#because i think it plays into their dynamic well

[yanderenightmare]

this might be a stupid question but what are the rules of omegaverse? or like idk how to phrase it but what's the set up?

On Omegaverse

Not a stupid question! In fact, a really good question because the answer is anything but straightforward!

♡ Consensus still pending...

There aren't really any set rules in the Omegaverse, which is why, when reading an Omegaverse fic, there will often be a paragraph or two at the beginning of the story explaining the setting, rules, culture, and dynamics specific to that Omegaverse alone.

Even so, I'll try to explain the overall concept, as well as divulge some of the common tropes different writers use.

And so, first off! Plainly put, the Omegaverse is an alternate universe in which human beings can have an additional gender, referred to as the second gender—most commonly but not restricted to Alpha, Beta, and Omega. Across different Omegaverses, these second genders act as defining factors, often deciding social rank as well as playing a part in determining other physical, physiological, and psychological attributes of a character.

♡ Alpha, Beta, Omega, Whatnow?

Alpha, Beta, and Omega are ranks typically used within the hierarchy of a wolf pack. The general idea is that Alphas are the pack's leaders, with Betas as their second in command, while Omegas exist at the bottom as the lowest-ranking members.

I want to note really quickly that this view of wild wolves is an old conception and has since been criticized and debunked—something I'll write more in length near the bottom of the post.

But anyway, regarding the Omegaverse, this is still the general dynamic, wherein the Alpha, Beta, and Omega titles aren't only used to identify rank but exist as actual bodily differences as well—referred to as second genders.

And, while Alpha, Beta, and Omega are the token types in most Omegaverse settings, they aren't standardized. For example, Betas can sometimes be ruled out entirely to focus purely on Alpha x Omega pairings—while other writers might add even more types into the mix, such as Delta, Gamma, Sigma, etc...

There aren't any rules to this.

♡ Werewolves or nah?

Since the ranking system was originally taken from the wolf hierarchy, it's natural to think that the Omegaverse has to have something to do with werewolves, hybrids, or some other type of bestiality.

The answer to this is both yes and no.

In some Omegaverses, it's true that characters will be some or other version of werewolves. Hybrids with tails, fluffy ears, claws, etc—or shapeshifters who can fully transform themselves into four-legged canines—or any other type of werewolf you can think of.

This is all a creator's choice and up to them to implement or not!

As for other Omegaverses, characters will be described as regular human beings but with added instincts and characteristics in line with what second gender they have: Alpha, Beta, Omega, etc... Here, the whole wolf aspect of things isn't highlighted, though might still be used somewhat metaphorically.

There are no rules to this either. Only options.

Additionally, not all Omegaverse hybrids need to take after wolves alone. The range can be broadened to include any type of dog breed—Huskies, Labradors, Chihuahuas, etc. Here, apart from physical attributes, what type of dog a character is can also play a part in what type of personality they have. For example, Huskies are diligent characters, Labradors are fun-loving and playful, while Chihuahuas are uncharacteristically combative for their size.

I've even come across some writers whose Omegaverse includes any and all types of hybrids, having Alpha horses, Beta oxen, and Omega bunnies. However, I'd say this is less common and will more likely be referred to as hybrid au or something of the like.

♡ Characteristics!

Though there are no rules, there are some common understandings of how the different types of second genders tend to look and act.

Starting off with Alphas. They're usually described as big and strong and come forth as the designated leaders in society.

Personality-wise, they can be loud and oppressive but can also be shown as silent, stoic types who command the room simply with their presence. In any case, they're often very masculine and dominating, always marking their territory and striving to be the ones in charge, with a tendency to be very protective of what's theirs and rather aggressive when challenged.

More physical attributes other than strength and size may be added, such as an array of muscles and a gifted nether region, including the knot.

The knot is most common in Omegaverses that have a hybrid spin. In simple terms, the knot is a group of muscles found at the base of an Alpha's manhood, which swells up when they're close to climaxing to keep their partner from pulling away and so ensuring that their spend doesn't escape.

More traits common for Alphas in the hybrid Omegaverse are bigger and stronger fangs than their other counterparts, as well as larger and longer claws, better hearing, optics, and sense of smell—they're also faster, stronger, and often smarter than the rest. All reasons as to why they're considered the leaders in society.

But all in all, whether you include all of this or not, Alphas are considered the ones at the top of the food chain.

And at the bottom of that food chain, we find Omegas.

Often portrayed as small, weak, and meek by nature—Omegas are the opposite of Alphas. And yet, despite this, Omegas are also highly desired by Alphas for mating reasons. Although this isn't really taken from our understanding of how actual wolf packs work, it is often the case in the Omegaverse.

You see, in the Omegaverse, Omegas are considered highly fertile and domestic, making them objects of desire for Alphas. In turn, Omegas will usually want an Alpha—the bigger and stronger, the better—to provide, protect, and keep them safe from other Alphas.

Furthermore, Omegas are said to be very pretty, sometimes to an irresistible degree, and will often be described as cute and doe-eyed.

Hybrid Omegas have all the same physical attributes as Alphas, but smaller—so tiny teeth, short and sometimes dull claws, soft bodies without much muscle, etc...

Simply put, Alphas are large and dominant, while Omegas are small and submissive.

Now Betas, on the other hand, are a little more ambiguous...

Some choose to make them the odd men out, characters without Omega/Alpha instincts and needs—making them the normal humans in an Omegaverse society. Here, Alphas and Omegas are more or less an altogether different species than Betas.

Others choose to treat the second gender as a spectrum going from Alpha to Omega with Beta in the middle—here, Betas might vary from being recessive Alphas to recessive Omegas.

Others, again, portray Betas only as just below Alphas—so, still big and strong but falling just short of being the biggest and strongest.

Hybrid Betas will be described as something in between Alphas and Omegas, or simply as smaller Alphas—so moderately sized teeth, claws, muscle mass, etc.

There are no rules to this, but all in all, Betas are usually portrayed as being less desirable to both Alphas and Omegas—for these mentioned reasons and for further reasons we'll divulge now.

♡ Scents, Ruts, Heats and Suppressants

This is what makes up the charm in the Omegaverse.

Scent is basically the Omegaverse word for pheromones.

It's often the difference in scent that allows characters to identify and determine whether someone is an Alpha, Omega, Beta, etc. Moreover, scents are used to arouse and are often what induce heats and ruts, which we'll talk about shortly.

But first! Alpha scents are usually described as spicy and musky, whereas Omega scents tend to be described as sweet. Both, respectfully, are designed to attract the other.

Betas, on the other hand, are either described as not having scent glands the same way Alphas and Omegas do or have them but exude a very weak scent, which in some Omegaverses might be the very reason they're deemed as Betas—labeled as defective Alphas or Omegas.

This is all up to the writer. There can be many other descriptions defining the Beta type, each different from the first—too many to explain here. A writer can more or less make their own definition of what makes someone a Beta.

But in any case, Alphas and Omegas are often said to be indifferent to a Beta's scent. Likewise, Betas aren't affected by Alpha and Omega scents—either because they can't really detect them or because it doesn't affect them the same way, usually because Betas don't experience heats or ruts such as Alphas and Omegas do—though this can also be decided by the author.

Again, no rigorous set of rules applies here. It all depends on whether the Betas are portrayed as being normal humans in an Omegaverse society or something more like recessive or defective Alphas/Omegas.

But onto heats and ruts!

Omegas go into heat, whereas Alphas go into ruts. Betas, as I already mentioned, are often said to go into neither—but that's a choice the writer makes.

And, as you've probably guessed by now, there are a lot of different choices a writer can make here...

Omegas often have a heat cycle—meaning they experience regular and scheduled heats. You can think of it like the menstrual cycle. It doesn't have to be once a month or every full moon—it can be twice a year before winter and spring or once a year between January and April like female wolves have. Like many things, it's up to the writer to decide. But in any case, Omegas tend to go into heat on a regular basis.

Additionally, the scent of an Alpha can sometimes induce spontaneous heat in an Omega outside their heat cycle.

But what is heat exactly?

Well, heat is the time when an Omega is most fertile. When Omegas go into this heat, they're often said to feel horny for no apparent reason, often to the point of feeling frustrated and feverish, while exuding copious amounts of slick and scent in order to attract a mate.

The degree of these symptoms varies from writer to writer. Some like to portray heats almost like a sickness, describing a burning ache in the lower belly making the Omegas bedridden and damn-near delirious, whereas other writers make their Omegas fully functional, only feeling slight discomfort—while other writers incorporate both for different types of Omegas, some highly sensitive and others not so much. Again, same as with menstruation, some women feel high levels of pain, and others don't feel anything at all.

Ruts are a bit different...

Most writers treat ruts like the Alpha equivalent of heat—meaning it's when their libido is at its highest and their need-to-mate through the roof. But whether this is also based on a cycle or is simply triggered when encountering an attractive mate varies from writer to writer.

The symptoms of an Alpha's rut are also a matter of debate. Some writers make their Alphas go completely berserk, all manners of rationale gone, blacked out with only one goal left in their head: to mate until their ball's empty. Other writers make them simply become hot and bothered and a little more aggressive than normal. And some writers choose both, making their Alphas lose control over specific Omega scents while having less of a reaction to others.

But onto suppressants!

Sometimes called heat/rut suppressants or inhibitors, these usually exist in the Omegaverse and are sort of their version of the pill, only different and with more effects.

Heat suppressants or Omega inhibitors are often explained to minimize the effects of a heat or to prevent it completely, making them highly useful for sensitive Omegas that experience tough heats regularly.

Rut suppressants or Alpha inhibitors are, similarly, for Alphas who experience rough ruts or who are sensitive to Omega scents.

All in all, suppressants and inhibitors are taken to avoid the effects of ruts and heats.

You also have something called scent blockers, which, as the name suggests, makes the person who takes them dull their scent glands, making it so that they don't emit too much of a scent. This is useful for Omegas and Alphas who don't want to attract attention.

♡ Pairing, Mating, Marking, Biting, and Bonding!

So, as we've already gone over, the most common pairing is Alpha x Omega. But it doesn't have to be that way! Anyone can, of course, be with anyone, even in the Omegaverse. Omega x Omega, Alpha x Alpha, Beta x Omega, Alpha x Beta, and Beta x Beta are all still valid pairs, as well as all other variations with the other additional second genders.

However, there are some things that will work differently or, in some cases, won't work at all.

First on that list are, as we just covered, scents, ruts, and heats.

As I said, Betas aren't usually affected by Alpha/Omega scents, but they can still feel attraction for them anyway! The same goes for same-second-sex relationships. Omegas won't affect each other with their scents, but they can still like each other despite that. Alphas, too, can fall for other Alphas even without them necessarily being affected by one another's scent.

The matter, then, of course, is whether they can satisfy each other when their heats and ruts come along. Generally, an Alpha and Omega are made to please the other, and so it's common to see writers make their Beta x Omega/Alpha pairs and same-second-sex pairs struggle with this—which is where using suppressants and inhibitors may come in handy.

Another thing that will work differently is bonding.

Bonding or marking happens when one or both in a pair mark each other with their bite, thus solidifying them as mates.

This, however, is commonly agreed that only works and happens between Alphas and Omegas, where Alphas will deal the bite to the Omega or both unto each other. This is often described as an irreversible act, forever binding them together as a mated pair.

Depending on the writer's choices, there may or may not be any merit in an Alpha biting a Beta or of a Beta biting an Omega—and even less in two Alphas or two Omegas biting each other.

And so, as you can tell, a lot of the Omegaverse rests on the idea that Alphas and Omegas are meant for each other and only each other—and therein lies the potential juicy conflict, which we'll discuss a little later, but first...

♡ Soulmates!

This is another common facet in the Omegaverse.

The soulmate idea typically rests on two concepts. We went over the first one: the bite that seals the bond between an Alpha and Omega for life. Here, Alphas and Omegas can more or less choose their soulmate.

Additionally, it's often a factor that after the bite is dealt, the Alpha and Omega in that bond will only affect each other with their scents and will only be able to reach satisfaction with each other when experiencing ruts and heats—basically making them fully dependent on one another forever.

The other soulmate concept is based on the idea that an Alpha or Omega will recognize the scent of their mate—at first sniff! Here, soulmates are predetermined and not chosen.

Both of these concepts can exist in one Omegaverse. Sometimes, the scent will be used to identify a soulmate but will still need to be confirmed and sealed through a bite or rejected by not biting.

♡ Culture, Society, and Politics

This is where you can really have fun!

When you have characters in ranks like Alpha, Beta, and Omega, who are supposed to be one thing, it can be interesting to suddenly make them the opposite.

For example, Alphas are supposed to be successful winners—but as we see in real life, not all those who have everything going for them end up with it all. So it could be fun to take the angle of a loser Alpha who hasn't got what he feels entitled to.

Or to have a really successful and independent Omega, who is generally only supposed to be a housewife for Alphas.

Betas can be a fun role to play with too. You can make them salty for not being Alphas, desperate to do anything in order to prove themselves—or you can make them happy outsiders who're relieved they don't have to participate in any of the Alpha-Omega nonsense.

Additionally, as we covered earlier, you can break the normal pairings. You can make Alphas who are sickeningly interested in courting only Betas—who almost seem to think of them as a conquest. Or Omegas, who're frightened of Alphas and end up only courting each other. Or Alphas who think everyone is beneath them and also decide that only those of their own rank are worth their time. Or Omegas who, instead of settling for just one Alpha, goes for two Betas, like in this fic:

♡ TWO BETAS, ONE OMEGA

And that's only breaking gender and social norms! We can also break the body norms! Such as suddenly making a really big and strong Omega and a small and cute Alpha. A dynamic I explore in this fic:

♡ UNNATURAL

♡ World Structure

There are many different types of Omegaverses. Still, I'd say we can categorize the Omegaverse by three different types of world structures: modern, primal, and dystopian.

Modern Omegaverses are reminiscent of the real world but with the added Alpha, Beta, and Omega dynamics.

Primal Omegaverse is where society is set out in the wild—this is also the type of Omegverse that usually features hybrids.

Examples of primal Omegaverse:

♡ SILLY LITTLE MATE

Dystopian is modern Omegaverse, but with laws and politics that support segregation between the second genders where Omegas are usually being oppressed and treated as lesser humans—this is the one I play around with most.

Examples of dystopian Omegaverse:

♡ TWIST OF FATE ♡ THE OMEGA INSTITUTION ♡ HARD-LEARNED LESSON

♡ Second gender and male pregnancy!?

I'm not an expert when it comes to this type of Omegaverse, but yes, male pregnancy is possible in some Omegaverses due to the existence of second genders.

This type of Omegaverse is popular in the Boy Love genre.

Here, Omega males can be impregnated by Alphas.

Male Betas, however, can neither impregnate male Omegas nor be impregnated by Alphas. They can, on the other hand, still impregnate any type of female.

Additionally, Alpha females can also impregnate Omegas. In this type of Omegaverse, Alpha females are often portrayed as futanari—meaning they have both sets of genitalia.

Rules to this vary, though I'm unfortunately not well-versed enough to explain it all. And so I'll leave it at that.

♡ Other Animalistic Elements May Be Included!

Impregnation may be referred to as catching, and babies as pups. Additionally, Omegas will often be said to carry litters, meaning more than just one pup—sometimes a lot more.

Scent glands exist on the wrists and in the juncture between the neck and shoulder—which is also where the bite is dealt.

Imprinting can be another aspect of things. This is something that happens as you grow up, often between childhood friends and siblings and with parents. Imprinting simply means that you recognize the scent of someone else as kin, trustworthy, or a source of comfort. Pets do this with their owners, for example.

A home, bedroom, or simply a bed might be called a nest or den. Nesting is when a character spends time in the nest, typically for Omegas during heat or pregnancy.

Other than that, I'd say there's a lot more one can implement in the Omegaverse. But this concludes the general idea of things as well as some further inspiration for those who might want it.

♡ Wolf Pack Hierarchy: Debunked!

Lastly, I want to clarify that the Alpha, Beta, and Omega ranks aren't really as relevant out in the wild as many would believe.

Wolf packs out in the wild are usually only made up of two parents and their children and, therefore, actually have a similar type of hierarchy to that of human families. Wolf cubs come of age before they turn three, at which point they'll leave their family pack, find a mate, and start their own pack. Leaving no need for ranks, just the simplicity of mother, father, and offspring.

However, wolf packs kept in reservoirs and captivity are different because they're usually much bigger, including not only relatives but random non-relatives, at which point a hierarchy is needed, which is where the idea of the Alpha, Beta, and Omega dynamic originally comes from—from humans studying a large group of mostly unfamiliar wolves held strictly in captivity.

This would be the same as locking a number of random humans together in a house and deeming the outcome a solid case study for what happens naturally when, in reality, it's the farthest thing from natural occurrence possible.

Of course, wolf packs of a larger number do exist out in the wild as well, though they are uncommon. But even then, the simple dynamics of Alpha, Beta, and Omega don't apply as straightforwardly as it sounds.

But anyway, here's a last fun fact about wolves: they mate for life!

♡ For more Omegaverse fics of mine: ♡ FEM x M INSERT ♡ GN x M INSERT

[ozzgin]

Hello, Mr./Ms./Mx. Ozzgin! May I ask a really dumb question? Which one of your yanderes would accept a transmasc darling? Because I am a trans man and am kind of insecure about it, so I wanted to know who I could fantasize about to help me feel better about my body! Of course, you don't have to answer this and I am so incredibly sorry if I'm making you uncomfortable or if I'm not making any sense! Either way, I'm wishing you a very nice day! Thank you for everything that you're doing! Goodbye!

First, I'll mention that I imagine most of my characters somewhere along the demisexual spectrum. In the sense that sure, they find you cute at first sight, but they love you for who you are, irrespective of your appearance or gender. It doesn't make a difference.

That being said, I do think some relationship dynamics are more interesting than others depending on the character.

Yan!Swordsman with a transmasc Reader holds a lot of complexity in my opinion. There's a lot of historical baggage, as well as outdated views that may come into play. He would struggle a lot, especially once he falls for you.

He'd be overly protective, interrupting your sparing sessions, or hesitantly postponing your city patrols because you might get hurt. Mind you, he's particularly caring with all his underlings, but you being his partner truly exacerbates his instincts.

You may be tempted to point a finger and accuse him of not seeing you as an actual man. It's not the case. On the contrary, you being a man makes matters even less complicated: bringing a wife to the headquarters would spark outrage. Having a male partner, on the other hand, is common practice among the samurai.

Regardless of what you are, he needs to know you're safe. It keeps him awake at night. Maybe a compromise can eventually be reached; while he can't forfeit his watchful gaze on you, he can be a little rougher when you're around everyone else. Thus, your bad posture is no longer reprimanded with a scold, but with the sharp sting of a bamboo pole against your feet. At last, you're part of the family, treated like all the other swordsmen who warned you about the Captain's ruthless discipline. For the better or the worse, you think to yourself, massaging the red spots. "Are you alright," he questions with a faint smirk. "What? I didn't even feel anything," you retort, determined to prove him wrong. Don't worry, he'll make sure to spoil you later.

[starbuttons]

Hi, while I agree with your reasoning on how kabumisu can have racist undertones in fanon and canon, I think it’s unfair to place all of that solely onto it when labru has the same thin line within its dynamic, and especially in some of the fan works I’ve seen.

At the end of the story Laios is literally in a position of power over Kabru, and while he willingly went into the position I’ve seen many fan works play up that aspect of their dynamic in sexual and sfw ways which can be uncomfortable too. Kabru being a dark skinned man means being paired with a white character is going to be difficult to navigate because any interaction could be seen as racially motivated/charged. Especially considering their canon relationships and what happens to them in the story.

I personally noticed that Kabru is the only other character in the manga that Laios continually forgets the face/name of and blatantly ignores during the course of the story until maybe the very end, and I always thought that was kind of racist since Laios is more attentive to literally every other character including Toshiro and the elves despite his social awkwardness. From what you’re saying it should only be allowed to ship Kabru with another visibly POC character like Rin or Cythis which doesn’t make sense.

When it comes to Kabru and Mithrun’s dynamic, it is in text that Kabru helps take care of his needs, but not to the extent that most fans portray it as. That being said, it is only implied to be racist and is mostly based on the mindset of the viewer. Something like how Dandadan fans reacted to someone drawing one of the characters black and saying it’s a terrible thing is actual fandom racism, especially after the Miku Worldwide trend that just happened but I digress.

Taking care of each other is an important part of kabumisu’s dynamic and it’s not inherently the same thing as being portrayed for the sake of looking like a “servant and a master”, of course they would be shipped together like I’ve seen characters be shipped for less. (And I feel like you have a personal disdain for kabumisu which is influencing the way you describe it? Kabumisu fans have a very different interpretation of the scenes you describe like the pep talk and the time he’s with Mithrun like how they help and influence each other during that time but yeah). There’s also the way Kabru is always making angry faces in his mind about things Laios does because he’s uncomfortable but this is ignored as well..I’m not saying so to discredit the ship, but I’m making a point.

I’ve also seen many disabled dungeon meshi fans express discomfort in the way Mithrun is talked about by fans who seem to dislike that he is disabled, and it shows in the way they treat his ships, mainly kabumisu. It’s more likely that this part of the dynamic is exaggerated because of the caretaking aspect being nice to see as well as its significance in their canon relationship.

In conclusion I am saying that kabumisu is not the only ship that has racial tension and many fans mischaracterize Kabru and insist everything he (a brown guy) does is to be with Laios (a white guy) him which feels just as racist to me as how he is portrayed in kabumisu works along with many labru fan works having deliberately racist overtones to it.

A healthcare worker’s take on Dungeon Meshi shipping discourse

Hiya y’all! As someone who has become a fan of Dungeon Meshi (honestly one of my favorite franchises at this moment) I’d just like to give more of a nuanced take on a shipping discourse I’ve seen. I’d like to clarify this with I am an NA. I’ve literally been recognized by the country I live in through the sunshine awards system on my contributions to my patients lives. All this to say, I know a bit about healthcare. And I also think that. Personally, people should be allowed to ship whatever they please. They shouldn’t be made to feel guilty for what they enjoy, especially if it isn’t hurting anyone.

I’d like to clarify what I am speaking on, this being the controversy surrounding the ships Mithrun and Kabru, vs Laios and Kabru. Both of which are valid ships in my opinion! I think both are great! And whichever you like you should feel comfortable and happy to indulge in it.

I work mostly with geriatric and bariatric patients, as I work on a cardiac unit. So, by proxy, I witness a lot of disabled people come through. This to say that these people HAVE partners. And their partners care for them. Such as feeding their partners if they need help eating, helping their partners feel safe if they have dementia, I have even seen someone clean their spouse after they had soiled themself. All of which are examples of love and affection, as partners. Not as a provider doing their job.

The argument i see many a time against the ship of Mithrun and Kabru, is that it is unethical. As Kabru would be a “provider” in this case, and Mithrun would be a “patient” to this I say, is Kabru being paid in this hypothetical? Is he following training he has been given? Is he following a code of ethics given to healthcare workers when he helps Mithrun with his disability? Disabled people deserve love. And they deserve a partner that cares for them. So the argument that the ship is gross is kind of… weird. Isn’t it? Again. Mithrun and Kabru as partners do not have to be your cup of tea, but that doesn’t mean that anyone who DOES ship them is gross or immoral. Helping your partner because they are disabled is an act of love, and completely different from a provider helping their patient.

Statistically, everyone will either die able bodied or live to become disabled. It happens to everyone. Disabilities are almost as much of a fact of life as breathing is. I am new to the Dungeon Meshi fandom, but the insinuation that someone able bodied cannot have a disabled partner is kind of horrible to actual able bodied/disabled partnerships? The dynamic is so common, and so to say that it is gross, almost implies that the dynamic in a day to day is gross.

This post isn’t meant to be inflammatory, there are so many dungeon meshi ships I love with all my heart. Some that are rare pairs, some that are common within the fandom. I just think that people should be more friendly with each other. Kabru has two hands guys it’s okay /j /lh. Just please be more friendly guys. Both ships are valid. But the way the fandom gets so angry over it makes me scared. And I imagine it makes other people who are new to the manga/anime a little scared too.

[olderthannetfic]

www.tumblr.com/olderthannetfic/771823370694213632

You need the say the bit about the way canon treats characters way louder because I really think that the way the character is... framed, I guess? accounts for huge chunks of it.

I remember when the Disk Horse was about Finn vs. Kylo Ren from the Star Wars sequel trilogy and I got called racist for trying to point out that Finn was always framed as the comic relief/unserious by the canon. He has a character arc in the first movie, but his emotions and his trauma and his personality are mostly played for laughs (ha! ha! Black janitor guy is scared because he's a coward! - and him being a janitor is a change that came pretty late, he was originally meant to be the top of his class). OTOH Kylo Ren has the camera linger on his anguished face while sad music plays and he monologues about the moral conflicts that he's facing.

The average viewer/reader - especially in the case of visual media - doesn't really stop watching to form non-prejudiced independent opinions on every character (and really shouldn't if your narrative is well-constructed!), that'd take up too much of their mental bandwidth! They let themselves be guided by how things and people are framed, so of course they'd see Ren as Serious and Tragic and Finn as the funny guy, which is inherently less sexy to most people!

Same thing with F/F: when canon treats its women with any degree of complexity and gives them the sort of character traits that are conductive to blorbofication people are all over it!

My dash's been drowning in Rhaenycent for a year now, and that's a show that arguably sorta botched its female characters in the attempt to make them complex! But it doesn't matter, because they set up all these juicy dynamics and the fans are all over it!

Fans LOVE Claudia from IWTV even though the tragedy of her canonical role is that the guys always sideline her for each other.

I went to the Anora tag after seeing the movie and saw a bunch of Anora x reader fic in between the gifs the same way I did for Feyd Rautha from Dune or any other feral unhinged character fans love imagining themselves having sex with (and then blocked it lol).

Like, my taste in women and men is exactly the same but the large majority of characters that fit it are men, because we just don't get a lot of women who are composed, charming rogues on the outside and crippled traumatized messes on the inside, with a narrative that gives this sufficient weight, and also lets them be feral and unhinged. And I actually prefer minority characters because where I'm from I'm from a minority group myself, but again, most of them don't fit the bill personality-wise or framing-wise.

Fandom's a hobby and it's meant to be fun - I'm not gonna be constantly swimming uphill from what the canon is trying to present to me just because a character shares a demographic category with me. I think this is the case for most people, really.

--

My read on a lot of this is that people are sad about the status quo (fair) and are lying to themselves that the culprits are nearby where they can reach them.

If we confront the fact that the real source is the director or the cinematographer or the studio head, it all feels so much more insurmountable.

Of course, one can opt for niche, indie media, but a lot of people don't want to do that, so they fall back on this shitty coping mechanism of pretending that they can yell at the people around them and effect meaningful change.

[the-crooked-library]

Okay I wanted to tell you that I'm literally drinking your posts about Nosferatu, thank you so much for sharing all your thoughts! You're helping me better shaping my own opinions.

And I have another thing that can't leave my mind so I thought to share: Ellen is in perfect control of Orlok, and it's never the other way round.

She is the one that summons him first, and after their first encounters (I got the feeling that they met more than once before her father discovered her and the encounters got unpleasant, but I might be wrong), when she rejects him out of fear and disgust, *he leaves her be*. Okay, he visits her in her dreams, but dreams are manageable, right? In fact Ellen moves on, she tries to build a reasonable life, she falls in love, and Orlok just leaves her be. It's only when she marries that he acts: because the vows of marriage can break the oath they took years ago.

And even if moved by jealousy and rage, even if he is so powerful that he can control animals, weather and human minds, even if he can bring the plague to a whole city, even if he kills and tortures everyone, he can't touch her unless she gives her permission, her consent. He barely even look at her without her permission.

And in the end he knows the dawn is approaching, he knows he's gonna die, he is more than satisfied, more than fulfilled, but she says "more" and so he stays. And he dies. Because she wanted for him to die.

I don't think Ellen is fully aware of her power and control over him since the beginning, because to admit to herself this much is too much for her. A part of her still wants and impossible normal life. But surely she knows. She places her hair in the lock...

And in the end she fully embraces this power, to the extent of her own death too.

I think this is what hit me the most in this movie. How big a role the girl plays in the action of the vampire.

hi - and thank you so so much! I am delighted to hear that you've been enjoying my posts about this film, because, quite frankly, I haven't been able to shut up about it at any point since I saw it.

Regarding Ellen's control of Orlok: this might be just my opinion, but I think it is strongly reminiscent of the dynamic between Sarah and Jareth in Labyrinth (1986)! Sarah's situation is, naturally, less traumatic than Ellen's - but she is the heroine of a coming-of-age fantasy film, rather than a gothic horror, so that comes with the territory. The point is, their stories share the same essential plot beats and deal with a similar subject matter, and Sarah's story is punctuated by her interactions with the Goblin King. Like Orlok, he is ancient and in some ways immortal; he is obsessive, dangerous, and magical in a way that does not fit in with the Normal World - which provides a point of endless fascination for Sarah, who also feels like an outsider in it. As such, the Goblin King both excites and terrifies her, he adores her and menaces her at the same time - and, crucially, he has no power over her. Here's how the story develops:

the loneliness, the frustration with her life

the summons, however accidental

friends/family in danger

at the same time - thrill, excitement, seduction, obsession

fairy tale time limit - 13 hours or 3 nights

confrontation/declaration of love, offer of eternity

the evil is defeated because he isn't actually in control.

The Goblin King begs Sarah to just fear him, love him, and vows to be her slave if she does; Orlok does much the same, insisting time and time again that Ellen isn't meant for the human world - that he would give her the companionship she wanted for all eternity; and the same pattern repeats in a plethora of other media as well, vampire, fairytale, and various derivations thereof.

Just to throw a few examples into the mix - Ellen Hutter, Christine Daaé, Sarah Williams, Will Graham, and Louis de Pointe du Lac all follow that specific dance. Each one of their respective monsters seduces, threatens, adores, coerces, rages - and eventually submits. Orlok is reverent as he stays with Ellen past the sunrise; Erik releases Christine in the finale; the Goblin Kingdom crumbles, Hannibal kneels in the snow and falls from the cliff, and Lestat allows Louis to slit his throat. For the pursued, this is, first and foremost, a story of self-actualization; and a fantasy of being loved so deeply that it supersedes all other possible concerns. None of these characters have ever felt loved by another human being - and so it's not surprising that the thing that wants them so much isn't human. It's really more of a reasonable assumption than a leap.

I absolutely agree that Ellen's actions are often very subtly questionable, in a way that almost feels like reaching; and I think that this is likely the intention - though that could be debated until the cows come home, given a contrary enough group of people. Still, in the film itself, she is indeed torn between Morality and Desire. Lines are inevitably blurred. The locket miniature for Thomas, the perfumed lock of hair for Orlok; a sacrifice for the city, a night of passion for her.

One proper, sane; the other invariably personal, close to the skin - clinging, like the scent of lilacs; and it could be said that this dilemma is best encapsulated by her description of a dream she had in the very beginning of the movie. In it, she is wedded to Death. None of the witnesses survive it. She is horrified, she has never been happier in her life, and it's rooted in the very core of her anguish. Because what sort of thing is she, if the only person that loves her wholly is a monster?..

[winpocalypse]

i might be the only one who doesn’t get the popularity of pining!sam lol. sure yes jared improvised some scenes (wendigo, playthings) but i’d say it’s more about early seasons sam’s hero worshipping & pure devotion towards dean, while narratively it makes sense for dean to be the one violently pining and yearning (the siren episode, hello? the sexual subtext of it? and don’t get me started on dean’s constant unsubtle flirting with sam, the ass slapping etc). then also it should be taken into account that sam continued to run away from dean throughout the whole kripke era, i feel like most people in the fandom dismiss this core aspect of him, the fact that he’s not obsessive on dean’s level (the panic room, dean still being mad at him for going to college YEARS later, him getting angry over not being in sam’s happiest memories in 5.16) and personally i think it makes him more interesting. sam’s world doesn’t have to revolve around dean. actually it’s one of the reasons for their conflicts :)

totally!

i really like pining in general, but i see often the dynamic of poor sam pining for oblivious dean and i don't find that so appealing. i think pining sam goes hard on s3, something about running out of time, the desperation of trying to save dean. and maybe here dean would play oblivious just so they don't make it more complicated. s5 pining as well, he wants so bad for dean to forgive him, to be by his side, and here dean just pushes him away, i love it.

but i think pining dean goes harder, because the way sam's always slipping from his fingers? stanford, then his death, then dean's deal and death, then the demon blood, then lucifer. he pines so hard, and he loses control in every situation concerning sam, and the only way he knows how to respond to it is with anger. s4 and s5 pining with pissed off energy? it build and builds and when it explodes it's not pretty

yeeaaaaah

[lexicorp]

I certainly adore how they approached Starscream's character in Armada. And in the end, at the very least he goes out on his own terms for once

Lmaooooo they're so hekin goofy-X3

Exactly!! It is very frustrating when ppl take that angle. He's just hella guarded with shit ass copping mechanisms-

Arc and Star just being able to chill when alone is so wholesome. It's always nice when you can have one on one time with that one person where you both just /get/ each other without having to worry about calculating how your presenting yourself

Bringing it back to the "because I said so" line so perfectly coalesces that struggle to express ones self while wanting control. The "don't question me" mentality that comes up again. Where he can't form the words to explain but just /needs/ them to dewit. Even if it was initially an order out of concern rather than triggered insecurity

Thnx! And that is such a perfect and natural feeling conversation for them to stumble upon I feel. Star hating the idea of seeing his kids hurt by his own servos, and perhaps even in heavy moments, he'd stop himself mid motion just completely suddenly. Like his salt rose to a point, but as soon as it /almost/ reached that line, he'd backpedal the shit out of it and prob immediately dismiss the kids and excuse himself

I have a moment in the recent chapter of my fic, where Star gets frustrated and lashes out at Bumblebee over a game. He pulls the line of "this IS your fault!" Even tho it wasn't bees and he knew that but he couldn't direct his anger on the other person. But as soon as those words left his intake and he saw the look bee had as star had forcefully grabbed his servo-- he just stopped. Cuz it's like that oh shit moment of seeing yourself in the person you're lashing out against.

Also one think I like in Earthspark s2 is an interaction between spitfire/twitch and Starscream, when she's being insubordinate as slag, but he only talks to her. He only even raises his voice when she actually straight up wrecks their shit

I know in one comic, then Cybertronians are born asexually from the well of sparks thing, but assigned a mentor upon creation. In that, then he has a mom, who cultivated his love of Cybertronian nature and mythology/history. (Their relationship seemed decent at least, if distant at times, although he felt a bit abandoned by her when she went to accept death. Then.... Well the comic has a sketch ending regarding where she ends up.) Im not sure where warp and thunder play in that lore

I always would love more content exploring the elite trine bois dude, their dynamics are very flavored. I have my own interpretations based on what little I've gotten from fan works ngl

So many Starscream's lol

I just had a huge realisation yesterday and I wanted to share this after going through some pretty horrible stuff over the weekend: Something I've always asked myself ever since getting into G1 Transformers was "why do you like Starscream so much even though he's a narcissistic bully? Why are you, someone who is a victim of narcissistic abuse, taking comfort in a narcissistic character?" Well, I think I finally figured it out. Because Starscream is also a victim of that very same abuse. I mean, he's beaten, called names, bullied, unappreciated, abused, and put through the wringer…and he internalised all that abuse because he knew no other way. He had no one to turn to, and the few bots who did support him, he treated like dirt. Once he had that freedom and power, he abused it and became the very thing that abused him. I have no doubt he was always self-centred, selfish, had a huge ego, etc. before all that but honestly? I think Megatron's abuse caused him to turn out the way he did. I could have turned out that way and it's a little scary, some of the parallels I'm drawing with him.

@ichbinmeltdown wrote a great analysis on Starscream that I want to share here:

"Megatron was abusive as hell to Starscream. He treated him horribly, and I legitimately almost cried a few times watching it. There's an episode called Starscream's Brigade that introduces the Combaticons, and I think that perfectly demonstrates the cycle of abuse. The entire world is against Starscream at pretty much every turn throughout the series, but none more so than Megatron. Every word out of his speech synthesizer to Starscream is to berate him, and he's constantly throwing him around, beating him, even ripping out his speech synthesizer in a scene from a previous episode (Hoist Goes Hollywood, IIRC). His own teammates don't like him, and even his brothers- Skywarp and Thundercracker, going off of the idea they're brothers- just... allow Megatron to abuse him. (Not to get into headcanons here, but I personally believe that Megatron's abuse fractured the Elite Trine's family dynamic. They are still brothers and love each other, but they're all too afraid of Megatron to really... stand up for each other as they did in the past.) And Starscream seemed to just snap in this episode. He treated the Combaticons poorly, and even when teaming up with Shockwave, he subjected him to a lot of the same ridicule and torment that Megatron put him through. He failed to realize Shockwave was the one of the only bots who would give him a chance- and unfortunately lashed out at him, which ruined his chances of Shockwave ever being a true friend and ally to him. Once Starscream had finally gotten a taste of power and not being under another bot's boot, he too became the very thing that he lived in fear of. And that really is how the cycle goes- when you're finally free from abuse, it can be tempting to overcompensate and take back all the power you were robbed of, at any cost whatsoever. Starscream, like D16 in Transformers One, snapped up this opportunity."

And the sad thing is, I've seen this in real life and I've internalised some of the abuse I've dealt with too. I'm not proud of it. Like the Seeker Trine, my own family dynamic has been fractured by similar abuse. I know there's traces of narcissism in my behaviour too, and I'm NOT proud of it. Maybe this is why I can forgive Starscream for being a narc, because I can see a little bit of my own personality/attitude/behaviour in him. Maybe it's because I know where it came from, I get why he acts that way and it's not just random and out of the blue. Maybe it's because--and I know this is a bold statement--I don't think he would do some of the stuff my own family did to me (blah blah blah he's a fictional character).

I didn't mean for this to turn into a long rant, so

TLDR: I finally figured out that part of the reason I love and relate to Starscream so much despite him internalising some of the abuse I went through, is because he was the victim of that same abuse.

[thewalrusespublicist]

Hello! Love your blog and your takes, objective and sane and well researched chefs kiss! I had a blast scrolling through it like it was my feed yesterday lol can you elaborate on klaus and Paul if possible? People mostly talk about them like it’s already understood but I don’t understand 😭 I’m kinda lost on their (all of them, including stu) dynamic during the hamburg years specifically when it comes to Paul

Aww thank you anon! Tbh I was starting to feel a bit down about my blog and what I was putting out ( the eternal crisis on how to give full answers and opinions without being stupid, boring and annoying lol). So I really, really needed this. :)

Oh Paul vs/and the Exsis, it's quite a long one so buckle up.

Disclaimer: all of the people involved are essentially art kids/young adults who are famously the most exhausting people on the planet. Do not blame them for being dramatic, it's their natural state of being.

If we want to go into Paul and Klaus, we have to kind of start with the John, Paul and Stu. Now these three are a mess that's too big to go into here (though I have THOUGHTS about how Stu is utilised in the Beatles narrative that I'm more than happy to share if asked lmaooo). But in short(ish):

John and Paul had had an intense year and a bit of closeness. Then John meets Stu at art college.

John and Stu become c l o s e for many reasons (being peers, living together, similar artistic leanings + ego, Stu being a gentle guide to John, sharing art projects/poetry/long letters and feelings etc.) They became 'closer than two men' a friend had seen (remind us of anyone gang?). Most importantly, John could be open about his feelings with Stu in letters. If John had BPD which I subscribe too, I think Stu was his 'favourite person' and as Aunt Mimi said his 'special' and 'closest friend' from this period up until his death (though imho the transference back to Paul was starting prior to his death).

It's not clear what exactly happens as there's differing accounts but Stu uses his money to buy a new bass as John wants him to come to Scotland then Hamburg and play bass as he will 'look good'.

Paul doesen't like being relegated to the seat behind John and Stu when he used to sit next to John. He also isn't thrilled when he gets to Hamburg and not only does he get to sleep in the other room with just Pete but Stu cannot be arsed to play because he's hanging out with his hot new girlfriend Astrid (more on her in a sec). Our boy has spent a lot of money he doesen't have and given up on further education to be here and is jealous and annoyed.

Paul and Stu probably were friends and I think their mutual antipathy is overegged. HOWEVER, can't be denied that Paul is jealous of Stu and Stu is jealous of Paul (and getting flare-ups from increasing brain damage). John and Stu tease Paul and steal his money, Paul is mean to Stu (as are the others encouraged by John). Do I think John was playing games with both of them? Yup. They end up scuffling onstage because Paul said something about Astrid (not clear what, one account is that Paul said that Stu could borrow money off Astrid if he needed it which isn't really that bad a dig but who knows Yoko??).

Why is this dynamic important? Because it directly impacts the 'Exsis' (Klaus, Jurgen and Astrid's) group's relationship with Paul:

The Exsis were young artists living in Hamburg. They were artistic, cool, interesting and edgy. They were paramount in introducing the Beatles to cool new concepts, aesthetics and ideas. They also took themselves VERY seriously ie pretentious as all hell.

Astrid met Stu at Kaiserkeller and hit it off. They embarked on an all-consuming romance.

Letter from Stu to Astrid, c.1961

I've seen people say they were the proto-John and Yoko in terms of making their romance the whole world and influencing John years down the line and I can see that. With Astrid and Stu it's far more endearing though because they ARE young and the right age to have a relationship like that. Stu is popular with the Exsis in general and brings them into the Beatles group.

The Exsis didn't like or trust Paul. Astrid said later it was because Paul was 'too nice' which she herself admits is a ridiculous reason. The others also thought he was a bit of a show-off. It makes sense though if you're cool and edgy and want to stick it to the world to be sus about a guy being friendly show-off with seemingly no inner world. The other problem was a perfectly reasonable one imo, you're not going to like your friends frenemy who you don't connect with. Compound that with Paul not taking drugs as much as George or John and being in the other room and you begin to have a division.

Paul had been popular his whole life, like from what we know since-primary-school-popular. He had never been in this position before, let alone in a foreign country. I believe it became a bit of a brutal feedback loop. Paul's response to this type of behaviour consistently it to go more surface level, snide and passive aggressive. The natural response of any group with a designated 'ugh' person is to become more shady and exclusionary. The cycle continues and gets worse. Stu letters back home at this time says that in a shocking turn of events Paul is hated by everyone but Stu 'just feels sorry for him' (lmao OF COURSE you do Stu, its giving 'loathing' from Wicked lol). Klaus drew a lot of artwork of the early Hamburg Beatles that includes this highly unpleasant picture of Paul in 1961 which I think says a lot:

Klaus is also a musician and fancies himself a place on bass. When Stu leaves to pursue art, Klaus asks John if he could take over but John says that he thinks Paul is going to do it.

Klaus has later gone on to say that he thinks he was a better bass player for the Beatles' sound at the start and then Paul developed into being better for the group. It's one of those I cannot believe those words actually left your mouth and you are not deeply embarrased moments. But it's important to keep this desire and viewpoint in mind.

Klaus stays in touch with all of them and close to John and George, George especially. They visit Klaus on holiday in tenerife in early 60s and Klaus later draws the Revolver artwork.

This whole context of how they met and Hamburg is crucial and has to be taken into account when hearing Klaus' statements. Klaus and Paul started off with a lack of connection and with Paul on the outs, the Exsis got an incomplete view of Paul and an inaccurate snapshot of the Beatles dynamic overall. This is why when Klaus says 'Paul was always slightly apart from the others' and that 'divorce was inevitable' from early 60s we should remember that that is what Klaus is expecting to see as that's what he saw in Hamburg.

Klaus wanted to be the bass player (and was holding out hope to join a band with George and John in the 70s), was really close with George and suffers as many did with 'John Lennon aspiring boy bestie syndrome' (JABBS). Paul had what Klaus wanted and from the Hamburg experience, you could see why Klaus thought he might have an in and may have been jealous of this 'shallow' Paul of all people having the connection that he felt he should/could have with John and George. As with most sufferers of JABBS, he took John's side with everything, always refused to say any regrets about his involvement in How do you Sleep and thought Paul was fine with the song because 'he was even closer to John than [he] was. (Again Klaus to put yourself in that level of closeness with John that it's comparable to Paul is ???.) JABBS and its secondary condition PMIETGSH (Paul McCartney isn't even that good shut up) are virulent diseases that incapacitate sufferers objectivity and judgement, so it's fair to say that Klaus is a source you have to take with a pinch of salt on the early 70s period.

It seems that Klaus and Paul did get on a lot better the older they got (probably without the jealousy complication of George and John) and developed a sweet friendship. Here is Klaus' tribute to Paul for his 80th:

Here is the jam session he's talking about:

He now wants Paul to live in his house lmao so things have gotten warmer. But Klaus and Paul's dynamic is a great example of how and why natural bias, little jealousies and spats can consciously or subconsciously influence our internal narrative and why we need to be so careful about not taking one perspective as gospel.

[sslovqm]

YOU DON'T BELONG TO ANYONE ELSE

WARNING: Contains extreme jealousy, possessiveness, manipulation, and toxic relationship dynamics.

THE warm afternoon breeze brushed against your face as you waited for Rafe Cameron on the dock by his house. You had rehearsed this moment over and over, going through the words in your head, trying to find the best way to tell him that whatever this was between you two needed to end. But now that you were here, with your stomach tied in knots, it seemed like no words were enough.

When you heard the roar of his motorcycle engine cut off, your heart skipped a beat. You watched him approach with his usual confidence, hands in his pockets, an expression of curiosity mixed with that arrogance that always seemed to follow him.

“Why so serious?” he asked, a half-smile playing on his lips, though it didn’t quite reach his eyes.

“We need to talk, Rafe.”

His smile vanished instantly, replaced by a dark look you knew all too well.

“About what?” he asked, though it seemed like he already knew the answer.

You took a deep breath, trying to summon the courage that seemed to waver with every step he took closer to you.

“I can’t do this anymore. I can’t do us anymore, Rafe.”

His reaction was immediate. His brows furrowed, and he stepped closer so fast that you instinctively stepped back.

“What the hell are you talking about?”

“I’m saying this doesn’t work. You don’t work, Rafe. You’re… you’re jealous, controlling, and you don’t even have the guts to tell anyone we’re together.”

Rafe let out a dry laugh, devoid of any humor.

“That’s what this is about? That I won’t make it public? Really?”

You looked at him firmly, even though you were shaking inside.

“It’s not just that. It’s everything. You don’t let me breathe, Rafe. You’re always asking where I am, who I’m with. You treat me like I’m your property, and I’m not anyone’s.”

That seemed to ignite something in him, something dangerous.

“Oh, really?” he shot back, his voice low and chilling—sending shivers down your spine. “Because you seemed pretty comfortable being mine up until now.”

“I wasn’t. I was scared of you.”

The words slipped out before you could stop them, and the truth in them seemed to hit him like a slap. For a moment, the fury in his eyes wavered, but only for a second.

“This is about him, isn’t it?” he spat, his voice rising a notch. “About those damn Pogues. Is it Maybank? Of course, it’s him. That bastard always looks at you like he wants to rip your clothes off.”

“This has nothing to do with JJ!” you shouted, desperate to make him understand. “This is about you. About what you make me feel.”

Rafe stayed silent, but his jaw was clenched, and his fists were tight at his sides. Then he stepped closer, his face just inches from yours.

“You’re not leaving, Y/N. I’m not letting you go.”

“You don’t have the right to decide that, Rafe.”

“You’re mine,” he insisted, his voice filled with a fervor that sent a chill down your spine. “And if you think I’m going to sit back while you run into that Pogue’s arms, you’re dead wrong.”

You stepped back, trying to put some distance between you, but he wouldn’t let you. His hand shot out, gripping your wrist tightly and forcing you to look at him.

“Let me go, Rafe.”

“I don’t want to hurt you, but don’t push me.”

Your heart pounded as you tried to free your hand, but his grip was unrelenting. Finally, you managed to pull away, stepping back a few feet as you looked at him with tears in your eyes.

“This isn’t love, Rafe. And no matter how hard you try to hold on, I’m not staying.”

His gaze darkened even further, and for a second, you feared what he might do. But then, he just stood there, watching you as you turned around and walked away, feeling his stare burning into your back.

You knew this wasn’t the end, that Rafe Cameron wasn’t the type to let go of what he thought was his. But for the first time in a long time, you felt like you’d reclaimed a little bit of your freedom.

[thedissonantverses]

another anon but how is post dav arlathan forest / elvhenan any more elven than before? my worldstate involves minrathous falling under venatori hands, politically the land belongs to tevinter, the southern thedas, where a great majority of the dalish live, was destroyed. they have no military force, even with slavery in tevinter being abolished (not my worldstate) theres no reason to expect the city elves to move to some ruin in the middle of a forest. the magic of arlathan was weird before the last blight and theres no reason to expect for that to be over tbh? post war power shuffle usually means the small guys are getting an even shorter stick...

I think you’re confused about the ending. Dorian becomes archon and he holds abolitionist views. Maeve can become archon if you save Minrathous but in either no one has abolished slavery yet, the game just sets it up as a possibility. This is something they did so if it’s the last DA we know there’s hope, if we do get a sequel they’ll hopefully explore it further.

The reason the magic in Arlathan was as strange as it was during Veilguard was because of the Evanuris, Anaris, and the events of the game so there is reason for it to be calmer. Not to mention the Veil Jumpers are very adept at handling the magic. I returned the griffons personally so that Arlathan will have a healthier ecosystem as well and the elves will have their protection. There’s a lot of reason to expect things will be better the game sets this up pretty clearly.

No idea how you got to Tevinter owning the land politically because they don’t during Veilguard. It’s been abandoned by Tevinter since 975 Ancient and the Dalish have been living there ever since.

The Dalish are fine. The South is being reset for future games. I wouldn’t get too lost in the weeds here. They used the destruction of the south as a narrative tool to build tension for long-time fans of the series playing. It also allows them to play around around with political dynamics in future games if we get one. A lot of people are taking the destruction very to heart which is good, that’s what was supposed to happen. But considering how bad blights have gotten before, Thedas has always rebuilt. That’s why the archdemons being gone is so significant for all of Thedas. Again there’s a lot of potential in the setup here, that’s what I’m praising Veilguard for.

It’ll suck if we don’t get a sequel to explore these issues or if we got a solution like the Mage-Templar war in Inquisition. But right now the elves are in a lot better position than they’ve been in a long time in Thedas. And I’m okay with the ambiguity because I want more games and I know Thedas is an ever-evolving place.

[televisionenjoyer]

WHY ARE MOVIES GETTING DARKER I AM ON MY KNEES

Ok fuck it let's go. My amateurish opinions on the three biggest mysteries of film: why they're getting darker, less vibrant and harder to hear. As someone who has worked on camera, montaging, effects and animations, colorimetry when I'm allowed, and on one weird occasion, audio (but I'm an enthusiast ok?)

The short answer is because of technology. The long answer is more nuanced

- Why are movies getting darker?

The "official answer" that filmmakers give actually is technology. Digital cameras allow for much more detail with less lighting required. It also allows videographers to play with different light and exposure settings on the go, instead of having to go with the limitations of the pre-bought film's asa and the precalculated ideal settings. Also film is notoriously bad at capturing dark scenes and responsible for much of the graining we see on analog tv and film.

So basically, they claim it's a stylistic choice. Which could be debated, I mean, after at least five years of everyone complaining about poor lighting, you'd think they'd finally give it up.

BUT there's the whole fact that (certain) special effects are generally easier to pull off when the viewer can't see enough to detect any flaws. They require less care and thus are cheaper and faster to produce. Any studio's wet dream.

Less notably, it's easier to work "down" on colorimetry than it is to work "up." Taking away light from a shot is easier than "creating more light", the latter sometimes leading to very "digitally broken" results. It looks bad. Just grab any video and crank the exposure. It looks horrible.

"But what does exposure have to do with color?" Everything!!! Color IS light!!!

Which leads me to the last reason, HDR. Which leads me to one of the reasons why everything looks so dull.

- Why are movies less vibrant?

So. What is HDR? High Dynamic Range refers to technologies that achieve a much wider light variation. And as we established earlier color IS light, okay? So. More light, more color, brought to you at the hand of display technologies such as OLED and microdimming.

These technologies ramp up the price of domestic screens exponentially. This is why you see domestic televisions that are way above the 2000 dollar mark. And then people will say "oh but my low end television supports HDR, so that's not the issue". Yes. Supports. As in supports files encoded in HDR. Doesn't mean that they have the necessary technology to take advantage of it. Yet they get to put the HDR10 label on their product and get in on the newest marketing fad (it's the new 4k dude. Which is the new 3D. You get what I mean)

And since it is the newest fad, then of course filmmakers HAVE to get in on it. I mean, it's more quality, who doesn't want more quality?

me!!! please stop. not everything has to be aimed at high end equipment (more on this when we get to the audio aspect, aren't you excited?). HDR looks like DOGSHIT if your tv isn't actually OLED. And most consumer TV's aren't OLED.

Tech rant over, I assure you that there is a cultural aspect to this. Don't worry, you're not insane. And it probably is related to the clean girl minimalist iOS style UX modest and demure mentality that is advancing on the 2020s. But it is also related to an art medium shift that we've been undergoing since wayy back when. The sixties.

Yes. I'm gonna go there. I'm gonna talk about Star Trek. I'm going to elaborate on my previous slight outrage.

So. Star Trek marks the beginning of a transition from black and white television into color. It also lands on that weird spot where the whole medium of film and television was still figuring out which elements to import from the ancient medium of theater and which were best left behind.

As a result, Star Trek is very theatrical. And color is a good friend of theater, a medium where everything has to be maximized so that the people in row fifty could appreciate the show almost as well as the people on the first row. Color is a good friend of theater: in wardrobe it helps the performers stand out, boosts up the characters' personality traits, etc. And in lighting, it amplifies moods, conveys emotions and atmospheres related to particular scenes.

The version of Star Trek that you can find on streaming these days is considerably altered from the original product, remastered to make it more palatable to our contemporary brains. As a result, many scenes have been visually altered. The following example shows the original master on the left and the remaster on the right

And while at first I held my head in my hands and asked "why, god, why??" The answer is probably that this reads as unserious as fuck. Having the technology now to desaturate scenes and make certain settings look "cloudy", "gritty", "dark and grim," and so on changed the way we perceive colors in regards to mood on modern film and television. This primary color ass setting in today's context reads as goofy, on a scene that is actually meant to impose concern on the viewers. This wouldn't read this way on theater, but it does on television, because we see them as completely separate mediums.

(however I insist that, star trek being a culturally significant show, making these type of creative decisions strips it of its original intent and shits on its cultural value as a window into how they did television in the sixties. so like. fuck you paramount)

Now, television has been getting thematically darker this century (some call it the post-9/11 effect. I wouldn't know. I am latinoamerican) and our palate as viewers has grown more used to these desaturated settings, to the point where seeing something vibrant like the original star trek makes us feel like we're watching a kids show. And not even a modern kids show, more like teletubbies or barney, because have you guys even seen bluey?? It's so... pastel-y.

It's not just HDR. Movies have gotten less vibrant because we're miserable. Sort of. And television and film have grown obsessed with appearing more serious. (Not that sitcoms and comedy movies have ceased to exist, I'm generalizing.)

- But why is dialogue less intelligible?

Official Answer? Technology. Nowadays we are able to capture subtleties in dialogue, so actors don't have to project their voice 24/7, and we can get more intimate dialogue, something almost intended to be a secret that you shouldn't be listening to, making you feel like an intruder. It's the intent.

Unofficially? Technology (marketing fad edition). It's surround audio!!! That's the real culprit!!! And listen, I love surround audio, I have two 5.1 systems at home that we bought secondhand and work like a charm. All that being said: why is star trek tos in 5.1? (YES I'm still on star trek). Why is everything natively encoded in surround audio on streaming these days, left to be down-mixed in real time by your tv?

I'm going to quickly explain surround to y'all using 5.1 as an example. On stereo (which is how most consumers watch film and television) you have two audio channels: your left and right speakers. 5.1 has six: front-left, center, front-right, rear-left, rear-right, and subwoofer. Most dialogue goes through the center speaker. Downmixing is when your tv takes all these channels and mushes them into two: left channel (containing left-front, left rear, center and subwoofer) and right channel (right front, right rear, center and subwoofer). So your center channel is suddenly competing with all these other frequencies and gets a bit muffled.

But wait! It gets worse! 5.1 is now ancient by technology fad standards. For a while there was 7.1 and now the newest, incredibly expensive marketing fad is Dolby Atmos (you might have seen it as a badge on streaming services such as Disney plus). This protocol supports up to 64 channels. You know, if you're crazy and rich enough.

Dolby Atmos was originally developed for cinemas but it's now being sold to direct consumers. According to Dolby, the ideal sound configuration in your home in order to listen to this material the way it was intended from the comfort of your living room is of at least eight (very fancy) speakers and up to 12 speakers.

So. Even with a 5.1 system your audio is still down-mixed.

In conclusion:

Film and television did not get shittier (well, they have, but that's not the sole culprit of this crisis), it just became less accessible and overall uninterested in catering to the average consumer.

[kaiskornerart]

(UPDATED) OUTSIDERS HEADCANONS!

i fear im insane

PONYBOY CURTIS

 • Ponyboy, after Johnny and Dally died, rummaged through a drawer of old doodles he had. He found the old doodles he used to draw of Dally, and he decided to keep those doodles with the note Johnny had given him. He also drew a picture of the two of them so he never forgot what his friends looked like. 

• bro isn’t straight. bi or pan

 • (modern) LOVES TikTok. Forces his brothers and friends to do stupid trends with him. He and Sodapop do dances together. 

• Unlike most teenagers, he didn’t want to get a car or a driver’s license. He hates driving, since all he can think about in a car is how his parents died.

 • He likes musicals. No he doesn’t admit it. He just likes the storytelling through music. His favorite is West Side Story.

• Afraid of the water. He used to love swimming, but now he hates it after Bob nearly drowned him.

• The way someone knows Ponyboy trusts them is when he info dumps about anything and everything. When Ponyboy info dumps about his interests, he’ll think you’re a safe person. The person he info dumps to most is Johnny.  

• Ponyboy and Johnny’s dynamic is 100% Ponyboy yaps and yaps and Johnny listens intently. 

• Grows up to be a well-renowned writer. 

• Ponyboy was closer to his mother. He was teased by the gang for being a momma’s boy. He’d help her cook, do laundry, and bake with her. He loved doing anything and everything with his mom.

• He has glasses, just doesn’t wear them around the gang because they always tease him for how nerdy he looks. Only wears them at night and when he’s reading, otherwise he will have to have everything basically up to his nose to read things.

• Has a diary (calls it a journal to seem more tuff). Was recommended to start journaling by a therapist he started seeing after Johnny and Dallas died. It really helps him understand his thoughts and feelings about everything. 

• Doodles on the cuffs of his jeans. Uses pen most of the time, and Darrel scolds him for using pen on his jeans.

• Continued to dye his hair blonde after Johnny died.

• Wears Johnny’s old denim jacket still, feeling closer to him that way.

• Since Curly Shepard knows sign language, he taught Ponyboy how to. They’ll sign to each other to talk shit about people they both don’t like (I can imagine them being incredibly messy)

SODAPOP CURTIS

 • Sodapop can play guitar and he can sing.

 • Sodapop wears a necklace with a guitar pick on it. That pick belonged to his father, and he wears it as a reminder of him. 

 • Sodapop was taught how to play from his father. His father used to play songs to the boys when they were younger. Soda sings those songs to his brothers whenever they’re feeling stressed or upset. 

• He’s a brilliant songwriter. 

• He has ADHD

 • (oh and he’s bi idc)

• After Sandy moved away, Soda would write letters, but never send them. He’ll crumple them up and toss them away. This went on for about a month after she moved away. 

• Sodapop gets easily attached to new relationships. 

• Sodapop is a pretty crier. 

• Became more of a songwriter after Sandy moved away. He felt like he was bothering his brothers with talking about her, so he channeled his emotions into music. Darrel one time found Sodapop writing and singing, and waited outside the door to listen. Afterwards, Darrel went into Sodapop’s room to give him the biggest hug. 

• (modern) Sodapop LOVES Chappell Roan.

DARREL CURTIS

 • Darrel stopped celebrating his birthday after the Curtis brothers’ parents died. They died on his birthday after they went to get icing for his cake, so it’s just a bad reminder of what he lost. 

 • Darrel and Paul are bitter exes. 

• Darrel used to play football, and was the star player. He keeps his letterman jacket on his bed, thinking about the what-if’s late in the night.

• Says he uses Paul’s old madras shirt to clean his toilet, but he did keep it. Sometimes when he can’t sleep, he just holds it close to his chest.

• Darrel is pansexual. He has the mindset of whatever happens happens.

• (modern) Makes Sodapop and Ponyboy have Life360. And then made the rest of the gang get it, too.

• Darrel goes to his parents’ grave when he feels lost. Searching for some kind of comfort and help with raising his little brothers.

DALLAS WINSTON

 • Insanely protective of his friends. Someone looks at them the wrong way? He will want to fight them. 

 • Not a headcanon, but insanely self-destructive. Drinks a lot, smokes nearly a pack every day, drives recklessly. 

 • Lets Johnny and Ponyboy drag him to watch sunsets with them. 

• Secretly LOVES sappy movies. Hates that he loves them. He once watched a sappy romance movie with Ponyboy, Sodapop, and Johnny, and he teared up. When the others started to tease him about getting emotional, he socked Soda in the face. He denied it and still denies it.

• Secretly loves to read.

• Ponyboy once gave him a drawing he had done of him for his birthday. He brushed it off as stupid after Ponyboy had left, but whenever he was alone in his room, he’d stare at it, shocked that someone would even want to draw him. He keeps it in his wallet now.

• Dallas is scared to love and to be loved. 

• Never told his father he was leaving New York. He just snuck out in the middle of the night and hopped on a train, traveling through the country, making a few stops, until settling in Tulsa.

• (modern) Secretly listens to the pop girlies when he’s driving alone in his car. If you hear him screaming ‘Good Luck, Babe!’ or ‘You Belong with Me’? Look the other way. Only person who knows he does is Sodapop, and they’ll go for drives just blasting the music and singing along together. (Their favorite one to sing is ‘Please, Please, Please’)

• DALLAS WINSTON IS BISEXUAL. The type of guy to see anyone hot and be like “yeah that one right there.”

• Dallas is a LOUD snorer. Can wake up an entire neighborhood with how loud he snores. 

• Was really close to Mrs. Curtis. When she was alive, he wouldn’t get into trouble nearly as much as he does now. Ever since she died, he got into more trouble than ever. It’s why, at the beginning of the book, he just got out of jail.

• The necklace he wears was an old necklace his mother used to wear.

• He was arrested at the age of ten for a store robbery gone wrong with the older boys who took him in. He had tried to beg them not to take him, that he hadn’t done anything, but they saw him as nothing but a hoodlum. From that day on he decided if they wanted a good-for-nothing hoodlum, they’d GET a good-for-nothing hoodlum. 

JOHNNY CADE

 • Johnny’s gay. 

 • Johnny started wearing a ring (gifted to him from Dally [which he stole from a Soc]) while he was out, knowing now he could do some damage if someone tried to jump him again. . 

 • Mr. and Mrs. Curtis adored Johnny. They’d let him stay whenever he was having family troubles, and made sure he was well-fed. He was closest with Mrs. Curtis. Her death really impacted him. 

• WILL pet any stray cat he sees out on the street.

• Never celebrated his birthday. His parents would always call it ‘a waste of money’ and ‘the day their lives were ruined’. The gang all pitched in for Johnny’s sixteen birthday to throw him a small party at the Curtis house, which Johnny sees as one of the best memories of his life.

TWO-BIT MATHEWS

 • Whenever someone in the gang mentions something they want (i.e., beer, cigarettes, snacks), he will MAGICALLY have it the next day (steals things for his friends)

• Him and Marcia started secretly dating. He steals a lot of things for her. Flowers from a garden on the way to her place, sweets she likes, etc.

• Two-Bit sneaks through her window every now and then to see her. Marcia loves it, feeling like her and Two-Bit are in some kind of cheesy Romeo and Juliet story.

• Incredibly affectionate with Marcia, and she’s the same way back. Always has an arm around her, holding hands, or she’s sitting on his lap at the drive-in. 

• Met Darrel in school, and, by extension, met the gang. Him and Darrel were pretty close back then. 

• CanNOT sit in a chair properly. 

• Him and Marcia dressed up as Mickey and Minnie Mouse for Halloween. 

STEVE RANDLE

• Surprisingly, a really good baker. When he was younger, he and his mom used to bake together all the time (during his birthday, Christmas, etc.), so he picked up on baking when he tried it himself. He bakes Sodapop cookies all the time (especially after Sandy left him).

[lakesbian]

ok so im not at all interested in doing Wildbow Apologism and i acknowledge that this take might be extremely charitable to wb so take it as you will. but one thing i did think about while going through your twig lb and the parts about sy's relationship with jessie feeling bland and underdeveloped compared to with lillian, is the part in his Ward retrospective where he talks about how he "tend[s] to find the power imbalances in relationships to be one of the more inherently interesting parts of relationships" and how thats why many of the relationship dynamics he writes play into that and why those relationships tend to get more focus. which does make sense when you think about how his writing of Healthy and Equal relationships virtually always feels bland and underdeveloped (see: dragon & defiant, foil & parian, probably a bunch of others i cant think of right now). so i do idly wonder how much that might have factored into the discrepancy there

youre making excuses for him yeah. no, the author who successfully wrote relationships like taylor/rachel, aisha/alec, blake/evan, blake/green eyes, and so on and so forth, did not lose interest in a character (who he had previously given massive focus to developing sy's relationship with) the literal second she came out because he was "less interested in their healthy relationship." he's just transphobic. do you hear yourself. also do you recognize how it's dumb to cherrypick a shallow and uninteresting lesbian relationship from a well-known homophobe's work as being a demonstration of him making healthy relationships underdeveloped. come on now.

[itsmespicaa]

Could you recommend lambo twins fanfics? Specifically ones that are sunstreaker centric? Sunstreaker barely appears in media and ppl barely write about him and I neeeed sunstreaker content to consume

Oh boy...here we go *cracks knuckles* there's quite a few (not as many as other chars obviously), but I tried my best to link the ones that I really enjoyed and recommend you read too!

I'll try to sort them into categories, and I'll also tag the Sunstreaker-centric ones with * and the twins-centric one ** for easy perusal :) Sideswipe-centric will have no stars, but I still recommend you to read them anyway bc they're really good (and Sunny is there most of the times)! Starting with—

My Top 6:

Misaligned Gemini by Anonymous**

This one's a classic. Set in IDW 2019 (or IDW 2) where the twins have a completely different origin, this one takes you for such a crazy ride from start to finish and will have you holding on for dear life. I definitely cried a lot reading this lol it's that good. Easily one of the best Lambo twins-centric fics out there (and the longest one too to date).

Lifeline by Kattli (Kathrine)*

Set in the IDW-verse. One of my personal favorites as well as my fav interpretation of the twins' messy and complicated relationship in IDW. Canon-divergence in the best way possible.

Sideswipe's Secret Vacation Spot by BalloonArcade**

AU where the twins actually joined the Cons (one of my fav AUs for sure). Has by far my FAVORITE interpretation of Sunstreaker and one that definitely affected my own take of his character. The twins' dynamic here is *chef's kiss* so good. I adore them so much here.

No Rest for the Wicked by fuzipenguin*

Absolutely delectable 6k joyride with Sunstreaker pretty much murdering his way out of the enemy's base like the utterly ruthless warrior that he is <3 you love to see it!!!!

Snap, Crackle, Pop by SergeantCookie

I was so pleasantly surprised by how amazingly-written this fic was??? Like- the blend of comedy and realism feels so natural especially from Sideswipe's POV. Definitely one of my fav Sides-centric fics, and the other characters are an absolute hoot LOL it's so SO good from start to finish.

Followers by Bibliotecaria_D**

This one...completely caught me off-guard. An utterly different take of the twins' relationship in IDW (and in general, really) that I needed a whole day to digest what I just read because it was just- so raw and real and painful, but I think that's the beauty of it. Might not be everyone's cup of tea tho so here's my warning (bc the writer isn't a fan of fanon!Lambo twins), but I still recommend people (esp their fans) to read it to see a different perspective of the twins' dynamic.

Others, also really good:

and when i got to st peter's gate, i told the keeper that i'm not the one who needs to make amends by rosesscythes

IDW again, this time from Sideswipe's perspective before he died. It healed something in me to read this, so maybe it might heal you too :")

Little Brother by pipermca*

Another IDW fic, this time from Sunstreaker's POV post-canon. Another cathartic fic that feels like a balm after what happened in canon.

Poker Face by SSSSEEEEVVVVEEEENNNN*

A deep dive into Sunstreaker's psyche in the face of Smokescreen and it's so. SO good omg. You can see everything play out in real time from Sunstreaker's POV while at the same time you can tell he's so unreliable and so, so bad at social cues that it was painful to watch. But everything is from HIS view so he MUST be right...right?

Unorthodox Protection by FiftyShadesOfMetal

Another one of Sideswipe's shenanigans that...went a bit more south that he intended? Sunstreaker cameos a bit later but the true star of the show is the human inside of Sideswipe-- wait what?!

Loyalty by BalloonArcade

Prowl/Sideswipe with a substantial focus on the twins' relationship in IDW on the side. I really liked this take of the twins and what made them that way here.

Sunshine, Roses, & Other Treacherous Things by jukeboxes**

Incomplete but the first 3 chapters are so compelling that you can't help but desperately want to know how it ends.

Crack(ed) Me Up by Kattli (Kathrine)**

Sunstreaker and Sideswipe are unfortunately stuck with the bots they try to kill the most...whoops. Really funny and you get to enjoy seeing their (mostly Sunny's) suffering

In the Dust by Hours_Gone_By

Msytery fic, spooky-tastic. The twins aren't the sole focus here, but the fic is so good that you'd be too invested in what's happening to notice (or if you're like me, you do notice every time they interact but it won't detract from the story itself ahaha). But they are there and I'm not one to be picky, so you really don't wanna pass this one up.

The City by Hours_Gone_By**

Spooky-fic, reaally well written (this writer has a talent with writing horror I swear), keeps you at the edge of your seat through the whole thing and wanting nothing more than for them to go--

Bayverse:

Mess With the Bull by CaptainCougar**

A classic take of Sunstreaker's arrival during the period where Cemetery Wind was hunting down all the remaining Cybertronians. Really nicely written and satisfying to read.

Solar Eclipse by SeaSpectre160**

My favorite take on Sunstreaker's arrival on Earth with all the chaos and squishy human-hating on Sunny's side. You love to see it.

Snake Eyes by snarechan

Sideswipe and Sunstreaker face a familiar foe, with a twist. I love the way they're written here.

AUs:

All The Friendly Ghosts by Anonymous**

Something's just not right about Sideswipe, and--it's not what you think it is. Really satisfying build up and payoff. I adore the writing style for it too.

Search & Rescue by sssunstreakerrr

Shattered Glass at last!!! It's sadly incomplete but the sheer quality of the available chapter and the premise makes it so so worth reading anyway.

Beneath the Vaulted Heights by Magnusoftheward**

I don't want to spoil anything bc it's best read going in blind so...just keep reading. I promise you it's worth it :D I really love the eeriness and confusion and just- the overall vibe of the fic. It's so good gah-

Abandoned by Hours_Gone_By

Horror fic, so so good. You can feel the eerieness of the place from the character's perspective. Ugh. Literally kept me at the edge of my seat the whole time. Other characters are also there!

Geminus by postapocalyptic_cryptic*

Pacific Rim AU. The twins are co-pilots. Really well-written fic! :D Bring your tissues

A Flash of Gold by pipermca**

Another Pacific Rim AU with human!Sideswipe. Where's Sunstreaker you ask? Well...

Pure Silliness:

Exothermic by SergeantCookie

I cackled from start to finish, it's that good LOL. If you need a good laugh, pls go read this. Also connected to "Snap, Crackle, Pop" by the same author.

How to Save the World in 8 Minutes and 3 Seconds by BalloonArcade

Pure chaos written in such an in-character way, poor Prowl lmaooo

In Which Sideswipe was Bored with a Board by a Boar While Bored by murtlewikisam

An absolute hoot omg I couldn't stop my head from going ????? the whole time XD

Aaand that's all for now! I'm sure I've missed some, but these are some of the ones that I already have in my bookmarks :D Hope you have a good (or wonderfully painful) time reading them!! And let me know which one you like the most if you do read them hahha

[theohshit-r-official]

Long-as-hell OOC post incoming

So, I feel I should probably clarify this, on account of shit going on in the zeitgeist re: Lancer RP on here, and because I and this blog am not an entrenched figure in the community here, so it pays to be as clear as possible what I am here for:

First, let me clarify: this is not about anyone in particular, and god knows I'm guilty of not doing some of the shit I'm going to recommend here. Second, this is, in addition to not being about any one person but instead the different microcultural elements I've noticed on here, mostly a post to explain what *I* am going for with this blog so that *YOU* can decide if or how you want to engage with it and me.

The primary purpose of this blog is as follows and as I will elaborate on here:

To serve as a place for people to dump their shitposts, serious opinions, and in-world takes they don't necessarily want to put out via an established character blog or their main in a more centralized place. This means I WILL publish most shit people send, even if some of the implications are not so great, though I won't publish some of the more egregious shit on account of it sucks. See this article [LINK HERE] for an example of something similar being done by a real world political figure (notably, a known inspiration for the Ungratefuls' Tyrannocleave) for a much better purpose than mine.

This ALSO means I will likely be publishing from people not immersed in the community or party to your established norms. I understand that online spaces largely run on reputation, but I, out of character as well as to some extent in, am an academic and I'm pretty well informed of both positive and negative consequences of this, and this is an intentional choice. DM me or send an ask labeled as OOC if you want to talk about this, I'm happy to discuss it, I'm just not likely to change my stance on it on account of "This is a heavily established, pretty well-researched concept in human social dynamics" so don't expect me to change what I'm doing from the jump. With that being said, let's lay out the motivation a bit:

Part of the appeal of LANCER that was explicitly intentionally designed by its creators is that there are both large structures of recalcitrant, sticky politics (see: Albatross hunts pirates, a group known to exist largely due to economic suffering, for a megacorp that sells weapons to pirates; the KTB is required to maintain an absurd level of extractive industry by Union, which favors their most abjectly fucking awful major house politically; etc) that serve as a shared bedrock for engagement and are pointedly shitty as hell *AND* large swathes of space where you can largely do pretty much whatever you want and have things be as good or as bad as you want so long as you avoid having them be run directly and heavy-handedly by the major players (as a brief sidebar, if you want an example of someone doing an excellent job of navigating the intersection of the larger players and the open, freer space and a damn good homebrew module, I highly recommend Vex Werewolf's In Golden Flame Act 1 [LINK HERE]). LANCER is a game where both the narrative impetus and mechanics are intrinsically tied to political context and dynamics, and the way LANCER allows for space from that for players and GMs is to have a lot of literal space unaccounted for.

The implication of this, of course, is that it is intended to be an equally valid mode of enjoyment to get really into the weeds of the established politics (hello, Siren Song, cannot WAIT to play an idiot in you and see how you break her) OR to not do that and avoid it entirely, but, and this is key, you cannot really feasibly do both at once reliably at scale without a lot of care and awareness, and I do not think that that is a reasonable expectation to have of total strangers on Tumblr. The official Discord community for this game has a rule to the effect of "Do not use your comfort to stifle political discussion unless ABSOLUTELY necessary" (very, very roughly paraphrased), and instead encourages disengaging from shit you do not want to deal with. To give an example of how that translates to practical domains, in the context of the game, if you didn't want to have to deal with Harrison culture, you wouldn't play a game on Ras Shamra, so why would you choose to pursue a conversation with someone playing a proud character from Ras Shamra on here if you don't want to hear what that character would say?

A lot of the conflict on here seems to stem from people being frustrated with people from one side of the aisle or the other interacting with them without establishing rules of engagement and/or where they stand on "I want to enjoy a sci-fi power fantasy without thinking too much about the implications" versus "I really want to dig in on the psyche of a proud Harrison soldier," both of which are equally valid ways to engage with the setting and the game. They come into conflict in no small part because many people in the prior category are expressly interested in using the mechanics of a mecha setting to tell a mostly feel-good story without the political meat and grit of the original setting materials, which, I'll especially note, is not something people coming from other mecha contexts are likely to expect. This means that you have a conflict between people interested in one mode of engagement (which, if I had to guess, comes more frequently from a general tabletop gaming background) and others interested in a very different mode of engagement coming from differing backgrounds, including but not limited to the broader world of mecha fans.

(NOTE: I am not saying that these groups are totally distinct or that this is the sole reason conflict happens, I'm just trying to give a more fleshed out example for people who are less familiar with the draw of the grit. I think the mecha community is a good example for this, as it is both something that a lot of people are peripheral to AND a cultural context a lot of people really don't understand from the outside)

Let me elaborate a little here on where the mecha side of things is coming from, for those of you less familiar. The arguable single most influential piece of mecha media in much of the world (Neon Genesis Evangelion) is in part an express exploration of the ethics of military recruitment and the use of child soldiers. The fact that this piece of media has recently been used to sell McDonald's does not change that weight in the culture of mecha media, nor does it change that, historically, mecha is a genre about war. The most prolific mecha series by far is Gundam, whose villains famously have a point and whose protagonists infamously tend to develop through deeply traumatic realizations that they may not be the unambiguous good guys they thought they were. Mecha media, on the whole, pointedly cultivates a strong sense of engagement in setting geopolitics, the ethics and process of war, and the role of individuals as vehicles of violence, and people coming from a heavy mecha background are likely to be invested in exploring these themes.

That being said, I totally respect wanting to engage with it from another angle, but you can see how people wanting a more free-form, canon-lite experience and people who are coming from a mecha background looking for the nitty gritty of the established, shared setting could come into conflict, particularly when it comes to making claims about established parts of the setting. Of course, in character conflict is fine and well and dandy if that's what you're going for, no shame in that, this is more to do with the out of character aspects, including how you respond to and handle in character conflict.

Here's the thing: this dichotomy of interest does not favor a single, fully connected network of people heavily interacting. It does not favor a community with a single set of hard norms. It favors a lot of individual level variation, it favors many smaller sets of norms between individuals, and it favors good communication about those differences. I am aligned with the creators of LANCER in that I think both approaches to engaging with the material have value, and I want there to be space for both here, and I agree with them that the two are not always compatible. To preserve space for both, we need to prioritize curating our own experience over policing others', which, I know, shocking that the person who linked Anarchists Welcome would make a statement about taking an anarchistic approach to maintaining a stable, healthy social context which allows for conflict.

This is one of the reasons that I, in running this blog, have consciously chosen to almost exclusively respond to other people's posts who I actually have spoken to out of character, despite Umommiest being an extremely vocal HORUS shitposter, because I often cannot tell from character blogs what their relationship to the shared text is and their interest in different modes of interaction. This is ALSO why I'm going to be fairly indiscriminate in publishing asks and submissions, and only have Umommiest respond to what gets sent in when either prompted directly by the material or when it is plainly a shitpost that allows for some play (see also: the 8 year old seeking liberation via artillery platform and soft target elimination frames). As is quite well known in the kink community, consent does not occur in character, and personal norms and interests should be established outside of them. If there is a character blog on here that you have concerns about or want to interact with but are unsure how to proceed, DM them and check in, the same way that you would talk to someone if you wanted to join a game of pickup basketball or something. This is a social activity, social activities have fairly well established means by which to initiate them in a more intentional manner, let's make a point to start using them more consistently.

With that being said, if there is a character blog that you do not want to see, block them. There will be characters that people choose to play that you personally A will not like and B may not wish to engage with. Use the curation tools you have rather than relying on norms all the time, as norms develop from consensus and require other people to change to work. You don't have to put it on others to tailor your experience. I will go somewhere else rather than deal with somebody I don't want to talk to at a bar, and this is a similar sort of interaction. Blocking is not a condemnation, it is a choice to not engage with someone or something you do not want to. On my end, I will be doing my best to consistently tag in-character posts, reblogs, etc with ohshitumommiest going forward so you can block the tag as described here [LINK HERE] if you want to see what people are submitting without any of Umommiest's commentary, responses, etc. I'm also thinking I'll move towards initially publishing even the shitpostier things without commentary and then following up with a reblog with the commentary (so if you want to see just what other people make and not her bullshit, that's cool, too).

For the record, I *am* personally interested in the politics of the setting and Umommiest is a character that is heavily written based on the canon. She is also, frankly, a HORUS shitposter of the highest and worst degree, if you can't tell from her demeanor, and will engage with people who comment in character on posts here as would reflect a highly informed, terminally online political agitator with no formal affiliation to anyone who sees all of her speech as largely without personal consequence. Part of the purpose of the ohshitumommiest tag is to allow you to engage with the submitted material without having to see if and how she replies to you if you are not interested in that. If you are, hey! Looking forward to having some fun together with this horrible girl I've made!

Frankly, I don't care where you fall on the spectrum/split of hard text engagement versus loose text as inspiration, but I do care that everyone has an outlet for shitposts and other art/thought pieces on the setting that they think are gold or at least fun but don't have a place for personally. I think Lancer fucking rules, and people have a lot of cool, funny, and beautiful thoughts and ideas on it regardless of affiliation on these grounds, and I want to make this a place to share them without too much worry of how they fit a given blog.

If that nondiscriminatory approach to publishing is unacceptable to you, cool, I don't care, block this blog. Maybe read the linked article first and see if that helps you see a different perspective a little, but, please, use the basic curation tools available to you on this site to help maintain a diverse community that reflects the varied appeal of LANCER's setting.

With that said, play ball, and I'm looking forward to continuing to see the awesome, wild, wonky, and frankly unhinged shit this community continues to create!

PS: if you want to anonymously publish something with a link or an image via this blog, please DM me and I will effectively spoof a submission so your blog does not have to be attached. You run the risk of me knowing that you sent it, but it doesn't get broadcast to the world.

PPS I know that there are some other folks on here who engage with other LANCER online communities (e.g., the official Discord) who share much of the opinions I expressed here, particularly the "Hey there are different, conflicting way to enjoy the setting, and having some understanding around that is healthy for the community" stance, so feel free to share this around as you like.

[winged-self-indulgence]

Was tired of only having vibes and wanted to show my Unnamed!MC's relationship with Vere because Theya's dynamic with Vere is So Fucking Funny in my head but I am so bad at getting into Vere's head for dialogue purposes

The Wet Wick is bustling this time of night, the walls lit by flickering lanterns and the massive fireplace off to the side of the room. Leander's commandeered that area, sitting sprawled across the plush armchair and locked in what looks to be a decidedly one-sidedly serious discussion with another gang leader. Theya notes the purple strip looped around the man's arm, and then looks away. The Wick may not technically belong to the Bloodhounds, but their marks were all over the place. It was foolish for another gang come wandering in to make trouble.

Theya sits alone at a table in the corner, out of their line of sight. On the table, her fingers trace the chipped edge of the mug and nurses a cup of tea. It's an unusual choice for the alehouse, but seeing as she didn't drink in public her options were extremely limited.

The door opens again, bringing with it a chill gust of wind. Theya's sharp eyes dart over to see who had come in, and just as quickly begin searching for a quick escape through the crowd. She doesn't know why she bothers as blood-red eyes spot her instantly. A toothy smirk curves an unfairly pretty mouth, and she barely has time to bite back a scowl before he strides confidently to her table. Eyes follow him all the while, a mixture of attraction, eagerness, and nerves in every one. Dinner and an unexpected show.

"Theya, what a surprise. I didn’t think they served tea in this cesspit. Well, not anything decent at least," Vere leans against her table. His tail flicks lazily behind him, shaking off the few flakes of snow that had managed to cling to the fur.

Theya doesn't look up, refusing to engage. They both know it won't last. "They don’t. I bought the leaves myself and asked to use the kitchen's kettle."

"And decided to enjoy it in the darkest, drabbest corner of this place?" Despite his words, Vere slides into the bench opposite her, uninvited and utterly uncaring. "What happened to your aspiring sugar daddy? Did Leander stop paying for your bathwater and leave you completely destitute?"

"Wow, calling me a desperate whore and a gold-digger," Theya rolls her eyes as she glances up at Vere with an exasperated scowl. "That's so original and not at all super repetitive and boring. Try again. If you're about to ruin my evening at least make it interesting."

Vere's eyes light up, his smirk splitting apart into a toothy grin. Behind him, the shadows on the walls writhe and curl as though they might leap from the brick and mortar. Theya lets her eyes flicker over them before looking away, careful not to stare too long. She still remembers the feeling of Vere's hands around her throat, and she hates it. Hates the smug tilt of his head, the predatory gleam of his gaze. Hates that she cannot bring herself to back down in the face of his words, cannot help but meet his cutting derision with equally incisive retorts.

"Careful darling," the fox drawls. "You almost sound like you're not happy to see me, and we both know where that resentful road leads."

Theya sneers. "I'd rather swallow shards of glass, throw them back up, and then swallow the bloody pieces again than play your sycophantic games."

Vere leans back, watching her with an amused look on his pretty face. "The more you fight, the more interesting the chase becomes."

"I thought you didn't care about most people?" Theya threw the words back in his face as she sipped her tea, tasting honey at the bottom that hadn't finished dissolving into the hot water. Gold clings to her lips and she licks them clean.

Vere's half-lidded eyes unabashedly follow the smooth motion of her tongue, and something hot singes across the skin of her shoulders beneath her cloak and up to her cheeks.

The fox stiffens in his seat, and no. Absolutely not. As composed as she can manage, Theya rises to her feet and levels Vere with a cool glare.

"Find someone else to harass, Vere. I have more than enough problems without the likes of you bothering me."

It's the wrong thing to say. The likes of you. It claws into Vere's pride, she knows. It's why she said it in the first place, but the misstep is clear when his voice drops into a smooth, icy drawl. Ice over a lake, hiding horrors beneath.

"Problems, huh?" He hums, crossing his legs and never taking his eyes off face. His eyes grow wide and flay, pupils vanishing into a red so unnaturally bright it makes her brain hurt. "Like your sister. Dione, was it? How tragic. If only you weren't cursed, you might have been able to save her."

"Don't," Theya hisses quietly.

"It must hurt," the fox continues, unperturbed. "All the way down to your bones. That you didn't even know she was dead until it was your turn to die."

"I said don't."

"Just picture the look on her face when the sacrificial knife came down. When she finally realized her big sister wasn't coming for her. My, I wonder what her last words were."

"Probably that she wouldn't want her name in the mouth of a yapping beast!" Theya snaps, loud enough that a hush falls over their corner of the bar. The two stare at each other, dark brown into seething scarlet, and Theya briefly wonders if this was how she dies. Defiant to the very end.

Then a tattooed hand falls on Vere's shoulder. It's matched by the gloved fingers pulling her away from the table.

"Theya! There you are," Leander gathers the woman up into his chest and chivvies her away from the two monsters. Theya lets him move her, and refuses to look back at the blood-red eyes boring into the back of her head.