#my opinion you don't have to agree with this AT ALL

[carasspice]

"My dear lady wife, is it really necessary for you to titillate the staff in that way?" asked the colonel as he sat back in his armchair, huffed and puffed on his cigar and stared across the room.

"My dear husband, you may have been a colonel in the army twenty years ago but that does not give you the right to bed our maid every afternoon. If I choose to have a little flirtatious enjoyment with the butler; the window cleaner; or the pizza delivery man I will. What's good for the goose etcetera."

"Pizza? But we don't eat pizza." he stuttered and puffed another cloud of his foul smoke into the air.

"You may not my dear, but your wife has certain needs that require a younger man's energy. Shall we leave it at that or do you require a more detailed explanation?"

"Oh rather. We may not get together so often these days but the maid appears happy enough and I do enjoy your exotic tales of debauchery. The colonel gets a little steamed up with the intimate details, however the moments that push my steam to the limits are when I have your frilly panties on my head, you have your hands on my knees with your underskirt high up your back and his todger is plunging relentlessly into your delightful derriere. Watching your ample titties swing back and forth as he plunges deep ... oh my word. I do so enjoy those times, such fun all round."

"As I am only too well aware and your good lady wife is happy to share such intimate moments, however my dear man, may I remind you that you were going to advertise for a younger butler, Atkinson is 78 and simply cannot get it up any longer. Johnson will be finished with the windows very soon, I will be heading upstairs to my bed chamber for the remainder of the afternoon should you care to watch us, otherwise you will have to wait until tomorrow for my summary."

"Atkinson has been in our employ for generations my dear, I will not exchange him for a younger model but why don't you book Johnson for additional work, would that suffice? I'll call him in to discuss possibilities."

"No you won't my love," she replied as she stripped to the waist, lay back and watched Johnson staring in between the blinds, "I believe that should I be able to offer him suitable rewards and make it worth his while, he may agree but that will depend on his other commitments, shall we say three afternoons per week or would you prefer me to have him in the mornings so to speak?"

"Quite so my love, there's nothing quite like a happy and fulfilled marriage in my opinion, mornings would be preferable as I hate to be disturbed when I have the maid in my hands. She is so supple and full of cuddles and squeaks when I catch her."

"If you say so my dear husband but I suspect that she catches you, you never were the quickest around the bed chamber."

"Hah, I confess that she has a few years advantage in that respect. While we are on this topic, I have a draw full of her white frilly panties, is it out of order to return them or what should I do with them?"

"Perhaps you should ask the girl later, I'm sure you will collect another pair today. Ah Johnson, I see you've finished and I have a proposition as long as you don't mind the colonel watching us cavorting from time to time."

"No milady, does the colonel prefer the bedroom, kitchen, library or in here?"

"Mister Johnson, the colonel would be delighted if you will kindly attend to her ladyship's bottom at ten o'clock sharp each Wednesday if you please as I am to be at my club by one."

"Variety is the spice of life Johnson, obviously Wednesday will be in the study with the colonel's presence es always, what would you say to Monday, Wednesday and Friday at ten o'clock. Terms will be agreed I trust, shall we go upstairs and commence our negotiations?"

xxx

[hexhomos]

sorry this is weird but i follow u here and bluesky and was wondering what u meant by peer pressure performative fakeness for clout? SORRY i just cant tell what u mean by that i hope this isnt a bother

Related to my answer about jayce being widely hated in s1 because it was simply a thing big accounts everywhere did and it became *trendy* to do it even if it didn't make sense. In the wake of s2 i even saw a lot of accounts mock 'confessing' that they never thought he was Really that bad, but they added onto the mockery bc "everyone did it" and he seemed like the acceptable target to have. There's still ripples of this all around lol.

Modern fandoms TO ME are moved by peer pressure and this constant expectation that you have to agree with the popular opinion because it is Popular, regardless of how stupidly wrong it may be or any personal opinions you have. People are unwilling to stand their ground on anything, they don't want to lose out on potential clicks or reblogs by saying what they really think when they already know parroting the established take will make them go viral with far less effort.

And that's how weird shit spreads. That's how we end up with people constantly saying Vi is dirty/unhygienic/too stupid to read or write 'because she's from the lanes looool' & the constant 100klikes viral posts making ableist 'jokes' that position Viktor as a disgusting ugly diseased unlovable sexless thing compared to the 'perfect woman jayce should have picked' If a thing goes viral it becomes the acceptable, EXPECTED opinion. Even if its literal dogshit. It's dumb as fuck and it keeps happening and its been happening for Years

[guidaozongshi]

No one can convince me Sasuke constantly asking Naruto why he cared wasn't him searching for a confession. There's a reason why there was a pause before we said friend. It's a popular literary device to indicate uncertainty. People are acting dense on purpose.

In most Shounen or JP media, friendships can be very deep yet straightforward. It is very rare ever to find characters in a platonic relationship who question whether the term 'friends' accurately defines their bond.

Even before Sasuke himself puts forward the question, many characters question Naruto about his fixation on Sasuke , it is obvious that the relationship between them does not fit the norms or definition of friendship even in the setting itself.

I remember seeing this from Japanese users on a 2channel thread, on Naruto's homosexuality. Even though a lot of the users' responses have an underlying homophobia to it, they do acknowledge the obvious.

>The way Naruto and Sasuke are portrayed is not normal no matter how you look at it. But I guess that's just the way it is.

But what I don't understand about Kishimoto is that not all of Naruto's relationships are like that. He can also portray warm and good friendships like Shikamaru and Chouji, Sakura and Ino, Kakashi and Gai etc.

Also, in the manga itself there are a lot of comments like " what on earth are they doing ?" Which makes me think that the author is able to look at things from an objective point of view

They agree that not only Naruto-Sasuke's relationship doesn't fit into the norms of friendship/brotherhood like other characters but that Kishimoto deliberately made it such.

In the Western fanbase, in recent years, even the dudebros are now starting to admit how gay the relationship was, but there are still a lot of people who insist that people cannot conceive of a deep friendship between men and that fujoshis are sullying their relationship. But Naruto and Sasuke's relationship being abnormal is pretty much an accepted opinion in Japan even though it's not discussed as much, it's an open secret.

> I'm wondering why it's so popular overseas, when the love between the men is so intense.

I guess most people got into it initially because of the ninja element.

It has been my favorite anime for many years and it still has support from young people in many countries.

The relationship between these two is too heavy that it is often made fun of, but I can't mention it publicly

I'm wondering if there's people out there who have had similar feelings, although not to this extent.

"why it's so popular overseas, when the love between the men is so intense"

Oh brother. Because they ignore it altogether to focus on one of the worst aspects of the series: ridiculous power creeps and make everything about power scaling.

So yeah, the text quite literally tells us that Naruto and Sasuke's relationship defies the conventions of friendship. By the end, even Naruto drops the label of brothers to describe the relationship even if he had once used it to describe their bond. Naruto then only describes his own feelings but doesn't categorise it and only then Sasuke is satisfied.

[thezombieprostitute]

Tech Tuesday: Steve Rogers

Summary: Steve and Newbie go on their first date!

A/N: Reader is female. No physical descriptors used.

Previous

Tech Tuesdays Masterlist

Steve can't remember the last time he felt so nervous. Well, no, the last time he was this nervous it was when he was trying to ask you out. But you said yes and now he's the most nervous he's ever been for a date!

He wishes he could grow out of the awkwardness he'd lived for so many years. That he could finally be the cool, confident person everyone thought he was until he started talking. As many muscles as he worked on, it couldn't stop him from being a dork. Especially around a beautiful woman like you.

He sighs fondly, remembering when you'd accidentally run into him, giving him a hug to keep from falling. For weeks afterwards he was kicking himself for not doing something smooth or giving you a cool pickup line or something. Instead he just hugged you back and asked if you were okay. He even stuttered as he spoke! The fact that you agreed to a date was nothing short of a miracle as far as he was concerned.

He'd gone over the itinerary with Bucky enough times that he didn't even have to say anything before Bucky was assuring him it was a good first date plan. Dinner at a diner you'd mentioned liking followed by one of those wine and painting classes. Food first so the wine wouldn't sour your stomach. And painting instead of sketching to avoid complaints that he was trying to prove his superiority.

He still winces when he thinks of Peggy being so angry that he was good at drawing. It was a bullet dodged, yes, but he still hates that she thought he was trying to be better than her. But painting wasn't his strong suit, so hopefully this would be better.

At the same time you're going through your closet, getting advice from Spitfire and Bubbles about what to wear since you don't trust your own opinion. You've been pining after Steve since your first day in the office and he actually asked you out! You don't want him to regret doing so.

"I think you should go casual," Spitfire proposes. "He sees you in your work clothes all the time, let him see what you normally look like outside of work."

"That's a good idea!" Bubbles encourages. "Especially if he's taking you to some more casual places like you said."

"But I wanna be like, sexy or something," you complain. "My casual clothes are just so plain."

"Just wear some cherry red lipstick," Bubbles comments. "He seems the type to go weak for that."

Spitfire nods in agreement. "Plus, if he's as interested as he seems, he's gonna find you sexy regardless of what you're wearing."

"That's true," Bubbles concurs.

You sigh in exasperation. "Okay, okay. I get what you're saying. But I still wanna look...good? I don't want him embarrassed to be seen with me!"

"If he even hints that he is, you let us know and we'll knock him straight," Spitfire retorts, making you smile and giggle. You're very grateful to have friends willing to go to bat for you.

You finally settle on a pair of dark jeans and a pastel long-sleeved t-shirt with your lucky flannel jacket. You feel comfortable and Spitfire and Bubbles are quick to assure that you look good.

Steve is waiting in his car outside your apartment building. He wasn't sure you'd be okay with his motorcycle and figured the car would be safer. As soon as you step outside, he's out of the car and opening the passenger door for you. You smile at the gesture and Steve beams at you.

When your close enough he can take in how you look, he's rendered speechless. You always look pretty when you're wearing your work clothes but now? You look absolutely stunning and he can't believe he's so lucky to get to take you on a date. He stumbles over his words a few times before finally saying, "you look so beautiful!"

Heat rushes to your face and you giggle, making him blush. "You really think so?"

"Absolutely," he breathes. You swear you've never felt prettier in your life.

"Thank you," you shyly reply. "You're looking very handsome, too." His blush deepens and he rubs a hand on the back of his head as he mumbles his thanks.

You take your spot in the passenger seat and Steve, all smiles, gets into the driver seat, feeling like he's walking on air.

The drive to the diner is mainly spent with each of you trying to say something but accidentally interrupting each other, followed by awkward giggling.

"This is a really nice car," you finally manage to get out.

"Oh, thanks," he blushes. "It's old, but definitely reliable. And way more comfortable than the Beetle I used to have."

"You used to have a Beetle? How did you fit?" You slap your hand over your mouth in embarrassment as you think about how rude your question could be.

Thankfully he laughs. "It was when I was a lot smaller. I used to be really scrawny."

"Really?"

"Had a lot of health problems growing up," he shrugs. You give a consolatory "aww" and he continues. "Finally got the medical help I needed and now I'm..." he gestures to his physique.

"I'm so glad you got your health in order. I can't imagine how frustrating it would be."

"Admittedly, I took that frustration out on others. Bullies, specifically, just so you know. They kept poking fun at me, so I kept fighting back."

"That's so brave of you! I'd have run away and cried." Like I do at work, you think.

"Bucky definitely wishes that was the case for me," Steve chuckles. "The number of times he had to come to my rescue..."

You chuckle at that. "So you've been friends for quite some time?"

"Yeah. He's also the one that, once my health issues were under control, helped me figure out a workout so I could be less scrawny."

"That's so good of him."

"He did make me promise that I'd stop fighting so much but I still get so riled up around bullies."

You place a hand on his arm, "well thank you for not punching my boss, bully that she is."

"Yeah, well..." he stutters for a bit, his face turning redder. "If she ever gets to be too much, you just let me know, okay? I'm good friends with HR."

"Thank you, Steve."

As you get more comfortable around each other the date becomes filled with laughter and bad jokes. You leave the diner with full bellies and big smiles.

At the class, you haven't even sipped at your first glass of wine but you can't stop giggling with Steve. The teacher for the class tells everyone there's no pressure to be perfect so don't worry about any mistakes. Steve leans into your ear and whispers, "just brush it off." You have to bite your tongue to keep from laughing out loud but he feels the way you're shaking with laughter and his eyes sparkle when he looks at you.

"Don't get too confident," you whisper back. "I'm easel-y impressed." Now it's Steve's turn to bite back a laugh while visibly shaking.

"You know why you should be careful around artists?" Steve whispers. "They're pretty sketchy."

"I still can't believe you're real," you whisper back, "and not just a pigment of my imagination."

Neither of you wants to disrupt the class but you just can't help how good you're feeling. How comfortable you both are with each other. How much more relaxed the atmosphere of the date has gotten. And you can't even blame the wine since you've barely finished a single glass.

The only time Steve freezes up is when you snuggle up to him, putting your head on his shoulder while you think about what color to pick next. He swears his heart stopped in that moment but he never wanted it to end.

The only moment that topped that was when he dropped you off back at your apartment. He walked you up to your building, like the gentleman he is, and you actually kissed him goodnight. It wasn't a deep kiss, but it was still full of affection and warmth and Steve wanted to drop to his knees and thank you. You giggle at the lipstick left on his lips and try to rub it away but he stops you, his smile never dropping.

"Can we do this again?" he pleads.

You give a shy nod, "next weekend?"

"Next weekend," he confirms.

Next

Tagging: @alicedopey; @darsynia; @delicatebarness; @ellethespaceunicorn; @icefrozendeadlyqueen;

@jaqui-has-a-conspiracy-theory; @late-to-the-party-81; @lokislady82; @ozwriterchick; @ronearoundblindly; @thiquefunlover63

[m1ssed-m3ssages]

This. And to add;

If you are GOING to write a transmasc character, do NOT shy away from the idea that they could go through trauma and misogyny/misandry. As one of the transmasc people, every day we have to deal with comments like "but you were such a pretty girl", "such a shame, those tits were rockin'", "you just want respect."

Why does it take us having to speak about our issues and our experiences for people to believe that trans men aren't exempt from transphobia? Why do people insist that trans men have it "so much better" just because we aren't as directly dogged on by the media as trans women are? Why is it that when I say I am a trans man, people don't believe me and ignore me, but if my trans sister told people she was a trans woman, they would have a solid opinion?

When did it become about who suffered more (and by consequence who deserves to have their voice listened to) than it did helping a minority of people that get oppressed and mistreated daily?

My answer is this; I believe the only reason trans women get heard more and have the rights to do so in the eyes of society is because they were born and bred to be cis men, and society still views being trans as an 'oopsy'. That's if society views trans people as human at all, by the way.

Instead of seeing a trans man and saying "that's a man", most people would- even unconsciously- instead think "that's a girl who's only now a boy". But when it comes to trans women, instead of "that's a woman", people think- again, even if it's unconsciously- "that's a man with the social idea of a woman".

We are not mistakes, and our birth gender should not define what being trans is for us- being a woman is not the opposite of being a man and vice versa, being non binary doesn't (always) mean being in between/neither, and gender is a social construct made to segregate who can be around who, in an attempt to herd us like sheep.

Tldr; I agree, and I think it stems from the fact that people still think of trans people as their birth gender instead of the gender they identify as.

Sorry to go on a rant (I'm not even really going to edit this), I'm very passionate on this subject as a transmasc person myself 😅

The drastic separation between social positions of transfems and transmascs is a theoretical invention of writers who spoke to very few transmascs and tried to fill the gap by assumptions that stem from the "opposite gender" crap.

"Transmasculine transition is respected in the society because cis people see becoming a man as stepping up" is one of the most hilarious and sad examples of that, but there's also "coming out as a trans man leads to less sexual objectification" and "trans men are simultaneously respected more because they're men and protected more because they're afab".

None of it is real. This is just a calculated inverse of what transfems go through. We should abandon this framework for the sake of something that's actually rooted in reality.

[l-in-the-light]

"I'm sure he's got nothing to do with me!" says Luffy and I was waiting for him to say it. For him to hear all of this Nika lore and declare that, nope, I don't care, I'm not Nika, I'm not a liberator. It's just such a Luffy thing to do. But I know many fans actually will be shocked with Luffy's answer here or will just dismiss it. I have seen many opinions before that Luffy was always a liberator by choice, so becoming Nika is just natural course of events for him and he will have no problem embracing his role in the bigger scheme of things. Some even complained they hate that Luffy is Nika because they don't want Luffy to be the "fated hero" but instead a "from nobody to the king of the world" trope. But nope! Luffy just noped all of this himself.

Luffy is not a liberator and he's not an altruistic hero, he doesn't go from island to island aiming to save people, and if you think he wanted to, then please remember Fishmen Island and how unhappy he was with the idea of being a hero:

And now if you think Luffy changed since then because Dressrosa happened, then please remember what he asked of Momonosuke in Wano:

Yep, that's right. Luffy still *doesn't have any interest* in becoming a hero. If you think he's alright with that and changed his mind, then you're just not paying attention to him, sorry to say that. Luffy has been pretty consistent about this too and now he declared it yet again in Elbaf. It's the third time already.

You just think it's not a big deal because he so easily changed his mind in Fishmen Island, but it happened only because he had an actual reason to do that. Jimbei promised Luffy all the meat he wants. He gave him a *personal reason* to act like a hero, which is why Luffy agreed. And he did the same in Dressrosa. He wouldn't liberate that country if he didn't get attached first to Law and Rebecca (yes, in this order), and his crew to tontattas. They always do it for someone particular, for their friends. It's the same in Wano too, Luffy's constant motivation is Tama, Momo and Kinemon. He wants them to be happy, most of all, and he even says as much when he defeats Kaido: "I want a world where all of my friends can eat as much as they like".

There, he doesn't do it altruistically because he hates oppresion and villains who thrive on pain of common people and he can't stand seeing it. Yes, he probably thinks it's unfair, but he also grew up in Goa Kingdom, the very definition of unfair regime. He saves oppressed people only when they are his friends or has some other personal interest involved. He defeats the Marine base in Shells Town for Koby (and Zoro, later). He defeats Don Krieg so he can repay his food debt to Baratie. He defeats Arlong for Nami. He fights Wapol for Chopper (who saved Nami) and who he already considers his friend because of that. He fights for the Giants (Little Garden) and Vivi (Alabasta), Conis (Skypiea), Robin (Water 7 and Enies Lobby), Brook (Thriller Bark), Hachi (Sabaody) etc. Though, he does make friends rather easily, so usually it's not that big of a deal. But he isn't going out of his way to places he reads about in the newspapers that need to be liberated, he instead cares more for his own dream. He doesn't enter a certain island with the idea in mind that goes like "if I see some injustice here, I'm gonna bring this shit down". It's the other way around. He makes friends and realizes they're unhappy.

He wants them to be happy again and to live without regrets, and that's why he brings the shit down, whatever it is that makes people he cares about feel so unhappy. Because he thinks this is at least something he can do for his friends. Luffy doesn't think he can do a lot of things, he can't do much at all, but he can do one thing: beat up a guy when needed.

He knows how regret feels like ever since he believed Sabo died, he's not gonna sit there and do nothing next time something like this happens. That's why it's so important for him, to make sure his friends are happy. And that's why he beats up people and liberates countries. It's not for justice, he simply wants his friends to be happy.

But wait a moment, Luffy also wants freedom. Yes, he does. He wants to be the King of the Pirates, because for him it means to be free. And that's how he actually speaks about Nika as well:

He wants the freedom for himself. Isn't it funny that he thinks he already achieved it though?

And before you're disgusted by how selfish Luffy actually is, hear me out: Luffy is simply not a martyr. He won't die or sacrfice himself for the world to liberate it. He will instead die for the world if he thinks that will make his friends happy. Preferably though, he would want to survive and eat that meat with them, and be happy together.

Still, if you want him to be a liberator of a whole world it is actually possible, you just need to make it personal for Luffy, like I suggested. For example, put a person or multpile people who want to save/destroy the world (whichever option you fancy) on Luffy's crew. Luffy always cares for dreams of his crewmates and will always support them (because fullfilling their dreams will make them happy), so he would become a liberator if that helps them. But he would do it for them, not for the world.

Luffy is not a hero because he has a golden heart and a strong sense of justice. He's a hero when his friends are in danger instead, because instead of a golden heart, he simply has a big heart and makes friends wherever he goes. A martyr-like hero who sacrfices himself for people without caring for his own wellbeing is noble, but it's also not a healthy mentality, believe it or not. For starters, if you never care enough for yourself and are ready to throw your life away for a concept, what will happen with people who love you and care for you? Is it fair towards them to throw your life away without caring who you're leaving behind and how they will feel about it? Do you even care then for their feelings if your pursuit of greater good is more important to you? You can save the world and make people you love sad and unhappy, and like they don't even care anymore to live, because you were the one who made them happy and now you're gone. Did you save the world for them or destroyed it for them instead, as the result?

Luffy has his own interest in saving his friends too: so he's not alone again. Humans aren't selfless beings, but it doesn't automatically make us bad people either. And sometimes, while pursuing selfish things, we do something that appear to be extremely selfless. But at the bottom of it: we also do it for themselves, even if it kills us.

Tokyo Babylon taught me that every act is selfish, even if it appears like we do it for someone else: we simply want to feel better about ourselves then. There's nothing wrong with that, as long as we don't lose the sight of other people's feelings on our way. We can always share, after all, and that sharing is the bridge between the lone islands that people are.

Luffy, if he dies, will also say, just like Seishiro: "I didn't do it for you. I did everything by my own choice". For myself. Despite the fact it is also true he does it to make his friends happy. Being selfish and being selfless is like two sides of the same coin and both choices can end up actually hurting people. In the first case, because you care too much about yourself and too little about feelings of others, and in second case because you care too little about yourself and still too little about feelings of people that love and care for you. Can you spot the thing in common here?

[lemotmo]

💙💙💙 love love love. Please tell me you were the mutual she asked??

Q. I know we're all excited about 911 finally going there with Eddie and Buck but what do you think are actual realistic ways they can do that? In your opinion what's a believable way the show can give Eddie his oh moment? What's a realistic show way they can have their confession to one another? I cannot seem to settle on what I think are truly realistic expectations.

A. Full disclosure I struggled answering this, lol. Not because I couldn't think of ways the show could accomplish both of these things but because every scenario I came up with felt too fanfic. I mentioned it to my friend and he agreed basically saying I've clearly been reading too much fanfic, haha. But then I mentioned it to a mutual, and she said something that should have been obvious to me but truly didn't even occur to me. She said it's been 7 years in the making there's not really anything they can do at this point that hasn't happened in fanfic already. She's absolutely correct. I don't think 'realistic' expectations are necessary. Personally I like the idea of Eddie's OH moment occurring while he's in Texas with Buck nowhere around. On a momentary side note, I'm stunned by the number of people who truly don't think Eddie will go to Texas because I absolutely believe he's going and I think he'll be there for at least a couple of episodes. There are things Eddie needs to do in Texas. Conversations and forward movement between him and Christopher, that movement cannot happen off screen or over zoom. They have to film it. The audience has to see it. Eddie also needs to confront his parents on some level. At some point the show has to have characters be held accountable and face deserved consequences for their canon behavior. Completely ignoring Gerard's and Tommy's past problematic behavior in favor of quick and easy write-offs cannot be repeated with the Diaz parents. Eddie has earned that confrontation and frankly his character needs it in order for him to fully move forward.

Okay back to your question, my apologies for the sidetracked thought. The show was clearly mirroring season 5 to some degree in 8a. I see that continuing in 8b at least in some capacity. They cannot just do another shooting arc for Eddie so having him return to Texas, which is absolutely a regression for him, is another way to tear him down to the studs emotionally and mentally without physically tearing him apart again. I think most of us believe he's over corrected his Kim mistake by allowing Christopher to run away to Texas and avoid things instead of dealing with things, but it makes character sense for Eddie that he would allow Chris to do that. Most parents would tell their kid that they can be mad at them from home but Eddie didn't do that. He let Christopher decide for himself what he wanted to do. He gave Christopher the voice and choice his parents never gave him. Eddie's parents never asked him what he wanted or how he felt about anything. His opinions, his feelings and his own wishes were never given consideration when he was growing up. He was told what to do, when to do it and how to do it. Eddie doesn't know how to want things for himself. He doesn't know how to ask for them. He really doesn't even know who he fully is as a person. He has spent his entire life reacting to what life threw at him. He's never had many choices for himself. His parents, the church, fatherhood at a young age, military and then the fire academy. Eddie reacts to orders and circumstances. He doesn't make choices. The one choice he made for himself was choosing to move to L.A. Having him 'move' back to Texas means undoing the one choice Eddie has ever made for himself. It's the perfect way to get him to his OH moment. Dealing with his parents and the reminder of how he's never been good enough for them. The conversations he and Chris will need to have in order to mend what Eddie never meant to damage (there is an entire argument to be made that Kim is really the villain here because Eddie never invited her to his home and never asked her to act like Shannon but that's a separate post). Doing all of that without the constant comforting, reassuring presence of Buck will probably be eye opening for Eddie. Buck is the one person in his life who is always on his side. Buck always has his back. I like the idea of Eddie just being emotionally exhausted and realizing he would give anything to just be able to talk Buck in that moment because Buck would make him feel better just by being there. I don't think it would require much else for Eddie to get there at that point. A little montage or moment of Eddie realizing all the times he has actively chosen Buck, without even knowing it, and all the times Buck has been there for Eddie without him even needing to ask him. Eddie's moment coming like that seems fitting for him. I also like the idea of Buck having a little spiral once he realizes the full extent of his feelings but Eddie having a moment of relief when he realizes his feelings. A deep exhale of a breath he didn't even realize he had been holding his entire life. A realization that without even trying they have chosen each other time and time again. A new found clarity that his past relationships never felt fully right not because something was broken in him but because he was missing this piece of information about himself. They made a family and it wasn't hard. It wasn't difficult for them. It happened so effortlessly because it's what's right and meant to be for them and him. Then Eddie having a moment of actively, and purposely choosing Buck and their life and family of 3, and the rest of the 118 by extension, in L.A. That's what I want for Eddie.

The Buck and Eddie love confession is where I'm not sure Tim would be able to resist the big dramatic moment. Eddie and Chris back in L.A. and Eddie back with the 118. Neither he or Buck have told the other how they feel yet though. I can see them being on a call and maybe one of them gets trapped and they can't get to him immediately so he believes he's going to die and maybe just starts talking into his radio needing to say it before he dies. The one on the outside immediately knows what's happening and says 'no not like this and not here. You wait until we get to you and you tell me in person'. That way the audience knows what's coming but it allows Buck and Eddie to have the actual moment and confession between just the two of them at Eddie's house. On the couch or in the kitchen. I just really want their first kiss to be in one of those spots. But the truth is, for me anyway, there's no wrong way for them to do it. There is also no way to do it that will please everyone. Whatever way they choose will be fine with me. I will be sat, I will be giddy, I will be emotional and I will be flying. Just give it to me, please.

Thank you Nonny! Much appreciated! We can all use some Buddie distraction on a truly blue Monday like this one.

First of all... Was I the person she talked to? 😋

Well yeah. 🙂‍↕️

My exact words were:

"The problem is that the slowburn has been slowburning so long now that all of the possible 'confession' and 'first kiss' scenarios have been written over and over again. So no matter what the show comes up with, it will always feel a little fanficcy because of that."

I still stand by that. No matter how they will pull this off, somewhere someone will have already written it down in a fanfic. 🤷‍♀️ Not that I would mind one single bit. This fandom has the best writers.

And I've said it before and I'll say it again: I truly don't care how they'll pull Buddie off. I'll be happy no matter what. I'll scream, cry and go a little insane though, I admit it. 🤣

I like all of Ali's ideas on how they might come to their realisations and what the confession moment might look like. I agree with so much of it.

I'm also 100% sure that Buddie IS happening and that Eddie IS going to El Paso. He'll be there for a few episodes, no doubt about it. It's like Ali said, he needs his moment to shine. And I'll love every second of it, because I truly believe that Eddie deserves his happiness, but as long as he keeps denying himself 'joy', he'll never get that happiness.

He needs to break free from the shackles of other people's expectations and only then will he be able to pursue what he truly wants: happiness and joy, no matter what it looks like. And I believe that, in Eddie's case, it looks like his son at home in LA and embracing his romantic feelings for his best friend Buck.

I can't wait for the show to come back in March. I've missed my dysfunctional found family of firefighters so much. 🤗

Heads up! For anyone who is giving me the shifty eyes for reposting Ali's updates instead of reblogging. Read this.

Remember, no hate in comments, reblogs or inboxes. Let's keep it civil and respectful. Thank you.

If you are interested in more of Ali’s posts, you can find all of her posts so far under the tag: anonymous blog I love.

[didalexiabreakupwitholgaisback]

arsenal fan here to give some thoughts on the recent ask and also the one yesterday about attitudes towards walsh - for a tldr version i would basically repeat your catchphrase 'don't listen to dumb dumbs on the internet'!

there is a loud minority of arsenal fans particularly on twitter who act this way but the contrast between them and the actual opinions in the stadium is ginormous, and i think most of the time they're just trolling for interactions and clout. no serious fan genuinely believes we'd walk over barca lol and i also think the majority of us would be delighted if keira signed - i think some of the reaction we've seen has been more about people not wanting us to drop £1 million on someone with 6 months on her contract rather than being specifically against her signing. i do think sometimes more casual viewers underestimate keira's talent purely because her position means she's not always doing the glamorous work like getting the goals and assists - for example i've been to england games with my mum and have ended up tearing my hair out trying to explain to her that keira actually is not playing badly haha

every high profile club has these types including arsenal, barca, and many others, but i'd encourage everyone coming across it to just roll your eyes and move on lol - i've found typically that the fans of any club with the most genuine ball knowledge are not the one screaming into a twitter echo chamber!

hi anon - 100% agreed with your take. especially the part about people posting these types of opinions for clout and to gain interactions. that's what the twitter/x algorithm values above actual discussion and debate. 🙄

and yes, it's the loud minority of fans who make it seem like 'everyone' holds the same opinions, when the opposite is true. so because you mentioned it:

thanks for your answers, anons. and if fans are abusing players in this manner, then they are not fans at all. 😵‍💫

i would think any team would be lucky to have keira. she's a gem! 🙏

100% agreed, brasilian anon! of all the players in the world, marta has absolutely earned that right.

again, it's just fans being idiots online. let's take the hypothetical that jenni retires in mexico. that doesn't give me the right to attack her or say bad things about her. at the end, she needs to do what is right for her and what is the best decision for her. same goes with marta. and as fans, we should accept what they have done for the game and be appreciative! 🙏

[riverofrainbows]

Gonna ramble a bit because this is one of the topics that drives me up the wall.

First of all, agreed with what was said before.

To continue, the issue in my opinion is that hormones are genuinely an under researched and not entirely understood topic in the medical field, tied in with medical misogyny. We know a bit about how they work, some about the feedback mechanisms, and have a few avenues to influence the various hormones in the body.

But we don't completely understand them. Hormones are messengers that spread through often the whole body via the blood circulation, and while some only affect localised where the are produced, there are plenty who travel further by default. The interconnectedness makes it quite difficult. It's a common issue that you try to influence one hormone effect with medication and the side effects reverberate through several different systems.

Which very much opens the door for pseudo science and scam artists and whacky belief systems.

And the most common strain of this on social media appears to be one that is enmeshed with divine femininity/reproductive mystification and eating disorders of the orthorexia variant, with a good helping of fatphobia on top, plus intersex phobia, transphobia and racism. And some sort of trad wifery that's less in the gendered domination kink variant and more in the "get back to the 'roots', subsistence farming, technology bad, mystical past" way. While selling you unregulated processed supplements of course. The crunchy-movement (that has a ridiculous name for such a dangerous movement) fits itself into the mess here too.

And "hormonal balance" definitely has a mystical vibe to it, that is so well put.

Join me on my journey to finally unbalance my hormones, toxify my body, boost my inflammation, maximize my cortisol and absolutely destroy my gut health.

[ultsurvivor]

sayaka maizono isn't a snake

an explanation of why she did what she did, and my opinions on her as a character

danganronpa thh spoilers

her motivation

if you've seen danganronpa, you know it's a killing game. at the beginning of this game, every participant was shown a dvd that insinuated that their loved ones were in danger, or dead. sayaka was of course traumatized by the footage, since it was her band mates in the video. this caused her to devise a plan.

the plan

sayaka's plan consisted of murdering leon, and making it appear as though makoto was the culprit. this plan went into action when she and makoto swapped rooms, with him agreeing because she didn't feel safe in hers. unknown to makoto, she switched the nameplates on their doors. she then wrote a note that claimed she found an escape, and slipped it under leon's door.

her death

later in the night, leon arrived. he was then attacked, and by acting in self defense, broke sayaka's wrist. she went into makoto's bathroom, and since leon thought it was locked, he left to grab a tool kit to break in. after he got back in, he stabbed her, and she wrote his name in blood on the wall.

her reasoning

the rules stated that if you killed someone and got away with it, you'd graduate. she obviously saw an opportunity here. her band members were in trouble, and if she got out she could help. her plan backfired though, and leon was executed soon after killing her due to his name being on the wall.

why she isn't a "snake"

in a killing game, people will obviously attempt to get out of it. desperate times call for drastic measures. she probably assumed if she didn't make the first move, someone would kill her first. but the fandom does forget that it's danganronpa, and in games and media like this people lose all sense of what's "morally correct." sayaka wasn't thinking about the morality of throwing makoto under the bus, she just wanted to get out, and it's understandable. she's not a bad person for what she did, most of the fandom's favorite characters have done something just as bad, or worse. leon came back to finish the job, but he doesn't get the same treatment. the way the fandom treats her is absolutely rooted in misogyny. they see her as a "snake" or a "backstabber" but don't treat any other male character who's done something just as bad the same. so many people in this fandom wait for a reason to hate on a female character, and this proves it.

during and after the trial

if sayaka truly wanted makoto dead, she wouldn't have tried to write leon's name, a clear indicator that he did it instead of makoto. the fact she did this proves she isn't heartless, it proves that she regretted what she did. kyoko even stated that the message saved makoto's life, and shows that sayaka did care about him. if she didn't, she would've let him take the blame, and leon would've graduated instead.

makoto forgave her anyway

makoto even forgave her! she betrayed him, but she understood her reasoning and didn't hold it against her, even when he would have been falsely accused for a crime he didn't commit. he doesn't believe that any of his friends are bad people, and his behavior through the game proves that. he never expresses hatred for what they did, only understanding. he hadn't even blamed leon despite him going back to finish the job, he blamed monokuma for forcing them into this.

in conclusion

calling sayaka a snake is wrong, and rooted in misogyny. she atoned for what she did with her last breaths, and was forgiven by the person she wronged. the fandom labels her incorrectly despite some of their favorites being way worse.

[haveihitanerve]

Sup lol, tis been a while I fear

Had story idea, and it's just Bruce and Jason hanging out, but as soon as Jason leaves, Bruce just starts bawling because 'Holy shit, my son willingly hung out with me and made plans to hang out again' and he's just so emotional

Everyone is concerned that he's crying but Alfred and Tim and probably Cass, cuz they know how Bruce was during Jason's death (and Cass can just read him like a damn book)

K bye thx!

Heyyyyy!!!! Welcome back!!! This is a wonderful idea, not sure how I'll manage to write it, but i can try :) :

It was Saturday. Jason wasn't even supposed to be visiting, family dinner wasn't until Monday, but he dropped by with Dick, chatting on about something or other.

"Hey Old Man." Jason greeted, throwing a grin Bruce's way. Bruce almost dropped the tray he was holding, newly made shortbread cookies for Damian's art club meeting. The cookies were a little burnt, but Bruce thought they looked okay.

Jason, however, was under a different opinion. He wrinkled his nose, snatching one off the tray. "What on earth is this B?" Dick laughed along, grabbing one as well, and knocked it against the counter.

"You make your batter out of cement or something?" His eldest snickered as not even a crumb fell off.

"careful, you'll dent the counter." Jason warned, a shit eating grin on his face.

Bruce sighed, dumping the tray on the table. "They're for Damian. He's bringing over a few friends after school, and I thought I'd make some snacks. Cookies." He rubbed a hand over his forehead. "Didn't go so well."

"You? In the kitchen? Not going well?" Dick teased, wrapping an arm around his shoulders. "Never woulda guessed." Bruce rolled his eyes.

Jason shrugged off his jacket, lifting the stack of old recipe notecards. "This is a fairly easy recipe, how did you-" he shook his head, rolling up his sleeves. "Alright old man, time for a baking lesson, come on, get the ingredients, we're gonna make demon brat some snacks."

Bruce raised an eyebrow as Dick lifted his bag, backing up into the hallway. "You guys have fun- I've gotta get going-"

"Coward!" Jason hollered after him as Dick vanished up the stairs. Privately, Bruce had to agree.

But it was... nice. Jason was... well he wasn't kind in the kitchen, but he treated Bruce and his inability to bake nicer than Dick would've at least. And it was... good.

They talked about everything and nothing, and Jason even let him ruffle his hair a few times, and even allowed a hug goodbye before he and Dick headed out again. (Plus the cookies came out perfectly)

Bruce managed to hold it together until they were out the door before he collapsed, tears streaming down his cheeks as sobs shook his body.

Steph was the one to find him, lured by the smell of cookies, Tim, Cass and Duke on her tail.

"Woah." Tim paused, head cocked. "Bruce you good?" He questioned, glancing at the others, who held up their hands in equal measure of confusion.

"Yes." Bruce sobbed back. "Jason- I- he-"

"I think what he's trying to say is that he and Jason hung out today." Duke translated slowly, raising an eyebrow. "I saw them baking earlier when I came upstairs."

"Oooohhhh." Steph, Cass, and Tim nodded in agreement. "That makes sense."

Duke looked between them. "How, exactly, does him sobbing make sense?" Steph laughed.

"Oh Duke, sweety, you sweet summer child, BB and J don't have the best relationship sugarplum, in case you didn't know. So Jason willingly hanging out with him?" She mimed an explosion. "Mind-blowing."

Tim grimaced. "I wouldn't say it like that, but basically. He was a mess when Jason died. And now he like, basically gets a redo of hanging with his son."

They all stared down at Bruce sobbing on the floor.

"So..." Duke cleared his throat. "Cookies and down to the Cave to watch a movie?" The others nodded their agreement.

"Yep. Bye Bruce, have... fun."

[milkamel]

do you ship/support dreammare? because i see you post killercreammare art

The Killercreammare stuff I posted doesn't have this ship in it/it's not romantic (in some of the posts I made all the ships were tagged except for this one) and I remember I answered a similar question in the past. Like a year ago or something??

Anyway, honestly I don't care..? I used to have a strong negative opinion about it but now I just stopped caring and prefer to stay away from any discourse that comes with this topic for my own mental health lol. I just avoid what makes me uncomfy (which is a lot of stuff when it comes to ships like that) and do my thing on my blog. As long as it's fictional, not encouraged irl and doesn't hurt anyone I don't care. And if you don't agree with my view it's fine.

Sorry for yapping so much I just felt like I should settle this topic properly so there won't be any more questions <3

[utilitycaster]

Hi!

Outside of the obvious issues within the Campaign, One point i haven't seen talked about was how 4sD wasn't really a good way to find out why characters did certain thing or thought a certain way, the what the fuck is up with that section was the closest because the players and Dani would talk and ask eachother, though i believe that they also do that outside of the game, or talked about it on cooldown, but the questions selected for the tower of the deep dive often leaned into a fanfic-y narratives (mostly Tower, but sure i guess we need to know what their favourite ice cream flavors would be, for fun i guess)

I think cooldown is the closest to what i would have rather liked from 4sD but that's behind a paywall.

Do you think the format affected the way the audience engaged with the characters? or would it be like with Molly in C2 where Tal said that he was absolutely not a good guy but the critters insisted he was just misunderstood and actually a saint (hyperbole)

Hi anon,

4SD definitely impacted how people engaged with the characters, but if it hadn't existed the sort of person who cherrypicks out of context lines from 4SD would have just made things up whole cloth to support whatever they wanted a la Campaign 2. I also don't think 4SD is like, a problem. I agree there were flaws in the format, but also...I didn't ever watch Talks for Vox Machina (I did for Campaign 2 but as I binge-watched C1 I didn't have time and I didn't bother) and I understood the story just fine. I think that if you need a talkback shows to understand a character's motivations, either that is a flaw of the text for not showing them, or you are a stupid person. A great example is Bowlgate: Talks addressed explicitly why this conflict happened, but if you had, perhaps, watched the show, you would already know that Caleb had issues with abuses of power and massive problems with trust that often manifested as control issues, and Beau had control issues from the opposite direction that were no less explained by her past, and they understandably clashed, and while I personally agreed with Beau's assessment here neither of them expressed themselves very well, and it was a great moment of conflict in a game where conflict is interesting, and I also at no point was like "oh my god Liam and Marisha hate each other" because I understand the concept of acting. I actually, as someone avoiding the fandom at the time but watching Talks each week, was stunned to hear this had even been a controversy when I tuned in.

I think there are two much bigger factors in how the fandom engages:

social media and especially algorithmic short-form social media creating echo chambers. Like, obviously I am biased but I think the reason why so many of the most rancid and incorrect opinions from this campaign are from Twitter and so many of the most rancid and incorrect people are as well is that on Twitter, saying buzzwords tends to get eyes on your post, and it's all very short so you don't have to explain yourself, and it's based on instant gratification and if you say something stupid in the past it's easier for people to move on because it's hard to find, whereas like, on Tumblr, people have longer memories and if someone doesn't explain themselves they can't point to a character limit. I think without like, Twitter, bowlgate would have been much smaller a phenomenon. I think a major flaw of 4SD is that they've addressed things brought up on Twitter that aren't even a controversy but are actually just incredibly fucking stupid (Relvin not saying the exact words "I love you" is the one I'm remembering off the top of my head but this has been a problem for a WHILE).

The biggest one: I have mentioned blorbo-centric morality and you alluded to how people thought Molly was a saint and I just think for whatever reason Campaign 3 attracted a MASSIVE number of people like that. 4SD doesn't even enter here; if it exists they'll use it but if not they'll again make shit up or cherry pick or misinterpret. The core of all C3 discourse, at this point, is that some people will defend literally anything Bells Hells do no matter what. This is why you are seeing people who insisted the gods were, as someone said, tall kings who needed to be dethroned (killed) and were colonizers and murderers suddenly pivot praising a plan that lets them live and oh how compassionate Bells Hells are. You got people who defended indecision on this topic earlier; who said there were no good options but were too squeamish to actually explore that if their are no good options their darling little angels will get their hands dirty no matter what. The No Agency crowd. It's utterly spineless and amoral; they will abandon whatever argument they had to pivot to the aimless whims of Bells Hells. So 4SD gives them more material in their endless pivoting but they'd do this anyway.

So the format was like, fun as a hangout show but not great as a talkback at times, but it really wasn't a major factor because idiots are gonna be stupid no matter what. With that said while there were things about 4SD I liked I kind of wish they could go back to a more Talks-esque format, obviously with like, a better host. I also think that it might be better to permit fan-submitted questions in real time and air the episodes a few months later, particularly since as mentioned the crew often asked questions from a while ago. I also think doing this as a big thing monthly might be easier on the schedule but meant that we heard a LOT from cast members who were frequently available even if if their characters weren't doing much that was interesting. I would ideally like to go to like, every other week, shorter and more casual, with fan-submissions through a web form collected during the week following an episode so that like. we wouldn't get Talkback Show For 119 for maybe a month but it would actually be about that.

[shadamyheadcanons]

Thoughts on Shadouge? I used to ship it casually years ago just because I was looking at possibilities of a love interest for Shadow which I didn't consider for a long time, but it quickly lost its appeal for me. I know you said you don't think it works which I agree with and I'm curious about your reasoning.

Explanation under the cut. There’s nothing too negative, but I always feel bad when these wind up in tags and searches for the ship name.

To start, I will say that it doesn’t feel “wrong” to me like most Shadow ships do. I get where shadouge fans are coming from, and I’ve never met a shadouge shipper who was pushy or unpleasant about it. That’s rare in fandoms. I like how low-key they are. :)

As for the ship itself, I don’t buy it because they’re just so solidly best friends. I’ve never seen anything that I’d call romantic between them.

For Shadow, I see two important (living) women in his life right now:

One is a consistent, reliable rock who’s always going to support him and back him up because of who he is.

The other is a light, a beacon who guides him and inspires him to be the best version of himself he can be.

To me, one of those looks like a best friend, and the other looks like a love interest. He needs both, but in my opinion, it’s clear which one’s which. He’s level-headed around Rouge, and while he probably trusts her more than anyone, he looks at her the same way he looks at everyone else. Heck, he looks at her the same way he looks at Omega. I can’t imagine Rouge successfully convincing him to dress up for a murder mystery birthday party or getting him to go to a silly pop concert the way a certain pink hedgehog can, nor can I see her trying to in the first place; Amy’s the only one who can pull him out of his comfort zone like that. The most Rouge does is convince him to go to Sonic’s birthday party, and even then, she has to bribe him. Rouge’s flirtation just bounces off of Shadow, too. He doesn’t have a weak point for her. Looking at Shadow’s behavior, I think he has a soft spot for cute girls, and Rouge isn’t cute.

As for Rouge herself, she’ll support Shadow to hell and back, but we know what love looks like in her eyes. I’m not getting out of bed until she looks at someone else like this:

Rouge and Shadow are too similar in a particular way. They’re both Machiavellian, willing to go to questionable lengths to get the job done. The same goes for Omega. It’s what makes them such a good team, but a good teammate isn’t the same as a love interest. Knuckles won her over by doing the right thing and saving her life even though he had every reason not to.

I actually have some headcanons about Rouge’s past that feed into this concept. I believe Rouge grew up poor and didn’t have too many people she could trust. She had to steal for her own survival, and she learned to cling to whatever wealth she could find. She keeps a lot of secrets to this day because it’s safer. She learned the hard way that no one can hurt her if she won’t let them in.

In time, Rouge met one guy who was on her wavelength who she knew she could trust, and she met another who swept her off her feet, whose altruism upended her pessimistic outlook of how people are.

One of those looks like a best friend, and the other looks like a love interest. She needs both, but it’s clear to me which one’s which.

And of course there’s the matter of commitment. Rouge can’t stay grounded, so to speak, in the kind of stable relationship that would do Shadow a world of good. She’d rather flit around and tease everyone in sight, delighting in all the blushes she can bring out; in her own way, she likes cuteness, too. Amy, meanwhile, prefers to cling to one person, sharing the same steady devotion Shadow could provide in turn. She’s sunshine incarnate. He needs that.

Thanks for the ask!

[doodler16]

Big rant because making a critical account for my yapping is a stressful path I won't take, very sorry. You are brave. Feel free to delete if this is all too much, I am Literally just the frustrated yapper

Helluva has been Super Disappointing for me and as a result I've been leaning more for the critical side. Issues I have feel addressed and pointed out Sometimes in this end of the field. But I do read fans with more "positive critique" to make sure I have a full plate of Helluva Analysis.

And it's very frustrating. Which is what helluva boss encompasses tbh, being frustrating. I'm aware I'm not going to agree with every person I see, obviously. But I just can't find a positive critique that I DO even slightly agree with, and it's frustrating! I love when people enjoy things that I don't, it fills me with this joy about the beauty of people and our differences. But I also like UNDERSTANDING! And I don't! They talk about things they say are "so obviously portrayed in the story" and I don't see it!

I mostly look up Stella opinions so this is where my experience with this comes from. Opinions on her from the positive people are so inconsistent it adds to my confusion. "She has character! You need to see Stella as more than just a idiotic bitchy ex wife! She's been manipulating Octavia against Stolas! She's Mother Gothel! Her abusive character is actually well done and researched." Where are you getting that from, when has Stella ever done that, what are you talking about, It would be NICE if she was but that isn't there it's literally not there, she's mean and wants Stolas to die but then Andrealphus appears and takes care of the rest of it. Then on the opposite side of the same positive analysis:

"It's fine that Stella is a flat character! Hellooooo, Disney villains? She doesn't need to be built, it would bloat the show." It would bloat the show??? It's fine to have a FLAT supposedly Main Villain in our RICH CHARACTER DRIVEN show????? And so she IS flat, you agree she's flat??? Then it shouldn't be a problem if someone wished she was a fuller character, feels like she isn't a threat to anybody for her flatness, and that the role that should've been hers was handed off to a suddenly appearing Male Character? Who was given more personality and motive than her mind you!

"It's commentary on the society. The male character overtakes hers because she's a pawn for high society, the one that hurt her and Stolas" how did we get here, I'm positive that isn't the writer's intent what-

"Stella isn't a character she's symbolism for the cruelty of the society that forced this marriage, do you lack media literacy? This is obvious." What are ANY of you people talking about!!!!!!!

"the show isn't even over. They could build Stella next season and you're having an issue with arcs that aren't finished yet." [Blows this one up with my mind before this gets Any Longer]

What am I missing that's so obvious that everyone else is seeing?? I see wasted potential and they're telling me it's not and then explain the a made up playground game. Then when I don't get what they just drew in the sand I'M the idiot with no media literacy?? It's not even that I'm upset that "helluva boss didn't do what I personally wanted so I think it's bad.", I don't know what it IS doing to make people see it as GOOD!!!? Pulling my hair,,, frustrating. Helluva Boss and it's positive analysis or "critical crushers" is frustrating I want to understand but I don't,,aghhhh

💀 Reading this made me realize, I barely talk about Stella. Yeah Anon, Helluva Boss can be frustrating at times especially with the plot holes. I think the main problem with Stella is the lack of attention she gets in the show and we the audience don’t know much about her besides Stella throwing tea parties and being a Stolas hater. So people create head canons about her to fill in the gap.

The worst part is that the things you listed above can make Stella so much more interesting. Hopefully, Stella does something worthwhile or actually takes the lead in season 3. Because for most of Season 2, Andreaplus was doing the planning, fighting, and scheming instead of Stella, the one is affected most by Stolas.

[hongjoongspoetry]

The writing community is more than just a one-way exchange, where an author posts their work and a reader simply consumes it. It's important for readers to engage by reblogging, sharing or offering feedback. It's not the number of notes that keeps a writer inspired and motivated, but the feedback they receive. What are we supposed to do with a certain number of notes if no one shares their thoughts on our work? Don't be afraid or shy to voice your opinions. Every writer wants to know how their work resonates with you, and just liking a post doesn't communicate that. A simple "I liked this" or "This was good" can go so much further than you might realize.

I have nothing else to add other than that I agree with everything Yumi's stated above. Most of these statements are things I've discussed with some of my mutuals before, but no one has really dared to speak up about it considering we all have small accounts and don't know how it would resonate with others.

What I want to say is with everything is, thank you Yumi for bringing light to the matter and for speaking about stuff some of us haven't dared to, big kudos to you 🩷

to a dying? atinyblr

i don't usually speak about these things, but a lot of blogs (amazing writers) are leaving this platform or taking time off bc of lack of engagement which serves as a big demotivating factor. especially and specifically in this atiny fandom, some things have come to my attention and i just want all readers and writers to take a look at this post and refresh some reading and writing etiquettes, as well as revive the essence of being a part of this fandom.

feedback:

i understand that there are a lot of silent readers on here, but since tumblr is dying and our fandom is not very huge, the least you can do to show the writers some support is like the post. 

which brings me to the point that the like function didn't even exist in the past. this site still runs on reblogs. as readers, to show your favourite writers some semblance of support, you should be reblogging with tags. a simple ‘#ateez x reader’ or ‘#ateez fics’ is enough. it's literally not asking for much– reblogs are the only way writers can get reach.

if you cannot do that bc of your blog's aesthetic or whatever, side blogs exist. if you still cannot do that, a simple anon ask appreciating the writer sometimes saves them.

also, what has happened to the quality of reblogs? readers consume years of writers’ work and efforts in mere hours and don’t even leave any feedback? art in general in all forms is very underappreciated and with all sorts of problems like plagiarism, ai writing and everything, true art and writing is dying and needs to be appreciated now more than ever. we’re literally the last generation witnessing ai take over in all fields of arts. appreciate content creators before it’s too late, don’t be a content glutton!

updates and requests:

asking writers for updates when they specifically mention that they would prefer posting at their pace is wrong for so many reasons– we all have a real life. you, the reader, do too. just like you don't always have time to read, writers don't always have time to write. do you ever see the writers asking their readers 'why have you not read my latest chapter?' 

most of the times, writers mention in their bio/faq post or elsewhere that they do mind being asked about updates. respect your writers, please, and do a little scroll before you send such demanding asks (also, sugarcoating when asking for updates does not make it any better!)

if you are only asking about updates, it demotivates a lot of writers bc these same people will disappear when it is time for feedback. writing is a form of art. we can write, artists can paint, musicians can compose music, but all of it has no meaning unless it is shared with an audience and appreciated. readers are just as important as the writers but there is no way of knowing fics are valued unless feedback is given.

the same goes for requests. you can only send a request when the requests are open, which is usually mentioned in the writer’s bio/faq post. it’s literally not that hard to check if requests are open and it’s basic decency to not send a request when the writers specifically mention that requests are closed. when sending a request, please be courteous. a ‘please’ or ‘thank you’ are examples of being courteous when sending requests.

the fanfics in atinyblr:

i understand that you can read whatever you like, but why is it that in the atiny fandom, fics that do not contain smut hardly ever get attention? as a writer, i enjoy writing and reading smut, and while i am not specifically a smut blog, i have noticed how fics containing smut get far more reach than fics that do not contain smut– not just in my case, but other amazing writers as well. 

there are such amazing fictions in this fandom. all fics are crafted with dedication and care, yet stories without smut often get sidelined. writers are not able to express themselves in their writing freely anymore and they simply conform to a genre they know readers will consume, as they are forced to consider adding smut to their stories so they can get more reach in this fandom. i have heard accounts from a lot of writers who were inclined to add smut to an otherwise smut-free fic just for reach.

this is by no means hate to the smut writers. i am also not placing blame on them. smut drabbles have always been in this fandom, and there are amazing smut writers out there, doing their thing. it is the readers here who are failing the writers. readers are quick to talk about the lack of ‘good fics’ or ‘plot’ yet will not even bother searching for these works. there used to be a good balance and appreciation for all genres alike.

i know that smut is what's hot and trendy these days, and drabbles in general, no matter the genre, are easier to read when you want to take a short break. but there is such a lack of longfics in this fandom, especially as of lately, and as someone who has personally witnessed the ratio of longfics decrease exponentially, i felt the need to point this out. appreciate all writers! appreciate all genres! longfic writers need as much validation and encouragement as drabble writers, and vice versa! don't be too harsh on longfic writers for not pumping out fics at the same speed as shortfic writers.

and on that note, smut drabble writers experience a lack of quality feedback despite the high engagement, so readers, please don't hesitate to point out exactly what you liked about a fic, even if it's a short drabble! be kind to those writers, give them time to write and be kind when sending requests! they may post more often but they, too, have a life.

tags:

this is specifically for the people who will post a very normal picture of a member, no caption, but tag it something like #ateez smut, #ateez hard hours, #ateez x reader. and for the people who tag their asks with irrelevant tags– literally learn to tag your post properly, and stop crowding the wrong tags. you're just proving the point that if you don't tag a post with the smut tag or something similar, it won't get reach. if you've posted with a caption, that makes sense (though it still doesn't warrant some of the tags being used there).

as for writers, also learn to use your tags appropriately. fics that do not contain smut should not be tagged with smut related tags. believe in yourself. i get that there is the problem of reach but do not overcrowd tags with irrelevant material.

disclaimer:

this is by no means about me. if i cared about the notes, or lack thereof, i would have stopped writing a while ago. while it is challenging to be a writer here, especially as of lately, i still enjoy posting whatever i write no matter the genre or the word count. but it's a bit disappointing that my planned out fics get much less attention than a simple smut headcanons post that i wrote in the heat of the moment with my friend in literally a few hours as a joke (which has reached almost 10k notes btw in a span of 2 years). sure, it has exposed my blog to new readers but that's about it.

this post is for all the amazing writers who have left, are thinking of leaving, or are struggling to voice these problems because they are afraid of being marked as 'problematic' or a 'hater' or something worse. i am not afraid to voice my opinion on here, and if you think that i am wrong, feel free to interact with this post and correct me because i am not claiming that i am right about this.

these are just the observations i have made as someone who has been actively writing on this platform for about 4 years now, and since i have a decent number of followers, i hope this post gets more reach. do not be afraid to reblog this if you agree, and even if you do not, reblog this so someone else gets educated. i may have missed some points so feel free to add if you want too.