#and also like. if y'all are allowed to want more than 1 gay character i feel like we also are allowed to want more than 1 aroace character

[tropicalcryptid]

Ok y'all I have a confession.

...Tigerheart/star is my favorite living warrior cats character and I'm tired of pretending he isn't XD

He was a questionable boyfriend, but he's an excellent husband, father, and leader. He's far more like Firestar than Bramblestar ever was. He's proactive and is willing to break rules for what he believes is right. He gave up territory for SkyClan when no other Clan would. He willingly takes in and shelters cats who are unfairly banished from their own clans--Icewing, Harelight, Mothwing, and most recently Frostpaw (geez RiverClan). He stood up for Rootspring and Bristlefrost's love and advocated to change the warrior code to allow cross-Clan relationships. He will go to any lengths to protect ShadowClan and especially his children--but he seems truly motivated by love and not a desire for power. He takes amazing care of Shadowsight and stands by him constantly. Most recently, his "invasion" of RiverClan was shown to be 1) actually necessary, and 2) he did, in fact, keep his promise and back out when his conditions were met.

His decisions aren't always the *best,* but he's motivated and active (and delightfully meddlesome) in a way that no leader since Firestar has been. I LOVE that. I love him! Big stupid hot-headed well-meaning stripey man! Go invade RC again and kick Splashtail's, well, tail! <3

Also! ASC! You made ShadowClan the best clan how did that happen??? I'm so mad that Sunbeam is in ThunderClan now because I don't caaaaaaaare about TC lol I want more SC perspective.

So this is a lineup of my fav cats from the current arc: Whistlepaw (your honor I love her), Frostpaw (you're doing amazing girl, sorry about all the trauma), Icewing (hopefully next leader of RC come on WC team), Fringewhisker (full-time ass-kicker), Tigger boy <3, Shadowsight (my poor bby you're so good), Puddleshine (when did you get to be such a likeable character?), Bayshine (what a bro, seriously), and Harelight (we stan a supportive mentor, sorry about "Wind" buddy).

Honestly ASC is great so far. Can't wait for the finale. Also let the lesbian medicine cats kiss omg. I don't really bother shipping warrior cats because *gestures wildly* but nah, Whistlepaw and Frostpaw are the cutest lesbians and you can't tell me the "It was all worth it if it was for you" conversation in "Wind" WASN'T the most sapphic thing ever. Break ALL the boundaries girls be BOTH gay *and* nuns. We stan.

[probablyaparadox]

Oh gosh here we go again- the peak of my hyper fixation on something where I finally post a theory... SO CROCODILE- (Y'all love this guy on tumblr-)I'm going to be very truthful, this started out as a head cannon which I found evidence for in this theory to bring my idea's to completion, and really ties up my thought process together.

What are the key takeaways? 1. Crocodile specifically Avoids having a ring on ring finger, and this could be because he has a spouse 2. Him having lost them in some way, and Iva knowing about them. But why Iva? And why do I say them? Y'all already know- I'm saying Crocodile is gay, and has a husband, well somewhere out there. This makes logistic sense because well, why Iva becomes answered, but we also have a subtle hint in crocodiles overall design. Firstly

Crocodiles Outfit is surprisingly evocative of the victorian dress. Mostly thanks to the vest and cravat look. Additionally, the victorian era began in 1837, very close to when Cigars became popular. I bring this up partially because I think it's cool, and partially because it allows for some implications to come across, as one piece's world spans socially over several decades in terms of atmosphere and acceptance. Mostly that the victorian era was a time where being LGBTQ+ was still considered taboo. So while most of new kama is living in the times of 1970's to modern day, he is very much living in the victorian era. One revolves around being loud and proud, and the other very much around subtleties. What subtleties does he have? Well. For starters, It's a very- Choice colour with the purple vest there. (this is mostly a joke, although purple is associated with signalling, it's usually a different manner as far as I'm aware.) What I actually want to talk about is the earring. Most characters in one piece Wear double earrings if they are wearing them (I.E. Law, bart, Nami, Blackbeard etc.) For those of you unaware, Earring signalling goes like this. Right is gay, left is straight. I could only find three characters wearing a single earring. 1. Zoro on his left. 2. Benn Beckman on his right (Good for him!/hj) and 3. Crocodile on his right. So with this ramble aside. I think his interactions with Iva and the gays TM make much more sense. He's down with the gays because well. He is. They literally give him an entirely new outfit, just like they do for the rest of the LGBTQ+ people they bring in. And why IVA SPECIFICALLY would know that he is married, as per Iva knowing and being all gay peoples parent (/hj). In all seriousness I think it would make sense in this context that he asked Iva to help with his wedding or something of the like, since he (and presumably his husband) likely didn't have many connections to people who could do wedding stuff non-judgementally I.E. a cake or getting someone to do the vows. It's very wholesome, but it's something that I could see as Crocodile wanting to be kept secret, as he's been characterized as someone very secretive. This part is pure speculation/almost definitely false; but. I could definitely see some sort of "held hostage" situation. As Crocodile said "If you want to protect something, do it right." This could be someone who is protecting something, but also someone who lost it. I mean, they've forced the other warlords into similar corners, with the protection of Amazon Lily, or the release of Arlong (and likewise the safe return of all the escaped slaves from the Sun pirates who just wanted to go home.) It makes the "wanting to have a power that can match the WG or any nation in force" goal of his have a much more interesting reason than "KING OF THE PIRATES." We got enough folks aiming for that already, and I feel like if you beat an early antagonist that badly and just keep using him, you gotta have some kind of pay off that doesn't involve him getting beat again.

[kravisaweeb]

okay ive just been thinking about bkdk wayy too much recently (when am i not, though, honestly?) and i just Have to dump my thoughts somewhere. these are my own personal opinions and if you don't agree 100% (or at all) that's perfectly fine!

it's kinda Long and Rambly so beware lmao

so ive been reading more bkdk meta (of course) and like, i have so many conflicting feelings cause. y'all, no amount of evidence and logic and reasoning and thematic and narrative parallels and development and arc conclusions and build-up and Everything will make a weekly shonen jump main title gay. that's My opinion as a terribly bitter cynic, and it is in no way meant to rain on other people's parades (if you think they will be canon, you are more optimistic than i and are making the world a sweeter place). I've just been burnt too many times, i don't really expect anything from mainstream media At All—only indie content gets my unfiltered hype and hopes—and whenever things do shake up differently from what i thought, it's a nice surprise! cause the alternative is, This Mountain of Evidence and Development... and then oops get hit with the straightification beam on the last second.

"but it would be so unsatisfying! and completely out of nowhere! and just plain out of character! and ignore so much development! and it wouldn't make any sense at all with what has been established in the story!" Yeah. i know! im as angry and annoyed and disappointed about it as anyone. and yet, so many fucking times, that's how it goes. it would be terrible, and weird, and completely against everything that's been set up, and yet it would happen anyway. this is true even for things that are not shipping-related—ask game of thrones how it ended. cause executives are Executives everywhere, including the "west", which is """"supposedly"""" more liberal (lol, lmao). people with money that make all the decisions force creatives to comply, or fight with tooth and nail and blood and sweat and tears into allowing them to make the story they DO want to make. so it's really hard for me to see it in any other light, when i have seen it happen so many times before.

and yet.

And Yet. i cant help but think, but wonder—what is it all for then, anyway??

i can honestly say, taking off my shipping goggles for a moment, bkdks platonic relationship has ended. it really ended two years ago, culminating when bkg took a bullet for him, and then was cemented when he apologised, you know, to trample down any doubts. there we go, narrative concluded! from rival to best friend. all loose threads tied in terms of their relationship. if that's how it had ended, how it had stagnated, remained in stasis, with this New Dynamic the new canon going into the final battle then show over. yeah. typical shonen bestie stuff. it would have ended and i would have gone "oh they were in LOVE fr" forever, but knowing that people who were like "this is what besties are like! this is what siblings are like!" also had as much of a claim to their interpretation as mine (even if i didn't personally agree w it lmao)

BUT IT DIDN'T STOP THERE and i have to ask why???? WHY is it more central i Don't Get It. i dont understand? i really dont get it cause.... why? bkg is important to deku, yes. other people are also important to deku (all might, his mom, his other friends, civilians, any lost pet he has to kill himself over cause he is a Good Caring Shonen Protag). that has been established for forever. so i don't rly understand the necessity to further highlight that One part of his personality (caring about kacchan) to motivate him into fighting the Big Bad Villain, when 1. he would've fought the villain anyway cause that's what heroes do, and 2. it could have been a generic "you hurt my friends!!" and like lump in more people there, like in the first war arc where several people got hurt (aizawa, gran torino, etc).

but No! you hurt that guy. that guy, that while he was dying, the villain, textually, explicitly says, "i am hurting you because it will make deku angry and sad, since you are his most important person" (that's almost a fucking quote im basically QUOTING here). and it's like, what? lmao wait. what?? why???

what is it building up towards?? i dont get it. it's not going to build up to the apology/their relationship being mended (what we thought would be the climax of the whole thing), cause that already happened. there's no "oh my god if kacchan dies he'll never get to say sorry!" stakes, or "oh my god if deku fails he'll never be able to be friends with kacchan again!" stakes, cause like, that already did happen though. i mean i know obviously in real life, you do things for people just for their sake, not because of what it will mean for your narrative arc. but this is a made up story and thus needs storytelling reasons for shit to happen. so what is the reason for deku needing to be pushed, needing to be backed into a corner, over kacchan dying? why did bakugo have to die (had to get FRIDGED, it's a trope and everything), if not so that his death would fuel dekus rage (which we were told explicitly was the reason why)? why, out of everyone on the battlefield, out of everyone in the CAST, did it have to be bakugo, the one to make deku Lose It?

i mean we know why, but still. what? is it really, textually, canonically That?

i just don't get it. and secretly, deep deep inside, i really hope we get to find out soon

[yourladystar]

Star's Engage Catalogue Day 29 (part 1)

Sorry for the abrupt cutoff yesterday, something came up. But before I start the paralogue, I wanna really highlight just how hard it is for me to pick who I want to give the pact ring to. So allow me to go into detail of the 10 candidates I have for this.

Yeah, you heard me right.

I said 10.

I was really hoping last night would make it easier for me, but no.

Also, this isn't in any order from least likely to most like, it's just how they're listed in the support list I have for Alear right now.

Seadall

Y'all already know by this point that I fell in love with Seadall the second we got a screenshot of him and I went feral when he first appeared in the game. This man is absolutely gorgeous, his voice is soothing, and he has an enjoyable personality and an interesting backstory. And I like how it works for his and Alear's supports.

Rosado

Outside of being a gender-nonconforming icon, Rosado is so likable and his supports with Alear was surprisingly really good. Having someone in your life who not only validates what you do but understands it is so satisfying, and I can totally picture these two adventuring to find the next hidden beauty the world has to offer.

Yunaka

This one genuinely shocked me. If you remember the tier list I made before Engage came out, you know I didn't have high hopes for Yunaka. And when the game came out and I saw the fandom reception to her, I got even less enthusiastic about her. I felt like I was gonna get another meme character who's only noteworthy for one thing that the fandom beats into being outdated faster than it became popular.

Boy was I wrong!

Reading her supports and learning about her past, struggles, and newfound goals skyrocketed her to being one of my favorites, and Alear's supports with her was part of it.

I know she's a fan favorite, but you guys are honestly not giving her the proper attention.

Diamant

I love both the Brodia brothers and while I like Alcryst more, I ain't about to sell Diamant short. His supports with Alear really sold it for me. The two were able to see each other's vulnerabilities, came to understand each other outside of their painted views, and are now comfortable with being who they are underneath their brave exteriors with each other.

You gotta love a pairing where the two expressing their weaknesses brings them closer.

Zelkov

Zelkov is a character who just gets better with each support of his I unlock. It is actually unfair how amazing this character is. And I love his supports with Alear.

I'm a sucker for pairings where character A has a hobby or interest that others find either weird or disturbing, but character B not only finds it interesting, but actively engages with character A on it. It's one of the main reasons why Shinsai is one of my favorite Danganronpa ships.

Even if I don't pick him, there's no denying these two got great chemistry.

And their A-support was cute as hell.

Alfred

Even discounting their supports, Alfred feels like the option the story itself is going for. I have been taking screenshots of every gay moment these two have shared and it's a lot.

I tend not to care for canon pairings ever since I've come to realize that shipping one character with multiple people is fine, along with the fact that a lot of canon pairings in Fire Emblem don't hit it for me, but these two feel the most expected by Engage's narrative and they do a damn good job at making you believe it.

Ivy

I love this absolute cringe-fail of a woman. I love every moment that showcases her as the walking barely functioning disaster she is and her supports with Alear balances this with her softer side that just wants a break from the hell that is her life.

The Elusia sisters both deserve a vacation to just not worry about anything.

Alcryst

I knew from his first scene that I was gonna love Alcryst, yet that still feels like an understatement. Soft boys with anxiety really draw me in, and Alcryst being an absolute sweetheart on top of it sold me so hard on him.

Also, I know I commented on Alfred having notable gay moments with Alear, but Alcryst also had his fair share of them.

I just love my Brodia boys and I want them to have happiness.

Amber

I love this f*cking idiot so Goddamn much! He is such a lovable goofball who makes me smile anytime he's on screen! His supports with Alear are simple yet so cute to watch these two dorks bounce off each other.

Amber honestly has good chemistry with every character I've had him talk to, which is kinda nuts!

Pandreo

And last but certainly far from least. Pandreo was someone who I knew was gonna have an interesting dynamic with from the moment he and Alear met, and I was not disappointed by that. You really can't get any more of a wish fulfillment than being able to hang out daily with the very deity your church worships.

Also, Pandreo seeing more of Alear's humanity by inviting him to his parties and being kinda embarrassed about it is funny and adorable.

But yes, this is my current dilemma.

I'm just hoping that by the time I'm done with the paralogue, I'll finally have my answer.

[greengaybubbles]

FEDIVERSE INFO/GUIDE

TLDR: Info/guide about decentralized social media alternative if people would like to move away from Tumblr. Also I'm sorry for info-dumping.

### INTRODUCTION(ig i'm doing a chapter thing) Hi, it me, one of the little gay people in your phone. It's been a little since us 196ers have moved over to Tumblr. Over the first few months it felt like Tumblr became a place for our little community to settle down for the years to come but after the entire drama with Predstrogen getting banned by the CEO himself, life on this platform has seemed rocky to me. I was happy to see the community here was outraged and rallied against these actions but it feels like once again we are on a site that doesn't value or respect us. One question that I saw a few times during this event was if we should migrate to another platform and where to if so. This was met with not much of an answer because where else is there to go? Back to Reddit? Twitter? Somehow move to Instagram? To those who feel like there is no where left to turn let me introduce you, the two people who are actually read this, to the Fediverse.

### WHAT IS THE FEDIVERSE

In the most basic terms it's a group of individual servers that are connected to create a bigger social media platform. It's kind of like if you could view and communicate with people on Instagram and Reddit while on Tumblr and vise versa just with a lot of smaller independent servers.

This allows for a lot of smaller servers with unique communities and rules to mingle and thrive without needing to worry about advertisements, algorithms, or higher-ups from randomly banning your account for just existing(I mean that can happen if there's a bad admin but then you can just create a different account on a different server).

I feel like this corner of the internet would be perfect to harbor the 196 community. Below is a guide on how to set up an account and a little bit about the interface to anyone who would like to try. At the very bottom is also a great video that goes over everything here just better I would say. If you would, give it a try. It would make my heart warm to see the 196 tag on there.

### HOW TO MAKE AN ACCOUNT

# STEP 1: Pick a server

The first step in creating an account is picking the a server. This in the end won't matter that much as if you create an account on a niche server you will still be able to see the content on all other servers connected to the Frediverse. The two main things you will want to be looking at while choosing a server is: 1. Join or apply: Some servers you will need to apply to get in while others are open to anyone. I've never tried to apply to any servers so I can't say anything about the process, but it is something to keep in mind if you would just like to create an account and instantly start posting.

2. The rules: For rules that should be self explanatory. If some of y'all want to do hornyposting, which please do, then you should make sure the server you choose is okay with that type of stuff.

3. Character Limit: Every server will have a character limit for messages which is the only downside when switching from Tumblr. For most servers this limit is 500 character but it can be more. I don't know how to see this per server but if it's a bigger server it's more than likely it'll be a 500 character limit. Below are two links to help with server hunting: 1. The main page with some of the most popular servers.

2. A tool that can help you sort ALL of the servers.

For this tutorial I'll create an account on neovibe.app to demonstrate but feel free to join any one that catches your eye even if it's a general server like mastodon.social(that is a perfectly fine option).

# STEP 2: Fill out the info

Once you have picked a server go to it's page (so for me I'll put neovibe.app into my URL). Then once the page loads hit the 'create account' button.

Now you will be taken to the rules of the server. Double check they are good with you before hitting accept.

Now you will be taken to your usual social media fill out page. Fill the information and hit sign up. Next you will be prompted to verify your email and after that you should be ready to start posting.

# STEP 3: Enjoy

Once you've created your account you can now start posting. This works a little like Twitter but less toxic and isn't a in a spiral right now.

Here are some descriptions of the tabs you will use most: Home - Your home tab will show you things the people you follow posted along with tags you follow. Explore - The Explore tab I believe shows you what's trending today. Live Feed - The Live Feed shows you the newest things. It can be sorted between the server you are on, other servers, or all the servers.

When posting remember if something is NSFW or gory remember to add a content warning.

If you have any more question please let me know and I will help as much as I can. I love talking about open source projects that work towards a better and more open internet and helping people use this stuff.

For more info this video talks more in depth about how stuff works and how to use the platform:

[arodrwho]

mmmmmmmmm it’s Evil now to hc caduceus as anything other than a gay-who-is-not-also-ace apparently. bc--apparently--taliesin said sth about coming back gayer after molly died. & that counts for wordofgod that clay is just super fuckin gay-and-not-also-ace. & so therefore to look at how ambiguously clay’s been played in the queer department & go “hm that looks like an aroace or possibly gay ace, mine now” is bad & wrong & homophobic, as it turns out

also, apparently--bc i am being kinder here in this repeating of things that i have heard--apparently “ace” also always automatically means aro. bc ppl are like “u can’t hc him ace!! tal said he was gonna be gayer than molly!!!” as though u can’t. be both ace & gay. (and like in point of fact yeah i do think this loser pink cow man is both aro & ace, so it’s kind of whatever--but like they’re being inaccurate & presumptuous sooo i’m complaining anyway)

but anyway. in conclusion. isn’t that some fascinating new informationes

[xfilesfanficexchange]

NEW FANFICTION EXCHANGE ANNOUNCEMENTS!

We're waiting on the final One Bed fics to come in, but in the meantime, I wanted to make sure to get the exchange sign ups out for those ready for more!

In typical exchanges, there are certain things participants are discouraged from asking for. In particular: triggering content, ships other than MSR, and non-XF related content.

I realize these limitations can be annoying to individuals who enjoy this content, and I never want to exclude anyone from participating. So for the October/November exchanges, we will be focusing on THREE themes that allow the aforementioned tropes that are usually banned.

I would like to announce the following new exchanges (details on each to follow)! 

The Darkfic Exchange (October 29th)

The Stella/Scully Exchange (November 5th)

The Slash Exchange (November 19th)

I know three might seem like a lot, but I presume people might not be as interested in doing all three of these since they're a bit niche theme-wise (but more power to you if you do). Also, unlike the other multiple-theme exchange announcements, these events will be on different dates

1) THE DARKFIC EXCHANGE

In most exchanges, any content that might be triggering is discouraged. However, I understand that exploring dark topics (writing or reading) can be very cathartic and I think it's a valuable tool for exploration. So for this exchange, think of any topics you've wanted to ask for, but second-guessed or thought it was "too dark." This is the time!

There are definitely different "shades" of darkfic, here are some examples: Character death, assault, torture, self-harm, infidelity, miscarriage, /other, breakup, sick fic, suicide, etc. Maybe there's a happy ending, maybe there's not -- it's up to you!

Before anyone judges and says "Why would anyone want to write/read ________," please understand this can be very therapeutic for individuals. At the end of the day, using these characters in fic can help us interpret our own lives.

With that being said, I still want to be sensitive to the fact these topics are triggering. Maybe you want to sign up and ask for X, but the thought of writing Y is very uncomfortable for you. Just let me know privately and I will ensure you don't get a prompt that is triggering.

I will also be sending the authors some information regarding writing triggering content in the welcome email. In regards to the community, on the exchange day everything will be posted with #XFDarkFic2022 and you can mute the tag to avoid any posts.

Details Darkfic Exchange

Sign Up Ends: Sunday, September 25th 11:59pm CST

Exchange Date: October 29th

This is a five(ish) week writing period.

Word Minimum: 2k 

Link Here!

2) THE STELLA/SCULLY EXCHANGE 

I knew I was going to have a slash exchange, and I know Stella/Scully is a very popular slash pairing but that some people might only want to write for TXF. As a result, I figured the S/S could have an exchange all their own!

I admittedly do not know much about this pairing, nor if the authors of the community are familiar with/have participated in exchanges before -- but please know that you are welcome here!

As the title suggest, this exchange is dedicated to all things Stella and Scully! I apologize that I don't know much about the conventions of the genre to add anything else, but I'm excited to see what y'all come up with!

Details Stella/Scully Exchange

Sign Up Ends: Sunday, September 25th 11:59pm CST

Exchange Date: November 5thThis is a six(ish) week writing period

Word Minimum: 2k

The manip of Stella and Scully came from dawnofthewench on tumblr!

Link Here!

3) THE SLASH EXCHANGE 

In the past, people have expressed apprehension about getting a slash prompt that they didn't feel comfortable writing. It became a trend that if someone got a slash prompt, they'd drop out. As a result, usually I ask for MSR or gen only

NOT THIS TIME, BABY - HEAR ME LOUD AND QUEER, NOVEMBER 19TH WILL BE GAY. Mulder and Krycek, Scully and Reyes, Mulder and Skinner, Scully and Marita, Scully and Diana, Mulder and Flukeman -- is it queer? Then it's perfect.

I, Nicole, the admin, am obviously queer. This often (has put/)puts individuals in an awkward position of fearing they might come across as homophobic if they don't want to write a queer ship. I completely understand that is not the case.

Maybe you LOVE Mulder/Krycek but have no idea what you'd do if you had to write a WLW ship or vice versa. I understand that is a valid concern. In the sign up sheet, I have an area where you can mark if there's a certain type of ship you'd prefer not writing. Just lemme know.

Details Slash Exchange

Sign Up Ends: Sunday, September 15th 11:59PM CST

Exchange Date: November 19th

This is a two(ish) month writing period.

Word Minimum: 2k 

Link Here!

GENERAL 

I am so excited to see what everyone comes up with! Again, these are three independent exchanges with nothing to do with one another. You can sign up for one, all three, none, whatever you feel like.

If you've never signed up before and/or are uncertain of the rules, I would advise that you read chapter one of this fic!  If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to contact me!

Just some misc things about signing up:

- If you're not comfortable putting your address on this document, no problem. You just need to ensure that I have it.

- Some people have issues accessing the sign-up sheet on their phones. If you're having problems, I suggest trying it on your desktop. If nothing seems to be working, then just send me your info and I'll put it on the sheet.

- I know it can be tricky to think of prompts, and I totally don't mind at all if you have TBD in place of the prompt for a while, but please try to put something in there when you can -- even if you change your mind later. I just ask this because sometimes people are hesitant to sign up if they don't know what the prompts are. Again, please feel free to put TBD so that your info is confirmed and you're joined, just add the prompt when you think of it!

Thank you for reading the thread! If you've made it here and are just ready to sign up, here are all the links in one place! 

Darkfic

Stella/Scully

Slash

All signups close Sunday the 25th at 11:59pm CST

[life-in-the-monster-haus]

Monster High the Movie Review Part 2

Spoilers ahead!

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I have always wanted to see Cleo in white! white linens were Egypts main export for thousands of years, it was weird that she was never shown in white so I really like this outfit! However, there has been a lot of griping about the casting of Jy Prishkulnik who is Mexican to play Cleo who is Egyptian. I understand it might not be super easy to find a teenage Egyptian actress in California where this was shot on a Nickelodeon movie budget, She probably should have at the very least been Black. But I'm putting this in the same category as Draculaura, if you're mad at her ethnicity then you are mad at the wrong thing. you SHOULD be mad at the fact she has very little on in terms of wrapping, she's a Mummy! she needs more than just a patterned dress & gold shimmer moisturizer.

LET'S HEAR IT FOR THE BOYS!

I don't know why, Deuce a reptile has hair but I don't like it... the copy I'm watching is a leak SO the VFX are not done yet so we don't know what his snakes will look like but Deuce underwhelms me. His wardrobe isn't even skater or greek or reptilian, it reads as kid who was home schooled. I don't love it but his actor fits nicely. Heath is the total opposite, his look is on point but his actor is a grown ass man whose 27 and looks out of place amongst the rest of the actors who are actual teenagers.

I would talk more about Lagoona, but I have, at length already talked about her in previous posts. but that commentary was just on her looks, lets discuss her personality. Up until THIS point she doesn't seem to have her own personality, she seems to just play second banana to Cleo which is...fine?... but it's kinda weird since that was Ghoulia's job and it's also not in Lagoona's character to be so tame and sheepish. I'm not a fan. Outfit and accessories are on point though.

Cleo was being a little snot, she called Frankie a puzzle and dissed her hair so Clawdeen growled at her. flawless execution. it's been such a long time that a lot of you may not remember that OG Cleo was a HUGE BITCH! that was her entire personality for awhile. She lies to the Headmistress, Tries to Break Clawdeens leg, Black balls Frankie, screws up Draculauras make up, takes advantage of Ghoulia, steals her fathers amulets and this is just off the top of my head from Volume 1 of the Webisodes. I’m confident there are far worse things she has done that I am just forgetting ATM. but over the years, very slowly and gradually she became softer, like a sharp stone being worn away by the river. She went from being mean and conceited to just kinda high maintenance and don't get me wrong, I love that growth for her - we stan a queen who works on her character flaws, BUT it was also nice to see this harsh, rude & straight up vile Cleo again.

*whisers* Why are there streetlamps, inside of the building? Also: Peep Heath and Abbey!

Look at Deuce trying to check out our Clawdeen! Now, I KNOW a lot of y'all are mad about this for 2 big reasons and here are 2 big reasons why you shouldn't be. 1.) "But Deuce is with Cleo!" - As of this moment? no he's not. we just saw him blow her off, they broke up over the summer! time has passed, he's allowed to move on. Some of y'all forget this is High school and love is fickle as a teen. 2.) "But Clawdeen is a canon lesbian!" - No, she's not. I wish she was but she's not. it has never been confirmed in canon and I am so tired of saying that, because when I do? I get brushed off as some homophobe. But it's true. Garret confirmed she was never intended to be a Lesbian, HOWEVER he did change his mind on this, years later, after fan pressure and after he left Mattel that she is gay... but at that point his word didn't mean anything because she wasn't his character anymore. I don't wanna get into it, but here's a better explanation of it. so, just to summarize: Deuce is Single and Clawdeen isn't a lesbian. we gucci? lets move along.

Deuce explaining that his glasses prevent him from turning people to stone, this will be important later.

Bloodgoods ethnicity isn't really relevant to her because she is an ancillary character, so I don't think anyone was really mad about this casting choice (surprising!) but can we talk about how dope her office looks!?!? Marci T. House brings a command of authority to the character while at the same time acting like a regular teacher (being concerned with funding) However I am gonna knock off some points because Nightmare isn't in her office. But then I'm going to add some points because she has little horseshoe earrings.

Part 2/?

[v01dbug-s1nr0se]

AKA WREN ❤ (one of y'all may recognise this name-) One of our many, many BNHA characters-

Presenting him in some outfits :D

Casual!

UA Uniform!

Hero Gear!

Work-Out!

SOME INFO UNDER THE CUT :D

Birthday:Dec. 01

Age:15

Gender:Trans FTM(AFAB, uses quirk to appear male instead of binding most of the time)

Quirk:Shifter - An ability that allows a person to shapeshift. Only allowing them to shift into living creatures such as humans, mutants, hybrids, animals, or versions of themself. Getting hurt causes Aka to change back to his original form. He can only hold this quirk for a certain amount of time depending on his health.

Height:Technically only 4ft 10in(147.32cm I believe) but when shifting to his preferred look he's around 5ft 8in(172.72cm I believe)

Sexuality:Gay gay homosexual gay-

Romance Status:Single but very much crushing

Biggest secret:He has extremely massive crushes on Shoto Todoroki and Katsuki Bakugou. The only people who have found out about it are All-Might, Momo Yayorozu, Ochaco Uraraka, Izuku Midoriya, and Mina Ashida. He refuses to allow Eijiro Kirishima or Denki Kaminari any sort of hint or knowledge on this - not because he doesn't trust them, but because they're blabbermouths and... not the sharpest tool in the shed.

Race:Hispanic

Attraction:Although Aka claims he's far more attracted to sweet, charming, open, and gentle guys, he... his current crushes really don't seem to echo that. He does look for appearance, but tries focusing more on the personality of a guy than anything else.

Hobbies:Drawing, writing, reading, photography, and cooking! Also wrestling and archery!

Education/Work:He's enrolled in UA, but gets extra help from his elder sister! He also works part time in a cafe!

Habits: -He wears bandages around his wrists, thighs, and calves. Whenever they're exposed, chances are they have doodles on them! If they aren't the usual go-to doodles(UA logo, rainbows, hearts, smiley faces) then they're chibi heads of his classmates!

-He used to bite his nails, but he's replaced his nail-biting habit with weekly nail-painting every Saturday morning and Sunday evening!

-Whenever he gets too anxious he picks at and bites his lips. It got to the point that Uraraka(who'd gotten EXTREMELY concerned after watching him bleed on his desk) would sneak him lip care products in his bag.

Misc: -He tends to dress very femininely when he can! Usually when his dysphoria and self consciousness isn't through the roofs.

-A lot of people are convinced that he's on a diet! Katsuki doesn't buy it, though. He's smart not too, because while Aka does eat healthy in school and public.. well let's just say a lot of diet cheating happens when he's home alone.

-He has a MASSIVE heart of gold, and sometime's that leads to more issues than it should.

-People in Class 1-A have made joking bets about who's more emotional yet determined - Izuku or Aka!

-He has a very bad habit of eating things out of the packaging at ungodly hours of the night... Specifically shredded cheese, cream cheese, chocolate chips, and/or ice cream!

-He. Can. NOT. Fucking. FOCUS FOR THE LIFE OF HIM. OH MY GOD. This man's got ADHD through the roof.

-Oh my GOD SOMEONE PUT A BELL ON THIS DUMBASS. He gets lost VERY easily. God forbid you let him loose in any foreign city without a cellphone with data to access a GPS.

-He's very quiet when he wants to be and can scare the ever loving SHIT out of someone if he wanted to. (He once scared Katsuki so bad that the entire classroom almost didn't exist-)

Now a scene from Aka Wren's first day at UA :D

"Bakugou! Sit down!"

"LIKE I'D LISTEN TO YOU, FOUR-EYES!"

[gingermintpepper]

After thinking it over for a bit, I've decided that I might as well do a proper underrated 3DS game rec list. I'm a bit of an ATLUS junkie and that's gonna be pretty disgustingly apparent in this list, but it's not my fault that they released hit after hit and all of them were duly ignored.

Due to tumblr's 10 image limit (and my struggle to keep motivated to do one thing for more than three hours) I'm definitely gonna have to break this up into parts and I'm fairly certain one of these lists is just gonna be MegaTen games lmao but I'd like to let people know about these excellent titles and see if I can't at least get people interested in them so they can get more traction.

So, without further ado:

Some 3DS Games that were criminally slept on (part 1)

Monster Hunter Stories

God, where do I begin with this game. Well, the basics: It's a JRPG spinoff title of the now widely successful and popular Monster Hunter series featuring a different take on interacting with the varied and intricate monsters populating the world: Riders.

Yep, instead of hunting the beasties, you play as a young rider who's completed their intiation ritual and can now bond with 'Monsties' as they've cutely labelled the usually ferocious monsters of the wilds. The great thing is that you still fight Monsters--tons of them in fact but this isn't a paid review and in my humble opinion, the most impressive thing about this game is the visual style. The landscapes, the armour, the way they redesigned and 3DS-ified the classically hyper realistic and monstrous beasts to not only be absolutely adorable but still capable of being intimidating when the time calls for it, the stellar animation of special moves and combination attacks--it's delicious, nutritious, stupendous, I can and will consume it like it's part of my recommended caloric intake.

It's very akin to Pokemon in the way its basic gameplay premise is set up, however, instead of catching--or even indeed befriending--the Monsties in the game, you rummage through their nests and steal their eggs, later hatching them and getting yourself a brand new lightly kidnapped monster pal!

Other general things about the game:

Pros:

The armour and weapon sets for both male and female characters slap along with the general character customisation options. They're incredibly diverse (though limited in body type) and you can switch around traits and features whenever you want from your house.

The POGS--these porkers are everywhere and they serve as tiny little achievements for exploring every odd and end of the world. Also they have little outfits. They're so cute. 🥺🥺

You can actually ride the Monsties. All of em. Or, at least the ones that you have available to be your buddies. They all have exploration skills and traits that not only make exploring much more interesting but encourage you to swap out your active Monstie and play around with your options a bit.

Y'all breeding Monsties is complicated and I live for just how intense and ridiculous you can get with optimal builds for these things.

The story is really competently put together! The characters, character designs and even the internal conflict with your starting trio of characters is really compelling along with the mystery of the blight that's infecting Monsters across the world. It's not anything worth awards but it's compelling and it makes you care about the characters if that's what you're in the market for.

Amazing sound design, expansive world, everything about the presentation of this game oozes that Monster Hunter charm even if the art is cutesier than usual. You'll never get bored of its stellar visual presentation!

Available for around twenty quid on the Google Play store, so if you want, you could actually get the full game on your smartphone or tablet. Note though that it would be a battery nuker.

Cons:

If you're on a regular 3DS, frame rate drops are a given. This game kinda pushes the visual capabilities of the 3DS to its absolute limit--a lot like Okamiden did back on the DS.

One save file :( It's pretty much for the same reason as above but still.

If you're playing as the girl, you can't get male armour and vice versa. Since there's only one save file, you'll never be able to have all of the armour sets in a single playthrough and that's criminal because both of the sets for the genders are absolutely breath-taking, thank you.

I 👏can't 👏make👏my👏 own 👏Palico👏

Multi-player for this game is pretty dead seeing as it's almost five years old by now and never got much press or traction. Usually this wouldn't be an issue - this game is 99% singleplayer and you don't really need to fuss about with multi-player to have fun, but if you want to collect all the Monsties, you'll need it since the only way to get Glavenus is through pvp achievements. :/

Final thoughts: Play it if you find yourself getting tired or disappointed with 3DS Pokemon games but still want something that feels as fantastical as Pokemon. It outshines the 3DS Pokemon games at every turn and I will never be over just how thoughtfully put together and fully realised these games are. Of course, if you've ever played Monster Hunter, then you know just how intensive these games are with the lore, biology, cultures and world of their Monsters but seeing that translated into JRPG format was just very sobering and it's a game that, to this day, continues to awe me with just how much love and attention went into it.

Last note: If you're still unsure about it, there's a demo available on the e-shop of the 3DS that allows you to play through the entire initial area of the game. Your data does carry through to the full release and to give you an idea of how much I've been able to squeeze out of it - my playtime for that demo is currently sitting at 22 hours. Make sure to get a hold of that Cyan-Kut-Ku!

7th Dragon III Code: VFD

The title may sound intimidating but the premise is not! A mysterious disease called Dragon Sickness spread by the Dragonsbane flowers that have cropped up all around the world. You and your team are recruited by the Nodens game company after you display extraordinary prowess in their hit virtual reality game 7th Encount. As you go through the adventure, you are tasked with finding out the truth behind the Dragon Sickness and asked to stop both it and the Dragons that are destroying the world.

This game is fun. It's another turn-based JRPG however, in this game you create all of your characters yourself from the myriad of classes available to you from the jump. Different classes of course have very different specialisations - Samurai focus on high powered cutting damage with their swords, Duelists are summoners who can influence the element of the battlefield as well as summon monsters from each element, Agents can hack into your enemies and inflict a barrage of nasty ailments, just to name a few - and you are given three teams of three characters each to experiment with different team comps and find the balance that works for you. There's also a wide variety of Dragons to hunt and kill in the game, which directly affects how infected your world is with the Dragon Sickness causing Dragonsbane. Along the way you will also come into contact with many interesting characters, concepts and confrontations that will make the task of saving the world all the more imperative.

Pros

1. The character creator and differing classes give way for tons of experimenting and playing around with your own unique approach to combat and carrying out your missions. Granted, 'character creation' is generous, it's little more than palatte swaps but the classes are really where VFD shines. Eight main classes may not sound like a lot, but the expaniveness of the character skills, their synergy with their fellow classes and the uniqueness of some of the classes in and of itself allows for so much flexibility and creativity in approaches to even tougher bosses. It also encourages the switching about of your party members to really finagle with the options available to you.

2. God this game is pretty. The locations, the character art, the creature design - all of it is gorgeous and this game capitalises on every bit of the 3DS's presentation limitations as it can.

3. You can romance anything and everyone - yes, you can even be gay/lesbian/poly in this game. In fact, one of the main characters - Julietta - is gnc and he's a constant source of joy as well one of my personal favourite characters, right behind Yuma.

4. Exploration is very very forgiving as the game has healing spots and teleport nodes all over the world to allow for quick, seamless travel between quest points without feeling like anything is too much of a hassle. There are also special enemies that allow for quick grinding as well as quick farming of money. In general, the game does a really good job of making sure that the grind is never unbearable or inconsiderate of your time.

Cons:

1. This is the fourth game in a series the West has never seen any other title for, and from the looks of it, will probably never see any other titles for. Because of that, there are some elements that may seem confusing or revelations in the plot that may seem to come out of nowhere.

2. While the visuals are great, the OST of this one is pretty short making for a lot of reused soundtracks that can get really annoying if you're like me and need your audio to be interesting or consistent so it doesn't distract you too much.

3. This one isn't really a con but it is divisive: This game gets pretty difficult at times. A few of the main dragon enemies including and especially the final boss can give you a serious run for your money in the annoy-o-meter in terms of the kind of absolute JRPG fuckery they can pull out of their magic bag of bullshit movesets and while I generally enjoy that kind of thing, I know it's not for everyone. Most regular combat shouldn't be too tricky once you have a team comp that works well together but you also need to pay attention since the same team that carries you to victory one time might be worth beans against another dragon.

Final thoughts: This is... a really good game. Interesting story, really interesting characters, pretty world and a battle system that really makes you sit down and think. There's also a demo for this available in the e-shop and while your data doesn't carry over - you do receive multiple perks for carrying over your demo data including some exclusive items that, while not game breaking, do help a ton in the early stages of the game.

This isn't a final list by any stretch of the word; I only have the energy to do these two right now, but the next games up for coverage are Ever Oasis and Stella Glow! If you're interested in my full plan of games I want to cover here then my current lineup includes: Theatrhythm: Curtain Call, Project Mirai: Deluxe, Culdecept Revolt, Alliance Alive, Radiant Historia: Perfect Chronology, Etrian Odyssey V, Devil Survivor 2: Record Breaker and Shin Megami Tensei IV: Apocalypse.

Finally, if anyone has played any of the games I mention, cover or plan to cover PLEASE REACH OUT TO ME, I AM SO LONELY IN MY FORTRESS OF SAND. On a serious note, I'd love to hear what other people who've played these games think!

Thanks for reading,

-Ginger

PS: @feralpeacock Because a million years ago, on my first underrated games post, you asked that I remember you. :D

[tsukidrama]

so glad i’ve found other people who agree annie is a lesbian, it’s been a headcanon of mine since i started the show and finding out she ends up with a man (nevertheless one of my least favourite characters) is very upsetting

...except they don't. there's literally no evidence that a romantic relationship between them is canon. i don't understand why people seem to assume this. because she's looking at him? because she's talking to him? if that's all it takes to "get together" with someone then i guess i've been cheating on my wife for a while now (sarcasm, if you couldn't tell). don't try and drag me into the delusion lads.

this post has been a long time coming, and i know it's salty as fuck. but i've never voiced these opinions before and i've gotten an increasing number of asks concerning my opinion of Annie and a certain popular ship involving her.

so... if you ship Annie with Armin, this is your warning: you're not gonna like what i have to say and you should keep scrolling. if you choose to read anyway and get mad then don't argue on my post or i'll block you.

first and foremost: i agree with you all the way. that ship is sacrilege beyond words, and armin is also my least favorite character. by a lot honestly, but everyone always wants to talk about him like he's wittle uwu baby so i just keep my mouth shut most of the time. but i could make a whole post about it. he does some really dark shit, and especially post-Shiganshina.

i've never liked him but my hate solidified and festered during the scene where Armin tells Bertholdt and Reiner that Annie is awake and being tortured (lies, but still). how can you watch him graphically describe her suffering with a grin and then turn around and be like like "well he's just so gentle and sweet to her" ...lmao are y'all good? get help.

aight now i'm gonna talk about the scene in 131. at the time of its release it was the harbinger of my misery and the worst thing that's ever happened to me.

but it always felt kind of off to me. he's so distracted, and much less empathetic than usual. which is ?? seeing as anyone who is into Annie would know that she rarely opens up like that. until 139 i thought i was in denial and just looking for things to pick apart, but then we got the reveal that this conversation took place directly after Armin talked to Eren for the last time.

and it makes the scene feel different. go back and read the 131 scene after you read the one in 139. Eren's words are too fresh in his mind for Armin to even focus, and you'll see how much his conversation with Annie has to do with him coming to terms with Eren's death.

"I still want to believe there's a world we don't know about yet out there beyond the walls."

it says a lot to me that Armin's face while talking to Annie looks the way it does, meanwhile just minutes ago he was looking at Eren like this with stars in his eyes:

this turned more pro-eremin than i meant for it to but regardless of the nature of that relationship, it's canon that Eren is more important to Armin in every capacity. from the way he looks at him, to the way he speaks to him.

we've seen how Isayama addresses canon relationships. attack on titan is one of those shows that has very, very few romantic relationships. and the ones that are canon, are pretty fuckin explicitly stated.

like sorry but "i did it because i wanted to see you" doesn't even come close to "marry me when all of this is over" or "i'll wrap [the scarf] around you as many times as you want"

i'm not putting the screenshots or i may vomit but i suppose it's understandable why people interpreted the blushing in a flirty way. but the fact that they DON'T get together by the end of the series combined with the fact that he's thinking about Eren the whole time during the "confession scene" leads me to think uh, not so much.

and even with the blushing shit. there's that one scene in chapter 108, on the railroad car where they're all arguing about who will inherit the attack titan and everyone was blushing because they loved each other. yet i don't see anyone jumping to say that all the 104th graduates were in a 6-way romantic relationship.

people are allowed to have love for their friends, and Annie does like him. first he told her that she could have agency by choosing to be a good person, and he did talk to her in the crystal. later they bond over feeling like they were forced to become monsters. they have the same shared trauma that all the titan shifters have.

i've been watching attack on titan for a very long time, and in all my years when the question "is Annie a lesbian?" has been posed, everybody who has met a gay person in real life has said "um, duh."

my point: it's out of character for Annie to date a man. it really is, and we all know it. she and Armin are both gay as fuck and that's why they're close. in my opinion/experience anyone that thinks otherwise is either heteronormative at best and homophobic at worst.

other than having really bad taste, over the years i've noticed that everyone who ships aruani can fit into one of the following categories: 1) thinks Ymir and Historia are "close friends" 2) painfully heterosexual OR 3) unable to accept the fact that they're gay and backed so far into the closet that it's actually sad.

and to respond to the point of this ask! which is that if you think Annie is a lesbian then you're in the right place. i adore that woman and i definitely have a lot planned for her with my writing ♡♡♡

[lightns881]

DTeam Tumblr Demographics Survey Results (Part 2):

What does DTeamblr look like, what does it have to do with MCYT history, and why does it look like a rainbow?

I’ll make an educated guess here and say y'all enjoyed my last post (totally unrelated to the way I gained almost 50 followers overnight). Anyhow, thank you so much for the overwhelming support! I’m so glad a lot of you felt you could relate to my deep-dive into the leading personality type on DTeam Tumblr. It took me so many hours to write and research, and as a math major and honors student, it’s no easy feat, so I’m so grateful for the attention it got!

Today we’re discussing the general demographics of DTeam Tumblr and why they might look the way they do. Number 8 will blow your mind! So make sure to keep reading and hit that little grey heart and arrow at the bottom if you like it, so more people get to see it! Thanks for your support! Now, let’s jump straight into the post!

Your Daily Dose of Data

From the 449 responses we received, these are some pie charts displaying the gender, age, and sexuality of all respondents.

Image Description: Female (52.8%), Non-Binary (37.4%), Male (9.8%)

Image Description: 16-17 (37%), 13-15 (31.4%), 18 and over (29.4%), 12 and under (2.2%)

Image Description: Bisexual/Pansexual (54.1%), Homosexual (16%), Asexual (14.7%), Other (7.8%), Heterosexual (7.3%)

Mmhm, delicious! Y'all ready to dig into these stats? Because I don’t know about you, but they certainly don’t strike me as what the general population looks like!

Welcome to Tumblr, the Only Community Where Straight Men are the Minority

So these statistics certainly didn’t take me by surprise. Mostly because the DNF Shipper Survey I took some time ago revealed a similar trend. Not to mention, Tumblr is probably the QUEEREST internet community on the planet. 

Funny enough, the survey revealed a shocking number of ZERO heterosexual males respondents. I’ll say it louder for the people in the back. ZERO straight males were recorded out of 449 respondents for this survey!

Now, this isn’t surprising for the Tumblr community by itself, but I can say I’m somewhat surprised in terms of the MCYT Tumblr community. (Obviously, the survey specified DTeam Tumblr, but there is a big overlap between both communities, so I will be using them interchengably when it seems relevant.)

Let’s break this down. The survey reveals the largest age population is 16-17, though it’s not by a great margin in comparison to 13-15 and 18 and older, which doesn’t surprise me either. Some of the major critics of the DTeam Fandom and other MCYT Fandoms love to claim the fanbase’s majority age range lies with children and pre-teens. While it’s an undeniable fact children are drawn to Minecraft, it’s also a misconception to paint it as solely a community for younger viewers.

In the MCYT Tumblr and DTeam Tumblr communities, specifically, we see this is not the case. Only 1/3 of the respondents of this survey are under the age of 16 (you could attribute part of it to the fact younger people might be less inclined to participate in this survey, but it is still a notable difference). I can’t say these age ranges are similar in other parts of the community like DTeam Twitter, Tik Tok, or Reddit, but if I had to make a guess, I’d say Tumblr lies toward the older of the bunch, with Reddit being the oldest and Tik Tok being the youngest (I do hope to perform this survey on some of the other communities, so please stay until the end if you want to help with that).

One of the likely explanations to why the ages for DTeam Tumblr look this way is the fact a big chunk of the community has likely been watching MCYT for a long time (even with breaks in between). I, myself, used to watch channels like PopularMMOs, Aphmau, and PrestonPlayz as a kid, and I presume many of you are familiar with them as well. With the resurgence of MCYT in the past year, it likely drew a lot of the older viewers in addition to the new ones.

But enough about age. What I really want to highlight on this post is the attraction of queer individuals to DTeam Tumblr and MCYT as a whole.

Why is the current MCYT Fandom so queer in comparison to the previous generations?

This is a huge open-ended question and considering I can only capture so much of the DTeam and MCYT community, the rest of this post should be taken solely as a theoretical analysis as opposed to fact.

With that out of the way, let’s start by discussing the shift MCYT has undergone over the years (I promise this will circle back to the question of queerness in the MCYT fandom, but we need some background before we can come up with a decent theory).

When Minecraft was first released, it proved to be a monumental change in the gaming industry. This simple little indie game took the world by storm. It was so vastly different from what the general population generally viewed gaming as (first-person shooters, story-driven games, action games, etc.) Not to mention, it didn’t exactly solely appeal to only a small margin of gamers, those being white cis males.

The gaming industry has notoriously been known in the past for its heteronormative community and general prejudice toward minorities. Though it has gone through a significant change over the decades, we certainly can’t say it’s fully gone.

Yet for whatever reason, the recent MCYT has taken the interest of so many queer people in comparison to other gaming YouTube communities. Why? Why are queer people so drawn to this community? And, more precisely, why does it feel so different than the old MCYT? Lastly, how does this relate to the conclusion about the leading personalities of this fandom we made in the last post?

The Niche Communities of MCYT Over the Years

MCYT has always been a huge, over-saturated genre of YouTube with content appealing to a variety of audiences. It’s dominated gaming content for years, and I think we can all safely say it’s never been bigger than it is today.

So why is it that just now it feels like the queerness of the fandom is popping off? Why now as opposed to say five years ago when MCYT was at another one of it’s strongest stages?

It seems like the community has made a tremendous shift in relation to breaking gender norms and LGBTQ+ subjects, not only in the fans but within the creators themselves. Was flirting and calling a pretty-boy streamer pet names as normal in the past as it is today? Were straight gamer guys putting on dresses and a full-face of make-up as supported back then? Were “marriages” and “pregnancies” within Minecraft boys an everyday occurrence like they are now? How is it that MCYT has dominated a Twitch dating show where flirting with the gay host and among straight contestants themselves is just another bit of entertainment? Where is this all coming from?

Recently, I watched a 2 hour documentary depicting all of the stages of Minecraft YouTube and how it has changed over the years. If you haven’t seen it and you have some time to spare, I HIGHLY recommend it! It’s very informative, and it honestly gave me such a strong sense of nostalgia that makes me choke up every time I think about it. I’ll link it below.

The documentary does a great job at exploring the different niche communities that dominated MCYT since it first took off. Some of such communities include the basic Let’s Players, the team-based Let’s Play channels like How2Minecraft, the roleplay story-centric ones like Aphmau and Samgladiator, the tutorial, building and technical side like Mumbo and Grian, the PVP-centric Bedwars or Hypixel channels, the Machinima community, the comedy side like ExplosiveTNT, the parody music videos, and so many more. All of the mentioned communities have dominated Minecraft at one point or another, many of them still having a rippling effect and/or a loyal community today. All of these communities have certain aspects that define them, some of which parallel the current overtaking content in the present.

How can we compare MyStreet to the Dream SMP?

Taking Aphmau as an example, her MyStreet series had a TREMENDOUS success a few years ago, racking in millions of views and bringing in a lot of money that eventually allowed her to hire voice actors and increase the production of mentioned episodes. The roleplay series was so successful it ran for six seasons!

Now, let’s compare that to the Dream SMP. It seems like a big comparison to be making considering they appear so different at first glance. For once, Aphmau is just one channel whose audience caters toward girls and younger people who enjoy romance. The series is set-up in an episodic-format that resembles more of a TV series than actual Minecraft videos.

Meanwhile, the Dream SMP is a collection of content creators with a mix of improvised storylines and the occasional regular video that resembles more of a Let’s Play series than a RP series.

You could say the only true comparisons to draw out of these two are the popularity they had/have and the profit they brought to their respective creators. 

However, there’s two other key similarities that you’ll find not only within these two specific examples, but many other channels and communities as well. Story and characters.

MyStreet’s story aspect is fairly obvious seeing as it’s a episodic series that focuses on a fictional story. The Dream SMP’s story aspect isn’t as clear, but it’s evident there is a story playing out in the foreground and background, whether intentional or unintentional, or improvised or not.

Character is where some of you might start to question me. It’s obvious MyStreet has characters. I mean, it is a fictional story, after all. But the Dream SMP? Light, they’re obviously people!

Well, my answer to that is yes and no--sort of. The Dream SMP’s story heavily relies on roleplay, bits as you might call them. Events that aren’t necessarily planned out as a fictional plot like the typical MyStreet episode is, but they aren’t exactly real. Schlatt is obviously not a villain in real life, he just likes to impersonate as one for the narrative. Wilbur isn’t crazy, but it’s a way to spice up the heroic story surrounding Tommy and him.

It’s video-game improv. Except the actors behind the content just so happen to be real people playing off the personalities and “brands” they have obtained. 

Brands. It all boils down to this. In the entertainment business, without a clear vision of your project and a clear way to brand what your consumer intakes, your project will likely not find a lot of success.

There’s a reason why Tommy plays off his loudness, using an overexaggerated laugh that although may not be completely fake, it is likely not the laugh he uses everyday. Or why BadBoyHalo is this supposed innocent muffin who doesn’t understand the crafting table meme and other references that are fairly easy to google and find the meaning of. Or why Sapnap is this chaotic being who loves starting pet wars and we love to paint as an arsonist in the Dream SMP. While all of these personality traits may be a part of their true selves, they’re played up for the camera--for the story. They act as the personas that define their characters in the narrative.

They have a clear brand and vision that appeals to the audience and makes them tune in on the daily to see how they all come together. It’s like roleplaying a more extreme version of yourself, one that brings home the money.

Story and characters run across every entertainment outlet. They define their brand. Aphmau has her characters and series. Hermitcraft has a set of memorable personalities and episodic videos that formulate its own story that is less like a narrative and more of a history of the server. ExplodingTNT has his recurring cast and comedic sketches. Most of these niche communities have a form of story and character defining them. It’s how they achieve a clear sense of branding and cater to a specific audience.

Queer Theory in MCYT

Having said all that, why does the MCYT of today draw in so many queer viewers?

Let’s think about this. In my last post, I ended by mentioning DTeam Tumblr is a sort of safe haven for INFP and INxx types who might be placed in the “other” category by society. INFPs, specially, are predisposed for escapism--one common form of it being fiction and entertainment. Not to mention, INFPs are feeling types who, as introverts, seek a personable connection. It’s why it’s so easy for them to obsess over book characters or fall in love with content creators.

Now, let’s imagine a whole community of LGBTQ+ INFP and INxx types. Actually, scratch that, we don’t even have to imagine it.

It’s what our community looks like today.

And why are so many so drawn to the DTeam and Dream SMP of all things? It’s a personable storyline that essentially forms a direct tie to the viewer. Unlike pre-recorded fictional TV series you tune into on your device, the Dream SMP is a whole load of chaos that blurs the lines between reality and fiction where fans can directly connect to creators and get to know them as people through a storyline that features sub-textual queer themes and non-conforming behaviors.

The MCYT content creator community of today is more non-conforming than ever before, and knowing this whole fact, knowing that many of them might place themselves in the “other” category or at the very least aren’t afraid to break the norms and be seen in that light, is a comfort in itself for LGBTQ+ INFP types. Once again, it’s a safe space that helps you escape from the troubles of real life, one you relate to.

Okay. So although this does answer why the fans look like they do, what about the creators themselves? Are we really supposed to believe this all came through naturally? That a bunch of straight guys suddenly decided wearing dresses was something they wanted to do?

I don’t mean to sound cynical here, and I’m in no way trying to insinuate creators have solely some sort of corrupt ulterior motive. Things are never as simple as they look. However, the truth is, a part of it lies on the attention it’s gotten.

I’ve talked a lot about DreamNotFound and the way Dream uses it as a marketing ploy. I stand by my point. However, he’s not the only one who does this in the MCYT community. Why did Finn suddenly go from wearing a dress to cross-dressing as a girl for a whole week? Why are so many creators suddenly deciding wearing dresses is fun? Why does every freaking straight MCYT actively want to flirt with George nowadays?

Let’s just let Techno’s favorite word answer this for us: clout.

It gets attention from one of the largest historically underserved minority community in the entertainment business. We might not be able to see gay flirting in every Netflix TV show or guys not minding dresses and getting fake marriages, but you are certainly going to get at least one of those in every Dream SMP stream and video you tune into. It gets attention. It brings home the money. And do I blame them? Not really.

Interestingly enough, there’s a lot of analytical posts on the MCYT Tumblr community that discuss the dangers of these tactics and why gay jokes and the way queer subtext is treated by MCYT creators is harmful. Despite this, it still attracts such a huge community of queers. So why exactly would queer people actively watch something that’s offensive or harmful to us?

I have a lot more to say about this topic and the morality behind Dream’s tactics, but I’m out of breath for today, so I’ll talk about it in my next post. What better way to start the conversation about the DNF and Karlnap questions of the survey than a good ol’ discussion on the morality of queerbaiting and the likes?

If you got this far, I’d appreciate it if you liked and reblogged this post if you enjoyed it and/or learned something new! Also, important news, I would really like to perform a similar study on the DTeam Twitter Community to measure the differences in demographics across platforms. I would REALLY appreciate it if you guys could go like, retweet and share the link I posted on my Twitter about it (tweet will be linked in the reblog below) so it reaches more of the DTeam Twitter community!

However, if you filled out the survey yourself here or you associate more with DTeam Tumblr than DTeam Twitter please DO NOT fill out the survey again! I’m trying to make sure it reaches the audience that mains on Twitter, but I need a little help with that since I don’t have as big of an influence on Twitter than on here for obvious reasons.

Anyhow, thank you so much for all your support! I really appreciate y’all and make sure to hit the follow if you want to lookout for the next demographics post! <3

(Pssst, I’m releasing a MCYT DNF superpower AU longfic next month... You should totally go check out the post on that if you’re interested in it...)

[jacepens]

1: HamilTurn(you can differentiate if needed) or MCU, 2: Washette, 3: Anna Strong

And generally a fandom list would be nice to know what to pick from ;) (Love you♡)

You said HamilTurn or MCU and I say both, I'm going to try my best haha. But anyway, thank you!:) Apologies in advance if this gets rambly, but that's the point of this right? Anyway, for ease of scrolling sake, I'll probably put a cut if this gets long but don't worry, it's just me talking a whole bunch lol. Ok, thank you again!! <3 (love you too!)

1. Hamilton/Turn (fandom)

Favorite character: I have to say Lafayette for both. Oh and Mary

Least favorite character: I have no real reason behind this so sorry but Burr, and Simcoe for many reasons

5 favorite ships: washette, lams, hamliza, benwash, whamilton

Character I find most attractive: ...all. But I have to say overall Brian Wiles as Lafayette. That face just…🥺

Character I would marry: Mary Woodhull or Eliza

Character I would be best friends with: you know I'm not sure, but in an ideal world Lafayette (both versions) or Ben but I feel like we wouldn't be best friends. But also everyone, is that an option? Even some of the "villains" would have good stories to tell

A random thought: I feel like most people in the fandom now are so new (they joined in with the movie release!) and unaware of the uh atrocities of back in the day. And y'all are lucky, but those of us who know. Know. (yes, I was unbearable but that's ok because I was having fun, and despite what I just said: have fun in your fandoms even if you're "unbearable", just keep it welcome to all and enjoy the enthusiasm you have for it:))

An unpopular opinion: Oh boy. Maybe stop making quick judgments about people based on what they write/who they ship? There is a line, but I've genuinely never seen it crossed by anyone at least openly sooo just let people have fun? And don't say anything about something? Unless it's actually harmful but even then, keep it to a dm or something and have an open discussion. Just let people vibe, please? Especially younger fans. Just, I’ve seen a weird amount of negativity towards them. They’re kids having fun, we all used to be like that so please, be kind and patient. They’ll learn if they make a mistake. Ok? Ok cool:) (maybe not unpopular but still I wanted to say it)

My canon OTP: Am I allowed to say lams?

My non-canon OTP: washette, wow, who would've guessed? xD

Most badass character: Mary my beloved

Most epic villain: Robert Rogers hands down

Pairing I am not a fan of: no one murder me, but in general I'm just not a fan of jamilton. also whatever was the deal with Anna and Abe

Characters I feel the writers screwed up (in one way or another): um. Where to begin? Honestly I think every woman in Turn at one point or another, except perhaps Peggy in my opinion. Oh but especially Anna. Also Simcoe. With Hamilton, probably again everyone at some point, but the way Angelica was written just feels so overwhelmingly fictional it bugs me. (But at least Hamilton had some genuine relationships between women, not great but still)

Favorite friendship(s): Ben and Caleb, Washington and Lafayette (what?? yes, you fools. lol). It may sound a tad ~cringey~ but I generally like Hamilton's vibe with the boys, maybe it's just the gender envy, but it's kinda cute and fun.

Character I most identify with: well jeez, I won't lie but Washington. In both versions, except god knows I could never be that chill. Also a dash of Laurens.

Character I wish I could be: wow what a loaded question ummm. I don't want to be like him, but I want to be like in his position so Hamilton lol. Playing an active role but I know personally I am not cut out for a battlefield, so a desk suits me well.

2. MCU (fandom-that I am so out of date from, please take all of this with a grain of salt)

Favorite character: so when I was younger it was Tony Stark but now it’s definitely Wanda and T’challa

Least favorite character: ummm. I genuinely couldn’t tell you, I’m very out of date

5 favorite ships (canon or non-canon): wandavision, …ngl I can’t think of anymore, I honestly never shipped many and wandavision was like the only couple I remember really liking. Oh, I don’t know them but Loki/Mobius and/or Sylvie

Character I find most attractive: embarrassing confession time, Loki was my first bad celebrity crush. Wanda now and Shuri is cute. Also Sylvie

Character I would marry: if I could, Wanda 

Character I would be best friends with: Vision and Peter Parker

A random thought: y’all it’s been so long since I’ve touched MCU I should catch up/refresh shouldn’t I?

An unpopular opinion: I don’t know if this is an unpopular opinion but I’m going to say it anyway. Personally, I really don’t like the movie Civil War, I think it’s what sorta made me disinterested in mcu. It’s been years since I’ve watched it so maybe I would have a completely different opinion if I saw it today, but at the time it just felt so...wrong? And childish? I literally don’t even remember why they were fighting or how that movie even ended (I feel like it just wasn’t satisfying??) but I think also, as a kid or teen watching that, it reminded me sooo much of the dumb drama that, you know, kids get into. I mean, getting your friends on someone’s side like that?? Like, I know they were mad but- but there are other ways of dealing with emotions??? And involving everyone's friends too? So yeah, it just felt off to me at the time, and looking back now, from what I remember, it just frustrated me. Especially as a kid who deals with dumb drama like that all the time, kids would want to see a better example especially from adult superheroes or at least not be reminded of the bs they have to go through sometimes. But, rant over, that’s all just my opinion:) 

My canon OTP: wandavision

My non-canon OTP: ummm. I guess just Loki/Mobius and/or Sylvie lol

Most badass character: I have to say Natasha but actually there are many

Most epic villain: when I was younger I liked that Ultron was voiced by Robert California from the Office lol

Pairing I am not a fan of: I don’t know if it’s popular but I never liked Tony and Pepper. What happened with her?

Characters I feel the writers screwed up: I guess I’ll say Thor because I just felt such a weird difference in his personality that did not make sense to me

Favorite friendship: Wanda and Pietro!! Honestly I think a lot, there were a lot of good friendships but I can’t think of which ones are my favorite

Character I most identify with: ummmmmm. 

Character I wish I could be: My gut says Thor

3. Washette (ship-bless you<3 get ready for rambles oh no)

When I started shipping them: So I first had the thought in 7th grade while my history teacher was talking about them and my little brain went: haha that’s pretty gay. (teacher keeps talking about them) wait a fucking minute, that is pretty gay! But it wasn’t until I got sucked into Hamilton that I really started actively shipping them by reading fics and what not, but something about them became an instant favorite. And later (little personal story time) I pretty much completely stopped reading fic and being active in fandom for years and actually, when I got my first panic attack that - no joke - lasted for 5 hours, for some reason my brain (as it’s decaying lol) said I want to go and reread all my favorite washette fics and also do what I was I always too scared to do. Write!! So that night I binged the fics and found myself falling in love again, feeling all the old passion I had for them again, and the next night (still very shaken) I wrote an outline of a good ol washette confession + kiss that was extremely thoughtful and good, and honestly, I have not actually used that outline yet! Maybe I’m saving it. But yeah, this is a long answer, but I have a weird amount of attachment to them and this ship, I wish I knew why too. <3 

My thoughts: so many. Too many. First of all, I love that I have so many versions of them in my mind, right? When I started writing, I had never watched Turn but then I did and then it was like: hell yeah, another washette set. At this point, my brain has created it’s own unique version of them but it’s like, they’re so versatile! That’s one neat thing about this fandom as a whole, we get more than one character and personality and that’s just fun right?! More specifically on washette I mean, they’re just so sweet. Historically, their relationship is unique and cute, and you’d have to be a fool to think that to Washington Lafayette was just another friend. Even strictly platonically, it was something special and it’s so obvious I just love them. Ok. Enough thoughts for now <3

What makes me happy about them: the loooove, the comfort they found in each other, the fact that like every person at the time documenting them knew and understood they were special to each other like, they were just that in love. 

What makes me sad about them: oh so much that I try to ignore lol. There is the one year when Lafayette went to France and all his letters to Wash are like: “I have not received one letter from you, but it’s ok, I love you and I know you love me too :)” WHO WAS NOT DELIVERING THESE LETTERS, I HAVE NAMES, NOW I WANT ANSWERS. Anyway, also just most things that happened when Laf went back to France. And then when he visited America in 1824 and visited Washington’s grave. Yeah. ow. (also, you know what, I have done too much research on this event. lmk if you would like a post)

Things done in fanfic that annoy me: Generally, I’m not annoyed by much in fanfic at least with them and what I’ve seen. I’m still nostalgic for the old school nonbinary Laf fics, so it ain’t those. Literally maybe it’s because I’m starved for content but I can’t really think of anything, I love it all.

Things I look for in fanfic: back to the whole starved for content thing, I am a library of washette fics but I think if I was to pick a certain thing that I would love it’s just um fluff? And honesty, if that makes sense. Love confessions are very good as well. Canon era, please :) pining but not too much that it hurts me lol

My wishlist: literally all my wips. If I could whisk them into existence I could die happy and knowing I have put a variety of washette content in the world. Something else though, more fics :’) I love writing but sometimes I want to curl up with a cozy, new washette fic like a cup of hot chocolate and be surprised and learn something new and just..yeah:)

Who I’d be comfortable them ending up with, if not each other: what. Ok but actually, Martha and Adrienne because they are both honestly perfect for them and I love them too (I’m going to be biased, especially Adrienne)

My happily ever after for them: Can Lafayette just move the family to America? But also, it’s sad, but like I know Laf would be sad in America while France suffers. So...maybe a world where things in France go better and Lafayette gets to visit Washington more often and bring the family!! (Washington visit France too??)

4. Anna Strong (character)

How I feel about this character: I like her! She’s fun and…strong (oops lol) and she’s made some mistakes sure, but I feel like she did her best to learn from them and move on

Any/all the people I ship romantically with this character: Honestly, I know they didn’t have a lot of interaction in the show but Anna/Mary has potential. And Anna/Edmund

My favorite non-romantic relationship for this character: her and Ben and Caleb

My unpopular opinion about this character: I really can’t think of anything unpopular

One thing I wish would happen / had happened with this character in canon: in general, her having more screen time with less men you know? I mean like one-on-one kind of scenes. Also I would’ve liked to see at least her and Selah talk. Like, really talk. They never really did that, right? I just have so many questions about them

Favorite friendship for this character: Anna and Ben

My crossover ship: I have no idea

And well, I know it’s been a few days but for a fandom list, I’m just a weeb lol but here

Octopath Traveler (my beloved)

Fire Emblem: Three Houses

Star Wars

Natasha, Pierre and the Great Comet of 1812

Persona 4

Zelda (to a point)

Pokémon

What We Do in the Shadows

Sailor Moon

Literally anything historical

Ok!! I tried to add a lot because I’m not sure what you might know or not haha. But thank you again!! I had fun <3

[spnopineapples]

ALRIGHT PEOPLE. I'm READY.

LAST OF US 2 SPOILERS!!!!

......

.......

Are ya gone yet? Have you scrolled past if you don't want to see?

....

Alright. *CRACKS KNUCKLES AND NECK* Let's jump on into this!

First off I'm done with the game.

Second off..... THIS GAME WAS FUCKING PHENOMENAL!!! 10/10

The ending litterally killed me. Finished 2 hours ago,talked the ear off of my best friend for about 1 and a half hours and gushed and lamented the whole time. Cried for about 20 minutes by myself. Had an existential crisis. So on so on. And now I'm here, in the middle of an online meeting cause, ya know, Corona, muted with no camera on, because I'd much rather be typing out this dissertation.

Y'ALL. Go play this. It is AWESOME.

Now for the third and probably longest bit of this. My rebuttal to the bad reviewers:

I still contend that the bad reviews are 1 of 2 reasons with a little of a 3rd mixed in to both. #1. Being that people are pissed they killed off Joel and think the story did a disservice to the characters. #2. People are pissed because they think Naughty Dog was pushing a liberal agenda with a heavily muscled female antagonist/protagonist, a gay Ellie, and a transgender side character, Lev. The mixed in #3 is the extensive violence which I do contend was a lot. Yeah LoU1 was definitely violent, but damned this one got dark. And that's something coming from me because I am a fan of gratuitous violence.

Let me tackle these real quick. I'll be brief about #2 here though.

IN REBUTTAL TO REASON #2 - If you honestly didn't like LoU2 because of this reason (which I explained in my previous post about how IT IS logical that Abby be built the way she is and how Naughty Dog was definitely NOT shoving this or ANY of the others i mentioned in anyone's face in my opinion) you're in need of some corrective thinking and you should re-evaluate your ideas and realize that your opinion on these social issues doesn't matter and is wrong. None of these things make the game story illogical or bad. Bottom line: there are people like this in the world and their stories in this game drive the plot. It doesn't belittle the previous games or detract from the current game at all. You're just bigoted. Calm your tits and don't play the game if it upsets you so much. Pull a Seth and bury the hatchet. Make some steak sandwiches.

But I'm going to give the benefit of the doubt and imagine that the majority of the bad reviewers were more pissed at reason #1, Joel's Death. But real quick.

IN REBUTTAL OF REASON #3 -If you hated the game because of the amount of violence, do realize that the violence was the point of the story this time AND IT WAS SUPPOSE TO BE A DRAG ON YOUR SOUL. LoU1 was about finding love again in a violent world. Love being in the foreground and the violence a backdrop, which is why the violence didn't feel so in your face even though it was PLENTY violent. LoU2 was about succumbing to the violent world because of losing love. Violence being the foreground and tainted love (insert song here ya bastards) being the backdrop that drives it. AND HERE IS MY FAVORITE PART PLEASE READ THIS PART AT LEAST IF YOU DECIDE NOT TO READ THE WHOLE THING.

Think of the two endings. LoU1 WAS a story ABOUT finding love in a violent world BUT ENDED with Joel committing a violent act to protect his love (killing all the Fireflies, 1 of which was Abby's father and the driving reason for LoU2's main plot, and DOOMING THE WORLD TO INFECTION AND DAMNING HUMANITY). LoU2 WAS a story ABOUT losing love and reacting with violence BUT ENDED with Ellie doing a peaceful act (allowing Abby to leave alive with Lev) because of the love she had for Joel (that flashback scene of Joel playing guitar when Ellie decided to forgive him for the violence and lie at the end of LoU1).

DO Y'ALL SEE HOW IMPORTANT THAT IS?

There NEEDED to be a LoU2 because LoU1 ended with violence and a lie. LoU2 fulfilled this with an ending of forgiveness driven by a memory of love from the first game.

I've read a lot of the bad reviews where they mention the violence became too much and ruined the game. And that Ellie wouldn't act like that. First off Ellie totally would, fuck off with that noise. Second off THAT'S THE POINT. This was a story about how revenge is cyclic violence and it doesn't end until someone makes the decision to end it!

BOTTOM LINE: I felt ragged 2/3's of the way thru this game because of the violence, but that's the point of the story. Revenge is not worth it. Especially when it's with people like Abby and Ellie. Because neither are villians. AND BOY HOWDY DID IT TAKE ME A LONG TIME TO COME TO TERMS WITH THIS. Because I HATED ABBY FOR KILLING JOEL. When I first started playing her I DID NOT WANT TO BECAUSE I WAS ANGRY WITH HER. I litterraly felt dirty playing her. But this game did something amazing to get me around to appreciating her character. NOT LIKING HER CHARACTER, but appreciating. And I will tackle this in my next rebuttal.

IN REBUTTAL OF REASON # 1 - Let's talk about Joel's death.

I WILL NOT LIE TO YALL.

I was mightily upset about his death. At first I thought it to be a disservice to a beloved character. But then I realized something. See above about Joel's actions. He killed all those Fireflies and DAMNED THE WORLD. Not only that it is specifically mentioned in both LoU1 and in this game that Joel and Tommy did horrible things before they met Ellie and before Jackson. JOEL WAS NOT A GOOD GUY.

I think what people are upset about is the REALNESS of this game. A lot of other game developers don't do what Naughty Dog has done. Naughty Dog did not shy away from Joel's character flaws and his past wrongs! In fact, all the user's that use the reason for hating the game as "too many plotholes" Y'ALL FUCKING PLAYIN. More on that later.

Back to what I was saying about realness. In the real world, Joel's death and the brutality of it and suddenness of it is actually a very logical event that would occur. Abby doesn't KNOW Joel like we do. All she knows is this guy killed her father and a lot of her friends and damned humanity in the process. LoU1 is not a happy game. Might I remind yall about Sam and Henry? But his death was not "sudden". And it didn't steal Joel from us. I actually really enjoyed all the flashbacks to him. We got more than enough time and I actually feel as if the time we got with Joel was better because of his death so early in the game. DO NOT TELL ME THAT THAT NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM FLASHBACK DIDN'T FULFILL EVERY FEELING NEED.

And now for the wrap up - the big hangup that I see of those who hated Joel's Death is that the story didn't redeem it. They couldn't "buy" Ellie forgiving Abby at the end.

As I stated I will not lie. I was worried for about 2/3s of the way through this game that the bad user reviews were accurate and that the story sucked because I couldn't see where the writers were going. All I saw was senseless death of characters that I had loved and that I was coming to love. I straight up love Jesse by the way. It wasn't until Abby met Lev and Yara that I started seeing the majesty of this revenge story.

BECAUSE THE TRUTH IS I HATE FUCKING REVENGE STORIES WHERE THE MAIN CHARACTER IS LIKE, NO, THEY WOULDN'T WANT ME TO DO THIS. Before this game I'd be like "miss me with that bullshit" but after today I would say "give it to me like this." This actually felt real. And boy was it raw. Guys, the reason I started forgiving Abby is because of her decision to help Yara and Lev. Because it was her attempt to right the wrong of killing Joel which was eating her alive. Her and Owen and Mel. Guys. She is Joel. Why the hell do you think Joel did what he did for Ellie in the first game? Because he liked her at first site? BULLSHIT. He did it because Tess told him to do something good for once. IF YOU ARE UPSET WITH ABBY THEN YOU SHOULD BE UPSET WITH JOEL. I get it. Abby had to earn that with her story because at the beginning I'd have said leave her to the clickers. BUT CONTRARY TO THE USERS OF THIS REASONING SHE DID DESERVE HER REDEMPTION. The game shows over and over and over again that Abby isn't some mustache twirling villian who deserves instant death. She is complicated. She cares and she hates and she loves. She knows what's right and wrong and tries to do right as much as possible but she's human and she gets angry. Anger means you care.. and she cared about her father. She's a good human too because good humans feel shitty about doing shitty things and if you are observant at all you can tell immediately with Abby, as we play her in her Seattle Day 1, that she has doubts and isn't comfortable with her role in how Joel died. SHE DESERVED BEING FORGIVING BY ELLIE AT THE END. AND IN THE SAME TOKEN ELLIE DESERVED FORGIVING HER AND BEING FORGIVEN BY ABBY. It is very clearly obvious by the end of the game that Ellie could not reconcile her revenge killings with her best memories of Joel or with the actions she had to take to get there. Also it is of very important note here that Ellie stopped drowning Abby because of a flash image of Joel playing guitar. And then later on actually seeing the memory associated with that image that stopped her you can understand why Ellie did stop outside of just being as tired of violence as Abby was. The memory shows Joel and Ellie agreeing to try to forgive Joel for lying to her about the Fireflies and denying her her purpose. All this the night before he is killed. Note what Joel says. "If God gave me the chance to do it all over again. I would have done the same thing." Just that fucking devotion he has for Ellie shines through and she really understands his reasons for what he did. Still doesn't feel as if she can forgive him. THAT IS IMPORTANT. She DOES NOT agree with his decision. She understands it, but doesn't agree. But still decides to try and forgive. GUYS. That's exactly what she understands about Abby. Joel was sorry but he still would have done it. Same with Abby. There's a reason that image popped up as she was killing Abby and not the image of his beaten up face.

Remember that line from LoU2? Tess said it. As she is confessing to Joel that she was bit. "We're shitty people, Joel. It's been that way for a long time!" And Joel says "No, we are survivors!"

Y'all don't think for one second that Joel wouldn't have gone after that Soldier who shot Sarah if Tommy hadn't shot him? Y'all kidding yourselves.

Abby realizes this truth in the end. She realizes the part she played in enhancing and playing into the fucking violence and shittiness. Staining and tainting herself in the process. She just wanted to be clean. And Ellie just wanted to be clean.

Bombing this game is doing a fucking disservice to the emotional complexity of this story. It's been a long time since I've been that emotionally twisted.

This game isn't preachy. This game makes something clear that alot of other revenge stories get wrong. Revenge makes otherwise good people do shitty things and the shitty things taint us for the rest of our lives. At least Ellie and Abby stopped themselves before they tainted all their being.

Yeah we're shitty people. But we don't have to be.

[certainempatheticturkeymuffin]

Lmao.

1. I'm definitely still in the fanfiction "phase", it's an amazing art form, I love it. I also love torturing my characters. It's very fun. If only I had an attention span longer than a teaspoon, maybe I'd be able to write something longer than a one shot.

2. Ah, the creepypasta phase lasted like a week before I got bored.

3. I mean, i've always been rather mild, so no.

4. Watched one episode and decided it wasn't for me.

5. True Crime tends to bore me.

6. I went through the phase, but I watched only Fairytale for the entirety of it. This was before my attention span was shot to hell. Arguably I'm more of a weeb now than before, but only because I know an ungodly amount of info from anime I've never actually watched because i have more tolerance for reading about an anime than I do for watching an anime because I'm very likely to become overstimulated by noise. How do you think I joined the Naruto and Yuri on Ice fandoms? Crossover fanfictions that got me curious.

7. Poetry fries my brain, and even though I can write it pretty well, I don't enjoy it because my teachers hammered that enjoyment out as quickly as possible. It's a miracle my love for writing in general made it out of the school system at all tbh.

8. How do you think I undid all the catholic brainwashing? Jimmy Snow is still one of my favorite creators, though I will still occasionally watch Telltale and Genetically Modified Skeptic.

9. Yep, the pandemic really showed me that no, I'm not just naturally good at everything, I just happen to learn well in a school environment. It was quite the blow to my pride.

10. Was never interested in the occult. Having a very devout catholic mom also tends to scare you away from that stuff. Even after I became atheist, I just didn't really care much about the occult, and I don't think I ever will.

11. I'm still in that phase. Documentaries are just cool for me to watch, especially the ones that have to do with wildlife and domestic animals, because the narrator tends to speak in a softer tone that's more tolerable for me than most shows meant for entertainment. I'm also a huge biology nerd, so take that as you will (i haven't found many interesting chemistry documentaries ;~;)

12. I'm not even allowed to leave the house without my mom breathing down my neck, I've never had enough freedom to even ponder the idea.

13. Nope, unless you count some of the weird shit catholics believe. I don't want to be made a fool of like that ever again, so I do a lot of research to make sure extraordinary claims are backed up by science.

14. Nope, mom called them satanic, I believed her until i became an atheist, at which point I didn't really care. It makes you stand out, which is the opposite of what I want. Some of it is cool, but not my thing. I have yet to find an aesthetic that fits me because of my very restrictive mom.

15. Researched it for a day, realized they believed in a goddess, decided that it wasn't for me. The aesthetic is cool though.

16. Unless you count the Twilight craze when i was like nine, no. And I only went through that because my mom watched the movies a concerning amount and I didn't have a phone yet.

17. Never liked his aesthetic tbh. Y'all have your fun, it ain't my thing, sorry. I think the closest I'll ever get is the Addams Family, but like, they're relationship goals, so I can't be faulted for liking them.

18. Concern about the rights of trans people, gay people, and other minorities? Yes. Wanting to kill all cis white men? No. This is a bit of a grey area, since I don't know if I'm missing something, I'm still in this "phase" because I do care that people have rights and that our government can be held accountable.

19. Being demi/ace and nonbinary means I trudge through a lot of gay content looking for representation. I love y'all, your content is so wholesome, but where are all my kin? Like, I see Tik Tok compilations for enbies, but I don't know where the aro/ace community likes to lurk.

20. Hell no.

21. Nah, I like writing about fiction more than anything else. It gives me more freedom.

22. Ah yes, my deviantart days. I'm not keeping up with my art because I have no privacy and I'd rather not use my phone too much, but yes, I went through this phase, and I am so sorry.

Here's the template i guess, thank @strange-aeons for this, because I was watching one of her videos and just had to do it.

[pafsplayground]

OKAY WELL I REALLY WANT TO RANT ABOUT MY OCS SO YEAH Y'ALL HAVE TO SIT THROUGH THIS FOR A BIT

Page is super self conscious, that's why he's literally the only one in his immediate family who wears a mask.

Lil Meg was found rummaging in the trash by Jiri, she immediately bit Jiri's wings upon being picked up.

The last time Twist had more than two airheads they almost broke their leg after forgetting that their hand isn't attached to their body and tried to dangle from a tree. They were not allowed candy since.

Claymore LOVES coffee. It doesn't have the same effect to him as it does to others (cuz hes an alien) but he likes it.

Kinda obvious but Claymore smells like clay.

Page has a strawberry garden in his and Twist's backyard.

Fluff brings Claymore coffee from the Cafe whenever she visits her brothers.

Jiri, who started as just my internet persona, is now considered a universe jumping being. This is why she plays a roll in Lil Meg meeting Page and Twist despite not technically belonging in their universe.

Tove and Fluff have been friends since 7th grade.

Draca likes all meat EXCEPT for turkey, for some reason. Nobody knows why but that's the ONLY meat she won't eat. She is why ham is present at family dinners during this universe's version of thanksgiving.

Yes, they have a different version of thanksgiving in this world.

Lee, Hunter's daughter, plays Smash Bros and mains Kirby.

She has also completed every run in Undertale. Including all the neutral endings.

Fluff likes musicals. Her current favourite is The Lightning Thief musical. Totally not just me projecting on my own characters

Draca struggled with her sexuality for a while because she was never introduced to the concept of sexuality (not her mom's fault, you can't expect a dragon to think it's important to specify. Her mom is very supportive.)

Probably cursed but in this universe the Cats musical is called Humans and Humans (2019) is just as cursed as Cats (2019).

Fluff makes great smoothies.

Hunter has a Reddit account SOLELY because he frequents r/roastme. He's very well known there.

Lee has TONS of Worms-on-strings. She sells them for two dollars a worm at school. She has multiple packs of thirty sitting in her closet.

Fluff loves buying succulents. She has three on her nightstand.

While Fluff has a green thumb, Draca has a black thumb of death. She can't even water a plant without killing it.

Draca is lactose intolerant.

Which is a real shame because she loves cheesecake.

Fluff's tail gets REALLY heavy after a shower and she spends 30 minutes after showering using a blow dryer on it.

Lee has Minecraft pajamas. Tons of them. More than just the Enderman onesie.

Amari has a tiktok account with 10k followers.

Hunter does his best to be a good dad to Lee. He goes all out on birthday decorations and themes.

The Boone-Kless family get together once a month for DnD. Draca's mom hosts for the atmosphere, she also roleplays the bbeg because it hits different when a 50 foot long dragon is the one monologuing.

Lee has ADHD and uses fidget toys and sensory stuff.

Page loves trail mix.

There is literally no reason for twist to not have an arm I just decided why not and gave them a floating hand and no arms. Their twin sister is perfectly normal.

Oh yeah they have a twin sister.

While uncle Alistair could have raised the Boone kids, he was already dealing with 2 year old Adya and Twist so he didn't want an infant and a six year old to worry about.

The Boone kids were raised by grandma and grandpa Uroe instead.

Fluff was 4 and Hunter was 9 when they found Claymore and his little crash site. (I'll talk about Claymore's story in a separate post.)

Lee WILL talk your ear off about her special interests.

Despite everyone in this universe being furries, pets do still exist. It's like a monkey-human situation.

Fluff wants a pet snake.

Both Fluff and Page are eggnog monsters. During the holidays, it's best to get your cup before they even know it's in the house or you won't get any.

Draca is a great cook. Fluff on the other hand, is better at baking.

Page and Fluff bond over baking.

As much as she loves the latte art Fluff can do, Lee is no longer allowed more than one (1) cup of coffee a week.

Nobody knows why Hunter and Fluff's parents had a hit on them. It's a cold case.

Hunter has nightmares about his parents.

Hunter made some mistakes as a teen and as a result, is a single dad. Lee's mom wasn't a nice person. He blames himself.

Draca can breathe fire but she doesn't use it often. When she gets tired, little puffs of smoke come out of her nose.

Switching universes for a sec, the largest age gap between the Test Subjects is 3 years (Sty 13, Carmen 16)

The youngest known subject was 9 but the "researchers" felt like they were too annoying and stubborn to deal with.

The current youngest known subject is 12. They are not central to the story. If it's any consolation, the Test Subjects do end up busting out the others eventually.

The Test Subjects were captive for 2 years. Adam was 13. Cam was 13. Sty was 10 (and a half!).

After busting out; Adam, Cam, and Sty helped Carmen out. As a result, freeing Julie as well.

Julie is an asshole and never gets redeemed in any way. She manipulated and took advantage of Carmen and deserves what she gets.

Not a single main character in The Test Subjects is straight. Not one.

Adam is aro ace.

Cam is an ace lesbian.

Sty is a demi boy (they/them and he/him) and gay.

Carmen is a lesbian.

Julie is.... Well.... She's Julie. She doesn't care. She's pan, I guess.

Cam spent MONTHS stumbling around before Adam and Sty just went "nope, we are GETTING you a cane"

The "researchers" didn't give two shits about the subjects comfort or pain. They'd regularly perform horrible stitching and this resulted in them just saying "if it bothers you so much, fix it yourself".

Basically the subjects performed surgery on each other to PROPERLY stitch up whatever transplants they had.

They also bandaged them poorly, so the subjects would have their "roommates" fix it.

The rooms they were kept in had one "bed" that they either fought over or took turns on.

They weren't kept in the best condition is what I'm saying.

Carmen is the mom friend of the group.

If I could draw it right, Carmen would have a lip piercing. We'll have to settle for earrings for now.

On the topic of piercings, Draca would definitely have an eyebrow piercing if her scales didn't get in the way.

Speaking of Draca, she was a very rebellious teenager. One time she graffitied a huge green dragon on the side of a building that cut down a ton of trees in front of her mom's cave.

Speaking of Draca's mom, she's bisexual and currently dating a Sapper named Trix.

Back to the dnd thing, here are their most played classes.

Draca tends to play barbarians or paladins. Real tank-y classes.

Fluff plays druid or sorcerer.

Claymore likes playing bard.

Hunter tends to go for rangers.

Twist likes playing a wild mage.

Page prefers wizards or warlocks.

When they let her play, Lee plays a Cleric.

Mipos, Draca's mom, never told Draca what kind of dragon they are.

Lee decorates her room with stickers and posters.

These are the Boone-Kless fam's current PCs