#its intended as shippy tho

[teabiscs]

21. Rest

who needs a nice nap more other than these two??? they deserve all good and soft things. especially with each other.

These two went from being a ship, when i was younger, that was eh, to now as an adult is <3 (my second favorite thing i did for mayblade)

[good-beansdraws]

Quick Fuuta sketch -- I wanted the vibe of him reluctantly tipping his head up so someone could check his injuries, but I don't know if it translates or if the angle just looks awkward rip

[dustykneed]

so screwed tmr (math) but just remembered this bad boy i made last year like a week after getting into tos and going through the entire spones tag on ao3 LMAO. enjoy

wrote the whole thing in chi for whatever reason so in case its confusing bc i rushed translation the context is pre-slash spones get sent on an away mission and spock gets knocked out somehow and is out of it enough for his telepathic walls to be down so when bones touches him he figures out bones like likes him and hes processing that but then realises bones is straddling him so he passes out<33

[monasatlantis]

My Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth Review

People I have to be honest with you. I am so tired of this game. Tired of the new Final Fantasy 7 games. Of the fandom. Of the shipping war, of the fact that the only thing that I truly care about in this game, which is the ship I like, has been ruined for me by now and all that Kingdom-Hearts-Like bullshit with Sidegames and different timelines and all that stuff. So my Review is really just a lazy "I hate this game and its fandom and its characters and now even my shippiness is ruined" - kind of review. Not in Interview Style. Just random thoughts that are all over the place, like the ending of this freaking game.

Overall, I can say Gameplay-Vise and Pacing-Vise this game was definitively better than Remake. Tho this pacing has been almost ruined by the immense amount of bullshit Minigames that weren't exactly placed in the game in a well balanced way. Storywise tho, I have to say that Remake was more intriguing and more interesting. With this game, it felt to me like the only "Plot-Relevant" reason to play it, the only thing people really cared about were Aeriths death, Zack and Shippings. Which should not be the only good or interesting reason to play a 120 hours game. But the game had not much else interesting to offer - at least not for me - while I found that Remakes story, despite the fact that I hated the game as whole, was much more interesting and motivating than this one. It was basically 12 chapters of watching Clouds sanity falling apart while NO ONE does anything against it. Boring shit, I tell you. I guess the most interesting thing was Baretts Past. Even tho that story had some holes and wasn't something I was actively waiting for. But it was the most intriguing part of the story, besides waiting for the bullshit answer of why Zack and Biggs are still freaking alive.

I did think the balance between Plot, exploring and and Dungeons was really well done tho. And I also found the way the game was made was really intended to fit for all kind of players. Completionists had LOTS of stuff to do. People who loved the possibility of exploring a relatively open world also had lots to do and lots to look at and to fight and found and find out - tho I do agree with some people that they could have made it feel more natural BUT in the end, fulfilling Chadleys "missions" still ended up having a satisfying conclusion - or so I've heard since I only rush through the main story and the most necessary Sidemissions to get through the game as fast as possible - and not just because it sucks, but also because that is just the way I like to play. (Especially when I play a game for the very first time.) Once again the Minigames and how they were placed in the game kind of ruined this Balance. Like... A LOT. My two friends who completed the game like 100% and do usually like to do Minigames said that even they found that at some point it was really too much and almost getting ridiculous. For me personally, who HATES Minigames, this was a freaking nightmare and a big reason for A LOT of Anger and frustration. So theoretically, if it weren't for the Minimissions, this was a well-balanced game with a good pacing.

The Team of characters is a wild mix which usually isn't a bad thing. But somehow I just can't see them being a good and caring Team at all. Some random people who work together for more or less a common goal. But they do not really feel like a family or anything most of the time. If Aerith felt like, she should tell a lie about how Sephiroth got the black Materia from Cloud, because otherwise they might turn their backs on him instead of realizing that he actually needs help, then that says a lot about the team. Not that I have much good to say about the team, even without the whole Clouds-Sanity-Problem. It just didn't feel like a good team to me at all. Like I didn't feel good between them, if you get my drift. For me a good team is one, were I as a Player feel good among. Its hard to describe the feeling that I am missing with that bunch but I can certainly say that this feeling IS missing. Tho I guess you have to see that they do not know each other for so long and that their reasons and motives differ. The characters in itself weren't bad. Its not like I truly dislike any of them. In fact, I care enough to be angry at them for being stupid or assholes. And I have to say, Barett, who I disliked the most in the first game, has become one of the most sympathetic characters to me in the game. That really surprised me. But I feel like its because while the first game mostly showed him as a terrorists who spits bullshit as excuse for killing people or their jobs or taking their lights or anything, this time you can see a lot more of the softer, human and caring side of this man. He is probably not my favorite but... honestly? At this point, no one is!

Grafik was amazing as usual. The 4K scenes looked like they were right out of a movie. Absolut eye-candy. And I can not help but say that it looked A LOT better than Final Fantasy 16 did. The Soundtrack, as usual, was also amazing. Songs were also all well placed and no song was overused. They outdid themselves with this amazing Title-Song too. I can not stress enough how much more impact a song has on a game and you as a player if a song is "made and sung" by a character from the game about something the the players understand. That is why "Eyes on me" and "1000 Words" were such amazing songs. Because you could feel them and you could somewhat relate to the people singing it because you knew their situation and feelings. So like 100 out of 10 points for no Promises to keep. Battlesystem was doable. Nothing to argue about there. But as long as it is doable even for someone like me, I do not put it high on my priority list. Tho I think I should mention it. I did like the new Synergy-Attacks, tho. Nice idea. )Barett and Aerith looked "like a boss", if you get me XD)

Aside from the horror amount of non-optional minigames left, right and center, there were like 2 or 3 other things that really bothered me. First it was the explanation for how Biggs and Zack survived and that was basically a "it was a miracle" - thing that Zack believes was Aeriths doing. Its basically a "A Wizard did it" - kind of explanation. Like... Aerith create a new timeline by cheating or what? Biggs just magically appeared in the Orphanage? WTF?! How is that even a way to create a new timeline? I thought changes and choices would do that? What if the guy who shot the final bullet at Zack got a weapon-malfunction and the thing exploded and knocked out some of the soldiers and then Zack managed to beat the rest and that is how he was saved? It is at least an explanation! And what if Wedge instead of going for his cats, went to save Biggs first, but then gave him to some random guy from sector 7 and only then went for his cats? SOMETHING. ANYTHING that would make freaking sense instead of being a magical deus ex machina. Not to mention that Biggs purpose is absolutely unclear to begin with. Right to the point were he just got shot to death in one of the timelines. Like... why did Aerith save him if his purpose was to never find his purpose and after he though he found it, he just got shot like some random NPC that only survived to make Zack look for his purpose, which is something that actually any random NPC could have done, in fact. The next thing that bothered me is how no one, not even Tifa and Aerith who care so much about Cloud didn't say or do anything about Cloud slowly but surely losing it. He almost killed Tifa, but just because she suddenly remembered him saving her when she was a child, he was suddenly a hero and everything was great. And then she promised him to save him only to let him go on and on and on while his sanity and self-control was obviously fading more and more. When he says he is not like Sephiroth Tifa says that "They know." and "Its okay." But NOTHING is okay and they also do not really KNOW anything, because instead of facing that Cloud has a problem that they need to find a solution for, they just let him almost kill them all and become Sephirots puppet that throws Tifa away and chases Aerith down like a maniac. And Aerith herself isn't any better than Tifa. The harder this problem became, the more she let Tifa handle it until Tifas methods didn't work anymore either. And at the end, she decided into fooling Cloud to believing she is still alive even tho in the end the realization what really happened will crush him even more on top of everything else. These are the two girls that are supposed to care about him the most and they just allow him to first go insane and then keep him in the most instable state he ever was in, instead of allowing him to finally crush so they can work on helping him to get better and get his self-control back. The third thing, is that sometimes the characters didn't feel like themselves. Like... they did things that I would have not thought they would do or say or that made their relationships with each other look bad, even tho it shouldn't be that way. Like Aerith in Kalm. When she was holding on to Cloud after saying they were "kind of" on a date and she kept doing that even tho both he and Tifa felt obviously uncomfortable about it. Yes, she is a tease, but this was going on for just too long and felt absolutely stupid AFTER she told Cloud to fix things with Tifa. Not to mention that the two girls are obviously friends who do not which to argue about Cloud. That just didn't feel like something she would do to this extent. For a few seconds as a tease? Sure! But even holding on after Cloud was trying to push her off? No! (We could also talk about how it was not right of the Devs to position Aerith and Cloud on that stupid Watertower that was supposed to be Cloud and Tifas spot. It was respectless regarding both ships, if you ask me.)

The ending was absolutely stupid! Aeriths death scene was ruined by the confusing jumping between "dead" "saved" "dead" "saved" "dead?" "saved?" "not dead?" "not saved?" - scenes. Even with Cloud crying there was no emotional impact here because as the player the confusion won over the sadness. Getting this stupid "Cloud thinks Aerith is still alive" - kind of goodbye instead of the actual water-burial scene was also so damn frustrating. Neither he nor we managed to get a satisfying kind of "closure" - moment thanks to all that timeline bullshit. I also do not like that the whole theme of that Remake-Bullshit-Idea was to "defy fate" and yet in one of the timelines, Aerith died exactly the same way she did before, despite the fact that Sephiroth might actually sabotage himself by killing her. So why exactly did we play this game? Why did we go though all the changes just to end up the same way as before + all that timeline bullshit? I am not one of those "Remake the game 1:1" - kind of people but I agree with them at this one point. At least kill the girl of a bit later and in a different way instead of repeating the one thing that REALLY would be an impactful change.

I need to talk about shipping here, but I really don't want to. The Clerith-Game was so darn strong in Remake, just to be ruined in Rebirth for whatever stupid reason. I mean, why did I get a date in which Aerith said she loved Cloud for Cloud and not for the parts that remind her of Zack just to end up with a date that basically mirrors her date with Zack, but went totally wrong in the end? How can we go from Cloud almost kissing Tifa in a canon scene to this heartbreaking moment of Cloud cradling Aerith in his Arms when he "thought" she was dead and then "woke her up" again? WHAT IS THIS BULLSHIT? Why do we get Marlene telling Zack that Aerith has feeling for Cloud, just for Zack to go find help for Cloud with Aeriths Hairband wrapped around his hand like a lucky charm? And why does someone write the Lyrics of "No Promises to keep" in that way just to say it is not a lovesong? What is wrong with the people in this franchise? I am so sick of this.

This game is NOT a Masterpiece that deserves 10 out of 10 points. Its a walking boring disappointment, full of stupid minigames, timeline bullshit and a Dating-mechanic that doesn't even allow completionists to choose which person they want to go on a date with and on top of all that they do NOT defy fate and yet still managed to ruin THE most iconic freaking scene of any Final Fantasy game! This can only come from a company censoring Tifas big boobs in the first just to showcase them as a selling point in one of their second game. What the hell is wrong with you SE?! And how can you allow the freak that ruined Kingdom Hearts and caused you so much trouble with what should NOT have been Final Fantasy 15 take over such an important project? I can not get all those people loving this game. It sucks! In a totally different way than the first game, but it still freaking sucks!

I give it barely 7 out of 10 points. Its Sin-Counter would be like 300 or so tho, if I would have put it through Game-Sins, just saying.

URG! I really should not play the next installment. Reunion is going to make my crack my PlayStation in anger and frustration. And for what? For people to ruin me 3 shipping-scenes and more timeline bullshit?

I think I am also so disappointed because Remake was that game that had the potential but ruined it and when the second game came out and got those amazing reviews I though, I hoped and I wished for the fact that I would enjoy playing it but I did not. There were barely any moments where I even wanted to open the game for any other reason then finishing it as fast as possible to get rid of it. I just... can not bring myself to love Final Fantasy games anymore. Maybe the Trails-Series has ruined me for other games or maybe everyone else's taste in games has developed with the games over the years and I am still stuck with how thing were with Final Fantasy X. I don't know! But I can not tell you how frustrating it is to - now for the freaking second time - hate a game and do not find it that great why everyone else is all so amazed by it.

And then forcing myself through this freaking toxic fandom and its stupid shipping war.

Just for your information: THERE IS NO CANON SHIP IN THIS GAME! LEARN TO LIVE WITH IT!

And now I need to get the fuck away from the franchise.

[thedyinggasp]

do i subscribe to the “amaurot!wol was hades’s love back in the ancient times?” theory yes.

do i hate myself for that? yes. 

[caramellody]

Lowkey working on a v3 fic that sorta is really just so I can figure out the shuichi and kokichi dynamic???

[thetwilightroadtonightfall]

so I finally read the khx novel!

and jotted down some a lot of notes while doing so!! have fun reading~

note: This is not a book review or a khx review. I definitely have some biases, some ships I like, but overall I’m just here vibin

I can tell from the beginning that this is mainly meant to string together a majority of the plot from browser chi, Back Cover and Unchained/Union Cross into a more cohesive, unified form, but heck, I think we could all use the light recap

I’m still sticking with my hcs that Player is in Unicornis and Eph and Skuld are in Vulpes, but I’m fine with these unions! Anguis key kids deserve more rep haha. I do wonder if there was a deliberate decision to put Player in Anguis tho

I find the order of events interesting, mixing Back Cover scenes in between khx scenes

the emphasis on the clocks seems important, especially with all of re:mind’s time jumping in mind...as with the overlaps in clock faces, indicative of times overlapping

though it could also just be touching on how the Book of Prophecies projects worlds from the future

...or both

I love how Bequeathing is treated as a formal action. And of course how vague even this novel is about Luxu’s actions lmaoo

I completely forgot that Player’s first friend who they were supposed to meet after missions was lost to darkness. It’s no wonder that Player was so dead set on looking for Ephemera later on. They were afraid that they would lose another friend

I find it sweet that Player/Chirithy would think this about Ephemera!! Especially considering that at this point in the game, you’d be relatively strong already. Just seeing Eph do some flips probably impressed them, hehe~

hard same...6 or 7 years in this business and it still takes me a bit to really understand what he’s saying

fun fact! It’s easier to understand everything [as in, everything in khux] when you type it all out in a separate doc and read it all together

god if the original scene didn’t already have shippy subtext, these sentences certainly do

this is breaking my heart all over again, oh man..... ;_;

“But then the Master stepped in—and poured more fuel on the fire.” if that doesn’t sum up the MoM in one sentence, I don’t know what does

sTOP THIS I’M ALREADY SAD

Ava being on the verge of tears while they’re all discussing the traitor is so sad. All she can do is watch as her companions (her family as I see it) falls apart before her

while this novel’s super recappy and probably loses its appeal to some people because of that, it’s really helping me remember just how funny the writing in Back Cover was. I can hear each voice while reading and Case of Aced’s really getting to me

hey maybe that’s me! 😆

dang, I sure wished the Disney worlds would move as fast in game as they do in the novel

Skuld is described as having “pretty eyes with long lashes” omg......the novel’s out here spitting some hard facts

the chi saga has literally always been messing with us way before Strelitzia’s murder mystery. Remember the times where we couldn’t say for certain who Nightmare/Dark Chirithy belonged to, and when it led us to believe the plausibility that it belonged to Ephemera or Skuld and thus they were being tainted by darkness? Those times were wild...

love how Ava (disguised as Invi) goes right for a blow to Player’s head while she’s testing them. Ava, don’t give the kids concussions!!!!

[stares pointedly at Union Cross] Skuld and Player haven’t reunited yet

Gula holds Ava’s hand as an act of self-reassurance and reveals more about the Lost Page than intended because he trusts her so much...🥺

oh my god they gave one of the wielders having a dispute in the fountain plaza bunny ears

I lovelovelove the novel’s translation of the lost page (which is probably also the official translation but I can’t remember): “Imbalance observed, strength misplaced, a future filled with sorrow...Words of truth misunderstood as they explore the secret of tomorrow. With a single strike, toll the bells and herald the end, bringing war upon us, as fate did intend.” While less explicit than the fan translations are, I like the greater air of mystery it gives off. Plus it rhymes and sounds cool.

fun fact y’all! If you listen to this starting on page 123 to 127, you’ll get incredibly sad!!

the epilogue is where things get really juicy...cause spoilers!! it’s in Ava’s point of view

Interesting that the novel says that Ephemera was the last leader Ava spoke to...we always assume that he was the first, but this could very well be the true order. At this point, Ava’s gotten a handle on explaining their key role, which is why she tells Ephemera as concisely as possible

I feel this excerpt with my soul

I’m glad that the novel’s giving us more insight into just how difficult of a time Ava has telling them what they have to do. She’s sending these kids off to the brink of uncertainty, something that rests heavy on her shoulders

Ava out here asking the real questions...I really hope that a future kh installment will show what she’s been doing behind the scenes after Back Cover, because those would be amazing pieces to have, and to add to the big ol’ plot puzzle that is khux

[experiences Strelitzia die for like the fifth time] 

Chirithy knows that Ephemera’s apparently sensitive to...what would you call it, energy shifts? That’s why he can pick up on the change in the darkness. And honestly? I can believe it. This kid astral projected twice already and was pretty much more enlightened than anyone else when we first meet him, so why not go all the way and make him an empath as well? I approve of this

I’m happy I read this even if it was basically 95% summary. It’s yet another reminder of why I love the chi saga so much, and it’s nice to experience its story in a different media than the usual youtube playlists or in-app cutscenes 😊

[sevsfantasy]

why r you done w dttdt?

Hello anon~ soz for the late reply, was procrastinating I’m gonna assume you meant ‘dttwt’ and this is referring to my first ever post in this blog? Lol that was months ago but issok, I’m done with twt depending on the side of the bed I wake up in. I find twitter to be generally more tiring, and I already don’t have much energy to burn online. Before I say anything else, here is the compulsory ‘I know dttwt has a lot of amazing people!’ statement (/lh) I mean, I still do use twitter lmao bc what am I meant to do on my free time if not play 50/50 with twt whether going there would ruin my mood or not </3 More under the cut if you’re up for my ramblings. No dttwt-loving here since you asked why I’m done. 

uhh here’s more disclaimer so hopefully people don’t misunderstand my words, this isn’t me generalizing all of dttwt but just parts of it that I experienced. I may sound mean and definitely sarcastic, but I swear this is mostly light hearted from my end lmao

- Unneeded drama (surprising, I know /s) 

- They’re yet to learn the art of dealing with things privately. 

- The constant clout chasing. I don’t really have anything against those who do (Idek them), it’s just tiring to see all the time. The “spare #?” Haha no. And like, there IS a hierarchy in dttwt, admit it or not. DTeam interaction, follower count and heck, even being an “OG” when those OGs posts their poorly worded reminiscing tweets that come off as gatekeepy to newer stans then wonder why they make people upset lol 

- They usually have this counterproductive way of dealing with things they don’t want attention to. i.e. tweeting a screenshot of something they allegedly don’t want DTeam to see (as if they don’t know our beloved blob doesn’t lurk there). - Their obsession with the UK vlog. I just think it’s tasteless that they still fill George’s replies with stuff about the vlog. They also ask for proof that it’s real when Dream and George has given them that but they didn’t believe.

- Their need to assert their spot in having the moral high ground. How many call out posts do I have to see in my tl that probably don’t even reach their intended audience? Me, being tired of it doesn't mean I think it's bad, I'm just tired. How many nsfw fics are they gonna mention just to feel good about themselves? That there are “gross people” out there making those? (if you make nsfw content for DTeam, unapologetically make them since they’re fine with it... or consume those works? You do you haha). I’m so done with people posting about nsfw fics just to collectively freak out with their followers. DMs and GCs exist, please, if you really must scream. On another note, they don’t want to be generalized but also do it to the other platforms of DTeam fandom. They hated the ‘ever so horny’ DTTiktok so much that the A1 idea came to be. (I know some who did it and others that didn’t)

- Their hatred towards DTeam shippers. This kinda goes with the point above but I just want it to have a point of its own lmao They can get so hostile against shippers who haven’t even done anything wrong, even though DTeam has repeatedly said they’re fine with it. Additionally, shipping =/= sexualizing... tho Idk if they’ve now fully accepted that they stan the biggest dnf shipper, Mr.WasTaken, himself. shipping sells and he knew it 

- The distaste towards fanfiction. They think it’s so weird to write rpf but it’s praiseworthy if done in illustrations. Fanarts/Fancomics can get as shippy as possible and they get a pass (as long as it’s not nsfw). Don’t get me wrong, I love artists and I am an artist myself. I kinda get it that it takes less time to consume visual art than a fic that you have to read, but the double standard with written fanworks and illustrations are just mehh.  BUT HEY, it’s okay to read/write fanfics IF it’s a joke, as if the only way to enjoy fics is by mocking the craft. 

- The copypastas that only hit the jackpot in being funny once in a blue moon. At worst, it’s their go to in dealing with arguments/statements they don’t agree with ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ Another incident, might be a nitpick but Idk, turning non-crack fanfiction summaries into copypastas. Dttwt touching fanfics just makes my insides shrivel up because of the point above. I write fanfics too and I’m not fond about the idea of my fics having twitter publicity. Of any kind. 

I think that’s about it? for now but dw, the account that annoy me most is twitter user dreamwastaken2 (/hj) and most of all, the thing I really hate about twitter is the character limit. 

So yea, in conclusion, I don’t like twitter.

[crimsonsalutations]

margarltaville replied to your photoset: u get two(2) of the full sized pics bc i...

this isnt ship dva76 right. just. bros.

yeah its just bros

i was kinda imagining  for this pic that someone (ana probably) was going around taking pictures and they both just happened to be standing next to each other when she told them to say cheese

(tho personally i dont really care one way or another if people imagine/tag my things as shippy when theyre not intended to be)

[quicksilver-rain]

@crocophant Oh nah, I feel you, that's kind of a weird opinion to just shout into the void at approximately 7:40 am on a Monday lmao

Honestly, I think it's partly saturation and partly just that... I don't get it?

Like, technically, I understand that its a well executed piece, and like the inspiration and stuff is super interesting to read about?

But... it does nothing for me. I don't think it's particularly romantic or tender, maybe I've only ever seen really shitty scans, but I'm not crazy about the colour.

It's kinda boring to me, to be honest, and I'm honestly just real fuckin' tired of seeing it.

Which is fine!

It doesn't really bother me that people like it! I dislike a whole lot of fine art, taste is subjective and all that, yanno?

But I guess it's just one of those paintings that people go fuckin' ga-ga over it. I cannot tell you how many fandom versions of "The Kiss" I've seen, and again, that's fine, but like, there are a lot of other pieces of art that also lend themselves to that kind of reference in my opinion.

I think "The Lovers" series by Magritte is really fuckin tender, though I understand why people don't reference them much, there's only so much you can do without showing a person's face, I guess:

Mary Cassat did a lot of soft stuff, though admittedly it mostly features children, and doesn't lend itself to shippy fanart very well:

Renior has a lot of beautiful paintings of couples hanging out in their own little bubbles while parties happen around them, which is just, so good, even if they're not his most popular pieces:

Manet's got a couple paintings of couples hanging out that have massive potential to be good references for soft shared moments (look how intently he's listening to her!):

Egon Schiele has a lot of uh... Interesting nudes in his body of work (pun absolutely intended), but there's some good, tender, soft shit there, as well!

I'm not gonna post anything here, because it's all nudes and I don't want to get flagged inappropriate by the tumblr police again, but the pieces I'm thinking of specifically are called "Seated Couple"/"Couple Embracing" series, "Lovers," and "Two Women Embracing" which is honestly the most visibly sapphic piece of fine art I have ever seen.

Look him up at your own risk tho, because all his works are incredibly NSFW.

Also Egon Schiele worked with and inspired (or vice versa) Klimt, to the point that if you look Schiele up, Klimt's "The Kiss" also shows up in the results!

But to return from my tangent, there are so many other, really good pieces to reference off of that I guess I don't understand why "The Kiss" gets the spotlight so often.

The Expressionists (most of the above examples), especially, all have a ton of pieces with these soft, tender moments that I think lend themselves really well to being referenced for fanart or whatever.

Baroque and Rococo artists also did a lot of beautiful pieces that you could reference for all your Tender Moment Shipping Needs (though you kinda have to dig for Baroque pieces that aren't religious, and Rococo's defining feature can be summed up with the phrase "needlessly elaborate," but that's beside the point).

Here's a Rembrandt (Baroque) that I think has a lot of potential:

And a Watteau (Rococo)!

Honestly, I think it all really just boils down to the fact that "The Kiss" is just one of those pieces that I see over and over and over again, and its consistant presence in my sphere of perception made my opinion on the piece shift from a resounding "meh," to a much more visceral, "ugh, again?"

Which isn't to say any of the pieces I've seen referencing "The Kiss" is bad! They're all so fucking good and well-executed and tbh everyone is so fucking talented that their pieces are 90% of the reason I don't throw my phone every time I even think of "The Kiss," but I guess I wish it wasn't such a popular piece to reference?

(I didn't realize I had so many feelings about this? Like I get most of those feeling were just simple dislike turned up to 11, but I didn't expect to get so into explaining that fact lmao)

Random Aside, but boy howdy, do I fuckin' loathe Klimt's "The Kiss"

Like obviously a lot of people love it, and that's why it's referenced so often in art (especially recently, I've noticed) and that's fine! People have differing opinions and shit, but ohmygod I hate that fucking picture so fucking much.

[kendrixtermina]

Opinion time: Lapidot is Boring

Disclaimer: This is supposed to be a subjective personal opinion, not the Divine Voice of Truth. This is just what I think and I’m aware of that. I’m not demanding that anyone change their opinion.

So: I don’t care if anyone writes in their fanfics or makes fanart about. It’s none of my business. I most certainly have no problem with wlw (I’m bi myself) and neither does this show (Ruphire, Pearl etc.)

Neither do I really share common complaints about some of the episodes (I liked that Lapis was allowed to be angsty in a non-pretty way and that everyone understood & tried to make her come around gently; Really, she’s always been the angsty one I don’t get why the fandom turned so viciously on her character as a whole)

Thing is, and again, subjective perception, (though this may be what Non-Lauren writers actually intended, a few vaguely shippy frames) I always read those relationships as platonic friendships, especially Amethyst & Peridot, who had this dynamic where Peridot, always a bit of a suckup, tries to get cool with the highest ranking gem and “hang with the cool kids”, (and Amethyst is cool af but could also really use some validation) and then they actually liked each other & had lots in common, jived with their more ‘rough/ edgy’ humor & forged an actual friendship - Like I love both characters and I liked how they became close friends, and how it added to the group dynamics that the three ‘younger’/post-war gems now have this club of their own where they can feel like they belong?

And well, Lapis & Peridot were those hilarious wacky rommates & sorta spiting the homeworld system by being two former enemies turned friends, living in peace & growing past their functions a techie & an aristocrat living together & so far it’s nice for a few gags here & there at the beginning of the episodes before the plot really starts. 

But I never really saw the appeal as a couple, though I considered that it might happen & was mostly indifferent to it, though I generally trust the writers to do whatever is best.

But with the fans being obnoxious about it, putting it everywhere & making it hard to find any Peridot fics without it that have like, character analysis, the ship wars and the behind-the scenes drama - It’s particularly the hijacking of someone’s carefully planned project that soured it for me, though I generally liked Lauren’s Episodes, at this point I’m glad that it will not actually be cannon. 

 (I frankly never saw this supposed Arc including a supposed lovers-to-friends dynamic with Amethyst and hence had no complaints, but if it was supposed to be there it was very badly handled, barely there & kind of seemed to give Amethyst’s character no agency (does she ever turn ‘Dot down formally?) and it just feels shoehoned. I just really liked the “Amethyst gets a friend who can relate to her” plot because she felt so isolated & unwanted in the early seasons, and that’s what I chose to see it as.)

But mostly, and again, subjective opinion its just not interesting.

I guess with Amedot I could maybe kind of understand as they have some commonalities & participated in each other’s character developement (still meh tho, especially to shoehorned varieties), even so I think the friendship scenario is more interesting because their arcs so far showed a lot more longing for social validation more than intimate closeness atm and already have sources of such closeness (in the family kind of sense) - like, sure, they don’t have love interests as of now, but it’s not like they absolutely need one, and if they did give them one I’d rather they did that properly in a way that adds to their characters rather than just slap  characters together for the heck of it. 

But Lapidot? Frankly, WHY? Queer relationships, yes, but why snatch those particular characters, other than that they are (or well, in Lapis’ case, were) fan favorites? 

Like, for an extreme example - Even Jaspis is more interesting. Not in the sense that I think it will happen or want it to, or remotely think that it resembles anything healthy, but precisely because of the fucked-up-ness and character contrasts involved, it really has potential in an angsty fic kind of way, in things & situations that could be explored. 

Lapidot is boring. Not that angst is necessary for a ship or that happiness & wholesomeness is bad (see Rupphire, which is consistently played for maximum wholesomeness and has this as pretty much the point of them but also has plenty of depht, history & coplimentarity) 

But, it just doesn’t seem to do anything with the characters. Why those two, what’s the selling point of the romance? What character arcs does it serve, what challenges does it lampshape, what traits do complement each other, what would attract them to each other, what relationship arcs could we do with these two together specifically?

I guess you could have them fuse to show how they overcame their bad experiences/ attitudes toward it, but they don’t need to be a couple for that and that’s not the sort of thing you wanna force or shoehorn especially if they’re sort of playing out this slow & gradual trauma recovery thing with Lapis atm. 

The thing is also that it wouldn’t fit with the general style of the show - All the relationships we see, particularly the romantic ones, are planned out from day one and slowly showed to us in tiny bits and puzzle pieces & gradual reveals, and its gradly incorporated into their character arcs. 

Like, Rebecca has repeatedly expressed a “tease everything, ship & let ship, they’re all my favs” but with the cannon ship there’s a lot of slow burn long game going on (as there is, really, with ALL plot elements)

In some stories, characters will get stuck together because “They just look cute” and that’ll work fine for those stories but this is not one where you can just shoehorn in a major ship. 

[sixmorningsafter]

[1/?] i'm gonna talk about steroline first bc you know i've always been here for the bamon, but you've got me really caring about steroline in this fic! caroline trying to set boundaries on intimacy was really heartbreaking--i think you mentioned in an ask before the chapter went up that she's actually more afraid of intimacy bc that's what kept her in a toxic relationship, and i could definitely see that. and then you turned it into something really sweet and funny with her and stefan

watching romance(?) stuff. it was all super cute and i’m loving these two even tho it’s not what i started reading for. stefan’s jealousy re: daroline was also interesting bc it made it clear (to me at least, idk how you intended it) that after being cheated on in his last relationship, he’s not ready for something open/casual. aside from it just not being his personality, i don’t feel like that’s something he needs to get over walking in on his ex with another guy. also think it’s interesting how you have stefan assuming the worst abt damon. obviously it’s a throwback to canon (and damon shoots him down which was nice) with its good bro/bad bro stuff, but it also makes me wonder if bonnie was taken advantage of in her bad period? bonnie obviously has a lot of negative associations with hookups–which was a REALLY nice touch, i loved the narration there–so it makes me wonder what stefan saw going on there when he was more removed from the situation.

ELANAAAAAA! You have no idea how happy I got when I saw your BAMF icon in my inbox, man. I didn’t even have to read the messages to know I’d be like giddy with joy and lo and behold, here I am, giddy with joy. Anyway, this reply is probably like three? Weeks? Late? At this point? But I’m finally diving in to some of these longer reviews and gah, I’m just like remembering how incredible they are all over again so thanks so frickin’ much for taking the time out to write this. Seriously. Means so damn much. ANYWAY, I condensed the SC parts into one half and I’ll do the same with the BD half, so onto the Steroline of it all:

I’M SO HAPPY TO HEAR THAT I’VE GOT YOU VESTED! (Side-note: I feel like I’m going to have to limit my caps lock abuse in this reply because if I had my way the whole thing would be in caps…) Before I started this fic I didn’t actually think through how tricky it could be to have two main ships and four main characters in a fanfic where different fandoms are coming in for different reasons. LMAO like it just totally didn’t even occur to me that it’d be any different from writing any other fic, but it totally is, and it’s weird because you sort of put equal time and effort into realizing each character and each ship but naturally have people coming in predisposed to wanting one thing more than the other. So I feel like just as an author, you almost challenge yourself to write in a way that can pull people into the things they didn’t necessarily come for, and it’s legit the best feeling ever when you hear that you’ve managed it even a little, SOOOOOOO hearing that I’ve got you lowkey rooting for SC makes me super happy. JFC I haven’t even gotten past the first line of your message and this reply’s already two paragraphs long help me.

Re: Caroline, totally on point - she’s definitely the most rattled by intimacy, man. She just doesn’t trust herself to think clearly and put herself first when she’s emotionally vested because of how her relationship with Matt played out. I’m super glad that’s leaking into the fic because I’m not sure it’s something Caroline’s outright admitted yet (that her biggest issue with Stefan isn’t actually his tendency toward falling in love but rather hers, you know?). Like I’m hoping that’s coming across, but it’s just tough when you’re writing a stubborn, self-preserving character who repeatedly claims the opposite, lololol. So super stoked that’s the impression you’re getting!

Re: Stefan’s jealousy, I think that’s a great observation and definitely within my intention. Like as fun as it was to sneak in a little jealousy, I’d argue that scene ended up being more of a characterization one than a shippy one because it gave some insight into where Stefan’s at emotionally, independent of Caroline or really anyone. We’ve heard a lot about his emotional baggage from Bonnie but I think that was the first time we got it from him, and I think you’re definitely right that like what he actually probably needs is to believe in love again. Both him and Caroline. Not storybook Elena love, not angsty chaotic Matt love, but something more natural, less learned. LMAO so naturally I have them both seeking casual hookups instead.

Re: Stefan being protective of Bonnie because of her history, I think that definitely played a role, and I feel like we Vulcan mind-melded because I absolutely think Bonnie was taken advantage of to a degree. Like willingly, she probably thought at the time, but it was messy - the people around her should’ve known better, and if they actually gave a damn, they would’ve. I think your drabble covered it perfectly, like Damon was the kind of person who, while still a ‘bad kid’, knew better than to engage, whereas dudes like Enzo and Klaus engaged anyway. I don’t think she ever really talks about it (sigh, Bonnie) but I’m sure Stefan knows. Not details, but he’d see her around town with older, sketchy dudes - picking her up from school, hanging out in parking lots, etc. - and I headcanon that Lexi would probably see her at upperclassmen parties with seedy seniors. So yeah, not to excuse Stefan from snapping at Damon or anything because I definitely think most of his motive was still a knee-jerk reaction to his own cheating baggage, but this would’ve definitely factored in, too.

LMAO @ the length of this reply I’m so sorry.