#his romance is just fine people

[writerfromshikahr]

-------------------------------------------------------------------

Something I wrote earlier so I didn't need to shout into the unholy void of Reddit. I needed to say it and then move on.

-------------------------------------------------------------------

[thelaurenshippen]

ah yes, the sweet sting of rejection from a billion dollar corporation who believes that "action stories don't appeal to romance audiences", welcome back my old familiar friend

[sonknuxadow]

this is probably an unpopular opinion with the amount of "everyone is married with kids" type future aus people make for sonic characters but i cannot see sonic getting married or having a kid ever. if he did somehow end up with a kid hed be the worlds first transmasc absent father or however the joke goes

[rin-hanarin]

Some salt about Lucanis again, don't mind me, apparently it's my second favorite topic now, right after how much I liked what was there.

Honestly explaining Lucanis's lackluster romance with demisexuality rather than plain and honest underdevelopment makes it even worse, because when does he even develop any sort of connection with Rook on screen if you happen to want to switch the party around sometimes, don't constantly take him with you everywhere and don't use the power of ✨ imagination ✨ to fill the gaps? During one and only coffee scene? Does being demi entail ignoring the person expressing even platonic interest in you, then flirting with someone else in hopes they go away? Do you just go from 0 to 100 when it suddenly clicks that you like someone the way Lucanis seemingly does in his romance, because his relationship with Rook or lack thereof is never mentioned? Does "developing an emotional connection" translates to "You do favours for the person and solve their problems until they cave in and open up to you"? What trauma are we talking about if it's addressed in one (1) quest with a Fade sequence like 30 to 40 hours into the game without being talked about previously?

Just say "We fucked it up and it doesn't have enough content", man.

[abyssal-ilk]

saw your tags on the romance poll dudes edition, im curious how the iron bull romance in your brain differs from the in game one if you wouldnt mind sharing!

hey, thank you so much for the ask!! i'm happy to talk about it, though im not sure i'm going to be the best in wording it, lol

my biggest gripe with the iron bull romance that we have in canon is that i just think its... not pulled off very well. it feels clunky, and a fair bit of the dialogue is more cringe-worthy or red-flagy than it is romantic or hot. i just don't think there were enough moments where the inquisitor and bull sit down and talk about their dynamic for it to be a healthy one to me. they kind of just jump into it with a few vague warnings from bull and then another conversation after they hook-up for the first time. the inquisitor is also locked in as being submissive to bull– he canonically won't switch with the inquisitor and let them take charge because, "it's not what they need.". it feels... idk, icky? for that choice to be made for the inquisitor.

and then, of course, there is the oversexualization/fetishization of the qunari and the racial stereotypes we see attached to them throughout the series. i think making iron bull, the first romancable qunari in the series, have such a sex-focused romance was a mistake. just as i think having taash's romance in datv be the "spicest" is a mistake. no matter how it is written, i think was a mistake. just because iron bull is aware of the stereotypes doesn't mean the fact that he plays into them is written well, i guess is what i'm trying to say. we see this even when dorian and bull get together and their banter surrounding their relationship.

that all being said! the romance In My Brain has more time dedicated to setting up the terms of their dynamic and does not lock the inquisitor in as being submissive. i think there should be some sort of choice between it being strictly sex between bull and the inquisitor, or if it eventually shifts into something else. or even if they start off hooking up and it shifts to not having sex at all but still being in some form of relationship. i know the game is limited for what it can do for various reasons, but i'd like for there to be more choices! and more soft moments. bull actually has a lot of them, but i would like More. i would also like for there to be a proper conversation between the inquisitor and bull about why, exactly, he feels the need to consistently play up the overly sexual/aggressive/clueless persona he presents. or some sort of option to return the care he gives the inquisitor beyond just giving him the dragon necklace. idk! im yapping and im not sure how well im explaining it lol, i'm a better writer than i am an explainer. i just wish it was different

[fountainpenguin]

Things that happened in Martyn & Cleo Double Life canon:

Cleo hoping to find her soulmate and start a life with them

Cleo dumping Martyn without giving him a chance to explain his side of the story, but hearing him out when he comes to her later

Martyn watching Cleo through his spyglass and telling the audience she seems safe and happy even though he thinks it's weird she's outside at night

Martyn, after he's had time to consider how he wants to play this, spinning a story about trying to be a provider for her and Cleo explaining that she wanted him, not things

Cleo not being remotely impressed by the "I was providing" sob story, lol

Martyn calling Cleo selfish for choosing to be with Scott because she's supposed to be HIS soulmate and he wants a partner

Cleo willing to forgive Martyn if he meets them halfway

Martyn refusing to meet them halfway because he doesn't think he did anything wrong

Martyn screaming about how Cleo's building bridges with Scott but "When will she think about mending our bridges???"

Martyn explaining to Cleo that he doesn't understand why his Session 1 actions bothered them

Martyn centering his character arc and roleplay on trying to win Cleo back without actually apologizing

Cleo giving Martyn a flower and stating that if he loses it, she'll be real cross with him

Cleo chasing Martyn out of her yard because he tried to put an HOA sign on her base and she wanted to make it clear that she wasn't associated with them and their hate for his base (even though she does think his heart base is strange)

Martyn attacking Cleo after she said attacking is a form of affection to her

Cleo setting boundaries with Martyn and explaining what he can do to get her back

Cleo sighing when Scar set her up on a date with Martyn, but taking the chance to talk to him instead of walking out

Cleo genuinely wanting Martyn in her alliance

Martyn and Cleo giggling constantly when they chat

Scar asking if Martyn wanted him to play a romantic music disc for him and Cleo (and Martyn getting excited and saying yes)

Martyn offering to take Cleo's armor and weapons to the deep dark so he can enchant them and bring them back while she stays safe

Cleo gifting Martyn diamonds, expecting nothing in return but not wanting him to die from lack of a good sword

Martyn and Cleo forming a secret alliance that allows Cleo to live with Scott while being on good terms with Martyn

Martyn expressing frustration that Cleo wants to keep this alliance secret because he wants them to be public allies; Cleo softly shushes him when people approach and might overhear

Martyn telling Cleo that she's putting out a lot of mixed signals because she keeps reeling him in and then pushing him away, claiming he is very confused about where he stands with her

Martyn teasing Cleo by punching her off a cliff and accidentally killing her and feeling so bad about it that he apologizes profusely despite roleplaying as someone who refused to apologize for Session 1

Martyn and Cleo immediately threatening Bdubs together when he said hi to them while they were hanging out, sdkfj

Martyn genuinely apologizing to Pearl for dumping her after Session 1

Martyn hiding under Cleo's bed while she defends him from an enderman attack

Cleo offering to let Martyn move into her house after Etho and Joel grief his base; Martyn saying he might take her up on that

Cleo and Martyn agreeing to move out and base together at Box

Cleo trusting Martyn with the location and resources of her red life base

Martyn rushing to Cleo's aid in the deep dark and trying to turn everyone against him instead

Cleo responding to Martyn's panicked shouts for her to eat by opening her inventory to get food (and drowning because she forgot she was in water)

Cleo hanging back and letting Martyn attack Scott while she does nothing to stop him from doing so, implying as much as she likes Scott, she won't kill Martyn (and herself) for him (and/or she trusted Scott to handle himself even though he ran away while Martyn was shooting at him)

Things that did not happen:

Cleo unwilling to forgive Martyn or consider being his friend and partner

Martyn and Cleo hating each other

Thank you for coming to my TED Talk

[party-lemon]

gerard talked about collecting knives and killing people and some people on instagram are freaking out about it, but most of us are just like, "oh yeah that's normal, nothing crazy happened" and i find that both very humorous and very telling of how much mcr fans are just conditioned to the darkest, most depressing thoughts

[vaguely-concerned]

I've been trying to figure out a dynamic between neve and rye that I find more compelling, because right now there's not much of anything there for me to sink my little teeth into. but I think I've landed on something delicious with the idea that especially after minrathous gets fucked, rye looks at neve and sees myrna -- someone he feels he keeps letting down horribly no matter how hard he tries not to and can't quite achieve the approval of/connection with that he wishes so it's better to just pull away completely and disengage rather than stay in that unshifting shame. neve is (very understandably) measured and distant with him after what happened, and he's flashing back to his student days of myrna gazing at the perpetually hungover heartbroken heap of a person of him on the other side of her desk every time he missed the deadline of a paper or project like '...can we at least both agree that this is. a bit disappointing. especially considering your potential.' (and him all smudged black eyeshadow and numb ruefulness being like 'sure that's a very kind way to put it myrna thank you'.)

aside from the 'if I let him get too deeply into this he'll go the way of brom and it'll be all my fault (again)' element, neve thinks rye is dismissing her and her city/being a bit callous in the same way he was after varric's death (listen. how fucking wild must rook's reaction to losing a beloved mentor seem to the rest of the crew who aren't seeing the blood magic paper doll ghost varric the whole time, especially those who got to see them interact. you WOULD think 'there's something wrong with this guy. putting the job first is one thing just not seeming to react at all is another this is fucking freaky', wouldn't you, especially after seeing the warmth in that dynamic in action beforehand.) perfect storm of two people who grit their teeth and turn inwards in pain deciding that not talking about it is their best bet (NEWSFLASH: IT ISN'T) lmao

(rye spent his last year of watcher training on a mostly joyless bender and then got it together enough to finish the eternal orb project last moment in a fevered near-sleepless week instead of the half a year that was intended. emmrich is both astounded and distressed to hear this. "a week? but -- but that is an astounding accomplishment rook!! and also why in the maker's good light would you ever do that to yourself?" ("well you see there was no one to stop me from doing it like that but me. and under those conditions these things tend to happen".) rye was working through/looking up stuff around transitioning and doing every kind of OTHER high level watcher research through that whole time, but ultimately he's an excellent watcher and a terrible student, at least under traditional methods. adhd from here to the fucking moon. touched by something akin to divine inspiration in moments of high tension that pulls all the threads into one coherent unbreakable cord, a bit of a frayed mess in most other settings. in our world he'd be dropping out of a masters program at the very last hurdle in this moment maker bless and protect him)

[bumblebree1903]

Edit: Please checkout my reblog, I didn’t articulate myself very well in this and come across as a massive dick. Sorry about that, seriously. I am legitimately curious as to the reasons behind the positive Ascended Astarion interpretations/what in the text makes people feel that way.

Okay I read something about this over the weekend and it’s been bothering me since because I feel like people are missing the point.

People were upset it felt like BG3 was forcing you into the role of a victim if you ascended Astarion during your romance. They were insistent they and their character HAPPILY and WILLINGLY ascended him and would be more than happy with him and his behaviour after. Which, don’t get me wrong, can be true.

You can very happily ascend Astarion and give him the power he wanted and support him throughout. It doesn’t stop the fact he’s going to abuse your character and that your character is going to become a victim. Because that’s the point. That’s what the whole deal with the characters are, finding freedom from unhealthy relationships of some kind. Astarion’s specifically touches on the cycle of abuse. Cazador abused Astarion and the other vampire spawn, and maybe Astarion isn’t making you eat rats and locking you in coffins, but he’s still abusing you. He will always have power over you if he ascends and he will never treat you as or respect you as an equal. He will isolate you and ignore your wishes and treat you as an object, because ascending him continues that cycle. He doesn’t respect you if you ascend him.

I’m not faulting anyone that ascends him, it’s not something I would do but that doesn’t mean you’ve done a bad or are “playing wrong.” There’s no wrong way to play the game, especially if they give you the option. I am saying, however, that regardless of how happily someone ascends Astarion and how much they support it they’re still going to become a victim. Even if it’s not right away, it will happen because ascending Astarion continues the cycle of abuse, just in a different form.

[cerealmonster15]

i was lookin at a few vids about the bg3 dream visitor romance [spoilers if anyone's still early game i guess lol] and like i was so shocked people were, like, so upset and betrayed when they discovered the dream visitor's true form fksdjgkdljf like okay i forgot not every corner of the internet has monsterfuckers and also i guess normies are playing this game. and ALSO it reminded me that the % of players that even have the steam achievement of sleeping w/the emperor at all is so low. 12.7%. why is everyone a coward. i'm not even a self proclaimed monsterfucker. i dont like sex and im mildly phobic of tentacles. WHY IS EVERYONE A COWARD!!!!!

tho to be fair probably a lot of ppl are also romancing a companion and wanna be faithful - ive only gotten to that scene in multiplayer where none of us were in companion romances so it was guilt free go for it see what happens, in the discord call all together LOL..... then we had a lover's spat after the raphael fight 😑

[m4ndysk4nkovich]

i really want people to realize that i don’t hate lip or fiona because i think people may be starting to think that. lip’s my third favorite gallagher, i don’t like his actions and i personally believe he’s a misogynist but he is also one of the best written characters on the show

[selfinflictedgunshotwound]

i'm kind of amazed how most of the stardew marriage candidates just want you to be their manic pixie dream whatever by agreeing with everything they like and plying them with compliments or praise or whatever (which is fine but a bit. Much) but for shane his romance is just you being there for him while he figures his own shit out... dunno why i never wanted to romance him before he's so good

[gothteddiesdotcom]

I think that part of what like. kills me about the whole media literacy and critical thinking aspect of enjoying media these days is that people refuse to like. contextualize that

A. Bad media can still hold significant meaning to people

B. Media made for a demographic you aren’t apart of is not inherently bad media

C. Media made for and consumed by the opposite demographic is not inherently shallow or flawed nor is it above criticism for its media tropes either.

[limielle]

nothing makes me more mad than when david gaider tweets lmfaoooo

[aroaessidhe]

2024 reads / storygraph

The Liar’s Knot & Labyrinth’s Heart

books 2&3 in a fantasy trilogy set in a Venetian inspired city full of political intrigue

follows a young woman who conned her way into a noble family, a masked vigilante, and a crime boss, who eventually become allies while juggling multiple identities

and trying to save their people and city by joining a secret society to find origins of a corrupting curse, to eventually destroy the powerful magical objects at the heart of it

tarot magic & sigil/geometry magic, dreamworlds, sentient magical disguises

[llycaons]

tgcf art is fun bc xl generally looks really nice and hc generally looks really mean. they just. complement each other lol. that's true love