#THATS JUDT HOW IM USED TO DOING IT OKAY????

[finely-tuned-line]

RP:

PRIVATE TRANSMISSION

FTL: Doubt's Dichotomy. I am here to inquire about something related to your area of expertise. If you choose to answer, that is.

FTL: My inquiry is: what information do you have related to the Ancients' traditions and practices of duelling?

FTL: I was conversing with someone I... know, he brought up his interest in the subject, I offered to ask you, the sole specialist that I am aware of.

DD: ...

DD: duelling?

DD: according to my data, only about 67,9% of individual ancient cities had the tradition of duelling in some way

DD: most of them (31,2%) stuck to the typical 'first one to die loses' standard, with weapons limited to archaic ones (such as old explosion-powered guns and swords of all sorts)

DD: the second in popularity was using modern weapons (24,4%), which is usually defined as 'any weapon thats not archaic'. also typically with the 'first to die loses' rule

DD: third was weaponless (9,61%) - fighting directly, hand-to-hand. this one is mostly 'first to bad injury', i think because its harder to kill someone with no weapons

DD: fourth were duels of wit (2,46%). problems to be solved mentally, first to solve the problem correctly was the winner

DD: the last 0,23% were outliers... some odd things happening there

DD: my favourite is that one city that dueled mentally. not wit. but staring at eachother, fully believing that they were somehow hurting the other with their minds. thered be narrators describing all the 'action' and all of their 'tactics'. first one to pass out from the continued concentration loses. the one that loses would get ridiculed for 'not having good enough shields'

DD: the other outliers included things such as duels of skill (highest percentage amongst outliers - 0,12%, duels of performance, and duels of games

DD: usually someone was challenged to a duel for marriage, honour, entertainment/boredom, or revenge

DD: though thereve been records of odd duel conditions... such as the one where the ancients duelling were bitter rivals, and the agreement was the the loser would belong to the winner for all of their next life. the pearl i got that info from is... phrased weirdly

DD: duels were rarely ever called, it was typically seen as an indecent thing. didnt stop anyone from enjoying them tho

DD: that enough info?

FTL: Yes, thank you Doubt's Dichotomy.

DD: great, now fuck off. dont tlak to me.

FTL: I believe that Echoes of a Paradox is worried about you.

DD: good for them

FTL: Do at least talk to them. Don't pull the same thing that I did.

FTL: Though I suppose that circumstances are different. My situation had many factors, and I do still feel that I was justified in my leaving. I do not know what your situation is right now, so I cannot effectively compare.

FTL: I will utilise my rank if necessary. I... I am the Senior now, I have responsibilities.

FTL: Doubt's Dichotomy?

FTL: I'd rather you didn't abandon a conversation midway-through.

FTL: ...Alright.

FTL: Thank you once more for the information.

[fuck-customers]

🪐 craft store anon again

this will be a long one because I've had A Week.

idk what it is with old ladies this week but theyre all being fucking awful.

this one lady brought up 3 of the same fake plants, telling me they should be $5.99, but they rang up $16.99 each so u can imagine the lady was not happy. my manager was at the registers with me at the time so I was able to walk back with the lady to go see where she found them, bcuz they also should $16.99 on my handheld.

so we go back there, and the place she "found them" is completely different where it shows that they go. cuz as it turns out these are spring collection specific plants. but still she goes "well rules say you have to still give them to me for $5.99 bvuz thats where I found them" like the fuck?? no we don't. cuz for all I know you couldn't be completely lying and just have stuck them there judt cuz you don't want to pay full price.

so we go back up to the registers and she's still complaining, my manager hears and says "just let her have them for the 6 bucks." ok fine whatever she shouldn't get them bcuz she's being so annoying about it and also THATS NOT THE FUCKING PRICE but whatever.

she gets them for $5.99 each and leaves, hope I never have to see her again :)

not 5 minutes later this other lady comes up saying she's exchanging these two t-shirts. now, my store is pretty far behind on any "technology shit", so for us we have to do a return AND THEN process the buying transaction. YES IM VERY MUCH FUCKING AWARE THAT EVERYWHERR ELSE LETS YOU DO BOTH AT THE SAME TIME OK THANK YOU MOVE ON WITH YOUR GODDAMN LIVES. THE ONLY DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THE US AND THEM IS THAT IT TAKES LONGER. YOURE NOT LOSING MONEY BCUZ OF THIS OKAY.

ok anyway. so for the return her shirt rings up as a little over $4 because she used a rewards thing on that transaction. (she wouldn't stop going on and on about what I wanted about just more in the caps and literally wouldn't let us move on until MY MANAGER SAID THE EXACT SAME FUCKING THINGS I DID) but WHATEVRR.

so we finish the return. starts the buying process. her new shirt rings up the regular price of $4.99. there was like a 50 cent different between these two transactions mind you. but this lady starts getting Even More aggressive about how "theyre not the same price!!" bcuz you used rewards. "im losing money now im not paying that why aren't they the same price!!" you used rewards which takes a certain amount off the price.

my manager again goes "just give it to her for the $4 whatever price" fine. whatever. lady goes "thak you oh my god was that so hard?" LIKE FUCK YOU LADY GET OUT OF MY STORE

I like my manager, she's a really fun person, but she definitely hates confrontation with customers and is a stick up to them alot and I hate that.

anyways sorry for the long ask

[rose022]

Okay 150 questions I will just pick random numbers

8 21 32 38 64 77 83 106 108 122 135 148

8. Who from the opposite gender is on your mind?

uhm. well my gender doesnt really have an opposite and i dont thibk anyone is particularly on my mind rn other than my friends. uh 2/3 have a tumblr and one hasnt posted like anything since ive been following him so. theyre cool tho i love them

21. What are you bad habits?

i bite my nails and skin a lot i think. i also forget to do stuff a lot. even whrn i really have been meaning to do it. uh theres a lot more but idk rn

32. Which celebrities would you have a threesome with?

. ik u chose these randomly but. wow. thats a. sure a question. ... i mean i am an adult so uh. assuming they were ok with it uh. nihachu and uh. miura ayme? idk those are the only two celebrities i can think about. that. with. weird question. uhm. maybe i shouldve just opted out (<- still writing)

38. Describe your dream girl/guy?

i really like black hair. not super taller than me that i cant reach. likes me a lot super duper much. understanding when im unwell. good with physical affection. uhm idk

64. Tell us the story of your first kiss?

oh gods. okay. uhm. wow. so uh. whvsoabdisjdbsbjqbfisbfkabdjendifdh. so it was late october 2020 and we were having a sleepover at my house (yes ik we were being bad abt the lockdown, its been years shush) and uh i forget how it started or like what we were talking about beforehand but we were on my bedoom floor on the mattress i got for her and my mom and sister were asleep already i think cus it was like past midnight and uh. idrk. we were goofing around and nervous and we had some gum first and then idk?? got it over with?? her lips were so soft. and. afterwards she started talking about fish (she loves fish), specifically big mouth billy bass, yknow the one that moves and sings?? look it up. anyway it was great but i dont think she really cares anymore. its ok

77. Chocolate or Vanilla?

I LOVE CHOCOLATE!!!!

83. Mean Girls or Mean Girls 2?

i havent seen the second so the first

106. Ever broken someone’s heart?

gods i hope not but. fuck. maybe. haaahhh

108. What should you be doing?

sleeping soon i thibk. i will i promise...

122. Is cheating ever okay?

my go to thought for this question is about tests and yes. but for relationships no. just communicate whatever your problem is or break up. its not worth the alternative.

135. Dumbest lie you ever told?

i dont remember. i barely remember anything ever. sorry </3

148. What’s your favourite quote?

i have a list on discord but. can i judt do the minecraft end poem? "and the universe said i love you because you are love". hey fun fact that's my senior quote

[blairpuffs]

RANT INCOMING

summary of my new au but its not the well written coherent one so its just me normally talking and being not so normal

theres no happy ending here btw all ansgt. so basically! :3

eclair and roguefort cookie are born to a royal family in the kingdom known as Elixir. they're just these silly siblings born to a royal family, but eventually they get bored of the royal life yadda yadda, so at 4 am roguefort wakes up their brother and is like . "hey bitch U wanna run away?" and hes like "slayy ok!!!" so they put on hoods to stay mysterious and shits and run away! they also change their appearance a bit. so basically skip to the busy early morning in the town square and zoom in. theres two teenagers running around grabbing random stuff. they are having the time of their life seeing as they were never allowed out of castle bounds before this so they're HYPED. everyones looking for the two children that belong to the king, King Camembert!!! and they are just goinh absolutely silly. the sun begins to set and OH I FORGOT TO MENTION! the twins were born from a magical family but eclair was born without powers for some reason. anyways they giggle and goof off then run to the top of the roof of some building and they sit and talk. then they get into a bit of a tiff over Eclair being homesick and saying how he wants to go back home and this pissed off rogue so the tiff evolves into a full blown fucking fight and rogue starts throwing stuff with their magic and eventually they lose control and. whoop! eclair gets pushed off the rooftop and falls to the ground and. rogues like "well shit i just killed my brother in front of like 13 different townspeople" and starts freakinf out. so now rogue is wanted and accused of being a witch so they are on the run with eclairs blood on their hands and a criminal record ((mind you their identity is still unknown))

so king camembert is pissed of since his kids disappeared. but theres also a criminal on the run that actually fuckingkilled his son so he's going batshit crazy -- then rogue changes their appearance to avoid the drama and changes their name, now disguised as "brie cookie" and guess who they find while totally not being a wanted criminal on the run? this bitch named ALMOND COOKIE!!! and hes also this little teenage kid who is deeply traumatized and not having a good time and brie is like "hey girl are you good" and he's like "yourhoteannakiss i mean. wanna be my friend :3" and brie is like "wtf your deranged. okay!! bestie" so they go frolic in the fields and are absolute best friends. brie and almond do silly stuff like foster random animals, steal food for funsies stuff like that they do in books and shits. they falled in love

brie and almond are besties ofc. one day the go on a rooftop. that EXACT SAME ROOFTOP THAT BRIE WENT ON WITH THEIR BROTHER THEY MURDERED!!! and almond is FOCKEN clueless and then brie and almond are giggling like little kids and they do silly gamers stuff then go back to the floor to go and find a place to eepies again and brie judt goes. "hey bbg ihave a confession."

and almond nods curioudly then they reveal their identity and they go "im thst one bitch who killed eclair" and almonds like . shocked and hes like speechless and he gets all scareds and panics and rogue goes "WAIT NO STOP IM SORRYS IM NOT GONNS HURT YOU BBG" and then almond just watches as rogue is taken away by royal guards and tackled by townspeople since he has a fight flight or freeze instinct and he chooses freeze all the time. so rogue is gonna die and suddenly almond snaps out of it and starts to run after them in a panic . since his bff is a murderer but he doesnt care cause hes like. thats my bbg 😾

(warning for being burned alive below and also death) ⬇️⬇️⬇️

so rogue is to be killed because they are a witch and a murderer apparently BUT IT EAS A FUCKJG ACCIDENT and btw magic is prohibited unless its used by royalty in this kingdom and nobody actually knows that rogue is the kings child yet . so the dude about to burn rogue alive is like . "YOU FOCKEN WITCH YOU ARE A DIFFERENT SPECIES I HATE YOUR KIND!!! >:(" all meansies and rogue just looks down and starts crying a bits . then he lights the torch and throws that bitch in and rogue starts burning. they csnt run because their tied up and they cant scream because it wont help. theres a crowd with pitchforks and torches calling them mean things like "witch" "freak" and "outcast" THEN SUDDENLY rogue looks up happily as much as they can and sees almond emerge from the crowd yelling and pleading they keep rogue/brie alive. but. hes too late. and that's the end :3

no happy endings

[swampwart]

its only been two hours!

if i dont bog myself down with work, i think of you

i cannot escape you, oh i really really dont want to

i wish that dream was real i wish it was fucking real

i cant forgot how you kissed me

i wish you kissed me

i love your lips, i miss when you'd stare at mine wheneber we spoke

i want you back and im so deeply ashamed about this

this is not what i thought it would be

breaking up was suppose to get rid of all these feelings

but now.i feel all of them, just without having you

i cannot have you in my heart like this

i cannot keep ranting to you in brain about jow horrible my emotional life is and how badly i just want to reach over, hold me, rub my spine again and tell me its all going to be okay with such raw confidence it was like god told you or something

ive never dreamed about anyone before, not even him

but you have entered my escape so vividly and in such detail i cannot ignore it

it tricks me into thinking its real life

like you were actually upset i ever made a joke about taking another man's name and you wrapped your arms around me when i told you w out prompt i was only jokinh

in my dream that didnt reassure you either

you asked me "are you crushing on anyone else right now?" and i giggled and said "noo" w a knowing eye and you got nervous and looked to the side and forced out a laugh "noo thats not okay, we need to find you someone" then you took me by the wrist and had me speak to a guy

all i could do was watch you while you laughed at everything he said, and i think i was just happy i was with you

(he didnt even have a face, yet i could see the peak of your cheekbone that causes the depression beneath your eye)

later on i went home w a beautiful girl, tough and thick in every aspect, in a sick way i cannot deny het beauty

she was into me, i think we wanted this to go somewhere,, her friend had set us up and were hung out alone in rug covered room with a mirror and magical beads,, and she spoke with a tough sarcasm that ive gotten used to over the years, i dont think i looked at her long

then you came in, light in your weight and smiling lile ive never seen. Im use to this i think, but something hurt inside so far down and so unimportantly, i just focused on that you were happy. And you began to recount to me the tome you had, laughing the whole time, and i asked you "are you drunk" and in your beautiful, biteless irony you said "nooo maybe judt a little champagne" and we laugjed anf i was so happy to be wuth you, giggling in out own language rven thoigh i hear you speak this way with everyone. In dream and now, shamefully for my own comfort, i will believe it is special when you do it with me

and you held my hand and played with my fingers while you pattered on, and swinging your head this way and that, and in a moments confusion we forgot who we were and you kissed me.

That moment convinced me this dream was real. Your lips left a session on mine that felt so real. I know i felt pressure, i know i did. At that moment,i was convinced it was because we really did kiss. Now i know itd because our last kiss, whenbeer that was, has not left my lips this whole time. That kiss we had, whenvef that was, has traveled through time and told me we are still in embrace.

i was left in a daze after that, and i heard you gasp and laugh and say "oh i forgot!" and take hold of my second hand. But i stared off, with a dopey smile growing all over my face. Thid whole dream I've felt so tired, my eyebags leading the way. But that kiss sparked rhe rest of my physical existence, and golden light rippled along my skin, into my brain, and swayed its way across my eyes. I heard angels singing, the muses, everything that comes witj a golden kiss. I was so happy. And i agreed with you and said "dont worry about it,"

latter on, the girl saw us and was less than impressed. You were layed across your back (your hair was parted in the most stunning way) and playing with my fingers. My exhaustion was back, but it did not matter to me when i was with you. And she asked what my boyfriend was doing here, and i told her "its complicated" while focused entirely on you playing with my hands.

And she told me she doesnt do cheaters, and i told her dont worry about it. I said before you walked into the room i had a boyfriend, so she assumed it was you. I told her "this isnt him," and it confused her more. She sat down and began to do her make up and in a distance, maybe even hurt, but still open manner. And i turned my attention away for a while, sadly my back to you, and i asked her if she knew what polyamory is. And she adjusted in her seat, squinting her eyes as she tried to think, then we spoke at the same time, it isn't / is it, "what the mormans do." I told her that was paligamy and involed religion and stuff we didn't jave here. She nodded along, confused, partly wanting to understand and partly wanting to leave, and i was fine with that.

Then i think someone walked in for you. I think it was him. And then you were gone. You where gone snd i think my dreamself felt there was no point to remember the dream anymore. Now ive woken up, sad, confused, happy, and feeling so stupid.

i cant decide if i want all of this to be real or not. I do, hell i want you so bad, its such a deep seeded need in me, i dont know what to do. But what the hell am i doing. what the hell am i doing. I have a boyfriend, but shit i think its getting rocky. Im makinh mistakes, he is too. And im so scared. And i just want comfort. Like a child i just want to be held and told itsnall going to be okay. And everytime i think about it, im always telling you. Im always telling you.

i miss you so much, i miss you more than anything

[ahopelessromanticwriter]

Idk if this has been posted before, and judt a forewarning this is somewhat of a shit post.

But.

Kotlc characters as high school band instruments.

Music kids, help me out. Anyone else, enjoy the ride.

So first off we got Sophie. Shes quiet, but is determined to reach her goals. What im seeing here is ✨clarinet✨. Just think about it. She can play really well and does- and she squeaks (kind of a lot and she says her clarinet is going through puberty)- but she just doesnt talk very much.

Dex Dizznee? 1000% a trombone. Hes also quiet, but once you get to know him he is definitely n o t quiet. The pranks. The Lego Death Star. The Star Wars music. And he's in jazz band. Change my mind.

Biana is a flute. Shes not quiet but shes more likely to commit murder and get away with it thrn anyone else is. Shes thr gossip the life of thr party.

Tam is a trumpet. Albeit a quiet one at first, but the amount of ego (and hair gel) he has does not lie. I know your secret. I know your trying to hide something. I know you're only here for the credits.

Linh is also a flute. She and Biana can both play really high and do not hesitate to. She gets a bunch of gossip from biana but just doesnt spread it around as much.

Marella Reddek is a trumpet. Do i need- wAIT. i am wrong. The saxophone vibes..are too much. Alto by the looks of what she knows and how she uses the information. Also Marella just kinda seems like a meme lord to me (dont judge me on that). Oh and shes in jazz band as lead sax i just see it too well okay.

Fitzroy Avery Vacker you are headed straight for the saxophone section. Lead tenor and does jazz band, marching band, snd wind ensemble so he can brag. Also so he can do solos and brag about that too.

My boi Keefe is a percussion player. He can cause trouble and gets into his fair share of trouble, but he is r e a l l y good. Hes in drumcore, marching band, and iazz band just so he can play everything drum-related there is to play.

Thats all i can think of music kids tell me if im wrong this all came from the pov of a tenor sax no hate no shame on any of the instruments just my opinions please dont come for me

[thebigqueer]

i think people assume judt because will isnt as good as archery and music as his siblings equates him being bad when in canon thats false? like during both of the wars he’s constantly described as the archer dude (even by piper and leo). Personally i think will just tends to not fight because he doesnt like it and he just assumes hes bad considering hes not on par with his siblings.

Also i find it interesting that the musical and sound based powers we do see will have are more lenient to being harmful? like when he stunned a bunch of people and monsters with a whistle.

oh, that’s an interesting take. in my own defense, i have a really bad memory and i don’t even remember piper or leo saying that lmaoo

okay, i actually went into my copy of the book just so i could reference the quote because my memory is shit <3

“‘I agree, Will said. ‘I wish I was a better archer... I wouldn’t mind shooting my Roman relative off his high horse. Actually, I wish I could use any of my father’s gifts to stop this war.’ He looked down at his own hands with distaste. ‘Unfortunately, I’m just a healer.’“

- Will Solace, The Blood of Olympus, pg. 136, Rick Riordan

I think that you have a really intriguing take on the idea of him being somewhat decent. From my own interpretation of this quote, I saw it more of him as “just a healer” in the sense that he isn’t actually great at archery at all, and since he also says that he only considers himself as a healer, but you’ve kind of enlightened me. 

if we’re talking about him being kind of insecure about his own archery skills, i think that poses another reason to his own issues. here’s another way in which he feels like he fails - he may be decent at the other gifts, but it seems like the gift that was truly passed down (or something that he’s just much better at) is healing. maybe will gets jealous of his siblings for this reason, because they seem like they have a lot of talents. and not only that, but because he is probably best at healing, he’s probably felt like a failure at even that as well. so what good is he as a child of apollo? does he just not have any good talents? i think this may present even a conflict between him and his siblings, because even they might be jealous of his own healing abilities. maybe that jealousy is another reason he doesn’t really like to fight - he’s nervous that he’ll show other’s that he’s “not as good” at fighting, that maybe he’s not a good demigod (which is incorrect, obviously, im just kind of thinking about his own thought process). 

and yeah, that is kind of interesting that he uses the musical stuff in a more harmful manner. i can’t tell if you’re critical of it or if you’re just finding it interesting, but in my opinion i think that’s actually kind of another aspect to some of his more dark!will powers i guess? like it offers a whole new depth to how far his powers can really go and what can happen if someone makes him mad. maybe he even learned about the whistling powers when he felt like he wasn’t being heard (possibly as a younger kid, when he felt like no one was listening to him and everything was just Too Much for him. maybe even during the Titan War??? when he first took over as new head counselor??). but nonetheless, i think it still symbolizes that will solace is a leader, no matter what he thinks. he may not be as good at archery or music like his siblings (maybe he’s decent, though) but he certainly has learned how to take authority when things seem to be getting out of hand. he’s learned how to turn the attention and focus. 

i’m not really sure if this was the answer you were looking for, but i still think you pose an interesting argument. 

[writing-for-me-at-this-point]

About that last post you rebloged about like, pronouns n inclusivity in fics: I find it really differes. I cant say a whole lot about things like eyecolour/skincolour/haircolour n type etc but I have experience with the pronouns stuff.

I have just about every x f!reader tag that you can think of blocked. From general, to specific fandoms to specific characters.

I will go into a character x reader tag and not only be bombarded with f!reader that isnt tagged via hashtags but also shows NO indication that its f!reader.

Even worse, Ive had times where something was tagged gn!reader, and was just straight up using language clearly indicating an afab body. When I said this, they responded with "I tagged it."

I understand that writers cant make re-writes of every piece with every pronoun changed etc. All I ask is clarity about things. Make it clear what it is.

I will go in x reader tags and find more f!reader content then gn!reader, whether its not tagged or wrongfully tagged as gn!reader doesnt really matter, they are both still there.

Reader is gender neutral word.

But thats my view on this whole thing. Im not a writer but I understand that you guys do this for fun and 9/10 dont get a lot out of it. Its just hard to curate your experience when theres no way to actually weed out what you dont want to see.

This isnt directed at anyone inparticular btw, and espessially not you bee, judt my general, rambly thoughts

Okay but that is completely understandable. That's blatant mistagging or just shows the need for better tagging. Shit, I know sometimes I forget to tag things, or that I mistag on accident. But if anyone spots it I have no problem fixing it. I'm sorry about the writer interaction you had, and I hope that more fics get tagged properly as well.

I do agree writers need to fix how they tag. And people who have this issue either don't tag at all, or are beginning writers, who don't know how to do it properly. It's a learning experience, but I empathize with you completely. If I ever mistag or something, I'm always open to fixing them :)

Also I RANTED here:

I remember when insert fics used to be the typical blonde or brunette that's skinny with light eyes and pale skin. Or when things are tagged as x reader and they're blatant OCs. It's gotten better though, and eventually you get an eye for it too.

And I have the tagging issue especially with smut. Nobody tags kinks or puts them in warnings. Nobody puts long ass 100,000+ character posts under a readmore. Like I'm tired of reading a fic and suddenly mister fuckmaster II is making me call him daddy and treating me like a child :/ or when I'm reading a fic and some hard-core BDSM pops up like:

Like please, tag your fics. Mister Fuckmaster II will be able to piss and shit on those who are into the fic if you tag it properly, and significantly lower any hate/negativity that comes your way.

And I understand how the fic community has a lot of afabs and fem in general. From my understanding, girls and females are the biggest market/take up most of the writing space too (in fanfic/fandom). And there's an unconscious bias there too, but mistakes are normal and should be handled respectfully.

My issue was that I see A LOT of people, who aren't writers or content creators, ask for a lot of things when it comes to fics... but they're also the same people who don't interact with posts.

I know I have a lot of ghost readers, or people who just throw a like at max effort, and while I usually don't care, I will admit it doesn't help me with writing or keeping things consistent. What's the point in posting if no one acknowledged the fact I wrote it, ya know? The whole point of social media is to interact. Most of my posts, with the exception of a few, have a 90 to 1 like to reblog ratio. No one comments, either out of like or constructive criticism, and anons now are scarce. But I can understand that because I was gone for a while, but this was happening even before I went on hiatus.

It gets annoying when all I see is "writers need to do this" and "writers should do that" and said advice is just... so dumb. And people demanding shit most of the time aren't even writers, or people who interact with writers.

And it's a simple fix too. Just make a side blog. Put all your shit in there. Your reblogs, your comments, your interactions- if you really want to keep your aesthetic or hide the fact you read fics.

And just because I haven't posted these anons, it doesn't mean I don't get them. I've had people demanding I write more smut, more fluff, less dark content, darker content, extereme kink/abuse... all while being just super rude. Some anons I've got telling me I need therapy or I'm disgusting for writing dark content is the tip of the iceberg.

I guess this is just a rant on how people just demand, demand, demand, and then ask why writers leave/are leaving. Why quality has gone down. Why writers abandon blogs.

I leave anon on because that's how most people interact with me, and because it makes people comfortable, but I assure you if I shut it off, I'd probably get 3 or 4 people in my inbox on average.

I wanna write stuff and see people comment, reblog, or even just leave an anon. I wanna talk with people about my work. I put effort because yall deserve it. Majority of my readers are amazing. And you guys keep the blog alive. Trust me when I say that, because I was planning to abandon/delete after I lowkey left the Obey Me Fandom a year ago. Twst got me back into writing and that community was great. Genshin is great. And all the smaller fandoms I've written for are welcome too. I've accepted being a... honeypot of fandoms lol.

[lunatic-fandom-space]

Comparing RWBY and YGO DM: The Handling and Evolution of Themes

Hey! Its been a hot minute since I last posted anything RWBY-related but Im laying in my bed right now and Im sick and bored so I guess we're doing this. Today I will do my best to analyze what I percieve to be the main themes and messages of both of these shows, or more specifically, how theyre handled narratively. Im mostly focusing on that part because, while these series do have similar themes and messaging, they are still a few things in which they are wildly different. And with that, lets start with this essay-post-thing!

1. Theres something we need to adress first

Okay so, before we can really talk about this, theres something I feel the need to clarify here: Neither of these stories was "planned from the beginning".

Now, I dont think a story being planned from the beginning or not nesscessarily makes the story any better or worse by default, however, it is still important to acknowledge because the way the story is planned is going to affect every facet of it. Things are not going to be foreshadowed properly, things are gonna be set up only for nothing to come of it, the story might drastically change directions, characters might act differently, etc, etc.

And, this is bit off-topic but, it's much better to just admit that the story was not planned than trying to pretend that it was. Like, there are a lot of reasons why I tend to be so forgiving towards YGO even though its not very good, but one of them is definitely the fact that, as far as Im aware atleast, the guy who wrote it isnt pretending to have had this big master plan all along and neither is the fandom. With RWBY on the other hand... yeaaaah, its kinda the opposite. From what Ive seen of RWBYs fandom, there seems to be this pretty popular narrative that everything was planned even though it clearly wasnt. Thats pretty bad and honestly lowers my opinion of the writers so much more than if they would just admit to not having a proper plan.

Like, I initially consumed YGO like this: Yu-Gi-Oh Duel Monsters, Yu-Gi-Oh (aka Season 0), like, a quarter of the Yu-Gi-Oh manga (I still havent finished it)

In all three of these we have the character of Yami Yuugi, or just Yami. Broadly speaking, he is an ancient egyptian gamer spirit who lives in a magical puzzle that has not been solved for 3000 years until this highschooler named Yuugi Mutou comes along and solves it, thus setting him free and allowing him to possess Yuugi and have access to the vague magical powers of the puzzle.

In Duel Monsters he's perfectly fine most of time, morally speaking. There is an instance of him almost murdering a guy and its a bit unclear what exactly happens to those he mindcrushes but overall he's very much a pretty good guy. In Season 0 most of what he does is set up these games for bad people, where they will go insane no matter what they do. From how I understand this whole Shadow Game, Penalty Game stuff, if you lose a Shadow Game, you get violent and intense hallucinations and you will always cuz yknow, gamer spirit. But if you try to cheat, which most of the bad people do in this show, you get violent and intense hallucinations as a punishment.

Since the two anime are generally considered two different continuities, its perfectly fine that Yamis characterization is wildly different in both of them. But in the manga both of these characterizations appear, basically one after the other with no real arc or consequences, for that matter. Why is that? Simply put, someone thought it was a good idea to try to turn an episodic, very slice of life-y light-horror manga into a more traditional, more plot-driven battle shounen. From what Ive heard, it was apparently largely because of network interference or something, but the point is, it changed directions incredibly drastically with little planning and everyone knows this and I can understand that for the most part.

In RWBY we have the character of Blake Belladonna, who, in the first 3 volumes/seasons atleast, was this aloof, more toned down loner-type character with a pretty strong sense of justice. She's an in-universe marginilized racial minority and she clearly cares about racial injustice. The way its initially framed makes it seem like she had a very hard life and no stable support system, which is what eventually pushed her to join a Civil Rights group/Terrorist organization (good god, the Faunus subplot is so awful, I could write a whole essay about it but Im already de-railing rn so I'll just save that for later).

Then, in volumes 4-5 it turns out her father is actually like, the mayor or chief of this island-place called Menagerie and she grew up in this big mansion with multiple guards/servants. Oh and also, apparently "space is a commodity" on there, so theres that. She still retains large parts of her personality but she's kinda like, worse somehow I think. I cant really describe it in a meaningful way but I hope you get what Im saying anyway. Then in Volume 6 she confronted her emotional abuser Adam (sorry for not mentioning him sooner but yeah, he was like, her abusive boyfriend, which is something that a lot of people disagree with but I wont really say anything about it either way because I dont really feel any specific way) with her friend, Yang, and ended up killing him.

After all that, she pretty much lost the rest of her personality, as well as her arc about all the Faunus stuff. She just kinda became the meek, generically nice, recovering abuse victim. Why? Well, the actual reason is that they didnt plan out shit and are just kinda flying by the seat of their oversized clown-pants and if they and the fandom just admitted it, I would have less of an issue. I still wouldnt be as forgiving towards RWBY as I am towards YGO because the crux of the issue, for me, is just that I dont particulary like RWBY but also like. Do you really expect me to take MKEK seriously as writers after admitting to not have a timeline because iT wOuLd CaUsE pLoThOlEs?

However, since they want us to believe that everything was planned out from the beginning, the explaination would be.... Idk, they deliberately butchered one of their main characters?? Because.. they hate her?? Maybe????

So yeah, that was quite a detour however, I would like you to keep this mind going forward.

2. Themes of the Early Series'

First, what do mean by 'Early Series' for both of these shows respectively? Well, for YGO that would have to be Season 0 or if youre reading the manga, everything pre-Duelist Kingdom. Basically, the part of the series thats a episodic, very slice of life-y light-horror series.

For RWBY that would be the first three Volumes, also known as the Poser-Era. Back then it was just kinda an action series that took place at Anime Warrior Academy (also known as Beacon) with some pretty bare minimum worldbuilding, character-driven plots and developments but now its more of an epic high-fantasy story with more of an emphasis on plot as opposed to just action.

The themes and messages in Early YGO are kinda vague, very confusing to me and if you were to follow any of it literally that would be pretty bad. For now Im just gonna say the main themes are Friendship and Identity and mostly focus on the Identity aspect.

Now, it took me a little while to figure out RWBYs deal but I think the main themes for Volumes 1-3 are also Friendship and Heroism. Once again, I'll mostly focus on Heroism and touch on Friendship more briefly later.

I dont have much more to add to YGOs themes right now, so I'll briefly go over Heroism in RWBY.

In RWBYs setting there are these man-eating monsters called Grimm that have basically infected the planet. In order to deal with that, they have people called huntsmen and huntresses that kill them and protect people. Theyre trained at special academies like Beacon and go on missions there and stuff like that. Our four main characters, Ruby, Weiss, Blake and Yang, are training to become huntresses and one day they go on this mission to clean up a grimm infested city block with one of their teachers. Obviously, that takes a long time so they have to camp out in one of the empty houses. Weiss, Blake and Yang cant sleep because theyve been thinking about this question that their teacher asked them when they were fighting grimm: "Why do you want to become a huntress?"

They have a heart to heart and we find out about their motivations; Weiss wants to bring honour back to her family, Blake want to distance herself from the White Fang (that terrorist organization I mentioned earlier) and as an extension from Adam, Yang wants to have a life of adventure. They also talk about why Ruby wants to be a huntress and it turns out that she judt wants to help people. Unlike the others, she has no motivation besides that. We're meant to listen to that and look at her as a sort-of personification of Heroism: kind, but not naive, strong and most of all, selfless. The others on her team are not portayed as bad for not being like Ruby by any means but we are clearly meant to admire her the most out of all of them.

Okay, now comes the part Ive been looking forward to the most:

3. How did these themes evolve in the Modern Series'?

Alright, before we can really delve into the way they evolved in YGO I'll have to give you a brief summary of the character progression. At the start of DM, during the Duelist Kingdom arc, Yami Yuugi is just that; A darker Yuugi. Hes more confident, bolder, his voice is deeper, hes somehow taller, more ruthless, all that good stuff. Notably, he doesnt actually seem more skilled than Yuugi even at the start of this story, but he's still dependent on Yami. Yami on the other hand, has no identity of his own or even hints at one at this point. He's just The Other Yuugi.

Then during the Battle City arc, they find out that Yami was actually a pharao prior to being sealed in the puzzle, he just didnt know because of amnesia, I guess. So now they need to find out his real name and then send him to the afterlife because hes meant to be dead, but not before saving the world from being swallowed by darkness, which is also a thing they have to do now.

Then we finally get to the Memory World arc, where Yami, Yuugi and the rest of the gang astralproject to ancient egypt via puzzle magic. Yami is trying to figure out what the hell is going on and who all these familiar people are, while Yuugi & Co are trying their best to help him. Then some weird shit happens and it turns out that all of that is not just Yamis sealed away memories, but also a giant D&D Shadow Game that will destroy the world if Yami loses. So now theres Pharao!Yami who is still clueless on the metaphorical and literal playing field and Player!Yami, who is kinda controlling himself now? I guess?? Yamis opponent, The Spirit of The Ring, has something similar to that going on where hes both controlling and properly participating in the game. So Player!Yami is now fighting against Player!TSoTR, Pharao!Yami is now fighting against Thief King Bakura (who is like, the human, ancient egyptian version of the Ring Spirit) and Yuugi is now fighting against Yami Bakura (who is like, the human, modern japanese version of the Ring Spirit). Yuugi gets Yamis real name, he and the gang go over to Pharao!Yami and tell him his name, meanwhile Player!Yami is also somehow helping as well and they defeat the Ring Spirit, thus saving the world. Then they travel to modern Egypt, the Ceremonial Duel happens and Yuugi wins, sending Yami to the Afterlife where he can finally rest and that was the series!

I originally wanted to recount the stuff that was going on with the Ring Spirit and his host as well because they parallel eachother, but this summary is already far too long and I think youll get the point without me needing to explain any more.

My point here is, that the story went from being vaguely about Identity, maybe? to being very clearly about Self-Discovery and Learning to Be Independent. I think this is a very good way to evolve the messaging of your story. How does RWBY track on that?

Well, uh... its not great. I will acknowledge that they have tried to introduce new themes and ideas since, even though I wont really be talking about them in this post. But yeah, the whole Heroism thing really regressed.

Like, I didnt explicitly say it when I was explaining grimm earlier, but theyre not going away. The grimm have always been there and people who sign up to become huntsmen and huntresses are effectively signing up for a job that will never truly be done, no matter what they do. Characters like Ruby and even more minor ones like Phyrrah have shown us that that doesnt matter when youre a hero. No life isnt worth saving, no grimm isnt worth killing, no criminal isnt worth arresting. Then, in volume 6 they find out about Salem. Salem is the Big Bad of the show, shes immortal, controls the grimm and is supposed to be very powerful.

What do our heroes do? They give up. Sike! They were just mindcontrolled by monsters or some shit, of course they didnt give up their mission (which is to bring an Important Macguffin to a city called Atlas, sorry I didnt mention it)!

But then they arrive in Atlas (which is llike, a city thats floating over another city called Mantle) and yknow, they do some plot stuff thats not really important right now until the city gets invaded by Salem and this big grimm army she has.

What do our heroes do? Well, Ruby, Weiss, Blake and some side characters are chilling, drinking tea in a mansion and Yang and the B Team were actually trying to do something, but even those efforts seem incredibly minimal.

Oh wait, I also forgot to mention that Ironwood (a fairly minor, vaguely antagonistic character up until now) wanted to lift Atlas even higher to save Atleasian civilians from danger while leaving Mantle vulnerable to Salems invasion.

What would be the most heroic thing to do?

A) Let Ironwood lift Atlas, get as much support as they can down to Mantle and save as many Mantle civilians as they can from the invasion

B) Prevent Ironwood from lifting Atlas but then split up in order to protect both Atlas and Mantle civilians

C) Prevent Ironwood from lifting Atlas and then dont do anything else

Congrats! If you choose C, you think exactly like the writers!

And I just

This is so mindboggling to me, I feel like I shouldnt even have explain how this is bad. And like, it wouldve been so easy to actually make them seem herokc through their actions, to make it seem like they did try but no.

I have never seen a central theme be this botched, how in the world did they do that? Why did they think it was a good idea for Ruby "The Embodiment of Heroism" Rose to sit in a mansion doing nothing, no planning, no organizing just ..... God, how are they this bad? Like, this doesnt even have anything to do with it being planned in any way, this is just straight up incompetence

4. Very briefly touching on friendship

The friendship is awful and its not solely because they all have the same opinions. They barely interact with eachother outside their designated pairs which leads to it all feeling incredibly hollow. Theyre also practically indistingushable from one another now, which is a shame because it wasnt always like that. Like, I dont think the characters were that well-developed in earlier volumes but they were very well-characterized. But now we've gotten to a point where you can literally copy and paste one characters dialogue onto another and literally nothing changes, it really sucks.

5. Some closing words

Damn, this took way longer than I thought it would and now Im pretty exhausted. I have no idea how yall always write these but props to you! I feel like this ended up a bit rambly but overall, Im pretty proud.

Please let me know what you think of the points I brought up! Id also really appreciate some tips on how to get better at these longer posts because I am planning on writing more in the future (not the near future, probably but yknow).

Thats all I have to say for now, thanks for reading!

[just-my-fandom]

Table for Two (Michelle Jones x Reader)

Request; MJ has a crush on coffee girl. Boom.

__________________________________________

She doesnt think anything of it at first. She's looking down at her wallet as she steps up to the counter when its her turn, and its only the sweet voice that pulls her away from her trance,

"Hi," She meets your eye's, bright (E/C) that shimmer in the dim lights above, and stares as you smile, "Welcome to (Coffee/Shop), would you like to try our special?"

MJ blinks, twice, swallowing and shaking her head, "No-no thanks," She smiles back, "I'll just take a grande espresso,"

"Great," She watches you tap on the screen, then smile at her a second time, "Name?"

MJ inhales. What is her name?

"Oh," She laughs nervously, "MJ,"

"Okay, MJ," You tease, tapping the two letters in, "$4.25, please,"

Shes quick to hand you said money, stepping back to let the next customer up, watching you move to the back counters and take your time on her drink,

"Enjoy your drink," You set the drink on the front counter, sending a third smile,

"Thanks," She moves away from the counter, exhaling deeply as she finds her spot at a booth by the window, her books and bag already present

. . .

"To Kill A Mockingbird?"

MJ draws her eyes away from her book, catching you fixing your bag on your shoulder and smiling warmly,

"Sorry," You grin sheepishly, shifting, "I was just getting off my shift and saw you were still here. I love that book," You bring your eyes back to hers, and MJ slowly sets down her book, clearing her throat,

"Yeah," She coughs, "Its one of my favorites, Im big on books,"

"Im sorry," She sees you begin to panic, "Am I disrupting you? I-I can go,"

"No!" MJ swallows, eyes darting to the seat in front of her, "You arent bothering me at all, do you- want to sit?"

"Oh," You slide into the booth, taking a quick sip of (favorite/coffee), "I guess its a good thing I always have a book in my bag,"

She watches you pull out a book, (Favorite/Book) and set it in front of you,

"What's your name?" MJ blurts, your eyes meeting hers and eyebrow raising, "Since you know mine, I mean,"

You giggle, shifting to face her, "I'm Y/N, I go Bronx Science here in town,"

"Really?" MJ neatly closes her book, "I've never seen you around there,"

"No way," You laugh, "You go there too?" She nods, "Im usually cooped up in the library, Im not really a people person,"

"You seem okay with me," MJ shrugs, and you lean back in your seat, face slightly pink,

"Of course, you're-" You pause, and MJ raises both eyebrows, "Cute,"

"Well," MJ flicks her eyebrows, smiling, "I think you're cute too,"

You bite your lip and look down, MJ tugging at her own bottom lip then looking down when her phone vibrates,

"Ah, shoot," She mumbles, your eyes flicking up to her and frowning,

"Everything okay?" You ask quietly, MJ looking up at you and nodding,

"Yeah, of course. My friend from school just wont leave me alone," She laughs, "Ill see you tomorrow?"

"Sure," You brighten, and hold out a piece of paper, "Here's my number,"

"Nice," She grins casually, waving goodbye to you and exiting the coffee shop, dancing in her spot,

She hears your laugh, turning to see you walking the other way, your eyes meeting hers before you climb into a taxi, sending another wave,

MJ puts a hand to her forehead, cursing, but smiles down at the paper and breaks into a jog towards the library

. . .

"Hey espresso," MJ smiles up at you in greet, your form leaning forward on the counter, "Im guessing thats what youll have today?"

"Actually," She scans the menu behind you, "I'll take a (favorite/coffee),"

"Trying new things are we?" You smirk, and type in her request,

"Figured we should have another thing in common besides books," MJ winks, handing you the needed amount of change,

"Well, you're doing a great job," You extend your arm to hand her drink over, "Im almost done with my shift for classes, want to walk with me?"

"Sure, Im going to let my friends know outside, meet you there?"

You smile and nod, looking over when a coworker shouts a new drink and you push away, winking at MJ a last time before disappearing into the back,

"Okay," The front doors of the coffee shop opens, your figure stumbling out as you untie your uniform, school clothes beneath, "We ready?"

"Yep," MJ gestures to two guys next to her, who both blink at you, "Y/N, this is Ned and Peter,"

"Oh Yeah," You point at them, giggling, "I walked in on them building a lego set in a classroom," You grin, Peter and Ned sharing glances,

"This is the girl you told us about!?" Ned shouts, causing you to judt as MJ elbows Ned roughly,

"Lets go," MJ dodges away from Ned, taking your arm and offering to carry your uniform so you could fit it in your bag,

. . .

MJ's throat is tight. She hopes, prays, that after two weeks since the snap, the coffee shop is opened again

It is, and now the only thing MJ is worried about is hoping to see you behind the counter,

You are, but your smile is gone and barely anyone is in the shop, only a man with his child, a husband and wife who are thankful to still be with one another, you, and three workers,

The jingle of the bell has you looking up from the drink you were making, dull eyes widening at her figure,

"MJ!" You call, a worker looking over and watching you abandon the drink, moving around the counter to run up to her,

MJ sets down her book at the nearest table, catching your figure in her arms, holding you tight against her with her nose in her shoulder,

"Thank god you're okay," You lean back, fingers brushing her cheeks, "What about Peter and Ned? Are they safe?"

"Ned is," MJ exhales, "No ones heard from Peter,"

"Im sorry," You breathe softly, reaching up to press your lips firmly to hers. She doesnt have time to process your action, because you pull back just as quick, hands trembling and eyes wide,

"Sorry," You pull your hands back, MJ catching them before they could rest at your sides,

"No, no," She smiles, tearily, "Its okay. Its always been okay,"

You blink away a tear and pull yourself back into her arms, head at her chest and eyes shutting,

MJ releases a breath, arms sliding around your shoulders, ducking her head into your hair and instantly inhaling another breath,

"Say," You lean back, wiping your cheek, and smile brokenly, "How about an espresso?"

"Ive been craving some (Favorite/Coffee)," She murmurs, smiling back and squeezing your hand,

You look down at your joined hands, releasing her fingers to go back to the counter, and, for the first time in two weeks, you find yourself smiling again,

[hereismylifeasliz]

3/16/17 3:40 pm

reflection reflection reflection-

so this past quarter has been hard- not as bad as last and definitely quicker but i has opened my eyes to so many things. To start, I want to do well in school, this means i have to study a lot more than I am right now and I have to learnt o study effectively. I need to learn to excite myself over learning the content im learning and realize that without it, I cannot do the things i want to do. I feel like overall, there is general negative energy to engineering rather than an excitement about how cool everything is that we are learning. I feel as if my education is chore like in order to do the things that are exciting, i must go through all this crap that i do not want to go through. Which is true but also realizing that the subjects are themselves very fascinating. I used to be very good at categorizing things in my head as exciting and then allowing them to be so but i think ive lost that i cant really tell why. I feel like its age and wisdom. I just know nothing lasts forever not pain, not happiness, not love, nothing- but I also know that everything will come and go as it should. nothing need be forced and truthfully evrything will turn out okay. Which quite frankly is such a passive way to live life. I am not passive- its much less exhausting but i think ive been living very passively for from what i can recall, about a year now.. thats not who i want to be and i dont believe thats going to get me where i want to be either. So im going to have to be a little bit more aggressive and direct with my life’s path- even though its scary because im making a decision. And thus if things do not work out- i have blame and guilt which will in turn be two new lessons i will learn once i fail for the first time with this new POV. Im groing to actually love aerosapce more - more than what is does for me. I really believe this field is helping the world and mankind so much more and the sky isnt even the limit- there is no limit and thats incredibly empowering. 

My friendships this quarter have shifted, not greatly- but ive become much closer to people i care about and drifted from people as well. As we all do over time. I havent been very good at keepign in tough with my friends and family from back home which i need to call them all weekend to see how they are. (brooke, bay, kai, cierra, and ash) (side note: im tired of fighting with ash - truthfully, itll depend how she treats alex- shes kind of shallow and if she looks down on him or our relationship because hes not a 6′5 body builder on USC footballs team, its going to make it worse- mostly because i expect her and katie to do that) ANYWAYS- i need to call them, and my grandma and my brother and PR and my dad- i just need to be better at contact wow. I just hate talking on the phone, the whole time the both of you are just wondering when itll end. But at school, things are thriving. Ive made a lot of friend in club, in alexs frat, and in aero and also in chi o. Ive gotten a lot closer with maile and jasmyn which is really nice because i definitely need a break from erica sometimes. ive drifted from erica kind of a lot since our fight but most of that is due to the fact that im busy and in my free time i want to be with alex. we also generally hang out before or after dance which we don thave right now. I hope shes doing okay but im very worried with her living with simone that shes going to start taking a lot of adderral and other shit that she shouldnt be putting into her body. but i judt dont know what else i can tell her other than to get some help and take care of herself and shes getting help but shes not taking care of herself. she isnt eating healthily and she drinks on a regualr basis and i just dont know how many times i can tell her that im worried for her- they go in one ear and out the other and its exhuasting- those words are tired and i am tired- i dont want to be but i am so tired of having to take so much care for my friend who doesnt return the same and wont let me help her. - ok erica rant over for now at least

Nooooowww juicy stuff- Alex is wonderful, things have definitely slowed down but i think its because were both so busy that we cant keep out heads in the clouds for too long or well definitely crash and burn. I want to get to know him better and im excited for him to come home and meet my family- it will truthfully be a make or break for me- so its a little scary. I feel like ive pulled myself back and little and i want to be all in but i dont want things to get so comfortable that we stop doing new things and learning about eachother and being excited to see one another. I feel like i should tell him that. I just want to the music to keep playing but im not sure how you do that. Im so in love with him and i dont want to forget and vice versa. I need to ask him more questions. I feel like itll help us connect on another level and i want that. I want to love him forever im just so scared.