#man just is a hater for all might specifically

[plusultraetc]

@livelikeheroes sorry to snatch your tags but omg mood. Hater Aizawa is so important to me. He'll really say "nothing grates on my nerves like wasted time" and "I make a point of living my life rationally in other words cutting out all that is unnecessary, extraneous, or wasteful." And then he'll say "anyway that's Yamada 'utterly extraneous' Hizashi we've been attached at the hip for fifteen years. But if All Might so much as wastes a second of (his own) time it's on sight."

I will definitely make a longer post when I'm further into the book but I cannot tell you how hard I laughed at this

[harmonysanreads]

Ratio looks like he'd fold after two genuine compliments and not just ones about his looks or intelligence. Bro would not be able to handle actual genuine words from someone because he's so damn used to hollow words from fans and haters alike (I don't care if this is ooc its true in my heart)

No no, I agree with you.

People tend to take compliments too lightly, let whatever escape their mouths often carelessly. The act of giving compliments can be honed into an art with practice, the gesture of taking them gracefully can be considered as a mark of maturity and class. Simply put, you can tell a lot about a person based on how they give and receive compliments.

The academic field is privy to many kinds of drama. Back-handed compliments thrive in the radius around ‘geniuses’, ‘prodigies’ and the ‘talented’. Unless you hear it from certain people, delivered in very specific tones, you won't even know just how easily positive words can be twisted to feel like insults. Ratio is intimately familiar with this phenomenon.

It took some struggle, reflection, trial and error until he understood the sheer absurdity of the situation. By then, it was more funny than hurtful to him. Oh, the scope of idiocy. Ratio prefers words in communication to be direct and transparent, though he won't deny that nuance and implication have their own charm when used appropriately.

Ratio might not appear so due to his default disposition, but he's actually quite good at complimenting — given that he finds something genuinely admirable about the person. Take his party-joining voicelines about Ruan Mei and Herta for example. But because of the factor that needs to be met to be complimented by the man, his words of appreciation are often posed as statements (e.g. his voiceline about Screwllum). Which could make his compliments hard to believe if you happen to struggle with receiving them.

Now, the first thing that comes to my mind if we're looking for ‘that’ compliment which will be successful in flustering him ; is to try to learn and understand his ideology, values, ambitions and mindset by extension. Difficult task, I know, but studying Veritas Ratio is unavoidable if we're talking about him. Of course, Ratio enjoys studying everything around him even more, so to catch someone this perceptive off-guard is a bit of a challenge.

Well, it's not possible to understand a human in their entirety, so the effort is of greater importance. Observe, question (and don't be dismayed by his sharp comebacks), reflect, apply what you learned and always try to be genuine. There is no way Ratio won't notice honest efforts.

I don't know why but I have this nagging feeling that compliments about his appearance can also do the trick. Perhaps it's because they could've become somewhat scarce since he started using the alabaster head. But don't just randomly go, "You're so handsome! Your eyes are so pretty!" True as they may be, try to point something he hasn't considered or heard, challenge him. “I appreciate the way you maintain your hair. The neatness and your choice of accessory is pleasant to the eyes.” is something that I'd probably go for. This has greater chances of working if you've made a place in his head through the first suggestion, so to say.

And when, after all that hard work, you do succeed — Ratio is a sight to see. If there was some sort of microscope to gauge the transition of human emotions when they receive compliments, it'd paint such an entertaining picture. First is a scintilla of surprise, then you get a flicker of joy which ignites into flames of emotions too jumbled to decipher — Ratio's cheeks and ears will be guilty of letting them escape. If you don't seem to get any coherent response from the scholar even after an interval of patience, just know that Ratio.exe has stopped working.

[thehmn]

I’m currently listening to Maren Uthaug’s book 11% about a world where most men have died. I should probably wait until I’ve finished the book but I’m so fascinated by the world building.

As of now it’s still unclear why the men died but when the story takes place there’s a mix of older women who fucking hates men and young women who have only met drugged up men at “breeding centers” and imagine “males” as violent boogeymen but otherwise don’t really care and just want to live in the new seemingly perfect society their grandmothers fought for. The only people who still fight for men’s rights are witches who believe masculine energies are as natural and Of Nature as feminine energies, but even they sound more like animal rights activists, standing outside breeding centers with signs every Friday. Their most provocative sign is a picture of a man with Human written on it.

Christianity has been completely transformed and is now run by priests (they don’t call themselves priestess) who can only hold ceremonies when they have their periods and snakes are their most sacred symbol because they gave knowledge to Eva and God is called The Mother.

Trans men exist but are referred to as Man Women and they all seem to be sex workers who have functional silicone penises, though I’m not far enough into the story to know if they have other jobs. They generally also still have breasts because working as a wet nurse is another source of income for them. Testosterone treatments is not an option because it would make them too masculine and dangerous to be allowed into society but they all have male names and everyone use male pronouns for them.

A really fascinating aspect of the world is how people want to get rid of the old “patriarchal architecture” of straight lines and boxes but refuse to tear it down with machines, instead insisting on letting Mother Nature reclaim it. Only Rat Girls are actively trying to destroy the old buildings by releasing hoards of rats into them and planting bamboo to break up the concrete. New buildings have round shapes and are build in ways that make them blend in with cultivated nature and inside they’re painting in beautiful colors with no hard edges. They sound a lot like colorful hobbit homes. Also, locks are considered uncivilized and of a time when violent men roamed the earth and made life unsafe so nothing, from front doors to bathrooms, have locks. For a while after most men died women would go for Night Walks to relish in the fact that they no longer had to be afraid, though they liked to visit the witches at night because it felt a little spooky, which the witches thought was good fun.

The story is naturally about a middle aged witch who is hiding a young boy illegally and gets milk from one of the trans men in the red district while also sleeping with a Christian priest who struggles with her sacred job because her periods are irregular.

I’ll come back with follow up thoughts once I’ve finished it. Unlike what you might think, Maren Uthau isn’t a scary man hater. I’ve listened to most of her other books and this isn’t a recurring trope so clearly she has something to say specifically with this story and it’s rated pretty highly by both male and female readers. I think I’m in for quite the ride.

[ciwzing]

༉ 𝗚𝗼𝘀𝘀𝗶𝗽 𝗕𝗼𝘆𝗳𝗿𝗶𝗲𝗻𝗱𝘀

🎀 incld: satoru, sukuna, choso, & geto

🎀 gn! reader

🎀 ‟there's no better quality time than gossiping with your boyfriend ”

𝗚𝗼𝗷𝗼 𝗦𝗮𝘁𝗼𝗿𝘂

biggest gossiper

literally has a time of your guys day specifically for where you guys just sit on your guys bed cozy, wrapped in each other's arms to talk shit or spill some tea about other people.

has a code name on everyone he and you guys don't like

“ain't that dora over there”

“yeah that's them, that wack ass haircut really stands out from the crowd"

will always make an eye contact with you whenever you guys hear or see something ridiculous, trying to hide his snickers with a cough

“baby, did i see that correctly”

“definitely, saw that shit clear as day”

AND you know you're gonna hear about it once you guys are home.

if he ever enter your home with a loud thud and a call of your name always followed with a giddy giggle YK THAT HE BOUTTA SPIT SOME SHIT🤭

“Baby!! you never guessed what just happened!”

ALWAYS gives you the best reaction to your gossip, never failing to let out the most exaggerated gasp ever

prob has those senses if you have gossip to spill, if Spiderman has spider sense, he has a bitch’s sense and it never fails him.

𝗞𝗮𝗺𝗼 𝗖𝗵𝗼𝘀𝗼

didn't really grasp how gossiping works the first time tbh ╥﹏╥

“didn't we hate this person? why did you just talk to them then?”

baby it's called playing nice

type of bf that if you hate someone, he gotta be their hater too

GIVES THE MOST FUNNIEST YET CUTEST REACTION EVER

“Baby guess what, remember the girl that I told you about yesterday that's been soft launching her man?”

“Yeah?”

“Her man is actually her COUSIN!”

“∑(; °Д°)”

every time you keep dropping bomb after bomb his expression just became more concerning

“oh my god, baby are they okay? (;° ロ°)”

“its fine, we hate this person”

“oh, fuck them then”

“yeah fuck them!”

(｀∀´) (⋋‿⋌ )

learns some of the most juiciest gossips BUT ALWAYS FAILS TO ASK FOR DETAILS

“That one clingy couple in our class just broke up suddenly, and they look they hated each other's guts”

“WHAT, WHY?!”

“I don't know I never asked”

𝗦𝘂𝗸𝘂𝗻𝗮 𝗥𝘆𝗼𝗺𝗲𝗻

you don't how he does it, but whenever you have some anger or tea to spill, he's ready every fucking time.

“who we gonna hate today, pretty?”

LOVES gossiping, not because he cares about other people, but because he loves talking shit about them

has the most creative insults tbh

you sometimes have to pause to take in what he had just said

doesn't remember all the ppl you shit talk about, you have to remind him with the stupid names he calls them

“Remember the guy that I told you about last week?”

“Baby, you have to be more specific about that”

“Omfg, the one you compared with megamind!”

“oh that motherfucker, yeah i remember him, all that forehead and can't think for shit, that's crazy”

probably the type of person that purposely points at the person you just talked about to tease you.

𝗚𝗲𝘁𝗼 𝗦𝘂𝗴𝘂𝗿𝘂

a secret gossiper tbh

ALWAYS has something interesting going on with his gossips, you could never guess just what shit he's about to say next

drops the most gasping bombshell like it's your random Tuesday

“oh yeah, one of our professors just got fired since he allegedly had an affair with one of his students”

the type of person that's quiet but he knows all of the shits about so many people, like How'd you get this information sir? (°△°|||)

ppl trust him too much that they spill so many things in front of this man, but they don't know you're the first person he goes running back to talk about it.

“they said I can't tell this to anyone…but you know that girl-”

gives the biggest stank eye when the person y'all hate walks past him AND HE AIN'T TRYNNA HIDE IT

Can and will shit talk about the person right in front their fcking face.

"Heard you talking shit about me?"

"Want me to tell you again? you might missed some details"

likes and reblogs are appreciated<33

[the-anime-enthusiast]

izuku midoryia’s type in women PLEASEEEE🙏🙏

OFCC!! Sorry for taking so long, in my last post I explained why I've been on an unofficial hiatus but yeah 😭 I got u!!

IZUKU MIDORIYA - type in women

PHYSICAL 🤸‍♀️

bro DOES NYYYAT care, literally at all. I think everyone has their preferences, him too ofc, but he's him guys. The ratio from hips to waist is NOT what bros laying attention to, but ofc I'll still give you my opinion.

SUN KISSED BADDIES you got that like sunburn across your cheeks? he's going crazy. like legitimately. I don't think he would be able to handle his feelings. he'd probably pass out from a blood pressure spike.

He likes them brown haired girls 😔 and brown eyed girls 😭 (song reference) He honestly doesn't care Abt details like that, he'd date anyone, but he def compares his love life to shoujo series and he stays seeing those dark haired baddies.

ass tits thighs personality ✅ he's fs a personality man but let's bffr, every guy has there thing....height, hips, and arms. He likes his girls shorter than him 🙂 (around 5'2? not too short tho cuz then he gets weirded out) He LOVES dem hips. Yk whenever a girl has that natural dip in her hips, it kinda looks like those donut stack toys babies play with? (random comparison I js can't think of anything) HE LOVES THAT SH!!T. He's def secretly crazy for thick hips, like when u got some fat around them. Loves it 100%

okay...so the whole arms thing...he likes girls who have thicker arms...and not rly a muscle kinda thick, more like an auntie thick when you got that little folded skin hanging over the elbow. Bros specific, and bros a lil weird Abt it. He would NEVER admit it out loud, but it's like a creepy fetish for him. He would js never actually be creepy Abt it tho cuz yk, HE HAS COMMON DECENCY. (Unlike some guys 🙄)

When I say he's not picky, I MEAN he is not picky. It's giving very much Yuji Itadori and that one girl that he was like "yeah it would be her" (very mindful, very sweet, very wholesome, very demure) Slim, Thick, Skinny, Midsize, Plus size, All size, Morphing Size (idfk im running out of sizes and you never know with those quirks man)

MENTAL 🧠

if ur a mean ass bitch you can get TFFF OUUUTTT bro does NOT stand for that sh!t 🙅‍♀️ tbh i dont think he'd be picky when it comes to personality but he doesn't stand for someone who has room for hate in their heart, even after everything hes been through. I'm not gonna sit here and be like "oh he's a sweet cinnamon roll 🥺" like bffr, but he won't even look in your direction if you're a "hater"

He generally wants someone sweet, or just nice in general. like ochaco (no I'm not shipping them, she's just really nice and the best charcter to describe his preferred personality to)(did you see her with toga? shes a sapphic queen guys bffr) He wants someone who cares TREMENDOUSLY, like he does. Kindness is what gets his attention, being a good soul and good spirit, someone he can match wave lengths with mentally.

A strong mind and determination. (bkdk reference) (I'm joking) He knows exactly where he wants to be in life, even if his idea of that is a little messy, so he likes whenever someone has the same drive he does, natural will to be good. He wants someone mentally tough and ready to face the world for what they believe, as long as they know in their heart it's what they want/believe. (all might reference)

RANDOM 🎉

He rly likes girls who can draw 😭 He thinks it's the coolest thing ever and it makes it so easy for his partner to get him gifts bc he'd melt if he got a personalized drawing of him and his fav heros 😭

LOVE LANGUAGE - physical touch

he's not huge on pda (he gets rly embarrassed, not in a embarrassed of you way, more of a, im shy and feel like my face is going to explode, kinda way) but he loves sweet little acts of physical touch. Whenever he's stressed or really anxious holding hands melts all his worries away.

LOVE LANGUAGE -quality time

bro fr js wants to be next you. he loves little cheesy dates (amusement park and sharing crepes)(manga reference) but yeah, just cheesy things like that.

Really likes nerdy girls (very big on matching energy if you can't already tell) like js geek out with bro and he'd die for u istg.

Play a damn board game with this kid, Jeezus Chrysler. Whip out monopoly and you'll have his attention till he rots in fictional jail. He actually REALLY sucks at board games but refuses to ever stop playing them. Jenga? He can't even set the blocks up without knocking them over. Uno? He forgot what the word uno was. I mean literally say there stuttering trying to remember what word he's supposed to say.

BUY THIS KID SHOES. He doesn't know why...but it's one of his favorite gifts to receive. He loves trying them on and showing them off to you. He also gets rly geeked out over custom fan shoes. (think like those Hercules sandals from the Hercules movie) He knows it's cringe. He doesn't care. He has display racks for all of them on his wall.

OMG I FINISHED WRITING IT HOLY SH!T I DIDNT THINK I WOULD I js pulled all of these he out MY BEHIND BRO it's midnight I'm dead ASF, I have that convention in 2 days, shizzz wild rn. Pls lemme know what u think!! I've never been a HUUGHERE Deku fan, I kinda js appreciate his character, but I think this is pretty cutesy, how tf do u spell that. Anyways, yeah. This was fun. BYEYYEYEYEHEHEHEHEHEYYTEYRYTRYYR

[riewritten]

in my head nothing absolutely bad happens in monster anime and they’re actually triplets in a family sitcom somewhere

more headcanons under the cut ✂️

-ˋˏ✄┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈

༘⋆ FOR CONTEXT

no child experiments. no kinderheim 511. their birth sequence would be Johan first, Anna second, and Nina the youngest. it doesn't actually materialize that much in their dynamics (given they're triplets) except that these two oldest are oooooover overprotective of nina. mama vera was forced to labor the three of them prematurely out of stress upon receiving the news of her husband's death. her brother-in-law, klaus poppe, who had helped vera with the kids after the hubby's death, tried to pursue her not long after. and not only that, klaus also tried to lure anna into this silly lil experiment about children which he claimed was for 'work' at the red rose mansion all the while their mother was out. vera almost killed the man when baby johan exposed him while crying. this event led vera to cut ties with the poppe family and valiantly raised her triplets on her own. vera wasn't able to squeeze any info out of anna (on what poppe had done to her specifically while she was out). worried that she might be traumatized, vera got her into therapy. in the end, only johan and anna knew of it, and whatever happened sure left wounds deep inside anna's heart.

SO, that said!

-ˋˏ┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈ ANNA

would be sooooo villanelle-coded (minus the psychopathy of course). like she is the Gaslight, Gatekeep, Girlboss but at the same time she could also be the Female Rage™️. i am absolutely whipped at the thought that she'd have a complicated relationship with johan despite being inseparable during childhood because she's astute enough to know the real him, without filter whatsoever, and she could notice things the naive nina couldn't. no, johan didn't have to be a murderer in this universe for anna to hate him, he just got The Attitude that anna despises. it's jus the typical sibling fight though no worries. it's like there's this modern family-esque interview segments of them talking shit about each other every episode (little do they know, if a war ever breaks, they would absolutely sacrifice themselves to save each other — of course after ensuring their youngest sister's safety first and foremost).

in @suusoh 's head which i claim to be the same as mine because susu is rie and rie is susu, anna is as queer as she could be. and, in my silly lil daydreams, she actually labeled herself queer for clout bc she wanna rebel against societal standards only for it to end up the truest thing she had ever said about herself years later. on top of that, she actually envies her twin brother for having a dick like oh my god girl what the hell is wrong with you. ironically, she tends to be an absolute man-hater sometimes (depends on her mood). she could be a little impulsive, too, especially when she reached the rebellious age. boyfriends here, girlfriends there, and out of curiosity she even tried polygamy that's absolutely not her thing but she did anyway to annoy her conservative christian stepfather.

there's this only moment anna had accepted johan's attitude, remorsefully so, and thats when some girl tried to maul nina at uni (thank god she's good at judo) after mistaking her as anna ㅜㅜ this stranger apparently had her boyfriend stolen by anna during one of her impulsive moments (jesus christ). nina assured them it was all good after anna cried. but johan was absolutely pissed, and anna had a hard time forgiving herself for putting her loveliest babiest angel of a sister in danger bc of her shenanigans.

-ˋˏ┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈ JOHAN

who is he, indeed, if red rose mansion wasn't that traumatic and kinderheim 511 never existed ? it's also hard to imagine for me, tbh, it's just that i think he'd be a chill lil guy who lives in his own head. nina has a hard time managing countless of confessions from different people in the campus—you see, anna is too wild to approach, johan is too absent-minded to care, and nina is the most amicable of them three. when nina opens her locker she'd expect a bunch of love letters addressed to three people: anna, johan, and then herself. majority of them is addressed to johan, tho.

if anna takes pride in her beauty and charisma while nina takes pride in her congeniality and physical prowess, johan keeps up with his brains. he is constantly the school's top one. he gets sent to other campuses for academic competitions. and back in highschool, a faculty even offered vera to have him accelerated due to his intelligence. johan denied the opportunity because he likes the fact that he's on the same grade level as his twin sisters. they have this sort of bonding where they do homeworks together as soon as they reach home. how would he do that if he's accelerated to a higher grade level? who would help nina manage anna's wild tendencies at school? who would help anna keep up with her acads if nina's too busy with her extracurricular activities?

vera is quite concerned johan is having a hard time connecting with people, but little does she know, her lil boy just doesn't want to. socializing is a chore the same way studying is. unless he has an ulterior motive, he chooses to stay at the corner with his books (boo. bummer. a nerd.)

-ˋˏ┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈ NINA

is their cute lil baby! she's everyone's favorite. i think her personality in canon monster (before her 20th bday) is pretty much the same in this one, except that it's more chaotic in her house because she has two sibs trying to kill each other here and there. if not for her extracurricular activities and side jobs (which johan and anna tirelessly demanded her to quit so she could have a rest, only to no avail because nina is the angel who wants to help), i think her academic excellence would be in par with johan's. she also has a lot of friends—that's the reason why johan and anna are protective of her. she could indeed defend herself physically, but she's too kind and naive for her own good it annoys the two. if someone makes her cry, they doubt nina would even put them in their place physically or emotionally because she is just that kind—that's when johan and anna enters behind her back. they could be sneaky little vengeful devils if need be for nina. maybe they got it from uncle klaus.

-ˋˏ┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈ ☆ ༘⋆

cutting this before it gets longer lol. thank u for reading! i hope you enjoyed this as much as i did lmao. i had sooo much fan imagining and drawing them this way 🤭

[egg-emperor]

showing you the Eggman pages in the magazine I got the other day that made me really happy lol + bonus Shadow stuff

best part is easily

the double page Eggman profile yeah babyyy

they used my favorite tummy grab render and vindicated me with every single piece of text. they literally made this for me

he's not very nice but he's a smartie pants so it's okay hehe

a "possible" reason with an egg-shaped belly like that. lol you could say that

yay as he should be 💜

evil Eggman haters: he's extremely evil and only wants to do evil selfish things?!?!!? :'O

me: he's extremely evil and only wants to do evil selfish things 🥰💜💕💘

he's so evil even his Egg Mobile is evil

man still hasn't shrank in his old age, still the same height

old man Eggman deniers a few months ago: Iizuka CONFIRMED Eggman's age, he's actually really young!

me: no Iizuka said he was just making an estimate (which just doesn't match what hints game canon has solidly established against it so far) and specifically said it still isn't confirmed. his age is still "unknown" officially and will stay that way

this profile that came out in the past 1-2 months: :)

I got so insanely ridiculously happy seeing the extremely evil and age unknown parts with my favorite render too. they made this for me and while it's just the same info reiterated for them millionth time it delights me every time. they tried to tell me I was crazy

Eggman also had a draw and color page and it's funny that it's only to draw his legs and one hand lol. and again evil?!?!? :O

also came with stickers with a few Eggman yippee

and these Sonic and Shadow disc shooter and spinners and while they might look cheap, the discs shoot across the entire room and the spinners are powerful, they're pretty fun XD

also it had a double page Sonic X Shadow Gens poster! :D

I neglected to take a photo before putting it up but there's a single page Metal Sonic poster on the other side

I wasn't sure if these Shadow renders have been released in full uncropped yet because I don't keep up like the Eggman ones but this one was on his profile page:

they put the page in wonky so unfortunate misalign on the right side but still looking cool

the magazine display that immediately caught my eye to find this in the first place also had this Shadow render which I also don't think I've seen in full, could be wrong but either way it looks great:

that's all the stuff I wanted to show. very pleased :)

I got issue 0 at the end of last year but didn't take photos of the Eggman pages so I may do that soon too

[ehh-is-the-name]

Watching ii-17 right before bed was a mistake

So gang I'm crying.

You know the drill, bad spoilers under the cut.

Im gonna try to go in order..? Maybe I don't know. I'm so serious when I say I've lost the will to live. They pulled the plug and it's all gone. Show's over.

I'll try to relight my inner flame and have more energy as I go through the ep piece by piece, but please understand I am literally crying while I write all this.

Starting strong

Knife just doing what we wish we could </3

This is gonna be Cobs and Mephone centric- ok. You already know I'm a Meeple head and this actually is gonna torment me forever and ever and things are never going to be ok ever again, I can't belive this is actually the end guys I'm spiralling hel-

Did I ever say how much I hate this cob of corn?

I don't even have the energy to explain the parallels here, if you've been watching you get it. You know how this corn shucker is. The "Don't talk to them like that" being a response 'cause that's how he's always been talked down to.... the generational abuse did stop at this ep I guess. Not how we wanted tho.

Actually heartbreaking- like that whole thing. I'm glad he got out of the closet and tried to help but... I'm so sorry y'all all I see is the grass field with him sitting in it and I can;t stop thinking about it. He can't go back. He can't- It's supposed to get better for him. things are supposed ot be ok. they were all supposed to be fine I don't know why it's like this I cna't belive this is how it's ending. I know there might be more but also the possibility there;s not is overwhelming I don't i cant-

IS THE PHENOMES A SLUR FOR THE SHIMMERS???

I got into convo with a friend over this, but think about it. Cobs is literally known as their oppressor, and "the phenomes" is "what he always calls them", even though they so clearly go by the shimmers, and he DEFINITELY knows that by now.

Same friend I was arguing with was telling me that:

The word “phenom” means something/someone with a really talented skill. Perhaps this slur means something like real useful tool or something

Which, if their name to Cobs is specifically about being a tool of his then... idk man. Sounds kinda derogatory to me! Though I think anything this cob of corn says sounds derogatory to me. I keep trying to not just be a cob hater, but guys I think I'm a little justified in blind hatred now. I mean come on-

He litterally does this, and then practically begs Mephone to scream and cry and explode and-

Like is that not evil behaviour? Is that not behaviour justifying this reaction?

When I say this show makes me crazy- AOUGHGh.

On a different note before I get into the ending. I was telling this friend that like... just look at this frame

Like he actually looks insane. Like think about it y'all. Years poured into this and he's laughing to himself as he tries to make two "fake" people fight to the death. His glasses are broken, he's up on some abraham lincoln ass booth watching this all go down with a crazed smile. This man has gone inanimate insane. Inanimate insanity has made this man insane.

.

...

.

I would also like to say before I get into the next part, I have such a visceral reaction to this because mephone is was my hope (cringe and sad I know), but quite literally me but with mephone himself

He gave me hope for a future but I fucking guess not </3

The fear in Mephone's eyes as Cobs just so plainly says to come along, like everything wasn't just shattered.

I've seen people say it's like a kid being told to pack it up and start heading home, but it's more than that. God. Please tell me you see it's more than that. This guy ran away from a terrible situation, tried to cope with the trauma (not in a healthy way but still tried) and his abuser's bringing him right back home.

Just... Just look at him in the gif, that's not just "some kid being sad" there's more to that. This whole interaction solidifies the fact there's nowhere safe for him. Even in the world he made, nothing- Nothing could stop his abuser from reaching him. He couldn't run far enough, he couldn't hide well enough. He just has to accept his fate. He has to go "home", even though his was destroyed.

I don't know how to stay hopeful after this episode, but I'll try to stay alive just for the chance of an act 3 or epilogue or something. It's 4 am as I type this. I started this ep at 12:30 am. This show has proved to be the reigning champion of my mental spiralling. I beg this phone can leave but.... you know how it is-

and ironically enough the ad that I got on this episode...

Anyway,

Closing thoughts: Can't believe Adam, Justin, and Brian are fake, and homophobic for killing off most of the bright light polycule. I mean, that's just classic bury your gays trope right there and smh. Thought they'd do better. Gonna go fall off a waterfall Airy-style since we just can't help having hfjone parallels now. Night, everyone.

[pleucas]

good evening. it is me again, skk hater - no air quotes because i am completely genuine in my hatred. this will be a long one.

i shall first begin with a thanks. i do write pretty often, and my ego has been sufficiently stroked. i suppose even the most despicable people have taste - at least in matters besides ships.

you have asked for my reasoning behind my vehement hatred of skk, and i think it's time for me to provide.

i'm going to be completely truthful - it's all Akutagawa's fault. i love him and his stupid victorian child fashion and british accent and dumb haircut deeply. so, naturally dazai is the bane of my existence.

now, even though i hated dazai more each time Akutagawa appeared, i actually didn't mind SKK for some time. i didn't get it cause Chuuya rarely actually shows up in the manga, which i read straight through without detouring for any of the light novels, but i was fine with it. they're fruity in most all their interactions, i shall never deny that because it's clearer than glass and i'm not that delusional, but i didn't see much substance beyond that.

then i read the novels and slowly came to the conclusion that i actually hate dazai even when Akutagawa isn't in the picture. and when i say HATE i mean HATE. he is the pebble lodged in my shoe, the lego on my cousin's floor, the table leg i stub my toe on, and so forth.

Chuuya, on the other hand, i love. he's great. amazing. stormbringer? peak. so, OBVIOUSLY, he could do much better than dazai. soooo much better. i mean, look at him

every time dazai and Chuuya have their objectively gay moments with each other, i feel like im watching my friend crawl back to their toxic ex.

that's how i feel with most dazai ships, and this is because dazai is always a smug prick towards the person he's being shipped with, and because i love Akutagawa i am not amused by this in the slightest. feels like he's rubbing salt in the wound. i actually like dazai more as a character when he's on the back foot. a (nonromantic) example would be him in The Day I Picked Up Dazai (A Side). dazai and Oda's dynamic is probably the best one dazai has in my eyes - though i don't ship them in the slightest. additionally, i think i, if only for a moment, actually liked dazai when he got ""killed"" in that one chapter. because it was a loss for him. in that moment, he (well, at least we're led to believe) got what he had wished for so often during the series, though it was not on his own terms. therefore, it felt almost like poetic tragedy - i thought it would have been a fitting end for him, and if it truly had been, i might like him now. this, as you know, was not the case.

furthermore, dazai is a fruitcake with or without Chuuya. it's not specific towards him, so i don't think anything real can be drawn from the vaguely homoerotic behaviour. i mean, dazai ballroomed danced with Sigma five minutes after meeting him. man just likes men, i don't know what to say

in conclusion, i feel like their relationship is unbalanced. dazai is never really shown to be all too worked up by Chuuya, even when he seems to be on the losing end of their bickering, but Chuuya is constantly harassed. while it's admittably funny, i don't like it in a romantic sense, nor do i see it in anyway that's different from Kunikida or Sigma.

that's about everything i can say without going on an unorganized tangent. i could bring up more specific issues i have that stem from Stormbringer and the Fifteen novel, but i have actual things ive been putting off writing - there's a whole book being sidelined by SKK right now. this has been a good way of procrastinating, but it must come to an end eventually

as for titles, you can call me Rimu. like the tree,

so, with an abundance of hate, Rimu <3

(ps: you might noticed that dazai's name is not capitalized at all in this ask. this is because he does not deserve that level of respect.)

holy hell Rimu. Hello, formally I guess — I will follow in your footsteps and leave dazai's name uncapitalized, because that was very funny

i've been putting off responding to this for a while but please believe that i have been thinking about it and periodically re-reading it. it's one of the most entertaining asks i've received LOL

to actually respond without completely proving your point of skkers procuring essays (though i'm sure you realize the irony upon review of your own accolade), i'll keep it brief. you had me in the first half, ngl, cuz i'm pretty sure 89% of us [skkers] agree, on a generalized scale, that dazai is the worst and Chuuya deserves everything and more (and better). he's the type of character that i enjoy as pure fiction, bc i know that if i knew him in person i'd hate him. same goes for my opinions on irl dazai — so asagiri did a (rare) justice for his authors there ig

abt everything else tho (imbalance, not being as affected by chuuya, similarity to other ships, and lack of intrigue)... i had a lot of responses prepared but really all of it can be summed up here as this:

like ngl man. LOL. i do blame the anime and its horrendous adaptation of dazai's character and skk's interactions, but that's another can of worms... that i have... opinons... about.

thank you for sharing your thoughts Rimu, i enjoyed reading through it a lot. keep it going!

with a mutual abundance of hate, Cas <3 <3 <3

[sea-you-in-paradise]

♡  a o t   l o v e   l a n g u a g e s  ♡

summary: attack on titan characters’ love languages  word count: 2.217 setting: any! (canonverse, modern au, etc) features: armin, connie, eren, hange, jean, levi, mikasa, reiner, & sasha genderneutral!reader warnings: none

a r m i n 

expresses his love through quality time. armin goes through life feeling like there are never enough hours in the day. he just has so much stuff to get done that tasks get pushed off because he overbooks himself. since his time is so valuable, blocking out time for you and planning how you should spend it is not something that he takes lightly. this doesn’t mean that every date is extravagant, he just wants to show you how important you are to him. he does his best to put effort into thinking of something you could enjoy together, even if it’s just reading in near silence. always shows up. you are a top priority.

armin needs words of affirmation to feel loved. he has a hard time believing that he is deserving of good things, armin really appreciates reassurance. hearing you, someone he has so much admiration and care for, insist that he matters reminds him that maybe, he is worthy afterall. tell him how lucky you are to have him in your life. armin is one of a kind and should be appreciated for it. “simple” affirmations are important too; “that sweater looks great on you,” “i missed you today,” etc. remind him that he is so, so loveable.

*bonus* - armin could tear up at an act of service from a friend. he is always willing to help with whatever you need, even if deep down, he doesn’t really feel like it. like i said, he always shows up. the moment you show up for him without him needing to ask is the moment he feels important. you could literally just pay attention to how much he is working/studying and making tea accordingly. he’ll never forget about it. 

c o n n i e

is all about gift giving. but not because he spends all his time/money on it. he just finds shit that he thinks you would like and gives it to you. expect to acquire a (genuinely interesting) rock collection. he would have specific reasoning as to why he picks each one, like if they’re shiny or heart-shaped. 100% picks wildflowers for you whenever he sees one. if he gets bored and there’s paper nearby, he’ll make “origami” (he can make the basic swan and then everything else is up to interpretation). also buys some smaller items when he’s just out and about, but he goes all out on important occasions. rarely gets you food despite buying it for sasha though. 

connie wants to hear words of affirmation. tell this man every single positive thought you’ve ever had about him. this might cause him to make some jokes at your expense, like teasing you for being “all obsessed” with him, but hearing such thoughtful things coming out of your mouth gives him the much needed reminder that people care about him. you care about him. there’s a reason he makes so many jokes, and it is not (just) because he is a funny guy.

*bonus* - connie likes having physical touch in his friendships. he just wants to platonically hold hands on walks with his friends (Jean has slapped his hand away more than once). he wants greeting and goodbye hugs whenever you have plans to hang out. expect him to give you hair ruffles/head pats and playful shoulder punches. he wants you to take turns giving each other hand massages. he’s also down if you ever need a piggyback ride, but keep in mind that he’s expecting one in return.

e r e n

is a quality time guy. eren is a fan of deep conversations. can these get depressing sometimes? yes. is that one of his favorite things about them? also yes. if you can handle that shit, then he knows you’re the one for him. he is a small talk hater, and if you’re taking the time to understand his deepest, darkest thoughts and let him in on yours without making light of it, he’ll feel very connected to you. of course, no one can keep that up all the time and while he isn’t a fan of small talk, he likes really bizarre hypotheticals, comfortable silence, and head scratches.

eren is so grateful when you lend him a hand. this man is by no means lazy, but he is 110% a procrastinator when it comes to any practical facet of his life. he’ll be so focused on doing his tasks for work that his home is just a total wreck and it never seems to get better on its own. to be frank, he would not notice if you helped him with a little bit of everything. but if you helped him with one specific task, like doing his dishes or making him a grocery list, he would be elated. of course, he would never use the word “elated” or allow his face to show that emotion, but it would relieve a lot of his stress when he gets home. please remind him that every task is an accomplishment, no matter how small. 

h a n g e

is dying to get their hands on you. take that any way you want. scientifically, romantically... very romantically. there’s lots to experiment with. all jokes aside, hange is a physically affectionate person with most people (probably more so if she wasn’t friends with levi and erwin, the least physically affectionate duo ;-;), but mostly in a proximity sense. like, they’re the kind of person who comes to sit beside you on the sofa and their thigh is basically on top of yours they’re so close. they also get closer when they talk to you, like if you back up, you will end up walking backwards to the other side of the room by the end of the convo. but in a relationship, hange is three times more intense. expect them to actually sit on you when you’re on the couch. hugs when they’re super excited, forehead kisses when they’re sleepy, shoulder rubs after long days. if you’re sitting in a chair, they’ll come up behind you and wrap their arms around you

hange loves that you spend time listening to them. to have a successful relationship with hange, the key is paying attention. they have a lot to talk about and they need someone who will not only listen, but expand upon what they’re saying. if you demonstrate even an ounce of critical thinking on one of the subjects of their interest, expect hange to be visibly excited. they will shake you by the shoulders with excitement before taking your face in their hands and calling you smart and looking in your eyes, and- well, the rest is up to you.

j e a n

jean wants to spoil you. he thinks you deserve nice things and he wants to be the one to provide them. as someone who has always yearned for a taste of luxury, he feels that the best way to show his love is sharing that taste. he wants to take you to fancy dinners, buy you flowers every time you’re feeling down, and take you shopping (he totally loves it when you try on outfits for him. he gets all blushy, but plays it “cool” ofc). and if he’s really in his feels, he might even draw a little something for you. pretty please put it in a special place in your home.

jean feels closest to you when you’re touching. he feels like there’s nothing quite as intimate as being physically close to someone (hence why he’s quick to slap connie for trying to initiate platonic hand holding). knowing that you want him close to you, so close that you have to touch him, makes jean feel important. he seeks comfort in your hugs and kisses, knowing they provide a level of safety and compassion he can only get from being near you. there’s something very exclusive about it for him.

l e v i

loves through acts of service. his acts are often masked by what some (levi included) might deem as “ulterior motives.” for example, washing/ironing your clothes because he didn’t feel like having dirty/wrinkled clothes around. mostly cleaning service tasks: something like brushing the dirt off the soles of your shoes or organizing your drawers (says he has a thing about privacy, until it comes to cleaning). he assumes that you’ve never had any organizational system in the first place. he will not explain the new system to you. he thinks it’s obvious. but sometimes, when you don’t wake up to him reordering your stuff, you wake up to a cup of tea or a plate of toast. be sure not to make a big deal out of it though or he’ll get embarrassed and "misplace” your birth certificate next time he’s cleaning.

levi secretly craves words of affirmation. frankly, “words of affirmation” might even be a stretch for what he desires most. he doesn’t need to be told how good he is at his job or how much others care about him. he wants you to pick up on little things about him that he hasn’t even realized. tell him if you like the way he pronounces a certain word or how lovely he looks while he’s focusing on the newspaper. he doesn’t let people get close to him easily, so by approaching your position as his partner with such attention to detail, you’re reminding him that he made the right decision letting you in. not even levi is immune to compliments.

*bonus* - levi’s friendship love language is quality time. let’s face it. the only way you’re getting close to levi is if you spend a lot of time together. the problem is actually getting that quality time with him. for levi, this would usually mean doing independent tasks like reading or doing paperwork together. also, doing group tasks (cleaning, cooking, etc) in comfortable silence. being friends with levi is the definition of being alone together. perhaps when you get really close you can have a little conversation with your tea. 

m i k a s a

will jump at the chance to perform an act of service. she loves to feel helpful, and since emotions aren’t something she is super comfortable expressing, she finds that assisting you with your day-to-day tasks is a good way to show she cares. she especially likes helping out with physical activities. after years of hanging around armin, she knows how vulnerable they can be, so it’s her own special cheat code. besides, she likes that her strength is useful for a variety of reasons.

mikasa feels seen when you gift her something. the fact that you saw something and thought of her makes her happy beyond comparison. mikasa’s typically focused mind will definitely wander to giddy little thoughts of you. how often do you think of her? what kinds of things would you like? what can she do to make you know that she cares? she’ll try to center herself, but part of her is glad to have something so wonderful to be distracted by. gifts are never wasted on her. she will treasure whatever you get her, even if it’s not something she would typically buy herself.

r e i n e r

loves spending quality time together. honestly, he just wants to talk. reiner wants to know your thoughts on everything. he wants you to play with his hair while he lays his head in your lap as you tell him about your day. he gives (somewhat) good advice and always remembers small details. he views the people you tell him about like characters and gets invested in your stories.

reiner is eternally grateful for the acts of service you perform. putting out his slippers in the morning, making him a plate for dinner, asking if he needs anything while you’re up/out. he also views the anticipation of his needs as a huge act of service. for example, if he tells you that he doesn’t need anything, but you come back with a blanket because he looked cold, reiner will never stop thinking about it... or you.

s a s h a

will hype you up with words of affirmation. it’s not even something she does super intentionally, and frankly, her encouragement is not something that she provides exclusively for her partner. however, every time sasha has something nice to say about you, she will say it. and since you two are together, she has a lot of really nice things to say. she has a feeling personality, so of course she’s going to gush over you! plus, she thinks that the way you react is really cute and she wants to keep seeing the look on your face as often as possible.

sasha feels appreciated when you perform acts of service. obviously this woman will go feral if you cook her food. that is no secret. but she will also be completely enamored with you if you help her out with other things as well. fold her laundry?? sasha is raving about it for a week. offer to brush her hair? she will give you little kisses all over your face. for sasha, devoting your time and effort is the kindest thing someone could do.

[thecoolerliauditore]

can I ask what you mean about doc, as someone who doesn't use Twitter at all?

so first off I'm not "worried" about Doc or his fanbase, I don't think we're going to see anything on the level of the Hell Vortex anytime soon but I do feel like Doc is maybe. like Scott not the smartest with how they interact with fans on social media.

All CC/fan relationships are parasocial but Doc and Scott specifically encourage it more imo, Scott much less so now but Doc has been engaging in long conversations with fans, scouring fanart, encouraging ship art, and is now actively framing his fanartists as his personal fan club ("the DCP"). Don't get me wrong these things aren't necessarily bad but with all of them combined they create a very specific atmosphere that can easily sour if you're not careful. If I may be self-indulgent for a second, a good comparison might be extreme corporate vtubers -- there's a reason they muzzle those girls so hard, parasocial relationships are fragile and the image of yourself that your fans fell for needs constant upkeeping.

But Doc is. Not very smart or careful about maintaining this environment, which tbf I don't think is intentional so that makes sense, and really does not know when to stop speaking. The Palestine stuff earlier in the year is a great example, with him refusing to shut up about his right to shut up. It was. Not great use of social media as a youtuber imo and I think Pearl's thread really helped do damage control cus otherwise I feel like there would've been a lot bigger of a backlash against Doc.

But there IS backlash still from people who have now had their parasocial image of this almost 50 year old white man broken for them and recently people have been not happy about these tweets from him which they feel are hypocritical considering his refusal to comment on Palestine or have a weird tone. Which he then proceeds to respond to, of course.

In both Scott and Doc's cases they have a group of insanely parasocial fans who defend them as well as a group of ex-fans who have become their most vocal detractors. It's very all or nothing.

It's definitely not a one to one comparison for a lot of reasons in terms of both the CC's actions as well as their respective fandoms i.e. my buddy megabuild pointed out that Doc had legitimate alt-right guys patting him on the back but just in terms of the effects of the parasocial idolisation to disillusioned number one hater pipeline. Idk I think there's something there to be studied.

Leading up to the Vortex, Scott was also getting more bold in terms of talking to fans, mentioning them by name, and so on. As is Doc right now with his increasing more prolonged interactions with the DCP.

Again, not worried, not a judgment on Doc's character from me, just. hmm. None of you motherfuckers hand him your nsfw okay.

[sadesluvr]

Lemon Relationship HC’s (GN!/SFW)

Unlike Tangerine, who I find to be more shippable with both a civilian and assassin s/o, I think Lemon would prefer you to be a civilian!

Given his nature of work he just wants something in life to be simple, and that’s you

But if you ever want to date him you HAVE to go through Tangerine first, regardless of gender

They’re literally like a father/daughter here:

“Tangerine…You’re scaring them, mate.”

“I better fucking hope so. Rats are everywhere, y’know, gotta weed them out…What’re your intentions with my brother?”

“Did you just call my partner a rat?”

Tan is low-key a hater but it’s all a joke. He’s very happy for Lemon above all:

“Tangerine…I’ve met someone.”

“We meet people all the time.”

“No, like a relationship. I’m dating. They call me their Lemon-drop.”

“Well that’s too fucking good to be true, ain’t it?”

‘Lemon-drop’ starts off as a jokey nickname but he grows to love it

In the early stages of your relationship he’s a bit clueless, he doesn’t really ‘know’ what you want so he seems a bit disinterested/awkward/neglectful

He took you to a train museum on the first date. He didn’t stop yapping but all you were thinking was ‘I like this autistic man 😌’

Eventually Tangerine has to step in and give him tips on ‘how to be romantic’

He becomes more attentive from then, even when it seems like he’s not! He might struggle with certain situations/emotions, but he’s always got a Thomas episode to recommend if he can’t verbalise it

Thomas marathons, but cartoons/animation in general!! Doing it in your PJ’s with a bowl of cereal like kids, or after little baking something together/ordering takeout

FOREHEAD KISSES! He loves it when you fall asleep on his shoulder, and you’re in each-others arms…Kiss him back so he always feels special <3

He gives the best kisses btw. They’re always so tender

Shopping together - Not just Thomas merch but clothes too (remember his new tie?). He’s very fashionable and he’s going to ask your opinion on everything

MATCHING DENIM JACKETS/TIES

His love language is somewhere in between quality time, physical touch and words of affirmation. The Bolivia job really got to him, and sometimes he needs to remember that he’s safe and present

He doesn’t really like pets, but he can be pretty chill with a cat. They can sense his warm aura :)

He has photos of you on his phone, and physical copies for when he’s away on missions. He calls/texts every night to let you know he’s okay

He likes being the little spoon! Especially during the times where you actually get to spend a night together

Lemon NEVER forgets an anniversary. Like ever. 1 week, 1 month, 1 year and beyond, he’s texting you at the exact time when it happened and spends the day making sure it’s perfect!!

At the start of your relationship, he’s an impulse buyer. He gets you everything you might like, but over time he’s learnt the specifics. He still wants to give you the world though

[beefslipper]

Headcanons! Some Spoilers?

My first post got a lot more attention than I thought it would, so I'm just gonna drop some headcanons. I'll do a few different characters from different shows, anime/mangas, etc. If you don't know much about the characters, there will be some info on them that some people may not know already (Ex; character death, big events, whatever).

Some HCs are on the sad side while others are just silly, nonserious ones.

Also, if you disagree with any of these HCs, that's totally fine! Please just don't be negative about it or anything. And if you want to correct me on anything, go right ahead.

First up, I'm gonna do Jason Todd from the Batman Comics/shows. I love Jason so much, nothing could ever make me hate him <3

I feel like he'd believe in "hair holding memories" thing, so after his death and revival, he'd shave his head countless times to try and forget all the bad memories. Poor boy :(

For a happier HC, I think he'd be an absolute boss at Just Dance or automatically become the God of a video game that any of his younger 'siblings' need help with beating.

I also have a slight feeling he'd cheat during a silly 'family game night' thing and be hiding uno cards in his jacket or something LOL. Bro's the type to make one move during a game of chess before giving up and flipping the board.

Onto Gojo Satoru from Jujutsu Kaisen :D

I used to be a huge Gojo hater for no reason lol, but now he's kinda one of my favorites.

Since it's canon that he has a sweet tooth, I have a feeling he stress eats/bored eats (eats a bunch when stressed out or bored) and gets tummy aches pretty often from that.

I feel like he'd tear up a dance floor at a stupid little highschool event or something, but not like normal dancing. Bro probably dances like a Hotel Transylvania character LMFAO.

Lastly, Diluc Ragnvindr from Genshin Impact!!

Fun fact: he was my first main besides the traveler on Genshin Impact.

I HC that the poor man has a rough time sleeping (specifically after the Snezhnaya events and the death of his father). Whenever Kaeya sneaks into the Dawn Winery, he probably holds his big brother until he can sleep peacefully <3

(NO, I DO NOT ship the brothers in GI or the Batfam. Get those brownies outta here /ref)

Another silly HC I got is that Diluc used to be the sweetest kid in Mondstadt, but was unintentionally a little chaos magnet. Definitely a leash child so Crepus wouldn't have a heart attack when wondering where his son ran off to for the 60th time that day.

Bonus HC: Babysitter Varka. Must I say any more? Bro's probably still a big father figure in Diluc's life and sends weekly letters checking up on him.

Y'all are so lucky I forgot about HSR characters, otherwise I woulda yapped about at least 6 of them LOL. Might make a separate post later just for them, maybe multiple. Who knows.

If you noticed, yes. I learned how to insert images and I will 100% abuse that. When I learn how to insert emojis, I'm abusing that too. (I'm on a computer so I don't have emojis available as of right now.)

If you want to request HCs of any other character from the mentioned fandoms(? Is that what you call it?), go right ahead and ask! I probably won't get to it immediately since cramps are manhandling me right now, but I'll do it ASAP.

Anyways, have a great day, evening, and/or night, and make sure you stay hydrated!

[markantonys]

There's a lot of things in Rand's story that play into male power fantasies and the show has already veered away from that majorly so I wonder what else they might change to stay with that trend. Like even him conquering half the world would fall into that category (though that one might be unavoidable since it feeds into people's fear of him. They could frame it differently while still keeping the fear though).

this is interesting to think about! i think in the book version, a lot of rand's story is things that sound like male power fantasies on the surface, but whether or not it truly feels that way as you're reading along all depends on the specific reader. for example, it's no secret that a chunk of (male) readers (on reddit) very much read a lot of rand's story as a male power fantasy, seen in things like the way they idolize lan's extreme stoicism, consider rand & the asha'man making the aes sedai kneel at dumai's wells an epic moment, and think that elayne and avi are great for rand to have on tap for sex because they're hot but min is his only "real" girlfriend and it's ~weird~ that he claims to love all of them equally.

but when *i* was reading, i had different interpretations of these things. i read lan's extreme stoicism as a bad example for rand rather than a good one, so it didn't feel like a male power fantasy to me. i read dumai's wells as a grim moment showing rand and the world at large taking a turning point into darkness, so it didn't feel like a male power fantasy to me. i read avirandlayne as an equitable and queer polyamorous relationship rather than as a rand-centric harem, so it didn't feel like a male power fantasy to me (min's attitude did make it feel like a rand-centric harem to me lmao but if we exclude her i never got those vibes at all for avirandlayne).

some of this is down to, of course i as a queer woman will instinctively interpret some things very differently than a straight man would, so maybe there are instances where RJ did kinda get lost in the male power fantasy and they simply went over my head or were interpreted differently by me because that's not something i look for or hope to find in stories. some of it, though, is that RJ included instances of toxic masculinity/male power fantasies because he wanted to criticize them, but readers who are pro-male-power-fantasy only see the instance itself and miss the narrative's critique of it. and there's also some "he's a little confused but he's got the spirit" instances where RJ wanted to critique something but didn't quite pull it off because his own unconscious biases & cultural norms were affecting the way he wrote.

(then there are things like RJ telling us that the shadow will try to target people they know rand cares about and at the same time having min be My Lady Ta'veren being flaunted about on rand's arm all over the continent and facing absolutely 0 consequences from being publicly known as someone he loves, where i'm like "yeah this is 100% RJ getting carried away by a male power fantasy and muddling his own story because of it" lmao)

anyway, back to the show! rand & lanfear is a good example to look at because on the surface it very much SOUNDS like a male power fantasy (young doofus has a stunningly sexy older woman all over him), but it doesn't FEEL that way at all when you're watching it play out in context in the show (i mean, maybe a few rabid rand-haters might claim it does feel like a male power fantasy, but everybody with critical thinking skills can recognize this is a fucked up situation for rand). so, that makes me feel pretty confident that the show will be able to portray things like rand conquering half the world in a way where it feels like a tragedy rather than a triumph. a critique of male fantasy hero tropes rather than a glorification of them, same as the books so often did even if some readers miss it (and tbh this can apply just as much to the ~woke~ crew as to the redditors, where they declare that everything about rand's story is a shitty male power fantasy and completely miss how the story is showing that having a ton of power & attention actually makes his life suck; even things like the common "ugh women are constantly throwing themselves all over rand" complaint - with the exception of his 3 love interests, the abundance of women trying to hit on him makes rand extremely uncomfortable and isn't something he enjoys or benefits from! and the ~woke~ crew does not have the critical thinking skills to read this situation beyond the surface level of "all women want to fuck the male protagonist".)

now, as for what the show has actually *changed* so far on this front, the only big thing i can think of is that the EOTW & TGH finales are group efforts rather than Rand Shows. but this was done to make the first two books feel like as much of an ensemble story as the rest of the series does, and also to give rand realistic power-scaling and ability progression so that they don't have to keep resetting him again at the beginning of the next season. i don't think the show's intentions were "let's change this so it feels like less of a male power fantasy", but rather simply "let's change this so it feels more realistic" - but male power fantasies do naturally get removed when changing the story to feel more realistic, since they tend to be unrealistic. so something like rand conquering half the world, by the time he's doing that, he's gotten enough training in channeling/weapons/politics that it feels realistic for him to be able to do that, so i doubt the show would shy away from portraying it.

(then there's stuff like rand's All Women Must Be Protected But Who Cares If Men Die attitudes where the show IS getting rid of that specifically to get rid of the books' gender essentialism & toxic masculinity, etc. so there definitely are places where they make changes specifically because they want to get rid of book attitudes that the showrunners (and i) don't jive with, and that may have been a *factor* in the s1 & 2 finale changes, but in those instances it was other things that were the main reasons for the changes.)

[jpitha]

Yet Another Writing Advice Post

I'm about to type about some stuff about writing. It's pretty Meta and feel free to skip this one if you're waiting for more about Gord and Fen, that's coming soon. It's not for anyone specifically, it's for me mostly, but you might get something out of it too.

As a writer - especially as an amateur writer who eventually wants to get paid for writing - one of the things I struggle with is what am I writing for? Is it just for me? Is it for my readers? Is it for sale?

Lots of writing advice for newbies boils down to "write the things you want to read, do it your way, fuck the haters."

This is good.

I mean it. It's going to sounds like I don't agree with it, so I'm saying right here off the jump, if you're just starting out, this is an unalloyed good. Write what you want how you want.

But.

If you want to write things that other people will read - not even writing things that people will pay you for - you also need to expand your skills. You should get better at writing. So as to not waste your readers time, but also so that you're better able to translate what's in your head into words on a screen/page so that others can see the cool as fuck things you thought up.

The only way to get good at something is to be bad at it for a long time.

It's hard for me to remember this. Every expert that you see, every skilled creation you come across was made by a person who did piles and piles and piles of terrible art first. I hate this! I don't want to suck, I never want that.

That does not make it untrue however.

I am a mediocre writer.

I am not saying this to fish for compliments, or to get positive reinforcement. It's the truth. I am trying every day to get better - and I am getting better! It's one of the reasons I like rewriting my old stuff. But, me assuming I am A Good Writer Now is pure hubris.

In an attempt to get better, I joined an online writing group. (I don't think anyone from there reads this Tumblr, but if they do, Hi!) Everyone in that group is skilled, probably more skilled than me. That's normal and to be expected. Everyone is good about offering crits and nobody is mean, but also it's not a hugbox. We're all there to get better and write.

Last week I put more effort into an entry than I think I have ever done. I spent real time on it, worked methodically, had a plan, even sought out folks to beta read. Like, I put in the work.

I still didn't win.

The winning entry was one that was almost utterly opaque to me. It wasn't "well that's not for me, but I can see how they'd win," it was pure "I don't like this and I don't understand why they'd win, and yet, here we are"

Why do I mention this?

Well, for one, I'm disappointed that I didn't win. The judges did give me crits on my entry, which was nice, but it wasn't anything I hadn't heard before. This is also fine, change takes time. But additionally the things they didn't like were things that I added on purpose. It's important to remember when receiving crits that you don't have to change what you do. It's just like, their opinion man. Brush off crits at your own peril however. They show what others who read your work expected to find and didn't.

It's normal to be sad that you worked hard on something only to find out it wasn't what the judges wanted to read. It's normal to be bummed to realize you aren't as good as you thought you were, and/or that you still have a long way to go.

But then what?

Do you change what your style? Try and write something that you think will appeal? Do you stick to your guns and say "I know what I like, and I will continue to write what I like?"

In the end, you have to decide why you are writing (or drawing or painting or weaving or whatever.) You have to decide who your audience is.

If it's just you? Keep on keeping on, go nuts! Make art however the hell you want. You are an artist, it's still art, you are legitimate.

If it's someone else? Then yeah, maybe work to drift towards something that the like. There's nothing wrong with a little pandering - to a point.

Is it to sell? Now, we're getting into the meat of things. If you want to make a go at doing this full time and making it a jobbity job, you have to start looking at your craft with a much sharper eye. You have to watch trends, follow bandwagons, do the things that bring eyeballs and wallets. Is it distasteful? It can be. Is it necessary? If you want to make money, yeah, unfortunately it is. Do you have to? Nah, you don't have to do anything you don't want to do, but do it with clear eyes about your prospects vis a vis the publishing world.

As for me?

I once thought that I could get some books published and make a tidy side income. Now? I'm not so sure. I still have it as a 2024 goal to be published anywhere, but I'm pretty sure that if I do get a book out, it'll be self published. I have friends who have agents and who have traditionally published books and the whole process is hard and depressing and not fun.

[tired-biscuit]

this is like maybe a little specific and really just me rambling

but FIRST of all im obsessed with your portrayal of kiba. he's like always been my fav but his content is so limited so its been away since my imagination flew but phew these last few days reading your blog has been a journey.

but back to the ramble ive been thinking a lot of the brother's bsf trope for him. at first i was riding naru bc bros but then i thought about sasu and the whole prideful uchiha vibe. even in the modern version, then just being like these corporate giants alongside the hyugas and the other ‘noble’ clans. and like maybe kiba isn’t really bsfs with sasu but like the whole ‘genin’ growing up around each other thing. probably all just went through the same school system.

ANYWAY rambles

i imagine like the uchiha ‘princess’, the only daughter and youngest sibling to sasu and ita. and like she’s just really grown up with that whole corpo royalty vibe, getting everything she wants, always supervised low key suppressed LIKE NOTHING NEW HERE low-key maybe even loosely in talks of being engaged to one of the ally corps like hyugas or something the point is its SCREAMING corruption for kiba. like the forbidden fruit. subtle classism, like kiba’s family isn’t what the uchihas would envision for her but like I just imagine her sneaking out with her brother to a uni party or something (like maybe sasu got to go to a public uni and she got the private treatment) and just like bumping into kiba in all his alpha buff man-ness and just like that first spark of lust just like overwhelms her like doesn’t even know whats going on but OH BOY KIbA does and he’s just like ‘yeah I got what you need bbygirl’ and yeah. Asdfsjhkgrhgo I have a lot of thoughts sorry for all the words 🐣

i don’t see kiba and sasuke being friends because kiba is too big of a hater, BUT i think that would even add more to the appeal because, like… he can act like a real proper shithead towards the people he doesn’t particularly like, so scoring sasuke’s little sister? yeah, he’d definitely try it just to get a sense of some kind of victory from it.

and i think it’d be the initial motive at first — the whole ‘haha, i fucked your sister, whatcha gonna do ‘bout it?’ — but then one thing leads to another and suddenly he’s caught… feelings. feelings that he doesn’t really know how to comprehend yet, and it’s weird because you’re like his exact opposite; so fancy and with your nose upturned whenever he winds up in your presence, pushing your whole princess agenda forward. and he knows that he should find it annoying because you’re acting just like your equally as annoying brother, but instead he’s catching himself thinking about you more and more and he’s almost finding it entertaining. pestering you is almost fun to him.

i think he’d wonder what you’d look like without the make up and the pretty skirt. what you’d look like with messy hair instead of it being in that almosy eerie state where each strand is sitting perfectly in place. he wants to see actual sweat coating your face instead of that matt powder he’s seen you reapply once or twice before because you hate the shine on your forehead. he wants to fuck you nasty and ruin that idea of you being a perfect girl in every single situation just so that he can see what you’re really like underneath.

besides that, i also imagine him initially pursuing you because he hates, hates, hates the whole idea behind noble clans, as well as the set of strict, mostly unfair rules that they’ve got going on, because of what they did to hinata. so if you’re his ticket to fuck with them a little bit, hey, why not?

you would find him appealing because he just simply does not give a shit what anybody thinks. he might get pissed off if someone insults him, sure, but he still ends up doing whatever it is that he wants in that moment and he doesn’t apologize for it. plus, his clan is more like one big family instead of a picture on the wall where everyone is smiling their most perfect grin despite the fact that their eyes still end up looking cold.

he’s warm, you know? carefree and dumb and not uptight at all. he finds joy in the little things and instead of spending money on fancy dinners, he buys things cheap because he’s saving up for a roadtrip that he’s planning to go on this summer with his shitty truck. he doesn’t mind getting his hands dirty and he loves his dog more than most people.

…and he’s also the first man who actually looks you in the eyes and tells you you’re full of shit when you start acting bratty and deserve to be called out for it. he treats you like a person instead of delicate glass.