#this is not about the magic trick post btw

[hey-must-be-a-devilbetween-us]

Everyone seems to be jumping on this shitting on the writing of Good Omens 2 band wagon and I just...don't see it?

I mean I am a person who values my own opinion and taste, (knowing its definitely not for everyone, I have some acquired weirdness), I'm no scholar but I think I have a fair amount of media literacy, I've been to a few classes and in some advanced creative writing when I was in high school and I've just ya know, read a lot of books and a lot of books about writing so like...

Idk maybe I need to go back and watch it again with a more critical eye and less of a fanatical eye, but I've read Good Omens many times, and I've watched the first season many times, and to me S2 seemed to be pretty on-par with the quality of writing we've seen so far, nothing jumped out at me as low quality?

Its just a different kind of story, the stakes weren't as high, we're starting literally in the middle (you can see that without anyone having to tell us) and the expectations being built up of how close Crowley and Aziraphale have become in comparison to Gabriel and Beelzebub and Nina and Maggie, and maybe the subversion of 'oop they're actually getting split up' was maybe obvious, but wasn't it supposed to be? Isn't that what the bridge season 2 is supposed to be, leading to how they start the true sequel split up?

Sure it was very fanservice-y but that's because its...truly for the fans, I don't see anything wrong with that.

I think a lot of you guys aren't remembering that Good Omens was always a book built around two buddies sending each other bits and pieces of a story through a floppy disk in the mail with the express goal of making the other ring them on the phone to laugh until they cried.

Good Omens has always been pretty cheesy and punny and goofy and playing off 'wow being human is weird, lets put a lens on that' with a great dash of wit and sarcasm and affection in there, sure some bits are pretty exciting but that's just the bookends of all the lovely nonsense, but well crafted nonsense, like a fairy tale almost.

I'm not trying to start a flame war or anything (though I'm not anyone I doubt anyone will care), but I've seen a lot of posts mocking fans who enjoyed the second season and making fun of fans sending Neil Gaiman asks being all excited and just calling him and everyone who worked on it a shitty writer and idk it really brought down the party for me, seems a really...interesting take when there's a writers strike going on but idk I don't see why people have to be so mean and callous about our silly religion fanfiction show but that's probably expecting too much out of the internet.

That's not to say I'm gonna sit here and say you have to like it and think its perfect because that's silly, its not perfect, everyone has different tastes, and of course its okay to make jokes about writing goofs, people have been making fun of Good Omens in the Good Omens fandom since its publish date.

I just genuinely don't see the quality dip, it seems like the same Gaiman Pratchett-y Goodness I've known, just new and more of it, with more modern jokes.

If anyone wants to have some friendly discourse I might not always reply to this thread but my asks should be open I just wanna understand where everyone is coming from, if anyone has some insight on the consensus that its 'bad writing.'

[justaz]

merlin’s secret being a visual thing. when he is around arthur or gwen or leon or morgana or [insert whatever character here] merlin seems pale and thin, almost like a ghost or an apparition. when the sun lands on him he reflects it like a corpse, he eyes seem dark and dull. he has this ethereal beauty to him, this otherworldly visage that leads many to believe he is of fae blood. he just doesn’t seem to be 100% human. but when he is ONLY with lancelot or gaius (cough or gwaine bc gwaine DEFINITELY knew) merlin is heartachingly human. merlin shines in the sunlight, colors are brighter and more vibrant around him, and his smiles are wide and his laughs are boisterous. he takes on color and leaves everyone wanting to know him. but when other join in or interact with the two, merlin shifts before their eyes so quickly and suddenly that they aren’t sure whether or not what they saw was a trick of the light. the idea still leaves them wanting more and wanting to see the merlin who is just so full of life but that merlin only appears for a small select group of people. merlin who has a guard so high that it has an effect of other’s perception of him.

[fungus-no69]

I title this one the weird ass clown guy i found under my shoe

They a bit (a lot) unhinged

[fredoesque]

i think today i will write 50 words of stan and linda experiencing the Horrors and then not look at this fic again for two weeks

[magical-shoujo-anon]

★ Recently, Glowman has been talking to me about crystals a lot! I like rose quartz, it looks pretty!

Im a fan of Pyrite myself~ Its quite nice, you know?

... You know, I bet she would've liked rose quartz, as well... ★

[cheri-2047]

cuddling w Genshin characters

warnings: none

characters: ga Ming, Xiao, lyney, alhaitham, furina,

Synopsis (is this the right word?): cuddling headcanons w these characyers

Uhhh btw idk how blogs work on tumblr yet but requests are open

GA MING:

His cuddles would be very warm and soothing, HED cuddle you as if you were a giant stuffed toy,

A lot of the time he either sleeps really late or doesn’t sleep at all so he ends up doing smth else but when he does you’re always in his arms

example by what I said in the one above: playing with cards. He would be playing with cards while you’re cuddling w him on his chest, do u get what I mean?

there are nights he’s extra tired from work + dancing so on those nights he just slips in the bed with you and immediately falls asleep.

if you can’t sleep, he will hum you one of his dance routine songs

XIAO:

I like to think he isnt super used to physical touch, but you can tell he’s trying

the first few nights…or maybe months, you two would just hold hands while you sleep, not yet full on cuddling

but after a few months when you guys are both comfy, HED let you lay your head on his chest or hee hug you by the waist.

youd have to remind him sometimes that it’s okay to do these stuff

I think he would be the type to always put stray strands of hair behind your ear or if you seem restless and can’t sleep, HED try to calm you down by patting your head

Lyney (I actually love lyney so much I have not had a single post without lyney in it)

He loves cuddling, he loves hugging you sm

hed be the type to show u some magic tricks while you guys cuddle

hed press kisses on your forehead then continue as if nothing happened

sometikes he comes home really tired and he’s really appreciate it whenever you’d help him like unwind and like hug him to sleep

you have Teo options: either a really talkative lyney or one that is very quiet, either way he loves being in your arms

If He notices you shivering, he would use his vision to warm you up a bit.

alhaitham:

You would cuddle on the bed or on a chair while he’s reading a book

when he’s done reading said book, either hell stand up and get another or finish and just stay with you in bed.

he’d be the type to admire you a lot while you’re sleeping like hes just stare at your face

during the nights u can’t sleep, hee read u his book. Unfortunately it’s very boring, but eh its the thought that counts

furina (the first time I’ve ever written a female Genshin character wow)

She’s always tell you about her adventures of the day, or the court cases

when she notices you fell asleep, she’d kiss your cheek and then go to bed herself

id like to think that on restless nights of yours, she’d try to either A) entertain you by performing or smth so you’re not bored or B) sing you a lullaby

on nights she’s feeling down, you’d have to reassure her and she’s be really relaxed and fall asleep in your arms

okay number one, this ain’t proofread at all and number two, my bad if I accidentally mischaracterized them

[sticknscars]

How I lost 60lbs in 4 months:

Since some people asked about it, I figured I'd make a well written post. English is not my first language, so apologies if something doesn't make sense!

So, I went from 216lbs to 154 in 4 months (16/11/2023-> 19/3/2024) after started topamax (migraine medication, it reduces hunger)

.Tbh it doesn't really feel like it's that impressive or "concerning", having started at a higher weight losing the first 10lbs was really easy.

I went from bingeing everyday to restricting cold turkey, the first 3 days were the hardest but from then everything gets easier.

So, my habits:

OMAD and/or no more than 500 cals on school days

800 cals on the weekend

burn ~300 cals on school days by walking

eat healthy. No junk, doesn't matter if it's low cal

36h fast between Sunday and Monday

24h fast between Thursday and Wednesday

if you are hungry you can eat, any amount is better than a binge

That's literally it. It worked pretty well, I was able to go throughout Christmas without gaining..had a few binges due to getting too high but I didn't stress over it too much.

There isn't a magic trick to weight loss or willpower, the biggest motivator to stick to my rules (besides OCD) was thinking about how I've been treated for being fat... people just don't like you. Life has significantly improved c:

I still need to lose 55lbs btw

if you have any questions just ask!!

[sasaranurude]

Okay. I've been playing Tokyo Debunker today, since the release happened to catch me on a day when all I'd planned to do was write fanfiction. I just finished reading the game story prologue (it was longer than expected!), so here's a review type post. If you're reading this post not having seen a single thing about this game: it's a story-based joseimuke gacha mobile game that just released globally today. It's about a girl who suddenly finds herself attending a magic school and mingling with elite, superhuman students known as ghouls. If you look in the tumblr tag for the game you'll see what appears to be a completely different game from 2019 or so: they retooled it completely midway through development, changing just about everything about it due to "escalating competition within the gaming industry."

I'll talk about how this looks like a blatant twst clone at the end.

Starting with the positive: The story is charming. I enjoyed it thoroughly the entire time and am excited to read more. The mix between visual novel segments and motion comics was really nice--it broke things up and added a lot of oomph to the action or atmospheric scenes that visual novels generally lack. I like the art in the comic parts a lot. the live2d in the visual novel parts is... passable. Tone-wise, I think the story was a little bit all over the place and would like to see more of the horror that it opened on, but I didn't mind the comedic direction it went in either. The translation is completely seamless. The characters so far all have unique voices and are just super fun and cute. Of the ones who've had larger roles in the story so far, there's not a single one I dislike. It's all fully voiced in Japanese and the acting is solid. (I don't recognize any voices, and can't seem to find any seiyuu credits, so it seems they're not big names, but they deliver nonetheless.) Kaito in particular I found I was laughing at his lines a ton, both the voicing and the writing.

He's looking for a girlfriend btw. Spreading the word.

The problem is like. The gameplay is the worst dark-pattern microtransaction-riddled bullshit I've ever seen. Hundred passive timers going at all times. Fifty different item-currencies. Trying to get you to spend absurd amounts of real world money at every turn. There's like five different indicators that take you to various real-money shop items that I don't know how to dismiss the indicator, I guess you just have to spend money, wtaf. Bajillion different interlocking systems mean you have zero sense of relative value of all the different item-currencies. I did over the course of the day get enough diamonds for one ten-pull, which I haven't used yet. Buying enough diamonds for a ten-pull costs a bit under $60 (presumably USD, but there's a chance the interface is automatically making that CAD for me--not gonna spend the money to check lmfao), with an SSR rate of 1%. BULLSHIIIIIT.

There's like a goddamn thousand-word essay explaining the dozen different types of character upgrades and equippables and equippables for the equippables!! Bad! Bad game design! That's just overcomplicating bullshit to trick people into thinking they're doing something other than clicking button to make number go up! That is not gameplay!

In terms of the actual gameplay, there is none. The battle system is full auto. There might be teambuilding, but from what I've seen so far, most of that consists of hoping you pull good cards from gacha and then clicking button to make number go up. There's occasional rhythm segments but there's no original music, it's just remixes of public domain classical music lmao. I'd describe the rhythm gameplay as "at least more engaging than twisted wonderland's," which is not a high bar

At least there's a cat in the rhythm bit.

And like, ok, I gotta remark on how derivative it is. Like I mentioned in my post earlier, this game is unabashedly aping twisted wonderland's setting and aesthetic. (That said, most of the stuff it steals from twst is magic school stuff that twst also basically stole from Harry Potter, so...?) However, it isn't exactly like twst: in this one, the characters say fuck a lot and bleed all over the place and do violence. Basically, the tone is a fair bit more adult than twst's kid-friendly vibe. (Not, like, adult adult, and I probably wouldn't even call it dark--it's still rated Teen lol. Just more adult than twst.)

Rather than just being students at magic school, the ghouls also go out into the mundane world to go on missions where they fight and investigate monsters and cryptids. Honestly, the magic school setting feels pretty tacked-on. The things that are enjoyable about this would've been just as enjoyable in about any other setting--you can tell this whole aspect was a late trend-chasing addition, lmao. So, yeah, it's blatantly copying twst to try to steal some players, but... Eh, I found myself not caring that much. Someone more (or less) into twst than me may find it grating.

Character-wise, eh, sure, yeah, they're a bit derivative in that aspect too, but it's a joseimuke game, the characters are always derivative. Thus far the writing & execution has been solid enough that I didn't care if they were tropey. If I were to compare it to something else, I'd say the relationship between the protagonist and the ghouls feels more like that of the sage and wizards in mahoyaku than anything from twst. There's some mystery in exactly what "ghouls" are and their place in this world that has me intrigued and wanting to know more about this setting and how each of the characters feels about it. I have a bad habit of getting my hopes up for stories that put big ideas on the table and then being disappointed when they don't follow through in a way that lives up to my expectations, though.

So, my final verdict: I kind of just hope someone uploads all the story segments right onto youtube so nobody has to deal with the dogshit predatory game to get the genuinely decent story lol. Give it a play just for the story if you have faith in your ability to resist dark patterns. Avoid at all costs if you know you're vulnerable to gacha, microtransactions, or timesinks.

[fontainesiblingsbiggestfan]

Lyney & Lynette with GN S/O's pet

notes: mod dont quite know what exactly to write about but thats fine cause can just make it up as mod goes on.. would post more but dont wanna overflow the tags with mods stuff and drown out other wonderful writers n whatnot! this is probably way worse than the last one so sorry if it sucks :( [btw rq reminder that u can request stuff, so look into that if you want something made for one of/both of these two.)

Lyney is pretty good with animals of all types pretty much!! Besides fish though, fish hate him (and no even in a scared way, they bite him.) As soon as he realizes you have a pet he instantly wants to befriend it, asks you what they're like, do they like to eat this or that..

Probably gonna have to tell him to not give your pet too many treats, cause he might overdo it a tiny bit while trying to make him their favorite. Would probably start bringing a treat for everytime he went to your house then explains it as him having to pay an "entrance fee". If your pet is able to/likes to play he might bring them a toy like.. Every two or so weeks? Whenever he sees a cute toy for their species he'll just get one for your pet.

If it's a dog, he doesn't have much experience with them due to various reasons, but he doesn't dislike them or anything (even if he does prefer kitties..) You might not want a big one on his lap or anything though since he's not neccesarily the biggest guy, so be careful with that.

Asks you if it sheds before he even enters the house. He needs to know cause nine times out of ten he just finished a show and he does not want pet hair all over his show clothes. If it is then he'll probably end up going home to change to avoid any issues regarding that.

Cats love Lyney 99% of the time, can tame even the craziest of crazies into lapcats. Of course, this is 99%, not 100.. The 1% wants him dead. Birds also tend to like him since he's used to working with doves and whatnot, used to dealing with them. Asks you if he can have it on his finger/arm. Also good with rabbits due to him also working with them, might scare it like once with a magic trick though since he might forget yours isn't really used to that.?? Feels bad afterwards though and gives it food as an apology so I suppose it's alright.

Lyney is willing to petsit and is good at it. If your pet destroys anything you own while your gone he might just.. Replace it and hope you don't notice. Would be a bit scared that you might get angry at him also for letting it do that or something. In general would describe him as a pretty solid person to keep around your pet with points deducted due to the issue of him spoiling the thing too much, 8/10.

Lynette is liked by cats, and they tend to gravitate towards her. So, if you have a cat, hurray! If you have a dog, however...

Dogs don't really like her, with the range going from them barking at her constantly to just ignoring her, depending entirely on the dog's personality. Don't worry, though; it won't really offend her. She's quite used to it, and besides, she isn't a dog fan anyway. She would probably ask you to put the dog up if it won't leave her alone, though.

A lot like Lyney, she is also good with birds and rabbits. But do keep in mind, just because she's good with them, doesn't mean they're good with her. Birds, unless having been subject to Lynette for long enough, tend to fly away from her. Not all of them, just most of them.

Rodents and the like also run from her. And amphibians. And fish. Her cat-like features and smell seem to frighten any animals that would qualify as prey to a cat. But again, she doesn't really mind; she expected this sort of reaction anyway.

She doesn't try to make them like her or anything, wouldn't even mind if they hated her. Still, that doesn't mean she would turn the animal down if it does happen to enjoy her presence; she'd not-so-secretly like it if they did. Lynette might even come to your house just to chill out with the pet (you being a small side bonus to the trip).

Pretty good petsitter, kind of. Lynette has her own cats at home, so she's used to being climbed all over or serving food and whatnot. As long as the animal isn't scared of her, it will go fine. Just pray to God you have no machines that she'd have to use in her time there, and she'll be fine, 8/10 (points deducted for obvious reasons).

[eerna]

I came across one of your posts about tdp (they're great btw I really like reading them) and one of the tags talked about how the show writers treat Callum like a vile character whose done evil things when he hasn't. Can you elaborate on that? And do you think there's a huge difference between on how the show and fandom treat Callum and rayla?

Aww thanks~ Sure, I don't mind elaborating!

So Callum. This show has a problem where the characters have no logical progress, they just do whatever the plot needs them to do, and Callum is a great example of this. Callum is meant to be an awkward average guy who feels like he doesn't belong anywhere. He's the adopted son of the royal family, which means he's not a peasant who is born into a career, but neither is he a real prince, since he is passed over in the inheritance line. He's not good at being a warrior, or a leader, or any other things that might guarantee him a place in court. Things change when he discovers he has a talent for magic, but since he is human and can't connect to an arcanum, he is forced to choose between letting this one useful thing he's good at go, or doing the "evil" dark magic. An interesting character setup: will he go against what he believes is right to realize his full potential? I wonder where this arc will go! The answer is nowhere, he becomes the first human in history to be able to connect to true arcanum magic the way magical creatures do. Okay, so here is his second character setup: the one and only creature in the world who can connect to EVERY arcanum at once! He will spend each season learning how to connect to different arcanums, and through him, we as the audience will understand the world better. That is exciting, as it's something the magical creatures can't do! Except THAT'S also abandoned right away, and his THIRD setup pretends it never happened and we return to a continuation of the first setup: will he join the dark side and become a vessel for the evil guys to use, will he fall into the same trap of "I would do anything for those I love" as the villains? This could be interesting, but it is now over halfway through the story, so the writers have to resort to cheap writing tricks to make the stakes higher and the tension more real. You see, Callum's "downward spiral" relies on him making bad choices for the right reason, but those bad choices aren't truly bad because the writers are scared of writing a hero who messes up for real. Those bad choices are using dark magic twice, but both times he used it out of selflessness, as a personal sacrifice to save Rayla. He used an already dead ingredient to turn some chains into snakes to save his friend... twice. Both times Rayla reacts as if he'd just slaughtered a whole herd of adorable magical baby deer in front of her. The Starscraper elves say his soul is dark and he has been consumed by evil. The only logical reprimand is given by Sol Regem, who just says "I can smell you've done dark magic before" and gets upset bc Sol Regem is a racist asshole character so it makes sense a single whiff of human magic would anger him. But these other characters are meant to be 100% correct in their assessment of Callum's morality. There is no discussion of whether the end justifies the means, there is no nuance or suggestion that maybe a dead bug is worth saving a life, Callum has done something objectively wrong and should never repeat it again. Here it all dissolves into the age old "is dark magic as presented in TDP morally ok" discourse, which I won't rehash here bc it is well discussed and the TL;DR is: no, TDP didn't do a good job setting dark magic up as an inflexible evil, but the story still acts as if it is one. And it is dumb, because Callum doesn't need to do dark magic to make mistakes! Several times throughout the season I thought they were gonna put him at odds with the rest of the cast, and maybe mess up and "fall into darkness" that way. For example, I thought that when everyone disagreed with him on the topic of destroying Aaravos' prison, he was going to defy everyone out of paranoia (since he is the most sensitive one about this subject) and accidently cause Aaravos' escape that way. But no, they don't even argue over it before finding a solution that makes everyone happy and it turns out that Aaravos was freed by a series of contrivances that tell us nothing new or interesting about any character involved in it, which is CLEARLY a much better story.

This third storyline gets even more muddled by Callum choosing to do the Starscraper Morality Challenge or whatever it's called to try and fix the damage dark magic did to his soul. Okay, so we've established that Callum's love for Rayla makes him act in morally questionable ways, which led to his soul deteriorating, and now this ritual will help him find his way back from it. And so the ritual reveals that he can redeem himself if he focuses on... wait. Am I reading this right? The answer to his issues is RAYLA????? So this means that somehow, loving Rayla is both the reason for his evil deeds, and a way for him not to do evil deeds??? I suppose the story could be saying that loving Rayla doesn't mean doing whatever it takes to save her, but listening to her advice and trusting her when she says she doesn't want to be saved by dark magic, but that is just such a dumb character arc that isn't about Callum or his character arc in the least. His way to deal with his issues has nothing to do with his realizing his potential, it has nothing to do with his journey of connecting to the arcanums. It is a "man needs a woman to act normal" story, and that is just plain dumb and boring and no proper character arc.

And here we transition into your second question. I am not sure what exactly you meant, so feel free to clarify, but I will do my best to answer as is. I think that Rayla and Callum are treated by the fandom EXACTLY the same way as by the show, but sadly this means they suck (it is no secret I was super duper into shipping them once upon a time, so no one is allowed to call me a hater over this opinion). The first two seasons were fine, but from s3 onwards their relationship also faces a lack of a proper arc. In the beginning it seemed like the emotional, gentle Callum was going to de-radicalize the cold, emotionally constipated Rayla and teach her the joys of having people who care for her as a person and not just a weapon. However, this was quickly abandoned for reasons listed in my Runaan family post - Rayla needed a quick escape from her emotional issues to remove any bad parenting responsibility from Runaan and Ethari's backs. From then on their writing problems are a mix of the previously mentioned "characters doing what the plot needs them to do" issue and playing into fan shipping expectations. And thus when they start dating in s3 it is in the blandest, most boring way possible. They are super happy together, they have no friction, Rayla is suddenly more than happy to be emotionally open. Then the plot needs them separated, so she remembers she is supposed to have emotional issues and leaves. Then the plot needs them back together so they start dating. None of this is supported by a logical arc. S3 and onwards reads like a fanfic in the most negative way possible. The "frozen ship" monologue from s6 made me feel like my brain was actively trying to escape my skull, so I KNOW the crew working on the show is aware of the fan perception and are actively playing into them on purpose. Fan tropes are perfect in the context of fanworks, but they also make canon material worse.

Whew. This was long. But Yeah that's basically what I have to say about that.

[leader-of-grandys]

Okay it seems like rlly unpopular opinion in this fandom. I mean I saw a lot of fics, hdcs and posts where leroux!Erik is bi, pan or straighty and always very like VERY horny and very into all that stuff

but

BUT

I'll duplicate some of the thoughts that I wrote earlier. I personally see leroux!Erik as 1000% asexual because c’mon. This man is afraid of touching esp touching women. For him the biggest joy was INNOCENT KISS on the forehead. And judging by his wishes about his marriage where all he does is going for walkies while holding hands, singing and showing magic tricks is….. you know….. This speaks volumes. I bet he doesn't even think about other more physical aspects, for him it is just a fluffy romantic fantasy (and he's prob read hell of a lot snotty romantic novels while kicking his legs and screaming in pillow). He seeks romantic love and he wants to be loved and accepted as he is, but I see it as purely platonic feelings, not physical. And honestly how he treats Christine and calls her my angel, my saviour and all that stuff????? He idealises her to the core and sees her almost like a divine being - pure and kind. Do you really think that he would project his fantasies on her????? (but I highly doubt that he even has them and I see him as a castrato but its a whole different topic for another day) Do you think he would even allow himself to do that???? I bet he would just roll on the floor like sopping wet cat and scream that he's not allowed to touch this pure being with his disgusting cadaverous hands. Erik was SHOCKED that someone WILLINGLY touched him without running away, showed him compassion and understanding even despite his abuse and threats. All that because he thought he didn't deserve it, that he is so ugly that he can't be treated like a normal human being.

Also about that marriage stuff. I think Erik didn't desire the marriage as most ppl do. For him its just a way to prove that he is like everyone else because wakie wakie, it is a 19th century's heteronormative society where if you are single and were never married at almost 50 years old, then something is deeply wrong with you. Erik didn't want to marry in a first place - for him it's just an instrument to fit in in a strict society that rejected him. Honestly its sooooo autistic coded for me (I'm autistic btw). Dude just went too hard in attempt to fit in but failed miserably. Another thing for me that strikes is that the marriage for Erik could be seen as a guarantee that the person he loves will never leave him (bc divorces at that time were an awfully difficult procedure, you know). He was so insecure about himself, scared to death that he would be abandoned, betrayed, and rejected again and then boom, there's a guarantee drop, a wonderful idea that everyone praised and romanticised in all books. Marriage. You don't have to handcuff anyone to the battery and cry on the floor praying not to leave you because the law will do it for you. I think you see where I'm going. I also have high suspicions where's Erik really felt love or he was so lonely and depressed at that point of his life that he accepted an ordinary friendship and politeness as a pure and beautiful love to the grave (literally) and the only chance for happiness. When Christine didn't suspect a thing, he already drew in his diary himself walking with her in the park and framing it with hearts while lying on the bed like a schoolgirl. Again very autistic trait that I've noticed in myself. To think that you are a genius and have thought everything 10 steps ahead, that the person will act according to your plan and that the regular good word (said purely out of politeness by the person who is not interested in you) is the beginning of a great unbreakable friendship for the ages. If you know you know. I rlly see it as Erik imagined himself castles in the air and saw his deep desire for friendship and acceptance as true love. Because all pll are saying that love is great so it 100% must be it, right? ...........................right? The problem with interpreting your true emotions and feelings are unironically hard. Phew, okay. What I'm trying to say is that I see leroux!Erik as an asexual autistic individual. I don't say that it's canon and theres the only way to view this character because what I say is based not only on my unbiased analysis but also on my neurodivergent experience and kinda similar life problems (but much, MUCH LESS serious and with access to therapy and treatment). Pls don't write mean things to me if you disagree, you have your right to do so but do it outside my askbox. I’m open to discussion but not conflicts. Thanks

[starryredpandawrites]

Bendy Bites 9: Healing Kisses

Posting this in honor of the anon requesting fluff instead of angst 😘

WARNING: TOOTH-ROTTING FLUFF. YOUR TEETH WILL BE GONE AFTER READING THIS

Quick disclaimer: All of this is platonic. Please, please, please don't make this weird.

Okay, this is inspired by an ask I answered here that talks a bunch about real world injuries vs ink machine injuries. I'm not gonna repeat everything I talked about here, so go read it if you're interested in those implications, the anon had some pretty good thoughts. Then @tiredtrashpanda had an amazing idea and thus this Bendy Bites was inspired.

SO

In the ink world, injuries can be healed either through sped-up passive healing (Henry in BATIM) or through eating (Audrey in BATDR). Obviously, that's not a thing in the real world.

The first time Bendy sees Audrey get hurt in the real world, he brings her some food. She's like, "Bud, that is super sweet but that's not how the world works anymore," and explains it.

Bendy is rather shooketh at first but accepts it considering that this world is a lot less dangerous than the ink world. He moves on and doesn't even consider that this "new" form of injury/natural healing thing could apply to him.

Then, Bendy gets hurt. Maybe he trips on some stairs and cuts his knee. The Keepers proved he can't die and will recover from any injury (even if he might get twisted in the process) but let's just say for the sake of fluff that in the real world his healing factor is still much better than the average person's but relatively slowed compared to when he is in the real world.

So, when the cut on his knee doesn't heal after more than a minute, he freaks out. He thinks he's dying and Audrey has to explain again that injuries don't get magically healed overnight: healing takes time. She bandages his booboo and gives it a lil' kiss. Then, the next day it's her turn to be baffled because the injury is completely gone and she has to revise her statement about magical healing because he thinks that her kiss is the reason he healed so quickly.

Fast forward and he "knows" that kissing an injury won't make it heal faster, but he was so convinced that the power of sibling love healed him the first time he was hurt that it's turned into a full-blown superstition.

Now, every time he gets any sort of scratch/bruise/injury, he asks (or demands if he's in his Ink Demon form) for Audrey to give it a kiss. She is usually happy to oblige unless she's busy and it's something small, or if it's in a weird place.

Audrey: I am not kissing your foot.

The Ink Demon, after running through a particularly nasty patch of bristles and cutting his ankle: BUT IT HURRRRTS

He probably wouldn't say it like but it makes me laugh so whatever

((This is where @tiredtrashpanda's brilliance comes in))

Bendy is learning how to be a person from Audrey, right? So now, whenever she gets hurt, he offers to give it a kiss. He doesn't have lips in either form, so it's more like he's tapping his face against her bandages but it's the thought that counts, right? I guess his toon form can change the shape of his mouth but I doubt he's got a kissy-face option.

Btw, I use the word "offers" lightly. Bendy is stubborn and loves his sister, so if she ever refuses his healing kisses he throws a fit. If he's in his toon form at the time of injury, he'll use every trick in the book to try to guilt Audrey into letting him kiss her ouchie better. If he's in his Ink Demon form he argues with her until she either gives in or he gives up and just mopes for the rest of the day.

Bendy: WHY DO YOU REFUSE MY BLESSING OF HEALING?

Audrey: It's just a papercut

Bendy: I CAN MAKE IT BETTER

Audrey: How many times do I have to explain that's not how that works?

Bendy: IT IS AT LEAST WORTH AN ATTEMPT

Audrey: I'm fine.

Bendy, sulking in a corner: WHEN DID I LOSE YOUR TRUST?

Audrey: When you ate my birthday cake

Bendy: I SPARED YOU A SLICE

Audrey: Yes, I should be so grateful that I got one slice of my gourmet cake that everyone in the office chipped in to deliver to my house as a special birthday surprise.

Bendy: EXACTLY

Audrey: That was sarcasm.

And so forth...

Side note: her coworkers ordered the cake to her house so that she would get some positive associations with home and stop staying so late.

If he's particularly worried about an injury of hers and Audrey is feeling particularly stubborn about not getting a get-better kiss, he'll give her a hug instead (most likely in his toon form so it's less suspicious).

Thanks for reading 🥰

[kousaka-ayumu]

Heartslabyul with a Flora!(Female) Like MC

Heartslabyul

Riddle Roseheart

At first he thought you was a normal girl who got transported here for no reason at all.

Both him and you didn't interacted much, he felt bad for you for having to deal with Ace and Deuce but other than that he didn't think much of you.

Until his overblot...

You realized that he overbloted that you transformed(BTW you in your Sirenix form) and going to fight him.

When he was brought back to normal, he saw her fairy form and was shock.

"M-Mc?" Riddle asked, you looked at him "Hm?"

"Y-you are a fairy?!" He ask in shock "Oh, I forgot to mention. I'm the Fairy of Nature."

When he realizes that he uses the trees as weapons have caused you a lot of pain.

But he gotta admit it, your fairy form was beautiful.

His mother offer tells him that fairies don't exist but she was wrong.

He wanted to see more of your magic. No wonder the Mirror of Darkness says that you have the "Soul of Nature"

He even thought that both you and Trey are the group moms.

Trey Clover

Like Riddle he thought you was a normal person who got transported here for no reason at all.

However he noticed that you have a some sort of a fairy like aura with you. Like you cut all the chestnuts in time even though you flitch when you did that.

That was until Riddle's overblot that you transformed into your fairy form that he was shock.

When Riddle was back to normal, he often asked you about your fairy form and your powers.

He slowly started to have slight feelings for you(Trey X Flora anyone?)

Cater Diamond

He's one of the first ones to know about your fairy-like aura, when he asked you, Ace, Deuce and Grim to paint the roses red red for him(Chapter 1)

Being the group mom you are, you decided to use your magic to paint the roses red but secretly.

After Riddle's overblot he gushes about how you looked beautiful in your fairy form(Not gonna lie, but he's right about Flora being pretty)

But he didn't post it on Magicam(Only he can look at your fairy form)

Deuce Spade

Poor boy has been so flustered with you!

The only woman he spoke to was his mom and grandma!

But with a girl like you oh boy...

He has been insisted on carrying your stuff if you need any help.

When he revealed his delinquent side to you he became even more flustered but since your the group mom, you comfort him.

When you transformed into your Sirenix form. He. Was. Shocked.

After Riddle's Overblot he has been questioning your abilities of what you could do.

Ace Trappola

He also noticed that your powers to stop Grim from burning The Queen of Hearts statue.

People say he's stupid but I disagree, we all know he can be observant at times(Through his vignettes)

He keeps an eye on you for a moment you used your magic.

When you tranformed to your Sirenix form, he was surprised.

He asked you if he wanted to use some of you flowers for his magic tricks.

Yumeri Cordelia

She is ecstatic by your magic it was similar to Sonomi

You usually uses ylang-ylang and vanilla flowers to calm her down when she's stressed.

Her alter is completely protective of you.

And if anything both her and her alter is protective of you.

@zexal-club

[39raccoons]

I NEED TO KNOW MORE ABOUT YOUR OCS

This is the most beautiful thing anyone has ever said to me

OKAY SO here we go. These three are Vince, Sasha and Noah. They’re a zombie, a medium and a vampire working together in a detective agency (cause of course they are). Some fun facts about them is that Noah is the most responsible one of the group despite being the youngest (21 years) and Vince and Sasha knew each other when they were kids but they established their agency after meeting again as adults roughly 15 years later.

Then we have these two ladies. Their names are Maya and Louisa and their deal is basically that Maya is a witch so after Louisa died she used her powers to bring her back. So now that Louisa’s a zombie they’re figuring out how to make Maya immortal too so they could be together forever (and they also have to trick satan so fun times). The recent comic is an alternative version of events where revival process didn’t go as planned. They’re part of the same universe as the first three but for now all my attempts to make an actual comic with them failed miserably due to skill issue.

Then we have these three. They’re from the comic I’m actively working on, “The girl, the bunny and the backpack” and yes, I thought about the title for 2 seconds. It’s on webtoons btw so you can check it out and I’ll be very grateful 🥺 The girl’s name is Nina, she’s 12 years old and she’s traveling through the world destroyed by magic with her talking bunny and backpack (post apocalyptic dora the explorer as people say lol).

AND FINALLY we got these four and they’re literally just teenage girls. The names from left to right are Ksyusha, Alina, Mary and Varya, they’re 14-15 years old and they’re mostly vibing. I made a few comics with them a couple years back and now just kinda figuring out how to bring them back and which story and format would suit them better.

AND THERE IT IS FOLKS, thank you for your attention 😌

[themushroomgoesyeet]

I apologize for breaking schedule already; this took me a while to figure out and I guess I accidentally forgot to actually write this up yesterday (Sunday is going to be the day that I post these, unless I decide otherwise btw)

Anyway!

Arcana characters as cryptids

(see I told you it wouldn't all be Disney)

Asra - the Loch Ness Monster

Water theme? Check

Mysterious to a mind boggling degree? Check

Is it a dinosaur that the asteroid missed? Is it an ancient Celtic creature with nebulous shape-shifting magic? Is it just a hoax? Who knows! Certainly not us, and I feel like this fits Asra's "no gender only magic and adventure" vibes

Both of them have an increasingly frustrating ability to disappear at random and only be seen when they want to

Julian - Mothman

Big, blanket shaped, black and red color palette, sexy for some people

Did I just describe Mothman or Julian?

Both also have a bad habit of materializing from/melting into the shadows

I think if Julian were to find this post likening him to such an edgy, mysterious creature he'd be thrilled

Muriel - Bigfoot

I mean is there really even a question about this one

Literally all you have to do is make Muriel hairier and have bigger feet and you're all set

Both of them live out in the middle of the woods & don't seem to care for company

Bro basically is a cryptid to some Vesuvians

Lucio - Goatman

I feel this needs even less explanation than Muriel's tbh

Especially since a nice chunk of this fandom double as BuzzFeed Unsolved fans

Fuck you goatman

Nadia - sphinx

Ok so I'll admit this is where I started running out of ideas

Hear me out tho

I know that some of you will say that sphinxes are mythological creatures and not cryptids, and personally I disagree; I bet in a thousand years archaeologists and the like will look back on our cryptid studies and be like "man, these guys had a weird mythology"

So long story short sphinxes are just ancient cryptids

There are two flavors of sphinx, both of which I think fit Nadia well

Greek sphinxes were usually portrayed as guardians - usually of cities, gates, and doorways - and (in the case of Oedipus) challenged people with riddles. As ruler/protector of Vesuvia, I think it's safe to say that Nadia slots into the guardian role quite nicely

I'm not as familiar with Nadia's route but I imagine she'd also enjoy riddle games

Then there's the Egyptian flavor of sphinx; while these are also guardians (of tombs and temples specifically), they are also representations of Pharos and their closeness to the gods, as well as symbols of their strength and ferocity

And of course we love the strong & independent queen that is Nadia

Portia - Tonttus/Nisse/Gnomes

For those who don't know, Tonttus are creatures from Scandinavian folklore; they look like tiny men with white beards and colorful, conical hats

While their description doesn't fit Portia (aside from being incredibly small in stature), their actions and temperament certainly do

If treated well, Tonttus will become guardians of homesteads and farms, helping with chores, caring for livestock, and warding off danger and misfortune.

If treated poorly or insulted, Tonttus will instead cause mischief in the place that they live, playing tricks, stealing from the family, and sometimes even killing livestock

Now Portia may not go as far as killing animals, but she's definitely got a short temper at times and is a wild prankster

I almost forgot about these homely little creatures but I'm glad I found something that fits Portia's cottage core vibes so well

[galactic-glamour-girl-posts]

RANT : ML Season 5's Ending

I don't post about Miraculous much, but I need to get this off my chest.

WARNING :

Salt. Just...all the salt.

Chloe:

I don't like Chloe, she's a horrible person and hogged a lot of screen time throughout the show that could have been given to other characters, such as Nino. However, I find it disturbing that they decided to send a teenage girl to live with her abuser, with absolutely no friends; meanwhile her father, who only deciding to put his foot down last minute, gets to quit the job he's always hated anyway (even though he's abused his power before, and not just for Chloe's sake) without being called out for how he spoiled his daughter AND the adult magical terrorist gets a statue.

Not to mention Felix, a teenage boy who also has done terrible things, basically gets away scot-free. Remember when he basically tried to kill EVERYONE except for four people including himself, remember when he tried to force himself onto Ladybug, remember when he gave all the miraculous to a terrorist, remember when all it took to "redeem" himself was to emotionally manipulate someone in a vulnerable state into watching a play to convince her to solve the problem he caused for him (btw I can't believe Kagami came up with that plan and revealed Ladybug's identity behind her back, what the heck?) I get that he was abused, at the end of the day he's an abuse victim doing literally anything he can to gain the freedom he never had, but if he gets sympathy after all of that, what about Chloe? She was abused, she was neglected. Felix not only is seemingly forgiven and "redeemed", but still gets to be a permanent miraculous holder. When you combine that with how the narrative treats Gabriel and Andre, it looks like a sexist double standard...probably because it is.

Chloe sucks but that isn't entirely her fault. Andre spoiled her rotten, Audrey was a horrible influence when she wasn't straight up neglecting or verbally abusing her, Miss Bustier coddled her and Damocles let her get away with pretty much anything (although in their case I guess the mayor would've prevented them from letting Chloe face substantial consequences), Gabriel (and Lila) manipulated her multiple times. I'm not absolving Chloe of all blame, but she's 14. Leaving her with her abuser is horrible. That isn't cathartic, it's cruel. I'm not even asking for a redemption, I just think this "punishment" is too much.

Gabriel (and Tomoe too I guess):

Let's talk more about Gabriel. Gabriel, the abusive father, the magical terrorist, the guy that spent some of his final moments manipulating a teen, not only gets to make his wish, but also gets to be remembered as a hero. Statue included. Never mind that pretty much all of Adrien's classmates knew he was a terrible father at this point, they all clap and cheer when it's revealed he's getting a statue. The whole world is lied to and told the Alliance rings were hijacked by Monarch and that Gabriel sacrificed himself whilst trying to help stop him (I don't blame Ladybug for that though, I'm solely blaming the writers here). And we're supposed to be fine with this because he misses his wife and "tried to be a good father"? No.

An abused teenage girl is supposedly terrible beyond redemption, but an adult abuser is essentially outright vindicated by the narrative (the person he abused is tricked into thinking he was a hero, and Paris is basically a utopia post-wish). What a horrible message.

Remember, this may not be the end of the show, but this is the end of Gabriel's Agreste's story, and what an unfitting end it is.

Oh, and Tomoe gets away scot-free by the looks of it, because of course. Maybe she'll get comeuppance in a later season, but I'm not gonna defend the finale because of what a future episode might do, especially when this would've been the perfect time (and this goes for the possibility of Gabriel's secret identity being revealed to the public too).

Adrien:

I think Adrien is easily the most overrated character in the show. He's constantly coddled by the narrative, tends to "inspire" Marinette to be more passive and forgiving than she should be, and is incredibly bland (or at least he was until they started pushing just how angry he could get and how entitled to Ladybug's love he could feel, which I guess is something, but that something sure isn't pleasant); but you're telling me he doesn't get to have a legit passion beyond knowing he loves Marinette, to be involved in the final battle, to find out his dad is Monarch OR even that he's a sentimonster? He needs to know his life is tied to that ring and that he should be careful with it. This isn't "protecting him" (he's not a baby, if Felix eventually came to terms with being a sentimonster so can Adrien), if anything it's the opposite. Not letting him know that is dangerous! If not Marinette, Felix? Kagami? Nathalie? No one's going to tell him?! I hate to say it, but by robbing him of his agency and deciding they know what's best for him, they're being controlling over Adrien too; and no, I don't think that's "interesting", not after five seasons of Adrien already being controlled by someone else.

What is the show even trying to say? That Adrien needs to be controlled because he can't handle his emotions? Forget about giving him time or a good support system, he just wouldn't be able to handle it? If it was just his nightmare that'd be one thing, but Chat Blanc seems to indicate this is legitimately what they're saying. Why is this show trying to portray an abuse victim as someone who's dangerous and needs to be kept under control? Not just dangerous, but ultimately more dangerous than his abuser, since Gabriel made his wish and everything turned out fine (and at worst maybe one innocent person would have died/fallen into a coma had his wish not changed), but in "Chat Blanc" EVERYONE other than Chat died.

It does not matter if he finds out in a later season; it doesn't change the fact that his family is willingly lying to him and potentially endangering him by doing so, all for the sake of his abuser. Sure, you could argue Gabriel emotionally manipulated Marinette, but what's everyone else's excuse? I don't care if it leads to "interesting conflict", a) it's a conflict they've done before (Ladybug keeping secrets from Chat Noir), I'm not gonna praise the show for repeating itself, b) don't tell me telling Adrien the truth would've been "too sad" for the show to do but Marinette having to keep her mouth shut about Gabriel for the rest of her life (or even temporarily) is "interesting angst" (at least try to hide your favouritism, besides it's never even implied she feels guilty over this), and c) it's not like it will have a satisfying payoff, after all, it didn't last time. Even if Adrien does find out, Gabriel's not around anymore, so chances are Marinette will have to suffer the consequences of that, not Gabriel. That's not satisfying.

Like...Gabriel may as well have been related to Marinette instead (not her father but her uncle or something). Why not? Remember when he was her favourite fashion designer? (Don't worry if you don't, the show doesn't either.) Maybe have him become her mentor, imagine how much more of a personal impact Ladybug and Monarch finding out each other's identities could've had on both of them.

Why even have the main villain be related to the deuteragonist (giving him a closer connection to the main villain of the show than the actual main character) if you were just gonna side-line him in the final battle and rob him of any sense of closure? Whatever drama they can squeeze out of him finding out who Monarch is (IF he does) won't be nearly as interesting as it would've been to see Chat Noir confront Monarch, face to face, knowing that he's his father. Adrien might not even remember Gabriel being abusive at all, it's not made clear. But if he doesn't, all that time spent on Adrien's relationship with his father, building up a big confrontation between them? Wasted.

Remember how season 4 ended? How it built up Ladybug and Chat Noir working together to retrieve all the Miraculous back, after a season of them being more distant?

What a joke.

Is he the deuteragonist, or a trophy? The show can't seem to decide.

Marinette:

And then there's Marinette who, in a show that supposedly wants to empower young girls, doesn't even get to defeat the main male bad guy. After multiple seasons with her as the main lead, after multiple episodes where she's apologised or made to feel bad for either completely justifiable reactions or things that straight up weren't her fault (remember when she was made to say she was "out of line" at the end of an episode that was supposed to be about racism and police aggression?) meanwhile other characters rarely apologise to her in return, we don't even get the satisfaction of seeing her truly defeat the person that's caused her so much grief.

Seriously, she went through so much in this show; between the class consistently siding with Lila over her (btw turns out Lila basically had nothing to lose the whole time because she had multiple identities, yet another unsatisfying conclusion to a conflict), being forced to become a guardian, losing all the Miraculous, etc, and for what?

She failed. That's not me being too harsh. She may have influenced Gabriel to change his wish (emphasis on "may have", I'm pretty sure that woman was originally Emilie but in that case Nathalie being healed doesn't make sense), but her goal was to prevent the wish in the first place.

And why did they have to make her look like a fool? Felix's play spelled it out for her that Gabriel is Monarch, she even realises that he referred to the day she lost the Miraculous, but from the way it's presented she only figures out Gabe's Monarch after seeing him de-transform? Why did she think giving him a another chance would turn out well? She tried that all the way back in season 2, and it didn't work. Marinette is kind-hearted but she has her limits. You're telling me Lila crossed a line but Monarch could maybe be reasoned with? Why? Because he has a sob story?

Marinette is strategic and quick-witted. She's not an idiot.

Gabriel gets to make his wish and everyone else (who am I kidding, just Ladybug) has to clean up after him. Not only that, Ladybug does him a favour and ensures everyone is tricked into believing he was a hero. If anything, Chat Noir, the main male superhero, landed the killing blow.

Great. Just great. How empowering.

Bonus nit-picks:

--Did everyone on the planet seriously forget that the Adrien and Kagami in the Alliance rings aren't real, they're virtual simulations? That wasn't a secret. How did they fall for Gabriel's fake plea?

--If they were gonna put the girls from the specials and Future!Alix on the poster, they could've have them do more at least.

--Okay, Luka training with Su-Han was random but I guess since he was a temporary Miraculous holder it kinda makes sense...Penny and ESPECIALLY Jagged though? Nah.

--Ivan was the first person to EVER be akumatized then saved by Ladybug and Chat Noir. So with that in mind, surely he more than anyone would trust that they'd never kidnap two virtual innocent people, and would join Alya in reminding everyone else how they were always there for them, in a touching moment that brings the "first arc" full circle...oh.

--Look, Marinette is very talented, and I realise she had the book to help her but...I'm sorry literally HOW did she fix the Miraculous? Gabriel needed high-tech, presumably very expensive, machinery to re-shape them.

Final thoughts:

What makes this all sting so much more is that, wasn't season 5 supposed to be the original ending, just in case future seasons didn't happen? All seasons after this one are basically bonus seasons. So originally the show ended HERE. The last we would've seen of Chloe was her crying, trapped with her abusive mother. For all we knew Adrien would've been living a lie the rest of his life, looking up to his abuser. Gabriel is never fully revealed as the monster he truly was and is honoured as a "hero". Marinette literally gets stabbed in the back (well, it was her stomach, but you get the idea). There wasn't even a reveal, Ladybug and Chat Noir would've just never found out who the other truly is I guess.

Oh, but don't worry. Marinette and Adrien kissed.

That's all that really matters, right? (Never mind the fact that they spent five seasons building up to the start of a romantic relationship, and it will undoubtedly take even more for it to become a healthy one.)

Maybe the ending was originally different. Maybe they modified the ending of the season finale after finding out season 5 wouldn't be the last season. Maybe this will all somehow be fixed later (no matter how long they may will drag it out for).

Or maybe Marinette's blatantly out of character action (she hates liars, and only lied about her identity because she had to, even considering Gabriel's attempts to emotionally manipulate her previous episodes have made it clear she would not lie to Adrien, let alone the WHOLE WORLD, about Gabriel) will come back to bite her for the sake of having something to blame her for next season.

I don't know.

I don't care.

The writing for this show has been poor for a LONG time. I only stuck around because I still found myself having fun watching it from time to time, even as the problems got worse. That, and I was hopeful it would at least stick the landing. But after this, I don't think I can stomach continuing to watch a show that will probably continue to push such awful messages, and with such awful pacing.

Word of advice, all shows have flaws, so feel free to complain when a show does something you think is stupid (I've never found the argument that kids shows shouldn't be criticised because they're kid shows to make sense), but if you're not enjoying yourself because you can't overlook a show's problems, if you don't find pleasure in watching a show...just stop watching it. It's a waste of your time. Don't "wait for it to get good", don't wait for future seasons to clean up a current season's mess, don't continue watching it just because the fandom makes better content. I promise you there are better shows out there that deserve (and need) your attention.

So with that in mind...I don't think I'll be watching what comes next.