#i didnt intend the background to be like that because i was just gonna have them in a white void™️ | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

lanaevyssmoved · 1 year ago

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i dont think ive seen any of ur pcs other than afhiri (who i adore) basically i am here to say if u want share pics and some facts abt ur other pcs!! :D

this is rue she is my durge and her playthrough got murdered by durge related bugs that i didnt wanna deal with and would rather wait for them to fix the cutscenes <3 also known as rue the impaler shes a wild magic sorcerer who got fed up of being one shot and became a tank with a barbarian multiclass <3 afhiri is a resist durge who i can explain best as those uncomfortable and uneasy to be around strange emo girls who stare into ur soul with lifeless eyes. shes pretty... but shes weird

my oc dru kind of got cannibalised by rue but still exists.. cuz dru's intended path literally doesn't work because i made her before i finished the game and the ending doesn't allow her to exist and it would have to be rewritten by me so much that i just don't have the energy so dru just lives in my lil au "what i wish the ending allowed" space in my brain <3 i'm not gonna share a picture because this also allows me to have her exist outside of the games limitations so no picture <3 she's so much cooler than the cc allows <3 dru is a high elf who is delusional and thinks shes actually a fey eladrin and is very uncomfortable to be around because shes just insane. completely isolated from society and the world and would have the hermit background if they didnt remove it .. larian literally didnt want her to exist.

unfortunately due to my pc death i no longer have asuras cc stuff so she will need to be remade but... this is asura shes literally terrible. shes my unfortunately extremely power hungry character who will accept every single option to make her stronger. she fucks mindflayers. and minthara. and she and minthara will rule the entire world together as tyrant wives and maybe they ascend. true love stuff. asura won't live until i'm confident minthara isn't a broken fucking mess . i think playing asura will make me worse. shes like how people play bhaalist durges who love their daddy but shes not the durge. shes just a bad person

THIS IS TAV. yeah his name is tav. they're just a tav man idk. this is my first character from full release tav is an ancients paladin whose entire vibe is "you don't quite suite your oath" and that's fun. they are the most lawful good boring ass motherfucker you ever met and literally my favourite type of character. he's all about Justice and Order and Goodness and Sacrificing Your Happiness For The Greater Good. that kind of annoying paladin! <3 tav never got to finish the game because my pc died and killed them. oh and tav has a twin who dedicated their life to annoying tav because .. like. lawful good paladin? DESERVES to be annoyed

which is really funny because the twin is my EA character! also tav! see the thing is. paladin tav is actually tav. but this monster? tav isn't their name. but they go by tav. just so they can hopefully fuck with their twins reputation. doing terrible things in their lawful good twins name!!! i still can't decide if i want twin tav to work with the guide and kiss nine-fingers keenne or work with the zhentharim and kiss rugan. or maybe they're a double agent and kiss both. idk!!! twin tav has literally no moral compass and just does shit for money mostly. and to make their twins life hell <3

and lastly i have this dude who doesn't have a place on my oc page because he doesn't have a name or nothing like. he's completely blank beyond i KNOW he's something to do with afhiri. so fun fact afhiri's lore was leading towards this dude being some sort of outer planes entity, either a god (dead star) or the herald of such, and baited afhiri through a portal as part of her destiny. this is how she gains her wild magic. BUT this was scrapped for what ended up happening (afhiri befriends a chwinga. cuteness ensues). HE STILL EXISTS IN AFHIRIS LORE SOMEWHERE - HE IS LITERALLY A COMPANION IN HER PARTY - when my pc stops crashing every time i play bg3 he's going to be on my blog a lot because im gonna use fancy editing to make him a companion and shove him in cutscenes. afhiri and he will kiss btw. i definitely don't want him to be actually a tiefling though this is just a form he uses to walk faerun and not to cause any ruckus... and to make afhiri feel ease around him <3 ALSO HES NOT ACTUALLY AFHIRIS GUARDIAN... u will see who is when my pc stops dying <3

#fray.txt #ask #imoge #i might put this in oc tags later i need to think on it but #i hope this is good #its also long #sorry #SLKJFSDFS #I HOPE I DIDNT MISS ANYTHING #I DO HAVE SOME VERY VERY WIP CHARACTERS I DONT FEEL COMFORTABLE SHARING YET BUT #hiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii #thANK U FOR ASKING

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ambyandony · 4 months ago

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shortcuts I took to make drawing the squatizi comic easier

Used a photo reference for the backgrounds (note: this actually made it harder, I couldn’t figure out which beach was in the picture I was looking at so I only had one angle)

(note 2: I didn’t trace the photo or anything but I did colour pick from it)

made Squalo’s towel fall off his shoulder because it looked awkward and it remains on the ground for the rest of the comic . That stupid fucking blue towel.

for fun I made it visibly do this like you can just see it slowly slide off

didn’t overline the background characters and made them all a solid colour cause fuckem

didnt even draw the background characters in one of the panels even though the lesbians probably still should’ve been visible . I just have to assume Squalo is in the exact position on the frame where they just aren’t visible behind him

there’s a rock in the background but I didn’t draw it at all when the camera angle was facing only tiziano because I fucking hate that rock

If I don’t like how something looks and it’s inconsequential to the overall panel and in a corner I just deform the panel so it’s covered. Cause fuckit

covered one of Squalo’s hands with Tiziano’s hair while they were hugging because it looked wonky and I redrew it too many times

accidentally drew Tiziano’s hair wrong in one panel. That wasn’t a shortcut I just fucked it up and by the time I realised I’d already coloured and shaded it and it sucks and I want to fix it

used speech bubbles to hide shit I didn’t like

used a grid to write most of the dialogue

chibified the boyfriends for 2 panels but that was more because the panels were very tiny.

I would say having Squalo’s arms covering his chest for the first half but that was intended and not a shortcut

One side of Tiziano’s hair was originally over his shoulder but it was very annoying so I scrapped it . Except for exactly one panel where I could not draw his neck/collarbone right in that exact area.

the other side IS partially on his shoulder but not fully. I just think it looks more elegant that way but it has the added benefit that I don’t have to think too hard about shading his neck . Thank fuck for men with long hair 🙌

Tiziano’s hair length is inconsistent because I was having trouble making it not look awkward in certain poses

not drawing the lips

Tiziano takes his stupid sunglasses off for exactly one panel because I could not make them look good and then he puts them back up on his forehead because he needed a free hand and had nowhere else to put them. He is not shown doing this

I save Squalo’s freckles till the last step. Squalo’s freckles go on when I’m done with everything else so I have GOT TO REMEMBER TO PUT THE FUCKING FRECKLES ON ITS GONNA BE SOOOO ANNOYING IF I POST HIM WITH NO FRECKLES

The background characters with speaking roles have the exact same hair and skin colour and I drew their faces simplified even when they’re visible up close for one panel because speaking roles or not they are still background characters. Even though I named them.

as an artistic choice I didn’t refine the lineart in the central panel of page 1 (inadvertently made it easier it was actually a choice for the aesthetic of the panel)

Didn’t try very hard to draw the back of Squalo’s hair.

things that did not make the comic easier

Adding extra panels . and reworking all the dialogue from the previous version because it was awkward

themed dialogue fonts

I HANDWRITE ALL THE DIALOGUE MYSELF ALL OF IT. AND I DECIDED TO FUCKING MAKE THE TITTLES ON THE IS AND JS CUSTOM FOR SQUALO AND TIZIANO. AMONG OTHER THINGS. HELP ME

drawing Squalo’s stupid nose broken

the last minute inclusion of the Portuguese Man O’ War

not knowing how to draw nipples

changing background character with speaking role #2’s swimsuit top and not knowing how to draw boobs

THOSE STUPID FUCKING SUNGLASSES

I draw Tiziano’s eyes so fucking detailed. Because he is beautiful

Emphasising Squalo’s musculature

not saving the base skin colour I used for Tiziano OR Squalo before I started shading

drawing them hugging. 3 1/2 times.

making this post instead of finishing it

#amby draws #squatizi #amby yells #mentally well posts from amby

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neytris · 2 years ago

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HI i am so sorry for rambling in your ask box bc i really need to share my thoughts

bc after reading the theories it makes so much sense? and yes the one with reviving trudy was indeed what james cameron wanted and michelle refused, i sorta read it in an article

the thing that's been bothering me sm is that, if neteyam was meant to appear in the next movies as flashbacks why would he be there until the 4th? i saw the next avatar movies in jamie flatters' upcoming movies and neteyam's list of appearances too last i checked (?)

logically speaking, if he were to appear just as flashbacks then it'll end on the third and that's it. not until 4th. there's no way it takes 2 movies for an intended "character development"

not to mention, i saw some say that it's 'sad how kiri wont be able to visit neteyam via spirit tree' which tbh i think no fucking way. not with that huge ass storyline that awaits for kiri. no way james cameron is gonna just leave that be. kiri's story is meant for something big. some are still wondering who her dad is while tbh i believe it's insignificant on whom but more to how and why.

it's not a reach to say she's a child of Eywa (literally)

'a miracle arrives' said so in Songcord in kiri's part, and with the way the story is set, it's entirely possible for her to also cause a miracle, what the miracle may be is still unknown.

and there has to be a reason why we only get neteyam AND kiri's song. cmon. i tried but i just cant leave that alone.

"but if he's revived then his death in the 2nd movie would be meaningless! no character development would happen!" not if he returns by the end of the 3rd movie. or the 4th. one whole avatar movie is enough for a character to develop.

i like to feed my delusions by imagining the end of the 3rd movie with lo'ak (who's already had his character development) in a difficult situation with no way out and since avatar movies have a thing for ending it with a close up into the protagonist' eyes the camera zooms in to him and in the background we hear a painfully familiar "Lo'ak!" and bam. movie ends. goodluck surviving from that nasty cliffhanger.

i read somewhere that neteyam's codename is said to be 'pathfinder' so do what you will with that information. bc i sure as hell am feeling both pessimistic and optimistic from it

i hope i didnt overstep anything. tysm for reading 💞 and sorry if my wording confuses you english isnt my main language kdkdjgrj

hi artemis baby ! don’t be sorry omg

well, to be honest, i don’t really think teyam’s gonna be in the upcoming movies because i don’t trust google and imdb. i do believe that we’ll see him in a flashback though. maybe in the spirit tree. i am not so sure about that…

i completely agree with you on this, there’s no way it takes two movies for an intended character development lol. that is exactly why i don’t believe google/imdb showing jamie in the cast of a3 and a4. they just give us false hopes. that’s what i think. honestly speaking? the only reason i don’t believe them is because i really don’t wanna be let down. i’m a crybaby after all lmao :( so i don’t have a logical explanation for this. i just don’t wanna be let down.

people say kiri’s not gonna be able to visit nete just because they think it’ll kill her— norm said so (to jake, when kiri had her seizure). i’m kinda conflicted about this and i agree that her story’s meant for something big tbh. jim’s not gonna kill her off that easily.

i love the way you worded this: it’s possible for her to also cause a miracle… yeah. i’m with you with that one, too. the reason why we only got neteyam and kiri in the songcord was probably because jake only (weirdly) mentioned teyam and kiri (a bead for the birth of our son, a bead for our adopted daughter). just because they’re jeytiri’s firstborns, maybe? but that’s just my opinion of course.

it’s crystal clear to me that jim only killed neteyam so that he could be the perfect catalyst for lo’ak’s character development. if google and imdb are right and neteyam indeed comes back by the end of the third movie, i think there’ll be no problem, because jim would get what he oh-so-desperately wanted— lo’ak definitely will have that character development by the end of the movie. i’m not even gonna lie, that’s still a possibility, though something tells me jim’s not gonna bring teyam back. i don’t know why, i just feel like it.

i like that ending. and i undoubtedly can see that happening omg. something like, “hey baby bro, need some help?” the way i literally have tears in my eyes right now ugh. the best cliffhanger. jim has to hire us, bestie ! i’m quite sure a3 will end with lo’ak opening his eyes, so it’ll be awesome if something neteyam-related happens. we all collectively agreed that lo’ak’s character development will be done by the end of the movie, after all.

i read that too! i can’t wait to see what time has in store for us neteyam girlies lol. i’m not ready to get hurt again.

of course you didn’t overstep anything, muffin ! i like hearing different views/theories. pls feel free to share them with me 🌟 your wording was *chef’s kiss* omg don’t worry ! my native lang isn’t english either so BXNXHSJHSSY we’re twinsies fr 👩🏼‍❤️‍💋‍👩🏻

@eyrina-avatar take a look at this 👀

#theory pt ii?#pt iii?#i dunno at this point #𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐞𝐦𝐢𝐬 ᵕ̈

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thepalecascade · 1 year ago

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Awake at 5:30am for some god-awful reason and I just realized....

I TECHNICALLY dont have a WoL? Not in an OC sense, at least.

Gonna slam some OC lore below the cut. Why below the cut? Well...

For Pyha Specifically: CONTENT WARNING - MENTIONS LOSS OF CHILD. Pyha is the Green Text if you wish to skip it.

My main character, Pyha, isnt a WoL. However she gets dragged into a lot of side-MSQ stuff since her brother IS that universe's WoL. She's put through hell and back for the ShB storyline. Being so close to the WoL, she was one of the people pulled from her body and into the First. Unfortunately--and unknown to both her and her partner--Pyha was pregnant with the twins that WOULD have been her first-born children. But, as you can imagine, having no soul to regulate your body and your body slowly deteriorating... Doesnt end well in the scenario.

Vystra is a background NPC that works as a vendor in Revenant's Toll. She's a Weaver from Fallgourd Float that lives and works with her two older sisters (A Leatherworker, and a Goldsmith). She is pretty much completely untouched by MSQ. She's around during the Rising Stones era, and is actually pretty devastated when she's told G'Raha locked himself in the tower. She considered herself friends with pretty much all of the Sons, since she would do a lot of clothes mending for them.

My closest to a WoL would be my borderline lore-breaker, Vali-Sul. Odd name, huh? Well-- She's a Mystel from the First. However, her First is not the one the canon WoL saved. In her timeline, Emet wasnt there to fight the WoL, so the WoL had no way to discharge the accumulated Light. And what as going to happen if the WoL didnt get rid of the Light?

Vali-Sul watched as her WoL succumbed to the Light, becoming the Final Lightwarden. Her world could not--and would not--survive a second Flood. The world around her was washed away, including the Scions that they could no longer save.

In a last ditch effort, the Exarch attempted to save a handful of people by reversing the teleportation that had once brought the Warrior of Light to the First. Yet, his energy rapidly drained from attempting to hold the Crystarium's barrier against the Flood. With his rapidly declining Aetherpool and the Tower having none to spare... He could at least allow Vali to escape--even if it was against her will.

The reason I say Vali-Sul is my closest to a WoL without being a WoL is because she's technically my Ancient as well. An Ancient that once went by the name of Nyx, but had long since forgotten her own name or from whence it came. Chances are, she's likely existed on the First for as long as, if not longer than the Exarch. She was poor at the Creation (Spatial Manipulation) magic many Ancients bore, but otherwise excelled at a decently uncommon Temporal Manipulation.

G'Raha had intended to send her to the Source. But Vali's own magic, one she had long since forgotten, sent her across the very fabric of time. To a place where she and hers never failed their mission.

Lets just say that despite the several confused and concerned looks she got, Vali was a little emotional about seeing G'Raha and the Scions again.

#pyha nelhah #vystra teyuun #vali-sul #ffxiv #mad 5am rambling #oc lore #-shaking my brain like the half full maraca that it is-

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paintingformike · 2 years ago

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I completely believe the monologue was full of lies and it being based on Will’s feelings is definitely gonna come up in season 5 but I still can’t help but have a bit of doubt when I remember the Duffers saying they were proud of it and it was Finn’s best performance. Like if they’re going to have mitochondria break up next season why even have a love confession in the first place? I’m literally so confident in byler but this is the one thing that keeps me from completely believing it’ll happen to be honest 😕

ok anon im here to assure you that you really dont have to worry too much about it!! i had this kind of doubt before but tbh ive already moved past it bc i believe the monologue wasnt “unnecessary” by any means, the reason people say that if byler was meant to happen they wouldnt have had inserted the love confession is because they’re viewing it purely through a byler lens and not consider what it means for el’s arc specifically...one thing im certain about in the monologue is that whether or not mike was trying to be genuine or was lying the whole time, el didn’t receive his words positively. she didnt believe a single word he said even if it wouldve been a sincere attempt from him. while he was delivering the monologue she didnt actually feel the love she was supposed to feel from the words that went out of his mouth because if she did, it wouldve been shown to us visually. they wouldve shown us el recalling memories from all the times mike supposedly loved her, but instead we get her gradually being choked harder and looking even more in despair? we know that they had the opportunity to make use of more memories because they did use one memory from when el and mike first met, but it’s the only one that managed to surface on el’s mind because to her, it was the only truthful thing she felt from mike’s words. the monologue was necessary because it helped her realize that even after that verbal affirmation of ily coming from mike, she still didnt feel that he loved her. it helped her realize that his words alone are shallow and empty if he didnt actually show it to her. as someone said, it was a situation where el needed to hear the words ily from mike’s mouth in order for her to realize that she didn’t actually need it this whole time. it was necessary for her arc before she could finally decide to let go of him, as it was the final nail in the coffin that revealed he truly didnt love her *romantically* and just further proved that she didn’t need him anymore since his love confession didn’t actually work and wasn’t what managed to make her free herself from vecna’s grasp.

as for the duffers saying it was finn’s best performance...i think its because it does capture a lot of emotions at once (mike desperate to save el and saying what he thinks she wants to hear from him and the anxiety from having to see if it will work, and the urgency of the situation) and its not just supposed to be taken at face value thats why i believe theyre “proud” of it, though i dont agree with them that it was finn’s best performance but thats how i see it 🤷‍♀️ and ofc at the end of the day it was all prompted by will’s words and feelings (and they actively chose to write it that way) which will eventually lead to everything thats currently holding mlvn’s relationship to fall apart.

just remember that if they intended it to be mlvn’s big moment and something only about the love between the two of them, they wouldn’t have had constantly panned it to will and jonathan’s reactions or even show will in the background because it removes the intimacy in a moment thats supposed to be just about the two of them. the fact that they were even showing us will’s pained face just means that they wanted us to sympathize with him even up to that very moment!!

#ask #byler #mike monologue

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transexualpirate · 3 years ago

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“Perfect.”

When he first told Dean, he looked so small and helpless, almost guilty, like he expected Dean to just smack him right in the spot for daring to bring it up. Maybe that's what convinced Dean to participate. Or maybe it was the warmth that painted his cheeks when he imagined Cas smiling brightly at his kid and his... and Dean coming together to make something for him. "Father's Day, huh? Sure. Yeah, why not?" Jack smiled as bright as Cas did in his head.

so uhhhh aparently it’s father’s day in the usa? so i wrote a little something for @dadstielweek i hope this is okay <3 also thank you @creepyeyesandfrogs for the inspiration ur the best!!!

Summary: Dean and Jack have plans for Cas on father’s day. They also have some unresolved issues.

Warnings: Miscommunication, self worth issues, J*hn Winchester, brief mentions of self destructive tendencies (nothing explicit), brief mentions of sexual themes between Dean and Cas (also not explicit), background Saileen.

also, english is not my native language and i mess up sometimes! i’d much appreciate it if you warn me about any possible mistakes.

"Damn, kid, those are some bright colors you used." it was meant as a jab, but Jack only smiled proudly

"Thank you" he replied "I thought I might be using too much yellow, so his name is written in pink. See?"

Dean did. He stared at the card for a few more seconds. It read "Dad: I feel so safe with you! You always took good care of me and you hold me so gently when I can't sleep. Your the best dad ever!" in yellow, with blue doodles of bees and hearts around it, and "I love you, Castiel" in light pink at the bottom. It wasn't a work of art, but he clearly had fun doing it with some old colorful markers he found around the bunker. It was funny to Dean that a 5'8'' man had done it.

Not a man, he corrected himself. A kid. It was easier to see it in days like these.

"Yeah, it's real pretty, alright. But, uh, just a note-" Jack looked up then, his eyes wide. Dean tried not to be offended about how obvious it was that he was waiting for Dean to back down at any moment "You wrote 'your'. As in, 'your bag', 'your drink', 'your pen', you know. It's 'you're'. Like, 'you are'. You're. You're the best dad ever. Okay?"

"Oh." he looked down again. Stayed silent for a few seconds. Dean imagined he was processing this new information. Then he brought up the yellow marker and fixed it. "There. Is that it?"

"Yup. Looks perfect, kid. Cas is gonna love it."

Jack looked like someone had just told him he could eat all the candy he wanted. Dean found himself chuckling softly at him, then turned back to the cake he was decorating. He was pretty anxious himself. He knew he wasn't the best cook out there, and art also wasn't his strong spot, but he figured that writing "Happy Father's Day" wouldn't be so hard. Jack insisted in some skittles on top of it, too, because "Cas loves colorful things and he even ate some of Jack's last week and seemed to like it!". Dean wasn't so sure. He knew Cas had a weird relationship with food. He didn't need it, and hardly found any he genuinely liked. So he might not eat it at all. Or he might eat it just to make Dean feel good.

But there was something else he had in mind. Something he and Jack had picked in town last week. It was sappy and simple and exactly the kind of thing he never though they’d get to experience.

In the kitchen counter, close to the coffee machine, there was a porcelain mug wrapped with a colorful ribbon. And on it was written “BEST DAD EVER”.

Coffee was something that Cas liked. Especially when it had plenty of sugar. The mug was silly, the kind of thing you’d find at the dollar store, but it made Dean smile just thinking about it. Cas could drink from it everyday.

Jack followed his gaze and stared at it with a smile. Then he turned to Dean, and to the cake, and seemed to understand something.

“You know he’ll love it too, right?” Dean smiled, but it wasn’t natural anymore. He wasn’t surprised when Jack didn’t buy it. “No, I’m serious. He likes chantilly. He likes chocolate cake. He likes skittles. He loves you. Why wouldn’t he like it?”

It wasn’t planned at all. It just came out. Easy like that.

He likes all those things. He loves you.

Dean sucked in a breath but before he could reply Jack was staring back at the mug. It seemed like he was already thinking about something else. He was like that, sometimes. Too much energy, a bit like an actual child would have, and not enough place to put it. It wasn’t uncommon for him to lose his train of thought mid sentence. It’s like his own brain was a bit too fast for him.

Dean was like that too, sometimes.

He silently wondered if he should scold him for that, like his own father did to him. But he couldn’t bring himself to do so. Instead, He nudged Jack’s shoulder softly. “Go on. Use plenty of chantilly, ‘kay? You’re right, he likes it.”

Jack didn’t need to be told twice. He hopped to the fridge and got the rest of the chantilly Dean used for the cake. Gently placed the ribbon a little lower on the mug so he could pour something inside it. Turned to the kitchen cabinet and picked up a spoon, and, before Dean, he raised his index finger.

And the coffee machine started working.

Magically.

“Jack!” Dean hissed. He didn’t want to deal with that right now. “Jack, please. Don’t-”

“It’s okay!” he seemed excited “I got it.” he brought a spoonful of chantilly, and the mug floated and stood right in front of him, gravity be damned. “It’s easier this way, I can just-” he held the chantilly container with one hand, the spoon with the other, and the mug was hovering in front of him. There was no way he couldn’t see how that was dangerous.

“Jack, come on,” Dean stopped decorating the cake and reached for the mug “just put it d-”

“Whoa, guys?”

Too many things happened too fast. Sam walked through the kitchen door, rubbing his eyes lazily. Dean flinched. Hard. He thought Cas had discovered them. Jack also flinched, his eyes wide and scared, like he’d been found doing something he shouldn’t be doing. The coffee machine stopped working. The mug fell.

It shattered on the floor, before them.

“Oh, shit.” Sam said, wise as ever.”

“Oh, no, no, no, no, no! Come on! Look at it! Goddammit, kid, why did you have to- Come on!”

“Guys? Uh, sorry-”

“I’m- I’m sorry! I didn’t mean to! I thought- I thought Cas had- I got scared, I’m sorry, Dean, I can fix this, let me just-” he gestured to it, clearly intending to use his powers again, but Dean stopped him, gripping his wrist forcefully with just a little too much strength.

“No. You’ve done enough.” Dean said, his voice cold. He wasn’t sure how exactly things could get worse, but he didn’t want to find out either. Jack struggled to get away from his hold with wobbling lips.

“Dean-” Sam placed a careful hand on his brother’s shoulder “what’s going on?”

“It’s father’s day.” Dean said “We baked a cake and bought Cas a stupid mug but now-” he sighed “the kid used his creepy ass powers and now it’s broken.”

That was like someone had slapped Jack in the face. He finally managed to get his arm free and stepped back like it had burned him. He clutched his wrist, and cried.

“I’m s-sorry...” he managed between sobs.

Dean stared.

He was crying. Outright bawling his eyes out like it was all he knew how to do. If Cas hadn’t slept in Dean’s room (conveniently far away from the kitchen, it was all thought out, that’s definetely the only reason he was there) exhausted from last night’s activities (angels don’t need sleep, per se, but they do benefit from it every now and then if they’re low on grace and already tired from... uh, hunting) he probably would have woken up.

“Oh, shit.” Dean said, for once, somewhat wise.

“I’m sorry, I’m- I’m so sorry, I didn’t mean to- I shouldn’t have used th-them. It’s my fault! I didn’t- I didn’t mean-!” he stepped back again, like he was scared anyone would hurt him (or he would hurt anyone).

Dean’s heart dropped to his toes and he wanted to punch himself in the face.

“Shit, kid. No, it’s- Fuck. I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have- I shouldn’t have yelled like that. Fuck. Sam, a little help here?”

Sam stared at them for a second, his eyebrows knitted together.

Dean got mad and went a bit too far. That’s happened before.

It happened a lot with John.

But Dean would always chime in and fix John’s messes for him.

Sam turned around, brought a shovel and a broom and in two swift movements cleaned the remains of the mug while Dean stared at him like he’d grown a second head.

And then he left the kitchen.

“What the fuck. Sam, what the- Sam!” but, obviously, Sam didn’t turn around. It wasn’t that he didnt care. He did. So much. He was scared that if he let them there things would only get worse. But he trusted them- he had to.

Dean and Jack needed to have this conversation by themselves.

Jack. The Jack that was pressed up against the wall crying desperately like there’s no tomorrow. Dean wanted to cry too.

“Kid. Jack. Jack, I’m sorry. Hey, listen to me.” he took a careful step but Jack didn’t even seem to notice. He was clutching his own wrist so hard Dean was scared he was going to break the skin.

He raised his hand and slowly reached for his wrist. Jack flinched again and looked up to Dean like he was surprised that he was so close. Slowly, like he was trying to approach a wild animal, Dean held the kid’s hand and opened it, forcing him to let go.

“There we go. Careful, kiddo. You were hurting yourself.”

Jack scoffed, or tried to, but as he hadn’t stopped crying yet it sounded a little like a scared cat. “Right. Like I d-don’t deserve it.”

“No.” Dean’s voice was suddenly rough again “No, you don’t. Kid- Jack, look at me.”

Jack didn’t want to, but Dean reached for his chin softly and, carefully, as if the Nephilim was made of glass, he brought his face up.

“I-I ruined it, Dean. I broke the mug.”

“Yeah.” his voice was soft again “You did. But it’s okay. You didn’t do it on purpose. You got scared. You shouldn’t have been so careless, but you didn’t mean to do it. I know you didn’t. Okay? You just have to be more careful next time. It’s fine. You’re fine, okay? I’m... I’m sorry I yelled. I’m sorry I hurt you.”

Jack stared at him. His lips were slightly parted and his face was still tear stained. Dean ran his thumbs through his cheekbones, drying his tears softly. Jack let him.

“I’m sorry, Dean. I shouldn’t have... Used them. My- my creepy powers.”

“No, Jack, it’s okay. Those powers, they’re not creepy, okay? They’ve helped so many people before. They’ve saved us. And they’re a part of you, and you’re not creepy, okay? You’re not. I’m sorry I said that. I was wrong. And I shouldn’t have- Shouldn’t have yelled. I’m sorry, too. I’m sorry, Jack.”

Jack looked like he was waiting for the punchline. He studied Dean’s face, and eventually he stuttered out “It’s... It’s okay, Dean.”

“We both fucked up, huh?” he chuckled softly, and Jack did so too.

“Yeah. I guess- I guess we did.”

“Well, I’m the adult. I can’t let this happen again. I’m not going to. Okay? I’ll be more careful too. I just- I lost it, Jack. I’m so, so sorry. I hope you know how wrong I was. You’re not bad, Jack. You didn’t do this on purpose. You were just trying to be faster. It’s okay. You made a small mistake. It’s no biggie. I need to keep it cool next time, okay?”

“No! No, there won’t be a next time, Dean. I’ll be more careful, I promise!”

Dean smiled. “I know, Jack, I know you will. But you’re four. You’re gonna make silly mistakes like this. Your job is to try a little more everyday. Okay?”

Jack nodded enthusiastically. “I will. I’ll do my best.”

“I know you will, little guy. I will, too, okay?”

“Okay.”

“I promise, too.” Jack smiled at that. Dean swept his hair from his face, leaned in and kissed the kid’s forehead. He beamed. And then he stopped. Dean glanced at his face.

“But, Dean... It’s, it’s broken, now. We only have the cake and the card.”

“Well, I’m sure he’ll love them, Jack.”

“Yeah, but... It’s... It’s Cas, Dean. He deserves better.”

Dean contemplated for a second. And then he smiled. Jack tilted his head in a very Cas-like fashion.

“I have an idea.”

Cas turned around in Dean’s bed, hoping to find the man laying next to him. He didn’t.

It wasn’t unnexpected, you see, Dean woke up early everyday. Cas wasn’t used to sleeping, but when he did, he slept in late. He only needs his four hours after all. But honestly, Cas couldn’t help but wonder if there was some shame in there.

He glanced around the room and decided it would be best if he got dressed. He got up, groaning softly, then retrieved his underwear and pants from Dean’s desk. His shirt was on the ground. Tie and trenchcoat were perched on a chair. His cellphone was on his pocket. He thought about going out, maybe make Jack some breakfast, but it was still early and the kid was probably asleep. So he decided to go back to bed (without his trenchcoat, mind you, not even he is that formal).

Immediately as he laid down there was a knock on the door. “Come in!” he slurred out, still sleepy.

Whoever was on the other side hesitated. “Are you... Decent?”

Cas couldn’t stop his smile. “Yeah, Dean, I’m decent.”

“No, like... Jack- Jack is here, Cas.”

There was a laugh on the other side. “Dude?” Sam whispered. Cas decided to pretend he didn’t hear him.

“Come in, Dean. Unless you want me to put on my shoes as well.”

The door opened and the first thing Cas noticed is that Dean’s whole face was red as a tomato. The second thing was that he was holding a cake covered in chantilly and skittles and the third is that he was followed by Jack and Sam.

Oh, no, did he forget anyone’s birthday?

But they didn’t sing. Instead, Jack jumped on the bed, holding something colorful. Sam was right behind him, holding a wooden platform and placing it on the bed. It was like a support so nothing would fall. Dean put the cake on the platform and Jack placed something too.

Cas blinked.

“Uh, wh-what’s... Did I... Miss something?”

“It’s Father’s Day!!” Jack beamed. Cas couldn’t help but mirror his smile. But he was still a bit confused.

“O-okay, so...?” Jack leaped at him, involving him in a hug.

“Happy Father’s Day, dad!”

Oh. Oh! “Jack!”

“Kid’s super excited. It’s your first Father’s day without an apocalypse, after all. So, we... Yeah. We did something.” Dean tried to explain. He scratched the back of his head awkwardly. Cas stared at him like he’d personally brought him the moon.

“They did something for you, too, Cas. Look!” Sam pointed at the colorful package at the improvised table. He noticed, then, that it wasn’t a package.

It was a mug involved by a colorful ribbon. The one he usually used. It used to be white and bland. But now, there was a blue tie doodled on it, and in Dean’s unmistakable handwriting it was written “WORLD’S BEST DAD”. It was filled with coffee and chantilly, just the way he likes it.

Cas held it in his hands and couldn’t stop the tears flooding his face.

For a second, Jack panicked. His eyes widened and he looked between Cas and Dean questioningly. Dean reached a hand to his shoulder and whispered “I think he likes it, Champ.”

“But- But he’s crying?”

Cas sniffed loudly, then. He couldn’t explain it. He didn’t expect it. World’s best dad, him? “They’re... T-they’re tears of joy, Jack.”

Sam giggled sofly. He brought his cellphone up and started recording. He was happy he did, because just at that moment, Dean leaned down and kissed him wholeheartedly.

Like, on the lips. Full on romantic kiss. The type they show on TV.

If Jack was surprised, he didn’t show it. But he was happy, that was clear. Sam, however, cheered them on. “Oh, fucking finally!”

Dean showed the camera his middle finger. Jack tilted his head again, and Sam zoomed in on him, mumbling something about “like father, like son”. When they broke apart, their pupils blown and panting softly, Dean cleared his throat and rubbed the back of his neck. Cas was at loss for words.

Jack seemed to remember something, then, and shoved his card on Cas’ face with no mercy. “Oh, oh! I also made a card! And Dean baked the cake! We painted the mug together. He taught me how to draw a tie. Do you like it?”

“Liked it? Jack, I love it. Look at it! You drew a bee, too! It’s so pretty.” he sighed contented while Dean tried to steal Sam’s phone only to find he had already sent the video to Eileen. Jack stared at him with childlike wonder, and Cas was almost scared for a moment because of how happy he was. But it was okay. He was allowed to be happy. He deserved it. “I love it. Thank you, so much. All of you. It’s perfect- you’re perfect.” he turned to Dean, with Sam’s hand on his shoulder as he cooed childishly. “I love you, Dean.” And then he turned to Jack, the kid smiling in blissful, childish naivety. “And I love you, son.”

“See?” Dean grinned, nudging Jack playfully “I told you he’d love it.”

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bloodbenderz · 4 years ago

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Can I ask what your season 1 Lok reboot looks like?

this is about 3k words i checked lmfao dont say i didnt warn u

a key part of the whole thing is that korra gets way more perspectives and more experiences representative of like, normal people in republic city bc i think something that really defined what a good avatar aang was was how many people he met and got to know and how he didnt exclusively or even mostly associate w cops and bureaucrats and leaders. so mako and bolin. well first of all their backstories are a little more fleshed out and we get a less black and white view of the “triads” (lol) and mako and bolin’s experiences w them. cuz the show very much does the whole thing of like Criminals Bad but dont worry even tho mako and bolin did commit crimes theyre not Criminals!! so just a little more nuance on the alleged gang problem and the poverty in the city

korra does start out very naive w very black and white ideas (ex. “you guys are CRIMINALS?”) i think a really good way of developing her away from her sheltered naive worldview is putting her in whats clearly an incredibly complicated city w an absolute cesspool of political conflicts, ethnic tensions, the lasting effects of colonization, etc and having her try and understand the needs of “the people” in a more complicated way than “i have to save the good guys from the bad guys” ykwim? and i think the absolute WORST way to do that is what they did. bc we get mako and bolin who could contribute genuinely compelling thematic elements to the story: one parent who was indigenous and one who was from a colonizer background in the decades directly following the end of the war, kids who grew up in poverty apparently without any familial support, and who now are trying to be “respectable” members of society (especially mako). and then most of that is pretty much tossed aside bc asami swoops in w her capitalist dad and her piles of money and the class issue is just never talked about again.

so the way i’d fix all that is like. introducing more, like, normal people. some nonbenders, more workers, more immigrants, etc, to show what daily life is actually like for people. because. we dont know! we dont have any context about whether the nonbender oppression thing is actually an issue bc we dont KNOW any nonbenders with normal lives! and spoiler: the nonbender oppression thing is not an issue. bc it doesnt make historical sense. lok is set 7 decades after the end of the war. that is not by ANY stretch of the imagination long enough to heal from the scars of imperialism, ESPECIALLY not when lok is also set in a settler colonial state. like that fact should have featured PROMINENTLY in the political and social setting! realistically, nonbenders arent an oppressed class, earth and water nation people are, regardless of bending status! as in all settler colonial states, the colonizers and their descendants (in this case fire nation people) retain most of the financial and political capital, leaving the colonized and racialized immigrants (in this case earth kingdom and water tribe people respectively) generally impoverished and politically suppressed. like aside from the fact that theres no way toph would have become a cop, it’s so ridiculous to think that an established privileged class of fire nation colonizers would EVER accept being policed by earthbenders!

imagine how much more nuanced and interesting it would be to set republic city as a remnant of a colonial past still fraught w the violence and tension that colonialism and the associated ideology imposed?? instead of some vague ideas of criminal who wear 1920s outfits and harass shopkeepers think about why extralegal and violent groups like that might form! earth kingdom people trying to push for the reclamation of their land? ethnic groups protecting themselves against corrupt cops? ESPECIALLY w the history that the fire nation has of SPECIFICALLY jailing and killing earthbenders and waterbenders BECAUSE of the potential they have to resist against fire nation imperialism like it just makes no sense at all that earthbenders would be privileged on land that, 70 years ago, they would have been imprisoned on! like these various paramilitary groups falling along these different ideological or ethnic lines, fire nation or earth kingdom or water tribe, pro colonization or anti colonization, pro cop or anti cop, pro immigrant or anti immigrant, and then you juxtapose that w depictions of a govt thats failing to keep this all under control w tenzin trying desperately to keep it together despite the fact that it’s becoming increasingly obvious that the state has no interest in taking the conflicts seriously and would rather just point vague fingers at criminals and gangs? and THEN you bring in korra, who has no idea about any of this and thinks that all its gonna take is kicking some ass every couple days, meeting normal people who offer all kinds of different opinions abt the efficacy of the state and the different violent or nonviolent groups and ideologies clashing in the city and the way all this shit is affecting people’s lives and livelihoods and relationships w other citizens??

theres so much good shit there so many incredible things u could do w that like Where do we go after colonial atrocities? is it possible for a settler colonial state to take revolutionary or indigenous ideas seriously? is liberal reform enough in a state like this? and then all the growth that korra could do going from a simple black and white life about mastering the elements to this messy complicated sociopolitical knot of a city? and all the different kinds of characters u could introduce in this city? like why would u EVER think that the most interesting characters that this story has to offer is a police chief a congressman and a billionaire????

but anyways. that’s what the Setting of my idealized version of lok is. as for the actual plot, it is as follows

it starts out similarly as the show. republic city is MUCH more fraught w political tension and violence and korra knows this but assumes that it’s just a matter of throwing a few gang leaders and corrupt officials in jail. tenzin manages to come see them in the south pole and intends give korra real lessons while he’s there but they receive news of a terrorist attack in republic city only a few days after he gets there so his family has to pack up and leave again.

korra stows away to republic city (katara catches her leaving and gives her blessing im a SUCKER for that moment). she does have a hard time adjusting but she doesn’t do what she did in the show lol the first person she meets in the city is this older woman who works on the docks, directs her to a place where she can eat and gives her a roof to sleep under for the first night. so korra’s first exposure to republic city is just about forming connections w ordinary people like ship workers and a family owned restaurant and people practicing their bending in the park. and by the time she reaches air temple island a day or so later her head is spinning w all this new information and the way that nothing is really what she expected it to be. tenzin gives her his own perspective on everything and pema gives her her own perspective on everything and even those two seem wildly different from all the people she’s already met. and so korra starts to get a kind of outline of the conflicts plaguing the city as extremely complex and a lot more influenced by older ideas of fire nation imperialism and earth kingdom land reclamation than she had any idea about.

mako and bolin are still pro benders but not like. super famous like they are in the show. korra’s picked up a couple friends by now and one of them takes her to a gym where a lot of amateur pro bending (is that an oxymoron? lol) matches happen and thats how she meets mako and bolin and joins their pro bending team. Unfortunately for korra, this gym is run by lin beifong, and also has the distinction of being one of the most notoriously anti settler state organizations in the country. lin beifong is NOT a cop but she runs this gym (and the pro bending league) as a way to offer support to local earth kingdom/water tribe youth, teach self defense skills, a center of community organizing, and sometimes to act as a front to hide revolutionary/combat organizing against the pro fire nation paramilitaries/police force. tenzin is DISTRAUGHT that korra does this and this is where the friction btwn them comes from bc (from tenzin’s perspective) she does things like this without thinking or even fully understanding the context behind them and tenzin will have to deal w the political fallout of the avatar openly aligning herself w a very divisive figure in the community and (from korra’s perspective) tenzin is too unwilling to take sides in a conflict that’s claiming lives and when the state is clearly not taking sufficient steps to protect people well then why the hell shouldnt she align herself w lin beifong, who IS taking steps to protect and support people?

as korra more fully integrates herself into the city and learns more abt how different people think abt everything going on this is where the real exposition abt the equalists begins. they’re a paramilitary group w an ideology thats gaining increasing support among middle/upper class fire nation people, esp nonbenders. on the face theyre abt putting checks on “bender oppression” but really it’s an excuse to persecute and surveil earthbenders waterbenders and airbenders, bc fire nation people have all this leftover fear about benders who arent fire nation Rising Up Against them and these people who r using their Savage Excuse for Bending to terrorize good innocent (fire nation) people. theres all too frequent terrorist attacks that the equalists claim credit for mostly against monuments to earth/water/air nation people and earth/water nation community centers (one like it was the event that forced tenzin back to republic city) but also like the govt doesnt take a lot of these seriously or if they do only a couple people are charged without doing damage to the entire organization

this is also around the time that they meet asami and she becomes part of their friend group. asami likes pro bending but her dad HATES it so she sneaks out to watch matches at lin beifong’s gym (korra says ironically like don’t u know how ~divisive~ that is and asami answers that the only reason its Not divisive is that gyms like beifongs are the only place where nobody recognizes her). and asami alongside korra is also kind of developing a more nuanced perspective on the city that she lives in cuz obviously the only worldview she’s ever been exposed to is her father’s right? and she keeps pushing it off making excuses not to bring mako and bolin and korra around to her house or even not to be seen w them in certain neighborhoods until they call her on it and she’s like Well honestly my dad might do something awful to u! and i dont wanna risk it!

and as time goes on we see more abt asami’s home life like her father’s hyper conservative politics and asami keeps these secrets abt her hobbies and her friends from him but she’s still clearly under his influence and mako bolin and korra r getting increasingly worried abt it cuz like...asami seems to tend to make excuses for him so that she wont have to be drawn into conflict and originally they think its just her being privileged and thats def part of it but the more they find out abt it the more they realize what a tight fucking grip he has on her and the way that like. asami sneaking out once or twice a week is the Only thing she does for herself. and it really starts freaking them out how influential this billionaire is and all the information theyre getting from asami abt what a piece of shit he clearly is. and so that whole plot thing comes about and shows us how deeply embedded these “equalist” ideas are in conservative republic city politics and how much influence theyre actually having in policy making and law enforcement.

asami suffers in the aftermath of this like being forced to truly confront the harm her father is doing both to the city and to herself. and she ends up leaving home when this discovery really breaks. but bc of the deep corruption in govt and police sato isn’t really....dealt with? like this big story breaks and everyones like Oh, My God! Hiroshi Sato Is Funding An Illegal Paramilitary Group! and theres all kinds of inane political discourse about it and he’s arrested but he bails himself out immediately and his finances are examined but he maintains control over them and after a few weeks the gang (bc they Have become close among all this w much less interpersonal drama lol) has to admit that this news story hasnt done what they thought it was going to it hasn’t dealt the equalists a real hit its just given them a very high profile ally

and this is when things really start to ramp up in terms of action like up until now korra’s daily activities are mostly like hanging around in the city w her friends (which in part entails doing little avatar stuff that people dont feel comfortable going to police with, like Can you help me my ex husband wont pay child support or Please help i got robbed and i really needed that money for rent next month or Help my son keeps skipping school can you talk to him cuz im worried abt him being safe and doing well in school) and pro bending and airbending lessons (which i know ive neglected this part of the story in terms of her whole spiritual/physical conflict but it’s more of a subtle thing like it’s one of tenzin and korra’s more frequent arguments like tenzin says she needs to focus on spirituality and korra asks why she even needs to bc republic city is a sociopolitical problem not a spiritual one) but now the equalist threat seems to really be looming on every level of society like the storyline of equalists preventing pro bending matches happens here and everyones just at a total loss of what to do next. plus increasing and scary rhetoric about tenzin and his family that destroying the last airbenders is necessary to preserving the integrity of the united republic

and so theres the equalist takeover of the city. the people who are mostly resisting this are lin and ragtag group of people who have been resisting colonial rule for a long time (including suyin, who is part of a communist anti colonial community outside the city, because i said so and i think it would be fun), people who have been visiting her gym for years, members of her amateur pro bending league, plus asami and korra and tenzin. korra and tenzin have a sweet moment (bc they do genuinely care abt each other a lot even if their relationship has been marked w a lot of tension and arguing) where tenzin says like you know i think that ive lost focus on the kind of spirituality that might actually help you. korra says what do you mean? and tenzin kind of gestures to where theyre sitting with people buzzing around organizing to take care of innocents and civilians and to fight the equalists and he says this is a kind of spiritual too, isnt it?

and something something plot plot blah blah i havent decided on the details of the plot climax yet but that’s the climax of korra’s character development and what helps her connect w her spiritual side in order to protect the city: the realization that community is its own kind of spirituality. and it kind of represents the real development that i want her to have going from somebody who thinks that the world is divided into criminals and victims and she has to save the victims Into the kind of avatar who understands the people that she’s bound to serve. she becomes an avatar of the people!

and then happy ending lol korra and asami get together lin and tenzin reconcile after years of being at odds the show ends on a hopeful note that the inhabitants of republic city and the united republic as a whole Can move on from the scars of colonialism by reckoning w the remnants of fire nation colonial ideology and reparations to the earth kingdom people whose land this is and destruction of colonial systems that have maintained and enforced colonial violence all these years

#the ending of this isnt as detailed as the beginning and middle bc ive drafted the first couple chapters but i havent thought out the #logistics and details of the climax lol #asks #lok

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hamliet · 4 years ago

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when does a relationship become queerbaiting? theres a book that i really like and the 2 male leads characters have a lot of storylines and arcs where they get closer and i think some of the tropes used can be similar to the typical romantic tropes, neither of them end up with anyone at the end of the story since its more about found family and the long journey the whole cast goes through. they even get shipped by another character as a running gag. personally i always saw it as being open to interpretation but recently the revised edition of the original novel came out and there were several lines those 2 characters had about each other that were kinda toned down, i didnt think much of it but i saw a post about how it was clearly baiting and the author was being homophobic for toning it down. i didnt think it counted as baiting since as far as i know, the novel was never advertised as anything with romance and the author never pretended they were gonna end up together. i am definitely a little weirded out by the decision to change those specific lines but a lot of the story stayed the same, including a lot about their relationship so idk what to think.

i guess im more confused on if it counts as baiting, or even substext??

Sooooo I am not the best person to ask about this, because I’m a cis woman who has thus far in life only been attracted in a romantic sense to cis men. I can talk a bit about baiting as a general concept in fiction, but you should definitely take it with some grains of salt.

Baiting, for me, is like deliberately playing up an aspect writers have no intention on delivering on. Usually this is done for ratings, to tease fans, fanservice, etc, but without payoff, it is just bad writing. Red herrings are good in writing, but only can be successfully used if the actual result is more satisfying than the herring. This applies to writing in general, not just to romantic ships. However, when the baiting involves historically underrepresented groups for no reason other than to get fans to spend money consuming the story, I think we can all agree that becomes something more grotesque than just bad writing: it’s insensitive, socially irresponsible, frankly hurtful.

Some common examples are Bridgerton which has a gay character, who is extremely minor, yet they played up this character in advertising. Also, Rizzoli and Isles I think actually had its producers mention deliberately playing up the lesbian subtext to hook the audience without ever intending on following through.

That said, context also matters. Like, there are aspects of the culture of the work’s author, the target audience, and such that come into play here also (so like, romantic tropes differ by culture. For example, enemies to lovers is common in Asian stories but less in the west, and the “girl who pursues a guy” is extremely common in Japanese shonen in particular, while it is very much a cringe trope that almost never results in romance in American fiction. So if a writer reads, say, tropes that are common in America into a Japanese work and says it’s baiting, that’s quite possibly not the intent even if it may have been the experience of the reader. So even if there was no intent, there can still be hurt, and that hurt can be real, if that makes sense.

The definition of what constitutes ‘baiting’ varies. I do think that, in true Tumblr fashion, the term gets thrown around a lot and loses its intended meaning, or is so rigidly defined that creators can meet the letter of the “not a bait” requirement while ignoring the spirit of it.

To start with the latter: regarding something hitting the letter of what most wouldn’t consider baiting yet not really the spirit, let’s look at The Rise of Skywalker. This movie had a genuine lesbian kiss in it... between two characters we’d never seen more than a glimpse of while others are celebrating around them. Since it has a kiss, it’s not baiting, right? Well... the director deliberately said in the lead-up to the film that he included it because he “wanted LGBT people to see themselves in the film.” If “see yourselves in the film” is like a nanosecond of background, then, like... idk. Baiting or not, it feels icky, and I know some people consider it baiting and some don’t even if they don’t like, love that representation. But I think this is more queerbaiting than like, Nobara and Maki, who don’t have explicit romantic coding.

Going back to the former, in terms of ‘queerbaiting’ losing its intended meaning... I think there are a lot of really poorly written romantic ships out there, often het, while a lot of same-gender relationships are really well written regardless of whether there’s romantic coding within the text. The main emotional energy in stories with 90% male characters (as frankly many if not most stories are, great job world) is probably between two men. There’s just so much more potential with well-written characters who share a lot of screen time, so of course people are going to ship them. In my opinion, this does not inherently make it baiting, but it certainly creates an environment that lends itself to baiting even if the writers aren’t intending to do this.

Like, you could say the main emotional energy in BNHA is Bakugou and Deku. However, Bakudeku is 100% not queerbaiting. It’ll never be canon romantically (I don’t even ship it lol). There has been nothing to imply romance between them even if the main emotional message can be seen in their development. Deku/Ochaco is likely to be canon, but there is a significant lack of genuine emotional energy between them (the story’s plots and themes don’t coalesce around their relationship), so it’s probably going to feel forced. In contrast, Naruto/Sasuke had an actual kiss in canon, which while played for laughs is a lot more direct romantic coding than anything between Bakugou/Deku. I actually don’t think the majority of Narusasu is baiting, but I definitely think that one moment in chapter like 3 was really poor fanservice for yaoi fans, and has not aged well at all.

It is also the case that fans can confuse headcanons with what is actually in the text, and that just never ends well. For example, Clover and Qrow’s ship in RWBY: a lot of people read Clover as gay, which led to “bury your gays” outrage when he died. A member of the crew stated explicitly they had never intended for Clover to be a love interest for Qrow, and truthfully here was nothing strictly romantic in their relationship--nothing like a kiss or a declaration of love or a parallel to another romantic couple. Hence, I don’t personally consider it queerbaiting or bury your gays, but a lot of fans felt that it was and their pain is legitimate even if I think textually the argument isn’t there. The one thing I do think is true about this in particular is that there was also no strict platonic coding, which encourages headcanons. Clear writing, yo. It can help.

Note the word “can” not “will,” because strict platonic coding doesn’t always fix things, either. In what was probably a reaction to the outrage over Clover’s death, you had extremely blatant platonic coding of Ruby and Penny’s relationship this season leading up to Penny’s death. Ruby refers to Penny as “our friend” three different times, wherein “friend” sends a platonic message and “our” sends an even stronger message that it’s not about the two of them despite the fact that their friendship is one of the sweetest and most interesting in the show. A lingering Ruby-Penny hug then is followed by a lingering Penny-Weiss hug, then Yang, then Blake, etc. The writers went out of their way to hit people over the head with “platonic” and yet they have still gotten accusations of bury your gays and queerbaiting because people will see what they want to see in a story.

Seeing what you want to see in a story also isn’t inherently bad. People who are underrepresented are going to have to read themselves into stories because Lord knows writers ain’t incorporating them well enough if at all. It’s why “Mary Sues” are common in fanfiction, which is primarily written by people who are not straight white men: because where the hell else are we to see ourselves in fiction? So essentially the macrocosm of culture creates this problem, both in terms of baiting and the misuse of the term, and the only fix is a shit ton more good representation.

#ask hamliet #writing stuff #Anonymous

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misterbitches · 4 years ago

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wait honsetly i do not give a shit if u like couples that i think are dumb or poorly written so if u get offended by this it’s ur fault

but im confused

am i stupid for not understanding the relationship between that high schooler and the old man? like....what am i missing here? it’s not healthy, or right, and it doesn’t really matter. it doesn’t mean no one can like it but i’m like confused at pretending that it’s like positive and healthy or whatever like at best it’s embarrassing and fucking stupid at worst it’s uhhhhh gross and probably illegal (not that it matterse bc crime is BS and this person wouldnt be persecuted anyway so)

like i know these writers don’t care, can’t write, think writing “shocking” things that everyone else has already done is like a big deal but they are doing the exact thing like with every ~pRobLEmAtIc~ storyline—which btw we need to start calling it what it is: misogynist, patriarchal, capital inducing, transphobic, toxic, fucking strange and also just a stupid way to get people to absorb information. like being specific about the actual problems not just atlking around it and alos breaking it down—it’s coercing people into liking it because it’s not about the content in their differences. they barely take that into account. i’m kind of surprised at the idea of longterm positivity in a relationship that cannot withstand that. and people do grow up and realize.

i get their existence, i get why people would like it, but i don’t think you can sort of project positive things onto a relationship that is simply not positive and is not intended to be by the writers nature. even if it is accepted because harm is the norm, it upholds whatever power structures, so it’s like well fighting against that is the real story. like they exist but it’s not some statement about the lgbtq+ community particularly because that sort of relationship is common (in all communities) and uh not very good like i said and it NEEDS to be saved because that’s what these structures rely on it relies on being beholden to someone that you have no chance in matching at any point. it’s honestly a literal drag!

they dont hvae to break up or whatever but i kind of don’t get removing that reality from them. i mean i do because again this is what the writers do which is why it isnt effective, transgressive, or particularly fun (to me) and it’s so fucking common. it’s just like this IS the norm so it kind of needs to be pushed against. i know they donnt give a shit but some of the comments im like.... am i imissing something did he like time travel to be an acceptable age or are we gonna accept he was lurking around a fuckin (immature as fuck) teenager.

there’s def things that i like that i am also like “wow this is so gross” lmao there’s this brazilian movie about two brothers in a rship and they have an age gap and terrible parents and me and my best friend watched it when we were younger so we have like this place for it in our memory but we knew, and ofc back then, the immensely fucked up thing we were seeing. i can only stomach itif im extremely bored and it’s few and far between because IT IS S OFUCKING WEIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIRDDDDDDDDDDDDDDD but they have good chemistry but it’s not like i dont see it. the film exists in a fake world too but idk enough about the background of the film and the filmmaker to know what their point was but i do know that it was a huge deal ther ebc gay and also the taboo nature and it was like. u know. bonkers lmao. also they were just two white brazilian dudes with money, probably some missing class commentary. in its nature everything about it is not something that i like (not reality of brazil idc abt white brazilians) and ummmm being fucking related. but look you know it was fucking fukced up and weird and the dudes did have chemistry. like seriously that movie so gross lmao so like we all have the capacity but im not gonna pretend it fucking makes sense like EW AND i wanted them to end up togehter but i still yell “EWWW NOOOOO NO NO but theyre so hot they have good chemistry OH NO NO NO NO NO NO NO THIS IS OS BAD OH NO WHY IS THEIR DAD OKAY WITH IT OH NO WHAT AM I WATCHING?” and theyre so close it is SINCERELY creepy and the movie is like HERE U GO GUYS and u absolutely do not feel comfortable. it’s actually uncanny because everyone is comfortable with it in their lives that it makes it even more weird. it’s like picking at you consistently, you can’t ever forget. i don’t like that these shows make you forget. they allow you to remove this fucked up background and history and/or traumatic shit from your memory SIMPLY for enjoyment. and that’s not how life works, nor art. it isnt just there. and they say this has meaning.

idk anyways that’s just how i feel cos i only thought whatshisface was like idk 5 yrs older than him and that wouldnt be better to me but i was rly like this nigga is 12 yrs older than him? bitch that’s literally r. kelly like im not joking LMAO im just like how r u pushing thirty dating a teenager my nigga i cannotttttt lmaoooo like ARE U NOT EMBARRASSED HOMIE? also like on a sociopolitical level this message actually fucking sucks like their marriage is shitty tbqh lmao it took forever for taiwan to get to where it is and there’s still massive issues with their marriage laws (and what is afforded to people with marriage; just like eveyrwhere. marriage is important because of so many laws and rights and that is why it is necessary not just in the ceremony) so it’s like flabbergasting frankly people hav elike actually isssues or like papa+daddy about taiwan and these bozos are getting married like it’s boring at this point my god

idk

go back to film school lmao

imagine if this world gave a shit about minorities and poor people even it’s literally just ......fuck man lmao i just cant let things rest. i didnt get this stupid degree and also just live 29 yrs on this earth to be able to like.....watch garbage without a critique so the garbage can continue meanwhile artists who give a shit have a harder time making things like listen kid. WRITE YOUR SCRIPTS. THESE FUCKERS CAN, YOU DO IT. look at this garbage! u can!!!! this is the advice i do not take myself

#history 4 #history 3 #history 4: close to you #history 3: make our days count #if u do not understand that u can lik e'bad' things then idk what to tell u except grow up #i refuse to entertain that line of thought anymore #it's about what the people ARENT doing when doing these stories #and it's shitty lazy art

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sainadazai · 4 years ago

Text

When your crush is angry all the time

Ch. 1

Something fun at an all girls school

Chapter 1

Something fun in an

✨all girls school✨

•○●○•°•○●○•°•○●○•°•○●○•°•○●○•°

"Alright, despite how much the staff have opposed the right for students to watch t.v. during school time....our principle believes that this is actually going to be informative. Now girls, students with all sorts of quirk and backgrounds can be accepted to U.A. I expect you all to respect the people on this t.v as your future colleagues. NO JOKES."

"Pst..wish she would just shut up so we can see the hot guys..." Maiyumi whispered to no one particular

"I know, I haven't seen a man since I got kidnapped last year."

"Most of us havent seen anyone since being kidnapped, or you know, FUCKING ARESTED!" Y/n whisper-yelled. She was still very pissed that even though, she was obviously kidnapped-and meant to be killed- the fucking police blamed her. Dad chalked it up to them being jealous, but y/n really wasn't having it. Imagine it's the third time you were kidnapped and tortured before the age of 16, and it was supposedly your fault.

Technically, they could've arrested her for burning down the building two weeks later, obviously while empty, she admitted that was wrong. Still, they got what they deserved, and she got frozen yogurt from down the street. As she would say: now that's proper treatment after a kidnapping 😎

"L/n thats enough, we all know the story by now, and we do not need to hear it again"

"But you shoulda been there, the audacity of them to say I was working with those guys!?! Those villains were way below MY level. I mean c'mon, if I was a villain i'd be way cooler than those nobodies."

"Oh.my.god. y/n I love you, but shit up so we can watch hot U.A. boys fight each other!"

"Ms. Hitoka!Unacceptable, we are here to learn from our follow young heros, not sexualize them"

"I heard midnight is gonna be there," Katna whispered towards the group, front the back of the room. Mind you, she was in a position to pounce, considering, much like her classmates, she hadn't seen a boy in years.

"MIDNIGHT IS SOOO HOT" y/n yelled, forgetting that their teacher was in the front cursing herself for not accepting that sugar-baby job, and never meeting these obnoxious and horny teens.

"For FUCKS SAKE, JUST WATCH THE TV"

As the teacher yelled all heads turned to face her and ignore their previous conversations. Y/n and Maiyumi had grown soft smiles, finally welcoming back the teacher they know and love.

You see, LADY STATIC was an ex-pro hero, her quirk was projection. She could pick up any video signals from any device and project exactly what the device was seeing, or playing. She called all cameras her bitch....several times. So, as far as teaching went, she could only last a couple of minutes of seriousness in the beginning of class each day, before she erupted in a fit of lewd comments, brags, and most importantly curse words.

The black screen of the tv suddenly turned on revealing the large stadium that must be where the festival would take place. Y/n didnt really want to watch, it made her kind of sad knowing there were kids out there with the energy to try at something so dumb. A competition where you stay within grade, with supervision, and limits, and rules, and no real risk. It all sounded boring to her. She would either want to sit in bed eating and watching anime, or actually feel something.

The idea of a battle where you aren't risking your life seemed pretty dull to her. See...y/n along with her best friend maiyumi, was an adrenaline junkie. Those two were the biggest non-villain troublemakers the world has yet to see.

Finding it fun to jump off bridges, run across intersections, and fight each other with no rules or precautions. After living a life where most people you meet want you dead, and most of your life has just been trauma, everything gets more and more boring. Until you don't even mind risking your life just to feel something.

However, what y/n did feel, very frequently, was horny. She wouldn't lie and say that she has indulged in some things, despite there being only girls in her private hero academy. However, she craved men, simply because they were something she hadn't had yet. So in the nature of being royalty, if she hadn't had it, she wanted it.

"..booo"

"How could say that, you meant to be representing our school"

"Not my fault the rest of you are just stepping stones to my victory."

Y/n finally focused back on the screen, she was seeing a very up close image of a blonde boy with red eyes, this being the first man she saw since the police 5 months ago. Her eyes lit up, and sub-consciously her body started to glow different colors. Shifting as quickly as the Led lights in her dorm.

"Mind your quirk princess" Saina, the class grump-who lowkey crushes on y/n- sneers.

"Aww, sorry, thanks for reminding me daddy" Y/n responded, feigning innocence but still not breaking eye contact with the screen.

She mentally focused on subsiding her quirk, but it took awhile for her to completely stop glowing.

Once she was y/n watched the first parts of the festival, noting exactly what that blonde boy was doing. Not without checking out some of the other students. Obviously, but something about those red eyes had her enticed. So she made sure to focus on him.

As she watched she learned that his quirk was fire, and he used it very differently than she did. She scribbled down a random note about it to make it seem like she was studying and trying to improve herself. Then, focused back on every intricate curve of his face instead. How he scowled, he really looked angry, but being one of those U.A. kids, she couldn't help but doubt he really had anything to be angry about.

Soon the girl found herself imagining him in some sort of serious situation, what could make somebody so angry?

And before she knew it, his fighting figure disappeared from the tv as an image of midnight replayed him, announcing that he had one his fight. The last fight wasn't it? Meaning that the rage boy must've won the whole thing. y/n really wasn't impressed, obviously he was only fighting other U.A. students. How hard could that be? However, she was excited that he won for some reason.

While y/n watched him she couldn't help but wish she was the one fight. Oh to be punched by that man. Every kick he would throw sent goosebumps down her body. Plus when he used that quirk, shit was it hot. Pun intended. Fire seemed like such a simple quirk, but simple works best. That last fight against Todoroki, that excited her.

See, y/n liked adventures away from the school ground, and since she could fly..well. She knew Todoroki. He was always considerate enough not to be weirded out by her when she would sneak into his house, her parents knew his dad well, so she pretty much only knew that one place. He was logical and so he understood that she isn't really perverted, she simply hasn't seen boys in a very long time. Todoroki figured if he hadn't seen a female in three years he might become more fond of them as well.

"Now lets award the metals"

She looked up at the screen to see a podium holding the winners and runner ups. Atop it was the boy, he was announced as Katsuki Bakugou. He was chained to the post and attacking the air, and y/n found this insanely hot. She assumed that since Todoroki hadn't given his all, that boom boom might be upsetting. However, she never expected to see this beautiful sight on the tv screen of her classroom. The sight was stuck in her mind for days.

She thought about it during dance class.

She thought about it during quirk training.

She thought about it during lunch.

During "sleepovers"

During missions with her boss - gang orca

During meeting with the principle

Even during visit time with her parents. It was then she decided she had to do something about it. Now, even though most girls at her school looked down upon U.A. the parents and staff didn't. For the girls it was about how truly jealous they were that those students, even with lesser power, would get to become heros. While us here, would become noblewomen, or princesses or be married off into other famous quirk families.

Y/n only was jealous because her mother spent more time with U.A. students than with her and her brothers. Seeing her mother was midnight, yes, the pro-hero. While that sounds cool, it isn't. Her mother and father dated for 1 month before getting married on a whim. Her father being a prince was something mom always described as FUCKINZg SEGGSYYY. Yes, you could blame midnight for y/ns horny behaviors.

Unfortunately for midnight, royal quirks don't mix with other quirks. None of her children have her quirk. Her daughter has Elementus total control, her middle son has Elementus manipulate, and youngest son has Elementus transform. So she is left with a 7 year old that can turn himself into water if he doesn't want to get in trouble....yeah. So that at home life was strange...

"Mom, dad, I wanna be hero"

"Bullshit, no you don't bahaha"

"I do, mom"

"Why"

"Dad, I wanna help people you know, like mom does. I wanna make the world better instead of just becoming a queen and sitting in a house all day." Y/n lied, she would love to sit around doing nothing while her rich, king husband did all the work. Then she could just eat and watch anime and be unbothered. However, in the moment, y/n forgot about her dream future. All she wanted in that moment was to see boom boom everyday. yuh, I said it..boom boom.

"Babe, she has a fair point...plus its not like chiyo can do anything with his quirk"

"What do you mean?! CHiyo's quirk is so cool dad, one time he took all the oxygen out of my bod and then I couldn't do anything, it was so cool!"

"see...."

"Yea,yea i see"

"My love, can't you just recommend her to U.A. so you can keep an eye on her. We both knew she was destined to be a hero at some point."

"Uhm. Babe. She only wants to go so she can see boys."

"What?!My princess would never, you heard it, she wants to help people. Our sons would never say such things, we should proud, love"

"Honey, she is lying."

"No, I'm not a mom, I could care less about boys. All the girls at this school can do the same things, if not better. "

"Y/N! I love you so much my precious horny little fuck"Her mother sprang up from her seat and embarrassed her.

"I can't believe this is my life.." dad sighed.

"But yeah, that proves your point honey, if she is gay then she must mean it. Yayyy. N/N is coming to school with meeee!!"

"I- yeah mom."

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ssunsxt · 4 years ago

Note

Could you do eqg villians scale please? Maybe with such criteria as design, motivation, charisma etc...which ones are poorly written in your opinion? Perhaps some villains got the redemtion arc undeservedly? What do you think?

WHEW THANK GOD OKAY. This is going to be LONG so I’ll put it in a read more. TLDR at the end.

EVERYONE saw this coming but-- Wallflower Blush is the WORST villain in terms of.... the entire criteria you want me to rate them on.

Her design is bland and boring, which I understand is the point bc she’s supposed to blend into the background and not stand out (which I mean, arguably gets her some points for the fact her design works for what it was intended for), but she’s just.... so boring to look at.

Motivation was HORSE shit. I’ve talked about this from heaven to earth and back again. @mlprarepairartsies made a really good post about her motivations which you can find here. I just think she’s selfish and likes to blame others. I definitely don’t think she deserved the “redemption” she got considering she didn’t really apologise for what she put Sunset through. Like, yes okay maybe she apologised for using the stone but like........ you tore away all of Sunset’s hard work, forcing her to be and feel completely alone despite all of the hardships she had already faced and the countless times she put herself in danger to save the school. She completely disregarded all of the good Sunset did because she didn’t reach out to HER specifically? Bitch I’ll floor it

----

Juniper Montage isn’t the best villain, but she’s still better and (arguably) more justified than Wallflower. Her motivations were shallow-- but at least she saw the GROUP at fault for what happened to her.

Her design is cute. I really loved her little film-reel hair ties! They were so cute. I also really love her personality. She has a little bit of attitude, which is something I REALLY love in a character. Even before the girls got her fired, she still had her attitude when talking about how her uncle wouldn’t give her a chance at the role she wanted. Not even at her uncle though! Just the situation as a whole. It shows she clearly has things she wants and gets mad when things don’t work out for her.

Her apology seemed genuine too. She’s genuinely just.... a girl who finds it hard to make friends and thought that in order to make friends she had to be able to impress them-- and what better way than through fame? What makes her endearing is that she felt like she didn’t deserve forgiveness after what she’d done, too! She genuinely did feel guilty about everything!

She was just really fun to watch.

-----

Vignette McFucking Valencia. THIS bitch.

In terms of her design? I think she’s probably the most aesthetic-- but that’s the whole point, isnt it? So that gives her more points

she’s just a CLASS A dumbass and honestly I think its really brave how she didnt even give a shit about being called out ayusdifhjkndf she was just consistently an asshole and didn’t give a shit. she didn’t really get a redemption which I really liked because it wouldn’t really have made sense with her personality for her to just be like “damn... youre right”

she’s a narcissist and I’m here for it. she’s not a likeable character, which is why I love her so much as a villain because..... theres people just like her in the real world

------

SPEAKING OF PEOPLE JUST LIKE HER IN THE REAL WORLD

Cinch. What a fucking asshole. What a great villain. A person in a position of power who uses her influence to blackmail and manipulate people into doing what she wants. How absolutely mouthwatering is that as a villain trope.

Her design just radiates big bitch energy. It really fits with her personality. She just LOOKS like an asshole.

She was an asshole through and through, too !! She didn’t get a redemption! She even LOST her position of power!! So thats MAD s*xy

She’s the kind of villain that you see on the screen and you just yell BOO, so I think she does her job very well

(also im not gonna count Twilight as a villain bc... she was LITERALLY the victim of this movie)

-------

okay so the top 3!!!

GLORIOSA. DAISY.

Her design is so pretty. She looks like someone I could have a cup of hot cocoa with. Someone I can trust.

Her motivation was really noble, honestly. She just wanted to save the camp she was raised on. One of the last things she has left of her parents. How the hell can you fault her for that?

From the little glimpse of the real her you see outside of her “camp counsellor” act, she just seems like a really chilled out and normal person. She puts others first, works hard to ensure peoples happiness, and she just allowed magic to take advantage of her weakness (her desperation to save her camp) and I don’t think there’s anything wrong with that! She’s a character you can sympathise and empathise with. Someone who was in a bad situation and just wanted so desperately to fix it without stressing out her younger brother. She didn’t want to make him worry (which she did in the end but she tried her best!!!)

I just really love Gloriosa and I don’t talk about her enough

--------

bada bing bada boom everyone saw this coming. THE DAZZLINGS.

Look. They do evil well. They had one goal and they stuck to it. They wanted power and at the first opportunity they got? They JUMPED on it. The DEDICATION. Was their motivation dumb? Not really. They’re evil and “wanting to take over the world” seems pretty evil to me?

Their designs are really nice (except aria what the FUCK are you wearing sweetie). They’re so fucking charismatic that I’m actually MAD they lost the battle of the bands!! Recount the votes!!! they deserved the win !!!

on top of that, they had literally the best soundtrack for their movie.

They each have such distinct personalities and their dynamic with each other as well as how they interact with other characters and the world around them is just..... so entertaining to watch. Adagio is snarky as hell and sarcasm drips off of her. Aria is just this loser who likes fashion and has an attitude. I can vibe. Sonata is just.... Sonata. I needn’t say more. Absolute dumbasses are my type.

Even after they lose their powers they just... decided they actually really liked singing. And even then, they still have a fucking attitude!! They didn’t thank sunset and the girls for “opening their eyes” to life without magic or thank them for making them think introspectively. They literally tell sunset to get a life and drive off in a fucking van. That’s SO funny. Literally no other villain is doing it like them.

--------

idk if this is a shock but... Sunset Shimmer is my favorite EQG villain.

Her goal was power, but to me, I don’t think it was power that she ever really wanted. She just wanted to prove to Celestia that she was great and wanted Celestia to appreciate her for the talent she had. She just wanted to feel wanted and appreciated.

She was ambitious and selfish, self-serving and mean, yes! She was! But she always knew what to do to achieve her goals. She was manipulative, and so so smart with how she went about things. The students and even the teachers were fully aware of the kind of person Sunset was, but still she “ruled the school”. The POWER she has.

She’s just so very... human, and I think that’s ultimately why I love Sunset so much. She finds out the one person she wanted validation from the most actually replaced her-- took her destiny from her. Of course she’d be hurt! Of course she’d feel even worse about herself. All she cared about was Celestia and Celestia’s validation, and to Sunset, wouldn’t it appear that the princess-- someone she has spent every moment of her life thinking about-- didn’t even spare her a second thought? Imagine how that would feel

She bluffs, and lies, and does all she can to keep up this facade of unshakeable confidence; but in all actually, Sunset is just so insecure. She thinks so little of herself. And despite all of her hardwork, she’s still defeated. She’s proven that there are things more powerful than ambition and talent. And the first opportunity she receives in order to right her wrongs? She takes it. She jumps on every chance she gets to be a better person. She works hard to be better and do better.

And that’s what makes her such a likeable character; because even after she’s redeemed, her personality doesn’t completely change. She’s just using that energy towards other things-- better things. And it pays off for her.

You love watching her grow into the person she is at the end of the show. Seeing her grow into herself without worrying about impressing others or proving herself. You just feel so proud of how far she’s come. That’s what makes her such a good villain.

-------

so this was LONG as hell but TLDR;

The scale (from worst to best) goes Wallflower —> Juniper —> Vignette —> Cinch —> Gloriosa —> The dazzlings —> Sunset

#equestria girls #eqg #mlp eqg #mlp #ask tag #anon ask #villain scale

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for-ests · 5 years ago

Note

Well, even though I’m already getting ready for Xmas, we can’t ignore thanksgiving. How bout a piece on Tom meeting the whole family on this day but it’s a chaotic mess because holidays can just bring out the best or worst in us. Maybe that’s just my family. Anyways, happy writing! 🦃

Thanks for the request babes :-) I hope this is what you had in mind (I vaguely say aunts, siblings, cousins, so the reader is able to imagine however many they have) enjoy!! ❤️

Word count: 2,145

✭♡✭♡✭♡✭

Even though you had been dating Tom for eight months, the two of you had never spent the holidays together. You had met at the most imperfect time, in late February.

Though you didn’t want to admit it, what unfolded tonight at your family’s Thanksgiving dinner would determine how you would continue on with your relationship. Your family was incredibly Important to you, and their opinion on your boyfriend was just as significant.

Despite the pressure that weighed on you and Tom’s shoulders, you were calm and collected. You were almost positive that they were going to love him as much as you had grown to.

Tom though, understandably, was a nervous wreck.

“Ughhh they’re gonna hate me.” He whispered, crossing his arms in a childish manner, mimicking one in a way that was intended to make you laugh. You chuckled loudly from the driver’s seat, trying to not keep your eyes off the road for more than a second.

“I think the fact that you have a British accent is enough to make my family like you.” You teased, reaching across the armrest and setting a comforting hand on his thigh. He relaxed immediately as you continued.

“We’ve talked about my past relationships before. But I’ve brought worse boys home, you being a decent human being is most definitely enough.”

“I know I know.” He mumbled, setting his hand over yours. “I just want it to be more than that. I’m here to prove myself whether you feel like that’s what’s gonna happen.”

“Yeah, totally.” You quipped, a bit flattered that he was so anxious to meet your parents and siblings. A guy had never shown this much interest in you before, yet alone your family.

“I can see you trying not to smile.” He teased.

Breaking into a smile, you shook your head, purposefully turning farther to the opposite side. Tom always did this, and you smiled every single time.

“Shush up and let me focus on the road”

Whatever your boyfriend said next faded into the background, and he soon turned his attention to his cell phone.

It had been months since you’d been to your hometown, and you were anxious to see it again. You were a well known actor like Tom, and that had kept you in many unfamiliar places surrounded by unfamiliar people. Coming back to your roots on such an important family holiday was what you had been waiting for. To see the people you loved again, and to introduce someone special to them.

Though your hometown was smaller, and not entirely significant, you were proud to be from the area. It was lively and decorated, the landscape stretching on for miles with rolling hills and hundreds of trees.

Your house was placed in a tight knit family friendly area. And as you drove closer, the aspects of your beloved neighborhood and town had become distinct, even the familiar layouts of the back roads put a smile on your face.

You breathed a sigh of relief. Nostalgia was a killer, and you were excited to show Tom around the town you held so close to your heart.

“Here we are.” You turned onto the block, and pulled into the driveway.

Tom tucked his phone away and focused his attention on what lay before him. “It’s lovely.” He smiled, pointing to a window on the second floor. “I bet that used to be your room.”

“Correct.” You tried not to giggle like the little girl you used to be. Unbuckling, you leaned over and planted a kiss on his cheek.

As you pulled away, Tom was staring intensely. One look at you, and his nerves seemed to fade. You were so happy to bring him back. He loved to see you fulfilled, and loved that he was part of that reason.

Without another word, the two of you gathered your bags and made your way up to the front porch. The smell of holiday scented candles was the first thing you noticed when you opened the door. You could hear the afternoon football game playing from the living room loudly, and the bustling of your mother in the kitchen.

But before you stepped over the threshold into your warmly lit home, you leaned over and purred into Tom’s ear. “If you behave, you’re in for treat tonight.”

Tom snorted, nudging you away. “Shut up, I haffta focus.”

You kissed him again, but this time it was fully on the lips. You winked before screaming, “IM HOME!”

Then it was madness. Your family flooded to the front door, taking your bags so they could embrace you for the first time in months. It felt so good to be back, it was almost as if you had never moved out. Everything was the same, everything was familiar.

Introductions ensued. Cooing from your mother, going on and on about how handsome he was, though you had already shown her pictures. (She had seen all his movies already, but she would never admit that.)

A brooding stare from your father- which soon turned into a firm handshake. Your father didn’t really care who walked through the door, as long as they would watch sports with him. Tom definitely had some homework.

And your younger siblings of course, they had been waiting to meet Spider-Man since the moment you told them you were dating a superhero. They poked and prodded him, asking if he could play with them later and give they battle strategy tips.

It was all coming together, and thank God you arrived over an hour earlier than you had intended, so you could find some peace before the storm. Tom was unprepared for the mayhem that was about to ensue when suburban women had to prepare a Thanksgiving dinner.

Though you weren’t prepared for it, you were grateful. You were happy, watching him smile, his eyes twinkle, the corners of his eyes crinkling when your mother showed genuine interest in his career and experiences.

You were sentimental, wishing you could have spent a portion of your childhood with Tom, something that could have developed into an epic love story, one that stretched across decades. Your families would have already been close, before the fame. But when you thought harder about it, you were satisfied with what you had. You were incredibly smitten with Tom, and by the effort he was putting forth, he was equally smitten with you.

Tom had never been to the suburbs, so this trip was equivalent to a vacation for him. Which you found strange, given the fact that it was the fucking suburbs– but you didnt want to ruin his fun.

And ruined it was, or so that’s what it seemed like as your mother screamed at the top of her lungs for your younger siblings to leave the kitchen. You were by her side, also in an apron, trying to carve the turkey as best as you could while your mother mashed potatoes like she had never mashed them before.

“When are the aunties coming?” You squirmed and ripped another chunk of meat off the turkey bones, tossing them into a glass bowl.

“On their way.” Your mom said breathlessly, finishing the mashed potatoes and focusing on stirring the gravy. She then ordered you to crack open a few cans of cranberry sauce.

“Will we be done in time?” You glanced to the oven that had biscuits baking in it.

“Yes. Your grandmother is bringing doubled eggs and relish plates. Your aunt is bringing…” she trailed off as her attention was turned to the stuffing that had yet to be loaded into a plate. Unfortunately, your mom had fallen behind schedule this year and had to cook everything in the last couple hours. Part of that reason was because she was distracted with your arrival. It was a mess, but it was all coming together. With your help of course.

“Is there anything I can help with, Mrs. L/N?” Tom peaked his head around the corner at the commotion. You knew he had been distracted with a long friendly lecture from your father.

Your mother didn’t seem to hear him, as her train of thought was interrupted by the oven beeping. The biscuits were done.

She breathed a sigh of relief, and turned the oven off. Everything was finally cooked, and still piping hot for all the family to enjoy. Yet your mother still seemed anxious. But that was just how she was, every single year.

“You’re the guest, Tom.” You smiled. “And everything is done.”

He gave you two thumbs up, flashing a cheshire grin. Surprisingly, he seemed over the moon, probably excited for the food that was lying in front of him. It was aromatic, and your stomach started to grumble.

“Can I at least help set up?” He asked, guilt flashing across his face. Tom was one of those people that hated to sit around and watch everyone else take part in activities, even if it was as simple as setting up the dinner table. ‘Let me do something’ He mouthed, practically pleading with his eyes.

Your father made his way into the room, but before he could say anything, your mother piped up, back still turned away from the three of you.

Your mother chuckled. “Oh sweetie, guests don’t help set the table.” She walked past him, picking up the carved turkey and setting it gracefully in the center of the elongated wooden table.

“Guests?” You father chortled, clapping Tom on the back. “He’s practically family now.”

Your father’s eyes met your for a moment, and you were pleased to find his statement was genuine. Your heart fluttered, forever grateful that your parents seemed to approve of him. That was a first.

“Oops!” Your mother laughed. “You’re right, honey.” She walked past Tom and guestered for him to follow. “Grab whatever you’d like and bring it over then.” Normally, she would have made a joke, but you could tell she was tired, and wanted to eat.

Snorting, you shook your head. You knew she was trying extra hard to impress Tom. Like you, she had been waiting for another man in the family to spoil. Nodding towards the biscuits, Tom gained the hint that you wanted him to snatch something else to help set up.

That was the calm before the storm. The hustling and bustling of dishes signaled to your siblings and cousins that it was time to eat. They practically ran into the kitchen, a whirlwind of thank you’s in their paths. Taking advantage of that opportunity, your mother started handing them dishes to set on the table.

And before you and Tom knew it, there was nothing left to place on the table.

Setting the biscuits sheepishly on the edge of the table, and handing a few to your cousins at the kiddie bench, he rounded back to your side.

“I feel worthless.” He whispered in your ear, knowing it was a light-hearted joke.

“It’s fine babe, next time.” You left a light kiss on his cheek.

The two of you started to make your way to the table, unable to ignore the grumbling in your stomachs. You had purposefully told Tom not to eat a single thing before the gigantic meal. You had also advised that it was more than welcomed to take seconds, thirds, and even fourths.

And then, as if on cue, the front door violently swung open, and in hurried your aunts and grandparents. “Oofta, traffic was a killer.” You heard you grandmother’s voice complain loudly from the front entrance. A chilling breeze followed, refreshing in the warmly lit atmosphere.

You turned and saw your grandfather balancing at least four pumpkin pies in his hands. Tom rushes forward to help, and you followed suit.

“OH MY GOSH IT’S Y/N’S BOYFRIEND!” Your rambunctious aunt seemed to yell at the top of her lungs when she spotted the stranger.

Tom’s eyebrows raised in amusement.

“Be prepared for kisses.” You warned, smiling from ear to ear, knowing he had already been warned of their excessive amounts of affection.

It was going to be an incredibly wild night. One that you and Tom would remember for years to come.

#tom holland x reader #tom holland imagine #tom holland fluff #tom holland #tom holland fanfic

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pagesofkenna · 4 years ago

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ok this is gonna be a little rambly so im putting it under a readmore; critdice and tonight’s talks related

(hows that for code switching)

i dont watch talks but i occasionally catch the summaries that get posted on tumblr and the comments on essek both amuse and frustrate me because a) liam and sam are right and they should say it, i love essek but hes NOT (wasnt?) a good person and just getting over everything he did because the fans think he’s hot is stupid. he has work to do and he’s not a protagonist so he doesn’t have to do it onscreen

but b) liam apparently makes a comment to the effect of ‘there are other heavy hitters i’d bring in’ and why do you NEED a heavy hitter?? this isn’t a fight! the players keep treating their interactions with the tombtakers as all a big foreplay for a showdown and it’s really not! the party didnt HAVE to take the job in eiselcross, and if they hadn’t all this tombtaker stuff would be happening in the background without any nein intervention at all

not that the nein should just let lucien do whatever he wants or even help him but they’ve been approaching lucien’s alive-ness as evidence of a boss battle to come since day one, which has colored how they’ve approached interacting with him in a way that frustrates me so much. there’s a scene where beau is trying to tell the party, before they potentially go see lucien, that they just need to talk to him to find out whats going on, because they knew jack! and everyone else was all ‘we’re not joining him wtf are you talking about of COURSE the only two options here are join his cult or try to slit his throat!’ GAH

which brings me to the fact that i have been TELLING my computer for WEEKS now that they need to go talk to essek. he’s RIGHT THERE matt obviously PUT him there to be a deus ex machina intervention in everything going on, but now the party’s suspicious of his motives and apparently don’t want to deal with him, and worse off dont think he’s be helpful in the big rodeo brawl they’re planning on having no matter what

i dont know WHAT essek would be helpful with, other than another NPC to bounce ideas off of. they can’t talk to dagon (why have they even been stringing dagon along??), their local empire contacts are all either dead or in a position to pin those deaths on the nein, and they can’t leave for fear of not being able to return. so go talk to essek!! they’ve been following the tombtakers around like lost puppies with zero plan and even less of an understanding of the situation theyre in. at the worst the dynasty outpost gets them away from the tombtakers for long enough to reevaluate their situation and figure out an actual plan

(at best the dynasty outpost will have some method of transportation that would be super helpful? like, the time between the peace treaty and the nein discovering essek had been reassigned to lead this outpost across the continent from the dynasty was only, what, a couple weeks?)

i’m scratching my head to think of any goals the party has beyond dealing with the threat lucien is presenting (deal with trent, deal with u’katoa, visit the tal’dorei council) so i understand why the cast is churning their wheels on this, but while typing that i realized the somnovum threat was probably intended to be something they dealt with after u’katoa?? like there’s other things you can be doing besides following lucien around waiting to be pumped up enough for the wrestling match you’ve decided to challenge him to?

idk. i wish they’d go talk to essek. and if it wasn’t essek running the dynasty outpost i wish they’d go talk to whoever was. they’ve been spinning their wheels in the snow for weeks and it really feels like that one move will get them back on track and they refuse to do it

(also, to change topics, apparently liam said some good stuff about mental health and recovery and talked about how caduceus’ positivity hasn’t been helping caleb because it doesn’t, idk, actually work for the situation caleb is in, and i kinda think that both a) cad’s positivity isn’t going to ultimately work for anyone? because it’s part of cad’s character flaw? i remember seeing meta a long time ago about cad not ever addressing some of his own negative feelings and that leading to a flawed sense of self, or something, but also b) caleb and maybe even liam are misunderstanding some of cad’s mental health advice as just blanket ‘positivity’? i don’t think cad’s ever been a ‘just choose happiness’ kinda guy? but i’ll have to rewatch a bunch of cad convos before i try to fully make this argument)

#critdice #tldr is just that i continue to wish they'd stop treating all interactions with the tombtakers as a prelude to a fight #because i believe they're the ones deciding this is going to be a fight not matt and anot the tombtakers #and also i wish theyd just go to the dynasty outpost already

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scatterpatter · 4 years ago

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15 w Corren!

15: What is your characters background story?

OHOHO, so I’m going to leave One Detail Out because there’s one part of his backstory I don’t wanna spoil for Jazz yet, but... >:3c

Also it’s under the cut because i totally infodumped and then some OOPSIE

oh also cws: serious illness, death, domestic violence, depression

Corren Hartwell grew up the youngest of 3 siblings, the oldest being his big sis Mila and the middle child being his bro Julian. Their parents were pretty detached emotionally, but that’s pretty par for the course where he was from, and they provided for the kids so it really wasn’t all that bad. Not a perfect family, no fam ever is, but they were happy.

His race’s culture is super inclined to intelligence and studying technology, the mind, etc, so Corren spent his childhood being a total bookworm. Studying history, arcana, all sorts of stuff... he never really minded it, though. He was actually quite good at what he did!

Mila was a spellcaster- I honestly forgot what school of magic she was in OOPS, and Julian dual-classed as a Necromancer and Bard! Jules and Mila were both pretty close in age, and they were like besties on top of being siblings, and they’d often team up to do small adventuring jobs: hit up the help wanted board in town and take care of short deliveries or a monster stalking a farm or something like that- both for the thrill and to also earn some extra gold for the family. They loved Corren, but they couldn’t take him with them because it was too dangerous for him since he was still just a little kid. Still, Corren admired them and wanted to be just like them(better, even?) when he grew up! ... Oh yeah I always forget this detail but Corren’s totally trans XD He came out pretty young but his family was chill with it so like... ayyyeee

Though one day, Mila started getting sick. Corren doesn’t really know what it was, but for whatever reason she wasn’t able to heal from it with simple healing spells. It was a slow process, but she was just getting worse instead of better, and one day she passed. The family was a wreck, understandably. The issue is... Corren and Julian had... different ways of grieving. Corr was still young, the equivalent of like someone 10-12 in human years, so he didn’t fully grasp the concept of death just yet. He retreated into himself a lot, had trouble grounding himself to the present and really struggling with depression. Julian, about the equivalent of someone 16-18, had a better understanding of what was going on, but he was wrecked. He wanted their sister back, and was so upset he couldnt do anything... but he wanted to try. He ended up doing something rash, and... well, spoilers ;) (dont worry he didnt hurt Corren or anyone else, but... he Fucked Up in what he tried doing)

Things quickly went downhill from there for the Hartwells. There was often a lot of fighting between Julian and their parents, or Corren would be chided for being unable to focus, like, at all, and... Corren and Jules never really fought, but there was a clear rift between them after what happened. They still loved each other, but it was so obvious their relationship would never be like what it was when Mila was still around, and that hurt both of them so much.

A few months later, things reached a boiling point and Julian was kicked out of their home. Before he left, though, he found Corren and gave him something: a small amethyst pendant on a necklace chain, something Julian used to always wear. They made a promise that this wasn’t gonna be goodbye, that they’d find each other again, and then Jules was gone. It was just Corren and his mom and dad.

Things were still strained, and Corren just did his best to keep to his studies to distract himself from everything. Not wanting Corren to end up like his brother, his parents forbade anything necrotic in the magic he learned. The problem was... Corren still loved Julian. And still wanted to be like him, to a point, so... he would study necromancy in secret. It was kinda like his little lifeline like “hey Jules is still here to an extent if I know the spells he does”, and things seemed to be going okay, for the most part

Well uh... one day his father caught him practicing his necromancy and... well, was far from happy about it. An argument quickly erupted between them both, a lot of yelling back and forth, and before Corr could react properly, his father grabbed something from the desk and struck him with it, giving him a pretty bad cut across his right eye(the smol scar I always draw? Yeah...). In a panic, Corren’s flight of fight kicked in as he cast a magic missile at his father in retaliation. Corren isn’t sure if his attack just stunned, knocked out, or killed his father, but the flight of fight-or-flight kicked in as he just ran from the situation. He had no idea what he was to do or where to go, but he just knew he couldn’t go back home after that.

SO this poor kid, probably the equivalent of a 14-15 y/o, is out on his own now... and he sure does his best. He mainly spends his time hopping from town to town, taking up small jobs to get some gold in his pockets, and is just... focusing on surviving. Going from this sheltered lifestyle to suddenly on the streets was a wake-up call and then some, but he found ways to make it work. Luckily his background of studying all the time gave him enough intelligence to take up tasks others weren’t as capable of, but it was still... far from easy. But he made it work!

One day he’s in a city known as Lilenthemar, just taking a break in one of the town squares, when an Elven man takes a seat on the bench next to him. They both sit in a comfortable silence for a while... but the elf then strikes a conversation. Corren, socially awkward like no tomorrow, tries to keep up the conversation... key word tries. The man introduces himself as Jethro, and I imagine the conversation took a turn like this:

Jethro: I don’t see many Marelienths around here, are you new in town?

Corren: Yeah, just passing through I guess. ... Gotta say, wasn’t expecting to see the Dragon Saint of the Green as I came here, though.

Jethro, laughing: Ah, yes, Raerose. Don’t worry, he’s a kind dragon. Though, it’s certainly surprising to those who are new to the city.

Corren: Oh, no, I know all about Raerose and his connections to this city and the Edgewoods. I just wasn’t expecting to... you know, run into his path as quickly as I did.

Jethro: Oh, so you’ve done your research, I take it?

At that point, Corren does what any neurodivergent would do when asked about his hobbies: Infodumps the hell out of what he knows. He’s far from a great scholar, considering he’s only the equivalent of someone 16-21ish at this point and spent quite a few years away from studying in favor of surviving, but he was still very intelligent and knowledgable about what he talked about. Jethro, picking up on this, decided to offer Corren a temporary position as a Family Historian. Jethro was actually a noble, something Corr somehow didn’t pick up on, and not only could’ve used the help... but also, he kiiiinda picked up on the fact that Corren looked like a kid who could use a place to stay for a while. Corren, not one to look a gift horse in the mouth, immediately accepted the offer.

Now, Corren wasn’t intending to stay for long. A few months, maybe a year or two... but. He realized he was building a pretty stable life by having a consistent job for the elf- it didn’t make much sense to just leave that in favor of hopping from place to place with no purpose. Not to mention, he was actually growing quite close to his boss. They’d often spent time together during off-hours, sitting in a comfortable quiet, just taking comfort in each other’s presence. Jethro’s actually the only one Corren ever opened up to about his past, and over the years Corren really grew to love him in a strong platonic way. They both struggled with their own grieving, Jethro with his passed wife and son he hadn’t seen in years, and Corren with his passed sister and brother he hadn’t seen in years, which only helped them grow closer, since they understood each other’s pain, in a sense.

He still struggled with depression, but overall Corren was doing pretty damn well in life. ... Many years later, Corren being 44(idk which human-equivalent this would be. Mid-Late 20s? Early 30s?), actually gets to meet Jethro’s son, Jericho, and the party he traveled with... called the F.U.C.K.s. ... I couldn’t make this shit up even if I tried. They needed help getting to a place called the Menoa Tree, which Corren happened to have studied for a long while, so he offered to help the party. ... They totally broke him with their antics. He proceeded to have a mental breakdown in front of them, and essentially went “FUCK THIS IM GOING HOME AND TAKING A NAP”. Jethro got a laugh out of the furious rambling Corren came home with.

... But despite that, something stuck with him. He just couldn’t quite get the party out of his mind. Something about them, as frustrating as they were, was almost... magnetic? ... Well, weeks later, word came to Lilenthemar about a war that had been raging on for years now... but specifically of a battle at a city known as Joshua, the forces being lead by Jericho alongside many others. Jethro was of course worried about his boy... and Corren... well, something in him changed. He wanted to know more about the FUCKs and just WHAT their deal was, and he wanted to ease Jethro’s worries, so... he grabbed a sniper rifle and decided that he’d go help protect Jericho and his friends as they fought.

He eventually caught up to the party, convinced them to let him help, and after many battles... the war was won(Corren kinda came in at the tail-end of it all). The only thing is... after that, Corren didn’t really want to go home just yet. He actually enjoyed spending time with the party... and then it clicked: They were powerful adventurers who were totally crazy, stupid, and had no sense of self-preservation... they were just like Julian. And Corren loved it, even when they drove him crazy. He felt alive, which is something he realized he hadn’t felt in a long time... and quickly grew attached to his party, Alistair now taking the reigns as leader as Jericho retired from adventuring. And, well, he’s stuck with them ever since!

He still has Julian’s amethyst, as they’ve yet to reunite(yknow, assuming Jules is still alive even), but... certain events are causing some concern with the story I’m telling. Mainly... Corren is slowly facing Aboleth Corruption(he doesn’t know this yet, but is starting to suspect there’s something wrong with him), and that’s causing parts of his memory to be... patchy. Certain things aren’t lining up, and there could be more(or just different altogether) pieces of this story than what I’ve just told... but we’ll have to wait and see until we get to the quest that deals with that before we find out what’s REALLY going on ;)

... HEY UM I HOPE YALL DONT MIND THE IMMENSE INFODUMP IF YOU MADE IT THIS FAR THEN THANK U FOR CARING ABT MY BOI ;-;

#corren #OHHHH DONT MIND THE BRICK WALLS OF TEXT #YKNOW THIS WAS FUN ACTUALLY #I TYPED UP A BACKSTORY BEFORE BUT LIKE #SINCE ITS BEEN A FEW MONTHS SINCE THEN IT FELT NICE TO LIKE #JUST GO OVER CERTAIN PARTS OF IT AGAIN AND GIVE IT KINDA A FRESH RE-TELLING #dnd ask meme #ironically corren is the only one that has THIS much backstory of all my charas HVSFHBDS #phonepastry

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