#it’s an interest that I put down because it’s creator turned into a person with terrible beliefs and is actively working to make things

[excusemebutiquit]

It’s remarkable the amount of stuff I find while packing.

[sergeantbarnessdoll]

At Bucky & R’s wedding, Steve gets everyone to chant “ONE OF US!” at the end of his best man speech, and Bucky gets flushed in the face— before R leans over and tells him that it’s okay, because it’s just more proof that she’s his and everyone knows it.

Yours and Only Yours » Bucky Barnes/Winter Soldier

Pairings: Husband!Bucky Barnes x Wife!Reader (Newlyweds)

Summary: You assure Bucky that you’re his and Steve chanting “ONE OF US!” is just more proof that you’re Bucky’s and everyone knows it.

Warnings: Fluff, language, kissing, pet names

A/N: Thank you to the lovely anonymous person who requested this🩵

Written on my phone. My apologies for any mistakes.

Header made by @buckys-wintersoldier

GIF IS NOT MINE! Credit goes to the creator.

Today couldn’t have been more perfect for you and Bucky. It’s yours and his wedding day. You two just got married and now you two can officially say that you’re newlyweds. As of right now, you two are enjoying the your wedding reception with your friends and family.

You and Bucky held hands lovingly as your maid of honor, Natasha gave her maid of honor speech. Steve is next with his best man speech. Everyone applauded Natasha at the end of her speech. Steve stood up, talking her place in front of everyone. He had a lot of nice things to say about you guys.

“I knew you and I would be great friends when Bucky introduced you to me.” Steve smiles at you and Bucky. “You and I are so close that I can call you my sister. I don’t know what it’s like to have siblings, but I’m sure we’ll figure that out together.” He says, making everyone laugh lightly.

Every word Steve said is true and it made you smile. It made Bucky smile too, knowing that his best friend is very fond of his wife. Steve continued his best man speech, getting to the part of the speech he’s been waiting to say since you and Bucky got engaged. Steve turned his attention to you and Bucky before saying it.

“Y/N, now that you’re married to my best friend, I can officially say that you’re one of us.” He smiles. “ONE OF US!” He chants loudly.

Sam joined in on the chanting and so did everyone else. Bucky smiles with a flushed look on his face. You notice and put your hand in his, intertwining your fingers with his and leaned over.

“It’s ok.” You whispered in his ear. “It’s just proof that everyone knows I’m yours and only yours.” You said softly. “Plus, this gorgeous diamond ring is even more proof that I’m your wife.” You say, kissing his cheek.

The flushed look on Bucky’s face faded away when you said those assurances. He turned his head and kissed your lips softly and sweetly. Everyone applauded when they seen you two kissing, making you and Bucky smile and laugh lightly against each other’s lips. Sam stood up and stood next to Steve.

“I have something to say…” Sam announces. “Enjoy your honeymoon next week.” He tells you and Bucky. “I’ve always wanted to say that.” He says and sat back down.

Everyone couldn’t help but laugh. You bursted into a fit of giggles, leaning your forehead against your husband’s shoulder. Bucky had a smirk on his face when Sam said that. Steve concluded his best man speech with a few more words before sitting down. Soon, everyone went to the dance floor and danced the night away.

“What Steve said is sweet.” You said, gazing up at your husband.

“Mhmm.” Bucky hums in agreement. “What Sam said was interesting too.” He smirks. “We are going to enjoy our honeymoon next week.” He whispers in your ear, sending a shiver down your spine.

“Keep it PG13, Buck. There’s kids here.” You remind him.

“I know.” He said. “I’m just pointing it out.” He says with a smirk.

🩵🩵🩵🩵🩵🩵🩵🩵🩵🩵🩵🩵🩵🩵🩵🩵🩵

@cevansbaby-dove

-Bucky’s Doll

[citrus-moonlight]

As I often do, I've seen a few posts going around lately lamenting the lack of interaction with fanfiction/fanart here on Tumblr as well as AO3, but after reading a particular comment last night I just need to say this:

If someone tells you that the lack of response to sharing their writing is making them feel so upset that they're thinking of quitting writing altogether, don't tell them that's not a good mindset to have and they should just have fun with it and write for themselves. (have you just tried not being sad? you'll feel so much better!)

Even if you're a writer who felt that way once upon a time but then you changed your mindset so that you don't rely on others' feedback for validation and now you're so much happier, that's not helpful. Because that's obviously not what the person who is feeling sad and defeated is able to do right now, and for most writers/creators that's never going to be possible.

And it shouldn't have to be.

Especially here. Especially fanfiction.

Fanfiction is something that's created because someone loves something and wants to share it with others who love the same thing. And this is specifically a fandom space, somewhere that is supposed to be a community where discussion and dialogue can and is encouraged to happen between the people who write and the people who read. So when there's radio silence when you share something in this kind of space, do you really not see how that would be discouraging?

Because of course I write for myself - I would never get anything down on the page if I didn't - but I share because ultimately I want someone else out there to read what I wrote, and with any luck, to get some joy out of it. But if no one tells me they did, how am I supposed to know? As far as I know I've just been yelling into the void. As far as I know, all that work wasn't worth it.

A metaphor I've seen as an example is that it would be like having someone invite you over and cooking an entire delicious, heartfelt meal, you eat it all without saying anything, and then just leave. Do you not see how that would be upsetting?

We put so much of ourselves into what we write, bits of our hearts and souls and the things that we love and are exploring and are interested in or confused about. It's such a vulnerable thing to share something you've created, so when you tell someone that they shouldn't care if someone else reads what they wrote or tells them that they liked it, you're dismissing a very real and valid experience for so many creators out there.

Because regardless of how slow or fast a writer is, or how big or small their fandom is, it's still hard and takes time and energy and dedication and love - all of it in between our day to day lives from the mundanities to the heartbreaks - to even get something to the point where we're comfortable sharing.

Now, I know that not everyone thinks that writers are silly or selfish or entitled when they ask for feedback. Before I started writing again after many, many years, the main reason I didn't really comment on fics very often wasn't because I didn't think that the authors deserved feedback, it was more that I didn't really think that it would matter. That my comments would just be noted - if read at all - and brushed aside and then they would continue on about their day.

I could not have possible been more wrong. You might think you're just one person and it's just one comment but it's amazing how it can turn a day (or week, or month) around. How it can encourage someone to finish a story, or make a connection they'd been struggling with, or even just manage to add 500 words to a WIP. It is truly incredible to hear that someone loved something I wrote, and if you've ever commented on or reblogged one of my fics, please know that it truly means the world to me.

I've gone through a rough time with all of this lately myself, but I'm doing a bit better now (for the moment), so I just wanted to say this, in part to remind myself when it inevitably gets hard again:

If you're reading this, whether you're a friend or you've never seen me on your dash and never will again: I'm sorry it hurts right now. I'm sorry you feel discouraged and lonely, that it doesn't feel like it's worth it anymore, that you're struggling to find a reason to continue.

But I desperately hope that you keep writing. I hope you keep sharing. You're worth it. I know it's hard, and if you don't want to and you're just tired of the cycle of giving so much of yourself and getting so little in return, I understand that, too. It's ok to be in your feelings about it, it's ok to feel drained by it, and even though knowing you're not alone in your experience doesn't change anything and it still sucks, it's normal and valid and there's nothing wrong with you feeling the way that you do.

But I hope that you are able to find the joy in it again, because you deserve it. ❤️

[ashleyisartsy]

Problems (objective and personal) I'm not seeing discussed a lot w this new WatcherTV thing, in no particular order:

-Alienates people internationally who literally CANNOT GET the streaming service!

-Alienates casual fans who don't watch or want to watch all of their shows. Putting down 60 bucks a year to watch just one or two shows is kind of insane, at least for me.

-The volume of content Watcher has produced historically hasn't been enough to justify a separate streamer. I understand there's no way a small team could compete with something like Netflix, obviously, but that's what you're trying to do by putting yourself in the streamer market.

-Will this streamer be secure? What steps are in place to protect your viewers info? ESPECIALLY payment info.

-Will it be easily watchable on multiple devices? I watch YouTube videos on my phone at work 90% of the time, or at home on my TV thru my switch. Is this a browser only deal?

-What are the internet requirements for this? Believe it or not most streaming services won't run on my internet personally. I don't have any for that reason. I can watch YouTube on 360p, or on my 2-bar-reception phone data. Not everywhere has stable reliable internet.

-The suddenness and totality of the move was going to be jarring no matter what, if the idea had been introduced gradually or started as a hybrid model to test audience interest there wouldn't be nearly this amount of pushback.

-I understand the people saying "pay artists!!" Bc I am one, and I get that their quality is expensive and they have a whole company's worth of people to support. I do actually think their work is worth paying for! Everyone's is! But convincing anyone to pay for something they previously got for free is going to be a hard sell. They were still getting paid before, they're now just asking us to pay instead of the advertisers. Idk about you, but that's a way bigger hit to my pocketbook than a multimillion dollar company's bank account.

-I get that YouTube can be a really shitty place to be a creator sometimes, and that being beholden to advertisers is something they don't want to be. It's why they left Buzzfeed! They already have a patreon and merch and it's clearly not been enough for their ambitions. But shooting yourself in the foot because your running shoes are wearing out isn't going to make you a better marathon runner. They had to know that there was going to be a not small portion of their audience unwilling to make this move with them (and again, lots literally aren't able to!)

-If they had a free w/ ads option, or even did a hybrid model with whole shows behind the pay wall, or even just ran a fucking crowd funding campaign to help cover costs of new seasons of shows, any of those things could have worked. They don't even have YouTube memberships turned on, which I've personally seen many many channels do even when they already have a patreon. It really doesn't seem like they've exhausted other options, at least from an outside perspective, which is all we have as viewers!

-I get that this has been in the works for a long time, and that there probably isn't a way for them to back out now. But I hope they can find a way to make this more accessible if they want it to work at all. I truly am not wishing for their downfall, but the whole situation is an awful mess.

Idk, rant over. As a lot of you are I'm feeling very disappointed and upset with this one, and I'm not paying for it either. Hope the boys can salvage this one for their and their crew's sake. Would really hate for this to be the end.

[bicth-and-in-that-order]

Rambling thoughts of various Yuri manga I’ve read

1. Kase-San and Yamada (Morning Glories sequel series) by Hiromi Takashima

notice how Kase’s name is first, which is representative of her being the main one to cause problems in their relationship

If you asked me what my favorite yuri manga was like 2-3 years ago, I’d say Morning Glories and Kase San everytime. Every avid yuri fan has either read or watched Morning Glories because, at the time in 2010, it was groundbreaking, and I stand by the fact that the original series still holds up to this day. It was cute, sweet, wholesome and only had a few obligatory “we love each other but we’re giRLs😳😳😳” moments. Most of all it wasn’t a pseudo-incest-straight-male-porn-pandering-garbage-fest—also known as “Citrus”. Was it cliche at times? Yes, but they all are lol. Did they add to the dumb ass “blonde femme and dark hair masc” trope? Also yes. But it was adorable and it was my first ever yuri so it holds a special place in my heart.

And it SEEMED like it was only going to get better in Kase San and Yamada, the sequel. The girls would be heading to college and the story could theoretically focus on more mature topics while they navigate their new relationship. Keyword: theoretically. Unfortunately, instead of exploring interesting relationship dynamics and storylines, the plot of each story arc boils down to: Kase is insecure because a man breathed next to Yamada or Kase is being completely insensitive to Yamada’s feelings…again…—> ✨miscommunication drama ✨—>big over dramatic apology scene—>boring makeup sex or other romantic gesture.

Literally that’s how every single plotline goes. Kase is so goddamn dumb and insensitive to Yamada’s feelings and Yamada’s a complete doormat who can only stay mad for 0.2 seconds before getting pussy whipped like a spineless ass bitch. And for all that Yamada sacrifices for Kase; her hometown, her dreams, her apartment, what does she get in return from Kase? Oh that’s right; bare minimum romantic gestures and a neglectful partner who can’t even call her “girlfriend” in front of others:

Like I thought we were over this shit. It’s been THREE years of them together, a whole anime production, and god knows how many irl years and we’re going back to “we love each other but we’re giRLs😳😳😳” WHY???

And then Kase later goes onto bet her entire three year relationship over the ugly bitch in the next panel, so now I’m questioning whether or not Kase even loves Yamada with the amount of bullshit she’s put her through. Which COULD be an interesting plot point, but Kase never gets any consequences for her actions and the creator genuinely thinks this is romantic and full of tension so I’m 10000% positive that this arc, just like all the others, will end with some makeup sex and we’ll be right back to step 1. Sigh.

2. Tamen De Gushi by Tan Jiu

Tamen De Gushi’s problems are interesting but it’s NOT because of the Chinese government💀

So today’s dark haired masc and blonde femme of the day are Sun Jing and Qiu Tong, respectively. Their personalities aren’t anything to write home about, if you read ANY high school yuri romance, then you know exactly what happens in this story beat for beat. But, BUT, however derivative it is, I find their dynamic very endearing and down to earth. Idk maybe it’s just the translation, but other yuri stories often have this very inauthentic “anime” vibe to it. Which is to say the characters act very cutesy, overly dramatic, and have this stilted, caricature-esque acting of how the creator thinks teenage girls are supposed act.

However, I’m happy to report that Tamen De Gushi is a breath of fresh air in this regard. The characters and interactions they have are grounded and feel organic, which makes them feel like real people, not aliens pretending to be human. This really elevates the humor in turn, oh did I mention that Tamen De Gushi is super funny? Because Tamen De Gushi is super funny, here’s one of my favorite panels and it’s all because of Sun Jing’s goofy ahh expression:

Like go girl give us nothing

If you’re wondering why I haven’t spoke much about the actual romantic relationship between the girls, that’s because there isn’t one💀 Which, okay, that’s not a fair assessment, they have a ton of romantic tension and they flirt a lot. It’s certainly building to a great romantic relationship, but it can’t quite get there due to legal/political reasons sadly. 😔

Edit: I received new information in regards to what happened to Tamen De Gushi. While I reached my limit for posting pictures, I want to point out that the Chinese government had nothing to do with Tamen De Gushi getting censored, rather it was a dispute between the author and the publishing company. The prior information I received was false and I prob should’ve looked it up more so sorrrry. The fact still remains though that after their big lesbian kiss towards the middle of the story and maybe a few other moments, that’s just kind of it. You’re stuck waiting for something to develop, but nothing really happens. The comic very quickly becomes a collection of slice of life segments and cute pictures that imply a relationship between the girls, but not really ;) ;).  Now things are just kind of left in purgatory for the foreseeable future and, well, that’s Tamen De Gushi y’all.

Compared to Kase San and Yamada, the characters were much better, which is not saying much, but without an actual romantic storyline, there’s just not a lot for me to comment on to be honest. It’s really pretty though, look at this art :

3. Beauty and the Beast Girl by Neji

my personal favorite and the BEST yuri I ever read

So next on the list is Beauty and the Beast Girl (I’m going to abbreviate to BatBG from here on) , which I already spoiled my feelings on the matter so this will basically be me gushing about this story for several paragraphs straight, enjoy.

Contrary to what the title suggests, it really has nothing to do with Beauty and the Beast’s story except in name. The main girls are Lily Blind, who is actually fucking blind 💀 and Heath the monster girl. Already I’m happy because instead of blonde femme and dark hair butch, it’s blonde femme and of-course-you-have-purple-hair-and-pronouns masc. Lol, all jokes aside, Lily, unlike her blonde femme counterparts is quite assertive and voices her opinions all the time. In fact, she’s the one who pushes Heath to be more open and communicate with her rather than the other way around. This is, in part, due to the story BatBG is trying to tell. I say BatBG is in name only to Beauty and the Beast because Lily isn’t trying to find the “beauty” within Heath or learning to love a beast or whatever, she’s fine just the way she is and her love for Heath is unconditional. Plus the only thing beastly about Heath is her appearance…which I’ll harp on later, but her behavior is in no way different from a regular human except in very rare, specific moments.

At its heart, BatBG is a story about forgiveness (the creator literally says as much) , but it’s also about the cycle of violence that results from being outcasted and deprived of love. BatBG is set in a world of humans and monsters, where the monsters are outcasted and either have to stay away from human society like Heath or assimilate themselves by hiding away their monster like traits, which is a really queer narrative on top of an already queer story. I don’t want to go into too much spoilers, but sometime before the beginning of the story, Heath in-directly hurts Lily before they ever meet. However, it’s not about Lily needing to forgive Heath, or trying to get over the pain she inflicted upon her, rather its Heath learning to forgive herself and in effect, learning to love herself as much as Lily loves her.

Another big aspect of BatBG is disabilities, Lily Blind is in fact Blind lol and while there are times she struggles with her blindness, she never views her disability as something she needs to be ashamed of and never, ever, blames Heath for it or holds it against her unlike what many, many, many, many other stories end up doing. Her blindness isn’t treated like a super power either, it’s a legitimate disability. She just accepts that it’s a part of her and goes onto say that if not for her blindness, she would’ve never met the love of her life, which I found to be an incredibly profound thing to say.

Now that I’ve gotten this far, I suppose I can add a bit of a disclaimer. So BatBG is waaaaay more explicit about the physical affection between the girls than in any of the previous stories I talked about. Heath and Lily are constantly kissing on, hugging, and almost always flirting with each other, and make no mistake, these girls do be fucking. The sex scenes are never perverted or gross, but genuinely super sweet and romantic, which makes it way hotter imo (huh imagine that🤔). And aside from being hot, it also serves a purpose! Lily’s pretty damn horny underneath all her nice girl antics and while it’s not a major part of her character, it does give a slight edge to her personality and, most importantly, balances out the dynamic between Heath and Lily. It would’ve been very easy to fall into that boring trope where Heath is aggressively horny and Lily is the submissive blind girl, but by making Lily be the one to initiate the sexual encounters, it not only compliments Heath’s more reserved nature, but breaks the stereotype that people with disabilities are pure precious being who couldn’t possibly have sex, which is ableist af btw. Many people think the existence of any sex scenes at all is superfluous, but in BatBG, it truly elevates the story, the characters, and the romance in ways that wouldn’t be nearly as satisfying without it.

Now, with as much praise I gave BatBG, there is one criticism I have, but it’s a quibble really, and it can be explained in a single image:

There is a dissonance between the story and the art, the story says: “Heath is a big, ugly scary monster”

The art says:

And like yes, it can be argued that Heath is simply regurgitating the things bigoted people have said to her, but at no point in the story is this ever challenged or brought up in any meaningful way. Lily is blind so she doesn’t know what the hell she looks like and the other characters aren’t any help either. It’s not a big deal or anything, it just would’ve elevated the story if Heath was actually kinda ugly/more monstrous and not incredibly beautiful because right now it’s giving skinny girl who calls herself fat all the time, and it’s like, babe, who tf are you fooling? 😭

Other than that, BatBG is incredibly profound despite its premise being so deceptively simple and I love it to pieces so …yeah! READ IT.

4. Superwomen in Love! Honey Trap and Rapid Rabbit by sometime

Well, at least there are no blondes

So imma just abbreviate to SiL btw

Alright, let’s get started. The premise is that a villainess falls for the super hero girl and then that plotline is dropped in about 16 pages. I’m not even joking, the villainess falls for the hero, loses her job as a villain and then joins the hero all in one chapter. The REAL plot is actually about a council of evil alien-humans who want to destroy humanity because of generic super villain reason #434: the leader of the aliens is sad and misunderstood :( I’m not even going to lie, I had 0 interest in “X” (the generic ass name of the main villain) and her band of useless lesbians. They did literally nothing in the story except be a nuisance and contribute to X’s incel breakdown at the end. Their inclusion actively made SiL worse because the story has this weird tonal problem where in one breath the villains are portrayed as complete jokes and then you turn the page and now they’re shooting children like girl what💀 And these useless lesbians hog sooooo much of SiL that desperately needed to be given to Honey trap and Hayate to develop their relationship.

When the story DOES actually focus on Honey Trap and Hayate, it’s pretty good, even cute at times, there just wasn’t enough time given to them to flesh their relationship out. As it stands, Honey Trap and Hayate don’t have much of a dynamic, or personality for that matter. Honey Trap’s main gimmick is that she’s extremely horny for Hayate and delulu:

Aside from that, she’s a great value version of Heath, but even a watered down character is better than, like, nothing. All I really know about Hayate is that she’s nice, heroic, likes wearing tacky clothes and ….that’s it. She loves Honey Trap because…………they fought together a few times so why not🤷‍♀️ I’d say at least that’s better than Tamen De Gushi, but actually it’s not because these grown ass women don’t even kiss , all we get is a love confession and their gremlin love child and that’s supposed to be satisfying I guess.

And the worst part is that SiL has the audacity to pretend the romance was something that it clearly wasn’t:

Girl…yall were “””enemies””” for 10 panels.

Now, it’s stated they have been rivals for a while, but I guess Honey Trap forgot all of that because the moment she sees Hayate’s face, my good sis is pussy whipped for life. And that’s in spite of apparently being the evilest one out of the evil group because Honey Trap has no grudge or baggage toward Hayate. She immediately turns good with no issues and Hayate is only distrustful of Honey Trap for 1 or 2 speech bubbles and then she’s not. Anything else that happened was off screen, which means it didn’t happen. Ironically, the very next entry on this list will do a MUCH better job at an ex-villain love story, but for SiL, there’s just not much going on.

Another reading of this story is to call it a “parody” but…no, it isn’t. SiL isn’t a comedy, yes there are comedic moments that poke fun of the genre, but the rest of the story genuinely wants you to take it seriously. Except it can’t. X and her league of dimwits are boring as piss and they oscillate between Saturday morning cartoon villains and child murderers seemingly on a whim. So I can neither be endeared to them nor take them as a serious threat. Honey Trap and Hayate are there, but I lament on all the potential lost from what could’ve been an amazing relationship.

5. Yamujiburo/Kianamaiart’s Hanamusa webcomic

This one is kind of cheating, but I also don’t care let me talk about hot MILFs💀

So the final entry on this list is a webcomic series by one of my fave artist: kianamaiart! And it’s right here on tumblr so check it out!

I stumbled upon this webcomic a few weeks ago, fell in love and now I want to talk about it. This yuri pair thankfully has no blonde femme in sight and instead features two popular Pokémon characters: Jessie from Team Rocket and Delia Ketchum, Ash Ketchum’s mom. What I love about this ship and the world Kiana creates around them is that it’s a very unconventional pairing. There’s just not many romances where a single mom falls in love with an ex gang member and the best part is, Delia being a mom is a big part of her character and she doesn’t ignore Ash in favor of her new relationship with Jessie. She has time for both and doesn’t prioritize one over the other, which many ppl fail to do even irl so good on you Delia!

Now, as for the romance it self, Jessie and Delia are a unique pair. Jessie’s overconfident, brash, drama queen personality doesn’t automatically put her in the ��dominant” role and Delia’s sweet, motherly personality doesn’t automatically put her in the “submissive” role. Their dynamic in the webcomic actually plays out in the reverse, Jessie is the one who gets easily flustered and Delia’s…intense, to say the least:

(But Tbf if Delia looked at me like that I’d be at her beck and call too💀)

This subversion of these tropes creates a fun dynamic for the couple and it’s super adorable to see how their energies bounce off each other in each new situation Kiana puts them in. I also love how both Jessie and Delia inspire each other to live out their dreams and they become better versions of themselves by being together.

And one last thing, I don’t have any smart commentary to go along with this, I just really like this drawing of Jessie:

no thoughts, head empty

Final Thoughts

Soooo yeah, that’s the end of my dissertation on yuri comics. I know I ended up dragging a lot of popular yuri, but it wasn’t my intention to make you guys hate any of things I talked about. These were just my thoughts as an avid yuri fan, so let me know your thoughts as well, especially if you read any of the yuri I talked about. And even though I’m super picky about the type of yuri I read, I’d still love to hear any recommendations. Who knows, it might dethrone the undefeated champ that is Beauty and the Beast Girl.

[comicaurora]

I've started making my way through the playlist hbomberguy made of actually good video essays by queer creators and spotted a comment of yours on the one about the relationship between Harley Quinn and Poison Ivy, which was fun xD red in the wild!

Anyways, just wanted to appreciate how both you and Blue and you are very good at showing your sources! It's always nice to know that the people you've watched for years have good habits after an event like this, and I hope you guys are among the people that get some new fans after this whole debacle, because your channel definitely qualifies for "good educational videos made by queer people"

I'm glad! Blue's much better about listing his sources and follow-up reading than I am.

To be honest, I loved the video, but my imposter syndrome always flares like crazy when I watch an essay like that. It might be the ADHD or it might just be who I am as a person, but I feel like I've lived my whole life striving to make everything I do the best it can be, and still managing to fuck up and get criticised for things I could've done better if only I never missed anything. It's an actual gut-drop when it turns out a source I used wasn't trustworthy, or when in older videos I only went wiki-deep for some claims and didn't check every source to be 100% sure I wasn't being goat-fish'd. And this being the internet, I can get criticized at any time for things I've gotten wrong years ago, since it's evergreen online and to the new-viewing critic it's as fresh as yesterday. It makes it hard for me to stay proud of my work past the first moment of "oh I would've done that different now". There's a cocktail of complicated, scary feelings around this space, no matter how little I actually have in common with the bad guys of this scenario - it's less about the reality and more about who my imposter syndrome tells me I am. I saw several people saying that the video actually made them feel much better about their own work because it made it clear that accidental plagiarism on that scale is impossible, but if my anxieties listened to reason I would've successfully machete'd them out of my skull years ago. I just hope I never fuck up badly enough to deserve an hbombing of my own.

But my own stress aside, the hbomb essay exposed a level of laxness, laziness and entitlement on the part of these plagiarists that I think is almost incomprehensible to people who actually create for a living or even just the joy of it. How hollow do you have to be to take in someone else's writing and not consider it, digest it, let it reshape your views and then formulate your own interpretation on it, but instead to file off the serial numbers and pretend it's yours, trusting that the person whose thoughts and words you valued enough to steal will never be powerful enough to call you out on it? I go down research rabbit holes because I love the frustration and thrill of putting something together! How joyless it must be to skim the surface and borrow someone else's conclusions!

I've sometimes had people email asking for sources on parts of my interpretation of various myths, possibly in the interest of source-citing for school papers (a nightmare concept in and of itself) and with very few exceptions I usually have to tell them "the only sources were the english translations I used of the primary source where the myth was originally written, like I said in the video, and the part where I said I was conspiracy-boarding has no source other than my own analysis of the given source, which is why I called it conspiracy-boarding" and I was always a little baffled by those emails - half the videos are introduced like "this is The Prose Edda" or "this is in Ovid's Metamorphoses" or "this bit is Hesiod" so what else could they want - but seeing the hbomb of the week made me realize that truly original analysis might not be what most people are expecting from a "thing summarized." They might be expecting a compilation of other people's summaries instead.

[fatuismooches]

Imagine the 3.8 Secret Summer Paradise event but with Wanderer and you. Nahida sends Wanderer to investigate something in the desert and you tag along for fun but you two get sucked into a magic bottle somehow?! Klee dubs his title as the “Sorcerer” - her mage sidekick - and yours as the “Soldier” - her protecter! (Or whatever you want, I’m bad at this.)

The rollercoasters are nothing compared to Wanderer’s flights of fright. He will do loops, twists, turns, upside downs in the air all while holding YOU… at least in the rollercoaster there are seats. Klee is amazed by your endurance and wants to try flying too! (Wanderer reluctantly gives her a piggy back ride and flies a safe distance up from the ground… Kaeya’s watching him very carefully, but you vehemently reassure him that Wanderer would never hurt a child. The cavalry captain actually grows to like him!) Though you manage to convince Wanderer to ride a slow rollercoaster with you. There’s no one else in the Choo-Choo Cart, and it’s late at night. Wanderer lays on your lap as you play with his hair, the both of you silent as you stare out the window, taking in the lovely sights of this realm.

Idyia’s quite scared of Wanderer at first but overtime she comes to fawn over and admire how deep your love is, she’s met many people in her little bottle, but no one has ever had a relationship like yours! Not to mention, Zosimos takes inspiration from the two of you for his characters. And speaking of plays, I think despite the fact the one the group acted out had poor plot, Wanderer finds joy in it, because I believe he likes the arts/dance/performances, and also he found Klee’s acting endearing. (When Kaeya runs out of stories for her, Wanderer takes over and tells her Inazuman folktales!)

Collei is extremely nervous speaking to Wanderer, but finds herself liking him more than she expected. She feels like she can… relate to him, for some strange reason? She doesn’t really understand, since she’s never met him before, but she doesn’t question it. Plus, she knows you’re a really nice person, so you wouldn’t date someone who’s mean, anyway. Eula is suspicious of him at first too, but seeing Collei warm up to him makes her tolerate him, while Kokomi finds the stranger very interesting. She has a few chats with Wanderer, and the things he says about Inazuma has her only more curious. The most important part is, Klee wants to be the flower girl at your wedding, whenever that happens.

Moving on, Wanderer has a soft spot for the Hydro Eidolons because they remind him a bit of the Aranara. He acts all annoyed when they want to play hide and seek with him but secretly he enjoys it (and you’re enjoying his fervent denial at being soft.) You two play all of the games together, although Wanderer is less enthusiastic about it than you (as usual of course) but he actually enjoys Bing-Bang Finchball! :3 (He wonders if his creator and that kitsune would like it, too.) Most of all, Wanderer especially enjoys the solitude he gets at certain places of the realm. Sometimes you’re with him, sometimes you’re not, but when you are, during these moments he’s oddly quiet and clingy. Sometimes he still struggles to accept his life and what he’s been through. But making memories like these with you make him happy.

At the end of your stay, when you have to bury a treasure to leave behind, you put in two dolls of Wanderer and you that you quickly made in the mirage! (Wanderer had taught you how to make them that nicely.) You didn’t show your lover at first, a bit embarrassed and scared of his reaction, but he found out anyway and sighed, but pulled down his hat to cover his blush. He flew you to a beautiful spot with the best view, and you two buried it together. You wonder if it would still be there if you ever visited again.

Even after many years pass, Idyia never fails to tell the engrossing tale of the grouchy puppet and his darling lover, an unlikely but loving couple. Maybe if you’re lucky, you could meet them spending their days strolling the streets of Sumeru with the young Archon.

Overall, an unplanned but very necessary vacation that Wanderer needed. Nahida had a blast listening to all of your stories! (And happy he has made some more friends, which he of course denies that accusation.) 

[tossawary]

I'm back to frequently thinking about a Transformers AU for SVSSS, because I love trying to fuse the worldbuilding (working across several different continuities of TF, admittedly) into something recognizable to both worlds that's also new. I also love pulling on the elements these worlds have in common: immortal beings, endless conflicts, switching bodies, cores of power, building yourself up to become a higher being, oppressive systems controlling entire worlds, people (characters) who were constructed and are discarded for specific purposes (profit and sometimes just entertainment) and are not always viewed as real people, the creator god might be just some guy over there, and so on.

For this AU, my story outline currently sticks to Cybertron and its surrounding space. I don't have any characters whom I want to make human, I have very specific backgrounds in mind for everyone already, and I have a plotline that doesn't require Earth or humans in any way. Though, for fun, I was absentmindedly fiddling with the idea of taking the characters of a different MXTX story (MDZS or TGCF) and making them into the humans of this AU.

I feel like Wei Wuxian would be one of those human characters who is basically already climbing into the seat before a transformer can finish introducing themselves as a giant space robot; oh, he is DOWN for whatever the fuck this is. However, if I was writing Wei Wuxian as a human in a TF AU, I don't know which SVSSS character I would pair him with as his "partner", as I personally would be far more interested in writing a story in which Lan Wangji and/or Wen Ning (both?) are Cybertronians. (Yes, obviously, Wei Wuxian would be a robotfucker for LWJ.) I'm leaning more towards Wen Ning, because there's the "I rebuilt this guy and turned him into an abomination who acts kind of in service to me" aspect, and also it's funny to imagine human Lan Wangji having to put up with his boyfriend's alien car being a part of the relationship.

With TGCF, making the characters into the humans of a TF AU for SVSSS feels like a reversal. Xie Lian's narrative everything arguably makes him an even better Cybertronian than any other MXTX character. The fall from being, say, a Prime and the Bearer of the Matrix to apparently being some poorly-maintained bot that spends its time picking up trash on Earth in the aftermath of some Cybertronian war? Delicious. Hua Cheng was some half-broken, half-starving, outlier freak, MTO discard saved by the new Prime EIGHT MILLION YEARS AND SEVERAL WARS AGO, and has never gotten over it and never will. And a lot of the other TGCF characters also match very nicely to TF worldbuilding: mmm, my brain likes chewing on the image of beautiful and terrifying, near-immortal robots falling from the "heavens". It's even easy to source internal TGCF characters as the humans if you need human characters, so there's no real need to make it into a crossover with MDZS or SVSSS.

So, ultimately, this TF AU for SVSSS is not going to be a crossover. I don't want it to be. But I did enjoy thinking about TF AUs for MDZS and TGCF as well, where the worldbuilding or character arcs fit nicely together, so I wanted to share that here.

[kaelidascope]

In light of some dirty laundry found, I'd like to set the record straight about a threat that was made against me and my work

Since I'm being accused of stealing or copying a roleplay that was done between 2021-2022, here's the facts. The roleplay started with a concept that I had made about a magic college school for another roleplay that never went anywhere and was then repurposed for this one with a new partner. The question was popped on 2/23/21 and we began on 2/25/21.

It lasted the span of a little over a year and went through several rounds of development, a few attempted rewrites, and a spin off sequel revolving their kids. It was a good split between actually roleplaying the characters and also just hours upon hours of talking/plotting as one does. Usual exchanges between creators. We never posted the roleplay publicly anywhere, so it was never officially 'published', nor were any legal steps taken to get rights reserved. I'm fairly certain a discussion happened once about turning it into a book but both parties were not on the same page so it never went anywhere. We did ofc share it with close friends and just talked about it in general.

I also drew quite a bit of art for it, and we both collectively commissioned better artists for art for the characters as well. I did not put in nearly as much money as my roleplay partner did, but I did most of the concept art to provide as reference.

After the friendship ended and the roleplay was put to rest, I pulled the OCs that I had exclusively made to start working on a new concept. I had no intention of using anything that wasn't mine. The new concept was entirely removed from it's original source, meaning different setting, different characters, different everything. It was just repurposed OCs that had new backstories and purposes and new ones that I had made to replace characters I didn't own. However, despite the change, I was threatened with a Cease and Desist form pulled off Google by my previous roleplay partner because I made a vague tweet showing progress of the reworked characters (Rowen, who was in the original roleplay, and her love interest, Lyra, that was meant to be a replacement design for a character I did not own). Lyra shared a physical likeness to the original character, Emi, that was owned and played by my roleplay partner that they designed using an AI generator and then I later drew concepts for [white complexion, black hair, blue eyes]. I took it down as requested, sent it back to the workshop, consulted several professionals to make sure any likeness was scrubbed away, and put it on the back burner for further development so I could be left in peace.

I made this disclaimer post back in December 2023 about any likeness my own OCs would share in future projects and their affiliated partners on twitter. At the time, the names and designs were still being changed so Rowen Santiago was a placeholder while I was waiting to hear back from legal advice. I never said I was taking what was originally written and publishing it 'as is'. I'm allowed to use my original character designs for different purposes.

Ultimately, I came to the decision after a lengthy back and forth to scrap my own OCs original personality and design and start from scratch. Only a few things survived that can have lines drawn between the original roleplay design and the new story concept [the magic collar, werewolfism, Hispanic descent, wolf eyes] but that's nothing new. I have a lot of werewolf OCs. I've got an entire series dedicated to werewolf OCs. The new story concept is more military and racism based set in a fantasy dystopian universe than a magical school romance trope set in English Europe. The new story isn't even set on Earth, it's so far removed from where the original design came from it's not even remotely close to this roleplay. The kind of prose and worldbuilding featured in this new work is similar to the fanfiction I already write and am known for [The new world building will be somewhat similar to a setting I already made as far as fantasy science themes go. See Midnight Menagerie]. I also have several designs that look similar to each other (see MM Blake and Tessa for example. Same hairstyle. And MM Yang's entire physique was scraped from Rowen's whole vibe) though I can say my art style is improving enough to where I don't suffer from same face syndrome anymore (at least I hope!). All my bases were covered, everything was a brand new start over and nothing from the original roleplay was touched.

Well, even after a whole year and a half later post cut-off and small meltdown, it's apparently still living in their head rent-free that I am stealing their work and threats are still being made both anonymously and by name!

So I'll tell y'all what, for anybody who's curious, go ahead and have full access of all the notes and docs that I supposedly 'stole' and you tell me if my future works are stealing lol since you wanna wave it around like it's a big scary threat to get me any time I draw sapphic content that isn't fanart. The only things I will not include on this post is the commissioned work because I don't know who originally did them and therefor I'm not sure what their reposting terms are

Anything listed as [NOT ME] was not written by me. Otherwise everything else is either by me or was collaborated on (like the roleplay exchanges)

Misc Docs

Rowemi timeline 2.0

Figure Skating Practice

Emi/Lauren Relationship Notes

Pregnancy Arc Notes

Project Blackbird Notes

Worldbuilding Notes

Rowen Build Sheet

Rowen Notes

Emi Build Sheet (NOT ME)

Emi/Mom Relationship Notes (NOT ME)

Rewrite Docs

Prologue

Episode I

Shorts

William's Lament

Another Secret in the Pile

Rowen's Invitation

The Meeting (NOT ME)

The Hospital Visit (NOT ME)

Simon's Suggestion (NOT ME)

The Date (NOT ME)

Original Roleplay Docs

Part 1

Part 2

Part 3

Part 4

Part 4.5

Part 5

Part 6

Part 7

Artwork Done By Me

Genuinely I'm not sure what y'all hope to accomplish by obsessively sending me hate mail and empty threats like I'm supposed to care and be effected by it. I haven't even looked at it since I quit Deviantart lol it has nothing to do with my current projects and it died when I cut you off. You never even knew what the new novel project was about, so you really had no grounds to threaten me with that email or the anonymous inbox submissions. You also slipped up and sent one with your actual user after I turned that off, that's how I figured out you were still obsessed with me after all this time. I encourage you to do something with your ideas someday. While you weren't the healthiest friendship I've ever had, the roleplay was fun to engage in. Maybe working on something new will bring you the peace of mind you're looking for and help you move on.

[pixiecaps]

hi. im sorry if this is a weird question but. what makes you keep watching smps?? just, what motivates you if everytime things and characters and plotlines captivate you and they almost never end in a satisfactory way. it might be because im a newbie in myct but every server i learned about seems to just last very little or burn in a horible death. what makes you want to go again and again to new servers.

okay to start off here there’s two layers and one is more of a personal thing and another basically advice.

first i dont talk about this much but my brain just latches onto things and one of my longest lasting interests is on minecraft. probably since the game was released. i think ive probably watched more minecraft content than tv shows & movies in my entire life. because my brain just works that way

now second. i need to this to be clarified everyone has a different reason for sticking along and i think this is a wonderful question that so many mcyt bloggers would have different answers to that would provide a lot of cool insight and perspective. dont think the question is weird at all.

BUT for me i think it was around smplive which was 2019 that was rough that was really the first and only time that i wanted to stop watching minecraft completely. for a lot for a reasons rlly. and yet i didnt!!! and thats because i realized that i didnt want to let something i cherished and enjoyed be tarnished by the bad. its so important to allow yourself grace whenever something bad happens with mcyt content or creators themselves because you arent the one to blame for something turning sour. too much good and incredible content and communities come from these unfortunately ended smps and whatnot to just to be seen as that one thing. i think sometimes, out of spite even, i feel like I NEED TO NOT LET THESE THINGS BE OVERSHADOWED BY THE BAD. because so many smps are fucking wonderful experiences with amazing creators who dedicate so much time to them and who are so funny and talented and for them to not be recognized for that at all is a shame. i loved every smp ive watched and i dont regret watching any of them. theyve all given me so much joy and laughter and its important to remember that. so ig another part of it all is allowing yourself to appreciate the good and not let the bad stop you from experiencing all the future content thats made from mcyt that will be incredible. because there will be more smps and there will so many mcyt creators and the ball isnt gonna stop rolling. sometimes it just boils down to something as simple as not letting the bad experiences stop you from seeing the good the community has to offer. as well as for me outside of the content itself with smps the fanbases have singlehandedly taken a part of my heart. theres just so many wonderful people in these communities who have put out so much positivity that i cant possibly find myself regretting it or not going back in whenever the next smp drops.

much love anon hope that makes a little bit of sense

[inbarfink]

I already talked about, like, the Obvious Symbolism of Simon reaching his lowest point literally dressed like the Ice King and then gradually gets back to his old outfit as he starts climbing out of his depressive spiral, at least somewhat.

But it’s also really interesting, maybe even more interesting, how Fionna’s outfit has been gradually shifting and changing with basically every adventure.

My first thought was that it really shows Fionna coming into her own as a character. The more she grows and also the more character development she gets - the more the audience learns to see her as more than just Girl Finn - the more her outfit moves away from just being a slightly girlier version of Finn’s classic look and into being its own thing. 

Because Fionna is her own character. 

But my second thought was more about the first time Fionna’s classic outfit got an update in this series.

This wouldn’t really relate to my first reading, since it just kinda makes her outfit closer to Finn. But it does relate to the most important Theme that her character arc revolves around - Fantasy versus Reality.

Fionna starts out the story interacting with the idea of magical adventure and heroism via the lens of fantasy. She compares everything to video games and just thinks about everything in terms of it being cool and fun and she literally tries to chase down a person from her dreams.

And her mindset was probably only reinforced by discovering she was literally created to be the Main Character in God’s little fantasy universe literally created out of self-indulgence for his silly little stories.

And because of that, she starts out the story with a huge Protagonist-Centered-Morality blind spot where she can’t recognize when she and Cake are in the wrong

And she rushes into action and violence just thinking it’s ‘cool’

And, like, in general acting without thinking of the consequences.

And at basically every step of this adventure, these kinda actions clashed against the reality of her situation. And it all started when she pointed out to her own creator that the outfit he designed for her is cute - but extremely unrealistic for an adventurer like herself

And from there we move to Fionna experiencing more and more of the harsh consequences of assuming everything should fit into her fantasies of heroes and villains 

And that she should punch first and ask questions later 

And in general that it’s always better to trust her guts over her head. 

And with every one of her experiences, the bright and adorable outfit that is a reminder of her origin as God’s Most Self-Indulgent OC gets tweaked in more way - turning it into something that looks a lot more, for the lack of a better word, gritty. And also turning it further and further away from the outfit of her own literal fantasies.

And all of these horrible traumatic experiences and the general dangers of the magical and very different world she’s in have all weathered down Fionna’s original optimism and eagerness and brashness that originally defined her and turned her terribly overprotective and scared instead. And it really reminds of how Simon’s own trauma weathered him down. 

Turning him from a kind man with a passion for adventure and the fantastical and a powerful parental instinct to a miserable jerk who aches for mundanity and made a little girl cry

Until he got to his very lowest point.

So I’m guessing next up for Fionna is getting to see her regain some of her old identity that the Trauma has been tearing away at - getting back some of that cheerfulness and brash attitude and adventurous spirit. Because while it has put herself and her teammates and others in serious troubles - it’s also been a huge help at other times (especially as she's a good counterbalance to Simon ‘slow but dependable’ Petrikov)

She needs to find the balance, learning the lessons from her multiverse adventure without losing all the things that made her Fionna Campbell in the first place.

And I wonder if this development is gonna be paralleled with a return of some of the more ‘classic’ elements of her look - or if her outfit is instead going to diverge farther?

[kanmom51]

This needs to stop

I really contemplated if to put these words down, but I am so angry and disappointed and sad at this point that I felt I had to vent.

Disappointed. I think that's the key word for what I am feeling right now.

I understand that people are upset/angry/enraged by the shit that followed JM's release of his first solo album Face. I understand because I am enraged as well.

I have no doubt in my mind that he was wronged.

He succeeded beyond anyone's dreams and probably kind of ruined certain dreams some of these people had of their own.

But to take that anger and to turn it on the one person that supported and supports JM beyond any of us is infuriating to me.

Turning on JK?

Because of what? A shithead called Scooter Braun, who has his own personal agenda and history shows us has zero real interest or care in the actual artists he is pushing?

Do people forget who JK is?

Do they need a reminder course here?

I guess I will have to give them one.

JK is JM's favourite person in the whole world.

And a full masterlist to show it:

JK is JM's number 1 fan and showing it to us whenever he just can, with or without the company's permission.

JK is one of the most artistic and creative people there are.

Suga about JK

And maybe read what one of the stylists working on the Seven concept had to say about JK and the concept.

JK's concept. He came ready to the table. He knew what he wanted to show, what message he wanted to send.

He was given option, other concepts, other ideas, and he chose what he chose.

JK didn't steal JM's ideas. He didn't utilize them for the lack of coming up with original ideas of his own. Don't believe me, believe JK's talent, his artistry.

JK CHOSE this. This is what he wanted us to see.

It's not about copying. It's about showing us who inspires him.

It's about showing us, not only telling us, who his catalyst is.

He CHOSE the EXACT same leather pants that JM wore.

Do you see the scribble at the bottom of the jeans?

JK CHOSE the jeans with the mud.

He CHOSE.

He did not copy or plagiarize.

He took artistic liberty to mirror JM's photoshoot to an extent.

Sending us all I'd say more than one message.

First one is what I mentioned above. JM is his inspiration.

Second is connecting himself to JM, to Face, to Like crazy.

Perhaps his way of showing us he's that person that stood by JM's side when he was struggling. The one that tread mud with him. The one that tried to wake him up, save him, but JM wasn't ready for that just yet at the time. The one that let JM embrace him while trying to escape reality.

And instead of seeing what JK is trying to tell us, his fans, Jikookers as well, are turning on him?

Making JK out to be someone that doesn't have an original idea and goes and steals JM's is disrespectful to both JK and JM, btw.

This coming from people that supposedly love and know JM and JK?

JM is a 27 strong willed young man. And evidently, JM has no issues with JK of late.

JK is a 25 yo creative artistic young man, who adores and admires and lives for JM, and would NEVER steal something from JM, never take something of JM's and pass it on as his own.

Do they not understand that JM is joking when he calls JK his copycat? Has been for years now.

Did they not see the joy and love in his eyes when JK said "I'm hyung's copycat"?

He knows that JK looks up to him.

He knows that JK is inspired by him.

He lives for that.

And to go and to make it into something ugly it's just so infuriating.

JM was wronged. We can agree on that. The COMPANY could have and should have done better.

THE COMPANY.

Not the other members.

Not JK.

I get the anger and frustration. But do we take it out on the one person that did right by JM? Do we take it out on the one person JM loves more than anything? The person that JM will stand by and support and root for to succeed? How is that loving JM?

Since when did two wrongs make a right?

Don't go around saying you won't support JK's single.

Support him all while continuing to support JM's songs.

[xxlea-nardoxx]

Seeing me spill my thoughts and talk about Tmnt 2012, you might know that there's a certain little robot that I love very much.

Yes, I'm talking about Metalhead.

I've always been very fond of this little guy, and perhaps that's why it makes me sad, that I barely see anyone talk about him or his relationship with Donnie and how it actually shifted.

When Donnie first built Metalhead in season 1 episode 6, he did so to use him as a weapon.

That episode was all about Donnie feeling useless because he "only" wields a bo staff, while his brothers have katanas, sais and nunchuks to fight with. He built Metalhead as a weapon to help them fight, especially in moments when it would be too dangerous for them to go out onto the battlefield. At that point, Metalhead was nothing more than just another invention, a drone as Donnie called him (at least that's what he said in the German dub when I watched it two days ago, shshsjsh).

And at the end of the episode, when Metalhead went rogue under the Kraangs control and Donnie had to take him out, did he feel down because his invention failed.

He was sad, because the machine he built did not live up to his expectations. Metalhead was nothing more than just a invention. We only saw him sprinkled into the background for a few episodes and the only truly more remarkable appearance was in the season 1 finale, but it again wasn't a whole lot.

But then it got interesting.

Because starting with season 2, it was revealed in "Metalhead rewired", that Donnie put an AI (artificial intelligence) into Metalhead and it actually shows.

It might've only been revealed in episode 11, but back in episode 4 "Mutagen Man unleashed", Metalhead has been put into the background doing various tasks such as moving stuff/cleaning up:

Sitting on the floor like some human child:

And actually talking to Donnie, to which his creator is actually responding.

"Yup, it's a mess, Metalhead."

It wasn't yet revealed, but it's obvious Metalhead wasn't as mindless anymore than he was back in season 1. Remember: back then, Donnie was still controlling him via game controller like some RC car.

Now Metalhead is thinking for himself, talking to his creator, reacting to the outside world and feeling more alive than he's ever been. He turned his head, when Leo, Raph and Mikey came in. He noticed the lab was a mess and let Donnie know, just like a human child would.

And it's obvious Donnies view about Metalhead has changed too. If before he only saw him as a weapon or drone, he now thinks of him as another team member, or even his son.

In "Metalhead rewired" he didn't wanna believe Metalhead could be evil or possibly working for the Kraang. And he didn't think that way, because the "weapon" could be stolen and turned against them, but because he actually loved Metalhead the way one would love their sibling or child. He's actually grown to love him.

When Metalhead got electrocuted by hacking himself into that Kraangs wending-machine, Donnie was shown patting the robots head and calling him "buddy", something he wouldn't have done in season one ever.

That only makes the plot of "Metalhead rewired" more heartbreaking.

Metalhead had grown to Donnie and now he had to let him go. His little robot creation wasn't going to make it out. He had to leave him behind in that Kraang facility, there was nothing he could do.

No matter how painful it was for Donnie, he had to leave without Metalhead. And it did not help, that the only part making it out alive was his head.

He's absolutely heartbroken about his loss, cradling the remaining part in his hands.

The fact that you can actually see Donnies sadness about losing his friend, hits harder than any of Raphs punches ever could.

Donnie was actively griefing about Metalhead. In a way we do when losing a beloved person, because that's what happened. He practically lost a son, a brother, a friend. Metalhead grew to be so much more than just a lifeless robot. He grew a personality and built a relationship with Donnie.

Donnies relationship with Metalhead switched from creator and creation to father and son, brother and brother or friend and friend, depending on how you like to picture them.

I think that is why I love these two so much. And I also believe people seem to overlook this change of heart between them. Donnie and Metalhead had a special bond, that has been broken, at least physically, but I know that our favorite genius will never forget his robotic child. Ever.

---

Thank you for coming to my Ted talk, I gotta ramble about this real quick, ssaadfhssd.

[idontusethissiteeither]

My thoughts on Gray and Gruvia

Hey everyone.

I’ve been a fan of Fairy Tail for a long time, and one character I’ve always liked is Gray. He’s consistently shown depth, integrity, and a strong sense of right and wrong. However, there’s one aspect of the series that’s been bothering me for a while now: Gray’s relationship with Juvia. Despite all the red flags, uncomfortable moments, and outright toxic behavior from Juvia, the narrative seems determined to force this relationship into something it’s clearly not.

What follows is a breakdown of why I believe this relationship is problematic, how it undermines Gray’s character, and why it’s not the romantic story that some fans, particularly “Gruvians,” seem to think it is. As well as talk about the 180 in Gray’s personality in the 100 Year Quest.

Let’s break down the ridiculousness of Gray and Juvia’s so-called “relationship” after the battle in the last arc.

First of all, after all the build-up, Gray still didn’t give Juvia an answer. Instead, he tried to use the Ice Shell spell—a move that would erase him from existence. It’s a clear indicator that Gray was ready to sacrifice himself for the greater good, but of course, Juvia had to make it about herself. She "sacrificed" herself for Gray during the battle, and this is where the narrative completely goes off the rails.

While Gruvians see this as some grand, romantic gesture, it’s painfully obvious that Juvia’s “sacrifice” wasn’t as selfless as it’s made out to be. Her body can turn into water, meaning the blade could have gone through her without causing fatal damage. But instead, it feels like she deliberately made herself vulnerable to force Gray into a corner, emotionally manipulating him into acknowledging her feelings. And unfortunately, it worked. Gray, being the good-hearted person he is, said he’d take her feelings into account now, which just feels like an obligation rather than genuine affection.

To make matters worse, the creators claimed that the transfusion Juvia gave Gray is the reason he starts falling for her. What? That’s not only ridiculous but also a flimsy excuse for Gray’s sudden change of heart. It undermines all the growth and depth Gray had as a character. He didn’t fall in love with her because he was emotionally or romantically invested in her—he fell in love because of a blood transfusion? That’s not love; that’s poor writing.

And even after all of that, Gray still doesn’t give her a straight answer. He promises to do so after the 100-year quest, which he doesn’t even bring her along for. Yet, fast forward to the sequel, and suddenly, Gray’s done a complete 180. He’s talking about being the best man for Juvia and, apparently, thinking of her when the topic of romance comes up. Really? After years of rejecting her, setting boundaries, and making it clear that he wasn’t interested, we’re supposed to believe that now, all of a sudden, he’s deeply in love with his stalker?

Gruvians take this as a huge victory, but the reality is that Gray isn’t acting out of love—he’s acting out of guilt and obligation. Let’s not forget that Gray has a tragic history of losing people who sacrificed themselves for him, starting with his mentor Ur and later Ultear, both of whom truly cared for him. When Juvia “sacrificed” herself for Gray and survived, it’s not hard to see why he might feel indebted to her. But that’s not the same as romantic love. It’s survivor’s guilt, plain and simple. Gray is putting Juvia’s happiness above his own, disregarding his own feelings because he feels like he owes her something for what she did.

And honestly, if Gray truly is in love with Juvia now, after everything he’s been through and after rejecting her repeatedly, then it’s nothing short of character assassination. The writers have completely twisted his personality to appease Gruvia shippers, ignoring all the red flags in their relationship and pretending like Gray’s long-standing discomfort with Juvia never existed. This new Gray feels like a hollow version of the character we once knew, crafted solely to pander to fans rather than stay true to who he is.

What’s even more frustrating is the lack of discussion around how bad this writing is. Why aren’t more people talking about how Gray’s character has been butchered in the sequel? It’s disheartening to see fans celebrate these new developments when they clearly ignore all the signs that this relationship is built on manipulation, guilt, and toxic behavior. Gray deserved better than to be paired with someone who stalked him for years and ignored his boundaries. Instead, the writers decided to force this unhealthy dynamic into something it never should have been.

[notjustjavierpena]

Three Times You Didn’t Kiss Joel - And One Time You Did - Part III: Fussing

Series Masterpost | Main Masterpost | Support a disabled creator

A/N: A cute summer romance has started! Enjoy chapter three!

Summary: Joel punches a creep for you.

Pairing: Joel Miller x f!reader/you (no y/n)

Tags: +18 no smut but mature thoughts (minors DNI), violence, misogynistic behavior, pining, summer romance, DILF Joel, sexual tension, idiots in love

Word count: 1.6k

Link to this work on AO3: https://archiveofourown.org/works/47914783/chapters/120930880

Chapter Three: Fussing

It seemed that Joel fell into a habit of coming to the rescue more than a few times. The ankle incident was over after a little over a week, but only because Joel would make sure that you had grocery shopping done by either himself or Sarah, so you could relax on your couch or in your bed as much as possible. 

Sitting at home with horrible television had caused a severe case of cabin fever. You had gone out to socialize at the first chance you got, but ended up sitting alone in a booth without high expectations for the night. That was until a stranger had asked for your number and when you had politely declined, much to the guy’s dismay, his flirty attitude had crumbled and evolved into something creepy. 

You twirl your phone in your hand. Joel had given you his number during the ankle incident, which you had texted a few times with a grocery list, but otherwise not at all.

Until now.

You have sent him a text message saying that he needs to come fetch you, because you’ve been drinking and you have unwanted attention. Normally, you would have handled these kinds of situations by texting your best friend, but she isn’t from town and you just want to get out of there now. You’ll never hear the end of it from Joel, you know this, but you reckon it has less to do with you and more to do with the fact that he is the father of a teenage girl. Something about being a role model. 

“Sorry, I’m really not interested,” you say as you pocket your cell phone again. You give the man a polite smile, but he doesn’t turn to leave. Instead, he starts up a conversation about his job which is apparently something that earns him a lot of money. 

You keep up the forced conversation to not make a scene but try to sound bored. There is no point in upsetting the man in front of you, because it’ll trap you here and make it unsafe to leave if you really, really wanted to. You’re not sure how he doesn’t read into the fact that you don’t ask him any questions like an interested person would.

“Are you sure you don’t want a drink? I could get you one of those with a curly straw, tiny umbrella,” he grins.

“I’m sure. No thanks.”

“Come on. It’s just one drink, and I’d like to get to know someone as sexy as you,” he goes on. 

You grimace, “I’m not looking for company like that, sorry.” 

“Oh, don’t be so boring, sweethea—“

“She said beat it,” Joel’s voice booms from beside you. His cheeks are slightly flushed as if he has been in a hurry and he pants just slightly from what you assume is suppressed anger. 

Seeing him makes relief wash over you in an instant, and you fall back into the background to let him handle the situation. You don’t like the idea of him having to rescue you from something like this, but you cannot help but feel a little more in love with him as he prepares to put the guy in his place.

“Dude, sorry, didn’t know she was taken,” the guy holds up his hands in surrender, but the alcohol on his breath and the smirk on his face tells you that whatever he is planning to say next will earn him a few stitches. He looks Joel up and down, measuring him somehow and makes an attempt at a joke, “What’d she cost if I were to have a go? An offer of a drink didn’t do the trick.” 

“What the fuck did you just say?” You get out of your seat incredibly fast but Joel is faster, and you hear the sound of knuckles connecting with bone; Joel has gripped the stranger’s shoulder with one hand and landed his fist on the side of his face, right at the jaw.

The other stumbles backwards, but he doesn’t hesitate to run forwards into Joel and land a punch right back. He uppercuts him, and you squeak as Joel is now the one to stumble back into you. The two men fly at each other’s throats like animals in a pack in the next moment, landing several punches at each other. 

“Stop! Jesus, Joel— you can’t get into a bar fight,” you say as you start pulling them apart by tugging on Joel’s t-shirt, or at least you try to, but the bartender has already sent a doorman in your direction.

Joel pulls down his shirt as he is yanked by the collar. He forces the doorman off only to hold up his hands, palms outwards, shoulders tense and voice stern, “Fine. Fine. I’m leaving with her now. You don’t have to grab me.” 

“I’m sorry,” you apologize to the bouncer. He goes to your creepy romancer instead, tugging him by the arm to remove him from the bar. 

“You’re a fucking ugly bitch anyway,” he spits venomously at you as he passes you when he is forced to leave. You send him a death-stare, mouthing a ‘fuck you’ back at him.

Joel stays where he is until he gets your clue to leave, looking down at his shaking fist as if he is surprised at what he has just done, but you lay a hand on his arm and guide him outside, then in the opposite direction of the human embodiment of your failed attempt at having a good night out. 

“Sorry,” Joel mumbles without looking at you but you find yourself reaching out to gently take a hold of his chin, turning his head to inspect him. He has a nasty cut on his cheekbone, and it’s already starting to bruise from how heavy the impact has been to the blood vessels in his face. 

You gasp, “Joel. Your face.”

“This tiny thing? S’alright, it’s nothing,” he reaches up to touch it, but regrets it immediately. It looks like it stings. 

“Stay right here, I’m going to get you some ice from the bar,” you leave for a moment. For once, it’s your turn to not let him protest and argue. 

You return with an ice pack that you’ve made by wrapping a handful of ice cubes into a dish towel. You press it against his cut and he hisses softly, causing you to tut. He lets you fuss. 

You can feel his defeat is nagging at him; the fact that he is in pain and not perfectly fine seems to annoy him. That, and it feels like he has overstepped one of his own moral boundaries. You wonder if you’re right in your assumptions because it raises the question of how he feels about having overstepped that limit for you. 

“Are you okay, hon’?” He asks and interrupts your train of thought. You turn the dish towel to find a spot that isn’t pink with blood, then dab his face a few more times as you come up with an answer. You won’t comment on the term of endearment. 

“I’m okay. I’ve dealt with assholes before,” you say with a little smile, “Thanks though. You made the situation a lot easier, but I still don’t think you should’ve started fighting the poor guy.”

“Why? Don’t want to be the damsel in distress?” He teases. 

“You know, I can make this hurt a lot more than it already does, mister,” you say with a playful laugh, accompanied by a twinkle in your eyes, “So try me.”

“Let me take you home,” he just answers softly. You wish he meant those words in a different way. 

*

The car ride home is silent except for the quiet hum of the pop music coming from the radio. You look at Joel out of the corner of your eyes, and he drives with a controlled kind of calmness and only one hand on the steering wheel. His other hand rests on the gear shift and you could touch him if you dared, but you don’t and you don’t think you ever will. 

When he parks the truck in his driveway, he offers to walk you to your door despite it being only a few houses away. When you decline, he insists and his southern drawl becomes a little more present as he fusses. 

“Thanks again, Joel,” you say as you fumble through your bag for your keys. Joel is standing right beside you, close enough for you to feel the warmth radiating from his body in the cool summer night air. 

“I did give you my number to call if you were ever in trouble,” he replies matter-of-factly. 

You finally fish out your keys, but after unlocking the door and opening it halfway, you decide to turn towards Joel again. It catches him a little by surprise and he takes a step back, but you find yourself thinking that he is just as far away from you as before. Had he stepped closer whilst your back was turned? 

“Anyway,” you say but then trail off. You shift a little where you stand, expressing nervousness and looking up at him through your eyelashes. Making a move right now could make or break your relationship, but the way he looks underneath the starry sky is almost too much. There’s a dull ache in your body, starting in your chest and going downwards. 

“Anyway,” he eventually repeats and gives you a sort of boyish smile as he points to his face. The homemade ice pack is still in his car or you would have told him to use it straight away, “Let’s not do it again sometime.” 

You laugh genuinely at his joke, cheeks getting a soft rosy tint. He looks at you with a chuckle of his own, and you’re not quite sure about what his eyes are telling you.

“Goodnight, Miller,” you say and choose the easy way out of the situation. You move, head inside and peek out just before closing your front door, “And don’t act like you wouldn’t wanna do it again.”

.

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[witchlingcirce]

drop ur twp theories

i’m curious do you think anything will happen to jace or clary

tsc content has dried up sm after the hype over the first tlkof chapter died down

AHHHH, tbh tsc content has dried up a bit probs due to lack of new content !! I’ve also definitely played a part in this because I’ve been tumblring more about asoiaf lately sorry gang 😭💔💔

Hmm TWP theories?? I actually have a lot about Thule which I’ve made posts about before: Thule Simon killing Jace , Dru getting the blackthorn sword , some more in general theories , things between Jace & Janus

I don’t think I have any theories that will make anyone’s mind spin in general. But I will similarly give you at least of some stuff I think will/wont happen

1. Not in the TMI gang is dying, I have probably made so many posts about this but I don’t think it makes sense at all!! Free then from these random theories.

2. I think Livvy’s spirit turning evil and therefore harming Ty is quite a common but also one I enjoy. I think it’s interesting because I think it puts a play on there relationship. Ty hurts Livvy by bringing her back, Livvy hurts Ty but being ‘alive’. I think it’s an interesting play on things because alive they would never even THINK about hurting one another but now there doing it unintentionally. I kind of want there final moments to be like

“I would have been your Parabatai” - Ty

“I know” - Livvy

A little play on Star Wars it would be so sad and really cute.

3. Thule!Kit being apart of Faerie somehow. One version I like in particular is him being apart of the wild hunt, I feel like a wild hunt kit would be such a major contrast to our Kit that it would be 10/10. That’s a theory I’ve stolen off Tumblr BTW, another one is Kit ruling the seelie court, personally not fond of that one but I see the vision.

ALSO sorry I got distracted and didn’t almost answer your Clary and Jace question. Referring back to my first point- no. Maybe one of them will become injured and or kidnapped, but neither of them are dying.

I think something will happen between Clace with Janus but no I don’t think either of them are dying!!

TYSM for the ask!! I’ll try to be more active on the tsc fandom!! Buts there also so many wonderful creators who are active on this fandom everyday :>>> you just have to stalk the tag a bit and you’ll find them