#bc i’ve seen a lot of negativity so i wanna know what there is to look forward to :(

[dykals]

with less than two weeks until dragons rising, what’s one thing everyone is excited for in the new season/series?

[victory-cookies]

I have finally received $100 of the $300 I was promised as a birthday present from my various grandparents. it is nearly two months late 😭

[valiwrites]

reincarnation ✧.* formula 1

part1 part2 part3

: ̗̀➛ pairing: formula 1 x senna!reincarnation!male!oc (nico santos) : ̗̀➛ warnings: strong language, hate comments : ̗̀➛ author’s note: i wrote this before and got a lot of hate for it. if it’s not your thing, just scroll past—no need to spread negativity. i didn’t write this just to read mean comments.

masterlist

lando ✔︎

liked by nicosantos, f1, scuderiaferrari, carlossainz55, lewishamilton and 1.4m others

lando no matter where you go, you'll still be my best teammate

view all 644k comments

user1 lando what does that mean 😭😭

user2 i'm panicking... what do you mean by that

user3 i think he's leaving mclaren

user4 wait what?? lando or nico?

user3 nico probably bc of everything that has been happening lately

user5 ferrari liked- why did ferrari like this

user6 stop!! i don't want him to leave 😭😭

user7 what if he's leaving leaving

user8 no he isn't he's just changing teams

f1 ✔︎

liked by scuderiaferrari, charles_leclerc, nicosantos and 3.2m others

f1 nico santos is set to join ferrari for the 2025 season! wishing him all the best of luck!

view all 1.2m comments

user1 don't you dare

user2 wait he will be replacing carlos?? then who's replacing nico??

user3 oscar piastri, who was a reserve driver for mclaren

user4 i kinda wanna see nico in red tho ngl

user5 samee he has a bright future in ferrari

user6 imagine he moved to red bull tho

user7 nah he'd be in his prime in red bull

user8 i thought nico and charles didn't like eachother

user9 in 2020 when nico was a rookie, yeah thats when they hated eachother. they are friends now

nicosantos ✔︎

liked by lando, alex_albon, yukitsunoda, galisteuoficial, mickschumacher and 2.3m others

nicosantos woooow i swear i was a pro but look at me now, just send me down the slope already, i’ll be fine… probably. but hey, at least the snow’s soft, right?

view all 764k comments

user1 someone check if he's alive 😭

user2 bro i think you’ve discovered a new form of snow angel

user3 helpp

user4 i think ferrari already got to him

user5 how much did you need to pay for that window 😭😭

user6 did you just invent a new way to fall or…?

user7 i don’t think that’s how skiing works, but okay

user8 i think he knows user7 it was a joke

user9 that was the least impressive wipeout I’ve ever seen. try harder next time

user10 that's so fucked up

user11 guess we won’t be seeing you in a ferrari anytime soon, huh?

user12 just make sure you don’t hit your head... ifykyk

user13 the way i gasped

user14 why did adriane like this 💀

user15 bc they know eachother lmao

[ryuichirou]

I wanna start with I love your blog sm and I’m not trying to jump on the train, in fact I don’t even mind if you just read this and don’t post or even just delete after you read, but I know where the “Rook gaslighter�� thing comes from and wanted to explain (I also just LOVE talking about rook even if its negative). Im not explaining to change your mind but rather to inform!! Because I love spending hours analyzing the characters, pls don’t stop drawing rook!! Ever!!

ANYWAYS now that “please don’t hate me I have to uncontrollably explain everything about my favorite character(s) the second someone doesn’t know about one small detail 😭” is over, I will explain! During Vil’s lab wear vignette, Rook asks Vil when he’s going to start his new diet. Vil, confused, is like what??? Tf?? And rook is like “yeah :D you have put on 3 pounds exactly :)”. Vil is lowkey like wtf Rook I haven’t noticed shit and rook is like “okayyy but who do you believe? Me or literally anyone else?” And vil is like “yeah you’re right, I’ll adjust my diet, thank you rook”.

The ‘issue’ with the “rook is a gaslighter” is it’s SOLELY a fandom thing (and maybe with other characters, but still, like. Vil is a world class model he CANT put on weight like a normal person could because it’ll unfortunately affect his career. The beauty world is just like that, irl too. Plus, this is something he wants for himself, even if he admits to hating the diets during his overblot, it’s still a part of who he is). Vil, himself, views rook’s behavior as a helpful thing, he appreciates Rook’s supernaturally keen eye! He might be offended but ultimately he would not have Rook as his vice-prez if he didn’t respect or admire Rook in some way.

I adore the way you draw them together!! The one where vil is like “how dare you! Just because he’s strange doesn’t mean he’s like that!” And rook is behind him with blood on his face, he’s so cute! I recently found another blog that is similar to yours that I also wanted to see if you knew bc they draw rook out the same way you do! @/fadiesismin is so cool and I think you’d love their artwork!!! Also I’m very sorry for the long-winded ask, in my defense, I’m also a Sagittarius. Rook 🫶 Me, xoxoxoxoxo!!

Sagittarius Anon! I’m sorry it took this long to reply.

First of all, thank you for enjoying our stuff and for your support! I am very happy that you like the way we portray RookVil. Their relationship is very interesting and honestly quite nuanced; we don’t usually gravitate towards ships that have this strong of a “they’ve been dating for a while” vibe, but these two are just too charming. Probably because despite them deeply understanding each other and sharing a lot of values and passions, they really aren’t a perfect couple, and we get to see it in moments like the vignette you’ve mentioned, or Rook’s lab wear vignette, or on multiple other occasions. Rook isn’t the perfect boyfriend, in fact, he is quite a menace sometimes without really meaning harm (still, he technically made Vil cry at least once); but there also isn’t another person that would get Vil as deeply as Rook does and support him as well as Rook does. What they have is special, but isn’t perfect at all.

As you already know, we also love talking about characters a lot, so I even though I am late with this reply, I am happy to have an opportunity to talk about these two and Rook specifically. So thank you for sending this ask and waiting!

I’ve seen this vignette being used as an example of Rook being gaslighting/manipulative before, and to be honest, I don’t really get this argument. I understand that the reasoning is usually that Rook sounds similar to a man that lies to his girlfriend about her being fat because he wants her to be even skinnier or just to be an asshole about it, but here is the thing: this isn’t what Rook is doing though. Gaslighter always has ulterior motive behind their manipulations, even if it’s just to mess with someone else’s head for fun or to control this person. But with Rook (both in this vignette and in general), what you see is what you get: the man is brutally honest, sometimes even too honest. Vil himself is very aware of that and has mentioned it multiple times.

It’s just like you said! Vil never lets anyone forget that his looks are important to him (both because of his own standards and because he is a model), so of course Rook would comment on something that he noticed. This is the foundation of their relationship: Rook gives Vil his feedback because Rook sees things that other people don’t. Does it mean that this feedback is always 100% necessary and Vil should change things according to how Rook critiques him? Of course not. Maybe sometimes it would be better for Vil to just take it easy and relax instead of perfecting every single thing, but this isn’t what Vil wants for himself: he doesn’t want to be pampered, he wants to be appreciated for his hard work. Rook enables Vil’s perfectionism, but don’t forget that Rook is that force in Vil’s life that doesn’t let him forget what he is doing all that for (I’ve talked about Rook being protective of Vil’s “beauty” = love for art here). Vil having a toned body is something that Rook enjoys, but this is mainly something that Vil wants himself; I kind of think that as long as Vil’s passionate and unapologetic about things that he does, Rook would find beauty in him no matter how he looks. Remember him at the end of ch6 after Vil’s grandpafication? Yeah exactly.

Alright, I digress. The point I am trying to make is that Rook is very direct with Vil, sometimes even too direct, and this is the opposite of gaslighting. Even when he suggests things “lightly”, he is still upfront about them: he doesn’t try to plant any ideas in Vil’s head.

Rook sounds and acts like a jerk sometimes, but he means well, and it’s not an excuse, just a fact. In Rook’s head, Vil always takes his direct remarks and observations very well, what’s so different this time? Even if you’ve been with someone for years, fuckups are unavoidable, especially for someone who has problems with tact.

To reiterate: could this scene be triggering or upsetting? Absolutely. Are there people who comment on other’s weight to make them insecure or make them doubt themselves? Absolutely. Is this what Rook does? Absolutely not. It just isn’t true to his character: he wouldn’t gain anything if Vil started doubting himself, in fact, he would have hated it. He doesn’t want Vil to be insecure or unsure, this is literally what he confronted him about at the end of Ch5. He also doesn’t need to do anything for Vil to trust him more than others: Vil already does. When he was saying that he knew better than anyone or anything else, he stated the truth, and this is what so fucked up about Rook: he really does know better.

It’s very important to remember that these characters have their own circumstances and their own writing, and we are fucking blessed to have a cast of characters this interesting and complex.

By the way, I am saying all of this as someone who wouldn’t mind Rook being a gaslighter and could see fanon scenarios where it could work, but those need to be very well-written not to ruin his character, because honesty is an integral part of Rook Hunt. For better or worse.

Also, I know you haven’t mentioned Jade, Anon, but since this entire discussion started with comparing the two, I wanted to note that Jade’s Dorm Uniform vignette exists. Vil literally looked at him man and decided not to trust him for one moment, even scolded Rook for even humouring the idea that Jade was telling the truth. And this is just one instance; we are constantly being reminded by everyone in cast about the fact that Jade is shady and we shouldn’t take seriously the majority of things that he says (pretty much verbatim to what Floyd said about him in the Playful Land event). Jade doesn’t care about honesty, he doesn’t care about lying either: all he cares about is what to say to make the others react in the most interesting way possible. He loves messing with people, and the world is his playground….

(I am also pretty sure that he comments on Azul’s diet; this has nothing to do with gaslighting either, just thought I’d mention that since we’re talking about this)

Anyways, thank you again for your ask, Anon! I hope this wasn’t an exhausting read. I always feel like I haven’t said everything that I wanted to say, but fortunately I still have tons of replies to write, so I’ll have my chance..! Probably.

PS. @/fadiesismin’s works are very good!!

[wrongcaitlyn]

not fic related but i know you are an editor (i follo you on insta!!) but i wanted to ask you how did you start editing and most importantly how did you learn? i’ve always wanted to start editing bc i just have sooo many ideas but i can never figure out where to start and what programs to use. what would you recommend?

ahh omg yes!!! AN EDITING QUESTION god i havent talked about editing in so long even tho im trying to get back into itskldjf

(for those who don't know, i do have an editing insta and tt acc (though i'm not active on tt)!!! @/thae.rchxr on insta and thaerchxr on tt)

i started editing in 2020 during quarantine, and on capcut! i think that it's a pretty good starting spot, especially because it's free and it allows you to understand what you really want to make with your edits/what kinds of edits you want to make - velocities, lyric edits, transition ones, etc

i have to say i wouldn't recommend templates and i'm really not a fan of them. that's my only neg abt capcut now, even though i don't use it... yea i've seen too much of these template apps literally stealing the hard work of editors and it sucks

but anyway!! i currently use after effects, and have used it since early 2022, however it's a computer program, and - though you can pirate it and there are lots of videos online on how to do that - it also costs money if you don't wanna pirate (i got it as a christmas gift so i have the paid version but there's really no difference)

no matter what program you use, TUTORIALS!! youtube is your best friend. i have a youtube channel actually but i mainly post transition inspo instead of tutorials, however if you want some recs (for ae, i unfortunately don't know a lot of tutorial channels for other apps), i learned so much from klqvsluv, ae.chambb, and clewxdre on youtube! and, of course, lauren. she's kind of a mini celebrity in the editing communitysdklf - and there are so many more as well

if it's transition edits you're specifically trying to get into, def try and master the basics - zoom in's, out's, slide left/right, shakes and turbs if that's the kind of edit you wanna make. but honestly, the entire thing is just practice practice practice!! even though i only started editing on ae 2 years ago, i used to make edits, like, every day. i was obsessed. i would wake up and spend hours on edits, trying new transitions and new plugins and effects, and i think it really paid off :)

another thing you can do is attempt to remake edits! most editors will be completely alright with it (as long as you don't steal, ofc) and many even put out project files (i do have a few on my payhip- linked in my insta lmfaodjsf shameless self promo) that you can look at to see how they did certain transitions. remakes are good because it takes out the factor of having to figure out what transitions you want to make and lets you focus entirely on the technical aspect - which will then make it easier for you to pull off the transitions you think of yourself!

so, to conclude this ramble bc i can never shut up - i think i would definitely recommend ae if you have a computer/laptop. but i also think that other editing apps (the ones i see most often are videostar, alight motion, and capcut - all of which are mobile apps) can make absolutely incredible edits. i have friends who use each of these different editing apps and i know they can make some of the most mindblowing edits, even though i personally have no idea how to use vs or am lmaodsjf

so it's up to you! look at some tutorials, don't feel too intimidated, and go with the layout that makes the most sense to you. then just don't be afraid of making a "bad" edit bc let's be real the first edits are alwaysss shitty. i cringe when looking back at the edits all the way to last summer. but that's the beauty of it, because you can see your editing style and skill grow over time, and then you can eventually make edits that you'll be really proud of <3 i wish you the best of luck on your editing journey!! it's honestly so fun once you get into the swing of it :)

[padfootastic]

Sorry I’ve just sent u a super long anon and I am most likely about to send another but this discussion has really intrigued me bc you’re right we don’t talk about Remus in DH/generally in relation to Harry enough. I wanna touch on a point you made comparing him to Sirius (eg that Sirius takes a more active role in Harry’s life after coming back that Remus) bc I think it’s true and very interesting.

I think Remus is unique among the marauders in that he properly lived the period between the first and second wizarding wars. Not that Sirius didn’t suffer ofc but Sirius was in Azkaban - he did not live through wizarding society at all.

Remus sacrifices a lot in the first war (I mean he infiltrated the werewolf pack amongst death eaters that’s kind of insane??) comes back after they’ve won to find his only friends (who he considered to be family) dead or branded traitors. He literally has no one. Not to mention his rights aren’t affected at all - it’s not like their victory means anything for werewolves, and it doesn’t seem like dumbledore bothers with him until POA, decades later. I can imagine he lived a very miserable, very lonely life. On top of that, he’s been told his entire life that society is JUSTIFIED in having this perspective of him: unlike Sirius, who is in jail for something he didn’t do, Remus is outcast for something that he actually is.

Sirius, miserable or traumatised as he may be, is able to hold on to the idea that he can prove his innocence. He has some (small) semblance of hope. Remus on the other hand knows that despite doing everything to be seen as good, his irreversible condition makes him a monster. It’s by no means worse than what Sirius went through (which honestly takes the cake over anything in the books) but it’s different, and I think those differences really impact how they show up in POA and for Harry throughout.

I spoke a lot about Remus’s relationship with him in my last ask so I’ll sum it up in that he carries deep shame and self hatred that contribute to his distance but is also painfully aware of how his presence may impact Harry’s life.

Sirius on the other hand comes back and is actively trying to prove himself - with Harry more than anyone. He does everything he can to be there largely bc he cares but imo also bc he’s trying to outrun the guilt he feels over not being there before (not just for Harry but for James too). Sirius also has a similar upbringing to Harry’s and I think that impacts his decision making a lot, and that’s not a perspective Remus has at all.

Honestly what I find so interesting about the marauders and these two in particular is how they represent fundamentally different injustices in wizarding England. Sirius is falsely convicted but never seen as subhuman (although wizard treatment of criminals is nothing to be desired oof) while Remus is viewed as a monster. Sirius’s journey re Harry is about being free to care for Harry as he was never able to while Remus’s is a more independent journey of breaking down his own walls and allowing others to care for him in a way I doubt he has since Hogwarts.

ooh yeah that’s a good way to put it. remus, arguably, was the only one to live in that period. (even peter was a rat for all of it, which is barely any better) and so, it had to have impacted him negatively, and worse in some ways. because so often, being the one left behind is the worst position to be in.

the infiltration….i don’t think he did it until the second war 🤔 well, tbf, that’s what i thought but we were having this discourse a while ago and some anons chimed in saying that we only know he went in w the packs the second time around, not the first, so…i’m not sure what was going on then. regardless, tho, whatever he was doing, ur right—it is absolutely not easy to wake up one day and find out ur the last of your friends practically overnight. so yeah, he’s…not having a good time.

i don’t think remus’ arc was ever meant to intersect with harry to such a degree as sirius, so in a way it’s a bit unfair to put that on him (when he’s having his own moment) but at the same time, we all know how obsessed i am with harry and sirius so is it any surprise lol

[aranarumei]

12 an 29 for the wip asks!!

ask me something from this list?

12: a trope you’re really into right now

hm… nothing? I don’t think of fic ideas in terms of tropes, more just that I wanna express some specific feeling I have

29: how easy is it for you to come up with titles?

the short answer is “it depends” but I think the long answer of how I approach titling is way more interesting, so… here’s an impromptu “kiri’s personal guide to titling fics!” I know my tendency to ramble, so I’ll let this spiel live under the cut.

the first thing to note is that titling got a bit easier for me when I realized that it just so does not matter on ao3. without pointing fingers at any specific fic, I tend to recognize a fic I’ve read and liked by the summary, tags, kr author… usually I remember the title only bc I’ve seen it a bunch, not because it actually connects to anything. this applies to browsing, too: I tend to judge whether I want to read a fic based on the summary and the tags. other people I’ve talked to have agreed that fic titles don’t seem to really… Matter? to them as much as other stuff. so if you’re someone who gets really anxious about titling stuff, hopefully that lets you take it a little less seriously?

with that said, I do like to think about titles, because it is part of the package of the fic and I’d like it to be good.

also on a practical level it’s just helpful for me to distinguish fics. if every one of my fics was titled smthing vague but pretty, like, I dunno, “fuschia birdsong”… I don’t know think they’d be so easy to identify.

this was actually a real problem when I went through my archives… I remember my published ao3 fics well enough, but I’d also archived pieces of unpublished wips, and just had no idea what any of them were based on title alone. like why is “eyes are the window to the soul” my title for this fic I wrote like. 8 years ago where kageyama’s a demon. I probably just thought it was a phrase that correlated with soul or something…? but it’s un-parseable. for wips that I shelve, these days I tend to pick out really obvious labels instead, so above would just be titled as “demon!kageyama” for my archives or something (yes I know the ! is not in common use these days. let me indulge.)

my rambling coincidentally highlights what I think is important about a title: conveying a core part of the piece. I want to look at a title and at least somewhat be like “yeah, I remember what that fic is about” so my title has to touch on something major about the fic.

as for how I do that, I tend to go to two sources for titles: the fic’s “concept” and the fic’s “point.”

the fic’s “concept” is like… is there a certain situation that this fic is about? some examples: “the stranger in the hall” (it’s literally about shirahama meeting ichinose—a stranger—in the hallway) or “day negative fourteen” (a fic set fourteen days before the beginning of a dating sim isekai), or, in its most obvious form, “help! my classmate’s asking for relationship advice, but I’m aromantic!?” (this fic is exactly what it says on the tin)

the fic’s “point,”on the other hand, is like… what themes or ideas are being discussed in this fic? examples include: “something there” (revolves around the underlying tension of shirahama’s yet-unrealized crush on miyano, which is a Something There that he’s trying to not really think about) or “see the light” (fic deals with vision and perception in various ways, and tashiro gets compared to light in a couple of ways, so it’s like… seeing tashiro in a new way, which is what the final scene of the fic is all about)

so that’s a good base for how i wanna start building a title. but then getting the words into something that “feels right” is a lot harder. how do you condense your “point” or “concept” into something that’s concise enough? sometimes it’s really easy: “the anomalous agate” is meant to copy the style of a chapter of one of the first two volumes of the case files of jeweler richard, and I literally can’t write the fic without knowing what the central gem (agate) and idea (anomaly) is going to be. when it’s not, I tend to have two ways I go about it.

the first is pretty classically ao3: song lyrics! if I happen to have some songs that I’ve been listening to for the fic mood, it’s probably bc it matches something in the fic, so I’ll just borrow from there. apart from that, song lyrics in general just tend to have… nice phrases? so they can be fun to take out of context or use. both “something there” and “see the light” reference disney songs, which is kind of the reason for why I named “see the light” that way… I was like “oh shirahama’s narrating this fic again, it’d be hilarious if another disney song title fit—oh wait I can work with this one.” this cloud & tifa fic I’d written is just very vaguely like “wow… Life Goes On even when things suck” which. ig “life goes on” is a title but I went with “symptom of life” bc I’d been listening to that song by willow recently.

my other technique is one I used to do for personal essays to apply to college, actually… which is basically just “if one idea isn’t good enough, go with two!” the reasoning is basically like… if you pick one topic to talk abt, it feels like it’s been skewered to death, but if you pick two and manage to synthesize them somehow, it’s got way more of a chance of being unique, and you also get to sound clever and thoughtful by how you tie things together.

examples: “the peridot of favor” borrows from the same structured title as “the anomalous agate”, but here favor has two meanings: hanzawa’s doing a favor for tashiro by helping him out with their crossdressing contest, but he’s also showing him favor, because they liiiike each other. or something. “dialed in” refers to the point of the fic (tenma’s paying attention to yuki and reaffirming his connection with summer troupe) as well as the concept (the fic is built off a moment in canon where they’re literally on a phone call), and “ill at ease” also blends point and concept, because seigi is literally “ill” (it’s a sickfic) but the fic is also about him feeling “ill at ease” (his discomfort with the hotel room he’s staying in)

while I’m writing wips my titles are almost never the actual ao3 title. I like putting either a very plain title like “kagihira wip” or something that makes me laugh. the latter can definitely seep into my published fic titles… song lyrics and double meanings are fun to me, and so is titling something “help! my classmate’s asking for relationship advice, but I’m aromantic!?” (this was the wip title as well. it was too perfect to change)

and as a final, super personal rule, i try to avoid using the word “dream” because i used it way too much for earlier titles when frankly. they didn’t need it. I just think i like the word a lot… it’s pretty and represents a fun concept, and it has vague sentiments of yearning so it can apply to a lot of stuff. it’s definitely way too easy to get to vaguely pretty titles with it. therefore I really try to make sure i have a good justification when i use that word. after this ban I’ve only used it in one title: “dream; reality” which is literally a fic where these two characters keep dreaming about a tragic alternative universe version of themselves, and differentiating that from their much happier reality, so… yeah, I’ll allow that.

[konigsblog]

HII idk if this is a weird question but i’ve seen a lot of negativity in this fandom lately about nsfw authors/ content and how “authors essentially taking their own kinks and putting the characters names in” and i just kinda want ur opinion on it bc i wanna start writing like you but idk if it’s gonna like piss more people off 😭 i’m sorry if this is a lot 💝💝 ily btw ^_^

hii!! thank you for asking this, personally, i don't feel as if i force my kinks onto certain characters as it's just an idea and not my complete analysis on the character (which i will post my true analysis, that usually makes sense linking to the characterk), as i write kinks about them that even i don't believe they'd have, just for other people's enjoyment so they can read something about their favourite character and their kinks!!

honestly, this fandom is a toxic to us creators so i would say to ignore them and don't answer any hate, as it'll only make you get into trouble with people incase you say something just out of anger :)

i know a lot of people don't agree with my headcannons or posts, that's alright! the block button is there for a reason and it's supposed to be used if something makes you uncomfortable, ex; my posts since i write about some taboo topics and subjects which some may find triggering (always put a trigger warning if it's something that could cause/trigger someone into doing something that may result in them harming themselves or entering a bad mental space, you don't know what people's triggers can be.)

but, back to the point, as a blog that posts dark content, i don't agree that it's a huge issue. as long as you aren't forcing your opinions onto anyone and respecting people's boundaries and as long as your analysis is respectful to people and the game creators, ect, i don't think it's that bad. we all are entitled to write for whatever au we want, just make sure to let people know that you aren't gonna force your own opinions onto others and that you're entitled to your own portrayal, and that this may not be how you truly view the character, and instead just an idea. :)))

hope this helps !! <33 🌟🌷🎀 ily 🤲

[toonjazzy]

Rambling and Analyzing Eraser bc I’m a fucking nerd—

Alright, let’s get into it!

Okay Okay can I just point out that the intro with the chalkboard and the ripping paper reminds me of High School Sweethearts?

Also, the reversed vocals “Paper, I’ll be”, IT SOUNDS SO GOOD???

THE FUCKING BEAT? THE MELODY IS SO CATCHY I JUST WANNA SING

No doubt, it is way better with the weird bass and the distorted vocals

Also, the message? I think it’s obvious Crybaby is talking about losing her virginity but, listen closely to her words and you will realize this is seriously so sad but unfortunately this happens to so many people regardless of age or gender

The song is about Crybaby losing her virginity young to a person who lied to her and hurt her because they were just trying to get into her pants the whole time like Crybaby originally thought “I know you want only one thing” and says “I’m too young for falling in love”, this is the case for many people. Many people do not know the difference between Love and Lust and confuse together and end up hurt in the process but nobody likes discussing that :|

Crybaby clearly knows what she is getting into which is why she states she is “Pure as an Angel” and “Don’t you fuck me up” and talks about her eraser. And then by the second verse, I noticed that you can hear the distorted vocals more which makes me think it represents her subconscious. Notice that the distorted vocals repeat what she says “Sweet Talk” “Fall” “Lights are off, the lights are off!” “Take something away from me” “Dumb” Take something away from me” She also says “I’m so dumb for falling in love, baby I want you to take something away from me” this may be her arguing with herself because she has these intrusive thoughts which again, are common in most people. But she states that she fell in love because she has sexual thoughts as seen by the lyrics “Now I want only one thing”

Then she says she will no longer be pure as an angel, again, a common thing that happens to people when they have these feelings (Nothing to be ashamed of! Dw!) And then she says this, “Say we’ll last forever and I won’t need an eraser”

This is where the sad part comes in. They did not love her, they only wanted to fuck her and just told her what she wanted to hear so that she would agree. Again, this happens to a lot of people, unfortunately (Be careful if you desire a relationship with love AND lust combined but only receive lust) and we get to the best part of the song, the bridge and the breakdown!

This sounds like her thinking about what just happened and now panicking. She says “Why am I crying? Oh fuck that’s right, you got what you wanted! Oh fuck, that’s right!” So this could be like her either crying after sex (Which I’ve read happens to some people) or her being dumped right after

The distorted vocals could be her mind screaming because she was nervous to lose her virginity or her screaming because she just got heartbroken and knows that she will now be slutshamed (Again, a common thing that unfortunately happens) since she says “I was pure as an Angel, now I’m all fucked up”. Also the vocals sound like they’re saying “No” at the bridge as if her subconscious knew it was a bad idea and tried to tell her No, don’t do this

I imagine her with like wings of fire and everything around her burning and her inner demons yelling at her while she cries. “Wrote your name on my paper, now I’m all marked up” is a clever lyric bc this means that she lost her virginity to this person, and it will always mean that and it has a negative effect on her, “Some things last forever and I don’t have an eraser” (Eraser echoes)

I imagine her at the end picking up a knife and marching towards the person as she says “If I had an eraser, I’d undo what you’ve done!” To get sweet revenge as this is a Melanie Martinez song after all!

*Mic drops*

-Jester Jazzy, an Educated Aroace’s perspective

[celestialmancer]

☁️ // 3:04 am, tbd ;

More low filter bs

Kind of wonder sometimes if I’d feel as much shame as I do towards rambling off abt nsfw ish or nsfw topics w my ocs or doing ramblings of that sort involving them if it weren’t for the… things I went through + the way I had to deal with being shamed due to the trauma responses I ended up with as a result of said experiences ig

& also if it hadn’t been for the ex friend of mine who was emotionally abusive to me for 4 years (i met her @ 13/14 & she was 21/22) & and anti-lgbt obsessive religious freak as well, seeing how she. Always was towards me about anything nsfw related? Like I remember she used to obsessively fixate on how engaging in any of those things meant you were disgusting & sinful & letting the devil influence you, & how anyone who wrote or hc’ed or drew or rp’ed nsfw stuff was ppl who were disgusting or sinful & “wasting their talent on things the devil wants”

Along w how. Victim blame-y she was w matters of sexual harassment or worse

(…which all those things were… the worst possible thing to be around given what i was going through w/ M & other freaks online at t the time that i wont elaborate on)

& just. Idk. I know that while ive mostly reprocessed everything w her & how she was to where it doesn’t rly phase me to talk abt anymore, it doesn’t change the impact it left on me where I guess it played a role in how i’ve like. Always seen myself whenever i do wanna muse on more nsfw stuff w my ocs or rp or create nsfw content w them (& well other things online that were ✨traumatic ✨ that i wont say just kinda fueled all that even worse along w bs from religion in general & also—from how ppl reacted to trauma responses i had )

Always there’s shame in sorta approaching that for this reason—mind you its not the only reason, there’s a lot more to it, but still

& ig that might be another factor why i struggle to feel comfortable w approaching anyone i trust for anything nsfw related w ocs? & just leave it to others to approach me instead if they want so that way i dont feel like im being viewed in some neg way that im not, all over tryna approach over something like that, ig

I p much need an explicit “u can approach me abt this anytime” type of deal wrt nsfw oc stuff or else i just simply do not 💀 once again w the “needs explicitly being told x thing is fine or invited to do x thing or else i will not” that follows me in a lot of things wfsvdg just general self suppression? Ig

(Now admittedly, again, there’s more reason to why i do that other than just religion & a lot of it is an intense fear of accidentally crossing a line & also coming off a bad way + like, other things, that are deeply personal, but still)

…Ironic that im that way considering the spaces i have w friends & all but yeah.

But still. Idk. Ig i just wonder if id struggle w feeling ‘dirty’ or w/e still if it hadn’t been for that connection—probably still would all other things considered bc, ik those dirty feelings also—came from how ppl viewed me over, certain… things i went through & responses to it… but, maybe to a lesser degree or something … idk.

Had more to say but it slipped my mind, so.

[sixthwater]

I can't take it anymore 😫

What placement is Regina George based on your observing?

Ik you're extra busy so i dont mind waiting. Thank you 🥲

Want to answer this today to have a little fun for myself and also you sent this forever ago

It’s been a minute since I’ve seen Mean Girls and apparently she has a birthday???? And we know where Mean Girls took place so. Here’s her chart LMAO

(My app assigns houses for some reason even without a time so ignore that lmao, but honestly, the houses on this are interesting in her case)

Favorite placement here, that rising Scorpio Stellium with a Gemini Lilith; that shit is deeeaaddlllyyy

On one hand I want to take that Aries Moon bc of her reaction near the end of the movie, but it’s not like she completely loses her cool. Aries Moons are known for being honest and going off the handle with their emotions when they’re poked and prodded—which is what they did. This chart gives her a Moon-Saturn aspect which I would Want to say maybe makes that more reasonable but that would mean she handles her emotions more cautiously, even if it’s in a more detached way.

Her Scorpio Stellium + Gemini Lilith is perfect. When Gemini Lilith is working negatively, it wants chaos and it’ll twist a lot of information but its not Wrong — like its not a Lie, you know. It’ll leave breadcrumbs and it likes to gossip. It likes mess, it’s bored. However her Lilith is in the fifth which is kinda eh so. Scorpio will manipulate and seek revenge or control when it’s damaged and upset. They need to feel in control if things are taken from them to even it out.

So then you (hypothetically) have that Scorpio in the tenth; people are enamored by her but they also don’t really like her, but they want what she has. Pluto & Venus are there. Also lowkey wanna be her but that’s another story. I wanted to make a post about her benefics and malefics sitting in houses for reputations like this can be very jarring for the native, so this is a great example, and in cases like this if the native is an ass they can abuse them — or I guess, “take advantage of them”

Mars in Aquarius is an interesting one? Not to be stereotypical but innovative way of taking action of fighting back, since we don’t really see anything else about her, but she Does talk a lot about her sexual life and ig you can take away her being independent and her own woman??? So doesn’t like being tied down or having expectations put on her??? But this chart puts it in the first house which I also find interesting, but other placements make me kinda question a few things

But ig it’s a good example of a chart that would show someone who would be GREAT at bringing a community together, rip it to shreds, since they know it so well

[daezedd]

time for the 𝐑𝐔𝐋𝐄𝐒 ! 🎀 ───

𖤐 first things first , as soon as my masterlist is made (im lazy rn sorry) it’ll be added to the bottom of this post. i think all my rules are pretty clear and should be common sense but please read through all of them before requesting or interacting with my page ! dont skip or skim.

໑ don’t copy my work. i’m not even that secure in my own work yet , so for someone to copy it would be rly annoying for me & embarrassing for them. also don’t translate , change , edit , or upload my work anywhere else. tumblr is the only platform i write on.

𖤐 dni (do not interact) IF — you’re racist (im black & very proud + my y/n’s are usually also black coded) , under 18 (sorry not sorry but i write and interact with nsfw content, so it’s just awkward & inappropriate) , support israel , homophobic , fatphobic , sexist (any of the ists/isms/phobics tbh) , or simply a dickhead (ex : sending hate , starting drama — im not here for any negativity).

໑ i’ve been a reader for a long time & i’ve seen a lot of writers get bombarded with anonymous hate , so if you’re one of those you will be blocked. if ur gonna hate at least don’t be scary abt it :p

𖤐 i ask for feedback a lot , but that isn’t an invitation to harshly criticize me or my work. only constructive criticism (when asked) is allowed pls & thank you !

𝐉𝐔𝐒𝐓 𝐒𝐎 𝐘𝐎𝐔 𝐊𝐍𝐎𝐖 ..

໑ i’ve been wanting to write ever since i was 15 , and even though the type of writing i do on here is more of a hobby — i do take it srsly but i still wanna have fun ! + sorry in advance but i am a procrastinator/kind of a slow writer ..

𖤐 likes are appreciated , but (i learned recently) reblogs are better ! if u enjoy my work be sure to do both :p

໑ i never block anyone for no reason. if u find urself blocked & wanna know why or u can’t reach me , contact me here ! (my main @/anglism messages are for mutuals only! u are still free to send asks ofc)

info/rules for 𝐑𝐄𝐐𝐔𝐄𝐒𝐓𝐒 ! 🎀 ───

𖤐 like i mentioned before , i am a slow writer. i can go for days at a time not writing (im trying to fix that) so keep that in mind when requesting. also , i may not write/create the thing you’re asking for. depending on a lot of things — if it interests me , if i don’t have time for it , etc. so please dont spam the same ask over and over again , or get upset with me. i am a human not a machine.

໑ i do/will age up characters , but only based on their canon birthdays. (ex : yuji was born in 2003 , so in a modern/future jjk au i would age him up.)

𖤐 my “y/n” (or reader) will usually be black coded & short , sometimes chubby as well bc that is what i most relate to ! i can try and keep it vague but im definitely (mostly) catering to my black girlies !

໑ what i will not write. ───

amab/male reader , incest , necrophilia , r@pe , drugging , character x character , pegging , rim jobs , age regr. , ddlg , feet kinks , non-consenual recording , g@ng bangs , lactation/breast feeding , scat/piss kink , domestic abuse , pet play , mpreg , bestiality , eating disorders (an eating disorder page followed me a while ago & i dont fw that shit very specifically), master/slave , heavy bleeding/gore , suic*de.

thats it for now , but im sure as (if) my page grows things will be changed + added ! ⇒ masterlist. (link will be added when its complete.)

©daezedd under @daest4rz . — GO BACK IF YOU DID NOT FULLY READ MY RULES. PLEASE & TY !

[dashielldeveron]

I’m so glad we’re talking about the 431 redesigns!!! Because as a person who’s drawn them 10000 times I feel like I have insight lolol,, For me the issue with monomas middle part is not the parting but the fact it looks so stiff 😭😭😭😭 like when I draw his hair usually it’s very soft and fluffy and this is,,,,,, not that!!! It looks like if you went up to touch it you’d just feel gel 😔😔😔. But there are a lot of bad hair choices in the new chap, shinsous hair transplant with aizawa to name one…. Bkg and midoriya are exceptions they did not cheat on their hairdressers, I’m looking incredibly respectfully,,, bkg must of traded places with monoma for the price of keeping his hair cut,, What do you think of the other redesigns??? I wish I had actual opinions on the chapter to share but I’ve not been able to find a full translation of it, so until then I can only look and guess at what’s happening

(i have no idea how to feel about shouto, it’s just like slightly too short but it still looks very soft!!! ((Unlike someone we know 💔)))

monoma comes home one day with the new haircut. you reach out to touch his hair, and it crunches. you consider throwing all his gel out the window to prevent this from happening again.

oof, again, i haven't read a translation but have just seen some panels, so these are ~loose~ opinions.

i don't wanna be too negative, esp. bc it's ultimately hori's art and characters, but i will repeat that the more i look at these panels, the more i think he didn't draw them--just in consideration of the author's note translation going around. i think i mostly see it in midoriya--he looks waaaaaay too baby, and not in the way that hori usually draws him as baby. too much in the wide eyes, not enough in the body language, hands, and mouth. anyway. not making accusations, but it would make sense to me if it's true he didn't draw this.

i only have firm opinions on shinsou: bad. evil, even. that man does not look well. he looks fucking ill. he's prob meant to mimic aizawa, but aizawa never looked sick. shinsou looks like he's about to fucking pass out. gaunt, almost. stringy-looking hair and deeeeeeep bags. feels weird when he's been a character with, like, extremely volumnious, fluffy hair who's been training with aizawa to bulk up--we even get that comment about shinsou gaining muscle in the manga. but like. he looks sicker and more emaciated than he did as a student. i feel like shinsou would continue to care for himself, because he wants to be good so badly. "nighthide" isn't a bad hero name!! at the moment, i still prefer "mindjack," but i expect it'll grow on me, like "dynamight" did over "ground zero."

miscellaneous: i'm extremely glad that yaoyorozu's hero costume is a real piece of clothing now. best jeanist's hair is way better, and mirio's design is extremely unsettling.

i don't know how i feel about bakugou and shouto yet!!! i don't think i have any major issues, or anything, but they somehow feel off. i will say that both of them look very Large and Huggable, which is an excellent quality for a man to have. we love big, friendly men (or at least one, friendly man and then another who is soft only for ~you~).

i'm am eagerly anticipating official translations, bc rn i am BAFFLED at all the drama!!! it's v v v distracting from my papers that i should be writing rn; i wish i had more time to think about this!!! i just think these little guys are neat!!!!

[diangelodork]

HERE IS LOUIS’ E3 COMMENTARY!! (i warned him thoroughly going into this episode i promise)

also, if yall have any questions as to what he’s referencing, feel free to ask me bc i always have to ask for clarification 😭😭

Dead Boy Detectives Episode 3, Initial Notes:

Suicide disclaimer, bouta get real

I still love these title cards

Picture of Dorian grey reference does not go unappreciated

What do you mean there were never meant to be this many people? As in not this many ghosts in the land of the living? Or… bad vibes Edwin

Holy shit Charles is wearing suspenders

K so ghosts can just do that

Is there meaning behind the snake in the title sequence? I can connect a lot of the other shit but not that

Jenny. Jenny episode. Jenny arc. Lesbian butcher backstory

Oh he big time jelly

Niko what are your other three favorite buildings??

Also how do you fuck ghosts asking for a friend

Jenny is so real

Well observed Niko, well observed (best character)

“Back in the 1990s when people could afford shit like that” lmao

Lilith Adams first wife in the apocryphal texts I believe

Spits alt reality Conan Gray

Would.

Monty honeypot goes crazy

SHE HAS YAOI LMAO

Why’s it always gotta be bureaucracy I just wanna have a good time man

The Scotch(?) cop vs vaguely American notary truly a match up for the ages

The music here is always on point

Dad smashed tape with hammer (early 1900s British Dad)

OH MY GOD THEYRE GONNA SHOW US THE MURDER OH MY GOD

OH MY LORD

HOLY SHIT

MEN WILL DO LITERALLY ANYTHING TO AVOID GOING TO YOU KNOW WHAT NEVER MIND HOLY SHIT GOD JESUS CHRIST

it’s the kids that get me 😖

Yes it’s a loop Edwin congrats

Giving me Slaughterhouse-Five vibes I.e. trauma makes you unstuck in time, here it’s a loop though. Which also tracks. I’m reminded of “whenever I close my eyes, I find myself back in Stalingrad” type shit

Niko living her best life

Also domestic abuse, trauma, themes et cetera et cetera (gas mask guy at the beginning)

God Charles you know this shit is my weakness

Ahh “you will never leave me” dissolution of suburbia or some shit, male need for love and intimacy expressed through the need for control, et cetera

The Bell Jar is my favorite book! I don���t think this is a reference though… although… voices in the head…

No Niko you could have had such a comfy evening damn it

OH GOD IS HE PART OF THE LOOP NOW

Yep.

His personal emotional pain sinks him into the cycle of trauma and suffering?

Themes effect of emotional pain and trauma on the mind

Control, always watching

Feeds off of negativity… something themes connection

Also “I’ve seen them sulking around hell is metal as fuck and deeply upsetting

GET OUT OF THERE GANG

And Brandon goes to hell

“It’s not what you did it’s what you do”

Hell yeah Niko scare those evil things

Also Niko’s fit is eating????

The honeypot twink gives you the astrology book instant smash

The old “I love those dudes tell me all about em” maneuver

GUYS I ANNOYED ONE OF MY FRIENDS WNOUGH TO WATCH DBDA!! im gonna be posting his live updates in the reblogs HEHEHEHEHE (the score is what got him to cave 👹)

[i-want-my-iwtv]

I don’t understand why VC fans that are genuinely upset about and deeply dislike the stuff they’re finding out about the AMC show keep…. engaging with AMC IWTV content and posting about it? Like, I’m sure it’s not fun for them and it’s certainly not fun for the people who are enjoying the show…. Like, clearly this show isn’t going to magically turn into something they like, why keep baiting themselves?

These kinds of asks are so, so, so hard! Writing a short response feels too limited, but writing a lot feels like I’m doing too much...  if this makes anyone at least consider the issue(s) in a different light, then it was worth the effort.

And you know, answering this shouldn’t be so hard, we’re talking about fictional vampires, can we all keep that in mind? It’s sad that this is the heart of so much tension right now.

People are not going to stop criticizing media. That much is true. We can try to unpack why they do, and I will take a small stab at it in this response.

Okay so here are my TL:DR main points:

1) Curate your experience.  People are not going to stop criticizing media. You can stop yourself from seeing it, though. The block button is your personal bouncer! Or, use Xkit’s blacklist feature which is more of a softblock.

2) I still say it's unfair to call the criticism vs. praise all purely a binary. There's a spectrum of feeling that isn't linear, bc you can like some changes and not like others. 

3) People criticize media, and everything in VC. People are criticizing this bc they are getting smtg they didn't expect, and want to say so. Rollin Jones has even invited criticism, as a person in the film industry, he knows his work product is subject to criticism!

4) Criticism of VC in general, including about the show, from what I’ve seen on Tumblr, is meant more as intellectual exercise and a way to find like-minded people. How many decades have we criticized VC? “VC is a trilogy!”, or “X is a problematic character and you can’t like him!” or “Anne Rice endorses the problematic content she writes in real life, it’s propaganda!” People are seeking other like-minded people, and they make their arguments. Whether this comes from deeply disliking/upset by their topic, it varies a lot, but I would say that some of the criticism could be that, but some is coming from other emotional states, some more neutral than negative. Some is curiosity more than a negative place. Some people really enjoy criticizing things! Academic fans, for sure.

5) People who enjoy the AMC show: Try not to take criticism of the show as a personal attack. If you’re hurt by that criticism, block the person! From what I’ve seen, criticism is often disclaimered with “this is only my opinion.” Even if it is intended as a personal attack, it’s words on a screen. Nothing more. “No one can make you feel inferior without your consent.” - Eleanor Roosevelt. People have to control their feelings and emotions because each person is responsible for their own feelings and emotions.

6) Engagement is engagement, negative or positive, and that’s ratings for the show. Content that draws engagement must be compelling to do both! After all, the opposite of love isn't hate, it's indifference. People don’t engage with content that’s boring. So the AMC show, at the very least, doesn’t appear to have committed the sin of being boring, and that’s a crime, canonically.

Rollin Jones: [X geffenplayhouse, Aug 20, 2015]:

“If there’s any problem with me as a writer, it’s that I’m crippled by, ‘Oh, I don’t wanna bore them!’” he says. “Mostly, it’s fun. There’s no other reason to do it. Nobody’s getting rich off it. So you want to have some fun, drink with some actors after, make sure one or two of your cast are having sex with each other. You wanna have created some love.”

Interview with the Vampire:

~~~~~

1) Curate your experience

Ultimately, we're all sharing this space together, at least for now. Anyone who doesn't want to see IWTV AMC criticism, or, conversely, anyone who doesn't want to see ppl enjoying it, the block feature is your personal bouncer! I also use Xkit’s Blacklist feature, which is a friendlier softblock.

2) I still say it's unfair to call the criticism vs. praise all purely a binary.

Some people love the changes AMC is making and some people don't, but I still say it's unfair to call it all purely a binary. There's a spectrum of feeling that isn't linear, bc you can like some changes and not like others.* Personally, I get why they had to age Claudia up, bc of the child actor labor laws, I assume that was of the issues back in 1994, too (tho, they did audition a ton of 5-6 yr olds, and none of them could act as well as Kirsten, so I think talent was - and is! - still a bigger factor than canon compliance for that role, it is for me, anyway, if I was casting that character).

*Obviously, there will always be the outliers who well and truly want a book-accurate adaptation and those who want a completely revamped version (pun intended!) that brings the story up to more current issues and morality. Neither can be totally satisfied bc the visual medium is necessarily different than the act of reading! Even the original LOTR trilogy, widely praised for canon-compliance, still changed things. I haven’t seen anyone on tumblr really seriously deeply upset about that, we all know here that that’s impossible. There are probably people on Facebook, Instagram, or YouTube who think 100% canon compliance is possible, and to them, I say, Wow you must be fun at parties 😅.

3) People criticize media, and everything in VC.

People who don't express their criticism/opinions are essentially accepting what they're given. 

Re: fictional content, people who are served something that isn't up to their expectations criticize it. "I ordered X and it's not X!" You know? We want to know why it's not what we expected, was it an intentional change, like someone decided to give me blueberry pancakes when I ordered chocolate chip? Maybe I should prefer blueberry pancakes, bc fruit is the healthier option, but it's still not what I expected, and maybe I dislike the texture of fruit in bread. Maybe I'm allergic to blueberries. IDK! But people instinctively want to say something so that the people who made the item are at least aware, and whether the criticism is in good faith, or whether the creators listen and/or accept the criticism or not, well, that's up to them. 

Anne Rice herself was famous for not accepting criticism, but that hasn’t stopped the fandom from criticizing VC canon itself for decades. More on that in a bit.

Rollin Jones said he’ll take criticism [X, Den of Geek article, July 22, 2022]:

What fan backlash are you predicting?

Look, if you can make it through these first seven episodes, I’ll be back at Comic-Con next year, and if you’re still upset with me, I will set myself up at a booth, and you can kick me in the shins. I’ll be there for you. I really do think [the fans] will be surprised at how we are constantly going back to the book.

We’ll see, I’m open to being pleasantly surprised. I’m ready to see this cover band rework and play these beloved songs, so to speak. Johnny Cash did such a moving cover of Trent Reznor’s “Hurt” that Trent said it was Johnny’s song now. 

Once Johnny Cash covers your song– it’s not your song anymore.

Here’s a few more Johnny Cash covered and commentary about them. 

4) Criticism of VC in general, including about the show, from what I’ve seen on Tumblr, is meant more as intellectual exercise and a way to find like-minded people. 

Criticism of the show is an intellectual exercise, especially in a fandom full of ficwriters and fanartists, we’re challenged with our own creative choices, I write fic, we want to know the reasons for the changes to canon. We like to speculate. And we have our own taste. Are these blueberry pancakes better than chocolate chip? If not, why not? Ultimately, maybe it’s a flavor preference, maybe you just prefer fruit and I prefer chocolate, but we can still talk about the merits and faults. I don’t think of this as “baiting” oneself. More on that later. If people can talk about specific reasons they’re enjoying the show, the other side of the coin can certainly be that people want to talk about the specific reasons why they dislike the show.

It’s also a way of finding like-minded people. I can't tell you how many times I've seen people state "VC is a trilogy!" in a way that was clearly intended to fish for more people who agreed with them, which is totally normal fandom behavior. Or how many times people have critiqued Antonio Banderas' Armand being aged up and not auburn-haired; they wanted a canon-compliant Armand, and they were disappointed with what they were served, no matter how pleased other people were with Antonio's performance. It doesn't matter that some people loved him! Other people didn't like it, they criticized it, and they continue to do so, as is their right. Personally, I loved Antonio's performance but I'm not a huge Armand fan, I'm fine with saying that I'm not as invested in him as the disappointed fans are/were. 

I also disagree that it's not fun for people to criticize AMC, bc it's fun for other people to criticize things! We've been doing it in VC fandom for decades. I’m pretty sure that the  "VC is a trilogy!" advocates have fun saying so, because they’ve kept it up for years. 

I confess I don’t really know what “baiting themselves” means. I assume it means tormenting themselves? Trying to be angry about it? Well, people do that, too. In our fandom, there's always room for more sadists and masochists! 😂

5) People who enjoy the AMC show: Try not to take criticism of the show as a personal attack.

I think one of the major fandom problems we have is this feeling that disagreement = attack. There’s a lot of tension right now. There are people who want to escalate it. Even if the criticism is an attack, please try not to engage with it, seek like-minded people to enjoy the show with <3

6) Engagement is engagement, negative or positive, and that’s ratings for the show. Kind of already explained this one!

[anime-grimmy]

My thoughts on Pokemon Scarlet and Violet

The game’s been out for almost a week now and Ive blasted through it in like 3 days because my sick ass couldn’t really do much but lay around and suffer anyways. Rn I’m trying to fill my Pokedex and I’ve started a second, way slower playthrough to really enjoy everything the game’s got to offer.

Criticism

So, Pokemon’s first open world game. We’ve all seen the memes, the game has a lot of bugs and especially performance issues. While I have not run into a high amount of glitches, except for some visual stuttering and one shut down, the performance of this game is sometimes atrocious. And this coming from someone who plays Monster Hunter World on an old laptop at 30fps where more than half the textures don’t even load. Sometimes the game dances on the line of death when it loads in too many Pokemon, or god forbid you’re on water because your switch will sound like a chainsaw trying to cut through a stubborn trunk.

And it really IS a shame, because the concepts and ideas of this game are a lot of fun! Like, this game IS fun but it does get bogged down by its issues a lot. Also bcs it does not have dynamic level scaling. Don’t tell me I can go everywhere and do anything, but then throw me in a zone I can’t go through. Don’t get me wrong, the whole “I SHOULD NOT BE HERE YET” experience is very funny and makes you look forward to going back to places, but the layout is just confusing. At the start, Nemona tells you the West Gate is for the first Gym Challenge, Arven tells you the East Gate is for the first Titan. You’d assume either way you go, the challenges in that zone are at least around the same levels but NOPE. You can beat the Gym Leader on the side of the first Titan relatively easily, but try to take on the Team Star base in the same area and be sure to suffer. This weird layout design goes through most of the game. Like, why is the Gym Leader that’s FARTHER North than Grucia weaker than him??? Like, you kinda HAVE to go through his town to get to the other one. It just does NOT make any sense!

 I wanna say that Game Freak just needed more time but we know that even a year more wouldn’t have helped much, because Game Freak just isn’t a studio that’s equipped to do everything they set out to do. They’re short development time makes them build the games on an already wonky base, so even if they did suddenly extend the development by a year, I don’t think much would have changed since they had a faulty game design from the start. It pisses me off so much how Game Freak won’t or can’t reach out for help, they always try to keep everything in their small little team and not let outside hands touch their product (which ofc also is because of all the branding around it), but with their short 3 year development cycle, these guys just aren’t fit for the job to make the games they want to and the people demand. For fuck’s sake, they’re the biggest media franchise on earth, I do not understand what makes them think that one more year of development from the start or an extension of their team would do to fuck that over. So far the people stick with their games because they give us glimmers of hope and lure us in with great Pokemon and characters, but if this continues, they are slowly but surely going to lose their status as top franchise.

Because not making a game with this low res run well on the switch when the Xenoblade’s Chronicles games can be played on the system is unacceptable.

The Good stuff

Now that Ive got the negative stuff out of the way, I can go to stuff I really enjoyed. Because while I do have my fair share of criticism, this game also did a lot I liked.

For one, I am deeply saddened they removed the chugging balls mechanic from Arceus, this just makes catching Pokemon a hassle again. However, I do like the autobattle mechanic. It’s a bit rough because your Pokemon are so slow and once you run for 3 steps they’re back in their Pokeballs. But it’s a nice mechanic to get some off hands exp when traveling from place to place.

Speaking of traversal, I really love Kuraidon. The sound design of this Pokemon is immaculate, I love the scaly boy, he has so much personality and I love how you’re unlocking HMs for him through the Herba Mystica. It’s such a stupid pun but I love it.

As for the other new Pokemon, I’m hit and miss on them. A lot feel weirdly Fakemon. Like, the Flamingo and the Stork don’t feel like real Pokemon to me. Others, however, I really really liked. The Smoliv line is one of my new fav Gras types, Fuecoco has no braincells and I love him for that, and this game did give us some awesome new bug and fairy types. DUDE, A BREAD DOG?! HE’S SO CUTE!!(Spoiler for endgame)

And then the ancient Pokemon. I do prefer the ancient Mons to the futuristic ones tbh, and I like the concept also way more of trying to bring back old, extinct Pokemon to live alongside the present ones than bringing some from the future. Dude, like, the ancient Volcarona is so fucking cool, it’s my fav of the old mons.

(spoiler territory)

But on to the one thing I truly loved about Scarlet and Violet, the characters. Specifically the main three, Nemona, Arven and Penny (and Mr. Clavell/Clive). I never thought I’d like Penny and Arven at the start but holy shit they grew on me. Even Nemona, who I figured I’d like, took a turn in character I hadn’t expected.

Let’s start off with Penny since I have the least to say about her. It was pretty obvious she’s the leader of Team Star from the start, right? The predictability aside, while the Team Star story was nothing to write home about, by the end I did feel attached to this group of misfits, and Penny’s relationship with them is so sweet. Like, when after the game you can join her looking after the team Star bosses to see if they’re doing well in school, it’s so adorable. What I like about Penny though is how surprisingly sassy she is. Freaking hacker Otaku with no chill, I love it.

Then, Nemona. She’s like the epitome of a “nice” rival. I like that from the start it’s established that she is a great trainer, since she already has the Champion title, but the fact she chooses to start from scratch to grow alongside you just screams how much she loves battling and respects a good journey. She wants you to be the best because she sees your potential and she just knows she’ll have the best battle in her life if she helps you out. She’s a mix of a rival/mentor character, who at the same time kind of has a screw loose since battling is all she thinks about. But it all comes from an honest place and the fact she doesn’t act as a cheerleader and actually challenges you in battle when you’re not ready for it, makes her a great rival.

Lastly, Arven. (BIG spoilers) My sweet baby boy, I cannot believe Game Freak dumped so much trauma on you. It was obvious from the start that he had some parental issues, I did not expect it to be year long neglect. I mean, he hasn’t seen the prof in YEARS and has NO memories of playing together with his parent? And apparently his other parent walked out on them the MOMENT he was born??? Then he gets a dying dog, which thankfully got better (it did make me teary eyed by the end ngl) but then the one who’s actually dead is the PROFESSOR???? I hate how quickly he got over the fact, the dude just found out his parent who he hasn’t seen in years is fucking DEAD and has been for YEARS. I mean, I’m happy this makes him find new ambition and a new path in life but fuck me, let the boy process this for a bit.

But yeah, Arven’s story was my fav (im very weak for dogs ok.) Though, all coming together in the end and you running alongside your friends down the Great Crater was so damn cute istg. And the dialogue between them, getting to know each other, is so damn good. You see some different sides of them, showing interest in someone else but you, and it gives them some more dimension, I love it.

Now if Game Freak just FINALLY added voice acting, at least for the damn CUTSCENES, I’d be the happiest. Like dude, that last emotional cutscene really needed some raw emotional voice deliveries.

But yeah, all in all, Scarlet and Violet has a ton of fucking problems, but it also has a lot of good sides to it. Now if Game Freak just took it’s fucking time and accepted some help, they truly could make a great game from the get go.