#personal opinion

[lalaithquetzallicaresi]

I remember, years ago it was so common for fic-authors to go all: "I'll update when I get to 5 reviews" (this was back before AO3, on Ffnet, don't know if it ever happened on AO3). And of course, the more popular fics went all, 10 reviews, 20... some authors simply said that when they had at least one more review than the previous chapter.

Some people came to call that "authors holding their fics hostage" since they'd only 'release' new chapters after they'd gotten x number of reviews as a ransom.

I agree that's not the best way of doing things. I also remember my mother saying "you want readers, not writers" as a way of consoling me when I didn't get as much of a response as I hoped/wished. However, people don't need to be writers to just put "liked it" or "loved it" or "great" on a comment, even just an emoticon, like a heart, or a happy face will do!

We've gone from one extreme, of authors demanding reviews, to the whole opposite, of some authors not getting any, even when there are those who're loving it, and even talking about it in other places.

Is it good that people are talking about our fics in tumblr/discord/twitter/wherever else? Absolutely! But we writers would still like to know that you people are reading our work!

No, I'm not syaing we should go back to holding fics hostage, I will never do that. But is it too much to ask that readers engage with us? Even the tiniest bit?

someone I follow on the bird app just announced they’re starting a very exclusive private fic server because they and a bunch of other people want to talk about how much they love the fics they’re reading, and as an author can I just say that a really great place to talk about a fic you love is in the comments for that fic

I understand that people are trying to create safe spaces, but as the number of comments that I get on my fics dwindles with each passing year, knowing these spaces exist where my fics are being discussed, places that I am excluded from, makes me want to write fic LESS

I mean I guess who cares, right, because if I stop writing, there’s 10,000 other people that will continue…but if you participate in a fic “book club” server and you say nice things there about a fic you loved, maybe copy and paste that into a comment on AO3?

the only thing fanfic writers are asking for in return for hours of hard work is attention. please don’t rob us of the one thing that we hope for when we hit “post”

[transexualpirate]

this might be slightly controversial but i really hate how bioessentialism has dug it's claws in trans spaces. we used to prioritize individual identity but now it's like afab and amab are the new mbti. yall put it in your fucking bios

[redrosebug]

The batfam is too full of detectives to not realize that Alfred is the worst enabler of them all.

[rayfishandchips]

That cowl literally aged him 30 years. It is admittedly one of the few actually practical gear choices but seriously.

This costume looks 10 times better after he let his hair down, and that mask is still reasonably practical (personal opinion)

from the comic Red Robin

[sonicasura]

You know what's annoying about the whole Gaza Genocide situation? The fucking pandering of the ICJ, ICC and the countries that honestly support Palestine. Entire Zionist occupation has been breaking international law constantly throughout this entire tragedy with no backlash.

USA and UK recently fucking bombed a section of Yemen with the Trump trial as cover. Israel continuously ignored rulings from ICJ to stop their bullshit. Even moreso when Hamas have actually been civil to ceasefire proposals and is willing to go to trial if arrest warrants for them were made.

Israel's government has proven to not be trustworthy with every single throwing a tantrum whenever something doesn't go their way. NO MORE. I say it's time for either UN peacekeepers or another country to go into Palestine and drag their asses OUT.

Netanhyu doesn't want any Israeli hostages to come back alive. From the message of Alexander Trufanov, one such hostage, they want to bring back corpses as it is much cheaper option. Proof further confirmed when a recent report showed an IDF soldier killing another before they could get captured by a Resistance Fighter or the recovered few soldiers in Jabaliya area.

The Israeli Government doesn't care about anyone out in Palestine coming back alive. Joe Biden wants to profit off the genocide, Jill Biden doesn't care either just in case anyone wants to bring up a potential divorce. We don't need bloody pandering with proposals and discussions when it comes to international law anymore.

Palestine alongside everyone else suffering from this genocide deserves direct action to be done. Israel, America and their allies have destroyed more war standards than fucking HITLER. Drag the IDF out of Palestine entirely. Slap on those arrest warrants. Then we can actually get the hostages from both sides back home as the Zionist regime responsible are tried for their crimes.

One massive step for Palestine will be a giant leap for the world. To do this means no one is above international law and the corruption deep in every government can finally begin to be rooted out. Should another genocide occur after this then justice shouldn't be allowed to pander again.

GET MOVING ICJ AND ICC.

For anyone in the United States, on June 8th, there's a protest to surround the White House for the Rafah Massacre. Netanhyu is visiting Congress so be on guard about more spontaneous law passing. Also please be careful as police brutality is guaranteed and who knows what they will dish out to remove Pro-Palestine protestors off grounds.

[childotkw]

My dad and I always talk about a re-do of The Princess Bride - all the other things people say. Fred Savage should come back and read the book to his grandkid. Certain pieces should be scene-for-scene like the original, others should be completely different. The absolute batshit energy must remain.

But we were talking this morning about another possibility that I think would enhance all of the above.

Everything remains the same, except Buttercup and Westley swap roles. Not swap genders. Swap roles. Buttercup is the 'farm girl', Westley is the asshole that pulls her pigtails. They fall in love. Buttercup goes off to find fortune on the sea, 'dies', and Westley mourns.

No other character changes anything about themselves.

Westley gets picked to marry Prince Humperdinck (it's imperative that no reason is ever given as to why), Buttercup becomes the Dread Pirate Roberts (the one before her, Ryan, was a chaos gremlin and thought she'd be an excellent, if hilarious, replacement). Buttercup comes to rescue Westley from his upcoming nuptials.

They bicker. They argue. They reunite.

No one acknowledges the fact that the Dread Pirate Roberts is apparently a young woman. No one cares that Prince Humperdinck is set to marry a man.

Just...pure, unfiltered, batshit insanity.

Just a grandfather slightly changing a story to read to his granddaughter.

[skyeblue8]

Ɗᥙҽ 𝜏σ ᙏყ Ɲҽɯ⨍σᥙɳԃ Ƒιχα𝜏ισɳ... ♚

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Specifically with the Gluttonous Sin of Beelzebub being my favorite Sin of the group (not necessarily in Helluva Boss, but just in general), I wanted to make a ranking list of my favorite Queen Bee redesigns and their creators for really no other reason than I just feel like it. Now, this is all personal opinions and should not be taken to heart by any means, it's just for fun:

#1. "Beelzebub & Bibi" by @gravcore

♡ In terms of an actual redesign of the original, I love how this artist made "Bibi" because, for one thing, they made sense of the originals hair by giving her a ponytail since way too many characters have a mohawk style (Loona included); two, I cannot explain just how much I adore the clothes they gave her. The top is actually insect based and gorgeous, and not some recolor version of Loona's outfit; and third, they made canon Bee her own character rather than a royal because nothing about the OG read "Ancient Sin" to anybody.

♡ Now, in terms of the actual Beelzebub, here, she's legitimately stunning. Rather than a redesign, I can tell this was the original long before the Queen Bee episode came out, and I love how it reads both "70's party girl" and "regal ruler" all in one. That, and the actual bug design aspect and the color scheme. Above all else, I love how they incorporated the lava stomach in her design, too.

#2. "Beelzebub" by @s3tok41b4

♡ This design can best be described as a literal re-imagine of the canon Beelzebub as it shares almost all her similarities with the actual bug aspect to it that it desperately needed. It's legitimately simplistic but still appealing to the eye, futher showing us that Viv was perfectly capable of making something so simple, but actively chose to make it more confusing than it had to be.

#3. "Beelzebub" by @ruinxl0ve

♡ Similar to the first two, this shares both a regal and party girl bug aesthetic with the added bonus of actually being beautifully emotive despite not even having a mouth. I feel this beautifully differentiates the design from the original while also making it recognizable and I feel that it kinda feeds into the original concept that Queen Bee could literally "feel the vibe", hinting to her being an empath in some manner.

#4. "The Three Bees" by @onehelluvatime

♡ Long story short, these are three individual versions of the Queen Bee and her new placing within the Hellaverse outside of the canon one. For more in-depth explanation of these interpretations, it's best to check the blog yourself. Truly, I love these designs not only because of the visual redesigns themselves, but also the well-crafted and creative explanations and backgrounds regarding these characters. I especially like the idea that the hellhounds within society are half-undead with skull-like appendages and facial aspects.

#5. "Spontaneous Beelzebub" by @redd-byrd

♡ I know it's essentially the same as the canon design, but with the small tweaks that were made to this one (the giant "Bee Butt", the added black lines, the actual bug-like wings, the blue-thin eyes), all of them give a more clear indication (at least to me) that this Bee is more higher up than her fellow hellhounds, meaning she looks a lot more like a hybrid thus making her more grand. It's nice how they added these small details for improvement while still essentially leaving the design like its original.

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Anyway, thanks for listening to my Ted Talk. Have a nice day!

[moonyswarmsweaters]

Marauders era things I will take no criticism for

Minerva McGonagall is a QUEEN

Remus is incredibly tall but has the most fucked up posture

Sirius Black had the best eyeliner game ever

Marlene McKinnon was a raging lesbian and would take offense to being called straight

If your last name is or was at some point ‘Black’ you are automatically a dramatic little shit

Mary and Regulus would share curly hair-care tips.

James’ soul is red (crimson)

Sirius’ is purple

Euphemia Potter is an amazing mother in every universe

Regulus had summer freckles

BARTY WAS SMART!!!

And I’m not sure why, but Evan LOVES oranges (the fruit)

James has a degrading kink

Pandora would sometimes lie and tell people she had fake visions to get them to fuck off or psych them out and only the skittles knew her tell for when she’s lying.

Thank you for listening to mu ted talk

[warpedpuppeteer]

Listen, I've been around the block a couple of times already, and shows that don't want to make a popular queer ship canon often just absolutely RUINS whatever they have created between the two characters so if we don't get canon Buddie, I don't fucking care as long as they keep giving us Buddie scenes. Like, if the price of having Buddie or Buckley-Diaz family scenes is hearing them call each other brother or having completely useless prop girlfriends then whatever. We'll just create our own Buddie headcanons and interpolate their scenes together and survive instead of them not having any or minimum scenes together.

[dean-winchester-is-a-warrior]

Heartbroken here in Canada. Sending so much love, prayers and strength to my American sisters. I'm so sorry. I'm...honestly devastated. It's beyond my comprehension honestly.

There's no way America's future doesn't affect Canada's, so it worries me greatly for my country as well.

But mostly I'm just heartbroken for all the vulnerable people living in the United States, especially women, who came so close to having something beautiful, something that would tell them their lives matter. To come so near victory and freedom only to watch it be ripped away from them.

All I can say is this. Fight on, sisters, fight on. And I promise to fight with you.

[ghost-bxrd]

Probably not the place to complain, but I'm so confused by people who think shipping the batboys is morally wrong then turn around and ship StephCass or DickBabs like those aren't exactly the same as shipping JayTim and DickJay. Feels halfway between "a found family is when there's a found mom and a found dad and their found children" and "I'm not homophobic, I ship two girls together! Yes, I do think shipping yuri is pure and good and shipping yaoi is disgusting and bad, why do you ask?"

I don’t think there’s something wrong with preferring one ship over another. Liking StephCass doesn’t necessarily mean having to like JayTim, and that’s okay. The gender of the characters involved in the ship might be coincidental, or they may be a personal preference, which is also okay. Ship and read and write whatever you want!

It only becomes a problem when people try policing others about the “correctness” of a ship. Like- pls, we’re talking about fictional characters. If you don’t like something, just back away quietly, and, if you feel it necessary, block the post/blog. But there’s no reason at all to attack a real person over their fictional reading/writing preferences. None at all.

[sihtryggr]

I have a lot of grievances with this show, one of them being how they’ve gone above and beyond to constantly drag up the paternity of the Velaryon boys, despite it being a blip in the book because black-haired Rhaenys and *ambiguity* actually existed. BUT that’s just whatever at this point and there’s no use bringing it up again. SO, considering the direction they’ve taken all of this! Man… show!Rhaenyra really pisses me off and honestly? I just feel bad for show!Jace. He’s had rumours of being a ‘bastard’ following him around his whole life. His life has constantly been at risk as a result and Alicent had also been putting their legitimacy to question which Viserys had to shut down on more than one occasion, reminding her, “the consequences of the allegations you toy at would be dire.” Jace himself has known with certainty since he was at least 8 (I’m not sure how old he is in 01x06) that he’s not Laenor’s ‘trueborn’ son. He’s had to stand before a court of people TWICE while his legitimacy was put to question - once subtly in his mother’s home and once very loudly in his father’s home “we know father, everyone knows. Just look at them.” He’s since gone above and beyond to prove that he deserves to be apart of his own family, that he’s the perfect son and Prince and a worthy heir to the Iron Throne. All of this in the face of Rhaenyra STILL holding love for Alicent, the woman who helped along the ‘bastard’ rumours that could’ve put his life at risk, the woman who tried to attack and take his little brother’s eye, the woman who allowed a petition to go ahead that put his own legitimacy into question, the woman whose son was responsible for his little brother’s death because she put it in her son’s head that he was still owed a debt, the woman who helped usurp Rhaenyra AND him, the woman who Rhaenyra snuck out to see without telling anyone to broker ‘peace terms’. Now they’re at war, Jace has successfully won Rhaenyra three of her biggest allies (Stark, Arryn and Frey) but everything has come to a head for him (albeit it was his idea, just twisted) and when he properly confronts Rhaenyra about her past choices, making his insecurities known to her because to him she is stripping him of this one thing that he believes holds him true and maintains his legitimacy because “I’m no fool, mother! The proof is here for all to see.” And all Rhaenyra can say is “I mislike all of this” - I MISLIKE ALL OF THIS?

Yeah. They could never make me hate Jace after all of that.

edited.

[fuccboitroy]

I hope that if vampires are real, and I’m ever turned into one, that the garlic thing is a myth. Because I add like a metric ton of garlic to almost everything I eat.

[karimamk]

Thoughts on Descendants 4 the rise of red…..

Can’t even lie, they had me in the beginning, they popped off with that first song and the nod to Cameron Boyce and lmao it sorta lowkey went downhill from there but also didn’t?

You can clearly see that Kenny Ortega did not have anything to do with this movie lmao like sorry but I wasn’t feeling it, I think there was 2 songs that the group dancing actually went off, but other than that? Nope not for me lol it seemed like a jumble of nothing happening, and that is probably just me comparing it to the first three movies too much but yeah

Also, the plot was like super fast, we didn’t get to see the big prank that created the queen of hearts villain, we didn’t get to see enough of the villain kids at Merlin Academy, we didn’t get to see or hear about anything in between, like what did the Queen of Hearts to do make wonderland the only kingdom to not be welcome in Auradon? And like I get the ominous ending but like idk it felt like it was missing something. But my god I WISH we saw more of the VKs like I’m telling you, I’d watch a whole show of young Hades, Maleficent, Uliana, Hook and Morgie(is that his name? Lol) anyways yeah it was rushed imo, it was shorter than the first three movies too I think, and maybe by only 15 minutes, but that extra few minutes in the first three movies really helped

So I’m about to point out some plot holes so don’t mind me lol

-Chad being Chloe’s older brother but also that he got into university lmao. Are we assuming he’s adopted? Because Chad is white boy blond hair Chad, and as much as I love that Brandy and Paolo were Cinderella and Charming again, it wasnt exactly adding up. That and why did he randomly get a sister? Was she ever mentioned before this movie? And how did this boy get into university? They mentioned tourney so maybe an athletic scholarship lmao

-Hades and Maleficent are clearly together at Merlin Academy, yet it’s a secret that he’s Mals dad, wouldn’t they all like know lol? Uliana is Ursula’s little sister, and Hades and Maleficent are part of her crew, so she clearly knows, and Fairy godmother/Fae, went to school with them, but even she didn’t clock it???

-Aladdin and Jasmine are there, but Jafar isn’t, which fair, but they are specifically mentioned and shown, but I can’t even lie, what purpose did they serve? The plot would not have changed with or without them? Also, they looked much older than all the other characters so idk, it just felt off to me.

[nebbyy]

A list of my most unpopular ASOIAF opinions and theories

Please remember this is all based on the books alone, and there also might be SPOILERS for Fire and Blood and the Game of Thrones book series.

ALSO I might open the requests for Game of Thrones fics and headcanons, and maybe for Baldur's Gate as well once I get back into it.

Okayyy so here we gooo.

1. Maegor's story doesn't add up

Don't get me wrong, he must've obviously been a horrible king and a shitty husband, but reading the chapters that talk about him in Blood and Fire, it all just felt like a list of rumours and versions of all nefarious crimes he would've committed. There are about five versions of whatever he did with each wife of his, each of them more depraved than the one before.

Again, I don't think he was an angel or anything, but my theory is that his history was written by biased sources. His reign was made illicit by Jaehaerys, so it would've been in his best interest to have him remembered as nothing more than a viscious monster.

It's a form of "damnatio memoriae" that we've already seen, in a way, with Mushroom and the Dance of Dragons. When in a conflict, and especially after a victory, each side wants to depict the side they beat as badly as possible Caesar did a similar thing in "De Bello Gallico", the book about his conquest of the modern French and Swiss territories. In this book he excuses his conquest with the supposed preparations for an attack by the Helvetians, a fact that was proven to be misinterpreted as it was a mere pacific migration. And again, he did the same thing when he accused them of cannibalising each other while being under siege, another untrue fact made up to just make them seem worse.

So in a way, Maegor's reputation could've been made worse by following historians to legitimate Jaehaerys' reign over Aerea's claim.

2. Incest has no effects on Valyrians

Okay, this is a bit weirder. My theory is that Valyrians practised incest because it had no effect on their offspring.

Looking at the Targaryen family tree, I noticed that the cases of madness increase the more Targaryens marry with other houses. Baelor the Blessed was the first mad Targaryen, and he had a grandmother of house Harte and a great grandmother who was half Arryn.

Before Baelor, Helaena is questionably considered mad as well, which would prove my theory furthermore had it not been for the amount of trauma she endured in her life so I'm honestly not gonna count her as "mad". Rhaegel Rargaryen was the second confirmed mad Targaryen, with a Martell mother; his daughter Aelora is questionably considered mad too, and her mother is an Arryn.

Aerion Brightflame was another mad Targaryen, with a half Martell father and a Dayne mother. The last two mad Targaryens were Aerys II and Viserys III, but at this point, the bloodline was mixed with others enough to make the Targaryen madness an unpredictable factor.

3. There is no good or bad in the Dance of Dragons

So I think we could theorise that Valyrians can perform incest so long as it remains within pure Valyrian blood.

Edit: some of you have pointed out how there were other signs of incest complications in the Targaryen family such as malformities and stillborn babies. I really am no biologist and I don't want to dwell into that "Valyrian race supremacy" craziness, but those cases are once again always correlated to marriages between Targaryens and other houses, for example all of Maegor's stillborn and unborn children (as 5 out of his 6 wives were not Targaryens/Valyrians) or the following cases.

Rhaenyra had a claim on the throne because of Viserys' will, but Aegon had a claim on the throne because of the laws of Westeros themselves. You can argue that Alicent wasn't the nicest stepmother, yet you can't look me in the face and tell me a woman in the middle ages married to a KING to whom she had given THREE SONS wouldn't complain when the king dismisses all of them and their claims in favor of his firstborn daughter.

Otto may have manipulated Alicent, but that was just how a Lord was supposed to act in that situation: have her marry the best candidate (the king), have her birth at least a son (she did) and make sure those children are first in line for the throne (as it should be, by the laws).

Viserys shouldn't have remarried if he already had his heir, period.

At the same time, Rhaenyra had every reason to fight for her claim and try and go against the actual laws of Westeros, but it was inevitable that many would've seen badly her attempt at claiming what was Aegon's birthright.

Lucerys was an asshole for mutilating Aemond and never showed remorse, quite the opposite. Aemond was an asshole who shouldn't have had all the power he had, plus I hardly believe his and Alys relationship was really consensual so there's that..

In the end, they all had their rights and wrongs, but that doesn't matter at all. The only point about the Dance is the fact that a pointless conflict led to the downfall of one of the strongest families in Westeros history.

4. Rhaegar didn't love Lyanna

I hate the series for making them marry. Like, seriously, have D&D ever read the books? Have they not read what happened between Maegor and the Faith when he took another wife??

Never, not even in the most twisted of universes, would the faith let Rhaegar kidnap and marry a Stark girl while he was still married to Elia. That just wouldn't be plausible.

And I also don't think he'd just fall in love at first sight with a random girl at a tournament. She was a beautiful soul and had many qualities, but she had nothing that could truly make a man throw away his whole life to pursue her.

He needed another child. The dragon has three heads. He had Rhaenys and Aegon, but Visenya was missing (I just made up the name for the third possible child considering he was naming them after the three conquerors lmao). He needed Lyanna to have that third child, and he knew how to get her to get what he wanted.

Perhaps we'll find out this isn't true. Perhaps Rhaegar really was head over heels for Lyanna, but I honestly really really doubt it.

5. There is no certainty on who the Prince that was Promised is

No matter what the show wants us to see, we still don't know who it is. It could be Daenerys, it could be Jon, it could even be Stannis and we're not gonna know it until Martin reveals it.

I honestly think Daenerys is Azor Ahai, but I'm still curious to see why we would need to revive Jon then. And considering Stannis' sword possibly being Azor Ahai's sword, is it a fake one made by Melisandre to get what she wanted from him, or does he actually possess the original sword?

Well, these are the first theories and opinions I could think of right now, I might post more in the future. Again, please don't slander me in the comments, these are just my personal opinions and I respect all others.

[sonicasura]

You know what we need? An M-Rated animated series on Venom specifically a unique take like Tom Hardy's iteration. There is more experimentation to go around with a version of the Lethal Protector who isn't influenced by Spiderman.

An M Rating means writers and animators have extra room to work. It is Venom after all so we could actually get some gorey body horror that the live action movies were unable to show. Plus I know a good chunk of the fandom want a deeper dive into the Symbrock relationship.

The Mature Rating opens up the potential conflicts, topics, and scenarios the cast has to deal with. Plus it would be good for the adult cartoon genre. Most animations are either comedy oriented or rely too much on swearing.

A M Rated Venom cartoon could revolutionize the genre if done right. Especially in the right hands as Tom Hardy's movies show that Spiderman doesn't have to be involved all the time. Let the Lethal Protector carve his own path without his archival.