#that also isn't a criticism of the game because i get why it happened like it did its just frustrating

[anim-ttrpgs]

Y'all state in the Eureka rulebook (at least the version I have) "In our experience, the more preparation,the better, no matter the genre." I was wondering if you've expanded on that anywhere? I've been rambling in my drafts about how different games talk about prep, including PbtA games which often state outright that you should only make limited preparations.

Yeah this is something that it would be a good idea to expand upon, because “GM prep” is word that has been so diluted and corrupted by D&D5e and its toxic critical role play culture, where “GM prep” means “they will do this, and when they do, the music will be timed just right and the battle map will be so impressive, etc.” PBTA is telling you to avoid prep because it doesn’t want you doing that kind of prep (and no good RPG does). This can work for PBTA for a number of reasons that I actually don’t want to get into in the interest of time but it has a lot to do with the pure genre emulation and the limitedness of the playbooks.

Eureka: Investigative Urban Fantasy, however, cannot get away with this because it is both a much more expansive “toolbox” game and because it is explicitly a mystery-investigation game. There are many other games that do also really benefit from the type of prep that Eureka wants from its GMs, such as dungeon crawlers, but Eureka needs it the most.

But the kind of prep Eureka wants isn't “they will do this and when they do it will be perfectly timed and look so impressive,” it is “what if they do this? What if they do that? What if they do some other third thing?”

A Eureka GM needs to have something ready for the shed behind the house, in case a PC decides to go to the shed behind the house, because this is a mystery game. You can’t just improv it, if you make something up on the spot, then and that thing doesn’t perfectly adhere to the facts of the case, the case can be ruined. That’s why we push for using adventure modules so much, because they’re literally designed to do that prep for you.

TL:DR

TTRPGs are games where anything can happen, so instead of being extremely meticulously prepared for one possibility, a good GM is moderately prepared for a wide variety of possibilities. In a game where “the facts” not 100% lining up doesn’t fully matter or isn’t likely to be pried into, you can get away with lower prep in each of your possibilities you’ve prepped for, but in a game where “the facts” and tiny little details are all that matters, you should have a high level of preparedness for each possibility, and the best way to do that is to use an adventure module.

[fangsandfeels]

Playing Veilguard and making it everyone's problem

I am going to rant, and I will rant a lot, and there will be spoilers, so if you're not afraid of them and the game criticism, buckle up.

Elves and their gods

I am absolutely fucking livid about how Veilguard handles the Dalish and elves in general. The events of Trespasser made it clear that the elves started flocking over to Solas, including the elves working for the Inquisition:

After the events at the Winter Palace, elves left the Inquisition under mysterious circumstances, as did elven servants across Thedas. None could say where they went, but those who believed the Inquisitor's story about Fen'Harel wondered just how large the Dread Wolf's forces were... and what the ancient elven rebel had planned.

Solas had multiple spies working for him during Trespasser, and If I remember correctly, there was even a note, left by one of the elves - they were anticipating the great change and the return of the elven glory. Anyways, the established fact is that: elves learned that the stories about their gods were true and one of them now was going to restore the world as it used to be. At least, this is how they interpreted it (maybe, this is the version Solas didn't debunk) and so they started following him.

You might think, the Inquisitor and their allies are going to have a huge problem with breaking it to elves that their chosen leader isn't going to make things better and that their gods don't love them. Especially, if the Inquisitor is a human or anyone who isn't an elf. You'd imagine any attempts will end in failure because of course elves aren't going to listen to outsiders trying to explain their own culture and gods to them. You'd imagine that their trauma caused by centuries of oppression and discrimination will make it impossible for the Inquisitor and anyone else to make them see the truth.

You'd assume anyone who tries to find and stop Solas will be sabotaged every step of the way, feeling themselves horrible for having to clash with people desperate for a chance of a life without injustice - even if it means burning the rest of the world down.

You'd imagine that they will only change their mind if/when they see the harm done by Solas' actions and get to witness their gods true intentions by themselves - which would lead to a massive crisis of faith and schisms happening between elven tribes and groups.

You'd imagine will get all this incredible drama in the Veilguard, with elves initially resisting the group's attempts to stop Solas, then trying to pull themselves together after the revelation. You'd assume there will be zealous groups doubting Solas (because the Dreadwolf is a liar and a deceiver) and intending to use him to actually free the elven gods. You'd think this is how actually some of them get out.

But, NOPE. Not only Solas ends up working alone, with none of his followers throwing themselves at Rook and the party to buy him time, but also all elves now hate Solas because...Varric said so?

You meet a group of Veil Jumpers (elves devoted to exploring their ancient culture and history, learning more about their gods and reclaiming their heritage) and their leader instantly calls Solas an asshole. Based on WHAT?

I get it, Varric had met them before and told them that Solas was Fen'Harel...

(needless to say if you expect players to find and read other media in order to make sense of the events in the game, you are doing something wrong)

...but why were they so fucking calm about it, instantly eating up the "yep, he's bad" version? Even if the Dread Wolf is vilified in the Dalish mythology, wouldn't they be curious about what that means? Wouldn't they have gotten tempted or excited by the implication that other gods exist too? They weren't told the full story - why the fuck did they instantly accept the "Solas is an asshole" narrative? Especially when Solas comes with a promise of a world for the elves like it was meant to be?

WHY?

The Veilguard has no response for that. I guess, Dalish never cared about their history and traditions, and city elves were dandy about Alienages and oppression, so they easily believed some randos over a literal god promising a new, better world.

I don't even play Dalish, but I love their plotline and arcs - and I was bracing myself for some downright painful choices and conflicts during the next Dragon Age. But it felt like the writers couldn't be bothered with developing such a nuanced narrative, so they just waved it all down with "Nah, elves are chill now and they never really cared about their gods in the first place".

[hs-is-loml]

Still Love Him More. (t.b)

Pairing: Tom Blyth x Co-star!Reader, mention of Past!Charles Leclerc x Reader

Summary: some fans can't get over your past relationship with a certain famous ferrari driver while others are obsessed with your new boyfriend.

Type: Social Media AU! face claim is Rachel Zegler

Warnings: toxic fans? mentioned a slightly unhealthy past relationship with charles leclerc. (literally only mentioned and not pictured...), few grammar mistakes in the twitter threads. not a warning but tom blyth being the standard. UNEDITED

a/n: this was inspired by @sofs16 's jealousy, jealousy! + i'm deprived of charles since the f1 season being over rn so maybe i'm a little harsh with him in this... (written in 3am because why not)

masterlist

instagram

y/nupdates has posted

liked by y/nl/nsources, blindedbyblyth, 1ucygrayba1rd, and 26,936 others

y/nupdates y/n with rumored co-star boyfriend tom blyth at the knicks basketball game tonight!

tagged yourusername and tomblyth

view all 571 comments

y/nsidelove rumored? haven't they been dating since last year?

→ peetaspastry i think we all just assumed with the amount these two are together!

→ articarabella they are definitely dating! a few weeks ago y/n went on live and it was pretty much confirmed by them! they also mentioned how tom and her searching for a new place in new york

y/nforlifeee honestly, i don't know how people didn't figure it out sooner

thatonebakucorner who is this man and why is he with y/n😀

→ protectthewags it's her new love interest in tbosas

→ thatonebakucorner so what he's the her new love interest in her life too??!

twitter

instagram

blythandl/nnews has posted

liked by y/npleasegivemeachance, snowbairdsfall, fellforthebuzzcut, and 19,017 others

blythandl/nnews more pictures of y/n and tom during the tbosas

tagged yourusername and tomblyth

view all 236 comments

y/nintbosasera she found an european man with some height to him🙏🏼🙏🏼

→ finnicksspear not the shade to the vroom vroom ex😭

→ welovey/n people need to get over the fact y/n and charles have been broken up for over a year already...

blythfilms something about them just make sense

nevergettingoverthem i've never seen a photo of y/n looking so happy!

→ y/nineverymovie maybe it's because her ex's fans used to belittle her and criticized her on anything she did?

valntynemade i should've known that the f1 girlies would find this

→ staystrongy/n they never miss when y/n is spotted with someone

twitter

instagram

tbosasmemories has posted

liked by y/nupdates, th3hungergam3s, and 32,658 others

tbosasmemories behind the scenes pictures of y/n l/n and tom blyth while filming tbosas!

tagged yourusername, tomblyth, and thehungergames

view all 459 comments

lovelyy/n the casting and sets of this movie are impeccable

unfairodair only tom blyth would make people attracted to a murderous man with a buzzcut

→ watchingforthem the same thing happened with drew starkey playing rafe cameron

soundofsnowlanding the more pictures are released of tom and y/n, the more it makes sense why they fell in love with each other!

→ y/nineverymovie she always seems to laugh more when he's around

livingfory/nreputationera the best thing that happened to y/n and her mental health was getting away from her ex. not to mention how she can actually focus on her career now

→ carlosconfusion i don't get why everyone hates charles so much? what happened between him and y/n?

→ wagsforlife charles and y/n were together from around late 2020 to early 2022. during the relationship, y/n was receiving a lot of hate from charles' fans and took a break from all social media and acting until the press tour of west side story started. many fans still love them but as separate people and not a couple!

→ oneforthewags exactly, that! even though y/n isn't a wag anymore, we still love her and support her work!

tomblyth has posted

liked by yourusername, hunterschafer, mrsamclaflin, and 985,973 others

tomblyth to my favorite person who breathed life into this movie. i will never be able to thank the world for sending you into my life. you are the light in the darkest scenes. i am truly the luckiest person for having you by my side every day. you are beautiful, angel.

tagged yourusername

view all 89,342 comments

yourusername i love you

→ liked by tomblyth and 510 others

→ tomblyth and i endlessly love you.

songbirdsandsnakes snowbaird lives with you two

hunterschafer you guys are too cute!

variety hollywood's favorite couple ❤️

lunasteeples gorgeous girl

thehungergames two incredible leads

jesperjones a cast made up of the loveliest people :)

yourusername has posted

liked by tomblyth, vaughan_reilly, tchalamet and 1,041,109 others

yourusername i cried to him last night about how proud i am of him. he is so wonderful in this film. you will all love him as much as i do. but i still love him more.

but i also wanted to say that i came to adore this man through long days, fun nights, in-depth talks, and silly inside jokes. i spent every day with him and got to know his heart, his sense of humor, his charm, and first and foremost, his immense talent.

my sweet tom, you are unbelievably wonderful in every way. goofy, sincere, and lovable in every moment we have. i love working with you, but beyond that, i love knowing you.

view all 121,054 comments

tomblyth you forgot to mention that i also cried with you last night.

→ tomblyth besides that. i have never met anyone else that is as perfect as every aspect of you. no one will ever have my heart the way you do.

→ liked by yourusername and 649 others

→ yourusername you have me forever.

lilymhe loved the movie! and the amazing chemistry between the two of you!

vogue favorite on and off-screen pair

alyciajasmin beautiful people 🤍

nickkbenson biggest smiles

→ yourusername always!

florencepugh adore you both

[causeimcrayzeebee]

In defense(?) of Tamba Ruiko with the trajectory of chapter 5 so far and what the YouTube comments have been looking like, im seeing very mixed feelings about tamba, so lemme become a defense attorney real quick and give some of my thoughts on her!

now obviously, tamba isn’t everyone’s cup of tea so I totally understand people who just don’t like her. reminder that people do not need very deep reasons (or any at all tbh) to not like a character, people can not like a character for whatever reason n that’s valid!! id just like to give my thoughts n insight into her actions for people to consider (and ofc im not von so this is my interpretation).

yes, tamba was an asshole for exploding at hiroaki. accusing him of faking his apology, of planting the threat, and proceeding to tell him every moment of the killing game he was a shitty person? kinda insane to do, especially when hiroaki has genuinely been trying to get better. not to mention how she pointed out him passing his punishment onto others while she herself did that exact same thing.

but the thing is that episode was tamba calling out hiroaki for shit that she likely knows is a fault of her own as well. tamba and hiroaki clash because they're two sides of the same coin. they are loud, obnoxious, hypocritical people who have looked out for themselves and tried to find someone to blame. they're both flawed people. the difference right now in their stories is that hiroaki has been improving, and tamba hasn't gotten to that point.

let's also remember that hiroaki's outward development hasn't been happening for too long. of course, us as the audience who has seen his growth know he's been struggling in the kg as much as anyone else, and is really trying to be better. ojima, yanagi, and wada especially know that. but those who haven’t been close to him don’t; hasegawa doesn’t understand him as he’s seen the same ups and downs that tamba has. like trial 4, hiroaki has had some regression at some points (which does not discount his general upwards trajectory!!) but out of curiosity, i do want to know why i saw hardly as much of criticism towards hiroaki when he said shit at wada…. im super confused about that. I think it's understandable for tamba to assume what kind of person he is. she hasn't seen what he's gone through. she's upset because she seen him be a dick countless times and assumes he sent the threat because he's the only one left who has been like that towards her.

tamba isn’t as level headed like everyone else has been. she lets fear n paranoia get the best of her, and can you blame her? she is surrounded by people who are all able to solve murders and conduct plans of escape, and while she's tried her hardest to do that too, she isn't as good at it. what she is good at is not something that she can use to contribute to the group, so she feels useless. tamba has said that she doesn't even know how she's still alive and if she even deserves it. with the last trial approaching till the game is supposed to end, i think she's absolutely allowed to be that worried over the threat-- who says she won't be killed for the sake of everyone else's escape? I still have no idea who sent the threat, and I don't think it was hiroaki, but she's in no way overreacting. tamba has been paranoid, especially recently, because she, just like everyone else, doesn't want to die, and knows she'd be an easy victim. while her paranoia has pushed her to do things that would cause her to be even more of a target, it's clear she's just really stressed out about being next. that doesn’t justify trying to look for a scapegoat, but it makes sense as to why.

tamba hasn't gotten the chance to live her life to the fullest. her life has revolved around gymnastics and numbers on a scale. it didn't matter to her parents that she wanted to play soccer, cause "she didn't have the body for it". she couldn't be in theater cause it was too much of a commitment that would take away from gymnastics. she hasn't had agency over her own life, so she has been trying to start doing things on her own. she finally does something about it and rejects hayashi's help.

this doesn't discredit hiroaki's life and what he has/hasn't done, neither does it discredit any other student. it's just human nature for someone to prioritize their life over others in a life or death situation. tamba is trying to make sense of a situation that makes less and less of it.

everyone is exhausted. a month of being trapped in an underground school forced to kill strangers and watching them die one by one? that'll kill you (literally). tamba is just someone who is cracking under the pressure.

of course, if I misinterpreted or missed something, please let me know! my understanding isn't the objectively right one or anything LMAO so please lmk if I am thinking about things the wrong way. thank you for reading ^^

[biancadoes1]

The funny this is i keep seeing "don't criticize Nicola" "she never said they were together" "stop twisting her speech" "she can bring him with her" "media outlet write what they want she can't stop it" "this wouldn't happen if it were Luke" "Nicola didn't say she wanted to be shipped" "Nicola never played games you interpreted it that way" "you are focusing on the man like she said she didn't want to"

All valid points made. We all have opinions and that's ok. The pattern I see is that:

1. Every single group in this fandom has said critical things and non critical things about Nicola and Luke. That should be accepted as fact because there is evidence out there. There are valid points made about things they have and have not done - professionally and what they have shown us personally. There are valid points about the reactions towards them that are/are not fair or good. No one is above critique or praise but it is how it is done that makes the difference. I see a lot of policing of opinions but some of the same persons doing the policing do not try to look at things from different angles and they do not take into consideration they at one point also held the same critiques. They shouldn't police anyone if they are being hypocritical.

2. Seeing something presented and questioning it doesn't necessarily translate to hate. Observing something is off or not the usual of the person character that is presented is not hate. Trying to come up with a theory to explain something isn't hate. Disagreeing with a fashion choice is not hate. Disagreeing with a choice of partner is not hate, it's not our business but it isn't hate. Rereading statements and trying to align that to their actions that goes against somethings they say is not hate. Pointing out where a public figure may have erred is not hate. Having a difference of opinion with another fandom member is not hate. Calling out media publications for articles is not hate. Calling out trolls or trolling behaviour is not hate.

3. What is hate is bullying, trolling, doxxing, name calling, extreme anger towards a celebrity who do not fit expectations and translating that anger into bullying/name calling/online sabotage. Doing the same to people in their circle is hate. Doing the same to others in the fandoms is hate. Doing it unprovoked is hate. Coordinated hit posts/tweets saying vile things about a stranger who happens to be an actor we see on screen is hate. Coordinated hit posts/tweets saying vile things about anyone in the fandom is hate.

4. Hate is a charged emotion that have left a sour taste in the fandom. From all sides not just one.

I only bring this up as I'm seeing the same flaming fire on Tumblr. Blogs are going after each other, calling people names doing the most. Bloggers are being targeted with rude anons or comments. It's ok to call out things that are not right. It's ok to have opinions that differ. It's ok to not like what someone shares on their blog. It's ok to have a change of heart or change of opinion. But the way I've seen it being done is like people are happy to be nasty with their words behind a screen. It isn't even necessary and it's adults doing this. We can enjoy the fandom, we can enjoy our differences, we can enjoy when we misunderstand something and get more information to update what we know/see. We can easily enjoy the actors' work and whatever else about them that draws us to them. They should not be idolized they are not gods. We can enjoy funny posts and reminiscence on past things. It does not matter where you stand in the fandom group/sub group the basic idea is to just enjoy the show.

It's become a nasty space and I see why some people are leaving.

It’s getting pretty bad and a lot of people are getting tired of it.

[average-mako-enjoyer]

Okay, I honestly have to talk about this because this post doesn't give me peace.

I can't reblog it because OP blocked me (for good reason, I'm sure), but I saw it and now I have to talk about it because I found it fascinating.

So this is a reference to the ME3(!) scene that happens after Tuchanka(!!), where Joker and Garrus participate in the joke battle, telling mildly racist jokes about Humans and Turians.

One of the jokes is about Joker himself:

"Why does the Alliance hire pilots with Brittle-Bone Disease?" and the punchline is: "So their marines can beat someone in hand-to-hand drills."

Another is about how to tell when a turian is out of ammo. And the answer is: "He switches to the stick up his ass as a backup weapon."

Personally, I don't think this is a shining example of a failure to criticize racism. In fact, I think it's quite the opposite. Their bonding activity here isn't about being racist, it's about making fun of militant racism among friends. They're literally joking about racist stereotypes here.

Joker: What do you call it when a turian gets killed by a horrible spiky monster? Garrus: Friendly fire. Come on, that one goes back to Shanxi. Joker: Eh, you gotta respect the classics.

I think it's pretty obvious what this dialog is really about, but okay, I could be wrong.

It's like the "you missed the point by idolizing them" meme, but in reverse, I think.

Every single culture in Mass Effect is depicted as xenophobic. The Asari, despite being galactic mediators, have a huge superiority complex. The Turians are a militant empire that believes in striking first and talking later. The Hanar believe that they are the enlightened ones, and they have a subservient intelligent species that they use for their purposes. Salarians believe they can perform inhumane experiments on members of intelligent species because... well, because they can and no one can really stop them. Every Volus we meet thinks they are superior to everyone else. Every Batarian... shall I even talk about the Batarians and how pathetic the excuse is to exclude them from the Council alliance when planets like Illium exist and thrive? How about Krogans?

Everyone here is racist. Everyone. That's the point. You can and should examine how you feel about that.

There isn't a nation on this good old planet Earth that is any different. There's something very animalistic about it, right? We are sort of born with xenophobic attitudes (don't trust people outside your group), and we have to actively unlearn this reaction to people and things we consider dangerous. That's why the portrayal of xenophobia in fiction is so important. It allows us to safely examine these prejudices and unlearn these behaviors. It's not Mass Effect's fault that you see this very clear message as enabling.

Again, it's not the game's fault, it's the fandom's fault. They vilify the Virmire survivor for standing up to this Shepard's decision. But I have to agree that instead of giving us 10 mildly interesting companions in ME2, the game probably should have explored the fuckery of Shepard joining Cerberus and the whole resurrection business much, much further. Still, the VS is right, and the fandom chooses to ignore it.

Let's talk about Ashley first.

Is she really racist? Because she literally goes ballistic when accused of supporting the human supremacist group. She is very, very polite to every alien companion in ME1. She also immediately becomes protective of Tali because of the way she's been treated, and it's pretty easy to tell from her dialogue that she can relate to Tali's experience (Williams' curse, huh?).

Humanity is the dog in the story she tells Shepard, and she's also right in her assessment of the Council and their willingness to help Shepard's cause. Her distrust of aliens is also a very reasonable thing. She's the officer on the super-secret military starship, she knows the protocol, and she should question Shepard's decision to allow aliens near the ship's critical systems. It's literally her job, and if Shepard doesn't want to sabotage their mission, they should be grateful that Ash is keeping them in check. That's what officers do. She's also right about this, because Tali does end up stealing the super-secret information from the Normandy.

So… is Ashley really racist? My answer is no. She doesn't need this thing to be part of her character arc, and it's not part of it at all. Ashley's story is about her family's legacy, about the prejudice and hardship she faced at every step of her career. She treated Tali like a little sister in 1, and she treats her the same way in 3.

Now Garrus.

Yes. He's racist. He was raised that way. Turians really believe in their superiority, and he acts and thinks accordingly. And you know what? You're supposed to be uncomfortable with that. You're supposed to see how fucked up his behavior and his views are. You're not supposed to root for him and his actions on Citadel and with Saleon and later on Omega.

You're supposed to see him for what he is: a broken, lost, traumatized person who can only see the world in black and white. And the most interesting and beautiful thing is that he knows that. He knows his flaws, and he tells them to Shepard, and depending on who your Shepard is as a person, they can reflect on that and see that about Garrus, and they can help him, or they can ignore it, they can actively enable it, they can be so stupid and so caught up in their own shit that they don't even understand it. Shepard's romance with him is supposed to be a little toxic, a little unsettling because of the power dynamics and because it starts when they are both extremely vulnerable. It's not supposed to be cutesy. They're both fucked up.

And there's a real interest in exploring how fucked up that is, how fucked up he is. Him joking with Joker and Wrex is an example. Him finally apologizing to Tali for his previous behavior is another. Him supporting Shepard when they decide to sabotage the cure is also an amazing example.

Again, you're supposed to be uncomfortable with that. Garrus talks to Shepard about the calculus of war. If siding with the Salarians gives the Palaven a fighting chance, he can live with that, and you know what? This is GOOD writing. It's very realistic, and it's something that feels like Garrus.

We're talking about a galactic war that no Council species has won in any of the previous cycles. Everyone is grasping at straws. The Krogan are literally going, "Reverse the genophage or we won't help you." It's everybody's Hail Mary.

In times of crisis, everyone becomes more xenophobic. That's literally what's happening in the world right now. The economic crisis makes people more conservative and more focused on short-term goals. Can we really blame Garrus for remaining xenophobic in such an environment? Is this a time for him to reflect on his biases?

Or would it have been better if Shepard had said, "Stop being racist, Garrus," and he had just stopped? Is that how character development works? We can literally see him letting go of some of his prejudices, but it's a long, long process, and the galactic war is not the best time for it, if I'm being honest.

This is where I agree with this post 100%, because this is a problem for this fandom. People are infantilizing Garrus and being incredibly misogynistic towards Ashley. But these games are begging you to question Garrus' behavior, and I don't think it's the fault of the games or the writers that the fandom just ignores all the not-so-subtle messages and makes posts about how Garrus hasn't really done anything wrong, and posts about how Ashley is racist, and posts about how the narrative isn't interested in exploring how troubling Garrus' racism is, and how this series fails to critique racism at all.

Phew. I'm done.

Honestly, if I were the OP and hadn't blocked me yet, I would have done so by now. I really don't want to be an ass to them, so I won't tag them or anything, but I found this post so interesting that I couldn't help myself. Hope you found it interesting as well. Pls don't send anything nasty to the OP or alert them of this post, I don't want to ruin their day or anything. I'm just doing my reading comprehension duty here.

[brynnsasha191]

(Tldr at the end) Okay here goes.

People really misunderstood Callum in episode two, s7 (that's okay, the writers didn't do a great job of conveying what I'm about to say, no hate to them though) Callum did not betray Ezran

I see a lot of people criticizing Callum for prioritizing Rayla instead of Ez and saying Rayllum is toxic because it got in the way of familial relationships. But that's not what Callum's actions were really about, they weren't about "oh rayla is upset so I'm going to burn down all bridges for her" like a lot of people seem to think. His actions had a lot to do with Rayla but they also had a lot to do with the fact that Callum genuinely believed what Ezran was doing wasn't right.

(btw I'm writing this with Callum's opinions in mind, I'm not just projecting mine on Callum. I believe Runaan did something wrong and deserved punishment for it, and I believe both Rayla and Ez were both right and wrong. I am on everyone's side)

In the beginning of the episode, we see Callum trying to reason with Rayla and defend Ezran by telling her to give him a minute to process what recently happened to him. And he says "he [runaan] did kill it's king" but he never actually said he agreed with Ezran, he was just trying to get Rayla to see Ezran's side.

Ezran and Rayla's fight during the council meeting was understandable upsetting for Callum, his two favorite people were fighting. And when he tried to follow Rayla to get her to come back, Ezran commanded him to do otherwise, as the king, Ezran has a right to do that. But that moment probably felt uncomfortable and belittling and frustrating for Callum, it's the same unhealthy push and pull dynamic that I talked about in my 'why Callum shouldn't be high mage' meta. It made Callum disinterested in the council meeting, and while that's not Ezran's fault, it is the same corner that the broyals keep walking themselves into.

Callum goes outside and sees Rayla crying, that is also understandably distressing for him, but he doesn't blame Ezran at all. He apologizes for his choice in that moment, he says he should've gone after her, not "Ezran shouldn't have done that or said that", if Callum was completely choosing Rayla over Ez, he easily could've deflected the blame to him, but he didn't, he apologized for his own actions which to me shows that Callum isn't the type to blame Ezran unnecessarily.

When Callum goes to Ezran and calls him a jerk face (very uncool thing of him to say to Ezran, Ezran didn't deserve that) Rayla and Callum already finished their conversation where Rayla decided to secretly get Runaan out, there wasn't a point to try to convince Ezran to let Runaan out then. He went to Ezran, not to convince him to free Runaan, but to convince Ez he wasn't doing the right thing. As the scene progresses, Callum's voice gets softer and he starts speaking sensibly and reasonably without ad hominem attacks. He acknowledges Ezran's feelings about Katolis being destroyed but also acknowledges that that particular part of Ezran's pain isn't connected to Runaan. And Ezran has no problem sharing his true feelings with Callum, Callum doesn't dismiss them once. He puts his hand on Ezran's shoulder and validates his feelings, also not to mention he apologizes immediately after calling Ez a jerk face. And when Ezran says "he killed our father" Callum doesn't know how to respond because he isn't completely siding with R&R. He knows Ez has a point.

Rayla and Runaan could have been seriously injured during the fight with Soren and the soldiers. Aanya was going to shoot them, and Ezran was going to let her. It's really weird that this fandom seems to think Callum should've sat by and not stood up for them. Callum absolutely shouldn't have condoned Rayla breaking Runaan out without permission, he should've told her to stop and stay put until he had a chance to talk to Ezran's more. But that's not what happened, what happened was a messy game of tug-o-war between two people who love each other that nearly killed people and almost destroyed relationships. Callum didn't choose Rayla, he chose what he thought was right, and that was not Ezran at the time. People get so mad at him for not standing by Ezran's side but he wanted to, but standing by someone's side doesn't mean sitting back and letting them do something that you believe is wrong.

He gave up his role as High Mage because he knew he couldn't continue to play that role after this, for him and Ezran's sake. He can't be his High Mage but he'll always be his brother.

TLDR: Callum actually did handle this situation maturely. The problem didn't lie with Callum or anyone else. This situation was an ugly and messy one that anyone would have a hard time navigating especially a kid who the people closest to him in the entire world were actively hurting each other. He's willing to do anything for Rayla, but this isn't about choosing Rayla, it's about what he thought was right.

[dekusdante]

Well it's that time again for another JJK rant.

So by this point I would assume that most of you know my eternal hatred towards the enemies to lovers trope when it comes to Gojo x reader stories right.

Well we are back at it again cause I am hoping people know that this type of relationship isn't one that Gojo would ever go for. Like it's one of those things that the fandom latched on to like My Hero Academia Hawks being a flirty playboy. It's not something that fits the character but it something that so many people latched on to that they now believe that it's a thing.

Like Gojo knows his worth and value. He literally dislikes those that he views as stuck up or just down right unlikeable. Aka every reader in the enemies to lovers trope. Like you are telling me you hate this guy for no reason but it's okay because your only saving grace is that he finds you attractive.

Seriously.

That is the how 95% of them go. Also to even it out they would make Gojo do some out of pocket stuff to justify the reader treating him like dirt while also always making him the bad guy even if he did nothing wrong.

I am so sick of this copy and paste trope. Now I know i don't have to read it which I don't. If I see it I keep scrolling. Although there are gems I sadly just skip past them because I'm used to the bad and boring ones. (Lowkey reminds me of the dumbest Gojo x reader story on wattpad called Debt. Freaking dumbest reader/mc I have ever read couldn't even get past the first few chapters. The first and only time this has happened)

Another thing is bad reverse harem stories. Like I don't care the reader is 18! Why are men close to their 30s trying to have a relationship with them? Why is said 18 year old trying to have a romantic relationship with freshly turned 15 year old? Look 18 maybe considered an adult but it's still gross and it would have been better if the reader was 20 and up. Also if you want your reader to have love interests that are 15 then they should at least be under 18.

I am sick of gross age gaps, don't care if you are 20 years old dating a 30, 40, or whatever just make it legal! 18 isn't a cheat code!

Also harems suck since they either end up with no one, end up with someone not in the harem, or worst not even completed. Yet, the biggest crime is as I said it before the gross 18 year old cheat code.

Finally the last of my random rant which has to deal with genders and sexyal orientation. Stop writing about boy x boy if you are only going to stereotype them. Yes gay mean may like to be more of the feminine side but NOT all of them. Not all males who prefer to be a bottom want to wear feminine clothes and act like a femboy.

Not all trans people want to be just a title! Don't include them if you are not even going to try! Same with the non binary or gender neutrals. Don't include them but give traits that have a gender that goes against their stances. It's wrong.

Also I lied this is my final rant. Stop saying it's a reader story if you are not going to be neutral. For example giving a reader appearances that instantly alienate a reader. Sure I understand fem reader or male reader tags but to then give them hairstyles, skin tones that alienate others, or ect. I'm a POC (Person of color) and it sucks when you are reading something and instantly shown you are not included. Luckily the anime community is slowly but surely getting more inclusive. No I'm talking about those that want to read reader stories from fandoms like The Boys (Scarlett Witch took over i swear) or (Squid Games I know it's in Korea but dang why can't I be american?).

Anyway that's all. I would love to read and possibly reply to comments. Some may agree others not so much which is far I am criticizing something so it's 100 okay to throw it back!

[hiraethminds]

This is a tangent, I'm here to entertain with needless rambling

The deep rooted hatred for taco I see in the II community genuinely concerns me. Especially since those people tend to be Mephone "apologists"(For lack of a better word, I love Mephone don't get me wrong) despite how taco is the "active" side of the coin to his "passive". The connections between them are there trust me Im connecting the dots. Ive connected them.

I understand that she's done bad things, but blaming her for her shortcomings when she doesn't and never had the same support group to change as Mephone did makes me a little ehh.. Getting upset because Microphone showed her support in the new episodes simply because you don't like the ship(I understand why people wouldnt but thats not an excuse to deny her anything), and because Taco doesn't know how to change yet and you refuse to see her as anything redeemable. I'm not big on shipping, thats not the point of this tangent, but Taco finally having someone to support her and help her change is a GOOD thing. Microphone was being the bigger person there, she was being mature and thoughtful because Taco clearly needs the help. The fact that people continue to deny Taco any kind of growth even if she goes about it in the wrong way makes me deeply uncomfortable. Because the moment any character does anything bad that isn't HER they don't say anything about it. She was shunned by her peers because she was playing the game and continued to 'play the game' so to speak.

Theres a deep rooted hint of misogyny in the way they treat her, but I wont yap about that you dont need to read allat.

I understand people have reasons for not liking characters! That's ok. But I've seen them actively go out of their way to harass people that DO like Taco and actively criticize enjoying her character.

They tend to take it as defending her actions. Which is not what's happening. I don't think oscommunity could handle vriska is all I'm saying.

Feel free to not answer this I just need whatever little imp is telling me to scream about it to get out. go draw a taco dis is driving me crazy

Thank you for dumping this in my inbox bigbarf200, I feel like a wise confidant.

okay so I don't interact/observe with the wider ii community (Mainly cuz i like playing with my touys without being bothered) So this information is so Interesting to me!!!

As you mentioned, the hate might stem from misogyny (and by the way, I’d love to read your essay—talk all you want, my friend!). This is a societal issue that affects every part of life.

That said, I also think some people might dislike her simply because she’s a hustler and stubborn. When she has a goal, she’ll do whatever it takes to achieve it, even if it means crossing into morally gray areas.

holding Mepad hostage > hijacking the show

lying and deceiving objects with good intentions > winning s1

seriously hurting Fan > winning Mic immunity

as you said in the greater scheme of things, she's genuinely done horrible things. But if you just accept that at face value you are missing out on such an amazing character. You have to consider her perspective and the circumstances of her birth (especially in a story like ii!!) to fully understand and come to an option on her. But I digress this is baby level analysis so ill move on.

people who think Mic being friendly towards Taco post e14 is out of character are misunderstanding Microphone as both a character and thematic device I think

that's literally the only rational reason I could think of as to why people would be mad about taco and mic being on good terms???

so yeah, these haters just sound like crazy irrational people who have a lot of pent-up emotions. crazy

anyways ty!!! I feel like I didn't have alot to add since, as stated, these people are just incredibly irrational. but its nice getting an earful of whagh the fuck the community is like. here are soem taco drawings for the occasion

[noxiatoxia]

I don't know if this is common knowledge, but Komaeda's talent in Japanese is not "Ultimate Lucky Student". It is "Ultimate Good Fortune" (or good luck).

I know the word "lucky" has connotations with being good luck, but "luck" itself seems neutral to me at least.

I think the fact Komaeda is praised for, and has his talent be centered on, his good fortune is a very important nuance. People only see the good that happens to him. People keep telling him what happens to him is "good luck". His parents dying and getting kidnapped end up being called "good luck" in the end. I think this reinforces his pattern of thought more than people just saying he has extraordinary luck (good and bad). It's a minor difference, but it adds a lot. I have been thinking about this for a little bit now.

Because of the fact it is good luck specifically, I wanted to find parts where Komaeda specifically talks about bad luck. Lines such as "my awful luck/dreadful luck..." doesn't make much sense in the context of his Japanese talent. It made me wonder if those English lines even existed or if it was a "Luke, I am your father" situation. I don't have either the English or Japanese script memorized.

I checked the Freetime Events because of this, and found an interesting thing. There's a number of mistranslations, or simply translation choices I don't really agree with.

The freetime events heavily misrepresent how often Komaeda uses the word "luck". He uses both 不幸 and 不運 an equal amount I'd say. Maybe the former more. The former means "misery" "sorrow" or "misfortune". The latter means "bad luck" or "ill-fortune".

Likewise, 幸運 means good luck, but it also means good fortune. It's the word used in his talent as I described above.

Now, that's not to say I think Komaeda's "talent" should not be referred to as luck, nor am I saying he should never use the word luck. I think good and bad luck is a perfectly apt English word to describe his experiences. I just think the English translation overuses it. It wouldn't have killed them to make him say "isn't that just awful" or "what a tragedy, right?" instead of "isn't that such bad luck?" every conceivable moment. Maybe I'm just nit picky.

Now, onto the free time events. I want to talk about them.

I'll be talking about them in order as they appear. Also, I am only going to talk about the 3rd event onward, after Komaeda's chapter 1 reveal.

Freetime event 3

A minor nitpick, but "friends" is not the word I'd use here. It's true you can translate it that way, but considering everything else about Komaeda, at this point in the game, he wouldn't readily call Hinata his friend. Especially considering the connotations that holds for him.

That's precisely likely why he, in fact, doesn't say "friend" in the Japanese text. He uses 仲間 which like I said, while can and does translate as friend when used in that way, it just means people of a common thread. Like, a group, I guess.

My TL:

Because we both share the common goal of seeking out hope!

Freetime event 4

This is a really bad translation IMO. Hope is never said once in the original dialogue. I don't know why they put it there.

My TL:

Hinata: It's pretty ironic that you got wrapped up in this shitshow considering your "Ultimate Good Luck". Komaeda: It's not ironic at all! This is no doubt just the beginning of the good things to come my way! Komaeda: Um, let's just say the "good luck" I was born with is a little less straightforward [than the name would suggest]... Komaeda: once this is all over, I'll be rewarded with good fortune of the highest caliber.

And though this next one isn't much of a "mistranslation", I want to offer an alternative translation that highlights my criticism of "overusing the words good/bad luck".

My TL:

Komaeda: The greater the misfortune I experience before hand...the greater the good that comes my way afterwards! It completely cancels out everything before it!

Freetime event 5

I sadly cannot find in-game pictures of this since it's one of the wrong dialogue choices, so here's the script file text for it instead (sorry)

I remembered this line in English specifically because I always thought it sounded weird for Komaeda to say - "It's rare to hear you give such a half-assed answer".

While not a mistranslation totally, I think the tone is a bit off.

I would write it more as, "Ah ha ha! That's quite the answer, Hinata-kun!"

It literally translates as "for Hinata-kun, that is a very suitable answer!" but it's clearly supposed to be teasing/sarcastic. So he means to say "oh, wow, Hinata-kun, you're answering with that?" but in a lighthearted tone.

Freetime event 6

Almost didn't include this because it's the mistranslation we all know and hate, but it's worth mentioning in case people don't know.

My TL:

Please, just one last thing...don't ever forget...that from the bottom of my heart, I love y...I love your hope that sleep dormant inside you.

Though he does just say "please, don't forget", he uses どうか which is a pretty polite turn of phrase for Komaeda. It also is a way to emphasize a request, as in please do this to the benefit of me.

He backtracks pretty heavily. The verb comes at the end in Japanese sentences, so giving an exact one-to-one would be hard, but I'll try to explain it.

ボクはキミを... キミの中に眠る希望を心から愛していると。

Boku wa Kimi wo... Kimi no naka ni nemuru kibou wo koko kara aishiteiru to.

の/no = possessive. Such as, "Lucy's cat" "David's car".

を/wo = verb particle. There's no real English equivalent but you use it to signify some verb is being done onto something. Such as, "I kicked the ball" ("ball wo kick") or "I pet the cat" ("cat wo pet").

は/wa = topic particle. Commonly translates as "is/am" but that is NOT what it means. It just signifies everything that comes after it relates back to what comes before it. It's most accurate to think it as "as for the topic of..." Such as, "my damaged car wa had to go into the repair shop." After wa, "had to go into the repair shop", you ask, "what had to go into the repair shop?" you can find the answer in the topic, which is before wa: my damaged car. (or... me no damaged car.)

So, with this knowledge, let's break down the sentence.

Boku = I/me.

Kimi = you.

So this would make Boku wa Kimi wo in it's most literal form: as for the topic of me (aka, speaking for me), I, onto you...

Then he trails off. wo becomes no.

I, onto your hope sleeping inside of you...

and then we return to wo:

from the bottom of (one's) heart, love [the hope sleeping inside of you].

One could easily see it as Komaeda quickly changing the wo to no to add extra steps to not make the confession so head-on. Because if we remove everything after no and just continue where the wo leaves off, we get:

Boku wa Kimi wo koko kara aishiteiru to.

As for me, I, from the bottom of my heart, love you.

Now...one could also read it as him not backtracking, but adding. Saying I love you and the hope that lies dormant within you. Both are equally plausible. Listening to the audio it can go either way, but the way he quickly and softly drops off when he gets to the first wo makes me feel like it's a backtrack. Or maybe the background music is just too loud haha.

Well, that's all I got for now.

[twisted-wonderland-but-gayer]

Idk if you've already answered this, but have you ever thought of Yuu having a different physiology than the rest of the twst cast? More or less in the way that isn't really noticeable, but enough to make their friends feel "off"

(Like, imagine if Yuu's blood is so different from the rest that it needs an entire different study solely dedicated to it)

I didnt get this in my notifs

I think about this so often. Esp cause my ocs are not any race in twst

Like in a slightly different way: Yuus body digesting nutrients differently— and no doubt the food in TWST is better suited for the natives so Yuu has to play a fun game of "am I allergic to this" and "will this thing I like in my world taste like utter shit here orr?" All while getting half the nutrition or not even being able to process it. "Yes Jamil, you make banger curry— sadly it fucks up my body and I gotta throw it up"

Even little things like they don't have a blood type that exists there so they're fucked if something happens. Their magic tolerance is lower, so they get sick from it. They're not allergic to cats, but Leona's shedding is making them wheeze. Or perhaps they're allergic to Fae? Not even counting the flu/diseases that go both ways. A common cold nearly kills them cause they aren't vaccinated there, but a cold from them puts Deuce in the hospital

Did humans in TWST evolve from the same things?? "Lol we were fishies" "huh"

This can go the other way too. Yuus body being much more complex or "stronger' than the humans there (maybe even beastmen). Like yeah they can also hear that along with Jack, what do you mean you can't, Ace? Their bloodtype doesn't exist but ooh boy Ortho just found the cure for cancer scanning it– your antibodies are very impressive! Of course they don't need that many hours of sleep. A Yuu built like Epel or Lilia yet their muscles are on par with Jack?? Vil tries to help them with their skin but they need extremely concentrated face wash. Their brain scans are incomprehensible.

Take this to two other extremes and maybe the air there makes them 'sick' or is hard to adjust to. Maybe the sun there is too hot. Their eyes are "off putting" because too big/small. The oils on their skin are more corrosive— their stomach acid should kill them. Maybe they can eat "poisons" that the rest can't eat in large amounts or have to be cooked a certain way. Yet here is yuu swallowing cherry pits and that amount of capsaicin should make you sick— not even Cater can have that!

Yuu gets to exaggerate their body stuff and they're none the wiser. What if the cast are all very light for Yuu and you can pull students off each other when they fight? Vargas is impressed.

The other extreme is tolerance/defense. No diseases seem to affect you at all, neither does magic. In fact you seem to drain it from the world around you. A fireball your way fizzles out. You have to leave the magic exam room cause people keep failing in your presence. You can't be "beheaded" or turned to sand or cursed or hypnotized... there are exceptions to the magic that actually can affect you however, and once you're cursed, there's no going back.

Yuu gets critically injured and healing spells just won't work. They get a curse that will kill them and no potion or incantation cures it. It's a glass canon and people here are armed with bricks

Or– maybe yuu is a very conductor of magic (fav headdcanon). Which is why we strengthen people in game. We can unlock magic potential in others, and the simplest flame on a fingertip becomes an inferno when you step into a room. Aces magic well has tripled since being your friend. And Deuce and Epel got their UM very early with you around

Idk Humans are Space Orcs type things

[fantasywater]

Stolas will never be called what he is in canon.

Spoilers: Brief mention of Via storyboard leaks.

Firstly,the same woman who said a main character getting dragged off to a room to get ganged raped was the funniest joke in the show is not about to call another main character in her other show a rapist.

Instead, she gives lip service in a vacuum to what Stolas has done to shut critics up. The Full Moon episode for example is her technically dealing with it so now she can move on. Basically, Stolas to her is off the hook. That's why she wrote him calling himself a monster(with the qualifier IF in front of it), and Blitz got to rant about his hatred. She even let him say everything you put me through, but without going into any detail of course.

However, notice how none of that matters in the very next episode.

Stolas supposedly thinks he's a monster, but is weirdly very snarky to Blitz and calls his victim a motherfucker on stage at a hate party for him.Blitz screams everything you put me through(sooo rape) you pompous asshole, but is trying to get sex literally in the cold open, pulls Stolas close in his lap, gets jealous, and looks at him with romantic longing like Stolas is a prize that Blitz should be sad that he has now lost.

Also, notice how she hops so strongly to classism since that's a safe negative topic for Stolas's transgressions. However, that was never the biggest issue with their dynamic. It started in Opps with Blitz suddenly caring that Stolas is a prince. Even the majority of his tirade in FullMoon dwelled on that aspect the most instead of the more pressing issue.

She does this with Octavia as well. The lyrics in her song give lip service by saying "I won't forgive you, I won't take it, I will grow without you, you will only know my name", and then she goes no contact. However, let's look at the foreshadowing of why this isn't going to stick.

Complete strangers Octavia and Luna hug like their best friends in Seeing Stars. Octavia and Luna semi-hug and giggle in the pride poster. Plus a rather curious one, which the official Spindlehorse account hurried up and deleted, was a car decal sticker with Blitz, Stolas, IMP, as well as Via, all together and Blitz is saying My Family on the tagline.

Also, Spindlehorse is a business first. Therefore she is not about to have anyone in the show call Stolas by name what he actually is. To do so would tank her show by destroying her most popular character.

There would be a mass exodus because the Stolitz fans wouldn't be able to lie to themselves anymore if anyone in the show point-blank said rape or coercion. So safe lip service is all we will get so that the several money shots in Sinmas can happen plus the marriage foreshadowing in the merch.

However, here's a game to play in debates with the Stolitz fandom.

"Did Blitz have free will or was it coercion?"

-Drop a pic of the chain scene.

-Then the scene of the feathers trying to muffle Blitz as he fights and screams.

-Now put those scenes side by side with the one of Stolas calling himself a monster if Blitz is a prisoner.

-Also for extra fun add the scene of Blitz looking degraded and angry after sex in one of the mirror images from All to You.

Now watch them scatter.

Thoughts?

[lambcultist]

The TLOU fandom is so sensitive and those ppl are migrating over into the Arcane fandom and spreading their pro-censorship agenda

it's so unfortunate. i'm not much older but i feel as though most of the people spreading these narratives are actually on the younger side and it can be pretty obvious. i feel like many of them first got into fandom spaces during 2020 and did not care to learn the 'etiquette'. i miss when fandom was just a bunch of weird kids :(

i grew up with unrestricted internet access (not good! which is also why i do not allow minors to interact with me!) and have been in fandom spaces since around 2014. i always understood the concept of ship and let ship, dead dove do not eat, and don't like, don't read. we are losing the sacred texts <//3

i know this is me preaching to the choir here, because only my followers will read this and pro-censorship people will refuse to read all of this, but i need a rant.

censoring fanworks is bad. posting a (correctly tagged) dark fic on ao3 or tumblr, which are places that are supposed to be mostly free of censorship, is very different to posting something like that on apps that have strict guidelines against this. if these people don't understand the history behind ao3 or the fanfiction.net purge, even the tumblr purge, they shouldn't be talking about these things. i'll always be anti-censorship because we have explicit evidence that it is harmful.

if we censor fanfiction, who gets to decide what is and isn't moral? what is and isn't a moral representation of darker topics? what topics should be allowed? because i can tell you right now, the complexity of this discussion will result in everything except for fluff being purged—and sometimes even fluff could be considered bad (e.g. hurt/comfort fics). with the way that conservatism is heading right now, and the actual published books that might be banned in the united states soon, who is to say we will still be able to write slash fics anymore? in the us, a bill is being drafted to force people to verify their id before using sites like ao3 so that people won't be exposed to porn or lgbtq+ content. this is exactly what i mean when i say we should not be censoring fanfiction. it harms everyone, not just people who write questionable content.

i don't understand people getting their panties twisted over coming across this stuff, and deciding to go harass the creators who (more often than not) are mentally ill and coping. i do not understand how sending people death threats puts you on a higher moral ground than them. if people cannot separate fiction from reality, that is their own problem—they should be thinking critically about everything they engage with. playing a game like tlou and then drawling the line at fics with themes like stalking and kidnapping (which happens similar in the source material!!!) is strange.

because nobody is forcing these people to read these fics. most of the time they are tagged correctly. you have the choice whether or not to read something. i have things i won't read or write about and that's fine, i just state it in my blog rules and move on. scroll away from any fic with those topics. i am starting to think these people do have some level of morbid curiosity that makes them read triggering stuff, but they suffer a moral panic over it, which is why it bothers them so much that they go out to harass people.

it's absurd. we are seeing a very concerning rise in purity culture and conservatism lately. i am just confused by it all. these debates hardly existed a while ago. unfortunately if you use the internet, you will always come across unsavoury things. thankfully fanfiction is fiction. it isn't harming anyone. there are honestly far worse things out there.

little nervous to post this as i have just rambled on and on and i am actually afraid to receive hate—but these are my thoughts on the matter.

also adding: i miss the arcane fandom when only season one was out. i also miss the tlou fandom from before the hbo show got released (especially because a lot of new fans will be blatantly zionist and deny the grosser aspects of it) when the fandoms were a little smaller, especially here on tumblr, it was very safe. now between racist jayvik shippers and people who simply cannot think with nuance to save their life, it's a hellscape

[moonystoes]

The way people are reacting to what happened to LJ and Millie Turner is exactly what I was expecting. People claim football is inclusive, and everyone gets the chance to feel respected and be able to play safely. But you only defend and protect the people that fit into your standards. They will only defend the people they like or share traits with. White supremacists aren't even trying to cover up their disgusting ideologies.

Turner posted a picture of James 'headlocking' her in the game. It didn't happen, LJ wanted the ball so she came from behind, Millie bent down which made it look like LJ was headlocking her. Not only did she post that knowing the amount of racial abuse and criticism LJ gets for simply breathing, she also commented and liked comments about it being a 'proper headlock'... no it wasn't. And she knows that.

Yet I hadn't seen many speaking about this here, do you guys suddenly not care about players being mistreated and racially abused because they're not white? What happened to all those fans harassing Korbin for excluding and disrespecting the queer community? Is football truly inclusive and for everyone like how you guys claimed it to be? Or is it suddenly not harmful or serious because it doesn't fit into YOUR beliefs?

Claiming LJ is aggressive with actual proof of fouls she committed is understandable, but posting pictures with no context and making it seem like she was trying to harm you is DISGUSTING. Those random Arsenal fans that love McCabe so much always bring the fact 'ohh but Katie never injured a player'... okay? And did LJ do that? Because last time I checked, when she does commit a foul, the player is hurt for a few minutes but continues playing like normal with no minor or serious injuries. You guys can't even find the right excuses to defend your racist thoughts lol. And if you're a McCabe fan, don't bother coming here and explaining why you hate LJ. I'm not listening to your ass. I truly respect McCabe, but I don't like her fans that HATE LJ (if you're a McCabe fan and you don't actively harass LJ... then this isn't for you).

Players from her OWN English squad liking and commenting is absolutely disgusting too. They can see the racial abuse their own teammate is experiencing but they're white ass don't care because again... what was I expecting from them? Of course they wouldn't. And Now that Turner is getting a lot of blacklash, she didn't delete the post. She kept that photo but turned off the comments.

I will always defend LJ, and I will always stand with football being for everyone. But some of you guys are hypocrites.

[ephemeralinstance]

Solas, Rook, and Mirroring

One important thing we learned about Solas in Inquisition is that he mirrors: if you approach him with ego, he responds with sarcasm and cutting words, but if you approach him with openness and curiosity, he responds with humility and kindness.  And this is very much carried through to Veilguard: it's simply less obvious there, because Rook is only able to approach Solas as an enemy, so Solas always mirrors by treating Rook as an enemy. This isn't a criticism of Rook, of course: given the circumstances of their meeting, it's natural that they see Solas first and foremost as a threat. But it's important to Solas' characterization in the game that even if you choose the nicest dialogue options, Rook makes no secret of the fact that they see Solas that way. For example, Rook never asks Solas about his motivations for taking down the Veil, and instead projects assumptions on him, insisting repeatedly that he was trying to 'destroy the world.' They also make no attempt to treat him with kindness: is Solas suffering from the isolation? Is he starving to death in the prison? Rook could have asked, but they never do. And perhaps most importantly, Rook never makes any mention of getting Solas out of the prison: it seems clear that they intend to leave Solas trapped there forever. Here, it's easy to forget how truly desperate Solas must be, because through it all he maintains his composed and even smug facade; he doesn't want Rook to see his vulnerability. As we know from Inquisition, he's only snarky like this with people he doesn't like and doesn't trust: it's the same dynamic he has with Vivienne, and in his early dialogues with Dorian and Iron Bull. From that point of view, it's clear that Solas is trading verbal jabs with Rook precisely as a way of keeping them at a distance. But the reality is that he's trapped alone in a prison designed to psychologically torture him, and since Rook clearly isn't going to release him, he'll be trapped alone forever unless he finds a way out. For a man whose greatest fear is dying alone, this must be a terrible prospect. This is why I find it hard to really blame Solas for what he does to Rook - it's hurtful and unkind, yes, but it's his only way out of an eternity of torment, and who among us would not take desperate measures to escape that? Moreover, it's here that Solas' actions towards Rook most clearly mirror those of Rook towards Solas. Rook intended to leave Solas trapped in the prison forever; so Solas literally switches them, leaving Rook trapped there instead. Rook doesn't show kindness toward Solas, so Solas responds with unkindness towards Rook. And although what Solas does is in a superficial sense a 'betrayal,' in many ways it isn't really a betrayal, because you can only betray friends or allies, and Solas is not either of those things to Rook: they might have worked together out of necessity, but ultimately Rook treats Solas as an enemy, and so that's what he becomes. All of this makes me very curious about what might have happened if Rook had treated Solas differently. For the sake of the plot, clearly it was necessary that Rook should treat Solas as an enemy, so Solas could mirror that back. But I wonder what might have happened if Rook had showed kindness, or had some curiosity about Solas' motivations, or even been willing to discuss with Solas some options for eventually getting him out of the prison. By the logic of Solas as a mirror, this would have necessarily changed Solas' behaviour, and thus there might have been a different outcome. How might the ending might have looked if Rook had genuinely tried to befriend Solas? Could there have been a different way out for both of them?

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So a handful of people liked my post about wanting to talk about Laimar's dynamic and why I like it so I'm going to assume someone wants to see it. This is probably going to be a bit all over the place but I'll do my best to make sure it stays kind of on track. First, let me address the people who don't like Laimar. It's perfectly okay to not like it! Dungeon Meshi is full of wonderfully interesting characters and any combination of ships can be interesting because of that. And this is just my take on the story and the characters. Our own life experiences will shape how we read and understand things. That said! I'm totally down to discuss! Feel free to ask questions or talk about your ship!

Hokay, on to the Laimar. Let me preface this by saying I am glad they don't get together in canon. I don't think it would've fit the tone of the story as it was presented. The story is about love but it is not about romantic love. It's love in general. Love for your family, for your friends, for your food. It's about the connections we form over meals and the friendships we forge through times of strife. That lending a helping hand can create a better tomorrow. So why am I so fixated on a ship if the story isn't about that kind of thing? Mostly because I think they are interesting characters and I want them to make out. ... On to the real stuff! Laios and Marcille are both alike and very different from each other. We see that Laios often admires how Marcille wears her thoughts and feelings on her sleeve. He never has to figure out how she feels about him or any situation. Laios, on the other hand, starts the series holding himself back. His love of monsters seems to be somewhat known to the party but the extent and the desire to eat them isn't. We also know that Laios is very wary of what other people think about him, even if he's not the best at reading the room. Marcille takes all the guess work out of figuring out what she means. Because she wears her emotions so openly, Laios finds comfort in her smile. If she is smiling, it means she truly thinks things will be okay. He's also very confident in her skills. Several times through out the manga, he backs her up or compliments her. During his fight with Toshiro, when she was attacked by the bat, when she was teaching him. It's clear Laios really enjoys Marcille and appreciates her presence. It seems to take Marcille a bit longer to bond with Laios than the other way around. It makes sense as she seems to hold some resent towards him for Falin leaving school. That said, she also compliments him the most out of the party. She also trusts him, even when it's something she doesn't want to do. That doesn't mean she isn't occasionally critical of him though and she actively pushes him to be a better leader. And when he steps up, she recognizes that. They're both also massive nerds. The bone sorting "game" is a good example of this. Marcille is as eager to teach Laios as he is to learn and he teaches her in turn. Where Falin seems to accept that nature is how it is because it is, Laios and Marcille seem more curious about the why's. When Marcille brings up the dungeon cleaners, she gets smug and you can see how excited Laios is. Although her interest is in dungeons and not the monsters, there's an overlap of interest. I really enjoy relationships where the interests are more vin diagram than two overlapping circles. There's a common ground but also room to grow and learn from the other person. I think Laios and Marcille show this super well! It's also very cute when they get excited about the other one being excited. I can see them sending each other links to new scientific breakthroughs and freaking out together. Nerds! I also find Laios' seemingly budding crush throughout the story really interesting. It happens so organically that it's kind of a back note to the story. We know that the scene where Marcille resurrects Falin really left an impression on him. Both his changeling of Marcille and his succubus of her have their hair down. (More about his succubus in a moment.) I also think the Lion eating her desire to do her hair was a two-fold play. More on that in a moment too. The bit about her smile is so very cute. While it can be taken platonically, my guy was dying and thinking about how he met Marcille for the first time. Prior to Falin's resurrection, Laios pretty much exclusively reminisces on their childhood. I assume it's a similar reaction to the uncanny valley. There's gonna have to be a part 2.. Maybe even 3.. Or 4. So please hold! Tumblr is mean...