#stop BEING and BELIEVING you are

[haunted-xander]

Well, I guess you didn't have much of a choice either

[asharaks]

it is, i think, symptomatic of the way larian has built this brand: bg3 was always marketed as being mature (read: sexual), and that was one of the big draws for players - myself included! especially as media pulls more towards extremes, with mainstream video games starting to get increasingly graphically sexual, graphically violent, and the vogue for 'grey morality' becomes the norm, those boundaries get pushed, and it becomes more and more of a selling point.

larian obviously focused on this, along with the How Do You Do, Fellow Kids brand, the increased accessibility of game devs on twitter, and adopted it heavily into their marketing strategy, and are now pretty reliant on the horny gamer crowd for a lot of their audience, and more importantly, they're doing this on purpose.

which is how you end up in situations like this.

characters (white men) the players want to fuck get centred: they get updates, they get more content, they get favoured. halsin's gone from a side character in EA to a half-fledged romance option, to a full romance option: he shows up in the promotional material, is larian's poster boy for the sex scenes, he gets more content with every update.

now gortash gets more heavily implied situationship lines with the dark urge, because players are horny for him. nevermind that some people aren't playing that way, or that he was originally set up to be a lower-level antagonist; nevermind that if the durge's storyline needed expansion, it should've been with orin and sarevok and bhaal, or that it muddies the writing for the rest of gortash's arc + characterisation: people want to fuck him, so it gets put in the game. it's not even to do with karlach, whose quest so desperately needs expansion! it's specifically catering to the people who want their character to have a Relationship with the slaver, because they're either not interested in or not able to focus on strengthening the weak spots in the narrative: they're just doing things that will net the 'my favourite dating sim' people lmfao.

meanwhile, literal main character wyll gets his quest demoted to a subquest, doesn't get bugfixes, doesn't get a single unique romance greeting after 6 patches and months of requests. he's not a Horny character, so he doesn't get the focus: he's not a player favourite, so he gets nothing. it's just... so unbelievably, indisputably racist, and it's incredibly grim and disappointing to watch it happen in real-time.

[benevolenterrancy]

I'm on chpt20 and I want to study SQQ like a bug. My man is flushed, hair down, robes literally falling off his shoulders, LBH on his lap playing with his hair and kissing him... and he finally cottons on to the fact that maybe this isn't how you have a platonic and important discussion. Enforces it for all of five seconds at which point LBH starts massaging his waist and SQQ is back to being like "yeah this is fine and normal". Amazing. Can't believe he insults the IQ of SQH's characters.

[poorly-drawn-mdzs]

Swapping tips on how to be a bestie in the bath.

[egophiliac]

heeey guess what, I'm obsessed with this idiot flamingo now

[pikp0kcas3]

The Hazbin Hotel fandom’s issue with accepting aromanticism and asexuality

Now that it is officially Aromantic Spectrum Awareness Week, I want to talk about this!

I find that, as an aroace myself, I am constantly grasping at good representation and coming up empty— it usually ends up in one of two ways.

One: the character is portrayed as emotionless, cold, and robotic in nature. It’s the question aromantic and/or asexual people are often asked: “Are you heartless?” The answer is no, of course, but general media makes it out to be the opposite.

Or two: Their lack of attraction is seen as something to “fix” because they “haven’t found the right one yet”, and they end up with a partner as a “happy ending”.

It frustrates me greatly because of how little people actually see aromanticism or asexuality as a true part of the LGBTQIA+ community.

So when I watched Hazbin Hotel, and I found out about Alastor being aroace, I was over the moon. I was on cloud nine. I also saw how his voice actor has looked up the term as an attempt to learn about aroaces, which makes me OVERJOYED?? Amir is truly a blessing, and I love that he’s proud to embody a character that’s part of our community. It’s so beautiful to finally have a proper character, a fan favorite at that, who just so happens to be aroace— and that’s another thing I love about this.

It’s never explicitly stated in the show (though it is stated in interviews), but it’s rather clear when you’re watching, isn’t it? Alastor’s aversion to any sort of sexual advancement, coupled with Rosie’s blatant “I know you’re an ace in the hole” comment sort of spell out his asexuality pretty clearly, as well as what side of the spectrum he falls upon. In addition, his Valentine’s day card was strictly platonic, which caters to his aromantic side. It feels so validating to finally be represented, to finally have a character in media who shares the same lack of interest in romance and sex as I do.

When I entered the fandom to look for more content, I kind of expected to see the same respect for Alastor’s orientation there too. But that… wasn’t the case? I am fully aware that aromanticism and asexuality are both spectrums— of course, aromantic and/or asexual people can enter those kinds of relationships. I’m not denying that and they belong in the community as much as anyone else on the spectrum.

But, the more I see the same line again and again and again, the more it feels like an excuse to just ship what you want.

Usually I don’t mind shipping? I’m often a firm believer in people shipping what they like as long as it’s harmless and they don’t go crazy over it. I also know for a fact that Viv doesn’t have a problem with people shipping her characters. They are fictional, after all.

But in this case, people are ignoring the very thing that makes Alastor a part of the aroace community! People are ignoring his lack of romantic or sexual attraction!

Is this not the same as changing a gay character’s orientation to suit a straight ship? If not, how so? I’m told that we are a part of this community, so why aren’t we being treated like it? Why is it so hard to accept the people on the end of the spectrum who aren’t interested?

Something I’ve been noticing throughout my life is that society has not exactly progressed very much on the idea of accepting asexual or aromantic identities. Maybe we have, a little, since the old days— but hell, people in “the old days”, which in truth wasn’t very long ago, believed that asexuality was a medical condition to be “fixed” by taking the right medication or having sex. That’s a pretty low bar to clear. And on the romance side, you’re seen as a “late bloomer” or “boring” if you don’t express interest. These days, being friends with someone is treated like a gateway to them possibly becoming a lover. Not getting married, not going on dates, not wanting a partner— it’s all treated like a crime when it’s not.

Maybe I’m selfish, or sensitive, or I’m butthurt over nothing, or I’m making it all about me. Maybe I’m gatekeeping or whatever the term is. But please, please, please, I just want an aroace character like me who simply is not interested in sex or romance.

And I want fandom to respect that. I admire the creations that fans make— the art, the animatics, the writing and the character analysis. And I want people to keep creating because creation is indeed a beautiful thing.

But I really would like people to treat aroace identities like they’re important. Like it’s more than just a spectrum to get wiggle room to wrangle in another ship.

[hypogryffin]

white chocolate

bonus:

image id under cut!;

[Image ID:

A digitally drawn comic of characters from the game Persona 4.

Image 1:

Yu Narukami on a couch, leaning towards a bowl on the table in front of him as he asks, "Oh, are there any pieces of white chocolate left? They're my favourite." Next to him, Rise Kujikawa has a hand on her chin as she looks at the bowl as well, though she says, "Mm... Looks like no..."

In the next panel, Chie, drinking from a can of soda, says, "The white chocolate? Didn't Hanamura take the last one just a second ago?"

Image 2:

The first panel shows Yosuke holding a wrapper as he pops something into his mouth, looking over. In the second, he lowers his hand and says, with his mouth still full of chocolate, "Oh, shit. Sorry, Partner."

Narukami waves him away quickly, saying, "No no no, it's not a big deal, don't worry. I mean, I don't mind!"

Yosuke mournfully says, "Well, but they're your favourite... Here."

Narukami insists, "Really don't worry about it-- wait what do you mean, 'here'."

Image 3:

Yosuke leans over the back of the couch, cupping Narukami's face in his hand as he kisses him to give him the chocolate in his mouth. To the left and right of Narukami, Yukiko and Rise are both taken aback, mouths wide open as they blush heavily.

Yosuke pulls back, putting a hand to his mouth as he licks his lips, saying in a somewhat teasing tone, "There you go, Partner. Like Satonaka said, it's the last one, so savour it, okay?"

A reverse shot shows the room completely flabbergasted: Narukami, Rise, Yukiko, and Naoto all are beet-red, staring at Yosuke in shock as he idly says, "Is it just me, or has that dumb bear been gone for way too long now? I'm gonna go check on him, he better not have broken anything," completely casual as if nothing had happened.

Image 4:

The bonus drawing shows Yosuke collapsed against the door of the room he just left, with a small note pointing to him that reads, "His knees gave out as soon as his brain caught up". He has his head in his hands, but is still visibly bright red, and screams at himself in his own head, "WHY THE FUCK DID I DO THAT."

In the same drawing, Kuma is shown to have been down the hall, confused as he calls out, "Yosuke? What's wrong?"

End ID.]

[bacchuschucklefuck]

dreaming abt sophomore year class swap bard!riz

[rottengurlz]

"my jugular misses your teeth." 🩸

a collab with @kashisun 🔪

[s0fter-sin]

soap's whole deal being sniper and demolitions gets me going bc on the surface they sound so different but when you get into it, you realise it's bc soap's smart

sniping is all math; calculating distances and wind interference and bullet drop. something i think people overlook is he was listed as a sniper first so it can be implied that he's better at it than demolitions. he does more sniping in both campaigns than demolitions work; in capture or kill, ghost specifically calls on him to take down the aq snipers

and demolitions is math with a hit of chemistry; knowing what mixes with what, knowing how much to use, recognising environmental factors and adjusting accordingly. it's not just about the boom; so much work goes into contained/ planned explosions. especially when having enough power for a breacher charge and not bringing down the whole building is the difference between mission success and failure

the chemical bombs he makes in alone can't just be any old cleaners, they have to have the correct reaction to each other; he just knew off the top of his head what would mix with what to create what reaction. he would also potentially have to recognise them by sight/smell bc they would’ve been written in spanish

soap would also have to know architecture; recognising structural integrity and weak points so he knows exactly where to plant a charge to bring it down and how it'll come down

he has an incredible soldier's mind people just forget that bc he's sociable which itself is a skill

we know he tends to buck against orders he doesn't agree with like when he pushes back against ghost in capture or kill and shepherd when he tells them to release hassan

he gets closer to people and sees if he can trust them and that's when he follows them without question. really think about how he talks to alejandro and rudy; he asks about their home and alejandro's family and rudy's relationship with him. those aren't questions you ask a stranger after a few hours of knowing them. that's not even touching on his relationship with ghost

he also deliberately brings people of higher ranks down to his level; talking informally with ghost and giving him a shoulder punch, addressing alejandro (a colonel!!) by his first name and rudy by his nickname despite literally just meeting them. he personalises all of them and it’s in direct opposition to the reason most characters do that; it’s not due to insubordination or lack of respect, the more he respects and trusts someone, the more casual he is with them

he digs into people; he wants to know what makes them tick and that determines if he can one, trust them and two, follow their orders. once he decides that, he's the ultimate soldier; he bleeds loyalty which makes him vicious when that loyalty is taken for granted

he isn't naive or bubbly or insecure; he's an incredibly smart and aware soldier. he's aggressive and bloodthirsty and loyal and intuitive and i love him so much

[chemicalarospec]

one of the posts on this website that haunts me is the one that claims neurotypicals instinctively know to read faster by reading the first and last paragraphs of an article and then skimming it if confused. I can't even begin to understand how someone would form such a bizarre belief.

[aalghul]

I was just possessed by a vision of Duke crashing all of jaykyle’s dates accidentally. the first time, he just happens to be hanging out with Jason when Kyle visits Gotham, and Kyle invites him out with them instead of kicking Duke out (like you’re supposed to do with younger siblings but Kyle wouldn’t know that because he’s an only child so it’s not his fault).

And then Duke just keeps popping up, all the time, in comical ways. Jaykyle are getting milkshakes in Brooklyn? Duke was already hiding under their table before they even sat down (why was he there? Who knows. He claims it was for a case).

Kyle takes Jason to R’ann for a vacation and they’ve been on the planet for all of 5 minutes before they see Duke in handcuffs because he somehow managed to get arrested on a whole different planet from the one he should be on. jaykyle dealt with that and decided they’d just have to keep him on their vacation. Batman was hysterical when they got back a week later because he literally had no clue how Duke had vanished off the face of the earth. Duke had selfies of him (with jaykyle at every romantic event they’d planned) on a different planet though so he didn’t really care

[gunsatthaphan]

so anyway happy 2 yr anniversary to the most iconic moment in the som fandom, one that I still think about very frequently. ✨🫶🏻💅🏻

[poorly-drawn-mdzs]

Remember: The burning sensation is part of the process.

[petitesmafia]

running on the assumption that everything was truly an act purely bc of the humour of it rn and having a blast thinking about Dazai and Chuuya planning their Meursault mission like:

Dazai: and then you bite me in the neck just to make it seem real Chuuya: what Dazai: what Chuuya: ??? Dazai: Dazai, dejected: okay we’ll leave that part out

or imagine Dazai just casually slipping it into the conversation and moving on thinking Chuuya was just gonna let it slide like:

Dazai: you're gonna shoot me in the head Chuuya: ok Dazai: then you'll bite me in the neck and i'll pretend to twitch and Chuuya: PAUSE. run that back Dazai: i'll pretend to twitch? Chuuya: before that Dazai: you'll bite me Chuuya: ew Dazai: wdym EW Chuuya: why would i do that Dazai: FINE

[art-is-kayos]

Everlasting A5