#and has different standards or expectations

[vaspider]

Okay, no. Absolutely not. We are not doing this sort of absolutist shit where we put the responsibility for managing someone's mental illness 100% on their friends and family and making statements like "if you need to guess if someone loves you, they don't" on a post that's clearly aimed at people with mental illnesses.

I had to come back and dig this out of the notes because this is so important and this response made me so absolutely fucking livid. I wish I could find the post that scrolled across my dash earlier today that said something along the lines of, "y'all say 'trust my gut about people but my gut tells me that everyone secretly hates me and wants to disown me.'"

That's what this post is talking about, and here's another hard-to-swallow pill: while it's okay to ask for extra support from your friends and family, your friends and family cannot read your mind and have their own shit going on and will not know that their standard means of expressing love and care to you are not what you need right now unless you tell them so. Additionally, if your brain tells you that your friends and family hate you, and you know that your brain tells you lies because you have depression, anxiety, bipolar disorder, or a similar mental illness? You need to develop coping strategies that will help you not constantly put 100% of the weight of making you feel better on your friends and family, if only because you are undoubtedly not the only mentally ill person in your circle of friends.

I have Generalized Anxiety Disorder. My wife Emet has depression, and it's real fucking bad. My brain tells me all the time that people I love are bored and irritated by my existence, and my wife's brain tells her all the time that both of her partners don't actually love her, and that we're secretly talking shit about her all the time and we'd be better off if she died. I expect support from my partners when my brain is doing bad things, because I have talked to them about my needs, clearly communicated with them, and because I will ask them when I need extra support, because I know enough to stop and say, "my brain is lying to me. My wives do not hate me. They love me. I need to tell them that I'm feeling this way so they can support me."

Sometimes they might be able to tell that I need extra care because of how I'm acting, but I can't 100% expect them to know when my brain is being terrible, because they're not psychic and my wife is also fighting her own battles against a brain that tells her that I'd be better off if she died. (That thought fucking horrifies me, it should go without saying.)

I have doubts all the time that people really love me, because my brain lies, but because I am a grown-up butch, I have put on my big-kid pants and gone to therapy and developed some coping skills that both help me to recognize when a) my brain is lying to me and b) I need to ask for extra love, care and support. Part of asking for extra love, care, and support is teaching your friends and family to recognize your signs and signals and not expecting them to fucking guess based on their own feelings, past experiences, etc., because the same way that my brain lies to me, their brains lie to them, and we all grew up with different communication styles and words meaning different things.

The shit you're saying puts the full weight of taking care of you on the people around you, flawlessly and without fail. It means that the people around you must always correctly interpret your signs and signals, never leave you in any doubt whatsoever no matter what bullshit your brain puts you through, never be tired or busy or going through their own shit, or they don't love you. That is some supremely self-centered bullshit that frankly makes someone into a toxic tar pit of a person.

So don't do that.

[lilipens]

✧. HEART IN A CUP.

Synopsis: To ensure the taste is perfect, you're invited to a tea party by Riddle himself—though, there is more than meets the eye.

Pairing: Riddle Rosehearts x Gender Neutral!Reader

Warnings / Genre: None ^_^ It’s implied Riddle has romantic interest, so it’s kinda fluff

Word Count: 1.9k

A/N: aaaaaa late post,,, partially rushed because i lost track of time but enjoy anyways and belated happy new year to all!!!

Order. Precision. Routine. These are cornerstones of Riddle’s world. An uptight schedule governs every hour, every minute, ensuring nothing is out of place. There is no room for error, no time to waste. Nevertheless, you’ve somehow managed to slip through that perfect system. He doesn’t know how, but here he is, settling aside his meticulous plans to make time for you. Not that he’d admit it aloud.

Placing the teapot down carefully, he makes sure it aligns just right with the table’s edge. It must be exactly measured as it is a step in a well-practiced routine. His focus is keen, but something feels different today. A subtle tension sits in his shoulders, betraying the calm exterior he’s trying so hard to maintain. You don’t comment on it; regardless, you can’t help but notice him peeking at you now and then.

“I trust you’ll provide an honest critique,” Riddle speaks out quickly—fairly rushed. “Your input is valuable—essential, even; not because it’s yours, of course, but because improvement demands impartial feedback.” This tea-tasting is no ordinary event, even though he’s done it countless times before. This one feels personal.

You bite back a smile. The way he’s trying so hard to sound detached is almost endearing, although you know better. There’s nothing impartial about the way he keeps glancing at you, as if gauging your every reaction.  

Riddle may hold his routine in high regard, but he’s still human, and no amount of perfectionism can mask the little cracks in his armor.

With his fingers now gently adjusting the teapot once more, he refocuses on the task at hand. The sound of liquid pouring into the cup fills the silence between you. When you lift your lips, you can still see how palpable his stare is. Riddle’s breath hitches slightly. "How is it?" he blurts out, breaking the quiet with an edge of urgency. "The balance of flavors—does it meet expectations?"

Your lips curve into a soft smile as you take another sip. The tea, for what it’s worth, is lovely. The light sweetness blooms on your tongue, a delicate balance of flavors that speaks to the careful thought he’s put into it. "It’s wonderful. The taste isn’t overpowering, and it’s not too sweet... Did you add something special?"

Riddle straightens in his seat, a flicker of pride crossing his face despite his effort to keep it neutral. He clasps his hands together in his lap, the rigid posture a reflection of the precision with which he approaches every task. "Naturally," he responds proudly, as though each word has been chosen with the utmost care. "Every blend must be unique. Heartslabyul prides itself on its exacting standards, and I made adjustments to ensure it met them."

What he doesn’t say is how many late hours he spent poring over recipe books and testing proportions, how even his own peers had begun to comment on his unusual fixation. He rationalizes it to himself, convinced this is merely an extension of his relentless pursuit of perfection. Yet, deep down, he knows it’s more than that.

When you set the cup back on its saucer in satisfaction, Riddle feels an uncharacteristic wave of relief. He glances away, feigning interest in the napkin folded neatly by his plate, smoothing its already straight edges. “However, I am glad you approve,” he adds softly.

You observe him closely, noticing his cautiously maintained disposition start to falter a bit. A fleeting vulnerability shows as his hands fidget in his lap, giving way to the nerves he’s suppressing. He’s done so much for this moment, yet it’s as though he fears it’s still not enough. You lean forward slightly, resting your elbows on the table as you meet his eyes.

“You know,” you start gently, “not everything has to be perfect. Sometimes, it’s okay to let things just... be.”

The words leave your mouth without much thought, but you can see how they settle into him. He freezes, his fingers clutching the teacup so tightly that you almost fear it might shatter. "Let things just be?" he repeats in a louder pitch, face slowly burning vivid red, before abruptly cutting off. He inhales sharply, exhaling through his nose as he tries to gather himself, to rein in whatever frustration is bubbling beneath the surface.

"Do you have any idea how—" He stops himself mid-sentence, eyes widening slightly as he realizes his tone has become far too harsh. A deep breath. Then another. He visibly forces his frustration down, his face flushing a deeper shade of crimson. "Forgive me," he apologizes stiffly, somewhat coming out restrained. "That was uncalled for."

For a second, you’re taken aback by the sudden outburst. There’s a tendency for Riddle to lose his composure in such a way, but witnessing it firsthand catches you off guard. As you watch him, you see the way his body tenses up again and his hands clench, you realize that he’s not angry at you—he’s angry at himself. The heaviness of his unyielding expectations presses on him. It’s the fear of not being enough, of not meeting the impossibly high standards he’s set for himself.

“It’s okay,” you reassure, offering an understanding smile. "I didn’t mean to upset you. I just… I want you to know that you don’t always have to try so hard." It’s how you say it that’s so simple, but they seem to cut through the tension like a knife. Riddle’s gaze softens ever so slightly, as if he’s allowing himself to let go of the tight grip he’s always kept on everything. He doesn’t respond right away, and you catch a glimpse of something deeper—something he rarely lets anyone see.

You don't push him further; instead, you sit quietly, allowing the moment to settle around you. 

Soft ticking from the clock seems louder than usual, accompanied by gentle rustling of wind outside, branches tapping lightly against the windowpane. A faint scent of tea lingers in the air, mixing with the tranquility around you. The space feels alive with stillness—your breathing, his, the distant hum of life beyond the room—all blending into a peaceful harmony that Riddle isn’t used to. His shoulders relax slightly, though the tension remains in the way he holds his cup, his posture rigid, as though still caught between a desire for order and the acceptance of the present.

Riddle holds his teacup delicately, feeling the warmth seep into his palms. He doesn’t move right away, as if holding the cup has become more of an action than part of his carefully planned routine. His gaze shifts toward you again, but this time, it carries no urgency, only quiet curiosity, as if he's trying to understand something new. His brow furrows slightly, lips pressed together as if grappling with a thought that refuses to come to the surface.

“You know,” he says after a long halt, “I’ve always been so absorbed in my routine that I never really stopped to consider... how others might see things.” He hesitates, his brow furrowing. “I never saw much point in it. Everything had to be exactly where it should be. But now, I think there’s more to it.” His eyes briefly flicker to the teapot, but this time, there’s no urge to adjust it, no need to measure the space between the spout and the edge of the table. He simply lets it be.

You watch him, your smile warm, eyes following the subtle shift in his demeanor. There’s vulnerability in him now, a crack in his polished shell that makes him seem more... human. Despite how small the step seems, you know it’s significant. This isn’t just about a teapot or a cup of tea—it’s about him allowing himself to exist without fearing that even the smallest slip will ruin everything. It feels like the most genuine connection you’ve shared.

“I guess I could stand to be a little more lenient sometimes,” he considers, somewhat willingly, though the thought alone makes his stomach twist. Disorder was something he had always worked to prevent, a disruption he could never fully tolerate. Change had never been Riddle’s strongest suit—acknowledging it was one thing, but acting on it was another entirely. Yet, he must understand that not everyone sees the world as he does.

Unable to resist, you tease him with a playful smile. “A little more lenient? I’ll believe it when I see it. I’m sure your teapot has been perfectly positioned for the next hour, hasn’t it?”

Riddle freezes for a split second, his cheeks flushing a deeper shade of red. “I... I can’t help it if I like things in order,” he stammers, attempting to cover his flustered expression with clearing his throat. You almost laugh, but the sight of him—the way his usual demeanor forfeits—makes you pause. It’s the first time you’ve seen him so unguarded, like he’s letting someone inside without the usual barricades.

Leaning forward slightly, you smirk. “It’s alright, Riddle. I think I’ll enjoy watching you try to let go of some of those... habits.”

A sigh escapes him, this time more in resignation. “I suppose... one could attempt to be a bit more flexible.” His tone softens, though there’s a subtle strain to it, as though admitting this is a minor yet monumental step for him. He doesn’t meet your gaze, but his words hang in the air between you, carrying a hint of vulnerability you never thought he’d show.

A small, satisfied smile tugs at your lips. “Good. You’ll get there eventually.”

Crossing your legs on the chair, you watch as he fiddles with his cup again, a slight tremor in his fingers as he tries to regain his cool. There’s something strangely comforting in the way he does it—like a part of him is still holding on, not quite ready to let go of his habits. The tension remains, but it’s less oppressive now. For once, he isn’t rushing to make everything perfect. In lieu, it feels like he’s taking his time, just a little.

Riddle looks at you again, though his hands still move with a touch more uncertainty. "I don't know how long I'll last," he mutters, half to himself. "But I'll try."

“Good enough for me,” you retort with a wink, glad to see a crack in his carefully constructed walls. "I’ll hold you to it." 

Although Riddle is still not entirely comfortable, there’s a tiny shift in him. He seems to settle into the gentleness of the atmosphere. The weight of the day’s tension slips away, even if just for now. The room no longer feels like a battleground for control—it feels like a place where two people can exist without expectations, without the need for everything to be perfect.

When he speaks again, his voice is grounded with the faintest trace of a smile tugs at the corner of his mouth. "Next time, we’ll see how well I manage…. without the rules.”

“Next time?” You raise an eyebrow. “So you’re not throwing out your schedule just yet, huh?”

Riddle’s lips twitch. "One step at a time, of course."

He turns his attention to you, and something shifts in his eyes—like he’s sharing a secret. Then, realizing how rare this is, he looks away quickly. His equanimity returns, though not as fierce as before. It’s better now. More honest.

“Don’t worry, I’m sure I’ll manage,” he guarantees, less forced.

You lean back in your chair, the contentment of seeing him take that first step settling in your chest. "I think I’d like to see you try."

At last, it feels like time is finally on both of your sides. The rigidness that once controlled begins to fade, and regardless of the fact you don't expect an overnight change, you sense more serenity. For the first time, Riddle seems to be easing up. And you'll be here to witness it.

© lilipens

[urautismdiagnosis]

Peso

Peso my lil Habibi <3 <3 <3

hes just a top tier character

my Hispanic coded son, mylil guy who's learning how to believe in himself

i just I lovepeso guys he's so pure and supportive and caring and lighthearted and silly and he's really doing his best??

he could probably cure my mentally illness with a bandage I'm sure

imgonna be so real I think he has game tho, like I'm 300% he could pull any maiden

he can become friends with like any sea creature too probably

hes my hero and my son and I think he low-key judges everyone internally

cuz like idk if y'all have met people who refuse to swear out loud verbally and hate confrontation, but the internal dialogue omg

i just know one of these days if he gets pushed too far hes gonna threaten someone with his slappity flippers

like y'all know the look birds do where they just sideye you??

that glance???

i think he does that whenever people do things that are stupid

like he loves them all dearly but shellington why would you touch The THing That Will Hurt you, no shellington you cant eat that for science-

Also I think he and dashi would listen to music together i think they might spend evenings relaxing together. I mean their rooms are right next to eachother so like I'm sure they've had some lovely little evening conversations and stuff 🥰 i can just imagine dashi tryna teach peso yoga and like 😩🙏his penguin body wasn't built for it but he still slays

Hes like the little sibling but in the actually I am the most mature way???

I think its cuz he looks up to alot of the other members (altho he's definitely gotten alot more confident as the show has progressed) but he also like..

He gives me the vibes of the oldest sibling of not just the siblings but of all the cousins??? This might just be me projecting but like why did u even become a medic for such a wide range of medical creatures and sign up to join the newly formed highly experimental water nasa???

I think he probably had alot of high expectations on himself because everyone just always believed he could do anything. And that sounds super supportive in theory but when ur like tryna be the oldest and first one to support ur family and everyone is always looking at u because like.. most other people in ur family are younger or ehatever.. that pressure and extra attention can cause alot of perfectionism and high self standards

That mixed with being The Caretaker in your family especially as a child is a pretty good recipe for getting anxious about any big goal in your life and how others perceive you. I think he tried to like humble himself by saying oh no I'm not really capable of all those amazing things so pls don't have those huge expectations hahaha but then it just turned into not believing in himself as much???

Also we slay genuinely caring and kind people having alot of pent up frustration they never show because they love everyone too much. It still hurts inside tho.

Anyways uhhhhhhhhhhh this totally ain't me projectin or anythin.

also hes like a mixed kid, but he's mostly gentoo penguin id say based on my own design

speaking of penguins I think that their homes would be actually made of stone lol. Their homes would have like different smaller homes for privacy around like communal areas.. they still gotta deal with predstors like albatross or ehstever tho. But their albatross for example might work in groups or even be larger.

Friendly reminder my lore for the octonauts is a bit different than the Canon. Sure People People being like hunted is wayyyy less common than irl but They're basically still playing their evolutionary roles kinda like how we see with sea otters in the show.

I'm gonna make the post for their social norms and etc on this within the next few days actually lol but back to peso

Do u guys ever think peso wouldve jumpscared the crew by being like "oh no the shelf is too tall!" And then busting out the "hey did you know that penguin legs are just folded and much horrifically longer than ud think they are?" On them 😩🙏

"Wh- why would ye show me this??"

" because no one will ever believe you"

Hes very sweet but I think he deserves to be a little bit of a sneaky sht

If uve made it this far thanks for reading the brainrot I hope it was comprehensible pls lmk ur headcanons about him cuz I need more ngl

[wings-and-beskargam]

Since this response got out of hand, I'm giving it its' own post.

It's dangerous to ask a maker (artist?) about their processes @lonewolflupe @ulchabhangorm. But since you're curious, please accept my very first:

All of the pictured things were 3D printed by me on my FDM printer (Bambu Labs A1), including the teeny helmets. The non-helmet bits are pieces of Tech's armour. I'm currently building a Tech kit for 501st Legion approval. I "like" Crosshair and Scorch the most, but I am "most like" Tech. /sigh

I do! (Mostly) All of the armour parts of Archers' kit were 3D printed and finished by me on my FDM printer, with the exception of my pauldrons which were resin printed by someone else, but finished by me. I initially began making the kit for a Halloween costume, challenged by a coworker to a work-Halloween costume contest, but ended up meeting a couple vode from the Mando Mercs club (MMCC). I was invited (gently coerced?) to complete the kit to their standards and join the club. I'm in that process now, but still have a few things to finish before I gain Official Member status. 🙂

I made a lil' Boba candy bucket!!

3. I mostly print with PLA+. I can print with PETG, ABS, and other materials but my printer is running inside a spare room and I'm not set up with an enclosure or awesome ventilation yet to print with materials which off gas more toxic VOCs. Although PETG would be stronger for a buy'ce that is going to be worn PLA+ works just fine for most folks who are not in very hot conditions. (PLA will sag and melt in high heat) . The first time I wore my full kit, I was at work, and did a full day of fieldwork in it. The whole kit survived apart from one of the thrusters on my jetpack which I accidentally busted off while putting it back in the kit box (adhesive failure, I should have used hardware but I was in a rush to finish it before Halloween) . All fixed now! PLA would be just fine for printing teeny and/or decorative helmets. Just don't toss full size ones onto the floor off of a shelf (ask me how I know).

4. You can get STLs for clone helmets in all the places you'd expect (cults, thingiverse, etc) and from vendors on Etsy. Be careful, though, some of those files are stolen, and some are REALLY terrible and inaccurate. I usually avoid 'free' files, as for things as complex as helmets often end up being more costly in other ways, or are just not the quality I want. Galactic Armory has a nice selection of clone helmets (I have..... all of them. /embarrassment). Marko of Mystery Makers has really great Bad Batch (and other SW) helmets. He always tries to go a step beyond other modelers with his designs, both with functionality and accuracy. The Crosshair and RC helmet in my original post are both printed from Mystery Makers files. The RC helmet is the closest to the game design available, and the Cross helmet has a super cool functional rangefinder (like the different lenses are there and flip up and down, not just the whole rangefinder stalk moving). The Tech helmet is printed from Galactic Armory files, as are the rest (with the exception of Archers helmet which is AlterEgo, if I recall). The teeny helmets are printed from the full size files, just scaled down to 25%. I wouldn't' try to print these on an SLA/LCD resin printer, because the supports would be a nightmare I think, but it works just fine on an FDM printer. The most difficult part is printing the teeny greeblies for them which are super teeny at 25%. I almost always end up breaking the lil' rangefinder stalks, and am pretty sure I've lost the tusks for Rex's helmet more than once.

Cross WIP (Mystery Makers) with teeny (30%) Cross (Galactic Armory) 💙 Guess how many times I broke that teeny rangefinder stalk? Yeah. Four. 😖

Likewise, guess how many times I broke and lost the SUPER TEENY antennae on Tiny Tech's helmet? 😫

5. The visors in the full size helmets are generally welding/grinding replacement shields (Hobart brand, usually - available on Amazon). They are dark enough to obscure the wearers face and can be fairly easily cut to shape and installed. Tech's visor and goggle lenses are cut yellow acrylic, and in my original post still have the protective backing on them as they aren't 'officially' installed yet - which I why you can't see through them.

The visors for the full-size RC boys are more complicated. I believe the exact details of how I’ve been taught to do it are considered proprietary 🥺😏. To achieve the “Flirtation Mask” effect, two visors, a diffuser, and a strip of LEDs are installed in a very secret, not so secret, way. I’m working on a Scorch bucket, full size, and will have help to do this for the first time. Stay tuned. 😆 For the teeny helmets I use automotive window tint for the visors. It's easier to cut and bend into tiny shapes to fit inside the helmets. I got some blue stuff for the commando helmets, which should look cool once I install the lights. 😎

Teeny Gregor bucket WIP, with blue window tint FLIRTATION MASK 💙

6. The lil helmet stand under teeny Keeli (which I'm making for @eobe) is printed from a file from Galactic Armory. It's been through the ringer, because I use it to hold all the little helmets while I'm spray painting them and letting them cure. It did look nice when it was newer, and has the republic cog on the base. There is also a wall-mounted version which I have printed to hang Archer's helmet. I'll probably make more for the other helmets eventually.

7. VPLs (Visible Print Lines) are the enemy! As an MMCC member, it has been drilled into me that VPLs are evil and must be vanquished with extreme violence. I try to finish everything (with the exception of the flexi things people keep asking me to make) to an excellent standard with no VPLs - including the teeny helmets.

Raw Phase 1 (Animated) clone helmet and RC (Scorch) helmet). My printer does an excellent job, but still there are VPLs to be dealt with!

8. This question - how to get rid of VPLs could warrant it's own post. There are SO MANY techniques - some good, some NOT - but which ones you use depends largely on your print characteristics and what you intend to do with it. A lot of people lately have been recommending bathing the entire piece in a Bondo spot putty and acetone slurry several times until the lines are filled. I DO NOT recommend doing this for a piece that you intend to wear. I experimented with this and found out that after a small amount of wear the bondo likes to expel your paint in large chips, leaving ugly bondo-red spots behind. It would probably work ok for decorative pieces though. Other people have used UV curing resin to coat pieces to fill VPLs. It works, but UGH that stuff is toxic to touch and breathe, and it needs to be properly washed and cured, and cured some more. It's also much more difficult to sand than automotive body work products (which in all fairness are also toxic to breathe and touch - WEAR YOUR PPE).

My general process for armour pieces is to remove supports and then roughly sand (120 grit) only the really rough spots (like things that were overhangs or had a lot of supports). Sanding happens with a combination of sanding papers, sanding sticks, and needle files - depending on the piece. I then adhere pieces together (if they were printed in pieces like some of the larger full-size helmets) with plastic bonder. Seams are filled with Bondo plastic metal or EverCoat depending on the piece and I often plastic weld and staple the inside for strength. The seams are then sanded smooth. After I'm happy with the smoothness of the seams the entire piece will get 2-3 coats of automotive high-build filler primer (from a rattle can, though I have used the 1:4 mix stuff and brushed it on - I'd only recommend this with a large piece as that stuff REALLY fills things in quick - including the things you don't want it to) and a wet sand to 320 grit. At this point most of the print lines are filled, but stubborn areas, such as the top of the dome may still necessitate more coats. I generally end up applying 5 coats of filler primer, wet sanding between them. Following the final coat of filler primer, I'll wet sand again to about 400 grit (much more if we're going for the Beskar finish which needs a SUPER SMOOTH finish to work) and then put on a coat of regular primer. Black for helmets that will be dark (Most of the CF99 boys), and white for the other clone helmets. At this point they should be completely VPL free and ready for greebly installation and the "real" paint job. This process takes me at least a few days on full-size helmets as the paints have to cure between sanding and reapplication, and painting has to happen outside in good conditions. It's not inexpensive, but it is the most efficient and long-lasting way to do it, in my experience.

Cross helmet WIP. You can see the seam just under the visor cut out. This one printed in three pieces and needed ALL the seam filling and sanding. The pinkish and grey stuff are body fill products to fill in rough spots and seam lines. If you look at the last photo - of the same helmet - you can see they did a decent job of hiding that there was a seam. 😊

9. I use a lot of automotive products and paint. Since all my full size helmets are mean to be worn they need to be finished to a fairly high standard and be relatively tough. Archer's helmet body was finished entirely with Rustoleum brand filler primer and four layers of metallic paints (all rattle cans). The blue on the front was a Montana brand acrylic rattle can, and the copper parts (ear caps, rangefinder stalk) were enamel paint (Alclad copper) airbrushed on. The weathering - chips and scratches - were achieved by layering on a liquid latex medium between coats, so that when it was peeled off it revealed small bits of the coats beneath. It gives the damage a more realistic look than painting silver 'scratches' on after the fact. This liquid latex medium can be used to give the paint applied to clone helmets the chipped look to their painted designs as seen in the animation. It's a little more challenging to do in small scale though. After all the top coat paints are applied, I'll seal them in with a clear layer of satin or gloss sealant (rattle can). After that, I'll go over the entire piece with an acrylic black wash to make it look "dirty" and worn. 😅. After all that process, padding, visors, and electronics (HUD lights, fans, voice amps) are installed if needed. The whole thing is pretty time-consuming. I now understand why quality finished helmets cost as much as they do. My teeny helmets are all finished as I described above in the VPL section, but I use acrylics hand-painted on with a brush to apply the designs. In the animation versions of these helmets, particularly in TBB, the helmets all look like they've been (roughly) hand painted, so this technique works ok, I think. I apply the chipping and weathering at edges with dry brushing acrylics. I could apply a liquid latex mask and airbrush them, but eh. I'm using these little guys as fairy light "lanterns". They're super cute with the light showing a bit through the visors, particularly Tech. :)

The Teeny Batch boys that I've got finished. Echo is coming, he just needs his top coat and weathering. :D

Lil' Keeli almost finished, with his unfinished rangefinder. Have not broken the stalk yet! /cheer 🎉

10. Acrylics brand? Hmm... I've used the Montana Gold rattle can acrylics which some of the MMCC mandos seem to like. I'm not sure if the ones I got were duds, but I wasn't super impressed. The cans did a lot of spitting and messed up my paint a few times. My brush on acrylics are Liquitex or Golden. Both can be thinned and airbrushed, and are more costly than cheap crafting brands but are more highly pigmented and last longer (plus the finish is nicer).

11. Base colour is whatever primer I finish with - white or black, depending on what color the final piece will be. For Mando helmets, the base colour is a metallic silver, so that when I peel off the liquid latex layers, the pint chips down to “bare metal/beskar”. Since clone helmets are plastioid, the base colour for them remains white or black.

12. I finish with a rattle can sealant. Satin finish usually, but that depends on the look you want. Always try to stick with the same brand of primer, paint, and sealant. Different brands have different chemistry - accelerants and so on, and can, and often do react with one another. The frustration of having to sand down a piece that was almost finished cannot be described.

To avoid paint heartache, always also paint in good conditions. Temperature, humidity, wind, etc can all ruin you day and paint job. Please also always wear your PPE!

13. Are they? I hope they are. They sure are a labour of love, and much work - but it makes me happy to make them and to look at them. 😅

I'm very fond of Archer's buy'ce, and the whole kit really. It was the first one I 'finished' (every mando's kit is an ongoing WIP - forever), and the process of making it kept me focused on something positive during a rough time in my life. Wearing it is super fun! Ibic Manda!

WOW that got lengthy, so sorry! I had ALL the questions when I started, and a lot of the info you need is hard to find or in bits and pieces all over the internet. If you have any other questions, feel free to ask! I can only share my experience, but I have spent a huge amount of 2024 working on these for what that's worth. 🫣

[lorata]

This is so random, but what are some of your victors’ handwriting like? And how does their use of language differ from one another (regarding accents, vocabulary, cursing etc.)?

you know what, i've never considered their handwriting before

honestly they're probably pretty terrible! they're an uneducated bunch, most of them checked out around age 10-11, and everyone left school at 13. some finished their education post-victory (like odin or adessa) but most ....... did not*. a lot of them have undiagnosed learning disabilities as well (emory, brutus, claudius, likely others) and others have adhd (misha, devon at LEAST)

(*technically they have a super lopsided education because if you're a mentor you have to take stats, but you don't need like ....... the other mandatory high school classes, so they have these random analytics courses but have never written an essay longer than a hamburger)

odin and callista canonically have good penmanship. hera probably does also. adessa you'd THINK because she's so educated but no, she writes like a doctor's prescription pad, and only beetee can understand anything. emory has large, careful, childlike handwriting because she was illiterate and learned to write post-arena

the language question is REALLY hard to answer in an ask, lol. like, if you read a scene with a bunch of dialogue you'll see how the various characters speak, or even POVs will have their narrative voice, but trying to break it down outside of actual fiction is like ........... idk man

nero, brutus, emory and devon all have rural accents; the centre trains it out of them but they come back to it once they win, though devon is such a sponge that he keeps district standard more until he visits home and then suddenly oh there it is. lyme grew up with one but trained out of it herself, HARD. misha was a townie, ditto petra, enobaria and adessa. odin, hera, and calli all have the upper class accent. claudius would have if his mom hadn't kicked him out at seven - which hilariously means he sounds more like that in the no-Residential 14yo victor AU

vocabulary is more about persona. people expect adessa and odin to use larger words and so they do; brutus and nero, meanwhile, aren't, and so they don't, and this is mostly fine. but every so often brutus will drop a $5 word or adessa a real ugly swear just to remind you that what you're seeing isn't everything

(they can all perform district and panem standard as part of their official persona and mimic capitol dialect, though the latter is mostly for fun/mockery/sarcasm/making a point)

[rizzy-reads]

For context I have taken my cat to a vet multiple times for this and there is no health issue. I'm very slowly testing litter box options to see if there are any that stop her from doing this. And also she used to be a feral cat.

[baronboar]

Descriptive text:

A series of infographics this page reads as follows: Worldbuilding: How can a furry setting handle size differences? In my setting of Firnus, few countries have attempted to create a society free from disparity. Waizentrum gets pretty close! [IMG: three different anthropomorphic people, a mustel, like a pine marten is the shortest, barely up to the knee of the third person and a little over half as tall as the second who is a pointy eared rat called a Gilter, the third is a big-cat like a lioness with a floofy tail who is a Panthera.]

Waizentrum's first currency: the THU12.7 marl. While fit for Gilter, the Mustel have difficulty holding more than one in a hand. Yet if the coin is made any smaller the Panthera have difficulty handling them with their less dexterous fingers. Since this currency has a value determined by it's actual weight and make up, it's important that each coin is the same. [IMG: the hands of the three people, each half as big as the next. A yellow coin rests in each, it fits perfectly in the middle hand.]

-

What else can we use? [IMG: Two paper bills, two yellow rods, coins with holes (cash) and yellow beads on a string.] Paper bills or contracts are easy to print, but don't last long. Even if you're trying to be careful, sticking a piece of paper in your pocket while you have claws can lead to disaster. metal sticks/rods fit most criteria, but are somewhat brittle. While a Mustel can carry them in a bundle, larger folk find they break while in a pocket or grasped in a fist. Cash and beads solve a similar issue but are unwieldy in their own ways. Cash is a repeat of coins, some are too big, some are too small. But beads are almost perfect, those with large hands can keep them on string, but will be at a loss if they slip and scatter… One of these may be perfect for your setting, but Waizentrum went for.. The Serp! [IMG: 5 images of the Serp being carried, the serp is a snake shaped ring with a gap that can be closed. On smaller people it is hung from a chain on a belt and worn on the wrist. For the larger people it is coin sized but can also be worn as a ring or put in a scroll case.] These coins can be stored easily on string or in a standard scroll case. Waizentrum citizens only carry small amounts of money, so 1-3 serps worn as a ring, bracelet, or on a belt. Makes for perfect carrying around money. Easy to manufacture, these coins can be hammered flat or curved. While they have issues, most are not major for the people they are designed for. Larger scale trade uses the flattened serp as well as raw materials.

-

Problem 2!! [IMG: A panthera and mustel use a flight of stairs, the panthera walks easily while the step is as tall as the mustel's legs, they look up as they say 'did you design these??'.] This one plagues even the real world, as we all have places to be! anyone can use a walkway provided it is even, flat, and they have any necessary mobility aids to assist them. But stairs are the tricky part. Most furry settings are contemporary, so escalators are often used to solve the difficulties that small folk would face while travelling alongside taller people. But what if you're outside or low-tech?

Ramps! Surely the best option is always a ramp?

The stairs we use in daily life are (usually) 50 degrees at the steepest, sitting between there and 30 degrees. But the most widely accessible ramps are 5 degrees or under! [IMG: four diagrams, the first is a chart of angles with 90, 50, 30, 10 and 0 degrees. The next is a 5 degree ramp, then a 20 degree ramp, then 30 degree stairs.] As you can see, it takes three times the distance for a ramp to cover the same height as stairs in this example. So! If depth is not a factor, that's perfect… But say it is?

the best solution i've seen in popular media comes from somewhere you may not expect: DARK SOULS anor londo is inhabited by both humans and giants. This graceful solution simply applies multiple sizes of steps.

[IMG: artwork of a flight of stairs, it is massive leading to a castle and has three staircases, the middle has large steps and the other two have the same small ones. In the foreground a gilter points at these and says: 'So we just need this! right?']

-

Yes! But can we do better? The Anor Londo design is very wide, you would need 2-3 staircases to let people walk up and down simultaneously. [IMG: three staircases, the first is like the anor londo stairs, the next has smaller block like steps down the middle of the staircase, and the third has some large and some small steps.] First: Pro: Simple to build, prevents kicking incidents. Con: not ideal for middle-sized folk, very wide. Second: Pro: Takes up less space, Middle-sized folk have half-steps they can use provided the steps are deep. Con: smaller folk put in the prime line of danger and may be hit. Third: Pro: Takes up the least space, possible integrated gentle slope allows for increased elevation. Con: Difficult to build, Could pose a tripping hazard.

Ideally, all of these would be accompanied by a ramp, lift, or even teleportation as an option for those with need for them! handrails too of course!

[IMG: A mustel and panthera talking, the panthera is sitting casually. The mustel says: 'Honestly, whatever is chosen will exclude someone!' Then the Panthera says: 'Maybe we should choose what works for the most people?' Then the mustel concludes: 'It's better than clambering on all fours!!']

How equal can a society be if some fundamentals are unusable by a third of the population? You can learn a lot about a world by looking at the little details, especially in furry settings!

[possamble]

do you have any particular thoughts regarding marcille being a half-elf? its interesting to me considering the fact that she seems self-conscious about being a half-elf, but denies it when its brought up

i remember marcille looking visibly uncomfortable over laios simply asking her how old she is, which i think the only reason she might feel nervous about this is because it might reveal her as a half-elf to him.

she's never corrected anybody whose called her an elf either.

never mind the circumstances of the reveal, in which thistle goes on about how half-elves are inferior and accusing her of wanting to become full blooded elf, she seemed particularly upset like he struck a nerve-

i wish the half-elf thing was built upon more. also, underrated marcille line:

okay so i revisited this sequence just to make sure I could back myself up and it's just... man. there's a lot going on.

the first reaction we get from Marcille is this huge panel that takes up half of the page

she is viscerally affected. flushing to the tips of her ears with the intensity of it. and we see it again, a few pages later

so it might seem like she's embarrassed about it and lying to herself, but... I really think it's just that Thistle is accidentally hitting sore spots. If you really look at what he says to get these reactions

"you'll live out your entire life [...] and die that way too"

"a hundred years from now, nobody will be there"

Hear me out. I think, if he stuck to harping on about her inferiority without bringing up how terrifyingly long-lived she is, she wouldn't have been as bothered. But right now, Thistle is accidentally hitting all the marks on Marcille's deepest fears-- and this is after the Winged Lion promised her that her dreams could come true in an extremely vulnerable moment, so it also hits her slightly guilty conscience as well.

I do truly believe that Marcille isn't bothered about being a half-elf the way that people assume she'd be bothered by it. To her, the biggest problem with being a half-elf is that it's isolating.

On one hand, it's not hard to imagine why she'd distance herself from elves in the west. A lot of them can clock her as a half-elf on sight, unlike other races, and therefore she's always branded with this weird stigma of being Othered -- I would even say that she considers herself lucky for being born outside of elven culture instead of having to grow up in it. I mean, just... look at the way elves talk about her.

Skipping past the uncomfortable implication of what 'not tolerating the existence' of half-elves would actually entail, this is incredibly fucking annoying. You can see why she wouldn't want to be around elves much. You see a lot of Marcille reacting badly here, but honestly, almost all of it can be attributed to her freaking out that her bluff completely failed. She's honestly more paying attention to Izutsumi's footsteps and trying to coordinate an opportunity to escape.

And in the end, you see her built-up frustration at being asked if she wants to be a full-blooded elf like 2-3 times in a row.

Yeah, yeah, "the lady doth protest too much," and all. But we know Marcille. We know that she's a lot more embarrassed and horrendously unconvincing when she's being prodded about something she's actually self-conscious about.

Moving onto the flipside of things, it might seem weird that she "pretends" to be a full elf around other races, but it's not really that strange if you think about it. Again, people are weird about her being infertile or whatever, and a lots of them don't even know much about what sets half-elves apart from everyone else. I mean, look at how uncomfortable Laios is just asking her about it

and look at how exasperated and resigned she looks

And like... she's right. Where would that come up in normal conversation? Why would she go out of her way to tell them? She's functionally a normal elf to other races anyway -- got the ears, the abnormally long "childhood", and the huge mana capacity. Unless it's directly relevant or important for people to know, I don't think it's all that strange or indicative of insecurity that she prefers not to bother with it.

(This combined with her sense of being an "outsider" to elf culture also explains why she thinks elf superiority is embarrassing. She sees the way elves treat short-lived races from the "outsider" perspective nonetheless, and thinks it's obnoxious; especially more so because she usually has to play the elf around short-lived races and deal with the reputation of arrogance that elves have built up.)

The sad thing is, this all means that... she doesn't actually fit in anywhere. She doesn't like going out West much because of how elves treat her. But she's also an outsider in the continents she was born in, treated like this exotic long-lived alien choosing to live among short-lived races for some reason. She is always an outsider, the Other, no matter where she goes. Add in the fact that she'll live longer than literally anyone she knows, and it's honestly kind of heartbreaking.

And I think that's the crux of it. Marcille really doesn't act like she's at all self-conscious about being a half-elf because of any feelings of inferiority or being half-made or whatever. She considers herself a perfectly legitimate being and might even, in some ways, consider herself superior to normal elves because she's not blind with elf supremacy or whatever. (And whatever "elven biases" she displays, all of them are born more out of the fact that she's kind of bad at conceptualizing how other races age and mature compared to herself, not that she actually considers herself better or more mature simply for being an elf.)

I think that whatever self-consciousness Marcille has about being a half-elf is, instead, related to terror and loneliness. The reminder that it ensures she'll never truly belong anywhere for the rest of her very long life. The reminder that, in truth, even she's not actually sure how old she is by other races' standards (hence the discomfort when asked how old she is). She doesn't want to not be a half elf, or be a full elf or full tall-man-- in her ideal world, she's still a half-elf. She just gets to live out her life at the same pace with the people she loves and doesn't have to say goodbye again and again and again until she dies.

and one last very important panel, right after Mithrun tells her that all her desires would be devoured

In her ideal world, she's still a half-elf and reality magically starts marching at her pace. But failing that, the second best thing is that she's still a half-elf-- but one who is able to accept reality and let go of her fear.

(But the rest of the story pans out the way it does because, to Marcille, taking reality apart and reshaping it was less scary than simply and fully reconciling with it.)

[serpentface]

What's the Wardi cultural take on Akoshos sleeping with/partnering with/marrying other Akoshos?

It's not highly regulated to a degree that there are overwhelming cultural norms about it. There's a lot of societal focus on akoshos being theoretically suitable sexual partners for both men and women due to being dual-gendered, but not to an extent that relationships with One Another are stigmatized.

They also largely get to escape from the most severe concerns about penetrator/penetrated power dynamics because they're not regarded as Men (they're regarded as dual-gendered, and they're a female social class on every practical level), there's no status of manhood to Lose by receiving sexual penetration. The only real thing you see in that department is people assuming that one acts as 'the man' and one acts as 'the woman', but this is largely due to preoccupation with a notion of sex being Penetration With A Penis (and that Penetration With A Penis means that one person is in a Man's Role and one person is in a Woman's Role). But this will not be regarded as unnatural as in same-gender male relations, akoshos will Have to take up a position in this sexual dichotomy if they want to have Real Sex (Penetration With A Penis) with each other, and this is not unnatural and doesn't involve gaining or losing status since they are simultaneously male and female, not men.

So like you might see individual culture critics finding stuff to nitpick about it as their annoyance of the week or a singular Guy here or there who thinks it's weird, but this isn't a widespread norm. The vast majority of people don't give a shit about akoshos having sex with each other. The worst thing you're likely to experience Solely by virtue of being in an akoshos-akoshos relationship is someone asking you (probably with genuine curiosity) which one does the man stuff and which one does the woman stuff.

Akoshos also don't experience Hard expectations for marriage (though there are societal pressures that make marriage an attractive safety net all the same, ESPECIALLY marriage to a man) so unofficial life-partnerships between akoshos are pretty much the Only same gender partnerships between unwed people that are going to go unquestioned. ((Sworn brotherhood is technically a same gender life partnership for men that is Functionally similar to marriage (in that it's a kin-making practice between unrelated adults), but the tradition is Built upon the assumption that both parties will be married to women and that a primary goal of this kinship is to provide security for both parties' wives and children)). Marriage obligations in general are more lax in the economically secure but not Wealthy lower mercantile classes (as obligations to support and perpetuate one's family are universal, but these obligations can be filled simply by having at least One son who can get hitched, and marriages in the lower classes have no political functions and therefore there's less reason to ensure All your children are wed (there's still incentives like dowry, but this is not desperately needed when a family is economically secure)). So akoshos in this class group tend to have a Lot more freedom in terms of their life arrangements and chosen partners (though still experience the limiting frameworks of structural misogyny in other capacities).

The only thing that is out of the picture is akoshos/akoshos marriage. Marriage in this society has a predominantly reproductive function, the concept of reproductively non-viable marriages is generally considered absurd. This is not JUST this culture's form of homophobia, as marriage is a very practical arrangement at its core - both in a reproductive capacity and as bedrock for the patriarchal blood-kinship family system that forms the core social unit. The idea of same gender marriage isn't just absurd because 'ewwww weird' it's like, that Cannot work within this system, it Cannot fill core functions of what a marriage intends to do here, the ways on which marriage and kinship are BUILT makes same gender marriage practically (rather than just socially) untenable.

The sole exception to the 'marriage = reproductively viable" rule is that akoshos can be married to men (which in practice is almost always as a remarriage after a man has secured At Least an heir). This has a Little bit of internal logic here in that they perform predominantly female social roles (thus are suited to being a wife, even if they can't bear children) (and also on practical levels of them having the same legal status as women) but it's really more of a 'this is just how it's always been' kind of thing. A lot of the older pre-Wardi identity dual-gender roles that got mashed together under the 'akoshos' name would have involved marriage to a man as a second wife/concubine, in addition to his primary wife who would bear his children. Men potentially having multiple spouses has not been retained as a cultural practice, but the notion that an akoshos Can be a wife to a man has survived into modern day legal and doctrinal practices around marriage.

So like this being said, marriage as it is legally defined is only between a man and a woman, a man and an akoshos, or a woman and an akoshos. In practice the latter two are comparatively VERY rare- a man/akoshos marriage cannot provide children (though an akoshos can practically fulfill all other obligations and duties of a wife), a woman/akoshos marriage Can provide children (and while akoshos cannot function as a male heir, these children Will take their akoshos-parent's family name (though the wife retains her father's family name)), but akoshos are legally grouped with women in terms of rights and privileges (including being permanently under legal domain of their father unless they have been legally handed off to a male husband) and Cannot provide hard power patriarchal support that this family system is built upon and therefore depends upon, which makes these marriages socio-economically insecure. They can obviously still be a good partner and parent, but this is not the same as having the Legal hard power of a patriarch.

Akoshos marrying each other would be reproductively and socially nonviable, and is treated as a similarly absurd concept to a man marrying a man or a woman marrying a woman. It's just not a part of the marriage and kinship framework, it's not a thing that you can Do.

[bluejay-makes]

Drow kiddos growing up in different cities

[kaveriahsolos115]

I understand that people in fandom spaces can have different interpretations of characters, but this kind of interpretation is straight up stupid and out of character for someone like Veritas Ratio. Some fans like to stereotype characters and ruin their personalities and their depths by sticking to the surface level of knowledge they have of that character. Veritas is sadly a victim of that. People assume that because he's harsh towards his students who are ADULTS that he'll be harsh towards every living being that breaths his way. Which is just.. ridiculous. The reason why he's harsh on his students is because those students KNOW how hard his classes are, KNOW he has high standards, and WILLINGLY join his classes. So he will not tolerate any idiocy because THAT'S THE STANDARDS TO HIS CLASSES! He will not go to an elementary school and scream at a first grader for not knowing what 2+2 is. BECAUSE HE KNOWS THAT PEOPLE HAVE LIMITS! especially when it comes to age. He will NOT force his kids to study and become geniuses like him because he's smart enough to realize that it will do more harm than good. That it will only strain the relationship between him and his kid, and it will cause his kid many mental struggles to face such expectations from their father. Veritas is a human. He's not some kind of a beast who will abuse kids just because he said mean stuff to people who are underperforming in his classes or serious situations. He wants to bring out the best in people and help them reach their potential. He also understands that some people need different approaches when it comes to teaching them. So, of course, he won't be harsh with his kids. If anything, he'd be more than delighted to teach them in a way that will make his kids love the subjects he spent his entire life mastering. He would never want to be the reason that his kids hate school or knowledge because of his harshness. That harshness would only be used when completely necessary, and when the kid is grown enough to understand the mistakes of their behavior and still decided to take the wrong approach. Veritas loves spreading KNOWLEDGE, not HATRED.

Have you seen those fics of Dr Ratio being a bad father? I know this has been discussed somewhere but like.

He has 8 PhD's one of them has to be about phycology of human behavior or developmental psychology, like he knows all that and still some people still make fics like 'he force's his kid to study this and that' like..... What?

And he isn't dumb he has the IQ of over 9000 so he knows what is the difference between an adult and a growing mind.

Just the thought that people make him out to be like that boggles my mind

I'm glad I never came across those type of fics... 🧍‍♀️

BUT!

It’s interesting how fandoms can interpret characters in such diverse ways! I think the portrayal of Dr. Ratio as a bad father might stem from the concept of him being overly intellectual or obsessed with knowledge, which could create a compelling narrative where his extreme focus on academic achievements conflicts with emotional intelligence. People might imagine that, with his vast array of PhDs, he could be so absorbed in his own pursuits that he neglects the emotional and developmental needs of his child.

However, as you pointed out, someone with a high level of education and intelligence, especially in areas like psychology and human behavior, would be acutely aware of the importance of nurturing a child’s growth in a well-rounded way. A character like Dr. Ratio, with his level of awareness, would likely understand the importance of fostering independence, emotional well-being, and personal interests in his child, even if he may push them academically.

Fandom interpretations often take creative liberties, though, and sometimes it's easier for people to focus on the contrast between his intellectual pursuits and the vulnerability of a growing mind rather than his ability to balance both in a positive way. But I agree with you—it doesn’t quite add up if we consider his IQ and knowledge!

Sorry I yap a lot... 🧍‍♀️

@kaveriahsolos115 (thoughts? 🧍‍♀️)

[worstloki]

Avengers genderbend where every member backstory or appearance is SO DRASTICALLY different due to the gender switch. except Loki who is exactly the same

[averlym]

@remylong :

[bellaaldamas]

The "mistagging" was clearly not accidental, sadly. This person deliberately used the ship tag (freytos) so that the fans, myself included, would find it. Whereas the "progressive left" has demonstrated yet again how they embrace patriarchy in it's most primordial form by claiming Freya's development and "freedom" from abuse will be "downplayed" if she enters a healthy relationship with another man. This same person never received any kind of aggressive backlash or trolling when it comes to their own, completely AU and fanon headcanons about Atreus and the yaoi involving him. But they cannot extend the same courtesy to other people in the fandom, in this case freytos shippers, and refrain from using the appreciation tag for their outburst.

And as much as I absolutely hate going into that territory and playing the "Greek woman" card I cannot help but be disturbed and appalled by how Lysandra is being used as a weapon against Freytos by the people who do not - nor have they ever - cared about her. Beyond her being a "proto" Greek wife who has "fulfilled her duty" of carrying a brooding and violent man "forward" before he could find a more "advanced and developed" Nordic woman Faye who "finally fixed him". Thus, Faye has also fulfilled her duty of making Kratos into a better person and being the perfect wife and mother before dying on him. Those same people do not even recognize how misogynistic it is to reduce both Faye and Lysandra to the accessories in Kratos's story.

@rhythmsmith and @freytos already covered most of the issues with the anti-Freytos rhetoric in the replies. Therefore I will just copy and paste my own responses to their eloquent summary (you can read their comments in the reply section to this post):

This attitude stems from misogyny and the idea that women become reduced to sexual objects the moment they get involved with men. This is normalizing the society's sexist notion that romantic/sexual relationship mean an automatic loss of autonomy and agency - but only for a woman. Same notion does not extend to men and THAT is why the anti-Freytos types support all manner of ludicrous Yaoi with Kratos involved. Including Kratos and Atreus of Sparta which is absurd because Kratos would never name his son after a man he supposedly had a "crush" on let alone a relationship with. Or Kratos and Tyr and Kratos and Thor where the former has zero basis in canon and is even more fanon than Freytos (which had allusions and direct mentions of the possibility of their involvement in Valhalla). Whilst Kratos/Thor is an outright toxic ship where antagonism between two characters is being fetishized and sexualized. Those same people would bend over backwards calling an M/F ship such as this "abusive" because "dumb women" cannot resist "bad boys'" charms. But men totally can and should be paired with such bad boys.

Finally, there is the greatest evil in the form of the idea that platonic and romantic relationship should be held to a different standard.

This is why the Baldur issue only EVER comes into play when the subject of Freytos romantic involvement comes into play. This is especially offensive in the context of Freya's story where Odin's abuse of her did not exist in vacuum and was enabled and made possible by her community, her own people and both the "evil/misguided" Aesir and the "good/confused" Vanir.

Freya's own people, for whom she had entered the marriage with Odin in the first place, denounced her - including her own brother - and wrote insults on the walls of her realm in order to humiliate her for daring to exercise her agency. But both the fandom and the narrative expected Freya to just forgive and forget because this is what women ought to do.

Then the anti-Freytos types spit on abuse victims from their victim blaming, pseudo-feminist high horse when they pair Freya with Sif - a woman who raised her own daughter to consider Freya a "treacherous ex wife" of her genocidal granddaddy (but Thrud is still a "feminist icon" and should totally be friends and even "more" with Atreus who made it clear time and again he is not interested in her and who, mind you, killed her brother in cold blood; but it's totally ok, because Thrud dismissed Modi's death in an outright sociopathic manner of "we're better off without him").

Most of the anti-Freytos misogyny is repackaged patriarchy from yaoi shippers which suggests a woman loses her individuality the moment she gets involved with a man. Particularly atrocious is the rhetoric of "let Freya just be Free" after her separation from Odin and his abuse, as if commitment and romantic/marital involvement means an automatic loss of freedom and autonomy but only for women. This is both misogynistic and absolves men like Odin of responsibility for their abusive behaviors by implying that the problem was/is not them but the fact of a woman choosing to enter a relationship and marriage. And, by doing so, supposedly "signing up" for marital and domestic violence. This is a progressive version of "she had it coming".

This is also where another misogynistic claim comes into play: the idea that Freya being involved with Kratos "destroys her entire arc, their beautiful friendship and Freya's liberation from Odin's abuse". Yet again the mechanics of abuse against women is being misrepresented and implies that involvement, for a woman, comes with the inevitability of being A) abused and B) losing her freedom/autonomy. By arguing that, the anti-Freytos camp is placing the responsibility for those occurrences on women.

But a man can totally be involved with any other man because men in general have "evolved beyond" losing their individuality and freedom when they have a relationship. Only "hormonal and gullible women" do. Hence the assorted yaoi with Kratos passed off as "progressive".

The Freytos opposing crowd is so miserable they believe their "progressive misogyny" gets a pass for invading freytos tag with their "hot takes". Of course said progressive misogyny involves an insulting anti-women claim that woman's separation and freedom from her abuser (Odin in this case) would be downplayed if she enters a positive and healthy relationship with another man. And no, you do not get to play the "but Kratos killed Baldur!!11!!" card if you still "Wuv their Bootiful Friendship" and don't want it ruined by the "dirty romance" which supposedly turns women into sexual objects and robs poor men of the ability to still respect them and acknowledge their needs. Holding platonic relationship to a different standard than romantic relationship is offensive, especially when talking about a character like Freya whose marital abuse at the hands of Odin was only possible because it was enabled by the people she had platonic connections to (including her own people and her brother who had denounced her). Kratos was the only one who did not enable it.

Needless to say those progressive misogynists are totally on board with Kratos being a part of some completely fanon yaoi such as Kratos/Mimir or Kratos/Tyr or Kratos/Thor. Because men are "more complex and deep" than women and THEIR progression, development and "journey" can never be undermined if they take romantic interest in one another. Only women become servants to their hormones if they do, didn't you know?

Predictably, in order to make this progressive misogyny work and get support from the fellow "progressives" the anti-Freytos types proudly establish themselves as the "not like other girls" of the fandom who do not need to learn proper tagging.

One good thing to come out of their sexism, entitlement and lack of tagging ethic? It gives a perfect opportunity to block everyone in the notes.

[theultimatekamehamehavoc]

Random Togami Headcanon 13

TL;DR - Byakuya's bettered himself but he still has a long road of healing. Also, heads up. This one's not happy like most of the others. Gets a bit hopeful at the end but there's still a lot of sad topics here. Viewer discretion is advised. Now that he feels more empathy for others and possesses some capability for putting himself in another's shoes, thoughts he used to have about the lower class make him feel... off. Perhaps guilt or discomfort with himself. It doesn't help though looking at his classmates every school day and being reminded of the mindset he was raised with. It especially doesn't help when he looks at Makoto who helped him. Makoto being the commoner of all commoner's also hurts. He appreciates what Makoto's done to help him but it unintentionally stabs him hard within his chest that he needed someone's help to get to this point and the someone being a commoner he once wrote off. Next, with this empathy, the heir feels better with his life and happiness but fundamentally worse. It's as if he deteriorated though, logically, he knows it's not the case. He knows that the illogical side of his brain covers itself in the hides of reason and rationale. Essentially, Byakuya ends up having a grueling struggle with dealing with these emotions that, for the majority of his life, he buried and repressed. Emotions that both make him feel more fulfilled in life but that tear him apart inside. Bouts where he feels either extremely content with how he's turned out or that dread and despair that he's slipping back into his old ways. In fact, at times, it becomes overwhelming for him to handle which he especially hates. Being overwhelmed is yet another thing he once viewed as a weakness and, to some extent, he still does. Sometimes, to cope, jokes to himself on whether existing itself is something he feels is a weakness. However, though he has a lot of emotions and thoughts that upset him now as a bettered person, one big thing that pains him is that he has the capability and the intelligence to notice all of this. It's the acknowledgment that stings. The heir notices that he has a problem, that he probably needs help, maybe even therapy, but then he spirals more because of that realization. Why should HE need HELP for these problems of his?! He's an independent person! He should logically be able to handle this himself. He's always handled his problems on his own! Why should he now need someone or just a support system of people to aid in his path of healing? He feels gross for that support system being the classmates who he once adamantly despised with such vitriol. With the added empathy, he also feels shame as he doesn't want to hurt any more people in his life now. He has the hindsight to know this now. He questions himself. Is the situation he's in even that big of a deal and should he keep searching for answers on the "why" and "how"? Is it worth it? Comparisons to the peasants he used to once adamantly demonize also do not escape him. He feels worse because, while he's breaking at the seams, countless of other commoners have similar thoughts too. He's not unique and a bit of that stings his lingering superiority. Then, there is the fact that Byakuya feels even worse about this BECAUSE commoners can handle stuff like this and yet, he keeps saying that he can't due to his mental spirals. Either that or the older thoughts of hating commoners bites back by making him feel like he's "acting like one". He knows by this point that he's actively tearing himself down and that he needs to escape this cycle of mental abuse. He feels shame in himself though. He feels humiliated. Pathetic. Overly emotional in ways he's never felt before. He still has that hope though. The hope that he can get through his. The heir's already delt with so much whether canon, non-despair, or an au of some kind. He's continued on despite it all. And, though long ago, he would have pushed some of this hope off for it being too optimistic, he's grown to care less about that sort of thought anymore. Byakuya can do this.

[piosplayhouse]

(This isn't bait, and you don't need to answer it if you don't want to). What's your beef with heartstopper?

The author and I have the same favorite mangaka but they tried to claim her as a "one of the good ones defying all problematic elements (of the gross bl genre of course)" without knowing that . One of the only other scanlated works from same mangaka is a psychological horror incest BL with every trigger warning under the sun

Also I hate white British people but that's on me #listening and learning