#i think its fine to make people understand that nobody is perfect

[be-good-to-bugs]

never again would i like to work on Halloween

[prettyboypistol]

What if... stuff that m!reader does/can do that makes the mercs flustered? even if its just making them a little embarrassed i need to know!!!

What You Do That Flusters the Mercs! || TF2 x M!Reader

Scout

He likes watching you socialize with people, you naturally lean on walls and tilt your neck up when you laugh- god damn, you look so hot when you laugh!

For some reason, when you throw things and catch them. He has no idea why it just makes his heart skips a beat.

When you focus and your eyebrows knit together and it deadass just stares at you.

Soldier

DISPLAYS. OF. POWER. Deadlift something. Throw an enemy off a cliff. Threaten a Spy and scare him. Solly will never fucking recover.

Independence and general "coolness" makes Jane stumble over his words! You don't need a man, yet you still ask him to assist you? He feels so honored!

Asking for help casually, like said above. When you extend your hand out to grab something from him it makes Soldier scream internally.

Pyro

The fact that you're kind to people makes them like you. You're sweet and polite and cordial when you want to be. You're not annoying or hard ot read or obnoxious- you're just kind.

When you take your time with things to understand them. They daydream about spilling all their secrets to you.

Protectiveness really flusters Pyro. One time in battle, Pyro was cornered. You slammed the Scouts with a metal pole and growled that "nobody touches our Pyro!". They haven't stopped thinking about that. Nor will they ever.

Demo

Tavish is enamoured with your sense of humor. He loves how you're quick to make a joke and open to laughing at anything.

Can't help but blush when you stare at him. Yeah, half of the times you stare, you're spacing out, but Tavish still looks away and is flushed a pretty deep red.

The joking flirting??? YEAH HE STARTED IT BUT THAT DOESN'T MEAN YOU'RE ALLOWED TO BE THAT HOT

Engie

Hard work and general work ethic.

Dell is super insecure about the fact the finds you super hot when you're sweaty. After a battle or working out is when Dell seems to linger around, stealing glances at you.

WHEN. YOU. PRAISE. HIS. INVENTIONS. That replays in his head all week long.

Heavy

He likes to watch you spar with people with stuff like wrestling/boxing, especially when you swing Scout around like a baseball bat.

There was one time where you and Heavy were in a tough spot against the enemy team, down by 4 kills. There was just something in your eye that had a light of fire and determination. Seeing that is how he fell for you.

Cook for this man please he will love you and blush forever.

Medic

CASUAL KNOWLEDGE ABOUT MEDICAL PAPERS AND SCIENTIFIC STUDIES. GOD YES.

Cooing with his birds??? He wants to pick you up and spin you around and kiss you and-

He really likes when you challenge him. You give this confident smirk and your tone shifts that make Medic want to just scream about how handsome you are.

Spy

Spy's a man with refined taste. He likes his men like he likes his wine: aged finely and polished to perfection. He likes when you're classy and get onto the others about acting crass and classless.

If you can dance, Spy absolutely pulls some strings to have you two on a mission where you two are in matching suits and dancing together.

Spy once was muttering to himself in french and you catch him and you just lean over the back of the couch, look down at him with a knowing smile and just respond in french as well "now now, a lady shouldn't scowl like that." He knew you meant it as a playful insult, but he blushed wildly under his mask.

Sniper

Mick's downright horrendously flustered when you make eye contact with him. You're a tad shorter than he is, so you looking up from behind to him makes Mick shake in his boots.

Bro please don't grunt/groan in effort at anything. He will NOT stop thinking about that.

When you accidentally look at him during missions. He's always keeping an eye on you, so when you stare back at him it makes his heart flutter.

[jacarandaaaas]

a common complaint I always see about encanto is how mirabels sisters issues “came out of nowhere”

Here is your friendly reminder the movie is almost entirely from mirabels point of view. So it’s gonna be a little bit biased because mirabel at the start of the movie was biased when it came to her sisters (isabela). That’s not a bad thing because if we saw the story from isas pov we would think mirabel is being annoying and because we would be more familiar with her struggle rather than mirabels, the story would make you think mirabel is acting up because that’s what isa thinks! Encanto is a movie all about perspective and I see so many tiktoks saying if they felt so much pressure why did they never tell mirabel before?

well to answer that question it’s heavily implied mirabel is not close with either of her sisters. Sure we see how luisa is there for her and vice versa but luisa is so busy she doesn’t have much time for mirabel. Isa as we already know had a very strained relationship with her. The family’s whole issue is communication that’s why we only learn about their struggles when mirabel is the one to start questioning.

As mirabel gains understanding for other people’s perspective so does the audience. We think her sisters are perfect because that is how mirabel describes them we only see them when they are putting on the act like the rest of the family. When mirabel realizes how they have also been struggling its because they pretended they were fine when they weren’t.

Don’t get me wrong I’m not calling mirabel a horrible biased person because we all have unconscious bias especially when it comes to families! she’s not a bad person for not knowing how bad they had it the issue is nobody communicated their struggles!

Mirabels arc featured the fact she had to rethink what she assumed about her family. She assumed they were these perfect individuals because that is what’s on display to her and the audience.

[stickylizardcave]

Please understand how passionate I am about this. Please imagine the following:

Ambrosius who has been told all his life what to do, how to act, what his purpose is, who was told that he obviously would present Alpha because of course he would, he's Gloreth's decedent, he's the perfect knight.

He meets a shy, sweet boy from the streets who's both humble and devastatingly clever, who sees him as HIM, and they become best friends. Ballister who doesn't care about his status, who makes him strive to be better than he was, the best he could. Who gives him a safe space to not worry about his "destiny", who he in turn protects fiercely from those who keep trying to tear Ballister down. Ballister who shows all signs of probably presenting Omega, or at the very least Beta, with his soft-spoken and quiet demeanor. Others see them an while they don't approve of Ballister's commoner background, if they end up as an Alpha-Omega pair then that's at least acceptable.

They grow up together as best friends and boyfriends who decide they won't care about how the other presents, they're still gonna stick together. They're gonna be together.

Then Ballister presents as an Alpha, and it's great! Ambrosius is so happy for him! It means that others are going to start taking him seriously!! That they'll start to consider Ballister as someone worthy (which he thinks is kinda fucked up but they can try and fix that). Alpha-Alpha pairings are not uncommon and while it's kinda annoying that suddenly people are trying to flirt with Bal, he chooses Ambrosius every time.

Then Ambrosius presents as an Omega. And things get a bit tense. Nobody was really expecting this, but that's okay. This can be worked with. His family and the Institute start looking into how they can use his status to their advantage. He's still Gloreth's Heir and he's still one of the best knights of his generation. He's still useful.

Ballister has been hesitant but still accepting of Ambrosius. He says he doesn't want Ambrosius to think he's like everyone else, though, not like all these other Alphas who keep trying to get Ambrosius's attention just because he was an Omega.

Ambrosius had already decided long ago that Ballister was going to be his mate, damn every one else and by Gloreth's Name he ain't backing out now. If he was protective of Ballister before, he's doubly more-so now, especially with the snide comments they keep getting from the other in-training knights. He's beat the shit out of more than one person who says that Ballister is just trying to marry his way into royalty and Ballister keeps telling him to stop that, its okay, don't mind them, I've had worse-

And its frustrating for his family and the Institute's plans because he doesn't act like they want him to, he doesn't act like the Omega they see him as now.

And that suits him just fine. Ambrosius doesn't want to be their pawn anymore. He has the best Alpha he could ever ask for; one that's sweet and kind and clever and brave and loves him for him.

(And also it's fucking hot as hell when Ballister's infinite patience finally runs out at the like 6th random other Alpha of the day comes up trying to start a courtship with Ambrosius and just growls in the most possessive-Alpha-like way Ambrosius has never heard from him before and it makes his knees go weak and he has to drag Ballister home right now immediately before he floods the street.)

[geekywritings]

“What now?” “You kiss me.”

Sooo, I was actually trying to work on the request with the sarcastic reader, but somehow the story took a life of its own. Buuut, I kinda like the result, so I want to share it with you anyway. I will get to the request once sarcastic muse hits!

So have instead a reader that uses sarcasm, flirtation and wit as a shield, but Cal sees right through it. Let’s just say, reader is having some trouble witht that and cuteness ensues.

___

Witty, sarcastic, snarky and flirtatious. Those were the words most would use to describe you and you were fine with it. The quips and dry jokes were your shield. You last defense after being betrayed one time too often.

You could easily joke with people, because that meant you could leave serious topics aside and drown your fear. Your “What are you afraid of? As if these guys can even shoot properly” during battle was the perfect cover for trying to suppress the memory of this type of weapons being aimed at you and your master.

Flirting was another great tactic to keep people emotionally at arm’s length. Because as long as you flirted, nobody asked anything deeper. Your heart was safe as long as everything remained superficial. And for the longest time, that had worked great.

Until you met Cal Kestis.

Despite everything you tried, he was worming his way through your defenses one smile and kind gesture at a time.

He laughed at your sarcastic quips during battle, when you mocked your enemies, but always asked if you were alright afterward.

He accepted the nicknames you were throwing his way, but always gave you that special smile that had your heart skip a beat whenever you did call him by his name.

He got angry when you flirted with some random guy, constantly stepping in and taking over the conversation himself and he always had a comeback for whatever witty comment you offered.

It was frustrating, to say the least.

You had been betrayed by your soldiers. You had been betrayed by the person who had initially offered you shelter and protection. And you had been betrayed by a man you thought had loved you. You were done trusting.

But how could you not trust Cal? How could you not fall in love when he proved every day that he was different?

“Why are you like this?”, you exploded one evening, the frustration breaking through, while you sat over a game of sabacc together in the Mantis. The two glasses of alcohol you’ve had probably weren’t helping.

“Like what?”, Cal asked, visibly taken aback.

“Like… you.”

Your less than clear answer earned you a raised brow.

“I have no clue what you mean.”

A frustrated huff escaped your lips and you leaned back on the couch, the game forgotten for a moment.

“Kind. Understanding. Loyal. Empathetic. Gentle. Funny. Bloody handsome too!”, you enumerated.

“And that’s bad?”

“Yes!”

“How much did you have to drink?”

You gave him a sarcastic look at that. “Clearly not enough.”

Cal leaned back himself, wondering where this was all coming from.

“You are making it so bloody hard, you know?”, you continued. “To not fall in love with you.”

You had tacked on the explanation before he could ask about it and the words had both of you go absolutely still. Only the humming of the engine was heard, as the Mantis rushed through hyperspace.

“You are in love with me?”, the red-haired Jedi was the first to speak hesitantly.

“No… Yes… I...” You sighed. “I didn’t want to fall in love again. I didn’t want to trust again. Why do you think I kept calling you Starboy instead of your name for the first few weeks? I thought you’d just leave anyway.”

“But I didn’t leave.”

“No, somehow you didn’t. And you always laughed at my stupid dry jokes.”

“I didn’t think they were stupid.”

“And you were never put off by my sarcasm somehow.”

“I think it’s actually endearing.”

“And that’s the problem, Cal! You are perfect. For me… and I… I’m not ready to have my heart pulled out, quartered, fried and served in pieces again.”

You were on the brink of something here, Cal sensed it and he chose his next words with care. “And you think I would do that to you?” His voice was soft, almost a whisper, as he stared at you.

Seconds ticked by until you breathed a simple: “No.”

Slowly, Cal shifted closer to you on the couch, but didn’t dare reach out.

“You are special to me, Y/N. I would rather face Vader again than hurt you like you have been hurt before.”

Wait, what? He sounded as if he knew, even though you had never revealed the betrayals that plagued your heart. He seemed to read your expression just right, because he rubbed his neck, almost a little embarrassed all of a sudden.

“Psychometry… I can’t always control it. I saw things… when I cleaned away some of your clothes.”

“When?”

“Shortly after we’ve met.”

You were left stunned. He had always known and he had never treated you with pity or tried to offer support where it wasn’t asked for. He had just been himself around you.

“What now?”, he asked after another silence, unsure where you stood at this point.

“You kiss me, Starboy. That’s what.”

He did. There would be time to continue this strangely deep talk later.

[animebw]

Something I’ve noticed about RWDE and the asshole side of RWBY criticism is just how bad they are at reading anything into the things they don’t like beyond their initial dislike of them. They never say “I think X was done poorly, the writers were probably trying to accomplish Y but they fell short because Z and it hurts the show because ABC.” It’s always “X SUCKS AND THE WRITERS ARE AWFUL PEOPLE WHO HATE WRITING.”

Like, perfect example: I’ve seen a lot of people complaining about the pacing in the most recent RWBY episode, and I agree with a lot of their complaints. We weren’t given any time to see WBY’s reactions to Ruby’s choice in episode 8, how it affected them and what they thought about it before finding her at the tree. Hell, the way the start of the episode is written it basically feels like everyone forgets they exist so they can deal with Jaune’s trauma; nobody even really acts like Ruby just, you know, Did That. I get that WBY knows by now ascension isn’t death and Ruby’s probably not gone for good, but it’s still a hell of a sight to witness. And there needed to be, like, two more minutes dealing with that fallout before connecting it to Jaune’s catharsis and their mutual understanding that the people they care for aren’t gone forever. I know RWBY doesn’t have unlimited money to throw around, but it really feels like a critical scene was just cut out wholesome.

But there is a stark difference between how regular fans and RWDE voice these complaints. On one side, you’ve got normal people saying “Yeah, that was rushed, it needed a scene of WBY processing what just happened and it feels kind of callous for them to seemingly get over it so fast.” And on the other side, you’ve got the usual asshats going “OMG YANG HATES HER SISTER AND MILES AND KERRY ARE JERKING OFF JAUNE CAUSE HE’S MILES’ SELF-INSERT AND THEY HATE RUBY AND THEY HATE WOMEN ARGLABARLG.” No, you insufferable nimrods, it’s a very simple writing error, nothing more, nothing less. And you really don’t have to expend much brainpower to take that failure in context and move on. It doesn’t ruin the episode, it doesn’t take away from Yang’s scene with Ruby’s tree form, and unless you’re either stupid or deliberately arguing in bad faith, it’s not hard to take it on its own terms without blowing it out of proportion.

Despite what RWDE would have you believe, RWBY fans are fine with criticism. The reasonable, measured complaints I’ve seen from fans about this episode are proof of that. We have no problem discussing the issues with this show. But the bad-faith, poorly-researched, bias-driven, self-serving drivel that spills from these so-called critics’ mouths has no business sharing the same space as actual analysis. And we’re not going to insult our own intelligence pretending otherwise.

In short: RWBY fans have no problem with reasonable critiques. Maybe all these “critics” should try actually, you know, making some one of these days.

[gamerbearmira]

🌻That Dazzlings AU has me thinking! So, you said you don't know if Alma is a good or bad person in this AU, so what if she doesn't know because she honestly was never let in on the fact that the "gifts" have an additional curse to them. She just notices that her babies have lockets when the Casita was created or when they turn 5 (whenever you decide), but she doesn't truly understand what they mean. Alma maybe realizing that her babies react to emotions more than other kids might, and finds their musical talent as they grow. But maybe she was so stressed in the beginning since, ya know, that she doesn't truly make the connections. And as they grow, her triplets figure out to maybe hide this, and as she's a first time mother without a great indication of how normal kids are supposed to act, the kids never get really caught. Maybe also helped by the triplets deciding to only in emergencies use their abilities against their loved ones, because even evil people can care for people close to them (let us not forget that maniacs can have loving families, and these are far more minor than those).

When the grandkids come along, I like the idea of then not having control either, the triplets sorta taking it in turns to support their kids. Bruno getting more than he needs and giving it to his sisters when they are napping is an image I love, because strong Pepa and perfect Juli don't ask him for help,but he knows when his sisters need more emotional fuel. Just seeing that they gave too much to his nieces and nephews and making up for it when they don't ask him. And maybe him utilizing the already created image of "bad luck Bruno" in these moments. A more bitter man taking a shred of revenge on these people who so often take his visions as cursed deciding to take their suffering and turn it into help for his family is something that itches well at my brain.

Sorry if the rant went somewhere y'all weren't wanting it to, or if it was too much. Just liking the idea of sinister Madrigals, not quite evil but certainly not the prisms of perfection they try to be in canon.

REALLLLL I LOVE THAT <33 I was leaning towards oblivious Alma lmao 😭 but it makes sense! I mean like you said, she's a new parent. She might have been a babysitter in the past but like these are HER kids its its not a one time thing. She's already busy enough as it is, so she's sorta only half keeping an eye on them and they seem fine most of the time. I think they would get the lockets at 5, gift or no gift, it doesn't matter. It's a curse, ain't NOBODY safe 💀💀 and yeah, I'm sure they figured out fast how to use them and what they had to do. Wasn't hard for them, and they were in it for each other, and their family, everyone else is just gonna have to suck it up (not that anyone truly realizes what they're doing).

ALSO STRONG PEPA AND PERFECT JULIETA I'M CRYING :((( Bruno knows that they'll deny his help if he just goes up and asks if they need more energy. But he sees how drained they are and takes any chances. Also I like your idea of him basically capitalizing on the whole "Bad Luck Bruno" thing, I was wondering if he would use that to his advantage. He probably has purposely bad vision. Like imagine he ends up figuring out how to tilt the scales and make them bad 🦅🦅 I mean I doubt he'd leave in this au. Hell, Mirabel's failed ceremony only fueled him and the others. Imagine how much power they got that day 😛

ALSO PLEASE. I LOVE THE IDEAS KEEP THEM COMING...If you want of course. I know there's a whole lotta people with awesome ideas, and for this au no less??? Don't be shy 🤭🤭 I also like the idea of. Pretty morally gray Madrigals. Maybe even power humger like the Dazzlings. Mfs WILL be adored❗❗❗

They're so...😔

[controversial-blorbo-bracket]

Controversial Character Tournament Round 2: Kokichi Ouma from Danganronpa V3: Killing Harmony vs Peter Pan from Once Upon A Time

(remember that these characters are fictional and your fellow tumblr users are real. i will block you if you harass others in the notes, please consider sending your unhinged harassment to my inbox instead)

Propaganda under the cut, may contain spoilers:

Kokichi Ouma:

LOVE: - "hes a bitch and that makes a lot of people hate him and a lot of other people love him. no one can decide on his motives and i think thats kind of the point. i like him personally but hes a raging asshole <3" - "Not a single DR fan I've ever met is neutral about Kokichi, he's perfect for this poll. I think he's a clever character with consistent internal logic, and his interactions with the other characters are as compelling as they are hilarious. He looks like a dog squeaky toy, and he plots like Artemis Fowl. He's one of my favorite characters in the series and I love him dearly." - "NOBODY CARES ABOUT THIS BOY'S PSYCHOLOGY AT ALL. HE SACRIFICED HIMSELF AND HIS IMAGE AND MADE EVERYONE HATE HIM AND CONSIDER HIM A MONSTER ON THE SLIGHT CHANCE HE COULD USE HIS LIFE TO HELP EVERYONE ELSE ESCAPE AND SURVIVE AND NOBODY CARES. THEY SHOW HIS BREAKDOWN AND NOBODY BELIEVES HIM. I'M SO TIRED" - "not only is he a danganronpa character (inherently controversial) he is also the antagonist and constantly lying because That's His Whole Deal. people either love him or hate his guts. he's a little piece of shit. i would submit komaeda but i feel like views on him are more positive, generally. sorry i have bad taste in video games" - "he's a horrible little guy trying his best in not very good ways what more could you want" - "I don't know, people say he's badly written because they don't pay attention to his arc beyond the cartoonish facade he very obviously forces, and they don't like him because he caused someone's death which like..fair (he did feel super bad about it though so its fine.) Some people also don't enjoy his wonderful personality and think he's a mean piece of shit, which he is, but it's fine. They're just sensitive." - "I know people don't like him because he's like. a shittier version of Komaeda. But that's what's so GOOD about him. He's a shitty asshole of a person, playing pretend at being a villain because he's desperate!!! I think that's really fun. He's dooming himself and I want him to be okay after everything ends, but he dies so he can't even have that much :(" - "so i saw you got submissions for him. but not enough i need to submit him myself he is my favorite character from anything ever. he is the silly man he is so funny one time (actually, two times if you count one optional interaction) he asked a robot if he had a dick and it's absolutely iconic i love him"

HATE: - "(dangan spoilers ahead if that matters) look ok i didn’t originally feel too strongly about kokichi. i think his character is interestingly written (can’t say well-written bc danganronpa but yaknow) and he adds a lot of charm to v3. i understand why he’s popular- he’s one of the few characters in v3 to have both a personality and plot relevance. but oh my GODDDDD he is not a good person!!!! and i am so SICK of seeing him woobified into ‘ooh little baby he did his best he wasn’t doing anything wrong’ JUST BECAUSE you find out he was trying to end the killing game after he dies doesn’t mean he wasn’t incredibly fucked up throughout the game!!! like he was incredibly manipulative, a bully, encouraged infighting, Literally Orchestrated A Murder And Protected Himself From Danger By Getting The Big Stupid Sweetheart To Do It which caused TWO unnecessary deaths and- oh yeah- tricked everyone into believing he was the mastermind and the world had ended to make them so depressed that they just wouldn’t do anything anymore bc can’t kill someone if you’re rotting away in your room!!! AUGH like he’s a good character but it’s BECAUSE he sucks that he’s interesting. maybe this is just the komaeda fan in me but sometimes!!! the character is cooler when you understand that they’re a bad person. at least komaeda gets an actual redemption arc. kokichi’s just an asshole that the game tries to make you sympathetic for at the very end but he spends the entire game being an asshole so why the hell would i like him??? and then i go in a fandom tag and it’s constant unending ‘kokichi did nothing wrong’ the whole point of his character is that he does EVERYTHING wrong. i truly feel like the dr team was trying to replicate komaeda’s popularity but it was messy and poorly handled bc he’s not even a bad person in an interesting way like komaeda he’s just got trust issues that lead him to be stupid and An Asshole. then again people eat it up so what do i know lmao. i love to hate that little shit i wanna punt him into the goddamn stratosphere. score a field goal with that asshat. this is all lighthearted btw i love to die on small hills" - "WHY DO PEOPLE LIKE HIM OH MY GOOOOOOD HES SUCH A FLAT CHARACTER HES A SODA I LEFT OUT FOR 3 DAYS kokichi oma is easily the WORST written danganronpa character. it has been a while since i was into danganronpa so the details are a bit fuzzy but my rage has NOT subsided. following the success of Easily One Of The At Least Top Three Best Written Danganronpa Characters known as nagito komaeda, kokichi had some shoes to fill. he instead showed up in clown shoes. kokichis whole premise is that you dont know if hes lying or not, him being a huge clown and causing shit for like a good third of the cast. kokichi was a simple character. hes a bitch, he sturs shit up, he eat hot chip and lie, it was FINE. not GREAT, but FINE. and then he died. suddenly— kokichi was from modest beginnings. he was actually a genius who was actually doing all of this to save everyone. he was a martyr. they TRIED to follow up on the success of nagito komaeda, and failed miserably. the guy literally has nazi imagery he didnt need to be complex he just needed to be an asshole and force the plot. for assholes that force the plot with actual good depth, may i interest you in byakuya togami? for guys who lie all the time with actual good depth, may i interest you in sou hiyori the beanie man himself from your turn to die [similar genre]? seriously. you guys could do SO much better. just... get better taste oh my GOD JUST BECAUSE HES A TWINK DOESNT MEAN HES WELL WRITTEN" - "Omg I hate this guy,,, people either baby him & make him a uwu soft boy or a funky clown dude, & both those types of people forget all the things he has done??? even if he "redeemed" himself in the end (which i don't think he did--) that still doesn't negate all of the things he did before??? actions speak louder than words but he could never rely on that bc all the does is lie anyway-- i have some strong opinions about him."

Peter Pan:

LOVE: - "My propaganda is that like. Half of the OUaT fandom is OBSESSED with this guy and the other half write fanfiction about their self-inserts beating the shit out of him. The tumblr sphere might be a bit too biased in favor of love and I doubt he'll make it far but from what I've seen people either adore this guy or want him dead in the streets"

[comicaurora]

I don't wanna stick my head into an ongoing argument especially as a non-artist but it frustrated me how quickly you got dismissed out of hand despite. Idk. Also being a content creator and artist who relies on people seeing and engaging with your work, both with Aurora and OSP

I was not expecting a full adult blogger whose posts I like and respect to publicly dunk on me for things I did not say and opinions I do not hold because my two-sentence post about something unrelated pinged the little "this is about me so I am justified to scold" sensor, and I was not expecting them to double down into condescension, and then I was further disappointed to conclude that they probably blocked me, because my two attempts at reblogging with a de-escalation and apology vanished into the tumblr error dimension and I didn't have it in me to rewrite the whole thing a third time.

Tumblr's reading comprehension is poor for sure, but I think the larger problem is how the platform is optimized for sweeping statements to be read as intensely personal. If a generalized statement crosses my dash that could be read as in some way negative or dismissive of me or an identity I hold, it's easy to feel like there's nothing in the world but me and that poster purposefully sniping at me personally. If that were the reality, maybe it would be fine for me to retaliate. But the fact is, that poster doesn't know me, the post is presumably about what it says it's about, and reading farther into it would require context it's impossible for me to know.

In this case, for instance, this person doesn't seem to know anything about me, so they don't know that I am myself an artist, that I know a little something about building an audience, and that I enjoy having a platform that enables me to draw attention to lesser-known but extremely high quality work. Instead, they saw my flippant two-post "kinda rude and entitled when this very specific rude thing happens" and decided I was an ignorant child who needed schooling because I was being rude and dismissive to the struggles of them and theirs.

I know why this happens. Tumblr, for all its size, feels intensely personal. It feels significantly worse when it actually GETS personal, like their responses were to me. Their post makes good points and I'm glad it's raising awareness for lesser-known artists and workers in need of support, but I don't enjoy being turned into a strawman and paraded for ridicule, especially by someone whose experience on this platform runs deeper than mine. Frankly, I expected them to be experienced enough to be kind.

It feels very shitty, obviously. Like many neurodivergent people - not to play that card, but, ya know - I am very, very used to being misunderstood and then bullied or ridiculed for whatever misinterpretation is funniest or sounds the snappiest for a crowd. I am prone to overexplaining to avoid this - in case this post didn't make that obvious already. Of course, overexplaining is not a healthy solution and it doesn't even work. It took me a very long time to even begin to accept that ultimately I had no control.

The conclusion I eventually came to, after years of trying to find the perfect way to comport myself so I would never, ever be hurt in this way again, is that there is no way to do that. People can always choose to read you in the most uncharitable way possible, to disregard your personhood and turn you into a posterboy for whatever crack or hot take they want to use you for. However, the flawed premise I was operating under was that, if I failed to be 100% understood, I would deserve whatever shittiness followed because I had failed to prevent it.

And I don't. Nobody does, ever. Pain is not a thing made okay by deserving. I understand why they reacted the way they did to me, but what they did was wrong. It was unnecessarily cruel and harsh and it came unprovoked. I feel bad right now because someone hurt me because they thought it was morally righteous to do so, and even if I didn't comport myself flawlessly and beyond reproach, I didn't deserve to be hurt.

So I feel shitty right now, but I managed to have a nice evening regardless and hopefully I can digest this bad mood fast enough that I stop dreading checking my notes. Thanks to the people who unprompted sent me cute pet pics.

[k-s-morgan]

︎This is the first time ever I'm writing to a writer as I'm a lil anxious about my English. But after many years of reading your flawless work (TGSTLTH), I really couldn't hold myself anymore; if I stay silent one more second, I'm going to explode from repressed emotions.XD

I'm absolutely going crazy over your storytelling. I think nobody -and I do mean NOBODY- was this close to perfection with the characterization of Sebastian and Ciel. It's like you are working together with Yana herself. You've really managed to catch every aspect of their relationship that made this whole storyline (manga and anime) the way it's been, which seems to be the entire reason why I still can't get over Kuroshitsuji. It's just so dark and dramatic... the bitter power struggle between these two and the way they compete for control —which is pretty entertaining to see when you think about it because both parties are unable to maintain any type of control or authority over the other.

From what I see, this fandom has mixed feelings about S2 of the anime. Some love it, some ignore its whole existence, and some people are okay with it. Unfortunately, I'm the second one. I like the story arcs that are canon to the manga. When I first started to read TGSTLTH, I really thought that fanfic would follow the storyline without S2 in it since you reflect the complexity of the bond they share as a human and demon so prettily. I've always wondered if Ciel, as-twelve-years-old brat, managed to become Sebastian's living hell, how much of a pain in the ass he would be as he grows older. And the plot has several unresolved mysteries that have not been addressed yet. That's why I'm not a big fan of S2; it closes off all the possible ways this story can go as its ending. However, you are the only one who could warm me up to S2; I trust you.

I read the snippets. It was surprising to see Ciel doubting his appearance. I was questioning whether his look-alike was truly superior or if it was just the circumstances influencing his perception. I feel like it's mainly his fear of not being good enough for Sebastian to stay. Which explains his continuous freak-out about the possibility of his soul being unworthy. And I clearly remember Sebastian thinking, "The boy wasn't nearly as pretty" upon seeing him.

Your talent is exceptional and beyond comparison. Please never stop writing. Stay safe...❤❤

B.

Ps. If my English is difficult to read or understand, please feel free to ignore this.

Hi! Please don't worry, your English is absolutely fine! I'm so happy you've been enjoying Those Gentle Slopes so much, and I'm honored that you feel like I did justice to Ciel and Sebastian. They are my favorite characters, and Ciel is probably my most favorite character ever, across all fandoms, so I really treasure the chance to work with them and get such lovely feedback from other readers.

With S2, yes, it created a lot of controversy in the fandom, but also yes, I love it with my whole heart! I always call it a love letter from Sebastian to Ciel. I do have some issues with it, like the exccessive sexualization in general and of Hannah in particular - it feels just awkward sometimes, but the main plot and especially the resolution make me ridiculously happy.

I agree that the bond between a demon and a human is fascinating. I enjoy exploring it a lot, and I so look forward to all the adventures Ciel and Sebastian will have. But I also think that it cannot go on like this forever: even if Ciel got older, sooner or later, something wuld have to give. He'd either die from old age, which would feel like a very underwhelming ending to me, or Sebastian would eat his soul likepromised - but then I'm sure we'd have ended up with the Red Valentine development, where he's lonely, miserable, and missing Ciel. The idea of Ciel becoming a demon in a way that puts such a strain on his relationship with Sebastian - it's like a new life for their bond. So many new conflicts and possibilities could emerge from it - new settings, new events, new power struggles. If you stick around, I really hope you'll like it! And I really appreciate your trust.

And yes, you're absolutely right, Ciel is prettier than his look-alike (at least from how I envision it). Sebastian probably overestimates the difference between them a bit because he's biased in Ciel's favor while Ciel is freaking out because he's been feeling insecure and unworthy for a while at this point, and learning about Sebastian's second contract was just the last blow. These two idiots…

Thank you for your wonderful ask again! I hope you enjoy the next chapter.

[emojellyace08]

Hii-! I have come back with a very weird and strange request. Can we have a reader who is perfect in every way. But..the catch is..what if they weren't human?..like maybe like a Angle,demon,succubus/Incubus or a siren?? Idk something not human! How would u think the lookism characters react to it and how would they find out? Also reader is a good fighter!!

Its fine if this request is so weird and you don't want to write it I totally understand!! Please do ignore this Also have a nice day/evening or night♡

♡"Lookism Men x Demon! Female Reader" ♡

A/N: Thx for the request! I'm personally going to enjoy this one bc I really like horror/supernatural kind of genre and I'm going to be inspired by some of my fav manga characters and their abilities but I'll make other ideas for this character/oc? (which is just not really obvious on my media here lol). Genre: not really fluff and lemon ; slight angst (but there are some cute parts though) TRIGGER WARNING: mentions of g*re, bl**d, organs/limbs, mut*lat*on, mentions of social anxiety and depressive episodes, kidnapping, cannibalism, trust issues, toxic relationships at some parts, NOT FOR SENSITIVE AND YOUNG AUDIENCES Another thing, if you're having thoughts like these I suggest that you don't read this. It's okay if you like gore and the horror genre but don't take anything personally! And stay safe and healthy (keep your physical and mental health in check)

Guide: Y/N (Your Name/Self Insert)

Age: (same age with the character of choice)

Sex: Female (feel free to change if you're uncomfortable)

Abilities: body mutilation, regeneration, immortality (slowly getting physically or looking old but you do have a birthday), clone making, weapon making, strategic planning, whatever else you want to add in.

Talents: *self insert*

Weaknesses (I want to give her some flaws): hand to hand combat, weakness of fire/heat, bad luck, (Bonus!: overthinker in calculations, slow memory and naïve at times, poor eyesight, lacks leadership and socializing, easily gets distracted, short tempered)

Is her powers cursed? Nobody knows. Though the only way to break it and to make her finally rest in peace is to learn how to love (cheesy Ik but let me explain later on). Not meaning to be edgy, but she hears voices in her head and she hallucinates of a beautiful (almost perfect) looking girl saying nasty things for her to do. Good thing she can control it at times.

Gun Park/Goo Kim/James Lee (DG)/ Yoojin (Eugene)/Olly Wang/Jiho Park (villain arc)/ Cheon Taejin/ Charles Choi (Elite)/ Tom Lee/ Baek Hangyul/Jinyoung Park

Oh boi, they seem to be chill and unbothered about your abilities but you know deep down that they're probably planning something about you. You're going to be a great weapon machine. Yoojin, Goo, and Baek might even acknowledge this as a great feat. But you know that behind that smile there's a foul intention hiding.

(Not promoting this behavior!): You seem to have trouble with trusting your peers making socializing hard for you. It may seem to be an easy task for most people but it can be a challenge for you. You may be good with your preferred hobbies but you know deep down that doing simple tasks in your daily life can be troubling. Good thing that he has your back for most times to protect you from harm, even if you're immortal.

This might sound toxic but I think most guys in this list/category will probably use you for their own advantage. Whether it's for strategic planning or in a physical fight he will be willing to train you because he believes that you got so much crazy potential. It's no big deal (no pun intended) for him if you got your arm or leg broken if you even got regenerative abilities (Jinyoung might kidnap and drug you out of "pure" curiosity of what the hell is your body capable of). It's also another interesting thing if you can make your own weapons. At least you can defend yourself from opponent's attacks even when you're losing. But he thinks that your abilities is not enough. You need to train, you need to get stronger since he saw that flaw on you that you depend on weaponry. Expect him to either whoop your ass for a beating everyday or do scientific experiments on you to know if you got more abilities that you are hiding from him and he wants to know your limits. Your endurance, durability, speed, IQ and defense are one of your greatest feats. But you often struggle to take the offense and with your strength, stamina and you need more battle knowledge plus experience. He wants to make you his greatest weapon.

It may be easy for them to just beat you in one punch or kick, but he knows that he may be fighting death. It doesn't mean that he's better at hand and hand combat is that you're not going to bring your guard down. You got your weapons and the only way to evade your attacks is if he is fast enough or if he has insane durability. Despite appearing as a normal being at times, you get easily agitated and stressed. This may trigger your powers and even a single scratch or drop of blood can produce another clone of you own even if it's a really slow process. And you getting pissed off is dangerous, it can cause chaos on your surroundings and you might even unintentionally harm the ones you consider your family. He might consider training your attitude though.

He might even make theories or hypothesis about your abilities. Is it a curse or is it really on your genes? But so far he knows that based on what you said, you never really find or felt love even from your close "friends" or family. He asked why you felt this way but you just don't really know the answer. If you actually get to know each other and have a deep connection he might actually like you, though at times it's just not obvious. He might not be the most affectionate but he promises that he'll try to be more gentle with his approach. You don't know if you could trust that though.

Sinu Han/Kuroda Ryuhei/Vin Jin/Gongseob Ji/Doo Lee/Jake Kim (Goo Kim ; a bit he's more chill than the others above)

Another one who's not really disturbed by your abilities or yourself. But he's not going to use you either. He's fine with you being a succubus or a demon as long as you won't hurt anybody intentionally. Though he can't help but to be amazed by it. "Wow! You can really do that? Can you show me a trick of yours or something?" "Do I really look like a dog to you?" He's just going to let you be. You are you and he wants you to live your best life.

GORE WARNING: He's not really demanding you to help him to deal off his enemies but he'll still appreciate your help nonetheless. But he'll still get really worried about you since he deeply cares tbh. He knows that you're not really a pro with hand to hand combat. But your creation ability and regenerative powers is a great advantage. But he doesn't want you to get hurt. Trust me he'll be in a state of shock when you started crying when you broke your arm or when it got cut off. Your limbs may have the ability to grow back, but you can still feel the pain and it may take a while for it to grow another clone of yours. So it's best if you don't make him worried, he can handle this business on his own.

He lowkey gets scared when you have an episode (like for example when Tomie grows another clone of hers when being triggered or mutilated). He wants to help you out as possible to just stop the drama but he doesn't know how to approach you when these events happen. He will try his best to comfort you though after.

He always feels bad that you experience getting mutilated over and over again. As you explained to him, the more you get revived, you slowly lose your humanity and sense of empathy. You often tried your best to mingle with other people but you end up being awkward and coming out as loud and strong to them making most avoid you. This frustrates you a lot as you want to live peacefully but your powers won't just let you be. He will try his best though in including you to social events and daily activities like partying and spending time with his friends and acquaintances so he hopes that you'll enjoy and appreciate his efforts! And if you're in a romantic relationship with him, he'll make you feel that you are worth it and he'll make you feel loved. Who knows the devil inside you might calm down for a while as you enjoy your moments with him.

Daniel Park/Jay Hong/Zack Lee/Vasco (Lee Eun Tae)/Jace Park/Eli Jang/Warren Chae/Jerry Kwon/Lineman/Brad Lee/Kwak Jihan & Jibeom/Jiho Park/Yuseong/Duke Pyeon/Xiaoleoung

He was a bit concerned with your abilities, almost not believing you at first if you asked me. Daniel might understand you more than the other guys in this list because of his ability to pass his consciousness with his two bodies at will. For sure you know that he was a bit scared about what you are capable of. Though he tries to be respectful with your feelings as possible since he doesn't want you to feel left out or feel misunderstood. Vasco, Jerry, Lineman, and Zack may ask questions again while you can hear his voice getting shaky mixing with his curiosity. (Cannibalism warning!) "Yo-You're a demon? Do you eat humans?" "I can if I want to make myself more powerful. But in exchange of that, I will completely loose my control over myself. So not necessarily because I don't want to. My diet is composed of what humans eat so you don't have to be scared, though it's understandable if you want to distance yourself from me." "NO NO IT'S OKAY I PROMISE!" "SH! BE QUIET!"

With the other more mature guys in this list, he may ask why you have the ability to make yourself to be stronger with you eating others. "It depends on the person. If I consumed a beautiful teenager around my age, I might be able to resemble like her or get some of her striking attributes like her prettiness. Or if I ate a powerful opponent, my hand to hand combat or creation will get more stronger and deadlier. It can probably enhance my regenerative powers but I wouldn't risk it. It can feed her up at have complete control over my body." "Who's her?" he asked as you pointed something behind his back with the coldest eyes. "Behind you." (ANOTHER THING! If someone is completely concerned or is actually really emotionally close with you they might see what you're seeing. It's a really pretty girl almost resembling like you, but her physical appearance has no flaws. But the one of the main difference between the two of you is that her attitude is, well not really pleasing and good if you asked me. She can't also touch other people but she can control you when you're experiencing uncontrollable negative emotions, hence it's the reason why you switch personalities in times of stressful events).

He'll be in a state of panic when you limbs got cut off again. He might take you to the nearest hospital but you told him that doctors will probably hold an experiment on you if they learned about your regenerative abilities. So the only solution he can make up with is him stitching your limbs together so you wouldn't produce another clone. After some weeks your body is back to normal and there is no hint of scars on your arms and legs. He is relieved that you are feeling better now.

You mentioned of how you never felt satisfied with your daily life despite being talented at the things you do. He may ask the reason why but you couldn't really find the answer. You often see your classmates chatting and having a great time, why couldn't you have that too despite helping them out when they need assistance? Are you not enough? Are you boring or too loud? Are you ugly? You couldn't even know the answer. The only theory he can make up is that your insecurities and hatred against other people can feed up the "demon" in you to be stronger and take over you. And that hallucination of yours is a reflection of your wrath, envy, and greed getting stronger if you loose control because of you looking for your own perfection. So you got to take a hold on yourself and actually start appreciating yourself. He doesn't blame you if you feel insecure about yourself, but you got to start to change and be more open to everybody even to him if you need advice in your life. He'll make you remind that despite having your own flaws, your kindness shouldn't be abused by other people who wants to take advantage of it and he's thankful that you helped him out in his darkest times when others can't or don't want to. And you shouldn't bring yourself down most of the times. But your "friend" is not pleased with this though. She often reminds you that you're just a pawn to be used by other people and how you wouldn't be strong or approachable without her. Often gaslighting you at times since she's scared of getting physically weaker because of your humanity taking over. So you and him have to work hard to make this bitch calm down. He'll give you lots of hugs and kisses and whispering to your ear about how he loves you. It's your guardian angel helping you out as best as possible battling with your worst enemy, the devil in your head and consciousness.

Samuel Seo/Johan Seong/Hudson Ahn/Daniel Park (post-Gun training arc)/Jace Park/Magami Kenta/Kwak Jichang/Taesoo Ma/Mandeok

He's not really surprised or disturbed by this discovery. But that doesn't mean he's not concerned. It might have hurt on your part to be cut off over and over again. And it might not be obvious since he's mostly calm at times but he doesn't like it when he sees you experiencing this phenomenon. It may have been something along with black magic or a curse even if he doesn't really believe in those unrealistic stuff. But so far he believes that what you're experiencing is not scientifically possible.

A little background story: He'll be asking why your devil just wouldn't leave you alone. You explained to him that you didn't knew either as you just woke up with no prominent scars or wounds on your body. You remembered being in a fight with your so called "friends" who have betrayed you and who have taken your life somewhere between the woods when they asked you out for camping. The authorities couldn't lock them up because of lack of evidence against them. Then you just woke up on your house like nothing happened. You were shocked that the year was different from when you died, maybe around 1987. You tried making contact with the people you used to know in your past life but you couldn't get a hold on them. They're probably dead or they may have forgotten about you. You just didn't know. He suggested if you got reincarnated in a new body but it's far from truth. Your body still looked exactly the same like in the past. And it just doesn't make sense if you woke up with a devil whispering to your ear about the nastiest shit ever and you just don't age at all.

He'll also be in a state of shock the moment your body produces another clone or when your limbs got cut off. He doesn't know what to do since you producing a clone that gets stronger can affect your mental health and you're both in the middle of a fight that can harm both of your lives. He will have a hard decision if he should just run away with you or fuck up that bastard's face for getting you hurt.

Like I said, they might not be the most affectionate out of the bunch but some of them are more mentally stable than the others above except for Samuel and Johan but anwaysss. He'll make sure that you eat normally and sleep well. He'll have a chat with you there and then so it wouldn't trigger your negative emotions and keep them in control. And he'll also spend his quality time with you even when he's tired like cuddling with you on the bed and giving your head some pecks.

[seijorhi]

RHI HELLO i kinda see you as a reliable and mature person(dont even ask me to elaborate but i really admire u a lot for how u carry yourself…on tumblr) and for some reason i trust you a lot so… like i just wanted to ask. how do you deal with?? weird people? im sure you of all people must be VERY experienced with them as a dc writer on tumblr. and im not talking about a specific type of people, just any that make you uncomfortable. do i feel so strongly abt them bc im still in my late teens?(im 19 dont freak out) will i grow out of it? or am i just too intense as a person? like idk i thought i could ask you for advice i guess? feel free to ignore this, sorry if its a dumb ask thats wasting your time, i love youu🤍🤍

I mean there’s weird and there’s weird right?

There’s weird in the sense that maybe they’re just a bit different to you, they’ve got interests you can’t relate to or they express themselves in a manner which isn’t the way you would. Maybe you don’t understand it, maybe it annoys you or rubs you the wrong way but ultimately they’re just living their life, same as you. In this case, let em. If they’re approaching you with excitement and/or good vibes just don’t be a dick and I think you’ll be fine. You don’t have to be their bestie and if they genuinely cross a line unintentionally then you can gently let them know, but if they’re nice to you, be nice back.

Sometimes the weird people are actually kinda fun and interesting once you get past your own initial blocks. And that can take some time too. Nobody’s born perfect, and sometimes it does take a while to sort of outgrow certain prejudices and what not. Teenagers are some of the most judgy people on the planet, some outgrow that, and others dig their heels in and make it a core personality trait.

Now there’s the other kind of weird, which is the genuinely being a creep, crossing boundaries, harassing kind of weird, which I also have come across. Again, if you think somehow it’s unintentional, let them know and reaffirm your boundaries, but otherwise block em, report them if it’s something genuinely not okay and move on. In real life, just try to avoid them.

[japeneselunchtimerush]

How about 4,5,8,13,14,15,16,17,18,19 and 20 for Akashi and 8, 11, and 15 for Momoi

Aww you spoil me(≧◡≦)

This is going to be a very very long post so Ill continue under the cut

AKASHI

4.If you could put this character in any other media, be it a book, a movie, anything, what would you put them in?

Ok Ive been thinking about this for a while now but The disastrous life of Saiki K. Here me out

Saiki would take one look at Akashi and be like hell no. Appears to be perfect like teruhashi?No Has another person inside their head?Double No Wears his school jacket like a cape?Triple No

Akashi would be way to extraordinary for Saiki and hes friends with Kokomi. I also think it would be really funny if Saiki used telapathy and heard Bokushi and Oreshi conversing in his head. He would be flabbergasted imo

I also want to see the showdown between Kokomi "gods favourite" Teruhashi and Akashi "I am absolute" seijuro. Akashi would definitely be the perfect pretty boy of the school. He would have a version of the Kokomins as well lmao.

People(aka Nendo) would mistake Akashi for Saiki and Saiki would be pissed lmfao.

Ok Im invested now, Ill continue talking about this AU in another post.

5.What's the first song that comes to mind when you think about them?

Literally every MARINA song. But If I had to pick Id say "Oh no!"

This line from the song Things to do resonates too though.

"You are just a boy, you are no man and nobody you know will understand"

8. What's something the fandom does when it comes to this character that you despise?

I already made a post compiling everything I hated about fanon akashi but Ill say it again.

People make him out to be some psycho who is obsessed with kuroko and hates everybody else. They give him no other personality other than scissors, tetsuya and being absolute as if he isnt so so much more than that.

Oreshi doesnt even exist in the heads of people who do this. But it has gotten much better over the years and most of the fandom has finally gotten a good grasp of hos character so thats nice.

13. What's an emoji, an emoticon and/or any symbol that reminds you of this character or you think the character would use a lot?

This came at the perfect time cause Im actually working on a GoM as emoticons thingy(maybe a few other characters) so I might as well share my akashi emoticons. You can guess who is who.

𓈊 𓈊

∠🏀(●‿●)➃ ∠🏀(●_◉)➃

(They are supposed to be holding the basketball under their arms but its doesnt look like that but I spend 30 minutes on each of them so it doesnt even matter)(maybe I should have added a tea cup)(eh)

14. Assign a fashion aesthetic to this character.

Either Dark Academia or Light Academia he fits both tbh. But I think he looks good in dark colors so dark academia.

15. What's your favorite ship for this character? (Doesn't matter if it's canon or not.)

I have a lot of akashi ships(by that I mean a lot) I have to go with MayuAka, NijiAka, MibuAka, and MidoAka(I cant pick one Im sorry it fluctuates)

16. What's your least favorite ship for this character?

AkaFuri tbh I see them more as best friends(Furi giving Akashi a taste of normalacy)

17. What's a ship for this character you don't hate but it's not your favorite that you're fine with?

Romantic AkaKuro. I just feel like their relationship is so much more than romance. You cant describe their relationship with the word romance. I see them more as queer platonic partners.

18. How about a relationship they have in canon with another character that you admire?

Again cant decide between Nijimura, Mayuzumi and Mibuchi so Ill explain my thoughts on all.

Nijimura was one of the only people who treated akashi as what he truly was, a child. He took him out for snacks, guided him actually cared for him you know all the reasons why niji is the best senpai. And Akashi really did look up to him and enjoyed being vice captain under him.

Reo is another person who treats Akashi(both of them) with so much kindness and love. Even If Mibuchi didnt(probably) like akashi romantically he would still care about him just as much. Like Akashi is his baby he loves him so much. And Akashi loves Reo just as much which is obvious given how he comforted him for the foul during the RakuSei match.

MayuAka is defo one of my favorite duos in series. They are the canon light and shadow duo for Rakuzan. Mayuzumi brings the much needed normalacy in Akashi's life like lending him his light novels(on multiple occasions might I add). But he also encouraged Akashi(in his own sarcastic way) even if he wasnt obligated to for how akashi treated him during the match. He forgives Akashi when he apologizes even though he could have rejected it. And Akashi likes Mayuzumi too. He frequently invites him to matches and outings(more like doesnt give him a chance to say no)(this was in cross colors btw) and quite literally tricked him into spending time with the other shadows(takao and kuroko). I think their relationship is very unexplored in the bigger sections of the fandom. Ok this got way too long Im sorry.

19. How about a relationship they have in canon that you don't like?

His relationship with his father leaves a lot to be desired. Now I dont think that masaomi is a bad person per say but he is a horrible father with or without meaning to. He blatantly neglets Akashi during his childhood and in his teenage years. He doesnt allow Akashi to mourn the death of his mother and only pushes him further. Akashi is forced to live up to his unreal expectations his entire life.

Now I dont think he doesnt love Akashi, I think that Masaomi is a man who loved his late wife but does not know how to give his son the love he needs and deserves partly because it was also how he was raised. Their relationship is overall pretty toxic and I can only hope that they talk through their issues when Akashi is older.

20. Which other character is the ideal best friend for this character, the amount of screentime they share doesn't matter?

Honestly? Either Momoi or Takao.

Momoi is an insanely intelligent girl and If this wasnt already said this enough they would overthrow the world. AkaMomo friendship wasnt shown in the show because they knew it would be too powerful.

Takao is a positive and funny person. He is optimistic and one of his greatest strenghts is being able to make any situation funny. I know this has been mentioned before but both Takao and Akashi want to improve on something the other has(being a point guard for takao and being approachable and funny for akashi)

I think they would bring out the best in eachother. They would also make Midorima's life miserable which is a bonus.

___________________________________________

MOMOI

8. What's something the fandom does when it comes to this character that you despise?

There's nothing in the fandom that I particularly hate other than the people who hate her tbh. In all the fics Ive read she is pretty badass and cool.

But her haters istg. They either hate her cause they find her love for kuroko annoying or because she gets in the way of their gay ships or whatever(I absolutely despise when female characters are hated because they " get in the way of m/m ship")

They also dislike her because she body shamed riko but tbh her calling riko's boobs small is 100 times better than aomine kneeing his teammate in the gut dont you think🤨🤨

11. Would you date this character?

One word. Yes.

Momoi is such a sweet person overall, she is so nice and caring and kind. Yes her cooking sucks but I can cook well enough for the both of us. I know for a fact she would be a super affectionate girlfriend. Id be getting cuddles 24/7.

15. What's your favorite ship for this character? (Doesn't matter if it's canon or not.)

AoMomo no competition. The childhood best friends to lovers. Momoi literally being Aomine's ideal girl, Momoi not realising that she likes Aomine because she liked kuroko. Aomine always protecting her no matter what. The two of them being throught thick and thin with eachother.

I just love their relatioship whether or not it is platonic or romantic.

[blog-of-hubris]

I really liked your analysis on sakurajima I thought it was really good I just wanted to ask you something these are some criticisms I’ve heard on the arc and I would like to know what you make of them these ones are a little different though

What do you make of these objections

Hello Joker, thanks for asking me a question. I usually hate commenting on negative feedback that I disagree with or better yet lack the ability to understand. However, I will give you a thorough answer for your time.

There are a few points I disagree with. I will say, I think OP has a skewed perspective on what Maki represents, and this opinion seems to be lost in the route of Maki being Toji's second coming. I think a common mistake with the fandom right now is seeing the connection to Maki and Toji to be focused on their similarities when really it is their differences (i'll mention this more later).

They mention the Zenin Massacre as a moment of tragedy and loss for Maki and that's only in the aspect of losing Mai. Killing the clan was her beloved sister's final request. Also, Maki is much more separated from everyone else since this happened. She is extremely straightforward (even more than she was before) which I see as an aspect of her experience killing the clan. I think OP is underestimating how much weight came off Maki's shoulder with the clan gone. Also, the weapon that she has is a memento to Mai and connected directly to her soul. I don't think Maki feels like Mai is entirely gone due to having the blade, and also her moment in the culling game was a reflection of that. I think a major focus of her moment was to show that she was still holding onto what happened psychologically.

Maki was the character that hide the aspect of wanting to change the Zenin Clan for Mai's sake, so it surprises me that OP is expecting some super heartbroken traits to be shown by Maki. She's like Toji in the way that she is a brute and would want to handle things physically than psychologically. The big difference with Maki is that she had Mai and only Mai. She felt the need to change the clan for Mai’s sake, while Toji saw escaping the clan and renouncing their existence was the best way to disconnect from them. Losing Megumi's mom sent him down on a spiral, but like I said before — the big thing about Maki and Toji's character is their differences. Yes, maki is the second coming of Toji with the physicality but remember she had a whole twin who held back her potential. She had the support of Gojo to fall back on, and her personality is kind-hearted at its core. I just dislike the idea that Maki's character revolves around Toji so much, it just isn't the case to me. Nobody said she was the return of the Sorcerer Killer, people in the fandom just assumed that.

I just thing this OP has a fundamental misunderstanding of Maki's role in the story. I think they also misunderstand the level of depth behind Mai giving up her life for Maki to achieve the passion she always had. Mai made the conscious decision to give up her life to create the ultimate weapon she could for her sister, ultimately giving her the perfect tool to seek the revenge they both wanted. Yes, the situation is a tragedy, but this is a world of cursed energy. Mai's "Curse" unto Maki was to kill the clan and then find happiness in life thereafter. At the end of the day, Mai the type of passion and drive that Maki had, she did not want to deal with curses or be a sorcerer. She was fine being a servant/stereotypical woman for the clan, but that wasn't what Maki wanted. Yes, Maki may now (more likely than not) see her past selfishness as a mistake, but this adheres to the same theme that has been a core value for JJK since Vol 0: “Love is a Curse”; while also representing Sukuna's perspective on weakness showing through love as well. Maki now is not tied down to Mai, and Mai is not tied down to the confines of the Jujutsu world.

At the end of the day, what both of the twins wanted was to be together forever, but their approach did not align. With Mai's soul being in the blade, it gives her a sense of peace while also being by Maki's side. The moment between the sisters was a moment for Maki to truly recognize the sword as Mai's soul and not just a tool she left with her. I struggle to understand how this isn't seen as a moment of light in the darkness that has followed. Maki has something that literally connects her to her sister's soul, and due to them being twins, who knows how deeply the connection with the soul splitting sword can be for Maki.

I also think that OP confuses Noritoshi Kamo's “screen time for distress” with us just getting more insight on who he is as a character. We see Kamo think about his circumstances and reflect on his life through flashbacks. This isn't Gege taking away from Maki's character but showing us that Kamo is a character of introspection. We knew that from Goodwill arc, but in CG we just get a deeper vision to understand his motives + see how he processes his existence as a person. We have gotten all of this from Maki through Perfect Preparation. Maki isn't a thinker, she moves through action. That's why her over thinking against Noaya was a hindrance to her, and she needed the sumo spars to get her mind back on track. In perfect preparation, we get Maki's past via other people bringing it up because Maki just pushes forward, and only through others does her past come to light. This has been happening since we got introduced to Maki in 0, and in the main series we get a glimpse of Maki's past through Mai's eyes only. We only get a glimpse of Maki's POV of the past, but it was a quick flash of her thinking about Mai right before the massacre starts. This is because she isn't one to look back but to look forward and Gege has stayed consistent to that.

My last point will be that I abhor the idea that a character has to display some overexaggerated or dramatic traits to show they have experienced trauma. I find people who have this view point to ignore the fact that trauma is displayed very differently with each person, and common symptoms are not the end all be all. There are many people who get through trauma by moving forward and letting time be what helps heal as they process what they have been through. For JJK specifically, it is said constantly that being a jujutsu sorcerer is hell. I think Gege has stayed so consistent to this, to the point audience members get confused when the cast members actually understand this, lol. The cast members aren't unaffected by loss, they process it differently. Not everyone needs to have a mental breakdown like Geto.. And even for Geto his situation was a collision of circumstances leading up to a change in his thought process. Even then, Geto's choices were to change the fact that sorcerers were so used to loss. He wanted to end that cycle because he felt he was strong enough to. He felt it was his role in life to pursue this in order to be happy, while Maki's “happiness” lied in destroying what stripped her of her truest form of happiness.

Sorry for the long response, if you have any more questions about what I said please feel free to ask!

[amy-the-fairy]

I think all this animosity I have against self insert is more due to me being tired of this need of relatibility in media nowadays. While it make good stories where you get to see yourself in the characters, characters whee it's not the point get hated or "loved" by being totally changed for who they used to be

And like fanon is ok but there's come a point where the characters will just be an oc at this point and people will get mad at canon for being... Canon. And then people joke about ignoring it.

And it always make me wonder... Why nobody want to create ocs anymore then? Since it's basically what they do with canon character, turning them into ocs

Self insert took the place of oc x canon in everyone's mind and it made me realize that people never cared about their ocs character. They were just there for being their stand in Bella or Anastasia.

And yeah that's fine

But my issue is... Why nobody want art to be more? Because it have the potential to be more

And many stories reach that potential but if there's no attractive characters to make porn of, then it doesn't matter. It can get a wide audience only if it appeal to shipping culture

Stories and characters will be reduced to if they're shippy and attractive enough and that's it. For people to care about what's actually happening the audience need to be even bigger, which most stories won't have

As a writer, can I say how disappointing it is?

I always created gen stories until recently, which taught me that my stories don't matter because they're not romantic.

But I don't think it always been on such a wide scale.

I am a fan of a character, it doesn't mean that I want to fuck them. I like a story, it doesn't mean I have to have a ship.

People just can't engage in a story without this. The best example is how if it focus on a family, people will go and do incest because platonic relationship as they are have no value, despite everyone faking to like platonic relationship (only when they can hc a female character as a mean lesbian so she doesn't bother their m/m otp)

All stories aren't meant to be read with a quirky relatable main character and the cast of attractive shippable characters

And even when they are, it's not the only thing happening. But people are too busy putting the characters in tropey box while laughing about how bad the canon is to pay attention to that.

For this reason I see other artists saying they won't try to publish anything if it's for the audience to ignore what the story is about just for shipping purpose and get on their case for not being perfect, doing their otp dirty or anything stupid like this

And talking like that is taken as elitism while I do love shipping. It's just that I think a story who try to have a point across have its right to be acknowledged.

Try to understand another perspective totally alien of your own

[blazehedgehog]

What is the oldest sonic hack that you feel stands up to the level design standards of the present sonic fangaming/hacking community

I specifically avoided most Sonic rom hacks for a long long time. Actually, scratch that: I avoided most rom hacks period.

This is going to be an extremely controversial statement but a lot of rom hacks don't have very good level design. Or they didn't, at any rate. There is a point where things changed, for sure.

But back in the day, having enough skill and talent to make a rom hack was like, the complete opposite brain required to make a fun and balanced game. It's kind of an art vs. technical thing. People who made hacks were coming at it from a more mechanical perspective. This is sort of why the term "Kaizo" came to represent a certain type of ultra-difficult rom hack.

When you love a game SO MUCH that you're willing to reverse-engineer it and build your own expansion for it, generally you're the type of person who has mastered the game several times over. This skews your basic level understanding of what "normal" difficulty is, and in a lot of cases, these people aren't even making something representative of "normal" difficulty.

So you get levels that are super unbalanced, where it's easy to get lost, and maybe they require you to do advanced tricks that the average player has never even thought about. For them, the one who made the hack, it's second nature. They dance through their own levels, totally untouched, because they know where all the enemies are, where all the health is, and so on. They built the lock and the key.

I've had plenty of arguments with people over the years, hack developers specifically, about this topic. I've argued until I was blue in the face, but it doesn't matter, because there will always be that one person who thinks they know better. "It's fine, I learned how to do it, they just have to learn how to do it, too."

And it's just never that simple. Never, ever, ever.

Because you are a unique person. Nobody is exactly like you. The way you learned to do a thing represents less than 1% of people who will ever play your game. Maybe you learned your tricks by watching Youtube videos, or live streams, or reading guides. Not everybody is going to be that dedicated or have that much time and energy.

"You must train for 600 hours before you're ready to try my hack" is not a badge of honor worthy of anything in and of itself. The journey and the destination you've created after the journey is complete are separate ideas.

Go look up achievement statistics to see just how few people even make it past the first boss of most games, let alone halfway, or even to the credits. You very quickly start hitting figures like "only 30% of players did this super easy thing." For a big name, big budget, massively popular, professionally balanced retail game.

And that in itself is only for a fraction of the types of people who make rom hacks. Some just have more to learn and aren't very good at level or game design yet. And there are plenty of hacks out there that suffer from the opposite problem as "Kaizo", where they're just bland and forgettable. It's a difficult balancing act to get right.

These are truths in Doom wads, Mario Maker levels, Sonic rom hacks, the works. So the number of rom hacks I've played that get it right can probably be counted on one hand.

Some of that is because so few hacks get it right, and some of that is because I keep my distance from the hacking scene for that very reason. So if you're like, "wow, I can't believe BlazeHedgehog dunked on that really good hack like that" -- maybe I haven't played it! I used to throw myself to the wolves on all kinds of things where the balance and polish is more frustrating than anything, and it's made me gun shy.

The first Sonic romhack I remember feeling good about was something called "Sonic 1 Pixel Perfect." I really liked its pastel colors and smart reuse of Ristar objects. You might look at the above screenshot with skepticism because it looks too normal, but that's sort of why I like it. It made smart, subtle changes (like the fact time of day slowly changes from dawn, noon, dusk, and night as you play through the zone) and the level design was very digestible. It's just a shame it never got very far.

I seem to recall some of the people who worked on Pixel Perfect went on to make Sonic 2 Retro Remix, which I... think I played? And I might have even liked? But it's been a very, very, very long time.