#unprompted violence

[anxietyriddledsquid]

just started playing elden ring for the first time and THIS BITCH JUST CALLED ME MAIDENLESS

[cleansound]

👎👎

I DIDN’T EVEN DO ANYTHING I DIDNT EVEN SAY ANYTHING THIS TIME. SHUT THE HELL UP AND GET BACK TO YOUR PLANT YAOI!!!!!

[holy-reference-in-a-username]

out of curiosity did the zombeh attack ever happen in this world? if so do any of them remember it or how would they feel about it? if not what would you believe would happen if so?

well...

one of my favorite things about eddsworld is how it uses the classic cartoon trope of everyone dying at the end of an episode and then being totally fine by the next one. fuck continuity!

the zombeh attacks definitely did happen. at some point. in some reality. i guess i would say, Edd, Tom, Matt, and Tord remember what happened in the eddisodes. outside of that...

they're not really sure.

Text:

Tord: Remember that zombie apocalypse?

Tom: No.

Matt: Ugh, don't remind me!

Edd: Oh, that was a BLAST!

Td: How did it... uh... end again?

Tm: Oh I have to be WAY drunker for this

SFX: FWOOM

[summergoodwife]

Gonna say it again, "Just stop consuming the genre" is THE WORST POSSIBLE RESPONSE to someone complaining about the lack of representation in their preferred genre!! And "Consume other stuff too" is not much better!!! I don't care how much you think varying media consumption is a Good and Holy lifestyle, not everyone wants to do that! There is no obligation to do that and there should not be! Because it's fucking entertainment. It's not a college major.

And! And and and. I would be remiss to not point out that when you tell someone, "If you want well written (minority) just get out of (genre fandom)" you are, regardless of your motivations, rhetorically aligning yourself with the exact same bigots who just want the pro-representation crowd to shut up and go away.

[moongothic]

[yingren]

"...Do you ever wonder what would happen... if you were to be dropped into a black hole?" Jingliu does. It sounds like a fun science experiment. He likes science or some other nerd shit, doesn't he? (chews on ur askbox)

the answer lingers somewhere in the recesses of his mind, though he can’t quite grasp why she’s even asking. for a moment, he stays silent, contemplating whether this is one of her strange little tests or if her curiosity is genuine. eventually, he opts for a lighthearted response, delivering a joke with his trademark deadpan expression.

“ well, do you want to try ? you are quite small, i could easily toss you into one if that’s what you wish. ” 

[steamclouds]

can you tell more about voradras? what‘s his relationship with family members and how does he deal with meeting all the companions since I assume he got the whole everything on the surface is evil rhetoric at the academy too?✨

I already had a whole text written for this but forgot to save it so I'm typing everything out again rip

So the relationship with his family is barely existant, they might share the same House name and infernal-touched eyes but that's where it ends really. He has no relationship with matron and patron because he was raised by his sister Khaless, and spent most of his time either at the academy or later on patrolling the tunnels around Menzo. Though once he escapes, they desperately try to find him, as they lost both their House's future Weapon Master AND Lolth's favor in one night.

Meeting the companions is a bit more complicated, because at this point he's been on the surface for roughly 5 years and already went through a whole campaign. Those friends he made when he reached the surface were the ones who had to deal with a rather cocky exiled Voradras, because even though he often meant well and befriended them quickly, his personality was still rather off-putting at first (who can blame him really) and he had to unlearn a lot of the narrative he was being taught in Melee-Magthere and Arach-Tinilith.

At the point bg3 takes place, he's a wholly different person. And even though he went through quite a series of traumatic events right before he got scooped up by the Nautiloid (that's a can of worms for another time), he's nothing but kind to them and quickly takes up a leadership role in the group, always trying to mediate between the quarrelling party members. He's basically the least judgemental one of them all

[slimyenemy]

hey if i'm hurt i'm hurt if it's too much for me it's too much for me you literally know about every single thing that happened and lead to that and you most certainly don't have to put this much effort into defending random abusers and torture and rape apologists who i did absolutely nothing wrong to except maybe unintentionally created some amount of confusion once or twice who knew exactly what they were doing at every point of this and who i did multiple times try to reason and make peace with, like you can just let go and vibe, they're not worth it

[adureus]

Stares... and dumps Mythos in the rubbish bin. Where he belongs.

Ya well at least he's HOT GARBAGE!!!

[namelessprince]

WHY DID THEY DUNK SO HARD ON ARMOREDPHEASANT LMAO???

[leafwhirlwind]

hot take incoming

[beastshopping]

Decided to peek at reels because you know, Florian has an Insta for art might as well poke around

Fucking car crash with a fucking plume of red mist within like 10 videos

Don't like that.

[gamereign]

They were sitting together; Yuugi in his lap with his arms around the other's slender waist. It was a moment for cuddling with one another after a long day of being away from each other. A hand carefully slips beneath the shorter's top, slender fingers idly grazing along skin as Atem leans in, pressing a kiss to his ear, "You're my good boy, you know." / Atem, whispering to Yuugi. asdfasdfasdf

     𝐒𝐎𝐔𝐑𝐂𝐄     :       unprompted   /   𝐒𝐓𝐀𝐓𝐔𝐒     :       always   accepting     .ᐟ.ᐟ

𝐂𝐎𝐌𝐈𝐍𝐆  𝐁𝐀𝐂𝐊  𝐓𝐎  𝐓𝐇𝐄  𝐆𝐀𝐌𝐄  𝐒𝐇𝐎𝐏     after  hours  of  productivity  that  felt  as  if  they     would  never  end     has  long  offered  yuugi  the  weightlessness  of    𝐫𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐞𝐟  .     only  now ,     he  isn’t  just  coming  back  to  the  comfort  of  his  mother’s  cooking  and  his  quiet ,     cozy  bedroom ;     he’s  coming  home  to    𝗔𝗧𝗘𝗠  ;     to  the  solace  of  someone  who  knows  him  inside  out  and  loves  him  through  the  moon ,     across  all  the  stars ,     around  the  circumference  of  the  sun ,     and  right  back     𝒅𝒐𝒘𝒏  𝒕𝒐  𝒆𝒂𝒓𝒕𝒉  .     hence ,     home  feels    impossibly  more     like  home  now  that  they’re  reunited ,     and  though  their  bodies  have  been  separated  by  the  unspeakable  power  of    𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐭  𝐦𝐚𝐠𝐢𝐜     and  the  mystical  laws  of    𝑻𝑯𝑬  𝑫𝑼𝑨𝑻  ,     it  only  feels  that  they’ve  become     closer  than  ever  before .

            yuugi  is  on  the  verge  of  slumber ,     at  the  intersection  of    𝒇𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒈𝒖𝒆     &     𝒈𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒕  𝒄𝒐𝒎𝒇𝒐𝒓𝒕  ,     for  the  safety  he  finds  in  atem’s  embrace  soothes  him  like  a    sweet  lullaby     that  had  been  composed  just  for  him .     he’s  curled    𝐝𝐞𝐞𝐩     into  atem’s  lap ,     fully  reclined  into  his  warmth  as  if  he’s  more  comfortable  than  any    piece  of  furniture     could  ever  hope  to  achieve ,     and  clad  in  an  oversized  sweater  that  belongs  to  one  or  both  of  them    (   they’re  so  used  to  sharing  clothes ,     given  that  they’d    𝗦𝗛𝗔𝗥𝗘𝗗  𝗔  𝗕𝗢𝗗𝗬     for  quite  a  while ,     that  yuugi  sometimes  loses  track  of  which  pieces  are  his  and  which  are  his  beloved’s    )  ,   leisurely  playing  a    𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐡𝐞𝐥𝐝  𝐠𝐚𝐦𝐞     while  atem  watches  over  his  shoulder .     it’s  a  more  relaxing ,    ‘    lifestyle    ’     title  which  doesn’t  offer  much  of  a  challenge  nor  require  a  whole  lot  of  brainpower ,     thus ,     it’s  perfect  for  moments  like  these ,     where  yuugi  is  more  focused  on    𝐇𝐈𝐒  𝐋𝐎𝐕𝐄𝐑’𝐒  𝐖𝐀𝐑𝐌𝐓𝐇     than  any  virtual  objective .

            he  isn’t  alarmed  when  the  comfortable  silence  they’d  been  enjoying  is  suddenly  interrupted  by  atem’s    𝑙𝑜𝑤  ,     𝑙𝑜𝑣𝑖𝑛𝑔  𝑣𝑜𝑖𝑐𝑒     ━━━━     at  least ,     not  until  he  processes    what  he’d  actually  just  said .   sleepy ,     lash -  curtained  eyes     𝐎𝐏𝐄𝐍  𝐖𝐈𝐃𝐄     all  of  a  sudden ,     fluttering  rapidly  like    𝒂𝒏𝒈𝒆𝒍𝒔  𝒕𝒂𝒌𝒊𝒏𝒈  𝒘𝒊𝒏𝒈     while  his  face  gradually  dyes  a  vibrant  cerise .     his  fingers  freeze  over  the  buttons  of  his  handheld ,     and  his  lips  part  as  if  to  reply ,     but     𝗡𝗢  𝗪𝗢𝗥𝗗𝗦  𝗖𝗢𝗠𝗘  𝗢𝗨𝗧  .

            atem  is  doing  this  on  purpose .     yuugi     knows     he  is ,     given  how  the  arms  around  his  waist  seem  to  tighten ,    𝐥𝐨𝐜𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠  𝐡𝐢𝐦  𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐨  𝐭𝐡𝐞  𝐞𝐦𝐛𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐞  ,     though  it  isn’t  as  if  yuugi  would  ever  attempt  to  break  free ,     regardless .     his  flustered  heat  is    𝒃𝒍𝒂𝒛𝒊𝒏𝒈  𝒕𝒉𝒓𝒐𝒖𝒈𝒉  𝒉𝒊𝒔  𝒄𝒍𝒐𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒔  ,     rendering  him  something  like  a  space  heater  in  atem’s  lap    (   perhaps  perfect  for  this    𝗙𝗥𝗜𝗚𝗜𝗗  𝗪𝗜𝗡𝗧𝗘𝗥  𝗡𝗜𝗚𝗛𝗧    )  ,     and  though  he  starts  to  turn  his  head  as  much  as  he  can  to  make  eye  contact  from  this  angle ,     he  stops .     he  knows  how  smug  atem  must  look ,     and  the  sight  of  those    𝐬𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐩  ,     𝐟𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐞  𝐞𝐲𝐞𝐬     gazing  at  him  like  he’s  the    𝑚𝑜𝑠𝑡  𝑏𝑒𝑎𝑢𝑡𝑖𝑓𝑢𝑙  𝑝𝑟𝑒𝑦     he’d  ever  set  his  sights  on  would  only  surely  make  yuugi  burst  into  flames .     just     𝐈𝐌𝐀𝐆𝐈𝐍𝐈𝐍𝐆  𝐈𝐓     already  turns  his  core  to  a  furnace .

             “     i  know  ,     ”     he  answers ,     voice  airy ,     head  as  light  as  a  helium  balloon .     it  should  be    𝒉𝒖𝒎𝒊𝒍𝒊𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒏𝒈  ,     how  much     that  petname     from    𝗧𝗛𝗢𝗦𝗘  𝗟𝗜𝗣𝗦     affects  him ,     makes  him  want  to  beg  for  the  other  to    𝑝𝑟𝑜𝑣𝑒  𝑖𝑡     by  rewarding  him  with  something  that  would  leave  him  blissfully  sore  the  morning  after ,     but ,     evidently ,     yuugi  isn’t  in  the  headspace  for    shame  .     beyond  that ,     as  if  he’d  been    𝐄𝐍𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐍𝐓𝐄𝐃  𝐁𝐘  𝐓𝐇𝐎𝐒𝐄  𝐖𝐎𝐑𝐃𝐒  ,     he’s  no  longer  tired .    not  in  the  slightest .    “     you  tell  me  that  all  the  time  ,     ”    though  you  could  never  tell  me     𝒆𝒏𝒐𝒖𝒈𝒉  .    “     but  you  usually     𝒔𝒉𝒐𝒘  𝒎𝒆  ,     too     [     .  .  .     ]     and  i  think  i’ve  been  good  enough  to  deserve  it  .     ”

[avpdgirlfriend]

i have a clearer head now i guess but im still thinking about it and i keep tearing up (baby idiot) like im not even like upset about it i dont know why that keeps happening. anyways my uncle was saying something something about being strong and said he could pick up my brother, and then added he could throw my brother and i feel really bad that i had to stifle a laugh in that moment bc i didnt even think it was funny the moment he said it to me i thought it was fucked up and weird that he said that so i dont know why i fucking laughed!!! i feel so guilty over it like i genuinely did not think it was funnt at all it was an involuntary response and i dont know why

[monsterfactoryfanfic]

Simone de Rochefort shared the email she sent to Jim Bankoff, the CEO of Vox Media who sold Polygon, on bluesky. The text of the email is transcribed below:

"Hi Jim,

I'm writing to let you know how incredibly disappointed I am about the decision to sell Polygon to Valnet. Even though I'm one of the fortunate few to still be employed, I'm still furious and heartbroken.

I was in Europe when the sale went public. A few days later, a reader recognized me at a cafe in Paris. He couldn't believe what had happened, and asked me how it was possible, in the United States, that a workforce like ours could just be disposed of. He also added, completely unprompted, that American workers should "choose violence." I just thought I'd mention that! It was cool to be recognized halfway around the world for my work. The readers have always appreciated it, even if you don't. But I'm going to tell you about it anyway.

At Polygon, we wrote stories and made videos that were unique in entertainment media - they were weird and well-researched and funny. We also got awards for our reporting (including myself and my now-laid-off colleague Clayton Ashley - we were nominated for an ASME and we won a New York Videogame Critics Circle award).

We attracted brand sponsorships, some of which my team was in the middle of working on when my colleagues were laid off. My understanding is that Vox will be doing make-good sponsorships for the businesses that had contracted with Polygon. I wonder if they will seek out Vox Media again, once that process is finished.

My colleagues who were laid off spent years building connections and trust with sources in our industry. On the video team, subjects gave us hours of their time and resources for interviews. People trusted us to tell their stories. You can't do good journalism without that trust, and that's been at minimum bruised by this sale and the dismantling of the team.

Our readers and viewers are wonderful. I applied to work at Polygon because I read a comment chain on the site that I expected to be full of sexism and vitriol. Instead I found thoughtful people having a civil and intelligent discussion. What a rarity on the internet!

Did you know that Polygon's YouTube comments have always been overwhelmingly positive? My games journalist colleagues at other sites marveled at the fact that at Polygon, I never got hate mail. Was never harassed. That I could scroll freely through the comments of any video that I or my colleagues made and see people appreciating our work. That is so, so rare.

I worked at Vox Media for 9 years. The week before the sale, as I was preparing to go on vacation, I stayed up till 5 AM so that I could finish my next video. No one asked me to do that! That was frankly stupid, considering how little you and the company valued our work. This doesn't make me look very good or very smart, but I'm including it anyway.

The truth is I like working and the feeling of productivity, and I liked what I was making. I felt like that made it worth it.

It didn't! I suppose what I am saying is that Polygon's employees did everything possible to make the site a success. We built a profitable, respected publication.

You, and Vox Media's leadership, didn't know what to do with it. You failed to make a good thing work for you. That's quite sad, and quite an indictment on Vox Media as a whole.

I used to have a lot of faith in the company's longevity. I don't anymore, because of your poor decision-making, and your failure to listen to the people who were telling you what Polygon needed.

I had always said that Vox Media is an amazing employer. That out of all the media companies, it was the best. I encouraged people who are bright and hard-working and talented to apply for work there. I felt so lucky to have my job. I don't think you know yet how many bridges you've burned with people like me who would've jumped at the chance to work for you, and let themselves be exploited along the way.

A couple years ago, a former employee told me that digital media would never love me back, and that I should leave Vox. They said I wouldn't understand how much the company takes from its employees until I tried working somewhere else.

Well, now I work for Valnet! Thank you for the push out the door!

Meanwhile, if you couldn't make a profitable website like Polygon work, then what hope is there for my colleagues at other Vox outlets?

How many unprofitable ventures will be propped up with profits from the Polygon sale, and for how long? Before you and the folks with a head for business (or so I'm told!) have to hit the ledgers again and find something to sell, or someone to let go. Or will the company just enjoy a tax write-off for 2025 and then … what?

Polygon was special, and it was valuable, and it was profitable, and you sold it, at a time when the economy was at a low point - and when Polygon, against all odds, was still making money.

This does not make sense to me. Please feel free to respond and convince me.

Sincerely, Simone de Rochefort"

[apatheticsunday]

Dead Serious Oblivious Dating Trope

AKA "Damian thinks flirting/dating entails a lot more violence than the average person and Danny's confused as to why this vigilante keeps prepositioning him for battles" idea!

Okay, so, I know Damian went to live with Bruce when he was still a kid, 10 or something, but what if he joined the Batfam when he was older? Like imagine he's had an entire childhood and adolescence in the League of Assassins, so he's raised in this culture of being The Best (i.e., strongest fighter, intelligent and knowledgeable, etc.). And maybe the LoA typically follows the tradition of arranged marriages, but you may court someone if they're seen as an equal. Talia with Bruce, for example. And!! It's not courting like the "sweet serenading, fan-fluttering, going for a walk in a park with a chaperone" Bridgerton-type courting.

In the League of Assassins, you court by battling your intended's guardian to the death.

So, fast-forward to Damian learning how to assimilate into Gotham city culture. He still struggles to learn his place in the Batfam, but he's older and has a better grasp on his emotions; no trying to kill Tim, no constant threats of death and dismemberment, no jealously protecting the title of Heir. He's... kind of like Bruce actually. Damian is scarily competent, logical, and level-headed but super intense.

Danny, who's been living in Gotham for awhile and has gotten to know the Batfam fairly well, meets the newest addition while on patrol. Let's say he's still Phantom but cosplays as a Meta. Bruce let him stay in Gotham because he's a sucker for a black-haired, blue-eyed, abused kids.

Their introduction goes about as well as the Batfam expects. Damian is all business, only offering a quick nod and his name before returning his focus to patrol. Danny's maybe a bit taken aback but doesn't take it too personally since he'd already been given the rundown by Tim.

Damian and Danny end up patrolling together while Batman and Cass investigate some lead by the docks or something. Their night turns pretty badly when Clayface attacks. Damian ends up being the damsel in distress since he's only ever faced human enemies; even the deadliest opponents in the League could still be killed using swords or the usual combat weapons. Danny ends up using his powers to defeat Clayface before Batman can come back.

And then Danny goes home, content that he was able to let loose a little without Batman there to supervise him, and doesn't think about it after. Damian, however, is downright enamored because Danny was terrifying while fighting. His movements were lupine like a panther, a comfortability in his posture that spoke of decades in combat; his eyes turned Lazarus Pit green, chilling in its intensity. His skin took on a ghostly pallor and Damian could've sworn his teeth sharpened. He looked like a deity of War.

(Danny doesn't know this, of course; he was just happy to enjoy a really good fight since he hasn't unleased his Full Ghost powers in a long minute.)

A couple weeks pass and Danny's invited to a Wayne family dinner. Except when he shows up, Damian - who he thought he'd kind of bonded with since he'd literally saved the guy from Clayface - tries to kill him. Straight up: full assassin regalia, recently polished sword, genuinely throwing his all into the battle.

The Batfam try to intervene but Damian easily (and painfully, as Jason was flipped face-first into a table, Steph was stabbed, Dick broke his elbow) fought off. In the end, it was Danny who froze Damian and yelped a frazzled, "What the fuck, dude?" Bruce agreed to dethaw his son if he never, ever drew his sword at the dinner table again and explained why in the world he randomly attacked Danny unprompted.

Except Damian's response is to apologize and formally proposition Danny to a "battle to rights"... and the Batfam are all like, wtf?? What is that?? They're thinking maybe the rights to the Wayne inheritance, but Danny was never adopted by Bruce (he'd had enough of millionaires trying to adopt him so he'd politely declined all the Batfam's attempts to rope him into the family; Dick, Babs, and Jason of all people included).

The thing is that Danny's parents disowned him, he doesn't consider Vlad to be his guardian, and Jazz isn't really in the picture here. Bruce isn't considered his adopted father figure, either. So, Damian concluded the next reasonable course of action was to fight Danny for his right to marry him.

Cue months of hilarious misunderstandings where the Batfam try to keep Damian separated from Danny since he keeps trying to fight him... and worse, is that Damian loses every damn fight. Danny has non-human powers and endless knowledge of dead languages, cultures, space, history, etc. Damian likes him so, so much but he can't win the battle to rights and it's driving him insane!! He calls his mother to vent his frustrations and she only encourages him, tells him that he shouldn't want to marry someone he can beat so easily, that he picked his intended well.

It gets to the point where Damian's trying to use any and all knowledge of Danny's weaknesses. It just makes him more obsessed because there doesn't seem to be any (there are, but they aren't on Earth and/or are locked down in the Fenton Works labs, untraceable to anyone not in the GIW).

And Danny's just like, what the hell!! Why the hell is this guy targeting him over and over again? The worst part is that Damian is actually very intelligent and thoughtful - during their duels, they quip back and forth in ancient languages, discuss thought-proving topics, and when Danny beats him, they have a quiet moment to compliment each other's fighting styles. They discuss ancient history and art together. Damian is one of the few people who can actually match Danny's odd tidbits of random knowledge, as he'd been extensively educated while in the LoA.

Finally, Danny just asks, "Why do you keep trying to fight me?? Do you just hate me or something??" (He hopes not. Danny's starting to like Damian a bit too much, especially after their fights when Damian offers to cook him some of Alfred's most popular recipes. Danny's a terrible cook so he actually looks forward to having a surprisingly good meal, sans the attempted poisoning at times.)

And Damian just... stops. He's utterly flabbergasted and perhaps a little bit exasperated since it's been months of being unable to win the battle to rights. "Why would I request to court you if I hate you, habibi?"

Danny's like, "Huh???"

Damian explains how courting works in the LoA and why it's been on-sight ever since the Clayface fight. And everything just clicks for Danny!! He's also kind of... flattered? Like, he's never been wanted so badly that someone would fight to the death for him (Danny's just like "he's confused but he's got the spirit!" about the whole "if Danny doesn't have a guardian, I'll just fight him instead" logic).

So, he's like, "Of course, I'll date you!!"

It'd probably be an adjustment period since Damian's idea of a romantic date is watching his boyfriend go Full Ghost on supervillains. He'd just be heart-eyeing at him the entire time. And it's not like Danny's not having a good time!! He just expected there'd be more date-night activities and less patrol-night activities. So, Danny introduces Damian to more "regular" hobbies, like going to the zoo, movie nights, bookshop dates, etc.

(another side idea in my head is Damian introducing Danny to Talia and Ra's al Ghul, like, "This is Danny Fenton, my intended." But Danny is decked out in his Ghost King attire, crown included, and introduces himself as King of Infinite Realms, Space, and the Dead. Meanwhile his boyfriend is just looking at him with this look of utter besotted lovesick pride. There's so much potential!!)