#i do admit i never want to criticize the run because i don't like criticizing hawks comics on a space dcau stans can see

[hawkgirlz]

carter/shayera are a god tier concept conceptually because they have so many parallels but the problem is katar & shiera have to die in order for said pairing to be god tier in the first place. but i mean, they are together now so, i just wish that book didn't get cancelled so we could've seen the proper reunion better 🤕

[tinyproprodigy]

𖤐 ִֶָ 𓂃 🧷

"C r u s h , c r u s h , c r u s h ."

Bakugou Katsuki x reader - (NB)

• Bakugo's crush on you started innocently enough - he begrudgingly admired your work ethic and quirk control during training sessions. But then he noticed the way your (e/c) eyes squinted slightly when you concentrated, and the adorable crinkle of your nose when you were deep in thought, and suddenly his heart was exploding like one of his nicely aimed AP shots.

• Whenever you're in the vicinity, Bakugo can't help but sneak glances your way, only to whip his head around with a fierce scowl when someone (usually Kaminari) catches him staring. "I wasn't looking at that loser, you idiot!" he'll growl, tiny explosions sparking at his fingertips.

• Mina and Sero live for teasing Bakugo about his crush, much to his chagrin. They'll make over-exaggerated googly eyes at him whenever you walk by, or loudly proclaim things like, "There goes the love of Bakugo's life!" This inevitably results in Bakugo chasing them around, threatening bodily harm if they don't shut their "damn traps."

• There's a running bet among the class on when (or if) Bakugo will finally admit his feelings. Kaminari has money on "Never, he's too proud." Mina is convinced he'll blurt it out in a fit of rage someday. Kirishima just wants his bro to be happy.

• In the rare moments when Bakugo musters the courage to talk to you, he instantly reverts to a flustered, stuttering mess. His ears burn bright red as he tries (and fails) to act casual, inevitably resorting to angry yelling to cover up his embarrassment. "Quit staring at me like that, (L/N)! Don't you have better things to do than bother me?"

• Despite his gruff exterior, Bakugo is incredibly protective of you. If anyone so much as looks at you the wrong way, they'll find themselves on the receiving end of his explosive fury. He insists it's just because you're a fellow hero-in-training and he refuses to let his talents be outshone, but the class knows the truth.

• There's a notebook buried deep in Bakugo's room where he's meticulously analyzed all your quirk's capabilities, strong points, and areas for improvement. In the margins, doodles of your face and little explosions shaped like hearts decorate the pages. If anyone ever found it, he'd simply combust from mortification.

• During particularly intense battles or training exercises, Bakugo finds himself pushing harder than ever before, determined to impress you with his skills. Afterwards, he'll try to play it cool, like your presence had no effect on him whatsoever. But the glow of pride on his face when you compliment his power is unmistakable.

• You, precious reader, remain delightfully oblivious to Bakugo's inner turmoil. You see him as a passionate classmate and respected rival, making his crush on you all the more endearing (and frustrating) for the explosive boy. The rest of Class 1-A watches on in amusement, waiting for the inevitable explosion when Bakugo's feelings finally reach critical mass.

• No matter how much he growls and glares, at the end of the day Bakugo is an awkward teenage boy stumbling through his first real crush. And while his methods are unorthodox (and often involve yelling), his feelings for you are as bright and dazzling as one of his explosive blasts, lighting up the sky for all to see.

[cherie-doll]

*sweats nervously* How do you think the cod boys would react to s/o wanting to peg them?

#pegmen2024 if i were running for president

⨯ Price, Ghost, Soap, Gaz, Roach, Alejandro, Rudy, Phillip Graves, Makarov, Keegan, König, Horangi, Nikto (suggestive duh- SEX)

⨯ Price would 10/10 let you pounce from behind. I've read enough fics to know that. Honestly, it'd have to be one of those days where he's feeling a bit more relaxed. You can be a bit of a handful sometimes so why not let you take over for a bit?

⨯ Simon would be asking where the hell are these crazy ideas coming from, no way he's letting that happen, you're insane- and the scene pans to him being pegged.

⨯ Johnny would love to have you on top ( as in submissive not the position) of him tbh. Anyone remember that one video from his va?? He's agreeing to that RIGHT AWAY. Believes women should be in power and dominant, ALWAYS. He'd actually prefer it, that's how y'all have sex most of the time.

⨯ Kyle would be hanging or more like GRIPPING from his last thread. Seriously, how could someone as sweet looking as you make his breath come in fast and have sweat dripping down past his brows.

⨯ Roach is scared but attracted to that. "First time being pegged, kinda nervous". However, as elating as that was, he's making you do him almost every time after that. How can you tell him no because your libido was just high during that? It's called ovulating but he hopes it happens again soon.

⨯ Alejandro will give you that look that makes your tummy do flips and have your skin tingling and second guessing. Calling you 'vaquera' from now on as he's bucking, making it harder for you to stay on.

⨯ Rudy would crumble to his knees thanking you for this wonderful opportunity. Just imagine those big, soft eyes all clouded and hazed as his breath comes out hot as he stares up at you ARGH-

⨯ Phillip was made to be pegged. He would look so pretty throwing his head back and cursing under his breath (someone has said that before). He hates how much he loves it when you're in one of these moods and he never admits it in front of you. Seriously, he's out there thanking the moon secretly.

⨯ Makarov would take that as a threat. No way he's letting you do that, even when you try slipping out from under him. Sorry, just no, it would a critical hit to the ego he's so used to you stroking all the time.

⨯ Keegan would rather think that a challenge. This man has put you in every position possible there is no way you'd be able to match him. Unless he's like really tired like just coming home from a hard day and he needs a stress reliever but you want to go ham on him, he's telling you to calm down.

⨯ König being submissive is my #1 brainrot head thought. Like who hasn't seen that edit on tiktok?! Also, his voice here?!! Getting sucked dry too when he thinks you're done milking him. You cannot tell me his voice isn't perfect for a whimper audio because I've seen it passed around here, don't lie.

⨯ Horangi is a bit tricky to decipher. He'd either be really into that or would shift so that you're not up on him for long. The only time he's letting it slide is when he's worn out and doesn't feel like doing the job himself.

⨯ Nikto would only let that happen AFTER you've let him go first. Truly you didn't think he would just let you peg him for free?? What do you think he is....

[jadeylovesmarvelxo]

Not So Secret Admirer 💌

Fluffy mini fic, this is an 18+ blog so minors shoo!

💌

Eddie noticed you had been quiet all day Sure he could be loud, opinionated and liked to piss off Jason and his crowd on a daily basis, but he looked after his own.

You had joined Hellfire last year and took a while to come out of your shell, Eddie took you under his wing, was protective of you and though he would never admit it to anyone-you were his favourite.

He was also madly in love with you.

"What's wrong princess?" he murmurs to you and you shake your head, clearly not wanting to talk about what was on your mind.

Ideas of what could be wrong run through his head, were you sick? Was that butthead Carver bothering you in some way? He throws a glare in the assholes direction.

Carver noticed and makes a show of standing up and acting tough, the minute that Eddie flips him the bird, he sits back down again.

With that settled Eddie resumes his precious thoughts. Was it one of his sheeples annoying you? Eddie casts a critical eye over all of them, plots to maim the D&d character of whoever the culprit is in a particularly vicious manner during a campaign.

Finally you speak up.

"Simone was talking about all of the nice dates that Ted takes her on, I don't know... I guess I just wish someone would notice me like that" you avoid his gaze and a whirl of emotions go through Eddie.

Did you honestly not see how smitten he was with you? How protective and soft he could be with you?

The sad look on your face makes Eddie's chest hurt and he vows to bring a smile to your face. He loves your smile, the way your eyes light up and your whole body just radiates sunshine when you're happy about something.

He stews silently as he tries to think of something that will cheer you up, then he gets an idea and hopes it works.

...

There's a note that's been slipped into your locker, you can see it peeking out. When you open your locker to grab the note, there's also a bunch of pretty wildflowers tied with a band inside too.

Warmth floods through your stomach as you read the scribble of words on the paper.

You may not think people notice you but I do. You're all I think about princess, I hope this note makes you smile, because I'm sweating my ass of writing it.

Your Eddie

You clutch the note to your chest beaming, when you next see Eddie you'll finally be brave enough to tell him how you feel about him.

💌

[oliversrarebooks]

listen to my Voice, hero

TW: mind control, hypnotic induction, intimate whumper, restraints, corruption

Are your bonds comfortable, Hero? I wouldn't want to cause any damage to your precious muscles and nerves. You are the city's shining hope, after all. Or at least, you have been until now.

Good, now we can have a proper chat. You can just listen carefully to everything I have to say. 

Oh, don't glare at me like that. How many times have we clashed now? And every time you manage to resist my lovely compelling Voice just enough to stop my plans, just enough so that I must escape by the skin of my teeth. You must have known it might come to this eventually, a time when my compulsions are too strong for you to fight, a time when my Voice finally brings you to your knees.

I've been training, dear hero, training especially for you. Training for you, because you're really the only one in this city worth controlling. You're better than all of them. We both know that. And I know how you feel about me, because I've seen the look in your eyes when my compulsions take hold of your pretty little mind.

No, no, be quiet. Be quiet.That's it, there you are. Oh, the delicious expression on your face when I use my Voice on you. I'll never get enough of it.

Most heroes look terrified, you know, to have their thoughts pulled out from under them, to find their body out of their control. Terrified, angry, defiant -- that's how the other heroes look. But you're different. In that moment when I weave my spell on you, when you feel your mind go hazy and your body stop obeying your commands, I see something else in your eyes. I see relief. Deep, unmistakable relief.

No, don't try to deny it. I've tangled with you too many times to be wrong about this. You're relieved when I compel you. You'd never admit it, not even to yourself, but you long for the way it feels. You long to have your choices taken away. You long to not have to make decisions. You long to not have to fight any more.

But every time, you fight. Every time, you break free of my Voice. And I can see the toll it takes on you. That's why I've been training so hard, Hero. So that you couldn't resist my Voice, wouldn't be able to break free. So that I could give you what you want more than anything. 

I've seen you, Hero. I've seen you at your best and at your lowest, haven't I? I understand you better than anyone else in the city. You know it's true. And I can see how exhausted you are. How you've been worked to the bone. How you never get to rest, never get a vacation. I even tried cutting back on my evil schemes in the hopes that you'd take a break, but all you did was pursue other villains twice as hard. 

There are deep bags under your eyes, Hero, marring your beautiful face. There's resignation in your tone that was never there before. I can't stand it, can't stand the way the city treats you. You're destroying yourself to save this ungrateful, useless population and all they do is criticize you. It makes me sick.

And I know what you do once you've defeated me and I escape back to my lair. I know you return to your cold, empty apartment, and curl up on the couch with some convenience food, trying to relax. I know how you toss and turn at night, wondering if you're doing the right thing. I know how lonely you are, Hero. I'm lonely too, you know.

I wish you could see how glassy and dazed your eyes are right now. It's beautiful. Listening to my Voice is so nice, isn't it? Yes, that's it, just relax.

Oh, your hair is so soft. I bet you haven't had a tender touch like this in a while. I saw you lean into it before you caught yourself. Let me run my hand through your hair, there's a good, relaxed hero. Is that a sleepy little smile I see? You like that, don't you?

In fact, you like all of this, don't you? You like having no choice but to relax and listen as my compelling Voice weaves a spell around you. You like the feeling as I slowly hypnotize your vulnerable mind, how your resistance slips away little by little. You've thought about this on those lonely nights, haven't you? What it would feel like if I won. What it would feel like to succumb to my hypnotic compulsions. What it would feel like if you stopped fighting and let me take charge of your mind completely.

Oh, don't struggle. Don't struggle. Relax.There it is again, that relief. My Voice feels good, doesn't it? It feels so good to have the fight taken out of you. Don't deny it, it's written all over your face.

You don't need to pretend you haven't thought about it. You somehow manage to always be the first hero on the scene whenever I try anything. Almost as if you're willing to drop anything to see me, isn't it?

But you were scared. I'm a villain, after all. I don't deny it. You must think I might hurt or humiliate you. Well, you can put all of your fears to rest, because I have no intention of that. I respect you far too much. I'm going to take good care of you, Hero. I'm going to give you the treatment you deserve. I'm going to help you relax. I'm going to take all your worries away.  It's going to feel amazing, Hero, I promise.

I'm sorry, were you trying to say something just now? Still trying to fight it? You'll have to speak up, it's too hard to hear you when you're so out of it.

"It's wrong"? Is that what you said, Hero?

No, what's wrong is how little reward you get for everything you do. That's why I had to do this, had to train my Voice to be strong enough to be irresistible even to you. Now I can reward you. I can give you everything you want, everything you need, beginning with the beautiful, relaxing oblivion of total and complete obedience.

You'll get other rewards, too, of course you will. Together we'll share in the riches of the city, bend everyone in power to our wills. It's what we both deserve. But this is your first and most important reward -- obedience. Nothing is more calm, relaxing, and peaceful than knowing you have no choice, than having every decision made for you.

And all you have to do is listen. 

I'm too strong for you now, Hero, my Voice too compelling. You're almost entirely under my spell, aren't you? I can see how drowsy you are, how my compulsions are putting your conscious mind to sleep.

Yes, that's it. You're too exhausted, Hero. Too tired. Too many nights with too little sleep. You need to rest. You need to stop fighting. You need to surrender.

No one will think any less of you. They'll see how powerful I've become, how easily I can command even the strongest and smartest. They'll realize you had no choice, that it was out of your hands. You won't need to feel guilt or shame. Everyone will know this wasn't your fault, that there was nothing you could do to prevent yourself falling under my villainous control. 

And the fact that you actually enjoy this, the fact that you long to give in so badly and fall under my hypnotic trance? That can be our little secret, Hero.

There we go. That's it, just a little more. Look into my eyes. Look nice and deep into my eyes while I stroke your hair and talk you down softly. Just like you've always dreamed of. No more fear, no more pain. Only sweet restful sleep and deep hypnotic trance. 

That's it, Hero. It's too late. You're too tired, too drowsy, too captured in my Voice to fight it. There's nothing to do. Nothing you have to do. Just feel yourself growing oh so dazed and sleepy as I weave my Voice around you. So comforting. So right. Exactly what you wanted. Exactly what you needed. Exactly where you belong. 

Tell me, Hero, tell me you want this.

That's it, that's it! Oh, how I've longed to hear those words from you. Tell me how my Voice makes you feel. Be honest.

Oh. Oh, my. That's... that's even better than I expected. Far, far better. You love my Voice that much? Oh, Hero, dear Hero, why didn't you say so before? You could have had this any time. I would have been more than happy to bring you to my lair and give you the hypnosis you deserve. You could have been listening to my Voice all day.

Well, it doesn't matter now, because now you can have my Voice all you want, stronger than it's ever been. Isn't that nice? Oh, look at you bob your drowsy head. I don't even need to compel agreement out of you. You're so deeply hypnotized, aren't you? Good, good. Good hero. 

My hero.

Now, why don't you go all the way under? Just keep listening and let your eyelids grow oh so heavy. Let those heavy eyes close. Don't open them again. That's a good hero. So obedient and docile. You're so, so beautiful to me, my drowsy, docile hero. 

Yes, docile. That's what you are, deep down inside. All your strength, all your determination to do the right thing, all of that is a mask that conceals who you really are. A docile and obedient little lamb. And no one needs to know that but me. I'll fulfill your deep craving to be hypnotized and controlled, and you can still be every bit as strong and determined when you're working under my orders. Doesn't that sound just perfect for you? 

All the way under, now, deep into hypnotic trance. Let your resistance fade, my hero. Let your mind fog. Let your mental defenses fall.

Surrender. Surrender and submit. Submit to me, just like you've always wanted.

You can finally feel that relief. You can finally take that rest. Because I have you now. You're mine. I'm in complete control now, my docile little hero. 

And I order you to feel nothing but bliss.

Masterlist

If you like this, you may like "the defiant princess" for more gentle, slow induction on a resisting subject.

[bleedingcoffee42]

Do you think any of the people professionally involved with Band Of Brothers ever wondered about the exact nature of the relationship between Nixon and Winters? I'm reading the Dick Winters interview transcript where he talks about Nixon for several pages, and it caught my eye how the interviewer calls it a "different kind of relationship", "it's very curious", etc. Or the things Ron Livingston has said (asking Winters to prom, etc.)

GOD YES. I firmly believe that these acting choices that built this fandom came directly from how Dick Winters talk about his best friend. Not only that, but Dick did NOT object to what he saw on screen except for that boy in Paris.

BUT Dick Winters was on a untouchable level where everyone was not only obeying orders but trying to not to tarnish anything or piss him off. It's not until years later anyone admits they liked Speirs more. I think everyone also wanted to respect it, keep the focus on the war story and used it to enhance that bond they were trying to demonstrate.

And most of those interviews were definitely leaving those questions open ended for him to come out and say more. An honestly what he does say, especially in how critical he can be of everyone else, kinda says what he really couldn't or wouldn't. And then there are the photos. LORD. But yeah, I really think there was a "'So, we agree, these two guys were in love right?" conversation between Damian and Ron when they started talking about how they play this thing.

IRL guys...well I've been thinking about how odd it is that Nix has a huge island farm out in California he gets Hester to run, but Dick "My goal in life is to have a farm" Winters is out in Central Pa cutting rocks by hand to build a house, living in a house without water, working like crazy to make it all happen by his own hand when his best friend already got him a job when he came home and has no problem making jobs exclusively for him.

I don't know that Dick ever realized what Nix was to him (That West Virginia hitchhiking story makes it clear Dick knew men swung that way but he's got a fixation on image that I don't know he could ever shake. I think if he did we would have never heard some of these stories because he would be too protective of them.) but I think Nix did. I can't see an 'engraved knife with our initials in it like two lovers carving our names on a tree' being something he wasn't aware of. I think he's more than aware of how people talk and still was by Dick's side when he had no reason to be. I also think Nix had something to do with Ron Speirs being right there when Dick needed an option when Dike locked up, especially after he assisted in getting Peacock shuffled back to the States. I think he took care of him better than he did his own wife, even if it was to shuffle pieces around the chess board to make things fall into place.

One thing is for sure, the men of Easy Co. know how to circle the wagons and protect their own. I don't know if we'll ever know the truth about what Dick said, because in being part of BoB, the actors were also brought into that circle of trust.

[chaifootsteps]

(incoming rant, apologies)

anon who said Stolas is not a "goodie pure angel who does everything right" - that's not entirely the problem his critics have, tbh?

the creators have said he's flawed but ultimately a good person, which is basically the narrative the show runs with: that Stolas is just a bit flawed and made some mistakes, but they're ultimately minor and he deserves to be happy

what his critics contend is that Stolas is not just a bit flawed but is abusive towards Blitzo and neglectful of Via far beyond just regular divorce upheaval. but the show never owns up to that - it never seems to think all that deeply about his behavior or how hypocritcal or neglectful he is

second the anon states that just because the show depicts his reactions doesn't mean the creators are saying he is innocent.

this completely ignores how framing works and how it can be used to send a message. when the camera shows Blitzo leaving the Anti Blitzo party while looking at Stolas smiling and surrounded in glowing light, what is the framing trying to say? it's not "the relationship was fractious and these two need time to themselves", it's "Blitzo has made a huge mistake and missed out on the love of his life due to his own flaws". when the camera favors Stolas crying when Blitzo chews him out, what is it trying to say? it's not "Blitzo has a point here", it's "Blitzo has gone too far and his cynicism is costing him love". when it shows a perspective shot from Blitzo's eyes looking at Stolas while he cries about wanting someone to want him, what is it trying to say? it's not "Stolas is still failing to tell Blitzo what he loves about him in particular", it's "Blitzo does want to be that person for Stolas but won't admit it"

the framing communicates what the writers mean and it favors Stolas, every single time

the part about "anyone who babifies him is in the wrong" - idk if this is aimed at his stans or in universe, but if it's talking about the characters it definitely doesn't seem that way. Verosika literally calls him "baby" and she's framed as being correct when she tells Blitzo he should just let Stolas go and sleep with someone else if he wants. she's the voice of reason in the episode as far as the framing goes - if she wasn't supposed to be, Blitzo would be allowed in the script to fill her in on all the context she's missing about the "relationship" and point out the amount of projection she's doing. but he's not and frankly I don't think the show has earnt the benefit of the doubt when it comes to the writing being secretly sophisticated - they literally had Stella say out loud 'I like tormenting you'. it's not that deep and acting like where they're going with Stolas will be is ignoring the consistent pattern around how he's been written or rather, rewritten

and this is a repeated pattern with Stolas - anytime someone could make an obvious rebuttal to something he says, they never do even when it makes little sense.

Stolas claims it wasn't cheating because Stella never loved him? For some reason Andrealphus and Stella don't point out it was still cheating no matter how he tries to spin it and he hurt Via to boot, in a scene where they're trying to assign blame to him to get more in a divorce settlement

And that's not going into the numerous times this happens with Blitzo. The opening of Apology Tour is basically an argument between the two and Blitzo, who has been characterized as a combative and defensive person to this point, suddenly doesn't pull out anything but vague notions about Stolas looking down on him despite the many, many things he could have said to point out how shitty Stolas has been?

even when Stolas pulls the ultimate self-centred card of 'I can't believe you prioritized your daughter's health over me even though you literally sent your employees to help', Blitzo responds with something the writers can use to make him look worse (that he didn't tell Stolas about the Harvest Moon assassination attempt, which is another retcon why he didn't but let's shelve that for now) instead of what you'd expect him to say: that Stolas is being a selfish jackass who thinks the world revolves around his entitled, ungrateful self when a prince like him should have had his legions rescue him instead of making a working class imp risk his family to help him

that example above really zeroes in on the dissonance. they've written Stolas to be a petty, vindictive piece of shit who's portrayed as somehow in the right for judging Blitzo for not immediately LARPing as his white knight and being at his beck and call whenever he asks for it. any writer who had an objective view of their own characters would not let Stolas say something as awful as he said in Apology Tour (and that's just one of many awful things he says in that scene alone) and just let it slide

but they do, because as far as they're concerned Stolas' petty behavior is just him being sassy and finally standing up for himself against...*checks notes* the person he coerced into sex who made no secret of the fact that he found Stolas' attentions repulsive from the start.

I'm genuinely curious where this 'critics take any line Stolas says in the worst faith possible' thing comes from, or claiming critics don't think comes from. It's because critics think about the episodes on more than a surface level that we criticize Stolas, because we don't accept what the framing is trying to say and nothing else.

In what way can someone take Stolas shaming his love interest for taking his daughter to the doctor in good faith? Or him engaging in literal abusive behavior by rewriting reality to favor himself (and being only nominally aware he's even doing it) and doing DARVO on Blitzo? If it was just one thing - just Stolas doing a classism occasionally - then it might be easier to think it was just him being insensitive.

But Stolas is a character who coerced someone into sex in a show that categorically refuses to use the words 'coercion' or 'rape' to describe what he's done, while showing blink and you miss it shots of Blitzo looking violated and furious at what he has to do to appease Stolas, during a musical montage that's once again framed like Blitzo is the one realizing he's wronged Stolas and getting teary-eyed about it.

this isn't critics claiming Stolas is being treated like a perfect angel when the show makes it clear he's flawed. this is critics claiming Stolas is abusive and the show is bending over backwards not only to hide it, but to act like he's this great catch Blitzo is missing out on and Blitzo is more in the wrong

One moment of Stolas saying 'well maybe I did something wrong' during that song doesn't make up for the fact that the writers act like someone who has had all of season 2 to put it together that he's screwed up and has been told multiple times what the problem is, is 'just not being self aware enough', like it's some minor thing he's trying to claim Blitzo was the one to make it all about sex or that he never looked down on him.

someone who rewrites reality as much as Stolas does and lacks apparently any ability to self-reflect and actually apologize and improve is abusive. period, kill shot, end of.

the only thing that would convince me at this point that the writing isn't trying to retcon Stolas into a better person than he is (and failing harder than ever) would be if in the upcoming storyline where he presumably loses everything, the writing spares no quarter that he messed up:

that the power dynamic between him and Blitzo is pointed out and how stacked the deck was in his favor is said explicitly without victim-blaming Blitzo

that using the fact he was getting shot at to make the deal is acknowledged for the aggravating factor it is

that he was gambling with Via's inheritance solely to get more sex out of Blitzo and him claiming to support his business is self-serving claptrap and he knew that all along

that he doesn't love Blitzo, he loves the idea of love and anyone who will save him from his loneliness will do (or at the very least he sucks at communicating why he loves Blitzo)

that Blitzo had every right to not only be confused but angry with him when he confessed and Stolas expected not only immediate forgiveness, but his love - love he felt entitled to and threw a tantrum when he didn't get it

that he's a neglectful father who promises to do better and not only fails to do so but prioritizes his affair over her and drinks himself into oblivion when he's sad even though there's a possibility she might need him

that he didn't tell her about Stella or the assassination attempt because he was again prioritizing Blitzo

that he's failed to raise his heir and teach her magic properly, the literal only thing the Goetia family wanted out of him

that he abuses his imp servants and sees the lower classes as invisible objects for him to use - when he isn't busy extorting sex out of them, that is

and finally that he blames everyone else for his problems and fundamentally never changes. Blitzo is still an object who should meet his needs and Via is still his neglected daughter who should accept the bare minimum from him when he remembers she exists

this isn't the profile of a flawed but sympathetic character, it's one of a deeply unsympathetic loser who takes while giving virtually nothing back. and that's what the show refuses to own up to. we're supposed to think Stolas is tragic but want him to turn his life around, while I would rather see Striker finish the job so Blitzo can be free of the miserable Stol1tz plotline and become a better person in other ways that actually matter, instead of finishing his transformation into Stolas' very own Emotional Support Poor

tl:dr but Stolas' critics don't think he's a Mary Sue. He's a Jerk Sue, a Black Hole Sue. He's a far worse person than the show wants to admit and they've sunk to truly pretzel levels of mental gymnastics trying to prove that to the viewers with all their retcons and insane troll logic lately

Excellent writeup. Stolas's writers say he's one thing, his words and actions say another, and it really is as simple as that.

[hyperfixingfr]

I'm putting this in the tags for the people who are sending me rude asks. Please do the mature thing and just don't send me nasty things. Thanks.

For the last time since I keep getting nasty fucking asks about it insulting me and calling me names; I am not tryna run none of you people outta this damn fandom and that was never my goal so quit playing victim and pretending I am. This is a fandom for everyone, obviously... Which is why I criticize when you guys treat it like it isn't. I was trying countless times yesterday to drop the conversation when the person arguing with me kept insisting that they had an issue with me talking about an aspect they didn't like, because they were arguing with me over an opinion I had that they didn't like, not over something that mattered. This aspect personally affected me, and many others in the server. This isn't an aspect I enjoy people pretending is cute or funny because it caused very, very real damage to things like body positivity. I don't try to fight with ANYONE here, ever. My entire goal in these situations is to educate when someone believes this is bad behavior by explaining why it's problematic to gloss over this aspect or glorify it when it was a very real issue. Please, ask yourself why you're beefing with a minor. I beg of you. This person had no intention to listen to me, OR the server owner, when we told them that they can have different opinions and simply ignore it if they don't like it. They also ignored the countless attempts at de-escalating the situation, proving they just wanted to argue about it.

I should also mention this person said some really nasty things that implied I was apart of cancel culture, or on the "everything is problematic" bandwagon which is kind of implying they think that criticizing bigotry is wrong, even when it's coming from the minority group it affected. My criticizing of a media is not disliking of a media, nor is it "cancel culture". I am not trying to CANCEL a show from the 2000s. I am merely pointing out its flaws. If you can't handle being apart of a morally flawed show's fandom, don't be apart of it. Not only that, but this person made passive aggressive comments such as "wow you ramble a lot" completely unnecessarily when I was speaking. Why was this needed? I know I do. Why are you trying to insinuate that my passion about the subject is weird? Either way, I wasn't trying to have this fight. They were. This person said a lot of insensitive things to me, claiming I pulled the autism card when I rebuttaled the "wow you ramble a lot" stuff, telling me they had an issue with me merely discussing a topic that was 100% allowed in the server (stated by the server owner, the channel was allowed for criticism), and was overall very passionate about putting me in the wrong for simply pointing out and discussing the flaws of a show because it was brought up. That's not okay and that's incredibly judgy. I dunno why this person can't admit they're wrong, but it's not hard to understand that my criticism is not unwarranted nor is it unwelcome. I did nothing wrong by speaking about it in a channel that directly said criticism was allowed.

Do not play victim when you started the argument AND fueled the argument when people tried to stop it. Simple as. I'm really hoping this person realizes they're wrong and apologizes appropriately like a mature adult, because this is ridiculous. This is such a stupid thing for them to have fought me over and no one's gonna be upset if they just... Did the right thing and apologize. This applies to ANY of you who mess up. If you mess up and realize you've done something you shouldn't have, just apologize man. Especially in a case like this where the person was arguing over "toma-to, tamato-e" or whatever. They didn't like my WARRENTED opinion and they got on my ass about it repeatedly, and I got nothing out of asking them why they held it because their response was basically "you don't like this media how I like it, so you can't possibly like it, get out". Hence, them asking why I'm in a server of fans if I... "Don't like the show". Simply because I criticized an aspect.

Please, if any of you don't believe me, the server is open for the public. You can go in there and see the conversation yourself. I am not hiding myself at all from this, and I'm glad to share evidence that I did just as I said and they did just as I said. This is a stupid fvking argument and any of you still dragging it on should be ashamed for thinking this is worth arguing about. People have opinions, leave it at that. What happened to respecting valid stances?

[skywalker1dream]

Title: Driven by Friendship

Note: Okay so I have no idea what I wroteSo if there are mistakes, please tell me (which I'm sure there will be) tbh I don't like it so maybe I will delete it later. Oh and we need more fics about these two men sadly. [They can hit me with a car and I'd say thank you]

Warnings: Language, Sexism,Injury,Emotional Conflict...(anything else? I don't know, let me know;3) Use of nicknames hase [bunny] (german correct me if I am wrong) darling, love..

Rbr!Sebastian vettel x fem!driver!reader,

Jenson Button x fem!driver!reader..

Summary: The story follows readers and Sebastian's friendship from karting to Formula 1. Tensions rise, leading to a collision and strained relations. Unexpected friendships.Despite support from Jenson Button, Sebastian's betrayal deepens the rift, emphasizing the importance of friendship.

From the moment you and Sebastian met at the local karting track as kids, you were inseparable. You shared a passion for racing that burned brighter than the sun, and together, you conquered every track and championship in your path.

As you grew older, your dreams of reaching Formula 1 together only strengthened. But along the way, you faced countless obstacles, none more daunting than the prejudice and skepticism of the male-dominated racing world.

journalists were quick to criticize you, questioning your skills and abilities simply because you were a woman in a sport traditionally dominated by men. But you refused to let their words discourage you, fueled by the unwavering support of Sebastian and your fellow drivers.

"Seb, did you hear what they're saying about me?" you asked one evening, frustration evident in your voice.

"Ignore them, Hase. You know they're just trying to get under your skin," Sebastian replied, his tone firm.

"But it's not fair! I've worked just as hard as anyone else to be here," you protested.

"I know, and I believe in you. We'll show them together," Sebastian said, placing a comforting hand on your shoulder.

When Mark Webber retired in 2013, you saw an opportunity to join Red Bull Racing. You and Sebastian became teammates,It was a dream come true, a childhood dream to be teammates, and finally that dream came true, but little did you know that it would test the strength of your friendship in ways you never imagined.

As teammates, you and Sebastian were thrilled to be racing together at the highest level. But as the season progressed, tensions began to rise. Competitive instincts clashed with personal loyalties, and soon, your friendship was strained.

After a few races, tragedy struck. In a moment of miscommunication on the track, you and Sebastian collided, sending both of you spinning off into the gravel trap. The aftermath was tense, emotions running high as blame was exchanged.

"What were you thinking? You cut across me!" Sebastian's voice was filled with frustration as he confronted you in the garage.

"Me? You're the one who didn't leave me any room! I had nowhere to go," you shot back, your own anger rising to match his.

The tension between you simmered, neither willing to back down. But as the adrenaline faded and the reality of what had happened set in, you both knew that something had to change.

"Seb, can we talk?" you asked tentatively, breaking the silence between you a few days later. "Oh and I brought peace of offering." You showed him donuts and ice-cream.

"Sure, Hase. What's on your mind?" Sebastian replied, his expression cautious.

"I just... I don't want things to be like this between us," you said, your voice softening.

"Neither do I," Sebastian admitted, his gaze meeting yours. "I'm sorry for what I said. I was angry, but that's no excuse."

"I'm sorry too. I should have been more aware of my surroundings," you replied, a weight lifting off your shoulders.

As the season progressed, the strain on your relationship became more apparent. Small disagreements turned into heated arguments, and soon, you found yourselves avoiding each other both on and off the track.

"I can't believe you let me down out there," Sebastian muttered bitterly after a particularly disappointing race.

"I'm not the one who's been making mistakes lately," you retorted, unable to hide your own frustration.

The words hung between you like a dark cloud, a stark reminder of how far you had drifted from the friendship you once shared.

During a press conference, you faced harsh criticism from male journalists (again) questioning your abilities and suggesting that you didn't belong in Formula 1. As the questions became more pointed, you looked to Sebastian for some support, but he remained silent, his gaze fixed on the floor.

"And what do you say to those who claim you're only here because of your connection to Sebastian Vettel?" one journalist asked, a hint of malice in his voice.

You felt the weight of his words like a punch to the gut. as you struggled to find a response, Jenson Button stepped in, defending you with a passion that brought tears to your eyes.

I've raced against her, and let me tell you, she's one of the most talented drivers I've ever had the privilege of competing against," Jenson said, his voice unwavering.

"She's earned her place in Formula 1 through hard work and determination, not because of who she knows," he continued, his words a lifeline in a sea of doubt.

As the press conference came to an end, you felt a sense of gratitude wash over you, grateful for Jenson's unwavering support even in the face of adversity.

As the press conference came to an end, you felt a sense of gratitude wash over you, grateful for Jenson's unwavering support even in the face of adversity.

After the journalists filed out of the room, you turned to Jenson, a mixture of emotions swirling inside you.

"Jenson, I don't know what to say," you began, your voice trembling with emotion.

Jenson smiled warmly, placing a reassuring hand on your shoulder. "You don't have to say anything, darling. We're all in this together, remember?"

You nodded, feeling a swell of gratitude for his kindness. "Thank you, Jenson. I don't know what I would have done without you," you admitted, a lump forming in your throat.

"Hey, that's what friends are for," Jenson replied, his gaze sincere. "Just remember, you belong here just as much as anyone else. Don't let anyone tell you otherwise."

His words resonated with you, a reminder that you were not alone in this fight. With a grateful smile, you squeezed Jenson's hand, silently thanking him for being the friend you needed in that moment of doubt.

"I won't forget it, Jenson. Thank you," you said, your voice filled with conviction.

And as you left the press conference room, a renewed sense of determination filled your heart. Though the road ahead would be challenging, you knew that with friends like Jenson by your side, you could face anything that came your way.

Back in the garage, you confronted Sebastian, hurt and anger bubbling to the surface.

"Why didn't you defend me out there, i thought we had each others back?" you demanded, your voice trembling with emotion.

"I... I don't know. I just... I didn't know what to say," Sebastian stammered, his eyes filled with regret.

"You could have said something, anything!" you cried, feeling the weight of his silence like a betrayal.

But as you looked into his eyes, you saw the regret there, a silent acknowledgment of his failure to stand by you when you needed him most.

The tension between you and Sebastian had reached a breaking point, with each passing day bringing more heated arguments and strained interactions. But just when you thought things couldn't get any worse, there was a knock on your hotel room door.

With a sense of trepidation, you opened the door to find Sebastian standing on the other side, a sheepish smile on his face and a box of donuts and a tub of ice cream in his hands.

"I come bearing peace offerings," he said, his tone lighthearted but sincere.

You couldn't help but smile at his gesture, a wave of nostalgia washing over you. Donuts and ice cream had been your tradition for as long as you could remember, a symbol of your friendship and the bond you shared.

"I guess old habits die hard," you replied, stepping aside to let him in.

What followed was a week of laughter and camaraderie, as you and Sebastian fell back into your old rhythms, joking around and laughing at each other's jokes and antics. It felt like old times, and for a fleeting moment, you allowed yourself to believe that maybe, just maybe, things could go back to the way they were.

But as the week drew to a close, the tension returned, hanging between you like a heavy fog. And despite your best efforts to maintain the facade of friendship, the cracks in your relationship began to show once again.

The once inseparable bond you shared seemed to fade further into the distance with every awkward silence and tense exchange.

As the season pressed on, the weight of your strained relationship began to take its toll on both of you.

"Are you crazy? You almost crash into me!" Sebastian's voice was filled with frustration as he confronted you in the garage.

"Me? Are you blind?You were in front of me, you braked and we both almost hit the wall!"

you shot back, your own anger rising to match his. The tension between you simmered, neither willing to back down. But as the adrenaline faded and the reality of what had happened set in, you both knew that something had to change.

despite your best efforts to maintain the facade of friendship, the cracks in your relationship began to show once again.

The strain between you and Sebastian was palpable, lingering like an unspoken truth in the air. Despite the temporary respite of laughter and shared memories, the underlying issues remained unresolved, simmering beneath the surface.

With each passing day, it became increasingly clear that the competition between you was more than just a temporary setback.

And as you navigated the twists and turns of the race track, you couldn't help but wonder if the biggest challenge you faced wasn't the competition on the circuit, but the battle to salvage what was left of your fractured friendship with Sebastian.

The fight between you and Sebastian was like a collision on the track—explosive, unpredictable, and fraught with tension. It began with a series of small disagreements, simmering beneath the surface until it finally erupted into a full-blown confrontation.

As the dust settled and blame was exchanged, tempers flared, and harsh words were spoken in the heat of the moment.

Accusations flew back and forth, each of you convinced of your own innocence and the other's culpability.

As emotions ran high, the fight spilled over from the track into the garage, where heated arguments and bitter accusations threatened to tear apart the fabric of your friendship. Both of you dug in your heels, unwilling to back down, each convinced of the righteousness of your own perspective.

But beneath the anger and hurt, there was also a sense of betrayal feeling that the person you once trusted implicitly had let you down when you needed them most. And as the fight dragged on, it became increasingly clear that repairing the damage done to your relationship would be no easy task.

The fight between you and Sebastian reached a boiling point in the garage after the race.

"What were you thinking?!" Sebastian's voice was sharp with frustration as he confronted you.

"Are you serious, Seb? I left you plenty of room! You just didn't take it!" you shot back, your own frustration boiling over.

"I had nowhere to go! You squeezed me into the wall!" Sebastian's voice rose, matching your intensity.

"I didn't squeeze you into anything! You should have backed off!" you retorted, the tension between you crackling like lightning.

The team members nearby exchanged uneasy glances, sensing the escalating conflict between their drivers. But neither of you seemed willing to back down, each too stubborn to concede the other's point.

Just as the argument between you and Sebastian threatened to escalate further, a familiar voice cut through the tension like a knife.

"Hey, hey, what's going on here?" Jenson Button's calm voice broke through the heated exchange, his presence commanding attention.

You and Sebastian both turned to see Jenson standing in the doorway of the garage, his expression calm but firm.

"nothing," Sebastian started, but Jenson held up a hand to silence him.

"Nothing? From where I'm standing, it looks like a whole lot of something," Jenson replied, his gaze moving between you and Sebastian.

Sensing the gravity of the situation, Sebastian fell silent, his jaw clenched in frustration. You too remained silent, feeling a mixture of embarrassment and relief at Jenson's intervention.

"Look, I get it. Racing is intense, emotions run high, but you two are teammates, friends even. You can't let this come between you," Jenson continued, his tone gentle but firm.

"We'll talk about this later," he said, turning his attention to Sebastian. "But for now, I think it's best if you both cool off."

With a nod from Jenson, Sebastian reluctantly backed down, his expression tense but resigned. You too felt the tension draining from your body, grateful for Jenson's intervention.

The final race of the season loomed ahead like a storm on the horizon. With both of you fighting for the championship title, the stakes had never been higher.

But as the race unfolded, it became increasingly clear that this would be no ordinary battle. Sebastian's desperation to win seemed to override any sense of sportsmanship, resorting to aggressive maneuvers and risky tactics to gain an advantage.

In the final moments of the race, as you and Sebastian went wheel to wheel, the unthinkable happened. With a sudden lunge, Sebastian executed a dirty move, forcing your car off the racing line and into a spin that sent you careening off the track and into the barriers.

Time seemed to stand still as your car crumpled against the unforgiving concrete, the impact reverberating through your body like a shockwave. And in that moment, as the realization of what had just happened sank in, a profound sense of betrayal washed over you like a tidal wave.

Sebastian's victory celebration felt hollow against the backdrop of your shattered dreams and broken trust. As he stood on the podium, basking in the glory of his championship win, you couldn't help but feel a sense of emptiness, knowing that the cost of his victory had been the loss of your friendship.

And as the season came to a close, the rift between you and Sebastian widened into an unbridgeable chasm, the bonds of friendship irreparably broken by the events of that fateful race. In the end, it wasn't the thrill of victory that defined the season, but the bitter taste of betrayal and the painful realization that some wounds never truly heal.

As Jenson stepped into the hospital room, you noticed the concern etched into his features, a stark contrast to the composed demeanor he usually exuded. His presence was a welcome sight, offering a glimmer of solace amidst the turmoil of the aftermath.

"Hey," Jenson began softly, his voice filled with empathy as he approached your bedside. "How are you holding up?"

You mustered a weak smile, grateful for his presence in the midst of the chaos. "I've been better," you admitted, the weight of recent events pressing down on you.

Jenson nodded, his expression somber. "I saw what happened out there. I'm so sorry."

The memory of the crash flashed through your mind, the sensation of spinning out of control still fresh in your memory. Tears welled up in your eyes as you recalled the betrayal of seeing Sebastian's maneuver unfold before you.

"I don't understand why he would do that," you confessed, your voice trembling with emotion.

Jenson's gaze softened, a mixture of sympathy and understanding in his eyes. "I wish I had an answer for you. All I know is that you didn't deserve any of this."

His words were a balm to your wounded spirit, offering a sliver of comfort in the midst of your turmoil. As you met his gaze, gratitude flooded your heart, a silent acknowledgment of the unwavering support he had shown you in your darkest hour.

"Thank you for being here, Jenson," you whispered, your voice choked with emotion.

Jenson reached out, grasping your hand in his own, a gesture of solidarity and reassurance. "Always, love. You're not alone in this."

And in that moment, as you felt the warmth of his hand enveloping yours, you knew that no matter what lay ahead, you had a friend by your side who would stand with you through it all.

So the end...it was bad I know,but It was fun to write it.

Can you guess my inspiration? I give you hint "Silver Arrows"

I love drama

[utilitycaster]

anyway this is obviously a wild shift in the topic of conversation, but I was talking about it in the group chat last night as a distraction and would like to continue the distraction if I am being honest, so, with the caveat that this is based off of Fandom Osmosis Observations and a few reads of reviews and I have at this time played neither of these games, some thoughts about BG3 vs. Veilguard and what I've seen. many thanks to @captainofthetidesbreath for actually knowing things about video games and answering my many questions.

also just putting this up front with all said caveats: if you disagree that is great, I am very open that this is an outside observation and I could be very wrong but I am going to block people who get hostile without warning, and make this nonrebloggable if too many people get hostile. You are always permitted to disagree but like, I don't really care about your opinion if you're not someone with whom I have a pre-existing rapport unless idk you're like, actually a BG3 or Veilguard official story writer who happens to be on Tumblr. If you're a player? You have all of your own biases and they are not mine. Save it for someone who wants to get in a fight about this; I am not that person.

Essentially, what I've seen in terms of criticism from Veilguard that isn't just rampant transphobia comes down to the following:

why am I not playing my previous character from Inquisition again

why am I limited to a fairly consistent through line for the story

But first, I'm going to talk about BG3. What's funny is I seem like a much more obvious candidate for playing BG3, as a longtime D&D player who has come around on Forgotten Realms as a setting. However, while I looked at it for a while, I eventually lost interest for a couple of reasons. One is that apparently all the characters are WAY too eager to romance you which is like, a fun fantasy for 10 minutes but would probably annoy me in the long run. Another is that everyone who watched early reviews and kept abreast with the game told me that there was a clear favorite companion (Astarion) and that many of the characters had most of their interesting flaws sanded down (eg: Wyll was apparently much cockier originally; Shadowheart even more petulant; and as these are perhaps the two characters I was most intrigued by, reducing them to something blander destroyed much of the appeal). But perhaps the most interesting one is that as a boring goodie two shoes sort of person, my thought back when I was like "yeah, perhaps I will play this" was "oh, I do not want to have a murderous urge within me."

It became very apparent, through watching people play through and post on my dash, that if you didn't specifically play as the Dark Urge, and didn't specifically resist that urge, the story didn't really cohere. I have to admit, I know the premise of BG3 very well (tadpoles), and I know a lot of shipping trends (put a pin in that), and I know some of the more obvious points within it (Astarion is a vampire, Gale and Karlach both have bombs in their chests somehow, Shadowheart bleaches her hair) but I don't really have a great sense of the ending, and I did not avoid spoilers.

It feels like BG3 is designed for people who have one of those massive spreadsheets of D&D characters they haven't had a chance to play that are meticulously kept and thoroughly realized...and don't really leave room for modifying to fit the campaign you will actually be playing in. It feels like an OC sandbox simulator unless you do actually pick the choice the writers actually wrote for (Durge), and while it's not technically playersexual...it kinda is. I mean, I am a big fan of the trend in video games towards making it possible to romance anyone because it conjures up the idea of a world of high-powered bisexuals running around, which is very enjoyable for me, but the criticism of the Mary Sue archetype originally was never "how dare you fantasize about being cool." It was "wow, the characterizations are all warped beyond recognition solely so that everyone is in love with this character, and that makes for a dull and unsatisfying story." If you're everyone's type, and it's for romance and not just sheer lust, then either everyone around you is boring and wants the same thing, or you are sort of bland and inoffensive, or else the story is bashing characters together without a good basis for a compelling romance. This is also compounded by the fact that the companions can't get together with each other if you're playing your own character and not an Origins character.

None of this is to say it's bad to like BG3 and again, I didn't play it; but it is why I ultimately said "you know, given the effort involved to play it for me, a person without a gaming system, it's not worth it."

Veilguard has specifically intrigued me for going against a lot of this. You have a lot of choices in your character build, but they're all fairly thematically consistent: you did something within your faction that was well-intentioned but upset higher-ups and so you need to step away for a while. This establishes a personality for you! We know why you're part of a faction but also something of a free agent at the moment. We know why you're here and why you might be a good candidate for the current mission.

I'm not going to go into detail for the choices because while I'm not avoiding spoilers I don't want to spoil a relatively new game for others, but a lot of choices are fairly parallel, not in an "illusion of choice" way - they have consequences - but in terms of hitting similar themes. You can only save one city and both are places you have seen and places your companions have connections to; while the exact details may differ you are telling a consistent story.

I also think the fact that the companions can romance each other in your absence is important too! They exist even when you're not there. They are not just here to woo you, and indeed, they might be a better match for each other. I've been informed this is true in Inquisition as well, and I think it's a much more rich world if you, as the player, as the person who can ultimately decide the fates of your companions, aren't the center of their personal life. I also think it prevents the ability to sand down companions to be more agreeable to you as a player if you have to make an NPC/NPC romance compelling (and I will freely admit that, in a move that is not at all like me, I was pretty well sold by a potential in-game NPC/NPC romance, which is usually not the thing that gets me into works of fiction).

I'm not the right person to speak to the Inquisitor not being a significant character because I did not play DA:I, and I get that 'well, this is a new game with a new protagonist, as there has been for every Dragon Age game' is still not necessarily an adequate explanation. Nor is "hey, maybe it's good to attract new players" even though as someone who is highly attracted as a new player that is my opinion. However, I want to go back to the point about Resist Durge being the strongest option in BG3 in terms of story by a long shot. When I was trying to learn more, I said "ok, so just like how you're Tav in BG3 and Rook in Veilguard, you're Lavellan in Inquisition, right?" and was told that you are not - that's just the elvish Inquisitor option. Obviously this is anecdotal, but the fact that one option was far and away the most popular and thematically resonant is an indication that perhaps bringing forth the Inquisitor is carrying over some of the limitations of that game, whatever they may be. The true argument is "they are trying to tell a specific story here, and it is about a different POV than the one you previously had."

And that's really my point. I know I'm not an expert here - in fact I'm usually quite hesitant to write meta about things in which I'm not highly steeped, and very critical of those people who do - but I think an outsider perspective is useful here. The thing that is drawing me to video games is a new way to experience a fictional narrative (the other game I have been meaning to play - and even own on Steam- is Disco Elysium). That's not what everyone wants! But it is what I want. And so I want to be put into a developed, thoughtful narrative, and I don't mind if my choices are restricted in order to support it, and if I am playing a person I did not entirely choose. In tech, there is a saying of "make it easy to make the right choice (and hard to make the wrong one)" and so if you need your protagonist to hit certain beats, you should make that the required protagonist.

I think a story is stronger if your choices matter but if there is something of a foregone conclusion because it gives the writers thematic throughlines. This might sound a little silly given that this blog is largely dedicated to Actual Play but the thing is, most actual play does have, if not a foregone conclusion, at least a strongly intended conclusion of "work towards uncovering this mystery and achieving this goal", though the success of said goal is not guaranteed. I would argue that when a campaign lacks that, it tends to suffer in all aspects. RPG video games almost always have a foregone conclusion, but that's its own liability. In actual play, lacking a forgone conclusion means you spin off in any direction and it's anyone's guess if it's coherent. In an RPG, having this conclusion but not supporting it through the rest of the game will make it feel contrived. I feel a lot of Veilguard criticism is focusing on small contrivances early on that really mostly matter to a highly specific subset of potential players that prevent much larger and less forgiveable contrivances later on.

Anyway. Again, I am an outsider here, and I'm not here to say that it's bad to have a more open-world, sandboxy game with a self-insert-y OC type; but I have to be honest, I'd rather explore that in a true sandbox of fanfiction or original fiction, which is significantly cheaper and in which I can actually tell the entire story I want to tell. I don't want to be given more choices if a lot of them will be profoundly unsatisfying as a narrative. I don't want to cut through the world like a hot knife through butter. I want to be affected by it, and that's very hard to do with a character whose only trait is "self-insert whom everyone wants to fuck" or "guy that already carries the baggage of years of personal headcanons and highly variable choices that are hard to account for for every single person who ever played the previous game."

[funnyburneracct]

Hi, I'm Xiao/burningrqs. this post is going to be long. Posting this from a burner so that it doesn't go down the drain when we deactivate.

But essentially, this is an apology to the radqueer community for multiple different things. I'm going to do my best to type this out as well as possible, and I apologize if I miss anything or word things poorly. I am going to explain myself to the best of my abilities, but please keep in mind that my explanations do not excuse my actions by any means.

Post under the cut.

for those who don't want to read it though, TL;DR: I was a complete asshole and I'm genuinely very sorry about it.

So, I want to start off by apologizing in general for the "burning radqueers" thing. Not only was it just not funny, but it was also really weird. I know damn well that if I saw someone pop up with a "burningmogais" blog or something, I would be pissed. So I don't know what made me think that running burningradqueers was a good idea in any sense.

My rude and dehumanizing comments did not help. Regardless of how I view people, what disorders I have, or how symptoms present themselves, it was disgusting of me to act as though I can't be held accountable for my cruelty towards others.

The targeted posts were even worse, and allowing people to just pick a random blog to "burn" was teetering on harassment. It put the user in front of so many people who clearly did not have good intentions towards them, and inherently put the user being "burnt" in danger. I wish I noticed that fact sooner. Even if I disagreed with people or didn't like them for whatever reason, I still should not have felt as though I had the right to post stuff like that.

Adding onto that, I should have never used my ASPD as an excuse for anything. I tend to get defensive when I feel insulted, which is what happened, and I decided to bite back despite being in the wrong. I acted impulsively and out of pure anger, and then tried to defend it, which I shouldn't have. When saying the kinds of things I did, I am open to criticism whether I like that fact or not, and trying to act as though I am immune to that criticism because of a disorder was disgusting on my part.

Another thing, somewhat on a similar note, is that an apology is owed for my hostility in general. Every time it was even lightly suggested I was wrong, I seemed to lash out and get angry. This really just comes down to me needing to learn to admit my wrongs. I should not have made my inability to understand my wrongdoings anyone else's problem.

Then there's also the things I said when I lashed out before deciding to drop burningradqueers entirely. I don't fully remember all of what I said as the event happened during an episode (this does not excuse my words at all by the way. regardless of my state at the time, what I said wasn't okay and should not be excused) and the posts have since been deleted. But, I do remember at one point making harassment out to be a competition of sorts when someone was simply trying to calmly explain to my why the namedropping was not a good move. I can't for the life of me remember why I did that, but I am very sorry about it. A lot of people in the radqueer community have been harassed (and likely do still get harassed constantly), and for me to act like I am the only victim of harassment was wrong on multiple levels.

I'm sure there was a lot of bad stuff I said during that episode, but as I said, I do not remember most of it. I'm sorry that I can't apologize for the specific things I said, but I am apologizing for the situation as a whole.

The entire thing started over me not being able to handle much deserved criticism, and I stood "my ground" despite having absolutely no ground to stand on.

I started burningradqueers over baseless hatred. I didn't know why I was supposed to hate radqueers, or what I was even really hating. I joined the anti community thinking that it is much easier to just move with the pack and hate what everyone else seems to hate, but hatred really isn't that easy. It's exhausting. And realizing how much the anti community really wouldn't want me if I was honest about things made me realize that. Realizing that there are so many antis who would rather see us suffer forever due to dysphoria than see us live happily after getting amputations was rough, and honestly kinda gave me a taste of what radqueers have to deal with every single day, and it felt horrible.

Without realizing it, I managed to do so much damage to a community full of people who deal with exactly the same things I do, a community that is mostly traumatized and mentally ill people who are just trying to get by. Not even just that, but genuinely just people trying to exist and be honest about themselves.

It is not my place to dictate what is and isn't valid in terms of someone's personal identity, and even more, it's not okay for me to treat a whole community like garbage just because I didn't understand it.

Again, I do not want my actions to be excused. I treated people horribly and was a total dick, but I hope that me apologizing can at least make some of you feel better about how I behaved.

[psychic-refugee]

I understand if people are disappointed in Jenna by her lack of vocal support for the past election in the States. There is always the hope that a celebrity we follow are “on our side.” Elections can have dire consequences, and we hope to get all the help we can get.

I don’t think these expectations are reasonable, per se, but I understand the natural inclination and the disappointment that follows when those hopes/expectations fail to materialize.

I’ll repeat that we must manage our expectations when it comes to celebrities and Jenna is not exempt from that.

I don’t know where she stands on a lot of issues. I also don’t know how she voted if she voted at all. At bottom, we don’t have a right to know. Voting should always be a private matter if they so choose.

Celebrities are still private citizens who have a right to privacy and don't owe us transparency.

I think disappointment in the lack of political support is valid in terms of personal feelings, and I don’t want to put words in Jenna’s mouth of why she may not have been more vocal.

I don’t know Jenna and my next thoughts are very generous towards her, I own and admit it.

I want to give grace to those I can. Perhaps time will prove she is unworthy of it, I’ll give it anyway. Kindness and grace are a choice, and I only hope that others will choose them as well.

While I don’t know her stance on issues, I equally do not know her mental state or what is going on with her personal/real/work life.

I’m not too hard on anyone who chooses to refrain from engaging with social media in any capacity and for any reason. I think people’s safety and mental health will always take precedence.

One can’t give from an empty cup.

One of the things I keep in mind when it comes to Jenna and her social media use specifically, is that she is a hyper-sexualized celebrity. We are in a time where AI is rampant, and it being used for porn is becoming endemic. Globally, we are nowhere near having laws to combat this, and I don’t see it as a priority for any nation to reign it in.

Jenna has already been run off from one social media platform because she was sent AI porn of herself. Other social media platforms are not any better. Certainly, on Tumblr I regularly block and report accounts that post AI porn/photoshop/links to porn when I see it, Jenna is a popular target.

Then there are others who do “handcrafted” porn across different medias (drawings, fiction, etc…), and they try to profit from it, and they do so in public forums such as Twitter/IG/social media. If it’s not being sent directly to the celebrity, it’s easy to find and possibly shoved in their face via the algo. OR their siblings/family are finding it as well.

There are others that nitpick at her looks and make sexually charged comments about her body freely and openly.

Social media is not a safe place for Jenna.

I certainly wouldn’t frequent anyplace I knew I was going to be sexually harassed or heavily criticized, even for benign things such as attending a concert or a farmer’s market. She is literally being stalked by her “fans” and they are happy to spread it and act as if they’re doing her a favor.

Yes, Jenna’s social media posts have become essentially completely professional. Even when we know she has been to social engagements with people she works with and we presume are on friendly terms, she does not post about it. I believe she only posted about Gaza twice, three times tops. She never endorsed any candidate.  

She’s not active on social media in general, not just inactive with politics.

I think she would totally forgo social media if not for her professional obligations. It is my understanding she’s only on IG, all others she has shutdown despite likely being able to monetize all of them.

I think it says something that she limits social media as a revenue stream.

Maybe the few posts she did upload regarding voting, even so late in the game, was all she had the mental bandwidth for.

I also would understand if she felt overwhelmed to the point of inaction. She has admitted to anxiety surrounding social media. (Independent, 07 June 2024) Perhaps seeing how Roan Chappell was torn apart for attempting to explain a nuanced opinion on a complex issue had scared her off even more.

Perhaps she is in a place where she could not make herself the target of social media nutjobs.

I’m confident enough to say that anything she said would have invited harassment, no matter what it was.

I’m not going to be too hard on anyone who chooses themselves first, and/or is dealing with mental health issues.

She shouldn’t have to set herself on fire to keep others warm.

Social media is just another type of theatre, and she does not need to perform her values for me.

I see her lack of social media presence as protecting herself by removing herself from what may be hurting her.

I will never criticize anyone dealing with anxiety on how they manage their anxiety.

Jenna has a lot of privileges compared to a lot of people, it doesn’t mean she should be forced to put herself in front of the metaphorical firing squad that is always locked and loaded on social media.

Again, this is a very gracious view of one of a million possibilities that could have been going on in a world I’m not a part of, and with people I’ve never met. I do not conflate social media with knowing someone.

Having a large platform is irrelevant, does not cure anxiety, and does not create obligations.

Expectations from randos on the internet are not obligations.

This is not to dissuade anyone from being angry. This is merely a possible different point of view one may consider.

As I’ve said, grace and kindness are a choice. I’m choosing to think the best of her intensions and situation.

[am-i-the-asshole-official]

AITA for asking my mom to stop singing?

okay so a couple months back i (a uni student) moved out of my old apartment and back in with my parents while i try to find a new one. the only issue is, since i first moved away, my parents had moved into a smaller house than they had when me and my siblings were growing up. they now have their bedroom and my dad's study, but no additional bed or guest rooms. for this reason, i have been sleeping on their living room couch.

my mom also doesn't have a room of her own, so her laptop is also in the living room, as is mine. so basically the living room is our shared domain for the time we spend at home. i have class and friends to spend time with, so i'm away relatively frequently (though i'm on winter break now of course), while my mom is retired and is at home basically 95% of the time year-round.

me and my mom both listen to music a lot and our tastes do not overlap basically at all. i listen mostly to indie, folk, rock, the kind of stuff white queer kids love, while my mom's music is almost entirely soulful christian pop about big j and stuff.

up until recently, my mom didn't wear headphones. she'd play music directly from her laptop speakers. this obviously bothered me somewhat, but i hadn't said anything about it. recently (i.e. a couple weeks ago) i asked her if she'd consider starting to wear headphones, which she has for the most part, though sometimes she forgets. i just kinda let her do whatever if she does, i haven't mentioned it again since.

so that's the first time i asked my mom to be quieter, and i don't think i'm an asshole for that. my worry is about the second time. you see, over the last week, she's taken to singing along to her tunes. maybe she did that before and i just didn't notice over the actual song itself? anyway, i can definitely hear it now.

and of course it's not the best musical performance, it's a lady with little singing experience belting along to her favourite songs, but it's not really about the quality of the singing. i don't like the music she likes and would prefer not to listen to it, is all.

today, whilst she was singing, i gently asked her: "could you stop singing?" i didn't mean forever, just in that moment. i really tried to say it in a nice way, and i don't think i sounded particularly rude? it should be noted, though, that my parents do seem to think of me as some kind of sensitive sally intent on criticizing every little thing they do. that feeling does kind of go both ways, but i admit sometimes i can be harsh on my mom, because she can be overbearing and a bit neurotic, and i don't really get to have the space i wish i could, especially not now when i'm living with them.

anyway, so i ask: "could you stop singing?" and my mom says something like "okay- well, i would prefer not to." the way she said it really made it sound like i had hurt her feelings. so i said, "okay. that's alright. you can sing." she stopped singing and has been sort of running around for the last 10 minutes or so restlessly doing random things.

my parents are that kind of people who are really really deep in "politeness" and genuinely baffle me since i'm autistic (like, a couple of days ago we had some leftover cake, and my dad straight up forced me to take half of what was left over even though i said i didn't want it. i still don't really know why?) so i'm sure even though i said "okay, nevermind then," my mom didn't believe me.

while she was running around doing random things, i told her, "sorry if i hurt your feelings." and she said, "oh, it's nothing." i genuinely don't know if i'm in the wrong here. i feel like, on the one hand, this is a space we have to share, and i should have the right to ask her not to make noise (i always wear headphones and never sing along to music or vc with friends when my parents are around), but on the other hand, it's her house, and she should have the right to sing in it, right? i don't know.

TL;DR: i asked my mom to stop singing in the only space for our computers in the house and i'm pretty sure it upset her. AITA?

What are these acronyms?

[squeeb100]

I'm trying to parse through why I don't like Jayvik as a romantic ship, and thought I could type it up to maybe offer a counterpoint to people who are writing this viewpoint off as homophobic or ableist. Yes absolutely those are reasons people might not love this ship, but I don't believe either of them is a reason I don't.

So. Heads-up for some Jayvik negativity and some other general criticism of the energy in the fandom (I'm not gonna try to be nasty but I am, by the very conceit of this post, going to have opinions), and a disclaimer that if Jayvik makes you feel seen or happy or anything else that's not bad and I'm not saying this ship is bad and you need to stop talking about it and liking it. I'm just saying I, an individual person, don't particularly care for romantic interpretations of these two, and I don't interpret their interactions as romantic or sexual.

Actually before I talk about anything at all I really like this post and this person has said things a lot of things smarter and better than I will about sex and sexuality and Jayce and Viktor https://www.tumblr.com/ohnoitstbskyen/768136874376232960/asking-sincerely-do-you-see-a-romance-between?source=share

I feel like I'm within the Jayvik demographic. Viktor is my favorite character in Arcane, despite quibbles with how he was handled. For over half my life my major OTP has been KuroFai, which has a pretty similar vibe (storywise, not characterwise) to Jayvik in the back half of the series they're from. The are-they-aren't-they discourse surrounding them was also quite similar for many years. I'm not gonna talk about them really, but here they are.

[image: an illustration of Kurogane and Fai from the manga Tsubasa: Reservoir Chronicle. Fai is a light-haired man with blue eyes, waving at the viewer with a relaxed expression. He has an arm around Kurogane, who is a grumpy-looking dark-haired man with red eyes and Fai's arm covering his mouth]

I'll admit to not having an incredibly good story reason that Jayvik SHOULDN'T be a thing, and I'm not going to present a good analysis really because I think I need to rewatch Arcane more than once to really have a solid grasp of it or a good read of the things that went "right" or "wrong" with the storytelling. This is literally my feelings-based opinion.

I like the idea that Jayce and Viktor have a deep-running love for each other that maybe defies attempts to define it as just friendship or brotherhood or romance or anything. I personally thought, in their final scene together, that the forehead touch was a far more heart-tugging, raw display of intimacy than a kiss would have been, and I genuinely didn't want them to kiss. I hope I've established that this is not because I don't like the idea of men kissing.

This may derive from the fact that I, like everyone, experience attraction in an individual way. For me, to extant, not-fictional people, almost never. I'm not uninterested in the idea of a life partner, and in fact would really like to have a person who I love more than anything in the world to go through life's hardships with, but I have rarely found an individual who I was interested in "romantically." I didn't experience adolescence the same way many of my friends did, and don't experience attraction to others in a way that seems "typical," if we can really define anything or anyone as typical. I have not been in a romantic relationship, not for lack of chances and not because I don't care about people - I have family and friends who I love very very much.

I think it is beautiful, the idea that two people can love each other, and support each other, and be soulmates and die together --- and not be in what mainstream society defines as "romantic love." If you want them to fuck nasty on the lab table that's okay too.

The second reason/cluster of reasons I don't really like romantic Jayvik is a little bit bitter and jaded and I'm sorry. It's the energy in the fandom and I can feel myself being pushed further into a stubborn opinion by the fact that I find this frustrating.

(I am putting on my "hypocrite" shirt)

Arcane has a really diverse cast. There are lots of women. There are lots of nonwhite characters. There are multiple prevalent, plot-important, kickass black characters. There is a canon wlw couple who make out on screen and then definitely fuck offscreen.

I know Jayce isn't necessarily meant to be white. Other than that. I think the fact that the Arcane tag is overwhelmingly Jayvik is just a little suspect. I told you it was a little bit bitter and jaded. I am not seeing the same level of fanart and analysis of specifically women and black characters, and I think that's an interesting energy this fandom is bringing to the table. I am not exempt from this criticism.

The longstanding argument that the reason we don't see more obsession with sapphic ships and characters who aren't (white) men is the lack of them in source material is feeling really hollow right now.

Anyway that's my two cents about Jayvik and if people care, cool, and if they don't, that's also cool. Please refrain from speculating about my sexuality in the comments. Peace and love.

Go donate to a palestininan, sudanese, congolese or lebanese family if you're able. Consider a donation to the Native American Rights Fund or another reputable organization, this week and always. In the wake of this election, you might consider mutual aid programs to help people in and around your community. It's cathartic to get drawn into fandom discourse, but there are bigger fish to fry.

[johanarchy]

Lately I've been having a lot of fun creating some Chaos Marine OCs and I thought I might introduce them here !

So behold ! A very unlikely friend group :

The Iron Warrior is called Cassius Merle, the Death Guard is Mychos Ankou and the Emperor's Child is named Antares Fitz.

I have a whole story for how they met, but the short version is that they all got stranded on a ruined world after the end of the 13th Black Crusade and had to team up to get away.

I have informally named them The Smelly Trio because they all stink. They bicker. They share a braincell. Together they can overcome anything.

Mychos and Antares are in a romantic relationship. No one understands how it happened, least of all the two of them. Cassius is in some kind of queerplatonic partnership with both, though he would rather die than to admit that he actually likes them.

More doodles and yapping under the cut (ft me not being fully set on what their armours look like)

"I really don't care for the Gods. Like everything, they serve a purpose, but I have never needed their help blowing walls up, and I don't see why that should change."

Cassius is the youngest, he was recruited just a few decades before the Black Crusade. As most post-Heresy Chaos Marines, he isn't his Primarch's gene-son; he comes from Imperial Fist geneseed, something he feels extremely angsty about.

He's short of height and of temper, and though he tries very hard to be the hypercompetent brain of the group, he is absolutely not suited for leadership, or for functionning outside of the rigid structure of his legion. That's not his fault, he was just never really taught critical thinking. Or proper social skills.

He likes manual labor, it makes him feel useful and lets him turn his brain off, both things he desperately needs.

"You misunderstand me. I do not wish for the end of humanity. Humanity delights me, like all species of living beings do. But to think that, just because I am part of it, that I should believe it above the laws of nature ? No, this is something that I cannot accept."

Mychos is the oldest, having actually been part of one of the first waves of Death Guards from Barbarus. He used to be, and technically still is, an apothecary, but nowadays his duty is mainly to create more and more elaborate biological weapons for his fellow Plague Marines to use.

He carries himself with the unnerving friendliness and cheerfulness that only nurglites can have, and with a sort of "gentle giant" attitude that makes many people dismiss him as slow and simple minded; but do not be deceived, this is a wisened veteran who knows the world he lives in, he's just very chill about it.

He is a big nature lover, with a soft spot for fungi, which he lets grow over his exposed bones. He tends to start little gardens in every place he stays in for more than a few weeks, something he is exceptionally skilled at. He talks to all living things in his little ecosystems, plants, fungi, insects, even bacteria, and sometimes they actually answer.

"The problem with the Imperium is that it's run by losers and prudes who have never had a single minute of fun in their lives, and they expect everyone else to be as miserable as them or die. I say fuck them. Do whatever you want. If your so-called-God has a plan, you won't live long enough to see it happen anyway."

Antares is also fairly old, being of the original Emperor's Children stock, but he joined the legion at the tail end of the Great Crusade, just before the Heresy, so to him, the influence of Slaanesh has always been an integral part of it.

As such, he became the very picture of selfish hedonism; indulging his impulses and never thinking about consequences. This makes him a pretty bad soldier, as he does not respond well to authority and struggles greatly with delayed gratification. His saving grace is his skill as a fighter, especially on difficult terrain where his satyr-like mutations offer him great mobility. He had to heavily modify his armour to accomodate his legs, but his own vanity was also very much a factor in some of the choices.

Like any good slaaneshi, he loves his drugs and sex and music, but his true passion is food. He is teaching himself to cook, to varrying degrees of success, but mostly he tends to pillage the kitchens of whatever place he is helping raid at the moment. His taste is not refined, he just chases intensity in flavour.

I have more to say but it would take entirely too long to type it all up so I will stop there for now. Thank you for your time !

[mdhwrites]

how do you feel about disability rep in the owl house? Anyway it could've been done better? Cause as someone who is neurodivergent (autism) I felt like Luz's arc had unfortunate implications ('shes literally neurodivergent and a Minor' type vibes and mixed in with the whole fantasy vs reality themes and it came off as telling neurodivergent people to reject reality or like we wouldn't be hindered in the slightest by our disabilities in xyz worlds- which feels gross) but I could be reading into this too much. I also don't like how Hunter lost his 'disability' yeah you can compare it to getting a pacemaker or a mobility aid with his problem not being fixed but made better but that 'pacemaker' came at the cost of his best friend and his whole possession situation felt gratuitous to me. I'm really interested in seeing how Hunter could've been done better if you have any ideas

So I am going to try to be as calm and kind on this subject as I can. I feel like I've let a lot of heat come into my blogs lately that I try not to because I've been in distress. I am actually, legally disabled after all. It is the vast majority of my income, not helped by how randomly my brain will just break and I will have no way to get it to work again. I'm on the brink of another who knows how long run of my brain no longer functioning and am clawing to try and keep it together so I can do SOMETHING besides just ramble in these blogs. So I can keep writing or streaming rather than vanish. So this topic is important to me to put it extremely mildly.

To talk about this with The Owl House we kind of have to talk about each angle it takes on this subject one at a time. Eda and Hunter are two sides of the coin for this representation after all. I know you bring up Luz and yes, nuerodivergence can be disabling but if we want to talk about disability, I don't think Luz is actually a part of the conversation. If she is, it's for the theoretical representation of depression in S3 when she is at her worst as a character. People like to claim trauma and depression for why it's okay that she's constantly lying, or why she tries to abandon an entire world despite admitting it's her fault it's in trouble. She is her absolute worse self in that time and... If that is the rep we get for mental illness, I'll wait another five years. I don't want someone who is entirely apathetic to others and makes excuses for their actions to be the one who represents me, not when I hear that shit from assholes on the news too much already.

We'll start positive and head down from there. Eda actually starts out great. With regular medication and self care, she is able to live a fairly normal life. I have admittedly criticized in the past that there is no cure for the curse, that Eda is a slowly ticking time bomb who only through death will not end up harming all of those around her eventually, but I actually want to rescind that. As a dramatization of the anxiety that especially mental disability brings about of that day when everything breaks, even if it never comes, it works. It's within the confines of the fantasy genre and isn't demonized but sympathized that she has to work so hard to hold this back. But she can and she stands strong despite it, stronger than most in her situation in a way that is inspirational.

Then we get our first slip up with her at the end of S1. In order to find reprieve, to come back from the edge... She shares her disability. Her peace of mind, her ability to be a human being, comes at the cost of another person. I say slip up though because one could argue it's dramatization of the communal help that many disabled people need. I worked as a Home Care Aid at one point for someone in a wheelchair. My own family helps me because I am a complete mess of a person. I do my best to be able to function entirely on my own but when you are literally incapable of being a functional human being... Yeah, help is good. Do I like how high of a cost it comes for Lilith? Not really, nor the fact that she becomes disabled in the same way because some people do think disability and mental illness is contagious but I'm willing to let it slide for the sake of dramatization.

Affearances genuinely course corrects to show the small ways in which Eda deals with her illness not just with medication but also understanding of it. Her need to stay calm, the ways she tries to center herself, all so the medication is more of a stabilizer and last resort. That is genuinely good.

Then... A point I'm torn on. In the episode itself, I do not mind the formation of Harpy Eda. The process of coming to not just deal with but accept your disability is big and hard and you can come out the other side feeling like a new person. One could even see the Harpy form like that and even the deals we make with our disability to let ourselves do more like in Eclipse Lake. I'll even retract old heat I gave this for implying your disability can be a superpower because it fits within the genres of fantasy. I will even admit part of this kindness comes from writing this myself and realizing that it's just more fun and exciting to let the disability have upsides to it rather than treat it as purely debilitating.

No, my bigger issue comes from the fact that it is the end of it as a disability. Eda is essentially cured besides some lip service and if they were going to go that route, they should have just said it. In the finale, she loses to the curse in a deeper way than we have EVER seen before... And then freed from it like it's just a snap of her fingers. Harpy Eda is literally just a super form, not her having to genuinely deal with the illness, especially as it just becomes the way she fights. I do approve of the idea of showing that you CAN get better from this stuff, some people do, but it makes me wish they'd just said that. Just admitted that her coming to accept it was the final step. Would that have been realistic? No but I've showcased how many times already how much this rep relies on dramatization? Give us the feel good ending of Eda having mastered it, explicitly, instead of just letting it be up in the air and used for cheap drama in the finale. That makes the whole thing feel almost exploitative because if I lose it like Eda lost it in the finale... I can't just turn that off. I get to be terrified and shaken and have that day firmly implanted into my mind for the rest of my life. For the show, it was shock value instead and I'm not okay with that.

Speaking of things I'm not okay with, let's talk about the other side of this coin: Hunter. Now remember that I was willing to give grace to some elements... Except now they're reinforced by a second character sometimes and that makes it a lot harder to shrug off. We'll get there when we get to Flapjack though.

No, where I actually want to start with for him isn't even that he has a disability, it's actually with Willow. She tries to make it out like being a late bloomer is the same as NEVER being able to do this. Like telling a paraplegic person you understand their pain because you had a cast once. I've had someone go "Yeah, it's hard for me to get out of bed too but I always manage it," while trying to motivate me to just power through anxiety that was LITERALLY CHOKING ME and I wanted to punch them in the face. And this is the start of your ROMANCE PLOT. The core thing that tells the audience that these two are going to get close and get together.

In one scene, it becomes SUPER clear that there is no one on this writing team that actually understands what the fuck it means to be disabled. The nice portion of the blog is over.

Okay, let's actually pull back. I will give Hunter this: In his early scenes, he genuinely comes across as someone who has adapted to his physical disability and the limitations of it. His staff is his aid device and he makes up for lack of magic with increased athleticism. He is by all means, the most dextrous person we see in the entire show and genuinely, the show never takes that away from him. It's also just really easy to forget because the show doesn't exactly give a lot of chances for it to shine, not while it's mostly shitting on him or having the trained soldier lose to others, if he even seems much more physically capable than those around him at all.

But hey, how about first that aid device! We do recognize Luz takes his crutch, right? Like his staff is what takes away his handicap versus the rest of the Isles. That helps him overcome the limitations of his physical disability and an entire episode has the main character steal it from him and blackmail him with it. He is mildly annoyed about this for the entire episode, almost like not having the way that helps him feel normal doesn't mean much to him. It'd be like if in Affearances, Eda didn't get mad at her mom for taking her elixir because her elixir is the equivalent to Hunter's staff. Gwyndolen is demonized for this action while we're supposed to be on Luz's side because Hunter is a bad man who will do bad things if allowed his staff back. That... That isn't okay to me.

Btw, this isn't even the only time this happens in the show. Belos asks Luz to call him Philip. She calls him Belos. The show is really all for just being entirely disrespectful to someone's identity and personhood so long as you are morally better than them. What the fuck?

For the rest of S2, there's a really, REALLY bad flaw with having Huntlow be his ship. EVERY single one of Willow's episodes to some extent features how being a late bloomer, having struggled/struggling with magic, makes her feel like an outcast. That despite the fact that really she just wasn't great at this skill, she gets a lot of dramatic weight to this. Hunter... Doesn't. His disability is almost entirely ignored to prioritize the fact that he's a Grimmwalker or his relationship with Belos. It is just not a part of his character despite the girl he is blushing at explicitly making it clear that this society ABSOLUTELY looks down on Hunter. That not having magic makes you be less than anyone else. Hell, we get more of this from EDA AND LILITH in the first episode of S2 than we ever get from Hunter. The prejudice they are treated with and their struggles to deal with it while Hunter is at best all subtext.

This admittedly starts getting into how this show fucking hates men and how they are almost all at some point a joke, villain or both in their time. So... Yeah, Hunter not being given respect for his disability while the women are is hardly surprising.

The big thing that shatters EVERYTHING is of course Flapjack's sacrifice. You remember how I had to kind of work around how to make Eda making someone else disabled okay? Well now we have a second time where a disabled character is 'cured' to some extent of their disability... By the suffering of someone close to them. This time with literal death.

One of the worst prejudices that disabled people, of any sort but especially mentally disabled/ill people, have to face is that we are burdens and menaces to society. That we are more prone to hurting people than regularly abled people. That there is a price to having us around that everyone would not have to pay otherwise. If there is one thing you CANNOT do with your disability allegory, it is to make the disability cost someone else their life, figuratively or literally, unless you REALLY plan to examine what the fuck that means. TOH does both, once with Flapjack and once with Lilith respectively.

In order to be 'normal', it literally costs Hunter the life of his best friend. In order to be saved from the extremes of her illness, Eda cripples her sister. What the fuck are you supposed to take away from that? And there is no way to square this with it just being a fantastical representation of something. It's not just making the consequences of disability more extreme or reflecting the shared burden that can sometimes be our existence and our need for support. Being cured should be joyous. Instead, it's melancholic, not for the grief of your existence inherently changing, Hunter is meant to purely celebrate that he now has magic, but because it came at extreme cost to other people.

In that one moment, paired with Lilith, I can't approve of TOH as disabled representation. There is no way for me to ever square it, just like how Luz using depression as an excuse to be the worst version of herself makes me not okay with her as nuerodivergent representation. Not when it doesn't explore this stuff and even tries to celebrate and say this is correct, since Luz is never criticized for her awful behavior during her angst arc and Hunter is made out to be better without his disability, no matter the cost.

I am fine if you don't want to show clean or nice representation of these things. Not all disabled people are nice. Not all nuerodivergent people are functional. There is a wide spectrum to our experiences but to take the worst elements of your representation and give them the most narrative weight is BAD. Even Eda suffers from this. Her taking care of herself is mostly in passing. Way more weight is given to Eda not being able to take care of herself. To how missing her medication by even an hour makes her a danger to everyone around her, or even susceptible to manipulation like when King uses her transforming 80% into the Owl Beast. Suddenly, the fact that she manages her condition like many disabled people do feels really overshadowed by the constant reminders, and literal showings, of the danger she poses to those she cares about most. The cost of allowing us to continue to participate in society, the damage we do to others, the harm that comes from a bad day from us, is so much harder to ignore when those are the elements that your work decides to focus on. It especially sucks because it hardly focuses on the pain and incapability of the condition, just the danger. It's all about what it will do to others and not the agony it inflicts on the person who has it.

TOH is bad with almost all of its themes and attempts to be progressive and this is no different. See you next tale.

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I am going to assume that it's the same person who sent me essentially a variation of this ask like five times. If you are that worried about me responding, the Discord is where you will get a MUCH faster response, especially since I am kind of trying to pull back from TOH criticism. It has been genuinely kind of nice to talk about other things recently.

I have a public Discord for any and all who want to join!

I also have an Amazon page for all of my original works in various forms of character focused romances from cute, teenage romance to erotica series of my past. I have an Ao3 for my fanfiction projects as well if that catches your fancy instead. If you want to hang out with me, I stream from time to time and love to chat with chat.

A Twitter you can follow too

And a Kofi if you like what I do and want to help out with the fact that disability doesn’t pay much.