#the person on reddit got back to me and was like 'well its my opinion and i'm allowed to have it'

[amywritesthings]

okay, i have to address something that i've seen float around a bunch on tumblr, reddit, and tiktok lately when it comes to readers who are angry at fanfiction authors for not writing the content they wish to see in their fandom spaces.

...did you ever think to try and write it yourself?

this weekend i saw someone comment on the bg3 sub about how they're sick of seeing astarion fics with 'special/edgy female-centric tieflings or durges' and not much else. they were angry that 'they scroll for hours on ao3 and tumblr but only find all this oc and reader insert garbage, when it's plaguing their fandom space'.

so write the damn story you keep searching for. write what you find the fandom lacks. you take it upon yourself to curate the content you want out there.

if a writer wants to make 50 stories of the same 'special/edgy' original character smutting up a canon, they can? it's their labor of love. their passion project. a hobby. they choose to share it online for free. we are so very lucky to live in a digital age where fanfiction is so readily available, and there are millions if not billions of stories (for free!!) at your fingertips to scroll and enjoy.

i'm getting very tired of finding posts/videos of entitled readers who vocally complain about not being catered to when they themselves are not trying to contribute with the content, pairings, or topics they wish to see.

[moonlit-imagines]

Headcanons for being the Justice League’s computer intelligence

Justice League x reader

warnings:

a/n: THANKS BABE. this is such an old request i am so freaking sorry

prompt: anonymous: “Hello! I would like to request a Justice League (DC Extended Universe) + Reader who is sort of their 'Person in the Chair' - helping behind the scenes to keep their weapons/powers/skillset in tact, but is not afraid to fight back if necessary? I would like these to be a set of headcanons, please? Thank you and Happy Writing! P.S. You're writing is incredible!”

you and alfred got along well

“glad i’m not the only one doing the grunt work anymore” -alfred

“and i was under the impression you loved this job” -you, sarcastically

you could frequently be found switching between important sites that actually helped during missions and reddit

“alfred hang on i want your opinion on this: ‘am i the asshole for trying on my bosses suit? i (25m) work with some pretty famous people and my boss (45m) has a really cool suit. it’s a little stiff but i think i like it. anyways, there’s a matching hat (if you will) and it smells AWFUL, so i sprayed it with febreeze but it only made it worse—’” -you

“hang on. this cant be…” -alfred

“HOW DID YOU FIND MY REDDIT ACCOUNT?!” -barry, over comms

“your name is scarletspeedster, and we’ve been trying to wash that febreeze smell from the cowl for weeks.” -you

“my god, barry. next time, just use an old suit” -alfred

“really?!” -barry

“no” -you and alfred

you do a lot of gadget/weapon design with JL members

“it’s acceptable” -bruce

“wow, thanks” -you

“it’s…it’s good work. i mean it” -bruce

diana sits with you and tells you stories, sometimes theyre very informational

“so if you ever do end up fighting, you’re going to want to craft a very nice sword for yourself. i know you’re good at that, you’ll do just fine” -diana

barry nerds out with you sometimes

he gets real excited when he sees you designing stuff on the computer

and tries to be helpful

“wind resistance might be a problem with this design, you should go sleeker” -barry

“hey, barry? if you don’t let me do my job im gonna design a tool specifically to shut you up” -you

“harsh!” -barry

“sorry, maybe a little too far. but let me work” -you

arthur wanted cooler clothes

“can i get you some material from atlantis so you can make me a nicer suit?” -arthur

“only if you bring me extra so i can have fun with it” -you

“not a problem for the king, its a deal” -arthur

clark didn’t really need/want much

but he was a great help when testing new weapons and suits

“can you just…laser vision that target right ahead. new suit material” -you

“yeah, stand back” -clark

it held for a good 20 seconds

“better than i thought” -you

you were their eyes in the sky on missions

directions, lookout, enemies, obstacles, detours, you name it

and yeah, maybe victor could also do a great deal of this stuff, but you got to do it behind the scenes and you actually got paid pretty well for it

but occasionally you did ask him for tech support

“victor, the batcomputer froze” -you

“i know, i did that on purpose” -vic

“can you unfreeze it so i can see what’s going on?” -you

“what’s the password?” -vic

*sigh* “ilovevicstone123” -you

diana let you spar with her sometimes

which honestly scared you every time bc you know she could kill you if she wanted to (but you knew she would never)

(but she could)

you’d never be apart of the justice league, which was very okay with you because you loved being behind the scenes and not being shot at

and so long and you had tea with alfred while the rest of them were kicking ass, you’d manage

taglist: @locke-writes // @captainshazamerica // @summersimmerus // @deanzboyfriend // @zoeyserpentluck // @mr-mxyzptlk-1940 //

[fayesdiary]

Rhea for the "send me a character" w/ the "first impression, impression now, etc." ask game!

Cringefail pope my beloved💚

First impression

The days of 3H pre-release are long gone, but from what I remember I didn't think much of her beside her being another Mikoto archetype which I didn't have any interest in. (especially because this was back when I was still on Reddit and by extension the Fates Bad™ circlejerk)

Then I think I remember seeing a screenshot of an official tweet that went something like "fight/destroy the Church of Seiros in Fire Emblem Three Houses" (nevermind it happens in only one of the four routes and the most villainous one at that) so I was something like "welp. guess she's the villain of another Evil Religion™, whatever."

Impression now

fgdgdfgdfgdfgsdfgshfgifuhg

She's my favorite Fodlan character, something I never saw coming.

While I have my issues with how she's treated as a character (mainly being relegated to the red herring for Edelgard in Part 1 and the late Nabatean infodump only to then die in Part 2. You know, when she's not completely absent or treated as the scapedragon. In general she's treated with the "tell don't show" approach Fodlan writing loves) they are definitely mitigated by all the small details that make her so interesting. And while I find her lack of spotlight and moments where she shines at her best incredibly frustrating, I'll admit that digging beneath the surface and starting to see who she actually is as a person is quite fun in its own right.

She's a truly kindhearted, deeply flawed and quite cringe woman. Of course I love her.

Favorite moment

Funnily enough, her weed quest. Not just because the sheer concept of the pope indirectly giving weed to her students is hilarious, but because if you look closer you'll notice that every herb she gives seems to fit the specific students a bit too well to be a coincidence (for example Bernadetta's herb is said to give her the courage to strike a conversation, Marianne's gives her a more positive outlook on life and Ignatz's boosts his self-confidence).

This shows that while she feels unable to get close to the students on a deeper level, she's clearly paying enough attention to them to know the general things they struggle with and tries to secretly help them, and it's really sweet!

Idea for a story

I've been entertaining the idea of a Silver Snow rewrite (AKA a scenario where getting an A support with her changes the entire route instead of just the ending) where Rhea is rescued early and becomes the de-facto lord. Featuring character development where she finally starts to actually talk to the students and her loved ones, Dimitri in a secondary role because I think the dynamic between her and early-timeskip Dimitri, not to metion in a context where Edie's already dead, has some insane potential (also makes for a nice foil to CF).

Also changing from her requirement to survive from being A Rank with Byleth to being A rank with all of her support partners. AKA overcoming her fatal flaw allows her to not only survive, but live.

Basically her learning to stop compulsively keeping secrets, openly talk and get close to others again and rely on other people on a deeper level. You know, the good stuff!

Don't count on it ever actually getting written beyond a few posts though. I know my limits :(

Favorite relationship

Romantically with Catherine, platonically with Cyril!

Unpopular opinion

I mean, this is Rhea we're talking about.

Liking her to begin with and not treating her like she's responsible for everything wrong in Fodlan is already unpopular to begin with.

Also people severely overestimate the political power she actually has.

Favorite headcanon

As a joke headcanon: Rhea has been every single archbishop in the past as well, so to keep humanity from finding out she's a dragon she faked her death every few decades... in increasingly ridiculous ways.

It got to the point where the Seiros faithful believe the position of Archbishop is cursed, and whenever people act concerned about her because of it Rhea is grateful for it but at the same time is internally laughing her ass off.

[ryoko1232]

I said that since i didn't finish my fictober storys id give yall some fic that i have yet and probably never will finish so...

I am Myself!

Relationships - plantonic creativity twins

Status- far from finished

Tags - superheroes

I remember this was based off of some story from reddit but i can't remember its been a while since I've touched this

“Ow!” “Ugh- Watch it dork-!” Roman took a step back as he looked at him, “You- … What the fuck-?” the other man looked around, expecting it to be some sort of prank. They looked identical. “Are you some kind lf skin walker? if so, you forgot my mustache” the man on the floor said as he got up. “I am Roman Prince, and I would never grow a mustache, it wouldn't fit me and since it looks like I'm looking in a mirror it also doesn't fit you” the boy said looking down at the other, “huh, my initials are also ‘RP’, Remus Pandora. Can't belive my long lost twin was a spoiled brat” He said looking the other up and down, the other gasped in offense.

Nothing particularly wrong with what the other was wearing, it was really just up to their perspective tastes and style. Roman was croquette, with light mostly red though, and he had lots of gold jewelry. Remus on the other hand looked like a highlighter puked on him, no offense. He has a bright green tank top, black baggy pants, and very colorful accessories.

“Better then having no style at all!” Roman said and quickly left, they had a few classes together, it was miserable. Teachers would confuse them for each other, people were asking questions, and they certainly didn't have any answers. Once they got home they ask their parents about it. “Oh… oh no… Ro, you might want to sit down sweetie” Roman sat down as his mom continued, “well… We adopted you, we were unable to have kids so we gotten you, and well we were supposed to adopt both of you… but some one was quicker then we were” Roman was too stund to speak.”We were waiting to tell you later, but it seems the world is too small for that” this was shocking for Roman, his life had shifted after that meeting, he still basket in the light, but Remus would always do something and having the same face is a problem when people are other to get the other person.

Roman finally got his powers, moving stuff by singing, Remus got his powers the day after, summoning tentacles. “Pfft what the fuck?” one of Roman’s friends said, well they're not close but they're still in the sam friend group. “Eww! That so gross!” The girl said laughing while the others joined her, Roman didn't, he never liked Remus but he would never bully him. Remus just scoffs and continue training, as Roman makes the group leave with the excuse of wanting a snack. They avoided each ther all throughout highschool, and people stopped comparing them as much.

That was years ago, right now Roman is being sent to prison, cause he was accused of being ‘The Duke’ and its just offensive in Roman’s opinion. They barely look anything alike, and Roman would never out in something Remus wears.(he wears his normal outfit but with the batman mask over his eyes and a mask covering his lower face) “It’s over Duke!” the agent says as Roman just sighs

[galactic-johnny]

It's ya boi here, I watched the new Gundam Requiem for Vengeance. I wanted to hate it but it was actually kind of good (with some gripes). I would rather die than make a reddit post/comment about my opinion on media so I'm posting it here. I will be talking about spoilers and a non exhaustive list of thoughts.

I'll start with the bad.

So there's the character (not mecha) animation that many people poiinted out looks bad from all the traielrs. It's still not that good but I got used to it. If you look closely you can notice some animation errors that people have been posting screenshots of, but personally I didn't notice them mid watch so I wasn't bothered. The thing that did bother me was some of the sound design/mixing, like a Gouf is shooting the weakest sounding gatling gun ever. The voice acting is okay but there are parts in every episode where I was like "wow that was kind of a bad delivery". From my understanding the original script/voice recording is in english, and then theres a japanese dub translated back to japanese which I'm told from a japanese speaker also sounds weird.

The main thing I've seen people on reddit complain about, and the thing i have the most thoughts on, is it coming off as too much of a pro zeon stance and making gundam fans pro-titans. I'm mixed on this. So the director is a french guy who was wearing a zeon t-shirt in a promo video and said something like "we're excited to show you a story from the Zeon side of the war" which gave me bad vibes but I wanted to wait and see. The first episode has a part where it's trying to evoke the nazi parallels while a guy is giving a speech, but it doesn't have much more of that after the first episode.

Many redditors have pointed to the "the zaku has saved a lot of lives" line. My issue is: What happened a few hours earlier in context? Why do you think he would have positive feelings toward a Zaku? Discuss with your partner what we can infer about this character's background. My issues with people pointing to scenes like that and zeon soldiers talking about their war for independence is that do you think it makes sense for them to be like "btw our side is pretty fucked up, our guys have committed a bunch of atrocities" "oh yeah Loum, where we completely destroyed Side 5 and killed like 2 billion civilians". Basically I think it makes sense in context for Zeon characters to talk about the war like it's patriotic war for independence.

The problem is that the show doesn't really explain the context of the war that well, and it would probably help some people to mention it. Like mention that thing at Loum, explain the start of the war and the 3 second warning and how they've destroyed a bunch of civilian colonies, or that half the human population has died in this war, why the zeon soldiers hate the federation and the conditions that led to them starting the war, and most importantly at least mention the colony drop. I kind of wonder if they wanted to show the colony drop but they wanted to animate it and at some point in production an exec said "yeah no that's too time consuming and expensive, just skip that", but they really should mention that, its like the opening shot of the original Gundam 79.

The show is trying to be a One Year War side story from the perspective of Zeon soldiers, while also wanting to be an introduction for people have not watched Gundam that should be able to explain the context of the war and not glorify zeon too much while still making people care about the characters, doing so in a span of six 20 minute episodes. It's a difficult task and the creators did not seem up to it. I've watched most gundam TV shows, including all Gundam UC timeline stuff and read some of the manga, so I'm decently informed on Gundam, but if I were to show this to a friend that has never seen Gundam and want this to be their introduction I would probably let them know a few important things (like the colony drop). To be fair it has some things that are probably good for introducing someone to the setting, but yeah its leaving out some important stuff.

That's my take that no one asked for on that particular criticism.

There's also some obligatory newtype mentioned stuff because they want to introduce it to new people, but it doesn't play that much into the story and I'm just glad they didn't make newtypes that are basically jedi (cough cough thunderbolt).

So here's the good stuff.

The best part is easily the mecha battle animation. It's cool. I have a goblin brain which demands violence and likes giant robots fighting. The Ex Gundam is truly a menace every time it appears. The mobile suits weighty and there's a good amount of giant robot gore. The design is divisive but personally I was into it and seeing it may convince more people to be into it. The only thing I'm not into is the weird head and eyes on the model kit, but thought it looked much better in the show. There are some technical aspects of the fights that are a head scratcher but honestly I didn't care that much because goblin brain. Like the Gundam is getting circled by three Dopps, and leaps up and slices one with its beam saber, and like yeah imagine cutting down a super fast jet with your sword but also it was so cool and thats what matters. I also really liked the Zaku, Gouf, and GM. I really hope the Gouf and GM get model kits (not pbandai plz) and I would be the first to buy them. The only mobile suit design I didn't like was the Guntank but that's it. Basically the mobile suit fights are a visual treat and that's what I really wanted to see.

I don't have too much to say about most of the characters, but I thought the protagonist Iria Solarii was interesting as far as gundam protagonists go. She's a mother with a ~10 year old son, she had a husband who died a few months into the war and they were both musicians that were drafted(?) into the war but had a good thing going on before it started. The people around her have grown more bitter and vengeful the more they lose while her goal is to follow orders and survive the war so she can see her son again (I'll get back to this). 6 episodes probably isn't enough for the amount of characters they had but I liked Iria.

It accomplishes being a gritty OYW Gundam war story with cool battles and evoking emotions about the tragedy of war, which is basically the best I could have expected.

The thing I'm most mixed on is the ending/last 5 minutes. So far I've seen people saying they don't like it all. On one hand it's so anti climatic the way the random Gouf pilot, and they quickly show the Ex Gundam pilot was a teenager without much time, and Iria just changes her goal from "i want to see my son again" to "a federation child soldier died before my eyes, therefore I will keep fighting against the federation" and these things are sort of ungraceful.

But to me it also kind of works. Like the Ex Gundam pilot dies so suddenly and without fanfare, he won't be remembered or celebrated, and he's one of many teenage pilots in the federation, almost as though for every amuro and other gundam protagonists, there's another of this kid who's skills and accomplishments didn't matter and died as a cog in the machine. The Gouf pilot can't even comprehend that Solari was upset, all he say was the drone that killed the person he cares about. Solari saw the federation send a child to the front lines to help them shoot down the fleeing Zeons, she sees them as the monsters her friends saw and now feels more righteous killing them than she did before, because there is nothing that below them. The Ex Gundam pilot was just a kid, he felt he was righteous in slaughtering all the Zeons because they started this war and have killed many more of his own side. But his mercy is not rewarded because for everyone else the war has dehumanized and driven a wedge between these people. After the war ends the problems that caused it still aren't addressed which is why for decades it keeps repeating. It made Solari more vengeful than she was at the start so she believes she's righteous in staying with zeon remnants after the war ended.

So I think that a tragic, ungraceful, anticlimactic ending kind of worked with what it's going for. Like yeah it's a pretty bleak note and I think Gundam is better when it's both bleak and hopeful, but overall I'm more for the ending than against it.

[positivelybeastly]

Did you see Gillen and Brevoort said Beast (used to be/could have been) was the most romantic x man? Veeeeery interesting. Gillen seemingly wanted to redeem beast in SWORD through his love for Abigail but feels that’s been taken off the table at this point. If only there were some other person he held near and dear to his heart who might be able to give him both love and time to grow past this unfortunate moment

"I'm through with love hangovers,

It's best that I stay sober.

No rolling in the clover,

No Gretna Green trip over.

No honeymoon in Paris,

I only feel embarrassed for the,

Cool cats,

The charmed kittens,

Both smitten by the love songs

That he's written.

Caught in the sights of a,

Deadly sniper:

The magic piper of love.

The magic piper of love.

Of love, of love!"

Anon, you beat me to this - the instant I saw that thread on Reddit, I was just besides myself with jimmy legs because I wanted to get back home and post about it immediately.

SO. CONTEXT.

Over at AIPT Comics, they have this segment called X-Men Mondays, where they'll send out various themed questions to people at the X-office to answer, usually as just kind of a fun, fuckabout sort of thing.

Today's was Valentine's Day themed, because, well, it's the 12th of February, there's not a ton else to talk about.

The question naturally came up.

AIPT: Who, in your opinion, is the most romantic X-character? (And why?)

Everyone gets a look in, from Xavier to Wolverine to Havok to Mystique, but. Okay, so, like. Kieron Gillen answered four times in this thread, and most of it was just funny answers, but in response to THIS question, he said this in response:

Kieron Gillen: You know, Beast in the timeline where my S.W.O.R.D. got past issue 5 would have been good for this, but the timeline we ended up in had (er) somewhat less romance interested Beast. Perhaps someone could go back in time and try and do something about it. “We have to time travel to save Beast!” “Why? Is it all his genocides?” “No, he has to carry on devotedly making blueberry muffins.”

. . . . . . . .

Ladies, gentleman, non-binary individuals. S.W.O.R.D was cancelled 14 years ago. It died in 2009. But Kieron Gillen refuses to stop being salty about it, and you know what? You know what? Fucking good for him, because I'm fucking salty about it too!!!

But, like, this is such a wild answer to me! Just, unprompted, one of the premier comic book talents of the day just being like, hey, fuck you all, I really liked my little Beast-Brand OTP book. This man is one of my people, I know this. Well. I already knew this, to be fair, I got him to sign my trade paperback copy of that exact series, but that was over a decade ago, and he's STILL flying that flag???

HE REMEMBERS THE MUFFINS.

LOOK AT MY FUCKING OOC TAG.

IT'S OUTOFMUFFINS.

Then Brevoort, who, by the way, is the incoming editor for the X-Men books, said this:

Tom Brevoort: Back in the day, it was the Beast, before he threw over human needs and desires in favor of science. Nightcrawler also had some moves, but he doesn’t really use them as often anymore. So these days, Gambit is the clear winner. Angel wants to be, but he’s mostly all talk. But Gambit thinks about this stuff.

These are.

Interesting comments.

Beast literally could not be less relevant to the wider Krakoan story arc. X-Force exists in its own little bubble of black ops and body horror, and yet, unprompted, both one of the headline members of the talent (who has made sure to put Hank and Abigail in books for no real reason other than he likes them) and the incoming editor are both like, y'know, Hank was a real romantic back in the day. There's some affection there. It gives me hope. It makes me smile.

Now, I hasten to point out, this is not #WonderbeastConfirmed. We have no idea how these last two issues of X-Force are going to play out. But it is.

Interesting.

Oh, I also want to take a moment to call out Anthony Oliveira, who said this:

Anthony Oliveira: If you want the truth, you go to Emma. But nobody wants the truth. So they go to Jean, who can throw you a reality TV and ice cream pity party like you wouldn’t believe. She has those top-of-the-line flowy pajama pants that facilitate conversation, you know? Worst is Hank McCoy, who has been giving bad advice for decades before his war criminal era. One time he took Angelo Espinosa on a car trip that bummed me out so bad I’m still thinking about it 30 years later.

THAT bummed you out, bro?

Pssh, okay, dude.

Anyway.

Kieron Gillen remains my guy.

[sirenjose]

Your thoughts on the Identity Switch

Thanks to you…. I now really like Norton. I used to hate him because I have a vendetta against people taller than my 4’11 self but now I love him.

on another note, what are your thoughts on the Identity switch system? Looking more into Norton’s background specifically makes me wonder why Norton gets a hunter form. What does this represent? I know that there’s a lot of drugs involved but I always interpreted it as them unlocking a new personality or smth, one more attune to following the manor’s games and supervising it (hunter) and like the other just trying to leave (survivor). I’ve been so interested in Norton’s lore lately that now I’m in an existential rabbit hole in how survivors get hunter forms, why that is, and if it’s like some sort of curse or punishment. Why are these survivors getting hunter forms?

soooo many questions, IK. But like reading your theories and analysis at 3Am is my serotonin. As a new player purely interested in the game for its lore I am just excited to know more but can’t wrap my head around all these weird concepts cause, again, I’m new. Also if I spend the next hour reading more of your analysis I will not sleep so therefore I need to preface my curiosity with a timed endeavor. My question probably do3snt make sense but like uhhh yeaaaaa. You should totally make something on your thoughts on identity switch (especially for the survivors gone hunters) cause I am too far in deep into the Norton-Campbell-Fool’s-Gold-Alternate-personality rabbit hole.

I’ve never done the questioning thingy before so sorry if this is not how it works. G’day!

Ah, it makes me happy to think a nobody like me can turn your thinking around on someone. Especially Norton since he was 1 of the main reasons I got started with the lore at all. I'm someone who usually plays a game based on how interesting the story or characters are, so I was interested in learning about idv's lore soon after I joined (had to take quite awhile to figure out the basics of the game and what all the various buttons were, then take some more time to get used to it before I could even get started with the lore). Was the main reason why I went looking to join places like Discord or Reddit, just so I could find people talking about the story.

Started by just understanding what I could about what people said, but then I eventually moved on to trying to understand at least the basics of everyone's backstories (once again, took me awhile to do that ^_^; Especially as I joined before we were getting all that much story at all). While I was doin this, I heard a lot of people saying bad stuff about some character named Norton. Have to admit I didn't know who he was for quite awhile. Wasn't in my radar. Can't even say I cared much for him. But I eventually got to the point where I basically decided I wanted to see if I could determine if Norton really was that bad or not (maybe as a challenge to myself, maybe because I wanted to find out myself rather than just hearing other's opinions, or maybe because I failed to find anything really in-depth about him).

That analysis took a ridiculous amount of time. In part because I ask too many questions, because I'm a perfectionist and wanted to look at every bit of info on him and detail on him, but also somewhat because I ended up writing this like a persuasion piece, and felt the only way to do that was by going through everything to back up my conclusion (whatever my research turned up). Which was also why I analyzed every single essence he had a skin in, as well as any skins not in an essence, his accessories, emotes, etc... It was during that process I actually got attached to Norton. Probably because of how long I spent going through him (no one needs to know how long it took... only the immense joy and desire to collapse I had when I finally finished).

Since then, I've rewritten his analysis... 3 times now I think? Counting after hunter norton's release? Though I've taken down that 1st version due to issues, and haven't reposted my essence analyses as they're old (they were pretty much the 1st analyses I wrote, and I'd like to think I've improved since then) as well as because they're based on the 1st version of my norton analysis... and because they're probably a bit needlessly long and thus embarrassing... Maybe I'll repost them once I get around to rewriting them. I definitely will eventually at least for Soul Catcher's and Magic Item Keeper's essence because I have to say they took longer than almost any other part of that original (complete) norton analysis (i can never forget the trouble they caused me over how long it took to understand them).

ANYWAYS! Ignoring my stupid rambling because who cares about any of that.

I was going to include my answer to your question about Identity Switches but it’s starting to become a little silly in length ^_^; (seriously, for those who know me well enough, I have a bad habit of writing more than I initially intended to once I get started) so I’ll make that a separate post for you, and you can let me know if it answers your questions (once I post it). If not, feel free to ask any more of your questions.

Honestly, the lore is confusing even to those who aren’t new players, so don’t be too hard on yourself if you can’t wrap your head around a lot of this ^_^;

It’s hard for me to imagine my stuff is so good people are willing to read it, much less re-read it. Especially as I know people tend to prefer… shorter things, but I have tendency to be lengthy. I can’t help it though ;’) But thank you so much for the compliment.

And please, I’m still pretty new to Tumblr, so I’m still figuring all this out myself.

Anyways, don’t feel nervous talking to me or asking me any questions you have. I enjoy being helpful! So please, ask whatever you like. Or even if you don’t have a question, that’s ok too. I enjoy rambling about a subject I get started on, as long as the other person can bear with me ;’)

 It’s always nice to know people besides me, myself, and I are reading this stuff.

(Apologies for any errors or nonsense in this post, as I decided to write it without double checking it for errors cuz I felt like being lazy, and I'm still busy writing out my thoughts about Identity Switches for you)

[sunriseverse]

@glasscoffingirlfriend replied to your post “duolingo emailing me like pwease come back and use...”:

wait what happened ive been thinking of using duo even tho i know its not ideal for actual language becuz its free and i figure its an ok place to start

​okay this is going to be long but there's a number of reasons i have umbrage with duolingo. i should start off by saying that duolingo is where i started learning languages in 2016, and it got me past the initial awkward phase with german. in the past, i viewed duolingo as a useful app, if not something that can actually teach you a language to a proficient level by itself.

however, over the years, my opinion has changed on this. it started with two things in specific: duolingo removed its forums, a place for users to interact with each other, ask questions about language learning, grammar, and so forth, and talk to native speakers of their target language (this went into effect in 2022, as this duolingo forum announcement explains), and the grammar/guidebook section that used to be available was phased out (first with the app, then on the website; i can't find a post by duolingo officially explaining when/why they removed it, but reddit posts i've dug up say this happened in 2022/2023), initially only accessible through specific links before being entirely removed and rendered inaccesible. these two things are, in my opinion, incredibly key functions, and draws to duolingo over other programmes/apps, which allowed people to study on a more extensive level, which have now been entirely removed without explanation or alternative.

secondly, duolingo sunsetted its volunteer contributor programme in 2021, and in 2023, announced it would put its welsh course on pause to "plan[s] to focus on languages in higher demand including spanish, french, and german". while the welsh course will remain available, no further work will be done on it—and, while only welsh is specified, i personally think this doesn't bode well for its other, "lower demand" language courses. as for the volunteer contributor programme being sunsetted, this means that duolingo no longer works with others to create new courses—a number of "lower demand" courses were created with the volunteer contributor programme, and wouldn't exist without it. the volunteer contributor programme allowed native speakers to contribute to and improve existing courses, and develop new courses (there used to be petitions for languages to be added, and if these calls were loud enough, there was a good chance that that language would be worked on, first as a beta course, then as an official course).

finally, more and more, duolingo is pushing monetisation. while i understand that duolingo is a business, that doesn't change my disappointment at it going from an entirely free, fairly useful resource (if not one that should be relied on alone), to an increasingly simplified, superficial platform riddled with ads, constantly trying to convince you to buy a subscription in order to access functions that used to be entirely free (anyone else remember when you weren't limited in hearts?).

i've tried not to let my subjective opinions colour this response too much, and keep it objective, linking sources into it, but yeah, overall, my opinion is that duolingo has started to suck a lot, and i wouldn't recommend it, especially when there's usually more extensive, more useful resources to be found. if you have a specific language you want to learn, and don't know where to start, and don't want to pay for a programme, you can send me an ask and i'll do my best to put together resources for you, or at least point you towards blogs that might have a better answer for you.

(also, the chinese course sucks. i cannot imagine trying to learn it from scratch—the lack of explanations of tone and grammar would probably make it a nightmare.)

[kmze]

hey kris.so IDK if you're on twitter but umm I saw something and that's just so ridiculous that I don't even know if that was PW's feeble attempt at being whatever he's trying really hard to be.It's actually a con video.Idc what actors think or say at cons a million years after the show ended and I'm saying after personally experiencing it.He is entitled to his opinion but to make factually incorrect statements casually that completely disregards the entire show in front of people who pay shitload of money to see them is...Well,What do I know?Stupid me I guess.I have started reading your recaps btw.I'm on s5 now.It's my least favourite.HAHA.

Yeah so I got some questions about this before but because I didn't actually see the video I don't like commenting on it but since I saw the video now I'll give my two cents. I mean he just comes off as very rude and condescending in the way he answers things and like yeah it was a little funny when he did it during the show but even that got old. Now it's like these people are paying a lot of money to see you because you were on a show they love and you act like its so beneath you. I saw he also said he was mad people recognize him as Stefan and like what else would the recognize you as it's not like you've been in so many groundbreaking things my guy. I mean as far as what he said who cares, he used all the common anti arguments that I'm sure he found on Reddit, I have a whole tag that shows he begged for it going back to S4 so he just looks like a hypocrite. And more importantly it's not like he came to this conclusion because he watched the show he literally had no idea about any storyline you ask him about at these cons and says how everything is a blur.

IDK I think he's just trying to appease his GenZ fanbase that he does all the Q&As with to siphon more money out of people. Maybe he's really concerned about having the approval of GenZ because that's where he find his girlfriends?

[sebastianthecollectorandcreator]

PhantomStrider's Modern Cartoons Ranking And My Thoughts On Each Individual Cartoon

To Start, I First Watched This Video Back In 2016 Or 2017 (Can't Tell Which One To Be Honest). I Got Into A Handful Of Those After Seeing That Video. Here's The Video In Question:

I'm Only Speaking About Each Cartoon In Order Of His Ranking And That His Ranking May Not Reflect My Thoughts On Each Show. In A Separate Post, I'll List Off Some Of The Cartoons That Were Snubbed From The List. Now For Number 10.

Right Off The Bat, We Have A Show That I Have An Interesting History With. This Was One Of Many Cartoons That I Was Introduced To Via This Video. I Like This Show, But I Wouldn't Call This My Favorite Nick Show. This Show Kinda Planted An Idea That Might Or Might Not Be Present In Most Future Projects Of Mine (Large Families). I Rarely Watch An Episode Of This Show Nowadays. I Haven't Seen Any Episodes Past Season 4 (I Saw The Movie And The First Season Of The Casagrandes As Well, But That's It). Watching New Episodes Wasn't As Much Of A Priority As It Used To Be. Also, Have You Ever Had That One Person Who Fell Into Controversy That You Were Sure Was Innocent When The Initial Controversy Was Happening, But With Hindsight, Now Knows That The One Person Really Was That Bad? For Me, That Was Chris Savino. Also, I'm Only Reading Fanfics For This Nowadays Instead Of Watching The Show Itself. Moving Onto Number 9:

I Never Watched This, So I Can't Really Give My Opinion On It. I Have The Whole Thing Recorded Onto The DVR, So I Could Watch It At Some Point. It Has Elijah Wood (Frodo From "Lord Of The Rings") In It, So That Might Help Make Me Want To Watch It. For Number 8:

Yet Another One I Haven't Watched. If It's On Paramount Plus Or Netflix, Then I'll Watch It. Let's Hope The Next One Is One That I Have Watched. Let's See If Number 7 Is It:

Okay, This One Is It. I've Watched This Before, And Liked It, But Haven't Seen It In Years. I Was Introduced To It Through The Video. I Should Revisit It Sometime. Number 6:

I Never Watched This Outside Of Clips And That One Simpsons Couch Gag:

That Show Was Just Always There, Y'Know? Considering That I Got Satellite TV In The Summer Of 2017, I've Definitely Seen And Heard About It When The Third Season Was Going. Let's See What Number 5 Is:

I Watched The Whole Thing On Paramount Plus Back In 2022 And I Remember Liking It. Along With Its Predecessor, I Should Get Around To Revisiting This At Some Point. With How People Were Calling Korra A "Mary Sue" (Some Probably Still Do, IDK), I Hope Netflix Doesn't Adapt This Like They Did With ATLA, That Would Be A Whole Headache If That Were Ever To Happen. For Number 4:

Aw Yeah, Now That's What I'm Talking About. I Finally Watched This In The Summer Of Last Year, And I Really Like This. What I Could Say About This May As Well Have Been Said By Many Others (Vailskibum94 Included). I Know It Led To A Bunch Of Successors, One Of Which Is On The List, While A Bunch Of Others Have Been Snubbed. For Number 3:

In Hindsight, I'd Probably Have This And GF Switch Positions On The List. I'm Actually In The Process Of Revisiting This. I Posted On Here And Reddit About The Show Quite A Bit Recently. The Last Episode I Watched Was "Sophomore Slump" And, Marco Will End Up With A Rude Awakening And A Love For Linkin Park When He Finds Out About Star And Tom. Also, I Watched Saberspark's Video On This Earlier Today And Yeah, I Think Amphibia Or The Owl House Should Be In That Position On The List Instead. Also, I Heard About Star Executing Order 66 On A Lot Of Characters. After Initially Watching This, I Must Have Blocked Out A Lot Of This Show Since Initially Watching This. Whatever Excitement I Had With Seasons 1-2 And The Battle For Mewni Special Seems To Slowly Be Withering Away As The Episodes Go By. Next Up On This, For Number 2 Is:

One Of The Few Shows On The List That I Heard Of Prior To Watching This Video. I Watched The Majority Of Season 1 On Cartoon Network And That's It. I Have A Lot Of Shows I Need To Get Around To Watching. Onto The Honorable Mentions. The First Honorable Mention Is:

I Never Watched This. Was Weird Al Involved With This Or Something? Honorable Mention Number 2:

Oh. That. Should I Remind You That The Video Was Made In 2016? This Was Another Show That I Had Heard Of Prior To Watching This Video. You Know How When Someone Uploads A Full Episode Or Movie, Said Episode Or Movie Is In The Bottom Corner Of The Video And The Audio Is Pitched Up To Evade Copyright? That's How Me And My Sister First Watched The Show. When She Eventually Got The DVDs Of The Show, I At Least Got To See It The Way I Should Have Seen It. I Think The Show Fell Off Harder Than SVTFOE Could Even Imagine. I Never Watched A Single Episode From Season 5. I Watched Videos From Cyrus The Great And Smarty Pants And Read Posts From Tumblr's Own The Immaturity Of Thomas Astruc And I Still Haven't Watched An Episode Of Season 5. I Watched The Movie Though. Before I Go Too Crazy About This Show, Let's Get To The Next Honorable Mention:

Another One I've Heard Of Prior To Watching That Video. Same With We Bare Bears, I Remember Liking It, But I Haven't Seen It In Years. At Least It's On Disney Plus, So I Could Rewatch It. For The Last Honorable Mention:

The Last One That I Heard About Prior To Watching That Video. I Never Watched The Show, But I'd Love To At Some Point. I Even Have The Happy Meal Toys From Way Back When. For Number One:

This One I Heard A Lot About. I Watched The Show In 2020 On Hulu (Seasons 1-4) And HBO Max (Season 5, The Movie And Future) And I Remember Enjoying It. I Need To Revisit It. Thankfully, WB Is Reissuing The Complete Series Set Next Month.

[tdp-fandom]

Shipping Poll Update

Click here if you haven't voted yet

Hello friends! As of the writing of this post, I've received 103 responses which is amazing! Thank you all so much! A special thank you goes to those who shared the poll - it is thanks to you guys that I got this many responses and I really appreciate it <3

I would like to share some general statistical data so far (the one that doesn't have an impact on the overall results) and address some feedback that I've received. Some graphs

I'm very happy to see that tumblr users have been the most active! You guys rock! Reddit has also been really active and I'm happy to see discord and twitter catching up!

I don't expect a lot of activity from dreamwidth as it's a different kind of website and I barely have any followers there but I'm curious to see how it goes. I ended up not posting anything on instagram because I would need to make images and I currently don't have the spoons for that :c

The age graph is also really cool! I'm very happy to see so many active 31+ people! Almost a quarter! And I'm very grateful to the young adults, who are the main bulk of the participants! I'm also happy to see teen participants express their votes as well c:

That's its for graphs for now - I can't share the rest just yet without the risk of getting the data skewed.

What I'd like to talk about next is your amazing feedback and how a few early participants saved this poll! Read under cut.

Feedback

People Who Have Saved the Poll

I posted the poll at 2 am my time (I had been working late nights on it the entire week because of real life responsibilities taking most of my free time) but decided to stick around for a bit to check if everything was going smoothly and to finish my conversations with friends on discord.

About 7 votes in, I decided to check on the poll and I saw this message in the feedback field:

"I didn`t see Rayla/Callum anywhere. Am I just blind or?"

This person was a life saver! Because although I know I added Rayllum originally, I must've accidentally deleted it and never noticed T-T it really is super easy to accidentally click on an X and delete a row from a multiple choice grid on google forms. Thanks to that person the crisis was averted. And it really would've been a crisis, because Rayllum is the flagship of TDP and getting lots of answers with no opinion on Rayllum would've really hurt the accuracy of the data.

I had also forgotten to add opinion options for some categories in the controversial ships section, which a friend as well as two poll takers notified me about!

Thank you all for the valuable feedback! I don't know what I would do without you.

Other Feedback

A few people mentioned that they weren't sure if it were ok not to tick every ship and I realized I hadn't been clear on that in my instructions. It is absolutely fine to skip whatever you feel like skipping. If there are ships you don't care about so much you don't even want to choose any option for - that is 100% valid and it tells me important information about the ship - you're not just neutral about it, you really do not care about a ship. And if I want to accurately evaluate our fandom's relationship with various ships, this information is also important.

People also commented that there have been too many ships to go through and that's definitely true. I tried to be as thorough as I could by including every possible ship people would have opinions on but the lists ended up being huge. I am planning to change a few things for the season 5 poll. I will probably exclude certain ships that won't do very well on this poll (unless the events in S5 warrant keeping them) and try to rearrange them in a way that can help people go through them faster.

There was a related comment where a person noted that it's not very convenient to scroll back and forth through the four opinion choices on mobile and suggested using just the numbers 1 to 4. That is a very good idea - I will implement this in the next poll.

One person was asking about Breakfast Guards being included in the canon ships. While I didn't get any official confirmations, they were shown almost kissing in the episode where Zubeia visits Katolis so I think that counts as them having some sort of onscreen not strictly platonic relationship.

While I explained the kinds of ships the poll was dealing with as well as the difference between active and passive shipping, I didn't actually explain what I mean by shipping, as one person rightfully pointed out! It's not an easy thing to define but I will try to come up with something for the season 5 poll! So far we can stick to romantic, queerplatonic or nonromantic sexual dynamics.

I used the wrong ship name for Rex Igneous x Avizandum. It should be Zanrex instead of Rexandum and the wonderful @cometchasr explained to why that particular shipname was chosen! He said that Zan was a nickname for Avizandum used a in few fics featuring the former dragon king and it fit very well with how the nickname Zym works. When I don't know a shipname I often just make one up on the spot as a placeholder but I am always happy to hear feedback from actual shippers and I switch to their preferred shipname.

I got so many nice compliments and words of encouragement too! Thank you guys! It means a lot ;__;

I will try to address feedback roughly once a week and keep you all updated on how things are going!

[missnight0wl]

Hey, Marta! I have no hp related to say except that whatever's going on hogwarts legacy seems to be just romancing sad white boys and nothing on plot or whatever, disappointing. (Which is fine on fics and romance centered stories, but so far I heard no one complementing or even commenting on the story.)

I think a lot of these media/game developers think they can simply rely on the brand Harry Potter and just spew any half assed stories with the cover of 'ohh spells and references'. I don't even have nostalgia for anything and it makes me sad to see it watered down to the technicalities of the world and not the story that lies in its core.

But capitalism I guess.

Anyway, I took so long to listen to Eat Your Young and oh my, what a bop! Why does Hozier use such a sexy voice to sing the horrors??? I truly hadn't heard him in interview in a while so when I heard Through Me, I got whiplash. While Scottish still my darling accent, Normal People gave me an appreciation for Irish accent.

Well, those were just some random meanderings. I hope you're doing well 💖 *virtual hug*

Hello, Bee! It’s really good to hear from you! ☺

I’m gonna be honest, I’m actively not following information on Hogwarts Legacy, so I can’t really comment on that. I have a vague idea about the plot thanks to my friend who’s more interested in it, but she also said that the story is rather bleak overall. So... there’s that, I guess. But as I said, I don’t know enough to give my opinion.

That being said, I do want to comment on your thought about “abusing” the HP brand because… yeah, that’s true. Well, sort of. Because, for example, I still believe that HPHM wasn’t just about that at the very beginning. I do think that Matt London and his team created this story with some level of passion. Were they also hoping for easy money? Yeah, probably. But it seems that they cared about something more, too. Sadly, at this point, HPHM became what you’re describing: a half assed story with the cover of 'ohh spells and references'. And I hate to say it, but I also think that the fans are partially responsible for that.

I mean, I remember seeing people being like: “Oh I can’t wait when HPMA/HL comes out, so I can leave this shitty game (HPHM)”. And I was always like… You don’t HAVE TO play this game if you don’t enjoy it. I feel like this mentality was actually quite common at some point, especially on Reddit, at least when I was still checking it. But personally, I just don’t get it. You might still like HP without interacting with every single title in the franchise.

But that also brings me to your second thought: capitalism. Because honestly, it’s not just the problem of the HP brand. Let’s take The Sims, for example. People are complaining for years that TS4 is lacking even now when we have dozens of DLCs. There are many new bugs with each pack and many old bugs that needs to be fixed. But it doesn’t matter for EA because they know that people will still buy the next new pack. Why? Because of the brand. And because The Sims has no real competition, at least yet.

Another example: Apple. Personally, I don’t use Apple products so I won’t comment on their quality. But I remember when people talked about the new iPhone without a headphone jack. Again, I don’t know if it actually influenced the quality of a phone in a meaningful way, but it’s rather hard to not see it as a mechanism forcing people to buy wireless headphones. And again, Apple knows they can do that because people will still want to have the iPhone.

So, yeah. Capitalism.

And what a lovely segue to Eat Your Young it is!

Seriously, I love this song! I can’t help it but sway to it every time I hear it. Though I totally feel you – it is absolutely morbid! But it’s that clash that makes it so strong. By the way, my favourite part has to be:

Get some

Pull up the ladder when the flood comes

Throw enough rope until the legs have swung

Seven new ways that you can eat your young

Back in 2019, Hozier was performing on his tour one of his unreleased songs, But The Wages (which many suspects will be on the new full album). And in one video of this song, he said: “If you’re not making the right people uncomfortable you might be wasting your time as a musician”. I feel it’s basically gonna be a subtitle of Unreal Unearth.

And finally: YES, HIS ACCENT! 😄 I’d say I’m quite familiar with it as I listened to some interviews fairly recently (there was Blood Upon Snow not so long ago and now the new EP), but yes! The Irish accent is very lovely! :3

And I write Normal People down as another title to look into because I did hear about it, but I never paid more attention to it.

Anyway, I hope you’re doing well, too! 💖

[ibbys-dump]

twitter sucks, so I'm mainly posting on here now, mind joining in?

heyoo! it's been a while since I've been on here but I think I'd like to start somethign new :)

if you don't mind, could I take ~20 minutes of your time (maybe less if you get the gist of it and scroll)? it'd mean a lot ♥

twitter...

twitter is a GREAT app!

before, this account used to just be reposting art and spamming random thoughts like it's twitter, but I've learnt since then that this isn't twitter at all. twitter has some great stuff, I get to talk to friends, find more through mutuals, share and reblog art, and become more immersed in the communities I love! that's great to me, but it resulted in me being stuck with it... and I mean stuck.

twitter is the ONLY app I can use!!

I've tried to leave the app several times, but the thing is all my friends are on it, so I have to use it to talk to and stay updated on my friends. I barely tried a discord server, but starting conversations really aren't easy when there's nothing to talk about. the thing with twitter is that it lets you be updated on what your friends are doing, so you can chime in and talk about whatever, it's a cute ecosystem that messaging apps and stuff like reddit struggle to maintain (reddit posts and replies are messy but I can't pin on why lol, just take my word for it [also who has a private subreddit lol]). BASICALLY twitter is too good to leave.

twitter kinda really sucks...

now you may ask why I'd want to leave the ideal app? well, twitter DOES have its problems and I think many are aware of it. it has a practically unmoderated void of the timeline that you can't help but check out to find new people, but you just get an unrelated mess of people posting 7 word phrases for interactions from randoms and it becomes an addicting cycle to scroll. just checking the app after being logged out awhile resulted in 20-40 minute scrolls, and it's taken away from my morning sometimes.

on top of this, GOD twitter is depressing.

HEY, HERE'S A HOT MORALLY CONCERNING HEAVILY DEBATABLE DEPRESSING TAKE THAT'LL RUIN YOUR MOOD‼️‼️👈👈♻️❤️ (1/14 tweets of slowly increasing dread!)🧵

... is an inevitability that you'll see often while just trying to look for your friend's posts, or sometimes they'll even repost it on their page... and it gets depressing. I don't want to see the world falling apart while I'm talking to friends, I get politics is important but my #1 rule is that it isn't shoved down my throat, and twitter is the biggest discriminator without a doubt.

twitter is also a huge unmoderated pit of posts, I've muted all that I can but people still find a way to be sexual, even minors but that's a whole other rabbit hole. there's no real way to mute it all, and it sucks. nobody uses spoilers on images, and twitter's timeline is a mess so you'll get some random's TOP 10 WACKY OPINIONS ON RANDOM WOMEN out of nowhere ┐⁠(⁠´⁠ー⁠｀⁠)⁠┌

the thing is, twitter was made back in like 2008 to post very short phrases on what you're doing, but now it's evolved poorly into a mixed mess of becoming THE social media app

so use Tumblr, PLEASE..!

the good without the dreadful

I didn't realize that 2010s web-blogs were the future, but blogs actually are a perfect solution! I read this article not too long ago, and I loved it. isn't it cool being able to just read some person's cool opinions and thoughts on their little journeys?! from there I got to thinking...

"didn't Tumblr have a blogs system as cool as this??"

it does!! I can check in on my friends on one page dedicated to them all, I can support cool artists, I can meet new mutuals, find new people with the # pages actually being useful (twitter's one sucks, don't you lie to me), the For You ONLY shows tags I follow, sexual content is banned, people actually use #s in posts which I can mute easily, there's like no politics and I can enjoy my space in PEACE!

so can you help me out and use Tumblr with me?

this is literally the best app for literally any community, but the tragic thing is not enough people use it. I get that new can be scary, and a month ago when I did use it, it was pretty difficult, but once you get the hang of it, you'll learn to love the new side of your communities! you also have your own space, so you can post your slick rhythm game scores or live posts of tv shows, it's great!

so with the whole essay I made, totally consider adding Tumblr to your ecosystem! make an account, get started talking to people, share the love for this app getting new people in here, and have fun!

you're gonna need some basic "get started" tips and get some extensions maybe, tumblr is an old place and has its own style, so I wouldn't skip these (they're short, promise!)

here's a twitter thread I used ages ago, super useful!

apparently my friend used this and got good tips, some extra pointers if you're interested!

as for me, I'll be talking more about things with you people on both apps, but mainly on here, this is the return I'm comfortable with, I'll still be on twitter for random silly posts, but general stuff goes on this blog. I hope this works well enough and I really would love to see all of you guys on here too!

> thanks for reading this, it means a lot

- ibby❤️

[calumhoodgoss]

Hihi Lighter anon back (I’m gonna have to announce myself like this all the time right, even when I’m not talking about the song?)

Been catching up on posts and omg girlie, you’re my favourite blog 🥰 this little corner of the internet is so great!!

Your review is so valid!! Luke’s voice is just incredible and the way you described it is perfect, I never would have thought of putting it that way but that’s just so true.

I really agree, the visuals in the video really suited the vibes, idk you put it so eloquently.

As for why it was just Luke 🤷🏼‍♀️ no clue. But that man crumbles into peer pressure so easily (see shoey at Brisbane NFATTNE show as main evidence) so I just want to assume they told him he that he absolutely had to and he just did it.

But we can hope and pray for some promo from Ash and Cal but I feel like maybe the ship has sailed slightly on it?

But I wanna get everyone’s opinions on the self-titled 10th anniversary stuff. Cause like everyone on twitter and reddit where being so awful about it. IMO just be happy they’re acknowledging it and we’re getting anything at all. I definitely think I’m in the minority when i say that I actually liked the merch (even ordered some despite the shipping cost) because it’s simple and wearable. I feel like it’s an if you know, you know vibe and I’d rather that than an outlandish huge design. But idk, thoughts?

Hope all is well xx

OMG HI GIRLIEEEE

hahah you can totally give yourself a different nickname thats not lighter anon if you prefer 😂 whatever bbbbbbbb

THANK YOUUU and omgosh he totally could of just been peer pressured in lmao i didnt even think of that 😂 but its certainly a possibility hahahhaha oh lukeee

as for the self titled merch i totally agree. at least its wearable and pays homage to their early merch designs. its not out of line for what they used to produce so ?? it makes complete sense to me

on the other hand though, i do feel like it was an obvious choice and quite lazy (for lack of a better word). if we got an interview or some other kind of content along with the merch i dont think people would of been nearly as mad. but because it was just the merch, and it was the most lack lustre and obvious design choices, i feel like fans are just feeling a bit under appreciated. i dont personally mind, but i can see how many people would feel like that. especially not having gotten any content from them all year, people are thirsty lmao

side note, isnt friends of friends meant to be happening?? its 'august' - whatever that means

[teaveetamer]

The Ask Answerathon

Long post, but I'm just gonna bang out like 90% of these anons in one go because the thought of making 20 additional separate posts about this issue is, frankly, exhausting.

I always hate the argument that "Edelgard critics just hate 3H", ugh. I won't say its my favorite game in the series (not by a long shot) but I didn't develop a disdain for it until the fandom decided to act like this. And even then, I don't like Edelgard much but there are absolutely parts of 3H that I do enjoy, even if my opinion on the game started out kind of mediocre and it was all downhill from there.

I assume this is referring to the post I made about how liking characters who do bad things in games is not indicative of who you are as a person.

I mean, I don't particularly like her for her actions either, not to mention the sexist writing surrounding her that I've already discussed elsewhere. But her personality isn't particularly endearing to me either (I like the occasional "cold girl who melts for you" type of character, I just don't think it was done well here) and her stans didn't help. But I would never imply people who just happen to like Edelgard support stuff like genocide or imperialism... the problem is the people who claim liking Edelgard is this super moral awesome thing to do while also openly defending imperialism and genocide.

I still haven't played Live A Live!!!! I've been meaning to get to it, but honestly? I'm kind of feeling a nostalgia trip coming on so I might just go play My Sims after I'm done answering these asks, lol.

I will take your word for it since I am not familiar enough with whatever you're referencing to argue for or against it.

"That didn’t happen.

And if it did, it wasn’t that bad.

And if it was, that’s not a big deal. (That guy is Here)

And if it is, that’s not my fault.

And if it was, I didn’t mean it.

And if I did, you deserved it" (Though they occasionally dip into this one)

FORREAL. Like I won't claim Nilsh was flawless. I didn't follow him in part because I was kind of sick of the discourse when he really got going and because I didn't see much point in constantly responding to takes you don't agree with (which is what he did for a while). However, I think what has transpired after Nilsh's departure has just made it abundantly clear that their problem wasn't possibly someone coming into their space and interrupting their fun by disputing them. It was literally anyone disagreeing with them anywhere at all about literally anything. Even if you think Nilsh, or even BWIIDT (because they read Cap's fanfic) were ever out of line for what they did, that doesn't explain coming after the multitude of creators on this platform who have literally never done anything to you. And the response was far disproportionate to the actions done to them. It's like responding to a light slap by beating someone and their entire family and group of friends until they're all on life support in the hospital.

(I've been informed that referring to someone as a "Kevin" is a German thing. I personally associate it with that semi-infamous Reddit thread from a high school teacher)

Anyway I won't speculate on his mental state. I think the way he's been responding is incredibly troubling and indicative that he might need to step away from online discourse for a while, though.

I'll say to this that I'm definitely not a big fan of kink shaming. That said, it's very clear that this guy has not squared away the ways in which his kinks contrast with his espoused personal views, and I do think that could be a point of self-reflection for him.

I am of the opinion that kink does not necessarily contrast with social justice, because kinks (provided everything is both legal and consensual) are simply adults expressing power and control over their sexuality. Considering how stigmatized sexuality is, especially for the LGBTQ+ community, this can be an extremely valuable tool for helping people take back power from the prevailing, dominant, cishet sex-negative culture.

If those kinks do contrast something (e.g. an infantilization of women fetish naturally slotting into sexist mindsets) then it might be worthwhile to unpack... but also, I think saying "yeah I think it's hot, and also I think sexism should die in a fire and I would never play out this kink with someone who wasn't a fully consenting adult who is also completely into it" is a lot less skeevy to me than trying to hide or be ashamed of the kink.

But anyway, I think the way he has been treating the women of this community who disagree with him is a lot more telling about his stances toward women than his kinks or his favorite characters.

This behavior isn't exactly exclusive to men and feminism either, though obviously that's the most pertinent example. The most recent example I can think of was some Twitter thread where some (from what I understand) cisgender woman tried to make an "educational powerpoint" on how to "properly" treat gay men in fictional writing and in fandom. Which was littered with a bunch of weird stuff that had absolutely no basis in the actual gay community (I read it at the time, I recall it being a lot of really infantilizing "plz don't write things I don't like" type of points). And when gay men in fandom tried to call the OP out, OP blocked all of them and started complaining about how everyone was just so unnecessarily mean to them for no reason whatsoever before they eventually deleted the post for the backlash.

I couldn't tell you where it comes from. Some kind of audacity that comes with privilege that makes you believe you're allowed to speak for groups you don't belong to, I guess? There's admittedly a fine line to walk between being an ally and being a bulldozer, but I think your clearest indication that you are behaving like the latter should be people from the group you're trying to defend literally telling you that you're acting like a bulldozer and not listening to them.

I suppose it's appropriate for the month. I guess those people really need a spooky month boogeyman and Nilsh is always their go-to lmao.

I'd prefer if we don't resort to ad hominems in my ask box. I know I've probably been a little lenient on this, but now that I've had a few days away from the intensity of the situation it's not something I'd like to encourage on my platform. I'll also reiterate that I don't want anyone here to send the guy harassment. Keep any interaction constructive and/or calling out his actions.

Anyway, I can't say him not responding to anons that aren't completely positive to him is out of line with what I was expecting. The guy has never been interested in "debating" or "correcting misinformation" like he claims. It has always been about cultivating a certain image and trying to punish people who disagree with him. He wants to be the "hero" that saves the standom from the "evil Edelgard Criticals" and he doesn't look very righteous if he has a bunch of people telling him that they don't like him or think he deserves criticism for his actions.

Yep, this is an extremely common inroad to radicalization. If you position yourself as a victim, then the logic follows that there must be an oppressor for you to unite against. In some cases this is absolutely justified (like, when people are actually victimized by bigotry) though you should be careful people don't take advantage of that. Aaaaand in some cases, it is absolutely not justified (like, when someone else doesn't like your waifu and expresses that on the internet).

[grace13star]

“Look, there’s a reason why you are not the president and never will be.” - Wilbur Soot (Am I The Villain?, 05:36)

Hi guys it’s me, Grace, with another mini essay about c!WIlbur Soot. Assume every name is about the character and not the real people. 

So there’s this scene that a lot of people use as evidence that Wilbur is “evil” or “manipulative” to Tommy in Pogtopia. If you ask for evidence of abuse or manipulation, this is a scene they point to first. 

Its literally the worst example they could give.

I’m sure you all know the scene. Wilbur and Tommy are arguing, and Wilbur tells Tommy that he’ll never be president and that they can’t trust anyone. 

So we’re gonna talk about this scene and lay out exactly how you’re wrong using critical thinking skills. We’re gonna talk about context. We’re gonna talk about quotes. We’re gonna talk about mental illness and ableism in this community. 

Strap in.

So first of all, the context. 

In the scenes leading up to the speech, Wilbur and Tubbo are exploring the tunnel system Tubbo has built under L’Manberg that leads to Pogtopia. He specifically shows him a false path he’s built so that if Schlatt ever comes down, he won’t be led straight to the rebel hideout. 

Surprise, surprise, Schlatt and Quackity show up. 

Tommy is also there at that point, and when Tubbo and Wilbur try to get him to crouch and hide so he doesn’t reveal their location, he ignores them and starts destroying the wall that is hiding them as they try to get him to stop. “Tommy, fill in the gap. (Tommy starts breaking more) No! Tommy, fill in the gap!” -(Am I The Villain?, 4:28)

Wilbur then gives in and lets Tommy have the path open, but he tells Tommy that he doesn’t want him at Schlatt’s decree because of how irresponsible he’s being. Tommy argues, and this is when Wilbur first says “This is why you are not the president and never will be.” Harsh? Maybe, but Tommy is doing things that are risking not only his and Wilbur’s life, but Tubbo’s as well. 

Schlatt and Quackity almost follow the path to Pogtopia, but luckily, Schlatt turns back to make his decree. 

The declaration of the Manberg festival is the first time Wilbur’s point of view is questioned. He has a very black and white viewpoint throughout the entire storyline.  “It was Dream, he’s kinda the bad guy. Yeah, we’re the good guys, we’re the good guys here.” - (Wilbur’s Niki joins L'Manberg: 22:28) The festival isn’t evil and doesn’t seem like some nefarious plan (we know later that it’s just a front for Tubbo’s execution, but it’s unclear whether that was planned from the announcement or if it was added later). 

This shakes his whole worldview, and the way he reconciles what he thought with what he knows now is deciding he’s the villain. Objectively, this isn’t even close to true. Schlatt was a tyrant who over taxed and imprisoned his citizens if they spoke out against him, and Wilbur’s government never really did anything. It’s worth noting as well, that one of Wilbur’s justifications is that Schlatt was elected legally. However, a lot of tyrants and dictators in history were also elected legally. Its the actions of the governing force that make them a bad leader, not whether or not they got their power legally. 

Wilbur’s response to realizing the world is a lot more morally grey is immediately the most extreme response. He thinks they should blow up Manberg and completely raze it. 

While Wilbur, in this video, claims that its because he can’t have it, he truly believes that Manberg is what caused conflict, and if he takes out Manberg, the conflict will disappear. This is confirmed by a Reddit analysis post that Wilbur reponded “Any truers” too.  Wilbur also says this directly in the video. “Do you know what would happen if we get L’Manberg back, Tommy? More blood would be shed.” -(Am I The Villain?, 18:56)

Now we get to the part that people claim is manipulation. 

First thing I’d like to say is this: look up what manipulation means for the love of god. Stop using buzzwords you don’t know the meaning of. 

This has become a problem with the meme “gaslight, gatekeep, girlboss,” where people joke about serious topics like manipulation and abuse and confuse it with completely normal things to do. I’ve seen so many people claim something is gaslighting only for it to be a character saying their opinion. It’s tiring, guys. 

Anyways, with this specific scene, people point to the part where Wilbur says “Everyone who’s claiming to be on our side? They’re lying to us! Tubbo? He’s lying to you, man!” - (Am I The Villain?, 20:27) 

This is not manipulation. 

This post explains it in a lot more depth (check it out, it’s very well written, thank you @the-redeemed-anon​), but to sum it up: manipulation requires coersion, intention, and withholding of truth. While Wilbur is trying to coerce Tommy, he does not lie to him, and that makes this persuasion and not manipulation. 

This scene, in my opinion, is just an extremely stressed, paranoid, and self deprecating man lashing out at one cause of his stress. Villainizing this scene and calling a perfectly normal emotional response manipulation and evil is not...great? Yes, he hurt Tommy. Yes, it was unfair of him, but I’ve had responses like this in real life and I didn’t have the stress of almost being killed hanging over me. It’s honestly surprising he didn’t lash out further. 

So how is this ableist?

Wilbur is a character with clear mental illnesses. He is paranoid, depressed, self-deprecating, and suicidal. There are no mental health resources on the server (at the time), no therapy or drugs, or anything that could help him. Even before exile he was under so much stress that any time he was alone he would scream and cry into his pillow. 

During L’Manberg, he kept all the bad parts of himself to the times when he was alone. Then, he was exiled and couldn’t hide it any longer. He starts lashing out and reacting in the only way he knows how, in the only way he can. 

The villain narrative only started appearing after this. 

There’s a stereotype in society that is especially prevelant in this community of calling mentally ill characters who don’t react in “good” ways insane or crazy. I see it literally every day. “Wilbur went insane and blew up L’Manberg.” “Wilbur was crazy.” Even the characters in roleplay call him that. I’ve even seen people claim that he is “a psychopath.”

It’s just plain and simple ableism. 

For one, using the terms “insane” or “crazy” especially in analysis is a good way to show you don’t know what you’re talking about. They’re too vague for actual analysis, and don’t actually describe anything about the character. Not to mention all of the stereotypes caught up in those words. Basically all of modern media uses it as a synonym for evil, especially horror movies. 

People seem to villainize Wilbur to an extreme degree all the time, even more so then other villains of the story. 

Dream, is a character who started most of the major conflicts of the server (Disc War, L’Manberg War, exile, Doomsday), blackmailed a neighboring country and threatening to imprison their people unless they exiled Tommy, abused and manipulated Tommy into almost committing suicide, planned to steal people’s things, pets, and even Skeppy so he could hold it over their heads and control them, and many other things, is excused because “Tommy was annoying” or because “we just don’t see his perspective.”

I personally don’t see Technoblade as a villain, I’m putting him on the list because he’s done much worse than Wilbur and he’s not called a villain most of the time, which shows the double standard people have for Wilbur. While Wilbur just blew up a country with only some property damage, Techno spawned multiple Withers, and then went out of his way to kill people, chasing after them and stopping them from killing the Withers. He then also helped Dream when he blew up L’Manberg again, with a lot more property damage than Wilbur’s explosion.

So why have people who have done worse things been excused while Wilbur has been villified?

You know why. 

People constantly make Wilbur worse than he ever was. I can’t tell you how many “Abusive Wilbur Soot” tags I’ve seen. People make up headcanons where he hit Tommy. Artists draw him looming over Tommy, being physically imposing or creepily touchy-feely. People make up claims that he manipulated and gaslit people. 

And the name “Vilbur”. Why. 

Too many people have tried to use Vilbur to seperate Wilbur from his Pogtopia self. They say he has “versions” of himself. They try to make them seperate people. Even Phil does this in rp, saying he wants his “real son” back. Wilbur is Wilbur. His mental illnesses are a part of him. He’s not a fake him for acting on his emotions. He’s not a different person. Like I don’t see how people don’t see that it’s ableist. 

Wilbur was not a great guy. He was an antagonist He made a lot of bad decisions that affected a lot of people negatively. But he’s not a bad guy. He’s not a villain.

Stop it. 

Sincerely, a tired psychology student

(Thanks to @kateis-cakeis​ for your amazing quote post, ily you’re doing god’s work)