#sorry if its a bit inconsistant btw

[tboom10]

i felt like drawing something with vibrant colours as did i feel like drawing humans, so i did both.

the humanizations (? is that the right word?) of gangle and zooble and pomni too /ref were made by SonaDrawzStuffYT. i dont think she has a Tumblr, so here's a link to her youtube channel:

(if she has a tumblr, let me know so i can credit her for the designs)

[cluescorner]

I cannot imagine being a Damian stan right now. You've got both Zdarsky's bullshit (where he clearly doesn't give a shit about your boy) and The Boy Wonder (where Juni Ba clearly gives so many shits about your boy) coming out on the same day. The whiplash must be insane. I hope y'all get some nice warm soup for your efforts jfc

[fiie]

♡ Jujutsu Kaisen: Phantom Parade Guide! ♡

Hello, im fie !! 🩷 welcome to my guide on how to download the jujutsu kaisen mobile game.

♡---♡---♡---♡---♡

* I have an android phone btw, so that's what this guide is written for :) I don't know much about apple devices. initially, i was planning to figure it out for both types of devices, but i dont currently have an apple device i can use to test things on (im sorry apple users ;-;)

-------------

-> Acquiring a VPN

Our first step is to download a vpn! Since phantom parade is currently exclusive to Japan, we need to use a vpn so we can gain access to the japanese google play store.

I personally always use expressvpn, but I understand not everyone is going to want to pay for a vpn, especially if this is all you're using it for. Fortunately, for what we are using a vpn for in this guide, a free one will work just fine :)

For the purpose of this guide I did a bit of research and found alot of people recommended ovpnspider for a free vpn. I downloaded and tested it myself and was able to get everything to work👍

Open up the google play store and download the app for ovpnspider or whichever vpn you've decided to use.

After it's downloaded, exit out of the play store and open up your new app.

Choose a location in japan and turn your vpn on

✅️ VPN acquired!

------------

-> Making a jp google play store account

Before we do anything else, open up your phone settings > apps > google play store > storage > clear data and cache.

Next, open the Google play store and let's make our jp account! You don't even have to sign out of your current account. Just click your account icon > then the drop down arrow > add new account > create a new account

✅️ 🎉 now we have a jp google play store account!!

------------------

-> download the phantom parade app!

Make sure you switch over to your newly made jp account. After doing so you should find yourself in the jp google playstore.

Next, simply search up jujutsu kaisen phantom parade. Even though we are in the jp store you should still be able to type it in English and find it.

Once its finished downloading open up the app....

🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉 aaaaaand we're in 😎

Tap to start!! It will probably prompt you to check off the terms and conditions and then ask for you to type in a name you wish to use for your in game account.

Next, it will ask to download the rest of the game resources. (this might take awhile)

Tip for navigation: the red button is usually the ok/next/confirm/accept button

✅️ Game installed and ready to play! yay~

--------------------

And that's pretty much it!

Keep in mind whenever you want to play phantom parade you will need to turn your vpn on and have it set to a japanese location otherwise you won't be able to get into the game and will run into a communication error (picture below)

-> * Communication Error

The game can be really picky at times. If you're having issues and keep getting the error message try restarting your phone, reconnecting to your vpn, and then opening the app again. I found when using ovpnspider that sometimes choosing a different japanese location would fix it too.

Update: Turning notifications for phantom parade off also seems to lessen the frequency of error messages.

-> Translation overlay

Having difficulty navigating the menus or understanding what's going on? Consider downloading a translation overlay app!

Using this will allow you to translate all the text on the screen with the press of a single button. Unfortunately, the translation isn't very good, but it's decent enough to gain a basic understanding of things.

Clicking the little floating A icon will translate whatever is currently on your screen.

Alot of the character names dont translate properly. lol it often translates yuji itadori to yuhito kojo. Same for one of the new game original characters, the translation says Saki Ryudo, but her name is actually Saki Rindo. The translation is also often really inconsistent with writing last/ first name vs first/last name so they flip around alot lol.

The app i often use for this is called bubble translate and can be found in the google play store.

-> Free SSR ticket

Just a small note, but after you finish the tutorial for the game you will be gifted with a ticket for an SSR character of your choice. When you first use it, it will pull a random SSR character. If it's not the character you wanted, don't worry you will be given the option to re roll or accept. Just keep re rolling until it pulls the character you want.

The SSR characters that can be pulled are:

Satoru Gojo

Yuji Itadori

Megumi Fushiguro

Nobara Kugisaki

Panda

Toge Inumaki

Maki Zenin

Kento Nanami

Aoi Todo

--------------------

And that's everything! I hope you have fun with the game and good luck with your gacha pulls! I hope you all get your faves!!

I might make a more in depth guide on how to actually play the game detailing the gameplay and the different characters/abilities/events/ect. if enough ppl are interested (???)

If you have any questions feel free to send me a message via ask or dm and I'll do my best to respond. 🩷🩷🩷

♡---♡---♡---♡---♡

-> Extra

My friend convinced me to add the shitty rundown of the main menu I made for her to this guide💀 so here

customize home screen: pick who u want on the home screen/ change background/ ect.

Characters + equips: where you can look through all your characters and equips as well as upgrade them and setup your party.

Gallery: rewatch cutscenes from the main story, events, and extra unlocked scenes

Home: the screen we are currently on.

Gacha hell: gacha hell. (where u roll for new characters and equips. There are 2 forms of currency paid & free. Some banners can only be pulled on with paid)

Character profiles/ranks: everytime you upgrade, level up, use a character they get points. idk think of it like your friendship level with them maybe ?? You get rewards from getting characters ranks up.

Quests/missions: where you go to actually play the game. Main story, events, expeditions, ect

Event popup: shows the limited events currently taking place & how many days are left (in this picture theres 4 days left for the even displayed)

Mail: in game mail where the devs sometimes send us nice things

Tasks: ongoing tasks like dailies and stuff that you complete by playing and get rewards from

Footprints icon/ I didn't know what to label this but they are dudes that gather materials for you: ap, money, character and equips level up mats. They are always gathering stuff for you so even if you haven't played the game for a bit they'll have stuff for you.

Exchange shop: bunch of different shops to exchange materials/items/ect

More options: has settings/inventory/friend list/ user profile and more

Okay, done for real this time! Byeeee and thanks for reading my guide!! I hope it wasn't that bad and i was able to help :,)

[marabout2772]

⚠️ TW BLOOD ⚠️

If I had a nickel for every fanarts I've done for one of @mitsukkai 's fic, I would have two nickels, which isn't a lot, but it's strange it happened twice 👀

The fic is called thy art, its hankisa, and IT'S SO FUCKING COOL ! GO READ IT EVERYONE !!!

(But please read the tags before ! Heavy description of murder, blood and gore !)

Literally the second I finished reading it, I had this urge to draw it ! I dunno what's with your writing mitsukkai, but it make me want to CREATE

Also I tried another style of shading/lighting, so its a bit inconsistent, sorry about that !

Likes are cool, reblogs are cooler btw !

[emerxshiu]

rat brainrot going hard

sorry for not posting this week, i was cooking some stuff but this drawing took almost the entire week to do, worst part, it was a shitpost

i still dont know why this took me so much

so uh, almost all my drawings this week have been related to this two(and lis) so much so that i struggled because i wanted to draw other things so i would just stare at a blank sheet of paper for over half an hour, god that was torture, tho i dont mind drawing the sillies, sometimes it gets a bit boring drawing the same over and over y'know? im also going to take this as an opportunity to ramble about my forgo gijinka, because surprisingly i hadnt done that yet.

og image

ok now to actually talk about the wet rat

ive tried doing a gijinka of em since i joined the fandom (my first gijinka was fecto elfilis (well not really they were fnaf, but i mean when i got into kirby and when i started using the term gijinka))

but most of the time it just looked like elfilin but like...evil, with a different ear and a hospital gown, thats it, so i barely drew them since i didnt like that, but on february, i actually sketched an idea that i liked, and thought it looked cute but a bit off (i mean off in a good way)

(yes im posting this image again because i think its the best drawing of my forgo (im very inconsistent with my style ok))

they have their eyes closed most of time, like in game, i considered giving them legs but i ended up with the tail, since i didnt want to end up with like a fourth evil elfilin, the arms are like that so i can have em be small and weird like in the actual game, but i also made it so they can like change it, that way i can make em have hands and stuff if necessary (like to hold that frying pan for example)

not sure if a lot of you notice it but um, bro has no neck, i took away his neck privileges, i did it just to see but i ended up falling in love with that and stuck around, and also that allows me to draw them bending their head like in the drawing above because their neck isnt necking and i like that, i like being able to draw characters doing stuff that shouldnt be anatomically possible or is abnormal (i did something a bit similar with void) thair clothes are rugged because well forgotten land you know what i mean, but in general theyre actually pretty simple

i also did the drawing in digital

i tried doing very sketchy lineart, i tried a new brush in this one and thats the one im using for my last drawings (not sure if anyone noticed the brush change) it was pain painting it because i did it all with the brush in the same size, not changing it, god did my hands hurt and it was a bad idea

i accidentaly downloaded the following 3 drawings twice lol

sleepy zzzz

i think they would wear something like this to sleep, i dunno i just wanted to draw em in something cute, and sleepy, with elfilin slippers (the mug also has elfilin btw) oh and also i like changing their hair, here one of their long bangs is tied into a bow, kinda like callie from splatoon, i have some drawing im probably wont post, one more of forgo wich looks very much like the upper one but like eyes closed, and one of fecto elfilis gyaru because my sister asked me to draw them like that, bad thing is i didnt look up references on gyaru since i couldnt use my phone at the moment, i did like the hair i did for them in that one tho, they have their bangs tied up in a bun, and then left the rest loose, making it look longer than it actually is. i might redraw it, but actually looking up gyaru so i can make something more accurate, i like the style, but im not too informed on it

elfilin being silly like a kitty :p

not much more to say on this, just sillines :3

there is totally not a cropped drawing there

based on the kirby manga, where they make it so elfilis sings really bad, at first i didnt like it that much since i had imagined they'd sign great, but after i while i started to find it a bit cute so now its a headcanon, they like to sing but suck at it.

writing this just made me remember i wanted to do another drawing too for this with kirby and them singing, but i forgot to do it, im kinda tired (and its late) ill probably draw it, but for next post or another one

tried drawing fecto forgo as a plushie, silly.

i wanna learn how to sew so i can make plushies of characters (like prince fluf!) but im way too lazy, i will get around it some day! (hopefully)

elfilin too as a plush

i also wanna learn to sculpt, i tried doing a clay kirby once, but one his feet broke in half, and one day my mom put it in a box, and his eyes fell off and stuck to the box :(

i really wanna do figures for characters i like or dont have enough merch or my ocs (prince fluff, flamberge, fecto elfilis)

but as i said, im way too lazy and unmotivated, though its be nice, one day, maybe one day if i stop procrastinating

it doesnt have the same ring to it as "feto rata mojada alien" wich is how my sister and i call them (she doesnt know that much about kirby, but i sometimes show her my drawings (reluctantly sometimes, but im the older so like >:) she has too if she wants to show me her stuff too))

silly rat and wet rat, thats how i call em (because wet rat alien fetus is too long sometimes)

you can tell the brainrot was too strong (were near done(kinda))

they gain a mouth whenever i fell like it very much

artblock hit, and all the rest of pages i stared at them for 30 minutes

it felt weird looking at my fecto elfilis with the eyes so big, it looked off (in a weird way)

dunno, tried drawing them in a different pose i i dunno really

i think these are from tuesday. i did more but those were oc (mostly splatoon) or other kirby character related, and i want this to be a rat post (might post those tommorow or another day maybe)

i dunno (x2), i tried drawing elfilin like elfilis, i really liked the hands here. i still struggle a bit with anatomy but i think this was quite good for my usual character just stading looking at the front or a quarter profile. im considering making this into a fully digital drawing, what do i say by considering im actually doing that fuck it, i just think it looks kinda cool

"This new creation, driven by pure chaos, was defeated by the bright light of Kirby's hope."

Chaos Elfilis reminds me of a moth. kirby's hope is a bright light.

you can see my thought process. i just thought itd be a bit cute and kinda silly and funny.

the kirby fandom wiki, said that chaos elfilis looked akin to a moth, and it just stuck with me, so i wanted my gijinka of them to be moth inspired, and thats when i saw just how cute moths are! i mean im still a bit scared of insects but at least now i kinda like em.

i feel like i need to say sorry to that one moth i desintegrated in a matter of seconds with a book because i thought it was an spider and didnt think (im so sorry little guy)

but ah yeah elfilis, moth, it made sense to me since chaos elfilis has the soul of morpho knight, who is a butterfly, and moths are kinda like butterflies too. and i thought itd be cute

so uh yeah i sometimes like making my chaos elfilis be a bit like a moth, that includes liking light, a lot, so uh kirby is like a lamp in here because i said so

now to talk about the desing since for some reason i hadnt earlier, as i said before, they are very moth inpired so uh im might say that word way too many times (im sorry i suck at explaining stuff)

their horns are thinner to resemble moth anntenae, and they curve just because i thought it look cool, and to differentiate it a bit from fecto elfilis. their bangs tie into a bun (i forgot to draw that but i dont wanna go and change it now, way too tiredv man and i still have to post this on other places) the bun looks a bit like an eye, because well, they are basically a soul boss, and moths have things in their wings that look like eyes, btw chaos elfilis doesnt have their wings here because i got lazy and i didnt want them to like cover most of the drawing. the things coming from their bun are like the trhee things theyve got in their head, theyre shaped like that to resemble insects legs a bit, fecto elfilis also had the 3 things (i dunno how to call em sorry) as their eyelashes, but chaos elfilis has just white eyelashes, because the bun already has the 3 things and because my morpho has white eyelashes so (i still havent done my morpho gijinka yet, i just know im gonna give the butterfly some white eyelashes cuz cute and pretty grimm reaper) the rest of the hair is shaped into like a ponytail but like, adn shaped, with whats left shaped like a lil moth

the waistband they have is a nod to morpho, they used to have a bow shaped just like the butterfly morpho appears as, but i took it out because i thought it crowded the design way too much, and also because it was too on the nose. the arms have those golden things because my fecto has it and because my og chaos elfilis gijinka had them so i wanted to bring it back, the hand fades into white because the red in the hand wasnt hard to distinguish so i came up with that to make it easier to see.

the red part of the pants are actually a bit fuzzy akin to a moth and the white part has those stripes to loke like insect stuff because y'know akin to a moth. the boots are like the red part in their legs their model in-game has, so i just made em tall boots, the high heels? originally it was platform just ike my fecto but then i wanted to draw them in high heels when i was slightly redoing chaos elfilis, and welp, i loved it and now theyve got high heels. those rings around the ankle are inspired by the ones leaongar has around their arm. also can you tell anatomy is not my strong suit? and that i dont draw high heels often?

i made a slight change in my kirby, making the sleeves be a different color, since the one he had before i felt was way too white, and i wanted to have more saturation in it

i also forgot but elfilin is supposed to wear that during forgotten land, and then i decided that after the anding of the main story he changes clothes, but i forgot about that while doing this so he has his pre-ending clothes (also because i still cant really decide on their second outfit for the post-game)

god im so tired i wanna talk and show more drawings but o shit im sweating why is it so hot in here

um thank you for reading all the unnecessary long rambles about why i do certain stuff in my gijinkas, i appreciate it a lot (im still sorry about writing walls upon walls of text but i just cant help it)

Jambuhbye! :D

[the-gayest-sky-kid]

Right back at you what are YOUR favourite Chuuya headcanons (and dazai)

okay so the way i draw skk is pretty inconsistent i think but...!!!!

I think its pretty apparent in most chuuyas i draw that i am a BIGGG freckle chuuya enjoyer. it's what he deserves. but also ive been picking up on dark circles/eyebags and such for him too. real and canon to the enlightened one. OH AND PIERCINGS ‼️

↑↑↑ i like doing em like this

and thennn... not really headcanon? but people are so used to anime chuuya so .... big brown eyed chuuya fan. big sienna haired chuuya fan. harukawa was right from the start... oh and i tend to floof up most characters hair when i draw them but really i do imagine his hair at least really wavy? i dont put much thought into hcs when i draw them so its not very consistent but if i made a definite guide itd be on there. wavy-curly hair

NOW AS FOR DAZAI‼️

i like giving him moles fhrhej typically i do one under his left eye and one by the right side of his mouth but occasionally I'll slip some extra in. i also like giving him eyebags... i don't think his sleep schedules the greatest. i think tend to make them darker for port mafia dazais and less obvious for ada dazai ? thats how it is in my head

...and i really like freckles okay shhhhhshshshshh but i do imagine them to be a lot fainter or non-existent when hes younger, being visible when he's older. getting more sun. but i do draw them as a lot lighter than or sparser than chuuyas, like here.

personally i think hes got dark brown hair, but a bit darker in the mafia because he doesn't take care of it often enough. had i actually been focusing on consistency id probably note like. flatter darker hair (oily) for the mafia & curly hair in the ada. curly haired dazai 🔛🔝...

NOW FOR HEADCANONS IN GENERAL (BUT SLIGHTLY MORE DAZAI IM SO SORRY HE IS ON MY MIND ALWAYS)

theyre both trans. both of them‼️ trust me. soukoku transmasc swag. their periods are synced. i think they'd use different products though tbh. dazai seems like a pads guy but i feel like chuuya would use menstrual cups mainly

chuuya should get a big splotchy birthmark. as a treat. im thinking on the side of one of his legs or smth. i think dazai should have a smaller one on his shoulder or smth.

chuuya likes his coffee black but will have something sweet with it. dazais coffee is more milk and sugar than anything

scars!!!!! on both of them!!!!!!! in particular i think corruption scars chuuya is cool + dazai having one from the scythe slash in fifteen. plus some stupid ones. dazai tripped over his shoes once and now hes got one on his knee. chuuyas got some barely noticable burn on his hand because he forgot to put on oven mitts once

dazai will twirl anything hes holding (pencils. his hair. someone elses hair) but chuuya will flip stuff (coins. pencils. his phone)

theyre both asexual. double black ace rings. if you even care

dazai needs glasses so bad his right eye is so fucked up guys. his headaches are probably the worst go take an ibuprofen dude tf.

dazai also canonically knows embroidery so i like to think its a genuine hobby

OH ALSO chuuya crochet hobby. crochet cant be done by machine. btw

[pinkandpurple360]

As much as I love Fizz, his character has been inconsistent. And until recently, hadn't thought about the negative aspects of his relationship with Asmodeus. I play devil's advocate with myself all the time and it's torture so sorry if this ramble goes on for too long; I'll do three main points (though it's stuff other people already point out so feel free not to answer if this is repetitive)

-At first it seems like their communication is actually pretty good, but in any relationship, ofc someone is gonna just wanna keep some stuff private. In Fizz's case, he has issues with perfectionism and rejection sensitivity (probably)- that apparently leads him to isolate an be a work-a-holic. While I appreciate Ozzie's way of voicing his concerns and comforting Fizz, it does suck knowing he was either forced to male the Fizz bots (or was making them before he met Fizz). Time line is a bit weird in my head but I assume Ozzie actually met Fizz maybe a couple years after Fizz started working for Mam? Unsure. Regardless, I understand Ozzie's protective nature, but it's overbearing and not the way you should be treating an adult.

-Fizz's insecurity and vulnerability is understandable. Maybe the confidence is a facade, but after ten years? I understand he may feel like a fraud or whatever but I do wish he had more confidence rather than constantly being Infantilized. There are other ways to show off Fizzarolli's more playful/childish side rather than just making him helpless. I mean hey, we see that childish nature come up with RoboFizz, except that version is the more malicious aspect. Just like with Millie, we could see fascination with "childish" things like amusement parks or whatever.

-His relationship with Blitzø. Tbh I think they could be platonic, romantic, or even a QPR (the hype is real), but goddamn it's just another issue of the narrative providing us with angst, which would be great if it were handled a bit more maturely. Personally, I think the shots of "who tops" and "could we make out" are kinda funny? But they're also unnecessary, and I can totally get why people wouldn't dig those jokes.

Looking into the dynamic more just makes me realize Fizz x Ozzie isn't "Stolitz but healthy," it's just another relationship with it's own problems and pitfalls (which is great for nuance) and there's still the unexplored (and unacknowledged) issue of the nuance of power dynamics in relationships

I may just be hopeful, but I really, really hope that the series explores more of the mature stuff as they get into the rest of season two, and begin season 3.

Sorry for this wall of text, holy cow

Everyone plays devils advocate at first don’t worry, its ok to not want to explore possible uncomfortable aspects of things we like and enjoy. For this ship it was hard for me too. But like you said, it’s about complex nuances and possible issues rather than just jumping to ‘toxic’ but the biggest thing for me? It was “I don’t like designing sex toys with your likeness for him-pretty sure you feel the same” Cmon Oz. You still did that. You still designed and built and shipped out these things, knowing Fizz is possibly uncomfortable, how did Mammon force you? Why are they conscious btw Oz…And if it is later written canonically that mammon forced him to do it, that’s a bit lazy. Every character makes mistakes after all.

Fizz hasn’t been too inconsistent up until this latest episode imo. Maybe we just didn’t know his full story. His cute side was hinted at back in Ozzies with that nuzzling. He was most definitely defanged in S2E7 though.

Miscommunication Issues…power dynamics..

“Well today I learned I hate going outside!”

“You won’t have to again.”

Look at that reaction…that’s not what he wanted to hear. :( that smile was put on. And now that Fizz quit his job, he really doesn’t have to go outside again except for Ozzies nightclub. I don’t know what’s next for him other than becoming Ozzies temporary spouse. The mortality/immortality dilemma is like the biggest elephant in the room right now for these two.

Fizz says that Oz is “someone who understands me”and many times he does, many times they communicate through eye contact alone, but a lot of times especially recently…he actually doesn’t understand Fizz. I love Asmodeus don’t get me wrong but let’s put the spotlight on him for a little bit. Nothing bad about examining some things.

And you’re completely right I mean…he calls him babe, baby, froggy, cutest little thing…and it feels like Fizz has to be very cute and submissive all the time saying ‘pwease’ for Oz to listen to him. This is likely Ozzies first real relationship and it being with someone so low on the hierarchy is making it a bit of a rough challenge for him.

Ozzies smiles are so cute they hurt 😔 Kronk energy sometimes with this guy.

There is some choices made to not communicate about stuff. Not because Ozzie is abusive, he is actually not, but because there are things they don’t talk about when they really should. And secrets between them. Even if they’re badly kept.

wice now it seemed like Ozzie side stepped Fizz’s worry and anxiety over the status of their relationship being exposed. And he says “I don’t care both times” it’s always “I” and this implies he used to care yknow? We’re just kinda lucky Fizz turned out to be ok with both of these decisions. Imagine if the crowd got angry at Fizz instead and accused him of being a gold digger (which was written in the magazine from Oops)

Fizz and Blitzos relationship is something Ozzie definitely doesn’t get. And to be fair it is the most complicated one in the show. Blitzø isn’t just ‘that guy fizz hates’ and he knows it. His former bestie lifelong enemy then recent hero sortve rekindled friend blitz is a mystery.

Idk if it (blitzfizz history, power dynamics of class) will be explored without Ozzie and Stolas’ feelings being shoved in there some way. Or striker saying stuff then just getting punched out of the way for asking too many questions. I wish they could have a break from them. And like you said, comparing relationships never really works cause everyone is different. I’m not sure where they’re going with this but I can’t help but hope the pairings don’t stay rigidly stagnant. Right now they feel forced and set in stone.

[whateven333]

Did you know L.J. Smith was fired from writing the Vampire Diaries books?? Do you think this relates to the show at all? It's oddly coincidental that she was planning to write more Bonnie and Damon content. She even said her publisher didn't like the direction which she was going with all the relationships, particularly that Damon had more than platonic feelings for both Bonnie & Elena.

Hi Anon !

Yes I have heard about the controversy surrounding The Vampire Diaries books and how the original author of the first couple books was fired to be replaced by a ghostwriter.

-I only learnt about this from a TVD analysis video I watched a while ago by a YouTuber called Jenny Nicholson, (the video is really good btw and I definitely recommend giving it a watch if you haven't already seen it !)

A very brief summary: L.J. Smith was hired by a company to write a book series and so she came up with TVD, at a certain point in the series the company didn't like the direction L.J Smith planned to take the books (I've heard this may have been due to her planning different endgame couples for the books compared to what the show was planning at the time and I've seen some conflicting ideas about which couples she intended exactly) so they fired and replaced her.

I've personally never read the TVD books, but from what I've heard L.J Smith did seem like she was a lot more open to exploring different romantic pairings in the books compared to how close-minded the writers of the TVD show were.

I think the TVD show writers definitely missed out by not including what seemed like Bonnie and Damons complicated feelings/ romantic connection for each other that the books seemed to be building, I think it would have been much more messy/ entertaining to watch rather than the Stefan-Elena-Damon triangle that they rehashed every 2-5 business days 😭

By deliberately leaving Bonnie out of so many storylines, the TVD show writers missed the opportunity for a much more dramatic/ engaging show overall.

Also, I'm sure it goes without saying but fuck the company that fired L.J Smith from writing for her own books that she came up with, fucked up and greedy smh

*Though apparently L.J.Smith continued to write for the series as unofficial "fanfiction" (I'm not sure where/ if its still available to access tho sorry) and in those fics Damon and Bonnie did date/ fall in love from what I've heard (and were maybe endgame too ?)

So I think that's everything I know about that situation lol, also I'm so sorry in advance in case of any inaccuracies about the situation, this is just what I've seen online but since this all happened a while ago there seems to be some debate/ inconsistencies regarding certain parts that were a bit confusing but this is what I've gathered from the situation in general, hope its okay.

Thank you for the ask ! 💖

Here's the link for the YouTube video I mentioned if you'd like to watch it :

[throneofsmut]

hi guys sorry for being soooo inconsistent but i promise to post soon !! im working on part 10 of “bound in flames” and im hoping to post it either friday night or saturday and its gonna be long but i just want to know which pov you guys would prefer for me to write the rest of the fic in bc even though its a Eris x Fem Reader fic sometimes i feel like it flows a bit better in first pov when im writing / reading but im not just writing / reading for myself im also writing for all of you so please let me know which pov you’d prefer part 10 to be in and for the rest of the fic !! btw thank you so much for being patient 😚

[kirchefuchs]

Yoo Ceres!! Since the last ask, I've been thinking more about your AU (or perhaps headcanon? idk) where The Narrator was given false memories of having created The Stanley Parable. Of course, as per usual, I went "well, s__t. time to f__k around and find out, I suppose" (/p)

(also is using swear words allowed in asks? genuine question btw)

SO! here are some questions that I carefully handpicked out of the chaos that is my brain <3

(also!! u don't have to answer all of them, okay? just label the questions u answered through their assigned letters. you can choose questions to answer so dw :D)

a) Not sure if this was answered already, but who gave The Narrator all those fake memories?

- Did they just appear one day?

- Did he accidentally give the memories to himself?

- Did the actual Developers decide to give it to him for the Ultra Deluxe revamp?

- Does this have anything to do with Stanley? Perhaps the Timekeeper?

b) What's the Timekeeper's main role in your AU/headcanon?

- What do they do?

- Did they exist before in the Original version of the game?

- If so, do they remember the original game? How different are the two versions of Timekeeper personality and/or programming-wise (Original vs Ultra Deluxe)?

c) What about Stanley?

- Does he remember anything related to the original version of the game?

- Is he aware of The Narrator's false memories? If he is, has he done anything in relation to the information? How did he found out, if he did?

- If he remembers the loops/resets in your AU, has he ever noticed how inconsistent the information given by The Narrator is? Has he ever tried to question/call him out for it? If he did, how did the scene play out? Did the Timekeeper have to step in?

d) Does The Narrator remember any resets/loops?

- If yes, how so? As in, does he 100% remember them or are certain parts of each ending cut out or jumbled up in his memories?

- If he doesn't, then do certain keywords give him a sense of deja vu? Does every reset/loop slowly start to fade away, as if the previous ending were just a dream (would also explain the Confusion Ending)? What about muscle memory? Does forgetting the different endings do anything to affect his instincts and/or reflexes? If yes, how so? Explain it as thoroughly as you wanna; I'd love to read your answer/s!

e) Do you have any additional information that you've [always] wanted to share about your AU/headcanon?

- Anything about The Narrator that you never had the chance to share?

- What about Stanley?

- Anything interesting about the Timekeeper?

- Or perhaps a secret 4th option? Do tell!! I absolutely love the lore of your Narrator/Pollux, and I really wanna try to provide some of my headcanons/thoughts, if you don't mind :D

Toodles! Hope you have a fantastic day! <33 /p Sorry if these questions are a bit much, haha–

— 🅰️non || 05/14/2023

Sweetie you have no idea how long I've been waiting to talk about my headcanons/lore/au/whatever you wanna call it, so I am so glad you asked!!!! 👀👀👀

(Swear words are fine, I'm not a huge stickler on them, but I prefer to keep them a minimum to none thing. I totally get it if you wanna use them, especially for comedic effect)

And! Bold of you to assume I don't wanna answer all your questions and more!!!! I am vibrating in excitement!!!! Okay, since this is going to be so long I'm putting it all under the cut.

A) I talked about this a little bit before, but I can try to explain it a little more clearly here.

There were 2 instances of false memories that the Narrator had. The first happened on its own in the Demo. The Developers/Research Team/Jim and his people who were working on the simulation had no idea what caused the Narrator to develop those fake memories. Their best guess the Narrator’s mind was trying to fill in the void and create a reason to explain why he didn't like The Stanley Parable anymore, just feeling that way wasn't enough for the AI, he needed a reason so his coding created a reason. That being fake memories.

Obviously, this is bad for the team's experiment here, so Jim wiped the Narrator’s memory and he gave the Narrator the new memories before putting him into the main game/simulation (the second instance of fake memories). Making the Narrator think he created the Parable and everything inside it, in order to help ease the transition between the Demo and The Stanley Parable.

As for if this has anything to do with Stanley, no, since him and Mariella are basically just test subjects trying to help Narry and Curie develop personhood (thats the point of the Parable in my au. Jim and his team are trying to create artificial life) from within the Parable. TK? Yes. They were on Jim's team before they got trapped inside the Parable so they had a hand in the Demo and the 2013 Parable, so thusly were involved in the Narrator's fake memories fiasco.

B) I just mentioned this but TK used to be a member on Jim's team. They were one of the developers of the Parable. No they didn’t enter the Parable until Ultra Deluxe, but due to literally helping make the game they know more about the game than just about anyone else in the Parable (except for one, but I'll talk about that later).

Before we get into how TK got trapped inside the Parable it is important to me personally that I inform you that TK and Jim are very in love and were in a lovely queer platonic relationship before everything went to crap with Ultra Deluxe.

Anyways, how TK got stuck. Well after the team created Ultra Deluxe (they made it to help keep Stanley from going crazy and also just to update some things a bit) but a bit before they moved the two humans and two AIs into it they wanted to see if they could make it so they could control and keep tabs on the Parable from within the simulation. TK volunteered themself to test out the new feature and it worked out great for a while! For a while. Things went south when a tragedy befell the rest of the team while TK was inside the Parable. Since there was then no one to take them out of the game they kinda became trapped inside the coding void of the game.

So TK, since they are within the code of the game, they can manipulate the Parable in specific aspects. Though with how the feature was supposed to work, they can't talk directly to the other 4 in the Parable. They can only communicate to the rest them as text on the various computer screens in the Parable. When they show up on a screen it kinda looks like one of those command prompt windows. But for the most part they kinda act as a silent observer, waiting for Stanley and the Narrator to trigger the true Escape Pod Ending and free them all from the simulation.

C) Yes, I do believe Stanley remembers everything. Well as much as he can, he's still a human and will forget a couple things. Though, his mind has probably blocked out most of what happened in the 2011 version of the game, it was not a fun version.

Does Stanley know about the false memories? Kinda? Not really? It's weird. He's a test subject so he was only ever told what was strictly necessary, so he doesn't know a whole lot about what's going on. Guy is just trying to annoy the Narrator into becoming a person.

Yes he does remember resets. Yes he noticed all the inconsistencies in the Narrator's dialogue, so he takes the dialogue in the game with a grain of salt. The moments when the Narrator speaks without the script he is much more inclined to listen to and believe, though he can tell something's up. After all, he knows the Narrator is an AI.

I'm sure Stanley has tried to bring up the inconsistencies but the Narrator just becomes very defensive and deflects any questions with something along the lines of "You know I'm just reading a script, it's all part of the story Stanley."

Eventually Stanley and the Narrator do confront TK about the nature of the Parable and Narry's memories, and they deliver. It kinda shatters Narry's entire worldview in the process, but they do find out how to escape the Parable so it balances out I guess.

D) I honestly haven't thought about this a whole ton, but I imagine he remembers most of most of the resets. Its really hard to tell sometimes because some of his dialogue sounds too genuine to just be scripted but maybe Narry is just that good at his job. Who knows?

Maybe early on his memory was infallible and he remembered every reset in perfect detail, but as time went on and he grew and developed to be more and more human-like his memory changed too. Maybe as time goes on his own memory starts acting like a human memory would and he forgets little aspects of some endings. I don't know, I'm just speculating, throwing darts at the board to see what sticks.

I genuinely belive he doesn't remember the Skip Button ending though. Like, he probably remembered having gone to the memory zone but he doesn't remember the Steam reviews. I haven't quite figured out why he doesn't remember, but I know he doesn't remember it. Perhaps since it messes with the Parables timeline so much the game just wipes his memory of it for the sake of maintaining itself. Maybe TK wipes his memory of it each time. Idk.

I wish I could give more solid answers on this one, but I will have to think about it more. :/

E) Oh boy do I?!?!?!?!

Okay, for the Narrator, I guess I just really like talking about this eye thing cuz it's really cool. Basically the short of it is in the original 2011 version of the game he had use of both his eyes (his right eye is green his left eye grey) but after he began to gain a personality and emotions some of his coding got all tangled together and his left eye became permanently closed and started to bleed whenever he got overwhelmed with emotion. Trying to "fix" the eye thing, while being able to open his left eye and stop the bleeding, it would also make him unable to feel most emotions and he'd lose a lot of memories in the process. This is the basis of the angst fanfic I'm writing :)))

Stanley? He'll he's just your average guy isn't he? The main things of note for my Stanley would probably be that he's Irish and speaks with a heavy accent (he's selectively mute, so he can talk when he feels like it), also he knows both BSL and ISL. The Narrator only knows BSL though so Stanley uses it more often, but sometimes he will use ISL just to annoy Narry or when he really wants to say something but doesn't want the Narrator to know what he's saying (like professing his undying love for Narry pre-relationship).

Okay Timekeeper time! As I said before TK was on the development team for the Parable with Jim but got trapped inside the Parable after an accident occurred to the rest of the team while they were inside. I explained a lot already about TK, so i kinda wanna talk some more about Jim and his involvement with everything.

Jim basically acts as the player most of the time (sometimes TK would fill in that role as well) but also he's the creator of the Parable. This is why the name button says his name. Anyways, Jim made the Parable to see if he could create artificial life, so he put two AIs (Narry and Curie) into a simulation with two humans (Stanley and Mariella). Stan and Mari are basically in a sort of stasis pod or whatever while their consciousness are put into the game and they can control their avatars (kinda like the movie Avatar if I remember correctly how that worked). So time passes and stuff happens, new versions of the game are made, eventually we make it to Untra Deluxe. They've been doing TSPUD for a while, everything's going great, and then while TK is checking some things from within the game and Jim is monitoring while the rest of the team is on lunch break or smth, Jim hears an alarm for a toxin leak. Unfortunately for him, there is no way for him to get out in time so he does the only thing he can think of to not die. He puts himself into the Parable.

This plan wasn't the wisest, but it was the only option. In the rush he just transfers his conscious into the first avatar he finds. This turns out to be the Adventure Line™ because it was at the top of the list (alphabetical order and all). So without anyone to release the now 4 humans and 2 AI stuck within the Parable, all they can do is wait for Stanley and the Narrator to trigger the true Escape Pod Ending which would release them all and put both AI into their own bodies in the real world.

I'm thinking the whole getting bodies for Narry and Curie to inhabit thing will be similar to how Vision was created in the Marvel movies. Basically 3d printing humans. The "3d printers" are set to kick into life when the true Escape Pod Ending is triggered, and they print out two bodies based on DNA gathered previously and construction files and stuff so they will look similar to their in-game models, but still human. Is this more complicated than just making them robots? Yes. Do I care? No. They are humans now.

Anyways, you'd think TK and Jim would try to speed up this process right? Well they sure would love to, but Jim is an effing line and cannot talk, and TK can only communicate if someone happens to be looking at a computer screen and they're able to get a message through. So it's a lot harder than they might like. The poor guys just gotta bide their time till they can actually get Stanley and Narry's attention long enough to tell them how to free everyone.

So yeah, this was definitely my longest post. There is a lot to say about my headcanons my gosh. Um, yeah. But if you have any thoughts, more questions, or what have you, feel free to share. I am open for suggestions to help flesh everything out a bit more. So ye :)

[just-bendy]

Hey, Bendy!

I have four questions if that's ok?

1.) Can I have a hug?

2.) How do you feel about cats and dogs (or other animals) ? Which do you prefer? Etc. Etc.

3.) What kinds of nicknames do you like to be called (friends, family, significant other, ect.)?

4.) How do you feel about fanart of yourself?

To the artist: I LOVE your style, btw. Beautiful! Mind if I do a style study if it? (I won't claim it as mine. Just been planing to learn a new style. Getting bored on mine.)

Ps: Sorry if I asked too many questions. I get Cartier away.

From: your friendly neighborhood cat anon

And I have four answers!

Fer yer first question, yes, of course. No way I'd ever refuse a hug!

Second, I do like cats and dogs, although they don't really seem to like me. I went over to a friend's house once and even though they said their cats were friendly, they'd hiss if I got too close or just ran and hide. Not too sure why that happens. But it doesn't happen all the time! I have met friendlier pets. It's just kinda rare. As fer which I prefer, I'll have to go with dogs, but only because they're cute, playful, and energetic like me!

Third, well, Ben is always a go to fer friends and family. I like it, it's a good nickname fer me.

And finally, I love gettin' fanart of myself! But it's a little tricky bein' from an AU and all. Ya can't just draw anythin' from the canon source, coz then it won't be me. It doesn't help that my artist is lazy either! A safe bet is just ta draw me in whatever outfit I'm wearin' or just a normal lookin' Bendy with all 'a my features. But of course, ya don't have ta listen to me. Draw whatever ya want and I'll love it as long as it has me in it.

(( thank you! and yes you can do a style study! its,,, a bit inconsistent so,,, sorry 😂 its the first time hearing about that sorta thing so id love to see it when its done! if thats ok! and thats fine dw about it! :> ))

[eminentsleet388]

Upcoming fan-fic

Okay so new fan-fic is coming up, based on this pintrest post I saw. I saw it like three weeks ago, but the proper plot only came yesterday. Also I write very slowly because DISTRACTIONS, and im very inconsistent. But I'm trying to structure my writing a little bit more, so I should be done with this work relatively soon.(Could be a week, could be three days sorry I have no idea when it will be complete) It's structure is similar to a normal Doctor Who episode, maybe a little smaller. Btw its the 10th Doctor and Donna(I would have done 14th, but havent seen it yet). Also I tried to tie in the Doctor who universe with the good omens universe, and I think I did a pretty good job. Anways it's got me soooo excited honestly aaaaaaaaaa. okie bye

[undermine-the-instinct]

eyo! another one that loves your bard series, but, similarly to that other anon from a while back, the reader is really more of an oc. i like their backstory, but i have seen some instances of exclusive tidbits about them that i wanna point out.

no shame to you, i'm not trying to be malicious here, just want to make a great series even better, so, you're free to take or leave my advice(?)/critiques-

there are really only 3.5 things i'd mention here, 2 and a half of which aren't really that big of a deal (to me,)

implications of reader's size (smaller than average)

like, 2-3 times that reader was described as red (in reference to skin)

there's also a couple of bits ab reader's hair that are not exactly fully inclusive, but i feel like they're vague enough? i felt like i should mention it though, so

repeated implications that reader is spanish(natlan)/german(mondstadt??). yeah you could see reader as adopted, but ?

ye. so, sorry again if this upsets you in any way. i think you can understand why i would bring this up tho. otherwise, practically perfect series that i'm excited to read more of!! your writing is beautiful btw.

Oh no, this doesn't upset me in any way! Thank you for bringing this up, and the other anon too, for bringing this to my attention!

See, before I really started writing I read a lot of fanfic with reader inserts who were more like oc's. I liked putting myself in those sorts of shoes so I guess it's affected my writing some...? Not everyone shares the same desires for these kinda reader inserts though so I should've clarified things.

I think our bard has a bit too much character to not be an OC now, but would people like it if I go and fix these sorta 'inconsistencies'? I'll put an official disclaimer in the fics and full masterlist from now on, I just might need a little help pointing out the past slip ups though, since its literally like 15K words I have in this series already.

Alright, I think tha covers it! Thank you for reading my story hun, and thank you for complimenting my writing! I'd give kiss if i could, but here ⚘️. And even if our bard isn't really reader insert I hope you stick around for the rest of their adventure!

[thermesiini]

orv is good & fun & i like it, like uve already been told its a story about stories & the specific way it expresses its themes regarding storytelling & narration & its impact on both audience & writer is like nothing ive ever seen before in media & is......but its about the only thing i think it does actually well. it tries having other themes as well in there which are kinda halfassed in execution & the character writing is a bit inconsistent & only okay at best, like no character or relationship actually compels me that much aside from the handful that are directly tied into the main theme of stories. pretty much everything in orv outside of the "story about stories" theme is mediocre & not as fleshed out as they could've been, both in terms of characters & other themes; but the best part about orv is prob that it clearly knows its strengths & weaknesses. orv is like 75% "a story about stories" & 25% other shit, the authors knew what they did well & what they didnt, so orv's theme about stories is the best & only notable thing about it, & said theme is executed incredibly well

sorry u prob didnt want an unnecessarily long opinion piece in ur askbox. i'll try to be helpful instead: a translation for the novel is very easy to find online so ull have no trouble w/ that, but the eng translation might be a bit hard to read thru due to some rough patches in the early days of the translation. its still understandable just awkward sometimes & outright incorrect with a few lines. if u have trouble reading thru it, i rec reading the flame scans translation of the manhwa adaptation, which is not only very faithful to the original but also the translation by flame scans is the best & most accurate one out there. have fun reading btw whenever u do try it out bc from what i know of ur tastes ur sure to like it!

its nice to hear an opinion on how it was written and definitely gives me something to keep in mind whenever i do read it so thank you, and thank you the translation recommendation as well. to be honest i one of the reasons i havent gotten around to reading it is because i know fan tl tend to be a bit janky, but ultimately i am very interested in stories about stories and ive heard good things about orv so it will be in my future

[fruitless-nonsense]

Well… turns out I have a lot of opinions on characters I don’t even think strongly of. Who knew?

No joke, this is probably not as thorough as I like, but this idea came to me and I have so much to say that I don’t know how to structure it. Okay? Let’s talk about Damon Salvatore!

If you read any of my previous posts, you’ve probably gotten a decent idea of how I feel about him from my quick snippy remarks. I genuinely believe he is the worst character in the show. Yes, other characters can be more boring than him. Yes, there are people that can be more infuriating than him. It’s not simply who his character was, it’s how the writers wouldn’t stop messing with him that convinced me he was utter trash. Sit back, cause this could take awhile.

Let’s start with season one and the two brothers. Theory time! I’m strongly of the opinion the writers wanted a love triangle between Elena, Stefan, and Damon from the very beginning. Not that crazy to believe considering this show was born off the heels of Twilight’s grossing fame, not to take credit away from all the other shows at the time which featured a love triangle or two. From fanfics to original stories written by tweens I read when I was thirteen, love triangles were huge back then (in a way they still are fairly popular, but not like back in the day. Now I feel old). So they wanted a love triangle? Sounds cliche enough to be in the vampire diaries, what’s wrong? Well, there’s a bit of an issue with the candidates, or more specifically candidate. You see, Edward was a creep and Jacob was an incel, but you can say they weren’t monsters (well by my standards they were, but by YA standards they were pretty normal). I mean, the movie made a point to say the Cullens didn’t feed from humans, and they’re only seen killing in self defense, meanwhile Jacob is treated like a good person throughout despite everything. My point is, at least at the beginning, the story didn’t want to paint either candidate as irredeemable. Back to tvd season one, Damon tortures Caroline, kills Zack, two random humans, and that one football coach/history teacher, mentally and physically tortured Vicky Donavon before turning her against her will and made it impossible for Stefan to remedy the situation until he ultimately had to kill her to save Elena, and this is all from the first seven episodes.

Now, I used to think at least Damon was a fun villain, but was he really? I mean, yeah he could be funny, got a few chuckles outta me, but besides humor and violence what was his character? For example, in season one we are introduced to Stefan, a supposed “good vampire” who has taken a liking to Elena due to similarities between her and his ex before admiring how much better of a person she is and wanting a true connection with her. We later learn that his experience with his ex Katherine was extremely one-sided as he was compelled to love her to satiate her needs. Even later (still season one), we learn that his only drinking animal blood is because he is a ripper or “blood addict” as I call it cause even one taste of human blood and he’ll go on a rampage. So by seasons end we have a character who was a victim of serious abuse (which is never truly addressed in the show btw) and carries a rare vampire trait that makes not being a murderous psychopath incredibly difficult, yet he still tries to beat the odds and not hurt people. This is a lot to learn about a character in its first season, and it helps us gravitate towards wanting him to succeed. Stefan is what you would call a good character (at least for now). So that was all we got on the first candidate, what about option number two? Well, he’s funny and he likes to kill people, that’s about it. That ripper gene that Stefan’s fighting, Damon’s not someone who gave in to the gene to explain why he’s so murder happy, he doesn’t even have it! There’s nothing making him be a bad person, he just is one! Why? Your guess is as good as mine. The most we get is learning he had real feelings for Katherine and was never compelled to love her as an explanation for why he hates Stefan so much. Wow, two brothers at war over a girl one of them doesn’t even like. You can’t even say it was because Stefan turned him, because Damon says it blank that it’s cause of Katherine in 1x20, so don’t. So Damon kills for no reason, hates Stefan for a stupid reason, and has no personality traits outside of humor, murder, Katherine, and hates Stefan. With all of this on the table, my question is this, how do the writers expect me to pick Damon over Stefan in this love triangle with everything we got in season one? And the writers realized this.

Season two starts this long “arc” asking if Damon can be redeemed, or that’s what the writers wanted. Second theory: the writers realized they couldn’t justify Elena picking Damon over Stefan without ruining her character (lol), so they decided the best way to keep this love triangle idea afloat was to redeem Damon. The theory comes in when they realized they couldn’t completely redeem him because they had written themselves into a corner and being a murdering psycho with quirky one liners was his entire character, therefore redeeming him would take away what made Damon himself and so likable among fans (not me). I’m gonna pull the rug from under ya, remember when I said klaroline was not actually a love story, but was positioned and is still believed to have been one despite this fact? Same applies here. Did Damon ever go through a redemption arc, or did the writers want you to think that he did so they could have their cake and eat it too? Is there any actual story progression that show growth in Damon as a character? Nope. He’s sadder, wouldn’t say that’s him being a better person. In the early seasons, his characterization feels more like a seesaw than an arc. Sometimes he’s chill and helping with a plan, and the next episode he’s biting a chunk out of more innocent bystanders while abusing more women (*cough* *cough* justice for Andie). The longest I can say he was a genuinely decent person was in season six when he was trapped in the prison world with Bonnie (cause she’s the only character that would put up with his bs). Everywhere else, an inconsistent character, and I feel like that was intentional. They wanted to keep Damon how fans liked him while making him seem like a better person. An example is the introduction of Enzo, which I think was a ploy by the writers to make it seem like season five Damon was interacting with a season one Damon to show how far he’s come, but that doesn’t stick at all (mostly because Enzo’s crimes in the show compared to season one Damon’s feel less psychotic and malicious). All in all, to me Damon on his own was a truly boring character and even more boring villain. No motivation and no personality outside his infatuations. Which leads me into the worst plot line of my entire cw experience: Delena.

If you haven’t noticed, I hate this ship with a fiery passion. The only reason I think it’s slightly better than klaroline was at least the writers tried to write a story with them (keyword tried). I said they would have to ruin Elena’s character to have her choose him over Stefan, and I was right! Not only does she cheat with him (2x22 and other scenes from season three), it’s never explained why she likes him in the first place (actually in season six they say it’s cause he gave her Stefan’s gift necklace despite being in love with her, which is so stupid it made me laugh). Furthermore, why does Damon develop feeling for Elena? Supposedly it happens while he’s still obsessing over Katherine, so is that it? The turning point which pushes them together is revealed to all be fabricated by a sirebond. For real, the only reason Elena fell out of love with Stefan is because a bond out of her control made it impossible for Stefan to help her through vampirism and thus she had to lean on Damon for support. I know the show states the bond didn’t create her feelings merely heighten them, but it did isolate her from everyone else she loved and made it so she had no choice but to rely on Damon, and that’s not exactly better than the former. Let me say it louder for the kids that were corrupted. Codependency. Is. Not. Healthy. It’s toxic, and the trope in romance needs to die a horrible death. And the show knows it’s toxic, they bring it up all the time in season five and six thinking that will excuse them to keep going with it. Sorry hun, self awareness does not give you a pass. The worst part is the pacing. I mentioned the sirebond storyline in season four which takes up a huge amount of the season with them debating if her feelings were real before abruptly deciding Elena doesn’t care. Great conclusion, but it gets worse. Season five is pretty thin as far as a story, so what fills the run time is a storyline straight out of fifty shades. Fighting, sex, fighting, sex, breaking up because they aren’t healthy, sex, fighting followed by getting back together followed by more fighting and more sex. I can’t tell you what was gained after everything that transpired in the season. Lastly is season six which took time away from the first interesting villain since season three to give us an amnesia storyline! I’d tell you more, but if you’ve ever seen a movie you could probably explain it exactly. All that time that could’ve been spent in better ways, was given to something I stopped caring about by season fours end.

Honestly, the fact that the show treats this like the greatest love story of all time makes me less angry and more concerned, because the audience who watched this show weren’t adults who understand what love really is, the people who watched this was made up of mostly tweens and teens. I can’t get too mad, this trope is everywhere, girl helps abusive guy be better person while sapping away all her energy in the process was done before and is still being done today. All I ask is that the young adults who remember this show fondly understand how wrong this is. How people like Damon should not be pitied and relationships like Delena should not be celebrated. Ship whatever you want, but please tell me you’re okay. Are you okay? In conclusion, Damon is trash and Delena wasted my time along with being extremely toxic and abusive. Goodnight everybody!

[magnus-the-maqnificent]

Let's Analyze - Alec in CoFA

So, I’ve been seeing plenty of discourse on two of my mutual’s blogs about this topic… so I thought I’d sit down and write another analysis post about my beloved Alec Lightwood cause people are still giving him shit for a book that came out ten years ago 🤦‍♀️

This is gonna be in two parts, and I'm putting both under the cut:

PART 1 - ALEC’S INSECURITIES 

So, the first part - how Alec’s insecurities drove him to saying stupid things in CoFA

A quick disclaimer - I’m NOT blaming Alec alone for his and Magnus’s break up. What happened was pretty complicated, and the blame cannot be put on one person alone. 

That said, let’s start with Magnus and Alec’s early ‘official’ relationship, in trsom.

These scenes are taken from only the first part of the book, but I’m pretty sure they’re more than enough to get a sense of Alec’s insecurities and all the chinks in their relationship. Throughout the entirety of trsom, we see more bits and pieces of Alec’s insecurities about Magnus’s sexuality, and his past and all the people he might have known - and that’s okay! Insecurities happen, cause brains are stupid like that.

But all of Alec’s insecurities could’ve been laid to rest with a simple conversation. But the conversation never happens. Magnus tends to deflect and change the topic every single time his past is brought up. I understand Magnus’s reasons for hiding his past, of course, but it doesn’t help his relationship with Alec. Magnus hiding a good chunk of his past will inevitably lead to Alec questioning himself - why is he so secretive? Why is he not telling me anything? Does he not trust me? ...and so on.

And when Alec is already feeling insecure in this relationship, this happens - (sorry about the terrible cropping btw)

And then later, while Magnus is talking to Camille,

Now… when people are insecure about something, they get irked at the smallest of things. I’m saying this as an insecure person myself. So now, you've got Alec, who's insecure as fuck, and his vacation with the person he loves got cut short by his ex who refuses to talk to anyone but him, and when they get there, his lover and his lover's ex seem to have obvious chemistry, he gets hit with the reality that his lover has dated several, probably even hundreds of people before him; and he has to leave them alone in a room so they can talk, and then he hears the ex basically just list all his shortcomings - i.e, his mortality, his appearance is compared to some random dead guy (sorry, Will) whom your lover had a crush on, which is just weird, and when you've had enough and open the door, it's to see your lover and his ex, standing close as fuck, and he's! touching! her! face! and! looking! into! her! eyes!

*takes a sip of water* yeahhhh... Alec was straight up having a bad day.

And at this point, a) Alec is still in his first relationship. He didn't get to navigate romance when he was younger, and while there's nothing wrong with that, there weren't exactly cutesy presentations titled 'how to keep your relationships healthy' floating around the internet. Heck, he didn’t know the internet. He didn't know that he had to communicate with Magnus, and it doesn't help that boy avoids conversations about feelings like the plague. And b) at this point, Alec would be facing several negative emotions - insecurity, obviously. Hurt. Helplessness, because of his mortality. Fear, that he might not live up to Magnus’s past lovers. Jealousy at seeing Magnus and Camille so close.

Negative emotions like these often tend to show up as anger or sorrow... and in Alec’s case, that would be anger. Which leads us to THIS- (🙈)

*sighs in second-hand embarrassment*

*drinks more water*

*this is gonna be so hard aksjakak*

So. Alec dealt with his insecurities... by being a mean, mean bitch to Magnus :/

Let's break this scene down, slowly, bit by bit.

First, Alec cuts into a conversation between Magnus and Jordan, when Magnus mentions Woolsey Scott, followed the rest of that particular page. To Alec, he's just a figure from Magnus’s past, and a possible lover, though in Alec’s defense Woolsey Scott WAS Magnus’s lover. This is the first instance that we see in which Alec lashes out at Magnus. It seems like he's trying to make a point to Magnus - "I don't know anything about your past, and so I don't know who you've had romances with, but I want to know." Except he makes his point in the worst way possible and ends up slutshaming Magnus.

The "What's true?" line, in response to Jordan saying "so it's true what they say about warlocks, then?" is pretty obvious. Alec is clearly not liking the idea that this random werewolf might know about warlocks, and in particular, his Warlock boyfriend.

Next... ooh boy... Alec basically snaps and in the next few paragraphs accuses Magnus of wanting to flirt with others which... is not a good look on ya honey 😕. These lines are the ones that get him accused of being biphobic... but is he really? I'm gonna talk about that in part 2.

So, in the first paragraph, where Alec makes the comments about Jordan, I find his choice of words pretty... interesting, seeing as 'messy-haired', 'broad-shouldered' and 'chiseled-good-looks' are all used to describe Alec in the series. Not sure if its relevant, but definitely interesting.

And in the next one, where Alec says, "or there are plenty of pretty girls here, since apparently your taste goes both ways. Is there anything you aren't into?" The 'apparently' makes me curious. In rsom, Alec mentions that he's only recently heard of the term bisexual, and there's plenty of time between rsom and cofa, so Alec should be absolutely sure of atleast the basic meaning of bisexuality. But I'm pretty sure it's just inconsistency on cc's part, since if rsom didn't exist, this book would be the first time Alec learns about Magnus’s bisexuality. (Which is obvious when you look at the scene after Magnus reveals that Camille is his girlfriend.) And as for the second sentence, I feel like it's a fallback to earlier in the book when Magnus says (I'm just gonna write the dialogue from memory), "I've dated men, women, warlocks, faeries, vampires, werewolves and even a djinn or two." Here, Alec is angry, and he takes the knowledge that Magnus has dated a variety of people and once again, lashes out.

Looking at all of it together, Alec’s insecurities are definitely a factor in all of this. We know Alec has pretty low self esteem in tmi, and he keeps having irrational thoughts about someone else grabbing Magnus’s attention, like in the trsom scene I've posted above. And he ends up taking out his insecurities on Magnus.

Was it wrong of Alec to say all those things to Magnus? Yes, absolutely. But looking back through all his scenes in cofa, it's easy to see how he could've fallen into the pit trap of emotions.

And before anyone says "but it wasn't addressed in the later books", it was, in CoLS. I’ve hit the image limit, so I'm just gonna type it out -

"[Magnus] said it would be better if he didn’t come. Apparently him and the Seelie Queen have some kind of history."

Isabelle raised her eyebrows.

"Not that kind of history," Alec said irritably. "Some kind of feud. Though," he added, half under his breath, "the way he got around before me, I wouldn't be surprised."

"Alec!" Isabelle dropped back to talk to her brother....

So, there. Alec makes yet another slutshaming comment, Isabelle overhears and is clearly not happy about it, and it's clearly implied that she talks to Alec about it. And Alec doesn't make any more slutshaming comments since then. Boy now knows what he did was wrong, and makes sure not to repeat it again.

Although, I do wish we had more than this. I wish we had more of Magnus and Alec talking about this argument, heck, even about all their arguments and the reasons they broke up, but you can't get everything you want, apparently :(

And now onto the next part...

PART 2 - IS ALEC BIPHOBIC?

The short answer, uh, no, not really.

The long answer.... would be complicated.

So, back in the day, when this discourse was at an all time high, I remember reading a bisexual person's essay about this topic, and they said that this comment from Alec - "or there are plenty of pretty girls here, since apparently your taste goes both ways. Is there anything you aren't into?" - would be a biphobic microagression.

According to Google, a microagression is "a statement, action, or incident regarded as an instance of indirect, subtle, or unintentional discrimination against members of a marginalized group such as a racial or ethnic minority".

And in Alec's case, IF his words were biphobic, they were completely unintentional. They were microagressive. Which is... still bad, of course, but it's more complicated than that.

If you look back on Alec's supposedly biphobic statements, they're more about Magnus’s hypersexuality and promiscuity than anything else. Yes, even the line i mentioned like two paragraphs ago. At first glance it may seem like a direct attack on Magnus’s sexuality, but think over the explanation I gave for the line and it will make sense. And a lot of people know that the whole 'bi people fuck around a lot and are cheaters' thing is a stereotype.

Now, it may seem like I'm going off topic here, but bear with me. I couple of days ago, I watched this video by chance. (Tw for the aids crisis and lots of biphobia, not from the narrator, if you wanna watch the video). Basically, back in the 1980s, bisexual men were scapegoated for spreading aids to the straight community and were vilified by popular media as being promiscuous scepters who would cheat on their wives with gay men and then give aids to their wives. (Yikes 😬). And since bisexuality was practically unheard of before all this (several bisexual activists have stated that all this shit, though unfortunate, pulled bisexuality out of the closet), it's safe to assume that this is how those stereotypes came to be - through 1980s propaganda.

But living with this propaganda is... a very limiting experience. The people who leaned and unlearned and fought against this propaganda are mostly US Americans who grew up with it, either the actual propaganda itself or passed down by their parents. But like I said, it's a very limiting experience. US is but one country out of many, and even for those living in the USA there's a chance that they grew up in a very hush-hush environment. People who grew up hearing all these stereotypes will see it as biphobia, while people who didn't - like Alec, and me, and several other people will not. A lot of people grow up with absolutely no knowledge of the queer community, and chances are that they'll be incredibly confused when a stereotype is pointed out to them, and they often get no more explanation than 'this is a harmful stereotype'. Queer experiences aren't the same for everyone, and while I respect the people who see this as biphobia, they should recognize that there are many people who won't see it that way.

I have seen bisexual people say that Alec's words were biphobic, and I've also seen bisexual people say that they weren't. Thus, there is no clear consensus about whether or not Alec was being biphobic. And like I said earlier, Alec grew up far, far away from mundane anti-queer bigotry. He was essentially a clean slate when it came to knowledge of eer microagressions of any kind, because microagressions and stereotypes are often incredibly specific, don't have anything to do with a person's race/sexuality/gender, etc. and will make zero sense unless you know the history behind them. To Magnus, who lived through the anti-bisexual scapegoating, the words would've definitely stung, but Alec didn't even know the implications he would be making with this words! Of course, the impact is greater than intention, and I imagine Magnus would sit Alec down one day and talk about all this history with him.

And idk if I can even blame cc cause the history of bisexual men is RARELY ever talked about, atleast on the internet.

Also, this scene in cofa is the only instance where he can be interpreted to be biphobic. Nowhere else in all of tmi, and even tec, do we see Alec express hatred or disgust or microagression towards bisexual people. If this was seen in a repeating pattern from Alec, one could argue that he's biphobic... but he isn't. Some might point to some of his internal thoughts in trsom to argue otherwise, but I believe that actions are superior than thoughts.

There's also the thing about unlearning prejudices, but in Alec's case there was hardly anything to be unlearned. The only prejudices he did pick up on were against himself, through vague homophobic comments from Robert.

P.S if you've read this far, I am legally entitled to compensation for thinking of cofa Alec for 48 hours. Put your favorite Alec moments in my askbox cause I wanna focus on his good side now. 😎

But yeah, the main thing here is that Alec has grown from his mistakes, apologized, and hasn't repeated this behavior at all.

And lastly, I just wanted to add - I don't think all this was unintentional on the author's part. She's grown up with the us American queer community, and has mentioned that she has bisexual friends, who have no doubt faced prejudices because of these stereotypes. I think she was trying to condemn making such statements, but a lot of people don't read between the lines and end up misinterpreting it and make both the character and her to be biphobic.

So... TLDR; was what Alec said biphobic? Maybe. It depends on who you're talking to. Is Alec, as a person, biphobic? Nope. Not at all. 😌