#my personal beef with popular fanons

[slavhew]

murdoc for character opinions

god. murdoc. im admittedly not deep in enough to hard assess my opinions from 2018 vs now, but let's give a quick run through.

i love murdoc. but he's also hard to talk about. so i think its best to jump forward to what i find most compelling about him: it's someone's capacity to grow and change even relatively late in life.

He has a start in life that, speeding over all of THAT, leaves him a very vapid, self centered and cruel person by the time the band becomes a thing. Bit by bit, tooth by pulled tooth, he learns to see things differently.

And this is where that "canon isn't real if i dont look at it"- the continued existence of gorillaz's storyline depends on there being an antagonist, and that is historically Murdoc's role. So a lot of that development will get retconned, glossed over, etc. I don't really blame JH for that anymore, that's just how these things often go with properties that have this kind of extended shelf life.

Murdoc is a person that distills all his hurt into anger, excuses his loneliness as being "by choice" and buries trauma under ego, posturing and hypersexual behavior. But as it is when you form bonds with people, tentative as they might be, they change you. Phase 3 is the climax of this, and phase 6 was both the """final""" relapse of his bad tendencies (post TNN cough) and the end of his arc with The Lost Chord.

THAT ALL BEING SAID, he's silly to me. I count all the material of him being Oddly Polite or giggly as canon whether it's Phil Cornwell breaking character or not.

Murdoc has two faces: one for the paps, and another for the fans. One crude and attention seeking, and a softer more relaxed one for when he ACTUALLY gets to discuss his interests and the music he makes. He plays the media like a fiddle, since having eyes on him is an old skill he's long since mastered.

My possible divergences from fanon at large? I haven't been in touch lately, but I remember some interpretations being popular that I disagree with, so I'll just state my takes:

He's not iredeemable or stupid or remorseless, he grows to care about his bandmates very early on but is VERY slow on the uptake of identifying that affection, and he's much smarter than he lets on. Also no beef to people who ship 2doc but man it is just not my cup of tea. They're coworkers slash fffrriiienndsss?? who needle each other constantly.

AS FOR HEADCANONS: very simple.

A lot of his stunts in the public eye are coordinated- when he said he refuses to get on the stage on other people's terms, this includes the paps. If he's going to be hated, he might as well do that with intention and style

That being said, it's also a self-made excuse to be a debaucherous asshole as well as how he justifies the overindulgence to himself.

Selling his soul had progressive effects on his appearance

green skin, pointy ears, pointier teeth. he used to wear a red contact. he doesn't have to anymore!

the red eyes would be bilateral but in phase 5 the eye injury resulted in anisocoria- bowie-esque. He isn't sure if this is another manifestation of his deal for musical success, or karma.

because of his reduced vision and MULTIPLE stints in prison he is jumpier than ever

he has an unibrow! the fringe hides it because it grows back too fast, and murdoc is vain.

he used to have a fuller face, but as of phase 2 the stardom (drugs, poor self-care) started affecting his appearance. Phase 3 was even more brutal in terms of this. by the time phase 4 rolled around and he got clean, the buccal fat was gone for good, courtesy of plain aging!

short, skinny and not in the healthy way. again, phase 1-2 sees him develop a beer gut under xylophone ribs, phase 3 he's at his worst health-wise. Phase 4 and 6 see him put some real padding on, finally. (5 is a step back due to incarceration)

phase 5 issss fiiiineee... but i prefer respect-false-iconz (aka ezracaution)'s canon divergent exploration of it, The Code

lastly: projection? brother that's the bisexuality, shortness, edginess for show and anger issues. that's just text.

[ssruis]

7 and 12 for the ask game? •v•

12 - favorite NPC:

SEIR💃🏻YU🕺IN💃🏻 SA🕺KU💃🏻RAKO‼️‼️🔛🔝💯

Unless we’re counting nonhuman npcs because I also love nenerobo and usachan. She’s tied with them.

7 - popular hc you disagree with/hc you have that you’re surprised isn’t more popular:

(Under the cut because I don’t shut up)

Do not agree with “kanade is tsukasa’s sibling” at all. It’s cute & no disrespect or hate to the people who enjoy that hc have fun and enjoy yourself. I’ve seen it done well. but as an annoying canon purist I have to say that I think it completely misunderstands both tsukasa’s mindset around being an older brother & his relationship with toya (wrt why he considers toya like a brother).

Tsukasa isn’t adopting younger siblings left and right, he’s just modeled so much of his personality off of being a good older brother that it is deeply entrenched in what he thinks a star should act like. It’s why he places so much importance on being a responsible senior/role model at school. “I want to be a star” & “I want to be a good older brother” get combined in his brain as a kid -> “what a star acts like is (traits that make a good older brother) so I will be doing all of these things when interacting with others” -> he just acts like that now.

He’s very caring & helpful towards everyone but that’s 1) not an “you’re my sibling now” thing 2) often overshadows the fact that he can be pretty self absorbed in fanon. While this helpfulness is definitely genuine and I do think he likes to make other people happy, he also is doing it because it’s how he believes he should be acting as a future star and he likes to be viewed as a responsible mature helpful person. He is doing it for himself AND for others. & notably he’s a lot more likely to show the older-brother-tsukasa side to his close friends & especially his siblings whereas everyone else gets world-future-star-tsukasa.

Toya is his brother because they’ve known each other for like 10 years. And (imo) because there was an unconscious “saki is in the hospital and I can’t do anything to help her and I have nowhere for these big brother tendencies to go. Thankfully there’s a sad little blue thing for me to act like this towards” thing going on in tsukasa’s head & toya was very “sad little blue thing that really needs someone who’s first priority is making toya happy” at that point so these two factors combined to create a very beautiful and strong sibling relationship.

I think half of my beef with it also stems from the fact that this hc often overshadows his relationship with saki (& to a lesser extent toya) in fan works and I adore the relationship tsukasa&saki have so it makes me :(.

Kanade is Tsukasa’s age, they’re both nearly adults, & kanade has niigo and her grandmother to support her. While I think it would be sweet if they became friends I really can’t see them forging a strong bond as it is. Also I know this hc popped up because hirose said he’d want kanade as a sister but I also want to point out that for that same question toki said he’d want tsukasa as a brother iirc. So.

Honorable mentions go to any form of angstkasa, any interpretation of rui&nene drifting apart that places the blame on nene, any hc that makes rui malicious & conniving or emu stupid, “x female character and x male character are siblings” with zero reason for it beyond the fact that for some reason a m/f dynamic can’t be platonic it either has to be familial or romantic, etc.

Hc I have that isn’t more popular… I know it’s probably been disproven in canon, but I like to think that Rui’s mom’s job is very animal focused (zoologist maybe) and this is why he has a fondness for so many strange animals and a wealth of animal facts ready to be deployed at any moment. I also think he watches random documentaries/video essays/podcasts/etc while working on stuff and this is partially why he knows so much random shit.

I also think rui is a dog person (he likes cats he just really likes dogs) & tsukasa is a person who claims to not like cats but is universally loved by cats. like they will not leave him alone. so now he’s fond of them and has become a cat person.

Other assorted ones:

> nene does like physical touch (from friends) she’s just also so so so prone to over thinking every single social interaction that she doesn’t feel comfortable initiating it. so emu being someone who wants to be touching her 24/7 actually works well for her.

> I think emu can ride horses. Her family has horse money and she seems like a kid who would like doing that. She can understand horses… horse whisperer… wxs has to go to a stable for some reason and a super skittish horse approaches emu and really bonds with her & rui is like (looks at emu and the horse) (looks at nene) ahh I see.

> tsukasa would watch and read a lot of musicals/plays/etc when he was home alone as a form of comfort and this is why he talks like that. Still thinking about “parting is such sweet sorrow” or whatever he said to vbs in the new years event like we get it you’re a theatre kid tsukasa.

> nene has some degree of coding knowledge and dabbled in game making in the time period after she froze on stage & before she joined wxs. she never finished making a game because 1. Really hard 2. Anytime she’d be struggling with something it would remind her that she wasn’t as close with rui anymore and she’d get sad

> emu has a lot of random strange talents but because she’s friends with rui “oh i know how to do [thing he has literally zero reason to be good at]” kamishiro this has never been relevant. She could, however, break out her parkour skills at any second (ominous).

> emu’s looney tunes esque parkour skills are a result of going places and climbing things she was not supposed to as a kid. Shes managed to keep her joyous and whimsical outlook and thought process partially because she’s been working at pxl since she was little so she’s constantly interacting with kids.

> nene thinks reptiles are pretty cool but she could never own one because feeding one mice would gross her out & she would die if she had to feed one bugs.

> When wxs were doing their ambassador shows shousuke would get them 2 hotel rooms with 2 beds each but because wxs are pack animals (of the clown genus) emu would frequently drag nene to rui + tsukasa’s room and they would all hang out until tsukasa made them all go to sleep at a reasonable time.

> tsukasa & emu can sleep anywhere anytime. Nene has mild insomnia and rui has both awful insomnia and struggles to sleep unless he’s somewhere familiar. even if he’s dead tired. Somehow the sound of Tsukasa’s cartoonishly loud snoring became familiar enough to rui’s brain that it made it easier for him to sleep.

[bloomingdead]

What do you comprehensively about focus of the heart? It’s definitely a project that’s certainly *there* with some talented folks on it.

This ask has been sitting in my box for a while, and I’ve resisted responding to it because I really don’t want beef with anyone on the project. My personal experience with those I have engaged with has been unpleasant, but that doesn’t fault their product nor everyone working on it. Also, I may jump around quite a bit because a lot of my feelings on FOTH have nothing to do with the game itself (it’s still in development) and everything to do with the “discourse” and reasons surrounding its creation.

Let me preface by saying, I’m incredibly impressed that the artists involved were able to come together to create a project inspired by the fandom they all love so much. Artist groups are a really great way to gain visibility as an artist. You could be making art that never reaches the people who would want to see it, but if you group together with other similar artists and support each other, your audiences begin to overlap and grow. That seems to be working really well for the people behind FOTH.

I should also warn that I am not the biggest fan of “fanon” content. I haven’t read a fanfic in its entirety in at least 10 years and I don’t make much content other than the occasional doodle and think-piece ramblings. I have nothing against shipping, headcanons, and AU’s. I partake in all of these myself, I have no issue with it. What I do have an issue with is people who say a creator intended for fanon that doesn’t exist in canon. Or people twisting dev’s words to their benefit, pulling things out of context to bolster their opinions. This has created conflict in the past between me and an artist or few on this project.

Shipping is very popular in the Horizon fandom, and has been since the first game was released. Zero Dawn provided us with many potential new friends for Aloy, some of which many fans were left confused as to how Aloy truly felt about them. After all, Ashly Burch who portrays Aloy is pansexual, and she claimed that over half the characters she’s played are queer. And Aloy, although inexperienced and unsure of herself in Zero Dawn, was definitely left flustered at some point by many of the popular shipping characters.

So why did it take the release of Burning Shores, a DLC that finishes with Aloy declaring her romantic attraction to a new companion, for the fandom to put together a dating sim? The Burning Shores DLC was released on April 19th 2023. The first post on the Official FOTH Tumblr was made on June 7th 2023. Their “About Us” post from the same day, says in the second sentence that they decided to create the game, “in the wake of negative internet discourse about fandom shipping.”

Negative discourse? What does that even mean in this context? Are they referring to devout fanon members harassing the game devs and Kylie Liya Page for the creation of Seyka as Aloy’s love interest? Who the fuck, other than people mad about Seyka, were creating fandom discourse around shipping Horizon characters at that time? Kylie Liya Page has literally been cyberbullied from the day the game came out. Yes, it’s died down considerably, but the only negativity surrounding shipping in the fandom was created by the very people who love shipping the most. Kylie was still experiencing the thick of this “negative internet discourse” six months ago.

So many of the very same people who desperately wanted Aloy to get her first romance, are the ones who were most off-put by Seyka’s story. It wasn’t good enough, it was forced, rushed, chosen “for me.” No, Seyka was chosen for Aloy, not you. A lot of people seem to forget that the role-playing element in Horizon is more of a tone-check. Heart, Brain, Fist. You’re not choosing Aloy's response, but how she responds. Is she going to address this compassionately, pragmatically, or stoically? Your attitude will be remembered in future conversations, but your choices have no effect on the quests or ending of the game. Your options in quests are to complete them as intended, or don’t do the quest. 

We were never going to get multiple options for Aloy’s romantic partner in this game. She could still have another! Seyka doesn’t have to be the endgame, most people don’t end up with their first love. But how shitty would it be for us to lose Seyka completely as a character in the third game, because Kylie doesn’t want to come back and face that abuse again, or because the devs don’t want to subject her to that or lose more fans over it? What if they get rid of Seyka with a shitty write-off, and then Aloy ends up alone? We’ve now seen that she’s capable of opening her heart and experiencing that kind of character development. It would suck to have that taken away.

When you’re allowed to do whatever you want in fanon space, why go out of your way to harass the creators of the canon? Why bully fellow fans for having different opinions than you? You were already imagining these made up relationships that don’t exist, why does Aloy having a canon love interest ruin that? Why is Aloy having a canon love interest a disruption to fanon? It isn’t a disruption to fanon, clearly, as the creation of and support for FOTH has proved. Not only just by simply existing, but by their inclusion of Seyka in the game.

I was accused of being a bigot because I posted on my own blog that Aloy reads as a lesbian to me. I was harassed after Burning Shores came out for joking that we now have more proof of Aloy being a lesbian than bisexual. I’m a silly little lesbian, I see gay bitch, I want a lesbian. But that’s an opinion that exists in my mind, and on tumblr. It’s definitely not something I’m going to bring to the devs and accuse them of dancing around. Because still, as it stands, Aloy is most likely coded as pan/bi. It doesn’t warrant me or the thousands of other lesbian fans being harassed over a headcanon, though.

To me, and probably most people who genuinely feel normally about this game, there are way bigger issues in this fandom than anti-ship. There have been way bigger concerns surrounding how the developers and actors have been treated by the fans. There are way worse attacks conducted by fans who love shipping content than those who hate it. There have been worse attacks on people in this fandom by people "defending" their favorite ships than by outsiders in the gaming community that invade our spaces to tell us how mannish and ugly Aloy is. The people who think shipping is the biggest point of discourse in this fandom are most likely the same ones perpetrating it.

FOTH portrays their product as bravely pushing the boundaries on something that is going to receive backlash because it is shipping content. It represents itself as an amalgamation of all the shipping content in the fandom, dedicated to it. The language applied is intended to attract anyone who is cool with shipping, which I’m pretty sure is over 95% of this website. Definitely over 95% of the Horizon fandom. A genius move, from a marketing standpoint.

“What? That’s ridiculous, why are they facing negative discourse for a silly little dating sim? I’m cool with shipping, they get my support.” 

It is ridiculous, isn’t it? Tumblr is full of shipping, how is a tumblr account for a dating sim finding itself in a position where it has to preemptively address negative discourse on the first day of the official blog existing? It’s because the negative discourse they’re warning against isn’t aimed at shipping, it’s aimed at the aggression seen from the creators on their personal blogs in regards to their favorite ship. But they opened with the discourse statement so that if they ended up receiving criticism from the people they bullied, there’d be a potential for fans of their project to blindly defend them because FOTH prefaced that all their haters just hate shipping. 

That one statement from their account tells me that FOTH seems to be picksy-choosing what issues in this fandom warrant concern. Apparently, calling Aloy a lesbian is a bigger offense than sending death threats to actors and developers. Apparently, the worst discourse to happen in the Horizon fandom is because of those who defended Seyka from unwarranted hate and not the people who were enraged with her addition to the series. Apparently, FOTH wants to ignore all the harassment the devs of Horizon went through, but keep their fans aware that any so-called hate (criticism) that the FOTH creators face is simply unjustified and toxic. They opened their blog with an attempt to alienate anyone who might ever have a reason to criticize the game.

I won’t be playing FOTH, I have little interest in it besides innate curiosity. The closest I get to touching dating sims is fantasy RPG’s though, so I likely wouldn’t be playing it regardless.

As I stated in the opening, my feelings about FOTH have nothing to do with the game itself and rather the people behind it and the circumstances that brought it to fruition. I don’t think every artist behind it has the altruistic goal of simply creating something fun for everyone in the fandom to enjoy, I think some of them are just scratching an itch. If they were looking for something productive to place their frustration into, they found it. I’d be interested to know which pairings end up being the most fleshed out, and which ones are lacking. Especially since every artist got assigned to a character they genuinely enjoy. DM me privately to place your bets. 

So, I guess, TLDR; I’m not going to try and stop anyone from playing Focus On The Heart, but I don't trust all the people working on it nor their intentions. For Reasons™.

[deimostes]

okay god. some ark swap au notes <3

important to note that maria the hedgehog (or hedgemari, as i call her in my head) is still disabled in this au. experiences chronic pain. the inhibitor rings help, but the chronic pain was never something addressed by gerald since he was like well, she's the ultimate lifeform, she can't get sick (gerald ableism moment but hey this guy famously did not consider the feelings of the ultimate lifeform in sa2).

the dialogue of maria and shadow's "what do you think it's like on earth" conversation doesn't change much from sa2 - maria proceeds to talk about how gerald wanted to make people happy thru science - BUT shadow is still the one to wonder why he was born and that maybe on earth he'd find the answers. it'd still be something he wonders as a terminally ill human teenager. i'm trying to maintain their mainline personalities even with the similarities they have (they share the same soul after all!), and i think very much like how people portray maria in fanon, shadow would be Tired of his life up on the ark. had he lived to see earth he wouldve ended up very similar to canon, finding joy in things like lavender and tiramisu and supporting local convenience stores, but hey sorry kid you gotta die for the narrative </3

while designing hedgemari i didn't wanna overcomplicate her like a lot of the popular mobian maria designs from back in the day (no disrespect they're fun but kindove A Lot compared to the sonic design philosophy). i wanted to keep her silhouette similar to shadow's, keeping in mind the theory of him being based on the hidden palace mural in s3&k (and him being star shaped). i think it's fun how nicely it all aligned that she looks like super sonic, so that's where people's confusion of her and sonic would come from in this universe.

hedgemari is also not part black arms like canon shadow is! i have yet to actually think in depth of the events of shadow 05 in this au but i know it would go pretty different regarding black doom's motivations for wanting her to join him AND maria's personality and her approaching her amnesia differently from shadow. (spoilers: black doom has beef with a long-dead gerald for breaking the deal of making her with his blood and wants maria's power for the black arms anyway. he's like a fucked up stepdad instead of bio-dad like shadow's case)

don't get it twisted though. she still has a rivalry with sonic and can be a little blunt and mean. she's maria, but she's not exactly the same polite maria from canon, even if the kindness in her heart drives her same principles. she gets underestimated due to her appearance (and being a girl lol), but it doesn't stop her from being ruthless to a point.

[relentless-endurance]

Hello, I love to encourage violence, please any of the following Choose Violence ask game questions you feel up to answering: 1, 3, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 12, 13, 16, 19, 20, 21, 23, 24, and 25!

'Isn't that basically all of them?' Yes! yes, it is. If there are any I didn't list that you wanted to answer, feel free to answer those too. I love drama, give me the chisme, peel it and feed it to me like squapes.

LIKE SQUAPES. fun fact: i have a squapes keychain on my lanyard. (alongside shoebill, Crow destiny 2 and (redacted) from Pandaemonium)

I will do xiv because. because.

answers them all because i have the day off, why not

the character everyone gets wrong

thats tough bc every character has those ppl that get them utterly wrong; I have particular beef though with the "emet was right and hydaelyn was evil" crowd because it just. it glosses over everything Emet did and acts like what Hydaelyn had to do was the worstest ever amen how dare she, when its like. Both of these characters did what they thought was necessary, but there is a gulf of difference between "I would let billions die to bring my world back" and "I sundered the star to avert a far worse disaster"

because i think people fail to realize. they were just going to keep sacrificing to Zodiark lol. (ALSO THERES ENDWALKER SPOILER STUFF as to why I will die on the hill defending my crystal mom)

3. screenshot or description of the worst take you've seen on tumblr

see last ask! that was a dm a person sent me lmao. at least??? they warned me???

6. which ship fans are the most annoying?

this is going to be hilarious coming from me but i'm not much a fan of most zenoswol or emetwol shippers (in spite of enjoying the former) because the discourse surrounding it all is fucking. INSANE. and there are just ways they mischaracterize both characters that drive me fucking BONKERS. So I stay in my brainworm corner with select people and I keep emet selch as a bitter ex because its honestly a lot funnier

7. what character did you begin to hate not because of canon but because how how the fandom acts about them?

Amon/Fandaniel. Specifically the clown wearing Asahi's skinsuit and the guy from crystal tower. there is just. a vibe. about it. that i do not fucking like how the fans engage with it. i can't explain it concretely it just fucking bothers me.

8. common fandom opinion that everyone is wrong about

sorrows of werlyt is not gaius' redemption it is him suffering consequences of his actions. if its anything close to redemption atonement is probably a better word for it and also the wol still fuckin hates his guts you can see the faces in the cutscenes. he calls u a fried when at best ur coworkers for that.

also i'm a stormblood enjoyer till i fuckin die. this is not a discussion i had fun thats it that the message

9. worst part of canon

the fact that ARR didn't lean more into the fact that you were the WoL from 1.0, ARR's writing in general.

also in general there is more bits in the msq where i wish we could uh. bite back a little harder instead of just being a silent protagonist.

10. worst part of fanon

oh god. theres a lot. probably the uwu soft imperialism that people get up to with certain ships (esp bc certain characters canonically and categorically do NOT give a fuck about politics at all)

12. the unpopular character that you actually like and why more people should like them

Aside from the obvious female characters I will defend until i fucking die (Lyse, Minfilia, ETC.).... Maxima! I just think he's neat. like was actually being genuine as a Populares, and saw that shit was fucked and noped out. also here, have this screen shot where my crimes gave him thot boots:

13. worst blorboficiation

answered in last ask! theres 1 ur about to meet and 1 thats pandemonium relevant but yeah. bluuuuuhhhhh your milage may very

16. you can't understand why so many people like this thing (characterization, trope, headcanon, etc)

Huh. I'm actually not super sure here besides things I've already bitched about. WAIT.

I fucking HATE when ppl have their wol who did not let go of heavensward trauma. like in that their wol didn't develop past it. especially if they're dark knights because. WHAT WAS THE POINT?

everyone handles grief differently ofc and its not a linear thing ever, but its so ?????????? to me that its like "my wol hasn't changed or let go or processed this at all".

what is the point if your character is never going to change or be affected? especially getting to shadowbringers??? thats all about grief and having a primo example of what NOT PROCESSING YOUR GRIEF does to you and can push you to?

like i'm not saying they shouldn't be affected at all, considering how much Haurchefant haunts you in the MSQ but like come on now. you've gotta move in some kind of direction.

(also smaller and pettier pet peeve: super 2edgy4me Azems. it feels so against what Azem was man, idk.)

19. you're mad/ashamed/horrified you actually kind of like...

my taste is flawless and impeccable and perfect. zenoswol may be the closest thing to an answer but like nah, its fucking funny.

20. part of canon you found tedious or boring

most of early ARR before waking sands

there is a bit after the first endwalker trial that i've sort of speedran on my subsequent runs, its not BAD, but it is a little jarring tonally the first time. i mildly appreciate it in hindsight because AFTER that endwalker cuts the brakes and is a semi rolling the down the hill at top speed emotionally, but it still like. please let me move on.

21. part of canon you think is overhyped

alexander raids. mid as fuck honestly.

22. your favorite part of canon that everyone else ignores

oagh unfortunately i am a girlie who enjoys all the popular things in canon. The best answer is probably the Four Lords trial series. Its one of my favorites but people don't seem to talk about it much

23. ship you've unwillingly come around to

I actually don't have a ship that fits this. I only like like 2 of the canon/canon ships and i've always been a fan of most of the wolships that float around

24. topic that brings up the most rancid discourse

Emet Selch. I love grandpa war crimes, he's one of my favorite characters and favorite villains ever, i have literal merch of him, but holy shit he is the reason for so much twitter discourse. which is kind of funny and on brand but also jesus christ can people please just relax and learn to mute/block people and tags aaaa

25. common fandom complaint that you're sick of hearing

i don't know if this common or i just saw it a lot given my twitter algorithm but people have so. much. beef. with people who Persephone Azems. for some reason.

the reason is apparently they're most insufferable kind of straight girl shipper/emet selch fan but like aside from an occasional encounter on a wolqotd post, the two people i know/know of who actually have an Azem named Persephone are.

an mlm whose noriety comes from... being one of the biggest G'rahawol content creators/shippers

one of my lesbian friends who chose it for not shipping related reasons

and most of the time their highest crime is. an Azem named Persephone. that ships Azemet. like any genuine complaints there might be are like. not unique to this VERY NICHE SUBSET OF FANS but apparently they're sooooo common and soooo annoying.

like maybe just block and move on bc some of the complaining i see borders on being genuinely misogynistic like. its fandom pixels. RELAX.

[silenthillmutual]

For the violence 🔥: 8, 12, 22, and 25 (concerning either Pathologic or the Souls games)

8: common fandom opinion that everyone is wrong about

daniil is not a wild partyboy. like that interpretation makes 0 sense for his character. all he does is hyperfocus on defeating death to the detriment of all else. i have literally never understood this vision of him as a hedonist. i get that it's wish fulfillment to make characters wild and provocative but that is just a different character altogether. and it's so bizarre that people will do this when andrey is literally right there. genuinely wondering what fucking game everyone else played.

also do fanon designs count here because i am sick to bastard death of seeing young thin dainty white eileen the crow. actually just sick to bastard death of seeing thin interpretations of characters in any media ever but as of late i'm like would y'all stop de-beefing alfred and solaire. at least with artemy people have the excuse of his model looking thin despite textual evidence supporting him being built like a bear but what is the fucking excuse with the other two. everyone is a coward.

12: the unpopular character that you actually like and why more people should like them

something i love actually about patho is that pretty much every character has a lover out there, so even if i don't like them i know someone else does. personally i'm a fan of victor kain, especially in classic where andrey says that victor actually wants to leave town and get an education. i think that's why he is the closest to daniil of the family, but despite seeming like the normalest Kain he is absolutely still deranged. he's just kind of polite about it. i don't know that i have a reason people should like him, though, because generally with my faves i understand why people don't.

closer to the goal here would be specifically classic aglaya, i love her. she's so wordy. it's easy to get lost in her manipulations because she seems so straightfoward. there is truth in what she says, of course, and we as the player know that, but that doesn't mean she doesn't have her own objectives. i think she's fascinating, especially as the routes go on, seeing her lose her patience by the time you get to the changeling route. people always say they want morally gray woman characters and she's one of them!! which is a big reason to like her. she's ruthless but sympathetic. and i think that's very neat.

22: your favorite part of canon that everyone else ignores

so many people are in a rush to characterize daniil as The Worst Person Ever that they miss my favorite type of daniil quest which is "these kids are doing something dangerous and i must intervene" aka, dadkovsy moments. i'm especially fond of him running off to find these kids' missing dads on day ???? (sometime after the army arrives) because they're crying about it and know he'll help them. i see so many people (cough cough reddit) characterizing daniil as hating children based on a line that as far as i know he never even says in pathologic 2, which he would theoretically say to clara, about not liking children. and it's just people taking that statement at face value while ignoring what actually happens in the game and it's so frustrating to watch people fall for that over and over.

25: common fandom complaint that you're sick of hearing

i have. so many. i have rewritten this answer like three times now. but i think the thing that really bugs me is when people are like, "no one is talking about / writing fic about / drawing x character because they're too busy talking about / writing about / drawing y character who is boring / evil / morally inferior because they are popular." like i get it. being a fan of a side character sucks. being a fan of a rare pairing sucks. but like. as someone who has in the past and sometimes does still write for side characters and rare pairings, where are you all when it comes to interacting with the content that is being made? people will complain to the ends of the earth about the lack of gen fic. so why the hell aren't any of you commenting on it or sharing it? i have written it. my friends have written it. i know how little interaction it gets. if you want to see it you have to nurture it. like the concept of fandom is built around interaction, if you're not willing to interact then like as a fic author i cannot fucking help you. idk that whole attitude just. grates on me.

[thegeminisage]

6, 13, 18?

HI BESTIE ty for asking sorry i didnt do it last night I Went To Bed. lets fuckin go

6. which ship fans are the most annoying?

well, look, the obvious answer would be those j*hnlock truthers, and i do hope those tjlc people are having a wretched day rn wherever they are, but ACTUALLY im actually choosing atla for this just to say (sorry) i hate zu//kka SO MUCH. i hate it so much, it's unreal. i don't particularly have beef with the shippers necessarily but i think the concept is so fucking lame. it's a classic case of migratory slash fandom paired with a side of misogyny. the thought process goes like "zuko is rotting holes in my brain > want to ship him with someone > i don't want to ship him with a female character > the only one left is sokka." (even though suki is right there.) aang is out on the basis of being a baby and the rest of the gaang is girls. if you don't like zutara that's fine, but sokka/zuko is the SAME THING with less anger issues and less women. katara is kind of a devisive character to begin with (this is misogyny) but then one time i saw someone deride zutara for being "straight" to reason why shipping zuko with sokka was superior and i have never forgiven it. IT'S THE SAME SHIP. like HOW was this popular enough to PIT ZUKO/SOKKA/SUKI IN THE OT3 SEMIFINAL POLL? hello?? what were they doing there?? suki and zuko speak TWO LINES to one another! god! i guess that's better than using your ship to excuse hating suki but jesus christ it's so transparent just say you hate women and go

13. worst blorboficiation

i'm not doing this one or your other one for spn bc someone else sent in these exact numbers so i am choosing teen wolf. what im gonna say is so controversial but it's actually peter hale and it's not even fanon that did this IT'S CANON. i used to be a big peter fan and then it got completely ruined. ok so peter's whole thing, right, is that he's a deeply horrible person and that kate argent burned every molecule of humanity out of him during the hale fire. okay, got it. fuck yeah. that's rad. SO WHY THEN. IN THE SEASON 3 FLASHBACK EPISODE. WAS HE ACTING EXACTLY THE SAME AS HE DID AS AN ADULT. and this was the one thing that fanon was getting RIGHT. pre-fire versions of peter in fic were wildly different to post-fire versions BECAUSE THAT WAS THE IMPLICATION. peter works perfectly as a villain because his actions are reprehensible but his motives are justified which makes him COMPLEX and with one episode they RUINED IT. it speaks to a larger problem of jeff davis backtracking a lot of stuff that was said or implied in season 1 (such as kate preying on derek when he was underage) for censorship or what the fuck ever. now whenever i see peter in anything the only thing i wanna do is roll my eyes. they made him like him for ten whole minutes in 6A and that was the best it ever got again. sorry to peter hale fans.

18. it’s absolutely criminal that the fandom has been sleeping on…

i won't list my teenwolf rarepair here, but that. oh, wait, actually, my ff13 rarepair. fang & lightning are WAY BETTER than fang & vanille. this on the basis of 1. hot. that section where you can do double commando. sexy. 2. everyone keeps calling vanille a kid and it weirds me out to ship her with someone who calls her that/thinks of her that way 3. lightning/fang is sort of the same dynamic as lightning/snow which i love in a NONROMANTIC way in that lightning is the straight man, very stoic, and fang is so flippant and casual about everything and so open with her emotions that it gets on her nerves until it becomes endearing. and theyre both quite In Charge generally so when lightning is like well every monster is one step closer to rescuing vanille they keep each other going in that same way, out of sheer stubbornness. anyway 10/10 ship dynamic i completely understand and respect fang/vanille fans but i wish fang/lightning got the same amt of attention

[ASK MEME]

[b0kksu]

             # 𝐛𝟎𝐤𝐤𝐬𝐮: highly canon divergent gojo satoru of jujutsu kaisen. various mature themes will be present, none fandom affiliated, cross-over friendly, original character friendly. a case study in the multitude of reincarnation, the hysteria of prophecy, a slaughterhouse of the sacrificial lamb, the god of infinity, the god upon the mountains, the requiem of the Ainu.

cereza / 25+ / they / them / heavy metal lover.

I write Gojo as transmasc, if there is a problem, any notion of conservative nature or transphobia towards my muse, you can leave. Furthermore, ships that refuse to acknowledge his queerness, identity, along with sexuality will be dissolved && hard blocked. I have zero time, zero desire, and zero want to deal with any of that. Do not push fanon Gojo on me, I don’t write toxic masculinity or some dom daddy, go read fanfiction.

Mostly this blog is canon divergent while acknowledging canon events, though, I’ve highly cultivated this story over the duration of two years. I will not be amending anything at this point even with the series being over.

I'm gucci with other Gojo's but at the time being, I would prefer to not be followed by them not because of dupe anxiety, I don't have that on my end but others. Please do not steal my headcanons, graphics, ect. Yes, we write a highly popular canon and most Gojo's will have some sort of similarity but, there are unique differences I can tell that are lifted.

I am a mun that is more than fine with NSFW content, though, if you’re only here for that you can leave. Fetishizing my muse, oversexualization, continuously harping on physical attributes rather than the story tend to squick me out. Yes, I enjoy writing erotica but I am within my right to turn down whoever I chose.

For those who are curious on ships I often prefer to write that are canonical - sukugo, nanago, I have zero idea if there is a name for it but Hiromi x Satoru is pretty neat. I only write Gego too, though, at the time I have a partner thus will not be entertaining these prospects. Ship wise, I do practice exclusivity while it’s not asked in return, it is preferred. I will be practicing duoshipping thus, taking on two variations of a canon muse. Though, I have zero interest with doing so when it comes to Geto Suguru as this blog is heavily established with an exclusive ship.

There is a difference between writing whump material while handling heavy subjects with grace, respect, and understanding. I am incredibly cautious when dealing with topics of DV, SA, ect. Primarily, if your muse hinders on the constant usage of such subjects while contradicting the writing, I will block and move on. I do not write dead dove material, I do not write whump, I handle everything with the critical thinking skills one needs to operate such heavy topics && assure that the dash is comfortable while being respected. This is not to say I ignore these topics but, I can tell the difference between someone romanticizing && glorifying these subjects versus someone who is using them to properly narrate a story that they wish to convey a message. I do not support pro-ship content, I do not support pedophilia, transphobia, misogyny, or anything else in such a manner. Bigotry && social political ignorance will never be tolerated, thank you.

If you are blocked, there is a high key reason. Harassment of any kind is not warranted or welcomed, please respect basic boundaries. Furthermore, I am someone who does believe in callouts for exhibiting behavior that is dangerous to the community at a whole. Protecting yourself or others is never beef or drama.

Hello, I am Cereza, 25+ / Latino / Chronic Depresso / nonbinary friend with a love for heavy metal, cinema, literature, and coffee. I’m an extremely introverted person so don’t take my silence for not being personally invested I just burn out. For disclaimer: I have Asperger's, thus I can be absent minded or things tend to go over my head but I pride myself in being able to speak logically with a clear understanding so if you ever feel like we must have a conversation that is of importance; I’m your person. Btw, I work from home but because of that while I am available, I am not at the same time. Family always comes first in my life while having a social life is very important to me, those who can't understand that, well, you know what to do.

icon template: lavenderph

[gammagoop]

@3000-200-grains-of-salt

well first of all, thank you so much! i'm really glad, because thats exactly what i strive to achieve :D

and also thank you for letting me talk about these things because i loooooove rambling

here's the list (the last life members were added manually so sorry if they look a bit odd) ->

all of these rankings are subject to change, but this is where i'm at right now!

the second tier might seem like a bit of an odd distinction from the first, and it is, because it describes a kind of abstract 'vibe' i get from them that i'm not sure how to communicate to other people :p

here's some more in-depth thoughts about a handful of these:

under the cut because it got looooooooongggg

these are in reference to how i see their 'base state', basically just how they are most consistently. beef is human even though he became alien-ish in season 8, whereas cub changes visually because i think he just does that regardless of season or lore. (can't pin him down! one episode he is a normal man and the next theres something Different)

i also am not taking into account the empires server, because unlike hermitcraft or the life series, those guys are specifically designated as characters in a story-- so it doesnt have bearing on that 'base state'

i've tossed around hybrid ideas for false before (eagle is popular in fanon i think, but i also thought it would be cool if she were a bat [mcc9 is close to my heart]) but i think she works best to me as a human

i debated where the last 4 people in the 'normal human' tier should go tbh. impulse and skizz read as normal guys to me but i also haven't completely settled on that with them. bigb is like. the sweetest person ever which made me thing hrmmm maybe he's *inhumanly* nice but no i think its important he's human because inhuman kindness is actually extremely human and beautiful. and jimmy..... jimmy.... let me make another bullet point for him

if anything jimmy would go in the second tier. i know the canary curse thing is popular fanon and i think that's fun but honestly, in a similar way to bigb, i think thats just the way humans can be sometimes (obviously, since jimmy is actually a real human) and im so attached to the concept of people being 'supernatural' in extremely natural ways. i always find a way to bring in my philosophies when i talk about this stuff........ anyways . what i mean with jimmy is that you might think he is cursed and doomed but actually its just a bad string of events and he will thrive despite them

etho...................................................... my etho thoughts are so lengthy idk if i can put them all here

honestly keralis could be anything. i think keralis is hilarious because no one really agrees on how to draw him, and it's highly dependent on any one artist's style. because his skin is cartoonish and irl he's just an adult man with a big grey beard and i feel like even his voice is a wildcard. i can't pin keralis. i never could

joel. joel. i am a joel fan 5ever. i dont have much else to say about him...... other than i think we as a people should start giving him more facial hair. i'm doing my part. are you?

everyone in the 3rd tier from the top except stress is like. they are completely visually human but they're not *actually* human and i, me, mason, haven't decided on what exactly makes them inhuman. its just their aura

whereas stress (the exception) is completely visually human but she has a bunch of weird beady eyes under her hair swoop (you can kind of see them in my hermitaday stress). hence, stress monster. but she's not a 'monster' in terms of personality. she's full of joy.

cub and pearl are similar in terms of i think they change appearance sometimes. cub moreso than pearl. i think it just kind of.... happens.... with cub. he's like innately tied to supernatural happenings (not just through convex) so he's just kinda visually unpredictable. personality wise he is always the same, though. wheras pearl is like some sort of celestial body who you would genuinely believe is human until like a full moon or something where she can't keep the appearance up. that's my pearl lore. she's very grounded and human in terms of personality though

scar. scar? idk. similar to cub except he changes appearance for like. 'roles'. i dont even Know with scar. he's like mostly human but sometimes he got elf ears. what's up with that guy. idk that's scar.

the only one in the 'nonhuman/hybrid' tier that i dont have a set 'species' for is tango. he could be like an elemental or something.....? or he's just a weird humanoid. ? shrugs. cave beast this season.

all the others there are p obvious though. cleo zombie gem deer ren dog jevin slime (i dont actually watch jevin that much but he was an obvious pick for this category soooo)

doc gets his own tier because he has so much going on. not a fiber of his body is human. god bless

i think? thats all

if i made any typing errors in that just ignore it pls... if it bothers me too much i'll edit the post to fix it once i get the energy to read back over these . passes out

saw your ask for the canon/fanon/your design challenge, have you done skizz?

tempting because i love drawing skizz but honestly my design for him isn’t all that different from canon or even fanon

i know the fanon right now is that he’s an angel/part angel but recently i’m not the biggest participator in hybrid designs :p

(i answered this ask and then proceeded to use this ask as an excuse to ramble about some of my design process….)

i do think its really cute though, especially when paired with demon impulse, because their personalities don’t perfectly match what would be expected from angels and demons typically.

skizz is wayyy more chaotic and impulse is betrayed more times than he betrays other people, just as examples, yet i still find the designs fun as a duo!

(begs the question though — angel and demon from what? the christian heaven and hell? the minecraft heaven and hell? is this a watcher lore thing that i don’t know about because i don’t keep up with the watcher lore? probably none of those actually, it doesnt really need explained [like how theres no explanation really needed for how cleo’s a sentient zombie, its all for fun])

i don’t really do hybrid designs as much as fanon does because my goal with designing them is to capture their vibe, or how i perceive their personality. like a person who’s watched a lot of hermitcraft but has never seen hermitcraft fanart could look at my drawing and say “i’m almost certain that’s bdubs”. and doing hybrids doesnt always fit in to that for me! you’ve probably noticed i’ve gone super back and forth on my zed design, particularly whether he should have long or short hair and whether he should be a sheep hybrid or not. i’m partial to the ‘not’ but i havent really decided yet— we’ll see!

though if a person’s mc skin is already a hybrid or if that just fits well with their energy (ren the canonical dog ; gem just reads as a deer/similar to me) i do draw them as that! i just don’t always hop on fanon hybrids, like grian is never an avian or any other hybrid in my recent drawings, and etho has become more and more human as well, etc.

i should make a chart or something of how i choose these things. like a tierlist— human to nonhuman. would anyone want that. would anyone be interested. leave a comment below if you are intwrested and dont forget to subscribe and smash that. fucking like button 🫡

[hawkeykirsah]

Here is my first fill for the @codywankissbingo​ 2022!

The Things We Learn (or Not)

feat. Cody having to deal with people making various assumptions about him, his brothers, and his relationship with Obi-Wan.

CWKB card under the cut!

[egglands-worst]

if people came here for submas. just remember that i am an undertale stan first and foremost. there is always undertale. even if i am currently taken by submas. undertale is There. under the surface. poking through every once in a while and it will never leave. i practically have a whole physical part of my brain dedicated to undertale. undertale THE special interest supreme. it's a good game go play undertale. sobs

[castielcommunism]

ive been watching supernatural since it first aired and ive never once got involved with the fandom until last week and so i must ask...though i am afraid of the answer...what is a samgirl and what makes their brand of fanon particularly toxic/obnoxious

oh god well okay so. this is TO MY UNDERSTANDING as a newcomer to the fandom. probably not the best person to be explaining this but I will do my best. if any of this is wrong/incomplete people can feel free to correct me. I’m also gonna try to be as neutral as possible and talk about the perception in the fandom at large as opposed to my own personal opinion on the validity of any of this. obligatory disclaimer that I have samgirl mutuals, they are my friends, this is not trying to start beef I swear lmao.

the spn fandom is very sectarian, with the destiel side (“desticule”) being the largest faction by a wide margin. people tend to identify their favourite characters by calling themselves (x)girls. deangirls and casgirls are both the norm in the desticule, with dean being the more common of the two. “samgirl” means the same thing, and this group is usually placed in opposition to the destiel side of the fandom, either because they are anti-destiel or they simply don’t care about the ship. this isn’t every samgirl, that’s just the general understanding amongst the destiel side of the fandom, and the “samgirl” label tends to imply that the person is automatically anti-destiel in some capacity.

I am only very vaguely familiar with fandom history/lore on here, but in general samgirls get a bad rap from the destiel side for a couple reasons. 1) they tend to dislike destiel. 2) they are commonly “dean critical”, ie people who dislike dean and criticise his character. on the samgirl side this commonly takes the form of criticising the way he treats sam in the show, but criticism is definitely not limited to that. the term dean critical/deancrit is often used jokingly in the desticule whenever discussing dean in a critical manner. 3) samgirls can be “adjacent” to or even sometimes involved in the more unpleasant parts of the fandom, including wincest/J2 people and, more rarely, bronlies/bibros (people who hate cas and want the show to just be about sam & dean, though those people tend to be siloed off into their own corner from what I’ve seen). in my personal experience, whenever my posts circulate into “samgirl tumblr”, the notes almost always fill up with wincest blogs soon after, so this holds true for me. again, this is very general and not true across the board, but this is the popular understanding in destiel tumblr, and anecdotally at least it matches my experience.

samgirls who are explicitly pro-destiel are considered “the good ones” and are sometimes jokingly called diversity hires, because while they watch the show for sam they still enjoy destiel and tend to be more forgiving/sympathetic to dean. honestly the two big things about samgirl tumblr is dean hatred and the wincest thing. In my personal experience, samgirl perspectives on the show tend to take the egregious elements of spn more seriously (racism, ableism, misogyny, etc) and centre them in discussions of the show a lot more often, so I follow a couple of them/lurk on their blogs for that reason, but in general they��re broadly distrusted by the destiel side for the reasons I outlined above.

so, again, that’s the general perception among the “desticule” based on what I’ve seen and read. you can debate how fair that reading is, and it is definitely reductive by virtue of the fact that there’s no way to account for the diversity of opinion within a fandom of this size, but that’s the “deal” with samgirls from the desticule perspective.

[jiangwanyinscatmom]

[1/?] Sorry for venting. I just saw some bad takes that gave me a lot of feelings. Personally, JC stresses me out every time he comes on screen, but I don't mind it when JC fans say fan-typical things like how they like JC because he wears purple, or is grumpy, or they think he's hot, or that they ship x*ch*ng because the cql actors have nice jawlines. They're harmless, fun takes, and while I don't agree with some of them, I see where they're coming from

Hello there anon, vent away as that is what my blog is open for as I love/hate on Jiang Cheng as he is in the plot, as well as all of my beef with what has been done to him for the EN side of the fanbase! I am more than fine listening and engaging with the unsavory "unpopular" discussions of his canon behavior and this goes for anyone of course that needs an open play area. I'll try to engage with what you have sent point by point as succinctly as I can.

[2/?] (some of these are obviously crack, and I am a fan of a few problematic faves). But then there are stans that just have to put other characters down to make JC look good. Like, I think some fans take their freedom of interpretation for granted because most of these takes aren't even labeled 'headcanon,' 'ooc,' or 'crack' anymore. Stans feel that their interpretations are valid, and while they are, valid =/= canon, and they're treating these takes as canon, which becomes popular fanon.

I enjoy Jiang Cheng for what he is, however as I had said it took me another reread to get to my stance of him being the negative mirror to Lan Wangji's positive and my comfort with that for the story once I realized what purpose he served. He is only insofar tragic in regards to his circumstances, but it does not absolve him for what he is at his core (no pun, but I can make a very nice metaphor that even with a piece of Wei Wuxian in him he is still forever unable and unwilling to stand by him equally all while stagnating where as Lan Wangji is able to flourish, grow and mature with nothing of import left from Wei Wuxian in a technical sense). As for ships, I am a little dirty Xicheng whore for fun and can say there is a sense of entertainment for me making it work with two people where one is wildly ignorant and the other wildly rabid. But that is outside of what is established as canon in the work and I always try to keep the two strictly separate due to the skew fanon perpetuates.

3/?] And now, it's not clear what part of the fanon references canon JC or the canon events of mdzs. JC is an asshole; I don't like him as a person, but I do think that he's a complex character motivated by many issues (sup, YeeZY), which makes him fascinating to explore. Unfortunately, erasing his culpability also removes his agency. JC should be allowed to be an asshole character who makes his own decisions even if they're the wrong ones. He has made his own tragedy by constantly casting Wei Wuxian as the villain of his life.

Now thanks to you I will be using YeeZY to forever and now to acknowledge Madam Yu (this is your fault for the new tag). From a standing from storytelling I agree that he is complex in the Jianghu for MDZS. Where in the usual political intrigue of Wuxia, he would be the mustache twirling villain that is outright unforgivable in narration, it is by favor of Wei Wuxian's narration that has an early steeping of empathy for him. And he is not meant to be seen as ultimately sympathetic, the work builds up his hate against Wei Wuxian who tries to rationalize it all several times until he is finally unable to. Jiang Cheng is the antithesis to Lan Wangji and the false bait to get attached to in Wei Wuxian's first life. I will make the note their meeting in Yiling is lukewarm between both as they exchange nothing really in terms of conversation and all pleasantries are left in terms of Jiang Yanli for Wei Wuxian. By this point Wei Wuxian has already switched his yearnings of platonically wanting a part of Jiang Cheng's life, to subconscious romantic inclinations about Lan Wangji and the perceived loss of being in the other's life.

The very point of Jiang Cheng as the deconstruction, is that he has no passion in life despite his apparent exploits because he put a shadow to hang over himself as an excuse to say others think he is not good enough. He has no deeper motivations than pure selfishness by the end of the work and is pure frivolity that he has built up losing the meaning of his sect as a tradition. He had his agency (more than anyone I might add in the work due to his social position) that he used to build his reputation as a passive rich sect leader that has little to do with civilian problems.

4/?] And I think a JC, somehow, that realizes that he did something wrong and is working hard to change for the better and gain self-actualization to become that UWU best jiujiu the stans want him to be, who is ready to talk (not yell at) with WWX, apologize to him, and create a better, healthier relationship with him is a much more powerful reconciliation and happy ending than 'everyone is wrong and mean and they all apologize to JC, which magically gets rid of all his issues'.

He is forced out of culpability in reconciliation because simply put, his audience do not like the reality that relationships fray and dissolve with no further resolution other than we as adults both need to move on for safety and good health. It is not acceptable in real life and fiction is allowed to place that also in it's thematic relationships. He has a small, small spark of recognition at the end of the main story, however he himself seems to choose to ignore it, as change is hard and he has never taken to that well as was foreshadowed with his dogs and the idea of sharing a space with Wei Wuxian. To write this is an awful lot of work into his psyche which is not a nice place, he is a terrible being and downplaying that to make a sugar sweet person does not work instantaneously. He is the one responsible for the entire fallout with Wei Wuxian and he hysterically realizes that even as he tries to continue to blame Wei Wuxian.

The issue that I have with his current stan culture, is that they already view him as something he is not. They play at bicycle with all of the other protagonists that have positive traits that they strip as they see fit; Good affirming loving to children adult Lan Wangji, Self-sacrificing ultimately did it all for love and care Wei Wuxian, Hard exterior but softened to who they consider an annoyance Wen Qing, Loyal as partners in their exploits on the field and always have each others back Wen Ning. They even take Jin Guangyao's persona of playing damsel and using that as a positive to soften up Jiang Cheng into something he has never been for anyone for ships.

[5/5] Also, making WWX/WN/LWJ apologize just makes them look better than JC. Like, stans supposedly love JC, so they ahouldn't be lazy and work hard to give him actual character development. Again, I'm sorry for spamming your ask. It just really baffles me about where they get these 'hot' takes (All I'm going to say is that JC was ungrateful, and WN had a reason verbally dismantle him).

They see this, but, they will spin it in any way to excuse Jiang Cheng due to the story itself showing that he was in the wrong to everyone he flung accusations at and his hate. No one but him is at fault for his spite as he had gotten his revenge on the ones that had ruined Lotus Pier and killed his parents. His own resentment pitted him against good and well meaning people that he refused to help as he mimicked his mother's words about raising their heads higher out of goodness instead of keeping low and staying self-centered. There is the underlying criticism of taking individual arrogance as self-care at the cost of others. Each point that Wen Ning makes is exactly what Jiang Cheng himself knows as he hated Wei Wuxian for being something he could not be or even wanted to be. Jiang Cheng wants kindness but does not understand that kindness to others needs to be selfless and accept the hurt that can come with that in life. He encompasses the fall from the path of buddhist lifestyle, "The Three Poisons" to Wangxian's "Without Envy" at the stories end.

[6/5] P.S. I'm not saying I want reconciliation fics, but I just feel that if stans want JC to have a happy ending, then I think that he should actively work for it. I think it would be interesting to see what force of nature would push him through a character development because throwing a therapist at him would result in a murder.

"I'm not saying I want reconciliation fics, but I just feel that if stans want JC to have a happy ending, then I think that he should actively work for it."

They do not think he has to work for it, they say his tragedy is enough, while heaping accusations against Wei Wuxian and saying his own are not enough to absolve him. Something Wei Wuxian has never denied and told all present they are allowed to forever hate him for what he had done in the past, but that they need to find a way to live in a life that is always moving on. He learned that grudges do nothing once they are absolved and it leaves you with hate with nothing else to do with it once that object is gone. In terms of reconciliation, I do not ever think that either want anything other than a distant peaceful out of each other's life set up. Jiang Cheng does not need Wei Wuxian in his life to be satisfied and never has since he used him as the handicap to hide behind to stay angry and miserable. Being without that fallback opens the world far more for him to change than him ever interacting like an old friend with Wei Wuxian ever again, if he ever had the guts to do that.

[spacetwiga]

leave c!phil out of bullshit 2k21 -- a not so tiny post by a new enthusiast

As someone who finds both common fanon and actual canon to be quite fun, I really think the general DSMP fandom would benefit greatly from a few things in general: the greatest, in my opinion, is learning to accept that popular fanon won’t usually be the canon you receive. Another, of course, is that POVs are golden, but with these two things being flimsy in being accepted, they are the major flaws that cause about 90% of the absolute messy takes that gain traction, oftentimes poisoning a canon character's ability to exist in the story.

My biggest beef regarding this comes from how y’all treat c!Phil, so here I am, being annoying on main side! 

TL;DR... Just because someone acted like like a guidance to others, doesn’t always mean that they'll want to be the father figure role for everyone that breathes. Similarly, pinning down a character on a single trope is wack, so don't be surprised if they grow away from it.

Baby’s first little dsmp rambling below!

(Warning: it's long as hell)

The Dream SMP plotline is not written out like most popular media. With so many moving parts in the form of daily streams and the wonderful tool of live improvisation, it makes perfect sense that such a giant cast would not always be on the same page. Adding onto that, it also makes more sense that a vast majority of the cast will be placed into supporting roles, as the story needs to have characters that serve as narrative anchors and others that function as the links in a chain, all weathering the storm that is the plot.

Screentime, of course, plays a major factor into canon exposure -- in terms of the Dream SMP, POV matters equally, if not more, too. 

It’s a pretty neat way of showing things, but in the end, the fanbase has a lovely (read: godawful /lh) way of analysing characters, particularly when it relates to how they interact with others from their fave character’s POV. The tendency to analyse things from a single character's POV is fine, but not when attempting to critique the greater whole of a conflict. Both sides, no matter how wrong they may seem to be, matter.

Adding onto the fact that everything is live, there are things that will spiral out of control, casual words being skewed and thus having the potential of a single line seemingly contradicting the entire ‘story’ that the fanbase has made. If it directly affects a fave's POV in particular, one is more likely to take offense, as bias immediately bars one from trying to see the other person's side of things.

POV is important. 

Which brings me to c!Phil, and how critics tend to ignore his perspective to prop up another character, or justify the tearing down of another.

Improvisation is both a blessing and a curse; the fanbase, however, loves to test out the latter. With it, the fanbase starts crafting tales to justify it...And so begins the mess that is c!Phil discourse.

Say it with me, folks: c!Phil is not supposed to be your fave’s fluffy father figure... unless you’re c!Wilbur!!!

😃☝🏾Dadza is good...👉🏾😎👉🏾 But fandom wants the excessive, idealized version.

-- birb 2k21

Family dynamics are generally loved for their potential for comfort, particularly those of a found family nature. Fandom in general tends to lean into them wholeheartedly, with most major bases having at least one prominent group present; SBI, of course, is no different. From fanart to popular fanfiction, it's arguably the biggest group dynamic alongside the Dream Team, and for that, a precedence was set. 

c!Phil, if he ever joined, would fix everything! All of the ‘kids’ would turn to their new mentor and everything would turn out fine! This all knowing, morally just character will chuckle at their antics and wacky hijinks will follow! Fun times, right? /s

The hope for it, however, has long since been shattered, and frankly, good for him!

To go a little ooc, cc!Phil has stated multiple times that, while he was friendly with a lot of the cast as c!Phil, his only paternal link (at least biologically) lies with c!Wilbur. Simple, right? It should be -- there are multiple clips of him saying this -- but fans choose to ignore it in their critiques, generally citing favouritism or downright neglect for the character’s flaws. From 'favoring' Techno (who, in canon, holds the highest link in friendship outside of c!Wilbur's familal link) to 'neglecting' to visit Tommy (who he barely knew, and also assumed, like many others, that he was fine), these critiques weigh heavily on the scale that judges Phil’s so called father figure trope. 

The story, however, has only leaned into (and persisted with) that for c!Wilbur alone, and adding onto it, there is an established acknowledgement from both ccs. That confirmation should hold the most weight, especially since both Phil and Wilbur seem alright with it. Even so, that familial has yet to be explored much for both characters, particularly regarding c!Phil, who has his debut (at least narratively) in a scene that feels opposite to the classic fatherly role.

c!Wilbur denounced accepting that helping hand to fall entirely into his explosive end, setting a precedence unlike most fatherly types arriving to save their kid. Usually, fandom narrative would love a close save, father and son uniting to heal and build up what was broken, but c!Phil’s entrance inks his story in failure. Angsty, right? We love angst!

And yet, as the story ticks on, the bad takes pile up.

Why? Well, I’l used to think that it is a “funny haha” type thing; a way to grieve for a character that was lost, as Alivebur was genuinely a great character. However, with the plot slowly progressing c!Phil’s story to evolve away from the ‘mentor the kids’ trope , I should have seen a storm on the horizon.

It should have been seen from the moment he stabbed c!Wilbur in the chest, but optimism is one hell of a smokescreen.

Built up fanon, however, is probably the greatest fog to ever exist.

There are lines before the button room confrontation that paint a picture of Wilbur seeking out the approval of his father (who seemed distant, at least from his POV), as well as hints to the SBI dynamic, but with the countless dismissals/retcons from CCs involved, as well as little to no consistent canon acknowledgement of this team dad role...Why base an entire hate piece of c!Phil just because popular fanon isn’t real? 

Why, for the sake of building up a well rounded character, would one place the title of a communal parental figure on a grieving father who has little attachment to the community involved, especially when most of them are too busy delving into their own issues?

Furthermore, why go for Mr. Philza Minecraft: Angel of Death, CEO of KEKW, Functioning Immortal????

It’s madness, luv, and frankly, antis cannot let c!Phil process any of his grief (or flesh out his character) without his contributions being fatherly. His role has been idealized to the point where he is not a character on his own, but an accessory to the happiness of other characters. That is not how the world works, and in a conflict riddled server like the dsmp, arguing that it should be like that is counterproductive.

c!Phil had his own shit to deal with, and as he slowly uncovers how fucked up the server actually was, he merely adapts to it. He learns to play the game by his own rules, and people become mad that he’s succeeding in his own way. It's as simple as that, particularly when referencing his initial exposure to the world he now inhabits.

c!Phil is a man who used to hear of his son’s success from the letters he received, words spinning tales of won revolutions and newfound friendships. To a father, those letters are more than enough to assume that all is well, and with it, he had no reason to check on his son, who was already old enough to be carving his path alone. For him to arrive and see just how broken his son actually was, and then, in front of faces he only vaguely knows, kill said son... There's a lot to take in.

He shouldn't have had to care about L'Manberg in those moments, not when he had his son in his arms, dead by his own goddamn weapon; his son who, to his knowledge, was doing pretty well up until he caught wind of his plot. Yet, he does.

He gives them the benefIt of the doubt, even ignoring the one person he has shown to have deep history with (c!Techno) to assist the nation in defeating the withers and rebuilding what was lost.

c!Phil stays in a nation that has seemingly brought his son right into his demise, holding in that grief to help people who he assumes have the chance to rebuild, to reform. For a moment, he trusts that the system can turn into something positive, offering to hunker down and do what he can to help. That’s the start of a fatherly type role for most -- with many expectations rising from fans to ‘fix’ all these traumatized characters.

In another plot, perhaps critics could have gotten the tropes they want from c!Phil, but to blame the character for reacting negatively to a world he barely knew, right after seeing it ruin his son and target a friend...Maybe the need for a "father figure" only stems from making their faves happy.

Characters that don't directly support your fave are not inherently awful characters. Critique based on that alone is...flimsy, really, but honestly, you can use to to show how they process things.

Which brings me to the events leading up to Doomsday, and with it, the steady rise of c!Phil’s defining traits.

Say it with me, folks: c!Phil is one of the most loyal members on the server, but loyalty doesn’t mean he's blindly following along!

😃☝🏾Butcher Army take this L👉🏾😎👉🏾 Found it in the L’Mancrater

-- birb 2k21

The butcher army arc, while nestled among the mainline story of Tommy’s exile (which I will not even mention, because those dadza takes about visiting may deserve a post on their own), allows for c!Phil to see into the minds of those who had once been with (or even against) his son’s plans. Sure, he may be witnessing them after the eve of their newfound traumas, but this is an important observation to make when comparing how easy it was to denounce his affiliation to them and side with c!Technoblade.

Unlike the new Administration, slowly dipping deeper and deeper into their own form of power hunger, c!Technoblade’s base desires had never wavered. His trust in others, however, had, still nursing the sting of a betrayal, but with no conflict in sight. He is reforming, finding comfort in his solitude, and still maintaining contact with those he trusts.

Techno's Compass, for one, is a major example of their mutual trust. Despite being on opposing territories, they are civil enough to trust each other, just like old friends.

Thus, when you take two old friends who are more than used to conflict -- one grieving and one betrayed, but both seeking neutrality -- it shouldn’t have surprised the antis that c!Phil would place c!Techno’s whereabouts (and life, mind you) over some government he barely knew. 

And yet, above all else, c!Phil starts off as a neutral party for everyone's sake, forgoing potential conquest for peace.

To c!Phil and c!Techno, it’s like fighting back to back, knowing that one can always trust the other to fend off those just waiting to take advantage of your blindspot, while also quelling the need to imagine your partner turning around and doing the same. That sort of friendship is forged through many, many hardships.

They betray what little trust he had built in them. That’s on them.

c!Phil is aware how untrusting c!Techno is, and while c!Techno feels safe enough to give his all for c!Phil, he never exploits it to get ahead, which is something L'Manbergians felt okay with doing.

They take a book out of the playbook used on c!Techno, for c!Techno.

They went after yet another person who was close to him, using their power and influence to hold an execution under the guise of seeking justice. If c!Wilbur, at least pre-corruption arc, sent letters to his father, one would at least expect some of his old ideals of freedom and fairness to leak through into his friends, right? To see those c!Phil assumed would hold similar ideals immediately skew towards a darker, brutal side, particularly in threatening others to get what they wanted...Well, shit hit the fan.

c!Phil does not have that strong relationship with any former L’Manbergians, and despite there being potential for such, it didn't work out that way; instead, however, those characters manage to mistake his kindness for weakness. They take his preferred neutrality as a way to exploit him, to gain in such a way that he lost agency...

No more Mister Nice Dadza, and honestly, he’s justified in that notion.

They’ve lost his trust, time too short to have gained that strong link like c!Techno’s or c!Wilbur’s, and with it, came the inevitable association with Doomsday.

c!Phil knew c!Techno’s intentions from the beginning -- which had only wavered into dormancy because he had grown tired of fighting, understanding that the cycle he wishes to break is not worth his efforts -- so the agreement in participating is effortless. 

c!Dream was there too, of course, but in their mutual quest for eradication, it’s made canon that c!Techno and c!Phil hid away most of their arsenal, despite seeming overprepared. They have no loyalty to c!Dream; they’re smart enough to play along, however. He was a means to an end.

There’s no lies present in their relationship; c!Phil needed someone who didn’t try and pull wool over his eyes, and c!Techno let him see.

c!Techno needed someone who wouldn't stab him in the back, and c!Phil stayed true as his hidden sword.

Which is why, as the two joined forces, ideals aligning and power synergized, they didn’t think twice about nuking the nation to bedrock. Mutually agreeing that the system needs to die, they did what they could, and they succeeded.

How cool of them, tbh LMAO.

New L’Manberg tugged too hard at the sleeping tiger’s tail; they shouldn’t have expected it to roll over.

Their openness to each other was known.

There was no need for underhanded plays, for hidden betrayals, for undisclosed words.

Their loyalties were strong.

They were in sync.

In conclusion (maybe, maybe not...this shit is long holy heck)

😃☝🏾 I may hate this analysis in 30 minutes👉🏾😎👉🏾 Or I may make a part 2. Fuck it!

-- birb 2k21

And that’s what makes c!Phil an interesting character: He tends to be critiqued in reference to chatacters who have very well wronged him, have no affiliation to him or get associated to him through popular fanon. There's a lot to cover that I haven't (from Ghostbur to the whole Tommy 'dilemna') but overall I'm digging what I have now and if I ever get more energy, I'll continue!

c!Phil enthusiasts, I hope I did you proud LMAO. It's my first forray into this side of tumblr 👉🏾👈🏾 I'm a lurker.

c!Phil antis, you can either act respectful or go argue with a wall. I got experience dealing with antis on Tumblr; I am immune to BS.

Anyway, I hope you all enjoyed. Signing off!

- BIRB.

[yarrowleef]

Read Darkness Within all in one sitting last night and then passed out so here are my scattered thoughts i wrote down as i read, (afterthoughts in parenthesis)

Darkness Within Spoilers, obv

UGH GOD THE SECOND HAND EMBARRESMENT FROM SQUIRREL FAKE FLIRTING WITH ASHFUR IT HURTS

Just remembered Sandynose died and got a small boost of happiness (will Hawkwing and Plumwillow ever be allowed to talk again now? I mean probly not b/c they aren’t protags and non-protags don’t rly have friends but I can hope. Sorry, Hawkwhing and Plumwillow’s short-lived friendship in Hawkwings Journey was one of the last times I felt something)

Ghost fleas lol

Mothwing: i’m rude now. (but more importantly, Fuck Tigerheartstar for forcing his son to be around the cat that hurt him so badly, like he HAS to know how upset everyone is regarding Shadowsight and his accidentally helping the imposter, and he’s making him be the sole one to tend to him??? There is NO REASON Puddleshine couldn’t have done it. You think Puddleshine is going to try and murder someone?? )

Oh no don't make this a traveling book, and a ROOTBRISTLE traveling book this is going to be insufferable

BACON AND EGGS

Lightleap Is Good (Hey didn’t Shadowsight have another sister? lets be real we all knew Pouncekit was going to end up as the forgettable 3rd one)

Bristlefrost’s crush continues to feel unnatural to me. It’s like she’s grasping at straws romanticizing the most generic things.....wow....I love how ur just so...bare minimum competent....being polite to the loner we came all this way to ask for help like any somewhat reasonable person would....How admirable...I love the way you just *clenches fist* exhibit some basic traits of loyalty and skill that literally every warrior has (I s2g I’m this close to head canon-ing Bristle as a clueless aromantic who doesn't understand what romance is actually suppose to feel like so she just looks at feelings of low-bar admiration and assumes “oh I guess this is that “romantic attraction” everyone’s always talking about? guess I must be in love???” because both her crushes have felt out of nowhere and like. Idk fake/forced sounding like she’s just telling me that that she’s In Love Now while I continue to not actually feel it at all from her end. I know it’s just that I hate the way Erin’s write female characters in love but this head-canon makes me laugh)

Got scared because I thought they were going to villainize Spotfur for not wanting kits for a minute, but also excited at the concept of maybe exploring a female character that doesn’t want to be a mother, but it turns out she was just pulling a Sparkpelt and actually DID want the kits all along and was only hesitant because she’s sad. Shrug oh well.  (the only female character in warriors that was distinctly upset about pregnancy and motherhood was Lizardstripe and as we all know she was eeeeeevil and abusive and “overly ambitious” because why else would you not come around to being happy about motherhood?? YES I’M STILL SALTY ABOUT YELLOWFANG’S SECRET, BAD BOOK)  Whatever it’s fine so long as Spot doesn’t lose her rebel leader spirit forever and default to “soft mom” personality for the rest of her life, I gotta have hope because I actually like Bristle and Spot’s current relationship. Also I am actually very grateful they never made Bristle resentful at Spot for getting with her crush, as lots of middle grade/YA media has a very bad habit of demonizing female romantic “competition” and its super gross, so I rly do like that Bristlefrost is so protective and caring towards her instead. )

This series is trying to tell me that Rootspring is actually Big but I refuse to accept that. he has dumb scrawny bitch energy and we all know it

Sunrise: “Thunderclan may be better with a new leader” lol go off (i mean........they right tho...It’s unfortunate that the tension in this whole plot is a bit dampened by the fact that i DO in fact want bramble to die v badly. I don’t even have special hatred for him, I’m just bored of him.)

Yes Lionblaze beat the shit out of Ashfur

*HOLY SHIT THAT’S FUCKED!!!! (I wrote this in reference to the ghost summoning scene, this was all I could manage at the time, that scene was WILD and I am VIBING WITH THE HORROR OF IT ALL)

* Brashfur: Oh yeah? Could Ashfur fake THIS? *stands up with slightly better posture* Shadowsight: oh damn you got me there...... (asdfhhfhhgh im sorry that was really funny, how did that prove anything?? ONLY A ~REAL~ WARRIOR COULD STAND UP STRAIGHT WE ALL KNOW ASHFUR IS INCAPABLE OF GOOD POSTURE!)

End of the book: *LAUGHING NERVOUSLY* WHAT THE FUCK??? (I thought he was just gonna kill Squirrelflight right there holy shit can you imagine the RIOTS that would ensue in the wake of all this Squirrel/Bramble discourse I was so scared for a second.  

 But it’s fine, she just....went to super hell instead......Warriors has come so far lmao WHAT IS HAPPENING

Final Notes:

*On Mothwing, I don’t think her behavior struck me as “CHARACTER BUTCHERING” as much as it did for other people? I mean.....Warriors fans will say that literally any time a character does ANYTHING less then perfectly nice I think her actions just seemed that much harsher because we are reading from Shadowsight’s POV, and Shadowsight is taking everything 10x more personally right now (understandably so, but Mothwing isn’t inside his head) she wasn’t trying to hurt him. Also... like... Shadowsight DID get his name too early. It’s not Mothwing’s job to put his feelings above everything else, she’s not even his mentor, Puddleshine on the other hand, as his main mentor, I don’t understand what his deal is ignoring Shadowsight, that’s not how you help an apprentice but I suppose I chalk many of his mistakes up to also not being the most experienced medicine cat (he barely even had his own mentor.) Maybe he’s distant because he feels guilty and actually blames himself for not guiding Shadowsight better?? the two of them haven’t communicated about it yet so idk

 any way I give Mothwing a pass to be a little short tempered right now as a cat who has had her abilities periodically questioned all her life no matter how hard she works or how much experience she has, just because she doesn’t vibe with the spiritual cult side of the clans, I can understand why she’s a bit defensive of being questioned and frustrated watching so much hurt happen Yet Again due to reliance on StarClan visions over common sense, and I for one still stan her for slandering StarClan and refusing to accept Mistystar’s bullshit banishing like everyone else. Sometimes a character is at the end of their rope and can’t manage to be 100% nice 24/7 and that’s maybe not inherently bad writing? idk just my hot take. At a certain point we all gotta reckon with the fact that our perception of most popular supporting characters in heavily colored by fanon and we can’t always get mad at the authors for not adhering to it

*The sisters magic shit is my fav worldbuilding warriors has had in AGES, I love the way it’s described and it actually feels like it adds something to this world. I love this horror imagery with the ghosts, very excited for that. 

*still won’t be thrilled if Ashfur is working alone, because his motive doesn’t make sense right now. I mean the trying to get Squilf thing, sure, whatever, but the “I will make everyone pay for what they did to me”???? cause like?? Who??? they didn’t do anything to him?? Ashfur’s grievance was very specifically JUST Squilf. He has no other cause for revenge, he had no other beef or complaints about the clans to my knowledge? The cat that killed him is dead, and she’s like, the only other one that I could see as having “wronged” him?? I guess he also didn’t like Firestar much according to Graystripe’s Vow (and on account of how willing he was to kill him w/ Hawkfrost) but Firestar is ALSO dead. I don’t understand his angle. Will have to see last 2 books to judge i suppose.

*All in all I am interested to see where this is going!! but also the pacing as I feared is becoming a major issue. It’s better then ending the main conflict on book 3 like Vision of Shadows did, but omg. Hardly anything happened in all these pages. I realized I was over half way through and nothing about the situation had actually CHANGED or advanced at all in all that time. Similar to the past 2 books which I believe could have been combined, this plot felt like it should have been the first half of a book. Discussing whether or not to kill the imposter isn’t much of a standalone plot, it’s just the set up to a plot. Finding the sisters didn’t need to be a whole long thing, the debates about the Imposters fate didn’t need to be repeated 10 times, all those chapters illustrating that “Shadowsight is sad” were also drawn out, repetitive, and interchangeable, we probably only needed 2 or so chapters showing his struggles to get the necessary information across. It felt like a lot of padding, it was really slow and I did a lot of skimming. I am still very interested in the overarching plot and mystery behind the ghosts so that kept me reading but man this “will they won’t they kill him” plot did not justify it’s own whole book. Alas this is a persisting issue that will never be resolved while they continue to force 6 books into 1 series that doesn’t need 6 books. I’m sure the writers are doing the best they can with these unfortunate constraints but still, it’s a wonder this slow padding isn’t more of a detriment to their younger readers that the books are supposed to be marketed to.

[radiovisual]

🔥 popular characterization

(( OOOOH BOY YOU CAME TO THE RIGHT BITCH WITH THIS ONE

(( OK SO listen. Heres the thing. I am... very aware, that ppl can do whatever they want, and that theres likely reasons for Popular Fanon Characterization to BE the way it is (human being are drawn to tropes and patterns its an innate thing in us we like to sort anything we get our grubby mitts on into categories), and itd be wrong to be a direct dick to people about it, especially when i myself Sometimes see the appeal in them as well!

(( for instance--Macho Über Sexy-Suave Romantic Toxic Daddy-Dom Alastor? Soft-boy Abuse Victim Helpless Meek Nerdy Helpless Vox? Guilty pleasure fanon interpretations af for me--its Fun when done right (aka when im imagining that Al boning Mine, and My Al Comforting and giving tender affections to softboy Vox lol). But outside of that? When ppl act like thats ACTUALLY how is it gonna be in the show? Mfer i will kill you myself

(( with Other characters i am MUCH less forgiving. Damsel in Distress Angel Dust? Fuck you. Damsel in Distress Charlie? Fuck you. Damsel in Distress VAGGIE? fuckyoufuckyoufuckyoufuckyou i am going for the fucking jugular

(( give these characters some FUCKING credit.

(( yes, Alastor is powerful--But hes also a stinky goddamn goofball with not an ounce of beef nor cake to his name. Yes, Vox seems to be in a toxic relationship with Valentino--But he is a grown ass fucking man, not some hapless idiot who can't tell abuse from love. Yes, Angel is feminine--but he also used to be a member of thE FUCKING MAFIA. Yes, Charlie is optimistic and sweet--but she is also THE PRINCESS OF HELL who is evidently STUBBORN AS A MULE about what she believes in. Vaggie? Im not even going to go into detail on her--if you give it nuance related to her Wanting and Choosing to be soft you get a pass but if you make her a meek little lady just for the sake of it i hope the next restaurant you go to for breakfast serves you hot cat shit instead of sausage❤

(( also like sort of a Half aside to this--i also fucking HATE it particularly in fics where a character gets pregnant that everyone sudden becomes a WILDLY out of character cookie cutter duplicate of like. Every single fucking pregnancy story cliche in existence. Not every pregnant person suddenly becomes soft and gentle and demure 24/7. Pickles and ice cream and other 'Weird' food combos arent the ONLY kind of cravings to exist. Not everyone is kind or gentle with or devoted to protecting pregnant people. Reflect that in your stories for the love of god PLEASE