#this is a normal and healthy thing to do

[grantihare]

not me being cringe and crying on main bc my mom sent me a tiktok apologizing and wishing she was a better mom to me hahaaaa

[ethosiab]

beating artblocks ass with a more steampunk-y tango

[doctorsiren]

thinking about ???%…but…but with adult mob :(

[dizzybizz]

THE PANEL FROM THE END OF CH1 BUT LIKE *BURSTS INTO FLAMES*

[froggy-nebula]

honestly i just dont get why sometimes people get all weird about quadrants and insist they’re unhealthy always no matter what

like yeah im not stupid i know they CAN be fucked up and can be weird and toxic but so can any romance. human romance has been toxic and fucked up for me many times. tbh if we take a step back and just look at the basic ideas of all of them i don’t think any of those have to be evil and terrible necessarily

like oh no me and my boyfriend have a fun rivalry that we both like being in and both agreed to where we have fun competing with each other and talking shit and then make out! FUCK!!! that’s horrible i would NEVER want that! i would never be guilty of forcing my boyfriend to play tetris with me over and over and insulting him the entire time

oh no my boyfriend has anxiety and i calm him down! oh god we like cuddling and talking about feelings! we both agreed we like this relationship dynamic and feel fulfilled by it! AAA SCARY!!! GET SCARED!!!

oh no sometimes my boyfriends are both annoying and i voluntarily get between that and make people be less annoying! FUCK!!!!!!!! we are going to DIVORCE!!!

[himejoshiangels]

obsessed w how bitter and upset duke is w Bruce in this arc. and he has every right to be! he knew Bruce almost personally at that point, and his parents were joker gassed in a recreation of the wayne murders in an effort to get to batman. they were collateral damage and duke had been suffering pretty much alone as a result. his whole ideology is that robin doesn't need batman but on a more personal scale, you can see why he thinks that! when he needed Bruce he wasn't there, when he needed batman he wasn't there either. And he'll fret like he didn't care like it didn't matter but it DID

Ik I talk abt this panel often but that's bcs KTZZZZ ITS SO CRUCIAL TO DUKES CHARACTER!! He becomes completely self reliant, isolates himself he can't wait on batman to save the city, can't wait on batman to find his parents or wait on batman to save him, he's all he could rely on, and that self-reliance later grew into an almost cynical worldview. it's why his whole "emphasis on the word 'we'" thing at the we of WAR meant so much. he had hope in not just his own beliefs but in others' as well.

ANDDD it's why his and bruce's dynamic drives me up a wall but that's another post for another time..

[necrotic-nephilim]

i think stephcass could have been potentially interesting if fandom let steph be herself and not ultimate uwu girl boss erasing all her negative traits. where is her jealousy? unhealthy obsession with her crush and complete lack of understanding of the concept of boundaries ESPECIALLY if that person is already dating someone? where is her almost manic urge to push away other potential love interests (and at this point i realized she would NOT have been so chill with ives if tim had come out much earlier yikes)

BIG AGREE OH MY GOD YOU PUT IT INTO WORDS.

because i love TimSteph for the reasons you listed!! there's something very unhealthy and teen girl-ish in the way Steph approaches relationships. she's angrily jealous and she thinks about Tim in a possessive way. like she is just so consumed by him and it's meant to be male comic writers writing how they think teen girls write about boys in their diaries- but it comes off as incredibly toxic. it's one of her deepest character flaws and what endears me so much to 90s Steph. she throws herself so deeply into romance when she has it, like she's afraid if she lets go of it for even a second it's going to leave her. and god forbid you be the person she falls for bc you will never maintain a healthy relationship with someone she views as competition, she *will* sabotage it. and to me these are all pros of her character. i *like* seeing how vigilantes struggle to maintain normal relationships- *especially* teenage vigilantes. Steph struggles to balance her "regular" life with being Spoiler and what things deserve a Stephanie Brown reaction and what things deserve a Spoiler reaction. and when she's dating, it's almost *always* going to be a Spoiler reaction and she shades her relationships through that lense. it's why civilian partners for Steph never really interest me. (besides the fact they always feel forced and clunky, like Steph's recent think with Maps' older brother?) it doesn't explore the way Steph loves to her fullest extent and how far she goes when she's into someone. there's no sweet puppy love for Steph, when she's all in, she's *all* in. she will do what she thinks is best for Tim oftentimes by her own will without his knowledge or approval, and sometimes massively fucks things up for him. bc she's just so wrapped up in what she believes is best, consequences are secondary.

and sure, she maintains healthy friendships. bc most fodder with StephCass is very healthy and soft. bc it's a *friendship*. and it changes radically when Steph is involved romantically. it's why there's such a difference in how Steph regards Tim when they're just friends as to when they were dating. she loves him and he's always going to be important, but that obsessive passion isn't what drives them anymore. so it's something you have to consider with *any* Steph ship in which it's a character she's had a friendship with- that how she interacts with them as a friend doesn't necessarily inform how she'd regard them as a lover. and that's the issue with StephCass. even the StephCass content that *is* comics informed (tho, a lot of it isn't and while i don't think fanon needs to be based on the comics to be good, i do think Steph and Cass are difficult characters to tackle if you aren't at least semi-familiar with their canon content bc of how warped they are in the fandom-) comes off with such a rose-colored lense that sours it for me. hell, even on Cass' side, things she's *canonically* done have been weird and obsessive about Steph. but that's never explored.

(tbh dare i say it's something to do with the phenomena in fandom that yuri is morally pure and perfect and yaoi is always dirty and bad- there's this almost sanitizing of sapphic ships sometimes to make them perfect and cute together and while i'm not here to yuck someone else's yum, i do think it's *telling* that women in fandom never get to explore the complex depths of unhealthy and toxic love in the way men do bc if you make a woman evil, it's misogyny. if you sexualize a woman too much it's misogyny. if you write her doing morally fucked up things even with the understanding it is her canon character, it's misogyny and you're villainizing her. i can sit here and say Tim is canonically shitty at relationships and ppl will not. if i say the same about Steph, then i'm critiquing a woman and holding her to an unfair standard. it's exhausting. it feels like StephCass only ever exists to depict Steph and Cass as morally pure and in love angels kissing in the background while the men get to do complex and nuanced and fun things in the foreground. this thought has probably been far more explored by others with more developed nuance on it, but i just wanted to point it out bc it's a very real thing i keep seeing *especially* in the Batfam fandom-)

and equally i think Cass' reaction to this intensity and obsession from Steph could be interesting. Cass historically has had poor reactions to knowing everyone is attracted to her and thinking about her, so that level of intensity i think could cause some negative reactions out of Cass that would add some very layered conflict to the ship. some of Steph's most negative traits *do* clash with Cass' wants and needs. it makes the ship more fun! it puts Steph's flaws on display as well as Cass' flaws and her internal issues surrounding romance. StephCass could be so weird and fucked up. but it's been defanged by this fandom in a way that turns me off to it. i love both Steph and Cass and i love exploring sapphic Batfam ships, so it *should* work for me. but the irony of it being popular in anti spaces combined with no one being able to acknowledge the flaws either of these characters have for the sake of making them kiss just. bores me and it's sucked any interest i could have out of it. bc god forbid women just be a little fucked up. </3

[sympathytea]

Chat I have some thoughts about PVPCiv PrinceZam. I know. Typical right? I'll try to make this quick, but you probably know by now if you've seen my posts floating around that I ramble a lot. Spoilers below, for S1 and S2 (specifically S2Ep2.)

So! The prince in yellow has certainly been cooking. And I think safe to say I have...a decent enough vibe for him that I can be confident with this read. Starting from the top:

PrinceZam's cowardice has been obvious since our first introduction to him. Especially since his attempt at killing Evbo (unsuccessfully) and then proceeding to run and lock himself behind his door, where he can't be hurt sets him up for the type of guy that doesn't like to get into fights that he can't win. And runs when they don't go his way.

He displays this cowardice again when in the S1 Finale when he fights Evbo for the armor stand. They fight for a decent amount of time using just wooden swords, but then Zam notices that he's not winning this fight, and throws his trident at Evbo, and flees. Not even going back for his weapon until much later.

We don't see him again until S2Ep2, where he is holding the bird in a cage. His cowardice is still very much there, instead of trying to fight a fight he won't win, he takes someone hostage that Evbo likes to make sure he won't fight back.

Does that sound familiar? Yes!

Winding back a bit, S1Ep4. The big tonal shift episode.

Zam has fabricated a similar situation. Tabi is held hostage, Evbo likes Tabi, and Zam is threatening to kill her if Evbo doesn't comply. And this time he actually has assistance from the PVP Language guy, other iron swords and probably also the shields.

So you might be wondering "Tea is this entire read just to say he's a coward we know this"

Not quite! Theres more, obviously. This onion has some layers.

Zam to me, seems deeply afraid of not just losing a fight, but also death itself. To the point he seems to switch gears to becoming God to prevent the possibility of dying. Despite him not having a whole lot of PvP skills. (He lost to Evbo of all people multiple times. I don't think he has the qualifications to be God let alone take on Tabi and Clown I'm sorry lol.)

His original plan, seemed to just be hiding out on the iron sword layer, preventing both Tabi from getting the eternal sword, but also keeping Evbo there for immortality by durability refreshes. Which we see him using.

But then that plan fails, He dies to Evbo, and just...hides out in Evbo's house for awhile. Planning to take Immortality for himself.

That plan fails, He's scared now, and seems to hide out long enough to retrieve his trident and venture down to the iron sword layer, presumably to gather his henchmen and go down there as a team. Because he couldn't possibly fight Evbo, and the diamond swords by himself.

Slight problem with that.

Evbo and Parrot killed the entire layer while he was gone. Including the people on his side and possibly, some guards that were affiliated with Zam.

He did not know they were going to do this.

And this scares the shit out of him!

Evbo at this point has been not the type to just kill an entire layer out of pure spite and resentment. And so he would reasonably, be pretty shaken up about this.

He confronts Parrot. "I want to know why you're the only one still alive" is about the iron sword layer being empty. He's afraid of what these two can do to him. So he takes a page out of his own book and holds one hostage so the other can't hurt him.

Its also clear to me in his speech that he himself is afraid of death and seems to dislike Evbo's callousness towards it. "You should be thanking me for helping you not take life for granted."

So after he manages to get Evbo and the diamond swords to stand down, his plan becomes "Get the eternal weapons, become God."

This plan, I can assure you is going to completely backfire in his face.

He's overconfident that this will work, He's overconfident in his skills and thinks that he can just put the situation in his favor again, through whatever means necessary.

Tabi and Clown took down an entire civilization by themselves. Which I don't think Zam knows.

And honestly, I don't think there is a universe where Zam could win this fight. Two axes, both of them capable of permanently killing him and are already 3/5ths of the way to becoming gods. He's just too weak for this. He's lost to Evbo, who we've been shown time and time again isn't very good at PVP himself. He is improving, but Zam is lagging behind, and that's not a very good sign for his survival. He's certainly a fun antagonistic foil to Evbo, considering how afraid of dying and losing Zam is, compared to Evbo who seems to not give a shit if he loses as long as he can come back. Who also fights tooth and nail to win, but Evbo does it fairly rather than trying to rely on putting the situation directly in his favor. Evbo is kind to others that he enjoys, Zam seems to keep everyone at arms length, only valuing people who stay in line. Zam has only been shown to die to Evbo, and most likely avoids dying if he was keeping his immortality a secret. Which could be interpreted as him being better at PVP, I don't think he is. He probably just did cheap shots and ambush kills on unsuspecting players when he was on the wooden and stone sword levels. Considering we saw him do an ambush in his first introduction, then hid like a coward when it didn't work? Yeah... I want to see this menace crack like an egg.

[kitsune-kira]

Hey so can we talk about the fact that apparently Joachim disguised himself as Joyce and managed to keep up the illusion that Joyce was alive until revealing in 2000 during the Second Eruption that it was Joachim/Welt the whole time

LIKE???

[lilacwriter07]

am I a bad person for not wanting to rekindle an old friendship ?

Also bitch the friendship was one sided -_- stop asking everyone for my number .

[idontmindifuforgetme]

.

[majimaisms]

i think my biggest problem with the pirate game is majima's absolutely unhinged emotional sheltering being presented as like. a good and healthy and normal thing. which. like. i SUPPOSE the only acceptable situation to do that in is with a child youre responsible for. but its still not acknowledged at all that its unhealthy..? but then again this is how kiryu saga has been for years too. youre just supposed to look at it and know better. they dont really spell it out. at least they didnt until infinite wealth

[waitineedaname]

i was reading up on bpd and favorite person stuff for bingqiu reasons and wow it is wild how well their relationship fits into a bpd + fp relationship, and it's also wild that they are doing literally everything wrong about it <3

[fatal-blow]

ive been fighting for my fucking life against this one neck muscle (levator scapulae??) but i think im finally making some progress cus. the vertabrae i can feel in the back of my neck are a little less wonky.

[hey-heigo]

byakuya togami is someone who suffered through a competition that didn't recognize family ties or status, and so in the events of thh he believes he exists as a being outside of the game - not that he thinks he's not a participant, but he's more like someone who is above all the others. someone who's seen this scenario before and knows how it goes, and can know the characters well enough to predict all the plot twists. his actions of chapter 2 are exactly for the reason he said; to make things more interesting, to purposely throw a wrench into the investigation and raise the stakes for everyone, himself included, because he is someone who exists outside the spheres of existence for all these people. he never doubted that he wouldn't have been able to save himself at the end of it, because the characters - as bumbling as they were - would have figured it out. he can manipulate the corpse because it is a doll to him, because chihiro was never a 'real' person in his eyes. and neither was anyone else.

(even kyoko and makoto were characters, albeit annoying, observant ones. the ones that looked out of the pages and back at the reader, that you can't help but see parts of yourself in, flaws and all, until they look back at you and point out all the flaws you never noticed in yourself. they're always surprising him, being unpredictable, and it makes this game feel less like a contrived theater play and more like a real competition).

what chapter 4 does is it destroys those conceptions. aoi literally slaps him into reality, because she should have been just another character beneath him, outside of his realm of existence, someone who never should have been able to even dream of interacting with him in such away. he can really get hurt here. he doesn't get shaken up by it, but it irks him. he thinks he knows everything about everyone involved, because for his life up until that point, he's had to learn and know, had to roughly understand the thoughts and drives of the common masses so they can be manipulated and the beliefs and motives of people like him so he could outdo his siblings.

but then during the trial, he gets surprised, he gets proven wrong, and he doesn't understand, and it needs to be explained to him by someone he previously considered lesser. because despite everything that he's done and accomplished, he has never tried to understand the meaning of human connection and just how far people might be willing to go for the sake of those bonds - and without that understanding, he is no better than any of the others around him.

[fussystreetlight]

Imo, I think part of the problem with antis is that, since most of them are young, they haven't experienced a lot of things so they have a limited pool to draw comparisons from.

We like comparing what we're currently experiencing or about to experience to past experiences.

Is this game similar to other games we enjoyed? Does this show have the same tropes as a show we disliked? Does this moment in this book remind us of something that happened to us?

We like comparisons. They help us quickly find things we like or help us not waste our time by trying things we're probably not going to like or they help us get more invested into a show.

But antis, because they haven't been alive long, haven't seen many shows so they're very limited in their comparisons.

For example, someone I know irl who sadly leans anti-ish plays a certain new and popular farming sim. Farming sims don't have specific "ages" for their characters, but when they have romance systems, all the potential marriage partners are adults, that's a implicit given that really shouldn't need to be said. But when she saw one of the characters she told me that she wasn't going to go for him because he reminded her of a teenager and she didn't want that teenage drama. Because he reminded her of a Fruits Basket character. I haven't played this game yet, but when I looked at his profile, I couldn't see what she saw. I haven't seen FB but I have played and read a lot of farming sims and romances, including some set in high school. This character is just the typical grumpy blacksmith(/animal rancher) that's common in these types of games. Being grumpy isn't inherently a "teen" thing. And he's competitive, but that's typical in a lot romantic comedies where the two leads work at opposing companies or the, usually male lead, is in a high position at the company the female just got a job at, or when the two leads are exes. He's also apparently bad with his feelings. But that's any brooding male lead or male leads in general in older romance novels, like Mr. Darcy. None of his traits scream teenager to me. But that's where her mind went to because she needed to compare him to another character but she doesn't have that many to choose from. And a "teen" character was the closest fit she could get.

Another similar game has a character that antis love to scream is a child. She had a debilitating illness for most of her life until the player character cures her. As a result of not being able to go outside much, she's a little naive (though I hate how anties think naivety is a trait only kids can have) and still gets tutored by another character even after she's cured. She's also the only child of wealthy parents, so you could see how she could be a little sheltered. None of this makes her not an adult. Even in the official artwork she looks like a young adult, a college student, at the youngest. She looks older than the actual "kids" in the game, and is definitely more emotionally mature than them. She just hasn't been able to experience much because of her chronic illness. But just because she's not a super mature business woman who knows everything there is and because she doesn't act the same as this other character her "age" (he's an older brother who works on a farm and has to do a lot of the work himself because his father has a disability, his sister is too young to be able to help much, and his mother has to attend to a shop. People who've had different lives have different personalities also shouldn't be surprising) she's a child to antis. If anything, she reminds me of the female love interest in those old adventure novels for men. The young and "pure" women who have been "trapped" in their stuffy homes who need the manly men protagonists to "free" them and show them the world you know?

Again, we all like making comparisons. It's just that, for antis, they don't have many things to compare to. They haven't had the time or opportunity to do much so their world view is kinda limited. So when they see these characters, they compare them to real people instead of understanding that they're an amalgamation of tropes and character archetypes that have been done again and again no matter how realistic they might look.

I just feel like it's beneficial for people to try a variety of genres. Not that you can't have a preference that you stick with, but just occasionally find something outside of your circle you think looks interesting. Even if you don't like it at least you'll learn what doesn't work for you. And when you encounter something new you'll have a bigger variety to compare it to and won't need to go for the thought that makes other people look like terrible people. Cause speaking from personal experience, that gets draining after a while, and has led to a few health problems. Honestly imo being an anti sounds so unhealthy for your mental and physical health.