#but I do understand why you would dislike it

[irisintheafterglow]

touya todoroki completes community service hours at an aquarium.

your supervisors, understandably, were adamantly against having the convicted criminal anywhere near the facility, its staff, and its animals. however, after being reassured time and time again that he wouldn't be working in public areas, you were assigned to be his unofficial parole officer (or off-fish-er you called it) because of your hydrokinetic quirk. not only were you responsible for watching a criminal, you were also the first line of defense in case he decided to make the facility into a seafood boil.

you'd better be getting a stellar letter of recommendation after all this.

as luck would have it, word spread quickly among aquarium staff about the new volunteer and his...messy...history. you received many texts wishing you good luck and stating that you're in many people's prayers as if working with him would be a death sentence. but, to your surprise, your first day with touya is actually...not terrible.

"you're doing a nice job. you can cut them into larger chunks if you want," you recommend kindly as he slices pieces of shrimp and fish for the penguins and drops them into the gray bucket.

"don't want them to choke," he mumbles almost imperceptibly. from what you've heard about him, touya was physically incapable of shutting up and always had some snarky insult to mutter under his breath. the man you were working with, however, kept his thoughts to himself and only engaged you with curt acknowledgments of tasks. "these got bones in 'em still?"

"digestible ones, yeah," you confirm, a little confused about why he's so curious. he struck you as the type of guy to just work and finish his assignments with as little energy exertion as possible. but here he was, concerned for the animals' safety even when he hadn't even seen them yet. "we just need to cut them up because some of them try to swallow the big ones whole, and we don't need them blocking their throats."

"how many are there?"

"the penguins?" he hums in assent, never taking his eyes off the precise cuts on the food. "i think our colony is a few dozen, maybe twenty-two?"

"do they get along well?"

"some of them are a little feistier than others," you admit with a fond smile. "but the majority of them are really sweet. you'll see when you meet them."

"meet them?"

"you're not walking out with me, of course," you quickly correct. "my shift lead's gonna have my head on a stake if you so much as show a finger to the public." he nods, an odd sort of quiet falling between you two that was more awkward than the previous silence. if you knew any better, you would interpret his expression for disappointment. "there's one recovering from an illness backstage named peach. she gets fed on her own, but if there's some left over i can take you over there to feed her."

"it's fine. don't wanna bother your routine," he mutters with a shrug, but you catch the renewed glint in his eyes at the prospect of meeting one of the animals personally. after feeding the main colony and not-so-accidentally leaving a few treats at the bottom of the bucket, touya follows you through the back halls of the vet center to peach's holding area.

"be warned, she's one of the feisty ones," you caution him, carefully stepping into the plexiglass-enclosed space. he copies your motions exactly and you're surprised, again, from the great care he seems to take when interacting with the small penguin. "so, all you need to do is hand out the fish to her and let her take it in her beak."

"does she dislike new people?" he asks as peach aggressively inspects his shins, prodding them with her beak when touya tries to step away. "i don't think she likes me."

"it's the opposite, believe it or not; you're making her angry when you try to give her space like that," you reply with a stifled laugh.

"oh. i see." peach continues to slap touya with her fins and poke him until he gives her what she wants, a large chunk of fish straight from his hand. you kneel down next to him when he has a seat on the floor, his eyes curiously observing the spunky bird. "she always this sassy with you?"

"only when she gets jealous," you smile, running your hand over the top of her head. her eyes close in contentment before returning to touya's outstretched food offering. "what do you think?"

"about what?"

"do you think this arrangement is gonna be a nightmare for you?" he pauses and, for the millionth time that day, surprises you with how much thought he put into his actions.

"if everyone i meet is as easy as you and her," he says, gesturing to peach but speaking soft enough to make your cheeks heat, "i think i'll get by."

---

"peach duty today?"

"schedule got mixed around, so we'll be giving her dinner instead of lunch today," you reply and touya hums at your side, an answer that could be considered rude if you didn't already know he was a man of few words.

few words, that is, if he was speaking to anyone other than the animals. after a month of touya shadowing you, you could pick up on the little conversations he had with the different animals he took care of: asking the cownose rays to calm down during feeding time, warning the reef sharks that they might need braces if they keep losing so many teeth (he kept forgetting it was normal for them to lose that many teeth), quietly cheering on the day octopus as he breaks into a jar full of crabs.

"who've we got today?"

"took a hell of a lotta convincing, but my boss is letting you meet my best friend today," you inform him. touya walks in step beside you like he'd memorized the fishy-smelling back halls of the aquarium, barely sparing passing wary staff so much as a glance. you'd be intimidated, too, if he wasn't your partner; he was formidable in his favorite blue windbreaker with his hands stuffed casually in its pockets that subtly accented the lean muscle in his arms. not that you were paying much attention to his body, anyway.

"and who would that be?"

"her name is donna, but i call her mama donna." he follows you down a corridor he'd never taken before, toward the very back of the medical wing. "take that hall on the right and change into a wetsuit; i'll meet you back over here, okay?"

"why do i need to change?"

"well, because you're getting in the water with me."

shit.

it's the first time touya hesitates in a long time when you beckon him to join you in the shallow pool. you'd already summoned donna, who was much larger of an animal than he expected. you said she was an adult zebra shark, but all he could register is the tiny tank of brown sacks the size of his hand just outside the walls of the pool.

"i don't think it's the best--"

"get in the water, touya, or i'm gonna report you for insubordination," you interrupt, waist-deep in the water. you don't mean it, of course, but you did need a hand with donna if you were going to check on the status of her eggs.

"i shouldn't be in the water with her, 'specially if she's a mother."

"what, you got something against moms?" he flinches and you suddenly regret speaking so brashly, something about his reaction indicating that you'd hit a nerve. "sorry, that was insensitive--"

"i don't wanna hurt her if i..." his voice trails off and he looks down at his scarred hands, the tissue dark enough to almost match the color of his wetsuit. "it's better for everyone if i don't get close to her if she's vulnerable." you wait for him to look you dead in the eyes before answering.

"i wouldn't bring you to meet her if i didn't think you were ready, touya," you begin gently. "i don't think of you the same way as the rest of the staff because you've proven that you're different from the gossip."

"but what if i--"

"did you forget why i'm paired with you in the first place?" donna swims around you impatiently, nudging you with her nose while you continue to convince touya to get in the water. "i'm the only one on staff that can neutralize you, but i know i won't need to."

"how are you so sure?"

"because i hear you talk to them," you state simply, rubbing your hand on donna's nose as her tail splashes your upper body. "your little conversations tell me you care, even if i'm not allowed to be a part of them." you shoot him a wry smile and he finally scoffs, partly a chuckle and partly an exhale; he didn't realize he'd been holding his breath. "i'll drown you if you heat this water by even half a degree, so help me with donna and then we can go visit peach, yeah?"

---

you'd fallen into an unexpectedly fond partnership over the course of your six months of touya-duty. he was a pretty damn good listener, letting you boss him this way and that and only retaliating with a lighthearted eyeroll. on certain occasions, he would open up about his history, and you followed along intently. he insisted on doing the heavy lifting and opening every door for you, even if you weren't carrying anything. he remembered every animal by name and could tell apart the most similar looking creatures, pointing out their differences with an expression that screamed 'is it not obvious?' towards the end of his assignment, you both faced an unexpected surprise.

his family came to visit.

well, not all of his family, only the ones touya maintained somewhat of a relationship with. in the times he'd opened up, he briefly mentioned his now-graduated little brother, shoto, and the work he'd done to mend the tears between him, his mother, and his other siblings. you consider it a blessing that only his mother and siblings appear when you round the corner to the 'vip only' waiting area (from your talks, you'd also learned it'd be on sight if touya's retired father stepped on the property). he freezes when he sees his family as the guests who would be shadowing him, becoming uncharacteristically stiff as petrified wood.

"welcome, todoroki family. i'm so glad you could join us today," you greet with a polite smile. only when your hand gently settles on touya's shoulder, the reminder of your presence melting the chill in his veins, does the tension in his body dissipate. "touya? d'you wanna introduce me to your family?" he glances at you, your unwavering trust in him, and his eyes soften as he nods.

"yeah," he affirms quietly. "yeah, i can do that."

"doing great, partner," you whisper once you're acquainted with the family and on the move, heading toward the back halls of the tropical gallery. "i'll only talk if you need me to, today, because i want this to be about you and them."

"but you're not gonna leave me, right?"

"wouldn't dream of it," you reassure him, something in your heart stumbling when he gives you an easy smile. as the day goes on and touya guides his family through the back corridors of the facility, he's able to ramble about all the knowledge he'd acquired while working with you. at each exhibit, he points out every species with total accuracy and shares his favorite quirks about certain animals. you have a front-row seat for the way his eyes, usually so molten and intense, have a star-like quality to them when he talks about his new friends, the abalone and the otters and the sea bass. his family observes him in awe, and you catch his mother watching you watch him several times. touya ends the day by introducing peach, his self-proclaimed 'number one girl,' and helping his family with her nightly feeding. though all the todoroki siblings struck you as reserved when you first met them, their conversations were full of life as they walked ahead and you trailed behind with his mother.

"this suits him," rei states with a thoughtful smile.

"i'm biased, but i agree," you reply. she fixes you again with that curious stare, analyzing you. "do i have fish scales on my face?" she laughs and shakes her head.

"no, i'm just indebted to you for getting through to him." you blink, taken aback by her genuine response. "being with you makes him happy. i haven't seen him like this in a long while." she turns back to her children, walking in one raucous group and making plans to get dinner after his shift. "he doesn't talk with them like this often."

"i imagine it's all a mother would want after everything they've been through, if i may," you add and she hums in agreement.

"it is. it's also why, i hope you wouldn't mind," she trails off and her eyebrows pinch slightly, like she's thinking of something worrisome. "if he could stay here."

"of course. i've noticed that he has a knack for husbandry, so--"

"he wants to stay with you," she cuts in, her voice soft as powdered snow. "and i'd like him to stay with you, if it means we can see him more like--"

"this," you finish for her, gesturing to the pile of adult men wrestling each other just ahead, their sister shaking her head from afar. rei sighs, her smile turning sad.

"exactly." before you can give her your reply, touya has escaped his brothers and approached to steal you from his mother.

"if you take those double doors and turn left, you'll end up in the gift shop. wait there and we can get dinner once i'm off," he tells rei, taking her hand and squeezing it once. "i won't be long." she nods and joins her other children, leaving you alone with touya in front of the staff-only window of the sea lion pool. the fading afternoon light catches in the water's rippling and sends a soft beam of light across the cavern. the largest of the lions, boris, floats from below to observe you and touya standing in front of his tank.

"he moves like a slinky," touya states and you can't help but laugh.

"he does move like a slinky, you're right." you turn to him and find he's already looking back at you, not boris. "i loved meeting your family today," you offer in the silence that makes the heartbeat in your ears sound so much louder. "they're very sweet, especially your mother."

"what were you two talking about while we were away?"

"she wanted to show me baby photos," you tease and he gives his signature eyeroll. "but really," you inhale and steady yourself, "she was saying how much this suits you."

"i'd have to agree," he murmurs, his eyes glowing like dying embers. you're close enough to smell him, smoky and rich and only the slightest bit like fish. the proximity feels comforting, like home. "if...if you'd let me--"

"stay with me," you blurt. he blinks at you, the rosy color on the tips of his ears standing out against the bright white. "i-i want you to stay with me." you wait and the quiet stews, nothing moving except slinky-like boris in the water beside you. touya's reply is barely above a whisper.

"i want to stay with you." you release a shaky exhale and let your head fall forward against his chest, steadied by his arms securing themselves around your waist. your hands slide over his shoulders and rest at the nape of his neck, fiddling with the tuft of hair at its base. "please let me stay with you," he breathes in your ear. his arms flex as his grip tightens, like you'd turn to water if he held you too loosely. touya feels like his heart is rattling in his ribcage, bouncing around uncontrollably the longer he has you in his arms. he hasn't felt his chest ache like this before.

"yes, i want you to stay with me," you confirm and he melts into you, breathing you in like fresh oxygen.

"for how long?"

"as long as you'd let me," you answer honestly. the corner of his mouth turns upward in a teasing smirk.

"and if i said forever?"

"then i guess i'd have to oblige," you beam. your hands cup his face, tracing the seam of his scars, and your eyes flutter shut as his lips meet yours. it's careful, the first time he kisses you, and he's terrified you'd slip from his fingers. but you don't disappear, so he lets himself lace your fingers with his and drag you out to the rest of his loved ones, hand-in-hand and finally feeling like he can do something good.

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[walnutcookie]

I can talk about glisten and looey in the tos au because thats not spoilers giggles. ive been thinkings about them. this isnt about anything specifically im just gonna be yap yap yapping away abt them

since ive been asked before: no ships are canon in this au, but the relationships are intentionally kept vague, so interpret them however youd like! (except for proships.)

FOR CONTEXT: glisten and looey are artists in this au! :] they use silly wacky machines and tools to help them create art, trying to inspire kids to create art themselves while also demonstrating how machines can be useful in the subject of art

glisten and looey mean so much to me aughhfhgh. Two toons who are haunted by how people percieve them. their personalities are so different but i feel like they share a lot of the same insecurities... In most circumstances i dont think theyd ever be close enough to talk about that with each other, but in this au since the toons were born with the one they were paired with, they all have an extremely close bond with their pairings. they were in such a vulnerable state when they were first created but they were there to help one another adjust, and they spend most hours of the day with or near their partner, so they all become pretty inseperable. Because of that, in this au glisten and looey are comfortable talking to each other about their insecurities :] its nice for them to have someone who understands them even if their issues are different

i dont think looey is much of the gossip type, he doesnt do it much with other people but oh BOY when hes with glisten hes a yap machine. they spend hours just yapping about nonsense and drama GNFLFJF painting session and they just yap the whole timeee

They both have issues when it comes to recieving praise for their work - imposter syndrome plagues both of them, and they both feel a little undervalued by guests and their peers for how much effort they put in. glisten tends to put a lot of emphasis on what parts he did specifically in the art he and looey make together. if you insult looeys art he WILL get pissed off and defend his talent, its not that he thinks looey is a bad artist at all but he worries that people will think that looey is a better artist than him and feels like he needs to make sure people know what how skilled he is so that people dont think looey is better than him. There are some underlying competitive feelings but he cant really help it, he knows its not a competiton and tries to fight those thoughts but tis just how his brain works </3. Looey is the opposite of this, where they feel too goofy and unprofessional for his job, and he feels inferior in comparison to glisten whos charismatic and dresses well and talks so confidently about his art ,,, (to specify i dont think one is exactly better than the other! i dont know exactly what their art would look like, im still thinking abt it, but its less that one is better and more that theyre both more skilled in different aspects of art, which is part of why their pieces they work together on look so good.)

glisten does looeys makeup along with his own every morning >:] being a painter hes just good with brushes in general so every morning he wakes up, puts his makeup on, and then puts matching makeup on looey hehehe,,, he dislikes looeys sense of fashion but try as he might he cant help with that part GBDLFNFK. (Looey never likes the clothes glisten dresses them up in, it doesnt feel like him. glisten always has to dress elaborately so he feels professional but looey doesnt feel professional in the Slightest so it feels too fake to dress that way. they feel silly in the Bad Way not the looey silly way)

I think the actual classes they teach would probably have like a bunch of art desks where kids can mess around with a bunch of tools and gadgets to help them make straighter lines and circles and stuff, maybe those cool desk tops that spin yknow... Theyd show off the bigger tech they use to make their own elaborate art too like in the second photo above but maybe theyd also give kids a step-by-step on how to draw one of the toons, similar to the animation studio classes at disneyland if you know what i mean ? I can imagine theyd both be super supportive towards the kids too teehee,, glisten would praise their artwork like it was made by picasso and then looey would jump up and down and call it awesomely terrific. I havent thought much about how each class would work ngl

[nikethestatue]

No, no, you don't understand how big this is!

"What if the Cauldron was wrong?"

"Why not make them mates?"

"If I were you, I would keep that question from Lucien."

"I don't want a mate. I don't want a male."

We have two individuals who outwardly question the Cauldron. Both times, to Rhysand. First it was Feyre, who is not very knowledgeable in the ways of the Cauldron and in mate bonds, not really understanding how it works. The first thing that Rhys does is that he warns her not to raise the question with Lucien, who is a newly mated male. The second thing Rhys does is that he begins to explain the ramifications of societal pressures of the mate bond and how even with terrible bonds, most couples would try to 'work it out'. And accept it. (Sounds a bit like a battered spouse syndrome. He/she will change! or 'we are staying together for the kids!')

The next time, it's Azriel who questions the Cauldron and the mate bond assignation. He says this in front of Rhys, and then Rhys--knowing that Azriel is fully aware of the SOCIETAL expectations--goes on a fairly angry rant about political ramifications.

Elain states unequivocally that she does not want a bond. She doesn't want Lucien. She doesn't want 'a male' that was given to her, and whom she did not choose. And she does not want a bond. She doesn't want to adhere to the societal expectations that the bond obligates her to.

But what's interesting is that the one person who never seems to question it is Lucien.

Something clicks for him, he realizes that Elain is his mate and he states it plainly 'You are my mate'. But he never questions it.

Even when, he clearly isn't interested in Elain. Beyond her being attractive, almost generically attractive because it's the one thing that everyone notices about her, he has no feelings but base instincts and lust. He doesn't know anything about her. Doesn't know what her likes/dislikes are. Doesn't know much about her character. Her wants and her struggles.

Lucien, regardless of his own feelings, which are ambivalent at best, just accepts it. The bond is there. He has no recourse. He has to make the best of a crappy situation, because that's what he is expected to do. How do you fight a Cauldron-given bond?

Which brings me to my point: Azriel DOES question the Cauldron. The ordained will of their deity-like item. It's one thing when Feyre questions it, because she doesn't know. It's a wholly different thing when Azriel voices his disdain for the decision. It's not entitlement. He is actually being heretical in that moment. His desire for Elain is so enormous that he is willing to question Prythian's religion and the will of a god-like thing. He isn't complaining about not having a mate. He isn't questioning 'why didn't the Cauldron grant me a mate?!!?!?"--which could be an acceptable question, akin to us questioning why haven't we found 'the one' yet. But no. He questions a very specific bond. And he dares to say 'what if the Cauldron was WRONG?' Can god made mistakes? Generally no. But in Azriel's mind, G-d made a mistake. Because it created the wrong bond for Elain. Again, he doesn't say 'why don't *I* have a bond?" He asks why was Elain given to another? He perceives it as a punishment for HER. He adds that she is not interested in Lucien. It's a burden on Elain. He doesn't say 'I', he always thinks of her. He actually views her bond as punishment. For her. And he knows what he can offer her instead. When Rhys berates him and says:

(He had never before dared speak  the words aloud.)

Rhys's face drained of color. "You believe you deserve to be her mate?"  

Azriel scowled. "I think Lucien will never be good enough for her,  and she has no interest in him, anyway." 

Azriel doesn't say 'I should've been her mate. I am better for her!' (even if he thinks that). His attention is always on her and her unhappiness. Which aligns with how he thinks of her in general--where her pleasure, her safety, her happiness are always on the forefront of his thoughts and actions.

Furthermore, 'he never DARED speak the words aloud.' It's a sentence that people don't pay enough attention to. Because this is Azriel. And he is not afraid of anything. Or anyone. He fights High Lords. He threatens them when they insult any female in his presence. He argues with his own High Lord, and his High Lady. He doesn't fear Amren. He doesn't fear the Blue Annis. He'll fly with a tree attached to his back. He will sneak into the Hybern camp. He will stand up to the King and steal something from under his nose. He sneaks into the darkest and most dangerous places in the world. He dares.

But questioning the bond and the Cauldron--he doesn't dare. That's how monumental this is.

Lucien never questions the Cauldron. Both Tamlin and Rhys sort of shrug off their parents' respective (unhappy) unions. Cassian doesn't question. Rhys certainly never thinks as to why he would be mated to a human girl.

But Azriel questions.

And that will be the story. Because what happens when the Cauldron IS wrong and you decide to go against fate and gods?

[pearlofthewoods]

I’ve seen so many videos like this too, both about ships (particularly jegulus) and about specific fics people believe have ‘ruined’ the fandom.

To be honest, I think it’s particularly an HP/marauders phenomenon. Not that this doesn’t happen in other fandoms, but so many of the fanfic scandals (like fic binding for profit, AI in fanfilms) and now this, happen here. And I’m so tired of it.

It’s probably a result of being such a large fandom- people are used to choice and to so much fic to read that they can treat it like ‘content’- whereas in a smaller fandom you might just have to treasure what few small fics for your ship/fandom you have.

I think people on Tiktok are slowly becoming more aware that critiquing fics directly isn’t ok, but instead I’m just seeing it replaced with negativity about certain ships that people dislike.

And I understand, I’m not the biggest jegulus fan in the world, but I wouldn’t go into the comments section of someone’s video about jegulus or their fic hating on the ship and its portrayal.

I think this is even more crucial when we get to ships that have no basis in canon (such as jegulus) because the entire basis of the ship that you’re hating on is fanfiction.

That ship doesn’t exist outside of a fanfiction context and outside of the fic writers who built that relationship dynamic from the ground up.

So when you dunk on a ship that’s entirely fan created, you can only be dunking on the labour of love by the fic writers who write for that ship and for the fandom as a whole.

Since there is no interaction in canon, the only ‘dynamic’ between those characters that you’re criticising consists solely of the fic versions that you’ve read.

Obviously it’s different when we come to discussing preferences in ships that both have a basis in canon.

For example, another fandom I’m in is Buffy the Vampire Slayer. In BTVS, Buffy has 2 big canonical ships within the source material, so when I discuss why I prefer one ship over another, I only ever reference the dynamics of the characters in canon to make my point. Never fanfiction.

Of course there’s validity in saying you don’t read jegulus because there’s no canon basis or canonical interaction, but I find that’s not what people do. They never leave it there.

They say ‘I hate jegulus and what it’s done to the fandom’ or ‘I hate how y’all make james fall in love with a death-eater, he would never’ etc.

My brother in Christ, Jegulus doesn’t exist in canon. You don’t have to read it.

When you ‘hate’ on jegulus and their dynamic, you’re hating fanfic writers’ portrayals of jegulus. That’s the only jegulus content there is to hate.

I will say it now. I don’t personally read jegulus, I like my ships to have some basis in canon if I can. That’s just my preference. But that’s no reason to hate on the work of other fic writers. Click away, there’s always something else to read.

And if you can’t find precisely the ship and dynamic you’re looking for? Then congratulations, it’s time to get writing my friend.

we are incredibly blesseddddd in the harry potter fandom. no matter what era you are reading, there is such a wide array of fics for you to enjoy - such a multitudeeee of long-fics, aus, ships, tropes etc etc. we are so blessed to have this much to engage with.

but with that comes a lot of entitlement i feel. because there's more to "compare", there's more to call "the big fics" or "the best fics" and suddenly we're no longer blessed, because people don't appreciate fandom for what it is - a bunch of losers (affectionate) sitting in their rooms, writing fanfiction about wizards in their spare time, and sharing it with strangers online. rather it starts becoming competitive.

and 99.99% of the time, it's not the people writing these fics that start the comparisons and the competitions, it's those reading it. they'll publicly question why a fic has so many hits, they'll assume that fandom etiquette no longer applies just because a fic is popular, and they'll forget that these are people writing them, not just ao3 pseudonyms. they'll critique writing styles, get hung up on typos or grammatical errors etc etc. they'll start saying which piece of creative writing done by a person in their free time as a hobby is "worth it" and which ones aren't. and it's wild because they're the ones that have put these fics at the top. they're the ones that have decided these fics are the most worthy,,, and then they critique them?

and most of this is because of the hierarchy, absolutely. there's been a mass separation of readers-writers because people refuse to engage, and they start viewing themselves as "customers" receiving a "product" and they complain when it doesn't fit their standards. some of it is also the changing face of fandom spaces as they get big on more traction-based platforms like tiktok. all of it comes down to entitlement.

they start enforcing standards for fanfictions to live up to and start dictating what "good" writing is, as if that doesn't go against the very nature of a fandom space. a space where everybody's voice is heard and everybody has the same opportunity to create things (side tangent: this is not the time to be dictating what voices/experiences/talents deserve to be heard. free and open sources of literature are incredibly important right now. we often talk about the fact we hold fanfiction to the same standard as publit, which yes we do and that is not what we should be doing. but now we're starting to police it the same way publit is, and now is not the time. there is never a time tbh, but now when book bans are running rampant across the world? you want to decide which fics deserve to be read and which ones don't? hm).

and the worst thing is that not only are people critiquing the works we already have, but they demand more.

they'll say there's no more long-fics getting written, and then they won't go and engage with WIPs and encourage authors to continue, they won't start a fic until it's complete and then complain that nothing is complete. they'll say there's not enough fics for a certain ship, and instead of engaging with those producing them or encouraging love and engagement for them with others, they'll go into comment sections and hate on another ship. they'll say there's not enough of a certain trope and then they'll read one and go "hm. not like that" or not enough of a certain character and then go "actually i don't see them like this so this is written awfully".

most of all, they'll say that certain fics or ships have a ruined a fandom, and then they'll post things that go sooooo against what a fandom is, and just add to what is actually ruining wider fandom spaces - entitlement.

you are not entitled to long-fics, these are being written by people in their free time, and you refuse to engage with them as they're being written. you are not entitled to perfect grammar and presentation, fanfiction is for everybody and it is not a profession, it's a hobby. you are not entitled to the characterisations that you deem to be best, everything is malleable and you engage with what you like (better yet, write it yourself if you're so open to shitting on others. you do it then). you are not entitled to regular and consistent updates, you do not get a monopoly over this person's time. and you're going to see a lot less works over time if this is the way you treat them.

you are not entitled to any content in a fandom space, and no one is required to provide it for you. and most of all, your opinions and your characterisations and things you enjoy are not more worthy than anyone elses' - reading is subjective, we learnt this in primary school.

fandom is for self-exploration and it is self-curated. it's so self-curated and if you are having such a negative time in fandom because you can't find anything "good" or "worth it"? maybe there's some self-reflection to do as well. maybe you should sit and wonder why you feel entitled to things and why you feel the need to pit authors against each other or critique free works publicly, instead of wondering why other people are reading them.

we are so incredibly blessed to be in a fandom as diverse as this one with such an array of interpretations and such a wide spread of fics to choose from, but let's return to our roots and remember that - despite how many there are - everything is written by a Human Being. in their Free Time. For Fun.

and it's not fun to watch videos calling works bad get thousands of views and likes. you are not owed anything. and it is not okay to say these things just because "they'll never see it" - it says a lotttt about you as a person that there has to be some kind of impact for you to be kind.

it's like,,, would you go to a free bake sale and go "god i fucking hate red velvet!!!" and tell them they're doing a bad job, or would you pick up the chocolate cupcake you like instead and move on with your day whilst acknowledging that someone, not you but someone elseee, might like red velvet??? ykkkk??? you get me????

[freestyle-crocodile-trashpile]

Smooth

Summary:Your more than just a criminal, your a smart one. No recklessness with you

Type: Scenario:??:Arthur Morgan & GN!Reader

Verison:rdr2

~

"How'd you do it?"

Arthur looks at you, the one person in this camp who actually looks out of place. You look sweet, young, noble even. People don't see you as a criminal- not even a horse rider half the time. You can walk into a town and rob them clean and everyone still loves you. He's watched you walk past people who have hunted him and other camp members for their bountys- your like butter, slipping through every crack like it's nothing, slipping through obstacles and dodging bullets by walking straight into them.

"Mm? What do you mean?"

You turned to Arther, furrowing your eyebrows at him. He could mean maybe things, theirs more than one thing you do. You fish better then him, hunt small creatures, smooth talk people, kids, theirs so much he could be talking about. It's not that your better than him, just a tad bit smarter.

"You...your so damn good at bein' a criminal. How? It's like your made for this, but you only joined us last year at least"

Arthur seemed actually frustrated by this. He's had to kill so many people because of this line of work, and you practically just smooth talk them into killing themselves. There zero trace of you anywhere- while he's fighting bountys off his hat. With a hum you looked forward again at the lake. You two and gone hunting and where currently camping out. It was just you and him. And... actually kinda nice. Arthur doesn't talk to much alone, just a few things here and there. The silence of nature was lovely.

"Well...when you think before hand it helps a lot. But, I just understand the brain, Arthur. When you know more it helps out a lot. Its why I can hunt and fish better than you too"

Arthur huffed, finding your words a little annoying. He wasn't stupid, just reckless sometimes. And even then it's not often. Arthur thinks things through, so why are you still so much better than him? What's he doing wrong.

"I ain't stupid, so yeah are you so much better. Why don't you get hunted like me?"

Your chuckle pissed him off a little, looking at you with a small frown. When you looked over at him, all smug with a big ol' smirk he wanted to just go to bed. He hated talking to smug people.

"When you look less rugged and like a beast people see you less as a threat. You big Arthur, bigger than me. And I have a more...gentle approach to things."

Arthur relaxed abit. As much as he hated that answer, you were right. He was a much easer threat then you, if he didn't know you then he might've just waved you off. It's a good thing you went to Dutch instead of him, Arthur would've ignored your request with how small you were. When you shifted Arthur looked back over at you, noticing the more sad look in your eyes.

"you see, I grew up poor. Got use to using my innocent look to get things. People saw me and women pitied me, gave me things. And when I realized everyone looked at me and just saw a kid, I started to steal."

Arthur hummed, liking that answer much more then you just getting the people. But still, he wanted to smack that smug look off your face- only because of how smug you were, not you, he just hated that smug look. Arthur has come to enjoy putting smug people in their place, it's more fun when his not target is a smug bastard.

"I just learned that when you look sweeter, less healthy the people are less likely to question you. I mean, why would a brittle person kill a brute? Doesn't make any sense."

No wonder you looked like you'd snap. You weren't necessarily skinny- well, that he could see. Your clothes much bulk you up abit, you just had that look of weak bones that he didn't understand. There was always something about you- something that made him tick. Not in a bad way, he didn't dislike you like Micah or Bill. Arthur was just a little frustrated with how well you do when you've barely been with them- to him this is your first time. But there's so much he doesn't know.

"we should sleep, there's a elk we gotta hunt for the camp. Good night Arthur"

Arthur made no move as you stood up, walking over to your tent to snuff out the oil lamp and adjust your bedroll.

"Yeah, we should. Night, Kid"

There was a grunt behind you as Arthur stood up. He waited until you laid down before putting out the fire and snuffing his own oil lamp. It wants to cold so he wasnt worried about his blanket. You were definitely an odd person, so much to discover- and to much for his impatience ass.

~

[A/N:Red Dead has been eating away my brain cells guys. I hope you enjoyed]

[ladyandherbooks]

I loved Callum and. Runaan's interactions this season. While I do agree it would have been great to see some of Callum's negative feelings towards Runaan I think that they really only had time to focus on one siblings anger towards him so I'm okay with them not focusing on it. Callum has also had time to work through his feelings towards Runaan during his and Rayla's quest to free him.

I do think that the other reason as to why they got on well this season is that Runaan has complete faith and trust in Rayla's choice of romantic partners and friends. And when this boyfriend not only helps to free you but also puts your daughter first, then Runaan wouldn't be able to dislike him.

Look at his smile when Callum chooses Rayla in 7x02:

He already likes Callum because he's putting Rayla first and making her happy.

And the worst that their reactions get is Runaan getting annoyed at Callum for using the same compliment as small talk for the 15th time in two weeks, which to be completely fair is very understandable.

But Callum quickly rectifies this by freeing Ethari from his Moon Cub duties that day, thus ensuring that he could spend the day with his husband. But he does give Callum the biggest eye raise at Callum's enthusiasm at volunteering to watch the Moonshadow elf kids because he knows Callum is way over his head and is giving his enthusiasm the reaction it deserves

And then the deadpan stare after the 10 babies comment

It really was a harmless clash in personalities where a grumpy, serious broody elf had to interact with his daughters goofy, nerdy, loving and sometimes awkward human boyfriend who is also staying with them for 2 weeks straight. A boyfriend who is also trying his hardest to make a good impression but is not always succeeding but you like him anyway because he has a good heart and loves your daughter more than anything in the world.

And the pair of you manage to bond and come to trust each other enough to go on a mission together where you not only protect one another but he also trusts you enough to ask you to kill him in order to save the world.

I think that this moment where Runaan came to love Callum as he was not only willing to sacrifice his life to save everyone in Xadia but also wanted to protect Rayla specifically from a promise that would cause her a great deal of pain and grief.

I am excited and curious to see how their relationship and interactions evolve and develop as, like some fellow fans have already discussed, Callum wants to be a part of this family and misses, wants and needs fatherly relationship, one of which Runaan and Ethari will be happy to provide, especially since Callum will be spending alot of time in the Silvergrove in the next 7 years. They're going to love each other so much and have each other's back but Runaan will still be giving his dorky son in law a raised eyebrow whenever he says or does something ridiculous or dorky.

[gloriousburden]

What's the most untrue and ridiculous Loki take you've ever heard?

As of recent events, as well as not so recent events… that Loki is not at all evil/that he cannot have aspects of evil, because he is a victim of abuse. It’s a bad way to view not only fictional characters, but real life people as well in all honesty. I don’t fuck with that sort of rhetoric of viewing people as inherently innocent in EVERY single act that they commit just because they are a victim of abuse. Acknowledging that victims of abuse can do wrong is not taking away from the abuse that they faced. Some dumbass shit.

Loki’s reserved behavior automatically equals that he’s hiding every aspect of who he is because he hates himself. He can only be happy if he’s bouncing off the walls. 🤦🏻‍♀️

One of the most annoying ones for me is always going to be that Tumblr post that said Loki is 17 years old because a bunch of people started taking that seriously. HE IS PLAYED BY A MAN WHO WAS PUSHING 30. It’s a dumbass way to view fictional ages. People do this with Mipha from the Legend of Zelda too. She’s 100+ years old, but is technically an older teenager/young adult, because that’s how her species ages. We can accept bird people, enemy mobs as a whole, and a talking tree, but not the fact that a fictional race of FISH PEOPLE age differently from Hylians/other Zelda species, and have different standards of age in their culture. THAT’S what’s unlikely to them lol.

That he would prefer Laufeyson as a last name. I understand why some people think that it’ll help separate him from Odin, but in all honesty… it may be even worse. It’s tied to his background, which he hates. And he has no love for Laufey. It “others” him even more. He is Loki of Asgard. “Laufey’s Son?” He hated that.

I think this one’s a bit biased due to being an enjoyer of historical accuracy, but people HCing Loki as easily loving VERY modern Midgardian things (that don’t have any sort of familiarity to him) irks me. His ass would NOT love artificial sweeteners as soon as he is straight out of Asgard!!! Maybe he will in the unforeseeable future who knows. BUT NOT RIGHT NOW GIVE HIM TIME! Oh and obviously people treating Loki as a modern Midgardian and not as an ancient god. Let him be weirded out/bewildered by modern concepts please it’s fun!

Shit I’ve heard a whole LOT of worse ones why can’t I think… obviously, any takes that justify the series. Any takes that justify mischaracterizing Loki.

I do really dislike the fanon impression of Thor 1 Loki being an innocent baby. Not innocent as in his actions, but as in his amount of intelligence. He obviously was done very wrong and was a victim, but why do we have to act like he was a naive character in every single aspect? He gets woobified REALLY badly which sucks because Thor 1 Loki is so interesting. He’s intelligent and he didn’t just become intelligent because he was wronged.

Erm… I’m really trying to think here…

Honestly, takes that take away from Loki’s actions. Or any takes that HEAVILY blame him. Obviously, any takes from casual MCU fans who love the series and try to justify how the variant was mocked and belittled 🤢 any takes on OG Loki that use the series as a source.

Yeah there’s definitely a whole lot of worse ones i could go for hours about series related shit but..

I’ll come back to this if I think of anything.

Thank you for the asks they make me think a lot and I appreciate that LOL you’re cool

[howlsofbloodhounds]

I have a couple of questions, the main two being: 1: what ships do you dislike/hate? and why? 2: are there any ships you enjoy/like? and why? I am an anti-shipper myself, so hearing other ppls opinions on ships is interesting to me.

Only ships I really hate are like, incest, pedo or zoophilia, and Killermare and Bad Sans Poly.

I hate Killermare because it is trafficker/kidnapper/abuser x victim/captive and that is just..baked so completely in their narratives I find it ridiculous to ignore it.

I hate the narrative that Nightmare ever genuinely saved Killer, he didn’t—Color was the one putting in hard work and tears trying to protect, understand, befriend, and earn Killer’s trust. He was the one being threatened with death and stabbed and attacked for trying to help like he was asked to— by Killer himself—to help. He’s the one constantly risking his life and safety and well being for Killer’s freedom.

I hate how certain shippers treat this ship, how they treat Killer, and how they definitely treat Color—like Color’s somehow the bad guy because they want to pretend that Nightmare is somehow good for Killer’s safety or that Killer would ever be happy with him. Or as if Color only has selfish intentions and motives for Killer. Even more so when they pretend it’s one sided and Killer doesn’t grow to feel the same eventually—even when they’re extremely rough and certainly not friends in the beginning.

As if Killer wasn’t the one asking Color to save him. As if Killer didn’t say he kinda likes Color, and Nightmare had to tell him to literally shut up—as if Color isn’t the only one besides Toriel Killer has admitted to liking before, compared to when he said he doesn’t like anyone when asked. As if Color wasn’t the only one Stage 1 Killer ever felt comfortable asking, pleading with, for help—trusting him enough to admit he wants to be saved.

As for ships i enjoy, there’s Colorkiller obviously—but I also enjoy them as a friendship, or queer platonic, or them in general. Lifeafterdeath most definitely. Reapertale Chara x Core!Frisk (I don’t know. if they have a ship name) is wonderful.

Epic Sanses poly, Delta x Color, Epic x Color, Ccino x Color, just other Color ships in general i like. Chromatic Crew poly could be interesting.

But honestly what I really want is more of Killer in platonic relationships.

Color is special to him and this is just an undeniable fact, and Killer doesn’t strike me as the type to be very interested in friendship outside of what he managed to build with Color—but i think he should have more social connections, even if they aren’t what he has with Color because he does not trust most people at all.

I’d love to see more of Ink and Killer. Not really as a ship, but as pals—I feel they’d understand each other. Ccino and Killer and Lust and Killer and Color too. I’d like to see Ink and Color content as well, and Color and Dream.

I feel I’d be interested in seeing more Killer and Horror content, but there’s barely any outside of Bad Sans Poly or MTT Poly—and even in those ships there’s hardly anything.

I’ve found myself turned away from most Killer and Murder dynamics because, similar to Kross and killermare, these two always have to have some sort of “sexual tension” or something and it’s actually just beating eachother half to death or being lovey dovey and so in love. (Or when Killer is portrayed as a desperate whore for dust’s attention and begging him to love him or something.)

I think I’d find them more interesting in fandom depictions if 1. It wasn’t always just about how “hot” they are together and how “hot” is it that they hate eachother or whatever, and 2. people focused more on how they’re different rather than how they’re similar.

[bunnis-monsters]

Discord Drama below the cut. This is kind of me just making it clear that I want to be left alone.

Y’all understand y’all can leave my discord without making a statement that shows you have no idea what you’re talking about?

People can solve their OWN issues out in DMs, but when they’ve made people uncomfortable more than once, that becomes another issue. That’s when people get banned.

I do not want to talk about this anymore, I’ve blocked everyone that could be involved besides the ones I can’t find in intros.

Not going to mention who I’m talking about because it really doesn’t matter. The individuals don’t matter, I don’t think they’re bad people but they were banned because I GOT SEVERAL COMPLAINTS! Some from my own mods who didn’t feel comfortable after a certain incident occurred.

Here’s me talking about this to one of the people. I even SPECIFICALLY said that their partner/friend was not welcome back. The person DID come back and I banned both of them afterwards.

Sharing these screenshots to show I explicitly told them why the other person was banned and that they WEREN’T welcome back regardless.

Yeah they can apologize to each other and that’s good, but that doesn’t erase the discomfort they caused by doing that shit IN MY SERVER!

I hope everyone involved does well but leaves me alone. Before I got that message in vent I didn’t mind y’all still following or messaging me, but now I’m uncomfortable. Please, leave me alone. I do not want anything to do with any of you. I don’t hate you, but I’m also deeply uncomfortable with this situation.

The 10th rule btw

Anyways anons are off because this part of the vent message feels vaguely threatening. Idk if that’s intentional but it genuinely freaks me out(this message is cropped to remove any names, they basically just talk about the situation.)

But yeah I’ll be taking the server link down for a while. If you didn’t mean anything threatening then sorry but getting this message at 3 am is quite scary considering the harassment I’ve faced before for banning people. I just want to be left alone. I don’t deserve to feel afraid for banning people from a discord server.

Please think before you send messages like this, and leave me alone. I do not like having to make posts like these because I don’t hate any of you! I genuinely would have just moved on with my life if you wouldn’t have sent this message! You could have left the server without making me feel afraid, intentionally or not.

I’m also not here to go “WAHHH they’re threatening little ole me!”. I’m just pointing out that message was unnecessary and can be easily misinterpreted as threatening, and because you decided to send that message I have to lock down my discord as a precaution. I would rather be safe than sorry, and I would prefer to think that people in my community would not try to hurt me because I banned them, but it’s already happened before. 🤷‍♀️

I understand not always agreeing with the way I handle things, but I do it for my own safety and peace of mind. You don’t have to like it, but in a world where I receive nasty asks, comments, threatening dms, and all kinds of harassment just for existing, this keeps me safe.

With all that said, I genuinely wish y’all the best. Just because you were banned from my discord doesn’t mean I hate your guts. It’s a discord server, with rules and people that sometimes don’t get along with each other. It happens.

Sometimes we find each other annoying or get uncomfortable with the way that others act and that’s fine, because people are different. Each server, community, etc is different and have different rules, jokes, and ways of talking that sometimes go over other’s heads.

But finding someone annoying or not meshing with them doesn’t mean you dislike them as a person. Just because you break some rules in a server and get banned doesn’t mean I all of a sudden hate you. It just means you got banned.

What makes it bad is when you keep coming back and bringing it up after I already expressed that I was uncomfortable. That’s what makes me not want to continue interacting with you and what leads to me blocking people.

I don’t want to interact with any of you any further, leave me be. I’ll take any further interaction as harassment.

You don’t need to apologize, I am not angry, I am just tired. I have expressed a boundary and we are all adults. Leave me be and I’ll leave you be.

I’m going back to sleep. I’m sick, cramping, and exhausted. Send me some nice asks if you’d like, I’d appreciate it

[firstkanaphans]

i'm so tired of seeing posts of people are asking for the downfall of cps. cp marketing works so no sane company is going to ditch a working concept. i am also tired of people acting like gls are superior to bls when in reality there are simply way more bl shows/cps to pick from compared to gls. if we had as many gls as bls those numbers would even out a lot more and i say this as someone who adores gls. i just do understand why everything always has to be a competition idk

I truly, honestly, deeply do not understand the hatred for CPs. I've seen people say the CP system makes shows predictable because you always know the two leads are going to end up together at the end—even though this is true for all romances as it is a requirement of the genre. I've seen people say production companies (or really just GMMTV specifically) are editing their scripts so that their CPs appear more likable—even though most of these shows are based on novels that are already fully written and also the directors and scriptwriters usually don't work for the production company anyway. I've seen people say CPs are stripping the queerness from BLs—even though that is literally impossible because all BLs are queer media.

If you want my honest opinion, I think what the dislike of the CP structure actually is is a dislike of the fan culture that surrounds it. Some people like to interact with media on a purely academic level, which is fine, but believe it or not, fangirls (gender neutral) are capable of critical thought, too. A lot of the pseudo-intellectual arguments I see in fandom boil down to a certain segment of fans thinking they are better than the other simply because they choose to interact with the source material differently.

Regardless, CPs have become an integral part of Thai BL and they aren't going anywhere. So if CPs are a deal breaker, Thai BL is probably not for you.

As for the GLs, I understand why you're frustrated—especially if you're spending any time on Twitter because the GL fandom over there is not friendly to BL watchers...and that's putting it mildly. But I'm actually not sure I agree with your statement that GL viewership would go down if the market was as saturated with GLs as it is with BLs.

Yesterday's episode of Pluto pulled higher engagement numbers than 2gether back in 2020 when the BL market was less saturated. That's insane. One thing I think it may be hard to understand unless you're a queer creative who's been around for a while is that we've been told for years and years and years that sapphic media isn't being created because it doesn't sell. That men and straight women won't watch it. Thailand is proving them wrong and I'm very excited to see where this takes us, not only within Thailand, but internationally.

I do agree, though, that I wish everything wasn't such a competition. I would love to see more melding of the BL and GL genres, but every time a company tries, they get huge backlash from the GL side of Twitter who don't want any men in their media at all. They're like the radfems of QL and I wish it would stop.

[28confusedthoughts]

OP, what's stopping you from shipping any other ship of any fandom that you don't currently ship? I'm assuming your answer would be that you just don't see it, which is totally valid. And so, believe it or not, some people just don't see cas and dean's relationship as being even remotely romantic.

Not even going into the fact that dean is spoken for in canon, that he would never consider entering into a committed romantic relationship when sam is around.. Even if we take dean's obsession with his brother out of the equation, there's nothing to direct my attention to destiel being a possible pairing to ship.

For one, dean literally has zero chemistry with castiel. Many of the so called destiel moments that hellers claim are sexual tension or whatever between cas and dean are just castiel not understanding the human world and personal boundaries, and Dean being upset about it. SO ROMANTIC (sacrasm).

And then there's the fact that castiel betrayed the brothers. Everyone's so quick to hold the ruby fiasco against sam till the end of times, but when it comes to castiel (who paired up with a demon, kept lying to dean, and unknowingly caused a devastating event that resulted in the deaths of many many people.. sounds familiar?) it's "he had good intentions/ didn't know any better" etc etc and all is forgiven. Well not by me it's not! I never liked castiel's character, but I grew to dislike him more and more after every season. And as a personal principle, I do not ship a character I actively dislike with ANY of the other characters, let alone one of the main characters of the show.

And obviously I can't not mention the off putting behaviour many hellers display. They are obnoxious and demanding, they think their ship is the superior ship and anyone who doesn't ship it must be dumb or homophobic. I hope I don't have to tell you how crazy that is and why I wouldn't want to be associated with people like that...

Additionally, I can't stand misha and hate seeing his face on my screen. Wouldn't make sense for me to turn around and ship a pairing half of which is misha's face clad in a trench coat, would it? :)

Non Destiel Shippers, what stops you from shipping them?

What are the reasons you don't ship them? Im just curious, not looking for a fight.

[suitov]

The anti-Komahina copypasta of all time pt 3/4: Electric Avenue

Far, far back in the depths of koraishita-chan (specifically, seven months earlier), the proud Goku hater and beloved second child of God, the talented mrpoopoofart, expelled his seminal production "Nagito Komaeda influences Hajime Hinata into homosexual activities accompanied with his feminine aura he spreads through his toxic submissive homoerotic flirting. (A thread)"

And then, just when we needed him most (or on some random day in May the following year), HE RETURNED...

[Again, square brackets after this point are my only additions, mostly for source links except where I get sidetracked into a rant about substandard Christian apologism.]

Goku Nr.1hater @mrpoopoofart

Introducton: To sum it up, you may have already perused my thread focusing on the topic as the title says. However, there are additional aspects to consider regarding Nagito's negative demeanor towards the MC, particualary in relation to his homosexuality. [src]

It is crucial to emphasize the objective of my analysis. My aim is for fans of Nagito Komaeda and Komahina to understand the reasons why Nagito shouldn't be romantically involved with anyone despite his sexuality or admired by any of YOU. [src]

Kodaka Sensei has clearly portrayed Nagito Komaeda as a villain of the story, who is meant to be disliked. By endorsing a romantic relationship between Hajime and Nagito, you are essentially demonstrating a bias against heterosexuality (tradition+ culture)+ [src]

+ and edorsing the concept of Diabolo (forbidden amour) [src]

1. Timidity and Nervosity In the libary Nagito appears to exhibit more nervousness than confidence when being alone with his "friend". His behavior raises the question of wether his cruel demeanor stems from guilt or if it's a deliberate tactic to divert attention. [src]

Even Hajime who's clearly displeased, remains silent. Astute players recognize how Nagito is someone he perceives as a bothersome freak who can't do anything but make his blood boil. [src]

2. Nagito's moronic comments Recalling this particular scene, I feel compelled to highlight the intense annoyance and anger it evoked within me. (You will find further context in the next paragraph) [src]

It was evident that Hajime was experiencing an anxiety attack as Monokuma persistently taunted him about the sticker he unwittingly purchased for 1 million $, under the false pretense of avoiding watching the movie. [src]

And guess what this good friend Nagito does? Instead of confronting Monokuma for tricking Hajime, audaciously verfies wether he did indeed buy the sticker for 1 mil.$, thereby purposely reminding him of the embarassing situation Hajime is found in. [src]

3. Public humiliation Upon reflection, it seems that Nagito subjected Hajime to multiple instances of humiliation that I had overlooked. [src]

As Hajime appreciates the beauty of women's bodies while expressing the manly nature of his sexuality, this cattle felt compelled to interject with an unwarranted remark regarding Hajime's natural inclination of heteroerotism to admire the attractivness of a women's body. [src]

4. Homoerotic organic sensation This certain official art shows us the antagonist and protagonist sitting next to each other side by side on a bench. Yes, it may appear just like an usual official art but if you take a deeper look at the situation+ [src]

+ and put yourselves in their shoes, you'll perceive it from a different perspective. [src]

Hajime falls victim to the influence of homoerotica, while Nagito lures him into a trap filled with irresistible (drugwise) trap of unholy desires. From the outside Hajime looks opportune but inside he's anxious and would escape he he could (theory) + [src]

On the other side Nagito appears anxious from the outside but might sense a proptitious pleassure through a so called "demonic" (powerful) orgasm, which causes the evil individual to feel intense sensation building in their gut+ [src]

My analytical and psychological simplification: The intense sensation in the gut by a effeminate homosexual individual is embossed on excitement and masochistic pain following with the release of endorophins, contraction of organs, anal contraction. [src]

5. Mastrubative release of urine This certain dialoge takes place during chapter 4, when everyone was locked in the final dead room. Analysis: As Hajime approaches Nagito, wanting to hang out with him Nagito begins to act up and claims he's about let his it leak. [src]

Since Hajime and him were Stuck alone during his freetime the scoundrel felt a warm sensation rise up from his intestine down to his bladder causing him to release all the fluid. Theory: The organic compounds were driven by unintended stimulation by an orgasm. [src]

Nagito's impure crimes Watch this video below by Voddie Bauchham which explains the situation a lot better what I'm trying to imply here on releation to Nagito Komaeda's acts. I combined the video and the scenes together so you can have an overview. (Pt.1) [src]

[Video: original link. 1:47 so I'll summarise. First, the URL geloofstoerusting.nl is shown. A man credited as Christian apologist Dr Voddie T. Baucham talks in English about the usual few bible verses commonly interpreted to be a pronouncement against homosexuality. The pastor's talk is generic and not about Nagito Komaeda, but our nonvaginal Virgil has edited in several annotated images of Nagito to drive his stiff, lengthy point home. The pastor is cut off mid-sentence at the end. [(Contextual note: Nagito Komaeda, a Japanese man, is most likely a Shinto follower, judging by a remark he makes about praying at statues. He consistently describes his beliefs about hope as being cycle-based like his luck, rather than messianic. He is unlikely to be a Christian. But he is created in the image of god and deserves praise and kiss (canon).)]

Pt.2 [src]

[Video: original link. The same speaker continues his claims that homosexuality cannot be non-harmful because it harms the homosexual and harms the gospel. More annotated images of Nagito Komaeda liven up his piss-poor theology. It's clear from the many intervening steps he skips and the gigantic prior assumptions that he's speaking to fellow Christian apologists and not to evangelise nonbelievers. Again, his points are generic homophobia and not specific to Danganronpa or other media.]

Nagito's OVA Hajime shows up as Izuru Kamukura in Nagito's dream Theory:The reason why Izuru/Hajime shows up in Nagito's bizzare dream world might be due 1.He can aoutlive his homosexual desires without having to face judgement for his immoral deeds that go against Christianity + [src]

+during a coma (coma affected by work of Diablo) 2: He obviously makes up his own Hajime in his dream world and treats him like a puppet taking away his freedom and autonomy. (Rights deprivation). [src]

+This scene alone alludes how he is using Hajime (puppet) and also obeys him in order to remind himself of his way of thinking such as abusing hope as an achievement for his malicious actions. [src]

[Hope stretch, I mean home stretch, everyone! Onward to part 4/4.]

[sysig]

Ah, childhood memories (Patreon)

[randomuzerthelozer]

I can't help but wonder if it was because of the fact they were releasing 4 plushies at the same time. If I'm being honest I feel like mephone's was the most shoved in there. like out of all of them he's the one that seems to have the least care put into him. I could PROBS sew him and I'm a EXTREME beginner when it comes to a sewing machine

Like dgmw it's clear the plushie that had the most "work?" put into it is bot, I don't own a bot plushie and don't plan to buy a bot plushie but when you compare them to Fan or Mephone or even TT it's VERY clear where the budget went

and Ik when you compare them some could argue "TestTube or Fan have much more simpler designs then Bot!" which not really I mean you got fan's whole uhh being a Fan thing, but if we even take a look at the PB plushie or SHIT even the yin yang plushie there is a difference

examples: Pb's shine is embroidered with this shiny string, it's a small detail but it looks good, also Pb's metal part, it's a different 3d part of the plushie giving it depth(can I use this terms idk I'm not into the plush design lore sorry, but also from watching fanf plush reviews I recall most people dislike things that are printed on fabric(I do so as well lol)

meanwhile for fan they added this "shading" thing, which I understand why it's not embroidered it's pretty long and big, But like, the only reason they have that is so you know what his shade is meant to look like because they body of the plushie couldn't portray that well enough.

And for yin yang, even if their plush is LITERALLY just a ball and yet I'd say they look rlly good, their design looks like somebody who knows what/who yin yang inanimate insanity made them into a plush. It may be less complicated then TestTube for example but you can feel like the person making Yin-Yangs desgin cared

(HI!!! me it's me from the future here after I wrote all of this to tell you readers I kind of drift off into a whole talk about why the ladder II plushies might seem so lowbudget/quality lol)

I've noticed the II plushies have started doing this weird printed on shading thing, like with Balloon here

now they had done shading before but it was limited, such as lightbulbs dot shine on her forehead, HOWEVER that dotshine has this line emobirded line on it, helping it pop out and removing that “ew printed on fabric” feel(idk if it’s actually printed on fabric help me I’m not a plushie expert). And also that shine/shading isn’t trying to compensate for the lack of depth in the plush?(I’m going off photos but from the one photo I’ve seen when compared to yinyang his ass is flat as fuck, so I’m guessing this was added for the same reason fan had his weird shading thing added)

Shit I know I said the bot Plush looks good but even they are suffering form “printed on shading added on for no reason” syndrome

TLDR:

On Lightbulbs plush the shading is not overused, but it also doesn't feel like it shouldn't be there, it adds something nice to that big ass forehead of hers/lh. Meanwhile with Balloon it feels like you took an image of him from the show and turned him into a plush, without really thinking about it, almost like a machine. His shading exist to try to make him more round lo

which might be why so many people on this post have said "they look like bootlegs" because some certain other plush creators have also used that tactic! Which I personally feel like can explain why the newer II plushies truly feel so off

ever wondered why these things look so off? Espcially the ones not based on pre existing plushies well that's acctually because they just got random assets off the wiki and based the plushies of them with no greater thoguh

here some examples of these assets I could find! Or that I felt like putting in here now

now when let's compare Balloons III asset to his plush (this will all make sense I swear)

now let's compare Lb's plush with both her assets

my general theory is that at some point in the process of making the plushies they had someone design the plushie not basing it 100% of the asset but actually having somebody modify certian parts of the design reference to fit the medium of plushies but now they just send the manufactuers the asset and go "do wonders"

TLDR: I feel like the quality is going down because their attemtping to desgin/produce mulitple plushies at once and also I feel like they might not be putting as much though into the process bai!!

god i am so so mad at how low quality the recent ii plushies have been. like it's one thing to fuck up the faces (the more simple, but also the more annoying problem- a simple :) face never failed, why do object show merchandisers keep trying to give them different faces) but oh my god at least make the base object bodies in higher quality

[snaplight-anxiety]

what the fuck kind of edit is this. it’s so stupid but i’m so pissed why would you cut that out.