#unfortunately I am not one of them

[inkskinned]

the thing is there's like, a point of oversaturation for everything, and it's why so many things get dropped after a few minutes. and we act like millennials or gen z kids "have short attention spans" but... that's not quite it. it's more like - we did like it. you just ruined it.

capitalism sees product A having moderate success, and then everything has to come out with their "own version" of product A (which is often exactly the same). and they dump extreme amounts of money and environmental waste into each horrible simulacrum they trot out each season.

now it's not just tiktokkers making videos; it's that instagram and even fucking tumblr both think you want live feeds and video-first programming. and it helps them, because videos are easier to sneak native ads into. the books coming out all have to have 78 buzzwords in them for SEO, or otherwise they don't get published. they are making a live-action remake of moana. i haven't googled it, but there's probably another marvel or starwars something coming out, no matter when you're reading this post.

and we are like "hi, this clone of project A completely misses the point of the original. it is soulless and colorless and miserable." and the company nods and says "yes totally. here is a different clone, but special." and we look at clone 2 and we say "nope, this one is still flat and bad, y'all" and they're like "no, totally, we hear you," and then they make another clone but this time it's, like, a joyless prequel. and by the time they've successfully rolled out "clone 89", the market is incredibly oversaturated, and the consumer is blamed because the company isn't turning a profit.

and like - take even something digital like the tumblr "live streaming" function i just mentioned. that has to take up server space and some amount of carbon footprint; just so this brokenass blue hellsite can roll out a feature that literally none of its userbase actually wants. the thing that's the kicker here: even something that doesn't have a physical production plant still impacts the environment.

and it all just feels like it's rolling out of control because like, you watch companies pour hundreds of thousands of dollars into a remake of a remake of something nobody wants anymore and you're like, not able to afford eggs anymore. and you tell the company that really what you want is a good story about survival and they say "okay so you mean a YA white protagonist has some kind of 'spicy' love triangle" and you're like - hey man i think you're misunderstanding the point of storytelling but they've already printed 76 versions of "city of blood and magic" and "queen of diamond rule" and spent literally millions of dollars on the movie "Candy Crush Killer: Coming to Eat You".

it's like being stuck in a room with a clown that keeps telling the same joke over and over but it's worse every time. and that would be fine but he keeps fucking charging you 6.99. and you keep being like "no, i know it made me laugh the first time, but that's because it was different and new" and the clown is just aggressively sitting there saying "well! plenty of people like my jokes! the reason you're bored of this is because maybe there's something wrong with you!"

#this was much longer i had to cut it down for legibility #but i do want to say i am aware this post doesnt touch on human rights violations as a result of fast fashion #that is because it deserves its own post with a completely different tone #i am an environmental educator #so that's what i know the most about. it wouldn't be appropriate of me to mention off-hand the real and legitimate suffering #that people are going through #without doing my research and providing real ways to help #this is a vent post about a thing i'm watching happen; not a call to action. it would be INCREDIBLY demeaning #to all those affected by the fast fashion industry to pretend that a post like this could speak to their suffering #unfortunately one of the horrible things about latestage capitalism as an activist is that SO many things are linked to this #and i WANT to talk about all of them but it would be a book in its own right. in fact there ARE books about each level of this #and i encourage you to seek them out and read them!!! i am not an expert on that i am just a person on tumblr doing my favorite activity #(complaining) #and it's like - this is the individual versus the industry problem again right because im blaming myself #for being an expert on environmental disaster (which is fucking important) but not knowing EVERYTHING about fast fashion #i'm blaming myself for not covering the many layers of this incredibly complicated problem im pointing out #rather than being like. yeah so actually the fault here lies with the billion dollar industries actually. #my failure to be able to condense an incredibly immense problem that is BOOK-LENGTH into a single text post that i post for free #is not in ANY fucking way the same amount of harm as. you know. the ACTUAL COMPANIES doing this ACTUAL THING for ACTUAL MONEY. #anyway im gonna go donate money while i'm thinking about it. maybe you can too. we can both just agree - well i fuckin tried didn't i #which is more than their CEOs can say

[quietduckpond]

This is the forth or fifth time I have tried trans tape?? And like I understand that bc of my reduced lung capacity that it is better for me in the long run than a binder, but the actual effort it goes into doing it (which is a far bit, as unfortunately i am cursed with huge knockers) is so dysphoria-inducing that each and every time I have attempted it, I have ended up on the floor sobbing, with only half my chest done.

#for clarification: this is not to say that it doesnt work for other trans folks #and that there are large chested folks it does work for #unfortunately i am not one of them #trans tape #trans ftm #fern talks #tw dysphoria #dysphoria #chest dysphoria

[circuscountdowns]

I don’t think the crown works like this. added the full pages

#narilamb #cw suggestive #cw gore #had sir Chloe’s I am the dog on repeat for this one. #Pls understand they never actually have sex they just 4d chess mind games all the time and they think it’s better and are still in love #oh you desire to wax poetic to my skull? You are like baby watch this - eats u alive and u love it. Weirdos. #I hc that lamb has zero libido but godhood gives them huge desire to eat flesh n meat unfortunately #cotl art

[comradekatara]

ily king on god we’re gonna get u a razor

#id in alt text #avatar the last airbender #atla #HARU #art #mart #underrated king…. #just shave that mustache & he’s perfect #i definitely disregarded him for way too long (for unfortunate facial hair decisions i must say) #but he’s literally awesome and so cute w katara <33 and brown <33 #also yes i am now obsessed w this watercolor painting technique and i will probably draw everything in this style for the foreseeable future #until i inevitably get sick of it of course #but rn in my mind im like wow this looks sooooo good #and it’s so easy #thank u procreate pocket watercolor & calligraphy brush u guys are my best friends <3 #friendship ended w wet acrylic etc etc #anyway. i love him he’s so wretched of the earth core. literally #also his hair is so fun to draw #his beautiful luscious locks #if haru has ten fans i am one of them if haru has zero fans i am dead etc etc etc

[theminecraftbee]

-slamming bolt upright in a cold sweat- what do you mean verbal contracts cleo. what do you MEAN verbal contracts cleo. artists if you're doing commercial work you're A) charging much higher rates and B) making them SIGN A CONTRACT, right? right? you understand why that's VITAL, right? why having a written contract is VITAL for commercial work? you understand? you make them sign a written contract? please if you go looking in proper artist/graphic design circles i'm sure you can find a basic form that's legal in your locality and doesn't require you talk to a lawyer but if you're doing commercial work you're MAKING THEM SIGN A CONTRACT RIGHT--

#stream liveblogging #sorry someone in a chat in my discord mentioned cleo said they were using verbal contracts and my raised-by-lawyers self sat bolt upright #artists: you can get away with just an email chain with a noncommercial commission #but if you're doing someone's branding/merch/commercial work #you've both GOTTA charge WAAAAY more #and you've GOTTA have a contract #and you've GOTTA check out the rights stuff (hint: you aren't giving them perpetual rights to the design unless you're charging out the ass #i'm not an artist or a lawyer so i don't know the exact details of how this should go down but #ohhhhhhh my god. #anyway this isn't supposed to be discourse i am certain basically every youtuber does this. unfortunately. #and i don't BLAME the ones who have because they just probably hadn't realized/assumed the people they were commissioning would know #but i'm just losing my marbles for a moment don't mind me. #oh my god. #ANYWAY BACK TO MY NORMAL SCHEDULED POSTS--.

[peachssodapop]

the mention of their different dialects and languages immediately had my enraptured

so here's a very quickly drawn comic based on I cannot seem to find a good german equivalent to silly

#linked universe #linkeduniverse #lu hyrule #lu wind #lu four #lu legend #lu time #lu twilight #lu warriors #my art #hii german speakers are there any good translations #unfortunately I am scared of internet strangers and if anyone else in my family still speaks german at all I don't talk to them #from a quick search in japanese it seems the first suggestions are also things like stupid and dumb so like #there's the guys who's hylian can be translated directly into english #and the ones where their hylian is based on japanese instead #which i think leaves a giant gap where there are just going to be things that don't translate well

[ministarfruit]

"my oshis graduated" outfit swap

#yeah this one was for me #tsukumo sana #magni dezmond #vtuber #holofateswap #hololive #holostars #holocouncil #holotempus #it's funny bc after they graduated I was like #oh I won't draw them anymore out of respect ^_^ #but unfortunately I missed them too much so here I am. drawing them still #I should reiterate that I'm happy that they're taking care of themselves #and that they're happier now! #I just cherish the memories we made together also #I think that's the best way to put it #BLOWS THEM A BIG CHEESY KISS #vespy is also my oshi but I cannot draw big buff men in tight outfits for the life of me. NEXT TIME MAYBE #I already struggle with axel and he's like. not even that bulked up #I'M TRYING MEN </3 #oh that tag sounds fucking weird out of context #i'm leaving it though

[sergle]

what I was talking abt earlier. we have fully looped back around and away from feminism, societally, whereas before it was very Feminism 101 to acknowledge that many parts of existing as a woman in a misogynistic society are painful and upsetting. not that being a woman is Inherently Negative in a bubble. but that living on this earth, in the conditions we're living in, is hostile to women. and that gender is a performance. that many of the Staples Of Femininity as accepted by society are things that you have to create and perform and mold artificially and aren't inherent, that COMPLAINING about day to day difficulties of existing as a woman is something that you're allowed to do. acknowledging these basic, again, feminism 101 things, that something tied to womanhood is more time consuming or more expensive or more dangerous Because Of The Problems. does not CREATE the problems. that when women complain about having to perform femininity, they are not, in fact, oppressing themselves. the call does not come from inside the fucking house. saying that you HAVE suffered does not fucking equate that you believe you SHOULD have suffered.

like I could talk about this for hours. how braindead and one-dimensional the Takes are getting. "being a woman is looking in the mirror and going fuck yeah i'm a woman" damn. I guess any negative experiences you have by living in a misogynistic world... are your fault if you are anything but positive? "you don't actually want liberation" we've fully gone back to telling feminists "you WANT to be oppressed" when anything negative about our society is pointed out. it's not real until I say it out loud, I guess, and then I'm actually the one who caused it. if anybody expresses any unhappiness with how they're treated or the status quo or the language and culture surrounding womanhood and femininity. they've created it, right that second. they invented it just now. it wasn't a problem before somebody complained, right? also trans women aren't braindead zombies who just follow the flow of whatever cis women around them say. I am pretty fucking sure they are very much aware of pain, and are MORE than aware of the swirling torrent of misogyny and standards of femininity than anybody else. actually. and I am pretty sure someone complaining on tumblr that being a woman means always putting on a performance is going to make someone change their mind about transitioning. also "performing femininity" as a necessity to being treated well as a woman is not fucking NEWS to your Local Trans Woman. I AM PRETTY SURE SHE GETS THE CONCEPT. using trans women as a scapegoat for this braindead perspective on gender politics is spineless, meritless, and pathetic.

#how I feel about my gender is not the same as how I feel about the living conditions of my gender #when I saw that post I screenshotted here I literally sat w my mouth open for a minute #sent it to my friends and was like am I fucking crazy. is this what we're doing now #Forced Positivity and that there is no war in ba sing se and actually #you're ruining children's lives if you complain about misogyny on twitter #I don't HAVE to tell little girls about the downsides because they are already being mistreated #before they have even heard the word 'misogyny' let alone know what it means #you do not have to be fucking happy all the time about the cards you're dealt. #you don't live in a bubble where it's just you and your mirror and your pretty dress and nothing bad has ever happened to you #unfortunately bitch. we will have negative experiences that are in fact. part of the package of being a woman #and IGNORING them doesn't make them not exist. actually they will continue to remain status quo unless acknowledged #sergle.txt #I see so much rhetoric that is JUST old-fashioned gender ideals being presented with liberal language on tiktok #that is just telling women that womanhood is just being a girllll and loving pretty things and being kind and gentleeeee and nurturing #and not working and just like being wholesome and being happy and being a light in ppl's lives and just LOVING LOVING LOVING being a woman #so if for even one second. you don't love it. you are actually failing at being a woman #if you complain about the standards for shaving or putting on makeup. which used to be Baby's First Feminism online #that's actually just you creating problems. you're not supposed to acknowledge it. you're supposed to shut up and smile into the mirror.

[kinokoshoujoart]

oops all rock (springtime edition)

i’ll be able to draw digitally again soon! ;w; in the meantime i’ve been scribbling a lot on paper…

could not wait for Soon, so i resorted to coloring it using the markup tool in default iphone photos app (don’t do that ever again)

#my art #sos awl #debating whether to just dump my sketches from my soujourn to hell or save them to be transferred and finished as digital stuff #or like both idk. i don’t know how ppl feel about WIPs #i’m happy to post art again ;w; thank you everyone who welcomed me back i’m slowly getting through everything i missed while i was y’know #and thank you for the sweet messages while i was gone i am bbghkjh i need to calm myself and respond !!!! love #rock tumbling (sos) #story of seasons a wonderful life #bokumono #story of seasons #harvest moon #hm awl #harvest moon a wonderful life #bunny sighting 😳 i still have THOSE wips too #there’s certain things i wanna prioritize once i can use my tablet again and those are one of them #but i will also probably post new stuff alongside finishing old unfinished stuff….. i hope that is OK…… #idk i’ll have to talk more later! right now i am nervous!!! i love you all!!!! #fanart #awl rock #bokujou monogatari #hm anwl #unfortunately this scum neet still has my entire heart so. most of the notebook is just him pulling goofy faces… sorry…….. #also a lot of lumina and nami…. and molly…. they r really cool… #ceci is also cool and i’ve drawn a collage of her that i just. never posted #mostly drawing HMDS related stuff about the descendant characters #OK I’LL STOP TAGBLOGGING #i am once again back in DS for girl hell. i want to make a series of posts about differences in the English vs the Japanese version #and also fun secret things related to DS #this is all in the future i gotta finish all my unfinished stuff…. uuuu…. #i love you all mmmmmwah (i cast sleepy time blanket and sleep forever)

[ganondoodle]

core 1, 2, and 3 ('courage' 'demise' and Hylia)

its what sits inside their ribcages, the core of their spirits that cannot defend themselves you cant usually see it since its too bright and their energy spreads through their entire body when they are alive

a deities last lifeline; once their cores are exposed they can survive within their, essentially dead, bodies for a while but as it is breaking apart they too will fade eventually, completely at the mercy of whoever might find them if given enough magical energy they could revive it and initiate healing (few people would be capable of giving enough magic to them for this to work, however they could keep a core alive for longer until someone who has more magic to give is found or enough people capable of giving magic are gathered; as of now this is a worldbuilding thing as it will not be used in the story, a defenseless core of a deity is no match to the grasp of the gods after all)

#ganondoodles #art #concept art #zelda #tloz #loz #demise #hylia #i hope posting them together isnt too spammy #i also edited core 2s tail since i didnt quite like it #i also hope its not taking too much of the mystery of how the deities work #i am unfortunately one of those pople that have to come up with answers for everything #my brain just kinda does it on its own :( #i wish i could keep a cool mystery that adds to it all but alas #im a lore guy #lgnjdrknfkngsjkdbhfjs

[hermanunworthy]

me and @biirbi went to dnd picketing day today in support of the wga strike!! not only did we get to participate in a dnd game dmed by BRENNAN LEE MULLIGAN, but i got to MEET THE CAST OF DNDADS!!!! (ft the hermie normal and scary dolls zoe made :D)

"this is the only way we can get hermie and normal together bc anthony is never gonna let it happen" -will

#I CANT BELIEVE I GOT TO TALK W THEM ALL OMGGG #i was so nervous but i am so so happy #i unfortunately forgot to mention that i was the one who made the playing cards for them at the la show though 💔 #dungeons and daddies #dndads #dnd picketing day #dnd #wga strike #wga solidarity #siren says

[brazen-art]

Gang's on the move

(a pipe burst in the hoard storage room)

#lineart my beloved #anyway here's the rest of Roscoe's bully squad #(minus one other oc) #(whom i am still developing) #but tagging the bugs here we go - Maude - Dorothy - Sybille - Ruth - Constance - Lottie - Irene and Winifred #whew #Roscoe named them #(Roscoe is. not very creative but insists on naming entities anyway. and she defaults to old lady names lol) #Roscoe's fearsome grandma gang #unfortunately the names aren't a marker for any real attachment #when one of the bugs.. disappears... the next one to show up just. inherits the unused name lmao #(did i mention that Roscoe's not that creative?) #poor bugs man #boss doesn't care about them #they should start a bug union #mind you. between all of them Roscoe is the only one with a thumb #and that's very handy (teehee) for things like surprise leaks #also shes scary. #like that's a wholeass jester whats a bug gonna do #there's at least a safety element i suppose #lethal company #lethal company oc #lethal company fanart #lethal company jester #lethal company hoarding bug #lethal company lootbug #Roscoe #oc #I'm not tagging the bugs a second time #they've had their time in the spotlight

[damianbugs]

Honestly I would love a Jason Todd comic that focused on confronting his world view, like yes it's easy to put a bullet through the head of every criminal but, the world isn't so black and white, sometimes criminals either have no choice/it goes deeper than that. Similar to how utrh questions Bruce's morality (nothing really came of it) I want a comic where Jason's world view is also questioned.

He really has a lot of potential but idk DC keeps fumbling. I'd like to know your thoughts on how you would handle a Jason storyline, I love your metas.

oh how i mourn the disappointing horror of everything under the red hood could have been... for both bruce and jason!

if i were to handle a jason comic, i would disregard everything ever written after under the red hood and related stories. as much as i enjoy jason joining the batfam and rebuilding bridges in fanon works, i much prefer jason becoming a permanent member of the gotham rouge gallery and staying batman's kind-of-enemy in canon.

what i think utrh was setting up was Jason Todd, Ultimate Foe of Bruce Wayne. jason is a incredibly smart and cunning character, who planned to the smallest detail in order to get his desired outcome. nothing he did was by accident. but more importantly, his unwavering and concrete code can only be rivalled by batman, and so, they will constantly be at odds. if utrh taught us anything, it is that jason and bruce are always going to be plagued by what they lost in each other, and as a result, will never find their way back to what they once were.

they will now forever exist as consequences of each other, no matter what.

by doing this to his story, jason finally has the chance to grow as his own character, independent from the batfam;

one of the biggest problems with how dc is handling jason is that they want him to be this angry, violent and unsociable person while also trying to convince everyone that he is not angry and not violent and very sociable with the batfam. this causes the disparity in his writing, either with inconsistencies or just downright character assassination.

if he was kept as gotham's anti-hero, then this gives him the freedom to find his own code that is no longer dependent on batman's overarching one. utrh jason kills indiscriminately because it's what solves the problem that batman's never been able to fix: crime. jason, who is young, and betrayed, and for all that he is intelligent, he is naive and claims he's the long term solution to batman's short term one. unfortunately, killing criminals to stop criminals from existing works until, like you said, comes a situation where the world isn't so black and white.

jason knows this, probably better than anyone. he comes from poverty and homelessness, lost his parents to drugs and sickness and violence. many of his stories as robin highlight how, unlike batman, jason is able to see people for who they are and not just their actions, offering a empathetic insight that batman, for all he is kind, can never truly grasp.

as red hood, i think a combination of the lazarus pit, his training, and his murderer, batman's seemingly disregard for him, how the world moves on while jason is stuck, has made him forget this kindness he had in him. that he still has. so we need a story where it is pulled out of him and he is forced to battle what he's always known.

i think this question of jason's morality was what zdarsky was TRYING to do with Cheer (Batman Urban Legends #1-#6), but it fell flat due to the terrible portrayal of Robin Jason. The story itself of jason killing someone and bruce reacting to it left a lot to be desired (as always). not to mention how out of all the criminals jason could've been shown to kill, having it be a dealer who is also an addict is rather... tone deaf on jason's own moral code. the killing was also not calculated or "for the greater good" and was instead a rage-filled thoughtless killing which, again, is a gross misunderstanding of jason's moral code and intelligence.

so we almost had it, a story where jason has to fight someone more stubborn than batman — himself. as a character in batman's rouge gallery, this horrifying realisation of who he shares that title with, the determination to be better not because of batman, but because jason himself has realised he can do more by doing less of what he's been doing.

i don't know if i would rule out jason killing people entirely, since it is such an integral deconstruction of who he was as robin and who he is now as red hood, but i would like to think he changes how he holds his weapons. less of "i kill because it's the only way to fix this" and more "i kill because sometimes it's the best thing i can do to fix this". a very subtle but still problematic change that isolates him from ever joining the batfam.

it might seem sort of cruel, that my ideal jason story makes him lonely and more of a villian, but i think that is the sort of tragic path his character is forced to adopt. he made this bed when he returned to gotham with retribution in his plans and hurt in his heart, and now he must lie in.

there is always the potential for him to be happy, to have his family and friends and be the sort of hero he was as a teenager — but to get there, it needs to get worse before it can get better. that's what dc failed with jason, skipping the internal turmoil and drama and harsh reality checks and skipping straight to the part where he has a family again.

plus, batman's rouge gallery teach lessons to batman. poison ivy, harley, two face, strange, riddler and (annoyingly) even the joker play crucial roles to who batman is as a hero and constantly force him to challenge his code.

jason teaches the biggest lesson of all — that batman is bruce wayne. he had the potential to be the driving force that changed bruce's character forever, because red hood is a reflection that batman created all on his own, not by being batman, but by being bruce wayne. and this fact would have given jason the chance to be more than just that.

#sorry for rambling #and for bringing it back to bruce and jason #unfortunately i am insane about them #one day we will get a writer who truly values jason #and all that he was as robin and all he can be as red hood #one day... #jason todd #bruce wayne #saki comic talks #saki anons #dc meta

[least-carpet]

Hiiii, if it's not too much, can you describe the biggest differences between the live action characters and the novel characters in MDZS? They are a lot, so I will love even the difference between few of them! I haven't seen the live action and I don't know if I will ever, but I am curious, considering all the meta. Anyway, thank you in general, even if you don't answer!

Hello anon! This has been in the inbox forever because there are soooo many ways to answer this! However, let me be transparent that I've watched maybe like 1/10 of CQL. Among other obstacles, I simply do not care that much about Lan Wangji and he's always there (even though Wang Yibo is giving it his all... it's not his fault I'm a hater...). Chewing through a book with Ms. Mxtx's commentary was just more enjoyable to me, and even then, to be honest, I still liked SVSSS better. (I just love Shen Yuan/Shen Qingqiu so much. That dude is wild.)

Still, the live action definitely affected how I understood certain characters (...primarily Nie Huaisang) and made me interested in relationships that I didn't pay any attention to in the novel. (I freely admit that the nieyao brainrot is 100% CQL's fault.) Also I found Wang Zhuocheng's Jiang Cheng very cute and loveable. It definitely contributed to my Jiang Cheng Brain Disease.

LISTEN. HE HAS BIG SAD EYES AND THE MEANEST SNEER AND HE MIGHT BURST INTO TEARS AT ANY TIME. HE IS A BABY. A baby who could kill you with his terrifying lightning whip! But a baby nonetheless, to me.

So if you want someone with a real and knowledgeable opinion on the live action, I'm probably not the right person for that! However, here's one difference that changed a bunch of stuff about the characters that I found compelling in the novel: the second flautist.

CQL adds Su She as a second flautist doing unorthodox cultivation in a couple of different places, including at Qiongqi Path, where he seizes control of Wen Ning and is therefore responsible for Jin Zixuan's death. Removing the responsibility for Jin Zixuan's death from Wei Wuxian creates a bunch of cascading character and relationship implications that I don't love.

Firstly, all of the people who cautioned Wei Wuxian against his unorthodox cultivation are now... wrong. If he never lost control, then actually his assessment that he could maintain control wasn't overconfidence, it was just true, and he was persecuted because the Jin needed a scapegoat and wanted the Yin Tiger Tally, not because his cultivation path actually involved significant risks and drawbacks. (To be fair, the Jins actively exploited those drawbacks, the public perception of his cultivation, and Wei Wuxian's failure to manage his reputation. But it matters whether the risks exist or are just made up.)

Secondly, removing his responsibility for Jin Zixuan's death transforms both Wei Wuxian's character and how we understand his relationships with Jiang Yanli, Jiang Cheng, and Jin Ling. Because, in the novel, he kills Jin Zixuan under duress but also after a lifetime of conflict with him. Like, he hates the dude, he doesn't think he's worthy of Jiang Yanli, and he's not willing to examine his hatred and resentment even though Jiang Yanli loves Jin Zixuan and wants to marry him, even after she marries him and has a child with him. (I would argue that a lot of the resentment is because of the eventual marriage; by marrying Jiang Yanli, Jin Zixuan becomes legally recognized family to the Jiang siblings, while Wei Wuxian's relationship with them has no social recognition; I think Wei Wuxian is deeply threatened by that but can't articulate it.) It's a huge failure! Like, dude, you loved someone and you killed that person's beloved spouse. That points to a certain degree of repressed jealousy, possessiveness, longing, arrogance, the list goes on... I am so compelled by that conflict, and the adaptation just erases it.

This also affects how we read Jin Ling's relationship with Wei Wuxian. In one scenario, a teenage Jin Ling is (eventually, minus one little stab) ending the cycle of violence by not seeking vengeance for his father's murder. In the other, it was actually someone associated with Jin Ling's paternal family that killed his father, and he's maybe just... coming to terms with that? One of these scenarios is so much richer and more interesting.

How it affects the relationship between Jiang Cheng and Wei Wuxian is a little more subtle. It locates the responsibility for a lot of the harm done to the Jiang siblings with the Jin sect, not with Wei Wuxian, removing some of Wei Wuxian's culpability in the devolution of his relationship with Jiang Cheng. If Wei Wuxian isn't guilty of wronging the Jiang family (and instead is also a victim of the Jin sect), then all of Jiang Cheng's rage and betrayal was misdirected. They were both tricked. In some ways, maybe that's easier to patch up after canon? (I wonder if this is why many CQL yunmeng shuangjie reconciliation fics have Jiang Cheng apologize to Wei Wuxian, but not the other way around?) But it's so much less interesting to me!

Finally, it removes Wei Wuxian's tragic flaw! Dude is legitimately a genius but he's got hubris coming out of his ears and it fucks him up big time! This is classic stuff. Please stop flattening my boy!!

#alas I am outed as a fake CQL fan after all #sorry y'all #I love all the edits though. I am stuffing them into my horrible little mouth every day #I'm the worst kind of fake CQL fan because my brain has fully mashed some of the series I've seen together with the novel events #FINALLY I JUST LOVE... CQL NIEYAO... YUM YUM YUM... THEY ARE CRAZY TOGETHER!! #THEY BOTH GET SOOO UPSET OVER THE BREAKUP!! #wen yao in nmj's memories... the brAIDS UNDER THE HAT #also qin su had .5 seconds of screen time and I fell in love with her #slap your husband qin su!! go apeshit!! you deserve it girl!! she survived that stab in my heart 🥲 #anyway maybe one day I'll watch the whole thing. unfortunately I am not very compelled by canon wangxian #I also don't know how I ended up here. the jiang cheng brain disease got me good #wei wuxian #jin zixuan #jiang yanli #jiang cheng #jin ling #qin su #yunmeng shuangjie #yunmeng trio #xuanli #nieyao #mdzs + #anon asks #asks #least-carpet thoughts

[blueskittlesart]

Feel free to ignore this but as someone who also goes to art school, I find it really interesting how other art schools also have a “don’t date your peers” sort of faux pa. Like so many people I know (including me) refuse to date anyone else who goes to my college 😭

I wonder why that is tbh, small school thing maybe?

being so serious i didn't have anything against dating other art school peers when i first came here and i think most freshmen dont but once you have one or two art school relationships under your belt you realize why all the upperclassmen avoid dating each other like the plague

#it sounds so good on the surface. like when am i ever going to find this many lesbians concentrated into one place at the same time #but unfortunately in order to go to art school you need to be 1. in your 20s and 2. have something wrong with you #also especially as you get into years 3-4 i think maintaining a relationship just becomes SO hard. bc we're all in the trenches #AND ALSO. from experience. this school is SO small that you CANNOT avoid your exes. if it ends badly fuck you you have 4 classes with her #anyway obviously this doesnt stop me from looking for. things. on tinder. i just dont swipe right on anyone i recognize from class #and it ALSO does not stop you from WANTING to date people in your classes. this tinder girl is nowhere near my first art school crush i jus #do not act on them anymore <3 lmfao #that being said tinder girl if youre reading this i didnt mean any of it baby you're so pretty and im so stable please dm me

[cerise-on-top]

Can you write sum poly Alejandro and Rudy hcs? If you do not write poly, please ignore :(

thank you!! Love your work!!

Posting these two requests as one because they're essentially the same! Also, anon, I never would have written this request if the two lads weren't in love with each other as well! I'm just a lil guy, a sucker for poly relationships! Thank you for requesting this, I was so looking forward to writing this!

Being in a Poly Relationship with Alejandro and Rodolfo

You’ve likely known each other for a while and it was established very early on that Alejandro and Rodolfo were a couple. You got close to them regardless. As a friend, naturally. Spending time with each other was fun, you were there for each other through thick and thin, no matter what. There was never a sliver of doubt that the three of you cared a great deal about each other, but you always knew that between you and them, it would always stay platonic. You didn’t particularly mind that too much, they were great friends after all. Besides, teasing them about being too sweet in their relationship was also fun in and of itself. Years of you being with them would pass, years upon years of you supporting them, helping them move, helping them sort things out in their relationship from time to time. You were their closest confidant and the two of them knew they could always count on you, regardless of what it may have been. And at some point, Rodolfo would develop a little crush on you.

At first it would be small, something he could easily ignore. He had Alejandro, there was no need for someone else. Besides, was something like that even possible? Was it allowed? He didn’t know that. He didn’t know too much about poly relationships back then, but he vowed to not tell Alejandro about it either. What if he would destroy what they had? Not worth it. So he ignored his little crush that grew into a bigger problem as time went on. No matter how much he tried to hide it, it became obvious at some point. And then, when he elected to ignore you in hopes of it going away, you were the one to come up to him, understandably angry. Alejandro, too, would pitch in and ask what’s going on. Although it would take some more probing for Rodolfo to tell the truth, he would give in eventually and say what’s on his mind, ashamed beyond recognition. Alejandro would laugh a bit, claiming that he somehow had a feeling that that was the case. He doesn’t mind being in a relationship with you and Rodolfo as long as the latter would be happy. He has considered it from time to time as well, but he doesn’t harbor such strong feelings towards you, yet. However, those feelings would develop eventually.

As boyfriends, the two of them are absolutely lovely. Rodolfo is a very touch starved man, no amount of physical affection could ever satisfy him. However, he rarely does initiate physical touch. Alejandro is a very physically affectionate man, one of his hands always on either you or Rodolfo. His favorite position would be him lying against the back of the couch, with you and Rodolfo cuddling up into his side each. He absolutely melts whenever one of you falls asleep against him, making sure to tighten the grip he has on you just a bit more so you can sleep easy. While you and Rodolfo are cuddled up against him like that, one thing that Rodolfo loves more than anything is to place his hand on Alejandro’s chest, hoping you will do the same and hold his. He doesn’t have as much trouble sleeping, but just the reassurance that both of his loved ones are with him is a big reassurance. Although he rarely ever says it out loud with you in the beginning of your relationship, he does hint at wanting to be cuddled from time to time. He very much loves being held, so being with Alejandro, who loves to protect his loved ones by holding them, is very cathartic. While you can get him to hold you fairly easily, he’ll bite back a smile if you tell him that you’re going to cuddle him good.

Rodolfo is actually a pretty good dancer. He learned because of Alejandro, since he always wanted to learn. The latter may not be as good as Rodolfo, but that doesn’t stop him from pulling either of you on the dance floor and dancing with you. The more they get to touch you and each other, the better. Though, it likely won’t happen out in public, aside from some swaying when you’re out at a party, but if you’re home you’ll be spun around. Good luck trying to keep up, the two of them are pretty fast paced with each other. Sometimes they dance because they’re feeling romantic, other times it’s a competition on who can outlast the other. So far, they’ve been pretty even despite it all. Naturally, you’ll be danced with as well, it’s an important ritual for the both of them that they’ve grown fond of. If you’re a beginner then they’ll start with something slow, like slow waltzing. Neither of them particularly need to look at their feet to know the steps, so they either look at each other or you. In fact, the two of them casually converse with each other as well while they’re dancing while you’re dizzy and out of breath. But they don’t mind. If you’re especially clumsy then they’ll laugh a bit, but not out of malice. You’re just too cute, that’s all. If you’re an experienced dancer then they’ll go all out with you. You can tango with each other or dance the Viennese waltz, it’s entirely up to you. Again, the more they get to touch you, the more they get to be close to you, the better. If you’re further into the relationship they’ll even dip and kiss you. Just to show off how strong they are.

Alejandro and Rodolfo like to go hiking with each other. There likely isn’t a single place in and around Las Almas they haven’t seen yet. Naturally, they’ll have you tag along. There’s some very beautiful scenery there, if you look for it. Since being active is something that they’ve always loved, they will get you to join them, regardless of whether you love walking up mountains or if you’re a couch potato. It means a lot to them. Besides, Rodolfo can do some very convincing puppy eyes and Alejandro can be very convincing with his words. You can haggle with them on a reward you’ll get once you survive your little hike. They won’t go overboard if it’s your first time hiking with them, maybe you’ll simply walk around the city together, visit some place nearby and build up stamina like that. But even if you do agree to go hiking with them, there’s a good chance you’ll overstrain yourself if they go all out. Therefore you’ll start with something small, something reasonable. Once you’ve reached your destination you’ll likely have a small picnic there. What better way to reward yourself than with some good, homemade food? If you don’t have a lot of stamina then they’ll cheer you on and take breaks whenever it seems as though you need one. It doesn’t matter if they reach their destination in two hours or three, as long as you’re all doing well that’s all that matters.

Generally speaking, Alejandro and Rodolfo like to do a lot of things together. Rodolfo is rather introverted, so he prefers to stay at home and do things there. Alejandro is the opposite, he’s rather outgoing and always wants to go outside when he can. They don’t always see eye to eye with each other on what they should do if they have time, so having you around would make some things a bit easier. Both of them suggest something and you get to be the lucky one who chooses on what it will be you’ll be doing together. This ranges from going to a bar and drinking, to staying at home and cooking something big. Hell, if you really want, you can throw in a suggestion of your own, something neither of them thought of, and maybe you’ll do that. While the beginning stage of your polycule may be a bit awkward, you’re their equal from day one. If you wanna ride your bike around Las Almas, then you can. If you wanna go visit the United States, you can. If you wanna stay at home and watch anime all day with them, then you can. There are endless possibilities.

If you don’t know Spanish, or don’t know it that well, then they’ll be speaking to each other in Spanish while you’re around. Yes, they will mention you by name and make sure they have your attention. It might seem like they’re gossiping about you, but in reality they’re talking about where to take you next, how adorable you are and how glad they are to have you with them. Rodolfo would be a bit more reasonable and tell Alejandro to translate what he said, but it’s never anything harmful. Besides, you’ll be learning Spanish with both of them either way. Alejandro really wants you to know the language so he can speak it with you. Rodolfo doesn’t mind too much either way, but he sort of does look forward to playing teacher. You get a reward for doing well each time as well, so there’s that. However, if you’re not a native speaker, then the two of them will speed up how quickly they talk so they can be cringe and embarrassing and in love without you hearing it. If you’re a native Spanish speaker then they’ll be speaking Spanish with you anytime they can anyway, so no secrets there.

#cod #cod x reader #alejandro vargas #alejandro vargas x reader #rodolfo parra #rodolfo parra x reader #alerudy #alerudy x reader #I am a sucker for poly relationships because I am poly myself #unfortunately no one aside from two people I've ever met were poly as well. it's such a shame #anyway the other night I actually dreamt about Alejandro and Rodolfo #them and I were playing a game where you had to get the other to flinch somehow #I accidentally brushed Alejandro's ribs and he flinched because apparently he was ticklish in my dream #very cute and very fun. I think other CoD characters were there as well in the background #that was my second ever CoD dream! the first one was with ghost #hrhg I love those characters so much I wish I could dream about them more often! I wanna go on adventures with them! #I wanna eat cake with them! I wanna cuddle with them!! I wanna be their friend!!! #but alas I never get to dream about what I want to dream 😔