#i'm not saying they're currently fucking which they may or may not be depending on your opinion but they did fuck in the past

[tendersky]

hiii, do you have sources for the whole ao3 situation? where the volunteer didnt actually get kicked out for being pro palestine?

Sure! I'm getting all my information from the "official" sources that everyone is sharing, which is this tumblr post and this Google Doc. (I believe there's a "new year" Dreamwidth post that people also reference but I haven't read it so won't reference it).

First, a direct quote from the Tumblr post: "I left because I was horrified by the org and all of the racism they promised to work on but never ever did." -> didn't get kicked out, suspended, or anything from AO3, the user (Bjorn) voluntarily left the organization.

The rest of the screenshots from the Google doc are from a Slack channel you have to opt into about I/P, which is a place you are most likely to find Zionists.

I'll break down the conversation here.

Here's the first included warning:

I'm writing to you on behalf of Tag Wrangling Chairs due to a few serious issues which have been brought to our attention.  A number of volunteers have approached us, either privately or through VolCom, to convey concerns regarding your behaviour in the #x-politics-society-current-events and #x-politics-israel-palestine-events Slack channels.

Our Code of Conduct,, which you agreed to in our most recent Still Willing to Wrangle, requires that all volunteers maintain a level of civility when interacting with one another.  Specifically, "We never lose sight of everyone's right to be treated with dignity, compassion and respect."

The language and tone that you have been using do not convey compassion or respect toward your fellow volunteers.  For example, you accused a fellow volunteer of defending murder and war crimes, and have referred to another as a "fucking asshole".

We understand that this is an emotionally charged situation, and that with so much death and destruction happening, it is easy to misdirect the anger and helplessness you might feel.  However, to the best of our ability, we need to assume that our fellow volunteers are well-intentioned and speaking in good faith, and not devolve to insults or name-calling.

Please understand that should we receive additional complaints or note that you have continued to violate the Code of Conduct in your treatment of other volunteers, we Chairs may step in and remove you from certain social Slack channels, either temporarily or permanently depending on the number and nature of the complaint(s).  We hope that this will not be necessary.

--> so, they're being warned for not following the Code of Conduct, which includes being civil to other people. Nothing is said about "from the river to the sea". Bjorn brings up "from the river to the sea" unprompted in their response:

Additionally, if me saying "from the river to the sea" is supposedly against the Code of Conduct and grounds for repeatedly removing me from the channel, when other people are allowed to deny genocide and defend war crimes on perceived technicalities with explicit defense from the org, I believe that reflects extremely poorly on the org as a whole. If this sentiment continues to be upheld by supervisors, that is extremely concerning. Especially since I was reported and warned for accusing someone of supporting genocide, but people are allowed to accuse me of the same thing with support from other people in the channel.

It looks like two days passed before staff responded to Bjorn, and we get this quote:

Okay. To be very clear. You are absolutely entitled to your opinion and to your beliefs, and we have zero issue with you expressing those opinions and beliefs in conversation so long as you do so while obeying both the letter and the spirit of the Code of Conduct.

Now, to the other side of this.  You have been removed from the room repeatedly within the past 24 hours for Code of Conduct violations as we told you might happen, and I am now going to go ahead and remove you from the room and ask that you do not return for one week while we discuss the room in general with the other chairs.

When we wrote to you two days ago, we specifically chose not to address your Slack status "Palestine will be free" with you even though several volunteers had mentioned to us that this phrase made them uncomfortable.  While the phrase did make some folks uncomfortable, it also wasn't obviously trying to be antagonistic.  We are not responsible for making sure everyone is comfortable all the time. It was an expression of your beliefs, and that wasn't an issue we felt was appropriate for us to address since it wasn't in and of itself a violation of the Code of Conduct.

So: Having your Slack status as "Palestine will be free" is not a violation of the Code of Conduct.

We go on with their response.

What is a violation of the Code of Conduct is that since we notified you that folks were having a hard time with your behaviour in that channel, the behaviour has gotten worse.  You've gotten into arguments repeatedly and called folks names; you've accused folks of defending murder. You've been abrasive and argumentative throughout your exchanges there.

Are you the only person who has done so? Clearly not. And you aren't the only person we've spoken to about this.  If it feels like you're being singled out, I'm very sorry for that, and you are correct that you are not the only one who has caused issues. However. We do not address the behavior of other volunteers with you the same way we do not address your behavior with them.

That said, when we let you know that others were uncomfortable, instead of discussing this with us or asking any questions, you gave us a dismissive "k", and instead began relentlessly posting articles to the room and occasionally leaving long tirades about your disgust for folks who do not agree with your specific point of view.  Within about an hour of our having spoken with you, you changed your status from "Palestine will be free" to "from the river to the sea Palestine will be free".  And this was after we let you know that you were making folks uncomfortable and specifically asked you to be more mindful of your language and not to lose sight of everyone's right to be treated with dignity, compassion, and respect.

Basically, 'we talked to you about the code of conduct violations, you continued to specifically provoke people with your Slack status, you know how it affects people'.

You have been involved in enough conversations over the last month about that particular phrase that you knew or should have known the impact it would have on other volunteers to see that in your status given its fraught and controversial history. You were also aware of the impact it would have to use it in the room, repeatedly.

We are a volunteer organization and the use of Slack is, at its core, a way for us to be able to communicate with each other more easily to do our work. The social aspects are absolutely a lovely bonus, but they are not the point. If you can not have civil exchanges in those spaces and respect your fellow volunteers enough to stop when they ask you to stop, we expect you to remove yourself from those spaces. Just as we expect of every single other volunteer on our committee.

So: removed from the specific channel for violating the Code of Conduct and deliberately provoking other people.

I also want to address another part of Bjorn's accusation, as seen in their response to staff here:

when other people are allowed to deny genocide and defend war crimes on perceived technicalities with explicit defense from the org

if there was any explicit defense from ao3 about this I would expect to see screenshots, which I don't see

We don't know if other people in the channel also got reprimanded from AO3, because Bjorn doesn't know.

I'd love to see a comprehensive investigation, possibly with undercover volunteers, into Ao3's zionism and racism. Unfortunately, I find this to be shoddy, sensationalist journalism. Something else that puts me off of this statement is that @end-otw-racism refused to promote/work with Bjorn on this because Bjorn refused to redact names from the screenshots in the Slack, opening up volunteers to potentially being doxxed. With the past CSAM attacks happening to AO3 volunteers, I find this extremely off-putting.

#ao3 discourse #ao3 #archive of our own #end otw racism

[archivalofsins]

If anyone is curious about what I've been up to-

Never ask me to interrogate safety again-

This script is at least over thirty pages. I've interrogated this point to the fullest and have concluded it is a completely bad faith argument. I will not be engaging with it again, and anyone who brings it up to me depending on how they do it will be blocked or blatantly ignored.

In short fuck this argument.

But why some may ask -

Well, wait for the video to find out why. Or imagine how you'd feel writing over thirty pages of script going over the real threat every prisoner poses just to come to the startlingly realization that one of these prisoners is completely fucking unrestrained, folded the guard like laundry their first trial interrogation, has the person taking on the job of guarding the prisoners (Kazui) mention if this prisoner were to team up with Kotoko that would be the end of Milgram in his second voice drama, and then have it be shown they needed to be physically chained up for a proper interrogation to be had in their own second voice drama.

Just to have that prisoner currently be sitting at seventy percent innocent with no interrogations to the risk of prisoner safety being done. Actions or, in this case, choices speak louder than words. The fact that in this case consistent voters have decided to vote the individual who has been objectively framed by the narrative as one of the most dangerous individuals here with a myriad of canonical evidence pointing to this being the case shows-

That the point of safety is a fully bad faith argument that is not being fairly applied across trials. At this point people voting her guilty for this reason should just say they fucking hate kids. Because taking into consideration what Milgram has shown us in regards to the other prisoners, people definitely don't care about safety as much as they're pretending to when it comes to Amane.

I have not seen anyone hypothesize about the stated and illustrated threat to prisoner safety that Mikoto is. Or telling people to go listen to his first voice drama highlighting him jumping the guard. Or even doing the reasonable fucking thing and highlighting Kotoko the only prisoner to jump several others and arm themselves with multiple weapons. Literally Mikoto and Amane didn't do anything during the intermission but defend themselves and mind their business.

So, why are they being treated as threats now simply because Kotoko decided to escalate things to violence while Es was asleep. None of the other prisoners took it to that point, and if no one was injured to begin with, Amane wouldn't have been retraumatized by seeing Shidou have to help through administering treatment. Because he wouldn't have had to give anyone treatment at all. Like actually fuck this argument. Stop using two uninvolved people who are simply reacting to a situation they didn't choose to be in for the actions of someone who choose to make the situation worse.

In short interrogating this point in earnest has made me a worse person and if anyone ever brings up safety regarding Amane's case around me again I will simply assume they don't really care about it and are just repeating a talking point they heard from Twitter and the YouTube comments section that they didn't take more than ten minutes to think about.

Voting Amane Guilty for safety reasons is like putting an outlet cover on the wall while a tornado is barreling towards your house. You'll feel like you're doing something in the moment, but ultimately, it's basically nothing.

I'm tired and have little faith in the state of human empathy and critical thinking skills if this is really what some people consider a legitimate defense for voting her guilty. Before anyone hits me with did you interrogate the downsides of voting her Innocent the answer to that is-

Yes.

However the safety point took up a fucking large chunk of the script. Which Star and I finished recording our lines for today, so there's at least that.

#gunsli rambles #amane momose #milgram

[the-writing-mobster]

were there any fic ideas you never ended up writing that you regret not doing?

also, do you have any other undertale ships? {:

Ah! Thank you for the ask dear heart! Let's see...

Of course I have fics that are still deep in my drafts, and I also have a few unfinished fics currently published ON Ao3.

I don't really regret not publishing certain fics because it's not really a matter of if more than it is a matter of when. A few of these old ideas just need way more fleshing out and just aren't ready for the limelight.

And that "not if but when" mindset is carried over to my unfinished fics as well, like Baby Face and YWIW.

They'll eventually be completed. (Although tbh, I'm not so sure about ywiw now, may have to go and really take a good long look at that one and the goals I want to achieve with it. For YWIW, I guess I regret some of the choices I made with Frisk's character arc. Like I accidentally walked back on things that I shouldn't have. Sequels are hard, y'all.)

—

Now for my other UT ships? Hmmmm...

I'm gonna come out the gate swinging and say that I, first and foremost do not ship Asgore and Toriel. I think their dynamic is more interesting as a divorced couple. Boom. That'll stir the pot some.

(I have a lot of weird UT ships tbh)

Now, moving on to what I actually ship:

Asriel x Papyrus / Papsriel / Boneblossom

This stems more from how I wrote their dynamic in wdyw part 4 + ywiw. See, when Frisk and Sans are off doing hard main character work, Papyrus and Asriel were alone together a lot, working through both of their collective daddy issues together (their fathers were big ole villains and they were consoling each other about their relationships with their fathers, it was actually very sweet) Ergo, I began to ship.

But also, if you look at the game, there are instances of Asriel and Papyrus befriending, and Asriel manipulating him, or growing fond of Papyrus in his own way as Flowey. Yeah there's the problem of "well technically Asriel is a child!" Which like... Okay, he's also dead and immortal at the same time. In wdyw he died at an older age so... 🤷🏻‍♀️ It depends on where you take the story. I could also just ship them platonically. So yeah!

Undyne x Alphys / Alphyne

This one is obvious. They're canon. They're beautiful. I love gay people. I love lesbians. I am a gay people. I am a lesbian. I love them.

Also, low-key, I also just like to explore more of their dynamic than just lovey dovey sapphic stuff. The highs and the lows. And they're perfect to do that with.

Nick x Sans / Nicecream Guy x Sans

This one is unorthodox, but it's because of Baby Face. They're so gay in that fic like it's unbelievable. If not Sans, then definitely Nick. Like they've definitely explored each other's bodies at least once.

Also in wdyw, they have a more complex, complicated friendship since they're more like long lost friends, and the whole "you betrayed our ideals by joining Asgore's military" and Nick "you joined a rebellion that will never win, you've doomed yourself to martyrdom." Sans saving Nick from prison & the purge, ugh, they're so complex, I love em!

Nick is definitely gay. I know we were pushing for Alick but honestly... That boy is gay. And I really believe that. I think the only better pairing for him would be Napstablook, or... And I guess I'll concede to years of shipping before me... Burgerpants/Bryan. Because Bryan has that like, newly joined rebellion, starry eyes, just found out his crush was brutally murdered by one of Muffet's assassins, etc, and then there's Nick, shining hero of the revolution. I think it could work really well.

Muffet x Toriel / Muffriel / Spiderscotch

Bro even the name screams lesbian, wtf? This is like Everlark's alternative ship name being peenis.

BRO THEY LIVE IN THE RUINS TOGETHER, MUFFET SET UP SHOP IN THE RUINS. TORIEL BAKES PIES AND MUFFET BAKES FUCKED UP SPIDER DONUTS. THEY'RE A MATCH MADE IN HEAVEN. (And I'm purely talking about classic, but who's to say that wdyw Muffet wasn't sneaking into the queen's chambers after killing her own husband and poisoning Toriel's daughter right under her nose? UGH THE DRAMA!!!!)

Ugh, I love my gay ships.

Anyway, Toriel is the sweet, albeit very flawed, old money, cottage core wife, and Muffet is the manipulative, borderline Machiavellian, macabre, new money, goth wife and they're PERFECT FOR EACH OTHER. I've never been more serious in my life.

Anyway, those are my UT ships that are not Frans. Don't come for me, I know they're unconventional (except for Alphyne) but I love them each dearly.

.

.

.

Old pencil drawing I did:

#mob answers #mob talks #Undertale ships #undertale #ask and answer #thank you for the ask! #underfell #wdyw #ywiw #fanfic #underfell sans #underfell frans #frans #underfell frisk #pirate au #coworkers au #coworkers rom com #mafia au #the house painter #souls on the water #baby face #highschool au #frisk x sans #papyrus x asriel #papsriel #boneblossom #alphyne #alphys x undyne #toriel x muffet #muffet x toriel

[snickerdoodlles]

Thank you for sending me an ask for the author ask game! Now right back at you: F. canon fics or au?, V. post the last sentence you wrote, and X. give a summary of your current project! Thank you :)

you're welcome!! excited to see u in my inbox too :D ❤❤

F. canon fics or au?

yes! 😂

my preferences for canon vs AU largely depend on how much i feel a character is tied to their setting. for example, i don't really read anything that's non-mafia for kp. for me personally, the cores of the kp characters are so heavily influenced by trauma induced by the mafia specifically that i struggle to connect to versions of them that don't have that aspect. i know it's done, they're just not stories for me. i do pretty alright with AUs that are still mafia but with other elements (like magic) thrown into them to alter the setting, and i more-or-less consider canon-divergent AUs to still fall under the 'canon universe' umbrella, but i tend to be more drawn to pre-/post-canon or canon fics for kp because of the specific setting. the magnus archives would be another example of a fandom where i'm drawn to the impact of the setting on the characters specifically. i like all the characters a lot, but i frankly would not give a fuck about any of their stories outside of the horror context grinding them into dust.

on the flip side, i tend to esp love AU for anything where the setting is just set dressing to the character drama. this tends to be the case for a lot of stories with ensemble casts for me-- for example, a lot of animes, esp sport ones. i read a lot of AU for stuff like yuri!!! on ice and haikyuu!! because its a lot of fun to think of how to transfer those friendship dynamics to other settings, or put them all through hell in a different genre specifically because canon is slice-of-life. but also several of my costume cdramas are fun to AU because a lot of their drama is tied up in specific character dynamics, almost moreso than their specific settings. a story like bad buddy does AU really well too, because their story is in their romeo and juliet dynamic, not their setting.

that was a very long and rambly answer oops 😂 basically it boils down to what questions i have for a character and how necessary i feel canon is to exploring/answering them.

V. post the last sentence you wrote.

[stares at WIPs] which one of you was i last working on again...

...also some of these look very alarming without context lol, i'm just gonna cheat and give you a sneak peek for one of them 😂:

Chay's googling the pet store's hours as though they don't have its schedule well memorized by now. "I'm pretty sure us just owning a fish counts as animal abuse by now. How bad's our karma after our latest Mr. Gold, you think?" "Oh, we're definitely getting reborn as fish in our next life," Kim says over the rattle of the glass rocks he's cleaning. Chay bumps Kim's hip with his, lips screwed up in a pucker as he tries not to look amused. "Should we make merit at a temple before we go to the store, just incase?" Kim puts his hands together and bows his head reverently. "May we earn just enough that we don't wind up in a home like ours." Chay breaks, giggling loudly, and that's all the merit Kim ever needs in this life. "We could also stop risking our next life and just come clean to P'Khun." "Oh fuck no, I'm taking my chances with karma. At least it's known to be forgiving."

X. give a summary of your current project!

[points to snippet above] it's called "The Lives of Mr. Gold" !! it's summary is: Kim and Chay raise one fish.

aka Khun decides they should all bond over being fish fathers and buys Kim and Chay a goldfish to raise. Kim and Chay swear they're doing a great job of it.

[fic author asks]

#kinnporsche #fic: gone fishing #kinda #the lives of mr gold wont actually be an idiots & idioms update but it is inspired by something in gone fishing and gets the tag for it 😂

[blubushie]

Hi, Blu! I have a question for you. (I should preface that I'm American, for context.) I'm not a very big fan of guns- i've seen them do too much damage to vulnerable people over here. That said, I do understand that people like you depend on them to do their jobs and feed and defend themselves. I really respect you and your input on this sort of thing, so I was curious- What's your stance on automatic/semi-automatic weaponry? Some people here, right-wingers mostly, say that everyone should own an AK-47 and it's an acceptable firearm to use for home defense and hunting and such. I don't think those things should be used so lightly, if at all- a handgun for defense and a rifle or shotgun for hunting should be more than enough. Plus, I imagine something that powerful would rip, say, a deer to shreds and ruin the meat, but I'm far from an expert on such things.

This is a lot, so I'm going to pick this apart piece-by-piece. (Also, for the record: I was born in America and spent many years here and am currently living here. I'm well aware of what the culture is like pertaining to firearms, since some of that culture has rubbed off on me from my father.)

I'm not a very big fan of guns-

Firstly, we don't use the term "guns" on this blog, just firearms. My experience with guns is limited to air rifles and tranquiliser rifles. My experience with firearms is more extensive.

i've seen them do too much damage to vulnerable people over here.

Yes, firearms are dangerous. They're not toys.

That said, I do understand that people like you depend on them to do their jobs and feed and defend themselves.

You cannot use firearms for self-defence in Australia. You cannot use ANY weapon for self-defence in Australia because it creates a clause of "You left home HOPING for someone to test you." If you are attacked in Australia, be it with fists, knives, or firearms, you are fucked. If you can't defend yourself, you are fucked. The law will not save you. (And we wonder why we have a problem with stabbings.)

What's your stance on automatic/semi-automatic weaponry?

They're neat and I like them. My father owns an M16, rifles, handguns, and a few shotguns--all of which are semiautomatic. I can field strip a Glock 34 (a semiautomatic handgun) in about 10 seconds. In the US I've conceal carried an M1911 and a .38 Colt Detective Special. I've shot an M16 and an M2 Browning, both full auto. If you're coming to me and expecting me to have a disapproving opinion of automatic actions, you're going to be left disappointed.

In the US, you CANNOT OWN A FULLY AUTOMATIC WEAPON without an FFL--a federal firearms licence. Additionally you need a licence from your state of residence to permit you possessing the weapon, which includes a federal background check (already required for ALL FIREARMS PURCHASES in the US) plus fingerprinting. The requirements to get both of these licences are INSANELY difficult. There are very, VERY few people who own fully automatic weapons in the US, and none of them will jeopardise their licences by using their weapons for crime.

Some people here, right-wingers mostly, say that everyone should own an AK-47 and it's an acceptable firearm to use for home defense and hunting and such. I don't think those things should be used so lightly, if at all- a handgun for defense and a rifle or shotgun for hunting should be more than enough.

I'm not even going to acknowledge the bit about "right-wingers." Politics stay off the blog.

Additionally, I'm fairly certain that you're confusing an AR-15 for an AK-47. AK-47s are primarily collector's weapons. They don't see much use outside of "fun to shoot" and are not used for crime because of how few people own them--most are collectors.

If you mean the AR-15 platform, then you're also mistaken because they ARE incredible weapons both for hunting and home defence. They're incredibly adaptable including for people with physical disabilities (who, for example, may not be able to safely grip a handgun or handle the recoil of something like a semiauto shotgun but still should be able to defend themselves with a weapon that's easily braceable against their body, easily accessible and modifiable to their specific needs, and also semiautomatic so that all they have to do is take off the safety and pull the trigger).

A bolt-action rifle takes time to cycle the bolt. I'm a professional shooter and I keep my rounds topped off. The time it takes me to eject the bolt, reload, and send the bolt forward again to chamber a round is about 2 seconds but might take longer under the duress that someone would be experiencing when their life is actively in danger.

The majority of weapons crime in the US is done with illegally obtained firearms--primarily handguns, most of which are purchased off the black market or stolen. Currently every firearm purchase in the US requires a federal background check before it can be given to the buyer. In some states there's a waiting period (which studies have shown has done nothing to damper firearms crime). It's not lawfully abiding citizens going out there and committing mass shootings--it's a mentally ill culture that values clout over life, and a media that makes killers famous.

Plus, I imagine something that powerful would rip, say, a deer to shreds and ruin the meat, but I'm far from an expert on such things.

My parting words are an image. Here's a comparison of ammunition sizes. I shoot .30-06 Springfield. The AR-15 platform shoots 5.56x45, the AK-47 shoots 7.62x39.

My rifle will do far more traumatic damage to a deer--or a person--than an AR-15 or AK-47 ever would.

But AR-15s are great for shooting pigs.

#blu whos #blu pew #blu views #I GUESS? #blu firearms discourse arc?

[followedmystar]

HELLO FRIENDS I AM REPORTING FROM THE DEPTHS OF OFMD BRAINROT

If you haven't checked it out yet, you are absolutely SLEEPING on an amazing, vibrant, creative, and alarmingly productive fandom. Please join me in hell, it's lovely in here

Here are some Ed/Stede fics that took me out AT THE KNEES. That left me gasping for air. That ruined my life, and I'd let them do it again, thanks. Current OFMD peeps may find no surprises here, but lots and lots of my followers are not current OFMD peeps and I'm going to drag you down with me if it's the last thing I do ok thanks love you bye

Tree Change by ClaireGregory (E. So E. So very very E.) Ecologists by day, fic writers by night, fuck buddies for one month only (unless…) Claire never misses and this modern AU is no exception. She's turned this into a rollicking multi-layer meta commentary on fandom, fanworks, the creative process, OFMD canon, the whole bit. If you think you found all the layers, no you didn't. In progress, updating every other week or so. She also has a ridiculous wealth of completed fics if that's more your jam. You really can't go wrong with ANY of them.

Temptation 'Verse by Shearwater (T-M, depending - currently heading for NSFW territory but not there yet) Ed's an artist, Stede's a bookseller. They're both a bit surprised to have met the love of their life at this late stage in the game. This one. Oh, this one. I started with Constellationism (the second of two fics currently in the 'verse) and went back to the first with no ill effects. Constellationism absolutely sucked all the air out of my lungs, left me actually literally breathless. The writing is so rich and decadent. This Ed and this Stede are so beautiful. Oh my god. Also in progress, updating less often, but who fucking cares.

Darkness (noun): the partial or total absence of light by fishfronds (M) Stede & Ed cave dive together. As they map a previously unexplored section on a return to their first-ever dive spot, an accident leaves them with no choice but for one to leave the other behind in a barely-habitable, partially-dry cave and send rescue. CAVE DIVING AU. You'll laugh. You'll swoon. You'll gasp. You'll cry. No seriously, there were actual real life tears from me. And you'll be on the edge of your seat the whole. damn. time. This one is brand new AND complete, the product of the fandom's Big Bang that's just recently completed. So there's art too! God, I completely no-lifed this one. I feel like there should be an award for fics that keep me up until the wee hours of the morning because I just cannot put them down. This fic deserves the biggest and shiniest one. Fuuuck.

not pickles by smallestchurch (E) Ed's minding his business when the new neighbor's kid comes around holding a human puppet. It's creepy as hell, but as soon as the kid's father rounds the corner, Ed doesn't mind. I don't even know how to explain this one other than the writing is so original and the kids are so realistically weird and it will fill you with joy and sorrow and love and a kaleidoscope of other beautiful human emotions and it will also make you guffaw so hard you wake your husband up from a dead sleep at 1AM.

Sincerely, Captain Thomas by stitchy In which Stede and Ed are stuck ashore, and accidentally become pen pals. You've Got Ye Olde Maile! A oneshot! Oneshots are my beloved. This epistolary fic takes place between S1 and S2 and plays with language and expectations. Or maybe it does what it says on the tin and I just read it without so much as glancing at the summary. I fucking loved it okay?

#ofmd #fanfic recs #ed x stede #our flag means death #clairegregoryau #i figure these other authors are on tumblr as well but i'm running out of spoons #am i writing ofmd fanfic also? yes but the only thing that's actually on the ao3 pipeline to be published is a oneshot #for a challenge in january #watch this space tho i guess

[marley-manson]

thanks for the tag, @penguinhug!

Current Time: 4:15 pm

Current Activity: looking thru my drafts where I found this uncompleted lol.

Currently Thinking About: Honestly? How the bridge in I'll Make a Man Out of You where all the characters are saying their nervous thoughts ("I'm never gonna catch my breath/say goodbye to those who knew me/why was i fool in school for cutting gym?" etc) is so good because they're all presented as equivalent reasons the characters feel inadequate as "men." So like, Mulan being a woman or afab is right there on the same level as cutting gym class. And none of it actually prevents them from meeting the presented standards and being men.

And just generally I love Mulan's take on gender so so so much lol, no focus-grouped first gay Disney character will ever be as important to me as the way the main theme of Mulan can be summed up as "masculinity and femininity are performances for everyone, and anyone can do either with practice."

Currently Reading: I just finished Skinny Legs and All by Tom Robbins, which was one of my favourite books as a teen. As an adult I'm a lot more critical of some of Robbins' hot takes, but I do still really enjoy the prose.

Currently Watching: Doctor Who I guess lol, gonna be there when the next special drops. And as always Mash here and there.

Currently Listening to: Nothing right now but I did just listen to I'll Make a Man Out of You in the car as you may have guessed lol. Never ceases to slap incredibly hard.

Current Favorite Character: Hawkeye!!

Current WIP: I've got one 30k fic in the beta process right now, planning to post it sometime this week probs depending on how much editing it still needs. The premise is that Hawkeye's joke about Flagg fucking him is the inciting incident for an investigation, in which he ends up spending a week at the Seoul psych ward getting interviewed and hanging out with other gay guys. Basically it's a long gen character study so idk how much attention it's gonna get, but it was a lot of fun to write.

Not tagging anyone right now but if you want to do this just do it and @ me as having tagged you. I'm tagging everyone in spirit.

#text post

[sacredglitch]

i have eeped, woken up and cried

I have some thoughts. MW3 spoilers below.

Major thing out of the way; everyone is gonna experience the campaign at different lengths depending on skill and difficulty they choose. I started around 9/10pm and finished at 5am, so it took me quite some time, predominantly with issues in the Weapons Free missions and the Ally AI just never backing me up? Felt a lil like Rudy in the Ghost Team mission yknow?

But it was a fun experience in gameplay standpoint. There was elements of both MW and MWII alongside some new things that I still gotta get used to once MP drops. But story wise?

Something felt weird. Like it wasn't as consise as MWII with its storytelling. All that took, what? A few days? Maybe even weeks to come to completion. With this game, bar the flashback mission, I never knew how closely related each mission was unless it was explicitly clear, like Passenger and the mission with Farah inspecting the debris. You know that was only hours apart from one another.

Characters also felt a little odd. Like there was moments where it felt like yeah, these are the crew I know and others where it's like....who am I listening to right now? There was just an air of tension with it all, and yes with who they were dealing with ofc there's tension...but idk again the flow wasn't there like the other two games.

Okay elephant in the room; Soap and Makarov. The amount of times Soap was on the verge of whipping out his pistol or knife and just ending it and no one letting him? If Makarov was such a major threat; sometimes the information he may or may not have had just isn't worth it. Thousands would be alive if Johnny was just let loose and take out the trash. But because he wasn't he's now dead.

And Makarov lives. What the fuck, Activision? Infinity Ward? Fucking Sledgehammer?! What was the point of killing off someone who they know damn well is beloved in the fandom (yes, he died in the OG but hear me out) as is his actor, let the baddie get away, and then just....end it with the 141 spreading his ashes. No revenge for Soap, no honouring what he wanted from the beGINNING, no nothing. Just somewhat dull words from the team, his ashes spread and roll credits.

It's giving rushed story for no fucking reason. I wouldn't be so mad if they just did something after that. Sure, one could say this is them building up to MWIV but it also could have been dealt with one more mission. It truly feels like a slap to the face for the fans, cause we know OG Soap's death was agonising but it had its resolution with Price honouring his men.

If this was the second game then it would also make more sense, build up to the conclusion. But no, this was what most of us expected to be the big finale of Makarov and this current story of Modern Warfare, and it wasn't. Just more prolonged waiting that they're probably going to rush to get out next year. It's truly a shame on the big trio working on this game, but also towards the new fans and in my eyes, Neil too. This was his big break in sorts and it's clear by fan interaction he loves being Soap. I'm glad he seems to be the main protagonist of Zombies which makes me hope he'll be in more things or some pre campaign things but damn. Imagine getting the role of a beloved character, giving them an incredible performance just to be shot point blank and given a dull ending. That would make me feel betrayed but ofc I won't speak for Neil, I have 0 clue how he feels on all this. Hell he could be all for it. Just...truly sucks from a fans perspective.

One final thing is the questions and confusion that ig are open ended because whoop de doo another game, more cash for Activision. For starters; who was the 'Shadow' giving Makarov intel? Was it supposed to be Shepard? Considering he was kidnapped and all that would make sense, but Makarov specifically said Shadow. In my eyes if he had meant Shepard, he would have said US Official or something.

Speaking of Shadows; why did Graves sell him out? What's he gonna gain from that? A redemption arc? Fuck that shit I didn't spend almost two hours fighting the tank for him to come back and be all "am sowwy"

Was Urzikstan truly cleared of any wrong doing or is it one of those things where it's like "Welp it's one General's word against our opinions". Also not to get into irl things but seeing some of the stuff during the Passenger mission had me thinking of how the world is currently with certain ongoing fights. Sometimes COD gets the realism down.

Maybe it was because of the situation they were in and how big the threat was, but there wasn't much of a dynamic going on with the teams. At most, there was some Soap and Ghost banter, and then Graves with his Shadows but that was kinda it. No idle chatter just head in the game type of deal. Does make sense ofc but maybe that's why the characters really felt off at times.

One that's just a personal thing; since it's confirmed that at least in 2019, Price, Soap and Ghost knew one another, makes sense cause the trio were SAS, but it's got me thinking why is Ghost the only one allowed to call him Johnny? It was teased in MWII with the interaction in Prison Break but...it's not been elaborated on. Even Price, when Soap was losing his shit over Makarov in the Heli, called him John.

What did Ghost do or say that Soap decided he could allow him to call him Johnny? This isn't anyway me asking "OooOO, are they fruity???" no I'm curious. If it was a thing he allowed his superiors that he was friendly with to say, then Price would be included that. Alejandro and Rudy would be included. What makes Ghost so special?

The last thing that my grief riddled mind can think of is where is Soap's family? I don't think I can truly believe he doesn't have one. It's canon he joined because of his cousin so...why was the 141 the ones to spread his ashes? Again it could have been his wish and all...shit just also adds to the rushed story feeling. I ain't asking for the MacTavishs to make an appearance or be canon or whatever but as someone who has a loved ones ashes, the small urn you get would have made more sense. That they decided with the ashes his family gave them to throw them off the cliffside in what I assume is Scotland.

If he didn't have family then holy shit it makes his death even more hurtful but no way impactful.

I'm just rambling angrly now so I'll stop my thoughts. Overall the game was fun, interesting concept with the Weapons Free missions but the story was lackluster compared to the previous games, as well as a slap to the face for Soap's character. It was just there for the sake of sadness.

I wasn't expecting a happy ending, I was just hoping for a honourable conclusion.

#rambles to the void #cod mwiii #cod mw3 #cod mwiii spoilers #cod mw3 spoilers #this is all just a vent instead of a reflection over things #im also just not really up for debating how the game was paced or if some found it fine or whatever #im too tired for it #im just putting out my feelings #also was it worth the 100 quid? #no #70 maybe for vault #but not 100 #if there's a 4th I'm not doing vault edition until well later in its release if at all

[hairasuntouchedaspartoftheamazon]

i listen to a bit of mcr but i was not aware there were characters?? and a plot? and it sounds intriguing 👀

I am not the best person to ask about this as I only started really getting into the lore about three weeks ago, also I'm really only familiar with the Danger Days/Killjoys lore and stories, I'm vaguely aware that there's some level of lore for the other albums and performances because MCR are nerds like that. but if you want Danger Days lore, lore you shall receive. Below the cut because this is allowing me to ramble about my current hyperfixation:

@ryebreadlord this is also for u bestie

Danger Days: The True Lives of the Fabulous Killjoys is MCR's fourth and as of yet final studio album released in 2010. it's also a concept album, set in the distant year of 2019 in the irradiated nuclear desert of Southern California where Better Living Industries (BLind) has built up a fascist and repressive regime in Battery City. (If Battery City is supposed to be a particular city in California I'm not aware). There's a lot of lore that was explained both through the two music videos for the album(which I'll get to later), the band commentary, and Gerard Way's later comic book series that explores the world.

The album was hugely controversial among fans when it came out because it's a STARK departure from MCRs previous albums and sound. Where many had previously dubbed them "emo" "vampiric", etc. this album came out and said "no, we're fucking pop punk and we're going to kill you with color". For this reason among others it is my favorite.

Lore-wise, there's a lot of content but not a lot of info as to how it all fits together. The main points are thus:

SETTING

-There's Battery City(Batt City), controlled by BLind through a combination of propaganda, military force, and heavily drugging the populace with 'voluntary' medications that can fix anything. Things BLind thinks need to be fixed include emotions, personal expression, and anything that is non-conforming. Citizens wear white, are incapable of showing strong emotion (or any emotions at all), and essentially work as wage slaves to BLind to create their entertainment, propaganda, supplies, and medications. City mottos include ‘keep smiling’ and ‘we can fix you’ and ‘the aftermath is secondary’. When citizens show deviation from the expected norm, they are either given more medications and ‘re-educated’ (implied to be brainwashing/torture techniques that erodes people’s personalities and emotions) or turned into Draculoids.There's a Chairwoman who rules over it all, with the police force being separated into two parts. There's the Draculoids (Dracs), which are bodies who, yes, wear vampire masks that control their brains and put them under control of higher ups in Battery City and the Scarecrows. I say bodies because afaik Batt City can reanimate dead bodies with the use of the masks, and also if a living person has one of the Drac masks put on they will lose their free will and operate as a Drac. Now Scarecrows (Crows) are experienced fighters who typically lead squadrons of Dracs. Scarecrows have their free will, but are utterly in service to BLind, spending most of their time in a sleep stasis and awoken when deemed necessary by the Chairwoman/BLind officials. They're fucking terrifying and if one is after you, you're in deep shit. Scarecrows, afaik are also called Exterminators. Where Dracs are mindless muscle (picture Stormtroopers but in bad prom suits and vampire masks), Crows are the brains. They usually have specific missions and targets. Weapons used include laser guns and rifles. They also have trucks and motorcycles, all painted white.

-There's the desert, which is irradiated and fairly inhospitable after the vaguely referenced "Analog Wars" and "Helium Wars"(may be the same thing with different names or two different series of wars). The place is split into (depending on who you ask) 6-8 Zones, (Zone 1 being the area directly surrounding Batt City, and the rest being arranged around it. No, they are not in concentric rings.) The Zones are connected by a variety of roads in disrepair, with one of the biggest and best maintained being Route Guano(also referred to as the Getaway Mile). Crows regularly lead patrols of Dracs around the Zones. The inhabitants of the Zones fall into two groups, the Neutrals and the Killjoys. Neutrals do not care about the politics/policies of Batt City, they just wanna be left alone to live their lives. Neutrals typically dress sensibly for the desert and move out fast when they hear trouble is on the way. It's left unclear whether these are people who were living in the area before everything went to shit or if they're wanderers from outside the Zone or if they're refugees from Batt City. The comics and fanon imply that they have semi-permanent settlements throughout the desert. and finally, what you've been waiting for, there's the Killjoys.

-Killjoys are comprised both of people who've never lived in the City, and those who escaped the City somehow. (there's a lot to say about that, I'll get to it). The Killjoys have two missions: to live fucking fabulously and to take down BLind. They dress impractically and colorfully and uniquely, steal weaponry and supplies from BLind and co-opt it for their own use, and regularly fight against Dracs and Crows for both survival and fun. Killjoys run in crews of 3-10 (but sterotypically 4) people and typically have hideouts/homes throughout the Zones. They're very good at scavenging, and make most of their living by stealing from BLind, scavenging old gas stations and other buildings still left standing, and (for the sake of my trained city planner heart) probably doing small amounts of gardening when they stay in one place long enough. (I include that point because I understand that 80% of the shit in this album is fun set dressing but the part of me that is a TRAINED ENGINEER(@ryebreadlord understands) knows that like you can't support a society on scavenging like that they have to be producing SOME of their own supplies. I've seen a few fics deal with the realities of a society like this really well and it heals my heart. moving on) Weapons used include stolen laser guns that are painted obnoxious colors, various self-made bombs, fucking bazookas, and a lot of being obnoxious and willing to fight dirty. They have a combination of old cars/vehicles from pre-Batt City (the titular Fabulous Killjoys drive a 1979 Trans Am, no it doesn't make logical sense pls roll with it), and vehicles stolen from BLind and souped up/painted. Killjoys do live fabulously, not only being dangerous rebels in awesome outfits but also holding concerts, creating zines, and basically being an explosion of artistic creativity as a huge fuck you to BLind. They are not a unified fighting force, just many groups of people with similar goals and attitudes. Can work together though.

This is where we pause and I ask you to go watch the NA NA NA music video with this new context, and also because it's a good intro to our main characters.

CHARACTERS

There are a bunch of named characters(mostly throughout the comics), but as someone who has only partially read the comics, I'm gonna focus on the ones that are explicitly present in the events of the album/music videos. also, heads up, Killjoys choose names for themselves that sound cool/dangerous/fun. if you liked this album when you were 15 you probably picked a killjoy name for yourself.(I did) The Fabulous Four are the characters that MCR play in-universe, one crew of Killjoys among presumably many.

-Party Poison: Played by Gerard Way, generally assumed to be the leader of the Fabulous Four. Distinctive for their bright red hair, bright yellow domino mask, and bright blue jacket. Generally the driver of the Trans Am. Confirmed non-binary.

-Jet Star: Played by Ray Toro, generally assumed to be the sharpshooter/medic of the Fab Four(based on a bit of info from the comics and music videos, this is likely more fanon than anything but I like it). Distinctive for his long curly hair, spaceman helmet with a lightning bolt on it, and black leather jacket with the American flag covered by a spider(as seen on the Danger Days album cover). Over the course of the album events, he gains an eyepatch over his right eye as a result of a fight with BLind. Previously wore black sunglasses.

-Kobra Kid: Played by Mikey Way, generally assumed to be the close quarters/heavy hitting fighter of the Fab Four. Distinctive for his bleach blond hair, red leather jacket, and motorcycle helmet with 'GOOD LUCK' written on the visor. Because of band interviews we have learned that not only is he British(???), but he also knows karate and rides a motorcycle. (This is your periodic reminder that MCR is comprised entirely of weird nerds).

-Fun Ghoul: Played by Frank Iero, generally assumed to be the detonator of the Fab Four a.k.a. the one creating and setting off bombs. Distinctive for his black dyed hair, bright yellow shirt, Frankenstein mask, and (for some reason) unanimously fanon-adopted Chelsea smile. (genuinely no idea where this came from but I'm not opposed to it). Funnily enough, the only one of the Fab Four not mentioned by name anywhere in the album.

-The Girl: Played by Grace Jeanette, her story is not explored directly in the course of the album but she is the main character of the later Killjoy comics. No she does not have a real name, partially because she is (via comics lore) basically the messiah who with her electricity manipulation powers is fated to someday bring down Batt City. Generally assumed to be under the protection of the Fabulous Four. Distinctive for being a) the only eight?(her age is inconsistent throughout the lore) year old girl in a group full of teenage/twenties rebels and b) her blue puffy vest and gray helmet with a STOP sign on it. (this is also where I state that we're not sure of the Killjoys canon age. could vary from teenagers to early thirties based on MCRs age when filming. fanon goes in different directions for this.) point being, the Girl is one of the few characters we got a canon age for.

-Dr. Death Defying: Played by Steven Montano, the radio DJ speaking during the 'Look Alive Sunshine' and 'Jet Star and the Kobra Kid/Traffic Report' tracks. Dr. D is a radio host that disseminates information among the scattered Killjoys, tipping them off to danger and possible supplies, as well as playing some kickass tunes to keep the revolutionary spirit pumping. Travels in a wheelchair due to injuries sustained during the Analog Wars. Distinctive for his long hair and headband as well as probably never leaving the radio station.

-Korse: Played by Grant Morrison, the head hitman of BLind's Scarecrow division. Leads squads of Dracs into the desert in pursuit of Killjoys to kill or 're-educate' in Batt City. Distinctive for his frilly vampire shirt, gray trench coat, and baldness. Pursues the Fab Four on a regular basis, both because he hates them and because Batt City wants the threat the Girl poses to be eliminated.

Named characters from the comics that I’m aware of include fellow Killjoys Show Pony and Cherri Cola, DJ Hot Chimp, salesman Tommy Chow Mein, and the fictional band Mad Gear and the Missile Kid. Also every fic writer out there has created Killjoy OCs. It’s lovely.

PLOT

The two songs that have music videos and therefore are technically the only ones with plot are 'NA NA NA' and 'SING'. (Fun fact, on YouTube, the teasers of the characters released before the album in Nov. 2010 have one of those two songs playing in the background). The rest of the songs tie into the themes/ideas of the album and the surrounding world (Bulletproof Heart, Save Yourself I'll Hold Them Back) or explore various facets of the world (S/C/A/R/E/C/R/O/W/, DESTROYA). The exception is 'Jet Star and the Kobra Kid/Traffic Report', which is practically a timestamp for the universe and takes the form of Dr. D giving announcemnts over the radio. They're very much set in the Killjoys universe, and there's been a LOT of good meta written about this. I’m probably gonna make another entire post on that.

But to the point.

NA NA NA sets us up with the Fab Four living out of their base, which is an old diner/motel, hanging out with The Girl, and periodically getting into kickass firefights as they rebel against BLind in various ways. However, by the end of the video, a fight lead by Korse goes badly, resulting in all the Fab Four being incapacitated and The Girl being kidnapped by Korse. It’s in this fight that Jet Star loses/seriously damages his right eye and Fun Ghoul (probably) gets his Chelsea smile. The Girl is taken into Batt City, presumably to be studied/brainwashed. Remember, Batt City is aware of her abilities and obviously never wants her to take them down.

The SING music video opens up with the Fab Four storming BLind so they can get The Girl back. The entire video is a rescue mission and SPOILERS AHEAD the entirety of the Fab Four die by the end of it. Yes, you heard me right, the Killjoys die three songs into the album, protecting the Girl as other Killjoys (Dr. D, Show Pony, and probably Cherri Cola) get her out of Batt City. (This is where I take a brief pause to say that the song Save Yourself I’ll Hold Them Back actually fits the plot of this video so much better but that is probably part of the point, I am going to make a post about this later). The video is high key depressing, as you can see in the Fab Four’s faces that they know they aren’t going to make it out of this fight alive. And they don’t, but the Girl is saved from the control of the Chairwoman and makes it out of Batt City.

And then this is where shit gets weird.

‘Jet Star and the Kobra Kid/Traffic Report’ is a track about halfway through the album that takes the form of Dr. D updating Killjoys on the state of the Zones. In this update, he states that Jet Star and the Kobra Kid have gotten in a fight with an Exterminator and gotten killed. “But Seb!” you might be saying right about now, “How can Jet and Kobra die two songs after the entirety of the Fab Four have already died in SING?”

The answer is I don’t fucking know. What we do know is that Danger Days as an album is non-chronological, and does not form a complete story. Like folk songs, some events are immortalized, but the tracks do not form an entire narrative, mostly just giving us glimpses into the world, introducing our heroes, and detailing two or three events that would be important to the Killjoys in this world, i.e. The Girl being kidnapped and later rescued, as well as the deaths of the Fab Four. So it makes sense that contradictions exist. In the real world, when folk stories are being told (and yes Danger Days functions as a folk album in-universe, FIGHT ME ON IT) things get mixed up and only the really important bits are consistent.

My personal theory, one very similar to some popular fanon theories and that somewhat lines up with comics lore, is that after their deaths in SING, the Fab Four became the faces of a revolution/movement against BLind. For all the anarchist/punk spirit of the Fab Four, you’ll notice that none of their activities in the music videos are coordinated at all. Like, they don’t have grand plots to take down BLind, they’re just trying to survive and inconvenience the pigs where they can. The rescue mission for the Girl is laughably simplistic, they literally just blast their way in and out again. They weren’t rescuing her as a ‘fuck you’ to BLind, it’s a very personal rescue mission for someone they care about.

So they probably weren’t very important while alive, but after their deaths their actions became legendary and more stories got told about them, with events changing from telling to telling. Thus multiple deaths, weird inconsistencies, and non-chronological storytelling. So yeah, the lore breaks down a lot, but that’s the main plot points of the album. I’m not fully going to get into comics lore here, because again, I haven’t finished them!

ASSORTED LORE

This is where I link to my Killjoys bible, a.k.a. a very nice list of all the slang terms/assorted bits of lore from this universe. I've gone over some of it but if you want more, here it is. Some of this is fanon, other bits are straight from the comics or album.

also here's a link to the Killjoy comics, which I haven't finished yet. 

That’s all I got for right now, at least in terms of what is mostly canon. There’s a LOT of really good fanon and meta out there, which I definitely wanna expand on at a later date, but hopefully this is a good launching point into the world of the Killjoys.

Keep your boots on, keep your gun ready, and die with your mask on if you’ve gotta. This has been the traffic.

-Seb

#Sebastian speaks #Sebastian loves MCR #i may have gone overboard here #NO REGRETS #danger days the true lives of the Fabulous Killjoys #danger days #MCR #party poison #jet Star #Kobra Kid #fun ghoul

[helluva-world-innit]

Late to the party but finally making an entrance is Envy Ring!

I'm sure you can see similarities between it and Greed which Levi is less than pleased about. Mammon swears he's just trying to give Hell's denizens a lively, entertaining place to spend their Souls/jewels and exploit their Sinners, not copying Envy's bright and alluring aesthetic. To be fair to him, Envy's light is largely bioluminescence whereas Greed must rely on the soul energy that flows into and around Hell from Sloth Ring (we'll get to that house of horrors when we get there). As such, Envy and Wrath Rings are the only ones to have natural light (biolum and lava). Go figure. Green is the main color here though it's not allowing me to photograph it properly. The windows in the palace are actually light green, not white. My gel pens did not want to cooperate and I think I gave up at that point too. Anyhoo, coral reefs were defs an inspiration for this place. As well as the deep sea and fish just being fish.

As is the case in the open Earth ocean...everything in Envy can and will fucking kill you (yes, that is a giant crab). From the flora to the fauna to the fucking ROCKS to the crushing pressure and scathing shade thrown by the Ringmaster or their Overseers, Delta and Ray, everything is designed to leave you bleeding for the sharks here. Even the few landmasses that dot the massive Ring aren't safe. Above the waves live horse-sized creatures that look like pelicans under an x-ray machine. The bone skimmers, as they are known, are notorious for attacking and eating any demons that come too far up to the surface. The rare tourist spot or transport station above the water have to have hounds patrolling around the clock to keep the hellish birds at bay. Naturally, everything is more expensive in Envy proper, where only those who can breathe the sulfuric water of Hell may dwell for any length of time. It is a place of privilege, beauty, and attitude. All of which has been cultivated by its Ringmaster, Leviathan (that big ol' tentacled thing by the palace? that's him playing peekaboo; like an iceberg, we just see the tip).

There is a natural current of soul energy that courses through Envy (crevice, bottom left-ish). Here is where many of the higher echelon of Envy live and work since it's a well-spring of power and very bright here. Named the Ring of Influence, it runs around the entire Ring like a smaller separate ring of Hell itself. The Ars Goetia who live here may as well be gods the lower hellborn are always vying for the attention of and Sinners know no peace if they happen to become entangled in the tendrils of this privileged and isolated kingdom. They form an entirely unique enslaved underclass here and Envy is the biggest generator of Broken Sinners in Hell as a result (we'll get to the Broken later too). The housing and such you can see in the background up there are where the middle-class worker bees live mostly. Also the occasional poor Hellborn or Sinner that would rather die (again?) than fall into the Ring of Influence where life could very well be worse for them depending who gobbles them up. It's like whalefall, I guess.

Now, the tubes. So Hell's got these elevators, right? Hell-evators, if you will. Well, most Rings hide or blend them in to the environment. Not Envy Ring. Demons can see exactly what part of Envy Ring they're traveling to or through thanks to the reinforced glass of the Hell-evators here. Naughty demons even break them sometimes as illustrated above. They have the tech to build a new one and do so, no problem. The general mindset here is 'yeah, we know you want what we have but you could never pull it off like us so die mad' even if every Envy citizen is a literal fish out of water in any other Ring they might travel to. Sure, they're someone that matters there, but would anyone in Gluttony give a shit? Or Pride? Hard to say.

Leviathan is cold, calculating and about the only being stronger than Lucifer in Hell. What stops these two from coming to blows like how Satan and Luci did all those millennia ago to decide who would rule Hell is Levi likes being behind the scenes. Anything that keeps God's attention off them and the prophecy to kill them and serve them up like sashimi to humanity is *chef's kiss*. While they question the decisions their king makes, they still have a frightful amount of respect and love for Lucifer and Satan...just not really anyone else. Including Charlie. Especially not Asmodeus, who is the youngest of the Sins by far.

Notable characters from this Ring are Nifty, Chaz and his family, Verosika, Alessio/the majority of Crimson's gang still, and Baxter. The Overseers of this Ring are the aforementioned eel twins, Delta and Ray. Also planning on doing a map view of this Ring later so I can paint a better picture of where everything is in relation to each other.

Up Next (though who knows when): Sloth Ring!

#hazbin hotel critical #hazbin redesign #helluva boss critical #helluva redesign #jack is wording again #7 levels of wtf #animals

[princess-of-the-corner]

I completely forgot about how weird The Swamp is, so how weird would Avatar Ty Lee's version go?

AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA

So here's the thing about The Swamp:

It's a hot bit of fuckery. People see visions of people who are important to them in some way. In Canon, Katara saw her mom, Sokka saw Yue, both people they loved and lost. But Aang got a vision of the future seeing Toph. Now that might be some Avatar Bullshit, but the fuckin swamp guy who was explaining this gave his 'time is an illusion' speech so it's more Swamp Nonsense.

My interpretation of this is that you can get visions of past, present, or future, depending on what you are currently missing the most from the past or present/looking for in the present or future.

So while some people get visions of people who are dead, others get visions of people who aren't. The future visions are limited to just the Toph vision though.

So let's go over everyone's visions:

Ty Lee and Aang:

I'm putting them together because at least one of them will still get the Toph Vision. I debate on which one gets the vision though. Because Aang usually gets more of the Avatar Spirit Bullshit as that's his half of the powers. But the vision of Toph is because they're looking for an Earthbending teacher(plus the Ty Lee/Toph ship miiiight be a thing lmao).

If Aang gets the vision of Toph, then Ty Lee will get a vision of her sisters. Not all together, but kinda leading her on a chase where only one shows up at a time but she knows which is which.

If Ty Lee gets the vision of Toph, then Aang gets a vision of Gyatso.

Katara:

Like in Canon, Katara's vision is of her mother.

Sokka:

Since he didn't get the Yue romance, Sokka instead sees a vision of his dad. While he's still a little skeptical of the situation being genuine and not just a hallucination, this does worry him a bit. Because a lot of the other visions are of people who are dead, or at least presumed to be dead. As far as he knows his dad is alive but....... this is a war with casualties.

Azula:

She's the one who got the Yue romance! So ofc she gets the Yue vision as well.

Zuko:

Ofc Zuko sees his mom. Like honey my boy PLEASE.

Mai:

This is actually a bit interesting. Because Mai has... very few people she misses. Most people she cares about are here with her, since her relationship to her parents is...... eh. But the previous episode was where she found out that she has a little brother now. So compared to the parents.....

Iroh:

Look me in the fucking eyes and say you don't already know the answer on who he gets a vision of.

#avatar!ty lee au

[garycxjk]

Second chances

Let's get this out of the way. Throughout this post, I will not name one certain individual, not because she has done anything wrong, but to make ego searching this post a lot harder for her. This also means that this post will not be easily found. The thing is, I don't really even need to mention her to make a point, as her situation isn't a big part of it, it only serves as the backdrop. So I will neither name her previous life nor her current.

Second, I'm not gonna shit on Nijisanji EN. Too many have already done that before, and it's getting a bit tiring. Plus, again, it doesn't serve the point I am trying to make, however, it does serve as a backdrop.

So, basically, to keep it short, recently a certain person had been terminated in a pretty fricken dumb way which I'm not going to get into, which involves them self-exposing their own incompetence. This termination also came after the person who was terminated made two attempts on her own life, fortunately she's still with us.

But that's not the point of this story. Recently, three of the talents have released a not really smart video, basically digging themselves deeper into a hole, if I may so personally, those being Elira Pendora, Vox Akuma and Ike Eveland. Now there are theories going around, but let's keep it as a fact, they were used as spokespeople, either against their will or otherwise, we don't know. We'll get back to the three.

Now, out of all of this mess, one thing was clear. Zaion LanZa, also known in her current life as Sayu Syncronisity, was right. After her termination a month after debuting at Nijisanji as Zaion, she was terminated, and she wrote a scathing expose about how her experience at Nijisanji was, and spoilers, it wasn't great, and later, it turned out a lot of it lined up with what the most recent terminated member experienced.

The thing is, at the time, she was mostly ignored. Not by everybody, but by too many, in my opinion, mainly because she was only there for a month. I know, I was there when it all happened. People either ignored her, or just said that she was salty or straight up called her a liar. Her reputation as Sayu therefore tanked, and it was only after a week after the most recent termination that people slowly began believing her completely.

The thing is, her reputation only improved almost a year after it happened, and from what I understand, her offenses weren't even that severe. People called it mistakes, yes, but not bad enough to warrant a termination. But okay, maybe Nijisanji didn't think she fit into the Nijisanji ecosphere, so she was let go. I'm not going to go into how she got terminated, that's a whole different can of worms, all I'm going to say is, she got terminated, and her reputation didn't exactly recover.

But, and excuse me for repeating the same phrase but, here's the thing. After almost a year, people should have forgiven her. She had already apologized, I'm not sure if she's done it multiple times, but she did at least once. She had admitted she made mistakes.

I'm a firm believer of second chances, everybody deserves one. Now, I do have to say, people don't deserve second chances from everyone, depending on how bad the offense was, but, look. If we can forgive James Gunn for his tweets he made when he was dumb and stupid, we should be able to forgive Sayu for the dumb shit she said, right?

It's as if people don't actually believe in second chances. Now, I'm gonna be honest, I'm not really willing to give Nux Taku a second chance, not after he did Coco's graduation notice dirty, essentially acting like a rrat. But that's my personal issue, I've been betrayed too many times in my life, taken advantage of too many people that my flight response gets triggered quite easily. Fuck, it's why I stopped associating myself with the Steven Universe fandom, despite me still liking the series. It's not that they're inherently bad or that I think they're bad, it's that they're bad for my mental health, which is why I distance myself from them.

And if you ask me what my opinion is of Charlie (penguinz0) or Asmongold, I don't talk about them at all. They just give me too much of an I-don't-trust-them vibe. Not that they're untrustworthy, but I just don't want to burn my fingers on them.

The thing is, yes, the SA jokes were in bad taste, I agree. However, it just feels like people were looking for an excuse to hate on her. And now that all this shit with Nijisanji EN is going on, she's suddenly being hailed as someone who was right all along. It just doesn't sit well with me.

The thing is, we all want second chances, but we don't all want to give them. I personally believe that everybody deserve second chances. Not just one, but many. People continue to make mistakes in their lives, and yes, if it's better for your own mental health, you can decide not to give that person another chance. Maybe there are some people who just don't deserve second chances because they never take them, they never learn from them. As cynical as I am in life, I still believe people can change, either for the worse or the better.

Which brings us to Elira, Vox and Ike. No matter whether they're guilty of whatever people accuse them of or not, their reputation is toast. In the short term, they won't be able to recover it. However, let's look at another case.

Mikeneko. Amemiya Nazuna. Yes, even Uruha Rushia. Her reputation has sunk to the bottom of the ocean. However, I don't think it'll remain that way. In time, there will be people who will give her a second chance. Remember, it's forgive, not forget. People may forgive her, but they won't forget. Honestly, I've decided to stay away from that drama, as I really do not care about it, but I do believe she can, in time, recover her reputation.

I mean, fuck, if Logan Paul can come back from that Aokigahara controversy, as much as I still think there should have been more repercussions from it, anyone can.

So, as a closing thought. Elira. Vox. Ike. Your reputations are pretty much toast, at least at Nijisanji EN, but possibly also in your PLs as well. However, it's not unsalvageable, it never is. As long as you're willing to change, as long as you're willing to better yourselves, as long as you want all of that, you can come back on top.

Tanking your reputation isn't the end of it all. You'll probably have to start over from scratch, and you'll most likely never going to go back to the reputation you had before. But it's not the end. Just live and learn.

But I do think Nijisanji EN is practically done.

#nijisanji #nijisanji en #kurosanji

[poisonouswritings]

I saw requests are open so if I'm mistaken I am so sorry! Big fan of your blog, it fills the current hole I have in my heart for lack of Last Legacy content. Could I request the LL cast with an MC that has a huge crush on them but is definitely not subtle? Like they constantly blush, stand as close to them as possible, get nervous when they're looking at them and probably screams every time their hands accidentally touch.

Don't worry your fine!

GN!Reader, I used to have a shirt that looks like this and I feel like MC could be wearing that for this ask, I'm not entirely sure which characters constitute the 'LL cast' because that could theoretically be,, like,,, everyone? Including like, Orion and LoS and whatever? I dunno. I'm just gonna do the M4 for right now because my brain cannot comprehend having to do more than that at the moment, at the end of the day you're basically a puppy

Felix Escellun

Man how do you think Felix would react to this? I think at first he'd try to take it in stride

Y'know, be a little confident, be a little flirty

But then you make some very impassioned (and probably exciteable) explanation of why you have such a big crush on him and he just

He wasn't expecting it!!! He feels a little guilty?? He brought you here because he was trying to revive his boyfriend from the dead and now you've got a massive crush on him.

Oh please do consider the idea that Felix convinces himself that he somehow influenced you with a spell when he brought you to Astraea (maybe because he was focusing on his love for Rime?) and he spends the next like,, week trying to reverse it and meanwhile you're just there like ':3c ?' because you have no idea what's going on

Anisa Anka

Well at first, things don't really change? 'Cause in the beginning of Annie's route, you can flirt with her and be blatant that you're into her and she gets flustered but doesn't do anything because she doesn't wanna be improper or whatever, so I think that would remain the same

But once she does kinda have her 'fuck the authority' epiphany, she is melting all over you.

She just thinks that the way you wear your heart on your sleeve is really adorable!!

Considering Ayanna flat-out said Anisa has an addictive personality and was obsessed with MC, I think it's reasonable to assume that Anisa would not only embrace your over-the-top proclamations, she'd probably return a lot of them. Always standing right next to you, holding your hand at every opportunity, staring at you and blushing, that sorta thing.

Sage Lesath

With Sage, I think it depends on how you go about it? Like if you're too over-the-top then he'd probably find you clingy and maybe even a little annoying. But if it's just a little bit, he might find it kinda cute. He'd think that you have a puppy crush on him.

Which may or may not go to his head a little bit.

I think he's certainly used to people lusting after him, so that part doesn't take him by surprise. But when he starts realizing the reasons why you like him (beyond the physical), he starts getting shy too. He has such a hard time telling himself that he's worth anything more than a body or a fight that when you are so deeply enamoured with all the bits of him, not just the good ones...

Now there's two flustered idiots standing next to each other all the time. Good job.

Rime Varela

He is teasing you.

Relentlessly.

At every single opportunity he's casually brushing his arm against yours or giving you a little pat on the back or tossing out a casual little compliment. He's redeemed but he's still a little evil. Sorry.

He just thinks the way you get bright red and start stuttering is really funny. Especially when you make little noises. Those are his favorite because he can just be on the other end of the room and say something sweet and then you make a little noise over in your corner and he knows he's just had a little victory.

He tries to see if you'll ever get a little more used to it but uh,, I'm not sure you do. Which he immensely enjoys. What a little shit.

If he's studying or something and you're talking too much he just leans over and kisses your cheek and then you Blue-Screen™ and go silent.

#last legacy #fictif last legacy #felix escellun x reader #anisa anka x reader #sage lesath x reader #rime varela x reader #felix iskandar escellun #fictif felix #last legacy felix #anisa anka #fictif anisa #last legacy anisa #sage lesath #fictif sage #last legacy sage #rime solano varela #rime varela #fictif rime #last legacy rime #anon asks #ozzy answers #ozzy daydreams

[sins-of-the-sea]

//It's 2 AM, I woke up due to my mouth feeling nasty, and after taking care of it, I can't go back to sleep, so I decided to do a bit of fact checking for my inbox. And lo and behold, I ended going down a rabbit hole that tickled my curiosity and found this and this. Here is the chart regarding cultural expressiveness and confrontation, and I am LAUGHING BECAUSE THIS EXPLAINS SO FUCKING MUCH.

*LAUGHING IN FILIPINO*

I'm disappointed China is not included here for comparison purposes. From what I understand by my friends and reading sources, Chinese people would avoid confrontation as much as possible, but are probably more emotionally expressive than the Japanese? Maybe the Koreans? I can't confirm. I just know wuxia and anime LIES, though to be fair, so does Hollywood, lmao.

Anyway, this chart makes me laugh because the Crew, while some are typical of their cultures, aren't in other ways too:

Josep (Spain): Yes, he's fairly confrontational and highly expressive, but he's mostly highly expressive in ANGY. Otherwise, he tends to express himself joyfully very, very seldomly, and would try to avoid exposing himself when laughing as much as possible. Though this is due to low self-esteem and poor management of his C-PTSD. Also, Josep will avoid confrontation if he feels his anger may result in an uncontrolled explosion, be it in emotion or violence.

The Twins (France): I MEAN, LOOK AT THEIR CURRENT DRAMA. Not just that they're French, they're JEWISH, so being argumentative is practically in their blood. With that said, part of why I found this chart to begin with is because I wanted to learn what is appropriate Jewish arguing and what isn't (like how there is proper kvetching and improper kvetching). I could not find what I was looking for (in fact, kvetching seems to highly suggest it's mostly an Ashkenazi thing), but I did find this. What a blessing. We can attribute Phoebus and Guy's confrontational attitudes, if not by being Jewish, then at least by being French.

Though I should point out, Guy is significantly more confrontational, and would be so habitually and openly around everyone. Phoebus, on the other hand, is dependent on company; otherwise, he'd be too meek to confront if he's facing a non-Frenchman or a goy. And even then, he's meant to be seen as "too nice", even for a Nice Jewish Boy. Honestly, Phi is really only confrontational with his family and MAYBE his rabbi, lmao.

Giovanni (Italy): I mean, look at the guy, he bursts into tears everytime he sees a cute kitty. Despite living in a cellar for 10 years, I'd say his expressive/confrontational range is pretty typical. His willingness to be confrontational, though, would be dependent on what the confrontation is about and with whom, as maintaining the facade of a sweet, innocent softboi would be dependent on how to navigate said confrontation.

Rashid (Saudi Arabia): Even though Rashid is guilty of wild takes often on the blog, it's highly situational and depending on what company is with him at the time (note he never wild takes when the other members of the Crew aren't around him). Otherwise, he's typically so nonchalant, he tends to come off as stoic. I'd like to note he has the least amount of icons drawn and used for him despite me writing him often--his natural emotive range is THAT small.

As there is no China, Ghana, or Haiti, I can't comment on Ruixiong or Abena :c What I CAN say, though, is that Ruixiong is nonetheless atypical of the Chinese in that he's highly confrontational. Abena, meanwhile, was modeled after hero(ine)s in the assorted African storybooks I grew up on, which often feature cool-headed tricksters.

But there you have it. Also, the Philippines explains why I am so big on dramatics and exaggerated expression but confrontation scares the shit out of me.

#[Captain Josep Frascona] #[Abena Frascona] #[Rashid al-Qadar] #[Wang Ruixiong] #[Guy Duchamp] #[Phoebus Duchamp] #[Giovanni Vespucci] #religion tw

[dogsliampaynedoesntinstagram]

Do you think Harry and his team have been navigating this stage of his career well? I feel like there have been some miscalculations in terms of publicity/public image but I can’t quite put my finger on it. It just feels like the few big press events / interviews / editorials could have been handled much better to give less of an impression of “jack of all trades, master of none”…

I have always been very frustrated with the way fandom approach the question about whether members of their teams do a good job.

It is impossible to know whether someone is doing a good job without knowing their aims and their limitations. You might look at something someone has done and say 'oh that's terrible', but not known that they had an hour to do something that would normally take five and in fact it would show their skill.

And that general principle becomes heaps more complicated when you're assessing something as broad as managing Harry's career.

For starters, it does sort of depend what's going on behind the scenes. If Harry is often an absolute asshole to people he meets - then his team is doing a stellar job of hiding that. If Nathan Hubbard is right and there are lots of women upset with how Harry has treated them, then his team are doing an amazing job. I don't think either of those are true, but there might be aspects of Harry's life that they're doing a very good job of hiding from us and the definition of them doing a good job is that we don't know we're doing that.

We also don't know what Harry wants and doesn't want. To give an example, which is very close to what I think is true, if Harry wants to play stadiums, keep his current ambiguity about his sexuality, and also play Tom in My Policeman - then it's not like his team can just magic their way out of that set of contradictions with their powers.

In addition, the goals of Harry's team are very different from the goals of fans. As It Was broke records. Harry's album has spent most of the first six months in the top five in both the US and the UK he's selling out residencies. The fact that people are making fun of him is not the end of the world and does not need to be top priority for his team. It may cause fans distress when people say mean things about Harry, but it's not a team's job to make sure that everyone only says nice things about a client.

I will answer the question in a second, but first I do want to address one last assumption I feel is in your post - when it comes to individual events - a celebrity and their team don't have complete control. Would it be easier for Harry if he hadn't made completely inaccurate comments about gay sex in movies? Probably, but people say things and journalists write them down. Was Venice a cluster fuck? Sure, but there were so many moving parts, so much surveillance, and so much bad faith reading that nobody is going strategise the way out.

So that's all reasons why I don't think it's that useful to try and evaluate their teams in that sort of straightforward way. I'm much more interested in asking why, then deciding whether they're good or bad. If I think I can see what motivates a particular set of decision, or why it might work, I'll talk about that. But I'm never going to have enough information to say this is a bad strategy. The most I'm ever going to say is that something doesn't make sense.

Anyway having said all that I'll try and answer your question. I think it's worth separating two things - the first is that some people are enjoying dunking on Harry on twitter. That is pretty inevitable and not that important. As big as he is it was that sort of reaction is inevitable. (I also think it's worth being very clear sighted about what has changed and what hasn't. I saw somoene say that Harry used to be the critics darling and now people are making fun of him. And then post an article saying exactly the same things critics have been saying about Harry since he released his first album)

The other question is have the contradictions got too much? In the current environment, is the way he's trying to engage with queerness and keep his fantasy boyfriend issue sustainable. That's far more important that people being mean about him on twitter, because it'll affect ticket sales. I think it does get harder and harder to exist in the space he's in, but I don't know if anyone will be able to predict when it becomes impossible, before it becomes impossible.

#It's absolutely fine to look at everything from a fan perspective #but it's important to understand that that perspective is fundamentally different #from Harry and his team #and not try to think you can understand what's goingon for his team #whilelooking at it froma fan point off view

[mitigatedchaos]

"now [the culture] seems to be (gradually) moving under its own power again." I'm not saying you're wrong! There's a hint of this maybe? But I'd be very interested to hear what made you come to that conclusion.

From an ideological level, we can see a certain amount of exhaustion with identitarian politics after it failed to yield the dividends it was supposed to, partially discrediting its advocates in a way that couldn't be achieved by argument. And that politics was behind the bizarre "Corporate Memphis" style which aimed to be as inoffensive as possible through the removal of faces, loosening of the human form, etc.

I think the culture is still moving fairly slowly. Something like Season 5 of Samurai Jack, which popularized Carpenter Brut with its trailer, was not the culture moving under its own power, but rather a bunch of determined 50-year-old men gritting their teeth and dragging it, whether it wanted to move or not.

Cyberpunk: Edgerunners is the culture moving under its own power, but depends on Japan as part of the loop, which isn't sustainable. It's the same for the recent movie Bullet Train, which I recommend.

But if you want to talk object level, I don't listen to terrestrial radio, but I do listen to music in stores, restaurants, etc.

In that line, Molly Burch - Emotion feat. Wild Nothing.

Two things. One, you can hear the vaporwave in this, right? That terrible nostalgic longing that burst onto the scene back in 2016 or so. Vaporwave was an offshoot, and now it's being reintegrated.

Two, who the fuck is this? I was never one for celebrities, but I've never heard of this person in my life, and I'd have to guess this is relatively mainstream from hearing it out in the wild.

Something like 2017's The Killers - The Man is good stuff, but they're an act from the mid-00's. If they put out good new stuff, that's good, but that doesn't indicate replacement personnel once they age out.

Part of what's going on - and I think Kontext will agree with me - based on Zoomers and even Gen-X wearing katakana T-shirts and hoodies as like a completely normal thing, and T-shirts for classic rock bands for some Zoomers, is a reboot from 2008 culture drawing more closely from the more heavily online, anime con, etc factions within the culture. We may be about to witness 00s-wave.

I'm from the '00s myself, and listened to electronica before it became (seemingly) the standard. Before there were vtubers, I was on Second Life. Before transgenderism burst onto the scene in national politics, I knew some transgender people. Now people are talking about AI alignment, and Eliezer Yudkowsky may become a household name before this decade is through. EAs are a world-known thing now.

Overall I would say that my forecasting horizon is converging with the current timeline. I may lose my advantage in about 3 years.

I'd wager that what we're going to see is not an instantaneous roaring back of the culture, but rather an organic regrowth over a period several years.

One possible pivot is that as conservatives take up the tools of censorship currently favored by the identitarian left, factions within the left that want to exit the sterile, sexless 10's will use this as an excuse to paint censorship as 'uncool.' The original arguments were largely social power politics rather than the modern [rational/military/industrial/technocratic] style that we see among the Rationalists (as the "lost" materialist progressives), and this would allow a social power answer, at a potential loss of ability to coordinate adherence to social rules more generally.

#anons #asks #media_tag #music_tag