#instead of addressing only one thing you should address the ACTUAL people you hurt & everything that you did to us

[snickerdoodlles]

#I think a lot of my dislike of the movie might have been just differences in taste #That movie was NOT my sense of humor and I disliked how they handled some things #Like...it kinda bugged me how they went about Ballister's prosthetic limb I won't lie. #I also don't know if Nimona ''not wanting to be a monster'' yet also wanting to cause so much destruction around her worked for me #Or at least not the way it was done #Like. I'm ALL for a character that wants to hurt others because of the way they've been hurt. That's based. #But that's not...really what they did? Or at least I don't think so #Like she's not REALLY a villain but she did sincerely want Ballister to be. #She values life. But she also wants to murder people? She wants violence??? Idk. It was a weird mix #She's SO sad that child was scared of her but earlier she like. Completely fucks up another kid's game. For no reason. #God and Nimona being 1000 years old makes a lot of her actions kinda weird. She feels so 14 to me yet she's immortal afssf #Also just not that big a fan of the trope where it's revealed ''this ancient legend was actually kids the whole time!!!'' #but I know that's just my tastes #HOWEVER. I also think it made the movie weaker in certain aspects. #Prejudice is learned. So making it feel SO ingrained into the very beings of this world's people #IDK man did not hit it's mark for me #the queer allegory was legitimately very good though. loved that (op's tags)

Nimoma has good emotional payoff and animation but nothing else to really write home about TBH

It's very SPOP in that way, where the arcs and scenes are solid when viewed outside of the media in gifset or clip form but don't work as well when actually watching what they're from

For sure! I think that's a problem she-ra and toh both share with Nimona—they struggle with setup but then go ham on the payoff, which leaves everything feeling somewhat unearned.

The end of the movie bugged me in particular—Ballister's 180 with calling Nimona a monster (something he KNOWS pushes her to the brink) after one conversation with his ex-boyfriend was...I think out of place?

Normally if you have a character make a wrong choice like that you, as the audience, would be questioning the whole movie if they had ever REALLY changed. Was Ballister's loyalty truly to Nimona or to the Institute/Goldenloin? But, by that point in the movie they had really sold me on Ballister's complete acceptance of Nimona and disregard of the institute, so....why would he turn on Nimona then? I'm surprised they didn't do this plot the other way, which would instead have only made it seem like Ballister betrayed Nimona, you know? Like they did in Tangled. That way you don't undo Ballister's movie long arc with one scene, but you can still have Nimona go berserk and make her way into the heart of the city.

There were also a couple of other things that felt kinda dropped by the end. Ballister being the first commoner to become a knight? The Queen's important role in this society? This kingdom's prejudice going SO deep that not even a child would give Nimona a chance after saving their life, yet blowing up the wall changed everyone's minds in the end?

There were a lot of good pieces, but they weren't quite put together in the right ways.

[utilitycaster]

Could you elaborate on that Orym-grief post? I find it interesting and I love ur character meta

Sure! The main thesis, is, well, the post: Orym has a healthy attitude towards his own grief and deals with it well, but isn't good at handling how the party feels. And, secondary to that, the fandom tends to flip this around in their perception of Orym.

Orym is very aware he is grieving and that this will be a life-long thing. He misses Will and Derrig very much and their absence is a hole in his life. He also has built a life around it. It's a process, certainly, but a process he trusts. He allows himself to feel his feelings (the gravesite sequence in Zephrah), but he also very much wants to live out his life (the feeling of failure when he died, his general enjoyment of things). He's a relatively subdued and quiet person, but he clearly finds a lot of joy in life.

The thing about grief is that it's a unique sort of pain, because there's really nothing to be done about it, and it is, typically, something that will always be there. The process is to find a way to live with that absence and make space for it while also making space for new things. It's an important lesson! It's also not how you should deal with other problems, because it's not really solution focused (or rather, the solution is "it is what it is, and it really hurts, and eventually, time will make it hurt somewhat less though it will flare up in specific situations.") For more on this: Caduceus covers very similar territory; his understanding of grief is incredibly strong, and his understanding of other problems often falters.

With grief, the answer for the living is ultimately "keep going," and that's the thing with Orym: he sure does keep going. But I think it leads him to push past things without stopping to unpack and solve them, because in his case (a guy with a great mother, a happy upbringing, a career he enjoyed, and a loving marriage, who then experienced a devastating loss) the answer really was "yeah, it really hurts that my husband and his father, who was essentially the only father figure I had, were senselessly murdered in an attack on my home. But let's put one foot in front of the other."

However, this is not actually great advice for much of Bells Hells. Several of them genuinely have conditions that lead to a complete loss of control and self that could harm or kill others, and they are at varying levels of dealing with it, potential to the peril of others. Orym notes that Fearne's impulses might put the party at risk, but he never does anything to address it other than say "hey, we need to work together." He even skirts around it himself! I think it's valid for him to approach Fearne to have a backup plan about Imogen potentially joining the Vanguard, but he says his piece and then goes and does that in private instead of fully hashing out why she'd say this in front of the people who were murdered by them, which means the root causes are never addressed. A lot of this party needs to be told both "hey, your feelings here are really valid and you should express your anger" and "hey, get your fucking shit together once you've done that." Orym tends to treat them either like they're grieving (a gentle "hey, we need to keep going, we need to get back"), or treat this like a group endeavor without delving into the individual.

I really suspect the reason we are having such a massive blow up right now is in part because this party has, for so long, been told "hey, your shit? It could ruin it for the rest of us, and we're a team," and Ashton very much went against this. I would not, frankly, be surprised if Imogen (for example) is angry not just only Ashton, but also generally, that she pushed down her stuff and maybe didn't make more efforts to contact her mother and work through that.

Essentially, Orym is really good at smoothing things over just enough to keep everything on task, but eventually, if the gear is broken, no amount of grease can keep it from jamming, and that's what just happened here with Ashton. This is what only repeated quick fixes and no preventative maintenance looks like.

(As for why the fandom thinks the opposite? I personally blame that most putrid - in several senses - belief, that conflict is always to be avoided, mixed in with a longstanding really toxic and genre/medium-ignorant attitude towards death and grieving. I think this goes hand and hand with the really pervasive attitude early on that Bells Hells were so open and honest instead of the truth: it was just a pleasant veneer.)

[cammslush]

6REEZE; each member has their own special and adorable darling (but you don't know they think that way about you) - Part 2

-----

Content warning(s): Yandere themes (overprotectiveness, possessiveness)

Let me know if I missed anything.

-----

Part II: Center - Aether

"We're having a concert today, I'm sure you know. It's going to be live on our YouTube, please watch it there instead."

Aether tried his best to hide his signature golden strands of hair from the light, underneath his dark hood. He speaks quietly into the receiver of the payphone conveniently just a few blocks from the concert venue. But with him being pretty much the face of 6REEZE…

"Hey, I recognize that golden hair anywhere! Is that…?"

"Sorry, talk to you after the show. Bye."

It was almost an impossible task trying to keep a low profile.

You were a strange-fated soul who met Aether during a photoshoot for a magazine. Well, he was hard to ignore. The brightest member of 6REEZE, that was him!

"I'm ____, pleasure to be your acquaintance," you held out your pretty hand to him. Why did you introduce your name? He already knew who you were: an actor. But some part in his heart sort of…thumped, at the thought of you saying your name.

It's a very common thing for celebrities to meet in joint projects. It's also a common thing for said celebrities to become close friends…or even fall in love.

"No…I shouldn't fall in love. I can't fall in love…" Aether almost wanted to rip his heart out the same day he met you. Idols always sing love songs, but they are not allowed to love. So then…

Why? Why does his heart beat so quickly whenever he thinks of you? Why is it that his chest hurts everytime he sees your face in an advertisement, or your acting in some unpopular movie? Why, why, why…

But he can't just leave you in his "list of merely recognizable people", not after you offered so much company and kindness.

“I met Aether from 6REEZE during a photoshoot once,” you carelessly said in an interview, “And then we actually became friends! He’s actually a pretty nice person! And his hair looks way brighter in person. Go watch their live concerts to see it for yourself!”

Do actors live in a different world from idols? You’re so good at acting in shows, from what he can tell. Why can’t you act like you have never met him before?

Don’t you get it? Your adorable face will get mauled by a horde of crazy idol fans if you admit that! He can’t let that happen!

Venti is so careless, he lets the existence of his "bestest friend" be known to the public with such little care of their wellbeing — Aether is different! He isn't careless one bit.

Despite being your friend, you really have no actual way of contacting him besides a phone number that he asked you to memorize, and he also asked you not to ever input this number on your personal phone. You thought it was a little strange, but heeded his requests nonetheless. Perhaps it was a strange tradition.

But Aether isn't mean to you or anything, yes? He is one of the nicest, brightest people you've ever met in your life! He'd never want you to get hurt, that's the whole point of his actions.

He himself has perfectly memorized all of your information, like your phone number, or your address. It's only, purely because he believes he isn't allowed to save any of that info on his phone, not because he feels the need to know every single little detail about you.

It would be bad if any fan found out about his close association with another celebrity, right? The only, only option left is to store everything about you safely inside his mind.

Under absolutely no circumstances should anyone know you exist in his life.

That is knowledge available only to him.

"Aether, I was recruited to act in an advertisement, and they're still looking for more actors. Marketing opportunity for 6REEZE! Just say the word and I can recommend anyone who's interested to the Director," you spoke to him over the payphone.

Aether wanted to smack himself for how much he misses hearing your voice. It was hard to tell his inner conflicts, thanks to his bright and sunny outer image.

Looks like there's no other choice, "I just asked, buuut no one else is interested, so I'll take any role."

He cannot even allow his fellow 6REEZE members know.

"Oh, okay. Also, I'm watching the concert at home. Everything you guys did was so cool! Especially at the song 'Let the Wind Lead'...My Archon, all I can say is you guys shone very brightly."

Aether wants to keep hearing you talk. But at the same time…

"Yeah…The intermission is about to end. Let's stop here," without even telling you, he hung up the phone and promptly deleted the conversation from his contact history.

With a sigh, he left the break room.

No, no…he can't let what happened to Lumine be repeated with you. Nobody deserves that.

It's not because solely his attention should be on you — "get your head back on track, Aether!" It's because you'll be in grave danger if anyone else found out. He's told himself time and time again, someone as precious as you should never be laid a finger on.

If anything did happen to you, he might as well as die right then and there with you.

"...Aether? Hello?" You spoke on the other end, confused.

You're such a great actor, aren't you? He knows, he's watched almost every piece of film or advertisement you've played a role in, no matter how unpopular the show, no matter how insignificant the role.

So please, act like you've never heard of 6REEZE. Act like you've never even heard of Aether, in public.

That way he can have you all for himself!

[ask-regex]

An Incredibly Inopportune Time for Self-Reflection

Right. So. Where to begin? Hi, I guess. My name is Markus, I’m 24 years old. I enjoy the odd board game every now and then. What am I up to at the moment? Oh, that’s an easy one. I’m currently on the run from several rifle-wielding security officers while my neural software scrambles my face on any camera feed that I run by.

Look, I know what it sounds like, okay? Let me explain.

A few years ago, I worked at this place called Atom Corp. It’s this huge building that towers over all the skyscrapers, and their whole deal is making things online more convenient. Some guy at a board meeting once said “Hey, we should make our own Single Sign-On system!” and everyone agreed with him, even the government. Now, everything in the city is accessible only by Atom ID - no more Sign In with Google, or email addresses and usernames and passwords. Just Atom. And on an initial glance, this sounds like a great idea, right? You don’t need to remember 50 different passwords, but instead just one. If you didn’t know any better, you’d probably buy into it and sign up for a government-linked Atom ID that you could connect your entire digital life to. But that’s where the wicked trick lies.

Once you have an Atom ID, it’s a permanent identifier to you on whatever services you use. People with the right access can use that Atom ID to contact you, to look up information about you, to check what you’re up to. Every text, every social media post, every search term… all laid out for them to see and assess for whatever they deem necessary. You lose all sense of privacy if you’re not hypervigilant about what you put online, and the scary part is that everyone here just… bought into it. They tried to riot against Atom’s government integration for a few days, but then they signed up for Atom IDs and opted for convenience in lieu of their online safety. I was one of those people. Once.

When I was 16, I signed up for my Atom ID. I was sick of having to borrow my friends’ IDs to look at stuff online, and my dad said it was fine, so I did it without a lot of thought and without bothering to read the terms and conditions. Y’know you actually sign up for a lot of shit you probably don’t want when you just hit “Agree” on those things without reading them. You learn a lot about the shady business they’re trying to pull by reading those things - but that’s besides the point.

Later on in life, my sister gave me a hand in getting an interview at Atom for a junior data analyst position. Keep in mind I’d been growing up writing code and reading data ever since I was, like, four, so I was a self-learned prodigy by this time. I went in for the interview, I aced it, and was immediately put to work sifting through data roughly two weeks later. I’ll admit, it was the best job I’d ever had. The pay was insane, the work was fulfilling… I even met my first boyfriend at one of the company’s work mixers later on and we had a pretty deep thing going on for the better part of a year. But it was short lived, much like my time with Atom.

About a year in, I stumbled upon an exposed folder in the central servers. Normally you’re supposed to call these things in, but I was working a really late night at HQ and no one else was gonna be awake to fix it, and I figured it wouldn’t hurt to take a glance and then fix the permissions myself. So, of course, I opened it. 

I found years upon years of confidential documents outlining Atom’s involvement with some crazy illegal shit. Stuff like kidnapping, spying, bribing of court judges… and thousands upon thousands of log files about an algorithm that automatically grouped Sandspire City citizens into packages to be sold to big advertising companies for hundreds of dollars each. Atom Corp wasn’t just a single sign-on login company… It was a data farm, feasting on the lives inhabiting an entire city and making billions of dollars in profits from the sales. The pure sight of it all had almost made me sick, to know that the data I was searching for patterns in was probably the data of an innocent person whose personal habits I’d inadvertently helped sell. I was mortified. I was… well. I was furious.

I don’t quite remember what I did at work for the next few days. I remember hatching a plan to wipe myself from the system - stealing a cybersecurity officer’s creds, logging into the central citizenship database, wiping my records clean and erasing any history of my time at the company - and then I remember bursting out of the front doors before the guards could catch me and arrest me for what I’m sure a bigshot Atom shareholder would call ~treason~. From that point onwards, I swore I’d take Atom Corp down. No matter the cost.

Oh, jeez, look at me rambling. And in the middle of a chase! Hey, you’re gonna have to give me a second so I can lose these guys. I’ll be right back!

- END COMMUNICATIONS -

Markus's Inbox is now open.

[whitleyschn33]

Actually hi, no, can we talk about how the Punderstorm is the physical manifestation of a mental or emotional problem, it singles out Blake and Yang specifically, putting them in a situation where they're far apart with a gaping chasm before them, and the only way for them to be able to truly come together is to "say things they've never said to each other before" and bridge the gap between them -

-and instead of addressing any of the actual problems that should be keeping them from reaching an understanding with each other, instead of exploring the idea that maybe these problems going unaddressed is the reason that they aren't already officially dating even though they've been acting like they are for the last two volumes, instead of finally coming back to the arguments, hurt feelings, and trauma from the Mistral arc that were never properly resolved, instead of finally talking through those problems and coming together now having a new understanding of each other and able to move forward, not with a massive chasm of misunderstanding and disconnect that drives them apart emotionally, but finally together again, instead of any of that -

They just have the two compliment each other and reassure each other about things that were never an issue in the past. Like, Yang's big line is "I like that you've never been intimidated by me. Even when you didn't like me all that much," - since when has Yang had an issue with intimidating people? And she's never brought up anything about liking Blake for not being afraid of her (which is ironic, giving how much more subdued Blake has become in later volumes). And then after Blake says that she was wary of people, she says "But you never gave up on them. Even when they hurt you. You never give up. You know what matters to you."

LIKE??

Yang, she left you, remember? That was the entire issue back in Volume 5, that you felt like she did give up on you, just abandoned you without a reason or goodbye - why are you now reassuring her that she doesn't give up on people? It's literally only Ilia that fits this idea of "you don't give up on people even when they hurt you", and she did leave Ilia initially when she left the White Fang. This doesn't feel like "something Yang never told Blake before", something Yang never actually told Blake would be "I was hurt when you left, I felt like you abandoned me, like I was nothing to you. I understand now why you did that, but it still hurt that you didn't even say goodbye" and then they can take a step forward and continue on with their heart to heart -

But nope. The things they never said to each other before, the problem that are said to be more mentally or emotionally impactful than the crossroads RWJ are in, is being able to call each other smart and brave and be all fluffy even though they've had absolutely no trouble being affectionate with each other for the past two and a half volumes.

And it kills me because there's something in here that could be so compelling, a few different somethings actually.

Having Yang and Blake act like everything is resolved between them, trying to act on those budding feelings for each other throughout V7/V8 but one or both of them awkwardly pull back each time, not quite able to cross that divide because those issues weren't ever actually resolved, and now it's time to finally be able to address the problems so they can finally have what they both want.

During V7 and 8 they try to let it go after the fight with Adam but tempers are still short, with the two awkwardly clashing and arguing with each other all the time - over Mantle, Ironwood, Salem, etc. They're both feeling hurt and unsure what to do - they don't want to fight, but they keep falling into arguments that make it difficult to work together, even having a fight during the Punderstorm, so the Ever After puts them in timeout to clear the air and stop this wound from festering any longer so they can work as a team.

Yang grappling with her love for Blake and her hurt at being left behind, trying so hard to just be friends again because Adam's gone now and Blake's here and she's happy with Sun, it's fine right? She never actually told Blake about any of the things she felt after she left, but it's over now, so no need to bring up the past, yeah? Trying to put both love and hurt behind her but still overwhelmed by both, culminating with an argument in V8 that's left unresolved until this point in v9 where Yang finally gets to talk about everything she feels towards Blake and so they can finally be on the same page again and start to actually heal.

But no. We get fluff. Instead of any resolution to any of the problems that should have been resolved years ago, we get a confession built on issues that weren't issues and was literally forced onto the characters by a plot contrivance. Okay.

[phxntomsdusk]

addressing this all in one post

sirenbrainrot.

if any of you have been on the wilbur x reader side of tumblr, you may be familiar with the nickname.

this was an account that was known to interact with and write nsfw from time to time, but then got outed for being a minor and not actually 19.

this account was me.

before i explain anything i’d just like to say that i won’t be saying excuses such as “i’m only a kid” because i should have known better. and i know much better now.

this account was the start of several problems in regards to me online. i had started a tumblr because i have a passion for writing, and it is one of my coping mechanisms, meaning it helps me cope with traumatic things in my life mostly.

during the time i had started the account i was going through realization that i had been sexually assaulted and manipulated by an ex of mine. i’ve been through quite a bit of sexual related trauma such as being groomed, manipulated and pushed/forced into doing or sending things.

i had fallen to the point mentally where i felt like i was nothing but a body for someone to find satisfaction with, and so i put myself up to those standards. i had struggled with a porn addiction for months on end, something i still find myself struggling with to this day.

the videos i was watching had made me believe i filled the hole that was in my brain, when in reality it was making everything so much worse.

the videos has turned into writing, starting on wattpad after i came across a fanfic that included smut, to which i read and realized that maybe that would help me more.

it got horrible. to the point i’d ignore friends texts to read it or even did it in school. and eventually.. i had found tumblr.

originally me and my best friend just downloaded the app so we could read fanfics together, sharing our favorite ones throughout the months and what not. until i discover the nsfw side of the content i was engaging in.

my interest has peaked, making me fall into a hole of constant reading, scrolling, and liking anything involving nsfw.

after a few months i had decided to start writing for myself, coming up with the sirenbrainrot tagline and becoming a writer.

i was extremely proud of the fact i had gained quite a big following, even making the character “churchboy” and ended up writing nsfw for him as well.

it wasn’t until i heavily started interacting with abby’s nsfw account that things had completely gone downhill.

it was not and never will be my place to interact with nsfw/adult spaces, and i fully take responsibility for the people i’ve upset and those who i’ve harmed because of my actions.

i was known as 🧠 anon on that account, often providing nsfw content and character ai bots. i was maybe one of the people who interacted with her work the most.

it wasn’t until i had gotten into personal contact with connor that i opened up about my age. he truly made me realized how fucked up and horrible the entire thing is, leading me to apologize to abby personally.

she had blocked me and posted about it, and i do not blame her. i was a minor disguised as an adult, gaining people’s trust just to break down a wall of horrible lies.

after this i discussed with a friend on what to do, ultimately quitting the account and starting this one, phxntomsdusk.

i took a bit of time to myself to think over everything i’ve done because of my own selfish behavior.

i hurt people, i invaded personal spaces, and most importantly i could have gotten several adults into legitimate legal trouble.

i know it’s bad to blame everything on my trauma, but in reality i was a person who was struggling with sexual assault, self harming thought due to it, and didn’t know any other way to fill the spot that would help me the most.

instead of doing the mature thing and speaking out about my struggles, i did a horrible thing and took advantage of people’s trust.

for the record i do not interact with or read nsfw anymore. im still struggling with videos but that is a different thing im working on separately.

for the nsfw i admitted to reading, that is because i worry for my older cousin. his mom doesn’t tolerate this stuff, and speaking with her privately has concluded he will most likely be deleting that account and not posting anymore nsfw so further situations such as this don’t happen.

again i’m sorry for those i have harmed with my actions in the past, i truly am trying to change and be a better person while bettering myself.

[manyothermusingsofmine]

Brotherly Advice || Drabble

Fandom: Xmen

Warnings: Characters talking about informed consent and societal expectations around it

Wordcount: 3003

Summary: Miranda has a lot of concerns and needs to address them to someone who hopefully isn't flying as blind as she is anymore- so Gambit really is her only option. If I hand you the means to hurt me, do you promise that you won't? AN: found family siblings have a serious chat. two emotionally wounded and fifteen dead from the collateral damage (not really)(I'M JOKING) ---------------------

She was supposed to be cleaning out her room. Miranda knew herself well enough to know that when stuff started piling up her mood got worse because of it, and she was trying to talk herself through the complicated task of getting rid of jewelry she no longer wore. It was harder than just vacuuming or tasks like that, because she very much attributed certain memories to certain pieces of her jewelry collection.

Yet she now held a pair of earrings in her hand, silently running her thumb over the stones as she remembered when she last wore them; at the masquerade ball. Since then they hadn't seen the light of day again, hadn't been worn by her even for a moment.

Because every time she even wanted to reach for them, a sting of pain pulled through her; the pain of the memory of arguing with Remy. Yes, they both apologized for their behavior, so why couldn't she shake the feeling that the things she said had hurt him far more than he let on?

He wasn't bringing it up. Should she?

She had been so mean to him, implying all kinds of stuff giving away how much she didn't seem to trust him, but that had long since shifted. Yes, she had apologized- even back then she had realised that she was taking out her own issues on him like that was in any way fair to pull.

Had she ever really truly asked for his advice and help afterwards? He had helped her, there was no doubt about that. On multiple occasions he had either kept her from completely falling apart or completely fucking up her own relationship, course correcting like a copilot stopped the pilot from crashing the entire plane into the mountainside.

But at some point she really had to bite the bullet and just talk to him about something that had been bothering her for the past several weeks now, something crawling in her mind that she needed his advice on. Only his would do, because the other people who actually had any experience with this were people she felt far too intimidated by to approach. Not with this.

It had to be Gambit. For whatever her trust was worth, she just had to put it in him and hope he wasn't going to use it against her. Miranda sighed, dropping the earrings back in her jewelry box and quickly tapping her chest in the four points of a cross. If she was going to rip this damn band aid off then delaying it was only going to make it so much worse.

How the fuck was it this difficult to find a 6'2 Cajun with theoretically no mutant hiding power in the mansion?

Miranda wandered around the hallways again until she finally heard the familiar tones of his accent as he- tried to sweet talk Shadow in the doorframe of the latter's office. Yeah, okay, Miranda probably should've seen that coming. It took everything in her will power to not massively roll her eyes at the flirty lines Gambit was throwing Shadow's way. God, how did those work on anyone?

'Like you're one to judge,' a voice in the back of her head sneered, 'you seem to be the only one it doesn't work on. Maybe you're the weird one in this set up, not him.'

She lightly shook her head, waiting until she heard the door close and slowly peeking around the corner. For whatever reason, Gambit wasn't immediately walking off, leaning against the wall near the door instead to take his cards and shuffle them around. This was her chance, her chance to... how exactly was she gonna ask any of this? She bit her lower lip in worry, just watching him for a second before deeply breathing in and out.

She went up to him feigning her casual demeanor, until she was next to him mirroring his leaning against the wall. She debated with herself once more whether she should do this or not, her brain screaming at her to please not hand him something akin to a loaded gun that he could use against her- but the growing worry in the back of her skull needed the opinion of someone with some damn expertise.

She lightly tapped his upper arm once, then twice when he didn't react the first time around. He only noticed at the second tap, ever so slightly flinching when he realised she was this close next to him. He hadn't even heard her coming up to him.

"... Can I help you?"

“Can we… Can we talk? I… You’re not in trouble, I just... I need your opinion on something.”

Gambit just looked at her, his expression somewhere between stunned and confused. His opinion on something? Miranda didn’t ask him for his opinion on things, or, well, not directly like she did right now. His brain needed a moment just to reboot and formulate a response to this.

“O… kay? Talking right now though, ain’t we?”

“Yeah, well, not here,” Miranda huffed, though she didn’t sound irritated, more worried, “these halls have eyes and ears everywhere, and that’s decisively not where I want to have a private conversation with a friend. Just… meet me at the south of the mansion near the forest line, no one really bothers to go there. In like, ten minutes?” “… Sure?”

As soon as he agreed to this meet up she vanished and presumably left, with Gambit’s confusion just growing. A private conversation about something she wanted his opinion on; that sure sounded like he was in trouble, even if she said that wasn’t the case. He let out a sigh, rubbing the back of his neck. Oh, Gods above, what was he getting himself into now?

True to his word though; he showed up at the back end of the mansion where Miranda stood with her back against the wall. She was staring into the forest line with a million mile glare, with Gambit just calmly approaching her and mirroring her leaning against the wall. It was surprising how nobody noticed him moving around the place considering his statue, but he was a thief in his heyday- so maybe not so surprising after all.

“I’m here,” he said gently, though she flinched a little as he pulled her out of her thoughts, “whatcha need my opinion on?”

Her eyes observed him from the very corners for a second, before her gaze started nervously flitting all over the place. She looked at the ground, the sky, the forest line, him again and only then settled on the forest line as she crossed her arms over her chest in thought.

“How… How do I know I’m not boring him?”

His gaze had followed hers to the forest line, almost as if he was curious to see if she genuinely saw something. But at her question his eyebrows just knitted themselves into a furrow, as the red ruby eyes he possessed slightly tilted towards her. Honestly, he genuinely had no idea what she was talking about- what that was even supposed to mean. “… You’re going to have to elaborate on that one, Fifolet.”

She let out a deep sigh that didn’t seem to relief anything, pushing her head back against the bricks of the building a little so staring up into the sky was a little easier. She flickered, vanished from sight and in barely a moment later everything came pouring out; “How do I know I’m not boring Kurt, that I’m not boring to him- Am I even doing any of this right?! Like, god damn it, every serious piece of media or book I have read on the subject is constantly hammering it in how he needs to tend to my inexperience, that he needs to be this paragon of taking my explicit and enthusiastic and informed consent into the highest consideration, and he does, that’s not the problem, but like, what the hell do I do back for him?! Yes, the technical stuff I know, I know what goes were, the technicalities behind protection and to, duh, use it. But other than that?! I don’t know! It’s never brought up how I’m supposed to navigate his inexperience, how I’m supposed to navigate all of this with someone who if I tell him to jump he asks how high and then just- What do I do?! Do I just pray to the heavens above that if I ask him something he says yes because he wants to and not only and solely because I asked?!”

Gambit just stared at the forest line, desperately trying to piece together just what the hell she was going on about while praying she would stop to breathe at some point- it felt like she was venting about a question she had already asked while actually neglecting to ask it in the first place. Or at least, ask about it in a very round about way. He took a breath, slowly exhaling and giving it another thought. Protection. Inexperience. Consent.

Oh. “Whoof,” he huffed out for a moment as it cleared his head further, “alright, let me see if I actually properly followed along here. You’re saying the two of you have been… getting up to stuff, shall we say? And you’re worried about..?”

“… The focus being only on me,” she said a lot more quietly, a tremble to her voice, “The focus seems to be only on me, from what I’ve read anyway. Make sure she’s comfortable and consents to your ideas, yada yada, great. I’m comfortable, he makes sure of that, now what? He’s respectful about my boundaries on things I don’t want to try, or don’t want to try yet, because they scare me in one way or another, fantastic, now what? How do I know I’m not robbing him from some experience he would like to have because my dumb fears get in the way of it, how do I know I’m not boring him out of his mind by just.. being this completely inexperienced woman he has to deal with? I… I guess there’s only so much books and media can teach me, I need the advice of someone who actually has some practical experience, who knows what the fuck they’re doing; I’m just making this up as I go wishing with all my heart that I don’t do serious damage to my relationship along the way.”

Gambit just listened, thinking, getting a clearer image in his head of her actual concern here; one that was both heartwarming in what it was rooted in, and worrisome in how she decided to word it. Kind of like someone else he knew who had a worrisome way of thinking about all of this.

“You’re afraid you’re not “holding up your end of the bargain”, huh?”

Miranda reappeared, her arms much more tightly around herself in a hug, her cheeks burning a bright color of red as this was a topic she genuinely did not like talking about; but she nodded none the less. Even without her blushing Gambit knew very well that Miranda didn’t share things easily, let alone things that were this personal and delicate in nature, slowly turning while still leaning on the wall. His taller and broader frame easily shaded her from his side of the building, shielding her from view now that her invisibility didn’t.

“Okay, let me stress this; you not wanting to do certain things because they scare you is not maliciously withholding some kind of experience from anyone and your fears are not dumb. Discussing options and alternatives is one thing, but if either of you give a no on something then it’s completely off the table until whoever said no decides they want to put it back on the table as an option, alright?

It ain’t a tally, fifolet. Neither of you should be holding some kind of score point system or acting like either of you is in debt to the other like one of you only has one act to the other’s four, that’s not how it works, that’s not how it should work and I feel safe in betting that Kurt definitely doesn’t want you to feel like you owe him anything.

Look, all of this? It’s coming from a kind place. You’re right, there is a lot less focus on the nerves and worries of an inexperienced male partner, the fact that you want to focus on that just shows all the more that you love him. The only advice I can give you there is to ask the same questions he asks you, ask him if he’s comfortable and if everything’s alright, that’s the only way to do it.”

“I.. do ask if he’s comfortable and okay with things. I…”

“Then you’re doing fine, though these are perfectly normal concerns to have. Miranda,” Gambit said, pulling her attention back to him, “one more thing; oui, he is inexperienced, but so are you. He deserves to be treated gently and with respect, so do you. With the both of ya just starting out, there is nothing boring about just sticking to the basics if you’re still learning what the basics even are. I’m sure you have the technical know-how, but I also think you never expected to need it. So find that folder stored away in the back of your mind, give it another read through, consult some of the books in the library, and for right now, don’t bother picking up any ‘expert manuals’, alright? Ain’t a race, the both of ya should take as long as you want to just explore the starting point together. You can worry about the whole notion of “spicing things up” later on this shared journey, alright?”  

She let out a soft sigh that sounded a lot more relieved than it had before, and Gambit further softened at seeing her relax even just a little. Well.. that sure was different, he noted to himself. Miranda had never been so open and honest about something so sensitive and private to her, ever before, not to him. The fact that she had specifically requested his advice on this matter made him feel weirdly honored; because he could sense that it hadn’t been easy for her to-

His brain halted for a moment, before recalling various moments where Miranda had fully and whole heartedly insisted to him that she wanted nothing to do with all of this. How she rolled her eyes when he was flirting with Shadow, how she backed out of conversations and jokes that turned too lewd for her liking. Merde, of course talking about any of this wasn’t easy for her even when setting aside her usual need for privacy anyway.

Miranda had established herself as someone not down for any of this, and yet here was the Invisible Menace who was usually so stubbornly steadfast in her convictions; telling him she changed her mind. No, telling him one of her root ideas had shifted and changed. That something she saw as a truth she knew about herself was no longer so. She wasn’t just opening up about something private and sensitive, she was showing him a recently changed piece of herself.

Suddenly, the conversation held even more weight to him than it already did, feeling like he was handed something incredibly fragile and given the choice to shatter it right there and then or let it deepen the bond between them.

“I’m happy for you.”

Green eyes met red ones in silent confusion, while Gambit just gave her a warm and honest smile

“Ya found someone who you feel so much for that you’re wanting to explore and experience new things I don’t think you ever considered in your wildest dreams you would ever want. And it’s with the kindest soul I have ever known to walk this earth, so you made an excellent choice. I know for a fact he’s going to treat you right. So, genuinely, I’m happy for you.”

“… Thanks,” Miranda said, her mouth clearly dry from her nerves as the blush on her face still wasn’t letting up, “I… For everything. Saying you’re happy for me, helping me with this.”

“Any time, fifolet. Was that all?”

Her eyes slowly went back to the forest line, allowing herself a moment in silence to think if that really was all. No, it wasn’t. There was something more she had to say.

“Remy?”

“Mh?”

She turned to him, her eyes momentarily flitting away again before she made herself look into his ruby red eyes trying to convey her truth through them.

“I don’t think I’ve ever told you what a great, wonderful friend you are and that I consider myself lucky to call you my friend. That Shadow is lucky to have you, and that I look up to you. That I’m proud of you, proud of having you as a brother. Thank you for being in my life; it really is better with you in it.”

He couldn’t help it. The words stabbed through his chest like a knife to his heart, no matter that they were spoken so gently and with such warmth and truth to them. The idea that anyone was proud of him touched him right in an old wound that still after all these years hadn’t healed right. Red and black eyes started to water enough that a single tear managed to escape, and Miranda’s demeanor immediately softened as she gently pulled him into a supportive hug, not even flinching when he pressed his face to the top of her shoulder and took a breath to pull himself together.

“Petite, this was supposed to be me supporting you, not the other way ‘round,” he huffed as he desperately tried to get his emotions back in line.

“Support’s a two way street. I’m here for you if you ever need me, alright?”

“… Thank you.”

[dotthings]

I guess the long term general takeaway from this Star Wars fandom mess is if you ever hesitated to watch a Star Wars show because either the fandom menace or the bitter crab bucket element of the "good" side of the fandom said it sucked, maybe reconsider!!!

Because you may have been misled, although it's valid if Star Wars just doesn't seem to be for you and you tried and give most of it a pass. That's valid. Most people don't go on to ragebait about it, tho.

And while there are problems in modern Star Wars, there were problem with Lucas era Star Wars too. If people are excessively lionizing and adulating Lucas era Star Wars while trashing everything Disney/LFL era, that's a red flag. And most of the time when people do this, they reveal their ignorance on themes and topics Lucas actually covered, which modern Star Wars is also addressing.

I've seen that fandom story before, hating on absolutely *everything* of the modern era of an IP, and invalidating everyone who likes the modern era of an IP. The anti-diversity hacks do it, but I've seen it from the embittered pro-inclusion side too and maybe people are just upset they don't have the same exact magical enchanted powerful feelings they had when they first got into the thing and they can't forgive it for not feeling like that ever again. So they are closed off to things that are good.

The bigger picture applies for media in general:

Don't buy into internet negativity as reliable narrators or the final word on whether something works or not or whether you might like it or not or whether to try it or not.

Positive word of mouth is more valuable and more reliable than ragebaiting.

If people try something due to positive word of mouth and then dislike it, at least they gave it a fair shot, decided it wasn't for them, and moved on. Again, most people don't then go on to endlessly ragebait about it.

The hate machinery of online fandoms are eating more and more territory in more and more fandoms--and it's choking the life out of sincere good faith criticism

People who talk in good faith to critique media they mostly like but have some issues with should be able to speak in peace. Genuine criticism, and good faith expression of people hurt by media, is a lot different than ragebait culture

But that doesn't mean give ragebait culture a free pass in the name of protecting "criticism"

Hatedom and ragebait culture will lie to you.

Hatedom and ragebait or bitterness culture loves to scream how everything is the destruction of this or that IP, over and over. Or how nothing is good any more. They kinda want you to be miserable and not enjoy the thing yourself. Everything's ruined now. If only [IP] was good again. If you like this you have no standards or you must be [insert straw man here]. [IP] hasn't been good since [insert subjective one true favorite thing]. (My god why are they still at it then, if they're tired, move on from it!! Find something new fcol).

Something has grown chronically, fundamentally even more broken about online discourse and online fandom and I think it would help offset it if people remembered to think for themselves instead of making decisions on what to watch based on loud mouths on the internet saying it sucked.

[lightofraye]

Jensen is fine, i saw it with my own two eyes, he's the sweetest guy.

Reading your blog upsets me, because you claim to care about him, and yet you do this.

I don't understand, you love him, but you don't think he deserves respect and privacy?

if you want to talk about abuse, and create awareness, why don't use Sam and Dean as examples?

They got massive amounts of abuse, of several types, from several people, including from eachother.

Sam and Dean aren't real, talking about their abuse hurts nobody.

Remember Jensen is a real human being, and he deserves to be treated with kindness, respect and dignity, just like everyone else.

what makes you think you're entitled to his private life?

Hello anon.

Your ask was one I also thought over carefully. There's a reason. I'm going to address your ask as carefully as I can.

Jensen is fine, i saw it with my own two eyes, he's the sweetest guy.

You mean physically fine. The vast majority of the abuse he's enduring/had endured is emotional and verbal. You're not going to ever see that, not unless he wants you to. And yes... he's sweet. Most of the time, abuse victims fall over backwards to be people pleasers.

Reading your blog upsets me, because you claim to care about him, and yet you do this.

I don't understand, you love him, but you don't think he deserves respect and privacy?

I'm sorry, anon. This is where it's going to hurt.

He's a public figure. He's a celebrity. Just about all of what I've analyzed, speak over, is available for public consumption. Interviews, con/panels, photos, all of it has been available to the public. That is the only thing I touch. I may make some speculations about other things, but I try to point it out when I do.

What I don't do is stalk his home, invade the privacy of his children. I would never, ever touch the children (aside from expressing concern about their wellbeing in witnessing their parents hate each other, sigh).

I do respect him--which is why I'm speaking out! You think he'd ever admit this? Any of it? As it is, he admitted his own father beat him in a con, for crying out loud! He even indicated that his father insisted he wed Danneel instead of breaking it off right before the wedding.

When people around him around giving him no comfort, no respect, no freedom to relax and be vulnerable... what do you think then?

If I could meet him in person, I'd offer him the sanctuary of my home. I've done it before, I'd do it again in a heartbeat. For anyone.

You should be upset over the abuse he's experienced and endured, instead of someone speaking of it so we can actually ask him if he's freakin' okay!

if you want to talk about abuse, and create awareness, why don't use Sam and Dean as examples?

They got massive amounts of abuse, of several types, from several people, including from each other.

Sam and Dean aren't real, talking about their abuse hurts nobody.

Because in the end, it's fictional. And a bad representation. You think the writers actually researched abuse, the psychology behind it, or even cared about how they may be misrepresenting it? Hell, even Law & Order: SVU gets it painfully wrong. A lot of television gets it wrong--from medical science to law to abuse.

What we need is real life examples. Sadly... Jensen and Danneel are one of them.

Remember Jensen is a real human being, and he deserves to be treated with kindness, respect and dignity, just like everyone else.

You think I'm not doing that? Please, point out one harmful thing I said about him that wasn't/isn't couched in concern and support? Oh right... you mean Danneel.

She isn't entitled to my respect. She's cheated on him, admitted to it in a podcast. She's dunked on him countless times. That isn't someone worthy of any respect.

Jensen is. And I give it to him. Couched with loving criticism for his bad decisions and support for his hopeful full recovery.

what makes you think you're entitled to his private life?

Now that, I've never claimed. But everything I've spoken about is available for public consumption.

The day he announces he's retired, I'd stop. I have more respect for him than a lot of fans, believe me. (Just check out the destiel/cockles fans; bleh.)

I'm sorry this upsets you, anon, but I shan't stop.

I'd recommend, perhaps, blocking the tags I use so you never have to see my posts again.

[reylogirlie]

“That’s abusive”

“That’s manipulation”

I’m gonna explain why it’s not in this context:

Now, is this how you should address your love interest irl? Definitely not. Is Ben Solo truly back to the light at this point? No. Is Kylo’s mindset still twisted? Yes. However, some don’t seem to understand what Kylo/Ben meant.

“You’re nothing.” Kylo/Ben didn’t mean Rey was actually nothing. Hell, he legit tells her she’s anything but that. “Nothing” , in his terms, means she’s seen as worthless by the people who are supposed to love her.(I know Rey’s parents are actually good people, I’ll get into that) means that they saw her as someone- something, honestly, to get rid of.

This is what Ben thought Leia and Han saw in him; that he was worthless and they needed Luke to off him. That nobody loved him. At least, that’s what he felt before he met Rey. He knows Rey grew up thinking no one loved her, and thought that she possessed nothing of value.

At this point, Ben hasn’t fully come back. He still feels like he was a victim to the light (when he was actually a victim to the dark) and he’s telling Rey “those people”- her parents, his parents, Luke, etc consider her nothing. “Real abusers brainwash victims into turning on their friends and family” Kylo/Ben doesn’t consider the resistance Rey’s friends. He thinks they’re just going to use and discard her the way he thought he was. He thinks he’s looking out for her. Real abusers typically know their victims loved ones care but wanna get rid of them so they can have said person all to themselves.

(And before you come at me like “actually a lot of abusers don’t get what they’re doing but it’s not an excuse” yea I got that, doesn’t apply here)

“But not to me”- This is Ben telling Rey that their view on her is wrong. That she’s not nothing. That’s she is, in fact, everything. To him especially. He’s not just saying this so she can be on the dark side, that’s not his main concern here even if he still is on the dark side. His main concern is what’s best for Rey, and he believes joining himself is what’s best for her.

His mind set isn’t “I’m gonna isolate her from her friends so I turn her evil and use her for my growth” it’s actually “Those people tried to kill me and use me for my power and they’ll do the same to her so I’m gonna protect her while I still can” he thinks he’s helping her. It’s pretty fucked, but he’s not trying to manipulate her.

“He lied about her parents” no he didn’t. Was Kylo/Ben wrong about Rey’s parents? Yes. But what you people fail to remember is YOU REALLY SHOULD NOT USE THE FORCE AS A FORTUNE TELLER. The future/ past visions are often vague and altered. He only saw parts of what happened. He had no clue that her parents were actually protecting her from evil, he saw them leaving and going to shady ass places and thought they were actually trading her for alcohol. That’s why when he found out the truth he told her!!! If he was manipulating her so he could have her all to himself, he would’ve never told her the truth. Notice how when she left at the end of TLJ he let her and didn’t form a plan to force her back or hurt her. He aggressively tried to persuade her, yes, but he never seriously threatened her. He even snitches on the dark side for Rey and offered to kill Palpatine instead of killing her to complete his mission.

So, bottom line- When Kylo/Ben called Rey nothing, he wasn’t saying she was actually worthless. He was saying that’s what her parents and the people who felt turned on him saw her as, but he considered her to be everything and the most important thing to him. You don’t have to like Reylo or agree with me, but I could go on about how Rey and Kylo/Ben don’t exactly fit the “toxic relationship” boat.

[sophieinwonderland]

To a certain extent in syscourse, arguing semantics about what is and is not possible internally (something that can not be known in the scientific meaning of known, as there's no way to actually objectively measure these things) is incredibly pointless.

However more pressing imo is the confirmation bias running rampant. It doesn't matter what information someone is presented with, if they have decided what they think the truth is, they're going to see everything you give them through that lens. You can't magically make someone think a different way, think about it from your perspective. (Not YOU you, general you.)

So for every anti-endo who is presented with endogenic study will be seeing it through the lens that they beleive endos are fake. To them the study means nothing bc it's either ppl w did who don't know it or fakers, no in between. And on the flip side, proving a negitive (endos don't exist, for example) is completely pointless, again, because there's no actual objective measure of such.

Humans are very very predisposed to "weird" behaviour, even if they pretend not to be. The most normal person you can think of has thoughts and behaviors that may seem bizarre to you or me. There is no measure of "normal" that can be objectively quantified. There is only what harms an individual and their life, the people around them, etc, which is what needs treatment. Having alters itself is not a disorder, but it can cause disorder in life due to amnesia barriers, alters acting destructive or unlawfully, identity confusion causing various issues, etc etc. Which are all things that are addressed separately from them being alters. Wether treatment involved getting them therapy or fusing, convincing yourself they aren't real, or learning to live with them and address trauma and behavious caused by surviving trauma together.

This is of course predicated on therapists and psychiatrists being able to set aside their predisposed notions of "normal" to help people on the individual level. Which is a whole other can of worms, and why many survivors of psychiatric abuse outright reject the medical systems that hurt them. This is a seprate issue from "fakers" and endos being somehow misrepresentitive of a disorder they do not claim to have. That's a societal and institutional problem that can't be won easily one on one.

Anti-endos and sysmedicalists may feel helpless to the whims of these institutions, and they very often are and there very often is not good enough care, and potentially even abuse. People who are subjected to feeling less than human by others often lash out in an attempt to feel like they have any control in their lives. Imo antis lashing out against endos, tulpas and other forms of non-disordered plurality are doing just that, seeking some way to control the narrative of their life that has continually made them feel like they aren't in control.

In the end, all this arguing does NOTHING to help anyone. You can not find peace in trying to tear others down.

Sorry for sending this in your inbox, Sophie, but I am far too unequipped to deal with potential lashback from people who miss my point, personally. We should be working together to find new understanding, instead of tearing eachother down.

.

[lillylvjy]

Ok so I’m also going to talk about the situation with phantom and everything.

I talked to them yesterday after the whole server with princess messages got out. I wanted an explanation and to see what happened, and their explanation made sense and was valid. Yes, they shouldn’t have read any nsfw as a minor or have admitted to it. Just shouldn’t have read it in general. Also another problem about the server is princess didn’t have any 18+ only chats, but instead kept everything in one area with minors in the server. And when they continued to talk about nsfw in front of these minors after repeatedly telling them they were under 18, that’s the cherry on top. Princess and the cousin are the adults in the situation and should have stopped everything once they started talking about those topics. Yes, phantom has a part in it, but it’s also the numerous adults in the server you didn’t do shit.

Now about the siren thing.

I was distraught when they said they were siren. Because when that all went down, I had praised many things of theirs and it just- threw me down a rabbit hole.

But then when they addressed the situation at whole, and explained it all. Yet people choose to just skip over that part and only look at the big “you did this.” And I understand that. But they apologized and they explained it all. And I know some people don’t believe that people will change, but I know phantom will and has already. They feel remorse and guilt for what they did and have done. They also put their trauma out for everyone to see so they could capture their full reasoning at hand, and people are just not wanting to reason with that. Look at the post again and read. Please. Understand the situation before sending fucking threats and hate to them.

Actually DONT SENT HATE OR THREATS TO A TEENAGER AT ALL!

When they made the account they were acting out on hurt and trauma and trying to cope with it all. They are taking accountability for what they have done and I know they hated what they did. Just please don’t send hate or threats and read again. And try looking at it in a different perspective.

Please.

[paraliveimaginesblog]

Hi! Can I request Daffodil for Ryoga? Thank you!

Ryoga Tosa:

Daffodil - a wrong doing forgiven.

Ryoga never really argued with you.

He’s talking in a general sense, like not agreeing on what to have for dinner or what to watch before bed. Prison life had conditioned him to follow a set schedule without getting a taste of freedom (although there was some rebellion there) but he had no real complaint about how you ran the household. He was more than happy to follow your lead as he noticed you always kept his tastes in mind too, making dinners that he knew you weren’t a big fan of or watching shows more catered to his interests that you thought he might like.

But this… It slipped out.

“…It’s not right.”

“Eh?”

You reached over to grab the remote sitting between you, paused the show and fully turned your body to face him which instantly set him on edge. You hadn’t spoken up yet aside from your initial acknowledgement of him speaking, clearly waiting for him to continue his thought which only made him sweat more. He was bad as it was with articulating his thoughts in a way that got his point across but when under duress that was an extra level of difficulty added.

“She’s… not sayin’ it well, but I get it. Even if… she can’t help it, it’s not easy to control your emotions.”

“I get that part of it, but when you do something to hurt someone else, and then can’t even take accountability for what you did, you can’t just fall back on ‘oh, sorry, I’ll change.’ There has to be proof you’re putting in any effort or it doesn’t count!”

“…They’re not givin’ her a chance to show anything. If they keep bringin’ it up in front of everybody… And she’s only doin’ one thing wrong… Does that mean she’s never right?”

“When there’s a consistent pattern across years and years? Yes. At some point, why should everyone keep putting up with it?”

This is actually the most Ryoga’s ever talked with you about the silly reality TV shows you’ve thrown on, and while he only paid half-attention generally you appreciated that he was trying to pay attention to your interests. You wondered if there’s a part of him that’s comparing it to his own situation, that he’s thinking perhaps of you and him rather than the people on this show who you admittedly didn’t know in their real, daily lives too. Editing could really do a number on manipulating opinions, and perhaps you having scene all the previous seasons was coloring your view differently than Ryoga who only had your brief summaries to go by.

“Maybe we should just see how the rest of the scene plays out?”

Ryoga just nodded his head, arms crossed as he turned back to the TV and you pressed play.

There’s no more conversation until much later that night, when you were both settling into bed. This was probably Ryoga’s favorite part about finally being free again, aside from literally everything else, getting to lay in bed next to you every night brought him relief. There was a sense of safety being in a house rather than a cell, not to mention the comfort level of a soft bed and a warm body curled up next to him was a feeling he’d never take for granted again.

Which is why he had to address the thing gnawing at him, so that this place in his life remained stable.  

“Sorry for ruinin’ your show.”

“You didn’t ruin anything?” You tilted your head, leaning, leaning, leaning until you bonked against the muscles of his arm. You giggled a little at Ryoga’s perplexed expression, moving his arm so you fell a little further and hit his chest instead. “We can have different opinions on stuff. It’s not a big deal.”

“…yeah.” He seemed to be thinking again, and while you didn’t want to overtalk him, you felt you should probably apologize too.

“I’m sorry if I made you feel like you couldn’t just say what you had to, though. I like when you give me your opinions even if we don’t agree—I didn’t even see it that way until you said something. Watching stuff on TV and then experiencing it for real isn’t the same.” You snuggled into his chest, feeling him squeeze you in response and not let go. “I would forgive you no matter what, anyway. Unless you killed a man, so like, lets keep those things in the past and we’ll be all good, right?”

“Mm.” Ryoga agreed, feeling the tenseness in his shoulders finally relax. “We should sleep.”

As you laid in his arms you tried not to giggle, wondering how your friends might take it when you told them your first disagreement with your boyfriend was over a reality TV show of all things.

[sickknotdoom]

I've seen you pop up in the #sparkletag quite a bit recently, and as both a Patron and as a friend of Kneeby, I think I've had enough of your antics.

It's really depressing to see someone dedicate their entire online presence towards hating someone. It's extremely creepy and weird to obsess over every single thing kit does like this. I urge you to go find a better hobby, and I mean it. This kind of parasocial behavior is toxic and only serves to hurt everyone including yourself. Take a break from this and use that time to reflect on yourself and what you really want. Do you want to dedicate all of your time constantly rambling and raving about everything kit does online? Does that sound like a productive use of your time? I don't think it is.

all my posts boil down to "the pacing and prioritization of this comic could use a lot of improvement + i find it weird that the creator isnt raising awareness to a literal genocide going on rn" and you react by writing an angry essay. your ask seems to boil down to "you cant criticize my favorite comic because it might hurt the creators feelings" so im gonna respond with an angrier essay

there are good things about sparklecare, obviously. i resonate with it in some regards. but that doesnt mean its perfect, as nothing is. i dont even tag my shit under the main sparklecare tags (apart from the stuff about kneeby not raising awareness towards palestine) because i know people like you are gonna get upset if you see a conflicting opinion on your dash. the only tags i tend to use are #sparklecriticism and #sparklecare criticism, none of the main tags. block those tags if you dont wanna deal with me.

my criticism is valid (i think) since yeah. the comics writing has a huge problem when it comes to letting things happen naturally instead of rushing them, which results in kneeby having to explain things on the blog (which 99% of the time you have to scroll deep into since the main blog is constantly reblogging the cometcare one) rather than having the comic clarify it on its own. thats a genuine issue in storytelling so i feel like it should be addressed and worked on.

i have way more of a presence online than this blog, obviously. i just dont want this blog connected to my real identity for a wide variety of reasons (mainly not wanting to be harassed even further than i already am)

if youre a friend of kneeby then i think you should tell kit to actually DO SOMETHING to raise awareness to the genocide going on in palestine and other targets, PUBLICLY. not just an announcement in a private discord, a public statement, or AT LEAST reblog the fanart of uni waving the palestinian flag. all the social commentary ive seen (yes im still taking the social commentary into account since the comic was described as such until my blog popped up) has come across as performative to anyone besides the clowns themselves, id love to see kneeby talk about issues that dont just apply to kit.

i know damn well the sparklecare blog is kits biggest platform, kit should use it to raise awareness, i dont care if the topic makes kit sad, it makes me sad too, but i still retweet as much shit about it as possible whenever it crosses my mind because i actually care about issues that dont involve just me and i actually want to do something to change the world. im a teenager and i do more to raise awareness than a group of adults.

im just a kid with opinions

[nonclassyparty]

Playing Devil's Advocate when I say that I don't think SR!San is more "irredeemable" than SR!Mingi. From the beginning of this series, if I'm not wrong, you emphasized the importance of how human beings are flawed and we don't always do the right thing while other times we do. Even SR!Yeosang said SR!San wasn't a bad person, per se. Just someone he didn't want to be around just to say that he was the one who stuck with him through everything. Personally, what SR!Mingi did to Y/N was hurtful...and what was more hurtful was him not ever trying to address the elephant in the room after reuniting with Y/N. Y/N shared her more real and personal side of herself, showed vulnerability with him and when she confessed to him, even went out of her way to invite him to an event he would've loved to go to, he panicked and threw it in her face.

Then adding on top of that, Y/N comparing herself to SR!Yeosang and the situation with SR!Wooyoung really showed how still affected she was by what happened with SR!Mingi two years ago. Sure, she can try to bury her feelings for now but what happens when everything just starts filling up inside her until it just bursts when she can't bottle it up anymore? SR!San isn't innocent, not at all. But we know why he's acted the way he's acted. We know his upbringing. And it's not a 100% excuse to push everyone around him away the way he does but it is a factor. He's very much a less well-off counterpart to Y/N and I'm sure with your writing, if you'd put this entire story in his POV, more people would sympathize with him like we do with Y/N.

If not for Y/N's POV, we would've just thought she was a mean bitch without any reasoning as to why she acts the way she acts. We would've thought she was just out to get Boyoung and steal any person she loved and/or cared about. And that's the beauty of this series. I would love to read the final chapter and see how things are resolved, whether the main character ends up with anyone or not.

Have a good day!

hmmmmmmmmmm well i think readers so far consider him irredeemable in terms of ending up with y/n like the focus is more on that rather than him being irredeemable as a person😭

i don't think he's more irredeemable either, i've written him as a complicated character, showed a little bit of his perspective through the bonus parts but the focus is always more on who she should end up with and that it definitely shouldn't be san (which isn't wrong, she deserves better than him no matter what kind of person she was/is)

in the usual trope where boyoung would be our mc, san would definitely be liked as a character because we don't get to see how he treats our sr!mc and we would only see him from boyoung's pov where he's a closed off individual and well idk how they're written in those stories it's been awhile since i've read something like that but he'd basically be the player who has a soft spot for her and goes out of his way to pursue her and even tries to be vulnerable with her or something 😭 he is NOT a bad guy, he's just a person with his bad and good traits

i've said this so many times before but i wrote this story because i wanted to write about the typical mean girl but actually give her some dimension and show san through her eyes. it was never about him falling in love with her instead of boyoung or whether or not they end up together in the end but about their relationship and how it affects a character like her, that's why i brought him back and why i didn't want to wrap up their storyline because the story is literally about THEM and her development through it all. mingi, wooyoung, her parents, brother etc...those are all important plots here but they're side plots.

i think the san bonus parts and e-mails i've posted should be enough to know that there's more to him than he lets on but i can't really do anything for the readers who only see him as y/n's love interest and mingi's "rival" and refuse to look a little deeper into his character 😭😭 (not saying there's something wrong with that, if ppl want to see san as just an asshole then thats fine by me as well but it's just scratching the surface of the whole story)

[doomalade]

I have an idea for a velvet backstory for her team leader coco:

Reason why velvet won’t go to coco for her problems is because coco is not all different then Cardin in a sense.

Coco gets her fashion ideas from faunus hunters (I mean she is based on a Nazi sadly). Hard to talk about your race when you friend does messed up stuff like this.

Coco uses her authority and power to get anything she wants (she has no shame flaunting that power)

Coco bullies anyone that gets in her way (again the books really made me disappointed in her)

Velvet is very uncomfortable with how coco uses her shade to…look at other women (honestly that needs to be addressed)

So when coco tries to use her authority to forced velvet to not date Cardin (if you want to put the love story) .

Velvet puts her foot down and pushes back on coco: why should velvet respect or listen to someone that only sees her as a trophy to be shown?

I think it shows why velvet couldn’t talk to coco about her issues: coco would done something to make things worse truthfully.

Now this is interesting

It doesn’t really work for my AU as Coco is Coco Milton and actually is a good person unlike her canon counterpart but I am starting back up my rewrite.

Of course I am hesitant to be making the canonically lesbian character a villain as I am trying to avoid doing things like that (such as Ilia not attempting to murder the Belladonnas).

I do however think that the team leaders hold the key to the most interesting part of diving into the psyche of hunters. Does their authority get to their head? Does the pressure of leading a team hurt them mentally? Is there imposter syndrome going on? What if they realize the team they’re in is bad for them? Can they abandon their team?

It is all interesting stuff.

To indulge in this idea, I think it would be from a team leader perspective, Cardin is the team leader that starts to realize his team isn’t good for him as he was being the selfish and overly controlling fear mongering type of leader and now he realizes that his teammates were feeding into his bullying and racism towards Faunus. On the other hand is Coco, who refuses to see her selfishness and racism towards the Faunus. Her sexualization of not only women but more importantly, Faunus women.

Now of course at this point I do think in reality it would be best as to not be having the canonically lesbian character falling into the harmful stereotypes of queer people sexualizing everyone around them and making everything a fetish because this feeds into homophobic rhetoric.

And Velvet is stuck in the middle of this. This adds on a layer of complexity as it dives into the view point of the teammate of the leader. How do they react and respond to the actions and behaviors of someone who is meant to lead them? Dove, Russel, and Sky respond with anger and frustration along with full on racism and hatred that Cardin has “changed” and “betrayed them”.

In a sense this almost basically boils down to escaping alt-right pipelines which is another can of worms.

But with Velvet, she feels kinda stuck. She cares for Yatsu and Fox and doesn’t know if they’re on her side of this or on the side of Coco. She also doesn’t want to be the one to break apart her team just because of a romance. (Can you imagine turning your back on your team leader because you’re dating someone cough cough Yang cough.)

But of course in the end everyone lives happily ever after (except me because the Coco Stans will tear me apart and I would have written something that demonizes a queer woman instead of changing her to make her not a Nazi bitch but oh well idk good idea overall though)