#we stan commitment to learning

[lennonyoung]

Absolutely both love this and am not surprised by this. I think it’s great Ryan Leonard is this committed to his education, and there’s been so many interviews where he’s hinted that he’s invested in his education, so it’s nice to have confirmation he’s still working towards a college degree!

EDIT: and now with an article!

[bittersweet-jack-of-no-trades]

Stan gives the Mystery Shack to Soos, Ford ties up some loose ends that came of Stan using his name to commit massive tax fraud for thirty years, and then, finally, they take the Stan o' War II out on the high seas. Except...

They have no idea how to sail.

Sure, they had taught themselves (sorta) when they were kids, but that was... a long, long time ago. And sailing, especially sailing the 40' 'aged but beautiful' vessel they bought off the coast of California and refurbished, isn't actually... easy.

So they dock themselves up in the closest marina they could limp to on their little inboard engine, apologize to each other for the arguments that were sparked while fighting the main sheet in thirty-five knot winds and sideways rain, and shuffle their way to a sailing class.

And aren't they a sight: two sixty-somethings, identical twins, strangely haunted looks in their eyes, who seem to know everything and yet nothing about each other. Their classmates learn this quickly: Stan knows Ford's fingerprints, but not his favorite food. Ford remembers what Stan got for his fifth birthday, but not the name of his last ex. They're top of the class, of course (there's no official ranking, but everyone Knows Who's Best), and Ford keeps calling the twenty year old sailing instructor "kid," and we're pretty sure Stanley is... is that a gun? They're an entertaining pair of old men, for sure. Stan can't help it--- he's an entertainer at heart, he loves the attention--- and Ford finds he likes being recognized, but not for his oddities--- just his personality, and his stories.

Finally they feel confident enough to go out sailing on their own, and it's fulfilling, and fun, and they find a lot of cool shit. But as much as they love each other, and as much they learn about each other while sailing the deep blue, one just isn't enough company for two brothers who have always dreamed of being known. So, once or twice or four times a year, they sail back to that marina, check in on that class, and maybe do a little show 'n' tell. They become known in the area, two grunkles with a love for the sea but a heart belonging to land, and their visits are wild, fantastical things, with preserved mystical creatures and stories changing hands across each dock. Stan and Ford--- twins, but each their own personality, and appreciated for who they are. The Stan o' War II is their home, their purpose, and their future.

Fifteen or twenty or twenty-five or maybe, if we're lucky, thirty years later--- that's when the Stan o' War II sails into the marina slow and uncertain. And when they dock, it's not Stan and Ford who step off, but two young adults, a man and a woman. The sailing instructor, who is now a new twenty-year old, but has heard all the old stories of his predecessor, steps forward warily.

"You knew our grunkles, Stan and Ford," Dipper says to the suspicious crowd. He looks at the sailboat, and his face crumbles in the unmistakable folds of grief. "They... they used to say that their first breaths were by the sea, in a small Jersey beach town and--- and in order to top that, their last breaths should be on the sea. And they got their wish. And now... and now, well... Mabel and I, we don't know how to sail. We don't know how to keep the Stan o' War II alive."

It's natural, then, for Mabel and Dipper go to sailing class. They're twins who have fantastical stories and strangely haunted looks in their eyes; they're top of their class, even though there's no official ranking. When it's time, and class is over, they step onto the Stan o' War II and sail into the sunset.

The Dockmaster of the marina smiles sadly. He's not worried, though--- he saw how much they were like their grunkles while they were staying at the marina. And if he knows one thing about the Pines family, it's this: they'll be back, again and again, each discovery better than the last.

[lover-of-mine]

I'm gonna go on a rant. Call me toxic Eddie stan, I don't fucking care anymore. I shouldn't be expected to divorce a story from its original trigger just because the writer realized he fucked up after he committed to it. And it's not about not addressing Kim, or Shannon's ghost, or Eddie romanticizing their relationship, or the shitshow that is 7b. It's about putting Eddie through something he already went through with no new developments or consequences because they realized they fucked up after they committed to it. Eddie Begins is about Eddie stepping up as a parent. His whole arc in season 5 is about being kinder to himself. The move is only permanent so that Buck could spiral. We didn't get a single scene where Eddie talks about how he feels about moving. He left his whole support system, and we only know how Buck feels about it. Don't get me wrong, I love Buck. But I love Eddie. And I love Eddie beyond what he can provide for Buck. And it fucking pisses me off that he's in a torment nexus he's been before so that Buck can have character growth while Eddie learns something he already knows. I should be allowed to be upset about a character's walking around in a circle without people automatically assuming I'm just mad Eddie wasn't in one episode. I don't fucking care he wasn't in Sick Day. I care that the Chris plotline didn't move at all in 8a. I care that he went to Texas to do one thing that's already done, and he's still there just because he bought a house so that Buck would have something to do. I care that he's in Texas for a lesson he already learned. And I care about the fact that I still don't know how Eddie really feels about moving to Texas. I don't care if Tim Minear is hoping I forget the Shannon doppleganger he threw in there because he regrets killing a character that he wrote to be fridged, this storyline started in 707. It's been almost a year. I'm annoyed because wanting me to pretend this started in 808 when Eddie said he was moving because they triggered this storyline all wrong and want to pretend it didn't happen is frustrating. If wanting Eddie to have a decent plot outside of buddie is that much of crime then fucking arrest me. They don't fumble buddie, I get that, but sue me for wanting the individual character storylines to be good, fucking hell.

[fluentmoviequoter]

Tim Through the Years - Meet the Class

Series Masterlist

Summary: Tim meets your class of 25 five-year-olds. 1.2k+ words.

“Hey, can I run something by you?” you asked Tim while you were having lunch at his desk.

Tim looked up at you mid-bite of his shared sandwich. He chewed quickly and asked, “Of course, is everything okay?”

You softly bit your lip. “Yes. I know you aren’t a fan of community outreach, but will you come to my class and talk about safety and what to do in an emergency?”

Tim gave you his million-dollar smile “I’d be more than happy to come and talk to your class. I get to spend a whole morning with a beautiful lady.” He leans over and kisses you. “I also get the added bonus of being away from Lucy, too.”

You shoved him slightly. “I think you like the latter more.”

“Hey, that’s police brutality. I might have to handcuff you to this desk all day and then you’ll have to hang out with me.” Tim smiled as he spoke.

“Aw! You two are just so cute!” Lucy said when she walked up to the desk.

“Hi Lucy, how are you?” you turned and asked her.

“I’m doing well! Do you think we can have a girls night with me, you, Angela, Nyla and Bailey? We could go paint pottery or watch a movie or go laser tag or…." Before Lucy could finish, Tim sent her a glare.

“Can I help you with something, Officer Chen?” Tim growled out.

“Our suspect is ready to talk,” Chen said to Tim.

“I’ll see you later,” Tim told you as he kissed the top of your head.

“Bye Tim! Bye Lucy! We definitely have to get together soon!”

You wave them off as you pack up and leave. 

You paced back and forth before school started, waiting on Tim to arrive. You were extremely nervous because your students, while awesome, were very protective of you. They’ve stopped a presentation before because the man who was talking about his job told the class that they could do better than being a teacher. The poor guy got booed and slightly bullied by the group of 5-year-olds, so you just hope that today goes over well. Tim texted you to let you know that he would be a little late due to the fact he saw a crime being committed right in front of him.

When the bell finally rang, your group of students walked into the classroom all chatting away with each other. They put their bags up and sat down in the respective seats (it took a while for them to get down). 

“Good morning everyone!” you tell the class when the second bell rang.

“Good Morning Miss. Winchester!” they responded. 

You started the morning off with doing some freeze dance to get the kids ready to start the day. When that was done, you picked up right where you left off from yesterday. Some students still shouted out answers, but others would remember and raised their hands. You found it adorable how much they enjoy getting to learn. Soon, there was a knock at the door. 

“Class, we have a very special guest today who is going to talk to us about safety.” You walked up to the door, you let Tim and, to your surprise, two more officers in.

“IS THAT A DOG?!?!?!” a student named Ashley shouted.

All the students erupted in excitement, and you had to use your quiet hand gesture to try and settle the class as Tim, a K9 officer, and a small dog walked up to the front of the class. 

“Class, Meet Sergeant Bradford from the LAPD,” you announced to the students.

“Good morning, students, as you heard, I’m Sergeant Bradford, and today I’m talking about safety. Firstly, I brought two special guests with me, Officer Stan with his K-9 Officer Fuzz.”

Officer Stan smiled and greeted the students as Officer Fuzz, a small dachshund, barked excitedly as a greeting.

“I brought Officer Fuzz in today so you can understand what a K-9 is used for and when to approach one,” Tim explained.

“Officer Fuzz is used like any other police officer; he helps us find bad guys and can catch bad guys faster than we can. Officer Fuzz can run up to 20 miles per hour, so we typically send him in to run after someone. Officer Fuzz also helps smell out bad stuff for us to take away. You can approach a police dog at any time with permission from the Officer. If you do see a police dog chasing after someone or he looks angry, do not approach. He could accidentally hurt you because he’s trying to protect his fellow officers or trying to stop someone,” Officer Stan explained. “Any questions?”

Lots of hands flew into the air, so you called on a girl named Hanna to ask the first question. “Does Officer Fuzz stay at the station all the time?”

“That’s a great question! No, Officer Fuzz is technically my dog. So, when I get off work, he gets to go home and be with me. He also goes in when I do, so just like me, Officer Fuzz gets to be a normal dog when he’s not working,” Stan said.

The students continued their questions about Officer Fuzz and his handler. Before Officer Stan had to leave to go back to work, he released Officer Fuzz so he could run around and receive pets from everyone. Officer Fuzz ran up to you last and laid on his back for belly rubs.

“Aren’t you the cutest?” You bent down and gave the tail-wagging dog belly rubs.

“You might have some competition, Bradford,” Stan said with a smile and slightly nudged Tim. Stan called back Officer Fuzz and they both left with waves of goodbyes and a huge “Thank you!” from your students.

“Hello again! I want to tell everyone what to do if they feel unsafe or lost. If you get away from your mommy or your daddy, find a store worker or an officer to help you find your mom or dad. If you are in danger or hurt, call 911 and we will do everything we can to help you. Do we have any questions?”

“What do you do as a Sergeant?” Logan, a young student, asked.

“I am everyone’s boss; I tell them what to do and make sure their job is getting done. I am currently training someone to become a police officer, they are called a Rookie,” Tim explained.

Your students asked as many questions as they could until the lunch bell rang, and the class let out a collective grown in disappointment. 

“Can we have lunch with Sergeant Bradford?” Wade asked, and the other students jumped in to agree.

“I don’t think Sergeant Bradford can stay any longer, he does have to leave at some point,” you said softly.

“I can stay for lunch,” Tim said with a smile. The class cheered and you sent them to get their lunches and to have a private moment with Tim.

“You didn’t have to stay,” you said to Tim as you looked up at him.

“I’m more than happy to. Your students are wonderful,” Tim said with a smile, and kissed the top of your head.

“Did Miss Winchester fix your heart?” Johnny asked Tim, startling both of you. 

Tim smiled and looked at you. “Yeah, she did,” he answered, which caused you to blush.

Johnny’s eyes got all big and he quickly ran out to the other students.

“Guys!!!! Sergeant Bradford is Miss. Winchester’s husband!!”

You then hear a loud scream of joy and all the students running in to ask the both of you a million questions about this new revelation. It was going to be a very long afternoon. 

[piningforstan]

Memories

Summary: You’re relieved to see your husband alive, but you have yet to learn at what cost.

Pairings: Stanley Pines x F!Reader

Word Count: 1.6k

Warnings: it’s angsty, the Pines are sad and not okay, memory loss, brief mention of a miscarriage

A/N: If I was a better person and had more time I would totally write a fic about this. This oneshot initially had a happy ending but it seemed right to end it where I did. Let me know if you’d want to read a happy ending, though! (Also I apologize for any inaccuracies)

Couldn’t the apocalypse have happened when your joints didn’t protest at every movement? You thought disdainfully back to your youth, when every step wasn’t hindered by bursts of shooting pain. The rumination was cut short, however, when the front door of the shack swung open.

In your time with Stan, with the shack, it had taken many forms. Becoming a giant fighting robot hadn’t been in your plans but it formed a shelter of sorts for survivors, somewhere mostly untainted with bad memories.

Dipper burst into the used-to-be foyer, followed by Mabel.

You called out their names. You’d been left behind to preside over the Shack-bot and cater to the injured — there hadn’t been time to worry about your loved ones but now that you’re watching the twins run across the room to you, you realize that there had been a significant knot in your stomach that was now loosening with relief.

“You’re alive! You’re okay!” You swept them into an embrace, pressing their bodies to you. God, they were just children.

“Grauntie —” Dipper started.

“I’m fine. I’m fine.” You studied their round faces, the streaks of tears cutting through the dirt on their cheeks. Using a thumb, you did your best to wipe away Mabel’s but Dipper slipped away.

“Grauntie, we have to tell you something—”

“Where’s Stan? And Ford? Are they okay?”

“Yes, well,” Dipper started to stammer. Mabel erupted into tears, holding the oversized sleeves of her sweater to her eyes to absorb them.

You glanced between the two twins, heart hammering in your chest. The moment wad broken by the sound of footsteps. Stan stepped into the remnants of the Mystery Shack, steered with a gentle hand by Ford. An unimaginable amount of relief flooded you. Stan, of course, was always in the forefront of your mind, but you hadn’t allowed yourself to think of anything devastating happening.

You wouldn’t — couldn’t — live without him. You refused. So you simply believed that he was safe.

And now here he was, suit torn and battered but still as devastatingly handsome as the day you met him. The protests from Dipper and Mabel faded away much like those of your joints; Stan made you feel young, breathed life into an otherwise greying existence. You untangled yourself from the twins and shot for the front door where he stood.

Ford inserted himself between you, mouth moving, but you couldn’t hear a thing. You just needed to get to Stan. Needed to feel his arms around you, the smell of his cologne (he mostly just rubbed on magazine samples, but you didn’t care). You sidestepped Ford and launched yourself at Stan, tears already overspilling onto your cheeks.

He staggered back a bit, catching himself on the doorframe as you tightly embraced him. Unable to contain your joy you grabbed him by either side of his stubbled face and kissed him.

Only a few seconds passed before Stan’s large hands were entrapping your wrists, pulling you from him. His eyes darted back and forth, and he wore an uneasy smile.

“Well, uh, that’s one way to introduce yourself,” he said.

Later, in hindsight, you recognized the signal going off in the back of your mind that something was wrong. But in that moment you’re completely consumed with happiness and relief and that must just be one of his jokes you don’t understand. “I can think of others but they probably wouldn’t be socially acceptable.”

The uneasy smile faltered. He laughed but it’s brittle and not fully committed. “You’re bold, I like that.”

Stan’s gaze flickered to Ford, as if for assurance.

Ford’s expression was grim, jaw clenched. “I need to speak with you privately —”

“Come on, let’s get you patched up and grab a drink.” You linked your arm through Stan’s and marched him towards the kitchen. He obliged but seemed reluctant, which you chalked up to fatigue. “Here. I’ll get everything. You sit.”

You stopped at Stan’s hideous yellow chair that you were secretly fond of. He stared at it. Then you.

“Here?” He asked. You don’t miss the way that he examined the room like he’s seeing it for the first time, lingering over the empty fish tank and the giant fossilized skull.

“I promise I didn’t let anyone get their blood on it or anything,” you said. You’re yapping now. Why were you yapping? It’s like you’re standing on the edge of a cliff, aware of the danger but not wanting to yield to the warnings. “I knew you were coming back. I couldn’t get rid of you that easily, right?”

You waited for him to reply. Stan’s face spasmed, uncomfortable, his arms stiff at his sides. You couldn’t remember a time you had ever seen him like this, unsure and quiet and reserved. You opened your mouth to prompt him to sit once again — what are you doing, silly? — when Dipper, Mabel, and Ford slid into view. Their eyes were wide, panicked, bouncing from you to Stan.

Hysteria crept into your tone. “What’s with this guy? Where’s the man I married?”

“Married?” Stan echoed. This is the first thing you’ve said to actually get a reaction from him.

Ford said your name. “Why don’t you come with me and let Stan rest?”

“Is this a joke? What’s going on?”

Mabel, cheeks blotchy, blurted, “Stan lost his memory! He doesn’t remember us. Any of us.” She dissolved into tears again.

A wave of numbness crashed over you. “What?”

“I’ve been trying to tell you —” Ford stopped, recollected himself. He looks older than you remember him, like whatever happened had aged him faster than natural. “Stan sacrificed himself. To defeat Bill. He gave up all of his memories for…us.”

Stan looked entirely uncomfortable with this situation and all of the weeping.

“What?” You said again. You suddenly felt like a cassette tape that’d been unspooled, and now you’re trying desperately to collect the film, gathering it in your arms to shove back inside the shell.

“It was his idea. It was…the only way,” Ford said. Even his voice was strained with emotion.

You blinked. And blinked again.

“Stan is that true?” You wheeled to face him, still clinging to the hope that this is some elaborate prank. Your grasp on any sanity slipped as you looked at your husband of over thirty years and saw nothing reflected in his face.

There was none of his child-like exuberance. His impish smile, always teetering on the edge of saying something absurd or inappropriate. The softness in his eyes whenever you’re speaking to him. It was as if you were staring into a shallow puddle, no ripples at the surface, no amount of recognition to be stirred upon from the bottom.

Something inside you cracked.

“Stan?” You reached a hand out to touch him. He let you, but it was almost worse that way. It was a gesture of kindness and nothing more; he knew you were upset and he didn’t know why but he knew that he was partly the reason.

A glimpse of the kindness that he hid beneath his hardened exterior.

You recoiled. Someone might as well have wrenched your ribcage open. Snapped your sternum in half in order to access your muscle and viscera and, finally, your heart. It hurt so badly you feared that it might break too.

“He doesn’t remember any of it?”

“I’m afraid not,” Ford said.

Dipper and Mabel, so achingly identical in their heartbreak, stood on either side of Ford. There’s enough devastation in the room to suffocate you.

“Stanley,” you say then, softly, pleadingly. “We’re your family. Surely you remember your family.”

Surely you remember how we met. Falling in love. Getting married. The adventures that ensued. Rebuilding the portal. Losing your baby, your only baby, and reconciling that you never would have children. The excitement you shared upon the news of Dipper and Mabel staying with you, how much you had fallen in love with them in such a short time period. Surely you remember that.

“Well, uh, looks don’t lie,” he replied, gesturing towards Ford and the twins bookending him.

“Let him rest.” Ford wad by your side now. How did he get there?

Everything was blurred at the edges, distorted.

The next thing you knew you’re sitting outside, in one of the ancient lawn chairs you convinced Stan to buy secondhand. You wanted to be able to watch Dipper and Mabel play when they were outside. But the small clearing had been wrecked — hell, the town that you loved had been wrecked, half of it on fire, smoke funneling into the sky.

None of that mattered, though.

Stan didn’t remember you.

But he’s alive, a small voice in you pointed out. He was alive and physically well. He might not remember you but he was going to live another day. Even if that day did not involve you or your shared jokes or brief touches, the comfort of loving the same person for half your life.

You could handle that, you thought. It was enough just to know that he was alive and in the world.

Strangely, you didn’t cry. You sat and watched ashes fall, covering the ground and the picnic bench where Mabel had performed improvised soliloquies to your delight, on the bike that Dipper bought himself — smile nearly splitting his cheeks — in order to investigate his many conspiracies. Ash coated everything. It was comforting, somehow, restorative, replacing the disconcerting scenes of Weirdmagaddeon with a blank state.

You couldn’t face going into the Mystery Shack so you slept outside in the lawn chair. No one came to shuttle you inside, but when you woke up in the morning there was a blanket folded over you.

[polygnosticu]

Hi! l saw your comments in a post you were saying something like how Luz abandoned the others. l was wondering your thoughts on this and especially about the relationship between Lumity.

My thoughts are that Luz isn't the character that her stans want her to be. She's not a good person.

In Thanks to Them Luz was shown being prepared to abandon her Hexside friends as well as the entire Demon Realm to their fates at the hands of Belos and the Collector. She had made this decision without discussing it with any of them with the intention of not telling them until the last possible second when they couldn't do anything about it. The only thing that saved everybody was Camila's intervention.

This was an unconscionable act of cruelty on Luz' part and proves a hypothesis I had about Luz from her first appearance. Luz never took the Boiling Isles and the people who live there seriously. She treated the place like her own personal fantasyland and the people who lived there as NPCs in her self insert fan fic. We can see this in how Luz based all of her decisions there in reference to Azura. Her only interest in Amity was how she served as Hecate to her Azura and wanted to befriend her on that basis rather than learn anything about her as a person.

She interfered with Willow's life and violated her boundaries trying to fit Willow into her Azura fantasy model. In both Understanding Willow and Wing it Like Witches Willow asked Luz not to interfere with her decisions on how she handled her problems. In both cases Luz ignored Willow in favor of her Azura fantasy and Willow suffered as a result. After Luz did this a second time Willow walked away from the friendship. Luz had to work her butt off to earn back Willow's trust and friendship.

Luz was fine with playing in the Boiling Isles as long as it was fun and things were going her way. When Belos and the Collector showed up and things started getting serious and people started getting hurt Luz turned her back on the place and ran. She was prepared to abandon the entire enterprise because she never saw the Boiling Isles as a real place with real people and real problems.

Lumity isn't a relationship. It's a mutual crush between two fourteen year old children. They are not in love with each other because they are both too young and too emotionally damaged to even know what that means. Prior to Lumity neither Luz nor Amity has even had a successful friendship with anyone much less a full romantic commitment yet stans want to see Lumity as this perfect relationship that will last the two of them to the grave.

Luz is crushing on Amity and does not take her seriously. Luz is fine with the fun parts of crushing on Amity but when things get serious Luz is actively cruel to Amity. Luz lies to Amity repeatedly even though Amity knows Luz is lying to her and has asked her to stop. Luz didn't stop. Luz emotionally abandons Amity and seeks comfort in Hunter in whom she confides her secrets rather than Amity. In real life this behavior would be considered emotional abuse.

Amity has become codependent on Luz. Amity has given up every other aspect of her life to become Luz' awesome girlfriend. Amity no longer even challenges Luz the way she did in Lost in Language and Adventures in the Elements. When Eda did these things to Raine, Raine walked away from the relationship. Raine loved Eda but wouldn't tolerate Eda lying to them. Willow walked away from Luz when Luz violated her boundaries. Twice. Amity doesn't walk away from Luz despite being obviously hurt by Luz' lies. She is in a complete state of codependency on Luz. We've seen that other people don't tolerate this behavior from Luz. Amity does.

So these are my thoughts. If you have any questions or thoughts of your own to contribute, by all means feel free.

[damnfandomproblems]

Fandom Problem #6761:

As someone who's all time favorite characters are villains, most villain stans are annoying as all hell. Villain stans will unironically write essays nitpicking every little action the heroes take, to call them "problematic" and "oppressive", while completely ignoring the literal mountains of war crimes the villains committed!

But nope! It's the good guys that are actually the bad guys and the ones we should be rooting against, because one time, one of them insulted the bad guys looks which is "body shaming" and reinforcing "harmful body standards". One of the good guys lashing out at people due to anger issues which is noted as a character flaw which they are supposed to overcome is now labeled as "an abuser" and anyone who supports his character arc of learning to control it is now called an "abuse apologist" while simultaneously overlooking the villain actually TORTURING their minions when they fail missions AND killing innocent people????? The double standards are astounding. 

I can handle people "woobifying" villains but what I can't handle are the people "woobifying" villains AND bashing the good guys, because to me it just looks like they are breaking their backs reaching for a way to make the good guys secretly the bad guys and the bad guys the "poor little babies" that were oppressed and brutalized by the good guys all along. 

I've always had a problem with this in fanfiction but this entire rant came about because I saw a post stating that if you weren't a "[Villainous faction] defender than to GTFO out of their blog". Like gee, how dare I think that the characters that are portrayed as the good guys with actual morals are the good guys, compared to the villains which have literal con-men, psychopaths, and murderers on their side. And like I said, some of my all time favorite characters are villains but I also adore a lot of the nice, "generic" sweet good guys and I'm tired of villain stans bashing them and implying that they're secretly horrible people all along just to uplift the villains.

[thirstkanaphan]

I love watching San perform! I love how theatrical he is and how he embodies the mood and theme of each concept. And it's not just San, but all of Ateez! They all commit fully as performers (not just dancers) and I think that's why so many of us are drawn to them over other kpop groups. They use every part of their bodies, including their facial expressions, to convey the emotion and meaning of the music whenever they're on stage.

I learned recently that San got lots of hate from kpop stans in the past for his performance style, and it got so bad that he asked his parents not to search for his name on the internet, lest they be exposed to the abuse he received online.

I am really glad that San never dimmed his light or modulated his style. He receives tons of praise from his peers, including junior idols who regularly cite him as a role model. I think he's really inspirational for showing how to be vulnerable and fearless on stage.

Even as GH1 and GH2 pivoted away from the bombastic stages of their earlier eras, San continues to fully inhabit his "character." For Ice On My Teeth, he had signature mannerisms and gestures that he maintained across performances.

Watch his solo in the Last Supper + IOMT stage: the jerky, almost uncontrolled movements of his body cause his "cool" stoic persona to slip, but then he gathers himself and tucks back in all that emotion. In less than ten seconds, San tells us the entire story of this character and the tight but precarious grip he keeps on himself.

(apologies for the poor quality gifs)

It's actually an interesting meta choice to make San's character in Ice On My Teeth the one with the least overt emotionality, but you can see it simmering under the surface. That's the tension that makes San so compelling to watch on stage, and why this era has brought him so much popularity (his fancams are breaking records for Ateez).

I'll be curious to see if the next cb introduces a new genre for San to play with, one that continues to challenge his performative nature and brings us something new we can't look away from.

[putschki1969]

hi, how likely do you think that SC does by contract limit Keiko and Hikaru's activity with YK in the future ? because if this reunion live is only a one off event it doesnt seem reasonable to make such long term restriction. And if it does have such restriction in the contract, it is surprising that Keiko and Hikaru would fall for that. Unless Keiko and Hikaru is sommehow being tricked or SC pull some string in a way that Keiko and Hikaru signed the contract without seeing it will come like this

Hi there!

Fair warning, I will be getting into speculative territory with my answer so please keep that in mind and take everything you read with a grain of salt. I honestly don't enjoy speculating about this sort of stuff but it really can't be helped right now since we don't have any details. I'll try my best to keep everything as fact-based as possible.

Also, I can currently not guarantee a great deal of objectivity on the matter since I am feeling very protective of the girls. There's a part of me that is really angry at Yuki Kajiura and while I realise that my anger is mostly irrational and probably misdirected, I cannot help but feel this way. Please forgive me if anything I write in this post comes across as overly harsh towards Yuki Kajiura. If you are one of her hardcore stans, this is not the place to be right now.

Without further ado, let's get to your question...

I personally don’t think Space Craft has the amount of power over Keiko and Hikaru to completely cut them off from Yuki. Keiko is still managed by Tristone and Hikaru is a freelance artist so whatever they signed, or agreed upon, it most likely won't/can't conflict with Keiko's existing management contract and Hikaru's freedoms as freelancer. While I am sure there is some sort of agreement/contract, I very much doubt that it would enforce any sort of long-term commitment that could effectively hinder them from participating in any other activities. As you say, it would be incredibly unwise for Keiko and Hikaru to willingly sign such a restrictive agreement since the costs would far outweigh the gains, especially if they really end up only doing this one concert. They have been in this business for far too long and have surely learned from a fair amount of past mistakes to not let themselves be entrapped like that. They may not have been able to grasp the full extent of their decision (or were unable to predict Yuki's reaction) but to a certain degree, they must have known what awaited them if they agreed to this reunion concert. Just like Wakana knew what she was sacrificing when she decided to stay with Space Craft. In Wakana's case, one could argue that her seamless transition into a stable solo career was worth the price of being shunned. In Keiko's and Hikaru's case, the chance to do a single concert together is hardly worth losing that valuable connection to Yuki. Surely, those decisions weren't made lightly, lots of thought was put into them. So yeah, I don't think such strong restrictions would have been part of the agreement.

As for Space Craft deliberately tricking them, I'd like to believe that they aren't this cruel. Like I have always said, Wakana has decided to stay with them (and continues to stay with them) for a reason so for me, that automatically means that they can't be as evil as so many people make them out to be. I do not doubt that the higher-ups at Space Craft are grumpy old men who regularly take their pettiness to new creative levels just to spite Team Yuki but I'd hope they draw the line at betraying the girls. Basically, I wouldn't put it past them to do nasty stuff like enforcing NDAs, prohibiting the explicit mentioning of Yuki's name or staging news article leaks to publicly embarrass Yuki but I doubt they would intentionally trap the girls in a contract that they absolutely didn't want. I really hope I am right about this because I would hate to see any of them in such a predicament.

In all honesty, I think we mostly owe Keiko's exclusion from the upcoming YKL to Yuki's wheelings and dealings. Keiko's message on Yodel made it sound like she was genuinely hoping to continue working with Yuki and was just as saddened by the announcement as everyone else. As far as we can tell, she took the decision in stride and responded with dignity but she must have been quite disappointed, especially considering she was likely not informed of this decision in advance (she probably had to find out through the official announcement).

Now why would Yuki do such a thing? Once again, I refuse to believe that Yuki would intentionally try to punish or hurt Keiko. Seeing as I can't even imagine Space Craft being this cruel, I certainly struggle to imagine that Yuki would ever be capable of such malice. And I do somewhat believe her when she says she respects the girls. However, and this is a big however, I think Yuki is a very proud (dare I say conceited?) woman. A person of her status is of course allowed a certain measure of pride but I fear it has reached a point where her wounded pride and offended sensibilities are negatively influencing her ability to make rational decisions. As far as I am concerned, this puts her on the same level as all these Space Craft execs everyone keeps complaining about. And don't get me wrong here, I am not trying to diminish Space Craft's role in all of this, they have done their fair share of fucked up things but while everyone was always quick to put all the blame on them, no one really thought to question Yuki's actions during all of this. For me, they are equally at fault. Both parties surely make it difficult for each other and have some sort of leverage they like to use to get the better of the opposing party. But looking at everything from an objective point of view, Yuki has long ago gained significant advantages over Space Craft with all her recent accomplishments so I don't know what she is gaining from continuously manipulating the narrative in a manner that makes her look like she is the only wronged party in all of this while everyone else is either made to look evil or simply thrown under the bus.

I wish she would just swallow her pride, be the better person and make an effort to differentiate herself from the people at Space Craft whose petty behaviour she so clearly disapproves of. Unfortunately, she doesn't seem to recognise the hypocrisy in her own actions and she certainly doesn't come across as the type of person who is willing to make any concessions which is probably one of the main reasons the feud between her and SC still hasn't been resolved.

The higher-ups at Space Craft and Yuki are doing all of the string pulling and as long as they are motivated by pettiness, we sadly won't be seeing any improvement of the situation. The biggest tragedy in all of this is that Wakana, Keiko and Hikaru have always been the collateral damage of this childish feud. From day one, they have been caught in the trenches and forced to bear the brunt of the immature actions of their seniors. Hardcore YK stans may disagree but Kalafina isn't just Yuki's creation, throughout the years, it has become so much more and the girls have contributed just as much (if not more!) to shape the Kalafina we all know and love. How were they repaid for their efforts? First, they had pretty much their life's content, more than ten years worth of hard work and dedication, abruptly ripped from them only to be left to fend for themselves with little to no external support. Then they received nothing but horrible backlash for attempting to recreate something that was so incredibly special to them and now they seem to have been entirely abandoned for simply going through with a project that at its core was only meant to bring joy.

My only hope right now is that this unfortunate situation can be turned into many opportunities to enable some more Kalafina concerts as well as increase their solo activities. It would break my heart to just see them do nothing. I will not say that their sacrifice was completely in vain because that Kalafina Anniversary Live was obviously so important and so special to so many people (including the girls), we all had such an amazing time. But that just can't have been it, it's too high a price to pay for a single night of happiness. The girls need to get more out of this, they deserve it!

All right, I think I've said everything I've wanted to say...Over and out.

[wooldamenace]

WARNING!: SPOILERS FOR YELLOWJACKETS SEASON THREE FINALE

I was just wondering if the yellowjackets fandom is smart enough to understand the racial history on why so many people are weirded out by how Mari's death was executed. The treament with Mari's body was disgusting, and so was Javi's. They both were treated like livestock, and before the Shuana stans get their panties in a twist and start yelling and screaming at the air hear me out.

TW: mentions of lynch!ng, f3tishization of women of color, racial prejudice, and stereotypes in shows and media

Throughout history, POC bodies were ostracized and over-sexualized since who knows how long by their white counter parts, especially women of color. For example, the f3tishization of Latina and black women (i.e., "need me a black girl with butterfly locs" or "need me a spicy latina/torta")

The idea of Mari's body being stripped in the snow and hung upside-down should've never been discussed in the first place due to the hundreds of similar hate crimes that have been committed and justified against POC, i.e. lynch!ng and cutting hair. Hair is ridiculously important to many heritages, not just POC, so having a white character wear their victims hair as a trophy is disgusting, especially since Shauna is the main person who wanted to hunt Mari.

This show was never good at writing their POC characters. Most, if not all, of them fall into harmful sterotypes;

TAISSA: the angry black woman

Taissa is shown to be aggressive from the pilot (breaking a girl's leg) she also has an even more aggressive alter ego.

LOTTIE: the "pocahontas"

This isn't really a trope I just needed a name for this. Lottie's actresses are both Maori. Lottie's main characterization is that she talks to the wilderness...(let's use common sense here)

MARI: the sassy latina

This one is pretty straightforward. All them writers really did was have Mari say some comebacks and be latina. There was almost little to no substance when we first meet her.

SIMONE: the disposable black girlfriend

Taissa's wife, Ooh girl. We meet Simone in the adult timeline is her and Tai is being cute and domestic even after we learn that Tai has cheated. Simone is willing to forgive. Simone is essentially disposed of when the show drops the bomb that Van is alive. Simone is replaced by Van in the romance department.

Well, that was a lot of typing. Don't expect that many words in a think piece from me soon. Remember to drink water and have the best day you can. Xoxo - Wool ♡

[woovalin]

i have since been informed that the screenshots of that conversation were fabricated. i apologize, it turns out that an english translator was used and the source was proven to be false. nonetheless, this changes nothing about the situation.

i hope we all have an understanding that this is not a kpop issue, but a women’s rights issue. as previously stated in my original post; men, no matter where they’re from, what family they come from, who their friends are, they are not immune to being misogynistic, vile human beings. the people closest to us could be hiding the worst secret imaginable. men, having mothers, sisters and daughters, does not stop them from committing heinous crimes against women. it doesn’t matter that they have a strong female presence around, they could still turn out to be anti-women and do it all wrong. it only takes another brainwashed woman hater to turn the rest into one of them.

i also would like to point out that this is not the time to start fan wars, because this is not about kpop or us fans, or who you stan or don’t stan. this isn’t a “gotcha” moment, for you to blame fans for supporting him when nobody knew. it’s not the time to promote your faves or post shit with, ‘my faves would never’. that’s what everyone says/thinks until your fave DOES. it’s insulting to the victims, making jokes out of this. and let’s not blame women for supporting bgs, bc saying things like “good thing i only stan ggs” is not making anyone look good, not you, and not your faves. the blaming women for enjoying things is crazy, bc how are we not going to assume that the people we’re supporting are decent human beings at the very least? that’s the bare minimum, for you to expect someone to be a kind, normal human being who treats people with respect, as everyone should. there will always be terrible people in this world, but we can’t blame anyone but the criminal themselves.

i would love to stop posting about this, bc it is getting to be a lot, and is very overwhelming, but i want to keep voicing the issue at hand. korean women have desperately been trying to reach out to international media and gain our attention in the states, so that we can help them spread the word about what has been going on and what they are being subjected to. it’s sickening to look at the evidence of these vile people hurting innocent women and minors of all ages, but if it means we keep this relevant for as long as possible, then i will keep posting on every social media platform to amplify their voices. please continue to share, and spread as much (credible) information for these victims as you can. they are being singled out and targeted for speaking up, and we need to be their voice from across the world.

please please take care of yourselves, take breaks if you need to. just sharing things does a lot, and supporting the people around you who at any point have been in a situation like this, does more than you know.

❗️EDIT: if you would like to learn more about the situation in general on what goes on in sk involving these chat rooms, i recommend watching stephanie soo’s videos on her ‘rotten mango’ youtube channel about this. i will warn you, topics are very heavy and can be triggering, so watch at your own discretion. and listen to her trigger warnings. here is a screenshot of what you can search to find them.

[amalthea-13]

The Stella Dilemma

Introduction

Hello all, it is I, the Ultimate Stolas Kin and Stan, Amalthea! Welcome back to another episode of me torturing myself!

Okay, okay, I'm being dramatic. I am currently unwell due to a headache but LORD do I gotta talk about this with someone. So come along all.

To anyone who likes or enjoys Stella as a character I ain't got beef with you. Despite my aversion to her character, I consider her pretty interesting.

Don't get it twisted though, I am committed to my man lol.

However, I noticed some discourse regarding Stella. I will be keeping GIFs to a minimum. My headache can't handle all the movement and flashing.

There are 2 parts to this discourse and I will be tackling both sides.

Part 1: Stella and her Poor Writing

Part 2: Stolas Stans and Their Aggression

I know many of you are confused why I am even picking up this argument, but I genuinely want to give both sides the benefit of the doubt and a sense of "middle ground" for more constructive conversations in the future.

Both Stella Fans and Stolas Fans are prickly things and it genuinely is because of simple things that can be cleared up with an unbiased perspective.

While I will always protect and defend Stolas along with fans like myself. I do have a lot of mercy for Stella fans since well my best pal is one lol. We've had a lot of conversations regarding Stella and despite disagreements I have a more nuanced take on Stella due to that fact. Anyway lets dive into this essay!!!

Stella and her Poor Writing

When it comes to Stella's writing there are many, many issues due to the fact the narrative is so focused on Stolas and Blitz.

It is similar to well- Steven Universe! One of the biggest issues Steven Universe suffered from was the fact the gems didn't develop unless Steven was in the room to witness it.

Stella is only relevant when Stolas or Blitz are involved and therefore it makes it hard for us to learn anything about her, but the two most important things being her background and motives. One reason I believe Stella is an aggressive person toward Stolas is because she is angry the men around her have so much control over her life. (This is speculation and headcanon so take it with a grain of salt.)

The big issue with Stella is she is purely a "big bad" and we have no reason as to why she is so terrible. Sure she is rich, but so is Vassago, Bee, and Asmodeus. So why is Stella in particular the way she is.

However, as a Stolas Stan the biggest issue many of us have is that- when discussing Stella's issues as a character, for some reason Stolas has to be dragged down somehow.

*sigh*

I don't understand why this phenomenon is so common, but the minute Stolas is brought up in the same sentence as Stella all hell breaks loose. Stella Fans become angry because they feel like she was robbed in some way. Stolas Stans become prickly because she is an abuser and anything that isn't condemnation is immediately read as excuses for her behavior.

It is a lose-lose battle either way. Therefore, we need to stop having Stolas conversations in tandem with Stella. We can dislike her and have disdain for her while also acknowledging there are major, major plot issues regarding Stella.

There is a major disconnect between the things she does and the reasoning behind it and that alone should be enough. When discussing female characters, even mean ones, we need to be open to the possibility that there is room for improvement writing wise.

Stolas Fans and Their Aggression

Before anyone get's mad at me for bringing this up. I want you all to go double check the required reading of my blog and remember, I am that bitch when it comes to defending Stolas, but as an AFAB person I have the capacity to care about queer and gay men, while also acknowledging the issues with Stella's writing.

I can have capacity for both.

Moving on, Stolas Fans are normally abuse victims in some way. Regardless of the abuse they're usually chronic people pleasers that struggle with feelings of loneliness and isolation. They want genuine connections in life and can't have it due to how their trauma effects them.

How do I know? Well I am a Stolas Stan and Kin for a reason.

Moving on. Speaking to my community from a very genuine and loving place-

Ya'll gotta let people discuss Stella without taking it as a slight against Stolas. While I may be the posterchild for shit-talking Stella, it doesn't mean we can't have chill discussions about where the Hellaverse Squad can improve in her writing.

Not every Stella Fan or Critic is an abuse apologist. A lot of them simply want to see abuse more accurately portrayed in Hellaverse and I can get behind that 100%! However, the only time I push back against them as we saw the other night is when they try to suggest Stolas is somehow an abuser or self victimizing.

The only time you all should be pushing back is if they're stating false rhetoric or things that cannot be backed up by canon. That's it.

Conclusion

At the end of the night both sides have their issues. Hell, I even have areas to improve myself, but remember the block button fucking exists people. If a conversation is to triggering or frustrating, just block atp.

I apologize for how short this essay is, but work really killed me today. Love you all!

Askbox is open!! I will answer!

Tag List:

@larryisnotagirl

Want to be in my tag list? Send in an ask!

[pleasantspark]

Why People Don't Care About ACTUAL racism and or ableism.

TW: Hard Truths, if you can't handle the perspective of actual people who suffer then go down to your nearest store and buy a bag of chill pills. Please read through as people seem to go straight to my inbox, this is coming from a disabled, trans poc. Someone who needs to actually be listened to.

I do not have faith in Season Two of Hazbin. The main reasoning is because there's going to be more discourse in the critical community and a losing battle over if something is ableist or racist or not.

Here's the deal, slurs aren't signs someone's a bigot at all, people say slurs all the damn time, and the reason why people don't find mocking disabled people (not slur usage) or insulting them by leaving them out or downright saying filthy things to my people is this:

Casually saying slurs.

People have for YEARS believed that someone saying slurs casually is true ableism and racism. Tumblr is guilty of this. I have seen a fair share of disgusting takes from this community that erases actual experiences from my people and my families history for years.

Only for someone to kirk out when I call a situation retarded. If it's morally correct or okay isn't the point, you essentially made a big deal out of a term used for centuries to cause an issue in the already fragile community to start drama in, this takes away from actual victims of ableism.

The fact I, a disabled person has to tell you to stop claiming ableism and racism is ridiculous, I tried to tell you guys that this isn't going to work, but half of the people jumping on me doesn't care that I am more than likely the person who should be offended because I FALL UNDER THE CATEGORIES listed.

But no, you all have to be victims somehow. I'm telling you this, if you use us as a shield to accuse some random person of being a bigot when they are not. You're scum. You're a bunch of terrible people who only use us as a signal to virtue signal about someone saying words not directed at anyone.

The more you call someone a bigot for no good reason, the more actual racism is not recognizable. There's been many cases of actual ableism and racism being committed but okay, we're worried about random people using slurs not directed at people to consider it ever a thing.

In fact, many black people including myself doesn't give a fuck if someone not our color says it, we've been saying this for ages, and we've been spoken over by actual white people who claim they care for us and want to be allies to us. We can't even speak ON BEHALF of shit we claim isn't racism, but we either get silenced or even flat out gaslit into believing we're these hormonal rage inducing stereotypes that get really mad about anyone saying the n word or about to say it.

That in itself is a racist and a stereotype not whatever the fuck Jenna Marbles say. Now, I won't lie, blackface and saying nigga as a double whammy is RACIST. No doubt, but racism in the sense of saying nigga towards no one or just flat out saying it casually is not.

I am not debating on this site or accepting anything because this shits ridiculous people for ages overlook my actual opinions on it, wanting to debate me for ages but doesn't realize I follow half the labels and is someone who knows most then all.

So why should the Stans care about Racism when their ideas of Racism is literally saying the n word? They are not gonna see Rosie and Alastor as racism because the community thinks slurs is racism. The same goes for Ableism, no one knows what ableism is, because their only exposure to it was a slur and nothing else.

At the end of the day slurs are edgy, being edgy does NOT mean your a fucking bigot. As long as you actually learn to ignore or take into account your limits then we'll be fine. We need to learn to actually cater to our experiences and not be insufferable and take into accounts other experiences, this community has issues in using harmful labels to slander/libel someone without evidence and we need to see people take accountability. I am not accepting any Asks about this, as I want to tell you my side and how this isn't going to change until everyone calms the fuck down and let the people who actually are affected speak.

[hemingwaystan]

Dipper should have taken Ford's apprentice ship offer, change my mind.

I know this is a really hot take but I want to state my argument and hopefully change some minds. This is my controversial argument, I don't want to start a flame war so try not to do any screaming hate comments although I'm down with a calm debate about it, anyways, without further ado, a really, really long essay explaining it.

First, I'm gonna take about Dipper's relationship with Mabel and the parallels between the Stans and them. Obviously, the show is kind of arguing that Dipper needs to stay with her so their relationship doesn't go the way Stans but I honestly think that's an irrelevant concern because they reconciled after Mabel-land in relation to the apprenticeship. I legitimately believe when they actually see each other, they'll love each other like they did before. Their was never a relationship ruining event like with the Stans that could force a rift, nobody closed the window and no one broke the perpetual motion machine.

Second, I want to talk about what it would be like living with Ford. Because it's definitely the most, in my eyes, reasonable argument against taking it I've seen but I still think I can prove it wrong, WITH FACTS AND LOGIC, lol. First, Ford and Dipper have already bonded deeply by the end of the show and will even more, probably like way more. That's why I think they'll look out for each other a lot more than a lot of people think. Ford has to drink water, Ford has to eat, so does Dipper, they'll just do it together. And about household accomodations, y'know like all the things a house needs to have. They'll probably have better stuff than almost anywhere else, think about Ford's lightbulb and extend that to just about all issues. And then I know what you're thinking, money, and that's definitely a hard one to crack but I imagine they'll either acquire their food through weirder locations, y'know like buying shit from the gnomes or whatever. I know this would be tough for Ford but I'm sure he'll quickly rationalize it as studying the economics of the different creatures intelligent enough to buy and sell food. I also think for standard money, in relation to the things that just doesn't cover. I think Ford, for his low-danger inventions he would happily do what McGucket did, sell some patents or produce shit on the side. Ford wants to advance knowledge and society with science. He has any number of things he could do that with while committing almost all his time to research, for example selling the patents for the scientifically perfect lightbulb. That would take care of him for an exorbitant amount of time, probably living rich for life if he cared about that, which he doesn't so non-sequitor but he will be safe.

The third argument against it I've seen is that Ford would be a bad caretaker, I think this one can be easily argued against. Because, again they have a close bond and will likely only grow closer. And I can tell you why that means so much. I'm a child of divorce and I stayed with my dad. And he wasn't a very good caretaker by any means but we looked out for each other in all the ways needed to survive. I learned how to do all the household stuff by 12. They care about each other, they're both intelligent enough to know how to keep kicking. Also, despite not appearing it Ford is clearly a caring person, the problem is people miss that due to his relationship with Stanley but that's built on decades of distrust,

The fourth possible argument is that Dipper would grow up too fast. But truth by told, growing up fast is a good thing in my eyes. You learn how to take care of yourself at a young age, you grow closer with adults by sharing many of their issues and with other people Dipper's age he can just not mention it. Also most people's innocence dies around 13 or 14, or maybe I just had a shitty childhood, who fuckin' knows.

The fifth argument against it I've seen is Dipper's social life and that is reasonable but if we follow the admitted assumption Ford will give him a fair amount of free time. He still is in with Wendy's friend group and he'll probably regularly see them after school, he'll also have Pacifica as they're relationship was improving rapidly by the end of the show and I think it's unlikely but possible he'll reconcile with Gideon given his character arc, assuming it continues after the epilogue. And Ford will probably become friends again with McGucket helping his own social life.

And now we're gonna talk about the advantages of staying with Ford. First, Dipper will probably have the intelligence of having a PhD by senior year. He'll get into a college of his choice and later in life, if not at a young age will advance the knowledge of the human race at least a fair amount. He'll have an incredibly promising life no matter what he does it just seems science is the most likely option.

Second, I absolutely love Mabel but honestly, she is kind of holding him back. He has a future and a life in front of him and he only ever sacrifices for her and she really barely does anything of the sort. She does apologize at the end but I don't remember any long-term change. I don't blame her for Weirdmagedon though.

Third, I don't know about you but a childhood spent in Gravity Falls, studying anomalies would be fucking sick. I know that's a personal opinion but honestly, wouldn't it?

Fourth, in the Book of Bill and other sources it's regularly implied that Dipper/Mabel's parents are regularly fighting and their suffering from it. A household of Ford and Dipper would be totally unstable as I won't deny Ford is rather unstable mentally although as the series goes on he seems to improve in condition with Weirdmaggedon as an exception, but like who the fuck wouldn't flip out during that but even then he maintains his composure. Dipper would be mentally safer, especially if my reasoning for fighting counter argument against apprenticeship five holds, but also, he'll be and this is an inference dodging a childhood of fighting parents and probably a bad divorce, that traumatizes people.

Thank you for reading my incredibly long rant, I'm happy to provide a counter-opinion because it seems like literally no one has yet. I really hope that the opinion he should've can become more widespread because I think it deserves to be, thank you.

[yuikomorii]

i think i can forgive yui for anything even toxic simply because she suffered the most because of those guys and deserves to get her lick back. they put her through so much in earlier games, it's insane

// PARDON?? 😀😀

I understand that the Diaboys were bitchy at first and they all treated others as less (which is bad), but other than Laito, Kanato and Carla, nobody made Yui suffer that bad to the point of breaking her. Kou was pretty nasty too at first, but the rest weren’t that horrible route based for characters supposed to be monsters. At the very least, I can name some human LIs who were way worse than most Diaboys, yet nobody seems to hate on them for that. I understand that it must be tiring being pushed around and being treated as “prey”, yet we’re talking about vampires here. They are predators and don’t have the same set of morals as humans do, for this reason humans are a mere food source for them. They can’t live without blood, even if this means having to sacrifice humans to satisfy their hunger. We love cats despite the fact that they like torturing mice before killing them, and that’s because we understand that it’s just how the predator instinct works. The Diaboys might look humanized, but they are a whole difference existence and you shouldn’t hold them at human standards. It’s good that DL showed how vampires were truly supposed to act, instead of making them romantic and flirty from the start.

Even the whole Adam’s apple plan focuses on Eve, a human, making Adam, a vampire, learn about human feelings. One thing about the Diaboys is that they all had growth. If someone is shown regretting their behavior and is genuinely changing into a better person just for you, it’s very insensitive to remind them about what they did a long time ago. They are aware of their actions and they are aware they were in the wrong, therefore bringing up their past mistakes won’t make you a better person than them. A Diaboy could sacrifice everything for Yui and put his life on the verge each and every time she’s in danger, but some of you guys would still only see him as “bad”, which would be a huge insult to his character, given that it would erase all the development he went through.

I’m not going to count the bad endings here, but saying that you forgive all of Yui’s toxic actions is very toxic itself. She is an abuse apologist herself, who tried to convince Ayato that his mother secretly cared for him (despite knowing the full story), Subaru that Karlheinz loved him and the Mukamis that Karlheinz, after he committed a whole genocide, saved them to redeem himself. These are all very wrong. Karlheinz always used everyone for his plans, just like Cordelia used her children for her selfish desires. Neither of them were ever shown regretting their actions. This is just one example of Yui’s toxic actions and I’m not saying that she did them with ill will, but stupidity can make one problematic too. It gives off the same vibes as “but they’re your parents”, after hearing someone talk about how much their parents hurt them.

It’s not that hard to admit that all DL characters have red flags. Nobody in this franchise is meant to be a role model and it’s okay if you don’t like certain actions. I’m a Yui stan, but I get why several people from the otoge community don’t really like her. However, I’m surprised that they see her as really that bad. I mean, she still is mostly kind and sweet, therefore I don’t think her bitchy moments are more significant. Yet, I suppose this has more to do with how they perceive things.

[epicfroggz]

Isn't a little hypocrisy when people hate on Messmer for being a war criminal but stan the other war criminal and genocidal demigods like Malenia/Marika/Godfrey etc... like I got not vibing with certain characters but acting so self-righteous over the people who like these characters is ultra cringe.

Heya, thanks for the ask! (There’s another ask in my inbox that’s a little more heated than this one but thanks for that one too, please take this as the answer!)

In essence, yep, agreed. There is no purpose to this self-righteousness when we’re all having a civil discussion about very terrible people and events. The only reason Fromsoft would write a “strictly morally good” character is to put them in a tragic situation that breaks them—like Artorias, who despite his good intentions is still implicated in flooding the entire city of New Londo with everyone in it (I’ll get to my “Messmer is Fromsoft’s next evolution of Artorias” post eventually!). No, they’re not in the business of simple heroes and villains, they write characters that are hopelessly human in hopeless circumstances of their own making.

Let’s not get real life and fiction confused, alright? Wars are horrible things that end up being no good for anyone, and genocide is the worst thing of them all. It is the human tragedy, and the loss of humanity that is necessary to commit these acts, that makes telling and learning about war stories fascinating, at least to me. I have my own personal reasons for finding Messmer’s perspective more compelling, just as others have their own reasons for finding the Hornsent’s side more compelling, or that of another god/demigod, or so on. We are all humans with differing backgrounds and our interpretation of art does not come from a vacuum. Sharing these views with each other leads to a more holistic understanding of the narrative as a whole, I think.

So yeah, I won’t be ashamed to say that I think Messmer is a badass and fuck the Hornsent, in the same sentence that I say that both sides of the conflict are absolutely unforgivable and choose to perpetuate a cycle of violence and despair that has and will continue to destroy them both. It’s not a crime to be passionate about a fictional character in a (really fucking good) fictional narrative.

I think that is all I have to say on the matter. Now I’ll get back to enjoying Elden Ring lore as per usual. ^^

- Froggo