#me putting the blorbos into More situations

[zoloteh-volossya]

I think I know exactly what post you’re referring too and blocked that user (as well as all the people who liked the post) immediately after their string of posts that are horrifically inaccurate readings of both Orin and Minthara, but also joking about Minthara being forced to interact with her rapist for the rest of her life. I’m personally not a fan of the Orinthara ship because it is innately noncon and there is no way to argue that it isn’t, and I despise it being called toxic yuri. The only people I trust with the ship are Minthara fans because they are the only ones who understand the full dynamic between the two. There are some people, like the poster you’re referring too, who have total hate boners for her and only ship Orinthara as a means of punishing her in their heads. And it becomes so obvious that their desire to ship Orinthara is out of complete malice when they only have negative and violent opinions about Minthara and are using “toxic yuri” as a cover.

I can’t even imagine hating a character that much, but still thinking about them all the time. If there is a character I hate, I don’t spend any time thinking about them. At all. They choose to let Minthara live in their heads rent free and it bothers them for some reason, lol.

Yeah. I think that the differentiating factor is care.

To illustrate using a nonsexual, non-BG3 example, in one of my previous fandoms two writers both wrote fics in which the antagonist had a conversation with the protagonist about her crimes. In one fic, the protagonist talked down to the antagonist, listing out all the things she had done wrong while she ranted and raved and screamed. Then she died. Victory!

In the other, even as the antagonist grappled with the magnitude of her failures and the consequences thereof, the author kept her perspective in mind. They used flashbacks to her past to put the audience in her shoes and let her argue her case. And they did it so effectively that I have never felt more sympathetic to this antagonist than I did when reading that scene. She was still wrong. She still died. But the scene landed so much better. The character felt respected by the narrative, her death lacked the almost voyeuristic authorial glee that made the similar scene in the other fic honestly a bit uncomfortable to read.

In a similar vein, lots of Minthara fans write about Orin doing absolutely horrible things to Minthara. But because they care about Minthara (and often also about Orin, who is doing all this for understandable reasons given the absolute shitfuck of a situation that she's coming from) there's a level of respect for the character by the narrative even as she suffers. It's the energy of "I'm going to put my blorbo in situations," it's the phenomenon of taking your favorite and making them bleed because you care about their emotions. Because the point of tragedy is that even if it all ended poorly, it still mattered.

I've seen fic about Orin impregnating Minthara during her time as a slave to the Absolute done, and some of it was done very well. (Orin cut the fetus out of Minthara and killed it, because she's Orin and was actually written in character.) But it worked because the author cared about Minthara, about the horror of the situation, in a way those flippant comments that sparked this conversation did not.

In contrast, if a person who hates a character is talking about them suffering there's this general vibe of, "look at this bitch getting what she deserves", that hangs over the entire conversation like a haze. And because "toxic yuri" encompasses both scenarios but has progressive implications (ooh, look at me paying attention to female characters!) it can easily be used as a shield against criticism for that vibe.

The question, ultimately, both with this Orinthara situation and with the author I discussed above, is whether a person extends the same grace, the same sense of interiority and assumption of an inner life, to the female characters as they do their male faves. And the answer, very often, is "no."

[angelsandmen]

I love charthur but also thinks a lot ab it in a "a guy who's only real (arguably) relationships of any sorts involved him changing or hiding parts of himself and a guy who's probably never been in a long term relationship due to being on his own for twenty-ish(?) years walk into a bar together and try to hold hands" kind of way

[tizzymcwizzy]

a collection of sketches of my favorite guys!

[vulturevanity]

Blorbo moment

(Please don't mention the fact that I forgot Molly's star dandruff aka her second most iconic design element)

[nell0-0]

Wanna draw so much stuff but so little time lately, augh

[quinn-pop]

Mayta Knight 26-28

26 - Dramatic

27 - Reading

28 - Arena

3 left!!

[a-canceled-stamp]

Whumptober 2023 - dialogue

Day 1. Safety Net | Swooning | “How many fingers am I holding up?”

Characters; pairings: Tim, Jason; Tim & Jason

Setting: the manor. In my mind it’s a “Tim is adopted early” AU but can be read differently.

✧˖°.🪐⋆｡°✩

“Hey, hold up!”

“Leave me alone, Jason.”

“What the hell? You can’t just walk away from this!”

“It’s not a big deal.”

“Not a big—you passed out!”

“…only a little.”

“Are you kidding? You were out. Like, fully. Lights out, nobody’s home, the whole shebang. I swear, you even stopped breathing at one point.”

“Okay, that’s an exaggeration. You’re being dramatic.”

“Dude, I had to catch you. If anyone’s being dramatic, it’s you. Literally swooning into my arms.”

“Jason—“

“Listen, I’m just stating the facts. And the facts are, you gotta start taking more care of yourself.”

“I do!”

“Oh really? When was the last time you ate?”

“…you know what, I don’t have to answer any do you questions if I don’t want to.”

“Aha! See? Wait, come on, stop trying to walk away from this, man.”

“Come on, why can’t you just—“

“No. We need to get some nutrients in you, stat. Maybe some gatorade just to get your blood sugar up. Or maybe water first?”

“Jason, I don’t—”

“No, don’t you get it? I’ve had enough of this, alright? Now stand there and don’t move. If you try to run I swear to god I will burn your Tony Hawk poster.”

“…”

“Yeah, I ain’t fucking around. Now, Alfred’s gotta have some bars or shakes around here somewhere. If not I’ll make you a goddamn omelet if I have to. Seriously, Tim, this is ridiculous.”

“Uh, Jason? I think I—“

“Shut your yap. ‘It’s not a big deal’ my ass. News flash: passing out while walking up the stairs is not normal.”

“Jason, I, I think I might—“

“God, what the hell is Bruce even doing. World’s greatest detective and can’t even notice that his own kid is—hey what are you—oh shit.”

✧˖°.🪐⋆｡°✩

[undead-potatoes]

Discovered you can now make custom faces and attach objects to 3D models in CSP v3 and have gone mad with power

[homoerotic-shonen-rival-showdown]

it is the actual finals and I am still getting people complaining about things not being "technically shonen" like buddy ace attorney would not have made it all the way to the tournament finals if I gave a shit about that

[arolesbianism]

Every day I mourn the fact that none of my family and friends give a single shit abt oni lore, I don't wanna keep repeating shit I've already said before on here but every now and then I just remember the horrors™ and nearly explode not being able to scream abt it again

[running-in-the-dark]

hmm. maybe I'm just not worried about moving and everything related to that because of.. The Issues. yeah that's probably more likely than me just not being nervous about it because it's fine.

[outismm]

I DIDNT REALIZE YOUD GOTTEN INTO TF2 AND OSOSAN HELLO?????

IT'S ALL MY MOOTS FAULTS. I BLAME ALL YOU BASTARDS (<3)

[technikki]

sometimes i think abt how ray was originally intended to be successful with his suicide attempt until the editor essentially said ‘no dont do that. that’s stupid’

[emily-mooon]

Nancy for blorbo bingo!

(Incoherent screaming)

Also thank you for asking!

[deoidesign]

the ask from tellih had me thinking... what are your thoughts on a kid au? i bet steve and adam were really cute as kids and i wonder just how different they were then compared to now

I think that's the kind of thing I'd like other people to think about rather than put my own thoughts on the table ^^

There's a million different ways they could have been as kids, and a million different ways they could have grown to be who they are now. So I don't want to put anything into too heavy a canon :)

I also haven't really thought about it too much! since it's not really relevant to the story I'm trying to tell, I'd think about it if it came up but otherwise I like to prioritize the things I think are important to building my story.

[riftwalker-limbro]

we have shared custody at this point

having collaborative ocs with friends will have you saying shit like "what if scimble was bumpus wouldnt that be funny" and then like two weeks later its one of the most important pieces of lore you have