#for who!! by what standards!! what does that even mean!!!!!

[frodothefair]

Ok, yes, this is absolutely something that we need to fight because to co-opt the words of Martin Luther King Jr., a threat to free speech anywhere is a threat to free speech everywhere, and this law attempts to capture a larger swath of material than any law in recent memory.

However, a couple balancing thoughts, to counter everyone's anxiety.

First, I looked up the legislator who introduced this law, and he has a history of proposing extreme, far-right legislation that doesn't go anywhere. Even in Oklahoma, he seems to be one of the "crazies." Let's hope this helps.

Second, please take a look at this except from the proposed law - its latest iteration. The part that may affect literary works has to do with the law's definition of "obscene material."

It is an almost exact, word for word replication of the Miller test, which is something that already exists at the federal level, and has since the 1970's! The Miller test is a result of a case that was brought before the Supreme Court about this very issue vis-a-vis the right to free speech.

(source)

The one potentially reassuring part is that they've included the words "when taken as a whole." As a result, it is likely that romance novels will be exempt, because sex hardly constitutes the entirety of a typical novel. But then again, you never know. After all, they are the ones deciding what meets the standard of "offensive," "community standards," and "serious value."

Now, one thing I've always though is, a lot of the videos one might find in an adult video store, or online at p0rnhub and the like would be very unlikely to pass the Miller test. Arguably, a particularly poorly written oneshot of a sexual nature would also not pass the Miller test. But even so, those materials exist! The internet is inundated with them. How exactly does this happen? The answer, I think, is that obscenity laws are very selectively enforced.

That said, none of this means that laws like this are not an issue. It is not enough to simply hope that if a law passes, it will not be enforced because of the sheer scope of the materials it affects, or because it will not apply to your specific thing. And if you think it won't affect your specific thing you could easily be wrong -- back in the 80's, artists as impactful as Prince and Twisted Sister were accused of creating music that was "p0rnorgraphy without the pictures."

Oklahoma is attempting to pass a bill that would ban explicit romance novels. Authors, narrators, and sellers could all face fines of up to $100,000 and up to 10 years in jail for each instance.

If you live in OK, call your representative and tell them this bill should not be allowed to pass.

This is likely a test case. Republicans will try to pass it in OK and if it passes other states will likely try to pass similar laws.

In the meantime, get physical copies of books you like. Download those pdfs. Archive your AO3 stories and keep them on a physical hard drive. (Storing those files in the cloud could be problematic in the future as the company managing the cloud service can see what your files are)

[im-so-normal-iswear]

Hi, I want to request a headcanon with SSS, with a human!reader (separately, this is not poly), reader is a friend of the trinity, based on this, reader has feelings for the trinity, but because reader is a human, and they are meanwhile mobians, she thinks that she is not attracted to them, since she is a human, and mobians may have different standards of beauty, plus, she does not want to seem like a pervert in their eyes, and ruin their friendship, but somehow SSS finds out about the reader's feelings, and they begin dating. Thanks in advance if you write 💙❤️🤍

A/n: my head hurts, sorry for posting this so late

triple s x Human!Reader

Sonic:

You had been friends with Sonic for years. From the moment you met him, you knew he was special, not just because of his speed or heroics but because of the way he made everything feel more exciting. He was a whirlwind of energy, always dragging you along on adventures, cracking jokes, and treating you like you were just as capable as any of his other friends.

But deep down, there was something you harbored, something that gnawed at you whenever he flashed that confident aura your way. You had feelings for him.

It wasn't supposed to happen. He was a Mobian, and you were human. Surely, his kind had different standards of beauty. Maybe Mobians found humans ugly? Off putting? The last thing you wanted was for Sonic to see you as some weirdo who had inappropriate thoughts about one of his kind.

You convinced yourself it wasn't possible, that he'd never see you the way you saw him. So, you swallowed your feelings and stayed his loyal friend, even when your heart ached to be more.

But Sonic wasn't oblivious. He knows a thing or two about crushes (being around amy is already more than enough to teach him) he noticed the way your eyes lingered when he was in vicinity, how your laugh was just a bit too strained when he teased you, he saw the way your shoulders tensed when he got too close. Sonic wasn't the type to ignore his instincts, and his gut told him something was up.

One day, after an especially intense adventure, the two of you collapsed onto a grassy hill, panting and laughing. The sunset cast a golden glow over you both, and sonic, never one for subtlety, turned to you with a smirk.

"You know, you've been acting weird around me lately," he said, propping himself up on his elbow. "Something on your mind?"

Your stomach twisted. This was it. The moment you dreaded.

"I... it's nothing," you forced a chuckle, looking anywhere but at him. "Just tired, I guess."

Sonic wasn't buying it. "Come on, you can tell me anything, y'know? We're friends!"

And that was the problem, wasn't it?

The words came out before you could stop them. "That’s exactly why I can't tell you."

Sonic blinked, caught off guard. His ears twitched, processing your words before a slow grin spread across his face. "Wait a sec... do you like me?"

Your heart stopped. Your face burned. You shot up in panic. "No! I mean- yes! I meant- ugh!" You groaned, covering your face. "This is exactly what I didn't want! I didnt want to make things weird, because your movian and im... Human..."

Sonic was silent for a moment, but then he started laughing. Not cruelly, not mockingly, just his usual, carefree laugh. "Wow, and here I thought I was the dense one!"

You peeked between your fingers. "...Huh?"

He leaned back, hands behind his head. "You seriously thought I wouldn't be into you just because you're human?" He turned to you, eyes twinkling with amusement. "Newsflash, I don't care about that. You're you, and that's what matters."

Your heart stopped. "You mean... you?"

Sonic grinned. "Yeah, I like you, dummy."

Your world tilted. The worries, the doubts, the fear of being seen as some creepy human crushing on a Mobian, all of it evaporated in an instant. Before you could even process it, Sonic was already standing, holding out a hand.

"Now that that's outta the way, how 'bout a date? Maybe a race, loser buys chili dogs?"

You laughed, shaking your head as you took his hand. "I’m going to regret this, aren't I?"

Sonic just smirked. "Oh, definitely."

And just like that, your fears faded away.

Shadow:

Loving Shadow was a quiet kind of torture.

Shadow was... different. He was distant yet ever-present. You weren't even sure how you had become friends with him, Shadow didn't really have many friends after all. But somehow, after some time, you had earned a place in his life.

That was bad.

Because along the way, you had fallen for him.

And that was unacceptable.

Shadow wasn't the type to tolerate foolishness, and what was more foolish than a human harboring feelings for a Mobian? It didn't matter that your heart flipped every time he stood close, that your skin tingled when his gloved hand brushed against yours, or that his rare smirks made your knees weak. It didn't matter, because you were human, and he wasn't.

He could never see you that way.

But Shadow wasn't blind. He saw how you hesitated when he got too close, how your heart rate spiked when he addressed you. Shadow didn't believe in coincidences, and he wasn't one to ignore anomalies, especially not when they involved you.

One evening, after a particularly grueling mission, he cornered you.

"You're avoiding me."

You answered quick, "I'm not avoiding you."

"Lying doesn't suit you," he said, stepping closer. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing, Shadow. Drop it."

He didn't. Of course he didn't.

"Tell me the truth." His voice was less intense now.

You looked away. "I can't."

Silence stretched between you. Then, so quietly you almost didn't hear it.

"You think I wouldn't want you because you're human."

Your entire body froze. Your eyes snapped to him. "...What?"

His expression was unreadable, but his gaze burned into you. "You think I wouldn't reciprocate." He took another step forward. "You're wrong."

"I... I don't understand."

Shadows eyes softened, just a fraction. "I don't care about species. I care about strength, about loyalty, about who someone is at their core." He paused. "I care about you."

Your world tilted. The fear, the doubt, the self-imposed barriers, they all shattered in an instant.

Shadow reached out, hesitating for only a second before brushing a hand against your cheek. "You're important to me," he admitted, voice barely above a whisper. "If you feel the same... I won't run from it."

Tears pricked your eyes. "I thought I wasn’t enough."

"You are," he said firmly. "Always."

And just like that, the walls crumbled.

Silver:

You never meant to fall for Silver.

He had been your friend for so long, always bright eyed and hopeful, always treating you like you were the most important person in the world. He was gentle in ways others weren't, encouraging you when you doubted yourself, listening intently to your dreams, and never making you feel like an outsider despite being a human in a world full of Mobians.

Maybe that's why it hurt so much.

Because even though you cared for him, even though your heart raced when he smiled at you, even though you wanted so badly to take his hand in yours, you couldn't.

He was a Mobian. You were human.

Mobians probably had different beauty standards. What if you were ugly to him? What if you confessed and he was disgusted? Worse, what if he pitied you?

Silver was too kind to outright reject you in a cruel way. He'd probably give you an awkward smile, say something about how he "values you as a friend," and then things would never be the same. You couldn't risk it.

So, you buried your feelings.

You let him ramble about the future, let him take your hand when he was excited, let him hug you when he was happy, all the while pretending that it didn't tear you apart inside.

But Silver wasn't stupid. Naive? Yes. Oblivious? Sometimes. But when it came to you, he always paid close attention.

One day, after an exhausting mission, the two of you sat on the edge of a cliff, watching the sky shift from orange to deep purple. The air was cool, and Silver, without thinking,rested his head on you.

Your heart stopped.

"You've been weird lately," he murmured, eyes on the horizon.

You swallowed hard. "I don't know what you mean."

Silver lifted his head, looking up at you with soft curiosity. "You don't talk to me the same way anymore. You don't look me in the eyes as much. Did I do something wrong?"

Guilt twisted in your gut. "No! You didn't do anything wrong, I just..."

"Just what?" He tilted his head, eyes shining with concern.

You couldn't tell him. You couldn't risk losing this.

But then Silver reached out, fingers brushing against yours, hesitant but warm. "You can tell me anything, y'know?"

The sincerity in his voice broke you.

"I like you," you blurted, eyes squeezing shut. "I’ve liked you for so long, but I thought-" You inhaled sharply. "I thought I wasn't right for you. Im human. You're Mobian. What if I'm... what if I'm not attractive to you? What if I ruin everything?"

For a second, there was silence.

Then-

"You idiot."

Your eyes flew open, as you turned towards him. Silver's face was flushed, ears twitching, hands gripping yours tightly.

"You think I care about any of that?" he huffed, voice shaking. "Do you even know how much I like you?"

Your breath caught. "You-"

"Yes!" He groaned, running a hand down his face. "I thought you didn't see me that way! I thought I was being weird for liking a human, but I didn't care because it's you! I don't care about species or looks or any of that stuff! I just wanted to be with you!"

Tears pricked your eyes. "Silver-"

"You're the most amazing person I’ve ever met," he continued, voice cracking slightly. "You're kind, strong, and you always make me feel like I belong. Do you really think I'd let something as stupid as species get in the way of that?"

You let out a shaky laugh, overwhelmed. "I'm the idiot, huh?"

Silver smiled, soft and warm. "The biggest."

And then, hesitantly, he leaned forward, resting his forehead against yours. His hands squeezed yours, his tail flicking behind him.

"Can I...?" he whispered, breath warm against your lips.

You nodded.

And then, finally, Silver closed the distance

A/n: i dont know how to describe kissing, im sorry

[starry-eyer]

omg the ‘is arya pretty or not’ discourse is genuinely insane.

arya is young. she hasn’t even fully matured or grown into her features, and yet she is still called pretty by multiple outsiders.

"I'm sorry, my lady." Arya suddenly felt bad for her, and ashamed. "I'm sorry I tore the acorn dress too. It was pretty." "Yes, child. And so are you. Be brave." (ASOS, Arya IV)

if you trust the opinion of arya’s bullies over lady smallwood’s, that says more about your bias than anything else.

while i understand that people struggle to place unconventional beauty in their worldview, which often leads to the fandom being unkind to characters with the stark look—even if these characters are called ‘pretty’ or ‘beautiful’—but istg this fandom seems to be regressing into even more conservative takes on the topic, so i need to rant about it:

a recurring theme in arya’s story is ‘beauty,’ and it is not wrong to want to engage meaningfully with such an important theme that is part of arya’s wider struggle with identity, gender, and conformity. treating people who care about this topic as ‘odd’ is nonsensical and oftentimes more than a little hypocritical.

westeros has a rigid beauty standard, and young girls—especially noble girls—are expected to conform to it. arya, however, defies this expectation.

the narrative’s engagement with the theme of beauty in arya’s story is not about her actually being ugly and coming to terms with it—it’s about challenging rigid beauty norms and showing that she doesn’t have to fit a narrow standard to be seen as beautiful and worthy by others, because she already is and characters already acknowledge that she is both.

and honestly, this reminds me of the real world beauty discourse. can an unconventional nose be beautiful? what about thin lips? big lips? can people with monolids be considered pretty?

the point is that limiting beauty to specific traits is regressive, and the way people talk about arya shows just how deeply ingrained those biases are. a long face doesn’t make arya ugly, and neither does having darker coloring!

look at lyanna stark—she is called a wild beauty and not just a beauty because her features were clearly unconventional, but she was still seen as beautiful. the same likely applies to arya who is said to look like her. to repeat myself: arya’s features don’t fit the standard, but that doesn’t mean she’s ugly.

we don’t need another female character whose story explores beauty by emphasizing that she isn’t pretty and has features considered universally unattractive. brienne already fills that role. having arya go through the same journey would be redundant and directly contradicts what has already been established in the narrative.

ask yourself what’s more interesting:

• having another character whose features are ‘ugly’ and whose bullies were right?

• or a nuanced take on beauty, where a girl learns to love and accept her unconventional features and finds them beautiful like others already do, which reminds readers that beauty isn’t about conformity?

[melrosing]

sorry if this comes off as a shallow question but i wanted to know if you think arya is intended to be pretty. bc from my interpretation of the reading she’s absolutely not but she’s still one of my favourite characters in the series and i always get into arguments with other arya fans bc of this. i always read her story as sort of similar to brienne’s, who’s my absolute favourite character, and brienne fans will never (from my experience) accuse someone of hating her because they think she’s ugly. is this a phenomenon you also see? what’s your opinion?

not the prettycourse 😭 ok so I understand that some people might find more meaning in Arya’s story if she weren’t beautiful, bc I agree that ugliness is a powerful part, crucial even, of Brienne’s story. Brienne isn’t an ‘ugly duckling’, she never gets the catharsis of becoming a swan: she is truly society’s definition of ugly, and she is an incredible person too, worthy of respect and admiration. it’s rare that you get a story about an ugly woman that manages to be so much else besides, and doesn’t ultimately subvert that ugliness by reassuring readers that she was secretly attractive all along.

so I do understand the ambivalence towards Arya’s story as one that does just that; presents an ugly duckling narrative without subversion. there’s no powerful message in that. Arya doesn’t have to overcome anything to be attractive, she just is.

which is to say, Arya is canonically pretty. this is said several times over by multiple people, including Ned, Jon, Lady Smallwood, the Kindly Man, etc etc. it’s made very clear that Arya is the spit of Lyanna, who was considered a beauty. maybe not in such a conventional sense as Cersei, but still more or less conventionally so. it’s implicit that Arya’s beauty is merely hidden behind the messy hair and the dirty face etc etc like it’s whatever, she’s canonically pretty.

I think it’d be more interesting if Arya were just a normal looking kid lol, she doesn’t need Brienne’s story but we certainly have way more female POVs described as beauties than we do otherwise. Catelyn, Daenerys, Sansa, Arya, Asha, Cersei, Arianne, Melisandre - they’re literally all described as beauties in some sense. Brienne is the sole exception. Compare to the men, amongst whom only Jaime is described as a stunner lol, then Theon is considered fairly hot, and Jon…. might be?? and then that’s kind of it.

so I do think that it would be more interesting if a character who was once teased for her appearance didn’t have the author quickly assure us that actually she’s a beauty, because that’s not often how it works in life. some people can clean themselves up a bit and suddenly get compliments, but for the people who have really suffered appearance-based bullying, they don’t suddenly turn out to have been beautiful all along. they look how they look, and it’s up to society to celebrate them as they are, not for them to meet societal standards. this is what I think Brienne’s story does so effectively, but at the superlative end of the spectrum. unfortunately, there is no middle ground between Brienne and a host of beautiful female POVs and that’s on GRRM.

as for the Arya stans, to some extent I understand them getting annoyed at a broad insistence that Arya looks otherwise to how she is canonically described. there will be certain fans with an agenda in saying this. but given that you can’t really go a day without seeing some variation of this discourse in fandom, I’m going to say that this argument over the hotness of a ten year old girl has officially had way too much air time and can we please all just accept that yes she is canonically pretty and who the fuck cares

[blacknedsoul-blog]

Social climbers and the relationship with power: Ada's tragedy

You buddies don't dimension how much I raised my eyebrows when I saw this scene:

Ada climbing on top of a deer (a very typical symbolic representation of noble masculinity) who is trying to fiercely shake her off while she desperately clings to him with all her might...

And is THAT what makes her have a flashback of her relationship with Tamerline? Buddy, I'm putting on a hat to take it off.

Anyway, this means I have enough material to talk about Ada.

Social climbers and power

Ada is, apparently, a social climber: she longs for a social space to which she feels she is entitled, but to which she considers herself not to belong. This is something that can give us clues about her socio-economic situation in life: social climbers are extremely common in spaces such as, for example, the child of a first generation of professionals or of parents who have been able to provide better economic passages despite not belonging to social elites.

So, one thing to be clear about the way Ada relates to people in general is through this lens: the way she tries to move up socially (i.e. to power) is through her relationships with people, if she is close to a person who has power or belongs to an elite, then she is accessing these spaces. If that person does not have it, then she uses the relationship to reassert the position she wants to have.

Ada's personal tragedy is that this way of relating to the world puts her in an extremely vulnerable position with respect to her interpersonal relationships because, if they were not asymmetrical from the beginning, she makes them asymmetrical. It's as true that Ada gets into complicated relationships willingly as it is that she is a victim of people like Tamerlane. You know, the same logic of tragedies.

So let me do a little review of all the relationships Ada has had in the comic, how they go and what is the pattern they follow.

The triad of discord

There are three things that all of Ada's relationships have in common (except one, but we'll get to that): 1) She seeks to get some sort of validation from the other person. 2) She tends to push the person's boundaries, even if they were explicitly stated. 3) Even if the person has some degree of affection or sympathy for her, Ada will never be her priority over other things. Be these things other people, personal desires, etc, etc.

So let's review this a bit.

Let's start with the bastard of Thomas Tamerline. If anything their interaction during chapter 110 makes clear to us is that the guy is quite explicit with the fact that this relationship is purely sex for him (and he possibly enjoys the degree of control he exerts over her), Ada repeatedly tries to get some validation or affection from him and the guy barely complies with the bare minimum.

That he ends up murdering her indicates that, regardless of motive, he sees her as an inconvenience to his personal desires that must be gotten out of the way and, as the icing on the cake, puts the responsibility on her.

Now on to Prospero. His resemblance to Thomas is obvious enough to understand why Ada would be attracted to him and constantly seeks to touch him or be near him, no matter how much Prospero tells her that he is not interested in her. This is an attitude she has even before Annabel encourages her by saying that “Prospero is just being shy”.

Eventually it happens what it does: Prospero is fed up with her and doesn't hesitate to tell her so to her face. We can argue whether or not he's justified in being this cruel, but by the standards of this argument that's irrelevant: the important thing here is that Prospero doesn't care about Ada's feelings enough to be nicer.

Let's go now to Lenore. Ada is extremely mean to her until Lenore demonstrates that she was able to pass the maze test on her own. This is, in Ada's eyes, a demonstration of power and she, as she is wont to do, will not pass up the opportunity to get on the good side of a person who could be a potential rising star.

This is cut short by her same group, but they reconnect at the mansion trial. Since Lenore is not interested in relating on power terms (for better and for worse), here they have the opportunity to share on more equal terms on both their parts. Yes, Lenore is also doing this for personal reasons, but it doesn't take away from the merit.

Ada ends up overstepping boundaries and betraying Lenore at the end of the trial. And after she learns of her Ada's involvement in Duke's kidnapping, well, all she has to say when Pluto fills her in is says that shitty relationship is strangely appropriate.

Yes, Lenore may have come to have some degree of affection for her, but Ada is no more important than her friends and after getting into something like that, to hell with her.

With Annabel things start to get more interesting. These two have a cocktail of projection and resentment between them: Annabel is all Ada wants, so she treats her like a pretty accessory that gives her status (something that definitely oversteps Annabel's boundaries, even if she hasn't expressed them because it doesn't suit her) and, to Annabel, Ada is little more than an important piece she can take advantage of.

This take it with a grain of salt because there are some “buts.”

On Ada's side, that she seeks help from Annabel when Montresor is being a fucking psycho is an indicator that she felt, at least, protected by Annabel. But as is often the case with her, the plan Annabel is carrying out is no more important than Ada, she just lets it happen.

Twice. Under the circumstances, Annabel chooses to help Prospero over Ada.

However, Ada is not indifferent to Annabel: she is definitely furious with Montresor after what he did (In fact, this is the only scene so far where we have seen Annabel exercising any form of physical aggression)., she is uncomfortable when Prospero is mean to Ada, and there are a few small frames where she looks at her with sincere pity.

But again, that won't make Annabel prioritize her over her own plans.

Finally, we come to the most interesting relationship here.

Ada definitely cares about Morella, but that won't make constantly denigrating her a reaffirmation of the position she believes (or wants) to have: making comments like Morella's food “is poor.” Ada pecks at the boundaries with a stick, yet these things -for some reason- don't seem to bother Morella, who is able to see the good in her despite her bad attitudes. Until she stops doing it because not only participating in Duke's kidnapping, but also trying to play cool by making excuses is out of bounds even for Morella.

But an interesting thing happens here too, remember how Ada is never a priority for anyone? Well, for a moment in her relationship with Morella it looks like this is going to be different. Morella makes a feeble attempt to defend her when Montresor makes her bark and puts a shield in her face when Prospero attacks her in the mansion trial.

Unfortunately for Ada, Morella is someone too lacking in backbone and too concerned with following the rules to stand up for her when it really counts.

After Ada manifests and bursts into tears, she pushes Morella away from her with a shove.

Morella says she wants to help, but all it takes is for Poppet to remind her that she needs to get back the Merits she lost for Morella to finally give in.

The two people Ada considered her friends have left her: Annabel has chosen to help Prospero and Morella has left.

That's when Montresor enters.

And here begins the first break in Ada's toxic pattern of relationships...but not for the better.

Ada and Montresor

Oddly enough, these two are a good match...for horrible reasons. Montresor, like Ada, is a social climber who uses interpersonal relationships to get closer to power, only in a different way: where Ada sticks it to people who hold power, Montresor uses others to reassert himself in a position of power. So, Ada feeds Montresor's ego, while he can pretend to like her enough to keep Ada happy.

Because yes, Ada and Montresor's relationship fulfills most of the bad patterns in relationships that Ada usually has: she seeks validation in this relationship and Montresor definitely doesn't prioritize her (she constantly has to compete with Will for Montresor's attention, for example). But the important thing here is that, for once, Ada isn't the one constantly pecking at the other person's boundaries: it's Montresor who does it.

He pushes her around, teases her, calls her by other women's names, and it's probably only a matter of time before this starts to get worse. What's interesting is that Ada is able to get upset when this happens, unlike what we see in the flashback to her relationship with Thomas.

So there is something changing here.

Conclusion

I'm not sure where this is going to lead, but one thing is for sure: Montresor is a reflection of a toxic pattern of behavior that Ada has in her relationships and if she's starting to get uncomfortable with it, it's not just because the abyss is staring back at her, but because she's getting herself into a situation too similar to her relationship with Thomas to not know how it might end.

Add to that this:

This is the first time in the comic that Ada has had such a selfless gesture for another person. And that selfless gesture is something as big as putting herself in danger to save someone. As if all this wasn't enough, it's been to save Annabel: one of the two friends who turned their backs on her when she needed them.

I don't know if this will be the start of her character development or we should interpret it as deathflags placed over her head, but one thing is for sure: whatever is going to come out of here has quite a bit of potential.

[sukeruton-san]

A Coffee Heart pt 2

First Next

There's a coffee shop in Gotham that allowed him way more caffeine than Amity allowed. . .

He likes it here he can have 21 shots of expresso and all he got was an eye roll with some grumbling about a guy named Tim and twins, it's great!!

_______________________________________________

___________A table in the far corner______________

Do I have a twin. . .

No seriously does he have an unknown twin cause standing at the register is a guy that looks so much like him, but not exact enough to be a clone.

We both have pitch black hair the same thick and soft kind but his is infinitely more fluffy and wild like his Red Robin look, bright blue eyes with analytical intelligents and slightly unhinged but his are more icey in color and somehow more dead inside,both our body types are small soft and lean with muscle, small waste, and rounded in the hips, shoulders in mid range, but he has more curves with his shape he's also worriedly more skinny to an unhealthy degree even in my standards, face shapes similar but his are little more angle too it, hell even our voices are similar his being softer and a little deeper than mine

What made me really catch my attention was the fact that he's coffee intake is just as death inducing as mine maybe even more deadly. Hes eye bags are worse then mine from what I can see from here which is across the fucking room.

So I have reasonably concluded that he is my twin. I mean there was a popular rumor that Janite was pregnant with twins and gave one up to adoption as soon they came out with how big she got. Maybe it was true when I am look at someone who has to be related to me.

Though this begs the question where he has been the entire time, He may be visiting with how he has an Midwestern accent but he also holds himself like an Gotham native.

hnmmmmmm. . .

What's he doing?. . .

He's comING OVER HERE ABORT ABORT ABO-

_______________________________________________

"Um you mind if I sit here for a little all the tables are full"

Why he look familiar? Have I seen him before? . . .

Wait that's Timothy Drake-Wayne Co-CEO of Wayne Enterprises, I only know him because of the research binge for the Gothampedia and Tucker's fanboying.

He probably wants some privacy. . .

Probably to relax a little bit and be normal if he's just drinking some coffee in the back corner, alone. He looks nervous as hell too probably don't want any unwanted attention brought to himself, I sure as hell know the feeling

" No it's fine you can sit here "

Is it just me or does he look a little eager

" Cool I'm Danny by the way " sitting and taking a sip of his coffee he notices that Tim seems to be in some sort of dilemma with himself finally he asked

" So you happen to be around and about here often?" He drinks his own coffee

" No, just found this little shop" he cringed a little "I was draged here because my parents wanted to work on something here"

Tim Slightly invested slightly worried " What are they working on?"

" They uhh want to 'help make Gotham more prepared for dangers that may arise in the haunting world' their words not mine"tilting his head slightly to the left "to be fair I think the bats have all that covered, no need to interfere and cause more problems than what it's worth" grumbling under his breath " Don't want them to get on the bats radar cuz they are doing reckless shit and I have to clean it up"

_______________________________________________

Tim is slightly panicking now who are his twins adopted parents and why are they wanting to 'prepared for dangers that may arise in the haunting world'?

What does the haunting world mean?

What does he mean by causing more problems?

Are his parents escaped midwestern rouges or something?

Does he need to do a welfare check on him as Red Robin?

Also he was pretty sure he wasn't supposed to hear that last part but that's just making him more worried.

How reckless can they get?

How many times has he had to clean up their messes?

What does he do. . .

(Thank you for helping me with the idea for the next chapter @ghostlysuitnight )

[dekariosclan]

If I may, I was wondering if you had any thoughts on Gale with a (for lack of a better term) a caveman esque LI? Like, can't read, lived in the woods their whole life, only has full conversations with animals, otherwise their speech is pretty clumsy, doesnt even know what the words social and que mean individually, and Gale probably being their first friend let ALONE lover

Idk I think the dichotomy between Magic Goddess gf and literal Wild Man bf is funny to me, though I'm also just a sucker for opposites attract tbh

Anon, I am totally on your wavelength because I, too, love the ‘unexpected couples’ genre! Hence my love for Karlach (Barbarian) x Gale (Wizard). And I’m going to start my answer by discussing these two lovelies 💜

Now, granted, Karlach may be a barbarian but she’s definitely not in the extreme ‘wild man’ category that you are referencing in your ask! However, there are two quick things that I noticed from her romance with Gale that I think are relevant to your question:

The first is that Gale himself, upon meeting Karlach and seeing that she is a bit ‘rough around the edges,’ will immediately (and very cheerfully) declare that he can be “smooth enough for two! 😁”

In short, he is not phased or put off by someone from a different social class or with different social skills than he’s familiar with.

The second is that in my Karlach Origin run, Gale’s approval for Karlach shot up VERY QUICKLY in comparison to my original Tav run—and all because I kept using Barbarian skills to avoid fights.

Barbarian skills like: Shouting, intimidation, roaring, etc. Behavior that you wouldn’t think a proper gentleman wizard would tolerate, but with Gale? It was nonstop “Gale Approves”, “Gale Approves”, “Gale Approves”…

Basic ‘untamed’ skills like those kept us from having unnecessary fights—and Gale loved it, anon!

So, with those points addressed and Gale already off to a positive start with his hypothetical Wild Tav love interest, let’s get to the crux of the matter:

Is Wild Tav kind to Gale?

Does Wild Tav generally try to be a good person?

If they can answer ‘yes’ to both questions, then there’s no reason Gale wouldn’t start falling for them the second they pulled him out of the portal.

This is not because Gale is ‘desperate’, ‘a simp’ or has ‘low standards’ or any other nonsense that people who don’t understand his character love to regurgitate. (If Gale was any of those things, his requirements for Tav would be: ‘1. Are they breathing?’ and ‘2. Are they hot?’) It’s because having someone who is kind to him and good-hearted and isn’t just using him for his magical talents is all he’s ever wanted in a friend or lover.

Gale does not need to be with someone who is as intelligent as he is, as eloquent as he is, or as charming as he is. Gale has intelligence & eloquence & charm to spare. He can be ‘enough for two’ in all of those categories.

Why would he care if Tav was raised in the wild and prefers to speak with animals over people? Gale’s best friend is a Tressym! He would approve of that wholeheartedly!

What does it matter if Tav doesn’t have any social graces? Gale would have a blast adventuring with them in the wild and learning what survival skills they’ve honed. And he’d be eager to teach them magic to assist them on their hunts, too, if they were willing.

What difference would it make if Tav was quiet, clumsy with words, not one to talk? The real question would be: Are they willing to listen? Would they be open to Gale pouring his heart out to them (in the simplest terms he could muster)? Would they enjoy sitting with him in a meadow at night, hand in hand, gazing at the wild celestial beauty in the skies above?

Because Gale would love nothing more than to do just that.

All in all, Gale Dekarios + Wild Tav sounds like pretty damn good match to me, Anon 💜

[confessions-sm]

Something I noticed a lot is ships with Bob or other "criminal" Characters, is that there's double standards in their morals, if you wanna call it that.

I'm not talking about ships where Bob keeps his identity a secret OR they are partners in crime. I mean Characters FULLY aware of what he is doing.

The OC isn't even a killer, cult member or any kind of bad person themselves, they are labeled as a sweet and friendly person even. Yet they literally see no problem with their husband being a serial killer and cannibal. Even having kids with him, living a casual life, apparently unfazed by the fact he does these things? How does this supposed good person sleep at night knowing their husband guts people? It's not like he "just kills bad people", look at Streber. I fail to understand it.

But I believe it could be used in interesting conflict and angst, I am surprised to have never seen it before. For act, I'd love to see this explored.

For example, Lila finds out you date the guy who tried to kill her and Skid. Or Streber finds out you lived a casual life with someone like Bob. Especially if it's seen your character has a good relationship with other characters aside Bob, maybe even being their friend? And your character is, however, so delusional from being in love. They don't wanna hear it or can't grasp how terrible Bob actually is.

I love this actually?? What???/vpos

[kopykunoichi]

The Righteousness of Saiyans

(according to two Namekians)

Can we talk about this dialogue? So, after watching both the Super episodes and the Battle of Gods movie, I have to say that I much prefer the movie version. The pacing is better, the dialogue is better, and this little bit about how "righteousness" is defined is really interesting to me.

Each character seems to have different standards for what constitutes righteousness. Piccolo, apparently, has the highest standards. Whether this is a result of the influence that Kami has had on him, or just his perspective as a character who is fully aware that he was once evil, it's really telling about his character. It does fit with his personality type that he'd be overly critical of the others.

In the DBS episodes, he only points out that Vegeta is not righteous based on his past actions. That dialogue always struck me as out of character, since Piccolo himself has a history of being evil and the two of them have a parallel redemption arc. Piccolo fully understands that Vegeta is no longer an evil person, and he was the first to acknowledge that while he mourned him after his sacrifice in the Buu arc. But that doesn't mean that Piccolo thinks Vegeta is righteous either; he told the prince plainly that he was going to hell for his past deeds.

In the movie, Piccolo doesn't think that Vegeta, Trunks, or Goku meet the bar for righteousness. In their exchange, Bulma doesn't even contend that Vegeta is worthy of the term, but she does defend Trunks. Their exchange after that is both hilarious and also rather interesting, given who's talking.

Piccolo, looking a bit smug, argues that "Any boy that young who already has a serious girlfriend does not have a righteous heart."

Now, despite his small size, Trunks is 12 years old at this point. He might not have hit puberty thanks to his Saiyan genes, but by human standards, that's about the age when it's not unusual for boys to be thinking of girls. It seems that Piccolo is implying that Trunks is already having carnal thoughts about females, kicking him out of the righteous running. But this is coming from someone who is not supposed to even be capable of having carnal thoughts, so why would he judge the boy on that?

Bulma replies, "Oh shut up, you mean old prude. I bet you're kind of jealous of him."

Now this is very interesting to me. Bulma is pretty much the smartest person in the group and she is fully aware of his Namekian biology. Piccolo is a warrior type, so he lacks the ability to procreate on his own since he can't produce eggs. Bulma accusing him of being jealous that Trunks has a girlfriend at 12 years old suggests that she thinks he's not only capable of those feelings, but might also covet a companion for himself. Despite Bulma calling him an "old prude", Piccolo is only 25 (26 if you count the time in the HTC), so he's two decades younger than her. Piccolo's expression shifts from self-assured to a scowl, and he adjusts his posture to give her a sidelong glare, but he doesn't argue with her or point out how ridiculous that statement is. Could it be that she was not entirely off the mark? Piccolo does put thought into human romantic relationships. He doesn't always get the dynamics, but he tries to understand...which makes me wonder if he could be open to it for himself. Bulma seems to think so.

Chi-Chi, of all people, agrees with Bulma's comment, "Yeah, Piccolo." Then adds, "and are you suggesting that Goku's impure too?"

Piccolo winces at this while Goku facepalms, but Piccolo is saved from having to point out how his friend falls short thanks to Roshi harping on the fact that Goku is an idiot. Now, I am quite certain that Piccolo doesn't think Goku lacks pure-heartedness due to his lack of two braincells to rub together...but rather the fact that Goku is inherently self-centered. Goku isn't the worst parent, but he's definitely not the most attentive of husbands or fathers, either. Piccolo has spent years standing in the gap, mentoring and looking after Goku's kids and even helping out Chi-Chi when she needs it while Goku was dead, training, or simply not around to help. Piccolo loves Goku and he knows he's a good man, but he also has a pretty fair handle on his friend's faults, too. Goku's boys are the only Saiyans in the group of five that Piccolo actually considers pure-hearted.

Then Dende comes in to smooth everything over. It seems the young guardian has less strict standards than his Namekian friend as to what constitutes righteousness. He points out that righteousness doesn't mean perfection. All of them have risked their lives to save earth. He even adds that Vegeta may have been evil years ago, but he's changed since then. Seeing as how Vegeta killed an entire village of his brothers and Dende once refused to heal him because of it, this shows remarkable forgiveness on Dende's part.

It seems that, to Dende, as long as your *current* actions show that you're willing to risk your life for others, that's enough for him. He doesn't weigh the balance of good deeds vs. bad deeds. It's about where your heart is right now, and what you did in your past - no matter how bad - doesn't negate what your current choices are. To him, redemption means your past sins are forgiven and forgotten.

Everyone jumps on board with cheering for Vegeta's reformation, except Piccolo. Now, that may have also come from a place a jealousy. After all, Piccolo reformed himself first and has come a LOT farther than Vegeta in terms of being gentle, good-hearted, and selfless toward others. Where are his cheerleaders?

But I think that Piccolo's judgment of others is harsher because he has a harder time forgiving and forgetting than Dende does. I believe his attitude isn't just because he's critical of others, but also because there are parts of himself that he can't entirely let go of. Piccolo has put in more work than any other character to reform himself. His personality has remained the same, but he has a lot of outside influence with Nail and Kami. But the old King's memories are in there too, and I think he's very aware of the man he was. He's squared with it, but he'll never forget.

He constantly strives to be the opposite of what he was. He loves and protects his found family, he lays his life down for them repeatedly, and he invests the bulk of his time training, mentoring, babysitting, and even eating with them. He sees his own shortcomings, and the shortcomings of those around him, but he continually tries to do better. Even with all that effort, I'm not convinced he even considers himself worthy of the term righteous.

[ladykatibeth]

Not to pull out your tags, but I think this is an interesting thing to grapple with! There’s two major things from this perspective I often see and differ on is it’s an either/or perspective and a “only Ellen is feeling the effects of the “normal” social roles in the marriage” perspective.

Firstly I think that Thomas granted her something that Orlok couldn’t—open love and a sense of normalcy. Thomas being in the picture actively helped Ellen’s symptoms (that she expressed were painful and uncomfortable) lessen, and it’s notable that when he leaves these symptoms start to return. She is actively benefited by his presence (mainly as her emotional support). This does not mean she wasn’t also fulfilled by Orlok as well (in a you understand me/I understand you) way.

People need multiple things, and rarely can they get all their needs filled by a single person. It’s an unhealthy expectation. That doesn’t mean a relationship can’t work out that doesn’t include every need being fulfilled, just that you need many people in your life to meet needs. Anna supports Ellen when Thomas is having nightmares, for example. Ellen needs the open love Thomas provides, and she needs someone who can relate to her darkness and that’s okay. She can’t get both from a single person.

In terms of Thomas I don’t think he’s reacting ordinarily to what’s going on. Definitely not for his society, but also not generally. Most victorian men wouldn’t put their all into supporting their wives in their mental illness, or even marry someone with that sort of history attached to begin with.

They also mostly wouldn’t support their wife after she summoned a monster and then hold her through being possessed. I’m thinking most modern day spouses wouldn’t either ngl that man is devoted.

However I also think that Thomas’s hyper concern for filling his gender role, combined with the fact that the vampiric symbol of victorian repression fed on him in a scene mirroring the repression symbols feeding of Ellen, implies that Thomas isn’t really easily living up to these standards either (the why is up to interpretation, personally I think he’s bi).

The single provider social dynamic puts stress on him as well, especially as the expectation of men to not be weak keeps him from being able to connect with Ellen over their shared vampire trauma (something that would benefit them both.)

I also think that we need to be considering it in terms of a partnership if we want to have an anti-sexist reading. Thomas couldn’t save Ellen because she didn’t need saving. The emotional support Thomas provides is more important than heroics, and he succeeds at the former way more than the later.

They’re cutting the honeymoon short, meaning it’s likely they weren’t in a committed relationship as we would describe it (they would have been restricted to chaperoned dates and letters before being wed) until at most a couple months before this, so they didn’t really have an opportunity to work out any issues (an inevitable part of the relationship process, issues will naturally come up more once their lives conjoin).

Not very soon after they move in together, Thomas experiences trauma fairly similar to hers and gets some similar symptoms (nightmares) and some separate symptoms (she has seizures/sleepwalks/gets possessed, while he is physically messed up from the draining/jumping off a building/sprint to get home) putting them on equal footing in terms of needing support.

He didn’t “let her down” any more than she did him. She chose to keep him in the dark to sacrifice herself. She didn’t tell him about the evil vampire ex (fair given their society but still) he didn’t listen to her about the bad vibes of the business trip. Choices made all around.

Neither of them really talk about it though. By the end it isn’t just a woman failing to receive support through her trauma, it’s two traumatized people handling it in very different ways and making choices based in that. We don’t know if it would have worked out, because they never got the chance or time to even really try, and yet they still gave it their all anyway.

It’s kind of crazy to me that Thomas gets flak for trying to get to work on time, or taking a job assignment, despite his wife being worried about it. It’s not really greedy for a lower middle class man with debt and a wife to support (because societal expectations mean she can’t work) to care about not losing his job and it’s not greedy for him to want a slightly better paying job.

It’s also not a reflection of lack of intimacy/love/trust between Thomas and Ellen that he makes financial stability a priority.

Also that the flowers scene is a reflection of Thomas not understanding Ellen, because she says she’s upset about the flowers dying. She’s just had a dream that messed her up that had lilacs in it. It’s not about him getting her flowers it’s about him getting her lilacs after she just had a nightmare heavily featuring them combined with the stress over his upcoming trip. She’s upset about what the flowers represent (a bad omen and a result of him apologizing for leaving for the trip) not him getting her flowers.

[squid-ichorous]

i have to take solace in the fact that fashion is fucked up for everyone because the idea of buying a garment online w/o exact measurements and a size chart is fr crazy-making and the idea that people just do that is even more so

[bobbydagen24]

yeah Something that really does ick me when it comes to other villains redemptions and creeks lack of one is the fact that every other villain in the franchise was given a chance to stop hell multiple chances really.

every other villain had multiple chances during their movies where they could have simply stopped with their evil actions and lived happily ever after and in some cases they did

Griste Jr and Barb and Crimp all fall into this category and other villains who didn't, like Velvet and Chef still had the chance to stop their actions at certain points.

yet when it comes to Creek the only instances where he could have backed out of his deal are ones where he would be killed afterwards for backing out of the deal.

meaning there's this big unfair double standard by the writers and by some fans who claim other villains deserved their happy endings while Creek didn't because he chose not to redeem himself.

even tho the only way Creek could have redeemed himself would require certain self sacrifice wheras with all the other villains this wasn't the case.

I have tried to see things from the other perspective like at a time I did try to consider that maybe technically Creek could have backed out of the deal during his betrayal scene

and been placed back in the cage with everyone else which would mean that he would have later been rescued along with everyone else by Bridget,

and thus he would have had the same oppotunity of escape and rescue that everyone else did if he had just stuck by his frends

but tbh the more I thought about it the more I thought that this was just a bit too much of a stretch as I feel that the chances of Creek not being instantly killed by Chef if he backed out of the deal are close to zero.

as Chef most likely would have killed him straight away either out of pure anger or simply to either try and scare him into following through on the deal or scare one of the other Trolls into doing what she wanted.

but it really is hard to imagine Chef simply sticking him in the cage with the others and waiting until later on for them all to be eaten.

so I honestly don't see when Creek could have redeemed himself without it requiring his own death?

which like I said I find very frustrating given he's the only antagonist in the franchise who isn't presented with a chance to stop doing evil and still get to live afterwards.

in the first movie even Chef the actual mass murderer who only wanted to kill all the Trolls so she could have power over Bergen town is technically given the chance to stop her actions with no real negative consequence.

as she simply could have accpted the new Bergen way during "" can't stop the feeling "" but instead chose to try and kill Branch and Poppy again out of spite thus turning down her chance of Redemption

but Creek the character who only did wrong out of desperation with no real good options dosn't get the same chance for Redemption?

Its just very unfair writing and mixed messages when it comes to the franchise's themes tbh.

Remembering this one addition i got to my analysis post recently that got me thinking... yeah it IS pretty strange that Creek is one of the only villains who's main reason for being hated isn't even rooted in his actions but his personality (the only other one i can think of where this is the case is maybe Crimp and that's it), villains who have done just as bad or even worse things than him are loved for their funny and loveable moments while he's thrown aside to rot in the sidelines

Plus with the movie's pattern of redeeming those villains with loveable personalities while refusing to give Creek a chance to redeem himself, even in the cartoons where he's still written as at best a annoying side character, it does leave a weird implication where only characters that are likeable are deserving of a second chance, like i said in my analysis: he shouldn't NEED to be perfect to deserve a nicer fate

There's also this weird misconception that comes with him being unlikeable where people will straight up refuse to see his actions from his perspective or even imply that he was given chances to escape or change his mind when there is no indication of that happening in the movie, like he isn't allowed to be a victim just because he's annoying, to ignore what he went through just because you don't like him as a character leaves a bad taste in my mouth

Don't get me wrong, he's annoying and bad and that's the point of his character... but WHY is that the point ? How does that add to his character ? Yes he's meant to be a wake-up call for Poppy about positivity not always being the answer but that's not even done correctly, why is he put into terrible situations out of his control if we're not suppose to feel sorry for him ? Why does his personality do a complete 180 once he betrays Pop Village ?? Is truly all of that JUST so Dreamworks can have an excuse to not give him a redemption ? His writting is so all over the place and it frustrates me to no end

[crownedwille]

I've come to the conclusion that loving young royals doesn't mean I can't be critical about it, maybe especially bc I love the show so much I have such strong feelings about it, good and bad and I can love parts of canon and agree with it and appreciate it but I don't have to love it all. I have accepted that it's okay if I don't accept the ending and I don't have to force myself to support it. It's okay to not agree with all of canon and it's okay to not side with all of the creators' intentions/views. Loving a show doesn't mean you have to take everything the writers say on face value and that's the only version that is allowed to exist. Canon isn't everything and fandom is about curating your own experience that makes you happy and not miserable. You don't have to dismiss canon in every aspect and ignore it entirely, that's certainly not what I want but there is a fine line between being canon respectful, allowing some parts to exist and sometimes, yes, you just have to say "fuck canon" and move on for your own sanity and wellbeing

[sskk-manifesto]

Ep 5!!!

[jackoshadows]

Sansa is a fucking weirdo anyway for mocking a little girl even if she was ugly. And honestly, in most other fandoms bullying would be rightly criticized but in some fandoms bullies are 'good', bullying is normal and older sisters bully their younger siblings all the time!

I do think we have to be very careful when throwing around certain words in this entire discussion surrounding Arya.

Being non-conforming is normal. Being ugly is normal. Our imperfections are normal. People have crooked teeth or a long face and all that is normal. Getting teeth fixed to look perfect is what is abnormal. Getting plastic surgery, botox, fillers etc is what is abnormal.

All this 'beautiful' and 'ugly' are just subjective labels anyways applied to what we find attractive in another person.

We get examples of this in the books!

At a lord's court the girl would never have been considered anything but common, he knew. She had a round peasant face, a pug nose, and slightly crooked teeth, and her eyes were too far apart. Jon had noticed all that the first time he'd seen her, when his dirk had been at her throat. Lately, though, he was noticing some other things. When she grinned, the crooked teeth didn't seem to matter. And maybe her eyes were too far apart, but they were a pretty blue-grey color, and lively as any eyes he knew.

Sansa would have bullied Ygritte as ugly and Jon points out that someone who looked like Ygritte would be treated as 'common' at a Lord's court.

Sansa could never understand how two sisters, born only two years apart, could be so different. It would have been easier if Arya had been a bastard, like their half brother Jon. She even looked like Jon, with the long face and brown hair of the Starks, and nothing of their lady mother in her face or her coloring. And Jon's mother had been common, or so people whispered.

In Westeros - as in the real world - there's a lot of classism mixed with beauty standards.

What is wrong with Ygritte? She is perfectly fine! I think as described she is pretty. For Jon her smile is beautiful, her eyes lively. Who cares what the mean girls like Sansa think. Especially when we see the result of this mockery on characters like Arya, Brienne and Tyrion.

Calling someone ugly says more about Sansa then it does about Arya. It tells me nothing about Arya. I don't learn anything about Arya from what a bully mocks her for. But I do learn what type of character Sansa is for doing that.

That's what's funny about all this. There is no analysis on Sansa's vanity, on how Sansa giving importance to perfection in looks and beauty and how that defines her character arc in AGoT leads to her betraying her own family for love of Joffrey.

Where she sees evil right in front of her and ignores it because 'Joffrey was too beautiful to hate'. When Tyriongirl talks about equating beauty to good looks her favorite character Sansa is right there! Where is all this analysis for Sansa from Tyriongirl?

Instead Sansa stans are more bothered that Arya fans actually consider the book canon that Arya is pretty.

I think that's the worst part of Sansa stans making posts of how Arya has to be 'ugly' and trying to equate it to good and evil and internalized misogyny and the patriarchy and all that. They should look in the mirror because this pretty much exactly what they do.

Given how much they stan for Sansa and justify mean spirited bullying in the name of 'It's just sisters being sisters!' and 'I am a feminist and love all female characters THE SAME!' and 'Stark Sisters foreva!' they don't care one bit about real people who have been mocked and bullied for their appearance and have low self-esteem issues because of all this. They don't care one bit about ugly representation. Honestly that whole post which set this thing off is mind boggling in it's lack of self awareness, hypocrisy and irony.

For me personally the 'Ugly' discourse around Arya revolves mainly around two factors:

The entrenched fandom racism where Arya is drawn a certain way - often to contrast with Sansa - because she is perceived to be not as good looking as Sansa and in effect using ethnicity to highlight attractiveness despite both characters being written as white Caucasians.

Arya is canonically called pretty by characters in the books.

And this is what I always call out in any discourse around this topic.

Sansa stans insist that Arya is ugly because they think that if Arya truly is disgusting-looking, then Sansa’s bullying was justified. If Arya is just a normal and/or pretty girl (like she is in canon), then it’s exposes that Sansa was a fucking weirdo for mocking her for years. They are living their Regina George fantasy through this character

[butchriptide]

genuinely really frustrating that people will like. choose to accept the age mistake made in assassin as canon for deathbringer when it actively contradicts older material. like. sorry idk if this is me being unfair here but genuinely like. why would you think it's intentional when deathbringer is described in main series as maybe a year or two older than glory at most, and can canonically not be any older than 9 due to stated timeline facts in the main series.

like. I get not liking glorybringer, i really do. no ship is for everyone. hell, even if assassin specifically makes you feel weird about it, so be it, to each their own. i can undertsnad that too. and yes, the glorybringer fans who think the age gap are canon are also in the wrong. they're being really gross, i don't think it's necessary to disclaim that, that feels given, but like... that only comes to my point still of like, i really don't understand taking a spin-off as canon over the main series. i don't really understand prioritizing later content as canon as opposed to the main work over spin-off as canon. why should a spin-off take jurisdiction just cuz it's newer? i feel like the older the canon is, the more likely it is the newer stuff will make mistakes. to me, in the case of a contradiction, the main series should be taken to? a spin-off is meant to supplement the main series, so shouldn't it only supplement canon that doesn't contradict?

like also, i get being frustrated it isn't fixed, but also. like. i obviously have not worked with a publisher before, but if I was writing for fucking scholastic books, no matter how well fucking beloved my series was, I don't know if I could risk being like "hey. can you pull my books from shelves and e-stores for me so that I can edit one line?" Like. I really don't think there's any reality in which I can make a corporation agree to that kind of thing, no matter what that one line may fuck up about my main story. like it's not even the only mistake she makes in the winglets. she calls deathbringer a rainwing in the flip book, but we're not hailing that as canon in retrospect, right? I don't know. I think it's unfair to presume that she's choosing not to fix it as opposed to it being an improbable to downright impossible thing to ask of a publisher. like yes tui is an incredibly successful author but i really don't know if we can presume she has that much actual sway on her publisher.

it's just really exhausting as a deathbringer enjoyer to feel like if I want to talk about and enjoy his character, and yes, that includes context given in the assassin winglet once you ignore the timeline error, i feel like I constantlyyy have to be saying "yes I think the timeline error is an error. no i don't think deathbringer is 13." like. every time i bring him up. i'm a riptide fan I'm used to it but also it's sooooo tiring to go into a character tag for a guy i like and be swamped with hatred for him and it's so much worse for deathbringer than riptide because in the deathbringer tag I have to deal with being actively accused of excusing gross shit for liking him instead of people just saying that my blorbo is boring.