#like genuine criticism i can tolerate

[sherwoodknights]

Besties please if you're making anti posts about a character then go for it, you do you but for the love of God please tag it accordingly

I don't follow character tags so I can see how much people hate them for whatever reasons and I don't care how "superior" your other faves are I just wanna seen content about some characters without having complaints about stans or antis launched in my face at every turn

I can filter anti tags perfectly well, but that doesn't help when people just drop hate in a character tag

[antianakin]

[averyhollow]

That Man’s Amazing Journey: How That Man Can Win While Still Being The Worst

Y’all notice how Stede Bonnet (*mimes spitting on the ground in disgust at the very mention of his name*) and Pennywise have never been seen in the same place at the same time? Something to think about.

Be Forewarned

This deals with a line reportedly in the OFMD S2 trailer.

If you don’t do criticism/disdain/negative opinions towards or about characters, please let the above (totally accurate, I’m just saying) observation, the fact I refer to Stede as That Man, and my blog being sponsored by Humanity Against Stede Bonnet, set the tone for what’s to follow.

I haven’t actually seen the trailer

and have no intention of watching it, but by no means does my general disinterest mean I’m over my specific hatred of That Man and Gentlebeard. Finding out That Man refers to Ed (could be someone else I guess, but I choose to believe it’s Ed) as “shipmate” instead of “co-captain” means I can dream That Man is not calling himself a captain anymore or being indulged by his put-upon crew.

Intro

It is my belief That Man must be removed from captaincy - never again to ascend to said position - for his own good (which I don’t care about), the good of all around him, and the sake of basic piratical decency. That man saying he and Ed are shipmates instead of claiming to be co-captains is a sign of growth and self-reflection on his part, as it signifies he’s accepted that he’s no longer the captain, never should have been, and that he needs to apply some elbow grease and see himself as a pirate and not a patriarch.

His Own Good

Dude’s captaincy was bought and even if OFMD portrays (so far) the pirates in the show’s universe as less than egalitarian, democratic, and inclined towards talking things through as a crew; it still has created a world where captaincy is earned. He can’t truly claim to respect Ed, Ed’s world, and Ed’s accomplishments, if he continues running around calling himself a pirate captain.

That Man expecting to be welcomed back as captain, let alone actually being allowed to resume captaincy, would be a continuation of him having bought his captaincy in the first place. He should be happy to accept that the position was taken from him and apologize for having ever held it by use of economic coercion. That Man is accustomed to living by exploitation of others. Time for him to put some sweat on his brow and give working to meet his base material needs a go.

He embarked on a life of piracy where he intended to menace the poor and downtrodden for fun because exploiting them in the conventional way wasn’t enough for him, and then left every cent of his unearned wealth to his equally vampiric family. The least he can do is acknowledge that he was an utter fool and proper ass to appoint himself captain, and that he can never be with Ed if he’s holding onto any of the trappings of privilege and power he left behind.

The Good Of All Around Him

The crew doesn’t need him or to cater to his whims. That Man was only running the ship because he was running them checks, and he not only can’t do that but didn’t take enough money to give them one last bonus. They’ve selected a captain in the proper way of pirates - something That Man doesn’t know a damn thing about - and they selected him for damn good reasons.

That Man rolled in knowing nothing about piracy and decided he was going to set about “fixing” the culture based on his own assumptions of its problems. The crew deserves better and have chosen better.

And the fishers. What of the fishers? Do they not deserve to fish in peace? Do they not deserve to have one of the few pieces of ornamentation they have safe from a man who would steal it from them at gunpoint, even though that man could afford a thousand such plants and pots should he want? They were probably fishing to supplement their meager diet because they barely make ends meet due to the exploitation of That Man. They’re probably literally on the verge of starvation now because they’re too traumatized to go back out fishing.

Let the fishers fish and let That Man have several fucking seats, but only after he’s done with a day’s work. Matter of fact, make him make his own damn seat. He can use the wood from the broken sitz bath he had the crew sharing while he had a whole ass porcelain monstrosity for his own use.

The Sake Of Piratical Decency

There’s no universe (I’ve checked), where That Man can change for the better (and his better will still be The Worst) and end the show as a pirate captain. With the exception of perhaps a 20 year time jump where he leads a crew of pirates new to both piracy and sailing in general.

But That Man earning captaincy over any of the crew as it stands? Nope. That Man earning a captaincy of another crew without work and experience? Nope. And should That Man do the bare minimum of learning about piracy and sailing, he should then realize the true extent of his ignorance and hubris, and never again dare to put himself forward as a captain. At least not anytime soon.

The Show Must Go On

I accept that the show is a romcom and therefore certain things must happen and that it has no real world-building or sense beyond what happens to get Ed and That Man together, and what happens to get Ed and That Man to a place where they can be whole enough in themselves to be wholly together.

As such, certain inherently fucked up things about That Man (that the show didn’t have to do, but chose to and chose to quite flippantly and clumsily imo, but that’s neither here nor there) must be handwaved and ignored, but I don’t think the ridiculousness of him buying a captaincy is one of those things.

Co-captains might be fun to say (for some people) as a cute ship name and reminder of when Ed and That Man first acknowledged their affinity for each other and desire to share a life and future in any form; but the version of That Man who first proposed co-captaincy is not the version that I think can ever truly be family with the crew, or a partner to Ed.

[cherryrainn]

hii!! may i request platonic yandere vox headcanons with a teen reader? if it's not too much, maybe slight mentions of the other vees as well? fluff and/or angst is fine! THANK YOU!!!

PLATONIC YANDERE VOX HEADCANONS .

; pairing ; yandere! vox & teen! reader (platonic)

; note ; thank you for your ask!

; warnings ; stalking, obsessive behavior, manipulation, intrusive surveillance, unhealthy power dynamics, unwanted influence

vox's obsession with you stems from a genuine desire to protect you.

the moment he noticed any negative or inappropriate comments directed at you online, he immediately took action.

vox's definition of protection, however, involves silencing the source permanently.

vox keeps an unrelenting eye on your social media accounts. he's on every platform you use, monitoring comments, likes, and shares.

if anyone seems to be taking too much interest in you, vox swiftly intervenes, making sure they think twice before interacting with you again.

vox is not one to tolerate any disrespect towards you. whether it's in the virtual world or the real one, anyone who dares to harmlessly tease or criticize you finds themselves facing unexpected consequences.

vox's definition of justice is brutal and immediate.

you might not always notice, but vox is never too far away.

he takes it upon himself to keep a watchful eye on you, sometimes even hiring additional security to ensure your safety. his influence allows him to infiltrate various aspects of your life without you realizing it.

vox's technological prowess allows him to delve deep into your life without leaving a trace. he knows your schedule, your friends, and even your most guarded secrets.

vox can be overly intrusive in his attempts to safeguard you. he might manipulate situations to ensure you're always in a controlled environment.

while he believes he's acting in your best interest, the suffocating protection might make you feel confined.

vox is a master manipulator. he uses his charm and influence to shape the narrative around you. if there's any negative information floating around, vox is quick to turn the tables, making sure you emerge unscathed, even if it means redirecting blame onto someone else.

vox has made it clear to the other vees that you are off-limits. valentino and velvette might not fully understand vox's obsessive protective nature, but they respect his wishes.

vox's word is law when it comes to your safety.

[creaman]

—BECAUSE KUNG FU PANDA 4 KILLED MY GRANDMA, OKAY?

To preface, I watched this movie and I'm genuinely tweaking right now so I had to write down a very brief (lie) criticism on this film — which you should boycott, by the way.

Starting with the things I liked, before briefing my primary points of criticism:

Po's Character Regression

Po and Zhen's Dynamic

The Chameleon

I'd also yap about Lord Shen and the death of the art style and the entire narrative and pacing and use of the staff of wisdom but my therapist says being such a hater is 'unhealthy' or something. My heart is full of hatred.

SPOILERS for the entirety KFP4 for the 2 people who care.

KFP4 undermines and ignores the previous three movies — Unwriting character developments, outright removing the Furious Five, straying from the character design philosophies and is completely inconsistent with the established lore.

Things I Liked About Kung Fu Panda 4

The Chameleon's character design

Visual gag in the Tavern where Po uses a recently thrown axe as a hat rack (made me laugh)

When Mr. Ping did this:

so cute! the little heart!

Po — Character Writing

Po, as established in the previous movies, is confident in his abilities and identity — he’s learnt inner peace, he’s matured as a character. However, in KFP4, his character has completely regressed. He’s immature again (such as KFP1, possibly worse) and says verbatim, “only knows kicking butt and taking names” — UNLEARNING inner peace and insisting that “…being the Dragon Warrior is all I know.”

It’s childish, and sort of Hotel Transylvania-esque.

Which isn’t helped by the comedy, the dialogue — a large chunk of which are jokes in the style of:

Master Shifu says something philosophical

Po quips off of it / doesn’t get it (i.e. Whoa!! beat I don’t know what that means.)

Oh, it’s great, yeah, very tolerable. Po’s shenanigans are normally reeled in by the presence of the Furious Five who are generally more serious in nature, creating a much needed balance in the dynamic — So without them, it’s just Po becoming increasingly obnoxious and insufferable with every consecutive quip throughout the screenplay.

Po and Zhen — Character Dynamics

[No more graphics sorry I'm too angry]

As if it wasn’t obvious that Zhen was going to be the next Dragon Warrior the second she was introduced.

Zhen, as a character, has no depth besides being a quippy thief. She quips, she steals. This character has no motives — it can be assumed that the writers intended on a ‘change of heart’ thing, but she isn’t established as evil, her working for the Chameleon is written as a (albeit poor) twist reveal.

By which point, her taking either side wouldn’t make sense, given that she has shown no loyalty or attachment to either Po nor the Chameleon.

The movie artificially strengthens their bond by having Zhen start opening up about her backstory out of nowhere for no reason but they have done nothing to grow closer to each other.

Small tangent, her backstory is exactly what you’d expect it to be with no subversions or even emotional weight. Woe is me I was so small and hungry I had to steal to survive. Glossed over in about a minute.

The majority of the dialogue between Zhen and Po is spoken exposition — explaining how powerful and badass the Chameleon is, explaining how ‘we have to go here to do that’ and ‘this place was cool until the Chameleon did such and such’, and the rest of their time together is spent engaging in filler chase sequences and fight scenes.

The Chameleon

Where do I even start…

This is where it becomes apparent that the movie relies heavily on telling rather than showing —

She is the weakest villain by far, not only in universe but as a written character; which is particularly disheartening because I genuinely adore her character design and feel as though a shapeshifting character has great potential.

The movie artificially inflates her power by insisting through exposition that this is the most capable antagonist thus far (lie).

The audience is TOLD by Zhen and various restaurant patrons that the Chameleon is a powerful shapeshifting sorceress and that she 'dominates the city' whilst the film does nothing to showcase this.

'Dominating the city' meaning letting her henchpeople run amock and bully the civilians just like Lord Shen's wolves in KFP2... uninspired.

I just realised they didn't even give her a NAME what the FUCK is going on

She describes HERSELF as ruthless, clever and unsentimental when comparing Zhen to herself.

She says HERSELF that she’s “Stronger than every opponent you’ve ever faced.”

Let’s see what vile reprehensible things she’s done, shall we?

Gently push someone down some stairs

Her first appearance is through Zhen’s exposition, as opposed to the dramatic and memorable entrances of the previous villains. Her motives or character aren’t established until the final third of the film. She doesn’t even FIGHT anybody until the final third of the film; and even then, her fight sequences are uninspired and she never really poses a real threat. (She goes down in two hits.)

That being said, WE CAN STILL SAVE HER GUYS WE CAN STILL GET HER OUTTA THERE I'M COMING FOR YOU CHAMELEON I'M GONNA DRAFT YOU A PROPER BACKSTORY AND MOTIVE AND YOU'RE GONNA BE THE MOST THREATENING VILLAIN THUS FAR

There's a scene after the climax of the film where all the kung fu masters and previous villains from the spirit realm bow to Po. I'm not going to provide my thoughts on this because I fear I may burst a blood vessel. Good day!

Closing Statements

To put it simply, Kung Fu Panda 4 was my Megamind 2.

The film rejects its predecessors in every way. It really feels as though they brought in somebody with no prior knowledge of the franchise to direct the movie.

It's a film that relies heavily on telling rather than showing — banking on the previous three movies to carry it through the box office.

It's just really disheartening to see studio execs turn one of the best franchises into a safe sequel cash grab and regress every character's development.

Nevertheless. I do adore the chameleon's character design so I might do my own take on her character.

As far as I'm concerned, there is no fairy godmother, there is no tooth fairy, and there is no kung fu panda 4.

[slutdge]

ok so like can i just say even if aaron bushnell was trans (stop fucking making posts about that and get a grip by the way) he died screaming "free palestine" and gave his life to bring attention to this genocide. he didn't want this to be about him, he wanted this to be about palestinians and he took extreme measures to make people unable to suspend their horror about what he did. do you not understand that yall are making him roll in his grave with these speculations. instead of talking about why he ACTUALLY martyred himself, you're saying "actually its cause he was trans, his username on discord was lilyanarkitty sooooo". He went to lengths to make sure his self immolation was documented and would not be buried by the media like the previous person who self immolated for Palestine. He did something so horrific that no one could ignore it and people MUST acknowledge his martyring for Palestine... And all you white trans people can do is fucking transvestigate him cause so many white queers only give a shit about a cause if they can relate to people on a personal level. an ethinic cleasining wouldnt matter to yall if you couldnt make it about queers. "but being queer is criminalized in palestine" ok and you think that justifies murdering children? you think that justifies murdering anyone???? what about palestinian queers? you genuinely all disgust me so much and you should be ashamed of yourselves. back in the day you wouldve watched the genocide of my people and excused it too. grow a heart. you can change your mind and do better today. stop trying to center white trans people in every conversation. I dont know why so many tumblr users have convinced themselves that people can do no wrong and never be criticized solely on the basis of being trans but its gotta stop, i wont tolerate it.

[another-lost-mc]

library games

solomon likes to tease his apprentice, but things are bound to change the day he takes it a little too far.

solomon x gn!reader

1.7k words | nsfw | resolved sexual tension

cw: possessive behaviour, suggestive but not explicit sexual content.

a/n: this scenario takes place after the events of overture but can be read as a one-shot.

dark serenade series: part one: overture part two (you are here)

The first thing you notice when you step into Solomon’s library for today’s lesson is the sorcerer himself, his coat hanging off the back of his chair and shirt sleeves rolled up to his elbows. He’s leaning back in his seat with an open book in his lap and he doesn't look up when you enter the room.

You know the moment he’s aware of your presence because his eyes stop scanning the page and there’s a deliberate pause before he closes his book and glances at you expectantly. He smirks and crooks his finger, urging you forward from where you’ve paused in the doorway.

You’re carrying the tomes he assigned as yesterday’s homework and set them on the desk - yellowed, dusty texts filled with magical theory and spells that seem far above your current ability. You’re ready to take your seat, but you realize that Solomon is sitting in the only chair. There should be extras in a room nearby, but he sighs loudly when you turn around to fetch one.

“Can I ask where you’re going?” he asks with a hint of impatience.

“I’m going to get another chair, but I’ll be right back,” you explain quickly, waiting by the door for his approval.

He seems disappointed and you don’t understand why at first, but then he pushes his chair back and pats his thigh invitingly. “If you need a place to sit, my lap is always an option, my darling apprentice.” 

You should be immune to his flirtatious banter by now, but the invitation is so surprising that it makes you sputter and rush away to find a chair that is most definitely not his lap. He chuckles quietly behind you, but by the time you drag another chair into the library, the lighthearted moment between you has passed.

He can be mischievous at times, but you know not to test his patience when his mood turns serious. 

With a flick of his wrist, one of the books with yesterday’s homework slides across the table towards him and you hurriedly take a seat at his side.

“Let’s see how much you’ve learned, shall we?”

After nearly an hour, you’re overwhelmed by the whiplash of his brutal criticism and genuine encouragement. He is relentless as a teacher, correcting you with a firm tone when you can’t recite incantations or complex rituals perfectly from memory. The warm praise he offers when you do answer his questions correctly soothes your rattled nerves like a balm.

You lean back with a sigh and glance at Solomon who’s grown silent next to you. There’s a strange intensity in his gaze that makes you want to hide from his scrutiny. The tense moment passes and he says you’re advancing ahead of schedule. You can’t help how your cheeks grow warm at his appraisal and the pleased twinkle in his eye.

You had fair warning at the beginning of your apprenticeship that he wouldn’t tolerate laziness, disappointment, or failure from you; knowing that you’re exceeding his expectations makes you unspeakably happy. He’s more than a teacher to you, and above all else, you know he considers you a friend - and that’s not a word a man like Solomon uses lightly.

Lately, he seems even more daring as he teases along the boundary that separates friendship and something more romantic. From the early days of your acquaintance, his wisdom and strength gave you comfort and stability. You can’t help but feel uncertain now that he’s becoming noticeably more affectionate.

When it comes to Solomon, you know nothing is ever what it seems. You deflect his flirting and dodge his wandering hands with shaky resolve while you try to piece together the truth behind his intentions. It would be so easy to give into the temptation, to let him guide you down another new path in your relationship, but you don’t want to risk heartache later if your assumptions about his feelings for you are incorrect.

Solomon pushes his chair away from the table abruptly and it shakes you from your thoughts. He collects some of the books into his arms and he heads towards the towering wall of shelves behind you.

“I’ll put these away so you can take a short break before we begin today’s lesson,” he offers. He must be in a good mood because he’s humming cheerfully while he returns his books to their proper places.

You’re about to escape to the kitchen to make tea for both of you when he makes a questioning noise. As though he senses your curious gaze on his back, he says without turning around, “I left one of the books on the table. Would you be a dear and hand it to me?”

It’s the smallest book you were given to read after yesterday’s lesson, pushed out of the way early on once he was satisfied you had absorbed its contents. You reach for it but it seems to slide out from under your fingers and further away across the table. You frown and lean forward with your hand stretched out as far as you can manage. Your palm smacks against bare wood as the book slides away yet again.

In one last-ditch effort, you’re on the tips of your toes and nearly flat against the table; you grin triumphantly when you finally have the cover trapped under your fingertips. Your victory is short-lived when an unexpected weight brushes against your back. It causes you to jerk suddenly and the book slips from under your tentative hold. You groan in frustration when it falls over the other side of the table and flops onto the floor.

“I’ve wanted to bend you over my desk like this for days,” a low voice whispers into your ear. 

You’re stunned when you realize Solomon is standing behind you, leaning over you and resting his palms on the table so his arms cage your body in place. You can feel the heat of his body against your back, but he’s not quite touching you. It doesn't matter if he's touching you or not - you're still trapped beneath him.

“You were moving the book on purpose,” you mumble in embarrassment. Your mouth is dry and your cheeks burn when you realize the suggestive position you’re both in. You can’t turn to look at him without bumping against his chest so you hang your head in defeat instead.

It’s not the first time you’ve fallen for one of his tricks and it won't be the last.

One of Solomon’s hands strokes your hip and you try not to squirm. “It was an amusing game at first,” he admits and you know from his tone that he’s smiling. You feel his chest press against your back when he moves closer. His nose is in your hair, and you hear him breathe in deeply. His exhale is a sigh that tickles your ear. “But now that I have you like this, I’m not willing to let you go so easily.”

You try to ignore the hand that’s slowly making its way under your shirt. “Maybe we should talk about this first,” you suggest, but your voice is shaking and your protest sounds weak.

Solomon tuts disapprovingly like your suggestion is barely worth responding to. His fingers make their way across your waist and follow the slope of your belly, squeezing the soft folds of skin with the tiniest bit of pressure that sets your nerves ablaze.

Every time you start to doubt why he’s attracted to you, he distracts you - with murmured desires in your ear, his fingers searching for the places on your body that are most sensitive - and you know he’s doing it on purpose to prove his point.

He continues exploring your chest, rubbing over the pact marks etched into your skin like his touch can erase them. He doesn’t care that his body is littered with the evidence of his own pacts, but jealousy makes his blood boil when he thinks about others having a claim over you. Mine, he thinks when he gives into the temptation to grind against you, letting you feel your effect on him, the way his feelings for you rob him of nearly all self-control.

“Solomon, please—” you plead desperately; whether you want him to keep going or to stop is impossible to say at this point. You’re drowning in the heat of his body so close to yours, the frustration you can feel radiating from him in waves, the possessive hold he has on you.

“You’re mine,” he seethes between gritted teeth, crushing your body to his as he continues to move against you. His hands are exploring freely now, fingers digging into your skin hard enough to bruise, kneading your soft flesh in apology after. He nips at your throat and drags his teeth against your shoulder. He bites down harder than he intends when he hears the first soft, breathy whimper escape you.

When you finally start to move, pushing your hips back against his, it rips a guttural moan from him and snaps the last tethers of his restraint. There’s a hand fisted in your hair and he pulls your mouth towards his. It’s less of a kiss and more of a heated exchange of needy, panting breaths as your quiet moans echo his own desperate sounds. He manages to draw your bottom lip into something resembling a kiss - the first kiss between you - and it gives you a moment of clarity.

“Not here,” you plead against his lips with the last bit of coherency you can muster. You’ve imagined what it might be like to finally give in to him, but you don’t want your first time together to be on an old, uncomfortable desk in his library. 

He seems to understand exactly what it is you want - like he always does -  because his body stutters to a halt and he presses a chaste kiss to the corner of your mouth. He moves back enough to turn you around in his arms, and the lustful haze that darkens your eyes makes him powerless to resist you. He pulls you against him and he feels your hands clench in the back of his shirt like you’re afraid he’ll disappear. He brushes his lips against yours, a silent promise that he’s never going to let you go.

“Next time,” he teases with a wicked grin before teleporting you both to his bedroom with an audible pop.

read more: solomon masterlist | obey me masterlist

[ofbreathandflame]

stans are actually very funny bc they often time talk themselves into the weirdest corners.

the whole point of criticizing acosf and its handling of nesta's character is to prove the point that sjm...doesn't like nesta as a character. that's is literally THE point - that sjm often abandons her moral themes (abuse, trauma, assault, etc.,) for character's deemed as undesirable or villainous to a capacity - and its through the handling of those 'vilified' (i.e. main character opposed - not even villianous) that we can gauge the extent to which sjm actually believes the ideals of her story. like - it is alarming that the only tolerable, empathetic parts of the a court of silver flames were the moments you could tell where ripped straight from sjm's own life (the hiking, training, mind-stilling etc.,). any actual characteristics about nesta weren't explored...like at all. her relationship with feyre and elain, with her mother, her trauma from her sexual assault, her conflicted relationship with her grandmother, her life before the cabin, her life during the cabin. in 800 pages - i still don't know mama archeron's name. what was life like in the cabin? what did nesta do all day? what was the dynamic? what was going on between elain and nesta?i don't know anything about her and nesta, we don't know anything about nesta's human life, her conversation with clare bedor, her relationship with clare beddor, moments with her dad - not even touching moments with him (and part of this story is her finding love for her dad). mind you we read 800+ pages and we learned absolutely nothing about her.

we essentially read sjm's emotional journey in one part, and a taming of the shrew narrative in another. i think the only way sjm had genuine interest in exploring nesta's story is through essentially self-inserting herself and avoiding the actual plot-points she set up in the first three books. like did nesta have childhood friends? if losing the wealth so drastically affected her life wouldn't she reminisce about it a lot? would she yearn for her mother? who were her childhood friends, how did she function at court?

and the whole point of saying alll of that is to argue the misuse of these topics - serious discussions abuse are only reserved for certain situation, and others its completely undermined in a way that only reinforces the negative ideals to begin with. (i.e. nesta needs to abused bc..." "the intervention was harsh but" - pair that with discussion around what feyre needed in acomaf - and it makes much more sense).

nesta antis often jump between the fact that nesta is so favored that sjm nerfed feysand to 'redeem her' and arguing that sjm secretly does everything in her power to embarrass and secretly laugh at people who like nesta's character. (1) we've gotta pick one or the other (2) in my humble opinion - sjm would have always given feyre a pregnancy plot like this regardless of whether this was nesta's book or elain. its literally so sjm. im shocked people are surprised she pulled the pregnancy as she did.

as with the tamlin discussion we had under this post - i think the story undermines its discussion of abuse with feyre/tam by essentially insinuating that tamlin (when placed in the same victimized position as feyre) should have sucked it up and braved out his abuse with amarantha (and the same with rhysand as well - esp with the deliberate foil of rhysand's 'willingness' v. tamlin's unwillingness). and when we start to have a real conversation ultilizing our own irl analysis and standards we really see how harmful and rather sisyphean the conversation becomes. instead of engaging with these topics earnestly, they only engage in them to prove a point - which is how the issue began in the first place. the whole issue with rhysand isn't the fact that he engages with harmful, potentially villainous positions. no - its that the book wants to prove that tamlin is wrong by justifying rhysand's actions. so even though rhysand and tamlin almost always have the same written and expressed intentions in their abuse of feyre, the book flocks to justify one, and eschews the other. and thats why we get so much reactionary critcism of rhys that is surface: people only admit the problems because they know antis will, not because they actually believe their are issues in the story.

and perhaps im still speaking into a void here but i can tell there's tension between pro stans wanting to have these serious conversations but understanding they can only really introspect so far until the conversation begin to prod at the validity of the topics being brought forth. so stans have to jump between invalidating the romantasy genre ("its just faeries") and treating this book as a serious topic (cue: "sjm put a hotline in the back of the book"). this is also the exact reason why the racism conversations stall (i.e. why inherent superiority is always passively emphasized - despite cc1 + 2 centering human oppresion there is no human in the ensemble cast. despite the fact that illyrian women are the most oppressed - rhys has no illyrian women - or reg illyrians (not his brothers) in his inner circle. aelin 'sacrificing' her human body).

[mrinafria]

[contains spoilers]

I'm an eternal digger of good narrative techniques. A decent story becomes great in my eyes if the narrative is done right. And it's one of the hardest things to do really, since there's no one-size-fits-all rule for what technique works well with a particular story and what doesn't. One of the primary reasons I keep obsessing over Lovely Runner is its' narrative technique. In all honesty, if it had a linear, singular narrative, I would not be hyperventilating over it on a constant basis (I still would just a certain amount, because both Byeon Woo Seok and Kim Hye Yoon deserve awards for what they are doing). One reason it has managed to knock it out off the park and take the top spot in my forever-favorite list is how wonderfully well the narrative is done.

The primary perspective used in this show is Im Sol's. It's through her we're introduced to the story. Her perspective gives shape to the plot, the characters, because we learn things through her. Her perspective is absolutely critical for exposition. Without her thoughts and way of viewing things, you would never realize why saving Seon Jae means so much to her, or why she would bend the rules and bulldoze ahead when it comes to his safety (exhibit A, her leaving home on the day of the accident, despite knowing about her fate). She'd rather have him alive than have him in her life. Without her narrative, you'd think it's really all about a fan saving her idol (thanks to everyone who'd rejected the script listening to that pitch by the way, I'm grateful we have BWS and KHY as the leads because of that, I would not change it for anyone else). With Im Sol's perspective, you realize, she is not just a fan: she's an ardent admirer, a cheerleader, a well-wisher, a protector, an invisible friend trying to support her friend any way she can, someone who respects Seon Jae, sees him as an idol but also as a human, someone who wants to give back to him the same kindness, empathy and love she had once received from him over a radio call. To her, Seon Jae is first a guardian angel and then an idol, the angel who changed her view of life, made her appreciate things even amidst all that could be wrong with the world and her life. He saved her. Not just on that day at the hospital but every time she struggled and faltered since then, he was there, as invisible as it may have been. So this time, she wants to save him, no matter the price.

Then comes Seon Jae. Oof. If Im Sol's perspective gives the story its beautiful, beautiful shape, Seon Jae's perspective breathes literal life in to the body of the story. The show wouldn't be what it is today if not for his perspective. Without his view into things, Im Sol appears as a fangirl going to extreme measures to save her idol, clinging onto him like a monkey (yes I mean the poster) embarrassing the heck out of herself, making you cringe (in a good, enjoyable way) throughout. Then you reach the end of episode 2 and it knocks the breath out of you because WHAT DO YOU EVEN MEAN. It all clicks.

All this while we kept thinking Seon Jae was caught off guard and just kind enough to tolerate her antics, and maybe he'd slowly fall for her now, only to realize we were completely oblivious to a whole different side of the story. If Im Sol's narrative draws you in and keeps you hooked, making you root for her to succeed, it's Seon Jae's narrative that makes you irredeemably fall in love with them and sincerely, genuinely, desperately hope they get their happy ending together after all the storm.

And the motifs. Walking/running, for instance. I'll focus on just one scene here. I recall seeing a bts where KHY is discussing the OG 2008 accident scene, and it explains how she has to slow down, while running away, for just a moment, only to be hit by the taxi driver. Have you ever been in a situation of absolute panic, desperation and stress, then suddenly found a familiar face or a name or a thing you could connect to, and felt a wave of relief rush through you? She sees Seon Jae, a person who is calling out her name. Even if she didn't know him back then, the fact that he knew her (and that he had his uniform on), gives her a sense of safety she badly needed that moment. That momentary relief, so visible in her features, then overtakes the crippling fear she felt running in the middle of nowhere with no one in sight in the dead of the night. Her body, already exhausted beyond anything, responds to the relief she feels for those few seconds, slowing down her steps.

And that is when she is caught off-guard and hit. That also might have added to Im Sol's anger at the hospital when she is screaming at Seon Jae, her internal anguish that if only she had not paused seeing Seon Jae, and kept on running, then maybe she wouldn't be hit, wouldn't fall, wouldn't lose her ability to walk. It's one thing to have tropes and symbolic things, but it's a very different thing to know how to use them effectively so they elicit very specific types of emotions/reactions out of people. Lovely Runner excels in that. All kdramas more or less have 'things' that take on different meanings for the couples/viewers. It's the way motifs are used to narrate the story in this one that has me going back over and over again to all the episodes aired so far. These are not just their 'things', these are 'things' that drive the plot forward, tell you about their characters, their personal motivations, what they mean to each other and so much more.

This is getting longer that I intended it to be so will end with this. I feel valued when watching Lovely Runner. And I've seen people saying the same thing. It feels like they respect your critical thinking skills, and your ability to infer, so they don't spoon-feed you everything from the get-go, and you can't predict much despite it being primarily a rom-com. You'd be pulling your hair out (again, in a good way) trying to figure out what they will show next, and you will be somewhat or very far from the truth, which will compel you to think further about the story, the characters, long after an episode has aired...I can't remember the last time it happened with a drama. I love this storytelling.

[thowawayuntilfurthernotice]

No, I have no interest in watching the remainder of Helluva Boss season two.

I can tolerate a bad adult cartoon, trust me, I've sat through plenty of godawful shows. But Helluva Boss is one of those rare shows that genuinely keeps finding new ways to piss me off.

It'd be one thing if the show was flawed but had some positive aspects to balance out those flaws, but it just doesn't.

Yeah, the animation is pretty, but so what? That doesn't change the fact that the writing is awful beyond belief.

And look, I'm not one of those guys who's all like "Ugh, this sucks. I could do better" because I understand that getting any project off the ground isn't a simple thing to achieve. It's a miracle that half the projects that get green lit see the light of day.

So no, I'm not "jealous" of Viv, I just think this show is terrible.

The fact that the entire narrative now revolves around Stolas is baffling. I get that shows evolve overtime, but having everything revolve around Stolas and his relationship with Blitzo kind of makes me wonder why Viv even bothered with the assassins for hire pitch.

But then again, Viv is constantly giving up on her main story premises in favor of ship teasing and fan service.

Remember when Hazbin Hotel was supposed to be about a hotel that sinners would go to to get redeemed? Because Viv doesn't!

Furthermore, unlike Hazbin Hotel, I don't think Helluva Boss' narrative could be salvaged by other writers. As we're two seasons in and the Stolas narrative doesn't leave much room for of an endgame.

All the villains are so cartoonishly evil and one note that it's tough to see any of them as a threat. There is never a point where you truly believe that Stolas and Blitzo won't end up together by the end and the series doesn't seem to be building up towards anything.

Oh, and for any Viv fan who's going to respond with the "Don't like it don't watch" argument in the comments and reblogs, I just want to say that you should apply that argument to all the shows and movies that you dislike.

It's easy to use that argument when it comes to defending shows you like from criticism, but we all know you don't do the same for the stuff you hate.

[lavoixhumaine]

for people citing Athena’s excitement in the episode where she is super excited about the cruise with Bobby while FaceTiming with her mom…have we been watching the same show? i am seriously curious.

it’s no secret that Beatrice Carter disapproved of Athena’s choice to marry Bobby. this is well documented and it’s canon as fuck. and that’s just Bobby existing. like the man probably cannot even breathe right in her presence. maybe she’s less vicious with him now but that doesn’t mean she’s fully approved of him. and Athena knows this because she knows her mom and how she operates. she might tolerate the big strong fireman now but that does not mean she likes him.

it is a fragile peace, of sorts.

so is it any surprise that Athena would do everything possible to make sure her mother doesn’t find some other reason to dislike Bobby? like, say, picking the wrong honeymoon for her daughter? it seems silly to hold that against the guy but with a mom like that…would a loving wife risk it?

is it really so hard to imagine that Athena would hide her genuine fears about going on a cruise ship with Bobby from Beatrice? that she would make sure Beatrice does not find yet another thing to disapprove of when it comes to Bobby? and is it so hard to imagine that Athena would hide her childhood fears from an overly critical parent?

do i think the Poseidon Adventure issue was already in place before season 7 was plotted out? no, not really. but does it work for me? so far, yes. i can buy Athena faking her enthusiasm and lack of fear from her parents. she doesn’t want to hear it from her mom and she doesn’t want to worry her dad. and she will shield Bobby from that mess as much as she can. as for May? i can’t imagine a mom like Athena would easily let her daughter know about this particular phobia. you never want to show your kids fear, or some shit like that people believe.

so…yeah. that’s my mish mash mashed potato brain thought of the hour. this isn’t a ted talk. kthxbyeee!

[rachelsfav-queer]

I can’t sleep because my nose is all plugged up and also I slept in late this morning sooooo…

Late night Wenclair thoughts? I may smooth these out into a proper fic sometime so please don’t steal any of this! Thank you!

Below the cut just cause there’s a lot lol. All sfw stuff here, don’t worry

So, I just saw this post from @barblaz-arts with some of their sketches (sorry, I couldn’t find any pronouns on your blog and didn’t want to assume anything) and one of them was a “get-along shirt” shirt. So that made me think of Enid making a two person sweater for her and Wednesday to wear and Wednesday “begrudgingly” wearing it all the time lol. So she just constantly is trying to indirectly get Enid to ask her to wear it, cause she doesn’t want to admit that she actually loves wearing it cause of how close it allows her to be to Enid. Enid of course knows that Wednesday loves wearing it and why, but lets the seer think she’s being sneaky. (Thanks for the inspo barblaz, lol)

NEXT THOUGHT!

What about Wenclair’s first time sleeping in the same bed? Like, I imagine it’s probably a bit awkward and stiff for them. But I think that it’s actually Wednesday who breaks the tension by randomly blurting out something like “I want you to hold me… please” and like, she’s blushing, thinking she’s just ruined it all but Enid just smiles rolls over, opening her arms out to invite her to cuddle close. Ugh, can you imagine Wednesday slowly curling up against Enid as she becomes more comfortable in her gentle embrace?? 🥺🥺🥺

NEXT THOUGHT!

So, y’all remember that scene where after just barely meeting Enid, Wednesday opens up about her traumatic experience as a child that literally shaped who she currently is as a person, a characterization that so many people have criticized endlessly because they didn’t actually pay attention to this scene that explained explicitly why Wednesday acts the way she does and that it’s not just “teenage whiny ‘I hate my parents’ type angsty” stuff but actually an interesting and new take on these classic characters because these characters have been around for decades and it’s hard to come up with new stories while also keeping the characters the exact same…….

Sorry, I ranted again… sorry.

Anyway, y’all remember that scene, right? Well, I absolutely love it and what it implies for Wenclair. Because it shows how Enid is the only person who Wednesday shows true vulnerability to. Not even T*ler or X*vier with the infuriating love triangle they had. She comes close to it with Eugene and Pugsley, but only with Enid do we see that raw vulnerability. And I really like that.

So, to the actual point, I think that Wednesday actually has a lot of that throughout their relationship journey or whatever you wanna call it lol. Wednesday opens up to Enid and Enid only about she struggles with certain things and how she is truly afraid that her issues will end up pushing Enid away again, and for good this time. And Enid actually talks Wednesday through all this seriously. She tells her that yes, her behavior needs to be adjusted to no longer be toxic, but also assures her that she’s going to be there for her. She won’t tolerate genuine toxicity, but she will be understanding and patient with mistakes. Because that’s what Wednesday really needs and we see that in the show actually. Enid is the perfect deuteragonist to Wednesday because she holds her accountable in a way nobody else does in the show. She doesn’t dance around anything, calling Wednesday out for her sometimes toxic behavior but doing it in a compassionate way.

ITS BECAUSE SHE UNDERSTANDS WEDNESDAY IN A WAY NOBODY ELSE DOES EXCEPT HER FAMILY!!!! BECAUSE WEDNESDAY OPENED UP TO HER ALONE ABOUT HER PAST TRAUMA!!!!!!! they’re so fucking canon it’s not even funny

Anyway, this is all just for the point of Wednesday opening up to Enid, late at night, when neither of them can sleep. Wednesday because she needs to get these things off her chest and Enid because her girlfriend is struggling and she wants to be there for her in any way she can. Gods, I love them so muchhhhhh!!!!!!

NEXT THOUGHT!

On the thought of Wenclair being awake late at night, I believe with every bit of my being that whether you think “Wednesday is the top” or “Enid is the top” either way, Wednesday will either be little spoon or will be curled up against Enid’s side with Enid’s arms around her. Whatever way they’re cuddling, Enid is in someway holding Wednesday close. This right here goes hand in hand with my next thought, which is that Wednesday is very clearly autistic-coded and it’s almost painfully obvious lol. So, this means that Wednesday really likes the pressure of being held tight. She likes weighted blankets but not nearly as much as she likes being squeezed by Enid. That is all lol.

NEXT THOUGHT!

Autistic Wednesday and AuDHD Enid supporting each other’s neurodivergence wholeheartedly. Enid is always carrying around noise-canceling earbuds and headphones for Wednesday. The earbuds are for when Wednesday just needs basic protection from background noise, which is most times and the headphones are for situations when she needs something more heavy duty. So, when Wednesday’s getting overstimulated by the world and people around her. And with Enid’s touch being the only touch that Wednesday accepts without any sort of discomfort (yes I know that Gomez and Pugsley make contact with her too, but she looks slightly uncomfortable with it when they do it, compared to whenever Enid touches her, she doesn’t even seem fazed, not even when she’s a bit more excited and isn’t touching very lightly. There’s a clear difference) I think that Enid has a sort of “escape plan” where Enid will pull Wednesday away from situations where she’s uncomfortable. She’s always gentle, yet firm. Firm both for Wednesday’s sake because she needs the grounding but also to show anyone around to STAY BACK! Mmm, Enid being instinctually protective over Wednesday when she’s overwhelmed. Along with all that, Enid is basically a personal guard dog for Wednesday, keeping a clear distance limit for anyone around them, to ensure nobody bumps into Wednesday or touches her.

On the other hand, I think that Enid probably has texture issues with foods. So, Wednesday will act as a kind of “taste tester” but for textures whenever they come across new foods that Enid may want to try. Basically, Wednesday checks first to see if certain foods will trigger Enid’s texture issues or if they’re safe for her to try. Wednesday knows by heart what textures bother Enid and so is distinctly capable of handling this task and does it happily. And for Enid’s ADHD, Wednesday doesn’t particularly understand Enid’s struggles but is by far the single most supportive and understanding person to Enid’s symptoms. Whether it’s Time Blindness or Executive Dysfunction or whatever issues she’s dealing with, Wednesday either acts as an assistant to help Enid work through it, or if she’s unable to for whatever reason, Wednesday doesn’t let Enid for even a single moment feel guilty about it, reassuring her entirely.

Basically, they’re each other’s best support and they work together to help each other!

NEXT THOUGHT!

I HC Wednesday being into like, heavy rock/metal music. More specifically, I think she loves Ghost (definitely introduced to them by Yoko, same goes for all the other rock music she listens to) and so I think that Wednesday and Enid actually influence each other’s music tastes, so Enid’s listening to some of Wednesday’s rock playlists and Wednesday’s listening to Enid’s kpop playlists. At first, both do it simply are interested in being involved in each other’s interests. But, they both find themselves relating to the music they’re listening to and actually loving it just as much as the other does.

All of this is to say,,,,,,, Wenclair going to a Ghost ritual wearing the merch and Wenclair going to a kpop show (sorry I don’t listen to kpop so I don’t know any bands) wearing the merch.

Please someone draw either or both of these I am begging on my hands and knees please please please pleaseeeeeeeeee

Whew, OKAYYYY!!! I think that’s all I got lol. It’s almost 2 in the morning and I still don’t feel even slightly tired… this is painful lol

I hope y’all enjoy my sleep-deprived brainrotted wenclair thoughts lol. Feel free to share your thoughts on any of these either in the reblogs, replies, or my askbox! I’d love to know that I’m not alone in these thoughts and I’m not just losing my mind…… pls

[audiblehush]

I know this isn’t really relevant to the recent promo we’ve gotten (which I’m still swooning over, for the record), but I’ve been thinking about how some people in this fandom have been fussing over Pen having a potential suitor (or suitorS, we don’t really know) this season, and I don’t understand their complaints, I guess?

… like, I’m pretty sure that it’s meant to MIRROR Season 1.

(…see what I did there? ;)

There are multiple ways in which Colin and Penelope’s stories / situations have mirrored the other. They are not perfect mirrors (that would be dull), but they ARE similar and I truly believe that it’s intentional to reinforce both Polin’s compatibility and ultimately their empathy for the other.

A few examples:

—

Colin: is viewed as the “one-dimensional” easy-going, un-serious, charming brother who never rocks the boat; never gets angry.

Pen: is viewed as a shy, quiet, harmless wallflower who never steps out of line and is kind of a doormat.

—

As a result of the above perceptions:

Colin: is desperate for something to fill his time and energy the way his brothers have something, SO he impulsively courts and proposes marriage to a girl he barely knows to feel needed and wanted in a way that makes him feel mature; and he gets the validation he seeks from Marina, as it suits her needs (I don’t mean that in a derogatory way, she genuinely needed him to be desperate for validation to get a quick marriage). A heady feeling, someone relying on you and telling you that you are desperately needed…

Penelope: is desperate to feel a part of the ton in any way she can, because her and her family are tolerated at best, and heavily criticized at worst. So rather than suffering through the season, crushed, and always on the sidelines against her will, after choosing to start LW —perhaps on a whim, perhaps it was discovered and encouraged by chance like in the books— she “chooses” to hug the wall and not be noticed… (not at all a coping mechanism and a fear of rejection, amirite??) …and she eventually gets the acceptance and validation she seeks by having the ton hang off her every word as LW…. Again, a heady thing for a lonely 17-18 year old who wants to be heard and who craves acceptance, however she can get it.

—

Penelope: has to watch the man she’s in love with, one of the few people who listens to her and who she shows aspects of her true, (sometimes cutting self) with, court and eventually propose to a girl she knows is actively manipulating him.

She then (quickly, imperfectly and messily) interferes to spare Colin from the plot… without his input (after a failed first attempt to appeal to him, in her defense… and then the time limit became a problem).

Colin: quickly and imperfectly interferes in Jack’s ruby scheme in order to fix his own rashness, but also to spare the Featherington family… (without their input, it must be noted, even though he says he does it for them).

…And now in season 3, Colin will need to watch as Pen attempts to attract suitors, possibly while he watches with feelings of jealously if she has some success (Edit: Though I doubt it will get all the way to an engagement; too redundant)

(And this is nothing but speculation, but I also wouldn’t be surprised if Colin either discovers something about one of the suitors, or about another plot entirely and is forced to make a difficult decision regarding it, that impacts Penelope).

—

Penelope: writes things that can have a negative impact on or hurt people, sometimes for her own own comfort (LW), even if it’s not intentional.

Colin: says and does things that hurt others or that are misleading / obliviously harmful, sometimes for his own comfort (avoiding the needling of those men at the end of S2), even if it’s not intentional.

—

Penelope: has self esteem that has been in the TRASH since the beginning of the series - this poor girl hates herself, and has had it reinforced often (and likely from a young age) that her thoughts and opinions aren’t worth hearing, and that she is never enough (and is one of a few reasons why I find the “she wanted Colin for herself!” takes about the end of S1 pretty laughable)… so she hides behind LW. Colin is one of the only people she’s hinted to that she can be biting (Eloise gets glimpses of it), and I think the ONLY one she has hinted at that she has “grand dreams”

Colin: ALSO has self esteem that is pretty low, desperately seeking something that he thinks will make him feel whole and complete, the forgotten middle child (same, bro…), and he masks this uncertainty by flaunting a fake confidence and hiding behind his hobbies and being what everyone wants him to be… also he he can keep people from looking deeper… while simultaneously desperate to be seen by those around him. Pen is the only person he’s really hinted at that he’s unhappy when they discuss purpose.

—

EDIT: How could I forget?! BOTH are the third children in their family. Colin is the forgotten middle child, and Pen is the youngest, but both are criticized by their acting heads of their household (Anthony for Colin, Portia for Penelope), and criticized by their siblings. Penelope’s sisters brutally mock her often: her weight, her skin, her letter-writing, etc. Colin’s siblings clearly mean to just tease him, but it’s obvious how much their lack of interest in him as a person hurts him and makes him feel invisible and unwanted (my poor boy 🥺…)

—

Mirrors, mirrors, and more mirrors. Sometimes they are funhouse mirrors, the situations aren’t ever exact, there are nuances and specific context to each, but imo the similarities are very intentional.

The show is going out of its way to put these characters on more equal footing, and to have each of them make blunders in their lives and in the lives of others, knocked off their respective pedestals, to set them up to be like “wow, I get it, I get YOU and I choose YOU, with all the highs and all the lows” … and I LOVE it!! 🥹

People in this fandom tend to relate to either Penelope, Colin, (or sometimes both), and that’s awesome… but that doesn’t mean they don’t each have flaws. It also doesn’t have to become a “who hurt who more, who is more right?” - I am so uninterested in that: pain isn’t a competition.

What I AM interested and invested in is their growth, seperetly and together, and the removal of their masks to truly see and accept the other.

So yeah, y’all. It’s called a parallel, and I really hope we get loads of them in S3. 🥰

I honestly really welcome conversation and thoughts about this; I’m pretty new to the fandom, but unfortunately I have seen a lot of people (on tumblr in particular) be very “holier than thou” if they don’t agree on an interpretation, and it makes the fandom seem very unwelcoming and makes me nervous to even post things, which is pretty ridiculous. :/

Fandom gonna fandom, I guess. 🤷‍♀️ I just really love this show and this pairing and I’m dying for S3.

[stephobrien]

Reminders for my fellow pro-Palestine peeps, because it sounds like some of y'all need this:

Being furious at Israel's government, army, settlers who are attacking Palestinian civilians and driving them out of their homes, and the protesters who are currently blocking aid to Gaza is absolutely legitimate. Taking it out on random Jewish people who are in no way complicit is bigoted, immoral, and counterproductive.

Israel =/= all Jewish people. Many Jewish people are actively speaking, protesting, campaigning, or otherwise acting against the current genocide, and have been protesting Israel's apartheid policies long before many of us became aware of them. There are also many Jewish people who are simply living their lives with no involvement in this conflict. Neither deserve to be lumped in with criminals who happen to be of the same heritage/religion.

Terrorizing innocent Jewish people will only make some of them more inclined to want a place where they don't have to deal with people like YOU, which is one of the ways Israel gets supporters. (The current Israeli government's treatment of Jewish dissidents, its history of propping up Hamas, and its insistence on antagonizing its neighbours make its claims of offering safety to Jews highly questionable, but that's a whole other topic.)

It's true that some people have used accusations of antisemitism to shut down legitimate criticism of behaviour that shouldn't be tolerated from ANYONE. It's also true that ACTUAL antisemitism is real and dangerous. Real antisemitism has been a problem for millennia, it's created serious generational and cultural trauma, and we shouldn't allow actual antisemites to use Israel's policies and the worst of its citizens as an excuse to harm innocent Jewish people.

There are genuinely antisemitic ways to voice legitimate criticism. If you criticize an objectively heinous action, while tying said action to the perpetrator's Jewishness or using it to invoke antisemitic stereotypes, you may be right to criticize the action, but you're still being antisemitic in the way you do it.

Jewish people are people whose lives and safety have value whether or not they advocate for Palestine. Don't treat their worth as human beings as if it's dependent on their advocacy.

There are probably more things that need to be said on this subject, but it's late at night and my brain's turning to fudge, so I'll leave it at this:

Call out crimes and lies, and advocate for Palestinian freedom and equality, but don't be a dickbag to innocent Jewish people about it. And if you see someone being actually antisemitic, call them out on it.

Also, if someone more knowledgeable than me would like to add any pointers on how to distinguish between Actual Antisemitism and Genocide Apologists Trying to Get Away With Crimes by Crying "Antisemitism," that would be great. I'm trying, but I know people who've lived on the receiving end of antisemitism understand it better than my goy ass can.

[awakenedsalamander]

Alright, so I’ve obviously given Mage and Vampire some attention. It’s about time I talk about Werewolf: The Apocalypse, you know, round out the “big three.”

Truth be told, I have kind of a love/hate relationship with Werewolf, though that kinda implies it’s an even split of things I enjoy and things I don’t, but that’s not quite correct.

A more accurate breakdown of my feelings would be something like:

- 60% stuff I really love and appreciate

- 20% stuff I go back and forth on

- 15% stuff I dislike but can tolerate (pretty standard for WoD)

- 5% stuff I really, truly, passionately loathe

And it’s honestly that last 5% that I struggle with most. To be clear, a lot of the WoD games have things in them I don’t just dislike, but find sincerely objectionable or harmful. (A certain Vampire sourcebook, the title of which I can’t even comfortably write out, immediately comes to mind.) But I get past those things, because 1) no work of art is morally flawless, and your tastes as a hobbyist or audience member are not your ethics as a human being and 2) a lot of that stuff is from the older editions and has largely been divorced from the game.

So what’s different about Werewolf?

Well, some of it lies in point 2— there are things in Werewolf that are bad and (barring the controversy of 5th Edition’s lore changes, which is a whole other kettle of fish that I’d rather not dive into right now) are still part of the game. Improved somewhat? Absolutely. But the ugliness of some choices still haunts the game.

The ways Werewolf: The Apocalypse talks about native peoples, from Indigenous Australians to First Nations Americans, is a big example. I don’t feel it prudent for me to go into those details, if only because I think it’s not my lane and voices from those cultures should really lead those discussions, but the game has a very weird attitude toward indigenous groups— at one recognizing their history and the atrocities they’ve come through with respect, while still finding ways to exoticize that history, and appropriate much of it. To say nothing of the ways in which it feels comfortable speaking over indigenous groups, even in matters of their rights.

That’s just one example. There’s the way Werewolf conceptualizes ethnicity and ancestry in general, which is weirdly archaic in places despite seemingly trying to criticize that view. There’s its approach to disability and bodies that differ from an assumed norm, which as many have observed can sometimes come across as genuinely eugenicist on occasion.

And of course, the game is about monsters— you’re not meant to agree with the Garou on much of their beliefs, and you’re meant to engage with those very real issues and wrestle with the right way forward.

And honestly? That last part— the reality of the issues at hand— that’s what makes the bad parts of Werewolf so hard to look past. You know, the other games in the World of Darkness deal with real world issues, but they do so in a fairly abstract way. Like, sure I can and do identity the Technocracy of Mage with destructive and cruel systems of power in the real world, but like… there isn’t actually a league of hypereconomists using secret math to influence the fate of the world. That’s just an exaggerated and metaphorical way to engage with the problems at the heart of a late-capitalist world.

But Pentex? Pentex is basically real. The Apocalypse in Werewolf: The Apocalypse is climate change. It’s happening now. When the game tells you that you need to Rage against the dying of Gaia… that’s almost as literal as it gets. And that makes its fumbles, its mistakes, and yes, its deliberate offenses, harder to swallow. The stakes are high enough that when things are wrong, it really hurts.

But… let’s also acknowledge: The reality I’m talking about it? It’s what makes that 60% stuff I like so amazing. The lows of Werewolf are hard to stomach, but the highs are just… exhilarating.

Like, Werewolf is a game that says, “You see the state of the world? You see its monstrous past? Its insidious present that only hides the horror? Do you see the doomed future its on a crash course with? Let’s take it, and let’s rip it to fucking shreds. It these tyrants and thieves want to kill the world, then we’ll kill them first, if that’s what it takes. If the Apocalypse happens, it happens on our terms, on the terms of the people being victimized and shoved to the margins. You and I? We’re gonna build a better world or die trying. All our anger might ruin us, but we have to try. The consequences of our actions are dire, but we don’t go down without making the bastards work for it. Not without a fight.”

And fuck, when the game is saying that? It’s priceless.

In fact, this has all been too down on Werewolf as a whole. I want to get my problems with the game out front, just to acknowledge them and keep space for the critique and change that they demand, but at the end of the day, I am a Werewolf: The Apocalypse fan (if one with a lot of notes). I want to do something a little unusual and show you an outline for an Apocalypse chronicle I haven’t yet had the chance to run, to show you what I love about the game.

So, stay tuned for a glimpse into that later— a glimpse into “Blood Ripples Out.”

[umbraticstickerz]

Content warning for talking about nsfw topics and mention of suibaiting

I use the term 'schizo' here as a shortening of 'schizophrenia' this is just for ease of writing as I'm mentally exaughsted. I do not condone people using the term 'schizo' if they're not schizophrenic.

Okay I'm far calmer now but I feel this needs to be stated because I genuinely can't believe so many are tolerating this behavior.

Minors SHOULD NOT be posting kink art, at all. Especially they shouldn't be showing it to other minors regardless of if the work is 'sfw'.

The fact I've seen several people tolerating a minor making inflation and weight gain content and calling those against it fatphobic genuinely disgusts me. A person is not fat phobic for criticizing a kid making kink content.

The excuse that it was just comfort stuff doesn't work either because not only were hastags for the kinks themselves used, but an art piece reposted on that account was actual genuine fat fetish artwork. Terms like Vore, and talking about wanting to make a vore piece were also mentioned. Vore is inherently a kink and exclusively a kink for being eaten alive. Kinks themselves can be coping mechanisms so trying to claim it is such doesn't change that it was kink content. Regardless you would've been actively putting yourself in harms way for creeps who did view it sexually to interact with you.

Lilith you, and your friends, actively were harassing Haz for criticizing(justifiably) vaguely what you were doing. I especially do not like how you actively tried to paint an anonymous person sending asks that can be literally anyone, hell can literally be you because you can send anon asks to yourself, as if the Anon was Haz with literally 0 proof. I'm genuinely pissed that you only apologized to me, which you did after I made it clear to you I DO NOT WANT an apology from you as I WOULD NOT forgive you. I especially won't forgive you after you attempted to suibaited me to attempt to guilt me into forgiving you. The timing of that post being MINUTES after I told you explicitly to leave me alone for like the 5th time and that I just calmed down from a panic attack makes me come to that conclusion that was what you were actively doing.

I could genuinely be misinterpreting but this is still how that came off.

I am schizophrenic, I'm public about this fact, you knew this fact. For those who don't know, Schizo is not just seeing things. Its a disorder that severe paranoia, delusions, etc. Stress induced episodes are possible.

Your actions already triggered my paranoia really badly. Especially after the suibaiting, Suicide is already a massive trigger for me.

I genuinely cannot believe some of you are supporting a person who actively already harassed one person and spread a blatant lie about them, that posting fetish content knowing it will be seen as such, but also actively was triggering a person's mental disorder ignoring the person's pleads to be left alone.

Also DO NOT blame Haz for me finding your kink account for fucks sake. Haz was not why or how I found it, I found it because YOU reblogged it onto your OWN MAIN BLOG. Stop blaming Haz for literally everything. Quit acting like you're some victim in this situation. And get my god damn name out of your mouth. I'm not speaking about this any further and will go back to regularly posting after this. I only made this because this seriously needs to be addressed and y'all need to quit condoning this behavior especially since I know at least some of you are my same age or close to it. Deer Ragdoll you are not exempt either which is why this is being posted on twitter too, I know you're still on your accounts just because you deleted your tumblr doesn't mean I don't know you have a Twitter and can't see that you're still retweeting things. You both need to be held accountable for this genuinely disgusting behavior.