#but stop acting like people are being unreasonable for being upset

[wormrat]

“People are only mad about the ofmd ending because they-” *proceeds to list a bunch of stupid fandom drama that has nothing to do with S2’s overall bad writing, clear lack of sensitivity readers for disability and other marginalized identities, the racism of Ed’s plotline* like ohh okay I see u guys are just able-bodied and yt and don’t want to think critically

no offense but if you watched S2 and all you could think about was how annoying a certain section of Izzy fans were going to be about specific scenes, then you have enormous privilege because the rest of us were over here umcomfortable with the treatment of physical disability and how they made Ed basically a violent MOC that could only be “calmed” by The White Man

[thatfeyboy]

I need to know why it makes people so unreasonably upset to suggest that some dysphoric trans people probably should be considered intersex. Do you just. Hate trans people? Or is it because anything that makes trans physical isn't allowed?

It has been stated many many times that not all trans people have dysphoria, and not all trans people that do experience the same dysphoria. It has been harped on that gender is social and about presentation and isn't binary. Fine. But somehow when I or people like me talk about having physical and immutable dysphoria that doesn't stem from social means it's not ok. When I bring up that yes, some parts of the brain control your hormones and gonads, and yes, some parts recognize what you are and should look like, im treated like a fucking gender critical.

Why is it wrong to say that parts of the brain do in fact qualify as sex related because that's what they are for? If they dont physically square with the binary(naturally, not through intervention) then that person is not binary/intersex in their physical disposition by definition. It's not exactly a hard concept to grasp.

And because I have to, no, most aspects of the brain are not related to our bimodal sex system. There can in fact be gender/sex nuance in certain parts of the brain without claiming male and female type brains exist as a whole. Fear of some shitty crack pot idea should not prevent people from understanding scientific inquiry and research.

Being intersex does not make the trans experience more or less valid/real. But I'm tired of pretending I'm a man for reasons that absolutely don't apply to me. Nothing about my being trans has anything to do with how I want to socially be, aside as an extension of others viewing my body as I wish it to be. If there is really room in the community for all of us, then my saying that some of our experience is different shouldn't be a problem.

EDIT: Thank you for some of your responses. I would like to amend my statement slightly. When I mentioned intersex I was more trying to imply, as I lacked a better word, that it is clear some if not most trans people that experience dysphoria have a physical developmental reason for that, likely epigenetic, genetic, and pre natal conditions. This type of sense is in most people, including cis people, hence why you cannot train someone to be a gender they aren't(no desistance of gender identity in both cis and trans people regardless of treatment). If intersex is to be interpreted as things exclusively affecting external or internal primary sex traits(as to be read, physically involved in the act of procreation) that are only ever natal, then I am ok in accepting intersex is not the best fit(except for that PCOS study but not super relevant rn).

That being said, I do still believe it is a part of sex and sex/gender development and that it is a physical condition(most anatomy based dysphoria). I don't see why it being a part of sex and sex development is a problem, when it has no other answer that satisfies our actual understanding of the condition and those peoples experience. Anything based on socialization has been disproven time and time again, so when are we going to stop acting like this

[marie-m-art]

Amongst the Aziraphale appreciation posts I see, there's a big thing that I think is often missed and deserves pointing out!

(I'm not sure if this is an unpopular opinion or if it's something so obvious that it goes without saying, and thus hasn't been said; so I am either throwing myself to the wolves here or to the crickets. Here I go!)

In short, I think sheltering Gabriel in S2E1 was undeniably the right thing to do, and I admire Aziraphale for it. The ensuing fight with Crowley might distract some people from seeing this.

Initially it was a snap decision whose rationale was probably along the lines of "Ohshit, this is insane, everyone is staring, this situation has to stop right now, just get in and I'll get rid of you later."

But then it becomes clear to Aziraphale that Gabriel is a person who needs help. This is a special situation in which his antagonist is currently helpless. If he turns Gabriel away, it's only a matter of time before the other angels find him (granted, Azi doesn't have all the information yet here, but it's not a huge leap for him to suspect heaven being part of the threat), and in the meantime he could be hurt or even be discorporated by humans or by accident, and presumably end up back in heaven where Something Terrible awaits.

To articulate what I think the thought process might be in this situation, I'll borrow a quote from Miss Level from A Hat Full of Sky: "You can't not help people just because they're stupid or forgetful or unpleasant. Everyone's poor round here. If I don't help them, who will?" He's able to set aside his feelings and risk his own comfort and possibly his safety to help someone clearly in need, despite their past. The reason this is admirable is because this is difficult to do.

I understand why Aziraphale was upset with Crowley (and acted a bit pissy) during their blow-up. Not only is it not unreasonable to be upset about being bailed on in a high stress situation, it's also disappointing that Crowley's proposed solution was to dump Gabriel somewhere to fend for himself - Aziraphale knows and we know that Crowley is usually kind and moral, not to mention rational (and we even see him being kind to Jim/Gabriel later). It's also worth noting that Aziraphale never implies that he thinks Crowley is a bad person for not helping; he asks for help, is upset to not get it, and suggests Crowley leaves because they're obviously at an impasse.

I see Crowley's side too, because it's also not unreasonable to get upset when your partner springs an unexpected stressful situation on you, and it was wise to leave when it was clear that they were both too emotional to work on a proper solution.

We all want to enjoy our precious, fragile existence on earth and not have to deal with curveballs, but I see this problem as the "worse" part of "for better or for worse". I might have seen things differently if Aziraphale was sheltering someone like Hastur, but he's helping his own antagonist, not Crowley's. I for one like to think that Crowley would have returned to help anyway after processing his emotions, even without the threat to Aziraphale's existence. And when he does return I like that he maintains an attitude of "I'll help but I don't have to like it!"

(Side note, it's also hilarious how irritated Aziraphale is by Jim later while Crowley is so patient - another case of doing the right thing but not necessarily liking it).

TLDR: I see their fight as emotional reactions to stress, that can be summed up along the lines of "I'm not mad at you, I'm mad at the situation!" Aziraphale's a BAMF in my book for doing what he believes was right.

[shadowshrike]

Astarion on Halsin Leaving

I can't stop thinking about Astarion's lines when Halsin chooses to leave your party, so have a fun mini-analysis. Note that this text is pulled via datamining because I don't have all the appropriate saves atm. Since the context of your personal story is everything in this game and can wildly change how lines come across, please take my thoughts here as a fun exercise with the text and nothing more.

I think the things that are needed to fully understand where my head is at regarding his lines are two fold:

1. How Astarion talks about other companions leaving

Shadowheart and Wyll can both also leave in Act 2. His responses are as follows.

Astarion: I don't see what Shadowheart got so upset about - it was not that nice of a temple.

For Shadowheart he gently deflects the crux of the matter. This isn't surprising because he is a master of minimizing other people's grievances when he thinks they're legitimate but inconvenient. Otherwise, he responds fairly mildly.

Astarion: So, that's how the legend ends. The Blade of Frontiers, cast down to the Hells. Hardly a fitting ending. But so few are.

Unlike Shadowheart, Wyll is forced to leave by being dragged to the hells. There's no justification he needs to rebuff for Wyll leaving the party's side, so instead, he uses it to double down on his philosophy that 'nice guys finish last and the world is a dangerous and horrible place.' Which, ironically, is not entirely unreasonable given the circumstances.

2. How other companions talk about Halsin leaving

The Good companions don't blame Halsin for leaving. Wyll even blames himself for not doing enough. Karlach also regrets the loss of another strong person around, reminding us once again that Halsin is physically imposing in the narrative, even if the stats say otherwise because of how D&D balance works.

Gale: Druids will always follow nature's purpose over any mortal threat. Halsin goes where he is needed, as must we.

Jaheira: Halsin long urged the Harpers not to abandon this land to the curse. I cannot blame him, for being unable to bear it a second time.

Wyll: I can't blame Halsin for leaving. We could have, should have, done more for him and for the cursed lands. They may never again feel the breathe of life on them. What a shame.

Karlach: Pity about Halsin. I was getting used to having an extra Strong around. He smelled nice, too. Like outside.

(Fun fact regarding Karlch's comment: Astarion has a line where he refers to Halsin as "musky bear-fellow" - musky is also the word used to describe the attractive smell of corpse flowers - and Halsin's underwear smells like an herb garden according to its flavor text. Apparently, the guy canonically smells really good?)

Even Shar Path Shadowheart expresses regret in losing Halsin. Not because she wants to end the Shadow Curse, but because Halsin's nice to look at.

Shadowheart: This land remains cloaked by Lady Shar's power - good. A shame it cost us Halsin as a travelling companion though. He may have been misguided, but I liked looking at him.

That brings us to...

Astarion's tantrum over Halsin leaving

Go ahead and listen to it yourself first, and then I'll dive into both lines.

Astarion: Just like that hulking bear to stomp off in a huff. I swear, druids care more about the plants of this land than the people.

"Just like that hulking bear to stomp off in a huff."

This first statement is not only indignant and deflecting, it's so factually false that it's laughable. Halsin is always calm and regretful when staying behind no matter how you treat him.

Player: You have to come - I need you. Halsin: This place needs me. I wish it were different - I truly do. As long as the curse remains, so must I.

Player: Do as you wish. Halsin: This isn't what I wish. It's simply the way it has to be - I'm sorry.

Player: The shadow curse was always your burden - not mine. Halsin: Yes, and so it must remain. I wish you success on your path. Had things been different, I might have walked it with you.

Player: Perhaps we can still do something to lift the curse. Halsin: No. If you linger, you'll only jeopardise your own mission. This is my burden alone now until either the curse is lifted, or I breathe my last.

Halsin is renowned for letting people treat him horribly and taking it on the chin. Him pushing back is usually related to calmly setting boundaries or expectations. The only times I can think of offhand where he raises his voice in anger is with Kagha, if you interfere with the portal, and briefly after certain parts of the Evil companion routes, though not as intensely (I might do a write-up on that later because his reactions are interesting). He certainly never "stomp[s] off in a huff", and he's not doing it now either.

However, the way this is worded gives me pause. Because "just like [him]" said so angrily gives the impression that Halsin has reacted this way to Astarion before. Given Astarion's habit of rewriting exactly how events went down to absolve himself of accountability, it makes me wonder if Astarion's tried to get a rise out of Halsin in camp and been shut down. Since Halsin is the only Good companion at that point who is also old and worldly enough to not get flustered by Astarion's cruelty, mind games, and flirting, it wouldn't surprise me if Astarion has built up resentment. Halsin refuses to be manipulated or confirm Astarion's cynical worldview, and Astarion isn't ready to consider changing his mind with Cazador on the horizon.

"I swear, druids care more about the plants of this land than the people."

This is, again, a false statement wrapped in a little more truth than the first. Druids are indeed infamous for putting nature above humans (see: Shadow Druids), and Halsin talks a big game about Balance and Nature. However, Halsin is probably the most people-oriented traditional druid we see in the game, going so far as to cause chaos in his grove by aggressively taking in refugees and personally traveling with an undead and servant of Shar because they need help. He chooses people over Silvanus' classic teachings so often that it's fascinating.

That aside, given what the shadow-cursed lands are doing to anyone on the way to Baldur's Gate, choosing to stay and attempt to lift the curse is hardly serving plants over people - the Absolute and the Shadow Curse are both significant threats to people. What Halsin is doing, however, is prioritizing his own problems over those of Astarion. He's setting aside the tadpole cause, not because he's selfish or duplicitous, but because he's not willing to abandon the other people he swore to help a century ago and has obsessed over ever since.

Some fun implications

Given all this information, there are many interesting ways to read Astarion's language beyond a surface "he hates Halsin and/or druids" level (gotta love his charlatan background making almost every line capable of ambiguity). Some personal favorite interpretations of his feelings:

Begrudging affection towards Halsin. Astarion has no reason to get so angry and make such absurd statements if he didn't want Halsin to stay. He certainly didn't make such a big fuss about other companions. However, since Astarion isn't in an emotional place to be able to consider Halsin's worldview seriously now that he's staring down Cazador, that admiration gets bungled into a "well screw you, I didn't like you anyway" attitude, much like how he handles some partner breakups.

Resentment and fear of being left behind or rejected. Astarion is selfish. He's been fairly consistent that he doesn't want to help others, but he also hates when no one helps him. That self-fulfilling prophecy is a rather large part of how he moves through (un)life and can easily continue through Act III depending on whether your dialog choices give him an opportunity to express it. Seeing a good person that he truly believes is good choosing something else over him makes the 'truth' of this cynical, self-centered worldview sting harder, especially as he is at his most vulnerable heading into Baldur's Gate.

Guilt for not doing more. Halsin has been clear about his priorities from the start. He's one of the most straightforward, reasonable communicators in the whole game. That means Astarion knew he would leave if the Shadow Curse wasn't lifted, especially since Halsin doesn't have a tadpole and, therefore, has no reason to risk his life for them. Since Astarion is almost universally unwilling to take blame for his own actions or inactions, he's trying to push the responsibility onto Halsin by painting him as unreasonable for following through on his stated priorities rather than let himself feel bad about not helping Halsin.

I'm sure there are even more readings you can think of, too. Hats off to this hidden bit of dialogue, the incredible delivery, and how much depth it brings to a relationship which is easy to ignore.

[666writingcafe]

An Unintentional Trap

Thirteen

I'm tired of listening to Solomon's whining. I want him out of my cave once and for all, and hopefully fetching MC and taking them to him will be enough for him to leave.

If that was the only reason for my trip, I would have just teleported to and from the castle. It's a lot quicker than walking. But I want some time alone with the human disguised as a demon.

During my little venture through MC's soul, I saw a rather alarming amount of demonic energy, more than any type of facade should have. Usually, humans with that much energy either end up evil or dead. Either way, their souls end up really dark. No sparkle at all.

And yet MC's soul remains blindingly white. Some of that could be explained by the angelic influence over it, but in my experience, the two cancel each other out, resulting in a dull, clear-looking soul.

I just want to know what makes the human tick. Perhaps that can explain why their soul is so...odd.

~~~

"I'm still a bit upset at Solomon," MC tells me. "Obviously, not enough to decline your invitation, but I'm probably not going to be rushing into his arms or anything like that."

"Understandable," I respond, making them sigh.

"Am I being unreasonable, Thirteen?"

"No, not at all. He did something incredibly stupid, and you're allowed to be frustrated by his lack of judgement." A slight test. Will they take the bait and trash-talk Solomon?

"I know. It's just..." They trail off.

"Just what?" Another sigh from MC.

"He was worried about me. I mean, I launched myself at a demon twice my size and sent the two of us sliding across the colosseum floor. The fact that I only walked away with a couple of scratches and bruises is a fucking miracle."

Huh. A human that's humble enough to acknowledge another person's emotions? And admit when they act too rashly for their own good?

"Why did you do it, then?"

"It was the only way I could knock Beel out. You saw the pictures, right?" I nod. He caused a lot of damage near the Demon Lord's castle. "He was starting to attack his brothers, Diavolo, and Barbatos when we got there. I had to stop him before he hurt any of them, because with the way he was going at them, their injuries would have been a lot worse than mine."

"So, you sacrificed your safety in order to protect theirs." MC softly smiles.

"That's not the first time that's happened. In fact, I've done it enough to get told off for it."

"I can imagine. Doing that sort of thing tends to shorten one's lifespan, making them die sooner than originally intended." I pause. "Those type of people tend to annoy me." MC's smile grows a bit wider, as if they know something I don't.

Wait.

Have I chewed them out for it in their timeline?

I can't think about that right now. We've arrived at my cave, and the energy feels off. Looking over at MC tells me that I'm not the only one feeling uneasy.

I pull out my dagger.

"Stay behind me," I whisper to MC, who quietly nods. We carefully make our way to the Fountain of Knowledge with no incidents.

Solomon is right where I left him, sitting on the edge of the fountain. And yet his presence does nothing to calm me down.

In fact, seeing him makes me that much more anxious.

Which is strange. I've felt a lot of things when it comes to the sorcerer, but never afraid.

"It's not him," MC murmurs. Solomon and I make eye contact, and I immediately get nauseous.

They're right. This isn't Solomon.

"Where is he?" I ask. The shapeshifter smiles eerily.

"Some place out of the way," it answers. "I wanted to talk to MC in private."

"Yeah, not happening, buddy. I don't trust you as far as I can throw you." An unknown entity that knows MC's actual name can't possibly be up to any good.

"Putting words in other people's mouths isn't polite."

"I never claimed to be polite." This guy is pissing me off.

"Aren't you tired of being told what to think?" He's directed the question at MC. "I don't wish to hurt you. I want you to be happy."

"I've already told you, I'm not interested," they tell the shapeshifter, causing him to chuckle.

"It's cute that you think you still have a choice. You're already on my path. The more you resist, the rougher your journey will be. I'm just offering to make things easy for you."

I may not know the context of his words, but I can tell that they're upsetting MC.

"Alright, that's enough," I interject. "Get out of my cave." The shapeshifter remains still. "Now."

He sighs.

"I was hoping it wouldn't come to this, but it appears I don't have a choice." He waves a hand, and suddenly MC collapses onto the ground.

"What have you done?!" He shrugs.

"I thought reapers were supposed to remain neutral."

"Answer the fucking question!"

"I simply put them in a deep sleep. When they come to their senses, they'll wake up."

Solomon is going to kill me.

Taglist: @lost-in-time-wanderer, @fuzztacular, @dianedancer18, @sweetbrier2908, @flare-love, @completelyshatteredbrokenmschf, @thunderlightning351, @l3v1chan, @anxious-chick, @5mary5, @expressionless-fr, @tenkobitch

[thatneoncrisis]

DID YOU KNOW: BULLYING is not the correct way to start a discussion about the treatment of people of colour real and fictional in fandom spaces?

DID YOU KNOW: white knighting usually ends up badly?

DID YOU KNOW: that when you create an environment where it's acceptable and even expected to gang up on the people you dislike and their art that you are BEING RANCID? that you're ruining fandom culture for everyone by creating an environment of fear?

DID YOU KNOW: that pounding feeling in your heart right now, the anxiety in your stomach when you open any inbox and find the number of messages in them WILL GO AWAY when you grow up, take responsibility for behaving really inappropriately, and take some time to think about why you're lashing out at strangers on the internet about PENIS SIZE?

DID YOU KNOW: 20k words of hate fanfic is basically fanfic and a sign of being A MEGA ULTRA CRINGE HATER

Did you know: it's more fun to create out of love and joy? that fandom is about sharing something you like with others who like it? that it's not a space to spray shit like a gassy hippo and ruin everyone's good time?

ONLY YOU: can take some time to reflect on YOUR BEHAVIOUR! Only you can find the joy within yourself and chase out the lame stank ass hater.

Go for a walk and name five bugs you see.

god bless, namaste, llap

why are you acting like im denying any of this. why are you acting like you know anything about what i do or how i feel outside of this one instance. why are you acting like i named the fics i dont like or that theyre unique in any way outside of trends that are common in literally every fandom. why do you act like ive never expressed frustration with how gideon and others are written on my blog. why are you acting like feeling upset or nervous when i see someone mad at me is irrational when i understand they have a reason to. i havent told anyone theyre being unreasonable or acted like they should just move on

i cant stop you from feeling like this. i dont want to. but there is literally nothing that can be done. ive explained it fifteen times at this point either you like it or you dont. and the fandom already had hostile people in it- i saw people sending rude anons and talking about a good friend of mine on twitter because it didnt like their ship and called it weird after specifically being asked about it. and as for the 20k thing. it doesnt take me that long to write. i write very long things this felt incredibly brief to me because my perspective is skewed and i wanted to write a complete story even outside of the critical element

[youruncleolaf]

tired of people saying “what’d you expect? stop having so much faith in strangers, of course they’re zionists”. as if it’s so unreasonable of us to assume people we have an emotional attachment to would be good people. as if it’s unreasonable to expect anyone to be a decent human being. it isn’t normal to assume everyone is a horrible piece of shit and i’m exhausted of people acting like it is. it doesn’t matter if we don’t know them, we like them, of course we’re going to be sad when they do something upsetting. i’m pissed off and angry and i feel betrayed because i thought so highly of these people only to be so disappointed so suddenly in such a serious way. i’m going to continue being angry at them regardless of how much i don’t personally know them because it’s a reasonable thing to be angry about

[akito-shinonome-daily]

For the ask game !

I'm giving you the opportunity to write the longest Akito rant of your life. 24, 25, and if you still have some 22 left then I'll take some as well.

➥ idk if this is my longest rant ever, especially considering i am known to hit discord’s character limit multiple times over in the same rant. that being said, this did get quite long, so i’m throwing my responses under the cut

22.) Give us a headcanon for Akito.

➥ this is kinda headcanon kinda just extrapolation of canon, but i love protective akito who refuses to admit it.

akito moving where he’s standing to block the wind from hitting kohane or the sun from getting in her eyes. he just doesn’t like standing still that’s why he moved. and he’s not making sure she sticks next to him in a crowd, she’s the one that choose to follow him.

akito showing up to class with an extra hoodie just coincidentally. he definitely didn’t notice fact that an happened to have gotten her sweater wet and was cold without it. and he definitely doesn’t care either way if she takes his extra.

akito redirecting the conversation when someone is too pushy or nosy to toya and he’s too polite to protest. and it’s not like he did it intentionally, he just thought of something else he wanted to say.

akito shooting his father dirty looks whenever he’s too critical or aggressive to ena, but making sure she never notices. his dad certainly won’t tell.

➥ if anyone were to point it out, he’d deny it, but he cares very deeply for his loved ones. sometimes he talks to meiko about it, since she seems to be so good at being comforting up front. and she ensures him that he is plenty caring, he just doesn’t do it in the same way

24.) What's your favourite thing about Akito?

➥ while i do love his voice, i think it would just have to be his passion and determination. i am jealous that he has this long-term goal to work towards that’s he’s incredibly passionate about, that he enjoys enough to work thru struggles, and that he has really good friends he’s working towards it with. i tend to feel kinda directionless and hide from the future, so i just really admire him and i wish i could be more like that. so maybe that’s why i made this blog? to try to be more like him? damn. 200 days and i’m finally figuring out why i decided to do this lmao.

25.) What's your least favourite thing Akito said or did?

➥ there’s two things that come to mind right away. one is i wish he’d stop teasing tsukasa but scaring him with insects. like he doesn’t have to look up to tsukasa, but he could at least try to be cordial.

➥ the other thing—the one that is going to prompt a very long rant—is Akito in the vbs main story. and why i think he acts the way he does.

i guess the most factual answer to that question is the writers wanted more conflict in story, but like why as a character did akito act like that.

the initial “an amateur/someone uncommitted shouldn’t go around claiming they’re going to surpass rad weekend” sentiment does seem to be pretty common on vivid street. we see it with both arata and taiga, and we know that when akito was younger he was not always treated very well by the residents of vivid street. it wouldn’t be unreasonable to assume that some of this was also people being upset about a random middle schooler running around claiming he’s going to get better than radder. akito may have proved himself over time, but he is still considered somewhat of an outsider to vivid street. so i could see him saying the same thing that was said to him to kohane to make him feel more like he fit in.

side tangent: i wonder how much of this sentiment comes from many of the older residents (particularly taiga) knowing about the significance of rad weekend to nagi, and since akito and the kids don’t even know nagi is dead, of course they’re not going to treat rad weekend with that type of reverence. to them it was always just a really epic show, they don’t know that it was nagi’s swan song or understand all the baggage that goes with that.

OK, OK, back to akito. iirc, akito’s comments to kohane (and an) are not terribly aggressive at first? sure akito is a bit skeptical of kohane and is definitely poking at her to see her response, but i don’t really see his threats to out-perform the vivids as too much more than a kind of joking rivalry that he and an probably already had going to an extent.

the big thing to me that i really had to think about to come to an understanding is why akito claims he cut the power. he doesn’t seem to be particularly fond of mita. they’re obviously well acquainted, but it’s also pretty clear they’re not seeing eye-to-eye.

mita’s decision to cut the power was probably driven by the same reasons as akito. he learned from the people of vivid street that when someone who’s not someone claims they’re going to be better than rad weekend, you put them down. obviously pulling the plug on their performance was a bit extreme, but based on how harsh arata/taiga are in their initial appearances, a kid who’s trying really hard to prove himself and fit it could definitely go too far whilst trying to prove himself.

akito claiming he pulled the power is definitely a spur of the moment decision. once again, iirc, an is accusatory when she catches the bad dogs confronting mita, and even tho i don’t recall rn exactly the way everything plays out, someone like akito who has grown up in a family with a lot of volatile personalities, wouldn’t hesitate to jump to a defense. that defense being “well you guys deserved it.” obviously isn’t a very good one, but like i’ve said, i think there’s enough evidence to suggest that these kids were taught that to fit in on vivid street, you have to prove yourself and put people who think they’re better than they are down.

in akito’s mind, taking the blame for cutting the power was basically like lying for street cred, and it helped him prove his same point. akito is a deeply passionate and determined person. and this is so central to his identity that he dislikes disingenuous or unmotivated people. maybe he sees it a bit as a personal attack.

➥ point is, while ultimately shit-talking to kohane and taking the blame for cutting the power were rude/bad decisions, i don’t think they were ooc for akito. do i wish he had not been a dick? yes. don’t ask me how akito ended up as my fav when i’m not actually a huge fan of seeing him be an asshole. i do enjoy when he’s playfully antagonistic to some like an or ena (or toya to an extent) who will dish it back to him, but i don’t usually enjoy akito being an asshole just for the sake of it. he should either know the other person with give him back what he deserves, or the person should actually deserve it. i would love to see akito get to fist fight someone who’s actually asking for it.

[furiousgoldfish]

What not to do when trying to support a traumatized or mentally ill person:

Don't assume they've done something wrong for this to happen to them.

Don't try to tell them they've done something wrong to deserve this.

Don't assume this couldn't happen to you. It could.

Don't attempt to apply stereotypes to their situation. It's likely you don't know exactly what's going on with them, unless they've told you.

Don't assume you know better/understand better about this than they do. They've been struggling with this for a while. They're intimately familiar with it.

Don't give them unwanted advice. If they ask you for advice, then you can advise them, but continuous unprompted 'why don't you do x and y' is not going to help.

Don't minimize their problem. Don't tell them they're being lazy/childish/unreasonable for having symptoms, being tired, being unwilling to do certain activities. They don't deserve to be told their struggles are nothing. Nobody deserves that.

Don't say 'I just would do x'. You don't know what you would do. You're not them. X might not even have been an option in their situation.

Don't compare their struggles with someone else's, either to make them feel like "it could have been worse", or to say "it's the worst". These things do not need to be compared, and we're not in a competition of who has it worse. Everyone's struggle deserves support and attempts to make it easier on the person.

Don't try to compete with them. If you want to share your struggles with them, it's possible to do it in a respectful way, without ever one-upping or implying that you're the one who has it worse. We are not in a competition.

Don't try to change how they behave. If a traumatized person is showing a certain behaviour, it's often the best they can do at the moment, and they do not need to be shamed or pressured to change for someone. If the behaviour is harmful, it's okay to pull yourself back to safety.

Don't think you can 'save' them. Don't try to build yourself up in their eyes as 'the only one who understands' or as 'someone who can fix it all', because you can't. And they're not here to support your personal 'hero fantasy', or to act the part of someone who's being 'saved', for the sake of your ego.

Don't ignore their boundaries, even if you feel they're unreasonable. Traumatized and mentally ill people get to build their boundaries any way they feel comfortable with, and nobody gets to judge it. Do not tell them it's unreasonable. Do not try to argue them down.

Don't assume they're able to completely heal from this. Sometimes they won't, and it can hurt to see that expectation put on them.

Don't experiment on them. Don't try to trigger them, thinking you can fix the trauma once it comes up. Don't change up your behaviour just to see how they'll react to it. Don't play the devil's advocate just to upset them and to see them react emotionally. These people's struggles are not your entertainment. They're not here to be your test subjects.

Don't drain them. Even if someone traumatized gives you their attention and care, don't ever forget that they need this energy for themselves as well.

Don't judge them for the things you don't understand. If they're doing something harmful to themselves, or engaging in activities that in long term bring damage to their body, it's very likely they're already judging themselves for it, or feeling guilty. Shame will not motivate them to stop. Judgment will only leave them feeling alone and helpless.

Don't give them a time frame in which they're supposed to get 'better' or they'll be considered failures in your eyes. Not only it's impossible to recover with any kind of deadline, but you don't get to call them failures. Nobody is a failure for doing things in their own time, in their own way.

Don’t try to indoctrinate them into your religion, or insist that the religion will help them out of this. It’s opportunist, predatory, and insulting. If they wanted to reach to religion for help, they would not be waiting around for you to tell them. Religion might be the part of why they’re traumatized.

What to do when you're attempting to support a traumatized, or a mentally ill person:

Be patient with them.

Ask them if they want to talk about it. Should you get a 'no' as an answer, respect it.

If they do feel safe talking to you about it, believe them.

If their story is scaring you, or making you want to yell at them, try not to yell. It's okay to feel concern, but if your first reaction is yelling, or a big emotional outburst, they might assume that their reality is too upsetting, and never talk about it again. They also might feel that it was a mistake opening up to you.

Stay calm and accept that whatever is happening, was likely happening for a while, and you're being trusted with it as a safe person. Be worthy of the trust.

Acknowledge where they've been in a tough situation. It's possible they're not realizing just how bad their situation is, or how hard they've struggled. Remind them that they've been enduring a lot of heavy stuff, that the burden on them is big, and that it's okay that they're tired from carrying it. Acknowledgment can mean a lot to traumatized people.

Be consistent. Make sure they know what to expect from you. Traumatized people need stability, continuity, consistency and the ability to rely that people will treat them consistently with kindness.

Point out to them when something they're going thru is not normal. A lot of traumatized people have learned to accept painful and terrifying situations as normal. It's good to give them a reference so they would know their situation is extreme or considered to be traumatic.

Point out that their feelings are normal. Often, traumatized people will judge their own feelings to be wrong, or worry that they're feeling too much, or being unreasonable. It can mean a lot to have their own feelings acknowledged and accepted.

Make sure they know they're valuable and welcome in your life, regardless of their struggles. They might worry that their value in other people's eyes is dropping, due to them being often tired, isolated or unwell.

Get excited for them when things go well, when something good happens, when they're happy. It's probable that they don't get many joys, and having someone happy for them might mean a lot.

If you want to do something specific for them, ask them if they're comfortable with it. Don't put pressure on them, and don't ask them to put up with things they're uncomfortable with. It's always good to ask if something is a good idea or not.

Treat them as you would treat someone who is doing the best they can, who you're pleased with, who has deserved a rest from pain and a refuge to feel safe in. Let them know that you don't think they should be put thru any more hardships.

Let them know you have faith in them, in their choices and their instincts.

If they seek support from you, give only as much as you feel comfortable with. It's okay to make boundaries here, and to give yourself space if you feel like the problem is bigger than what you can handle. You do not need to put your own emotional health on hold, in order to help. Most traumatized people would be mortified to know they've caused damage to someone else, and it's okay to make sure you're feeling safe and comfortable as well.

[bluesgrxce]

Yandere Glamrock Animatronics Headcanons

Note: This was written back in 2022 so it's a bit outdated

Glamrock Freddy

Freddy honestly doesn't know why he loves you. Like, he literally shouldn't be able to romantically love somebody, it's not in his programming. But you've snuck past that somehow and made him absolutely smitten over you. Overwhelmingly so. And now that he is, all he wants is to keep you safe. 

Since you visit the Pizzaplex all the time, he's constantly worried that something is gonna happen to you. There's no telling what kind of danger you could run into, and you could easily get hurt... No, you will get hurt if there's no one to protect you. He has to become your personal body guard, he needs to follow you everywhere or you'll end up dead. It's for your own good. 

Thankfully, he wasn't following you without your permission. (In blunter terms, stalking.) He acted more like an innocent tour guide than anything, escorting you around the area and ensuring you wouldn't get lost. When you got too close to certain places and people, he would carefully direct your attention elsewhere. He would never fully explain why he did so afterwards. 

But it's hard to hate him. He treats you so kindly, praising you for every little thing and calling you his special superstar. Heck, you're even hesitant to tell him no when he offers to carry you in his stomach hatch, despite you not being a child and having no way of fitting in there. But he'll carry you around in other ways if he must! The closer you are, the better!

Unreasonable as that may be, Freddy isn't always that way. He understands that humans need space from time to time, so he'll let you go off on your own from time to time, just as long as you're not anywhere too dangerous and he can keep watch. (Low-key like how a parent would watch their kid at the park 💀) 

He understands that you have loved ones outside of him, as well. Admittedly, he does feel a pang of jealousy when you mention hanging out with other people, but he's concerned over your safety above all else. As long as these people aren't actively harming you, he won't try to meddle. Not too much anyway. ...He can't help himself sometimes. 

Freddy's just such a soft yandere. Even when finds someone who poses an actual threat, he'll still try to be polite with them. He doesn't want to upset you or create unneeded conflict, so he attempts to settle things civilly. But if that doesn't work, well... He's fine with getting a little more aggressive. But he'd try to avoid killing unless it was needed to protect you. 

Glamrock Chica (She's underrated as hell, can you guys start appreciating her more please?)

It's glaringly obvious that Chica doesn't have any concept of what portion control is. When she wants something, she wants all of it, all at once. And she won't let anybody stop her from taking it. Usually, the thing she's chasing after is food, but now you've become her new addiction. Surprisingly, it wouldn't be too bad at first. 

Chica comes off less as a creepy yandere and more like a perky, clingy best friend. She acts sickeningly sweet in order to gain your favor. She goes out of her way to bring you gifts from the prize counter, shares all of her snacks with you (some of them originating from the trash, but it's the thought that counts) and she acts like your personal cheerleader, bringing sunshine into the darkest parts of your life. She's the one you would least suspect. 

This innocent persona has allowed her to effectively make her way inside your heart, and now that she is, you're not gonna kick her out. She makes sure you're not wasting your time with anybody else by taking your hand and dragging you around the Pizzaplex, looking for a new way to excite you. "So! What should we do now, bestie?"

Whenever somebody tries to come between your quality time, her passive aggressive side shines through. The worst she'll do in front of you is say vaguely threatening things, but when you're not around... There may just be another scandal at Fazbear's Entertainment 🙈

That wouldn't be the only scandal. The more time you lose, the more she wants to make up for it. Which includes her trying to squeeze her way into every second of your life. If you're not careful, she might follow you home. ("Take me home with you!") She'll eventually find some way to disobey her coding and leave the Pizzaplex, just so she can give you a """surprise party""" once she shows up at your door. Or more realistically, outside your window. Even more realistically, raiding your fridge and garbage cans 💀

It's either that or she'll lock you up somewhere in the Pizzaplex. Actually, has anyone else heard that one theory that says Vanny uses Chica to kidnap kids? Whether that's true or not, she could still kidnap you almost exceptionally easily. She's an advanced, athletic animatronic that is likely better than you in every way, at least physically. So you're screwed.

In the end, Chica can never get enough of you. She'll eat all of your time, drink all of your affection, and steal whatever innocence you have left. She'll just take and take, because you're hers for the taking, aren't you?

Roxanne Wolf (Roxanne, Roxanne, all she wanna do is party all night, goddamn, Roxanne, never gonna love me but that's alright /lyr)

Many would say it's a mystery how Roxy went so head over heels for you. Her narcissistic exterior makes it seem impossible for her to care about anyone else, when really, she's just trying to make up for confidence she doesn't have. When you look at it from that perspective, it makes sense why she fell for you.

She's always wanted to have certain "perfect" qualities and you seem to embody all of them. She can't truly decide whether she loves or hates you for it- On one hand, you're living proof that it's possible to be "perfect." You're extraordinary in every way, at least in her eyes. On the other hand, ugh, why do you have to be so much better than her?! What's your deal?!

Despite the mental war going on in her head, she still feels the need to gain your approval. She'll see it as another race she has to win, and we know how much she hates to lose. She'll do anything to get your eyes on her. Impressed by keytar skills? She'll give you personal performances. Impressed by her racing skills? She'll take you on as many rides as you want. Impressed by her looks? She'll give you her OnlyFans password She'll work twice as hard to maintain her appearance, freaking out if she has even a smudge from some grubby kid wiping their hands on her. She has to be flawless in your presence or there's no point. 

Everybody, and I mean everybody is a rival to her. Her insecurity is so deep-rooted and she has no healthy coping mechanisms, so jealousy is common. She growls at people who get near and barks at them to back off. This alone is typically enough to keep others away, which is good or else she might pull a Bite of '87---

Roxy's desire to impress you gets worse by 1000% whenever you start getting closer with people other than her. That makes her feel like she's losing the race, and that's when she starts to get desperate. She'll want to stick by your side 24/7 so she can have every possible opportunity to flirt with you, and you can't say no. Hiding from her is impractical, too, given her keen sense of smell and ability to see through walls. You might as well accept it. She's just trying to squeeze that affection out of you, make you prove that you still love her deep inside. 

If that doesn't work, she'll start playing dirty. Similar to how she taunted Gregory in the game, she'll harrass anyone trying to steal you away by putting them down and raising herself up at the same time. To help convince herself she's good enough for you. "What, you think they would waste their time on you? You're nothing! Nothing compared to me!"

And if that doesn't work? Well it's time for the Bite of '22---

If you ever argue with her for being a piece of shit to your friends, she'll push the blame on you and act like you're the asshole. She'll strut away, pretending as if your disapproval doesn't bother her, as if she doesn't base her self esteem completely on your opinion of her. But she does. And the moment she's alone, she'll break down crying and hate herself even more for being a failure. If you can't love her, then surely nobody will. 

Roxy is simply unstable altogether. Don't drive her over the edge, as she barely holds herself back to begin with. The only one who could be worse is... 

Montgomery Gator

Yeah, it can't get much worse than this. Ever since Monty was first activated, he wanted to be the star of the show. The one who everybody adores. But he quickly found out that he'd always be overshadowed by somebody else. He was forced into the position of a background character, when he knew that he was destined for more. He should be the one in center stage, not anybody else. 

This main character syndrome carries over to his relationship with you. He figures that he can use you as a source of approval in the meantime. He can handle not being the star of the show (yet) as long as he's the star of your heart. 

And if he already is, then things could go surprisingly well. A lot of Monty's anger stems from the frustration of not feeling loved enough, so if you can supply him with enough intimacy, he might actually calm down a bit. He'll stop using his time being destructive in favor of spending time with you, which would be much appreciated by everyone. 

But don't get too comfy. You shouldn't expect much from someone like Monty. He's insanely paranoid that your love could be stolen away, so he acts controlling in order to prevent that. If he says you're not gonna hang out with that person, you're not gonna hang out with them. If he says you're gonna go somewhere with him, you're gonna go somewhere with him. And you have to act like you love every second or he'll be offended and yell at you. Not a good relationship to be in. 

And if you didn't reciprocate his feelings to begin with... You've just put everyone in the Pizzaplex at risk for death. He'll blow his fucking lid, throwing the biggest tantrum in his life and destroying everything he comes across. Tearing apart every human and bot that walks by- He doesn't discriminate. And he's so blinded by rage that he just might hurt you too. 

If he did, he wouldn't feel much remorse. He'd just use it as an example, saying that's what'll happen if you ever try to go to someone else. Because he's going to make you love him. He'll hurt you and everybody you care about if you don't. He already took down that stupid rabbit and that jerk bear is next- What's another life mean to him?

And together...

Never mind 💀 It got much worse than that 

So let's establish one simple fact first: None of them want to share. The one who's most pissed about it is Monty, who as we've learned, does NOT want to be treated like a background character. And having to share with his bandmates definitely makes him feel like that. He's going to be the most confrontational out of all of them and will jump at any chance to hurt the others, no matter how inconvenient it may be.

Roxy would do the same as Monty if she weren't smarter. Since Monty is always causing trouble, he's often locked away in his room and left in his own little version of time-out, which Roxy knows she can't afford. She has to make the most out of every second! The race to your heart is a lot more difficult when she's competing against her bandmates, so she's got to speed up or else she'll be left alone. And just the thought of that makes her want to sob. So she attempts to one-up everything the others do and paint herself in the highest light possible, desperately hoping that'll be enough to attract you. If not, she's got a ton of arguments she needs to get into...

Remember how I said Chica won't let anybody stop her from getting the things she wants? Yeah, that still applies. Doesn't matter if it's her bandmates or not, if she wants a piece, she's gonna get a piece! But she has to be more clever about the way she handles you. She's not about to get yelled at by Roxy or torn apart by Monty, so she'll find ways to sneak you away, even from Freddy's safe grasp. Or maybe she'll just kidnap you so she can keep you all to herself. Who knows ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Freddy has changed the least. See, all this scenario does is confirm that he was right-- The Pizzaplex is a dangerous place for you to be in, and his very own friends are the ones making that true. It greatly upsets him, and yet, in a sick way... He's almost glad. Because you're too scared of the others always bickering with each other and harrassing you. This might be the best thing that's ever happened to him, because you run into his arms for protection. And he's more than willing to oblige. Just say the word, superstar. 

[pluto-the-chinchilla]

Here’s the thing with Mary. And this is purely a personal thing, but I still stand by it. I disagree with other people who don’t like her and couldn’t relate so I wrote my own feelings down just to scream into the voice. I could’ve probably have done a better job if I rewatched her scenes but I’d rather not subject myself to that.

I’m not looking to debate, I’m not looking for engagement, I just… really hate her. Lol

I totally support her decision to choose safety and stability over Arthur. I’ve seen other haters and was disappointed by their reasoning. This is rational, and I completely am willing to defend her on this one. She’s not cut out for a certain life and she recognizes that! Not everyone’s an Abigail, a Sadie, or even a Mary-Beth, Tilly, or Karen. And certainly not a Grimshaw. And if she can’t adapt then why would anyone want to force her? I don’t! Sure maybe some gang women could’ve taken her under their wing, maybe they could’ve even gotten along with her and she could’ve saw her father for what he is and start blowing him off. But she still has a little brother to care for, and Jamie is a sweet soft person. They’re soft people but Mary, for all the vitriol I harbor for her, is not one to back down or get pushed around… with one deal breaking exception but we’ll get through there.

Asking for Arthur’s help despite all of the baggage between them… again, no harm no foul. Her little brother who both she and Arthur care about is in a bad situation. It’s the kind of situation where being a big scary outlaw comes in handy, and maybe she thought he needed sense from a man he looked up to. They certainly couldn’t ask daddy to be that to Jamie. And while it is audacious it’s still a fair favor at that point. Again, I think it’s endearing how she’s taken charge for Jamie. At this point in the game I feel disinterested in her but overall ambivalent.

The mission with her father and the resulting date is where I take a nosedive with Mary. I’m sorry but from start to finish she’s unfair, unreasonable, and outright does not care about Arthur or his feelings in this situation. Arthur already writes himself off continually in such a way that is barely challenged until he realizes he’s dying. So. First of all Mary is asking for Arthur’s help with a man who did nothing but undermine the relationship and talk shit about Arthur and devalued any merits he might’ve had and continued to do so during the mission — and got upset whenever Arthur talked shit back — and not nearly as much defend Arthur — and sorry but gameplay wise she is up Arthur’s ass and intrusive and nagging — like right up until that family heirloom is being pawned off she’s undoing the very thing Arthur got called to do. Just!!! Stop coddling your father while shitting on and wrist smacking the man who came to help you reel in this obnoxious disorderly pissant! And again, I know Arthur is an outlaw, but stop riding him when he’s trying to help and if DADDY is allowed to shittalk Arthur then Arthur should be allowed to throw anything he wants in his face.

I’m sorry but by the time it was over and done with I just don’t care about her anymore and any allusion to her for the rest of the story just pisses me off more as I wish for someone who actually shows consideration towards Arthur to talk to him more.

I wasn’t mad at her giving the thing back, I’m mad she didn’t do it sooner.

I’m mad they had that stupid “will they get back together” moment when they simply don’t have chemistry.

And with the date, maybe there’s just a certain expectation for women in the setting but watching the show with her especially after everything was a chore. But then…

Abigail acts kinda the same way at the picture show before John proposes? Like maybe if the mission hadn’t just happened I wouldn’t be bothered by it.

Anyway, I kind of don’t want any sort of decade with whoever reads this. I just needed to get my feelings out while I’m raw. I just finished watching my boyfriend play high honor yesterday and I’m still going Thru It.

[vrisrezis]

Plsplsplspls I literally cannot find this anywhere but can you make a sonic x reader hurt comfort fanfic 😢 (SONIC BOOM VERSION CAUSE HES HOT LMAO)

Can you guys tell I suck at writing actual fanfic . Also this is kinda comfort on both sides but man I’m not happy with this one

Sonic didn’t really know what to do, honestly. You had hurt him, his feelings anyway. He knows he’s being selfish, you’re allowed to have friends and he understands that better than anyone! But… why him? SHADOW? Of all the people… he thought he knew you better than that.

He was still pacing around, thinking of what in the world he could do about this predicament he’s in. He’s your boyfriend, he can confide in you about anything and you never judge him. But how in the world is he supposed to tell you he’s upset because your friends with a rival of his? In his mind, it doesn’t seem so bad but… Amy makes it sound like he’s being incredibly unreasonable. Is he being unreasonable? Is he just being a selfish self absorbed jerk like usual? He can’t even confide in tails because he decided to stay out of it, which makes him think he truly is just being a selfish boyfriend as always.

“I think you’re just …. Jealous… sonic…” Amy says, carefully. “Me? Jealous? Psh! That’s ridiculous why would I be jealous of shadow? I mean what does he even have on me?” sonic questions, but the more he thinks about it the more he goes on about what shadow couldn’t possibly have on him until he’s rambling on and Amy gives him that knowing smile. “Okay fine, maybe I am a little jealous.” “A little?” “Yes! A little.”

At least he’s finally done pacing around, Amy thinks to herself. However there’s a new dilemma on Sonics mind as he asks Amy very quickly. Does he tell you? “Of course you do! That’s what a relationship is all about! Talking about your feelings!” “Ugh. That makes me wanna barf, stop it.”

She sighs, pushing him out the door. “Talk to your beloved and stop bothering me.”

Sonic eventually ends up at your place, sighing as he lets himself in without really knocking on the door. He’s used to doing this, but it doesn’t make you any less annoyed everytime this happens. You’re still upset with him for making such a big deal over you having a friend, but you’re never one to deny letting him inside. Especially in hopes of a apology. “Yes sonic? Is there something you’d like to tell me?”

He sighs, knowing just this once he may have to let his ego go. “I’m very sorry… for the way I’ve acted. If I’m being honest I’m just kinda jealous of you and shadow and didn’t know how to handle it.” he says all in one go, letting out a breath he didn’t know he was holding.

Although it takes you a second to get over the initial shock of how honest he’s being, as well as how quickly he just said all of that at once, you sigh and give him a hug. “It’s okay sonic. You know you don’t have to be jealous” you say, trying to make him feel better. He hugs back, “yeah I know I just … I don’t know what it is.. thanks.. sorry for making you upset…” “it’s okay…”

[teaveetamer]

How does Raxis's orientation, gender, and skin color matter? And why does yours matter?

Why does me being a queer woman matter when a cishet white man accuses me of being queerphobic and misogynist?

Assuming you're the anon Ezra keeps getting who is complaining about us pointing out his age (since I got this right after I reblogged one of those), you probably read his blog right? Considering Raxis claims to be such a great progressive ally and co-opts all that progressive language, I'd think people who follow him would understand why this is so important?

Okay, I'll be very clear, cut because this got long, I'm not repeating it ad nauseum after this post.

His gender, sexual orientation, and race wouldn't matter if he hadn't made it matter. Raxis is not only a bully, he's a bully who constantly appropriates the language of social justice. My very first direct interaction with him was literally me calling his ass out for using the murder of Roe v. Wade as a bludgeon to win a fandom argument. Which happened, like, right the fuck after that decision came down and most women in America were fucking traumatized from literally having our rights stripped from us. And I wish our relationship ended at that "apology" but he hasn't changed and he keeps doing it.

He is the one who consistently accuses me (and other women) of being misogynistic and having internalized misogyny. He is the one who consistently accuses me (and other queer folk) of being queerphobic. He is the one who accuses BWIIDT (who is mixed race) for being out of line for thinking Cap (another white man!) has written racist elements into his fic (unintentionally or not). He consistently uses our oppression as a justification for why it should be okay for him to bully us.

If you are going to use our identities as part of your justification for harassing us, then we have every right to point out that these are identities that we hold and you don't. We have every right to point out that the opinions of a cishet white man about misogyny, queerphobia, racism, etc. do not matter as much as ours because you have never fucking experienced it like we have.

The role of allies is to amplify voices in spaces where we are not respected (e.g. with other cishet white men), not to lecture marginalized people for being "bad queers" or "bad women" from your throne of privilege.

It's especially fucking slimy because he pretends to be super progressive live and in concert, but when he slinks back to his buddies he laughs at us for being upset about being misgendered:

(Yes because you repeatedly misgendered me for months and only started correcting yourself and your anons when I called your shit out. You are literally "the misgendering type" but it's cute how you tried to act like I was being unreasonable for wanting the basic human respect of being referred to by my proper pronouns)

Accuses us of trying to hide behind "identity politics" when we're talking about the fucking oppression we face:

(Always a great sign when a cishet white man accuses queer women of "trying to use identity politics as a shield" when they're talking about their own fucking oppression. An even better sign when a cishet white man brags about "out identity-politicking" queer women when they're telling you to stop fucking throwing their oppression back in their faces. Whining about "identity politics" whenever marginalized groups try to voice anything is frankly such an alt right dogwhistle in itself at this point and I genuinely hope he's just not aware of it.)

Bullies queer women on his side who disagree with him and try to say basically exactly what I'm saying right now. That straight men can't appropriate the language we use to describe our oppression:

(usernames censored for the privacy of those being harassed and those not participating in harassment. This conversation has so much fucking more btw holy shit.)

Accuses me, specifically, of being "desperate to be a victim". I'll remind you I quite literally tried to give him grace despite him consistently using my oppression as a bludgeon to win stupid fucking fandom arguments and harass people (see also, the link above about me calling him out for the Roe v. Wade thing):

(Yes, Raxis, I fucking loved pouring my heart out about how my dad would kick me out for being queer and how I've faced sexual harassment. Tee hee. I'm having soooooo much fun "being a victim". I don't 'argue', I tell you, because your horrible treatment of people and my feelings about it are not up for debate.)

And engages in racist behavior like calling being black a "multiplier" to deflect from criticism and mocking a WoC when she posts about how racism upsets her.

(Yes Raxis, WoC tend to get "big mad" and "suffer" when they encounter racism, you ghoul. Before you ask, the blacked out part just wasn't relevant to the conversation.)

And this is just the stuff I got out of a quick keyword search because I don't want to expend that much energy on this. God only knows what else is buried in there.

This tells me you aren't actually an ally. You're an "ally" when it's convenient for you or when you think it'll make you look good, but your allyship is conditional, and the second you're "crossed" by someone you claim to champion you throw their trauma back in their faces. Not even your supposed friends are safe from it, so what chance did we have of not getting harassed by you?

"But there's queer women in the Edelgard fandom who like him!" Okay? So he can't be engaging in harmful shit just because he has a queer friend? When has "I have a [blank] friend" EVER been an actual good faith defense against criticism? News flash, we're not a monolith, and just because some women and queer folk might like you or even agree with you doesn't mean you get to tell me how I should respond to my own fucking oppression. It is not your place to accuse me, a fucking queer woman, of having "internalized misogyny" or "internalized homophobia" every time I say something you don't personally like.

Frankly, from what I've seen of their server, it's less "queer women like him" and more like "queer women are too afraid to say anything against him" because whenever they try he cries to his pro-genocide mod buddy (THAT is a whole fucking story) who threatens to ban them.

And I'm not going to add these screenshots because I feel icky airing her personal business like that so explicitly, but I do have them. The woman involved in the censored screenshots above posted, in the server, about how unsafe she felt because she'd been threatened and silenced by cishet men for trying to talk about queerphobia. She left the server entirely after that.

And let's not forget what started this: he's thirty five years old and in many cases he's pulling this shit on people who are significantly younger than him. Exceeding a decade his junior in some cases. I point that out primarily for the power dynamic inherent to that. Not only is he privileged on the basis of race, gender, and orientation, he's fully developed and he knows what he's doing. He has the privilege of age and experience.

Fuck dude, he started going after some folks on Tumblr when they were still like? 18? 19? Not children, but fucking close.

I'll be very explicit because I know he's going to take this and try to accuse me of ageism, because that's what he always does when he gets called out for appropriating the language of social justice: you are a fucking adult. You have been an adult the entire time you have been in this fandom. As an adult, it's your job to be a fucking adult in these situations. Not to verbally abuse and harass inexperienced teens and early 20 somethings because they don't agree with your video game opinions. You are a grown ass 35 year old man man who thinks he's cool because he can "beat up", "cow", and "bitch slap" teenagers and early 20 somethings who are still developing, figuring themselves out, and learning how to express themselves in an articulate manner. Many of whom are already dealing with varying levels of actual trauma based on their upbringings (abusive, hateful, uncaring, or just generally unpleasant environments) or how they've been treated because of their identity (race, class, gender, sexual orientation, mental health, disability, sometimes multiple all at once) or both. That is why I keep bringing up your age.

It is quite possibly the single most embarrassing thing I have seen someone in fandom brag about. Not even just because you did it, Raxis, but because you're proud of it and you genuinely think it makes you look cool. It's embarrassing. You're embarrassing yourself.

[shokuheshi]

a very long bg3 rant about the poor mask victims in auntie ethel's horror basement + how frustrated i was the game wouldn't let me save them all

im so unreasonably upset that theres no way to save all the people with the masks on in auntie ethel’s basement. i killed auntie ethel before she got to her basement (thanks to sneaking around, all party members being level 5, and volo's eye) so i avoided having to fight the masked servants but only 1 of them was able to have any sense to take her mask off when we saw them and she herself said the others were as good as dead bc they were too far gone 😭 i wanted to save the cute drow + tiefling girls i tried so hard to.

LET ME SAVE YOU!!!!!!!!!!

i cast friends, nothing. i cast charm person, nothing, i tried to fight them anyways to non lethal attack to take their masks and the halfling girl who already was saved and already spoke to us is forced to fight as well and dies every time despite not even being controlled anymore OR EVEN WEARING HER DANG MASK!? why was she fighting me we had a nice convo before about how she wants to go kill hags in the future! the game even gave me an inspiration for that. and i didnt want her dead because i read she appears in a later act of the game if u save her.

sneaking around and pickpocketing the others causes a fight to start with the same outcome and also there is no way to pickpocket the mask off them u can only loot it when theyre down AUGHHH

^ in a last desperate measure i had my handy bard astarion play a lil tune to see if thatd get them to leave auntie ethel's basement of horrors and funny enough they do like listening to music and threw gold at us and they liked it so much they didnt want to talk while he was playing! but directly after went back to yelling at us to go away and leave them alone/not believing auntie ethel was dead 🥲

mask of servitude girl i wanna give you your life back!!!!!! stop it!! oh well at least i gave her a nice tune to listen to before i left them all to their doomed trapped fate :( i left their gold on the ground if they ever break away from this hell they can use it. i feel terrible about all this and like i know if this was REAL dnd game i could ask the dm if i could grab the mask off their face and have to roll a dexterity or athletic or slight of hand check or something or hell have karlach grab them and carry them out i know shes strong enough to. they could use fresh air at least I KNOW I WASNT SUPPOSED TO BECOME FIXATED ON THIS i just hate that u cant save them

[robininthelabyrinth]

continuation of the JC is good with women prompt

“What do you mean, Jiang Cheng can’t make it?” Wei Wuxian asked, surprised. “He’s hosting this discussion conference! How can he not attend the dinner he himself is hosting?”

“Forgive me, Wei-gongzi,” the Jiang second-in-command said, politely bowing. “He was unavoidably drawn away. I will be hosting in his place this evening.”

Wei Wuxian pressed his lips together in annoyance, wondering if he should sneak out and try to find where Jiang Cheng had gone – it wasn’t like him to miss a grand old event like this. On the contrary, Wei Wuxian would have guessed that he’d be much more likely to bow out of the ‘private family dinner’ he’d invited Wei Wuxian to tomorrow, rather than the big opening festivities that involved everyone.

Even as children, he’d always resisted even being late to important political things, and he’d only gotten more persnickety after becoming sect leader; he’d always acted as if he were convinced that missing a single meeting with some people or another would suddenly bring ruin his brand new sect. Completely unreasonable, purely the creation of anxiety…sure, it’d been over a decade, but surely Jiang Cheng hadn’t changed that much. What in the world could he have thought was more important than playing the role of host at the Lotus Pier’s discussion conference…?

Jin Ling, trapped in a discussion with some other sect leaders across the room, didn’t look nervous. Maybe Wei Wuxian should try to ask him –

“Ah, Wei-xiong! How nice to see you this evening.”

Wei Wuxian wheeled on his new target with a beam. “Nie-xiong! So good to see you!”

Nie Huaisang immediately looked suspicious. Smart man.

“It’s always good to meet an old buddy,” Wei Wuxian said, ignoring it. “Especially since we seem to be down one – I don’t know if you’ve heard, but Jiang Cheng isn’t attending tonight.”

“Oh, yes, I heard,” Nie Huaisang said agreeably, still looking at him suspiciously as if trying to figure out the trap. “The twins have upset stomachs, don’t they? Jiang-xiong’s probably still staying up with them.”

Wei Wuxian blinked. “The…twins?”

“Mm, little plum and little peony, the darlings. You haven’t seen them yet? They’re the prettiest girls I’ve ever seen. Jiang-xiong ought to be proud – and he is, of course.”

Jiang Cheng. Proud. Twins?

Jiang Cheng had managed to bag a set of twins? And with generic flower names like that, it wouldn’t be too far to wonder if he’d found them in a brothel or something…maybe Jiang Cheng really had changed. Back when Wei Wuxian had known him, he hadn’t had the slightest idea of what to do with a woman.

“Of course,” he echoed, blinking. “Good for him, I suppose, standing by them like that…isn’t he worried about what people will say?”

“Not really?” Nie Huaisang opened his fan and blinked at him from above it. “I mean, it’s practically part of his reputation by now. Everyone knows Jiang-xiong is a fierce father.”

…what?

“Wait. Father? The twins are his daughters?” Wei Wuxian paused, horrified. “Someone let him name children?”

Nie Huaisang snorted. “Yeah, I know,” he said, tone fond. “They stopped letting him after the first few, I think. But the twins are nearly ten, so they’re among the older ones.”

Wei Wuxian stared. “Ones? Few?” He shook his head. “I didn’t even know he was married! What’s her name?”

“…he’s not married,” Nie Huaisang said. “He just has kids.”

“Without being married?!”

“Don’t look so scandalized, it’s not like he’s the next Jin Guangshan. Rather the opposite, really…did you really not know? How did you miss it?”

“I haven’t been back here much!” Wei Wuxian defended himself.

“Some of them have joined in night-hunts you’ve been part of!”

“You know I’m bad with faces! I didn’t look that closely. So what, I overlooked a few kids…”

“One or two is fine, Wei-xiong, but you really need to get your vision checked if you somehow managed to overlook all seventeen…”

“Seventeen?!”

Wei Wuxian was going to faint, and he couldn’t even blame it on a curse or bloodloss or something.

“Seventeen,” Nie Huaisang confirmed. He was smirking, the bastard. “So far.”

So far. What the hell, Jiang Cheng…

Something occurred to Wei Wuxian.

“…uh, he invited me to a family dinner tomorrow,” he said, and Nie Huaisang started laughing. “How many of them will attend? Nie-xiong? Nie-xiong?! How many?!”

[tired-reader-writer]

Somehow my thoughts drifted back to a former friend I blocked some while back.

The buildup that led to me ultimately blocking her was... frustrating, to say the least. It's still frustrating even now. Honestly, I don't know how or why my brain decided to remember her in this moment. Maybe the exam season stress is getting to me.

This girl, this person, hah, always loudly proclaimed to detest AI art and AI fanfic/writings, and yet still happily posted a lot about extensively using character AI.

Like, if she recognized the problems w AI art and voiceover and fic, why did it take so long for her to realize chat AI is bad too? I couldn't fathom the dissonance. I tried to break the news to her. Y'know, AI art scrapes from art, AI writing scrapes from real people's writing, and these generated responses that the character AI spits out... it's in written form, right? AI can't create from thin air like us creatives do. It's gotta be scraping from somewhere, it's theft too. It's no different from AI fanfics.

She acted like... It's hard to describe, her responses to my messages were... It's like she didn't want to stop using character AI so she padded out her replies with stuff about AI art and AI fic. Y'know, the things we both agreed were theft. The things that were not what I was trying to talk to her about.

She said she was scared that AI was running rampant now, that she was “on the fence” about character AI. Despite me having already laid out my reasoning it's no different from the other types of AI she claimed to hate.

She was not on the fence.

She kept using character AI after our conversation, she just refrained from bringing it up in our DMs.

I kept reblogging anti-AI posts hoping she would see and come to her senses (after all, talking directly did not fucking work) and she ignored my very unsubtle anti-AI reblogs on both my main and side blog, both of which she followed. She reblogged the stuff about AI art fic and voiceovers and completely and purposefully skipped over stuff about anti character AI.

I snapped.

I made a public rant about the scenario, grossly summarized and without naming names of course, because I was so fucking frustrated at this girl.

And then after that, after all that, she gets upset that I'm frustrated and ranted out loud (never revealed who I was frustrated at, I intentionally worded it so that it comes across as me being mad at a widespread phenomenon, which it also was, I was deeply frustrated with not only her but the rest of the AI apologists in the world).

Make it make sense, girl.

She said she was “trying to quit” character AI, she sounded really upset, and I thought, well I clearly snapped and crossed a line. She said she's trying to quit and she's my friend, she couldn't possibly lie to me, right?

Right?

Haha, WRONG.

I don't exactly remember the sequence of events after that. She kept using character AI, for sure, kept posting about it too (and that's the kicker isn't it, she could've kept using it in secret and not post it in public, then I would've blissfully assumed she had quit earnestly, but no, she couldn't help herself from posting and gushing about the generated responses the AI bot spat out for her). In the end I ended up blocking her. Probably because of that.

And then when she found out I blocked her she made a Sad™ post lamenting how sad it was when one is blocked by a mutual. And had the gall to say she “used to use character AI” and “used to be on the fence” when that... just wasn't the case, was it? I didn't block her because she used to use AI, it was because she kept persistently and stubbornly using it even after all my repeated warnings. It wasn't that she used to be on the fence about character AI, it's that she routinely refused to heed my very unsubtle (both direct and indirect) warnings over and over that made me fucking snap.

Like, don't make it sound like I blocked you for unreasonable reasons 😭 What else was I supposed to do? I certainly didn't want to keep interacting with someone who betrayed my beliefs.

And then? And then she figured since I wasn't watching her anymore she can do whatever she wants and then went all in on the whole character AI thing. Back to horny-posting about the generic thirst trap daddy archetype responses the blorbo character AI's were generating.

It's my fault, really, for going back to check on her again after a couple days, I should've stuck by my decision to block her forever but nooooo I got soft and wanted to see if I should unblock her after all, if I was too harsh on somebody who was trying but... Welp.

So, yeah. Dunno what brought on this trip down the (horrible) memory lane.

Anyways, if you are an AI apologist or leave your AI apologist friends to keep doing what they do with zero attempts to stop them you may feel free to block me forever and never interact with me or my posts again ✌️