#also i don't think i'd really know anyones opinions if they're an anon anyway

[dunktape]

HALLO where is your dni/byf...

OUUUH hello i did not expect to see someone as popular as you in my inbox ,,, /silly

uhm long answer short my only dni/byf is — dni if you're not respectful ,,, yeah !!! and i block freely

pushing views , harassment , those are things i don't condone so i'll block those obviously

if you want any of my opinions and views on things you're always free to ask me ! regardless of my views you're free to interact , however i do block freely . if i'm just not comfortable with certain people i'll block them and that is that

this may change in the future if something happens but for now i'm just giving everyone a chance to interact

if this or any other post i make is harmful in any way or form please lmk , i prefer to get educated than to have people get mad about how stupid i can be so erm yay

[eluxcastar]

hello hello greetings! could i request a vampire reader x harbingers who offers to turn them into a vampire as well (how romantic to offer the concept of *forever* to their lover), its got the whole package of night vision/ immortality/ super strength/ speed/ etc etc but they'd lose the ability to use visions/delusions cause they're technically gonna be "dead" would the harbingers except or decline 👀👀 (excluding pulcinella and pierro)

Harbingers with a Vampire s/o

── ୨୧：harbingers x reader

୨୧﹑synopsis :: just me being absolutely off my head again talking about the harbingers' opinions on vampirehood

୨୧﹑content :: gn reader, vampire reader

୨୧﹑words :: I shit you not this post is 666 words long what in the My Immortal

anon baby you found my weak spot I'm so normal about this subject (it's my special interest) (sorry) ANYWAY this has been chilling in my inbox for ages, so it's time I finally write it. I started it a while ago but then I got busy and didn't post for a month and now I am suddenly two followers away from 400 so hi hello thank you

anyway back to the request I question the visions and delusions part because Qiqi is a Zombie an uses a cryo vision BUT I'M GONNA GLOSS OVER THAT BECAUSE YEs

Let's go lowest to highest in ranking like I usually do and start with Childe who, imo, would accept on the grounds that it is power and he will take anything to become more powerful even at a detriment to his health and physical condition. Though there is a price, he has accepted prices before and assuming that the pay off is good enough the use of a vision or delusion would be obsolete anyway. That, coupled with his love for you as his motivation is more than enough to sway him in your favour as he can see more to gain than lose from spending eternity by your side.

Arlecchino is a tough one because I can totally see it and it's really hot but Idk if she would. I wanna say yes, but I can also see reasons for no. The Vampire Arlecchino energy wins though because tbh I can see her being willing to make that sacrifice for her lover. I don't see her as fully whipped per se but like she's definitely loyal yk, probably pick you over the Tsaritsa and would want to spend an eternity with you at your behest.

Next is Pantalone. Cool vampire vibes. Someone gave me this wonderful headcanon that he is obsessed with his delusion, and I now love it to death so much that I based a character on it. So tbh yeah, there's benefits in this for him. He gets to be with you and have a little more power at a far lesser detriment. Plus like, you can't convince me this man wouldn't be lowkey into it.

Signora, I'm not sure. She has already lived a long time, and she has a lot of natural power already. Her delusion is what balances her, so I honestly think I'd have to say no. I WANNA SAY YES REALLY BAD BECAUSE I FEEL LIKE THERE'S OPPORTUNITY THERE, but I also just don't think so, but like she'll still be with you for a long time.

Sandrone, I honestly don't know either, because I don't know much from the two words she's spoken. If I remember, she doesn't care for other people, though, so she's likely very in love with anyone who managed to break through that and may be willing to make sacrifices for you.

For Scaramouche- well, bro is an artificial human, so tbh, I don't even think he would be affected by that. I'll skip him too.

Next would be Pulcinella, but I was told no Pulcinella, so Capitano (I almost forgot him send help). I like the abyssal creature Capitano headcanon, but even if he was just, a guy. I think the answer is no. HE'S WHIPPED AND WOULD DO ANYTHING BUT NOT THIS 😭 at least not at first, but give it a while and I can see it. It'll take time, though.

Columbina is also tricky because she has such entity vibes, but like also, seraph/vampire pairing would be so hot I can't even deny that. I should write that. Anyway, I feel like she's already immortal, so that doesn't matter, and she is indifferent to the power you offer. It's a matter of it not holding value. She has everything she could get out of it already.

Finally, we come to Dottore. Dottore is into it, don't lie, you know he is; this man is freaky. He'd enjoy the prospect of being a Vampire more than the perks of it, and that's enough to convince him. Besides it's 𝓯𝓸𝓻 𝓼𝓬𝓲𝓮𝓷𝓬𝓮 so he gets to excuse it. He couldn't turn it down even if it was just one of his segments because he's got to know what it's like and all the differences. He collects knowledge.

This was way more chaotic than usual 💀 Idk if I will write more like this but I did enjoy it so maybe, depends if y'all like this or my other styles more. I just like the chilled out casual chaos sometimes so lmk

[drysaladandketchup]

5 mattdrai for the writing meme please

I wasn't entirely sure how I wanted to handle this prompt, but I hope it's still to your liking, anon :)

5. things you didn’t say at all

"Hey."

Matthew really isn't in the mood for this right now. He was having a good time being back home in St. Louis for his first All-Stars, talking to some of the best players in the league, watching the skills competition, going out with the guys, and now the game is in a couple hours--

"Tkachuk."

Yeah, no, he's real. That's Draisaitl yelling at him. Well, he isn't yelling, but since he apparently is so hard pressed to even be around Matthew, it'll probably escalate to that soon.

I'd probably get off the ice.

Even if it was a joke--and maybe Matthew is willing to entertain the idea that it had been, coming from mister 'taken out of context'--it makes sharing the locker room awkward.

The thing is, he kind of likes Draisaitl. Admires his game, anyways, even if he is playing for fucking Edmonton. If Matthew had actually been drafted by the Oilers back then, like he thought, they probably could have been friends.

If he's being honest with himself, he kind of likes Draisaitl beyond hockey, too. Because he'd watched Leon's interviews, checked out his Instagram a little--he was curious, sue him--and because McDavid talks a lot when they're training at Gary's. Also, come on, Matthew's not blind. He hates the concept of him in Edmonton, but it's not fair to say Matthew genuinely hates the guy.

Right now though, this may be the first time he's heard Draisaitl ever actually say his name, and he wishes it was anyone else.

"Hey. Hang on." Draisaitl is in front of him now, stony and unreadable, and only then does Matthew realise like a fool that he has actually stopped. They're face-to-face, alone in one of the maintenance halls, the hustle and bustle of the arena a distant hum.

Matthew stares at him, not unkindly, because his mom taught him some damn manners, but not openly friendly, either. Not until he can get a gauge on what Draisaitl wants. Leon. It's Leon. That feels like the only thing Matthew really knows about the guy, sometimes.

"Did you want something?" Matthews asks coolly, leaning against the bricks with his hands shoved deep in the pocket of his sweater.

Leon glances down the hall, up to the buzzing florescent lights, running fingers through his hair. It's hard not to follow his tongue when it pokes out to wet his lips. Damn it, he has no business looking this good.

"I wanted to talk to you," he finally says, and even after all this time Matthew is still caught off guard by how soft he sounds.

"Talk to me?" Matthew narrows his eyes. "I didn't think you'd even want to be seen with me."

Which is a shame, because they'd look pretty damn good together. In his opinion, anyways.

Leon doesn't take the bait. "I saw that interview you did."

"Buddy, you're going to have to be more specific. I've done a few lately. It's the All-Stars."

"Before the break. I don't remember with who. NBC, I think? They asked you about me. What I said."

He doesn't need to elaborate. Matthew raises a brow, scratches the sudden itch at his neck. The air in the hallway is stuffy and warm.

"What about it? I said you were a great player."

"After that, though."

Leon doesn't need to elaborate on that, either. The intensity of his stare does the job well enough.

What did Matthew say again? I probably can't answer that or he'll get mad at me.

Yeah, because the only thing running through his head when he heard what Leon said was, Well damn that sucks because I wanted to find out if he fucks better than he fights. He remembers biting his lip because his brain unhelpfully supplied him with some tempting ideas that were not exactly family friendly. He's twenty-two, he's got hormones, what's he going to do?

But he was pretty sure declaring he wants to fuck a rival player wasn't going to win him any favours with anyone, let alone Leon. And maybe that comment irked him a little in the moment, but no one's opinion matters to Matthew more than his own. Accidentally outing himself during an interview was not high on his list of career moves, so he'd played it safe, locked it all down, and assumed that'd be the end of it.

"I didn't say anything," Matthew says.

This feels strange. Leon doesn't look pissed, he looks curious. Piqued, like he's waiting to hear something specific.

"I know."

"So what's your problem?"

"What were you going to say?"

Matthew cocks his head. "What, you thought I was going to burst into tears because the German Gretzky doesn't like me?"

Except he knows Leon's not an asshole. Not all the time, anyways. Not off the ice. Which makes it fucking hard to just blow him off.

"You were all over us that game," Leon says. "Kass was pissed. You're a fucking pest, what the hell did you expect me to say?"

"Is this you trying to apologise? Because if it is, you're doing a hell of a job."

"You never hold back on anything."

"Why the hell does it matter?" Christ, it's like Leon is trying to pick a fight.

"You looked like you had something to say." There's a hint of suspicion--of implication--in Leon's voice that makes Matthew tense.

"You think I'm an asshole, so I don't know why you care."

Maybe this is a prank. Maybe he figured it all out and he's waiting for Matthew to break down and declare, I think I could fall in love with you if you let me.

Leon shuts his eyes briefly, shoulders rising and falling as he takes one long, deep breath through his nose.

"I didn't mean it how it sounded."

"Yeah, I heard." Matthew's stomach rolls in ways it shouldn't. "I don't know what other context you want me to take it in, though. It's not even a big deal, anyways. I mean, yeah, it kind of sucks finding out a guy you like thinks you're a piece of shit, but it's whatever, right?"

"I didn't call you--I don't think you're--"

Groaning, Leon thumps his head against the wall and drags a hand down his face. He takes a minute to compose himself, staring up at the ceiling, then down between his feet, face screwed up in thought. Finally, he looks back to Matthew.

"You like me, eh?"

It's been a long weekend; Matthew's too tired to backpedal and try to make up some excuse. Part of him just wants to drop it out in the open and be done with it. Just come out and say, Yeah, the 'I want to take you home' kind of like. The 'I want you to make me scream' kind of like.

Just to see what Leon would do. At the very least, he probably wouldn't punch Matthew. He's not a glove-dropper, after all, and he's not so scary without a stick in his hand.

He tries to imagine Leon's wide eyed, slack-jawed expression. Maybe the little 'Oh' that would slip through his lips. Because yeah, 'Oh' would be about right. It would be the most embarrassing conversation of Matthew's life; more embarrassing than when he came out to his family and Brady asked him to rank his favourite players by 'fuckability'.

"It doesn't matter." Matthew shakes his head, clears his throat, looking anywhere but at Leon. "Look, man, let's just go back to beating each other up on the ice and pretend this never happened, okay?"

"No, hey, don't"--Leon grabs Matthew's arm as he pushes off the wall, fully ready to disappear and never talk about this again--"It does matter. Tell me."

Matthew would rather go dunk his head under the sink and rub the embarrassing flush from his cheeks. He's hot all over, from the beating in his chest to the blood in his veins. Where Leon's touching tingles with an intimacy they've never had. It may be the first time they've touched without the aggression of a game to justify it.

And damn, Leon's looking at him like he can read Matthew's mind, or trying to get Matthew to read a little of his own. It's all heat and intensity and a look that says, I don't think you hate me, and I don't want you to think I hate you.

"What do you want from me?" Matthew says. "Why's this so important to you?"

It's possible he imagines the way Leon's eyes flit down and back. They're pressed almost right against each other now. That must be why Matthew's overheating, struggling to catch a full breath.

"i just want to know..." Leon swallows the rest of his words as he takes half a step closer; a little too close to be innocent. That brick wall of a chest is pressed up against Matthew's arm, nearly crowding him against the wall.

"Know what?" Matthew barely gets the words out.

It's scary to wonder. Ideas are forming in his head--excited, hopeful ones. Matthew won't pretend he's never wondered about Leon; what he could do with him. To him. How his mouth tastes, how his hands feel, what it'd be like having him over and under and around and inside.

And Leon is looking at Matthew like he genuinely cares how he feels. Like maybe, just maybe, he's thinking, too. Wanting.

Wouldn't that just be the biggest fucking drama of Matthew's life?

There's still too much they're not saying.

Neither of them gets the chance.

Something clatters down the hall, followed by the echo of voices.

Leon lets go abruptly, hand dropping to his side. "Shit, sorry. I should, um... Never mind. Just... forget it."

He spins and walks away, just like that, shoulders hunched and hands shoved in his pockets. For a guy who never backs down from a challenge, it looks a little too much like running away.

But it's not like Matthew can call him a coward when he can't even get his own voice to work. Breathless, he slumps against the wall and tries to piece together what just happened, how they managed to say everything and nothing. It feels like he's been through a tornado.

Fuck, he can't deal with whatever this is right now. He cannot be thinking with his dick come game time, let alone worry about whatever the hell his heart is doing.

He stands alone in the hall for a good five minutes, waiting for his nerves to settle, until he finally has the courage to head back, falling into the bustle of players and staff and media.

He avoids Leon in the locker room as best he can. On the ice, too. They don't talk and they keep enough bodies between them on the bench.

Once this is over, they can crack open that can of worms again, figure out what's going on. But there's more important things right now.

They play the All-Star game like they're bitter rivals.

Matthew feeds him a slick pass that turns into a goal.

He skates off without a celly, and Leon gives him a "fuck you" with a smirk and a tongue between his teeth.

But it's fun. Really fun. And despite it all, they're both smiling at the end. Leon's smiling at him.

And Matthew wants to believe that means something.

[zvtara-was-never-canon]

This person don't harass anyone in this post, so you are free to skip this ask if you find it against the rules of your blog. It's just that I find the arguments... bad, to say the least.

https://ok-boomerang.tumblr.com/post/702213312593772544/fanfiction-as-textual-analysis

If zutara fanfiction is a form of critique, then the alternatives they suggest should be better than the critisized ones? And yet:

Ambassador Katara - I don't know why but I suspect that the ambassador should not have any romantic affairs with the ruler of the country in which she represents the interests of her people. Because, you know, if these ineterests are opposite to the interests of the country, but the ambassador and the ruler are intimate... yeah, this will not end good. Such relationships are concidered unprofessional for a reason. It "gives Katara an important political role" - which she already has, being Avatar's waterbending master and one of the world heroes herself, as one of the previous asks already mentioned. So, what to fix here? Couldn't they just write fanfiction about Katara (without Aang in the plot, since they are too obsessed with their pathetic miserable Fantara whose will is paralyzed by Aang's sole presense) doing important political stuff? Or the real point is to wrap Katara in red silk, adorn her with gold and make her spread legs for Zuko in some fancy royal bedroom?

Bloodbending as healing - while the idea itself mmay have potential, Katara is not a suitable character for it (also was discussed here). Yes, her trauma probably limits her, closing some opportunities; hey, that is also an interesting idea, by the way! "That’s a critique of Katara seen as the paragon of goodness, especially by Aang." Hmm, as far as I know, Katara fans who don't ship zutara often admit that Katara can sometimes be wrong, mean, petty and enjoy how many-dimensional she is because of that. And where had Aang ever seen her as paragon of goodness? When he approved her stealing from pirates, while agreeing that it's dangerous for the group? I don't see what to critisize here in the first place. But I see some ignoring of Katara's canonical trauma.

Painted Lady/Blue Spirit. "it’s fun and symbolic that Zuko and Katara both had alter egos" - as well as Aang, Sokka, Toph... Also, the Blue Spirit never was a vigilante, which is obvious if you understand the complexity of Zuko's arc. Again, what is critique about? Katara and Zuko had worked as a team just enough, they had an episode with badass teamwork that zutarians love so much, they had a teamwork sequence in the training battle and a whole real final battle against one of the main villains. The show really doesn't need more (ahem, because it's not about zutara, ahem). Katara's empathy for people was shown multiple times (and she managed just great without any Zuko, btw), Zuko was not that empathetic most of the time to begin with. "their perseverance to do pretty much anything once they set their minds to it" was also developed really good - the only thing to "correct" is the fact that in the canon most of the time these things are different for Katara and Zuko and have nothing to do with the other character, but again, the show is not solely about them.

In conclusion, if fanfiction is a form of critique, it seems that from zutarians' perspective the major problem of AtLA is that it's not a love story about Katara and Zuko being always together, being similar in every little thing, being in love. Well, yes, it isn't? Because it shouldn't be?

Anyway, I myself am not a good critic, so I'd like to know your opinion.

"I myself am not a good critic" *proceeds to give excellent criticism* Anon, I think you should work on that self-esteem.

You really cut straight to the central issue with zutarians main "criticisms" of the show - they're all rooted on their bias that the story can ONLY be good if Zuko and Katara are in love and endgame. And somehow, that's objective to them, instead of a subjective preference. They can never admit "This isn't what I wanted, but it works" or even "This isn't perfect, but it doesn't ruin the story"

I very much wish we had seen Toph have a field-trip with Zuko, and that the writers had not given up on making an episode on Aang's parents. I still acknowledge that the show works fine without these, despite thinking it was a wasted oportunity.

I love Maiko. I think it perfects sense for them to be endgame, and I don't have much to criticize on how their relationship was handled in the show. Mai is still not my first choice of romantic pair for Zuko, Azula is. Yet I was not surprised or angry that my OTP didn't happen, because despite some bait moments (bedroom scene) it was very clear that the show was never going there - not just because it is a kids show, but also because they clearly didn't WANT to go there.

I love Azula and want her to have a redemption arc - I still think that the ending of the show, with her simply being defeated but not redeemed, makes sense, as it would feel cheap and be a deep betrayal of her character to just make her have a change of heart at the last second (though I'll still die on the hill that Yang's comics were ableist as fuck and a disrespect to the original story).

It's REALLY easy to have your preferences and stick by your opinion that they are good while still acknowledging they are SUBJECTIVE.

Zutarians refuse to do that. They don't accept any position of power for Katara that doesn't involve her sleeping with Zuko." They don't accept any romantic endgame for her other than Zuko. They don't accept that bloodbending doesn't represent her power, or her as a character, because she did it in Zuko's presence. Don't accept any team work between her and anyone but Zuko.

This is clear ship bias and lack of interest in Katara herself, and instead of embracing it (after all, there's no rule that say you HAVE to like every character equally, or uncondionally), they make it into a "the narrative disrespected this female character" or "certain things are inherently sexist" debate - a debate they're doomed to lose and come accross as the ones that are truly sexist since they clearly don't care about Katara outside the context of a potential romance with Zuko because they think that's the ONLY way to enjoy a female character: as the object of affection of their prefered male character. Anything else is imposssible in their minds.

They're saying the quiet part out loud without even realizing it.

[mistysblueboxstuff]

Question: What, in your opinion, makes someone more "paintable" than someone else? It's not how conveniently good looking they are, from what I can tell (no dissing, that is merely my observation). I'd really like to know. Thanks!

well that's a good question anon! let's see

okay so since yesterday i said Sam Lake is very paintable, let's use him as an example (I'm so very sorry to Sam as I'm about to dissect his face xD)

okay, so as someone who likes painting faces, the first thing i notice on people are the eyes (i think that's what most people notice first, right?). these are very paintable eyes. you have a bit of asymmetry going on, which is nice (don't let anyone tell you asymmetry is not beautiful, they're lying ok), they're expressive, shaped in a way that's fun to paint (idk how to explain this one) and a really really nice colour, very bright and reflective (all eye colours are beautiful however). so that's one thing

so the next thing i notice would be the overall shape of the face, planes, shadows etc. using this picture cos it illustrates all of that really well and it's also a very nice picture so pls enjoy

so this guy has some very sharp features (sort of like David Tennant, who i also like to paint a lot, incidentally) and idk that's fun for me for some reason xD i think in general soft-featured faces are also a bit more difficult to paint (think Michael Sheen, Philip Quast), although they're also very paintable, just a bit trickier

anyway, the next thing that makes me think someone is paintable is their side profile:

artistically speaking, this is a very interesting side profile, especially in the right light such as this one (cos Mr Photographer is a genius, bless Sergei Sarakhanov). like look at that, that's every portrait artist's dream right there

additionally, what makes someone paintable (for me, at least) is their general vibe. which also means I'm usually at least somewhat familiar with what they do and i happen to like it, i know a little bit about them and the kind of person they might be (which you obviously can't really know unless you know someone personally, but you can certainly get an impression of what they're like). Sam Lake passes the vibe check, pls refer to this video as proof:

anyway, your point about "conventional good looking-ess" - idk what that means xD i struggle a lot with the concept of attractiveness and what that means for people cos i don't see people in that way myself. i think most humans are beautiful (the ones who are not are just people who might be considered objectively "bad", like if you're a bad person, you can never be beautiful imho) though. for me it's mostly about the inner light, so to speak. sometimes you can just see it, no? like in the way someone looks at other people, the way they talk, their overall demeanour, whether or not they make an effort to be kind to others. you can see it in their work, as well.

idk if any of that answers your question nonny :') but somehow the people i end up painting the most all seem to be really good eggs. my brain finds them paintable cos painting them makes brain happy. that sounds kinda dumb though xD but it is what it is xD

[smokestarrules]

I agree with you that some people mischaracterize Amity in Labyrinth Runner. She doesn't look down on Willow like in S1, she just wants to protect her, like Amity said that herself. When Willow says she's gonna capture some scouts to investigate them, Amity says that "They're tough, not anyone can stand up to them." Amity is reasonable, I think, given the fact that Willow was kidnapped by the Scouts before in Any Sports in A Storm. Tbh, If I had a friend who's gonna face and capture her kidnappers again, I'd stop them. And some, including Gus, even misunderstand that Amity is looking down on Willow in that first scene.

However, the most controversial scene is when Willow traps a Scout with her vine, Amity says that "Lucky shot, Willow." Given that even the captured scout says to Willow that "Don't listen to her, you totally got me", it only fuels people's opinions that Amity is underestimating Willow again. They bring up the fact that Amity is oblivious cause she doesn't remember that Willow used to cover the school with her vines. This scene also confuses me more than the first one in the cafeteria. Do you think this scene is badly written? The writer makes it as if Amity was looking down on Willow again.

Sorry for the wait on this, anon---I got sick literally the day you sent it in and the very concept of Thinking Analytically made me want to die. It's now Finals Week at my university but I am getting a degree in Overanalyzing Amity Blight so fuck it we ball. Anyway---

Nah It's Not Weird Writing, Amity's Just Like That.

I've talked before about Amity's issue with assuming things. That's essentially her main problem in this episode, that she's overcompensating for her earlier actions and in doing so actually causing a different sort of rift to form. Amity assumes that she still needs to atone and to do whatever she can to ensure that Willow doesn't get hurt, even though everyone else knows Willow can take care of herself.

And it's not that Amity doesn't know that, but that's the fact that gets left behind in the face of Needing To Atone.

So when it comes to that scene specifically, it's probably a combination of that and also just. using the wrong words. Amity tends to do that sometimes too. She both wholeheartedly believes that Willow wants Amity to be doing all the work, and also she just puts her foot in her mouth. It's what makes her so goddamn funny.

That's also why this conflict is ultimately so easy and quick to resolve. Amity assumes things, it's true, but when someone actively communicates to her about whatever she's doing wrong, especially in cases where she literally just thinks she's helping, she's very open to changing her behavior.

Willow says she doesn't want Amity's protection. Willow says that she wants Amity to see who she really is. So Amity does. Amity goes, whoops, that was wrong, and makes up for it.

And because she learns of her mistake and immediately fixes her behavior, Amity and Willow are able to end the episode much closer than before.

[aquareegia]

Okay so hello! I managed to get the 4th tier bundle of the graphic novel and I'm so grateful. But it was only out of pure luck that my bf managed to get the email nearly ten minutes before most. While I get why the brand itself (Sleep Token as a brand, not as the musicians behind it) would drop something like this all cryptically, I really wish they wouldn't so we'd have time to prepare more. But that's not that big of an issue to me right now.

My bigger issue is that there is a shit ton of merch that's often overpriced as hell depending on where you get it from and the only thing that comforts me is that it would be, as far as I know, extremely rare that the band themselves would be all that involved if at ALL with the pricing and what *kind* of merch it is. Their music easily reflects that they (especially Vessel and II, hopefully III and IV are more involved in the next album<3) are a quality over quantity band like you mentioned, so I definitely think this is more on RCA.

After they switched to RCA, Idk it seems like the merch/tickets side of things kinda got fucked? And, not to be delusional, I'd imagine Vessel isn't too happy abt that lol but I genuinely think they don't have control over this. The graphic novel is clearly different tho. Although I do wish they'd picked anyone but Sumerian lol /half-joking.

So, please don't listen to anons who think these grown men need to be defended against valid opinions and/or criticisms that are worded well, such as your post. Take care of yourself and if you don't want to keep this topic going in your blog you can simply ignore this or answer it privately.

Have this cute emoji〜⁠(⁠꒪⁠꒳⁠꒪⁠)⁠〜

I agree. The problem is that whether it's the band or the label making the decisions, it still reflects on the band because they are the face of the brand Sleep Token. RCA is great for exposure and opportunities, but they're also extremely exploitative, as any other label. I'm very much aware of that. And I'm very much aware that they have their hands in it. BUT it STILL reflects on Sleep Token's image. I didn't think I'd have to explicitly discuss the exploitative structures of the music industry to voice a critique about one singular band. 🙃 This is not directed at you, btw. It just felt like I was holding a gun to Vessel's head and told him what to do and insulted his entire family in the process to some. 😭

You can very much love and support artists and still critique their business practices (and I don't think I was being rude or unfair with my wording), especially when you want them to thrive in the future.

Anyways, thank you for being a reasonable human being. I've seen too many rude and condescending messages the past week, so I really appreciate your message! 😭🫶

(Also agree on Sumerian, I've been holding a personal grudge against them for a while. 😅)

[x-authorship-x]

Jokes aside the idea of Shisui smartly winning a place as Fugaku's right-hand man and using Mangekyō fuckery against ROOT is so cool? Also Fugaku doesn't strike me as someone who would be a super bad Hokage- would he be the best? No. But would he be the worst? I don't think so, especially with Shisui at his side

And who knows?

Maybe with time things will get better and Konoha will accept Fugaku as their new Hokage. I know I would 🤭

- Koto-anon

It depends on how you judge success/badness/goodness specifically towards leadership in Narutoverse!

Disclaimer! This is all my opinion! I don't want to be lectured! I'll keep deleting bullshit!

I'm gonna try really hard not to start spiraling into historical analysis of power structures and perspective bias etc etc but knowing me that's what's going to happen anyway so let's just get into it 🤣

So, fandom usually looks at Hokage candidates by their raw strength which makes sense, considering all the talk of "Strongest in the Village" and looking at who we have in Canon:

Hashirama was the God of Shinobi

Tobirama was a genius with Jutsu and assumed to be a good policy maker too

Sarutobi was 'the professor' and was pretty spry against Orochimaru even as an old man

Minato was a genius sealing master and the 'fastest man alive'

Tsunade could crush mountains and perform healing miracles

Kakashi is a (you guessed it) genius and the man of a thousand Jutsu

Naruto is literally the Jinchuuriki Favourite Child of "God-God" Sage

But, honestly, discounting Tobirama... Who here is actually fit to be a leader and not just...a glorified general?

We need to understand what the Hokage actually does. Jokes about paperwork aside, how does the mantel of Kage fit within the broader sociopolitical framework, what role do their advisors and council play into the system?

So let's make some assumptions.

From examples across time and space, we know that Generals can be just as much in power as a civilian politician or the biological heir to a dynasty. I'd recommend looking at the Hokage as a hodge-podge of these:

The Hokage are all connected to each other. Hashirama-(brother)->Tobirama-(student)->sarutobi -(student's student)->Minato-(sensei's teammates/saru's other student)->Tsunade-(predecessor's student)->Kakashi-(student, sensei's son)-> Naruto

They're military leaders and the power structure of the villages are based on this Shinobi prowess

They are also in control of their civilian population (if there is a civilian council, I doubt they report to anyone but the Hokage) and they mediate with Daimyo etc.

Hashirama was the Senju Clan Head, a mantel that maybe passed to Tobirama but more likely passed to Hashirama's mysterious children.

Tobirama was, at the very least, his brother's closest advisor. That's some political practice, right there.

Sarutobi, we assume but then...maybe not!, was the pretty important to the Sarutobi. And there seems to be a fair few of them looking at that one panel of them all breathing smoke and shit (assuming that they're not just a huge pack of brothers but most are part of their own family unit)

I don't think Asuma has a dozen brothers. Maybe he does but, frankly, I'd be disappointed if they all didn't have daddy issues with the Sandaime as well.

I'm going off tangent🙃

MY POINT is that Sarutobi possibly had some experience with bureaucracy before becoming Sandaime. Maybe Tobirama punished them all with paper pushing, idk

Minato.... I don't know what to tell you but I'm tempted just to...skip... him because frankly his term of office was so short he probably hadn't even redecorated or got the smell of smoke out of the furniture yet! Regardless, being smart with seals doesn't mean he's a good judge of politics, economics, or social welfare! He gets brownie points for being a thinker, tho

(Does Konoha function as a welfare state? Surely with the injuries on a regular basis, as well as the crazy working schedules and the turn over of retiree veterans, they've got to have some impressive infrastructure- No, don't get me started-)

Tsunade. Right, listen, she's a doctor yeah but this woman really had no clan left to learn leadership for and she's been wandering the continent for a decade in a drunken stupor. I love her but there's a reason she's smashing desks and it's because she's been confronted with problems she can't pummel or resuscitate. Tsunade didn't get a medical degree (did she????) just to have to study MORE bullshit. She's frankly wasted here but better her than some of those fuck-wits.

Kakashi. 🥹 Leading the Hatake? No. ANBU? Does Captaincy really count as anything but even more field experience. Result: Why (i love you but SEND THE MAN TO THERAPY AND GO TO THE SPA)

Naruto. Well... They wouldn't let him jump from Genin to the Hokage. Is this because they know he's so uneducated and needs to go back to school or is this purely because you HAVE to climb the pecking order in order to hit the top. Both? Both is good

So there's just... A lot here. And I can speculate to fucking hell and back but there's very little actually elaborated on in Canon. What do they even do in the Hokage Tower? Is it just all mission paperwork or does Konoha function more like... Idk a principality? What is the involvement of the Daimyo?

This is where fanfiction reaaally takes the reigns and I love that for them ✨😤

So what would make a "bad" Kage?

Danzo.

Danzo is a SHIT Kage and not just because I hate him. We're looking at someone who poisoned the previous - relatively successful - leadership, worked with foreign powers to manipulate other nations as well as his own village, orchestrated and then ordered the slaughter of thousands of Konohan citizens, kidnapping and experimentation, sabotaging political rivals (whether they considered themselves rivals is a different matter all together), bolstered social conflict and international tensions, bloodline theft and forming a private army who were indoctrinated and sealed to his will-!

So if that's the "shit" end of the scale, where do the other Hokage line up?

Hashirama: congrats on building the village! However, it's really contested whether you actually met your new allies on equal standing and it's left a lot of social pressure that will explode down the line 🥺 you get points for spirit but the execution (whoops) might prove a bit wobbily

Tobirama: congrats on being the best of an....interesting bunch. You seem to have had a good head on your shoulders and, pre-founding antics aside, you've committed to the bit. Unfortunately, you have an evil student :/ oh, right, and those social issues? You're probably making them worse

Sarutobi: well. You sat there. Congrats on living so long, I guess. You taught a few loose canons big names, you signed your name on the top of the exam, you held onto peace for a good while by the skin of your teeth. Unfortunately any good you mightve done or process made has been massively underscored by allowed your live-in nuclear-weapon-child to be abused and reviled, your students have either fucked off or were chased out after performing atrocities against the population, your teammate tries to get the last student of your (brief) successor to kill you... Yeah. It's a lot. Oh, also your own son flipped you the bird for a decade to go live in the Capitol instead. Oh, yeah, and you must either live in a bubble of ignorance (ignoring that crystal ball you've got going on) or you're wilfully ignoring Danzo squirreling funds to his private army ;/ all in all? Not great signs of leadership control, you rotten motherfucker

Minato. Is it even fair to list him when he martyred himself before anything could happen? All i can say is... Yikes. Also congrats on dying so quickly that you were immortalised as the faultless golden hero of the village ☺️ all in all, Minato is just lucky to be here

Tsunade: um. She fucked off for decades, loudly proclaiming her disgust/revulsion of Konoha and how stupid anyone would have to be to become Hokage, and hasn't exactly been graceful or pleased since being strong armed into taking the job. I'm not saying I don't sympathise but at the same time... Not a good start. Idk about anyone else but if my (dictator?) leader loudly hated the job and the village and had also gone AWOL for years living it up whilst the village was kinda imploding... I would be pretty resentful. Girl Power can only fly you so high 😔✊

Kakashi: I'm sorry that they made you do this 🥹 you are smart and you've seen a lot of shit but... He might be long-suffering for his duty but, like with Tsunade, you've got to weigh up if they'd be better elsewhere. Kakashi is high on the list of Hokage we've got to work with, however. Well. If you ignore that he was hated for most of his life, first for his father and then for being a little brat, and then for being an "eye thief", and then for being a Friend Killer, and then for being a Pervert- well. His reputation abroad is much better but there's a reason most leaders have, at least loosely, a cult of personality (Narutoverse is bad for this, btw). He has similar problems to Tsunade but he wins out on loyalty.

Naruto. I'm not going here because it's Boruto territory and that's a hard pass.

So what makes a bad Hokage? The usual things, I'd imagine:

pathological power grabbing (war mongering isn't good for your own minions and it's not good for international friends)

ignoring the wants and needs of the wider population (revolutionaries 🤷)

Inconsistency (people watch their leaders extremely carefully and so do their enemies)

lack of attention (^^^)

lack of control (you're running a military dictatorship, commit to the bit)

too much control (Danzo, I'm looking at you)

selfishness (it always bites in the ass)

pure ignorance (Sarutobi, I'm looking at you)

a focus on the brute side of things instead of the subtler arts (Sarutobi isn't brute strength but, unfortunately, he's on the other end where appeasement is making things worse)

So, looking at this, what makes a good Hokage?

Someone who knows what they're doing? 🥴

Someone who wants to be there or at least has dedicated themselves to the roll in its entirety without going on a power trip or burning out in a short period? 💀

Dedication

sensitivity

an awareness of social pressure and tensions (literally read the room)

a firm hand to the law (you gotta keep the minions in line)

support for both the backbone of society (Shinobi and Clans) as well as attention to the majority and minority (civilians hold a lot of sway in the every day realities of Konoha, don't let the Jutsu fool you) and knowing when to invest so neglect doesn't bite you in the ass (or rip everything up by the roots - ROOT, lol)

You need intimidation/respect (they are mercenaries after all) abroad as well as devotion and reverence at home (good old propaganda to keep the masses contained)

looking at the various downfalls of previous Hokage, you gotta deal with threats close to you with scary efficiency.

Another disclaimer: this is a profile for a leader in Naruto. I don't want to hear shit about me promoting aggressive foreign policy or totalitarian ideology, omfg

So! Bearing all this in mind, and incorporating an awareness of canon context... Would Fugaku be a good or bad Hokage?

I think he'd be a very important and decisive one. Good? That's a little more nuanced. Let's get into it-

Fugaku has the "good" qualities:

He's Clan Head, so about as much experience as any of the others had, but then he's also Police Chief (ACAB, whoops) so we're dealing with someone with intimate knowledge of the letter of the law, navigating Konohan crime and punishment as well as legal bureaucracy, and he's already a direct authority within the village and - get this - with the civilians.

Fugaku didn't personally want the Coup but he's a leader listening to his clan and they're getting desperate (and, therefore, more explosive). He's managed to hold his own against all these influences around him. Should he have completely shut them down? Maybe, but then what if they tried to usurp him? The Uchiha Clan can't exactly afford to split into fractions

He's called Wicked Eye for a (mysterious Mangekyou) reason. The fact that his skills aren't discussed in canon only gives us even more leeway to make him a total BAMF. He could also, apparently, go head to head with Golden Boy Minato. Am I sensing a badass? I think I am

He's surrounded by trustworthy BAMFS. Hashirama had Mito and Tobirama (Madara too, not to incite commentary, lets stay focused). The others struggled with this: Tobirama's successor is a little bitch and Danzo was devil spawn, Sarutobi was trapped between Danzo and his wild-card/war criminal students, Minato's Kushina died with him and everyone else doesn't seem on the level, Kakashi's bestie is literally a major antagonist, Naruto is (BORUTO REDACTED). Fugaku, however, not only has a bamf Clan who seem pretty devoted to him as a leader (we don't see a lot of dissent) but he's got Itachi and Shisui right there. They had a problem with the Coup, not necessarily with Fugaku himself although I think (looking at their characters) interpersonal strife would be set aside in favour of the bigger picture. All in all, there's a reason why he was thought of as the 'father' of his Clan (but what if you have daddy issues 👀)

Does Fugaku also show signs of being a bad Hokage?

Well, the timing might prove deadly against him. A revolution when the wider population is so anti-Uchiha would tear Konoha in two. But... That's if you're thinking that a Coup would be... Well, what you'd imagine. But if it's performed by Uchiha, the masters of genjutsu and manipulation? Taking liberties with Fugaku's Wicked Eyes and possible OC Uchiha characters, who knows if it would be a seamless transition? (In a fic, maybe Shisui's use of Kotoamatsukami on Danzo and ROOT would be the tip of the iceberg on what happened in the Uchiha Revolution. The Sandaime deciding to united the fractions of Konoha with Fugaku as his successor....?)

Fugaku isn't power snatching and, if he was, it wouldn't be directly for himself like Danzo's is. Danzo might sugarcoat it as an ideological difference, a variation in his vision of Konoha compared to others, but it's really all about him. Fugaku feels... vindicated.

Fugaku wouldn't be unwilling, uncomfortable, under qualified, or underpowered.

Personality-wise? He'd be like Tobirama, who i think was the best previous Hokage. Would this turn Konoha into a police state? Wasn't it always that in some form, anyway?

Overall, I think Fugaku would be a good Hokage, if he was extremely careful and played his cards right (and, considering his dedication and shrewdness, there's no reason to think he wouldn't be)

[misc-obeyme]

Asmo as someone who figures it out was something I haven't thought of! Fascinating! Is it because he likes to sort of learn someone's habits?

Me personally, if someone starts treating me differently without my request, I will get pissed. If my own family forgets that I can't hear certain shit, they have no reason then to treat me differently. To 🦊 anon: If someone says I am hard of anything, they will get hit with a hard cover book. I will ignore though, if I only partly heard ya. CC I read your answer before, regarding how you feel towards Solomon role is the whole NB plot, but how about Barb's? It seems to me like he knows that mc is from the future, yet will not admit it or even discuss it? Did you have another unhinged CC rant about it? Cuz I will read. Have a great day! -🐆

The thing about Asmo in my opinion is that he's actually quite intuitive when he takes the time to focus on someone outside of himself. He always says that he's never cared about anyone as much as himself except for MC. So I kinda think he would pay particular attention to MC and thus pick up the clues that others might miss. I also feel like Asmo is one of the few characters who doesn't get flustered to some degree when MC gets close to him. (Belphie is this way too so he might also pick it up.) So when they're having one on one conversations or Asmo might also just realize that ignoring people doesn't fit MC's personality (if it does then he might not figure it out as easily lol). But these are just my ideas on his character! I feel like a lot of this nuance doesn't really exist in the game and some of it I've kinda just elaborated on in my own headcanon lol.

That makes sense, pretty sure I'd get pissed off about that, too. I like to think most of the characters, if they figured it out, would ask you about it directly before starting to act differently. Some of them might just jump the gun on that, but if you got upset with them, they'd stop right away.

Ah... now I'm a touch confused about the correct terms... but usually it's my policy to use the same language as the person I'm talking to, since that would clearly be their preference.

You know, I don't think I have an unhinged Barbatos rant that's specifically about his role in Nightbringer. I looked in the masterlist and the archive, but it was all just sorta embedded in my rants about Solomon lol.

I've definitely said in one or more of my lesson recap posts that I think Barbatos knows everything. Mostly because he often did things that felt like proof to me, so I'd point them out. But I don't think I elaborated all that much on it? Not in just one post, anyway.

I have several posts about why I love Barbatos in general lol. But maybe I should write one about how I feel about Nightbringer Barb specifically? Mostly I think he knows everything, but won't talk about it, just like you say. I mean, he doesn't even act like he doesn't know what's going on. When he tells MC "welcome home" at the HoL even though they don't live there and he's like ah yes... or the time he gave MC a page from his grimoire to deal with Belphie as if he knew they would need it shortly?? Yeah. He knows and he's not hiding it. It's more like he's blatantly keeping a secret, you know?

But they never give us the chance to confront him about it and that's the most annoying part for both him and Solomon, imo.

Like I would not have just been like oh okay taking your word for it, whatever you guys say. No, I would be demanding answers from both of them wayyyy before now.

Anyway, I better stop before this post becomes an unhinged CC rant.

[sanderssidesthehouse]

Can you do Patton for the character bingo? I've seen a lot of different takes so I'm curious to see what you think.

-🌻🌼

Hi flower anon! I'm a little nervous about this one ngl but I will do it for you.

Circle sizes represent how confident I was marking a box. Not a lot of confidence on this one bc I'm still conflicted. I think further resolution of his arc might solidify how I feel about him, or change it completely.

I don't really like Patton Sanders and that's my toxic trait, but HEAR ME OUT. I don't want to convince anyone not to like him, in fact I'd love to convince people of all the reasons they COULD possibly like him! Just like bc of my real life personal experiences, I'm not very fond of him. He is not my blorbo 😔 I don't hate him, but I do mildly dislike him. (As a character I think he's great, his conflict presents a fascinating narrative that I enjoy quite a lot.)

"But Ace," I hear you saying, "you said you don't like him and yet you still think he's being done dirty by fans?" To which I say "Yes, absolutely, there are people out there liking and disliking him for the wrong reasons!" (In my humble opinion.)

Patton is NOT an innocent little baby who needs to be protected, NOR is he a manipulative asshole. He's just a guy trying his best who messes up sometimes. He should be treated like an adult with agency and be given some grace for when he stumbles.

He does care about his famILY and he tries so hard to show it, but he's always felt like he has to know the correct answers and that they're depending on him. And tbh with how much c!Thomas defers to Morality, I get it. When someone is constantly looking to you for answers and it's your job to have them, saying 'I don't know' is scary! But he and everyone else should really try to be brave and say 'let's figure it out together' rather than confidently giving an answer that has a good chance of being wrong. But again, I do understand the crushing weight of these expectations.

I think it's really clever that Morality got paired with Emotions, bc emotions are what drives morality. Different people have different emotions that more strongly affect their morals, with Patton, we see compassion as a primary motivator, but also fear. The fear of slipping into the category known as 'bad person' and the fear of that categorization being permanent. And then bottles that fear up out of shame. Very catholic guilt of him.

I do feel bad for Patton where we left him bc he's finally going to get the help he needs, but somewhat at the cost of the love and respect of his famILY. Roman feels betrayed, Virgil hates Janus, and Logan... Well he's got a lot going on right now anyway.

I prefer Patton when I'm looking at him through the lens of his relationships to the others. He really does his best for them, he's a sweet guy. He tries to be encouraging and he clearly knows the other three very well. And with Janus I think the strongest negative emotion he feels is occasional annoyance, you know, like when he was impersonated. He seems to actually kind of like him otherwise. Not the biggest fan of Remus, which is an understandable side effect of him not yet having sorted himself out. He's trying now, so I'm sure that will come with time.

Also his froggy traits are sick as hell and I hope we see more, I want to see more, make him a frog please, I beg. That's like, the high point of his character to me, I actually had to come back and edit this after I scheduled it to include that bc holy crap Patton's a frog and I love that for him, but I also love that for ME.

So why don't I like him? I have intrusive thoughts and moral ocd and personal trauma I'm not going to get in to so like... He's just so unbelievably frustrating to me as he currently is. Also it just irks me that he's clearly not as naive as he pretends to be and it just boils my blood when people play willfully ignorant. He's doing it bc he's scared, but isn't that why everyone does it? It's still bad, and it causes a lot of damage. I'm of the opinion that if something scares you, you should learn everything you can about it. Logan said something like that once and he was right.

He just makes me feel the need to tell people they don't have to be a moral paragon to be good or do good things or be deserving of happiness, health, safety, and love. I get it's his job and all, I just really can't separate a character like that from all the stuff I had to learn and unlearn for my personal health and safety. And maybe I actually just want to say that to him. Maybe the problem is that we're too similar in all of our worst traits and seeing a grim reflection where once stood a cheery mural is upsetting. Maybe it's Maybelline.

Idk, I might actually like him. I'm very wishy washy on this subject. I think I can manage liking him while also disliking him. I'm very talented. I would love for everyone to tell me all the reasons they love Patton! I think he's neat and I'd love to like him.

[w1ld-wr1t3r]

I've still got the Transformers/F1 AU stuck in my head so I'm trying to brainstorm a bit more lore! A few things in particular are tripping me up so I'm looking for ideas and opinions. Any input is appreciated, whether you know anything about Transformers (or cars) or not!

First, literally all of the Transformers lore that I know has come from watching clips of Transformers One on YouTube. I'm already planning to play a bit fast and loose with the lore in this AU, but if there's anything really important or essential I should know before fully diving into this, let me know!

Second, to the surprise of no one who follows me, I'm currently planning to make this another Norrix AU (they're my faves, I can't help it!) Of course, this means that I have to pick a vehicle for Martijn. I'm thinking of making him a plane or jet instead of a car since he's a pilot, but I know even less about planes than I do about cars. I'm tempted to make him an F-16 jet (since he flew in one before) but I'm curious if anyone else has any other ideas!

Third, I'm still stuck on car models for most of the grid. I might not even use or mention everyone in the fic itself but I'd still like to have ideas for most of them anyway. The thing is, I just don't know enough about cars, especially high-end cars, to know where to start. I got great suggestions from an anon for a handful of them but still need ideas for the rest of them. I'm kind of tempted to make Max just a literal F1 car but I'm curious if you think there are other cars that would be a better fit for him. I'd also like more opinions on what car Lando should be, since he'll be the main character of the AU. The anon above suggested a classic mini car for him, and I can kind of see the vision for that, but I also still think a McLaren Spider would work for him too. I wanna make sure I fully consider my options, so tell me what you think!

Fourth, I am planning to use the plot of Transformers One as the main inspiration for this story, but with the fates of some characters tweaked or completely changed. Right now, I definitely have Lando filling in the role of Orion Pax and Max filling in the role of D-16, though I am planning to change their story arcs a bit (namely, Max doesn't go evil at the end of the story). Which leads me into my next question . . . thoughts on who could potentially end up as a Prime at the end? Not gonna lie, it would be cool to see Lando as a Prime but at the same time, I think he'd be a bit happier if he didn't have the weight of leadership and the world on his shoulders. So I've been tentatively throwing around Max as a candidate so I can give his character a full redemption arc unlike D-16 (Maximus Prime, anyone?). Thoughts? Yea or nay? Someone else you'd like to nominate? I could be coaxed into doing Lewis instead, or doing Lando after all. Who would you trust with the Matrix of Leadership after undergoing a hero arc?

[northwest-cryptid]

Jumping off the anon from earlier: I don't think anyone likes the new world set and I've seen plenty or people call out the devs for it so your def not alone there. Also I thought the Ala mhigan gown was African American patterns, since that is what they take inspo from?

Also as a certified zenos simp he calls even himself savage and while I sympathize with you having it used against you I dont think its as deep as you're making it out to be, zenos is a villain of course he's going to say rude shit to the wol

Anyway I dont go here and I don't doubt you'd block me for this if I wasn't on anon and I don't feel like being attacked for an opinion. So ✌️

A. The fact "no one likes the New World Set" isn't good either, the thing I dislike about it is the headdress specifically. As I said the actual outfit itself feels very "Party City Native" but it's the headdress that's actually offensive. Everything else about it is fine, at least more or less.

B. "He's bad so he's gonna do bad things it's not that big of a deal" I'm gonna say it again, SAVAGE IS A SLUR THAT HAS BEEN USED AGAINST MY PEOPLE FOR HUNDREDS OF YEARS, DENIAL OF IT BEING A SLUR DOESN'T MAKE IT ANY LESS OF A SLUR. This is exactly what I'm talking about when I say people don't listen to Natives. I don't care if he's a bad person doing bad things you're REALLY missing the point, he's not real, someone at Square wrote that shit into the game thinking it's okay to use a slur and you are living proof that people do not care, congratulations you are part of the problem. Again people wouldn't be saying this shit "isn't that deep" if he used a different slur, you just don't think Native problems are worth worrying about unless they're cookie cutter shit like the New World Set which you still miss the point about.

C. You thinking the Ala Mhigan gown was African is exactly what I'm talking about, Natives aren't given any recognition when our culture is being stolen and profited from. I literally told you I'm Deer Clan Lakota and those very same patterns are on clothing passed down from my father's grandfather to him, and from him to me; patterns on clothes made by our people.

D. The entire ending of your message shows you don't know me but assume your opinion would upset me enough to block you rather than correct your misunderstandings, what do you take me for; some kind of savage? (See I can make that joke.) Ask yourself why you think I'd block you and ask yourself why you would be "attacked" for your opinion.

I genuinely do mean people like you when I say I wish people would listen to Native voices. A lot of people don't actually know squat about us, our culture, or our problems. Since you were so confident in making an assumption about me, allow me to do the same; you would not say these things about other minorities. Because you feel safe telling a Native that slurs that have been used against us aren't that deep, but you sure as hell wouldn't tell a Black person that the N word isn't a big deal, and before anyone says "well you can say one of them and not the other!" Yes I can, savage is our word, the N word is not. If I were Black it'd be the other way around for me.

People do not want to accept what we as Natives have to say unless we specifically say what you want to hear. This is specifically a big reason why most people don't know about our history, our culture, and our problems; it's not that we're not sharing them, it's not that we're not trying; it's that most people don't care enough about Natives and would rather get up in arms about FFXIV.

Do you realize how little I care about FFXIV?! There are Natives being raped, and murdered every day. The government has told us that if we cannot keep the blood of our people pure enough for them to consider us Native we won't be able to inherit our land and the American government will just take what little we have left because Native American people will no longer legally exist, our options are inbreeding or choosing to give up our very existence and we don't want to take either opinion.

And you want to argue with me about whether or not a slur is a slur because you're horny about a fictional video game character who says a slur.

I don't even have to say "people aren't listening to Natives when we try to tell you something is bad" because not only do people STILL think this is about FFXIV but people are willing to tell me it's "not as deep as you think it is" yeah alright cool thanks, let's not pay attention to the fact that it took until the 70s for Natives to be able to practice our culture and religion off the res, and even then where my father grew up, if a Native was off the res past 8 pm they would be violently beaten by cops. On my father's res the young men were taught how to survive in the white man's world of business while our young women were taught how to please the white men and not make them angry so they wouldn't be murdered or worse. Our culture was literally taught out of the youth because we are being forced to conform or die.

Let's ignore the decades of hate crimes committed upon my family alone, let's ignore every time I've heard the word savage while being beaten, mocked, and harassed. Classmates would try to hold me down and cut off my braid because they heard it would dishonor me. Classmates would grab me in the hallways and beat me, if I defended myself at all I'd put up with the parents of these kids screaming about how "this savage hurt my son" and when I'd explain I was just trying to get to class and was jumped by 3 kids with sharp objects even the principle would say I shouldn't have used force only to remark how he realizes "my people often don't handle conflict with words" so sure yeah, you can deny racism all you want.

Because it doesn't hurt you, and it's easier to look away and pretend this is all about some MMO than some actual real world problem that I was literally just saying the MMO exemplifies in its use of our culture and the use of a slur, and sure you can continue to defend it, to be mad about the wrong things because listening to Natives is hard.

But hey maybe it's just not as deep as I think it is, right? Perhaps all the racism and rape and murder and erasure of a whole people isn't that deep, because after all "savage" is just a word.

Look you're going to need to excuse me here, because yes I am upset; you have no idea what it's like to never be listened to when you try to explain racism and the problems your people are facing. Only for it to get some traction and then every inbox message I get completely misses the point, okay fair I'll explain things, no one has been offensively misguided until now; but to get this in my inbox first thing in the morning is like waking up to someone saying "no one cares about Native shit, shut up it's not that deep" and then ending it with the most passive aggressive "you're just gonna block me anyways and I don't want to be attacked for my opinion so ✌️" that tells me your not listening, you don't care to listen, you didn't want to learn you just want me to shut up.

This whole answer isn't for the Anon who sent me this message. This answer is for you, the individual who's actually taking the time to read it, because I do appreciate that you're actually reading what I have to say, even if it's easier to say it's not that deep; even if it's easier to look the other way and pretend we don't exist. I say these things in hopes my message reaches you and that you are aware of the kind of shit we deal with. I want for a world where the needs, concerns, and racism against my people receive the same coverage and care that other minorities get. We're being ignored, we're being intentionally forgotten, swept under the rug by anons like this who can't accept that our problems are real.

Do not be that person. Be better.

[lawlietscaramels]

L and Matsuda for 002?

-🎲

THANK YOU 🎲 ANON!!

How I feel about L: hhhhh sigh. hhh. sighhhshhshsiigggh. honestly? he's kind of like my favourite jumper. he's my number one comfort character ever and I came very close to crying in bed for days after he died. i am not 'typical about this man.

How I feel about Matsuda: he's such a cutie!! teehee!!! look at this silly fella who probably cuts his own hair!! giggling and kicking my feet cause he's funny and silly and would be a good friend doncha think?

All the people I ship romantically with L: Matsuda, Misa, Rie, other people's OCs (if they're shipped with him by their creator xD). Light deserves a mention because while I don't ship LawLight romantically I do think they're an iteration of the "red thread" trope because no matter what time, no matter what place, they'll write history together with a pen filled with their own blood in place of ink. that said I was genuinely surprised that so many people ship them just because I don't see it at all. I don't hate it, there's just nothing that clicks for me when looking at L and Light.

All the people I ship romantically with Matsuda: mostly just L, I've seen Matsu + Misa stuff but I think they'd be cuter friends.

My non-romantic OTP for L: Light 100%. You can't have one without the other. I can't explain all my thoughts about them without a whole post dedicated to it, but anyway, Light is my answer.

My non-romantic OTP for Matsuda: mentioned it above, Misa! They're two sillies and they're both :3 so they're besties and they've probably got matching friendship bracelets.

My unpopular opinion about L: he does eat normal food on a semi-regular basis. specifically, meat, usually I think steak. I hc him as anemic but also Watari wouldn't let L die or become malnourished and there's important things in food that you can't necessarily get in vitamins or tablets. and actually, as someone with anemia, I think L would actually have really strong cravings for rare or medium rare red meat when his iron is low and thus when he eats it he enjoys it.

My unpopular opinion about Matsuda: He's actually really smart, especially with humanities subjects. Just doesn't have great detective skills. A different career path may have been beneficial but he actually really believes in justice, probably more so than L and Light, and he actually QUESTIONS his own sense of justice which leads to more balance. he's such a great guy.

One thing I wish had happened with L in canon: he survived. and actually, I'd just really like to see him solve lots of cases. idk how many/if any he solved outside the anime but you know. a side series where he solves cases and explores the world and has tea parties with Watari would melt my heart.

One thing I wish had happened with Matsuda in canon: honestly I just wish we got to see more of him in general. I wish we got deeper into his character - into everyone's character, actually, they're all a little 2D and it's not just the animation - but yeah. more Matsu. how he works.

My L OTP: I'm not sure if I can pick one HAHAHHS I love all his relationships (well, my headcanons for them) from platonic to father and son to mentor and mentee to enemies together to lovers. yeah. I just like L LMAO but maybe Matsu. hm idk. I hear some people ship him with BB or Naomi and I wanna look into that.

My Matsuda OTP: lowkey L and Matsuda are one of my favourite ships. in Matsu's case I don't really ship him with anyone else so this is the only answer. some of you might have noticed that in my headcanons Matsuda plays Pokémon Go! and L is a Pokémon fan too... hmm... Also I like them cause they're both childish: like yeah L is always calling Matsuda stupid but does he call any other task force members stupid, even when they deserve it? no. arrogant child and silly child. even in non ship situations I think they're actually on similar wavelengths in a way.

My crossover ship for L: (platonic) Saiki K. you can't tell me they wouldn't be best friends come onnnn smnsndndm hehe

My crossover ship for Matsuda: I dunno actually...

A headcanon for L: if he has to wear shoes, he has to wear blue socks. not dark blue or navy, LIGHT, SATURATED BLUE. it's like neon ahhaha. there's little yellow flowers at the hem bits but his jeans cover them.

A headcanon for Matsuda: he doesn't like chips because they're too crunchy. he likes chips though. curly chips. YES I CALL BOTH TYPES CHIPS AND IT MAKES IT HARD TO DISCERN OVER TEXT SHSGYAYDH SORRY

[csvent-2]

https://www.tumblr.com/csvent-2/755875433859465216/first-of-all-english-is-not-my-first-language?source=share Apologies to the mod for how beaten this topic is, but this particular anon's ask irritates me. Most CS events typically aren't like artfight, we're not usually attacking anyone to gain an in-game currency point (unless it's a pre-set event, but they're not common). It's why both writing and artwork is usually allowed. Appraisals don't have anything to do with writing for CS events. So what if you don't usually get an appraisal value for writing? That still doesn't de-legitamize writing as a respected art form. And shit, even the mod here said they've seen writing appraisals before, so it does exist, even if only rarely. I'd also like to counterpoint your counterpoint about bullshitting: in my opinion, you can bullshit both. Maybe I'll get flack for this, but in the various different CS communities I'm in, I've seen some subpar artwork that is very much not polished, made at the last second, and they still get a point. A visual artist is going to find artwork easier to "bullshit" than writing (that's me, I find it easier to bullshit than writing), and you're going to have writers that find it easier to bullshit writing than artwork. "Spelling tools" and "grammar checks" don't make your writing good, and having a "speech to write" program doesn't either. Summing it up so simply like this is insulting as fuck, you clearly have no understanding of what goes into good writing. And what's so different than a writer having these tools VS a visual artist who has different pre-made brush types/textures, or gradient maps that do the color-scheming for you? How about modeling apps so that you get your anatomy right? That makes visual art SO much easier to make, you can't condemn writers for having tools when visual artists do, too. In regards to AI: so what if it's a bit easier to spot visual AI artwork vs AI writing? That doesn't mean we should ban the entire genre. It's getting harder to tell AI art, too, do you want to take it further and ban art as well, just incase? And what do you mean "fanfiction doesn't sell?" Have you ever heard of "Fifty Shades of Grey?" You know, that Twilight fanfiction that became a popular series all on its own? What about the fanzines the other anon mentioned? Or people who WRITE THEIR OWN BOOKS AND PUBLISH THEM? Because most people's writings about their OCs isn't fanart anyways. They could absolutely write and publish their own works. Lastly, who cares if there are no written adopts, that's not the point. The point is that people want to be able to write about their characters for prompts or CS events. Is it really that fucking hard to let them have their own category, or for mods to take the time to read something? Thanks for reading.

I think this is the perfect end to the topic.

My stance is and always will be that writing is art and writers deserve their work to be able to be shared in CS/ARPGs. Thanks to all anons who provided very well thought out responses.

Any additional writing debate messages that aren’t already in my inbox at the time of me queueing this post will be deleted, the topic has run its course.

[thatgirl4815]

Hi! I'm the anon who sent the ask about the fight in Sand's apartment. In light of the ask you just got about Ray hate, I want to clarify that I do not hate Ray! He is my pookie and I love him, just as Sand is my pookie and I love him. I have all the empathy in the world for Ray finally getting his chance to be with Mew in the worst possible way, and I expect that he knows deep down that this isn't going to work out the way he wants it to - but he had to take the chance anyway. It honestly feels like a form of self-harm for him (or at least accepting the love he thinks he deserves). And I will still have all the empathy in the world when it inevitably blows up in his face. Honestly, I hope he gets the chance to see for himself that a relationship with Mew isn't what he's been imagining it to be because of the ways Mew himself is flawed, and that he gets a chance to feel dissatisfied with it in his own right rather than Mew just throwing him over for Top. Honestly, I don't think his behaviour toward Sand up to this point has been anything to criticise overmuch - they're both guilty of letting the lines blur, and touting the "we're just friends with benefits" party line when that lines up less and less with how they were acting. Sand saying they weren't friends isn't entirely fair - I do think their friendship was honest, even if there was more romantic interest than either was admitting to. Still, it's good that he finally drew the line and admitted it isn't what he wants. And Ray admitting to romantic interest of his own is also good, even if the I can have feelings for as many people as I want, but don't you dare make out with anyone else display was not it. I want the jealousy from Ray not to punish him, but because I think it's important to their relationship progression that he either develops or acknowledges the strength of that romantic interest (especially in contrast to his Mew feels) if they're going to have a hope of being endgame. And I want Sand to remember he's a catch and deserves someone who wants him wholeheartedly. (And if that's Ray, apologises for calling him a whore.) Anyway, sorry if you felt like I wanted Ray punished by the narrative - I wanted to give you a better explanation of where I'm coming from in case my ask was upsetting!

Hi! No need to apologize at all! :) As I said before, I think everybody's opinion on this is valid because it's ultimately such a messy situation. I think my biggest point is that having empathy for both Sand and Ray makes the viewing experience that much more rich and complex. Nobody is 100% good or 100% bad.

For the record, I also want Ray to feel jealousy. I want Ray to hurt for all the hurt that he has caused Sand (and as the catalyst for showing him just how much he cares about Sand). And I agree that up until this point, Ray hasn't really done too much bad to Sand aside from calling him a whore. He hasn't been super upfront with Sand about his feelings for Mew, but he didn't owe him that in the beginning, and even recently he tried to open a dialogue about it, but Sand is the one who shut it down.

Where things get messy is in what is said besides what is implicitly understood. I agree that Sand and Ray's friendship is honest, and I also think that their romantic pull to each other has been a dominant force in that relationship; they might not have vocalized it, but I don't believe for a moment that either of them ever thought this was purely a friendship (besides maybe episode 2?). The problem is denial. Ray is denying because of Mew. And he knows it. I'd argue that Ray is very aware of his affection for Sand, but he isn't allowing himself to consider it too deeply lest it take away from his feelings for Mew.

It's like when you develop a hyperfixation, and while in that hyperfixation you start getting interested in something else, and the thought of liking anything more than your hyperfixation starts to freak you out so you immediately start to shut down the new interest. (Does that make sense? Maybe that's a bad analogy, but I have that experience a lot haha).

[singsweetmelodies]

just wanted to say that your charlos tags on the notp post were a WHOLE ASS MOOD

like i can't deny the chemistry because i'd have a lifetime supply of smoothies from the level of 🍓🍊🍌🥝🍇 in those c2 videos. but i just cannot indulge in it whatsoever

i can't even point to a specific moment that turned me from 'oh they have a fun teammate dynamic!' to a full-blown hater ('hater' is a bit strong but close enough) but it must've been something to do with the fans...

anyways, just wanted to express my gratitude for those tags. nice to know that i'm not alone

darling anon!! thank you so much for this ask - and oh, bestie, you are definitely not alone. you are so not alone, and i am actually hugging you rn, because it's always fab to find someone who agrees with your ship opinion 👌 sorry to the charlos fans out there, but it just can't be for us. #rip

and that third paragraph of yours - ah, man, i feel you so much. i also used to genuinely enjoy their teammate dynamic a lot (loved watching the c2 challenges, etc etc.) and i also can't quite point to a specific moment when this changed? but i do know the general themes about it, and since i had an incredibly long exhausting day at work today, i'm quite in the mood to rant about them. i will do so under the cut, though, lmao, because goodness knows i'm in a petty mood tonight.

any and all passionate charlos or just carlos sainz fans - please do not click on the readmore, because i'm not going to be terribly nice to your fav here, i'm afraid 🙃

so for me, when i first got into f1, it wouldn't have been inaccurate to say that i kinda loved carlos sainz. i loved the carlando/mclaren videos, and i loved the c2 challenges. he's funny, and he's pretty, and he has a cute dog, and he drives for ferrari... what more could you want?

the thing is, though. i am a charles girlie first and foremost. even though i liked carlos, he was never on the same level as charles for me. especially not in terms of driving - because, well, just look at the start of the 2022 season. enough said.

what started getting to me was that group of passionate carlos fans (the carlos girlies) who seemed to seriously think that carlos is a better driver than charles. they would slander charles and call him an inconsistent/reckless driver, while saying carlos was so much better. obviously, this rubbed me up quite the wrong way. and then at the same time, i was seeing carlos on my screen giving interviews where he would insist that if he'd had a few more laps, he would have overtaken max's red bull. like... i'm sorry, but that was never going to happen. in any world. pffft. (my thoughts at this point went: arrogant! he thinks he's better than he actually is.)

so that got me to like carlos himself a little less, which obviously has an influence on the ship as a whole. i mean, it would be hard to like a ship if you only really like one of the two partners in it, right? right? this is what i've always thought, anyway... except that a lot of charlos shippers seem to like carlos a lot more than charles. which is to say: in so many of their fics/characterisations, it's all glorifying carlos, while charles is essentially his arm candy with all the character depth of a rather pretty paper cutout. less than ideal...

the last thing, and perhaps the pettiest of all, lmao, is just that i'm incredibly possessive and insane about piarles. i acknowledge it. in fact, i fully own it. they are my ship, and i want them and only them to be endgame, always. now, obviously i don't expect everyone to agree with me 😂😂 but i don't particularly want to be seeing any content on my dash that features charles/anyone other than pierre as an endgame ship. and charlos usually is portrayed as an endgame ship/they're meant for each other etc. etc. well, sorry. to me, charles is meant for pierre, and pierre only. charlos is out. the end 🫶