#it's just that it can go too far yeah?

[smolstarthief]

*sigh* I guess I have a strong need to let it out but...

I will admit all the gatekeeping at how Viktor should be written in fics can feel pretty discouraging sometimes and maybe even disrespectful depending on the context?

Like... It's hard to explain but it can be frustrating over time. At the same time, I understand the same people's frustration whether it be how his overall character and even his disability should be portrayed (such as removing it entirely post canon) so I get it. It just should be done as constructive criticism and giving advice, not bullying or gatekeeping as every person's experience is different and not the same. And if the author or creator is being rude about it then I probably just not engage further but that's just me, it can vary.

Idk, I do feel less and less confident over time b/c I just mostly see takes like, "How can people write him so mean?! He's a kind good boy!" or "He'd never do or say that! How can you be so stereotypical and ableist?!"

Just the way I see him I think is a slight reflection of my own experiences and I understand people doing the same in writings.

He's snarky and a bit blunt, kind but not a complete pushover either (whether or not you subscribe to him being manipulated by the Hexcore or not but that's another thing entirely), he's a pacifist but I'd say more of a relative pacifist since he does resort to a bit of violence during the show's climax, point is that he's multifaceted. Plus sometimes the same people do tend to hypocritically subscribe to either the same or even a different stereotype of his character that they're calling out so it can be like... Oy... Which is it?

Again, I get some writers and artists can be pretty problematic so I don't blame anyone trying to call them out but then there are writers that just didn't know what they were doing so just seeing the toxicity can be discouraging if that makes sense?

I don't know, maybe I'm just overthinking it since I have mentioned being a cane user irl and see a lot of myself in him (complete with lung problems in hindsight but I highly doubt asthma counts so probably not) and I have been infantilized frequently in the past so... I just don't know man... There should be a balance for sure but not like this.

[choccy-milky]

the place me and my roommate were supposed to move into today was so disgusting and uninhabitable we just took our stuff and left and now we're gonna be staying at airbnbs and hotels until further notice/until we can find a new place hopefully quickly...........im in my homeless drifter era y'all!!!😍😍so if im not as active then thats why LMFAO

1 like = 1 prayer

[junespriince]

Dick: you understand why you are high on my kill list, right?

Wally: yep, because I have a 65% chance of becoming evil and if turned into anything that needs to feed on humans I will wipe out the entire population.

Dick: good, and are you okay with it?

Wally: to die by your hands with be an honor.

Dick: see? If he's okay with it, you should be okay with it.

Jason: ... When were you going to tell us he has a 65% chance of being evil, ain't you the math whiz??

Dick: it's fine, he's too much of a simp to do... Probably.

Jason: I don't like that you're gambling here, this is more problematic than you having a detail file on Killing your family, 1% is too fucking high but 65%!?

Tim: yeah, and he's at the highest point in that list, we're just supposed to be okay with this?

Dick, sigh: Wally can you pinky promise not to turn evil?

Jason: we're not going to pinky promise the death of civilization by a godlike man, have you not read the doom day dystopian novels I left here? We should kill him now!

Dick: okay, I see your point and I counter it, it keeps Bruce up at night that I dropped he's nothing like Barry so Barry's file is as useful as nat. As a treat. For me at least.

Jason: so, you rather let the fate of the world at risk just to make Bruce fear he ain't prepared for something? That's petty.

Dick: petty, therapy, it all the same really.

Jason: will you kill him if he does become evil?

Dick: well, if he like, Catwoman or Harley level, then no. Above that I'll question it, and if higher than yeah I'll kill him.

Wally, heart eyes and kicking his feet: and I'll wait patiently for you on the mountain of my slain enemies birdie ~

Dick: see? All taken care of.

Jason: I'm not holding your hand, fuck the napkin in between, this is insane. Seek therapy.

[mikkeneko]

....now considering whether I want to write a 'Find the shapeshifters' fic for SVSSS too

[xxplastic-cubexx]

was talking to my brother the other day after i rewatched dark phoenix and he was like 'why is everyone so mean to charles in this movie?? were they always this mean to him ?? is it cause he's bald now- he lost his pretty privilege??' and i fear i havent recovered

[turtleblogatlast]

“Haven’t You Noticed (I’m a Star)” from Steven Universe works so ridiculously well for Leo

[cable-salamdr]

Smiling Friends Co visit local lego show and find out that the main character in fact has main character levels of trauma. (+IPad children content and possibly the shittiest edit I have ever made but idc)

[wackywatchdotcom]

before i go do smth else like smth i think abt often but was thinking abt a few hrs ago in particular is how the circus easily tricks the audience into thinking the circus would be Better Than Real Life. when i think from literally almost any angle you examine it its just as bad (if not worse, depending on your own problems)

i think theres like so many problems its hard to even list them all. some of it is personal taste things. cus i think a lot of people think itd be fun because they enjoy specific aesthetic choices in the circus, or bc of other interest related things. but like. what about people who HATE bright colors. what about people who dont like the idea of not being human. what about people who dont enjoy things like roleplaying. some aspects of the circus are only even appealing to specific tastes in things, making one of the few 'draws' of it not really even being a universal thing

and thats the superficial stuff. because more importantly, if you dont like the real world (for whatever reason), the circus may provide a temporary solution to that, because its so far removed from reality. but i think the circus is way smaller than people realize. theres definitely always going to be things to see since caine can always make things, but its just as limited if not more than the real world, because while the world grows and changes, genuinely new things are created and discovered and stuff. caine will never really get to see that, let alone recreate it for the players- and even then, it still isnt actually that thing. that doesnt even factor in that caine is already operating on limited knowledge of the real world. its not clear how detailed he can get on things, since the accuracy can vary (spudsys being so accurate to the real world, vs the dinner in ep 1 being so flat and lacking almost any detail), but theres a good chance that anything he makes is going to be limited to, at the most, a CONCEPT from the real world, if theres nothing in the real world you like, thats still all youll get, just in a different way.and if you DO like things from the real world, youll never get to truly reexperience it (even if caine remakes it, youll know its not the real thing, and it wont be 100% how you remember it, either)

then theres the safety/pain/horror aspect to what caine makes. i think because there hasnt been gore or anything its easy to assume the circus is still tame, and that anything bad that happens cant be TOO bad. but this is NOT true at all. the teaser of the show establishes that even when caine is not going for horror, he still hurts the players. theres things thatd be physically horrifying to a person like getting possessed, theres physical pain (i see it debated but i think its clear that even if they were to experience less pain, they still DO experience pain, but thats a different topic) or extreme discomfort, theres psychological torment (the exit doors are genuinely very cruel even if that wasnt caines goal, what ep 4 did to jax and gangle. kinger getting taunted in ep 3, etc). its all survivable but even if you like them caine isnt trustworthy enough in this way to never do smth horrific to a person, or cause it through his actions

then theres the complete lack of autonomy, which imo is one of the most frightening things about the circus. bc unless your tastes are always aligning with the exciting, completely family friendly existence of the circus, and you never deviate even a little, you are going to be barred from any semblance of it. its best illustrated in how pomni HATES being touched but caines always prodding her and moving her places and stuff, and in how zooble is denied the option to opt out of adventures even when they state they want to directly by episode 4 implying the choice to even have time to yourself is deeply conditional (plus, the whole lack of an exit entirely meaning that even if you liked the circus, the lack of option to leave would still affect a person. youre getting locked in a big room for the rest of time and youll never get to leave). and also this post

and THEN you factor in the social aspect. because regardless of how you prefer socializing if at all, the circus is a nightmare. if you dont like people, thats great! you dont NEED to be anyones friend! except that you are going to be forced to interact with them eventually, and when you do its going to be repeated. its not gonna be once. and once caine notices hes going to bother you about it. forever

alternatively, if you DO like social interactions in any way, no matter what, if its not you, youre going to see others abstract. you are going to inevitably watch those you care abt struggle and eventually get stuck in a state that Seems Extremely Horrifying To Experience forever. its long and drawn out and itd suck and it wouldnt happen once

then is the easy to forget fact that if you have psychological problems they can and WILL follow you to the circus. gangle and zooble are the biggest examples of this. the circus didnt get rid of their problems, they just gave it a new, horrifying inevitable consequence. i sometimes fall victim to looking at the circus and assuming that ohhh i wouldnt have this problem! because i wont have to deal w it getting set off! but like... yeah i would. i wouldnt stop having this or that in the circus id just have to deal w it while ALSO going on adventures

theres many things. you cant truly eat you cant die you dont get to decide anything when you do die it seems terrifying to experience and youll be stuck in some level of that forever and anything you enjoy is not with you and anything you dont enjoy will follow you too to some degree and the list goes on and on

all this said i dont think any of this is an indicator that the characters lives are meaningless or smth just because it sucks. theres a reason gooseworx has said that the takeaway from the show should be that theres meaning to be found in a stagnant life. theres still meaning in their existence and i dont think its as hopeless as it may seem- but i think its still BAD. and tbh the idea that its worse only HELPS that theme of the show!!! i dont think itd hit as hard as a theme if the circus DIDNT suck

[xerorao]

Keep your fangs sharp, and your cash hidden 🐺🪙

[emmavakarian-theirin]

the way the music died at just the right moment made this so perfect

[rabble-dabble]

no context just figure it out

[pseudophan]

extremely important question do any buffy fans here actually like angel (the series not the character) because i swear all i see lately is people saying it sucks and they couldn't get through it and it's like you can't ALL be that wrong

[quatregats]

Also, while I won't claim to be expert at this myself, I think a similar thing to the knightcore post happens with a lot of Age of Sail stuff, like people will be like "well I don't actually support the Navy" but then refuse to engage with the fact that this is an imperial war machine and their characters are deeply embedded within it, or if they do engage with it do so in a very cagey kind of way - but like I think that thinking through those implications and the fact that at some point these characters agreed to carry out that violence, and thinking about what that might do to a person, and also thinking about the fact that many of us are also deeply embedded within modern imperial war machines in some way or another is really interesting and important

[xxplastic-cubexx]

im forcing you all to look shady-car-salesman erik

[What If Magneto Had Formed The X-Men With Professor X?]

[holyraconteur]

...

So, I've been having thoughts about Spider wielding Chaos magic.

Crazy, right? In a galaxy where blue people exist and humans have found a way to colonize planets, red magic wouldn't be too farfetched.

That would be absolutely wild—Spider awakening as a Chaos witch in a moment of extreme pain and trauma, unleashing a force that he never knew existed. It would make him a terrifying and awe-inspiring figure on Pandora, a force of nature devoted to Eywa and the planet of his birth. Throw in Kiri, and you've got two overpowered siblings.

Anyway, here's a drabble:

Captured by the RDA, Spider endures days of torture as they demand the location of the Sullys. They push him past his limits—electric shocks, water deprivation, beatings—until something inside him snaps. It’s not just pain that fuels the transformation, but sheer, unfiltered rage. He had spent his entire life being nothing but a pawn to everyone. A demon to the Na’vi, a prisoner to the RDA, an afterthought to the humans of Hell's Gate. No more.

The air distorts. The room trembles. A deep crimson glow seeps from Spider’s fingers, crackling and sparking like liquid fire. He doesn’t think—doesn’t even understand what’s happening—before an explosion of red chaos energy erupts outward, flaying the RDA soldiers alive. Metal warps and melts, bodies twist and contort, their screams merging into a sickening cacophony of agony. Blood paints the walls.

Quaritch barely has time to register what’s happening before he bursts apart, his entire form breaking down on a molecular level.

Spider stands at the epicenter of the carnage, breath heaving, eyes glowing a deep, menacing crimson. His feet leave the floor as he ascends, floating weightlessly, surrounded by swirling tendrils of chaotic energy. He looks down at the ruin he has created, the shredded remains of his captors, the metal reduced to slag.

And for the first time in his life, Spider feels powerful.

He doesn’t run. He doesn’t hide. He flies, the red glow of his magic cutting across the Pandoran sky like a falling star of crimson.

The Omatikaya stare in shock as he arrives, his form wreathed in pulsing red light. He doesn’t wait for their judgment. He knows what he must do. The RDA has taken everything from him, from the Na'vi, from Eywa, from this world. Jake Sully had done what he could, but these demons were relentless in their pursuit for more. Never again.

With a single whisper, the forest bends to his will. The skies darken. The very fabric of reality trembles as he vanishes in a flicker of crimson energy, reappearing in the heart of Bridgehead City.

And then, with a single motion of his hand, he tears it apart.

Buildings collapse. Mechs crumple like paper. Soldiers scream as the very air around them shreds them into nothing. There is no mercy, no hesitation—only raw, undiluted vengeance. The Wrath of Eywa.

Spider doesn’t stop until the RDA is gone. Until their machines are dust, their weapons are ruins, and the very land they corrupted is cleansed by his power. As the last embers of destruction fade, he stands amidst the wreckage, his red eyes burning like twin suns. He is no longer just a stray human, no longer the son of a demon.

He is the harbinger of chaos.

And Pandora is his to protect.

[friszil]

i'm not much of a doorkeay shipper but every time i think about "anybody else" by dom fera as michael distortion and gerry my brain stops workingi'm like ndksodmrnwpalsnfne oh ogdo oh my ogooooood oh god oh ood please no