#I am having a lot of fun reading the answers to the other poll lol

[anonymousdandelion]

Okay now, in recognition of the admirable, predictable, and very relatable flailing in the notes: here's a followup to the Which movement of Judaism best describes you? poll.

If you're Jewish, please click on the link above to check out that poll first, or this one won't make any sense.

If you aren't Jewish, please refrain from voting (reblogs for sample size are very welcome), and check back in a week if you're curious!

[emersonfreepress]

help i'm alive

So! Long time, no see. 2023 was a whole goddamn lot lol

I don't have a demo update to share yet, but that's because I had to scrap nearly everything I managed to write during a very, very, very bad stint of writer's block last year. I hadn't even realized it had been a block like that until I went over my work so far last month and realized it was bad -- like, trust me; a slog to read that didn't even sound like me. It's been extremely frustrating but I've finally broken free of that and it's been easy and actually fun to write again for the first time in actual years. I just hate giving updates that have no actual news in them. And I really had nothing to share other than: I deleted thousands of words and feel so much better now 😅

Anyway, little about my demo plans have changed: I'm still putting out the Chapter 3 demos in Choicescript/on Dashingdon and then will be going dark to move things over to Twine. Where I am in the process right now is... feeling like 35% done with the overhauled version of this chapter and 50% done for the next demo update.

As far as asks, I'm... not really sure what to do?? I believe I've read them all (I love you guys), but so much time has passed since getting most of them that I'm not sure if it's, like... still pertinent??? To go back and answer them?? I suppose some of them like character asks could be, but all the nice messages of support -- that feels weird since I've practically ghosted this blog since August! Idk. Y'all tell me what to do with 'em and I'll do it. Maybe I should make a poll.

Uh... that's really all there is to say regarding the game! I've added some personal stuff after the cut, but if you're done here: Thanks for reading and sticking around. It means the world, for real.

So what has occupied my time all this time? Doctor, therapy, money, and friends. And improv! But especially the first two. There was a lot of non-writing related stuff fucking up my ability to focus and write, so hopefully with my mind and body both feeling a lot better, I can get back to being present and active with the game. I didn't realize how physically unwell I was until last year and it's been like... life-long issues I've been treating. It turns out it's not normal to feel exhausted enough to sleep at any given time, at all times, for your whole life! wow!!

I also uninstalled Tumblr from my phone back in February, so you could say I'm sort of generally focused on offline life. (And what an interesting coincidence that my writer's block dissipated shortly after that...) I also just moved!! The last two weekends have been so expensive and stressful -_- But I can't even compare the old place to the new. We're basically paying the same price for idek how much more space. The cats are so happy; which means the house humans get to be happy.

My schedule is finally freed up from constant medical shit (there was a 3-month stretch this winter with multiple doctor appointments literally every fucking week 🙃🙃🙃). My mental health is doing a lot better -- literally incomparably better compared to where I was this time last year. There's live comedy now (which I dabble in, to be clear lol), but I've finally found myself able to like... balance it all. The physical and creative energy that goes into it all, anyway. The lovely thing about improv is that you kinda just show up and do your thing -- it doesn't cut into my writing time so much as it costs energy. Unless I end up in this comedy debate show thing next month, which I am very excited to give up writing time for

So like... Life is life-ing and I'm just vibing. Or something? I'll be around.

Thank you all again so much for your interest, support, patience, and readership <3

[eternal-dragon-of-time]

I got really into the potential of a Drakath Arcadia route. So um. I wrote it lol, here's what I think his dialogue would've looked like if he had beat out Sepulchure in the polls.

Drakath: Chaos Incarnate

Surprised to see me? You shouldn’t be. You’ve had my attention since the beginning, so who else would be worthy to be here? Ha! You don’t have to look too excited about it, knowing I took a spot from someone else you might’ve liked more is just encouraging me. I was hoping to have another battle to decide your favor, but this competition seems easy enough as well. You know how strong I am, and who better to solve your problems than someone who caused them? Don’t expect this from me ever again, but today you’ll have my full power supporting you.

Motivation: 

Initially that invitation was just good for a laugh before being tossed, but then I heard about some of the other people that were entering. Be glad it's me and not one of the nobodies I had to fight off from trying to get your affections. Besides, this is an opportunity to have you all to myself again. What do I mean by that?

Tournament:

Why are you bothering to ask? I won it easily, even the resurrected corpse was barely a work out. The hardest part was the sheer number of opponents, you had a lot of champions for your hand. I’ve never fought someone over love before. I don’t get what the fuss is about when compared to battles over the fate of Lore. I’d rate our own clash far above this.

Competitors:

Gravelyn is staring daggers into me, and Safiria looks like she is weighing the risk of drinking my chaorrupted blood. Neither of them worry me. Gravelyn spends the majority of her time fussing over an Empire I pushed to the brink of collapse, and the Vampire Queen is a bit player in a world that left her behind. More importantly, neither of them know you as well as I do.

Quest Accept: Under Umbra Wings

Finally, I was getting tired watching you waste time with the others. You and I will be taking the rightmost route up. No need to bother with the ladder, unlike the others I have wings strong enough to carry the both of us. Don’t act so shocked, I can play nice if it means winning over the others. You can even go play with the butterflies before we get started, you looked like you enjoyed it.

–

Quest Complete:

You don’t have to squirm so much. It’s not like I’m going to drop you, even with these leeches trying to crash the party. You’d know if I was going to let you fall anyways. Probably. Speaking of the overgrown mosquitos, do they look strange to you? Something is off about the way they fly, and they come apart like dolls if you press them too hard. Don’t look at me like that, try it yourself.

Quest Accept: Battle Muse

More of these fake foes, it’s like cutting through wax. I’m not a stranger to my enemies falling apart before me, but it's usually not so literal. These ones look like that usurper’s knights too. I wonder, is that intended as a taunt or a gift for me? Hm? You want to fight them for yourself? Sure, I don’t mind. It’ll be like old times, I always did like sitting back and watching you fight.

–

Quest Complete:

Sorry to cut this break short but I need to get you out of the water. Stop trying to wriggle free and look down at the pool beneath us, you can see where the pond is dyed purple from where I lingered. Guess that answers my question. I’ll be flying us over this for now. Why are you looking at me like that? As nice as it would be to have you out of my hair, I’m not going to let you go out in such a pathetic way. Besides, I still need to win this.

Quest Accept: Denial in Read

Why would there be reading material during this challenge? There was a book like this on the other climbs as well? …Nothing that has you that excited can be good, you keep your eyes to yourself. Great, more of these things are coming after us. I’ll take care of them this time, it’ll be fun to see how many more of them I can break then you. Feel free to admire my work if you want, or find something else to occupy your time if you don’t want to see me smash your record. Maybe inspect the tree trunk, or the armor pieces. Not the book.

–

Quest Complete:

You read it didn’t you, that smug look on your face is telling. Well? Aren’t you going to tell me what was in it? You’re insufferable. Whatever, I’ve cleared out the room so we can continue upwards. Hm? You pulled these gems off the armor pieces for me while you were waiting? Is this some stupid Hero’s Heart Day thing? No, you can’t take those back, I'm keeping them.

Quest Accept: A Better Toy

Have you noticed the ground get more twisted the higher we go? It almost looks like… No. It doesn’t make any sense. I would know if Chaos magic was at play here, and I don’t feel anything, no connection to it at all. We’ll find the truth of this higher up and- How did we get here!? This can’t be real, it's just some pathetic attempt to get under my skin. Well it won’t work, you’re already here to do that. I’m fine. I don’t need her. Stay behind me, I’ll gladly rend this place apart.

–

Quest Complete:

I gave up everything, my flesh, my self, my strength. All for her to use me up and abandon me. Don’t breathe a word of this to anyone, but sometimes I can’t help but wonder if there was something wrong with me, that if I was just stronger she would’ve let me come with her. Pathetic, isn’t it? You know, I’ve never had to wonder if I’d ever see you again. You just kept coming back again and again.

Pre-Boss Dialogue:

Stop it, I can stand on my own. I don’t need you, or her, or this thing trying to worm its way into my head. I am strong, I am worthy, I am fine alone.

End Questline Dialogue:

The reality that monster invented could never have happened, but that didn’t stop me from dreaming. It’s easier to believe that there was something I could do then face the truth. That I’m not perfect, and I was never going to be enough. Augh. I didn’t expect that to hurt so much to say. You look ridiculous being concerned over someone who’s killed you, but I can’t stop you. That's just the kind of person you are. The person I can trust you to be. I’ll remember this Hero, fondly even.

[thebroccolination]

Hi Key 👋 I am once again sleep deprived and bothering people. Don't worry, I won't put you through another round of either/or😅

Since there are "Top 5" polls going around, I was wondering: 1) Now that KristSingto have returned to us and are serving exes to lovers goodness, what top 5 genres/tropes would you like to see from them in regards to any future projects?

2) Now that BounPrem are with GMM, (besides Krist and Singto which I fully believe you will manifest🤞) what top 5 artists would you like to see them work with? Solo or paired.

Please never feel pressured to answer anything I send lol I'm just a curious bean.

P.S. Now that I finally have some free time, I can't wait to catch up on your fics, "Fireproof" and "Heart Like Gold" are top of my list! I just finished reading "Anew" and absolutely loooooved it ❤️

Awww I love answering questions! \o/ Thank you, OP, it’s lovely to be thought of like this!

And I hope you enjoy the new fics! <3 (I do need to update HLG soon.)

Okay so first up:

Top 5 Genres/Tropes I’d Like to See from KristSingto

1) Fantasy set in our world. And not necessarily time travel, but something like Be My Favorite where the stakes are high. They’re both so good at high drama, I need more of it from them together.

2) Established relationship. It’s my favorite trope. I love seeing couples already in love dealing with issues either in their relationship or in an Us vs. the World sort of situation.

3) Historical!!! I’d do literally anything to see them falling in love in early Ayutthaya fashion.

4) WEDDING. LET THEM GET FICTIONALLY MARRIED.

5) Soulmate stuff! I just love soulmate stuff. That’s how UWMA trapped me in here in the first place. :’)

Aaaand

Top 5 GMMTV Artists I’d Like to See BounPrem Work With (Besides KristSingto Because I’m Already Channeling All My Spiritual Power Behind that)

1) Aye!!! She’s so phenomenally talented so she’d be good for them to work with and hone their skills, and I also think she’d get along with Prem especially. She and Prem have very calming energy. Also just. She’s so sweet and she has social anxiety so I just want her to work with more kind people, and BounPrem are both fiercely loyal and fun to be around.

2) Gawin!!! I’m basically pairing the sweet and talented introverts with BP because they bring joy into the world of anyone they interact with. I also think they’d learn a lot from each other acting-wise since Gawin really honed his dramatic skills with Be My Favorite under Waa.

3) Namtan!!! God they’d be so funny together. She’s hands-down the funniest person at GMMTV and I know beyond a shadow of a doubt that she and Boun would be best friends immediately. Please. I beg.

4) Jan!!! I just want to see them hang out with my favorite actresses, basically. SWS was primarily dudes and GMMTV has such phenomenal actresses who honestly don’t get the opportunities they deserve. AyeJan and BounPrem and I’ll be happy.

5) Gun!!! I don’t think they’d become best friends or anything, I just think he’s talented and he’d challenge them to improve even more. So this one’s more a craft thing I hope for them.

[wannab-urs]

Hi Gin! Congratulations on your 1.5k celebration! I'm coming in with some fun questions for your sleepover!

What piece are you the most proud of? Doesn't have to be about popularity, just something that you're really happy about how it came out.

Do you do anything unique during your writing process?

And for funsies, a little variation on FMK:

Brave an Ikea showroom, Assemble Ikea furniture, or Eat at the Ikea cafeteria

with

Frankie, Joel or Ezra

(they just seem like a fun batch to play with, though if you've got other hot takes bring 'em in, I love to hear them!)

Hello!!! Thank you so very much <3

I am and always will be most proud of A Ghost of You. It was my first fic, so I obviously think there are things I could do better now, but it means so much to me. It's the first time I've ever put that much feeling into long form writing (read: not a poem). It's the first time I ever shared my work. It's the reason I made so many wonderful friends in this fandom. It doesn't have a lot of notes -- in fact that series is the least interacted with on my blog out of everything else I've posted -- but that doesn't matter much to me. I love it so much lol.

I basically come up with the entire fic in my head and don't write anything down at all. The idea is usually sparked by a song, but not always. Uhhh then I do a stream of consciousness style outline that's a mix between actually writing the fic and just getting my ideas on paper. Then I go back and edit all of that so it forms coherent sentences. I have no idea if any of that is unique

Okay and for "Brave an Ikea showroom, Assemble Ikea furniture, or Eat at the Ikea cafeteria" Frankie, Joel or Ezra

I think I'd trust Joel the most to assemble the furniture with/for me. I'm fairly capable of assembling furniture, but I'm lazy, and I think Joel would like... make improvements to the furniture for me. Let's put those contractor skills to work!

Ezra and Frankie both have lots of experience exploring unknown terrain, but seeing as how Frankie made it out of the jungle with all his limbs and at least some money I think I'll brave the showroom with him.

That leaves me eating at the cafeteria with Ezra. I think we'd have a lovely conversation over the swedish meatballs or whatever it is they sell there (I've never been to an Ikea).

Thank you for this incredible ask!

Join the sleepover

This got long so poll below the cut:

[harley-the-pancake]

This is just a post to try and keep things organized on my blog. If you want to know my pronouns, name I go by, age, etc, just look in my bio. I just reblog and post whatever I want.

I don’t have an official dni, I just don’t give a fuck half the time, as long as you aren’t a dick to others, you can stay

I also don’t mind people using ideas that I have, making things off of the ideas or fics I have, or tagging me in silly @ games.

I also have a second account I occasionally use as a studyblr, which is Pancake-tries-college.

My AO3 is Pancake_Overlord

I have two side blogs:

@pancake-tries-college is where I keep my adulting stuff

@bite-sized-pancakes is where I keep my little stuff cause I think I may be an age dreamer 👍

My pfp is made by a picrew from @wervty

Important sorting tags:

#vent chai latte - posts that are vents or emotional (I don’t always use it I am gonna be honest)

#diary posting - a new tag I’ll be using when I ramble about emotions, meds or just more personal things that are not about my school or friends (LATER HARLEY UPDATE: It is also becoming a bit of less fun school stuff tag, eg talking with professors, getting homework done, etc)

#Into the datemate pile - a tag that I use just to save & share things with my datemate, who does not have an active tumblr

#ph anon of the opera - my ask tag. It does not matter if you are anon or no, you are all ph anon in my eyes hearts (I also have a tendency of hoarding my asks but be free to still send me asks)

#ask game - just replies I’m saving from like descriptions of me or ask games

#my wife saga - my datemate is studying abroad then researching in idaho so I’m being dramatic. This will be happening for 3 months.

Tell me if I need to tag anything for you

From @hee-blee-art

Posts that I feel like sharing:

A post I made about saving Rats SMP vods and led to some decent archives. I did nothing, but it has the link to the document that has a whole lot of links so!

A post I made with a document that I use to save a whole lot of MCC vods and a few VODs I have saved myself

Not an important post, however it’s a post I love and I want to keep on my pinned for when I want to see. It entails some games of One Night Ultimate Werewolf for my datemate’s birthday

This isn’t a post of mine, but I wanted to save Tumblr fairy tales

A ramble on the life series from my datemate. Read it. This is a threat /silly

A list of things to cheer anyone up ^-^

Candy for any trick or treaters who don’t want to send an ask

Best video ever

Datemate poll

[pikahlua]

Hi pika! Whenever you write metas on bnha theories I read them like morning news. I like your ideas on the recent one about katsuki. If things go similarly as what you predicted, what will happen to Izuku tho? Like the 2nd poll art where katsuki has a hunting knife, I did notice Izuku had another sword/knife on his belt too in this new art which got me thinking.

I always wondered if Izuku actually were born with a quirk but was deemed useful by the doctor so he took it (idk by what means but apparently he was already working with afo at the time anyway so he must have his ways), then lied to poor Izuku and his mom that he was quirkless. I honestly have no idea what Izuku's quirk might be if he originally had one. It might be something, a missing piece, that afo had always wanted to regenerate himself or to utilize his quirks better. Something modest but really useful, Idk. Still, after finding out the doctor Izuku consulted about his quirk manifestation turned out to be the doctor screams suspicious to me.

Anyway, by linking the additional sword/knife on Katsuki and Izuku with your theory, if either TomurAFO or AFO did successfully stole OFA from Izuku, then what does the additional weapon on Izuku means? Could it be hinting that the remaining power of OFA still lingers in him(like the case with AM) and he could actually own it and make it into his own quirk (with/without time limit), or he literally became quirkless that he had to work again to figure out what he could do as a hero?

What are your thoughts on Izuku's endgame and how it would affect and bring the whole theme of this series into a final closure?

I won't deny that there are enough little hints that Izuku could actually have been born with a quirk and lost it--should Horikoshi decide to take the story in that direction. I just don't get the feeling he will. I feel like the story has been coming back to the "it's the will behind the quirk that matters, not the quirk itself" moral a little too hard to need to make Izuku have a quirk for any reason. That doesn't mean there isn't something else to the weird coincidence where Dr. Garaki was Izuku's pediatrician though, but I can only speculate about that.

As far as the additional sword on Izuku's person, I don't know if I'm SUPPOSED to read into that, but it's kind of fun to. And if I do read into it, I have no idea which direction to take it. The one I'm (probably unsurprisingly) fond of considering is--if Katsuki ends up with OFA, what if Izuku ends up with Explosion? (What? What's that? "Switch Theory"? Never heard of it.)

Izuku's endgame is somehow the most difficult for me to discern, because I think it's entirely dependent on some big story questions Horikoshi has to answer. It's not that I have no idea what will happen--it's that there are a lot of options and Horikoshi has yet to broadcast which one he's going with. Katsuki is, of course, the wild card here, because you can't tell me their endings aren't inextricably tied together. Whatever big thing happens to either character will have a huge impact on what happens to the other. One will likely save the other--or they'll both save each other? And Tenko's gonna be somewhere in that mix as well. I also get the feeling that little flashback of AFO vs Second has a thematic piece of the puzzle in what ultimately happens. Off the top of my head I can just take all these pieces like 5 different ways already though. Ain't nobody got time to write all of that lol.

[bihansthot]

Hey, can I give you a blitz interview? If you don't mind, please answer the following questions:

If you were to become a dessert, which one exactly?

You said you believed in a dog's paradise. Do you think there are angels there who study and praise dogs? Or is it done by those who have fallen into human paradise ?

What kind of stereotypical anime character are you ? (a psychopathic villain, a modest interest of the main character, a misunderstood genius or a sexy girl?)

Imagine a situation: you go to bed, when suddenly a sorcerer appears from your closet and turns you into a lamp \ chandelier. What is this lamp\chandelier?

Would you feel comfortable as a Marmalade God? If so, would you agree to be the honored guest of the Mortal Kombat? (I'm not hinting at anything, but Shang Tsung will use you to get supplies of marmalade)

Have you taken the 16 personalities test or mbti ? If so, what did you get?

This time you are a witch ! Good news, because you can do almost anything! But the bad news is: do you need to turn any person into a lamp \ chandelier to save your strength? Who will it be ?

What kind of coffee are you ?

What do you dream about most often ?

Tell us the most romantic thing in your life ? (I'm a hopeless romantic, I've never missed a love story in my life. Even when I read the most beautiful stories with y\n (for example, yours), I imagine that my sister tells me all this at dinner or a party)

Do you like hugs and kisses ? (Yesterday I kissed my friend with bright red lipstick, and she passed with my kisses all day)

Who do you think is the laziest Mortal Kombat character ? (I just really want to find myself in this universe. And I can't not be lazy)

If all your fears and psychological problems acquired a single monster form, what would it look like?

What is your favorite Disney princess ?

What is your favorite gemstone ?

I know this isn't exactly a blitz poll. In my defense, I will say that I am stretching the presentation for 5 minutes for 45 minutes)

1. Flan, it’s my favorite and it’s all jiggly so it would be fun to be.

2. Weirdly enough I don’t believe humans live on after death only animals are good enough creatures to deserve that honor. I firmly believe dogs are guardian angels and are the greatest thing life can offer. Maybe angel dogs study other angel dogs?

3. I’m the sexy bimbo lol the dumbass, boy obsessed one with huge tiddies.

4. Hmmm well the only “lamp” I have in my bedroom is a neon Cinnamoroll so I guess that would get turned into a cute Cinnamoroll chandelier?

5. I have no clue what a Marmalade God is, sorry. Also I might be the stupid bimbo in anime but I’m smart enough not to participate in MK in any way shape or form, I can’t trust Shang Tsung to go from honored guest to suddenly honored participant.

6. I have but I never remember what I am lol

7. Any person? Hmm my high school bully, he deserves to spend his life as an inanimate object.

8. I’m a sickly sweet salted caramel mocha, emphasis on sickly sweet.

9. I don’t really dream tbh, ever since getting on Trintellix I don’t think I’ve had a dream I can recall.

10. Hmm I’m not really a big romance person myself it makes me feel weirdly uncomfortable even if I am a highly sexual person. I think the most romantic thing though was my partner proposing? We were in Epcot (part of the Disney parks in Florida) and they have a mini Japan there and they said “this is the closest I can get to taking you there right now” and I thought that was really sweet they proposed in “Japan” knowing how much I love the country and culture.

11. I’m not a super affectionate person, I wasn’t raised in that environment. I’m fine with hugging my friends and I like kissing during sex and I’m not necessarily opposed to affection it’s just not my go to.

12. Hmmm the laziest?? I’d say Reptile but in a cute way because I want to just imagine him happily sunning himself on a nice warm rock.

13. Probably a lot like my Mother, we’ve improved our relationship a lot in the last year or so but she’s the primary root of all my insecurities and self loathing and all that fun stuff.

14. Ahhh Pocahontas, that was always my favorite Disney movie growing up.

15. Probably sapphires? My wedding band is pink sapphires and diamonds, I love both.

Hopefully I did this right and you enjoy the answers, I’ve never actually done one of these before, it was fun! Thanks for asking me!

[vegaseatsass]

for the ask game!! 20, 21, 22

These are such good ones! Thank you, anon! 20. part of canon you found tedious or boring & 22. your favorite part of canon that everyone else ignores I'm going to do these two together, because when I looked deep within for the answer to 20 (since at this point I am pretty sincerely engaged by every single little moment in KPTS ahaha), I realized that there were the parts of canon I found a bit tedious to get through in my first viewing, that I'm always overeager when I'm showing the series to someone new for them to get through so they get to what I think are the emotional hooks of the story and keep watching, but many of those parts are now the answer to 22? Like every part of Porsche defiantly sucking at his job in episode 2: hard/cringy to watch on the first viewing, but on second glance I'm so proud of him for resisting the situation he was put in every way he knew how. He can't quit, quietly or otherwise, but he CAN suck!! Lol. We see in the bar and the boxing ring that Porsche puts his all into his work and is amazing at it, so it's a bit heartwrenching to me, how being punished and shelved and told he's the worst of the lot is such effective conditioning to get him to start willingly working hard at this role he was coerced into. It's fun to watch bodyguard Porsche be all bamf and hypercompetent later, but it is a loss of agency and there is a tragedy in it, so yeah, I love the freedom and whimsy of episode 2 now and hold it so close to my heart. (I also savor the amount of Tankhun we get in episodes 2 & 3!) Similarly, I, like just about everyone else ever, found the Tawan episodes a bit draggy compared to how enthralled I was in episodes 4-8 and 11-13, but after poring over weird little guy Tawan in my head, and reading meta about him (how he was the woman in the tower and a picture of where Porsche could have ended up, and still might), I'm obsessed with both him and those episodes, and think fandom should talk about both 400% more than it does. I mean, EYE should talk about him 400% more than I do, whenever I forget about Tawan in a ship poll or whatever I give myself the stinkeye but yeah, there is so much to mine in those episodes (Vegas doesn't seduce with whips and chains he seduces with smol sad boy eyes and MARRIAGE PROPOSALS; Arm showing his love by helping you surveil your boyfriend who is his boss?), let's ignore them less, fandom!

To try to give an honest answer about what I find boring in canon now, I will say that I thrilled over all the late canon Kinn/Porsche domestic bliss on my first viewing, and I still love the tonal dissonance of how sweet and happy they seem before the narrative reveals that Porsche's being there is even more coerced than he thought, and Kinn knew that, and now here are 5 other fucked up reveals that they're both going to look away from so they can be together - but bread placement aside, a lot of those later scenes don't really tickle my brain on rewatch. I'm like: GO BACK TO THE FUCKY DRAMA ALREADY!! lol 21. part of canon you think is overhyped See I'm gonna suck at this meme because I don't think that anything is overhyped as in fans talk about something too much when it's not that great, but I will say the early Vegas/Pete interactions (magnum dong condom scene, temple scene) stir almost nothing in me shipwise. I love the stakeout scene for Pete flinging himself at Pol (and on my second viewing, for the realization that Pete is SO competent at so many things but not??? spying??? so why does Kinn keep sending him???), and I love the temple scene for Macau's eagerness to wingman for his brother @ prey animals (and in retrospect, it is fun that they have this "we'll make it through so many near-death experiences together" foreshadowing), but the actual Vegaspete of it all did nothing for me in those moments. It took a while for me to suspend my disbelief when reading fanfic and imagine that there was any chemistry between them before Pete was cackling in the throes of ball torture.

[for-the-love-of-javert]

is there a reason you didn’t provide a “none, he’s gay” or even a “none, he’s asexual” option on that poll, when listing people javert might have gotten with? because that man could be ace, he could be gay, both would fit javert really well. but into women? literally never. genuinely not possible for him.

The question was about Javert dating female characters

Male characters poll to come another time.

It was purely a random idea to do that poll while I was thinking of something to post. And the question was about 'If Hugo had allowed Javert to have a gf'.

There aren't enough slots in the polls to do male and female characters in one poll. Anything is possible and I don't interpret him as being gay when he's never even had a sexual encounter. Also this question could also include purely platonic relationships with no sex but some affection.

It's meant to be for fun not a serious debate thing. Also I write fanfics and I write my AU Javert as hetrosexual/cis. I don't read his and valjeans 'relationship' as being a sexual/romantic attraction either. Though I would neve rule out the possiblity or even likelihood of them being friends. I do not see them as being in love in any way what so ever. But that's just me. I see Javert developing a respect for Valjean and an admiration for the fact that Valjean has managed to turn his life around and become a good man. Maybe a bit of jealousy too because Valjean was able to experience something that Javert has never had. Love, a family, a child. But we will never know for definite whether he is was homosexual or not because there is no hint of him ever having a relationship with anyone in the book. Not intimately not even as a friend. He is a loner. Him being a-sexual is something I wouldn't dismiss. But he lived his life like a monk and aside from his work as a police officer/man of the law and justice, which was the fundemental core of his entire existence he has nothing and nobody. So I do think it's wrong to say it's not possible for him to have relationships with women. Surely he'd keep his options open before deciding which way he is inclined. I wouldn't rule out him being bi.

But honestly I just didn't get the gay vibe from him at all. Not when he hasn't even experimented with anyone or been on a date. Also he's emotionally shut down except when he gets irritated/angry with criminals. I don't think he's ever let anyone in if I were to stick with the canon storyline. Dude keeps himself to himself and obviously his life is much easier that way. I also think he has serious mental health problems throughout his life that he manages to keep in check until the night he commits suicide. Then he got hit by the emotional/mental runaway train and he couldn't handle it and jumped.

I'm not dissing you for thinking that he's gay, a sexual, a triceratops or whatever (my brain is shutting off now I need some sleep) , you interpret it however you want to. I just didn't interpet it the same way as you and with no further writings from Hugo or anyone who knew him to state whether he intended for Valjean and Javert to be gay or anyone else for that matter. Then I can't see that as canon because that's just not how my brain absorbed the info when I read the relevant parts.

But imo anything is possible. So yes, I think relationships with women or just one woman is definitely a possibility. Also aren't some of the barricade boy's gay/bi and could certainly be interpreted as being one or the other. Javert is far more complex a character to me. There's a lot to explore and consider with him. Lastly. If someone had asked me before I started my second reading of The Brick which character I thought was gay. Without seeing the films or musical, I'd have said Marius. But then Hugo married him off to Cosette so........

Sorry for the waffling reply. I'm off to bed now. See if I have regained my ability to spell and give shorter answers tomorrow. It's 4.28 am lol.

[claudiajcregg]

1 for the fic writers questions!

Thank you for asking! I spent a couple of days trying to think it over, and I still think that .

(Questions are here.)

1. What fic of yours would you recommend to someone who had never read any of your work? (In other words, what do you think is the best introduction to your fics?)

This is a tough question, and I feel like, if I polled my friends, they'd all say different answers. I don't even have that many fics posted, nor are they wildly different. My multichapters are largely unposted, and I feel like those show a big more range, since my one-shots tend to be focused on a moment or a day. Then again, I'd go with a shorter one for an introduction. So here are like a third of them, lol:

Obviously, my most “acclaimed” (lol) is maybe everything's just turning out how it should be, or the Big Block of Cheese fic, and it's the fic I felt like I wanted to post eventually, even if I didn't have someone to beta it for me. I am fond of it and that story. (I wrote it five years ago tomorrow, and I cannot believe that.)

If we're going for those “stolen” moments… God, so many. The St. Augustine story got a lot of traction/got rec'd a couple of times and is a favorite of mine. I skimmed it the other day and forgot half of what happened, but like the others, it's a good balance between soft and romantic (hopefully), with some of that character exploration I like so much.

Feels wrong not to mention “say it's here...,” which is my one 'proper' posted multichapter (a vignette per year, spanning 11 of them). And lmao, so far I've included posted fics #3-5 in this list. I also think that the so-called (3+1) press fic is fun and has some of my favorite moments I've written/posted this year.

Thank you again for asking!

[sketching-shark]

I think it's the ironic fact that JTTW fans already know how DBK and Sun Wukong's friendship broke apart but are more curious on LMK versions of Sun Wukong and the Six Eared Macaque were friends alongside falling out.

HA! Well, while it often does seem that way, I'm going to go ahead and be a complete snob in a Journey to the West purist kind of way by wondering how many Six Eared Macaque fans would consider themselves more JTTW fans or more Monkie Kid fans, or if they feel they're a mix of both...

I've seen a lot of people argue that these two works of fiction are their own thing and that as such Monkie Kid (and associated fanworks) shouldn't be expected to follow the canon of JTTW, and fair enough for some parts. I've also, however, seen people who argue for this complete separation seeming to use it as an excuse to not acknowledge or learn about ANY original aspects of characters such as Sun Wukong and the Demon Bull King, or even very important deities such as Guanyin and the Jade Emperor, and who as such end up making some pretty gross generalizations/assumptions about them even though they are of great religious and cultural importance.

For example (and while I know a lot of the fun people get from fan works is in exaggerating certain traits), Sun Wukong seems to often be presented with an "inherently" evil/thoughtless/chaotic character, while his intelligence, deep love of his family, genuine efforts to become a better person, & many acts of saving lives, as presented in JTTW, aren't even mentioned. I feel like a lot of this is due to the way he acts in Monkie Kid (while I maintain that this version of Sun Wukong seems to be Bad End Monkey King, he does do a lot of deflecting his issues with a show of humor/a carefree attitude & does seem really bad at communicating due to a fear of making things worse). Even so, the popularity of Thoughtless/Evil/Selfish Sun Wukong that doesn’t really allow for any of the nuance or a display of his beneficial traits as shown in JTTW does make me wonder how many people have been exposed to a good translation of og classic Sun Wukong...As I've said before, I've noted that a number of Chinese people on this site have expressed frustration with the fact that a good chunk of the monkey king’s Western audience seems to be getting their impressions about Sun Wukong, the Demon Bull King, the Six Eared Macaque, etc. from some mix of Overly Sarcastic Productions, Monkie Kid, and social media instead of from at least a translation of the original text, and it is true that a LOT of the nuance of these work and these characters can be very easily lost, especially if your drawing your information of them primarily from a cartoony version of the original source. 

That would be an interesting poll though...out of curiosity, how many of you fine folk have read the break-up & fight between Sun Wukong and the Demon Bull King either in the original text or in a translation, or is your exposure to them primarily through Monkie Kid? 

Again, I need to make it clear that I'm not Chinese & didn't grow up with the story, but I will admit for my own part that reading the DBK/SWK break-up in the Yu translation actually made me more curious about how their dynamic is going to play out in Monkie Kid than I am curious about what's going to happen with Mr. Macaque. 

This is primarily because besides SWK’s fight with Princess Iron Fan and DBK being given a LOT of page space in JTTW, there seems to have been some serious stuff that went down between the three of them in the events post-JTTW and pre-the main plot of Monkie Kid...the last we see of DBK in JTTW (if memory serves correctly) was him being hauled off by a host of heavenly warriors to be judged for his crimes of not giving SWK the palm leaf fan & also eating humans. When Monkie Kid starts, however, we are told that DBK had emerged “from the Netherworld” & immediately starts wrecking everything around him. What this suggests--if Monkie Kid is something of a fan continuation of JTTW--is that DBK ended up being executed by the heavenly forces, but managed to fight his way out of the underworld in a manner somewhat similar to SWK, who we are told he is equal in strength to in JTTW. In that beginning fight of Monkie Kid DBK is also shown as so enraged that he won’t stop his path of destruction until SWK buries him under a mountain for 500 years. It’s never said in the show, but--and this is important--this is basically exactly what Buddha did to SWK to start him on the path of atonement. So there seems to be some very intentional parallels between SWK’s havoc in heaven & DBK’s havoc on earth, which may suggest that one of the things Monkie Kid SWK really wants is for his former dear friend, his sworn brother, to find a way like him to be less violent and thus ultimately less vulnerable to destructive and self-destructive behavior, and that the way he tried to start this was by giving DBK the same treatment he got when he was a raging warlord. 

We are furthermore told that it was right after DBK was sealed that SWK disappeared for all those centuries, and while the impulse may be to write it off as him just wanting to enjoy himself (given a lot of his behavior in the show’s timeline), given the indications that this SWK may be deeply depressed, I feel like the answer could be something a lot more tragic...there seem to be a number of clues in Monkie Kid that while the journey of JTTW happened, something made it end disastrously, with SWK either assuming or knowing that Zhu Bajie, Sha Wujing, Tang Sanzang, and Bai Longma are dead. And per JTTW, this wouldn’t be the first time that he’s experienced a horrific loss, given the war with heaven and the burning of Flower-Fruit Mountain. And then right after THAT, it seems DBK emerged from the underworld, and so Sun Wukong was put into a horrific position: either murder his sworn brother, or let him continue to rampage & harm and/or kill who knows how many humans. SWK ultimately gives up his staff to do the repeat of “500 years under a mountain in solitary confinement route,” which as per JTTW he considers better than the alternative, but he immediately follows that by exiling himself. In JTTW SWK is a really sociable person who makes friends wherever he goes, but man, for this SWK...his life must at that point just feel like one failure after another, that in spite of all his best efforts he wasn’t able to save anyone he really cared about, and now he just trapped someone who was so important to him under a mountain & fated him to suffer the same things he had when he was in that position. How much more does he have to hurt his fellow yaoguai? How many more times does he have to choose between yaoguai and humans, feeling like no matter what he decides it’s just going to result in pain for him and/or his loved ones? I can easily imagine super sociable & easily upset (he cries a LOT in JTTW) SWK feeling like after sealing DBK, he just can’t do this any more. He just...can’t. 

This is all just speculation, but knowing the JTTW backstory between SWK and DBK does, at least for me, make their Monkie Kid relationship a lot more intriguing than it might be otherwise. Especially now that DBK seems to actually be making some small steps to quell his constant rage & lust for power. He even saves SWK and Qi Xiaotian from an explosion/nasty fall in the season 2 special! The Bull family weren’t really present in season 2, but I really hope they make a comeback in season 3 (if/when we get it) precisely because Red Son, Princess Iron Fan, and especially DBK have such an involved history with SWK. Plus it would be really fun to see two old warlords trying to awkwardly make amends with each other & struggle to be good teachers & positive role models to their student & son. 

In any case I feel this potential is more interesting than whatever fanfic The Six Eared “I’mma Plagiarize The Demon Bull King’s Backstory Of Being Best Friends with Sun Wukong” Macaque is creating lol. 

[dashofmonsters]

The Long Road- News & Update

So I'll be ending the first season of The Long Road with either part 12 or 13. This series is going to be long with either 2-3 seasons.

After season 1 is done I'll be taking a break to get notes together for season 2. Season 1 I am basically writing as I go which is nice but season 2 will be based heavily off of whatever happens at the last part... which I have no idea how I'll end it yet.

On another note I will be starting a poll close to the end of season 1 to see which story y'all would like to see next as well as a poll for the Future Family side story for whatever story I am done with (which is currently Just Business and Deep in the Dark). Polls will be set for you to pick a story and based off that answer I'll do a poll for- A) have a kid, B) adopt or C) no kids, but let's get some chickens (or whatever pet seems appropriate to the story, might do a poll on that too lol)

Not sure but I may or may not give season two of The Long Road a different name as it will be more or less like a book 2 in this long ass series. Let me know if y'all like that idea or wouldn't mind if I just slap it on there as The Long Road: Season 2 pt.1.

I will say that I didn't plan on this being as long as it's turning out to be but I'm having a lot of fun with it, especially finding out some things with old characters I've had on the back burner for a while (Luctux and Charlie mostly). The plot is about to get very serious and this could put a strain on certain relationships between characters and the reader.

***Also do not read pt. 6 and onwards if you are reading Just Business and haven't finished it, there will be spoilers as both stories take place in the same world and the characters interact with each other.

[fandom-sheep]

Eret Dream SMP

10 APR 21 Delayed Liveblogging Part 1/1

Alright I’m 2 hours late because I missed the notification

But it looks like we’re building an ice highway and talking anime so all’s good.

I love all the people shouting Yuri on Ice. Just everyone shouting for him to watch the gay show.

Their not up for “sexy lamp” females in shows. Understandable.

Cool being with her flower crown.

Yuck. Why is a 14 year old writing a love letter to a 24 year old? IM SORRY THEY FELL IN LOVE WHEN SHE WAS 10?!?

A lot of people shouting about assassination classroom as well. It was actually a pretty good show.

I won’t ask what banana fish is..

Eret’s moving out of the tower?

Not into his castle no no.

Nah into the neato fortress.

Poor being just wants to be near the others.

Time to watch the ye of the poll go ZOOOOM

Given? Haven’t heard of that one.

Yeah I was really late.

Ad and void time let’s go! We love the void.

Multiplayer ad! Let’s get the Eret some extra ad money!

The void art is so cute. I wonder who did it? I’ll have to search and find out.

Let’s vote Bois!

I’m saving up my bits for a water and I’m at 10.8k and I’m always so tempted to use them to unlock emotes but I know I need to wait to get to my goal.

I’m almost better at saving bits than money

Firefighters? Well duh there was a fire.

This poor king. So many concerning things.

Now everyone wants a sad-ist react.

I agree to wait for an animatic stream. It’s always awesome when Eret reacts to all those little animatics that didn’t have a lot of views.

Already back to talking about sexism in anime

Fortress expansion! Woo!

Pretty being deserves to be complicated with the work they put in their appearance.

Ah a sus on the horizon.

Ah. The sonic man is committing arson. That is acceptable to the leader of the lgbt twitch kids.

A combination pop and bonk sound when the bottle opens.

Oh wait my comment got read I forget that happens here. That’s happens to me multiple times at this point. Am I just lucky or do others have that happen?

Oh he said below the age of 13. I thought I said under the age of 30 for a second and I was so confused.

Chat kids. Hons. Dont say your exact age on the internet anywhere for any reason. The only options are adult. Older minor. Younger minor. Maybe only adult and minor in most scenarios.

Ah is sniff here? Sniff’s cool.

Stupidly long songs are almost always awesome songs.

About to switch from watching on my iPad and typing on my phone to doing both on my phone.

Hank Green follows Eret on TikTok?

Alright I’ve swapped to my phone to watch and type

Ah we beat the sub goal.

Defenestration such as “be quiet or I will defenestrate you”

I hear this being quoting a tiktok. I know because I also watched that tiktok.

Overmorrow is one of my favorite words. Everyone forgets it but it’s great.

No headaches. Those aren’t allowed.

Twitter. Be nice to the king.

If any CC should come to tumblr Eret should. He would fit in well.

“Twitter needs to cancel itself” I wholly agree. Twitter is only good for fanart. It’s no fun any other way.

Twitter is the on fire garbage can that tumblr was. Now tumblr is just a chill campfire.

People don’t accept that people learn. People like to pull out old things that don’t reflect their now views.

Eret’s chat is so chill. Even when unhappy about Twitter.

Switching from talking negative things. Nice.

Awww. Everyone chanting about tumblr. We are superior.

Does yahoo own tumblr? I wouldn’t know. Poor tumblr seems like its run by a whole 4 people.

Eret’s chat is also super nice to one another. Like they try to answer each other’s questions about what’s going on and the like.

I love how the chat goes nuts with the appropriate hearts when people come out.

Dress the way ya want. Life’s better that way.

Ooo. I’m going to add a sponge to the kit I keep in case a kid I work with or a friend starts having a panic attack.

Building content is always thrilling. I can’t do that stuff so it’s fun watching building.

The poor rock just saw the verified mark and didn’t stop to think.

And it was his own brand as well. And he didn’t even delete it and try to recover.

Chat just singing along to the song. I love this chat so much. They are so sweet.

I wonder what Eret’s chat “personifies” as in the smp if we do?

This man isn’t encouraging that tattoo but if it happens he demands to see it.

Chat just yelling Bye.

I probably won’t make a post for whoever we raid.

I just don’t think I feel wordy enough for that.

Off we go to the other lgbt mine being!

That last second hype train. LOL

Also poor Eret scared the audience won’t come back. She doesn’t realize that her audience is like a lot of puppies.

She could tell us to wait for next stream and we would wait there for however long it takes for her to get back. Be it a day or several months. We would wait and then be really hyper and happy when she returns.

Anyway. Farewell you all!

[gayregis]

Question. Part 1. Hi. I like your blog and your analytical analysis of books, which is always very accurate and insightful, so I couldn't find anyone better to ask a question to. I am haunted by the scene where Regis announced to the male part of Hansa that Milva is pregnant. Then there is a dialogue, at the end of which Regis asks Geralt to do something... I felt connected to Jaskier as a character for the first time because I also don't understand what it is about. ->

P2. I asked my friends who had read the books, and their opinions were divided. Some believe that Regis asks Geralt to dissuade Milva from having an abortion, while others, on the contrary, believe that Geralt should persuade her to do it. Or maybe that's not the point at all? Further, my reflections, which may not be relevant to the question... Maybe I'm the only one who noticed a lot of "c*nservative" ideas in books.

P3. We cannot ignore the fact that they were written quite a long time ago and many ideological and cultural aspects of Poland (see the law banning abortion in 2020) that could influence them. It was the 'poll' at the beginning of this scene that made me think of this. Why do men decide whether to give Milva medicament or not? Secondly, Geralt insistently refuses to call it "medicament" but prefers the word "agent."

P4. Secondly, Geralt insistently refuses to call it "medicament" but prefers the word "agent." He also demands that Jaskier shut up when he supports Cahir that "only a woman decides." Pro-life vibes, or is it just me? We also can't ignore the fact that Geralt is very concerned about his infertility.

P5. In general, continuing the theme: very many sorceresses also lament the lack of ability to have children, and all of them, even if they had relationships with women, were always looking for the ONE AND ONLY man. Moreover, the same-sex relationships in the book are only female/female shown, but never male/male (a quick and disdainful mention in "Season of Storms"). But even f / f relationships are presented as some not-serious-play; remember how Ciri called it all "fun," talking with Mistle.

P6. Here again, I see a toxic-masculine culture that sexualizes lesbians and completely denies gays. (This also reminds me of Poland's situation, where the majority of the population is very religious and homophobic.) I was too disappointed by the stereotypical representation of women: hatred because of the same outfits/jewelry, thin waists and small portions (remember how Yen and Fringilla eat), eternal gossip, and so on. I mean, women aren't like that, man.

P7. The toxicity of the presented heterosexual relationships has been said a thousand times before me. In general, I am always a little upset when I see that someone calls Sapkowski such a tolerant writer. According to my observations, toxic masculinity, "conservative" ideas, and strengthening stereotypes about LGBT people, women, etc., often slip into his books. I may be wrong, so I apologize in advance. I would like to hear your opinion. Thanks.

Finally. The scene I was talking about, maybe you need it. ‘What’s this all about then? Unanimity? Total agreement? Is that what you’re expecting?’‘You know very well what it’s about. But since you ask, I shall tell you. Yes, Geralt, that’s precisely what it’s about. And no, it’s no me that's expecting it.’ ‘Could you be clearer?’ ‘No, Dandelion,’ the vampire snapped. ‘I can’t be any clearer. Particularly since there is no need. Right, Geralt?’ ‘Right,’ the Witcher said...

p. s. From the same Anon with a 7-part question. English is not my first language, so I apologize for any mistakes. I tried to ask questions as respectfully as possible, but I often confuse English pronouns/times/etc. Please note that it was completely unintentional if I made an offensive mistake, and I deeply apologize. I will correct myself if you point this out to me in your answer. Thanks again.

omg i love this and i’m gonna divide it into different segments to be easier to read. also don’t worry your english is great thank you!!

1) “I asked my friends who had read the books, and their opinions were divided. Some believe that Regis asks Geralt to dissuade Milva from having an abortion, while others, on the contrary, believe that Geralt should persuade her to do it.”

yes, this is a confusing scene. when i first read it i was TOTALLY relating to dandelion, completely confused on what the message was and what the in-universe conversation was about. i had just felt proud of myself for understanding everything regis said in the previous scenes, and now here he was saying something and i didn’t know how the fuck to decipher it. 

but after re-reading and also reading others’ analysis on r/wiedzmin, i found what i think to be the answer. in my opinion, the scene is not about actually either dissuading or persuading milva to have an abortion. rather, it’s about supporting her emotionally so that she can make the right choice for herself. 

regis, as a doctor, wants his patient to make choices with a level head and for her own self, not under pressure to make the strategic choice that would benefit the company the most. this is my interpretation but since regis mentions milva has been a little feisty in consultation (she wouldn’t give him the date of her last period... lol), i feel like he could sense that she was really stressed out about this and although she initially made the choice to have an abortion, she may not have been thinking for her own self, rather letting the priorities of the company come first before her own wants.

in this moment, geralt realizes exactly why she has come on the journey, he mentions how she was willing to sacrifice her own child for his, etc. so, geralt needs to talk to her in that moment to tell her that he doesn’t expect her to do anything just so she can be more of an “asset” to the company, to tell her that she is his friend first and comrade-in-arms second, because milva is very loyal and also headstrong and would have done anything for geralt and the company. milva in general also wants to be “useful” because she has internalized misogyny from how she was raised, she doesn’t want to be “useless” like she was taught women are ‘supposed’ to be, as is shown in their conversation.

so geralt talks to her and she makes the choice not to have an abortion after all, because after talking to geralt, she doesn’t feel like she has to prioritize geralt’s needs and the company’s needs over what she wants. 

2) “Maybe I'm the only one who noticed a lot of "c*nservative" ideas in books. We cannot ignore the fact that they were written quite a long time ago and many ideological and cultural aspects of Poland (see the law banning abortion in 2020) that could influence them. 

It was the 'poll' at the beginning of this scene that made me think of this. Why do men decide whether to give Milva medicament or not? 

Secondly, Geralt insistently refuses to call it "medicament" but prefers the word "agent."”

He also demands that Jaskier shut up when he supports Cahir that "only a woman decides." Pro-life vibes, or is it just me? 

We also can't ignore the fact that Geralt is very concerned about his infertility.

in my opinion i think the author-intention was to set up a conversation in which a rhetorical question is asked, which will 100% be answered with a resounding positive, a “yes” all around. regis asks the company, because he’s a character so he can be poised as the author wants to propose a question like, “what are your thoughts on abortion,” which allows the rest of the characters to respond “it’s a woman’s right to choose for herself!” in this way, i think that it is very pro-choice... i will agree later on about what you say in other parts of your message, about the conservatism and also centrism in the books, but when it comes to abortion sapkowski imo in the witcher series espoused some pretty pro-choice views. this scene, compounded with the fact that yennefer, the leading female character, performs abortions as part of her job, and also the scene in season of storms with coral and the king of kerack in which he makes a fool of himself in front of her because she assists women with abortions... it’s a topic that’s come up a few times, and all of the times it has been a pro-choice perspective. (again, this is not to say everything in the witcher series is progressive, haha)

in-universe, i suppose you could think of it as that regis was just being coy and asking a rhetorical question also in-universe... such that he was going to give milva the decoction no matter what the men of the company chose, but he just wanted to “ask their opinions” (i.e., tell them what is happening with milva, because it’s a serious subject that needs to be addressed by the company) before, so he could introduce the subject to them (sparing milva of the difficulty of telling them all) and gain their assistance in supporting milva during this time. (random sidenote, but i like how regis acts as a middleground between milva and the rest of the company in this. there are three genders: woman, man, and medical professional. lol). 

so yes, i don’t think that the men of the company actually “get to decide” if milva would have an abortion or not - their opinion’s don’t matter. out-of-universem sapkowski probably just wanted to set up a conversation between his characters where they could espouse explicitly pro-choice opinions (dandelion and cahir practically start arguing over if the northern kingdoms or nilfgaardian empire are more pro-choice). in-universe, this was probably more of a way to bring the subject up rather than actually asking for opinions. 

i think it may look like there are some pro-life opinions shown by geralt in this conversation at first glance, but there might be something deeper. when he tells dandelion to be quiet when he begins to hound him that “only a woman decides,” i think it’s not because he disagrees with that - rather, that he agrees, but that that isn’t the issue here that he needs to deal with. it IS milva’s decision, everyone is in agreement about that - and that’s precisely the problem, because milva is in a vulnerable emotional state and also a precarious physical environment, and these factors could influence her to go through with the abortion, while in “regular circumstance,” if everything were fine and everyone was safe and they weren’t on a quest to save ciri, she might go through with the pregnancy. so, geralt gets annoyed that dandelion tells him this, because he agrees, he already knows! it’s useless to tell him that, because he already agrees with him, what he really needs to do now is move forward with having an emotional talk with milva, which is difficult for him.

i think the “medicament” / “agent” thing is still a little confusing to me, because i don’t know which one has a negative connotation. to me, it’s a medicament, or a medicine, whic is something that cures an ailment, that has a negative connotation, because it kind of refers to the state of being pregnant as a sickness or illness that needs to be cured? an agent is more like a substance that causes a reaction, i think of that of enzymes that speed up chemical reactions in cells, it causes a certain result to happen - which seems more appropriate in my opinion. but yeah i’m not sure which is the “worse word” to use, or if either are “bad words” to use when it comes to this

3) In general, continuing the theme:

Very many sorceresses also lament the lack of ability to have children, and all of them, even if they had relationships with women, were always looking for the ONE AND ONLY man. 

I was too disappointed by the stereotypical representation of women: hatred because of the same outfits/jewelry, thin waists and small portions (remember how Yen and Fringilla eat), eternal gossip, and so on. I mean, women aren't like that, man. 

The toxicity of the presented heterosexual relationships has been said a thousand times before me. 

Moreover, the same-sex relationships in the book are only female/female shown, but never male/male (a quick and disdainful mention in "Season of Storms"). But even f / f relationships are presented as some not-serious-play; remember how Ciri called it all "fun," talking with Mistle. I see a toxic-masculine culture that sexualizes lesbians and completely denies gays. (This also reminds me of Poland's situation, where the majority of the population is very religious and homophobic.)

In general, I am always a little upset when I see that someone calls Sapkowski such a tolerant writer. According to my observations, toxic masculinity, "conservative" ideas, and strengthening stereotypes about LGBT people, women, etc., often slip into his books. I may be wrong, so I apologize in advance. I would like to hear your opinion. Thanks. 

very much agree with all of this. in some circumstances, i think the author-intention was to break stereotypes and tropes - such as fringilla and yennefer speaking about oysters in relation to their ‘diets’ ... but then, they are actually talking about oysters in the context of having to teleport from the castle, they are actually speaking about high-intrigue political alliances, not something as silly as diets... but the effect, to me, is lost, because they led into it acting vapid and speaking about diets anyways, and if they used sarcasm in their voices, it wasn’t strong enough coming through the text in my opinion.

similarly, i think he tried to do some of this trope-breaking with the sorceresses overall, how they are all vapid and obsessed with appearance, but actually are the political masterminds behind everything. although he achieved the latter, he did not manage to have the latter negate the former... the intelligent political talks did nothing to “cancel out” the previously-demonstrated vapidness and obsession with femininity, and the way he describes women overall is something to roll the eyes (and the stomach) at. (“triss’ waist measured ‘22′,” oh give me a break lmfao...)

i also agree that although there are technically gay and lesbian characters in the books, none of them are “good representation” - the only ones i can think of are philippa, mistle, and degerlund (season of storms, which you are right in describing as “disdainful”) - all of these characters are violent, none of them ever are shown having a healthy relationship, and their “love” either ‘corrupts others’ (i use that term semi-lightly) or is part of some political manuever. ciri’s time with mistle is that of a ‘youthful violence,’ it is part of her time with the rats, her time reaching into her worst most hateful depths as a person, and it’s presented as something to “heal from.” and we haven’t even mentioned how mistle assaults her in the beginning of it all. this is largely a post for another time, but it’s not a good situation by any means.

i also get super annoyed for this reason when i see people applauding sapkowski for being a “progressive writer.” in my mind, he is not progressive at all, although he has his character espouse some pro-choice views here and there, that is not nearly enough to make up for the fantasy racism/antisemitism, use of antisemitic caricatures to do trope-reversal on, misogyny to do trope-reversal on, and blatantly just Not Good gay and lesbian characters. 

in my mind, it’s inappropriate to label him as “progressive,” because he was not writing with diversity and representation in mind. i think a lot of people get confused, because they assume, “oh he included women, so he must have been wanting more representation for women!” ... when he was pretty much just writing for writing’s sake... of his own worldview and biases, nothing special when it comes to representation. and i agree that a lot of conservative ideas slip their way into the books, from my perspective he tries to make some centrist milquetoast statements at times (”don’t be neutral in the face of evil” for example) but wraps it up in literally a fantasy pogrom - which is not something imo for a goyische author to put into their stories. his inspirations at times are clear, and he uses them in manners which can come off as blunt and disrespectful.

[purplesurveys]

1278

Social Media Survey

[joybucket]

What is your favorite social media site?  Either Twitter or YouTube, though I never use YouTube as a social media site per se so I guess this round goes to Twitter.

Do you use...

facebook? myspace? twitter? snapchat? instagram? youtube? pinterest? bzoink? another site with message boards? tumblr? deviantart? xanga?

Facebook

Do you get on Facebook every day?  Yeah pretty much all throughout the day. I used to never use it, like never ever; but back in college all announcements were coursed through Facebook so I was technically required to be on it regularly, and it was from there that I began to see memes and start to be more active. I’m a shitposter more than anything though and I rarely ever post stuff of my own. How many FB friends do you have?  I have 679 at the moment but I want to get rid of like 500 of them; it’s just such a long list to go through so I never get to proceed with my unfriending spree lol.

Have you ever been on a deleting spree?  HAHA I just mentioned that. I’ve always wanted to, but like I said 679 is already such an exhaustive list for me, and that’s considering I only started touching my Facebook in like 2019. I can’t imagine people who started Facebook in like 2009 and have 4000 friends aka most people I know.

Have you blocked a lot of haters?  I don’t have haters; at least I’m not aware of any that I have. Not that it’s something I care about at this point.

Do you get bullied online a lot?  No, but that’s also because I don’t really open the channels for people to send in hate. I don’t have Q&A handles like Curious Cat and I never pick out that option in Instagram where people can send in questions.

What's your favorite Facebook app?  Oh I never use Facebook for their apps. Are those still even a thing...? Anyway, I mainly go there to be on the hunt for stupid memes I can reshare or to watch videos that are either funny or informative.

Are you a fan of selfies?  I don’t mind if other people do it, but I think I’m honestly bad at selfies so I almost never take them. I’ve never figured out my angles or what filters look ok on me.

Has anyone ever called the police on you because they didn't like your status?  No but I have had my posts reported because they were deemed ‘offensive.’ Which is weird because my posts that have been taken down are those that speak out against disgusting men, which says a lot about Facebook runs their shit more than anything else.

Are you in any facebook groups?  I’m in nearly a hundred groups, both private i.e. for school purposes, and public.

Are you the admin of any groups?  Nah. Too much time and effort needed out of me.

Do you report abuse to group admins whenever you see it?  Yes. I report the post then leave the group.

What could make Facebook better?  They could put more effort into detecting and banning troll farms.

What year did you start using Facebook?  I made an account in 2012 because of a high school class that required us to upload this specific video-format homework onto Facebook (which in hindsight is such an insensitive homework considering that was nearly a decade ago when the Philippines was still severely behind in internet connection speeds?? Ugh). But I didn’t start actively using my account until around two years ago.

What is your current profile picture of?  Myself, posing in front of the sunflowers in school during the recent graduation season.

Did you like the old Myspace better than Facebook?  I was never a regular user of Myspace, so...

Pinterest

What are some of your favorite boards?  I’ve never had a clue what the purpose of Pinterest was. I mean I have an account...but I’ve also never gotten the hang of it?? so I never touch it hahaha.

Have you ever done a craft you saw on Pinterest?  Well no, because I’m terrible at arts and crafts anyway.

Do you have a Dream Wedding board? If so, what's on it?  No.

If you have a Dream House board, what does your dream house look like?  Ok fine this one I did start hahahah but I don’t even remember what I added on there anymore. I’m sure it was filled with modern-style houses with minimalist interior design.

Do you wish they'd bring the "like" button back?  I’m not even aware of this option.

Do you have a Bucket List board?  Not aware of this either.

Which do you like better: Just Girly Things or And That's Who I Am? The second one sounds less childish. < Same, and it sounds like it covers more.

Do you have a board for tattoos you like? If so, what are some of your faves?  No. The only one I ever made was the house one, then Pinterest quickly became boring from there when I realized there wasn’t much else I could do besides making mood boards.

Do you have a "Random" or "Miscellaneous" board?  No.

Have you ever reached the maximum number of boards?  No.

Do you have any secret boards?  No.

Have you ever had a Pin deleted because of copyright laws?  No.

Do you have a Color board? No.

Do you have an About Me board? If so, what's on it? No.

YouTube

Do you have a YouTube channel? If so, what is it?  Technically I do but I only have it so I can tailor video suggestions to my interests and so that I can like videos and subscribe to channels I like.

What kind of things do you post on YouTube?  I’ve never posted any video on there, not even private ones. I’m also not the type to comment.

What do you like to watch on YouTube?  These days YouTube serves as a stress reliever for me, which is to say I would typically go for humorous BTS-related compilations because there are sooooo many hilarious channels that make these great videos haha. Occasionally I’d go back to channels or series that I used to frequent, like Good Mythical Morning, Buzzfeed’s Worth It and Unsolved, Try Guys, Watcher, etc. 

Are you subscribed to any channels?  To so many.

Do you watch any vlogs? If so, what ones are your favorite?  Hm probably Jiwoo’s, though her channel is called Mejiwoo. I find her content calming and conversational and basically fun to binge-watch when I’m not looking for anything super super particular to watch.

If you have a channel, how many subscribers do you have?  0. I’m just a lurker.

Will you subscribe to my channel? (msg me if you want a link!)  Only if it’s really fit to my interests, I guess.

Do you watch music videos?  Rarely; not a fan of MVs in particular. I only really ever put an exception for BTS.

Have you ever watched a TV show on youtube?  Well no since their copyright team works hard and works fast lol. I do watch entire video game walkthroughs from time to time.

Have you ever worked out to exercise videos on youtube?  No, I can’t care less about working out tbh.

Have you watched Amanda Todd's famous video?  No. I’m scared that it might be too upsetting or triggering for me.

Have you ever looked up how to do something on YouTube?  Not really, I prefer looking up articles that can teach me step by step in words.

Do you get a lot of hate comments on youtube?  No, I’ve never posted anything on there.

How long have you been a youtuber?  Never been.

Instagram

Do you post on Instagram a lot?  I do 1-3 Instagram stories in a week, I would say. As for posts, I only have 4 in total and I don’t really feel the pressure to add more. I just post when I feel the want to.

Have you ever posted a poll on instagram?  Nah, I’m not too sure if anyone would participate so I’ve never tried. If you don't have an iPhone, do you wish you could use Instagram?  I’m pretty sure other operating systems can also use Instagram...

Do you have any followers?  Around 50, I think.

Do you like Instagram filters? I’ll use them sometimes to make my stories appear prettier.

Twitter

Do you think twitter is stupid? Hehe show me at least one person who doesn’t think so. < Coming from someone who regularly uses Twitter, agree. It is crazy stupid but stupid is what I’m there for. Which is honestly not always such a bad thing to me - I like that people are more themselves, more stripped-down, vulnerable on Twitter. People always seem to want to show off their best selves on Facebook and Instagram, so I’m actually kind of grateful that there is at least one social media out there where people can just be their clumsy, goofy selves.

How often do you tweet?  Probably a maximum of five a day. Nowadays I’m on there mostly to just scroll through my timelines.

Do you get on twitter every day?  Yes, both on my personal and fan account.

Bzoink

Do you make a lot of surveys?  I never make them but I try to take them as often as I can.

Do you take a lot of surveys?  Haha sorry, was one step ahead of you. Yeah, I do.

Do you post in the message boards?  Nah. I dunno if I’m even permitted to check the message boards on Bzoink considering I don’t have an account.

What types of surveys are your favorite?  Categorized surveys like this one or countdown ones can be fun, but at the end of the day I like sticking to the classic random survey.

Do you have friends on here?  Not on Bzoink, but here on Tumblr yes! There’s a number of people here I like keeping up with :)

Do you post all your secrets on here?  Again, not on Bzoink; but yep I share pretty much everything here.

What type of survey do you think I should make next?  Anything but basic/about me-themed ones that will ask for my name and eye color and weight.

Do you read peoples' answers to your surveys?  I’ve never made a survey.

Do you think you are good at making surveys? 

Do you try to make unique surveys?

What type of surveys do you want to see more of?

Random

This or That

Scattergories

Have You Ever

Are you like me?

About You

Personal, Deep Questions

Girly

Music shuffle

Would You Rather

Do you have this in your bedroom?

Long

Short

All About Your Crush

Fashion

Make-up

School

Music

Your health

Your friends

Confessions

Girl Confessions - how different is this from just confessions? Hahaha

R-Rated

Controversial topics

Myspace

Did you have a myspace when you were in high school?  I started an account in like 4th grade when Myspace was ~big, but I didn’t find it fun and everyone my age was on Friendster anyway, so I was largely inactive.

Do you use myspace now?  No. Is it still even around? I have no clue.

Do you miss bulletins? I didn’t get to join in on the fun so there’s nothing to miss.

Did you like customizing your profile with the old myspace?  Not attributed to Myspace but I did have a lot of fun customizing my Multiply and Tumblr accounts back in the day. That was a period where I really got to learn and play around with HTML :)

Did you have music on your profile?  Not on Myspace again but I did on Multiply! I had a cute little playlist that played the songs immediately as soon as you landed on my page hahaha.

Did you learn HTML when you used Myspace?  Tumblr, yeah. I believe the skills are still there but I’ll definitely be a bit rusty.

Did you have a customized cursor?  Oh, no. Wasn’t a fan of those as I found them a bit tacky.

Did you use glitter graphics?  Also found those tacky haha no, I never used those.

Do you remember posting glitter graphics on friends' pages?  Nope.

Did you make "dolls"?  I don’t recall ever making those.

Did you use photo captions?  Not sure what this is referring to so let’s just say no.

Did you have a photo slideshow on your profile?  Hmmm nope, I don’t think so.

Xanga

Did you have a Xanga account back in the day?  No. It wasn’t big here so I had never heard of it until I started taking surveys on here and heard people mentioning Xanga, actually.

Do you have a xanga account now?  No.

Did you post photos and quotes on your xanga page?  I never had any.

Snapchat

Do you use snapchat?  I did; I was superrrrr active on there for a time. It kind of just got old at one point, though, and my feed got more and more dead until I too just left my account dormant altogether.

What is your favorite filter?  There were a lot of cute ones on there that helped me be more confident with taking selfies but my favorites have to be the dog and flower crown ones.

Tumblr

Do you understand Tumblr?  I had a better handle of it when I ran a fan account that required me to be more active; but now that I really just go on here to take surveys I just use the basic functions and nothing more. But yeah, I understand just enough to get by.

Do you use Tumblr?  Yeah. Even on the days I don’t post surveys, I regularly go on here to keep up with friends I like keeping up with like Elisabeth, Lane, Steph, Lina, Julie :)

Other

What forum sites did you use to love that aren't around anymore?  There was one message board I frequented for this girly/tween magazine I used to collect, but I won’t share the name.

Are there any other great social media sites that you recommend?  I think this survey was able to cover all the main ones I use.

Do you use a photo editing site? If so, what?  I use apps instead of sites to edit my photos.

Do you ever use BeFunky.com?  Nope.

Do you use a video editing site? If so, what?  Nah, I rarely have to edit videos in a super intricate, detailed way. Apple’s video editing features suffice for me.

Have you ever downloaded fonts?  Very occasionally since it’s never necessary.

Have you ever used photobucket to upload an image?  No but I remember going on there back in the day to look for images. I never uploaded any, though.

Do you use iTunes?  Not anymore. I have an account on Spotify now.

Do you listen to music on Pandora?  No, never used it.