#can i just say i'm glad i didn't use mods for these two

[pentacass]

kissies collection 🥹💕💕

[cmmdrkote]

codywan reverse bang team #13: i should tell him i love him

The words fell away as Obi-Wan raised his head. He had been expecting another visit from Cetius only to find his Commander standing in the doorway. He blinked a few times, fearing he was merely hallucinating. “Cody?” “General.” The Commander stared for a moment, trying to think of what to say. I’m glad I found you in time. I’m glad you’re alive. I missed you. I was worried about you. I think I love you. “Did you need a rescue?” “Do you know, Commander?” Obi-Wan tried for a smile and a laugh that turned into a groan as his broken ribs made themselves known. “I just think I might.”

So, I'm unfortunately late (life and death happened) but here is 2/3 of my piece for CWRB '23! Obi-Wan has gotten himself into a situation, and Cody is annoyed and using that to cover up how worried he is.

i would like to thank the mods of @codywanreversebang Serie and Anon for their endless patience, my friends for getting me through a difficult time, and of course my amazing writers Kay @foreverchangingfandomsao3 and Mia who have written a fantastic story for this prompt that you can read here.

I'll see you all soon for Part 3....a Keldabe kiss is imminent 👀 Notes and close-ups sans shadows under the cut:

A consistent light source? Who? I've never heard of her in my entire life.

I swear I didn't mean for there to be Christ-like undertones (I'm not even Christian) but once I had Obi's pose laid out and the light focused on him, I was like "fuck I gotta commit to the space Jesus now".

I originally intended for this to have a much more cartoony style, but the shading on Cody's face got away from me and then I needed to match that level of realism for his whole body, which drastically increased the time taken and I had to scrap all my plans for Obi.

The pose/prompt and Obi's outfit are inspired by Crossfire by Brandon Flowers, a whumper's dream of a music video and also a bop. I had sketched something out about two years ago and ended up adapting it for this idea.

Obi is wearing suspenders and a dress shirt because 1. I hate drawing clothing and knew robes would suck 2. Brandon is wearing that outfit in the video which made an easier reference 3. Suspenders are hot 4. I needed to show the hairy chest

Clip Studio Paint can eat my ass, I'm never upgrading to their bs subscription model.

Ewan and Temuera are some of the most handsome men I've seen in my entire life and no I will not be taking questions.

Here are some close-ups because I want to show off what I did before covering it up with dramatic ass shadows:

[danganronpasurvivoraskblog]

Hey mod did you see the hundred of last line of defense academy what your thought

//Honestly, at this point I'm exhausted trying to keep up with all of these games. Kodaka won't rest until he puts a Danganronpa spin on every genre out there.

//My face definitely lit up the moment I saw Komatsuzaki's art style, and I'm glad that they're opting to go back to the more visual novel aspect of it.

//It makes me laugh because Last Defense Academy looks like it SHOULD be a Danganronpa spinoff. They're trapped in a school, they have a mascot character overseeing them.

//Rain Code didn't really have this problem (I say problem, but it's not really a problem, just something worth noting) because even if there were some stark similarities between it and Danganronpa, Kanai Ward as a setting, the interactions between the characters, the supernatural element of the story, as well as the overall theme and style of that game made it stand out as its own thing that could be loosely linked to Danganronpa.

//You could legit replace the main cast of this new game with the cast of Danganronpa, and have Monokuma fill in the role of that mascot, and I don't think there'd be much difference.

//In fact, do you know what this feels like? This genuinely feels like what could have happened during the two years before the first killing game, when Class 78 holed themselves up in the school and are defending it from the Despair outside while they board it up and cut them off. It really just does feel like it should be a Danganronpa title, but Kodaka didn't want to slap the name on it anymore.

//I mean, it's not like he can. He doesn't really own the series anymore. But it's clear he loves Danganronpa dearly, and so he should, it's his pride and joy, and there's no shame in basing most of his games off of it. That's what put him on the map in the first place.

//This is the closest thing I have to a gripe. The characters look plenty interesting, and the idea of a strategy RPG-style game coming from Kodaka is cool, and I really want to see where he takes it.

//Narratively, from what I can understand of the plot, Kodaka is taking the stuff he wrote with the Danganronpa series and Rain Code, and he's giving it more of an Assassination Classroom spin. And if you remember some of the discussions I had during the Mukuro Vs Kayano phase of the Death Battle even, I think that sort of twist works really well.

//Not only that, but when I went back and listened to what they were saying in the trailer, it also seems like the team is re-using a really old concept that they first came up with with Distrust; Danganronpa's Beta Version. And that's the idea that your choices can affect which of the main characters die and which one's live.

//Like the typical DR setting, there are 16 students including the protagonist, and the trailer states that you need to defend the school from the unknown assailants for 100 days. This makes me think that the game is taking a Fire Emblem/Until Dawn route, and there will be multiple endings to it, like one where all the students die, one where they all live, one where certain students die and it affects the others, etc.

//If that IS the case, then that's pretty stellar for what Kodaka and his team have put out so far. Danganronpa may be a sensation, but it's simple in practice and execution. It's the character writing that carries it; not the gameplay.

//Rain Code improved upon the gameplay aspect a lot, but even then, it never went as far as this.

//Unfortunately, despite all I've said I can't give a full opinion of it until the game actually comes out, and/or we see more gameplay footage and information of it. The stuff that they showed in the teasers isn't an awful lot to go off of.

//Also, whenever this comes out, there's a chance that, depending on whether I like it enough, I MIGHT add the characters to the blog. HOWEVER, if I DO, then it's probably only going to happen if I decide to do a Phase 4.

//Originally, I only planned to have Phase 3 be the end of the blog's main story, but for all we know, depending on how far this goes, it could very well just serve as the end of the Zetsubou saga. I don't really like dragging these sorts of things out, but this blog and it's story got way more popular than even I was expecting, and I'm always happy to deliver for you guys.

//But again, I can't write promises that my mouth can't cache, so don't quote me on this.

-Mod

[thedevilinherself]

So I finished the BG3 after doing every side mission I could find. And.... I have feelings

So I played with the poly mod, so I romanced everyone but Lae'zel and Shadowheart who I couldn't get the romance to start for. I also had the mod that lets me have all the companions with me, so I don't know how or if that changes the ending cut scenes.

But first off, the endings were way too short. I heavily dislike endings that have you fight the final battle, give you a cut scene, then end. Give us a little something after to come down from the high of the victory and see the happiness of the ending we fought so hard for.

Speaking of happiness; I can't say I'm happy with anyone's endings. I told Lae'zel she should go back to her people cause I know that's what she's wanted this whole time, so she left to free her people. This was in my opinion the happiest companion ending I got, even though it's still bitter sweet and doesn't feel like theirs closure cause she still has to fight to free her people with no time to rest.

Astarion just started to burn in the sun and ran off, then Shadowheart was like "poor guy, no more sun for him" then I never saw him again. Kinda shitty considering everything he fought for and the fact I was in a relationship with him. And it's not like the ending just picked one of my love interests to give the ending for, since all my other partners acknowledged me as their partner in their cut scenes (more on that in a moment).

Gale just stood at the edge of the doc and was like "the crown fell into the water. Guess I gotta find it" and then talked about his ex some more before saying we'll do it together. Didn't like that his arch was left open ended as well with him still afflicted with the orb AND wanting to return to Mystra who is terrible for so many reasons.

I got nothing for Shadowheart, and I don't know if Wyll can have his own scene, but his was lumped in with Karlach's for mine. Karlach is dying, her engine burning up, and she says she loves me and is glad we could be together. Wyll was really upset and yells "my love, we have to get her back to avernus! It's the only way to save her". Karlach didn't want to go back, but we convinced her and tell her we will be there with her and will protect her till we find a way to cure her. The three of us go to avernus and it ends with us about to fight imps and I guess I'm in a poly with the two of them, which I didn't know was an option, but them both referring to me as their love in that cut scene was a scripted thing so I don't think it was cause of the mod. Either way, I hated that at the end of the game, we haven't cured Karlach and now she's back in avernus. All her endings seem to suck as, spoiler, she either dies, returns to avernus, or becomes a mind flayer and has to live in hiding. So all of her endings suck.

I hated how none of the characters felt like they got a good resolution or much closure. There wasn't a sense of happiness or real victory. That kinda thing can work in DND cause the campaign can keep going, but in a video game, where there is no way to move forward, it seriously sucks. I put 300+ hours into this game, made so many choices to ensure my companions were safe and happy, tried to get them each the best ending I could without looking up too many spoilers, and in the end, they each get 3-5 minute cut scenes where their main character quest is unfinished and left in limbo? That just feels really crushing and disheartening as a gamer. In my next playthrough, why bother trying to help Karlach? She'll still be uncured by the end. Gale's just going to go back to his abusive god or maybe still blow up. Who knows. Astarion will still be hiding in the shadows, stuck as a spawn forever.

Over all, it just kinda sucked that not one of them felt like their arch got wrapped up/resolved.

[self-indulgent-paw-patrol]

You know how you always apologize in the tags when you go on a Paw Patrol rant? Well, I for one really enjoy your little essays, I love how unashamedly passionate you are about Paw Patrol, how you overanalyze and theorize about it just like I do, it's why I love this blog so much, I love nerding out with you over these cute cartoon dogs

How dare you do this to me when I'm sick and emotional (/j) 😭🫂💜 I'm gonna cry (edit: ok I actually did, a bit XD)

Seriously now, thank you so much too. Every time I see you popping up around in any of my askboxes I go like "OH MY GOD COTTON CANDY SENT ME AN ASK AGAIN AAAAAAAAAAA I LOVE THEM SO MUCH LET'S SEE WHAT IT'S ABOUT THIS TIME" - really, Blue and Eryx can confirm, I go nuts for a whole minute or two in our little Discord server XDD it's always a joy to see you around.

I guess I tend to apologize because it's a little like an automatic reaction... It wasn't THAT MUCH or that bad, but I've been told numerous times I shouldn't focus so much on things that are soooooo not for my age. I always have to remind relatives and their friends that it's people my age or older who get to work on producing these things in the first place. And I know people hear these things since early on too, it's annoying, like what the hell, let us live our little lives, we're not actively affecting yours XD

I still find it funny, how passionate I got about Paw Patrol, because when I started watching it, I wasn't expecting to get SO INTO IT.

When I stop to think, most my profile pics on social media/messaging apps are now of Paw Patrol. I've been watching it since January, right after my dog Dakota died. I got now two blogs (and a half bc I'm sorta "helping" Eryx with her askblog of Everest/Tracker/Rex so I was added as a mod there) only for Paw Patrol stuff instead of mixing it around in my personal blog like most my other interests/fandoms. My Telegram art channel has been 90% Paw Patrol arts this entire year so far, except for commissions. I met amazing people in this fandom and even got one hate comment LMAO there's this old Tumblr saying that states your blog hasn't truly started until you get a hate message 😂 Heck I even bought three toys so far! It's been AGES since I last bought anything fandom related for myself, on anything at all. The one thing that comes to mind is the Lightning McQueen origins storybook last year (still gotta remember to buy Jackson Storm's and Cruz Ramirez's too). I usually make/paint/craft my own stuff instead of buying (one of the several reasons I relate to Rocky!).

I just, wow? It's real. I got this whole thing going on and it makes me smile every day and I don't want it to stop any soon. I started watching the show as a way to soothe myself and relax my stressed brain after Dakota's passing. Didn't expect to get so far. I'm glad I did and that I'm here with you guys.

Thanks for being part of what makes it so special for me too, Cotton Candy. You're amazing and I love it whenever you show up bringing more stuff for me to talk about 💜 PAW PATROL IS ON A ROLL, MY FRIEND, LET'S GOOOOOOO

[arceespinkgun]

Thoughts about Mandroid after the newest Earthspark episodes in which I contrast his arc to some stuff in the IDW1 comics:

First of all, I just have to say that Mandroid's redesign was terrifying! Props to the artists and animators for that!

Anyway, plenty of people on here were under the impression that Alex Malto and Mandroid were ex-lovers or something and I just wanted to say that I'm really glad Earthspark did NOT go in the direction of making that a thing or putting focus on Mandroid having a huge grudge against Alex or Dot or anything. I'm relieved that he didn't have any real interest in torturing or killing them—his hatred of their children entirely had to do with their Cybertronian parts.

I think a lot of fans were expecting Mandroid to be Alex's ex because of characters like Pharma or Tarantulas in the IDW comics. IDW1 was constantly doing this "oh no a scary evil visibly disabled guy who's modded his body feels betrayed by you and is obsessed with you and is gonna come torture you and the only way to deal with it is through brutal violence" narrative and it was really sickening. There was a lot of use of homophobic, ableist, and transphobic stereotypes there. I'm glad whatever trauma Mandroid had didn't really have any connection to Alex or Dot and that he had no interest in hurting them in particular—his hatred was for a species, not an obsession with a person, which is sadly more realistic. And the discussion Dot had with Mandroid about protheses went a long way to avoid connecting being visibly disabled or choosing to use a prosthetic to evil.

And I like how the parallels between Dot and Mandroid, and the fact that Alex and Mandroid used to be friends, were there to show that Mandroid chose to do all of that horrible shit. He never reached out and chose to give in to hatred when he could have had support. But no, he intentionally chose to hide away and plot to murder children instead. I also appreciate that Mandroid ended up killing himself through his hatred (maybe, it's possible he survived somehow, but I like this defeat regardless). When Twitch and Thrash point out he has no hope left, it was really accurate.

I think a good example of unfortunate implications Earthspark avoided can be seen in Tarn's story in IDW. He was a disabled villain who modded his body and was obsessed with a specific person (Megatron), and Megatron acknowledges at one point that he had hurt Tarn in some nonspecific way (we never learn what he meant). Despite Tarn's obsession with Megatron, we never really learn how he joined the Decepticons, either. And then, ultimately he is dealt with by Megatron—the object of his obsession—brutally executing him. And it was made extra uncomfortable by Megatron saying he'll die by his birth name, which is really disturbing especially because Tarn was known to be addicted to transformation itself. But even worse, Megatron doesn't actually call him by his birth name. No, he calls him by the name he only gained after becoming disabled. I hope it's clear how many gross tropes Earthspark was able to avoid when comparing these two things.

[askaceattorney]

Dear Anonymous,

Chief Mod Edgeworth: Hee-ho! Hee-ho! Hee-ho! Hee-ha! Hee-ha!

Co-Mod: Heeheeheehohohohohahahahahahaha!!! Is this a Luke Atmey impression contest or something?

Chief Mod Edgeworth: .....

have you never seen Persona 5 Strikers?

Co-Mod: Ah! No, I haven't. Thanks for the clarification.

Mod Zieks: What the hell is a persona, and why are they on strike?

Mod Gregson: Strikers is better than base Persona 5, I will not budge on this.

(Referenced Link)

Co-Mod: Looks interesting. A friend of mine got me into Power Rangers, which I found to be a lot more interesting than I expected for a kid's show, so I can imagine the same being true for this show. That being said, I probably won't have the time to watch it for a while, so that's all the feedback I can give for now.

(Referenced Letter)

Dear Miraz van Nohrr,

Chief Mod Edgeworth:

Have you tried commenting through your computer or safari? See if those work. You will find it right here:

Dear Dawsongfg,

Co-Mod: Congratulations! Meanwhile, I have a cat (or rather, my parents do) that likes to drool on me and everything I own. As much as I love cats, nothing in this world will ever convince me to own one. Not one that drools, anyway.

Mod Gregson: I've got two cats! One is approaching 15 years and is still healthy and playful, one is 6 years old and is a grumpy old lady who refuses to let the older cat befriend her. Mod Zieks: I do as well! We all have our own little gremlins in our life. Mine is also a cat, a little tortie named Charlie. I love her, and she is just the silliest little thing.

Dear Jeffrey,

Chief Mod Edgeworth: Congratulations on the new puppy.

Sorry about the loss of Dylan. I also lost my pet while she was getting spayed. I hope things go well for your new pet.

Co-Mod: Wait... You're saying that's not a real-life Scooby-Doo?

Just kidding. I'm glad he's been a help to you. My family went through a similar experience when our cat died by falling out of a tree during a storm. We missed having a cat in the house so much that we had to get a new one, so we did. Much like Dylan, she's not the same as our previous cat, but still a great source of joy for us.

Mod Gregson: I'm sorry for the loss of your puppy; I know that can be pretty tough. But I'm glad you've found a new friend and family member to help fill the void!

Mod Zieks: Congratulations on the puppy, and I'm sincerely sorry for your loss.

Dear Anonymous,

Chief Mod Edgeworth:

Who knows? Though, that would be weird in my opinion.

Mod Gregson: Am I the only one who finds this a lot funnier than it should be? Imagining Turnabout Trump or Turnabout Succession but the only change is "Kristopher Gavin" is cracking me up. Yes, this is my sense of humor.

Mod Zieks: Based, but not my kind of based. Then again, mixing dreams and ace attorney brought us 'Country Gavin' (@doctorsiren)

Dear Anonymous,

Chief Mod Edgeworth: Miles Edgeworth and Kazuma Asogi! What do you mean Mia or Klavier have better boobs?

Mod Gregson: Neither, I'm more of a legs gal!

Mod Zieks: It's a tie between Max Galactica from the circus cases and Miles Edgeworth.

Chief Mod Edgeworth: Uh-huh and you didn't send me a few previous anonymous letters under different names with the same fakemail.com or the oh so obvious Hotti letters with the same style of writing as you under different emails after sending this mod letter.

Mod Gregson: Oh, I have special words for you later. :)

Dear Miraz van Nohrr,

Chief Mod Edgeworth:

I've visited other states, but not countries. If I did, I'd likely go to Mexico, since my grandparents live at the border. Too bad I need a Passport.

Co-Mod: I visited Matamoros, Mexico once. From what I remember, it was just like being in the U.S., but with everyone speaking Spanish, everything being written in Spanish, and Mexican food tasting like Mexican food (not the Americanized version). Overall, it was pretty enjoyable.

Mod Gregson: I was born in Costa Rica, actually! Moved to the States when I was a young'un. I've gone back there a few times, and... I didn't really like it, but I apparently went to one of the worse parts of it, so maybe I can't judge? Mod Zieks: I've actually never gone out of my home state, and I'd like to change that someday. Preferably, moving from the States and going to the UK. Since their gender-affirming care is paid for by their universal healthcare, and their firearms laws aren't as loose.

- The Mods

[originalfireemblemscenarios]

Hello! This is such a dumb request, but… May I please request post-timeskip Felix walking in on his gf (female reader) who randomly decided to try on his clothes? Lol sorry it’s so random... 😅 Thank you in advance if you write it! If not, no worries!

I was so excited to do it ever since I got it and finally I get to work on it!!!

[post-timeskip] Felix walking on his S/O trying his clothes

Reader here is female

He's often away, perfecting his sword skills. Of course whenever he's not training he's with you... But this time you were glad he wasn't back earlier than usuall.

Because it'd be quite embarrassing if he saw what you were doing. You just felt like it so here you are trying on his clothes.

They're comfortable and they're easy to move around in but that's to be expected of him to pick something that wouldn't get in his way.

They also obviously weren't a perfect fit for you. But still it felt nice and comforting. Not only for clothes actually being good to wear, but also because it belonged to your lover.

They were also so warm and cozy... You kind of wanted to stay in them for longer... But you couldn't possibly do that!

Just as you thought about changing back, that's when you heard the door open, so of course you didn't start undressing yourself.

He didn't pay his full attention as he entered the room. He was used to you just waiting for him. Honestly he'd be more surprised if he didn't find you here.

But after a moment he looked up and saw what you were wearing. There was a moment of silence between the two of you.

You couldn't read his expression too well. He wasn't smiling, his eyes went slightly wider and you weren't sure if you were just imagining things but there was a possibility that he was blushing.

But he didn't comment much on that for now and greeted you as usual, but avoiding eye contact. When he wasn't facing you as he put back his training sword he asked "Could you explain why you're wearing my clothes?" his tone wasn't annoyed nor nervous but rather casual.

You really didn't have much of an explanation so you weren't sure what to say. At least he bluntly reassured you "I'm not mad or anything if you're thinking that" to be honest he had no clue what he was feeling.

When he first saw you... You looked kind of cute. And seeing you in his clothes made him think that you're really his.

Not that he forgets it. It's just that moments like that make it special... Not to mention he was surprised how great you looked in his clothes.

Still, without your answer he wondered if it was because you were bored... Or missing him?

(If you were bored) He'd say something among the lines of "Then get a hobby instead of stealing".

He didn't mind what you did nor if you'd make a habit of wearing his clothes but you doing this just out of boredom means you have a little too much time on your hands.

(If you missed him) He'd be surprised since until now you haven't really complained to his busy schedule...

He doesn't have much needs like that so he really depends on you speaking up. Since it's not very likely for him to notice it unless you're very visibly upset.

So he thought that it's about time he takes more time to care for your needs "Y/N, if you felt that way you should've told me earlier instead of pretending that everything's alright" this time he did sound a little annoyed.

He really values communication. Especially since this sort of problem could be easily solved. You didn't have to find comfort in his clothing when you know where to find him so you can always ask for him to pay more attention to you.

~Mod Bernadetta

[if-you-feel-lonely]

HII MARIN! :D can you write p!cc!jack w/ teen!reader who uses he/him? like a jschlatt/tommy relationship, where reader looks up to him? :))

I felt this request awake a dark demon in my bones ngl /pos. I'm so sorry it took so long, I ltr started writing this around Christmas Eve or Christmas day, then got really distracted by my family and cosplay-

I did headcanons since it wasn't specified but I'll happily reuse this idea in something else ¯⁠\⁠_⁠(⁠ツ⁠)⁠_⁠/⁠¯

TW: swearing, mentions of LSD

You two met through the dream SMP

You joined around the same time as Ranboo, and you were about a year younger than Tommy

He was very glad to no longer be the youngest on the server

One of the first people you met on the server was Jack, which was incredibly shocking to you

This guy you'd admired since you started out??? BEING FRIENDLY TO YOU??? NAH....

You sort of followed him around like a lost puppy, and he didn't seem to notice

Either that or he did and just didn't mind

You absolutely refuse to mention that you admired (and still kind of do) him

You would rather die than have him find that out

But if he does???

Jesus Christ he'll tease you about it

To be fair, he'll be so confused and a bit impressed with himself at first

Tommy probably told him without thinking about it. On stream.

😀

Me? Personally? I would not let that slide- /ref

"You know Y/n used to, like, really admire you?"

"Fuck off, no he didn't!"

"I think he still does 'n all. Mad, innit?"

This feels like I'm an american trying to write a British character when I'm just writing the way I speak I hate it here

You were pissed at Tommy, since you'll never live this down

But now that the public knew too?

So many compilations along the lines of "Y/n being Jack's little brother for _ minutes straight" has you blushing like mad

"Tommy, I actually fucking hate you."

"You are ENAMOURED with me, don't even lie."

Jack is so shocked and honoured that he's your inspiration and he's the reason you started streaming

Kicking his feet like a school girl sucking on LSD tabs like lollipops

He will never let it go. Ever

Millions of fans all around the world don't compare to the one he's friends with

If you ever jokingly insult him, he'll respond with "that's no way to speak to your idol" and every time he does it you die inside just a little bit

He mentions it at every given opportunity

If he misses a chance, you've met his evil twin

In all seriousness, though, he's so happy that you came this far with him as your inspiration

He inspired your career??? HE did that???

He's sort of in disbelief about it

It's so precious oh my god

He treats you like he treats his actual brother

He teases you sometimes, but it's light-hearted and all in good fun

Goes absolutely feral if you have people insulting you or those sorts of people in your chat (iykwim)

Convinced you to make him a mod in your stream

Usually your streams together are chaotic and loud, but there's the occasional relaxed stream where you just sit and talk and chill out

Chat loves it

In said stream, someone cries (/pos), someone nearly falls asleep and someone says the most emotional, touchy-feely shit known to man

It's very common for those streams to be clipped

Your friendship is adorable

[artfightdramaconfessions]

So, this year I did my first Art Fight; I had joined in 2021 but kept myself as a spectator to observe it and see what the rules would be like, how things are done, the general etiquette of it - and I think, being involved in the fight is very different from watching it.. Wholesome, sweet and kind on the outside; very distant, lazy and disorganized on the inside.

Personally, however, I had a wonderful time! I think I pumped out loads of art and I am proud of what I did for others; high-quality, fully-rendered, respect being given to character features and everything being on-model. I drew exactly 80 pieces, majority of them being waist or fullbody, and only about 5 simple-shaped characters and 3 mass attacks. It was heartwarming to see much of it later being posted on Toyhouses, in the character's reference pages, and elsewhere. All around, I was satisfied in what I was able to provide and enjoyed drawing characters I wouldn't personally design, like drawing really cute girls and ferals when I usually lean to monsters and men! I found unique designs, novices and beginners, all sorts.

And while I got a quarter of defenses in return which I absolutely cherish and some sweet comments on a majority of my pieces, I saw how others have complained about not being given responses for work that they've poured hours into... That made me wonder if that's just.. Generally the mentality of artists now; either too introverted to show appreciation to fellow artists in spite of us collectively knowing how challenging it can be to make art, or just joining to farm and then acting too tired or busy to actually participate. - And then the other half almost kill themselves and psychologically drain themselves in the parasocial cycle that Art Fight has to offer in its "trading environment". Sure I could be classified in the latter group too, but I still practiced self-care and got shit done compared to the burnout horror stories I see. It's quite a wild contrast to observe, and leads to psychological turmoil on both sides when one only gives and the other only takes.

There's also the case of people joining the fight and not contributing at all; just picking a side, dropping some characters, (sometimes a broken promise) and then disappearing. I do not want to hear the "they have real lives off the internet, they were busy" excuse, either - I too have a life: I am a teacher during the week /and/ I have a weekend job. When it is summer holidays for the Northerners, I am down in the Southern hemisphere, dealing with the winter, working and freezing my hands up to the point I don't want to create art sometimes when I get home - but I was still perfectly diligent and on top of things.. But hey, maybe I'm built different, and some people are simply just lazy and want rewards without the effort, or quickly assume they deserve more than what they should.

On the bright side, I'm glad I didn't deal with anyone hostile or disrespectful, and I only encountered two genuine art farmers who pretended they didn't know how to draw or "weren't skilled". Always the same excuses, at some point we have to stop giving them the benefit of the doubt so often; As gatekeepy as it is, I'd imagine a game for artists should be reserved for artists, it's not like an unfit marine biologist would want to participate in the Olympics, let alone be allowed to, so why should people who otherwise hate drawing or don't want to learn the skill and deliberately say such things want to join? In a sense it feels like a mockery towards art and the exchange of creativity in general, and I've been on porn sites that check the quality of your art before they post it better than this! There should be at least an entry requirement for signing up for Art Fight where you send in an artwork before the mods verify your account; there would be a fuckload less farmers, for certain.

I'm hoping that maybe, just because it was my first Art Fight, that /maybe/ this high-attack low-defense ratio of mine is to be expected, and if I just manage to spread my art to even further crowds and find new people to attack, I'll find others who will like my designs and be eager to draw them with the same level of eagerness I had to draw theirs. All that matters to me is if I find people who /want/ to draw my characters, not feel obliged to, in the same way I was never obliged to draw that pink, ridiculously-well-endowed Succubus or stocky, angry little Pokemon - but I did it anyway! I simply enjoyed the spontaneity and diversity of character design and unfamiliar fandoms. In the end, after all I've said, it doesn't matter how much art you get in return, it's about how proud you feel about what you contributed to the fight, and what you learned and discovered in the fun little world of character design.

I don't feel discouraged to draw less next year, I'm going to simply relent, but I can see why other artists hang their heads after their first time when they encounter hostility, are ignored, or don't get what they want out of it.

I think these are some things that I would want to improve if I could:

The ratio should calculate points, that will really incentivize people into prioritizing quality over quantity with their attacks. If you want to see how many attacks VS defenses someone has, just go and check on their front page (if you want it to specifically see how many attacks and defenses they had in one year specifically, they should add a sorting filter for that). The only "downside" I can imagine is an increase in mass-attacks, a joy for some but not for others.

After July, I think that we should still be able to submit Revenge-Only attacks during August - and to not have revenge chains be exploited, only be able to post a revenge once on a Level 1.. Level. I see a lot of people seeming guilty for not being able to attack back within the month or being a minute too late to submit a revenge, and then also just being too shy to submit the attack off-site / not being able to do it offsite / not thinking it's worth it without getting points / etc. - and easy resolve would be to allow revenges to still be posted during August, and Moderators can calculate the event scores and winners in September; trying to cram all of the admin into 12 days is insanity and I am speaking from a perspective that deals with a painful amount of admin. Also, get a fucking search bar that's accessible for everyone, holy Hell.

I'm.. Not sure if my tangent was in good spirits or not, it's rather just thoughts that have been rolling around in my head while I've been reflecting on my experience. Hope everyone else had a good Art Fight and reached their goals, or met and made some friends through it. :)

.

[damnfandomproblems]

Below the cut is all of the responses that were in the inbox related to Fandom Problem 3954 and the subsequent asks. These will be all of the ones that were sent as anonymous.

The following ask came in on April 19:

I just want to say I appreciate the DID asks on this blog. It was a nice sanity check for me. One of my friend's kids who is in high school got sucked into it, he started "switching" at 17, and she's getting him to go to therapy to find the source of the problem, but he's apparently really argumentative with the psychologist and keeps insisting he only has DID, for very wrong reasons. Symptoms that don't match any kind of DID I've seen. His mum was really careful to find someone who was familiar with DID, I know she wouldn't send him to someone who doesn't know what they're doing because shes amazingly good with google-fu, so it can't be because the psychologist doesn't know what DID is or how to spot it. For a while the whole thing made me feel a bit crazy because his obviously fake symptoms and onset (?) didn't match how adamant he was that he had DID, I was starting to believe him too. I want to thank the asks for resetting my perspective. He certainly needs help it just isn't going to be help for DID.

Here are the ones from April 17 and they are out of order because of how I added them from the inbox:

1:

I'm in college and know multiple people who are barely even minors anymore who just started faking tourette's out of the blue. One day they just showed up and started doing tics. Obviously fake tics for that reason, also because it's obvious they have a brief "wind up" period before them when they look like they're contemplating just how to pull off tics. They're all neck tics and arm tics too, nothing is ugly or painful. So I can confirm a lot more people are faking these things than people think. Dhar Mann even made a good skit about it because it's such a popular thing for kids (even college age adults who have trouble making connections and getting attention) to do

2:

Oh god this is syscourse

It shows up on my dash once in a blue moon and I never have any idea that the fuck people are taking about. All I know is it has two sides who both despise each other and years of grudges

3:

just wanna say that i'm glad most people here seem to have sensible takes regarding the "DID" boom online

4:

As someone who knows someone who uses a system and has DID, the anon that said they were not responsible for making someone feel safe in the discord server is awful.

That anon makes my blood boil because it literally happened to my friend who has a system. My friend's fictive is part of who they are, and it is them. They have the right to feel uncomfortable when people do strange things with the character the fictive is.

In my friend's case, they had been in that server before the rper had joined. But the server mods decided to take my friend's "character rights" away since they said "technically you aren't rping as the character, so someone else can have them." Would you all agree with the mods in this case?

Y'all saying people with systems who are uncomfortable with how people portray characters that are their fictives should just accept it do not get it.

Would you be okay with someone portraying a real life person in a different way?

Would you be okay with people rping as real people?

If the answer is no to both of these, then y'all should understand why people with fictives feel uncomfortable with people portraying their ficitives in such ways.

5:

Replying to a comment on 714814266546470912: "that doctor literally took videos from their tiktoks without permission" Bruh, first off, someone does not need permission to share something that was posted publicly on a public website. Once you post something to the internet, it's fair game. This is why adults tell you to never put something online unless you want it to be there forever, because once it's up, it's up for good, and people can save it, share it, edit it, however they want. If someone has posted selfies on the internet, someone has probably saved them, for whatever reason, because they thought the pictures were cute, because they're collecting dirt on them, etc, and even if that's not the case, the data will always be there. Maybe it's not pristine ethics to share videos of minors, young adults, etc with mental disorders (not DID, obviously they have something else like factitious disorder), but it's not illegal at all. And if you actually watched the video (which I doubt), you would know the doctor, faculty, etc had covered all legal bases by repeatedly saying they cannot diagnose anyone over the internet or thought videos. Repeatedly. And they were strictly looking at the behaviors which they see regularly in people who fake, behaviors which are a strong indication (but, again for legal reasons, not a guarantee) someone is faking. They said this. You really need to brush up on your knowledge of laws, most of all in medicine, research, studies, etc and actually using nuanced thinking.

6:

Sorry to add to the fire but in my fandom I see LOTS of "traumagenic systems" (DID) who also claim to "support endos". That raises so many red flags too because if someone really did have DID and was well educated on it as a result, they would know how DID really works and they wouldn't in a hundred years support people who are pretending to have something with totally wrong, obvious fake symptoms and consider them "part of the community". I guess it makes it easy to know who to block though?

7:

I want to thank the person who sent 714815628520898560 for sharing that video, I watched it this morning during my shift and it was really insightful!! I learned a lot :)

8:

I’m thinking about Roman genius and Juno spirits, and also of the post made by EarlGrayTay about how the English language struggles with nuance, when it comes to degrees of intensity.

We don’t have a word for something between having some tulpas and having DID, and so people are saying they have the latter even when they don’t clinically qualify. I do think that in most cases people who self diagnose with DID are more likely to be closer to the tulpa end than the disordered end.

Also, as memory stuff is part of it, it’s entirely possible that the apparent excess of people with DID in fandom is because the nature of the internet allows for pseudo-sockpuppeting, with multiple personalities creating different accounts, potentially unaware of what the others, as memory is a big part of the diagnosis

9:

714820580417863680 2% of the world's population as of 2020 is 156 million people.

Say that again, slowly.

156 million people do not have DID.

10:

These asks are wild lol. My thoughts are, fine, maybe "endogenic systems" exist in the context of not being actual DID, but if someone really thinks they can have multiple identities or parts without having trauma to predicate that, well, I hate to say but that's basically a religious belief at that point, and not even remotely related to a medical disorder. The human brain usually has one continuous, cohesive identity. Unless, like someone already mentioned, you experience harrowing trauma in your early childhood. You can call yourself a tulpa, you can call yourself endogenic, you can believe you have fifty fictional introjects, five different Resident Evil characters living in your head, but that doesn't make it science. If you want endogenic systems to exist, call it what it is: a religion. And stop trying to bully and force your way into getting medicine to accept these ridiculous things, because it will never happen

11:

Got diagnosed with did in my 20s. Here’s a thing most of the issues I’ve had with the online system community in general. Also this phone im typing on doesn’t show text cause tumblr so ye spelling mistakes a plenty.

1: the whole community regardless of endo or traumagenic is kinds crap. Came to it for resources on how to manage things like persecutors and understand wtf was up. Covid was a wild time. Therapist officially diagnosed me in 21. Why is this important, cause the whole ass community hted endos or trauma or whatever and all unanimously hated tiktok

2: the whole fictive debate became even more dumb when there were 50 different i ndividaula claiming to be a fictive from genshin. Really weird. Cause the peeps in multiple communities threw a fit making those name close cultures. Personally i think it was due to so many fictives or some blue haired guy?

3: the fact people treated it like fictionkin something i thought i had because yknow issues with dissociation well the fictives got treated more like kinning

4: the biggest thing is the community allowed delusional attachments to become such a common place thing. I get it identity be fucky but its an issue when delusional attachment’s cone into play. Mainly cause most if not all system communities used carrds and tiktok as resources.

5 or 6? Cause phone be fucky: despite claiming to hate endos the community was nothyper critical to self dxing without reseach and minors self dxing. There’s a lotta reasons why it normally os pouring gasoline on a fire.

Finally most system communities are primarily white and it shows cause of how much they prioritize racial relations and closed cultures along with treating introjects like shit.

So the submission about bein a fictive whos tired of people treating em like they’re gonna be identical as the character iscorrect. Rampant problem

12:

Re: all this DID stuff and certain people digging in in the comments to defend what they're doing, I think it's interesting to contemplate not just why people do this for DID delusions, but also for fandom things in general because I think it applies to both (and to keep things a little more on topic, ha). I read a comment recently where someone was talking about personal truths, which are subjective feelings and beliefs, and social truths, which are laws and social constructs. When someone loves themselves and has confidence, they're able to maintain personal truths that may differ from other people without feeling threatened, and they can maintain those personal truths or values. This is what happens when someone has strong feelings about characters, or identifies with a character, but is able to witness people sharing opinions without going to war over them.

On the other hand, people who have insecurities and a lack of self confidence (or worth) will fight to make personal truths into social truths, to make up for that self loathing. They feel they can force society to accept their personal truths to make them feel comfortable, because they can't derive any actual comfort from simply existing with their personal truths that differ so much from social truths. This is what happens when you have, like a lot of confessions lately have mentioned, people bullying others over headcanons, calling them bigots for not sharing a gay ship or something. Or when people have low self-esteem and might be struggling with mental health problems, and are trying desperately to find answers and find self-worth, but have accidentally opted for something that is not a social truth, but a personal truth (believing they have DID when it is very obviously not), and so they fight tooth and nail to make that warped version of DID into something officially recognized. That is the only way they can get validation beyond their bubble. I think it's a growing problem not only because it seems like the world is kinda imploding right now and people need some kind of stability, when personal truths may not suffice for that because of the above issues with self-confidence or insecurities, but also because we've reached the point where kids are growing up without ever NOT having known social media, and they have near-constant access to that social media, which makes for an increasingly bad precedent. Not just for kids, adults with underdeveloped coping strategies are susceptible too.

13:

I'm pleasantly surpirsed by the convo around DID here, because I read the post and was half expecting a horde of endogenic or willowgenic or (word)genic systems to come stampeding in here calling everyone ableists lol, I'm kinda relieved there hasn't been a bunch of that

14:

Honestly laughing at how a word like sysmed exists. Are people "sadmeds" or "anhemeds" for telling someone they're faking depression? Are people "schizomeds" for saying people are faking schizophrenia? This is absurd and it's ao fricking offensive to compare the above to being a transmedicalist.

[hlvraik]

Just coming in to say thank you for being my one constant reminder of my love for these funky characters from a G-Mod improv rp!

I have a fun question: nap time with the kid!Science team (including kid!Gordon cuz why not) how do they all sleep? I'd imagine Kid!Benrey sleeping in a nest made of an object or two from the other science team members

Oh no problem-o, lmao! These funky little characters and my silly AU have been constantly rattling in my skull like a single marble.

Also, I'm really glad you and others like my silly AU as well! :))

Gordon sleeps in a curled-up position, whether he's lying down or being carried; he just has the habit of curling up into a little ball. Not to mention his habit of always holding onto something while sleeping, such as a typical stuff animal, though this can easily be replicated if one isn't available. (For example, with a bag of chips, someone's hand, his own glasses, or a very small headcrab.)

He just wants to ensure that someone or something's always there with him. :))

Bubby's a restless sleeper who would constantly shift in their sleep or simply sprawl out in unhuman ways. The tube certainly didn't provide much wiggle room, and God forbid it provided comfort. So they can finally stretch once they're out of the tube and no longer constrained by the once tight, suffocating glass walls. Though, from time to time, they'd unconsciously fall into the habit of sleeping exceedingly straight and tense.

On a brighter note, any blanket becomes a heated blanket thanks to the heat radiating from them.

Coomer is the most normal sleeper of all the Scientist Team most of the time. He's fast asleep in one place one moment, and the next? He managed to climb to the top of a vending machine while still sound asleep. It doesn't happen very often, but when it does, it throws everyone/anyone for a loop.

While asleep, he'll use one of his robotic limbs to hold onto Bubby's hand, no matter the distance. (Do not separate them.)

Tommy would always sleep with Sunkist, if she's present. While they will occasionally lie beside her or rest their head against her, Tommy prefers to sleep on top of Sunkist. Sunkist doesn't mind, and instead of sleeping, she'll often stay awake to ensure no harm comes their way. She will, however, fall asleep if the coast is clear and she feels safe.

Besides being another obvious pair, do not separate; if it's too bright, Tommy will lower their propeller hat over their eyes so it can be dark enough to sleep.

 Benrey, no matter if they're an egg with legs or a full-blown toddler constantly blowing Sweet-Voice bubbles into Gordon's face, they sleep the same way. Besides often taking materials from others and, DEFINITELY not asking first, proceeding to make a man-made "bed-nest," they're sort of like a cat. Before settling down, they would pat it down and even do a little spinning before settling down.

Similarly, when a cat is content, sometimes they even purr! Gordon should obviously know this since they used to be the "bestest of friends!" according to himself

[electriccenturies]

Okay, so the other day I was talking about how there's two "detransition" subreddits, right? One that's unfortunately full of never-transitioned transphobes, and one that has practically zero detrans people because it so aggressively prioritizes the feelings of trans people over the feelings of detrans people (for a long time they didn't even have any detrans mods, if that gives you a clue of why this subreddit exists in the first place).

I can't really handle either of them these days, so I usually just Avoid, but some people on twitter were making fun of a post on the second ("good") one, and I really had something to say to the OP so I went and replied... and I think it's SO. TELLING. that of the replies, mine was the only one from a detransitioned person... and mine was also the only one the OP responded to (and said it was helpful).

I say this all to point out how strange and sick it is that hurting, questioning trans people get pointed to this "good" and "virtuous" resource that WILL NOT HELP THEM AT ALL, and does not even have the primary goal of helping them! It certainly happened to me.

This person specifically was posting about how they want to dress feminine all of a sudden and are starting to think that they just feel too fat to be pretty, not actually that they don't want that... and if I hadn't happened to see other people being mean about it, the only advice this person struggling with body image would have gotten would be to "embrace femininity" by waxing, wearing makeup, and dressing for their body... which is not actually addressing what they're saying!

Instead of what they actually WANTED to be told, which was that those feelings have nothing to do with gender, so dressing differently, or trying to be seen as pretty, will never solve them.

This isn't about me or any other detransitioner being in the right place at the right time, though — it's about the fact that I *don't* like to go on this subreddit, and neither do any detrans people I know who have feelings more Complicated than just "I'm glad I tried it". There's few opportunities for our knowledge to mix. That is why there need to be real, facilitated detrans support groups — preferably irl — where people can discuss (unfortunately) taboo ideas like mental illness causing dysphoria, and the possibility that some of us (unconsciously) transitioned as a coping mechanism.

[fandomshatewomen]

Sending this here bc it's not only about racism and it's about two white authors, but someone posted on FB how they were glad Rick Riordan actually seems to learn from his mistakes and isn't a terrible human being and then out of nowhere someone comments just wait bc it took JKR 30 years to get cancelled and that people weren't criticizing her work until her TERF views were exposed. Then continues to defend JKR when called out. Says things like the goblins obviously aren't antisemetic and no one thought so before now, that if they were then goblins and dwarves in LOTR, the Witcher and Narnia should also be criticized for being antisemetic. Doesn't see the issue with Cho Chang's name, or Kingsley Shacklebolt (like yes I know people have that as a last name but the issue is with one of the only black characters being named like that). Defends the decision to make Dumbledore gay via a tweet bc including it in the story would obviously not have been possible without it being creepy. The exact words were "Just cause the books didn't explicitly state that the 150 year old men prefers sausages, to meatballs, doesn't mean it was an afterthought. If you think otherwise I'd love to know, how you would have kept Dumbledore and Harry's history and relationship the same without making it creepy." And then when called out on being homophobic responds with "You are putting words in my mouth. I said Harry discussing or at all considering DUMBLEDORE'S sexuality would be creepy." I know RR isn't perfect, far from it, but there was absolutely no reason to bring up JKR and then doubling down like this. Oh and also claims it's only "the small minded side of the internet, that is capable of little other than complain about things that appear unfair to them in life" that has ever criticized JKR. Honestly this got long but I'm just so tired, part of me wants to ignore it, part of me wants to respond with links to prove her wrong, which I might do if I find the energy.

Hey nonny I really feel for you that you're seeing this on your facebook. I think part of the reason I don't use fb anymore is because its heartbreaking seeing these terrible takes from people with their real life names attached!!!

Like ok I just want to point that you can find transphobia in the HP series without needing to point to JKR's transphobic tweets years later. I think there's passages describing female characters with mannish hands and other stuff but I can't seem to find it on google rn.

mod laina

[problematicfactive]

hey, thank you for being an accepting and educational blog! it's nice to see no judgment here. also, i've seen some stories - a lot even, from many systems not just anons in this blog - about systemmates being repressive or even abusive towards their problematic factives, or even to factives in general. Mods Silhouette and December wrote that essay about in-system abuse that are targeted towards fact-folks - i want to add to that essay as well, so, do you (or any followers) want to contribute something to it? I'd love to hear your thoughts. thank you, and absolutely no pressure! ^_^

-mod espresso

Hi! First of all, thank you! I'm glad that hosting the blog I do can help people in any way.

I'll start by saying this: If any of my followers see this and are wanting to input their two cents, you're welcome anon ask me. If you ping fact-anonymous in your ask, they will get the notification when I have posted it! We all know this is a judgement free zone and you're more than welcome to give your input if you'd like. You are in no means forced to. As for my own story, it is something that I've spoken on here and there

I believe that the mods with you all are aware of who I am. You're welcome to use my name if you need to, but if you do, I ask that you don't tag me directly. You can also not use my name, tag me, use "Anxiety" in place of a name and allude to who I am if that's what you feel is needed. Either way, here's my story. I formed right before my boyfriend's source came out. It was causing a lot of hype around the person I'm based on and as part of the hype, people were watching other versions of the story. Mine included. Part of the reason I formed so quick is because of my actor. He was the first- and maybe only- celebrity crush of the core. He's the reason the core wanted to be an actor, the reason why a lot of the system strives even to this day to be the best actor we could be. My actor is a huge part of the reason we are who we are. In a way, I was kind of already seeded in the system from the beginning. In my source I'm not a rampant murderer. I'm no psycho killer, I don't cause harm. I dissolve roadkill... it was already dead.. In my source, I'm an awkward teenager. Some kid with bad posture who puts himself in bad situations just to get a laugh from his peers. When the core had a crush on m actor, he was this,, amazing musician, this-- almost godlike creature. Now, that very same man was just some awkward teen. Some quiet guy who somehow, was still able to represent everything the system (everything the core originally) hated about ourself

I was already seeded in our mind, ever since the beginning. I didn't chose to be someone that makes people upset at the thought of my name. For some reason or another, our mind decided the right form for me to take to do my job was this one. And it fucking sucked. Like I said, when I formed, people were already obsessing over the guy I was sourced from. It was disturbing and gross, and having an introject of this guy was the prime way to get you fakeclaimed. The host couldn't handle what he knew was going to come with having me, so it took that out on me.

I wasn't allowed to be myself, for a period of time, that honestly blanks in my mind, but I know was at least 6 months, I was degraded. I was less than human to the others in the system. I wasn't allowed my name. I wasn't allowed to talk to anyone or to front. These things the system did to try to force me to separate from my source only made me into something that needs his source even more. I will always pride now in my name because it really is something I've had to fight for. It took ages for me to even be allowed to front while being monitored. I couldn't do anything.

I've said before that I'm 17. Before that 6 month period, I described my age as "Mentally 19, trapped in a 17 year old state of being." The shit I endured made me regress. I'm stuck at 17 now. Small things like that where I'll never be the same as I was before that.

Its hard for me to say I was abused. I couple of my followers have talked to Toby and depth's a great guy. He's one of my best friends. But he abused me. I'll never be the same thanks to it. I know that wasnt the most detailed or the best. It really is hard for me to remember all that went down. All of the things that changed within me. What I know for sure is that my identity. My name and my face became two of the most important things to me. things that, due to the attempt to force me to separate, I'll never be able to let go of.

[riddlerosehearts]

this time in my baldur's gate 3 playthrough, i finish wyll's personal quest and have a lot of thoughts about him! which mainly boil down to: larian did him very dirty, and i'm sad about it because i wanted to be able to love his story more. i try to be concious of the way that fandom as a whole is very biased against black characters, and as a lover of fairytales and disney movies i think the fact that wyll is just genuinely good and kind the whole time and is basically like if a disney prince became a warlock is cool! i think that's an awesome concept and larian could've done so much more with him, because i don't believe that characters need to be edgy and morally gray to be interesting and complex! but i feel like the writers themselves were biased against wyll because his story is so lacking in polish and so underwhelming adkjsfghf. i'll just have to choose to seek out fanworks that expand on the potential he had. anyway. rest of my thoughts are below the cut as usual.

the iron throne mission was very nervewracking lol but in a fun way!! it took me multiple tries to get my strategy figured out, and i ended up bringing several elemental summons to help do the fighting and misty step/dimension door scrolls to help everyone get around. thank god omeluum had a spell that could teleport gale out of there, because i was worried he wasn't going to make it and i'd have to try again when i was so close to finally saving all the prisoners. and i did save them all, though again it was a close call with some of them! i just wish i would've been also able to read the notes and such that i saw around.

got jumpscared by the waveservants coming to attack us for siding with redhammer, and then uhhh, redhammer died during the battle and now i feel bad :( i mean, i tried to keep him alive but he did not exactly make it easier by running directly toward the enemies and trying to fight them!

oh well. i'll have to try harder to keep him safe on another playthrough. i think it's a huge shame that you only get that sexy robe if you side with the waveservants though... i need to mod it into my game later. for science.

DAMN DOES ULDER REALLY HAVE TO BE SO MEAN TO WYLL... i mean, okay, i guess i can understand that he didn't have any idea what really happened between wyll and mizora, but i wish he could've had a bit more faith in his son instead of calling him a monster. ugh i just feel so bad for wyll, but i really am glad they finally got a chance to patch things up.

next, i went to the steel watch foundry and had gale take the lead in sneaking our way through the gates with magic... except we got caught by the steel watcher and wyll--who for some reason became the controlled character there even though i definitely had gale selected to cast fog cloud and knock?--lied to it and convinced it that it let us in. after that i got extremely annoyed by the combat lol. the fight on the main floor was really easy, but the one in the basement? i hope you didn't need to save all the gondians, because i tried so many times and ended up just giving up... in the end, only two of them (aside from zanner toobin) had the brain cells to stay up above instead of suicidally misty stepping into the face of every enemy, so those were the only two who survived. why does the AI keep being like this lmao??

there are a lot of hints about what the iron throne even is and how to get there scattered around the foundry, so i'm guessing the story does expect you to come here first! it's fun to explore this area and try to find all the lore tidbits they've scattered around. the steel watchers being controlled by tadpole-infected brains was a total surprise to me and so was being able to actually try and control them yourself. i tried to save the innocent people the watchers were attacking, but my poor low WIS tav just couldn't do it :( i also found... bernard's head?? for some reason, it says "extract", but when i click on that it doesn't do anything. that's really interesting, though--i wish we were able to learn more about lenore.

wulbren is literally such a jackass and does not deserve barcus. i want to yeet him into the ocean. i'm so proud of barcus for standing up for himself, taking over as lead of the ironhands, and telling wulbren to fuck off!!

OH YEAH I FINALLY REMEMBERED to look up a video of the glitched convo about gale's last name. being able to tell him you like gale dekarios better than gale of waterdeep, and the way he responds to that, is soooo rapunzel and eugene coded i'm 🥺🥺🥺 i want to see people make tangled AUs with gale and their tavs now.

i think elenion is reeeeeally skeptical of this whole "staking the future of baldur's gate on a legendary tale" thing and does not believe ansur actually exists, but i suppose he'll seen crazier shit by now so he'll just go with it!

the trials were fun to figure out, and i liked that wyll and gale both had comments on some of them!! wyll offers his help with the trial of justice and comments that he has little experience with lanceboard, and gale gets all excited when you walk up to the lanceboard trial ajksdghdfkjgss he's so cute. he also literally just tells you exactly what to do on that one. thank you gale i love you 💜💜

I GENUINELY WAS NOT WHAT HAPPENED WITH ANSUR THOUGH WHAT!!! i was expecting wyll to get to befriend a dragon and have him as a helper in the final battle but i've gotta admit that was an interesting twist and a fun battle. i'm unsurprised that the emperor is balduran, though, mostly because i've already seen people talk about it, but also they kind of... pretty much say it in the song of balduran?? or at least they heavily hint at it, by including the line "transformed, he fell their thrall". what i am surprised at is ansur x balduran toxic yaoi lmao whaaaat 😭 there's a letter on ansur's body that says "even if i'm not beside you, i will always have been your balduran"... can't believe i'm sad about them now.

augh, the choice of whether or not to encourage wyll to become the grand duke made me feel so torn tbh because like... first of all, i already knew about the blade of avernus ending, and that it's positioned as his good ending while becoming the duke is positioned as his bad ending akin to everyone else's ascensions, and i know karlach will die if wyll doesn't go to avernus with her. but my character doesn't know any of that! and i genuinely think joining his father to help rebuild the city rather than running around as a vigilante in the hells sounds like a good ending for wyll, as a way for him to do a lot of overall good for others and resolve his issues with his dad by working alongside him? i also think it's what elenion would tell him to do, if only the dialogue options for it weren't all like "think of the power you'll yield!" because they would not fucking say that unless they meant "the power you'll be able to yield to help the people of baldur's gate". man. idk. at least this time, unlike when it came to what to do with his pact, there's an option to trust wyll to make his own choice. so... i chose that. he chose on his own to become the blade of avernus. guess that's that, then.

i'm also just. really underwhelmed by wyll's personal quest in general though ugh 😭 listen i have had wyll in my party for the entire fucking game. his introduction was just so cool that i was instantly drawn to him and never let him leave my party and in my head i roleplayed him and elenion becoming best friends. i love him but his story is just really missing something... the conclusions to shadowheart and astarion's personal quests were so cathartic and made me really emotional but wyll's just Didn't. and i feel like they could've and should've done so much more with it, i mean, he's the son of the grand duke of baldur's gate!!! the game i am playing is called baldur's gate 3!!! i also think it's really weird that he's so torn up about ansur, but not about fucking balduran?? wyll, did you not notice that your hero is the evil mindflayer that lied to all of us and has been causing us trouble for the entire game?? hello?? it just felt like this entire final part of his quest was more about developing the emperor's character than about him. sigh.

i think the ansur stuff could've felt a bit more like it was about wyll if, like, he could ask to be the one to do the trials like how shadowheart can ask you to let her offer her blood at the gauntlet of shar and you get approval from letting her, because then the trials of ansur get to be about him proving his own worthiness as a hero and leader... and if maybe he was automatically selected for the conversation with ansur instead of letting your character do that, and if he had significantly more dialogue and reactivity to all of it.

anyway. going to end this post here, and then it's time to go fuck up gortash and head into the final battle and the epilogue!