#I know there are so many flaws in it but

[izerdo]

Butterflies with brown hair

So I've been hoarding the start of this g/t Karlnapity fic for awhile now, so I thought I'd go ahead and throw it in here because I'm unsupervised and I can't be stopped. Once I finally have this out of my drafts I’ll probably start writing more for it. let me know what you guys think!

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There weren't many borrowers in the smp, not that Karl knew of at least. He had met one when L'manburg was still standing, but since then he's only seen those big things. Streamers they called themselves, Karl had gotten into the habit of watching them more than he really needed to. One that particularly interested him was an avian hybrid named Quackity. Karl was sitting on top of a chest watching Quackity pace around his office shuffling papers in his hands. The borrower couldn't really explain why he enjoyed watching this streamer. Maybe it was the little jokes he'd make that always got a laugh out of Karl, or how he rambled on about the most random of things, or maybe it was that fluttering Karl felt in his stomach when he could see Quackity's smile. Karl shook those thoughts from his head, he had already borrowed what he needed from the chests, he needed to get back home. As Karl stood to leave a loud screech rang out causing the borrower to jump and lose his balance, sending him falling off of the chest he was on. Karl braced himself for a harsh impact but was surprised when he landed in something softer, cloth, Karl looked up to find himself in the hood of Quackity's coat. "What the fuck was that?!" Quackity exclaimed, Karl ducked down thinking he was caught when he heard the door swing open. "Quackity you'll never believe what I found!" A second voice called out "Was it that weird ass screaming??? That scared the shit out of me! What the fuck did you find?" Karl felt the giant hybrid's footsteps swaying his coat hood "So I was out mining when I see this weird moss, I go to investigate, my vision goes dark, and I hear this!" Karl covered his ears as the screech sounded a second time, much louder than before. "Yeah that doesn't tell me what it is," Quackity said "and honestly we should talk about this new find later, Foolish, I need to get home before I lose my mind," the second streamer, Foolish, laughed at the comment "This Kinoko deal is really getting to you, isn't it. Well, you go rest, Quackity, I'll finish up as much paperwork I can, see you soon?"  Quackity let out a relieved sigh "Thanks Foolish, I'll see you soon," Karl felt the avian begin walking again and ducked further into the hood in an attempt to stay hidden as Quackity walked past the other streamer and out of the office. Karl was about to jump out and escape when he felt his world quickly shift as the casino owner pulled his hood up over his head, spilling the borrower over his shoulder. "The fuck was tha- ah!"Quackity exclaimed, staring at the borrower, both of them frozen in place. Karl broke the silence first "HEY HOT STUFF COME HERE OFTEN" he blurted out, cringing as he realized what he just said. But to his surprise, Quackity laughed, a soft but genuine laugh that didn't seem to come from nerves or awkwardness, Karl felt his cheeks heat up noticing that this streamer looked really cute when he laughed. He was about to follow up his panicked flirting when Quackity sighed "I'm leaving," he said, cupping his hand around Karl and swiftly yet carefully setting him on the ground "I've dealt with enough I'm not going any crazier until Monday." He said, walking towards the exit of the building. Karl stood there, dumbfounded as he watched Quackity leave, it took Karl much longer than it should've to go back to his home in the walls. And much longer than that to get any sleep that night.

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Karl couldn't stop thinking about that stupid streamer, even while he was out borrowing he kept hoping he would see Quackity again. It took two whole days before Karl saw him back in his office. The avian was once again messing with papers and mumbling to himself. Karl knew he shouldn't stay, he shouldn't even be in that room, he got everything he'd need for at least the next two weeks. But how could he leave Quackity when he looked so stressed out and upset? Karl climbed down from the stack of chests at the back of the room and made his way to Quackity's desk, he hid underneath so he could hear the streamer's mumbling. "Stupid fiery bastard, why does he have to make me do all this paperwork just for a trade deal it's not like it's anything big it's literally just iron but noo~ 'We can't just trade Quackity what about taxes?' What do you MEAN taxes Sapnap we ARE the government!" Quackity questioned to himself, his small outburst rewarding a laugh from Karl. The avian sighed and Karl took Quackity's pause to make his presence known. "So does work always stress you out this much?" He called out, hearing Quackity's jolt of surprise jostle his desk "What the fuck who said that?" The streamer asked. Karl laughed a bit at Quackity's surprise "I thought you'd remember, since you seemed so shocked when I sort of, fell on you."  There was a prolonged silence that made Karl want to jump out of his skin. Quackity finally responded after what felt like forever. "That was real?" He said, Karl had to admit he was a little disappointed that Quackity thought their encounter was some kind of hallucination, but he continued nonetheless. "Yeah it was real, you could never make up a face as handsome as mine," Karl said smugly, hearing a chuckle come from above him "So where are you now? I can hear you plain as day but I can't-" Quackity paused a second "are you in my hood again?" Karl couldn't help but laugh as the streamer moved to check his hood "No I'm not in your hood, that was an accident." Karl paused as he remembered, this was an accident, he wasn't supposed to be there at all. Borrowers were never supposed to be known by bigger species, but here he was talking to one. Karl was snapped from his thoughts when he heard Quackity speak again "I, um, I never got your name, mine's Quackity," the awkwardness in his voice made Karl's continued silence all the more uncomfortable. "K- um, my name's Karl," the borrower said "I- I shouldn't be here," he continued sheepishly, Quackity paused "why?" He asked. Karl couldn't think of what to say, he couldn't think of why other than 'big people bad' but he obviously couldn't just say that. His mind wandered, nearing places he hadn't thought about in ages, until he heard Quackity say his name "Karl, if you really need to go that's fine, but if you can stay, I definitely wouldn't mind the company," he said amongst Karl's prolonged silence. The borrower wrestled with his thoughts for what felt like hours, he had already gotten this far there was no turning back. Quackity knew about him, he knew his NAME for prime's sake! Karl almost wished he hadn't literally fallen into this mess, now he genuinely wanted to reveal himself to a streamer and why? Because he liked the way Quackity laughs? Karl clenched his fist and pulled out his hook, "I'm coming up," he said, tossing his hook up to the desktop. As Karl climbed he though to himself about just how crazy it all was. He wasn't alone, he was talking to someone, he wasn't just listening to them talk to someone else. As Karl pulled himself up onto the desktop he caught a glimpse of Quackity quickly turning his head to face the papers in front of him. "So are you gonna answer my question or just stare at your papers?" Quackity's cheeks grew pink as he returned his gaze to where Karl stood "Huh?  Oh- y-yeah! I mean-" Karl couldn't help but chuckle at the avian's stammering. Quackity let out a sigh "Yeah, this paperwork is fucking awful," he said, laughing a bit at his own misery. "Then why are you doing it?" Karl asked with genuine curiosity, "I can't just not do it, these are important documents, and if my country is gonna have any power in this stupid smp I have to do all this tedious bullshit," Karl frowned as Quackity sighed, setting his head in his free hand, "Unless something forces my hand I don't really have a choice," there was a short pause before Karl smiled, an idea coming to him. The borrower ran over and threw himself over Quackity's hand "break time!" He yelled. Quackity jumped a bit in surprise "W- Karl what are you doing?" He asked, giggling as Karl wrestled the pen out of Quackity's hand. "I'm forcing your hand," Karl said triumphantly, "so now you have to take a break, treat yourself." Quackity pulled the pen away from Karl and placed it on the desk "Okay," he finally said, "I can take a break for like, five minutes," Karl pumped his fists in celebration "Hell yeah!" He hollered. Karl shifted his gaze upwards to see Quackity wearing the same smile that gave him those butterflies, only this time Quackity was smiling at him. Karl hadn't noticed he went silent until Quackity spoke up "So, I don't suppose you'd mind if I ask you a few things, would you?" He asked, not seeming to mind the borrower sprawled over his hand. Karl's lips quirked into a smile "I don't think I'd mind," he said confidently "I don't think I'd mind at all,".

[turtleblogatlast]

I love Raph and haven’t said that enough so to be more specific I love that Raph is a soft boy who loves bear plushies, a gross boy who eats an assortment of things that are definitely better left alone, a smart boy who is more than capable of taking down villains through planning and fortitude alike, a strong boy who is dedicated to training his muscles and fighting prowess, a teenage boy who loves his brothers but is more than happy to tease and roughhouse with them, an angry boy who sometimes lets his anger take a hold of him to cover the fear, a gentle boy who is generous with hugs and affirmations to those he loves, a capable boy who takes on more than should ever be expected of a teenager, a good boy who just wants to be a hero and slowly comes to realize the cost of that duty, a good boy who has no reservations about putting himself in the way of harm coming to his family, a good boy who’s a great brother and son and person and deserves only the best the world has to offer.

[theminecraftbee]

okay, so in a rare moment for me, there's a discourse thing i want to bring up, and that thing is. okay. so on iskall's stream there's this thing that can happen where someone brings up a criticism of his content or vault hunters. frequently it's self-evidently wrong, but sometimes it's not. and then iskall spends the next thirty minutes shadowboxing this guy, explaining himself, and completely derailed. and this is an iskall trait we all know and sigh bemusedly about, because he cares about the community and wants people to understand his intentions! he wants the community to understand his decisions!

however, it's not the community as a whole he's fighting; he is in fact, arguing with One Guy, who often doesn't represent the wider community, and who normally won't have their mind changed. hell, sometimes it's believable that they're satisfied having just managed to upset iskall, and they'll leave, no change to their mind, perfectly pleased that iskall's responding at all (that's what i firmly believe the people who poke at the 'you don't upload enough and that means you're falling off and a bad person' wound are trying to do, at least).

in the vault hunters community, we refer to this as iskall getting One Guyed, and it's typically viewed as bad, because it ends up focusing an entire moment on a single guy's negative opinion as opposed to on the larger picture. and it's an understandable thing to have happen! but it's frustrating to watch from the outside.

and so now i am looking at that cat poll. and the way everyone is still shadowboxing someone who has since apologized. and the way i would have never ever known about any of the negative comments about jellie if it weren't for fellow mcyt fans constantly putting them on my dash to dunk on them. and it's like. if you look through the notes most of them are just... normal? it's only a tiny few of people (and the pollrunner, who has since apologized) who were being dicks. it's a very, very ignorable demographic.

but. well. there was One Guy. and we had to correct them.

and folks, i don't know how to say that i almost never see "lol mcyt is cringe" type comments unless one of you puts it on my dash. both because i don't go looking through the notes of things that are likely to have them or go looking for reasons to be upset and because it's just... not that common! very frequently these days it is, in fact, One Guy!

i have almost never seen that poll on my dash without at least one instance of the One Guy. instead of being for fun, it's mostly become about explaining ourselves to someone who will not listen and will not change their minds, and treating this as a the whole of the Other Side of that poll, when most people are being... fine. they're fine! the majority of the people voting for the other side are doing it for perfectly normal reasons that don't require fighting about.

and man. let me tell you. after spending as long as i have watching vault hunters development? it can be just as frustrating to watch a fandom get One Guyed as it is to watch iskall.

[gingermintpepper]

In my Zeus bag today so I'm just gonna put it out there that exactly none of the great Ancient Greek warrior-heroes stayed loyal and faithful and completely monogamous and yet none of them have their greatness questioned nor do we question why they had the cultural prominence that they did and still do.

Jason, the brilliant leader of the Argo, got cold feet when it came to Medea - already put off by some of her magic and then exiled from his birthland because of her political ploys, he took Creusa to bed and fully intended on marrying her despite not properly dissolving things with Medea.

Theseus was a fierce warrior and an incredibly talented king but he had a horrible temper and was almost fatally weak to women. This is the man who got imprisoned in the Underworld for trying to get a friend laid, the man who started the whole Attic War because he couldn't keep his legs closed.

And we cannot at all forget Heracles for whom a not inconsiderable amount of his joy in life was loving people then losing the people around him that he loved. Wives, children, serving boys, mentors, Heracles had a list of lovers - male and female - long enough to rival some gods and even after completing his labours and coming down to the end of his life, he did not have one wife but three.

And y'know what, just because he's a cultural darling, I'll put Achilles up here too because that man was a Theseus type where he was fantastic at the thing he was born to do (that is, fight whereas Theseus' was to rule) but that was not enough to eclipse his horrid temper and his weakness to young pretty things. This is the man that killed two of Apollo's sons because they wouldn't let him hit - Tenes because he refused to let Achilles have his sister and Troilus who refused Achilles so vehemently that he ran into Apollo's temple to avoid him and still couldn't escape.

All four of these men are still celebrated as great heroes and men. All four of these men are given the dignity of nuance, of having their flaws treated as just that, flaws which enrich their character and can be used to discuss the wider cultural point of what truly makes a hero heroic. All four of these men still have their legacies respected.

Why can that same mindset not be applied to Zeus? Zeus, who was a warrior-king raised in seclusion apart from his family. Zeus who must have learned to embrace the violence of thunder for every time he cried as a babe, the Corybantes would bang their shields to hide the sound. Zeus learned to be great because being good would not see the universe's affairs in its order.

The wonderful thing about sympathy is that we never run out of it. There's no rule stopping us from being sympathetic to multiple plights at once, there's no law that necessitate things always exist on the good-evil binary. Yes, Zeus sentenced Prometheus to sufferation in Tartarus for what (to us) seems like a cruel reason. Prometheus only wanted to help humans! But when you think about Prometheus' actions from a king's perspective, the narrative is completely different: Prometheus stole divine knowledge and gifted it to humans after Zeus explicitly told him not to. And this was after Prometheus cheated all the gods out of a huge portion of wealth by having humans keep the best part of a sacrifice's meat while the gods must delight themselves with bones, fat and skin. Yes, Zeus gave Persephone away to Hades without consulting Demeter but what king consults a woman who is not his wife about the arrangement of his daughter's marriage to another king? Yes, Zeus breaks the marriage vows he set with Hera despite his love of her but what is the Master of Fate if not its staunchest slave?

The nuance is there. Even in his most bizarre actions, the nuance and logic and reason is there. The Ancient Greeks weren't a daft people, they worshipped Zeus as their primary god for a reason and they did not associate him with half the vices modern audiences take issue with. Zeus was a father, a visitor, a protector, a fair judge of character, a guide for the lost, the arbiter of revenge for those that had been wronged, a pillar of strength for those who needed it and a shield to protect those who made their home among the biting snakes. His children were reflections of him, extensions of his will who acted both as his mercy and as his retribution, his brothers and sisters deferred to him because he was wise as well as powerful. Zeus didn't become king by accident and it is a damn shame he does not get more respect.

[trgldyte]

Wait so you’re telling me Seth was the fourth of seven siblings and had an older brother named Jeremy who was the second oldest child. And Jeremy has—3 siblings (why did Cat hesitate before saying the number??) and one of them is an older brother. Something happened at the fall banquet during his freshman year.

I know it’s a stretch—but what if Jeremy is Seth’s older brother? We know Seth died, which would reduce the seven children to six, and leave Jeremy with 5 siblings. So maybe something happened in Jeremy’s freshman year that resulted in the death of two of his siblings? That could certainly tear a family apart. And what if Jeremy’s family blames him for it? What if it actually was his fault? What if it was his fault in the sense that something he did contributed but in a way that it makes no sense to actually lay the blame on him?

If he is Seth’s brother, that indicates he raised his siblings from the age of 12. There bio dad disappeared at some point. Also why did their mom disappear so often, forcing him to take on that responsibility? And further, how did he get from Arizona and raising his siblings to living in Cali with a family of politicians? Did his mom get married? Did she leave so often bc she was having an affair w some guy? And then they got married and moved the family or something?

A step-dad situation could also explain his dislike for being referred to by his last name, esp is that step dad sucks somehow.

I have so many questions man. The desire to know Jeremy’s history is killing me slowly.

This is a theory that may or may not be baseless and I might not be making any sense here. But do you see my vision? Do you see it?

I’m going crazy.

[ewwww-what]

thinking about how difficult it must’ve been for Adaine to navigate her disorder without any support from any adults, and how jawbones reassurance (confusing and intense as it was) took an absolutely massive weight off of her back. Like sometimes just knowing that someone actually hears you is enough to make life easier.

[starrysharks]

hotel manager

[dxxtruction]

"Louis acting like a pimp to Armand" And what is a pimp exactly? Quickly. And, oh so sexual trauma survivors can't engage in kink now without it being all about that? Pet names? They can't be submissive anymore? Consensually? Sexually healthy? Be serious. I'd hardly say there's much power difference between them during all this anyway, except that Louis is freer than Armand and it's been putting a strain on their relationship. Louis wants more from Armand, and less of this 'being his past' for them both, and so helping Armand with this could fix that. It's healthy to want to help your partners get out of a rough patch?

I mean, the whole exchange was very clearly set up as a "I want to help you" after such a great moment of vulnerability Louis feels just how much Armand is desperate for it. Louis called Armand so they could work out a plan together.

And the bit with the umbrella was Louis' way of asking 'are you willing to listen to me?' and Armand said yes by unfolding it. Louis goes on and explains, Armand is allowed to argue against it, but Louis makes his point. And then he gives Armand a way to make his own choice in it too. Armand's already decided 'I want you, more than anything else in the world', but Louis still asks after if he's sure of his choice, and with a name, Arun, that is the one of his fullest agency, running the point home. Honoring the situation Armand calls Louis Maitre - as a way of being like 'I'll do as you've said then'. To make this work he's going to have to give Louis some of the control, yes. But it's the first time such a role is ever established, and it was his choice to do it. So so what if they do it in a very suggestive way? They can't like doing that? I think it's them having fun.

I struggle to find how Louis is being overly domineering here when really he's giving and offering Armand the most agency he's ever had. Same with finding it manipulative. The manipulation was more earlier in the episode I think, when he was stringing him along, giving mixed signals. He's no longer toying with him like that. Louis might be pushing Armand, leading him on to make a decision, but he doesn't mean bad by it.

But back to this pimp thing. I find it frankly offensive that this is where people are going with this. I get it, but to run with it being the case is, on many levels, wrong.

Louis told us episode 1 this was the only sustainable line of work to support his family and keep their standing, at the time. It was never his choice to be doing this either but his blackness allowed no other options. He did what he did so his family could stay in that house and maintain all their same comforts. It gave him privileges most black men didn't have at the time that he wanted to maintain and even have more of. Anyway, it doesn't and had never defined him the way 'being good at running things' had. And in that case he just likes having that kind of control where he can get it, which makes sense.

The world is what placed that kind of role onto him of what he was allowed to be able to run, not himself. And on that he actually treated the sex workers he employed well and respected them enough to give them more opportunity.** He recognizes they don't have much in the way of options either.

Louis employed sex workers, yes, but he didn't subject them to abuse, (like how Armand was)*. He didn't oversee things in a way that would go against their consent (see; episode 1 again)**. Sometimes a job is just a job. And Sex work is work.

Armand's particular past with sexual abuses may strike a particular cord with Louis, given all that, but the very last thing either is thinking is that Louis' pimping Armand out here. This is merely their decision as companions, and had nothing to do with adding another line in a laundry list of selling Armands body out to people at the command of someone else. Armand rescinds some of his control to Louis' wishes, because he wants him, and he trusts him, that's all.

If you aren't allowing Armand that choice, and are doubtful it's fully his, you're putting him right back in the box of being defined by his abuses. Putting him back into that space where he isn't given any agency over what he does. (Which is exactly opposite of what the intent of this scene is for)*.

*: (edit) added for clarity.

**: (strike through) numerous people are saying I'm misremembering these points so disregard it. (Thought he was siding with Bricks, it was the other way around). (Technically one aspect of those opportunities were for getting around the law). I don't have a perfect memory, it happens. Let's not get mad about it. Doesn't change much of the point which is that Louis, now, Louis then, was always considering more about the running things and for stated purposes. So I guess I'd say he may only have respected the SWers enough sometimes for what allowed him to do that, and there are moments he certainly expressed remorse over the fact, but he has a great deal higher respect for Armand that is genuine. It's incomparable. Please read my added notes in the tags, it should address most other concerns.

[bloodymarymorstan]

The OFMD writers were really onto something when they named the season 1 finale "wherever you go, there you are" because it's becoming more and more apparent that that phrase completely sums up Ed's arc in that it's the thing he is consistently most unable to accept. He has all these different personas that represent different parts of himself and every time he's unhappy with his circumstances (which is often) it's suddenly time to make the switch. He shaves his beard and changes his clothes and supposedly he's not Blackbeard anymore but then he feels shitty so he draws the beard back on and adds dramatic eyeliner but then he feels guilty about the way he acted so he throws his clothes in the ocean and just... I think by the end of the show Ed really needs to realize that it doesn't matter if he has a beard or what he's wearing or if he's calling himself "Jeff" or "the Kraken" or running off to become a fisherman because he will always be the same person who killed his father and who was left by Stede and who did terrible things to the crew of the Revenge and who believes himself to be unlovable. Wherever Ed goes, he will always have to be with himself, and running away is never going to be the thing that stops him from hating himself.

[zevzevarainai]

baldur’s gate 3 [20/?]

[chaosxcrushed]

There's a certain CCCC summary video that we really, really like. We think it is a great video for people if they want to grasp the story more clearly, if they're confused, or if they're listening to the album for the first time.

That video being Chonny Jash and the Weight of the Mind on Youtube by W3tBl@nk3t. We think they cover it really well.

However, I'm sharing this for a different reason; they say few certain things that really struck with us until now, that I'd like to share with the fandom. Sometimes, we see people really just.. Miss the point of CCCC entirely, and I'd like to shine a light on what was said here. If you'd like to hear this for yourself on video, the timestamp is 35:57-36:45.

“..I bet we all could relate to that, they are the prime example of the side of you that suffers and the side of you that hates yourself for suffering:

The side of you that just wants to slow down and feel everything even to the unhealthy extent of not being able to do anything else(1), but also the side of you that so desperately wants you to get over it(2).

Sure, laying in bed all day every day to rot isn't healthy, but neither is boiling things down and invalidating your own emotions. Both are paths to inevitable disaster, and that's what Chonny is doing here. Keep in mind that the idea behind this album is being whole, and that means neither of these sides are entirely in the right or the wrong; this album is about inner compromise and acceptance(3).”

1.) The side of you that suffers; Heart. He is representative of Whole's emotions, he holds them. Your emotions can go haywire, especially when one's mentally ill and has no way of their feelings being validated. An emotional person like Heart suffers under the weight of crushing, devastating feelings. He wants to feel things out, have time to just process everything, even if it takes them days or weeks to get over it. It's not healthy, but feeling is what he does, and he wants to help because he knows he has importance. Solely focusing on just your emotions isn't the best thing to do, however.

2.) The side of you that so desperately wants you to get over it; Mind. Many people have been there, have wanted themselves to stop wallowing in their own emotions and just do something else, even to the point where you think feeling things out is unnecessary. This is also unhealthy, but not intentionally. Like Heart, Mind just wants to help, everything he does is in best interest. This is what he thinks will get them to move on the quickest; to leave behind emotions and focus on anything BUT that. Also not the best thing to do.

3.) This album is about inner compromise and acceptance; About being whole. Neither of Heart and Mind are right nor wrong. They have their own ways of doing things, of what they think will help their whole self out the most, but both are unhealthy despite the good intentions. They fight over who's wrong or right, when they shouldn't even be doing so in the first place. It's your thoughts against your emotions, basically; your feelings contradict your thoughts, and it leads to an inner war of sorts. This won't make things better, which is why you can't have Mind over Heart or vice versa; you'll need both of them. In the album, they are only able to be whole when they get along. They harmonize, they 'combine', they see eye to eye with each other and work together instead of fighting over and over. Inner compromise is achieved with this, and acceptance can lead them away from any disaster that there's to come.

What we're trying to say is that mental health is a large thing tackled within CCCC, and yet we see a lot of people who overlook it; thus, end up missing the point of the whole album. We see a lot of people believe Mind's perspective a little too much and treat Heart quite harshly, or the other way where people demonize Mind and say that Heart is perfect, when it's not really that in the slightest.

This is not a hate post towards people's interpretations of CCCC or how they view characters, I'm just saying that people can tend to overlook what's in the very narrative, and we see a concerning amount of people do such.

Anyways. Stream CCCC and put your Hearts and Minds in the get along shirt. Have a nice day.

[undead-moth]

I know I've been on about this for a while now and I'm being a hater but you're telling me SydCarmy was "always meant to be platonic" even though there are two seasons of writing making use of tried-and-true explicitly romantic tropes, themes and writing signals, and SydLuca is going to be romantic because...he was nice to her on screen for a few minutes?

I don't even care if people ship SydLuca, or if they just prefer it, but you can't honestly tell me that you believe Carmy was always meant to be a friend but Luca is an obvious love interest.

Just because Syd and Carmy haven't kissed or confessed their love to each other doesn't mean that isn't very obviously the direction this show is going. The Bear has already shown you who is endgame. It has shown you every episode of the show so far.

Honestly I really don't think The Bear fanbase understands this show or cares about these characters or the story being told here, which is unfortunate because this show is shockingly well-written in comparison to most shows right now, and we should be so grateful for it but all we're doing is complaining that the writers led us on by not making a ship canon fast enough. It's just. Sad.

[seyaryminamoto]

Fic-to-Art #39: Gladiator's ELEVENTH Anniversary! (+ BONUS: Fic-to-Art #36...)

And here we are! March 26th arrived and I did not forget about it, but I paid for my ambitious madness with my wrist and forearm. Somehow, I finished my intended pieces on time, but I do not advise that you ever try to make 9 artworks in 3 days. No, sir. Bad life decisions, that's what that was... but this fic, as anyone knows, moves me to do things I never thought possible, starting with writing the fic itself!

It's really crazy every time it hits me that I've been doing this for as long as I have. It's been a complicated, chaotic journey, with its many ups and downs, but ultimately, it has been our journey. For some people, this is just one more fic in the pile: for me, it's been the best adventure of my life so far. Everyone who has ever been touched by Gladiator, who has ever cherished this story, who's looking forward to the big conclusion, who wants to see how the chaotic war is going to end... you're all part of this crazy adventure along with me, and I can only thank you for joining me.

This year, I had no time to make as big a project as I usually go for. Thus, I did a sort of free-for-all edition of Fic-to-Art over at Patreon and challenged myself to draw as many scenes as I could, out of their suggestions. I even sprinkled in a few scenes I impulsively wanted to draw because I loved writing them or because I look forward to writing them... and this is the result!

In order, the scenes are as follow:

Sokka combing Azula's hair, a common occurrence throughout the story.

Azula watching over a convalescing Sokka in the Chase of Jeong Jeong arc.

The outcome of Sokka's final battle in the Superior Gladiator League, namely a moment where Sokka and Azula more or less gave away their relationship's true nature to the public by raising their hands towards each other...

And now, spoiler territory! Some were by my choice, some by Patreon requests:

An important moment shortly after Sokka and Azula reunite.

Azula confronting her father, with a LOT of backup.

Xin Long's long-awaited freedom.

The aftermath of the final battle.

The full-blown confirmation of their relationship to the general Fire Nation populace.

Sokka, Azula and Hotaru's first night together

And the big final one is ACTUALLY Fic-to-Art #36 but hahaha woops I didn't post it here on time because it was super hard to finish since I had a LOT of things going on... but here it is now! :'D it's a glimpse VERY far into the future of this fic's timeline!

Alright, that should be enough talking and explaining. Some things are vague, some things aren't, but ultimately I really hope you guys will be looking forward to the scenes you haven't seen yet, and to Gladiator's eventual outcome.

So now... with all this being said and done, I'm gonna go take a trip down memory lane and watch my Tenth Anniversary video once more! Feel free to do the same thing if you'd like to commemorate the fic, I think it's a good way to experience Gladiator all over again, hahaha.

Thank you if you read all this, and if you read all THAT: 5 million word landmark, here we come! Thanks for hanging out with me across ELEVEN years of Gladiator!

[jewishregulus]

How do you headcanon regulus personality to be like? Do you feel as though James and regulus complement each other in some ways?

why yes of course! i fundamentally disagree w outwardly mean and evil regulus bc it makes no sense canonically. perhaps in an au where he separates himself from his parents and gets to be happy but regulus cares too much to be outwardly rude to people . it would impact his reputation and his families reputation like he isn’t hexing people in the hallways . he’s a professional faker (shit talks behind people’s back most definitely) and feels guilty and horrible everytime he’s plagued with an evil thought . i know many people view him as a selfish character but i think he’s fundamentally not . he puts everyone else’s wishes for him above his own . he doesn’t really exist as a person outside of his family . i do think , outside of this control, he would be sarcastic and have very dry humor , would love to read and would be very introverted but long for connection and friendship. a loner not by choice, he enjoys company but has no idea how to reach for it. i think he loves magic and magical creatures and genuinely holds a lot of love in his heart that his family disapproves of !! regulus soft black !!! not to say i think regulus doesn’t have an attitude and an edge …. i just think he has fundamentally good morals sorry! i’m a good person regulus black enjoyer i can’t help it …. of course he’s morally gray but most of the decisions he makes r caused by the life long abuse and trauma he is subject to . regulus black was suicidal as hell in those deatheater meetings the moment he turned 18 he killed himself LMFAO . i just know he was the most uncomfortable person in there at any given moment . i think vaguely threatening posh regulus is true but it is his exterior and the assumptions ppl make … and then they get to know him and realize he’s got like a little kid version of himself who holds the world with so much fascination . and it makes you sad when you realize he thinks it’s a flaw and wants to stomp it out

in this way i think he compliments james very well!! both people who really do value others and life but behave in very odd judgmental ways (regulus being a fake recluse who can’t function as a person w control over his life and opinions who is fake as hell and sarcastic whilst also having no understanding of social situations and desperate to be liked by people around him. number one peer pressure victim. 15,000 mental illnesses and a penchant for self harming behavior.) (james potter who is unfortunately consistently acting like a frat bro at any given moment : assumes everyone naturally loves him and is mostly right which does evil things for him as a person . would die for his friends but is also insufferable to be around (affectionate) . harshly judgmental to anyone who doesn’t fit into his box of what counts as a good person (which by the way regulus challenges in a way i think helps james as a character!) . looping back to the frat bro thing i think james is the type of person to throw a crazy party and convince everybody to drink and do unsafe things for the fun and when u realize u don’t have a ride home and can’t walk u are so fucking SCARED to ask to stay the night bc of his general vibes but then he ends up taking care of you and getting u pain killers and making like an awesome breakfast for the whole crew? should be the worst person you know but just beneath the surface is so much good it’s impossible to hate him.) you would never think these people would get along but then they both love quidditch and train for it like it’s their life and they are both academics with serious opinions on art and literature they would both die for even though they are often opposing . they are the first people they can have a conversation with and truly match eachothers freak on any given topic. the fundamentals of both of their characters is how much they care about life and the things inside of it . it manifests in different ways but i truly think the thesis of jegulus is that they are so much more similar than one might think outwardly , and it creates a soft intimacy between them . and also just james introducing the concept of silliness fun and happiness into regulus’ life lol!!

[sunsetcougar]

It’s like 2 in the morning but here we go! This is probably one of the most anti posts I’ll ever make, I’m generally not the type to post about things I dislike, but this has been on my nerves for a while. Alastor is annoying and the fandom makes it worse.

Like he had the potential to be such a cool character but he kind of comes off as just like, trying too hard to be creepy. Like a middle schooler wanting to be weird and scary and edgy. It’s so obvious to me that all he’s doing is posturing because either he’s that overconfident or he knows he’s outclassed by a lot of people.

The fandom didn’t help with my view of him either. When I was first introduced to Hazbin the people who did so painted a neat picture. I love manipulator characters, watching them pull the strings to make everything fall into place according to their whims is entertaining, so I started out really interested in his character.

Then I started poking around the fandom and found… a bunch of people who fell for his mediocre, middle schooler esc manipulation. (I try not to judge simps since I’m aro and don’t experience those emotions, but some of ya’ll…)

The only time I genuinely enjoyed seeing him on screen was when Adam was beating his ass. Every other time he was just annoying.

Like Adam for example is a horrible person but he’s not annoying, he’s entertaining. Alastor could have been a horrible man but incredibly entertaining, but he’s not.

(Related note, I’ve worked with kids and watching Alastor and Vox fight kind of reminds me of that… Alastor and Lucifer too.)

Okay I’m going to sleep now

[imminent-danger-came]

do you think the writers are being too slow revealing what happened with wukong and macaque? like should the full story been revealed in s4

That's very subjective!

For me personally, I'm totally fine with how it's played out. We get enough tidbits every season/developments with their dynamic that I'm pretty content. I also just think that when the time comes, how they choose to reveal that information to us (and especially to MK) will have optimal impact!

Idk, I just think it's going to work out you know