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artbyblastweave · 3 months

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So, the thing about Ward's worldbuilding is, it's bad on purpose. This is something I didn't catch until a relisten of the earlier parts, but the disconnect between the actual literal apocalypse that occurred two years prior and the shockingly advanced levels of infrastructure and technology is very deliberate. The entire thing is slapdash and farcical. You have people out the door of a shitty concrete hovel lining up for bad coffee. You have cars built out of random scavenged parts, "dumpsters" that Victoria can't manhandle because they're made of clumsily-welded-together scrap metal. Victoria can't reliably navigate at night because power to the city below is intermittent (and her mother Carol happens to live in one of the parts that does have consistent power; that's unexamined, make of it what you will.) The mall cluster shitshow goes down in a "mall" that, IIRC, is called out later as having been basically a dead end economically, a doomed grasp at a sense of normalcy. The patrol block uses recycled PRT gear, Dot's interlude involves the machine army jumping a bunch of bog-standard apocalypse scavengers. What you're looking at isn't a new society built up shockingly quickly; you're looking at the previously-well-supplied-and-externally-supported outpost of the recently destroyed society, and after two years they're finally chewing through the last of the head start they got. The societal equivalent of Wile. E. Coyote hanging in the air above the cliff, or of the seemingly-untouched duelist seconds away from sliding in half. Unfortunately, due to choices made about the timeframe and focus of the story, the Coyote sprouts wings. The duelist whips out a staple gun. Or to come at this from another angle- in The Walking Dead, a comic I really like, I can sort of organize the arc of the apocalypse into three-ish big chunks. For the first eight or nine months in universe, about 48 issues, things are obviously bad, right, quite a few people have died, but there's a sense among Rick and company that they might be able to ride it out, that things are on the upswing. They've got crops going, they have new births, maybe help from the government proper isn't coming the way they thought it might towards the start, but things are looking up! Then, of course, the Great Fuckening of Volume Eight occurs, and you enter the middle phase of the comic, where they're down to like a third of their group, they're food-insecure, they're constantly on the move, they're under attack from rapists and cannibals who've descended into habitual atrocity because they're totally without hope. Children are having mental breaks and killing children, the first friendly guy Rick met in the whole comic is now an insane hermit feeding dead bodies to his undead son, on and on and on and on and on. Bad times, but a comparatively short middle in the grand scheme of things. Then they find Alexandria, and the back half of the comic is spent basically on an upward trajectory with some zig-zags, there are still periodic existential threats but they're clearly past the nadir.

Ward feels like it starts midway through that first part, the you-don't-know-how-much-worse-this-can-get part, with the emphasis on the social tensions, the encroaching winter, but then it just...doesn't get much worse. I mean they have a rough three months, but then they sort of speedrun right to the hopeful future ending as soon as the titans are dealt with. There were parts that I suspect were supposed to be the dark-night-of-the-soul I'm alluding to but they didn't land as such. I feel as though the superhero genre stuff kind of subordinated the apocalypse stuff, made it less visible by virtue of whose POV we were following, and sometimes I feel that as a remedy to this, Ward should have taken place over the course of years, and it should have Just Kept Getting Worse. For example Breakthrough should have had to kill and eat Rain to survive the winter

#parahumans #ward #wormblr #thoughts #meta #the last line is a shitpost #everything else is endorsed #wildbow

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yourheart-inmyhands · 6 months

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Hii, just call me Skull anon. I've been very curious about how different yanderes would do so I'm asking for a request.

How would Xiao, Albedo, and Wriothesley deal with a Drug addict reader who was already in an unstable state, struggling to survive with rent and had bad trauma? The trauma could be anything you'd like.

Of course, you can deny this request if it makes you uncomfortable. No pressure or anything.

so i was a little hesitant to do this because I wasn't sure how well I could properly portray this, but going sort of off my own experience with certain things and trying to remain calm i wrote this. i can't really explain what compelled me to, but i do hope you enjoy this and please, read the warnings for this one :] <3

Warning: this post contains yandere-themes, including delusional behaviors, implied being held against will, manipulation tactics, mentions of substance abuse and recovery from it, obsessive behaviors, and other potential topics. Please Read At Your Own Risk!

Yandere!Xiao would be concerned internally but look indifferent externally. He’s conflicted, because he knows you’re struggling and that humans are a lot weaker, that you need help, but he doesn’t know how to help, he’s never had to be in this position before. He consults many people, fellow adepti, Zhongli, even the Traveler, none of whom he gives the full picture to but instead dances around the main ideas and works off vague descriptions.

Xiao’s first step in helping you was moving you in to the Wangshu Inn with him, where he could watch over you better. He has a reserved room there, though he never really uses it. Sleep is beyond his needs so he rarely rests, but you need rest so he allows you to have the room. This comes with him barging in on you whenever he sees fit though, day to night at any moment he could pop in without you even knowing. He had a strange way of doing that, a lot. He isn’t sure how to help with trauma or substance abuse, those aren’t the evils he usually fights, but he knows people he can ask about that. Xiao didn’t like admitting that he didn’t know what to do, but grumbling and giving Baizhu some vague descriptions of the situation helped him get a better idea of what to do. Xiao decides to take the soft approach of slowly weening you off the awful stuff, not wanting you to be left with more problems from quitting cold turkey. It’s a long road and Xiao was sorta kinda prepared to help you through it. He likes having you this close though, this dependent on him and his help.

Yandere!Albedo struggles with his feelings. His lack of humanity means he really only experiences feelings that are typically in abundance, meaning he doesn’t feel unless the feeling is so strong it cannot be ignored. His research is all he really knows so he takes the opportunity to offer ‘assistance.’ In exchange for staying with him and allowing him to study your responses and reactions, he would help you with your addiction.

It seemed like a good deal at first, Albedo would provide adequate housing, a quaint apartment in the heart of Mondstat, in exchange for being allowed to study you as he helped you over your drug problem. It would kill two birds with one stone no? What he didn’t tell you though was that he planned to have you quit cold turkey, wanting to watch how your body would respond to the sudden withdrawals. Of course, if anything started to border on the edge of life-threatening, he’d take preventative measures to ensure you lived, but otherwise, you were not permitted to leave or take any addictive substances. Albedo oversees all your care, meaning that for the entire recovery process, you are confined to a bedroom with him hovering over you, notepad and pencil in hand and large, unblinking eyes boring holes into you. It was unsettling, and even when you were on the upswing, finally getting to where the grass was greener, he still refused to allow you out or allow others in, saying that it could compromise the research. In reality, he just didn’t want anyone else near you, he had loved having you all to himself and didn’t want to share you ever again.

Yandere!Wriothesley is surprisingly educated on what to do. Not only had a few people in similar conditions come through the prison, but it was his job to make sure that he knew everything about everyone who passed into this place. With the help of some staff at the Fortress of Meropide, he moves you into a room in the staff wing, assigning you a set of personalized staff to help with your addictions. There were only two conditions, he would check in on you every day to ensure you were sticking to your recovery and that when you were finally okay, you would work as his assistant to pay off your debt.

Wriothesley wasn’t worried about the money that was put towards your recovery, it was nothing to someone with the title of Duke. He was more concerned with you being alive than momentary pleasures like wealth, but he used the excuse of you needing to pay him back to keep you around longer. He checks in with you every day, typically around dinner time, he’ll take a break to eat with you and talk about your day, building a relationship and establishing a connection, but sometimes he takes short breaks to check in on you. Wriothesley also speaks with the assigned group of nurses and staff that were there specifically for you every day, getting word from them on your progress and how things are looking. He enjoys seeing you slowly getting better day by day, his hope for the future strong as he dreams of the day you become officially his. He had no intention of ever letting you leave the Fortress of Meropide, at least not without him, arm wrapped protectively around you as he escorts you around, as a partner should.

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silverskye13 · 25 days

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CRYING i want to look at the original art (& fanart) for R&S so much but i dont want to get spoiled because im still less than halfway through....... i love your writing so much it's got me in a good mood ever since i started it! (its not overly complicated and the words are all expertly placed, it's perfect for my binge reading!)

also i hope the pain goes away, im sorry it's been hard lately :(

Ah! Sorry for making your dashboard a minefield! Sometimes I wonder if I should spoiler tag things :'D

Just tagging things as redstone and skulk worked so well until it became the only thing I ever talked about whoops. The brainrot is real for me as a writer/artist as well.

I'm so glad you like the fic, and especially the writing style! I like trying write? Not informally exactly, but there's like a balance between informal prose and prose-poetry I like trying to hit, and sometimes it really feels like a tightrope. I'm glad its working for you :D

And thank you for the well wishes. My body decided to riot against me last week, but I think? I'm on the upswing? [Knocks on wood] At the very least my pain/discomfort levels have dropped from like, a 7 to a 2, so that's a win in my book!

#rns asks #anonymous #queue #i get so nervous saying i feel okay i feel like im going to jinx myself ahahaha #like my stomach just dropped into my shoes nervous #universe please dont smite me

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things-arent-what-they-seem66 · 10 days

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*kicks down door* I'm back for part 2!

26. “I’ll give you two seconds to take that back.” 10. “Please don’t tell me we’re nothing to you… That I mean nothing after everything’s that happened.” 12. “If you ever need me, I’ll be right here. Just as I’ve always been.” 25. “Why does it have to be her? Why can’t it be me?”

My thoughts/ideas: Lilith returns a while after Adam and Lucifer have started engaging in their weird situationship (mostly just them having sex and Adam having a bit of a bisexual crisis). When Adam tries to ask Lucifer what will happen to their relationship with Lilith back, Luci basically denies that they had a relationship to begin with. Adam gets upset, asks him if it meant nothing, and when he gets just silence in response, he just decides to drop it and walk away. Angel comes to comfort him (Holydust friendship <33) and Adam gets to bitch about Lilith for a bit.

Feel free to adjust any parts of the prompts and ideas as you please, have fun :D

Indigo (back on that angst train as usual)

Adamsapple and Holydust friendship!! Did we just become best friends?! :D

Hope you like it! Spicy ending on my Ao3 account ;)

It has taken Adam a long time to come to terms with the fact that he was bisexual and even a little longer to be comfortable with liking men in general. Not only that, but that he may have a preference for men and taking it up the ass. Especially if the man giving it to him was the King of Hell, Lucifer himself.

At first he had panicked, thought that something was wrong with him. But after a lot of soul searching and a few helpful books he swiped from Charlie he eventually came around to not hating the idea. It made having a relationship with Lucifer all that much easier.

Adam felt that their relationship was on an upswing, things were fine right now.

Until she walked in the front doors of the hotel.

Lilith, with her ever beautiful golden hair, violet eyes, red horns, smoking body concealed in a flowing purple gown stood there with all the poise and grace of the queen she once was. Adam thought that Lucifer would have yelled at her for being gone so long, it's been twelve years now.

But no, he went over to her and kissed the back of her hand in greeting, eyes shining and smile wide and ever present.

It made Adam's heart sink down low into a dark place. "Oh look, the Queen of Hell is back. Looks like Lucifer won't be needing his precious little boy toy anymore." Alastor sneered in Adams ear.

He turned a glare to the radio demon, face dark he flipped him off. "Fuck off, Bambi." Adam stomped away.

Lucifer wouldn't just throw away what they had. That bitch had been MIA for years! Adam had been here the whole time! He growled to himself, he really hated her especially after what she did back in Eden, Adam may have been a dick, but he never laid a hand on her. Not like she did to him.

He banished those thoughts, now was not the time.

"Oh, you're here?" He heard Liliths distanful voice call out his way.

"Yeah, I see you are too. What's the matter, heaven not fucking good enough for you anymore?" Adam growled, he crossed his arms over his chest as he looked the first woman on the eye.

Lilith's face darkened. "The beach can only be so beautiful for so long. Beside, I jad to come home to MY family. From the whispers that I've heard, you've been playing house with my husband while I've been gone." She smirked at the way her words crawled under Adam's skin like some infectious disease.

Adam scoffed, "Bitch please, at least I didn't abandon the people you oh so claim to fucking love."

"Look here you little prick, you will not speak to me that way. I'm the Queen around here and you are nobody. You always have been." Lilith and Adam shared a glaring match for a while, the room getting thick with tension.

"Ha! Oookay, let's break this up. Charlie! Can you show your mother around? I've got something to do." Lucifer said as he tried to keep the first man and woman away from each other. Charlie gently came over and took her mom by the arm as Lucifer dragged Adam away down the hall. "What the hell has gotten into you?"

"Me!? Are you serious right now, she was a bigger cunt than I was out there."

"Adam she's my wife."

"Who fucking ditched you to get a tan in heaven. Open your eyes Luci, she doesn't love you." Adam said, then added. "Fuck, what does this even mean for us?"

Lucifer blinked. "Us?"

Adam rolles his eyes. "Yeah, us, our relationship. Now that queen bitch is back, how are you going to tell her about us?"

"There's nothing to tell."

"The fuck do you mean 'nothing to tell'? We've been doing this for a while now." Adam gestured to them with his hands.

Lucifer shook his head with a smile. "Adam, buddy, there is no us. There has never been an us. We've been sleeping together sure, but nothing more than that."

Adam could not even begin to describe the feeling of the amount of hurt those words brought him. "I'll give you two fucking second to take that back." His voice was low, trying to keep the emotion out of it. How the fuck could he say that to him? After all the ups and downs they went through in the last couple of years, the emotional turmoil they put the other through, all the heart ache and working through their problems so that they could finally be together? Nothing!?

"What did you think we were?"

Adam had thought they were boyfriends. Now he wasn't so sure where he stood. He refused to believe he meant nothing. "We, well I thought...." Adam trailed off, he didn't want to say it. His heart thumped painfully in his chest.

He loved him.

Adam felt his eyes water, he suddenly felt sick to his stomach. Did he fall in love and Lucifer was only getting laid? He felt like a fucking chick. "Please don't tell me that what we have nothing is to you...... That I mean nothing after everything that has fucking happened between us." All he got was silence and a confused and conflicted look on Lucifer's face.

Fuck.

Adam swore he heard his heart crack, the silence between them deafing and all the answer he needed. He never meant anything, had he really been that fucking delusional? Adam felt his lip quiver and he turned away. He wouldn't let this prick see him cry. A tear rolled down his cheek, his chest and throat felt tight. "You need to make a fucking choice, Lucifer. Her or me. If you choose her, I'm not gonna fucking stick around to watch." Adam started to leave down the hall. "If you need me I'll be right here. Like I always have been." Adam briskly took off down the hall, not looking back at Lucifer.

"Adam. Adam!" Lucifer called after him but Adam ignored him. He couldn't deal with this right now.

He didn't even know which way he was going, his vision blurry from the tears that pooled there, the ones not running down his face. Fuck, was he sobbing? Adam felt emense pain and numbness all at once, like his heart had been torn out, placed in a blender and the liquid remains dumped back inside the hollow of his chest.

"Ooof!" Adam bumped into someone, he really didn't want to be around anyone right, he wanted to go to his room and cry his heart out. All he saw was a pink blob through his tear filled eyes, he blinked and Angel became more clear. "Angel?"

"Adam? What the fuck is wrong, what happened? Why are you crying?" Angel asked, he looked Adam over to see if he was hurt.

Adam felt like he couldn't speak, his airway closing off it felt like he might suffocate. "Luc....Lu..." Was all he could get out before he burst into tears. He felt Angel bring him into a hug, his face ended up in his chest fluff as he sobbed, Adam held ths spider demon back in a tight grip.

"Shhh, it's gonna be okay. Come on, let's go back to my room. Tell me what happened." Angel said as he guided a sobbing Adam to his room. He has never seen the sinner this upset before. Angel thinks this is probably the first time he's seen Adam really cry, full on sobbing and shaking. They've been friends for a while now, so it felt like his duty as the best friend to take care of him. When they got to Angels room, Adam sat down on the bed and hugged a pillow to his chest. He screamed into it for a solid minute, until he needed air. Pulling away he gasped for air, Adam stared blankly at the floor, numbness setting in.

He felt Angel sit beside him. "I take it this has to do with Charlie's mom making an appearance."

"Partly."

"What else?"

Adam bit his lip, fuck emotions were hard. "Luc...Lu..." Fuck he couldn't even say his name. "He says that there was never an us." And saying that out loud made Adam's heart snap in two, falling into a dark pit inside of him.

Angels eyes widened. "He said what!? Is he fucking high?" How could Lucifer say that to Adam? A blind man could see how much the devil was in love with him. So why lie?

"That bitch comes back from her little getaway and suddenly I don't fucking matter. Like the last three FUCKING YEARS DIDN'T MATTER." Adam's eyes flashed red, his anger spilling in. Finally an emotion he could handle. "AFTER EVERYTHING I FUCKING DID FOR HIM HE'S JUST GONNA THROW ME AWAY! JUST LIKE BACK IN THAT FUCKING GARDEN, HE CHOSE HER!!" His grip threatened to rip the pillow in half, a wave of sadness hits him again, his eyes go back to their golden color. He felt like a dirty fucking mistress, a place holder, a bed warmer. "W-we've been on dates for fuck sakes!" Adam pulled out his phone, he ignored the texts from Lucifer. For now. He opened his camera roll and the first photo was of him and Lucifer on their last date.

It was about two weeks ago, they went to Lu Lu World for the day. The picture was of them kissing at the top of the farris wheel at night. The carnival lights on the background, Lucifer's right hand was in Adams hair, the other holding his chin as he kissed him. Adam had taken the picture with his right, his left was holding Lucifer's right wrist. They made out for a while up there, like they were fhe only two people in all of Hell. Adam remembered how that kiss made him feel, like they were finally able to be happy with each other.

He showed Angel the picture. "How the fuck can he say that this meant nothing?!" Fuck, he was going to cry again.

Angel took the phone and gazed at the picture. He also remembered that day, him and Husk were on that ride too. "Yeah, you guys look happy here." If Lucifer wasn't the King of Hell or Charlie's dad he would kick his fucking ass, how could he do this to Adam? What a dick. He gave Adam back his phone. "Do you want to talk about it? What's going to happen?"

"I told him to make a chose. Me or her."

"I hope he chooses you, I've been rooting for you guys. Your love story is as tragic as it is beautiful." Angel tried, he didn't want to give Adam false hope but he also didn't want to shit on the guys feelings.

Adam snorted, "Yeah real fucking beautiful." His face drooped, he felt hollow knowing what was going to come soon. "Why does it have to ne her? Why can't it be me? Why can't he ever choose me?"

Angel had never heard Adam sound so defeated. "Well, if he does end up picking her he's making one hell of a mistake. I mean look at you! You're the hottest thing going. No one else in this dumpster fire has eyes like yours, or looks like you do. You're one of a kind." He smiled when he saw Adam's lip twitch in a smile. "Tell you what, when you're ready, I'll doll you up to make you even hotter, we'll go out drinking, find you a honey to rock your world so hard you'll forget the pricks name."

"Thanks Angel." Adam smiled sadly, it did sound like a fun time, but his heart ached at the thought of not being with Lucifer. "But, I don't know when that will be."

Angel brought him into a hug, which Adam returned. "When you're ready big guy. Just let me know." They stayed like that for a while, just holding each other. "Not to be a downer, but what will you do after?"

Adam stiffened. "I'll leave."

"Leave?"

"Leave the hotel. Though I'm not too sure where I'll go or if I even actually can leave. The prick still owns my soul."

"You can't fucking leave! Who the hell will I bitch about Val to?" They both gave a small laugh. "What is your beef with Lilith anyway?"

Adam pulled back. "That bitch is the biggest manipulative control freak to ever exist. That fucking book of the story of Hell is a lie! She flipped the script. She nearly fucking choked me to death in that garden." Adam swallowed the unpleasant memory. He could still feel her hands on his neck. "Lucifer saw her and stopped her, but he still chose her." That had cut him deep. The king was never going to chose him would he?

Angel knew that the book of Hell wasn't entirely accurate, but to that extent? Shit. "Fuck that bitch and not on a sexy way. You deserve better."

"I thought I finally had that...."

Angel's phone went off, he groaned when he saw who was calling. "What Val? Yes, yes. I know. Right now? It really can't wait? Fine fine, give me ten." He hung up. "I gotta go, bud. But stay in here as long as you need. Nugs is here, he likes cuddles. I'll be back as soon as I can." Angel ruffled Adam's hair and stood up. Fucking Val, he always has bad timing.

Adam watched as Angel got his things for work and took off. He picked up Nugs and nuzzled the little pig before setting him back down. As nice as it was for Angel to let him stay, he should go back to his own room. He needed to wash the day off of him. With one more pat to the little pig, Adam left for his room that was on the other side of the hotel.

He was just outside his door when he heard his voice. "Adam. Can we talk?"

Adam turned to see Lucifer standing there, he looked upset. "If you've come to tell me you chose that cunt, don't bother. I already knew you would." He turned back to open his door.

"No. I didn't choose her."

Those words stopped Adam in his tracks, halfway in the door. He turned to look at the King. "What?"

Adam was pulled forward, his lips colliding with Lucifer's. He gasped, allowing the devil to sneak his tongue in his mouth and Adam cursed himself for melting. How that one kiss soothed his aching heart and made him weak in the knees, equal parts loving and hating it. He couldn't help the weak moan that escaped him when a hand pulled gently on his hair.

When they pulled apart, he looked into those glowing demonic red and yellow eyes that bore into his golden ones. "I'm sorry." Lucifer started. "I'm sorry for what I said before. You mean the fucking world to me Adam, and I hate that it took me nearly losing you to admit that." He pressed their foreheads together. "What I had with Lilith isn't there anymore. That spark died long ago. What we have, isn't a spark." Lucifer smiled. "It's a flame." He connected their lips again in a softer kiss, it was one like they shared on the farris wheel.

"What about Lilith?"

"What about her? If she wants to be in Charlie's life then that is her business. But regarding our marriage.... That's been over a long time. Besides," Lucifer ran his fingers through Adams hair. "I've moved on."

"Then why did you say those things?"

"I didn't know how emotionally invested you were and I thought I was making it easier for you to walk away. I can't picture my afterlife without you, Adam."

Adam felt a wobbly smile creep onto his face. "Yeah?"

"Yeah. I will spend the rest of my life showing you how much you mean to me. How much I love you." Lucifer smiled at him, and Adams heart leaped, like every word stitched it back together.

His eyes felt wet, though these tears were not sad. "I love you too, Luci."

"Let me show you, how much I love you.~" Lucifer said, his eyes half lidded and soft.

Adam bit his lip, face warming. "Okay."

#adamsapple #hazbin hotel adam #hazbin hotel lucifer #lucifer x adam #ask

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adventuresasmrsfindley · 2 months

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That hour of sleep from 6:30 to 7:30 AM after you thought you were up for the day at 5:45 is truly unmatched 🙌🏻

One more day home for the kiddo. He has officially missed the entire week of school. Not feeling super great about that but I talked to his teacher yesterday and she agreed that his health is the number one priority. It's only PreK so like.. I get that he's not attending Harvard or something 😂 but a week feels like a lot to miss. He was really starting to perk up yesterday afternoon after starting antibiotics and did finally eat more than a bite or two of something. Hopefully he will continue on the upswing today! Ready to get back to our normal routine next week. One of his school friend's mom texted me this morning saying friend was worried about Knox and wanted to know what was going on. I thought that was sweet.

I had taken yesterday off because Cole was off for an MRI and we were going to get lunch and have a little date but obvi that didn't work out. But being off work made it feel like Friday and now I really don't want to work today lol at least it's for real Friday. I read through the team chat to see if I missed anything and it's sounding like we will be expected to be in the office 2 days a week starting in the fall-ish. Not super stoked on that but it's much better than 4 days which is what others sites around the US are expected to do. It's going to be a huge adjustment going back, especially with a school aged kid. 100% of drop off and pick up falls on me and that will never change so there will def have to be some give and take with the hours I'm in the office. Luckily I have a super understanding direct boss.

Anyways. I better get to it. Hope everyone has a great day!

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raayllum · 3 months

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Now to talk about poll results for "what made you see callum as a snake boi? (aka selectively loyal, ultra devoted to & willing to sacrifice the world for ez and/or rayla)?"

Initial notes:

238 votes was a lot more — almost twice as many — votes as I actually expected the post to generate, based on consistent notes for adjacent posts as well as the amount the categories in favour of it got on a prior post (about 80-90 votes in total). For this poll I'd been expecting about 120 maximum, particularly because it only ran for one day. So thank you to everyone for participating!

The actual goal of said poll was to see when people started to see Callum as being selectively loyal/devotional to Ezran and Rayla, as I'm always curious as to when people start viewing characters or ships or whatever in certain ways (with a couple of particular tipping points, like 2x07 and 5x08, being their own options). I almost didn't include the last category of people not knowing when that formed for them but knew that it did, but I'm glad I added it last minute, as it clearly ended up being the primary result.

You can also see my little vote up for S1, because I am nothing if not consistent as hell.

The two seasons that seemed to have the biggest effect on people's view of him were, unsurprisingly, season 2 (15.1% altogether or approx. 36 people) and season 5 (12.6% or approx. 30 people). 2x07, accordingly, had the biggest upswing but not as much of one comparatively over 5x08 (only 1.2% more, or approx. 2.8-3 people - however that's divided - of a difference), which was more surprising to me, since I thought 2x07 would've had a much bigger lead.

I was also surprised at S3 or S4 being turning points for close to 10 and 5 people respectively; if you voted for these seasons I would be deeply curious and would love to know what tipped things over you, as my best guess for S3 might be getting mad at Ethari / going off the Pinnacle and getting mad at Soren in 4x01. Please feel free to leave notes here in the tags/replies or in my inbox/dms!

Then we had his Tales of Xadia bio, which spells out the Inherent 'Snake Boi' premise outright, at around 3 votes. Again, interesting for me as a tipping point as it is 1) ultimately supplementary material and 2) existed as a confirmation of what I and many others had already thought. It does make sense that this is the smallest tipping point category as his bio was not likely to be effective if you weren't already at least open to this interpretation of him, and it will naturally have less eyes on it since it's supplementary material.

Overall, the largest demographics were the seasons altogether, at 39.5% or approx. 94 people, with the "can't remember when" being the actual largest with roughly 122 people. In total, that is the majority of the votes (216 people) with the remaining percentage largely stemming from my own meta - 8% or 19 people - which is approximately on par with 5x08 as a turning point, and outstrips all other seasonal categories except for 2x07. Not bad meta wise, I think! It is pleasing / feel validating, though, that the overwhelming majority came to the conclusion on their own and overall fairly early on (arc 1 rather than arc 2 where it is much more obvious).

As always thank you for participating, I hope you're enjoying the tags, and that you're having a perfectly swell weekend <3

#rayllum fandom #snake boi callum #mine

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unsoundedcomic · 4 months

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I had the same thing happen to me about over a decade ago before my sister's wedding. Lost 10 pounds in a week with all the constant...expulsions...look for Gatorade or similar stuff, things that can hydrate you with a bit of glucose. If you get too sick, try a hospital or urgent care or some way to get an IV drip. Good luck and hope you feel better soon.

I'm definitely on the upswing now, but that was the sickest I've been since I was 20 and my pancreas tried to keep me from finishing my thesis. But I have eaten a slice of buttered toast and polished off half a Powerade, so I think the world isn't rid of me yet.

Dehydration is wild though, man. Last night I looked down at my hands and the skin around my fingernails had all shrivelled. I went to brush my teeth and couldn't make enough spit to keep the toothpaste lathered. This was all combined with an atrocious caffeine headache because of course I couldn't keep coffee down, and weakness from days without food.

Thanks for being so understanding :) Everyone else too! I kind of pride myself on my update consistency. No one hates a missed update more than I do.

Back at it Monday! Everyone have a good NYE! Tomorrow I'm going to see if I can keep down oatmeal. Wild times!

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laughingsapphic-creates · 11 months

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Inukag Week, day 6: Courting

@inukag-week

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Written from the Heart

This isn't something I would normally do. Putting this shit into words isn't exactly my forte. But it feels… I dunno, important. I wanted to do something special. You deserve something special.

I've been agonizing over this for what feels like forever. As soon as I pulled you out of the well half a year ago, I knew what I wanted. It's the same thing I've wanted for more than three years. But asking as soon as you came back felt... Fast? Pushy? Desperate, for sure. And again, I wanted it to be special. But I remembered, when I was little, my mother had these letters from my old man from when he was courting her - said they weren't appropriate for a kid, but she would share them with me when I was older. Then, well. Anyway, I mentioned them to Myoga. And apparently? The Great Dog Demon was no poet. But the way my mother talked about those letters, you'd think they held the secrets to the universe. She loved them, because they were from him. And even if his poetry was shit, they made it clear how strongly he felt about her. That's what I'm going for here. Hoping that if my father's shoddy writing could woo my mother, then mine'll be okay, too.

I know I haven't always been as kind or thoughtful as I should have been. I know I can be crude and pushy and outright mean. I know there were times where I said or did something to make you feel ignored angry or hurt or, worst of all, somehow lesser. And I hope you know that that was never my intention. It took me a while to open up to you, but I've never actually wanted to see you hurt, and it was never my intention to hurt you, (Emotionally or physically, despite how I talked a big game when you first woke me up). And I know, knowing you the way I do, you've pretty much forgiven all of it, even if you bring things up to be petty from time to time. But I still want to spend the rest of my life striving to do better. I want to make you feel at least a fraction as good as you make me feel, because I have never felt more accepted, safe, and loved as I do with you.

You came out of nowhere just like a miracle and you saved me. Not just from the binding, but from the lonely life I would have lived if I had never met you. I'd been on the upswing before I was bound to the tree where you found me, but I was still a bitter, angry, suspicious person when you met me. I'm a better person for knowing you, and I'm proud to have you to thank for that.

You're all I want. All I could ever ask for. You're my best friend, my safe place, my home, and the person I love most in the world. Being with you, seeing you every day, it's something I never thought I would get to have again. I want to wake up to you every morning and have you in my arms every night for the rest of my life. I know I was born for the sole purpose of being with you for as long as I'm able. So I really hope, when you finish this letter and turn around, you'll say yes.

Always yours,

Inuyasha

#Inuyasha is actually quite eloquent when it strikes him #especially in the manga #inukag #inukag week #inukag week day 6 #inukag week 2023 #inuyasha #tayto writes

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zukosdualdao · 19 days

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Im glad to read the takes of a fellow zuko stan :)

Honestly, it feels like people just hate on him way too much lately. The posts ive seen on twitter, on tik tok, on tumblr... Do people just not like him anymore? Why did everyone turn against him so suddenly? I've been hoping it's something temporary, just a trend, but. I don't know anymore. People mock his disability, spit on his trauma, wish death on him and interpret everything he says or does in the worst possible way. I saw someone crying about how entitled he was because he took aang's seat when watching the play just the other day lmao. Another person wrote about how mysoginistic he was because he didn't remember katara's name when asking about kya's death to sokka? There are those who even call him a colonizer on the same level as iroh lmao. It seems their justifications for all the salt they throw his way are along the lines of "he's been loved for too long, aang stans have suffered way more, people just watched the show again and realized how bad he actually was, he's catching strays since his fans keep setting him up, his fans paint him as perfect and erase every bad thing he's done" etc etc. I'm all for criticism and deeper character analysis, but this is just said in bad faith. I also think it has a bit to do with how different engagement has become in fandom spaces recently (things people support in fiction need to be morally correct) and well, zuko was the perfect target. He's done bad things, sides with the villains for a good portion of the series, redeems himself but there are things he still has to work on... I don't know, it's been getting to me. There are many other harsh things ive read said about him (like implying how every single member of the gaang hates even after redeeming himself), but i honestly don't have the energy to delve into each and every one. His arc was poorly executed and his development was badly written now, apparently. I kind of just ranted here, i apologize. Im very happy to read the posts of someone who genuinely likes him and doesnt throw him under the bus to defend or elevate other characters...

hi! i'm glad you're enjoying my blog <3 and no need to apologize for the rant, i'm always happy to talk about zuko!

about to theorize a bit as to why it seems like maybe zuko has become a more contentious character, but it should be noted i have not been exceptionally, actively involved in the fandom very long. i loved atla as a kid, have retained fond memories, have witnessed some discourse from the fringes over the years, but only recently has it overtaken my brain to the point of making a whole blog about it. lol. so, like, grain of salt, etc.

i think a big part of it is what you said - in the last few years of fandom in particular, it feels like there has been a huge upswing in purity culture, moralizing liking/not liking certain ships or characters, and an overall increase in very black-and-white thinking. there's also an emphasis on "holding people accountable" (good in theory), often without specifying what, exactly, that looks like (less good). the idea then becomes that if you've done harmful things, there's no way you can ever make up for them and should just, like, hate yourself for all eternity and also die, probably, which is not actually helpful to anyone.

so, i think for those who ascribe to that mindset, zuko is a prime candidate for them to criticize. and while there's nothing wrong with criticizing a character or their arc or writing if you truly have a problem with it, as you've said, a lot of the time, criticisms against zuko don't seem to be made in very good faith. after all, a big part of zuko's arc is having to unlearn some very black-and-white thinking. also, zuko is not a real person. he is a character, and therefore a narrative tool, and if we want him to be 'held accountable', we need look no further than the story itself, in which he is probably the character the narrative holds the most accountable for his actions due to his prior status as a villain.

(it reminds me a bit, actually, of another favorite character of mine: alec in the tv series shadowhunters. he starts out the story already in a heroic role, unlike zuko, but a big part of his narrative is unlearning some prejudiced cultural mindsets and challenging not only his previous ideologies, but his conception of himself and the people in his life as well. as a result, alec can look sometimes more obviously flawed than the other main cast, but the point is that the narrative asks him to examine those flaws and change and introspect and grow in a way that it doesn't always ask of other characters when they are showcasing their own flaws. which does make me thing about zuko vs. aang in the atla narrative.)

the other thing i think is contributing to zuko's more contentious status in the fandom is how long atla's been in the cultural consciousness, and how common it is for things that used to be popular to cycle through to people starting to criticize or actively hate it to people saying "no, actually, it's still pretty good, you just don't want to like a popular thing" (this is me rn), to maybe eventually getting popular again/at least in certain subsects of the audience. zuko was probably one of the most talked-about aspects of atla for a long time, and while i can understand how that could get frustrating (because there are some other really great characters and aspects of the story!), that's not, like, for no reason. people connected with and admired his story for a reason, and many still do, and (in my humble opinion) that is because it is one of the most thought-out, intentional, and nuanced character arcs of the show.

the ableism, i think, really gets to me because like... even if every criticism from the people who hate him were 100% accurate and said in good faith (they're not, but let's pretend for a minute)... that still wouldn't be an excuse for ableism against a character with a prominent facial difference (or making fun of abuse survivors for the permanent injuries they sustain from abuse.) if zuko had never redeemed himself and stayed a villain, it would still be wrong to talk about his scar and abuse the way some of his detractors do. and the show agrees with me! you know how i know? the only two characters to ever make fun of zuko's scar are villains in the narrative: zhao and azula. ("make fun of" might not be quite right for zhao, since what he said - "you have the scar to prove it" - is far more matter-of-fact than azula imitating him by covering her eye or "make sure they get your good side", but he's absolutely being a huge jerk about it.) other characters react to zuko's scar in all sorts of different ways, even when he's still in a villain/antagonist/anti-hero role: zuko's crew is horrified to learn how he got the scar, song sees a point of connection and tries to reach out to him, but, while i think well-intentioned, she breaks a major boundary by trying to touch his scar when he hasn't conveyed he's okay with that, jet makes assumptions about his background because of it, lee, the kid from zuko alone, asks with curious, childish naivete how he got it, only for his father to reprimand him for asking, aang reacts with annoyance/boredom to azula's ableist joke, and katara trips over her words to correct him when zuko thinks she's essentially calling him "scary to look at". not all of these interactions are positive, but the characters (all of whom are written as pretty sympathetic, even if also flawed) aren't outright trying to make fun of him for it, and the narrative never implies he deserves to be treated as less than because of it, even before his redemption.

anyway. if people don't believe in characters' (and, hell, irl people's) capacity for growth and change and don't want to have nuanced discussions about how trauma can impact these things, i mean... that's their prerogative, but i don't understand why they enjoy the show, because those are big parts of it (and not just wrt zuko.)

i know it can be frustrating, anon, (trust me, i get very frustrated.) but i promise you, there are plenty of people out there who a) still love zuko and his story and b) are capable of and willing to talk about things with nuance and in good faith. i'm happy to be part of that corner of fandom, and i bet you can manage to carve out a space where more people like that exist, too! <3

#fandom critical #aang critical #atla critical #a little. jic #ableism //#abuse //#atla #zuko #anonymous #asks #i didn't delve into some of the specifics of people's aggravating bad-faith takes anon bc otherwise this post would be 3x longer but trust #hate them too #also the world is not ready for my alec/zuko parallels post that i still haven't made #cross-media parallels #for reasons

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