#and even if i have some minor criticism i always keep it to myself because the team already has enough mindless hate thrown at them

[its-ya-boi-cade]

oh my fucking God thank you

i see all these comments talking about this after the new episode, but. i would like to state for the record that stolitz isn't. toxic.

first off, the concept of a toxic and a healthy relationship are such... vague terms. when you're online, drenched in language and tight moral boundaries, trying to put a nuanced story like helluva boss's into boxes is easy to attempt and impossible to do.

a toxic relationship is one where one or both parties is maliciously affecting the other. I'm talking fetid, nasty, rude interactions where there is more hurt than love. they're unhappy more often than not when they're with their partner, there's no respect or give from the other side.

stolitz is nothing like that.

Stolas actively cares about Blitz and actually has no fear or hesitation in ADMITTING IT OUT LOUD TO OZZIE. he has been calling, texting, commenting, laughing and finding ways to spend time with Blitz. he's throwing everything he has to the wind, finding the courage to move forward with the divorce, putting everything he has into trying to keep him. he's been alone in a palace since he was born, on medication, with such less people dear to him that he remembered the circus boy who spent a day with him DECADES ago- so when blitz comes into his life and brings back in laughter and color and sex, he's holding on with everything he's got.

and blitz does care!!! he cares a LOT, the whole series we see him falling in love with stolas through SHOW NOT TELL (his expressions, his choices, his fear, his lashing out) and utterly unable to process that stolas cares about him too when talking to fizz; almost a desperate kind of denial-

cause yknow. the first time he tried to confess something to someone he really liked, he accidentally killed half the people he knew and ruined the lives of the rest?

thats gonna leave just a teensy impact on the will to express your emotions in the future, methinks.

even before that, he clearly felt like on some level that he was unworthy and he's said twice that he despises himself for the accident even though it wasn't actually his fault. being self aware doesn't stop the emotions from emotioning.

he keeps insisting its only sex so urgently to anyone who doesn't ask because he can't even imagine it being anything else. he's both disappointed and relieved when he repeats that stolas sees him as a novelty, because what else can it be?

(there's a whole other spiel of how brave both Stolas and Blitz have to be to say it out loud even when asmodeus can't afford to, considering how publically and completely beaten down both were at the club.)

(there's also another whole spiel about how frustrating it has been for ME to see all these comments over time with such bad takes based on like,, 20 min worth of info of a show that takes months to release an ep. like godDAMN have some patience?? let the story UNFOLD MAYBE? IT WAS ALWAYS GOING TO HAVE AN EXPLANATION WHY WOULD YOU CRITICIZE THINGS THAT ARENT EVEN FINISHED ESPECIALLY AN INDIE ANIMATION- i digress)

mind you, this has NOTHING to do with abuse. an abusive relationship is one where one is actively harming the other with full awareness. Stella is an abuser and their marriage is abusive.

and stolitz isn't that; it isn't even unhealthy or toxic. it's a consensual, transactional fuckbuddy relationship that slid into something more for both of them.

but!!!!! one of the main reasons for the problems that everyone looks over is-

they're in a BDSM relationship.

I can't possibly delve into dynamics without making this a 10k research paper BUT even though we've gotten only hints and costumes and dialogue- they're very clearly and undeniably in a BDSM contract. Behind the scenes of this crazy show is a whole different story, of these two delving into the most hardcore kinks out there- knifeplay, painplay, bondage.

if you've gotten into the community, if you've read a couple dozen particularly good fics by authors who know what they're talking about, hell; even if your only experience is fifty shades or 365 or whatever- you gotta know that BDSM scenes are crazy fucking emotionally heavy. there's so much that has gone down between them during their full moons that helluva can't get into!!

but you know how in so many of these popular medias and fics, the dom in the relationship is also like,, the billionaire/mafia heir/prince, etc, the one with financial and physical power? this isnt that. it has been very clearly stated that stolas is subbing, blitz is domming.

now take a moment and think about how much that fucks up the dynamics.

in stolas' eyes, blitz is a confident, dangerous individual who's an old friend and cherished memory of his, who he's trusted wholly with his safety during sex and he's lucky to have; and he has been in an abusive arranged marriage for the past eighteen Years, he's probably not going to be pushing his luck with his dom that much in the first place. plus, blitz is never cowed by him during their conversations- think back to the first phone call right after he stole the book, completely unafraid.

and for blitz, it's someone trusting him again- but it's also a royal- a blue blood who's nearly untouchable and so much more powerful- who couldn't possibly like a piece of shit like him, apart from the sex he gets out of it. he only flirts once he gets some sort of cue from Stolas; he's desperately trying to view this as only a Goetia trying to get his rocks off, despite all the evidence to the contrary, because anything else is unfathomable to him, no matter how clearly Stolas shows it, because of the ptsd.

both of them thinks the other has the power. both of them aren't expecting the other to keep shut if something's bothering them.

and there's so much conflicting messages from the other too!

stolas calls him a plaything when trying to intimidate the humans; stolas cups his face gently and asks if he's alright

blitz asks him on a date and tells him to get better soon; blitz yells that it's only sex and doesn't reply to his messages

ya see?

bring it to fizzozzie for a second now; even though they do look all good on surface, you can still see fizz's trauma and doubt in all their interactions, they're still forced to keep the relationship secret. do you see his face when Ozzie says in hyperbole that he's never leaving the house again, or when someone accuses him of being a pampered house pet or when he got sexualized in the 7th ep? whatever happened in the interim between the accident with mammon, it fucked him UP. even though oz seems to be well aware of this when he tells him not to apologise and in their general interactions, fizz still visibly has trouble separating plaything/commodity from healthy relationship.

shout the fuck out to Ozzie btw, man knows whats UP. rooting for these two so much omg.

i forgot where I was going with this point, I'll edit it when i remember. but yeah! lovely fucking relationship, but damn what angst filled issues.

anyway, to sum up- stolitz is not a toxic relationship. the relationship is stuck sludging through misunderstandings and careless microaggressions and trauma responses, but it's not unhealthy or toxic because of the simple reason that most of the current hurt comes from... a misunderstanding. stolas didn't realise blitz would need reassurance about what they were and blitz didn't see stolas as someone who could get hurt.

unecessarily calling it toxic, even online, is more impactful than people think too. almost all spindlehorse ARE on all social medias; so MANY YouTube animators i know have found jobs there; they see your words, especially since a lot don't tag posts with "anti hb" correctly to keep them out of the main tag. there are Very few queer medias made BY queer people that haven't gone through heavy corporate revisions- helluva boss is practically a historical landmark in its success. it's very very very fucking easy to forget that not ten years ago some of the only queer videos on YouTube were butter lover (one kiss at the end post credits), dirty paws and welcome to hell (subtext).

the amount of "critical talk" helluva boss gets for what it is is very unprecedented. it's a beautiful show. can't wait for the next episode.

[listentoace]

Hey, I wanted to address a couple of things.

I have been receiving several asks regarding some of my recent posts. I admit they are darker than the usual stuff. That was a decision I consciously made, because I do tend to have darker fantasies and wanted to see how they would be received. I consider most of the criticism I received to be valid points. Here are a few of them:

The whole idea of "ruining yourself"/"ruining your body" as you're gaining weight can be found fatphobic

Connecting feederism to habitual behavior, addiction, loss of control, and even brain damage can be found scary or even disturbing

Encouraging people to embrace health issues (both physical and mental) because of feederism can be found toxic

Constantly connecting feederism and weight gain with the negative side effects (sluggishness and laziness, health issues, societal judgement, etc.) can lead to the conclusion that feederism, obesity, indulgence, etc. are generally bad things

I won't try to defend myself. In fact, I completely agree with (most) criticism I received. The only kind of "criticism" I don't recognize are attacks toward me personally, but that's just reflected in a minority of the asks I receive. To all people who have sent me asks: it's great that you're sharing your opinion and thoughts, and I encourage you to keep doing so!

I think it is necessary to mention again that I don't mean anyone any harm. I am not fatphobic, and I do not mean to force any kinks upon anyone. This is just me writing and recording some horny ideas I occasionally have for those people who are into the same stuff. It is also very important to mention that in many cases, the fantasy of something can be very hot, while the reality of it could be very stressful and traumatizing. This is especially the case with more intense fantasies and kinks, e.g., being kidnapped and fattened. Everything I write takes place in "fantasy land". Nothing I post is meant as a threat, actual encouragement for dangerous behavior or self harm, or other harmful behavior. Pleae keep this in mind!

Getting back to the criticism: Yes, I like the dark stuff. I am very intrigued by the idea of feedees getting fatter for pleasure, despite all the negative consequences that can come with weight gain and obesity. I also enjoy calling people out for it, both with mild teasing and with very direct "you're damaging yourself" claims. I know that this is not everybody's cup of tea, which is why I already tag all posts with darker topics related to self-destruction, severe health issues, permanent damage and even death with "#death feederism" and "#death feedist". This is also mentioned in my pinned info post under "My Content", encouraging people to hide these tags who are not into certain content I post. However, it is quite clear that this isn't a great solution – otherwise I would not be receiving these asks.

I am very open to solving this issue together. After all, it always has been my personal ambition to write and record content for your enjoyment and pleasure. I want to make you – the readers and listeners – feel good and excited. I don't mean to scare or disturb you with my darker fantasies and kinks that don't appeal to you. Nonetheless, I do enjoy causing "holy shit, this is really bad, but it just feels so good!" pleasure and horniness.

In the past, I occasionally made use of trigger warnings at the top of my posts. If I recall correctly, I did hide the main content behind the "Keep reading" button. This was not consistent, but I am open to generally implementing this for all future posts that include sensitive subjects, such as death feederism, consensual non-consent, heavy conditioning and brain damage, or severe degradation and objectification.

However, before I do that, I first wanted to recognize the asks I received and open the conversation by addressing these issues. I encourage you to share your thoughts on this with me in the comments, asks, or my dms. Please let me know whether you think the combination of a trigger warning and a "Keep reading" button is sufficient and reasonable. I will still be tagging my posts accordingly, like I've done in the past, so filtering through hiding certain hashtags will remain an option either way.

I'm looking forward to your feedback and ideas, thank you for the criticism! :)

[leportraitducadavre]

Do you think people in the fandom would be more forgiving towards Sasuke character as a whole if we got the show from his perspective or if not that then if his thoughts are more shown?

I find myself drawn to his character because, in many ways, I see reflections of my own inclinations, albeit magnified. The tumultuous events that unfolded within his clan and the devastating actions of his brother, wiping out everyone, add a layer of complexity to his character. It's kind of intrigued me to consider that, under similar circumstances, I might make similar choices, perhaps even worse. The Narutoverse, with its deeply rooted issues like child soldiers, clan annihilation, and internal slavery within the Hyuga branch, presents a grim reality. While some characters, and even elements of the fandom, criticize and reject his actions, arguing that trauma should not be an excuse, it's hard to ignore the systemic problems within the Narutoverse itself. The pervasive cycle of suffering, with clans being wiped out and individuals enslaved, points to a broken system that breeds villains and antagonists seeking change.

In contrast to the complacency and cooperation displayed by many characters, those who rebel against the established order and strive for something different, flawed as their execution may be, at least attempt to address the root issues. The fact that they are trying to break free from the oppressive system suggests a level of agency and resistance, even if I may not fully agree with their methods. That's why I'm more forgiving towards the antagantis like Pain, Madara and especially in Sasuke case.

Reflecting on Naruto's journey and his current achievements the fundamental issues persist unchanged.

Also, sorry if this got long I ramble a lot when discussing lol. I hope you have a good day.

Hello, this took long to reply, and for that, I apologize.

I don’t think the issue is “not having Sasuke’s thoughts on display” for him to get sympathy, as we get to see firsthand the reasoning behind his actions, his background, and connections; we also get to see the atrocities committed by the system on multiple characters including those that the fandom takes as “less controversial” and which are considered victims of a bigger scale than Sasuke. I put more blame on the naturalization of state-sanctioned violence and the oppression of minority groups who are then blamed for their village’s actions as they are “savage-coded,” which turns the government’s oppression into a response to their behavior rather than an action born from their own bias. Their ultimate argument always boils down to “fighting violence with violence is not the way,” yet they fail to understand that a government built with brutality as its primary basis and as its primary tool leaves no room for negotiations, as it also implies that those oppressed continue to be oppressed until a “solution” is reached through time. They blame those discriminated against and later on massacred for their demise and not those in power who decided that committing genocide was a plausible solution to their dispute. 

The main issue with the idea that “their hearts are in the right place, but I don’t agree with the antagonist methods” also derives from this same perspective, where the discriminated must take all the consequences of the persecution they suffered and choose the “moral high ground” still to keep being “victims” and not become “victimizers.” Their categorization as innocents/savages is always based upon their response to the mass killing of their kin, minimizing the actions of those in power and diminishing the value of their critics to the system in place. 

Yet, while the naturalization of state-sanctioned violence plays a part in Sasuke’s status as a “villain” by many of his detractors, it’s not the only one, as many feel Naruto has a similar (perhaps harder) experience with the system in place as he was ostracized, yet he chose to follow Konoha’s WoF –many fans are closer to experience something similar to Naruto (an unpopular kid that was often shunned by comrades), so they feel more inclined to stand behind a character that reflects a personal experience of them, and not behind the boy who suffered genocide, a thing not many can see themselves in nor can build sympathy for as they (again) naturalized such occurrence. 

The popularization of the action genre featuring first-world soldiers invading the global south, whose focus is more on the trauma that lingers in the invader for trying to bring peace than on the indiscriminate killing of minorities, also contributes to seeing those in power as more humane or deserving of redemption than those responding violently against the intruders, because those invaded should put their trust in the “good intentions” of those abiding by the system that destroyed them in the first place.

[st4riel-the-w1tchling]

My Intro Post!!

Hello and welcome to my blog!! My name’s Ari, but you can call me whatever idc. I’m a girl, a minor, an Aquarius if that matters to you and I have 2 younger brothers.

I lived in Australia for lots of my childhood however moved to Spain last year. I’ve done research and while different people seem to have different definitions of the term, I identify as Hispanic as I’m quite immersed in the Spanish culture, language, etc, never plan on leaving and have been raised like a Spanish kid (my parents have wanted to live here since they were kids so they’ve been preparing us for life here since we were newborn) even though I’m genetically Australian. If you believe I don’t fit the term idc that’s your opinion but this is how I identify.

I’ve been practicing witchcraft since late 2021 and believed in the Greek gods since I was a kid (because of PJO lol). I call myself a Greek pagan witch with animist and omnist beliefs, I believe the terms Hellenism and polytheism may apply but idk enough about them to use them to describe myself.

I started working with Aphrodite 4 days into my practice cuz I’m a bit silly however I’ve gotten more consistent and comfortable with my worship over time. Now working with her is just a part of my daily life, I love all her different epithets (I think is the word) she’s just so cool. I want to start working with King Hades and Queen Persephone in the future.

I’m trying to get better at note taking cuz I often forget. This blog is for saving notes #info, #paganism, #animism and #witchcraft stuff, I’ll post stuff related to #greek mythology under its own tag if not practitioner based, all deity/entity stuff is under its own tag (eg. #aphrodite, #hermes, #odysseus, #telemachus, etc).I also post related fandom stuff here like; #hades game, #pjo, #epic the musical, etc and stuff I’m more critical of like; #anti Madeline miller, #anti lore olympus under their own tags. My posts and asks are under #stariel posts and #stariel asks, all reblogs and queued are #stariel reblogs and #q, if I add a bit of my own input to a post it goes under #stariel convos, if I’m interacting with the community/mutuals it goes under #stariel community and #fave contains well all my fav posts.

I love spirit work and when I’m more experienced I plan on working with ghosts and animal spirits though currently I’m content just talking to my plants, house, divination tools and Aphrodite. I also want to start Ancestor Work soon. I’m a big fan of baneful protection magic and glamour/love magic. I’m pretty proud of my clair senses, intuition and divination abilities, I’ve always been an empath (my definition is; good at sensing energy and emotions) so I’ve put lots of effort into improving these skills which I’m quite happy with the strength of now.

You may also see special interest junk here (I’m neurodivergent) however I’ll try keep it at a minimum and it’ll only be posted if it is related to the topics of this blog (eg. Marvel comics [that and witchy stuff are my 2 big things] and also other interests like #Hermitcraft).

I’m a nickname person, I have some of the best nicknames ever (Stariel was one and now it’s my user for everything) so now I give everyone/thing nicknames lol. Just a warning, if we become friends I’m giving you 10,000 nicknames. I’m also a yapper as you can see below, irl I’ve learned to contain and summarise my paragraphs but on tumblr I let myself go wild and add as many irrelevant details/thoughts I have so I apologise in advance for the essays.

I personally believe hugely in free speech so there’s no DNI for this blog. Everyone is welcome as long as civil discussion is maintained no blatant straw manning/mud slinging if you want to debate me or someone else here on a topic make sure to be respectful about it, thanks.

And that’s about all I have to say right now, I seriously should make intros for my other blogs. Enjoy your stay!!

[mayordeas-clone]

some thoughts on partitio and agnea's traveler stories and their ultimate contribution to the connecting plot of octopath traveler 2

i recently finished my second playthrough of octopath 2, and it was really fun because it reminded me on why this game is very special to me in spite of its flaws, as well as give me new reasons to appreciate it and its efforts to better connect all eight traveler stories to a grander plot than the first octopath game.

when i first played octopath 2, i thought agnea's story was pretty disappointing since it was the one that connected the least to the big bads behind the game's final chapter and was very low-stakes and lighthearted. however, after reading some folks' opinions on the game + reexperiencing the whole package for myself, i've softened up to her a bit and really appreciate the role she plays in the story, even if it might not be to the same level as the other travelers. (i'm also lumping partitio into this even though his connections are a little tighter + he's not as talked about regarding this issue since i feel like he and agnea's stories have similar ideas and tone)

this was originally apart of a grand infodump on the game i made after finishing the epilogue that i wanted to isolate into its own post!

some spoilers abound, up to the very end of octopath traveler 2 (with some mentions of stuff revealed in octopath traveler 1's endgame)

so the final chapter of octopath traveler 2 pretty much ties key characters and events together through the moonshade order, whose members were involved in all eight characters' stories in order to enact their plan to bring about eternal night. a common criticism of agnea's story is that her connections to this overarching scheme are pretty loose.

each traveler has a major member of the moonshade order involved in some way or another. temenos was acquainted with mindt, who turned out to be arcanette, the current leader and mastermind behind it all. castti's colleague trousseau was involved in the cult's activities as well, utilizing the shadow to spread pestilence after being corrupted by their teachings.

in agnea's case, her connection to this order is tanzy, who is a very minor character all things considered in her story. she was a member of giselle's traveling troupe, and she often mentions a "goddess" in most of her dialogue (who we later find out was referring to arcanette, who manipulated her into the order's cause). what gets to a lot of people is that agnea, upon finding out about tanzy's fate during the final chapter (that she was used and sacrificed by arcanette in order to further the moonshade order's ambitions), has zero reaction or comment about it. not even giselle, coda, and rico, the only other people that have actually met and interacted with tanzy, have anything to say about tanzy's noticable absence during the reunion during the epilogue, making tanzy as agnea's link to the moonshade order feel strange, especially compared to other members who had a slightly more active role in the other travelers' stories.

since i'm also talking about partitio, i might as well explain his connection as well: his story's moonshade order member is ori, a scrivener that always seems to appear out of nowhere. we learn in the final chapter that she was actually keeping tabs on a bunch of the other travelers (even appearing at osvald's trial at the beginning of his story) to gather information for the moonshade order. ori was a pretty important character, but her involvement with partitio's story is that she was Always There (that's the best i can put it), and partitio was sort of doing his own thing.

he and agnea's stories are the only ones to make no mention of The Shadow or any of d'arquest's shenanigans, and they're also a lot more lighthearted in tone, so they might feel a bit out of place when trying to connect them to the other travelers' stories and how they connect to the overarching plot. does that mean they served no purpose? not so! i think they’re relevant in their own way.

partitio and agnea’s story are about hope and forging a future that’s worth fighting and living for. partitio is all about bringing about prosperity to all and seeks to overcome the gigantic task of buying the rights to the steam engine so he can freely distribute it for the better. his resolve to help others is precisely what gets ori to doubt her nihilistic worldview instilled in her by the moonshade order, and it's what keeps her alive when she attempts to sacrifice herself at the fellsun ruins. ori states in her journal that she believes people, businessmen like partitio, are all destined to fall into the pitfall of greed that makes people suffer, much like how roque brilliante turned out, yet partitio’s compassion changes her mind. it’s really cool, even if it’s a detail buried among a sea of other stuff you have to read to piece everything together. (love the final chapter and its plot revelations, but yeah it's sort of disappointing that a lot of information is obtained through reading ori's journal rather than any kind of interaction between all of the members, but alas)

agnea on the surface has a really lighthearted story that doesn’t really have a natural place to mention the death cult lurking in the shadows of everyone’s story or the supernatural magic that will be used to bring about eternal night (see again, tanzy’s very minor presence compared to other moonshade order members). i thought the same at first after my first playthrough. HOWEVER! her story, more than anyone else’s, IS about hope, the main theme of the game. her final battle theme + the thing she works on her whole story is uniquely called the ‘song of hope’. she’s the only traveler to not have a version of the final battle theme; rather than being an epic clash between her greatest foe, it's a triumphant, uplifting song that she debuts in her "battle" with dolcinea ('song of hope' is such an amazing song too, perhaps my favorite in the ost). her journey involves inspiring others to keep moving forward in the face of adversity, such as motivating gill to pursue his ambitions as a musician or giselle to overcome her doubts or giving laila a reason to keep living and dancing despite her circumstances. it only makes sense then that she is the one to give the final speech that properly ends the story of the game, as it’s her journey that fully encapsulates that theme of hope for the future. it was the very thing the main villains thought there was none left in the world, that nihilism that made them want to put the world out of its misery by bringing about an endless night since the dawn was not worth fighting for.

agnea feels like the true protagonist of the game in my opinion, even if her story feels the least related to The Big Bads.

she’s not here to fight, she’s here to inspire, ya know!!! AAAAA

(if i ever play octopath 2 for the third time, ill definitely be picking her as my starter~)

(the reason why i’m kinda up on my soapbox defending my girl is bc i saw a gamefaqs thread of someone explaining this significance agnea’s story has to the main plot and themes and everyone dismissing it as a dumb, stretchy non-answer. YOU GAMERS KNOW NOTHING!!! /lh)

anyway, as far as lighthearted stories w a sort of vague goal go in octopath traveler, agnea’s heavily tying back to the main theme of the game makes it stronger than someone’s like tressa or alfyn’s since they kind of had their own plots that didn’t really relate back to anyone else’s. their only connection to everyone else’s stories were through their connections with graham crossford, which is PRETTY COOL!! but he was long dead/transformed into redeye before the events of the game and tressa and alfyn sorta do their own thing after he indirectly inspired them to go traveling. it just feels more vague i guess?

~

apologies this is really rambly. again, i lifted this from an infodump i wrote on the fly, so i was not really essay-brained, but i hope my point comes across adequately?

all the same, i just have a big appreciation and love for this game. i'm proud to call it my favorite video game, and though it has its problems, it's very special to me and i like talking about it. hopefully i got that across to any reader on this here post, and maybe it inspires a new appreciation for agnea's story and its place in octopath traveler 2 :)

[rowrowknowa]

guidelines

---General Rules

✮ this blog contains some NSFW content; i'll always try my best to tag all warnings appropriately

✮ MDNI, non-negotiable. i won't interact with ageless or take requests from ageless blogs. don't follow me, don't send asks, stay outta grown folks business!! ✮ i don't take requests for minors (obviously), even SFW asks if they're romantic in nature

✮ black bi, i dont tolerate any type of racism, colorism, ableism, fatphobia, zionism, homo/queer/transphobia -- i want a space of inclusiveness and i will check you

✮ i currently am taking requests! but to keep it real theres no guarantees so dont be offended if i dont do yours

✮ i take spoilers VERY seriously and VERY personally for myself and others im so serious so please pay attention to where i am in a given work (anime only) and try not to give anything away pls (if ur not sure ask)

---General Writing

✮ what i write for at any given moment will depend on what my current fixation is

✮ ill always write for one piece (anime and live action). currently taking requests for FE3H and JJK as well - if you have a request for me to write for something outside of these feel free to suggest

✮ im a reader insert lover im so sorry so majority of my works will be in the second person. only rarely will i have an OC and thats likely for longer works

✮ all works will likely default to member x cis f!reader because thats the POV im most familiar with (i.e. i tend to write myself as a placeholder), but don't take that to mean i won't write any other reader inserts. i'm open to writing with a reader insert of any gender / any genitalia so please request it! and leave feedback and critique so i can improve on writing in those POV

---NSFW writing

✮ i dont do scat, (watersports is a maybe...if you're convincing enough), dont do abo, dont do raceplay, dont do ageplay, no extremely dark content/kinks/themes, dont do gore, not a fan of "daddy"

✮ a separate bullet because this one is important bc its popular: i won't do size kinks that center/elevate petite/skinny frames. ive seen so many works that write them in a way thats bigger/taller/larger body exclusive and bordering fatphobic/heightist.. i dont want people who are already marginalized to feel even further marginalized. if you wanna read that go find another work.

✮ i do write for a variety of kinks. the inclusion/exclusion criteria here isnt exhaustive if you're not sure, ask.

✮ i don't write characterxcharacter usually but im a slut for a good threesome with it peppered in. i won't write a poly relationship mostly because i know my strengths and weaknesses and i promise you wont want to read my attempt at that

---Requests!

✮ requests are welcome!

✮ headcanons, A-Z, MTLs, reactions, and scenarios are more likely to be fulfilled because they're less intensive to me, fun and quick!

✮ when sending an ask, please be specific! give mama (me) something to work with. feel free to try and make it interesting, give me ideas to bounce off of, send your thoughts/fantasies/etc

✮ i will take one shot requests but the longer, more complex it is the longer it'll take/lower chance it is i'll do it if it's not speaking to me

✮ i'm my own biggest critic so if i feel like i don't like what i write i won't post it

✮ i do work a full time big girl job so be patient and don't be offended if i don't get to your ask

[wraithsoutlaws]

Then & Now the (x: perfect drug) edition:

Inspired by the fandom to look back and celebrate the boys' journey as well as my own in terms of vp.

March 2021, ps4.

I never created Dagger with the intention to ship him with anyone, but by the time I got here on his file it felt strangely natural. He was still a very fresh oc but things began to click immediately and genuinely felt like it was meant to be. The development of him as a character began to happen side by side with this silly little ship and both ended up becoming really personal and special to me.

It's hard getting decent shots on ps4 with anyone. It's especially hard when it's a minor npc with extremely limited screen time available! You have no idea how many times I went back and played these two quests trying to get something interesting. Honestly I'm really grateful for my time on ps4 not only because it helps me appreciate what I can do now a little more, but I think a lot of my growth happened here, stretching the limited resources I had available.

July 2021, ps4

Learning how to work within the confines of totally vanilla photomode, getting creative with base game poses and skipping time to find the best natural light, etc. I'm still proud of these pictures, they capture an intimacy that I think is really special, and at the time were some of my favorites I'd ever taken, and even now I can note the growth between these and the first ones I'd taken.

April 2022, laptop

The first pictures taken on my laptop and my first time posing them with AMM/setting up a scene. I might like to retake these some day. I'm more critical of them than I am of my ps4 pics tbh but they're still an important part of my journey. Over time I noticed red lighting had become my comfort zone, or more specifically, a crutch! So I've tried really hard since then to improve on that and push myself in different directions.

February 2023

It took me almost a year to feel comfortable enough with posing to attempt some goddam kisses. I'm still not very good at these but at least I improved in other ways. Honestly, I struggle with these two at times because they aren't your typical outwardly loving, cute couple, and I'm usually very strict with myself to keep them as in character as I can. That can make it hard to think of couples poses/ideas, both cute and spicy, but. they can be lovebirds as a treat.

May 2023

Only recently have I begun to feel a strong sense of style in my own work. Playing with lighting and scenes, and trying to jam as much personality as I can into these slice of life pictures is really important to me and is one of my favorite parts of doing this. They can be sweet together but it's important you see the other side of that (the blood, the knives, drugs, etc. Also Dagger resting his ashtray on Dum Dum is one of my personal favorite quirks). I really try to put a lot of their life into pictures like this. I want to convey all the parts of who they are together, even if nobody else notices.

June/July 2023

Its pretty hard to articulate how important these two have become for me over the last couple years. I've been playing this game since release and haven't had this sort of steady inspiration or creativity for years. Even on the bad days, just thinking about them is enough to get me through as silly as it sounds. I've grown so much not only in VP but my own art (something I had all but entirely abandoned until I picked up this game). They've provided an outlet I've been searching for for a very long time, and I'm really grateful for that. It's kinda wild looking back at where it started, and seeing how far it's come. Sometimes I still struggle with my perception/the worth of my work but I can't deny the happiness its brought me either.

Including a couple other character ship pics under the cut c:

I'm always a little insecure about my ship pics specifically, I'm very bad at comparing myself with others! But I put a lot of love into these and I can see the improvement when I look at them over time. Regardless of anything, they were all made with lots of love and I hope that comes across.

[idiotmf]

Overview

Welcome to my little corner of the internet. As I'm getting ready to post a lot more stuff, this post shall serve as your guide on my page.

Just here to find the Masterlist? Here you go.

~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~

Here's some things that you should know:

1. While I do occasionally write pure fluff and lore dumps that are SFW, my overall page is NSFW and 18+, therefore if you're a minor, please do us both a favor and do not interact.

2. I place my "read more" the way I do on purpose! It's to make sure you have to consciously agree to view the full, often NSFW, content instead of getting it shoved in your face, maybe even while you're in public. It also helps keep posts on my blog short and somewhat tidy.

3. I have a chronic need to over-explain myself and my content, resulting in long posts and long notes. Thanks anxiety™.

4. English is not my first language. I like to think I'm decent at it but I am not entirely confident about tenses and punctuation. I also just like to use a comma after every second word because my native language has so many rules on it and I'm low-key an idiot.

5. I write mostly for myself and just wanna throw my stuff out there. I love input and constructive criticism, so please don't be shy but don't be mean either!

6. I usually obsessively scan for typos and grammar issues (because anxiety and immersion) but I don't always catch everything, so I'm happy to be corrected, as long as it's not aggressive. (｡•́︿•̀｡)

7. I am open to suggestions and requests, although I don't take full on commissions (free or paid). I used to be a commission writer back in the day and I do currently really value my creative freedom.

8. Alongside random content, I like to depict my own, original characters (OCs) in different situations and dynamics. Sort of like an AU, except there is no original story. It's kinda like writing reader-insert FFs of my own characters, I guess.

~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~

Content, TWs and Tags:

I will try to provide anything that's needed to know on my posts but in case you just randomly stumbled upon my profile and this is the first post you see...

My main content and topics will always be Monsters and Smut.

• Other things that are good to know:

The reader is gender neutral, if not, I will state it. Usually the reader plays a submissive role and has female genitalia, although sometimes I will add variations. If you want me to specifically write one with male genitalia or a dominant role in mind, please feel free to reach out!

• Additional topics may be:

BDSM, Power Dynamics, Height Differences, Overstimulation, Dub-Con, illogical anatomy (if ya know, ya know), an insane amount of cum, etc.

↑ I will extend this list if needed.

Things that may trigger trauma or are extreme, even in my eyes, I will definitely state with a trigger warning, so please pay attention to avoid getting hurt.

That's it for now. Enjoy my ramblings.

(灬╹ω╹灬)

[helluvabossrewrite45]

Hey. I've seen some of your rewrite of Helluva Boss scenes and I really like them. I enjoy how you fixed the issues with the writing and how incredibly spectacular your writing of the improved dialogue within the scenes are.

Honestly, I feel inspired by your work. I have an idea for my own Helluva Boss rewrite where I not only fix issues the show has (ex. tonal shifts, inconsistencies & plot holes, worldbuilding issues, etc), but also integrate my HB OCs into my rewrite (ex. my main HB OC Alice Lola (Ally for short), who is an assassin at I.M.P. and an aspiring writer).

I was wondering if I could ask you this: do you have any advice & tips you could give for who have an idea for starting an HB rewrite, or a rewrite in general? I ask out of curiosity as an aspiring writer myself.

Feel free to respond back when you get the chance. Thank you and have a wonderful day/afternoon/night. Keep up the great work! 👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻 🤗💕❤️🧡💛💚💙💜💖💕🤗

Thank you, im glad you enjoy my rewrites and of course, I can offer up some advice for rewrites;

I think one of the best things in writing a rewrite is that you can use these minor details the piece your rewriting has and use them to you advantage. For example, I noticed that Octavia listens to music whenever she hears her parents arguing or at the dinner table where her parents would be and probably would have at least some awkward tension so from rewriting seeing stars, I use that minor detail to highlight her character and her arc of using music or the moon festival to ignore her problems even though it clearly doesn't help. It also contrast with Loona in my rewrite ignoring her problems that she later acknowledges and the two would open up, closing the character arcs in a nice neat bow. Another would be that Millie is often depicted as either moxxie's wife or a murder machine and from the little time we see with her and her family, I rewrote millie growing up having to be in her sisters shadow and just wanting to be her own person instead as inferior or someone's tool. This would establish why she has a rivalry with her sister while also giving her more character for her to be explored (which we should've gotten from harvest moon tbh), Any details you find in helluva can be a tool for you to explore whether it be for the characters, world etc...

Something that even I learned is that when rewriting, you gotta plan what your gonna do with the characters, with the worldbuilding you establish, with all of these plots/ideas your rewriting. Most of the problems helluva has is because vivziepop didnt plan the show out until season 2 rolled around and if we wanna rewrite the show to be better, we ourselves cant make the same mistakes. If you already started the rewrite however, i suggest you look back on the rewrite your already doing for as much as you can to remember in order to not fall into the same mistake the show itself has

When planning an oc into rewrites, I think the main thing is to ask what are they doing here, what purpose do they serve to the plot and what is their character overall (their motive, personality, character arc, likes, dislikes, relationship with the characters, how they bounce off to the other characters etc...)

As another aspiring writer who has a lot of original stories in the works (there's even an original story inspired by helluva boss and some of my rewrite ideas for it), I think its important to approach criticism as a helpful tool rather than an insult. Especially when its rewrites. I always want whatever I'm writing to at least be of decent quality and is regularly curious of how people would react to my original stories still in the works so receiving it and even given criticism for it can help, you know? Since you have an established audience and them offering criticism can be your tool that you can use to improve. It should be noted though that their is a difference between criticism and personal bias/subjectivity. For example, if someone wanted to point out a plot hole or a mistake in your work, that's criticism you can use. But if someone just tells you to go touch grass for your rewrite or something like that, then its not criticism, that's personal bias/opinion they have of rewrites in general so it offers nothing you can use to improve it.

That's all I got so far, I hope this helps!

[vampiremeerkat]

I kinda need some advice (if you're comfortable giving), how does one keep their cool/sanity in the hellish atmosphere that is fandom nowadays? I really wanna get back to fanart and stuff as purely a hobby (and it was a huge part of my childhood) but considering how much of a warzone it is nowadays, I dunno if I can. Got anything?

Don't think I'm the right person to ask, I've not had that many entanglements with fellow fans throughout my online career. It's easy to assume that's because my overall viewership/online presence is low, but I've had the occasional semi-viral success and always enjoyed more praise than "criticism". I'd say fandoms in general are lenient and supportive, but every and any kind of community in the world has an insufferable minority. They shout and have alot of time on their hands, making it seem like you're dealing with a crowd, but that's never the case. Even if hundreds of people jump you, billions walk the Earth; it's not even a fraction of a percent you've displeased. But here's an actual answer to your question: In short:

Choose your fandoms wisely.

Don't overstay your welcome by sticking with one.

Don't join any online communities or participate in ongoing discourse. You're only here to draw.

Train yourself to understand that nothing in life fucking matters anyway. :(

In ｌｏｎｇ: I switch my focus alot. If I attract fans of a particular fandom, but the next thing I show off is less likely to tickle their interest, most will leave again, and it's kinda protecting me from growing an unsettlingly invested fanbase. Praise and attention never motivated me to stick around with one series for long, because I know what's waiting around the corner and don't want to be known as "the <insert this one piece of media here> artist", anyway. Look at my nonsense and go away, I just want to die alone! I'm also not active at any online forums and rarely look up and comment on other people's work. Spares you alot of "who asked you"-styled responses. I might've not when I was younger, but agree with the sentiment now. Unless you come across something criminal, why intrude on someone else's fun. Grumble about it on your account if you must, but don't take it to theirs.. even though it's valid to argue that posting something online is an automatic invitation for others to critique it, especially when you don't apply any form of visibility restrictions. I don't really care to discuss ideas with fellow fans. Weird claim, since my Tumblr exists, but I started this account to post Deviantart stuff. People showed up one day and started asking questions about the fandoms I've been involved in (or haven't), but it's not my hobby to get deep about a fictional property. Without getting instigated, anyway. I think about a question's subject as I read the words, do my best to dissect the whole thing and not throw around one-sentence replies, but seldom have the answer ready in my head. The3Eds was the only forum I enjoyed myself at, and the things I talked about over there barely had anything to do with Ed, Edd n Eddy. In the end, no one will be able to offer you one foolproof strategy on this matter. There've been many artists in the past who minded their business and were slaughtered by strangers. You need to be the kind of person who doesn't take online verbal abuse to bed. That's hard to do if you're looking for validation. You could avoid large fandoms that are known to attract the overly defensive and offensive, but if you have to tiptoe through life for others, what's even the point. Know that the internet is a luxury you don't have to participate in. Log off for a week or so if you're feeling down, or alternatively, delete all comment notifications indiscriminately as you keep on doing your thing.. unless you insist on deleting negative comments, but I don't think you should. Why stop people from embarrassing themselves in public. I don't think I've ever deleted comments, unless it's copy-pasted stuff/spam, because what often happens is that the poster regrets and deletes it themselves. I suppose that has value too. Allow that shit to stay alive, so the poster may one day return to it and potentially realise they're better than that. It's easier to keep your calm when you humanize your critics, if you can. The way a person expresses themselves may be trash, but what is it they're saying, and can the reason be empathized with? Sometimes you're dealing with someone who's obviously a child. I struggle to get angry at people under the age of 20. But really -and more importantly- no one should waste their time on fighting fellow fans when it concerns an issue that's objectively not important, you have better things to do. Try to close your eyes for it, it's seldom personal, even if the attacks try to be. People can pretend, but they don't know you and never will.

[spade-riddles]

Submission: I think the MH thing might be a lot simpler than we're giving it credit for.

I don't know how credible this new 🎃 anon is, if at all. (Tip for new anons: we took Spade and Flag seriously because they proved themselves worth listening to before they started asking us to put faith in them. Most of us are at a high alert for trolling right now and not inclined to take a new player on the scene seriously.) But I don't think it matters, because even if they're fake, all 🎃 is doing is presenting us with the same old story we always get of a last minute pivot. We can wait and see if something arises to confirm the story, or we can assume it's bullshit and ignore this "explanation". 

But if you believe 🎃 is bullshit and a coming out isn't on the cards til 2025 (as a lot of us now do believe) then you need to ask yourself why Taylor would beard again, so soon, and with this guy of all people. I think I might know the answer to that. 

Some points to consider: 

1) Taylor might be planning a prolonged "single" phase. She might want to stop her fans wanting to see her in a relationship with a guy. If she goes straight from Joe to singledom, her fans will assume she's still heartbroken over him and hold out hope for a reunion. She doesn't want that. She needs a Tom to erase him like she did Calvin. But I think she's genuinely done with fans creating these happy little hetero fantasies for her and getting attached. This feels almost like a punishment to all the fans who have refused to see her truth over the years. None of this is any faker than Tom or Toe were. The timelines are just as implausible, the PR just as obvious. But this time they don't get their picture perfect fantasy. If they would rather see Taylor with a guy - any guy - than with the loyal and loving woman who has borne her children and been her biggest fan for a decade now . . . then they better open wide and take their medicine. And don't dare complain about how bitter it tastes. 

I don't think this stunt will last long, but by the end of it they'll be begging for Taylor to "just be single" and "figure out what she wants". Which is probably the point. 

2) Karlie has been eating Kushner shit for years now to protect their closet. I'm in the minority that believes this was a sacrifice mostly made to protect Taylor, not a self-serving move on Karlie's part. Looking at it from that perspective, I've been expecting to hear songs about it for a long, long time. Songs about loving someone whose choices destroyed their reputation. Songs about loving someone who is misunderstood. Someone who is seen as a bad guy to the world, but who pieced together your broken heart after a devastating break up from a relationship in which you were nearly engaged. 

Taylor has songs she wants to put out into the world about these experiences, and rightly or wrongly, she still feels she needs the fig leaf of a male muse and a public narrative as cover for them. I don't know if it's bonus Rep tracks or the rumored Lover B side, or something else. But I would guess Taylor has songs about the last few years that mean a lot to her, and we'll probably see them in 3-6 months. This is all just groundwork. 

3) Kind of related to point 2, but looking at it on a more personal level. Karlie tanked her reputation for Taylor, and has been abused by her fans for years, mostly for things she hasn't even done (like her supposed "betrayals"). I don't pretend to know how Taylor thinks, but if that was me, I would have a hard time living with myself knowing I'd allowed the love of my life to be treated like that, so I could make more money and keep myself clear of criticism. Even if she agreed to it. Hypothetically, I might feel that I deserved to get a little taste of my fans' vitriol. 

This might seem like a crazy, illogical decision to us because for once, maybe the motivation isn't to secure positive PR for Taylor. Maybe Taylor is being stubborn, and trying to prove a point to herself and the woman she loves: that she would be willing to do for Karlie what Karlie has done for her. 

Anyway. These are just some thoughts, looking at the whole thing from a different angle and considering possibilities I haven't seen discussed. 

[opinated-user]

So the latest LO shenanigans are that she had '150 nasty messages' in her inbox and so she has decided to scrap entire projects and limit her interaction on tumblr. I can't help but feel like LO just got bored of her own work, didn't want to put in the effort, and is now doing this song and dance for pity me points. In the past she always loves 'dunking' on hate messages, she keeps her anon open, and if she thinks it could be coming from specific sources, she could... you know. Block the messages? Even if they're on anon I think there's a way to block? Lily Orchard 'just say you don't wanna write anymore you don't have to blame imaginary people to stop writing' challenge.

if they're on anon that's actually even better than if it was with an account. on anon you can block IP, which will make the people sending mesages unable to unless they change devices and most people won't bother. when they write from an account they just need to make a new one and continue on like nothing happened. having said that, nobody should be sending that many messages or harassment LO or anyone's way. i hope that by now that is clear enough and nobody tries to say that kind of harassment is totally harmless or can be easily ignored, because nobody knows until they're at the end of it. returning to LO... she has done this... three times already i want to say? she says that either her projects receive negative attention or no attention at all or not the actual kind of attention she wants, she threatens to scrap it entirely, lashes out to people attempting to give her positive attention and then continues on like nothing happened. if any of this coincides with some other serious claim made against LO, then you can expect she's attempting to make herself the victim so people will ignore her potential victims to try to comfort her. she wrote a fatphobic bio for a fat character while giving herself props for writing a fat character at all. people pointed how this was still fatphobic, she got mad and gave up that character while making herself the center of attention. i feel like something similar is happening here, specifically around aliana, and i... just don't find it on myself to sympathize that much when that is a violent colonizer whose author has absolutely refused to acknowledge as being in the wrong about anything ever her conception. when people, including black people, have tried to criticize her for years and all they got was being treated as vultures or stalkers. at least Lacey had the potential to be positive fat representation. alina was a poorly conceived concept that was written even worse. if LO much prefer to scrap projects entirely and make a show of pity for herself rather than try to impove any of them... then so be it. hopefully she'll find something else that won't be full of racist implications. as a little side note, this is what her side bar looks now_

LO has deleted the part about about trying to deter minors from interacting with her content. let's cross fingers that at least she'll attempt to keep minors away from her own volition.

[theanimeview]

[Analysis] The Remarried Empress: A Victim Of Circumstance

Source: The Remarried Empress, Chapter 51

By: Casea Smith | @coffeewithkrow

While the Remarried Empress has been on a well-deserved hiatus, I’ve been reading it over again. I find that re-reading is always interesting because it gives you the chance to see if you might come out with a different opinion or point of view, especially now that you have had some foresight into future events. While I’ve reconsidered my thoughts and feelings on some things in my latest re-read, one thing hasn’t changed and that’s my opinion of Rashta.

Oh, Rashta. The most hated female character in the entire webcomic. Reading the comments wherein she’s often nicknamed “Trashta,” you may be convinced she’s the most hated female character in general. I do understand the criticisms directed at her, however I find it errs toward vitriol and I simply cannot bring myself to the same boiling point when I see her to be a misunderstood victim of her circumstances

Am I saying Rashat is perfect? No.

Source: The Remarried Empress

The makings of a fairytale became a reality for her. Though I don’t believe she truly loves Sovieshu, the Emperor, love isn’t required in order for her to have been sold on this fantasy. Keep all of this in mind as I believe her character flaws stem from this very point.

Rashta has many character flaws, she certainly puts the “Rash” in her name by making quick decisions without thinking about the consequences of her actions. She’ll impulsively lie and be deceptive for reasons that can be vexing for most. She also puts a lot of stock in what people think of her, often leaning into paranoia rather than self-reflection. Moreover, she will position herself to be pitied and doted on by the Emperor.

Petty and annoying things, assuredly. However I don’t believe that these flaws are worthy of such strong disdain, particularly in the beginning episodes of the webcomic.

Source: The Remarried Empress, Chapter 36

He actively pitted Rashta against the Empress as he would make a scene over every small thing Navier did. He painted it as though the Empress despised Rashta and was scheming to get rid of her from the start. I believe this caused Rashta to feel the need to lie about Navier’s acceptance of her to save face with the nobles, as well as paint the Empress as a villain to Sovieshu.

Source: The Remarried Empress, Chapter 17

Anything she perceives as a risk, no matter how benign it may look on the surface, is detrimental to her well-being, not just a minor concern that can be overlooked. You can find examples of this behavior in Chapters 17 and 18. Viscount Lotteshu, who used to own Rashta, threatened his way into meeting with her after making a scene at the party about her origins.

Source: The Remarried Empress, Chapter 44

Through her experiences as a slave and how she is treated thereafter, I believe this is what shapes her opinion of how nobles and royalty behave. They are either sickeningly sweet or horrendously wicked. They may dote on her one moment and the next be plotting for her downfall–and, for Rashta, it is a very steep fall. She is nearly powerless to her circumstance as she is in a constant state of potentially losing everything.

Yes, Rashta lies. Yes, she’ll do petty things to Navier. Yes, she schemes in order to keep herself in her position. However, she is tortuously navigating her way through a world she had lucked into, a world she was never prepared to enter.

Navier, in stark contrast to Rashta, was raised for the sole purpose of being an Empress. She was taught and prepared to handle issues with a level of decorum and intention behind everything she does. Meanwhile, Rashta never had such training and possibly can’t even begin to grasp these concepts as she attempts to, essentially, cosplay the role of a noble that’s been thrust upon her by current circumstances.

Source: The Remarried Empress, Chapter 35

Rashta is blinded by her suffering as she impulsively does dishonest and questionable things. Her actions and the actions of Sovieshu are all adding up, plummeting her into a downward spiral in later chapters. Though she never had tact to begin with, her means of avoiding trauma become even more careless and messy. This is a type of hell all on its own, as her attempts to run away from her pain are causing her to careen right toward it. Yet, that’s why I like her as a character, because she is an example of there being no such thing as a “perfect victim.”

Rashta may be flawed, but that doesn’t make her any less of a victim. She has no right to be absolved from any consequences, but I do believe she deserves a little more empathy from readers than what she garners now.

[ronanwazlib]

even though i’m no longer as active here, nor do i currently write fic, i’ve wrestled with the repercussions of continuing to engage in the marauders/hp fandoms (such as just leaving this blog up and archiving my older fanworks here or on ao3 with disclaimers) after everything jkr has said and done (and continues to do) despite the extreme importance and comfort they once provided me. obviously, this decision has created a divide both in fan spaces and between average tumblr users over whether one should completely give up everything harry potter altogether or if you can denounce j*anne while still maintaining your presence in the fandom (either as a creator/artist/writer or just an observer) because it does not directly benefit the author monetarily as licensed merchandise and games, box office and book sales, or theme park attractions do.

the author has stated she sees any sort of support for her series as support for her beliefs or approval by fans that she’s justified in her behavior. i personally disagree with this, as i know better than she does how i feel about her politics and her bigotry, despite the fact that there is still an emotional attachment to fanon versions of her characters for me, and i already know she’d see all the ways in which i once enjoyed them as not supportive but mockery or bastardization or something. still, it must be taken into account. i don’t want to speak for minority groups i am not myself a part of on whether each individual is “valid” in reclaiming hp or not as that isn’t my place. as it is, i personally struggle enough with whether it’s okay to retain some sentimentality for the fandom and series at all as a queer person and whether i’m “trans enough” for it to be seen as justified. that is something we all must decide for ourselves and help each other to conclude. so although i’m not here to try and convince you one way or the other, i will recognize there IS an undeniable, tangible (if not financial) impact of creating fanworks and engaging in fandom practices. she has perpetuated so, so much harm, and her series itself was and has always been, rife with problematic themes, imagery, and worldbuilding. it is not enough to simply say you “reclaim” hp and put “jk sucks” in your bio; if you’re going to remain in the fandom you have to actively speak out against the systems she supports and upholds today and be critical of the flaws within the series itself. if you cannot completely let hp go right now, i encourage you to renounce jkr’s beliefs always, entirely stop supporting her through purchases or words, and contribute to lgbt/jewish/bipoc rights through donations to verified charities + legal support and/or their ability to survive and thrive through mutual aid funds so long as you continue to keep the hp series culturally relevant. it’s the least we can do, really.

of course i recognize this viewpoint will likely be upsetting to some who may want to block me. i completely respect that. i also welcome civil discussion in the replies, however i refuse to respond to discourse or trolling as that is a response to conflict i am actively trying to unlearn.

as always, terfs/bigots/homophobes/racists/antisemites are NOT welcome here

[crystalelemental]

I have finished all of the Final Fantasy Pixel Remasters. That was pretty fun! Honest to god my initial reaction is to replay some of them immediately but I should probably put some distance on that. No promises. The last time I played most of these was...the GBA/DS remakes. So a while ago. Thoughts on each below.

Final Fantasy 1 Easily my favorite iteration of the game. I'm going to be honest with you, FF1 doesn't have a ton in its favor, but the game is simplified enough that, with the new mechanics, I can turn off all encounters, hit 4x EXP, just do boss fights, trapped chests, and forced encounters, and be done with the game in like 3 hours. If I'm ever just craving a quick thing, this is as quick as it gets, with none of the frustration.

Yeah, I'm gonna be honest, this is a common theme so to avoid repeating myself I'll say it once here: random encounters suck. It's why FF12 has been my favorite since it came out; I can just see where enemies are and explore how I wish, without getting bombarded by bullshit and back attacks and whatever else is going on. Turning those off as needed is divine. The tradeoff is that for some games, you then lose sense of progression and what level you are "supposed" to be at for what you're doing, and in those situations the 4x EXP is nice for quick grinding to catch you up. I will admit, however, that this can completely break the flow of the game, so I did try to keep encounters on at all times for most games, but I am more than satisfied going "fuck I'm lost again" and just turning off encounters for a minute while I get my bearings. This game just doesn't broadly appeal beyond its quick nature, so I'm more than satisfied just doing the boss run.

Final Fantasy 2 To avoid talking about the random chance level ups, I'm instead going to talk about two other things that make this my least favorite in the set: dungeon layout, and why you can't let me have things.

Dungeon layout is the fair criticism. Dungeons are overly complex and a pain in my ass to navigate. This is another I eventually broke and just turned off encounters while exploring, just because it was too many of them. Get the fuck out of my face, man, I'm trying to backtrack seven different staircases. Also the rooms. Almost all of them are empty, but you gotta check in case there's treasure, but if it is empty enjoy higher encounter rates for no real reason other than punishing your curiosity, you fool. It's just an overall frustrating experience with the randomness of stat boosts, and the pitifully slow grind of leveling spells.

The other is my own fault. Yeah, if there's one thing I remembered about this game from the Dawn of Souls era, it was the post-game heaven dungeon where you start as Minwu, and really want to be prepared. Early Mysidia felt like a must, and I decided fuck it, I remember how to do this, and prepared myself accordingly. Long story short, don't do this. You'll set yourself up for a position of being wildly overpowered the entire game, especially if you're an idiot, break after directions were given, forget where you're going and wind up going north to another high level area that gets you even more powerful, and now the whole thing is shot to shit. I like sequence breaking games, but I feel like this one is way more severe with any understanding of what you can get away with. And I will always optimize the fun out of my experience. Never let me do things.

Final Fantasy 3 This was my favorite experience. I played damn near the entire game without even touching the toggle for encounters. FF3 is a ton of fun. I enjoy getting to mess with customization options like the classes, and the lack of JP (ABP, whatever) makes it a lot more fluid. Sure, there's job level, but job level amounts to nothing. It's minor increases for the longer you work as that class, and it's nice but insubstantial. Which means it's fluid and engaging, because I can fun around and never find out anything too bad. Which is what I want; free flowing experimentation. I understand the original had some kind of penalty for job switching too often? Glad they got rid of that garbage.

If there's any strikes against it, it's class balance and the final dungeon. Crystal Tower into World of Darkness is like a 2+ hour affair, without save points, and Autosave doesn't carry over if you turn the game off. Do not do as I did and go in like an hour and a half before your usual winding down before bed time. You will not make it. Class balance is a bit of a mixed bag.

On the one hand, compared to 5, 3's classes tend to overlap a lot. The Earth Crystal is literally nothing but pure upgrades on early classes. Black/White Mage become Wizards gaining better offensive stats and more spell slots for higher tier spells, while Summoner is just Evoker with competence. Knight is just Fighter but better. Black Belt is just Monk but better. As a result, it distills into only a handful of meaningful distinctions anyway, with a couple offshoot classes that...suck. They suck. Ranger has no good weapons for late-game, Geomancer is a great mage alternative until endgame when everything's single-target, I have no idea what the point of Scholar is but I don't agree with it. I don't consider this a truly hideous detriment, but it lacks the same level of shenanigans 5 gets up to.

Final Fantasy 4 Fun fact: before 12 came out, this was my favorite, because I found it easy enough to be engaging, including the GBA superdungeon which was the only one I could beat, and Rydia was my baby child favorite. That last part is still true. The thing I didn't seem to remember is how...weird the story actually was. Like it's not particularly great. I don't think it's terrible, but it's not great. Mostly Kain's whole deal irritates me now.

But it is still fun! I think it's a much different experience. The moon still took forever to explore, but thanks to save points actually existing, you can break between things. Boss fights feel appropriately more difficult than most random encounters, with a decent number of gimmick bosses that require a bit more know-how to handle, and a few dungeons you can do out of sequence in the underground if you're ambitious. I think it's a very simple game to understand, with a pretty clear-cut approach to success. That said, there's like no customization. Characters are as they are, there's really nothing to consider aside from level. And your party is set, so there's no variation on what you can do.

Final Fantasy 5 5 was another really fun experience, though I cushion that with a major caveat. 5 was fun because of the toggle for 4x ABP, which made leveling jobs to find out what they did actually tolerable. Without this, job levels are unbearably hard to level up, with no indication of what you actually learn per level, that you may as well be shooting in the dark.

See, the fun of 5 is that you have your class, and you have one extra ability slot, taken from other class skills unlocked by leveling them up. For magic classes, that's "Magic Type Lv X," up to 6, where you can cast everything in that category. For physical classes, this is usually some form of "Equip my weapon type," alongside generalist skills. Some are better than others, and some are action commands that are much, much stronger, and are the basis for making really strong outcomes.

This is why I don't love the system as much as 3. To find out what you even have access to, you're made to slog through the physical classes to find out what other skills they're offering. Which takes somewhere around literally forever. Bosses will hand you like 5BP, for classes that need like 700 to max. If you don't know in advance where the good stuff is, there's a chance you've walked into options you don't need.

Granted, 5 is lax enough broadly that you can still make use of classes. Unlike 3's direct upgrades over time, 5 gives you almost all classes early, and all of them have interesting options for utility. So you can make use of anything. I think for my completionist ass, I'm looking at Omega and Shinryu and going fuck dude, how are you supposed to beat that without foreknowledge of some of the skills available? Wildly over-leveling? In a game with fairly poor EXP yields where I think I ended at around level 40? Not happening. Otherwise, the class imbalance isn't too bad, and is in some cases hysterical. You know there's a setting to toggle 4x gil received? Zeninagi on Samurai was already an instant-kill button half the time, and now you've made it a free action. Meanwhile summon magic late game feels kinda garbage. Flare and Holy outdamaged Bahamut no problem. It is really funny to see this reversal from 4. From Rydia's summons being bad all game because they're just overpriced spells on your Black Mage but endgame Bahamut being defining, to excellent low-cost AoE spells with good damage early and mid-game into kinda useless by endgame. It's just funny to see systems like these change over time, and how they try to adjust for balance.

I do think this was a surprisingly strong story and cast, too. I only remembered it being kinda goofy compared to the others as a kid, but having re-visited, I think it's a lot more earnest and impactful than I gave it credit for.

Final Fantasy 6 I'll be honest, it's very good, but depending on my mood, I'd say I like 3 and 5 better. I like being able to customize, and I think I actually like FF5's cast and story better than 6.

6 succeeds on being competent at everything, even if it's not the strongest in everything. Its story is well told and it sticks to its general themes of love and loss, and finding meaning in a bleak world. But I also think 5 did the "Defeat Nihilism through the Power of Connection" thing with a more diverse cast and emphasis on friendships and general human spirit, while 6 seems to focus more on romance and family in a way that makes a lot of character histories sound very same-y, in that a big chunk is "and then they died." There's a bit of customization, as far as selecting which members to bring along and how you distribute magicite for learning magic, but nowhere near the level of complexity you can find in 5. I'd also say the AP system in 6 is wildly slow, but at least there it's more concentrated to "just learn the spells you need" and you actually know exactly what you're signing up for. Though I personally don't care for making decisions between good spells or good stats early on, my min-maxing ass is bad with these kinds of things. I know it's a problem.

I do think it has an inverse problem to 5, where the random encounters feel devastating in several locations, but only one boss ever gave me any difficulty, and it was because I was suffering from success (It was the tunnel digger in Locke's route early game; turns out if you have the Hermes Sandals on him or Celes the Runic timing gets thrown off and it cooks you, but without that it's super easily won; my bad but for stupid reasons, I feel). Almost every game over was due to back attacks, which are damn near constant in this game. Some areas I counted and literally had more sneak attacks on me than regular encounters. Meanwhile, bosses go down like sacks of shit, because magic is hysterically overpowered. Yeah yeah, Kefka's god now or whatever, but can he survive Relm Dualcasting Flare for max damage twice per round? No, he's just going to eat shit from this level 40 ten-year-old? Radical. This may be personal preference, but if FF1's blurb wasn't an indication, I much prefer "easy encounters, difficult bosses." Ideally, no encounters. Just ping-pong me from boss to boss. I feel like I could actually do that in 6 if it wasn't for AP needed to learn spells.

Future Plans I'm thinking of getting 7 and 9 if they ever go on sale again. I really don't want to play 8. I remember playing 8, my wife had commented on it being a formative game for her so I played it long, long ago before we were even dating, but it was so bad I can't do it again. 10 I'm on the fence about, because I do like the gameplay for 10, but we tried watching a playthrough of 10 and she couldn't stand it so maybe not. My laptop is dying, and so is my wife's, so we've tossed around finally getting a proper PC that can like...play games and shit. So who knows, maybe I'll finally play past 12 in this series. Miracles do happen.

[mistbow]

toz negativity rant

it's honestly really disingenuous to say that Z fans can never take criticism and that they always take things too personally when the loudest voices (but ultimately I believe are minority) are always about how bad it is and that the fan environment is not healthy at all when genuinely expressing even the slightest bit of positivity about it in a very unapologetically subjective manner often makes people hostile towards the Z Liker (Opinion Haver), which is far worse than people expressing annoyance at constant negativity surrounding it because at the very least it's still in their own spaces (you don't have to like/agree with everyone, and the least you could do is just leave each other alone. who the heck cares if you like that anime for example, I'm not saying it's wrong as long as you don't bother anyone else. this is actually a proper netiquette/manner in fandoms too to leave others in their spaces for their own preferences, likes/dislikes). I'm talking about unwanted attention like troll replies (both in JP and EN) or recently, something like being downvoted to hell for actually clearing up misunderstandings about Z (not even about any of the game controversies btw) objectively without arguing back (because I sure as hell am already long past convincing anyone who's hell-bent on seeing it as "bad" as actually good, we're not gonna meet eye-to-eye anyway), as if one couldn't say anything positive about it, even if it was a fact.

which is not to say that what I'm saying is a fact. I'm always putting up disclaimers (on here and anywhere else) that my opinions are very subjective. that includes interpretation, and that includes what I value or not in a game, writing, anything. I've always said that I've long accepted that what I often find "good", others often find "bad", and that's okay, but what I don't like is the insinuation that people who genuinely believe something is good must admit that it is indeed bad when you can't force feelings. and yes I say feelings because I'm honest in admitting that these are very personal, very subjective. I dunno what business do people have with me having "bad taste" because I clearly don't mind them having "good taste", just that we will never mix, and oftentimes "good taste" havers will act condescending to me (oh man I don't know how many times people, in this [Tales in general] fandom or not, have lectured me about my own cultures and languages). good for you if you have your own opinions! and I really mean this.

it's hard to put it in words but how can I say something is bad when I do feel it's fine myself? and why must I be forced to think in a way that I don't agree with? that is my actual problem with people who keep saying "Z fans are just coping and lying to themselves and others about it being Good, Actually" (which people often do despite 1) the fans can actually elaborate what they love about it, 2) the fans don't owe anyone any explanation or justification), and it's honestly no one else's business that I'm "uncritical" or whatever. what influence do I have? I barely have any followers here tbh, most are just long-time friends. bannam definitely has long decided that Z is not the way to go judging by how they keep lifting Ar and putting down Z along the way too for some reason. I'm not convincing anyone who doesn't already have Z as their favorite game, because that's pointless. and again, even if people are willing to listen to me? that's... honestly I don't even know why it's my problem tbh?

but anyway tired of people continuing misconstruing what I'm saying lol. there's an honest observation of things seemingly being lost in translation and hard to explain when it largely resonates with a group of people and not with another, but if people want to take it personally when I don't really mean anyone then okay? (though my wording might have been too passive aggressive and I genuinely apologize for that, but really, this is not anything directed/personal) this includes the execution of the narrative btw (I admittedly have really unpopular opinions on writing, judging from how I've often genuinely liked things people, to put it simply, hate). and while we're at this: despite being a part of the group, I will never speak for the entire group (long-time friends can vouch for me), because even then, values are different between each individual. being aware or even understanding doesn't always mean agreeing. the game is polarizing even in Japan after all.

people like Z for the characters, ships, potential (even what they think of wasted potential), it's fine. I personally like it most for the bigger picture of themes and messaging (this includes, yes, the execution of it) and would like to bring up that hey, maybe what you think as objectively bad isn't actually objective. you still can think of it as bad, but other perspectives exist. I happen to like the way things are even before the devs themselves had confirmed that things were intended that way, which meant I had similar perspectives and understanding to what the devs had. a lot of people don't, and that's okay, but then you have people pointing out "this is undeniably objectively bad" even though in a way they are the intended experiences and for people who enjoy it that way, it can come off as condescending too.

okay I'm trailing off because it's been a long day but maybe at this point I should start embracing being an uncritical z fan, because at the end of the day, it really still is just a videogame to me, and I'm not delusional enough to think I have enough of an impact on anyone to change their mind about z. the point is not what actual opinions I (or anyone else) have on the z itself, the point is that please just let me be for having these opinions without people making it their problem that I have these opinions. because people definitely have and are still doing it, and they're doing it when I'm talking about z only and never other games (d2 was a bit controversial when it came out because well it was a sequel lol, yet me expressing my love for what d2 did "wrong" according to people who didn't quite like it doesn't invite uncalled response), and this doesn't happen to just me.

(and yeah I will admit that I will stop caring about others' opinions as well, again I was indeed being a bit passive-aggressive and I fully own up to that. genuinely sorry if people took offense with my wording.)

but anyway back to the usual agenda lol sorry this turned out really long and not coherent at all