#and that's your personal opinion but i'm also entitled to mine

[florallylly]

my PERSONAL OPINION on ro//nance: 

so a disclaimer: feel free to ship whoever you want to ship. these are just my thoughts and my perspective on the explosion of ro//nance since season 4. it’s not my intention to condemn or tell anyone to stop producing their content, i just want to scream into the void before it festers. 

your wish fulfillment is valid, but so is my opinion. so if that’s not smth you want to see feel free to skip !! 

diving straight in… i wanna talk about nancy wheeler. 

to be clear: i don’t hate nancy. i think she is headstrong and determined and knows what she wants. she sticks to her guns and definitely has the potential to be a truly good person. that being said, she is extremely selfish in canon. 

from season 1, my interpretation of her is that she’s infatuated with the concept of steve harrington and the status that he could bring. he’s a fantasy that’s suddenly become attainable to the nerdy miss wheeler. of COURSE she’s going to relish his attention. 

note: i actually don’t think anyone else except barb, mike, and steve himself, ever called steve an asshole. so . do with that what you will. 

anyway, nancy and jonathan act like steve suspecting that nancy is cheating is SO unreasonable. which honestly? it’s not. catching your girlfriend alone in her bedroom with a guy who TOOK NONCONSENSUAL ILLICIT PHOTOS OF TWO UNDERAGE TEENAGERS… that’s suspicious. perhaps his reaction wasn’t the best, but he’s also like 17 years old and protecting himself the way he knows how to. and of course his friends aren’t going to take that laying down either. 

i don’t know if any of the supporters of ro//nance have ever been cheated on, but it’s not just heartbreaking… it’s HUMILIATING. and such a hit to the self esteem. and i don’t care what the circumstance is, unless it’s nonconsensual. cheating is cheating and i firmly believe that a cheater will always be a cheater. 

in this case, it’s also reasonable for nancy to be pissed when she sees the movie theater because she didn’t actually cheat at that time. both of them had bad reactions but they also both had good reasoning behind their actions. 

YES steve called jonathan a queer, but keep in mind it’s a common insult in the 80s, especially with the AIDS epidemic going on. don’t use modern standards to condemn him, but also don’t excuse his behavior. YES he was wrong, but he grew (obviously what with his friendship with robin). and do you really think he’s not going to go for the throat when he thinks that jonathan slept with his girlfriend? 

it’s a classic case of everyone’s the asshole but everyone’s not the asshole. 

moving onto season 2. BULLSHIT. nancy was projecting. like she felt so guilty about barb and associated that night with the first time she had sex with steve, so she associated steve with barb’s disappearance/death. she was processing her trauma which is totally fine, but also not an excuse to treat steve like that. to be fair, drunk words drunk words. 

what she forgot was that steve also experienced the same thing. maybe not the grief and loss that she felt, but it’s HIS house. he has to stare out at that pool every night and know that it’s a murder scene and a grave site. he may be processing his trauma by trying to forget and be a “normal kid.” and that’s fine. 

and to be SO clear: they didn’t technically break up. you could say that they did, or take that as your interpretation, but in my opinion they’re not broken up until they have a conversation explicitly discussing ending things. couples fight all of the time. it’s not uncommon to want a little space afterwards before apologizing/making up. 

so yes. nancy cheated. and she never thought about the consequences of her actions, especially regarding steve. imagine how he felt. in season 3, he admitted to being IN LOVE with her. and she called him bullshit and cheated on him. be so real, if this happened in real life, you wouldn’t be as kind as steve. he stayed friendly with BOTH nancy and jonathan, and continued to babysit their brothers. 

steve called himself a bad boyfriend, but did we ever see evidence of that? he was constantly wooing her and romancing her. like if she didn’t want that, she could have communicated that throughout the YEAR they were together. the only possible way that steve could be a bad boyfriend was regarding their difference in trauma response. which is not being Bad. it’s having different personalities and perspectives. so ??? just a gripe. 

SEASON 3…. so YEAH nancy is selfish. her and jonathan’s job at the hawkins post … like YES fight misogyny and feel infuriated because of your treatment. however, don’t strong-arm jonathan into supporting you when he NEEDS that job. unlike miss picket fence upper middle class nancy wheeler, the byers don’t have a lot of money. they’re living on a single income and jonathan works too. like he doesn’t have the ability to just drop the job. of course, he follows her in the end though. honestly, that only validates nancy’s perspective that she’s always right and her crusade for whatever is righteous. 

but she doesn’t care about collateral damage. she never took into account jonathan’s feelings. she never took into account the effect this could have on future jobs. employers DO check references sometimes fyi. (also i KNOW that it was due to a lot of misogyny, but irl new hires are often the company mule. like she could have tried to work her way up. she hasn’t even been working there that long, and she a high school student expects to be published within months?? just be a little realistic here) 

i honestly commend her because she’s bold and she’s brave. she makes a GREAT reporter. but she makes a bad friend and a bad girlfriend. from what i observe, she takes things for granted and gives too much credit to herself. these are just character flaws and that’s human to have flaws. it’s possible to be a good person and also do bad things. i actually like nancy a lot, but it has to be acknowledged that she rarely faces consequences for her actions, and has never been confronted with the fact that she constantly puts herself first with no regard for other people. 

just a quick note for season 4 bc this is getting SO long: when nancy told steve he “almost deserved” to get shot in the face. okay bitch. now i’m mad. bc? what did he do? and like. tbh WHO deserves to get shot in the face. i don’t care if it was supposed to be a flirty statement, it was SO out of pocket. 

it’s also clear that nancy takes credit for steve’s “transformation.” if i’m being honest, the only thing she really pushed him to do was to drop tommy and carol. STEVE made the decision to run back in to fight the demogorgon. STEVE made the decision to help dustin and fight the demo dogs. STEVE made the decision to stay behind to watch the kids while they stormed the lab. show me one instance where nancy influences his actions, and i’ll acknowledge it, but i just don’t see it. and i think she gives herself way too much credit. because she wasn’t there by his side working through it with him. she was dealing with her own problems (which is okay), but she can’t act like she completely transformed him and made him a heroic babysitter. think on that. 

into my thoughts on ro//nance: 

robin is steve’s best friend. she’s not JUST his best friend. he’s her platonic soulmate. when they were conceived, they were a being with four arms and four legs. but they were Too Cunt and Powerful so they had to be separated. they are literally two parts of one soul. 

now imagine: ur best friend admits he’s IN LOVE/HAS BEEN IN LOVE with his ex. and she broke his heart. that in itself already has me livid, but if i found out about the “bullshit” spiel, i would have to start throwing punches. 

i believe in season 4 that the reason why robin is so curious about nancy is because she wants to know what type of girl steve fell in love with. like what’s so appealing about nancy that she’s the only one he said he fell in love with? and i also believe she didn’t know about the cheating at this time because NO WAY would she have been nice to nancy if she knew. 

maybe you guys can forgive cheating, but i sure can’t. and especially when it happens to my best friend… it’s over. like sorry i treasure my best friend…. 

reiterating that nancy isn’t a bad person, but she just Doesn’t work with robin. putting aside robin’s opinions, nancy fucking hates her LMFAO. like she is So cold to robin out of? jealousy (a cheater is a cheater is a cheater). so it only really proves me right that nancy doesn’t actually care about the people she’s with. does she think that flirting with steve is okay after playing around with his heart before? has she ever taken into account the fact that steve may have been healing or emotionally unavailable? did she ever consider how steve felt after they broke up? 

robin did. and she’s ride or die. 

and a rebuttal to a post i’ve definitely seen before: yes, lesbians do tend to have a small dating pool which leads to a lot of friends dating exes. (i, a lesbian, have experience with this). HOWEVER, a cheater is different. because you have to acknowledge that a lot of lesbians stay friends with their exes. steve and nancy are AT BEST friendly in canon. if you would date someone who cheated on their friend, FULL OFFENSE, you’re not a good friend. that’s just a fact. 

you’re not only completely disregarding their experience, but you’re also forcing them to be in the same space as someone who betrayed them. and that’s more of a betrayal than the actual cheating imo. sorry but IN MY OPINION, i’d never want to be friends with anyone who ships ro//nance lol. it just shows me that you don’t care about your friends’ feelings like that. 

this is kind of a rant and totally nonsensical, but i have to yell about this bc i feel like it’s not even talked about. nancy is always characterized as a perfect girl, but she’s not. and that’s OKAY! but you can’t erase her history just to have two cute girls kiss. 

it’s also completely ignoring CANON love interests (vickie). which i get because she didn’t get a lot of screen time, but god can’t we find another alternative. 

and be honest: a lot of people ship ro//nance so that jonathan/argyle can get together too. or they act like it’s okay bc steddie get together and steve is happy now. 

THOUGH steve would approve of the relationship bc he’s a GOOD guy and KIND, i think that robin would have rejected it. she’d defend that man to the DEATH. 

so when you ship ro//nance, you’re erasing stobin. because robin would want someone who loves steve just as much as she does. someone who understands that he’s her soulmate and she can’t live without him. and nancy just isn’t that person. their history and nancy’s perception of steve just stand in the way of that kind of relationship. 

not to mention that steve and robin are One. like this is more conjecture but they are Literally the Same Person. and if steve wasn’t compatible with nancy, what makes you think that robin would be?  honestly, the whole concept of ro//nance just completely bamboozles me. i’m confused and i’m irritated. because it’s almost like none of you have actually had a REAL relationship. or YOU don’t care about other people’s feelings. nancy kin i guess. 

again again, my personal opinion. i choose not to consume ro//nance content, but somehow it keeps cropping up so i do have to put in my two cents. by all means, keep shipping and supporting them, but it would be nice if you read through this and thought about the characterization. 

[britneyshakespeare]

Sorry I can't stop talking about that ex-mutual who went off on me last night (well really I only made that one, really long and rambly, pretty over-repetitive post about it) but it's been like just running through my mind because of how hurtful that was from someone that on some level I did consider a friend. Not like a close friend who knows everything about me, in fact as I stated to exhaustion in that post I made earlier, the part that really got me was how much they were illustrating that they DON'T really know about me, how much they just ASSUME without ever having heard or seen confirmation from myself. And how unkind those assumptions were. But I did like them (do? I still have sympathy for them as a person and don't wish them any ill...). I cherished the thought of our online friendship we shared around the time I was 18-20ish or so, and even if we never kept in constant conversation (in fact, before I replied to their message last night, we hadn't chatted through DM since early 2021, if that's saying something). I'm sure they still did/do feel that way about me and this isn't easy on them, that they feel hurt by my posts in some way, etc. I did not go on a rant to them, though, attacking their moral character, calling them a coward who can't take criticism and refuses to learn and grow. I told them I think it's ok if we grow apart and though I still hold my differing opinions from them, it's ok to be upset at me for that. But don't bring it to me.

I would've seriously just preferred it if they unfollowed and left. All I keep thinking about these past couple of hours of marinating on it is: entitlement. I've crossed a line because I don't post about issues in the way they would like me to, and ultimately I still will be voting for Kamala Harris. They maintained that much very firmly even after I replied to their first message saying that they were putting a bunch of words in my mouth and not acknowledging how little they actually know about my views and actions in the real world, off of Tumblr; that I might have ways of caring about and engaging with things that are specifically not on my personal blog because of how toxic some zealous communities on this website can grow to be. They still felt the need to attack me at length for all the things I, in their opinion, "support" because I choose to vote for "a fascist" (meaning Harris). Their opinion that both sides are truly the same is the only logical answer and I'm not trying hard enough to be a good person if I don't agree with that. But that's what makes them presumptuous. That's not what makes them entitled.

I feel like the fact that they really did think well of me at one point, that we shared emotions and kind words with each other, that we talked about music and poetry and all sorts of matters of sensibility together, is why they felt the need to bring that to me. When we feel an attachment to someone, even someone we may be lacking a lot of information about, but there's that mutual sympathy there... we feel that we are invested in them. They (and I) felt that the two of us, as friends, reflected each other's values and sense of self. To be honest I was getting annoyed at some of their posts, too, that were basically fatalist about the US Democratic party and how nothing has ever actually changed since Tr mp left office. I simply don't agree with that analysis, and I didn't know how to sensitively bring that up with someone who I did respect and care for as an individual. They were asserting things that basically implied our views were irreconcilable; and yeah, I basically agree that if you're going to call me essentially a g n cide apologist, I don't really know how to reconcile that with you. I don't think that's what I am; they do. They discussed that because they felt that way they were no longer open to a dialogue (one which I never had brought up to them personally) in their reply to my response to their ask, and blocked me afterward. Well, I think it's ok to not be open to a dialogue. In that case, I really don't know how to defend myself. We're on two entirely different levels of interpretation if mild support of Kamala Harris's presidential campaign is seen as akin to me denying g n cide to you. If that's the angle you're approaching me with, I don't want to have a dialogue with you, either. I don't think one in good faith is possible at that point.

They got angry at me though not just for my differing opinion, but for the disappointment they felt in me for it. I ruined the Diana they had so much respect for. Their initial message reminded me so much of when fans hound celebrities to speak on particular issues they may not know anything about. But at least if you're, like, asking the lead singer of your favorite band to speak about a currently topical issue, you probably are falling back on the argument of thinking they have a higher status to their audience that they're neglecting to use for good. Or maybe they've seemed to do and say things in the past that make their current silence seem hypocritical. I don't particularly agree with the former argument, that every celebrity should use their "platform" to raise awareness for certain causes. There are some times when I think calling on a celebrity to speak on this or that specific thing is just kind of silly. I tend not to proclaim instances where I feel that way publicly, because I don't want to trivialize the issue or the fans' feelings. But there's also the parasocial hurt I've seen some people display when they suddenly interpret a person's silence, or (in their perception) 'inadequate' statements and actions, as genuine indifference. That tends to make fans actually angry, the disappointment that this person they admire could be 'doing better' but isn't. I was told by this person that I'm 'not even trying to do better' when we had never had a conversation about what I'm actually 'doing' or thinking or feeling, even a single time. They let their impression of me fester in silent resentment before finally snapping at me about all the things I never actually said to them.

I'm sure they felt like they had reached their limit of tolerating me, and reaching out was only so they could feel like they had some closure. That they had said their piece to a person they cared about but could no longer associate with. I don't think they actually considered what use their message would actually have to me. That it would be hurtful to be accused of all these moral failings by someone I used to just talk about Jane Austen books with. Someone I shared my poetry and feelings with when I was younger. They must have been feeling 'betrayed' at me for not living up to the expectations and standards they set for me, for not being the idealized friend that I must've seemed when we were in our late teen years. But I am feeling shock and confusion at the sudden void of sympathy or benefit of the doubt being directed towards me from someone I once mutually regarded somewhat highly and rather affectionately.

It didn't have to have been a deep friendship, where we shared all aspects of our life with each other, for this to be hurtful to me or for my words to have been hurtful to them. I'm sure they felt so angry at me because they do think I'm a smart and sympathetic person that they expect 'better' from. But I'm really not your confirmation bias friend. None of the sweet but somewhat shallow memories they once respected me for has to be null and void now because I'm not sufficiently radical in my politics for them. And again, I do think that they were under the impression that they knew my current thoughts and personal philosophies a lot better than they do, because of how much more of an open book I used to be on this website when we first started following each other. I never made some announcement that I was going to start being more reserved about certain things, guys, so, like, don't act like you know everything about me. Because should I have to? I don't have a "platform" or really any meaningful social status on this website. But they still thought I wasn't doing "enough" with it because they interpret my blog as being more intrinsically linked to my actual life than it is. My social status to them was the good opinion they had of me, that I soiled by disagreeing with them in principle about electoral politics.

I'm not less smart or kind than I used to be. That's really not how I make sense of people I mostly like, but who have done or said something I deplore and that disappoints me deeply. You don't have to abandon all faith in the individuals you love. People do not always make sense with your own moral compass, but you can still tell when they're not evil. And I don't think they think I'm evil. I don't think they're evil. None of the sympathy I ever had for them is gone. I'm just honestly hurt and confused. I don't understand why they thought it was appropriate to take up their issues with me in the way that they did.

And again, in every single timeline, I would rather have just been disappointed to see that a once-respected mutual has unfollowed me, after some years of growing apart and changing, than I would to be hurt by someone dramatically going off on me about how they can't be friends with me anymore because I'm just not good enough for them.

[midniiights-garden]

Mizu realising she's in love/a lesbian [Headcanons!!]

(A/N: I feel like this is like... already a given but please remember that these are HEADCANONS!! She does not have a canon sexuality. And I know it's mostly the lesbians who haven taken over the show but my content is available for everyone to see and I wanted to remind everyone that I am not going to tolerate slander or trash talking because of a personal opinion. You are entitled to your thoughts and I am entitled to mine.)

Possible TWs!!: Mentions of sex and sexual encounters, M*kio (you cannot stop me from putting this man as a warning I hate him sm), Canon typical violence, Racisim, Homophobia, Mysogyny (did I spell that right??)

Firstly I wanna address her relationship with Mikio in order to fully understand my headcanons.

Personally I do not believe that Mizu actually "loved" Mikio in the romantic sense. She thought she was in love, but in the end it wasn't.

Speaking as someone with a lot of personal trauma regarding relationships myself I realised that I couldn't differentiate between romantic and platonic love. Basically, for me, all I saw was that someone was treating me nicely for once and now I'm attached to them. And for the longest time I thought that was what love was.

And I think Mizu experienced something similar.

Basically, when Mikio treated her like a fucking human being she was like "oh, hey this is nice. This is weird, but it's nice. So I guess I'm in love, right?"

Like, no, baby. You aren't. That's just called emotional trauma.

That's also why she thought she was straight for the longest time because she genuinely cannot tell when she likes someone romantically.

As I often restate it'll take a while for her to fully understand the extent of her emotions, but she'll get there.

Now onto the fluffier stuff :))

~~~

How does she realise she's in love? What's her reaction to it?

I think she gets hit with the realisation as if it were a train crashing into her.

It's just a normal evening, she's probably at a ramen shop with her future S/O with her and then as she's taking a bite of her ramen she looks over at you and thinks: "Huh... I wonder what it would be like if I got to hold them?"

And then it's just a record scratch moment for her where she's like wtf where did that come from.

It's either just normal domestic moment like I mentioned or her future S/O sparring with her (which may or not freak her out bc of the fucking Mikio incident).

But when Mizu successfully pins her S/O down they just laugh and smile, knowing Mizu would never hurt them on purpose.

That made Mizu's heart flutter more than anything Mikio had ever done for her.

She's going to be in denial about it for a long time. Like... a really, really long time. Cue the "but we're just friends"!

How does she react when she realises she's into girls?

Due to the internalized homophobia instilled within her as a child and other such thoughts she starts to think she may be going crazy.

She'll start to pull away out of fear, not truly understanding her emotions.

Which, of course, will hurt her future S/O and cause them to worry.

Seeing her future S/O so distraught kind of triggers something in her. She realises that there's nothing inherently wrong with her, that she's still a person and the person she likes is still a person and that there shouldn't be anything wrong with liking her S/O. She also just didn't like seeing you worry over her, it hurt her more than any blade that she's been stabbed with.

Now onto her actual physical attraction.

Once the whole emotional side of it is somewhat sorted in her mind she finds herself not so subtly staring at her S/O's tatas.

She doesn't strike me as someone with high libido or anything despite what I've seen a lot of headcanons say. But I think shes the kind of lover to enjoy getting her S/O off a lottttt

I don't believe she was ever really attracted to Mikio sexually but seeing her S/O's kimono slip off their shoulder to reveal some titty has her red and hot.

She likes that it's soft. She really likes the softness of her S/O's body.

~~~

(A/N: That's all!! I feel like I was terribly self-indulgent with this one but there are a lot of aspects in which I relate to Mizu with. Which is probably why I care a lot about representing her correctly. As usual, feel free to comment or send asks to my inbox!! I hope y'all enjoyed <33)

[lucysarah-c]

Question: for Virgin! Canon Levi; how do you think that would go down? Like full blown sex one night? Taking it slow over time? Just how do you think reader would need to navigate it with him? Slow burn / build up, a passionate night, tipsy reader?

This is assuming Levi and Reader’s emotions are confirmed for each other

Hiiiii~~ How are you? What have you been up to lately?

Haha, honestly, I'm not entirely sure what caused this full blow-up of questions, but I'm kinda loving it.

Mhh, I think my answer depends a lot on two factors: "Levi's age" and "the experience of the reader." I know you said Canon Levi, but I wonder if you mean canon season 1-4 Levi, Underground Levi, pre-promotion Levi, etc. haha

I'll conclude that you meant "canon season 1-3" Levi. While I personally don't headcanon Captain Levi as a virgin during the "overall" period of AoT (I mean, since season 1, not ACWNR or Underground Levi), I think his reaction depends a lot on how much experience the reader has. Levi strikes me as one of those friends/partners who loves you, cares about you, etc., but hardly ever talks about themselves. In my humble opinion, even if Levi has feelings for you and you two decide to pursue a relationship together, it may take him a lot of time to open up about his past. I mean, this man gets along with Hange amazingly in the story; Isayama says that Hange is who "understands" or "gets along better with Levi," and yet Hange didn't know about Kenny.

So this may be a wild take… but I think Levi wouldn't tell you it's his first time, lmao. He may try to play it cool; you might notice he's not the most "skilled" dude out there ('cause let me tell you, no amount of Ackerman powers makes you seem experienced, lol), but he's not telling you it's his first time. Which, you know, everybody is entitled to their past. Perhaps if the reader is also a virgin and she opens up emotionally like, "It's my first time," Levi would feel she's opening up to him, and he would feel it's a good time to be honest too and be like, "Well… it's mine too, so I guess we will figure it out as we go."

About "how" it would be, I think the reader would have to set the tempo. Most men are READY to blow off some steam if you give them a chance, haha, so if the reader is also a virgin and they kinda want to test the waters before going all the way, Levi would be down for it, especially because it will give him time to catch a trick or two, learn what she likes.

I think that porn or movies make us believe how "sex" usually happens, and I mean, talking from my experience and my friends' experiences… none of us went from 0 to 10. Like, we kiss, we make out, then maybe we got a little handy, then riding on top of clothes, oral sex, fingers, etc. Especially because maybe you don't have your own place to crash at, maybe you two would like to talk it out before it happens. Buy condoms, get ready, etc.

Now, if you are curious how I think Underground Levi would decide to lose his V-card while younger… probably rather quick, steamy, and not giving it much thought, haha. He'd let the hormones talk and make decisions for him. In both occasions, I don't think he made the girl cum before him, which is something that happens a lot; we women are harder to please, it requires more technique than men who… well, let's say that they come rather easily, lol. BUT he will 100% offer to make her cum anyway, with fingers or mouth. Levi will be such a fast learner, give him a chance or two, and he will pick it up like a champ.

Though why can't I shake the idea of a younger Levi in the underground in his 18s, having something with a girl slightly older than him, perhaps 20, etc. And her saying between chuckles, "Slow down, boy."

God, I would pay to see his blushed, embarrassed face.

Link to my masterlist and my other works if you feel like checking them out. Tags!: @nube55 @justkon @notgoodforlife @nmlkys @humanitys-strongest-bamf @quillinhand @thoreeo @darkstarlight82 @angelofthor @aomi04 @levisbrat25 @l3visthighs @hum4n-wr3ckag3 @hannieslovebot @starrylevi @rithty @mariaace @ackrmntea @emilyyyy-08 @levisfavoriteteashop @katestrophes @levistealeaf @an-ever-angry-bi @youre-ackermine @fxnnyackerman @secretmoneybearvoid @trashblackrainbow @flxrartsstuff @katharinasdiaryy @levisecretgfblog @searriously @blackdxggr @ackermanswifee @abiatackerman @braunsbabe @moonchild-12345 @levicansteponme @galactict3a Wanna join my tag list? Here!

[kilarthmac]

Let's talk about Caelum.

I'm gonna preface this with saying that everyone is entitled to their opinions, and if once you're done reading this you decide you don't want to follow me or you want to block me, that's completely up to you. I'm not trying to change your opinion or attack anyone who has a different one than mine, I just wanted to put my two cents out there.

I also wanted to say that whatever your opinion on the matter is, it's yours and yours alone, and you should respect the opinions of other people even if they don't match up. I personally do not sexualize Caelum, but I do think he is an adult with childlike characteristics, and those two statements are not mutually exclusive. He can be an adult, but he also doesnt have to be put in adult situations.

It's okay to have strong feelings one way or the other about this topic, but it is not okay to harass people or go on a witch hunt for those with the opposite opinion to give them shit about what they think. If you disagree with someone and do not want to see their stuff on your timeline, just block them or scroll away. You alone are responsible for your own dash, you cannot make other people responsible for what you see on your timeline.

All that being said, I do not like how the fandom treats Caelum and Empathy Daemons in general.

My stance on the matter is that Empathy Daemons as a whole are adults, but because of how E'Laetum created them, they tend to have childlike characteristics. Those who say that Empathy Daemons are ALL children blatantly ignore the fact that Regulus is an Empathy Daemon as well, and that he has been shown to have adult tendancies (his BA, getting possessive over his charge, etc) while also maintaining his childlike characteristics (telling his charge a bedtime story to sleep, having a very one dimensional view of himself and his charge, etc). This is where I have a problem whenever I see people try to say that all Empathy Daemons are children. Regulus is clearly an adult. There is no "reading between the lines" about this.

Caelum is also an Empathy Daemon, but he is a very different character than Regulus. He is a lot more childlike compared to Regulus. He gets his words mixed up, he likes sweets, he likes hugs, etc. But in his most recent video (Your Bakadere Empathy Daemon Friend Visits You), even he says that he almost went down a path similar to Regulus' until Delphinus stepped in and assigned him to Freelancer, and that stopped him from falling (timestamps from 2:40 - 3:18, and 8:45 in that video). It may be uncomfortable for some people to think of Caelum as going down the same path that Regulus did, but this video clearly shows that he had the potential to. Caelum and Regulus are not as different as one may think.

Erik has also said himself that D(a)emons step out of the Elision Well as adults and they do not age. Of course they don't know everything so they still have to learn, but that's not the same as being a child. On top of the most recent Redacted 101 video, take this screenshot from Wonderworld (previously Redacted Records, when Erik was still in the server) from 2020, where Erik talks about how D(a)emons coalesce.

He even mentions how in earlier Caelum videos he didn't know what he wanted the d(a)emon life cycle to be yet, and that's why he had Caelum state that he was a "kid daemon" at one point.

Not to mention the fact that in the official timeline, it shows that Caelum coalesced in 1999, and is even older than Damien.

At the end of the day, Caelum is a fictional character. Whatever someone ends up deciding to make of him is their choice, this is a fandom after all. If it really bothers you to see what certain people make, block them and move on. DO NOT berate them for their headcanons or fanart or whatever else. People are allowed to have their own headcanons, make their own fics, and draw their own fanart. This is a fandom space, and people are allowed their creative liberties.

Anyways, that has been my two cents. Feel free to voice your opinions in the comments if u want to, but please please be respectful and don't attack anyone.

TLDR; I don't sexualize Caelum but I do think he and all Empathy Daemons are adults (ex: Regulus), everyone should respect everyone else's opinions and just block what they don't want to see on their timelines, and the fandom needs to chill out lol

[peaceheather]

Dear fic readers, don't fucking do this

A friend of mine found the following comment on her fic this morning:

I would really like to see you try harder. I know what you're capable of and I think you can do better. I've noticed a distinct slump in your writing over the past few years and it's so disheartening. You can do better, and you should.

For the record, this fic is essentially a fandom classic, and the author has been writing for over 20 years, so it's not like either of us are spring chickens, okay? So as a PSA, I'm sharing with you my response to that comment, because if you don't know this already, you really need to figure it out.

Hi, quick question, who the fuck do you think you are? An English teacher? The author's mom? A paid editor? Did anyone ask for your shitty opinion? I'm guessing not. Do you write? Do you have any idea how much effort goes into a FREE HOBBY GIFT, which you then arrogantly decided to shit all over just for, what, grins and giggles? Do you GRASP that authors have lives and other obligations and that they write for fun? Do you possess the self-awareness to clue in that you, with comments like these, suck ALL the fun out of what is meant to be a hobby? Do you want the author to just stop posting? Because shitty comments like this one are the reason that authors delete their fics, which you would then likely also bitch about, because you feel entitled to their work without paying for it via a little fucking COMMON COURTESY. The only person who can do better here is you. And you really, really should.

I don't usually get this hot, friends. I don't usually stoop to the commenter's level when they get this shitty. But I've seen GOOD AUTHORS chased off, not just from AO3 but from the entire hobby of writing forever, thanks to shitty attitudes like this. You are not entitled to my labor or anyone else's. You're not paying me in anything other than gratitude, and that gratitude is good for my mental health. Conversely, snotty abuse is bad for an author's mental health, and why would they want to keep writing if that's how you pay them for their work?

Entitled, shitty, "hot takes" on how much better you think my writing could be are not welcome if I don't explicitly ask for them, and that goes for literally every author you ever encounter. If they didn't ask, keep it to yourself, or better yet, contribute to fandom by writing your own stories.

Damn.

[porcelain-gal]

ANOTHER CONTROVERSIAL SHIFTING TAKE moika yapping about shit no one cares about again?? that's crazyyy, who would've thought! but fr, i know i said i'd stop with this shit but i'm a very opinionated person with entirely too much to say so i'm back to talking! like always, if you don't agree that's fine but please don't leave rude or passive aggressive comments or messages in my inbox because i will delete them and block you! <3

i need y'all to stop yelling "it's not your life" and getting pissy at people when you post about the immoral and inhumane things you do in your realities/lives and receive backlash from it. your excuse is that "it's not your reality so you shouldn't care", failing to realize that most of the people here have grown up in society and you probably have as well and in this society, we are taught morals and values.

if you post about doing shit in your life that the majority of society in this reality as a whole has deemed as bad/immoral (e.g., dating minors as an adult, race-changing/rcta, etc) for multiple reasons, why do you expect to not be judged or criticized for it? you cannot expect people to throw aside their feelings about what they have been taught is bad and that many have seen the harmful effects of in seconds just so you and a small demographic of people who like doing that kind of stuff can feel comfortable talking about it freely.

no, people aren't going to respect or agree with you if you shift somewhere and kill innocent people. no, people aren't going to respect or agree with you if you go to realities where you shift to date minors as an adult. no, people aren't going to respect or agree with you if you change your race/sexualize and glorify or even villainize the lives of minorities. no, people aren't going to respect or agree with you if you're a bully and harass people in your reality "for the plot." you can't keep expecting people to conform to your ideals and actions just because you want to be able to freely talk about being a shitty person because in the eyes of many people here, you absolutely are.

and on that same note, you also need to remember that it is YOUR choice to post what you do on YOUR account. no one is forcing you to post about anything you do in your life. you willingly put out information about your life that NO ONE ASKED FOR onto the heavily-opinionated internet and expect people to just be like "oh cool" and move on from the fact that you're doing fucked up shit just because it's your life?

sorry to tell you this but if everyone just didn't give a fuck about what other people did in their lives, things like queerphobia, racism, xenophobia, and the variety of other -phobias and -isms would not exist and on the opposite side, shit like child marriage, murder, and abuse would be way more prominent and nothing would be done about it since people just wouldn't care.

people are going to be in your business whether you like it or not and it sucks but that's just how it is. now am i saying that you don't have a right to be upset at all? no, obviously not. you're being judged, of course you're going to feel upset or like shit about it and you're completely valid in that regard. however, you need to realize why people are criticizing you and understand that that's just going to happen.

you also need to realize that you're never going to change the minds of millions of people in this reality with a tumblr post of you getting mad and trying to shun people who think you're a bad person for doing bad shit and you probably never will. it's your choice whether or not to listen to the people or just go your own way because as long as you keep posting about you doing fucked up shit, people are going to react and the majority won't react positively.

but anyways yeah, this just my take. if you don't agree, that's your opinion and you're entitled to it just as much as i am to mine! just please don't be disrespectful or try to argue with me because again, i will block you and think nothing of it. thanks for reading!

SINCERELY, Yappatron 3000

[uniiiquehecrt]

I'm thinking in terms of actual real life experiences I've had when I say this, but I'd imagine part of what makes being a Thor enjoyer so frustrating in 2024/MCU's phase 4+ era is that... you're effectively not allowed to enjoy your favorite superhero.

I once had a conversation with a close friend of mine during a casual outing, and without going into very many details, this particular person is an enjoyer of Ragnarok, and enjoys Tailka's work overall. Now, I should say right off the bat: there is nothing wrong with these opinions. Everyone is entitled to like what they like and enjoy the work of creators just the same as other people are allowed to dislike them. For this particular post, I'm not here to get into fandom wars or "reasons why taika waititi is a terrible director" beef. I have other posts in line for that. But what I will say is that I already knew this about my friend, so it never surprised me when the topic of Thor came up that it would be a point of disagreement.

The issue I've found that continues to circle in the general space of "being a Thor fan" came when I expressed that I don't like Ragnarok, I do think Thor was funnier (and just better overall) before Ragnarok and therefore Taika's involvement, and quite frankly Taika had very little business taking on the mantle of director of a superhero franchise he has never liked or understood in his life just because he had mouths to feed. (There are other opportunities to fulfill that. And filmmakers know going into this industry that it's all gig-based and - if they're smart anyways - work around that.) I hadn't even gotten a chance to go through all of the reasons WHY I feel that way, of which I have had before compiled an organized list of about 16 talking points off the top of my head, so as far as that particular discussion goes... it didn't go anywhere. We were busy at the time.

But namely what I want to talk about is this:

The response I was given, in summary, was something along the lines of "well I think Thor was boring, and he wasn't my cup of tea, so I'm glad he changed."

But, you see, there's just ONE small issue with that: Thor isn't meant for everyone.

In fact, no character is meant for everyone. So why is it that Thor needs to change to be "for everyone" and be the MCU normies' "cup of tea" when no other character has to? Why does he need to lose his core identity (both as a character, as a franchise, you name it, it's been done) just because people like my friend don't understand him as well as Tony Stark or Spider-Man? And why should Thor fans have tow watch their favorite superhero get stripped down and turned into something completely divorced from the character, world and cast we were first involved with from the beginning?

Nobody at any point has been able to answer me that besides "well just because I didn't like Thor personally."

Iron Man won't appeal to everyone. Neither does Captain America, neither does Spider-Man, beloved as even Spidey is. They have their own quirks, their own villains, their own storylines... Every superhero has a core to them that their stories revolve around. He's from DC, but Superman, for instance, has the core of: love, justice and the American Way. Therefore, his stories revolve around challenging that core, and making Superman prove it. Steve Rogers/Captain America has a similar core. Justice, freedom and the American Way, is what I'd mostly boil his core down to. Thor's is "love" all around. I've written about that '(here)' in my post about his 2011 themes. Maybe it's different for other fans, but for me personally? I adore that about Thor. It's one of the many reasons I'm drawn to him over any other marvel Super besides Spider-Man. (not you tom holland ... yes you andrew garfield...)

So when I go to Thor for entertainment, I'm going to him above the other superheros because I want a story that revolves around HIS core and how Thor goes about reckoning with his challenges. I also go to MCU Thor specifically for his quiet, kind, regal nature. I come to him for his gravitas, his passion, his relationships with his cast of companions.

I go to him for high-sci-fi action/adventure, or for the "what if we took norse mythology and made it an alien superhero" route they took him in for the MCU. I go to Thor because he IS different from the rest of the Avengers... and that's the point.

So when someone says to me: "Well Thor wasn't for me so I'm glad he changed", or "Well I really liked Ragnarok because Thor kind of become more in line with the other Avengers"... they're fundamentally missing the point of why Thor has a fanbase at all.

[poppyseedqueenz]

(Hopefully Final)Update On the owonekko situation:

Okay so just today the situation has reached its peak so a few hours ago Nondi has worsened this whole mess by making a follow-up response to not only Jouusta but to her critics AND her fans as a WHOLE and let's just say it's probably WORSE than her first response

How did she Respond? Did she apologize? Is she taking a break? Did she realize her mistake?

Well.....

Okay I'm not gonna hold back

Nondi This is the Most NASTIEST, IMMATURE, RUDEST, DISRESPECTFUL Thing that I have Ever Seen! Where do I even start?? Lets start with the fact that whole Animatic low-key ridiculous not only is the whole thing lowkey disrespectful to EVERYONE involved with the portrayal of Jo, Her Critics, HER FANS. But this video is anything BUT respectful! She went silent for almost 5 to 10 days after her Livestream only to make an EVEN worse response not only that but the fact That now she's trying to turn the whole thing into a race issue when race was NEVER even mentioned by Jo or anyone EXCEPT Nondi! Nondi was the ONLY one who said anything about her skintone but now I'm starting to realize something

At this point this isn't even about the AI anymore Nondi is just being a straight-up bully and slandering Everyone involved specifically Jo painting her in a TERRIBLE TERRIBLE Light(whilst now Nondi fans are also now sending Jo hate comments and a few were DEATH THREATS)

Not only that but in the description to her animatic not only is she "Not sorry" she made a lengthy doc(and yes I read every single word) where she fails to take accountability and passes blame onto the critics and Jo and making excuses for her behavior and adding extra things that are half-true, not relevant to the situation, gaslighting fans, and downright lies of which she claims is the "truth"

Nondi's Doc:

Let me remind that after Jo's video went up she made a Pinned Comment and made a few edits to it when Nondi's livestream went up This is What she Said:

Jo's Pinned Comment: "EDIT (9/12/24): Thank you to all who have let me know about Nondi’s most recent livestream and livestream thumbnail. I have not watched the full VOD, but I have seen the thumbnail and… obviously, I am not okay with it. Not in the slightest. That being said, it’s very clear to me that she’s having a mental health episode of some sort. I’m hoping after that livestream she’ll take some time off the internet and not entertain this controversy anymore. I’m disappointed with her actions, with her portrayal of me, and with how she’s handled everything, but at the end of the day I want her to be mentally well, and I feel bad that I contributed anything to the deterioration of her mental state. I still stand by everything I said in this video. I still think she’s wrong for misgendering the larger creator (and continuing to justify it). But I think this will be the last thing I’ll say regarding this video and OwONekko. If anything else happens, I’m not gonna address it (unless I feel like I REALLY need to). Again, don’t go and harass Nondi. Don’t be nasty to anyone. Take care of your mental health too. . . . . . . . . A few more notes here! I changed the title of this video from “How to Lose an Audience’s Trust - OwONekko’s AI Art Stance and How it Harms Artists” to “OwONekko’s Generative AI Stance and How it Harms Artists” because I felt like that was a more concise and less offensive way to market the video. I also want to say I do NOT think Nondi is a bad person for using and liking AI for the reasons she does, I just disagree with her reasons, and I should have been more clear about that. She’s entitled to her opinion about AI as much as I am entitled to mine. I may go here or on my insta to say a few more things regarding this situation if anything else happens, but I’m not going to make any more video content because I don’t want to egg on the people that have been relentlessly harassing Nondi because of my video. Genuinely, I feel awful about that. If you have anything to say about this discourse, keep it on MY video and off of her twitter/ Youtube page. She’s seen all the arguments, criticism, and nasty shit that’s out there. I may have criticized her for blocking certain users in my video, but at this point I think that course of action is 100% justified. If I had known this video was going to be shown to over 200,000 people in less than 48 hours, I would have been a lot more clear and less reactive with how I expressed things in this video. I’ve never had a video perform like this one did.. like, genuinely, I thought this would be watched by the people already in this discourse and MAYBE just a few others. It was not my intention to bring so many new eyes to her channel, especially in this light, but that’s what happened. As for the transphobia claims, she says it was an accident and will not repeat this mistake going forward. She hasn’t apologized for misgendering the creator, which I absolutely disagree with, but she’s made it clear she doesn’t stand by what she originally did. (that being said, I am not trans or queer, so whether or not you want to support her for this going forward is completely up to you. Just don’t go and be a bother to her.)(edit: she has continued to justify her misgendering the larger creator so idek anymore) I’ll edit this comment if I have anything else to add, but for now that’s all I have to say."

I am 100% on Jo's side of the drama

Jo said that nondi was entitled to her opinion and was not calling her bad in ANY WAY Jo was rightfully upset about how nondi portrayed her in the Livestream(she hasn't seen the Animatic yet) and for some reason nondi and her die-hards decided to attack her when Jo just made a harmless statement and even said not to harass anyone at the VERY beginning of her video plus she Cannot be blamed for who saw the video she is not in control of what the algorithm shows us as she said that her intended target for the video were people who WERE actually aware of the situation WITH the exception of a FEW new eyes NOT 200,000(now 400,000) new eyes and she did apologize for that and I do agree if people did not watch Nondi's ai stance video and then Jo's video(even though jo DID say to watch Nondi's video first to get the full context)

(Note: I watched Nondi's full ai stance video before Jo uploaded hers) and just saw Jo's video(depending on how much you watched of Jo's video) and just relentlessly attacked nondi are also in just as much of the wrong telling her to "Kys" is not helpful and making her more stubborn and while I don't agree with her deleting comments that DO know the full story those critiquing her with no context are 100% justified beacuse context is EVERYTHING however Nondi's reactions and responses are NOT justified whatsoever she is a GROWN ASS WOMAN who knew DAMN WELL what's she's doing especially when she went live with that slander video, Twitter posts and even TODAY'S video and the fact that people are still defending what she's done are also the problem she is not the victim she is the perpetrator and when other people did what she's done now they were called crazy, were ridiculed or nearly lost or DID their careers entirely)

The last time a rapper(Doja Cat) made a post disrespecting her fans the same way nondi did she lost almost 200,000 followers

When this rapper(Nicki Minaj) went on a whole Twitter rampage and a crazy rant on IG live beacuse of Hiss (by Meg Thee Stallion)(in this case Nondi went on A coke rant on YT live)she was called a fucking cokehead

When this youtuber(Colleen Ballinger) made a video pinning blame on the internet for banding together, calling her out on her predatory behavior and made a ukulele musical as a response(in Nondi's a fucking snl skit) her response was seen as the worst youtuber apology/statement videos to date

(Note: this is not an attack on Nicki, Doja nor Meg as I love and respect all 3 of these artists however I can't say the same thing for Colleen as she is a terrible human being)

And while people are saying "omg the art community is so sensitive" and you know what? You're right the art community can get sensitive over everything and anything but that that's not the case people are rightfully upset at nondi she montitezed her ai Playlist Made by a company who's under fire for stealing unauthorized audio and using it but now she's attacking fans and critics who were trying to tell here what she was doing was WRONG

AI is a dangerous practice and a very controversial topic that is threatening not only art but jobs in general if ai was not being trained on stolen work and being seen as a replacement then maybe I would have a different opinion the problem is its not being seen as a tool but as a REPLACEMENT for human artists whist stealing art from them and creating entirely new images for the stolen work and people keep Making excuses for ai if "get with the times" mean I have to just let ai steal my work then I rather be left behind

And when I was looking at Nondi's Doc she keeps using race(she used are a total of 3 times even again race is NOT the problem and the fact that your using the race card is downright sickening and this is coming from a black person) and she tried to make Jo look like the bad person and acting as if what she's doing isn't overreacting guess what nondi You ARE overreacting and this Animatic and doc is proof and the way you responded has just made things worse you could've used that short hiatus to reevaluate or make a statement no one asked you to apologize for the A.I video but for the misgendering, the hateful comments and to Jo but instead you make 2 videos(one of them being a YT live) and slandered many people(even though you said you don't like bigger platforms using their influence to harm others) she is becoming the thing that she doesn't want to be and it's sad and the fact that fans still defend and fight tooth and nail for her just proves how ignorant these people are critics will critique ANYTHING, EVERYTHING and EVERYONE that should be common knowledge if you become a content creator or a public figure(such as a celebrity, influencer or musician) if you can't wrap your head around that then content creation isn't for you She is a GROWN woman who went on a two-year old rampage over a controversial topic

Remember the reason all of this is happen is beacuse she got pissy over ONE comment and she's using her race as a sheild

This isn't a RACE issue this is an ETHICS issue and she's treating it like some Anti-Black Campaign

Nondi This is Unacceptable

Leave the internet or take a hiatus beacuse this is too far

[bat2pony]

I think it is time I made my statements about the ships I enjoy from gen 4.

Full disclaimer though, these are my personal opinions! Everyone is entitled to their own headcanons and ships ^^ if you don't like mine, that's chill. As long as yours aren't problematic or harmful, I won't judge cause we're all just here to have fun 🙏

Likely my most controversial, but I ship Twilight Sparkle and Flash Centry. I can't help it. Them being canonically flirtatious in eqg wrapped its claws around my throat in 6th grade and I've never been able to escape. A tragic love story for the books.

I also enjoy it because her brother, Shining Armor, is a royal guard and with Princess Cadence. Flash Centry is a royal guard. Twilight is a princess. Do you see my train of thought?Also Twilight with any of the other mane 6 feels strange to me, although I can't express why.

I am a Fluttercord shipper. Fluttershy makes Discord lunches AND has pillows of them together in her cottage. And you know damn well they made those pillows together during one of their tea parties. They're canon without being canon and no one will ever change my mind. Also the tragedy of discord living long after Fluttershy. What is joy? I wouldn't know.

I ship Appledash in FiM and Rarijack in eqg. But also I think Applejack, Rainbow Dash, and Rarity should just be poly in FiM.

Pinkie pie and Cheese Sandwich.

I like it when they're canon.

Honorable mentions:

Flutterdash (because I'm a sucker for the protector x the lover trope) and FlutterHugger because they're stoners.

And Pinkie Favor or Party Pie or whatever (Pinkie Pie x Party Favor) but that's literally just because they're cotton candy together and they're both party ponies. I like pink and blue combos.

Its very likely that I'm forgetting some of the ships I enjoy but meh. That is all.

[queen-of-prophecy]

"My oh my......"

"Now how did you come to find your way into my Tower hmm??? Curious considering how it doesn't have any doors. Mostly naughty of you darling, breaking into my house-"

"Ah! Nevermind. I actually predicted your visit some time ago. You're right on schedule."

"Welcome to my Emerald Tower! The most mysterious and magnificent of any kind you'll find in Hell, surely. Here is where I, Queen Vine of the Ars Goetia, Beholder of Fate, The All-Seer, ruler of the Witchholm and loveliest of all those who Fell reside!"

"By the way, if you need the wifi password, it's P@im0nstinks12."

"So by all means! Make yourself comfortable. I'm sure you have many questions-"

Rules And Bio Below! Please read before interacting!

Rules:

Vine is capable of near perfect foresight, and thus can see the past, present and future of whomever she wishes with the exception of anomalies. However, I will not have Vine predict the future without consulting my RP partner about it first, or without establishing them as a said anomaly. If we can’t agree on what can be disclosed to Vine, or if you disagree with my decision to make or not make them an anomaly, please accept my decision if I choose not to continue the RP with you

Vine has extremely narcissistic habits, and is also a very privileged person. Her viewpoints are not going to always be my own, and she is bound to step on toes. I will always try to keep my partners informed of what she’s going to do in the RP, but if Vine does or says something that offends you personally, SPEAK UP. If Vine acting like an entitled queen is going to be offensive to you, we need to stop so we can avoid hurt feelings. This also goes for any element of plotting that you’re uncomfortable with. It’s much easier to do a full stop than to carry on with draa.

Vine is not interested in marriage or children. She can be reciprocative of flirting, but as someone who is demisexual and demiromantic, it takes her a long time to establish love and trust for someone. And this love is not necessarily healthy. If you want to do shipping, or plot romances, be aware Vine will not always act in your muses’ best interests.

I am open to RPing with minors. However I will not RP anything with graphic violence, sex, or other mature themes with you. If I find you’re lying about your age to RP these themes, it will be a full block, and I will delete all threads. This is the only warning you get.

I am open to all OCs and canon characters. If you want to drop little asks, my inbox is always open. However I typically will ask permission to the mun before dropping asks. If I haven’t asked yet, feel free to ping me and give me permission or ask me to. Communication is key!

Please be polite and understanding. All of what we’re doing on here is meant to be for fun, not to be taken seriously. I will respect your opinions and views so long as you respect mine. If I feel any communication is becoming unhealthy or nonexistent, don’t expect me to continue doing RPs with you.

Queen Vine is based on the demon King Vine of the Lesser Key of Solomon. Obviously this is not a canon version of that character, but only an inspiration. Still, as such, Queen Vine does have dominion over her own territory, and as such tends to do what she likes. If you actively want to RP her being a bully, be prepared!

I am perfectly accepting of other people's headcanons and bios, even if they contradict my own. For example, if you play Lucifer but do not have the same backstory as described here, that's fine! Its your character, they don't need to match up 100%

Have fun! Vine may be an omnipotent Queen but she’s also a drama mama wine aunt and spends her days writing fanfics. So enjoy that :D

All Art is made by @trissschmidt43!)

Name: Vine

Sex: Female

Age: ????

Birthday: May 1st (Taurus) / Beltane

Sexuality: Demisexual

Demon Class: Goetia (Pel’s Fishing Owl)

Location: The Royal Circle (Pride Ring)

(eldritch form below) Bio:

In the beginning there were the orders of angels who were set to safeguard humanity and care for God’s wonderful creations on Earth. Among them were the Ophanim, or the Thrones, who worked under the Seraphim to establish to pillars of wisdom that would insure Heaven stood supreme. The Ophanim were mostly paired siblings, including two particular Ophanim, Paimon and Vine.

The role of Paimon and Vine were as herald and scribe respectively. Paimon would be responsible for announcing the edict of the Heavens, and spoke with a powerful, captivating voice. And Vine would be the writer of histories and proclamations, documenting the past, present and future. The two siblings were proud of their public roles, and served, more or less, as the Voices of God.

However, when the Morningstar came to power, things changed.

Lucifer Morningstar was a Seraphim. Beautiful, brilliant, charming and well-liked by the Ophanim, he had become somewhat of a stand-out due to his extravagant ideas for how the Earth should operate, in particular caring for the future of humanity. But he was often put down by his fellow Seraphim and the elder council of angels, who found his ideas too outlandish and believing they should obey the order of God instead. The siblings Paimon and Vine however, found Lucifer’s ideas captivating, and believed that a strong leader should be capable of thinking big. And with God so elusive and difficult to commune with, soon the siblings found themselves siding more and more with Lucifer.

And then it happened.

Lilith, the wife of Adam, found she could not bear to submit to his will and be treated as a lesser being. Though the two had been created as equals, Adam had been increasingly more demanding, and thus the two broke away, Lilith choosing to live away from the enclosed garden. Lucifer understood her desire for autonomy, and admired her. The two met, and fell in love. Heaven had been swift to give Adam another wife, a more humble and gentle Eve, but Lucifer and Lilith felt that the mother of humanity deserved to be able to give the same gift Lilith had been born with. The power to choose for oneself.

And thus, the event that would shape history forever happened. Slipping into the garden, Lucifer offered Eve the Apple. It would allow her to be able to distinguish good from evil, give her wisdom and knowledge, and grant her the free will to decide of her own volition. Eve in her innocence, accepted.

But once it was made clear that the Mother of Humanity had done so, Heaven was enraged.

Eve had been tainted by the Apple. And what was worse, was that she already carried the future generation of humanity in her belly. Worse still, Adam learned of what she had done, and chose to taste the Apple himself, not wishing his wife to suffer alone. With humanity’s future now uncertain, the Seraphim swiftly punished Lucifer and Lilith and cast them down into Hell….a dark, foreboding place no angel dared tread.

The greatest of dangers was yet to come.

For Lucifer had left many friends behind in the Ophanim, who were horrified and outraged at the Elders act of cruelty against their beloved Seraphim. Paimon in particular was crushed, as he had deeply admired Lucifer and his bold take on things. Not willing to let this go without consequence, Paimon spoke to the other Ophanim, all seventy-two of them, and convinced them that they should stand in support of their friend. Not only them, but six other Seraphim who had been close to Lucifer as well, and viewed him as a brother, agreed that Lucifer had been unjustly punished….especially after seeing that humanity had been cast out of the Garden of Eden due to this.

As for Vine, she decided to take the first step. With the stroke of a pen, she wrote in the sacred book of God that Lucifer was to be the future of humanity, now and forever. With one act, she and Paimon set themselves as proud rebels against Heaven, demanding the return of Lucifer and Lilith and the restoration of mankind to the Garden of Eden.

Their defiance took a bloody turn. Angels warred against angels, and in the aftermath, all the rebels were swiftly punished and cast down to join the man they had sided with. But for Vine, who had emulated her leader in boldness, there was a special punishment awaiting her.

After the battle had sent most of her fellow Ophanim into Hell, Vine and her brother Paimon were chained and brought before the Elders. Though Paimon had coerced his fellow angels to rebellion, Vine had committed the first act of heresy in history by going against the will of God, and declaring another to be a greater power. With Paimon watching, the angels cut Vine’s hands from her wrists, declaring she would never again be permitted to write such heresy. While still howling in agony, the two siblings were cast down, the last to fall, and the impact of their rebellion cemented.

Lucifer and Lilith had not expected company, but after seeing so many of their fellow angels scattered, wounded, and morphed beyond recognition, they understood they needed to take control. With Lilith leading the way, supporting her new husband and great love, the two established their dominion over Hell. The six Seraphim who had fought and fell first became part of the Seven Deadly Sins, with Lucifer reigning as King of Pride and Emperor of Hell. The Ophanim, not wishing to relinquish their titles as Thrones, formed the Royal Circle of demons, a large part becoming the Ars Goetia. Paimon swiftly took leadership of these royal demons, as he had headed the rebellion.

Vine, now Queen Vine, was left in far worse straits.

Despite Lucifer’s best efforts, the wound she sustained after having her hands cut from her wrists was irreversible. Every time he attempted to attach new hands, they would rot and fall off, dooming her to dependence. Fortunately, Lucifer figured out a solution. He had attempted six times to attach hands to her wrists, and thus created six magical hands that would not need to be bound to her wrists in order to work. Vine was relieved to have her autonomy and ability to write restored, but was ultimately haunted by the ordeal she had suffered.

Though she and Paimon were still siblings, Paimon chose to cement his position through royal marriages, heirs, playing games of politics and establishing an iron grip on his territories. Vine however, had been too affected by their previous rebellion, and decided she would remain Queen of her principality and operate from afar. Her power, which remained even after her Fall, would be loaned for the use of future mortals who wished for prophecy, witchcraft, and magic. Residing in the Emerald Tower; a formidable stronghold that mysteriously lacks any doors to permit entry, Vine chose instead to continue the documentation she had once taken pride in….this time for Hell.

Present Day:

Though many eons have passed since the Fall, Vine still remains, more or less, as a solitary figure in the Royal Circle. As King Paimon’s sister and a Queen, she is respected by her royal peers, particularly for her ability to see the past, present and future almost perfectly….without the need of a grimoire. However, she is also mostly a mystery as she remains isolated in her tower, rarely permitting guests. Instead, she makes random appearances at society functions, often to give away lavish gifts and give “spoilers” for peoples future as a form of amusement.

In truth, Vine’s interest in writing the future has….changed. As the population of Hell as grown, her interest has turned more dramatic, resembling that of a novelist for romance and dramas. Her many tomes are in fact “fanfiction” of people’s lives, writing down the intricacies of their relationships and struggles. She even publishes them under pseudonyms online, and seems to revel in the little dramas she writes, since she can already tell what’s going to happen.

Vine does accept the call to service when requested by Lucifer or Lilith, but she has since become notoriously “obnoxious” to her brother and fellow Kings. She often likes to poke fun at Paimon’s pursuit of control and power, perhaps because she already knows the outcome of his machinations, and often speaks dismissively of those she doesn’t find interesting.

What’s stranger is that Vine seems to have adopted a small imp companion in her years of isolation, a tiny illustrator named Triss. No one’s sure how she came to be hired as the Queen’s confidante, or how she even got into the Emerald Tower. But Triss seems to thrive mostly off of reading the queen’s fanfiction, and even draws the subjects to add to the tomes. Triss is a deeply unusual imp, even by normal standards, but is also a deeply devoted friend to Vine, who is exceedingly fond of her.

Abilities and Powers:

Though the Ophanim were irreversibly changed after the Fall, taking on demonic forms, many of them retained their abilities and powers. Vine herself has many of the same powers Paimon has; teleportation, shape-shifting, telekinesis and the ability to traverse through space. However, Paimon has more combative powers than his sister has, which makes him suitable to his role as King. Instead, Vine has the advantage of near-perfect clairvoyance, to which she requires no grimoire or studies of the stars or elements to divine. These visions of the past, present and future are all done through her third eye, which is the only eye that constantly sees everything.

However it is only “nearly” perfect. There still remain people whom Vine refers to as “anomalies”; special people whose futures cannot be divined, nor their pasts uncovered. The best Vine can do is divine the path through the eyes of those around them, but never seeing their point-of-view. Vine has a vested interest in these anomalies, often writing “AU fanfics” where she guesses at their future based on her observation.

Because of these powers of foresight, Vine has taken on many names and forms in order to commune with humans on Earth to retain her importance and power. She has claimed many names and shapes, including that of the Fates. She can be summoned for counsel by humans, but only those who provide the proper tributes; Three cups of wine (red, white and rose), three fruits (apple, pomegranate and fig), and three knives (iron, copper, and steel), lit around a circle with her sigil with three candles (black, white and red). She will permit them three questions, but often keeps her answers ambiguous.

Vine’s weaknesses however, are the same as all immortal demons that live in Hell. She is vulnerable to angelic weapons and arms, and can also be subdued or sealed away by a more powerful demon such as the Seven Deadly Sins, or King Lucifer and Queen Lilith. Though she has yet to make herself so troublesome as to incite their ire, she does have a habit of angering people by refusing to speak of the future. In fact, Vine has a personal rule where she refuses to reveal anything unless it provides ample entertainment for herself.

Personality:

Vine, like most Goetia, is an incredibly proud and vain woman who often disregards the running of her territory, having left it to the work of stewards and magistrates. She has extremely narcissistic tendencies and can be very extravagant and eccentric, often praising her beauty and brilliance, and taking a great deal of stock in public comments online from her fan base. Vine is capable of being good and generous, but that is often reserved with those whom she takes interest in or has a history with.

However, she is also capable of being very vindictive and cold, especially on the subject of her own history. Though few outside of the Goetic Circle know what happened to her hands, she finds it a very sore subject, hiding her scarred wrists under long sleeves and changing the subject when it turns to it. If someone of lower station were to pry at the subject, she would react with swift, unceasing retribution, and will even teleport unfortunate souls into volcanoes if they wrong her.

Yet, despite being Queen, Vine chooses not to marry or have children. She cites her brother Paimon for this reason, stating that child-bearing and marriage was nothing but tedious work, and states that as immortals, the question of their inheritance is rather moot since most of them will live until Armageddon at the very least. Vine enjoys romance stories, but choose to play coy, often flirting but never really pursuing. It’s unknown if Vine has had any lovers, as she does not openly speak of her romantic relationships.

In truth, there is only one person whom Vine treasures above all; her companion Triss. Aside from letting Triss live in the Emerald Tower and hiring her as her illustrator, Vine also shares secrets of the future with her, and they seem to operate on the same wavelengths, enjoying things from afar.

_______

Extra! Bio For Triss, Queen Vine's Imp Companion

Name: Beatriss (“Triss”) Lansher

Sex: Female

Age: 21-23

Birthday: August 21st (Leo)

Sexuality: Asexual (Biromantic)

Demon Class: Imp (30 cm tall)

Location: The Royal Circle (Pride Ring)

Bio:

In truth, no one really knows who Triss is or where she came from. At some point however, during one of Queen Vine’s visits to the Goetic Assemblies, she performed a “magic trick” where she pulled Triss from her long sleeves, and then let her rest on her shoulder for the remainder of the evening. At first Triss was dismissed as nothing more than a royal pet…however as she began making regular attendances at Goetia parties as Vine’s guest it was clear the Queen had a definite soft spot for her.

Triss did manage to secure a position as Royal Illustrator for the Queen’s writing projects. Despite being small enough to fit in a teapot, she is an exceptional artist, and can often draw detailed sketches based off of one lone observation. Triss presently lives in the Emerald Tower, and despite being something of an oddity, appears to be very happy and comfortable in Vine’s service.

Personality:

Triss, like Vine, loves reading about dramatic stories and enjoys the adventure, the plot-twists, and romance arcs of people the Queen writes about. Because she has an insider view on particular Hellborns and humans, she gets the inside scoop on a lot of complex stories from all around. Despite her small stature, she doesn’t seem to be afraid of much, perhaps made comfortable by the Queen’s protection. Triss is also quite bold and blunt. She’s not afraid to use the Queen’s favoritism to her advantage, often pointing to things she wants and asking Vine to get them for her. It’s an effective strategy nonetheless, and Vine rarely denies her anything.

Triss is also a great lover of the arts. Drawing is one fo the things she’s truly passionate for, and she has a creative streak that can imagine many scenarios at the drop of a hat. She also has a great love of charcuterie and cheeses, and it’s believed that a major part of her contract with Vine as her employee is to always have a full charcuterie plate by her bedside. Given it’s the preferred snack of the two when they’re observing the antics of their favorite characters, the Emerald Tower is outfitted with a fromagerie suitable to their tastes.

Given her mistress is so eccentric, Triss herself can be quite the oddball too. She can be unreactive sometimes, and her obsession with cheese and fanfics are often questionable by most.

[neptunescore]

Unpopular F1 opinions? Well, I'll shoot mine, but I am not really a fan of Ferrari (well I kind of don't like the team, only Fred)

This also contributes to me not really liking neither Charles nor Carlos. I'm sorry but both of them give off such rich, detached from reality, playboy asshole energy. And also their love lifes seems, well, pretty messy to say the least. Carlos dumping a girl he's been with for ages? Charles cheating on his past girlfriend? I'm sorry, but these two are just a big red (how ironic) flag to me

LMFAOOO, AS A FERRARI FAN I FEEL CALLED OUT. (/j)

Nah, but I get u.

For me personally tho, I don't really like getting too involved with driver's personal lives (especially their love lifes) like I'll consume and obsess over content that they've given us, but I like to stay away from gossip pages or general assumptions being made. I just feel like we, as fans, never really know what's actually happening behind the scenes so we can't really say anything abt stuff like that.

HOWEVER, from what I HAVE seen... would I ever (this would never happen) actually date one of the ferrari drivers??um... no 💀✋🏽 but are they my bby girls???um... yes😭✊🏽 (leave me and my duality alone OKAY)

Also, ur preception of them is hilarious to me and I won't even say anything abt it bc we're all entitled to our own opinion and I'd be a hypocrite to say otherwise

Anyway, c28hunter, just know ur one of my favourite mutuals, and I genuinely giggle a bit every time I see u on my page😘🤭, also hoping u find as much happiness playing the guitar as you did sword fighting and that you realise just how much the ppl in your life love you.

I had no idea there might be a chance charles cheated, and im curious to know how that came abt so like... u know if u come in my ask again or smthng😄

[el-moscorrofio-y-el-mercachifle]

I don't see many people talking about Patricia's character anywhere, so I'll talk a little (give my opinion) here.

I personally feel VERY sorry for her. Okay, many of Patricia's attitudes and actions are not justifiable, but you can't help but feel empathy for her at least at some point throughout the story. She was never a saint because several times she was not strange when it came to manipulating/seducing to get something, she never thought before humiliating people among other things that make her a bad person.

But despite all this, you can see that several times she showed herself to be a naive person, she filled herself with expectations, deluded herself and lied to herself, (like for example the whole story with Mário, which she faithfully believed he was would marry her and keep her), and as you said, she always thought she was in control of everything and all the relationships she was involved in, but she never was.

She tried to use everyone and always ended up being used, she tried to manipulate everyone and they easily manipulated her, situations that show that she was really a vulnerable and naive person. I believe that her being so materialistic and wanting to find a rich husband is not only to solve her economic problems, but also to fill a void, because what she really is, is a very lonely person. She's so empty that she'd rather go to the gym than buy food, she'd rather not give up things she doesn't need than live poorly. These things only show that she is a person who lives by appearances, who tries so hard to be someone she is not, rather than showing the reality: that she is alone and does not have someone who loves her to the point of caring about her.

She was so at the bottom mentally (stopping eating to try to look like a life she can't keep it’s not normal, also other things she did) and economically that she had to humble herself to people, like when she went to Daniel because he had become president (that's all he wanted, and we know that sooner or later he would tell her the worst possible way how shameful this situation was and how much she fell to get to that point), or when she tried to seduce Mario to get a ride home.

Anyway, Patricia could be selfish, materialistic and a lot of other things, but that just reminds us that she is a REAL person like so many others out there.

I know many will definitely disagree with me, but as I already said, I know that she is no saint throughout the entire novel, but she suffered as much as those who were called and considered the “good guys” in the story.

Hiiii! Loved that you shared some of your thoughts! Here are some of mine too🥰

Patricia's character was definitely... a topic. It's no secret that to me she became a wasted potential and I dislike the decision to make her purely comedic relief when at first she was honestly pretty much in the same camp as characters like Armando and Marcela: very entitled and blinded by their own gigantic ego, to the point of hurting others for their own benefit even though they didn't realize it. I'm not saying she should have gotten a redemption or anything of the sorts. Characters like Mario never got them but they were still super well worked with. Patricia just became a joke.

I've also mentioned before that I too feel pity for her, or at least, I feel for first-half-of-the-novela Patricia. She was never kind, polite, humble or endearing, sure, but she seemed much more human. She was truly excited to think Mario fell for her, and seemed truly disturbed by that firdt encounter with Daniel. I feel for that Patricia because up until that point, her story felt real. I wouldn't say she was naive, but rather, too egocentric to realize there are bigger fish on the sea. She thought she could do anything to anyone and she'd always triumph. Uo until there, you feel she is a real person clinging to appearences because her life is so empty she literally has nothing else. Eventually it just became comedy and exagerated whining that made you forget that she's actually a person with real suffering, even if she's causing it herself (most of the characters cause their own suffering, too).

I couldn't pinpoint exactly when she became a parody of herself. At some point her role was just to throw venom, be comedic, and complain. That's it. She didn't even cause much trouble like at the beginning, and her extreme poverty was merely the butt of the joke. This last part particularly is where I feel the potential was the most wasted. I would have loved to see more of Patty's real struggles, and, if we had had a but more time with the novela, perhaps we could have even seen this for character development (or character regression, whichever you choose!): for example, how poverty is keeping her from eating, which is leading to headaches and dizziness and lack of energy. How poverty is landing her homeless. How she's forced to rely on, for example, Nicolás. I could totally see their love story having formed from this, like her falling so badly that she has no choice but to rely more on Nicolas now not only for frivolous things like the car and the cellphone, I mean real things like food and shelter and seen in a more real light.

Anyways, Ik why they couldn't develop more their "love story" (I think they probably were meant to be together, as in Gaitan probably had that goal, but we all know all the problems that theproduction went through), so it's just an idea.

I do think Patricia was probably mentally ill, tho. Her obsession with appearences is so bad, like you said, that she's willingly STARVING herself. She's starving and yet she doesn't miss a single day at the gym. She's willing to risk going homeless but doesn't stop buying new clothes or hair dye. She's willing to shower with cold water and go back to a pitch dark apartment where there's no food or entertainment as long as she can still look and act like a rich person in front of everyone. I think we often forget how insane Patty's situation was because we remember more her funny/malicious sides, but honestly, her whole world view was crazy.

Thank you for sharing your thoughts and sorry this took so long!😂❤️

[mania-sama]

Just want to say thanks so much for that post about you prefer Kevin/Neil over Neil/Andrew. Yes, I thought I was the only one. Agree with your answers about them, also not that I hate on Andrew but I don't see and feel the chemistry between him and Neil. FYI, I have said this to my AFTG moots once before and got blocked (that is why I never said it again until I found your blog).

And as fan of Haikyuu, don't you feel that Kevin/Neil kinda remind you of some other duo? Yes, Kageyama/Hinata. Wait, I know their personality is different but somehow their dynamic is kinda similar, right?

Sorry, if it's kinda random, but I got into AFTG because a friend of mine said, "You love Haikyuu, right? It's like that but with mafia and troubled kids" (worst advice ever, but I grew to love AFTG, too). And somehow, as I read them, I thought Neil will end up with Kevin if it's mlm story, and he end up with Andrew instead?

Oh yeah, can I ask what do you mean with "Andrew is the most unrealistic part of AFTG"?

Sorry for this long ask, thanks if you want to answer....

hey!! thanks so much for sending an ask! it was not too long; i love reading anything and everything people send me!

So sorry that people have blocked you over something as silly as a ship preference! I see where Andreil comes from; it has plenty of amazing and good qualities, and I'm happy with it being endgame! I just know, in my heart of hearts, that Kevneil should've been the one to cross the finish line. But that's just my opinion, and everyone is entitled to believe or think otherwise.

As far as comparing Hinata and Kageyama to Neil and Kevin, I'm of the opinion that their similarities start and end with their appearances. Outside of being singularly obsessed with one sport, I don't necessarily see the relation. Neil and Hinata are gingers and relatively short, and Kageyama is tall with dark hair. Their dynamics, to me, are different as well; Kageyama and Hinata both strive to get better together, but it isn't the trade-off and companionship that Kevin and Neil hold. Kevneil's dynamic is special in that it's very hard to find a reasonable comparison. They just have so much going on at all times. Kagehina, while a respectable pair, aren't as complex. They better each other even while at constant odds, and while you can say that is the relationship between Kevin and Neil, I feel that it is far too simple of an explanation, almost to the point that it's false.

Your friend isn't wrong to make the comparison. I've often thought this myself, honestly. It's got the same sport-focus while also being about mafia and troubled kids. I actually really like Haikyuu and think it's great; All for the Game essentially combines what I like about Haikyuu and everything I look for in Haikyuu fanfiction (that is, a focus on the individual characters and adding in insane trauma and lore for no reason at all). I personally think it's hilarious. It's one of the many reasons I'm very drawn to this series; it's like reading self-service fanfiction. I am a dead dove girlie at heart, what can I say?

... But on the same token, I have to talk about Andrew. While I don't disagree with my statement that Andrew is the most unrealistic part of AFTG (because he most certainly is), I will also say that this doesn't mean I dislike his character or don't find his story compelling. I do. I resonate with a lot of the ways he processes information, and I like how he represents that not everyone deals with trauma in socially acceptable or "presentable" ways. He's different, and that's okay.

However, here is where I come to a roadblock. I love the Dead Dove: Do Not Eat tag. I like to read when characters, in fanfiction, go through traumatic things. It's cathartic; it's a way for me to separate fiction from reality. I can experience these things without having to get emotionally involved. It's a curious phenomenon. But here's the other thing: I think it's something that should stay in fanfiction.

When you bring these serious topics into a published work, you have to treat it with the lens of professionalism. A video I watched semi-recently explains this very well while talking about the book A Little Life. The creator uses the term trauma porn to describe the general interest in visual works (books/tv shows/movies) where characters go through an unsubstantiated amount of trauma for the sake of... trauma. It's not there for any significant reason other than to be written. That's why it's so popular in fanfiction, and why I'm okay with indulging in it in that format. It's not serious. Fanfiction can be serious, but it's not serious in the same way that A Little Life is meant to be serious. A Little Life would be a perfect fanfiction, but as a published book, it is juvenile and worth very little in the world of trauma exploration.

This is how I feel about Andrew, and in some parts, Jean, in All for the Game. Andrew is raped about a gajillion times in this work. And for what? There is very little reason to keep making him endure this insanely traumatic experience, only for him to wind back in the same exact place he was before. It adds nothing to the story or his character. His original backstory works fine in the narrative: he is repeatedly traumatized as a youth, and this fundamentally changes who he becomes. That is fine. But then it happens off-book... again? To serve as a punishment to... Neil? Then he comes back like nothing happened. As if he was raped for nothing. Because, well, he was. Narratively, no repercussions occurred because of this action. Andrew didn't hold it against him. Neil still experienced the Nest regardless if Andrew did or didn't get raped. Then, it happens... again. This time on-book, and while we do get the satisfaction of seeing his original rapist murdered, it still does nothing. This encounter with his old abuser could have been worth a lot if there had been a proper set-up of conflict, but instead, the author chose to write a rape scene. Because that makes sense? Especially when the character bounces right back as if nothing happened. Because again, nothing narratively happened due to this scene. Aaron gets locked away for a while, and that's about it. It isn't even really a big deal, because they end up working through the details off-book. The team isn't severely impeded by this situation. Nothing happens. Do you see why this is a problem? It's very, very frustrating, and it makes a mockery of a very serious trauma. It is, point blank, trauma porn, and it has no right to be in a serious, published work. Even most fanfiction writers that do write trauma porn would've handled this with more grace and elegance than Nora did.

This alone wouldn't have made Andrew fully unrealistic. Now I want to talk about the issue of the drug he takes. He takes this made-up insanity pill that makes him loopy and goofy. Because of course it does. Even though there is no medical standing for a drug like this to even exist, nor would it medically make any sense at all to cause him to act this way. Furthermore, I am of the opinion that he didn't need to take them at all! Everyone in the book hyped up Andrew's natural state to be horrifying and unapproachable, only for the reveal to be... a stoic guy. I think that he was scarier on the drugs. He was honestly relaxed and seemed to be happier off the drugs despite everyone saying that he was crueler. In the narrative, he didn't even change. The drugs served only as an inhibitor to his playing in the first two books, and another way to make Andrew experience more trauma.

In short, Andrew, to me, is very clearly just a way for a female author to torture a gay male character. I said it, and I will not take it back. I wouldn't care if this was a fanfiction (I do it all the goddamn time), but it's not. It's a published book, and therefore must be reviewed with a critical eye. And she does a lot of this stuff again with Jean, only with a bit more care and finesse. Jean is far more believable than Andrew, and he still runs into many of the same problems that Andrew's character writing fatally experiences.

To quote you, sorry for the long response! I just had a lot to say. I love All for the Game. I honestly think it's a good book series that explores avenues of trauma responses with a fairly entertaining plot; no piece of media is perfect, and some of the greatest have serious problems with them that a lot of people choose to ignore. I love All for the Game despite its many flaws, and I am very excited for the next book of The Sunshine Court duology.

[abyssleaves]

Why I'll Be Remaining in the Lurking For Love Community

Ok.

Honestly, I really don't want to make this.

I'm way too old for fandom drama, and I don't need to be making myself a target. My gut is telling me that it's a bad idea to get involved, and I'm inviting trouble for myself by posting this.

But the most recent post against Tom is just ridiculous and I can't not speak my piece.

I'm not linking to it or reblogging it because I don't want to send hate anyone's way, and honestly because I'm going to block them as soon as this is posted. You can read mine and theirs for yourself and decide what you think.

As far as the “anti-Latino” posts that Tom liked, I can't speak to whether they do damage, or what Tom’s views actually are. I am not Latino, and I'm not Tom. It's not my place. But I will say I was aware of those posts long before I saw that “callout” post, and it's because multiple Latino artists I follow liked and retweeted them. At the time, I was given to understand that they were satirizing the fact that both were styles of stereotypes, but one was acceptable while the other was not, despite both being bad. I can't say, based on just those tweets, that I see any anti-Latino sentiment in Tom. I'm willing to admit that my knowledge on that front isn't bomb-proof.

The second point, well... I'm sorry to the friend that feels used. They're entitled to be hurt. And I will readily admit that I'm only able to respond to the info within that post. Maybe there IS more to it.

But I don't think that Tom ceasing contact over the hormones is surprising at all, from a mental health standpoint. Put yourself in his shoes: you're a trans person in US, which is its own struggle, and you've reached your mid/early 20s without being able to attain gender-affirming care. Now someone years younger than you just got the thing you want more than anything else. Sure, you might be happy for them. But that is also going to hurt, horribly. You really have three options:

1) stay friends and smother the bitterness/possible resentment. That will either end up ruining your mental health, or coming out and ruining the friendship anyway.

2) Ask your friend not to tell you/post about their transition. That makes it about you and also ruins something that should make them happy.

3) Distance yourself.

Maybe he should have spoken more directly with you about his feelings, granted. But, Tom has not been shy about the fact that he struggles with his mental health. None of us handle every situation well. As far as his occasional venting, I would think, if you WERE his friend, you might have some compassion, and either cease contact if the friendship is not fulfilling, or accept his sincere, well-written apology (Which are the ONLY words straight from Tom’s mouth on the entire fucking post).

Instead, you got the apology from him, and then shared a bunch of gossip between you and another friend, and outed your interpretations of his vent sessions to the world. That's not exactly classy, posting about how he sought people he felt safe with during a time when a big chunk of the community he built is telling him to do horrible things to himself.

I want to make it clear that I don't agree with all of Tom’s views as expressed on his initial explanation post. Again, many of them are issues that I don't feel are my place to get involved in, and therefore I stayed quiet at the time.

I'm aware that the justified and intense hurt felt by people in those communities can mean that even differing opinions feel like a slap in the face. You have every right to see Tom’s views as hurtful and choose to leave, and/or make a separate community for support. I don't blame people who are in those communities for doing so. This post is aimed at the obsessed minority that won't leave the tag/remaining fans/Tom alone.

All of the above being said, the reaction to Tom’s post is the most “touch grass” thing I have ever seen.

Tom liking one or two comics from a dark-humor comic artist so widespread on the internet that I didn't even know he had an actual page, or anything about him as a person (something Tom also stated) = Tom is a Nazi sympathizer.

Tom saying “I don't care for neopronouns, but I won't attack you for using them and will respect what everyone wants to be called” = Tom is a monstrous bigot.

The racism accusation has me especially 💀. All because he liked a post about help from an unexpected source and that we should be kinder to each other.

How on earth are you going to tell a POC that he doesn't know what racism is because he’s NOT THE RIGHT KIND OF POC? Do you hear yourself?

(FWIW, I also don't agree with kink at pride. Sorry. LGBTQ+ people are not "narsty little freaks"--yeah I SAW that post--they're people. They can be kinky, they can be vanilla, whatever. Kink has nothing to do with your orientation, and therefore it isn't part of Pride. Also, my guys, if you're having public sex/being nude at pride for kink reasons, then you're not part of the healthy kink community: safe, sane, and CONSENSUAL. Nobody around you consented to that. Similarly, while I feel that sex education for minors should be normalized in order to give them better tools to tell when they're being groomed, seeing strangers with no pants on is NOT education, that's involving minors in your fetish. And that's fucking gross. )

The LGBTQ+ community in the US is in a lot of trouble right now, and we have a very bad habit of eating our own. We divide and subdivide and allow ourselves to be carved up by a united conservative front.

We do not allow for differing levels of leftist beliefs, and we constantly accuse each other of being not POC/leftists/queer enough, or being the wrong kind, or using a term for ourselves that some other individuals don't like. A great deal of the bullying leveled against him is justified by others saying that he's choosing to support a party that will turn on him and cause him and others like him harm.

Well, to be honest, the only community I see doing that right now is this one.

The amount of disingenuous “OMG, just FYI everyone to everyone hurt by [situation], I’M not transphobic/a bigot, you're all welcome here 😌” posts from people, who did not read his post, did not link to or quote his post. Disgusting. You know very well that nothing in his explanation or in his actions throughout his time in the community pointed to any abuse ON HIS PART towards trans people, non-binary people, people of the Jewish faith, or POC. You're virtue signaling, you're putting lambs blood above your door to keep the baying mob away.

This is insane. When did differing opinions turn into this? You don't have to agree with Tom’s views on anything. You're welcome to not follow his accounts, not like his art, not buy his game. If you feel that his opinions are too severely different from yours, you should be allowed to leave the fandom without people telling you that you should do bad things to yourself because your opinions don't match theirs (sound familiar?).

But…please. Can we stop with this awful parasocial obsession with his personal page? You can't lie to yourself and call it anything other than literal stalking. It's creepy as hell, and it reflects more on you than on him, in the long run. People might agree with your outrage, but deep down, they're afraid of being the next target, and they stay quiet out of fear that you'll stalk them next and send a mob hurling abuse their way.

To Tom, I'm sorry that this happened to you. You didn't deserve anything even close to this level of vitriol and abuse. You started from scratch and created a character and story that I feel was something truly unique. You reached an incredible number of people's hearts with Lurking for Love and Jacob, and no matter what happens from here with both of them, you deserve to feel proud of that. I hope that you are ok. Being a public figure on the internet doesn't mean you don't have a right to private opinions or even just general privacy.

I'm not tagging any characters in this. I'm only tagging the game because I hope other fans get to see that they're not alone. I don't believe the tags should be polluted this way. If you have to discuss a creator, it should be in his tag and not in a fandom space.

I'm aware that there will be deliberate bad-faith readings of this, or nitpicking of things I didn't cover. Whoever wants to, go ahead and respond, but I've said what I came to say, and I have nothing more to add. My inbox is closed and I love the block button.

[elismor]

These days, it seems to be fashionable to refuse to believe that AI has any possible use beyond "plagiarizing" (please look up the actual definition of that word?) fic, so I wanted to share a brief list of questions I have asked MS Copilot and Perplexity as a demonstration that the bots can actually be leveraged to HELP fic authors.

Generate a list of one to two word writing prompts about things soldiers experience while at war.

using the list above, iterate to add 12 prompts that touch on the lighter side of life in a military unit

What are some good names for a secret society?

using the list above, iterate to include fraternal organizations comprised of soldiers

Generate a list of possible titles for a story about brotherhood, loss, and the horrors of war

re-generate the list above with a tone of sadness or mourning

To be clear, I have not used any of the results wholesale. The titles query in particular produced a set of very cliche and overly dramatic possibilities, no matter how many times I refined the ask. The prompts were pretty decent and I cherry picked them to add to other lists of prompts I've gathered, then used AI to randomly shuffle the list, divide it into sections of 25, shuffle those 25 in each section, etc. This was done to make personal bingo cards and I'm pretty pleased with the results. In the case of the question about the secret society, the AI tendency toward the absurd actually worked in my favor, though I did not like any of the answers well enough to choose it.

AI can be incredibly useful when you are stuck on something.

what are six ways a man might escape from a burning building?

generate a list of four types of injury that would prevent a person from walking, but would not be fatal

how might a robot respond to being teased by humans in a sci-fi setting?

in layman's terms, explain the science behind the concept of hyperspace travel in sci-fi

Those are all ways of generating ideas that you can then chew on and adapt for your own use rather than sitting and staring at a blank page or blinking cursor. AI can help you brainstorm.

I haven't tried this yet, but I bet it could also help you figure out what the cliches in any given genre are so you can either lean in or run away from them.  Something like "in Star Wars fan fiction, what are the most common ways Obi-Wan Kenobi and Commander Cody flirt with one another?" might produce a list of Codywan tropes that either sparks your imagination or makes you laugh hysterically.

There's a lot of worry that AI will replace artists and writers and, yeah, there are people who are using it to create things out of whole cloth. We're all entitled to our opinions on that (mine are deeply conflicting and still forming, tbh). But we shouldn't damn the tool because we perceive that people are abusing it. The tool can help you if you let it.