#the problem is I don’t wanna be responsible for people messing up there the disc readers if they miss a step or something 😭

[cookietastic]

I should actually make a tutorial on how to make a Disc reader for PCs read blu-ray and or ultra blu-ray think that would make peoples lives so much easier

[astaroth1357]

AYE requests briefly open you say? Then here ya go: MC (female or gn) turns into a child for a day courtsey of Solomon (maybe around 5) with the Brothers. I think it'd be adorable, what with finger painting on spell books and things, but there ya go!

The MC is Now Five Years Old, Thanks Solomon...

Oh boy…. A little kid in Hell sounds like a train wreck admittedly, but at least they'll have some pretty strong guardians right? I heard It'll Be Okay by SMLE & Helen Tess and decided that was JUST the feel this sort of request needed.

Intro:

Solomon really doesn't mess up spells often. He's been doing this for a while (at least as far as my headcanon is concerned) so he's gotten pretty damn good at magic over the years. It takes a looot to make him mess up. Like say, a natural disaster, an unexpected surprise… or a whole-ass MC getting knocked into what sigil he's using at just the wrong time. Yeah. That'll do it.

How in the world is he going to explain this to the brothers…?

Lucifer

His anger toward Solomon is quite severe… tempered only slightly by how utterly adorable kid!MC is. (Well all know he's got that soft spot for cute things 🤭) It reminds him so much of his brothers at that age…

The man basically reverts back to being Dad!Lucifer sooo fast.

He's the one tying their shoes, checking on them throughout the day, making sure they're not running with scissors… that sort of thing.

Weirdly enough he's not that bothered by it… In fact, his brothers find it a little unnerving just how at peace he seems when he's keeping track of kid!MC doing this or that… It's like he's just put on an old pair of gloves and found out they still fit.

Speaking of his brothers, Lucifer can't turn off "Parent Mode" so it starts spilling over to them too...

When he started telling Levi "It's bedtime" and used a napkin to wipe Beel's face for him in public, they decided to hold an informal intervention. They're grown demons now, damnit!! 😖

Mammon

The first thing kid!MC did when they saw Mammon was fling themselves at him while screaming "MAMMIE!!!" at the top of their lungs… Regardless of his confusion, the man could probably die happy now.

He only gripes a little bit about being saddled with babysitting duty… Because everybody knows he's not the babysitter now. He's the playmate.

"Mammie, I wanna play House!!" "I ain't playing House with ya, kid. How 'bout Tag?" "No way, you're too fast!"  "Hide'n Seek?" "Luci said we can't play that no more…" "Well don't hide in the oven again!" "You didn't find me!!" "That was the problem!!!"

Pretty much the Man-Child/Actual Child Duo. He's perfect for keeping up with them and they'll whine incessantly when they can't find him for too long...

Totally the brother to take them to the amusement park or really any of those super fun places kids love. He will be just as excited as they are to be there, too.

It's not uncommon to find Mammon passed out on a couch or something with an equally exhausted kid!MC sleeping on his back. The two can really wear each other out…

Leviathan

He's probably the least perturbed by this change. Sudden de-aging of characters is a pretty popular anime trope, after all...

He's not all that taken with kid!MC though to be honest… Largely because he's too worried about keeping his stuff out of their grubby mitts. 😖

"Levi, what's this?" "GAH! Don't touch that!! That's my limited edition Ultra☆Rainbow Witch figurine!!" "I wanna play with it, though!" "It's not a toy!!" "That's not fair! You have nothing but toys, Levi!! You need to share!!" "NO I DON'T!!!"

In those times where Lucifer forces him to share, Levi goes full neat-freak. He handles all the discs and games himself, everything gets practically sterilized, and kid!MC HAS to wash their hands before they touch ANYTHING (especially the game controllers). He ain't risking any random kid-gunk getting on his precious possessions… 😰

He does enjoy playing games with them well enough, at least. No one's going to pass up a game of Devil Kart after all!

Sometimes he'll let them win just to see how happy they get… Though, then they start getting a big head about it so he has to remind him who the actual gamer is with another string of losses... Sucks to suck, kid! 😌😏

Satan

… You know, five year-olds ask a lot of questions… A looot of questions…

"Satan, what's that?" "An umbrella. You use it so that rain doesn't get on you." "Where does rain come from?" "Evaporated water collects in the atmosphere and-" "Is rain like the sky peeing?" "...." "Satan? Does your face hurt?... Satan?"

Please Lord, they may not be on speaking terms, but someone has to have mercy on his patience...

In truth, Satan's kind of charmed by how curious kid!MC is, he just wished they'd listen more to his boring explanations…

"Satan? Why does everyone listen to Diavolo?" "Lord Diavolo is like a king to us demons." "Where's his crown?" "He doesn't wear a crown." "Oh… You don't wear a crown and people listen to you. Are you a king too?" "I mean, you're not wrong… 😏" "Satan, get back to work."

Eh, maybe having a little MC isn't all that bad. They don't lie, after all. 😌

Asmodeus

OMG he hasn't seen a child this cute since the twins were in diapers!!!!

If Mammon isn't around then Asmo takes over babysitting duties (like an actual babysitter) and he's more than happy to do it. It reminds of him of taking care of baby Belphie!

If kid!MC has any interest at all in makeup then he's happy to foster it. He won't give them the good stuff of course, but he'll show them how to do blush, eyes, lipstick, nail polish, whatever!

He also dabbles in a bit of facepaint so do they want to look like a kitty, panda, or dragon? He's got them covered.

Asmo just likes to let them be creative in all forms, really. He's going to be the one to break out the paint and markers and just the kid!MC go to town! (hopefully not on the walls…)

Takes pictures of whatever they draw, good or bad, and happily displays them to everyone. There's not a big enough fridge to hold all the art he's going to collect (and zealously protect).

Beelzebub

Playmate #2 right after Mammon, but he's the less excitable, more responsible one.

"Beel! Beel! Watch me jump off this slide!!" 😰 "Please don't… You could hurt yourself… You slide down slides. That's why they're called that." "*GASP*... That's right! You're a genius!!" *sits back down* "Not really, but thank you." 😊 *waits for them at the bottom*

If the MC is with Beel, they're doing one of two things. Either they're playing together or gorging themselves on junk food.

Beel actually likes "domestic" games like House and Tea Party because it's an excuse to raid the kitchen. He'll play "house-husband" all day as long as he gets to actually eat at every imaginary dinnertime.

He'll play active games too, of course. Especially action-oriented ones like "Cops and Robbers" or Superheros. No one's better at roughhousing than Beel! Though he'll go easy on them, cause they're small and all… 😅

Everyone can always tell when Beel's in charge of them because he carries them around on his shoulders. He's the tallest one of the family so it's like getting to be a giant!

Belphegor

Belphie was introduced to kid!MC when they started crying during one of his naps. They couldn't wake him and they thought he was dead… Followed directly by them declaring their tears were magic when they noticed his eyes opened.

He proceeded to close his eyes again and purposely play dead just to get them all worried again. It was the smile creeping up onto his face that eventually gave him away… 😏

He likes to play with kid!MC and Beel but he's not going to let it get in the way of his nap schedule or anything. When they play "Knights" he gets to take the role of the world's laziest dragon… Rawr.

Kid!MC will only settle down for naptime if Belphie joins too since he'll read them a book like he used to do with Lilith.

Satan's usually the go-to guy for storytime, but Belphie's a close second (largely because he just imitates what he remembers Lucifer doing for him, voices and all 🤭).

He deals with their myriad of questions by just making shit up and pretending he knows what he's talking about. It's around the time that he told them that little men live inside the freezer and shave ice cubes to keep things cold that Lucifer started getting on his case about it… Killjoy. 🙄

[gh0st-patr0l]

Tommy and Tubbo - An Analysis

Thats right baby we're really fuckin gonna do this,

Just so yall know, this was written on December 5th, directly after the exile.

I really wanna talk about what, I feel, has been the crux of this entire arc; Tommy and Tubbo's relationship, and how it is inherently flawed.

I know that might sound strange- after all, aren't they best friends? And yes! They are! But I think what this arc has revealed is that it wasn't the most stable or healthy relationship. Think about it- what was the source of the conflict between them? When you strip it down to the core, it was exactly what Tubbo pointed out after Tommy screwed over their negotiations. It was respect.

Tommy has never fully respected Tubbo. I don't mean to say that this was purposeful or malicious- I want to stress that Tubbo and Tommy always have genuinely loved each other and were never intentionally unkind. But the nature of their relationship had sort of developed into this protagonist-and-sidekick dynamic. Which was fine, when the two of them were on the same page! Tommy took the lead and Tubbo was happy to help, because why wouldn't he be?

The problems only started when Tubbo was put into a position of authority.

This is where the lack of respect becomes an issue. Because the one thing that has always plagued Tubbo is that he is never taken seriously. People never listen to him- least of all Tommy! Watch any discussion from any of the main plot points of this arc. Tubbo barely gets a word in edgewise in any of them, and he's the fucking president! Even when the country is in his hands, he's ignored, talked over, and dismissed. And at the center of it is Tommy, shouting over him, encouraging anyone else involved to do the same.

And while we're talking about being listened to, I wanna remind you all of something Wilbur said, back during the festival. He said that Tubbo is a yes man. Tommy was quick to deny that, to defend Tubbo- but in reality? He was right.

Tubbo isn't necessarily a good liar. In fact, he's pretty abysmal at it. But one thing he's proven himself to be good at, time and time again, is being amicable. At going along with things, at saying yes, at hiding hiding any feelings that may conflict with whoever is in charge. It's something he defaults to- just accepting that his input doesn't matter, that it's easier to shut up and nod along. And as unintentional as it may be, Tommy has consistently taken advantage of that.

The argument right before the exile is a prime example. Tubbo was clearly opposed to the war plan. He said so, many times, and clearly didn't want to agree! But Tommy and Quackity and Fundy refused to let him speak his mind. They kept pushing, they made it clear that they wouldn't take no for an answer, and finally Tubbo defaulted- he said yes, because that's what they wanted from him. That's what they expected from him.

Of course, this was purely unintentional. Tommy undoubtedly never considered that the way he treated Tubbo was hurtful. But then, that's the point, isn't it? He never considered that. He never stopped to think about what Tubbo wants, how Tubbo feels about things, because why would he? Tubbo is just going to agree and be fine, isn't he?

This becomes more outwardly malicious when they talk about Tubbo's responsibility. Tommy repeatedly brings up in their arguments that he didn't want Tubbo to be president. That Tubbo wasn't his first choice- which, honestly, is kind of just mean on it's own. But he also reminds Tubbo that L'Manburg is on his shoulders now, that he can't afford to mess up- in between telling him that he can't possibly entertain the idea of exiling him. He creates this vicious double standard; never letting Tubbo really speak his own mind, yet putting all of the pressure and culpability on him for the fallout. Expecting Tubbo to be fine with taking the blame for what he does and wants. Expecting everything to stay as it always has been.

And that's where the discs come in.

When they argue, Tommy always says the same thing- that it's always been him and Tubbo versus Dream, that it's always been about the discs. And that is exactly the issue. That's where Tommy's ignorance shines through. He always assumed that he knew what Tubbo wanted and what Tubbo cared about. He assumed that Tubbo stuck with him because he wanted the discs as much as he did. But that was never the case.

Ranboo made a very astute comment towards the end of Tubbo's vod- about how the discs don't actually have a physical meaning, but that they're more of a symbol. That the discs have always represented power. They represent the struggle between Dream and Tommy for control. The fight between Dream and Tommy has always been about power, from the start.

But as Tubbo tells Ranboo, earlier in their talks- he doesn't care about power. He never has. (This is mostly my reasoning for why I don't really like the concept of Tubbo "being the next Schlatt", but that's a different conversation...) He didn't ask to be president. He was thrust into power- into responsibility- that he never wanted. He doesn't even want to keep the presidency! He fully intends for it to be passed on to Ranboo in the election.

No- For Tubbo, it was never about the discs. It was never about power. It was only ever about Tommy.

When Tommy went to war with Dream over the discs, Tubbo didn't help because he wanted them. He helped because it was Tommy, because this was what Tommy wanted and what would make him happy, so of course Tubbo would help- how could he not? And when Tommy joined L'manburg and the revolution, Tubbo joined, too- not necessarily because he wanted to separate from the SMP, but because it was what Tommy wanted, and he could help, so he did. And when Tommy and Wilbur were exiled? Tubbo put aside his morals, everything he stood for, to become a rebel spy. Because Tommy needed him to. Then, they won the war, and L'Manburg was still destroyed. Tubbo was the president of a crater- and he started to rebuild, from the ground up. Because Tommy told him he had to.

Tommy kept talking about how much he sacrificed for L'manburg, but hadn't Tubbo made sacrifices, too? Time and time again, Tubbo has put aside everything he had or wanted for Tommy. He's lost his house, his pets, everything he cared about, over and over. And it was always for Tommy.

Tommy was all Tubbo had ever cared about. He always had been. But what Tubbo realized, as he was standing on that wall, was that Tommy didn't feel the same way. That Tommy would always choose the discs over him. That Tommy cared more about power than he did about his best friend.

And that, in the end, is why Tubbo chose to exile Tommy.

Tubbo knew that the war wouldn't end well. He knew that Tommy was leading them into another hopeless battle. He knew that once again, he was going to have to sacrifice everything he had and cared about for Tommy's discs. For a stupid power struggle he doesn't even have a part in.

But this time, the choice was his. He could choose to hold on to something. He could choose to stop, and think, and do things his way. Being in exile isn't fun, but Tommy knows how to take care of himself. He'll be fine, and Tubbo knew that. He didn't exile him out of malice. He did what, in his mind, he had to do.

Because Tubbo knows first hand that Tommy won't just go down with his ship- he'll drag anyone he can down with him, kicking and screaming, no matter how many times he has to. He'd burn L'Manburg to the ground if it meant he got those discs, and Tubbo knows that. He wasn't wrong when he said Tommy is a liability. Tommy's priorities are with his vendettas- Tubbo's is with his people. This was where their paths had to diverge.

The separation is going to be interesting. I think it will be an incredibly good opportunity for character development. And I also see this whole arc as an amazing stress-test.

People keep talking about how Tommy and Tubbo's friendship will never be the same, but I don't think that's a bad thing. I think that however long it takes, in the end, Tommy and Tubbo will make amends, build again, and be better off for it.

After all- Tubbo still has Tommy's last disc, doesn't he?

[ruby-whistler]

Srry but i noticed in one of ur dream posts u Referred to tommy's cat as hope. I must correct u, that cat was born pussbou and died pussboi. /lh Also tommy killing that cat was nothing compared to dream killing mushroom henry in exile btw just wanna say Also for ur posts about dreams trauma or wilbur manipulating him can u provide links to vods or other proof? Srry if i seem rude i mean that in a "genuinely curious way"

Aaa sorry if my ask came off as rude im just genuinely curious :(((

hi! dw, you don't seem rude at all, and i'm extremely happy someone with a different perspective has found my blog! i really appreciate that sort of attitude and am happy to answer :]

/dsmp /rp

the cat was called pussboy by tommy, but dream only called it "the cat" and then said that "it was hope", which is why it sort of became a symbol (his hope is dead, basically) - that's why i kind of made its name capitalized, because it was more of a metaphor than anything.

most c!dream fans call the cat hope because it's just really nice and really symbolic, and also really sad when you think about it. that's why the name was used in the essay, just to clear up the confusion!

tommy killing that cat was nothing compared to dream killing mushroom henry in exile

i don't really think so? mooshroom henry was entertainment more than anything, and even if it was bad, when watching the stream i don't remember seeing him mourn that much - on the other hand, dream was very quickly and very obviously attached to the cat, with it being his only companion in months of isolation, along with the hope that even when tommy left it would keep him company.

keep in mind c!dream has been deprived of stimuli and human contact for so long it's officially classified as psychological torture at that point.

i don't mean to compare trauma or even compare deaths - because honestly, what c!dream and c!tommy have gone through individually is incomparable and i think neither should be diminished in favor of the other since they're both terrible situations.

that's why i disagree that it "was nothing compared to" - it had an obvious effect on c!dream, and was still c!tommy killing an animal specifically to hurt him, no matter what reasons he had.

when i'm talking about effects people's actions have had on c!dream, i'm not talking about those people. i'm talking about him. :) /lh

as for the trauma, a lot of people agree that a lot of the things he says or does are trauma responses, and hence it's very possible that he's had trauma before he went into prison!

this includes being repeatedly called a tyrant via propaganda by about half of your friends who decided to betray you, trying to keep peace and being pushed deeper into villainy instead, repeatedly being put in between a rock and a hard place in order to make sure the people you care about don't start killing each other, then being betrayed by your closest friends after merely trying to keep peace (sapnap & george) and just in general having no control over your life or image and grasping at straws to gain it back.

i know a lot of people with trauma who heavily relate to certain trauma responses, which aren't always just shaky breaths and flashbacks, but trauma often also manifests itself in extremely ugly and destructive ways, both inwardly and outwardly.

trying to control the people around you is also very often a response to going through trauma, as well as emotional repression which is... rather evident on c!dream during season two. it only seems to get worse with repeated abandonment.

in the end, during the vault scene, the way he acts really just isn't at all the way a healthy person would act, and a lot of his really bad mindsets come from the way he was taught by the world around him.

the character is very reserved however, and since we don't have his pov we can't really say for certain - a lot of people claim it in good faith because they have a lot of evidence for it, and i think they're certainly valid in that.

that is just before the prison, however. from what happened during the prison arc? there is no denying he's traumatized at this point.

he's been emotionally and physically abused by c!sam since the very beginning of being imprisoned, and being in solitary confinement for over two weeks is generally considered psychological (and maybe also physical?) torture. that alone shows up in a lot of symptoms of his mental deterioration while in pandora's during people's visits, and quackity's "sessions" just absolutely drove the point home.

what he's gone through during this arc is absolutely incomparable to anything others charactes have faced before, and it's just plain suffering being endured by someone who is, despite everything, still a human being.

as for the wilbur manipulation thing!! it's talking about the whole vassal scene (though even beforehand a lot of their interactions are pretty iffy), and here's a post about that :]

I also have a small question about the analysis u last reblogged cus it says "why dream needed lmanburg gone rightfully" and like. The house analogy is poor because for one cus the land is infinite. And 2 cus punz's yard was literally larger then lmanburg. And also stuff about dream being a mediator? Can u provide examples?

i wouldn't say it was poor. dream's said a lot of times that he didn't care in the slightest about the land - a lot of his problems with l'manberg arose with the fact that wilbur basically built it on lies and tried to disallow half of the server to come there. c!dream was mad about the division and the fact that wilbur wanted "freedom" to have authority in his lands - over others, as can be seen in this post also.

the table analogy was fitting not because dream was some overlord, but because these were literally friends he invited to hang out and live in a place he wanted to call home. claiming a part of it for yourself and saying people of a certain nationality can't come in is directly opposing those goals.

in the early days of the smp, dream's always been a mediator between his friends - sapnap and george, who would often get into fights and go around killing each other! he would always do his best to stop the conflict, which continued after tommy joined when he took him to court and then later tried to mediate conflicts he was a part of, which resulted in tommy killing him unprovoked, stealing his gear, and starting the disc wars when dream was trying to get his stuff back. later, during pogtopia, he is also most concerned with peace over everything, and this seems to continue indefinitely after.

Today i was thinking about how messed up the final control room was. Like. Dream arranged the betrayal and punz and sapnap killed tommy and tubbo who like. Were literal children and their pals (because the author, wilbur soot, is dead/j but srsly if u take the streamers words tommy said he was 9 during the revolution sooo)

Sorry im gonna ramble about how dumb canon ages are for a second cus like. Streamers can say the characters are one way or another (wilbur saying he is mentally 30-something, etc.) But in the end the characters act like they(or at least their streaming personas) do.

i... honestly don't find it that bad? they were in a war, and the final control room was basically just supposed to end it quicker. the l'manbergians made it clear they were going to fight to the death, so they really left c!dream no other choice. and it's not like he didn't give them chances to give up.

also yeah the 9 year old thing was retconned, because in that case c!dream would've been 14 and i don't think that's true.

c!tommy and c!dream were both young and once again, in a war. the final control room was an attempt to assure victory, which both sides would've taken if possible, but only c!dream saw he had the option.

i do agree the whole child soldier thing was bad but... complain about that to c!wilbur, methinks. he talked naive kids into fighting for his personal power. however, the age argument isn't really valid either way. they had enough agency to sign up for it, and whether or not c!wilbur pushing the intense nationalism onto them had something to do with that is another debate entirely.

Bacl to final control room cus like??? Also fun fact punz took 2 of wilbur's canon lives. And like that probably is what started wilbur's paranoia which later lead to his spiral and i. Many thoughts full of lmanburg today.

i'm pretty sure cc!wilbur said what lead to c!wilbur's spiral was a "dark, twister view of possessions" and "disregard for his fellow citizen whom he claimed to love so much", but i really wouldn't say it was the control room; if anything the sudden loss of power after the elections seems to me like the trigger for his spiral.

I watched the exile arc live and. I feel dirty almost for feeling little to no sympathy for c!dream (srry ive been forgetting to add that aa) because of his actions toward c!tommy and like. The whole probation was so humiliating and unfair and c!dream was planning to frame him for the crimes he and puffy did under the the guise of "pranks" and c!quackity was planning to seize the vice president role.

i mean... to be fair, if you didn't watch the prison arc much yet or only watch tommy's perspective i understand not feeling that sympathetic - however, i encourage you to maybe watch a few prison visits, since they could help you see the whole picture better!

i also watched it live, and i also thought it was terrible, but i share very much the same sentiment for the prison arc because. absolutely no one should have to go through either of those things, you know?

i don't think probation was that humiliating? he was just. being asked to not start conflict with the other factions for two weeks. of course, what happened as a result is in no way justified, but i don't think probation itself would've been bad at all. either way yeah the framing and c!quackity's behaviour was. very yikes, i agree.

Also c!tommy antis are dumb because they say "he deserved exile angry emoji" i dont see u saying that about ranboo. Just say you hate cc!tommy and go. Also people say c!tommy was just as toxic to c!dream and i??? No. One is the victim and one is the abuser and like. :/// man. This part is rambly srry

i wouldn't say they hate cc!tommy? cc!tommy has a persona who people think is annoying at first ( but then they subscribe because he is super entertaining big man! ) but a lot of c!tommy's actions are straight up toxic to certain characters, such as c!funndy and c!jack. he has a very dismissive attitude towards others and their trauma and it does affect the people around them very negatively.

examples; his repeated bullying and behavior towards fundy:

Tommy: “Fundy, I’m just here to kinda let you know that I – if you weren’t Wilbur’s son, you would be out of L’manburg, alright? Just remember – you need to keep that relationship with your father. I saw how asshole-y and bratty you were acting in the courtroom the other night. You need to pull your shit together young man.”

......

Fundy: “I’m wearing glasses…are you making fun of my eyesight?!”

Tommy: “Yes.”

Sapnap: “Your father would be very disappointed.”

Fundy: “Wh – disappointed for wearing glasses?!”

Tommy: “You got glasses, like what are you wearing…”

Fundy: “What do you mean?”

Tommy: “Sapnap, Sapnap, over here. Fundy, Fundy, Fundy, I’m really sorry to say this – I’m just here to publicly denounce you.”

Fundy: “…What?”

( credit for transcript: @/findingjoynweirdstuff )

he's also responsible for a big chunk of c!jack's trauma, both with actions and words, and that's why i think certain people might dislike the character, and i don't think that's wrong of them. anyone can dislike any character they want if they don't attack people for liking them, in my opinion.

also c!tommy was most definitely toxic against c!dream in the cell. it's of course understandable but that doesn't change the fact he was constantly hitting and insulting him (without dream doing anything back for a long while until he snapped) which is toxic behaviour.

i wouldn't say he was "just as" though, so i agree with you on that. they're different and they behave differently.

i made a dream blob keychain today. Is it possible to send images if u wanna see? Idk cus i havent used tumblr before. I think that's all for now. Thx for letting me talk :D peepoShy -curious anon (but fr a connoreatspants c!dream redemption arc would be cool)

yooo that's cool! i don't really,,, know if it's possible to send images? try it out and if it isn't i'll try find a way to turn it on.

also, no problem! just please remember this is a c!dream sympathetic blog, and me as well as my followers are uhh,, oftentimes emotionally attached / personally relate to the character, so if you could avoid sending hate on the character (not that you have or that i expect you to, just a friendly reminder) in the asks that would be great! we already see a lot of it unwillingly so, i'd rather not see more, but as long as the discussion is civil i'm absolutely ok with you asking more and with me answering more questions if you'd want to! :)

if anyone else would like to reblog this and add some things i might've missed with my answers, feel free to, just go easy on her (she uses she/her pronouns!) and keep it factual.

i hope u had a good or at least ok time at school today :D

thanks! i gtg now because exam tomorrow but i'm going to try write the redemption essay tomorrow as well because ohhh boy i have a lot of ideas about what all i could write around the concept.

also sorry this was long, i can't keep my tongue on the leash :[

[trender-sollux]

anti anti discourse megapost

I’m probably not the Best Most Informed person to ask about this stuff but!! here’s the disc horse as I understand it. this is pretty much a tumblr formatted argumentative essay, so buckle up or scroll to the tl;dr as fast as you can.

(I’ll put it under a cut bc 1.) things are gonna get pretty controversial, and 2.) things got Very long Very fast.)

the bg (the intro paragraph)

in fandom, as most people know, people tend to ship characters together. it’s fun to think about what two characters may act like in a relationship, and this gives way for loads of innovative and unique content to be made around ships! communities can be built, friends can be made, and lots of original fan content can be made centered around shipping characters together!

now, everyone has different tastes in ships, whether it be gay straight or somewhere in between, as well as different tastes in dynamics! (take the fave ship dynamics art meme that’s been going around for reference on what that means lmao)

some people may not even like to ship anyone with anyone, choosing instead to focus on lore or more platonic but no less important relationships, which is also just fine!

la problema

there however is copious amounts of people who deem other people’s ships “problematic”.

this in and of itself is not the problem: whether the ship makes them uncomfortable because of:

a large age gap (typically of 10+ years)

one person being a minor and the other an adult

it being an incestuous relationship of any sort (whether by blood or not)

they don’t enjoy the dynamic of the characters (perhaps it’s an unhealthy or simply turbulent relationship)

that is not the problem.

people are allowed to be uncomfortable with pairings! it’s not something they can help! content reminding people of real world issues or trauma are especially touchy, and that’s understandable and completely okay.

people may even be uncomfortable with those that consume that content, whether they have a sound reason or just simply because they don’t like it (they don’t really owe an explanation), and if they should want that content tagged so that they can avoid it, or ask simply that people who like it and post about it not interact with them so that they can further avoid it, that is perfectly okay.

ships can squick people out or even badly trigger them (in the serious mental terminology way not the internet watered down ‘this makes me mad’ way)!

the real problem comes when you have people harassing others for ships they don’t like.

you have loads and loads of call out culture where hundreds of people ridicule targeted shippers for their problematic pairings, calling them pedophiles or incest supporters or whatever buzz word of the day is to make them out to be awful scummy people.

they make call out posts to “expose them”, get people on their side, tell them they shouldn’t enjoy this thing that makes them happy, and in a rather awful amount of cases, send death threats and attempts to dox them/leak their information, things that can ruin actual lives.

all over the enjoyment of fictional pairings.

you can replace “ships” with just “fictional characters” or “stories” and you have anti-fiction discourse, where people harass the fans (or authors/creators!) of specific “problematic” characters or stories the same way they do shippers.

(also, about to get real controversial here, but you could also replace shippers w/ fujoshi/fudanshi and get the same effect. I know that saying fujoshi are gross is the hot new trend, but anti-fujoshi are just as bad as anti-shippers. I’m significantly less qualified to talk on that and I can link some really great posts if you want more info on that mess, but for now I’ll just say I’m pro-fujoshi and go.)

(if you go through the vld ship tags, I guarantee you will run into a lot of this for reference, though tw for death threats and A Lot of them. kl@nce has an infamous anti following, and anti-sh@l@din has a very fervent following as well.)

these people commonly refer to themselves as the broad and catch-all term “anti”. anti-insert ship here, anti-insert character here, anti-insert story here. they are against them, those who create content for them, and those who just sit back and enjoy them.

why that’s bad

at first glance, this seems like a good thing.

after all, people who consume that content must condone it, right? why else would they enjoy it? and if they condone such awful things, they’re awful people and they must deserve whatever happens to them! they’re dangerous! they deserve threats and misery and the loss of their jobs! they don’t deserve to be happy! they don’t deserve to be alive!

this mentality is really why a lot of antis end up being young people with an interest in activism. social activism is a good thing, after all. raising awareness about real problems through a social platform is a good thing.

it also tends to attract young trauma survivors who went through similar experiences as those portrayed in fiction.

not all antis are young/naive. that’s too much of a scapegoat (that they already use themselves too much). there are a lot of adult antis.

however, a lot of anti rhetoric is specifically targeted at minors. some antis will go out of their way to harass adults that make explicit content for other adults, saying that they are predatory for making it because it makes the anti uncomfortable.

I’m not saying I was immune either; for a while I thought that was just.

antis have a tricky way of worming themselves out of responsibility like that, after all. they make the victim out to be deserving of punishment, whatever it may be, whether it be some public humiliation or threats or leasing information that could put them in real actual danger (which is illegal, by the way.)

I never participated in death threats or anything (they made me,, really uncomfortable), but for a while, at very least, the public shaming made sense.

however, this doesn’t actually help trauma survivors. it doesn’t help people that actually go through horrible situations like the ones depicted in fiction. it doesn’t help those who are groomed by pedophiles, or abused by family members, or in abusive relationships.

what it does do is bully and ridicule people for something that inspires them and brings them happiness. people who did nothing wrong.

this is commonly referred to as performative activism.

you take the name of something vile and awful, and use it to say you are doing something for the greater good, a righteous and necessary evil, but really you are doing nothing at all. nothing progressive to help those in need, nothing daring or brave, nothing to make the world a better, kinder place. nothing.

it can be done out of the desire to help, or the desire to make a difference as someone who isn’t sure how, but your intent isn’t the issue on the table. the fact is that anti rhetoric hurts innocent people.

walking through common anti talk points (q&a)

now, I know that there are people who interact w/ my tiny blog who are antis, and actually one of my super tiny follower count is an anti (which I’m a lil sad about bc they have super cool art and a generally positive blog; not to be indirect but I also don’t wanna be like Hey I Don’t Agree With You In Particular. like nah they’re really cool actually and I hope they’re having a chill day), and for you antis reading this, you may be thinking, “sol, I see what you’re saying, but I’m not convinced antis are all that bad!”

well, it’s time for a lil bit of q&a!!

What makes problematic content innocent?

the content itself isn’t hurting anyone.

content, online especially in this day and age , is oftentimes tagged to make sure no one is triggered by the content they want to enjoy. if not tagged, usually descriptions or summaries include warnings. if not in the summary, ratings (like in movies) are also a good indicator of what you should look out for.

let’s say, for example’s sake, someone ends up ignoring the warning and consuming the content anyway, and ends up hurt because of it.

the content is not at fault, the willful ignorance of the person is.

What if they didn’t know to read the warning?

they were still warned. this should be taken as a learning experience, and they should be more careful in the future. it may sound harsh, but not knowing how something works isn’t exactly any excuse. people aren’t exempt from consequences because they didn’t know how something works.

What makes the creators of problematic content innocent?

a lot of people have the misconception that if someone makes content for something, they think it’s okay or would do something like it in real life.

this is not inherently true.

I’m not saying there may be predatory content creators out there, but that definitely does not mean that all content creators that produce things with dark themes always always think that it’s okay in real life.

there is such a thing as exploratory fiction. this is where although you know something is bad and dangerous, you’d like to know more about it and envision scenarios around it from a safe environment. writing or making art won’t leave you with permanent life ruining trauma, but you still get to explore that concept and sate that curiosity.

exploratory fiction can even be used as a coping mechanism for trauma survivors! that’s right!! some of the exact same trauma survivors that antis claim to want to protect and give voices to are some of the people hurt by their rhetoric.

my own traumas and potential anecdotes aside, I don’t really know much about this topic and as such I’ll let other survivors get more in depth/talk more personally if they’d like (as no survivors deals with their trauma the same way), but I know for a fact that exploring something that hurt you badly in the past can be an excellent way for someone to better understand themselves, what they went through, and better cope with what happened.

it may seem like making light of a bad situation, but it’s their trauma to deal with, not anyone else’s. no one can tell them that they’re reacting wrong. if it makes them happy and isn’t inherently hurting anyone, it shouldn’t be taken away from them.

(I’ve seen anti rhetoric directly harm trauma/abuse survivors and for their privacy I won’t name them but don’t come @ me w/ your “But I’m A Trauma Survivor And I’m An Anti” junk. I’m not saying you can’t be a trauma survivor and an anti. I’m simply saying that antis can’t exactly be counted as completely innocent and uwu-unproblematic either.)

What makes the fans/consumers of problematic content innocent?

by reading something or looking at something, did you just hurt somebody?

did you read this book or look at this art and in doing so just ruin someone’s entire life by violating them or some other heinous act?

no. that’s not how anything works ever.

by writing about murder, did someone just take a knife and kill someone? did someone die because they wrote a book? is every murder mystery author actually a murderer?

no. (but that would make an excellent murder mystery novel. an unreliable narrator who is revealed to be the murderer all along lol writing prompt)

by that same token, reading about someone dying doesn’t make you a murderer or as good as one.

people may come to realize things about themselves through fiction, as access to terminology and information may help them develop, but someone can enjoy fiction simply because it makes them happy and they enjoy it.

But consuming problematic content can inspire someone to do something problematic! Fiction affects reality!

taking inspiration from something and putting something into action are two entirely different things.

assuming a person has the presence of mind not to be so susceptible to suggestion that they do everything they see on tv, fictional content on the damn internet shouldn’t be any different.

But what about Jaws? Shark hunting saw a huge spike after its release because people were all afraid of sharks because of it!*

people were already afraid of sharks. people probably already wanted to hunt sharks, dude. what do you think inspired the original movie?

I mean, a huge carnivorous fish with rows and rows of teeth? and it occasionally came up and just took chunks out of people?? it was horror/thriller material just begging to be used.

shark attacks definitely got more publicity because of the success of the movie, but if you think there wasn’t a fear of sharks before Jaws, you’re either super dense or super short sighted.

also, if you think hunters won’t hunt something just because it’s super big and scary, you have never met a hunter. Jaws’ story is not exactly the perfect comparison to the average person minding their business who would never ever consider doing something heinous.

if someone already wants to do something, they will do it whether or not they have fiction to blame for it. they may never consume that fiction and still do it.

they are the screwed up ones, and it is not because they consume screwed up fiction. that is correlation, not causation.

fiction in and of itself does not affect reality. it is the people who use fiction as a scapegoat to weasel themselves out of the consequences for their actions who say it do.

Does that mean that all fiction is exempt from criticism?

hell no. in fact, fuck no.

fiction can still be bad. fiction can be piss poorly written. the characters can be well presented but executed poorly. the designs might be good but they might not make sense. the anatomy might be fuckin wack and the story might not go anywhere. it might just be pure self indulgent nonsense that no one on earth but the creator enjoys.

this does not mean anyone gets the right to completely forget all sense of human decency and make people feel like shit for the things they created.

as a creator, creating stuff is hard. it takes time energy and practice.

some professional artists’ work aren’t really my thing and their work may make me a little uncomfortable to look at, but I’m not all in their comment sections making their days worse. I recognize that they put time and effort into it, and they may not even be too confident about it!!

sometimes the nicest things you can say is absolutely fucking nothing. however, if you have to say something mean, if you have to give those damn two cents, at least recognize that there is a real human being with thoughts and feelings on the other side of your screen, and they’d probably appreciate some manners and maybe some well wishes for the trouble. no sense belittling people when you can uplift them and inspire them to do better instead.

Does this mean you hate antis?

in any other post I would just say yes. I hate their rhetoric and the awful shit they put creators and fans alike through. however, because this post is informative, my precise answer is not technically.

I do not wish harm on antis. I don’t wish death on them. they deserve their privacy as much as anyone, and I won’t harass them though they may harass others.

I think the things that they do is often times abhorrent and I think that their toxicity is largely a contributing factor in how draining fandom culture has become and I hate that. I hate feeling unsafe in spaces meant to be fun and community driven. I hate looking through blogs to make sure I don’t accidentally come into contact with someone who may potentially try to dox me because I read a comic they think is garbage.

however, I don’t think all antis deserve real hatred. some are simply misguided and don’t do this super invasive awful shit. even if they do this awful shit, I still hope they can change for the better and address their issues, apologize even if they can’t/won’t be forgiven, and become happier chiller people who can focus their energy towards better things.

like... I don’t think I hate them as much as I hate who they are right now. despite what another bit of anti rhetoric says, people aren’t static. even if it doesn’t excuse what they’re doing and consequences will find them accordingly, they deserve room to grow. all people deserve room to grow. they aren’t entitled to my forgiveness, nor my time, nor company, but I wish the best for them at the end of the day. I hope this passes for them and they learn better.

and w/ that I think we’re done!

I think that about explains everything I know, and while at the time I’m writing this it is very late and I’ve been staring at this for a few hours now, I don’t think I’ve missed much of anything!

if I’ve missed a talking point you’d like to see explained, have any questions this post doesn’t answer, or have a post that disproves anything I said, my ask box is always open!!

I humbly request that any debate that may happen on this post if any stay polite and sexy. negativity earns yourself a hearty block from me bc it’s my blog and I do what I want. take it to dms if you must but please don’t be all up and rude. this may not be the most polite and neutral post around but I don’t think any argumentative piece is. I am in fact opinionated and I won’t present both sides of the argument as equal when they quite clearly are not, thank you.

tl;dr

antis are harmful to the very people they claim to protect and stand for and can do better things w/ their time like ride a bike or roll in some grass. they can go step on an entire bucket of legos. just plunge their feet in the sharpest of lego bricks. I hope all their library books are dog-eared to death and their internet is slow. I wrote an entire essay on this practically for over 2 hours no breaks. I’m tired. I’m more tired of their shit but I’m tired.

* this was a real and original argument I saw to justify fiction affects reality that I saw while I was scrolling someone’s blog. it sucked bc the rest of their blog was pretty positive and cool and I even wanted to follow them but like,, ya know, yikes. they seemed condescending and close minded and I was outta there.

edit: this is actually being posted bc it’s been brought to my attention that the antis have already taken to “calling me out” (lmao okay jan) so like. this is wildin - I’m by no means an influencer (I have?? 8 followers. I’m not actually famous.) nor have I been super vocal about it thus far but like,, my dudes I am laughing this is exactly what I knew would happen and I still manage to be surprised.

[danieshub-criticalcaptures]

RP WIP ZONE for when the WiFi mcfucking dies or is otherwise unreliable(same anon, had to retype this bcs tumblr ate it the first time. It’s not as good) It’s definitely a pretty complex topic to be sure. I do think people should be able to explore whatever topics in fiction that they want (with some erring on the side of caution to have some taste/respect and do research if it’s something they’re unfamiliar with) but it’s a massive gray zone with a really blurry line between ‘exploration’ (1/?)

and just being like “well I’m writing this bcs I can’t do it IRL so fiction it is hehehoo I wish I could tho” . I see your point abt wanting to put something online to be heard rather than venting in a private diary but my worry with that is like,, a retraumatization issue? Like they’ll accidentally open themselves up to be hurt again (like some bozo telling them that their vent fiction is hot/sexy/generally being gross at them) or something else unintended but unpleasant. And for the (2/?)

‘writing a bad character from their perspective where they’re Right’ thing that’s totally valid; it doesn’t/shouldn’t take a genius to figure out that just because THEY think they’re right doesn’t mean YOU do. It’s interesting to explore fucked up mindsets but it’s again a matter of knowing what you’re doing and getting into. I’m fairly sure I lost the point I wanted to make in this response but I hope something got across? Cheers, and good day!

oh and yeah Disc Horse = Discourse but like written differently (but same general intent tho)

Lol so Disc Horse is kinda like.  “I am here to discuss The Tea but not in a wild way,” like a sort of reassurance that we’re here for Civilized Discussion If Possible before we even get started by making it sound somewhat sillier/more gentle.  Or I guess that’s how I’m reading it haha.  Thank you for clarifying!!

ALSO RIP WIFI. . .god my wifi was acting a fucking mess like last week so I Know That Feel Bruh.  Akhursgb nonetheless, it’s good to me!!  I honestly do appreciate that we’re having a Talk this way haha maybe because rambling is something I do well.

[there’s a cut here--now and then the cuts and their content go away and I feel the need to say that in case somehow it makes it look like I didn’t answer the question at all hhahaha lol]

It is absolutely complex, yeah.  Like even I don’t wanna be too liberal with it because then people think they can get away with things, but I also feel like it shouldn’t be restrained. . .it’s more like ‘I don’t trust people,’ yeah lmao I.  Feel like there’s probably an element of ‘therapeutic escape’ even when it’s a matter of ‘I can’t do this IRL so I’ll write it instead’--outletting and all, but yeah at that point it’s like. . .the respect matter comes into play real hard with something like that.  The outlet is good, way better than actually going out and doing something, but.  The way you say it and handle that fact overall is.  Important.  It’s good to be honest but there are things you don’t yell from the high heavens.

And oh wow I didn’t even consider the retraumatization aspect. . .yeah that’d be. . .I’d love to say ‘they could say it’s a vent/trauma/recovery outlet type of writing and ask that people be careful in their commenting’ but, again, people cannot be trusted lmao. . . .harsh as it is to say, those’re kinda the risks one takes putting things online or being online in general. . .of course it’s not deserved or justified, but. . .that risk is there.  But lately it’s begun to occur to me that some people may not know about that risk/threat. . .like what’s simple internet knowledge and stuff to be aware of to me isn’t something everyone has in mind/considers. . .hhh that des complicate the idea yeah, the idea can definitely get questionable to bad when that’s an issue.

Yeah!!  I think that way but I’ve absolutely had people misinterpret that my character has this interest or mindset means I do too, and I know it happens now and then to others too. . .that’s why IC=/=OOC is like my #1 rule lol I SWEAR I AM NOT A CRIMINAL I JUST PLAY THEM ON THE INTERNET AND KNOW HOW TO USE GOOGLE.  But there’s also anxiety issues and like people with problems perceiving reality. . .so while it shouldn’t be an issue, now and then it is and now and then not entirely at the fault of the person having that issue.  ;w;;;  But I guess that’s why we have those disclaimers here and there I suppose. . . .

BUT YEAH I think I follow what you’re saying!!  Thank you for sharing your thoughts with me, friend!  /o/  It’s good to see/hear other people saying ‘it’s a gray issue’ when I often see other people saying “nope you just can’t do that” lmao then again. . .that happens on the internet, you’ll often see the loud and protestable content before other things. . .hopefully someday there can be some measures in place to make these things. . idk safer to do and portray, easier to obscure from those who need it hidden away, and so on.  Until then, publishing these things will definitely hold a risk factor but. . .it’s not usually anybody’s fault in particular as long as all measures have been taken.

You have a good day(or. . .have had a good past few days. . .and a good today and tomorrow just to be sure I cover that period of time.  And y’know what, have a good upcoming week too lol) too!!  o/

[broken-clover]

12 Days of Whump- Pneumonia

It seems that long fics will be common during this, I am not gonna complain about that! I’m fine with it either way, as long as someone is able to enjoy them. This was one of my favorite prompts! Also, apologies in advance for the silly parodies and references. I tried to do something fluffier today.

Day 2 of the 12 Days of Whump- Pneumonia, with Noel/Makoto/Tsubaki!

One of the problems of being a warrior and soldier, was that the scope of one’s worldview grew incredibly large. Tsubaki Yayoi knew the sorts of matters that she was responsible for, both serving as an agent of the NOL and as the carrier of Izayoi. No matter how much rested on her shoulders, though, and how much she was relied upon, she was still ultimately just a human, fallible and mortal as any other.

...In hindsight, maybe that sounded a bit too dramatic. Even as annoying as it was to get sick, it wasn’t like she was dying or anything. Though it did feel like it, sometimes.

Tsubaki made a little raspy groan under the blankets, fumbling for the box of tissues on the coffee table. She hadn’t been coughing up as much phlegm as before, but the fever hadn’t gone down, her head still ached, and she was in no mood to do much aside from staying on the couch.

It might have been nice to have a day off, if she didn’t feel like absolute hell. It was difficult to find any sort of enjoyment when she had to cough every thirty seconds and frequently rub at her temples to try and make it hurt less. She’d intended to catch up on work, but with the little energy had, all Tsubaki had been able to manage outside of coughing and fumbling for more water was to put on one of the historical dramas that she’d been waiting to watch. It would up being remarkably dull and uninteresting despite her usual love of them.

Makoto and Noel had been gone all day. Tsubaki hadn’t heard anything from them aside from a quick call asking about her opinions on green tea, of all things. She definitely didn’t want to get her friends sick, but maybe it would have been nice to have someone to talk to.

The more she watched the film, the less focused she felt. Even if it was interesting, she wasn’t sure if she’d be able to follow the plot with her frequent breaks. She was distantly aware that she needed to empty the trash, but all she wanted to do was stew about in the hopes that everything would stop aching so much.

Out of nowhere, a hard knock on the door sent another pulse of pain through her head. Tsubaki shoved her head under the pillow and blankets and groaned.

“C-come in.” She spoke as loudly as she could manage. The door is unlocked.”

“Geez, Tsubaki, can’t even bother to- oh man, you really are sick, huh?”

The familiar voice was enough to make Tsubaki sit up and poke her head out of the blankets. “Makoto?”

Her memory wasn’t wrong, and her mind wasn’t deceiving her. Both Makoto and Noel were standing in her doorway, each carrying bags with them. Tsubaki was too confused by their presence to say anything as they continued to let themselves in and close the door.

“Hi, Tsubaki!” Noel offered a polite wave. “We heard you weren’t feeling well, so we thought we’d come by and make sure you were doing okay.”

They’d come for a visit? The soldier was positively touched. The fuzzy feeling lasted for only a moment, though, until she reeled back against the couch’s arm. “Y-you guys can’t be here! I’ll get you sick!”

Noel shook her head. “It’ll be fine. I promise. Beastkin don’t get illnesses as easily as humans do. And I can’t, either! I’m not…”

The end of that sentence hung heavily in the room. ‘Like you.’ ‘Human.’ ‘Real.’

“Well, might as well put it to use then!” Makoto cut through the tension without a hint of shame, shoving aside the empty mugs and tissues boxes and dumping out her bag all over the coffee table. “We brought everything you might need so you don’t get bored or drop dead on us!”

Based on the pile made on the table, Makoto had gotten a bit too excited again. Tsubaki couldn’t bring herself to be too mad. It was just in her nature, and that sort of enthusiasm was one of the things that she loved about the squirrel-girl. There was a thorough mix of items, from tea packets to board games, DVD’s and extra pillows.

While Makoto dug through the mess on the table, Tsubaki felt a hand on her forehead. She turned to find Noel looking her over.

“So how are you feeling? I know you’ve been wheezing for the past couple of days. They didn’t tell us what exactly was wrong, but it sounded bad.”

“Pneumonia. It’s really not that bad.” If it wasn’t troublesome enough to speak with her raw, phlegmy throat, now she had to deal with the heated blush that have overtaken her face. Noel’s hands felt far softer than a soldier’s should have, with only the faintest traces of calluses from where her fingers gripped Bolverk’s triggers.

“It sounds bad. It’s okay to say you’re not feeling well, Tsubaki.” Tsubaki felt the hand on her forehead slide down to cup her cheek, and Noel leaned in to leave a little kiss on her nose. “The three of us are partners, and partners take care of each other!”

“Haha! Better step back, Noel, I think you’re making the fever worse!”

“Ah- oh no!” She immediately pulled away, going an equally-strong shade of crimson. “I’m so so sorry, Makoto’s right! I didn’t mean to-”

“Relaaax, Noel. Nobody’s dying.” Makoto tossed a hand around the girl’s shoulder, pecking her on the cheek. “Right?”

Though she felt warm, and thoroughly embarrassed, Tsubaki still managed a laugh as she reached for the tissues again. “I’ve got too much unfinished paperwork to do for me to be able to die.”

“Really? That’s what keeps you going? Rude.” Crossing her arms in a display of feigned hurt, Makoto turned away and huffed. Doing so let her take a glimpse of the still-running drama that had gone ignored. “Maaan, another history movie? How many films do they have to make about the Dark War?”

“It says they managed to get an in-person interview with Valkenhayn R. Hellsing, is that true?” Noel looked over the back of the disc box.

“They did, though the rest of this isn’t particularly interesting. It’s really disappointing, it looked promising when I bought it…”

“Well, duh, no wonder you feel so bleh! How can you possibly feel any better when watching this doomy-gloomy stuff?” In a flash, Makoto was digging through her pile. “Hold on, I brought some really good ones! I know I had a copy of the Darkstalkers cartoon in here somewhere…”

“Um, I brought some stuff my parents sent me from home.” Noel slung off her backpack briefly, pulling out a homemade quilt. “I figure if you’ve been using the same blankets for a while, they’re gonna get icky. You can use this one while I toss yours in the laundry, okay?”

The two of them had really thought it all through, hadn’t they? “If it isn’t too much trouble, Noel…”

“Not at all!” She smiled, pulling the old blanket off of Tsubaki and handing her the clean one. “Back in a sec!”

Meanwhile, Makoto was still digging. “Didn’t find the DVD, but I did find some snacks! What’cha hungry for? Tea? Granola? Gummy fish?”

Just the thought of tea makes her throat hurt less. “Tea, please. Tea sounds good.”

“No problemo! Lemme see, I’ve got raspberry, green, oolong…”

Noel appeared on the far side of the couch. “I’ll move your blanket into the dryer in about half an hour.”

“Oh yeah, Noel brought her own thing! Didn’t you, Noel?”

She blushed in embarrassment, lacing her fingers together and averting her eyes. “I-it’s kinda dumb, it’s totally okay if you don’t want to-”

Noel let out a panicked squeak as Makoto shoved her hand right into the backpack she was wearing, digging around for a big and pulling out a different box. A pair of men were trading blows with their swords on the cover, surrounded by chains and fire.

“She got a copy of Guilty Gear: Nocturne! Wanna watch?”

“‘Nocturne?’” Tsubaki still managed to sound confused through the congestion. “Haven’t heard of that installment.”

“I-it’s a cartoon adaptation.” Noel explained, still thoroughly red-faced. “I bought it online-”

“It is sooo bad, Tsubaki, you’re gonna love it.” Makoto butted in, eyes already sparkling with mischief. “And the animation is ridiculous. But Ky’s in it, obviously, and I know he’s your favorite!”

She usually preferred to leave the more silly shows to her partners, but truthfully, with how poorly she felt, Tsubaki thought that a dumb, ridiculous cartoon would be more suitable that something where she actually had to focus and think.

“That actually sounds rather nice, Makoto. Would you mind putting it on?”

“Aw yeah, we are in business, ladies!” Makoto pumped her fist in the air, almost immediately rushing off to pop out the war drama and shove Noel’s disc in. Meanwhile, Noel went off to go start a pot of tea at Makoto’s orders, along with a batch of popcorn that was probably more for Makoto herself than for anyone else.

Before she knew it, Tsubaki found herself sandwiched between her two girlfriends, sipping a cup of green tea and taking little nibbles of granola. Makoto was right, the animation was awful.

“Oh-ho-hooo my god!” The squirrel-girl cackled, scarfing down a handful of popcorn. “Sol looks completely lopsided! And I think he’s cross-eyed!”

Noel herself even managed a groan. “They messed up Potemkin’s character so badly in this. Why’s he so mean? Even Eddie isn’t this awful!”

“I’m amazed they even allowed this to be sold. It’s ridiculous.” Even if it was temporary, Tsubaki still felt a bit better, spending time with her favorite people and just being together.

“Ugh, cliffhanger!!” Makoto scowled and reached for the remote control. A half-second before she pressed it, she side-eyed her companions. “Anyone up for the next episode?”

“Mmhm!”

“Absolutely.”

“Say no more, then!”