#fact a corruption arc

[vitalazam]

watching most recent ash vod. having to stop watching bc pentar making fun of zam is grating. being condescending about him saying he won. like he literally did what are you talking about

[oddrocks]

I don't think pit madness is WHY Jason decided to become a serial killing mafia boss, I think he just did that shit your honour.

but I do think it probably played a factor in how he could have been manipulated into such extreme behaviours given the circumstances

[greenapplebling]

The Frankenstein complex

So I was going through the Frankenstein tag (never actually read the book, but I do want to) and it kept me thinking about this character trope I keep seeing and getting draw to... And I want to name it the Frankenstein complex

Requirements? Here are some stuff the characters I know share:

Innocent child shaped into a monster (mostly) by their parental figure/guardian

Goes through a very traumatic experience that forever changes their perception of life

Has a corruption arc or at least becomes an anti-hero, the thing is that they do very questionable stuff

Terrible sense of self-worth, they believe they're unlovable monsters

[saturnskyline]

man porsche is just so incredibly easy to love. i mean. sculpted by the gods, silly and goofy, incredibly earnest, loves with his entire heart....... the list goes on but i'm too choked up to continue 💔

[emulation-0]

caught up to solo levelling and i keep saying this bro is evil as hell

[tea-of-destiny]

slight au of an au where newly minted professor claire first meets des at hershel's funeral

[soulsxng]

Once Aro was comfortably seated in Cilatyve's room, the ruler wasted no time setting just beside him, shifting about until he was laid practically across the deity's lap. One hand toying idly with some of the fluffy tails that swished idly nearby as he smiled up at Aro.

"So, let's get this case solved! Don't tell anyone, but I tried reading Jassie and Sivel a little, because neither of them seemed all that surprised by the news. Not to mention, Kiri wasn't there, and neither were JJ, or Tia, or any of the others that supposedly work with Creation a bunch. Neither were any representatives from the Aifaen or Setana! When I checked though, both of them had blocks in their minds that I couldn't get past...I didn't push, 'cause I really didn't want Sivel to notice, but it felt like the time I tried to read Creation!"

Tails stop swishing immediately, and Aro's head fully lowers to look at Cilaryve in surprise. He couldn't say he was entirely surprised, and yet...

"You were relieved to hear that I had some doubts too, then."

"I was! Besides, it wouldn't be the first time that Creation has lied or covered something up. I don't know why Jassie, of all people, would keep it to himself, though. Not unless Creation made it so he can't."

That, it wasn't. In fact, the last time the Trio had summoned the leader figures from across the realms, they had lied about a few things then, too. Though the situation then was-- from what it seemed, anyway-- much different now, than it had been at that point.

"I just...have a feeling. Especially concerning what happened with him. I mean, he was displaying a lot of the same symptoms that Creation was talking about that coincide with the Corruption. But if he was the one that damaged their Well, then how could that be? Not to mention what happened when Zahine tried to charm him-- there was some kind of backlash there, and then Zahine started showing a lot of the early symptoms. I don't get it. He's doing better now, but that goes into the whole thing about the voice they both mentioned hearing."

"'Our One True Voice'. I read that. What do you think, then? That the Corruption was happening before, and whatever that guy did made it...worse, in some way?"

"...Maybe." Came the soft admittance after a long pause. Truth be told, Darrow didn't know what he thought concerning the reality of the situation; and having heard it in the fox's mind, Cil gave a thoughtful hum. "I wanted to ask Eleare about it, but they didn't remember hardly anything about what happened when they were taken. They mentioned speaking to someone with retrocognition to see if they might be able to at least look at the memories, if not make it so Eleare can remember them again. But I guess the few that they talked to said something about it being a risky process. Whoever erased their memories must have left some kind of failsafe behind."

"But anyway...Enoch and Baphomet both seemed like they knew something, or had some sort of idea of what was happening when we were there. I don't really like it, but I'm starting to think that, if anyone knows something that could help, it would be them."

"I'll just come with you, then!" The exclamation that came after Cilatyve's thoughtful silence was bright, and again had Aro's ears pricking forward. His brows raising a bit as if to ask if Wilacri's leader really wanted to do such a thing. Not that he ever really seemed to mind either Baphomet or Enoch, unlike the fox. "You don't want to talk to them alone, right? It's fine! And, just so we can make sure we're covering all of our bases, I can ask if Mizar would be willing to meet with Eleare. They've met before, right? You can call Eleare on the way, and ask if it's alright! Oh, and have Sachi meet us, too! Enoch is more likely to give in, if one of his brothers is around."

As always, Cil's energy was contagious-- he always had been an unstoppable force. Aro's head tipping back with a laugh, before he lifts a hand to gently ruffle the incubus' hair.

"Fine. How am I supposed to say no when you apparently have everything all planned out already?"

"I take payment in kisses and snacks." Which, evidently, were one and the same to Cilatyve, Aro found himself thinking, as he automatically leaned down to oblige the little gremlin with a kiss or two. "...I also take tips!"

"Pfft...later then. Come on, you greedy little monster, up you go!"

[maleficore]

Just realised that Mae and Ezra look a bit similar and with them being a half-elf with an urchin background... Wouldn't it be so funny if my only properly developed Tav was a Durge baby.

[hsinliuvega]

still thinking abt that post that said boyd doesnt deserve hsin because they meant it as a criticism but like i agree wholeheartedly i think thats why i love them so much

[umbrace-rambles]

Sharing the end of the fight </3 you were so close but police be policing

[surgepricing]

I think about Azula shooters often and their common refrain of "if Azula hadn't had a mental breakdown, she would've won" and I'm here to tell you that no, she wouldn't have.

There is no universe in which Azula was winning that fight with Zuko (or Katara, for that matter).

Azula spent so much of Book 2 being built up as this deadly terrifying force against whom the heroes are badly outmatched that it can be difficult to catch exactly how quickly Zuko is advancing.

Back up a bit to Book One. For the fearsome exiled crown prince of the Fire Nation, Zuko's not that impressive a firebender. He's not bad by any stretch, and he's able to lay the untrained Sokka and Katara flat pretty easily. Then he gets in the ring with Aang, who is an airbending master, and the difference between a regular bender and a master becomes apparent when Aang literally puts his ass to bed:

People have attributed this to the fact that no one's fought an airbender in 100 years, but I think it's also worth noting that Aang (a 12 year old from a pacifist nation) has probably never fought anyone before. Like, ever. And yet the second Aang thinks "okay, I'll attack back", the fight's over.

Zuko's got the same genetic predisposition for firebending talent that Azula does, yet it never seems to manifest because of his mental blocks. At the beginning of the series, he's already so beat down that all he really has is conviction, pride, and anger, so even with training from Iroh (the firebending master, thank you very much), he struggles. Yet throughout Book 2, when he has no time to train because he's on the run, he actually seems to advance faster. The fact that his bending is literally tied to his character arc (as his morals become tangled and he has to fight off aforementioned mental blocks) is pretty brilliant. Like, by the time of the Crossroads of Destiny, Zuko getting his ass handed to him by Aang is a pretty consistent feature of the show--he just can't match wits with him.

Hell, at the beginning of the series, he and Iroh (again: the actual firebending master) launch a combined power surface-to-air attack...which Aang casually swats away into a nearby ice wall. Come the Crossroads of Destiny, however, and Zuko by himself launches this bigass fireball that blows through Aang's defenses.

Zuko advances so quickly that it's scary. That prodigious talent is in him even if it doesn't come through as cleanly as with Azula. Who, by the way, was busy about to get flattened by Katara some few dozen feet away, until Zuko took over and then effectively stalemated her himself.

All of this in retrospect makes it abundantly clear why Zuko's firebending seemed to skyrocket so much when he learned true firebending from the Sun Warriors: it was really the only thing left. He's hard a hard road learning how to fight waterbenders, earthbenders, and airbenders, and even if unconsciously, he's applying the philosophy Iroh taught him about augmenting his bending style with aspects of other styles (see also, the waterbending-like fire whips he uses in the above gif). Once he actually understands fire and how it works, he's got it mastered. Hence why any gap between him and Azula effectively disappears as soon as their next fight--before her friends have betrayed her and her stability goes out the window. There's no real sense of urgency to their fight at the Boiling Rock prison. True, Sokka's presence with the sword helps, but Zuko doesn't look remotely worried and he counters Azula's every attack perfectly.

All her life, Azula only ever learned fire. She was taught by the best people the fire nation can employ, so she knows all the cool tricks, but she's still poisoned by the corrupted firebending practiced in the modern ATLA timeline. Unlike Zuko, who managed to get the basics if nothing else from Iroh (fire comes from the breath, and can be used to survive as much as to kill), Azula has always used fire as a weapon and a means to hurt others. She has no true knowledge of the craft, meaning she's got the same weaknesses as Zhao, she's just better disciplined to the point she can make up for it.

Zuko's victory was a given considering Azula's complete loss of control by the time of Sozin's comet, but even had she been in a perfect mental state, she'd have lost, because in many ways Zuko is simply the better firebender.

And that's the truth of it.

[wisteriasymphony]

he should also get no sleep either i think. not like he has a dad around to enforce bedtimes anymore

constant internal thought process

[thedeadthree]

thinking tavtash thoughts listening to this *giggles*

[kekewrites]

How to make a baby 101

Tw. dubcon, dark content, virginity loss, breeding kink, creampie, size difference, a lil age gap (2-4 years), sex education gone wrong, cunnilingus, coercion, nicknames, creampie, overstimulation, corruption, reader is ignorant and innocent (sheltered, kinda went a bit mute at the snusnu part), nerdy to cocky (character)

***

Step 1: Ask your childhood friend to help you study for your exam.

"Hmm? How to make a baby?" His eyes widen a little, a small flicker of something in his eyes as you ask him about reproduction system or along that line.

"Well," he said slowly, his voice still composed but with a hint of surprise, "that's not quite how it works." He paused, choosing his next words carefully. "Making a baby is a bit more...complicated than that."

Sitting cross-legged on the bed, you listened attentively as he explained the mechanics of reproduction, his deep voice a low rumble. The bedroom lamp cast a warm glow over the scattered textbooks and printouts, illuminating your curious expression.

"Okay, so the male produces sperm, which are essentially cells with a tail..." He paused, realizing how bizarre that sounded. He pressed on. "Right. And the female ovulates an egg once a month. When the egg is fertilized by the sperm, it starts dividing and..." He flipped to a diagram showing the developing fetus week by week.

Your brow furrowed, your finger tracing the arc of a tiny spine. "But... how does the sperm get inside the egg?" you asked, genuinely puzzled.

He cleared his throat, feeling a bead of sweat trickle down his neck despite the coolness of the room. He'd been dreading this part. "Uh... well, that happens through... sexual intercourse."

You blinked at him, "What's that mean?"

Fuck. Think, choose your words carefully.

"It means... when a man and a woman... um... physically join... their genitals..." His face felt like it was on fire.

You tilted your head, studying him with frank curiosity. "You mean like... when you put your penis in a girl's vagina?"

Direct, to the point, no nonsense. Just like her.

He blinked. Twice. Thrice. "Y-yes. Exactly like that," he managed to croak out.

"And the penis is like a big, FAT sperm," you said, matter-of-factly. "So the sperm comes out of there and swims up to the egg when the girl ovulates, and then they meet and the egg gets fertilized."

He stared at you, momentarily lost for words. "Er... yes. More or less," he agreed weakly.

Jesus fucking christ.

"But... why do you think the penis has to go inside the vagina to do that? Why can't the sperm just swim through the girl's belly button or something?" You asked, genuinely puzzled.

Because it fucking feels incredible, that's why. Among other reasons.

"W-well, because..." He took a deep breath. "The male... releases the sperm directly into the female's reproductive tract... to increase the chances of fertilizing the egg," he said, trying to keep his voice level.

God, could he sound more like a robot?

You nodded slowly, considering this. "Oh. Okay. So... the penis goes inside the vagina, and then the sperm comes out and swims up to the egg. That's how a baby gets made."

You're oversimplifying it, but... yes. Basically.

"That's right," He confirmed, feeling like a fraud. He'd failed to mention the vast majority of the process – the hormones, the emotions, the raw, animalistic need that drove humans to couple.

At least until she's old enough to understand... and maybe hate me for it.

Looking down at the diagrams strewn across the bedspread, frowning slightly. "I still don't really get why the penis has to be inside the vagina though..." she mused. "Is that like... really important?"

Fuck me, it's not just important, it's essential. Indispensable. Irresistible.

And I really need to stop thinking about this before I embarrass myself.

He swallowed hard, trying to keep his voice even. "It's... yes. It's very important. For biological reasons," he said shortly.

Like the fact that a man loses his goddamn mind with lust when he's buried inside a woman's tight, wet heat. Fuck.

"Oh. Okay..." You said slowly. "I guess that makes sense."

Thank fuck for that.

Tapping your chin thoughtfully. "So... the penis gets hard, and then it goes inside the vagina, and then the man ejaculates the sperm, and that's how a baby happens..."

Too fucking right it is. Among other things.

"...and then the egg gets fertilized, and the baby starts growing in the womb..."

He nodded jerkily. "Yes, that's... that's pretty much it," he agreed, feeling like he was standing in the middle of a firing range with a live grenade in his hand.

And I'm the fucking grenade.

"And then the baby comes out and..."

And a man comes so fucking hard he sees stars, buried balls-deep in a woman's clenching, spasming cunt...

You were still talking, but your voice faded into static as a dizzying rush of images flooded his brain. The slick glide of a woman's hot, velvety walls gripping his aching cock like a fist, the filthy slap of skin on skin, the debauched sounds of pleasure spilling from kiss-swollen lips...

Fuck. Fuck. FUCK.

Step 2: Preparing to make a baby.

"So first you need to get comfortable, lie back on the bed." He instructs calmly, his deep voice low and clear. He watches as you reluctantly complies, easing herself onto the edge of the bed.

"Good girl," he praises softly, careful not to let his growing desire bleed into his tone. "Now spread your legs for me, nice and wide. I need to inspect you closely first."

You hesitate a moment before slowly parting your thighs, revealing your most intimate area to his hungry gaze. He feels his cock twitch in anticipation but forces himself to focus.

"Beautiful..." he murmurs, more to himself than to you. He kneels down between your spread legs, bringing his face level with your core. Inhaling deeply, he catches the scent - musky and heady, already tinged with arousal.

"The first step is to get you nice and excited," he explains, his voice still calm despite the building heat between them. "I'm going to start by stimulating your clit. Can you tell me where that is?"

When you glance down uncertainly, "Shh, it's okay. I'll guide you."

He parts the lower lips with his thumbs, exposing the delicate flesh of your inner walls. Your clit peeks out from beneath its hood, already glistening slightly.

"There it is," he murmurs, tracing the swollen nub with the pad of his thumb. "It's this sensitive little button here. When I touch it, you'll feel sparks of pleasure. Don't fight it."

True to his word, he begins to stroke your clit with a feather-light touch, circling and flicking the sensitive bundle of nerves. Almost immediately, you gasp and writhes beneath his ministrations.

"That's it sweetheart," he encourages, his own breathing growing a bit ragged. "Let yourself feel good. Get nice and wet for me..."

His fingers delve deeper, parting your slick folds and seeking the entrance to her channel. "You're already so wet," he groans softly, feeling her silky walls clench around his probing touch. "That's perfect..."

He works his fingers inside, curling them to brush against that spongey spot deep within, as his thumb continues to circle your clit. The dual stimulation has you arching off the bed, breath coming in short, sharp gasps.

"Good girl, just like that," he praises huskily, pumping his fingers steadily in and out of her tight heat. "You're doing so well, sweetheart. Getting so nice and ready for me..."

He leans in closer, his warm breath ghosting over your drenched folds. The scent of your desire is intoxicating, making his head swim. Unable to resist, he dips his head and runs his tongue along your slit.

"Mmm, you taste divine," he rumbles, his voice vibrating, "I could eat this pretty pussy for hours..."

He seals his lips around your clit and suckles gently. At the same time, he increases the speed and pressure of his fingers pumping into, curling them to ruthlessly stimulate that special spot inside.

You cry out sharply, hips bucking up against his mouth as your pleasure spirals rapidly. He just grips your thighs tighter, holding in place as he continues his relentless assault. Feeling your walls starting to quiver and clench erratically around his plunging fingers.

"That's it, baby," he urges between licks and suckles, his words slightly muffled. "Come for me. I want to feel you come all over my tongue..."

He redoubles his efforts, determined to bring you to the peak of ecstasy. His cock throbs almost painfully in his pants, leaking pre-cum at the thought of burying himself inside.

Crying out, back arching sharply as orgasm crashes over you. Inner muscles clench and spasm around his invading fingers, gushing fluid that he eagerly laps up.

As your spasms slowly subside, his tongue now lapping softly at your sensitive flesh, soothing through the aftershocks. He releases your clit from his lips and places tender kisses along the inner thighs as he slowly withdraws his fingers.

When he finally lifts his head, face is glistening with juices, a look of deep satisfaction on his handsome features. He crawls up your body to capture your lips in a deep, passionate kiss - letting you taste yourself on his tongue.

"Mmm, you're exquisite," he murmurs against her mouth when he finally comes up for air. "So responsive and sweet..."

Step 3: This is how a baby is made.

Taking a deep breath, his heart pounding in his chest as he gazes down at you, naked, flushed form. He can still taste you on his tongue.

"Now, sweetheart, the next step is for me to enter you," he explains, his voice low and rough with barely restrained desire. "I'll need to guide myself inside your tight little cunt. It might feel a bit intense at first."

His hands skim down your inner thighs, parting them further as he settles himself between them. With one hand, he frees his aching cock from the confines of his pants. It springs forth, thick and hard, the bulbous head already glistening with pre-cum.

Wrapping his fingers around the base, giving himself a few slow pumps as he lines himself up with your entrance. He can feel the slick folds fluttering against the tip of his member as he teases the opening. Biting his lip, he fights the urge to simply slam forward and bury himself to the hilt. He needs to go slow, to let her adjust to his size.

Slowly, he pushes forward, feeling tight walls parting for his girth. He has to grit his teeth at the exquisite sensation. You let out a shaky moan, fingers digging into the sheets below.

"That's it, baby," He grits out. "Take me inside you, feels so fucking good." He bottoms out with a low groan, heavy balls nestling against your ass. He stays still for a moment, letting you get used to the feeling of being so utterly stuffed full.

Leaning down, he capture your mouth in a searing kiss, swallowing whimpers and moans as he begins to move. He starts with shallow thrusts, withdrawing until just the tip remains inside, before plunging back in to the hilt. Gradually, he increases his pace, his hips rolling in a steady rhythm as he claims her body as his. He savors the taste of your mouth.

He breaks the kiss to trail his lips down the column of your throat, pausing to nip and suck at the racing pulse point. "You feel incredible," he murmurs, his voice rough with desire. "So tight and perfect, like you were made for me..."

His hand drifts down to your breast, cupping the soft mound possessively. He kneads it with gentle pressure, thumb brushing over the stiff peak of her nipple. Feeling it pebble further beneath his touch, he dips his head to take the hardened nub into his mouth.

You gasp sharply, arching up into him as he suckles the nipple, tongue flicking over the sensitive flesh.

"Gonna...fuck...cum inside you," he grunts, feeling his release fast approaching. "Gonna pump you full...make you...mine..."

His strokes become erratic, each driving thrust pushing him closer to the edge. He can feel his cock pulsing and jerking inside her slick sheath, his heavy balls drawing up in anticipation.

"Remember sweetheart," he pants harshly, eyes burning into you. "For me to fill you with my seed...you need to be ready to receive it. Open for me, baby...let me fill you up..."

He reaches down to rub tight circles over throbbing clit, wanting to feel you spasm around him as he finds his release deep inside. The lesson is simple - to make a baby, they both need to let go. Body tenses, muscles coiled taut as a bowstring as he teeters on the brink of ecstasy. With a hoarse shout of your name, he hilts inside one final time and erupts. His cock jerks and pulses, painting the insides white with his hot, thick seed.

"Fuuuuck, yes! Take it baby, take my cum!" eyes squeezing shut as wave after wave of intense pleasure crashes over him. Holding you in place as he empties himself deep inside.

Head thrown back and eyes rolled up as your own climax slams in your core. Milking him for every last drop of his potent release.

They remain locked together, chests heaving and sweat-slicked skin pressed close as they bask in the afterglow of their lovemaking.

"Mmm, you did so well, sweetheart," he murmurs after a long moment, brushing damp strands of hair from your face. "Took every drop like you were made for it."

He leans in to capture your lips in a slow, tender kiss.

"That's how you make a baby," he whispers.

[lodgersims]

As a Sims 2 player one of the most eerie things about playing the original game isn't necessarily the creepy/more liminal aesthetic or the repetitively endless gameplay, but the fact that almost all the pre-made Sims from the original game are inexorably doomed by the narrative.

There's something odd about Pleasantview specifically, where the majority of the returning Sim families live (save for Tara Kat, who seems... relatively fine). Like, the concept of the game is that twenty-five years have passed, and all of the returning characters are pre-baked into character arcs that communicate an unavoidable truth: You, the player, failed.

Bella Goth will disappear. Her brother (though in the original Sims we aren't aware that Michael Bachelor is her brother) will die, possibly murdered. Mortimer will be lost and alone. Cassandra will be stuck in an unloving engagement. The Newbie's daughter will be impoverished, a single mother whose husband died young, with two boys and another on the way. Daniel Pleasant will grow up to be a cheater. Jennifer Pleasant will never be an athlete like she wanted (her brother will). And though poor Johnny Burb never mentions Tucker anymore, you know that old dog died years ago. The Roomies, the Mashugas, the Hicks, the Charmings - all leave town... or worse, die out.

I think about Jeff Pleasant's bio in the first game: "Jeff and his family are new to the neighborhood. Can you help Jeff provide for his family and fulfill his lifelong goal of being the first man to walk on Mars?" And how it contrasts to Daniel's in the second: "Since his father Jeff died without achieving his dream of going to Mars, Daniel has felt an overwhelming guilt."

And sure, you can save the families of Pleasantview. You can choose for Mary-Sue to not go to work that day, or maybe Daniel never pursues Kaylynn Langerak again. You can give Cassandra a happy marriage, tame Don Lothario's womanizer ways. You can financially save Brandi Broke. You can get John Burb another dog. You can get Jennifer the career she always wanted. You can defy the scripted in-game prompts and say "No. I don't want to play like this." You can break the cycle, every time you play.

And yet, at the end of the day, no matter what you do... uninstalling the game and reinstalling it, maybe just deleting that Neighborhood folder, they are reset back to exactly where they were again. They're doomed to repeat it forever.

The game makes it clear that there are some things you aren't meant to change. A genie lamp or a Resurrect-O-Nomitron can bring back sims like Michael Bachelor, but you will pay for it in your neighborhood deteriorating to corruption. And no matter what you do, no force in the universe can bring Bella Goth back. The one in Strangetown isn't even really her, after all. And maybe she isn't. They say they deleted her in development, replaced her with a clone. Maybe that's what Bella Goth in Strangetown is. A clone. Maybe we were wrong, after all. Maybe she was never abducted by aliens. Maybe Don Lothario killed her. Maybe Dina Caliente killed her. Maybe Mortimer did. But you can't bring her back, no matter what you do. Recreate the original Bella, pixel by pixel, extract her data, make your zombie Bella. Build your own monster. Create a sim. But she will never recognize her family. Never see them as her own.

And she was never meant to.

[inksandpensblog]

I’d be interested in seeing your evidence for Green being weakest in the beginning, did you look at the choreography? I’m not disagreeing it’s just that I’ve seen people mention it a couple times now but they haven’t shown proof and I’d like to know. I think a while back someone mentioned it in the server but only to point out how after meeting Orange Green’s fighting prowess seems to increase a lot.

[unorganized Green ramblings below]

It is interesting though, I’m realizing that you’re right, Green’s accomplishments aren’t really celebrated, even by the framing of the story. Heck, it might not even start with the first building contest; arguably the very first AvM video (his second appearance) frames his windmill as overkill rather than impressive.

…you know, as I typed that out I’d been wondering why the others were so salty about him winning the first building contest when him winning every time obviously hadn’t become an established pattern yet, but maybe it’s because they remembered the windmill. (Notably, Red is the first to start clapping for Green and also doesn’t participate in the griefing; aside from spending most of the original video out of commission due to Herobrine, Red also arrived late on set and might not’ve known that the windmill was Green’s doing specifically.)

By the build battle episode I can understand everyone’s saltiness; while Green isn’t in the wrong for defending his title, he was…not being a graceful winner, shall we say. Plus, Green had won so often that the competition had become less about building and more about breaking Green’s win streak (and given…everything about the robot incident I’m guessing he was aware of this). Yes he earned his spot at the top, but from the perspective of the others what’s the point of competing against someone who so heavily outclasses you? It was beginning to feel unfair. (And am I wrong or could this have easily been solved if they just. Dissolved the competition and let Green build? Or just made it a one-person challenge and suggest more and more complicated builds for Green? Like, the real problem was that the competition wasn’t balanced. The problem wasn’t with the competitor it favored. But they all acted like Green outclassing them was a problem with Green, when really it’s not Green’s fault that the only available challengers are all at a lower level than him. And Green does put in the work every time; he’s not coasting. But in a way that makes it more unfair for everyone, including him. He’s never meaningfully challenged. No one else is at a high enough level to push him, so he’s always the one pushing himself. Except for the robot incident, which I do feel was less about actually building a nice robot and more about trouncing Yellow’s attempt to rig the round against him.)

But the first building contest? That early? From the very beginning? (Maybe not the very beginning, but it was still the first competition.) Green being the best isn’t celebrated. And this is after seeing that he struggled the most with his build during the competition, too. This one I feel is framed as a triumph for Green, and something to be celebrated and congratulated. But in-universe it isn’t really. Why? Because it was too much better? Was the margin not narrow enough for the others to feel like they’d been beaten fairly?

Something else to note: Yellow does ignite the TNT at the end of the first contest, but “pacifist” Blue is the one who both provided and launched said TNT. Going on the visual component alone, Blue’s builds have always been the runner up to Green’s in how closely they resemble the references. It’s not surprising at all that Blue wins once Green is out of the running. But despite this, the margin is apparently still so wide that Blue’s builds don’t even compare to Green’s. Blue’s builds may receive acknowledgement and praise in every round, but Green’s builds are so stunningly intricate that competition-wise it’s not even close; every round the others are taken aback by Green’s builds to the point where it’s not even a question who the winner is. (And that’s the thing, it should be a question. It’s not fair that it isn’t a question. They really should’ve stopped there XD but maybe they didn’t know better. Maybe they kept going because surely they’d find something that one of the others could build better than Green eventually, another way in which they could’ve misidentified the source of the issue…but as more competitions passed and Green accumulated more victories he grew cocky and the others grew bitter.)

After the build battle episode (which, I do want to note, is AFTER both the redstone academy episode and the note block battle episode, two more instances where people get competitive against Green specifically), there are no more building competitions. In fact I don’t believe the sticks do anything competitive again until parkour, which we all now know was a ruse from the beginning.

Though it is interesting that Green is the one we see doing parkour the most after that episode; it’s been implied before that he has a proclivity for grappling (see the Lucky Block episode), so it’s not surprising that he would favor parkour moves…but there isn’t really any attention drawn to it, by himself or by the framing. It’s something he’s really good at, but it doesn’t seem to be something he prides himself on, like building or music. (Oddly enough the same could be said for Blue; right from his introduction in AvA4 Blue showed a tendency toward gymnastics, and his parkour style is notably different from the others. But, as with Green, it doesn’t seem to be a skill Blue prides himself on.)

Regarding the note block battle, I do wanna say that I’m fully on Green’s side there. That wasn’t meant to be a competition; Green was just vibing alone, and the other three intruded on his solo jam, and when he tried to set boundaries ah I was wondering what you meant there but I see it now okay the other three picked a fight with him and made it about who could play better music. It’s the other three who make it into a competition, and Green doesn’t get cocky and start showing off until they do. (Did…did the other three think he kicked them out for not being good enough to join him? Guys it wasn’t about that it was because you interrupted his me-time you were harshing the vibes and you still would’ve been a disruption even if you were good—)

And yet despite this it feels like the note block battle happened in much friendlier spirits than the build battle? Despite my parenthetical in the paragraph above it really does seem like their issue this time wasn’t Green outclassing everyone, it was that Green wouldn’t let them play with him. It wasn’t a question of prowess, they just wanted to participate in something they’d all enjoyed together in the past and took Green’s vibing as an invitation even though it wasn’t. By engaging with them competitively, Green got to flex and the other three got to play music with him, so it was a win-win for everyone except Orange. (And then Orange won anyway despite not being involved. Which. Can we talk about how Orange is really good with music too? He improvised a woodwind arrangement of Pigstep after hearing the song once in the background of an active brawl. Not to mention he does this on a slide-whistle he crafted from bricolage. There’s also the angle that…we don’t know how the staff works exactly, so, despite Green manifesting musical staffs in season 4…it’s possible that Orange is still the only one who can actually read music. @nyagrounds expressed to me once that the only reason Green is the undisputed best at music is because Orange doesn’t care to try, and looking at all this I’m thinking really hard about that right now.)

Then comes the note block universe, which isn’t a competition but is where Green learns to sing, and is also a brilliant showcase of what my server friends and I have called Green’s “completionism.” Green’s attention to detail in various episodes (noticing the purple accents in the village, noticing the rocket logo, all the building competitions, building the set for the note block battle), Green’s perfectionism and precision and the controlling tendencies they lend him, Green’s self-motivated drive to keep pushing until he finds a way to what he wants, no matter what obstacles block his path…those all get shown in their best light here, in his pursuit of Purple. Because he may be angry, but he’s not chasing Purple down out of anger. He’s chasing Purple down because he wants answers. He’s not done with Purple. And far be it from Green to leave anything unfinished.

Green sees things through. No matter where that gets him. Here, it gets him a new talent, and a new understanding as well as a deeper connection with Purple. He wanted his friend back, and he did what he had to to get his friend back.

During the note block concert, he wanted his show back, and he did what he though he had to do to get his show back. And this one stings especially; much like note block battle, it wasn’t supposed to be a competition. Someone else made it a competition, and a competition against Green specifically. Also much like not block battle, this competition arose because Green wouldn’t let someone else play with him. But rather than interrupting Green’s me-time, the silverfish interrupted Green’s show.

The color gang were in the orchestra, with Green as both the conductor and the lead-soloist (and yes it’s egotistical and also just really unprecedented for him to be both but that’s a different discussion). They had finally found a framework that was fair to everyone. Green got to be the best without the others being sour about it and without Green having to worry about his hard work being sabotaged. The others got to play with Green, without Green having to worry about his boundaries being breached, because they agreed to play his way. It should’ve been a perfect night. It should’ve been Green’s night. This was gonna be the celebration of Green’s skills that he’d been deprived of since the beginning of the series.

But we know how that turned out.

i think as viewers we find it easy to sit back and judge each character until their motivations are explained to us in detail like with purple and king and chosen. even with victim its fairly easy to guess a portion of why she is doing this. and that's partially because avam is just made to be like that so all audiences can understand it and why the characters do what they do, and also partially because it's a little difficult to do more subtle storytelling when you can only express character feelings through their body language (and the body language has to be fairly exaggerated so that everyone can understand how the character is feeling).

so then as a result when we see green falling deep into the hole of social media it's easy to scoff and judge and say come on green, do better. we see it as him just getting too cocky again- look at green with his ego and his need to seem cool, he's sucking up to people again so he can get validation. and people understand that, they're even comparing his arc to purple, but they're forgetting to actually see things from his point of view.

like yeah. green was mean to yellow! and that was a kind of assholey thing to do, agreeing with people when they say yellow didn't do much. but like people do stupid shit all the time, especially to get approval. green hearting mean comments wasn't him on his villain arc, he probably barely thought about it. haven't you ever done anything without thinking or made a joke in bad taste. honestly it's a little ironic how quick people were to jump on him when he did something kind of mean, it reminded me of actual cancel culture! fascinating shit. we really are a part of the story.

anyways green started off as the weakest. he tries his best to be good at other things, first building, then music, but for some reason whenever he does well in something his friends get jealous or upset. (he pours himself into that thing and unintentionally ignore s or snaps at his friends--- its a repeating pattern at this point). it's mostly because their competitive spirit, something which is seen in a lighthearted manner but has gotten them killed or hurt on multiple occasions and i feel like they're going to have to address that at some point. whenever green sets boundaries, they're ignored, even if cg think they're just acting in the greater good.

hell, even purple, we've barely seen them interact after s3- who's to say purple wouldn't just scoff at him as well? she's already not very experienced with actual friendships (based on the way they just expected green to brush the betrayal off in parkour, they acted more like it was a small disagreement than a full on issue), so he may just assume this is how friends are.

basically the point of this is to say, no one ever celebrates his success. obviously he's competitive with his friends too, but having been at the bottom of the group from the start, he's visibly very insecure about this stuff, and having people attempt to kick him down during every success he gets (which he works very hard for) will lead to him needing validation from elsewhere. clearly, social media is supposed to give him this.

but like someone in the community pointed out, now he's appealing to hundreds of thousands of people instead of just 5 or 6. the praise is awesome, but seeing that people still have criticism of him just makes him throw himself into his work even more. it also probably functions as a form of escapism for him; he's so busy working, editing, writing, he barely even notices that his friends are avoiding him. it's possible he's purposely using youtube as a way to ignore his gut. anyways, blue's still willing to hang out and record with him, so what's the issue? (it's not as if blue is the least confrontational of the cg lol)

i have. been in this exact position. the moment you make anything, you're looking straight at the numbers. it becomes what you think of in the morning and during the creation process. you're skimming comments for keywords--- good, bad, more, less, etc. you listen even when you don't mean to. yeah maybe the guy was a little mean about one of my friends but ultimately it's just constructive criticism! it's not like she'll see this anyway. it's fine.

and yeah green needs to stop being so obsessive but i think he deserves to break down first. like what ash said--- he expresses his negative emotions the least out of everyone, he barely takes breaks, it's going to come crashing down. and i think when cg confront him about his behaviour he deserves to yell at them for the way he gets treated. it really hurts when all you are is the butt of the joke even when they mean it in a lighthearted way. if the arc just ends with green being knocked down a peg as usual, i will be very fucking upset because he's literally already at the bottom of the ladder, what more do you want?