#this is NOT directed at any of my anons btw just a general thought

[septembersghost]

i also think everyone needs to be more comfortable with the idea that sometimes you simply don't find romantic love and that's okay and you learn to live and find other things to enjoy anyway and life is not meaningless without it. sometimes it just doesn't happen, and we need to be better at letting that be allowed and acknowledged and acceptable. all sorts of different types of love are real and good

[tocomplainfriend]

Please don't dismiss the voices of SA victims who fundamentally disagree with you. Please raise their voices the same way you would raise others, and treat their experiences as being just as valid and worthy of discussion as the people who find Val to be completely horrid. Frankly, were you to be *against* the idea of doing that, it would communicate to me that your whole shtick isn't actually about SA victims, it's about you feeling vindicated in your personal discomfort. Yes. There are people who dislike it for justifiable reasons and they deserve to have their voices heard. But please don't ignore those that have a differing opinion, and make sweeping, general statements. If you really care about people, you would do that.

TW: Rape, SA

I hope you understand the reason I post so much about the topic negatively. It's because I'm a victim of SA, and I don't like much about how this was treated. Mainly negative things because: Viv didn't take anything any SA victim said that was negative-towards her own show, like always. I saw my position in the matter greatly underrepresented, and that's why I type it all here. I saw plenty of people on Twitter that took the scene as a good representation and that they felt seen- and that's always great. Everyone need to heal and fell seen. How everyone was sharing how they felt 'in a positive light'- I felt I could write how I felt 'in a negative light' cause that's just as fair.

Also, if you realized what I have types over MULTIPLE post know, I don't even talk about the inside episode 4- mostly about the surrounding treatment.

If you think Angel is relatable and healing for your or others experiences, cool. Amazing, good for you! It's not for me and others, tho, mainly for things outside the episodes or scenes of Angel - Val. I have written about the things that me and others find criticizable- like the r-pe jokes in HB or HH. Why would you try to write respectfully all of episode 4 to then to a r-pe joke to Sir Pent in episode 6? See that isn't even about Angel or Val.

My last few posts aren't even about the writing of the show. But fandom stuff mainly. I have talked about how people treat Val like an uwu baby over the actual topic of R-pe and SA. I have talked about not liking that poison was directed by a NON SA victim with a r-pe fetish, redoing his own fan ship comics inside the show. Or the many other R-pe jokes inside Helluva and Hazbin that I feel take away from the serious message from episode 4.

My old post:

I'm talking about how I feel, yes! I'm an SA victim and I feel different than you or others. Never said that those people to fuck off- Its just not a view a share- at all. I never ignored anyone with a different opinion- I have purely communicated how I FELT AS A SA victim-mainly about the surrounding content of the situation. This is my blog where I post what I think. Post how you feel, this is how i feel.

(Weird timing maybe, but I thought I would've gotten a message like this after my earlier posts of Angel or Val or the Raph ones. But the most recent post is about someone crying cause someone else wanted a fictional r-pist character to die, LMAO. But maybe bad timing with the message, so whatever)

(BTW if you are an Anon I don't accept double message, because I can't confirm it's the same person!)

[thepetesimp]

For a fic prompt, I’d love to read something about Pete being sick or hurt and needing care that isn’t related to aftercare post-sex. I’ve found a fair few fics centered on Vegas dealing with being sick and cared for (and Pete basically bullying Vegas into letting him care for Vegas), but haven’t found nearly as many focused on Pete in a non-sexual context. I think that would be interesting and lends itself to your style of writing (at least from what I’ve read of your writing, which is just the VegasPete posted on AO3). I love your work, btw! Thanks for being a fandom author-y’all never get enough credit ❤️

Hello, my dear anon! Thank you so, so much for your kind words and your gorgeous prompt ❤️ Generally, Vegas taking care of Pete is one of my favorite concepts. We got crumbs in the show, crumbs, and I desperately need more of that. Thank you for giving me the incentive to do it myself, though I have dipped my toes into it a little bit before with the things you can(not) change, which had Vegas taking care of Pete emotionally. Btw, I'm very sorry for being late in replying to this, but I had a bit of trouble coming up with an idea for it until I got hit with some very specific feels, and now here I am, with 5 whole ass pages of words that made me decide to turn this concept into a proper fic. Looking forward to posting it in 2025 lmao. Here's a part of it: ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Pete woke up laying on his bed, with no recollection of how he got there. The last thing he remembered was going to the kitchen for some water and the noise coming out of Macau's room. It was probably because of that new game he bought last week that he wanted to play so much. His whining suggested he wasn't very good at it. Pete didn't know what happened after that. He was feeling disoriented, floaty. His head was throbbing. There was bile stuck at the back of his throat, which he couldn't swallow. His mouth was dry. His body was heavy, restricting his movements. He tried opening his eyes, but he got dizzy by the light coming in from outside. He closed them again. "Why didn't you tell me you were sick?" Fuck. When did Vegas come back? Where was Macau? Pete took in a shallow breath, trying to quiet down his heartbeat. He didn't open his eyes. Vegas sounded angry. He had to calm him down, somehow. "Vegas..." "Macau called me in a panic, because he found you unconscious in the kitchen. He thought you died. I did too, when I saw you."

Vegas was holding back tears, Pete could tell; there was a certain way his voice hitched when he spoke like that, vulnerability leaking from his tongue. He sounded small, too, like when he used to do comparisons that led him nowhere. Pete didn't like it when Vegas was talking like that. The fact that he reverted to that state because of him made it even worse. "I'm sorry." "Don't-" He didn't conclude what he was going to say. Pete could hear sniffing, but nothing else. Not looking at Vegas' face was killing him. He opened his eyes with extreme difficulty and found Vegas staring at him, with red smeared across the edges of his own eyes and sweat gathered on his forehead. He was too far away. He wasn't touching him. "Vegas," Pete said, lifting his arm in Vegas' direction, despite how much he couldn't. Vegas widened his eyes and dropped his gaze. He held back a sob. He didn't take Pete's hand. "You look the same as back then." Pete let his arm fall on the bed, stunned by Vegas' words. How could he be so stupid? He completely forgot. He didn't know why. Maybe because everything that had happened at the safehouse had always seemed like a weird dream to him, one that he never really woke up from. Pete didn't have any words of comfort to give. His stomach started acting funny. He hoped it wouldn't lead to vomiting. He hadn't done that since his adolescent days, which had been filled with boxing and violence. "It's not your fault I'm sick," was all he could offer in the end. "I should have been here, taking care of you-" "You had an important meeting with Porsche," Pete reminded him. "Fuck Porsche." He had thought about it once. How it would feel to have sex with Porsche. Pete imagined it'd be simple. Uncomplicated. Fun, even. Now, it sounded painful, more so than all the things Vegas did to him. Perhaps Vegas was right getting concerned about Pete's health after all. He felt a hand touching his forehead. It was cold and sweaty. Pete wished it could get glued there. "Shit, your fever is high. Have you eaten anything?" "No." He felt Vegas suck in a breath, before he heard it. "I'm cooking you something to eat." He tried to get up, but Pete caught him before he could escape. A low, whining sound scratched his sore throat. "Sleep with me. You look tired." "Pete," Vegas warned. "You're burning up and you need to eat." "Just for a little while. It'll help." Vegas sighed. The sound came out unsteady. His bottom lip quivered, or Pete thought it did. His vision was too blurry to be sure. "Fine, but you're taking something for the fever first." Pete smiled tiredly at him. He didn't thank him. He would hate that.

[sugoi-and-spice]

Okay Hi again. I'm the Anon that made Dust Daddy Bible a thing. I wish to open the Dust Daddy Bible again and take a few new notes as I am curious if you can reveal some hcs about the Reader that once again has already been revealed/you wish to share? Maybe even some Hcs bout other characters like Spinner? Maybe some hcs that'll never see the light of day that you wish to share?

I'm also a bit curious on what inspired you to write PN and how does your general planning looks like for the series? I was inspired by you to start my own fanfic but alas...making hcs and an actual story is very hard and ends up in the dirty mostly white gutters fast.

Hey Anon! So glad to hear that my weird little Au fic inspired you!! I'm certainly happy to explain my inspiration and process a bit!

This took A LOT longer to write up than I anticipated, but I wanted to be thorough lol. So, in an effort to not make these novel of a post any longer than it needs to be, I'm just gonna answer the second half of your ask, rather than the headcanon stuff. But if you wanna re-ask that in a separate message I'll be happy to answer. ^_^

Alright, onto Spice's Fanfic Plotting 101!

So full disclosure: I get a lot of (if not most) of my ideas from other media and in some case other fanfics. For Play Nice, I was really inspired by the fic: The Danger Next Door by ratmonkey. I really liked that dynamic of the creepy forced friend with the popular girl and wanted to explore that in a one-shot. But of course, as I got writing, I ended up taking it in a completely different direction that I thought better suited the types of long-format stories I liked to tell and fit better in my writing style. And they went in two wildly different directions.

I'd never be ashamed of that idea origin though -- and neither should any of you. If you decide that you want to write literally the plot of Titanic but with Jujutsu Kaisen characters, fucking do it - it'll be original just on the basis that it'll be written by you. It's as the saying goes:

Good artists borrow, great artist steal.

So that's where the original idea came from. But as for expanding an idea into a full fic? Lately, I've been using the three following steps to do that:

1. Pilot.

2. Outline.

3. Schedule.

Self-explanatory right? No? Haha, well then--

So a pilot, in the way that I'm using the term, is the first episode of a tv show that serves as a prototype of a series. When a network likes a concept that they're pitched, they'll typically order a pilot episode to showcase the series' potential and gauge audience interest before committing to making a whole season.

This is essentially the same thing I do with a fanfic concept - a Pilot Phase. I write the idea as a one-shot or short multi-chapter fic, something that has a satisfying ending if I leave it as is, but that I could also expand on later. I measure how good or poor the response is as well as my own enjoyment and inspiration while writing, and if it's all great - I'll move forward into turning it into a longfic.

After that, I move into the Outline Phase. Outlining goes such a long way in keeping a fic consistent and motivated, imo. There are a lot of writers that start writing without any goal in mind, and then eventually burn out because they run out ideas. No shade to anyone who does btw! There are writers out there who can write without an outline and make something complete and amazing. And even those who do end up running out of ideas and abandoning a fic, fanfiction is all about fun at the end of the day. But for someone looking to break out of that habit and finish their long fics consistently and with quality, outlining and having a clear direction can really help mitigate these pitfalls.

Outlining can also work wonders for eliminating the ever-dreaded blank page. If I'm starting a chapter, even copy-and-pasting a word for word description like the following gives me something to work with:

"The beginning of MC and Shigaraki’s new routine. Bratty back and forths. Although by the end of it, Shigaraki decides that the time they have together is not enough and sets a new plan in motion."

And then I can expand and flourish the language from there, I'm not starting from nothing.

But of course, writing out a whole outline can be just as intimidating if not more so - after all, how do you go from a blank page to "here's all the plot!"? Well, this is why the Pilot and Outline Phases actually go hand and hand for me. Writing a Pilot/One-shot version when I'm first inspired by an idea means that when I start expanding it into a long fic, I'm also not starting from nothing! I already have a story or dynamic started, so it's a lot easier to build ideas and plot-points off of that, rather than just pulling a whole story out of thin air. They're very symbiotic.

Now, writing a good outline could easily be a whole giant post itself, and there's no one right way to do it. For me, I really like to use my outlines to track character arcs and different storylines. Play Nice has about four major different Plots and Sub-Plots going on that I label alphabetically and track in each episode.

Now as anyone that has read Play Nice can tell, these story beats are not necessarily all separate scenes or plotlines or anything - the A, B, & C Plot of this episode are all part of the same actual scene, but I still like to note them and the different effects that even one line of dialogue has on all these different plot points!

Identifying which story beats belong to which plot points helps me keep track of the progress of each one so that I don't write five chapters in a row just about Shigaraki and his relationship with AFO and suddenly realize "Oh shit! MC hasn't been in the story for like five chapters!" (Extreme example, but you get what I mean lol).

I also write out character guides and such in my outlines with the characters' wants, needs, and - in these AU fics - their alternate backstories. Crafting those things for a character however could, once again, be it's own whole post - but knowledge of Want vs Need and keeping character arcs in mind is what takes any piece of media to that next level, not just fanfic. :)

(You can find a great brief on Want vs Need here - welcome to Spice's film school friends xD)

One last note on outlines, is that you don't have to be beholden to them. I move around plot points I've outlined for earlier episodes into later episodes all the time. Play Nice was originally outlined as like a 15 chapter long-fic, but as the story has developed, that's obviously doubled (potentially tripled as I already brain-storm the sequel lolol). But yeah, Outlines are a map, not a bible.

So the Pilot and Outline phases make up the bulk of my patented fanfic process lol. But the icing on the cake that really keeps a fic moving for me is to keep a Schedule.

Full transparency if you didn't know already, I've worked professionally as a freelance writer for a little over three years now. And before that I got a BFA in Screenwriting. So I'm admittedly pretty used to having weekly deadlines for my creative writing now. My grades and rent have depended on it for 7+ years. There were absolutely weeks where, even on a project I loved, the absolute LAST fucking thing I wanted to do that week was write. But I had to push through if I wanted to get paid.

By setting the same type of schedule and expectations for myself, I'm able to hold myself accountable and force my way through even the worst writer's block. There's no real other trick to this one, I'm sorry to say. You just need to set a doable schedule and stick to it.

Now, I am fully aware of the irony of me stressing the importance of schedule right when Play Nice is in a bit of a slowdown - but I am only human. And while I have switched to a monthly posting schedule, I do still keep a similar writing schedule: I try to finish at least a rough draft of a chapter every two weeks. It just takes me a lot longer to edit the chapters now because they're so freaking long these days.

And, you know, this isn't my job. I write fanfic to have fun and explore ideas and themes that I don't necessarily want connected to my personal brand (*cough* Non-Con & Problematic Relationships *cough*), as well as to write for fun without the worry of whether or not an idea is sellable. If any of you do decide to take these tips and tricks for yourself, please remember to keep having fun and not put too much pressure on yourself!

(Also, a little Step 2.5: I try to have at least two chapters - preferably three or four - written past what I'm posting that week. For example, Chapter 20 is the last chapter I uploaded, but I'm actively writing the rough draft for Chapter 23 at the moment. I write in little arcs essentially, that way I can switch out moments between episodes and make edits to keep them all connected).

So, yeah! That's more or less my process! There's a lot more I could say but this post is already way too long, so if you have any follow-ups please feel free to send them in. Thank you for coming to my TEDTalk lol. I hope it was helpful for some of you and not just super lecture-y and pretentious. 😅 At the end of the day, whether you write a one-shot or a long fic, finish or abandon it, the fact that you put your ideas into existence is amazing.

¡Adiós!

[silvermoon424]

Hi!

I wasn't gonna watch PMMM but here I am crying while the credits roll

I think I followed you for some non-PMMM content a while back then I saw that post about Mami dying. I thought PMMM was just a generic magical girl anime before that so I never really gave it a second glance until then. Even then I just read up the plot on Wikipedia then went "wow cool" because for some reason I was like it can't be that good. Anyway fast-forward half a year and I randomly saw it on an anime site and clicked play even though I knew what was going to happen.

Somehow it was still good. Cried a lot(most during Homura scenes. Feel so bad for her). Very good anime. I get it now.

I have some questions regarding certain plot holes that I'll ask in another anon.

Hi!

I get that Sayaka was shocked by the soul gem situation(though it's literally called a SOUL gem) but I don't think her friend(Kamijou I think?) would have noticed like she thought he would.

Up to that point not a single one of the time-local magical girls noticed that part of it and were living, eating and sleeping like humans. The only time someone noticed was when her soul gem was removed and stopped controlling her body so wouldn't it go unnoticed by the guy she liked too(as long as she didn't throw away her soul gem)?

Hi there! First of all, I'm so glad you got into PMMM! It's one of my all-time favorite series (not just anime) and means a lot to me. I really do think it's a masterpiece.

Also, make sure you watch the Rebellion movie! It's a direct sequel to the anime and that anime site (I'm assuming it's a piracy site) probably has it. If not, hit me up again and I can get you a link. PMMM is coming out with a 4th movie (the first 2 movies were just recaps of the main series, btw) at some point in the future and we're assuming it will be a sequel to Rebellion.

As for your question- I don't think that's a "plot hole" so much as it is a sign of Sayaka's mental decay. Yeah, Kyousuke (Sayaka's crush) most likely wouldn't have been able to tell that Sayaka's soul is in a jar and she's a lich now. However, Sayaka herself can't get over her feelings of no longer being "human" and therefore unworthy of Kyousuke's affections. It doesn't matter that Kyousuke won't find out; Sayaka can't get over the anguish of not being a normal person anymore and having to hide that from Kyousuke.

There are a lot of other things that contribute to Sayaka's fall into despair, most notably her inability to live up to the insanely high standards she sets for herself. She has a very black and white view of the world, and refuses to cut herself any slack for not living up her idea of what a perfect magical girl should be (of which Mami exemplifies in her head). It's this, more than her inability to get with Kyousuke, that causes her to fall into despair and turn into a Witch.

[alexanderlightweight]

Not a prompt, but omg YES I agree with you about the pressure on Alec to go past his boundaries. Like I see too much of those, and sometimes I wish there was more where they acknowledged those boundaries they pushed was too far, or too much, or perhaps not the right time. Esp where it is 'lighten up and come to club to have fun because you can be boring!' (Exaggeration) And it's like, geez, not all of us are the same and view clubs are fun. For instance, I'm at home, reading this. My fun.

yeah there are more of them with ignoring boundaries than respecting them or boundaries being pointed out and respected. and everyone is entitled to their own idea of fun and there's nothing wrong with those fics, i just find them anywhere from mildly triggering to 'i am going to scream and light izzy and jaze on fire'.

because again, there is nothing wrong with being encouraged to go outside your comfort zone.

but being basically gaslight into it or shamed or mocked isn't a great tone for me and has made me close a lot of promising fics. again, not because the fic was bad or the author did anything wrong, but because it's not a trope i enjoy reading, not because the trope shouldn't exist.

like yes i find it triggering, that just means i can avoid it and write my own version, not that those versions shouldn't exist (not directed at anon btw, just in general making my thought clear since confusion in rampant in fandom and on tumblr).

again it's fiction, i write a lot of incredibly unhealthy things myself and a lot of DDDNE and i hope to fuck everyone who needs to avoid any of my fics does.

but boundaries are hard enough without having to deal with one of your OTP Special Interests dealing with the same shit you've had to deal with and watching them be invalidated and never get closure.

not going to lie. i write so much of alec enforcing boundaries because i use it as a mental pick me up to remind myself it's okay to set boundaries.

so i also write with a harsher perspective towards jace and izzy and often a much more compartmentalizing alec. because and this is canon, like authors are literally just following season one and part of two and parts of three, where it's like alec's not allowed to have opinions if they disagree with izzy and jace. he almost always is the one buckling and apologizing and backing down and it's really disheartening. especialyl when he's supposed to be the leader and they treat him like that.

sorry anon, i got to rambling because i'm super passionate about this and you fired me up! (not in a bad way, just in a rambling ranting way)

TLDR:

if i ever write alec thanking izzy and jace for disrespecting his boundaries and himself... yeah its not happening. we learn to respect boundaries in my universes!

except for magnus. magnus respects boundaries while he looks for the gaping loopholes.

<3 lumine

(anon i'm so sorry i don't even remember what i was trying to explain at the start of my ramble)

[guess-my-next-obsession]

hey lovely babie! i hope life is treating you kindly and you are thriving! i wanted to tell you that your wonderful fics really helped me at a time where i really struggled. it was hard for me to get out of bed and your words came as a truly unexpected blessing! they made me escape my world for a bit, but also they helped me be a happier, braver and more confident me in the real world. so i wanted to thank you for that, truly. as a fellow writer, i know how easy it is to think that none of this matters or has any impact, so i needed to come to your ask box to remind you that these things are certainly not true. your words were such a strong comfort to me and ignited a little light of hope in my soul. thank you for that, too. and i hope, in turn, my words now can serve as a reminder that what you do, and how you write, and the way you think matters. someone somewhere in this world stumbled upon your tumblr and found solace in the way your brain works.

also, your words opened me up to the world of joel miller fics and that is the most important thing i need to thank you for. like, a fictional man can make you feel all these things?? can get you there and it's so hot?? who knew?!

i have a question for you - do you ever self-insert when writing? i'm really curious about that, i think it's always interesting when writers talk about different feelings/situations that inspired them to write something or to go in a specific direction.

and another question, do you have a favourite line you've ever written?

btw i think it's important you know that i refer to you as the queen of gentle feelings and hottest smut, so… hope that crown ain't too heavy🙌

first off — holy shit. i adore you, beautiful, kind, authentic, generous anon bby. 😭

i’ve been having such a hard time with this whole writing thing lately. it’s so easy to feel insignificant in this sea of brilliance, and i’ve been struggling with just feeling like everything i put out is sort of lackluster, unoriginal, and worst, boring to read. so reading this is just…i’m trying but i can’t put it into words. it almost completely drowns out the mean voice in my head, and that’s not an easy feat in the slightest. 🫶🏼🫶🏼🫶🏼

it means the world to me that i could comfort you through a dark patch in your life. i’ve spent so much of my life in and out of that draining darkness and i know how isolating and cold it can feel. it makes me want to cry (happy tears) knowing that something that i wrote managed to bring some light back into your life.

as for your questions, i essentially only write self inserts 😂 they’re all me, just different parts of me arranged in different ways. it’s exposing but it’s also freeing. it tells people exactly who i am and simultaneously shows me who i could be instead. self inserts for life!

i suck at complimenting myself, but i am really proud of Ivy & Stone. i know it’s not one of my more popular stories, but i think it’s the best writing i’ve done. this scene in chapter thirteen in particular is probably my favorite thing i’ve ever written, but here’s a little line from it:

“Do you know how mad you drive me?” he asked, bringing his lips to hover over hers. “I had to cross a sea in order to breathe, and even then…” He shook his head and sighed. “And even then, I was suffocated with missing you.”

but i’m also really proud of this line from a Frankie oneshot i wrote called When We Were Young! i recently saw it featured on @little-mrs-morales instagram page and was shocked that i wrote something like it. it’s a perfect example of me writing my own feelings through Frankie:

“You loved me in a way that I’ve never been loved before, and that was scary. I never thought—I don’t know. Never thought I deserved it, so I turned myself into someone who didn’t. But, I really need you to know that I loved you, too. I just didn’t know what to do with it. Didn’t trust myself with it, I guess.”

i accept my title as the queen of gentle feelings and hot smut if you accept your title of literal fucking angel who owns my heart 💗

[piplupod]

to add my take on the conversation, i think that privilege is systemic and inherent. and if its not both of those things i dont think i would consider it a form of privilege.

(preface: this isn't a rant directed at you, anon, this is just me trying to sort out my thoughts)

here's the definition i have bc i feel like its important for ppl to see what I am looking at and going off of fjsdfjkl

also this one!

i think the last definition i put in is more what i'm referring to, especially with the "under certain conditions". those conditions here would be "you have rights only as long as you mask :))))". there is a privilege imo to have the ABILITY to mask. because that way you can blend in better in the neurotypical society/culture/world we live in, which does (from my understanding and experience) grant you far more opportunities as well as a certain level of immunity from harassment and abuse. if someone is unable to mask their autism, they will face more harassment, abuse, trauma, etc (as well as potentially being seen as someone who should be killed/locked up) than a person who CAN mask their autism and chooses to do so. there is a kind of privilege in having the ability to mask.

i understand how awful masking is, i have a very specific trauma around masking lol. i also understand that masking usually is learned through repeated abuse or harassment or otherwise negative experiences, and masking could potentially be considered a trauma response.

maybe the word "privilege" isn't exactly right? but i think that a person who is able to mask definitely has advantages over a person who is unable to mask. idk what word would fit though.

like i know that since i have the ability to mask when needed, i will have more opportunities in life than some people i know who are unable to mask, and that's because i can appear "normal" to the general public (or as close to "normal" as i can get lmao). people, as a general rule, do not like those who are different or who act in unexpected ways, and oftentimes those who are autistic will act in what seems like an unexpected way. and that's most often scary and off putting to neurotypical people, so they'll respond negatively and learn to not be around the unmasked autistic person, which then affects that person's life opportunities.

btw i'm not saying that i'm like "better" than ppl who can't mask, i'm just pulling from personal experience to try to understand this and explain what i'm thinking fdsjfkl. i also am not saying that any of this is good or anything, i'm just seeing this as what is happening (from my POV) and explaining it, but i absolutely do not agree with how NT ppl treat visibly ND ppl, and how autistic ppl have to mask to be able to obtain a higher quality of life through employment and being able to exist safely in public (without police getting involved is what i'm getting at here lol).

god that was a ramble sorry. i'm not trying to be argumentative or contrary or anything fhdsfjkl, i just feel like maybe ppl are not understanding where im coming from so if i provide my thoughts in full then ppl can better discuss their thoughts/opinions/POVs

anyways this honestly probably isn't super important so it's okay if it gets dropped bc idk how much good it does for me to be spending time and energy thinking about this anyways fjdsfjkl, i just get frustrated when i can't understand smth fully (which is my own issue i have to make peace with) so! those are my thoughts, it's cool to continue the convo and keep debating this w me bc i am very open to it, but also its okay if ppl would rather i just drop the subject and i will do so because i'm not sure if i can really come to any conclusion on this sdfjkl

[therealvinelle]

for experiments sake, let's say Aro DOES have a vampire who can blow people up. how would twilight go then? (that ask was hilarious btw, thank you!)

(Anon is referring to this post.)

Oh my god I'm so glad you asked.

So, since you refer to a post where I used a random generator to determine who would be blown up, I'm going to go ahead and make that Aro's new guy's power.

He can kill anyone within an instant, remotely, and he can't be blocked. His is Death and he will not be stopped. Let's call him Torgrim, it's appropriately badass.

The drawback being that he has no way of determining who gets blown up. It's completely random. Though for the sake of having my character list be relevant, we'll say that his power only works on vampires.

Aro doesn't have any real use for him, but he didn't want the guy runninng around on his own either so, sure. He can join the guard.

SO. I have a list of 53 vampire characters who are alive during the Breaking Dawn confrontation. All of them are named, as I did not feel serious adding "Volturi witness #1" or "Maria's newborn army recruit #1" when I don't know that the already named characters in the appendix aren't witnessing for the Volturi, or that Maria actually has a newborn army at the time of the Breaking Dawn trial.

Also, for the record, I didn't prewrite who gets blown up, I get to find out as I write this post.

Irina is off the list, as Caius just killed her. Torgrim is on the list.

Alec, Jane, and Chelsea try their gifts, each of them fail. The Cullen side is starting to get their hopes up.

Never fear, Caius has an ace up his sleeve.

A new figure, a man cloaked in vantablack (Aro wanted to give him light gray since he can't actually be used for anything, upon second thought he didn't want the guy to get uppity and start using his gift.) steps forward.

No one's seen this guy before.

Everyone turns to Eleazar, and to Edward, wanting to know what this guy can do.

Eleazar stares at Torgrim, squints, tilts his head, squints harder, tilts his head the other way. Finally, he says "He has some kind of offensive power."

Edward doesn't know what the gift is, but he does know that Aro is shitting bricks. He grins, this guy isn't gonna be a problem.

Torgrim grins, theatrically snaps his fingers, and-

Rosalie blows up.

The Cullens and witnesses scream in equal parts shock and terror. Bella can't protect them after all.

Aro, knowing this was extremely lucky and also that they just killed Carlisle's daughter, wants to pack up and get the fuck out, now. They've shown that they have the power to destroy the Cullens, great, let's show them mercy and leave.

There's not going to be a happy ending now, not with Carlisle's daughter dead and Carlisle himself sobbing on the ground, clutching rubble a few hundred meters away, but the Volturi are now in control. There can still be a peaceful ending.

Edward, reading his thoughts, demands that the witnesses hold their positions, Aro isn't in control of this situation after all.

Caius decides to take the gamble. He tells Torgrim to go.

Stefan blows up.

Caius is now cackling loudly, while the Cullen witnesses are closing their eyes in dread. They were fools to believe they could ever stand against the Volturi, or that some newborn girl could possibly protect them from the Volturi.

Aro thinks about how miraculous his luck is, that not only is Torgrim not killing any Volturi, but he is killing the vampires present. This is everything he ever hoped for from Torgrim.

Edward hears all of this.

Being close to panicking, he finds himself incapable of closing his mouth. He tells everybody that Torgrim has no control of his power, and taunts him.

Torgrim has a few issues.

Here he is, so very powerful, he can kill anybody and everybody, he could render Jane, Alec, Felix, and Demetri all redundant, he could singlehandedly rule the world if he so wished.

Except he can't, because his power is randomized.

He possesses such great power, but no way to wield it.

Now, thanks to mathematically improbable luck, the gods have granted him one moment of glory.

And this rebel twerp means to ruin it for him. This rebel twerp dares to mock him.

Torgrim stares down Edward, narrows his eyes, and with every ounce of his being he concentrates on Edward Cullen.

He unleashes his power.

Kebi blows up.

Carlisle begs Edward to stop talking, everyone begs him to stop talking, Bella is losing control of her shield in distress.

Aro is this close to hyperventilating. Torgrim, for the love of god, don't try it again. He doesn't even need to, Alec can take advantage of Bella's inner turmoil now.

Before Torgrim can use his power again, Aro orders him to stop. Point proven, let's be merciful now. (Before Aro himself blows up.)

Edward, desperate for a win in the midst of all this disaster where he just goaded the Volturi into blowing up Stefan and Kebi, decides it's speech time. He starts talking about how the Volturi are tyrants, they're evil and corrupt and will kill just about anybody. Literally, they have a guy who'll kill anybody at all.

Caius starts doing the math on how many vampires Torgrim has to kill before Edward explodes. Sadly for Caius, Marcus was always the one who was good at maths, but Marcus doesn't care anymore. He asks anyway. Marcus, E = {1 ∈ 0 < n }, and P(Edward dies) = 1/E, uh- Marcus, help. MARCUS.

Aro is debating which option makes him look less terrible, to interrupt Edward and start bickering with this seventeen-year-old or wait until he's done before saying anything, or take advantage of Bella's panic and try Alec again, or-

Torgrim uses his power again.

Liam blows up.

Holy fuck, Siobhan should have prevented that. I guess Python is more powerful than she is.

Someone tackles Edward to the ground, the Cullen surrender, and Alice and Jasper arrive just in time to see that they've already lost.

Aro brings Renesmée and Bella with him back to Volterra, not so much out of interest for Renesmée so much as bringing the daughter is a perfect excuse to bring Bella as well. Bella is too dangerous to be left alone out there. In time, she will either come to see the Volturi as friends, or be executed.

This timeline is the nail in the coffin for his friendship with Carlisle, as he killed his daughter and then kidnapped Bella and Renesmée, but it's a sacrifice he can make.

(Though should the opportunity arise...)

A few months later, wanting to prove to the world that this wasn't just a one-off, that Torgrim is indeed a mighty man who can somewhat direct his power in the right direction and should be allowed to do things within the Volturi, Torgrim uses his power again.

Emmett blows up.

... this program is just refusing to harm the Volturi, huh.

[procrastinatingsapphictrash]

Can’t leave me behind

Word count: 1668

Genre: Fluff

Pairing: Natasha x reader

Warnings: None (lmk if I should add any)

Request: Could I request natasha x reader with actions 1 and 9 from the prompt list? (1 - Person A finding excuses to hold Person B’s hand, 2 - Person A and Person B are best friends but somehow start to get feelings for each other)

Summary: Natasha holds your hand to prevent you from rushing ahead of her and it’s all you can think about.

A/n: Thanks anon for requesting and sorry that it took me so long to actually write this! Btw this is from a prompt list I no longer use. Wow this one actually didn’t take too long to write! And I’m back on track in terms of writing fics so I’m happy! Anyways, you hear enough of me rambling in the a/n, enjoy the fic!

“Where to now?” You ask as you both exit the small coffee shop you frequent.

“Well I thought that instead of going straight back to the tower we could take a detour through the park, I heard there’s a farmers market going on right now.” She tells you. “But we could just go straight home if you want to.” 

“A farmer’s market sounds great!” You say excitedly, immediately walking in the direction of the nearby park. Natasha gives a small smile at your cuteness before covering it back up and taking a few quick steps so she’s walking beside you. 

The park is only a few blocks away and the farmers market is much bigger than you imagined it would be. Tents line the path selling freshly grown fruits and vegetables, bread, baked goods, honey, meat and some independent food vendors. There are also a few tents that look to be selling jewelry and bags instead of food. Immediately you’re at the first stand looking over the selection of freshly picked berries. Natasha catches up, huffing in annoyance at you. You ignore her, continuing to look over the berries before picking the best of each type; blueberries, raspberries and strawberries.

“Can we get them?” You ask, giving Natasha the best pleading eyes you can.

She sighs, giving in easily. “Fine.” You pump your hand in the air in victory, missing her smile about how cute you look. She quickly pays the owner of the stall and then follows as you search for another place to go.

“Ooooo can we get cookies?” You ask her when you see the bakery stand because the cookies look amazing.

“Of course!” She replies. “Why don’t we go to the juice stand because it’s closer first…” She trails off as she notices that you’ve already made your way to the stand, leaving her behind. She shakes her head at how excitable you are, talking to the person working there enthusiastically, pointing out different cookies.

“Y/n!” She admonishes lightly when she arrives at the stand.

“Sorry.” You tell her, unapologetic. She shakes her head but then buys the cookies you want, plus extras for the team. You almost feel bad that she’s paying for everything but you want cookies so you aren’t going to complain.

“You need to stop running off.” She tells you when you start to walk away, already leaving her behind as she puts the box of cookies in her bag with the berries. “From now on you’re staying with me.” You open your mouth to retort but all that comes out is incomprehensible babbling because she grabs your hand and holds it, not letting go.”

“What-what is that for?” You ask when you regain your normal speaking abilities.

She smirks. “Well now you can’t rush off without me. Do you have any problems with this?”

“No.” You squeak, happy to hold onto her hand.

“Good.” She replies, starting to walk and lead you around the market like nothing is wrong. You don’t even feel the urge to run off again because you honestly can’t pay full attention to anything but Natasha’s hand around your own. She keeps holding it as you go around to stands and doesn’t let it go even on the walk back to the tower. Although you probably should have gotten used to it after the first few minutes you still can’t concentrate as you get on the elevator with her and make your way up to the avengers area.

“Woah, woah, woah, Natasha and Y/n are holding hands!” Tony announces as soon as you step out. Embarrassed you drop her hand. 

“It’s because I kept leaving her behind so she didn’t want me to run away again.” You explain, your cheeks burning.

“Are you sure it’s not because you’re in love?” Tony asks, singsonging the word love. Natasha keeps her composure as always but you nearly choke.

“I’m going to give Bruce a cookie, bye!” You blurt out leaving the room as fast as you can.

“I did not see her holding any cookies.” Steve says, confused by your antics.

Natasha laughs. “That’s because she wasn’t.”

“No. We are not changing the conversation.” Tony butts in. “You were holding hands with Y/n.”

“And what about it?” Natasha counters, raising an eyebrow delicately, something she knew the entire team was jealous of.

“What about it? What about it?” Tony splutters. “The black widow doesn’t just hold hands with people! Are you guys dating?”

“Not yet,” Natasha admits, “I’m dropping some hints before I officially ask her out because I want to be sure she likes me, I can’t ruin our friendship over some one sided feelings.”

“I may not know much about love but Y/n is head over heels for you Natasha.” Steve assures her. “She is always happy around you.”

“Not to mention how flustered she gets.” Tony replies, helpful for once. 

“I’ve been noticing more and more, so should I just go ask her out now?” She asks. 

“Go for it.” Steve encourages and Natasha smiles, nods and begins to walk towards the door. 

“Good luck Romanoff!” Tony shouts after her. “Go get your girl!”

---

“Bruce, hi.” You say, out of breath from your run to the kitchen where you found him.

“Hi.” He replies, bemused. 

“I brought cookies!” You bring up your hands to show him, realizing in horror you had forgotten them. “I’m so sorry, I accidentally forgot to grab them from Nat.”

“It’s okay.” He chuckles. “Maybe we could go get them now?”

You shake your head violently. “No, nope, no, no, no, no, no. We definitely can’t do that.” 

“And why not?” He asks.

“Because I ran away from her.” You reply, feeling a little embarrassed about that now. Natasha had obviously noticed, she notices everything so you just hope she doesn’t ask about your strange behaviour.

“And you ran away from her because…” Bruce prompts, wanting to hear why although already suspecting the general reason.

“Because we were at the farmers market and I kept going ahead of her so she held my hand to keep me beside her but she didn’t let go and it made me feel nervous but it felt so nice and then Tony and Steve saw and asked if we were in love so I left quickly because I’m sort of maybe in love with her.” You ramble, not taking a breath. 

“Okay, calm down.” Bruce instructs. “Do you want to tell her you’re in love with her?”

“Of course not.,” you reply, “I’ve kept it hidden for months and I’m not going to stop now. I’m not going to lose my best friend over some one sided feelings.”

“Sometimes being truthful and open is better in the long run.” Bruce says and you guess it’s supposed to be smart but you are way too scared of Natasha’s reaction to tell her.

“Yeah ok.” You respond sarcastically. “What am I supposed to say? Hi Natasha, I just wanted to let you know that you holding my hand makes me flustered and unable to think because I’m in love with you. By the way I’m sorry I ruined our friendship.”

“Um, I think I’m going to go now.” Bruce says and you look at him confused. He gestures over your shoulder to the doorway where Natasha is standing.

“No, no, please stay.” You beg, and he hesitates on his way out.

“Please go Bruce.” Natasha says, pleasantly but firmly and with that he leaves, giving you a thumbs up behind her back.

Natasha takes a step further into the kitchen and you take a small step back. She takes another and you step back again, gulping. She tilts her head the the side and you can’t see what she’s thinking.

“I make you flustered?” She asks and you nod, knowing there’s no point in hiding it anymore. “And you love me?” You nod again, looking at the ground, the lights, the salt that’s on the counter, looking at anything just to avoid looking at her. 

When you finally look back she’s closer, much closer, just a little bit more than an arms length away. You step back again, you can’t breath. She steps forward, a big step and you try to move back but the counter blocks you. Technically you could go to the sides but you’re not thinking rationally right now, all you can think about is Natasha getting closer and closer until she is close enough to touch.

“Are you flustered now?” She asks, her voice low and flirty, nothing you’ve heard directed at you before.

You feel your face start to heat up. “A little.”

“Hmmm, only a little huh?” She asks rhetorically, stepping in so her body is only an inch from yours. “I’ll have to fix that.” 

You don’t know how to respond but you don’t have to because before you can think she’s leaning in and her lips are on yours and you can’t breathe again. It’s the best thing that you’ve ever felt and you close your eyes to focus on her lips against yours. All too soon she pulls back and you pout at the distance.

“What about now?” She asks.

“I-I, you, it, kiss what.” You respond, your brain not catching up to the situation.

She smirks. “That good?” You nod in reply, not trusting your mouth again. “Well then how about we go on a date? I’ll pick you up tomorrow at six from your room, wear something nice.”

She doesn’t bother waiting for a reply, striding from the room with a level of confidence you could only wish to have. You’re left staring at the doorway with a loopy look on your face, startling when Tony walks through it.

“I see you’ve talked to Natasha.” Is all he says, before casual grabbing a snack and walking out. Leaving you to your thoughts which have returned to being coherent. A smile spreads across your face, you have a real date with Natasha!

---

Taglist: @fayhar @stephanieromanoff @xxxtwilightaxelxxx @acertainredhead @madamevirgo @megaqueenmaeve @cherryblossomskye @thewidowsghost @nyx-aira @stephanieromanoff @stop-drop-and-drumroll @peggycarter-steverogers @casperlikej @wandas-vis @mxxnmocha @king-star​ 

[ruby-whistler]

Alright curious anon here. All this is /dsmp /rp from here on out unless otherwise specified and is refering to characters. If i make any mistakes or am misinformed please let me know! So by the cat was nothing compared to mushroom henry i was meaning more toward the fact that the cow was killed as a punishment for something not worth or ok for it to be killed for at all and the fact that it belonged to tommy, wheareas the cat was killed more to annoy dream and belonged to tommy. (1/?)

alright then another lengthy reply, here i come! /lh /dsmp /rp

Dream also did not seem to mourn the cat much, shrugging it off with a "just more motivation to break out".

it was killed to hurt dream, not to "annoy him". it doesn't matter who it belonged to, c!dream was attached to it and it died, which had an effect on him and also further proved his point about attachments being weakness and caring getting you hurt, and it's still very sad.

you say that it was not ok at all to kill mooshroom henry, but the cat's death wasn't ok either, so i really don't see your point.

again, i disagree it was "nothing compared to" either way. i never meant to compare them in the first place, i was simply talking about the cat and c!dream so i don't see why it is in any way necessary to drag c!tommy and other dead pets into this. /nm

also, it isn't true he didn't mourn it. he is a very reserved person who doesn't show his feelings much, that's true, but the cat death still changed the way he acted afterwards, as well as the attempts he made to prevent it. he didn't "shrug it off", he yelled about it because he was understandably upset.

You mentioned that propganda was used to make dream seem like a tyrant, could you specify a bjt? Cus im a little confused srry /gen. Because the most i can remember from the lmanburg era at least is him being called a b'tch or other similar insults. You also mentioned how trauma responses can be differet which is true! I agree! Do you have any ideas to what caused dream the trauma?

wilbur would continuously make him out to be some sort of oppressive, tyrannical force, in front of his troops - a prime example of this being the lyrics of the l'manberg anthem itself and the l'manberg declaration of independence.

actually! here's a nice thread about l'manberg's establishment complete with links, timestamps and evidence :]

i also said in my previous post what could've possibly caused it, but since the character intentionally hides his emotions from the public, it would be difficult to see how things really affected him - which is why the way his spiral went is the majority of the evidence that would imply it, however it does make sense within the story as well with what i mentioned last time.

I would like to note that for sapnap at least had reason to leave dream. Some examples off the top of my head are dream leading an angry fundy to sapnap's pets on purpose, resulting in some deaths, dream assisting tommy in burning down sapnap's effiel tower where he got engaged to karl, and dream giving tommy either mars or the other fish at the battle of the lake. Idk about george tho other then the whole mexican lmanburg/el rapids thing and decrowning him

c!sapnap was actually at fault for most of this, and it wasn't really ever betrayal on c!dream's part.

c!dream is a mediator and he wants to stop everyone's conflict - c!fundy was angry because of c!sapnap's actions, and hence it made more sense for c!dream to centre him on c!sapnap's animals instead of running around killing everyone's pets (at that time, all c!dream knew was c!sapnap did something really bad and c!fundy wanted beckerson / mars from him, which were also his and c!george's fish).

c!sapnap was an instigator, and in multiple conflicts during the time as well as before he'd align himself against c!dream. he isn't "loyal" per se, he causes chaos and the reason c!dream helped c!tommy was because, c!sapnap, again, killed his pet. the first l'manberg war and then the 16th are signs of the fact that c!dream and c!sapnap were willing to fight together in actual war, but these small conflicts where c!sapnap continuously picked fights weren't about personal loyalty, nor did they seem to affect their relationship at all.

c!george was never really hurt by c!dream either. the dethronement was him very obviously being a guilt-trippy drama queen, but, well, that's just the character. he had stolen the l'mantree while he was supposed to be the diplomatic figure of the greater smp, which is why c!dream was justified in - very politely, may i mention - taking the duties off of him (seeing as he was also trying to keep him safe and c!techno had already assassinated him once).

Im pretty sure i remember cc!sam stating that his character never canonically physically tortured dream during his subathon but take this with a grain of salt as i am looking for the clip currently. So to the best of my knowledge dream did not have a physical contact trigger during tommy's visit which! I rewatched the vod and dream actually was first to hit tommy and i can give you my full writing downs but 10/12 of the phy-

you never finished this point because you had to go do something, but i'll reply to what is here at the moment (i suggest writing these down before sending next time, or even writing them out wholly before sending a single one could help avoid stuff like this).

i am 95% sure that the reason cc!sam stated this was because people were suspicious he had already been doing what c!quackity was doing after - torture within the storyline itself is associated pretty much only with what c!quackity is doing, so that's what he meant, just to clear up confusion - the starvation or terrible conditions haven't been retconned, but it was direct torture (like c!quackity is doing) people were asking him about.

i never said c!dream had a physical contact trigger at all, i don't think he had that, though he probably will after the torture.

huh, ok, i'm gonna have to rewatch then, but i remember c!tommy punching c!dream a lot and him just telling him to stop and only punching back to get him to stop. trigger or not, getting hit isn't very pleasant, if you know what i mean.

You mentioned tommy stealing dream's armor unprovoked. Do you have the vod or a general idea of the time so i can find it? Like before lmanburg after another event so and so because if you do not have it i can find it but any help is appreciated.

i am pretty sure you can find the video on cc!tommy's channel! there are also recaps of the disc war on youtube :]

I wanna talk a little on why the Final Control Room was so messed up. For starters, with the way the room was designed. It was small, and had labeled, empty chests with each person's name on them as a mockery. The next reason is that its bascially a kill box.

It's fairly inescapble with the stairs being ones you have to jump up, slowing anyone who climbs them down. The final reason it is messed up is that it is shown to have caused every person who died in it trauma. With tommy there are several examples, the time he saw it with techno, the way he refuses to go near it, the exposure trauma, etc. Fundy also appears to have trauma, as when the Red Banquet executions began, it can be seen as him being afraid of dying last again.

It can Be thought as tubbo having trauma because he buries most of his issues and pretends to be ok. Moreover this event took at least one of each person's canon lives, making it the most canon lives lost EVER in a dream smp event. (This is not hate on any of the ccs btw i loved this scene and its one of my personal favorites). Plus the fact Eret's betrayal just literally happened, giving at least Tommy and Wilbur canonic trust issues.

i wouldn't call the chests mockery? it was a trap. people had traps on the smp before. it was a trap in the middle of war, supposed to end said war by killing them all at once rather than individually which would be a lot more bloody and difficult.

i agree c!tommy and other people might have post-war trauma, especially if they were young during the time, but i think that's because the final control room was "messed up", moreso because the war itself was. it all happened fairly instantly as well? i don't think c!fundy would be able to realize he was the last one standing within the two second before he wasn't.

it "can be thought" and it can be interpreted like that but besides c!tommy there isn't much evidence for them "all" being traumatized by the final control room. of course betrayal would spark trust issues, i understand that.

The probation was humiliating in my opinion because dream was Sending tommy anatgonizing messages through out the whole meeting, plus he had to write a review of his day every single day, which fundy mocked him for.

i mean, it was definitely a strike to his pride, but he was being extremely uncooperative so i don't really blame the other members of new l'manberg trying to teach him to listen for once? of course i know c!dream was riling him up, and that should definitely be considered. i don't think it would be as humiliating if c!tommy didn't make it, is what i'm saying.

for the tommy being toxic to fundy? At least for the examples you gave, to me personally they come acoross as either in a meta way being the cc's bantering or in canon being the characters having banter. If you can send the post with the clips so i can read the tone better that would be cool but if not i will try and find em.

no, these were all in canon. canon isn't only when c!tommy is being nice, it's also when he's being a jerk. /lh

the first one was him threatening c!fundy about kicking him out of l'manberg and undermining his self-worth, and the second one was him trying to get c!sapnap to vote for them via bullying c!fundy.

i found these from a transcript focusing on c!fundy's character, so i don't know exactly where the first one is from, but the second one i am pretty sure is from when the elections were starting with the whole cabinet battle deal and all of that.

there are other instances, and all of them are canon. his personality was never being nice or compassionate, so i'm not really surprised? he still cares about the people he cares about and is very brave, y'know. but this part of his personality is definitely a valid reason for people to dislike him.

I hope the exam went well :). Hope u have a great day! (Ps i think theres something called a submission box to send in pictures? Am not entirely sure sry)

it would've gone well but my work-speed is a tad too slow for the schooling system (considering i'm three years younger than my classmates,,, probably that's also a factor) so probably not despite the fact i knew everything and would've aced it if i only had more time. i did as well as i could so i'm not worried about it, but thanks!

i think you're thinking submissions. sadly, i tested it and it doesn't work on anons, so idk how you'd solve that, maybe make a burner account?

Curious anon here one point you may wanna include in the redemption essay is that c!tubbo or c!tommy do not necessarily have to forgive him. What's important is that he recognizes what he did was wrong (exile, beating tommy to death, manipulating them both, etc) and does his best to make amends. Hope this helps! Can't wait to see your essay

it's out, idk if you've seen it yet, and i think i included enough of that so hope it's all good! :)

the mcc update video is out if you are an mcc enjoyer. It's very neat, if you wanna check it out

yeah! i am a fellow mcc enjoyer, saw it already, thanks for telling me though, i'm really hype for today.

Allo curious anon here sorry if the lots of asks bother you. I was just curious if i could share an interesting post i saw today about c!dream :0 (not necessarily negative i think? More of a statement of an often-confused canon)

sure thing! i don't know what you mean by often-confused since, the entire fanbase is very confused always, and often selection bias plays into the perception from both sides, but sure :]

you also sent in a thing for the other anon who said they didn't know what c!dream did that bad; pretty sure they couldn't really be alerted since, not sure if they watch my blog that closely, but i'll summarize your points just in case and add some notes;

the repeated blowing up of l'manberg (in my mind that's largely a positive since i,, despise that country, but fair enough), revealed c!ranboo as a traitor (they seem to be friends so i also,, think that might've been planned between him and enderboo), sent ghostbur away (i don't think c!dream knew it was dangerous for him and wanted to actually hurt him, but idk), participated in fighting against c!sapnap when he killed people's pets (that's only negative against c!sapnap and didn't seem to hurt him much at all), and then the whole vault scene where he was allegedly planning to steal people's things (though saying he would & being stopped beforehand and doing it are two different things, frankly).

so i still agree with the other anon that a lot of the hurt he did "to the entire server" (he only negatively interacted with like,, a half of them) is exaggerated both by the characters and the fandom, but i guess that's a consequence of most people seeing him as a threat to everyone's happiness rather than a complex personality.

Also he was aware of the butcher army going to kill techno but only got involved because he saw an opportunity to get a favor. (As he knew in advance due to him telling techno to get a totem, watching from afar instead of interveing or manipulating tubbo out of it)

i don't understand this at all, i'm sorry. how do you know he only helped techno in order to get a favor? last i remember he was only doing it to protect and strengthen his alliance, and techno came up with the whole favor thing entirely on his own. you might've not watched techno's perspective or their prior interactions, idk, but this really is a misinterpretation in my eyes. /nm

sorry if that is overly dream negative i just wanted to let yall know cus you seemed unaware -curious anon

nah dw, i watch the smp and i watched all of these things happen so, wouldn't say unaware, but thanks.

[gb-patch]

Ask Answers (February 22nd, 2021)

Hello! Here’s another collection of anon ask answers all put together in one big post.

This might be strange considering how upbeat yall are about the fandoms for your games in general, but is there any particular trope or ship you WOULDN'T want us writing/drawing/etc. in relation to your stuff? (IE, any canon you don't want us 'overwriting' or something like that?)

Of course we would want the fan content people make to not be racist, sexist, homophobic, bigoted, harmful, etc. But in terms of generally doing non-canon pairings or adding in headcanons or stuff, we really don’t mind that. People are welcome to have fun and explore their own ideas.

for the 1.2 Android update was it meant to download as a  separate app? I really want to keep my previous save files but they don't show up (also thank u for the updates I'm really excited to get back into the game!!)

We had to change the name of the file and unfortunately for some phones that meant it’s treated as a brand new game. I’m sorry your saves didn’t transfer over to the new version. You can try to look up your specific phone and see if there’s a way to access save files for games on your device and then transfer those saves over to the new build manually. It may or may not be possible.

I'm having some trouble figuring out how to get the update from Itichio without losing my save files? Is it the same game or a folder I can put in the properties? Sorry if this question is not worded well or if this isn't the avenue you'd want to take technical questions on

Are you using Android? If so, the above answer may apply to you. If you’re on PC or Mac, the save files will automatically still be included.

Hey. I really loved playing our life. It was a fun experience and I never thought I would like it this much. I do have a question, I am currently replaying the game and I am choosing choices I never chose at first. In step 2 during the road trip arc, I decided to ask Cove about what he liked to see on people. One of his response was anklets and black eyes. My MC have just happens to have black eyes. Do Cove say black eyes cuz my mc have it or it was just a coincidently programmed into the game?

He uses your eye color intentionally! If you changed your eye color he’d change what he said.

Will step 4 have 10 moments like steps 1-3? 

Step 4 is only an epilogue. It plays like the openings/endings of the earlier Steps where it’s a bunch of scenes all in a row, there aren’t any individual Moments.

hi! who was/were the artist(s) for our life? 

&

who is the artist for Our Life: Beginning and Always?

Main Sprite and CG Artist: Addrossi

Main Background Artist: Vui Huynh

Main Interface Artist: Winter Slice

Other artists who helped out can be seen in the credits of the game.

In the new ol, there are two main love interests... Would it be possible to pair them together or is that weird? 

You can’t stay single and pair them together. If we are going to add all the extra content to have a route where the two LIs get together, it’d be a full poly route where them and the MC were all dating. And that’s not a for sure option yet because it’d add a lot of extra complications. But either way, in OL the relationships all gotta be about the MC, haha.

In OL2, there will be extra LIs in form of DLCs? Like Dexter and Baxter. 

Maybe! We’ll see how it goes.

Since Cove will have 2 diff body types in s4, will the storyline and dialogs reflect this? Or all of it will be the same? Btw love the game and sorry for bad english. Hope this doesn't sound rude 😅 

Some descriptions and pieces of dialog will change, but it won’t impact the story really. And you don’t need to apologize! It’s all good.

Will you ever release the transparent sprites of the Our Life characters? 

Probably not, I’m afraid. They’ve got a lot of pieces and it’d just be kind of hard to deal with, aha.

Something I was curious about, what was your inspiration for making a game with so much customization?

Initially, the idea was just about having a romance where you actually grew up with the LI. But it was pretty stressful to try deciding how fast the relationship would progress with it taking place over such a long period of time and with no real storyline carrying it. People might not wanna play a game where the characters don’t get along as kids, but other people might not bother with a game where kids immediately liked each other. So the obvious answer came, just let the player pick themselves how it goes. From there we simply continued to add more flexibly with the MC due to the same thought process of wanting to make sure people were onboard with how their life was going.

What made you decide to change the artstyle for ol 2 so much? I of course respect all your decisions and will buy the shit out of everything related to ol 2, but i love the original style and i m honestly not a fan of the styles shown on patreon, despite me liking the painterly style in general. (I don t mind the style being changed, just that the examples shown so far all feel like there s something wrong with them.) 

We’ve always used different art styles for each of our projects. They all have distinct looks from each other. It’s just nice to do something new. I’m glad you really like how the first game looks, though. And those samples were only general concepts, rather than the exact options being decided between. We wanted to see reactions to different options. The art style we’re going with won’t be exactly like those, though I personally like all of them. I think players are gonna enjoy the style Our Life: Now & Forever when it’s revealed.

Hey! Is it ok to ask what gender ourlife2 protagonist will be and if we'll be given the same opportunity to customize an MC? Totally understand if you're keeping this under wraps for now if u don't wanna say! 

OL2 will have the same type of MC customization as OL1, but even more refined! So their gender will be up to you.

Hi! I happened upon Our Life on Steam by pure chance. It is such a great game, I am super excited about the DLC, and I just want you all to know that you are awesome! :D I have a question, and I'm sorry if it's been asked before. Do you have plans of making more games similar to Our Life, with customizable player character? The customizable player character was probably the one thing I personally have been desperate for in romance VNs. So glad there finally is one and would love to see more.

Thank you! And yep, we do have plans for more games like Our Life, most notably is another game in the franchise- Our Life: Now & Forever. We’ll also likely have other, non-OL, games with customizable MCs, though we may still have some games with set MCs in the future as well.

On the patreon dlc just curious but is it possible to play it without actually sleeping together/getting the nsfw content? I just want to spend more time with Cove 

Yeah, you can still choose not to go that far. Though the event is shorter if you pass on the 18+ stuff.

At the beginning of Step 2, did Cove end up accidentally falling asleep in your bed? Or did he fall asleep on the floor? 

He fell asleep sitting on the floor with his body/head leaning against the side of the bed.

This may seem like a weird question, but what exactly is the difference between "direct" and "relaxed" on the comfort scale?

Direct is blunter and more teasing, relaxed is lighthearted and goes with the flow.

can the MC have tattoos in step 3? 

Not in Step 3, but you can in Step 4.

how would Cove react if he visited somewhere like North Carolina in winter where it can get in the 20s(F) at night sometimes? 

He would be shocked and unprepared for what serious coldness is really like, haha. The poor beach baby would wanna go home.

Hello! I just joined the PATREON!! It’s amazing! I love your games! I have a question, approximately how much after will the nsfw be out? After or before the dlc 3 and step four? Sorry my English isn’t the best!❤️❤️❤️ 

Thanks so much! The NSFW DLC will be out after the Step 3 DLC but before Step 4. And you don’t need to apologize for that ^^.

This might be obvious but, will step 4 have dlcs? Also, where will the nsfw dlc happen? Won't bother me at all if it s in in our or his house but i do think it d be moderately funny 

Step 4 will have the Cove Wedding DLC and the Derek and Baxter romance DLCs each add a lot of new content to Step 4, though they’re also partially set in Step 2 and Step 3 respectively. The NSFW DLC happens in Cove’s room.

I keep wondering what would've happened if Mr. Holden met Lizzie first instead of the MC. I can't see that turning out well somehow lol. 

It wouldn’t have made a difference. He met the MC’s parents first and they told him about their two kids. He wanted the MC specifically to be Cove’s friend because the two were the same age.

Even though we have a way to go I'm really excited for OL 2! I was curious though, is the next main character going to be adopted again? I thought it was really clever to make the first main character adopted so when players are customizing,  they can make them look how ever they like without worrying about pesky genetics. Just wondering! 

The OL2 MC is not adopted. We wanted to go for a new dynamic. Instead their parents are their biological single mother who is partially customizable and an off-screen sperm donor father. So the mom will look generally like the MC and any other traits not from her can be assumed to come from whoever the father was.

—– —– —–

Thank you so much for all the asks ^^

FAQ   If you prefer to just see the main posts without all the asks/reblogs, feel free to follow our side account instead: GB Patch Updates Blog

[i-just-want-to-destroy]

oh I see !

just got merely curious, you do write good stuff imo and taking it slow should be a valid direction in the writing process (considering writers block)

but I guess I meant to ask how you have the motivation and energy to continue writing and producing said stories

to have the means on picking it back up throughout the months

and what your thought process goes through as well on planning your course of action - curios anon (also hope you don't mind me asking you so many things)

thanks for your kind words and ask! super long answer below.

motivation wise, i think its because 1) I want to see how the story ends, 2) the feedback that I get, 3) writing is fun.

1) A. im an organic writer which means sometimes i go in without a plan not knowing the ending and often not even knowing where im going with a story. sometimes i would sooort of know the general ending of the story but i have no idea how im going to get there. i write with very, very rough outline, if any at all. with one shots there are usually no outlines at all. im well aware this makes me sound like an irresponsible writer, which is not incorrect, but this method of writing is exciting to me.

every time i finish a fic im surprised at myself because i genuinely did not know how it was going to end. my favorite thing is when i write and i suddenly figure out why the character is doing what theyre doing, or what the story is trying to say. the eureka! moment. this happens to all of my stories bc i play by ear most of the time. its really thrilling to me to watch things play out as it happens, if that makes sense!

i think its why i love writing mysteries so much because the story is a mystery to me too. its like putting a puzzle together but you make the pieces yourself, and its so difficult but also so much fun. the moment everything is revealed, the moment i understand whats going on in the story, what the character wants, how everything falls together ... whoa. it makes everything worth it.

so yeah. i want to see how the story ends as much as (i hope!) the readers do.

B. its rare, but sometimes i do know what im trying to say with a story. this is usually for vent fics. and venting i believe is a really good thing to do in order to stay alive and stuff, yknow. its like taking a dump. you gotta get those shit out of yourself and put it out to the world so someone else would read the shit and would be like, "oh, i connect with this shit! i understand what this shit is trying to say!" and then you feel better. its free therapy and also free human connection

2) it cheers me up whenever a reader says the story makes them feel something, or if they manage to connect with it, which is the best thing ever. it feels great. and i do feel an obligation to continue a story because of this. whenever my multichap fics get a comment it does nudge something in me to actually open my google doc. if anyone who has ever commented on my stuff is reading this thank you SO much btw you dont even know.

3) writing is fun. thats it.

that being said, i run out of energy a lot. i do best when its a 20-25k story. longer than that and its hell to me personally. i think this will get better in time because back then i remember 10k was insane to me (i used to write 2k max) and so 20k was inconceivable--but here i am. 200k is inconceivable to me right now, but maybe it wont be in another five years.

i do encounter issues because of my (inadvisable) process. my issue is mostly continuity (because i dont write consistently). sometimes id realize something ive missed like details, or plot points that i shouldve brought up on earlier chapters, foreshadowings that ended up going nowhere ... things like that. i usually reread my own stuff before i update so i remember where im at. writing style change is also an issue.

all in all, this is bad practice and i dont recommend this. i think having a good outline and write consistently is the goal. i hope my process gets better but im ngl, i have a lot of fun with going blind. it keeps things from getting boring. and also i do think as time goes on im more daring to write things i wouldnt have before.

i.e at the beginning of writing retry i didnt want to write inko because i thought it was too difficult and i didnt think i could give that kind of character (a mother of a suicidal person) justice. but now inko has become a very important character. this wouldnt have happened if i had finished retry like, two years ago or something. me back then couldnt do it, but the me right now can. i do think despite all of its flaws, and also despite the fact that its incomplete, the fic has become much better for it because im ... older? more experienced? etc.

i dont think any of my fics will be "good" and "polished" compared to actual published books (or even other fics lol). i dont think thats my goal either. im just trying to go as far as i can go with them and maybe entertain a few people while im at it, and especially, entertain myself. thats where im at now in my writing. if you read this far... well, hope this makes sense.

[ablednt]

Hellooo!! Just curious to see your opinion, what are your thoughts on age regression and the trauma surrounding it? Or possibly the percentage of people who age regress that are ND? (You don't have to answer btw I just wanna see what you think!)

Oh I age regress myself actually! I've made a few posts about it but I haven't talked about it a whole lot on here so I understand why you wouldn't have seen it/g

My thoughts on this got too long so I'm putting it under a cut but beforehand

tl;dr: I'm an involuntary age regressor and this is inherently linked to my childhood trauma, my autism, and my plurality. I do Not Support the sexualization of regression in any capacity and am deeply hurt by it as a survivor. I also find anti-regression sentiments incredibly frustrating because it's hypocritical to boast about how everyone needs to nurture their inner child only to lash out at whoever does so in a way that's "too cringy." Etc.

Mine is involuntary so I think that especially gives me a perspective on the whole thing like, I absolutely support people who do it voluntarily and generally think that's healthier, but like I think it's a natural progression that people who didn't experience a good childhood or even a childhood at all are going to have times where they need to act like a child and I tried to repress mine for a number of years because I was afraid of what people would think of me but it turns out that things only get worse when you do that and also that the people who really matter in the long run just want me to exist as I am and to accept the parts of myself that I'm self-conscious about.

I do get why a lot of people initially are wary around it due to the way that it's sexualized (which as a survivor of the trauma sexualized and someone who is actually age regressing I find absolutely fucking disgusting) but I really don't think that traumatized and nd people should have to answer for the people who are by all intents and purposes targeting us first and foremost.

But aside from the valid concerns that are very easily handled by simply separating our communities from the harmful ones, any other argument for it misunderstands what it is on a fundamental level and often falls into a lot of ableist rhetoric.

I mean I've gotten a number of anons at this point criticizing me for being "too childish" for (casually) enjoying a lot of children's media and for being too child-like and whiny and that isn't in any direct response to my age regressing but it is attached to this idea that to be a valid autistic person I need to "act my age (whatever that means in this case, considering I very much Am Aware of the bodies age at all times lol)" and that if I come off as childish at all that I'm somehow infantilizing other autistics and making the community look bad etc.

And it's extremely frustrating when you spent the first 5/6ths of your childhood trying to act like an adult because you're in a trauma environment and that's what's being demanded of you, then you realize you've never been a child so you snap and try to get some semblance of having had a good experience in your late teens, and then are immediately expected to "act your age" when there's no one in your life to model exactly what that looks like.

Additionally, all of the markers of having grown up, and a few of the things that ableist anons tell me to "just go and do" like it's super easy, are things that most marginalized gen Zers just cannot afford to do in this economy?

For one I was never sent to school in the first place so I never had the progression of going through different grades and I didn't ever have a graduation of any kind but I also currently am struggling to get my GED and I've completely sworn off college for now because it's not worth it to go into debt when a degree does very little for me in this economy. I'm too disabled to get a car or learn to drive, too queer and plural for a traditional marriage, and though I am working on trying to get a job and am going to give that all once I can that still hasn't been a reality and I've been an adult for a few years now already.

And being physically disabled, a little person, and visibly autistic on top of all that means that I'm not treated like an adult in any capacity no matter where I go unless it's legally required for people to do so. So it sometimes feels deeply unfair to hear that it's somehow fine to have any semblance of adult independence and opportunity taken from me but then to turn around and demonize me for returning to things that comforted me in childhood or to allow myself, in safe environments, to finally decompress and be myself for a while.

It's just really telling that everyone is all "give your inner child time and nurture them... unless you do so in a way that's cringy in any conceivable way why aren't you acting your own age why do you like a kids movie ew what the fuck is wrong with you get a therapist lol"

Lastly, it's deeply frustrating as a system member because internally I'm not even the body's age. This does NOT mean that at any point I can act in a way that would be flat out inappropriate for the body's age or that my being younger internally is at all comparable to being a minor externally/for real. But like in terms of maturity and stress management I still am stuck around age fifteen, I had this weird experience of watching all my peers grow up and change a lot and move on with their lives but I stayed very much stagnated both in the sense of my development mentally and in the sense that I just have not felt like any time has passed since I formed in 2016.

If I were able to be healthy about everything then I would not be hosting this system and someone closer to the body's age would be because they have the maturity to keep up with our brain and to manage our life better (so many of our headmates do!) but I cannot control it I am stuck in control of the body permanently for now so it's like yeah mentally I'm still very much an exhausted teenager who has to meet expectations that are far beyond what they are able to do regularly. So I Really Just Cannot Blame Myself for sometimes having had enough of all that and regressing. I cannot control when this happens (it tends to happen when I get overwhelmed) but even if I could I would choose to regress because it is one of the few healthy coping mechanisms I have at this point honestly.

[ranboo5]

whats 'the clip' and knifetrick?

Augh. Under the cut for shipping discourse and p/dophilia ment (nothing graphic or specific). Gets long bc I discuss my thoughts on DSMP shipping in general. You are setting me up fr anon

Some quick vocab -

intimacy here is used to refer to. Well. Any kind of intimacy between characters, of any sort, as an umbrella term /r, /p, and /qp here are used as shorteners to denote "romantic," "platonic," and "queerplatonic," both as adjectives And as verbs ("to /r" = "to portray romantically") shipping here is used to refer to any focused examination of intimacy between characters

And some clarity that Should follow from the essay next but may not - """anti-antis"""" and RPF writers delete forever

The Clip is from one of if not the? most recent Discord stage(s) Mr Live has done (which I missed when it was live RIP) wherein he issues a hard ban on shipping him ("do not ship me, in any way, with anyone!") which would less influence c!beeduo (which has been portrayed/stated to be romantic AND nonromantic both conflictingly for a while until being confirmed unconfirmed several months ago, that being the last was heard) without its direct invocation if he hadn't also cited for the reason as being underage ("'Cause, one, it's straight up pedophilia") which is! a) immediately applicable to At Least his DSMP character, Partially and b) while not Strictly True (should b obvious that portraying a relationship within the bounds of what it is in canon and in a nonsexual way is not That, and /r-ing c!beeduo etc was possible to do Appropriately again by remaining w/in the bounds of canon) is Clearly Indicative of the fact that baggage-wise it IS associated with people being fucking creeps

This Really complicates things bc like okay the apparent solution is "lol just don't /r it" but it's really like. A Worse issue than that bc like.

Okay the reason shipping in terms of fictional characters is a Different Bar is bc it's an examination of Intimacy and certain lines exist in certain dynamics of intimacy that Isn't Shown (which is the whole Within The Bounds Of Canon thing) which is important in a medium like DSMP because of the smaller gap + more personal relationship b/w character and streamer. Examining intimacy beyond th bounds of the consent that has been established in that regard is Weird at best and Violating And Creepy more often and, As Mentioned In Ranb's Stage, Literally Evil at worst

Which is why writing abt like. QPR or platonically intimate Techno and Philza (characters) is smth that is fine because that's smth that has been shown and repeatedly stated onscreen; it's in the bounds of canon n thus within th bounds of what the streamers've consented 2 be done with their characters. But writing T3chza making out or whatever is fucked up because it's smth that's beyond those consent barriers

And the thing is right

Slapping a /p on T3chza makeout doesn't. Make it less violating

Like what you CALL romantic is not the measure or whether it's past those barriers yk? And if it's indistinguishable, if it's in extrapolative territory that is Past The Bounds, it Does Not Matter how much you /p it EVEN IF IT IS TECHNICALLY PLATONIC y feel? Like at the end of the day placing a moratorium on some/all forms of shipping is placing a moratorium on certain examinings of intimacy

And okay 2 go back to Mr Live and his character. What it implies taken in context w/ older portrayals of c!beeduo and said by invoking smth that both evokes Really fucked up baggage (that does unfortunately exist btw I'm sorry if you didn't know that but People Really Do B Fucked Up Abt Beeduo) AND applies to his character is a revocation of consent to examining deep intimacies:tm: with his character, which is gonna apply regardless of the nature of that intimacy (even if nonromantic)

Like I don't /r c!beeduo myself, do not, never have, but I talk to people who have and have consumed content where they r background /r; I also don't think it matters. Like I don't Actively /r it and I don't Actively Not /r it because imho w/ the intimacy regarding c!beeduo that is plot relevant and character important whether that intimacy is /p /qp or /r doesn't really matter. I don't consider myself Less of a c!beeduo shipper than someone who /rs them because that would be dumb as hell and while none of the content I've made* is Intrinsically or Intentionally /r it certainly can be read tht way as much as it can be read /qp or /p. It's be dumb and hypocritical of me to like, dunk on ppl for /r-ing c!beeduo when I'm also invested in these two and my tonetags r not gonna suddenly Delete the picking apart I've done of the dynamic @ hand

Which Has Been. Within Bounds Of Canon. It's been what's been shown (sometimes to my great distress. There is a reason that the :canon_beeduo: emote looks the way it does) Directly Onscreen and in general keeping with the tone n intensity/directions of what they've Done With The Characters

HOWEVER

As mentioned up there. Revocation of consent

It makes. Full sense 2 me that Mr Live wants to place a moratorium or fullon ban on shipping his characters perhaps where he wouldn't have before because of the Unfortunately Very Extant trends of people being Fucking Weird about shipping his characters AND of using them as a Thinly Veiled Excuse to ship HIM, which. I should not have to explain why shipping real people is fucking abhorrent

THIS creates a problem which is a. Bit of a vacuum in interacting with what is a facet of c!Ranboo's arc, decision making, and character. Like you CAN have c!Ranboo w/o cbeeduo but you Can't Really have his plotline without examining c!beeduo. And as I mentioned earlier: even if your examination of c!beeduo is fully platonic, the significance of it To the plotline means that any examination of it and its relevance to the plotline and characters IS gonna be an examination of intimacy, which. Regardless of it's platonic, Is Still Shipping

Unless some HARD retconning happens it leaves this like. Hole in an aspect of c!Ranboo's arc and decisionmaking and it's very. Uncertain? God. Fucking months ago I was already kind of :huh. Does he know what the fuck he's doing: irt c!beeduo and desperately wishing for things to be cleared up and now it's only That Much Stronger

NOW. KNIFETRICK, FINALLY

Knifetrick (or, as it’s actually listed, Bishop’s Knife Trick) is a fic about "Ran and Jackie from The Pit TFTSMP" in a "canon-typical ambiguously romantic relationship." As you can tell from the scare quotes, especially if you've seen me vague, both of these are, to put it politely, Doubtful. I've read the fic; I will not be sharing my opinions because that would be neither productive nor responsible (I will just say I can't recommend it and leave it at that) but I WILL say the following that Is relevant to the conversation:

Ran's and Jackie's characterizations respectively have very little to do with characterizations from The Pit, and bear a dollar-store-version resemblance to tropes and personality motifs found in ESPECIALLY fanon c!beeduo, especially later in the fic. I would not go so far as to say they are Intentionally Literally Ranboo and Tubbo but they are transparent expies and were clearly written at LEAST unintentionally w/ c!beeduo in mind (esp since. Ran and Jackie barely interacted in The Pit), and for a readerbase that, as far as I can tell, is HUGELY dominated by /r c!beeduo shippers. Like. Sorry. This is off-brand c!beeduo.

The dynamic between the two is pretty unambiguously romantic, also; despite what the fic's white knights claim, romantic tropes and implications/motifs/imagery from at LEAST chapter two, and is very much explicitly romantic by the most recent chapter.

FROM CH1:

"And now, with raised eyebrows and a pursed lip, the newly named General Jackie observes Ran in such a way that makes the enderman’s skin crawl. Ran reminds himself that this kid, as short and harmless as he may look, is trained to kill. [...] Jackie narrows his eyes and tilts his head a little, as if he’s trying to read in between every one of Ran’s imperfect scales."

FROM CH2:

"It makes Ran’s skin itch with discomfort. [...] 'That actually doesn’t explain much of anything at all,' complains Jackie, and he pops a few croutons into his mouth with one hand. 'Tell me what you’re thinking, pretty-boy.'

"Ran feels his face flush, no doubt mildly glowing green.

"Yes, that was the other thing. The unnecessary compliments to his physical appearance.

"They don’t happen very often, and don’t seem to have very much meaning or intention behind them— Jackie often speaks like an unthinking kid— but when they do happen… they’re embarrassing. [...] It’s annoying how the rug is pulled out from under his feet in these moments when he’s 'embarrassed'. Like the conversation see-saw has temporarily shifted weight in the general’s favor."

I am not going to include excerpts from Chapter 6 because it's just the entire chapter.

I WILL SAY, HOWEVER, STEPPING ON THIS SCORPION BEFORE IT STINGS: they are not written in an RPFy manner and I don't think there's any grounds, including Vibes, of accusing Knifetrick of being like. Closet truthing or whatever. Also, while I think there's certainly Some Weirdness ESPECIALLY around the reaction, the romance itself is Not written in any way I'd call weird or problematic pre-clip; it's nothing inappropriate or like Weirdly Fetishy or whatever. Knifetrick is not #problematic or anything and I don't have beef with like the concept of liking it intrinsically; if I thought it was like. Abhorrent I wouldn't be sharing excerpts lmao dhjfnhdsbvdnfjh. Hence: if anyone uses this post or anyth like it to send harassment or bad faith ANYTHING to anyone involved with Knifetrick I will hunt you down in the fucking night even if it WAS #problematic that'd be the LITERAL OPPOSITE of productive and as it stands it's Literally Not. Essentially: Knifetrick is a (questionably-written /mean) fic using Ran and Jackie from The Pit as a vessel for a large chunk of the dynamics and headcanons of fanon /r c!beeduo in particular

And again, I would not call it problematic in any way (aside from the disingenuity of the insistence that it's TOTALLY UNRELATED TO BEEDUO and TOOOTALLY WASN'T INTENDED TO BE ROMANTIC GUYS like own your shit please)... IF it weren't for the advent of The Clip, which is calling in2 question the Entirety of the problem of /r-ing any variant of c!beeduo or any of Ranboo's characters at all

I really do not have an answer for this tbh. I genuinely wanna hear from the streamer on this more specifically because I like,,, I got no clue where 2 go from here? Do I just consider an arc retconned? Was it an issue of speaking abt a troubling subject kneejerk wise and I'm reading too much in2 it?

I just. I dunno

Tl;dr (AT LONG LAST)

- The Clip is a clip of a Discord stage where Ranboo (streamer) loudly explicitly decried shipping in a way that implicitly applies to characters he plays - This would be all well and good but is rendered complicated by the plot relevance of c!beeduo, which does not stop being shipping if it's /p'd due to it still necessarily being an examination of a particular intimacy in a way that is in canon hard to distinguish the /p, /qp, or /r nature of - Bishop's Knife Trick is an AO3 fic centered around using TFTSMP characters as /r c!beeduo expies which is not a bad thing in and of itself unless it also is covered under this moratorium - Things remain unclear until and unless we get clearer word from streamer, but considering Mr Live seems to be allergic to clarifying anything abt c!beeduo this is doubtful

*very little if any of the content I personally have made 4 c!beeduo has been posted publicly, for related reasons. You May have seen it if you're in servers w/ me, depending on Which Ones

[thinkingisadangerouspastime]

I find it really intriguing how the ATLA writers could have gone a “brotherly love” route with Zuko and Aang, but they never did. Even in LOK, the only thing that I remember Iroh saying about their relationship was that they canonically became the best of friends and that Zuko knew Aang better than anyone, even more than Katara and their children. I find the direction of their relationship a contrast to how often the bond between the male protagonist and the male antagonist that are spiritually linked in other media is reduced to “they were like brothers” and put aside for the respective heterosexual romances of the leads, even though the relationships between the leads often have homoerotic subtext and can be interpreted through a queer lens. I guess what I’m wondering is: would you classify Zuko and Aang’s relationship as brotherly? Do you support interpretations where their relationship is viewed as brotherly? And finally (I’m sorry for all of the questions): why do you think the ATLA writers - who seem to mostly be composed of cishet men - never took the “brotherly love” route and left the nature of their relationship ambiguous?

This ask has been in my inbox for a Hot Minute 💀 my apologies, my friend. And since I haven’t seen LOK, I won’t try to speak on the front. Before I continue, though, @likealittleheartbeat has an AMAZING analysis here about the interpretation of Aang and Zuko’s relationship through a queer-platonic lens that I found to be an incredible read and arguably could answer this ask on its own, lol!

I guess the general “issue” that must be addressed to answer these questions is simply how we define brotherly. That “we” can be divided into the viewers and the writers, only adding another layer of complexity. Because the reality is that we can’t jump into the creators minds and see exactly how they intended Zuko and Aang’s relationship to be interpreted. We can make deductions, e.g. the existence of Kataang and Maiko suggests Zuko and Aang were not intended to have a romantic relationship within canon (duh, lol). In fact, you could even add another division to the “we” - the writers, the viewers, and the characters themselves (i.e. interpretation through the cultural lenses that inspired the show).

All of this is to say that there is not going to be one agreed-upon definition of “brotherly,” lol! Since you seem to be asking for my personal opinions, I’ll go with my personal definition. If anyone has differing thoughts in response to these questions, please feel free to add them in a comment or rb! I think there’s a lot to explore here and my sole opinion is Not the be-all and end-all, lmao.

So, what is my personal definition of “brotherly”? I’m not going to try to make a formal definition, lol, but the gist of my interpretation is a platonic relationship akin to that of siblings. To me, there is a difference between having a “brotherly relationship” with someone versus a “friendship” (I almost used “friendly relationship” but that didn’t feel right jskdfhakdls). I think these two can overlap and/or be the same, but - for example - I have friends who I would say without hesitation that I am incredibly close with, but I also would not classify that friendship as “sisterly.” (Again, these are strictly my personal thoughts, and I encourage further discussion in comments/rbs!)

I’ll take your questions one at a time:

Would you classify Zuko and Aang’s relationship as brotherly?

Personally? Probably not. To me, there is a sense of superficiality associated with the term “brotherly” that in my eyes can be reductive to platonic relationships between men (can be, not always lol). I think with Zuko and Aang, the relationship just runs much deeper than “brotherly” can connote. For one, they are the primary narrative foils of the show! The only relationship that comes close to theirs in terms of narrative significance is Kataang (which is a very different dichotomy, btw, I’m not trying to compare them lol). We have numerous episodes dedicated to the parallels between Aang and Zuko, including but not limited to “The Storm” and “The Avatar and the Fire Lord.” I mean, this is an actual quote from the latter episode:

Do you really think friendships can last more than one lifetime?

We see variants of this line and the notion of friendship itself associated throughout that episode explicitly with Roku and Sozin, Roku and Gyatso, and of course the Gaang at the end, but implicitly we also know it’s about Aang and Zuko, too. Aang says, “Everyone, even the Fire Lord and the Fire Nation, have to be treated like they’re worth giving a chance.” One common take with this line that I’ve seen is interpreting it as foreshadowing for Aang’s decision to spare Ozai - which obviously is a fair assessment - but we cannot also ignore how much it applies to Zuko joining the Gaang. Specifically, Zuko reconciling with Aang.

We all know Aang was the first person to extend friendship to Zuko back in “The Blue Spirit” and tbh, after he saw Appa licking Zuko, you can tell Aang was nearly willing to extend a second chance to Zuko then and there lol. Aang and Zuko’s friendship, them being drawn together, is a relationship that transcends lifetimes, transcends social norms/expectations, transcends a loss greater than anyone can imagine (for Aang) and offers a new opportunity arguably far more than deserved (for Zuko). I think ascribing a qualifier of “brotherly” to their relationship therefore limits this transcendence because of how much their dynamic encompasses.

Do you support interpretations where their relationship is viewed as brotherly?

Of course! One of the reasons I love A:TLA - especially my small corner of the fandom - is how many interpretations that every relationship presents, be it a small “difference” (such as calling Zuko and Aang’s relationship “brotherly”) or a more drastic one (exploring fanon possibilities with rarepairs, let’s go #AangRarepairWeek 😎). So even if this interpretation isn’t one I’m inclined to in the literal sense (i.e. it’s the “brotherly” qualifier I feel I dislike, because I do love platonic Zukaang as much as romantic Zukaang), I absolutely encourage others to make the most of their fandom experience and product/support content that they enjoy!

Why do you think the ATLA writers - who seem to mostly be composed of cishet men - never took the “brotherly love” route and left the nature of their relationship ambiguous?

I will say that we don’t really have any way of knowing the sexualities and gender identities of every single A:TLA writer, lol. I’m not saying they were all queer in some way, of course, but I just want to establish that we don’t and can’t know unless told. If that makes sense 😂

As I mentioned earlier, I have no way of getting inside the writers’ minds to determine their intentions when they were writing Zuko and Aang’s relationship, so all you’re gonna get here are my best guesses lmao! For one, there wasn’t really a need to outright label Zuko and Aang as having a “brotherly” relationship. The existence of Kataang and Maiko again speak for themselves. Most viewers - especially casual watchers - don’t need the show to state “these two only love each other in a brotherly way” to conclude that the relationship was platonic (or rather, was not romantic), especially considering that the show was made in the mid-2000s (i.e. sad but true, most people weren’t watching A:TLA with a queer lens 😔). So I wouldn’t say they left the relationship “ambiguous” so much as there wasn’t need to qualify it further than simply being platonic.

Of course, I do think there is an ambiguity that comes with Aang and Zuko’s relationship, which I love to exploit in my Zukaang fics 😌. Was that ambiguity intentional? Again, I’m inclined to say no. But I can’t speak with certainty and - as I discussed earlier - I truly think Aang and Zuko’s relationship would be limited by being called “brotherly” when their connection runs so deeply and is intertwined so heavily with the spiritual themes of the show. Thus, it’s possible the writers were purposefully emphasizing that spirituality by not labelling them as “brotherly”! But as I said, there’s really no way to be sure.

At the end of the day, I don’t think it matters how someone chooses to label Aang and Zuko’s relationship. I mean, I’m always a little horrified when a person completely overlooks their narrative significance as foils (because I personally can’t imagine dismissing either of their importance to the other), but hey, to each their own. Brotherly, queerplatonic, romantic, and hell, anything in-between - these interpretations are anyone’s for the taking. Have fun with it! 💛

(I hope this at least kind of resembles the answer you were looking for, anon 😂)