#let me make this clear this post was NOT about them and i have no clue who they are

[side-by-side-sideblog]

As a butch individual I will not like you, fuck you, talk to you, make friends with you, or entertain you if you hate men, neither will my partner and other butches I know. It is not progressive, man hating isn't queer culture, because men are queer culture. Men are why I am masc, they accepted my masculinity first, lesbians were butch and masculine phobic to me for 8 years till I figured my shit out. I know that isn't the norm, but it isn't rare either.

These people put me back in the closet over and over. They don't support gender or sex being a spectrum, if they do they're showing no signs of it. They think saying men dni will stop guys who harass people but they don't stop because they don't care about consent and a dni doesn't change that. There are plenty of girl bloggers who also don't respect consent and send people gore and threats over minor disagreements. We don't go after them hardly at all in comparison considering we have people who've been doing that since 2016 and earlier that people still reblog and uplift because they're women. Men doing that on here don't get that treatment, because it's rightfully wrong. Most other sites white non queer men do getaway with that more while women don't, the Tumblr user base reversing that isn't progressive, because cis white women here get more slack then anyone else because trans fems, trans mascs, intersex people, and non white people get the "evil" tag over small shit, let alone actual bad things.

We teach in current society that men are incapable of consent, as if it's in their nature. This isn't true, but it sure does create a lot of guys who lack boundaries. That doesn’t mean Man = Bad it means society saying Man = Wild Beast is bad. A man is just whoever identifies as one, and identifying as a man has nothing to do with lack of consent, or toxic masculinity. I sometimes wonder if I identify as butch in a man way, idk, and I don't care, I am who I am, and women are who I spend time with in a queer way. My closeness to masculinity isn't traitor behavior. Femininity isn't Divinity, I do not worship women. Masculinity isn't an Ignominity, I do not criminalize men. Masculinity is also not Divinity, and Femininity isn't an Ignominity. Both can be fallible at times when the conditions are right, but they are neutral markers.

To make man = good we do that by just changing ourselves and our ideas of masculinity being bad, then we teach it to everyone else, including kids, friends, partners, and parents. When people stop the "boys will be boys" then more men will be taught consent.

I have an actual irrational hatred for a character that makes me burst into anger and hour long rants (not joking) because I see him as the epitome of toxic masculinity. Seeing him in a profile picture can ruin my day, but I do not put him in a dni list because I am not going to blame fans of him for my distaste in how the media itself supports his bad actions as good. Just like if I get harassed by men who lack consent, I will not blame all men and put men dni.

Saying "I block ＿" is better anyway.

Plus, how can you know someone's a woman? Not everyone has pronouns listed, gender listed, or just a big neon sign saying "I'm a woman." you will have no idea if people are respecting your frankly outrageous ask of who can follow or reblog your posts.

Men on this site who respect women and reblog posts do exist, and there are a lot of them. Also trans eggs who are on this site are not going to figure themselves out through media like mlp, she-ra, and whatever you post by saying men dni. My trans sister cracked her egg six months ago, so for her blog she would have steered clear of men dni disclaimers and probably blocked them out of respect. Now how does she undo that, go through her entire block list? That would be crazy work for people who wouldn't have respected her pre transition (which they didn't, not even other trans girls or queer gurls in highschool did, only now would they support her. That's what man hating does to people.)

There is no simple solution to keeping people away, oh wait... It's called blocking.

tldr; Having a dni for an entire demographic of people just for the flaws of a few inside doesn't work. It never will. People who don't care about consent will breach it to hurt you.

if you have "cishet men dni" in your bio i, a trans man, will not touch you with a 10 foot pole. i should not be forced to out myself as a trans man just to interact with you. on top of that, cishet men are not inherently evil. stop trying to reinvent bioessentialism with your "girl good, boy bad!" mentality.

[prettygirl-gabi]

Full-Court Love

Pairing: Paige Bueckers x Reader x Azzi Fudd

POV: First-person

Fandom: UConn’s Women’s Basketball

Word Count: 1,500+

Summary: they make time they always do

Valentine’s Day as a college athlete is a tricky thing.

Between practices, classes, and upcoming games, there’s barely any time to breathe, let alone plan something romantic. And this year? It was even worse.

We had the biggest game of the season against South Carolina on the 16th, which meant Coach had us locked into an intense practice schedule. No distractions. No excuses.

But when you’re dating both Paige Bueckers and Azzi Fudd?

You make time. They make time.

The first sign that Paige and Azzi were up to something came when I walked into the locker room after practice and found a red envelope sitting on top of my bag.

I glanced around, but everyone else was either showering or changing, too focused on their own post-practice routines to notice.

Curious, I picked it up and opened it.

Inside was a simple note, written in Azzi’s neat handwriting:

“Meet us in the film room. Don’t be late. ❤️”

I raised an eyebrow, then shook my head, a smile tugging at my lips.

Whatever they had planned, I already knew it was going to be good.

By the time I got to the film room, I could hear Paige’s laughter through the door.

I pushed it open to find her and Azzi standing in front of the projector screen, which was now displaying a homemade PowerPoint slide that read:

“WHY YOU SHOULD BE OUR VALENTINE”

I blinked. “You made a PowerPoint?”

Paige grinned. “You know I love a good presentation.”

Azzi nodded, holding up a remote. “We have five slides prepared.”

I crossed my arms, biting back a laugh. “This is so unserious.”

Paige smirked. “Just sit down and watch, babe.”

I sighed dramatically but took a seat. “Fine. Impress me.”

Azzi clicked to the next slide, which had a picture of me in my UConn jersey mid-game, looking absolutely locked in. Underneath it, the text read:

“Reason #1: You’re the best player on the team (don’t tell Coach we said that).”

I snorted. “Y’all are ridiculous.”

Paige grinned. “Next slide, Z.”

The next one showed a candid photo of the three of us from last semester, curled up together on the couch, half-asleep during a movie night.

“Reason #2: You make every moment better.”

I felt my heart squeeze a little.

Azzi glanced at me, a small smile on her face. “It’s true. Even when we’re exhausted, just being with you makes everything feel easier.”

Paige nudged her. “Damn, getting sentimental already?”

Azzi rolled her eyes. “Shut up, Paige.”

I grinned, shaking my head. “Y’all are actually kinda cute.”

Paige winked. “Just wait.”

The next slide had a picture of me standing between them after a game, arms around their shoulders, all three of us grinning.

“Reason #3: We love you, duh.”

I exhaled softly, warmth spreading through my chest.

Paige leaned against the desk. “We know the timing sucks this year with the South Carolina game coming up, but we didn’t want today to just feel like any other day.”

Azzi nodded. “So, will you be our Valentine?”

I rolled my eyes but couldn’t stop the smile on my face. “Like I’d ever say no to you two.”

Paige grinned. “Good answer.”

Azzi smirked. “We also have dinner plans.”

I raised an eyebrow. “Coach explicitly said no distractions—”

Paige waved a hand. “Coach didn’t say we couldn’t eat dinner.”

Azzi nodded. “And we already cleared it with the team. A bunch of them are doing their own little date nights before we go full lock-in mode tomorrow.”

I sighed, standing up. “Y’all really thought of everything, huh?”

Paige smirked. “Always.”

Azzi grabbed my hand. “Come on. It’s a surprise.”

They took me to a small, cozy Italian restaurant about fifteen minutes off campus, one of those places you’d never notice unless you were looking for it.

The second we walked in, I realized Paige and Azzi had really planned ahead—the restaurant had a private table set up in the back, complete with dim lighting and a tiny vase of roses in the center.

I turned to them, impressed. “Okay, I was expecting something chill, but y’all actually went all out.”

Paige grinned, pulling out a chair for me. “Only the best for our girl.”

Azzi sat down across from me, smiling softly. “We figured we wouldn’t get much alone time after today, so we wanted to make this one count.”

I glanced between them, warmth pooling in my chest. “I love you two, you know that?”

Paige smirked. “We do now.”

Azzi reached across the table, lacing her fingers with mine. “Love you too.”

Paige nodded, grabbing my other hand. “Love you more.”

I rolled my eyes. “We’re not doing the ‘who loves who more’ thing at this table.”

Azzi smirked. “That sounds like something someone losing would say.”

Paige cackled. “OHH, she got you.”

I groaned. “Y’all are literally the worst.”

Paige winked. “And you love it.”

Unfortunately for me, she wasn’t wrong.

After dinner, we walked back to the car, hands intertwined as the cold February air nipped at our skin.

Paige nudged me playfully. “So, did we do okay?”

I laughed, shaking my head. “Okay? Y’all actually managed to surprise me. That’s a first.”

Azzi grinned. “That was the goal.”

I looked between them, my heart feeling way too full. “Best Valentine’s Day ever.”

Paige smirked. “Just wait until next year.”

Azzi nodded. “We’re only getting started.”

And knowing them?

I believed it.

---

■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■

                 -Thank You For Reading!🩵🩶

                             -prettygirl-gabi🎀✨️

[bangtanhoesthings]

Long ask.

Forgive me, this will be all over the place.

I have noticed that over the past few years the hate for the boys has been escalating particularly for Jimin, Jungkook and Joonie.

For Joonie, among other things, because as a leader, if they break him, they might break BTS. (Gosh look at him😭. Has me my man, my man, my man-ning all over the place like a dog in heat, it's embarrassing and a little concerning). Sorry, I digressed but look at him 😭😭😭, y'all don't thirst over this man enough. Woof! 🫦

Anyways, moving on.

For Jungkook, among a plethora of other reasons, because of the unrivaled, unmitigated global success he has had and continues to have (am so proud of my funky lil popstar ✨).

He came, he saw, he conquered. Kicked ass and took names. Ate and left no crumbs. Had them by the neck. Pulled up and shut it down (Somebody stop me 😭)

The way some army attribute his success to the 🛴 guy boils my blood, and that rage is for another day.

This post is towards Jimin.

Jimin's hate is both from outside and inside the fandom ( am not talking about solos, toxic shippers, mantis and the like) but people who claim to be 0T7.

I know that Jimin has had haters for years but the shady tweets I saw during the FACE and MUSE era from so called "ARMY" said a lot. Am not here to debate who is or isn't ARMY. That's for another time.

My question is, why does Jimin's success seem to be a sore spot for some 0T7s? The one reason I have been able to come up with is that Jimin sort of messed up the hierarchy system.

Let me explain and see if I make sense. For a long time, when people thought of the maknae line, no matter the order in which they ranked Tae and Kookie, Jimin was always the third one. Too many posts relegating him to the role of cheerleader and not much else. I saw posts before solo works commenced dismissing the idea that Jimin would ever release an album but would instead fully support the others. Well, he not only released two solo albums, but was also a composer, lyricist among other things, so they can take their opinion and smoke it.

When the solo era started, people had different expectations for what every maknae members would achieve but no matter the expectations, those for Jimin were that he would be third. Bronze medalist if you will.

FACE was released, Like Crazy got to number 1 and I logged off twitter. We were in hell particularly when it went from 1 to 45 after Billboard deleted over 100k sales and changed the rules (thank you Travis Scott for freeing Jimin and finally taking that number 1 spot). The hate from outside was expected, it was when it came from within the fandom that it hurt.

Fast forward to MUSE and it got worse. Sprinkle in a dash of Are You Sure and we have

Here I have a list of things I have noticed

1. An increase in the number of people talking about how they hate PJMs and how they are making them turn against Jimin. Honey, if a solo can make you dislike one member, you aren't sh*t anyway.

2. Dislike for Jimin disguised as dislike for his solos. If you haven't seen it, consider yourself lucky.

3. How sometimes ARMY came in droves when a member didn't achieve something but Jimin did. For example Spotify US. When a new song failed to enter but Jimin's songs increased ( during both LC and Who era).

4. His long run on the hot 100 has really revealed people's true colours. It's not his fault. Blame the fandom for their clear bias.

5. The number of ARMY accounts on X low key calling AYS fanservice.

6. Discourse on Jimin's ability to sing. I don't argue with stupid people.

I could go on and on but what I am trying to say is that in a perfect world, it would be wonderful if all the members had the same support from ARMY. The discrepancy needs to be addressed (caused by a multitude of reasons) but making it a member's fault and not the fandom is asinine.

I used to be a 1D fan and my favourite member to date is the least favourite and successful, Louis Tomlinson but that doesn't mean I hate on Harry, Zayn or Niall for their success. I wouldn't even know where to begin.

What prompted this you may ask? I saw a post talking about Jimin being the company and fandom fave and having special support. Like huh?

All in all what I am trying to say is that Jimin really shook things up and some people resent him for it. That one post (article?) about Jimin bringing out either admiration or envy keeps getting proven right.

Keep supporting this angel for a long and happy life.

What do you think are some other reasons for the increase in the 0T6 agenda against Jimin?

[kingsmoot]

ok we're back with ten more image slots to talk about joffrey's inherent badness because the text argues vehemently against this thing that people keep saying in my tags that joff is just uniquely bad and wrong and was destined to be a cruel, violent, spiteful despot. someone said that robert hit joff so hard he got brain damage and that's why he's Like That���️. this is no different than saying that joff is A Bad Apple because he is a bastard born of incest, abhorred by the gods. or that he is bad because his mother is a lannister and so he is of tainted, evil stock. the argument that joff is not only uniquely but inherently bad is refuted time and again by the text, and by me. let's discuss.

agot; chapter 30, eddard vii

above, robert confides in ned that he loathes his son and heir. cannot abide him. is terrified that he will one day take his throne. he claims that ned does not know him as he does (when ned has suffered far more for joffrey's actions than robert! his lady wife's hands disfigured by joff's hired catspaw, his daughter's soulbonded warg beheaded thanks to his lie that both his parents accepted) and crucially, robert blames cersei's parenting and joff's lannister blood on the fact that he is unfit for the throne.

yet joffrey is the image of his father (robert, not jaime). he acts in ways that he thinks will earn robert's approval. he acts out because of robert's disdain and abuse. robert (and many others) says he sees nothing of himself in his son, and yet this is time and again proven false.

asos; chapter 53, tyrion vi / asos; chapter 63, davos vi

cersei and stannis both recall the incident where robert was so enraged at joffrey that he hit him hard enough to knock out two baby teeth. hard enough that stannis thought he'd killed him with the blow.

and the act of animal cruelty that provoked this ire in robert was a clear mirroring of (genuinely i cannot remember if it was ser amory lorch for real or gregor clegane who did this idr which version of the story is a lie) presenting robert with the dead and mangled bodies of princess elia's children, who were viciously butchered in their beds. it would make perfect sense for joffrey to have heard that story more than once, and to have understood the pleasure robert took in seeing the dragons slaughtered. killing a pregnant cat and presenting robert with her dead unborn kittens is something a small child exposed to his father's brutality and violence would do to please and emulate him.

(much pithier post by @visenyaism about this same passage: https://www.tumblr.com/kingsmoot/724517618713837568)

and, of course, none of the three adults in the room with joff when this happened thought to teach him anything about why this was not something they wanted him to do. his father beat him while his mother (robert's property even more so than joff. understandably helpless in this situation) and his uncle (not helpless. should have opened his mouth) watched. there is always an adult in the room and they are always doing nothing.

and even after this. years after this!! after who knows how many more instances of scorn that would not have registered with the other adults present because they were not physical violence, joff still tries to emulate his father:

acok; chapter 53, tyrion vi

asos; chapter 77, tyrion xi

WELL A SON TAKES AFTER HIS FATHER :(

could it be that there is somewhere else in the text where we have seen a father disparage his cruel, violent, monstrous son on the basis of his inherent wrongness? absolving himself of his own responsibility for the boy's behavior? 🤔

asos; chapter 49, catelyn vi

adwd; chapter 32, reek iii

adwd; chapter 32, reek iii

i've made one post before comparing joff and ramsay as expressions of their mothers' rage and as characters driven by the entitlement their mothers sowed in them (https://kingsmoot.tumblr.com/post/723616029989896192/) but this time i want to focus on their fathers' culpability and denial

i do not draw the comparison between joff and ramsay to either:

absolve ramsay of his responsibility for his actions as a serial killing serial raper who tortures theon and donella until they lose every last shred of their humanity. he's like thirty. OR

compare or equate the actions of an adult man doing leatherface/otis driftwood shit to a little boy being supported in his terror and violence by the huge and powerful group of adults around him (ramsay's violence is his own. he is skinning and raping women in the woods. he is killing children. he is torturing theon and donella and raping jeyne. joffrey's violence is not his own. it is carried out by willing participants thrice his size and twice his age at least.)

i draw the comparison because roose and robert both blame the intrinsic, immutable, corrupted nature of their sons on why they are monsters, and yet both of them also acknowledge (subtly) that the fault is theirs.

robert's "jon despaired of me often enough, yet i grew into a good king! (...) ah, say that i'm a better king than aerys and be done with it!!" to ned is telling. he knows that he's a horrible king. he knows that he hasn't grown out of anything. (https://kingsmoot.tumblr.com/post/773495838881333248/) he claims to ned that there is something wrong with his son and he blames the lannister bitch for it, but somewhere deep down in the parts of his grey matter the light or the conscious can never touch... he knows what he is. and he knows whose son joffrey is. and he knows what that makes the both of them.

and roose, who blames his son's monstrosity on his bad blood, leaves us with the very obvious question of whose blood it is that's in him? roose's preoccupation with his own bloodletting takes on a very different cast after this exchange with theon. the leeches suck the bad blood away, all the rage and pain. the rage and pain ramsay is filled with would poison even the leeches... but how much rage and pain does roose need removed?

roose sent a serial killing serial rapist to raise the child of a woman he brutally raped and whose husband he murdered (https://kingsmoot.tumblr.com/post/757215882916265984/) and acts as if ramsay growing into the kind of man that he grew into is an issue of his low birth out of wedlock. robert is a huge violent wife beating drunk who delights in the gruesome slaughter of babes in their beds and acts as if joffrey's cruelty and violence is the frigid lannister bitch's fault. can you see how the text purposefully sets up two of its most vile and overtly hateable characters to have the exact same justification for their sons' actions and how by doing so it is suggesting that you, the reader, should not believe them?

overall, the asoiaf series stands in staunch opposition to the concept that your birth determines who you are (yes, even with the prophecies and the chosen ones and the many heroes' destinies). to believe that joffrey baratheon was born bad is to misunderstand the core of his character and also to forgive and absolve the many characters who have actual power of their responsibility for "his" actions, and to forgive (and praise!) robert, cersei, tyrion, and jaime for their abuse.

to believe that there was nothing anyone could do to stop joffrey baratheon's reign from driving westeros into the ground but to kill him, is to concede that the murder of children is justifiable and necessary, something that the text pointedly and repeatedly refutes (the murder of elia and rhaegar's children repeatedly defined as a fracture in ned and robert's relationship and a stain on his reign, jon snow switching gilly and mance's babies, stannis' refusal to burn shireen, davos' saving of edric storm, cersei's murder of robert's bastards, the list goes on and on and on and on)

joff is literally 13. how is this lost on the vast majority of asoiaf's audience. have you ever met a 13 year old? he's a 13 year old boy who was beaten and neglected. the fact that a traumatized child has the "power" to doll out life and death sentences is in fact a structural issue. the fact that a bunch of 30+ year old professional body guard attack dogs nod along and happily beat the living shit out of the 11 year old girl joff is engaged to is very pointedly not joff's fault. would you, tumblr user reading this, beat the shit out of a child if another child told you to? probably not, right? that would be fucking insane, right? you would feel that it was your responsibility to NOT beat the shit out of a child no matter what position the other child telling you to do so had above you, right? you know that the smallfolk of king's landing, who were literally being shot at and murdered by joff with his automatic crossbow, also said that it was the adults on the counsel's responsibility to reign in the boyking on the throne? ok well they are imaginary people being shot with an imaginary crossbow and you as the real flesh and blood audience have so much more perspective on this situation than them. OK, GOOD TALK.

[loverboysturn]

i love ur popular matt and smart reader !!!! can u make the next part when u can get the time? love ur writing sm!!

thank you so so much lovely anon 💌

here’s a little drabble for you of them seeing each other for the first time outside of their tutoring sessions:

it was a quiet friday night at the diner.

you were sat at the counter, sipping your milkshake and chatting away with your best friend, who was working. you had come in to keep her company, to make her shift go by a little quicker and so far, it had been calm.

“is it always this quiet in here on a friday night?” you ask her, swivelling on your chair, looking around at the peace and quiet.

your best friend glances up at the clock, then back to you, a small smile forming on her lips. “give it time, the usuals will be here soon enough.”

she was right, almost exactly at 8pm, the doors swung open with a familiar jingle, and in strolled the football team post practice, the cheerleaders trailing behind them like lost puppies. you rolled your eyes, but your best friend simply shrugged at you, her gaze following the group, “told you.”

you went back to your milkshake, about to continue the conversation where you had left off when suddenly, you feel someone slide onto the stool next to you.

without looking, you know exactly who it is. matt.

“pretty girl,” he smirks, leaning towards you just enough for you to feel his presence. “fancy seeing you here, are you checking in on me?”

you turn to face him, rolling your eyes. “i was here first.” you shoot back, unbothered by his charm. “shouldn’t you be studying for your test next week? wouldn’t want you to fail.”

matt holds his hands up in defence, “just having one night off, be back on it in the morning.”

you raise an eyebrow, “guess your night off will be spent with one of the cheerleaders who are looking over here with rage in their eyes clearly furious that you’re over here speaking to me.” you laugh, “maybe you could get one of them to read your notes back to you.”

he laughs, leaning back in his stool, clearly entertained by it. “jealous?”

“not at all,” you say, not realising how close you actually were to him, clearing your throat and straightening your posture, “you better go back to them, wouldn’t want them to think you were flirting with your tutor girl.”

he grins, his infamous cocky smile never leaving his face. “let ‘em think that, maybe i am.” he shrugs, hopping down from the stool. he starts to walk away backwards but still facing you, his expression not changing, “i can’t help it that my tutor’s pretty.” he adds, before walking back to the group.

as soon as matt was out of ear shot, your best friend, who had been quietly watching the whole exchange with an amused smirk, leans over the counter before asking, “just tutoring between you both, yeah?”

[ingravinoveritas]

GT is really trying to make the Baftas about her on her Ig huh

(Grouping together for ease of responding.)

I've seen several mentions/had folks talking to me in DM about Georgia's Insta stories earlier today. I'll put some screenshots here so we can discuss:

I feel like this all starts with yesterday, so let's quickly recap: Last night, David appeared on the One Show. Georgia came along and watched the show backstage, and posted an Insta story of him on the TV screen, in color. She posted nothing related to David and Valentine's Day, despite having made a post about him every year for the last several years. Today, she posted about BAFTA preparations. Two photos of David, both again in black-and-white, and two photos in color, one of which featured her calling a bag of skincare products "my valentine."

The first thing that comes to mind is the songs that are used on some of these stories. For three out of four, the songs are upbeat and happy, which seems to contrast starkly with the almost somber tone of these pictures. It reminds me of the song "I Am A Rock" by Simon & Garfunkel, where the music is cheerful and up tempo, yet the lyrics are much darker and full of pain/sadness. So if you're only looking at what's on the surface, it causes you to miss what is going on underneath.

It would also be very easy to overlook that these stories are all related to an awards show--that David is hosting for a second time, no less. Because there isn't really anything celebratory about any of these. Just looking at the captions/tags, Georgia seems to be showing more enthusiasm for receiving free skincare products than for anything else. And in both pictures of David, he is doing something else/just trying to exist while she photographs him. In the picture in the car, he seems to be looking at the National Theatre, and despite sitting next to her, it feels like he is about a million miles away--that same feeling of preoccupation/tiredness that we saw last night.

And then there's the last piece of these stories, which is that the photos of David are once again in black-and-white. I've said this previously, but we are now long past the point where the B&W makes sense for legal reasons or anything having to do with the show. Let's also look at what's happened over the last few weeks: The fan taking a picture with David in the airport, the photo of David behind the bar in a pub in Glasgow this week, and then the full-on hair reveal last night, all in color. Contrast that with the video of David dancing to Sabrina Carpenter, the WOS acceptance speech, and now these photos, all in black and white, and all taken/filmed by Georgia.

Looking at everything together, I think David never cared about hiding his hair, while Georgia and Anna knew/know the fans have wanted to see dyed hair, and have viewed their Instagrams as a source for pictures. So holding the promise and possibility of seeing that is a guaranteed way to keep getting clicks and drive engagement, especially given how many fans took screenshots and got excited every time Georgia or Anna added a new story. What became a joke at the fandom's expense has now backfired, and I truly don't think there was ever going to be a "big reveal" or that either of them intended to post a picture of the dyed hair in color.

To be clear, there is no part of me that takes joy in any of this, and I do not wish for either David or Georgia to be unhappy or miserable. But I can't dismiss the almost painful gut reaction I had to these Insta stories--how "off" the vibes are, and how this all seems to be about much more than just hair dye.

What will happen at the BAFTAs tomorrow is still anyone's guess--Michael is not listed as a special guest or as a presenter (though he did present an award last year, as I recall), so who knows if he will even be there--but I am honestly hoping that things will be okay. For everyone's sake...

[wakasaswifee]

GG, NO REᶻ 𝘇 𐰁

(good game, no rematch)

Synopsis: Sershiro Nagi, one of japan's top streamers; who dominates the gaming world with his effortless skills. When an underground content creator challenges him to a 1v1 after he dismisses casual players, their fans go wild. The match ends with an unexpected twist, and what starts as an online rivalry turns into a chaotic, relationship.

pairing: Seishiro nagi x F!reader | Smau & writing

content warning: I try to be funny (more cringe than funny), dry humour, crack, angst (if you squint), ooc character, nagi is sassy?, spicy but not smut (eventually), streamers - most of them, swearing, rude jokes

ʚɞ good game

Nagi clicked a button on his keyboard, starting up his stream. The first 20 minutes were just him talking and answering questions until someone finally asked the big question.

—Reply to Y/N Gamez’s video—

Not even a second later, all the messages in the chat were about it.

—Yeah! What were the tweets about?—

—You can’t just take that disrespect!—

—1v1 her!—

Nagi sighed, running a hand through his hair. He had already watched the clip and responded on Twitter—just not on stream.

"Alright, so what's happening is, two hours from now, the other streamer, Y/N, I think her name is—she’s going to come on, and we’ll 1v1 each other in COD. It'll be a private game."

Messages flooded the chat once again.

"Don’t worry, guys, I’m not stressed. We all know who’s gonna win."

You joined Nagi’s stream after he sent you an invite.

Nagi was talking about the game rules and chatting with his viewers.

You, on the other hand—your hands were trembling. Not because you were nervous, but because, for one, over a million people would be watching, and if you messed up, it’d be the same as a public execution.

—C’mon, lock TF in.—

You laughed when you saw Shidou’s message.

. ݁₊ ⊹ . ݁˖ . ݁

The game was intense. It was best out of three. You won the first round, giving you a confidence boost, but that came crashing down when Nagi won the second like it was nothing, saying the first one was just a warm-up.

God, his cockiness pissed you off.

The third game was tense and probably the longest. Both of you had gone completely silent—only the clicks of your controllers and keyboards could be heard.

The game ended with you victorious.

You let out the deepest breath, realizing you hadn’t been breathing properly for the past 20 minutes.

“GG.”

Nagi was silent for a moment before letting out a quiet, "gg."

"Rematch?" he asked.

"Nah, not now."

You fell back in your chair, wiping your palms on the sides of your biker shorts. It felt like you had just run a marathon. The win was sweet, but bringing someone down a notch or two was even sweeter.

You pushed your hair back as Nagi cleared his throat, announcing to his chat that you had won. What was really annoying was that he didn’t sound mad. Not one bit.

You thanked him for having you, said your goodbyes, and logged off your PC. Pulling out your phone to see messages from ryu

You tossed your phone onto the wireless charger and plopped onto your bed. Darkness covered your vision, and you were out cold.

. ݁₊ ⊹ . ݁˖ . ݁

Groaning, you woke up to the sound of your phone buzzing. Grabbing it off the nightstand, you saw over 100+ notifications—some from Sae, some from shidou and.. twitter??

series masterlist: ʚɞ

Next: 03

A/n: this came out later than expected but hopefully it formatted correctly and doesn't fuck me over after I post it. I giggled while making this ><

TAGLIST: @syarc0re @sunnydays25 @x3nafix @lilwx @tired-child00 (open)

[kingmaxstatic]

Goodmorning, Goodbye and Goodnight: A Post About Farewells.

... How do you break away from something or a piece of yourself for so long? Or at the very least, do so in the public eye?

Let's not beat around the bush.

I'm not happy in the Sonic fandom at the moment.

(More below the post)

So let me make this PERFECTLY CLEAR I have not fallen out of love for Sonic. I still adore Sonic and I will more than continue to enjoy it!

But I'm unsure if that enjoyment can really be.. public.. for the time being.

For a while I've always couldn't help but notice that the fandom is a bundle of bickerers. Makes sense. Most of us here are ND and VERY opinionated!

But this all came to ahead when I was watching a video about Amy Rose. And as I watched, as interested as I was. A video dissecting her current writing I realized something...

I was fucking miserable!

Why do I CARE so much about other people's opinions about something I enjoy? Even if I cringe at that one bumblecast clip of Ian saying "he wishes he could redesign Amy".

Even IF I understand the concern.

I still LOVE Modern Amy! I was letting this video give me insight, yes but it also made me feel guilt for even LIKING IDW's take on Amy (and IDW in general).

Infact guilt is something I've felt A LOT in the fandom.

Shit man, Starline is my FAVORITE character in sonic, period. But it feels like both the fandom (and the writers, to an extent) want to guilt you into not liking him.

That liking him is some moral failing on YOUR part? (Literally Ignoring the fact we've literally had a few years to grow attached pre-imposter syndrome and that he didn't just magically appear post-Chao Race Arc)

Yes, Starline sucks. Yes, he (in canon) used two random mobians for cyborg stuff. I know this. He's still an enjoyable character and I don't excuse his canon actions. It's even why in my own canon of him Imposter syndrome isn't canon.

I'm tired of the stress, man. I'm tired of not enjoying Starline. I haven't been able to properly enjoy him in a wile.

For my birthday I actually bought a Bad Guys physical copy!

And I have not touched it at all.

The stress of keeping up with this fandom has actually caused me literal anxiety shivers. I don't have fun any more. There's just.. too much discourse.

And I think it's best for me if I take a step back from it. At least.

So.. What Happens Now?

Well! What happens now is that I take a public step back from the fandom! Like I said I still very much enjoy Sonic.. I just don't think that enjoyment will be AS public any more. Gush about it with friends! Play the games! Draw art.. For Myself!

This doesn't mean I won't be keeping a close eye on my sonic moots (you haven't gotten rid of me JUST yet!) but it does mean I'll probably start blocking tags. Taking some breathing room. Finding that love for Sonic again on my OWN time. Be a lil selfish with it!

I still love and adore my ocs (and they'll still be around on Toyhouse and Art Fight!) But their stories are mine to share.. and sometimes I can just.. not share them!

What happens to this Blog?

SHIT MAN! I'll still be around! I probably just won't be posting in the sonic tag any time soon. I'm in OTHER fandoms right now (Nicktoons, Crash, Etc) If you like my writing and my art In THIS fandom surely you'll enjoy it in others!/pos

Even if those fandoms are more.. obscure to say the least? This Blog, at it's core, has always been ABOUT multifandom stuff and It feels like it's finally returning to that!

Nature is healing! KingMaxStatic is finally posting about WEIRD fandoms only 3 people know about again!!

What Happens To Starvoltz?

Though not an as.. urgent question. It's one I feel has held a lot of weight, at least to me. I know people are GENUINELY such big fans of Starvoltz and I think it's been the ONE BIG THING keeping me back from making me step back from the fandom...

So... I'm killing both Starline and Voltz off..../j (I would never)

I still LOVE and ADORE Starline and Voltz! They mean the world to me (and even the MOON to me!) But over the course of the past few months I've felt a nagging GUILT about them.. and I don't want to feel that anymore. I want to ADORE Starvoltz like I used to...

and In order for me to do that I GOTTA step back.

If you wanna get a lil cute about it, you can think about it like the two going on a honey moon or a vacation!

If you've made it thus far.. thank you. Genuinely. Thank you for understanding! I hope you understand. I love sonic, I will always love sonic. But I need my own space to love Sonic.

I suppose maybe like the main character I need to be free.

Free like the wind.

[dekaydk]

When It Rains It Pours ep 6

That was a tough watch and I am still having thoughts about it, but it was, for me, really good.

So, first, an admission: I was down on Ep 5 for the "they finally have sex" moment being emotionally underwhelming. I'm still not entirely satisfied, BUT after watching Ep. 6 I'm much more in my original camp of "the showrunners have a perspective and know what they're doing" for multiple reasons.

First, I think that they wanted it to feel a little emotionally lacking, because both men, Sei especially, are not quite letting themselves feel as much in the moment. It's a lot to process for both of them, and in different ways and from different perspectives. The unpacking of this crossing of the Rubicon is not something that happens all at once and immediately it's wine and roses time. We get to see this in the morning after scene where they finally really kiss. That's actually yet another Rubicon: sex is one thing, but for both men, kissing has more emotion to it.

Second, the cultural differences are something that I personally don't always account for, because it's not easy. I usually love subtlety and this show by and large delivers. Yes, Ep 5 is a Rubicon, but it's part of a longer journey and you don't break years of habit and conditioning overnight, especially when you haven't really reckoned with where your feelings are or will go until after you're on the opposite shore. Would I have preferred that there be a little more of a Western drama feel? Sure, but in post Ep 6-hindsight, the way the episode goes feels much more like a valid and understandable choice.

Spoilers for Episode 6 ahead.

Episode 6 Things I Liked

Not letting Kaori be a villain. Like everyone else she's complicated, and was letting her fears control her too much. But she talked about it. They communicated, finally. It's too late and even had it not been, she might not have been able to help bridge the gap (in the bedroom!!!) because she still hasn't accepted responsibility for her feelings about Hagiwara's genitals (this was pointed out by multiple Japanese speakers as a mistranslation: not being his "manly" behavior, but actually him having a dick). She has some (ahem) unresolved issues here and maybe this will help her along. She made him state his position, which is actually kind of fair since he's the one who has broken the matrix they were suspended in.

When Fujisawa tells Sei that he knows what's been happening, Sei is typically blunt and direct. Perhaps even too harsh, but after all he's been through with Fujisawa, resentment and anger are foremost, perhaps even regret that he wasted time with Fujisawa. For Sei, this isn't just honesty, it's something of an attack. Fujisawa is not having this, to put it mildly. What's weird is how he's homophobic about Sei having sex with a man: dude, he wants to have sex with you and you're a man. (In contrast, I get Kaori's confusion, because I think many people would. (The Tumblr community is "nobody cares about gender" but this is decidedly not true of the larger population.)) Fujisawa is so angered about the loss of control over his pet, to the point that his previous (apparent) aversion to sex is cast aside in favor of violence and (it is implied) forcing himself on Sei.

The episode ends with Sei in a weird state, even for him. Fujisawa seriously traumatized him (we didn't see the extent of it but it's clear some bad stuff happened off camera) and that's hugely difficult to handle for someone who's spent years not really reckoning with the fact that he's willingly become a bird in a cage. On top of it all, now Fujisawa wants to take even the little freedom he has away.

Hagiwara continues to be honest and direct with Sei, and equally importantly, observant and perceptive. He figured out that Sei was in a bad state and confronted that, directly but gently, without making it about himself. Once again, he recognizes that Sei is feeling much more than he's letting on and tries to help Sei confront it. But unlike Fujisawa, he will not try to control Sei.

Everyone is in pain and it's not clear where things go next, but at least everyone's self-deceptions are (mostly, except perhaps for Fujisawa) at least exposed.

[biotic-raptorian-angel]

Turntable- Moicy

Angela eased open the door to her quarters, a sense of relief loosening the tension in her shoulders. Late-evening light spilled in from the corridor, illuminating a tidy living space adorned with books on medical research, a small collection of succulents, and a curious addition she had picked up recently: a turntable.

She had found it by chance on a day trip into the nearby town—a vintage model with a dark wood base and a glass lid. Something about it had called to her, perhaps a desire to slow down and listen to music the old-fashioned way. It felt quaint and comforting compared to the sleek, digital hum that filled Overwatch’s labs.

Tucked beneath the turntable was a modest stack of records. Angela was no collector, but she had picked a few timeless pieces: classical symphonies, mellow jazz, the occasional modern arrangement. Whenever she had a rare moment to herself, she found solace in dropping the needle onto a spinning vinyl and letting music fill the silence.

Tonight, her solitude was interrupted by a quiet knock. She recognized the measured, deliberate way the knuckles rapped on the door—Moira. Angela’s heart gave a small flutter of curiosity. She and Moira had been working together intensely for days on end in the lab. Though they had come to a mutual respect, Moira did not often seek her out in non-work settings.

Angela opened the door to find Moira standing there, tall and reserved, a file tucked under her arm. “Dr. Ziegler,” she greeted, voice carefully neutral. “I have some notes from our last set of experiments. I thought we could review them… unless you’re otherwise occupied.”

Angela offered a friendly smile. “I was about to relax for the evening, actually. But I don’t mind looking over the data, if you’d like.” She stepped aside, allowing Moira to enter.

Moira’s sharp gaze flickered across the room, no doubt taking in every detail: the meticulously arranged books, the half-written post-it notes stuck to a whiteboard, and finally, the wooden turntable in the corner. She tilted her head, curiosity sparking in her eyes.

“A turntable?” she murmured. “That’s… unexpected.”

Angela’s smile grew softer as she approached the old-fashioned record player. “I found it last month. I’ve always loved music, but listening this way makes me feel more present—less caught up in all the digital noise that surrounds us.”

Moira set her file on Angela’s desk. “I can understand the sentiment,” she admitted. “Though vinyl is somewhat… antiquated.”

“Yes,” Angela said, flipping open the lid. “But it has a certain charm, doesn’t it?” She pressed a small button, and the turntable whirred to life, the platter spinning smoothly. “Care to choose an album?”

Moira hesitated, her mismatched eyes drifting over the small selection. She ran a careful finger across the spines, reading the titles quietly before stopping at one: a classical album by a composer she recognized. With a careful hand, she lifted the record and slid it from its sleeve.

“Mozart,” she said in a measured tone, as though confirming a piece of data. “Are you a fan?”

Angela shrugged, a slight blush coloring her cheeks. “I enjoy the structure. It helps me focus if I’m reviewing medical texts. Also helps me unwind.”

Moira placed the record on the spinning platter. Angela carefully lifted the tonearm and lowered the needle. A moment later, warm, crackling notes drifted through the speakers, filling the small quarters with melodic strings and soft harpsichord.

Angela moved to her desk, clearing a space so they could spread out Moira’s notes. “So, you said you had data you wanted me to see?”

Moira nodded and opened the file, her posture still slightly stiff, as though unsure of how to exist in this domestic calm. “I made some modifications to the protein synthesis procedure we discussed—doubling the sample rate might yield a more accurate baseline for regenerative capacity. But… I’d like your opinion.”

Angela scanned the printouts, occasionally glancing at Moira’s neat, precise handwriting. Even though they were in Angela’s cozy quarters with soft music playing, science remained their shared language. The tension in Moira’s posture seemed to ease whenever they delved into technical details.

Minutes passed in companionable quiet, interrupted only by the soft hiss and pop of the record. When Angela finished reading, she nodded approvingly. “These are good modifications. I think Winston will appreciate the thoroughness. And it might give us a clearer picture of how the cells respond in real-time.”

Moira exhaled, a satisfied curve at the corners of her lips—her version of a smile. “Excellent. I’ll run the changes first thing in the morning.”

They stood side by side, listening to the orchestral strains. The music wove a gentle tapestry around them, inviting a moment of reflection.

Angela closed the file and turned to Moira, a thoughtful look in her eyes. “You know,” she began quietly, “I’m glad you came by. It’s… nice to see you outside of the lab, even if we did end up talking about work.”

Moira glanced around the cozy space again. “It’s been some time since I’ve been in a room that wasn’t sterile or humming with equipment,” she admitted softly. “I’m not… used to it.”

Angela offered a gentle smile. “You might find it soothing. Music, a comfortable chair, a good book—or a good conversation—it all helps me remember there’s more to life than running experiments.”

Moira’s gaze flicked to the spinning record, the needle tracing the grooves with mechanical precision. “I’ve always leaned on my work. Perhaps it’s my way of maintaining control.” She paused, considering her next words carefully. “But… I’m open to the idea of trying new things.”

Angela felt her chest warm at that small show of vulnerability. She gestured to the turntable. “Would you like to pick another album when this one’s finished? I’ve got some jazz, or maybe a bit of mellow pop. Something to unwind to.”

Moira pursed her lips as though deliberating. “Jazz would suit my tastes,” she finally said.

Angela flashed her a bright smile. “Wonderful.”

Their conversation faded naturally, replaced by the crescendo of the symphony reaching its final movement. Angela and Moira let the music wash over them, standing in a comfortable silence that felt surprisingly intimate—two women whose lives revolved around science, now sharing a soft, analog moment in Angela’s quarters.

As the record ended and the needle lifted with a gentle click, Angela slid it back into its sleeve. She turned to find Moira quietly watching, her expression inquisitive but calm.

“Thank you,” Moira said, her voice low. “This was… a pleasant distraction.”

Angela’s eyes warmed. “You’re always welcome to drop by. Maybe next time, we’ll just listen to music—no files or data to worry about.”

Moira considered that, a tiny curve of a smile returning to her lips. “Yes,” she said at last, “I think I’d like that.”

They parted soon after, Moira carrying her file with the revised notes clutched to her chest. Angela stood in the doorway, watching her retreat down the hall. Before Moira disappeared, she paused and cast one last glance over her shoulder. In that brief moment, Angela could sense there were a thousand thoughts unspoken—gratitude, uncertainty, maybe even anticipation.

Then Moira turned away, footsteps echoing on the metal flooring. Angela closed her door gently, returning to the quiet hush of her quarters. She set a new vinyl on the turntable—some soft jazz—and let the saxophone’s melody wind through the air.

There was something wonderful, she realized, about the tangibility of a record, the way it filled the space with gentle sound, inviting her to slow down. She thought of Moira’s hesitant acceptance, the look in her eyes as she watched the record spin. Perhaps, Angela mused, there were other sides to Moira yet to be discovered—facets hidden away, just waiting for the right moment to surface.

With the music as her companion, Angela closed her eyes and allowed herself to hope that this evening marked the beginning of a friendship—or something more—that might develop in the unlikeliest of places: shared moments of stillness and the quiet crackle of a spinning vinyl record.

A-Z Prompts

I've decided to try and keep up with daily writing by doing 1 prompt a day for each ship via the A-Z prompts I came up with below. If you like it or have suggestions for other prompts, please let me know!

Adoration

Bravery

Chivalry

Devotion

Ethereal

Friendship

Glamour

Healthy

Idol

Jukebox

Kingdom

Letter

Moss

Nude

Observation

Paint

Quiet

Rejection

Sea

Turntable

Unanimous

Vermin

Wings

Xenomorphic

Yitten

Zephyr

[citrusai]

taash said "they were doing it" and people ran with the interpretation of an npc that doesn't know solas or the history of the elvhenan even when bellara interjected and said, no, that's not right. that's not how it was for the elvhenan. they formed bonds before they had physical bodies. and people ran to doompost or create weird anti-solavellan shit even though mythal & solas refer to each other as old friends and when she releases him there is no tenderness or love in it. it is the act of unchaining a dog from his post, the stepping down of a general. but to each their own ig.

[kindaorangey]

i've mentioned this before but louis and armand's relationship in paris after the trial is so hollow, and at the beginning of their story they had so much chemistry, so much respect for each other, they were having philosophical conversations and romantic walks, they had so much potential. and you can tell it's gone a bit wayward even before the trial, with how louis removes himself emotionally from their relationship, but the trial really yanks the rug out from under them and shows just how Nothing their bond has become.

and i think it's best exemplified by louis warning armand about his plans to burn the theatre and everyone in it. because i can't read that as anything other than, like, the internet joke about a school shooter warning the only person who was nice to him to stay home from school tomorrow. all that potential, all that loneliness, all that they tried at first to confide in each other and heal the heartbreak they both sustained from lestat, and by the end it's as if they're acquaintances, who only know each other just well enough for louis to refrain from killing armand alongside the rest of the coven.

[arom-antix]

Hey, just wanted to reach out to say that I found you pointing out and calling this person was really great and you shouldn't have apologized. It was incredibly true what you said, and to be honest it seems out of touch with the reality of a great deal of the japanese fandom, the nuances and their culture. Also, it was as you pointed out, extreme and may I say rude. I want to mention too that the way it was written, as if entitled of the knowledge and the 'explanation' made it all worse in context of the 'fucked up'. The original poster always gets away by using the 'well-written academic'' statement of their 'metas' as an excuse to do or say and make everyone else agree and if not, uses victim narrative and discourses exactly selecting wording for people to agree on it or feel bad.

I don't know if they tagging you in the way they did made you reblog and apologizing/backing up, but no one thought bad about you pointing it out. On the contrary, a lot of people had been bullied and discriminated by this person when they called them out/disagreed going onto lenghts of sending their friends to harass people, and the other persons can't even defend themselves because they are effectively blocked. To quite a few people in the fandom has been done, even accusing them as 'acephobes' (when they're not) or even Nazis by spreading lies. So yeah, I just wanted to say that. I think you were right to call them out publicly.

Thank you very much for this ask. To be completely honest I agree with everything you said here and don't actually feel bad about pointing anything out. I mainly apologised because I didn't want any potentially poor phrasing from my side to cause unnecessary hostility and because I myself have gripes with this person's behaviour but didn't want to cause a scene.

My honest opinion is that they have a serious issue with taking accountability for their own mistakes and highly overestimate their own intellect. If you're reading this, @thegirlwhorideslikeasamurai, sorry if I seem harsh, but it's true. I saw your post lamenting how you're the only academic meta writer / fan in the fandom and I didn't interact then because I honestly do not care enough to start that drama but with the information Blonndiec has just given me, I think it's necessary that someone calls you out.

You're not an academic. You're not beyond the mental capabilities of other fans. You're actually incredibly childish in your metas and analyses and I am not kidding when I say that I was halfheartedly writing essays more academic than every analysis I've seen from you when I was barely a teenager. I don't know how old you are and I frankly don't care. You're not as clever as you think you are.

Also, don't think I didn't notice that you didn't reblog my correction (link here to my correction and here to their "response" for those who didn't see that exchange) of your post so that you could control what your followers saw of the exchange. You're the opposite of an academic. You control information to tailor the narrative, you don't cite your sources properly if at all, you don't format your posts in anything close to how an academic analysis would be, you make unbased claims, you reference posts and canon material without in any way indicating where that information is from, you reference your own (equally unacademic) metas and your conclusions from them without indicating what post it's from or that it's your own theory this new one is based on and instead present it as a common fact, and I could go on and on and on. Your posts are also riddled with logical fallacies and you talk in absolutes and opinions when there's no canon basis to claim such things. I'm sorry, but that's not academic in the slightest.

To be clear, you don't have to be an academic to post on the Internet. You don't have to be anything at all. You could up front be a genuine idiot with no remorse and that's fine. But when you claim to be an academic and also put down the rest of the fandom for not being on your level, you have to be able to back that up. It'd still make you sound like a prick but at least your arrogance would have a basis. It currently does not.

I haven't personally seen the discussions that Blonndiec is referencing and I'm not going to claim anything definitive (because that would be unacademic of me, take notes) but if what they're saying is true and did happen as described, which I have empirical, if anecdotal, evidence to believe could very well be (a friend of mine has personally been blocked by you after they criticised you without actually mentioning your name which I of course can't prove is the reason for the block but the timing is awfully convenient), you should know that you should be ashamed of yourself.

If there's context missing, feel free to enlighten me and call out any incorrect accusations. You have every right to defend yourself. However, I encourage you to cite your sources since you're such an academic. If you don't, then it's just your word against Blonndiec and anyone else who might comment's word and that doesn't prove anything. Don't misunderstand, acephobia and nazi rhetoric should absolutely be called out but only if it's actually happening. False accusations can ruin lives. I hope you know that.

I'm not a fan of calling people out publicly and, again, thank you for this ask, Blonndiec. But considering many of the issues I've personally seen and those I've been informed of by second hand sources were posted publically, I don't really feel bad about calling this out. I could do a full breakdown of just the insulting "academic" comments alone and how there's no academia to be found in said academic metas and, Samurai, if you give me reason to, I will show exactly what I mean point by point (and academically just to give you an example of even low level academia).

If you respond to this, do it in a reblog. That's what a real academic would do. If I'm wrong and you can prove it, you'd have no reason to not show my post in your rebuttal. If I'm right, you'd have every reason to be upfront about your mistakes and how you intend to rectify them. There's nothing wrong with being wrong but there's a lot wrong with refusing to admit to it in a way that lets others peer review you (academic thing, look it up) and come to their own conclusions about the situation. That's what you did when you just @'ed me instead of reblogging my response. A true academic wouldn't hide a peer review. You'd know that if you were one.

I swing in many academic spaces and yet that doesn't make me any kind of expert and I don't claim to be one because I'm not. But since you want to be one so badly, reblog this with a response and show us all how smart you are. I'm dying to know what your academic take on this is.

[brucie-baby]

Little bit less dead now and I wanted to word vomit a little more.

Like I said before, I would not definitively describe pre-crisis Jason as reckless because that sounds a little too negative for a boy who genuinely did have good intentions, but he was often a little reckless. From the beginning (and to fully make it clear: this is pre-crisis Jason with his circus origin, because pre-crisis is where that line comes from), Jason had one goal: Be good enough to be Robin. He was constantly trying to prove himself despite Bruce telling him that there was no need. This mostly stems from doing death-defying stunts at the circus and always being encouraged by his parents to take risks (his parents chased after Killer Croc, they were also insane [positive]), and Bruce telling him that being Robin was too dangerous made him feel like Bruce wasn't letting him be who he truly was. (He's literally just a ginger Dick Grayson here, guys.)

After one of these instances, Bruce says, "It was ill-advised, Jason, but you didn't do wrong. On the other hand... initiative is one thing, but I wish you'd stop taking on such grand schemes for yourself. You don't have to keep proving your worth to me, I'm sold." That pretty much sums up Bruce's whole view on it at this point - Jason isn't doing anything bad because it's with the intention of doing good and it does help people in the end, but he doesn't have to take on these big missions all by himself.

Now one thing that's important to note is that Bruce did not initially want Jason to be his partner, but Jason was absolutely not having it. Before he even knew of his parents' fate, Jason had already stolen a costume from the cave and jumped in the back of the batmobile. From the get-go, Jason wanted to be Batman's partner, and Bruce wanted Jason to be his son. (This gets a bit flipped post-crisis which is infinitely frustrating to me.) Obviously both feelings end up much more mutual, the father-son one very quickly, but this is how it starts.

So essentially you've got this kid who's used to taking a lot of big risks and parents that encouraged him to take those risks (I can't tell if it sounds like I'm bashing them here? I'm not meaning to if it does), and whilst he understands that this is also life-or-death, he doesn't seem to grasp that they're entirely different circumstances. Being a skilled aerialist is not the same as fighting bad guys who want you dead. He's also got the whole Dick Grayson thing of "I'm your partner, not your weakness. Treat me as such."

That's where we get back to "Robin gives me magic!"

With all this context of Jason's intense need to prove himself, both as Robin, son of the Bruce/Batman, and Jason, son of adventurous acrobats, Joseph and Trina Todd, Robin giving him magic takes on a whole new light. I've seen a few people say that the line is more about the anonymity, or finding courage in the mantle of a hero, and while both these interpretations are totally fair, I still mostly disagree. This is Jason refusing to be treated like the child he is (he was twelve years old when Bruce took him in). This is Jason becoming... I wouldn't necessarily say cocky, but something along those lines. Like I said in the tags of that last post, this is a warning sign.

And that's not even touching on the Collins of it all. I know these comics are unrelated so you don't really have to listen to me here, but having a man become so convinced that his costume gives him magic that he grows detrimentally reckless just links them so well.

This is why I think that this could've been the starting point of his post-crisis self if the crisis had not happened. If they'd have fleshed it out a little more, slowed it down a bit, Jason gradually becoming more and more explicitly reckless and eventually violent could've worked. They'd already laid the groundwork for the recklessness. The violence and bloodlust would've taken a little longer (one of Jason's last conversations pre-crisis has him saying that Bruce has not failed by only arresting criminals instead of successfully reforming them, as the world is still a better place with them behind bars), but it still very much could have worked (Jason was quick to act and, only a few times, quick to violence, but with reason).

I was going to dig a little further into my ideal Robin!Jason origin and progression but I fear this post may be growing a little too long so I'll leave that for another time possibly.

There isn't much point to this post other than literally just rambling about Robin!Jason. I just think he's a very complex character, and fandom tends to boil him down to being 'the real golden child who loved school and never caused trouble', and that simply isn't accurate.

He did care about his grades, both pre- and post-crisis, and though he never really enjoyed homework, he still did it (pre-crisis he very much did not want to do it but he wanted to keep his grades up, and this is basically the same post-crisis, though it's touched on a little less). And he was always stressing Bruce - letting a villain adopt him to solve a case, running away, patrolling alone with permission, dying his hair black and stealing cash from Bruce's drawer to go help him and so on. Post-crisis, he was obviously very violent and this jump was super sudden (one comic he's telling Bruce not to give up on his methods, and the next he's saying "okay but what if they just died", but Bruce's character was also very affected by the crisis), but it's canon now, so🤷.

Basically I think fanon Jason is boring and bland. Like yeah canon Jason pretty much went from Ginger Dick Grayson to Angry Murder Machine, but that's still a lot more personality than what fanon gives him. I just really love Robin!Jason and this, I think, is why I dislike current Jason so much.

I've got a lot of thoughts about "Robin gives me magic!" and absolutely none of them are coherent but I'm sharing them anyway.

So for context: this line comes from a story in which Calendar Man is planning to kill Jason, and Bruce tells him that he can work the case but not out in the field. There's a whole thing here where Jason gives Bruce the silent treatment until Bruce calls him immature and sends him to his room. That night, Bruce apologises and explains that he can't lose Jason, and that sometimes Batman has to go out alone. Jason says he understands but sneaks out anyway, planning to take Calendar Man on his own.

When he gets back to the cave (after Bruce has been searching for him despite bleeding out), Bruce tries to scold him. This is where he says that line, and that Robin lets him do things he'd never have dared before. Bruce says that it sounds like recklessness, and Jason says no, just maturity. There's a few more bits here that I have a lot of thoughts on but these are the most relevant parts of it.

The thing I find so interesting about this is actually from a different comic from a little while before. There's this guy, Collins, who wears Catman's costume and believes it has this magical ability to give him nine lives. Collins narrowly avoids death several times (e.g. nearly hit by a truck, almost crushed by rocks) and he thinks it's the suit's doing, but actually, it was Batman following and saving him every time. While they're fighting and Collins is insisting that the suit gives him magic, Bruce thinks, "I've created a monster - he's completely reckless - unwilling to concede there's any danger his costume can't handle!"

Now I also have a lot of thoughts on this that I might get into when it's not five in the morning but the main one is this: "Robin gives me magic" is not proof of Jason being the happy, chill Robin. This is him giving Bruce grey hairs in real time. This is him thinking that he's nearly invincible. To me, this would've been the perfect point to start shifting him into his post-crisis self. I think Jason's too complicated to label him as just reckless but also? I would not say it's wrong to. He is occasionally reckless and he does act without thinking sometimes. And just to clarify, this isn't criticism. I love pre-crisis Jason. He's my little guy. That's why I hate it when he's just boiled down to 'the happy Robin' (and the fact that it's a stupid label for any of the Robins, please let go of that), because he's been stressing Bruce out since day one. Like, this is the kid who said "if you don't make me Robin I'm doing to run away to the circus," and then did. And post-crisis he's very explicitly written as violent and reckless. He's always been a menace, don't take that away from him!!

[mamawasatesttube]

kon sweetie im so fucking sorry that someone would even say something stupid like that oh my god.

[mohntilyet]

i’m having illario dellamorte thoughts. what if instead of knowingly betraying lucanis he did it like, unknowingly. idk how this would work but i’m intrigued by what it gives us. illario ‘i accidentally caused my cousin’s death & can never tell anyone’ dellamorte. genuinely grieving. blaming himself. does he take advantage of the year before lucanis comes back?? does caterina still ignore him the whole time?? how different is the canon plotline once rook shows up with lucanis post-rescue…..

anyways i would love your thoughts!!

95% of what i do with illario operates on the idea that he is frighteningly competent so you can see why the way the crows plotline plays out in the game might frustrate me. it’s also this reason why i don’t actually think too much about “illario got lucanis killed, but didn’t mean to do it”, because i like the idea that everything illario does in his life is planned to the second and that he’s too well trained to mess up this badly, if that makes sense. with that being said. 5% of my brain power does sometimes go towards “and what if he just sucked actually” and it was a theory i enjoyed before the game even released. so i have in fact been thinking about this anyway LOL . maybe he tries to honeypot zara, accidentally actually reveals lucanis’ next assassination job, and zara gets rid of him as a ‘gift’. illario is horrified and that gets even worse when lucanis’ body shows up, and he assumes this must be because he spurned zara by leaving her and not having the guts to seize power.

i think we could make his inferiority complex worse. illario’s worst fear confirmed: he is as worthless as his grandmother believes he is, botching something so badly that he accidentally sentences his cousin to death when what he wanted was lucanis just… out of the way for a bit (maybe while he kills caterina. LOL. i still think his resentment of caterina trumps his jealousy for lucanis though those two things are very intertwined its hard for him to differentiate them). so incapable that he got the only person who actually supports him killed, and now he’s dreading the idea of becoming first talon. he doesn’t want first talon without lucanis backing him, and now the only person left is caterina which is suffocating and makes him even unhappier. at least he hadn’t lived through her alone, and now through consequences of his own decisions, illario has no choice but to.

i think that would affect his plans for talon because of how horribly he’d fucked up, and tries to mask it because if he suddenly actually doesn’t want to be talon that would be a red flag for everyone. lucanis coming back would delight him (talon is within his sights again if lucanis comes back!) and freak him out. i think the plotline would actually be pretty similar because of this freak out, so he still shows up to zara’s fight to cover his tracks. lucanis can never know, caterina can never know, because what little faith they have in him will be lost. like he committed fratricide and didn’t even MEAN to😭 ...corpse whispering still happens, and zara is like “ohhh that coward. he can never finish what he started, can he?” + “elaborate.” + “i gave him what he most wanted in the world and instead of being grateful, he ran away.” so lucanis finds out about what happened but feels a mix of “illario, you idiot” + pity because turns out he didn’t even mean for it to happen, and keeps his secret for now, otherwise he’d probably have to kill him.

i also think not meaning to kill lucanis would sour his feelings towards the venatori, who are a reminder of how badly he failed, so the alliance wouldn’t happen. this does mean if the story goes on as it does in canon, he has to take desperate measures another way and kidnap caterina for some other reason but i can’t think of why….. maybe a thing where illario is like “ok. lucanis is distracted by the elven gods. this time i just have to kill nonna for real and then nothing is in my way” and recruits disgraced houses or houses that don’t like caterina to do so? not sure tbh but i don’t believe caterina made it so far without making enemies lol. this would happen post bloodbath + corpse whispering— lucanis leaves his cousin unchecked because while he knows illario didn’t mean for him to die, he has no idea how far he would go to have caterina dead. teia could find out about this and send word to foil the kidnapping and assassination attempt

so ‘murder of crows’ is still about saving caterina, the illario-lucanis fight still happens, but it’s a little more hesitant and lots of “why won’t you just let me kill her? i’m doing this for the both of us”. he’s had to live with being the un-favorite, but never would have thought lucanis would actually pick caterina if it came down to it. with all of his missteps here, i think the final decision (and i think it should be like this in canon anyway) would be to imprison illario or kill him. imprisoning him is just a lot of “i can’t kill illario as much as he couldn’t kill me”, vs killing him as is expected from him as talon, and what he knew he would have to do after finding out about illario's failures. unlike canon, where illario is actually meaning to kill him and can be seen as a 'good crow' despite the sloppiness, here he's like. just bad at everything. the allied traitor houses that went against caterina would also have to be imprisoned or killed. no happy ending at all here, and lucanis still becomes first talon. now that i’ve written it out this is actually probably the worst ending LOL

the above sticks a lot to what is canon to the game (plot points, choices, etc) and i didn’t go very far away from it so it's like canon 3 inches to the left. tho my thoughts on this are not fleshed out* because i think illario works better as an antagonist character that sets things in motion !! not necessarily the villain in a cain-abel story, but a character who opposes lucanis while still not wanting to hurt him. that kind of discipline where he finds a way to get what he wants (first talon) without compromising what he also cares for (family) is so much more fun for me than a man who apparently just loses it and decides to enact a bad plan to get rid of his cousin. if he waited 20+ years to become talon i think he’d be more careful when it came down to it. if i had my way illario would be playing insane 5d chess to rival solas (insert black sails “i once thought that to lead, to be liked was just as good as feared. and that may very well be true. but to be both liked and feared all at once, is an entirely different state of being.”)