#And it isn't like an integral key to who he is as a person/character

[infriga]

Some people have been saying that live action Sanji feels a little bit more soft and endearing than manga Sanji, but they can't pinpoint why because he does still feel like Sanji. Some people think it's just Taz's acting, and he does do a great job, but I don't think that's the main reason. Others think his flirting has been turned down a bit, but honestly it hasn't really? He still openly flirts with Nami when they first meet, and he still says things like "women are a mystery to be unraveled" and other goofy simp stuff. And his kindness like being willing to feed the hungry no matter what is obviously something that was always there (it's why Luffy chose him in the first place. Hell, in the manga he chooses Sanji as his cook before he ever actually tastes Sanji's cooking, simply because he sees Sanji feed Gin and realizes what kind of person Sanji is).

But there is a difference! And I've figured out what it is, because there IS one manga/anime Sanji trait that wasn't present in live action Sanji: his hatred of men.

Live action Sanji isn't a misandrist anymore 😳

#One piece #OPLA #OPLA spoilers #Obviously it was played for jokes he wasn't like actively cruel towards men and was kind to them too #Like feeding them if they were starving #And he obviously cared about his friends #He was misandrist is a silly cartoonish way #But it did highlight the way he treated women differently from men and made his flirting and simping come across as way more over the top #In comparison to how he behaved towards women #And I think it was a smart choice because English speaking audiences are especially sensitive to that sort of thing these days #I think the only other thing that gives him a slightly different vibe #is live action can't give him heart eyes or have him do the wiggling stuff lol #So his simping feels toned down even though technically he simps a similar amount as in canon #I do think it's funny how some fans like him better in live action because of this on tumblr dot com aka the OG man hating website #Like fans who are caught up understand WHY he's hostile towards men compared to women in canon (see: WCI) #but I don't mind them leaving it out in the live action #And it isn't like an integral key to who he is as a person/character #People who were already Sanji fans knew he was their problematic little meow meow #But it's nice that live action can showcase his kind and soft side a bit more #Like that stuff is already there in canon but he's a little more tsundere about it y'know? Lol

[thefudge]

Advice for writing smut???

gonna do bullet-points of things i tend to live by when it comes to smut (this is just my opinion):

don't switch styles: the way you write the smut has to be consistent with the way you write the rest of the story, so if your story is more comedic or romcom-y in nature, the way you write the smut should have those stylings. i personally find it very jarring when authors decide to break the format for the smut, almost like the story has to stop for the sex intermission; if you're writing a horror story, the smut must be informed and influenced by that genre, and if you are breaking genre for the smut portion, tell us why you're suddenly switching gears (it has to be an aesthetic choice you're making on purpose). likewise, if your style in that story is more lyrical, the smut has to be somewhat lyrical too, or if your story is more cormac mccarthy-esque-cut-and-dry, the smut can't suddenly involve an effluvia of purple, sappy prose. integrating the smut in the story and treating it like any other part of the story is key to me. too often i've seen ppl switch to this anonymous pornified style when they get to the smut

which brings me to specificity. i'll talk about het sex, since that's what i tend to write most: not all men are going to be fingering or eating pussy the same way, not all dicks are big and they shouldn't be, not all women immediately get excited by fingering, not everyone moans the same way or makes the same sounds. you're writing about particular characters so it has to be particular to them. i know this is very old advice, but i think it bears repeating

there isn't an exact formula or sequence you have to follow, there aren't precise steps, you don't have to go "well, first he has to kiss down her neck, then reach the boob area, then play with the nipples, then put the nipple in his mouth, then slowly go down on her, then prepare her for entering her etc. etc. etc." this can get boring and repetitive and you start thinking of your characters as these mechanical dolls who have to fuck for your audience. and that can be a vibe too, if you do it on purpose. but sometimes you can get stuck in a porn routine (and ofc, having only the guy show initiative can also get boring)

in order to break that, insert some character moments. what are the characters thinking during this? sometimes they might be thinking of something completely unrelated on the surface, but which has a thematic relevance that can make the scene hotter. likewise, maybe they're doing smth that seems unsexy on the surface, but which, within the context of the story might be really hot. sex doesn't just involve, well, sex, but so much weirdness and humanity and creativity. two bodies (usually) are trying to do this really awkward thing together and they might have a lot of baggage and history to inform it. there's a lot you can do with that.

don't make it glossy and clean, where everyone smells of strawberry shampoo and there is never anything out of sync. the most boring smut tends to be the kind where no one makes any mistakes and everything is super efficient. i imagine it feels like using an industrial pump to milk various farm animals.

and you know what? you can make that hot too. you CAN write a kind of robotic efficient smut and make it really interesting based on the context. let's say you're writing a 1984 AU fic where ppl are forced into intimacy only to procreate and their sex drive is diminished. you can play with that premise and lean into the dehumanizing industrialization of sex, but you have to mean it, aka your narratorial voice must be conscious of these factors.

if you're writing dubcon, make the dubious part present, make sure you draw out the ambivalence and ambiguity. if you're writing noncon, the character whose consent is being violated has to be transformed by this in some way. it can be forced pleasure, for instance, but not only. it has to be a journey for them too, some kind of spiritual pit, or a form of access to terrible knowledge. i know this is a personal thing, but noncon doesn't work for me if the character being noncon'd is just sort of *there*, suffering passively. i think that sort of dead passivity can be done very well too, but the narratorial voice has to persuade me.

that being said, don't be afraid of fear in consensual sex. terror and vulnerability are a part of consensual sex too, imo, and again, depending on the story and the characters, there's a lot you can explore there

i personally find it really hot when the narratorial voice starts discussing some of the ideas that the story wants to convey during the smut. so like, you can characterize person A and outline their worldview and their plans while they're ramming person B, and the thinking & fucking are thus entwined. idk, i dig that

speaking of which, smut can convey world-building details and social/philosophical ideas, not just emotions and character beats

not all smut has to end with mutual orgasm or even one-sided orgasm, it depends what you want to do or where you want to go. again, you don't have to follow a sequence. plus, it's fun (and hot) to write about frustration and failure too.

if you want to mix up the descriptions, resort to the story & characters. you'll find it's easier to describe someone fondling a boob in a new or at least interesting way if you're thinking about that particular character in that particular story, and not just Man X from planet porn (sorry to be snarky, but mainstream erotica is soooo guilty of this)

screaming & really intense reactions are cool but they have to match the characters and the situations

sometimes, it's hotter if an effect is mild or negated, if the usual outcome doesn't happen; mix up the order of events, toy with the usual reactions. it's not about being original, it's about finding out what works for your characters. writing about sex is, in a way, a performance of it, an attempt to go through the sexual motions, to find out what works and doesn't, to engage with the erotics of text (roland barthes entered the chat)

if you are bored by your own smut, that's a problem. i know we all talk about how hard we find writing smut, and IT IS hard, and sometimes it's not enjoyable, because writing itself is often not enjoyable, but even when it's painful and annoying, it gives you that little intellectual kick like "huh, i'm creating this and making these people do this, and ohh look, i can maybe put this unnamable thing into words". but if you become bored, that's a sign you have to look at the language & characters and figure out what's not working for you

last thing i'll underline: pay attention to your narratorial voice. in this ordeal, you are the seducer. not the characters. you have to seduce us with words and context. your voice matters the most. you can persuade us of anything. but you have to be confident in your weirdness and particularity. this is your bedroom (so to speak), so invite us in.

#writing #smut tips #writing advice #smut #my thoughts #replies

[ao3cassandraic]

As far as they can

At the end of the Job minisode, Crowley inaugurates Their Side by proclaiming Aziraphale "an angel who goes along with Heaven... as far as he can," parallel to his own stated relationship with Hell.

Only it... doesn't actually work that way. Their exactlies are different exactlies.

Crowley defies and lies to Hell as often as he thinks he can get away with it. He never disabuses Downstairs of their misconceptions about his contributions to human atrocities. He cheerfully lies in his reports Downstairs, something Aziraphale briefly turns on his Baritone of Sarcastic Disapproval about in s1. Crowley even turns evil homeopathic in the latter part of the 20th century, likely in hopes that it will look good to head office while accomplishing essentially nothing. (This, of course, is another way he Crowleys himself, both with the London phone system and the M25.) After Eden, Crowley's default given an assignment from Hell is to see how he can subvert it.

Aziraphale, on the other hand, defies Her and Heaven as little as he possibly can. Sometimes, as with his sword giveaway, his compassion gets the better of his anxiety. Sometimes, as with Job's children in the destruction of the villa, he can try to stay within the letter of the law by leaving the defiance to Crowley.

His default, however, is "'m 'nangel. I can't dis- diso -- not do what 'm told." This comes out most often as respect for the Great/Divine Plan, which to him is sacrosanct. He sounds quite sincere in s1 when he says "Even if I wanted to help I couldn’t. I can’t interfere with the Divine Plan."

Aziraphale quite frequently Good Angels along by parroting Heaven's party line, whether it's "it'll all be rather lovely" or "I am good, you (I'm afraid) are evil" or droning on about evil containing the seeds of its own destruction, or condemning Elspeth's graverobbing as "wicked" (a stance he offers absolutely no reasoned support for, no logic, no "but She said," not a word -- that's very Heaven; most of Heaven's angels have the approximate brainpower of paramecia). Maestro Michael Sheen even has a particular voice cadence -- I think of it as Sententious Voice -- he uses when Aziraphale is thoughtlessly party-lining.

When the angel's conscience wars with his sense of Heaven's orthodoxy but (and this is an important but) he can't feasibly resist whatever's wrong, he offers strengthless party-line justifications he clearly doesn't agree with (as with the "rain bow" in Mesopotamia) or resorts to a Nuremberg defense: "I'm not consulted on policy decisions, Crowley!" Once or twice, he's even vocally aware of Heavenly hypocrisy: "Unless… [guns]'re in the right hands, where they give weight to a moral argument… I think." This isn't Sententious Voice. It's I-can't-disobey-and-I-hate-that voice.

But at base, the angel prefers obedience (not least because it's vastly safer), and he'd rather have someone else do his moral reasoning for him. Honestly? Pretty relatable. I know lots of people like this -- hell's bells, I've been this person, though I grew out of it somewhat -- and I daresay you do too. Moral reasoning is hard and often lonely (since it can be read as self-righteousness or even hypocrisy) and acting as it dictates can hurt. Nobody would need ethics codes if The Right Thing was also invariably The Convenient Thing.

Many GO fans find these Aziraphalean traits frustrating! Especially his repeated returns to parroting Heaven orthodoxy! Sometimes I do too! (Not least because I'm rather protective of my own integrity, and it's cost me quite a few times. I'm well-known in professional circles for picking up a rhetorical spear and tilting at the nearest iniquitous windmill. I often lose, but I sure do keep tilting. Every once in a blue moon I actually win one.)

The key, I think, to giving our angel a little grace on this (beyond honoring the gentle compassion that is pretty basic to his character) is noticing how often he can be induced to abandon an unconsidered Heavenish default stance. As irritating as his default is, and as consistently as he returns to it, it's not really that hard to talk him out of it. Crowley, of course, is tremendously good at knocking Aziraphale away from his default -- he's had to be. But Aziraphale even manages to talk himself away from his default once, in the form of the Ineffable Plan hairsplitting at the airbase!

I think the character-relevant point of the Resurrectionist minisode is making this breaking-the-Heavenish-default dynamic as clear as the contents of the pickled-herring barrel aren't. "That's lunatic!" Crowley exclaims, when Aziraphale Sententious Voicedly parrots Heaven's garbage about poverty providing extra opportunities for goodness. Aziraphale isn't quite ready to let go yet, replying "It's ineffable."

But Dalrymple (who, I think, parallels Heaven, perhaps even the Metatron -- there could be something decent there, but it's buried too deep under scorn and clueless privilege for any graverobber-of-souls to dig it out) manages to break Aziraphale's orthodoxy by explaining the child's tumor.

Once released from his orthodoxy, Aziraphale can't be trusted to handle moral reasoning well; his moral-reasoning ability is not-uncommonly (though not always) portrayed as vitiated. When he gives Elspeth the go-ahead to dig up more bodies, his excuses are just as vacuous as they were when he was convinced of her wickedness. He knows that he's crossed Heaven's line, too, and just as at Eden it's worrying him. That's why he has to talk to Crowley to nerve himself up to help Wee Morag... only he spends too much time talking, and it's too late.

But Crowley can then talk him into bankrolling Elspeth toward a better life. Aziraphale doesn't even put up any fight, both because he's compassionate and because Crowley is temporarily taking the place of Heaven (he's even Heaven-sized and staring down at them!) as the angel's moral compass.

S1 has an even worse example of Aziraphale's moral wavering, actually. Crowley yells "Shoot him, Aziraphale!" and Aziraphale sure does try to murder Adam. Again, he's adopting his morals from the nearest (and loudest) convenient source. Madame Tracy, thankfully, has enough of a moral backbone to save our angel from himself and Crowley.

(With my ersatz-ethicist hat on: this is a fight between utilitarianism and deontology. Crowley is the utilitarian, which is actually a bit of a departure for him, but he's admittedly desperate. Madame Tracy is the deontologist: One Doesn't Kill Children. Aziraphale is caught in the middle.)

I wouldn't be surprised if part of the reason we start s3 with Aziraphale and Crowley separated is so that Aziraphale finally has to do his own moral reasoning, without Crowley's nudges. I don't think it'll be easy for him. It will absolutely be lonely. And it may well hurt.

But I will watch for it, because it's how he will become his own angel, independent of Heaven and even of Crowley. And he must do that.

#good omens #good omens meta #aziraphale #the resurrectionists #good omens s3 #s3 speculation #ethics #deontology #utilitarianism

[thoughtspresso]

Predictions for Oshi No Ko Ending

1. Anemone will be the one to find Katayose Yura's dead body.

In Japanese flower symbolism, Anemones or Windflowers represent death, bad luck, and forsaken love. And it just so happens we have a character named exactly that, who happens to be the only other character apart from Katayose Yura who loves being in the mountains.

Anemone will likely be climbing the same mountains on Yura's wishlist, and just like before, The Crow might lead Anemone to the dead body.

It's like Akasaka-sensei decided Spider Lilies are already too obvious a deathflag so he chose a different flower.

I'm taking the bet that Akane might be the person who figures out the connection between Yura and Kamiki, or Miki-san might simply show up on the news as a statement about his "dear friend Yura" who "disappeared".

Akane might also give the head's up to Aqua that she thinks Kamiki murdered Yura, and that would be a reason for the two to spend more time with each other again. (Might shove a wedge between Kana and Aqua again, if Aqua isn't already doing that himself lmao.) Either way, it'd be a convenient way for Akane to attempt to both "save" Aqua and also help him accomplish his goals without killing himself.

2. The person who texted Frill Shiranui is Miki-san.

Sylvanes made a fairly solid guess that Frill Shiranui works for Kamiki Productions. Whether or not he was necessarily correct on this, I'm making the bet that Yura's "best drinking buddy" Miki-san is connected to Frill professionally, and goaded Frill into pushing Ruby into the spotlight.

Some speculators say this might have been Aqua's ploy, but I I think this was incorrect. Aqua agreed with Kaburagi that money comes first and Frill was a more reasonable choice commercially. He even said that Gotanda should "grow up" and not choose Ruby just because of his artistic integrity.

Apart from the friendly, casual tone of the text message that really sounds like the "Miki-san" persona and the image of decanted whiskey as his profile picture, I think Kamiki is actually praying for Ruby's success as a star.

In fact, I think people misunderstood why he killed Katayose Yura. He didn't kill Yura because his serial killer MO was simply because he liked killing up and coming megastars who shone brightly. He killed Yura because:

(a) He hates Stars who lie, who sell a persona to their fans that is vastly different from who they are as people, which is why he hated Himekawa Airi and Hoshino Ai.

(b) He killed Yura because he knew that the project being offered to her was the lead role in The 15-Year Lie. And simply, he wanted Ruby to play Ai's role.

In a twisted way, I think Kamiki believes he is protecting his children, and the public in general, from being lied to any further by celebrities like Yura who deceive the public with their feigned innocence.

Honestly? I think the reason he killed their mothers was to protect them from growing up with mothers who lie and abuse their kids.

3. Kana might play Hoshino Ai in The 15-Year Lie.

Okay, okay, okay, okay. I know. I know. Unhinged fan theory. I get it.

Even AquaKana stans think this is majorly unlikely to happen. I agree in that, I think it's insane. But I keep coming back to what Aqua meant when he said that, "Kana is so easy to manipulate", and "It's more convenient for me to build a good relationship with Arima right now."

People tend to say, he's making silly convoluted excuses again, he just wants to spend more time with her. But I think a man who is resolute in his goal to off himself by proxy of martyrdom doesn't care to date the person he was protecting from a love scandal anyway.

There are a few key reasons why I think Aqua's "using" of Kana will result in her playing Ai's role.

First of all, I think Aqua's plan is to play Kamiki, to portray him in the worst possible way, and expose him as the murderer through the film. Through this, Aqua will bait his father into murdering him too, and thus Aqua's death can be used as legal grounds for charging Hikaru Kamiki with Homicide.

As established above, I think Aqua doesn't agree that Ruby is the best choice for Ai's role. There are a lot of parallelisms baked in between Kana and Ai. Apart from the shot-by-shot remake of Sign is B, Kana is also the best person to get stabbed and deliver the lines, "Some day I hoped the lies would become true. / I did my best. I worked hard. I lied with all my heart. / To me, lies are love. In my own way, I thought I was showing my love."

Besides, you saw anyone else say these same things?

Uhuh, you guessed it:

So is Kana gonna get stabbed? Hopefully in a movie, yeah.

I think it could happen as a result of Kaburagi's dissatisfaction with Ruby's performance.

Kaburagi's "finalized" casting isn't final-final yet, really. We can see that he swapped Aqua to play Kamiki instead of Himekawa who will now play Ryosuke the university student/stalker here:

Which makes sense! Aqua looks like his father, is closer to his age during the time of the events, and Taiki's age and height also better matches Ryosuke.

And even though the paper says finalized on Ruby's casting, Kaburagi's still not completely sold:

I think the swap will come as a result of Ruby being severely overworked and unable to keep up with the demands of her role, and the Dome performance that she might want to prioritize. She may even outright collapse from exhaustion, as foreshadowed by Kana:

Apart from Akasaka-sensei absolutely trolling us to death by Ai x Kamiki on-screen romance being portrayed by twins, then just outright pulling the plug on that for fun, I think it'd just make sense for Kaburagi to say it's better if we pair Aqua with Kana for this role.

Ruby doesn't even have to collapse or anything. She's so loved up with the idea of Gorou-sensei right now, Aqua could literally just tell her "this is what's best for the plan, you trust me, don't you?" And she would absolutely just go with it.

I said before that I think up until Mem-cho pointed it out, Aqua was wholly unaware that Kana had a crush on him and joined B-Komachi just because of him. I think now that he has the awareness, he'll ask Kana to do it, first to help Ruby, but also because he can only trust Kana to play this role because she is "Special" to him.

A repeat of:

It really is the only way that this scene therefore makes sense to me:

Bonus: if the Shima D masterpiece film doesn't draw Kamiki's attention to her, Kana playing the role of Ai definitely will. And if she delivers the role with so much honesty, it might change the trajectory of the story altogether.

4. Aqua's plan will backfire.

I explained a little above and in a previous post that Aqua misunderstands Kamiki's motives.

While we all like to shit on Aqua for being the World's Nicest Master Manipulator, we have to give him credit for the fact that when it's used for saving other people, he's been really effective at spinning a public narrative in his favor. Like in the cases of Akane's suicide attempt and Kana's Love Scandal.

If the goal is to get Kamiki to stab him in plain view of the public, villify his father, and make it easy to convict him for homicide once and for all, I think he will fail.

Kamiki will not kill him or go after him. In fact, I think Kamiki will shed his Miki-san persona and reveal the truth: he was Himekawa Airi's rape victim, and Hoshino Ai was a manipulative person who seduced him with the prospect of true love, then abandoned him when she got what she wanted, which was a family.

In the absence of any evidence that he had anything to do with their deaths, Kamiki might even use this momentum of propaganda to make the public believe that he's happy to finally be reunited with his children that these terrible mothers took away from him.

Heck, Taiki might hate Uehara so much that he'd be relieved to learn about Kamiki? And if he really is connected to Frill, and if Kindaichi still cares about him, there might be real people who would back him up.

Then, it won't be until Akane works with Aqua and everyone to bring the murder of Katayose Yura to light that Kamiki would actually be brought to justice.

#Bonus if you made it this far: Ruby will meet Marina Tendouji for sure #Now that Marina knows Ruby is Ai's child #Marina might encounter Ruby for drinks and talk to her about how her daughter was a huge fan of Ai-san #Then Ruby might ask what happened to your daughter #There will be two ways this will resolve #Either Marina says it absolutely broke me when she died I couldnt even bear to be with her or something #Or Marina will say something outright evil #Marina might say something like do you think my daughter forgave me #And if she does I really wish Ruby will say No I don't think she would #But at the same time I dont think she would even think of you negatively #She loved you and believed in you simply because you were her mom #In general I think this moment will be the emotional resolution of Ruby's arc #and it will be necessary for her to break away from Gorou #Oshi No Ko #Oshi No Ko Spoilers #Oshi No Ko Fan Theories #Hoshino Aqua #Hoshino Ruby #Hoshino Ai #Arima Kana #Himekawa Taiki #Hikaru Kamiki #Frill Shiranui #Yura Katayose #Kurokawa Akane

[sugar-grigri]

I love you but if denji sacrifices himself for asa I will throw up and sob. I pray that you're wrong

I really think the fact that Denji dies is key to his development.

We can see that he reaches his conclusions when he's in the middle of building Asa, Denji has more of a narrative role now to influence the other characters than to be disturbed by them.

I'm not saying this because tragedy is something Fujimoto knows how to write very well, but not only does death have an important place in his works, but Chainsaw Man is about the birth of a hero, especially in part 1, which is concluded in part 2.

We see that becoming a hero brings Denji artificial personal advantages, that he remains locked in a sad solitude

It has never had any other aim than to be integrated, and it still isn't.

Part 2 takes up Shakespearean codes (double identity, intertwined love, two opposing camps, relationship with the family), death has always had an emancipating function in tragedy.

Death is not an end but a conclusion; dying for the other is Denji's best way of paradoxically finding meaning in his existence.

For a boy who would constantly be judged as perverse but also as having low vices, sacrificing himself for others would finally serve to make him a hero in the ancient sense of the word, whose power derives not from his popularity but from his moral strength.

Sacrifice through the figure of the cat, the social integration initiated by Bucky and then taken up by the birds, the question of finding oneself, all need to be answered by a strong act, and only a powerful narrative act can resolve all these questions at once.

Fujimoto has just highlighted the concept of weapons, talking about their relationship with the fact of having no will of their own, their eternal youth and immortality.

The weapons are all polarized on this subject, while the whip and spear weapons see it as superiority, Miri, who also seems to want to act for his own freedom, is more dubious.

Barem is in a special position, having internalized the fact that sowing death is a divine mission, a trait common to all beings.

Quanxi and Denji are opposite examples: Quanxi has survived at the expense of his girlfriends, just as Denji has begun to see his own immortality as a burden.

Several times, Denji emanates the idea that he's a machine to be rebooted, that the people have projected him to become Chainsaw Man.

To have won against Aki, to have survived at the expense of his older brother, a victory that marries a loss is not really what you'd call "winning".

Fate is also a central theme in CSM, and Aki couldn't escape his contract with the demon from the future, just as he couldn't escape Makima's meticulous plan to bring about the end of the siblings before they were even formed.

Denji's mother and father died young, so it wouldn't surprise me if he, too, was trapped in a kind of fatality.

What's more, Denji's eternal youth is also what's going to give him trouble.

He hasn't matured physically compared to part 1; it's simply Fujimoto's style that has taken shape.

He won't grow up, this boy who'd like to go to school, plan to find a job and have a normal life.

Denji is condemned to seeing his loved ones die or to staying just the two of them with Nayuta.

We shouldn't idealize or demonize the relationship he has with his little sister, but the fact remains that Nayuta is a demon with different values than a boy who was human before becoming a demon.

The control demon simply wants an entourage, even if it's limited to one person.

As for Denji, he only finds meaning in his relationship with the majority, with people his own age.

Denji loves Nayuta, but they don't both have the same conception of happiness, as Fujimoto develops in the final chapters.

In short, the best way to make Denji happy is to let him die for someone else.

And again from a symbolic and narrative point of view, whether it's in relation to the general scenario or Denji's arc, of course I'd cry like everyone else and you Anon

But I want and hope for the best ending for CSM

#csm spoilers #chainsaw man #csm #csm part 2 #denji #nayuta #barem #asa #bucky #sugo miri #ask #my thoughts

[gorbalsvampire]

More Humane Than Human - Humanity as degeneration vs. Humanity as detachment

I wanted to repost the Requiem readthrough review before I got into this, because it started as one of those "Requiem vs. Masquerade which is better" conversations. In rules terms I think V5 has iterated successfully on Requiem - there's probably about the same density of actual rules there but V5 makes a better fist of hiving some of them off into advanced/optional/discretionary territory - but Requiem innovates hard in terms of ideas about how vampires and vampirism work, introducing things like the Predator's Taint and Lashing Out and, crucially, Touchstones.

Touchstones give the lie to the "V5 does rules better" claim. I have never liked how V5 does them. The notion of tying an individual vampire to a person, place or artefact is nothing new. Those of us who are Old, or retro-curious, may recall Vampire: the Masquerade - Redemption, in which Brujah himbo protagonist Christof is told he needs an "anchor" for his Humanity and selects Anezka, the nun who nursed him back to health and who he's been having less than holy thoughts about ever since he woke up. Christof is told, by his mentor Wilhelm, that choosing a person as his "anchor" is a dangerous call - but his mind is made up and, not to spoil a twenty-five-year-old game, it turns out to be for the best for both of them... as long as he's kept his Humanity up, anyway.

So, Touchstones in the context of Masquerade are nothing new to me - in fact I was quite surprised when the full TTRPG didn't have rules for them. But! Touchstones in V5 are a bit different. Instead of one, there are many: instead of humanity in general, each of the vampire's Convictions has a named person attached to it.

The problem - and this isn't just me, it's something that's come up in all the V5 games I've played or hosted - is that viable characters have two or three Convictions. Coming up with two or three Touchstones at character generation, before you have a feel for who this person is and how you're going to play them and what their routine looks like, has not worked for anyone I've played the game with. One might work - most of us can ideate a relationship with one other person before we start playing - but three seems to stretch the limited sense of a starting character's identity too thin.

Rules As Written, of course, a Touchstone doesn't have to be someone significant to the story. They can just be someone your character saw every day, or sees every night, or notices every time they pass by. But... that's bullshit. That is not a "hang a key element of your personal ethic and capacity for self care on this person" relationship. I can see the story beat of "this person isn't there any more and you're morally shook by it" working once, maybe, but still, permanently altering your character's relationship with the Beast is kind of an integral function of the game. It feels like that hat should be hung on a sturdier hook - a full-on fleshed-out SPC. Like in Requiem, where you get one Touchstone.

Also, Humanity works differently, at its most fundamental level, and this exposes a key difference between the two games - one where I think Requiem is strides ahead. @awakenedsalamander touched on this talking about the differences in the concept of the Masquerade between the two games, but I want to go deeper on it.

In Masquerade, Humanity is about degeneration - it's the Downward Spiral, an almost inevitable drift from Man to Beast with exceptions being so rare they're practically mythical. It's about becoming worse, with all the moral judgment that implies, about committing acts that appear on a Hierarchy of Sins.

(At least, it is in V20. V5 abolishing that in favour of chronicle specific Tenets and character specific Convictions is really smart. I didn't grasp how it was meant to work from the corebook - it took the Player's Guide to spell it out to me - but now that I grok it, I love the tension between the Tenets that forbid and govern a character's actions and the Convictions that excuse and forgive those actions.)

In Requiem, Humanity is detachment. It's about the state of being a vampire slowly and inexorably reminding you over and over that you're not human any more, drifting further and further away from what you were and into the all-night society of predators. It's quantified in terms of Breaking Points - roughly grouped by significance and severity, these experiences hammer home that you're dead, you're dead, you're dead and out of this world. It's less "I did a bad thing" and more "I experienced something that no human ever should" like walking off a stab wound or being reminded you're a hundred years old and still act like you're twenty. When you hit a Breaking Point, you roll a number of dice - how many is a function of how serious and hard to avoid confronting the Breaking Point is - to avoid losing Humanity.

Now. In the past I've met quite a few players who don't really want to engage with the morality play aspects of Masquerade. Whether that's "we want to speedrun to Humanity 4 so we can play the game 'properly' without having to pretend we regret doing all the things RPG protagonists do" or "we think it's kinda stupid the way low Humanity says you may no longer create art or have sex without 'faking it' and let's interrogate what the developers think 'sex' is, shall we?" doesn't really matter. Maybe you want to play on the theme of post-humanity rather than be wrist-slapped for trying to do main character stuff. I don't blame you.

I think it should be possible to wholesale lift the Requiem system of detachment, rolled for at Breaking Points and mitigated by a singular Touchstone who can be a more developed character, or a place, or an object, and slot that into V5 replacing Tenets, Convictions and Stains.

That gives you a version of Humanity that's more permissive and less frontloaded, allows you to go deep on one hook instead of ideating sets of pairs before you even know who your character is. It also divorces functions of sexuality and creativity from being a good person - in the Requiem model, vampires fuck, and make art, and low Humanity expresses more in how they do it than whether or not they can.

(Although - there'd need to be some finesse around Oblivion, since I think the Discipline's theme of entropy inducing personal decay still works in the detachment model - maybe keep Stains as an additional lever, a function of Messy Criticals and dangerous Disciplines, and have Breaking Points inflict Stains instead of automatically triggering rolls...)

Important note on this idea: this does NOT exempt you from having a conversation about what's off limits in Session 0. It's easy to miss this in the V5 core book, but Chronicle Tenets aren't a safety tool. Chronicle Tenets are the moral rules that are going to come up A LOT in play, they define what your coterie collectively accepts as Doing A Bad Thing, to be excused for personal reasons (i.e. Convictions). An actual out of character trigger, an aspect of the World of Darkness with which a real live person who exists does not wish to engage, is a line or a veil - something we either don't include, or don't narrate explicitly. It's not something we build into one of the game's mechanical loops and ensure will come up. That would be... the absolute opposite of safe.

Whadda we think?

#vtm #vtr #vampire the masquerade #vampire the requiem #meta #house rules #humanity #// this took a lot longer than I expected - I either have long covid or my arthritis levelled up over this winter...

[dephellseed]

I was going to sit down and try to come up with a way to deep dive into Jacob as a person, but really what you see with Jacob is what you get. He doesn't hide behind a title like Faith or Joseph does, or a mask like John. He is unapologetically himself, at all times. He uses his past, his trauma, like a suit of armor. He divulges to you the worst trauma of his life, willingly and without hesitation. Why? Because he doesn't let other's reactions to his grief affect him. He doesn't buy into the idea that emotions make you weak. I mean, hell, manipulating one's emotions is a key part of his weaponization process for The Father.

Everything he's doing is a bit of a rehash of exactly what he went through in the military. The more forceful integration process isn't all that different from how soldiers would be treated in the brig. He takes that anger, that rage and just redirects it. He takes the loyalty they feel to Eli, to the Militia and redirects it back at himself. Much like loyalty to your country gets redirected into loyalty to your unit in the military. You don't go around the Middle East shouting "USA! USA!" No. You're chanting "Semper Fi!" or "Hooah!" Loyalty to America redirected into loyalty to the Marine Corps, or the Army. Resistance redirected into loyalty to Eden's Gate, or more accurately, loyalty to Jacob.

The Judges, I think, are really the best window into who Jacob is. He spent month, years, turning the same animals who tormented him, chased him through the desert, into loyal tools. They can't hurt him anymore. He turned the object of his fear into an ally. Now, when the wolves are closing in, it will never be around him. He turned his fear into his strength.

And my favorite section of my little character analysis: could you save him? My guess on this is a big fat maybe. He sees protecting Joseph as his purpose, so unless you found a way to give him a new purpose, I don't think he's leaving. But I also don't think finding him a new purpose would be all that hard, it would just have to be extremely personal. He's a family oriented person, so love might turn him away from Eden's Gate, but I don't think you could ever truly turn him completely against Joseph to the point where he'd raise arms against him unless given no other option. Joseph is still his brother, after all. Though I'm not sure you could ever save him from all the legal trouble his actions will bring him if The Collapse never happens, but that's never really been part of my calculus.

#far cry 5 #eden's gate #far cry 5 anniversary #far cry five #joseph seed #far cry deputy #farcry5anniversery #jacob seed

[kerorowhump]

i watched ep 226 and i have some thoughts about it...

keroro being suspected for something he didn't do is often par for the course, and granted it's both because of his status as an invader and for his tendency to actually cause trouble

[pictured: some examples off the top of my head of - mostly natsumi - assuming the worst from him]

but this episode to me is fascinating because of what else it brings up in relation to it. remember red oni blue oni? keroro's conflict about... on one side, keron, on the other, pekopon... about being seen as both the villain and the hero, so his position isn't threatened, while trying not to lose his friends on both sides. he doesn't actually want to be an invader, but it's tied to a lot of shit like his self esteem and... well, stuff I talked about in the past.

I think at least subconsciously he is afraid that his precarious position may blow up in his face eventually, and that is why he's jealous of everything that threatens it by being similar enough to him/receiving enough praise that he feels he might get replaced by it. he needs his position to be exclusive, because if it isn't, he doesn't have any merits for it ("leaders don't really do anything..." "I coasted along" "what makes me great?"). it feels like this is not just a random insecurity from lack of self esteem or fear from his unstable situation on its own (as an invader/"freeloader", feeling guilty for living in their house and causing them trouble) either, but ALSO projection from the fact that canonically yeah, he IS replaceable - that is a real constant threat for him. the clones? what makes him special?

[funny how many meetings keroro does where he's actually just venting lmao, he's got his priorities all out of whack ... or rather his feelings don't matter if they can't somehow be integrated into a mission?]

[pictured: the aformentioned projection dearimasu]

[keroro processing his feelings alone like he always does. loneliness and being misunderstood r such key parts of his character.]

But I think a similar emotion is true from Fuyuki's side, who's always been a bit lonely and overshadowed, so he'd be afraid of his trust being betrayed... but nevermind that, I like seeing keroro's situation specifically explored, because...

he knows he didn't do anything wrong, but his relationship with fuyuki means more than ego. he's willing to set it aside, and besides... it's easier with the guilt he already feels due to his situation, to apologize, because fuyuki means more to him than being right... his friends mean a lot to keroro, that's why relationship trouble with them so easily throws his emotions off balance. why he has to resort to everything else (denial, acting out, projection of guilt, people-pleasing, hiding how he feels, selfishness, etc), but with fuyuki in particular, I think it feels like the one relationship he hasn't messed up yet. honestly that person who said he's a dororo parallel was SO onto something...

they both love each other, but they're not infallible, so they'll let each other down, they'll misunderstand, they'll let their own feelings and fears and past experiences get in the way. they're not technically on the same side, after all

[the field trip misunderstanding... or you could say, keroro assumed earth is like keron? that they're two sides at war?]

but at the end of the day they still love each other, they are healing for each other and for what it's worth, they saved each other...

but that's the thing to me is that, by merely existing in his life, I think keroro feels like he's being a weight to him. that he's doing something wrong, that it's selfish of him to want to stay. that he has to earn it and yes, that he's not needed (AKA REPLACEABLE...).

trust is something that has to be built in a friendship but... due to keroro's situation... he can never fully prove himself one way or another (it would mean treason...) and in this ep I see the tragedy of that. fuyuki loves him, and generally trusts him, but it's not like keroro hasn't broken his trust in the past or gone too far, it's not like his planet and plans aren't still a danger for them, no matter how he feels about it...

#musing #keroro #headcanon #ep 226 #this post took me four hours to write lol #kms

[lizzie-dude]

Kris has a cyan soul

Okay, hear me out hear me out hear me out.

This is very long and I spent way too much time thinking about this, but I promise it makes sense if you read the whole thing.

In Undertale, and presumably in Deltarune as well, human souls correspond to a trait or main aspect of that human's personality. For example, a very kind human would have a green soul. There may be soul colors other than the ones we encounter in Undertale, but for right now all we have to work with is red = determination, green = kindness, cyan = patience, blue = integrity, purple = perseverance, orange = bravery, and yellow = justice. The humans who have these souls may exhibit these traits very well or just value them a lot. My theory is about the connection between soul colors and personality. Everything about people, including their core values, can change overtime, so it stands to reason that a human's soul color could change over time as well in the Undertale/Deltarune universe. A human who was previously very brave might go through a traumatic event that makes them scared of everything, someone might be impatient as a child and grow to be more patient as they age, etc. It is also possible that a soul's color changes when it is taken over by another being. The player is basically a god in this videogame world and has infinitely more determination than any of the other characters because they know it's just a game, a game that they'll keep playing over and over again, and their will to do that keeps the character they're controlling alive. So it's entirely possible that Kris had a different soul color before we took over and made it red through our determination. Also notice the difference in game over screens between Undertale and Deltarune. In Undertale there is a flashback of Asgore talking to Chara, and the player respawns at their last save point. In Deltarune, however, there is a choice.

I think Frisk originally had a red soul, and our determination just added to theirs, which is why there is no choice in Undertale. The combination of Frisk's natural determination and our control turns them into a literal immortal that cannot be killed. It would make sense if Kris originally didn't have determination as their key trait, because they can only survive through our choice. In Deltarune we are the ones with the determination, and only we can decide if Kris continues on. From what we know of Kris, they also don't act determined at all. They have almost no friends, don't do well in school, have very few hobbies, and have literally nothing on their side of the room. They seem to generally be very apathetic, and dialogue from those who have known Kris for a long time suggests that they've always been like this. Apathy isn't exactly the opposite of determination, but it's pretty close. Kris just doesn't strike me as a very determined person.

The main hole in this theory that I've been thinking about is Chara. I know there are like a bazillion theories on this, but I've always personally thought that Kris is just the Deltarune counterpart to Chara, not a combination of Chara and Frisk. Kris is more tan because they grew up aboveground and Chara grew up underground, Kris changed their hairstyle when they got older, and they became depressed and stopped smiling after their parents divorce/Asriel leaving for college/Dess's disappeareance/a combination of all three. If Kris is an alternate version of Chara, though, then why is Chara's soul red?

This is when we return to the idea that different events can change someone's personality, and consequently, their soul color. We know very little about Chara before they fell down into the Underground, but the little bit we do know makes me feel inclined to believe they weren't a very determined person.

Asriel implies that Chara was attempting to commit suicide when they climbed Mt. Ebott. He also says that they "hated humanity." It seems as though Chara had very bad experiences with humans that led them to resent humanity and to experience suicidal thoughts, presumably at a young age, since Chara is stated several times to be a child. Deciding to just give up and end it all, though, isn't very determined. It's entirely possible that Chara had a different soul color before climbing the mountain, and that their experiences with monsters is what changed their soul to red. Chara cared deeply about the monsters that had adopted them to such an extent that they were willing to poison themselves just to free everyone underground. It was their love for the monsters that made them determined to free them and that changed their soul color. Kris, who had grown up with a loving family and never had a reason to save or fight for anyone, would not have experienced this soul change in Deltarune, and would have had Chara's original soul color until we took control.

So why cyan?

Well...it's complicated, and the evidence is tangential at best. The real core of this theory is that Kris had a soul color other than red; it doesn't really matter what that soul color is. However, there's more evidence pointing towards cyan than any other color we know of.

For one, there's their skin in the dark world.

The cyan soul is exactly the same color as their skin. That's...kind of weird. Not really evidence, but it is interesting.

There's also the way Kris acts. We know cyan represents patience, and out of the seven soul colors, that seems to be the one that fits Kris best. There's the fact that they're waiting for Asriel to come home from college, for one. And, as previously mentioned, they act very apathetic. This could be less of an "I don't care what happens" and more of an "I'd rather wait for good things to come to me instead of seeking them out myself," which could be interpreted as either laziness or patience.

Finally, there's the Valentines day newsletter. Mettaton's card has cyan souls in the corner for literally no reason.

Why are they there. Why are there cyan souls in the corner. Wtf.

Toby Fox could have chosen ANY SOUL COLOR to put in the corner of that valentine. He could've done pink if he didn't want it to be mistaken as a soul color from Undertale, but no. They're cyan.

WHY.

This is a whole 'nother can o' worms, but...there's also Gaster's letter.

There are sooooo many theories about this that I do not want to get into, but it does contain something relevant.

"AS YOU ARE WAITING PATIENTLY, THE TIME IS GOING AROUND."

Waiting.

Patiently.

Is addressed to Kris? It uses second-person pronouns like in Deltarune whenever Kris does something. "If YOU squint your eyes, and, YOU squint your heart."

No idea. Honestly my hands hurt from too much typing, and there are people out there waaay smarter than me who can figure out what the hell this means, so...have fun. You can propose other theories or disagree with me, but please be respectful.

(I'm also going to post this on reddit, so if you see it there it's not stolen)

#deltarune #deltarune theory #Kris dreemurr #Kris deltarune #Undertale theory #undertale #Undertale souls #toby fox #utdr newsletter #utdr

[aspoonofsugar]

I haven't read gaiden so i dont know about ayatsuji but so far it seems there's no ability directly about intelligence?The smart characters we got all seem to be naturally intelligent.Dazai even said he have never seen an ability like that in dazai's entrance exam LN.Thats probably why he got suspicious and tried to nullify ranpo's ability when they first met.

idk what i try to get there,but it's funny we get mind control and even time control abilities but never intelligent related ones.Does it simply not exist? What do you think?

Hi!

Sorry for the long wait :)

I think the reason why we don't get intelligence related powers here is twofold:

An ability that makes you super intelligent would not be very interesting in a series about detectives. We enjoy the characters surprise us with tricks and plans and a character who can do so without really thinking would be boring

It doesn't fit thematically because BSD's abilities are manifestations of the characters' id

The id is one of three freudian archetypes:

the id is where wishes, fears and the instinctive and repressed parts of the self lie

the superego is where ideals, moral and the rational parts of the self are

the ego stands between the id and the superego and balances them

In short, the id is an irrational and partly unconsciouns part of the self, so it doesn't fit intelligence that is for the most part rational and conscious. By this, I don't mean a person can't repress their intelligence. They can and it is exactly what Rampo is built on:

Rampo represses his own deductive skills by using Fukuzawa's glasses. Symbolically, his talent is to see clearly:

So, the glasses are a nice item with a double meaning:

Rampo wears them to "see the truth of a case"

Rampo actually doesn't really need them to "see better", so he is really a person with perfect vision, who uses glasses to weaken his sight

In general, though, you will notice what Rampo really represses is his feelings to be different from others. That is the real crux of his character. It is an unconscious aspects, rather than his rational abilities.

Similarly, all the characters have unconscious and repressed aspects that emerge through their skills. This is no surprise because BSD is really a story of reconciliation with the id on 3 different levels.

The individual level:

Atsushi has to integrate with the Tiger

The interpersonal level:

Atsushi and Akutagawa have ot integrate with each other (they represent what the other is repressing)

The societal level:

The ADA and the Mafia must reconcile

Notice that these 3 layers are set-up in the very first arc:

Atsushi is revealed to be the Tiger in Chapter 1

Akutagawa is introduced in Chapter 3

The Arc ends with a first conflict between the ADA and the Mafia

Another example is the end of the Guild Arc, which is kickstarted by this:

Atsushi discovers the tiger isn't as evil as he thinks. It is simply his will to live (what the id really is). Similarly, he realizes the Port Mafia isn't as one-dimensional as he believes:

So, Atsushi integrates with the tiger:

And starts the reconciliation between the ADA and the Port Mafia:

Which leads to the first sskk team fight:

As you see, the first big arc is solved with a 3-layer integration. The same will go for the story as a whole.

In the end, Atsushi will completely control his ability, SSKK will save each other and the world and the ADA and the Mafia will work as allies.

This is also why the series is full of Jungian Trios:

Akutagawa (id), Atsushi (superego) and Kyouka (ego)

Chuya (id), Kunikida (superego), Dazai (ego)

The Port Mafia (id), Governement (superego), ADA (ego)

Aku gives in to violence and instinctive wishes and learns to control them through Atsu. Atsu represses his violent side and needs to accept it through Aku. Kyouka has experienced both shadow (the Port Mafia) and light (the ADA) and I think she will mediate between Aku and Atsu in a key moment.

Chuya's skill is the embodyment of the id (a literal God of Destruction) and he will probably grow into the Port Mafia's leader. Kunikida's skill is the embodyment of the superego (it turns idea and ideals into reality) and he will become the ADA's Director by the end. Dazai is a partner of both and will help mediate between them, so that the 2 organizations can work together.

The Port Mafia is the night, the Government is the day and the ADA is the twilight, so what stands between them. In the end, the ADA (Dazai + Kunikida) will need to mediate between the Governement (Ango) and the Mafia (Chuya). So, we have another possible Freudian Trio in Chuya (id), Dazai (ego) and Ango (superego).

These at least are my 2 cents :)

Thank you for the ask!

#bsd #asksfullofsugar #anonymous #bsd meta

[hyperfixingfr]

Okay I was originally only gonna show Hoagie's design and then a piece from the zombie stages HOWEVER I want to show off my design for Abby

Just like Hoagie, she kinda abandoned the earrings lol. In an apocalypse where your friends have died before your very eyes you really don't need to be concerned about EARRINGS so any person in Sector V who wore earrings (so... Everyone but Nigel) ended up ditching them. To replace the earring colors to still keep that yellow integrated into the design, I gave her a yellow hair tie. Yes, that's the best I could come up with. I want the amount of yellow to be there but not very prominent just like in canon

If anyone guesses the death toll/missing toll within Sector V for the middle of the time period of the AU before I release the references I'll give you a virtual thumbs up or something lmfao. I want to make a fanfiction on this (as I've already planned entire lore and an ending to this AU) however the references will be captured within the middle of the story instead of the beginning, when there's already missing/dead key characters. Every main or key side character within the KND escapes the *start* of the apocalypse alive (ex: Sector V, Numbuh 362, Numbuh 86, Numbuh 10, and so on). But a lot end up dying and a few faces end up disappearing without a trace around the middle of the plot at various times, for reasons mostly to do with... The damn apocalypse out their window?? What else?

By the AU's end, there will be no character without severe injuries related to the apocalypse. And a LOT dead. Your favorite operative is more likely to have died the painful death that being infected causes rather than to have survived. As said previously: brace yourselves...

As for the reason to the apocalypse? Father. Pretty explanatory. He got tired of chasing kids, so he snuck into a KND event and infected himself (yes, he's patient zero...). Yes, this means he inevitably died early on due to the fact that the infected last for a mere 5 minutes to, at maximum, 1 day after being infected due to the symptoms. But not before infecting multiple other operatives of course... Similar to one of the episodes, this has to do with his DNA being in the system. It only severely infects/kills KND operatives. Thus, takes place before that episode. It does infect adults, though. Father got so fed up that he not only decided to kill off the entire KND, but also make adults incapable of reproduction. They are considered infected, and it can be spread by touching other adults or even kids (which will lead to death of the kid) however they don't experience any symptoms aside from complete infertility. KND operatives from all the way across the world were immediately informed when the discovery of adult infection was made and swiftly took in hundreds of captive unaffected adults and supplies for them and basically locked them away. So no, the existence and creation of kids wouldn't come to an end - but they're sure as hell gonna need to find out how to cure infertility cuz a few hundred adults only being able to reproduce isn't gonna end well LMFAO

#knd

[nerdby]

I both am deeply concerned for and deeply disgusted with the fanfiction authors on this site.

I love fanfiction especially Marvel and Loki fanfiction just in case the profile pic wasn't a dead giveaway. But while reading fics on this app, I've been noticing a very triggering trend which goes a little something like--

Avengers treats love interest like shit but the love interest forgives them as soon the Avenger confesses because they wanna be worshipped by them and be associated with the Avengers.

And like I knew there was something familiar about the plot, but I couldn't really figure out what it was until I roasted someone this morning for hating on Rob Pattinson for being in Twilight. Cause Rob loathes those movies and for very, very good reasons aside from the fact that Edward is a controlling, stalkery, manipulative dick who wants Bella to be a kept woman with no close friends other than his own family or people he's hand-selected from the vampire community, there is all kinds of cringe shit going on behind the scenes with the author of the series Stephanie Meyer.

Meyer is a self-proclaimed conservative Mormon who has bragged about never swearing or seeing an R-rated movie, and that makes me so sad for her. Cause aside from the fact that she is missing out on some of the greatest cinema of all time, it sounds like she has the personality of a literal twelve-year-old. Like Stephanie Meyer is stuck in a neverending LARP session where she roleplays as a puriteen influencer.

🤮

I'm referring to Mormonism as LARPing cause you are seriously delusional if you think that shit isn't a cult, and it only gets more disturbing there. Like all of the Twilight characters are named after people from her real life and the pedo-wolf love interest Jacob Black is named after

Stephanie Meyer's brother.

Fucking YIKES😬

But anyway getting back to the point, I finally realized that the fics I've been reading have all been ripping off the plot of Twilight. Especially the ones with Loki as a love interest cause for some reason the fic authors on this app all have degradation kinks and are desperate for Total Power Exchange relationship dynamics.

For those of you who aren't in the know, a Total Power Exchange dynamic is when a sub agrees to allow a Dom to control certain aspects or sometimes even all areas of their personal life. Basically, it's when you get off on having a controlling partner.

Edward and Bella have what could be considered a TPE dynamic except that the difference between their relationship and a real TPE dynamic is that Bella never consented to Edward controlling every aspect of her personal life. In BDSM the key to a healthy relationship is open and honest communication -- Safe, Sane, and Consensual, right? I mean, that's the key to every healthy relationship but it's especially important in BDSM because of the sadomasochism aspect. Some people take it a lot farther than just spanking.

And aside from the aforementioned issues this trend concerns me because Twilight came out when I was in high school, right, and I went through a serious Twihard phase. It's fucking embarrassing. It was also dangerous because not only do I have a super abusive mother who did not give a shit about what I did, I also had a whole bunch of undiagnosed mental health issues -- thanks, mom🙃 -- and ended up internalizing a lot of what I read in Twilight because I had zero media literacy because of said mental health issues.

So I ended up fetishizing abusive relationships, I got married way too young to an abusive asshole and had a string of abusive relationships after we divorced, I got raped, and ended alternating between couch surfing and homeless shelters for a while. And it was all because of Twilight.

And you could be like, "Well, it's not Stephanie Meyer's fault that your mom's a cunt and you were stupid." And you're right. I take responsibility for my own questionable taste, but there's also a little something called artistic integrity.

Artistic integrity is a personality trait kind of where an artist -- IE Stephanie Meyer -- gives a shit about their audience and the media they are putting out into the world. They aren't doing it for a cash grab -- they're doing it because they have a story to tell and a message to send. One that is important, culturally relevant, and asks important questions -- their work is political. It questions the social norm. These things, in my opinion, is what makes something art -- it separates art from trash.

Stephanie Meyer has no artistic integrity.

She didn't stop to wonder if readers like me or with issues similar to mine exist -- we do and, yeah, I'm kinda bitter about it. That is why Twilight is a problematic series -- that is why everyone from Robert Pattinson to Stephen motherfucking King has roasted that series to hell and back.

And I know someone out there is gonna be like, "Well, Rob said he lied all the time bac--"

Well, Robert fucking Pattinson is an actor and a damn good one.

And he wasn't lying when he said that Edward Cullen was a whiny, pathetic, suicidal virgin. Ya know how I know this -- because I read the books, for one thing, and for another I paid attention.

Like have all the Twihards out there suddenly forgotten when Edward tried to commit suicide by stepping out into the sun half-naked, so he could he trigger the Volturi into curb stomping his ass? Or when he straight up told Bella that he wouldn't fuck her until AFTER they were married cause there was just one rule that he wanted to leave unbroken?

It was in the movies, so if reading is too hard for you there ya go.

And, yeah, I'm triggered right now and no, I'm not sorry cause if you are knowingly ripping off the plot to Twilight to use for Marvel fanfiction and give absolutely ZERO shits about your readers' mental health you are a shit person. I don't care. I'm not sorry and that brings me to the part that is most concerning about this situation.

I know that there are other ND and mentally ill users on Tumblr. I know that some of them have the same issues I had growing up because of lack of access to mental healthcare. That means that some of these authors are doing this subconsciously: Some of them aren't even aware that they're copying Twilight or why it's wrong or why they need to be concerned about having artistic integrity. And to you guys, I am truly so so sorry and I really hope you are able to get some sort of help or at least talk to someone about this.

But the rest of ya -- the ones who truly do not give a shit that I know exist because this app is crawling with TERFs, radfems, and tradwives -- that movement was popularized by white supremacists by the way. Look it up. And those people are abusive, self-obsessed cunts with a perpetual victim complex that don't care who they hurt cause they will always, always, always try to blame someone else for their actions.

You guys -- the abusers that decided to basically plagiarize Twilight to boost your reblog numbers for your fanfics -- are shitty people.

#comic books #marvel #marvel movies #mcu #marvel cinematic universe #twilight #twihards #stephanie meyer #robert pattinson #loki laufeyson #loki odinson #thor movies #loki series #marvel loki #loki fanfiction #loki fandom #mcu fandom #mcu loki #the avengers #fanfiction #avengers fanfiction #marvel fanfiction #fanfics #mental health #ptsd #actually autism #abuse survivor #actually ptsd #actually disabled

[juniperhillpatient]

The Southern Raiders Re-Watch

[id: Katara water-bending the rain while Zuko watches & Yon Rha lays in the dirt. end id]

This is one of my favorite episodes, as a Katara fan. Katara is just such an incredibly rich & complex character. She is defined by her compassion & kindness, but don't ever forget that her trauma also manifests in righteous anger & that she has experienced things no child should experience, & that is integral to who she is too.

I love the Southern Raiders & I want to get out of the way that I think that a lot of Bad Take Discourse about it has to do with 2 key factors 1) stupid ship wars & 2) “this Character is Right Because I Like Them - Nuance, What’s that?” spins from people who hate either Zuko or Aang & love the other (or people who want to condemn either Sokka or Katara for having conflict because they react to grief very differently)

This is a very nuanced & beautifully written episode about grief & anger & an exploration of Katara’s pain & trauma. It’s an incredible episode & I love it. I wish there had been even more episodes that allowed us to focus on Katara’s grief & how it manifests.

It had to be Zuko who took Katara on this journey. She allowed herself to be vulnerable - about the loss of her mother of all things - & Zuko betrayed her. They needed this cathartic journey & Zuko - who had also experienced the loss of his mother - who also reacts to pain with anger - does understand Katara on a level that no one else so far (except maybe Jet) has. So, this journey toward catharsis with Katara & Zuko works narratively on so many levels.

(also let's just get out of the way that I would like to go on my own personal little revenge murder journey to find the writers who put the throwaway lines about Jet in this episode - yeah, his death made so much sense & mattered so much huh guys? that's why it's almost like it didn't even happen & he had no growth & they all just remember him as a dick who never even died trying to help them :) fuuuuuuck the writers for this. ok...ok....let's move on. anyway)

Of course - I don't want to discount that Aang also understands Katara's pain in a way.

Zuko: Sokka told me the story of what happened. I know who did it and I know how to find him.

Aang: Um ... and what exactly do you think this will accomplish?

Katara: [Shakes her head in dismay.] Ugh, I knew you wouldn't understand. [Begins to walk away.]

Aang: Wait! Stop! I do understand. You're feeling unbelievable pain and rage. How do think I felt about the sand-benders when they stole Appa? How do you think I felt about the Fire Nation when I found out what happened to my people?

Zuko: She needs this, Aang. This is about getting closure and justice.

Aang: I don't think so. I think it's about getting revenge.

I think that what Aang does not understand is that Katara isn't like him. She isn't from the Air Nation Culture, & she isn't the Avatar. Their positions, culture, & history are very different. So yes, he does understand what it's like to experience this extreme rage, but he is wrong about how Katara should handle it because it's very different for them.

Now - Zuko doesn't really understand what Katara needs either. Katara herself doesn't understand. She just knows that she can't walk around with the knowledge of the man who killed her mother & just do nothing - she has to face him. Zuko thinks this is about finding Yon Rha & killing him, but it's ultimately more complicated than that.

Also - I do want to address Sokka's grief in this episode. Zuko barges into his tent & demands to know the story of his mother's death & he tells the story of that day before kicking Zuko out & quickly going back to being excited about Suki coming for a visit. This scene has a lot of comedy, & I enjoy that, but also - can we just talk about how fucking depressingly good Sokka is at compartmentalizing? It says a lot that he remembers the symbols on the flags, & the black ashes, but he can barely remember his mother's face. This poor kid is so traumatized & he's repressed so much. It's really heartbreaking.

When Katara says "then you didn't love her like I did" that's a painful moment. Katara is so loud & so intense about her grief - she wears it on her sleeve. She talks to other people who she believes will relate to her about the loss of her mother. She unabashedly yells at Zuko about it because his nation did this. Sokka is quiet about his grief. He buries it. He tries not to talk about it, or remember it. I just get so emotional about the water siblings, I love them both so much...I wish we could've gotten more exploration of how their different ways of confronting the loss of their mother impacted their relationship because it really is such a complex & well-written situation.

The moment when Katara confronts Yon Rha is possibly one of the most intense scenes in the entire show. The animation, music, & voice acting is just beautiful. You can really feel Katara's pain & conflict over what to do.

And in the end....Katara does not choose forgiveness OR revenge.

Katara: I wanted to do it. I wanted to take out all my anger at him, but I couldn't. I don't know if it's because I'm too weak to do it or because I'm strong enough not to.

Aang: You did the right thing. Forgiveness is the first step you have to take to begin healing.

Katara: [Rises from boardwalk.] But I didn't forgive him. I'll never forgive him.

Oh, Katara, babygirl....I love her so fucking much. She confronted Yon Rha, & she didn't - she couldn't - kill him because that's not who she is, but she couldn't just forgive him, because no, forgiveness is NOT always the answer. Katara did get to face Yon Rha, & in a way, I do think that it was cathartic for her.

And of course, Katara & Zuko are finally not just allies but friends, & I love that for them. This journey was so important to their relationship & I love that Zuko went on this life changing field trip with Katara.

[id: Katara & Zuko hugging. end id]

Their friendship means so much to me. I love these characters & this show so much. What a fantastic episode.

Oh, & I almost forgot…. Zuko & Katara each get +1000 iconic behavior points for their badass team up & fight scenes. Katara gets another +2000 for her showdown with Yon Rha. That is all for now!

#the southern raiders #atla re watch #atla book 3

[popchoc]

How do you feel about the Station 19 cancelation news? I’m shocked but not as sad as I thought I would be. Felt like they’d been flailing for a while there. I’m not sure what this means for Greys but I just started liking it again this season and would love to have 2 more seasons with the new interns before they end it. Knowing ABC they’ll try to get to 25 seasons because it’s such a money maker. I try not to compare them too much but I always thought Greys should’ve ended around season 8 but definitely by season 12. And idk if they’ve started filming already but I’m guessing that now Marina’s story will be a rush job about getting kids asap and being a family which is at least a happy if somewhat boring ending. The person I’m really excited to see get a good ending is Vic though. She deserves more than lucklastre relationships and comic relief. Also Jack. Would love for them to do something coherent with him that isn’t just about women either. What would you like to see for your favorite characters?

Hey anon, pfff where to begin?! I sure was surprised, I really didn't see it coming. Rationally speaking, I kinda get it. I mean, this is how it works; just because some shows do get many/endless seasons, it's not the norm, and 7 seasons is actually pretty decent. (One more than Private Practice, for example). Yet kinda understanding doesn't mean I don't have any thoughts or feelings about it! To start with, I feel like it's always better (to accept) when it's a creators decision, not the network's. And something else that isn't helping (at all!!) is the fact that it's all so rushed, with (suddenly) only ten more episodes. Though I do feel that ten x 40 minutes could be enough to wrap it all up (I am glad that at least they have the chance to write an actual ending), it just feels unnecessarily cruel. All in all I would lie if I'd say I'm super upset (with the chance of sounding preachy: if this year told me one thing, it's to upset about real misery and just enjoy everything else!), but it does feel like a pity - I was definitely still on board - and I do feel for everyone who's sad or upset about the news. Losing something you deeply love is never great, and though there will be other shows and ships, that's just not something most people want to hear right now, so to all of them I can only say: hang in there! (And please do enjoy season 7. It's not over till it's over!)

I personally don't think any of this will effect Grey's (PP didn't either). Who knows, it might even mean that Carina (finally) becomes a regular on there? She sure deserves it, though I'm going back and forth with actually wanting this, which has more to do with Maya or more so: Danielle. I wouldn't want her to be "stuck" on some guest appearance once in a while (or worse: them not knowing how to integrate her, like they's been struggling with Stefania/Carina on S19). So yeah, I see options, but I also have moments where I feel like I can actually be okay with.... I don't know... them moving to Italy (pregnant, for all I care, since it ends anyway and I know it would make people happy).

About the others. Well, I think they're getting full circle with Andy as captain, so at least there's that. I'm with you about Vic, I want her happy and not because of some dude. I guess the key for her will be crisis one. Same with Jack, he deserves happiness, and also a lot more acknowledgement (yes he can act like an idiot, but that doesn't mean he is one). When the show started he was actually doing fine as LT and this close to becoming Captain... so maybe he could (also) become one after all, albeit at a different station? I do like some blossoming romance though, this is that kind of show after all, so for that I'm thinking Travis - I would really like to see him find The One.

And besides all this? I just want fire. A whole lot of fire! And fun. Like... calendar and bar nights fun. Thrills and smiles... that's not too much to ask for, is it?

#ask #station 19

[runawaymun]

Been pondering To Partake now Gil's been reintroduced to the narrative and wondering if you've ever considered doing a larger exploration of the dynamic he had with Celebrimbor before the events of the fic? Super intrigued by how Partake!Gil would function opposite somebody he actually respects(?) and who is more able to advocate for themselves - is he just a dick and Celebrimbor just rolled with it until he saw how damaging it was for Elrond, or does he just save his bastard energy for Elrond?

What a question!

Man, where to even start -- because to be honest the differences in how Gil-Galad responds to Celebrimbor and how he responds to Elrond are like, the crux of the fic, in a way.

Here's the thing: Showgalad throughout S1 really strikes me as a deeply entitled and ruthless person, and by ruthless I mean that in the pure sense of the word. He sees he's at point A. He sees point B. He seeks the most efficient/convenient/reliable path to get to point B based off of his understanding of the world, and he takes that path. He makes consistently shitty decisions based off consistently surface-level altruistic motives (usually for 'peace' or 'the good of middle earth' etc. etc.), with underlying selfish motives (let's be honest: shipping Galadriel off to Valinor can be construed as getting rid of a volatile political rival), and that's a character archetype that I love to play with. Every decision Showgalad makes, like sending Galadriel to Valinor, or leaving Elrond out of crucial information regarding the mithril arc, etc. etc. is Showgalad saying over and over I know what's best for the situation, and if I have to manipulate someone to get the best outcome, then so be it. He's very very ends-justify-the-means and he's very "wisest person in the room syndrome". He doesn't consider a lot of subtext or angles.

And the key here for me as a writer when trying to think about Showgalad and how he translates into someone with personal relationships...it's that he isn't irredeemable. That's what makes him so frustrating for me. Partake!Gil also makes consistently shitty decisions or goes about things in horrible ways for consistently surface-level good/reasonable reasons, but underlying selfish ones. He introduced Elrond & Brimby to each other because he saw the chemistry there and thought they'd hit it off (and thought it'd be enjoyable/a good time), when he has sex with Elrond he's not consciously being a dick about it -- so the thought process goes: "Elrond had never once looked unhappy. He had never once protested. He had never once refused...[Gil-Galad] genuinely thought that he would."

Partake!Gil's fatal flaw is arrogance, entitlement, and the refusal to see himself as anything but a good person. Ironically, integrity and communication are important to him. The reason he was able to maintain a healthy relationship with Celebrimbor all those years is that Celebrimbor has the clout and the emotional strength and maturity to be able to communicate. This shows up in its most basic form right at chapter one, when Celebrimbor gets overstimulated and taps out with a brief "enough". And I mean, later when Celebrimbor confronts him about his treatment of Elrond -- once Gil-Galad is cornered about it and has to face facts, he does listen. The problem here is that he's a pragmatist and he doesn't really ever make the time to think deeply about subtext or examine himsef too closely. He's busy and not interested in forming deep attachments because it's not his thing. He expects his partners to communicate clearly, and he is used to partners who communicate clearly.

And yeah, this works GREAT when it comes to his relationship with Brimby, because Brimby has no problem voicing his needs and clearly communicating.

This becomes a HUGE problem when suddenly we throw Elrond into the mix, who has a hero-worship problem, his self-esteem is in the gutter, and he has no idea how to communicate. He's like exhibit a explaining why the absence of 'no' is not the same thing as an enthusiastic 'yes'. Now we've got a situation that just breeds dysfunction. They enable the worst of each other. Gil-Galad doesn't want to take the time to read subtext, think critically, or guide an inexperienced partner. He wants to get his dick wet with a person he enjoys. Elrond is a (very) inexperienced partner who's just happy that the person he adores is giving him the time of day and has no concept of how to communicate the fact that he has needs Gil isn't fulfilling (and even if he did know how to voice them, he wouldn't because his self esteem is in the gutter alskdgh).

And then like you said: there's the issue of respect which is HUGE. Unfortunately showGalad strikes me as the kind of person where you have to clearly demand respect and show why he needs to respect you -- if you don't, well...then he's not going to. Hence the whole situation where in the backstory of the fic, when Elrond & Gil were just getting started, Elrond went "boundaries??? don't know her" and instead of doing the reasonable thing that Celebrimbor did of "hey maybe we should set some," Gil went: "SWEET. No boundaries!"

All that to say I'm really excited for the future chapters of Partake as we transition back to Mithlond. Right now what we're experiencing with Gil is pretty much the knee-jerk reaction to there being boundaries when he's used to having none and he's being a pissbaby about it, but I promise I am strongarming him into doing some Thinking, and I have a lot of communication and more boundary setting between him and Elrond in the future. And also a lot of dysfunction aklsdgh because look, if we're being honest there is just way too much history here for them to be levelheaded and normal when around each other. But as I keep promising: the fic will have a good ending. But unfortunately healing is a non-linear process though and relapses happen often so I won't say there won't be angst & pain & more mistakes made along the way. But another key part of Gil's character is that he does care about Elrond. He is fond of him. Elrond does matter to him. We see that with Showgalad in the finale when Elrond essentially says "do it for me", and Gil does relent and give them that extra bit of time they need to finish the rings. So...I keep holding on to that to inform the final Mithlond arc of Partake. I'm hoping it'll come in handy and I can use the fact that he's actually very fond of Elrond to my advantage!

To be honest in the future I think I'm more likely to write a fic exploring early!Elrond x partake!Gil because I already have ideas about how that whole thing got started, but I can't say that I don't enjoy the dynamic Gil and Brimby have. This probably (definitely) will get worse as we get more seasons of the show! I'm sure I'll end up writing more fic for all of them eventually!

UGH this got huge. tysm for giving me a chance to ramble. This was probably way more than you wanted aldksgh

#to partake #this got SO LONG SORRY #i just get really feral when asked about my fics #and partake in particular just deals with a lot of really messy and interesting dynamics that I love playing with #Gil is so fucking interesting to me I want to put him under a microscope

[marciabrady]

The Little Mermaid 2 and 3 (bring it on!)

The Little Mermaid 2 and 3:

my all-time ultimate fave character: we all know it's ariel lbr but...again not to be too predictable, andrina! she's SO much funny in every incarnation i read of her and she's the only character that seems to make it with a semblance of character integrity (even more so than ariel who does NOT fare well with these sequels)

a character I didn’t used to like but now do: king triton maybe? i still think he has abusive tendencies and certain things frustrate me about him to no end but i think he's realistic and there's a weight to him that's intriguing to me

a character I used to like but now don’t: queen athena. i thought she was pretty as a kid and i liked her whole voice/singing to the kids plot thing but i just think she's so uninspired and lazy and her voice isn't even that good, her design is blah, and i don't think ariel's mom is that lady lol sorry

a character I’m indifferent about: hm. benjamin??? i guess it's fine that they kinda gay-coded him and it's some representation but he's marina's sidekick, and marina is the ultimate ick, and idk he's just so bland anyway that it's hard to feel anything for him outside of what he is

a character who deserved better: andrina! she deserved WAY more lines and screentime. i wish they got the original andrina back but tara did her best, i guess

a ship I’ve never been able to get into: carlotta and grimsby. like i get they're both side characters that are a man and a woman but obligatory hetero ships that have no chemistry aren't my thing (this is directed at the fandom, the movie doesn't really put them together)

a ship I’ve never been able to get over: i think aquata and that boy they put her with in the third movie are cute i guess? again i'm actively trying not to say ariel/eric

a cute, low-key ship: um. melody and that blonde boy??? i guess

an unpopular ship but I still enjoyed it: ??? there aren't really any other ships in these movies, they honestly don't offer much

a ship that was totally wrong and never should have happened: melody and that guy she danced with in the beginning of the second movie, but that was the point so

my favourite storyline/moment: hm...uh. um. uhhh OH WAIT i do love ariel singing in that hazy room in the beginning of the second movie. the animation is like rugrats level bad BUT jodi's singing carries it

a storyline that never should have been written: THE THIRD MOVIE. i will go to my grave standing by the fact that i think the banishment of music is the DUMBEST plot i've ever heard of/seen in all of hollywood and the fact that disney is SUCH a difficult company to break into and it's so competitive and it's supposed to hold the highest standards for its craft and THAT plot wasn't ridiculed in its initial pitch in the writer's room and how that plot not only contradicts THE FIRST SCENE we see of ariel missing the concert in her original movie but doesn't even make any sense, given that she gives her voice up to be human so clearly she doesn't care about music THAT much is baffling like the minimum wage character performers in the parks get better training on integrity than the writers from that movie

my first thoughts on the show: i honestly never cared about either movie but i think i disliked the third movie less when i first saw it because tlm2 made melody the main character and that really irritated me as a child because i didn't want to see her and her walrus and penguin, i wanted more ariel who was delegated as a side character bc i guess older women or moms just aren't interesting/worthy of being main characters???

my thoughts now: for as much as i personally dislike the second movie, i'm still glad we have it because i think some of jodi benson's singing is superior to any of her other recordings and i'm genuinely astounded by her talent in some songs. the third movie though is painful and i hate it and it makes me resent disney lol

#ask #anonymous #i hope no one hates me because i know people REALLY love the sequels