ask game i used, i also think it's important to keep canon in mind with popular headcanons/fantheories. sometimes people are going to dislike things because they're obviously never going to happen, while other people double down on making it happen in fanon. to each their own, always.

hope that helps <3

[crystallinestars]

Hello! I'm back for another rant :)

I was still thinking about Mihoyo's tendency to pair characters and play the ambiguity game to make more money and something I've noticed is that people will jump through sooo many hoops to defend the company. ''oh they can't be explicit because of censorship'', ''oh it's China, their culture is different!'' or even ''stupid entitled westerners always complaining about things they don't even try to understand smh 🙄''

Now, while I can agree that censorship and culture should be taken into account when talking about these games, I also feel like it's a bit disingenuous and lowkey patronising to chalk it all up to ''the Chinese are just all like that lol''

Like, why are we so vehemently defending a company that makes millions (if not billions) through ship teasing, as you've put before? Censorship does not change the fact that the development that characters get in these games (especially Genshin) goes out the window every other event or as soon as the main story is finished. And whenever I hear someone talk about censorship, I always think about Mo Dao Zu Shi (granted, the situation was different in its case so we should take it with a grain of salt) where its donghua and drama adaptations where indeed censored (but they were much more explicit than whatever's going on in Hoyoverse), yet the novel (the source material) had many MANY chapters with its two male leads going at it

I admit that I've been feeling a bit salty recently (because I feel like people only care about coding when it comes to the 'great' questions of ''OK but do these two men FUCK? How many times a day do they go at it and who's the woman in this ship??'' Meanwhile nobody ever talks about different dynamics, asexuality and aromanticism are seen as boring, and oh lord does bisexuality seem to be often treated as a trump card to say ''ok but this character is at least 50% gay'') and I also don't know that much about how everything works in China, but idk, I guess my point is that if they wanted to make ships canon, they WOULD (or could) find a way to do so

Anyway, your recent posts and asks also got me thinking and I guess I wanted to show you some support! I've seen your bio and I think it's a really smart move on your part to be clear on what you don't feel comfortable with from the get go. It can definitely be awkward when you have to tell someone that's just really excited to share their thoughts on something they enjoy that you're not interested and you'd rather not talk about this AT ALL. And it really does not help that popular ships tend to attract a lot of unhinged behaviour 😑 It's really refreshing to come across content creators like you, who are very clear in their boundaries and write such thoughtful fics

Once again, I hope you will be left to do your own thing in peace and that you'll keep finding ways and solutions for you to enjoy your favourite works without feeling alienated 💜

(And hopefully one day I will learn how to type short rants 😅)

Haha, short rants don't exist, Anon! It's perfectly okay to type long rants to me, I don't mind. If anything, I relish in them. As someone who rants and complains a lot myself, I welcome it when someone else does it. 😊 (I mean, just look at the length of my reply. I am not any better than you, dear Anon)

Lord, the "Mihoyo can't show explicit gay ships because of the CCP censorship" excuse grates on my nerves, as well. Censorship of homosexuality is definitely a thing in China, and it can sometimes be very horrible, but that's not what's stopping Mihoyo from making certain ships canon. They got way with a lot of lesbian ships in Honkai 3rd (though admittedly they had to tone it down once new laws were implemented, but the fact remains that at some point they were able to be blatant about their ships), and if we're talking actual coding, then Jeht being lesbian-coded is a thing that exists! If it was such a huge deal, I feel like Mihoyo would have either been way more subtle about it or not included these things at all.

It's just my personal opinion, but I'm certain that the reason Mihoyo doesn't make any ship canon is for the sake of making money. They need to sell characters, and the best way to do that is to allow players to enjoy characters the way they want. Assigning a specific sexuality or canon ship will crush the interpretations some players have about a character, and make that character unappealing. It would negatively impact their sales. Keeping things vague and only giving teases of the most popular ships seems to be the ideal marketing tactic for them. It panders to a lot more people this way and keeps most of them happy (however, the fact remains that they ignore a particular demographic of women, though that's a story for another time).

Regarding your reasons why people whip out the "coding" card... YOU ARE SO RIGHT! People only use sexuality coding as a way to "prove" their gay ship is canon and discredit any BG pairing. And they focus on things like one guy being muscular and the other more slender, and then assigning traditionally masculine and feminine traits to them, respectively. I could go on a whole separate rant about this topic, but I'll spare you the wall of text. Feminizing one of the guys in a gay ship is one of my biggest pet peeves, especially when it's OOC for the character.

One thing I noticed is that sexuality often gets used as a convenient tool to suit the needs of certain shippers instead of being used for actual diversity.

I can't tell you the amount of times I saw a sexuality tier list where the aromantic and asexual rows were treated as trash bins where people tossed the characters they didn't care about. There's no actual thought put into the sorting, and that's very unfair to actual aro and ace persons.

As for bisexuality... it's such a polarizing topic in fandoms. It's seen as a good thing when you have a canonical BG pairing, because then you can claim one or both are bi and therefore are also attracted to the same sex (as you said, they're "at last 50% gay" and can be shipped in gay pairings). However, if you have a non-canon BL or GL ship, saying one or both characters are bi is tantamount to treason. How dare you suggest they can be attracted to the opposite sex? That's erasing the gay representation!

Basically, bisexuality, much like the term "coding", gets treated like a tool that's allowed to exist only when it's convenient to a person, instead of as an actual sexuality real people have. I feel like bi, aroace, and pansexual people get shafted hard in fandoms in general.

Anyways, thank you for your support, Anon! I mentioned it in another post, but putting your likes and dislikes in the bio is a common practice in the Eastern part of the world, and I chose to copy that. I think it's a good way to meet people with similar interests while also letting those who have opposite interests avoid you. If the BL Anon had checked my bio first before following me, he could have spared himself some trouble haha. Sadly, it seems that many don't look at bios 😢

Thank you for your nice sentiments! I'm fairly confident that I won't be harassed, especially not in the reader-insert community, but I appreciate the thought! And hopefully I can find a way to combat the alienation... If not, then I'll simply uninstall both HSR and Genshin and find games that actually pander to me 😅

May you stay happy and free of harassment as well, dear Anon! 💚

[mrowsaysthecat]

This is all about a fictional character that I'm still emotional over. In the end, it's all fiction and I'm aware of that - but there's also a reflection in how certain characters are treated in comparison with real life outlooks and experiences of actual humans who aren't fictional...

I also believe that there's room for dark shit, messed up shit, evil characters and that these aspects of fiction don't always reflect the author's true self. We're story tellers. I like my dark, fucked up shit the same as many other people - but in the end, I don't like cruelty in real life. I don't like a lot of shit that I'd happily write about, because it causes a story to be told - and something to think about, or things to hold up to society and say 'hey, lookit'.... And sometimes, it just for shits and giggles, if we're being real about things. However, I will forever be pissed off over how certain shit played out where one fictional character is concerned, and here's just a small bit of why. It involves both fiction and reality, and the reality that sometimes, some characters are treated in ways that reflect how some people are seen in real, every day life...

They did Glenn Rhee wrong in TWD main series.

They took meaning from his character outside of being Mr. Maggie for a good portion of the show. They didn't allow much back story either; what do we actually know of Glenn from the show's history? Not the comics or games or anything but the show? Really, what do we know? When they were in the prison and he was very angry, that was probably one of the highlights of him not being a ray of sunshine somehow, or a positive aspect ready to overcome the darkness. Steven Yeun has spoken on how flat he felt the character was served when it came to emotional reactions beyond a certain point. Goodness isn't a bad characteristic at all, neither is optimism, but there is a sense of lacking within Glenn's stories that don't show the layers of personality and worries and struggles behind those aspects of self. The only real time we saw was the showdown with Nicholas in the woods, and even that felt rushed and hushed in a sense. They made a sacrificial lamb of a person, and writers even admitted to not knowing what to do with him. So what if his character died in the comics? Do you realize how much they changed for so many different characters before that point? For instance, Carol's survival and Sophia's demise. Not to mention Daryl's whole existence as a character. Why couldn't they do the same for Glenn, defy the 'logic' of 'it happened in the comics', and why couldn't they give him more back story while they were at it?

And now, all these people wanting to ship Maggie and Negan, like Glenn doesn't matter at all. It rips at his humanity in ways I don't even want to talk about, but I'm sure people aren't thinking of that when they want those two to kiss. Who cares, right? Glenn's just a dead Asian man that y'all never cared about while he was alive anyway... And it runs deeper than that for some of you, but we won't get into that because I don't have the energy right now. After all, people who are racist in that way won't change because they either don't have the ability to see themselves for their true shit (and try to think about why and how to change that outlook) or they just don't give a fuck about it because they're unapologetically and proudly against either a certain set of humans with certain features or whatever it is they're stupid over, or they don't like interracial couples and don't give a shit to realize that we're all fucking humans and we're all connected in some way or another.... :x

But yeah. I'll always be salty about this, and the fact that Glenn's character could have been so much more than they let him be in the end. Then again, I think he and Daryl should have hooked up instead, but that's just me? But you know, so much of the TWD fandom would have shit itself over that pairing....

[quietbluejay]

Lion Son of the Forest

Iiii've been putting off talking about this one because I didn't like it. I think there's a lot that's good about it, but, the reason I brought up some of my issues with Master of the Maelstrom when they didn't bug me that much then, was that they were a lot more present here and did bother me in Son of the Forest.

I think Brooks is a superb short story writer, but that he's got issues with adapting the short story approach in terms of plot structure to novels, so the novels really read as long short stories.

Anyways. As always, it's just my take.

apparently sometimes you can Just Say No To Chaos For Ten Thousand Years and not be especially strong willed gw have consistency or draw 20 this guy doesn't seem to be getting tempted at all meanwhile his boyfriend is a chaos sorcerer

like the other guy, zabriel, it makes sense, he hasn't been doing anything w.r.t. the warp he's just been running around as a fugitive for 400 years so it makes sense also on a side note REALLY not a fan of how it switches tense and person between POV scenes

me: there should be more renegades who don't turn to chaos this book: has that me: no not like this i…i don't know why i'm not liking it am i just salty because it's not one of my favourite factions? maybe i'm just in a bad mood ….i think i've put my finger on what bothers me about Brooks' writing when he's not a bad writer! i think he's more technically proficient than mcneill or abnett tbh, in a lot of ways but it's…he's writing tie in books for the game that's what these are primarily that's the perspective they're written from which is why they don't have thematic consistency with the other writers maybe not quite the right term but it's like, and i kind of hate using this as an example, but it's like trying to mesh together Sins of the Wreckers and Barber's writing (Transformers, I will elaborate on this for anyone who is curious)

…okay enough meta, I am now understanding why people say Lion is autistic-coded i will also say this, Lion is definitely more of, hm, how to put it more morally upright than Guilliman

like this should be everything i want, it's got forgiveness, renegades, protecting the little people as a first priority…why is it leaving me cold?

i think also because it's standing in stark contrast to the themes of the Ahriman trilogy, or Black Legion it just feels unfair? the whole thing is predicated on there being no good choices but then here it's like "yeah actually these guys went and somehow became unambiguous good guys offscreen problem with chaos what problem with chaos their main issue is being hunted by their loyalist brothers" despite them also starting out from the base state as the "final solution" legion

i will say i do very much vibe with this in theory

okay so like, i will be fair part of the reason most of these guys managed to avoid chaos was because they time travelled to the future and skipped most of the intervening years

im finally getting some resonance here

okay that's a hook

like the whole situation with the Fallen is "stuck as traitors due to tragic misunderstanding" which i mean, that's astraeos but these guy get lucky enough to land in places offscreen where they can become people's protectors? also again, i don't think it really follows from what i saw of the dark angels in 30k but im not a dark angels expert lol and I've only seen a bit of them it just doesn't feel earned

also lion's character arc happened offscreen

i think i'm probably going to have to reread this book in a different mood and see how i feel then

lion has gifted kid syndrome as i suspect all the primarchs do note from future bluejay, as I read this like a month before AE: lol, though I meant it a different way for Perturabo none of them ever had to practice anything so finding something he can't do immediately is very troublesome to deal with lol -_- ahriman: my existence feels pointless and the only thing that keeps me going is the hope that i will be able to make things right zabriel: have you tried meditating it worked for me

this is who Lion is! and now he's changed to this offscreen:

one heck of a nap

also we have our second forehead kiss the subtextual relationship here is probably the most blatant space marine romance i've seen so far like even more so than loken/mersadie oh hey actual acknowledgement that how the imperium treats mutants make them super easily turn to chaos apparently lion can also no-sell magic attacks somehow lol

like the whole tragedy of Guilliman in Dark Imperium is that he is unable to recognize that he's repeating the past and hasn't learned but this kind of seems to be going in the direction of "it's fine as long as he's pointed in the right direction"?

lion is having a two paragraph struggle about "is the emperor actually a god" guilliman divinity wrestling speedrun

like that sounds contrary to what chaos energies actually do but okay mmm, still not a fan of mercy kills especially in this context which is redemption equals death

wait wait lion is being worshipped as a god even if he's not a fan lion: better me than the alternative maybe that's what turned him into a good guy okay this is kind of cool lion is fighting all his brothers i think structurally this should have been at the beginning, though but the book isn't quite over so maybe im wrong expansion: fighting all his brothers and they're poking into his weak spots

>kurze appears out of the shadows >says something cutting >refuses to elaborate >leaves

okay this is fun

like okay i do get that it's not exactly super realistic to expect lion to go "the emperor's entire methodology was completely flawed" but also given the tone of this whole thing i kind of expected it if we were to have any kind of good resolution here

lion: have any of you tried not being doomed by the narrative?

Not a bad way to end it though!

I'll come back to this after I've read Unremembered Empire, maybe, and re-evaluate.