#whatever reason you may have

[frostbitedoesart]

Not the like to reblog ratio being so frustrating that I'm considering doing free YCHs in exchange for reblogs.....

(If you share this post please include the tags in some way. They're important. May or may not delete this later.)

#not the first time I've done free art in exchange for an extremely simple task #sometimes it feels like people can't read #they can look at my art but as soon as I ask them to reblog it #they act like they can't see what I wrote #tumblr doesn't have an algorithm. #the like button does nothing #like actually #it does NOTHING. it's just a little button that you press #but it helps no-one and changes nothing #except for making a number go up #and it's absolutely phenomenal #how many times I've seen artists ask for people to reblog their posts #just to be completely ignored #it almost feels?? disrespectful??? #like they care about the art but not the artist #you like having pretty things to look at #but you don't wanna help the person that gives it to you #I genuinely want to know why people don't reblog posts #what makes it so hard for you? #what is it about pressing anything other than a heart that feels so impossible? #whatever reason you may have #I'm tired of it. #so if you guys really need a REASON to reblog #I'll give it to you #if you guys really need a reward for doing the BARE MINIMUM #I'll give it to you. #anyway extra tags that you can ignore// #artists on tumblr #art #ych

[marzipanandminutiae]

on the flip side of that Toxic Skincare Obsession post: I’m tired of seeing sun protection presented as another frivolous, unnecessary product of the patriarchy

“I’m going to sit in the sun with wine and enjoy it and fuck anti-aging products like SPF!” I mean yes normalize and celebrate people- especially women -not looking 22 forever but also

Skin Cancer Is Bad Maybe?

#sun protection #skincare #you don't even have to use a tanning bed or lay out in the sun or whatever #neither of my parents have ever intentionally tanned; they just seldom wore sunscreen for decades #and they've both had pre-cancerous cells chemically burned off their faces #no such thing as a safe tan in the long run. it's not that you should stress yourself out about it #but you SHOULD take reasonable precautions #(and yes dark-skinned people too. Black people tend to have worse outcomes with melanoma because doctors trained on light skin #may not catch it soon enough) #Everyone! Needs! Sun Protection! #It is not a frivolous beauty thing!

[thedreamingpiscesfangirl42]

Headcanon that Zestial is very, very, VERY attached to both cloak and top hat. Whereas on the rare occasions he will remove his cloak while at the Carmine residence, his hat is firmly attached to his head at all times. It would be a full on fight trying to get the thing off his head, and another to keep it away from him 😂 Not even Carmilla has seen his unhatted head.

#zestmilla #zestial morde #zestial #carmilla carmine #carmilla #headcanon #fanfic #hazbin hotel #man will go down swinging for his hat #you thought husker being attached to his alcohol was bad #Zestial takes it to a whole nother level with his hat #I have to wonder what’s under it #is he bald? #old man comb over? #surprising luscious hair that he has to hide for whatever reason? #two other sets of eyes since he’s a spider demon? #the world may never know #but I certainly want to

[kaltacore]

i would really like to see people appreciate beau's growth and character arc more without trying to convince newcomers that "she'll get better eventually just you wait" implying she was such an unbearable character you have to make yourself sit through her scenes. i assure you, she wasn't

#you may like or dislike any character for whatever reason mind you! i'm not arguing with that! #but her flaws are so blown out of proportion in fandom while other characters' flaws aren't treated this way at all #and i'm yet to see someone saying that caleb gets better later on. or that veth does. maybe this is also a thing i don't know #but it surely doesn't happen under all relatively popular content centered around them #also beau surely wasn't the only one guilty of being rude and picking fights at the beginning of the campaign. this is just. not true. #the way she's usually referred to as the least cooperative member of m9 #and she wasn't the one who got threatened with a sword for putting the whole party's lives in danger for her own interests. is interesting #this just. makes me sad. i really don't get why people who like her adopt that misconception invented by people who openly disliked her #and sound like they feel guilty for enjoying her character and have to beg other people to give her a chance #i got into m9 with little to none exposure to fandom opinions and honestly. it was really surprising to find out she upsets people that muc #critical role #beauregard lionett #the mighty nein

[dailyloopdeloop]

DAY 17: tasty boiga

#codacheetah #isat #loop isat #tw food #they call me mister weird bad perspective shots. on account of the #look im an american when i realized i had never drawn a burger before i felt a bolt of shame. #also for whatever fucking reason for a solid 3 week span in february i had the overwhelming desire to draw this. loopburger haunted me #and now i have an excuse to make it real #'mr codacheetah sir why is that star person holding that burger so aggressively?' you may ask #idk a burger killed their grandma okay #i didnt really sketch this drawing out i just blacked out and a burger was on my canvas and then there was a loop around the burger #im on ms paint here i aint got layers. this burger is being gripped for burger crimes. thats just the way it is.

[moongothic]

...I... I do not know what on earth compelled me to make this nor why, but I will not be taking criticism at this time

#Moon posting #Break Week is rough y'all #Please I just needed to shitpost a little let me have this #OP Meta #I know this chart is incomprehensible you just have to accept it for what it is #No I was kind of thinking to myself it was kind of funny how of the OG Shichibukai half of them are either dads or borderline dads #And I was like. Can I make a chart of this. Can I make a Dad Chart of the Warlords. #I don't know why I made this nor what to do with this information but. Sure. Let me yeet this out. #Kuma is the Dadliest Dad to Ever Dad in One Piece. Moria canonically adopted Perona when she was little. We love the OG Goth Dad #Crocodad is real TO ME but if nothing else he does have the energy 100%. It's just short of Canon Confirmation at this point #Mihawk is a weird uncle to me. He has no dad energy. This man does not fuck. But he'll look after some kids (Zoro & Perona). Sure. #Blackbeard is like the opposite of Mihawk. He has never looked after a child but I'm sure he has spawned a bastard or two or three #(He may be a father but he is not a Dad) (But canonically as far as we know BB has no kids yet so I'm putting him in Not A Dad) #Jinbei is the new Token Father of the Strawhats according to Oda and so I'm putting him where he is based on that. Also vibes #Law's where he is kind of for similar reasons as Jinbei. This boy is too young to be a dad but dealing with Luffy gave him a few grey hairs #Doflamingo did arguably watch over Buffalo and Baby 5 as those two grew up so he's The Most Qualified in that square #Weevil is baby #Hancock could have Dad Energy in the right circumstances. Like she has THE POTENTIAL #Buggy does not fuck #...Thinking about it I probably should've switched Hancock and Buggy's placements on the chart but whatever it doesn't matter

[allthoseotherworlds]

Genuinely really loving the tendency of official Doctor Who stuff to now refer to the Doctor in general with they/them pronouns

#Doctor Who #New Who #The Doctor #I am talking #I feel like the Doctor in the show just lets people assume whatever pronouns and gender #because people are going to make assumptions and whatever anyways #and going along with people's weird assumptions until there's a reason not to is generally the Doctor's MO #see: anytime someone is like 'are you here for XYZ reason?' and the Doctor's just like 'yes absolutely' #but I feel like if the Doctor had a reason to care about the nuances of human gender conventions in the 21st century #they would like they/them pronouns #also I think it's neat that Time Lords who do have an actual experience of gender #like the master #seem to use whatever pronoun applied at the time in question when speaking in past tense in English #rather than the human convention of using the current pronoun even when speaking retroactively #it's just an interesting distinction #and then that makes me think about translation stuff and how concepts about gender may not even apply in Gallifreyan #but this is getting too long for me just rambling in the tags

[caffeccino]

Cool armored cores... I've always always used reverse joint legs, but Rusty's fake reverse legs are even better... I just love how they look zipping around with their little boosters and chicken legs 🥺

and also one romantic moment 🥰 H-hey Rusty~

#some of this may be drawn later #we'll see~ #armored core #caffe personal #my ac is Luna #I was doing Rosy Maple... a pink and yellow one... but the white and green feels very nice for ac6 for whatever reason #That said... my 621 I'm calling the only pink girl on Rubicon #so who can even say #double zimmies are so scrubby and yet the moment I saw them #my heart knew what it needed #and I haven't wanted to use anything different at all looool #I didn't even notice the nerf #double zimmies baby #I added some zimmie love... and hate #love how they look tossing their trash away~ #armored core posting #sorry everyone #you have to look at my brainworms

[mumblesplash]

do you ever end up accidentally getting super attached to a trope so specific and rare you don't even know how to look for it? 'space aliens failing to understand that a human showing teeth usually isn't a threat display' isn't even an ao3 tag. finding that shit in published fiction or tv shows is next to impossible

#<- guy who searches ao3 by the 'misunderstandings' tag without even specifying a fandom #mumbling #if you've been following me for a while you may remember my introduction to mcyt was when i started scraping the bottom of the barrel #looking for 'humans are space orcs' stories #but what you may not know is that was already a ways down a rabbit hole that began with *avatar the last airbender* #it basically went #'holy shit salvage is a good story' -> read every existing version of hakoda being a good dad to zuko -> #'shinsou hitoshi getting adopted by aizawa has the same vibes fuck it i'll read that too' -> 'why are they aliens in so many of these' -> #get addicted to the 'humans are space orcs' trope -> find a whole collection of fics about that exact thing -> #for some reason the collection is 80% dsmp fics -> i am not picky -> 'oh no they've got a crow-coded father figure' -> #still not rly interested in the dsmp source material -> minecraft kinda interesting tho -> wait what's hermitcraft -> and now here we are #all bc 3 years ago i wanted zuko to have a decent father figure #firelord ozai made me draw pinup art of goodtimeswithscar: the true and harrowing tale of my descent into madness #flameo hotguy or whatever the kids are saying these days

[honeycollectswhump]

prompt:

you think i actually care about you? cute.

with pet whumpee who started to truly love whumper and believed whumper loved them too

Love and Worship

[masterlist]

CW: pet whump, dehumanization, cigarette burns

There is a certain kind of satisfaction linked to spending one’s evening alone in the big hall, surrounded by nothing but gold and jewels, resting on only the softest cushions while occasionally being fed grapes by servants with shaking hands. Others may call it a dream; Mireille calls it a well-deserved daily life.

Everything is beautiful, just as it is supposed to be. The furniture is spotless, having been meticulously cleaned the second Mireille leaves the room, each gem is polished like the morning sun. The servants –about a dozen– wear only the finest clothes, which are almost as expensive and certainly prettier than anything they deserve. 

But what they deserve doesn’t matter, and who cares about the message trying to be sent, when the domestics look like they were taken from the streets? 

This, the big hall, the rooms, every single floor is art. They are a stage for only the finest performers, and sometimes that means having to clothe simple actors in garments more expensive than their life is worth.

It’s a price Mireille is more than willing to pay. Money is never an issue and of course, they don’t outshine her.

Mireille leans back, letting her long black hair drape over the backrest, and takes a drag from the cigarette held loosely in her hand. She looks like a painting, like the pride and joy of a knowledgeable collector. Every single movement is deliberately elegant in a way that has been taught to her since childhood. A woman like her is worth her weight in gold.

Smoking is just another habit she picked up along the way. It’s part of a perfectly curated image, the mysterious lady, the untouchable femme fatale. A calculated show, one that Mireille cannot go without and the thought of abandoning it makes her hands shake, even though she’d rather die than admit it.

Decidedly, she stops that train of thought before any conclusions could be drawn that would be unbecoming for a lady of her calibre. 

Mireille draws in a deep breath through her cigarette and blows the smoke in the air, watching it drift lazily through the hall. Right next to her, her ashtray kneels on the floor, waiting patiently. 

Out of all of her purchases, he’s her favourite. He is undoubtedly beautiful, about as fine as a diamond, with golden hair and shining blue eyes. But then again, Mireille paid good money for his looks. His beauty is not a compliment, it’s the majority of his worth. She would not be satisfied with anything less than perfection.

Her adoration for her companion-decor goes further than his beauty and the entertainment he brings into her life though. There is something about this particular item that her other servants lack, whose fondness for her doesn’t go beyond an innate, natural sense of loyalty.

Her ashtray worships her. Mireille doesn’t need to hear him say it (and it’s not like he was made to speak in the first place). She can simply tell by the way he looks at her with nothing but pure reverence in his eyes. He offers himself up with eagerness and wears the burns like compliments on his skin. 

It’s intoxicating. 

All of her life, men and women alike have adored her, but this is a different, addicting kind of love. Without a doubt, she is the centre of his universe and Mireille would not have it any other way.

The cigarette is nearly burned to the end. After one last drag, she turns her attention towards her ashtray, pondering how she is going to leave a mark this time. There is so much to choose from, although the little round scars are beginning to pile up. It’s a game for her and a blessing for him. 

“Give me your tongue, won’t you?” Mireille purrs and the ashtray complies immediately, of course. He straightens, eager to have received a command –both mindless puppet and loyal mutt–, and holds out his tongue for her. The thought of disobeying her order would never even cross his mind. 

Something about the way he offers up such a vulnerable part of himself without hesitation gives Mireille a rush every single time. She presses the still-glowing cigarette end into the soft but marred flesh. It should cause a visceral reaction, even after the scar tissue must have numbed the nerve ends.

Her servants would whimper and cry in his place. They wouldn’t know what to do with themselves, shaking in anticipation and fear of the pain. Instead, her ashtray barely shudders and keeps his body rigid and still until she is done.

Only then does he lift his eyes to her face, searching for her satisfaction. Just being allowed to look at her is reward enough for her ashtray, and his eyes shimmer with devotion. When she graces him with a smile, he vibrates with excitement and joy. 

She lifts her hand to his head and pets him and the ashtray all but presses into her touch, content with a job well done. That’s the difference between her servants and her ashtray. He is looking forward to getting burned by her, there is nothing in the whole wide world that he’d rather do.

“You really are enjoying this, huh? Do you actually think I care about you? That’s so cute.” Mireille smiles.

And her stupid little ashtray just melts under a touch he thinks speaks of mutual affection.

taglist: @whumpsday, @2in1whump, @sodacreampuff, @webbo0 let me know if you want to be added or removed :)

#this may not be 100% what you were looking for #but i hope you enjoyed it nontheless #writing stockholm-ish whumpees isn't my usual cup of tea so here: have whatever fucked up thing they have going on #also maybe this'll give some insight as to why ashtray can't speak #it's one of the reasons anyway. there are multiple :D #The Ashtray #ashtray/skye (oc) #honey's writing #pet whump #pet whumpee #conditioned whumpee #lady whumper #whumper pov #whumpee and whumper #human ashtray #ashtray whump #ashtray whumpee #object whump #object whumpee #dehumanization #cigarette burns #burns #human furniture #asks #anon

[uhbasicallyjustmilex]

#genuinely curious about what the general consensus is about this 👀 #also pls feel free to add your reasons for whatever option you pick in the tags! #i’d love to know all the different theories we’ve got #disclaimer: all just for fun #i’m not claiming any of us actually know what may or may not have gone down between them #we can only guess on all the (absolutely deranged) things we’ve seen/read/heard over the years #milex #alex turner #miles kane #tlsp #the last shadow puppets #polls #lulu posts

[sluttylittlewaste]

One super fascinating thing about Kristen's current arc in JY is how much it reflects real-world conversations I've been following about effort and consistency and reliability in relationships. Specifically, I've been reading about the resentment in (primarily het) relationships caused by uneven distribution of mental load and repetivite, constant labor between partners.

Follow me now-

I've seen a few posts on here from people who have ADHD highlighting how realistic it is to their experience that Kristen is SO GOOD for doing grand acts and big miracles, but struggles so deeply with "the boring stuff". Upkeeping social media for Cassandra/YES!, consistently holding meetings to maintain whatever following she does develop for her gods, even just bi-weekly essays. I can't speak to the ADHD experience myself. However, from my relationships with people who have it and a decent amount of the posts I see on this website, that is a consistent manifestation of the disorder.

Dovetailing from that is the very real conversation I've heard time and time again about people whose family/friends/partners refuse to help with the little tasks of keeping a home in order or a project on track, but will pull through for big events under the assumption that it balances things out. It's a conversation that occurs a lot in spaces of studying gender dynamics in relationships - i.e. In a dynamic where the wife is responsible for doing all of the cooking/cleaning/grocery shopping/organizing, the husband will do a singular, high-effort task or grand gesture, "I built you an armoire!", "I took the kids out for a full day so you could relax!" and reference that singular event or task as a counterbalance for smaller tasks they do not aid in (daily dishes, laundry, running errands). This can also take the form of one partner doing grand gestures on occasion, but not showing up in smaller ways throughout the relationship on a day-to-day level.

-Ex. Partner A indicates that would appreciate more frequent affection in the relationship, such as date nights, flowers, non-sexual physical contact, etc. Partner B responds by planning a fancy dinner, gratuitous non-sexual contact/complements, and buying a lavish gift - but they do not increase displays of affection in their daily lives. Partner A mentions that though they appreciate the gesture, it didn't solve the initial problem, and Partner B doesn't understand why all of the obvious effort they put in isn't enough. The cycle continues and resentment grows as both people feel like their needs aren't being met/their efforts aren't being appreciated.

(Sorry if that's an over-explanation, I'm trying to be clear lol)

I think a lot about two things Cassandra said to Kristen:

"You're unreliable." and "It's not fair." in the context of these dynamics.

I've seen a decent number of people talk about how mutually unfair bringing Cassandra back was for both her and Kristen. I have also seen a lot of very valid arguments about Kristen being a LITERAL CHILD who makes a lot of impulsive (re: bad) decisions because she cares so deeply about specific things. We've also seen that Kristen CAN be so good in the little ways (Giving Lydia Barkrock the Help action, supporting Tracker through her bullshit, trying to do okay in school to help Riz). For all intents and purposes, there is no actual lack of effort on Kristen's part - she very obviously cares deeply. However, those efforts are more occasional and case-by-case than something constant, like going out every day to spread the word of Cassandra or doing something boring like homework.

Cassandra, whose entire thing is that she's always there to offer support -"I'm there holding your hand in the dark"- knows these things as well. She knows what Kristen is capable of. The hurt, then, doesn't come from the fact that Kristen can't but because, for some reason, she won't.

In conversations about how certain partners... underperform in relationships, one theme that often arises is that of, "I know he can do it, he simply doesn't." Whether that be daily chores or consistent acts of affection, Partner A has seen Partner B be helpful or put effort into things that they find interesting. There is no question of capability - Partner B can do whatever it is Partner A requests. Partner A thus concludes that Partner B doesn't because they don't want to. -Ex. "He refuses to help me because he doesn't care about me/He doesn't think I'm worth the effort."

While I obviously cannot make a true 1-to-1 comparison between this particular manifestation of Executive Dysfunction in people with ADHD and lackluster partners in relationships (I am aware that it is deeply harmful to imply that being a "bad" partner is in any way correlated to any singular disability), this is a degree of parallelism to be found in the Kristen/Cassandra dynamic and the type of dysfunction I reference in above examples. There is the caveat that if you have ADHD and know you struggle with doing things that are smaller or more tedious/repetitive, you can work with the people in your life to accommodate that. Additionally, men (at least in the US) are traditionally socialized to undervalue the traditional female labor that is caretaking.

That said, in universe, Kristen doesn't seem to know she has ADHD and thus could not articulate her limitations to Cassandra - and even if she could, it might not have solved the problem ( though it could have kept Cassandra from getting so upset).

The entire reason I wrote all of this is that I've seen several responses to the most recent preview for FHJY wherein Kipperlily Copperkettle accuses Kristen of not caring (and, to be clear, Kristen fully does not care about the Presidency. That is very likely what KLCK was referring to, and she is not wrong in being upset if Kristen wins this thing she hasn't even bothered to campaign AT THE SCHOOL for). The trend in the responses has been people listing Kristen's miracles more than anything, and while those do prove that she does CARE about SOME THINGS, it doesn't address the fact that for most people care is displayed through active, consistent, reliable effort rather than big dramatic displays: While the shrimp jump was cool, it does nothing to prove that Kristen gives a shit about student government.

#this is barely coherent #there's just this wild juxtaposition that I feel like comes up a lot on Tumblr #it seems to happen specifically with ND characters that people see a lot of themselves in #where even if the flaws and complications of that Neurodivergence are being assessed and deconstructed #people will plant their feet on “she can do no wrong!” #and sometimes it's whatever because it's just a fictional character #but other times #like with Kristen Applebees #where the defensiveness has the flavor or being deeply honest #which concerns me #like I truly hope y'all are putting more effort into handling real world criticism than you do with fictional shit #the instantaneous demonization of anyone who isn't tooth grindingly supportive of the Bad Kids (namely Kristen) is worrying #kipperlily is allowed to be mad at Kristen for winning! She may have done some shifty shit #but you can't say she didn't try really hard to win #and Kristen didn't even do her own shrimp jump. she only ran because she immediately disliked kipperlily #and ever Kristen's reason for disliking Kipperlily isn't fair??? #Like it started before they realized the whole rat grinder conspiracy #she just didn't like that Kipperlily was a Type A overachiever #which has nothing to do with Copperkettle #and everything to do with Kristen's own insecurities #as for the relationship aspect #i have a lot of concerns about how people on Tumblr talk about relationships #let me die #if i die #d20 fhjy #fhjy #dimension 20 #rant #kristen applebees #i guess

[grendelsmilf]

I really like how severance makes a point of demonstrating the sheer intelligence, creativity, and potential of every severed worker. mark and gemma were academics. irving is a brilliant artist. dylan is some kind of genius probably. they’re not just mindless drones who opted to do this job because they had no potential to be proficient in any other profession. they were forced into doing this work through external pressures (economic or otherwise) that made this (torture) seem like the best option. just like everybody else in the world.

#o.tv #like obviously on a technical level they have to be very smart for the plot to progress #but also it works really well to communicate the point that as much as they may be molded into the ideal empty vessel #no one is. #(although obviously im not saying that if they were all dumb as bricks their exploitation would be justified. obviously) #(like obviously you don’t need to be intelligent to be deserving of respect and basic human dignity. but the fact that they all could be #doing other things with their lives and yet for whatever reason cannot is really telling. i think)

[torchickentacos]

SUPRISE ART DROP! May you enjoy this May.

#pokemon may #this was. SUPPOSED to be half of a valentines piece. #but drew was giving me ISSUES #I spent three days messing with his linework before I gave up #BUT NO WORRIES I have other plans #might reblog from myself again tomorrow since i'm posting this when most est timezone friends are asleep OR SHOULD BE #GO TO SLEEP GUYS. #I may finish the other half of this one day when I'm not utterly fed up with drew #probably in an altered art style since he kept getting into uncanny valley territory for whatever reason. idk how #i think it was the softer shading/rendering over just sharp shadows and stuff #but congrats! you guys get two art pieces out of me in the span of a week. #so basically more this week than most months #may #coordinator may #pokeani #taylor's tag #art

[metapphjores]

there is no future or liberation for any movements that sees their "enemies" as non-human

#having read accounts of some of the most soul-destroyingly cruel and evil actions taking during genocides by their perpetrators #i understand how easy it is to divorce these people from our concepts of humanity and logic but like #nothing will be solved unless you understand that these people commiting these crimes are in fact human #and nearly nothing seperates you from them but your situations. nothing. there is no inherent moral center that these people lack. #if we were raised in these circumstances we too would do these things. the reasons people within these systems reject them is not because #they are uniquely better and more human than the majority of their ethnic group / fellow nationals / whatever #but that they were in circumstances that allowed them to understand that they were being lied to #these people actually do have be engaged with and accepted as human beings. you can not kill or remove every person who has participated #its doesnt work like that. it has never worked like that. changing things is awful demoralizing generational work that we may never see the #results of but it very literally is the only option. any solution that denys the humanity of any of the parties involved will fail and will #leave all these issues for the next generation to solve. the only way forward is to destroy THE SYSTEM creating these circumstances and hope #it leaves a better world for the children.

[facetsofthecloset]

i'm sure it's been said but i feel like both Raxtus and Ronodin can be argued as "the only gay kid in the family and consequently shunned/rejected" and it's like. so weird bc Mull is so Mormon he'd probably rather eat his shorts than even acknowledge the possible existence of gays but

i mean. Raxtus literally has a fairy form. he's a fairy dragon.

Ronodin was just emo lol

and they both get so thoroughly rejected and sidelined by their families their whole lives and it turns Raxtus into an awkward but basically decent guy who runs back to the approval of his family once he's performed masculinity/violence enough to be accepted, only to then realize that he's basically just being used and still not fully trusted/accepted and having to betray them to save his real friends

(who sadly are probably actually homophobic but that's ok bc they're not dragon-phobic so that works out for him)

while Ronodin's like "fuck it. chaos and murder then!" and can you really blame him? he spent his entire life trying to conform to the "right" (in this case, Light) way of life, started spending time with the outgroup and learned to question things, then was told he was "too corrupt" to remain in his home

like. the symbolism is right there.

it's so funny, because sure Raxtus isn't a bad guy, but Ronodin definitely is and he pretty much gets sent to a type of hell at the end of Dragonwatch

and while Raxtus gets kind of a happy ending, like, him becoming an effective killer in a war and being accepted by his dad for being Good At Murder in the first Fablehaven series is presented as a happy ending. if Celebrant didn't wind up being the main villain for Dragonwatch, that probably would've been the end of it! gay kid learns how to soldier and is finally accepted by his homophobic family bc he's finally aggressive enough for them to love him

(i mean i have MANY issues with Celebrant being the main villain later and the reasons he's framed as bad but like. that's a separate rant lol)

the queer reading is right there. but also it's very bad and you can tell completely unintentional. or at the very least highly repressed. idk man i don't look into Mull as a personal individual bc i doubt i'll like what i see and i don't care that much but Dragonwatch was SO MUCH MORE MORMON than Fablehaven already was and it's so weird, seeing the fingerprints of it all over.

i feel like he either has a new editor or he's been doing this for long enough and sold enough books that he has the clout to veto changes made by editors or SOMETHING, bc i feel like? he's gotten worse?? and more unfiltered?? that or something happened and he's like. even more religious than before or something idk

like fablehaven was just kinda generic/bland fantasy with some fun ideas for magic items/powers/one sentence character premises, with just a hint of sus Mormon ideology, and then Dragonwatch just went. Full Mormon.

but then there's somehow even more weirdly queer shit. like. he's repressing so hard he's approaching queer from the other side??

idk man i wish this deeply mediocre man's writing wasn't a formative piece of middle school reading, leading to me still giving more of a shit than i really should over questionable children's literature now

#i mean it seems like his wife may or may not have divorced him between the series's so maybe that had something to do with it #i didn't look too deeply into it i just kinda guessed from his about the author blurbs wording changes #also wtf was up with the weird borderline piss/humiliation kink thing in the latest candy shop war book? #like. that was. that was not funny at all if it was meant to be comedic. like the execution was SO BOTCHED if so #and if it wasn't??? it was just????? UNCOMFY??? #sorry i'm tired and kind of delirious and for whatever reason this man's writing's squandered potential still haunts me #like genuinely if i ever publish original fiction there's a good chance it'll be fanfic of this with the serial numbers filed off #like 'MINE I'LL DO IT /RIGHT/ OK GIMME' #fablehaven #dragonwatch #i know ronodin is overrated and like. yeah he's not really a sexyman to me but he IS still compelling as a character #i think he's funny i wanna be his therapist #like stereotypical him lying down on a chaise longue thing #but also i reserve the right to make fun of him so like. not a very ethical therapist lol #get it all out queer boy let's get you to a gay club and find some fairies who WILL accept you #just cool it with the murder and the manipulation a bit y'know