#creepy objects that are just there for the sake of being creepy objects just aren't Fun

[fiveappendages]

if i said SCP articles that were more like tales are much more fun compared to SCP articles that document a Thing...

also if i said every GOI that ISN'T the foundation was criminally underrated in one way or another.

[vickyvicarious]

I am super busy this week so didn't really have time to make any posts yesterday, but I still wanted to share a few reactions. First, just general/voice acting notes:

Jonathan's relief and reassurance in the sunlight was so heartwarming. Very sad as well - I can't help but dwell on how he has been forced into a largely nocturnal lifestyle - but overall, it just makes me happy anytime he is able to feel comforted by something (which doesn't immediately come back to bite him).

"Yes... there is a way," gave me ACTUAL CHILLS. I can hear so clearly the stakes at hand (life and death and more). Jonathan sounds cunning, resigned, he's flipping the script and it's creepy and it's very brave and it's very very cool!

His goodbyes....! I am sure everyone is saying it, but him starting and ending his farewells with Mina does brutal things to my heart. He loves her so much, so much. And the lighter music for just that bit, and the way he chokes up a little, I just -

"I looked down once, so as to make sure that a sudden glimpse of the awful depth would not overcome me, but after that kept my eyes away from it." That's so weirdly cute. Jonathan is very deliberately avoiding the classic 'don't look down (slips, looks down, freaks out)' moment by taking one intentional look and then just going, okay, that's done, moving on. It's a weird but seemingly effective way to handle it and kind of incredibly lovable.

"It was barely furnished with odd things, which seemed to have never been used;" - okay, but what were the 'odd things'? Is that just referring to the gold? Because the furniture he says is like other rooms so that doesn't feel odd, unless maybe it isn't typical bedroom furniture and that in itself was the oddity? ...maybe he has a weird statement piece couch or something?

The way Jonathan lingers when describing how Dracula's "lips were as red as ever." So creepy, so fascinated, feeling that same kind of draw that was in the vampire ladies scene. Love the voice acting so much.

Dracula sleeping with his eyes open is so so so creepy. God.

Second: gushing over Jonathan section

"I must take action of some sort whilst the courage of the day is upon me." - Jonathan is so brave. He is so scared, he is terrified... but he doesn't want to be ruled by his fear anymore. Ever since the encounter on May 16, he's been having more and more difficulty acting. He stopped exploring, gave up manipulating Dracula, and only waited for an opportunity to seek help when others came. And to an extent, that was all he could do, and being quiet and playing along is what's kept him alive until now, but last night he had to watch a grieving mother blame him for the death of her child right after he had to listen to her child dying and right before he heard her die (and all this after nearly being hypnotized again), and he wasn't able to do anything at all. He tried, he would have entirely given up on protecting himself for the sake of that child, but the locked door stopped him. And Jonathan is so determined today to take advantage of the rare sense of energy the sunlight has given him, he wants to get out of here and is willing to go to extreme measures to do so. He shoves away his gloomy fearful thoughts when they begin to resurface, and acts.

The way he acts, though. Sure, it's a wildly risky move - but I love how his brain works. Even now he reasons it out. Dracula bothers me at night -> maybe he sleeps during the day -> I can search for the key while he sleeps. Every time an objection would normally stop him he just refuses to accept it and thinks of some way past it. The door is locked -> well, the windows aren't. Even in his reckless state, willing to risk death, he still thinks things out.

(How good must it feel to be able to finally do something. But still he doesn't let himself get too carried away, tries to stay alert and on task.)

Case in point: in the room, he takes his time to look at all the coins. He looks at the dates on them too; great attention to detail. He is primarily searching for a key but whenever he sees a possible significant item or clue he devotes proper attention to it. So diligent.

Same thing in the chapel! "Then I went over every inch of the ground, so as not to lose a chance." Jonathan is always so thorough, I love it. He would have searched all the vaults despite his fear if it weren't for stumbling across Dracula. As it was, he was still pretty darn thorough! He even counted every single box Dracula'd had delivered - fifty in all.

And even after his super creepy encounter with the Count... when Jonathan goes back to his room he first "tried to think." Tried to think! Sure, to an extent that may be code for 'tried to stave off a panic attack' but even then it still speaks to his priorities and goals. Yes, that was extremely traumatic and he is terrified and has just completed his second death-defying freestyle wall climb of the day, but Jonathan has clues now and so he's gonna try to think! He's gonna focus on details! Literally, since he starts his entry with: "I must put down every detail in order." It's just what he does, but for the first time in a long time he has new data to work with.

But not long left to do so.

[lyinginbedmon]

Having finally sat down and watched all 8 episodes of Hazbin Hotel that are presently available, my take is that it... is kinda dull?

It's not "bad" exactly but the simplest way I can describe it is that season 1 of Hazbin Hotel feels like one protracted pilot for season 2 of Hazbin Hotel.

Potential spoilers under the cut

A lot of things feel kinda valueless or lacking in pay-off, some stuff feels zipped through at excessive speed (we go from Vaggie's big secret reveal to it being common knowledge in the span of less than an episode, and a character then outright states it was obvious the whole time).

There's a defined goal with no clear way of achieving it so a lot of the time the characters are just kinda winging it on the presumption of it being somehow beneficial in the long run. It's often useful to give characters a clear objective but it helps to have them actually know what they need to do to achieve it. Helluva Boss you're really just there for the character arcs than any specific goal which does have its merits too. The drawback of having a countdown is that the end of the season is always obviously pre-determined and there's never really any meaningful indication it can be changed or averted, but we only actually spend the last couple episodes of the season even getting ready for it.

I do see the appeal of Alastor, but overall he's not really given a lot of depth throughout the first season. He's kinda just ominous and creepy and probably not trustworthy the entire time with minimally-defined capabilities. A lot of flash with not really a lot of substance. That'll probably change in season 2 but it's not great for season 1.

The stand-out I think for season 1 for my money is Husk & Angel. We spend the most time with them and "Loser" is a song that's definitely gonna be stuck in my head for a few weeks. Hearing Keith David curse in verse is also a delight from a man who survived The Thing and voiced Goliath in Gargoyles. Angel also gets the most actual screen-time and development out of all the Sinners, even Sir Pentious. Heck he's literally held up as demonstration that something's weird about redemption during the "trial" in Heaven.

Being part of the Hellaverse it's set in the same Hell as in Helluva Boss, with 9 rings and what-not, but because Sinners explicitly can't travel away from the Pride ring we don't actually see any of the rest of Hell. We're basically stuck in the one city with occasional shots in Heaven and that's the lot, it's kind of a big waste of the setting that we know is pretty vibrant and varied.

With the exception of Valentino (via Angel), the Vees feel almost entirely superfluous. You could probably cut them from the show and not really lose much of anything. And in the final battle they're not even involved, they're just kinda sat on the couch chirping when for the most part only Vox is actually interested in watching. Then they slip in for a song verse to talk about how they'll take advantage of a power vacuum next season but we only actually saw one Overlord get decked and he lived so what vacuum??

I dunno. I think it's nice to have Charlie & Vaggie but the writing for them isn't reasonably comparable to that of Blitzo & Stolas. The boys have more dynamic, more chemistry, more drama, more development and it's just more interesting overall to watch them. Charlie has like half an episode of panic and it's mainly over how she doesn't like how she feels about Vaggie's big secret more than the secret itself and they make-up right after an unrelated musical number. Even across just one season I think the boys get more interesting writing.

And on the note of interesting writing... Adam and the Exorcists just aren't enough to hang a season on. Adam's a jerk and an ass and he's cruel on purpose but... why? What makes him like that? Is it just beef with Lucifer? Because we basically never see them interact even in flashback. So he's just mean for being mean's sake. The omnipresent countdown to the Extermination is energising but we spend so much time trying to reason with a side that Clearly has no intention of listening at all and nor are we actually given any reason to like them even As Villains. There's no real need for it to be Adam and Lute, it could have been any conceivable other character, they don't really do anything but be antagonistic.

Like I said, I don't think Hotel is bad, but I do think I prefer Boss more by a considerable margin.

[star--nymph]

look man you can do whatever you want with Inquisitions narrative all you want but the fact that it leans perfectly into the dehumanization of worship and becoming a symbol is perfect for Eurydice, who has been an object all her life

the constant unpredictability of her father, calling her his 'jewel' one second and his 'empty thing' the next, either a object of pride or abuse, but either way always an object, a thing, a mistake, a piece of a beautiful, broken piece of property 

the rejection by the clan that refused to see her parents for her they were and therefore refused to see her as a full child or person--just a strange bird at best, a troublemaker, creepy, cold, cruel, damaged, dangerous, a shadow to gawk at and level suspicious glares at, because Lycus and Ismene speak of the trouble with that one, that one causes them such headaches, that one's eyes are off, that one must be as dull as she looks, it's a shame to her parent's names, but at least that one is beautiful. At least she's nice to look at occasionally.

being placed in the position of the First despite the discontent in the clan, robotically going through the motions for duty's sake because duty is all she has, loyalty to the clan, to her family, to her Keeper, that if she performs right, there will be a nod of approval, she will be liked, left alone to her own devices, maybe even understood, but it never comes. She is a good student but a poor First--they whisper to each other that they hope a mage is born among them soon, or they must go to another clan for a new one. Can't have that one be the Keeper. Deshanna is mad and blinded by her own affection. She can't see what that is.

she leaves, for duty, she gets a taste of personhood for a few months, she wanders the world and feels an identity being grown past daughter, sister, mage, first, jewel, thing--

and then conclave explodes and the shemlings capture her, the imprison, they worship her, and they crown her

and she's only a fully realized person to a few of them--and even then there's a habit of them still trying to dehumanization her for the sake of the Inquisition as an agenda--Sera talks about the little people and how Eury can't forget about them, but she has issues seeing Eurydice past her position as "elfy" or "Inky. Vivienne, Mother Giselle, and Varric struggle between Eurydice the Inquisitor and Eurydice the Person; they both recognize that her personhood doesn't matter here, as much as it should. Eurydice as a person can't survive against the persona of the Inquisitor and as much they both want to tell her to save herself, in order for the Inquisition to prosper, she can't BE an individual, she has to be a commodity that keeps the world captivated. Something akin to a holy relic. 

Cassandra and on a lesser note, Leliana, are almost desperate for Eurydice to be a prophet despite her denying that every breath she takes. Them looking at her, an elf with God's of her own, having to live with the possibility that the Maker choose her doesn't work with what they know, what they want, but they'll make it work. It's why Cassandra asks Eurydice "Is there no room in your pantheon for one more god" because yes Cassandra IS tossing aside Eurydice's own beliefs because in the chantry's eyes, the elven pantheon doesn't matter but also it's not even about that for Cassandra. It's about HER comfort, HER faith, her need for Eurydice to take on the role as a Herald in a specific way to justify her faith

and Solas? Solas watches on and I think stays, at least in part, because he knows what he just sacrificed in Eurydice's name. She may not have died at the Conclave, but he killed her in a way. It may have been what was done to him all those years ago, when the rebels made him into the Dread Wolf and had his own name forgotten to time and dreams. Gods aren't people. They are beyond such things.

and Eurydice lives with it, stripped down every second of every day when they call her: Inquisitor, Herald, Your Worship, Lady Lavellan, The Banshee, Witch, The First, Jewel, Thing. What is she if not a doll, one posed this way and that for the will of an society that is just waiting to chop off her ears and portray her as human?

and when someone uses her name and sees Eurydice as a thinking, breathing person, her first instinct is to think she must have tricked them

because if everyone else only saw her as a thing, then it must be true, right?

[mable-stitchpunk]

How would you do a fanservicey or sexy character in a way that is not in poor taste?

Oh! I got this question before and then wrote up a draft for an answer and never finished it. Whoops. XD

That draft was exceedingly long, so I'll try to shorten it down into something much less ramble.

Firstly, no daddy issues or uncomfortable dynamics. Trying to sexualize a character who is not under their own control brings up some creepy implications that detracts from them as a whole. I'm not saying they can't have some issues, but you should probably pick and choose ones that don't bring up those implications.

Secondly, a functional personality beyond just being sexy for sexy sake. Characters like Toy Chica and Ballora aren't just walking around in coy cloying positions for people to ogle at. They are allowed to be scary and creepy without concern that it'll detract from visual appeal.

Toy Chica and Ballora also have quirks to their behaviors. Both have lines that implicate flirtatiousness, but Toy Chica's is as a guise to lure in victims- she is actually depicted as quite vicious- and Ballora's are more elegant (and threatening) with an edge of enticement. This gives them more defined characters, so even though they might be fanservicey they are still distinct.

Third, designs go a long way. Toy Chica and Ballora's designs are enticing, but are not overly sexualized. Sure, Toy Chica only looks like she's wearing a bib for a toy and Ballora is busty, but they do look like functional animatronics.

Or, specifically, they look like they were designed for more than just sex appeal. Toy Chica looks like a mascot built to be 'the hot one' and Ballora looks like a ballerina. In a meta sense, there's more depth than just 'this character was made as eye candy for the audience'.

In contrast, characters who I frequently get on about being oversexualized- Vanny, Hot Charlie, Baby (I'll touch on later too)- are usually sexy just for sexy sake.

Vanny is a possessed woman being forced against her will to submit, who is possessed by a masculine rabbit ghost. She shouldn't be in a skin tight bodysuit, she should be in a scary rabbit costume. And she shouldn't be doing coy little poses. There was a cut crawling animation that, uh, looked a lil sus to me too. Not only that, but because Vanny leans more towards sexy than scary, she's not actually threatening. She's a (likely) 120 pound woman of average athletic build in a skinsuit, which is very obvious by design.

Hot Charlie, Charlie's overly sexy fourth form (who is also Baby in a weird way) is descripted wearing low cut skintight dresses and makeup, something Charlie never wears. But Baby is supposedly trying to disguise herself as Charlie, so why would she do this? The same reason she's flirtatious and forcibly kisses people- not as a ruse, because it never works, but to depict this sexy character who's sexy because she's evil, because sexy and evil are typically depicted hand in hand. She's the bad girl, so she's doing all this bad stuff. Except there's the daddy issues and the storyline with Charlie infantilization and yeah, you made something unintentionally uncomfortable.

While Toy Chica and Ballora's designs are versatile, there are some that simply are not. To the point where they actually go against the goals of the character they are supposed to be.

Bust and hips and flirtatious words aren't the problem. It is, again, how much a character is worth beyond that. The problem isn't when a character is sexy, it is when they become a sexual object.

ESPECIALLY WHEN THEY'RE SUPPOSED TO BE THE VILLAIN.

Finally, one last thing. I would steer clear of Baby.

I've went through it before, but what they've done to Baby- oh my God. It is just downright baffling to me that Baby was suddenly turned into a sexy character.

The idea that someone looked at this seven foot manipulative clown with a tragic backstory, daddy issues, and a child-like design and said, "Oh yeah, let's make her the fanservice character," is a total wtf.

I don't want to beat a dead horse, but oh my God.

Oh my GoooOOOD.

And yes, I know this is Eleanor. But why Eleanor was created to be a skinnier, more human sized Baby is beyond me anyways if she's supposed to be a completely different character.

Okay, so, final point!

How to do a sexy or fanservicey character that is in good taste?

First, come up with a creepy idea for a character. Find a way to make them sexy that doesn't detract from that creepiness. Make sure they have some form of a personality either outside of that sexiness or uses that sexiness to its advantage- I.E. Toy Chica's luring. Try to resist the urge to write in uncomfortable daddy issues.

What you have is a sexy character who will likely still fit into the universe as a functional character.

Or just make another Daycare Attendant. People really seem to like them. 😏

[love-sapphirerose]

Naruto: 10 Worst Things About Sasuke And Sakura's Relationship

By the time of Boruto, Sasuke and Sakura are a loving married couple, but their checkered history included some troubling low points.

BY HANNAH GRIMES

Sakura harbors a crush on Sasuke before the two of them even graduate from the Academy and end up on the same team. He's always at the forefront of her thoughts and actions, and the two of them do end up getting married and starting a family of their own in the end. On paper, their romance seems relatively dreamlike.

However, that's not the full story of the ups and downs of their relationship. Sasuke initially doesn't care enough to give Sakura the time of day, and there are even multiple instances where he seems indifferent to her life being in danger — or actively endangers it himself. Sakura's unhealthy obsession with Sasuke also stunts her growth in other ways.

10. Even After Starting A Family, Sasuke Is A Largely Absent Father Who Can't Connect With His Daughter

There's a long period of time between the original series and Shippuden where Sasuke is absent after he turned his back on the Leaf to instead seek revenge. He eventually does come back and start a life with Sakura, but even then he's absent most of the time.

While this is due to being sent out on missions and he doesn't have much of a choice, he fails to properly connect with his daughter Sarada when he does get to spend time with her. He's so bad on this front that he actually ends up getting scolded by his old squad leader, Kakashi.

9. Sakura Ignores Naruto And Treats Him Like Garbage Because Of Her Initial Infatuation

It's one thing to have a crush on someone and to value their opinion more than anyone else's. It's another thing when this infatuation causes someone to treat others around them poorly, especially when their crush doesn't even want to give them the time of day.

In the beginning, Naruto continually makes efforts to connect with Sakura and get to know her better. She not only brushes him off but straight-up calls him annoying and tells him to get lost, simply because he's not the object of her romantic affection, instead of making any attempt to bond with her teammate.

8. Sakura Appears Blind To Much Of Sasuke's Suffering, Instead Focusing On Her Own Feelings

Sakura values Sasuke above everything else in her life, and this remains true even after he defects from the Leaf. Despite this, though, it oftentimes feels as if she doesn't consider his feelings and struggles and is instead remains much more focused on her own.

In the beginning, she doesn't consider his feelings regarding his murdered family when talking down on Naruto, saying he's so undisciplined because he doesn't have parental guidance. She's also quick to say she'll help Sasuke with his path of revenge when he goes to leave the village despite this being an incredibly destructive and harmful path.

7. Sakura Throws Away Her Best Friend For Sasuke When He Doesn't Care At All About Her

Back when Sakura was much younger, she completely lacked self-confidence and was a consistent target of bullying from other girls. It's Ino who stepped in, got the bullies to back off, and showed Sakura that she shouldn't hide her insecurities and instead have more confidence in herself.

Sakura then decides to throw away their friendship simply because she hears that Ino also has a crush on Sasuke. She says it's for the sake of them becoming rivals, but they both would've been much stronger if they worked together rather than letting a guy split them apart, especially a guy who doesn't care for either of them.

6. For A Long Time, Sasuke Shows No Interest In Her While Both Naruto And Rock Lee Do

Sakura stays completely devoted to Sasuke even though he betrays no romantic interest in her whatsoever. This might make sense if there were no one else who cared for Sakura and wanted her to be happy, but both Naruto and Rock Lee care immensely for her.

Lee goes as far as to risk his own life for Sakura's sake in the Forest of Death, and the two of them bond when Sakura goes to Lee's hospital room nearly every day to spend time with him after the tournament. Naruto consistently offers to spend time with Sakura and gives her positive attention, and she instead chooses to yearn after Sasuke, who's totally caught up with his curse mark and revenge business.

5. Sakura States She Has No Interests Or Hobbies That Don't Involve Sasuke

During the initial introduction that Kakashi has everyone participate in, the members of the newly-formed Team 7 all go around stating a bit about themselves. Sasuke focuses on his future revenge, and though Naruto mostly talks about ramen, he at least also states his dream of becoming Hokage.

Sakura, on the other hand, states that all of her likes and hobbies have to do with Sasuke. Because of this, she also declares that the thing she hates is Naruto. This is incredibly immature, and it's not a good foundation for any relationship if one's entire world revolves around the person they like and they don't have anything else to bring them happiness.

4. They Don't Put Equal Effort Into Their Relationship After Getting Married

Sakura essentially gives up on her life as a shinobi in order to raise her and Sasuke's daughter while he's away. He's gone for so long on missions that Sakura admits that the main reason she keeps so many pictures of Sasuke is so she doesn't forget what he looks like, which is heartbreaking.

Sasuke, on the other hand, doesn't make any effort to stop by and see his family while he's away for years at a time. He could at least send letters to get updates on how their daughter is doing — something he should care deeply about — but he never does.

3. Sakura Plots To Steal A Kiss From Sasuke When He Has No Interest In Her

After graduation, on the day when the teams are made up, Sakura asks Sasuke if she can sit by him. He completely and utterly ignores her, but this doesn't stop her from sitting beside him regardless.

She states internally that she'll be "stealing his first kiss today," which comes off incredibly creepy when he hasn't expressed any interest in her or desire to kiss her. It doesn't make her look like someone who actually cares about him when she's willing to try to get a kiss from him without his consent.

2. Sakura's Self-Confidence Early On Is Completely Reliant On Sasuke

Before the Chunin Exams, Sakura asks Sasuke if he'd like to train with her. He coldly brushes her off and comments that, when it comes to trying to push her plans onto others who aren't interested, she's just as bad as Naruto.

This rejection completely crushes her self-confidence and she immediately agrees with him instead of standing up for herself. She stays in this funk until Sasuke later compliments her ability to see through genjutsu, after which her self-confidence is immediately restored. It's incredibly unhealthy for her sense of self to hinge on how Sasuke treats her.

1. Sasuke Almost Successfully Ended Sakura's Life

If there's one thing that should have made Sakura realize Sasuke didn't care about her the way she cared about him, above all else, it's the moment he tries to kill her.

Sakura goes after Sasuke declaring that she'll be the one to kill him herself after he becomes an international criminal, but she freezes in the moment. He then tries to kill her instead. He would have been successful in this endeavor, too, if Kakashi hadn't shown up just in time to deflect Sasuke's Chidori and save her. Her infatuation with him doesn't waver whatsoever after this, which feels incredibly off-putting after this vicious interaction.

[crystallos-sol]

Hey have another meta on Gray & Natsu because I don't think I went deep enough.

Gray is traumatized and can't even voice his emotions sometimes. Natsu understands him WITHOUT any issues even during this time.

Don't believe me? Here look at this:

Natsu knows Gray just basically said:

" I care about you please take care of yourself "

I'm so emotional about these two because they are great and they understand each other on a deeper wavelength than I have ever seen within Fairy Tail.

I'll throw in multiple examples for you to compare but please come up with your own. Rewatch the show or Read the manga if you want to, there's so many examples that I cannot fit into one post so I have to suffer with a few. (Not including Happy has I think it's best to put people that aren't his kid,,,,)

First up: Lisanna.

I'm not hating on the ship at all. I'm picking people CLOSEST to Natsu & Gray. And she was essentially close to Natsu before her death. They raised Happy together and had a secret hideout for fucks sake.

Lisanna has I recall from the episodes we had of her, was close with Natsu. But something changed. Because her death hurt Natsu and changed him into a different person. That's clear to see. But her death drove a wedge between them and changed the entire relationship for good.

Lisanna was Natsu's friend, back before her death but however I believe that we do not know much of her outside of her death and how it affected Fairy Tail. We also do know about her Family and how it hurt them. But not about Lisanna, from what we can gather from the many episodes of Fairy Tail she is kind hearted and genuinely loves her family and doesn't want to lose them again. (Her reactions to her siblings being thrown into danger.)

But again her death drove fear and grief into Natsu and that's why him and Lisanna aren't exactly close anymore, because Natsu runs from his feelings. It's also hard to talk to someone you haven't seen since you where a teenager.

Up next who is/was close with Gray: Erza. We know Gray ran after her and helped to fix her tears, even making a child's promise about it. We also know, Gray was Erza's first real friend. Gray has a child was close with Erza in that regard. I do believe Erza shoved him away like she does with everything in response to what happened to her. (But that's a post for another time.)

Gray is still close with Erza, but due to Erza never feeling as if she can stop being Titania he is not as close to her as he is Natsu.

Lucy, who is one of Natsu's best friends, is actually close with Natsu. But unlike with Gray Natsu usually is (Ignoring Mashima's horrible writting between for now because that's a WHOLE OTHER issue) saving her or protecting her. At least it was like that until recently when Lucy finally got the character development and upgrade she deserves.

Lucy is close to Natsu but Natsu also doesn't want to lean on her. Yes you can qoute multiple instances and scenes where it appears he is leaning on her. But however with this you have to take into account the period of time Natsu has known her. The trust issues Natsu already has and previous trauma he has gotten and even new trauma!

Now it gets worse because this is dipping a little into Mashima's terrible characterization and understanding of how people function and feel. Especially women. Take Lisanna and Lucy, if you think about it they are essentially the same fucking character. Both are kind, stubborn, where hurt by someone they love, left their home behind for a number of years, painted has a badass while also simultaneously being soft and delicate.

Sound familar?

Because that's basically the Mashima guide to write a female character. Now what really gets me is the final thing that really cements it. They both have been/are in the supporting role for Natsu. Don't you dare go saying: But Lucy is the main character!

You, like the rest of is because Mashima wrote her like shit, didn't even know that until the interview or you saw that Fairy Tail fact post. The majority of us thought it was Natsu. Because in reality Mashima did NOT start writting her like a main character. He did not give her the good motivation every single damn Fairy Tail Character has.

Lucy & Lisanna have the same number of things that make up their characterization, and yes so do a number of Fairy Tail characters. But that's not the point. The point is that Lucy reminds Natsu of Lisanna in some ways and Natsu cannot bring himself to trust and lean on her fully like he can with Gray. It is not an attack on Nalu. Nalu is a fine ship if only written correctly (aka: Not Mashima's Version Which Is Horrible And Toxic But That's Another Meta For Another Time.).

This is a post about how Gray and Natsu are close. That's it. Natsu cannot bring himself to fully trust Lucy and lean on her comfortably without 1) forcing himself, 2) it happening outside of his control because of past trauma which by the way knowing Natsu he did not do anything about it and most likely bottled it up.

Wow that was a long session on Lucy but in summary: Natsu is traumatized and is not mentally healthy like the entirety of the Guild.

Now, the last one, which I'm sure you can GUESS. It's Juvia. Because some people think that Gray and Juvia are the " closest people! " And " he doesn't let anyone really touch him other than her! "

1) Bullshit. And 2) Bullshit. Here's why:

Juvia is a toxic character who stalks and uncomfortably idolizes Gray to the point it's fucking ridiculous. There are multiple scenes of her following (stalking) Gray around and being jealous of Lucy. Even declaring her a " Love Rival ".

This is probably because: Gray was the first person that was decent to her. (She was bullied for who knows how long and involved in a toxic guild + an abusive relationship.) Before you say shit about Gajeel: He's not nice. Gajeel before all of this, was an asshole, now he is nice which is pretty cool and a great character development. Back then? He was not nice.

Which brings me to Gray. Who even is okay with being stalked, being grabbed randomly and having someone so obsessed with you they made fucking dolls of you? No one. Before you argue: But he doesn't pull away from her!

Gray is most likely touch starved. Considering his entire background and general tendency to not receive hugs or any sort of affection usually. My evidence for this? Myself. I am touch starved and I often react bad to touches from strangers or creepy people but I also have a late reaction time. Because my body is saying: Oh touch???? And my brain is screaming: No.

He also could be trying to be decent. Which is all he did in the first place. He could be trying to not hurt her feelings and yes you could say he hurt Mira's feelings when he called her stupid for betting on Natsu but he also was apologising and panicky because he didn't want to hurt her.

Also if I even have to explain further why being stalked and basically turned into a fetish and an object is a bad thing then clearly something is fucking wrong with you.

Gray however feels safe likely with Natsu, who's been there from the beginning, took on Deliora, fought too many people just because one of his friends are in danger, has repeatedly stopped Gray from using Iced Shell and was ready to Die with him.

Natsu in return probably feels safe and like he can trust Gray to handle himself because this man has been there since day one and even can take Natsu himself on with no problem. Natsu also probably is happy Gray is nothing like Lisanna or Lucy. Because Gray is Gray and he doesn't remind Natsu of anything traumatizing he's been through.

They both trust one another and stay by one another's side because they are both understanding that they aren't gonna leave. Because think about it, Gray has lost family and his mentor to death. He has suffered through that. You wanna know who's constantly beating death on its ass???? Natsu " I refuse to die " Dragneel.

Natsu has lost family by being abandoned and by Death. He got it both ways and he's suffering because of it. But Gray who's stubborn has shit and stood death in the face at a young age and screamed fuck you at the top of his lungs, wouldn't leave. Gray who fucking went through hell and back, destoryed his own infiltration mission just because Natsu Dragneel rolled up, Keeps Trying To Protect Him, Never once wants to lose Natsu. And Natsu knows that. Because Gray is his constant. Gray is that constant presence in his life he knows for a fact he can trust.

But idfk that's just my thoughts on them.

[valla-chan]

65 Questions You Aren't Used To answered by ME

1. Do you ever doubt the existence of others than you?

    Sometimes, but it always goes away fairly quickly.

2. On a scale of 1-5, how afraid of the dark are you?

    3, im not actively afraid of the dark itself but it can exacerbate paranoias

3. The person you would never want to meet?

    The guy on reddit with like 100 different parasites he spreads to people around him

4. What is your favorite word?

    Catgirl or Ghost maybe idk

5. If you were a type of tree, what would you be?

    Monterey Cypress

6. When you looked in the mirror this morning what was the first thing you thought?

    Oh my god my hair is so fucked, i look dead in the face too

7. What shirt are you wearing?

    gray longesleev :)

8. What do you label yourself as?

    gray-ace trans girl who is probably actually nonbinary but ignores that for the sake of simplicity

9. Bright room or dark room?

    dark

10. What were you doing at midnight last night?

    in a voice call watching my friend stream hl2: lost coast

11. Favorite age you’ve been so far?

    19-20

12. Who told you they loved you last?

     gf :)

13. Your worst enemy?

    congress republicans

14. What is your current desktop picture?

    I have 3, and currently all of them are on images of hatsune miku

15. Do you like someone?

    mhm

16. The last song you listened to?

     No Children - The Mountain Goats

17. You can press a button that will make any one person explode. Who would you blow up?

    Mitch McConnell

18. Who would you really like to just punch in the face?

    Donald Trump

19. If anyone could be your slave for a day, who would it be and what would they have to do?

    A clone of myself, who i would make work on my portal mod lul

20. What is your best physical attribute? (showing said attribute is optional)

    My hair perhaps

21. If you were the opposite sex for one day, what would you look like and what would you do?

    I dont know if this would make me male, female, or a trans man!

22. Do you have a secret talent? If yes, what is it?

    Getting people to like me when i want them to, i guess? It sounds manipulative but if you dont use it to manipulate people, and you dont always do it (because sometimes you dont want the person to like you), then is it?

23. What is one unique thing you’re afraid of?

    I am afraid that my perception of other things is inaccurate and eventually i will realize that people around me regard me as someone who is very much detached from objective reality.

24. You can only have one kind of sandwich. Every sandwich ingredient known to humankind is at your disposal.

     Crab+lobster mix, avocado, cheese, caramelized onions, bacon, sourdough bread, basil+a bit of garlic, and probably other stuff i cant think of.... oh and sunchips stuffed inside that i could pull out and eat.

25. You just found $100! How are you going to spend it?

    Save it!!

26. You just got a free plane ticket to anywhere in the world, but you have to leave immediately. Where are you going to go?

    California!

28. You discover a beautiful island upon which you may build your own society. You make the rules. What is the first rule you put into place?

    1) If you die we eat you

29. What is your favorite expletive?

    simply saying the word KILL!

30. Your house is on fire, holy shit! You have just enough time to run in there and grab ONE inanimate object. Don’t worry, your loved ones and pets have already made it out safely. So what’s the one thing you’re going to save from that blazing inferno?

    My computer :( it would cause the most extreme impact to have it be destroyed. i would feel terrible about everything else though

31. You can erase any horrible experience from your past. What will it be?

    I’d rather not say.

32. You got kicked out of the country for being a time-traveling heathen who sleeps with celebrities and has super-powers. But check out this cool shit… you can move to anywhere else in the world!

    sounds awful :(

33. The Celestial Gates Of Beyond have opened, much to your surprise because you didn’t think such a thing existed. Death appears. As it turns out, Death is actually a pretty cool entity, and happens to be in a fantastic mood. Death offers to return the friend/family-member/person/etc. of your choice to the living world. Who will you bring back?

    My kitty :(

34. What was your last dream about?

    I was playing a hidden level in Frogger: the Great Quest but then @ sleepysoul DM’d me to ask what my newest video was about cause she was weirded out by it, and i went to my youtube channel to find this bizarre video about crab-catching, which slowly descended into this video showing bizarre and cosmic horrors. For some reason i thought i uploaded it and tried to defend the video, but i could not explain it

35. Are you a good….[insert anything you’d like here]?

    I am a good 3d modeler, texturer, game mapper, and other things that have to do with digital 3d artstuff

36. Have you ever been admitted to the hospital?

    no

37. Have you ever built a snowman?

    yes

38. What is the color of your socks?

    All of mine are tan or dark blue. super lame and boring

39. What type of music do you like?

    Most currently, it fluctuates between “weirdcore” type aesthetic playlists of music, and anything Vocaloid.

40. Do you prefer sunrises or sunsets?

    Sunrises, because im usually not awake for them so they are extra special

41. What is your favorite milkshake flavor?

    strawberry maybe

43. Do you have any scars?

    One on the side of my butt where i tore it open on the bathtub faucet, one on my elbow from a bike accident, and 

44. What do you want to be when you graduate?

    I dropped out :(

45. If you could change one thing about yourself, what would it be?

    my cheekbones and eyebrow ridge stick out so weirdly, id make it not look like that

46. Are you reliable?

    on small things? yes. on big things? nope, not in the least.

47. If you could ask your future self one question, what would it be?

    Have you finally gotten out of this rut and found happiness and success?

48. Do you hold grudges?

    i kinda do but try not to

49. If you could breed two animals together to defy the laws of nature, what new animal would you create?

    Catgirl

51. Are you a good liar?

    only when im not trying to.

52. How long could you go without talking?

    consecutively, maybe a fourth of a day

53. What has been you worst haircut/style?

    short.

54. Have you ever baked your own cake?

    I’ve helped, but never done it myself!

55. Can you do any accents other than your own?

    Oh, believe me, no. But i do it anyway because its objectively hilarious

56. What do you like on your toast?

    Not beans.

57. What is the last thing you drew a picture of?

    Miku :)  (it turned out so badly i scrapped it)

58. What would be you dream car?

   Golden Leopard Print Golf Cart

59. Do you sing in the shower? Or do anything unusual in the shower? Explain.

      I lie down as to not pass out (and cause warmn wotter....)

60. Do you believe in aliens?

    [redacted]

61. Do you often read your horoscope?

    never

62. What is your favorite letter of the alphabet?

    E? (it has a nice synesthetic color)

63. Which is cooler: dinosaurs or dragons?

    Dinos

64. What do you think about babies?

    gremlins. strange beings. they are very strange and creepy-ish but can be cute but RARELY. keep away.

[catcatb0y]

I've seen this around a lot, but I think the funny thing is that they are ACTIVELY leaning I to what killed Tumblr. What killed Tumblr was the profit drive. What killed Tumblr was the hostile policies. What killed Tumblr was the vast amounts of censorship. What killed Tumblr was the random blacklisting of tags. What killed Tumblr was the targeting of ""unsafe"" content.

What killed Tumblr has now infected Twitter and TikTok and YouTube-

What killed Tumblr was (technically it was essentially posting "nsfw" stuff, but, for arguments' sake) the inability say words like "kill" and "die", the fact that YouTube creators have to say "naughties" and "adult fun time" and "unmentionables" instead of sex or genitalia. What killed Tumblr was the wiping of the userbase in order to make way for advertisements like what's happening on Twitter. What killed Tumblr was the toxic fans and anti fans and just straight up assholes who feel ENTITLED to say creepy shit to strangers or to send death threats to people that they disagree with like what's happening on TikTok.

Twitter will straight up block out your screen if you try to scroll without logging in- that's how unreasonably desperate they are for more interaction, as if there aren't literally millions of people interacting in the same second as me.

Several YouTube creators have openly talked about their videos getting demonized, because they were centered on LGBT/queer things- and how it was /only/ those videos for objectively stupid reasons like how they "said a swear word" (in reference to a guy who acts like he says 'shucks' irl and often draws the longest blanks when it comes to dirty jokes).

My twelve year old cousin was harrassed and sent death threats in TikTok because they made cosplay videos- like low budget ass videos, because they're a child, but they talked to me for a solid thirty minutes about the kind of shit that whole ass strangers were sending to them. (And I'm not a really big fan of preteens being online, like, I was at that age, and I was stupid (it was definitely my fault, but you know). They're a questioning genderflux kid in a mostly conservative household, so I get why they're drawn to online spaces... Still, they're smart enough to avoid adult spaces. I'm only saying this because while "the internet is not a place for children" is absolutely true and that argument is basically at the heart of these censorship movements (despite it being a bunch of bullshit; it's not "about the kids" it's about control), "the internet can be a good place to escape for everybody," is also true.)

These policies are hostile towards everyone. The "death of Tumblr" is a funny joke seeing as we're all still posting on Tumblr, but the not funny part is that all of these websites that CLAIM Tumblr is dead are stumbling right into the "perfectly safe for work woods" that killed Tumblr to begin with.