#compelling af

[quinn-fucks-shit-up]

is it rlly so wrong for me to still like the at times messed up shows from years back??

like, I do acknowledge the bits that are undeniably fucked up, but I still find them entertaining for the most part, and I don't think that a handful of offensive/out of date jokes/scenarios should stop me from enjoying the bits that do hold up today

[viperra1]

another evening at Lucky 38 ~

[morsmortish]

barty having SOME sort of tic (like the ‘tongue thing’ in the films) feels so insanely well-suited to his character: a person who was stripped of his bodily autonomy under the imperius curse for so long. it feels so fitting that his body would have a reaction to this, sort of like overcompensating for the inability to be able to move freely that he experiences growing up.

[undead-knick-knack]

Still can't believe Imogen said that about Chetney to the Raven Queen 😂 She's so fucking funny for that 😂

(the painting is "The Accolade" (1901) by Edmund Leighton)

[cedarsmoke4]

Messy doodle because Heisenberg with his hair up lives rent free in my brain🥵👀💖

[spotlightstudios]

Attacks #14 and #15 belong to @moonliched @slylock-syl ! (As of posting this they're not actually uploaded to AF due to maintenence, but I'll be putting them up asap ^^)

[puhpandas]

getting into ben 10 is so sad bc I binge the entire OS and am like wow cant wait for more and then every other series doesnt have the things I liked about OS and even casual fans online say that 10yo Ben's character in OS is more compelling than all the others but theres barely any of him after OS

[allyricas]

Does anyone know if the 4b movement has ties to terfs???

[burntblueberrywaffles]

"Ew liking unhealthy ships is so toxic-"

"Actually toxic ship are INTERESTING unlike those boring healthy ships that have no flavour-"

Meanwhile me, who can appreciate and enjoy any ship dynamics:

[sapphire-weapon]

Hi, I just wanna share that I ship Ashley and Leon since the original RE, and I ship them even more now more than ever. I just wanted to say that I’m glad that I saw your blog. You defend them from hate comments. I could never do that. All I do is hide the fact that I ship them because people online (and IRL) can really be mean when I say that they have a good potential together.

I just think that their relationship can be wholesome and built on trust. It is without ill intention and born out of care & adoration. Which I think are the some of the foundations of having a healthy relationship, that’s why I love the idea of them together. I know this may be cliche to say this, but I think they can complete each other in some ways.

Is it wrong to want a potentially healthy relationship for Leon? I don’t get why people hate on the idea of it so much. I mean people can not ship it, and that’s fine. I just don’t get it when others start attacking because I mention that I ship them. It’s like I feel like I’m about to get executed whenever I say that they have a chemistry together 😆

Also, I apologize for talking so much about them. I just have no one to talk to when it comes to them. I just wanna share it to someone.

Lastly, I wanna say that you make deep analysis on not just their relationship and dynamics, but also on other lores on the RE franchise which I enjoy reading. It really gives a lot of new perspectives & insights on a lot of things that I don’t notice when I play the game. Thank you for this, really!

aw, anon

I also went through a period of very many years where I wouldn't say out loud that I shipped Leon and Ashley, because there was a stretch of a very long time in fandom where you got tarred and feathered if you dared have a Leon ship that wasn't Cleon or Aeon. Even shipping him with Chris was considered taboo back in the day (and, wouldn't you know, I do that, too).

And I was scared that people wouldn't take my (completely unrelated, mind you!!) meta seriously if they knew I shipped Leon/Ashley, so I just kept quiet about it. I even tried to pass it off, for a while, that I had no RE ships at all. It was just easier to say that than be dodgy about it.

It was actually kind of funny. For a while, a not-insignificant portion of the fandom went to me, specifically, for all of their Leon things, and I just had to kind of laugh at how ridiculous it was that these same people would've just stopped agreeing with anything I said about him -- things that they agreed with and had been relying on for their own interpretations -- if they'd known I shipped him with Ashley. It's all very, very stupid.

But now I'm in my 30s and I don't give a fucking shit anymore. I don't care about being an authority on canon anymore. I'm happy to be a reference if someone needs it, but I don't care about being the central hub of information. I don't need to try to make people feel impartially about me anymore.

But, authority or not, I'm still a story analyst at heart before anything else. I look at Leon's character first and then think about any possible ships second. And, yeah. After analyzing him for so long, I've noticed that Ashley brings out a side of him that isn't shown at any other point -- and it's in a positive way that's absent when she's gone. So, naturally and logically, in my head, it stands to reason that there's something to that.

Some people seem to be under the impression that Leon's character arc lives and dies by Ada's involvement, and boy is that just not the case. There's a lot of different moving parts when it comes to Leon's character arc, but he's primarily defined by the striking lack of agency he has, despite being one of the main characters of the series. Ada perpetuates and exacerbates that helplessness, but it would still exist without her. In Leon's own words: "nothing ever changes" and THAT is what's at the center of his character arc.

But even beyond that, Leon is a character who needs to be needed; it's something that's shown over and over and over and over again. So, as much as people like the idea of a "partners" type ship (like Chris/Jill) and so they ship him with Claire -- or as much as people like the whole cat-and-mouse will-they-won't-they thing that Leon has going on with Ada -- neither Claire nor Ada need Leon, so it would never really work in the long-term.

And as much as Leon doesn't want Ashley to need him... he still needs her to. Because he doesn't realize that Ashley can both need him emotionally because that's what romance is you fucking stupid idiot, Leon -- and also be her own independent person living her life to the fullest at the same time.

And you know what? I like queen/knight ships, and that's exactly what Leon and Ashley are. So I just embrace it.

This isn't to discount other people's tastes or ship preferences. Ship whatever the hell yall want. But Leon/Ashley has always existed, will always exist, and it's just as valid as any other ship. Thankfully, the remake seems to have made it more "acceptable" -- which really just tells me that the only reason why we Leon/Ashley folks were blacklisted for so long is because the vast majority of the fandom was just bad at RE4 and took out their impotent gamer rage on Ashley, as though it was her fault they sucked at the game. (If you got annoyed at Ashley screaming for help in OG -- or in remake, even -- it's because you let her get grabbed. It's player error.)

Just sayin.

[cluescorner]

On Mephisto and Kaeya: This Lie is Love and this Lie is a Gift to the World

Kaeya's lie is love and his lie is a gift to the world. Because Kaeya himself is a lie that he performs everyday for the ones he loves, his own neverending stage he dances upon where he will always yearn for more but knows darker days are coming. The lie he is living right now serves both Mondstadt and Khaen'riah, the two nations to which he wishes to grant all their desires and be whatever they need him to be. Because Kaeya is long past caring what happens to him, he'll happily give his life if life could instead be given to the nations he loves.

But that can't happen. Because he is born of a cursed, depraved Abyss. His love and his duty to both Khaenri'ah and Mondstadt are inborn and endlessly deep. The days of relief will end, and nothing but sadness looms ahead. Kaeya's own wish is the only one that, no matter what, cannot be granted. So instead he must become what one of them needs and grant all their wishes. Either become the sleeping, static star that either shines brilliantly for Mondstadt or the unblinking, shooting star that aims against Khaenri'ah's enemies. And either way, this act will shatter that star named Kaeya.

[woolydemon]

Finally watched transformers one. I understand megaop ppl now. (Turns in my Megaop Apathetic/Hater badge in. Puts a Megaop Divorce Lover badge on)

[bababerries]

Maria Kaina being aroace and or a lesbian is so real to me because she has to live through the reality of her family shipping her with some random guy

[minty-playhouse]

Crazy how I started my career as a Moontwistle truther and slowly veered towards Daltwistle which was always my true calling but I didn't want to admit lol

[pocket-size-cthulhu]

Just saw Godzilla Minus One finally. What the hell dude. I know y'all have been saying it's good but I had no idea I personally would like it so much

[sing-me-under]

I’ve always hated how media needs to be “palatable.” I think it’s annoying because people and situations irl aren’t always “palatable” either. Hell, more often than not, real people don’t fit the narratives touted by media, and that creates unrealistic and often misleading expectations.