#how am I always drawn to the bad guys whats my problem

[blossomthepinkbunny]

Poor rendition of queer characters in HH and HB

Here I am again talking about queer representation in Hazbin Hotel and Helluva Boss, this time just more generally. Because it's always a little weird to me when people claim HH/HB to have good queer representation, when in actuality most of the queer characters are either just blatant stereotypes or get mishandled somehow. And with Helluva Boss recently winning the Queertys - Web series reward I think that this is probably a pretty good time to acknowledge that kind of stuff (as people have done before).

TW: Sexual assault, R@pe (when referring to the actions of characters)

Blitzø (Pansexual): is very sexual and seen on screen multiple times either having sex or just having had sex. Pretty much fits the general stereotype of queer men always being sexual and also the stereotype of pansexuals just sleeping with everybody. Like, he literally screwed the mutual Ex of his coworkers even though he knew how much that guy hurt them.

Stolas (Gay): also mostly sexual (from how he was introduced) and he is in a pretty terrible "relationship" with Blitzø, which includes coercion, SA, Power dynamics and fetishization. Another very sex-driven queer man. Also just great proof for the people assuming that queer relationships are inherently predatory, unhealthy and never work out.

Moxxie (Bisexual): is often forced into a very feminine role because even in relationships with women, queer men always have to be pointed out to be feminine and putting a guy in a dress is funny I guess.

Fizzarolli & Asmodeus (Queer): they're actually better than a lot of the other characters here but there is still some of that uneven power dynamic going on with them and there are obvious issues with their relationship. Overall they aren't too bad though. They didn't get that much sexual focus and what they got is kinda warranted since Ozzie is the Lust demon. But there is that one scene with Fizz stepping out of his car with Dildo confetti canons (I think) and that was sorta weird, since in an episode before that they presented Crimson as being homophobic and stereotypical for assuming queer men are all obsessed with dicks. Which is just interesting because thats most of the queer men in Vivzepops stories.

Chaz (Queer): just a sexually abusive asshole because we definitely needed more predatory queer men in this show.

Sally May (Trans mtf): basically the single recognized trans character in both shows and she only had one line. After that they made fan merch for her which consisted of her in a bikini with her bulge being drawn pretty visibly (multiple times). Of course there's nothing wrong with Trans people who don't have surgery but it's just a tiny bit weird to me that fanservice merchandise is what she got reduced to, when something like that wasn't even the joke of the only line she had in the show and because she hasn't recieved any kind of focus after that.

Angel Dust (Gay): now there is a lot of stuff that could be said about Angel. On one hand he is another very sexual gay man whose screentime often just consists of sex jokes and references. On the other hand that's a big point for his character. How he tries to act confident in his sexuality when in reality it's the main source of his problems. Though he does often harass other men in the show and that's just so unnecessary. Talking about Angel mostly leads into discussing if he is good representation for SA victims or not, which is something I don't want to talk about that much because I feel like it's not my place to judge that as someone who never has experienced SA. I'm gonna say that I do find Viv's treatment of him outside of the show insensitive (with the pro-shipping, diminishing Valentino as an Abuser and general sexualization of the characters) but as far as the portrayal of him in the show goes I've heard different opinions and you should read the discussion's of actual r@pe survivors about this topic if you want to know about more about it.

Husk (Queer): I don't have anything to say about Husk. He is a very refreshing queer man in these show's and there is nothing bad about him I could think of right now.

Valentino (Queer): for him I mostly want to talk about how he is treated outside of the show which doesn't sit right with me. He is a villian in HH so it's understandable that he is gonna do effed up stuff. I also like that the show tries to make a point about how men get sexually assaulted too (wether they succeeded in that inside the show I'm not gonna judge too hard like I said). But there are a lot of people who not only sexualize him, but also his actions and his relationship to Angel and from what I know Viv never really spoke out against that. She actually interacts with people who do that stuff and I it's just kinda gross.

Vox (Queer): I also don't have a lot to say about him. He and Val are a couple so he is dating a r@pist but he is also a villain so you can't really expect more from him. Especially since he would still be interacting with a r@pist even if they weren't dating.

Alastor (Aromantic, Asexual): is obviously not interested in relationships or sex but his identity is pretty much ignored by a huge amount of the fandom. Vivzepop never say's anything about people blatantly invalidating him like that. It seems to me like she doesn't care about characters who can't be involved in shipping but still wanted to have more diversity in her show so she just called him AroAce. In Hazbin Hotel he isn't bad representation though. His sexuality is never the focus but thats fine, it's mostly just the treatment he gets outside of HH which I don't like.

Charlie (Bisexual): doesn't have a lot to her sexuality. This is something I talked about pretty lengthy in my other post, specifically about the lack of Sapphic content in both shows, so I won't go into too much detail here. Her relationship with Vaggie would probably be the best in both shows if it wasn't for the fact that they both never get the real spotlight as a couple. And there is that thing in Vivzepops stories where the women are pretty much sexless without men and that's obviously something that is generally an issue when talking about the lack of Sapphic representation (which is also a topic heavily tied to sexism). Charlie's portrayal isn't necessarily stereotypical but that's just because there is nothing to her identity in the show.

Vaggie (Lesbian): like I said I already talked about the Chaggie relationship so now I wanna focus on something I didn't even mention in that post. Her name literally being Vagina and that's apparently funny because she is a Lesbian so she obviously likes Vagina. That's just incredibly stereotypical and also excludes Trans Lesbians and Asexual Lesbians who don't want sex. The whole joke was that Adam named her that because he is obsessed with sex and he's a jerk. But her name was always Vagina even in the pilot (from what I know Adam wasn't conceived then and neither was the idea that Vaggie even is a former exterminator).

That's all the queer characters I could think of. I hope I didn't miss any.

I thought about including Millie here too. But she was also already included in my other discussion post and I still don't know if she is canonically Bisexual of if that is just a headcannon so I didn't put her here.

I'm just gonna say that i don't have a problem with queer men being sexual (or any queer person in that regard). But it's pretty much every one of her queer male characters. This is especially bad when a lot of the relationships are toxic as well.

I just think too many characters fit stereotypes and to me that isn't good queer representation. If you like the depiction of queer characters in HH or HB that's good for you and you don't have to agree with me. But you also can't really deny a lot of this stuff and you can't expect others to just be fine with bland, hurtful and sometimes even toxic representation like there is in these shows.

#hazbin hotel #hazbin hotel criticism #vivzepop critical #hazbin hotel critical #hazbin hotel critique #vivziepop #helluva boss #helluva boss critical #helluva boss critique #helluva boss criticism #queer representation #queer rep in media

[mcflymemes]

THE GREATEST MOVIE QUOTES OF ALL TIME *  assorted dialogue from famous films, adjust as necessary

[name], i think this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship.

frankly, my dear, i don't give a damn.

i'll have what she's having.

i have a feeling we're not in kansas anymore.

i'm as mad as hell, and i'm not going to take this anymore!

you're gonna need a bigger boat.

nobody puts baby in a corner.

well. nobody's perfect.

you can't fight in here! this is the war room!

get away from her, you bitch!

houston, we have a problem.

when someone asks you if you're a god, you say yes!

i am no man!

i love the smell of napalm in the morning.

you had me at "hello."

i'm also just a girl standing in front of a boy, asking him to love her.

don't call me shirley.

i feel the need... the need for speed!

i'm gonna make him an offer he can't refuse.

i know it was you, [name]. you broke my heart.

just when i thought i was out, they pull me back in.

you can't handle the truth!

i can do this all day.

the needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few.

snakes. why did it have to be snakes?

clever girl.

what, like it's hard?

you shall not pass.

that's my secret, [name]. i'm always angry.

i wish i knew how to quit you.

get busy living, or get busy dying.

ugh, as if!

i'll be back.

there's no crying in baseball!

some men just want to watch the world burn.

take your stinking paws off me!

screws fall out all the time. the world's an imperfect place.

life moves pretty fast. you don't stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it.

i'm sorry, [name]. i'm afraid i can't do that.

a strange game. the only winning move is not to play.

are you crazy? the fall will probably kill you!

i see dead people.

if you build it, he will come.

with great power comes great responsibility.

roads? where we're going, we don't need roads.

go ahead. make my day.

say hello to my little friend!

are you not entertained?

i'm not bad. i'm just drawn that way.

i've seen things you people wouldn't believe.

i have a bad feeling about this.

you talkin' to me?

what's in the box?

your mother was a hamster, and your father smelt of elderberries!

that rug really tied the room together, did it not?

you cut the turkey without me?

i'm not even supposed to be here today.

you'll shoot your eye out, kid.

boy, that escalated quickly.

you don't wanna get mixed up with a guy like me.

i know kung-fu.

now i have a machine gun.

what is your damage, [name]?

what we've got here is failure to communicate.

here's looking at you, kid.

fasten your seatbelts. it's going to be a bumpy night.

love means never having to say you're sorry.

there's no place like home.

why don't you come up sometime and see me?

i'm walkin' here!

i want to be alone.

round up the usual suspects.

you know how to whistle, don't you, [name]?

we rob banks.

we'll always have paris.

well, nobody's perfect.

a boy's best friend is his mother.

keep your friends close, but your enemies closer.

well, here's another nice mess you've gotten me into.

what a dump?

[name], you're trying to seduce me. aren't you?

is it safe?

i have always depended on the kindness of strangers.

hello, gorgeous.

a martini. shaken, not stirred.

seize the day. make your lives extraordinary.

snap out of it!

#rp meme #rp memes #rp prompt #roleplay memes #rp starters #roleplay prompt #ask meme #ask memes #roleplay meme #writing prompts #writing prompt #rp asks #roleplay inbox prompts #rp inbox meme #inbox prompt #inbox meme #sentence starter prompt #sentence starter #sentence starters #rp meme starter #starter memes #movie quotes #movie prompts

[ghostyolive]

I will always be so mad that FMA:B gave Greed a different dialogue with Bradley after the Devil's Nest massacre than in the manga because it feels like it just changes his characterization to be so much plainer and more cartoonishly assholish. Like they really wanted to rope you into thinking he was a bad guy so that his twist of caring about people would feel stronger, but it just makes me sad. In the VIZ Media Fullmetal Edition translation, the exchange goes:

Greed: "Whoa there Bradley. How could you do this to them? They were my people."

Bradley: "Feeling pity for your pawns? How pathetic."

Greed: "Pity?! Do you forget who the hell you're dealing with?! I am greed incarnate!! Money, women, henchmen, everything-- they're my possessions! They're all mine! I won't let you take away what belongs to me!!"

...And the exchange in the English dub of FMA:B goes:

Greed: "Whoa, that was a little excessive. Killing me is one thing, but they're not coming back."

Bradley: "Pitying the lost lives of your pawns? Pathetic."

Greed: "Excuse me, are you senile? Did you forget who I am, old man? I'm the living incarnation of greed! Those weren't my friends, Bradley. They were my possessions! Money, women, henchmen-- They're all possessions!"

And that difference is absolutely insane! His manga version is in some ways more obvious and in some ways more ambiguous about his care for his friends. On the one hand, he staunchly refuses to pity them. (I would say that this is because he respects their right to self-determination and what they signed on for when they followed him, but that's almost pure speculation.) But on the other, he specifically refers to them as "[his] people." This really effectively toes the line between multiple meanings-- "[his] people" colloquially would refer to friends, but it also emphasizes ownership. It sets up his arc of acknowledging friendship while also not detracting from his care for the Devil's Nest gang.

The anime just makes him... indifferent and snarky? On a surface level, it makes his character arc far more clear as somebody learning to love and care about others, but it also really devalues his experiences with his gang. I guess I can almost understand why people just forget about them aside from the bit with Bido when they only watch FMA:B considering that it absolutely glosses over just about every part of the manga that makes you care about them. Why should people consider those random guys in the beginning when he makes it clear that he never cared about them? /s

And it's more than just the writing that I have a problem with. Even the animation is so distinctly different from what's shown in the manga that the tone ends up absolutely flipped on his head.

(Note: this online scan doesn't use the official translation) Greed's expression here can best be described as one of pure rage. I think you could maybe loosely interpret the first panel as a grin, but the second panel clears up how he's feeling pretty well. It's especially poignant since the three panels preceding these two entirely obscure his expression. Any calm and collectedness has been shed in the face of his gang's massacre and his eyes are bulging and furious in a way that they haven't been drawn before. And how does the anime handle this absolute gut punch?

Um. Not good, frankly. It's definitely got the wildness of his original expression, but it conveys none of the anger. It throws off what's essentially his greatest display of hypocrisy-- That he only gets angry when his gang is hurt, just like how Ed only gets angry when Al is hurt. Absolutely nothing about his reaction properly conveys rage or frustration, and that honestly just sucks. While episode 13 served as a pretty decent and streamlined recap of chapters 25-28, episode 14 really screwed with some of the moments that made Greed's arc feel so powerful and bittersweet.

Tl;dr Please oh please go read the manga version of og Greed's arc <3

#long post #fma #fmab #fullmetal alchemist brotherhood #fullmetal alchemist #greed fma #greed the avaricious #fma greed #devils nest gang

[ryuichirou]

What do you like about Idia?

I got so excited when I got your ask, Anon. And now it’s your problem because I’m probably going to talk a lot lol Thank you very much for asking and giving me an excuse to shower Idia with compliments.

And sorry for replying so late.

To be honest, Idia feels scarily close to being a perfect character for my liking, he kinda has all the qualities that I usually fall for + somehow manages to (unintentionally) incorporate vibes of so many other characters that I like. A friend that got us into twst knew that I’d instantly get invested, it’s almost embarrassing, to be honest lol

So the easy answer would be that I kinda like everything about Idia, but I am annoying, so here are some categories:

Visual

Idia’s design is so damn cute. I really like the combination of him being a lanky scrawny creature with bad posture and being almost “moe” level of adorable. His creepy smile and silly giggles and dark aura works very well with his pretty face with dark lips and this almost… pathetic regular expression. I think his face is what I like about him the most, both the expressiveness and the way it’s drawn in general.

His hair, obviously, are also a big part of it. It’s so unique. One of the first things I said when I started drawing Idia regularly was “oh I’m going to miss drawing his hair so much when we move on from twst” lol Because there is really no other character like that (well, there’s also Ortho, but you get what I mean). The shape, the physics behind it, the fact that it expresses Idia’s emotional state so nicely not only in colour (which is very pretty btw, both the blue and the pink hues, and the orange ones as well), but also in how it “acts”.  

Also, Idia’s overall silhouette is great. It’s just… his clothing choices are so fun. His long moe sleeves in his PE uniform, his striped shirt that he wears under his uniform, and of course the huge bell-shaped hooded jacket that hides his body. For some reason it’s, I don’t know, especially cartoony? In a good way, of course.

And lastly, his body language. I love how awkward he is and how much he tries to take as little space as possible when he is stressed out or scared.

So yeah, as someone who draws, I really enjoy Idia. I always have fun with him, and it’s a huge part of why I’m so into him.

Personality/quirks

He is so annoying 😔 … and I love every second of it lol

I love the fact that Idia isn’t just a lovable hikki otaku guy, and he has a lot of unpleasant qualities: he is an elitist, he is stubborn, he is rude sometimes, he makes assumptions about other people (well, he’s surprisingly perceptive so he’s usually right BUT). He likes to tease and to get on the other person’s nerves, and whenever he feels threatened, it’s not unusual for him to attack with negativity first or just to take a dig at his opponent. He is both self-deprecating and self-loving at the same time. But honestly this is what makes him so great. I usually draw him being freaked out by others, but in fact I really really love it when Idia is insufferable.

Because it a) makes sense considering his background; b) is written in a way that is very fun to read; c) is balanced out very well.

Idia isn’t malicious; he’s just socially inept and genuinely scared of others. He is an asshole, but in reality it is due to the fact that he doesn’t know how to connect with others and doesn’t want to seem desperate, plus gets overwhelmed by others very easily. In fact, I think he is much more empathetic than Azul, for example, but I won’t talk about it this time.

I always think about that line that Idia said when he was roasting Riddle for not knowing how to play videogames. I don’t remember the exact line, but it was something similar to “I’ve never seen anyone who is as much of a noob as you lmao but I’m a fucking loser with no friends so yeah makes sense”. I think it describes Idia’s view on others and himself quite nicely: torn between “everyone is shit” and “I am shit”. “I am a genius and everyone is wrong” and… you know.

I also love that Idia drowns himself in his coping mechanisms, but he is still surprisingly realistic about what’s going on in his life. He did create a robot to resemble and act as his diseased younger brother, but he never allowed himself to forget that it is indeed a robot. He doesn’t want to forgive himself, but he also is tired of feeling pain and doesn’t know how to cope with it. So his solution is extreme escapism, but also hyper-awareness about his own faults and never-ending state of excruciating guilt.

So yeah, he’s such a fun character to dive deeper into psychology-wise.

Love his serious moments, love his silly moments, love his complaints, love his emotional rants, love that he’s passionate about stuff that he likes, love that he critiques society in the pettiest ways possible, love his giggles, everything.

(He also reminds me of Katsu in a lot of ways so I am biased lol)

Story

Oh I’ve talked about how much I loved Ch6 a lot, so I won’t write another essay (physically stopping myself).

I’ll be brief and just say that I honestly would have loved Idia even without learning his backstory, because he is just that entertaining, but knowing it made me appreciate him on a whole other level. I love how much depth his character has, how nuanced it is and how beautifully his chapter ended. Seeing him getting closure was very satisfying, and I love that it didn’t change his character drastically overnight.

His love towards Ortho is a beautiful thing, ship-wise or not.

So yeah I kinda just blacked out at some point, I think lol I can talk about Idia forever. He is just an extremely enjoyable character to both read and write.

#replies #idia shroud #about characters

[iwritenarrativesandstuff]

Trimax Thoughts Vol. 5 Pt. 3

Here we go again. (Gah I'm so behind sorry guys) More thoughts on Vash's no good, very bad mental health, this time focused on trauma symptoms and his uncharacteristic lack of foresight and planning when it comes to confronting Knives.

[ID: A panel from Trigun Maximum Volume 5. Vash is hunched over among the rubble. He is not drawn in extensive detail, being merely eyes, an open mouth, spiky hair and a mass of feather-like projections covering his whole body and culminating in a single large wing protruding from his back. End ID.]

Again, this is going to get a little heavy, and became quite long. You have been warned.

(Sorry, the image of fluffy Vash has very little to do with anything... other than the fact that he is actively having a breakdown in that scene I guess. I just really wanted to include that panel. Lol.)

To start with, at the very beginning of my read of the manga, I commented on how Vash clearly demonstrates some pretty textbook avoidant behaviours. Then I took note later on of Vash's concerning lack of self-regard, resulting in little thought being given to a future for himself after confronting Knives.

Well. It gets worse I'm afraid. 👍

Vash displays enough clear signs of trauma in the manga that I am convinced he actually meets criteria for a PTSD diagnosis (specifically surrounding July). I'm a student in this field, not a professional, but I'm going to loosely run over the trauma symptoms he displays. <-This is important for the point I am trying to make.

Category 1: Intrusive Memories

Flashbacks - Yeah, all throughout Volume 5 as the memories of what happened all come rushing back at once (with Hoppered and Meryl unfortunately caught up in his trauma-induced breakdown. rip you two I am so sorry)

Nightmares - A bit harder to say. There aren't nightmares about July it seems, on account of his having forgotten the event. He dreams about Rem frequently though, it can be assumed, only for her to be wrenched away from him shortly before waking. This was in Volume 1 of Trigun.

Severe Emotional and Physical Reactions to Reminders - Volume 2 of Trigun, shortly before Fifth Moon. Vash freezes in place when he spots the doctor, which clearly triggers some kind of faint recognition and sense of horror. He doesn't notice Knives approaching until he is right in front of him.

Category 2: Avoidance

Of Thinking/Talking About It - Vash notably doesn't actually question anything to do with July, which you would think he would, if he can't remember anything. He just knows that the city was destroyed and Knives was there - up until Fifth Moon, I don't think there was any doubt in his mind that it was Knives who was responsible. After this, he spends two years in hiding, out of fear of himself and a lack of desire to engage with reminders of his past.

Category 3: Negative Changes

Hopelessness - For a guy who wants people to have hope... he doesn't allot much to himself... :(

Memory Problems - The core issue before Vol. 5. Vash had no idea what happened in July. He even blocked out part of Fifth Moon.

Negative Self-Opinion - "I should never have been born." "I'm sorry I'm sorry I'm sorry I'm sorry" :(

Difficulty Maintaining Close Relationships - Always leaving people without saying goodbye. Still rarely calls Meryl and Milly by their names. People have to chase after him if they want him around.

Detachment - His go-to when everything gets too much. See the Leonof fight for a good example.

Difficulty Experiencing Positive Emotions - "Ya always smiled all cheerfully, but it was so empty it hurts just lookin' at ya."

Category 4: Physical/Emotional Reactions

Always on Guard - He can't use his real name most of the time. He trains all the time; has to respond quickly to ever-present danger.

Self-Destructive Behaviour - ...it's Vash. :/

Irritability/Angry Outbursts/Aggression - Very much so. Anger is a driving motive and we see this flare up whenever Knives is so much as mentioned. He even gets uncharacteristically short with Meryl when she tries to stop him from confronting him, and Vash does not tend to be very rational or composed in situations where he is genuinely angry. <- I will be coming back to this point.

Overwhelming Guilt or Shame - ...again. It's Vash. :/

Other Complications that can Arise:

Depression (this should go without saying. he's fighting so hard to feel every scrap of fleeting joy he can)

Suicidal Thoughts and Actions (I went over this before. These have cropped up in almost every volume so far and I expect this to get much worse)

Eating Issues (This appears to be Stampede specific, but I thought I'd mention it anyways)

So, uh. I hope this is enough proof. He clearly does have severe trauma, and well, that's not really a surprise, considering what actually happened. Vash inadvertently killed an entire city's worth of people. Absorbed them, even. Deeply traumatic for someone who doesn't want to hurt anyone at all - but this is not the only part of July that was traumatic.

Let's go back to the aggression part of the response - the "fight" aspect that sometimes arises when put in stressful situations that reminds one of their trauma. See, Vash's anger is something we as readers see a lot in the story but that's because we primarily see major scenes where he is pushed to his limits. In all actuality, for those parts in between, he's a chill and friendly guy. Does he get irritated? Quite easily. Does he always have a bit of simmering resentment in him? Sure. But this is not the explosive kind of rage we see when he is confronted with Knives. Usually, Vash is more prone to introspective melancholy or bitterness than violent rage - for as much as we see it, the latter is actually rather uncommon.

So, too, is the way he "confronts" Knives. Vash is typically very in control of himself; he's confident with his skills, clever and adaptable, and generally speaking, very good at planning out his next moves. In a gunfight, for as much as he would prefer not to be wrapped up in it, he is in his element. Even when there is uncertainty, he still eventually takes decisive action. ...except where Knives is concerned.

[ID: Two screenshots from the Trigun manga. The first is from Volume 5 of Maximum. Vash aims his gun with a serious expression and says "I've finally caught up with you... Knives." Knives looks at him, taken aback. The second image is from Volume 2 of Trigun. Vash shouts as he raises his gun rapidly to aim at Knives, blurred with quick vertical lines to make the speed of the motion obvious. His expression is furious. Knives looks at him, part of his face shadowed, again, looking taken aback. End ID.]

...hello? Sir? Why are you just pointing your gun and like. Not doing anything? Like he keeps aiming his gun and then just... holding it there. Even Vash in Stampede fired on Knives' weapons. This guy, for all his rage, hasn't unleashed a single shot unless the situation forced him to. In fact, Vash's entire wording surrounding Knives and how he is going to stop him is also extremely vague. He says things like "settle the score" and "send him to hell", which, to me, initially implied killing him... but Vash has no issue using the word "kill", and he never actually says that about Knives. He says he's going to stop him, but fails to actually specify how. I cannot stress enough that this lack of foresight is actually deeply uncharacteristic of him.

But here's the thing.

[ID: Part of a panel from Trigun Volume 2. Vash's thoughts are set on a white background. They read "We... I... should never have been born." End ID.]

He switches his wording here. The subject of the sentence changes from "we" to "I". Even in his mind, he can't muster that kind of sentiment about his brother. He's angry with Knives, even hates him... but I strongly disbelieve he actually wants him dead. Knives is his brother, man. That still means something to him.

You might be wanting to pause me here and ask why I framed the confronting of Knives as an aggressive response due to trauma, as opposed to just vengeance/retribution for Rem and for July. Yeah, well, there's an interesting contrast to be made here. Look up at the two confrontation images again.

Before July, Vash is level-headed when confronting him; angry, but in control. After July, he is yelling and openly bitter and wrathful. There's even a difference in him looking for information on Knives and his associates. In July, he's just asking around. There's none of the darkness we see in the series proper. By contrast, his mood does a sharp turn after July whenever Knives is so much as mentioned. More than that, there's this, too.

[ID: Knives stands facing Vash so only the back of his head can be seen. His head is next to Vash's gun. Vash looks startled. A speech bubble shows two exclamation points. End ID.]

...Vash is... actually scared here. Knives is approaching him and he's frozen due to the feeling that something sickening happened, even though he's the one holding the gun. July was stressful and terrifying for Vash even before the angel arm went off, and dare I say, already traumatic.

Vash knew two things in that scene, and pretty much only two things:

His arm was transforming uncontrollably, something he had no clue prior to this it could even do.

Knives wanted him to "release" his power, which would "swallow" everything in the place they're in. Clearly Knives intended harm to others with whatever power lay dormant in Vash.

This is already a terrifying situation - body horror on top of the certainty that something horrible is about to happen if he loses control - and it shows. He is visibly panting and struggling with the exertion of trying to suppress it, and Knives is not helping in the slightest by asking him piercing questions like he is, taking advantage of Vash's vulnerability here to make him tip over the edge and somehow admit that it was all a lie and deep down he feels the same as Knives. Now, notably Vash doesn't deny occasionally feeling hatred for humanity - he just tells Knives to "stop it". But Knives, instead, doubles down with his questioning.

This is not the only time in this scene Vash has tried to get Knives to stop. Knives does not stop at Vash's distress. Vash tells him to stop, he doesn't. Vash points his gun at him (again, he doesn't fire), and Knives still does not stop. In a last ditch attempt to reason, Vash somehow psychically transmits the faces and feelings he has towards all the people who were kind to him - you can see some of the residents of July, Ship 3's Luida, Doc, Brad and Jessica, and probably others he's met on his travels. Knives loses it and shoves him on to the ground.

I think Vash was well within his right to take self-defensive action here - and indeed, I really think that's what happened when he fired the angel arm at Knives.

Look, I really like it when intentional mistakes are made and characters have to deal with the consequences, and I think there are scenes in which this can apply to Vash (namely, I can think of more than a few drawbacks to his passivity in early Trimax, and his conflict with Wolfwood holds a lot of complexity on both sides)... but I have to be real honest with you, I don't think this is one of those times. I disbelieve this was a fully conscious choice on Vash's part.

For one, we've established Vash does not actually want Knives dead. Second... I may just be reading into this too much, but again, there's something in the way the eyes are drawn.

[ID: A set of panels from Trigun Maximum Volume 5. Knives is drawn with an intense expression; he looks confident, but there is a "thump" sound. Knives looks down, brows furrowed and sweating, to see the barrel of Vash's angel arm pointed at his chest. In the last panel, a gap between Knives' fingers reveals one of Vash's eyes, blank and devoid of iris or pupil. End ID.]

I'd initially thought the blank eye thing had to do with the release of Vash's power from the angel arm, but that appears to not be the case. It doesn't coincide with the charging of the arm - the arm is active and charged past the point of no return here with Vash's iris and pupil still visible during Fifth Moon, and we see Vash's eyes blank well before the angel arm forms in Volume 5, when he is undergoing intense flashbacks to the destruction of July. Vash's eyes even go blank when his powers are not active at all - again, during the start of his flashbacks.

[ID: A set of screenshots from the Trigun manga. The first is from Trigun Volume 2. Vash's eye, with iris and pupil and a welling tear, can be seen between Knives' fingers, as Knives screams "Destroy them all! Vaaash!". The second is from Trigun Maximum Volume 5, where Vash is hunched over on the ground as his body sprouts feathers and lines appear on his face. He is in clear distress and his eyes are blank. The third is from Maximum Volume 4. Vash screams and throws his head back. A close up of his eye shows it is blank, welling with tears. End ID.]

I am about 80% confident, give or take, that the blank eye thing pertains to Vash's mental state - as in, how mentally present he is versus him being out of control and checked out of reality. He needs to be snapped out of it - thoughts of Meryl and how she needed help, Elendira's intervention... but there was nothing to snap Vash out of his panic and that flood of raw emotion during July. It was a spur of the moment automatic response - the angel arm is a gun, Vash is very confident with a gun to the point its basically instinct, he's being pinned and trapped and something he doesn't understand and can't control is happening to his own body, people might be about to get hurt - he wanted it to stop.

Unfortunately, the worst possible consequences were a direct result of his desperation. Vash's automatic attempt at self-defense took out an entire city and swallowed all the people within it.

I do think that if it was self-defense over an active choice, the outcome would be pretty much the same and doesn't weaken the scene. For one, this would mark pretty much the only time we see Vash act in close to pure self-defense. He has such a disregard for his own safety, it's incredibly heartbreaking to think that the one time he actually did try to defend himself, it resulted in such a horrible tragedy. It might explain why, after remembering bits and pieces from Fifth Moon onwards, he becomes even less compassionate with himself and even more prone to just... taking the pain. Second, the effect is the same as if Vash chose to fire the arm consciously, because due to Vash's terrible sense of self-worth, self-defense is not a reasonable excuse to him - even though it was a traumatic experience for him, even though he would likely understand someone else in his position, he is going to treat himself as though the blame lies solely on him, regardless of the automaticity of the action itself. Vash blames himself and whether or not the reader determines his actions to have been automatic or conscious, he is going to treat himself the same either way. He is going to forever carry that guilt with him no matter what the intent behind the arm's firing initially was.

With the context of July now, I don't think I can believe that his lack of willingness to kill is purely Rem's influence anymore. I think Vash truly, honestly, does not want to harm or kill anyone; his abhorring of (in his eyes) unnecessary violence is genuine. (This does not mean he never gets angry or hates people - we know he can and does!) But it's like there's a middle step between Vash's anger and Vash getting close to lethally pulling the trigger, and that middle step is "stop it".

Stop doing this. Stop hurting people.

Stop. Stop. Stop.

When faced with someone who wants to hurt others, who actively causes harm and won't listen to reason, Vash becomes dangerously hyper-focused. The closer that person is associated to Knives, the less control he has over his own anger, and the more he goes on the warpath. The problem is though, that Vash has made a promise to Rem, sure, but also he really doesn't want to hurt people, but then he also wants it to stop, and when your options are limited, sometimes the fastest and most effective way to make it stop is... to just kill the person. And I strongly believe this is why, in the heat of the moment, his usual calculated actions become less well thought out and almost vague, because... well... he's fighting with conflicting pieces of himself. His morality and his bleeding heart make him want to spare people, but that explosive aggression that is primarily a trauma symptom (!!!) is demanding he take immediate action to just make it stop.

That's really what it boils down to. All that aggression and emotion comes bubbling out of him, because he's just so tired... and because that's... well. Trauma.

(Yes, I will comment later on how Knives' anger is just as much a trauma response, but I'd like to have a little more info on him before I analyze too much on that front. Kind of fascinating how their go-to reaction is anger for the both of them, but put towards wildly different goals. These twins can fit so much mental illness in them.)

#i don't know if this makes sense anymore. just take it lol #anyways you ever feel sad? i definitely felt completely normal and not at all that way when writing this (sarcasm) #trigun #trimax #trigun meta #vash the stampede #trigunbookclub #call me ace detective the way i am ace. and also a detective. #storyrambles

[aerkame]

I will no longer write for other AUs for Welcome Home (please read in full)

TW: Mentions of NSFW/pedos

I know some people only followed me because of a fic or two I might have started writing on for another Welcome Home AU, but recently I have started to notice the increasing toxicity of the fandom overall. Yeah, I've been other fandoms I know there is toxicity and I know there's a lot of nice people in this fandom, but I have NEVER seen it this bad. Out of all the fandoms/fanbases that I have been in, I have never seen such a huge problem regarding pedos, NSFW art/writing being shared and looked at by minors despite the creator's wishes, general toxic behavior, and a large amount of mentally unwell people working their way into groups of children or safe spaces. I ended up having to delete quite a few NSFW art pieces on twitter because I found minors had seen it and some guy decided to make a comment on my OC Lilith that I was not comfortable with.

I also do not feel alright having to restrict myself on what I write or draw because a single person might be "triggered" or "offended" by it. I know I put warnings when they are needed, I should not have to feel like I'm walking on eggshells in this fandom. I do not need anonymous asks telling me how I should and shouldn't write or what I can and can't say.

Because of how bad it's been and seeing more and more creators leave the fandom, I have decided to no longer engage in other AUs or creators unless it's from a follower (I know you guys are fine), friend, or person I know I've talked with before, OR if it's Clown himself. A lot of people forget that Welcome Home isn't what people keep writing it as. Welcome Home isn't even close to being done, we're just riding off the AUs right now. It really rubs me the wrong way that all I ever see on AO3 now with fanfictions are smut fics mainly and some pretty disturbing stuff.

There is so much, too much, s3xualization in this fandom and the romanticizing of serious and dangerous themes/topics. A lot of times believe or not, when I draw buff characters with no shirts, it really is just anatomy practice. I do not understand some of the comments I get sometimes in my inbox. Yes it's fine to tease a bit, but my goodness some of the comments I have seen before are concerning. I never intend on s3xualizing the characters and yet I always get anon asks going a bit out there with s3xualized comments. It's why I haven't really drawn that stuff in a while. I can't tell if people really do s3xualize that stuff or if they're seeing it as anatomy practice with a bit of tease like I do.

I have been bottling A LOT of things up recently and it's hindered my ability to really write or draw how I want. I'm always scrapping ideas and giving up halfway through.

It's always "Is this something that people are going to s3xualize?" "Is this something that might offend someone in x category?' "Will people like this new character?" "Am I good enough for this topic?". It's not healthy and I know that it affects my creativity and mentality, I won't be restricting myself anymore though. I will write/draw what I want, just please heed my warnings when I put them there and don't ignore my boundaries or the boundaries of others.

Now, regarding my own two AUs (I dropped the Dream one because I have something special planned for TFP), The Finfolk AU and Alive AU. I WILL continue writing/drawing for them. They are my own AUs with my own characters added in them. A lot of people that interact with me are followers and I know you guys would never disrespect my OCs or invade boundaries and I love you so much for that. Of course my rule on requests remain the same. NO NSFW for the normal Welcome Home, but NSFW is allowed for Finfolk AU requests.

Unfortunately, all of this does mean I will not continue the fic I was writing for @clownsuu Mob AU. I'm sorry, I just really do not feel like writing for an AU outside of what I know in terms of the person who makes it. I am not sure how to explain it other than I don't feel alright with it unless it's like an AU from someone I know or at least talked to before? Just at least a person I know on some personal level. I don't want to explore the fandom right now, it is a mess with the people in it...do not take this the wrong way, I DO NOT hate anyone outside of the people I know, I just don't feel comfortable in the fandom at the moment and I will not leave you guys behind either. So in short, I plan to just stay in my own lane so to speak and do what I can for the ones who follow me for what I do.

I will however finish the Villain fanfiction as it's not exactly anyone's AU? Not sure how to explain that, it was a series of asks for it. And obviously I will make a full long fanfictions for the Alive and Finfolk AU.

I know I said I don't want to vent on here, but it's getting hard for me to ignore. Everytime I type or pick up a pencil to make something on here it doesn't feel right.

#welcome home #welcome home au #welcome home finfolk au #finfolk #welcome home arg #psa #tw

[stevi0e]

Found yourself a friend; Wednesday Addams x Fem!Reader

Warnings: Bad angst? idk bad fanfic

A/N: Uh this is not my first time writing fanfic but it's the first time Im posting it so pls be nice I am very fragile 

Word count: 1.4k 

Wednesday had never meant for it to get this complicated, but unfortunately you had bigger plans, seeming as she was standing in your room, eyes red rimmed from crying.

You had been the new student at Nevermore along with Wednesday, you and her being the exceptions as both of your mothers had been close with Principle Weems during their time at Nevermore. 

You immediately felt drawn to her, hanging around with her and Enid almost everyday, and sometime after the Poe Cup, you had developed a crush on her.  You had to tell Enid almost right away, after you found her reading your journal (which you swore was not a diary), forcing you to confess your feelings for Wednesday. 

"I can't believe I didn't see it! I mean, you, anxious, bumbling, clumsy-" 

"Enid!" 

"Sorry! Sorry. But I mean you, clumsy and always causing problems, and Wednesday, perfectly calm and collected? It makes perfect sense! How could I be so blind?"  She had scolded herself before ushering you to tell her all about how you felt. 

"What is it you like about her, though? I know I said it was obvious, but you're so….not-Wednesday-y." Enid looked at you confused.

"I don- I don't know, okay? I just- She's so smart and she always has a solution, and she's so, so beautiful it makes me want to change my name and move countries!" You babbled. In your eyes Wednesday was perfect, and nothing would change that. 

After that, Enid was constantly trying to get you two alone together, which rarely worked. 

"Guys! I just got a text from Yoko, she said it's an emergency, I gotta go!" Enid scrambled, collecting her jacket and shoes. You glared at her, aware of her plan. 

"If Yoko is in trouble, we should all go. Who knows what you'll do if you're alone." Wednesday pointed out coldly. You nodded briskly and began collecting your own things from the floor. Enid pouted and sighed.

Though you had been trying to conceal your crush, you couldn't help but become more physically affectionate with Wednesday, occasionally brushing your hand against hers while walking to class, or leaning in closer to her when talking about her research on The Hyde. 

She had brushed it off with a cold glare, pulling away from you to continue speaking. Though you continued your advances. Until one day, it became too much. 

You were walking with her around the school grounds during lunch, brushing your hand off hers and bumping into her playfully as you talked about your day to her, her head buried in an old book she found in the library, containing information on The Hyde. 

"Enough! I am sick and tired of you throwing yourself at me every chance you get, Y/n. We are not friends. And I do not like you. Now kindly leave me alone and never speak to me ever again or I will rip apart every single thing you own." She threatened, her eyes were hard and cold, full of anger. 

You stood there silently, unable to register the words spoken to you properly as you avoided Wednesdays' piercing gaze. You sniffed, tears welling in your eyes as your body shook.

You looked at Wednesday with tearful eyes and nodded, not seeing the regret on her face through your tears. You turned on your heel and rushed back to your dorm, covering your face as everyone stared at you and Wednesday. 

   

You found refuge in you and Bianca's dorm, sitting on your bed crying as a group of girls comforted you.

"Honestly, Y/n, she's not worth it!" Yoko tried consulting you as the other girls nodded. 

"I knew that girl was trouble the second she walked in, always stringing people along only to break their hearts." Bianca spat, her hatred for Wednesday growing more by the second. 

Enid kept quiet, not wanting to speak bad about her roommate, though she was furious with her. 

Knock Knock. 

All eyes turned to the door. 

"It better not be her!" One of the girls, Tazmina, cried. 

"I'll get it." You mumbled, rising from the bed and drying your eyes with your sleeve. The girls watched in silence as you made your way to the door, turning the handle and peaking outside. 

And there stood Wednesday, her eyes red from crying, her hair ruffled and untidy, holding a bunch of deep red roses.

Previously

After you had run off, Wednesday found herself doing the same, running up to her and Enid's dorm, ignoring the blazing stare of her peers.

She flung open the door and crashed onto her bed, ignoring Things' frazzled tapping. 

In the silence of her room, with only herself to blame for her mistake, Wednesday allowed herself to cry.

Sobs wracked her body as she shook, unable to keep her feelings inside. All the regret and guilt coming out in tears and heaves. She felt utterly and truly sick. 

She sat on her bed as she explained her situation to Thing, who scolded her thoroughly. She took out her journal from its hiding spot, flipping through the pages, all of them containing your name. She stopped at some of the entries. 

Dearest Journal,

Today has been truly awful. I caught sight of Y/n and Bianca hanging out again. Does Y/n like her?  Why did she laugh so much? She never laughs that much around me. I fear I am scaring her off. She looked devastatingly gorgeous today. Her h/c hair looked so shiny and perfect, I felt like a pathetic school girl with a crush on her teacher. 

Dearest Journal, 

Y/n's hand brushed off mine again. I only wish I had the confidence to hold it. I wonder at night what it must feel like, would she like the feeling of my own hand in hers? Her skin looks so soft, she looks so soft, I just want to wrap my arms around her and never, ever let go. 

Dearest Journal, 

I almost confessed to Y/n today. She just looked so horribly beautiful, her face does the cutest thing when she's focused, she looks like a kitten. My feelings disgust me, and yet I cannot get them to leave. 

Wednesday closed the leather journal and made up her mind. 

She told her plan to Thing, who seemed incredibly enthusiastic about the whole ordeal. 

"You've been hanging around with Enid too much these days." She muttered.

Sneaking down into Ms. Thornhills' room, Wednesday picked up the bouquet of red roses that stood idle in a green vase on Ms. Thornhills' desk. 

She inspected the roses for a moment before making her way to the dorm she knew to be yours and Bianca's. 

Knocking on the door, the words left her when she saw it was you who opened the door. 

Present

Your mouth gaped open at the sight of Wednesday, who looked at you just as lost. 

"I…May I speak to you privately?" She asked politely, unable to meet your eyes. 

Though every instinct told you no, you nodded and waved at the girls, telling them you would be back in a moment. Bianca and Yoko glared at Wednesday, though Enid could hardly contain her grin. 

The two of you walked in complete silence, stopping at the Edgar Allen Poe statue that was tucked away in a small passage. 

Wednesday looked away from you and handed you the roses. 

"I want- I-" Wednesday stuttered, taking a deep breath before looking into your eyes. 

"I'm sorry, Y/n. I…should not have said those things. And I did not mean them." You gave her a look, confused but needing to know where she was going with it. 

"To be completely truthful with you, I….seem to have developed feelings for you. Romantic ones. Though I know you could never be with somebody as cold and uncaring as me, these feelings have been chewing my brain for what feels like years even though I have only known you for a series of weeks. I understand if you do not feel the same way-" 

Wednesday was cut off as you pulled her into a kiss, your lips slotting together like a perfect puzzle, as though they were made for eachother.

Her hands rested on your waist as yours were grasping the base of her neck.

"I like you too Wednesday, a lot. And I forgive you." You murmured as you rested your forehead on hers, smiling softly at her sigh of relief. 

"Ahem-" A cough came from behind the two of you. You and Wednesday turned your heads to see Ms. Thornhill standing there, a barely concealed grin on her face. 

"I see you've found a friend after all, Wednesday." Your face turned red and you hid your blushing face in the crook of Wednesdays' neck, groaning in embarrassment. Wednesday smirked slightly. 

"Girlfriend, actually." 

#wednesday addams x reader #wednesday imagine #wednesday fanfic #wednesday addams #wednesday x fem!reader #wednesday 2022 #enid sinclair #bianca barclay #yoko tanaka

[whirlwindimagines]

HELLO WHIRLL!!

May I request a Wolfwood X Gn reader, for the reader doesn’t show emotion, but when their childhood friend Nicolas is hurt that’s when they let their emotions out ?

Like say Nicolas wasn’t thinking and jumped right into danger in the heat of the moment and it pissed reader off cause he almost died💥💥

And could this be friends to lovers as well?

Thank you so much, i hope you’re having a good day/night stay hydrated! <3 and please take your time there’s no rush :))

Hello! <3 Thank you for the request! <3 Also I’m so sorry these are always so long, I am incapable of writing anything less than 800 words it seems. Okay Im always going to be a Vash girly, he has my heart. But lowkey writing all this Wolfwood stuff is kinda turning me into a Wolfwood girly as well.

'Bad ideas, and big guns'

Nicholas D. Wolfwood x Reader

This was a bad idea, you knew Wolfwood could feel your glare on the back of his head. This was a bad idea ever since he got sideswiped by that reporter's car. You always followed without complaint, you knew he had his missions and you didn't ask what they intended. You didn't ask a lot of questions these days, just secretly happy to be at Nicholas's side again. Both growing up in that orphanage, you left first. It was by happenstance that you got away and never looked back. 

Running into Wolfwood again was quite the shock, maybe it was the guilt of abandoning him to his fate that kept you at his side. He didn't seem to mind, he tried to keep you out of it all. But you could fight, and you could kill, it made you use when needed. However, your opinion apparently didn't matter to Wolfwood, you thought it was dangerous to get too caught up in it all. It was getting too personal with Vash and his ragtag group; you knew it and Wolfwood knew it too.

Expect the stubborn ass wasn't listening, and was ignoring you now. It didn't matter, he wouldn't be able to tell what you were thinking anyway. You always had your emotions locked down, it made surviving easier when you could turn it all off. With a sigh you turned your gaze away, this town was like every other one you’d come across. Wolfwood and Vash were at the bar, Roberto was out having a smoke and you were sitting with Meryl at a table in the corner. 

You don't know how it starts, but it always happens too quickly. Guns are drawn on Vash, he doesn’t want to fight and it causes an uproar. You lose sight of Vash and Wolfwood as you drag Meryl out of the bar for some cover, you curse shoving Meryl out of the way as bullets rain down on the two of you. 

Moving behind some crates you bring out your own weapon, these small fries would be easy to handle. No, the real problem was the guy with the tank rolling in, you sigh leaning your head back. One normal day would be nice, just one. You hope Meryl is in a safer spot when you lean out of cover to start shooting. 

You don't get to hide for long when the tank is turned toward you. Your eyes widen as you scramble to your feet to get away. The sound is deafening, you drop to the ground. Nearly avoiding the hit, someone grabs you by the back of your shirt and hauls you to your feet. You bring your gun around to backhand them only for it to be blocked by Wolfwoods large weapon, you frown he smirks. “That’s the thanks I get for saving ya?”

“We’re not out of this yet.” You hiss, at him as he drags you behind a building. “Stay here, one blast from the punisher and it’ll bring it down.” Wolfwood doesn’t look at you as he says this, you yank on his arm to get him to turn. “That’s a stupid idea, you might not be able to a charged shot. Don't jump in without a real plan!” Wolfwood shoves you back hard, and you stumbled catching yourself on the building. “Worry about yourself.” 

You watch him take off weapon in hand, spinning it to engage its laser mode. You hate when you are right, it takes a moment too long to charge the tank fires first, Wolfwood second. The shots meet in a giant explosion. You're forced to move back behind the building, covering your eyes from all the dust and debris falling. 

The town goes silent, you leave your hiding spot. Heart-racing Wolfwood had to be directly in the blast, “Wolfwood” you called out, trying to keep your voice calm, you noticed a building in the back now has a large hole in it. Racing over you search through the debris, “Nicholas!” your voice definitely rose an octave higher as you dropped to your knees beside him, shoving wood off of him. 

He was knocked out and bleeding badly, your hands searched through its pockets finding one of the vials he carried around. Snapping the end off, you forced the liquid down his throat. Sitting back on your heels with a sigh as his wounds began to heal. You place your hand on his cheek, “Wolfwood? Can you hear me?” You ask it softly, his eyes open to your smiling face. 

“See one shot is all it took.” Your smile turns to a frown when you grab him sharply by the shoulders and begin to shake him. “You asshole! Would you just listen to me once!” you snapped out, your voice shaking with slight fear. “God I just want to hit you! Don't you ever think?” Wolfwood looks at you in shock, grabbing both of your wrists to stop your assault. “Worried about me?” he says it with that stupid smirk of his, now you really want to hit him. 

You shove him back hard, and he yelps, “I’m always worried about your dumbass!” You stand, turning to leave you don't get very far when Wolfwood grabs you by the ankle causing you to fall. You catch yourself on your hands, kicking him forcing him to let go and he yells out a ‘hey!’ 

You huff turning over to sit and look at him, “And just what was that for?” he's giving you an odd look one that unfortunately makes your heart race, Wolfwood sits up, leaning his arms over his bent knees he smirks as you. “I like this side of you, the fight.” You groan, face heating up at his words. 

“You bring out the worse in me.” You say it with a light laugh.

“I think you bring the best out in me.” He says it too seriously. 

You pause at his words, he’s staring at you openly now “Careful now, sounds like you care about me.” You say it lightly, allowing him to pull back if he needs to, you smile as he looks away nervous. Wolfwood always put on such a show for other people, but to you, he’d always be that awkward kid back in the orphanage who tried to get you to laugh. God how the two of you had grown. 

“And if I do?” He turns back to you, grinning now. Ah, so it looks like he's not going to pull back, good. You sit up on your knees in front of him, leaning in. “I would say the feelings are mutual.” You smirk grabbing him by the collar of his shirt roughly and pulling him towards you. “You ever pull that shit again I'm killing you myself got it?” 

“Got it.” He grabs you by the back of your head and pulls you in for a kiss. You roll your eyes, leaning into the kiss, at least you got to wipe that smirk off his face.

#nicholas d wolfwood x reader #wolfwood x reader #wolfwood x you #wolfwood imagine #nicholas d. wolfwood x reader #trigun x reader #trigun stampede imagine #trigun stampede x reader #trigun stampede #trigun

[glittering-moonlillie]

Headcannons: Damian Wayne with a reader who loves exotic animals

Damian was no stranger to housing animals. Whether it be cats or turkeys, he loved them all. Oftentimes, he preferred the comfort of his animals rather than his family or friends. He felt like the animals understood him way more than anyone ever could without him having say much

When he got older, he swore to himself that he would get a lover who was just as much of an animal lover as him. He had even fantasized about owning a huge house filled with pets with his lover. An animal sanctuary if you would. 

That is why Damian had his eyes set on you. Your love for animals almost matched his own. It was admirable, the way you seemed to be an animal magnet wherever you went. It was like watching Snow White go about her day. 

But none of this is why he wanted you, no. 

Your love for animals was adorable yes, but it wasn’t that that he was drawn to. It was the certain types of animals you were fond of that made his icy walls melt. 

You and Damian were in his room at the manor having a nice hangout session when the topic of favorite animals were mentioned. Alfred was in your lap snoozing while you were scrolling through Pinterest, occasionally squealing at certain photos. 

Damian couldn’t help it, his curiosity got the better of him. As he looked over your shoulder, he noticed you scrolling through numerous pictures of amphibians, particularly frogs and axolotls. 

“Look at how cute and chunky these animals are, Dami!!” You shoved the phone in his face so he could get a better look. 

These animals indeed were cute, so cute in fact that it almost made Damian jealous. How dare these animals steal your attention away from him? 

“I’ve always wanted to have a huge house with a bunch of frogs and hedgehogs and axolotls and fancy goldfish, but I don’t really have that kind of money and every guy I have been with doesn't really share my…enthusiasm for those types of animals…” You had let out an awkward chuckle, hoping that he didn’t make fun of you like everyone else had. 

Damian almost dropped the phone when he heard those words fall out of your pretty mouth. 

A girl as beautiful as you wishing to have a house with numerous animals just like him? He may as well propose to you right then and there!

Problem was, you guys weren’t even together yet. He can’t possibly propose to you if he does not know if you feel the same way about him! 

So he went with the next best option

“How many frogs were you hoping to foster?”

You stared up at him blankly before responding, “As many as I possibly could in a lifetime. Why?”

This mf couldn’t even hold back his smirk. 

“I suppose I wouldn’t mind adopting some adorable frogs for your enjoyment.”

The squeal you emitted nearly made him deaf but it was worth it just to see that stupidly contagious smile. 

You both agreed that the frogs would stay at the manor since there was more room. Damian was ecstatic about this since it gave you a reason to come over more often. He didn’t tell you this of course. 

When you asked him what he wanted in return, he merely stated that he wanted you to go with him to see a movie you had previously turned down. 

“So…a date?”

“TT, it’s insulting that you would even think that.” 

It totally was a date. 

Give it a few months and you eventually become his beloved.

Give it a few more months after that and he’ll purchase a decently large house for you to adopt as many chunky animals as you wanted.

He still can’t tell if it was the worst or best decision he has ever made. 

Damian had thought he was bad with his habit of bringing home exotic animals, but you really topped the list. Every time you saw another lizard or raccoon or snake that was in need of fostering, you would beg him to let you keep them. 

To this date, he has never said no to you. 

And that is how you and Damian became the parents of 20 happy and adorable animals. 

I am so happy that I have been a been able to keep consistent with this blog, and that people actually seem to like my writings! If you couldn't tell by my banner, I am a huge animal lover (mostly with frogs and axolotls <3)! As a side note, I think it's important to mention that Axolotls are actually extremely endangered and it might not be the best decision to keep them in captivity.

#Damian Wayne #damian al ghul #Damian Wayne x reader #Batfam #Damian being a huge animal lover #DC #Comics #romance #fluff #Damian x Y/n #robin x reader #robins #Batfamily #Axolotls #Chunky animals #Frogs #Damian being in denial about loving you

[retrostarzz]

Now what the hell?

Nah. Why in the hell are y’all saying straitjackets are a comfort/comfy thing? They are horrible and make things worse especially if you have bad paranoia. Why is nobody seeing a problem with this AU? 😐 I just found it out like today and oh my god? It's such a damn mockery to mental illness. Asylums are not some "silly and wholesome" aesthetic. They're disgusting and abusive. People legit died while being at them, even KIDS. And your first thought was "Oh! I'm gonna make this AU with a man who clearly has mental issues/paranoia in canon and name it Asylum Tower! Isn't that so quirky and cute guys?" It's disgusting and the creator doesn't even seem to give a damn. "We all have things we don't like soooo" ?????? It's something legit serious and could possibly trigger others? It's just eugh. Severe mental illness isn't fun to have OR to deal with whether it be yourself or someone close to you. It's horrible and depressing. I legit don't get how ANYONE can find it to be cute. You want your AU to be all wholesome and cute? It isn't at all. Creator seems to be ignoring any criticism given and only giving attention to people who support their nasty ass AU. They seem to fully know how bad and how much of a mockery their AU is at this point.

Also am I the only one who seems to be rubbed the wrong way with some of the fanart they give support to? Peppino is always drawn more skinny. He's canonically plus sized. Unless I'm somehow missing any sort of "lore" of him being skinny in the AU but either way it's wrong.

#pizza tower #asylum tower #rambles #rant post #ranting #sorry this legit has me so peeved right now

[fandomdancer]

Attack of the Domestics

A/N: Encouraged by @michysminions7 and inspired by @jenksel to post this. I've gotten very insecure about my work and barely write anymore, other than little author-insert fluffs. This is one of those, but I still hope you enjoy reading it.

Fandom: Baa Baa Black Sheep

Pairing: Bobby Anderson/OC

Rating: T

Word Count: 2,116

Summary: Bobby's having a bad time at the party the night before a mission. He tries to find some alone time to sulk - and overhears an unexpected conversation.

Damn Wiley, Anderson thought as he stomped towards the beach. How in the hell had he managed to lose a girl to Wiley? Last he checked the man hadn't been anywhere near him, and then poof! Boyish charm and floppy hair and that genuine puppy dog smile and the cute brunette Anderson had just been about to score turned all her attention from the action at hand.

It's not fair, he thought grumpily to himself. Though if he was being honest, he was more upset about losing a girl to Wiley than he was about losing a girl. He usually had no problems chatting up the ladies but he could get a little overenthusiastic. Not to mention his height sometimes worked against him. Ladies like 'em tall? Not always!

He wasn't surprised to find another person on the beach, but he did do a double take when he realized it was another woman. One of the nurses, no doubt, and she looked a little familiar. Had she said hi to him earlier? He'd been so focused on the brunette (whose name he could no longer remember) that he couldn't recall if someone else had spoken to him. But there sat another nurse, wearing a white midriff-baring top and a pair of khaki shorts. Her knees were drawn up to her chest and her elbows rested on them. Her head was in her hands. Wait, was she crying?

Anderson felt a flare of anger bloom in his chest. Who the hell was enough of a jerk to leave a woman crying on the beach? He started out of the brush towards her…and a voice interrupted him.

"Lori?"

Anderson dropped to the ground, praying he hadn't been seen.

The woman lifted her head, and in the dim light from the buildings behind them he could see she did have tears on her face. It was a plain face, framed by lovely brown hair, but there was something haunting about it. And yes – she was familiar. Anderson couldn't help but stare.

"Mags?" the woman asked.

"Lori, what are you doing away from the party?" Another nurse, older, blonde, strode purposefully down towards her. Anderson had seen her before for sure. She was one of the more no-nonsense women, the kind you couldn't use your best lines on because she'd laugh in your face, ruffle your hair, and call you cute. The last thing any guy wanted when he was looking to pick up a woman was for her to think he was cute.

"I'm fine, Margaret," the woman…Lori, Anderson thought, her name is Lori…replied.

"The hell you are, you're crying." Margaret sat in the sand beside Lori, thankfully closer to Anderson so Lori kept her head turned in his direction. He didn't want to listen in on the conversation struggling to hear what Lori had to say.

Of course, if he was the gentleman he professed to be, he wouldn't listen in on this conversation at all.

"I'm fine!" Lori wiped her eyes. "I'm just not in a party mood."

"After seeing the pickings in there, I'll buy that," Margaret said, (bitch, Anderson thought, then flinched at the sound of his Mama's voice in his head chastising him for such language), "but you were so excited earlier today. I heard you girls talking, I know you were all anxious to meet up with Major Boyington's men."

That's right, Anderson thought proudly.

"I was. Am. Just…oh, Mags, it's stupid. Don't ask me."

Any self-respecting man would walk away when a woman said that to him. But Anderson knew enough to know that when a woman said that to another woman, it was an invitation.

He was right…sort of. "What's so stupid? You came, you saw, you decided not to play. You want to wait for the next opportunity to have some fun, that's your choice."

Lori looked away, and suddenly her shoulders shook. Anderson twitched instinctively, wanting to step out and comfort the crying woman. It was basic manners, not to mention the fact that comforting a crying woman upped your chances of getting lucky later.

"Lori!" Margaret leaned over and put a hand on Lori's shoulder. "Look, if you're not interested, there's nothing wrong with that…"

"I know…" Lori blurted, her voice distorted with sobs. "I know you all think…I'm a prude."

"Oh, don’t be silly, we don't think that…"

"Yeah, you do, I heard Melinda talking the other night."

Ah, Melinda, that was the girl he'd lost to Wiley. And now he recalled, he had spoken to Lori. She'd said hi while he and Melinda were talking. But he'd been deep into weaving a setup for himself and Melinda to leave, and hadn't really responded to her.

He felt a little guilty about that. After all, she was out here crying. Could it be because of him?

"What you do with whoever you want is your business," Margaret said. "You don't have to brag about it as much as Melinda does. The whole camp knows who she goes around with almost before she actually goes around with them."

Anderson's lip curled. Huh…maybe he needed to go save Wiley. He'd seen nurses play with the feelings of his friends before. The last one had almost torn the Black Sheep apart.

"Just when people ask me how my night went and I don't want to tell them…they assume I'm just a…a…"

"Cold fish?"

Lori nodded.

"And you're not?"

Lori stared at her and Anderson found himself very, very interested in her answer. He'd save Wiley later.

"I haven't been with a man in months," Lori finally said. "Not since before I came here. And you know how that turned out. I just haven't been interested. No one has interested me…but…but now..."

Anderson's eyebrows lifted.

Margaret tilted her head. "Are you saying there is someone in there that you're interested in?"

Lori nodded.

"Then why aren't you in there?"

"I don't have a chance. Melinda's got him."

Wiley. Anderson couldn't help the twist of disappointment in his stomach. It was one thing to lose a girl face to face to Wiley, but hearing another crying about losing her chance with Wiley because he was already taken…well it definitely made Anderson want to leave the area. He started to unravel from his hiding position to slink away. Maybe he wouldn't save Wiley from Melinda. Seemed like the guy could use a little bad luck with women.

"That doll dizzy with the fluffy blonde hair?" Margaret laughed. "I've seen him before, Lori. He chases as many women as Melinda chases men. You're not missing out."

"His hair wasn't fluffy and blonde, it was short and black," Lori said.

Anderson stopped moving. What?

Margaret echoed him. "What? Black hair?"

"Black hair," Lori repeated. "And a beautiful smile. He's got these really full lips. You know, the kind you know would feel good on yours? And when he smiles it stretches up into his eyes and squints them, like his whole face is enjoying whatever made him smile. It's an honest smile."

"You're talking about one of Major Boyington's men?"

"Yes. He was talking to Melinda. I guess she turned him down or something because the guy you're talking about was definitely not him. He was really tall. Like six feet or more."

Now Anderson was paying so much attention, he was holding his breath.

"Oh, yes!" Margaret exclaimed. "Yes, tends to stay in the back, keeps his hands in his pockets. He slouches, probably because he's a giant…"

Like you're a giant pain in the…Anderson shook his head to stop the thought.

"I never got his name," Lori said.

Anderson clawed his fingers into the ground, staring at her. My name's Bobby!

"Well, he's not talking to Melinda anymore," Margaret said. "Why don't you come back in and see if you can salvage the night?"

Anderson wondered how fast he could get back to the party without the women seeing him. His head was spinning. Oh yeah…he wasn't breathing. He exhaled hard and yanked in a breath of sea air.

Lori shook her head. "I…look, he's only going to want one thing. And…"

"And what's the problem with that?"

"Like I said, it's stupid."

"Lori, what are you talking about?"

Lori suddenly threw up her hands. "I don't want to just fool around tonight with him, Mags! I know, I know I have no idea who he is! I don't even know his name! But seeing him smile and laugh like that…it was like…my entire life, I've been living in the dark, and someone turned on the light. I want to cook breakfast for that smile. I want to hear that laugh while watching one of those old Buster Keaton pictures. I want to feel his arms hold me and hear his voice tell me I'm safe from everything in the world."

Anderson was aware his mouth had dropped open. He wasn't aware of much else.

"Lieutenant Beaufort, you had an attack of the domestics," Margaret sighed. "It happens. You see a tall, strong, confident man like that, and everything inside you says he's the one for you. But Lori…he's a pilot. The most he can do for you right now is just right now. Tomorrow he could be dead. If you go filling your head with dreams of the future and tomorrow he gets shot down…how many more like him will break your heart before you give up? You need to focus on the right now and let the future come when it's ready. Now if you can't fool around with him tonight, I understand. But don't deny yourself a good time because you're too busy trying to live in the future."

Anderson wasn't entirely sure if he wanted to shout at Margaret or run for the party or just run as far from the situation as possible. The way he saw it, everyone was right here. He might get shot down tomorrow. But did that mean thinking about the future was forbidden? Was it bad to try to think about life after the war?

And he couldn't get her words out of his head. "...like someone turned on the light."

She certainly was pretty, though not the best-looking nurse in the bunch. And she wasn't interested in fooling around, so his chances of getting any tonight were zilch if he pursued her. She wanted more and he had no idea if he wanted…

Well…some. He had some idea. He thought about home often. New Orleans. He'd had a girl before the war had started but once he'd announced he was heading to the South Pacific, she had told him she couldn't wait for him. And it would be nice to have someone. It would be nice to think about a future in New Orleans, with a woman that stated he'd brought light into her life. But he couldn't really trust Lori would stick around. Emma sure hadn't and she'd been his high school sweetheart.

He supposed whether or not he trusted Lori didn't preclude him from getting to know her a little more. But he still needed to get back to the party without being seen.

"I can't do it, Margaret. Not tonight. Put me back on duty in the hospital, will you? I'm sure Sophie wants to go to the party."

Margaret sighed deeply. "Are you sure?"

Lori laughed, the sound bitter and beautiful all at once. "No! But if I go back there and I see him, I don't know what I'll do! I don't know if I can just let go of this and have a great night and wake up tomorrow and go on with my life. Maybe I can. But if I can't…I don't want to know what it'll feel like if I can't."

Margaret stared at her for a long time before nodding. "You are going to have to cultivate some inner strength if you're going to survive your assignments here, Loretta," she said. "If you care this much about everything, it's going to kill you." She stood and helped Lori up. "I'll drive you back to the hospital."

"Thanks," Lori replied. "And…look, don't tell any of the girls, okay? Just…tell them I wasn't in a party mood and decided to leave.”

"Fine."

The two women passed by Anderson and he focused up at Lori. His stomach turned when he saw the broken look on her face, and it was all he could do not to jump up and say I'll take it from here. She wanted him, and he'd be damned if he missed an opportunity to at least speak to her.

He had to find a reason to go to the hospital. Tonight.

#baa baa black sheep #black sheep squadron #lieutenant robert anderson #bob anderson #bob anderson/oc #oc #original female character #fanfiction #writer #author #i love him your honor #john larroquette #lynne frederick

[basslinegrave]

hhhgdh

how to hang out with ppl irl without them being weird to me? would love to go anon somehow (i guess its bad to be like infiltrating a space but i mean it as starting off with a clean slate?) because idontknow. lowkey argued with someone today (i was right i just said the facts they called me a smartass and said im wrong. nuh uh) i guess they just actually dislike me or something being against me so much, cause they never say hi back irl and i feel like the few ppl that are like that carry it over to others.. like ppl i met separately from the groups were so chill and nice to me and then suddenly didnt even wanna talk to me or say hi idk what happened i doubt its cause im not always active on social media/in group chats but anyway. id like to like... be more anon and get to know more ppl instead of coming into a group and them already having a bad idea about me for some reason. probably im just making it up and being worried for no reason but it feels like some people genuinely dislike me - and thats okay! cant like everyone! i just feel like it spread to others too for no reason....

once again just trying to have a nice experience in the local furry fandom! i should stop trying and just enjoy having what i got (the 2 people that i actually vibe with, im grateful for that!!)

i know im a weirdo probably. i dont think its bad to be like unhinged, im naturally drawn to such people and some are like that in the groups too, idk whats the problem maybe cause theyre mostly from the big city and see each other and im just an outsider that cant even attend events? idk? but if im like the socially unacceptable weird? am i? how do i get to know that

or do they know im evil and a hater 😳 /hj

also extra but obvs i dont know everyone right? im still fairly new in these circles so i cant know everyone! but at one con a guy came to me and we were kinda hanging out there (had no friends with me and its my usual thing to find new ppl like this), he was a bit awful to me but i didnt know at first, later i found out everyone just hates him cause hes a creep, i wonder if its partially a reason they think im like that cause i was with him?? cuz we met someone else too and they were annoyed, probably thought im friends with the creep... i did draw something for the other person after that and they were really nice during that, and in group chats its neutral, but i got to meet them quite recently again and they literally just like ignored me idk. i mean im not very talkative and am more introverted but i tried to socialize and stuff, but it was very much as if i was an unexpected (and unwanted) guest :/ well sorry i was invited! sorry i went to hang out with friends and socialize ugh

also thought about this today but people my age and younger we rarely are on good terms it seems like, there are few exceptions, but usually its people even just a bit older than me that are more chill and mature idk. gonna be ageist and expect anyone under 21 is gonna be mean to me lol

#thoughts are being thunk #long rant #tldr i cant befriend local furries and it feels like they dislike me for no reason #and i keep trying when i know the outcome already

[marvelcarbonara]

bucky barnes

icy hot 4

1.5 k words-

The apparent Steve narrowed his striking baby blue eyes and steeled his jaw while leaning back on his hips. This always happened to you; when a situation was tense, you focused on all the details that didn’t matter. 

“Look, Buck, I know how this situation is near to you, I do, I get it. But just think of-“

The door creaked open, causing all of you to cringe a bit, especially the man walking into the room.

“Bad time?” 

He seemed kind, quiet, and more than a bit flustered. His kind eyes were apologetic for the intrusion, maybe. 

A brown-haired, soft framed man entered, gazing between Steve, Bucky, and you, sitting on the cot. He quickly walked over to you and leaned to your level, smiling warmly despite the tense situation.

“My names Bruce. I, uh, I ran some physical test on you earlier and helped clean you up. I need to check your vitals again, okay?”

You just nodded and let the man leave to look up at his monitors and screens, standing three feet from you bed. You didn’t trust him, but your gut did, so you’d let him preform any test. He wasn’t as strong as the other two, and the odds of him beating you in a fight if matters turned grave were slim. It was a safe risk to take, letting him prod around. 

“Uh, guys? What the name on file?” He asked, body facing Steve. His mouth opened then closed, and he turned his head with his brows drawn low. 

Bucky’s jaw locked as he whipped his head to Steve, giving him a state-of-the-art, “I-told-you-so” face. Steve bit down a sigh and walked over to you, smiling warmly, but with a lack of confidence in his face.

“Hello. I’m sorry, I don’t think we’ve gotten your name yet. Also,” he shot a quick repentance to Bucky, who was wearing a triumphant grin, “we’d like to fill you in on what happened. If you don’t remember.” He added.

You bit your lip harshly, suddenly feeling dizzy again. 

But it was your name. The one thing that had always been yours, the one thing that couldn’t be taken away. Your chest rose and fell quickly and you stared down at the white sheets.

“Okay. Tell me what happened first, who you are, and where I am.”

You paused again, and they made no rush to interrupt you.

“We’re still in Kentucky, right? Near-near Lexington? I think that’s where I was last?”

“Uh, we’re in New York.”

Bruce quickly whispered, staring at the floor. 

“Oh.”

The tension was so thick a butter knife could cut it, but no one leaped to help the situation. Bruce was still tapping away at his screens, putting new fluids in your IV. Bucky shifted uncomfortably and glanced back to his maybe friend. The pair had a conversation with their eyes you wished to decode. 

“So…Steve? Should I start?” After a defeated look, Steve nodded. 

“Ok.” Bucky took and deep breath and looked you in the eyes.

“We found out about an underground fight club that was taking people from orphanages. Uh, they had-“ You shut your eyes tightly and interrupted him.

“I know that part.” You rasped, giving a look of disgust and anguish inwardly. He took the hint and moved on. Clever guy, it seemed.

“The Avengers were informed by an anonymous person a couple of years ago of the location. Problem is, you guys kept moving. We had to scout you and get evidence before storming the facility. We saw a trailer and didn’t know if someone was trapped inside, so we went in anyway and found you asleep. It was actually his idea,” he tossed his head back to Steve. 

“You were really asleep, but initially we had thought you’d-“ he inhaled and broke off the sentence with his head to the wall. It seemed like talking to a faceless, blank wall was easier than talking to you. In all honesty, you just cared that you could hear the story.

“But you woke up, got a solid hit on my face, too.” If you squinted, it looked like he smiled a bit at that. “Then Steve held you down until you bit him.”

You blushed in embarrassment and looked away. God, they probably thought you were a stupid child. Heat climbed to your neck and you visibly shuddered as an apology. Wordlessly, Bucky jumped to help your state.

“It’s okay.” His voice was deep and even, just detached enough to not be uncomfortably personal with the comfort. 

“You were panicking and I had a needle: we normally expect a struggle.” The tension in his brows grew deeper. 

“But after that, you got away and outside, and slipped in a puddle of…something yellow-ish. And you threw up again before I sedated you.” He kept fidgeting with his thumbs. “We brought you here. Bruce cleaned you up and gave you fluids. Then you started to hyperventilate and fainted. Now, you’re here.” He finished awkwardly. 

“The Avengers tower.” He added, then cleared his throat and motioned to Steve. As much as you tried to hide your confusion, the fog in your eyes was evident.

“Buck, I don’t think she knows who we are: The Avengers.” Again, you flushed red but refused to hide your hands in embarrassment. That would look even worse. You say up straighter and licked your lower lip.

“We…I-I didn’t have much news access. I only knew about Loki because we moved tents then.”

A shiver, not suck a grave one, mind you, came across your shoulders as you tried to stay upright. A faint feeling of needles flooded your fingers. Now was not the time to slip away into sleep again! You needed information.

“Hello? Are you with us?” Steve’s hand was an inch from your nose. He was trying to be sweet, and he was!-but you were in a mood.

“Yes. Here.” You cut coldly. He inhaled and nodded. “Okay, I’m glad you’re okay. Do you know about the Avengers? Tony? Iron Man?”

He stopped trailing off names and titles when you kept shaking your head, reeling from confusion. It must’ve been hard to keep such events hidden for you, how did the dickwads at your camp manage that?

You swallowed and looked down to the sheets, suddenly feeling very drained. You must’ve looked it, too, because Bruce asked if you were okay.

“Yeah, I’m fine.” You shoved out gruffly. Since when were words so hard to say?

They alls eat about their patterns: Bruce, focusing on his screens, Bucky and Steve talking with their eyes, not speaking anything. The few seconds it took for them to have a small chat felt like ages. Time felt icy, foreign, and unforgiving. 

Bucky’s eyes peeled away from Steve’s to glance at your vitals, then he swayed again to looking at the wall behind your head. Shifty eyes, still hands, and a wet lip were not good signs from the guy in-the-know if your well-being. 

Your heart crumpled like a paper napkin as his face set in. You knew the look he was failing to hide, that god-awful look.

“You all…” air was rapidly thinning, “Do you think I’m crazy?”

He snapped to attention at the comment and his same even-keeled, soft and sturdy tone arrived at your service.

“I think your story is a little crazy. But I mean-“

“No, no it’s fine. You’re fine.”  Your voice was raspier than expected and you didn’t know why but you were crying and it was bad. 

Large, sloppy tears in front of the men who’d saved you. They seemed important, and it was embarrassing to cry near of important people. Or any people. 

In your drug-induced, fatigue-generated haze, Bucky scooted closer to you. His chair scraped with his small scoot near you, it made you laugh while you still cried. Shit, shit, shit! This was humiliating! You moved away and shot your fade to the sky in a flawed attempt to calm down. 

You barely noticed how he’d reached over a hand to you. Just a few inches separated your lower calf and his hand. The tears had hastily slowed to an occasional drop, which was enough for you see the gesture.

Shyly, you moved yours over his. You looked down at the pair and just focused on all the little details in an effort to calm down. 

More tears and stopped, and only a shiny face was evidence you’d been upset. With a deep breath you looked up to face the group again. It was an underwhelming description to say you had been startled to find Bucky’s face near yours. He certainly had moved closer.

He was so close you could see where his skin had delicately spit from your hitting him. Guilt flooded your abdomen and you steeled emotion away. You had just calmed down. 

He glanced away from you and sighed. 

“I’m okay. What we need right now is for you to be okay, and for that, we need to talk to you. Okay?” He stood, moved away from you and gathers with the others, all standing near around cot. You felt like a local celebrity.

“What’s your name?” Steve prompted gently. You looked away from him, still hesitant, but if what they said was true, these people, the “Avengers”, could help you. 

Shakily, you responded to their tuned ears.

#marvel #marvel fic #my fic #fan fiction #bucky x y/n #bucky x reader #bucky barnes #winter soldier #steve rogers #bruce banner #hulk #avengers #the avengers #marvel cinematic universe #mcu

[mokadevs]

Recently finished fgo’s olympus so here are some bleary unorganized thoughts on it and my frustrations before i drift off to sleep

i think my biggest problem with olympus is that it over promises.

I think that the set up is amazing. Not referring to atlantis, though atlantis was great as everyone and their mother has said, but the whole sequence of a) entering olympus and b) exploring olympus is incredible. I think its one of the peak examples of fgo constantly being able to make you feel like their are Actual stakes in the narrative despite you as a player knowing that the tree will inevitably be cut and you’ll see the cosmos denied screen flash by again. Running through the city

Hell, Demeter’s entire entrance was bone chilling. I think she has the best mech design of the olympus gods in my biased opinion, and seeing her drop down before the animated screech she lets out that destroys the city was incredible. Truly the first time i saw it i went Holy Shit.

Then… i wont say the lostbelt flops after that but there were a few key areas that it left me wanting.

Personal preference out of the way, ill say the constant deus ex machinas - whether it be for the good guys or the bad guys (if the bad guy has a deus ex machina, is it called that?? Anyway) - started to get a little irritating after a while. The stakes were so, so high at the start, and demeters victory felt so barely clawed for with so many bits and pieces coming together that certain other fights felt like. “Well, okay then.” The twins revealing caligula and then saying “we didnt wanna say we had him for dramatic effect!” was really eye roll worthy, for example, and to be honest i dont really understand how we were able to shmoove our way out of aphrodites mind control hellscape, which was annoying after again i loved demeters fight So much

ill note there that these are things that didnt work for ME, in MY OPINION im sure other people feel other ways about it and i am happy for them for it :]

I think that parts of the lostbelt felt… rushed, and i didnt feel like the power scaling of chaldea matched narratively. With how much trouble we had for a single fighter at the start, i felt like in universe things got too easy with too little justification.

I was really disappointed with dioscuris writing, and also weirded out by the fact that there were twin humans and twin gods but very little was drawn about their connection…?? I was so certain that they would have some sort of relationship, or at least a cool narrative foil, but all we got was the twin humans hating the dioscuri because they killed their friends, and a cheap line about adele criticizing the girl twin for always following what her brother said.

I feel mixed about chaos, because in the moment i was emotionally moved but in retrospect it feels like a bit of a cheap non-foreshadowed reason for musashi to die epicly. Though maybe it was foreshadowed and i missed it; ill have to reread, but for now it just feels Too out of the blue to feel good.

But i think the thing that i think i disliked the most was “actually zeus was going to fuck off in the end and abandon the humans here letting them die so this lostbelt was evil from the start and gudako is objevtively right for this”

And like. Thats so AGGRAVATING for the lostbelt that was drummed up to be the one that would give us the most trouble, the lostbelt that was supposed to be the model one.

What i really wanted out of this lostbelt was a lostbelt that was objectively better than earth. That really? The only reason we could justify destroying it was for our own survival. Not because the lostbelt was in some way flawed, but because we have no other choice. With how sickly killing the first lostbelt felt, i really wanted lostbelt 5 to blow me out of the park with the emotional weight of killing a world and it just. didnt even try. It threw in some half assed line about why this lostbelt was well and truly evil

Which like! Honestly if it had been done well enough i couldve been fine with, couldve been happy with. But the twist that zeus actually was going to fuck off? That chaos was going to destroy all the humans anyway?? That zeus brainwashed the other gods to his side anyway????? I felt zero sympathy in destroying this lostbelt and i wanted to, SO badly

And i am All Here for a more in depth take on how humans have twisted robots into gods. How these ronots thought they could love humans but didnt hold the capacity for it!!! Honestly that concept is super cool!! I liked it!!! But like. The way it was delivered left a bad taste in my mouth. I wanted to care more about the tragedy it had wrought.

I wish that zeus’ defeat was something like… in attempting to defeat zeus, chaldea accidentally/maybe on purpose? Endangers the people of olympus. And through the motions of protecting them, zeus burns and falls to ruin. And as he lays there, he realizes that as much as he wants to care for these people hes protecting, he doesnt. And hes dying for what he feels is nothing.

If i put more thought to it i could come up with more ways the god plotline couldve been bettered on. But like. A third act twist where the reader is reassured that this lostbelt is undeniably evil is really one of the worst options they couldve taken at that point. Basically everything else i can forgive but that felt really sour in my mouth

And finally . I loved kirschtania and caenis i did cry. I could say more on them but itd be fairly incoherent especially when im this tired. Just know that i really really like them

#fgo #lb5.2 #lb5 #fgo olympus #kiki speaks

[ladye-zelda]

I saw your tags from the post a while ago about how the small details in totk Make up for the main story, and while I agree, I gotta say that the things some people say about the story being bare bones or whatever (and BOTW’s story to that extent) just…doesn’t make sense to me. Because I think the problem is with the execution rather than the writing. Like, BOTW was even more bare bones,because it was just a bunch of exposition. Not to say the story wasn’t good because it absolutely is, but it was minimal, imo. Anyway I said all that to say that I personally do think that totk has the better story, but the execution is worse and I think the open world format hurts it. And I think if people could look past that they could see how good it is. But of course that’s all just me. Neither game’s story is particularly great but I love them both. Anyway I did not intend for this to get so long but what do you think about that? I’m just curious 🙂

Sorry this took me a while to respond anon, I was trying to think of a way to respond XD

Yeah, I can definitely agree that the open world aspect hurts the story of Tears. I was thinking about this earlier, and I think Breath of the Wild's story worked because it is so barebones. The developers were able to develop the story around the gameplay, which has always been Nintendo's adjective for both of these games (and probably all of their games, though I am not too much on an expert on that in all honesty) first and foremost. And it worked, for the most part.

I do believe there can be no "perfect" Zelda game, and especially not one that can appease all Zelda fans (even the games that everyone praises to be perfect has their haters, though I guess hate is too strong of a word). I think the main downfall of Tears of the Kingdom was that it couldn't live up to fan's expectations and wants for the Zelda franchise. Tears of the Kingdom was always meant to be BotW+, since the developers had so many ideas for Breath of the Wild they had to make a second game in order to fit all of those ideas, which led to them repeating the same gameplay mechanics as Breath of the Wild.

Don't get me wrong, TotK's gameplay is good since it what made Breath of the Wild good as well, but because it's exactly like Breath of the Wild is what made it sour in the minds of players. I guess for the players who played other kinds of games in between Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom allowing them time to do something else, it isn't so bad. But for the players who play nothing but Zelda games or who were late into getting into the Zelda franchise (such as myself) it can be a little... repetitive (and I'm mainly talking about the quests, shrines, and the same mechanic of unlocking a terminal in a dungeon found in both botw and totk). Hence why I was so drawn all to the other world discoveries not unlocked by doing a side quest, which I think is the greatest improvement TotK brought imo.

In terms of TotK's story... I don't hate it exactly, but I will say I will prefer BotW's better. I still kind of need to analyze the story of TotK fully for myself to draw any real conclusions for me; my biggest problem is how it completely erases BotW's story from it's story. Sure, half a dozen years has passed in between games (both in-game and irl) but surely the impact of defeating the Calamity would've left something... bigger. Like, wouldn't word have gone around that Link was the one to have defeated the darkness looming the castle? They could've at least acknowledged him directly instead of pulling a Tony Hawk and saying "oh you have the same name as that guy who defeated that evil some time ago". I will give them the benefit of the doubt, but then again everyone knows Zelda and he has never her side so, ???. Sorry, didn't mean to rant there. It was kind of a frustration I felt along with many others while playing the game. Main story-wise I don't have any real issues other than you're seriously telling me that there was another ancient civilization before the previous civilization that had even more ancient technology? It kind of pushes my suspension of disbelief (and once again repeating things from BotW).

Anyways, thank you for sharing your opinion anon! Once again I am immensely sorry it took me this long to come to it; tldr in my opinion I prefer Breath of the Wild's story over TotK's. You do make a lot of good points that I agree with, but I think it boils down to personal preference over which game is better due to how similar the games are, which can be a good thing or a bad thing depending on opinion.

Thank you so much for reaching out and discussing this with me!

#the ladye answers #amazing anon!!! #despite being fine with what we have for totk I do kind of have some ideas on how to improve it #though I do like how totk answered some questions that we had for botw (mainly the 8th heroine story) #but I think it would've been better if it followed the traditional zelda formula of having sequels set in a different place #or if it was just set in the ancient past from the start #I think it would've fixed the open world story aspect #like it could still be open world but in the ancient past #it would present an interesting way because now you're living in the story instead of have it all have already happened in the past #just like in botw and totk #idk again that's an opinion of mine but i think it would made me enjoy totk a bit more #right now I think I'm just feeling a bit meh from it due to experiencing burnout #tears of the kingdom #totk #totk spoilers #totk discussion #also sorry if this doesn't make any sense; feel free to send another ask for clarification #I promise I'll get to that one sooner XD

[not-xpr-art]

Art deep dive #3 - How important are the "rules" of art?

Hi!

So it's been a longgg time since I did one of these, but I've recently noticed something in the way people talk about art online today, especially the idea of 'art rules', that I've found interesting so... let's talk about it!

(just fyi this is a series where I ramble about art-y things and pretend I know what I'm talking about lol)

How important are the "rules" of art? ~

If you're an artist you've probably heard some version of the phrase 'you need to learn the rules in art in order to break them'. Effectively this refers to learning the basics of art like anatomy, colour theory or perspective before you completely do away with them to create something stylised, deconstructive or even abstract! Even beyond this particular idea, I hear so many artists online (as well as in school) talk about the importance of learning the 'art rules'.

And to some extent, I agree with this sentiment! I think you need to have some understanding of how to draw things, and more specifically knowing why we draw things certain ways. An example of this is the 'don't use black in shadows' rule, which is referring to the fact that there are no true black shadows in nature, and using other colours as shadows can keep your work from looking too 'flat'. And despite me knowing this, I have definitely used black as shadows in my work, especially when I want to create some intense chiaroscuro or drama! But I know that when I want to create something realistic, using black in the shadows would probably be a bad idea lol!

But the thing is... What do I actually mean when I say 'art rules'?

Who decides what rules make up the way things should be drawn/painted/sculpted/etc and why should we follow them in the first place?

There's certainly a set of rules for how to draw things in particular styles (as in, if you want realism you probably need to follow some specific proportions lol), but those don't apply to all forms of art! Similarly when it comes to something like colour theory, there are colours that will help you create a harmonious work, but that isn't always relevant!

Abstract and conceptual art (amongst others) are forms that don't necessarily require a sense of balance or even artistic integrity. Much of the last century of art history was specifically about throwing away the old ideas of how art 'should' look and be made. The Dadaists and works like the 'Ready Mades' of people like Duchamp challenged the idea of 'art rules', and as chagrin as I am to agree with anything Duchamp has ever done, it WAS effective in completely reshaping the art world.

So we know that much of art doesn't have to rely on art rules. However, when I look at the online art community, and even my own experiences within art education, there seems to be a return to the idea of 'learn the rules first, break them later'. Those rules being the things I mentioned earlier (proportions, anatomy, perspective, colour theory, etc), things that make up the basic art education that's been taught in art schools for hundreds of years.

Except... I haven't really answered the who or why have I lol?

There's obviously no one individual guy who one day was like 'I'm gonna make up some art rules for people to follow until the end of time!', but rather the things we now consider the 'basics' of art can mostly be traced back to Antiquity (as in Ancient Greece). And I do consider it integral to say that the things that are globally seen as 'art rules' are things that have specific origins in Western countries of Art History.

It's no great secret that the History of Art has a racism problem, and the fact that the majority of artists considered part of the 'canon', and the ones who were venerated and taught as part of art education for many years are white men from western and central Europe...

Art from other continents don't always have the same ideas of 'art rules', and when these were first introduced to Europe, they were written off as 'naïve' and 'primitive' because they didn't conform to the European idea of 'art'. And in a way I think that this (obviously) racist ideology has fed into our current concept of 'art rules' pretty much entirely revolving around Western standards of art (which usually positions realism above all else, with the significance and symbolism of art become less important).

Let's next tackle the 'why' of art rules. I've already mentioned why you would follow rules in a practical sense, but beyond that is there any reason for following these 'art rules'? I think fundamentally it all comes down to what we consider the purpose of a particular work of art. If your goal with a piece is specifically about creating a realistic work, then it definitely makes sense that you would follow them. But art that is more instinctual or personal, or art that is abstract, or even art that is pattern/purely aesthetic based, all have very different intentions for their creation.

So why, in 2023, do so many artists (and art schools) still push this idea that art has a rigid set of rules that you have to learn, and only once you've learnt them can you then completely disregard them? Rules that we know stem from European art history and also only apply to a certain sort of art. I think in a way it all comes down to a way to quantify what 'good' and 'bad' art looks like. If there are really no rules, and you don't need to have basic understandings of anatomy or perspective in order to be an artist, then I think to some people it means that can no longer say that in order to be an artist you need to put in a certain amount of 'effort'.

In conclusion... Is there even a conclusion to this lol?

Personally, I think that there's definitely value in learning the Western ideas of art rules that we consider the 'basics' (things like anatomy, perspective, etc) if you want to improve your realistic drawing skills, but don't think you need to learn everything about art rules in order to become some accomplished or 'real' artist lol

Art is first and foremost about creativity and expression, so really just have fun with it!

~

I hope you enjoyed this mini (informal) essay! I actually haven't written one of these deep dives for over 2 years lol!

Btw, let me know your thoughts on this and whether you agree with it lol!

If you liked this feel free to check out those other one, or my art advice tag (where I attempt to give advice to beginner artists lol...)

#art deep dives #art discussion #mini essay #art rambles #hopefully this is moderately coherent lol #btw i think it's around 900 words? surprisingly concise for me lol! #btw my whole ideas with these deep dives is to spark conversasion! #i'm by no means right about this i just think it's an interesting topic!