#even tho I agree with that one post where they sort of made it too late and messed up the building of the romantic tension

[ineedyoutotellmeyouloveme]

maybe this is an unpopular opinion (I really can’t tell) but I like house and cuddy’s relationship as something that doesn’t work out. I think it explores the tension they clearly had while also showing that simply liking someone isn’t enough to change

[accio-victuuri]

(candy vault) : alexander mcqueen shoes, nike off white and yibo’s missing mole 🤍

this fandom has lots of candies in the past years and there are ones that fall through the cracks or things that i simply wanna talk about. also for the benefit of new turtles who probably missed it & a good trip down memory lane for those who’ve been here for a while. i made other posts similar to this before and i haven’t done a good old mini compilation so here ya go. ^^

2/23/2021 WYB was in Beijing, participating in the recording of CCTV’s Lantern Festival program in the evening. The actual broadcast was 2/26/2021.

In the materials initially sent out by YBO, for the photos, you couldn’t see AM shoes. Maybe the shoot was better off focusing on his face, which I totally agree, but it was like they didn’t want to focus on it that much. We only saw the shoes when they released the BTS video where it would be tricky to crop it out.

During the actual performance he changed into a more comfortable looking Jimmy Choo shoes. He was wearing AM outfit so it made sense that the shoes should match too. This should’t really be a big deal or even a CPN, only because changing shoes is sort of normal at events like this. Maybe he was more comfortable with the Jimmy Choo, although the choreography for this performance is not that complicated like his other routines. The way I remember it, WYB usually sticks to the shoes he has on.

The CPN alarm bells started going off tho when ZZ flew from Beijing to Shanghai wearing the same style McQueen shoes. He had shooting back in 2/24 and there were some talk that he was more than a half hour late as planned on set. So going by our collective galaxy brain, they could have spent some time together during late 2/23 and some time on 2/24 which is after the CCTV shoot. WYB probably lent the shoe to him or he just got it from their shared closet lol. This is why ZZ was sort of late, because he was with WYB. The pattern of ZZ being later than usual on set when he is with WYB is something that still happens this year. I’m not implying that he is slacking off when he is with WYB but more of just adjusting his schedule so he can accommodate the love of his life. they both deserve that in between their busy schedules.

maybe this is why YBO didn’t want to highlight that on the materials they released 2/26 ; because they knew where the shoe went 😂😂😂

While we’re in the subject of shoes, let’s take it further back with their matching nike off white in 2018. It’s one CPN that is often given as an example but I haven’t discussed on here.

AAAAAHHHHH! I miss the days when they could still wear Nike shoes. Oh well….

Looking through the airport pictures of ZZ before joining the CQL group from 2016 to 2018, there are no pair of Nikes that could often be seen in pictures of him. There are 2 back in 2017. Before CQL, ZZ had quite a variety of shoes, including a few pairs from Adidas. Like WYB, it is obvious that he likes to buy Nike co-branded products, likes to grab the latest models, and even buys more for collection.

Now let’s focus first on the shoes, it’s a collab of Nike air vapormax X off white. There are two shoes of the same style but in different colors. The black model will be available at 3/30/2018 and the white will be available at 4/18/2018. We know that at the time, WYB will surely have what’s new when it comes to NIKE. It’s either it will be sent to him cause he has a relationship with the brand or he will buy it himself. He is known to always wear the latest designs released. He is also a collector, so he most likely bought the black and white version.

WYB wore the white version on 4/28 and ZZ wore the black model on 5/8 based on photos.

As for ZZ, he was recording an episode for a show and he also used this shoe for the rehearsal. It is the same show where he had to dance and the choreography was taught by WYB. We’ve seen this in the BTS and ZZ talked about it himself.

WYB was seen again with the pair during PD101 on 5/10. It’s funny cause this is the same day where XZ was filmed candidly behind the scenes and he said he hasn’t seen LWJ all day.

These two. Honestly. They only formally “met” and then started shoot 4/16 and it hasn’t even been a month but they already have a couple shoe and ZZ was out there emoting about missing LWJ/WYB? It’s a common discussion that leads to alternative timelines like DT or 2017 or it could just be that it’s one of those rare instance where you connect with someone so quickly.

I have 3 possible explanations:

1. It’s totally unrelated. They bought their pairs separately since they like the style and collab.

2. WYB gave the shoe to XZ. I am a fan of both of them giving gifts to each other. And if you are someone who believed XZ gave him a lego set even before they started filming as a gesture of goodwill then this should make more sense to you. Also WYB is known to give gifts and that includes shoes ( for example SDC 3, he gave out multiple pairs ). This reasoning is not necessarily a CPN of them being boyfriends, but more of being close enough to give each other gifts. and not just the usual one you would give to a colleague cause if WYB only has the white and XZ has the black, it’s a couple shoe. WYB low key hinting at the prospect if them being a pair and XZ accepting it.

3. They bought it together, as you would when you’re with a friend and are scrolling through shopping apps together. I think there are fake rumors of that, the two, in between takes scroll through their phones and buy each other stuff or same style clothes. Again, it doesn’t necessarily mean boyfriend behavior, but more of being close enough to do that.

A clue for that is WYB was seen with the black pair during CQL filming around early 6/2018. You can clown that he is wearing ZZ’s shoes or he did buy the 2 kinds for his own and ZZ got the black only.

Lastly is the stolen mole!!!!! ♥️

Since cpfs are obsessing over WYB’s very visible mole from the Bazaar shoot.

It’s one of my favorite fake and it basically says, The reason why WYB cares so much about ZZ’s mole under the lip, is because WYB also had one like this when he was little. The elders in the family said it’s something good and it means he will have a happy life. However the mole disappeared. Or i guess in his case it’s not as prominent and has faded instead.

While filming, GG has scenes where he didn’t have make up or it gets taken off because of the heat. WYB looks at him closely and points out his lip mole, saying that he had something like that before but it disappeared. GG then added that his mom told him that his mole appeared only after a while when he was young.

That’s when WYB said GG stole his mole. When it disappeared, the mole transferred to GG 😂😂😂

Maybe this is why WYB is so fixated with his mole that he even includes it in his drawing of XZ/WWX.

-END.

[shychick-52]

'Day of the Sorcerers' stuff (long post)

Ok, so I've been considering making individual posts for all of these, but I think I'll simply cover it all here.

@naoisbroke made a post about what a missed opportunity it was to make 'Day of the Sorcerers' a multi-part episode, given how rushed it was for such a HUGELY IMPORTANT episode.

I reblogged their post with some of the things the episode could have touched on in a two-part or three-part episode, but I wanted to make it a separate post too with additional ideas:

We didn't even see the rest of the Order get stopped or what happened to them (Magnus had been quick to fire Slickwell after his treachery in 'Baileywhoops', so it's safe to say he did the same to Greylock for what was obviously something even worse, assuming he didn't have him banished or locked up)! Craig Gerber confirmed on his Twitter shortly after the episode aired that they were stopped, but c'mon, it's called showing- not telling!

Sofia could have told Cedric (and the rest of her family) that Merlin and a bunch of the good sorcerers from the Conjurers' Conference headed off to their respective kingdoms to stop the rest of the Order (which we at least saw them leaving to do, but it was never even brought up again).

It would have been so awesome for Cedric and Sofia to join the other good wizards in going after the rest of the Order of the Wand and help stop them (as another one of Cedric's first acts of truly being good and taking responsibility). Maybe at the end of the episode when James asks Cedric for a magic show and Cedric happily agrees, Cedric would have instead said "I'm afraid I'll have to take a raincheck, my prince. I must join the other sorcerers in stopping the rest of the Order of the Wand!" Sofia could have said "I'm coming with you!" and he and the family (especially her family, who- unlike Cedric- rarely saw how capable and strong she is on adventures through the show) would have protested that it was much too dangerous, but she would insisted that they were doing this together, then Cedric would have proudly said "Then come along, my fine apprentice!" which would have ended Part 1, leading led to Part 2.

Sofia could have actually told Cedric she learned from Merlin there was a way to reverse the effects of the Medusa Stones after all (despite Grimtrix emphasizing the spell was totally unbreakable, which I think he deliberately lied about). I hc he asked her off-screen how she found out removing the stone from the wand and dropping it breaks the spell, but it would have been nice to see.

It would have been neat to have Cedric and Greylock speak to each other or, at the very least, acknowledge each other at the Order of the Wand meeting (like Cedric did with Morgana when he was shocked to see her there), especially after they sort of became friends by the end of 'Baileywhoops'!

It would have made more sense if it better explained Greylock's motivation to betray his king, maybe even as part of a big confrontation/battle between him and Cedric during a scene where Cedric and Sofia try to help stop the Order.

I'm glad Cedric was at least shocked to see Morgana at the Order of the Wand meeting, tho it would have been nice if he'd demanded to know how she got out of Merlin's mirror! And why didn't she acknowledge him at all? Surely she was feeling vengeful toward him after he helped Merlin defeat her during their last encounter (in season 3's 'Gone With the Wand')!

Speaking of Morgana... like I discussed in another post of mine (about how Grimtrix was blatantly manipulating Cedric in 'Day of the Sorcerers') how Cedric and Sofia teamed up to defeat Grimtrix in season 3's 'Hexley Hall', it would have been interesting to have Morgana doubt that Cedric could be trusted to be on their side, knowing for herself- like Grimtrix- how close he is with Sofia and similarly having experienced defeat because of them both (plus, she would have likely used the fact that Cedric had helped Merlin defeat her as further proof he's too much of a goody-goody to be trusted). I can see Grimtrix assuring Morgana he had Cedric wrapped around his finger (again, see that post of mine for more details), and that they'd only freeze him with the Medusa spell if necessary.

It would have been good to actually find out what would have happened to Grimtrix; the guards seized him in the actual episode, but it could have been announced that he would no longer be the headmaster of Hexley Hall. (Ooooh, and maybe near the very end of the multi-part episode, Cedric could have told Sofia he was contacted and offered the job as recognition for his part in stopping the Order, but that he declined and told them his place is serving the royal family and kingdom of Enchancia).

In the end, Cedric could have earnestly told Sofia how much her friendship, kindness, and support always meant to him, how it changed him for the better, and they finally could have shared a mutual hug (because Cedric did neither of those things in season 4, and it really bothers me).

Maybe the end of the multi-parter could have included strong hints of Wormwood being VERY disgusted with Cedric's new goody-goody ways, and hints of their friendship really turning sour.

@cedric-my-beloved @moonypears-blog @bettathanyou @fantadym @sweetmariihs2 @majoresca

[wrongcaitlyn]

what r ur fave solangelo stories??? imma be honest, i need more popstar AUs. tyt has set my standards WAYY to high! i honestly think ur one of my favorite fanfic authors. your writing style in just *chef's kiss* MWAH

also i think i remember u saying ur aroace??

well, this is just a question (you dont have to answer if ur not comfortable) did nico and will have sex yet in tyt, because they've been together for like 5 yrs or smth but yea

ahsdhlgf i have so many!!!! i still need to check out the solangelo week fics bc i'm sure there are some absolutely incredible ones on there (for some reason i just haven't been feeling like reading solangelo lately, it's been a bit sporatic) however!! i still have PLENTY of recs - i know that i've made a post in the past with some of my favorite fics, and i also have public rec bookmarks on my ao3 if you want to check those out!!

but if you want more specifically fame/band/popstar au's (bc i completely agree, we NEED more of them. like pls make characters famous irl more often it's my absolute favorite trope) here are some of my favorites!!

paris by ethannku is an au where nico is a youtuber, so not singing, but it's formatted so so well and i'm absolutely in love with it!!! (also, i'm just genuinely obsessed with this idea)

Lo-Fi Heart Beats by alchemical_acrobat and Paint_splatt is a streamer au, and one of my favorites. honestly just any sort of fic where they have a fandom makes me soo happy and this one was so sweet!!

can i handle the seasons of my life? by buoyantsaturn has will as a burnt out child star and is now in college, so *technically* he's not a popstar (aside from his previous dcom songs) but!! it is still one of my favorite all time fics and has some aspects of the fame au!

he was seen on occasion (pacing the rocks, staring out at the midnights sea) by stargirltv IS!!!! one of the greatest popstar au's ever. like, nico's a bedroom pop artist, but i'd be so lying if i didn't say this partly inspired talk your talk (even tho ngl, i picture every single one of my favorite characters as popstars, it's my favorite passtime) i highly highly highly recommend!!!

and okay lesterlicious by apopcornkernel isn't a solangelo fic... nico and will actually don't even appear by lester and meg have a youtube channel and i fucking lvoe this fic so much like please please readlkjsfd

so i realize only one of those is a popstar au but we're just in a severe drought of them rip😭😭 but these all have fame aspects to them and i highly recommend them!!

as for the other part of the ask, yes i am aroace! and i tend to lean more towards the sex-repulsed side of the asexual spectrum (or rather, it's less discomfort and more just embarrassment to me, like, i just have to cringe whenever reading smut/attempting to write even anything impliedlkjsf) so don't worry about the questions, they don't make me that uncomfortable! to answer the question: yes, they probably have lmfao😭 i don't really think about it all that much, but i also don't hc either of them as ace *in this universe* (that is very important, i definitely hc them as ace in other universes) so it has happened by now - as to when/where/how that happened, i will leave that up to you bc i don't think i'll ever actually write it/imply that (i will simply cringe at my keyboard too hard)

thank you for the ask!

[wof-reworked]

36 and 38 for the ask game

oh shoot hi :D thank you for the ask :}

| 36. Character you want to maul? [Malicious]

Gonna try not to be too on the nose and talk about straight up villains (Whirlpool, Tundra, etc), so I mean. uhhh. This is less abt one character but starting off- I want to shake Glory back and forth over and over again until she becomes a little bit less of a dick to her siblings, especially Sunny tbh??? I think something can be a trauma response, and make total sense (I think Glory is super well written and I do love her and her sarcasm, it makes sense and I get it) but GOD, if we're being honest I want to see her like actually show affection for her siblings and let people into her life- not by losing the sarcasm, but even then she doesn't seem to really even want them around and the minute she becomes queen that's her thing forever and her siblings just sort of shrug their shoulders and leave her. It's been a while since I read the Hidden Kingdom but like- her and Tsunami's relationship always made me just really sad and frustrated, I love Tui for writing complex girls who aren't just buddy-buddy but it makes me really aggravated that like. we never got a proper resolution there OR with the fact the only thing both of them seem to agree on is that Sunny is useless. I don't have any character I would actually maul maliciously who doesn't deserve it, but I am so fucking sad and frustrated that we never got any moments between the three girls after their arcs (or at all during their books even- Tsunami's book barely has her with her siblings except to be bossing them around and then feeling bad but not actually spending any time w them outside of that). They should also love each other goddamn it !!!! they are siblings and the books feel so devoid of those moments between the two girls that aren't just Tsunami and Glory sniping at each other !!!!

| 38. Something in the fandom you see too much?

Oh god uhhh,,,,,, the obsession w shipping (including the "oMg yOu GuYs It'S nOt AlL aBoUt ShIpPiNg!!" that seems to be every other post) but like. I simply do not care about Scarlet? She's,,,,, fine. She's a cool villain and a #girlboss or whatever, I just don't care about her and I think she's kind of boring.

Also I'm tired of how the fandom characterizes Winter. My boy does not have the self awareness to even be self deprecating my boy has never verbalized a single emotion in his life. He is not the funny issues guy, he's a different, equally silly brand of sad where he would leave mean comments under people's relationship posts because seeing another person happy fills him with such unbearable loneliness he's not ready to face that he just turns it into anger. I want more characterization of Winter as just a sopping wet beast. Like that post about adopting random shitty teenagers just to show them what love is like. He's a shithead teenager and I love him <3

Mostly Queen Scarlet tho, I just do not care abt Queen Scarlet like At All.

Link to the Ask Game

[cmkren]

“You say I want to be Your Girlfriend! It wasn’t really in my plans…”

— girlfriend; Hemlocke Springs

;Usagi Yuzuha x Fem + AFAB! Reader hcs

Usagi relationship headcanons where you two are both silly and goofy— that’s it, that’s the post. Basically how you two get together! Romance blossoming in the Borderlands, what a strange turn of events…

a/n; i am coping rn cause i have a maths chapter test in like 9 hours and i am not prepared im so bad at math. Anyways this is just gonna be some fluff. ♥️♥️♥️ very messy post because im super tired tho,,,

So… who’d be the first one to confess? 🤔

Read to find out !! 😋

Jk its kinda both of you but mainly Usagi

You two would probably meet early on, maybe in the tag game where the two of you catch each other’s eye and agree to travel together <3

You’d be there by Usagi’s side as you both live day by day, and when you find the sweaty lookin’ guy from the Tag game lying on the ground all depressed you two kind of take him in

Like

You two mama birds just kinda adopt the guy

Usagi ends up taking care of most of the hunting while you do mostly everything else

You’re the one who tries to force feed Arisu even when he refused it

Usagi kept you from choking the poor guy.

Y’all are basically tied at the hip tho

Which also soon includes Arisu

(But you n Usagi are closer shh dont tell him that)

Things pretty much stay the same between you two until y’all arrive at The Beach (cue thunder strike)

With this whole sort of place that seems like it was capable of running actual electricity and shit you wanted to do smth special!!

“Do you think we can use their kitchen?!”

“Y/N we’re literally duct taped to chairs right now.”

“She’s got a point though Usagi— I’m kinda craving like… cookies.”

That was the small talk the three of you had before the whole dramatic intro of the Beach and its top goobers

After that whole shenanigan, you and Usagi insist on sharing the same room

It was just a lot more comfortable for the two of you

This place gave you the creeps ngl

That meant a lot of late night talks

Well, as many as y’all got before shit hit the fan again

You two always talked about what you’d do when you finally get to leave. Visit each other every day, maybe even get a place together? Usagi couldn’t bare to live in her old place ever since her father disappeared

You knew everything about that as well

Just from the few months you two shared together, you guys knew a lot about each other

You even promised her that you’d help her get back into climbing

Maybe indoor climbing first for you though

The more you two spent time with one another though, the more the two of you caught yourself… lingering

Whether it be longing looks or touches, it’d always be done subconsciously and end up with someone a little flustered

Arisu caught on though and asked wtf was going on

You, of course, blew him off

After the hearts game though, you two immediately ran for each other

Both battered and bruised, you clung to her as she scanned you over for anything that might have been fatal

Usagi cries out in relief to see that you’re okay

“Where were you? Where were you? What would I do with myself if I lost you too? What would I do? I can’t lose a person I love—”

That made you sit up.

“You— you love me?”

Usagi couldn’t help but let out a choked smile to see that incredulous expression on your face

Well she can’t really deny it, can she?

You could only hug her tighter with tears welling in your eyes, the pain of everyone that’d been slaughtered would only remain in all of you forever but maybe the seeds of healing had already been planted for you two as you pressed a kiss against her cheek

You two were peas in a pod.

You protected those you loved, worked together to achieve your goals

And when Usagi struggled to understand why going back to the real world would be any better than the world they were forced to fight to live in, you couldn’t understand

But you tried to

The strong woman you’d grown so used to seeing so level headed hid in your arms as she held back tears

Listening to every pained doubt, choked out words

You were there for her

And no doubt, she’d hold you taut against her whenever you needed it too.

You helped Usagi get over her doubts and fears of returning to the living world, ensuring her that she wouldn’t be alone in dealing with her troubles

And that— not if— but when you two return, you’ll celebrate like you’ve never before

[ryuichirou]

Hey Ryu! \ (⁠≧⁠▽⁠≦⁠)/

Hope ur having a great day/night!

I rlly enjoy the head cannons and angst ships! Tho I recently read ur past VilxRook angst post and thought I'd give it a little shot for myself but with Azul x Idia and Idia x Ortho. It took a bit of courage for me to create this scenario bc it's a bit sensitive to me (not bc it happened to me or anything I just think it's horrible and dark) but this didn't leave my mind so I wanted to share it with u.

I was wondering what if Azul made Idia a victim of human trafficking? I see Azul as a person that would do anything for money. Idia is one easy resource, especially bc of their marriage now. I imagine after they got married by signing the papers, Azul at the time was probably think of how he could milk Idia from his wealth. Not completely ofc, but to the point where he is in control of it. Idia can provide for him in many ways (business wise), but Idia can also provide for him in bed. Tho what Idia does for him is enough, he probably thought "Why not kick it up a notch?~". He sumhow tricked Idia into agreeing with it since he is a master manipulator then made a business out of Idia. Idk if Idia would have enjoyed it or not but let's say he didn't to keep the dark side of this going. Ik Ortho would have noticed the bruises and forced hickeys/bites on Idia's body at sum point. Idia would just brush it off and say it's just from the others. Ortho would have brushed it off too since he knows Idia's relationships. If only Idia didn't act so off, he would have agreed. Ortho would catch on to the situation, stalking, watching, and realizing what's going on. He would probably confront Idia Abt it and force him to respond out of concern. Idia would break down and confess to what's going on, even exposing the fact that Azul made him do it. Or Ortho would probably connect the dots in his own and figure out that this was Azul's doing. What would Ortho do then? Now that he knows all of this information. What will he do with it?

Ofc the Leech brothers have a part in this. I wonder if they would think of this as a way to have fun or they genuinely feel guilty but can't do anything bc whatever Azul says goes? (Sort of funny how taller and more athletic they r compared to Azul- They could rip Azul to shreds if they wanted to but they won't for obvious reasons.)

That's all I had in mind. Hope this is sumwhat entertaining for u to read and replay to! (⁠ㆁ⁠ω⁠ㆁ⁠)

(Also I don't mind waiting for ur reply. I just care that u enjoy my ask with ur own opinions and have fun with whatever u have in mind. No need to apologize all the time. After all, for me, it's an honor to get a reply from u! Plus, waiting for u just adds to the curiosity of what u will say! It's fun for me! (⁠ ⁠◜⁠‿⁠◝⁠ ⁠)⁠♡)

Have fun with this however u like! I'll wait for however long to hear ur fun thoughts. Have a great night/day! ♡

Anon! First of all, thank you so much for sharing your thoughts despite the topic being sensitive, and thank you for being patient with us. We really appreciate it!

And damn this was a fun read, it has pretty much everything that we enjoy: Idia is suffering in the worst and the sexiest and the most cruel way possible, Azul is being a powerful manipulative money-grubbing asshole, Ortho being a concerned protective little brother that would stalk Idia for Idia’s best interest (obviously!) and the Tweels are also there lol

Speaking of tweels, I agree that it is funny just how easy it would be for them to rip Azul to shreds if they wanted. That being said, I think their main motivation would still be their own fun – what Azul is doing is fucked up and unfair to Idia, but also quite amusing, so they’ll play along. Their lack of empathy is a fun asset to their characters, in my opinion!

I also think that Idia is pretty smart, but also quite self-sabotaging and prone to accepting horrible treatment, so even though he is smart enough to see through Azul’s manipulations, he could also easily go along with his plans. Maybe it was to make Azul happy, maybe it was to make himself more miserable (out of guilt for any reason), maybe the isolation did its thing. Or maybe it tickles a kink he didn’t know he had~ Whatever it is, he is definitely a victim of Azul’s wonderful ideas

To answer your question, god I wouldn’t want to be in Azul’s shoes when Ortho finds out what’s going on. I think this entire situation is enough for him to want to fry Azul with lasers until he is reduced to dust. Ortho would need his precious Idia actually begging him not to kill Azul for him to calm down just enough to stop and think for a moment.

But, unfortunately for Azul, this is a “I won’t kill him, but I’ll make him suffer” type of situation for Ortho, because there is no bigger sin than forcing Idia to do something that he doesn’t want to.

The question is, is Azul smart and cunning enough to manipulate Ortho into thinking (or manipulate Idia into making Ortho think) that Idia is actually quite happy with the situation and that he wants to stay with his husband? The chances are slim (Ortho has a lie detector in him for fuck’s sake lol), but not completely zero. If Azul plays his cards right, the situation could continue for quite some time…

[zeta-in-de-walls]

I get your point about the end being bad but I personally disagree. Theres different ways to look at it.

Also the ending doesn't nesscaraily have to be a positive for the main character, a lot of endings go tragic and thats the reality of situations, you go in there impulsively wanting to end your abuser and sometimes that doesn't go in your favour and thats what happened. A lot of cTommys decision was rushed which is why he chose to understand him rather than focus on hating him - one way lead to getting some sort of closure in the form of finding out one of the questiosn he had wanted to know forever. (he no longer would of been wondering why he was being targetted and constantly blaming himself, and why cdream was doing this, or what did ctommy do wrong, he had those questions answered) Since abuse victims can get closure when finding out why their abuser had done what they did, similar case with cTommy. And c!tommy chose to cope with his trauma in a different way- rather than resulting to violence and killing c!dream (also may be too similar to disc finale) or by leaving permanently, he chose understanding (even though he was still rushing), but that humane side to c!tommy fits him so well, and showed the best part but also most flawed part of his character. Even if narratively, its tragic.

I think that c!tommy by getting that closure did find a way to move on from that pain of what cdream did to him because not only did he defeat c!Dream and break him to a vunlerable state but he also had c!dream sympathizing with him and knowing that it wasnt just manipulation again. And the chance of c!dream hurting him if the nuke didnt go off would of been small based on how he was acting. I think that c!tommy getting that answer to majority of his questions had helped him a lot.

c!tommys character has always been one to sympathize with those that have hurt him the most, its his core trait and the ending showed how kind he is and considerate even when he shouldn't be. Its just who he is. But yes, i do agree that the part at the end where his last words was regret towards cdream was bad.- It was still in character for him. At least c!dream still died feeling betrayed, terrified and lonely. I still feel as tho despite c!tommy dying full of regret, he still died heroically as he was under the impression that the nuke only would kill the 3 of them not the whole server, he may of sorta sympathized and understood cdream in that moment, but he still succeeded in the goal he wanted to do to begin with and in that way won. The ending isnt perfect to me, but those are just my reasons for liking it.

Listen, you're fine to enjoy it. I don't mind. If you felt it worked it's cool and Im glad you were able to appreciate some of it. But I cannot see it as anything other than badly written, both for the choices made and in the execution of it. (Like how the limbo clip was chopping wood and how inelegantly Tommy had to manually swap to it, breaking immersion.)

Tommy choosing to try and understand Dream as a good end would work a lot better if he hadn't tried and failed to do it every time he interacted with Dream.

Remember how he thought Dream was his friend in exile and then post-exile had to struggle over whether he was his friend or not?

Remember the disc finale where Dream had defeated them and Tommy asked for answers and Dream explained his attachments theory?

Remember when Tommy visited Dream in the prison multiple times asking for answers on why Dream did what he did?

All this time Tommy spent trying to understand Dream and the answer was that there's no satisfying justification for why someone would cause another such suffering. Not all stories have a neat answer and that's why Tommy told Dream how he wasn't good for him and he needed to move on.

So then this ending pops up a year later and suggests that oh Tommy just needed to try to understand! That's not a good plot beat! He doesn't owe Dream any understanding and he didn't even do it naturally. He was killed and the powers that be forced him to see Dream's perspective against his will! Only to be revived and now he's found his answers bringing peace of mind. Tommy, the victim, just had to understand his abuser's perspective, that's all!

This trait of Tommy trying to understand those who hurt him is not a healthy trait so seeing it depicted like this feels wrong. It's not that all of this is out of character but it doesn't work for an ending arc where there should be closure. And again, a lot of it was forced on him.

And him getting closure feels meaningless anyway when it's followed by his death! And the death of everyone just to make the sacrifice extra senseless. Yes Tommy didn't think everyone would die but they did so its irrelevant. Tommy thinking he died heroically or whatever is him living a lie essentially.

And yeah, there's potential for it to be a tragic ending. But it was not framed as a tragic ending. It was framed optimistically and that matters.

Please know that I like Tommy as a writer generally and I'm very fond of his DSMP story. But this was not his best work. It doesn't fit with how I see Tommy or his story. That's probably partly because of how I've followed it for so long and so closely. I think there are many reasons this was not the gem I hoped for, like how it was written to lead into a second series and written after a long hiatus.

Still thank you for sharing your thoughts all the same. If those scenes struck a chord with you in a way they couldn't for me, then I'm glad. I like analysing stories in a sort of meta way. I like to think about the themes stories explore and how such ideas are executed and all that affects how I enjoy stories.

[noblechaton]

welcome to the official "Noble rambles about Final Fantasy VII Rebirth" post wherein I get annoying about this behemoth of an experience

don't intend to talk much about story stuff here - tho I got a lotta thoughts about it so that might get its own thing later - but consider this a spoiler warning all the same; for gameplay and some story stuff

so just like to set a baseline here I wanna say I think this is a generational game and the biggest leap in quality I've seen a series take from one game to the other since maybe KH1 to KH2 - it's still got the same bones, but they've been rearranged and adjusted to the point of near perfection in a lot of spaces and while gameplay does still carry some flaws - lock on is still miserable, I'd argue they basically ruined Aerith lol - it's so sharp and addictive that I actually popped it back in yesterday to do the superboss stuff (which I think speaks to just how good I feel this game is since that superboss stuff is a real gauntlet lmao)

just about every character - aside from Aerith - feels really fun to play once u get used to them and I'd also say that Aerith is still fun to play with but it took so long to get used to her that I basically stopped using her outright well before the last few chapters lmao. they changed some stuff with her that I simply don't agree with and while there's some cool things in place of what was removed or changed it's just sort of not enough - she takes too long to charge ATB and can't do much without it now so she's kind of useless without a strong support setup around her which made me go "Ehhh. I wanna play as the cat again" or "Sure but what if I was Yuffie instead". I think the biggest thing is they took away the ability to hold the button down for her attack and made that tempest instead, with triangle being given to a ward shift that while neat I just never really used

but again even if she's been kinda nerfed I'd say everyone is just. so much fun. Cloud's still the great all rounder he was in Remake but they fixed the problem where bigger, aerial based enemies were basically gods by giving him proper aerial combat himself. when I first got hit with the tutorial for this in the demo prior to release I could have stood up and clapped that's how badly I'd hoped they'd do something for him

Tifa's still a stagger machine and yet feels even more necessary now thanks to that and just how quick she can be - but then Yuffie's even faster and is borderline broken which honestly rules. Barret's a lil less heavy and that makes him a lot more fun to control - I loved how grounded the cast was in Remake, but that heft just wouldn't work in Rebirth so I'm glad it was adjusted

meanwhile Red XIII is pretty solid - I didn't love him being so dependent on Vengeance Mode but after I'd learned his kit a bit more I'd say he was one of the more fun characters to play as. Cait Sith is really the only other new character u actually get to play as in this one and I can see why some have derided him/his gameplay but I honestly thought he was just as fun to play as as Red or Tifa or anyone else really - save maybe Cloud, who still has just a bit of an edge over everyone else - and I really loved how they integrated the fortune telling, casino style gameplay into his kit

it all just sort of flows really well in Rebirth that even Aerith and those that might be a bit wonky like Cait or Red end up feeling good when ya get into the moment and such. synergy moves are largely a really cool addition - don't think united refocus needed to take up so many slots lol - and I wish there were even more of them. the sidebar synergy stuff is also neat but I slowly stopped using it over the ~100 hours I played as a lot of em were just kinda difficult to properly pull off in combat

beyond just the gameplay - which is flashier than ever and brimming with character and quality alike imo - the game's just. something else to me

the music goes absolutely nuts and if this isn't soundtrack of the year I have no idea what possibly will be. it's visually stunning, the vocal performances are incredible across the board - especially Barret, who cemented himself as one of my favorite Square characters of all time with this one (but then, so did most of the cast tbh). it's so much more grandiose and higher in scale than Remake that I'd grown worried prior to release

so like. in truth I haven't played OG FF7 to this point - I sorta know what happens in that game, up to a certain and very popular point at least, but Remake is a very sentimental game for me for a lot of reasons so while I grew ridiculously hyped for Rebirth I'd wondered if I'd feel the same about it as I ultimately did with Remake - where I felt the game was this stunning, satisfying experience that does almost everything as well as it could with this grounded atmosphere and well threaded narrative with a strong, snappy mix of action and turn based combat. if I could even hope for it to live up to what was one of my favorite games of last gen, and of all time at this point

Rebirth lived up to my hopes and then some. the atompshere isn't the same as Remake's, which I loved, but it feels like the perfect evolution from the narrow, grungy alleyways of Sector 7, the tighter corridors of Shinra's construction, into this sprawling yet not entirely overwhelming open world that's varied so well from place to place that each ends up fairly memorable long before u even get close to finishing it out, every zone feeling both so wide and yet manageable, brimming with character and side content

that does bring me to my main complaint with the game tho - the side content kind of fucking sucks LMAO

the open worlds are gorgeous and carry some incredible musical tracks - Gongaga's a huge favorite of mine - buuuuuuuuut the stuff u actually do in them never really changes and grows pretty dull a good zone or two before the ending. it's a lot of Ubisoft open world stuff - towers, combat challenges, etc., with some variety thrown in via the protorelics (superboss related collectibles) but that's kinda not enough. even the more unique stuff to this game - like the lifespring scanning and the summon crystals - grow really stale and I wish they'd alternated the content from zone to zone a bit more. I think I was in Cosmo Canyon when I realized there'd be another zone and I was actively sort of dreading it lmao, mostly since I was doing just about everything someone could on a first playthrough

and I guess that's kind of not a huge complaint tho since like. ya don't gotta do it lmao. it's side content - but I wish it'd been. y'know. more good. I also wish the minigames weren't largely ass.

box buster's back from Remake and it's actually pretty fun, chocobo racing is solid enough, but most of the rest of the stuff is rough in some way or another - often in the controls, like the g-bike and 3D brawler. even the coliseum tournament stuff largely suffers from the bad difficulty problems that have imo long plagued the industry at this point - there's a few that are just infuriating and poorly designed and I'm unsure why the minigames as a whole were so hellish. as if the testers did too well and now we the casual players must pay the price for their sins (also the final side quest is related to the minigames and as of the most recent patch is bugged so while I've completed it, I haven't actually finished it 🙃)

and honestly for a while I thought all that would hold the game back for me. it's optional, sure, but it also makes up a good chunk of the game, to the point where the game's almost overstuffed with things to do, but it's kind of all shit with a few exceptions - Queen's Blood is crazy btw that needs to be a mobile thing or a real game asap - so that's gotta be a knock on things, yeah? and it totally is, but like. as I made my way through the final dungeon of the game and into the ending, I realized that it just. didn't matter

which would lead me into the story if I were going in depth on it here. I might later but to keep it somewhat vague - I loved it, and felt the pacing, twists and turns all really enjoyable. another solid evolution from things in Remake, with an ending that I genuinely adore even if things are a bit cloudy (I've got my theories - again, perhaps elsewhere). when I say the last few hours of this game shifted my opinion - which was already quite high! - even higher, I mean it. I understand why some don't like the story or the ending in particular, but I love everything they did and set up here and I'm ridiculously excited to see what comes next given just how much they managed to do with this game - tho I will say, if ya ain't onboard with the Remake project by this point I don't know if the narrative will sell ya on it given that it, naturally, does more than Remake did which ik was uh. somewhat controversial. lol

but yeah. I purposefully didn't deep-dive on Rebirth before launch save watching a few trailers due to spoilers and such so I kind of had no idea just how big it was gonna be - and even then, I don't think I could have guessed at how absolutely and utterly stuffed with content this game is. it's the first game of this gen that feels like it earns the increased price tag to me, that's worth the asking price as it's so much bigger and enthralling, so much more than I'd anticipated

which kinda sums up my feelings on Rebirth. that it's this massive game that kept me hooked for days on end, that constantly surprised and satisfied me even as my playtime steadily rose

I really, really enjoyed my near 100 hour playthrough despite the odds and ends bc I feel this is a near immaculate supergame that delivered on almost everything I'd hoped for an then some. it isn't perfect, there's some rough edges, but it does so much so well that it's impossible for me to view it as anything but this generational title that's both ridiculously good at its various peaks and sets up the final game in this trilogy to be another all-timer

so yeah I kinda liked it

[natsmagi]

hello !! yet another different anon, but just wanted to share this while we’re on the topic of self-criticism - hopefully this doesn’t come off as patronizing, it’s just smth i’ve found helps me as an artist and hopefully it’ll help u :D

i think it’s rlly important to view old art more from the perspective of the feelings u had making it rather than the actual content of the art itself. sure, ur artistic skills have improved a lot over the years, and maybe when ur looking back at ur older work u see a lot of flaws in it - weird anatomy, bad lighting, articles of clothing that don’t make sense, etc (not saying ur old art has any of these i’m just listing examples i’ve had in my own lol) - but u had fun making it !! it’s a drawing of something u loved and still love, and it served its purpose as an outlet to express that love. when people go back and like those old drawings, they’re not seeing it for its flaws - they’re seeing it for the love it represents, a love they probably feel themselves. while it’s good to critique ur own work to some extent for the sake of improvement, people liking ur old stuff is far from cringe-worthy! it’s just someone enjoying something u once enjoyed too, like an internet happiness hand-me-down :)

again, this sort of mindset has rlly helped me personally - i don’t feel as nervous about drawing or posting, bc im just having fun !! it’s ok if it’s kind of janky or has weird details, it was made with love and people can see and appreciate that. nobody ever stops improving or seeing flaws in their work, so its best to focus more on the joy it gave u and push urself towards improvement with the promise of even more joy rather than forcing urself to improve under the threat of feeling ashamed of ur creations

hopefully all of this makes sense i kind of have the shakes rn lol. sorry for the super long ask, i just dont rlly know how to explain all of this in a short way-

hope u are having a fantastic day full of pretty girls !!!!

omg no worries at all!! your message read as very sweet so please dont stress urself out over how u came across!!

AND I DEFINITELY AGREE!! tbh its a mindset i tend to have, but i think where ive lacked is definitely in applying the "im just doing it for fun" logic to past me. i tend to be someone who very much lives in the present and have a bit of a disconnect both from the past and the future, and this can cause me to totally disregard everything about my past self and past work LOL. so honestly having all this put into words has kinda been an "OHH RIGHT" moment for me KASJHFJAHSDKJ

theres also the factor of my audience being bigger now........ im not really someone who likes having alot of eyes on me for various reasons, which sometimes causes me to waver a bit AKJSHFKJH THOUGH ITS NOT THAT BAD. i think most of my shyness comes from having artists i really admire now see my art and im like "FUCK IC ANT HAVE IT LOOK BAD WHAT IF THEY SEE" which can cause me to overthink things But also i tend to forget that those people even follow me 80% of the time. tbh all of my "insecurities" in regards to my art are purely circumstantial and only really present themselves if im in a flustered state, but a large portion of the time im just chilling KJAHSFJKHK

i do also wanna say tho that i think the viewing all art as coming from a place of love sentiment is very sweet........ esp bc in the beginning one of the compliments i got the most was along the lines of "your love for the characters really shines through!!" so to think that, in spite of potential quality, that love is still visibly present makes me very happy.......... Perhaps if u have genuine love for what u do itll shine through no matter what

[nogenderbee]

Hello! Would it possible to request some hcs of Luka and Rin (if you don't want to write for more than one character, you can choose whoever you want from those two) with a male s/o who likes to let them paint his nails? (bonus points if the reader paints Luka's/Rin's nails as well). Feel free to ignore this if not!

I write for multiple characters so don't worry! ^^ Also I really love this ideas and thank you for requesting <3

Painting each other nails with Luka and Rin

Your girlfriend thought that you would look super cute in painted nails, she even got color that suits you!

⊱ the first time you agreed to let Rin paint your nails she was super excited! And since that day, she came every day, with all sort of colors at your place and painted your nails

⊱ and to be honest she isn't very good at painting nails but she isn't bad either!

⊱ it's just that she always have bad luck and will paint too much or too little of your or hers nails

⊱ you still appreciated her effort tho! You really did! You loved it even!

⊱ and it wasn't a secret to you or Rin that you loved it when she paints your nails, you were so calm when she painted you nails, you didn't even cared if she was messing up or not

⊱ and every time she would do your nails, you in exchange would post the effect on your social media or would just share to you closest friends and maybe family

⊱ it looked to you like painting nails is really hard tho so you wanted to see if it really is that hard as it seems...

⊱ so you asked Rin if you can paint her nails for a change which she agreed even more excited when she was when you first agreed on letting her paint your nails

⊱ if you had problem with painting her nails without a mistake, she will say she loves it either way and show it to her friends or maybe even attend to a show with them

⊱ however if you have natural talent for painting nails she will be extremely impressed by it, and will ask you if you can paint some images on her nails

⊱ since then she asks you to paint her nails in a way that would match theme of the show

⊱ it was weekend so it was nothing new that Luka came into your house for your weekly night date, but this time with 2 colors of nail polish, one that would match her and second that would match you

⊱ she already had idea for your and her nails, so now she just needed from you to agree on painting you nails

⊱ if you agree, she will be very happy for that and will ask if color she choose is alright with you, because she don't want to make you uncomfortable after all

⊱ she is really good with painting nails, she don't even make one smallest mistake! And she can paint your nails with both one color and with multiple images without making one mistake!

⊱ it wasn't a secret to anyone that you absolutely loved when Luka painted you nails, after all every time she did you were so calm and hypnotized by her

⊱ and you just cannot help yourself but show some people how talented your girlfriend is

⊱ and as the time flew, you had every color and maybe even every image from at least one category on your nails, and you also had photos of them saved

⊱ Luka made it seem like painting nails is really easy so you asked her if you can paint her nails as well

⊱ if you aren't good at it tho, she will say that you did good job and just fix it a bit later herself or will teach you how to paint nails without messing up

⊱ if you're talented with painting nails tho, she will be a little impressed and interested how much can you do

⊱ she already have date ideas where you just paint each other nails to match, for example: you wear her color and her iconic image and she wears yours

❉⊱•═•⊰❉⊱•═•⊰❉⊱•═•⊰❉⊱•═•⊰❉⊱•═•⊰❉⊱•═•⊰❉

[stainedglassthreads]

There are occasional edgy fringe theories about how Kris killed Asriel, and Ralsei’s Light World form is Kris’ headband covered in dust. And shortly after Chapter 2 dropped, before most of the fandom more or less agreed that Dess was lost but not confirmed dead, I do remember seeing one or two theories that  Kris killed Dess and Asgore lost his job by covering for them. 

I’m not really a fan of either of those theories. I feel like the Asriel one is just baseless speculation and shock value, while as for the Dess one, most have disregarded it and for good reason: there’s just a LOT more evidence for her being missing, even in a supernatural way, than being dead. 

But there is one character who might actually be dead who I’ve been disregarding for a while, and now want to give a second glance over. 

Kris Dreemurr. 

There were a few edgy theories in Undertale, of course, that Frisk was dead. Every seemingly lighthearted fandom has its bizarre ‘it was all a dream’ or ‘this character was in a coma’ or ‘they were in purgatory all along’ theory, Undertale was no exception. I feel like this theory doesn’t completely make sense in Undertale. While Frisk and Kris share certain parallels, the idea that Frisk cannot live or exist without the Red Soul is not explored or even brought up, and as we move on from the game, it’s made pretty implicit that Frisk does get to live their own life (presuming one does not reset.) Between the brief glimpses of after the game ends that we get, Flowey imploring us to ‘let Frisk live their life,’ and the soft implication that the monsters may be speaking with Frisk in the Alarm Clock Dialogue... Frisk suddenly dropping dead the moment they reach the surface would come kinda outta left field, especially when Toby took the care of setting up what they may be doing on the surface-- living with Toriel or serving as Ambassador of the Monsters or starting a new adventure. 

But for all their parallels with Frisk, Kris’ situation is different. It’s made clear that they struggle a lot with the Red Soul. A parallel between them and Spamton is made, and when Spamton cuts his strings, expecting to be a real boy, he falls to the ground and does not get back up, in a very downer moment. 

The implication, taken to its logical conclusion, implies that without the Red Soul being inside them for too long, Kris might actually die. But it does beg the question... Was the Red Soul always their Soul? And if not, where is their real Soul? What happened to it? 

There are a couple of theories about where Kris’ real Soul is. If it was left in the Bunker, or if Gaster took it in a deal of some sort. I do not have anywhere near enough evidence to say with certainty where Kris’ soul is, so any guesses of mine would be 100% speculation. But I have to wonder if Kris technically died some time ago, and has been limping along by ‘borrowing’ the souls of passing entities, or something similar. If perhaps, rather than killing Dess or Asriel in the Bunker... ‘Kris’ was the one killed, and only ‘survived’ by becoming a passenger in their own body. 

I don’t think I’m the only one who’s theorized Kris may be dead. I do recall one other theory post citing how Susie calls Kris ‘the class zombie’ as possible unwitting foreshadowing on Susie’s end. I think we need more information on whatever the Red Soul is, how long it’s been there, and if there were any prior possessions before we can make a certain ruling either way tho. We’re still in just Chapter 2 out of 7, and I’m sure there’s a lot of things we don’t know. 

tl;dr: Asriel is alive. Dess is yet to be seen but probably not dead dead. Frisk is probably not dead post-Undertale, and probably goes on to live a long and happy life, before you reset. Kris would be less fine if the game ended and they were still stuck with the Red Soul. 

[drinksglue]

hi i hope you don’t mind me coming into your inbox to rant. you just seem like the most reasonable person in the proship side of the TMC community.

anyway, i’ve been lurking in this community for a while (mostly because i’d rather not get involved in drama and just watch from afar) and overall i think the only issues i have with people in the proship side is how it’s mostly made up of minors and how they often treat crewdela more like fictional characters than the actual fictional characters themselves. you guys can ship mark and cesar all you want, why do you have to ship alex and andrew too?? ik RPF is a thing but i feel like theres a difference between shipping celebrities with each other and shipping some white boy who makes spooky videos with his best friend (maybe thats just me tho idk)

No, I pretty much agree.

To start, yeah, there's a huge issue with this side of the community being overrun by minors. To be honest, that's the case with the entire fandom, so it just sort of bleeds into every aspect of it. But the minors on our side of it can just be plain disrespectful.

Several have lied about their age to talk to me directly or even join my 18+ only discord server. A lot of them get really pissy when you point out that 18+ means 18+, and that someone under 18 doesn't belong in the 18+ side of the community.

I'm neutral on RPF, there are ways that people go about it that doesn't inherently bother me, but things that do bother me is when they start actually treating the crew like they are high-profile celebs, as you said. Someone drawing art of them is a little weird, I can't say I like it, but it's... whatever, I guess.

What does distress me though is the fact that now there are kids on Twitter posting photos of Alex and Andrew that they had to dig for because those pictures weren't meant to be spread publicly by randos on Twitter. It's super weird and invasive. They're literally just... guys. 19-year-old guys who became popular practically overnight. If you want to ship the characters or make smutty art/fic of those characters then by all means, but it would be nice if people would have some decorum when it comes to real people.

Hell, one of the minors who lied about their age to access adult accounts on Twitter is also responsible for a catastrophically shitty callout post on Alex that leaked tons of tweets from his private account that had nothing to do with the situation at hand, including several tweets where he is clearly struggling with his mental health. There is absolutely no reason why those tweets in particular needed to be exposed, and the only reason why you'd screenshot such a tweet is to use it to hurt someone.

To make a long fuckin story short: The TMC fandom is largely made up of minors, and regardless of whether they're on the proship side or the anti side, they've made a distasteful habit of being disrespectful little shits.

[eirian]

there was a thread on twitter talking about how ppl have been getting torn apart in portfolio reviews lately and that its ok to disregard people's opinions that you dont agree with irt your art and it really hit me. i made a thread about this on there too but im going to repeat myself for tumblr audience bc i love making long text posts you know me <3

idk if i mentioned it before but a while back i got a professional portfolio review that basically ended up with the person saying my art style was "tired" and "would have been popular 20 years ago" and man that really fuckin hurt. it really did. b/c if youve been following me for long youd know ive been working on my style for Years at this point and i was finally getting to where i was happy with it and then this person comes and tears me down like that u_u it felt really not great to hear

that tweet thread tho. it made me realize that like. damn one portfolio review doesnt mean my art is shit or that my style is actually bad. i know tons of people who have said they love my style and of course thats why they commission me even! to see the style i put out! and i feel a bit better about it all now :)

unfortunately my adhd has gotten to the point where i am indeed frazzled about art style again and its gotten me thinking like..am i comfortable with my style because it makes me happy? or am i comfortable in the sense that im afraid to move on to other styles bc ive worked at it for so long to make it how it is? its been on my mind a lot lately and its been making drawing a struggle u_u

i want to be happy with my style and i want to be comfortable drawing it but i dont know where to go at this point. im hoping when i get on like. adderall or something itll help me sort some shit out in my noggin

[sleepymccoy]

72 and 55 if you are still going!

I def am! Hi Ked 😊

55. Have you noticed any patterns in your fics? Words/expressions that appear a lot, themes, common settings ect?

I'm sure there's more than I notice, but I definitely repeat the tropes! I go in for miscommunication and pining basically every time. Even if I'm writing established relationship I manage to make them pine.

Regarding expressions, I do try not to Americanise myself unless the character is particularly American. Cos, like, McCoy is southern. So he gets Southern phrases from me. But Kirk and Spock are also American really but not in a particular way, it's more that universal type of American where it's treated as default. When I write those kinds of default American characters I let myself be Australian about it because that's my default and I don't want to lose that for fanfiction.

That has led to some amusing miscommunications with American readers who are (appropriately!) reading with an American sort of voice but I'm not writing with that. My fave was when I used yonks which means a lot (in a measurement type of way) and got tonnes of confused comments 😂 I hadnt even clocked it as slang, it's just a word for me.

I think the sentence was something like "but that was yonks ago" and people were DMing me to say "hey, funny typo on that page, I think you meant years?" But I didn't! Yonks can be used for distance too, something can be fucking yonks away. I never bothered to change it, it's okay for my voice to be Aussie

But yeah, I'm sure there are many expression particular to me that I don't notice cos it's just cultural

72. What's your favourite writing compliment that you've gotten?

I don't know! I can give you two very impactful ones tho.

Someone left a comment once that discussed how natural my dialogue is, and that's really stayed with me. It caused me to reflect on my process (which starts with dialogue only) and I realised I agree with them! I have quite a strong capacity to make the beats of time in a conversation be reflected in punctuation and description. I'm glad someone pointed it out cos I feel quite a bit of pride over that now, but I hadn't noticed on my own!

The other is all the comments my first ever fic got. I reread it not long ago (maybe a year) and it's appropriately amateur in vice. If I had less find memories of it I'd be embarrassed by it. But the comments are all just so fucking kind. It's unbelievable and it made me commit to being a writer. Everyone pointed out some strength they saw and I can see a direct line from those comments to my style now in what I doubled down on being good at. Someone complimented the humour, and I now do not shy from putting jokes in my stories. Someone talking about it being in character (by my standards now it so isn't, but it was such a shaping comment for me anyway) and I take care to go proof scenes constantly to make sure it's still true to character rather than just being useful to the plot.

It as such a wonderful early experience to have and I cannot express my gratitude enough to those few people who read my weak-ass first post! I love them and I love that fic because of them, no matter how far below my standards it now is. What a marvellous way to interact with new writers

[deaddruid]

The thing about the word Karen is it started as a criticism specifically of white women weaponizing their womanhood against black people. Weaponizing specifically things like their assumed victimhood and vulnerability and doing things like fake crying and acting like they were being intimidated by black people who weren't doing anything harmful. I'd agree that your points have something to do with why everyone else latched onto it and made it a bigger thing, but them being women who acted like being women made them the victim in every situation is why "These (white) women act entitled and vulnerable to get what they want" was even a thing people were talking about originally. What men do is definitely often scarier but they usually don't act like they're the victim in situations where they're the aggressor.

i don't think i disagree with any of this, i think that sort of perspective is important and i've definitely heard many horrific stories about the unique ways white women uphold white supremacy and act out in the way you describe. i kind of made that post on a whim after seeing something else that annoyed me- i do usually try to stay away from posts venting about karen jokes and stuff like that on here for that reason. bc while there is a lot of misogyny that goes along with it, i feel like radblr posts about this phenomenon often turn into what you describe, where white women will use valid critiques of misogyny to justify their biases and refute any valid criticism, and i don't necessarily want to contribute to that

cuz i dont have a problem, and i dont really think its my place to have one, with black people using the word karen to criticize and/or poke fun at entitled white women who act in those specific ways. i think it's mostly just frustrating for me the way that it's become more of just an excuse for people (especially seemingly a lot of white men) to laugh at women on a widespread level, shut down any woman speaking up for herself, and in general posit women as the people who freak out at customer service workers. there are entire 'karen freakout accounts' and while some of them are definitely white women specifically weaponizing victimhood etc., a lot also just seem like women screaming and freaking out at customer service workers in general over something stupid as a man would. and it makes me wonder why there aren't viral accounts that post men doing that sort of thing, bc at least in my experience that definitely happens too.

i am open to others thoughts tho or being corrected, like i said it was made on a whim so it's definitely not the most well-thought out analysis. but in essence yes i agree, i think the misogyny angle is more about why it became a big thing and not ab actual valid criticisms of white women's behaviour towards black people