#stories that identify with the monster and ask what it means to be a monster and how one can respond to that label

[yea-baiyi]

about hua cheng re: that conversation w xie lian about his “true appearance”, and why hua cheng freaks out when xie lian’s asks to see his real appearance — like san lang is basically his normie appearance. whereas he usually prefers to be full makeup platform heels acrylic nails. but when xie lian asks the question, he wonders if xie lian would consider his “true form” as his ugly self. (after all, that’s what most people mean when they ask for someone’s true form — they mean their original human appearance). but the way xie lian phrased it makes it clear that it’s about being open and comfortable with each other, not about some demand for truth. which reassures hua cheng not only that xie lian will like him no matter his true appearance, but that he would accept hua cheng’s chosen appearance as his “true self” because it’s how he truly sees and portrays himself, rather than his original appearance. xie lian’s words assure him that it’s not the Honesty or the Original appearance that matters, just that he’s aware that san lang is a facade for his benefit and he’d rather see hua cheng the way he prefers to appear.

[jessica-problems]

Seeing @thydungeongal constantly wrestling with people interpreting her posts about D&D in ways that seem completely alien to me has convinced me that there are actually multiple completely distinct activities both being referred to as "playing D&D" Before we begin, I want to stress that I'm not saying one of these groups is Playing The Game Wrong or anything, but there seems to be a lot of confusion and conflict caused by people not being aware of the distinction. In fact, either one works just fine if everyone's on the same page. So far, I think I've identified at least two main groups. And nobody seems to realize the distinction between these groups even exists. The first group of people think of "Playing D&D" as, well, more or less like any other board game. Players read the whole rulebook all the way through, all the players follow the instructions, and the gameplay experience is determined by what the rules tell each player to do. This group thinks of the mechanics as, not exactly the *whole* game, but certainly the fundamental skeleton that everything else is built on top of. People in the second group think of "Playing D&D" as referring to, hanging out with their friends, collaboratively telling a story inspired by some of the elements in the rulebooks, maybe rolling some dice to see what happens when they can't decide. This group thinks of the mechanics of the game as, like... a spice to sprinkle on top of the story to mix things up. (if you belong to this second group, and think I'm explaining it poorly, please let me know, because I'm kind of piecing things together from other people saying things I don't understand and trying to reverse engineer how they seem to be approaching things.) I think this confusion is exacerbated by the fact that Wizards of the Coast markets D&D as if these are the same thing. They emphatically are not. the specific rules laid out of the D&D rulebooks actually direct players to tell a very specific kind of story. You can tell other stories if you ignore those rules (which still counts as "playing D&D" under the second definition, but doesn't under the first)And I think people in both groups are getting mad because they assume that everyone is also using their definition. For example, there's a common argument that I've seen play out many times that goes something like this:

A: "How do I mod D&D to do [insert theme here]?" B: "D&D is really not built for that, you should play [other TTRPG] that's designed for it instead" A: "But I don't want to learn a whole new game system!" B: "It will be easier to just learn a whole new system than mod D&D to do that." A: "whatever, I'll just mod D&D on my own" And I think where this argument comes from is the two groups described above completely talking past each other. No one understands what the other person is trying to say. From A's perspective, as a person in the second group, it sounds like A: "Anyone have some fun inspirations for telling stories about [insert theme here]?" B: "You can't sit around a table with your friends and tell a story about that theme! That's illegal." A: "But we want to tell a story about this theme!" B: "It's literally impossible to do that and you're a dumb idiot baby for even thinking about it." A: "whatever, jerk, I'll figure it out on my own."

--- Whereas, from B's perspective, the conversation sounds like A: "How do I change the rules of poker to be chess, and not be poker?" B: "uhhh, just play chess?" A: "But I already know how to player poker! I want to play poker, but also have it be chess!" B: "what the hell are you talking about? What does that even mean. They're completely different games." A: "I'm going to frankenstein these rules together into some kind of unplayably complex monster and you can't stop me!" ---

So both people end up coming away from the conversation thinking the other person is an idiot. And really, depending on how you concieve of what it means to "play D&D" what is being asked changes considerably. If you're only planning to look through the books for cool story inspiration, maybe borrow a cool little self contained sub-system here or there, then yeah, it's very possible to steal inspiration for your collaborative story from basically anywhere. Maybe some genres are kind of an awkward fit together, but you can make anything work with a little creativity.

If, however, you are thinking of the question in terms of frankensteining two entire board games together, then it becomes a massively difficult or even outright nonsensical idea. For example, for skill checks, the game Shadowrun has players roll a pool of several d6 at once, then count up how many rolled above a target value to see how well a character succeeded at a task. The whole game is full of specific rules about adding or removing dice from the pool, effects happening if you roll doubles, rerolling only some of the dice, and all sorts of other things that simply do not translate to rolling a single d20 for skill checks. On a basic level, the rules of the games work very differently. Trying to make them compatible would be much harder than just learning a new game from scratch. Now, neither of these approaches is exactly *wrong*, I guess, but personally, I find the rules of TTRPGs to be fascinating and worth taking the time to engage with all the weird little nuances and seeing what shakes out. Also, the first group, "TTRPG as fancy board game" is definitely the older and more widespread one. I kind of get the impression that the second group largely got into D&D through actual play podcasts, but I don't have any actual data to back that up. So, if you're in the second group, who thinks of D&D as basically a context for collaborative storytelling first and a game second, please let me know if I'm wildly misunderstanding how you approach D&D. Because I'm pretty sure it would save us a whole lot of stupid misunderstandings.

[genderqueerdykes]

TW: Transphobia, intentional misgendering/mentions of abuse, gaslighting, and generally gross behavior. You asked for experiences from transmasc people, so, here I am. I'm a transmasc person. Still figuring out what kind of person that is, but... I'm transmasc, which is what matters here. I've been told a LOT of harmful things in the community, both from abusers and from friends(who I no longer talk to). This is my experience. My first real experience with all of this was from a shitty ex, who at that point controlled my life and had identified as bi since he was 12. He denied me the ability to transition (I couldn't drive myself to the doctor and had no money to pay for more than the prescription), saying that I would turn into a monster and break up with him, abuse him, become violent, etc. He pressured me into using she/her pronouns along with he/they. I used genderfluid transmasc at the time as my labels, and he used this as an excuse to proudly call me "his wife in training", saying that because I didn't bind half the time, I was practically a woman. I'm now in therapy because while the term genderfluid fits, I legitimately get panicked when I try to use it because not only did he use it against me, but people used it to... detransify me. De-masc me.

Now, I'm a feminine person in some respects. I like a good accessory and bright colors and cute things. But because I wasn't performing hypermasculinity to become "a true man", people used genderfluid as a term to say "Well, clearly you're fine with female pronouns and terms because you wear earrings/paint your nails, and genderfluid falls in the scale of woman, so I'll just call you woman." People used the term so often to de-transify me, ESPECIALLY in the community.

When out and about, it does not matter if I have he/him or they/them pins on- people, even queer people, CONSISTENTLY read me as transfeminine even though I'm the opposite. I love trans women, but that's not what I am- and to be agressively labeled female by people who mean well and aggressively labeled male in a "you're just a monster masquerading as a female" way from strangers who are transphobic feels like absolute dogshit.

I'm nervous about top surgery sometime this year or next year. I want to keep a little bit of my chest, because I'm a larger person- but I'm legitimately worried my doctor will go against my wishes and give me a bird chest or carve out too much. I want top surgery not only because it will make me feel more like myself, but because my stupid chest is what EVERYONE points to- queer or non- and says that "but you have that, shouldn't you enjoy it?"

Being labeled a faker, a potential monster in the making, as someone who's just confused, and worst of all, being labeled as someone who didn't know what my own label meant... it's worn me down. I'm not sure what to do with myself, and am in gender therapy to unpack the trauma of what other people have placed onto me, both queer and cishet alike. I have quite a few understanding, loving friends in the community- but there have been just as many people who haven't understood and try to fit me into a box until I bled.

This stuff isn't just "oh silly transmasc! That's part of the experience! You just have to deal with it!" I don't, actually. And I refuse to. I refuse to give up the things I love for other people's assumptions of my body, label or identity. Even if it hurts to fight back, I'm tired of letting transphobes inside and outside our community harm me based on what THEY think I should be. This is my story. Sorry if it's bleak, but... that's the truth. I hope it helps others see that blaming us for all the harm the community faces, and making us into your blank dolls to play with, breaks us. It's awful. Please, treat us better. We deserve better. We always have.

Thank you for letting us share our stories.

thank you for taking the time to type this out and share, i really appreciate it. this is very insightful and important. i can't believe how awful people are to you. that shouldn't be happening. i don't want to take away from your story so i'll keep it brief

people, even queer people, CONSISTENTLY read me as transfeminine even though I'm the opposite. I love trans women, but that's not what I am- and to be agressively labeled female by people who mean well and aggressively labeled male in a "you're just a monster masquerading as a female" way from strangers who are transphobic feels like absolute dogshit.

this happens so often. this is what i mean when i say that trans men and mascs are also affected by transmisogyny. many people mistake trans men and mascs for trans women and transfems. it's a real thing and we need to acknowledge it.

[readingoals]

Readingoals Readathon Announcement

Welcome to the readingoals readathon! 

I’m going to level with you. I wanted an excuse to read a bunch of Frankenstein/Mary Shelley themed books. Normally I try to read a few Frankenbooks in October but, honestly, the month just doesn’t really work for me. So I’m moving it up to April since it’s my birth month and also I get a couple weeks off work for the mid-semester break. And I decided why not make this an official readathon.  

But the Frankenstein of it all is not mandatory – if you wanna use this as an excuse to read a bunch of books off your TBR, get through a stack from the library, or work on some other reading goal you’ve got, then join me!  

Details 

TIME: April 1-30, beginning at midnight in your time zone, 

POST: I’d love to see what you’re reading throughout the month so tag your posts with ‘readingoals readathon’. I’ll be tracking the tag and reblogging things all month! 

PROMPTS: I’ve created a mini bingo board for anyone who would like a little direction or just enjoys that sort of thing – it comes in both a Frankenstein version and a more general style, but the prompts are the same in both! Feel free to double up on prompts or ignore them entirely! Check under the cut for more details on what each prompt means. 

Prompts 

Creature On The Cover – For those picking up Frankenbooks this could be whatever The Creature in the story is, but it could also refer to an animal, monster or mythological creature.  

Female Author – Pretty self explanatory. Frankenstein was written by a woman, so read something by a female identifying author.  

Poll Pick – Survey some other people to see what you should read next! This could be a poll on tumblr, instagram, or discord, or create a survey for your friends irl! Polls can have as many or as few options as you like.  

Borrowed – Check out something from the library, ask a friend to lend you something, or “borrow” someone else’s idea and pick a book from their tbr.  

New To You Author – A book by someone you’ve never read from before.  

Green on The Cover – The whole thing can be shades of green or it can be in a small section of the cover.  

Set in Another country – As long as the book primarily takes place in a country you currently do not live in, you’re good.  

Not Your Usual – Up to interpretation a little bit. You might decide to try a genre you don’t pick up often or a trope you usually ignore. If you typically read physical books you might give an audiobook a go, or if you tend to read adult books you might try a middlegrade or YA. It’s up to you how you choose to tackle this prompt! 

Published in 2020s – There's been some really great Frankenstein inspired books published within the last 5 years so this prompt was an excuse for me to pick up more. For those of you not reading Frankenbooks, consider this an excuse to pick up that new release you’ve been eyeing off.  

[scoonsaliciousupdates]

5.1 Major*

Pairing: Bucky Barnes x Fem!Reader

Summary: Lily McIntyre, trainer for new SHIELD recruits at the Avengers Tower, has been in love with her best friend, Bucky Barnes, from the moment she met him. She's been content with her role of the #1 girl in Bucky's life, even if it means she has to sabotage a romantic relationship or two. It'll be worth it when he realizes that they're meant for each other, right? There's just one small problem: Lily McIntire never expected Bucky Barnes to fall for You.

Warnings: (For this part only; see Story Masterlist for general Warnings) Language, explicit sexual content (hand stuff, protected PIV).

Word Count: 1k

Previously On...: You want Bucky, he wants you-- neither one of you can wait to get back to your place.

A/N: Car sex! Huzzah!

I feel like I wrote "cock" too many times...

NOTE! The tag list is a fickle bitch, so I'm not really going to be dealing with it anymore. If you want to be notified when new story parts drop, please follow @scoonsaliciousupdates

Thank you to all those who have been reading; if you like what you've read, likes, comments, and reblogs give me life, and I truly appreciate them, and you!

It was a tight fit, but so worth it. The sports car didn’t have a back seat, so Bucky had pushed the driver’s seat back as far as it could go so you could straddle him as you kissed each other and ground your pelvises together. 

You moaned into Bucky’s mouth. Even through the fabric of his pants and your panties, he felt so good, hitting almost all the right spots. “Pants,” you grunted. 

Bucky chuckled into your lips as he reached down and started unworking his belt and fly. “So needy,” he murmured, moving to suck beautiful bruises into your skin. 

“Yes,” you agreed, your breath coming out in gasps. “Desperate.” You reached over into the passenger’s seat, grabbing your clutch. Opening it up, you pulled out a handful of condoms.

At the sight of them, Bucky chuckled. “Were you a Girl Scout growing up, doll? Cause you sure came prepared.”

“Let’s just say,” you paused to rip the foil packet open with your teeth, “I had high hopes for tonight.” 

“Well, far be it for me to disa–” Bucky sucked in a breath as you rolled the condom down on his exposed member, taking the liberty to start stroking it with both hands. “Fuck, sugar, just like that.”

“Look at this big cock,” you cooed as you looked down at where you were working him. “So big and thick, I can’t even get my little fingers to fit around it.”

You couldn’t even identify the sound Bucky made at your words, but you were fairly confident he liked them, so you went on: “How’s this giant, beefy cock going to fit in my tiny, tight pussy, Sergeant?” you asked, your voice coming out in a purr. “Gonna tear me in half with this monster dick. Split me right in two ‘til I’m screaming.”

Bucky’s mouth was hanging open, his head lolled against the headrest and his eyes closed. “Keep talking, sugar,” he panted. “I’m so fucking close.”

You grinned. “Think I can take it, Sarge?” you asked as you jerked him. “Think I can be a good girl for you? Take every inch you have to give me? Let you stretch my pretty pussy wide open? Gonna make me choke on this dick?”

With a growl, Bucky gripped the back of your head with one hand, pulling your mouth to his in a brutal kiss. His other hand slid between your bodies, under the skirt of your dress. Skillfully, he slid the gusset of your sopped panties aside, then grabbed his cock from you, guiding it into your entrance.

You gasped at the intrusion, luxuriating in the feel of him as he pressed fully into you. Then you began to move, riding his cock, the both of you now silent as you stared into each other’s eyes. His hands moved to your hips, helping you as he fucked up into you, handling you as though you weighed nothing. You grabbed the lapels of his suit jacket for purchase, pulling him to you and capturing his lips with your own.

The windows of the car were long fogged over, encasing the two of you in a private cocoon of lust and heat as you bounced on top of Bucky’s cock. “You feel so good, sugar,” he moaned. “So tight, so perfect.”

You reached behind your head and pulled at the ties behind your neck that held the top of your dress up, letting the front of it fall down your chest to your waist, exposing yourself to him. Bucky’s eyes followed your movements, and when your breasts were revealed, he let out a low groan. He took one hand off your hip and brought it to your tit, palming the flesh until your nipple pebbled beneath his touch. Leaning down, he brought his mouth to the other, sucking and biting at the hard nub.

You threw your head back, lost in the sensations he was giving you. Grabbing the back of his head, you pressed it against your skin, never wanting him to take his mouth off of you. He switched, moving to your other breast to give it the same loving attention. 

“Bucky,” you gasped, pulling his hair so that he had to look at you, “Bucky, I’m close. Cum with me, baby, please,” you begged. 

Bucky nodded vigorously, taking the hand that had been paying homage to your breast and moving it down to your clit, where he began to rub it furiously. “I’mma get you there, doll,” he said, voice husky with his own impending release. “I’ll be right with you.”

It was your turn to nod, desperately, as you locked eyes with him. You kept up the eye contact through your individual orgasms, cumming within moments of one another. You cried out as you came, his name a garbled prayer on your lips, and you couldn’t believe you’d known this man for just over 24 hours, yet he already knew how to work your body so well, as though by pure instinct, or as if you were made for one another. 

As you both came down from your highs, you rested your head against his chest, breathing heavy as you listened to the sound of his rapid heartbeat. Lazily, you brought a hand to his chest, wanting to feel the pounding beneath his skin.

You felt Bucky’s hands come up around you and caress your bare back, now slick with sweat. “You’re fucking perfect, sugar,” he said, and you had to laugh when you could feel the husky rumble of his words inside of him.

“Pretty sure you’re the perfect one,” you said, feeling blissfully fucked out. “I think I’m becoming addicted to Bucky Barnes-induced orgasms.”

“Well,” he said, kissing the top of your head, “I am more than happy to keep you well supplied, doll. So long as you don’t mind returning the favor.”

You let out a laugh. “Not even a little bit,” you said. 

<- Previous Part / Next Part ->

[elysianholly]

This fucking guy

My villain origin story is people claiming that Riley's biggest crime in the series was being boring. He wasn't just boring. He was a passive-aggressive chauvinist who the show bent over backward to defend. A while back on Reddit, I made a list of reasons why Riley sucks. This is that list, and I'm adding to it.

The only reason he punches Parker is because Parker is mouthing off about a girl Riley likes. Everything about this interaction suggests that Riley has heard him say similar before, and hasn't cared until the woman in question was someone he had a vested interest in.

He calls Buffy stupid for not wanting to date him (if this guy slid into your DMs and called you stupid for turning him down, lbr, this would not lead into a healthy, lasting romance)

He immediately puts himself in competition with Buffy. Even at his most inoffensive, he says things like "I don't even know if I could take you."

He has an inherently chauvinistic view of the world (established in The Initiative)

He is upset that Buffy had a significant relationship before she knew him and assumes Buffy boinked Angel in The Yoko Factor

He uses abuser language to excuse his shitty behavior like, "I love you so much I can't think straight."

He decides that Buffy doesn't love him all by himself

When he decides that Buffy doesn't love him, he confides in Xander and doesn't communicate his relationship issues with Buffy

He wants to help Buffy but only in jobs that are "manly." In No Place Like Home, for instance, he nopes out when Buffy suggests he help with the spell to identify what might be wrong with Joyce. Even if there wasn't a lot for him to do, he could, idk, stick around to be moral support for his partner who is trying to figure out what might be attacking her mother. That seems like a pretty standard partner thing to do.

He gets upset that Buffy "doesn't get all worked up over him" the way she did with Angel when "getting all worked up" in CONTEXT means "isn't constantly miserable."

He is sad boi at Buffy in OoMM for also prioritizing her mother's health after she believes Riley is healed rather than sticking around to play nursemaid

He wants Buffy to show emotion over Joyce at a time when Buffy literally cannot (if you've never had a parent in the hospital with a life-threatening illness, maybe you don't know that there are times/places to break down and "in the hospital" where you're supposed to be strong isn't one of them)

He doesn't care that his girlfriend's mother is sick, possibly with something life-threatening; he cares that he got to be the hero of the piece, the shoulder for Buffy to cry on. His only reaction to any of that was to be hurt that Buffy didn't respond the way he thought she should; no concern for her well-being or Joyce's, just Riley getting his feelings hurt because he wasn't the center of Buffy's universe or the rock for her to lean on when all went to pieces

This is further confirmed by the way he just doesn't mention Joyce's absence at all in As You Were. When he leaves Sunnydale, it's after Joyce has had a successful operation. He returns and she's not there and no questions? No condolences? It's because he doesn't care.

He doesn't ask about Buffy's death when she lets him know she died.

He starts separating himself from the Scoobies and then gets mad for not being included

He literally cheats on Buffy with vampire sex workers (there are people who say they were not sex workers, but in a show where monsters are metaphors, you have to be especially dense or willfully obtuse to not realize this is what they are)

Riley intentionally puts himself in a position where he might be killed or turned specifically to SPITE BUFFY, which demonstrates his lack of consideration for what she might have to do later if things go bad

Riley blames Buffy for being roofied by Dracula (again, monsters as metaphor)

He never apologizes or owns that he was unfaithful

He blames his infidelity on Buffy, actually

The first time Buffy learns Riley isn't happy, she's told she should've seen it, which is classic victim blaming and happens from Xander AND Riley (and a good amount of fans who want to excuse that behavior)

He is fine with torturing sentient creatures, and in fact had a stake made specifically so he could torture vampires without killing them

He goes behind Buffy's back all the time

Riley was not boring. If he were boring, he would be inoffensive. Dull to watch but not rage-inducing. But he is rage-inducing because, despite all the passive-aggressive gaslighting bullshit he gets away with, people in this fandom still believe he was "Buffy's best boyfriend." That she was to blame for the deterioration of this relationship. That he was the healthiest of the Buffyverse men. The show does, too. That's why Xander (Wh*don's mouthpiece) gives that sanctimonious little speech to Buffy (the audience in this case) in Into the Woods to scold us for not treating Riley better. Then they double down in As You Were to make Buffy fawn all over herself to let this gaslighting asshole off the hook for everything he put her through.

Riley's sin is not being boring. It's that he was actually awful. Wh*don himself once called Riley a "healthy relationship" for Buffy, and if that doesn't tell you something, there's no talking to you.

[yuurei20]

Small changes to Twisted Wonderland the first novel, official translation (pt1/4)

Did a word-for-word comparison of the EN novel, and there are no significant changes to the story/characters! 🥳

(Though there are some places where the novel decided to use EN-game content that does not match the original game's or novel's content.)

Original Novel (Grim): “I’m gonna put on those clothes, and then I’ll—“

EN Novel (Grim): "Now unless you wanna get burned to a crisp, take off that—"

--

Original Novel (Yuuya): “An incessant rumbling, like something hard rolling along the ground."

EN Novel (Yuuya): (removed)

(This line from Yuuya's recollection of what happened just before he appeared at NRC was removed from the English-language novel.)

--

When Crowley returns to the opening ceremony with Yuuya we originally receive five comments from unnamed students. In EN, there are only four.

The line, "Does that mean they're special, I guess?," was removed from the English-language novel.

--

While trying to identify Yuuya’s home, Crowley originally asks him if he has a health insurance card. This was changed in the English adaptation to “driver’s license.”

--

Original Novel (Grim): “Nyahaha, what’s with that stupid look on your face? You already forgotten what I look like?”

EN Novel (Grim): "Myah ha ha! That look on your face is priceless. Like a bat that got blasted by a water gun!"

(This EN line is accurate to both the original and EN game but was changed for the JP novel, and it seems the EN novel opted for the game version, instead.)

--

Original Novel (Ace): “Maybe it’s 'cause he wasn’t born a king that he was able to be considerate about issues to do with status. Pretty cool.”

EN Novel (Ace): “’Maybe he could look past status and all that stuff 'cause he hadn't been born royal himself," Ace said. ‘Pretty cool, huh?’”

--

Original Novel (Ace): “Do your best cleaning up with that monster.”

EN Novel (Ace): “I'll let you get back to picking up trash with your little monster friend."

(Directly after this Yuuya confesses he has has no friends and is shocked when the ghosts comment he and Grim seem like friends.)

--

Original Novel: “How dare you mock me. I'll show you which of us is superior!’ ‘Hah. A mere monster is gonna take me on?"

EN Novel: “‘No one makes fun of Grim, master of fire!’ Grim snarled. ‘I’ll show ya who's boss here!’ ‘Ha!’ Ace snorted. ‘You wanna throw down with me, shorty?’”

Grim does not call himself “master of fire,” and Ace does not call him “shorty.” Ace calls Grim “shorty” often in the EN novel, which he never does in the original, and it seems that this is another instance of the EN novel taking something from the EN game that did not originally exist in the JP game or novel.

[dcdreamblog]

Hey there. I recently moved to Gotham for job related reasons. Thought I had a pretty good handle on the whole hero and villain thing down here, the Bats and their various enemies are the only ones anyone seems to talk about anyways.

So imagine my surprise when one day I'm driving back home and something that I can only describe as some kind of yellow and red demon lands right on top of my car hood before getting back up and leaping into the sky. look up and see what I think were some other ugly monsters or something firing down some magic stuff at em.

Got back home as quick as I could after that, asked a few guys I know at work what the hell it was about but they got nothing, but one of em pointed me to your blog. So Historian, you happen to know anything about yellow and red demons in Gotham?

First off you should probably contact your insurance about the car. Unlike the jokes made by people who don't live in superhero cities, or the fearmongering of idiots, insurance DOES cover "acts of superhero" especially if you live in Gotham. If they give you a hard time, reach out to the Thomas and Martha Wayne Foundation. Bruce Wayne LOVES thumbing his nose at oligarchs in these sorts of situations. As for the demon you saw, you are VERY lucky you only got a glancing blow from whatever the hell Etrigan got wrapped up in this week.

(A CCTV image showing Etrigan bursting forth from a burning warehouse)

Now you'll have to forgive me I only took a few occult related classes in college for my degree and my knowledge of the Arthurian Period is limited to how it intersects with my specialties but the basic rundown is this. Etrigan is a demon. Like from Hell (or some version of the Christian vision of same, how you feel like dealing with this information is down to your personal theology). He's on the higher rank of mid class demon from what I know, not any kind of ruler, lord or arch but a caste of warriors known as "Rhymers" (due to their distinct habit of every statement they utter having to be rhymed). (All of the information below has been run past my occult colleagues, I have those now, to make sure I am not summoning anything or offending anyone who would want to turn my intestines into snakes) Etrigan was something of a Monkey King figure, born as first son to the Arch-Demon Belial and the Serpent Queen Ran Va Daath he was too powerful to control even for Hell's bureaucracy and so he was placed under the control of the mortal wizard Merlin (who is his younger brother, long story, go read a grimoire). It was during the Fall of Camelot that Etrigan was bonded to the dishonored knight Jason Blood, I actually already did a dive on that some weeks back. Blood and Etrigan have been stuck together for the following millennia, Etrigan's instincts as a born engine of destruction kept in check by Jason Blood's honorable character meaning that most often the Demon has been set against creatures of his own domain in defense of mankind. Blood currently works as an Occultist in Gotham though he's very much a jet setter and can be spotted just about anywhere in the world there's mystery afoot. The advice I would give is DO NOT seek out any more information about this in person. If ANYTHING was left on your car (blood, fangs, scales, scraps of cloth) that you KNOW come from Etrigan or the other demon or can't otherwise identify. I have been tasked with giving you some instructions by my said occult colleagues. 1. Gather up as much of the mass of the object as you can.

2. Burn it, if you are religious, pray while you burn it. In fact, praying during every step of this disposal process couldn't hurt.

3. Gather up the ashes, wrap them in a burlap sack tied off with a leather cord (yes the material is important).

4. Place (DO NOT THROW) the bag beneath the current of cold, running water.

5. Wait for any bubbles or any motion within the bag to stop, anything that's drowning in there is not your responsibility.

6. Gently release the bag and do not take your eyes off it until it either hits the bottom or vanishes from sight.

7. Scoop up the water in a metal container with your RIGHT hand

8. Douse the spot you picked up the material from with the water. Do not touch, sit on or otherwise interact with the spot until the water has naturally dried.

9. If at ANY POINT these processes do not go as planned. If you notice signs of your car or home being rearranged without your knowledge. Or otherwise sense anything amiss, contact a licensed occultist from www.Shadowpact.org and follow any further instructions TO. THE. LETTER

10. Make a mental note that you do NOT fuck around with magic. Magic is NOT a joke or a scam. And the people who deal with magic are VERY well educated in how not to get themselves killed. YOU ARE NOT.

[johannestevans]

genuinely don't understand many other self-published fiction people's approach to marketing, which seems to take its cues from like. people who sell self-help books, or like. fucking do drop shipping

your goal is to find the people who like work like yours and connect them with it.

i think it's really difficult for people to envisage this because they're just poisoned by commercialism & capitalism as exists today, where every company is basically trying to strongarm, manipulate, and trick every single person in the world into buying their product

it's not just stupid and impossible from a marketing perspective, even for whatever garbage they might be shilling, but it's particularly misguided to do for a piece of fucking art or entertainment

and part of it i suppose is just like. a lack of identity but also a desperate fear of rejection

in order to meaningfully think about who will like, love, identify with, crave, and otherwise want to engage with your work, you have to meaningfully think about the people who won't

and that's scary bc a lot of people want to be vulnerable by creating art but don't want to be perceived or judged

and certainly don't want to be rejected, or receive negative reviews, or have people say "egh, it's not my thing", as if that's going to be the immediate death knell on their career

but it's just like. the thing of "i must try to make everyone in the world buy my book" will lead to MORE rejection

idk man. who are you? what's your work, like, about, at the core of it? what are the problems in it? what's the pathos, the core tragedy or core comedy, the meaning? what makes it entertaining? what makes it fun, or miserable, or horrifying? why did you write it? that's why people will read it

what's funny is that i talk to straight people all the time who can't do this, and they think that the way i do it is just by being like. hey boys, i'm a homosexual crippled jew, and my work is about that. and then i sell my books to my fellow disabled gay jews and such

which, sure, a bit

but what my work is actually about is like. trauma and trauma recovery. making peace with the many limits of your body and your relationships, and the limitations placed on you by your scars or your circumstances. fucked up monster sex, which is itself radical acceptance of the horror of our bodies

a lot of gayjew cripples and trans folk identify with that shit because… you know. of fucking course

but a lot of other people do as well, my work is in many ways informed by my identity, but the core themes aren't

many people DON'T like my work bc it's not plotted or structured traditionally

"what was the point?" many disappointed readers ask. "there's no actual STORY here," many complain. "nothing happens," many understandably grumble.

any jew or homosexual will tell you - there's no story. there's just suffering, and then you try to make it better, and then there's more suffering.

but you try to make it better, and it gets a bit better. you take your painkillers, you put balm on the wound. you fall down - maybe someone pushes you down. doesn't matter. get up again.

and for a lot of people, that's fucking dull as shit. where's the adventure? where's the fucking stakes?

and that's fine. there's plenty of books written for those people, they're just not written by me. i'm too busy doing my thing. and what i'm also too busy doing is selling my work to people who actually WANT it, rather than trying to trick people into buying it who won't.

part of the horror of meaningfully looking at your work and going, "okay, who is this for, and who is it NOT for?" is like. not just accepting your limitations, but also having genuine faith in your work. some people won't like it, but some people will fucking adore it. and you have to lean into it

and mostly stop paying for fucking facebook ads. jesus wept. what's wrong with you.

[toko-tuesday]

Don't Forget Your Keys (Diluc x Reader)

For definitely not the first, but probably not the last time, the Darknight Hero had overestimated himself. After yet another encounter with the Abyss Order, Diluc found himself dragging his feet through the streets of Mondstadt in the middle of the night. He winced as he covered the bleeding wound on his side with his gloved hand. Despite the pain, Diluc continues on, making his way towards Monstadt’s gate. He’s praying to every Archon above that he doesn’t get spotted.

But eventually, he feels too weak to continue on.

“I won’t make it to Dawn Winery in this condition,” he thinks to himself, leaning his back against a wall as his chest heaves.

His break is short lived as he hears the sound of what would possibly be the eighth Pyro Abyss Mage he’s seen tonight. He swears quietly as he begins to walk again, hoping the monster hadn’t seen him already.

His breath hitches as he remembers something. Your house was nearby. In fact, you had given Diluc your spare key just in case he needed it. He silently thanked the Archons for giving him such a caring and thoughtful partner before he made his way to your doorstep. He leaned against your door as he reached into his pocket to grab the keys you gave him. His blood instantly runs cold when they aren’t there.

He defeated sigh rolls off his lips. Your bedroom was on the top floor of the two story house, meaning he would have to knock loudly to get your attention. With the area still being compromised by the Abyss Order, he wouldn’t want to knock and risk being found by them in his weakened state. Plus, he would feel guilty about waking you. The pain from his battle wound courses through his veins like lighting as he thinks, causing him to groan.

He looks around for something, anything, that could get your attention without making too much noise. His gaze falls upon a nearby flowerpot. He sighs, rolling his eyes at the pathetically cliche idea that’s formed in his head. He quietly shuffles over to the flower pot, reaches into it, and pulls out a few small stones. He shamefully shakes his head to himself before looking up to the window of your bedroom.

One by one, he begins to weakly throw the stones. They each bounce off your window with a rhythmic “wa-pap!” sound. He pauses for a few seconds between each one, just in case you wake up and open the window. He begins to lose hope as the pain from his wound becomes more intense with every throw. He looks down at his hand, eyebrows furrowing as he realizes that he’s quickly made it to his last stone. Though he doesn’t believe in it, he kisses it for good luck before throwing it at your window… maybe a little too hard.

The sound of shattering glass jolts you awake. You’re practically panting from fear as you sit up in your bed. You turn your head to identify where the rude awakening came from, only to see your bedroom window has been broken. You light the lantern on your bedside table, and begin to investigate. You make your way over to the window, careful to avoid stepping on any of the glass shards or the small stone lying amongst them.

You cautiously look out your broken window and see a familiar silhouette. You rub your eyes to make sure you aren’t dreaming, but doing this only makes your vision clearer. There, in the middle of the street, stands an embarrassed and extremely guilty looking Diluc.

“What the fuck, Diluc?” you whisper-yell, not wanting to wake up your still sleeping neighbors.

A string of apologies fall from your partner’s lips before he explains, “I forgot my keys, love. I was just trying to get your attention, but it… backfired.”

You sigh and roll your eyes as you make your way downstairs. You unlock your door and motion for Diluc to come in. He quickly enters your partially shared house, quickly shutting and locking the door behind him like he’s running from something. “Diluc?” you begin to ask, surprised by the redhead’s out of character behavior.

He doesn’t meet your concerned eyes, his chest rising and falling heavily as he leans his back against the door.

By now all the color has drained from his face. The bangs of his fiery red hair are stuck to forehead by the cold sweat streaming down his face. Your eyes trail down to his gloved hand which has been firmly planted against his side since you saw him. He winces as you gently intertwine your fingers with his, slowly pulling his hand away so you can see what’s wrong. You gasp upon seeing the long, heavily bleeding gash on his side.

“Archons above,” you whisper as you look up from Diluc’s wound to meet his eyes.

Thankfully, you look up just in time to see Diluc’s eyes flutter shut. You brace yourself as his body becomes limp and falls towards you. You use every ounce of your strength to keep him from colliding with the floor. You begin to slowly guide him to the living room couch.

“‘Mmmsorry…” he mumbles as he slowly starts to regain consciousness.

He groans as you help him sit down.

“Stay here. Don’t move a muscle,” you say, before making your way to the kitchen.

“Couldn’t if I wanted to,” he replies quietly, his half lidded eyes following you.

From your cabinet, you pull out a small box of medical supplies, along with a white cloth. You set the supplies down on your living room table before returning to your kitchen. You then grab the loaf of bread you made earlier, cutting off a slice for your wounded partner. You bring it to him with a glass of water.

You sit down beside him on the couch, bringing the glass to his lips. His head falls back as you help him drink the water. After a few sips, you move the glass away as a drop of water rolls from Diluc's lips. You gently wipe it away with your thumb. You sigh with concern at how weak he's become. 

"Let's get these off of you," you say, tugging at his heavy leather jacket. 

You're pretty much puppeteering the crimson eyed man as you stand in front of him, helping him out of his blood soaked gloves, jacket, plethora of belts, and his disheveled white vest that was now stained red in some spots. He reaches his weak, trembling hands up to his neck to undo his tie. You gently push them down into his lap, sighing as you remove the fabric for him. 

Now for the most emotionally taxing part. You slowly undo the buttons of his torn undershirt, silently praying that Diluc’s wounds wouldn’t be as bad as they seemed once you could see them better. Your prayers unfortunately fall deaf upon the Archons’ ears as Diluc’s shirt rolls off his shoulders. Apart from the bleeding wound, his whole torso was littered with fresh bruises and cuts. Your hand flies to your mouth at the sight.

“Diluc…” you say, barely above a whisper, “Honey, what happened?”

He turns his head to avoid looking into your worried eyes.

“Abyss Order,” he mumbles, causing another sigh to escape your lips.

You grab a small vial of medicine from your box of supplies. You pour a moderate amount of it on the white cloth before gently pressing it against Diluc’s wound. He hisses at the contact.

“So, is it safe to assume that the Darknight Hero got his ass handed to him tonight?” you ask as you carefully swipe the cloth over the gash.

Diluc “hmph!”s in response before saying, “Well, maybe someone has to get a little roughed up to keep this city safe from the horrors of the night.”

He winces again as you continue to clean his wound.

“This isn’t ‘a little’, Diluc,” you say, matter-of-factly.

With help from the medicine and applied pressure, the wound has stopped bleeding. Now that you can see it clearly, it isn’t awful. Still pretty bad, but not awful. 

You give him the slice of bread you had cut for him. He quietly takes small bites out of it while you begin to tend to his smaller cuts and bruises, placing small drops of medicine and bandages over them. You then reach into your med box once more and pull out a roll of bandages. You position yourself so that you’re now straddling Diluc’s lap. You place his aching arms on your shoulders. They rest there as you start to wrap the bandage around his waist, covering his now medicated wound. 

“You know,” you begin as you continue to doctor your partner, “It seems a little unfair that the safety of Mondstadt is on a single man’s shoulders when we already have guards and whatnot.”

For the first time tonight, Diluc turns to face you. He studies your face, taking in how focused you look while trying to secure the bandages around him.

“Mondstadt wouldn’t need me to protect it if the Knights of Favonius weren’t so damn incompetent,” he retaliates, his voice coated in annoyance.

You scoff at Diluc’s comment as you give the bandage wrap one last tug before securing it.

“Oh, so proving you’re better than the Knights is worth more than your own life?” you ask sarcastically, your eyebrows furrowing in frustration.

“Absolutely. Without a single doubt,” he sternly replies through gritted teeth.

You groan so loudly that it practically comes out as a scream. Before you know it, you’re off of Diluc’s lap and pacing around your living room, while he continues to sit on the couch with his arms crossed over his well bandaged torso.

“I just don’t understand it, Diluc,” you say, stopping in your tracks to face him, “I know you don't see eye-to-eye with the Knights of Favonius, but risking your life every night isn’t the way to go about this! Why do you insist on dancing with death for the sake of proving a point?”

You feel your face become hot with anger when your question is met with silence. You fight back tears as you watch Diluc continue to avoid your gaze by staring at the wall.

“You are so fucking stubborn. Would it be too much for you to just consider your own well-being for once?”

The tears that you’ve been fighting begin to make themselves known as they stream down your face.

“Because you aren’t being careful,” your words become broken as your sentences turn to sobs, “And I’m tired of being scared that you won’t be able to see tomorrow if you step out that door.”

You don’t know how you ended up there, but you find yourself kneeling on the floor, sobbing loudly into your hands. Before you can even process anything else, Diluc is on the floor with you, holding your trembling body against his chest.

“I’m sorry… I’m so so sorry,” he whispers over and over again, “I never intended to make you cry.”

His large, warm hands cup your face as he wipes away your tears with his thumbs. He places soft kisses on your forehead as he continues to apologize to you until you’ve calmed down.

“I… didn’t realize how much this was affecting you,” he says, quietly.

“Clearly not, asshole,” you mumble, but he still hears.

He lets out a soft chuckle at your brutally honest reply.

“Then, I’ll make you a promise. After tonight, the Darknight Hero will no longer make nightly appearances. You’ll only hear about him when the city needs him the most. And I’ll try to be more cautious. Okay?”

You tilt your head up upon hearing Diluc’s proposition. You scan his face for any hint of deception. His tired crimson eyes look back at you, filled with nothing but honesty. Nevertheless, you hold up your pinky, never once breaking eye contact with him.

“Are you serious?” he asks, laughing softly at your childish gesture.

You don’t say anything. You reply by raising your eyebrows and waving your pinky in a slow circle.

Diluc sighs, wrapping his pinky around yours before bringing your hand to his lips to place a soft, apologetic kiss on it.

Soon, waves of exhaustion crash into you, reminding you of how late it’s become.

“Let’s go to bed,” Diluc says as he pulls you into his lap.

He brings you as close as he possibly can to his chest before standing with you in his arms. His weak legs shake as he tries to gain his balance. “Don’t push yourself,” you say, gently placing a hand on your shoulder.

He replies with a soft kiss on your nose as he begins to make his way up the stairs to your, and sometimes his, bedroom.

Once in the room, he’s reminded of how he woke you up in the first place as he gently sets you down on the bed.

“I’ll make sure that gets fixed,” he says, referring to your shattered window.

“I sure hope so,” you reply with a yawn.

He carefully makes his way to the other side of the bed, trying to avoid stepping on any of the glass shards still on the floor. He kicks off his boots before getting underneath the duvet covers with you. You bury your face into his chest as one of his arms snakes around your waist, pulling you closer to him. The sound of his heartbeat and shallow breathing begin to slowly send you back to sleep.

But suddenly, you and Diluc hear a sound that makes both of your bodies tense up. It’s the familiar sound of a lone Abyss Mage still roaming the streets of Mondstadt.

“Shit,” Diluc whispers, recalling the monster he hid from moments before coming to your house.

He gives you a pleading look, knowing he won’t be able to sleep if he doesn’t take care of the problem now.

You sigh, giving Diluc an affirming nod. He gives you a small, thankful smile before he pulls you in for a kiss. He kisses you slowly and longingly, like he’s apologizing for having to leave again.

“Don’t forget your keys,” you mumble sleepily against his lips as he continues to kiss you.

He chuckles softly, thanking you for the reminder.

“I’ll be back before dawn. I promise,” he says as he slowly begins to shuffle out of bed.

He begins to rummage through your wardrobe, searching for some of the clean clothes he’s left behind. He settles on a white button up.

“What else do you promise?” you tease, as you watch him button up his shirt in the moonlight.

“I… promise I’ll be careful?”

“And?”

“And… I promise your window will be fixed first thing tomorrow morning.”

“Atta boy.”

You roll over on your side, snuggling into your warm pillows with a sleepy smile. Diluc hums softly as he makes his way back to you. He plants a gentle kiss on your cheek before saying, “I love you”. You hum back in response, already being pulled back into another dream. Diluc smiles as he makes his way back downstairs. This time he makes sure his keys are in his pocket before leaving the house. He’s going to need them if he genuinely intends to keep his promises to you.

[artist-issues]

From one Christian to another, you seem like someone who stays true to your values, convenient or not, and that’s exactly what I need.

In short, what’s your stance on writing LGBTQ characters? Does including such characters normalize sin, or is it comparable to writing about any other flawed human? I’ve heard some say I could write such characters out of a sense of realism, but fiction is made up of a writer’s intentional choices, and I don’t think one can have those choices and not say something to the audience.

I’ve looked all over the internet for a definite answer to this, and most results are either vague or very permissive without any scriptural backing. Your thoughts?

I think your head is on good and straight!

I am not an expert on this but I'll give you my unprofessional opinion.

The truth is, sin is normal. I mean, it's normal in this world. We're living in a cursed, fallen world. So if you were going to write a story about wildlife in Africa, there'd be a place in the story for a zebra. Because zebras are normal... in Africa. You wouldn't have to be making a comment about zebras to include them in a story about Africa; they just naturally are in that setting.

When you're writing a story about this world, and humans, that same sense applies. There's a possibility for any and all sin to be mentioned in the story. Because that's normal in this world.

Now, I guess that wasn't always the case. Even ten years ago having a homosexual couple in your story would've been surprising, and you could've run the risk of "normalizing it," because of the low percentage of people identifying as homosexual. But now? With the social contagion and overwhelming popularity, especially in adolescents, of the very idea of gender-fluidity and open-ended attraction? You're not so much "normalizing it" anymore.

Everybody's talking about being LGBTQ+. Everybody's making a statement. The question is no longer "are you going to say something about it?" The question is kind of "WHAT are you going to say about it?" Even by leaving the topic out, if it's a story about modern day life in the West on Planet Earth, you're saying something by leaving it out.

(Note: if your story isn't on Planet Earth in the Modern ((and RECENT)) time period, and even if it isn't in the West, then I wouldn't put homosexuality in your story. I can elaborate on why if you'd like in a different ask.)

So I'm basically saying it's comparable to writing about any other flawed human. 😅

As for Scriptural basis, there's no verse that says "don't talk about homosexuality," --and talking about it is all that "telling a story which includes the topic" is.

For storytelling principles found in the Bible: Jesus put one guy choking another guy out over a debt into one of His stories. That was to illustrate the depravity of the guy who was forgiven of much, but wouldn't forgive his fellow man of a little.

So now I have two very important questions for you!

If you are going to put a homosexual couple in your story, why are they there?

You have to answer this question for every decision you make in a story...but with this, because you are putting a sin in your story, the important thing to note is that the culture we're in doesn't actually consider it a sin. So by putting the sin in the story at all, you're right, you have to say something about it. You have to say that it's good or it's bad.

Doesn't have to be super in-your-face. I mean, Kuzco's "sin" is that he's selfish. So in the first scene he insults a bunch of women. And they all react like he's a monster; one of them's crying, the other one's lunging at him, but it's all just in the background. The point of the scene is that he's funny but he's a jerk and he's selfish; and those traits, "jerk" and "selfish" are treated like they're bad things, not good things, about Kuzco. A good rule of thumb is "call what is good 'good,' and call what is bad ''bad."

2. And this is the really important one, from one Christian to another: why are you considering adding a homosexual couple to your story?

You don't have to answer me, but ask yourself that question super honestly and examine every possible reason. Of course it doesn't really apply if you're not writing a story, you're just wondering about it on principle.

More on the point: I think sometimes, Christians cover up some sins by not talking about them, and it's not out of a desire be self-controlled and careful with their words. It's out of a warped desire to appease the culture.

C.S. Lewis says something like this in Surprised By Joy. My understanding of him was, Christians in the 40s didn't want to ever talk about homosexuality because, to them, it seemed the worst of sins...but when you examined how they came to that conclusion, you realized that the only things that made homosexuality different from other sins was that, if you were discovered to be engaging in homosexual sin, you'd lose your job and your fame. So Christians were choosing not to talk about it, even if all they were planning on saying was "homosexuality is wrong and God's definition of sexuality is right," because to address it at all was taboo to your public appearance.

That's a really bad reason for Christians not to talk about something. Christians know that all sin has been defeated and conquered by Christ. So why are we acting like mentioning it gives it power? Mention the sin (not the people sinning, but the sin) like it's a monster that WAS terrible and scary, but once Jesus gets ahold of it it's actually powerless and slain.

Christians have done the same thing with sex. It's supposed to be this awesome act of worship that God created to point to the cosmic idea of oneness with Him. It's supposed to be a wonderful thing, like singing beautiful songs or eating good food; all in the right way, in the right time. But Christians saw people using it sometimes in the wrong way, at the wrong time, so they threw the whole freakin baby out with the bath water and now the Church in the West is just starting to turn the corner and talk about sex again. But young people really needed to hear about it, the right way, from the Church, generations ago.

Anyway. Soapbox. The point is, if you know that homosexuality is a sin that is only destructive when it isn't submitted to Christ, and you're going to call it THAT, then what's to fear? Why does the corrupt culture get to hog the mic? So what if it wasn't a widely-accepted sin again until recently? Acting like it wasn't worth addressing, or like calling attention to it would've made the sin expand, didn't do anything to actually stop the culture from treating it like a good thing.

If Christians don't remind everybody of truth, the culture will twist it.

It's like being at a kid's birthday party, and you notice a tiger slinking over the backyard fence. Only instead of warning everybody you just sit there and try not to look directly at it. Try not to draw attention to the tiger. Because if you do, the kids might run over and try to pet it. So it's best to just sit there and hush everybody who points the tiger out up? No! The tiger's in the yard! It's too late to ignore it! Point it out, and point it out for what it is: not a big kitty you can pet, but a big dangerous beast that will hurt you if you don't treat it like that's what it is.

Rrrrg.

Thank you for asking me this question.

P.S. VERY IMPORTANT:

If you ARE writing a story, and you DO feel convicted about putting homosexual couples in the story—don't do it. Why? After everything J just said?

Because the one scripture that trumps everything I said is the one about your personal convictions: Romans 14:23. It's talking about meat sacrifices to idols, but the principle is, if you make a decision that is not based in faith, it's sin. So if you read everything I just said and still feel convicted about writing in a homosexual couple, it's not a good idea to force yourself to do it anyway. Because if you're forcing yourself to ignore conviction, it means you're making a decision based on...what? Peer pressure? A sound argument? Neither of which are agreed with by your redeemed-conscience? Can't be a decision based on faith, then, right?

We can talk more about that if you want!

Pray about it. Have you done that? Sometimes I get so spun into my own reasoning and puzzling something out, and then I'm like, "God is literally watching the inside of my brain spin itself out, He's standing right there with the answers and I don't even bother to ask 😅" Don't do that!

Thanks again for the hard question.

[fantasyinvader]

Lately, there was stuff on my dash about Edelgard lying during her supports with Byleth in an attempt to manipulate them into joining her. Namely, that she made up her siblings. Now, I admit I floated the idea prior to Hopes, since the only mentions of her siblings were by Edelgard and Hubert. No one else seemed to have anything to say about their deaths, then Hopes revealed people don’t know they are dead and are only rumored to be so...which raises questions about how no one talks about the 9th child of the emperor being made heir.

So Hopes established that Edelgard didn’t make up her siblings, but that doesn’t mean she didn’t lie during the support.

I noticed something.

Edelgard’s C+ support, the thing needed in order for her to ask Byleth to join her in Enbarr, is locks once the player reaches the chapter where she asks it. The last chance for the player to get it is before Byleth gains their Enlightened One class. Here’s the kicker though, in the event for that chapter titled A Form of Grief, there’s the scene where Edelgard-As-Flame-Emperor and Thales talks. Edelgard identifies Thales as the one who was behind the events in Enbarr and Duscur, and Thales explains that everything he’s done is to give Edelgard power so that she may purge the surface of “beasts.”

The reason why this is important is that this contradicts what Edelgard says to Byleth in the C+ support. Now, when Edelgard tells Byleth about the experiments they have two options; asking who was behind it and asking why they were done, to which Edelgard replys it was Duke Aegir and the nobility and to create a strong emperor to rule Fodlan respectively. During the Enbarr trip, Ionius will also say it was Aegir, but then during Crimson Flower during the event titled Disquiet Hubert says that the ones who experimented on Edelgard, killed her siblings and made her father their puppet was Arundel and the group he leads which Kronya and Solon were a part of. In other words it was TWSITD who did these things, and he says that Edelgard must have already told you all this. Hopes even made it clear that while there’s tons of evidence against Aegir being a corrupt bastard, there isn’t any for the worst things Edelgard is accusing him of.

Edelgard tries to cover this up, saying he must have destroyed the evidence... but not the evidence of his corruption.

Ionius was a puppet of Thales and blamed Aegir for the experiments. Ferdinand’s paralogue, not available in Flower, reveals that Arundel/Thales also used Aegir as a scapegoat for his brutal rule and heavy taxation on the people of Hymr, and that while Aegir wasn’t a good ruler he wasn’t a monster. Said paralogue also makes it clear that the point of the Insurrection was to strip the emperor of power after Ionius tried to consolidate it on himself, so experimenting on Edelgard to create a “strong emperor to rule Fodlan” makes no damn sense since the Insurrection weakened the emperor’s power.

And looking at the timing, A Form of Grief happens during the last month the player can unlock Edelgard’s C+ support. So during the last month Edelgard can tell the player it was Aegir, Edelgard herself talks to Thales about it, contradicting her claim it was Aegir, and Thales tells her why it happened, contradicting the reason Edelgard gives the player.

The timing is important here. At the end of the month where Edelgard’s first support opens, it ends with a scene between her and Hubert about her reaching out to Byleth, who can wield the SotC in her stead. During the events of the Goddess Tower, Edelgard tells Byleth about how her parents met but that same month a NPC says it was a legend from long ago. Now we have Edelgard’s C+ support ending around the same time story events of the game discredit what she tells Byleth. Then, if Byleth rejects Edelgard she says during combat that she wishes Byleth could have been swayed by her actions and words, and in the Japanese script she did whatever she could for that.

The alternative is that Edelgard ignores the truth whenever convenient, such as how in Hopes she admits she ignored how much influence the Agarthans have within the Empire. Edelgard NEEDS the nobility to be the cause of her suffering with the Church pulling their strings, otherwise she would be forced to admit that she’s doing exactly what the people who did those things to her want her to do. That the teachings she wants to replace with her ideals had nothing to do with what happened, and that the information that informed her ideals came from the mouth of a puppet of those who wanted to control her.

But Edelgard did know, she kept the player in the dark, and the game later titles her the lady of deceit. Really, that’s the game coming clean right there.

[starhaloeklypse]

Ladies, Gentleman, Those who identify as neither or both, It is FINALLY here. I am so excited to bring this comic to you all and I hope it resonates with many of you out there. Here is my cover of the Undertale Fan Comic I’m working on; “JigsawTale : The Ascension of the PuzzleMaster”. A Post-Pacifist ending long-running Undertale fanwork that centers the perspective of Papyrus. He’s our main character, and we’ll get to see how well he integrates into life on the surface in the human world , along with all of his friends and found family. How difficult is life for monsters who are perceived as even stranger than the average monster is ? He’ll have many obstacles to overcome because Papyrus just isn’t like most monsters. I’m very excited to share my work with you all, this story means so much to me and so much of it is inspired by and informed by my own lived experience. Papyrus is the character I relate to the most in pretty much all of fiction and I feel like I’m telling my story through him, sort of, but also his own at the same time. He’s my favorite for a reason and I think it’s time we give him a moment to shine. The story may contain some potentially triggering topics and events , but when the time comes I’ll be sure to give multiple detailed warnings for anything that needs it. It’s also meant to be viewed by older audiences as such, I’m not really intending for this story to be viewed by kids, it is a story that centers the perspective of an adult who doesn’t always get to feel like one and not only do I think it’ll resonate with that audience more, but it may not be suitable for those who are younger at all times, so I’d proceed with caution. Also I feel I should clarify, I don’t personally see this as much of an “AU”, To me it’s not an alternate universe, so much as it is an extended timeline that asks “What happens to everyone after the end of the ‘pacifist’ run, and what if we looked at all of that from Papyrus’ perspective ?” It’s closer to an epilogue story. Outside of Asgore and Toriel not being immortal in my version of the story and closer to middle age, there are no major differences to the original game, not enough to be considered an AU anyway, but if you see me tag it as one, that’s just to make it easier to find. Regardless , I hope everyone who’s interested gets a chance to read my story when it’s out, it’ll still probably be a while before that happens as I have a lot of things to work on and art skills to improve , but when the day comes , you will know. I plan to continue trying to update when I can. This is just to promote the comic and I hope it reaches as many people as possible. Thank you all for your time and patience, I’m beyond excited.

If you’re interested in the comic and would like to support its development financially , considering I’m a one-man band working on all of this by myself, I’d really appreciate it. If you’d like to request art from me I’d be happy to do so in exchange for donations as well. Any amount helps, and I’d be eternally grateful. Of course however, do not feel pressured to donate. I appreciate you tuning in either way and I hope you all enjoy the story.

[tragicbeauty1991]

So I know I’m extremely late to the party, but I FINALLY got around to watching Wish now that it’s up on Disney+ and…I genuinely don’t understand why it got so much hate?? Sure, maybe it wasn’t on par with things like The Lion King or Frozen in terms of the lasting effect it’ll have on pop culture but it was still a good, fun film with original characters and plot and catchy songs. While I can see where some of the complaints are coming from, I feel like ultimately most of them blow the issues out of proportion. As for my personal thoughts on the film…

- The songs were good overall. Maybe not as memorable as some of my favorite ‘90s Disney jams, but topping Phil Collins and Elton John is admittedly hard to do. Ariana DeBose and Chris Pine were great, though. I honestly had no idea Chris Pine could sing so well. “At All Costs” was by far my favorite song of the entire film. I would have loved to see it as a love duet rather than singing to the wishes but regardless, it’s beautiful. “This is the Thanks I Get” got a lot of flak, but honestly, I thought it was catchy and fun—rather reminiscent of Gaston’s pub song about himself.

- Speaking of Magnifico… More backstory, please! I would love for a sequel to do what they did with Frozen and explain all the things that were not fully developed in the first film. I want to know details on what happened to Magnifico’s family… But man, oh man… Was I EVER happy to get a “real villain” again with more of a classic Disney feel—dramatic, over the top, a little unhinged…and just FUN. I think the reason so many people seem to be having a problem with him is that they don’t quite know how to categorize him, though, before his ultimate downward spiral after being possessed by the book. (I think after that point, no one would argue about him being a villain.) But before…while he’s definitely narcissistic and has a temper…he’s not straight-up evil. There’s a big difference in being a bit of a jerk and being someone who makes you legitimately fear for your life. In fact, we have several heroic characters in the Disney canon who at least start out their story in a similar vein. Prince Naveen, Peter Pan, and Emperor Kuzco, for example, are all full of themselves and entitled…but they ultimately choose to do the right thing when it comes down to people they care about. That is to say, Magnifico’s less than ideal character traits we see early on in the film shouldn’t automatically qualify him as a villain. He could frankly go either way. And then when he does “go dark” it’s ONE stupid decision on his part (going for the book) that ruins any chance he had of being like the aforementioned characters. Personally, I like the complexity…and the tragedy of what it means for Queen Amaya. Which reminds me…

- Yes, a villain power couple would have been fun. But honestly, I think I like this better. Partly because of the angst potential here. For all his faults, Amaya DOES genuinely love him, and watching him slowly lose his mind and himself to the power-hungry monster he becomes has to be absolutely heartbreaking for her. Also…maybe it’s just because I identify with Amaya here. I have been in a bad relationship where I did truly love the other person and thought they loved me…but ultimately, they seemed to love themselves more. And I made excuse after excuse for his behavior for a long time because I couldn’t see what he was doing to me…didn’t want to see it…because I loved him. People say Amaya had to have known sooner that something rotten was going on but I don’t know that she ever allowed herself to think anything other than the best of him. Amaya has a good heart…and sometimes those people see the best in others even when it isn’t there. What I really would have loved is to have Amaya and Magnifico sing a short reprise of “At All Costs” in which Amaya is asking, “Really? You’ll hoard all these wishes for your own selfish reasons even at the cost of losing your people’s love? Of losing me?” And Magnifico is just…stoically resolute. That would have hurt but it would have been so good!

- Similarly, I don’t get the complaint about Star. I wouldn’t mind seeing Star Boy like he was in the concept art and having a romance with Asha. But also…Star is ADORABLE, okay?? He may not speak but he has so much personality. Makes me think of like…Pascal in Tangled or even Tinkerbell.

- I know a lot of people complained about there being too many references to other Disney films but this just seems like a silly argument to me. Disney has always liked to leave little Easter eggs in their films and have some fun with crossovers. I am thinking of the Genie imitating Pinocchio and pulling Sebastian out of nowhere in Aladdin. Hidden characters in the background of other films like Flynn and Rapunzel showing up in Arendelle. Hidden Mickeys. And of course shows that were all about a Disney multi-verse that sort of pokes fun at itself like Once Upon a Time, House of Mouse, and even Ralph Breaks the Internet. With this being a special anniversary film, of course we ought to expect more nods to other films and Disney animation history. I thought it was cute. Especially Magnifico’s jab at Asha’s little moving drawing. (“Is that a talent?”) Made me literally laugh out loud.

- I think the one complaint I do agree with at least in part is the, “But Magnifico was right, though??” Some dreams shouldn’t come true. Especially if it’s a wish you’re making when you’re 18. There are definitely things I wished for at 18 that I am glad I did not get in hindsight. Sometimes what we wish for isn’t what’s best for us or others. And while Asha’s wishes are selfless and for others…she seems to assume that everyone else will also have equally harmless, selfless wishes. It’s sweet but perhaps a bit naive. Also…Asha has good intentions but it is rather funny and frustrating as the adult to watch this teenager come in and try to upset the whole system thinking she knows better than the person who has been running the kingdom for years. That said… Asha isn’t totally wrong either. The wishes do ultimately belong to the people who made them and it’s better even if it’s painful to have a dream in your heart than to be lacking purpose. It may be easier to forget the wishes entirely but certainly not healthier. Ironically, if only these two could have worked together, they actually would have made a great team.

Overall, I liked the film. And I think if I was still a child myself, I would have enjoyed it even more.

[monsterfuckerconfessions]

Welcome to Monster Fucker Confessions!

~ This is a place where you may submit anonymous monster related confessions to our ask box.

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~ "Confessions" can mean many things here. It can be just thoughts you have on the subject of monsters. It can be sharing your experiences as a monster enthusiast. It can be story ideas and concepts. Really anything goes.

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~ In addition, confessions submitted here do NOT have to be sexual. They can be sexual, but that isn't a requirement. This is a place for monster enthusiasts of all kinds to freely shout anonymously into the void. Whether you're into monsterfucking, monster-cuddling, or you just think they're neat, you're welcome here.

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New guidelines will be added as needed.

[vibrantstarfire]

the thing about writing women created by men is that the men will have written them as women first and people second. they write men with no limit to their stories — but the women’s stories are most frequently about romance, sexuality, motherhood, and limitations placed by fathers or boyfriends.

you can’t ignore that those things happened though. you can’t force their stories to just be about something else entirely.

so instead, you have to identify the collection of woman-tropes he decided she would have, find out what kind of person would have that specific collection of tropes written in that specific way. and then work your way back from there to find the humanity. you have to ask, okay, ignore society’s impossibly strong influence for a minute. what are her personal stakes in this limiting trope?

so she’s in love. with who? why? does she want to be? is it reciprocated? what is this love worth to her? does she love romance, and is romance separated from the love she feels to the people themselves?

so she had sex, so she seeks sex, is sexy. does this actually say anything interesting about her? is it good sex? are there risks to having it? are these risks worth it to her? does she like sexual attention? is she afraid of it?

so she’s a mother. why? did she want to be? is she a good one? does she like it? does she like her kid? how much of her identity does this title take? how much of her time? does she feel regret? is she alone? who, if anyone, helps her? what decisions does she get to make about her child’s welfare? how does this impact her relationship to her other identities, including her career? does she have one? why or why not?

so the man in her life told her no. well, does she listen? why? why not? what are the stakes if she doesn’t? what is he to her, and why does it matter? does her boyfriend treat her like her father does? does her father treat her like a boyfriend would? what control is exerted over her life, her appearance, her aspirations? what is the most effective way to push back — does she know about it? does she do it? how tired is she of having her life dictated by men?

you have to pretend that nothing is sexist for a moment and that everything these women have ever done is only personal; you have to pretend that there is no outside influence, no writer making her do these things. because otherwise, if you pretend these haven’t happened on the grounds that women are more than these limiting tropes — it becomes awfully depressing when there’s nothing left after scooping these stories out. if they’ve had few storylines that aren’t limited to the four general woman-storylines, who is she without them? if she hasn’t done these things, sometimes that means she has done nothing at all. and there is nothing a sexist writer would love more than a woman who has had zero impact on the plot.

so we’re left with breathing new life into these limitations.

and then, when you have figured out the core of why she behaves like these tropes, then you add in new stories that do not fundamentally contradict the kind of person you have just painted. you create a woman from the bones of femininity and you give her a beating heart.

and then you make your answers to these questions matter. you make them integral to the world around her.

and lastly, if you can, if you have not already been eaten alive by the monster of male hegemony that guards the sacred texts — you give her an inkling of sense that she’s not the only woman being written by a man’s pen in a man’s world, and you have her make a friend.