#like i'm not going to name and shame the OP

[thatswhatsushesaid]

"maybe meng shi WANTED to work in a brothel"

[primus-why]

I Feel TFOne Could've Handled This Better...

Hot take but I feel like folks have been really generous with the take that OP was unable to find ~the perfect words~ in the heat of the moment (and thus should be given some grace) when he told D to stand down and "not be like Sentinel"... namely cuz I don't feel that the narrative supports this?

Like-- after all is said and done, OP doesn't reflect on that part of their split. He doesn't have a moment where he seeks validation or voices his regrets over the choice of his words, it's actually cut-and-dry. The narrative (as it stands) supports that OP saw D-16 acting up, so he called him out and stood on business, down to the last scenes where he's basically like "yeah it's a shame but y'all knew I had to do it to 'em."

It didn't have to be much! I'm not saying to absolve Megs, just show OP looking at things from a different perspective/contemplating a bit on that tough choice and the morality of the moment. Some examples of what I wish we had:

B-127 straight up blurting the obvious by later chatting with Orion like, "Wait so you told your best friend that he was acting just as bad as the guy who enslaved us for our entire lives and was torturing him like an hour ago? Oof. Seems kinda harsh." Then have some of OP's regret show on his face.

OP asking Elita-1 after Megs is banished if he did the right thing. Have Elita back his choice up, saying, "You should have seen what he did after you were... gone. It was terrifying. I know it was tough, but you made the right call." OP is grateful for the support, but a conflicted look still flashes across his face before he steels himself to look out towards the horizon... and the future.

Have OP walk past other mechs/former miners who didn't go with the High Guard saying stuff like, "Wish I could've given Sentinel a piece of my mind!" "Yeah, but I'm glad he's gone for good." "Ugh I miss everything." "Oh, it was crazy! Megatron picked him up and then he rrrrriiipped-- oops, hey there, Mr. Optimus... Prime... sir?" And have OP wave hello, looking a bit sick when they leave.

Post-credits scene with Starscream going on and on, asking Megs when they'll be back to teach the upstart Prime a lesson. Megs grabs his face to shut him up. "Patience, Starscream. The Prime thinks I'm no better than Sentinel... but I'll show him. He wants Iacon? He can have it. In the meantime we'll take the rest of the planet! Then I'll come back, crush Prime under my heel, and we'll take Iacon too. Sentinel's reign will barely be a footnote, because I'm about to become Optimus Prime's worst nightmare." The vocal performance would really need to sell this-- like picture Megs saying something like that from a place of anger and hurt, not so much a place of genuine evil or malice.

Basically instead of Orion's assertion being backed up as black and white/good vs bad, I wish we had some different opinions/reactions from the characters sprinkled in there. Like you can't tell me out of allllll the miners who weren't strong enough/willing to go with the High Guard and ended up sticking around that NONE of them were like "eyyo honestly?? Kiiiiinda glad Sentinel is dead. Wish I could have helped, tbh." like come onnnnn...

And you can't even argue that he's not an active threat-- I don't think everyone would see things that way! It's not just about the threat he physically has, but the threat he represents and is very likely to act upon if given the opportunity! He has a proven track record of not only being sneaky and conniving, but also capable of dealing some serious damage/killing people bigger and stronger than him, plus he has the backing of the Quints. All he'd need to do is wriggle his way out of jail and run off to his sponsors, then he'd probably be back to hurt more people! (If the Quints didn't just kill him out of incompetence lmao). There's a lot of "ifs" here, but I think it's a valid argument that not everyone would agree on what is the right or wrong way to handle Sentinel once he was down long enough to, like, do something about him.

I feel the situation needed a bit of nuance. In some way I wish they had kicked the can and had D and Orion bicker while Sentinel escaped, then have D get frustrated enough by the loss of Sentinel to point fingers (and his fusion canon) at Orion, who then falls and becomes OP. (Megs could still show some of thar emotion/remorse right after he does it too.) Not only would this open the door for a sequel, but tbh the Quint might have just killed Sentinel anyways and sought to deal with the miners uprising themselves lol. (Maybe that could have been an after credits scenes too instead of the B-127 bit??)

Would love to see a moment in a sequel where they have a calmer moment after arguing for a bit. Have OP mention how Megs was out of line, that it hurt and even scared him to see him act that way, and Megs can quietly point out "you said I was as bad as Sentinel... is that really how you see me? After everything we went through?"

Then OP can fumble the bag again lmao like "D, I... I'm sorry, that didn't come out right... but you still took things way too far..."

"Why am I not surprised-- your opinion is what matters the most! Maybe that's why you became a Prime, since you're so good at acting like the world revolves around you--!"

*gets interrupted by someone else before another yelling match ensues*

[annabelle-creart]

TF KINKTOBER DAY #1: Exhibiscionism || Filming/Photographing

CW: Valvepluge. Sexcall. Videocall. Masturbation.

Ship: BumbleBlades

Au: Shattered Glass

"Pff- HAHAHA!" Blades voice resonated on all the place, disturbing a bit the audio, it was like those crying toys Blades showed him before "For Unicron's sake! Bee, You're so funny!" Fortunately the ship was alone today, so no one would distract the bot from his call with his 'cutsie'

"Ah, it's just some things big OP tell me to do, nothing from other world" Goldbug boasted, shifting his legs on his chair for comfort, usually, when Gold says those kind of things, bots feel disgusted, but (still not sure if it's a blessing or a curse) Blades only feels admiration and delightment each time Gold tell him about his "adventures", he was so trustful with him that he wasn't scared or shameful of calling him by his old name, and Bee never said anything about it

"You know" Blades calmed the tone, getting closer to the screen, "that excites me"

"Pff, am I rizzing you up?"

"Yes, you do"

"I'm not even trying!" Gold started to laugh, hiding his face with his servo, but Blades was already looking deeply on his optics, supporting his head with one servo, when Gold looked a little bit down, he saw Blades' other servo too close to his clutch, enough to actually think what Blades means "I'm glad is so easy for me to high your day"

"You do it all the time" Blades lowered again the tune, now more playful, his orange optics placed on Gold's frame

"You look like you want to play something"

"Not 'play', but yes, I would like to"

It was obvious, the call always sends a notification when the other starts recording the video, but it was not the first time and Blades didn't care for it, actually, he liked it too much.

Bee openeded his legs, letting see his clutch, his panel wasn't opened yet but his optics tell everything. Blades was more of play pretend first, hiding a bit was his fave part, he opened his legs and his panel was open, but didn't showed to the camera, only his wrist going up and down was viewable for Bee

"Oh, come on!" Bee begged for Blades, knowing it wouldn't work, but Blades liked that Bee beg for him, to convice Blades was their favorite part "let me see a bit"

"No" Blades joked, but did so, he raised one leg only to let Bee know he had to beg a little more "I'm not hearing you"

"Why do I always have to beg you?" Gold rolled his optics but kept a mischevious smile, and got closer to the camera as if he could see more by it "please..."

"I don't see you properly" Blades laughed a bit, feeling his cold digit agasinst his valve, Gold understood the indirect, so, he moved the camera, enough for Blades to see his face but he could also see his clutch properly

"Hm, how I miss it" Blades passed his own digit around his chin, licking some, remembering how he played with Bee's spike back on Cybertron

"I miss your mouth on it too" both chuckled, at the same time, reminiscing those moments with both fun and pleasure

"You just want a cock warmer"

"I don't remember pushing your neck to me" Bee replied Blades' joke "But I do remember you get out of my spike only to eat it whole" Bee had one servo on his spike, caressing it with his digits, Blades could see it, figuring the way Bee caressed himself was pretty similar to how Blades remembered he did "and I remember you were really good at it"

"I'm sure I still am, I'm just out of practice" Blades moved again to have his valve more on the view, finally Bee could see more of it, and Blades was already wet "But I also remember you never let me go even after you had an overload, I remember I once thought you wanted more, and then you said your frame was cold!"

"Please, let's make like that never happened" Bee's breath changed, it was a bit more fast now, feeling like a goosebump on his clutch

"I can't" Blades breath was also different, maybe to see Bee like that excited him more "it was so cute!"

"It was stupid"

"No... it was hot" Blades reclined his head on the chair, his valve felt like bumping and his digits were also full of transfluid, Bee could see it, wishing to be with Blades, to handle his hips, to do jugling with his glossa and pass his digits through the wet valve, to press them inside while kissing his neck and then dip his own spike with Blades transfluids and be inside him, he wanted to be the reason of Blades' moans, which only excited him more, moving his wrist through his spike up and down, spitting coolant on it to make the movement easier, he wanted to be for Blades, imagining what is Blades feeling, he was moaning, inserting his digits on his valve and passing his other servo through his mouth, was he also dreaming of have inside Bee's spike or fingers, or maybe was he dreaming of a glossa instead? Bee could also think of Blades long and playful glossa on his spike, he was a terrorcon after all, that wasn't strange, and it was actually what Bee missed the most of interfacing.

"Bee?" Blades called between moans

"Hm?" Bee replied softly, wondering if it was just Blades excitement or was actually calling, never letting his servo appart

"I wish you were the one fucking me right now"

"I know"

"No, I mean" Blades was interrupted by his own frame, like a tickle and a high, his vents and motor were hot and his clutch was sensible, nothing ached but the feeling of exhaustion hit him for a moment

When Blades saw the screen, Bee was just on it, not letting go until his spike couldn't more, also with some exhaustion but also some relief, he breathed properly after a moment of relaxation

"What were you saying? Sorry" Bee retook the conversation, Blades paused a moment, this time glued on his Bee's optics

"I miss you"

[princemick]

TUMBLR F1BLR RULES!!!

hi, hello and welcome, we've seen what's been happening to twitter and we welcome you to our little corner.

there are however some things that differ from Twitter to Tumblr and so we have some different rules and behaviour then you might be used to!! I'm gonna try to explain them to you in this post! everything is below the tab!

reblog reblog reblog!!! likes do absolutely nothing, and your blog 'aestetic' in reblogs doesn't really matter unless you're a specific aesthetic blog, reblog are the way people see the content. likes are private! so remember to reblog the stuff you see and like!

DO NOT STEAL GIFS/GRAPHICS I WILL COME AFTER YOU!!! always ask if you can use a gif an then ALWAYS CREDIT properly

shipping is, prevalent. shipping even rpf is ingrained into tumblrs culture on every side of it if you dont like it thats a you thing, you can 'blacklist' tags so just add 'rpf' or the shipnames to them and you should be good!

continuing with that idea, curate your own experience is the most important thing on this site, blocking and blacklisting is normal and very much allowed and welcomed. almost no one is going to change how they do or act around here for one person, just unfollow or blacklist.

but do NOT put long posts or x reader fics, anything in the main tag without putting it under a 'read more' tab people will get annoyed by you

followers dont matter!!! no one CARESSS about basically anything this site is wonderfully anonymous and we can't see how many followers anyone has so genuinely no one gives a shit do whatever you want

remember to trigger tag and unlike twitter spell it out completely! so when a crash happens or is talked about make sure to tag it 'tw crash' even with reblogs!! also remember to tag when you're being negative about a driver as 'anti *insert first name*' never do full name then it will show up in their tags which defeats the purpose of anti tagging.

adding to that, use tags! they're one of the best tumblr features its free to be overenthusiastic and excited in the tags BUT the blog you can reblog it from AND the op can also read those tags so keep that in mind!!

be nice! this shud be a given, be nice, let people do their thing and vibe, just support people and block when u you dont vibe with them! when you do wanna send hate asks do it off anon, dont be shy do it on main

and things arnt 'weird' in the same way they are on twitter, this place has no drivers and no public figures so shame is a lot less existent here, you have to get used to that

and lastly as quoted by my anon 'Don't be afraid to be funny or weird be thirsty on main ship the middle aged man no one cares.'

and most of all. HAVE FUN!!! dont be scared to ask people how things work most of us are very okay with answering 'dumb' questions a lot of us have been here for about a decade we know its a confusing platform please ask away!

[x-honeycomb-x]

xHoneyCombx Links (this used to be a detrans kink blog)

Long/interactive posts

How to overcome feminization post-nut clarity (for sissies and ftmtfs)

A wholesome guide to detransitioning (as a kink or actually experiment with your gender) from a ftmtf mother to my ftmtf daughters <3

Why you should detransition into a girl or femboy (wholesome)

How to feel better when you're "detransitioning" (tips)

Pronouns game - Who should you come out to? (dice game)

"Turn me into a girl..." Part 1 (feminization tasks)

"Feminize me... make me a girl" Part 2 (feminication tasks)

"Feminize me... make me a woman" Mature women version (feminization game)

Non-sexual feminizing things to do (hobbies) (asexual/demisexual/sapiosexual friendly)

Feminization kink for beginners - misgendering box (task)

Breeding fantasies for ftmtf and mtftm (game 1) (game 2) (game 3)

Feminization tasks without shame (game 1) (game 2) (game 3) (game 4)

Feminization tasks without shame - girlfriend/wife/mother roleplay (part 1) (part 2) (part 3 aftercare)

Cuckquean fantasies (cuckquean sub rules)

Piss play fantasies (loving piss drinking pov)

Breeding fantasies (what I need to feel safe about breeding kink)

Cishet friend hookup fantasy (non-reluctant fiction)

Sub punishments but with a twist (sub tasks)

Kinks you can enjoy as a ftm girl (willing ftm girl list)

List of clothes I want as a wine aunt (clothing haul)

List of maternity dresses I want (breeding kink clothing haul)

How to lactate (guide)

Aftercare for Doms (aftercare post)

Aftercare for ftm girls (aftercare post)

Gooning beforecare and aftercare (aftercare post)

Sub red flags & Dom care (kink safety)

Stop playing when you feel bad (kink care)

Important: Stopping hormones safety (medical concerns)

Positivity

Ask: Experimenting with boyfriend (good vibes)

Ask: Not into cishet penetration (setting boundaries and rejecting)

Short posts

You are ftm girl enough <3 (ftm girl diverspity appreciation)

Making a ftm girl email account (ftm girl ideas)

Things are only sexual when you want them to be <3 (consent appreciation)

Communication: ftm girl play without reluctance (encouragement)

I don't need to be skinny (body positivity)

You're an independent ftm girl (acceptance and encouragement) (post 1) (post 2) (post 3) (post 4) (post 5) (post 6)

Desexualizing feminization (post 1) (post 2) (post 3)

Ftm girl play without cis men or breeding (post 1) (post 2)

Discovery: I need to affirm I’m a guy/enby for detrans kink to work (tips)

OP posts

Diversity: Non-binary (post 1) (post 2) (post 3), asexuality, autism (post 1) (post 2) (post 3) (post 4) (post 5), mental illness

Ftm daughters application

Link to my detransition blog?

Detransition kink and gender-fluidity (a personal experience)

My sex toy collection <3

OP's butt (on second thought I'm not gonna link it)

Being my own daddy and mommy (self care post)

Story time: Sexting, Tumblr blog and my loneliness (long rant)

I feel like a detrans junkie (short rant)

Am I hardcore?

Internet points

Should I tell you my birth name?

How long should I go off T?

How long should I detransition?

Don't let me masturbate!

Which internet aesthetic should I try?

Regarding my 1 year detransition (ooc)

On being a (ex)detransitioner

My conclusions on my gender journey and running this blog

[damnfandomproblems]

OP of 763565544500854784

Won't be replying again but since people seem to think I'm a radfem over this one I will be explaining the content of my ask once and then ignoring all further discussion.

No, I do not think all woman in fandom who like men over women are pick mes or have internalized misogyny or whatever insults you want to throw at me and I also do not believe it's wrong to like mostly males. Most of my favorite characters of all time are guys. Probably a 7:3 ratio there if we're being real and most of women on that list are based on old nostalgia from when I was a kid and probably wouldn't be my favorites now. No I will not be providing a list because if people have decided I'm a radfem based on one ask I am not coming off anon or leaving identifying information behind I'm not stupid. I'm not risking somebody cross referencing my shit to send anon hate.

The big titty gf is not literal about what I'm referencing, it's a reference to "big titty goth gf" jokes and the smurfette trope, where a piece of media would have a single girl character who's primary personality trait is "girl." if for kids and "girl who breasts boobily down the stairs" if for adults. Because one of the common defenses towards hating on woman characters is that they don't have a personality beyond those two traits. They're just love interests an author can't bring themself to flesh out beyond "In love with guy character." It was not meant to shame people with big tits or act like big tits are explicitly sexual traits and if the nature of that was so unclear that you've decided I'm a radfem then you're engaging in the same piss on pour reading comprehension you think I did when I read the submission given I literally use it as a hypothetical that other people are using to refer to why the don't like the characters (she has big boobs and is meant to be sexy eye candy and that's it) and not why I wouldn't like a character.

What I am saying, in plain text as possible in response to the op, is that when we see people who only like white characters (or white passing), and act like all dark skinned poc are awful or boring, we call them racist. If we see people who exclusively ship M/F ships and minimize M/M or F/F pairings and cry "why can't they just be friends", we call them homophobic. When we see people shitting on gender headcanons and misgendering canonically trans characters, we call them transphobic.

So then why is it suddenly not sexist to call all female characters boring or uninteresting when the only trait they share is "girl"?

[In before "But you're still not reading the submission right" the submission is specifically saying that you're not solving real world woman issues by telling fans they're misogynistic. This is true. It's not going to make right wing politicians retract the abortion ban overnight or fix wage gaps or any other real world issues. Fandom is not activism and at the end of the day you're not going to change the world by being inclusive in fanfiction and nobody is going to care if the most active spokesperson for women's rights in the world only reads and writes slash fanfiction when it comes to the real world good she's doing. Same as reading and consuming darkfic does not make you an advocate for awful things happening to people or normalize it. You're not responsible for fixing all the woes of modern media with the fanfiction you're writing late at night getting home from work/school.

But it is still annoying when you come across your millionth post that is tagged "female character name here bashing" or "anti-female character name" or a fic that ignores the girls because they're so "uninteresting" to the author. You're still annoying even if no harm is being done and you can do real world, tangible good and still have sexist opinions on media. Nobody is calling you a bad person for it they're just telling you that before you decide every women in every media ever is uninteresting maybe look at yourself and try to figure out why you think that and understand why if you find even the most compelling fictional women boring, people are going to start assuming there might be some sexist biases here.]

Posting as a response to a previous ask.

[lvjyronline]

hey genuinely no hate, I was wondering if you could tell me the inconsistencies in Shelbie’s story and what Wilbur said in his new video? I can’t find the will in me to watch it since it’s been really upsetting me, as someone who has bitten as affection I start to feel like shit watching her vod. You don’t have to, I’m just trying to piece a conclusion in my head

Ok, anon - Here we go! Sorry this took so long. Also, don't feel bad for biting for affection or being bitten as a form of affection! Both are ok, and I think the shame this situation has caused around it is kind of messed up.

I'm gonna start off with what Wilbur said, because it's gonna be the shortest of this all -

Wilbur basically said that he was not going to say more on the accusations yet. He said his statement was all he currently wanted to say, and then went on to say Lovejoy was going to tour Australia. That's basically it - He didn't say anything more about the accusations.

Now, onto Shelby and the inconsistancies - I'm going to put this under a cut because it may be a bit long.

Shelby started by stating that she was bitten in the relationship - This itself hasn't been an inconsistancy, but what the biting did has been an inconsistancy. She originally stated that she was bit until she was bruised. She then said at a later date that it was until she bled, and then doubled back and said it was to the point her skin was about to break.

She's kind of been inconsistant about her consent towards the whole thing. Originally, she implied pretty heavily that her consent was revoked when he began to hurt her - Thus Wilbur saying he thought it was consentual but her saying it was not. She doubled back and then said that it was consentual.

She stated that there was no text proof of her providing said consent to being bitten. She later says that there was text proof. She stated in response to his apology that there wasn't text proof, but then in her stream talking about asexuality she says there was.

Something that could be up for debate being inconsistant - But I believe is - Is the fact she states she had depression but still talked about Wilbur's living situation. This isn't inconsistant in what she says to controdict herself, per se - But is inconsistant in consideration that depression (which she said Wilbur was said to have by a therapist) can cause poor hygeine and poor cleanliness. She states that she's had it bad enough to "not want to be here anymore" (her exact words) however she doesn't seem to understand that this is a part of depression.

She also mentions a reddit story in the first of her streams - She then says she wouldn't have mentioned it if she thought people could've found it, but then says she knows her whole life has been documented on the internet since she was 18. Those two can't really go together.

She's also said the only people she cares about are those who want the truth - However she's said people who gathered evidance that was not in her favor were Wilbur supporters and that her fans should block them.

She's also said she doesn't wish harm on anyone and never would - But we have proof of her liking posts and photos of death threats and people wishing harm on Wilbur and supporters of him.

She's also stated several times she doesn't want to make this story about her and Wilbur - She wants to talk about abuse. But all she ends up doing is making the stories about her and Wilbur.

She also stated at first she didnt want people to speculate on who it was - But when fans began to say his name she basically hopped on agreeing with them immediately instead of asking them not to speculate more.

This twitter thread also has a lot of good points in it. It shows inconsistancies in timelines (dates that wouldn't make sense with what she said) and the OP did a good amount of research into it - It is a little outdated since her other stream talking about Wilbur, but still brings up good points.

To sum that up if you don't want to read it -

She stated she'd blocked Wilbur, but the accounts were still following her, which they would not have been if he had been blocked.

She stated a timeline of not talking with him that did not make sense, stating that she hadn't talked to him and cut contact 10 months ago at the time of posting, when this was in Febuaray and 10 months from that time would have been in April. (We have VODs where Wilbur was using Shelby's set up that would not align with 10 months.)

There's a lot more to that thread, but that covers inconsistancies. This is all what I'm aware of at the moment - There might be more.

[adventuringblind]

Thank you for the tag @lellabellawrites (I DIDN'T KNOW WE WERE MUTUALS???? I'm sorry T_T)

My WIP's are a literal mess but HERE WE GO!

Rules: make a new post with the names of all the files in your WIP folder, regardless of how non-descriptive or ridiculous. let people send you an ask with the title that most intrigues them, and then post a little snippet or tell them something about it! and then tag as many people as you have WIPs

OC is the reader insert just so we're all on the same page here!

Shorts & oneshots

LN/OP - BDSM AU - ANGST - (Protective Oscar? sure, wth not)

OP/LN/OC and CS/OC (Sorry Carlos)- Hurt/Comfort - Oops… I Lied - PART 1

LL/OC - ED Hurt/Comfort - Shame On Them for Shaming You

LN/OP/OC - BDSM AU - ANGST - Religious TrAuMa (FEAT. Oscar being a mess because he can't be everywhere at once)

OP/OC - HURT/COMFORT - COLLARS

LN/OP - Hanahaki

LN/OP - SMUT - It’s giving… boundaries - F2 GRID POLYCULE BECAUSE I SAID SO - (Vel, please stop letting me do these things)

LN/OP - SMUT/FLUFF - A/B/O - MPreg - The Consequences of OUR Actions, Oscar

LN/OP - SMUT - The breaking point is behaving... *shrugs*

LN/OP - SMUT - Free Use - (Dom Oscar bein a pervert AGAIN... does it count if he's not actually doing much? Also Jendo and Loscar and Lestappen and Charlos and Norstappen AND EVERYBODY FUCKING IG)

MV/CL - ANGST - Loves Fucking Embarrassing - (sorry Kelly I needed a Villian.... not sorry Jos because FUCK YOU)

LS/OP - ANGST - (question: how long can adrenaline keep you awake while driving and bleeding out because Logan decided to be self stabby RIGHT BEFORE THE RACE?)

LN/OP/MV - DBH AU - Do Androids Have Dicks? - PART 2 (and 3 and 4 and possibly 5 now???)

OP/LN - ANGST - Stop the Noise; It’s Too Quiet - PRETTY BOYS ARE SAD BOYS ARE CRYING

LL/LS/OP/OC - Hurt/Comfort - It’s A Little Dark In Here

Series

Matilda: Chapter Four

Kill me Kill me Kill me: REWRITE IN PROGRESS AND I'M SO EXCITED ABOUT IT

Pretty to Me: My Pretty Boy

Love, come in, the water is fine: New Landoscar series I'm working on

So okay... I have A LOT of WIPS. Apologies to anyone who can't manage their way through my messy writing. I'm a disorganized mess who can't plan my writing because I never stick to the plan anyway.

ASK AWAY PLEASE I WANNA YAP

Tagging: @481boxboxbaby (Mom is responsible for a lot of these btw) @nurse-floyd (cause you feed content I NEED) and idk @vellicora (Vel) has any wips but like she's responsible for a good portion of the things on this list as well <3

[useless-and-confused]

Ok so it took me a while but I finished the elden ring dlc, I beat the final boss like yesterday, I had to wait to get the dlc but nevermind that, I wanna share my thoughts based also on what I've seen other people post. I really liked I thought it was amazing on how it expanded on the existing lore and introduced things we didn't know about (the hornsent and their society etc.), I do have a few criticisms like I do believe the last boss was bullshit, second phase especially, first phase was fine but nothing special, but second phase omg I hated that shit couldn't see anything and was waaay too overtuned, which is a shame cause all the other major dlc bosses were amazing, rellana and messmer especially. Also about some things I've seen people talk about, I've seen way too many people talk about how it's "lore-breaking" which is ridicolous, like instead of going "oh with the limited information I was presented with I came to the wrong conclusion" going "they made shit up and didn't care" which I'm sorry but that's like so dumb. I've also seen people say that it should've been godwyn and not radhan but like you guys know that the whole thing with godwyn is that he's like real world dead right? there's nothing to bring back, while radhan's soul is in the cycle of the erdtree, also (I saw this on a post that I unfortunately don't remember the op's name, if someone does please link or share it) there's the whole thing with the hornsent worshipping a horned lion and the person being brought back on top of their divine tower is radhan that uses a lion a symbol and has horns because of mohg's body; so acting like radhan is there just for fanservice just proves how little attention you pay to actually important aspects of the world design. With that said I do agree that the base game shouldn't have just deleted all connections between radhan and miquella, fromsoft does exhaggerate with their how cryptict (is that how you spell it??) they are sometimes. Lastly I want to touch on the marika situation, now I like marika, but I like her as an evil character and I see so many people act as if what she did was justified, to put it simply genocide is never justifiable, was hornsent society awful and bigoted? yes; are marika's feelings towards them understandable seeing what they did to shaman village? yes; does this justify destroying their culture, their cities, killing and torturing civilians, hunting down anyone born with horns posthumously and deleting them from history? no absolutely not. I really like marika as an evil, coldhearted, manipulative woman, don't pretend like she's a good person when she's much more enjoyable as she is. So yeah I don't understand why so many people have problems with the dlc honestly, I'd like to hear some more objective opinions on the matter so feel free to interact (also I just woke up so I feel like this is full of spelling mistakes so sorry about that)

[master-of-the-opera-house]

I'm not naming and shaming op because i dont want nonsense on me page but op is so bland and almost puritan like. Yeah they are awful and godless and hate each other to the death and that is why they are balls funny. Did anyone ever say Seinfeld was bad comedy because he wasn't a moral role model. Growth and feelings schmeelings lmao. "Abusive family" literally me when I can't read nuance. The whole point of family is yeah there will be some aunt or uncle or grandpa who makes lewd jokes and has outdated problematic world views whom you can't spend more than ten minutes with ((Julian and Fanny)). There will be an annoying sibling or cousin whom you will have to shake off at every turn, who never seems to be able to learn "no" for an answer no matter how many times you tell them ((Thomas and Kitty)). But the idea of family also means they've got your back in spite of it all at the end of the day ((the burglars! The "sister" scammer! The Fiji bank account!)). And that is the poignancy of it, because they dont necessarily like you all the time and vice versa, and you know each other at your most intolerable, but you're still willing to help each other out when it matters despite it all. You want cotton candy clouds and sunshine and daffodils go cry me a river to titanic and steven universe instead. Terminally unfunny take glad ye enjoyed your bland american ghosts tho.

[titleleaf]

[cw discussion of animal illness/medical crises; emotional manipulation; talking about scams and scammers]

Jsyk: I do not and will not boost or reblog fundraising posts on request or when they’re directly linked to me by people who I don’t know, often people who don’t even follow me. Mutual aid posts are a big part of the social media ecosystem especially on tumblr but there are also plenty of scams that exploit genuine sources of affinity within marginalized communities (disabled people, trans people, people with precarious housing situations, etc) in an incredibly cynical manner.

I just received a request like this from a blog that was

all of two days old

filled with an apparently random selection of fandom posts and memes, all reblogged without any kind of tags or commentary, even a fandom name

...with no other kind of original posts whatsoever, not even shitposts or personal posts, nothing

not following me or anyone else I know

using an icon meant to evoke all kinds of immediate emotional reactions of affinity and sympathy — sweet-looking blue-haired smol bean picrew in front of the trans flag

The request itself could have been perfectly genuine — request for financial help with vet bills for a sick cat, "please help, save his life, I need to raise money in 2 weeks for surgery" — but it's surrounded by a thicket of screaming red flags.

(Payments made using PayPal’s “friends & family” functionality aren't covered by purchase protection and cannot be reimbursed, even if the payment was made under false pretenses. Cool.)

This shit is incredibly shady and incredibly manipulative. Lots of stuff to evoke strong emotions and sympathy; repeated calls to action and a super short timetable to save a poor cat’s life — all of this stuff is plausible by itself but these elements of the request are not incidental. The request itself is calculated to provoke a sense of intense urgency -- worry for the poor cat, sympathy for the owner -- and a sense of shame if you catch yourself hesitating to donate or spread the word. (What kind of heartless person doesn't want to help a cat? Wants to let a cat die? Wants to kill a cat? What kind of bad leftist ignores a poor trans person's cry for help? I'm a trans person and a cat lover, and when my cat was in the hospital I was inconsolable.) By itself, urgency isn’t a red flag -- emergencies have a way of emerging suddenly, pets get sick, shit costs money -- but combined with everything else about this post it absolutely is one. In the comments on the post it only took one person saying “hey, watch out, this post has some red flags for a scam so I’d hesitate before reblogging it” for comments to be turned off entirely.

Do I know for a die-hard certainty that this post was fraudulent and the OP was running a scam? I absolutely do not, and I'm not interested in teaching anyone how to scam better either. But if you *do* have a genuine fundraising post for any cause, even an urgent one: don't do it from a nearly-blank blog and don’t message random strangers about it, even if you think it’ll get your post more traction. You have no way of knowing their financial situation or if they're in any kind of position to donate, or whether they themselves are in tough financial straits.

I'm not anti-fundraising or anti-mutual-aid -- people on this site helped me pay for top surgery without going into crazy medical debt, that would not have been possible without the goodwill and generosity of other marginalized people -- but I've also ignorantly passed on scam messaging and been tricked out of money I seriously needed, not just by strangers either. The vast majority of scams function through high-pressure tactics and emotional manipulation. This shit is 101-level social engineering and you're going to encounter it all over the place in life, not just on social media. Learn about social engineering, keep your eyes peeled for potential dishonesty, and don't fall for it or spread this kind of messaging around to victimize someone else.

[crystallinestars]

Yeah English isn't my mother tongue so thank you for the compliment 🥰 Honestly I saw the way you write (it's scrumptious) and the Argenti header and thought "damn I need to be on my best behaviour!" haha

Also never apologize for going off on a rant, I truly love your input!

Oh I do agree that it must be a mix of multiple things and that virtue signalling is definitely part of it! And the point you make about people creating a safe bubble for themselves and others really does make a lot of sense! I'd even be so bold as to say that this initial sentiment has unfortunately spiralled into having kneejerk reactions against any kind of perceived threat (for their identity, etc.). While I understand the need to be careful about who you let into your circle, it's a shame that instead of meaningful conversations (I'd imagine something like "I enjoy X thing in this story", "oh that's great, I have a different hc / interpretation but I'd love to hear your reasoning!") we're having a lot of passive aggressiveness or even full on pissing contests within the communities.

And if I had to sum up why I dislike, let's say between 60% to 90% of 'fandom culture' depending on whether or not it's a good day, I'd say that it's because of how often I have to see the utter glee and contempt this subsection of the fandom radiates whenever they feel like they've won their one-sided arguments / they can lord a win over someone's head for the dumbest things. It just boggles my mind. What happened to basic courtesy? I feel like people have grown so accustomed to living their 'bad bitch' fantasies on the internet without having to shoulder any responsibility for it (because of anonymity) that they've started to become waaay too comfortable coming into your space and being rude at best.

This is a bit of a digression, but for the sources, an example that comes to mind is a post I saw a while ago about the maple leaves associated with Dan Heng and (no shade to the person, it was an interesting read). However, they presented their argument in such a way that you just KNEW it wasn't just about Dan Hend, but about Blade too. They gave a list of symbolism for maple leaves, and the last point (the one highlighted by the structure) was "they also symbolise lovers!". It's in cases like this one I'd love for the OP to provide a source for their analysis, because the uni student in me just cannot accept claims on specific fields without credible evidence. Like is your analysis based on a discussion you had with a native? A paragrapgh you found on a blog named "sakurasdreamygarden.com"? A book you've read? Please, I'm not here to troll, I want to educate myself 😭 In this case it was also worth noting that someone in the comment added that 'maple leaves' is the literal meaning of Dan Feng's name (丹枫), in which case (this is just me adding my two cents) you could also argue that the maple leaves, specifically on Dan Heng's splash art, could symbolise the shadow of a past he cannot completely get rid of.

I was feeling like sticking my head in a lion's mouth when I wrote the 4th point 😂 And since I still do, I will just say that Mihoyo's pandering extends to hetero relationships too. Remember how I said these games remind me of Kpop? What I meant by that is that what they do is basically "All for the glitter and the aesthetic with zero commitment to the bit". So far in Genshin and HSR, they seem to focus especially on giving players shiny little toys to play with (attractive playable characters). And I say that their pandering extends to hetero relationships because as of now the only playable character with a semi-canon relationship is Welt, who's a Honkai Impact character (at least that's what I've heard, I don't know anything about Honkai Impact). I'm thinking especially about Yukong when I say this, because when she became playable in 1.1 I think, they wasted no time to clarify in 1.2 that actually Qingni is her ADOPTED daughter, which is basically like telling players "don't worry, Yukong hasn't been tainted by any man and is just as much of a shiny little toy freshly out of the box as the others!" Like, what am I supposed to believe with that? That for HSR the censorship this part of the fandom loves to bring up was magically extended to the heteros?

Also, I know nothing about Hi3 but since I love semantics, identify as a relationship fiend and still feel like getting shot by the fandom today, I'd also like to ask people to please explain to me how a kiss (yes, even on the lips) is objectively an undeniable act of romance. I'd argue that it's a sign of intimacy because it involves letting someone else get super close to you in a vulnerable moment, but that does not make it inherently romantic. Truthfully I'm just being facetious here but my sentiment is genuine: I would be eternally grateful if we stopped taking certain things for granted "because it's obvious" or whatever, and if we truly started to take the argument that many things in relationships are social constructs seriously. (PS: I mean "intimacy" here as "the state of having a close personal relationship with somebody", based on the first definition given by the online version of the Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary)

Oh yes, Childe. I had heard of him before I started playing Genshin and when I arrived in Liyue I was like: "really? Is this the little guy you've decided to call daddy??" Childe's case hurts me less than Aventurine's solely because I decided recently that I would get Arlecchino and then uninstall the game for a while but I also really feel you! For HSR I'm here mostly for the lore and the Aeons and it really doesn't help that while I don't particularly mind shipping, it's something I indulge in sporadically, when a pairing scratches my brain just right. So I'm sitting here on the outskirts of the fandom watching people get mad at fictional corpos (the IPC, especially Topaz) but then jumping through so many hoops and getting up in arms to protect Mihoyo, or acting like the social justice police 😐

Oh and the fanarts you're talking about. I've been lucky enough not to see anything like that but like. Out of all the characters they could rough up they chose Aventurine?? Now it's reminding me of that one slave owner fanfic and I just have to wonder what it is about characters like him that always attracts the most unhinged fans.

They complain about Paimon hogging the spotlight in Genshin but then are taken by surprise whenever they fail to pick up hints, it's lowkey disheartening to see.

Honestly for Kaveh I feel like people had massacred Alhaitham's character even before Kaveh was introduced, to make it fit into any sexual fantasy trope. I just remembered this but whenever I hear about haikaveh or any shoe-horned ship for that matter, I start hearing this post:

https://www.tumblr.com/what-even-is-thiss/739539118572371969/sometimes-someone-just-isnt-into-you?source=share

The answers trying to make the character played by OP admit they've got hidden feelings is really how people with shipping lenses glued to their heads behave 😭

I'm also glad to see people focusing on characters individually and picking up interesting things about them! And I'm going to be honest: I mean this as disrespectfully as I can but if someone is surprised by reveals like that in a story like that, I'm just assuming they've never read anything else in their lives. Like, if your first reaction to anything in a story is to neatly categorize it as a trope (especially a romance trope) I genuinely need for this person to start educating themselves and engage with other media because there's just no way 💀 I can understand making assumptions / theories and then be proven wrong but this just on another level.

I hope I was coherent enough with all of this, and that you have a great day, evening or night too!

🪻

I’m so happy you like my writing 😭💚 I believe you can write amazing things as well. You’re really good at expressing your thoughts. The Argenti header is there because I like him and think there’s not enough of him in fandom haha.

The gleeful attitude some people have when their bullying succeeds is honestly repulsive. I only saw a bit of it, but it’s nasty how they act as if they accomplished a good deed. I daresay they even purposely go after people with differing opinions just to bully them into submission and feel good about it. As you pointed out, basic courtesy went out the window a long time ago due to anonymity of the internet.

Haha the Dan Heng maple leaf bit is proving my point! While people do try to be informative about symbolism and whatnot in character design, it’s also a means of validating their headcanons/ship. If Dan Feng’s name means maple leaves, then it makes perfect sense why maple leaves are a big part of Dan Heng’s design. Not everything about characters is linked to a ship, and I would love for more neutral discussions regarding the symbolism and culture behind their designs 😔

About Welt. I actually played Honkai Impact 3rd and read some of their comics (I was on the hunt for Su and Sumeru lore in preparation for Sumeru’s release). HI3 has a lot of canonical NL and GL pairings. Welt’s love is Frederica Nikola Tesla. There are more moments between them in the comic than the game, but it’s very obvious they’re in love with each other.

But of course, when he was introduced as a playable character in HSR, that part of him was buried. You can see Tesla in his splashart, but that’s about it. Same with Yukong. I was surprised they made her a mother since that’s a very bold move for a gacha game, so I knew there had to be a catch. And sure enough, she’s just an adoptive mother.

Gacha games are notorious for marking their characters single. If playable characters have a confirmed relationship, a lot of players would get very angry and jealous, and the company would lose profit. For example, I heard that back in 1.1 or so, Mihoyo wanted to release a lore book about Zhongli and Guizhong. I haven’t read it, so I can’t say if there was any romantic implication between them in the book, but Zhongli fans threw a fit, so Mihoyo scrapped it. Similarly, before Inazuma released, a leaker falsely said that Thoma was Ayaka’s fiancé, and again, the community got angry and cursed Thoma to hell. Ironically, it seems like players are far more accepting of same-sex relationship between characters than of opposite-sex ones 😅

I think kissing is strongly associated with romance because we have been conditioned to perceive it as such. Movies and other media make kissing a big deal between characters, there’s a lot of emphasis put on it as a turning point in their relationship. It also doesn’t help that practically every aspect of physical intimacy gets relegated to romantic relationships (hand-holding, cuddling, etc).

In our modern era, a lot of people feel isolated. Physical intimacy between an individual and their friends and family is rarer, so they think that if they get a significant other, they’ll receive the physical intimacy (and not only physical) that they crave. It’s a social construct for sure, but it’s very wide-spread and hard to break out of. At any rate, this is all just my conjecture.

Aventurine is a tragic case. I’m glad the amount of abusive fanarts of him has died down, though Childe doesn’t have that luxury 😔 I suppose the fuckboy type makes people think the character is up on a high horse, so they want to knock him down a peg. Some also perceive the trope to be inherently masochistic for whatever reason. I doubt we’ll ever know.

Lmao that post you linked! So true! That’s exactly how they behave! Gaslighting everyone, even the author, to convince them there’s romantic feelings between the characters when there are none. Characters used to be interpreted as friends, enemies, family, etc, but nowadays every character relationship gets seen as romantic. I miss the days when characters could be just friends or found family.

And I agree, Alhaitham was already butchered since the Sumeru Archon quest. People see a hot, muscular guy and focus only on how sexy he looks, and how hot it would be if he was dominant or aggressive, despite it not being his character at all. I get that people are free to imagine whatever they want for the sake of fun, but with how widespread some of those interpretations become, the character gets quickly reduced to tropes, and people forget what they’re actually like in canon.

To this day, there are still people surprised that Alhaitham is actually very nice and kind, even to children. He took in a broke man he didn’t particularly get along with and hasn’t seen in years, so if that isn’t a big fat hint that he’s a nice person, then I don’t know what is. As we have both agreed, a lot of people don’t pick up on the nuance of character writing 😔

Thank you for stopping by 🪻anon! I also hope you have a great day, and take care 💚

[millepara]

himitsu no aipri episode 1 (a week late)

it's been so long since I've written about a priseries (or any other idol) show... I'm realizing that I legit didn't think I'd ever get the chance again. I got tired of doing it before because I felt like I was either complaining too much (planet) or just happy abt everything that was happening (primagi) and thus had nothing interesting to say either way, but ever since watching aipri on sunday I've been looking forward to this... I think I'm just happy about new idol anime content after such a long drought tbh but it's something good that aipri has already brought us, no matter what you or I think of anything else about it.

I missed the first 5 minutes bc I was reading bad fanfiction in bed to wake up (nigh daily routine) and totally forgot abt aipri... then I did remember and had to sprint to my computer, but the stream kept stopping so I missed some critical stuff throughout. I liked the ep okay, but maybe actually seeing all of it will improve it?

ohhh ok it starts off with those cute lemon coords in the op. actually this does help, those coords are easily my favs that I've seen in aipri so far. esp Mitsuki's blue one is sooo cute... I am saying this as a person that buys every single blue gingham item of clothing I come across though haha. I will say that the coord & dance totally don't match the sort of sweeping fairytale (just mistyped that as dairytale. hm) majesty that the bgm and voiceover is going for, but...

oh, I didn't know that Mitsuki had a snippet of performance in here. I've seen it in gameplay videos already, I like it ok---wow, it's already over.

the way Mitsuki is pausing for her viewers to answer is just like shows for preschoolers... they're really going after that age group, huh. (do actual streamers do stuff like that....?)

oh, I already saw Himari get a call from her sister. looks like I only missed 1 minute.

that is the ugliest anime dog I've ever seen, hands down, but Hiiro is cute. I'm sure she's well on her way to being the Non or whoever the prichan little sister was of aipri, in terms of popularity.

I do think it is very, very interesting that in this pretty series anime which is aimed at perhaps the youngest audience yet, they have put the mc in a dorm, away from her family. weird. actually I am for the first time realizing exactly how many anime have schools with dorms. you'd think japan is overflowing w boarding schools but idk of a single one lmao...

Mitsuki: it sure was the right decision to move into the dorm!

Himari: (completely ignores her statement to bring up aipri)

Himari's look out of aipri is really cute, I've finally decided. it's a shame that her twintails as an aipri are such a weird shape??? why do they curve up on the outside like that, all I can see is a large intestine when I look at them...... :(

the first time I watched this my internet cut out just as Mitsuki's face was approaching Himari's. I knew what she was doing bc of the comic in the aipri fanbook, but still it was like, oh! looks like it's gonna be another totally straight pretty series show!

oh man, the op. the song itself is cute and catchy, but this vtuber's voice is just too much, and it gets more too much as the song goes on. I get the appeal of her being a "real-life aipri", and presumably she's popular so her fans might be drawn to watch, but I hope she doesn't sing the next op too..... oh you know what would be kind of cool is if every op was sung by a different vtuber. that way if one sucked we wouldn't have to hear them again, and they'd showcase a lot of different people.

Meganee is especially exceptionally cute in her op cameo!!!

oh. A Crush. let it be insignificant 🙏 but if they become idol princesses too I'll allow it.

I like Chii's voice a lot, and her passion regarding aipri, but on the list of things I'm finding myself saying "oh. shame :( " about is her unfortunate hairstyle. also speaking of things that remind me of other things, her name Chii Mamiya sounds like "chi mamire" (blood-soaked) or "chi mame" (blood blister). surely I am not the only Japanese understander who hears this.

Yusa Kouji-sensei has by far my fav character design in this show. he is officially my favorite aipri.

wow, it's the classic post-covid tv broadcast opening ceremony... a chillingly real element in this fantasy rich kid school. irl this is the first year since covid we've had in-person opening ceremonies in many schools, it's a shame they don't get to at paradise academy yet lmao

I'm not even going to touch this whole welcome speech. I'm just going to slowly back away and pretend like I didn't see anything.

I love the aikatsu-level background character design in this classroom!! bicolor twintails is cute.

I wonder if these elementary schoolers are relevant or are just there to show how many people are watching Himari.

lmao despite what I said about Chii I think we were sharing the same braincell when she said "Her Victoria levels are out of control!!" they totally are!!

am I misunderstanding this or did Victoria not ban aipri? didn't she say "in moderation" only...? this is literally the same kind of thing schools say irl abt cutting down on screen time. just more dramatic.

so the elementary kid is relevant. Yuma... will he be an aipri too? if not, why would he even exist?

I didn't catch the first time around that this bracelet was the one uh, Candy Motif was fiddling with in the student council meeting. where'd she get it from?

this is the least amount of love I've ever seen put into a commercial break eyecatch.

are the aimus... cute? I can't see it...

it's very funny that the lipstick immediately disappears when they go 3d. they knew it looks bad, and they've still gotta cram it in there for that single second to sell toys.

this cgi. I think everyone's said it so far, but it's really not the best... I think I might like the game's graphics a little better, even. I do like seeing the coords lit up at least.

P.O.P.P.Y is a cute enough song. it's just barely on the listenable side of the line for me, but I do think it's a great match for what aipri is going for. also that is definitely a dance that was made for preschoolers to imitate.

buzzalyume... idk if anyone is aware or not, but buzz is a word that's in really common use regarding social media in japan atm. like you would say "that's buzzing" (literally I mean, figuratively it's more like "that's all the buzz" like the english use of the word) about something that's all over your timeline or whatever. so it's not totally out of left field for them to choose that word in particular, but it doesn't mean that it sounds any less forced, that's for sure!!

Bear Bear Bear's voice is cute.

I don't like these emoji reactions all over the screen. not cute.

the ed is cute.

...finally, I watched it all. whew. I have to say, I was not wowed by it! but it was fine. it's far better than having no pretty series at all. I keep thinking "I'll put off my opinion till I know more about it" about aipri and I'm tempted to say it again now--in this episode we barely met the main two characters in favor of worldbuilding. it kind of makes sense as the first ep of a little kid show, but will the rest of the show stay at this same level of character depth? it's way too early to say. but for me, that's what'll determine how much I like it.

[caeli0306]

Chapter 2 of Tales from the Airport Bathroom is now posted!

Chapter 2/3 now up on AO3: READ HERE

Summary:

In which Lt. Xaden Riorson, a begrudging member of the Navarrian Air Force's special ops squad, meets one Violet Sorrengail, a secret operative for the Navarrian Intelligence Agency.

or

Xaden is a simp, and Liam and Garrick think it's hilarious. There is nothing slow about this burn.

===

Those gorgeous eyes flick down the length of me and she bites her bottom lip, and yeah- I can think of at least 10 different ways I want this woman. I'm not going to question where this incessant desire is coming from; there's no point when all that matters is that I can barely think in her presence.

Violet is silent for a moment, before pulling in a shuddering breath. "That backpack is standard issue for Air Force special ops," she says. "Not a stretch to assume."

Those alarm bells from earlier are back on in full-force. I can't think of anyone who isn't military that would know the specifics of the kinds of backpacks that get issued to different units. It's not like its classified material, but its not the kind of thing a civilian would just know.

Which means I have to be extremely careful. I'm on board a plane to Cordyn, with someone who knows I'm affiliated with Navarre's military, on my way to commit treason.

What a fucking day I'm having.

"That's a good guess," I manage. "Now are you done shaming me for my reclining preferences, Violence?"

Something in her gaze darkens, and I have to stop myself from reaching out and touching her face. This is so dangerous.

"My name is Violet," she hisses, but I don't miss how her eyes flit down to my mouth for one agonizing moment, before meeting my eyes again.

"I think my version suits you better."

[notallwonder]

it's hot as balls here so I guess instead of a nap, it's Time for me to watch the finale, CME 17x10.

Spoilers and nonsense under the cut.

- I can't remember what happened last week. Oh, yeah. Ok

- Toodles, ha ha

- oh RIGHT. Now I remember. My incandescent Nate rage lol.

- I should not watch this mid-afternoon. Can't see shit

- why would Rebecca's mom know about whatever's going on lol

- minimal loss still ringing in my ears a bit. Sadly (bc this is not that)

- Oh Nicholas d'agosto is in this. Bailey?!

- they did SHIT ALL with the immediate aftermath of the cliffhanger. Ok

- fuck I have to switch to a different room it's too hard to see

- ope. he dead. didn't last long, did he. I did giggle at the dripping blood trail

- sorry that explosion that knocked Prentiss over was really funny

- so their cells were designed to create those bonds

- ok Prentiss is "on trial". yeah, who is we?

- I'm sorry every time they say "Peter B." it gives me bachelor/bachelorette related hives. Another symptom of paget-brewster-fan syndrome. will I ever recover

- is there a weird lack of urgency? Like, remembering back to when scratch kidnapped emily I feel like there was more panic among the team. Hm

- Dave, try telling people what you're thinking and where you're going some time

- uh oh. Is the B for Bailey?

- ah. hm. Pete.

- guys, where are we? and what are we doing here?

- not the black and white flashbacks again.

- EXCUSE ME. "I HAVE A SISTER" a whatnow. is she playing Bailey again

- if I could see the things on my teevee screen I could probably figure out who Pete Bailey is played by. his voice is familiar. Wait, is that the guy who played Wyatt in The Fosters? wow ok

- what a mess.

- loving PG's UFO earrings

- this is confusing as hell. and a lot of exposition

- Rebecca's "fuck you" to Vinny was lovely

- fucking hell this is very confusing.

- JJ "this is Emily"...girl I will always love hearing you say her name

- lol I love when the show *almost* roasts profiling

- did she say "your boyfriend's dead because you shot him babe"? why does this feel off to me? It seems too emotional, too angry? Emily's still off kilter?

- THIS FUCKER. YOU LEAVE JENNIFER JAREAU ALONE

- WHATTT. Penelope Garcia with the stare down?! what am I watching

- please break his face jj (but don't, bc he wants you to).

- damn. but also now we've got the exploitation of two female characters we know...and for what? and I think it's safe to assume JJ's not planning to tell Voit's wife...so we're back in not being honest with people territory... what is the point of all this?

- a blue-flamer? that's a new term to me

- "he had a drive...I used to have it..." hmmmmm

- there's a fucklot going on in here.

- well this is not great for our heroes...

- the stakes do not feel high enough for the story they're telling. like...do we really believe emily/the team is in imminent danger? (we do not.)

- omg how convenient, NOW they figure out is a trap lol

- oh sure the projector's just hooked up to the Internet

- ??????

- [god jj is so attractive]

- but what is this like...CW show hero shot montage thingy

- sorry the silly little troublemaker gibberish certificate on the wall in this scene with Clark Gregg is sending me

- "discretion is the better part of valor" and the shame on Emily's face at that

- party at PG's house

- OH NO. NOOOOO. TYLER APPLIED TO THE FBI. OH NOOOOOO. oh no im so shocked

- JJ "I have never been that high, ever" so I was right! she for sure has partaken before

- "we were more miserable apart than together" what a RINGING ENDORSEMENT for your relationship hahahahahaha 🤣

- Rebecca is looking v cute

- I can't with this show. Ahahaha god I'm laughing so hard. I can't explain to anyone how much I love and dislike criminal minds. What it has become. It delights me so much and it is so disappointing.

I'm going to have to rewatch this episode. There's a lot going on here. I will miss Emily Prentiss forever and always. She left some part of herself in London or whatever, and didn't return when Paget came back to the show. I thought her personality returned a bit in s16, and it did...but I don't know if I know her, this her. Anyone else?

The fact they are keeping on Tyler is not surprising. And I don't super care about it, I find him fairly inoffensive in himself, BUT I fear this means Luke will continue to be sidelined and I'm bummed at that. Maybe they will continue having these two bond and that will give Luke more screentime at least. To be extra funny FBI HR should just reject him outright and the team has to do increasingly inane workarounds to keep using him.

And that Voit is still around... Also not surprising given how much they like Zach Gilford. I personally am not tired of him so much as.... confused about what they're doing with him. With Gold Star they made Voit out to be some sort of manipulative genius, kind of mirror universe Reid. But where can they go from here?

And JJ, my beloved. I don't even know what to say there.

Rossi's still hallucinating. Wonder if he will ever do his 4 hours a day therapy lmao.

[minorfamilysupremacy]

for the vp drabble requests: idk if you can even do anything with this since it's only a concept rather than an actual plot idea but i'm personally obsessed w the thought "vegas may sometimes have pete on a literal leash, but the one holding it in their lives and relationship is pete" (something something vegas learning to let someone take care of him and pete gaining agency in his own life)

OP i am so sorry that this is perhaps the most liberal interpretation of the theme possible but i did go hog-wild and write a thousand words of it while off my ass at 2 am so

Vegas understands the human body — the ways in which it works and fails, the ways in which it can be broken apart and stitched together, the paper-thin line between causing pleasure and pain. He understands how easily the same hands that touch Pete with reverence and devotion can be used to maim and destroy.

He looks at Pete, in all of his open, guileless vulnerability, and he thinks: If I didn’t love you so much, I could kill you so easily.

And yet, Pete turns to him, and offers himself up, and puts his life at Vegas’ mercy. He meets Vegas’ eyes and his gaze says, silently, If it’s what you wanted of me, I would gladly die.

—

They do not talk about the angry mass of scar tissue or the nerve damage to Vegas’ arm. He had seen the concern on Pete’s face the first time his body had threatened to give out and he had squeezed Pete’s throat a little harder with his good hand, and that ended the conversation before it had a chance to start.

He understands his own body and wishes he didn’t. He knows its pains and twinges and itches and its untold, unceasing miseries. He knows how to shove down the constant scream that builds in his gut and claws at his insides. He knows that there’s a great void inside him that hurts and hurts and hurts and that can’t be sated or calmed. He lies awake at night, Pete nestled close against him, and imagines smashing the useless meat and bone of his arm into a bloody pulp. It makes him feel good, or as good as he can, to think of tearing himself apart in such a fashion. The void inside him will never be full, but he feeds it anyway, lets it feast on the thought.

Pete sighs and moves closer in his sleep. He is teetering on the edge of a precipice, but when Vegas calls his name, he only turns and smiles.

—

He says to Pete: ‘You’ll leave one day.’ They had all left in a row, with Mama leading the way. Now Papa is gone and Macau will leave them soon enough and then Pete will go, and once that’s done, he’ll go too.

‘Don’t say that.’

Pete always sees the good in him. He is the closest Vegas will ever get to filling that empty space inside himself.

Vegas thinks, If you stay, you will be swallowed alive.

‘It’s alright,’ he says. ‘No one will blame you.’

‘I don’t care if anyone would blame me,’ Pete says. ‘I only care about what I want, and that’s you.’

‘For now.’

His hand is shaking involuntarily at his side. Pete takes it in his own. Vegas can feel the smooth line of the scar on his palm.

‘My heart is here,’ says Pete. ‘I’m not leaving.’

‘You’ll die if you stay.’

‘I’ll die if I leave.’

’And if I order you to?’ says Vegas.

Pete says, ‘I don’t think you could.’

—

His father had beaten him like a dumb animal for so long that it’s impossible to see himself as human any longer. The man who had shot him at the poolside had only done what you do with dumb animals too old and broken to be of any use any longer, and it’s only Vegas’ bad luck that he didn’t finish the job.

He stays alive for Pete, and for Macau, and for the gnawing fear of dishonoring his father’s memory by taking the coward’s way out. But Papa would be disappointed in him for the pitiful thing he’s become anyway. There is no escape from his shame, no matter if he lives or dies.

He is nothing, always has been nothing, always will be nothing. He sees Pete and the way Pete sees him, with fondness and softness, and he feels a vicious stab of guilt for the deceit. The scream that builds and builds inside of him, every hour of every day, is begging for release. The force of it could level mountains.

‘What will it take for you to see sense?’ he says.

‘You have an odd definition of sense,’ says Pete. ‘Come here.’

Vegas does not. He feels as though the yawning emptiness inside him will pull him under, too. He says, venomously, ‘Why would you love me when my own papa couldn’t?’

‘Oh,’ Pete says, more of an exhalation than a word, as though he’s just been punched. He goes to put his arms around Vegas, and Vegas shoves at him with the heel of his good hand.

‘Tell me,’ he demands. He wants to hurt them both and he knows he has. He can see it reflected in Pete’s eyes and it twists the ache in his stomach even tighter.

Pete cradles his cheek in his hand. ‘He should have.’

‘But he didn’t.’

‘I know.’ Pete’s thumb strokes over his skin. ‘I’m sorry.’

Vegas swallows and says, ‘Then what did I do wrong?’

He doesn’t say, Because don’t want to do the wrong thing again. He doesn’t say, Because I can’t lose you.

But Pete knows, because Pete knows him with a clarity Vegas will never know of himself. He says, ‘You didn’t do anything. It wasn’t your fault. It was his.’

He doesn’t say, I’m not him. He doesn’t say, I told you I wouldn’t leave and I meant it.

But Vegas knows.

‘I want to be better,’ he says.

‘You’re good enough as you are. More than enough.’

Vegas is nothing. He is a small sad thing, a worthless, burdensome failure, a drowning man lost at sea.

But Pete is drawing him in anyway, patient as ever, gathering all the jagged, shattered pieces together with gentle hands, pulling him to shore and saying, Fall to your knees. The ground is solid. It will not fail you. It will not give way. You are safe. I am here.

I am here.