#i love being a selfish asshole /lh

[cougar-crossing]

Literally being a parasite is so fun

[slowpokegamer]

Love the additions and the conversations happening on this post, but unfortunately I feel like these two add ons just kind of prove my point ,, /lh

Here's the thing with Dandelion, @hanzajesthanza had a really good way of wording this in the tags when they reblogged it and I will do my best to reword it here (also they have some amazing discussions about the books and characters on their account, I highly recommend going and reading through some of them👍)

In my opinion, as played out and exhausted as the trope is, I do still feel that the misogyny is a core part of Dandelion's character and the arc he goes through. Dandelion in the early books is absolutely insufferable, I can 100% agree on that. But maybe it's just me, but I do see a noticable difference in his behavior towards sex and women as the books go on. How he acts in The Last Wish is vastly different to me than how he acts in Lady of the Lake. And yes, he's not completely fixed by the end of it. He still has his moments, he's still insufferable in a lot of instances at the end... But there is a difference.

Dandelion throughout the course of the story, has met many women that actively challenge and help to start changing his view of women. Milva, Yennefer, even Ciri, as Dandelion interacts with them and this journey goes on, he constantly has his ass saved by them, he has his viewpoints and his opinions actively changed by their actions, and he's incredibly supportive and caring towards the women in his life who actually cares about, who he's close to. That's the thing. Dandelion is a selfish asshole, he sleeps around with no guilt on his conscious, he moves on from woman to woman with no fuss, but with the women and men in his life who he's actually attached to... Who he loves, he is very loyal, he's incredibly supportive! Maybe his character arc and the changes he goes through would have mattered more and been better had the games kind of followed through with everything a bit better, but unfortunately... They didn't. And by the time the Witcher 3 rolls around he's basically almost back to square one. But that's a different story for a different day...

I still think it's okay to be uncomfortable and dislike his behavior, because I definitely do too, but there has to be enough reading comprehension here to see the point of it all. It's more than just the horny bard trope, we're supposed to be uncomfortable by what Dandelion does. It makes it all the more meaningful when the strong female characters in the story save his ass or do literally anything !

As for his role with subversions in the story, I don't think Dandelion is a subversion of anything, but his role within the story is to kind of be a foil to Geralt. Quite literally, the two of them would be lost without each other. Without Dandelion, Geralt's would become the very thing he fears of being: an emotionless, bloodthirsty killer, a monster. And without Geralt, Dandelion would probably be living with his head so far in the clouds that he would he'd probably be dead by now. Dandelion is without wisdom, and Geralt is there to stand in with that wisdom he lacks in some situations. They're total opposites, yet they're very alike in a lot of ways, right down to their sexualities. Because yes, Dandelion sleeps around a lot, but so does Geralt.

I think sometimes it's unfair to only criticize Dandelion's sexuality while either ignoring or forgiving Geralt's, and Geralt is the one who's supposed to be in a committed relationship! There was a mention of Dandelion seducing young girls up there somewhere, but Geralt is the one who canonically slept with minor in Blood of Elves... Not his strongest moment, but it's definitely not something we should be ignoring about his character, not in my opinion. Everyone in the Witcher is a deeply flawed person, even Geralt, even Yennefer, even the characters we like to pretend aren't flawed. They all go through their own personal arcs, and their opinions, viewpoints, and morals do change as the books go on, and Dandelion is no exception to this.

We should criticize his behavior, but I still stand by opinion that we should not be erasing these aspects of him, as exhausted as the tropes can feel sometimes. 👍

I really hate when people use the argument of Book/Game Dandelion is misogynistic and sexist to dislike him and prefer Netflix Jaskier over him.

It's genuinely fine to have preferences, not saying it's not okay /gen However, a lot of the time the arguments being made literally just sound like a character having flaws and being a bad person is the most horrible sin in the world, and the only way we can consume characters and media is when they have no flaws and are perfect little blorbos with nothing negative about them.

It's fine to dislike a character when they're doing bad things and have bad views, that's a-okay! It's not okay to act like a character having realistic flaws and being a bad person in their media is the worst crime known to humanity. The Witcher isn't and has never been an escapist fantasy; it's dark and realistic in how it portrays war, people, and human nature. The characters within this world are going to reflect that realism.

As much as I love Joey Batey, I do think that wiping some of that selfishness from Jaskier's character, taking away some of these flaws that he has within the books and games has done harm to the character. Dandelion... Jaskier, is selfish. That is an active part of his personality and his arc throughout the series, and we shouldn't be afraid to see characters exhibiting negative traits and navigating those types of stories.

[t0bey]

I would like to hear your thoughts on Norton, if possible, please! <3 (btw, I love the way you draw his facial features so much qwq)

ty mewlyn!!!! <3 love ur art too

favorite thing about them: that he's an asshole with a very understandable reason for it. i know a lot of people don't want how jaded he is to be his only defining trait and i agree with that but at the same time, his selfish actions are a product of the environment he spent his entire life in, and i appreciate that his character shows what extreme poverty can force a person to forgo morality in the case of survival.

least favorite thing about them: if i had to never play against a prospector again as a hunter by deleting him from the game i would. sorry nort ur character is cool i just find you insufferable as a hunter (ignores that i main him)

favorite line: "Let me be clear. I'm not paying." the fact he wouldve said this if he won the nymph awards is really funny to me idk why

bROTP: him and tracy... also him and all of the coa 4 gang they make me so sad they were all pals

OTP: im chill with most ships for him (which is inevitable in this fandom he's like. the character EVERYONE ships with someone lol /lh). if i had to choose one though uhhh id say nortmelly

nOTP: dunno what to put here aside from "dont ship the 27 year old man with kids"

random headcanon: his helmet was a handmedown from his dad

unpopular opinion: personally of the belief that the person he was hired to kill wasn't melly. i think it was alice because her being a rich noble who has a VERY messy past even in comparison to melly would put a bigger target on her back.

song i associate with them: honeybrains - royal blood

favorite picture of them: not my favorite but ive been so confused seeing this picture of him from the atropos ropes event bc i wasnt around idv to play it so i have 0 CLUE what the context is for why he's crying if anyone wants to tell me

[bookwyrminspiration]

Ok, so from what I'm getting, there are two or three major fanon versions of Fitz

1- Irredeemable asshole that only seeks to hurt Sophie in order to make himself happy, a selfish son of a bitch. Does not have one empathetic bone in his body

2- Tiny little baby man, perfectly put together. Doesn't have to try. Perfect tin every way possible and has the neatest hand writing imaginable. Oblivious. Presentable Gifted Kid™

3- A well prwesentable mess. Sleep? What's that? Goes to sleep at 2 am and gets up at 5 am. Lives off of coffee. Stress bakes. He spends 90% of his time studying to live up to the expectations. He is the group mom, people think he has a tiny room but that's just an appearance. When people leave the house it looks like a bomb just dropped. Sir please put down the coffee it is bad for you. Please take my hug. Please take a break. Adorable. Never learnt how to process his emotions so he drowns himself in honour programs and work to distract himself from his problems. Has the second messiest hand writing known to man, only second to Dex, but he makes sure that any work that he has to hand in is cleaned and trimmed to perfection. 12 am to 1 am is spent baking the days stress away. Never learnt how to socialise properly because he has spent his life as if he were an exhibition to be gawked at. Is a little baby man that needs to let loose and relax. Genuine Gifted Kid™

I'm sure you can tell which one is my favourite /srs /lh

-Heathen

Heathen! Hello! You know what that seems like a pretty solid summary of the different fanon versions of him, though of course given that this is fanon all of these version make him a moc of some kind. Desi is a fairly popular one, though just generally being brown is also common. I personally think of them as Mexican simply because I am, but the vackers being poc is nearly ubiquitous across fanon versions of him.

But back to Fitz specifically!

Yep, you nailed that one. I've observed that this is most common among young sokeefe (meaning under 13) shippers and is typically found on other sites. That's not to say everyone under 13 hates him or that you have to be under 13 to hate him or that it's not on tumblr at all, but it's definitely a lot less common among older fans on tumblr. This perspective seems to approach Fitz with the absolute worst faith possible and sees every action he takes as proof he doesn't care about anyone or anything and is a horrible person and therefore it's justified to not like him when really people are allowed to just say they don't like a character. It's like "Fitz sneezed when Sophie was talking which clearly means he doesn't respect what she has to say and doesn't pay attention to her at all. And all the 'bless yous he got?' so selfish, he doesn't care about anyone but himself." Like my dudes it was a sneeze (this is an example this hasn't actually happened)

ah yes, the overly fond affection that attempts to justify all of his actions. To be honest i haven't really seen that one a lot, but I feel like it's likely in response to the first one. Being online people absorb this idea that the characters you like are reflective of who you are so you have to like good characters, and so bad actions are excused/justified/shoved under the rug in denial of people's mistakes, or trying to make them not as big of a deal as they are. Just a thought tho! But yes I think he embodies the Presentable Gifted Kid vibe so well. This kind of portrayal of him I think is the one that makes him the sweetest, like just the super kid dork full of love and affection. Not that he isn't, but it's like dialed all the way up, you know?

This is the burnt out gay gifted kid whose life is coming crashing down around him but he's just trying to coast through it portrayal, which is endearing and also relatable. it takes the caring from before but also makes him an absolute mess, like he's just this guy /pos. He's falling apart at the seams but also loves his friends so much and doesn't know what to do with himself. I think he's one of the most common portrayals of him I see in this fandom, but that's just based off my memory and exposure to fics (and I don't read a lot of fic, ironically). Like I have nothing else to add you've absolutely nailed it. Stress baking? Never learned how to process emotions? Group mom? Check, check, and check!

There may be some other fanon portrayals of who he is, but I can't think of any off the top of my head. You seem to have it all covered! And you also seem to like the one most of the fandom likes, so that probably will make it a lot easier to find fic portrayals of him like that if that's something that suits your interest

I simply love him, your honor. Personally tend to stick to closer to canon portrayals, but sometimes it's fun to dabble in Fitz But He's A Little Fucked Up, Actually. He's just such a guy! Really is the character of all time <33

[hyperfixationtimego]

Alright we’re trying this angst thing again

Diamond Brothers Angst because I said so

Both Daiya and Mondo have huge self esteem issues bc of the crash

Both think stuff along the lines of what the fuck I could have prevented that

Neither Daiya nor Mondo can sleep very well because when they hear vehicles driving past and the occasional screeching tires they’re back at the scene of the accident

They hear a semi truck rumbling past? Suddenly neither of the brothers remember how to move or breathe properly

They both survived the crash but they were both injured severely bc fuck dude that was a truck that hit them

The Crazy Diamonds witnessed the whole thing and they were Worried™️

And we all know how the Owadas hate being vulnerable

Neither of the brothers could actively ride their motorcycles for a long time after the crash because they couldn’t handle it emotionally

They played off their mental recovery time as time in the hospital

Daiya made Mondo promise not to get back on his motorcycle, much less the road, until he was 100% sure that he was prepared to handle it because what if there’s another freak accident that neither of them have control over

Mondo made Daiya promise the exact same thing because He Cares™️

Mondo has reoccurring nightmares about the crash and often sees Daiya dead in those nightmares

The gang shows up in the nightmares too and they’ve all been hit and it’s all Mondo’s fault and he couldn’t be a good leader because he wasn’t strong enough and why couldn’t he just be more like his brother god fucking dammit

Sometimes he sees Taka or Chihiro in place of Daiya and the Diamonds and that Absolutely Terrifies Him™️

Daiya has reoccurring thoughts about hijacking a truck to hit the driver who hurt him and his little brother

He wants them to feel all the same pain and more that they put the Diamond Brothers through

Daiya has breakdowns over this because even if he is a gang leader, he would not go that far

cue the Am I A Bad Person Complex™️

Mondo does not let himself stim

He doesn’t think it’s manly and it definitely doesn’t fit the Tough Guy™️ act

This leads to worsened focus and next thing you know he and Daiya are having a yelling match at home because if Mondo’s grades drop any lower he’ll be expelled soon and Daiya just wants the best for his brother but nothing works out the way it was planned

One time Mondo received a popsicle stick and paper heart from Taka

He was extremely happy

When he got back to his dorm he was that happy that he was shaking and then oh shit

Mondo broke it

He snapped the popsicle sticks in half

the note that Taka wrote,, it got ripped in the process

Mondo full on sobbed over this for an hour at the least

Like

Actual

Real

Tears

He broke something that Taka— not just his bf, but his best friend— had worked so hard on to make just for him and he fucking broke it like a shit for brains idiot

Mondo is terrified of hurting his friends

Because what if he forgets to take his adhd meds one day and his emotional dysregulation is all fucked up and he has an outburst again and actually hurts his friends

Or what if he takes 2+ doses by accident and focuses too hard and is left staring at one (1) spot and everyone hates him and what if they think he’s a creep

Mondo hates going out of his dorm at night because what if someone else is out and they have a flashlight and now they’re pointing it at him and it’s bright and those are headlights and that’s

that’s his brother

on the ground

not moving

Mondo will start shaking and he’ll break down hyperventilating or freeze on the spot

Either way, he hates being vulnerable

Whaddaya think? :D was that enough angst?

also can you tell that i kin Daiya on the dl bc i too got hit by a moving vehicle to save my young mer sibling from being hit /lh but also srs lmfo

HEY TINK??? HEY TINK????????

GodDAMN make me cry over this shit oKAY-

also sorry this took ✨forever✨ I had to gather my Thoughts™️ and my brain did not want to work today 😌

also before we get into my things, tw for trauma (obviously), unhealthy coping mechanisms, underage smoking/drug relapse/smoking as a crutch, and suicidal ideation (passive, but still there)

First of all, y e a h oh my god?? There is literally so much internalized guilt for both of them,,,,,like they rlly do have episodes sometimes where they just. Play over the events of what lead up to the crash in their heads and fixate on what they could have done differently,,,,,even though in the moment they both did their best? Like “well, I shouldn’t have taken us down this street” or “if I had acted quicker, maybe it wouldn’t have happened” and.....yeah those thoughts really fuck with them, y’know?

and 100% that unexpected/overwhelming vehicle noises and/or presences are nearly debilitating. Honestly, I imagine that Mondo can’t go hang out with Leon and Taka or whoever else if said people are hanging out in Kaz’s workshop. Owada’s only ever been in there once and immediately had to leave when he heard Kazuichi starting an engine he was working on. Not to mention being surrounded by a shit ton of vehicles, even if they were idle, had kept him on-edge the entire thirty seconds he was able to handle it.

They both deal with a lot of phantom pain, as well. Like something triggers them and suddenly, even if they’re able to remain in the moment and keep conscious of their surroundings, they somehow feel every ache, every twinge of pain, every breaking bone, or bruised patch of skin that they felt on that day. It’s a lot more prominent in Daiya than it is with Mondo, but they do both experience it!

And neither one lets the other know when they’re feeling like shit or having an episode because 😌 Daiya. wants to be strong. for his little brother. and Mondo. sees his brother basically functioning like a typical person. and figures that there’s something wrong with him. because he can’t get over what happened.

Takemichi is absolute shit with Emotions and being vulnerable or getting people to open up to him, but he’s like..........internally these bitches are Not Okay what the fuck am I supposed to do about it???? So he kind of...tries to hint to both of them that he’s worried? Without making it obvious or embarrassing them, but he’s like.......fuck these assholes.......making me be the one to make them realize they need help goddamnit........

And michi exhibiting a change in behavior is pretty 👀 because. it’s michi I mean he’s not just gonna change the way he talks in front of u for nothing, u know? So both Daiya and Mondo are actually able to pick up on it, although their reactions differ pretty greatly.

Like Daiya’s first thought is “wow, he’s worried, that’s really sweet of him. Better convince him everything’s okay.”

Meanwhile Mondo’s is “wow, he’s worried. my stupid emotional turmoil is that obvious. he must think I’m some sorta fuckin idiot for not being able to get over it. or selfish. or both. yeah, probably both.”

Also I think Daiya’s pretty perceptive in general? Like he can Tell™️ that something’s going on with his brother, but........yeah emotional conversations....vulnerability......that’s rlly neither of their strong suits. + he also figures that if it were something mondo were really really really having trouble with, he would come talk to him!

And so Daiya has absolutely no concept of just how Not Good his brother is doing right now hbbvvvv

So he settles for being like “I’m just gonna stay strong and act like the memories and intrusive thoughts aren’t affecting me in any way because I want to be a good role model” (which. is not healthy obv)

oh g o d the nightmares

they are so horrible and vivid and concentrated at times that Mondo simply.....refuses to sleep. He’s exhausted, both mentally and physically, and yet he can’t bring himself to close his eyes because he knows what he’ll see if he does.

And of course it affects him to the point that his friends start to become worried. Like Taka notices a stark increase in tardiness or general absences, and, after an initial assumption that it was simply Mondo choosing not to care about his academics again, realized that there was probably a lot more going on than he realized. He really, really wanted to bring it up and let his boyfriend know that he’ll always be there for him no matter what, but he couldn’t quite figure out how to articulate it properly. The farthest he gets is with the question, “is everything okay?”

And as much as Mondo wants to respond to him by saying that no, in fact, everything is not okay, everything sucks and everything hurts and he’s tired and he hates himself and sometimes he wishes that the crash had killed him, but that’s selfish so he should shut up- he just.....can’t bring himself to open himself up like that. Yes, he and Ishi are dating, so logically he should be able to tell him all this, but.....it’s so much. It’s too much. Too much to think, too much to feel, let alone try to explain. So he shuts himself up with a quick, curt, “Yeah.”

And....Taka knows he’s lying. He’s not sure how he knows, but he does. And it hurts to see someone he loves so much in such a state of anguish, and basically be unable to do anything about it because....how is he supposed to respond? What is he supposed to say? Navigating everyday interaction is difficult enough without having to improv something that could affect his partner’s mental health indefinitely. So....he does his best. Which isn’t enough, really, but it’s something.

“You can tell me anything.”

Mondo wants to believe him.

—

Another side of that same coin is Mondo skipping class a lot more than is typical for him. It’s almost always with Leon, but he’s also begun slipping away on his own, occasionally, as well, now.

And....y’know, at first, Leon thought it was super rad that Owada and he were skipping more! Like it used to be that Kuwata would offer for them to miss the next class, and Mondo’s usual answer would be ‘not today,’ and then Leon would keep bugging him about it until Mondo either gave in or told him to fuck off.

But....there’s just something about how it went from Leon being constantly shut down, to being told yes around the first few times the idea was brought up, to how, suddenly, Kuwata wasn’t even the one asking, anymore. It’s....depressing? Uncomfortable?

There’s also the fact that hanging out while they’re cutting just....isn’t as fun as it used to be? Leon’ll crack jokes or come up with stupid dares, and Mondo’s responses will be noncommittal at best. And Leon’s had enough experience with sleep deprivation to know it in his friends when he sees it.

He’s never been put in this situation before - usually it’s kuwata having some sort of stupid episode and usually it’s owada who’ll tell him to chill the fuck out and think rationally about things, but....Mondo acts a lot different when he’s upset than Leon does. He smokes more. Cuts himself off from everyone. Doesn’t engage with anything.

It’s different with people like Toko, or Makoto, or Kaz, because Leon knows what they need. He knows whether or not they need vulnerability, or a physical presence, or tough love, or tactile grounding, or a willing ear or shoulder to cry on, but with Mondo......he just isn’t sure.

So Leon doesn’t comment.

——-

Chihiro’s probably the one to get him to open up about it ngl.

ANYWAY-

y e a h Daiya intrusive thoughts?????? fuck yeah???? absolutely??????

god yeah I rlly feel him on that ngl hbhdbdbdbbb

and MONDO DARLING 🥺

god okay it SUCKS because????? he doesn’t judge his friends for stimming????? Like he sees his friends fidgeting or repeating phrases or rocking back and forth and he’s like???? Hell yeah you go u funky kid ilysm

But when it comes to himself????? he’s like if I do anything aside from stay perfectly still, I’m weird and bad and a failure so I simply Will Not

he’s wrong but it doesn’t change the fact that he feels that way ❤️

hhhvhvvdd I’m also a slut for daiya doing his best as a makeshift parental figure,,,,,,,like fuck dude okay,,,,,,as an older sibling who also loves and cares about their younger sibs but often finds emotionally connecting with them to be difficult,,,,,,,,,mood??? And having all of that amplified by rlly being his younger bro's only support in his home life,,,,,,,like ok mr. owada go off

he feels a lot of pressure to get it right and make sure that Mondo's doing okay, so the grades really worry him. but, of course, grades are a touchy subject with mondo regardless, so as u said it devolves into arguments and yelling and a lot of defensiveness!!

and god okay,,,,,,,the heart rlly got me,,,,,,,like that hurt. it rlly hurt man okay damn

honestly??? I think that might be the thing that gets him to break. like that might be his final straw.

because when they meet up again, Ishi asks him about it and whether or not he liked it. And Mondo just.

fucking.

breaks.

down.

He’s shaking and he’s crying and there’s snot running down his nose and this is so ugly and so not manly but he can’t stop. he can’t stop. Because there is this sweet, gentle, kind, sweet, beautiful, darling, sweet man before him who did something so nice for him, something he didn’t deserve, and he destroyed it.

Like he destroys everything.

And so when Taka panics and asks him what’s wrong (yes Ishi gets worried that he did something bad and yes ishi also gets worried that his boyfriend didn’t like the present because hdbdvdvd kin 💛) owada just. spills everything. and he doesn’t even begin with the gift??? he starts with apologies upon apologies, many of them incoherent, and many of them with Mondo not even certain what he’s apologizing for, just that he knows he needs to

and ofc Taka is like o-o because wow ok

but after his initial shock, and after Mondo has thoroughly cried himself out and explained everything he could stand to explain at that point in time, Taka just......holds him. And strokes his face, brushing away the tears that have not yet dried, simply offering his body as a weight, as something for Mondo to ground himself with. And it works.

And Taka insists that Mondo has nothing to apologize for, only that he wishes Mondo would have told him what was going on sooner. Because he wants to help. And hearing that just gets Owada’s waterworks going all over again, but he’s still got Ishi there with him. He hasn’t scared him off.

And it’s more than enough.

—

and UGH yeah????? yes absolutely absolutely okay okay so,,,,,,,,mondo comorbid adhd/depression/anxiety

like sir 🤝

got me fucked up smh

honestly he’s probably not diagnosed with the depression or anxiety, either, until something like the incident with ishi prompts him to realize oh wow I’m not okay actually

so yes he 100% does???

he constantly has all of these what if situations swirling around in his brain about what might happen if he fucks up, or does something that he doesn’t qualify as fucking up in the moment, but leads to something awful or painful or harmful for someone else, and he’s just??????? g o d