#it's obviously full of flaws but i see the difference and that makes me go :3

[beesinspades]

april 2023 vs september 2023 :D

[youvebeengalindafied]

This is all @polyarmy and @fiyeroba ‘s fault for making me sad about Glinda again so now I’m posting my whole Glinda Meta here (originally an obnoxiously long dm sent to @gamorahww who is a patient saint)

You’ve asked for it, and now you get……The Glinda Meta™

First: I have been obsessed w/ Glinda's character for like 15 years. She is my roman empire. But I also really LIKE her as a flawed character - something that the fandom has always seemed to be a little uncomfortable with.

She is, to me, what Jane Austen once wrote about Emma:

“I am going to write a heroine whom no one but myself will much like.”

Full meta character analysis under the cut. Uh. Strap in.

(This gets a lil long sorry, but PLEASE HEAR ME OUT -)

To me, the interesting thing is what actually - ACTUALLY - motivates Glinda to act the way she does is so much greater and deeper than a simple desire for success/fame/popularity.

Like obviously in literature/critique of narrative, we have this idea of protagonists vs supporting characters. Supporting characters might have philosophies or goals that drive them (think Nessa and Boq) but those philosophies and goals are usually not developed into self-contradictory nuance the way a protagonist's motivations are. They’re just facts about the character.

And in my option, a big problem in the wicked fandom is that everybody seems to treat Glinda as a supporting character whose motivations are easy to digest. To most fans, she's either the girlfriend who is there to support Elphaba's story by being "loving but conflicted." Or to critics she's entirely selfish and cruel (even as she's fun and interesting), and therefore a semi-antagonist

But if you step back and treat Glinda as a true antihero protagonist of Wicked (for the sake of the mental character study), you see that she's not actually motivated by love or popularity or even success....what drives her is desperation.

Glinda sees her world as a place that cannot be changed and will only work to destroy those who cannot correctly operate in it. And she is SO DESPERATE to avoid that. Elphaba's fate is actually her worst fear - she cannot break away from society and leap to a new fate, because she is the ultimate cynic who thinks there is no way that could possibly work. In fact, it's an enormous testament to her love (however you want to intepret that) of Elphaba that she's even willing to consider leaving during Defying Gravity. For a brief moment, her immense, incredible faith in Elphaba is almost enough to overcome her complete desperation to survive the horrible world she thinks she's in.

And that obviously means that she's not as noble as Elphaba or as brave as Fiyero as a character - she cannot make the choice to leave when both of them do at different points - but that's because she's the most "human" character in the story. Most people are not brave enough to become international terrorists, even in the face of great evil. We might join in a developed cause, but to knowingly walk towards what is likely one's death to change a system you know you’ll actually have very little effect on...that takes a very special kind of person. And while Glinda is a GOOD person, she is too much a cynic and too desperate to survive her crazy world to become that impossible standard of the Rebel or the Hero. She's just a flawed, scared girl, in circumstances she never dreamed she’d be in.

And then the craziest thing happens:

Rather than showing Glinda that she should have been brave and done what E and F did, the narrative instead goes and basically confirms all her darkest fears: Elphaba rebels...and her revolution fails, and Glinda loses her best friend to bitter hatred and insanity for most of Act 2. Fiyero decides to leave and do the right thing by going with Elphaba....and he is almost immediately murdered in a horrible, violent way as punishment for it. This can only reinforce for Glinda that the State/the System/the World is all-powerful, and she must bow to it.

But that's the most fascinating moment for her character, because the very moment she realizes the absolute overwhelming power of the system (March of the Witch Hunters) is also the very moment that chooses to die rather than perpetuating it. She leaves the City to approach Elphaba - whom Glinda thinks POSSIBLY WANTS TO KILL HER - and BEGS Elphaba to not die. Begs Elphaba to stop her self-sacrificial madness. Begs Elphaba to allow Glinda to sacrifice herself instead ("Then I'll go, I'll tell everybody the truth!" "No! They'll just turn against you!" "I DON'T CARE!" - this girl who is entirely motivated by survival is straight up throwing it all on the line ready to walk to her death at the hands of a mob with wide open, unblinking eyes)

And obviously, in doing so, she is making the same choice that Fiyero did earlier in the story, But the huge difference is that Fiyero is a classic case of a "dead from the beginning" character, and he does not have the same motivations as her. He starts as a nhilist already embracing death in Dancing Through Life and his character is not somebody who is desprate to survive - his character is driven by a desperation for a faith. And Elphaba (and her cause) is his faith that he happily martyrs himself for.

By contrast, Glinda is terrified of the system that is trying to kill her, and she is desperate to survive it. She sees the way it takes everything form her, again and again, destroying everything she loves - Elphaba, Fiyero, her own sense of goodness…

(And she is extremely genre-aware that she is in a tragedy: her world isn't fair, and she knows that Elphaba will fail. She knows this will all go wrong.)

But Glinda still has such strength of character that she - in the end - overcomes all of her fear, all of her weaknesses, and humbles herself at the pyre to join the people she loves so much in their fate. She both offers to die for Elphaba and she takes up Elphaba's work and dedicates her entire life to it, consequences be damned. And that comes from a place of ultimate love and goodness, despite all of her flaws and all the temptations dissuading her.

Because Glinda is not Elphaba or Fiyero - she isn't a starry-eyed optimistic rebel or a man with a obsessive, loving faith. She is just a girl. Just Emma. And she is extremely flawed, and has so many fears that push and pull at her in a way the other main characters do not experience. But despite being so painfully, humanly defective, her goodness allows her to do the right thing in the end.

tl;dr - the greatest thing about Glinda’s character is that she is flawed, and she is weak and makes all the wrong choices. But in the end, she humbles herself completely - to the point of offering her own life for Elphaba and taking the whole weight of the world on her shoulders despite all her fear - because she is ultimately good.

And thus in the end, she becomes the person that Elphaba so clearly sees her as throughout the story: good, caring, and able to make real change in the world. She will now try desperately to fully live up to Elphaba's incredible faith in her. And it's so heartbreaking and tragic, but also one of the best character arcs ever.

So I guess it's less "wants to stay safe in her bubble" and more "she sees no option other than to stay safe. The State/System is all-powerful and there is nothing she thinks she can do to change that. But the beauty of the character lies in her decision to step out of that bubble anyways."

—

BONUS: Glinda’s flaws in relation to her relationship with Elphaba

(Or why Gelphie is a devastating ship (romantically or not) but not in the way you think)

This section dedicated to the SJB/AA performance that just BREAKS ME.

Elphaba basically sees Glinda through some WILDLY rose-tinted glasses (which is just. such a fascinating insight into elphaba’s character). Which is why a good chunk of the fandom accepts it as fact that Glinda is ~not actually all that flawed~ or is somehow being forced to make the decisions she is (she is not. the narrative point of Fiyero’s character is to prove that lol)

Glinda is very much complicated and does make some truly terrible decisions. Elphaba just sees and believes the good in her, despite everything she does (because it’s also a fact of the story that - either platonically or romantically - she’s clearly a little in love with Glinda. (The passes she gives that girl…)). I don’t think her weird thing about Glinda is particularly rational, but it is undeniably all-consuming.

And that makes their relationship feel VERY human. Their flaws don't make them unworthy of each other’s love and respect and friendship. Elphaba's love of Glinda is pretty crazy in light of how much Glinda’s morals and choices differ from her own, but that’s the kind of love that real, sometimes illogical people have. Anybody trying to prove the logic or compatibility of the characters is kinda missing the point - it doesn’t make sense, and THAT’S how you know it’s love.

(Brief aside: similar to Elphaba’s obsession with Glinda, Fiyero is also irrationally obsessed with Elphaba. I mean, she kinda sucks at the whole revolution thing (she's trying!!) and he's clearly starry-eyed ignoring a LOT of her flaws lol. In contrast - for better or worse, Glinda does see Elphaba's flaws and calls them out, just as Elphaba sees Fiyero's flaws and calls him out. It’s a nice little circular relationship)

But…but….is it gay???

Sure. I think so - but I’m a lesbian who has shipped it since I was a preteen lol. But that’s also NOT THE POINT, and focusing on only the romantic angle of their relationship REALLY ignores just how layered and complex it is.

Taking off my squee shipping glasses for a minute: they’re fundamentally just two people in some version of an EXTREMELY intense relationship. I honestly think Glinda reads as a little terrified of how insanely intense her relationship is with Elphaba. She fears walking down that road and fully falling into that intense, all-consuming love. (And we literally learn why later through Fiyero’s ‘death’ and Elphaba’s insanity - love makes you do some crazy things, and Glinda can’t afford that in this world.)

Regardless of whether you interpret them romantically or not - it’s clear they’re very intense about each other and Glinda is very afraid that Elphaba is her weakness. Unfortunately, Elphaba is also her soulmate and the love of her life, and she’ll always come back again. That fact will ruin Glinda’s life in the end, but it will have been worth it for all the love that was there

[darklinaforever]

I feel like by sharing this brief opinion I'm going to get my ass kicked.

But there is this tendency I've noticed to constantly embellish the character of Thomas in a part of the fandom as well as his relationship with Ellen, while Thomas and the relationship with Ellen are in themselves full of flaws and problems. Thomas is far, very far from being a perfect husband devoted to his wife. I will soon make a post that talks about this in more depth but I needed to express this briefly and especially a scene that no one ever talks about except to obviously spit on the Ellen & Orlok relationship again, while the scene is just as much about Ellen & Thomas.

I'm talking about the only sex scene between Thomas & Ellen which... sorry but makes me think of a form of rape.

I constantly see people insulting Orlok as a rapist when ironically the only real sex scene with him has nothing to do with it, but that's not the subject.

So the fact is that Orlok constantly gets this interpretation... but not Thomas ?

Which I find a bit weird though. The guy takes his wife, in full delirium and discomfort of course, simply to prove his virility, and with the way it was filmed... the scene makes me think of a form of rape, sorry not sorry.

I'll make a much more detailed post about this later, but I already wanted to see if people shared my discomfort with this scene between Thomas & Ellen.

I ask that no one comes to insult me ​​for this opinion or goes into ultimate defender mode of Thomas' character, I have no hatred against the character, I like him a lot, just like his relationship with Ellen. I simply point out the flaws of this character and the relationship shared with Ellen which has just as many problematic aspects as with Orlok in a global way but in a different way.

[bigcowboydyke]

about your disability pride month post: is there anything important/significant you think people should take notes on when writing a character with an upper arm prosthetic? (like starting from the elbow if i phrased correctly)?

Yeah! I think the biggest is that you ought to consider first, esp if its an OC, your reasoning for making the character disabled- you wanna make sure you're not fetishizing or exploiting their disability to prop up abled characters. I've got a list of questions for authors to ask themselves along those lines that I can post or dm

Secondly, you have to consider what level of realism you wanna go with. If you have a character where, in universe, the prosthesis functions in exactly the way an arm does, you could just go with that if you want - it's the path of least resistance, right? BUT you ought to consider that most prostheses in media exist in that way AT THE EXPENSE of good representation of disability. Erasing disability or "curing" it with magical prostheses IS a form of ableism that is so pervasive it just goes unnoticed by most. I believe personally that disabled bodies are worth portraying well even when the creators of the source material did not do that. SO if you want to go with real well thought our representation, here are some common things I think authors and artists often miss (specifically as it pertains to upper limb prostheses):

1) I already said this, but seriously, I cannot emphasize enough that upper limb prosthetics ain't cheap and are usually uncomfortable. Your character, if they are poor, or even like middle class, won't have access to multiple high tech popular mechanics cover story type robo arms. Even if they did ...

2) Not all limb different folks use prosthetics! I personally have used multiple and I disliked them. I tried very hard to learn, but there are multiple requirements to be able to use each model and sometimes, a lot of times actually, limb different people - especially people without a hand or an arm function Better without prosthetics. Be aware in your art that limb different people are Whole. How you ask can somebody without an arm, say, do all that stuff?

3) Consider the idea of adaptation in your writing and art instead of relying only on magicking disability away with prosthetics. Disabled People live in a world full of barriers and tend to be Very creative about navigating it, adapting to our environment through just being a little clever about how we do things is the biggest way i see other people with upper limb differences interact with the world. There are three main ways that we go about this without prosthetics: Using adaptive equipment, Finding an alternate method, or as a last resort, asking for help.

Example 1: I have like 1.5 arms ok so obviously only 1 hand, and I need to clip my fingernails every once in a while. The obvious solution to me, while it may seem gross, is just to bite them off. Bad habit, but efficient. I could use those horrible little nail clippers, with my remaining stump and a little finagling but it takes forever. I could also get some adaptive nail clippers - they make great big handled ones for ppl that can't grab the little ones. Or, I could ask my partner to trim them, but I'm usually too proud to do that. Let disabled people have their flaws too lol!

Example 2: I love to rock climb. This is where adaptive equipment comes in. I could slip off a rock climbing wall pretty easily right? So bouldering (rock climbing without harnesses) is totally inaccessible to me. But if I go to a gym that has harnesses, then that's fine - they catch me if I fall and that's adaptive for me.

Adaptive equipment comes in many shapes and sizes and can be regular items repurposed.

3. If after all that you Must create art or write about an OC or preexisting character that uses upper limb prosthetics, consider that in general, limb different people's prosthetics are not equivalent to having two arms. Prosthetics are only practical for limb different people if they enhance your life or are useful in some way, however, getting one high tech enough to do that is unlikely because they are expensive. There are different groups, clinics, and charities that make lower cost options but they tend to be much lower tech than is depicted (and often are clunky). My first prosthetic was a long flat piece of metal, similar to a doctors tongue depressor, attached to a plaster cuff velcroed around my stump. The idea was that since I had a little bit of stump poking out, I could pin objects against the metal and it would work like a crab's pincers. It was okay, but I did accidentally smack many. Many. Things with it, including my own face and since it was metal, that was unpleasant. Obviously hindered more than helped. Also it did not look even remotely like a hand.

4. Which prosthetics you can get generally depend on what you got on you. Literally. Bodily. With upper limb prostheses, If you don't have an elbow or wrist, your options are almost exclusively limited to the pricier electric options that are both super futuristic, unavailable to many, and also like new car priced. Many of the manual, non-electric models depend on the ability to flex a wrist or elbow, so if you have those things are a little more accessible overall. It also matters whether you are born limb different like me, or if you are an amputee. Amputees are more likely to be candidates for prostheses than people like me because they have all those preexisting muscles and nerves for prosthetics that are higher tech and require surgical attachment Also prosthetics might be an easier learning curve, and more useful for somebody who has been abled bodied than it would be for somebody who never had that limb in the first place.

5. This is a little thing and ... Not to get too medical with it ( and neither should yall) but limb different people often have physical changes associated with lack of or loss of limb. If you do not have a limb, you are not going to be developing the muscles that are surrounding it in the way an a nondisabled person would. Again for example I have 1.5ish arms which means I've got plenty of stump on my "affected" limb. Even when I did Varsity sports and everything, I was never able to get beefy on that side. It is a pet peeve of mine that many people do not seem to get this - Most art I see of vash the stampede has him with two super beefy shoulders and like yeah i get it that's hot, but if hes got roughly the same amount of stump as me, he probably shouldn'tlook like that. Another thing in this vein is chronic pain is associated with limb loss and limb difference- I have it and its reasonable that any prosthetic user or nonprosthetic using limb different person is more likely to have it. Again these are little things but if you're looking to do good representation you need to consider that limb difference is not just a cool little stylistic choice to make a character look tough or what have you - limb loss and limb difference mean that that character will not only think differently than abled bodied people, but move differently, pose differently, have different routines and preferences than are ever represented in most media. Disability is not a style, and it's not a diagnosis, it's an identity. It's important above all to be respectful of that by letting go of centering able-bodied expectations and aesthetic in your art and writing. Hard to do but i believe in y'all!

Hope that helps! I've also got a bunch of links to go along with these points, if you want them lmk! I'm always happy to take asks about this stuff!

Tl;dr please consider making characters that don't use prosthetics, or don't use them excessively because it's more realistic, better representation, and makes me, a disabled dyke on the internet, really happy.

Lastly if y'all liked my advice and appreciate my time you are always welcome to tip me for it - my c*sh*pp is $neptunedrive

[thedirtiwalkoniswet]

I've talked in great detail about Ahsoka, Obi Wan and Acolyte, and while I've pointed out many details in Andor I loved, I haven't made a similar lengthy post about it. So get ready.

The writing, the strongest part of the show. Star Wars is so notorious for having bad writing that Andor is in very stark contrast to this. Arguable the most well written show I have ever watched. No other show has captivated me this much with it's dialogues/ monologues as Andor. So many lines stuck with me. I already made a post about my favorite parts, so I will keep it at that. Something that could be criticized, is that it is sometimes very heavy with preachy monologues. On the other hand is it so well written that I don't mind it at all. If it was written worse, it very much could be something to criticize.

It also doesn't hold your hand, it doesn't explain everything right away and you learn organically what they are talking about. It allows it to have a much greater rewatch value.

Next up, the characters. Every single character is full of personality, even when they only have 5 minutes of screen time, in matter of seconds you already know who they are, what purpose they serve, what relationship they have to each other. It's the combination of the fantastic writing and incredible acting. We also see the motivation behind every big decisions a character makes, nothing comes out of nowhere.

Many of the live action star wars shows suffer from having antagonists that feel flat and one dimensional, whose motives are shallow or none existent. When Syril was introduced, we understood why he's doing what he's doing. When Dedra was introduced, you find yourself rooting for her. It was such a genius introduction, seeing her react to the only other woman in the room speak. She is a minority in this room. You watch her fail to someone who in this moment seems more 'evil' than her, so you want her to win. And then you do watch her win, by being smart and cunning (something a lot of star wars villains are not). But then you realize that her winning means others have to suffer, Paak and Bix first and foremost. You don't root for her anymore.

There aren't just the good guys and the bad guys in Andor, they all have layers. Syril obviously belongs to the bad guys, but he doesn't know that, he believes he is doing the right thing. Luthen is ready to sacrifice many lives to destroy the empire. Almost taking this Robespierre approach, where the violence of the rebellion is affecting the allies negatively as well. Making you question if the position of power he has build for himself is going to corrupt him in the future. Which he is aware of and even addresses, something that still differentiates him from the imperials or Saw Gerrera, who refuses to see any flaws in his believes.

Another thing Andor shows, which is missing in many other shows, is culture. It organically integrates parts of Chandrillan or Ferrix culture. The drinks, the way marriages work in Chandrillan culture, the fact that it is very heteronormative. The way people of Ferrix warn each other about imperials, the tradition of funerals, which is an incredible concept by the way. Also seeing how people live, their homes, something you see so rarely in Star wars since so much takes place on ships. Syrils, Mon's and Ma's homes, all widely different and adding so much to the world building, by doing such a small thing. Additionally do you see how the empire works on a more in depth level, without the focus on wars or the elimination of Jedi.

The empire is a real, suffocating threat. The rebels in this show have to go through great lengths just to communicate with each other, they need to slip through tiny cracks to get around the empire. And even then they sometimes fail, like Kreegyr or Bix did. Half of the rebels attacking the garrison died trying. It's not easy, it's messy, dirty, it took great sacrifices.

And that is the main theme of the show - sacrifice. Tying back to the fact that Cassian ends up sacrificing himself for the rebellion. Everyone sacrifices something to help the greater good, wether it's money, relationships, inner peace or lives.

On a more facile note, the costume design is amazing. We all already know that Mon's closet is incredible, but so is the one of her husband or Tay Kolma. The same goes for the people of Ferrix, who have a clear style that adds to the beauty of the planet and culture.

I also think it was a smart decisions not to have aliens among the main cast, since bad make up or cgi can ruin the vibe to a degree. But the ones we do see all look great. They can also save budget focusing on other things instead.

There is so much good in this show, so many details worth mentioning, I could go on forever. It's not going to be the last time I praise this show, that's for sure.

[lunarzomb]

Misty Isn't Responsible for Natalie’s Death

In this post I will briefly go over why I believe pointing the blame towards one person for the bad things that happen in Yellowjackets is reductive as well as how I feel that goes against Yellowjackets themes as a show, I’ll also explain the different variables from the adult timeline that lead to Natalies death and how Misty was involved but ultimately not to blame alone, and how Natalies death relates back to her past trauma in the wilderness, as well as why I personally think her death makes sense for her character.

Yellowjackets is a show full of characters who are very interesting and at the same time obviously flawed. And it explores the different ways different people change and process the trauma they collectively went through as teenagers. I believe that for Yellowjackets blaming a single character for things such as the death of others (in most cases) is incredibly reductive. For most of the bad things that happen in Yellowjackets, it’s a combination of multiple different characters as well as the survivalist situation they’ve found themselves in/ the trauma that they have because of surviving out in the wilderness.

Okay now onto some of the factors that led to Natalie’s death in the present timeline. So pretty obviously the first BIG event that led to Natalie’s death was Lottie’s insistence on the wilderness needing another hunt/sacrifice. Plus everyone who agreed to it, wether their intentions were genuine or not. Then Lisa coming across them during the hunt, because that led to Misty attempting to kill Lisa, finally leading to Natalie sacrificing herself for Lisa. (there could be a couple more factors in the present timeline that I missed, I haven’t rewatched the finale in a bit) But my main point here is that, there are multiple different connecting factors that eventually lead to the death of Natalie in the present timeline, not even mentioning everything that happened in the wilderness. I could see how someone who doesn’t understand Natalie’s death would feel better to have a single character to blame and hate because of that. But that relates to why I think it is reductive when people do that. People could blame Lottie for Natalie’s death because she was the main one who brought up the topic of performing another hunt for the wilderness. Someone could blame Lisa for getting in the way of the hunt. But most people I’ve seen blame Misty because she was in a way, the end of the road that led to Natalie’s death. But that’s exactly it, she was just the final puzzle piece. Without the other factors that came before hand, Natalie’s death wouldn’t have happened.

For my final point, I will go over why Natalie’s death makes sense to me (at least in a way that relates to how the writers ended season 2). Now, I know that we still don’t know the full of what Natalie had to do in the wilderness to survive, but I do know that a significant event that happened to her character was the death of Javi. There are obviously many different factors that lead to Javi’s death as well, but to me it’s quite clear that Natalie holds the guilt of Javi’s death and feels responsible for it. Javi was trying to save Natalie from getting killed by the others, but Natalie couldn’t save Javi. She chose to live, but at the cost of Javi’s life. I feel like the guilt of sacrificing another, especially someone like Javi who she feels a sort of protectiveness over, to save her own life. To me, this is such an obvious parallel to Natalie and Lisa. Throughout season 2 Natalie shows how she’s become protective over Lisa multiple different times. So when Lisa interrupts the hunt, and Misty tries to save Natalie’s life by killing Lisa, Natalie makes a split second decision. She lets herself die in order to save someone else. Something she couldn’t do when she was a teenager, something that left her with so much guilt, she was able to do as an adult. She saved Lisa at the cost of her own life. She chose to jump in front of Lisa! She had agency! Misty did not lethally inject Natalie on purpose, but Natalie purposely jumped in front of Misty to save Lisa.

Now, when I say that, I do not mean to say that Natalie killed herself on purpose and that Natalie’s death is solely her fault. That’s like 100% against the points I’ve been trying to make this whole post.

IN CONCLUSION… Natalie’s death was the result of the trauma she and everyone else went through in the wilderness as well as the presence and actions of multiple different characters in the present timeline.

[littleeyesofpallas]

Ya know i'm sure someone has long since beat me to this, and with a more functional vector or actual typeface format, but out of sheer boredom I recreated a clean-ish version of the Bleach TYBW anime font from samples I pulled from the current season OP credits, complete with all their infuriating little geometric flaws and asymmetries.

It is notably slightly different than the actual TYBW manga font

I really can't express how utterly sandpaper-on-brain it was having to deliberately and meticulously unalign parallel lines by hand to make these... Technically some of the sharper interior angles probably had actual rounded edges, but given the scale I was working at and the scale of what I could screenshot being fuzzy at best when blown up, there was no way to tell how to do it accurately, so I just left them with the harsher edges. I actually hate looking at these now because I can see every little thing wrong with them. (don't even get me started on the fucking kerning. that's a whole other beast)

I'm sure if i went digging I could find a sample to use for the Q, but there wasn't one in the current OP and frankly I don't care to go digging for it considering there's obviously nothing in Japanese that would romanize into a Q.

Anyway maybe this'll be useful to someone doing fan art or something. I dunno. It excised the impulse from my brain so I don't much care where it goes now that it's out in the world.

(As a tip these would probably work a whole lot better scaled down a little to let the scaling and blur round out the jank features, both of the actual typography design and my own slapdash job recreating it, so maybe consider that if you're going to use them for anything.)

(oh right i forgot tumblr would smoosh the full set down. here's it all in chunks)

Oh and it's a super rough pull from the manga covers, rather than me reconstructing it, but here's the manga version of this typeface (note the R being totally different)

[kzele]

Unpopular TSSM Opinion

Sha-Shan was a better example of a serious moral compass love interest to Flash than Gwen was to, well, anybody.

The gal clearly has no problem turning a guy down until they've proven he isn't a too much of a douche. And she doesn't care how popular they are. If they make make the right, but hard choices, then they've got her interest.

Gwen, on the other hand, can’t seem to judge any of her friend’s moods or situations correctly and make an appropriate decision. For instance, whether as friends or love interests she and Harry are a dumpster fire. When the guy passes out in the courtyard and then avoids her, what does she do? Does she (a) tell her COP dad about it at home, (b) tell Harry’s father, (c) tell a teacher/coach/school counselor AKA any other figure in a position of actual authority? Nope. She tells Peter that something’s wrong with Harry, but doesn’t elaborate enough for him to take her concerns seriously, so he puts it among the lesser problems he has to deal with. Because if Peter was actually told the specifics, this would be MUCH higher on his problems list. There’s no way he’d have to be bullied into talking with Harry, otherwise. (Also, how is it possible that she couldn’t sense anything off about Eddie after he returned to the lab? He’s obviously creepy and fake and you’ve known him since you were both in single digits. If it was just Eddie this happened with, I wouldn’t be having my doubts about her judgement.)

This brings me to my next point about boundaries. Peter respects hers more than she respects his. Thus, she can only enforce her boundaries and/or will if someone already respects her. Harry and Gwen’s full-on couple status is proof. Harry’s shoved her against a locker, jumped over her during a villain attack (did he ever apologize for that?), and the first thing he does is ignore his new girlfriend in favor of calling his dad about having a girlfriend. Oh, and she’s ignoring all these red flags in an implied attempt to make Peter jealous. Nuff said about that ball of toxicity they got going on.

Flash saw Sha-Shan as a hot nerd/rebound, then as a challenge, and finally as someone whom he wants to be respected by. She didn’t let him get anywhere by being a jerk or overstepping. Granted, she had the benefit of not caring about Flash’s opinion of her, like Gwen would with long-time friends. And yet, despite being very judgy about him at the start, once they’re together she understands that Flash will say/do dumb things but it doesn’t take away from his good heart. Sha-Shan accepts him and his flaws. Ironically, despite Gwen being in love with Peter over Harry, you’ll be hard-pressed to find a time where she cuts Peter any slack for anything even when it’s not his fault. Including and up to not dying.(Not actually joking about that. See Christmas Tree aftermath s2ep3.) Maybe it’s just me, but I swear Harry and Eddie could be be kicking puppies off the Brooklynn Bridge in front of her and she’d be giving Peter the silent treatment for missing her calls trying to stop it.

I'm aware that Gwen isn't evil whatsoever but I find her immensely frustrating when TSSM has better female characters to choose from. And this post is for other people who agree with me. I'm not denying the flaws of anyone else here, be it Peter or Harry or whoever else, but I can't cover my thoughts on all the dynamics at play here without overloading my laptop and this site. I feel like Gwen's actions in the show get glossed over a lot. I've seen Peter and Harry get criticized for their actions and sympathy for their differently bad lives within the show, but Gwen. . .doesn't get that same scrutiny. She makes objectively horrible/stupid choices about how to go about things in her relationships but somehow she seems to get less spotlight shed on those things. Instead, the responsibility is often shoved the two guys for screwing up, despite either having far more on their plate or a bad home life. Anyways, I've rambled incoherently enough. Hope it brought you some food for thought even if you don't agree with everything.

[commenter2]

Vivziepop Leviathan headcanons

Though only on screen for a short time and never spoke in Mastermind, I've come up with several headcanons for Vivziepop's version of Leviathan.

My first headcanon is a link to a post about a possible origin Leviathan could have about why she sided with Hell.

Leviathan is 2 separate personalities that share a body (which can lead to the usual situations when it comes to controlling it) and while both identify as female, they prefer to be counted as 2 individuals unless someone is talking about a specific part, like if someone was talking to the white head they would say she in a sentence about her. They occasionally would be okay being counted as one person but that is when they are both in agreement on something or in cases when someone says something like "bring her here right now!"

Given all the other sins have nicknames, I agree with this comment I saw about how each head has a nickname that is part of the word Leviathan. For example one head goes by Levi, which can also be spelled Levy like in Fairy Tail, while the other goes by nicknames like Thana or Athana. The twist is the white head is named Levi (as she thinks it's cute) and the purple is Thana/Athana as it sounds like Athena which is related to the next headcanon. I'm still going to identify each personality by the color of their head.

White has a more optimistic, kind personality while Purple is more negative and grumpy. As a trade, Purple is the more logical and smart one while the other is a bit gullible, a bitidiotic at times, and can be too nice and willing to give someone a chance or praise.

Leviathan seems to be some kind of model or fashionista. I could definitely see her having a kind of makeup and clothing line made from materials found in the ocean, you know like how perfume is basically made from stuff from whale guts and there is something called seaweed fabric. Also based on that Envee app from season 1 she likely runs all kinds of social media stuff, maybe even a gossip tabloid, which would have a section about who wore what better.

White knows she is the more attractive one and loves getting attention for it, explaining why she liked Mammon's flirting in Mastermind. This makes Purple annoyed because she doesn't get as many compliments and obviously gets envious of White's looks and getting more attention, especially from guys.

White is a bit of a romantic and is more open minded on dating anyone (again explaining her interest towards Mam, till she saw him eat) but like I mentioned in the origin post, Purple is still mourning over her last love and doesn't want to take chances and can be very picky of who to date. Still she chose wisely to move away from Mammon when he suggested going on a date.

IDK If it was me or because of the art style but at some angles and scenes, White looked a bit different and would sometimes look either younger or older. This makes me think she wears a lot of make up to hide her age and a few flaws like a barnacle zit, as I have seen the trope of older characters envying the young. This would fit with the makeup brand headcanon.

When it comes to powers I can see both of them having Siren powers, using their voices to control weak minded demons. Given Purple's appearance is very eel like, I could see this meaning they having some electric eel powers, but its not as strong as Mammons. They usually use their electric powers to paralyze enemies for a time. Maybe that is mixed with a kind of toxin their skin can produce? Don't worry they have the ability to "turn it on and off" at will so people don't have to fear of getting shocked/sick if they accidentally touch Leviathan. Also maybe they could have hydrokinesis or be able to generate and shoot out water from their palms.

When it comes to their voices, I could see White have a voice similar to an older sounding Dakota from Total Drama, as that would be fitting. As a bonus when Leviathan turns into her full demon form she would sound like Dakotazoid XD. Others voice I think I would give them is White sounding like Poisandra and Purple with a Badonna like voice, both characters from Power Rangers shows. I previously made a post stating a Poisandra VA could work for Bethesda von Eldritch, so having such a voice for both characters would be a good way to save time and money. A funny VA headcanon is that while Purple has a nice voice, White has a voice that makes her sound like Dr. Mrs. The Monarch from the Venture Bros. We know Purple smokes so imagine if White's voice got effect by it XD. The only time White wouldn't have such a voice is when she sings.

If I had to give Leviathan a love interest, I like the idea of it being a hydra like being. He would be a nine headed guy with the 9th center head being slightly bigger than the others, as he is the dominant head. Even though he has more heads, they don't usually argue with each other compared to when Leviathan does. Each has a notable trait in their personality, one is a nerd, one is the surfer dude, etc. yet 4 love White while 4 love Purple, and the leader head loves them both equally.

White is close friends with Bethesda von Eldritch, and while Purple doesnt like her a much (she can't stand Betty's stupidity at times) she does appreciate that Bethesda is always kind to her and that Bethesda considers her one of the smartest people she knows.

They obviously both love Charlie, though they don't agree on her redemption plan 100%. I feel like after she was born, White tried to sound like the hot, cool aunt though all that did was make her feel old.

That is all I can think of right now, and I would love to hear your thoughts on Leviathan. Do you have any headcanons?

[thisliminalspacedaydreams]

hi mar! i hope it's okay to send an ask your way. i have two questions for you as a human person in the hp fanfic/fandom arena if you want to answer. you do not have to and i apologize now if i'm being annoying or bothering you!

(1) what drew you to the jegulus pairing? what is appealing about it to you that makes you want to write it? (this is a genuine question with zero judgement or snark. i am new-ish to fanfic writing and i am genuinely curious as i'm not too familiar with this pairing!)

(2) can you recommend a good started mauraders fic that is not all the young dudes cause that is so many words i don't feel ready for lol

thank you for taking the time to read this and i hope again i have not been a bother!

Hellooo bonjour of course, I love a good ask, and your questions are so cool and I really want to answer them <3, so you're absolutely welcome!

(1) what drew me to the jegulus pairing? what is appealing about it to me that makes me want to write it?

I really connected with Regulus, because how can a character with such good intentions fuck up so bad? He's a really interesting character with a lot of flaws, yet you can't help but feel kind of sorry for him? I think it's interesting that we know so little, but what we know is full of contradictions? Homeboy supposedly proudly took the Mark but then tried to destroy the horcruxes? What makes a person do such a 180? It kind of forces us to think about what makes a person turn to evil, and what are the levers of evil (family pressure, depression, not feeling like a worthy cause, etc...). And James spoke to me because he's kind of sensible and easily hurt and I visualize him as having a very deep and rich inner life, kind of like Regulus. When he gets hurt, he'll try to get over it, he'll be confrontational, he'll forgive... but he won't really forget? I don't really write James as a happy-go-lucky guy, I tend to give him a more serious vibe, but I like how many characterizations you can find of him!

The both of them are really similar, they just externalize it differently. They both want to be loved for who they are, both are misunderstood as being either always mean or always happy, and both are tired of being put into boxes. They can be themselves with each other, put all the ugly and unlovable parts on display...and still find ways to be loved by each other.

Obviously they're fake characters that don't exist, this is just my interpretation of them and why I like writing/reading them.

I like the idea that someone unlovable can be loved, despite. Maybe it gives me hope.

(2) can I recommend a good starter marauders fic?

I have never read all the young dudes, so you're not alone.

I think my first advice is, you don't have to read the popular fics. There are a few I have read, a few I haven't, but just because everyone raves about it doesn't mean it'll hit for you, so give yourself the freedom to pick and choose your own adventures.

I'm going to go on a little tangent here, but ao3 really is an archive, and every damn day I find gems that have less than 10K hits, sometimes less than 10 comments, that are the bees' knees.

I urge you to just go in ao3 and dig, my friend. Pull your ao3 tags and go on a rampage. Try all the tags you think would interest you.

Don't only trust the comments or the hits. Low or high hit/low comment means nothing. One of my fav fanfic ever sits at a cool 40K hits from 2017 and I believe God wrote it, I can't imagine a human out there in the world wrote this stuff.

My point is every single comment/hit is deserved, and you have "popular fics" that are fantastic and got a lot of love (and deserve them), and unknown fics that are fantastic and deserve a lot of love (and you're gonna need to dig to find them).

My advice is: search tags, start reading chapter 1, see if you feel it. Either click out, or enjoy your meal. Take chances. My god, the things you'll find.

That being said, here are a few recommendations that I really enjoyed, from different registers, so you can have a little pick and see if anything tickles your fancy:

ladies and gentlemen, this is your captain speaking by inthesquare  and really any fics by @aboutnavi. The way she writes tickles a part of my brain that I really just--*sighs in love*. Ladies and Gentlemen is a fic she wrote for me, but I got to know her through : living in border lines (one of my absolutely favorite fics for no reason that I can pinpoint, just that it hits and I cried a lot). I recommend living in border lines to anyone with a pulse. It's sad and depressing, and it just takes 4k to get you there. But it's like, beautiful? ALSO in the ether, there is a website by her made me sob but in a positive, lovely way. She really said, I'm going to write something the way no one has ever written anything before, and did that.

Cat and Mouse by MissAmericanBi. I'm friends with @hihimissamericanbi but I can say without bias that this fic rewired my brain chemistry. I was blushing and I think Celine has 36 pics of me in shock as I read it. O.O. It's smut. There's a cat. Her Regulus won my heart. 10/10 reading experience.

It's a question of where, not when by Idontthinkthats_pumpkinjuice realllllyyyy took me there. I don't know there's something about the CONCEPT that I just thought was really cool and fun and original. It has become a sort of comfort fic for me. It's so weird, I love it.

Tarte Tatin by veryinnovative (@veryinnovative) I started reading this when I was in Japan and I was experimenting with strange and wonderful food, and the story sucked me in. I've never watched the media it was inspired by, but the fic is chef's kiss.

Choices by MesserMoon (@sophsicle) was the fic that dragged me kicking and screaming into the fandom. It's not really fun, nor happy (but it has light-hearted moment. Like, they really try to be happy you know?). I loved everything about it. All their fics are great--just know you'll suffer reading most, but you'll be happy about it.

quite like us by alarainai was the fic that dragged me out of the deep dark hole Choices put me in. It's fun, it's fluffy, it's cute, it healed me. All their fics are great if you want to be happy and have a good time and look at life and think "Thank god I'm alive".

The Mystery of the Pears by sonwar. I'm currently reading this one, and I've been having a lovely time.

If I had to recommend one fic to read from my collection, it would be Le Mange Dieu et le Dévoreur de Mondes. I think you can really tell from the writing how much fun green and I had writing this. I'm extremely proud of what we did there, enough that we both got the name tattooed on our bodies last summer (don't do that. We both have lots of tattoos so we weren't bothered, but don't do that. don't tattoo fic names on your body. It's madness)

Anyway, I urge you not to take these as the gospel truth. It can be a starting point, but there are thousands of amazing writers out there with fics updating, or completed, just waiting for you to find them. I'm mostly writing, so I haven't read any fics from the Marauders fandom in a while. I don't know what's been thrown out there in the past few months, I'm sure there are so many gems!

Enjoy your adventure!

[jacarandaaaas]

opening random encanto yt videos’ comments section is like staring at the waking storm you’re about to plunge into and knowing it’s not gonna be pretty and you’re probably not getting out of it unscathed (aka calm/happy fine—also sorry pepa oof—)

god the amount of misinterpretations people have with the movie, with so many scenes is insane, i’m about to go even more insane myself than usual

it’s so frustrating and i want to throw my phone every time AAAAAAA

but anyway yes, i wrote this ask in the first place to ask about your thoughts on different details and plot points and just general stuff of the movie that you noticed and really love, with any/all of this helping you appreciate the movie more? just anything, really, your choice on whatever you wanna ramble :3 (also to make up for how my last question had stopped you from rambling AHAHAH)

because i know you have so many good ideas and thoughts, so i’d love to hear it hehe :>

hope i made sense with the question, just a bit sleep deprived rn haha, but yes, ty!! <33

I totally relate to this feeling😭 except instead of YouTube comments it’s like almost every platform💀 and thank you for the ask!!

I could rant forever about all the details in this movie honestly!!!

The foreshadowing is SO good in this movie!! waiting on a miracle and the family madrigal being obvious ones but did you guys know the order mirabel sees the doors flicker when she sees the cracks is the order they lose their powers in? Isa + Luisa first because that’s who’s powers act up first dolores + camilo + antonio at the dinner scene and alma last because she was the last one willing to admit the problems!!

I love the character design!! I’ve rambled about it many times but it’s just !!!

I love how despite mirabel being our protagonist they show when she’s wrong and other characters call her out! She’s not a perfect protagonist she’s a flawed teenage girl and that just makes her more endearing

I love that they didn’t make Mariano a mean character just because isabela didn’t want to marry him. The problem isn’t Mariano it’s isabela feeling trapped!! Mariano is also shown to be considerate!

I love that most of the focus is on the female characters (if only the fandom would do that) I love seeing a multigenerational cast of women all flashed out with their own unique traits

about the misinterpretations i completely agree. I feel like this fandom has a “fanon” problem. especially with the most developed characters! surprisingly the ones with the most screen are the most common mischaracterised. I really dislike how encanto as a movie went to such an effort to give every character such a variety of traits and nuance only for the fandom to continuously reduce them down to one singular trait. It almost feels like reinforcing those stereotypes the movie was so set on breaking. As well as this continuously ignoring some of the best canon traits each character has. They feel so far from the original you might as well consider them ocs at that point.

I love the animation on Bruno’s vision shards (they look edible), I love the little details in mirabels room like her outfit sketches being hung up on the walls! THE BUTTERFLIES!! this movie has so many hidden butterflies it’s so fun to spot them!!

the soundtrack obviously but also the score!! only recently discovered that “the house knows” is a reprise of “the cracks emerge” it blew my mind!!!

One thing I really love about encanto is the expressions! they can convey so much with so little and the little subtleties it adds to each character is just incredible to me!!

SKIRT ANIMATION. it’s like hypnotizing to see how the skirts flow in this movie I am glued to the screen every time.

the dos oruguitas scene is gorgeous and so incredibly important to the core message of this story! As well as this scene the fall of casita is another incredible one!!

the songs feel like full blown fantasy musical numbers and I don’t know why people consider that a criticism of the movie is about MAGIC I want to feel that magic in the visuals of the song. So each musical number was like the most incredible experience!!

I love how waiting on a miracle starts off as a reprise of the family madrigal before changing to 3/4 time to show how mirabels out of place

the line “how far do these roots go down” hits so hard and I cant explain why

Felix and pepas love is so real and pure

julieta and agustín are incredible parents

dolores entire design

the fact luisa wasn’t reduced to a stereotype and was allowed to be flawed

mirabels voice!! it’s so unique and recognizable like I love it sm

the way felix sings “no clouds allowed in the skyyy”

I love that the characters actually look their age!

almas room being a replica of her old home showing how metaphorically and physically she’s stuck in the past

“I was thinking of my daughter!!”

I love that with isas transformation it’s not her hating femininity but changing what her femininity means to her

I love how mirabels worst enemy is her own mind. the madrigals aren’t aware of how she feels because she never opens up and it’s just slowly eating her up inside. in the end mirabel needed to acknowledge herself in order to grow (I say acknowledge because I refuse to believe it’s acceptance and I think she would still struggle with her self perception post movie)

I love how the Madrigals use their gifts to help their community and not for self gain. It’s such an interesting twist on the classic superpowers story

I love that the Madrigals are just normal people who randomly got a miracle, nothing of status just normal people in a normal town who got gifted.

the way pepa kisses antonio and hugs him after he gets his gift !!!

the way isabela is the one to initiate the hug but mirabel is the one who snuggles into it

julietas smile

the entire animation is so gorgeous!!

antonio. just antonio if u hate antonio I hate u

I love how realistically written alma is and how her story is treated with respect and nuance.

how all the madrigals problems aren’t solved instantly but it’s shown in a montage that happens over large period of time

[macbethsymphony]

My lovely, please please share?!

Fic authors self rec! When you receive this, reply with favorite five fics you've written (include links, and if you want- a few thoughts about each one), then pass on to at least five other writers if you're up for it. Spread the self-love ✨

Ohhhh was so much harder than I thought it would be!

#1 is obviously The Swordsman and the Blacksmith!

I have so many reasons as to why I should be proud of this one. It’s the first longfic I ever completed, my writing really improved over the span of writing it, it helped me find my writing style and overall I just really really love this story. It’s also what made me fall in love with Zoro and the nuances of his character, plus I really enjoyed writing a flawed main character.

Fun little fact, the whole fic came from this one scene I had in my head of Zoro fucking the main character and asking "Make me a sword"... I just had to uhhh write around 80k words to get there (it was originally planned to be around 30k but I'm really glad I pushed it to where it is now)

(Am I allowed to go into specific favorite chapters? Top 5? It’s my post I guess I can, I’ll yap about my fav chapters below the cut!!!!)

#2 has to be Cherry Girl

It’s the fic that brought me back to writing after almost a decade of nothing. I also find the story kind of sweet and fun and a different take on the Kid pirates. Also it was a really fun reader insert to write, such a breath of fresh air kind of character. It's a really different tone from my other fics but it's also why I love it so much.

#3 Negotiations

Maybe it's recency bias maybe not but I had so much fun with the dialogues at the beginning of this fic. It was a challenge and I am actually kind of proud of what I managed to achieve with it. (the smut's also pretty good imo)

#4 This Shanks ask I answered that plagues my mind and which I desperately need to make into a full fic >.>

#5 Port Wine & Sake

It's still in progress but it's my challenge fic and I love it for what it is! It's me trying to up my game with dialogues, me trying to improve my vocabulary, me trying to write characters I don't know much about, exploring trauma and writing a main character that is absolutely nothing like me. It is a challenge and it often leaves me stuck but I am also so proud of it.

OK SO NOW I YAP ABOUT MY FAVORITE CHAPTERS OF THE SWORDSMAN AND THE BLACKSMITH!!!!!!!! I'll go chronologically!!

Chapter 10: Chasing Distractions

When the reader gets hammered omg! Let me tell you, the way I was kicking my feet and giggling as I was writing, it was so much fun! But what I love most about this moment is that they’ve both only just started seeing each other past the 'he’s a skilled swordsman' and 'she’s a skilled blacksmith' and they can both respect that. It’s basically the start of their friendship and it’s very cute. (Also I believe that if she hadn’t been drunk, they might have fucked. There’s definitely already some sort of attraction budding between the two)

Chapter 18: You're Drunk

Look I had so much fun writing drunk reader that I had to write it again >.> but also it's deeper than that and I love how different it is because their relationship has evolved. What I love most about that chapter is the confirmation that the reader character made the right choice by choosing to leave with the straw hats. As in, until that point there was always some sort of ambiguity but now we’re really aware that they’re with the right people and that they’ve found a new family! There's that softness and kind of quiet understanding that I love. BUT ALSO THE AMOUNT OF SELF RESTRAINT I HAD TO EXERT NOT TO MAKE THEM FUCK RIGHT THERE!!!!!! You have no idea hahaha

Chapter 20: Scars

The bath scene!!!! I can never shut up about the bath scene!!!!! The intimacy in this one just makes me melt. They finally really really get to know one another. It’s an acknowledgment of their respective skills, they’re sharing stories and vulnerable moments. THE MAKING OUT!!!! Zoro’s intents become really really clear, it’s definitely a shift in their relationship. And Nami ratting out Zoro the next day just feels so accurate

Chapter 21: Shusui

I had to research so much for this chapter. Katanas are really complex!!!! But there's this soft rhythm to this chapter that I adore and am so proud of. The intimacy of the moment that is also translated into the technical details of swords is just incredible, at least I think so.

Chapter 24: I'm Still Angry & Chapter 25: Harmony (I think they're one just in two parts honestly)

I don't think I need to explain this one... It's hot, it's beautiful, they're in love but they're still the stubborn idiots they've always been. It makes me giggly like a teenage school girl and I think it wraps up the whole thing perfectly.

Honorable mention to the moment in Chapter 8: The Burden of a Creator where Franky talks about creating things and the impact it has on the world. I think it's one of the character moments outside of Zoro x Reader that I loved most in this fic. (I also really adore Franky and can relate to the whole creating thing a lot)

annnnnd I ended up yapping pehaps a little too much....my bad haha

[limeade-l3sbian]

*Kind of an art/feminist analysis, though maybe kinda dumb. Feel free to disagree!*

Disclaimer: this obviously isn’t the case of ALL who partake in this behavior, but I do think there’s some truth to my thoughts, even if I don’t have any concrete evidence besides my own eyes.

I’m someone who draws. While I’m not super amazing, I’m fairly competent at certain things and could be better if I wasn’t so lazy.

As I’ve gotten older, my ability to draw humans, in particular women since that’s what I seem to prefer, has improved but it’s also changed a lot. When I look back at my older stuff, from my teen years, the women were extremely pornofied. That’s not to say the drawings were particular lewd, but I mean in in their features and their bodies. They always had the huge eyes, tiny noses, plump lips, exaggerated hourglass figure, very big breasts and so on. Obviously this isn’t pornographic, but I call this version of women pornofied because it’s what’s women’s standards are shaped by and it’s the version of women that men expect to see as examples of beauty, often due or at least part in due to their pornography watching habits and general tendency to dehumanise women.

I didn’t watch porn neither then or now but I was obviously still influenced by the standards forced upon women and that could be seen in my art.

Now when I draw women, they are all types of people. They sometimes have blemishes, sometimes smile and expression lines, they are sometimes bald, they are sometimes fat, sometimes extremely skinny, they are different races, with actually different features not suffering from same face syndrome.

My point in this is that I think besides having gotten better, I also think my age and maturity is a HUGE cause for this change. Because art does reflect our views to some degree. I don’t think art can ever be fully apolitical. At least not a collection of art from the same person. And how men tend to draw women, besides their love for nakedness and empty eyes, is usually this hyper “idealised”, unrealistic caricature of women. To me that speaks of immaturity nowadays. To not be able to see beyond what is and what isn’t conventionally pretty. Teen me was horrified at the idea of not drawing what was deemed pretty. Nowadays I wanna depict what actually looks like real living humans. I still make these people up from my fantasy, but they look like folks you could meet on the street. I’ve studied enough faces, met with enough variety in personality, looks and walks of life to try and portray that and prefer that. Now I see the naked women drawings as a lack of understanding of women as actual humans. I’m not talking about anatomy studies but actual art where the point of the woman’s nakedness is just to be naked and “nice to look at”? Yeah that’s the ones. Women partake in this type of art too. As said, I did as a teen too. But I think when a person doesn’t progress from it, they show themselves, in my eyes, to have a fundamental flawed view of women’s humanity. And it’s no surprise that many who don’t involve from that type of art eventually go on to draw some iteration of hentai. Because that’s the next step isn’t it? Being incapable appreciating women just living without pleasing our eyes transforms into, let her perform sexual acts full on. Art can easily show the degrading views of the artists and my insecure past self was no better, even if it was directed inwards. My art have improved in part because I have grown to love my womanhood. My femaleness. Myself.

💜

[inf1nyxw0rlds]

reposting my infinite is not weak essay because i got anxious and deleted the last one <3 i've been meaning to do this for months, but i'm not exactly the most functional person and i don't often put myself out there. in the process of rewriting it, i also altered the wording and added a few things, as you might notice if you've seen it before; and if you haven't, then welcome to whatever it is i'm doing here!

this is written with all my love, all my frustration, fueled by years worth of listening to a cycle of minsinformation that left permanent damage in the form of skewed perceptions – based in a false claim and the jokes that came with it – and a hesistance on sega's part to even address him save for a few tossed crumbs over the span of the last half a decade. originally i had an elaborate metaphor here, but there was no need for it and i'll cut right to the chase; there has always been good in infinite's character – but not everyone cares to look for it.

it's been six years since the release of sonic forces. which is insane! it's wild to me! as somebody who's been here since before the game even released, i've seen it all. to commemorate the occassion, when i wrote this originally, i thought that i would talk further about infinite's reception; in particular, the Weak thing. i've discussed it before in brief, and you can read that one here; this time though, i'm going to get more into dissecting the actual problem, and debunking arguments that supposedly prove infinite to be objectively weak and pathetic... when canonically, that isn't the case. i'd actually argue the opposite, but at the very least he isn't lacking strength – his skills are average at worst.

the first reason that i see, the one we're all plenty familiar with and the one i brought up previously, is that infinite is weak because he lost to shadow. once. that's it. do i really have to explain why this is stupid? yeah, he did lose, one time. even against a normal opponent, one defeat in comparison to what we can assume, based on his title, many victories, isn't much of an indicator toward being weak. shadow is also the ultimate lifeform, in case anyone has forgotten that detail, and bear in mind that infinite knows shadow to have just slaughtered his entire team – do you really think he would be at his best in that state?

there's also a fuckton of context clues implying that infinite had issues prior to this encounter, specifically inferiority issues. shadow literally told him, after having wiped his whole team out, to never show his pathetic face again. the face with the, you know. the big scar. the blind eye. (shoutout to the person who pointed this out in the tags in the "first part" of this, by the way! based for that)

this argument is so full of holes that it just drives me kind of bonkers how it can be used to claim infinite is weak and stupid. do i think that the scene is without flaw? of course not. if you want to say that the way they handled his breakdown wasn't the greatest, you can, you have every right to your opinion. but that's just it. we're talking about something else. i get it, the "i am not weak" was a memeable line, but it doesn't actually make him weak. people that reduce his reaction to "just" hating shadow because he got his ass beat, people who call it a "temper tantrum", i ... the context is right there. it was never "just" because shadow beat him up. would people say this about anyone else that shadow happens to beat up? that they're irrefutably weak? no. that's stupid. obviously. so why infinite? because it wasn't a strong enough spectacle. let me illustrate this more with another example;

another reason people say that infinite is weak is because sonic didn't need to go super in order to beat him. and... again, this one, too, falls apart pretty easily. sonic has beaten other characters without going super, and this includes shadow. the difference is the when, the how, the context. it's not that infinite is weak, but it was a weak final boss fight. do you get what i mean?

forces, in general, suffered a lot with this problem. it wasn't a problem that was exclusive to infinite. unfortunately, as the new character, he got the most heat. there was a huge amount of hype for him, so when the spectacle fell short, people were pissed. and i get it. but then that issue became, "infinite bad". that issue became "infinite's weak". it has never been that, though. this is why i personally hate weak jokes – because they're rooted in non-issue and misinfo.

a point i saw made once was that the characterisation of sonic and the rest of the cast are part of what made infinite's character hard to take seriously, and i'd agree! infinite actually fits the setting quite well; he has a mysterious, serious presence. he's harsh, he's edgy, but it's cheesy enough that it works in the typical style of the sonic franchise. the problem is, when the other characters aren't taking things seriously, it throws the whole thing off. we're being told this is a hard-hitting, high stakes plot, but how can we see it that way, when they're all just cracking jokes?

as a side-tangent of sorts, you know what's real funny? infinite's backstory, the one thing people use more than anything else to declare his obvious weakness, quite likely wasn't originally going to exist anyway, and he was instead going to be made by eggman. i say "quite likely" as, as i've stated, i don't like misinformation, and sega will probably never confirm this one-hundred percent, but this is something fans – myself included – have discussed a few times.

first, there's the odd dialogue and enviroment in stage 29. tails states outright, as you go through the fortress, where containment/test tubes line the walls in countless numbers, "so this is where eggman built infinite". the tubes do, in fact, appear to have low-res bodies inside them. this is also something they detailed in an early version of the script. infinite's remark on sonic's "data" also fits in with this idea of him being some form of android. prior to release, there was also a cryptic message that, when decoded, referred to infinite as "the fated son of daedalus"; in other words, icarus, who flew too close to the sun; his father being an inventor! that's really dope foreshadowing.

you can argue that tails and amy's commentary is speculation rather than solid fact and that they're mistaken, it's a possibility i definitely consider here, but given how rushed the dlc and prequel comics feel, the fact that there was a statement that big changes were made late into development... yeah. i'll buy it. i often find myself wondering what people would think of infinite had this been his story, whether they would view him differently. also, speaking of the dlc being rushed, there are actually unused lines for episode shadow implying that you would have fought the jackal squad; they were likely just unable to implement it in time. it's a shame, as it would have added to that spectacle factor i mentioned. but hey, gotta push for that holiday release!

what i find really interesting is that you can look at his character through either lense: the former mercenary turned war criminal, or the creation of our ol' doctor, and he still reads well! his behaviour makes sense in whichever context you choose to apply; what he thought he had to become, versus what he was made to be. it's cool and it makes me a bit insane. a lot of people criticise infinite for his one-dimensionality, but in my opinion, like... it's the point. he's meant to feel hollow. because he's masking; or because he wasn't made for feelings, but rather for destruction.

something that seems ironic is that many people attempt to "fix" him by... putting him into a box and inflating a single trait into his entire character and calling it "better writing". now, here's the disclaimer, okay: i'm all for people having fun and being proud of their work! i don't think that we should police what others can create. this is just about the phenomenon of watering a character down or changing them to fit ships and narratives rather than those characters being what shape the direction the story and their relationships take, things like that; which... i mean, i'm not a cop, you can still do these things even if i don't like them! i'm not saying it isn't allowed, but i think that you're kind of missing the point.

he never needed fixing. his story needed refinement. that's different. it's more about exploring what we've been given, looking below the surface; infinite is not just an evil, ruthless tyrant that deserves death nor a traumatised sadboy to be made good by the power of love and friendship – not to me. his trauma and anger are both part of him, and you cannot – or rather shouldn't – reduce him to one thing or another. it does him a major disservice, i think. there are good things there, things you can dissect, you just have to be willing to look.

in choosing to ignore what made him who he is, disregarding the loss of his squad and blatant insecurity unless it's funny, you're purposely looking at him through a faulty lense. bad writing doesn't mean that the intent isn't there. context is so important, and you can't analyse him or critique him with worth unless these things are acknowledged. it's like if you were eating a cake, avoiding the frosting and complaining it's not sweet enough. the frosting is there, not even being withheld from you. it has always been there. you decided not to eat it. sorry i'm making weird analogies again but hopefully this makes sense.

this has gotten long, wow. the point i want to highlight, overall, is that infinite is not nearly as awful as people make him out to be. it was never about his strength, it was about the limits and shortcomings of the narrative, a problem not exclusive to him yet one that has been pinned on him for so many years. i don't want it to sound like i'm saying he is immune to criticism, or that forces is, even though i've criticised forces during the creation of this post (and don't think that i think forces is terrible, either! it's my favourite game and i have lots of things i like about it as well! i've just been drawing attention to these parts to better explain what i want to convey lol); but i do hate how the wrong thing is being criticised.

this issue has been watered down into "infinite weak" when it's way more broad, way more complex than that, and i cannot stand it. it seems like such a trivial matter, like, oh, fandom is being mean about my favourite guy, but it did actual damage and forever altered people's perception of him. i am pissed about it! i'm mad! i don't care if you don't like infinite (because i can just block you as we will not get along!) but... it's about why people don't like him. they don't have to justify it, they can continue hating him, but it always bothered me that the reason is so often not a real problem. yeah.

okay, i think that's it. thank you for taking the time to read this, and if you made it this far, you're gay

[yowyowyaoi]

Sasori’s Daily Texts from the Akatsuki

From Tobi/Obito

Obviously.

You can gloat all you want but the fact of the matter is you’re wrong; NOTHING is eternal. 

But can you keep it up without chakra strings? 🤔

Asleep or awake it’s all the same thing.

Go ahead and tell them. They’ll just think you’re crazy 😜 

I’ve tried but Hidan is insufferable and the only way to truly hurt Kakuzu is in his wallet.

Ok please just look at this tooth I feel like it’s throbbing out of my head 😣

Me and you? Teaming up? What a novel idea … REJECTED.

It’s not ridiculous. When you were human did you never just eat a bag of sugar?? It’s so soothing.

He said no cats or dogs. Not a thing about birds. And besides if Itachi can have 900 crows I can have a parakeet. 😤

From Zetsu

I don’t know why YOU get to keep all the best bodies every single time 😒 Your art isn’t more important as my stomach.

I licked his arm once but my goodness he had such a bitter aftertaste.

Clay and gunpowder. Sometimes aftershave.

It wasn’t me this time. Must have been an animal. 🤷🏻‍♂️

Me either! No Bowel Movement Club 🥳

I imagine it’s only the first blow that truly hurts. After that the body goes into too much shock to register the pain. 

From Nagato

Well I figured that with your expertise in puppet chakra control, my bodies wouldn’t be that much different to you.

Redhead unity ✊🏻

Let’s be real, here; Konan is the one running this thing.

I can if it’s cut into very small pieces. And drink lots of water afterwards.

At least yours wasn’t a goddamned pervert.

Clearly I can’t stop these things. All I can do is strongly advise you three use protection with them. Our organization is not equipped to care for babies.

I’ve never really had time to properly train it. I’ve never even heard that much about it before. Maybe Itachi will know.

Yes but I firmly believe we choose our families. And I chose this one. Even Hidan.

From Konan

No, thank you. I’ve learned to appreciate my flaws and live with them.

Okay once again, PLEASE read that book I got you on how to talk to women. For the love of God. 🤦‍♀️

Actually most of them make me sneeze; that’s why I started making paper ones lol 

Of course I can teach you. Why do you want to learn? So you can dance with a certain someone 😏

Yeah, preferably one that’ll give me a pick-up in the mornings.

If you use your chakra strings to make him trip down the stairs I will love you for forever.

I know you don’t eat but you should come for the conversations.

I know he’s been using mine the bottle was full 3 days ago and now it’s almost empty 😡

From Kisame

Itachi and I are traveling past there on our next mission. If you write down what herbs you need I’d be happy to pick them up for you on our way back.

I’m sorry; if I’d known you wanted to use the body I wouldn’t have chewed off the hands 😣

Well I suppose both have caffeine but to me, tea is more calming.

I understand but if it happens again, tell him I won’t be looking the other way. 

I don’t know. If he’s not sleepwalking he’s up for days at a time. I’m worn out trying to keep up 🫠

Please join us; Monopoly seems like it’d be your game.

I stayed until they wanted to do karaoke. Then I snuck out the back door.

That’s more Zetsu’s thing. I only do it if I’m really hungry.

Ah but, if you’re truly going to live forever, why not have some fun with life?

Yes I’ve noticed. Everyone has. But I’m fairly certain Deidara sees nobody but YOU in that way.

From Itachi

My thanks.

Not so bad today actually 

I would just say “ignore it” but he’ll probably throw a bomb into your face so 🤷🏻‍♂️

Well I was going to paint it yellow so it’d be more cheerful but Kisame thinks it would drive me crazy after a few weeks.

Watch the video I just sent and tell me that’s not Hidan 😂

Kisame said to ask you two. Tell Dei they have bakudan.

They just like to sit on top of them. I promise they aren’t pecking or causing any damage to the wood.

One of the funniest things I ever read. Laughed so hard I had to go to bed early because my head was pounding so hard after. But don’t tell Hidan, he’d kill me.

I’m not sure. But after I die you’re free to take one of my eyes and put it into your puppet to see.

From Hidan

No really DO you have one? 🤔

Wtf are you gonna do tho like won’t you catch on fire in the sun?!

He’s my best friend and I love him in a not gay way. So it IS my business asshole.

Thanks puppet dick, I’ll make Kakuzu pay you later. He prob won’t but 🤷🏼‍♂️

No fuck that, that cake was MINE they’re just being little bitches about it 

Damn could you be any gayer for him?

Wait, CAN you fly??

Stop being stingy puppet fuck just give me an arm that shoots fire it’ll be an early birthday present pleeeeease 

Idc get this thing out of my room it’s creeping me tf out 😒

From Kakuzu

I’ve tried but the only way I could see it legitimately working is if I sewed his mouth shut.

Oh of course. I’m always happy to spend an evening surrounded by culture.

That would be ideal but you know how sensitive Leader is about his appearance.

Yes but it’s the most expensive there. You’d be better off disguising yourself and getting it from your old village.

Honestly, at 91? I’m surprised it hasn’t turned to dust yet.

Perhaps Kisame would join us. Give us an evening away from the wives.

I know but what else could we do? He refuses to accept treatment. The only way we could “help” is slipping it into his tea.

Page 34. I wrote notes along the side of the diagram.

I would rip out all of my hearts before I let anyone, including you, spend money on something like that.

From Deidara

No but I’m pretty sure you enjoy making me beg.

Wasn’t me. And you can’t prove otherwise 😈

Your lack of appreciation for my art is truly the most horrible thing about you 😒

Well tough shit it’s MY turn to choose and that’s what we’re doing

Well yeah it’s awkward but I don’t want you worrying. I’m *yours*. I’ve made that clear.

Idc I’ll wear it every single day 😭

If Itachi or Kisame asks, me and Hidan were with you from 12-5 yesterday. Okay?

Keep sending pics like that and you’re gonna end me 🥵

Oh come on pleeeease? I’ll feed it and walk it and everything!

My bed or yours? 

Did you make it yourself?? Awww thank you Sasori 🥰

It’s not the only thing that’s tight ~ 😏

A real boyfriend wouldn’t question it he’d just bring a shoe and come kill it !

Hey at least I found BOTH arms this time!

Geez that sounds so boring. Can’t he send Kakuzu and Hidan instead?!

You know I hate that word … but yes, forever. And ever and ever and ever. 💛

[your-divine-ribs]

Forbidden Part 33

Words: 2.2k

Forbidden Masterlist Main Masterlist

Your mind is teaming with questions but you know you won't get any answers from Van. It's looking quite likely that his and Kathleen's outwardly idyllic relationship might be deeply flawed but you can't just come out and bluntly ask what you really want to know. You'll need to tread carefully, pick up on any cues, conduct a little more of your own sneaky brand of investigation... maybe you could even probe Johnny a little? He must have valuable inside knowledge locked away inside that head of his. Even though he's obviously very protective of his long-time friend and colleague you're sure you can work your magic on him... you can be very persuasive after all. Now that the Italy trip's in sight you've been dreaming about spending more time alone with him, exploring the city together and stealing away for secretive meetings in secluded little bijou cafes and steamy hook-ups in the privacy of your hotel room. There's nothing like warm Mediterranean sunshine and fancy wines to loosen lips and slacken inhibitions.

Despite your aroused curiosity and your uncertainty about where your relationship with Van is heading you still can't help but smile as you make your way down the stairs, catching sight of yourself in yet another antique mirror that hangs on the wall in the entryway. It's going to be quite some time before you can gaze upon your full-length reflection again without invoking thrilling memories of last night. The rosy hue it paints on your cheeks looks good on you.

Never in a million years would you have dreamed that you'd have ended up here in your Professor's house. If you weren't so preoccupied with mulling over your discovery and what it might mean you'd probably be letting your mind race wildly with a different kind of fantasy. One where you weren't a needy, broke student but a successful, competent career woman. Not just an accessory to Van but an equal partner, strolling down your grand staircase of a morning to greet him in the kitchen, discussing your plans for the day over breakfast before you'd slip off to further your already high-flying career.

Maybe you'd better graduate first though before you get too caught up in pipe dreams...

Van's leaning back against the pristine white cabinets in the expansive kitchen when you enter, a steaming mug of tea in one hand and a sheaf of paperwork in the other that he's poring over. He's wearing his glasses and he peers over the top of the frames at you when he hears the sound of your bare feet padding across the tiled flooring.

You hover uncertainly on the threshold for a moment until you note the way his face lights up as he allows his gaze to wander down to take in your bare legs. It gives you a welcome surge of confidence that's been lacking since you first awakened. After all it wasn't the shy, timid, reserved girl who'd caught Van's attention on his first day on campus, it was the cheeky, bold, mischievous girl who wasn't afraid to go after what she wanted. The one who liked to live dangerously and break all the rules.

You add a not-so-subtle sway to your hips as you make your way over to take up your place opposite him, leaning on the spotlessly clean breakfast bar. You briefly wonder how it would feel to get fucked bent over it... sully the gleaming surface where him and Kathleen eat breakfast together each morning. The wicked thought paints a smile on your lips.

"I see you've not changed yet," he observes, nodding towards your attire, the over-sized tee of his that just skims the tops of your thighs.

You shrug casually. "I'm actually pretty comfy in this. I thought maybe you'd let me hold on to it?"

He looks mildly surprised as you plant your hands on the tabletop behind you and boost yourself up so you're perching on the edge, bare legs on display for him as you stretch them out.

"Oh... I guess so... I suppose it does look better on you than it ever did on me..."

You have his full attention now, the paperwork discarded behind him on the countertop, his glasses removed whilst he sips at his tea, watching you with a quietly simmering hunger.

"I'll let you in on a little secret Sir," you smile coquettishly, pausing for effect as you raise your hand up to your lips in a secretive gesture. "I look a whole lot better out of it."

"I don't doubt that for a second," he chuckles quietly under his breath as he turns to reach for some crockery on the counter top.

You curl your fingers around the hem. You're tempted to whip the t-shirt up and over your head so when he turns back he'll be met with an offer he can't refuse, but before you can put your plan into action he's crossing over to you with a mug of tea and a slice of buttered toast on a plate which he sets down next to you.

"I thought you said you were getting breakfast on the go," you wonder out loud.

"I am," he nods. "That's for you. I'm sorry it's not much but it's all I've got in right now... and we're quite pressed for time anyway."

"But I don't usually eat..." you start but he cuts you off firmly.

"You do now. C'mon, eat up before it gets cold. You've got a busy few days of revision coming up before the exams and you've got to look after yourself. No skipping breakfast, it's the most important meal of the day."

"God you sound just like my dad now!" You groan as you glance down at the plate and the four little triangles cut up neatly lying there. You should be dismayed that he seems more concerned about your well-being rather than wanting to ravish you on the work surface but you can't quite bring yourself to truly feel that disappointment. There's something about the fact that he cares enough to make sure you're starting off the day healthily that pleases you unexpectedly. You dutifully pick up a piece of toast, taking a small bite as he watches on.

"Exams... revision... coursework... studies... ughhh!" You grumble even though you're smiling, rolling your eyes dramatically. "Do you ever think about anything else?"

"As a matter of fact I do," he smirks, stepping closer and placing a hand on either of your knees, easing them gently apart so he can occupy the space in between your spread thighs. "You happen to be very distracting Miss Y/L/N. If you must know I'm having a really hard time not cancelling everything I have on this morning to stay home and fuck your brains out right here and now on this kitchen counter."

"Then maybe you shouldn't try so hard," you smirk back at him, wrapping your legs around his hips in an effort to tempt him.

His fingers tighten their grip on your thighs, a pressure that forces a little gasp from you as you automatically tip your pelvis towards him. Lust licks across your skin like fire on a touch paper. How is it possible to be constantly filled with this much desire? It's unnatural what he does to you, the way he makes you feel, his blissful attention as vital to you as the oxygen that you breathe.

"I know we agreed that this was going to be a..." he pauses as if he's searching for the right words, the intensity of his gaze making your heart swell in your chest, "... a mutually beneficial relationship..."

You interrupt him with a snigger. "Isn't that just posh terminology for fuck buddies?"

He laughs but you detect a hint of distaste at your comment. "Not quite. I know what we agreed but I really don't want this to be just a series of fast and meaningless fucks Y/N. I wanna take my time with you, explore every part of you..." A finger travels lightly up the expanse of your bare thigh, a feather-light trail that makes you shiver. "I wanna do all that shit to you that you've only dreamed about but you've never been brave enough to admit to anyone. I wanna discover it all with you and I don't wanna rush. The best things in life are meant to be savoured after all don't you think?"

Christ... if he carries on talking like this you'll be leaving a puddle on the countertop. You squirm where you sit, wishing you'd taken the time to put your underwear back on.

"Uh-huh," you mumble, but that's all you manage to get out. His lips are on yours in a second and he kisses you deeply, tongue sliding against yours and exploring your mouth like he's claiming you. Yours hands automatically fly up to tangle in his hair, holding him close, a shameless moan slipping from your lips. You realise that before last night, kissing hadn't really been a prominent feature of your encounters, but my god, you're so glad that seems to have changed. You can feel yourself melting under his touch, your whole body vibrating with excitement and arousal. You could go on kissing him all day until your lips go numb, not even coming up for a breath, but unfortunately Van has other ideas.

"Mmm... you taste so fucking sweet," he murmurs, finally pulling away but staying close, hovering just inches away. His full kiss-swollen lips look even more delectable than usual and you watch longingly as they curve into a smile. "Much as I'd love to write off the day and spend it in your... delightful presence, I have a very important meeting to get to and you have a revision session with Professor Stevens at 9 o' clock if I'm not mistaken?"

The groan erupts before you can stop yourself. "Ughhh really? I wasn't actually planning on going to that. He's so boring... that bloody monotonous voice of his droning on..."

"It's less than a week before exams," he says curtly as he steps back, his touch falling away as he reaches for his mug to drain the dregs of his tea. "It's not the time to be complacent. Just because we're seeing each other now it doesn't mean I'm going to grade you more generously."

"I know that," you reply, trying not to show your excitement at the fact that he's casually dropped into conversation another acknowledgement that what you're doing together amounts to more than just fucking, despite what you told him upstairs. "I'm going to work hard this week, I swear I will. I just thought that maybe we could arrange some revision sessions together... you know... some private ones. You explain things so well, so much better than the other Professors. I think it would really help me to get the best grades."

You look at him hopefully but to your dismay his brow pulls into a small frown and you already know what the answer's going to be before he speaks.

"On the contrary I don't think we should meet up again until after the exams now. You're perfectly capable and definitely bright enough to ace these exams if you apply yourself. I don't want to distract you, I want you to be fully focused. Your studies are far more important than anything else right now and it's only a few weeks until we’re in Italy. You can contact me by email any time you like if you have any questions about your revision or you need any support. You have my personal number now as well..." He looks at you pointedly "... of course it goes without saying that I do need you to be discreet with that. That's really important."

It wasn't a question but it's quite obvious he's expecting a response. "Yeah, yeah, of course, I can do that. I can be discreet. Aren't I always?"

You have the sudden urge to follow it up with a giggle but you know this is no time for jokes. Discretion has never been your strong point but then you've never been in this situation before, you've never been the 'other woman', a secret lover tucked away... a mistress. It's wicked and exciting and it's just far too damn good to risk fucking it all up by playing your silly, impulsive games. You need to rein in your reckless side and keep her in check. Be obedient for once so you can reap the rewards. The thought of breaking things off with Van cuts you more deeply than you'd care to admit.

"I do mean it," you add, hoping you sound as earnest as you feel. "You can trust me you know. And I'm going to try really hard with my exams. I won't let you down."

He looks at you for a moment, considering your words, reaching out with both hands to delicately push your hair back from your face, lingering there as he curls them gently around the back of your head. Then he's leaning down to press a sweet kiss to the parting of your hair, murmuring faintly as he holds you close.

"My good girl... my sweet, good girl..."