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autumnslance · 2 months

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Normally I'd agree many Final Fantasy games have rather young protagonists. It's because they're usually single-player JRPGs made with the assumption of younger players, and like most Young Adult media, create characters that cater to that, even if it ends up with teens running the world and fighting in wars. And for many players, the first time playing these games is in childhood/adolescence/very young adulthood. So it's YA anime.

Final Fantasy XIV does not fall into that same mold, despite the "Teen" rating for legal and distribution purposes.

The majority of the FF14 cast, including the bulk of the main characters, are between 20 and 40 years old (the Scion Archons, Ishgard Elf Husbands). Many other characters are between 40 and 80 (Ishgard's Counts are all late middle aged to elder dads/grandpas, Gaius is mid 50s, Jehantel and Ran'jit are elderly, all still active). The younger characters (especially with any authority or special position) like the Leveilleur twins, are actually outliers. And the youth of the characters between 16 and 20 years old tends to be plot relevant, where that inexperience and naivety causes problems and drives story (Nanamo's arc at the end of ARR into HW, Alphinaud and the Crystal Braves, Ryne's determination of self in ShB, etc).

Characters have a variety of appearances; some characters in the same age ranges look very different. Varis is younger than X'rhun but Varis's model shows the stress and disagreeableness of his life a lot more than the RDM trainer's. Cid's in his mid-30s but with the beard looks older--and without it he has a baby face (hair color doesn't matter, cuz they do keep the anime trope of "everyone's got white or silver hair"). Lalafell are designed to be anime-cute halflings so it's hard to tell their adult ages even if they've got facial hair like grandfatherly Papashan. The pad'jal of course look like kids, but the youngest main pad'jal is A-Ruhn in his late teens; all the others are adults stuck in adolescent bodies. E-Sumi is a few hundred years old. Kan-E uses various methods to look older so other leaders and people from outside Gridania will take her seriously as an adult. The padjal introduced in the StB WHM quests is a child, and that's the plot; she's not in charge of anything, or has any particularly advanced-for-her-age skills. She's just a kid having a really rough time.

This inability to determine age by looking and assuming isn't just due to limits of the game engine and character creation options; it reflects real life. I met my work team for the first time in person recently; one person looked older than I know them to be, thanks to months of stress and health issues. While all of them were shocked to remember I'm in my 40s as according to them, I "look much younger". Most people are actually pretty bad at guesstimating ages based on appearance, due to the variety of folks' lives.

Speaking of kid characters, many of the children we interact with, like the Doman Adventurers, are between 12 and 14 and act much younger. Khloe has this going on too, with her age "corrected" to 13 (when previously listed as 10), but she acts way younger to me. Most of the actual child characters are treated like children, and it's not until they get to 14-16 (Honoroit, Leveva) that we start to see them treated like maturing adolescents and having some rsponsibilities, but still young and prone to the kind of choices one expects of less experienced and more emotional youth.

As a MMO, FF14's primary audience is actually adults; teens do play the game, but also age up with it if they keep playing. If a 15 year old began playing with ARR's release, they're in their mid-20s now. Having a primarily adult cast, and treating child characters like children, and adolescents like young people figuring out how young adulthood works, makes sense for this game.

FF14's time bubble is also part of the issue; a developer tool to keep it so they don't have to worry too much about character ages, new models so often, or how long things take in game. Timelines are then intentionally left malleable for the players' benefits, to create our own stories and determine how long things take for our WoLs and their tales. Some folks have their stories pass in real time, some compress it to a year per expac, some expand it out even longer. So the ages the characters have listed in the lorebooks and rarely in game (which is then reflected in online resources), is a starting baseline. Personal headcanons as always should be applied (including changing around some character ages to fit one's own story if necessary).

Also, FF16, made by the same team, has a brief prologue/tutorial section where the main trio is between 10 and 15, guided/trained by adult characters, experience the inciting incident trauma--and then we spend the majority of the game with the main cast in their 20s and 30s. The game also has a mature rating, featuring some sexual situations, lots of violence, and stronger language than other FF games. It's made for adults, and its cast reflects that.

So it is a matter of audience expectations; for a MMO, you're going to have an older and aging player base, and the varied ages of the cast reflect that, as do their varied appearances and experiences as adults. The young characters are treated closer to how their youth should be; still with respect for those in positions like Nanamo, but also prone to errors due to inexperience that drive story. In other FF titles, which were made to be more YA-focused, a teen and young 20s cast were treated much differently. But even in the single-player FF titles, if they are made with adult players in mind, their cast and stories likewise reflect that.

#final fantasy xiv #audience #time bubble #ages #aging #cast #gang's all here #literary analysis #I agree most FF games don't have main casts outside the teens but there's reasons for that #and one can't really fit FF14 into that same mold when the cast is this large and varied #yes this is kinda in response to another post but not putting them on blast

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autisticlancemcclain · 3 months

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What’s your most hated fandom characterization for each of the main 7?

hoo boy am i glad you asked. although i’m gonna be real, my issue is less with fandom characterization, because you do you i don’t give a shit, and more with how people go batty if you personally are not a fan of fanon characterizations.

like, lemme be obvious and talk about my biggest example. i am a brown eyed lance truther. we know this. the amount of weirdo comments, weirdo DMs, and weirdo asks i get is atrocious. i post a lot of them bc they’re so stupid they’re funny but the amount of people per week that tell me to kill myself is lowkey wild. the amount of people that love to say some variation of “i liked your fic but you ruined it by making lances eyes brown! his eyes are blue!” and i’ve checked other brown eyed truther’s fics — either they delete their comments better than me, or they do not get the same thing. idk what the deal is lol.

i will concede to the point that i’m a contrarian and annoying about it, but a list of the following non-fanon headcanons/characterizations i hold that have been commented on in some derisive way:

- bitchy hunk (lol)

- non “cinnamon roll too pure and baby and good for this world” hunk*

- allura is a good character (🤡)**

- allura is a sweetheart

- allura is not a drill sergeant

- kuron was a good iteration of shiro

- red paladin lance/black paladin keith/blue paladin allura

- retired shiro

- pidge is not cruel

- pidge is not an infant and can handle things a regular 14-15 year old can handle

- small details are irrelevant (think lances family, exact prekerb details, etc)

- keith gyeong and lance sanchez

- fucking brown eyed lance. i’m saying it again

- tall keith

- non omega keith***

- readmores

- autistic lance

- adhd keith

- non asshole/cruel keith

- comphetting gay lance****

- shallura

- bi shiro, demi keith, essentially any sexuality headcanon that isn’t mainstream

- hunk who isn’t food obsessed

- that’s about it

*stop infantilising hunk

**the allura hate is ridiculous and largely rooted in anti-Blackness. it should not be a fight to say that she had a reason to feel betrayed by keith’s heritage, that she did not “get in the way” of klance, that her death was stupid and ridiculous, that she is often pushed over in favour of klance (not as in she’s less popular, but that her/her death are used as a plot device to further klance), and that she is as interesting, nuanced, and multifaceted as the rest of them.

***people, inevitably, feminize characters in fandoms (largely because many people in fandom are young women, i know i feminize characters simply bc i’m making them like me and i’m feminine lol), and my issue is that people (in the general sense, not everybody) love to feminize keith and then get really mad if anyone else is feminized. this is not about fem or trans woman keith btw. this is about people omega-ifying him and then losing their MINDS if i don’t share that headcanon.

****i literally only wrote this once and then never again because people lost their minds. but as much as i love bi lance, i think it’s interesting that usually, when we see “boy crazy” or “girl crazy” characters, especially if they have a lot of chemistry or homoerotic tension with a same-gender character, people are like oh ya that’s comphetting. that character is desperately trying to outrun the gay thoughts. but with lance, who was definitely girl crazy and cared more about having a girlfriend than actually dating and falling in love (think “mrs blue lion” — he didn’t give a fuck about who he was marrying, so long that it was a girl), calling him gay will have people saying you’re erasing bisexuality. as if he was not fucking straight in the show. so.

sorry this is so bitter and ranty lol. been in a mood

#and have been wanting to complain about this specifically for months #so thank u for that #longpost #vld headcanons #rant #ask

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specters0rd · 2 months

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Operation: Cure MC's Sadness.

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Fandom: Ikemen Vampire

Genre: Hurt Comfort

Words: 1,503

Chapter: Prologue

A/N: I greatly apologize for possibly making the guys OOC, it’s a been a while since I wrote a fanfic (let alone a series) and not to mention my first ever fic for Ikevamp. Sooo… Scheduling for the other fics? I’m still figuring it out given that it took me a while to even finish this up, but I’ll make sure to post teasers here and there. I’m also still figuring out how to bring in Vlad and his minions in as well as connect Sebby & Will into this. If you got any suggestions for any the guys (except for Vincent and Theo, they’re the ones that made me want to do this and first one I came up with) don’t be afraid to suggest them in my ask box, reblog, and comments!

taglist: @natimiles @bicayaya @koco-coko

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The poking from the beams had sobered up MC who wasn't sure if they actually slept or not, the eyes cloudy and slightly dry as they could barely make out the ceiling and orange sunlight stabbing them in one side. While a grunt escaped from their lips as their hands rubbed off the blurry dryness while they tried to recall last night, their body slumped over as they took a moment to admire the decor of the bedroom, especially with the painting they had the privilege to choose all thanks to a certain devil art-dealer. MC’s mouth couldn't stop themselves from curling up with fondness before falling as last night came rushing back to them. While they threw their blankets and legs over the side to get up, the urge to zone out and actually process everything finally took over, not surprising since a situation like this is quite... The story one can say. Once upon a month, MC was enjoying her time at the Louvre before being thrown into some kind of Alice in Wonderland plot with time, historical figures and vampires. What a YA fantasy-historical novel! Now this main character is… Stuck with no way back.

"Righttt... Homesickness. It's only been like... Two weeks since the damn door broke?" They whispered to themselves as they tried their best to read the clock; a skill that they still haven't mastered even a month in this mansion, tragic honestly. A hushed curse escaped from their mouth as they could guess roughly that they had 15 minutes or less to hop in and help Sebstain with breakfast. This only leads to more… Cursing from the struggling dork who’s playing detective right now over socks. Yes, over socks.

“You still haven’t broken that habit of yours, have you?” A chuckle from the butler as he broke the bloke’s case with a swift point of his finger to the clue; socks had been under the bed the whole time. This left the victim of messiness and forgetfulness to facepalm in shame once again.

“Oh god damn it. Thanks, Sebastian.” MC shook their head as they quickly snatched the socks and threw them on along with their high-quality shoes whilst Sebastian stood still at the door. A quick glance could tell the man before them was more concerned than the usual exasperation; they could feel the guilt sink in as the butler sighed.

“As much as I wanna don’t wanna push you to talk, MC, I think now is the time you open up. Especially because it’s clearly affecting your sleep and work.” The man spoke with seriousness and softness as he signaled to follow him towards the inevitable; a mansion meeting.

“Never thought I’d have an intervention…” MC joked as they followed aside the butler shaking his head at them, the fingers squeezing the bridge of his nose.

“You wouldn't have one if you didn't try to pull the workaholic route for solving your problems...”

“Ah, Fair point.”

------------------------------------

“And here I thought Theo was bad…”

“Oh shut it, Arthur. You're one to talk here.”

Theo shot a glare at his typical flippant frenemy as Arthur's attempt to soft the atmosphere slightly failed. MC's mind was fried at this point so even bickering didn't help nor rubbing their temples and guilt away.

“Was that really bad? God…” MC knew it was a rhetorical question especially with the sympathetic and annoyed looks at the table.

“I don't know what your definition of “bad” is, but typically, bumping into paintings, eye-bags, and breaking plates more than you usually do is quite bad, Hondje " Theodorus leaned back in his chair as his blues scolded the “family dog”.

“Not to mention forgetting food and leaving cups of coffee behind,” Mozart added as he took a bite of his breakfast, paying no mind to the soft glares from Napoleon, Issac, and Vincent.

Arthur shifted closer in his chair as his hands intertwined on the table; a sigh escaped from his lips.

“They are starting to get the point, lads. It's about time to start getting to the heart of the matter now.” Arthur gave a soft chuckle, the seriousness never leaving his eyes as he continued. “So, do you think you can explain why exactly that's causing this? Or is this workaholic habit the whole reason you haven't talked about it at all?” He arched his brow at them as he noticed MC immediately trying to puzzle it.

“I think the answer is quite obvious, but hey…” A voice hunches over Arthur, making the man jump and almost flings his coffee across the room.

“OH JESUS,MARY, AND JOSEPH. USE THE BLOODY DAMN DOOR DAZAI.” Arthur cursed at the tardy man before him, his glare never leaving him as Leonardo with the help of Jean drags Dazai and throws him into a chair.

A smile never leaves the eccentric, in fact, it only widens when looked at MC’s reaction. Not even the patriarch's glare seems to wipe it off him.

MC was trying to hold back their laughter at the scene before immediately stopping when eyes were all on them, a sense of anxiety in the pit of their stomach as they spoke.

“Well, yeah… It's pretty obvious for the perceptive folks here. I'm just gonna assume you want more details from me, right Arthur?” They looked at Arthur for confirmation, which earned a quick nod from him as he checked if his good old suit survived.

“Well…” They paused for a moment to gather their thoughts and ease the tightness of their throat. “I'm starting to think it finally dawned on me that I can’t go home yet… And the fact I never really fully processed everything. I kinda just threw myself into the chores. I mean it helps! Only to the point though… I think? Ugh…”

A comforting hand from Vincent laid on [Y/n]’s shoulder, noticing they were shaking at little. While MC smiled at him, they looked back to see everyone contemplating how to solve the issue now they got the reason for.

Comte took a moment to look at the clock before letting out a sigh.

“Well, one thing is certain, you need to take a break.” Comte paused for a moment before smiling. “Make that a week-long break.”

MC arched a brow at him before she felt a poke on the head by Napoleon, they looked up to see his smirk.

“Yes, MC, it's fine! You really need to work on that workaholic habit, I swear.”

A small croak, or well more like a tiny squeak, interrupted the moment. Issac was trying to say something and it ended up… An awkward way to make himself known.

“Ahem…” The physicist paused for a moment while trying to fight off his embarrassment. If MC wasn't giving Dazai and Arthur death glares, Issac would’ve been eaten alive… Well, for now.

“I was wondering what MC wants to do on their break… I mean, not sure if I can do much, but I'm free if you need someone to hangout with or… Vent too.” Issac lightly scratches the curve of his cheek with a sheepish smile.

“Not really sure either… But I'm all ears if you want to do something…” Jean chimed in with an earnest look in his eye despite how deadpanned his voice sounded.

Leo clicked his tongue as he thought of what he could do. “I mean, I’m sure if I have the time right now. Given Comte and I had an appointment with-”

“I mean, MC can accompany us with that invitation we got from my good old friend I haven’t seen in a while-.”

“Hold it guys. You're all getting ahead of yourselves there.” MC chuckles as they pop the last croissant in their mouth.

“I’m assuming that at least most of you are gonna… I don't know. Try and ease me by making me chill and hangout with you all?”

“Call this operation: Cure MC’s sadness” Dazai wiggled his eyebrows as his grin widened at the eye rolls he got from some of the folks at the table.

“Well, first of all it's not most of us…” Mozart huffed a little. “And second of all, it's nothing grand to try to help someone.” He side-eyed a pouty Dazai.

“Hmm… How about this? We all have a set week to make time for MC during their break.” Sebastian proposed to everyone as he picked up dishes to clean.

MC put a hand to their chin as they thought about it.

“I don't mind the idea, but how about each of you are duos!”

“What do you mean?” Vincent asked as he tilted his head to the side a little whilst everyone was either just as curious or slightly skeptical.

“Well, two of you each hangout with me on different days”. MC looked around to see everyone’s reactions before landing on Sebastian.

“Of course, I wish we could hangout too, but-”

“We’ll figure it out, don't you worry, MC.” Sebastian said before leaving towards the kitchen.

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#duckies writing #ikemen vampire #ikevamp arthur #ikevamp theo #ikevamp

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profiterole-reads · 4 months

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2023 Favourites

In no particular order. This is content I've read and watched in 2023, not necessarily content released in 2023.

Books

1. Notorious Sorcerer by Davinia Evans: fantasy with some m/m. The protagonist travels to other planes for alchemical ingredients and ends up having to learn greater workings. I love the Byzantine vibe of the worldbuilding.

2. The Daughters of Izdihar by Hadeer Elsbai: fantasy with some f/f. Two women, a waterweaver and an earthweaver, join a women's rights movement. I love the Egyptian-inspired worldbuilding.

3. Reforged by Seth Haddon: m/m fantasy. This King/Paladin novel has a surprising plot. The magic system is very original as well, I especially like the music part of it.

4. The Buried and the Bound by Rochelle Hassan: urban fantasy with some m/m (YA). The hedgewitch protecting the town teams up with a boy cursed to forget his true love and another one trapped as a bondservant.

5. [Spanish] Lazos de Sangre by LR Jeffers: m/m urban fantasy (erotica). This is a series about werewolves and big cat shifters, usually angsty and hot.

6. [French] Meute by Karine Rennberg: urban fantasy with some m/m + another protagonist is aroace and uses sign language. This is a novel about building your own werewolf pack. I think this is my first time encountering 2nd-person narration in French and it works surprisingly well.

7. Cascade by Rachel A. Rosen: science fantasy with mlm and wlw protagonists + no romance. An ecological disaster has freed magic. In Canada, the Party works with a wizard in order to try and save humanity. I love the intricacies of the plot, which skilfully mixes politics, science and magic.

8. Ocean's Echo by Everina Maxwell: m/m science fiction. Telepathy, my favourite trope, done by one of my fave authors! It was even better than I expected.

9. The Deep Sky by Yume Kitasei: science fiction/murder mystery with several non-binary major characters. 80 people from all around the world embark on a one-way interstellar voyage. As they're all required to get pregnant, they're obviously afab, but several are non-binary, with mentions of a trans man.

10. Forget Me Not by Alyson Derrick: f/f romance (YA). This is a very romantic novel about two girls dating in secret until one gets amnesia. I enjoy this trope a lot.

TV shows

1. Good Omens: fantasy with queer protagonists + some f/f. I love the book and I love the adaptation. Season 2 is original content, but it's faithful to the spirit of the novel.

2. Shadow and Bone: fantasy with some m/m (YA). This successfully mixes the Shadow and Bone trilogy (that I haven't read) and the Six of Crows duology (that I have read and enjoyed).

3. Warrior Nun: fantasy with some f/f. Nuns literally fight against demons.

4. The Power: superpower fiction with some f/f + a trans woman and an intersex man. Teenage girls start developing an electrical superpower, which makes them safer from men.

5. Nü Er Hong: GL wuxia. This c-drama is a quick watch, with 27 episodes of 2 minutes. I love that these short webdramas always have more or less the same actresses.

6. The Devil Judge: dystopia/thriller with BL vibes. This k-drama has a tight plot and fascinating characters. There's a girl in a wheelchair and the rep is well done.

7. Naughty Babe: BL romance/murder (attempt) mystery. This Thai drama is the sequel to Cutie Pie, except that they switched up the main pairing and the secondary pairing. I think it's possible to watch it on its own.

8. Wedding Plan: BL + GL romcom. This Thai drama has mlm-wlw solidarity, which I hope to see more of in the future. There are also cameos from the BL couples from Love in the Air.

9. Oh! My Assistant: BL romcom. This hilarious k-drama is about a het porn webtoon creator and his assistant. Despite this topic, the drama is not explicit.

10. Welcome to the Lesbian Bar: GL contemporary fiction. This k-drama is a quick watch, with 5 episodes of 6 minutes. In each episode, 2 customers come have a drink and chat with the owner.

Movies

1. Barbie: fantasy that is so gender! This was such a big surprise coming from Hollywood.

2. Nimona: fantasy with a protagonist who is a trans/enby allegory + some m/m (YA). I haven't read the graphic novel, so this was more depressing than I expected (it deals a lot with discrimination), but still an excellent movie.

3. Wingwomen (Voleuses in the original French): action movie with a sapphic protagonist + f/f vibes between the other two. I love heist movies all about women.

4. Kill Bok-soon: action movie with some f/f. This Korean movie has interesting cinematography. Note that it's very violent, though.

5. Red, White & Royal Blue: m/m romcom. I love the book and I love the adaptation.

6. Anything's Possible: m/f romance with a trans female protagonist (YA). This is a very positive movie, about love, art and nature.

7. Fanfic: m/m romance with a trans male protagonist (YA). This Polish movie is sometimes dark, sometimes fun.

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slightlyrebelliouswriter23 · 1 year

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hii emmm i really hope this isnt a weird question or anything but i was wondering if you think holly would ever write a sex scene (or anything of the sort) with oak and wren? she's never been very descriptive when it comes to those type of scenes in her other works, and even in tfota when jude because sexually active she was already 18 (i believe?) while oak is still underage. do you think this will prevent her from engaging in those type of scenes with oak in the future?

hiya nonnie! not a weird question at all, thank you for trusting me with this 🖤

so as a writer, there are three primary kinds of sex scenes:

fade to black- usually goes a little like this: "they removed their clothes and kissed and kissed between the sheets and on into the night" and then the chapter ends, and in the next chapter, it's implied they had sex.

soft focus- in these scenes, there is a pretty brief (0.5-1 page), sometimes very vague description of what they're doing, but it's still clear they're having sex.

explicit- no holds barred. these guys fucked, and i'll tell you exactly what happened.

i'd place most YA sex scenes, including TFOTA, at a 2 (soft focus), although in recent years, things have definitely been allowed to be more explicit in the YA category.

but explicit sex scenes are definitely not required. in Holly's adult novel, Book of Night, the sex scenes are even less explicit than TFOTA. i'd honestly put them at a 1 (fade to black), even though the main characters are about a decade past the legal age of consent.

i think an author's choice to include explicit sex scenes is less about the age of the characters (and i'd say this is particularly the case in Faerie, because sexuality and sex are said to be more fluid/accepted there), and more about the author's own comfort level/how much the plot of the novel pertains to romance.

Holly has said in the past that when she first wrote the sex scene between Jude and Cardan in TWK, her editor made her make it longer. and from an editing standpoint, this makes sense. because (and i know there will be people who disagree but) romance is actually a pretty big part of the plot for TFOTA.

i can't say with complete certainty what Holly will write in terms of Wren and Oak's romance. oftentimes, sex scenes in literature are used to further romantic implications between two characters. this works especially well when it's unclear whether or not the two characters have feelings for each other (i.e. enemies-to-lovers). and i'd say Oak and Wren's feelings for each other are unclear (at least to each other) at the end of TSH.

my guess is, if there are any sex scenes at all in this next instalment, they will be handled in a similar way to the ones in TFOTA.

–Em 🖤🗡️

more theories & analysis

#thanks for the ask!! 🖤#tfota #jurdan #holly black #the stolen heir #oak greenbriar #oakwren #suroak #asked and answered #nonnie

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femaletwstsupremacy · 8 months

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i have just a little request if you dont mind, we have fem idia enjoyer of woman and yuri manga (the cutesy slice of life ones like failed princess, monolouge woven for you, whisper me a love song ((just somethin sweet ya know)) and idia is hopelessly pining for the main girl type, ortho being the best little sister invites us over and idk just a little idea 4 u

"𝙈𝙖𝙞𝙣 𝙂𝙞𝙧𝙡 𝘼𝙪𝙧𝙖!"

✦ Content – Idia being a simp, Ortho being a sweetheart, kinda did a reverse isekai plot here, Idia is Shen Yuan (From Scum Villain) coded, reader came from a world where technology isn't all that advanced, Reader has a personality, reader is gn but reader being feminine was in mind while writing.

Author's Note: Waaa, I had so much fun playing with this idea anon. Thank you for sending this in! (ﾉ◕ヮ◕)ﾉ*:･ﾟ✧ It's not exactly like the request so I apologize for that. But! I absolutely support Fem!Idia yuri enjoyer, I am one as well after all (With a side of bl fan in there but shhhh)

Idia was many things, a loner, a genius with wasted talent, a weirdo, a curse. But she could care less about those, what do they know about her anyway? It's not like half of those people who talked behind her back actually talked to her. But if there was one thing she could proudly call herself, it would be that she's an avid yuri fan. Slice of life? Fantasy? Mystery? Yandere? She'll read it as long as it's yuri! (And if it has at least a decent plot, otherwise she'd either simply throw it out or start hating in the reviews if she absolutely despised it.)

The lighthearted and giddy feeling she gets in her chest every time she reads is something she just can't get enough of. But once she finishes the absolute masterpieces of the genre, she only has the leftover scraps left to read. Some of them aren't that bad, she could bear reading through with it and some of them even got her hooked. But some others were absolute trash. With nothing but fetishization and not even a pinch of genuine affection between the main couple.

By that time Idia almost debated leaving the genre altogether but decided to just wait. Wait for something good to actually come by, wait for an astounding masterpiece that could even make her slack jawed, wait for some of her few favorites to update, and so she did.

She waited, and waited, and waited. Until finally, a new manga had just released, taking the whole genre by storm. And as a connoisseur of yuri manga, how could she pass up this opportunity? Especially when she'd been waiting for so long. Besides, most of the reviews are fairly positive and by first impression it doesn't seem like some trashy manga that uses all the clichés and most popular tropes of the book. Unlike some that Idia had read. So she trusts that it will be a worthwhile read.

And worthwhile it was, Idia was absolutely hooked. It wouldn't be an understatement to say that this was a masterpiece. The plot? The setting? The tropes? and most importantly, the characters. (Did she mention the characters yet?) were all meticulously woven together into the perfect web to catch any unsuspecting readers into it's trap. Idia is no exception. But seriously, it's amazing. Even if it just released, it was already manga of the year in her heart. In fact, it should be the manga of the year in everyone's heart!

But you especially have taken her heart, kicking off any and all candidates that could have taken your place. Sitting beautifully in the throne of her heart. You were the main girl of the story, kind, pretty, and clever but didn't take anyone's shit for nothing. Your character was the exact one that Idia favors the most, so it was inevitable that you became her first and only favorite above the rest. Idia gathered anything she could get about you, analyzing your character under a microscope. Memorizing every small detail, no matter how insignificant. This also applies to your character arcs and relationships, causing her to make lengthy essays about it in the comments without fail.

Other times, when the author decides to shove tragedy onto you that she believes is far too much Idia would instantly go into a bout of outrage, her hair turning into a raging sea of red. The scale of her rage is clear to see if one were to read the scathing comment she had left. Don't they know that it's far to early? Your character isn't developed enough for this! She'd argue.

But usually, she would have calmed down in the following chapters. It's almost as if the author read her comments and decided to give you reprieve and a few wholesome moments in between as a peace offering. But that's most likely her imagination coming up with wild ideas on miniscule chances.

Months pass by, and before she knew it, it was already the final chapter of the manga. The manga she had spent hours mulling over, the manga that she collected a whole stock of merch for, the manga where she felt more than she usually does in real life, the manga you were in.

Idia stares at her screen, unblinking. The bold text of the final lines of the chapter staring back at her, the light of the screen almost painful as it illuminates the darkness of her room. Casting shadows along her face, making her look even more gloomy than she is. She doesn't know what is it exactly that she feels, it's like her heart feels full but at the same time has holes that leak out, causing a void of emptiness along with the full feeling.

It's strange, is this what it feels like when you get too attached to a piece of fiction? Idia wouldn't really know, she didn't get attached to much things in the first place anyway. But, she doesn't know what to think about it. It doesn't feel all that good, but it isn't all that bad either. Idia groans, burying her head into her hands.

Ugh, why does emotions have to be so damn difficult?

Idia can't believe this is happening. But the fact that you, in all your glory and grace, are right here, in her room, and gazing back at her is undeniable. Idia seriously questions if this was truly reality and she wasn't being delusional after so long of not having sleep and not eating properly. Which would have been the most logical explanation if you didn't look so real and lifelike. Especially when you stand there as depicted, eyes shining the same way it was drawn, actually breathing and are not just lines on paper.

When you quietly call out to her in confusion, Idia swears she'll see Hades in the next second because your voice is exactly as she imagined it-

"Uh hello? May I please know where I am?" You ask, slightly waving your hand in front of the strange girl's face – her hair being one of unusual blue flames that you've never seen before. The strange girl only jumps in response, letting out a surprised squeak. Scrambling to hide behind...a chair..? At least you think it's a chair.

The timid type huh, you can work with that. You put your hand back on your side, deciding to take a different approach so as to not frighten the poor girl more. Tentative, you leaned down to her level, purposely making your voice sound more soft and coaxing than usual, "Sorry about that, I'm kinda lost and it would really help me out if you could answer my questions, yeah?" The girls stares at you dumbly for a while, but your expression doesn't falter and eventually, she nods.

Another world? Manga character? currently in reality???? The revelation that the life you've lived was all a fabrication made from someone else's desires is a very hard pill to swallow. A bitter laugh escapes you as the strange girl – who had introduced herself as Idia – finishes her explanation. "So, you're saying that for my whole life, I've been living in some sick fairytale for the lot of you in 'reality' to watch?" You don't hide the bite in your tone, your frustration leaking out as if your body was filled with holes.

Idia squeaks, nervously clutching her hair – one that has swaying flames of azure – like an anchor that will keep her from sinking into the sea of your emotions. You sigh out, it's no use getting angry at someone who didn't have a hand in your creation. It's not like she had instigated anything that happened to you, she was just a viewer after all.

"Sorry, I got carried away. I didn't mean to get so aggressive." You say apologetically, your frustration still hasn't gone away, you don't believe it would go away so quickly but right now being level headed was the better option.

Inhale.

Exhale.

Inhale.

Exhale.

You lean your forehead onto your hand, regulating your breathing. For now, it would be a good time to gather more information...

You straighten up, clearing your throat in attempt to get Idia – who still hasn't raised her head in what you believe is fear – to look at you. It works, as she raises her gaze to look up at you. "Say, could you tell me more about this 'reality' of yours?"

Recovering from the shock of being a manga character was a long process. Thankfully, it seems your host was an accommodating one. Helping you adjust as best as she can. Though this world...has plenty of strange contraptions. You were scared out of your wits when Idia pressed a button and the square on her table started lighting up. The fact that everything in Idia's room is considered 'high-tech' doesn't help, But right after you've finally gotten over your shock the next thing you know there was a literal child that looked like the contraptions that appeared out of nowhere! Though, after your almost obliteration of Idia's room the child(?) was surprisingly friendly and humanlike despite your hostility in your first encounter. You've come to know the child as Ortho. You start to wonder if this world has a trend to name their children strange things...Other than that, she was an exact opposite of her sister, sweet, sociable, and cheerful. However, their differences don't seem to separate them in the least. In fact, they get along than most siblings you see. It got you feeling all warm and sentimental for a bit. But even then, they both at least one thing in common, and that's how cute they are. Now, it's a given that Ortho is cute. (Why wouldn't she be? Idia built her to look cute!) Though, Idia can also be – by equal measures – cute!

Cute enough to make you squeal and want to squish her cheeks. Oh, and the way her hair turns pink every time you get close...It's absolutely adorable! You never thought someone's hair could be so expressive! At one point your curiosity got the better of you. By impulse, you lightly stroked the azure flames. It didn't burn like what one would assume, rather it was similar to the feeling of warming your hands over a fire on a cold wintry night. Of course, when you do this Idia audibly squeaks and swivels from her seat to look at you. Embarrassment, it was common expression Idia made while with you. You guessed it was because you are her favorite character, the amount of pictures she has saved is already enough proof. You apologize to her but you're sure the teasing tilt to your tone doesn't make you convincing. Right, the longer you've stayed here, the less you cared about being convincing. This place is much more peaceful despite being worse according to Idia. As Idia starts to sputter at you, hair the pinkest you've ever seen it, you start to think that this type of life isn't so bad.

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wingedshadowfan · 7 months

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some basic ya/fantasy/romance tropes that fourth wing took a spin on, imo (spoilers)

-weak and dainty female character trope - while violet is physically smaller, weaker and gets injured easily, we find it's due to a disability she was born with and there are two main ways she goes about this: she trains hard to become stronger, wherever that's possible, and also uses disability aid (because isn't that what Tairn's saddle is? the shorter daggers too, to some extent) which i think is so important and much better than her refusing that aid/never getting it in the first place, she takes no shit from characters who look at her like there's something wrong with her but she also knows her own body and its limitations

-the demsel in distress female character trope (similar to the one above) - because of her physical disadvantage and her lack of preparation for the riders quadrant, violet gets saved/protected by others in many situations and even gets accused of "hiding behind strong men", but as the book - and her training - goes on, she begins to stand her ground more and more, earning herself the nickname "violence" and making up for any physical shortcomings with intelligence, stubbornness and fervor, hard work, skill and good character (the reason why tairn and andarna both chose her, the former giving her a crazy op signet), so much so that she ends up single-handedly offing the guy who accused her of not being able to defend herself

-the enemies to lovers trope - unpopular take but violet and xaden were never truly enemies! despite it being marketed that way. at least not on xaden's part - his dad didn't kill brennan and he's known this (him responding with "hardly" when she said they were even when they first met at parapet), we don't know if he knows this but while lilith did "catch" his dad, she was against forcing the rebellion children to watch the executions too. so violet basically started off as a nuisance to him (she was never strong enough to be a problem - he thought the parapet would end her for him if need be), after watching her for a while - seeing the mismatched boots, her collecting berries, flinging the daggers, choosing to keep his secret, poisoning people, defying all odds - he even made sure the other marked ones wouldn't try to kill her either, which he easily could've just stood aside and let happen, because she became interesting to him, again through intelligence, skill and kindness, and the (mutual) interest and attraction developed into feelings; on her part it was a bit more difficult because she knew less and felt like everyone was out to get her, her most trusted people had warned her about him so she naturally kept thinking he hated her and wanted her dead - but other than him moving her squad to fourth wing on parapet day he'd made no moves indicating he wanted to harm her and had consistently been helping her instead; they never hated each other personally because they didn't know each other and when they really got to know each other, they just found respect and admiration for the other

-the good guy/bad guy/good girl love triangle (though it's usually more of an angle or a choice the girl needs to make) - in the very very beginning i was rooting for dain because i love childhood friends to lovers and i thought running from the riders quadrant could be a turn the plot takes for violet, i also personally didn't see myself finding a guy who wanted me dead all that sexy (even less considering his dad killed my brother), especially when he's apparently a cold blooded murderer, emotionally unavailable and generally quite threatening, but i am well aware there's a specific demographic who would eat the dark moody ripped bad guy up and leave the "boring" soft cute nice good guy childhood friend in the dust - that's a trope i despise and i'm so glad that here a) violet fully acknowledges, despite being physically attracted to xaden, that he's toxic and she shouldn't like him because he can't meet her emotional needs. and i don't remember characters from other books with this trope being so delightfully intelligent and self-aware (which is important because otherwise you're basically selling young girls the idea that this is okay and that unavailable, dangerous, messy men are hot and you can fix them - violet doesn't even try to fix him, she sets a firm boundary and forces him to fix himself and get his shit together if he wants her!) and b) it turns out xaden and dain's roles are actually reversed, with dain being much more toxic, manipulative, hypocritical and crossing boundaries he shouldn't be, while xaden is more supportive, attentive and caring, protective but not coddling, and while he's not ready to admit a lot of things to himself just yet, he's got some self awareness going for him too and he's sworn to do better (so rare in such books)

#fourth wing #rebecca yarros #xaden riorson #violet sorrengail #dain aetos #riorgail #iron flame #fantasy #romance #young adult #new adult #the empyrean

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minijenn · 4 months

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Jen Tortures Herself With Every Dreamworks Animated Movie Ever: Bee Movie

According to all known laws of aviation... eh, forget it. You know the rest.

So uh... Bee Movie is surprisingly pretty good? Yeah, I know, I'm surprised too. I mean of course, Bee Movie is an Iconic Staple of Meme Culture and for good reason, its humor is just... probably some of the most insane shit out of Dreakworks ever (more on that in a bit). But it's also a pretty compelling roller coaster ride of a movie that held my rapt interest the whole way through???

So what's the story here? Barry B Benson is a bee who ventures outside the hive and meets a florist named Vanessa, whom he of course falls in love with (and she falls for him too, its fuckin weird man). Eventually, Barry discovers that humans make a profit off the backs of bees by selling their honey, so he decides to sue the entire human race. Yeah that's really the fuckin plot they came up with. It's fucking wild, man, from start to end.

Our characters here are just as wild to match that crazy ass plot. Barry is a snarky lil fella, but you can tell he cares about his... people? Bees? Idk man this movie has short circuited my brain. Anyway, Barry is a fun character to follow as our main. Vanessa is a little less developed and kind of all over the place personality wise, and well... she falls for a bee. Enough said. Barry's best friend Adam is cool, almost dies from stinging a guy, so that's fun. We also have Ken, Vanessa's ex-boyfriend who literally gets cuckolded by a bee this movie is actually insane.

The comedy here is just... ridiculous. Again, there's a reason why this movie has produced so many iconic memes. I cackled out loud at some of these jokes and references, many of which I imagine would probably go over a kid's head (the Sting and Ray Liotta jokes especially like... c'mon those are some deep cuts). It's kind of breaking the recent trend I've been noticing from Dreamworks where they're aiming down for a younger audience. Instead, Bee Movie harkens back to their earlier movies, aimed more at adults with blink and you miss them naughty jokes that are actually really funny here?

The animation is also like... insanely impressive for the time this came out? Some of the camera angles and movement on these bees is just... amazing? The flying scenes really make you feel like you're flying along with Barry, taking you through densely colorful and sometimes actually beautiful setpieces. I also enjoyed the worldbuilding inside of the hive and all of the little devices they use to produce honey. I feel like this movie is doing what Antz was trying to do, but accomplishing it so much better, with way less Rancid vibes than Antz had.

The music is also fairly solid, not as many pop songs as you'd expect from a memey movie like this, but the ones that are very are pretty good and backed by a competent score. I think my biggest gripe with this film is... well, it's a little all over the place and out of focus? Like one minute it's about Barry struggling to figure out what he wants to do with his relatively short life, then its about him falling for Vanessa, then its about suing the humans, then its about restarting pollenation so the entire planet won't shrivel up and die? (yeah did I mention this film has an environmental message?) Really, this movie is kind of just... a jack of all trades and a master of none? All of its various plots are ok, but none of them are standout fantastic. It's just... a little messy??

But really, I did enjoy myself watching this movie. I didn't think I was going to, because its been years since I've seen it and well, the internet rags on it all the time, but it's surprisingly well-made! It really is Dreamworks at their most Dreamworks (warts and all) and I think that's a testament to why its so memorable (in both good and bad ways lol). Anyway I just got one last thing to say before wrapping up this review:

Ya like jazz?

Overall Rating: 7/10

Verdict: Watch the Entire Bee Movie but every time they say literally anything the movie starts over until you die

Previous Review (Shrek the Third)

Next Review (Kung Fu Panda)

#jen watches #dreamworks watch #bee movie #jen tortures herself with every dreamworks animated movie ever #dreamworks

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1moreoffkeyanthem · 3 months

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I have quite a few hang ups with Come Morning Light, the hunger games au I posted one chapter for back in November and have yet to update.

The first and foremost personal challenge is the fact that I, PCE, a certified Angst Wimp, am gonna have to kill off sooooo many of my faves. Like Hunger Games has some dark ass subject matter, kids forced to kill each other. I’m struggling with that, especially with what I have planned for Craig.

Along that same line, it’s gonna be a HUGE cast of characters, which I’ve had difficulty with in the past, it’s one of the reasons I primarily operate in oneshots. I love a good The Gangs All Here fic, but fleshing out 20+ characters is HARD. Bc a fluffy 2k word oneshot of Stan and Kyle in an awkward meet cute where there’s maybe one other character (usually kenny lmfao I’m a creature of habit) is a WHOLE different animal than a multicharacter multichapter. That’s something I had to figure out recently with TWITR, and character introduction held me up a lot in ATLCTS.

Okay this one may seem really inconsequential to a lot of people, but one thing I didn’t think about when developing this concept was the fact that there’s not really away for me to get around Stan eating meat lmao that’s one thing that over my time writing sp fanfiction has become ESSENTIAL to me characterizing that boy. I’ll probably just have him make a comment about how he could never kill animals himself WHICH BRINGS ME TO:

Kyle as our Katniss character. So if you’re familiar with my bs, every time I write Kyle, he’s inherently less angry until it’s called for, he’s very idealistic in his worldview and it takes something actually really pissing him off for him to snap. This is NOT gonna be the case here!!! This boy is ANGRY BY DEFAULT, the worlds out to get him? fuck the world right back! Plus, the entire story is gonna be from his perspective, bc I love writing Kyle, but it’s gonna take all my willpower not to turn him into my usual empathetic to a fault sweet people loving Kys.

Also, I usually tend to leave the adults mostly out of my stuff, but they’re gonna play quite the role in this. We got Garrison as Haymitch, Big Gay Al as Effie, fuckin Mr Slave as Cinna. I’ve never even WRITTEN the three of them. The dynamics gonna be fun tho.

Ofc there’s the problem of it being an adaptation too. There’s a fine line between just replacing hg characters with sp names and copying the plot, as opposed to making it your own. I do have some plot changes planned, but this is an issue I faced with We’re Gonna Sing It Even So, and that almost led me to abandon that fic when I felt like I was just plagiarizing Hadestown.

Also I’m not planning to adapt more than the first book. I reallllly couldn’t handle Kenny taking out Ike with his trap in the third one.

BUT!!! This won’t be abandoned, it’ll just be slow going!!! Ya wanna know the main reason?

Because the first idea I had for CML (other than Kyle volunteering for his little brother) was STAN AND KYLE IN THE FUCKING CAVE SCENES. A major change is that both of them are already deeply down bad, but those scenes??? Yeah no one’s playing for the cameras. I wanna fuck Stan up in the arena so bad lmfao that boy is my original sp whump muse and NATURALLY Kyle taking care of him I love that shit. Girl we gonna GET that prosthetic leg the movies left out (Ship In A Bottle Stan moment, I love that fic btw) as the Style Injury Dealer, I MUST deliver.

So, yeah, if anyone’s down, I’ll eventually pick it back up lmao.

#sry I know no one cares abt my unsolicited ramblings #also I have that tfbw continuation I’m being begged for #which I’m also struggling with #also……#i may or may not #have another multichapter work I’m thinking about #plus I always got OJV brainrot so I’ll probably just keep posting headcanons for OrangeJuiceVerse on here instead of writing lmao #smh #south park #the hunger games #au #sp au #my shit #PastorCraigEnjoyer on ao3 #ao3

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villainessprefect · 1 year

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title: The Magic of Movies

summary: How does one get Idia to talk? Vil knows that certain movies can get him going.

ship: IdiaVil

word count: 1,135

note: I dont drop the movie/game title but its p much Silent Hill. anyway I just wanted to try writing this ship lol

Read on AO3

If there is one thing Vil can share with Idia, it's a love for movies. While their reasons for the art differ, it still brings them together.

One enjoys being on stage, being filmed. Vil enjoys becoming someone else and pushing himself to new heights. All eyes are on him, captivated, breathless, mesmerized at what he will do next. For a moment, he becomes someone else. Of course, he also enjoys the history of the industry and those who once stood on the same stage. It's fascinating to learn from seniors and surpass them.

Meanwhile, Idia could care less about the acting scene. He appreciates the actors, the characters that blossom to life as their story is told. Live actions are a little blander in his eyes. Animation is stunning. There's more to explore, unimaginable things that could not be captured in other forms of storytelling. Escaping into another world, and finding comfort in a character, even for a couple of hours helps him get by.

Despite his obvious interest in animation, Vil is still surprised at the variety of films Idia has watched. Whether it be on a whim or following an idol or current interest, he can hold himself with the classics. He's not as lively when speaking of him, but the fact that he knows is enough for Vil. And it's almost shocking to find out that Idia has watched one of his movies. Well, not too shocking, really. Why wouldn't Idia be interested in anything he stars in?

"...I know there's only so much you can pack into a two-hour movie and keeping the main plot is fine, but still?! They change so much! I guess it is better to have two protags instead of one running around since dialogue with one character would be awkward. The portrayal of the other world being parallel to ours is pretty neat. In game, you're usually going back and forth, so this is like a new version that probably got cut. Wouldn't make sense lore-wise, ya know?

"Aside from the obvious fanservice, the movie is still enjoyable to watch IMO. Normies who aren't familiar with the series get a taste while enjoying some cheap horror gimmicks. They'll never get to experience the true atmospheric horror the game can offer. Heh. If they're terrified of that version they wouldn't stand a chance of playing the original games. Ah man, makes me wanna whip out the game now. The second game may be better, but you can't beat the classic that started it all."

Vil keeps quiet as Idia speaks to his heart's content. It's absolutely beautiful seeing his passion ignite over one thing. The usual timid male explodes into a fiery mess when speaking about topics he's well acquainted with. The queen notes the little things about him that change too. How he stands taller, speaks louder, and keeps his eyes on his. There's also the noticeable change in his fiery locks. The blue flames that are barely a wisp seem to burn, shining brighter and even turning to another hue entirely.

Seeing Idia like this makes Vil proud. He knows that he has it in him to be assertive and strong, he's seen it before. All it takes is a little push. If he can fan the flames he can watch them grow right before his very eyes.

Unfortunately, this burst of growth never lasts forever.

Idia blinks, whimpers. He slouches and brings his hands together as his eyes dart around his room.

"S-Sorry. I know you told me to give you a b-brief synopsis of the movie. B-But I just...that series..."

Idia holds his breath. He was more than happy to talk about one of his favorite games being adapted into a movie. There's always a lot to say about them, especially from a gamer's perspective. He just feels bad for rambling and going off-topic. At least he hadn't gotten into the more grotesque aspects of the series. That was a bullet he managed to dodge thanks to a QTE. Someone as interested in beauty as Vil would never be interested in the abnormal and weird.

Then again, Vil did find him beautiful and he was just that.

Vil waves a hand, unbothered by his rant. Carefully, he tests the waters and rests his hand over Idia's. He doesn't flinch, only gulps. Golden eyes try to maintain the focus they once had on his lavender ones.

"I know the main actress in that movie," Vil starts. "She didn't know the game beforehand."

"Of course, casual."

"But. She did play during her free time. She couldn't make it too far into the game but promised she would finish it. She spoke to me about the changes but enjoyed them. The intended audience was not just old fans, but new ones as well. You can imagine that she was one of the latter."

"I d-don't know about acting like you, but...I did like her character."

"Even if there are discrepancies between the original and adaptation, if you watch closely you can still feel the heart of a character."

Idia nods, silently. The realization of his rambles caused him to hold back. Yet, he still has to ask.

"Have you ever played the game?"

"Unfortunately, no. That was a home console game, was it not?"

"Ah, yeah..." Idia isn't surprised. Learning that Vil dabbles in games from time to time is surprising. But that's old news. Now it's picking about what games he plays and what he's willing to play. An actor always on the move would be more interested in handheld games.

"W-Well...I do have a copy of it. Would you..." Idia takes in a breath. "W-Would you like to...W-We can play it whenever you're free! It is a one-player game though, so, uh, if you'd want me to speedrun it just for the story I can a-and fill you in on everything as we go..."

"Hmm..." Vil closes his eyes, thoughtfully. "Perhaps I can give it a go?"

"I can explore areas and- wait, wait wait. You want to play it?!" Idia gasps. "I-I mean, you're free to, of course!"

"What's with that look? Don't think I can handle it?"

"N-No! The early games have difficulty setting options, so even newbies can play. I-It's just a little hard trying to envision you playing a survival horror game." Idia sports a challenging grin. "But can you handle the hell that this game offers? The graphics may be old, but the monsters still hold up. If you get scared of a creature you're free to give up and hide in my arms, fuehehe."

"Oh? You think I would be frightened that easily?" Vil chuckles, amused. He enjoys the challenge presented to him. "I have time to spare. So, let's play, shall we?"

#twisted wonderland #twst #idiavil #idia shroud #vil schoenheit #idia x vil #pomefiore #ignihyde

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loopy777 · 11 months

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In an old post you noted that zuko x a genderbent aang would work extremely well storyvise for various reasons, but what about the opposite? A zukaang story where zuko was a girl.

I don't recall what I said exactly and couldn't find the post, but I want to clarify my current opinion: I think Zukaang would have worked extremely well in story terms regardless of it being a yaoi ship, but of course such a thing wouldn't have aired on Nickelodeon back then. If Aang was a girl, though, I think Zukaang would have easily been the most popular ship amongst the fandom. It would have gotten that Zutara energy plus the backing of actual canon interactions.

I think the ship itself would work fine making Zuko a girl. It's not often you get to see ships in YA media where the girl is older, and an older growly girl being charmed by a relatively innocent boy like Aang would be fun, I think. (I sure hope it is, because make the girl a little less growly and you have the Mai/Aang dynamic from Traitor's Face.) However, I'm not sure that would work in the greater context of AtLA, since the Fire Nation definitely has some real paternalism and macho sexism going on. Zuko being The Son and the spitting image of his father is part of his dynamic with his family, especially how he doesn't live up to that with his goodness and mercy. If Zuko is a girl and freaks out about sacrificing new recruits in a battle, or refuses to kill Zhao at the end of their duel, or offers Zhao a hand of help when the Ocean Spirit comes- does that work in the same way? I feel like it's a different story if Zuko is a girl unable to conform to masculine expectations, compared to failing to live up to what is considered by his society to be his natural expectations.

The Fire Nation is sometimes held up by fans to be egalitarian, but I've long thought it has its own insidious brand of sexism, and one of the best finds of my recent years of fandom has been the exploration and discussion of this specific flavor.

That said, if you don't mind changing Zuko's story that much, it would be funny that the main romantic plot is the villain girl learning say, "I want a nice boy and there literally isn't one in this entire country!" XD

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marvelmusing · 1 year

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Back with a thought about In Another Life bc I can't get it out of my head...

What if the books are already Reader inserts with Alina? Like... it's a sort of fairy tale version of the reality? A much darker reality 😱

Since I've seen the show and found out about the plot and the ending of the books the thought of this story being in the wrong genre bothered me so much. I think it should be a fantasy war story, gritty and dark and maybe even horror laced into it. YA is just making it feel a bit cheap for me. What could have been if the focus is not on the love triangle and Mary Sue Alina?

The war, the hunting of Grisha, the racism, the genocide, the scheming and plotting to get to power. Living for hundreds of years just to see these and you don't expect him to be desperate enough and do anything to stop it? - this is not YA material

Sorry about this ranting here 🙈

Do not be sorry about ranting, and especially not about shadow and bone’s potential as a dark fantasy (or even just an adult fantasy)

I have so many thoughts about this

Alina should be mid twenties. She should have a good position as a senior cartographer. (Because I hated reading how Alina wasn’t even that good of a mapmaker, like please give her a smidge of self esteem and some talent besides her hidden Grisha power).

A lot of her work is done in Os Alta, or maybe even Poliznaya. Maybe she’s seen the Darkling a few times before. She still hears the frightening stories and rumours about him, but she doesn’t internalise them and believe them as fact. But she’s still a little scared of him.

Maybe at the orphanage, they told the children stories about a sun summoner who would save Ravka. Ever since she left their care at sixteen, Alina hasn’t believed in the saints or a sun summoner.

But then gets assigned to cross the fold with a few other cartographers. People that she cares about. The volcra attack, and she has to watch the only family she’s ever had, the one she’s made for herself, be torn to pieces by horrific monsters. A volcra grabs her, and the light comes out.

The tent scene I wouldn’t change too much. Alina would be more bewildered than in denial. I’d keep the anticipation, and the show of the Darkling’s power, the knife and the calling of her power.

She’d be less defensive towards Ivan and Fedoyr during the journey to Os Alta. I’d keep the Drüskelle attack, and the Darkling using the cut to save her. Later, Grisha would share stories of Drüskelle around the campfire, tales of pain and loss.

To be honest, in the books there wasn’t actually that much romance between the Darkling and Alina. Whenever she describes what she feels about him, it just sounds like his amplification. And I don’t think the Darkling even expected to fall for her either and didn’t know what to do with himself when he did.

So I’d keep the romance elements from the show: the horse riding, the talking about the fold, the Darkling telling her about the people he’s lost and how alone he is.

Random side note: I think writing the book in third person would have been interesting as well (we wouldn’t be limited to Alina’s point of view)

For the rest of the story I have two main ideas.

Either:

Alina grows into her power, and sees that taking down the fold won’t fix things. She claims the amplifiers herself, and joins the Darkling’s secret band of followers who are plotting to take down the monarchy and win the wars. Insert politics and schemes here. The Darkling and Alina have a pull to one another that they don’t acknowledge for the sake of their plans.

The Darkling is the third amplifier that Alina needs. Alina refuses to kill him, because she’s in love with him, even as he pleads with her to take his life for the sake of Ravka and Grisha. Maybe she does it, and the book ends with his funeral like in Ruin and Rising. Maybe she brings him back using merzost and that’s her final action that makes her villain arc complete.

Or:

Alina somehow finds out that he’s the Black Heretic, and decides to confront him about it. The Darkling then commits to his villain role (sorry Aleksander but you could have been a lot more evil). He threatens Alina’s friends (her new Grisha friends, and the cartographers), and she’s forced to pretend to the whole world that her and the Darkling are going to destroy the fold. Outwardly they look almost like a couple, but secretly she despises him. They argue in private and there’s lots of tension.

Alina figures out that she needs to kill the Darkling to claim his power. There’s some internal conflict, because she hates him so much, he’s threatened her friends and manipulated her, but with all the pretending between them she’s uncertain of her feelings. She’s helped him do awful things, does that make her an awful person? Is he the only one who can truly understand her?

Maybe she kills him and takes his power - either disappearing once the fold is destroyed so that she can’t hurt anyone else or she becomes a tyrant worse than him.

Maybe she doesn’t kill him, instead they take the crown by force and rule together.

To be honest I’m leaning more towards the second plot idea

Now I’m going to say sorry for ranting. I went a little overboard with this, but I think the Grishaverse had so much potential in a different genre

Also, the Grishaverse has a lot of similarities to another book series called The Black Magician trilogy by Trudi Canavan which I thought was really good and I think some of the elements of that series would have worked well in the Grishaverse (although I haven’t read it in a while) - I’ve also just realised that was the first fandom I ever wrote fanfiction for

#grishaverse #grishaverse au #grishaverse meta #shadow and bone #grisha trilogy #shadow and bone au #darklina au #alina starkov #aleksander morozova #the darkling #my mutuals (affectionate)#answered asks #thanks for the ask!

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imdefyingmavity · 1 year

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Thought I'd give some quickie reviews on some of the books I've read over the past several months. These aren't proper literary criticisms, just my personal feels take that what you will.

Most of these are sapphic as that's what I felt tv kept cancelling from me.

Priory of the Orange Tree by Samantha Shannon - this was the book that got me back into reading. It's a huuuge fantasy epic with a lot of povs, a ton of queer rep, really strong characters - though sadly one of those povs is annoying as hell and does grind the story to halt. But the rest of the cast does balance it out. The story and world building is a little tough to get your head around but I really loved listening to this book in bed because it felt like being read a fairy tale for adults. And it's self contained, though there is a prequel coming out so I'm hoping to reread it before then.

Crier's War / Iron Heart by Nina Varela - This plot didn't quite live up to its premise for me, its essentially about a ruling class of android-humans (a la Westworld but medieval) who rule over ordinary humans, but the Automae didn't feel all that distinct from any other superior class, I guess after watching Westworld I was hoping for more but then again it is YA. On the other hand, the enemies to lovers main relationship between Crier and Ayla is really good, especially in the second book I loved seeing how their relationship developed past that initial enemy stage.

Girls of Paper and Fire trilogy by Natasha Ngan - unlike Criers War, I really loved the world building in this one, I adored the main protagonist and the journey she goes on without any Chosen One prophecy or powers needed. There's a lot of discussion of rape and trauma but presented in a way that doesn't make it too heavy. The second book is definitely the weakest until the last few chapters where it leads amazing into the final book which had me binging it to the end. There is a sapphic main romance, between two courtesans, and it's...fine. Like it's not my favorite ship I've read and I was definitely more into the plot with this one. There's just a bit of the miscommunication trope in the second book that annoyed me slightly.

These Witches Don't Burn by Isabel Sterling - This made me realise that sapphic modern day high school romances don't work for me any better than straight ones. There's nothing really wrong with it, just nothing that stood out for me, even the witchcraft which just didn't bring me in. The mc's love interest was kinda adorable though.

The Jasmine Throne / The Oleander Sword by Tasha Suri - fuuuuck, these are good, the fantasy elements are so interesting and unique, I adore how morally grey the two leads are. For Rhaenicent fans this is a must read. I love how strong the romance is while still having so much plot and other interesting characters going on with neither distracting from the other. Actually quite a lot of horrific imagery in this, at least for me things like people being burned alive and consumed by plants which kinda made me imagine the Last of Us zombies but less feral. That last scene in the OS - what the fuck, Tasha, gimmie book three now or I'm coming for you.

This Is How You Lose The Time War by Amal El-Mohtar and Max Gladstone - I was really afraid that I wouldn't get into this with the style it's written but nope, it got me, and it works so well with the literelly timeless (or all time) setting, it is like reading a dream, I love Red and Blue's voices so much and it's one I instantly had to reread to notice all those little details that make sense once you get to the end. Again; Rhaenicent or Catradora etc girls - get on this. Also it's short, but doesn't feel short, which is always the best kinda novella.

The Unbroken by C.L Clark - This one started off strong but lost me by the end. Touraine is a really interesting protagonist and there's a lot of conflicting loyalties, but it just became kinda tiring by the end seeing her get shoved between them and even the romance as well started off good but lost me. I might pick this one up again as the problem might be I was listening to it on Audible and all the voices sounded the same, making it very hard to keep track of who was talking.

Gideon the Ninth by Tamsin Miyur - Similar problem as the last one, I don't think Audiobook is the right format to get into something this confusing, but also just the performances themselves made me hate the characters. Don't consider this a fair review because I didn't make it far before dnfing, a lot of people love this, I just couldn't get a grasp on what was happening. Again, if I see a physical copy on sale I might try it again but it doesn't bode well that a lot of people have told me they gave up on the sequel even if they did love the first one.

The Color Purple by Alice Walker - a non fantasy sapphic romance and a classic, the movie is one of my all time favourites so I was excited to read the novel at last. I love that we get to see Celie and Shug's love story properly as they had to nearly almost cut it from the film. Didn't get me as emotional as the movie, I was surprised that the subplot about Shug and her dad wasn't a thing but it does make sense considering it's told from Celie's letters. I can't say I enjoyed it more than the movie but it did have a lot to make it feel like its own thing.

The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Ried - I. LOVED. THIS. I read it in one day and it just had everything, even with it not being a fantasy, it had that classic Hollywood magic vibe. It had tragedy, romance, rivals to lovers, confronting biphobia, found family, platonic soulmates, and it had me crying three times in one sitting. The fact that Netflix are adapting it into a movie instead of HBO giving it a seven episode series treatment like it deserves makes me think there's no god.

Babel by R.F Kuang - Is this sapphic? No. Is it gay? I...believe so. But its very much YMMV. I cannot see Robin and Ramiz' relationship as anything other than unresolved romance. But I also felt I had to put this on my list because even if you're not into that, this is just an amazing book and one for people fascinated by language and translations, with a pretty easy to understand magic system, dark academia, and also a massive Fork You to the British empire so; yay.

Malice / Misrule by Heather Walter - I've already done a whole post about this so I'll keep it short; loved it! I loved that unlike Maleficent in the Disney remake, Alice goes full on dark queen and embraces being a monster - but she's still someone to root for and Aurora is more than just a passive sleepy princess. It makes it fun to root for the bad girl without having too sad or depressing an ending that tries to guilt trip you (looking at a certain dragon show).

Cinderella is Dead by Kalynn Bayron / We Set The Dark On Fire by Tehlor Mejia / The Once and Future Witches by Alix E. Harrow - How are these books connected? They aren't. They completely separate series with different settings and characters...but what links them is that they're all books about smashing the patriarchy within their respected worlds, they're all sapphic, and I completely forgot about them once they were done. Can't even remember if I got to the end of OAFW. I know that WSTDOF had a twist with its other main character that had me rolling my eyes. Just wasn't a fan.

Sweet and Bitter Magic by Adrienne Tooley - I feel like I would have enjoyed this book a lot more if I'd read it in high school but as an adult and after reading so many better books it just left me bored for a fantasy journey. The concept of a main character being magically unable to love or feel joy could have been a good allegory for depression in a smarter story but this just had really flat characters with a pretty dull final "villain".

Legends and Lattes by Travis Baldree - as coffee shop aus go, this is what you'd expect or want from that. It's cosy, it's wholesome, it has a really uplifting third act that's right out of a Hallmark movie. I do think it's a bit of a slow start, I could have done without pages and pages of building renovation plans, but as someone who works in customer service I could relate to a lot of the frustrations- though I would have loved a scene with Viv drop kicking a Karen out the shop for picking on Tandri. I would love to see more books like this, especially comedies / self-aware parodies like Onward or Willow if it had funny writers.

A Broken Blade by Melissa Blair - I have a bone to pick with BookTok about this because it was recommended to me as sapphic enemies to lovers...when it's not. It is sapphic, in that the mc is bi and has a dead "girlfriend"-ish. But the main romance is your standard ACOTAR hot-fae boy. Which would have been fine if I'd been made aware what I was into because I kept waiting for this guy to go away so I could get to my wlw fix which wasn't happening. But also his and Kira's relationship was my least favorite kind of enemies to lovers where they're fighting, they don't even know each other except for some charged banter and they just kiss mid battle...ugh. A shame because the world is interesting, I just couldn't get into the characters.

And that is currently it so far! It did make me feel kinda proud of myself looking over those and seeing what I've managed to read after I stopped for many years. But I've kinda given up reading fanfiction as it's been years since anything really gripped me, as I seem to always fall for rarepairs, and most of the sagas I fall in love with end up being left unfinished.

Should also admit; yes I read ACOTAR and the first Cresent City book, I also have the first Throne of Glass on my tbr. Are these straight fantasy smut trash with very poor diversity? Yes. Are they fun? Yes. I didn't get on the Twilight train in school, thankfully, so these are my trash.

#sapphic fantasy #wlw books #queer books #lgbt lit

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specters0rd · 3 months

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SNEAK PEAK

@bicayaya @natimiles

Here ya go!

“You still haven’t broken that habit of yours, have you?” A chuckle from the butler broke the bloke’s case with a swift point of his finger to the clue; socks had been under the bed the whole time. This left the victim of messiness and forgetfulness to facepalm in shame once again.

“Never thought I’d have an intervention…” MC joked as they followed aside the butler shaking his head at them, the fingers squeezing the bridge of his nose.

“You wouldn't have one if you didn't try to pull the workaholic route for solving your problems...”

“Ah, Fair point.”

------------------------------------

“And here I thought Theo was bad…”

“Oh shut it, Arthur. You're one to talk here.”

“Was that really bad? God…” MC knew it was a rhetorical question especially with the sympathetic and annoyed looks at the table.

“I don't know what your definition of “bad” is, but typically, bumping into paintings, eyebags, and breaking plates more than you usually do is quite bad, Hodje” Theodorus leaned back in his chair as his blues scolded the “family dog”.

“Not to mention forgetting food and leaving close behind,” Mozart added as he took a bite of his breakfast, paying no mind to the soft glares from Napoleon, Issac, and Vincent.

#duckies writing

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jokeson-u · 2 years

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here is my rant/review on the movie bros so spoilers below the cut

look. i didnt hate it. it was funny. but most the laugh out loud funny parts were in the trailer, and werent as funny in the context of the actual scenes somehow. there were still definitely really funny moments outside of that but idk i was expecting more. also billy eichners character bobby was funny and all but god i hate people like that (which was awkward cus i have my sister next me whispering about how much she relates LMAO).

but in terms of my more serious issues with it.

1. there was several graphic sex scenes and i guess 1 was kinda of good to keep, but the others were sooo unnecessary imo. like 1 was funny ig but 1 was just like ... ok.. anyways.. and listen. listen. i understand especially from the opening scene and the rest of the movie basically that part of the point is gay people should havent to make themselves more palatable for straight society but my GOD i have never seen a straight romcom that explicit and idk about u guys but it seemed to be marketed as a more or less family friendly movie. like a take ur parents to it bc we're trying to normalize gay people in mainstream romcoms, ya know?? no. NO. do not bring ur parents. and i guess i sound like an asshole about that because yea queers shouldnt be marketable to hets but idk man.. its just so not a good introduction to normalizing big screen lgbtq+ movies like this bc as a queer person i was uncomfortable and id imagine the straights even more so and YES I KNOW WE SHOULDNT CARE but we cant be like 'see gay romcoms are for everyone!' and shove unnecessary and uncomfortably explicit sex scenes that dont belong in any movie esp one thats marketed the way it was.

2. i was actually sort of confused because i thought one of the main themes in the story was that the mc bobby was like. overly 'woke' i guess and really critical of everything, mostly from an lgbtq perspective. then there was the love interest aaron who thought bobby was really overly cynical. there was multiple instances in the movie where bobby would kind of ruin the mood by complaining about how something is homophobic in some way or another, and aaron or another character would kinda be like ..... and . i really thought one the things we were supposed to be following was how aaron helps bobby balance his views more. but. that never happens. like, we get more explanation on why bobby feels he has to be critical about stuff but like he just continues to basically be a buzzkill about shit and aaron just has to accept it and idk. i feel like the rest of the direction was really weird if the point wasnt bobby becoming a little more leveled??

3. ok so. this was one of my bigger issues i guess. i need to give some plot background: bobby and aaron agreed to 'not date' but basically end up dating for a while. aarons family comes to the city for christmas and bobby is gonna meet them and aaron asks him to just sort of be a little chill with them bc theyre accepting and all but yk. theyre his parent and bobby is really intense about stuff. bobby doesnt really take kindly to that even tho he acts to aaron like he gets it, and basically like. brings the family on a tour for the city and talks about the craziest shit like "oh this is where the first sex something something idk happened" "this is where the dyke march happened" stuff like that and aaron gets pissed at him and is like dude can u please just tone it down and bobbys like "what u want me to be less myself with them?" and aaron is like "?! kind of rn yes." and bobbys like ok fine. and they go to dinner and bobby gets into an argument with the mom who is a 2nd grade teacher about teaching lgbt stuff to kids that young and everytime they agree to disagree he keeps going and then goes on a tangent about sex positivity being important to children and how when he was a kid and his parents took him to some show where there was naked men and he literally just kept talking about their penises and how many penises he saw and oh my god. after the night ended aaron was pissed at him and bobby got so mad and was saying how aaron is just like everyone in his life whos tried to make him hide who he is and stuff. aaron tells him hes leaving to meet w a guy whos into him. bobby finds them making out which yes was wrong of aaron but technically they were both making a big deal from the get go that they werent relationship people and stuff. the rest of that half of the movie for aaron is basically having to make it up to bobby and apologize for making him hide himself??? and the only time bobby apologizes is after aaron has to again and again and says he felt bobby was talking about all that stuff to his parents on purpose and bobby said "i was. im sorry for that." THAT WAS HIS APOLOGY??? Im sorry but like yes be urself and if aaron loves how intense u are somehow great but theres a fucking time and place. dont fucking cross ur parnters boundries bc u didnt communicate ur issues with them, especially when it isnt that hard of a boundry to not cross. i just really disliked the framing of it. sorry but yea if my partner was really inappropriate or excessive about complaints about straight people and was meeting my parents i WOULD ask them to be chill and id fucking hope they wouldnt jeaprodize my relationship with either them or my parents by being like 'well i wanna say whatever i wanna say to anyone i want so i dont care if my partner is uncomfortable with these topics in front of this audience.' like even aarons brother finds out and is like dude u gotta make it up to him. what????? that shit really bothered me as someone who has been in scenarios similar to that with my friends

#bros #bros movie #bros 2022 #personal #rant

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ectonurites · 2 years

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mishandling of oracle aside, why do you think so many people dislike the nightwing ongoing?

For me and from what I've observed from others the main (aside from Babs stuff) problems are:

Pacing feeling kinda all over the place, like very little has actually happened. One part of it that's less on Taylor was being interrupted by Fear State, but I don't think the whole issue can be blamed on that because I saw people feeling that way before those tie-ins. We're over a year into this run on the book and it just does not feel like enough stuff has happened in that year- or at least not enough new stuff. It's felt like a lot of... treading over ground we've already covered if that makes sense? One thing that kills me is the second issue of Taylor's run being all this stuff about Dick finding a tent city in Blüdhaven that needs help... with no mention/acknowledgement of the fact that the issue before Taylor's run began had that exact sort of scenario happen too! If those events had been connected in any way then it'd feel like maybe building towards something, but instead it just feels like Taylor ignoring what came before. Similarly, we've already had plots about a daughter of Tony Zucco before, we've had this sort of stuff with Blockbuster blowing up Dick's apartment building... and then the thing that is totally new with Heartless? That's what it feels like we've gotten the least focus on.

Distracting fanservice/meta elements. I've talked about the use of memes on-panel before and how while that sort of thing happening occasionally can be fun and cute, the frequency they occur does just get annoying and distracting to me. It takes me out of what I'm reading and gets me thinking too much about the logistics of things. This is definitely in part a Redondo problem rather than just a Taylor one because many of them are visual, but still. Other things that fall more into the meta category like the 'fridging' bit are more on Taylor. I know that one kinda gets into Babs stuff, but even disconnected from the history that term has with Babs specifically which makes it feel in poor taste, it was still just a distracting thing to put in there at all.

Dick's characterization/capability. This is one I can't quite as specifically speak to because while I like Dick and have read a decent amount with him, I don't consider myself all that knowledgable on him/his portrayals or anything like that the way I do with some other characters. But I've seen a lot of people feel frustrated with how little agency Dick has seemed to have within his own book, and like he hasn't been portrayed as being as capable as he should be.

there's also other more specific things (the 'romani smile' line being one coming to mind for just being... awkward and weird), but that above stuff is definitely at the root of most non-Babs related complaints I've encountered between here and twitter.

I do just wanna put a little... disclaimer here that i don't think this is the worst comic ever or anything like that. I think there are very real problems in the run (especially in regards to Babs stuff which wasn't the point of this post, but ya know I can't not mention it) but I also think a lot of people go to extremes with their criticisms/hate on it just because they already don't like Tom Taylor in general (which is like, something people are allowed to do! but I think it's good to recognize when that's a bias playing into your opinion).

As a whole I just think the comic is extremely overhyped (not so much by the tumblr audience, but I mean on twitter/in more mainstream reviews) because many people were so glad to see the Ric Grayson and then Joker War stuff be over that literally anything else was gonna get praised to hell and back- and I think that combined with the fanservice moments and pretty art has made a lot of people gloss over the other problems, which is frustrating. And so that frustration over how the book's been received by a broad audience I think also can contribute to a lot of people being annoyed by/disliking the run. Seeing it get endless praise while people gloss over big problems can just make ya get a bit jaded.

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