#like they did shitty stuff with clear intentions

[alkalinefrog]

Hey Alka, I had a quick question for you (whenever you have the time to answer or even if you have the time), I've been taking some storyboard classes and with my illustration background, it's been hard to really find a good shorthand for characters to really get that anatomy/gesture looking right without it being too sketchy and unreadable.

How long did it take you to find your storyboard shorthand, and what exercises would you recommend to try to find it? I'm sure it just takes time and practice, I've been doing a lot more studies and gesture drawings (currently following along all the free Glenn Vilppu videos I can find on youtube) but I wanted to ask you as well because I am in love with how fluid your anatomy is, and how clear your storyboards read. And those hands my god you're a wizard!!!

Thanks a bunch, have a wonderful day!

Heya Secret, great to hear from ya! Well, what you don’t see online is how gross the rough stage of my boards can get LMFAO. Most of the boards I post are actually overly cleaned up because I'm just doing them for fun and can afford the time! I'm not really sure how long it took to develop my shorthand, I've never really enjoyed drawing detail to begin with, so when I decided to go into boarding I kinda just leaned into it!

I’ve covered a bunch of gesture drawing exercises already if you scroll through my advice tag, but ***once you have a good foundation*** here's some stuff you can try!

First you'll want to build up an arsenal of anatomy hacks you can always fallback on, particularly for complex parts of the body. The less time you spend on details, the more time you have to focus on the overall pose and storytelling. Aim to find ways to draw with as FEW lines as possible. If I had to make a list to streamline what to practice:

Head shapes - find the most efficient way to draw the front + 3/4 + side view in as few lines as possible (the challenge is still making them look structured with dimension)

Eyes - are SO important for expressions! Unless your project has characters with dot eyes, you're going to need to find a quick way to do the circle and iris in as few lines as possible. Make sure you can convey where they're looking

Hands - fists (you'll be drawing a lot of people holding poles), open palms at various angles, foreshortened fingers pointing at viewer, fingers making grabby motions----protips: 1) half the time all you need is a vague triangle/rectangle plus thumb sticking up and that's a hand 2) if the hand is relaxed, you probably don't need to draw the knuckles. Save some time!

Feet - just learn how to make sure they look like they're standing on the ground, and do some studies of what they look like when you're running. Otherwise you can usually get away with a vague shoe or boot shape (just add toe lines if they're not wearing any)

----everything else you'll practice as you go!

Jump from SUPER rough straight into clean boards to really force yourself to be economic. I've done each of these methods for work before:

Before you start boarding with a character, sketch them a few times with the intention of simplifying their design while keeping them recognizable:

You'd be surprised how little you need to recognize a character:

Depending on the scene, you can adjust how much detail you want to include:

Stay loose/more generalized with action, especially for the "inbetweens" between key poses. Clean up enough to communicate movement and make the character recognizable.

If the character's small on screen in a wide shot, edit out most details and focus on the silhouette

Save the detail work for character acting, when you really want to be specific with their expressions and gestures.

But outside of all that, be bold and fearless!! Everyone has that stage where their boards look like spaghetti! Boarding is like handwriting; you could have really shitty chicken scratch, but if you're writing beautiful poetry, who cares!

god I love drawing hands you don’t even know thank you so much!! Good luck dude!! You’ve more than got this!!

#my art #advice #ask #secretsivekept #you got this! #sorry this took a while! my mental health was in the pits for a solid couple weeks #getting better now though! #storyboards

[theremina]

Adoption causes way more intergenerational trauma and collective health crises than I think many "kept" people realize.

If you bother to read it, the science is clear: adoption is violently traumatic, causing devastating, irreversible health issues for millions of human beings. Yet I'd have more luck conveying the severity and longevity of my own trauma to most non-adoptees with "I was dropped on my head as a baby."

Heck, I didn't begin to contend with the horrors of my own situation until my mid forties. Being yeeted directly after birth into foster care and eventually adopted by lovely, well-intentioned folks who were not prepared *at all* to help me deal with the lifelong neurodevelopmental disorders and physical health problems directly caused by my abandonment at birth has permanently damaged me. I'm saying so as one of the "lucky ones".

I adore my adoptive family. They're incredible parents. We love each other dearly. This doesn't change the fact, not for one second, that I wouldn't wish adoption on ANYBODY. Thankfully, my folks understand this. I wish more adoptive parents did.

The modern adoption industry* is, by design, deeply misogynistic, racist, transactional, ableist, imperialist, colonial. Ignorance and hate and apathy and coercion and subjugation and dehumanization and capitalism keep the machine running.

We're already seeing the beginning of Baby Scoop Too: Electric Boogaloo on Facebook. On Twitter. On Instagram. On other social media platforms owned and controlled by obscenely wealthy white men who don't consider private adoptions to be unethical.

You may *think* that legalized human trafficking doesn't really effect you, but soon, if the Christofascists continue their cultural blitzkrieg, the amount of infants and children who end up in the foster care system, adopted by unqualified people, in devastating private "rehoming" situations like the one shared above, or worse, is gonna SKYROCKET.

So...I'm barely on Facebook anymore for a few different reasons. One of them is that I couldn't handle watching a whole bunch of ignorant self-proclaimed feminists making shitty adoption jokes after Roe was overturned.

Another reason is that Facebook is LITERALLY A BABY MARKET.

ADOPTIVE PARENTS ARE BUYING AND SELLING CHILDREN ON FACEBOOK. WHAT THE ACTUAL UNFORTUNATE FUCK.

Nearly 100 million American families are in the adoption triad, with a majority of adoptees' needs and voices being considered last instead of first. It's so backwards.

Non-kinship adoption is a systemic violence that cannot help but touch the lives of billions. That is so very, very bad for ALL of us, not just abandoned infants and children or their struggling parents.

Some straightforward response questions for every person who has ever asked me about about my adoption:

Are you a feminist? Are you antiracist? Are you a humanitarian? Anti-ableist? Do you consider yourself lefty, liberal, or otherwise progressive? Do you respect science? Then please reevaluate your perceptions of adoption.

For every adoptive or bio parent you listen to, listen to three or more adoptees. For every shitty adoption "joke" you've ever told, check in with an adoptee (or first mom) in a kind and caring way. For every ignorant question you've ever asked an adoptee about our "real parents", crack a book!

Please. Do some research. Learn. Please. Center transracial adoptees, international adoptees, disabled adoptees, queer adoptees. Please. This stuff impacts all of us just as surely as countless other aspects of systemic rape culture do. Try to understand. Please.

I'm more certain than ever that we must abolish before we can rebuild.

Please give a shit. Please.

*The fact that adoption is an industry at all should shock and horrify us all, and yet... ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

[image description: a screenshot of a Facebook post with a black border and caption reading, “Welcome to America, where people try to regime adopted children on Facebook Marketplace.” The Facebook post itself reads, “So basically they either want him to come back home, or have CPS place him in a foster home. Or I can find someone willing to take him in, and ‘under the table’ pay them the stipend, we get. If CPS places him they will have to have an open case against me. In doing that I will lose my job. I cannot work at a daycare, school, group home etc. if I have an open active CPS case against me. How the hell do I go about ‘re-homing’ my child? Should I create a post in market place? Through no fault of our own, we are being forced to re-home our thirteen year old son. He can be the most loving, helpful young man. He does suffer some learning difficulties. He comes with a complete wardrobe and a monthly allotment. Only serious inquiries please.” End id]

#karpoozy #adoptee #adoption is violence #adoption is annihilation #adoption is racist #adoption is sexist #adoption = imperialism #adoptee voices #adoption is legal human trafficking #cw rape culture

[narcpocalypse]

Speaking of that post I hope it's ok for me to send this ask in!

I have some OCs myself that also have NPD(+other PDs as well, like ASPD AND BPD for example) and I was wondering how to realistically portray NPD without unintentionally stigmatizing/demonizing it?

*also some are also POC as well and are my Elder Scrolls OCs also, if this helps.*

Feel free to delete this ask, if you don't feel like answering!

AGHHH MY FIRST ASK!!!!!!!!/pos

Fair warning, this is going to be a LONGGGG ass post and it will mention ableism towards NPDers. I want to make sure I cover as much as possible. If you have NPD and want to add anything, pls do so in a reblog or the comments! I am also super delirious so if what I say makes no sense I'm so sorry 😭

I think a full, completely in depth understanding is the key to not writing something stigmatizing/demonizing. It sounds obvious, but in the case of NPD, there's so much misinformation so I am hoping this post can guide you in the writing process. You never know what little thing can cause accidental mischaracterization.

This is a super important topic for me because honestly, I'm trying to figure out the same as someone with NPD myself, even with all the info available. I feel like there's so much grey area because so much is still unknown about the disorder (fuck the psych system/narc abuse believers). A lot of us have to go from our personal experiences and figure things out on our own, which brings me to my first topic:

Self Diagnosis And The Criteria!!!!!!!!

A LOT of us are self diagnosed, including myself. Whether you're officially diagnosed or not, most of us can agree the DSM5 is booty ass. I bring up self diagnosis specifically because due to the DSM5 being shitty, it's suuuper difficult to get diagnosed or even want a diagnosis. I personally don't want one.

If that's a theme you want to bring up in your work, I would definitely follow blogs here that break down the diagnostic criteria and re-define it in a realistic way. Having this is super important because the DSM5 is MADDD confusing even if it wasn't ableist.

Your characters might resonate with that confusion and even anger. Rage is such a prominent emotion with us narcissists, so its highly encouraged you tap into that. The stigma is so impactful to most of us and personally keeps me hidden.

If you went off the official criteria, you could innocently and accidentally write an ableist trope based off the DSM5. For example, the DSM5 has a very vague and "I do this just because I can blah blah blah and there's a name for it" narrative of narcissists. There's no nuance. They state accurate symptoms but don't accurately explain why we have them. Without context, it makes our intentions ultimately one size fits awful.

Here are some resources that have been super helpful to me!

Some extra specific things I keep in mind when writing my narcissistic characters:

-“Bad behavior” is such an important phrase to emphasize when writing narcissists negative symptoms and being mindful on how you approach the impact. Make sure that phrase is clear, even if they will not redeem themselves and are a piece of garbage. They did xyz because of bad behavior due to symptoms, they hurt john doe because of bad behavior due to symptoms. They make the conscious choice not to change their bad behavior because abc or they make the conscious choice to do better because blah blah blah.

-Depending on what communication style you want two or more characters to have, make sure the outcomes are accurate based off of symptoms. My examples don't explain narcissists as a whole, but they are based off of my symptoms:

Lack of Communication: Increase in superiority symptoms, increase in rage, increase in invalidation and inferiority feelings. Other parties, specifically egotypicals may have a misconception of the narcissist and believe their symptoms are how they really are and can't be redeemed due to stigma. In the situation involving a narcissist however, in my experience when this happens I'm always so confused. Nothing makes sense and nobody is explaining anything to me. I need outside perspective as to why my actions are wrong and lack of communication will sink me deeper into my delusions. Communication is so important coming from the outside perspective to snap me out of my spiral. Lack of communication on my end will cause me to bottle up my feelings, convinced I’m better alone. Not explaining my intentions (or lack there of, to be completely blunt and vulnerable.) to someone I hurt can cause them so much more pain too. I don't want to hurt anyone, and even if I don't FEEL sorry, I can acknowledge I don't want the people I care for to be hurt by my bad actions.

Proper Communication: Honestly in my case, usually the damage I caused isn’t forgiven however rebuilding that trust becomes so much easier accepting that and opening up to the person/people I hurt. The narcissist usually knows they can prevent xyz going forward, and the other party is prepared on how to handle the situation in case it happens again. In my experience, communication is super beneficial in terms of receiving supply too. ESPECIALLY when the other person involved is also a narcissist, they know that pain of not receiving praise/admiration and we can understand each other moving forward.

Other narcissists I encourage you give your experience w this too bc I have seen very diff ones!

-If you want to implement characters who are ableist towards the narcissist, some things I would do are:

Show the narcissists internal monologue after the trauma and put your main focus on their emotions, the ableist person’s actions second. The weight of their words will be shown more in the trauma response, less in the moment (although super important). Focus the context on the narc crash, anxiousness, surprise, grandiosity overcompensation, etc.

Have other characters defend the narcissist, preferably being other narcissists because we are the ones who understand each other the most and back each other up no matter what

Show the importance of proper education and lack of education

Ask yourself how this is relevant to the plot and your character/characters

-Ask yourself, why does/doesn't my character want to be redeemed? Is it a symptom or is it genuine? Do they want to do better but don't recognize it? Why don't they recognize it? What symptoms are holding them back from xyz (social connections, self care etc.).?

Examples of answers to these questions:

My character doesn't want to be redeemed because they are convinced they are justified in their actions. They genuinely believe they did the right thing and need time to get out of that mindset. What's stopping them from getting out of that mindset is the delusion they are stuck in. Working on their trauma triggers can help lessen the blow and onset of psychosis. If they recognize they are wrong, my character is the type of person to crash and have suicidal urges. There is a slow build up before the crash that spirals into madness. What may help is getting supply from their friends/partners reassuring them that recognizing their bad actions are a first step followed by praise for things outside of the situation to bring them back to a solid baseline or narc high.

My character has a hard time socializing because when having an episode of grandiosity, they feel like they are better than everyone and no one is at their level. In episodes of insecurity, they feel like they don't deserve friends because they feel worthless. This is followed by perfectionism and seeking unwanted friendships, only to self-destruct and hurt those around them. Their ego impacts everything they do.

-SHAMEEEE is one of the most important emotions (in my experience) to write about so pls make that an important part of how your character views themselves!

-I know I have been only focusing on negative aspects, but also do highlight the positive aspects. For me, NPD has motivated me to work on myself. It isn’t the healthiest way, but given my circumstance, it is the healthiest I can do right now. Even my most wild and delusional thoughts can lead to great opportunities for self improvement. Thinking I’ll become famous? Gave myself tools to work on my executive dysfunction and be consistent with a project I love. Narc highs are also absolutely incredible. Finding folks who understand me and receiving praise has kept me going. I genuinely feel listened to. Narcissists are some of the nicest people you will ever meet because they know what it feels like to hate themselves. No matter how little empathy some of us have, that doesn’t mean we can’t acknowledge one another (even if my symptoms make me feel so singular in my experiences/contradict the point of acknowledging others).

More info to represent different kinds of NPDers:

Some common comorbidities are:

Autism Spectrum

Bipolar Disorder

Schizophrenia Spectrum

DID/OSDD

All Cluster B Disorders

Eating Disorders and Addictions

So many of us are autistic. SO MANY. This small survey statistic doesn’t scratch the surface but it’s important to look at!

As an autistic person myself, I feel like a lot of the trauma I faced growing up highly contributed to the development of NPD. I was othered, shunned, invalidated and shamed for just existing. Still am. That made me overcompensate with erratic attempts to be wanted and loved and just acknowledged in any way possible. I want to be SEEN.

If anyone wants an in depth post sharing my experiences with bipolar disorder and NPD I will absolutely do so if asked too!

How NPD affects my gender itself, dysphoria and sexuality:

In my experience as a fat trans man, a lot of my dysphoria is rooted in narcissism, internalized fatphobia and internalized toxic masculinity. I want to be the ideal boyfriend that is praised for existing. My male privilege definitely contributes to that want and I can acknowledge and dislike that part of myself. I expect this certain level of respect for being a man without realizing it sometimes and make sure to hold myself accountable when doing so. My dysphoria makes me feel inferior to other men because I don't "pass" and I feel the need to compete against them. The insecurity is consuming me and I do my best to be aware if I cross any lines.

What I have noticed about gender and sexuality in NPDers is that a lot yall are aroace and nonbinary! Like based off of my survey alone and people I know!

I asked one of my mutuals if it wanted to share his experiences of being a POC with NPD and it agreed!! He wanted to stay anonymous (aka super duper awesomely cool and mysterious) so I’ll just be posting the ss of what he said!

I do not have much to say on the response from my mutual because I feel like what it said speaks for itself and because we've spoken in private about the topic already! If you want to write an Asian character with NPD, this is really useful information!!!! One day I will make a post elaborating on being a POC with NPD myself. But, for now, this will help you understand an experience from an Asian perspective.

I hope this post wasn't all over the place and makes sense, if you have any more questions please ask away!

#npd awareness #writing tips #writing characters with npd #writing npd #npd solidarity #ask giles #narcposting #narcissistic personality disorder #npd #actually narcissistic #actually npd #actually cluster b #npd safe #cluster b #cluster b safe #narc

[edgyonporpoise]

Prison of Plastic

Hey so I just finished reading/listening to Prison of Plastic, Epithet Erased’s book continuation, and my heart! Is full! My soul! Is nourished! And there is something spoilery! I have to scream about! Under the cut!

OKaY, so. I haven't seen Anime Campaign and I have no intention to, I wanna experience this story as it releases. BUT. Naven is absolutely 100% the secret final boss, right? They could be doing the whole "You thought the obvious twist villain was a villain, but there's a twist to this twist! Ooo~ooo~oo~~" but for now I'm operating on the assumption that he is and like. Fuck dude, he was so MAD.

In his little (hah, fairy) speech to Molly about talking to brick walls? That right there, is a normal person in a world with superpowers. Silly superpowers, but still, this story is very clear about how dangerous those powers are. This is a speech from someone who has Tried to talk it out, to have Mundie voices heard. He has tried to claw his way up, to build a respectable business run by, employing and catering to Mundies, to shove it in their dumb superpowered faces that normal people are still capable people.

And he is tired of being put down.

Tired enough to swing the wrecking ball through society, to tear down Epithets and everything they stand for. Think about it! Even if he is actually that nice guy we see, think about all the bullshit Epithets can cause. Think about the 17-year-old, so traumatized and scared of herself that she threw a tantrum so hard it took up his entire evening and nearly seriously injured 3 different people! (She threw Molly down a dumbwaiter. She nearly toppled literal tons of cake on him. She DISAPPEARED Rick's HEART!) Sure, it was an evening he had set aside for a speech class, but three hours late to finish it? He's a CEO of a multinational conglomerate. How many cross-timezone meetings did they have to reschedule? The fact that he takes the time out to make sure to urge Lorelai to check the message from Giovanni, even though no-one can see him and it doesn't seem to further any goal for recruiting Lorelai for his terrorist org besides making her feel better, makes me thing there's some sincerity to him. But that makes it all the juicier!

Makes me think of the line where Gio's spouting about people who think they're good but still do bad stuff! Makes me think about how Naven, snarky little pixie who's been playing along with Gio's rambles in any other way suddenly stops speaking at that point and doesn't come back in until after. (And maybe that's just for the flow of the scene but I can just imagine him floating in the background with suddenly flinty eyes while no-one's looking)

Makes me think of the little girl, the little girl he has implied he would kidnap (from what Molly's flashbacks said anyway) if it weren't for the laws holding him back, who crumbles under the weight of the world, of her family's business expenses. Yes, maybe Molly is right, maybe absolutely no-one knows what they're doing. But it is a human instinct to shield the children from the horrors of reality, to give them some small amount of time where they can be carefree. A shitty father, a bratty sister, and Epithets took that away from Molly.

Maybe Naven is just salty at Epithet users for looking down on him for being Mundie. Maybe he thinks he'll be doing the world a service, bringing it back to normal. Maybe he just thinks that these things are dangerous, and should be... Regulated in some way.

Maybe he's right? Even to people who do have these powers. People like Lorelai, who are scared of their own abilities. Or people like Mera, actively harmed by their Epithets. Or the whole IDEA of Ocean Country citizens being farmed for EXP. Damn, the idea of Down With Epithet Society makes a whole lotta sense.

And guys who make you think "Huh, that makes sense." are the most dangerous of all.

Silver-Tongued businessman, indeed.

#prison of plastic #epithet erased #eepop #lorelai blyndeff #molly blyndeff #giovanni potage #theory #ramblings #epithet erased spoilers #prison of plastic spoilers #naven nuknuk #if that IS your REAL NAME SIR

[feybeasts]

I guess that poll actually illustrates something about me I’ve prolly shown a few times here, but I guess is worth just laying out fully so nobody gets the wrong ideas.

I am a well of information on all things military. The only thing between me and those “identifying x in things” gimmick accounts is restraint, because as friends could attest, I can usually identify a tank, jet, firearm, what have you on sight. Just the form my particular autistic special interest took, and it’s been that way pretty much all my life, I like learning about this stuff- the mechanical aspects, the history, how we got from biplanes to supersonic computers with wings.

I generally don’t draw a lot of attention to this for one simple reason- it would be very easy to learn that about me and draw some very wrong conclusions.

This is something “friends” with shitty intentions- and plenty of playground bullies- did in the past.

So to dispel that, let me be very clear. I’m a pacifist, I think war as a practice is terrible and inhumane, it’s a failure of diplomacy, of humanity, and there’s not a single goddamn thing about it that is glorious. Ask the young men dying in the trenches at Ypres, the frozen, starving walking corpses of Stalingrad, or far, FAR too many innocent civilians lost in “strategic” bombing raids where the glory is in war, and I promise you, they’ll say the same damn thing. It is complicated, messy, ugly beyond reason, and exists primarily to turn the young and the poor into corpses for the benefit of the old and the rich.

So while I can tell you the combat history of the MiG-15, or disassemble a Kalashnikov by feel, while I can tell you the importance of logistics over tactics, and I can tell you exactly what kind of bastards each and every general on earth was, make no mistake.

The most important thing I can tell you about war- that ANY military historian worth their salt can tell you about war- is that it needs to go extinct.

However much you might like a certain jet or a family of tanks or the operating principles of a particular firearm, never forget that. I count myself both blessed and cursed in that I can never forget it.

[coldheartsbreakboys]

ill start this by saying i understand @its-actually-minicika said the matter with @blackdreamspeaks is over and done but i literally cant let go of some things she said.

((also english is my second language so im sorry if i make mistakes 🤡 i will put this under the cut but i really think people should read this))

here is the problem. she said that she, takes the blame for what happened but she posts this after not even a full day of calling out that she did something wrong

there are no multiple sides to this story girl like none at all. it is literally the fact that you took content from mini/mina without credit and after you apologised you didnt even own it uppp. you said it was a coincidence and that you maybe took inspiration from her from the unconcious which is such a dumb excuse.

yesterday i sent you an ask with screenshots of compared writing from mini that she posted 2 months ago and stuff you posted 2 days ago. and it was clear you took the sentence from her without even an edit. you also used the same insult she used with hw aemond for your aemond. which is again really shitty and so clear because only she uses it.

i didnt compare everything you wrote in your update to hw because it is very long and i think that even those two things are enough to prove this point. it is not fair that you took from mini but then not even apologise in truth. you cant say this was a coincidence. you cant say this isnt done with intent. she is a very nice person and she deserves a real apology where you actually say that, yes you copied from her but that you re very sorry.

i waited for you to at least answer my ask if you were actually sorry and assuming your blame. because i wanted to give you the benefit of doubt and let you prepare your answer. sadly you never replied but i still have the screenshots even after your edit.

>

so this one is yours.

>

and this one is from minis series.

there was also the insult as i said but i didnt take screenshots of it before you edited. but the insult was 'whithered cunt' which mini wrote in the first part of hw and that was a long time ago.

you guys can cancel me if you want and whatever i honestly dont care because i am a small blog and i tbh dont even post. threaten to doxx or send me mean dms I fr dont careee

this is a post that i made for both mini and me because she deserves a real apology and you didnt give her that and also because i am honestly very angry. i think most people also dont know what happened because you never released the screenshots in my ask and you never actually said what you took from mini. because yes!!! you took from mini. there are no sides to this. there is the right side and that is mini. you play the victim too much and that is not okay. you are 21 and you should know better.

i end this by saying i understand you talked to mini and you say she is okay with everything now. she didnt say anything to any of her followers to do. she actually told me and someone else to not bother anymore with this drama. but i am bothered. and you are very frustrating. what you did is not okay at all

so girl bffr and take the blame. it isnt that hard. i might be back to edit this or to add stuff i think is important but these are the most important things that i can think of right now. i will post with the tags for hotd because people need to see this and i don't have many followers.

#aemond targaryen x reader #aemond targaryen #house of the dragon #house of the dragon fanfiction #aemond x y/n #aemond the kinslayer #aemond x wife reader #aemond fic #aemond fluff #aemond x lucerys #aemond one eye #aemond smut #aemond angst #jacerys strong #jacerys valeryon x reader #jacerys x reader #jacerys targaryen #jacerys x y/n #aegon ii x you #aegon ii x reader #aegon ii fanfic #aegon the elder #aegon x aemond #modern aegon #prince aegon #aegon targaryen x reader #young rhaenyra #rhaenyra targaryen #fanfiction hotd

[leastdatablebracket]

ROUND 4, MATCH 8

Propaganda under the cut! (tw rape)

Alfani

Propaganda

He is also part of the Brothel route (he and Dorain Grey share it). He is a prostitute at the Oscar Wilde brothel, and he has absolutely no problem raping MC under his bosses orders, not letting her leave and overall assists his boss in turning MC into a brainwashed sex slave.

Cullen Rutherford

Propaganda

stupid racist cop creep whose fans cry about how hes "changed" and "you can't judge him he was addicted to magic drugs" nah he still chose to be a racist cop and abuse his power over innocent people and i hate him. the writers making him romanceable in da:i after how blatantly horrible he was in da:o and da:2 is baffling but i guess they had to appeal to the part of their audience who watch those "mafia boyfriend" videos on tiktok or whatever

He's creepy in origins, though still 100% willing to kill the female mage pc he's crushing on, as well as all the other mages trapped in the circle with him. He's the second-in-command in an even worse circle in 2, listening to and defending the increasingly obviously insane meredith until literally the end. He's one of the people still pushing for the circle system by inquisition, and yes he's going through withdrawals and working through the traumas of previous games. And to be brutally honest his was the first romance i took and while i don't remember much from it, its not worth all the girls going absolutely nuts over knockoff terrible alistair.

He's basically a cop who thinks being born a certain way can revoke personhood and by Inquisition still thinks mages are monsters to be controlled, not people. He gets a fairy tale cutesy romance that focuses on his personal struggles with addiction while showing absolutely no regard to the atrocities he committed and still thinks were justified. He can be romanced BY A MAGE and his actions and beliefs are just glossed over. He believes mages are 'not people like you (Hawke) and me', but if the Warden was a female mage he canonically had a crush on her and would deliberately hang around her despite the fact that he was her *jailer*. If that Warden romanced Leliana, there is war table dialogue in which he pesters Leliana for news of his 'former' crush despite her repeated statement that she doesn't want to talk to him about her. All this shitty behavior and lack of introspection gets swept under the rug by the game, not even giving the PC the chance to really challenge his beliefs. Like damn even Fenris could apologize when he lashed out due to past trauma with mages, and if anyone has a reason to hate mages it's Fenris. If you want an ex Templar hottie Alistair is RIGHT THERE. Tbh I know Cullen is a popular romance and I'm not here to tell anyone what they can or can't do or like in a video game, I'm just saying I think he is deeply undateable

Spends the first two games as an antagonist, fervently devoted to the cause of subjugating mages, then a bunch of "character development" happens off screen and the games treat him like he's completely reformed. However he's actions make it clear he still sees mages as dangerous and lesser. Not to mention if you romance him with an elf he doesn't pay your culture more than lip service respect like most of the devout characters 

He was a total villain in the first two games who was violently prejudiced against mages and uses one single bad experience as an excuse for it (a bad experience that is pretty much exactly what he in his job subjected graduating apprentices to, mind you, but this is never brought up). Now he says he's changed, but his words and actions say otherwise. He still distrusts mages, sympathises with the rebel Templars trying to kill them, and he never owns up to the terrible stuff he did and helped others do in the past two games. He totally knew what Meredith was doing and says he doesn't, and he still tries to defend her intentions. And you have no option to call him out on it. If you romance him as a mage, he angsts about how he might have seen you as subhuman in the past but NOW you're one of the good ones, and when you ask him if he'll kill you if you get possessed, he dodges the question. And the PC is written as being almost sad that she's a mage? Like 'can you love me despite what I am??' Also if Leliana romanced a female mage PC in the first game who is still alive, he asks her creepy questions about their relationship. Fitting considering his original purpose was to be creepy to the female mage Warden. 

I hate him and want to cause chaos. Plus his VA is an asshole.

Cop

I think you covered almost everything but don't forget that beautiful moment in DA2 - Act 2 where you find out some templars had a petition to lobotomize all mages and Meredith, THE HARDCORE TEMPLAR LEADER, rejects it, but Cullen says they got a point. Despite the fact that we just found out that those templars were using lobotomy (or the threat of) to rape people and get away with it. And then Cullen in DA:I is whining that anything that happened it's not his fault because Meredith kept the worse away form him so he didn't know, but also that anyway Meredith had a point and did what she had to do. Meredith does not go mad until Act 3, before she was of sound mind and Culllen was her second in command BECAUSE he hated mages as much as (or even more) than her. What the FUCK did she even hide from you, Cullen. Oh, but he changed! Because the writers make A VICTIM OF THE TEMPLARS say so. And anyway he only says so BECAUSE HE READS MINDS not because Cullen did anything to show it. Also the narrative wants to sympathise with Cullen for his drug problems while Cullen is openly attacking the only other character with the same problem for...having the same problem. And he's the antagonist, so there were OTHER things Cullen could be mad about. But he is mad about the drug problem. Also I'm not an expert on writing characters with addictions but he is an addict only when it's time to have a cut scene where you pity him. Otherwise it has zero impacts on everything else.

#round 4

[birdantlers]

You know, it wouldn't even occur to me that certain ships might even exist... if authors of fanart like yours (even before your dragonball phase) didn't insist on bringing that fact to my attention by screaming murder at anyone who might dare interpret their stuff in a certain way. And it's exactly that disclaimer that causes me to look closer at the art in question and realize that... oh wow, right, Gohan is really acting like a jealous lover here, huh? Assuming he must be the One Person (1/3)

My condolences about your daddy issues or whatever, but you're the one that's reading weirdly deep into this, dude. I genuinely don't know what kind of 'gotcha' you think you wrote but... damn.

Is this your first day on the internet? People tag and draw blatantly-platonic seeming art that's actually ship art upon closer investigation constantly. Now idc what people do as long as its properly tagged, but it's a different story when my art is involved. Of course my DNIs are to prevent "misunderstandings." I'm not a moron; anyone can pick out supporting evidence for their bias if they look for it, which is exactly the point of saying I don't condone it. It's me going "Hey, these are my boundaries! If you don't respect them, that's shitty of you!"

I can't control how people interpret my art. I know this—but I can sure as hell clear the air about my intent and opinions. So I'll make myself very clear: I don't like my content being seen in a romantic context. Unless I confirm otherwise, it's platonic. Why? Because I fucking say so. If word of god isn't reason enough, that's on you. Your inability to see emotional intimacy between two adults as anything but romantic is not my fault—nor is it my responsibility to overcorrect.

It may shock you that, yes, this is how many families do interact. Not everyone's idea of a "convincingly portrayed" family dynamic is going to be the same. I'm a very sappy person irl and so is my family. It's honestly kind of pathetic that you obviously think my content is too much for a paternal relationship.

Even aside from that though, your arguments are just bad. I mean did you even reread this before you sent it? Sure. "Gohan acts like a jealous lover..." of his preschool-age daughter. Yeah, that's a totally normal take. Really makes you seem like a well-adjusted individual. I don't even know where you got the jealousy thing from since he spends the whole comic actively trying to leave and stop Pan from sticking up for him. Your other points are just conspiratorial; I see no point addressing them.

So yeah, take your final proposition and shove it. Maybe focus on how to "effectively and convincingly portray" whatever content measures up to your standards instead of preaching to me like I shouldn't do the same. I don't owe you jack—especially when you're too much of a coward to talk down to me while hiding behind anon.

And if this is who I think it is (given the timeframe you let slip), get off of that damn high horse already. You're not the patron saint of correct characterization, and your unwarranted criticism doesn't make you look smart. It makes you look like an entitled tool who can't resist hearing your own voice. Quit tearing people's hobby work down because you can't find enough fan content to satisfy your own standards.

I love found family. I love sickeningly sweet """unconvincing""" found family, and if you think that's trite, ooc, or—I guess, romantic—keep it to yourself. You're not going to 'con'crit me out of creating exactly what makes me happy, and this weird victim-blamey diatribe sure as hell isn't either. If anything, you've only convinced me to keep using DNIs.

#cannot believe i spent that many words answering this. originally i wasn't even going to #but then i reread it and it was just so fascinatingly dogshit that i couldnt help it #ask #dbz #skit yells

[thatswhatsushesaid]

While I do sympathise and agree that many of the ‘immoral’ thing JGY did were a direct response to others attacks on him, for survival and family normal or pragmatic behaviour (I honestly didn’t blame him for the incest at all, I agree there was nothing to be done; and I’m glad JGS died) I have some questions. Especially since you and another user mentioned that him being in power was better for more people (that he did things that benefitted others and him as a side effect too) - then how does one reconcile with what happened to the Tingshan He sect? And even the gamble he takes on JZX’s life by sending him after JZixun? That seems like self serving ambition…

Honestly, anything JGY did to get around or harm JGS and even NMJ, I agree. While one was better than the other, I don’t think either of them were great leaders, nor were they always reasonable, and he was likely a better leader than them.

(Also, I’ve heard varying accounts about the watchtowers being useful/useless, good intentioned and not, can you please point me towards the chapter that makes that clear?)

Thanks

hey anon, sorry for taking such a long time to respond to you! I believe that I answer most of the questions you raise here in my reblog over here, but I'll try to pull out the salient points for you in my reply. fwiw I'm not going to dig down into the jgy-jzx stuff because I think @lansplaining did a great job of that already over here, but my tl;dr version for myself is that I just think mdzs-jgy was mad, made a bad judgment call, and assumed that wwx would have more control over wn than he did.

okay, now to address the rest of your ask:

the tingshan he

the first thing to remember about the tingshan he is that jgy is demonstrably not in power when this sect is brought to xy's demonic cultivation wonderland. jgs is still the jin sect leader. I bring this up because I think it's important to acknowledge that the tingshan he were going to die whether jgy was present to serve as death's ferryman or not. their fates were sealed as soon as they began actively agitating against jgs's desire to establish the position of chief cultivator. here's the relevant sections I highlighted from the villainous friends extras:

as I pointed out in my linked reblog, what this shows us is two things: 1) jgy began with diplomacy and negotiation to try to bring the tingshan he to heel, and I believe we can reliably trust that this is true; if it weren't, he su would have protested this as a lie; and 2) in he su's own words, the tingshan he were prepared to oppose jgs's desires with violence.

however, anon, if you're hoping I'll write something here that will thoroughly cleanse the figurative blood of the tingshan he from jgy's hands (since he is not the one doing the actual killing--xy is), then that's not going to happen--just like there is nothing that anyone can write about wwx's actions vis-à-vis his gruesome murder of wang lingjiao, wen chao, and the other wen sect cultivators that he tortures, mutilates, and kills in the aftermath of the sacking of lotus pier that will remove their literal blood from his hands. I'm not going to say anything that will make one of these actions more morally (I hate this word now) redeemable than the other, because even though their circumstances are different, the acts themselves are still quite awful!

one thing I did not point out in my linked meta, however, and which I do think is significant to call out when examining the full context of the violence that jgy oversees, is the amount of control that jgy does not have over how xue yang chooses to kill the tingshan he. please note that these excerpts are pretty gruesome because, uh. well, canon-typical xue yang, pretty much:

so, on the one hand, xy clearly cuts out he su's tongue here because he is flinging the usual shitty insult at jgy, making a dig about his birth status and his mother. which, yay, thank you xue yang c': but also, jgy is clearly surprised that xy does not kill he su and the rest of his sect before giving them to the fierce corpses. then we have the paragraph that follows:

here, jgy is visibly disturbed by the cries of the children specifically, and though he doesn't step in to intervene, I still find his visceral reaction to what he is witnessing significant when considering his character and how he feels broadly about the violence he facilitates. because yes, he brought the tingshan he to this place knowing that they were going to be killed because of their political opposition to his father's plans. he knew that bringing them to the demonic cultivation grounds meant that they were going to be given to xy for his macabre body horror experiments to pursue demonic cultivation. neither of those things mean that he expected them to be ripped apart while still alive, or that he's emotionally or psychologically untouched by what his actions have brought about.

so... how should we reconcile /gestures @ all of this, The Horrors with all of the tangible good that jgy puts into the cultivation world later on? my short response is, the exact same way wwx stans reconcile wwx's Horrors with his later good deeds (tho as you've probably guessed I don't lean as much on inherent moral goodness or badness in my analyses). so to make this work, we also have to take a look at what constitutes jgy's good deeds. nb: this is essentially what I wrote in my reblog meta, but I'm going to copy/paste or paraphrase/lightly edit it here just to keep everything in one place:

jgy's tangible positive impact on the jianghu

the initial points I raised in my reblog meta (different link from above) emphasize the tangible positive impact that jgy's actions put into the world: peace and stability for both the gentry and the common people. here are the following points where I provide more support for my initial arguments.

his tenure as chief cultivator and jin sect leader objectively does preserve jin ling's place in the line of succession, because once he is gone, we see that jin ling's position is not secure. period. this is in the text. this isn't an opinion. [edit: there’s some good discussion between myself and @madtomedgar in the comments of this post wrt jgy, jl as heir, and how much responsibility jgy has for destabilizing his life in the first place.] from chapter 116, the "banquet" extra:

furthermore, jgy does rein in the fiscal corruption that had been rampant under jgs's tenure. we know this because the text tells us so in the "iron hook" extra (chapter 123):

beyond making it unquestionably clear that lanling is in a much shittier position now that jgy is gone, this part 👆is further confirmed in the official character index of the 7seas translation--which is not something I usually rely upon in my analyses, but it makes clear the broad perception of life in the jianghu under jgs vs jgy:

jgs's character summary: "Under [Jin Guangshan's] rule, the Jin Sect was loathed by the cultivation world for its shameless abuses, corruption, and excesses."

jgy's character summary: "Jin Guangyao rose from humble circumstances and became not only the head of the Jin Sect but also the Cultivation Chief of the inter-sect alliance. His work as an undercover spy was instrumental in the success of the Sunshot Campaign. His skill at politicking and networking is matched by none, and through restructuring and reparations he was able to largely make up for the damage done to the Jin Sect's reputation by his father's rule."

in one of these scenarios, corruption was rampant enough that everyone was unhappy. in the other scenario, that corruption was reined in, and that matters.

the jianghu is also objectively the safest and most peaceful it has ever been under jgy's tenure as chief cultivator, and I don't think this gets acknowledged enough. looking to chapter 45 when wwx and jl are talking about the past, and jl is sulkily pointing out that both his uncles became famous at "fifteen-or-so," wwx's own thoughts are:

Wei WuXian commented in silence, That’s not the same! Back then, the QishanWen Sect was still on top and everyone had to watch out. If they didn’t fight and cultivate as much as possible, who knew if they’d be the next one to run out of luck? During the Sunshot Campaign, you’d be hauled to the battlefields no matter if you were fifteen or any other age. Now, since the situations is stable and the sects are at peace, of course the atmosphere isn’t as tense and people don’t cultivate like they’re crazy. There’s no need anymore.

in other words (to paraphrase some commentary by @xiyao-feels) when the wen were in charge, the world was a shitty and dangerous place filled with war and violence--and now the world is peaceful, and kids like jin ling are allowed to grow up without the very real possibility of being marched off to war hanging over their head at all times. jgy is the chief cultivator who made this reality possible.

and a big part of why the jianghu is a more stable and peaceful place also comes down to the watchtowers, which is one of the points you specifically wanted more details on, anon! so we'll go to chapter 42 in the novel to look at them in more detail:

After Jin GuangYao officially succeeded the position of Sect Leader and became the Chief Cultivator, he immediately gathered people and resources from the sects, and started to carry out his past goals. In the beginning, the voices of opposition were deafening. A lot of people suspected that the LanlingJin Sect used it to gain personal benefits and stuff its own pockets. With a smiling face, Jin GuangYao persisted for five years. During the years, he allied but also fell out with countless people. Using both gentle and forceful methods, he did all that he could and what he wished for was finally completed. More than twelve hundred “lookout towers” had been built.

These “lookout towers” were scattered around the more remote places. Every one of them were assigned disciples from certain sects. If anything strange happened, they’d take action at once. When they couldn’t deal with the matter, they’d send out messages to other sects or rogue cultivators for help. Even if the cultivators who came wanted something in return while the locals were too poor to give them any, the money that the LanlingJin Sect gathered throughout each year would be enough to support them. [red emphasis mine]

All of these happened after the death of the YiLing Patriarch. Wei WuXian only heard the ins and outs from Lan WangJi after they passed a few lookout towers during their journey. Rumors had it that Koi Tower was preparing to build the next batch of lookout towers, increasing them to three thousand in number so that they covered a greater area. Although after the first lookout towers were built, they received widespread approvals due to their notable effects, the voices of suspicion and ridicule had never died either. When the time came, the cultivation world would definitely be thrown into chaos again.

five years!! that is a long-ass time to devote to a project, particularly one that costs him substantial political capital as well as actual money, if your only goal is the consolidation of political clout, because a lot can happen in the span of five years. it certainly isn't the right way to go about laundering money, since for a money laundering scheme to work, it has to actually, you know. pass through a system that is actually making money in the first place, which this one transparently was not. if it was a guaranteed money-maker, jgs would not have opposed wasting time on something that 👆(see above) clearly devotes lanling jin resources towards supporting the poor who cannot protect themselves. whatever the political opposition to the project by jin sect opponents, for the broader jianghu and the common people, the success of the watchtower program was a net positive. anyway: when acting exclusively under his own power and allowed to make his own decisions free of fear and danger, jgy is fundamentally not a destructive character. (thank you again, @confusion-and-more)

okay I think this should answer most of your questions, anon! please do hmu again if you want me to dig down into anything else, I am, as always, super happy to talk about jgy at the drop of a hat.

#asks answered #mdzs #mdzs meta #jin guangyao #he did crimes??? good for him 😌

[0nelittlebirdtoldme]

For Heesung, I thought he was a red flag mostly because the “apparently innocent second ML turns out to be a huge, even bigger asshole than the main ML” is a trope I’ve already seen a lot in BL, but mostly in shoujo. Also, him buying Dan all those gifts really rubbed me the wrong way, because a stranger essentially spending so much money on expensive designer stuff with second intentions buy the affection of someone they’ve known for a week or so seemed very alarming to me. Feels like love-bombing but with gifts. But turns out, he’s not the two-faced monster I thought he was going to be!

But, uh… You mentioned you thought Jae might let Heesung have a turn with Dan… Honestly, with the way Heesung reacted, I bet he thought he’d have a turn with Dan too. He blushed when he saw Dan and when Jae told him to be quiet and come closer, Heesung did exactly that while blushing. He only looked truly disturbed, scared and hurrying to leave after Jaekyung threatened him. Which might be me misinterpreting that scene, but for that he’s not out of my watch. Still, I think he might give up on Dan after that.

On another note, a lot of people ignore that Jae has been sadistic from the very beginning. People used the excuse that he “didn’t know about Dan’s situation” but after he quite literally buys Dan from the loan sharks, he knows that what he’s doing is fucked up. He knows he’s taking advantage of Dan— and he’s into it. The look he gives Dan before telling him he cleared his debt and how he tells Dan to “give up his pride” while smiling says it all. He even taunts him about it during their sparring/competition thing, saying

You know, when Dan’s about to be evicted and begs Jaekyung for money, humiliating himself, that’s when their dynamic starts to change. At that point in the story Jae didn’t know much about Dan, and Dan had considerably a lot more “power” and “freedom” in regards to Jae (even though, realistically, he couldn’t), but after seeing Dan on his knees, all beat up, begging for money to move into a new house Jae starts to notice that Dan is desperate and that means he can cross any boundaries — thus the infamous bop-it toy sex scene happens. His past partners could refuse it but Dan can’t.

And later, when he buys Dan from the loan sharks, that’s where their dynamic shifts completely. Before, Jae was just a source of money with no strings attached. Now Dan’s indebted directly to him (saved? no. more like under new management), and becomes completely reliant on Jae to have a place to live and is finacially dependent on him. At this point, Joo has complete awareness of Dan’s situation (even more after meeting his grandma).

He actively enjoys the fact that Dan is 100% at his mercy. And I believe him when he says he sees than as a possession, because in his mind it’s literally how it is. As much as I believe he might already have feelings for Dan, that doesn’t negate the fact that he’s just a possession now. He purchased Dan with money, “saved” him from a shitty situation and took care of the hospital bills for his grandma, in exchange Dan is completely his. And he hates it anytime Dan shows even a bit of resistance or steps out of line, or when outside circumstances (Potato interrupting sex; Dan helping out the other members of the gym; Heesung existing basically) interfere with Dan.

Dan’s the perfect toy that can’t say no to his whims and fetishes like his other partners did, he cooks him food and also takes care of his health and treatments. People say Jaekyung would drop Dan if he found out about Dan’s crush on him, but I disagree. He’d love that shit, because that means Dan won’t leave him and he can use those feelings to manipulate Dan even more. It makes no sense for Jae to drop Dan.

And the scary thing is that those stunts he pulls are CALCULATED!!!!! The car one and now the incident in chapter 34. He plans them in silence, he festers in his own jealousy and anger then acts it out.

Honestly Jaekyung is such an interestingly fucked up character, I love him and I love to hate him. I do believe he’s only going to get more controlling and obsessive from here on. I kinda hate that some people want to defend Joo because he doesn’t need defending. He is what he is, Mingwa knows that they’re doing with his character. He IS abusive towards Dan, and now we’re stepping into a more scary territory with the lying and manipulation, also the break of trust. Again, sorry for the long rant! I knew Jinx would be a dark romance but I thought it would be one of those very light ones where the ML is just a textbook asshole, which is why the recent development caught me off guard.

Oh wow, this is a big one.

Well, who knows, maybe I am in the wrong about Heesung after all. Maybe he too has some sceletons in his closet. Nothing is for certain.

I gotta disagree in one point tho; I do think that Jae does like it at least a bit when Dan puts on a fight, no matter if verbally or physically. Sure, he may be annoyed and roll his eyes, but if I remember correctly, he had been impressed by that hook Dan had thrown in the showers. I don't think he wants him to be a mindless slave either - perhaps he does enjoy him having a bit of a bite and character. And with all that shit he's been pulling, it is clear that he is not only a possessive but also a jealous man, who perhaps slowly starts to get involved, and is handling that absolutely terribly. I don't know. But he sure got issues.

All in all, a bastard. But I still cannot help myself and want to see where this is all going 👀

#tumblr ask #joo jaekyung #kim dan #choi heesung #jinx manhwa

[alatismeni-theitsa]

Will all good intentions, you and other blogs like yours should stop wasting your time writing whole ass essays to racist strangers online as if they care. I can assure you people of color and ethnic minorities have countless of stories to tell when it comes to entitled racist people who always try to justify their shitty behaviour by blaming minorities for not wasting their lives "teaching" them like elementary schoolers, why racial nasty jokes are not "ok" and coddling their ego.

These people don't lack any knowledge of Greek myth, in fact, it literally requires zero knowledge of Greek mythology to know basic stuff like how stupid fantasy books with Greek elements will never make you learn anything about Greece or that being vile to a non-abrahamic religion is one of the worst types of blatant religious racism. They are terrible towards ancient Greek elements because no one sees Greece as a real country nor Greek people as real people with actual emotions who can actually see them and hear what they say, so they know can get away with racist reactionary content that gives them tons of notes and clout.

Thank you for the support, really. At the same time, the condescending tone about minorities and poc feels out of place when speaking to a Greek. "I can assure you, people of color and ethnic minorities-" Yes, we know. We are in these categories.

Greeks have been historically considered non-white, "barbaric" and "ethnic" in many countries (still are, in a lot of places). In the US we started being seen as white after the 1950s and it's been a slow progress since WASP USians saw us as the same "race" as them. Before that, Greeks faced segregation and extreme violence by White communities and police. (Lots of WASPs still see us as "primitive" when they actually learn how our customs and Christianity look, btw). But we also exist in other places and the othering about how we look hasn't stopped.

Greeks have been considered "poc", "ethnic" and "wog" for a looong time in the west. We know bigotry not only because of how we look but also because of our ethnicity (hence the progroms and genocide and cultural erasure, you can Google all about anti-Greek sentiments and Greek caricature figures on posters). And of course, we have ethnic minorities everywhere and have faced forced cultural erasure like state punishment when speaking Greek (Turkey), changing the names of Greek towns in other countries to erase the Greek history there (Russia), and more. Recent research shows Greek names in the US are discriminated against as much as Chinese names.

Let me remind you that although Middle Easterners and N. Africans are categorized as White in the US legislation, it doesn't mean that they are exempt from racism and bigotry. The case of Greeks is similar. In northern and Anglo countries our appearance is commented on and looked at with suspicion, our customs and our food receive negative comments, there is hiring discrimination, etc. There is a reason we say "the only Greeks foreigners like are the dead ones". When you don't show them syrtaki and feta, they can turn to bigotry really fast.

So, we've been in the dance for a looong time. Try the "barbaric" from Charlemagne's time. Try NW Europeans basing their national identities around a superficial image of idealized ancient Greek culture, the NW Europeans stealing our antiquities because we weren't "worthy heirs" of our own culture in their eyes, the "disappointed" Nazis with how "non-white" we looked, etc etc.

What makes you think Greeks had aaaany say in this? What makes you think we don't know how it is to be ignored while other nations make bank and base their whole new-age spirituality and our stomped-on heritage?

It's clear you are on our side here and I don't mean to interpret your message in bad faith. Most of your statements ring true, anyways. But I feel that, while you correctly identified people who don't take Greeks' accounts seriously, you kiiiinda did the same? I mean I wouldn't need to write another essay if you had dignified us with the thought we know how it is to be in marginalized spaces, that we know how it's to not be heard, or that we know the reasons people online don't respect us. Example: I and most Greeks have verified with our own experience that the following statement is actually false.

"These people don't lack any knowledge of Greek myth, in fact, it literally requires zero knowledge of Greek mythology to know basic stuff like how stupid fantasy books with Greek elements will never make you learn anything about Greece or that being vile to a non-abrahamic religion is one of the worst types of blatant religious racism."

We've been in this discourse for at least a decade and you'll be surprised by the great number of adults who are absolutely confident that PJO taught them everything and that gods hold no value for worshippers or Greeks whatsoever. I invite you to have that discourse on our behalf and see for yourself.

Bottom line: Please let us handle the situation however we see fit. We take nothing from other people and nations when we express annoyance about how our culture has been treated.

#yeaaah another long post but what can you do #like.. it's needed #i cant just say a statement and leave cause then half the site will fall on me #answered #i should have sth like oppression masterpost to just link idkk xD

[thatdesklamp]

WAIT OMG-

been reading intrinsic warmth for a WHILE and your writing is top tier!! i always wondered to myself every time i’d read a chapter why the writing just STICKS, yk? i’m a MAJOR book girlie, i read 24/7.

AND THEN IMAGINE MY SURPRISE WHEN I READ ONE OF YOUR TAGS THAT YOU PUT UP ON ONE OF YOUR POSTS WHERE YOU WERE ANSWERING A QUESTION FROM ANOTHER LOVELY READER AND I SEE THAT YOU TOOK AN ENGLISH A LEVEL?

first of all (not 100% sure on this) but i’m pretty sure only british ppl take gcses, a levels, etc. YOU’RE BRITISH?

i feel like i’ve met my other half rn over something so tiny but yeah. IT LITERALLY EXPLAINS WHY YOUR WRITING IS SO GOOD:

i could point out the NUMBER of times i’ve seen juxtaposition, symbolism, foreshadowing in your fic to someone if they’d asked me to point it out for them. at first i thought you might’ve done it unknowingly, and then i decided that nope, bc foreshadowing is such a BIG writing technique that it simply couldn’t have been by accident.

it’s one thing to know about a writing technique and another to actually be able to SUCCESSFULLY incorporate it into your writing. if it isn’t clear enough, i’m saying that you did it AMAZINGLY. you’ve got a natural talent and i’m envioussss (in a supporting way ofc 😭).

you should really look into making your own book, and i think you EXCEL at the supernatural aspect of plot in stories. your writing is so unique and different yet so warm, it reminds me of autumn (my favourite season).

idk how to end such a long message, ultimately i don’t have a reason for typing this up and shit. ik you have tons of people probably saying the same thing and it might just get repetitive for you, but i wouldn’t feel comfortable not being part of said bunch-of-ppl-probably-saying-the-same-thing.

oh! and take your SWEET TIME updating. it’s your story, your fic, your writing. the ONLY thing we readers can give you as a payback and thanks is time, patience, and understanding <3333

RAHHH BRITTANIA 💪💪💪💪

Agh. Yes—I’m British (English to be precise, sweet sweet caroline etc), hence the use of ‘u’s in words like ‘colour’ and ‘humour’, and also why everyone’s parents are their ‘father’ or ‘mother’ and not mum/dad. ‘Mom’ feels too American but ‘mum’ feels too rah engerland, yk? I’ve mentioned previously that I’m looking forward to writing fics where the characters are actually from England and where I’m actually allowed to write them the way I talk, mostly. Good lord am I excited.

And yes lol I took English for an A-Level. Bloody smashed it too, if I get to brag, mwahaha. Didn’t take it any further (I’ve also previously said that I’m a # woman in stem uni student, which is true), but I still write a killer essay imo. Give me 10 minutes to do a refresher on ‘Othello’ (it’s been a while okay) and I can talk for donkeys about his tragic fall and how much of a wanker he is. Which he is! I’m a Desdemona defender for life.

You say ‘natural talent’. PLS. No!! God no. Not at all. I wish—that would’ve made it a lot easier, but whatever I can do rn is down to bloody years of toiling away on my shitty little laptop, I promise. I’ve got another anon ask that asked about some writing tips so I’ll do the bulk of them there but my number 1 will always and forever be to practise. Whatever skill I have now has been earned over the many years. You don’t even want to see some of the stuff that will never grace my ao3 page (atla had me in a chokehold through covid and I have never been the same).

But you are genuinely so complimentary: this is so so lovely of you. Thank you?? It’s really weird being someone who writes and also someone who enjoys analysing literature; you’re right, half of the ‘techniques’ are intentional (the number of times I’ve flicked through some chapters’ drafts and thought, ‘fucks sake none of this makes sense, I need to add some decent foreshadowing or none of this will make sense in two chapters’), but also so much of my writing is just thinking, ‘hmm, this doesn’t really feel right. No no, I don’t like the vibe of this. I want this to feel more GRAAHHH and less lalalala. Lemme change this up a bit’. Whether that leads to the whole, short sentences->speeds up the pace of the reader when reading the section->increased tension, mimics actual fight encounter, etc etc (all the stuff you blag on about in eng lit), then maybe that counts as intentional? And maybe not.

Making my own book? That’s lovely of you to say but I also really don’t have any ideas for anything non-fanfic’y! Lol. I love a good bit of canon compliance, that’s my issue. That being said—hey, another eng a level reference—I’ve made multiple references here to being the world’s #1 ‘Atonement’ hater. Unfortunately, it also lives damn rent free in my head and I’ve got the bare bones of a WW2-era, perhaps epistolary, longform fic buzzing around. (Fandom: Marauders. I’m a disgrace but here we go). I’ve written nothing for it and maybe I never will, but that’s one of the only things I can see as being more standalone from original canon. Anyway: it’s the fanfic life for me. Ali Hazelwood’s life is but a distant dream.

But anyway! Thank you again for your lovely words. The next IW chapter will take a very long time, I have to be frank, so thank you for the reassurance that that’s not absolutely disgraceful lmao T_T Thanks again!! <3

#intrinsic warmth #I hope I have not accidentally hidden my englishness #the biggest event of this month isn’t Halloween or 1989tv — it’s the switch from bst to gmt babyy

[blueberry-macaron]

"he just feels like an entirely dofferent person who just happens to look like him"

Was he really that bad before?

I mean, let's review some stuff he's done (specifically about his relationship with Maribug, feel free to add things I forgot)

Copycat: lied about his and LB's relationship causing an akuma

Glaciator: gets mad at LB for not coming to a date she said she wouldn't come to, making it her problem and only apologizing after she did first (which she really didn't have to btw)

Frozer: basically same thing

Maledictator: tells Mari it's horrible to be happy that her bully aka his friend is leaving

Chameleon: No Marinette don't do anything against Lila even though she's in the wrong (this one's not outright mean it was just bad advice)

Ladybug: chooses the fake Ladybug over the real one bc the fake one would smooch him

Lies: sacrifices himself because "I live that look on your face when you're angry with me lol"

Glaciator 2: "they all think we're a couple lol even though we're not and you've made that clear a million times we shall kiss:) I just love you too much I can't help myself" (I cringed so hard during that episode)

Kuro Neko: gaslighting LB into thinking he's someone else because she has other superhero friends as well

Risk: gives LB shit for not wanting to so a reveal and not wanting to take risks even though it's reasonable for her tl not want those things

Generally flirting, touching or leaning in for a kiss when the time isn't right and LB is either trying to focus on the akuma or she's just uncomfortable

Just from the top of my head some things that didn't sit right with me. Take these as you will.

I'm not saying he had evil intent or that he was only bad, but those times where he acted shitty were never acknowledged by the narrative or any characters. Instead Marinette was blamed for everything because that's the show's number one rule, along with "Adrien is literally perfect like it's actually the world that should adjust to him bc it's so bad and he's so perfect". Peak girl power lol

So therefore Adrien never learned any lessons because he was never called out for anything, so he never had a moment where he self reflected on his behavior and realizing it was wrong and thinking about how to change and maybe having a hard time to change bc of trauma but he tries anyway......

And yet now suddenly all the jealously issues and the codependency and his sometimes shitty attitude just... don't exist anymore. And that's the problem. The writers and the stans act like there's so much character developement that has happened when there literally wasn't. When developing a character, you need to not just show before and after, but also when he started to change, how long it took, how exactly did he change and why did he change. Specifically when thinking about the relationship, what were the steps and reasons that lead him from sometimes not being a good partner to now being a loving boyfriend that would never pressure Marinette etc. The show delivers answers to none of these questions, they just present this new Adrichat as if he's been there the entire time. And while I like this version of Adrien, it just doesn't feel deserves that he's here bc of how he has been before.

#ask #anon #ml salt #adrien salt

[honeybcj]

heyo! while i was never an anon i did immensely enjoy all your replies to them (and the anons as well ofc)

but im sorry that u had shitty ppl in ur inboxes (from what ive understood in ur reasoning for why ur turning off anons), it frustrates me to no end how dehumanizing the online experience can be, and the awful ways ppl think they can act when theyre “anonymous” (bc tumblr obviously knows- side thought id love if future jobs would be able to pull up d-threat msgs and stuff bc while nsfw stuff isnt anything companies should be concerned abt, i think life threats and otherwise should be! end thought)

i hope that ur inboxes clear up of that negativity (if that’s what it was, or rly whatever it was that caused this action, i hope they leave u alone), and that u can take some time for urself to just remind ur self that UR AMAZING!

ppl fucking suck sometimes. but know that you are an INCREDIBLE writer (genuinely captivated anytime i scroll by ur posts- i have to stop and read), and LOVELY from the sounds of everything!!

as well, if it were bc of like grossly inappropriate stuff that would be socially frowned upon, then ppl need to have a mandatory class in fucking elementary school abt boundaries and the extent to which certain thoughts are to be shared to the masses.

anyways, i send love, hugs, and positivity your way<3

it’s evening where i am so im sending off with a goodnight, or good afternoon, or good morning depending on when u get this!

i hope the fun anons who inspire ur microfic moments send u more ideas:)

hi lovie <3 you have no idea how much this means to me. (i did see your other ask before responding to this one, but i still wanted to be able to thank you and give a little extra clarity on the situation). yes, the other day i did receive an anonymous ask telling me to kill myself for supporting trans people and giving characters trans hcs.

i know i don’t have to explain myself to a single person, but i do want to say that i have worked immensely hard to get to the point where i am mentally and i’ve overcome multiple obstacles in my life that deteriorated my mental health. to have a message like that come through, it really hurt me. i didn’t want to allow myself to slide back into old habits, so i simply turned my anons off for the time being. i’m hoping this will come to a close soon, but i wanted to be upfront and honest about what has been going on.

i appreciate your support and kindness more than anything. it means the absolute world to me to know that there are people that are genuinely kind souls with the best intentions. i’ve been immensely fortunate for the interactions i’ve had on here, and i hate that one comment has ruined to fun and joy for some people, myself included.

one day, i do hope to turn anons back on, but for now, they remain off. giving you a big ole kiss for being such a sweetheart. again, i appreciate you so very much. thank you kindly for you generous words and sweet soul. i hope that you have a great rest of your day/evening. you deserve it <3

#han’s asks #loaf tag

[archaic-grey]

an apology? kind of?

okay . wow. so! i recently made a post asking why a lot of jasico shippers were adults and it kind of . blew up in my face. a bit. and a lot of people made some very good points!! so i am going to address all of it cause i'd feel bad just. ignoring it? and also to explain a bit of my internal thoughts relating to . all of it. just for more clarity.

so. i think the biggest issue people had with what i was saying was that i was uncomfortable with adults shipping minor characters. that has not changed. that is still something that is a bit weird to me. however, that wasn't me trying to outright imply they were pedos????? that is. a very serious accusation and not something i would throw around lightly, especially in this context. like. i get why you would think that. but that was in no way what i was trying to say there. its just something that is weird to me. & im sorry that i wasn't clear enough while expressing that.

i am a minor, which is probably evident by now, and adults in fandom spaces are FINE. i will always support their right to interact with the fans of medias they enjoy. while i personally don't really feel comfortable with them interacting with me, esp in the context of shipping, i am fine with their existence. they can do whatever they want within reason obviously.

also, my intent with my original post was in NO WAY to start discourse or arguments or make anyone feel attacked or uncomfortable. it was just a phenomenon i had noticed and wanted to make like . a bit of a joke about. i seriously did not expect this many people to see it & react the way they did. however i get why you all got defensive, i would have felt the same if i was in your place.

some people seemed almost confused as to why i thought all jasico shippers were adults. um . again that phrasing was mostly a joke. but clearly i do not interact with you guys that much & most of the jasico shippers i have interacted with have been adults . so yk. i generalized you guys a bit. which was entirely my fault & has to do with my own flaws and issues that i am working on. and i am sorry !!!!!!!

to continue on with how my own flaws & issues have impacted this whole . situation: i like having reasons for things. i like it when people can explain their reasoning behind things and i like to be able to explain why i feel a certain way or had a certain opinion so like . idk i guess part of why i cant let myself just not like jasico is because of that. cause nothing is Wrong with jasico. and i know that, so i don't understand why i don't like it??? so like . im trying to find reasons and stuff to explain it to myself and others. if that makes sense??? its like . a really shitty explanation but i am genuinely sorry that my own issues resulted in this whole mess.

anyways . hope that sufficiently gave a bit of explanation for this whole thing? i would like to politely ask that anyone who wishes to continue discussing this either send me an ask or pm me, i don't really want to start any more drama or anything in my reblogs haha.

and once again, i'm really sorry. i'll be deleting my original posts in a couple hours just because this is stressing me out a bit & i don't want them to continue to be a breeding ground for discourse.

thank you all!

(will be tagging everyone who has reblogged or commented here just so they can see this. apologies if you are uncomfortable with being tagged in discourse.)

@paddooo @i-am-triple-a @elvirie @evergardenwall @iamonlyatiger @via-rant @my-apollo-gies (love your username btw) @hammyletto @seulgishaku @jinxed-lemon @decemebercircus @yonemurishiroku

#so yeah. #my thoughts on all of this #i am. just done with this situation at this point & i hope you guys are like. okay with me being ready for it to end #again PLEASE PM ME / SEND ME AN ASK if you would like to keep discussing this #do not argue with me in the reblogs . thank you #apology #also sorry if this doesnt flow well . just trying to get all my thoughts out in a way that hopefully makes sense

[leastdatablebracket]

ROUND 3, MATCH 16

Propaganda under the cut!

Kenshin Uesugi

Propaganda

He is a cold calculating bloodthirsty warlord, who is also a yandere and overly jealous. Also is obsessed with MC's friend Sasuke, where he both loves and constantly threatens to kill Sasuke.

Cullen Rutherford

Propaganda

stupid racist cop creep whose fans cry about how hes "changed" and "you can't judge him he was addicted to magic drugs" nah he still chose to be a racist cop and abuse his power over innocent people and i hate him. the writers making him romanceable in da:i after how blatantly horrible he was in da:o and da:2 is baffling but i guess they had to appeal to the part of their audience who watch those "mafia boyfriend" videos on tiktok or whatever

He's creepy in origins, though still 100% willing to kill the female mage pc he's crushing on, as well as all the other mages trapped in the circle with him. He's the second-in-command in an even worse circle in 2, listening to and defending the increasingly obviously insane meredith until literally the end. He's one of the people still pushing for the circle system by inquisition, and yes he's going through withdrawals and working through the traumas of previous games. And to be brutally honest his was the first romance i took and while i don't remember much from it, its not worth all the girls going absolutely nuts over knockoff terrible alistair.

He's basically a cop who thinks being born a certain way can revoke personhood and by Inquisition still thinks mages are monsters to be controlled, not people. He gets a fairy tale cutesy romance that focuses on his personal struggles with addiction while showing absolutely no regard to the atrocities he committed and still thinks were justified. He can be romanced BY A MAGE and his actions and beliefs are just glossed over. He believes mages are 'not people like you (Hawke) and me', but if the Warden was a female mage he canonically had a crush on her and would deliberately hang around her despite the fact that he was her *jailer*. If that Warden romanced Leliana, there is war table dialogue in which he pesters Leliana for news of his 'former' crush despite her repeated statement that she doesn't want to talk to him about her. All this shitty behavior and lack of introspection gets swept under the rug by the game, not even giving the PC the chance to really challenge his beliefs. Like damn even Fenris could apologize when he lashed out due to past trauma with mages, and if anyone has a reason to hate mages it's Fenris. If you want an ex Templar hottie Alistair is RIGHT THERE. Tbh I know Cullen is a popular romance and I'm not here to tell anyone what they can or can't do or like in a video game, I'm just saying I think he is deeply undateable

Spends the first two games as an antagonist, fervently devoted to the cause of subjugating mages, then a bunch of "character development" happens off screen and the games treat him like he's completely reformed. However he's actions make it clear he still sees mages as dangerous and lesser. Not to mention if you romance him with an elf he doesn't pay your culture more than lip service respect like most of the devout characters 

He was a total villain in the first two games who was violently prejudiced against mages and uses one single bad experience as an excuse for it (a bad experience that is pretty much exactly what he in his job subjected graduating apprentices to, mind you, but this is never brought up). Now he says he's changed, but his words and actions say otherwise. He still distrusts mages, sympathises with the rebel Templars trying to kill them, and he never owns up to the terrible stuff he did and helped others do in the past two games. He totally knew what Meredith was doing and says he doesn't, and he still tries to defend her intentions. And you have no option to call him out on it. If you romance him as a mage, he angsts about how he might have seen you as subhuman in the past but NOW you're one of the good ones, and when you ask him if he'll kill you if you get possessed, he dodges the question. And the PC is written as being almost sad that she's a mage? Like 'can you love me despite what I am??' Also if Leliana romanced a female mage PC in the first game who is still alive, he asks her creepy questions about their relationship. Fitting considering his original purpose was to be creepy to the female mage Warden. 

I hate him and want to cause chaos. Plus his VA is an asshole.

Cop

I think you covered almost everything but don't forget that beautiful moment in DA2 - Act 2 where you find out some templars had a petition to lobotomize all mages and Meredith, THE HARDCORE TEMPLAR LEADER, rejects it, but Cullen says they got a point. Despite the fact that we just found out that those templars were using lobotomy (or the threat of) to rape people and get away with it. And then Cullen in DA:I is whining that anything that happened it's not his fault because Meredith kept the worse away form him so he didn't know, but also that anyway Meredith had a point and did what she had to do. Meredith does not go mad until Act 3, before she was of sound mind and Culllen was her second in command BECAUSE he hated mages as much as (or even more) than her. What the FUCK did she even hide from you, Cullen. Oh, but he changed! Because the writers make A VICTIM OF THE TEMPLARS say so. And anyway he only says so BECAUSE HE READS MINDS not because Cullen did anything to show it. Also the narrative wants to sympathise with Cullen for his drug problems while Cullen is openly attacking the only other character with the same problem for...having the same problem. And he's the antagonist, so there were OTHER things Cullen could be mad about. But he is mad about the drug problem. Also I'm not an expert on writing characters with addictions but he is an addict only when it's time to have a cut scene where you pity him. Otherwise it has zero impacts on everything else.

#round 3