#and I'm like yeah i can certainly do that and apologize for any harm i may have caused

[beammetothemoon]

Part 2

[becausegoodheroesdeservekidneys]

I love the way you publicly forgive people who apologize after you’ve called them out. Visibly demonstrating a willingness to allow people to grow and change is really important and you have a big platform so it’s great to watch you do it. Genuinely and sincerely with no condescension, you demonstrate the line between not just eating whatever the internet hands you and also not just holding a grudge all scorched earth. It’s meaningful to see and I admire it.

Thank you so much for saying this! It's something I've worked at. I certainly haven't been so good at this in the past lol. I was very reactive in my 20s, but I learned eventually that I'm a lot happier when I give benefit of the doubt and don't try to say the most aggressively bitchy thing possible when riled. It feels good in the moment, sure, but it never ends well; you don't get to drop a satisfying zinger and have the whole bus applaud and then your opponent goes away to sulk alone and yay, you've won! What's more likely is (a) your opponent responds and now you're in a war of attrition with no good answers and zero satisfaction, (b) your opponent turns out to have said something completely different from what you thought and everyone thinks you're a cunt, or (c) your opponent cries because you've given them a breakdown and now you're just a bully.

Or. Or you can just. Explain the issue without apology or censure, and let them explain. And then go from there based on their response. And it's amazing how often they apologise because they hadn't intended it that way, or hadn't ever thought about it that way, or what have you. And thus you spare both you and them a whole lot of unpleasantness that makes you feel worse in the long run.

Although, ha, what's a bit weird about this approach is the number of random bystanders who try to insert themselves completely unnecessarily in a sort of mediator role. Like someone will make a Problematic Comment, and I say "That has Problematic connotations" so that they can explain themselves and either double down or clarify/apologise, and suddenly a whole bunch of others step in and go "I think they may have just meant this Non-Problematic thing." And every time I'm like... yeah? Yeah they might. Which is why I'm giving THEM the chance to explain that's the case. Your conjecture is completely useless. I, too, can think they MIGHT have meant that. I'm asking them to confirm or deny. You do not have that answer; only they do.

It's a very strange and very common phenomenon. And, you know, I get it; these are people who think they're being helpful, because they've seen internet clashes before and they want to head them off at the pass. It's not actually harmful as a practice either. It's just unfortunately utterly useless in every way lol.

In any case, though - thank you, so much, for sending me this! It's very kind. I hope you have a great weekend

[my-great-big-book-of-fan-fiction]

hi!! i love your writing and I recently got obsessed with L again (sobbing) I love how you portray his character and you don't have to answer if it makes you uncomfy, but

How do you think he'd react to questioning a nympho? Like every question she'd find some kinda way to make it freaky

I just thought it'd be funny :sob:

brief warnings: cheap jokes about DV by reader, reader is definitely not a good person, reader is not a love interest

tysm, I'm so glad you think so highly of my writing!

To put it short and sweet: he'd take it in stride. He deals with far more difficult and dangerous characters quite often, someone so sexual wouldn't have a big effect on him.

To put it long and...sour?: L dislikes having to speak to witnesses. They take so much coaxing, and dancing around the topic. He understands, of course; it's usual to be sensitive after seeing someone, likely a loved one, harmed. It's just annoying.

However, when you come in, you're not crying, or scared. He can see you through the security cameras, as well as the Webcam of the computer he'd talk to you through.

You strode in, confident and calm, with a set of papers. Your hair was done, your clothes looked freshly dry-cleaned, and your makeup was, from what he could tell, spotless. When you settled in the chair of the interrogation room, a gray cube with a mirror at the back and a table in the middle, you glanced around in search of the person meant to question you.

"Hello, miss (y/n)."

His voice was warped by the modulator, emitting from the computer across from you.

"Oh...hi." you sit back, make a note of the Webcam, and keep your eyes on the moniker before you.

"I'm...sorry your husband passed in such a way."

He found that starting with empty apologies eased the minds of these people.

"Sorry? Why, you wanted a threeway?"

He paused. What?

"...I hear you were present for the death."

"Mm, yeah. Keeled right over, after only 3 hours of sex."

"He had a history with criminal activity."

"He did. Two counts of domestic abuse, though it should be three with the way he fucked my-"

"That's enough, thank you."

"No, really, I certainly felt abused the morning after, if you know what I mean."

That shiteating grin was enough to get it.

"I do. Was there anything else he was involved in?"

"Other than that? Sure. Oral, orgies, BDSM-"

"I mean, any other criminal activity?"

"Oh, yeah. He sold joints to some high schoolers....ha, 'course, it wasn't actually weed, he just rolled up some Easter grass in a rice paper sheet, and those kids ate it up....reminds me of this one time we did it on top of, like, a bed of easter grass..."

"Alright. Any past relationships you know of?"

"Well...how do you define relationship?"

"Anything similar to what you had with him."

"Okay...well, there was darla, steve, andrew, katie, candy-"

"He dated all of these people?"

"What? No. These are just people we met with last week-"

He already knew where this was going, he wouldn't let it get farther than this.

"Tell me the names of the people he has had a longstanding romantic relationship with, beyond a sexual encounter."

"Fine. There was...Angela Demarco...and...god what was her name...I wanna say mia? Mis-"

"Misa Amane."

"Yeah, that one. "

"How did they break up?"

"She couldn't handle him in bed...and, he cheated on her."

Lead with the cheating. He already had a pretty good idea of why this man died, and who the culprit was.

"Thank you for coming in today. That's all I need."

"Sure, no problem...hey, do you hide your face because you're ugly, or...?"

"That will be all."

you stand. "I'm just saying, ugly isn't a big turn off for me. This whole anonymity thing you have going is kind of hot. "

"There should be a car ready to escort you home."

"Okay, okay...but you have my number. Give me a call," you tease, gathering your things and sashaying out.

He had a new pet peeve, worse than grieving family or psychotic criminals:

Nymphos.

[kickandtell]

One thing I love about the way the Kreese Apology Tour went down is the way it illustrated how a truly effective apology is not something you can march into with Main Character Energy. Kreese shows up to Johnny in the parking lot like "let me talk about my failures that I did wrong, and the bad effects that I think came from my actions." And it didn't make any impact on Johnny at all. The apology Johnny actually needed, and deserved, was what happened when Kreese listened instead, and took in what happened from Johnny's point of view and empathized with what he was hearing. Johnny had to explicitly tell him "yeah no, the thing you're sorry for isn't really what harmed me, here's what you REALLY did to me."

I'm not saying that the self-centered apology was fully useless - I think that because Johnny is so (rightfully!) mistrustful and guarded where Kreese is concerned, he would never have been able to come have the more important conversation if Kreese hadn't already convinced him that he really was trying to accept responsibility and apologize. So I guess it was a needed step, but on its own it certainly did not do any work towards helping Johnny heal. If Kreese had left the parking lot thinking that he'd completed a full apology there, he'd be wrong.

I kind of wish more people understood that about apologies.

And in other news, holy shit WZ and MK fucking knocked both those scenes out of the park and through the atmosphere and all the way up into another solar system, wow.

[sokkastyles]

Hi! I just had a funny interaction and it kinda reminded me of the stuff I see sometimes on your blog.

So I posted something that was certainly Azula critical (and definitely anti-Azula stan, I'm pretty sure I tagged both) and I had three or four people start discourse with me over it, which is fine and all. But the funny part is one of those people was a grown person with a JOB that decided that they were not going to conduct any analysis but instead just make personal attacks at me the whole time, which they freely admitted. Once they started, another joined in and kept going until I stopped contact with both of them.

Now for context, I'm a high school senior in six different APs, captaining a girl's lacrosse team and my Taekwondo demo team, and I'm fairly active in four or five other minor extracurriculars. The point is, I'm a busy person. Tumblr is a simply creative outlet for me to connect with people who share my interests. And yeah, as an 18 year old who just started making analysis posts on a website where I'm surrounded by many more older individuals, I know my posts aren't all that refined. But I still feel like I was able to articulate my thoughts in a decent enough way. However, not only was I not able to convince others of my viewpoints (which I'm ok with tbh), I also received some hurtful comments that's definitely turned me away from having any discourse in this fandom at all.

So this is all basically lead-up to two questions:

Since you have a lot of experience in this sort of writing, do you have any advice for making an argumentative essay/meta on fandom related content (characterization, relationships, etc)?

Are you supposed to respond to or ignore unproductive comments/personal attacks? Am I letting them win if they have the last word?

To be completely honest, even if it's not my number 1 choice, I think Zutara is a fascinating ship that makes a lot of sense (more than Kataang for SURE smh). Reading your posts on them have been incredibly insightful and it's given me a lot of respect for the ship. I just wish I could write something like that, mainly for my own satisfaction. It's frustrating seeing characters like Azula being obliterated in fandom and being put into a little box of either girlboss or victim when she's so much more nuanced than that. That's what I was trying to communicate, and I did say multiple times that I saw her as more than just one or the other, but it definitely came across wrong. This was my first experience writing any sort of meta and it's definitely been a failure.

Hello! As a grown person with a job, let me first say this:

You do not owe anyone a reply, argument, or justification, ever.

Understanding this will help you with avoiding a lot of pointless discourse. And I'm not saying I'm always the best at avoiding it, but I did witness what happened with you and the Azula stans, and you did nothing wrong. Your original post was very well reasoned and fair. The people who were attacking you over it were being overly defensive and are well known for their ridiculous takes and toxic behavior, and twisting the narrative to make Azula seem like she's been unfairly villainized by the narrative, other characters, and fandom.

If anything, you were being nice by apologizing for being "antagonistic," even though you were being no such thing and they attacked you, and that's why they took the opportunity to attack you more. The thing is, though, that they were being manipulative. Which is unsurprising, since all of their arguments defending Azula follow the same rhetorical patterns.

I'm not saying don't be nice and don't apologize, but you don't have to apologize for people taking your arguments in complete bad faith and using that to try and hurt you. They are the ones in the wrong, and they're the ones perpetuating harm. And if they can convince you that it's actually you doing harm, that's one way they can try and harm you. That's why they kept responding to you, because you were nice and they saw an opportunity to harm you. Not because there was anything wrong with your arguments, which were very eloquently put and well-reasoned.

It actually really worries me when I see these kinds of interactions. I joke about Azula stans acting this way because I'm an adult and I know how not to take their bullshit seriously, but what they are doing can perpetuate real harm if they can convince enough people that they need to apologize for imagined harm. I've seen it happen many times in fandom spaces that became abusive because a loud minority is able to convince enough young, impressionable people of the threat of harm. On a meta level, it's just like what Ozai and Azula do to Zuko by convincing him he is to blame and using that as a justification to hurt him.

Anyway, it's perfectly acceptable to block and ignore people who act this way, and probably preferable for your own mental health. Again, I'm not always the best at taking this advice, and I know what it feels like to get sucked into an argument about stupid fandom stuff, but it is always okay to just walk away. Letting someone have the last word doesn't mean you've lost. It means you're not letting yourself be dragged down to their level, which is often what these people are seeking to begin with. There's an African proverb that goes "if a madman steals your clothes and you run after him, you're still the one running naked in the streets."

If somebody wants to run naked in the streets, just let them do it. You don't have to run after them.

(Ironically, I said this to a coworker the other day, too. Being an adult with a job doesn't guarantee you never have to interact with shitty people, unfortunately.)

On that same note, I appreciate the compliment about my zutara posts, but it's okay if you don't like the ship. Shipping is a personal choice and you don't have to have reasons for why you do or don't ship something. If my posts resonate with you, great! But I'm not here to convince anyone of anything.

Anyway, have a nice day and take care of yourself! You seem like you have a solid head on your shoulders, so don't let fandom stuff get you down.

[soft-pine]

Hey hey, I saw you said you don't get many asks. I have one! Can you do any freeform thoughts about Pastor Jim? (What he represents, his skillset, how long John's known apparently him, how John cried for him, etc? Whatever you feel like, really.)

I'm fascinated by the fact that by your timeline, it seems that the once John starting leaving the kids with others, those folks started getting picked off pretty early, perhaps inflaming John's sense of paranoia and isolation in parallel to how Azazel isolated Mary and picked off her support systems.

And I'm curious how Pastor Jim fits into this. :-)

hi Shal! that's so nice!! sorry it took me so long to reply!

i love the connection you made with the timeline and people getting "picked off" as you say! yeah i think that would have certainly fueled john's paranoia and stretched him and stressed him even more!

also i apologize in advance because i know you're maybe not a self-described john-anti. and, though i find his character complex and fascinating and sometimes even sympathetic, i do have mostly harsh criticism for him. and also sorry cause your posts are so tidy and well formatted and this is gonna be kinda a spill out. i can pull up citations for anything here if needed though!!

but okay jumping in! i'm really fascinated by the people john had connections to while he was raising sam and dean and i'm interested in the two main subcategories of that group - people he had a falling out with versus people he didn't. pastor jim falls into that second category, along with martin, travis, fred jones, deacon, jefferson (?), and caleb. (the first category includes elkins, bobby, tara, ellen, etc).

i think that part of the reason john kept his family separate from the hunting community at large is because hunters tend to tell each other that kids shouldn't be involved. at least that is the kind of hunter dean became. and i think it's possible that some of the fallings out john had with other hunters was over that issue. that certainly is a contributing factor to the strain in his relationship with bobby.

so what does that say about the hunters which john remained in community with? we don't know much about jefferson or caleb. but martin has a black and white view of monsters and isn't worried about harming civilians himself to get results. travis also is impatient and cruel in his methods. fred jones gave both dean and sam alcohol before they were 10. and deacon is a physically abusive prison guard. maybe this is me being too harsh but those actions stick with me as they overlap with john's own black and white views and in contrast to bobby or ellen for example. none of that says anything specific about jim himself i guess but the general pattern of hunters who didn't have a falling out with john is interesting to me!

unfortunately, the other reason i have a somewhat negative view of pastor jim is i was raised evangelical and ... i did not care for all that. as best as i can tell jim is some form of protestant minister... and one whose denomination has some kind of liturgical tradition. one of my early fic chapters is kinda about him actually. or i mean about the kind of person/pastor that he strikes me as and about the comradery and tension between him and john.

i tend to think of john as somewhat of an atheist. a "nothing up there's gonna save you, you gotta do it for yourself" kinda guy. so i think he kinda puts up with jim's beliefs and faith because jim has a very safe base of operations and seems very well equipped. i also imagine that jim is someone who can offer the kind of emotional support johh might need. from his brief conversation with meg at the beginning of 1.21, it seems like he's used to offering kind of talk-therapy-esque conversations. here's a little excerpt from my fic that shows that kinda?

Dad must have wrapped up his hunt cause he's back in the morning when Dean goes into the house to brush his teeth. “I just don't know how to do it,” Dad's voice is saying, low and quiet from the kitchen. He sounds like maybe he's crying. Dean crouches down low in the front hall. If he walks past the kitchen door, they're going to hear him. “I know, John,” Pastor Jim says. “I know.” “You know, I... I try to do right by those boys... not lay it all on them. But I just. I miss her so much.” Dad is crying now. “You're doing the best you can, John.” “Sam's too young to really understand all this stuff and I know Dean tries,” Dad lets out a long sigh. Dean digs the tips of his fingers into the coarse hallway rug. He doesn't want his Dad to feel like this. He hates that his Dad is sad and he hates that he hasn't done a good enough job making sure Dad knows he can talk to him if he needs to. That he'd do anything. “I've got to hold it together for them, Jim. And some days I feel like I can't.”

(rereading that chap and it's possible i put a bit too much of my own knowledge of and baggage about evangelical issues in the late 80's into it... oopsie)

i really am inclined to think john knew jim for the longest of most of his contacts. i mean in the semi-canonical john's journal, he meets him at the end of the month that mary dies! but even by the show's timeline, jim is trusted enough for john to have him as a backup safehouse for the boys as early as 1988 which suggests he's known him at least some time by that point.

from all the conversations sam and dean have with travis, martin, fred, and deacon, it doesn't seem like they or john have seen any of those people for a long time. but in s1, they're still very in touch with pastor jim. is he perhaps john's oldest and most consistent friend?

which tracks with john's deeply emotive response to jim's death. i would argue the most grief he shows in the show besides for mary. i think that tracks with the loss of a support and confidant of decades. certainly both caleb and jim's death show a devotion to john beyond a care for their own lives.

i'm sorry i don't know if i have much to say about jim's skill set! some of the specific mechanics of hunting and the supernatural are not quite in the purview of the way my spn-special-interest shows up im sorry! but i think the church as sacred ground and jim's familiarity with the concept of demons would both protect him somewhat from azazel's lower level minions and also probably endear john to him.

and what he represents!? oh gosh! i think your narrative analysis is on another level from the one im dabbling around in.

thanks for the ask!! and thanks for all your amazing analysis!

[bookishfeylin]

bestie can u elaborate why don’t u like the barbie movie (i also don’t like it but i just love giving people the opportunity to be haters)

I feel like I should preface this response with several things:

I liked PARTS of the Barbie movie. Some of the messages in it were really good, and were delivered in a hilarious way. The pure love for humanity and LIFE was very evident and I loved Barbie’s arc. I also appreciated the underlying “redpill ideology is harmful and misleads men” message.

I knew Greta Gerwig was a white woman so I did not expect much in the way of intersectional feminism or even acknowledgment that white women are often the weakest link and tend to be 'class traitors' more than any other marginalized group, so that was not my issue with the movie

It's pretty! And bright! And colorful! It was FUN!

That being said… it did not sit well with me the more I thought about it.

My main problem with the Barbie movie is that it equates Barbieland with real life patriarchy and argues that both are equally bad, when that is demonstrably not true even as shown in the movie itself. When Barbie enters our world, she is sexually harassed, assaulted, and objectified. This is... not how the Kens are treated in Barbieland. They're just... ignored. That's it. The Barbies don't mistreat the Kens, and when Ken gets hurt in the beginning of the movie while beaching the Barbies all rush around him to get him medical attention and worry over him. The Barbies aren't cruel, and they certainly aren't treating the Kens as objects. They're just... ignoring them most of the time. And before someone brings up the Kens being homeless I'd like to add that, given their attempts to build a wall in the movie, there is certainly nothing STOPPING them from building their own homes. More than that: if it really bothered them so much why didn't they ask the construction Barbies for help with making one? I'm sure they would've said yes. There is literally nothing and no one stopping the Kens from making their own houses or having their own little Ken village because the Barbies DO NOT CARE what they do. At all.

The worst Barbieland offers men is being ignored by women. And that's not nice, sure. Hence why barbie apologized at the end. But the worst patriarchy offers women is being abused, raped, indoctrinated into patriarchal religions, and murdered by men. Those two things are not the same. So not only could this movie not commit to actually making a real matriarchy that is actually as bad as patriarchy (because don't get me wrong, I don't doubt that a matriarchy in actual practice would be bad y'all), it then argues that this fictional watered down version of a matriarchy is somehow the equivalent of the much more violent real world patriarchy as a ~warning~ to women's rights advocates to not get too carried away I guess? AND REACTIONARIES STILL CAME AWAY FROM THIS MOVIE THINKING BARBIELAND WAS JUST AS BAD AS PATRIARCHY AND BEING UPSET THAT BARBIELAND RETURNED UNDER BARBIE CONTROL (despite the movie's message that Kens were still going to get rights in Barbieland and would one day have the same rights women in our world have but I digress--) And then the reactionaries felt this movie was anti-Men???

So no. I don't like this movie. The fact that a lot of normie people walked away from this movie like "Yeah! It critiqued Matriarchy AND Patriarchy! It critiqued feminism and the red pill!" indicates to me that this movie failed. The premise of this movie was inherently flawed: that women ignoring men=matriarchy=just as bad as the violence and dehumanization of patriarchy. But more than that, the fact that so many agree with this premise concerns me, and suggests that misogyny is much more deeply rooted in the human consciousness than I had expected. If women merely ignoring men and living life without centering men is viewed as matriarchy, as misandry, as "just as bad" as patriarchy, then perhaps the advocacy for women's rights was always doomed.

Sorry to end this on such a downer btw

[princess-of-the-corner]

Sorry, was just musing on something & skimming a season 1 episode list and like, OK now I get why you have Princess Perfuma so late in the game XD But two main things:

1: While many Akuma are laid at Chloe's feet (& some were like Reflekta, Perfuma and Kung Food) some really feel more like a group effort, circumstances or her being targeted unfairly, IE:

Ivan/Stoneheart was initially just straight up Kim and then nearly everyone in class being on his back about Stoneheart. Mylene was the situation, most of the class was getting irritated and Chloe just seemed to be the last straw. (Also Nino inviting someone he described as a brat to be in his movie. Again, Chloe may not have been beloved but she wasn't reviled at first) Then there's Nathanial where it really feels like he should have gone after the teacher unless he was trying to nice guy Marinette by murdering Chloe which... Well either way its off putting XD

2: I do think the season 1 sequence of events struggles to make some sense, given you'd think Rose would know Chloe's not liable to be particularly nice after what happened with Juleka.

Unless Chloe hands out apology gifts/baskets in-between some episodes XD

"Sorry for locking you in the bathroom so I could be next to Adrien in the picture. Dad always said anything to win & well, you becoming an Akuma certainly gave you a win, so even? No... OK, how about if I give you this obsidian dagger ne- OK we're cool then!"

"Sorry for ripping up your letter to Prince Ali, I mean I'm not sure why you were so upset, Mama throws away, destroys or rejects all my gifts, but I guess if you got AKumatized over it that it was serious or whatever. So, here's like, a pile of plushies?"

Yeah like.

Okay first off I love the name 'Princess Perfuma' better than 'Princess Fragrance' like damn the English dub was robbed there.

But also yeah its.

I go over this a chunk in LL but there's a lot that either Chloé's actions were only exacerbating a situation that was already happening, or she was entirely in the right.

Stoneheart? She actually didn't cause that one! Yes she did upset Ivan at one point which. Yeah given they don't know what's happening/why he went monster I can understand her skepticism. But Mari calms him down. The first Stoneheart was Kim's bullshit, and the second Stoneheart was the confession going wrong.

Lady Wifi? Alya was 100% in the wrong here. She was breaking into, rifling through, and taking pictures of Chloé's locker. All Chloé did was demand that she be given the proper consequences for doing so. If the tables were turned and it had been Chloé who was caught going through Alya's locker but the principal had said 'eh no harm done go back to class' you can bet everyone would be pissed about it.

Timebreaker? None of these idiots figured out how to put a pocket watch in a pocket. Yes Chloé yoinked the watch to look at it, but breaking it was a genuine accident.

Rogercop? Chloé reported a crime to a cop, the cop was like 'the fuck do you want me to do about it?' and got fired for not doing his job.

Horrificator? Mylene was scared and getting overwhelmed and everyone on the production was getting frustrated at her. Chloé might've been the first to snap, but someone would've eventually and with the same result.

Dark Cupid? While her rejection was harsh, any kind of rejection could have set Kim off in that moment. She is not obligated to return his feelings nor is she responsible for his emotions.

Vanisher? That one kinda is her fault but also friends fight! Sabrina did something that upset her, no matter how small it was, and she had a right to be upset. Just as Sabrina had a right to be upset in turn when Chloé started ignoring her. While technically in the wrong on this particular argument, the kids shouldn't have to walk on eggshells around each other and pretend things don't hurt them just because some butterfly bastard might give them magic powers.

Evillustrator? The teacher was far harsher than Chloé had been. Hell Chloé's comments were actually /complimentary/ and just outing an obvious crush. While the teacher had screamed at Nath in front of the class, told him his art was worthless and ugly, and that he was failing his classes.

And yeah Reflekta, Kung Food, and Princess Fragrance are more her purposely being a dick. And I'm not pretending that Chloé is 'nice' at any of these points. But things aren't black and white.

[cainluvr69]

Let Me Tell You The Story Of A Rainbow - Chapter 6

Previous Chapter

Akira: Rutile, are you worried about Luca?

Rutile: Yes, I am. Or rather… I'm a little concerned. That, and I'd just plain like to get to talk with her more.

Akira: The exhibition is going to be open for an entire week, so I'm sure you'll get the chance. It seems like we can visit as often as we like during the exhibition period, so…

It was then that I heard a clattering from beneath me. I looked down, and there was a teacup. Where had it come from? When had it appeared?

Rutile: …Hm?

Mitile: What's a teacup doing here…?

As Mitile reached his hand out to touch it, the teacup suddenly spun in its saucer and floated into the air. And then, right before my eyes, it tilted forward as if in an elegant bow, and then it began to dance.

Akira: Huh?!

Riquet: Why is a cup dancing…?!

Shino: There's not even any music.

Chloe: That's the problem you have with this?!

A teapot and set of silverware had joined in the dance at some point while we were flustered, and now there was a cheery, clink-clatter-clink tune livening up the venue.

Heathcliff: They said some of the displays had magic cast on them. Is this one of them…?

Cain: It's like a cookware party. And that's a pretty stylish dance they're dancing, don'tcha think?

The teapot rattled its lid in front of Cain.

Cain: Oh. Hey, do you think it's inviting us to join in?

Arthur: It certainly seems that way. I can practically hear them asking us if we'll dance with them.

Just as Cain and Arthur were about to join in the dance, our elderly host rushed up to us in a tizzy.

Elderly Gentleman: Oh, my deepest apologies! I can't believe they fled their display case again…

Arthur: It's quite a lively set of tableware. Have they been enchanted?

Elderly Gentleman: Yes, they have. It used to simply prepare tea or present meals on its whim, but… Ever since that moment, they've done nothing but run and dance about.

Akira: Ever since that moment…?

Aslan: Father! That suit of armor has started to move on its own again!

I looked up, and from my viewpoint at the landing of the staircase, I saw Aslan running around on the next floor up, chasing a suit of armor.

Elderly Gentleman: Lead it back to where it belongs!

Having said that, our elderly host heaved a great sigh.

Elderly Gentleman: That suit of armor used to be nice and docile, too. It might be best to cancel the exhibition, if only for the patrons' safety…

Heathcliff: …Can I say something?

Elderly Gentleman: Yes, of course. What is it?

Heathcliff: Do you know about when the tableware started dancing and the suit of armor started walking around on its own?

Elderly Gentleman: Let me think… I believe it was when the <Great Calamity> last attacked that it all started.

My wizards exchanged looks with one another.

Cain: …Do you think the <Great Calamity's> influence is what's affecting the exhibits?

Arthur: Considering how old so many of these artworks are… I would say it's certainly possible. That said, I don't feel the presence of anything dangerous in this building. Even if we are looking at something that normally falls under our jurisdiction, I don't think it'll cause any harm…

Akira: …Everything is okay for now, but it's still a little worrying. We've seen a lot of ways the Calamity's influence can transform even the most benign of objects on the missions we've gone on.

Rutile: Then how about we start acting as guards here? We can take turns walking around the castle and keeping an eye on things.

Cain: Sure, I'm all for that. Even if it's just a minor incident, we should still be prudent about it.

Elderly Gentleman: Ah, erm. Has a problem with this location or the items on display arisen? I assure you we will handle it as soon as possible…

Cain: Right, sorry for how we just kept talking without letting you in on it. We were talking about how some of the exhibits that have been enchanted are moving on their own a lot more than they normally do, yeah? We're still just talking hypotheticals here, but it's entirely possible that that's happening because of the <Great Calamity's> influence.

Elderly Gentleman: The <Great Calamity>…?!

Akira: D--Don't worry! We don't think it's going to do any major harm on purpose. This incident is a pretty benign one, and it shouldn't affect the exhibition very much, if at all…

Cain: The Sage is right. But, you know, just in case, would you be alright with us acting as security here in the castle?

Elderly Gentleman: Why, I could never…! I could never ask the guests I extended an invitation to to do such a thing…

Arthur: We're completely fine with taking this on, to be clear. If there's any sign of the Calamity's influence, that's when we Sage's wizards take the stage. That, and… My uncle decided to leave how the enchanted items on display get handled up to me. And speaking from a personal standpoint, I want this exhibition to be held without any problems, and for your guests to enjoy the exhibits and think that both magic and the wizards that cast it are wonderful. It could be a brand-new step towards humans and wizards being able to trust one another.

Elderly Gentleman: Prince Arthur…

Riquet and Mitile's eyes were positively sparkling with enthusiasm at Arthur and Cain's proposal.

Riquet: Please just leave it to us!

Mitile: We'll do the best job guarding everything!

Chloe: Yep, yep. And if anything does happen, we'll take care of it lickety-split!

Heathcliff: Not to mention how it'd be impossible to see everything on display in a single day.

Shino: If that's what Heath wants, then so be it. We'll personally guard your stuff for you. Be grateful.

Akira: We'd already been talking about how we'd like to come to the exhibition multiple times, anyways.

Cain: And there you have it. No point in letting this stroke of luck in meeting us go to waste, right?

Elderly Gentleman: Ahh… What kind people you all are! Truth be told, we were having difficulties keeping up with everything on our own. And for us to have such a meeting here…fortune smiles upon us. Having your assistance is like a dream come true. Thank you for your hard work. If there is anything we can do for you, please let us know!

Our host just kept bowing his head to us, over and over and over. Cain and Arthur patted his back, trying to calm him down, but that just made him slip deeper into his expressions of humbled gratitude. After one final deep bow, he took the dancing tableware and we saw him off. Arthur turned back to us.

Arthur: …Alright. Let's return to the manor and discuss this matter with Lords Snow and White.

✦✧☾✧✦

And so, the next day arrived.

Snow: Everyone's here, right? Shall we do a roll-call just to be sure?

White: First up is Central Country!

Akira: (…Hmm? Hey, isn't this…)

The Central, Eastern, Western, and Southern wizards all answered when their name was called.

Snow: And as for the North…

Mithra & Owen & Bradley: …

Lennox: …I feel like I can smell something burnt.

Akira: (…Yep. I'm getting deja vu.)

Smoke curled up from their clothes here and there, and their sullen glares were focused on a single spot: Oz, who was completely unaffected by the bloodlust in the air.

Akira: Mithra, Owen, Bradley, thank you so much for coming. I'm, um…really happy that you did.

White: And thank you for your hard work, Oz.

Oz: It was not especially "hard".

Bradley: Izzat right…

Mithra: Hmmph…

Owen: Oh, yeah…?

They all stood a bit taller, murderous animosity rolling off them in waves. The air was practically crackling with hostility, and I remembered that this had happened too, very recently.

Nero: …So, we're watchdogs in an exhibition hall. Is there anythin' specific we're supposed t' be doin' here?

White: We're here to deal with any incidents that might arise from the enchanted display items. Isn't that right, Arthur? Master Sage?

Arthur: Yes, that's it. Yesterday we witnessed a set of tableware and a suit of armor moving of their own volition. While we haven't witnessed anything that could be dangerous yet… There are a lot of very old objects on display here, and it's completely possible for a major incident to arise from the <Great Calamity's> influence on them.

Akira: And so, we'd like you to watch over the exhibits for the duration of the event. Please. That said, we were also invited to this event as regular attendees, so please enjoy the event itself as much as you can, too. It'll be while you're patrolling, but…

Bradley: This mission is such a pain in the ass. And did you really need to drag all of us out for this? Just let the guys who wanna run in circles in this shitty castle do that and leave the rest of us outta it.

Snow: Oh, don't be so cold, Bradley dear. The important part is that the host of this exhibition has expressed a great deal of gratitude to us, and as such we must return the favor.

White: If there is something we can undertake for him, then undertake it we must.

Owen: I'd rather trample on their gratitude than accept it. I'm an evil wizard, remember? How about I teach him some manners so he'll never treat a Northern wizard like they're spineless ever again?

Snow: While I'm well aware you won't go along with what we tell you to do, you should be well aware what kind of punishment is waiting for you if you don't.

White: And that's not reserved for Owen alone. You're not allowed to get violent either, Mithra.

Mithra: I came purely because Rutile and Mitile said they wanted to come. I have no interest in doing anything but keeping watch, right here.

Mitile: Oh, you aren't going to walk around and stuff? I mean, you're already here and all…

Mithra: What's the point of walking around?

Rutile: When you walk with someone, you can talk about the items on display together, and ask "What do you want to see next?" and…

Mithra: Then please do that with someone else. I will be laying down right here if you need to locate me.

Rutile: I thought I'd be walking around with you. Was that wrong of me?

Mithra: …? What would we be walking around together for?

Figaro: Ahaha. They're just going in circles.

Snow: Now, now. Just a few days ago we had our big cleaning debacle where everyone learned how to work together, didn't we?

White: If we utilize this request the right way, it'll be great for our public image.

Snow: Mithra, Owen, Bradley. We cannot clean the slate of your barbarous acts up until now, even if we try. Unless you'd like to lend us a hand in the matter?

Bradley: Big fucking words from the pair that used t'be the most violent outta all of us. Did you idiots forget what country you're from?

The twins continued happily, completely ignoring the words Bradley practically spat at them.

White: It seems that the host of this event has some significant political pull.

Snow: Go for gold! Clear your name and redeem yourself in one fell swoop! Put yourself on the market and see how much you can rake in at the end of the day!

Snow & White: Yaaaay!

Next Chapter

[homicidal-mother]

"Rainy Days"

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Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 4

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OCs x F!Reader

-

You are a young woman who also happens to be a witch- ending up with you in a college of mythical beings... {This story is gonna be silly chaos and will be aimed at my fellow bisexuals.}

-

Warnings: None.

-

Days drag on and yet go by quickly at the same time, it makes for a whirlwind of complicated emotions. You haven't encountered Sev again and if you're being honest- you're afraid to.

What is he? What are their intentions?

Perhaps you're being a bit paranoid or overly cautious but hey- better a live chicken than a dead duck, right?

Lost in your thoughts you bump into someone...

"Oh shit! Sorry."

Wait- their build seems familiar- Shit.

"Hey, it's no biggie! Clearly we're destined to meet in the worst ways possible."

Still just as chipper as he turns to face you, those baby blues twinkling in the flickering lights of the hall. Naturally you took a step back and cleared your throat.

"Uh, yeah..."

"Dude, I'm real sorry bout' scaring you when we first met. I didn't mean to- honest! I just get so used to doin' my ghostly stuff that I forget it is a bit weird for others."

He seems to be completely sincere in his apology, he truly didn't mean any harm. Something about him reminds you of an over excited puppy, too much pent up energy resulting in disaster.

"It's fine."

"Nah, nah. I should learn to be more careful- it was totally my bad. By the way- names, Cassian."

Despite his clearly outgoing nature he also seems a bit awkward, he starts to hold out his hand for a handshake then pauses and second guesses himself- simply tucking his hand back into his pants pocket... Maybe he's worried that he'll unintentionally make you uncomfortable? Who knows.

You simply offer him a slight smile in an attempt to be a bit more friendly, the guy doesn't seem all that bad at least.

"Anyyywaaays-"

He drags out the word quite a bit while shuffling his feet, baby blues now directed over towards the window. Thick stormy gray clouds are gathering in the sky above, the weather certainly isn't looking too great.

"Looks like it might rain. Do you have an umbrella?"

Fuck... That's what you forgot to grab. Of course.

Surely enough within a couple minutes there's a down pour of rain, there's no way you're going to be able to walk outside and to the other building in that.

"Nope..."

"Would ya like to share my umbrella then, so you can get back to your room dry? Least I can do since our rocky first meeting."

You hesitate slightly but you really don't want to be a drenched rat today- so you give a small nod.

"Yeah... Thanks."

"Not a problem, dude! Let's go!"

He pops open his big ass umbrella the second you two get out the door, he ensures that you are well shielded from the rain as you both walk. He tries his best not to get too much in your personal space- which sorta sacrifices part of his right side getting him wet. You sigh and move closer in to get him to hold it over both of you.

"Don't get wet because of me."

He gets visibly awkward again and unsure of himself, offering a goofy little smile in your direction and a nod.

"Yeah, just didn't wanna... Yeah, okay."

Once you two finally reach the building you glance down at your wet shoes- but hey. At least the rest of you is dry. Your phone buzzes in your pocket with a text from your aunt, you bid a polite goodbye to, Cassian.

After heading upstairs and reaching your room, you pull out your phone to check the text, door clicking shut behind you.

'Do you want to have coffee with me this weekend?'

-

{Please be nice to Cassian. He's doing his best I swear. LMAO}

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{@sofasoap @anna-banana27 @scar-crossedlvrs }

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{More Content}

[the-night-writer1]

Red Boy decides to flirt with the Noodle Boy to get his brother up in arms (definitely not to make Shanyao jealous).

Red boy was in a mess with his twin kind of mood and what a better way to do that than flirt with his twin's crush. That surely press some buttons!

Certainly just wanted to press his brother no one elses. Not a particular flea brain who'd been avoiding him lately.

Of course Red boy would only be messing around. He wasn't going to steal his brother's man even if he could. Red boy wasn't into Mk that way. Guy just wasn't feisty enough for his liking.

So there be no real harm done and he'd let Mk in on it. Nothing better than fucking with your brother right .

It took a few hours to get everything into action. Mei aiding via sudden live stream which Red boy knew his brother watched. She was going on about getting Shan for something and put her phone in view of MK for a few minutes.

So Red boy made his move, pretending not to realize they were still being watched. One arm pinning MK to the wall the other hand caressing mk's face . MK was great at fake blushing man Red boy almost thought he was.

" you know I can see why you get my twin so heated noodle boy" Red Boy said with the softest tone as he rubbed Mk's cheek. It wasn't as smooth as flea brains but it was still decently soft," You're as soft as noodles ~"

"I-I um I" Mk said flustered as all fuck. He was expecting Red boy's flirting to be god awful like his own attempts but sweet monkey king were they good.

"and you smell as sweet cinnamon" Red boy said really playing it up as he moved his face closer. One of them be here any minute now,"may I could get a -"

Then before he could finish he sucked right in the jaw by lil Red son's fist and knocked away. He started laughing soon after seeing his brother fuming. It worked pretty well didn't it?

He wasn't playing attention to his brother's rant as he got to his feet.

It worked a little too well as he saw flea brain rubbing his eyes in the shadows. Mei Mk and Red son couldn't spot him but Red boy been fighting him weekly for at least two years. Red boy learned to see irregularities in shadows pretty quickly so flea brain couldn't use it as an unfair advantage.

"I was joking get out of my way" Red boy somewhat hissed as he pushed his brother in to MK and ran towards the shadows Shan was hiding in. Didn't see the accidental kiss he caused as he had a different target now.

Flea brain could move pretty quickly in those things and he'd miss his chance if he wasn't quick enough. It felt like hours but was probably only a minute before he was yanking Shanyao out of the shadows and into a hug.

It was somehow different from the hugs he gave Red son when their parents upset him. Or even the hug he gave Dbk and Iron fan when they were freed from the scroll. It was just different as if he couldn't hug Shan close enough. He was holding flea brain like he'd disappear if Red boy let go.

He didn't even get why flea brain been avoiding him. Did he do something wrong? Did flea brain think they did something wrong? It wasn't important right now he just needed to apologize.

This poor bastard didn't know he was already softly apologizing. Shan was hiccuping into his chest.

"yeah...I think we broke Shan more than we planned" Mei said as she looked to the brain shut off Red son who was a new shade of Red and a mad blushing but still functional Mk," and we broke Red son in a different way! I'm just going to end the stream here"

"yeah I'd...id do that Mei" mk mumbled with the stupidest grin on his face.

[milo-kun]

It's two twenty am.... I am sitting here in the dark, boiling angry at my "friends". 2025 has been a massive shit show... I have spent all of this year looking for a job that I can do. Each passing day led me to more and more frustration. You must be wondering how that has to do with my friends...

Like most artists i have been trying to draw, I wanna make comics... I wanna stream games. I want to tell stories, share ideals... bring joy and entertainment. Odd for an introvert, no?

My friends have seemed to have done everything in their power to ignore, belittle, undermine, make fun of, and blame me. It's not just 2025 thing like this have been going on for years. I have no place where I even feel like I'm a part of a community. I've had people accuse me of things I have not done, tell me I'm gaslighting people, ive had people defend the people who attacked me, ive been told to behave, ive been told to apologize when I WAS THE ONE HARMED.

Don't call me stupid, I know people have lives. I remember that some of my friends have been trying to help and support. Im left confused as to why I have nothing they have. Listen to me. I sound jealous. I'm not jealous, but I am bitter.

I've been drawing since I was 13, im 34, and people tell me I'm good. Only one or two retweet my art. "Oh yeah, twitter is bad"... is it? You certainly got a lot of attention on it. "You just gotta keep trying" really? Didn't you have a popular person help you get seen? I've been streaming for 7 to 10 years, I believe. I first did it to share with friends. In all the years I've been at it, I still average 4 viewers.

4 viewers who don't engage, don't share and to my knowledge don't help. I know one has shared my link and I know one has vouched for me to their friend circle... but still no one shows. It makes me wonder and question if I'm even worth the time. If people even like me. Me? Right they like me, they do a wonderful job of making sure they make fun of me every chance they get.

One straight up abandoned me this year. Others will say he didn't, but he honestly did. He claims that I gaslight him and an ex friend. He demanded I apologize for upsetting the ex friend, when said ex friend drove me to the edge of suicide. "Oh, Milo is being melodramatic again." no I'm NOT!

My words were twisted against me and none of my friends stood up to stop it! Two people deliberately lied about me to hurt another. To make another believe I was a bad person. I can't make thos shit up. Heh! "Milo called me that too" I did call you brother until you lied to me and told me that you don't care so long as you get what you want. BOTH IF YOU DID. I didn't replace you, I walked away from an unhealthy addiction with anti anxiety pills and from a person who saw me as their property. Now you get to sit in your little happy homes with you popular friends and people who want to fuck you while I STILL clean up YOUR SHIT! One of you wouldn't be in that happy home if it wasn't for me!

No one better tell me to let it go! Why didn't they let it go and keep me from losing my god damn mind? You tell me! You defended them! None of you fought for me!

Im not even ashamed that I said out loud that I don't think any of my "friends" would die to protect me... sounds fucked up but it was Tales of Symphonia. If you know you might know what im talking about. I have felt like Lloyd since I was 14. Struggling, and fighting for my gentle ideals... sounds fucking sick don't it? I hate seeing that I'm Zelos I side with the strongest because my party won't defend me.

I crack jokes and act happy so no one has to see my hate, my anger, my loathing. I can hear the song playing in my head as i agree with everything they say about me, because why would they listen to a joke like me? I sit here letting my hate control me, because at this point it's all the control I have.

Strike me down! I don't care, say what you want I don't care! killing me will only give me what I want.

All I have wanted in life was friends, loved ones and to fit in. To be loved, to be treated as normal. Instead, I'm meet with jokes at my expense. I'm led to believe that one stands with me when I need help, but none can help me. I've even begun to believe that I really am at fault. For everyone, everything. Blame the victim. Ignore the people who have and do support me. What kind of fucked up shit is that. My hate has made me turn on the people I trusted. My rage hurts the people close to me.

The sickest part is that I sit here yelling to the void and no one knows how to help so they all sit in silence. Damning silence.

Silence

[seewetter]

Hello and thanks for the reply.

I agree with you that transfem separatists do not exist. What the comic seemed to pointing at is not an organized separatist movement but a sort of vague gesture towards people making unreasonable personal demands of other people's private lives and lifestyles. And certainly I've encountered doomerist types in trans circles, including people IRL who say absolutely extreme things about whether or not you can trust people in your life. If you think that the comic should mind its own business instead of vaguely hinting at probably irrelevant behaviours especially in transfeminine circles...we agree. As I said, I don't find this comic very insightful.

What a needlessly longwinded post was expressing was that I'm neither a fan of the comic nor particularly liked this comic strip!

These encounters I've had with doomerist types are why I seemingly "defended" the comic. When trans people who I know exist in the flesh say "no parents truly love their trans children", saying that is cruel. And if such a person were to say that this doom and gloom is justified because of all the transfeminist theory they've read -- I think its fair for anyone to critique this insular mindset. Even in a comic.

I don't know you. You said this seemed like a 4chan meme to you, so maybe this is a comic you stumbled on. As I said in my last post, I wager in that case...this seemed chan-y because it's cheaply made and the hashtag below the comic seems to be an author "I'm not transmisogynist but"ing her way out of responsibility for how her comic comes across.

As I said, you and I both don't really like this comic, but I can tell you (from it appearing on my dashboard every few weeks) that it's a transfeminist comic written for a transfeminist audience. The hashtag asking people not to take this as transmisogynist and to look at context... is a terribly worded, but sincere attempt at conveying that. Apparently a failed attempt.

But it's possible that you and I are very different in ways that make it impossible to agree on how we perceive this thread. After all, I don't think anything serious is happening here that touches on trans liberation in any way.

So to me, attacks on the author that come from an angle like "we need an apology, this author is a terribly irresponsible comic artist, this is transmisogynistic social forces that are shaping the artist and their audience" are projecting onto this comic panel a social context in which it is widely read and thought about by... young impressionable trans people who get transmisogynist ideas about transfeminism and vulnerable members of our community? Or by cis queers and cishets who entrench their two-faced behaviour towards those more vulnerable members? It's sort of treating this comic not as an artefact of the obscure side of Tumblr trans culture that rarely gets viewed outside the audience of transfeminists its made for...and instead treating this comic which talks in metaphorical veiled language about trans issues... as some highly accessible cultural product that must be held to the same standards as major representatives of our community or mainstream journalistic outlets.

Like the comic on this page isn't doing anything great, but it's also not doing anything - period. So it's not harmful in any meaningful way -- but I can't fault you for thinking that it is, because hoo boy, those hashtags out of context are just atrocious "pay no attention to how bad this looks, just check my whole blog for context". Yeah no, you can't be expected to do that and the artist should have known better.

Anyway, sorry for being longwinded. I'll work on it.

rationalize

[ID: Three panel comic with crudely drawn stick people

Panel 1: A leaf green person is talking to a grass green person with a hat and glasses.

Leaf: "And then Orange said that-"

Grass: "Orange"? Your friend is orange?"

Leaf: "Yeah?"

Grass: "Why do you have non-green friends? Don't you know about misoviridy??"

Leaf: "…I have plenty of non-green friends. I have grayscale friends, even."

Panel 2: Grass Green solemnly holds Leaf Green's shoulder.

Grass: "Look. I hate to be the one to tell you this, but every single misoviridy-exempt friend you have secretly hates you.

Leaf: "Uh. That is not true."

Grass: "It's basic viridist theory. Every single moment they're around you, they're thinking about it."

Panel 3: The grass green person tips their hat down.

Grass: "Look. I get it. You're naive and uninformed. You don't know better. But read "Pruning Greens." Then you will understand."

Leaf: "I already read that. It did not say the things you are saying."

Grass: "You will see. It is inevitable."

Leaf: "No I think you're just finding a new way to rationalize really unhealthy thought patterns here actually"

End ID.]

Start - Previous - Next

[ihopesocomic]

Do you think bullying is considered a type of abuse? Does "bully redemption" trope can also be considered a abuser redemption? I can't like this kind of narrative at all. Not even "A Silent Voice " could convince me.

The thing is with bullying is that it is often committed by children and the overreaching fact is that hardly any adult is going to look back on their actions as a child/young adult and say yes, that totally was not cringe of me. This further compounded by the person's home life and/or if they're dealing with personal issues.

I was a pretty huge asshole as a kid and it's not like I mellowed out the moment I hit 18 either. I was dealing with a lot of stuff (i.e. such as undiagnosed autism/schizophrenia and psychologists refusing to take me seriously) and I dealt with it in a shitty manner by being this "edgy badass" online and just getting into online fights whenever I can because being deemed intimidating and scary online made up for the fact I was an insecure outcast offline.

I truly regret how I conducted myself back then. Regardless of what I was going through, nobody deserved to have to deal with me lashing out at them. It was also just embarrassing behaviour to boot.

But I do think bullying can certainly be counted as abuse and it certainly begets abusive tendencies (points to self, who was bullied throughout elementary and high school). But in that vain, I feel people respond to depictions of it in a manner that isn't exactly constructive and is borderline abusive itself, like the desire to outright commit assault or murder on said bully being depicted. lol

Because I also feel this question is also in reference to Rose and her behaviour and while I can't give much away on how we're going to handle her arc, I feel like people demanding she dies or whatever is just... Yeah, let's not. It's essentially 'I hope Vicious dies, particularly at the hands of her abuser' all over again.

It's clear Rose is growing up in a pretty unhealthy environment and is being groomed to take on a position of authority in said unhealthy environment.

I've seen the same kind of reception to irl children of cult leaders and the intent behind Rose's character is to deconstruct the fact that people - particularly children - are very much influenced by what surrounds them and will respond accordingly to it. We're social animals at the end of the day. Same goes for (anthropomorphic) lions. Not to mention what goes on in a cult that may seem alarming and disturbing to us is not necessarily the case for those within it... because they've been brainwashed into thinking it's OK. Rose is very much not exempt from this and her being groomed to become Queen by her father has only made things worse.

Anyway, my apologies, this thing got pretty long and also kinda personal and it probably also doesn't make a whole lot of sense but feeling that bullies cannot be redeemed? Totally get that. Responding to the depiction with unhealthy thoughts of child abuse or murder? I can't really get behind that. If there's room for growth and a chance for them to change rather than becoming outright established abusers as fully-fledged adults, I feel we should hope for that. - RJ

--

Like everything, it depends on how it's done. I don't know what A Silent Voice is, but some things are just too far past forgiveness or redemption. Cuz at that point its not "bullying", it's hazing. If it's teasing, or there's mutual sass happening, or heck even if one person thinks the other is bullying but it was a misunderstanding (Amity calling Luz a bully in The Owl House), and its not full on harassment, or stalking, I don't see the harm in allowing someone to better themselves and liking how they've changed, especially if they're young. And I don't see a problem with a friendship beginning at a place of conflict and grow into something strong and meaningful. I don't even think forgiveness of the bullying itself is a requirement to move on? Maybe I'm just old so I handle things differently than like a teenager would, but certain stuff just stops bothering you. People I'm still friends with to this day weren't exactly pleasant to me early on in our relationship or vice versa, but we never "forgave" the infraction and we've all just moved on because the infraction in question was never done again which is something I personally care more about. I've actually had someone from High school see me years later and apologize for how they treated me. It was just all water under the bridge at that point. But what I think about how things are handled in media is not the same thing as real people. What might not be a big deal to one person might be a big deal for someone else. Again bully redemption is something to be done with care and more often just excuses abuse which is gross. But I've seen it done right, but I wouldn't exactly call it commonplace. - Cat

[maochira]

As mentioned in my last post, for Barou's birthday (even tough it's still the 26th where I live) here's just me talking about how much and why I love Barou

Warning: I get a little bit corny and a bit personal

I think the first thing to start is obviously my big brother complex. And funfact, Barou was the character that made me realize I have one in the first place. I knew I had a father complex, but it took Barou to make me realize I have a big brother complex as well. I don't remember if I realized that after or before finding out he has two younger sisters but yeah.

I see Barou as a big brother figure to myself, I absolutely love writing big brother!Barou stuff and I don't think I'll ever get tired of it.

I don't know what made me start liking him so much, but I quickly fell into having Barou as one of my favourite characters and while my taste in my favs has always changed, Barou is the only one who has stayed this high for this long (Ego would be right behind that, I think.)

I don't relate to much of Barou's personality. We're very very different as the type of person we are. But one thing that is just incredibly comforting to me are his urges to perfection and the compulsions that com along. I used to struggle with compulsions A LOT and one of them was having to open the window to let air in. I had a ritual in which I repeated 2 or 3 things (sometimes over and over) and one of those things was opening the window. That one scene where Baroutells Isagi and Nagi to let air into the room? Just a little scene, a little moment, but to me it holds a lot of comfort. I haven't struggled with any compulsions in a while, and I think Barou might have subconsciously helped me to deal with that because of the comfort this part of him gives me.

I know those things don't necessarily have to be interpreted as Barou having compulsions, but I interpret them that way.

Also, his perfectionism. I'm not a perfectionist anymore, but I use to be one to a point where I was upset with myself for "not perfect" grades. Probably a thing Barou helped/helps me with as well but not like as a conscious thing.

Barou is just my go-to comfort character for basically everything. I remember about 2 months ago, it was the day my ex and I would have had our 3 year anniversary if we hadn't broken up last summer. And I don't miss them anymore, but the thoughts and a bit of the pain just returned so,,, I wrote a oneshot of how Barou helps his sibling through a breakup. A few things in that oneshot resembled what happened to me irl but I changed a bunch so it's not accurate to my ex and me.

Whenever I write Barou as a big brother, I write him as the type of brother who's very soft for his younger sibling(s) and extremely protective, but he stays rational and thinks a lot about how his overprotectiveness could harm his sibling(s) so he won't accidentally hurt them. And if he does end up saying or doing something that hurts them, he ha a hard time apologizing but he always manages to do it in his own ways. But you've seen all of that in my big brother!Barou writings.

Barou resembles one of my old comfort characters who can no longer be my comfort character. It's mainly in looks, I genuinely can't think of a thing they have in common about their personality. That also doesn't make Barou a "replacement" for that comfort character I lost, but he certainly filled that hole that was left behind when I lost the other comfort character.

I love Barou's character development and he's one of the most interesting characters to me, even outside of headcanons and the stuff I write about him. In the manga and anime, he's super interesting to see and his dvelopment in second selection,,,, hnngg loves that so much. Alo his rivalry with Isagi is my favourite of all of Isagi rivals (yeah sure, Rin and Kaiser are cool. Bu tthe mutual respect Isagi and Barou have makes it more interesting imo)

All in all, I love Barou and I have a deep personal connection with him. Love him very very much and hhjsnnnnf the thing I'd do to have him be real or to have a friend who's like him. I think about Barou a lot every day and I do a lot of rps with him on c.ai (usually just "rewrites" of the same scenario over and over, things I've already written on here or just things that are way too specific or personal as self-inserts for me to write on this blog)

Anyways, that's it. I will give my Barou plushie a little kiss now.

[ohheyitsokay]

Omg I'm SO sorry!!! I'm the soulmates pain AU anon, I was completely aware you were the one with the milestone!! I saw the post through Molly's rb and I was almost completely sure I had opened your blog to send you the ask but alas, the Tumblr app can never give you any certainties. That long-ass message was completely dedicated to you, I still can't quite grasp how I managed to send it to scribbledghost 🙄🙄🙄 Sorry!!! Congrats again, I love you!!!!

for reference a Din Djarin x reader soulmate request where your soulmate feels your injuries and pain

hello, dear heart!

I wanted to say, before anything else, thank you. I've reread your words multiple times since you sent this, confirming they were to me, and they really mean the world to me. thank you so, so much! anyway, your idea is fantastic, I had a lot of fun with this one! I hope you like seeing what I did with your already wonderful thoughts 💕

ps it's well documented that I'm a big fan of sprawling thoughts, so please never apologize for sharing them!

warnings: mentions canon-typical injuries, a bunch of fluff. at least enough for a couple of throw pillows

>>

soulmate requests / follower celebration

<<

There's a short burn on his forearm when he wakes.

Din stares at it, wondering at the dull ache, trying to place the injury from yesterday's adventure when it hits him. Hot and golden warmth, flooding through his chest, thawing his flesh against the cold filtered air.

It's one of yours.

A burn, on his forearm.

And selfishly, indulgently, he pauses for a moment, mind slipping away from duty and expectations to dwell in the daydream of his soulmate.

First, his mind creates an image of a blurry mandalorian caretaker, gently moving around a kitchen in the covert. You stir a pot, tapping the spoon on the side before setting it down. Hearing distant calls, you turn too quickly and oh - a sliver of burn along your arm.

Din wants to help, wants to pull you away from the domestic .... danger, and he rushes forward. Your helmet turns to him and he almost sees it - before his mind can no longer produce the answers he aches for late at night.

The second image is of you, in armor as gleaming as his own, in a thick, unrecognizable forest. The hairs on his neck are at full attention, already subconsciously wanting to shout - but you don't need his help. You're breathtaking in all versions of his daydream - but watching you fight with practiced ease punches the air from his lungs. For a moment he feels self-conscious of his awkward maneuvers and slapdash fighting but then his mind pulls him back. You're protecting someone, or else you wouldn't have messed up - you never do, injuries from you are too rare - but you shove them behind you, shooting an enemy over your shoulder before your helmet snaps back. There are so many - you're surrounded - and a hot, sharp blaster bolt grazes your forearm before your fury is truly unleashed.

He runs his fingers over the burn, almost giddy at the possibilities.

Mandalorians are few and far between, but he's grateful he has a soulmate, and even more thankful you've kept yourself out of harm's way almost entirely, since you'd been connected.

As he dons his layers, the shine of his armor reflects bruises and scrapes littered across the expanse of his skin. His own, from his journey, and one beautiful little burn from his soulmate.

And then they're covered, and the armor is tied securely in place, and he leaves his daydreams in the room as the ship door slides unceremoniously shut.

-

You hiss at the burn, clutching your arm.

Great. Just what you needed - another injury to add to your impressive collection.

At least my soulmate gets a gift from me this time. You roll your eyes.

The vendor next to your stall is a sweet lady, already apologizing for her steaming pots and pans and offering you compensation.

The credits would be nice, but you could hardly justify taking anything, especially since it was your soulmate's fault your body was riddled with aches and pains in the first place.

Waving your hand, you accept her counter offer - a bowl of her perfect broth and noodles - before retreating. You sell cloth, from beautiful dyed lengths tucked away to sturdy, unstainable blacks, and it was days like today that you thanked your stars for that choice.

There's a thick pile in the middle that you perch on, sinking into the folds as your body cries at you, and you sigh over your soup in relief. The burden of waking to webbing bruises and sprawling scrapes and the more-than-occasional broken bone is eased by your stall - sitting and haggling until the sun goes down. That is, unless there's drama in the market, as it seems there is today.

In the distance you hear shouts, more than those of vendors selling meat on sticks to passing warriors and merchants - the taunts of drunkards.

Someone is coming, and you almost laugh when you see his form in the distance, because he's trying and failing to be inconspicuous. It's impossible, with his gleaming armor, but still he ducks into shadowy spots, forgetting - or maybe ignoring - their inhabitants.

"A Mandalorian has graced our market," your neighbor remarks dryly. They were respected, but it was well known that chaos followed them. You share a look, both wishing you were wealthy enough to conpletely pack up shop. If anything, a logical person would put away most of the stock and hunker down for a few hours. Weighing the odds was difficult: if you were lucky, the chaos wouldn't bother your business, and shoppers might be drawn out, hoping for entertainment and spending as they waited. If you weren't, a wayward burst of plasma or blaster fire would destroy your whole month's stock.

You looked at him again, the Mandalorian kneeling down the street. His form was... almost handsome, formidable but careful. He was light on his feet, seemingly with gentleness on his mind, and it drew you in like a moth to flame. You decided to stay, and hope for the best, your curiosity pulsing like your bruises.

And you were lucky, that day, because he ducked away not a moment later, taking the exciment with him.

Until, he came back the next day, this time on the prowl, stalking up and down the edge of Dicer's Row, one hand on his blaster and the other atop a bulky, wriggling bag. This time, you ventured to stand, folding and refolding your displays as you watched him through your lashes.

And then he made his move, and you sighed, feigning a yawn to cover your disappointment from your neighbor's knowing smile. She shouldn't be wiggling her eyebrows over the box wall between you - honestly his type were more annoying than anything. A crash from the alley confirmed it: there was no way a guy like that cared about his soulmate. The gentleness from before was surely a trick of the light.

Your whole side lit up with pain, the impact of something hard against your whole side and you groaned, settling into your mound again. Any curiosity or attraction was snuffed under your annoyance and pain, and your mood soured like fruit left unpicked on the tree.

Selfish, you thought, glaring as a chicken ran squawking from the commotion. What a jerk.

-

The next day, you tried to maintain the sentiment, huffing as he wandered the stalls.

Why does he keep coming back?

You'd have thought his time here was over when he'd dragged that lowlife out of town yesterday. But here he was, buying a crock of soup at the stall next to you, and ignoring her comments about how he couldn't eat it with his helmet on.

She had warmed to him, since he'd put money in her pocket, chattering in a way that kept him stuck for long moments.

It struck you as strange - he almost seemed too awkward to leave, like her returned generosity actually meant something to him. A man like him... surely could've just walked away.

But he stayed for awhile, nodding and looking at the spoons she carved in her free time, and you almost thought he was looking at you, too. Then he ducked his head and planted himself in front of you, and certainly he was.

For all the years you'd spent weaving words to sell your fabrics and goods, you'd never been so speechless. The Mandalorian was large, sharp, shining edges and bulky canvas packs tied to his shoulders - he seemed out of place, filling your whole stall, shuffling as he loomed over you.

He asked for soft brown things - children's clothes.

"Of course, I - I mean, yes, just over here -" you tripped over your words, caught completely off guard by the shape of him, the feel of him just an arms width away, and his request. You stumbled from your seat, nearly toppling in your hurry and his gloved hand wrapped around your arm, catching you.

"You're injured," he stated not really asking. It was... overwhelmingly intimate, him knowing, and acknowledging it, like he cared.

"Yeah, my..." you swallowed, trying not to get lost in the dark glass inches from your face. "My self-centered soulmate keeps getting himself nearly killed."

Even with your heart thumping in your chest, you couldn't keep the bite from your words, bitterness having collected over years of nursing injuries that were consequences of someone else's actions. He didn't let go of you for a moment, his helmet pulling back and tilting, like he was startled.

Then he was cautious, unbearably so, releasing his grip like a child freeing a captured creature when it was time. The topic was dropped, and he made his purchase quickly, but before he left, he paused. The Mandalorian's gloved hand ghosted over your cheek, slowly moving a hair back into it's place, and if you hadn't known better, it was almost an apology.

And then, thick cape swirling in the dust, tiny clothes in tow, he swept away, leaving you along with your whole body alight with a foreign longing.

-

Din felt as though he'd been stabbed.

Hot, hot feelings poured through his chest, spreading fast as fire as he desperately tried to sort through them.

You - you were incredible, fragile and bruised, with the most stunning, determined eyes he had ever seen. Not a Mandalorian, and you had a ... a soulmate, a fucker who left your skin littered with marks, burdening you with ...

He felt panicked, shocked, and guilty, just as he had when you'd told him. It had never occred to him that his soulmate might be there... out there, constantly burdened by his recklessness. His body screamed for attention, something he so often ignored, but this time, he was almost deafened by it.

His feet, legs, arms, chest, heart - all of them wanted him to return to you, in your little fabric stall. To... what? Truly, he hadn't the slightest idea, so his mind won out, shaking a little to try to reign in the muscles that he'd taught to obey him.

He couldn't go to you.

But, he couldn't stay away.

-

He was back in the market, and this time, he wasn't being subtle about staring at you.

Tall and ... slow, he waded through the crowds, making his was towards you like he was following a careful path.

"Can I help you?" You stood, moving almost involuntarily towards him. "Was there something wrong with my -" he was already shaking his head, hands reaching to make you shush.

Waiting, an irrational part of your mind wished he would touch you again, would place his big hands on your skin and sooth the aches that haunted your life. It was unfair, but you didn't stop it, couldn't if you tried.

Carefully, he slid a single finger to your arm, pushing up your sleeve to reveal the little burn you'd gotten.

He was being gentle. It made you want to stomp your feet, jealously welling up in your heart like bile, bitter and hot. How could it be, that someone so powerful had learned so quickly, wanted to, and he wasn't - he wasn't even your -

Then he moved again, pushing up his own sleeve and your thoughts tumbled over each other. It was intimate, even more than before, desperately trusting, as his skin near glowed in the morning light. And there was a burn on his skin, hairs singled like they'd met the edge of a pot of boiling broth.

You wanted to punch him. This man has spent years tossing his body around like he had one one spare, making your own as brittle as bread crust and - you wanted to kiss him. This man had learned after a single day, the impact of his actions, and had been nothing but kind.

The forehead of his helmet pressed into yours, and the two sides of your mind compromised.

Later, words would come - they had to.

But now, your eyes closed, and you sighed. He had the rest of your life to make it up to you - and he would, you were sure.

<<

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