#just to veer away…

[saint-ambrosef]

while im at it: the good place was doing such a good job pointing out the flaws of a materialism-based afterlife and came SO close to the Catholic conclusion of purgatory, then just like. gave up and decided on buddhist existentialism instead at the last minute.

#threw the baby out with the bath water smh #im partially joking because it was a genuinely good show and a good critique of the modernist christian conception of the afterlife #but dang it was so disappointing to see them get SO CLOSE to the point lol #just to veer away… #mea

[calypsolemon]

as much as verbal boyfriend confirmation would be nice for geo/cole, i genuinely don't actually think it's necessary for the relationship to count as "canon" considering the standards for how most hetero relationships are portrayed in ninjago is as equally devoid of verbal confirmation or even like. consistent physical affection, with the exception of jaya. Like, pixane is barely more cuddly than most friends, and Kai canonically dropped the ball with Skylor by forgetting to call her for years. Quite frankly with the amount of physical affection present, calling each other family, and underlying romantic coding Geo and Cole have, I'd consider it the third most prominent romance in the series and I mean that pretty seriously.

#like yeah by the standards of most tv shows its 'hinted' #but then you look at kailor or pixane or even wusako and it's like #the show really just veers away from romance most of the time? #anyways swagever #ninjago

[stuckinapril]

So is that a no? I can’t follow you?

I just think you are really cool and really cute and I do love your blog and your answers to asks and it’s just a great blog and you seem great

Did you, a Zionist, rly think you could send an Arab girl “ya I’m a Zionist” “free Palestine from Hamas btw” w regards to a catastrophic genocide of Arab people and she’d just be like omg??? How nice and sweet????? 💀💀

#like please stay away from me #also this ask was rly veering into creepy real quick #like I just read this ask and audibly went ew. so very few things in life get me to that point. #ask

[tj-crochets]

Re the rabid skunk

I’m from a country town and while it’s not something I was taught in school, I was definitely taught by my parents and other adults in my life to report possibly rabid or sick animals. There is some worry about rabies and other diseases diseases rising in the wildlife population so the forest service try to stay on top of it.

It’s a little messed up that no one was taking your concern seriously. Even if it was just a weird skunk, rabies and other animal diseases are no joke and pose a threat to people and other animals.

Thank you! It's very...idk the word. Affirming? Good to know it's not just me that thinks it's like a responsibility to report potentially rabid animals, like it's just a thing you do

#ask away! #for anyone who missed my post about this yesterday #there was a skunk in my yard behaving very weird yesterday #out in bright daylight running full speed in a giant circle not being chased not looking for food #found a hiding place (under the shed in my yard) but did not stay there #came from the center of the neighborhood (away from forest not good for skunks) #ran towards forest then veered away back towards houses #so I tried to call to report the skunk to animal control in case it was rabies (or another potentially zoonotic disease) #and there just! is no animal control! where I live! #absolutely no governmental involvement AT ALL #and the private companies only handle stray pets not wildlife! #which is wild to me #what is government for if not to try to control rabies #like I understand that is not the central purpose of government but I do feel like it should at least be on the radar

[decarbry]

Playing around a little with my Nomu!Aizawa... scars based on when he gets snatched, hair down to his middle-back, extra extra scruff because of an even more diminished ability to care for himself, a faded mark on his ring finger...

If you thought Aizawa couldn’t get more tired surprise! As a Nomu in my AU his main purpose is Shiggy’s alarm system (I love the head canon that Shigaraki is an Aizawa fan because he’s the kind of selfless hero he wished saved him as a child, so in this AU he gets that wish aaa). It means that even when he does get to sleep his quirk will open an eye automatically anytime something makes a noise near Shigaraki. I also kind of wanted to go with Kurogiri’s naming mechanic and give him a Nomu name that translates, so Yabureme is how he’s known!

#nomu aizawa #boku no hero academia fanart #shouta aizawa #ok so hear me out #I'm a sucker for tragedy so I will be running away with this #Yabureme means to tear or crack which applies to him in multiple ways #could've gone more complicated but I like how Yabureme sounds #in this version he and Oboro are both Nomu! #So coworkers lmao #it only veers off of the canon storyline at the USJ attack #considering AFO has always wanted Erasure and only ever tried once to get it #the fact that Shiggy could've just Grabbed Aizawa when he had him half dead at the USJ has always bugged me #I'll write more about this later but the au definitely comes complete with vigilante Hizashi #please join me on this self-indulgent tragic bnha au #again I am NEW to this school and the last thing I want to do is copy an idea that's already been developed?! so please don't be afraid #to (politely) let me know in messages and I'll be happy to change things so I'm not stepping on toes #Yabureme Aizawa AU

[logicpng]

haha nice

#not art #text post #im in agony guys #i want to share so much but it often veers off into spoiler territory nor i wanna give away too much and make the ghost unfun #but hey he can play basic sound files #this isnt story related or whatever it's really mostly just for me #edit: im sorry did i say basic. i just learned that lavfilter can make him play all sorts of shit. it plays .ogg so im happy #Aster Terror Star devlog

[seriousbrat]

to add on lily’s flaws she also believes james and the marauders rather than severus (which is just bad writing imo) and she tells him to be grateful james saved his life, she also who quickly bites back once you annoy her, she also gave cheeky answers to slughorn when he suggested she could’ve been in slytherin, (i personally hate her sm for her trying to tell severus he should be grateful to james would like to hear your opinions) but yes even her, a briefly mentioned character, is very flawed!

tbh my feeling is more that she just believed a rumour that was going around the school rather than having heard it directly from james. idk obviously we dont know. but teenage girls (and boys) often believe rumours. not that weird. I actually think she wouldn't have believed it coming directly from James given how she acts towards him in SWM, but if the school generally seems to agree that it happened then it's more believable.

re: her telling Sev he should be grateful, I've talked about this before (I think in that very post about lily's flaws) but I don't read it as "you should forgive james for everything he's done" but just this kind of desperate, naive "can't we all just get along and stop fighting" sentiment. it's still not a great thing to say, absolutely it's insensitive and tactless.

however it's always interesting to me how Snape people despise Lily for that singular comment (like that's the worst thing anyone could do lol) when Sev is pretty atrocious to her in that conversation too. He completely dismisses her feelings-- like how is Lily saying he should be grateful any worse than him writing off what Mulciber did to Mary as 'just a laugh'? Sev literally ignores her because he's too focused on his hatred towards the Marauders to hear his muggleborn friend's very valid concerns about the death eater wannabes he's hanging out with.

I don't think it's fair to hold Lily to a different standard than Sev, that's my opinion. If she's insensitive towards her best friend then god is he ever. and idk teen friendships are often like that- immature. they have yet to mature

they are so dysfunctional lol. and i love them for it personally!

#cheekiness is arguably not a flaw haha but i guess it can veer into insolence #and before anyone starts with 'i was a perfect flawless teenager who was never insensitive' consider this: perhaps u did not notice #you can feel however you want about lily obv #but uve got to admit it's a bit silly to love a majorly majorly flawed character like Sev and hate Lily for saying a stupid thing #or my fave (this isnt u anon just in general) when people hate her for running away after he called her a mudblood haha #like damn that bitch how could she #sl #lily #severus #meta #replies

[sergle]

Now I’m curious, what breeds are on your list?

✨Golden Retrievers✨ Pomeranians Samoyeds Rottweilers Irish red setters German Shepherd (I like the black ones) Rough Collies and Shelties Great Pyrenees Bernese Mountain Dogs Cocker Spaniels St. Bernards Borzois and probably more that I forgot to list!! These are all dogs that I Especially want to cry when I see them, and that I could see myself loving / being able to meet the particular needs of their breed. I've expanded my Range a little in the two years since I brought Hugo home, since he's taught me a lot about dogs, and I could potentially take care of a baby with very different needs from the ones that he had. I'm still by no means a dog expert but. Yanno. You learn small things over time! In the end, when I was searching for a dog a few years ago, I had a few qualifications I didn't want to budge on. I needed a dog that's trainable, but not stubborn, a dog that's gentle and considerate with my cats and my niblings, a dog that's not too reactive, a dog with soft fur, and a dog that is affectionate. So... Hugo is all of those things!!! He picks up skills quickly and listens (I gotta work on his Recall though), he takes extreme care around the cats and is so careful that he can be left alone with kittens and baby chicks, so being sat on / bothered / tugged on by small kids isn't even a challenge. He has never growled at anyone or anything in Irritation in his life. He's never bared his teeth. He doesn't bark at strangers or at odd noises, he doesn't snap as a response to being surprised. He's extremely pillowy soft, and his fur doesn't irritate my skin or pierce my clothes. He is extremely, extremely sweet and loving, frankly to the point that he would easily fall in love with a new owner if he was kidnapped lmao. You can maybe see why I like goldens so much. I got REALLY close to adopting a Pomeranian, which I'll continue to Think About, basically forever... but as someone with a predisposition for migraines, I don't want to set the dog up for failure if I'm not ready to hear bark bark bark bark bark bark bark all day. That's the ONLY downside. Maybe I invest in some noise cancelling headphones? They're beautiful dogs though, I love an animal that looks like a little rat. You ever see one of them after a bath? My god.

#they're comically small. #but YEAH that's the list as well as I can remember it off the top of my head!!! #sorry you asked me about dogs so I'm gonna Talk About Dogs. I have too many paragraphs of thoughts. #sergle.txt #sergle answers #I spent a lot of time looking at the Stats on the AKC website? for dog breeds #which is amazingly helpful actually. to just give a sliding scale on all the general breed traits #I also like mixes and mutts and everything btw. I love a good shelter dog. but. #I wanted to be able to predict what I was in for with this dog. hence Hugo. He's very much breed standard #with a random puppy you don't know exactly what traits they'll be predisposed to have #and again there were some very important things I needed. #but yeah I spent a lot of time looking at Stats and for First Dog.. I wanted to veer away from #the Loud dogs and from the ones that have high exercise needs. like LOTS AND LOTS of activity #Bc I wasn't prepared to deal with too much barking and I wasn't prepared to go on 5 hikes a day. yk. #Idk! it's all fun. there's something pokemon like to me abt dog breeds #it's fun the way that they're all so so different

[puhpandas]

Veering Off Course

(2,305 words)

Gregory and his family get a call that Vanessa, whos in a different state for college, has gotten hurt. Gregory calls Evan, and Evan is able to use the things he's learned about himself since meeting Gregory to help his friend with his emotions regarding the situation.

Its early in the morning on a Saturday when Evan gets the call. It woke him up, so all he does is blink groggily and swipe at the screen blindly while propped up on his elbow until his thumb hits 'answer' on his phone. "Hello?"

"Evan." It's Gregory, and the serious tone to just that single word clears up Evan's brain as fast as lightning. He scrambles to prop himself into sitting up and rubs at his eyes with one hand.

"Gregory?" Evan asks, looking at the little icon he set for Gregory's contact of a picture of Evan and him at an amusement park. "Is everything okay?"

It takes a second for Gregory to respond, and it causes the anxiety that had steadily began to bubble inside of him to surge. "Gregory?"

"Sorry." Gregory finally answers. "I-- Uh... can you..." His friend struggles for words, and Evan tries to be as patient as possible as it becomes clearer every second something is wrong. "Can you come over? Like right now?"

Evan flounders for words for a second, but manages to force his mouth to say, "Of course."

"Okay." Gregory replies, and a surge of worry shoots through his chest when Gregory sounds like he might cry. He takes a breath on the other end, then, "Please hurry."

After that, Evan only lingers enough to respond with a short confirmation and goodbye before hanging up the phone. It takes him record time to shoot out of bed, sling on some shoes, and get down the street a few houses to Gregory's own.

His mind had played multiple awful scenarios of what terrible thing could have happened the entire time, but his worry does not ebb when he makes it to the porch and knocks on the door to a teary eyed Gregory.

Evan's immediately herded inside. Freddy has his phone in his hand pressed up against his ear, and he's pacing around the room. Aunt Chica and Aunt Roxy sit in the living room. Bonnie is sat in a dragged-over dining chair by Freddy and frowning.

It's dead silent in the house; even the TV and seemingly endless energy flowing through and causing bustling noise is snuffed out to nothing. Evan watches as everyone sits completely seriously and quiet, hands held in their lap or thrumming against something.

Impatience, is what Evan first thinks of. They're waiting for something. News, maybe? Freddy is on the phone. It's so silent you could hear a pin drop. Or somebody else's phone vibrate.

Evan's dread and anxiety only get worse when Gregory shuts the door behind him and tugs on him a bit. Evan follows without struggle, thousands of words and questions on his tongue when Gregory leads him to one of the unoccupied seats in the living room; a loveseat.

He sits down with him, and Gregory's face is scrunched up in barely restrained worry. Evan watches his friend, who's been an anchor for himself for so long, tremble and hunch in on himself. "Gregory?"

Gregory's eyes dart to him, and Evan leans down, hunching forward with his elbows rested on his thighs like theyre their own personal bubble. Evan's own brows furrow, and he feels the familiar thickness in his throat just at watching his friend be upset.

Evan grabs at his hand, squeezing it tight and lacing their fingers together. "I'm really worried, Gregory... please tell me whats wrong." Evan pleads. "Please?"

Gregory nods unsurely after a moment, and Evan watches him swallow thickly before turning to him fully. "Dad got a call from the University of Oregon today."

Evan's brows raise, but he nods to keep going. The University of Oregon is the college Gregory's sister, Vanessa, had left home to go attend. Evan hasnt gotten the chance to meet her, yet. She's already been gone two years strong, with a seemingly bright future. Evan's heard Gregory and his family talk about her enough to know her talents.

Gregory's breath hitches, and Evan wraps his other hand around Gregory's, the one he already has ahold of. He sandwiches it in-between his own and hopes it's enough comfort.

"Somebody called us and told us Vanessa got into a car crash today. On campus."

It's like a bucket of ice water is poured on Evan's head. His feet go cold, and his eyes widen to saucers. Fear shoots like an arrow through his stomach. When he stops reeling from the news, he watches Gregory begin to shake and lose the carefully gathered composure he'd put up since Evan arrived.

"They said..." Gregory's brows are furrowed so much it looks like it hurts. Theres a clench in his jaw and a wetness to his eyes Evan isnt used to. "They said she's already been taken to the hospital and is in surgery." He frowns, and theres a twist in his lip that Evan is so familiar with. "They... a-all we can do is wait. They told us they'd let us know any updates."

The house is thrown back into such jarring silence after Gregory stops talking that Evan's ears start ringing. Which makes it clear as day when Gregory's breath turns harsh beside him.

Evan tears his eyes away from the floor and ignores the twisting feeling in his chest to look at his friend. He has his face buried in the hand that isnt held by Evan and is shaking in a way where you can tell theyre trying so hard to keep it together. Gregory's angled away from him, but Evan can see the panic on his face even from where he can see.

Evan's breath hitches, and the thickness in his throat begins to turn into burning as he scootches closer to Gregory on the couch and sets a hand on his shoulder. He tugs a bit until Gregory gets the message and let's him wrap his arms around his middle and hold him close.

Gregory makes some sort of horrible, upsetting hitching noise that causes the dam to break for Evan, before he sort of flops against him and brings up his own arms to clutch at his T-Shirt. Gregory's head thumps against his shoulder, and it's one of the only times Evan really becomes aware of the height he has on his friend.

"Its okay..." Evan says into Gregory's shoulder, because it's all he knows to do in the moment. He glances around and sees that Gregory's family has shifted to the dining room, leaving them alone. Evan finally feels the tears slip from his eyes as he presses closer, hugging him like his life depends on it. "Its okay, Gregory. It'll be okay."

"It's--" Gregory says, and Evan can hear how much his voice shakes with barely contained tears. "Its not. I can't-- We can't even go see her. We can't go and wait for her to wake up, or anything... we just have to--" He cuts himself off, and Evan feels Gregory shake harshly against him.

"We just have to sit here." Gregory says, voice thick. "I dont know what to do, Evan. I don't know what to do."

And its only that sentence that causes Evan to grapple at what to do, if his friend can't. And all he can think about is how himself would react if it were Gregory getting hurt.

All he'd be able to do is cry, he realizes. He wouldnt be able to do anything. Just wait and be scared.

But that's what Gregory is getting at, isnt he? He can't do anything. That's the thing. Evan has known Gregory long enough to get him. To know, him. Evan knows that Gregory doesnt sit around and cry like Evan does. He prefers to get up and do something about whatevers wrong.

Hes a problem solver instead of waiting around. A fighter instead of a crier. No wonder hes so bent out of shape about this. To have a loved one in danger, and when you're so used to getting up and making a plan to fix a problem and are forced to sit in standby...

Evan eases them down against the cushion of the couch, not once untangling themselves from eachother. Gregory shakes, but he does not cry. "So what would you do if you could?"

The hair from Gregory's bangs brushes against Gregory's neck as he moves his head. "I'd... I don't know. I'd at least try to get to her." Gregory says, voice unbelievably quiet. "At least get to her. Then figure it out from there. Just so I'm not waiting on phone calls."

Evan nods against him, his chin scrunching up Gregory's hair. His tears have long since stopped falling, but he knows he has dry tracks on his cheeks. "You have a plan."

Gregory makes some sort of noise that would sound like a snort in any other circumstances. "I would if I could." Gregory replies, squeezing his arms a bit tighter. "But I cant" He sighs, shuddering and heavy. "I just have to wait."

Evan hums. "You're worried, and you're stressed." He makes the same noise Gregory just did. "I know how you feel... I really do. Maybe not your exact situation, but... I get what it's like to feel helpless." He says. "You know what I would do?"

Gregory hums this time, questionative. Evan rubs circles into his back. "I'd sit there and wait, and wish for it to different. And when it wouldnt be, I'd cry."

Gregorys head shifts against that crook between Evan's chin and chest, almost like hes trying to look him in the eye but the hug prevents him from being able.

"All I ever did was cry." Evan says when Gregory doesnt respond. "Its the only thing that I could do to cope."

"...So..." Gregory asks, and his voice is thick again. "You mean..."

"You're stressed." Evan answers. "You're stressed and you're worried. So... why dont you let it out?"

Evan, out of anyone, knows how valuable emotions can be. He didnt, once upon a time. When everyone would just tell him how annoying it is. How useless it is. How he's asking for it. How he should have toughened up by now. When instead of comfort, he'd receive ridicule and prodding.

That's changed. Ever since a certain someone entered his life. He doesn't think of his emotions, himself so little anymore. So worthless. So maybe that's why Gregory perks up ever so slightly in understanding.

And that's all it takes.

Gregory's trembling turns into shoulder shaking sobs like the snap of a finger. He cries, open and unadulterated, and Evan just hugs him close and rubs his back, offering reassurances like Gregory has done for him so many times.

His own eyes burn when his best friends sobs are heard so openly and he can feel every shudder of his body. Evan's chin scrunches, and the tears fall right along with Gregory as Evan hugs him close, tucking his face into his hair.

"Im--" Gregory cries. "I-Im just so worried about her."

"I know." Evan responds, his own voice breaking as he pets Gregory's hair. His shirt is damp with tears but he doesnt care. "Itll be okay. It'll all be okay."

They stay like that for a while, and Evan can tell Gregory needs it. He needs it. The worry he felt that morning doesnt ever really leave, and it stays ever-present as Evan watches his friend fall apart. They stay stuck together like magnets, eventually only shoulder to shoulder with linked hands on the loveseat, and none of Gregory's family try to peel them apart when they eventually wander back into the living room.

They stay in a state of constant agonizing limbo all day. At 8:00pm, Freddy calls it a night. Gregory protests immediately, but Aunt Roxy calms him down almost seamlessly and convinces him to go to bed.

Of course, Evan follows him. He cant imagine a world where he doesnt. The air mattress stays deflated in Gregory's closet as it has been most of the time nowadays. All Evan has to do is kick his shoes off since he left home in his pajamas anyway and they're wrapped around eachother, tucked in Gregory's bed under his comforter in the dark.

Gregory is silent all throughout the night, even though Evan knows he's awake. Evan just hopes that... he did the right thing. Something knows is that suppressing how you feel isnt good. It never works. No matter how much you want it to.

Gregory taught him that. He just wants to return the favor. Not because he owes Gregory, no. Gregory has long since hammered it into Evan's thick skull that he has nothing to pay him back for. That his kindness is not a deed to Evan, but rather that Evan himself deserves to be treated kindly.

Gregory does, too. Evan knows this with all his heart. Gregory is his best friend and has done more for him than anyone else ever has.

Evan... all Evan did was change. Change for the better. And hopefully he helped the most important person in his life with the things he learned. The things that person taught him.

He hugs Gregory's middle a little tighter, not daring to break the silence. Gregory needs time, but doesn't want to be alone. Evan understands. He does. He just hopes to convey what he truly feels through the one action.

Thank you. I'm here for you. I'll always be here. You're my best friend. I'm so glad you trust me. I trust you as well. So much.

Gregory himself wraps his arms tighter around Evan in turn, and Evan feels like the single movement lso has a deeper meaning he cant read.

They dont speak. They just lay in silence until eventually they fall asleep, stuck together like two puzzle pieces.

ao3 link

#this oneshot is mostly just to focus more on gregorys character and how i imagine him (not headcanon #his actual canon character) to handle problems. #ive always seen gregory as instead of letting fear/emotions take over #he pushes past to get a task done/fix whatevers wrong. so i wanted to translate that into the flashlight duo universe with the emotional/pr #especially because of how important emotions are to evans growth and how gregory is the reason for that growth #and i also just wanted to finally write a bit of evan helping gregory since ive written so much vice versa. #i needed something for gregory to be super worried over and well. this universe is already family centric. poor vanessa. #its a normal ass world okay theres not much i can do #vanessa is okay btw. #the next day theyre supposed to get news about surgery and recovery and plan to go on a road trip to oregon to see her while she recovers #(i actually already wrote some of it but cut it out because i didnt like where it was going. #just veered (ha) too far away from the core of the fic) #so you can imagine that happening. #anyways hope you enjoyed! still need a better idea to showcase evan helping gregory but i think this is okay for now. #i have some other plans for this duo (as always) having to do with love languages so im excited about that. #lets see how long itll take me to actually write it lol #pandas writes #my fics #flashlight duo #flashlight duo oneshots #gregory #evan #the fazbears #oneshot #kinda feel like this is cringe #but whatever im cringe and im free two cakes etc #not my favorite work ive done but whatever #its okay

[blinkpen]

petty haterade in a little dixie cup

killing me how many of the "as written by viv" bits end up being unironically funny bc there is still an at least unconscious level of an Actual Joke being Told, despite the piss being taken of "no jokes, sentences are charmless and the boring boilerplate bare minimum of what is needed to communicate info, and then the comedy is they just swear a lot"

like every molecule in people resists just how banal you have to get to really, truly, properly emulate this hot garbage, and so they end up sliding in actually well-wordsmithed sentences that make the deliberately over-used swears still hit at the most critical points of the verbal scaffolding, instead of becoming like. the linguistic equivalent of dumping salt onto a overcooked burger patty you just scrapped all other condiments and accoutrements off of.

and then, even funnier, some stans will go "haha you're just proving saying Dicky RapeAss Poopoo Titty as comedy IS hilarious!" oh, buddy, no, no, actually, while Tasteless Fuckword Comedy working is possible, it requires a honed blade and actual wit to cut good lines. all this meme has actually proven is that viv's scalpel is dull as fuque and she is so breathtakingly bad at it that even people trying to make something stupid juvenile and unfunny on purpose are manifesting better punchlines.

you're just able to laugh at both because your standards are lower than spongebob's coochie on the cold kitchen floor. you can bust a gut at brickleberry tier humor in prettier paint and good for you i guess? you're either a young person who has not had the time/life experience to be exposed to a broader palette of media and culture yet, or a middle aged person who has willingly kept the spectrum of their media diet pretty narrow, like, as a demographic, you are generally among the lowest common denominator of Consumer and easily pleased, i'm happy for you in a way, i wish i could get good brain chemical that easily.

just don't take it personal when the desiccating white castle sliders you consume religiously are not considered gourmet, or even remotely palatable, by other humans,

especially vegetarians and human rights types who are Concerned about the sound of wailing cattle and cracking whips coming from the kitchen, and the manager's insatiable habit of dragging cooks (and sometimes even customers who just drew something from her menu wrong on a napkin) out into the parking lot by their hair and screaming at the top of her millionaire-since-birth white woman lungs that her delicate tender ass is under attack to summon The Horde

#hhhhverse tag of spite #oh that wandered away from my original spill oops #sorry its just 'is a horrible person' supercedes 'made hot garbage' so i can't complain about the latter without veering into the former lo #if these shows were JUST overpolished turds i would hardly bother giving a shit how much they suck #but wrongdoing is committed to create them and maintain their relevance and that's A Bad

[minustwofingers]

i hope that i don’t actually need to say this bc i feel like my reader base is very slay and sexy and cool but if ur one of the anons that bullied elleloquently into leaving…go ahead and unfollow u are unwanted here

#ellie williams x reader #dee overshares #i feel like chances are that there aren’t any on here #since i also veer far away from smut #but just making my stance clear #bc what happened to elle is really fucked up

[narwhalandchill]

Honestly. thinking back on it (am mega late yes) even though i like. ultimately enjoyed going thru fontaine AQ as an experience in terms of its emotional core and payoff with characters like navia neuvillette n furina having very strong writing and characterization i do think the overall AQ lore and worldbuilding is probably the messiest in the entire game and feels like all of its opportunities and potential was underutilized the most and thats just. Unfortunate

like yes its inazuma thats the most infamous for how shitty and rushed its execution was (and rightly so) and yes it Also had its share of issues with nothingburgers like the whole statue thing going nowhere or how shoddily constructed the entire it-was-all-the-fatui deal was

but i still think it has a stronger ground to stand on like. all aspects of the story if just slightly differently written and centered around better in-lore reasoning and logic. Are internally consistent with the world ya know. and would have produced a good story. like it could be fixed easily. no need for me to go Full Rewrite here but like just to make a point:

a shut-in deity paranoid and trauma-stricken is ignorant to her peoples wishes and enacts an eternal rule that stifles their hopes and dreams. discontentment in the nation (NOT just the vision holders it shouldve been ALL inazumans divided on this i s2g) has been on the rise but only outside forces stoking the flames push it into overdrive as they seek to exploit the unrest to get the gnosis. couldve brought the whole "peoples faith powers the archon" if they wanted to pop off bc then the fatui by sparking the civil war are Directly weakening eis power like Thats solid! less ei was innocent and only the fatui led to the bad stuff more. ei is flawed makes shit choices and leaves an opening for their operations etc etc etc.

foreshadow signoras past and distrust of the gods in like a tense encounter or two early on (ritou maybe?) where she hints at a deeper reason behind her actions. no need to trauma dump just have her like idk mock us for seeking the archons for "help" in finding our sibling slash truth of the world and coincidentally use wording that directly alludes to what we already heard from dainsleif earlier abt the cataclysm and archons sus so its like an Oh Shit. she can namedrop or allude to venti to imply its personal or sth to further recontextualize her actions in mondstadt as well.

and so on. like then fixing the rebellion (ppl join for other reasons than just the VHD so its a more common cause etc maybe some ppl dont care abt the decrees as much but the drafting of civilians into the ever expanding war effort goes too far) and stuff like that. inazuma had the ingredients for a consistent good story they just fumbled it completely

whereas fontaine tells like. a much stronger and more hype emotional core journey for its focal points as u go thru them but also it just. Genuinely falls apart if you poke at the setting and world for a bit too long its really just swiss cheese and that sucks

like as much as i Do love the narwhal in a very normal and sane way i still think story wise it absolutely goes into the signora tier of mishandled AQ boss fights except Even worse than hers bc. signora Fits inazuma even if she was handled poorly. but with the narwhal (and by extension childes entire presence as happy as i was to see him at all) its just... kinda random? and got pretty much brushed aside even during the AQ like we get the opera hall cutscene and then theres a THIRTY MINUTE cutscene with focalors before the actual fight happens like way to just. eliminate any urgency from the situation bruh. and then at the end both the narwhal and childe kinda just got plot deviced into hyping up skirk and surtalogis name drop. which rly fucking sucks. 99.7% of fandom never reads the AQ fight boss drop to consider the narwhals a sentient thinking feeling entity and not just a dumb big pet bc skirk called it that etc.

childe in general i dont think im necessarily like. as negative on the way he was handled as some ppl are (tho the general sentiments are 100% shared) but its still very much like. a disappointment w his lack of presence and voiced lines and in terms of how a lot of the intrigue set up in the AQ Especially the oratrice judgement just got shrugged off all "who knows 🤷‍♀️" like Are You Serious. and also p much using him as a neuvi hype device like . I saw it i knew ppl were going to be insufferable abt it & was right

i also saw a comment talking abt how childe Being the purple guy inside the narwhal just corrupted or sth wouldve given him a more heightened presence during the boss fight and while im a hater of that concept for other reasons (mostly the. narwhal must have malicious designs for ajax thing) i cant disagree with that take in terms of the story aspect. like if the narwhal ate him when he fell back in (which i kinda? assume mustve happened lmao like where did he Go 😭😭) it Wouldve been a much greater moment for sth like that to be there.

But bc i personally dont like the Brainwashed Puppet Angle i think how id have done it is just. sure make the purple guy more reminiscent of ajax n his fight style maybe even FL . But. feature an actual fucking cutscene in the stomach of us realizing its Not Him. but instead its the Narwhal Emulating Him as a spectral summon thingy. bc it ate his dumb unconscious ass for safekeeping or w/e and is now copying his homework of "use a manifestation of the other as a combat technique" (v romantic btw. soulmates real). like DUDE we had childes earlier AQ appearance Actively Bring Up this EXACT thing! he uses a hydro construct mimicking the narwhal as a combat technique bc of how their encounter rewired his brain chemistry. and now the narwhal needs to improv a more humanoid angle to combat in its stomach after it ate us. so like pov ur the narwhal whats the closest point of reference to draw from at that moment?

Oh Right. the guy ur been fighting for 40+ days . Your guy (derogatory) 💀 like they have a telepathic link who knows if it could just straight up cross reference Our combat moves from the flashes its getting from childes memories of seeing us in action and utilizing that.

like it wouldve been so sick and still left the nature of their connection relatively open ended. like it ate him skirk would be separating them at the end and maybe comment on it a bit and his whereabouts during the entire thing wouldve been Way Less confusing. The knight dude being a mimic of ajax' battle technique would thematically connect to the golden house fight and his hydro whale technique and its just. the current electro dude is just so Huh. like its a good jumpscare and i love the OST obviously but it getting No Lore NOR cutscene sucks so bad

(And like if they wanted the combat design to be so that theres no cutscene interrupting the transition between being swallowed and entering the stomach phase just make it an AQ exclusive one. and if we cant have traveler talk and logistics of bringing paimon/neuvi to make the shocked observation of "is that.... him? no... its just an imitation???" or w/e . Just have us FLASH BACK to childes own fucking dialogue as the phantom him is summoned to face us where he mentions 1) traces of the narwhal on him and 2) the basis behind his hydro summon technique. so traveler can have a silent !!!!!! Realization that he got ate or whatever and now his narwhal is stealing his ideas jsjskdksirigkf)

Anyway i swear this wasnt just abt those two im so sorry . but like yeah its just a fucking shame and also the narwhal being just like . Means to an End in the prophecy feels kinda meh but like i dont have a solid idea on how that would even rly be fixed but yeah. underutilized my both beloveds

Back to fontaine general stuff tho i kinda do think that . hoyo almost missed the trees for the forest w it all if u will excuse the mid metaphor . like they told a very strong emotional story w neuvi and furina and navia But it came at the cost of a highly illogical lore and worldbuilding and its just An Issue if u dwell on it even a little bit and its rly a shame

like they were going for this justice theme of maybe AI justicebot is not The Way (TM) and people viewing court as a spectacle rather than a show of justice but then went never fucking where with it in terms of Maybe This Needs Changing . they made that entire champion duelists a thing despite it being So fucking stupid fundamentally like it just relies on nobody with enough raw power to just solo any duelist ever getting into the ring

(no credit for this tho this was a comment thread i ran into on leaks sub. there was also a point made abt how childe dueling and winning against clorinde when hes accused wouldve been such a great moment of like both showcasing clorindes role and linking to their earlier sparring and holding back thing and also that maybe the system sucks when this is possible and while i get the story needed him in jail so he can reunite w his narwhal . im now mad this didnt happen. give him a W in combat hoyo.)

like theres this entire thing about flawed justice in fontaine that is present in the 4.0 story but then it just...... Disappears. Bc AI justicebot was anti celestia archon deleter all along and it finished its job so its no longer a fundamental ethical issue for the legal system and fontaines ppl to grapple with and confront shit like childes sentencing. And furina wanted dramatic trials bc of what she was told by focalors but since she retires its now just neuvillette whos super fair so everything is fixed .

im not as big of a hater of act III as some but like thinking abt these things further makes me like it less and less like Yes they wanted this meropide vs regular fontaine dichotomy explored and all but thinking of it is just. i wonder how worthwhile the opportunity cost was in there (i have no correct answer btw)

bc . if you keep the childe jailed bc justice AI bot. they shouldve shown the people responding to it . bc that entire highly controversial judgement is Literally accompanied by the solving of the serial disappearances case AFTER multiple ""culprits"" had already been imprisoned for it which i actually forgot (thanks same reddit comment for reminding me) like Whats with those people then????? and just. Everything to do with the entire case including childes deal shouldve been a much bigger social upheaval anyway like ik stuff like furinas SQ shows ppl personally affected in the aftermath but i mean in bigger scale.

And Then if we like run a bit with this alternate hypothetical idea of childe no diffing the court system (clorinde im sure youre powerful but like i put more faith in those ruin guards that lasted 4s against FL than u girl) so hes simultaneously kind of a criminal let off scot free but also its so stupid to think a guy thats like 25 at most is involved in a 20yr old solved case it couldve been actual source of political discord. and like if you need to get him to the narwhal for plot reasons its Rly Not That Hard theyre obsessed with each other bro gets pinged a whale call once and its like yes honey we jailbreak for reunion tonight (hes going to throw hands Immediately bc hes the toxic battle maniac one). also yes ik they wrote it weird so technically ajax cant duel after the oratrice decides hes involved which is major intrigue point (that canon wasted but oh well) but like. they couldve written differently idc. he couldve even gone off investigating why AI bot considers him guilty on his own and then jeepers!! speedrun glitchless any% spawned into the primordial sea!! hes missing! but like this isnt a well articulated idea whatsoever lmao im just winging some shit

meropides existence in general was also just weird. again i enjoyed the character writing it enabled for wrio and the HotH trio and despite disliking childe just being MIA i do like how the storytelling around his escape expands on his social intelligence and street smarts still. but as an entity the fortress is just sorta there as a system that Obviously shouldnt be Like this when its literally the other side of the coin to fontaines Already dubious legal system but then they went the whole. its a gathering place for exiles (still a prison)!! a home for those alienated by the surface world after so long (so why KEEP them in there that long)!!!! protectors of egerias secret (okay Sure. but whats the need post prophecy then)!!!! And its like. okay im not about to uhh. overstep my understanding of the risk a chinese company limited by often nebulous and inconsistent censorship would take if they went for a full on prison reform/abolishing angle w the writing like i dont think that was in the cards. But it still means meropide as a system just falls apart if u think abt its existence critically At All and its hard to say whether fontaines writing omitting sth like it entirely wouldve ultimately been better for the overall focus of the story anyway. but yeah

and its just. im sure theres even more that i havent even noted here (logistics of nobody drowning in the flood & rest of teyvat being unaffected etc etc) bc this is just a rant ramble not a coherent analysis but my point in all of this is that the abundance of issues like these just kinda add up so that by the end its kinda like fontaines simultaneously the AQ that id say has the highest highs in terms of its best moments and strongest emotional beats and how much heart it carries . Like im not taking that away from it.

but its also the AQ with like genuinely the messiest fucking groundwork in lore and larger worldbuilding implications whose aftermath leaves the most plot threads barely explored or just discarded altogether by the end and its just?? Such a weird mess like i very much enjoyed it despite the problems and for me it still overtakes sumeru in many aspects but i cant pretend those problems arent there . like consistency of writing and lore accounted for sumeru is still the best AQ

(oh also. the fact that to my knowledge no fucking fontaine NPC Ever reacts to the events throughout the AQ is fucking insane. like other nations could get away w sth like that better but. THE ENTIRE NATION FLOODED. How the fuck arent they talking. ppl in meropide post act IV abt the close call. ppl who saw the narwhal in the opera house in V. Like . HUH???)

but yeah its . A weird situation w fontaines writing as a whole . & yes im giga late to the discussion HSJSJSKSI but oh well thats my brain for ya

#anyway if i somehow missed an array of NPCs reactinv to the events thatll be embarrassing lmao but #i kinda doubt it usjsjdjdiriskdkt #its sooooo weird i swear . like fontaines rly just the cinematic drama above all else #idk if the writing was just a mess to begin with or if there were like rewrites happening #where some initial version of the story utilized the setting and things like ajax n the narwhal much better #but then they shifted gears at some point maybe to veer away from the justice system being fucked aspect #to avoid the . furina neuvi actively responsible for these problems angle bc problematic playables are a Thing #i do have a bit of a foil hat abt cut content w childe specifically bc he isnt voiced in acts III and IV #final cutscene is only in cn . so its kinda giving hasty rewrite couldnt get ahold of all VAs #but yeaaaaaa idk #also i didnt even MENTION #pre fontaine. anyons remember the pollution and energy crisis thing??? hinted at by NPCs???? #like that shit sure got irminsul'd 💀💀💀💀 #rambles #genshin #long post #hmmm is there enough narwhal or childe brain rot for it to go into the tags. maube not

[nerves-nebula]

I like using skin tone emojis but sometimes I’m worried about it cuz they don’t always translate across platforms like what if I send it over discord on my phone and on desktop discord skin tone 5 or whatever is way darker. What if I’m doing digital black face by sending an emoji with a darker skin tone than the one I have. What if I get callout posted about it.

Then I remind myself that this is not an issue and nobody cares. And also I basically white washed my first ever online sona because I was afraid of this exact same thing and ended up lightening my skin way too much so clearly it could be worse.

#nnstuff #rambling #situations like this make me think I just narrowly missed having ocd #I had a lot of the things need to be done a certain way #or like tapping door handles by multiples of three #and then there’s trains of thought like this #but I managed to just like. veer away from it becoming a disorder somehow

[f-imaginings]

I am a bit tired and sad. Family stuff just gets raw (not RAWR XD lmao) when you go to therapy to recognise the patterns and learn to feel emotions better. Can't fall back on tried and true repression and ignoring behaviour patterns and my feelings now I acknowledge how dysfunctional it really is, and now I just feel sad when these things happen instead of busy or inspired to write escapism or blindly optimistic to the point of denial. I feel so flat and discouraged and irrelevant when this is usually the time of year where my friends make me feel cherished and recognised and I'm struggling to muster the positivity I usually have in the face of bullshit.

#where did my coping mechanisms go #they were probably called out for being coping mechanisms and now im veering away from them #wheres some good old fashioned maladaptive daydreaming when you need it #or even throwing yourself into superficial work that makes you feel objectified and shitty but gleans a few nice compliments #guess im not doing that now but what do i do instead to cope #what do healthy people do #and why is it so hard #would just like a big hug from my friends and to be seen and valued a bit #as i felt abjectly disrespected and unvalued at this family thing and was told i ruined Christmas by standing up for myself #and being a doormat only appeals to the foot fetishists #that aint my bag baby

[deadqueernoldor]

Nghhh chewing on finweans and realizing how self-sacraficial is so deeply instilled in that family, and that that particular trait is prevalent in each generation.

Finwe knew he couldnt win against Morgoth, but he could try and protect his grandchildren. He fought regardless.

Fingolfin knew he couldnt twin against Morgoth in 1-on-1. He fought regardless.

Finrod knew he would die on his quest for Beren, and still fought the wolf to save his friend. He did.

Celebrimbor knew he could protect others by dying, protecting the knowledge about the rings. He did.

It stands to reason that Elladan, Elrohir or Arwen, would have come upon a similar fate.

#sometimes it just hits me with a sledgehammer like that family (esp the feanorian side) is portrayed as selfish a lot #(instert 'justice for caranthir for tslling Angrod to fucking stick with the people who arent hiding in Menegroth from Morgoth'-agenda) #(insert 'feanor was a selfish prick by abandoning the others in aman and forcing his sons to re-swear the oath upon his death' rant) #but i still think they are actually more opputunistic when you REALLY want to put a word ending with -istic there #feanor saw the opportunity to leave aman. fuck the brother he never liked. feanor only needs the people who'll be loyal to his family anyway #curufin saw the opportunity to get support form those of nagothrongld after he and celegorm had to flee like cowards from the dragons #which. for two people who i think have immense pride in their battle skill and strength must have been a HUGE ego blow #celegorm saw the opportunity to either: fuck over doriath and thingol by keeping luthien as political leverage (i dont think he's have #forced himself on her intimately. so fuck that. idc man. leave that shit away from me. he's an asshole but not a rapist imo anyway) #or: get a silmaril out of this mess SOMEHOW. #maedhros saw the opportunity of a possibly successful assault on angband after the silmaril quest of B+L and immediately began warplanning #and realistically speaking you cant tell me that maedhros didn't see the opportunity to casually drop the fact that it was HIS brothers and #HIMSELF holding basically all the eastern lands of beleriand in safety by closing off the Gap of Maglor while... where have you heard vague #rumours of turgon and ⅓ of the nolofinwean people maybe possibly not having died after suddenly disappearing? yeah. thought so. #just the opportunity to make slight political jibes available to shut anyone up about them being selfish #this is a weird post idk where this is going i stopped thinkig halfway though the second sentence #somehow that tag rant veered from self-sacraficial to opportunistic. didnt have that on my bingo card

[poisonheadcrabsalesman]

revisiting my "2023 writing plans" document just shows that if I try to force the brain down a set path it will not work so 2024 is going to be following the desires and urges while gently building more structured writing times into my schedule. and possibly using outside accountability to get this ever-growing to write list slightly smaller

#crab text #I met my word count/ fic count goals. i also just veered away from most wips and wrote something completely different