#i have banned myself from working any more on it because otherwise i would have been there forever changing stuff
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princekirijo · 7 months ago
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AAAAWAWAWAWAWA NEW ICON SPOTTED 👀👀👀👀
Eheh YES I said I was gonna draw myself a Halloween icon and I did 😌 pretty happy with myself I find lately I've been struggling to actually finish a sketch I start so to get this done + a bit of rendering is nice!
I wanted to draw Riku in a Halloween costume and thought what would be dress as for Halloween and then thought that's a dumb question there is only one answer 💀
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emeraldhypothesis · 2 months ago
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For the ask game I'm gonna ask for the coolest motherfucker this side of the Yugioh galaxy, my one and only wife; Kogami Ryoken aka Revolver.
Your wife? OUR WIFE, COMRADE.
Why I like them/why I don’t
Ryoken might, putting aside biases, be the perfect evolution of the Kaiba rival archetype. He is a remarkably well-written character who has one of the strongest performances in the show both in the sense of his duels, his writing and his VO. Even when he works with Yusaku and the gang, he's always doing so to push his own agenda forward and remains an unpredictable rogue element. He's one of my favorite characters across the entire franchise, to be blunt and to keep myself from pivoting into just how much I love him.
What I like about their appearance
His piercing blue eyes, the pink V-neck, that thing he does where he puts his hand on his waist and walks like a runway model, you know what I mean.
Also that second design, chef's kiss, no notes, he's so pretty. He even makes those green highlights work for him.
Do I prefer their dub names or original names?
I have never called him Roken once, and the only times I have said Varis willingly is after playing Duel Links and having it stuck in my head for a few hours after a lot of Dragon Link grinding. Performance wise I do have to give it to the sub, Daniel J Edwards does fine, but the layers that Shunsuke Takeuchi brings cannot be understated enough.
OTP
You know it's Datastorm. They functionally complete each other in a way that's near impossible to describe. You cannot have this show without them, they are the fundamental pillars on which this series rests. They are a deeply fascinating pairing who bounce off each other so well, they are perfect foils which even represents in their decks and playstyles. They should logically hate each other and yet they keep crawling back to the other for one more hit of that good shit. They would move the heavens for each other and violate almost any moral code if the other asked.
NOTP
Any of the Hanoi leaders, mostly because I think they all only deserve the romantic comfort of a sock. Also not too fond of him and Soulburner due to personal preference.
OT3
The weird post-canon situationship of Datastorm/Aiball happening at the same time is so funny to me where Ryoken has to play nice with Ai, who is revelling in that Ryoken can't touch him because they both like Yusaku too much to make a fuss.
Favourite card they use
YOU KNOW IT'S BORRELOAD SAVAGE DRAGON. The herald of his great comeback, it has a kickass summon animation and involves Revo summoning a BOLT OF LIGHTNING to flex.
Bring it back Konami, it's fine, it never needed to be banned.
Favourite moment they were in
My joke answer is gonna be in the Season 1 finale when he catches feelings for Yusaku and decides the logical course of action was to RUN AWAY ON HIS FUCKING BOAT FOR THREE AND A HALF MONTHS.
My real answer is from his first duel when he summons Toplogic Bomber Dragon and Ai calls him a hypocrite for using a Cyberse monster, to which he looks Ai dead in the eye and replies, "It's fun to fight poison with poison." Absolutely banger line but also shows genuinely how willing Revolver is to do anything for The Mission, that he'll dabble with poison as long as it suits him to.
Honorable mention to his boomer traps (always love seeing people react to MIRROR FORCE for the first time) and his comeback in Season 2 where he kicks in the roof to remind you all who the real GOAT is.
Least favourite moment
His misplay against Soulburner in their final duel annoys me enough that I have to headcanon he threw the duel. Otherwise I always thought it a bit odd how egregiously he glazes Blood Shepherd after their duel, given I think Blood Shepherd is... lame.
That's really it, like I said he's overall a really consistently written character.
Would I fuck, marry or kill them
I would marry him for the money, but he and I would both know that he's thinking of Yusaku the whole time.
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buildingunderstanding · 2 months ago
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I think sometimes I struggle with the idea of "faith".
The thing about being raised in an independent, fundamental, baptist church like I was I was taught that the Christian God is real. No questions asked. He is real and no other gods actually exist at all. He is real and other people believed in other "so-called gods" because they were deceived by the devil or caught up in their own ignorance and arrogance that they just refused to accept "the one true god". I was basically taught that other gods were fairytales.
So now as I've broken away from the church and really contemplating what I was taught and feeling like I can think more critically about it, I find myself wanting things to be real more than I actually believe them, I think.
I feel like a good way to explain it is that when I discovered Percy Jackson, I sort of used it as a fanciful way to cope with my bio dad's abandonment of me. It is burned into my memory that the last thing he ever said to me was, "I love you, I'll see you later", so as a teenager with an interest in music, archery, and creative writing, who had just discovered a story about teenagers abandoned by their parents, I sort of playfully found my identity as a Cabin Seven kid.
It became a game of sorts to secretly pretend to be a child of Apollo, (of course it had to be a secret because otherwise my parents might think I was taking it all too seriously and ban me from the books) and I found so much comfort in pretending that it was all real, that Apollo might be proud of me for experimenting in music or practicing archery. That he'd be proud of me for who I already was.
And while I do know that the Apollo in the PJO series is not an accurate depiction of Apollon himself and all of it is indeed fictional, there is still a sense of whimsy in it all that I desperately want to hold onto.
I want the gods to all be real, but not necessarily ot strictly for matters of faith and religion (though I do recognize that as important for many people), but simply because I think it would be neat. Because I want there to be more to the world.
I wasn't really given a lot of choice in what I believed as a child. I was told that only the Christian God was real and that none of the fantastical creatures I wanted to learn about in folklore were real and neither were any of the other deities I found myself drawn to and fascinated by, and now as an adult, capable of choosing my own beliefs, I find myself wanting to believe all these things I told were fake and made up to be real just on principle. Because I think it's neat.
Did Loki actually steal the bloodstone crystals I dropped immediately after reading about someone talking about how he stole their bloodstone crystal? I don't know. But I want to believe it because it makes me happy. The crystal is still gone, so why not believe it? What harm is there in that?
Was Athena actually with me when I stood in front of the recreation of her statue in Tennessee? I don't know, but I felt more power standing alone there than I ever did in my church and choosing to believe she was there makes me happy.
I know Apollo doesn't literally drive the sun, but it brings me joy to tell him I need to see when the sun gets in my eyes while driving, or to say good morning in the winter when the sun is coming up on my drive to work.
The word "faith" to be just feels so...stiff to me these days. And sure, I was taught that "faith is the substance of things hope for, the evidence of things not seen" (Hebrews 11:1), but I was also taught that faith is reserved for only matters of the religion I was taught in, in a way. Or that faith is...some super serious thing. Not anything whimsical or to be given to anything that wasn't actual real (read: the god I was taught to believe in). So now I struggle a bit to say I have "faith" in other deities or in the existence of other folkloric beings, because...that's just not who faith is for or how it's used.
But I want so badly for these things to be real. And I think that's even part of my drawn to pop culture paganism. It's a chosen belief.
Even othe pantheons to some extent are still taught religions, even if they're not widespread or pervasive as the many flavors of Christianity.
But to just believe in something for the sake of it, because you want to, because it sounds neat or interesting, I really like that idea.
I was taught for so long that I had to have faith in one god, in one deity, that it's nice to just...casually think that maybe other ones are real too. Maybe that is faith and I'm just stuck on semantics, but it's nice to be able to be able to shrug and say "I don't know if this is real or not, but I want to be, so just for myself, I'm going to act as though it were."
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pianocat939 · 2 years ago
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here me out, yan rise boys w/ cat mutant reader hcs? feel free to ignore
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Reminds me of how I was called cat instead of my name that one time lmao- these aren't very long since idk I couldn't really think of any major differences (this goes with most animal mutant/yokai requests ngl)
Excuse me for any misconceptions with cats, I haven't been around one in a decade so- also- I did write this one as more romantic leaning
Tw: Donnie putting MC on a diet that's only beneficial for cats, Leo playing "shining knight in armour" bs, delusional, just fluff really
Yan Turtles with Cat Mutant MC Hcs
✦Ronald Reagan's Crusty Elbow✦
Finds you really fluffy and snuggly. If you aren't a touchy person please beware of him because he will want to cuddle. He loves to give scritches behind your ears just to see if you'll purr or make any other pleased noises. If you do, he is gonna be all soft to the point I doubt he'll want to let you go for a moment.
Want your fur to be brushed? Bro is all about it. He might even put on a little Soul music while he brushes you. He tries to make it as calming as possible.
If you idk lick his cheek or somewhere on his face (cuz you're a cat-) I think he would find your weird sandpaper tongue so interesting. Might giggle a bit from the feeling.
✦Lathering Nose✦
He is definitely an asshole. He'll do everything and anything to make you jump or get startled. But as soon as you are, he hugs you and gives a few pecks wherever on your face saying you're safe in his arms. Basically, he's doing the "I'm the cause of it and then acting like I'm saving you from it."
Something tells me he would love stuffing you into like a sack with your head poking out and cuddling with you while you're trapped in the sack. He is all about those nuzzles- he loves nuzzles.
He would 100% buy you weird hats for you to try on- because people do that with their cats. It could be an apple, a turtle, to Donald Trump's hair. He just loves funky hats to give you.
✦Dough Slapping Giraffe✦
He is going to ban you from eating any foods harmful to cats because he's a paranoid fucker. Don't think he won't know, because he'll have cameras, trackers, hell he might even straight up destroy that food forever.
We know he isn't too big on physical affection, but I think he'd like you chilling on his lap while he works. I like to think his lab is a bit chilly considering all the metal and other things, so he likes that you're warm.
I'm sorry but he loves being a menace and playing with you with a laser. Definitely not his lab, but maybe the living room or just a more open space will he whip it out and laugh every time you instinctually want to chase it.
He records any cat-like noise you make it. You cannot convince me otherwise. He'll likes to listen to it if he ever has issues with sleeping or idk whatever negative situation.
✦Morphine Sucker✦
Cuddles, snuggles, pets, scritches; he will be all over you if you're any type of fuzzy animal. If he ever feels bad or just feels lonely he shoves his face into your fur, most often your neck. He has a bad habit of playing with your tail. Not in a malicious way, but he wants to pet it or watch it move around.
If he ever cooks for you, he likes to shape any solids or sauce in the shape of a cat head. He also tends to put in ingredients that are more well-fit for a cat.
He loves the sound of your purrs, he'll just cling to you and listen to it every time it happens. Also, every time you purr, he thinks he's doing a good job at whatever and that his divinity is blessing him. So you're quite literally deluding him more.
——————————————————
I'm intimidated to write anything that's romantic omg- like I think I've scared myself into putting the least amount of romantic things when I say it's romantic leaning help-
- Celina
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myra-mains-writes · 3 months ago
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I have so many thoughts on this, and my mid-30s ass is hopped up on an energy drink, so apologies in advance if this is somewhat disorganized.
I’m a Terrifier fan. In fact, Terrifier and Art the Clown inspired my WIP Funnybone. Recently I learned about Damien Leone’s Facebook post about horror and politics. I’ve already commented about it on one of my side blogs, but because of Terrifier’s hand in the creation of Funnybone, I feel the need to say something here.
When I was in high school, I went through a gore hound phase. I didn’t want subtlety or suspense—I wanted on-screen gore. The nastier and more shocking, the better. The furthest thing from my mind was any sort of message that the zombie and body horror movies I ate up could be sending, even when they were directly stated. (For example, the final battle between Lionel and his mom in Brain Dead/Dead Alive.) despite my own blackness—something I didn’t start unpacking until the BLM protests in 2020—I wasn’t thinking about what Candyman was saying about racism.
A couple years ago, I took an art history class, and I learned a LOT about art. That, and becoming more active in slasher fandom—which gave me opportunities to participate in discourse on some of the movies I was watching—was how I started thinking more about the movies I was watching.
All this to say, I can understand someone not realizing that horror is political. I can understand people thinking it’s just blood and guts or spooky ghosts and shit. I get that. I understand that someone can watch these movies or read these books without paying attention to what the art is trying to say.
But I also believe that creators should know better. Whether they mean to or not, the art they make sends a message and generates discourse. As artists, as creators, the act of creation allows us to understand things like symbolism, story beats, character arcs, etc. Thus, the way we engage with art is going to be different than those who aren’t writers, artists, and other creators. Our understanding of these facets of storytelling gives us an ability to analyze what we’re engaging with. (I’m not saying non-creators don’t also have this ability. This is just something I’ve noticed as I’ve grown as a writer.) This means we should be able to see the messages—political or otherwise—that a movie is sending.
Damien Leone is wrong. Horror—indeed, all art—is political. Art is a mirror held up to the world. It’s one of the many ways we can see how people look at and understand the world around them. Horror in particular is a reflection of societal fears at the time of its creation. But, as others have pointed out on Tumblr, horror is also a safe space for marginalized communities. After Trump’s reelection, I started reading and watching more female rage as a way to engage with the rage I was feeling at being let down by the system yet again.
Damien Leone’s neutrality will not benefit him. I’m not surprised that a privileged white man is thinking this way, but I’m very disappointed to find out that the creator of one of my new favorite movies (2 and 3 are just okay) has these views. I wouldn’t be surprised if the content of the Terrifier movies would lead to them being banned under Project 2025. As the saying goes, you may not care about politics, but politics cares about you.
The other thing about this is that there is nothing toxic or extreme in saying “fuck fascists”. A person is allowed to not want bigots to enjoy their work. When it comes to fascism, racism, homophobia, etc, there is no “both sides” of the issue. There are people who want equal rights, and there are people actively working to take those rights away.
So. Because of Damien Leone’s harmful take and the role that Terrifier played in the creation of Funnybone, I’ve found myself wondering if I’m going to even publish Funnybone. While I’m still part of the Terrifier fandom (…for now), associating myself with Terrifier also leaves a bad taste in my mouth thanks to Damien Leone’s post. Unfortunately, that’s trickled down to Funnybone a little bit.
At this point, I’m going forward with publishing Funnybone once I’ve finished its revisions and had it beta-read. As a female writer, I don’t want a man to have that much influence on what I create and choose to show to the world, not to mention the fact that Funnybone is in some ways my own middle finger to book bans and Project 2025. I’ve enjoyed writing this, and I don’t want some garbage Centrist to deprive me of that joy.
But this is not a short process, and I may still change my mind depending on how things go from here.
Fuck you, Damien Leone.
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princelylove · 1 year ago
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My Prince,
This is a bit personal, so feel free not to respond if you desire to do so. A fear I have is driving. I think I’m a bad driver. I get over it enough to drive, since I have to, but I’ve come home panicking over almost getting into a car accident. It feels terrible. My fear is that I’m going to accidentally kill/hurt someone and then I don’t know how I’d live with it. I’m mostly scared about myself driving, I feel less worried if I think the driver isn’t reckless.
I wonder if and how yanderes would use the fear to make me dependent on them.
They could screw up my car, sabotage it so it breaks down, or mess with my tires? They get to be a ‘knight in shining armor’ when they coincidentally show up to help if I’m stranded. Struggling to get money needed for repairs is also a good opportunity for them.
Show me videos or news reports of terrible car crashes or pileups to remind me of the danger, or tell me about people they knew that were injured or died in a car accident?
I don’t know how anyone could do this, but somehow orchestrate car crashes to happen around me so I see them up close?
Maybe they could make comments about my driving, insult my driving, make a joke out of it to hurt my confidence while driving and make me feel guilty? But I’d hope they would be at least somewhat gentle about it…
And then as I get more scared of being ‘behind the wheel’, they could slowly offer to take me places themselves, until it’s to the point I’m dependent on them for getting around. If I refuse to drive, they have significant control of my schedule and how I do things. It also makes it much harder to escape a kidnapping if I’m too scared to take transportation.
Who would most likely do these kind of things?
i apologize for this being so long, and it’s appreciated if Your Highness read through all this blabbering. Thank you very much.
You would like a yandere that scares you, anon? One that manipulates you? It's too easy sometimes.
I like it when my peons prattle, it's often cute.
Typical manipulators are going to abuse any sort of fear- Noriaki, Diavolo, Melone... the list goes on. Cars are tricky because they don't really come around until part two, and leave in part six. Part seven has very, very new ones- they count, I guess. There's a window where cars are just in development and not that reliable, but I don't see many yanderes in part three and behind as all that manipulative.
Sure, Caesar is, but he's too proud to take the easy way out. Lisa Lisa doesn't see the point in cars when you're meant to be living on her private island. Joseph respects the technique and isn't above sabotaging yours, but... that's pretty lame. He's more creative than that.
There's also the fact that some manipulative yanderes are out of touch or otherwise don't care for cars. Kars doesn't know what that thing is and he doesn't care to learn. DIO is newly acquainted, but isn't going to drive himself, as he's above it. Giorno is banned from being behind the wheel ever since the White Album incident. Leone is normally too tipsy to reasonably put himself behind the wheel, Bruno tends to walk everywhere...
Some yanderes could sabotage your car with their stand if they wanted to, but putting on the news works too. Court TV is on because knowing about the news is important, no you can't have the remote. Ohh, that man drove into a parade, that's crazy. They're saying he was drinking. Isn't that little treat you get during the day alcoholic? Ohh, no? I thought there was a lawsuit going on with the company that makes it, said they were putting it in and mislabeling it. Crazy, huh.
Mariah fucks with your car before she asks you to drive her anywhere. Kochi could easily attach "Heavy!" under your car in traffic, as he did in canon. Akira could- well, to be honest with you, I'm not sure how cars work, but I'm sure Red Hot Chili Peppers could mess with it somehow. Machines are always going to be just that- machines. They break, they stop working. Fickle things.
As for who I think definitely would.... Melone likes to do tricks on his bike to scare you, Hol Horse would do just about anything to get one up on you, and Funny Valentine is absolutely not above orchestrating a crash in front of you. Newly invented, so unreliable.
But some yanderes are very understanding about it, can you take the train or just walk? Maybe bike? They'll come with you so you don't get lonely! Josuke normally takes a train to get to his university, he can teach you how to use the little card and how to get a good seat or stand in a good place.
Or, you could get lucky and get Jolyne, who wasn't gonna let you drive anyway and takes safety super, super seriously. Or Rohan, who could easily rewrite any of your fears! (But won't.)
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ashs-nerd-den · 8 months ago
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Appreciation post for the wonderful woman that is my year head and English teacher (and history teacher last year)
She posts what gets done each week on the class teams so that we can still keep up and know what to do if we miss school
She posts all of her PowerPoints there and all of the digital resources that she uses in class there
She has a tray on top of one of the presses with spare copies of any handouts from the week so that you can still get the physical handouts if you were absent
When she found out that I hadn't gotten my accommodations last year and how important they for pain reduction, she skipped over the policy so that I could be allowed to leave class if I'm in too much pain to take a break so that I can keep going. If she hadn't done this, it would've taken months until I was allowed to do this
She's given me permission to just study in the resource room when I have upstairs classes when the stairs would be too painful/dangerous (the elevator doesn't work, which she was VERY pissed off about) and she tried to shuffle things around so that I could be in downstairs only classes
Has said on numerous occasions that she does not care in the slightest if I miss a couple of classes to save myself pain, because my health is more important than whether I'm in the classroom and she knows that I'll catch up anyways
Had expressly told me that I am BANNED from feeling guilty or embarrassed about using my accommodations because if it saves me even the smallest bit of pain then it is a great thing and anyone who thinks otherwise is an idiot
During assemblies, she lets us all sit down so that we don't have to stand there for 10/20 minutes with bags our backs (I was barely conscious for assemblies with my last year head because he made us stand for them and I was barely conscious in the class after them too because of this) and she double checked with me to see if sitting was easier or if I was easier for me to stand because she saw how hard it was for me to stand up
Last year, when I forgot to do my history homework, when she took up my journal, instead of writing a punishment note, when she saw the note that my mam had written explaining the the most basic stuff of what we knew about my health issues at the time, to excuse me from PE, she decided not too get me in trouble, and kept me back after class to check on me and basically said "you've enough to be dealing with, with your health, a couple of history questions aren't that important in comparison"
Whenever I stay back to help clean up her classroom (I had her last class x2 a week last year and once a week this year) we always have the chats and we just talk about whatever and shes honestly just such a LOVELY person
When I gave her chocolates and a handmade candle last year as a "thank you for teaching me" she gave me the biggest hug (after asking permission first) was so greatful and was nearly in tears
She is an amazing person and I know that she will never see this, but I just thought that I should write this to acknowledge how incredible she is, and kind of to brag about how I get to have such an incredible teacher and year head
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golbrocklovely · 8 months ago
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Well I completely disagree with you. While sharing every single full video would be wrong, sharing smth small is literally not a big deal and it’s nobody’s waste of money. If anything it can even invite someone to that website, if they find the clip interesting.
With that being said. Snc whole brand is surrounded by them making money out of everything. Merch, videos, main channel, react channel, website etc etc. it really won’t hurt their wallets or anyone else’s if someone shares a 15 seconds clip from their website. People are anyway still signing for it, moreover the clip can as i said bring some new people (usually people do not like pay money for something blindly, so in a way those people helps them advertise it… and let’s face it… that members is not cheap), nobody will loose their money that they invested in that website, just bc some user4729$3 decided to share a few seconds clip from xplore. And just to be clear, i don’t really give a damn how snc make their money and how much they have it or wants to have, but because we live in tough times where not all of us have the same opportunities, then being mad as a person that was lucky enough to be born within a family that gave you a roof, food, phone, television and money for your own better future (like better education or even some connections for better job) at people who decided to share A FEW SECONDS CLIP is just stupid. Whether you are a member or not, being mad at such a short clip is stupid, especially that those clips aren’t something idk private or something completely different that snc do. There are really bigger problems on this world than a 15 seconds clip from xplore.com roaming around Twitter
look, i feel like i explained myself enough in my previous response to you. personally, i don't get why you are upset at ppl being upset when others share stuff from a site that clearly you aren't on or apart of since you continue to get the site's name wrong.
and if there are more important things to talk about going on in the world, why are you talking about this? just asking.
when you sign up for the site, you literally agree to NOT SHARING anything from it. otherwise you could get banned. it's really that simple. but hey, you do you. play stupid games, win stupid prizes.
not only that, but as someone that does pay for the site, i don't want to see shit from the site leaked onto twitter or tiktok or insta or any other platform. the entire point of the content is that it is exclusive. meaning that NOT EVERYONE IS MEANT TO SEE THE CONTENT. ppl are going to be excluded, that is the entire point of the platform. and as i stated before, i am by no means rich or well off. i literally live below the poverty line, almost lost my house multiple times, and will most likely have to start working a second job bc i do not make enough to get by whatsoever. that being said, if i couldn't afford it, i wouldn't expect someone to share the info with me just bc i'm a fan of snc. you're not owed exclusive content just bc you're poor and a fan of snc. sorry, that's just the way it is. it isn't life or death information. it's just random fucking videos.
and bffr, if you are someone that is struggling that much; can't afford a house, food, a job, a higher education, and have a shitty fucking family…. i highly doubt you give a single flying fuck about snc or xplrclub. you have bigger fish to fry.
also snc have almost 13 mil subs and advertise xplrclub regularly on their videos. they don't need free promo lmao
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kyrodo · 1 month ago
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Ugh... so just saw a video in my youtube list about should identifying as furries be banned in education. I remember there was that thing earlier about two furries in an elementary school causing problems and the kids themselves were protesting. And I'm a furry right? I should be supporting my "kind" right?
No. Why the fuck would you do that in a school environment? It's not even a matter of what the law says or what it doesn't, you know exactly how some people are going to react to that, and people shouldn't be forced to accept something in an environment that clearly wasn't made for it. Being a furry doesn't absolve you of being compliant with social rules. And what do you mean "identifying as a furry?" This isn't even a trans thing, this is just wanting the right to act out in places that would normally shun you for it.
Like okay, so I work at an office. I work at OCTA. County transportation authority. Government run. I'm not bringing a fursuit into work. Even if I had one, I'm not going to protest if people point out the fact that I'm not following the dress code at a place where people are having meetings with ceo's from a large number of companies. No why the fuck would want to do that? The law shouldn't protect me for that. It's an extremely important business environment, and how I represent the company matters a great deal. Enough that I can still wear I jacket and then where whatever shirt I want underneath it. But not enough that I'm gonna proudly walk in with a fursuit partial and potentially destroy whatever interbusiness deals are being made their.
But even with less official environments like a walmart, or perhaps even a mom and pops shop, unless it was already themed for it to begin with I still wouldn't be doing that. I still wouldn't be meowing at customers etc. unless it was actually a business like the ice cream shop where the employees are required to wear maid outfits, or bad dragon. It's case dependent, but 95% of the time, I still wouldn't be doing that and I am sensible enough that I wouldn't be trying to fight for the right to. Because I could do that outside of work when I could do that freely.
School is no different, and in fact it's even worse cause your in an environment with a large amount of other peers where in most cases a majority of them like to negatively react to anything that's different from them and pretty loudly at that. The law won't protect you from how people react to you when you have the choice to stay low until you can do it outside of school among accepting friends. If you can't read the room and make your own judgments on when you can act as animalistic as you want to and when you shouldn't, I have 0 sympathy for you.
I'm a furry cause I enjoy it, I enjoy the art, I enjoy being able to act out and express myself in ways that a normie can't, but I do it cause it's fun and it's fun around other friends who do the same. I don't do it to purposely piss off as many normies as possible but I know there are some furries that do especially among heavily social pressured age groups. And they don't deserve any kind of defense by law or otherwise. Fuck 'em. It's not even a matter of majority vs minority here or identity, it's just a matter of not being fucking stupid. There are definitely some things that need to be more widely embraced, but this isn't one of them. This is the absolute bottom of the priority list of things that should ever be completely normalized in public environments. Time and place, learn it or get fucked.
Kids can be fucking mean bastards, and you see it all the time in vrchat in public lobbies, but in this case in a public school environment some people definitely do deserve it.
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lasciatemi-stare · 3 months ago
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i love to be nosy!
0, 7, 12, 15, 21, 26, 31, 44! oops that's a lot 🤭
Hi! Don't worry, love some nosy people from time to time <3
0: Height 1.70 which I believe is 5'7"
7: Have tattoos? Yes, I do. Including a fox, haha.
12: Relationship status Flirting with my married co-worker Single 15: Favorite movie Just answered. Hard question. Really hard question. I am not good at making decisions. So many films I loved, this makes it hard. Mulholland Drive is definitely up there. Blue Valentine. Dog Day Afternoon. Happy Together. Feels like a crime to not mention any Guadagnino, so probably would add Call me by your name or Challengers (it really did become one of my favourites real quick).
21: What I love most about myself Also just answered: That I am open-minded but don't have a problem to challenge something when it doesn't sit right with me.
26: My biggest pet peeves When people leave a space between the last word and a punctuation mark. Who does this "Hello ?" Should be considered a crime if you ask me. Loud chewing. People watching videos without headphones in public spaces. People who think sexual content in films and on tv should be banned - but we're actually getting into not only a pet peeve with this one because purity culture is more than a pet peeve of mine. 31: What your last text message says Well, last text message is from the letting agent I met earlier for a viewing as my flatmate, the cat and I have to move as our landlord is selling the flat. And it said "I have good news for you". My last one said both our job roles and where we work, so I won't share that.
44: A random fact about anything You all love a random fact, don't you? Okay, my last one was about London, alcohol and Marx so ... Let's make this one about the most random fact about Berlin (otherwise this would have been about London, Berlin and traffic lights or Berlin and travelling without a ticket on public transport) that I can think of but it had relevance to me when I lived there and was going out (a long time ago). One of the clubs I went to just before turning 20 sold ballerina flats, you could buy them from a vending machine.
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dino-doodles · 4 months ago
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I'm so angry with nowhere to put it, so I just get to shout into the void that is tumblr. Tiktok is being banned tonight, and there's no space to be upset and disappointed and grieve. To anyone who hasn't been on it for years, this means nothing. They laugh and are glad they never hopped on the trend or are older adults that think it's just some stupid thing kids are into, and they're glad to see it go. Tiktok was my biggest source of international news. Tiktok is what kept me informed about topics like the election and Palestine, and obviously I looked things up outside of tiktok, but it gave me topics to look into I wouldn't have known about otherwise. It was a distraction from how shit life is as a lower-class worker and a tired college student. I got to connect with people about my hobbies, form community, make friends, hell I met my best friend and fucking wife on tiktok. People make their livlihoods off tiktok.
But it's more than just tiktok being banned. This is a massive stride in the US government effectively censoring something they oppose. Something that does not benefit the people in any way shape or form but makes them less susceptible to foreign ideas.
I'm sick of this countries goddamn backwards priorities that oppress people infinitely more than it uplifts them. Fuck billionaires and the American oligarchy. I'm angry and I want them to die. I've had multiple people tell me I'm the nicest person they know. My heart has hardened and I can no longer believe there is good in everyone. Billionaires deserve to die a miserable painful death and frankly I'd much rather lay my life down to take down just one of them out than I would ever fight and lay my life down for my country.
I wanted to be a teacher, not a revolutionary. I wanted things to get better. I wanted to make things better. I wanted to teach art and I wanted to bring joy to students who are stressed in a way adults don't understand and brush off. I wanted to take some burden off their shoulders saddled down with textbooks and the fear that one day someone will come to their place of learning with a gun and cut their life short without reason.
My dreams don't get to be a reality because I was born into a broken world where my only option is to work myself to death with the hope I never have a medical emergency or car crash and lose the tiny hole of safety and comfort I've scraped out for myself despite everything.
I hope those responsible for the state of the world rot in hell.
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anarkittyuwuuniverse · 2 years ago
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"The overwhelming theme in Nietzsche’s books is that the aspirant free spirit must do this work alone. This is one obvious sense in which Nietzsche is an individualist. To focus on developing my own project I have to get away from the ‘noise and dust’ (D177) of society. For this reason I enter into solitude – so as not to drink out of everyone’s cisterns. Amid the many I live like the many and don’t think as I; after some time I always feel then as if they wanted to ban me from myself and rob my soul – and I turn angry toward everyone and fear everyone. Then I need the desert to turn good again. (D491) The common values and desires that I am exposed to in society are particularly sick and harmful values, values of ressentiment. Those I encounter in society are ‘revenge addicts’, ‘invalids of all stripes, the sickly and oppressed’, and ‘the whole air is constantly buzzing from the arrows and darts launched by their malice so that the sun and sky of life are darkened by it – not just for them but even more so for us, the remaining ones’ (D323). ‘Therefore solitude’ because otherwise ‘don’t we end up denying from time to time sun and sky simply because we haven’t seen them for so long?’ These ideas continue to develop in later texts where Nietzsche links solitude, cleanliness, and what he calls the noble ‘pathos of distance’. In Thus Spoke Zarathustra, Nietzsche explores Zarathustra’s movements of retreat – going out to the desert, or ‘going up’ to the mountains – to work on himself in solitude, as well as his attempts to ‘descend’ again to society. Zarathustra also describes his ascent as ‘draw[ing] circles around me and sacred boundaries’ (Z ‘On Old and New Tablets’ 19). In Ecce Homo, Nietzsche will call Zarathustra ‘a dithyramb on solitude or, if I have been understood, on cleanliness […]’ (EH: Wise:8). And yet there is a continual tension. Nietzsche praises and desires solitude, but he also hungers for friends and companions he can share projects with. Running through his books are beautiful flashes on the idea of friendship. The friend is a ‘festival of the earth and an anticipation of the overman’ (Z 1 Neighbour 4). Friendship is not dependency and possessiveness but a ‘shared higher thirst for an ideal’ (GS14). Friendship means sharing joy, not pitifully sharing pain – in German ‘Mitfreude’, or ‘joying-with’, as opposed to ‘Mitleid’, pity or ‘suffering-with’ (HH499, AOM62, GS338). A friend is also an antagonist – even, ‘the best enemy’ (Z 1. Friend 4) – who helps by challenging and spurring us on In his life, Nietzsche actually attempted to set up a kind of community of self-transforming free spirits: what he called in 1876 a ‘cloister for free spirits’ (Kloster für freiere Geister), or ‘“school of educators” (where they educate themselves)’. Benedetta Zavatta, who has studied the letters where Nietzsche wrote inviting friends to join the project, describes it as ‘a micro-community of friends’ who would live and study together. Nietzsche wrote in one letter: ‘If you knew what this meant to me! In fact, I am always hunting for men like any pirate, but not to sell them as slaves, rather to ransom myself with them in liberty!’4 According to Keith Ansell-Pearson (2015), throughout the ‘free spirit’ period Nietzsche nurtured the idea of founding ‘a philosophical school modelled on Epicurus’s garden’, writing about this project to his friend Peter Gast as late as 1883. In following this model, Nietzsche both envisages a community that can work together on projects of self-transformation, and at the same time takes up the Epicurean injunctions to ‘live unnoticed’ and ‘do not get involved in politics’. In short, the Epicurean garden is a shared seclusion.5 Like Zarathustra, the retreating individual draws ‘circles’ and ‘boundaries’ around herself, segregating herself from the wider social world in order to focus on self-work. She may do this alone or with close comrades who share similar projects. But, in either case, it is still a retreat." -Nietzsche and anarchy by Shahin
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mallowstep · 2 years ago
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Not sure if I’m sending this in the right place but, as someone who identifies as “centrist” in this whole anti pro thing (I don’t like either side, harassment and overzealous hatred over fictional characters bordering on obsession is unhealthy and definitely really harmful to minors in those spaces but a majority of proship shit I’ve come in contact with during my attempts to kinda figure myself out were also very black and white when it came to arguments over fictional depictions of certain topics, consumption of media and honestly at times reminded me of the fandom culture I was groomed in) I agree with you the most and genuinely enjoy a lot of what you write, and it’s refreshing to see someone else who has similar opinions and ways of handling these topics in their works with a nuance that people lack when looking at any of this stuff which infuriates me. I’d send this off anon but I do kind of fear backlash from outing my stance on this stuff — this whole controversy is dumb, I do wish people who could handle your approach on dark subjects gave your writing more of a chance, your mosspelt story was a very well put together piece on grooming and it’s effects while not being too graphic and focusing on an emotional journey and i really loved it, I wish people in general could use more nuance when looking at fiction and interactions with said fiction because these black and white arguments get us nowhere
[this ask was initially sent jan 31]
thank you so much for this ask.
(cw: i do not discuss any details of what certain fics contain, but i do discuss that i have written fics dealing with various kinds of abuse with some being graphic.)
the mosspelt piece is one of my proudest works, and i think it definitely...goes down the easiest? (in contrast with, say, no one held me to the flame, a concept i didn't expect any amount of support for or engagement with.)
i would like to take this moment to remind everyone that you don't have to engage with everything i write, just in case anyone needs to hear that today. if something is upsetting to you, don't read it. love to everyone.
anyway. as someone whose stance is tax paying adult/whatever is funniest/whatever people have decided today, i don't really like to acknowledge shipcourse. i've got friends who bear both labels, and they both agree with me. so. i think that pretty accurately describes how nonsensical this whole thing is, that two people on supposedly opposite sides can have the same opinions.
i was talking with one of my friends who has the same stance as me (altho, if forced to label ourselves, we would pick differently), and we were talking about how it ultimately comes down to how do we actually stop harm.
banning topics from ao3 doesn't stop harm. things will happen no matter what. you don't have to like it, but that's the reality. (for a tangible example of this happening, look into how FOSTA/SESTA made it harder for law enforcement to do their jobs.)
as some of y'all know, i was most engaged in this discourse when i was at a deep low point. (or high point, as it were, seeing as i was trending towards mania.) it's been a while since i've spoken on it because i needed a good long time out.
ultimately, characters on a screen or in a book do not matter and cannot be harmed. real people can. what matters to me is therefore the normalization of abuse.
a talking point that continues to bother me is the idea that just acknowledging something exists and happens is normalizing abuse. i think anyone who's read some of my fics can agree with that. i think if you read no one held me to the flame and manage to get off to it, or otherwise think it's normalizing abuse, then i'm a much worse writer than i thought. (i name nohmttf specifically because it goes as far as deliberately depicting the acts.)
i don't know where i'm going with this, just...it's all pretty senseless. if the super dark stuff like nohmttf isn't your cup of tea, i don't want you to read it. i want you to enjoy your time reading my fics.
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everythingwritingg · 2 years ago
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Writing Romantic Tragedies
@everything.writing on IG
I actually have a pretty light weekend because the quarter has wrapped up. Not the best of quarters, grade-wise, but I still have one more quarter to get them up. Anyway, I’m going to answer a post request from one of you guys. Disclaimer: I’ve never written romantic tragedies, only happy romance so this is mostly research.
Have your end in mind. There are a lot of ways to end a tragic romance. This could be death of one or both of the characters, such as Romeo and Juliet. This could also mean both characters live, but neither of them get a happy ending, whether from situational factors like a parent banning them from seeing each other or due to them breaking up. Either way, the plot will be based on what the ending will be, so try to decide that before starting.
Start like how you would normally start a romance. How did the two characters meet? What attracted them to each other? Introduce the characters and begin to develop their backstories. Add other characters and relationships to the story, with subplots.
But there’s something that forbids them from being together. Most romances have an element of forbiddeness, even the ones that end well. Otherwise, there would be no story to read about. Is one of them a friend’s ex? Are they coworkers who are not allowed to date? Do two same-sex characters live in a homophobic society?
Sprinkle hints that the relationship isn’t going to work out. I get it, foreshadowing is a hard skill especially if you’re a pantser or even if you’re a plotter. Generally, you should save it for later drafts, when you know how the story is going to go. Leave little details, such as the comments that other characters make to them. Or maybe another couple who is in a similar circumstance doesn’t end up together.
Write a gradual progression from denial to surrender. Your characters will deny their love for each other, until they finally give in. Both character’s lust for each other should grow more intense as they interact with each other. And then there’s that catalyst, whether it’s the romantic environment or an internal realization that it’s now or never.
Like any relationship, there should be highs and lows. Your couple will both have moments when they rant about something they both hate. However, sometimes they’ll fight, whether it’s about the factors that keep the romance “forbidden” or something else entirely. It’s unrealistic for couples to get along all the time as everyone has different opinions.
There should be moments of euphoria and reality checks. If your characters are in a “forbidden romance”, they’ll often be reminded why they can’t be together, often after periods of bliss. For example, a character has a strict parent. They invite their partner over for a “friend sleepover” and they enjoy a few kisses. Their parent barges in and they barely manage to break apart in time. This brings the couple back to reality of why they can’t be together.
There will be a final darkness/tragedy moment. Take the example above. Instead of them managing to break apart, maybe this time their parent catches them and bans their partner from the house. This is usually the final climax of the story, so treat it as such, with high action and more intense description.
What happens after? If the MC is the one dying, then there’s no need to continue because, well, you know. But if their partner was the one who died or they were forcefully separated, then there should be a period of reflection. If the partner died, how does the MC cope? If both are still alive, what does the MC do after? Does the MC try to get in contact with their partner? Or do they know it’s for the best and remain separate? What lessons do they learn from the relationship?
I hope I successfully walked you through a romantic tragedy. Writing about and researching this topic made me want to write a romantic tragedy myself. I already have a few ideas…but anyway, have a great weekend and keep the requests coming!
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sazandorable · 5 years ago
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About moderating and banning content on AO3!
Okay so! I haven’t had the spoons to do this for a while but I cracked and ranted about it on twitter which is... not... conducive to long rants, so!
This is a h u g e discussion part of the l o n g history that led to the creation of AO3, which older, more informed, and more articulate people have talked about at length and can be found around if you look (I reblog some of it in my AO3 and fandom history tags for the curious). So I won’t go into that here, nor into the practical reasons why it’s not even possible to put that system in place anyway.
Arbitrarily, or the purpose of this post, because it’s the biggest topic I’ve seen brought up lately, I’ll be talking about fic depicting underage characters in se*ual situations, but honestly I could hold the exact same conversation on literally any controversial content.
This is about why you, specifically, if you are a content creator and especially if you are marginalised and especially if you are queer and especially especially if you are sensitive to fiction depicting certain things... do not, actually, want a banning system on AO3.
What? Of course we do. There’s a lot of p*do shit on AO3 and p*do shit is gross. No one should condone that, wtf? It would be easy to do — just periodically delete the entire Underage tag!
What will happen if that is done is that people will re-upload and continue to write it, they’ll just stop tagging and you will run into it with zero warning nor ability to filter it out. Again, this is not a theoretical — we know this is what happens. When I was a teen, adult content (all adult content) was not allowed on FF.NET; it was everywhere regardless, and without tags. The exact same thing happened on tumblr when adult content was banned as well. It’s not a matter of “staff not handling it well” — it just doesn’t work.
To keep safe the people who need to be able to exclude that tag, that tag needs to exist and be used.
Well, shucks. A reporting system then?
A reporting system would operate in one of two ways:
-an algorithm, which would delete a lot of stuff we wouldn’t want it to delete.
-humans, which is... the bigger problem.
An algorithm sounds great. We do want it to delete everything.
Okay. What about the daddy k*nk fics between consenting adult characters? What about the fics featuring characters that are children in the canon but are adults in the fic? What about the fics about teenagers exploring their se*uality together, written by adults about the experiences they remember having or wish they could have had? What about the thousands of SasuNaru and Drarry and other shounen and YA fics that will get written, by teens or by people who remember being teens? What about the se*ually explicit fic written by teens who are se*ually active in real life? What about the fics about CSA as trauma, about healing from it? What about the fics written by survivors of CSA to cope about their trauma? What about the fics that clearly show that it’s evil and traumatic? What about the super dark, harrowing, but beautiful and artistic that I’m glad I read even though it fucked me up for days? What about the ones that were really shitty but also horribly hot?
Well, some of these are still not okay, but maybe some might be. It depends on how it’s written. We’ll have humans moderating content and deciding, then.
Okay.
The thing is, I don’t know which of the things I just listed were okay for you to be depicted in fiction and which were too much. Odds are I don’t agree with you. Odds are if I asked 10 people randomly picked off the street, not everyone would agree.
Odds are, even if AO3 arbitrarily decided on which of those are allowed and which are not, you would not agree with their choice, and you would still be unhappy with the decision. (Or you would be happy, but your friends wouldn’t.)
Odds are, different AO3 content moderators might not agree on whether a given fic qualifies or not — is it artistic enough? Does it show enough that these actions are evil and wrong? Can the author prove they’re a teenager? Can the author prove they are a CSA victim? Can the author prove that this is to help them cope with their trauma? The author seem to be functioning alright, they mustn’t really be traumatised!
You know what I mean! There’s absolute, objectively gross shit out there that is not artistic and should not be published.
I agree that there’s vile stuff out there that makes me sick and that I think is very clearly just ped*philic trash. But there is no way to, 1) stop those from getting published anyway, 2) take those down and preserve the safety of everything else.
If we start forbidding some things, there’s two ways to go about it.
One single, clear, arbitrary rule — for instance, absolutely no adult content featuring characters under 18 (leaving aside the fact that this would not even work for the reason cited above). So we lose all the stuff from teenagers, all the coming of age stories about adolescence, all the stuff from CSA survivors; people who need to write it can’t publish it anymore, and people who need to read it can’t anymore either (and as a cool bonus, they’re told it’s wrong and made to feel bad about it). Depending on whether the rules applies to characters that are under 18 in the canon, we lose entire fandoms.
Or, subjective moderation by humans, according to what they estimate to be gross.
Let’s assume all moderators can agree on what’s gross or not.
If there is a system in place to ban some underage works because “gross shit”, then that means other gross stuff can be taken down on account of being gross and harmful.
Yeah! Gross stuff should be taken down! Come on, surely everyone agrees on what’s gross and harmful.
Ah.
But the problem is.
Here is a list of things I have seen — with my eyes seen — called harmful to be depicted in fiction:
Murder
Non-con
Inc*st
Cannibalism
Torture
Self-harm
Mental illness
Drugs
Racism
K*nk
Non-negotiated k*nk, but healthy k*nk is ok
Spanking k*nk
BDSM where the woman is a bottom, but woman top is ok
Healthy depictions of BDSM
Unhealthy depictions of BDSM
Queer people doing bad things
Abusive relationships
Rival/Enemies to lovers
Redemption stories
A happy relationship between a 17 yo and an 18 yo
A happy relationship between a 20 yo and a 60 yo
A happy relationship between a boss and their employee, or a college teacher and a student
A happy relationship between a 14 yo boy and an older teenage boy, because that’s reminiscent of older men preying on younger gay boys IRL
Se*ual content featuring a character whose age is unclear in canon and some people headcanon them as being underage, some as being a young adult
Loving, consensual fluff between characters that are evil villains, because it romanticises them and their actions
Dark content shipping female characters
Fluffy content shipping female characters, because it’s misogynistic to act like lesbians are only soft all the time
Consensual s*x featuring a canonically asexual character, because it implies that all aces can and should still have se*
Fics about the same canonically asexual character hating s*x, because that erases the experience of s*x-positive aces
Shipping a character who is perceived by some fans as queer-coded with a character of a different s*x
The tendency to ship a black character with white characters
Fluffy drunk s*x, because that’s not actually consensual
Sleep s*x, because that’s not actually consensual
Trans characters not experiencing dysphoria, because that idealises the trans experience
Consensual s*x between adults that are not married
LGBT+ content, because kids shouldn’t see that.
I guarantee you: you, I, and 10 random people plucked from the street will not agree on what, in that list, is and isn’t okay to publish and consume fiction of.
So why should your taste be the one followed? Why should it be the taste of mods you don’t know? Why should anyone get to dictate? What if the mods think your OTP is gross and your NOTP is fine?
This is the slippery slope argument.
Yes, it is the slippery slope argument. Because we know it happens. Because we’ve been there, because I’ve seen it happen myself twice already and I’m not even thirty. Because we know people do complain loudly about all of these things.
And because the second there is a banning system in place, assholes will use the system to abuse it and get stuff they just don’t like taken down using the “it is gross” argument, and one day you’ll wake up and the beautiful fic that helped you come to terms with your abuse/trauma/identity/orientation/k*nk for feet will be taken down and wonderful vulnerable creative people will have been harassed out of fandom because they argued with 1 person who didn’t like their foot k*nk fic that happened to also feature, for instance, a CSA trauma backstory.
Again: not exaggerating. Not theoretical. It happens, we know it happens, AO3 was created literally because it happens.
I still fucking hate that stuff.
That is completely fine and normal. No one likes everything. Me too! Most of the dark stuff is niche and the creators know only few people will like it the same way they do.
(For the record, I get grossed out and triggered by fics about an asexual character who does not like s*x having s*x with their partner to make them happy. Deep in my gut everything screams that that’s fucked up, terrifying and harmful, how can people write that. But I recognise that there are people who love and need that, and I leave those people and their content alone.
OTOH, I read a lot of otherwise dark shit and I enjoy it in the same way I enjoyed, say, Hannibal, in the same way some people enjoy true crime documentaries, horror movies or r*pe fantasy k*nk. It helps me explore stuff that I like to see in fiction, in a safe, controlled way. I’m also asexual, 90% s*x-repulsed IRL, and, obviously, I would never abuse a child. For that matter, I wouldn’t kill and eat people, either, nor would I do 90% of the tamer k*nky stuff I read.
Of course, Hannibal was fucked up and lots of people probably think Hannibal was gross and should not have been aired — but as exemplified by the fact that it was created, aired and watched, lots of people thought it was fine, interesting and even fun to watch.)
You can and should curate your experience and protect yourself. The AO3 website now allows you to exclude certain tags, and people have developed tools to help with that such as plugins that save your filters or hide fics that contain certain words.
But no, it isn’t going to, and it shouldn’t, get banned.
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rabdoidal · 3 years ago
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Hi this is the initial anon that started D&D court!
In a recent session, our party went to visit my character’s grandmother-figure. While there DM introduced a harvest festival that had a nonlethal combat competition and introduced a rival for my character that my dm made up (I put nothing about a rival in my backstory). According to the narrative our dm created, my character had kicked this rival’s ass every year from the moment they entered town to the moment they left.
Initially these characters started out as a birthday one shot and my character was an oathbreaker Paladin, but our DM and another player complained about edgy characters. Wanting to be a good friend and not enjoying being a Paladin much, I reworked my character to be the ultimate team player. So I took four levels of fighter and one of sorcerer. My fighter subclass was banneret which allows me to use my second wind to heal myself and members of my party at the same time. Fighting style I took distracting strike so I could give my party members advantage on hitting the monster. I have been playing this build since July.
We get to the combat and our dm announces that this year the townsfolk are changing it so that it’s in teams and then announces that no magic is allowed in the competition. That removed all of my extra abilities from my one level of sorcerer making my character essentially a level four fighter. But in order to engage with the narrative DM set up about my rival I 1v1 them while my team takes care of the rival’s team. Only 1v1ing meant my distracting strike and my rallying cry were pointless, and I only had one attack because I was level four. So action surge allowed me one more chance to hit in the entire combat. I’d gotten reduced to a slightly heartier level 2.
Meanwhile my rival not only had two attacks but a bonus action grapple that he could do all on one turn. Meaning he had three chances to hit me for my one. He also had a partial stunning strike. When my character eventually got grappled I had to use my entire action to try to break the grapple but didn’t have any bonus actions I could use to give myself help because they were either magic or healing as I had already used action surge. When my team came over to help and hit the guy a few times, my DM did NOT give me any bonuses to trying to break the grapple. Eventually they got the guy off me and I happened to be the next in initiative so I was the finishing hit.
If it had just been a case of bad dice rolls, I’d be bitter about the dice gods not the DM. But I felt like I was being punished for trying to engage in the narrative they set up. According to him I had kicked this guy’s ass multiple times which means we should have been equal if my rival had been working out with the intention of kicking my ass some day. But by removing my access to sorcerer stuff (unless I was willing to get disqualified) made me weaker, and then two of my special abilities as a fighter were rendered useless by the narrative leaning to 1v1. If our DM had set up a friendly team competition, then I would have played it differently and used my team work skills. But I wanted to engage with the rival narrative my DM set up because it would have been bad player behavior otherwise, and my character got nerfed because of it.
Is this unfair DM-ing, or am I just being whiney?
Same initial anon again. I forgot to mention that our DM had allowed us to buy magic gloves that gave us the spell bark skin so our ac was +2. By not allowing magic my ac was dropped to 14.
Okay, a lot to unpack!
In my opinion, the setup was so unfair in the first place that I'm genuinely surprised about the magic ban playing into it as well - if your rival already has 2 attacks (presumably level 5 or above in a martial class) they absolutely shouldn't also be getting a grappling attack - if your DM really wanted to grapple you so bad, then the rival should have the grappler feat, or just be using one or both attacks to grapple. Additionally, I think a more thematic choice for the rival would be for them to have a level in Warlock or another magic class, mirroring the magic your character has taken, but through a more revenge driven lens - then that rival may disqualify himself by using magic to try beat you, leaving you open to use magic again or for you to win fairly without it.
Also, just right out the gate, I don't think its okay that your DM just told you you have a rival. If I were going back to a PCs hometown, I'd ask something like "who were your friends, who did you dislike, is there anyone you remember the most here" if I really wanted to set up a conflict.
Finally, on a personal decision level... I think rivals should be at least a little pathetic and a little weaker than you? Like, they care so much about defeating you but its not integral to your life at all. Being a level 5+ martial glass/grappler while you're losing abilities, class features and magic isn't a good contest, its a beatdown. Rivals play by cartoon logic, not by the bylaws of the DM's handbook - all NPCs have less abilities and features than normal PCs, it doesn't make a lot of sense to me to make some townie fighter better than an adventurer.
I'm definitely in favour of the player, and I gotta sentence the DM to perform magic tricks on stage in front of their hometown.
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