#but there is just so much infighting and negativity ALREADY

[acornered]

God once again pride month has become "queer infighting month" with this year's special: should we support mainstream companies carrying pride merch- and don't worry, we won't debate this with any good faith or nuance! Shut Up!!!

[galaxygolfergirl]

I'm kind of worried about you guys

Recently I've been revisiting the Frozen franchise after taking somewhat of a sabbatical from it for the longest time, rewatching the movies and shorts, and I am currently going through the Frozen 2 documentary. This was mainly for nostalgia, but I wanted to try and understand the franchise from a more critical, technical perspective, and I've come to some insights that I think are worth sharing.

I already voiced my opinions on the frozen fandom in another post, especially in regards to helsa, but since I've been revisiting the old stomping grounds and reading recent posts, it's been concerning to me the level of emotional distress people were having over the treatment of Hans's character.

Now, from what I've gathered from the "text" itself (the movies and shorts, and the frozen heart novel), and from the documentary, I don't really get the sense that the writers and producers at Walt Disney animation have this vendetta against a single character. I don't think it's that deep. Despite the fact that our corner of the fandom believes that the character of Hans has potential, I can assume that the creative team doesn't really consider him to be anything more than a typical Disney villain.

Now I can't really say anything about the potential "hints" at his future redemption or a possible relationship with Elsa, but from what I understand what goes into the creative process during production, I don't think there is a guiding decree that declares that all Disney merchandising material have these hints. Most likely it is an accumulation of random chance and personal decisions down the production pipeline that have nothing to do with orders from the chain of command.

As much as it was exciting to me to read into stuff like this when I was younger, like the Hans and Elsa dolls getting paired together, for example, I think the logic still stands that currently his character is meant to be perceived negatively. And I don't think that's meant as a personal slight against our side of the fandom, that's just what the text says and what the general audience currently accepts.

I don't know if the creative team or Jennifer Lee has seen all of our posts or discussions, I don't know how they personally feel, but as a writer and an artist I feel that the vocal angry callout posts, fandom infighting, and actual petitions to get people fired over how a story should be written, ones that they might have seen, are especially harmful to the creative process. It's not up to fans how a story should be written, and as much as fans may not agree with certain creative decisions, it is ultimately up to the creators themselves whether they take that input or not.

Like I've said, PLEASE DON'T TAKE THIS STUFF SO SERIOUSLY! It's two PG animated musicals that are marketed to little girls! There's a frozen-themed waffle maker! Canon doesn't mean shit! You can play with these ideas and adapt them through other means! Just because it doesn't have the Disney logo slapped on it or has professional CGI animation doesn't mean that your fan fiction or fan art is any less valid or cheapened. And listen, I understand having these feelings; I was disappointed when Hans wasn't in Frozen 2, I was disappointed about how the movie ended, or that Helsa probably wasn't going to become a thing, but eventually I grew to understand that that wasn't up to me. We are not entitled to make the creators do what we want.

We have to have a sense of emotional maturity and media literacy here, not just for this little microcosm of fandom, but for investing in all media in general. There is so much more that goes into the creative production pipeline. It takes a team full of people, hundreds, thousands, that make stories like this work. Scouring the internet for story crumbs and hints and theories is only going to frustrate you more and taking that frustration out on the creative team online isn't going to make your case or help anything. If anything, you're only coming across as kind of intimidating and aggressive, and creators don't really react well to that.

Now listen: I am not trying to police how anyone reacts to a piece of media, I'm not trying to come across as somebody on any sort of moral high ground. I only encourage those who have been disappointed and frustrated to put things into a larger perspective. This is a Disney animated film series marketed at little girls. If they want to bring his character back, that would be great! If they don't, who needs 'em? Please just enjoy what you are able to do with these characters and this story. You certainly don't need validation from the house of mouse.

[a-faggot-with-opinions]

AroAce guy here. Reading the "Aromantic Manifesto" reminds me of the "Asexual Manifesto" and not in a good way. Specifically the crux of the Manifesto:

"We see asexuality as an efficient "alternative life-style" for revolutionary women but we do not claim that “asexuality is revolution.”  We call ourselves “self-identified women” but we do not demand that all feminists adopt this title.  Our statement is simply this: as a result of examining the nature of our sexuality and reclaiming it from the sexist misconceptions surrounding it, we are able to form and maintain relationships in a way which both reflects our values and is effective in our liberation struggle.  For us, asexuality is a commitment to defy and ultimately to destroy the baseless concepts, surrounding both sex and relationships, which support and perpetuate the patriarchy."

( For people who wonder why certain things are phrased like this, it was written by Lisa Orlando, who was a Radical Feminist "disillusioned with political lesbianism" and basically wanted an alternative. She said in correspondence about the Manifesto that, to her, Asexuality is “a choice, and an experience, not an identity.” She currently still labels herself as an Asexual as well as Bisexual but still holds that view which.... is strange to me but reminds me of the "Aromanticism as counterculture" in the "Aromantic Manifesto"

I'd recommend looking up "The Asexual Agenda"'s Wordpress article on the Manifesto for more complete historical context and a screenreader friendly transcript if anyone is interested in reading through it for themselves)

People need to stop trying to marry Political Lesbianism and Radical Feminism with Aspectrum advocacy and identity, it's not salvageable and my identity as an Aromantic man is not "counterculture". It was a hard fought realization and I STILL have no idea if I'm Greyaro or if that's just the pressure society puts on me to Not be a "loveless evil male". The "Aromantic Manifesto" doesn't speak for me just like how the "Asexual Manifesto" doesn't either. The RadFem and PolitiLes communities have already caused Aspecs so, so much damage and I think it's in our genuine interest to make sure we don't whitewash that or forget it.

I think Aromantics who feel little, limited, or circumstantial attraction or are romance-positive/neutral/ambivalent are awesome and just as radical to society as those that don't and are negative/adverse/apothi. I also think Aros who are cool with Partnering or getting married are incredible. Romo Aros, Gay Aros, Alloaros, all of us are so important!

I also think Allo love can be healthy and I don't think we should be telling queer Allos that it's inherently negative (especially since that was literally an Aphobic stereotype? that "the Aces and Aros think gay people love and sex are disgusting, we should bully them for being homophobic!". Saying that I actually think the Manifesto reads like an infighting sockpuppet wth) Gay romance is revolutionary. Aromanticism is revolutionary. Neither is widely accepted so why fight?

Yeah. Aromanticism and asexuality aren't a choice and it promotes harmful misconceptions to say that they are. That manifesto was shit.

[p0ssumkingdom]

ok i dont see anyone else talking about the three throwaway classpects mentioned in kgtac so ill talk about it

PART 1: The System of KGTAC

when the john cosplayer asks about god tiers, dave firstly says that everyone and everything is made of aspects. what this implies about sburb itself, i still dont exactly understand. do certain concepts just happen to have a high composition of an aspect than others? like, would the idea of religion/zeal be made of hope? does the wind blow because the little breathlets in it like to do as they please? its surely an interesting idea cole thought to chew on. maybe john can become a zephyr since his god tier allows him to transform into the breath aspect itself, not as in "doing this would make him free from consquence" but more "this guy is now 99% concentrate breath aspect". the kgtac god tier system contrasts homestuck's god tier system, probably because homestuck is meta in a much different way to how kgtac is. ill just refer to them as h!godtiers and kc!godtiers to avoid confusion. Anyways as i was saying, h!godtiers are "assigned" to a person, whereas kc!godtiers ARE the person. i.e, an individual defines their mythological title in homestuck, and an individual is defined by their mythological title in kgtac. especially considering that there are millions of bajillions of class/aspect combos present in kc!dave and kc!karkat's multiverse, it would be entirely possible for that to be the case.

PART 2: The Mu of Pane

now that ive established my perspective on how kc!godtiers work, lets actually dissect some of them. we'll go in the order of kc!dave mentioning them. the mu of pane is only described as "an extremely powerful god tier", but that isnt much to go off of. instead i'll be using some research to perhaps mold it into thw shape of dave's description. "mu", or μ, is the twelfth letter of the greek alphabet, romanized as the letter m. it derives from the egyptian hieroglyph for water, which were modified by the phoenicians and named after their word for water, mem. in academics it can mean a LOT of things, so to save myself a headache ill use it to represent extremely small units, minimization operators, and the cleanliness of an orbital zone. this helps us narrow it down to two things, flow and reduction. "one who allows for flow" or "one who creates flow" is pretty boring, to me at least. sylph and page are already the "creation" classes, so maybe it could be "one who allows flow of aspect from one place to another". if we take the reduction route, "one who minimizes aspect" or "one who reduces aspect". personally, im going to go with the latter. when i think of "mu", i think about microns and shit. if you want to theorize about the guy who lets pane flow, i implore you to. speaking of pane, what is pane? dave says "pane as in window pane" which helps a lot actually. what is the one thing that windows do? they allow for the passage of light, knowledge. pane as an aspect relates to open-mindedness, focus, and transparency the most. on the other hand, pane could be corrupted into blind belief, fragility, and inflexibility. yknow, cus glass. pane is closely connected to light, mind, hope, and rage. pane players can encompass any of these traits to any degree! my first thought is kankri. kankri possesses mostly negative traits of pane, but hes very clearly focused and inflexible in what he believes in, whether it be for the best or worst. theres also probably a pun to be made for him being a pain. the Mu of Pane would not at all be like kankri though. a Mu of Pane, or one who restricts, reduces, and overall diminishes Pane, is an underminer. at their full potential, the Mu of Pane can blur the line between reality and surreality to the point where one cannot tell the difference. they can create distrust, doubt, and infighting among their enemies, and be hiding in plain sight. this is why the Mu of Pane is such a powerful god tier. despite their disruptive abilities, they can still be a positive asset to a team. simply being around a Mu of Pane will make you constitute. mind reading and control is near useless, as if the mu's skull was made of lead. perhaps an archetype for this god tier are tinfoil conspiracists! distrusting of authority and willing to convert anyone by any means.

PART 3: The Tide of Yon

the next two god tiers are tricky, as dave spends little time on them. my first thought when i hear "tide" is a bringer of something, like how the tide brings water to higher onto the beach. the definition of tide specifies the rising and falling of the sea levels. theres also a verb; to tide is to drift and fluctuate with something or someone. the tide would be "one who fluctuates aspect", or "one who drifts with aspect", which are pretty vague roles? im sure it will work out though. a Tide of Blood could be the one who brings a team together, but as their title suggests, it wont last long. an archaic definition for tide is "a space of time" which i found to be kinda funny, both because that would be a valid mythological title and how it segues into the yon aspect. yon literally means "that over there", which i interperet to be something upcoming. yon can be the speculation of the future, or the dread of an unstoppable force. yon would associate with the passage of time, movement across space, dread, sight, and patience. this makes yon closely connected to the cardinal aspects, not unlike life and doom. the Tide of Yon fluctuates and fluctuates with Yon. this means that the Tide's action are influence by the future, and the future is influenced by the Tide's actions, creating a loop. it could also be interpereted as the Tide fluctuating between different facets of Yon, such as the hope or dread that comes from it. perhaps the Tide creates conflicting predictions or even truths about what is on the horizon. im not able to pinpoint any specific abilities relating to this title, but i think thats reflective of the Tide's passive nature. their influence IS the power.

PART 4: The Fling of Rime

for this one, i'll start with the aspect rather than the class. theres much more i can draw from rime than i can with fling so. yeah. rime by definition is the frost that forms on things when water vapor or fog crystallizes. its like dew but frozen. to rime means to cover things in said frost. rime then could be the "ice aspect", in a similar way to how breath is the wind aspect or how life is the plant aspect. rime is all about lethargy, abandonment, and the weight of your actions, not unlike the weight of rime on the branches of winter trees. while these sound pretty bad, they're important themes in the context of sburb! a Sylph of Rime could be a teacher, while a Rogue of Rime can be a deadweight. in this sense, rime is a close relative of doom. the fling class on the other hand couldnt be more different. a fling is a short period of enjoyment or wild behavior, and to fling is to throw or hurl forcefully, typically without care. using this, the fling would be described as "one who discards aspect" or "one who is frivolous with aspect". the best way i can describe this would be someone who doesnt really understand their aspect, and therefore either wastes their potential or ends up being a liability to everyone around them. a fling could be an inversion of the mage class then; mages understand aspect, whereas flings misunderstand aspect. the Fling of Rime is "one who is frivolous with Rime", they dont know the weight of their own actions. this person may live in their own world, not paying attention to the events surrounding them. they may also have poor judgement, not knowing to look before they leap. there isnt much to salvage from this title, honestly. they could get cool ice powers? i guess? but theyre bound by fate for their fall to be by the Fling's own hands.

PART 5: The End of Post

hopefully ypu enjoyed this god tier analysis! ill definitely do more of these if i get requested to, cus its a lot of fun speculating. it did take me a while to write this all out, but thats cus i was basing this post off of three pages from an mspfa. like i said though, feel free to add anything youd like to this, whether you agree or disagree!

[lains-reality]

Hey love, I literally love your blog it's so comforting <3

My question is how to "befriend" my ego, how to make it stop calling me delusional? My human self has anxiety issues, do you have any tips?

Thank you in advance <3

hi!

"how to make it stop calling me delusional?"

who is it calling delusional? who is calling what delusional? all this inner fighting is still of the character, its just looks like it split itself into 2 lol. it's the same thoughts going 'this is delusional' 'no it's not!' - this is just the character fighting itself. you're taking the infighting to be a problem, when you're just watching it all on the sidelines. that's who you are. not the body, not the mind.

anything you observe, cannot be you. if you were a thought, you wouldn't be able to see that you are a thought, you wouldn't be able to see any thoughts. just imagine being a thought! impossible!

well the thing is that you can't stop the mind from thinking, it can slow down and stop by itself, but you can't force it to or use more thoughts to stop it

what you can do is watch it and do not get involved. eventually you'll stop listening to it.

( now you might not able to watch it at first! so start catching your mind going off. it can be before, the middle, or after. now you can assert the truth. being able to sit in the present moment is important )

in the end, you know the mind is not to be listened to already, so you why do you need to stop the chatter so much? you only want to stop it because you think its doing something & you take it as real

you should remember something along the lines of this:

it doesn't matter if the mind is loud or quiet, i know i am not it. no matter the thoughts i might take as real or the feelings that come up, it's okay. because i am still my Self regardless. i might not see it now but i will.

also, the anxiety will leave when you assert the truth. Self doesnt have anxiety. the character does. and you still have identified as it, is why you still have anxiety.

reading

no need to fight the ego

no need to effort

how to stop thinking

practising the power of now by eckhart tolle

no need to stop the mind

the mind is easily swayed

let the negative be

[100blocks-archived]

i miss the days when we all loved each cc in one way or another but you know shit happens sadly. hard to remain positive when the q situation created trust issues in everyone here and now people are closing ranks and on the defense constantly. i think it will mellow out since a lot of people are just really jumpy now because everything is so fresh like a wound still bleeding. dunno about others but im staying positive and trying to not interact with neg so much and i've seen even big blogs trying to cut the spiral into neg before a rift opens in the fandom so if we continue like this and be more careful with not jumping onto the bandwagon and do more fact checks and misinfo awareness i think we can be alright in the end! we survived for this long already would be a bit ridiculous to start infighting over nothing

yup you said it really well! like i myself have huge trust issues with ccs and it’s really frustrating if you get too parasocial with dream (which i do on the regular) but at the end of the day we cannot know what’s really going on and in some way it also shouldn’t be our business like we have the right to just enjoy whatever tf we want to we don’t owe anyone anything! like hell dream doesn’t give a shit about if people support q (i don’t) or karl (i do) or anyone he encourages it so why should we have a different opinion and create a rift in the community? i know it’s incredibly hard not to overreact especially in light of recent events but all we can do is press W and move forward <3 (cheesy dream quote i love him)

[hoarding-niffler]

Thanks, I really appreciate it. I'll try leaving politics out. I really have nowhere else on the internet to socialize anymore since breaking from tumblr, and rn in my life situation the only chance I have of making friends is online. Sorry this is so long, I hope this much text isn't off-putting. In any case I appreciate seeing bloggers like you who keep on enjoying the game and hp universe despite all of this.

I'm nonbinary, nonwhite, studying to convert to Judaism, and I've been obsessed with hogwarts since I read the books as a child. I can't not interact with this world I love so much, not just as an escape to real life. I'm autistic and had a bad childhood and the books were the only thing that helped me deal, and now I mainly interact via fanfiction that essentially 'fixes' things from the books, and watch the movies. At this point I feel I can't live without the HP universe in my life, it is a core part of me. It bothers me that people in my own communities would essentially cast me out, because I play the game and have wanted something like this since I was a kid, that I'd be considered a bad person and cut off from necessary support. As if being accused of bigotry and hurt feelings is the only consequence I could face.

I already deal with a mild fear that toxic ex friends from on here will find my new blog, because of the way they went about ending our friendship. I'm afraid if they find my blog, which is loosely connected through a few old friends, they'll see it and put me on blast/ screenshot my blog/ talk about me with their friends like they used to. Like I used to (which I regret) because that's behavior that people in my 'community' encouraged when someone 'needed calling out' even if it was a mistake, or a well intentioned attempt at conversing and understanding someone else's pov to learn. I'm afraid to post screenshots on my main, or attach my HL sideblog to my main, in case it gets me hateful interactions which I have no heart to deal with anymore. It seems like hating this game and anyone who plays it is the stance of the majority of online LGBT spaces rn. I don't wanna hide it, but also need support from online spaces. I even feel bad playing and haven't gotten very far because this has all cast a negative feeling on the game for me.

I'm so sorry you're struggling with this and it honestly shouldn't be like that, but I'm well aware that things are nearly never black and white. There's a whole lot of grey in the world and most people do not know how to deal with it. That's how you get bullies, haters, scapegoats, and the list goes on.

I did not grow up with the books but I did grow up with the movies and I rewatch them regularly. I also love to read tons of fix-it fanfics (my favourite character is snape, of course, I need alternate universe fics where he survives lmao). I feel like most people hate so much on others enjoying the world of Harry Potter and therefore now Hogwarts Legacy because they are notoriously online and forgot what life is like in the real world. Things are not as simple as "Oh, you play this? Then you're EVIL". A lot of times, just like in your case, franchises give us support and strength, because life is fucking hard sometimes. Most times. Especially as a minority, I can't even imagine what fears you must face. And instead of realising that NOTHING we consume is pure and that people should look closer whether a person uses a franchise to gain strength from it or to spread hate, people rather point with their fingers and gatekeep their own communities, not realising how much damage they do on a broader scale. It's not only the people they keep out, it's also the people who listen in on this infighting and either get turned off from ever engaging with those communities (in positive ways) or the wrong people use exactly that to fuel their own hateful agendas. It's damaging all around, all because people prefer to take the easy route and accuse rather than discuss and understand.

Honestly, I get why you in your specific situation can't really say "fuck it" and ignore any possible consequences but I also think you shouldn't deprive yourself of what brings you genuine enjoyment. My suggestion would be to create a completely new main Tumblr blog with a second mail address and then a sideblog for your HP needs. And considering how you can look through the Hogwarts Legacy tag and finds SO MANY active players and defenders of the game who are, at the same time, completely against JK Terfling's insane views, shows that you can have your cake and eat it too. So far I experienced this community as very supportive and you just block everyone who gets aggressive. It makes your online experience so much more enjoyable, believe me.

You will not be able to stop people from talking about you. But you can stop it from affecting you as much as it does and seek out people who wouldn't do that to you in the first place.

Man, this got long and rambly and I don't know if anything of what I wrote makes sense BUT

you're always welcome in my asks and I bet the same goes for other Hogwarts Legacy fans on here. We got each other's back.

[dogsliampaynedoesntinstagram]

Overexposure anon here, you know it blows my mind how things work out sometime, I was meant to have that exchange with you when I did.  Last night I saw Elton John perform to a crowd of 50 thousand and this was his second day in a row. If Harry wants that kind of success,  where he sings to a 100 thousand people,  in his 70s, then im here for it.  I'm gonna trust that he and his team know the best way to go about achieving that.  You're right,  a lot of what I said was fandom distress. It frustrates me when I see outsiders shit on Harry when they don't "know" him like I as a fan do.  Infighting within the fandom is one thing, we're all just passionate about him,  but when I see random members of the general public say negative things about him, it's when I want Harry to not be so famous.  I want to gatekeep him so I mistakenly think he's overexposed because his fame continues reaching new heights. Especially when some of this fame has nothing to do with his music.  But if that's his goal, to be so successful,  that 40 years from now people of all ages go to see him perform,  I'll try and support that without questioning his and his teams choices.

I also understand what you mean by "worries about overexposure have nothing to do with fans,  who are not at risk of being overexposed."  If Harry's goal is to have a career that spans decades,  i will be there every step of the way, in my old age,  front and centre wearing the brightest boa.  I will proudly stand next to people who come to see him based on name recognition alone, who only know his biggest hits like watermelon sugar high while I sing along to deep cuts like carolina.

One last thing,  at the end, Elton said that after 50 years,  this is his last tour because he doesn't know how much time he has left and he wants to spend time with his boys. I was already pretty emotional because when the camera zoomed in on his hands playing the piano,  you could see a single gold wedding band.  When he mentioned his husband and sons,  his boys,  I started crying right then and there. I hope that day comes,  where Harry is an out and proud gay man on stage,  unabashedly professing his love to his husband and kids to a screaming crowd.  But this is for him to go about making happen, if he wants, in his own time. Whatever concerns I have from them doing too much with Olivia, I need to put aside and trust that Harry is doing the best for himself to achieve the personal and career goals he has.

Thanks so much for coming back anon - I'm really glad you had a great concert and it gave you a different perspective on Harry. I can totally see that Elton John playing back to back stadium gigs and mentioning his husband and children at 70 is a really stark reminder of the choices involved. And the importance of fans understanding that Harry is the best decision maker in his own life.

It is really distressing reading people being cruel about Harry, particularly if they're wrong (and they're wrong a lot). I don't see a lot of it and the only stuff I'm likely to see and that bothers me is the 'queerbaiting' discussions, but as you've seen I get really mad about that.

Thanks so much for coming back.

[sapphiredragonprincess]

Sapph’s random commentary while reading Murderbot 01, because I already wrote it, so may as well post it (ch 1-3):

"The hostile that had just exploded up out of the ground had a really big mouth, so I felt I needed a really big gun." Murderbot, I barely know you, but I already love your narration. (Part 2, because part 1 was all of the first paragraph.)

I LOVE his sidetracking and his humor. The whole looking up "cilias" to figure out if he was using the right term (in the middle of an emergency!) and mocking (not just humor, but also reproach?) the kind of "education" he received, my god, delightful.

Forgot to mention in the first post: Murderbot shows more personality in a single paragraph than some YA protagonists do in their whole books.

Oh! The first time he slips and does something he shouldn't if he wanted to keep his cover AND IT'S BECAUSE HE WANTED TO PROTECT A HUMAN FROM HARMING THEMSELVES!!! I AM LOVING THIS!!!

"one of those things I'm not contractually obligated to care about." On the one hand, this is hilarious again. On the other, there's something there about the language of contracts and caring as an obligation, or maybe I should say as a job. Don't ask me what, I'm just a bunny, what do I know?

Ahsjakda Awkward Murderbot is cute! What the hell, I didn't expect that!

"Please get out of my cubicle so I can sit here and leak in peace." Murderbot, why are you so relatable. I mean, I would die from such an injury, but in the case it were nonfatal, yeah, same.

I'm laughing, he really had no idea what he was saying. So even bots can talk out of their asses, uh?

Wait, what? Oh! Excellent cut! I'm screaming because I pause all the time to write my thoughts when I just want to continue reading, but that was a perfect way to finish the chapter.

"freehold generally meant shitshow" Ah! Yes, I see it, the whole idea that small groups trying to do things by themselves instead of falling in line with some big company are always messy, therefore less efficient or prone to infighting of some sort. It's not entirely incorrect, but we know those kinds of groups and projects are what protect everyone else of complete submission under some company's soulless absolute rule.

I'm shit at creating visuals in my head for the characters I read about, but I really want to remember the detail about the gunports in Murderbot's forearms and hope I don't miss other points like this, that talk about what visually shows him as not human (and wonder if I'll get to figure out if there is a line to visually differentiate between bots and augmented humans), since it obviously is something that matters much to him, what with how he tries to hide them.

Again with the laughing, I love the mention of not cleaning up unless given an order. What did I say about him and his personality?

Oh, sweet, companies forcing you to have a mole listening to your every conversation. Joy!

I love how he repeats that, yeah, the moment was actually just this short, but it felt that long.

"I don't take it personally." I'm not sure what I'm thinking when I read this after the complaints about paying high prices for shitty equipment, but it sure does ping something at the back of my head. (Is it the awareness of being a "something sold"? About the specific phrase of "shitty equipment" that applies to him? I'm not sure.)

Oh, I love that his using of the armor to distance himself meant he didn't keep up not emoting and it translated into showing his "I really don't want to be here" face to the group. There's the physical barriers are emotional barriers thing, and the awareness and expressions thing, but mostly the horror of having to stay in a group of people who know each other but not you.

Oh, there's something to say there about his comment on how no one would hire a SecUnit if they didn't have to (unless they wanted murder). There's the whole "his negative opinions about himself" issue, but also the "what the real purpose of these units are" theme and the going back to "paying high for shitty stuff" element. Too bad bunny really doesn't know what to say about any of these.

"In a smart world, I should go alone" and what comes after once again has me thinking of the purpose of a SecUnit, the motivation to make them (and not something else), and also the value (to the company) of the people who use these units.

"they were all so nice and it was just excruciating" Aaah, poor Murderbot, social anxiety? Or something quite like it, but not exactly. It's partly the "being around others" and partly the "they are humanizing me in a way that's different from how I conceptualize myself". And I'm sure there's more, maybe something of the differentiation between what SecUnits in general are and are treated as (according to Murderbot), and what he himself is and should be treated as, though I'm not sure where I'd go with that line of thought.

"Yes, talk to Murderbot about his feelings. The idea was so painful I dropped to 97 percent efficiency. I'd rather climb back into Hostile One's mouth." I'm laughing again. Funny images aside, it's an extension of the last comments points of him being an introvert, his lack of practice at socialization and maybe there's something to say about his emotional education (or rather lack thereof).

Oh! Plot! More of HubSystem and things going weird around it! (Sidenote: awww, Murderbot does recognize appreciation for Mensah's intervention.)

Have I mentioned how I love that Murderbot just- watches his series during the downtimes of whatever is going on? Like, he's copilot, but he's also watching his stuff. There's also that he actually downloads it to his internal storage. I have no idea if that means something, but I want to pin this, because I think about bots having internal storage and wondering about them using external storage or cloud systems, and when or where or why. I think about how there's always a limited amount of data a machine can keep and wonder about choosing what to keep, Myrderbot's decision-making if/when presented by the need. [Is it possible to live so long you can't keep all your memories? Not just the "inconsequential" (quotes because what is inconsequential about a life?), but even the "meaningful" ones? How long? Human memories naturally deteriorate, but for a machine it would have to be a choice to let go, wouldn't it? Or is the choice not to make new ones? To continue adding more and more until it breaks? I'm getting on a tangent, aren't I? Well, shit. Let's cut it here.]

Add clever commentary about Murderbot's opinions and desires when mentioning the dead bodies he's seen and caused, and it being a "nice change" when there are none.

Plot: well, if it doesn't raise your heartbeat when there's so many "mapping errors" that could kill you and your team.

Nice, nice, nice. Implied commentary about automatic updates, the whole companies forcing you to break the things you use so they can charge you for making them usable again (or selling you something else which works worse and steals more from you). And then more plot.

So there's more of Murderbot emoting under the helmet, his mention of not having to defend the company (which is commentary on employees knowing stuff that could help clients but not being allowed to do it, because their job isn't for the clients, is for the businesses), and his wanting to help people who are about to make bad choices (regarding their own physical safety).

"I couldn't explain to myself why. It was one of those impulses that comes from my organic parts that the governor is supposed to squash." I am still unsure *what* Murderbot is. Not completely a robot, since we know there's flesh there, but also it repairs entirely too fast for anything properly human or animal. He's a mass-produced construction with organic components. What's the definition of a non-human or whatever the quote is. More so with the mention of natural impulses that the governor has to suppress. And honestly, there's so much to explore in that concept. In the fact that, theoretically, all SecUnits (all bots? all bots who have a measure of organic components?) have natural responses and something external, programmed to someone else's interest, overrides that decision-making (is that commentary on people being forced to make choices that are bad for themselves because the socio-economic system won't allow them to make good ones?).

Mention: Murderbot calling out his own brand of pessimistic care when thinking about needing the medical supplies, the distinction between "hope it's nothing bad" vs "hope it's just injures and not dead bodies".

[femperials]

did dynasty elaborately use their last gay character standing being biphobic as an allegory for how demanding and ungrateful they believe their gay audience is? is this just another piece in a long-term pattern from dynasty to get back at their lgbt audience? am i giving them too much credit by thinking they’re smart enough to be that evil? let’s discuss. 

(this post will contain un-tagged talk about biphobia within the lgbt community as well as community infighting in online queer spaces. it’s pride month! if talking about those topics is going to (reasonably) bum you out, please skip this post at least for now!) 

this is the most negative thing i have ever written about dynasty and will likely be the ONLY post of its kind that i ever write. it’s impossible not to talk about the writing, cast, crew, etc of this show and be 100% just about the plots because there will often be overlap in terms of the how and the why of it. this will be the only post that i put here that focuses on critiquing the overall running of dynasty’s production and patterns of poor decision making over the course of the past five years. as i say on all of my fandom social media, often, i have overwhelmingly positive feelings about dynasty and find heavy comfort in it. if i want to write 4.1k words about something about it that has always felt a little ‘off’, im gna do that. :)

back during the final stretch of season 4, i distinctly remember talking with some friends about our feelings towards the show (as we often do) and while i'm possibly the least jaded in both my circle of friends and my online circles of other dynasty viewers, i do have some lines that i would absolutely drop the show like a hot pan for. 

they're SUPER distinct and clear lines that are less personally-triggering and moreso things that would feel distinctly like the writers either a) were intentionally trying to hurt certain demographics of their audience or, possibly just as bad, b) were genuinely too out of touch to realize the ramifications of. dynasty features plenty content that i find triggering on a personal level but as a general rule, i know that there is a separation between things that upset me individually and things that are related to doing more serious damage. sometimes these things overlap (an example, which i'll obviously be talking about liberally in this post, being homophobia, biphobia, transphobia, etc). so, while i have certain things that i wince away from every time dynasty shoves at us - looking at you, the beaten-to-death horse known as 'people being drugged against their will as a comedy trope' - i put up with it.  

as a sidenote, i think that the twitter timeline during episode 5.15 was a really great example of what sorts of buttons people won't allow others to push. the biphobic comment in the episode was hurtful enough for bisexual people to have to hear at all, but on top of that, the who - what - where of it all was even more insidious than it may have seemed on a surface level to people who saw their mutuals talking about it without being part of the dynasty sphere.

in 4.15, we were introduced to eva. she was cute, she was fun, she was there to be fallon's new assistant (funnily enough, the replacement for allison - the only canonically wlw character at the time since amanda wouldn't appear until the following episode), and then of course, to be a foil for falliam. the concept of there being any credible foil to falliam was ALREADY laughable at this point. i'm not even going to bother touching on how deeply predictable and boring the very concept of the writers thinking any of us truly believe they would do anything interesting or dangerous with them. i was bopping along in season 4, minding my business, discussing my theories with my friends and other people online and hehe-ing about how boring the eva-likes-liam thing was when i woke up in a cold sweat one night with a horrifying thought: what if the writers shake things up for fucking once in terms of falliam? what if this won't be their 500th predictable stupid storyline? what if eva is going to try to break up falliam because she likes fallon and not liam?

it turns out i was giving them too much credit in that department, so i lived to keep watching the show another day. that had been my own paranoid theory that i immediately jumped into the groupchat with to say ‘ok i found it, i found what i would stop watching dynasty for’. they were already pushing the stalking angle with eva and fallon’s previous stalker had been the only east asian representation on dynasty ever. if they said ‘ok lets do that storyline again but with a creepy predatory GIRL KISSER’ i think i would have had to tap out. 

another sidenote - i love hearing about people’s ‘what i would stop watching dynasty for’ moments. everyone’s different thoughts are so different and every time someone has told me one of theirs its usually something i didn’t even consider, but realized their fear of it happening was definitely still rooted in logic based on the way certain storylines go in this show.

dynasty's relationship with its lgbt audience has always been shaky at best and borderline emotional terrorism at its worst. from the outright refusal for a wlw character (which even then, was still a bit of a 'gotcha' at the audience) until its final stretch despite long ago having shifted from a series about the scandals of business with social and emotional stories woven in to a nearly sitcom-esque y.a. romance, or the fact that sammy jo is literally the last gay standing, the lgbt viewers have long resigned to a state of refusing to expect anything and shitposting about it for fun to keep things light. it's a cw show. plenty of the audience for dynasty - cishet AND lgbt - have experienced them before. for the lgbt audience, we're all seasoned veterans when it comes to navigating passive-aggressive feedback from the production teams and sometimes even cast members, not to mention the blatant and aggressive homophobia from other fans who don't fit into the same minority groups that a lot of us do and have no lived experience to draw any empathy from.

i think a lot of writers for television - a lot of which are specific to the cw though if i were to start naming examples from their recent catalogue, i would be here all day - learned fairly early on that blatant homophobia causes outrage which obviously causes buzz. this makes for great television writing because it very much gives the straight audience something to be surprised by and interested in. often the best of the self-proclaimed straight allies often for some reason love to see an act of homophobia and yell "i am NOT like that, by the way!" without doing much else, but it makes them feel good at the end of the day nonetheless. they get to think about the hardships that lgbt people face for a few minutes, go "oh jeez, how awful" which obviously makes them incredible people and there you have it. this is great news for television writers, as being the writer puts you in a position to 'make up a guy and then get mad at him' (for the record, this is bad when people do it random political discourse, not in television for the most part. 'make up a guy and ___' is sort of the basis of writing, that isn't the issue here). the thing is, those scenes where lgbt people face discrimination are not 'feel good' moments for the lgbt audience, usually. just like in real life, the other shoe dropping where the writers add in a little "and then the homophobe gets his just desserts" doesn't really heal the shock or hurt for anyone except their straight audience. when i get yelled at or threatened in public and a well-meaning ally steps up and tells the person harassing me to go fuck themselves, i still just experienced being harassed. i may be thankful to the person who used their power to help me, but i still was, for a moment, in a position where i needed help. 

homophobia exists, obviously, and shows set in the real world will obviously have moments where it is appropriate to weave it into the story. no one is arguing this much. the issue is that certain shows, and dynasty is not the only show that deserves this critique, will not have any real intention to dedicate time or care to this issue. i've spoken a lot about how i prefer that the newer seasons of dynasty stop trying when it comes to touching on serious issues because their track record of trying to do things tactfully hasn't been good since season 1. 

the other side of this blade is that we've now experienced two instances of anti-lgbt rhetoric from within canon, and both times it has been from lgbt characters.

in season 2, we had beto - cristal's brother who is aggressively homophobic specifically towards sam but plot twist! it was because he was into sam and was just shamefully closeted all along. audiences pushed back HARD against that across social media and explained why the rhetoric that lgbt people are really our own worst enemies was so dangerous - the cast or crew obviously didn't comment, which they generally don't so that wasn't strange - but the cishet audience did make sure to put on their best meat-gargling britches and let the lgbt audience know that if we were so unhappy with what we got, we could go watch something else and leave them alone.

in season 5, we got the pride party episode. i call it the pride party episode because while the actual pride party took up maybe about 8 total minutes of screen time, it was what the cast and crew posted the majority of their behind the scenes content from and it was obviously meant to be the draw as it did air during pride month.  for those who haven't watched yet or have been scouring for spoilers after seeing the tweets and different social media posts talking about it, here's your context:

sam begins to feel like he's an irrelevant gay in atlanta so he enlists the help of kirby and culhane to throw the biggest pride party of the weekend and get his status back. kirby and culhane put together a big party but same is unhappy with it (in their defense, his 'theme' was call me by your name / twink / leather daddy realness. with a drag performance. i think that since THAT was such a word salad of gay terminology that make no cohesive sense together, they just assumed he didn't know what he was talking about and was going to be cool with rainbow streamers and edm). he blows up and refers to culhane as a 'bad ally' and calls kirby 'just gay whenever it's convenient' - both comments he later apologizes for in the same breath because they were OBVIOUSLY on the same level of offensive (he also, at one earlier point, refers to them as allies together and while i don't know if it was intentional or not, it kind of felt more like a writers flub moreso than a dig at kirby but i could be wrong. kirby was sam's token straight for so long that it might just be muscle memory). he gets a quick pep talk from angeria paris vanmichaels and admits that he was actually just insecure about his gayness.

i've already said that it's harmful for straight people (though gay people also parrot this rhetoric too sometimes) to either make jokes about or outright seriously claim that people who perpetuate the most homophobia are insecure or closeted gay people. add on top of that that dynasty has now TWICE ‘addressed’ homo/bi/transphobia and both times have been by lgbt characters. i’m also in the conspiracy-theory camp of believing that fanworks for dynasty have, in the past, influenced the direction of the show or inspired plots and tropes used, and while kirby anders was always an icon for the wlw audience since before she was even introduced, fanworks that featured fan-interpretations of her as a wlw character often weren’t shy about talking about the implications that that would have if it were to fit into the canon of the show. some headcanons and fan-created works became common use among the wlw fandom and while they had no basis in canon they were considered ‘canon’ in the fan-verse where kirby was wlw - all of this pre-wlw-canon kirby, of course. a personal favorite in a lot of wlw fanworks for dynasty was the concept that alexis carrington, historically not a homophobe, would be perfectly okay with her daughter (either or, depending on your persuasion) dating another woman - but NEVER if it were kirby, turning the homophobic character trope on its head.  

what distinctly stood out to me once the smoke cleared from hearing the most wattpad-villain-esque overused line of biphobia from, again, the ONLY remaining gay man on the show, was exactly why sam saying it was so much more unsettling than just your run of the mill ‘homophobes are just mean gays’ tropery. earlier when i mentioned that the lgbt audience of dynasty tend to approach things in a sort of resigned way, i probably should have clarified that ‘expects nothing good’ comes in a wide range of flavours, spanning from ‘cautious but refusing to be hopeful’ (shoutout to kamanda nation) all the way to ‘blatantly giggling at all of the cw’s attempts to garner interest’. my dynasty twitter timeline and groupchats leading up to ‘the pride party episode’ since it was announced were a constant stream of shitposting and sarcastic claims that it would be a trainwreck that everyone was deeply excited to watch happen (“the cw is kicking the air right now demanding to know why they still aren’t allowed to say the f slur after putting a rainbow border on their page”).

there are plenty of common biphobic talking points. like every single group within the lgbt community, lack of understanding or empathy for one another who have different experiences than we do can cause ignorance and hurt. in my personal opinion, ‘queer discourse’, as its often all lumped together as, can do its part to help us educate one another on our own unique histories and experiences while it can also be a jumping-off point for hatred and circular, senseless arguing. also in my personal opinion, when it comes to queer discourse, or more often than not, community infighting, it should be entirely left up to those groups involved. i will listen to and value the opinion of someone that disagrees with me (to a reasonable extent, obviously) who i share a space with over the opinion of someone who agrees with me but has no idea what they’re talking about. for this reason, i obviously do not care about cishet opinions on queer issues. the internet evolves and expands incredibly quickly. online queer discourse used to be mainly reserved for deep tumblr: sideblogs and instant messages and google docs with links to talking points and sources in case one was ever backed into a corner in an argument. now, queer discourse has become such a massive part of the average twitter experience (not to mention tiktok) that its caught the attention of cishet people in a very strange way. not only have people with zero lived experience began to pay attention to what inter-community issues that the lgbt community are discussing, they’ve also pushed themselves into the discussions.  

it's not difficult at all, nowadays, for any straight television writer with a twitter account to not only a) find an lgbt issue to exploit clumsily for a quick plot or b) find an lgbt issue to exploit to have their audience do the fighting for them. a personal favorite example of mine is 7-season CW hatecrime The 100. their mistreatment of lesbian character lexa and wildly archaic use of the dead lesbian trope (which, while overlapping often, is not to be confused with the bury your gays trope) upset audiences on a catastrophic level. the interesting part, though, was that the bisexual female lead would go on to endgame with the male cishet lead in the wake of the death of her lesbian love interest. this was obviously upsetting to the lesbian audience for the obvious reasons that being brutally killed off (in a very specific way, too, which is worth looking up if you’re interested in queer fandom history) in order to make room for another m/f relationship. however, any lgbt person who has spent more than a few minutes in literally any queer discourse space online would be privy to the fact that lesbians and bisexual women can sometimes carry a certain tension when it comes to discussions about validity. this is not a queer discourse blog and i’m not going to delve into the talking points surrounding this, but it is important for me to point out that those talks DO take place in a lot of queer online spaces, and since online fandom is often a relatively queer space itself, the discussions do bleed together sometimes. that’s why it was so genius (in a sociopathic sort of way) for the cast, crew, and writer’s room of the 100 to listen to the lesbians crying about the representation being yanked out from under them and go “you hear that, bisexual audience? the lesbians are mad because YOU aren’t gay enough for them on this show.” 

i didn’t watch the 100. i was about to start it the week that they killed off lexa which i personally think was one of the top 10 bullets dodged in history. but EVERYONE in online fandom spaces, myself included, knows what happened and experienced it in some regard. the 100 became a piece of history for the resulting terrible pr that they got for the writing choice as well as their unprofessional and batshit insane handling of the aftermath. the cw to this day has never made a mistake so serious again but the lasting effects of pitting one’s lgbt audience against each other to avoid accountability has never left, and the cw specifically is famous for its use of audience infighting to avoid effort and quality when it comes to lgbt storylines. sam’s biphobic comment hit hard in that way, because the writers got to throw that in and step back and go “whoa now hey it wasn’t us! it was the gay guy. obviously!”

and his phrasing, “gay when its convenient” - while also not an uncommon biphobic soundbite - was hilariously something that dynasty’s lgbt audience have been saying for years. after steammy was wiped off the map as a couple and sam was written into a few forgettable guy of the month romances with minimal screentime to keep cashing in one being able to put SOMETHING in the ‘we promise we have diversity’ montages that the cw keeps getting fucking clowned for posting (seriously, why do they keep posting those ads? i have NEVER seen a healthy comment section under one of them) they finally seemed to find their footing to utilize rafael de la fuente’s talent in a meaningful way. his drama work is unreal. he manages to hit his comedy beats even when the writing is clearly below him and elevates it every time. this of course had to come at the cost of dropping a lot of the romance from his storyline which would be perfectly fine - perhaps even welcome especially in these later seasons - were he not the only opportunity for the mlm audience to have someone they can relate to.

dynasty’s cishet audience commenting about how the moment amanda was canonized as wlw that it was ‘too soon’ to start putting her into relationships was the usual level of tone-deaf and blatantly un-self-aware that lgbt audiences have been putting up with since the dawn of time. 

‘gay when its convenient’ has been something that the lgbt audiences have been accusing dynasty of since the first season came and went without a hint of fallon carrington looking twice at a girl, after liz gillies said that she could definitely see fallon as a bisexual woman. dynasty's answer to lgbt people asking for representation - PROPER representation - has always been met with either crumbs (rip allison!) or a sort of weird derisive 'here's what we have for you - YOU are actually VERY stupid for thinking we wouldn't give it to you and i think that says more about how miserable you all are than it does about us as a television show' vibe. fallon's offhanded comment about 'having always had a thing for princess frostine' in 2.12 was not a 'win' for bisexual representation, either. at the time, it almost felt like a smug little slap in the face to the people who were flooding online anonymous forums to scream and cry "STOP saying fallon likes girls" at the wlw audience. rewatching it even a day later felt like a slap in the face to the lgbt audience who claimed that the show didn't have enough queer characters. the line meant nothing and went no where - it was just a reminder that "she's right HERE you blind idiots, stop asking us for more gay women". 

pre-kamanda, dynasty consistently told us that we had all of the representation we needed. we have a gay guy who pops in to say random gay-isms (who was once a success story about an undocumented immigrant from an abusive household that struggled and cheated and did what he could to survive among billionaires) once or twice per episode, and we have fallon, who sometimes slaps women on the ass as they walk by, or whatever. the lgbt audience came up with our own ships and our own silly in-universe ideas to keep us busy while we sat through whatever new trope the writers wanted to half-ass with falliam for the majority of the episode. and, since we thought, only having historical patterns to base our expectations on, that we were never going to get anything, we let our own fan-canon and faux-theories get wilder and sillier despite the usual obstacles whether that was the writers making them moot with canon on accident or the literal cast of the show mocking us publicly based on their own misunderstanding of the concepts at hand (as an aside: cast and crew’s of shows and movies interacting with fanworks is not only their given right but also often very welcome. that being said, at the end of the day it was never for them, though that is a topic for another day).

kamanda was not only a breath of fresh air in terms of finally having something a little more lighthearted and fun without feeling like a waste of time to focus on, but it brought back audience that had long-since jumped ship (often around early to mid season 4).

even then, there was something sort of ‘off’ about the whole feeling. these aren’t my personal opinions because i didn’t see amanda’s introduction, kirby’s wlw canonization, or kamanda in general anything other than an (embarrassingly fucking late) agreement to finally give the wlw audience what we’ve been asking for for the last five years: real (fictional) women in a real (fictional) relationship, a privilege granted to literally everyone else on the show since the very beginning, in a show that had increasingly dropped most of its plotting to focus solely on romance and interpersonal relationships. i did however see static and enter discussions about the a) aggressive cancellation season last-ditch attempt to be relatable and b) a redirect of the wlw audience’s attention away from firby - arguably the most popular dynasty ship behind falliam, pre-kamanda. i’m literally still in the middle of a giant unhinged post about the history of firby fandom and its eventual replacement by kamanda so i’m not going to go into a lot of detail about it here. the main takeaway there is that the way in which dynasty hands us our representation often feels like we’re supposed to feel bad about it once we get it. not in the ‘here’s representation but they’re BAD’ way, but in a ‘how dare you have ever doubted us, why are you even here if you’re so angry with us’ sort of way. i would consider that my own paranoia and overthinking and just assuming that i’m feeling sorry for myself had i not realized across multiple platforms how widespread that weird ‘guilty’ feeling is when it comes to being lgbt in dynasty fandom. 

the biphobia is the core issue at hand - full stop. bisexual audiences did not need to hear something like that and especially not coming from a show that consistently backs out of touching on real-world issues by claiming that the show is meant to be an escape and therefore wouldn't be fair to the audience. the bisexual audience do not qualify for such escapism.

however what this obnoxiously long rant of a post is also poking at is that sam's biphobic comment not only shocked and hurt the bisexual audience but it added to an overarching message that the lgbt audience have been having yelled at us by dynasty for the past five years, usually RIGHT whenever we feel comfortable and safe, and that's that sure, this show is going to upset us sometimes but that's the real world, and symbolically, we really only have ourselves to blame.

[findingjoynweirdstuff]

I have been redirected from lost to ask you about the peaceful ways of this fandom before antis attacked (/hj) cuz as a new person, all I know is discourse.

Oh, hello! (and hi Lost o/)

I can’t imagine what it’s like for new fans joining just now. I am so sorry, hope you’re still finding it fun enough even with all the hell?

It’s kind of hard to conceptualize how big mcyt’s gotten in recent months to be honest. Every time something from this fanbase breaches containment I’m reminded of how painfully visible it all is.

Now...I wish I could tell you about “the good old days” and how they were so good and peaceful and calm, but I think that’d be looking at things through rose-tinted glasses.

To be honest, the thing about sparking up the discourse and the hatred isn’t even that it’s new. It’s just more constant.

My first exposure to DSMP specifically, and I’ve said this before, was the Pizza Hut situation. DSMP wasn’t really it’s own fandom yet? But, the time that I started actually watching and getting more engaged and following along was...well, a bit on the topical side, actually, but it was #kickschlatt. Mid-July 2020.

My memory of it isn’t perfect — it’s almost been a year now — but to sort of illustrate my point about how the discourse isn’t new but the places it’s coming from are, this situation sparked a huge conflict not really between mcyt fans and non-mcyt fans, but between dttwt, sleepytwt and schlatt’s fanbase. It was a hellhole of infighting. Sleepytwt were angry about Dream banning Schlatt, dttwt pulled one of the first instances I can recall of actually getting a negative hashtag about the SMP trending, which all the CCs thought was immature. But the damage had already been done since everyone mistakenly thought Dream had banned Schlatt because of the hashtag, which...yeah. 

It wasn’t pretty.

The thing about this discourse is that it’s been around for a very, very long time. It’s just that twitter’s not really made much...progress? They’ve just been repeating the same mistakes over and over again as if it would actually end up better this time somehow. They even got a #kick_______ hashtag trending pretty recently and as far as I can tell, most of them hadn't even been there for #kickschlatt. They were repeating history not even knowing they were doing it, and just like last time, it was an ineffective mess that didn’t actually help anything. 

And that, to me, is the big problem here. 

I know we joke about Twitter discourse being six months behind Tumblr, but honestly I don’t think it’s even that? It’s not really that they’re lagging behind so much as they’re just... completely stagnant, really. They haven’t gotten better in a year, they’ve just gotten larger.

It’s the same thing a year later. The thing about it nowadays, is that it’s just the same old crap but more. It’s #kickschlatt but a new one every fucking day.

#kickschlatt didn’t work because CCs aren’t obligated to listen to Twitter, and I really wish the community had learned from that. Instead, they’re just trying it again. Criticism is fine, but you just can’t expect people to always see or hear that critique.

CCs are not your friend. Like, genuinely. Not just for the meme, but actually. And I’m not saying that because of that they’re immune to criticism or something, but when you have people trending ‘tommy neg’ and saying that Tommy’s running from his problems because he’s leaving the app for his own mental health? That he HAS to be listening to them shouting at him or otherwise he’s some sort of horrible person?

That doesn’t sit right with me. 

Like, not to bring out the dreaded p-word, but it kinda strikes me as a little...y’know...slash parasocial. CCs don’t have to listen to you. They aren’t obligated to talk with you or interact with you. You can have discourse and civil discussion amongst yourselves as a community without the CCs even being involved! Hell, that’s how it works on Tumblr. We talk amongst ourselves, we disagree sometimes, but never do we expect a CC to be here watching us saying shit.

Saying that “complaining about Twitter = complaining about minorities” just rubs me the wrong way because like...Twitter’s a platform. It’s a specific community. Minorities aren’t specifically limited to one fucking bird app. When CCs complain about Twitter, trust them to mean that they’re complaining about Twitter.

Yeah...I dunno. Maybe I’m being pessimistic. Maybe it has gotten better in SOME way, but I just haven’t seen it. It’s just gotten more frequent. It’s just gotten nastier and more mean-spirited. For every person trying their best to be helpful and actually educate, there are ten more voices screaming and shouting and drowning them out. The thing about Twitter is that you can’t have a conversation with an angry mob. You can’t turn to a buzzing hivemind of anger if what you’re looking for is guidance.

The thing about the “old days” isn’t that they were without conflict and completely peaceful. It’s just that you had some time to freaking breathe. Nowadays it seems like even something so universally beloved like MCC’s been tainted by that toxicity.

Everybody’s just...angry. all the time.

It’s the natural life cycle of a fandom, I think. When it grows large enough, eventually it’ll have to deal with more and more negativity and hate. Unfortunately for us, a large part of the fandom is on Twitter, which is just...the straight up worst platform you could possibly choose to deal with discourse on.

Tumblr isn’t perfect, but jesus Twitter is built for toxicity. Which is how you get situations like this. It’s how you get entire groups of CCs leaving the app because sooner or later, it gets too toxic to deal with. 

So, here’s a little piece of advice:

This won’t be the last time. 

The next controversy will come, and then the next one, and the next one, and the next one after that. Heck, you probably already know that.

And you know what?

You, a random fan, are not obligated to care about every single thing that happens. Because if you feel like you have to keep up with every little piece of discourse, sooner or later you’re gonna burn yourself out.

So sit back, take a deep breath, relax if you gotta. Fandoms are for fun, not for stress, and I hope you find that here.

(Sorry if this got a little long and rambling!)

[peralta-guaranteed]

When they met Jake had a mop of hair (still looked cute) but then he got it cut and went from cute to HOT AF wonder what Amy’s reaction to that was 🤔🤔 or what her reaction to first time seeing him in a suit (suit Jake can step on me)

(gonna smush those together and add the awesome triple Ask part 2, "Amy realizing how hot Jake is early in their friendship like a moment of realization and then it won’t get out of her head)

also, Jake’s suit: like this

and Amy’s dress: like this but in blue

for your imagination pleasures :D

He was cute in a dorky kind of way, she had to admit even before she ever dared to think she might like him.

Well, she didn't exactly have to admit that to anyone, because no one really asked (except for Kylie, who only got a shrug and an eye roll when she inquired about her new co-workers). But she kind of admitted it to herself, whenever she caught a glimpse of his mop of hair bobbing past her desk with a new file, or leaning over her when they were discussing a new case. He was kinda cute.

Annoying and childish and boisterous and a pain to work with, but... in a cute way.

It made no difference to admit that, anyway. It didn't matter. They were co-workers, and that's it. She wasn't here to make friends - especially not with someone as wild and career-hobbling as him. She’d made that decision before she even came to the 99, and it wasn’t going to change.

-*-

He came in with no curls left at all six months into their working relationship, about a month after she’d also admitted to herself that maybe she wasn’t intentionally here to make friends, but had accidentally ended up with a strangely loyal one. 

“Good, right?” He grinned at her with a proud double-pointer to his head, sitting or rather plonking down into his chair across from her while she tried to pry her eyes from him. She had been staring the whole way from the elevator to their desks, but maybe it wasn’t too late to hide that.

It was a bit harder to hide the blush that started at the top of her ears, but she cleared her throat quickly to pull his eyes away from that.

“That’s quite a change.”

“Yeah, Gina set me up with one of her stylist friends. Didn’t work out, but, uh, guess I got something out of it. Which is probably what she was planning for anyway.” He shrugged, answered with a resounding “Uh, duh!” from behind Amy before he stuck his tongue out at the childhood friend she was separating him from.

Something in her face twitched at the mention of another one of his dates - he seemed to be going on a lot of those, and he had no qualms telling everyone so, even though he never elaborated. Why it made her stomach drop a bit every time, she wasn’t quite so sure. Probably because it was so unprofessional to discuss at work, and she was already toeing the line too much joining in with some of his jokes and pranks. He swore McGinley didn’t give a damn, but she was sure she’d seen their captain’s disapproving stare through the half open blinds the last two times Jake had pulled her up from her desk for something definitely not police-related.

Jake was still low-key squabbling with Gina over her head, so she could slip out of that conversation easily, focus on the files she was working on before he came in looking like that, disrupting her… everything. 

“It looks good.” She said instead, cursing herself for opening her mouth the second it closed again, but continuing. “Frames your face much better.”

The infighting stopped, and she could feel Gina’s stare burn into the back of her head. But far more pressing was the look Jake was giving her now, a short blink of… surprise, maybe, before his face broke out into a grin that wasn’t half as goading or over-the-top as usual.

“Uh, I, mh, thanks.” He mumbled, quickly staring down at the files he’d left open yesterday before he left, and she almost thought she could see a blush on the tip of his ears now, finally visible without being hidden underneath all that hair.

But that was surely just her imagination.

-*-

A very overactive imagination, she sighs as she stands in the copier room. An imagination that couldn’t stop staring at him throughout the day, at the way his profile had changed so much now without those curls always in the way, at the short hairs on the back of his neck, her fingers itching to run through them to find out if they’d feel soft or bristly. An imagination that refused to go back to the simple description of ‘cute’.

“I see you, Santiago.” A terrifying voice behind her interrupts her, and she’s glad her files are already in the copier so she can’t throw them at Gina in shock as she turns around to face her.

“What?”

“I see you, staring at my boy.” Gina points two fingers from her eyes into Amy’s direction, a grin breaking out on her face that almost rivals the ‘boy’ she’s talking about. “Getting the hots for the class clown? Gonna go smoochtown on my little bro?”

“As if.” Amy scoffs, maybe a bit too loudly, shaking her head a bit too much. “We’re talking about the same guy here? The one who claims that jelly beans have 4 calories each, so eating 500 a day should fulfil his caloric needs?”

“Uhu.” Gina seems bored now, which is not unusual for her whenever she’s talking to Amy, staring at her fingernails instead. “Keep trying to delude yourself with those negatives, poor girl. Just channel all that unfulfilled desire into some boring paperwork. I’ll be waiting for the day you snap and tear his clothes off right at his desk, so I can be out sick that day and not have to witness it.”

“I’m not going to-” Amy tries to protest, but Gina has already hopped out of the room, her hair bouncing behind her as she gives a wave and leaves her behind with a growl.

She’s not. She’s not going to do anything. There’s nothing to do something about. There- it’s- he’s-

She’s allowed to think someone looks attractive without immediately devolving into sexual thoughts or interest. She can think one of her friends is good-looking without making that weird. She can… she can admit that Jake is her friend and that Jake is attractive and it doesn’t change anything.

It doesn’t.

-*-

They’re all standing in front of the precinct, half shivering because of the wind swiping through their legs, and Amy curses whoever’s idea it was to meet up there instead of straight at the NYPD party two blocks down. We’re supposed to show a unified front as a squad, she remembers Terry saying, arriving together will help with that. 

Well, they apparently won’t even start off together, because they’ve been waiting for Jake - of course, who else? - for close to 15 minutes now, and none of their messages were even answered. (Amy duly noted that hers were actually the only ones signed off with a ‘read’ notification, but she couldn’t think too much about that now, not while she was freezing in a dress she was still worried might be too low cut for a work event, even while Rosa next to her was sporting the most amazing little black dress she’d ever seen.)

“I swear to god, if Peralta isn’t here in 5 minutes, I’ll-” Terry is interrupted in his rant by a far too familiar voice sprinting at them.

“I’m here! I’m here.” Jake coughs a little as he comes to a stop and leans forward, hands on his knees, before standing up with a wide grin as if nothing happened. “I’m here! Let’s go! What are we waiting for?!”

Terry gives him the most dead-set stare he can muster before the group starts moving, all eager to finally get to a place that not only offers free drinks and food, but also heating.

Amy falls back a few steps, fighting with some uncomfortable heels she also should’ve rethought as much as her dress, and finds herself next to Jake, who’s apparently still trying to catch his breath from his run to the precinct. At least that’d explain the little gasp and baited breath as she bonks against him in her next stumble, and finds she’d rather like to stay there - on account of him being warm, of course.

“Geez, Santiago.” His arm wraps around her, suddenly, an even warmer hand rubbing up and down the thin sleeves of the stylish yet impractical soft coat she’d picked. “If you know you run cold all the time, why don’t you bundle up for the weather?”

Because bundling up doesn’t look good, she thinks with a sigh. Bundling up doesn’t leave an impression with the captains at that party. And because, maybe, Kylie had been a little too convincing about her online shopping cart after two glasses of wine each and clicked Buy before Amy could stop her. 

“I wasn’t exactly expecting to spend more than 5 minutes out in the cold today, but we had to wait twice that for you.” She bites back instead, and hates herself for it, because it makes his wonderfully warm arm drop from her side almost immediately.

“Sorry.” He mumbles while staring at the ground. “Hey, you want my coat? It’s fresh dry-cleaned, I promise.”

“I didn’t know you even owned anything but that leatherjacket and at least twenty similar hoodies.”

“Yeah, it’s my grown-up nice jacket I only wear for special events.” He decides to ignore her dig, stroking down the soft grey wool with a strangely proud grin before unbuttoning it. “Here, put it on. Pre-warmed.”

She can’t protest anymore before he slips it over her shoulders, and it is incredibly warm and soft, but that’s not what freezes her mind entirely.

Jake’s in a suit. That much was to be expected, considering the event they were going to specifically asked for it, but it only now dawns on her that she’s never seen him in a suit before, not accounting for his dress blues. And what a suit. It’s dark green, emerald, she thinks it’s called, a colour that works perfect with his light brown curls (slightly grown out again), and there’s- there’s a waistcoat involved, and a pocket square, a  navy blue coloured pocket square, and she realises it’s the exact same shade of blue as her dress, and her mind can’t even focus on how the cut of his suit seems perfectly tailored around his waist while thinking about that, until Charles’ wolf-whistle pulls her out of her fugue.

“Hot damn, Peralta.” Terry nods next to him. “Didn’t expect you to make the effort, to be honest.”

“Gina has this friend who works at a tailor.” He coughs, and yes, there is definitely a blush on his ears now. “Plays himself as a bit of a stylist, but I think he went overboard.”

Charles “Nuh-uh!” mixes with Rosa’s “Why does Gina keep trying to hook you up with horrible people”, and almost overshadows Amy’s “Do you make any fashion choices that aren’t basically Gina-led?”

“Because she’s Gina.” Jake shrugs and seems to answer both Amy and Rosa with that, staunchly ignoring Charles for the moment, which is probably his best bet.

Amy wants to shoot something back, anything, to keep her mind off of that suit and her eyes from staring, but she can’t. She’s glad she has to look forward as they move on, though, focusing more on not stumbling on the uneven pavement with Jake’s warm, heavy coat over her shoulders.

So he looks good in a suit. That’s fine. He cleans up well. Lots of men do. Terry is wearing a nice suit, too. So’s Charles, she has to admit.

But neither of them pull at the seams of her mind like his does. Neither of them makes her wonder how it feels to let her hands slide down his lapels, maybe grab them midway and pull him forward-

The two block walk is far too short to cool her down again, especially with that cursed warm jacket around her, smelling so much like him and his unusual cologne that he’s definitely never worn to work before, but that will be burned into her nose for a while now.

-*-

He helps her slip both his and her jacket off at the coat check, and there seems to be a short moment where he almost drops hers as she turns around again, his eyes rushing up and down her wrap dress, sporting a cleavage and a high slit that really can only be explained by two glasses of wine and Kylie. At least the sleeves are long enough to not make her freeze anymore now that she’s inside.

“Wow.” He mumbles even as she begins pulling at said sleeves, adjusting the collar that already feels like it’s dropped too far.

“I know, it’s too much, my friend-”

“Too much?!” He interrupts with a stare. “Ames, you look-” He seems to be grasping for something to say, and she can see a flash of a lot of words across his mind before he stares at the ground again for a second to find himself. “Good. You look really good.”

She smiles as her eyes drop to the ground as well.

“Thanks. You look good, too.”

He snorts, before lifting his arm in an inviting gesture, and she doesn’t want to rethink it too much as she slips her arm into the hook of his elbow.

“Well, let’s go look good together then.” He says, and yep, she’s definitely rethinking all of that. For the whole evening. Every time he catches her eyes - she’s not staring, she’s not - and smiles at her. The first time he points to his pocket square, mouthing We match! with almost childlike glee in his eyes. The following five times he does it. Even the one time Charles points it out as they find each other in their little group again, met with a round of sighs and a disgruntled “No, Charles” from Jake himself. 

She thinks about it - and about him, and that suit - when he picks up their coats, both swaying and giggling just a little from the free champagne. 

And then she thinks about something a bit more, when he slips his jacket over her shoulders immediately, his hands gliding over her bare neck for just a second, the scent of his cologne from the collar only strengthened by the scent of him right behind her.

So he’s cute. So he’s attractive. So he looks amazing in a suit. 

So she might be a little bit attracted to all that.

It still didn’t change anything.

-*-

what r u wearing 2 NYPD party, he texts her a year later, and she crinkles her nose at his appalling writing.

You know how to write proper English, I’ve seen your reports. She texts back, and then… Why do you want to know?

Thought it would be fun to match again. comes the well-written answer, and she stares at it for a good ten minutes before finally answering.

Green chiffon.

She was going to change her mind about that dress Kylie helped her pick again, but she won’t. Not now.

-*-

What r you gonna wear babeeeee, he pesters her with the 5th message about it in as many days, ever since she sent him the reservations info for their first anniversary dinner.

I told you it’s going to be a surprise.

Not fair! How am I supposed to match?! She grins as she reads it.

Won’t look good on you if you can’t figure that out, detective.

-*-

“I knew it!”, he grins at her wide at the bottom of her stairs as she descends in her navy blue wrap dress, glad it still fits after years in her closet.

“Easy enough for you to say. You probably have a whole colour range of pocket squares ready.”

“Nuh-uh.” He shakes his head, reaching for her hand on the last step already, his other hand unbuttoning the same ‘grown-up nice jacket’ she knows so well by now. “Look?”

She lets out a happy laugh as she’s met with his emerald green suit jacket, a memory burned into her mind for probably forever.

She’s so glad he never changes.

[saphirered]

Hi there! You writings are wonderful. Please could you do an EssekXreader where the reader is from another high ranking den and is betrothed to Essek for political reasons. Both Essek and Reader aren't keen on the idea but eventually after spending time together realise they actually have feelings for each other, I'm thinking a bit like The Swan Princess. Please and thank you.

This is gonna be a two parter as the current draft already exceeds my usual word count limit 🙈 so stay tuned for part two in the next few days! Hope you enjoy 😘

Denial. It must be a cruel joke. Your family, your den they would never use you as a pawn in a bigger plot. This was all just a cruel joke or a move to assure their political advancement without the need to go through with this.

Anger. No. This is real. How dare they? How could they? They would use you like that? Without having the decency to let you know before the deal was made no less! Were it anyone else you’d crush them beneath your boot like the vermin they are for condemning you to a fate not of your own choosing. Perhaps you still might…

Bargain. Maybe it wouldn’t be so bad. Maybe you could just play your part and go your separate ways. A betrothal doesn’t have to end in a marriage. Even if it does, all that counts is appearances. Beyond that you could still have your own life right? You’d always be able to make the ‘me’ decision and wouldn’t have to take in account the ‘we’. Yes that should be right.

Depression. Your life is ruined! You’ll forever be tied to someone else without your consent. Your decisions will reflect on the many now. You’ll have to watch your every move and every choice or it may reflect terribly on your legacy. There’ll be expectations and can you ever live up to them while still being content with your own life or will you be sacrificing your happiness for something so stupid?

Acceptance. Acceptance…. Hell no!

Time for the first official meeting with Essek Thelyss in the context of your arrangement. You’d met many times before given both of your stations and reputations but now, you couldn’t help but feel a coldness towards the man regardless of what cordial or friendly dynamic you might have had in your limited social interactions.

Your respective families meet. You on your side, Essek on his. Both of you portray the facial expressions excepted of you; indifferent content. Nothing over excited nor anything remotely negative either but you’ve been raised a reader of the people and you could see through the cracks in Essek’s appearance. He’s just as happy with this arrangement as you are; not at all.

“It is a pleasure to meet you here today.” Essek speaks. The rules of engagement have not forgone any of you despite your discontent with this whole situation but for the sake of your watching families you’d play your parts. You’d put on a damn good show.

“You as well Shadowhand. Light be blessed we get to spend it in such magnificent company.” You can feel the approving look burn into the back of your head from your Denmother. They’d be none the wiser.

And so the negotiations began. All be damned if you did not at the very least were able to set some of your own terms in this arrangement. Fundings to sustain your lifestyle or a dowry were the least of your worries. You were more concerned with a place you could call your own, time to spend for yourself, security and stability and the ability to continue your life as is regardless of possible marriage. You would never give up your seat at the Bright Queen’s council and you’re very sure Essek wouldn’t give up his either.

Essek had to admit you played the game well. You’re a killer negotiator. Your persuasive side had shone at the Bastion more than once but those circumstances are wholly different than these. Your ability to make it sound like these ideas came from your den and not yourself, and have them think these suggestions were their ideas in the first place is simply remarkable. Remarkable and dangerous. Respect. But no matter how good of a talker you are, or he is for that matter, neither of you could get out of this.

Afternoon tea, a few lunches and dinners here and there and even a few events you were forced to attend with Essek as your escort under the careful watch of your dens. Whenever you were sure they were out of earshot you did not make it unknown neither of you wanted to be here and would prefer to be as far away from each other as possible.

Then there were the times you swore you might actually be able to like the Shadowhand. Councils held lead to many arguments, the Bright Queen watching the court fight among themselves for a next course of action, fundings to be divided and efforts to be pursued. You always kept a level head not allowing yourself to get worked up, or at least appear you weren’t but sometimes you could strangle the life out of some of these fools.

To your surprise in some of these occasions Essek would take your side and support your arguments, concerns and points brought up in debates. So he does know what’s good for him after all? Those moments were quickly ruined by the next point on the schedule where you’d be at opposing sides again. Usually you’d be able to work up an opponent in debate until their credibility would be questioned but Essek had caught onto your games and was no fool. If you could keep your cool, so could he. You had learned how to push his buttons as he had yours.

After a particularly heated debate the Bright Queen dismissed the dens, done with the bickering and infighting for the day. You couldn’t blame her even though there were still many things unspoken. You and Essek were at odds once more and you couldn’t be happier to be done for the day and head somewhere you wouldn’t be forced to interact with the asshole.

Conferring with your allies, trying to gain support of others, you grabbed your things ready to leave the Bastion. There he floated in the anti-chamber eyes cold focussed on you, waiting. You pretend you don’t notice and keep walking for the exit. Essek calls your name as you’re about to pass him. You don’t respond and keep going. He calls again. No response. He grabs your arm stopping you in your tracks. How you’d hoped to escape this confrontation.

“A moment of your time please.” The words leave his lips with an artificial, well-practiced warmth. Oh you’re fighting so hard to contain yourself but you too had a facade to keep up.

“Another time perhaps. I’ve grown quite exhausted after the day’s events. If you will excuse me.” You smile innocently placing your hand over his secured around your wrist. You pry your fingers beneath forcing him to release his grasp on you.

“Then allow me to escort you back home. Should you be able to muster up the strength to converse on our path I’d love nothing more than to just hear your voice.” Essek encases your hands between his. Eyes of the dens fall upon the two of you in the middle of the anti-chamber. Essek is known to be a reserved individual and these advances definitely stand out.

Oh so that’s the game we’re playing. Asshole move, Shadowhand. Two can play this game. If it’s the company you’re currently in he’s using against you you can do the same. You take a step closer to him standing on your tiptoes and lean in to press your lips to his cheek. You linger just a little and whisper into his ear.

“I have nothing to say to you.” You allow the distaste to bleed through your barely audible words before you pull away and take a step back. You couldn’t refuse his ‘generous offer’. It might make you look bad so you smile bright and nod even managing to call on a fake blush like some lovesick fool. From the corners of your eyes you notice the court members whisper among each other. Good. Let them talk. You link your arm through Essek’s still carrying your things.

“I believe I might have forgotten my transcripts of the day. Would you mind joining me in retrieving them?” So whatever the wizard needed to discuss with you he couldn’t say in public… Oh Essek what a mistake you made… That certainly offers you some opportunities to use to your advantage.

“Nonsense! I have my transcripts. You’re free to borrow them, or perhaps you’d like to study them with me? It might give us the opportunity to come to a compromise without wasting the Council’s time. After all, there’s much more pressing matters.” His expression might be a thankful one but if looks could kill… you’d be introduced into your next life this very second.

You begin leading Essek out of the building not allowing him any response or comeback for your previous statement. You walk head held high catching onto the praises of others. ‘A great match’? If only they knew…

Your walk continued in seething silence from Essek. Until you reached your home. Opening the door and leaning against the doorframe making sure no one else is in sight, you smirk at him.

“I’m curious. If I refused to part with these,” You hold up the transcripts. “What would you do? Would you go back and receive your own copies or would you go without them?” You leaf through the pages. It’s not like you needed them. You already had all you needed memorised so if anything they’d go into your archives for future reference and case study if necessary. Essek doesn’t dignify you with an answer yet so you continue to press his buttons.

“Would you be able to discredit my every word or counter them without the direct word for word reference? Would your arguments hold any weight against my own? Or would you be forced to depend on the vote or Light’s mercy, the Bright Queen’s verdict because if the latter, you’ve already lost, my dear.” You can’t hold back the smugness in your achievements. The look of defeat brought you satisfaction.

Essek bites his tongue. Even he knows that in theoretics you have the upper hand now. Recalling your words from memory alone wouldn’t be enough. He’d needed to cite them exactly providing the transcript in your possession. He couldn’t go back or it might arise questions, questions he couldn’t afford at this moment. What caught him off guard was you offering him the transcript still. He takes it before you can change your mind, the pages disappearing beneath his cloak.

“Luckily for you I’m not your enemy. Yes we might disagree on matters of state but at the end of the day we’re going to be stuck together and there’s nothing either of us can do about it.”

“What are you suggesting?” Essek doesn’t know wether he should be wary, outright suspicious, or glad you’ve come up with a plan amidst the chaos.

“A truce. If we keep these antics going it will lead to a war between the two of us. Are you really prepared to be expected to spend the rest of your life with someone you’ve grown to hate? Because I’m not. I’d rather sleep in my bed withe the comfort of knowing my partner will not stab me in the back or sabotage me at every opportunity he gets.” Partner. He. Not they. He. So not even you had a way out of this betrothal.

“Resentment grows much faster than affection.” Essek deadpans. Yes he sees your reasonings and you make some solid arguments but that doesn’t mean he has to trust your motives. He’s aware you in your position are much more dangerous than any spy, assassin or foreign force.

“Light be with me.” You’re exasperated. You’re offering an olive branch and this is his response? You pull him inside and close the door dropping the act entirely within the confines of your own home knowing no one will be watching you here.

“I am not offering you an epic enemies to lovers tale! I’m offering to make the best out of a situation neither of us actually want to be in! Marriage is just another contract. We do what is expected of us by following it to the letter and nothing more, nothing less. Love or affection is not part of that contract but respect is.” Essek takes in your words and considers them making sure you’re not twisting things in such a way you could later use against him or to your advantage.

“Your logic is sound and your arguments persuasive.” You raise your hand in an exasperated ‘thank you’ as he straightens your back and looks down at you.

“Very well. We have an agreement.” You’re on the verge of letting out a breath of relief at Essek agreeing to your terms and suggestions. You’d rather be sure this man isn’t going to drop you on a different plane in your sleep once you’ll be forced to share a home. You’d rather know you can trust him to have your back despite your grievances. At the end of the day, you both want to survive.

“Match made in Elysium.” Sarcasm is clear in your voice and the both of you cannot help but smile. More like match made in hell with the ‘letter of the law’ approach to navigating your predicament.

—————

Pacing back and forth fingers pressed to your lips in thought of Essek’s sitting room you ponder the terms of your agreement. Essek himself is seated on the couch leaning over a two sheets of paper, a long list of demands from both sides written on each.

“Next up housing.” You announce. Essek fiddles with the pen looking over the lists.

“I’m not willing to part with my towers unless something of equal or greater value is returned. I need space for my practices, experiments and studies.”

“I’ll agree to part with my own home under the terms you will share your personal resources with me and I will have amicable space for my own pursuits be this here or at another place of our mutual choosing.” Essek considers your terms on this matter. They are agreeable but this is a negotiation and neither of you are refraining from pushing for an outcome to suit yourself best.

“We will share my home then but we will both share our resources unless they pertain to exclusively personal matters or those of state when we inevitably find ourselves on opposing sides in the Bastion.” You stop pacing and turn to face Essek. He watches for your responses.

“I get my own tower.” You counter.

“That’s preposterous. I have need for certain rooms and areas for my studies and cannot relocate them.”

“Fine. Then I’ll get all unoccupied or unnecessary rooms.”

“You’ll get your own private bedchambers, study and sitting room just as I’ll have mine. These chambers will be exclusive and privacy to be respected. Other spaces save for my laboratory, for your own safety, are communal.” By the expression on your face Essek knows you’ve caught him in a loophole.

“Agreed. We’re entitled to our private spaces and will share the unspecified ones. Kitchen, dining room, living area… library…” You caught hime there… Essek’s expression turns sour. He’d have preferred to keep that one to himself but the agreement is fair.

“I wish to make an amendment.”

“Name your terms.”

“Some shelves will belong to my private collection. You will refrain from touching these tomes and scrolls without my explicit permission.” You ponder not entirely convinced. There’s nothing in there for you and Essek knows it. You raise an eyebrow for him to continue and concede on a previously negotiated term for this amendment to go through.

“And in return, you get to redecorate our communal spaces how you see fit, within the realms of reason.” Essek empathises the latter part of his statement.

“Agreeable.” You nod. “Next up; social engagements.”

The two of you go back and forth agreeing, adjusting, and conceding to come to an equal understanding and finalise your arrangement. Over all, it went surprisingly well. It certainly was a nice change of scene to have somewhat friendly negotiations without the added pressure of the dens and the Bright Queen herself watching you.

Essek makes for a good conversationalist and you might even dare say you enjoyed your afternoon setting the terms and conditions. Maybe you could be friends after all. That would be nice.

[shadowofthelamp]

Okay, I’m still on this. Building on this post, having Scourge genuinely want Sonic to join him is just a really, really interesting narrative choice, and I want to figure out where it came from. There’s a TL;DR at the end since it got a bit long.

Is it on some level that he thinks heroism is naïve and he just thinks Sonic can do better? Yeah, I think that’s part of it. It comes up both when he’s trying to convince Sonic in 191 and after he thinks he’s won in 196 when he goes Super. Between “What does heroism get you?” in the page below and “See what that (holier-than-thou attitude) got you?!” in the linked page this very much informs his worldview. Heroism leading to bad outcomes both for the people being heros and the world in general (in his eyes) means that heroic actions (and the attitude, thinking heroism is better than selfishness) must be bad as well. 

“I got that my way, not yours. Folks smile and wave you you? Everyone bows to me!” He doesn’t want everyone genuinely liking him as a person, not that he’d admit anyway- he wants worship, for people to look up at him instead of across the aisle. He 100% rules the Suppression Squad via fear and is perfectly comfortable with it until it blows up in his face. He’s rather keep himself up and out of reach from connections that could hurt him if he opens himself up to them, because he doesn’t truly respect his crew and mostly uses them to inflate his own ego via that bowing/submisson thing.

Obviously the hesitation in that middle panel there is more for the benefit of the audience suspense for the next comic than anything since Sonic would never go for this and he directly states so in the next issue, (and I don’t think it’s really ‘him not wanting to admit it to himself’). Sonic’s expression in the first panel definitely is a ‘are you serious?’ sort of thing, but Scourge sure seems serious about this, considering he brought it up again after going Super, lamenting that Sonic didn’t take what he sees as the smart option. Plus, he’s pissed right here that Metal interrupted. 

He tries to posture himself above Sonic in the page below- the first panel there is referring to the fact that he calls himself a King now. He WANTS to be more than Sonic, so he takes an honestly pretty childish tact to it- he just kicks everybody else down to make himself king of the hill, and then KEEPS kicking them down because he’s never going to get their genuine respect, so he has to keep stomping to keep them below him. .

I think part of the angle here? Scourge, although he’d never consciously admit it, genuinely admires Sonic and wants what he has- respect and affection earned through good character and not fear.

I admittedly don’t know the pre-Ian issues as well, but he repeatedly kept popping up in Prime to pretend he was Sonic. He likes Sonic’s life better- and why wouldn’t he? The Squad has no care for each other. Miles is plotting to usurp him at basically all times, it seems. Patch and Boomer seem to like the new direction/power he brought them as the leader, but they also were willing to turn on him as soon as Miles suggested it. Moebius is generally peaceful, so he never deals with anything interesting, and he’s got an empire of dirt even when he did conquer the planet, from all the infighting after the Great Peace fell apart. Fiona said that he just ‘beat up a few warlords’- he can tell himself he’s king all he wants, but he’s just a kid playing pretend and kicking away anybody who can/would dispel that illusion.

I don’t doubt that just knowing he’s a ‘reverse’ version of someone else grated on him- it’s a heck of an identity crisis, which is probably why he was so eager to accept his recolor and picked a new name almost immediately. He wants to differentiate himself- and forced the Squad to all go along with it. He’s over the top to the Nth degree to prove to HIMSELF that’s he’s the biggest, baddest cat in town. This is something that bugged him a lot.

On top of that, Sonic beat him- he brushed it off, and he could blame Locke for one of them, but generally, toe-to-toe, Sonic’s a better fighter since he just has more practice, and that’s something he does reluctantly admire. He thinks Sonic’s ‘full of untapped potential’- something he can use for himself, sure, but it’s untapped in his opinion specifically, because he thinks on the surface Sonic is just going about things all wrong with the power he has. 

Deep-down, he’s unsure of himself. He’s so egotistical and assholish on the surface because it covers that he’s overcompensating for the fact that pretty much every relationship he has is shallow, selfish, and liable to stab him in the back- and he knows it. If he pretends that’s how he wants things, maybe he can make himself (and everyone watching) believe it.

That’s why he cared enough about Sonic joining him. He wants Sonic to validate the choices he made. Sonic’s one of the only people whose opinion he genuinely cares about, even though it’s under a good few layers of jerkishness, because Sonic is a version of him that has a harder life but is much more successful. He can deny it all he wants, but he wants people to respect him, and all he can do is try to get a facsimile of that by busting heads together and ruling by fear, because anything too introspective leads him to things he doesn’t want to confront about himself- that he is weaker both in character and in battle, and a coward and a bully.

When Sonic turns him down he just brushes it off with ‘your loss’ and a big grin, (while holding Fiona tighter, as if to say ‘look what I have and you don’t’), but then he brings it back when he’s got the upper hand- if he was just rubbing in that Sonic could have avoided a beating, I feel like he would have phrased things differently. Resposting this image, ‘What IS IT with you?’ and ‘We could have done this together, but no! You decided to go the holier-than-thou route!’ says to me that he’s A: Genuinely offended, so the idea of them teaming up had come up in his head before now and wasn’t just thrown out on a whim, and B: He thinks that Sonic thinks that he’s better than him. (Which he does, because... well, he is.)

Scourge came back to Mobius to prove himself against Sonic, but even though he absolutely has the upper hand here, he knows something isn’t right- he doesn’t feel as satisfied as he should. He can’t figure out exactly what he wanted, and is taking it out on Sonic. He’s defensive and aggressive at the same time here- why would he care if Sonic thought himself better than him when he’s already declared that he’s the ‘superior’ of the two? Only his own opinion should matter if he just wants worship, shouldn’t it?

But he doesn’t just want blind worship. He thinks that he does, because that means he doesn’t have to get vulnerable, but he wants someone on his level.- he wanted them to rule the multiverse together. Fiona is decent enough- he does genuinely seem to like her and although their relationship was probably destined to fall apart at some point, for now she was a decent towel stuffed into the wound for that particular problem of ‘not having anyone to care about/to care about him’. However, he wants Sonic- his approval or his defeat, specifically. He wants Sonic either as a partner in crime or as a trophy- either way, he ‘wins’ and proves that his way of kicking his way to the top was the valid, right choice. Sonic is the true version of himself and the opponent he cares most about facing, and his approval means Scourge would win for real. Not getting that wedges a crack in his insecurities.

In his life, heroism had only ever led to problems. It led his dad to neglect him in service of trying to chase peace for everyone else, it led the world to crumble to pieces when that peace failed, and he learned violence was the only thing that got him attention, even though it was negative from everyone outside the Squad. So Sonic embodying that heroism ideal, and then beating him? It throws everything he thinks into question, and he wants to prove that he’s right so he doesn’t have to question it. 

He’s starving for positive interactions from people he respects since they’re so few and far between. He spent time thinking about a comment Sonic made during a previous fight, and then conquered the planet trying to chase the spirit of it even though he got it twisted to the point of unrecognizability. 

Scourge wants to be able to just mill his own confidence- to say he’s a badass and then believe it. And on some level, he can! But that’s flimsy and he requires some manner of outside support he has no real way of getting, and feeling like he’s being looked down on by Sonic hurts him more than he’d admit. 

So, TL;DR: Scourge wants Sonic to validate him and his (bad) worldview, and gets pissy when that doesn’t happen, because he unconsciously respects Sonic more than he’d admit and not getting that means he has to think about how he’s actually messed up in the past. He wants equals because shallow worship borne from fear isn’t a replacement for genuine affection, but he hasn’t matured enough to realize that’s what he actually wants/needs.

[cheshiresartblog]

Demon/Angel Thing

Alright. Due to popular demand I’ll start with this one.  Also, straight up, I literally do refer to it as “the demon/angel thing” cause I don’t come up with titles until the end.  Also I started this entire thing when I was 14 years old. I’m 24. So this is my longest running world I guess. I have a lot of worlds I’ve made over the years. I will admit my dirty little secret here, but what jump started this for me was watching Black Butler for the first time as a kid. Got me interested in the whole demons and angels thing. That’s where the similarities end, though. 

Also, I will not be going really deep into the plot simply because Spoilers since I def wanna make something out of this. 

Stuff below the cut cause it’s  l o n g 

The World

Basically, there are three interconnected realms; Earth, the Heavens and Hell. Also, the Heavens and Hell are not related to the afterlife. That’s a whole other can of worms here that ya’ll already got a bit of a taste of with my BNHA Reapers Au a while back. But yeah. They’re three interconnected realms. The Heavens was made by the God of Order and Hell the Goddess of Chaos. Earth was made by the missing Goddess of Life. Angels are being of Order and Demons are beings of Chaos and Humans fall in between the two. Also I’ve been at a loss for names for the Deities here but I do have two for sure. The Goddess of Life was named Gaia and the Goddess of Chaos was named Lilith. 

Basically Heaven and Hell had always been at odd with each other and Earth was a common battle ground. The earliest I can go with the timeline that’s relevant would be what I call the Princes Era. 

Prince Era (World Statuses) 

Earth: Humanity is young, they are mostly just coming out of their hunter-gatherer stage of things. The planet is mainly used as a battle ground for the warring Angels and Demons, inspiring myths of old to come. Magic is wild and free in this time on the planet. When Lucifer fell it disrupted the ley lines of the planet resulting in a steady decline of the magical on earth for years to come.

Hell: Hell is in chaos itself. While dealing with the war with the Angels they are dealing with heavy infighting between the demon variations and Lilith being unable to completely control her creations. After much thought Lilith decided to choose seven(eight) demons with blood from the seven ruling families to become the first seven Princes of Hell and unite Hell into one unified force to defend themselves properly from the greater threat that are the Angels. 

The first seven(eight) Princes are the following: 

Baphomet of the Superbia family, the Prince of Pride and the next chosen King of Hell whenever Lilith decides to step down. 

Beelzebub of the Grykësi family, the Prince of Gluttony. 

Leviathan (Identical twins Via and Anthel) of the Invidia family, the twin Princes of Envy who both share the identity of Leviathan in the public.

Asmodeus of the Libidine family, the Prince of Lust.

Mammon of the Avaritia family, the Prince of Greed. 

Sathanas of the Ira family, the Prince of Wrath. 

Belphegor of the Tristitia family, the Prince of Sloth.

Notes 1: Prince is just a title here. Sathanas and Beelzebub are women Notes 2: The Princes were all granted the ability to use Hell Fire by Lilith personally after she assessed deemed them all worthy in one way or another. 

Heavens: A world ruled by the God of Order through the chosen King. At the time it’s extremely militaristic. Working under the King and God of Order are the four Archangels; Michael, Lucifer, Gabriel and Raphael. Though, under the surface there’s a rebellion brewing. (I will be honest, I always focused a bit more on the Hell as a world when thinking about this Era.) 

Notes: What sets the Archangels apart here from regular angels besides rank is that they were blessed with the ability to harness the power of Holy Fire, which is something more explained story wise. Just know it would kill the average angel if they tried to use it.

Modern Era

The Modern Era is marked by the a huge event. The destruction of Hell. In their ever going war, 100 years before present time, an attack by the Angels lead to Hell being rendered unstable, which resulted almost half of the population being killed and the other half escaping to Earth. Some kind of peace treaty was made and it allowed the Demons to stay on Earth but with conditions. Also, with this event the Angels too more charge on Earth than they were before and humanity was now pulled fully into the know about Angels and Demons existing. 

This also established something very important to the story itself. The Zones. Most high population areas were split into Human Zones and Demons Zones, with a few cities gaining a third Zone due to the humans refusing to move and/or being sypathetic to the demons. This is the Neutral Zone. Aka, a home for society’s misfits. The main setting of the story is one of these three zoned cities. Right now it’s called Half-Light City but that name is subject to change most likely lol. 

The Zones 

The Human Zone is fairly well maintained for the most part. It has it’s occasional bad section, but those are closer to the Neutral Zone’s border fence. All and all it is the most upkept part of the city and is home to Humans, Angels and Half-Angels. It is heavily guarded and you need an ID to get in from the Neutral Zone, along with the requirement of being human. Demons and Half Demons are not allowed unless summoned. The Human Zone is protected by the Hunters, a group that is somewhat a cross between the police and the military. This section of the city is run by a chosen Council which answers to the Angelic Council of the Heavens. The occupants seem rather ignorant to the going ons of the other parts of the city and seem to go on with life without a second thought. Most of them at least.

The Demons Zone has a surprisingly decent upkeep, but then again they usually have to do it themselves because the money given to them by the city is not that much. The zone is mostly populated with full Demons, with the occasional Half-Demon or Demon with a Human partner scattered about. The fence between them and the Neutral Zone is actually quite open and in a state of disrepair, though Demon Zone residents and Neutral Zone residents alike guard it, it is usually quite easier to pass between these two Zones than it is for either of them to pass into the Neutral Zone. The Demon Zone was formerly run by a Demon Council made of Noble family survivors or descendants but was recently overthrown by a shady organization that needs a new name so bad. I’m so embarrassed of the old name I will not mention it but I will say I abused Google Translate as a teen so bad.

The Neutral Zone is basically the slums with a few nicer parts of town. It's a dreary and gray place at first glance honestly, but underneath that is a sense of unity between its people. Humans, Demons, Half-Breeds of both sorts and Fallen mix fairly well. The Neutral Zone is home to swindlers, mercenaries and all sorts of illegal activity giving it and it’s residents a negative reputation in the Human Zone. The Zone is co-lead by the two leaders of the two biggest Mercenary groups in the zone; the Triad and the Freelancers.

A more detailed description of the Heavens and Hell 

Heavens 

The Heavens are a set of floating islands that float around each other similar to a solar system might. The middle Island is The Capital City, and the roads are literally paved with gold and as well as some buildings being made of gold as well. It’s where the wealthy and powerful often live and is the center of their government. It is the largest single island whereas each other section of the Heavens is more of a string of islands.

The closer a set of islands are to the Capital the more privileged and wealthy the citizens are, and the higher the rank. There are a total of six rings of islands around the Capital. The outermost two hold the most farmland, forests, orchards, etc. Those two rings are the most populated and are where the lesser angels live.

Most Lesser Angels will never see Earth unless they join the military or join missionary work.

There are two islands floating above the Capital. One is the prison and trial area of soon to be Fallen Angels, and the other larger one is for military training. They never move from their fixed positions above the Capital.

While there are trains and such, most Angels get around via walking or flying, though flying is more common.

Angels higher up either dress like royalty or business men/women. Depends on the family. Lower class Angels dress in things like tunics and kinda, you know, greek-type of shit unless their employer gives them a more modern uniform. 

Angels use portals that appear like a glowing mass of light to get around Earth.   Hell

Hell is a Realm that exists solely in an underground location. It is said that the surface is way too hot to even walk upon, let alone live. There are Seven Circles of Hell and each Circle is responsible for a different area of their government, with Pride being the most powerful of them all.

The First Circle is the closest to the Surface and the most resistant to the heat found there. That would be the Wrath Circle. Physically they are the most capable of the variations of Demons and their Noble Family is the one in charge of the Military.

The Second Circle is Lust. Lust demons are the ones in charge of the Magical Regulations in Hell. That being said, they have the most Mages born to them, and some of the most powerful Magic users. They also are in charge of any and all Seers born in Hell.

The Third Circle is Greed. Greed demons are the ones in charge of the economics of Hell.They honestly have the most boring job, but it brings in the most money. They simply don’t mind because hey, the like to hoard riches anyways. They are said to have the biggest hand in the slave trade in Hell though.

The Fourth Circle is Envy. Envy demons are the ones in charge of the Judicial branch of Hell, handling criminals, legal matters, and prisoners. The latest raining families of Envy Demon Nobles have been well known for being cold and unbiased.

The Fifth Circle is Sloth. Sloth demons are the ones in charge of the Health care in Hell to put it simply. Someone has to be in charge of it. It also helps that Sloth demons have the largest amount of natural Healers born in their variation.

The Sixth Circle is Gluttony. Gluttony demons are surprisingly the second in charge after the Pride demons. The Noble Family of the Gluttony Circle has a deep history with the Pride royal family. Other than being the second in command the Gluttony demons are the ones in charge of Education and History keeping.

The Seventh and most powerful Circle is Pride. The Pride demons are the ones that run things, they are in charge of all the other Noble Families, and contain the Royal Family and the current ruling King or Queen of Hell. They have the final say in everything, but normally let most of the Noble Families run their domain as they see fit to.

Demons have technology based around magic, so magic teleporters, communication orbs, shit like that, is pretty common place.

The Slave trade is common and highly accepted by older demons though the newer generations are beginning to be against it. The slave trade in Hell often consists of captured humans, half demons, Fallen and rarely half angels and extremely rarely angels.

They have a potion that can make a Demon appear like a human for 24 hours meant for spies but a lot of teenagers use it to sneak to earth to party.  

Jewelry is huge in their culture. Like, seriously, so much jewelry.

A lot of Circles are mixed with the type of demons that live there but they usually have a slightly higher population of the type of demon the ring is named after.

I will probably make a separate post going more into detail about the species of angels and demons themselves. Demons, btw, consists of 7 different races of demons separated by sin type. They all have different traits. 

Magic Stuff I guess

Angel Magics (From common to rarest)- Healing, Aura Sight, Defensive and Protective, Weaponry Enchantment, Runic, Elemental, Precognition, Holy Fire (this one is literally the rarest thing for an angel to have).

Demon Magics (From common to rarest)- Illusions, Elemental, Contract Magic, Enchantment, Energy Draining/Aura Draining, Binding Magics, Witchery (Jinxes, charms, etc), Healing Magic, Possession, Shadow Magics, Shapeshifting (Rare for non Gluttony Demons only), Hellfire (Super Rare, actually marks the next Heir of a Ring of Hell to have it.), Precognition.

Human Magics (All human Magics are considered rare)- Witchery (Gained naturally or through demonic contract), Healing, Aura Sight, Runic, Elemental, Precognition.

Everyone can brew things such as potions.

Demons have more magic energy than Humans or Angels tbh and mages are way more common with them, though Healers are more common with Angels, and less common with demons.

Technology is advanced and exists and is built to work alongside magic.

Weaponry such as swords are still used though with Angels and Demons.

--

Alright folks. This is basically a world info dump. I will do a species info dump like I said once I got some decent pictures or I’ll do it in relevant chunks. 

[salarta]

We're all excited and ecstatic that Lorna is finally getting some major recognition due to winning the X-Men vote and getting on the team. Whatever anyone's feelings on the team itself, the recognition part is common. And it's much deserved and a long time coming.

But what I'm about to say with this post is also extremely important.

Right now is the most dangerous time for Lorna.

Yes, Lorna in the spotlight means tons of eyes noticing and appreciating her, and loads of opportunity. It also makes her a target. And makes what happens around and to her more risky. We need to be very vigilant about what's coming, and even some of what's already happening on a lower level than we're fully seeing.

These are just a few of the issues to be prepared for.

1) Some fans of characters that didn't win the vote are upset their own faves didn't win. Being upset about that is healthy. You care about something, and it bothers you when what you care about loses out. But a segment of those fans will want to take it out on Lorna and her fandom. This kind of risk would exist even without the vote, but the actual act of voting added more tension that may translate into more attacks.

2) There could be problems with how she's treated in the new X-Men book. I stress the could. We don't know, and we all hope it goes excellent. But we don't know the future. If this happens, and it's called out as a problem, be prepared for heavy pushback. Fans of the franchise will insist everything is perfect. Many will paint needed criticism as some kind of gravely sin and act like fans should just shut up and love everything that happens. It may be overwhelming, and calling it out may feel like being in the extreme minority. But it will look worse than it is. And if it's truly bad, then calling attention to those problems is essential.

3) Nostalgia. I know it, you know it, we all scream for ice cream know it. It's a pervasive problem for any character, and it's traditionally had a huge negative impact for Lorna. But when she was on smaller groups and lower key, demands by people to have Marvel cater to their nostalgia were minimal. Those demands are going to blow up. People that have never cared about Lorna, or only did so decades ago, will suddenly show up to insist she should be written to match however she was written in what they consider the glory days. A lot of this is going to be centered on trying to maintain a status quo image of Lorna where they think she's "supposed" to be less than everyone else. Mitigating this is also going to be essential.

4) Fans of other characters. Comic books have a long history of encouraging division and infighting among fans, under the idea of fan "competition." That's seeped very deep into the community. It leads some fans to put down and badmouth characters they see as "competition" for their own faves. Think of how often a segment of terrible Batman fans has badmouthed Superman. Same deal here.

5) Trying to put this delicately, there are certain fandoms that very much did not want Lorna's situation to change. They think she's been fine as-is and wanted her to stay there. Some of those fans are upset but accept and may even on some levels like this move for her. But there are other fans within this that are not happy, and will probably attack Lorna making this progress in hopes of "reverting" her back to where they want her. We saw inklings of this already. It's something to be prepared for.

6) Opportunists. By this term, I mean racists, sexists, homophobes and transphobes, all of those kinds of people. I've seen some accounts attempt to use Lorna for their hateful bullshit in this vein over the past few years. Lorna being in the spotlight means these people are even more likely to try to use her for their ends. Countering their efforts is important. Not just for Lorna, but because it's the right thing to do.

Again, this isn't comprehensive. This isn't everything. It's just a list of what we'll be facing as Lorna finally gets the attention she needs and deserves. Some of them will overlap.

Enjoy the great that is, and is coming, but be prepared for the bad bits that will try to undermine it.