#it rants it raves

[spitblaze]

considering how many transmascs were legitimately way angrier BEFORE starting T and have since calmed down significantly have we perhaps considered that maybe the reason so many cis dudes are angry and aggressive isn't because of testosterone but maybe. like. personal issues. unmet needs. a social climate that teaches them that there are only like three acceptable emotional outlets for men max and one of them is being angry and shouting

[grymghoul]

ARTHUR MORGAN has an impressive cock. You'd always figured a man who carries himself so surely would have one like that. Thick and heavy, crowned with hair a bit darker than what was on his head. The way it would always be half hard anytime he was around you was flattering. The way he'd take up all the space in that hotel room, striding around, parading naked, he'd steal the air from your lungs. The way it'd pat against his thighs as he took heavy steps through the room. You'd stare and he'd look away, flush in the face. There was an inherent sense of boyish charm about him, how he could be so rough and callous, but the second he was alone with you he was nearly shy. Intimacy with Arthur was earned, a privilege, not a thing to trifle with. He'd given it to you and you hadn't even realized how hard it was to earn this from him.

He blushed bright red when you'd seen it the first time, that breathy "Oh, Arthur.." had sent a chill down his spine. Arthur was extra careful with you, fearing he'd split you right in half on his cock. There was no hiding it. The way his ranch pants would be fuller around you, the obvious bulge of denim stretching around it. He loved that you could try to swallow it all you wanted and you could still grip fingers worth of it as his tip touched the back of your throat. He loved being able to have you seated on top of him and see his dick fucking you from the outside. A firm hand pressed against you, making you tighter and he could feel the way he so lovingly damaged your sweet pussy.

He would torment your guts almost effortlessly. He'd have you gripping the sheets, choking back moans and sobs and all manners of pretty noises in a hitched tone without even trying. He wasn't an egotistical man, but he knew it couldn't be like this for every man or no job would ever get done in the world. It'd come to a stand still as everyone would be lined up to fuck the next man. No, no he had to have something special with you. He was easily enamored with you and how you'd feel wrapped all warm and tight around him. How snug you were.

Each time felt like the first with Arthur. The way he filled you and would have you swollen and sore the next day. Even after the bath you'd end up in together, he'd keep you there, wet and sudsy against him and his thick member until you had pruny fingers. He loved that you were a whiny mess just from being near his cock.

You were made for him by God, he wasn't religious but he was sure of it. You fit better than any glove or shirt or saddle he could have tailor made. You were just as addicted to him. The way his flared head could take up residency inside you made you know that there was some higher power and they were merciful in such a way for you to have a taste of heaven on earth with your Arthur.

[gemmasdeadwife]

Eradicate black-and-white binary thinking from your essence!!

It’s not “the innies and outies are completely separate people OR they’re exactly the same people.” It’s not “Mark loves Gemma OR Mark loves Helly/na.” It’s not “Ricken is a misguided but sweet and well-meaning doofus OR Ricken is a selfish prick with no self-awareness who’s sold out to Lumon.” It’s not “Milchick fully embraces the rebellion right now, OR he’s fully sold his soul to the company store and there’s no coming back.” It’s not “Cobel’s programming means will always jump at a chance to gain favor in the eyes of Lumon regardless of the cost, OR she fucking despises Lumon for what they’ve done to her and she’s going to take them down at any cost.”

It’s always going to be AND!! It’s always going to be something in between, and complex, and nuanced, and layered. That in-between uncertainty, to me, is the real meat of the show. Why not dig into it?

[zukomysweetbabyboy]

just saw a post that was like “atla wrote one of the most complex sibling dynamics ever (katara and sokka) and for some reason people point to zuko and azula like they’re not just having normal sibling interactions” and look. i am ranting and raving about my water tribe babies on the DAILY, i Love them & i love analyzing them, their dynamic is like a chew toy to me, they’re beautiful and tragic and sweet and deserve all the attention in the world. BUT to call the fire nation royal children NORMAL sibling interactions— what da hell was your childhood like? n o r m a l??? nOrMaL???

[wirsindkrieg]

"Person" is not an Identity

The topic of nonhuman personhood came up in a conversation earlier, which led to me scrolling through the notes on the essay/rant I wrote on the topic at the end of last year [link]. While scrolling through, I saw multiple people express the view that if someone doesn't want to be referred to as a "person", that should be respected.

I would like to kindly but firmly disagree with that view.

Personhood is not a personal identity, and it should not be approached the same way that one approaches identity labels like sexuality, gender, or even species identity. Personhood is a social and legal category, which carries with it significant implications about how (and if) one is treated as a member of society.

Whether it is intended or not, a declaration like "I am not a person" is declaring that one does not see themselves as a being deserving of basic rights and safety. It is saying that they do not see themselves as deserving of dignity and basic respect as a thinking being.

The declaration that an individual (or more often, a specific group) does not have personhood has been used as the justification for all manner of atrocities, up to and including genocide. And I want to be very clear that I am not exaggerating that point. The removal of personhood is a key element of fascist ideology, and is not something to be done casually, even to oneself.

If someone tells me that they use a specific identity label, or set of pronouns, or even choose to not identify as human, I can respect that, and I will do my best to embrace their decision. On the other hand, if someone tells me that they are not a person, I consider that cause for alarm.

The important difference is that personhood is not a personal identity. It is the state of being recognized as worthy of basic dignity, rights, and respect. To deny one's personhood is to deny that you deserve basic rights like freedom from harm, the ability to own property, and the ability to make decisions about your own life and body. I would hope that it's abundantly clear why denying oneself those basic rights is a bad thing.

"Person" is not an identity. It is a fundamental trait that cannot and should not be removed from anyone, even voluntarily. The denial of one's personhood is, at best, incredibly misguided, and at worst incredibly dangerous.

So if you're someone who wants to not be called a "person", I implore you to examine why you feel that way in depth, and consider if the problem isn't being called a person, but the societal assumption that person = human. And if the problem is that societal assumption, the solution isn't to deny your personhood; it's to join the large number of people pushing for society to accept that not every person is human.

[mr-saavik]

Does anyone think this is funny

[goalieflashflight]

Vetinari is fascinating to me. He sees the Thud board and views all the pieces to better understand the game. His whole life is puzzles, decisions, and being hyper aware.

As I read through the Disc books, I can feel the moments so heavily when it looks like he is taking a break. Sure, it comes with poison, head trauma, being in enemy lands, or the trust in a con man, but he is slowly allowing people in. He is relinquishing control. He may have already solved the mystery, but he isn't getting any younger and now has people to trust to do this, and they need practice.

I know it is a common joke that in FOC Vetinari let the investigation go on as enrichment for Vimes, but it was also a trust exercise. It wasn't only Vimes having to do more work. Drumknott had to keep the paperwork going, and I know we get so little of him in the book, but from the sound of it, this is as much a test for Vetinari's clerks as it is Vimes.

He even starts to allow a body double to take his station. He lets himself out of his own prison. I am sure he went out disguised before, but he let's people he trust in on it if they are clever enough to figure it out.

I am emotional about this tyrant finally letting himself be open and having a good time. We can see what a dork he is in the past; painting tiger faces and even in the present with his don't let me detain you. I bet Vetinari is that quiet kid who says the funniest things you ever heard if you stopped and listened to him closely enough.

[snottly]

all i’m saying is- Logan and Wade both have raging PTSD, trauma, dealt with incredible loss, where in the military, and have been given shit ass cards in life. Both have expressed just wanting to experience happiness but are treated like weapons/destructive and unable to keep people in their lives due to that.

So of course when they finally get together and realise they are actually truly stuck with one another, and neither can die/be physically hurt they are just gonna settle down together forever. Because what’s better than another unkillable immortal than one that has also been through the same terrible fucked up shit and can actually relate to it all.

When they finally come to the mutual decision to give up the life of killing and destruction they retire and leave the city to settle down in a small woodsy town, probably south but still within reasonable driving distance of the X-mansion and Al. they get married and just go full throttle domestic, small little house with a garden and big back yard; just them and Mary.

Everyone in the town is familiar with them, even though they seem a little off, but they do all their shopping at the local markets and are always friendly and willing to do any grunt work/help out neighbours and the community. Although they do relatively stick to themselves most of the time.

They would also both definitely get soft, Logan would still jog in the mornings and has a little at home gym in their garage he’d work out in mainly to blow off steam, but he has a little tummy now and doesn’t look like he’s dehydrated and withering away. Wade definitely wouldn’t give a shit and is just happy he doesn’t have to work anymore and has his domestic family life he always wanted so he’s more indulgent and a little lazy so he gets Chunky. but Logan loves it because it’s just representative of their retirement and the softness of their life now.

I also imagine they go back home for the holidays for the first time in a bit, and everyone is a little shocked at first bc they look so different, not just physically but the happiness just radiates off of them and everything about them is so warm and inviting. Ness sees Wade for the first time and almost bursts into tears because of how happy and content he finally is after all shit he’s been through.

basically domestic poolverine is the best that is all

[broareweabouttoviberightnow]

rip dallas winston n Johnny cade u would have fuckin hated the fact that important essentials are always locked up in stores

[rollercoasterwords]

like yeah obviously legality does not correlate to morality and i personally do not think ip laws should exist. however the reason i find it relevant to emphasize that selling fanfiction is illegal is not to make some moral stand about the sanctity of ip so much as to be like. hey this is the way it fucking is and if u break the law by selling fic u run the risk of creating larger legal troubles for entire communities of fic writers who just want to share their work for free. also more to the point the reason selling fic is so shitty is that it is a question of labor exploitation. i spent hundreds of hours creating something which you are now packaging and selling to make a profit without compensating me for my labor, which is not only exploitative but spits in the face of the spirit in which this fanfiction was shared—as a labor of love, meant to be free to anyone who wanted to read it. and the gag is that if u did want to fairly compensate me for my labor it would literally be thousands of dollars (assuming i’m charging even minimum wage for time spent writing & editing) which is why it isn’t fucking possible to sell fanfiction for a fair price!! all that on top of the fact that i (and many other fic writers) explicitly say “don’t sell or buy bound copies of my fic” just makes it flat-out undeniable that this is a fucking shitty thing to do, and i genuinely have no sympathy for people who go “wait what i’m not supposed to sell or buy fanfiction 🥺🥺🥺” like shut the fuck up i hate u

[patchwork-crow-writes]

No, actually, you get the Kralsei "incest" rant now, I've decided.

The ship being considered incest or incest-adjacent is largely a result of several assumptions that are being made about Ralsei, and to a lesser extent about Kris as well. For this to work, you have to assume the following:

Ralsei is modeled primarily on Asriel

All Boss Monsters of a certain age look identical to one another and are related to one another

Kris had absolutely no hand in Ralsei's creation

Kris is heavily uncomfortable with Ralsei's existence

The entire implied romantic undertones of Ralsei's feelings towards Kris were designed to be incestuous from the start

In order, I shall deconstruct and debunk these. Very long post below the read more, you have been warned.

While it is true that Ralsei does share some superficial similarities with Asriel, he's actually much, MUCH more similar to Kris in many ways. All he shares with Asriel is an anagrammed name and a passing likeness. They're not similar in terms of personality, and that goes regardless of which Asriel we're even talking about. Many people associate Ralsei with Undertale's incarnation of Asriel, who doesn't even exist in the same universe. Any similarities between the two are inferred entirely by the player, aided and abetted by the game making these subtle hints that they're "connected" in some way. Yeah, about as connected as Undertale is to Deltarune. To take this a step further, consider Kris and Frisk. No-one is conflating these two, not in a million years. And yet look, they share an anagrammed name and a passing likeness, so they're basically the same person, aren't they? I mean, we both control them through the SOUL, and they're both protagonists of games made by Toby Fox, so if anything they're more similar to each other than Ralsei is to Asriel. But of course, that's utterly absurd, and we all know it. *

I refer you once again to the humans. And before you tell me "they all obviously look different to each other" - and of course I'm not saying they're not different when they obviously are - consider how a monster might look at these humans if you placed them side-by-side. Pale-ish skin, brown hair, no obvious gender markers, similar height profiles. Any monster who's not intimately familiar with any of the humans in question might perhaps confuse them. And so it is with us and Boss Monsters. Just because Ralsei and Asriel share certain characteristics common to ALL boss monsters does not make them the same, or even similar, to each other. You only have to look at the sprites for the two side-by-side to see that there are plenty of differences between them. And as for Deltarune's Asriel? We haven't even seen this guy, we have NO idea what he looks like. We're just making assumptions again based on incomplete information. And if we assume that all boss monsters are related in some way due to how similar they might appear, then what does that make Toriel and Asgore, two boss monsters who have canonically produced offspring in both continuities? I don't need to say it, do I? *

It should be clarified here that I don't just mean Kris consciously made Ralsei at any point, either as an imaginary friend or monster-sona or what-have-you, but that Ralsei's creation as a darkner is somehow linked to how Kris saw themself/wished to be seen in their childhood. The most obvious piece of evidence supporting this is the horned headband that Toriel mentions at the end of Chapter 1. It's heavily implied that Kris would wear it so that they could be the same as their adoptive family, before they supposedly lost it somewhere down the line. It's not too much of a leap in logic to infer from this that Ralsei was created from that headband, at least in part. That said, there are certain aspects of Ralsei that don't exactly fit this neat mold, and I am willing to concede this point if it turns out that the headband thing is a massive misdirect. Nonetheless, I would say that the evidence we currently have to hand points more resolutely towards Ralsei being an aspect of Kris than of him being an aspect of Asriel. *

So I'm just going to say it: WE DON'T KNOW. Because Kris is our protagonist and POV character, it's incredibly easy to forget that we know next-to-nothing about the inner workings of their mind. They have no dialogue except what we tell them to say, and anything we CAN say about them is inferred from how other characters respond to their tone of voice. Of course, we can infer that Kris doesn't fully consider Ralsei a good friend based on his tea healing 60HP, but that on its own doesn't really tell us anything of much substance because you can't exactly cross-reference those numbers against a handy chart or anything - it's all context-dependent. We do at least know that they are comfortable enough around Ralsei to play the odd prank on him, which we know is something they used to do a lot of with Noelle and Asriel, two people they were close to growing up. They will, of their own volition, interpret our instruction to "take a bite" of Ralsei's dummy's clothes to make it look like they're kissing it on the cheek. I don't think that's something you would do with somebody who freaked you out on an existential level, or somebody who reminded you of your brother. Again, I am willing to concede this point should it turn out my interpretation of these clues is incorrect. *

Ask yourself this: What would Kralsei being incest - or incest-adjacent, or pseudo-incest, or whatever - contribute to the characters of Kris and Ralsei, to our relationship to them as players, or to the narrative or wider themes of Deltarune as a whole? I'll tell you - nothing whatsoever. The most such an interpretation can EVER say is that we as players are so easily manipulated by window-dressing and flattery that we will, knowingly or otherwise, romantically pair two characters together who are related in some way, shape or form. And let's say that this IS the intent behind their dynamic - all it amounts to, all it can ever amount to, is a great bit gotcha from Toby Fox himself. Haha, I tricked you into shipping two characters who are secretly related, isn't that fucked up of you? Somehow, I don't think that was his intention with this, it seems such a petty and small-minded thing for somebody who we know is capable of creating moving, thought-provoking, horrifying and beautiful stories. He's better than that. It turns the entire thing into a glorified skill-check: are YOU smart enough to identify that you're being encouraged to engage in incest-shipping, or are you a dumbass who only sees what's presented to you and doesn't ask questions about it? Contrary to popular belief, we're not all 5-D chess grandmasters, and shockingly not everybody is going to interpret the clues in this way. All it does is make people who DO earnestly ship Kralsei feel bad for something the game WAS ENCOURAGING THEM TO DO. Which would be fine if we were playing, say, Spec Ops: The Line, which is very much built around that conceit. And hey, if you wanna feel shitty about shipping two characters together in an extremely unhealthy and harmful manner, Snowgrave is right there. The difference here is that the weird route is A) completely optional, B) difficult if not impossible to accidentally trigger, C) completely derails the game's story and emotional beats, and D) doesn't rely on the shock value of surprise incest to carry it. Snowgrave actually has something INTERESTING to say about the nature of former friends, forced romance, a player's control over a protagonist and how people can be manipulated to do horrendous things by proxy. All the incest interpretation of Kralsei has to offer is that... it's incest, and you're a bit yucky for partaking in it. I'll wrap up this point by saying: incest is a very emotive topic and produces visceral emotional reactions in a lot of people. It's very clever that people have looked critically at Kralsei and observed the possibility, the interpretation, that this could be what's happening, but if the aim in doing so was to promote debate and analysis on the topic, I'm afraid it's only succeeded in doing the exact opposite, causing people to disengage from it entirely. And I strongly believe that's going to severely harm the state of discourse going into Deltarune's future chapters, because how are you going to talk about the game and what it's trying to say if you keep dodging a major part of it for fear of being thought of as pro-incest? It sucks if you're invested in the ship because no-one wants to discuss it, it sucks if you're NOT invested in the ship because it's not likely going to just evaporate come chapter 3, it sucks for everybody.

Now, having said all of that, I am not here to convince you that Kralsei is the truth and the life and what-have-you - you can read any of my other essays on the topic if you want to be preached to in that manner. You're valid and based for not liking Kralsei for any reason, and I wholeheartedly respect your opinion. All I'm trying to say here is that, calling it incest because "Ralsei is/looks like Asriel" or "Kris hates Ralsei" or whatever doesn't do anything for anyone. There are plenty of valid reasons not to like the ship, I just don't think that this is one of them.

Rant over, have a lovely day :D

[herbofgraceandpeace]

Orion and El’s accidental spirit cleansing of Liu = contender for most powerful and beautiful moment of A Deadly Education change my mind

[gemmasdeadwife]

Listen. I DO love Mark, but I don’t understand why we’re all acting like he’s such a prize in the first place, to the point we need to have wars about it. I mean I think under ideal circumstances he could be a great bf/husband, but he’s got a loooot of issues that get in the way, and it’s unfair to his partner.

What if neither Helly nor Gemma are with Mark at the end of the show?? What then? What if Mark works on himself for a while. Goes on some adventures with Devon (and maybe Ricken if he turns his shit around, but unlikely). Does some hard work on his trauma around baby stuff and falls in love with being Eleanor’s uncle. Maybe finds a therapist that has NEVER been affiliated with Lumon once they’ve all duly burnt the company to the ground.

[dilfmobius]

Do you know what absolutely kills me?

Mobius doesn't often let himself get rattled. He usually lets things roll right off his back, no matter how chaotic things get. Two out of the three times we see his calm demeanor crack, however, are related to Loki: Once when he feels as if Loki betrayed him for Sylvie, and the other when he figures out that Loki will be sacrificing himself to save everyone. Even during the time that Brad goads him, and causes him to lose his temper, Loki is right there for him, to help him calm down again.

Loki really is the center of Mobius' universe, and the one thing that is able to break his composure, is the thought of losing him. 😢

goddd yes thanks for this because it kills me too!!!

but okayyyy let's talk about it because wtf is this??

he's so hurt!! betrayed!! look at his face!! owen wilson you owe me money!!!

and the jealousy fueled spectacle he puts on right after. "It's breaking my reality right now!" oh, baby, we know.

and this

this look on his face?? literally brings me to tears. he's scared and confused and loki's out there!!!

and my personal favorite

it's the clenched fists that really send me over the edge, because he's trying desperately not to break down, not to lose his cool. he just needs to hold it together until loki gets back. he'll make it back. right?

but godddd that look of pure anguish on his face. it's like his life is flashing before his eyes but it's all just loki.

(why yes i did make gifs specifically for this ask, i promise you i'm very normal about all of this)

another scene where mobius loses his cool (that i just really love) is when they get separated at roxxcart. mobius is energized by the fact that they're so close to finishing this, but also that he and loki were gonna do it together. loki was the one who figured it all out and mobius was so proud and just,,, "you're gonna take my job if i'm not careful." and why did he have to say it like that???

anyway, the last thing mobius wants is loki out of his sight and he has a conniption about it!

"of course he's a threat [...] that's why i want him with me." and yes of course mobius knows better, because no one else knows loki like he does. but i'm also very endeared and amused by it. mobius please take a breath.

i also love loki's soft, "mobius, it's fine." just end me please.

AND YOU WANNA TALK ABOUT MOBIUS BEING AFRAID OF LOSING LOKI WHAT ABOUT THE ENTIRE FIRST EPISODE OF SEASON 2

THE CLUTCHING??? THE MANHANDLING???

i will never be okay again and it's because of THIS EPISODE.

"loki's here? where?" "i need a loki who remains." the look of horror on mobius' face every time loki timeslipped "he'll make it back." "give him more time! he can still make it!"

season 2 really is where mobius just falls apart and the crisis of faith fully sets in. of course his worst nightmare is losing loki; he's the only real thing mobius has left. "everything you've been doing is wrong, and all your gods are dead." and poetically enough, not all of mobius' gods are dead. loki's there. loki made it back to him.

and they're whole conversation in the automat after brad chipped away at whatever was left of mobius' defenses. of course mobius doesn't want to know about his past life. his past life didn't have loki. he likes his life at the tva because loki is there with him.

it's why he leaves once loki is gone

ANYWAY, this kinda got away from me oops i'm done fhdgfjsdg

[jjkyaoi]

people already shitting on cory’s manga and calling it a cash grab as if he didn’t spend the entirety of that video talking about how much love he has for it and as if it wasn’t so incredibly genuine. like you don’t have to care about it and you don’t Need to buy it, but from somebody who’s writing and own characters are also incredibly personal and important to me, i could tell how much he meant everything he said. like it is soooo exciting to see something you’ve worked so hard on (which he clearly has) get the chance to be loved by other people. and ALSO IT JUST LOOKS FUCKING COOL. WHY DO YOU ALL HAVE TO BE SO MISERABLE ALL THE TIME