#it really comes down to how it's portrayed and what the intent is supposed to be

[beatcroc]

been dying to formally introduce these guys for months now FINALLY got a general ref done. designs for sales and mean as their own individual....designs! which i made for my own nefarious purposes, but if this is something you ever had need or want for your own you're welcome to them.

i'm fascinated by how willfully confusing the game is about what traits belong to what side whenever there's any call to distinguish between them; the voices and colors and such have all been assigned to a contradictory side at least once and it's an extremely cool way to portray that despite ena's duality theming, she's still very much one being & it's futile to try and draw lines about where one part of her ends and the other begins. but, yknow.... it's interesting to try and do so anyway, and a very fun challenge to make something that still line up with my interpretations of each's role in the bigger picture.

anyway. rambling about my own business with them under cut

ok if you're down here i will be blunt. i made them for unbelievably toxic selfcest. really obsessed with how worker ena is kind of just the absolute worst to and for herself. mean Cannot Fucking Stand sales, and sales is... as indifferent and uncaring towards mean as they are to everything else.

it's intentionally very nebulous how much each are "themselves" vs. the whole entity of "ena", but the important vibe is just that they both know basically everything there is to know about the other and how they work. no lying to or hiding from themselves through the other, which is something ena loooooves to do normally. shes got to confront it here.

this being what it is i haven't made much effort to give them actual extrinsic reasons for being/staying together; being part of the same entity means They Just Are A Pair And That's How It Is; but there's maybe something there in the ways of "sales really likes getting to do as they please and mean puts up with WAY more of their shit than anyone else", + "mean is just glad to not have to engage with anything herself and knows they know her better than anyone else will". 

there's an unfortunate amount of....trust? which is a word i that does not feel right to use here, but i've been unable to find a better one-- on her part, in the general familiarity they both have; in knowing no matter how much they piss her off that they're not going to try any shit to actually hurt her; being the same being and all, it would be detrimental to them both. meanie is also, i would say, Rather Particular, and feels like she hasn't got much else outside of them- which im going to be frank seems pretty damn substantiated by the game, but for the sake of this isolated dynamic i suppose it comes more from the passive dehumanization she’s been with from sales’ never giving a shit about her. 

for sales i suppose there is.... the satisfaction of being effortlessly great at what they do. mean is a tough nut to crack but they have explicit insider knowledge of how to do so, and again for her own lack of desire to engage with anything, really just kind of lets them do whatever; meanie is really just to all ends their favorite to mess with. and while she's definitely way more dependent on them than they are on her, they do also need her to keep them in check since their "doesn't give a shit" nature also extends to their own being and they're bad at recognizing/respecting their own limitations and weaknesses as well.

it does bear to stress also that they are both terrible. don't get me wrong, salesperson is way more of a piece of shit and i do generally think meanie is getting the short end of the stick here, but also they aren't harmful by intent and meanie is still very much... well, mean about everything, on purpose, and even if it doesn't really phase sales at all i think somewhere she enjoys getting to take out that vitriol on someone, even if it is herself. maybe even especially then.

anyway i dont normally release wip's this scrappy but it's all i've got rn and it's tested well in friend circles for getting ppl on board w/ what im trying to cook so here's an Extremely basic vibes sketch

come with me. my awesome ship where everything sucks and nothing is good.

[seventeendeer]

as a fat person who's always clamoring for more interesting fat characters in media, I honestly think one of my all-time favorite depictions of a fat character is Jumba from the original Lilo and Stitch - both visually and personality wise

from a design perspective, even though he's an alien, he has so many little anatomy quirks that make him a more believable fat character than many fat human designs in other media. I love the realistic sag and layering of the fat on his arms, the lack of neck definition, the rim of chub around his face and upper back, the way his back is rounded. his clothes pull taut and pinch in anatomically accurate places (e.g. shoulders are firmer = smoother outlines, the sides and back are squishier = bumpier outlines).

and he's stylized so well! all these great details boiled down to some simple shapes and pen strokes. IMO the Lilo and Stitch art style is extremely appealing - it's warm and clean and visually pleasing, but every character is super unique. Jumba isn't supposed to be pretty, but even though he's a very large, very fat, bald older guy who spends most of the movie in crop tops, the way he's stylized and staged makes it clear the audience is supposed to find him interesting to look at, and variably intimidating/cool/powerful/capable. he's often funny, but the physical aspect of his comedy is derived from being so hefty the other characters struggle to prevent him from barreling ahead and doing whatever he wants; being fat makes him come off more in control of the funny situations he gets into, not less. also, because the art style is what it is, a lot of his character acting also just makes him look kind of cute ... though that's universal across the cast

I also really like the fact that his size clearly gives him both realistic advantages and realistic disadvantages. along with having a stronger sense of agency in the comedic scenes, his size in combination with his impulsivity also makes him a more intimidating antagonist. you never know what he's going to do, and his size makes it difficult for other characters to stop him when he's made up his mind. at the same time, it seems to take him longer to catch his breath, he sometimes grunts when moving around a lot to imply it takes more effort, and he clearly struggled to find clothes that fit him when putting together his disguise. I think it's awesome that the character's size impacts how he interacts with the world so much, and again, in relatable ways

and personality wise, it is ALWAYS great to see fat characters portrayed as intelligent - not only is Jumba an accomplished scientist, he's also crafty and witty! a few quiet scenes imply a philosophical side, as he ponders on Stitch's existence and feelings as a living weapon. with Stitch explicitly being made in his own image to an extent, I'd argue there's even room to interpret some of the things he says about Stitch being hints to how he sees himself; we never learn much about Jumba's past, but it's clear he's a social misfit and strongly defiant. I don't think it's a stretch to assume some of what he said to Stitch about being a monster who can never belong anywhere was intended to read as projection (which makes it all the more heartwarming when both of them find a place to belong on Earth)

it's also a nice twist that toward the end, Jumba is the one who is unexpectedly compassionate toward Nani, while Pleakley tries to urge him to ignore her. again alluding to a level of emotional depth and intelligence that is often missing from even well-intentioned depictions of fat people. his character isn't even fully explored, and yet he's one of the most dynamic and interesting supporting characters in a movie full of fantastic characters. the audience is expected to find him fascinating and even sort of mysterious, and he is!

the sequels and spinoffs were more merchandise-driven franchise fluff for kids than the artsy direction of the original movie, but even so, I remember Jumba went on to become Lilo's lovable, amoral uncle figure, which I also thought was so fun as a kid. I love that they committed to the fact that he was more caring and compassionate than he seemed. not only was he a cool evil mad scientist character, but he was also eventually ... a friend ...

and he was even gay

[chaifootsteps]

idk if you've heard of him but there's a youtuber called friendly space ninja who reviews TV shows.

anyway, he did a video on The Vampire Diaries and had a section about the racism problem the writers have. it was one of those things where if it had just been one thing it would have been 'OK not great, that could be fixed' but it was this never ending list of ways in which PoC on the show were treated as second class where I don't think anyone in their right mind could deny it when you lay it all out, start to finish

that's how I feel about how female characters are treated on Hazbin but especially on Helluva.

to give an idea of scale:

took nearly two seasons for Millie to get her own episode and it's about her having to babysit Blitzo and Moxxie and gives her hangups about her class out of nowhere

episode about Millie and Moxxie having the same ex shows his backstory only, with Millie's shunted into some hypothetic future episode even though the ex is now dead and no one has any reason to care any longer

episode about going to Millie's home is a Moxxie episode where the main drama is between Moxxie and Striker and Blitzo and Striker

Unhappy Campers tries to be a Millie episode and is still a Moxxie episode

Millie complaining that they, an assassin business, shouldn't skip out on an assassin job, is framed as pregnancy hormones

Millie gets a surprise pregnancy storyline because Viv doesn't know what else to do with her (she basically admitted that on a tweet thread where she also admitted prioritising Stolas, Moxxie and Blitzo instead of just, idk, rewriting the story to make a female character have more of a dynamic with the main male lead)

Loona has two focus episodes and basically stops being a character in her own right in season two

Loona's sad orphanage backstory is used in a flashback to benefit Blitzo's emotional breakthrough. the backstory hasn't come up again since

Loona and Millie's screentime has basically been handed to Stolas, who got all the song numbers, too

Loona is supposed to be friendless /awkward but has friends over for Sinsmas? would have been nice to see that development

Loona and Millie are two main characters but they barely have a consistent dynamic with each other and certainly don't feel like friends.

Verosika goes from interesting ex who might also have contributed to the breakup with her alcoholism (some ambiguity at least) to character who exists solely to be hung up on Blitzo, explain his intimacy problems and to cheerlead for Stolas (who she doesn't know and is nothing but rude and judgemental to her)

Fails the Mako Mori test and probably also the Bechdel Test, two seasons in

Via goes from sort of well fleshed out to just a prop to make Stolas cry. Like Blitzo, the valid reasons she could criticize him are played down as much as possible and she's framed as not getting what's really going on

Stella is in an arranged marriage but the show only portrays Stolas as the victim (even though he has more money and power than her and she was forced to physically deliver an egg she didn't want, basically making her a depiction of the nightmares of being a tradwife in a society that treats her like an incubator - this likely wasn't the writer's intent but it speaks to a basic lack of empathy for the backstory they've written for Stella)

Stella having parties and socialising is used as proof of how vapid she is even though she has little else to do since she's stuck being Stolas' wife (and there's nothing wrong with liking parties? this is the exact opposite of the Mane Six in MLP who model a lot of different pursuits and ways of being female without looking down on any of them)

Stella in general is a caricature of a shrew wife who makes Lisa from The Room look subtle

why is Stella so abusive? she was born evil; no further questions.

cheating is wrong only if you're female. if you're male your wife will be rewritten to be a 2D depiction of an abuser

also if you're male cheating is fine. it's so fine that Blitzo will refuse to kill two cheating men and claim it's not that big a deal because he's projecting he and Stolas onto them

male villains are fun performance pieces. female villains are Stella and Glitz&Glam

Speaking of Glitz and Glam, they're two dimensional bitches and it's treated like it's good when they get hurt and that they'll be Mammon's new victims

both Moxxie and Blitzo's mother go unnamed in the show despite dying horrifically. they don't get a single line despite both of their fathers being named and with speaking parts - they exist to be tragic saints before being stuffed into the fridge. Blitzo's mother in particular is a major source of his angst. Moxxie's father's bodyguard, meanwhile, was given his own name despite being a bit part who matters not at all on an emotional level (and is shipped with Crimson by the fandom who is happy to flesh out his character despite his also being abusive). the closest we have to a well written mother is Lin, Millie's mother, who appeared back in - hey, season one! what are the odds?

Stolas' mother also doesn't appear to be present on this plane of existence. Paimon meanwhile gets his own introduction and a big chunk of screen time

and even this list might not cover everything!

I ask anyone who can read this and still thinks the show is fine at writing women - how can you still believe that?

and for the 'it's only halfway done!!' crowd I'll simply point out this: in order to fix even half of the issues I've laid out the show would have to have a very heavy focus on its female characters during its back half.

and as of right now we have no reason to believe that will happen. Stolas has joined IMP so he'll only get more screentime - we'll just never be rid of him. Bland as bread Vassago will probably get more screentime alongside Andrealphus, not to mention the likelihood of forcing the audience to endure a Blitzo/Stolas/Vassago love triangle because the fandom likes the idea and I could see Viv going for it too. Stolas is probably going to be given a storyline that's nominally about him learning to have empathy for the poor but in reality is just more of him not changing, bitching and moaning like always while Blitzo waits on him hand and foot.

Via is very likely about to be villainized or at least made to look even more dumb and mean for daring to cut her father off, if that storyline even lasts longer than a few episodes before Viv and Stolas give up caring about it (he'd practically thrown in the towel already in the s2 finale).

what room is there amongst the rest of this mess of garbage for any focus to be given to female characters?

the one storyline outside of Via is Millie's surprise pregnancy, which is a storyline you pull out when you have nothing else for a female character to do and let's be real, is probably just gonna end up being about Moxxie again

Uh oh...you laid it all out in plain black and white, so it's even more apparent how miserably this show treats women! You know how much the fandom hates that!

[drdemonprince]

so first off, sorry bc this is super fucking heavy.

re: commonalities between cis and trans men, and that other ask. something I've had to come to terms with is how even as a teenager before I had the concept of transitioning in my head - I still got all of the societal messaging wrt misogyny, etc. I totally benefited from it, even as a woman. I put other girls down. I was the cool chick. I cashed in where I could with it. i was absolutely a chauvinist when I transitioned. I felt inhuman as a woman, but I understood that ultimately that's the way women were *supposed* to be, as much as I wished otherwise. it took a long time to unlearn that.

my personal experience makes me very uncomfortable when I see other trans men talking about gendered socialization, or how overly negative people are towards men as a class. I wonder if they have ever sat down and really reconciled with the way they have, and do, benefit from their gendered position, or if they've convinced themselves they can't be a "bad person" by virtue of their birth sex.

I can't find a nuanced way to talk about this that won't be read in bad faith as essentialist rhetoric. rape culture is the system by which consent violation is normalized, its all the music and books and movies and bad relationships I assumed were normal and romantic as a young adult. I really, really hurt people, and I did it as men are encouraged to do, and as they are rewarded for doing. I found affirmation in hurting people, and it is so fucking easy to do this without even really thinking of it because it's the entire culture you've come up in.

I'm not even talking like, obvious cases here like phyrical domestic abuse & intentional date rape. there are so many subtle boundary erosions, there's weird gray areas around drugs & alcohol, there's attitudes and expectations in established relationships, there's the potential to exploit community for personal gain. there are partners who will fear you, and freeze and fawn and will not tell you "no."

a lot of the "we need a special word for masculine transphobia" types seem to also disavow the possibility that they hold male privelege. but we need to look at that shit, sexual or otherwise. it's scary to see guys who see women talking about it and they knee-jerk shout back "I'm not a rapist" and "not all men." guarantee some of them are, and just aren't aware of it. i was.

Thank you so much anon for this really brave, candid message. I think it's something that a lot of the trans guys crowing in my inbox about how cis men "are the bad gender" need to hear. (yes, someone literally said that to me). Portraying gendered categories, especially ones based on birth assignment!, as ontologically more evil or pure than others sets people up for abuse. Separating cis men out from trans men erases the ways in which trans guys can both leverage power and the ways in which toxic masculine norms are transmitted culturally to everyone regardless of assigned sex at birth. Lots of trans guys are palpably uncomfortable with their power, and can only see that relative to cis men, they experience transphobia and misogyny in greater amounts, and so they presume they must be in a highly victimized category. But they dont ever consider that as men they can and do often wield power over women -- especially trans women -- and they've got to fucking learn how to handle that reality responsibly, which many cis men actually do know how to fucking do. Especially multiply marginalized cis men who have been preyed upon and exploited themselves.

I think it's really powerful to hear you taking ownership of the actions you've taken that have hurt others, and the allure such actions had. Very few people have the courage to look their lower moments in the face and affirm that it's actually a part of them. If we're ever going to stop abusing and talking over women we've got to own up to our shit. I've seen what can happen when men come together to be vulnerable about their struggles, own their wrongdoing, and seek to change -- back when I was working in a men's drug treatment program. We can overcome this shit and take responsibility. But a lot of the birthday boy trans guy squad is incensed by even the idea of owing anything to anyone. Like a lot of MRAs.

[appleflavoredkitkats]

i know i need to let season 3 simmer a little but i'm just sooo fascinated by the way beastars portrays prejudice. because it doesn't fall for the same mistakes other media depictions have where it completely copies non-fictional movements and apply it into something like, zootopia's prey v predator dynamic, or dbh's anti-android thing. actual prejudice like racism, homophobia, etc. don't really have any justifiable reason for existing, it's just culturally and psychologically ingrained, imposed by the status quo and capitalism, but the truth of the matter is that it really has no justifiable basis or origin.

but i mean. beastars is different because the divide is caused by something so biological and uncontrollable... like in the sea, this hierarchy is normal, the circle of life and such. the prejudice is so distinct to their world, but in its effects and aftermath do we see its similarities with what we experience as humans.

yadda yadda but my favorite part about this is i suppose. the way society in beastars approaches the entire integration thing in such a . wrong way? like it's very similar to how we respond, like of course let's root for integration, but again, beastars' world of prejudice operates so differently from our own that applying something that is so our worldly just doesn't work enough in the beastars world because . because again the imbalance isn't caused by culture or psychology or capitalism (at least, what we've seen from the show so far), it's . it's natural. carnivores want meat and they can't control it.

which makes like. louis and haru's approach to their love for carnivores so interesting! because instead of debating the idea that carnivores don't have these instincts, they come face to face with it and accept it. and i mean idk the intent of beastars but wow . what an interesting way to depict how an incorrect social analysis of society could be just as suppressive as ignorance. it's not about saying the carnivores don't have these instincts, it's about turning to them and saying, yeah this happens. let's find out how to deal with this in a proper and mature way.

my friend described this kind of relationship the main four have for each other to be "kinky", and genuinely in a non-sexual and non-derogatory way, it kinda is! like wow we have characters who know and face the dangers of being in love with each other but. hey legoshi eat my leg. hey legoshi kiss me in this butcher shop. hey louis i know you saw how i bit down on that straw. there is that danger of being consumed and yet they turn towards it . and i don't even know the point of this point, i'm just kind of crazy about the carnivore/herbivore dynamic of this damn show

[nickel156]

IS RHYSAND MORALLY GREY?

OK, let’s get into it, because this idea that Rhysand is sooo morally grey? Yeah, not buying it. Let’s be real—he’s not a morally grey character, he’s just framed in a way that gives him a pass for a lot of his questionable actions. When you actually break it down, Rhysand is pretty black and white, but the narrative does a fantastic job of dressing him up as “complex” to make readers feel like his actions are more nuanced than they really are. Spoiler: they’re not.

His Actions Are Consistently Justified by “Good Intentions”

One of the biggest indicators that Rhysand isn’t actually morally grey is how everything he does, no matter how manipulative or controlling, is framed as being for the greater good. His decisions, whether it’s drugging Feyre or making her wear revealing outfits under the mountain, are always given this neat little justification. “He was protecting her,” “He had no choice,” “He was trying to outwit Amarantha.” A morally grey character wrestles with the consequences of their actions—Rhysand doesn’t. We’re told, over and over again, that what he did was necessary, and that alone is supposed to excuse him from criticism. That’s not moral ambiguity—that’s convenient narrative framing.

He’s Always Positioned as the Hero:

Let’s not pretend like Rhysand is ever in real moral conflict. His choices are presented as tough but necessary, and we’re rarely, if ever, given a moment where he actually grapples with the darker sides of those choices. Even when he makes questionable decisions, we’re spoon-fed reasons to believe he’s ultimately in the right. That’s not grey. That’s just a hero with a darker aesthetic. Compare him to actual morally grey characters who sit in their discomfort, who make selfish choices or hurt people without always having noble intentions behind it. Rhysand? Nah, he’s just the guy who always ends up looking like the hero, even when his actions should be called out.

His Morality Never Comes Into Question:

A true morally grey character is someone whose actions challenge not only the other characters in the story, but the readers too. We should be asking ourselves, “Is this person really doing the right thing? Should I be supporting this?” But with Rhysand? There’s never any real doubt. Even when he manipulates or controls others, we’re reassured that it’s all part of some grand, noble plan. His friends back him, Feyre forgives him, and the narrative never holds him accountable in a meaningful way. There’s no real complexity here, just a character who gets away with being controlling because the plot tells us to forgive him.

Everything Bad He Does Is Framed as a Sacrifice:

Rhysand is never portrayed as doing bad things because he wants to, or because he’s selfish, or because he’s flawed in a way. It’s always framed as him making a sacrifice for the greater good. He does bad things, sure—but the narrative works overtime to show us that he had to do them. When you’re constantly being told that a character’s questionable choices are out of necessity, you’re not being shown a morally grey character—you’re being shown a hero who occasionally has to get his hands dirty. Big difference.

He Doesn’t Struggle With His Decisions:

What makes a morally grey character truly compelling is when they struggle with their own decisions, when they recognize that they’ve hurt people or crossed a line, and they aren’t sure how to feel about it. But Rhysand? He’s remarkably comfortable with all of his decisions. He doesn’t dwell on whether or not what he did under the mountain was wrong; in fact, he hardly ever reflects on it at all. It’s presented as a burden, sure, but it’s a burden that’s neatly tied up with a bow: he did what he had to, end of story. He’s too comfortable in his righteousness to ever really be morally grey.

He’s Too Perfectly Framed as a Savior:

Let’s be real, Rhysand’s character arc is too neat and too perfectly framed as “Feyre’s savior” for him to be truly morally ambiguous. Every time he’s at risk of being seen as a villain, the narrative bends over backwards to remind us that he’s actually the one who saved Feyre, saved Prythian, saved everyone, really. A morally grey character wouldn’t be positioned so neatly as the savior figure. They’d be somewhere in between—someone whose actions could be seen as selfish or harmful, even if they had noble intentions. Rhysand, on the other hand, is always one step away from being a full-on white knight, cloaked in black and purple.

The Lack of Consequences

A true morally grey character faces the consequences of their actions, both externally and internally. But Rhysand? He rarely, if ever, suffers real consequences for the morally dubious things he’s done. Everyone either forgives him, rationalizes his behavior, or never holds him accountable in the first place. Where’s the moral ambiguity if there’s no fallout? If the narrative is bending over backward to redeem or justify every action, then there’s no real grey area—it’s just a hero getting away with questionable behavior.

In conclusion, Rhysand isn’t morally grey—he’s a hero painted with darker shades, but still a hero through and through. The narrative bends over backwards to excuse his actions, frame him as the savior, and justify all the harm he’s done as “necessary sacrifices.” There’s nothing morally grey about that; it’s just a case of good PR for a character whose dark side is polished up so much that it doesn’t even feel like a flaw anymore. If you want morally grey, look elsewhere—Rhysand is just a dressed-up hero, no matter how much the fandom wants to pretend otherwise.

[it-happened-one-fic]

Hours in the Moonlight: Rose Red Dawn - 17. Be Here

Summary: Hollywood has portrayed vampire bites a thousand times. But experiencing it yourself still turned out to be wildly different than your expectations.

Series Type: Gender-neutral reader/ Vampire AU/ series/ romantic/ angst/ angst with comfort/ fluff/ sfw/ platonic interactions too!

Trigger Warning: Vampire, Vampire bite (still sfw, fear not)

Word Count: 3633

Hours in the Moonlight Master-List

It was almost strange how calm I was even as I was actively questioning if this really was the right decision.

Especially since I knew I’d largely guilt-tripped Vil last night, even if that hadn’t been my intention.

He probably hadn’t meant what had come to my mind when he’d mentioned that he cared for me. Rather, he’d probably been chastising me more so than anything else. 

Because he was right, I was pretty bad about putting myself at risk.

A thought that was only supported by the fact that, despite knowing I was going to be bitten tonight, which should have made me a nervous wreck, I was sitting calmly after having my breakfast and just waiting for Vil to come.

But, to be wholly honest, it all felt like the calm before the storm. It was either that, or I’d used up all the anxiety and energy I had yesterday while talking to Vil and bracing myself for tonight. And that was a very real possibility, considering exactly how last night had gone.

But tonight was strange. I hadn’t even put on my necklace this evening. Instead, I’d left it in its box. I didn’t need it getting in the way when Vil did get here, though. An odd thought in and of itself.

And some distant part of me realized that it was perfectly ridiculous that I was quite literally preparing myself for a vampire. Making it as easy as possible for him to bite me when it was the exact opposite of what I’d been doing when I’d first met Vil. Which had been avoiding vampires at all costs and immediately jumping to the offensive or running away when I did encounter one.

But I supposed it just went to show how far I’d come since then. Though whether I’d moved in the right direction or not remained to be seen.

Instead of being terrified and greeting him with staunch resistance, I was just relaxing and waiting on him to come. And instead of having no intentions of hurting me despite my initial fears, Vil was coming here specifically to bite me this time.

We’d come full circle, and not in the best way imaginable. Especially with the memory of last night ever present in mind. But I couldn’t even be upset about what awaited me this evening, because this had been my decision.

And, being totally honest, a small part of me had wondered if it would reach this point for a long time now.

After all, I couldn’t just linger in the world of vampires as a mortal, could I? I could fight it, of course, but how long would I succeed? And even if I did succeed, was that really the best choice for me? I didn’t want to become a vampire… but I also wanted to stay with Vil. I knew that perfectly well. I just didn’t know if those two things were entirely reconcilable. 

In my mind, they should be, but I truly didn’t know if they were in reality.

And if I was forced to pick between the two, I wasn’t sure which choice I might end up regretting more.

My quiet thoughts were interrupted by a gentle knock on my window. But I didn’t hesitate as I stood and walked over, pulling open the curtains and looking up at the man who was backlit by the moon. Ever the image of flawless beauty as I looked up at him, idly wondering if I should have a chill running down my spine rather than such an easy calm.

Vil’s cloak billowed around him in the cool night air, and his eyes met mine almost immediately. As if he had everything perfectly memorized and knew precisely where to look to make eye contact with me even before I’d pulled the curtains open.

I felt myself smile as I looked up at him, almost bitterly amused by the fact that he really did look the part of a perfect vampire. 

Even if he wasn’t evil, it wasn’t hard to picture him seducing the hero of some story and steadily leading them down the path to their own doom.

I supposed that it could be argued that the same had happened to me, but I still didn’t view anything about this as his fault. I’d walked this path knowing the risks I was taking the whole way, even before Crowley had involved himself in my life.

“Tater tot,” Vil’s voice was quiet and solemn, at odds with the way he usually greeted me with warm fondness. But I supposed that was to be expected. He’d probably been dreading tonight just as much as I had.

I felt a pang of guilt as I stepped back and out of his way. Letting him in as I quietly said his name in lieu of an actual greeting or apology, “Vil.”

In all honesty, I hardly knew what to say to him. Normally talking to him, and even just existing nearby him, was the easiest thing in the world. But right now it felt both awkward and overly tense. And I knew I was largely at fault for that.

He swept into the room without a sound before he stepped aside. Watching silently as I quietly closed the window once more. 

And every motion felt oddly measured. Like we were gauging one another despite how well we knew each other.

My hands lingered on the windowsill, and my eyes stayed on the darkness that stretched throughout the city as I swallowed, finding it oddly difficult to look back at him as I spoke in a painfully quiet tone, “I’m sorry about last night… I was overly emotional. And if you don’t want to do this, then you don’t have to. I definitely won’t make you, and you shouldn’t force yourself.”

I turned, at last meeting his gaze as I finished, and watched as he smiled softly at me. His expression perfectly at odds with the storm of feelings I currently felt. 

It was almost like he was reassuring me, despite the fact everything about this had been my plan.

But I felt myself relax at his expression nonetheless, even before he spoke in a wry tone, “I would hardly call this forcing myself… But I also won’t do anything at all unless you absolutely want me to. And I should apologize as well. You were right. It wasn't fair of me to bring up any feelings after persistently avoiding the subject.”

I almost frowned at his words, touching as they were, as they placed the weight of my decision fully on me and also agreed with my previous, emotion-filled frustration that hadn’t fully faded even now. 

But his emphasis on my wants was both touching and characteristic of him. Eternally pushing me to put myself first. Over himself, over the clans, and over everyone else. Even though we both knew perfectly well that, just like me, if he were the one at risk, he wouldn’t hesitate to make the same decision I had.

I largely suspected that his emphasis on my well-being was the same reason he’d always avoided discussing our relationship. Because he eternally thought of my safety and comfort. But we both knew things had spiraled far out of our control.

“I can’t say this is something I exactly want… But I do think it's something that’ll have to happen for this plan to have any hope of success.” I spoke in a half-frustrated tone, not even sure how to touch on the other issue at hand, and focusing on the matter of my being bitten. Because at the moment, that was a far easier pill to swallow than the matter of my relationship status with Vil.

And Vil nodded his quiet agreement. Wholly unsurprised by my words, and even smiling wryly.

But it was true. I did think my getting bitten was going to be necessary because that was what both Riddle and Trey had told me. And neither of them really struck me as the sort to lie. At least not about something as serious as this.

Plus, on top of that, I had other mixed feelings. I’d been avoiding this for so long now, in the same way I’d avoided vampires with only Vil as the exception. But now, here I was making Vil the exception once more. And even now, I didn’t know how to feel. 

It was like I was running around in an endless cycle of the same questions that I’d had at the start of all this when it came to my relationship with Vil.

Because Vil had been the exception far too many times for me to deny what I’d already known this entire time. And yet I still hesitated to put the all-too-obvious name on my feelings for him.

Instead, I focused on the situation at hand, even though it was just as fraught with complexities. 

A part of me was curious, but a part of me was also afraid. Not of Vil, but of the entire idea of being bitten by a vampire. So much could go wrong, even though it was Vil, and I knew that all too well.

But, perhaps more than that, I was afraid of how things might shift between me and Vil after this. Which brought me back to our relationship.

Apparently most of the clans thought I’d been giving him blood for a long time now, and apparently there was a special relationship that went along with that. And though the exact specifics of that relationship weren’t entirely clear, I'd never wanted to question it beyond what Leona had teased me with. 

I forced myself back into the moment, shoving my spiraling thoughts to the side before I shifted. Letting my hands tap against my sides awkwardly as I did my best to figure out a way to broach the matter at hand, “So… What exactly do I need to do here?”

Vil snorted in dry amusement, the mere sound of it relaxing as it was a step back into the norm. 

I watched him turn and walk over towards the couch before twisting to look at me as he gestured to the piece of furniture with a vague motion, “Just sit down, and try not to jerk. If you do. It might make the injury worse.”

I nodded, following him and quietly sitting down on the couch before twisting to look at him. Not sure what to expect, but already bracing myself for the worst. 

I could only assume he was having me sit so that if I tried to pass out, I would be less likely to hit the floor. But if he was worried about me passing out, this was probably going to be quite painful, at the very least. An odd thought, considering there were willing victims to vampire bites out there. 

But then, there were all sorts of different people out there. And I couldn’t really talk anyway. Not with the way I was sitting here literally waiting for Vil to bite me without him even having to use any vampiric hypnosis or other weird tricks.

Vil sighed at me as he sat down next to me, twisting to face me and meeting my gaze directly. And his typical, businesslike manner was a relief. It somehow made this all a little less awkward.

“I’ll take as little blood as possible, but I will have to take some in order for this to be interpreted as a valid claim.”

I nodded, wondering if I should question the exact meaning behind these ‘claims,’ even as I shifted slightly before sitting up straight and squaring my shoulders. And he smiled slightly at me, shaking his head as if he were amused by my actions.

He smiled at me for just a moment longer before he sighed, though. The smile slipping from his face with the sound and being replaced with a far more solemn expression as his eyes searched mine, “Are you ready?”

It was a fair question, but, bluntly put, there really didn’t seem like there was much I could do to prepare. I’d already braced myself, but despite my earlier calm, I could feel the anxiety and nervousness setting in as my pulse picked up. Something I was reasonably sure that he probably knew about.

I’d never asked, but I’d suspected for quite some time that Hollywood was correct in the interpretation that vampires could somehow hear or sense when someone’s heartbeat sped up.

At the very least that would explain why they always seemed to know when someone was nervous. A fact that was reflected on Vil’s frowning face right now.

I nodded, though, before pasting on a smile as if nothing were out of the ordinary at all.

“As I’ll ever be,” I bounced my shoulders lightly, and a smile briefly flickered across Vil’s face at my faux lightheartedness.

“You don’t have to push yourself, Tater tot. It’s fine if you're nervous,” He reached over to me as he spoke, both his words and motions causing my eyes to widen in surprise.

I didn’t get to respond, though, before he was pulling me towards him all too easily. A clear indicator that Vil was no mere human. He was a vampire and had the unnatural strength befitting it. 

One of his arms wrapping around his waist as he easily tugged me across the couch towards him as he reached up and cupped the back of my head with his other hand.

I swallowed slightly, putting my hands on his shoulders more by instinct than anything else, and briefly met his gaze before deciding I far preferred to not be looking at his face right this moment.

It was bad enough to be this close to him, knowing what was about to happen. I was already having to fight to keep my breathing steady and not overly shaky in its clear reflection of my pounding heartbeat.

I looked down, focusing on where my hand now rested over where his heart ought to be beating strongly if he weren’t a vampire.

I had been close to Vil before. Of course I had. I’d hugged him both playfully and when he’d been comforting me. 

In all honesty, it hadn’t been that long ago that I’d been sobbing into his chest over Epel being turned, and I certainly hadn’t been embarrassed then. And even beyond that, teasing flirtation had long been a part of interactions.

But somehow this was different, and my nerves weren’t just because of his proximity.

The more I thought about it, though, the more I realized that it wasn’t really that I was scared. In fact, I was more anxious than anything.

 I trusted Vil, but the idea of getting bitten by a vampire, even if it was him, was still nerve-wracking, to say the least.

I inhaled slightly before exhaling carefully, forcing myself to calm down. Letting my fingers curl into his shirt as if that could stabilize me. And somehow, it did. In a way that only his presence could.

“You’re sure?” I felt myself smile, despite everything, at Vil’s soft words. Soft enough that I probably wouldn’t have been able to hear them if I hadn’t been quite so close to him.

I nodded silently, still not quite able to find the courage to look him in the eye even as I confirmed that I was ready.

But I didn’t have to look at him to know that he was probably unsurprised by my silent response and possibly even a little saddened. After all, he knew, just as much as I did, that this was probably going to be necessary for the future success of my plans.

I inhaled as his arm slid out from around my waist, and then his hand was gently tilting my head back. Moving my head so that I was looking up now, my gaze briefly meeting his before I looked away. My stare flickering up to the ceiling instead as I swallowed thickly.

His thumb rested softly on my chin while his other fingers spread back and across my neck as he leaned forward and I braced myself for what was to come. Closing my eyes as I exhaled steadily. Reminding myself to breathe.

He paused only briefly at my subtle motion, sighing slightly before I felt his lips connect, featherlight, with my neck. 

The unexpected sensation almost caused my breath to catch in surprise as I felt my eyes fly open. But I hadn’t expected that. I’d been prepared for him to bite me… Not for such gentle but painfully intimate affection. I pressed my lips together, closing my eyes once more. As my fingers curled in on themselves.

And then I felt it. The pain that accompanied the bite.

It was sharp and intense, at odds with his kiss and causing my eyes to fly open as I sucked in a breath.

 My hands clamped desperately onto his shoulders with a tightness that ought to be bruising as I willed myself not to jerk away from him. And then, as quickly as it came, the stinging sensation left. Replaced by a sensation that was akin to numbness. Though it wasn’t quite that either, since I could still feel the way Vil carefully held onto me. Cradling me to him with infinite gentleness that betrayed his overwhelming strength.

Almost by instinct, I felt myself relax in Vil’s hold as he shifted. His hand leaving my chin and brushing it way down my arm and around my side so that he could support me with an arm around my back. 

But there was no more pain. Instead, there was just a steady calm. Almost like I was drifting off to sleep despite still being fully awake and aware of what was happening. It was just that I didn’t seem to care what was happening. I was far too relaxed to care.

I didn’t fully go limp either, but the calm that spread through me remained intense. Strong enough to have my eyelids drooping down and over my eyes so that I was barely still looking up at the ceiling.

And, distantly, I could feel a slight warmth where his lips were still pressed to my neck. But I hardly even questioned it as I stayed in that strange state of utter calm. As if everything were just as it should be. Perfectly so.

And after what could have been an hour or mere seconds, I blinked slightly, and Vil leaned back. Pulling me back up right so that I was leaning against him as I blinked hazily. My mind slowly clearing as he continued to support me with his chin resting gently against the crown of my head as he inhaled deeply. Almost as if he were trying to catch his breath. 

I leaned back, slowly lifting my head and frowning slightly as I looked up to see Vil meet my gaze with too-bright eyes. As if he was feeling especially energized.

There wasn’t a trace of blood on him, though, and I felt surprisingly fine outside of the confusion over what, exactly, had just happened.

I’d been bitten, of course. I’d clearly felt that. But what happened after that was beyond me, even though I’d been fully lucid the entire time. That strange calm… it went wholly against my expectations. 

It was nothing like the blind panic I’d expect or the passionate throes presented in film.

Vil swallowed thickly, like he was having to exert a considerable degree of control over himself, and I finally noticed how tightly he was holding me as he spoke in a barely restrained voice, “Are you alright?” 

I nodded slightly, searching his gaze worriedly before I at last spoke. My voice coming out surprisingly calm sounding considering what had just occurred, “Are you?”

Vil huffed out a laugh, immediately shaking his head at my words, “Of course you’d ask me that even though you’re the one who just got bitten.”

I frowned at him, shaking my head slightly, “It hurt at first, but it was okay after that… In fact it was almost like I zoned out or something, so I’m fine.”

Vil nodded, not looking surprised by my words as he let me lean back further so I could better study him. He was still slightly tense, and I could only assume he was having to control himself, though he was slowly relaxing.

I reached up, letting my fingers press lightly against where he bit me as he watched me quietly. And I couldn’t tell what was going through his head. Not with how carefully he was controlling his expression.

Curiously, my neck didn’t even feel sticky from blood, and there was no pain there. But still, perhaps cleaning it up and whatnot would help.

 After all, when I’d been bandaged, neither Vil nor Leona had seemed bothered by where I’d gotten hurt that one time when they’d both been here back during the Savanaclaw clan’s evaluation.

“I’ll get this cleaned up.” I held Vil’s gaze as he nodded, letting go of me and watching as I carefully stood. Belatedly realizing that, at some point, I’d ended up positioned in his lap rather than on the couch. A fact I was going to have to try very hard not to think about.

But I didn’t feel woozy or anything. I was still going to be careful, though.

I paused as I stepped back, continuing uncertainly, “We can talk after I finish?”

My words earned me a smile as Vil nodded, tilting his head slightly and putting on a flawless act of being just fine despite how tightly he’d been holding onto me mere seconds ago, “I’ll be here.”

If you would like to read more:

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[vibratingskull]

Hey apologies in advance for the long ramble...

I have a suspicion (which may be completely wrong obvs) that Tim Zahn has told Lars all about Thrawns true personality and his intentions.

I don't know if Lars has read the books (he may have) but do I think there's a disconnect between the way Lars PLAYS Thrawn and the way Filony WRITES Thrawn if that makes sense?...

It seems that Filoni wants to take some of the nuance out his character and make him more typically evil. I know we don't know quite yet what will happen to him in the future but looking at Filoni's track record with Thrawn it looks like he wants him to be more typically evil. (I understand the story's he tells are from the side of rebels/heroes and he is ultimately the ENEMY at the end of it all but he doesn't like to go beyond that).

However when I watch Lars on screen and the way he talks about him in interviews I can definitely see some of Tim's Thrawn come through.

The sad little facial expressions and tone of voice, the way he looks off into the distance when Sabine says "you wouldn't understand" (which he does!), the disappointed way he says "these were the volunteers, they were made aware..." he obviously isn't happy with asking his crew that have survived for a decade with him but he's done the maths and realised that it was the only way to get the majority of the crew back.

What really gives it away for me is the way he asks Morgan to stay behind...he can't even bring himself to actually say the words, he just says "We need a little more time" and it's obvious what he needs her to do. Lars really hesitates beforehand and he clearly despises what he's asked of her.

I also think the way he said to her "for the empire" sounds like it's said with massive eye roll behind it

Sigh....."for the empire....😮‍💨😒🙄"

He's sick of serving and sacrificing for these people by this point.

What really gets me is that final shot of him when they are approaching Dathomir, he's got this real look of deep sadness as he looks over the cargo in the ship (what ever that turns out to be) . Would be very easy for Lars to have a smug look of satisfaction or an evil smirk "haha! I'm back! 😈" but he doesn't...there's no glory in his victory, he's TIRED and understands the sacrifices made for his return.

I know there is a lot of discourse about the way he was portrayed in Ashoka but I think all of the positive stuff can be firmly laid at Lars door. He seems to understand what the character was supposed to be.

I know he's met Tim Zahn at least once, I'm convinced the two of them had a long sit down and talked at length about him either that or he went away and did his research.

Sorry again for my essay. It's just something I've had floating around in my brain for a while 😅.

In short: A lot of book Thrawn personality can be inferred from Lars performance even if not outright written.

That is actually one of my theories too. I am convinced that Lars read the books, or at least one of the two canon trilogies, for his role. He is conscientious and hard working, so it sounds like him to sit down and read the original material to prepare for his role.

I also suspect that he did talk with Tim and exchanged on Thrawn and who he really is, his motives, and his goals to have a deeper understanding of his character.

Like you, I have a weird sensation about how he is written and how Lars portrays him! There are so many micro expressions he has that don't feel like Filoni intended for them to be there in his script

You can qo clearly see him having a flashback of Thrass when Sabine says "you wouldn't understand"

Yes, he does

He understand

He had to say farewell so many times, deep downs he maybe even suspect already he will never see his people ever again

Never again he will admire Csilla

Never again he will eat at that bistro he used to go with Thrass

Never again he'll pay Ar'alani a drink in a crowded bar

He'll never see his people art again

He knows all the sacrifice he had to do and all of those that had to be done just to come back in Coruscant's galaxy.

You can see all of that in Lars' microexpressions in each interactions he has.

Lar knows what's up with the character and confers him so much more sadness than Filoni's writing gives him

And thats why we respect Lars in this house!!!!

[irresponsibleink]

Companion (2025) is a Great Critique of 'Nice Guy' Culture

1/31/25

Companion (2025) directed by Drew Hancock

*No Spoilers*

If I had to choose my favorite media trope, it would be the Relatable Robot. This trope has been used countless times, with later examples such as Terminator 2 and recent examples like Alien Romulus. Companion adds to this growing list, contributing a rogue sexbot that’s framed for murder, and despite being one month in, this might be one of my favorite movies of the year. 

Companion opens with Josh (Jack Quaid) and his girlfriend, Iris (Sophie Thatcher), who are going to a remote cabin to spend some time with Josh’s friends, Kat (Megan Suri), Eli (Harvey Guillén), Patrick (Lukas Cage), and Sergey (Rupert Friend). Iris feels off about the trip and bares a suspicion that Josh’s friends don’t like her. The truth is far more unsettling. After an unfortunate series of events, Iris discovers she’s a Companion, a robot made for subservience and intimacy. As she comes to terms with this truth, she must fight to stay alive and get home before her boyfriend and his friends murder her. 

All the actors were amazing, but the standouts were Sophie Thatcher and Jack Quaid. Thatcher’s character, Iris, must accept some terrible truths while also doing whatever it takes to survive, and Thatcher does a great job making us feel for a supposed machine. I liked her the moment she insisted Josh say 'thank you' to the Alexa in their car. From bright and earnest, to badass and scary, her range knows no bounds. Iris’s one goal is to make Josh happy, but we can sense that deep down Iris is unsatisfied with the circumstances. Quaid’s character, Josh, is a difficult one to portray, because for the story to work, he needs to present as a harmless nice guy, who actually has something nasty and depraved lurking beneath, and Quaid did a great job. You can tell through Jack Quaid’s intentional choices and actions, Josh truly believes that he is the good guy, even when his actions are deplorable.  

This movie’s true antagonist is the ‘Nice Guy.’ Josh believes he is owed something for how ‘nice’ he is. He believes the world is rigged against him, and Iris isn’t enough for him because he ‘deserves someone real.’ He’s controlling with robots and he’s controlling with humans, and his arrogance and self-entitlement lead to everything spiraling out of control. I related to Iris’s character because I think we’ve all tried to find worth in someone else, and that’s what I felt when watching this movie. Iris believes that she’ll be happy if Josh is happy, she believes she’ll feel complete, and you can feel how desperate she is to really be loved and accepted by Josh. The power dynamic in the movie shifts when Iris begins to accept herself. This movie draws on themes such as consent and personal choice, and the ending brings everything together nicely. 

Final Grade: A+

Rick Stepp (irresponsibleink@gmail.com)

[hilariousrabbit]

Critic of Stage in Playful Land - The Worst Event in Twisted Wonderland

I'm not gonna lie, I had high hopes for this event. The cards were gorgeous, I loved the new outfits, and we even got new characters! I'm quite a huge fan of the gothic circus aesthetic, so I was even more hyped for what's to come. Of course the stakes would be high for something like this, but unfortunately...the execution of this event has completely brought it down.

This is gonna be a very long and angry critic, so beware! I might be mean too!

The translation screenshots provided are from Ekala on YouTube. TW: Insensitive portrayal of human trafficking

The first part of the event felt SUPER stretched out. I understand, the main cast may have been overwhelmed with homework and losing the basketball match against NRC. But I also feel like they could have summarized this quicker? Plus, Fellow Honest also talks A LOT. I know it was supposed to be extended flattery to the point where it became suspicious, but it was taking so long to get to the main point that I quickly became bored.

The character's reasons for going were also very strange...but let's focus on the Octavinelle twins for a second. Floyd and Jade wanted to visit the amusement park specifically because it seemed suspicious. The twins are seen as a very shady duo, and having conflict with an even shadier duo (Fellow Honest and Gidel) is bound to be something that would be super interesting to watch.

Similarly as to how Idia played a crucial part in the Masquerade event, I thought they would have a larger role in this story, and I was disappointed when they just frolicked around the amusement park. They're not the type to just walk right into a dangerous territory without a plan/strategy, and it felt really weird seeing that happen. With them doing no preparations for this situation whatsoever, it feels like a waste to even state that detail in the first place. Speaking of that...I had heard some other fan theories on the role Ortho would play in this event. Some speculated that he would be representing the puppet in this event, as he isn't human. But then again, none of that ends up happening in the event because there was no thought as to how these characters would be used. My friend made an interesting point about the character choice in this event. They speculated it was just the company gathering up characters that haven't been in many events before book 7 ended, and I honestly wouldn't be surprised if this was the case.

When the main cast was exploring the park, it was just filler content. Nothing interesting happened, at all. They explored the park that was filled with references from the Pinocchio movie. Now if this was any other Disney film, I would be like "Yeah alright, that's from the movie. That's cool". But if you know what happens in the movie, then it might be a different story. I was deadass filled with dread when they put the references in, and I was so uncomfortable. Especially during this scene:

Also this was uncomfortable to see. Like okay...I didn't need to know that.

Anyone who watched the Pinocchio movie must have known that something bad was bound to happen (most likely some form of human trafficking). So when Fellow Honest's intentions for selling guests as wooden dolls was finally revealed, the entire story went from 0 to 100 real quick. And not in a good way. I know the previous filler was supposed to put us in their shoes, and how we as the viewer could also get distracted from the carnival's attractions. However, there should have been a better way to transition these two contrasting moods of the story. Plus, I can't help but feel like this is an unnecessarily cruel twist compared to the original movie. When it comes to more darker/sensitive topics such as human trafficking, there should be some sort of caution as to how they portray these kinds of things. I felt like this was solely added for shock value to make up for the slow pacing in the first parts of the event, and I can't help but feel really uncomfortable about this. I also REALLY don't like the possible implications of this line:

The insensitivity of the topic of human trafficking is further fueled by how the chase is played out. They needed a reason for characters to be kidnapped one by one, and I know that's usually how these types of events play out. But considering the severity of their situation, I feel very weird about it. Also, the characters are unusually calm about being sold as a literal slave? And the topic is just not dealt with seriously at all.

Important Detail: The Playful Land theme park functions as a ship, which sails away from land as soon enough guests are lured into the park. This is literally a human trafficking ship, there's no sugarcoating this.

Another part I'm upset about is how Kalim dealt with the entire situation. I'm unfortunately used to Twisted Wonderland dumbing down his character for cheap laughs but this has really gone off the rails. Ace gave him a clear reality check. They were at risk of being sold as dolls to whatever rich freak paid money for them. It was clear that Fellow Honest wouldn't converse on the subject over a fancy dinner. Honestly...I need you guys to read this for yourself.

So when Ortho came back, why in the world did Ace apologize to Kalim? Sure, what he said was harsh but it was completely true! There was a real threat to these characters and it wasn't being taken seriously.

For some reason, every time there's a chance for Kalim to develop, all of that is just completely reversed. Even if this was an issue before the event was released, I also feel like the writers forgot one very important thing...

Kalim has literally been kidnapped before! SEVERAL TIMES TOO!

He was targeted several times because he's from a rich family, they were planning to do malicious things to him for the sake of MONEY. Literally, just like Fellow Honest! He should know better than anyone else how horrifying it is to be taken away from the ones you love, and having no idea what will happen to you. But noooo instead he went full on Steven Universe on Fellow Honest! I'm not even taking the excuse that he's desensitized to it because he was putting the lives of his classmates at risk by giving this human trafficker a fucking chance. While he's not the smartest in the group, his character IS compassionate. How did he give more compassion towards this stranger he met a day ago instead of his own classmates?! How did they botch his character this badly?!

Lastly, when Fellow Honest's reasoning is stated in the story...I really have no words. He engaged in human trafficking, because his former teachers told him that he wasn't a good mage? ...I'm sorry? What the fuck kinda reasoning is that?!

He's literally committing a random act of malice because of his own personal issues. I can't even say that he was merely projecting his hatred onto students alone, as there were other guests attending the park too! I don't know how old they are, or if they're even in school anymore, so these are literally just random victims to me! It looks like the writers attempted to add a tragic backstory for this character in order to get the audience to have some sort of sympathy for him, but this just makes him look fucking stupid.

During this event, he talks about school being worthless and about how he and Gidel had a hard time surviving because they didn't get an education. Like...he chose to drop out of school. Of course that would happen! What was he expecting?

This event made an attempt to go into class dynamics and it's just...oh my god. Let's do a character comparison for a second. Ruggie grew up in a poor area, but because of that he was always on that grindset. Instead of bitching about how educated people are entitled and snobby, he takes advantage of every opportunity around him. And this includes the education at Night Raven College! He even takes financial advantage of others if necessary! He doesn't mind working for others as long as he can get something out of it.

Now let's talk about Fellow Honest's unique magic. I'm not gonna lie, I do think that concept is pretty cool! However, let's take a look at how it's implemented in the event. Now this is where I get critical of this. Having an increased amount of optimism doesn't mean being dumbed down. I'm still confused on how none of the characters were at least a little bit skeptical when walking through the park. There were red flags all across the park, free food, surprise gifts, a whole ass outfit for free, and a freaking 10 minute roller coaster! It was clearly too good to be true, so I can't understand how nobody among the main cast doubted it even for a second?

Also the reasoning why a magic-sensitive creature like Lilia didn't sense his magic before is so bullshit. I'm sorry, they just needed a reason for him to not notice this in order to make this event work.

And then when the cast started talking about how great school was for them, and even offering him admission to Night Raven College... Sorry just a moment, I just need to...

He is a literal human trafficker, and they decided to sympathize with him because of his bad school past?! WHAT???

I'm not even taking the excuse that the main cast are based off villains. HOW CAN YOU JUSTIFY THAT AT ALL?!?!?! HOW???

We don't know how many people he has done this to. It's clear that this isn't the first time this amusement park has hosted customers. If this was merely his first attempt by means of survival then it might have been a different story, but he's experienced at this. There's a good chance that he has turned people into dolls before.

And then after a super prolonged chase scene and even more battles, we get to Kalim going full-on Steven Universe on Fellow Honest. Then his employer deducts his pay because of the damages in the park...and he finally had enough. He frees everyone, asks them to destroy the park, and now he's a good guy and he's gonna open a school!

...

Now I'm confused about this for a couple of reasons. So first of all, how did his opinion of schools completely do a complete 180 after talking with them for a few moments??? Change in a character doesn't occur this quickly, and we've seen this be the case with multiple characters in this game. Even if this was meant to be rushed for the sake of this being an event story, not even Rollo had a change in opinions after his event! So what was up with this?

The second reason is that Jack specifically stated in this event that his brother can't use magic but is still attending school. Magicless people DO get educated, and there's many pathways for them to choose from.

They aren't barren from society like Fellow Honest thinks they are. Take a look at the people in Epel's hometown and in Fleur city, they're pretty happy! I don't think the concept of schools for lower magic users/non-magic users is as revolutionary as they're making it out to be, and I feel like this is a super last-minute decision on the writers behalf.

Another thing is that...

Fellow Honest has NO REMORSE AT ALL for what he did.

He wanted to quit because he just didn't wanna work for the higher-ups anymore, not because he actually realized what he was doing was fucked up! Yeah sure, he might be focused on his new goal to open up a school. But is he just gonna ignore the fact that he fucking SOLD PEOPLE AS DOLLS? HUH? How am I supposed to wish him well on his newfound journey when this entire thing is just left unaddressed!

I'm also confused about another thing. Fellow Honest asked the cast to destroy the amusement park after he freed them, promising to turn the park boat around to Sage Island if they did so. This caused the boat to sink, and Ortho had to push the entire park back to shore.

They were able to get back to shore before any serious damage was done, so can anyone tell me why Fellow Honest and Gidel decided to ride off into the sunset WITH the park? It's literally sinking as they speak! So...huh? Where will they even sail to? It's pretty hard to not notice a huge ass amusement park sinking like this in the middle of the Sage Island, especially when it's right beside the port! What is going on?!

Who the hell even wrote this? I can't with this event man...

I know the lesson of this event is to realize the importance of going to school and being a good kid like in the movie. However...let's step back for a bit. The target audience for Twisted Wonderland is young adults and teenagers, and the fanbase DOES consist of these people. I don't think they need reminding of why education is a privilege...? Pinocchio was specifically made to scare little kids, so it just does not translate well to their target audience AT ALL. While I do love Twisted Wonderland, I really do feel like this is their worst event yet. I hate how almost all the characters were dumbed down to make this story work, and I don't care if it was because of Fellow Honest's unique magic. When it comes to sensitive topics, Twisted Wonderland is usually good at portraying them appropriately. So I really have no idea what happened with this event.

I think the company saw the positive reception with Rollo Flamme, and decided that this type of new character was something to be implemented yearly. Surprisingly, Fellow Honest and Gideon seem to have a large fanbase in Japan...so they probably took the popularity of these characters as their next material to work with. This could have worked out wonderfully if they were to treat this like its own story rather than a remake of the movie, but unfortunately that's not the path they decided to go with.

I have never felt this way about any other event, and the urge to write this critic was STRONG. I have no idea whether Yana wrote this, or if another employee just decided to pull some last-minute shit with this entire event. Regardless, I'm praying to god that this is merely a one-time occurrence and that the next event will be better. I think for the sake of my sanity, I need to pretend this event doesn't exist.

Thank you for reading my thoughts on this.

[skaruresonic]

So Sonic 3's trailer finally dropped today. Any thoughts on it?

I had zero hype for this film because I didn't like the previous two and had no reason to believe this one would turn out any different. Lo and behold! ...it doesn't.

There's so much I could talk about.

• The shameless digging up of the corpse of my favorite Sonic game just to dress it up Norman Bates-style. Why yes, I love getting butchered adaptations of SA2 shoved down my throat. Keep 'em coming.

• The fact that the overly-furry aesthetic Paramount chose for Sonic and the other anthros still looks plug-ugly to my eyes no matter how much I try to get acclimated to it. In fact, it somehow looks even worse here than it did in previous movies.

• The fact that they ripped off a scene from Matrix Revolutions. Interesting choice, lmao.

• Jimbotnik continuing to register as "Jim Carrey in a costume" and not as Eggman.

• Agent Stone continuing to be a nothingburger of a character aside from being a living footstool for Jimbotnik. I thought everybody said he was going to be 3's main antagonist. Why is he even here.

• Jimbotnik calling Gerald "Pop-Pop," cutesy-ing it up for no real reason, when Eggman simply called him "grandpa" at most in the games. What, is his grandfather Mike Ehrmantraut now?

• The original game's "fuck the police" angle now being ignored in favor of maybe making GUN look like the good guys (what?).

• The fact that the ARK, an iconic location, is nowhere in sight is making me more than a tad apprehensive. Idk if this thing is supposed to replace it:

• This one really steams my hams: the fact that Paramount portrays Jimbotnik's weight gain via hateful stereotypes of fat men which the games do not employ in their overall portrayal of Eggman. It reflects a fatphobic attitude I could have told you was the case years ago judging by the fact that they cast a thin man in the role.

Games!Eggman is stylish and immaculately groomed, but Jimbotnik has to be a slob who dresses like The Dude just because he gained a little weight. Of course. 🙄

It really bothers me because Eggman is quite possibly one of the only examples of positive fat male representation I can point to, and they can't even let him be a little fat onscreen without literally exposing his belly with the intent to make fun of him in ways the games seldom do, if ever.

God fucking forbid he actually weighs the 281 lbs. he does in canon; Paramount would probably portray him like Fat Bastard from Austin Powers.

In lieu of being portrayed as dumb and weak, as is usually the case for fat male characters, Games!Eggman is portrayed as cunning, intelligent, powerful (physically and mentally), and stylish in a way that commands respect, despite whatever this Chili's says to discredit him. Eggman is fucking cool, and y'all are tripping if you don't think so.

• The fact that this movie is probably going to be cringe on the basis of its constant bathos-inducing insistence on making the characters crack mistimed jokes during serious moments.

• Doing a double take when Sonic called Shadow an "alien," possibly realizing that "alien" is the film universe's designation for anthros, then promptly short-circuiting and catching on fire. Can we not.

• Why does the trailer insist on making Shadow look like a wet cat? They did not deep-freeze my boy like they did in the games. Games!Shadow emerged from stasis minty-fresh, whereas Movie!Shadow looks like a newborn kitten yeeted straight out of the womb:

Disgustang. Stop that.

• The fact that everyone gives '06 flack for aesthetic whiplash but thinks Shadow looking like a muppet beside an irl little girl is fine, actually:

And the fact that said little girl may be killed just making dead Maria jokes 10x more uncomfortable than they need to be.

• They missed an opportunity for a fun visual gag by having the bathroom sign read "occupied" instead of "eggupied" or "hatching" (as in hatching a scheme. or a shit. maybe both, lol). Something like that:

They can pay homage to the Akira bike slide and the Super Burly Brawl from Matrix Revolutions, but God forbid we actually allude to Sonic games :v

---

...But most of this can be boiled down to "Paramount gonna Paramount."

All in all, I'm likely to continue my time-honored tradition of seeing the movie when it releases in theaters because deep down, I'm still a Sonic whore and subsequently pretending the films don't exist thereafter lol

[benchextender]

Trying

You need to have something. You are not enough.

Something calls to me. For the sake of my sanity I usually resist; I know how this ends. Tonight, though, I listen.

The sketchbook is open. Familiar scribbles fill out the pages. Some have dates attached, drawing a picture of scattered, frustrated efforts across several years. Many drawings are crossed out, some accompanied with notes of anger. I have very little memories of these pages, but the feelings they portray are all too familiar.

Before long, I reach the most weathered page. A mirror of my former self. An actual drawing. Good proportions, cute style, a solid result.

It's perfect.

I should be proud, but I'm not. The smoky aura of eraser residue brings back memories of a destructive process. I spent hours across several days perfecting it, obsessing over the smallest details, erasing and redrawing the same features over and over until I was finally satisfied. It's perfect... but it's not mine. I wasn't happy with it until it didn't look like I made it at all. Any slight variation from the style I was going for was a mistake, and had to be corrected.

Keep going.

I leaf through only a few more pages until they go blank. The most intimidating sight. I tell myself not to worry, that everyone learns at their own pace, that I can't expect to be at the level of someone with years of experience.

I just have to try.

It doesn't take long for the familiar feelings to set in. Once again I find myself only able to draw simple shapes and attempt to string them together into something coherent. Anything more advanced is so alien to me, worlds apart from my ability. Images flood my brain. I surround myself with so many talented artists, thousands of beautiful works to admire and aspire towards but all it does now is drag me down.

You need to have something.

Years of inaction and hiding are doing me no favors.

You are not enough.

The mask I live through wears heavy on my face.

This was never going to work.

Is this all I will ever be? Am I doomed to repeat this cycle forever?

What did you think would happen?

Irrational thoughts cloud my mind. I want to tear it to shreds, to throw it all away, explode into a tearful mess and destroy everything in sight, to-

I open my eyes.

Right. It's late. I don't know what I was thinking. I'll just sleep it off, as usual. Maybe I'll get motivated again tomorrow.

Months pass. Nothing changes. The void inside me grows. I hear the call again, coming from somewhere else.

A different medium. Any attempt to use the more advanced tools yields similar results, but there is something I can do here. A rare flash of inspiration hits me. A simple level for a game. Nothing special, but it's mine.

A much smoother process. The design shifts from my original intent but I don't mind. I make sure it plays perfectly, that none of the visuals are out of place, that everything flows naturally. Is this what creating something is supposed to feel like? It's nice. I feel like I'm in control. If only it were always like this.

I finish my level and upload it online. It's refreshing to make something and share it with the world, even if only a few people see it. A respite from the otherwise constant emptiness.

It's not enough.

Before I know it, I'm back to a blank canvas. The most intimidating sight. No matter how many times I do this, it never gets easier to start something new.

You're not cut out for this. Remember how good it felt to finish something? Why don't you play it again?

It really was fun. How did I do that? Why isn't it always like this?

You know why. Just play it again.

Maybe I'll find the answers here. I was happy here.

This is the only way you'll recapture that feeling. Play it again.

I love this part. It came together well.

Play it again.

I guess it wouldn't hurt to replay an old favorite. That can't hurt me.

Play it again.

Maybe this is for the best.

Play it again.

I'm safe here.

Play it again.

A cacophony of color and sound swallows me whole.

Play it again.

I collapse into myself like a dying star.

Play it again.

Months pass.

[theboogierat]

blaire is peak and why rusty can't write truly evil women

If you've found this post, I don't need to introduce Leasebound to you.

Instead, we're going to talk about the fandom.

Leasebound's fandom has a sort of Lemony-Snicket-esque schism, with Rusty's intended audience and (hilariously) the exact opposite. I've seen both sides of the Leasebound audience, and I've noticed something interesting.

...nobody hates Blaire.

Okay, that's a HELL of a sentence to make, and very exaggerated. I've seen 'Blaire unenjoyers' and other people treating Blaire like the Eric Cartman of Leasebound, it's an eye-catching statement that makes people read more of the text post.

But I wouldn't call it wrong, I'd give it a 'hyperbolic.'

Even on the side of Rusty's intended audience, Blaire isn't loathed. I've seen many enjoyers of Blaire who either talk about how much they went her to talk gender to them, so to say. On the flipside, the worst interpretation of Blaire is a misogynist who pushes her activism on other people, which is more or less her canon intent.

But if Blaire was as bad as Rusty Hearts portrayed her, I don't think we'd see so much art of Blaire. In fact, I put down a poll, and Blaire pretty much took the #1 spot for the 'character with the most fanart' almost instantly, beating out characters such as Jaden (who took silver), Riley, and Violet. And it pretty much sticks!

I've seen a lot of Blaire fanart from the Leasebound tag on both sides! I've seen a lot of Blaire discussion and discourse on both sides, either about the possibility of a redemption arc, a rewrite, thirsting over her, etc.

So...we can pretty much say Blaire is a bad strawman.

Strawmen are supposed to be one-note characters the main cast is supposed to be more interesting than and can fight with no pushback. Blaire is massively popular across the board in the Leasebound fandom, has discussions about her that are multi-layered, and has wonderful fanart from people that really like her.

Done. That's all.

But we're not done. We need to keep talking.

Rusty Leasebound is very good at some things. Her chapter focusing on Shez had emotional, gut-wrenching art, and there is a definite appealing quality to the way she draws things.

Some things, atleast.

But Rusty is not a great writer. There's tons of other essays and an entire discord server that can point all the flaws in her story out enough to write an epic worthy of the Mahabharata. Leasebound has largely forgotten what it is to be a mouthpiece for her political opinions, its characters are one-note and one-dimensional, she focuses on the wrong things at the wrong time, and many more that will make my fingers cry as I type this. But I want to focus of Rusty's tendencies to tell, not show.

Blaire is not evil. She's not even Maleficent or Ursula or Cruella evil. And she's no Makima either. Blaire is just a woman passionate about her beliefs, and makes the mistake of pushing them on other people. That's not evil, that's a flaw. Women cannot be perfect all the time.

But we're meant to believe she is evil. In this panel of the Actor!AU, we are TOLD by Rusty that Blaire is meant to be evil.

Blaire isn't evil! Come back to me when she puts a living creature in a blender, or something!

While the statement is understandable, you're using it in the wrong way! Because there is no reason for the casual Leasebound reader to ever believe Blaire is evil, the way you portray her!

(Yes, casual Leasebound readers exist. Quinty's one.)

And there's multiple occasions of this 'tell, don't show' narrative Rusty keeps pushing.

For example: Meriam.

Meriam is told to be the protective, strong mother, but I'm not sure that's entirely the case.

Meriam has serious flaws in her parenting that is never acknowledged. Shez was made to basically worry for her siblings at a young age, which sounds horrible for a young girl.

(side note: criticism of the comic has often lead to more interesting, and realistic plotlines for leasebound to include.)

She's obviously traumatised, and it shows in her parenting. When she shuns out Rissa and her boyfriend; that's not good! If Rissa wants her family by her side, she won't get it because she's marrying a man. Meriam always keeps Shez on the pedestal like she's Luisa from Encanto.

Nobody asks how's Shez. Someone help Shez.

And there's so much more!

We get snippets of Riley, a MAIN CHARACTER'S backstory from one-off panels and dialouges, but we heard the majority of it from Rusty in the comment section, Rusty confirming fan speculation, the cast page, non-canon panels, etc. Nothing in the main story!

And that just makes Riley...really boring. The most interesting part of Riley is Blaire right now, and that's REALLY bad, considering we're supposed to dislike Blaire.

Here are some more examples of Rusty telling, not showing:

Muddles:

Riley:

Various statuses of offscreen characters:

Blaire and many others of Rusty's characters have fallen into one of her biggest writing flaws' clutches, but it's interesting as to how fan perception and works have essentially made one of the most three-dimensional characters of the comic, aside from Jaden. And that's one of the main problems with Leasebound.

I want to end this with an open letter. I don't know if she'll read it, but if you do:

Listen to criticism, and find out what's wrong with your comic. Tune in to different parts of the fandom, even when you don't agree with them. At the heart of the war, we all share one thing: reading your comic. Don't take that for granted; many amazing, better written comics would love to have the attention you have. Your art is good. I enjoy reading Leasebound when it's about the characters, not how we're supposed to percieve them. You have something; harness it before it goes away! And at the rate Leasebound is going- it might go away really fast.

Thank you for reading. I don't have anything else to say.

...

Hey, remember when a radfem accidentally reblogged a post by a non-radfem-

[baileyagreste]

Has the Miraculous Team really Forgotten About Cat Noir?

It feels like an understatement to say that the Miraculous fandom has been frustrated lately, especially when it comes to Adrien/Cat Noir’s character. Throughout seasons 4 and 5, something shifted, and many of us have noticed the glaring imbalance in how much screen time and plot relevance Ladybug has compared to Cat Noir. I mean, let’s face it. Miraculous Ladybug is a show with two main characters—Marinette and Adrien, Ladybug and Cat Noir. But recently, it feels like the writers have focused so much on Ladybug’s journey and left Adrien by the wayside. Sure, he still has his moments here and there, but they feel like token gestures rather than the central, meaningful arcs he deserves.

Now, I’m not saying that Ladybug doesn’t deserve attention—she absolutely does! Marinette’s character development has been amazing to watch, and her struggles with responsibility and leadership have made for some fantastic storytelling. But, there’s an issue when one half of the duo is barely included in the show’s most crucial plotlines. It’s almost like the writers have forgotten that Adrien is supposed to be Ladybug’s equal. He’s a main character, too. Why does it feel like the writers are pushing him out of the spotlight?

And it’s not just me noticing this—people across the fandom have been vocal about how Adrien has been sidelined. There’s been so much focus on Marinette’s choices and challenges that Adrien’s role feels like it’s shrinking more and more. Cat Noir, once portrayed as Ladybug’s inseparable partner, has been relegated to the background in a show that once thrived on their dynamic partnership.

What makes this sting even more is the way Season 5 ended. When Ladybug defeated Monarch (Gabriel Agreste), the world was led to believe that Gabriel was a hero—including Adrien. Marinette lied about Gabriel’s true identity as Monarch, hiding the fact that Adrien’s father was responsible for so much pain and destruction. And, for a lot of fans, this felt like a betrayal—not just to Adrien, but to the character’s journey that we’ve all been invested in. Gabriel Agreste got away with everything, leaving Adrien in the dark about his own father’s villainy.

So, why did the writers do this? It almost feels like they’re deliberately leaving Adrien out of the narrative. But could it be on purpose? Could this be setting up something much bigger?

Interestingly, if you look at the Season 6 promotional poster, you’ll notice something odd. Cat Noir, who is usually standing right beside Ladybug in previous posters, is positioned much farther away from her. This is a huge shift that didn’t go unnoticed by the fandom. Many fans saw this and thought, “Are they still leaving him out?” But, looking closer, it might actually be intentional. The way he’s depicted feels almost threatening. His posture is defensive, almost aggressive, and his facial expression is unsettling—he’s smirking, but not in his usual charming way. It gives off a much darker vibe.

Nothing is ever done by accident in shows like this, so it’s worth thinking about what the creators might be hinting at. Could this distance from Ladybug, both in the narrative and in the visuals, be foreshadowing something? If Adrien does eventually learn the truth about his father, it could trigger a major shift in his character, maybe even pushing him down a villainous path. This poster could be teasing that possibility, and the more you think about it, the more it seems plausible.

It doesn’t make sense for Adrien to just forgive and forget the fact that Ladybug completely lied to him about his father’s true identity as Monarch. This is huge. We’re talking about his entire worldview being shattered if he ever finds out. Ladybug keeping the truth from him, even if she thought it was for his own good, is a massive betrayal of trust. Adrien has always been portrayed as someone who values honesty and loyalty, especially when it comes to his relationships with the people he cares about most. For him to just accept that Ladybug lied about something as monumental as his father’s actions would feel out of character and undermine the weight of this reveal. It’s not something you just move on from without serious emotional fallout. This could (and should) create a major rift between them, and that’s what makes it so frustrating for fans who feel like Adrien hasn’t been given the depth or focus he deserves in this narrative. If the writers are heading toward a redemption arc or even a villain arc, this betrayal would play a key role in shaping his future decisions.

I believe the writers might have something planned—something that involves a possible redemption arc for Adrien. With how Gabriel’s story ended, there’s definitely room for Adrien to eventually learn the truth about his father, and the fallout from that could be massive. Could this lead to a villain arc for Adrien? It’s not impossible. There’s so much unresolved tension there, and if Adrien does find out the truth, it would change everything for him.

But, even if the writers have grand plans for Adrien, it doesn’t excuse the fact that they’ve almost completely sidelined him. If this is all part of some long-term character development plan, the least they could do is throw the fans a bone by giving Cat Noir the attention he deserves. We want to see him play a more active role in the show—not just be Marinette’s supportive sidekick. Cat Noir is a hero in his own right, and he deserves to be treated as such.

At this point, it feels like the fandom’s frustrations are more than justified. If the writers are setting up something big for Adrien, great. But until then, it feels like we’re being robbed of the incredible character arc he could have had across these last two seasons.

What do you guys think? Is this all part of some master plan, or have the writers genuinely forgotten what makes Adrien and Cat Noir so essential to the show? lmk!

[davekat-sucks]

well darkhearts/dirk anon, i do think you raise some interesting points about dirk's character that i do agree with, but it all again comes down to, in my opinion, that besides being ruined due hussie putting WAY too much of the worst of himself into him, dirk just wasn't shown enough to come to conclusions that aren't speculation on our part for some of the confusing parts of his character. i mostly think dirk is a jerkass because he's based on a jerkass that wrote him like such a convoluted mess.

for example, if hussie tried to frame bro's training as child abuse sexual assault or what have you, what does that say about what dirk did to jake? that he WAS grooming jake into a relationship, and bro did the same to dave? why write the only gay man like this while also portraying all the other male-male couples that aren't davekat as a joke or offscreen? it's ridiculous and a detriment, and it's exactly why it pivoted to make him what he became in hsbc, and why overcorrect so hard with suddenly making davekat the center of everything.

just to make dirk the token villain because he embodies "toxic masculinity", whatever that means now since apparently they want to say that "positive masculinity" is what dave and karkat became: selfish deadbeat incels that love rape scenes telling all the female characters all sorts of humiliating degrading insults.

jane and roxy did sexualize jake yes, jane also tried to support and explicitly told jake that he shouldn't do something he doesn't want to do/feels pressured to do, and roxy also tried to comfort jake and reassure him when he had a breakdown in the god tier beds about how he thought he was a terrible person that didn't deserve love. they are both flawed that did good with the bad like dirk and jake themselves too.

because besides the fact that dirk was very sacrifical for his friends, the bad we got from dirk was him, again, forcing/pressuring jake into a relationship, very likely programming brobot to molest jake, and even sort of blaming him entirely for drifting apart and taking the opportunity that jake was in trickster mode to take control of the framing and be the one that ended their relationship, instead of being jake like it was leading to, because dirk hates losing control. there was also the weird implication that maybe dirk WAS influencing brain ghost dirk? and he humiliated jake by making him pop a boner in front of everyone (like hs2 dirk would later repeat by puppetiering jake to shit himself in public because he wanted him to submit to him or some shit???) so, like i said, it's all a confusing mess. made even worse by the fact that we never even had an on screen conversation between dirk and jake.

i also think that all of them should have interacted with more characters, hell it seems that hussie acknowledges this fact through dirk:

TT: So does that mean we're both totally over him now? I can't really tell. GG: Me neither. :\ TT: I guess the real problem is our clique was too small. TT: Poor Jake was the only viable romantic target. I mean, considering our respective orientations. TT: Maybe we just never knew enough people? GG: Perhaps. GG: Or maybe we just don't need anybody. GG: As anything other than friends, I mean. TT: In the interest of appeasing the bitterness gods, let's go with the latter

relating this to his relationship with jake, i do not think it was entirely due to his splinters. he literally says he saw jake as his only viable romantic target due to his orientation, so even though i'm not fully on board with this choice on hussie's part regarding dirk's inconsistent character writing, it seems his intent was to say that despite what he said to roxy, dirk IS gay and labels himself as such, and pursued jake only because he was the only guy around. similar to what roxy and jane also did, and it was supposed to be stupid convoluted subversive meta commentary on romantic triangles tropes because like i said hussie is obsessed with that idiotic irony shit.

you also mentioned this, which i agree with:

He is so self-aware of this that he is very reserved with the most cherished human in his entire life, to the point that she thinks he's gay and uninterested in her. Only for him to immediately refute both of those points in the next beat.

roxy DOES seem to be genuinely who dirk cherishes the most, and it's reciprocated because roxy just genuinely does love dirk, flaws and all, which is something jake says he regrets he could never bring himself to do. trickster arc also ruined this relationship though, because the fandom can use the excuse that trickster roxy forced a kiss on dirk to call her a molester, even though they hypocritically say jackshit about vriska doing the same to tavros, or dirk doing the same to jake.

still, canon bisexual dirk certainly would have prevented y12000 from existing, where the loophole is that roxy now calls herself a man just to get dirk to fuck her and make her join his harem alongside terezi and rose. maybe it'd had also prevented jake from being raped by jane and cucked, eternally humiliated or reduced to dirk's accessory.

i also agree that dirkrose isn't all too farfetched, dave canonically had the hots for roxy and rose too after all.

regardless, it's tragic the love triangles in general soured dirk's friendships with everyone, and also made the fandom reduce his character to just his sexuality or to make him pure evil to justify why dave is now such a fucking pussy.

[kimium]

Hello, I’m the anon that asked about the platonic yan!au semi recently. You won’t believe how thrilled I was to see that update! Unfortunately I didn’t get to read it until my afternoon classes were over:/

But now I’ve read it and boy do I have thoughts!

The threads are unwinding. Yuu is slowly realizing that something is wrong. No matter how much they don’t want to. It’s fun seeing them put the pieces together only to reject the image coming into focus. Like if they just believe in their friends hard enough the dots will stop connecting. It really does remind me of someone caught up in a toxic relationship. Which, they are so, makes sense.

They say the first stage is grief is denial for a reason, after all.

Like, even when directly told that they’re being betrayed, validating their own burgeoning suspicions, they just… refuse. But less convincingly each time. It’s so sad;v;

But!

It is nice that they finally have someone in their corner that wants to see them succeed and will actively help them do so. Mickey’s a real pal, which Yuu certainly needs right now.

But on the other hand it seems that the NRC gang have gained some new allies of their own in Crewel and maybe Vargas. Curse your sudden but inevitable betrayal! No but seriously it was surprising to see Crewel be a more active participant in Yuu’s captivity. What changed I wonder?

I’ll be honest I’m having a hard time placing Grim’s intentions. He’s lying to Yuu but then he also does things that are too obvious to be brushed off so easily. He can be quite foolish but even he’s a better liar than that. But perhaps I misunderstood, he could be fully on board the keep Yuu hostage train. I’ll have to reread it to determine my position. But I like thinking that while he doesn’t yet have the courage to tell Yuu outright, he’s still trying to help in his own way.

And the sleepwalking happening earlier and earlier seems to be having some interesting consequences. It was simple enough to keep track of Yuu before, but now things are getting more complicated. The boys have to be on guard at all times. And that’s an exhausting way to live. Let’s see how long they can keep it up:)

Even Yuu seems to be getting worn out. I wonder if their sleepiness is the result of the mirror’s pull growing in strength or if this endless chase is wearing them down.

Also, this is more of a side note, but was Rook’s claim that the fireman’s carry is considered romantic in the Sunset Savanah legit? Cause if he’s serious that has some fun implications. Leona has been portrayed as especially possessive of Yuu in this series. And this is a yan au so that’s saying something. Not to mention Rook’s own comment that Pomefiore can’t be as blunt with their affections. I suppose everyone not named Malleus has to be subtle with their ship tease<3

In conclusion, thank you so much for another wonderful addition to my favorite series! It made my day:D

PS: Could I be yanon?

Hello Anon! I remember you and your lovely ask about my Platonic Yandere AU! I’m so happy to hear you were thrilled by my update! I completely understand the struggle of life responsibilities getting in the way of doing fandom stuff! Very tragic!

Finally, the threads are unwinding. It was so challenging for me to figure out how to unwind each thread and where to show the cracks. I’m happy to hear you like the pieces I’ve broken apart for Yuu to find and to see the true image underneath. It’s definitely sad that Yuu wants to believe in their friends so badly that they almost want to turn a blind eye. Yes, this has a bit of toxic relationship elements sprinkled in, but thankfully rather light because I don’t want the story too heavy.

Denial is the starting point, yes! Poor Yuu once they cannot linger in denial any longer and will be forced to deal with their emotions.

Yes! It’s about time to have someone in their corner! Technically Yuu kind of has two many three people, but we’re getting ahead of ourselves here. Mickey was an exciting element for me to introduce into the story! Works both for the game’s canon and for me to throw some self-indulgence here and there.

Crewel was always going to be someone in the corner of the NRC gang! I think it’s because I can see Crewel being a man who goes for what he wants and likes possessing things he desires. Vargas is also someone I think can rationalize horrible actions with his own logic that is a little skewed. I think that’s in the spirit of the characters both were twisted from.

So, I don’t think anything really “changed” in Crewel. When I wrote his perspective in part three, I wanted him to be someone who “sees the horrible, knows it is horrible, and proceeds to feel the horrible sink into his body until he believes it’s normal and fine”.

That’s the point of Grim actually: I want his intentions murky. I purposefully wrote him ambiguous. I think Grim has many facets to himself that fandom often wants to overlook because of his childish, a bit rude, nature. If there is any party in this AU that is truly conflicted, it’s Grim.

Yes! The sleepwalking was always going to grow more intense as time went on. The boys are finding the situation more complicated than expected and you’re right that it’s an exhausting way to live. Definitely a challenge for them.

The mirror’s pull is definitely contributing to Yuu’s sleepiness. The mirror is now trying everything in its power to bring Yuu to it and let them go home. That kind of strain has to wear on the body eventually.

Oh, the part about the fireman’s carry being romantic to Sunset Savanna is actually my headcanon. It’s a joke I made up in my story Just a Normal Citizen (Not a Dimension Traveler). I just thought it would be funny as hell for Yuu to be carried like a potato sack and that is somehow a romantic gesture. I should probably add this note into my end notes… oops. I forgot.

It isn’t that the other dorms can’t be as overt as Malleus with their ship tease in my stories (though in canon that’s the case for sure LOL). It’s just I think Pomefiore goes about many things with a careful, subtly to their actions. I think that suits the dorm. Other characters like Malleus and Leona are far more forward because they’re confident characters. That’s why I like writing Leona as possessive. I think he’s the kind of character to display those tendencies more overtly than others.

Thank you so much! I’m so happy you like this series and I was happy to answer this ask!

PS: Yanon? As in my Platonic Yandere AU Anon? You are the only one so far, so I guess if that’s what you mean the answer is yes.