#this also means you get those characters who are hostile to everyone but that 'one special one' and who doesn't love that | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

messiahzzz · 3 months

Text

i’m not here to claim that wyll doesn’t deserve more extra content or that larian’s perspective of him isn’t rooted in racism in any way whatsoever. however, i sincerely believe that it’s always important to list the facts first before misinformation continues to spread which only results in more needless outrage.

these are all of wyll’s scenes that exist in the game as of now:

meeting karlach, mizora, and his transformation, the tiefling party kiss, the dance scene, mizora visiting camp, another scene where mizora visits camp, and the proposal scene. additionally, mizora and uldred can join camp, if he is alive.

in strict comparison - this is the exact amount of scenes the other origin characters have:

Astarion has 9 scenes, 6 of which can possibly be romantic.

Lae’zel has 7 non-standard dialogue scenes, 3 of which can possibly be romantic.

Shadowheart has 6 non-standard dialogue scenes, 3 of which can possibly be romantic.

Gale has 6 non-standard dialogue scenes, 3 of which can possibly be romantic.

Karlach has 4 non-standard dialogue scenes, 3 of which can possibly be romantic.

Wyll has 5 non-standard dialogue scenes, 2 of which can possibly be romantic.

source: [x]

wyll is lacking one scene compared to characters like shadowheart and gale. lae’zel merely has another non-standard dialogue scene, while astarion has double the amount of possible romance scenes and 9 scenes in total.

here is a video of wyll’s entire story: [x] at a duration of 2:25:24 in total it’s very similar in length to the romances of the other companions the same channel uploaded. (minthara & halsin excluded)

i have also seen many people refer to the datamined voicelines as proof of how much content wyll lacks. this, however, doesn’t tell us much since those compilations include battle grunts, noises, and other repeated lines. if you want to check them out for yourself, here is chubblot’s playlist on youtube: [x]

wyll’s romance/approval-specific greetings also exist, they are merely bugged. although i have heard that some people have been able to trigger them. bugged content is something that also affects other companions – in fact, most of gale’s romance scenes and some integral dialogue have been bugged for months now with no fixes anywhere in sight. if you don’t want to look for wyll’s greetings in the files, i took the liberty of doing it for you:

alas, his general reactivity after act i remains the same as with the others. aka: he's barely responsive to his surroundings nor to any key decisions the player makes.

wyll also isn’t the only character who isn’t able to make his own choice on whether he agrees to sell his soul for his father’s life or not. in fact, the only characters who can decide their own fate are shadowheart and lae’zel. the latter option only now being added with patch 6.

so what exactly did wyll get after patch 6? the same amount of kisses like everyone else: 4 in total. as well as some new idle animations and polished facial expressions. the kiss where he invites tav for a quick twirl had already been added in an earlier update (patch 5, 30th november 2023). which means it’s understandable that certain characters who didn’t receive any new animations or other content before were now added with patch 6 as well.

wyll’s quest regarding ansur also didn’t get removed from the game. this is plain false. larian merely changed the subcategory in the journal (which larian had done previously with astarion’s gur-related quest as well)

if you have a gripe with this particular decision: that is valid. the quest, however, is still the exact same as it was before.

i see fandom heading in this really dangerous direction where people fully believe they have the right to attack others for pointing out the existence of false information. i understand that people are upset about wyll having less content than characters like astarion and i am in no way here to claim that you should refrain from calling out racism where it’s due. however, this hostile behavior directed at anyone who dares to disagree with you is creating a really toxic environment within online spaces, where people hesitate to engage with the wyll side of the fandom at all (out of fear of immediately receiving the racist card for merely correcting inconsistencies in logic). and in case it needs to be said again: it is never justified to harass real people or send death threats to others under any circumstances, much less if it concerns a fictional character.

i, much like everyone, really want wyll to receive more love from fandom and larian alike. but it is no one’s place to police other players on how they should engage with this specific character in their own game. if others simply couldn’t connect to wyll as much as you personally have – for whatever reason – that is on them. it's them who are missing out. this shouldn’t hinder your enjoyment of this character in any way or discourage you from creating more fan content.

TL;DR: it’s completely valid to request more wyll content, but please don’t resort to “demands” or public pressure directed at the devs. this is only doing more harm in the long run (to wyll’s, as well as his fanbase's reputation within the rest of the fandom instead of actually accomplishing much). don’t spread misinformation that he’s the only one of the companions who is continuously receiving the short end of the stick in terms of content, general reactivity, and bug fixes. if anything, the biggest difference is between him and astarion (again, much like every other companion).

🙏 please be respectful to each other 🙏

update, 19th february:

a user suggested providing an alternative to petitions on this post and linking directly to larian’s official feedback form, which you can find here: [x]

you’ll be able to add screenshots of the specific issue you’re reporting. keep in mind that you need to name your exact game version if you plan to send in a report. i’ve had larian ask me to send them the specific game files in the past, so it’s best to keep them on hand in advance.

larian also has a faq page on how to submit a general bug report [x]

here is an example of what to write:

(I’d like to address the disparity in content between Wyll and the other origin companions.) As of now, Wyll is lacking an entire scene compared to the rest of the characters, and his romance-specific greetings remain bugged as well. The lack of equal scenes makes Wyll’s story feel lackluster at times and undermines the pacing of his romance and overall character arc. It is very disheartening for POC players specifically to see racial biases reflected in his treatment and that Wyll didn’t receive the same amount of resources. Considering his narrative role as the Grand Duke's son he also deserves to be in the spotlight. When can we expect any fixes or additional content?

#bg3 #baldurs gate 3 #wyll ravengard #informational post #racism mention #fandom discourse #it speaks #i understand that i’m treading into dangerous territory here #but please keep it civil #meanwhile minthara lovers sitting in the corner with barely any scraps to go by: this is fine #updated

304 notes · View notes

ro-rogue · 1 month

Text

the tragic thing about john doe is that he was doomed from the start.

he was likely born in a low- or mid-tier district: new bostin high's old king, zirian, was the only one john had trouble beating, before he figured out how to amplify abilities, and at the time he beat zirian, zirian was a 3.7. zirian, pre-john, was considered incredibly powerful, nigh unbeatable. in new bostin, someone who was barely an elite was considered incredibly powerful.

god-tiers are already incredibly rare. they're even more rare than high-tiers, and whenever remi, blyke, and isen visit a low-tier district as vigilantes, everyone regards them almost as royalty - unbelievably powerful, unreachable, divinity on earth. they are with dozens, and they’re terrified of a single, non-hostile girl. also, some of the background characters say: “what’s a high-tier doing in branish?” “yeah, they would never come to a place like this.” most low-tiers likely have never even seen a high-tier in the flesh, let alone a god-tier.

add to that that wellston is supposed to be the most powerful school in the province, at least, and before john, there were only two god-tiers in attendance: an 8.0 and a 6.3. and before arlo became king, rei was, and rei was a 5.8. the king of the strongest school in the province was a 5.8.

jane doe was raised in a god-tier family. she knows, presumably, what it means to be a god-tier, when everyone around you is weaker than you, and not by a little bit. but jane has been gone since john was a toddler - and the only person left to raise him was his father. his cripple father, who has lived his whole life being spat on, disregarded, considered less than.

and then you have john. john first discovered his ability in his last year of middle school. unordinary doesn't give us an exact timeframe, but it is mentioned that he first uses his ability towards the end of the school year. if we assume that the education system in unordinary is comparable to the us education system, then that makes john about fourteen years old. it is never mentioned when most kids discover their abilities, but sera mentioned that she got martial arts lessons for a few years when she was a young child, but stopped when her ability came in. assuming sera's development is normal and abilities usually come in at the same age regardless of level, that would place the average age well before ten. another thing: everyone around john seemed to assume he would never get an ability. they considered him a cripple. which either means that late-bloomers are so incredibly rare that it isn't even considered a possibility, or john was so far past the age of ability manifestation that no one thought it was possible.

of course, his dad was also a cripple, and since genetics are a thing in uno, it would make sense for people to assume john would be a cripple even before he passed the manifestation age. (and treat him accordingly)

john got expelled in his second year in high school. when, exactly, doesn't really matter. once again assuming that the uno education system works like the us education system, that would place john at 15-16 years old.

so you have this kid, sixteen years old, who's had his ability for about two years. he spent most of his life being considered the lowest of the low - spat on, disregarded, less than. his dad, his only parental figure, has had those exact same experiences, and the only thing he can tell his child is that that is just the way the world works. it's unfair, but that's life.

but then he gets an ability. and within two years, he is almost twice as strong as the second strongest kid around. none of the adults have ever met someone as strong as him. him, the former cripple, with the cripple father. former lowest of the low, now a god amongst men. the kids, though, his classmates, his peers, they don't really understand his power. how much stronger he is than them. to tell the truth, he doesn't either, not fully. he's never met someone as strong as he is, at sixteen. but his classmates, they just remember when they used to walk all over him. when they would beat him bloody and then complain about getting his disgusting cripple blood on their shoes. and now he dares to stand above them?

they don't like him. of course they don't. cripples aren't able to become gods. they can't comprehend that john did.

and john, obviously, lashes out at his former bullies. he finally has a chance to pay them back, for all the cuts, bruises, broken bones he'd received from them over the years. he's stronger than them, and it's his turn to make them hurt. he goes farther than they did - their abilities are useless against the might of his power - but he doesn't really care. (they never held back, so he doesn't either, and the damage he does is much, much worse. the adults are mad, and he doesn't get why. he's only doing what everyone else does.)

the adults have no idea how to handle him. he's out of control. but they've never seen an ability this powerful before, except on tv, or in stories. high-rankers are supposed to keep order. (but no one listens to john. why would they? he's just a cripple, the lowest of the low, who managed to cheat the system.) his dad, kind-hearted william doe the cripple, has no idea how to help him. he can't relate to his problems at all. (is there even a problem? who wouldn't want to be powerful? for william, for adrian, for claire, it'd be a dream come true. it used to be, for john.) there is no one around who even vaguely knows what it's like to be a god-tier, or even a high-tier, or even just a high-ranker in general, except for zirian, who's barely a high-ranker at all, and who hates john for dethroning him. there is no one who understands him.

so then you have john. sixteen years old. god-tier. angry at the world, and the world is angry at him. how was he ever supposed to win?

#thanks for reading my incredibly long rant #i just. have so much to say abt john's character #unordinary #uno #john doe #unordinary webtoon

102 notes · View notes

theresattrpgforthat · 2 months

Note

Hi! Do you know any one session ttrpgs? Preferably space/sci-fi themed but that’s not strictly necessary.

What’s important to me is that it’s creative, that it has fun mechanics and that you really have to work together (it’s for a birthday party). Also I should probably mention all participants are beginners but I’d definitely set aside some time to get into understanding the mechanics beforehand.

Thank you for running this blog and thanks in advance for answering! :D

THEME: Collaborative Space One-Shots

Hello friend, I think I have a really neat mix of games here for you to check out. I think most of these will naturally lead to creative, collaborative solutions from your players!

This Ship Is No Mother, by New Madras.

This Ship Is No Mother is a game about people in space, working jobs that are probably going to get them killed. It's 50+ pages, fully illustrated with art by Justin Nichol.

Inspired by movies like Alien and games like Mothership and Dread, this is for fans of tension, creepy-crawlies, and general horror. Mechanically, it's a card-based Forged in the Dark game, first in the series of games currently called the Cardsharp Sonata.

In this game, players start with a full deck of cards and as you play, that deck will run down. When the deck ends, there is a climactic moment of panic as one of the characters is going to do something stupid and get themselves (and maybe everyone else) killed.

A space horror game, this is a great game option for folks who love Alien. It’s designed to play within a very specific time frame, because the game ends when you use the last cards from a 52-card deck. It’s a game meant for horror and suspense, and was designed to run with Mothership game modules, so I’d recommend looking up some Mothership modules on Itch!

24XX Unlikely Heroes - Space Questing, by FutureFriend.

All you wanted was a steady paycheck, a quiet life among the stars, and maybe a comfy closet to nap in. Action and adventure? "Mmm, no thanks. I’m good." The universe, however, isn’t taking "no" for an answer…

Time to grab some tools, buddies, and your brown space pants. Out here heroism may be less “epic deeds and grand destinies” and more “frantically pressing the right button before it all explodes!”

24XX Unlikely Heroes - Space Questing is a rules-lite sci-fi RPG that is distilled into just 4 pages that fit snugly on two sides of a sheet of paper. It is a hack of the awesome 2400 system, by Jason Tocci.

24XX is a pretty light system and is great for dungeon crawls. As with most games in this family, the rules and GM advice fit on one page, so they should be pretty easy to teach. This game is pretty goofy, as you are regular space-folk who find themselves pushed into a dramatic scenario. If you are running a game for the first time, I’d definitely recommend running this game with the help of a dungeon, such as Space Frogdom, a light dungeon with space frogs and a countdown towards the hatching of a dragon egg.

Holdfast Station, by Lampblack & Brimstone.

The rim of the known universe. A place so god-forsaken, so hostile and alien to life itself that only the mad go there—and only the desperate stay.

That’s you.

Holdfast Station is about asteroid miners surviving and holding their community together in the grim desolation of space. Regular folks in a rough spot, who hold to each other and their own. A place where survival means you trust each other, you fight like hell, and you hope for the best. A place where food and water and even air is scarce. Where the crushing emptiness and massive force of the void are only feet away. Where you live so close you know everyone by smell. Where one accident could spell everyone’s destruction.

It’s about the people who step up when disaster strikes. They aren’t heroes, just regular people—people with no choice but to risk it all for their home and those they love.

Holdfast Station is a "pick up and play" RPG—After you gather players, some dice, and the provided record sheets (physical or online), the book guides you through play, one step at a time. One player, called the Navigator, takes on the role of storyteller, narrating events, encouraging players to contribute, and moving the story along. Each of the other players takes on the role of a worker on the station, striving to survive at the edge of known space.

This game advertises itself as a “no prep” game, although if you are a first-time GM, it might still be good to read through the entire thing first, just to familiarize yourself with all of the pieces of the game. Holdfast Station is all about a terrible event threatening the station, so it naturally encourages the players to work together to try and solve the problem before time runs out. The game might run a bit long if the players need a bit of help putting characters together, but I enjoy the guidance and tools present in the game that help you stay on task.

Survivors, by Alexander Schneider.

Survivors is a science-fiction role-playing game designed as a one-shot cosmic horror scenario where players are faced with survival questions while also encountering an unknown alien force which threatens their very lives. Together they may find ways to survive (or at least hope to) but they will hardly escape the psychic horror they pose themselves. Is it the desperate situation or something else which drives them mad to a point of no return to their former selves?

If you want a horror one-shot, you might be interested in Survivors. It has a very specific opening premise, and each event that the players encounter gives them roleplaying prompts that encourage them to replicate paranoia, fear, and a deterioration of emotional stability.

This is definitely a game you have to clear with the group beforehand, as the way the game has a lot of representations of different forms of mental illness, most of them inflicted upon the players the further they delve into the adventure.

Koboldly Go!, by CoffeeSnake Studios.

Calling all Kobolds!

Gather your crew, assemble your ship, and take to the depths of space on a mission to discover strange new worlds. To seek out life and new civilizations.

To Koboldly Go where no lizard has gone before!

This game is exceptionally humorous and lighthearted, and works really well for groups who have some appreciation for the inherent goofiness of early Star Trek. You create your kobolds by rolling for your job, colour, and your stats. You also spend time designing your ship by drawing from a regular pack of playing cards. The biggest downside for this game is that it doesn’t come with an adventure - you’ll have to create one yourself. I’d recommend drawing from Star Trek to create a planet or star system that has an anomaly that directly affects the ship, since you spend a lot of time creating it.

Greenhorns Quickstart, by Spicy Tuna RPG.

In Greenhorns your crew will create planets and fill the cosmos with new incredible life. Survive anomalies that spawn from these worlds and stabilize the planets for long term life. Define the planets’ histories and futures through the loot you retrieve and return home to a heroes welcome. You are Kruxian. You are chosen.

The full game of Greenhorns is good for a multi-session experience, but the Quickstart is suited to one-shots and is also free! Player abilities are mostly focused on combat, with each character class contains skills that guarantee success - but can only be used so many times. This is a game that depends on players coming up with creative solutions to problems, so I think collaboration will come pretty naturally.

The setting is kind of gonzo, with a mix of space fiction and fantasy tropes. If you want a unique setting that might inspire more games in the future, I recommend Greenhorns.

ATMA, by Meromorph Games.

Welcome to a world near our own. The volcanic mineral atma empowers the living and entwines the dying, while artificial intelligence and alien titans join humanity in this daunting new century. Yet in the Restless Zones, beyond society and law, trouble lurks. Gather your fellow adventurers and prepare to test yourself against the world’s most dangerous frontiers. The sky’s getting darker…

ATMA is a complete roleplaying game system in a tiny package. It's portable, quick to set up and teach, and plays in just 2 hours — perfect for game nights or pop-up sessions! A Game Master and 1-4 players use illustrated tarot cards to fuel RPG gameplay focused on creativity and quick thinking. ATMA excels as a tutorial for first-time GMs who've always wanted to run an RPG, while allowing limitless creativity for roleplaying pros.

This is probably the closest to what you’re looking for, I heavily recommend that you check ATMA out. It’s self-contained and super-fun to pull out and show off the the group. I don’t know if you have enough time to order the physical version, but there is an online version of the game and free print-and-play downloads if you just want a quick test of the game! I love the art and abilities presented in ATMA, and I think it’s definitely very beginner-friendly. It feels part-way between a boardgame and a roleplaying game, so if your friends are familiar with board games, this is a good bridge.

I’d also recommend…

Mothership has really quick and easy-to-understand character creation, and the game is designed to run small adventures that work as space dungeon crawls. This content is great for GMs because it gives them a location with a bunch of information to present to your players, which means that you have a lot to work with if you haven’t done something like this before. I’d recommend checking out There is A Goblin on Icarus Station if you want a Mothership adventure that has something for horror fans and comedy lovers.

#tabletop games #indie ttrpgs #game recommendations #dnd #asks #space #space games #one shot

58 notes · View notes

privateanxieties · 11 months

Text

Stay?

In honor of our fallen comrade AO3, here's a 3.1K Frank Castle fic.

Summary: Frank is forced to call in a favor from an old acquaintance he hasn't seen since his second tour. What he gets is more than he bargained for, and for the first time in his life, he doesn't think that's such a bad thing.

Pair: Frank Castle x Reader (she/her); flirting, banter, Frank Castle needs a hug, fluff, NO sMut SorRy

--------------------

He shouldn't fucking be here, especially at sundown. That much was clear based on the telltale signs of trepidation in his hands and chest. No, he wasn't shaking. Frank Castle was not a pussy. But, he also was not certain she wouldn't shoot him on sight — or even through the wooden door.

Damn Curtis for being bedridden.

"Can't cover your six this time, Frank," he'd said on the end of a cough. "But I know someone who can."

Yeah. Frank knew too. He knew exactly what her skillset was and why it earned her the name full metal cunt less than four months into her first tour. He didn't particularly approve of the moniker, despite agreeing with the underlying meaning. The guys that bestowed it upon her were jackasses, but even they'd had to yield some quiet respect in the face of facts. That's what one got for being the best damn sniper of all active battalions at that time.

Frank hadn't seen her since before Kandahar. Curtis had been cagey on the details, but if his own memory served, she'd been pulled from the ranks and reassigned too — on the other side of the world. Covert ops were a dime a dozen in those days. Last Frank heard from her, they were supposed to—

The door flew open with a quiet click. Whether the click had come from the lock or his brain, he wasn't sure. She stood in front of him like a one-two punch on legs.

"You know, the rain check for that beer expired a while ago, Castle."

Maybe he was about to expire, if he kept staring at the exposed skin of her shoulder where the black silk robe had slid off. It didn't leave a whole lot to mystery, and it worked wonders to reveal just how little of a threat she considered him. He couldn't imagine she'd have answered the door in that get-up if she expected company of a hostile nature. He cleared his throat and stood the slightest bit taller.

"That's what the flowers are for, sweetheart," he grumbled out at last, gripping the bouquet tighter and shifting subtly on his feet. Her eyes narrowed.

"Something making you nervous?"

Not subtle enough, apparently.

"Hoyle call?" he asked, deflecting her question.

"Of course he called. You'd be dead if he hadn't," she shot back plainly. The tilt of her neck drew his eyes to the damp skin for a brief moment. Freshly showered. Faint jasmine in the air.

"C'mon… I'm not that scary. Am I?" he joked, lips pulling at the edges.

"Scary? No," her voice sang ever-so-gently. She was scanning him from head to toe. "But, given that everyone you've paid a house visit to lately has wound up full of holes, the working policy ought to have been on sight."

"Not if you ain't involved in anything unsavory."

"I have a pile of catshit that needs cleaning. That unsavory enough?" she asked, right eyebrow raised delicately.

Sometimes — and he would deny it even under torture — Frank loved having his balls busted by someone as quick-witted as her. Where Lieberman nagged and sassed him without much success, she was right on target every time. He liked a challenge.

"Didn't peg you for a cat lover," he forwarded, fighting back a smirk.

A flicker of emotion came and went, but Frank thought he caught just the right amount of smugness in the second it passed over her face. She looked pleased, like his assessment of her character was correct. A moment later she was stepping back, gesturing for him to come inside and accepting the flowers with both her hands. If he'd splurged for the largest bouquet, it was in accordance with the favor he was about to ask.

"It's not my cat. If it was, I wouldn't have named it something as stupid as Chonks," she explained as he followed her down the hallway and into the living room of her surprisingly spacious apartment. The furnishings were nothing fancy, at least not in Frank's view, but the sheer square footage did catch his attention.

"Rent dry you out every month, Corporal?"

It wasn't his place to ask, and he didn't really give a shit, but he did want to rattle her chain. Just a little bit. Questioning her choice of rentals and calling her by rank was a good enough start. He watched her retrieve a vase from the open floor kitchen and fill it with water to the midpoint.

"Not that it's any of your business, but no. I'm doing alright for myself. Though, I don't blame you for being suspicious, what with…" she paused, waving her hand in a vague motion. "…everything."

Frank's jaw tightened. She noticed the moment it happened.

"I meant Kandahar. You can unclench your asshole," she commented lightly, arranging the flowers to her liking and leaning forward to breathe in the scent of the gardenias.

"Heard about Wolf and Rawlins. You're right to wonder where I get my money. Not like jobs for trained killers grow on trees. No one's hiring me as a marketing executive. That master's degree was a waste of time," she said as she pulled two glass bottles out of the fridge. Beer and cider.

"Still think beer tastes like piss, do ya?" Frank taunted, though he had to admit — his asshole did unclench after her acknowledgement of recent events. He wasn't sure how he felt about her knowing, but in the end, he'd rather not have to explain the last year of his life. It was fine.

She glanced his way between popping the metal caps open.

"Yep. Worse, even."

He held her gaze.

"Got a boyfriend?"

The inkling of a sardonic smile on her lips had Frank's own trembling with mirth.

"I'm as fond of those as I am of Chonks."

"Why do you stock it, then?" he pushed. It earned him a lovely eye roll.

"I don't know, Frank. Maybe I have friends over sometimes," she sassed, walking up to him. She stopped short of handing him the drink. He measured her resolve just like he measured everything else in life. He was pleased to find that for once, things were exactly as he thought them to be. With her, what he saw was what he got.

"Bullshit," he smirked, finally allowing his amusement out in the open.

A click of her tongue and hooded eyes had his whole posture relaxing.

"Yeah, well… not like you would judge."

Sharing a brief chuckle, they touched the lips of their bottles together with a quiet clink and drank. He abstained from giving in to the urge to compete and drink more than her. Sometimes Frank could choose not to be an ass, but only for the right people.

He took her in as she led him over to the couch, or rather, took in the long-healed scar on the back of her neck, covered just so by a few wisps of hair that had fallen from her up-do. He remembered that one. A shit story, if he ever heard one. It seemed they both knew a thing or two about a comrade's betrayal. What was it with these pieces of shit not having the nerve to stab you in the front?

"I'd try my hand at small talk, if I didn't know you're not one for chit-chat," she said, plopping down on the velvet sofa. He followed shortly. "Plus, Curtis sounded like death warmed over on the phone. So, I'm assuming you needed his help with something and he couldn't provide it. And now you're here."

"Brilliant deduction skills there, Holmes," he grumbled, taking another sip of the beer.

She blinked her eyes at him all innocent.

"I remember your standards being a little higher. Hoyle's a knockout corpsman but I wouldn't trust him to hit a sitting target 300 yards out," she snorted, setting her drink down on the coffee table before them.

"Oh yeah? And what's your best number, champ?" he mocked.

"A few more than that," she shot back instantly, tone flat.

Yeah. Frank knew. He remarked that she hadn't taken on a bragging habit, but she did keep her confidence, which was refreshing. Some pricks came back from warzones feeling like they could conquer the world. Most were soon disabused of the notion. She'd never seemed the type to have a chip on her shoulder, even back then. Even if — and Frank understood better than anyone — she had good reason to return from war loosely hinged and embittered.

He looked her over once more, a deep sigh sagging his shoulders before his expression hardened. She looked back with what seemed to Frank like thinly veiled insight. Eyes like a hawk.

"Not a lot of people I can trust these days, no matter how good a shot they are. Actually, the better they are, the more I don't like 'em."

Her lips pulled back to reveal a few pearly whites.

"Should I take the insufferable route and say well, then you should really hate me?" she joked, smile widening when he snorted and rolled his eyes in exaggerated fashion.

"Don't get ahead of yourself, princess. When's the last time you were behind the scope?" he taunted, wanting to see what she'd do.

"Couple weeks ago, when I scheduled an impromptu leadership change for the Yakuza. You?"

A double take. He rarely did them these days. His amusement was rapidly fading.

"What, you're a gun for hire now?"

Maybe his tone wasn't exactly as even as it should've been, given his reason for being there. Antagonizing someone you're about to ask a favor from was rarely a good strategy. He knew why his words came out the way they did. Maybe he'd expected different from her. Yet, it seemed that his smartass comment didn't provoke much ire. It was her turn to hold his gaze, and she looked decidedly unimpressed.

"Yup. And next week I'll probably be hired to kill the guy who hired me to kill that guy. They're eating each other whether I help or not. Why shouldn't I take their money before they expire of a different cause?" she explained, and Frank didn't really like how he felt it was too simple a reason for what she did.

"As interested as I am in discussing the intricacies of my killing-scumbags-for-fun-and-profit ideology, this is actually my day off. You pulled me out of a bubble bath and I still have gunpowder under my nails. So, if you're going to ask something, either ask or—"

A prolonged, sorrowful meow hijacked their conversation from down the hall, though one could hardly tell for how loud it actually was. She looked over his shoulder to appraise the situation, and just as Frank craned his neck to look too, there it was. A black hole with eyes and pointy teeth stared them both down, tail swinging from side to side leisurely. It meowed again, seemingly just as dejected.

"Three minutes past her dinner. Heartbreaking," she deadpanned.

Frank stifled a snort into the back of his hand.

"Do you want to feed her, Castle? Because I'm inclined to ask you to clean her litter box, too. Since you find this amusing and all."

"Nah. Imma watch you do it, though," he smirked, laughing again when she got up at a glacial pace and headed towards the kitchen with all the enthusiasm of a shift worker at four a.m. He quickly swiped the ten-pound creature off the floor with one arm before it could follow after her. Surprisingly, it didn't try to bite or claw his face off.

"Tell you what— I'll take Chonks off your hands for a minute. Don't want her jumping you for food."

"Oh no. That's never happened before." Laced with sarcasm, her words brought forward a mental picture he found himself thoroughly enjoying.

"Yeah? So Chonks is a little rascal, huh? Does Chonks have a particular strategy she ambushes you with?"

"I have a feeling you just like saying Chonks, so let me stop you before it gets annoying. She," Her index finger pointed straight at Frank's chest, where the cat rested amicably. "… is a criminal. Unrepenting. Extravagant. She flaunts her ill-gotten gains. She took a shit in the sink last week and she left a mouse on my pillow two days ago. It was still twitching."

Frank Castle hadn't had a good laugh in what felt like forever. Truthfully, he didn't really think he deserved much of what regular people took for granted. There were reasons for that everywhere he looked, no matter how much people like David Lieberman and Karen Page tried to persuade him otherwise. But sometimes… sometimes there were also moments like this. Maybe it was camaraderie, maybe mutual understanding — even, perhaps, a similar disposition to the person whose company he found himself not dreading. Whatever fate or circumstance settled on, and as much as he wanted to doubt it, these moments were getting more frequent as of late. Nothing crazy — he would never be a happy-go-lucky guy just minding his business. But somewhere between the cracks in a life he was still trying to make sense of, people slipped in substances he was having a hard time getting rid of. Laughter. Support. A little ball-busting that was good for morale. Help.

He'd turned up at her door with the clear intention for ask for help, and she didn't turn him down. She invited him inside, despite not having seen him in years. Despite the news and his reputation. Despite not owing him a goddamn thing.

He startled when a gentle vibration tickled his abdomen. He looked down. Chonks lay half-asleep, head on Frank's stomach and ass hanging off the side of his thigh. He tried adjusting for comfort without disturbing the creature.

"Ever been taken prisoner, Frank?" his host asked from the kitchen. He had to twist his neck to catch her eye.

"Not unwillingly," was the answer he settled on.

"Well, now you have. Congrats on popping that cherry."

When she entered his view again, her hands were holding two plates of human food. Her gaze was fixed on the purring lump of coal in his lap.

"Oh look, she's working double time. Hope you're comfortable. Once she's out, she's out," she announced nonchalantly, taking her seat next to him once more and setting the food down. The previously hungry cat didn't even stir. Frank looked at the assortment of finger foods. Smoked salmon. He was fucked.

"Yeah. I could put bluefin tuna in front of her nose — she's not getting up. So, how are you?" she continued taunting him, the beginnings of a shit-eating grin twisting the lower half of her face.

"You think I won't move her?" he tried. It was weak, even to his own ears. The look she gave him invoked pity.

"Frank… You're tough. You can be brutal when necessary. But you're not cruel, hm?"

She blinked at him all slow. Then, reaching out to him with the same mellow movement, she brushed her hand over the cat's obsidian fur. It burrowed further into him. Of the things Frank wished he hadn't forgotten about her, it was just how much nerve she had that topped the list. When he didn't answer, her smile grew further.

"Nah. Didn't think so. On the bright side, now you can tell me what you came here for in an abundance of detail."

She didn't let his glare deter her from fully enjoying his predicament, or from trying to pretend she was a good host by handing him the plate of snacks she'd prepared. She threw another look at his lap, eyebrows raising curiously.

"She's purring up a storm. You know they do that in response to trauma sometimes?"

"I'm sure missing dinner was tough," he sassed, finally accepting the food.

"Not theirs. Yours," she replied. Curt. To the point. It gutted him most effectively. And she probably knew that.

Despite huffing and puffing the rest of the evening, and despite trying his best to seem bothered and grumpy, the noticeable absence of tension in his back muscles telegraphed otherwise, both to him and his companion. If she noticed — and he knew she did — she said nothing, only met him halfway with a steady supply of beer and ears perked up for his tactical plans. Yet, at some point, those plans turned into examples. Examples turned into anecdotes. Anecdotes became jumbled nonsense, collected from various points in his life with seemingly no thread to link them. By the time Chonks finished her dubious therapy session, she'd already handed the duty over to her temporary human guardian.

And Frank wasn't used to talking this fucking much. He didn't like it when anyone did it around him, and especially not right next to him. But every time he looked to check if he was being a pain in the ass, he only found those same eyes fixed on him and that same veiled insight resting just outside his perception. Maybe he was talking to a fucking oracle, and it would've made sense, because how else would she have known exactly what to say to his increasingly unhinged verbiage? It kept pouring out with no end in sight.

That was, until her eyes scrunched closed and a lengthy yawn fell from her lips, and guilt hit Frank Castle like the first brick to the head he'd taken on his old construction job.

"Shit, I'm s—"

He got barely anywhere with that.

"D'you know this is the first evening I've been able to relax? Usually, I'd be chewing at the drywall by now. Maybe checking the secret assassin network for another job," she said. He sensed it was said in jest, but the honesty of the words knocked him off his feet like it was a living, breathing opponent. Suddenly, his mouth couldn't form any words of its own. The same enigmatic look of the past few hours danced in her eyes. Mellowed out. Open. Yet something was just there, and he couldn't put his finger on it. A moment later, her eyes cast downward. He followed her gaze without thinking, landing on his own chest.

"I know I besmirched her reputation plenty, but maybe the little felon isn't so bad," she said. The way her voice softened didn't go unnoticed by Frank. It couldn't have — it was ripping open something raw and tender right above the spot Chonks was warming with her small body.

"Hm?" he grunted, not trusting his own voice.

For his effort, the smile he received felt undeserved. But… maybe, just maybe, a little less so than usual. It managed to extract a similar one from his own lips, ones that refused to be pried open for fear of whatever noise might've escaped.

"She got you to stay."

------------------

-fin-

A/N: Trying to fill a gap in the market for non-smutty FC fics, it's wild out here. Also, I'll keep this up for a bit, but after it's past its "shelf life", it'll go back into my private posts, because I don't want to go back on my word (explained here ).

#frank castle x reader #frank castle x you #frank castle fluff #punisher x reader

166 notes · View notes

writingwithcolor · 1 year

Text

Black/white interracial lesbian couple on alien road trip

nathaliebjoern asked:

What concerns would A have going on a roadtrip in USA in an alien/sci-fi tourist stops type way (circa 2013)? A is Black, grew up and lives in Denmark, parents are from African-country-yet-to-be-determined (possibly Ethiopia, but I do take suggestions here), going to USA with (white) girlfriend. Example: they're worried about being two young girls on a road trip (exacerbated by being wlw) so they are taking self defence before leaving (bonus: gets convenient/relevant later when they have to fight sudden, real aliens). Is there some specific concern A would have (bonus if relevant for alien hunting or car chasing adventures)? What precautions would she take or concerns might she have? Any concerns she might discuss with gf, even if there are no precautions to take? Or just ruminate over in internal monologue, i guess, but i want them to have a healthy relationship with lots of communication lol. She's the planning, overprepared type! I want the focus to be on their Alien fighting road trip adventure and coming of age lesbianism in the background, but i want to still acknowledge any issues A might have.

"I want the focus to be on their Alien fighting road trip adventure and coming of age lesbianism in the background, but i want to still acknowledge any issues A might have."

How far the world has progressed in terms of discrimination in your alien sci-fi world is up to you. Based on your description, racism and homophobia still exists. Perhaps it just isn't as much of a problem in this setting or story. Or encounters would depend on the town so your characters avoid and don't happen upon areas that may be a problem for the couple. Either way, it is not erasure to have a story where discrimination isn't something the characters encounter. I find this to be especially true for science fiction and fantasy.

As a Black woman who likes to travel, and in an interracial relationship, I take certain precautions before I travel. One way I do this is to research the travel experiences shared from Black women and mixed couples who've been to the places that I'm considering. I also look into news stories and reports about any incidents in the area.

This could also apply if you're LGBTQIA, in an interracial relationship and so on. As your character is a planning, super prepared type, it'd make sense if they mapped out their stops to make sure they were interracial couple / Black / LGBTQIA+ friendly and avoided any places that were not.

Also, what "friendly" or safe looks like may vary. Not all travel experiences are blatant in their discrimination or othering behavior.

What general attitudes might range from: ideas

The travelers blend in. There's enough diversity and tourism where you don't get an unwelcome attitude from the townspeople.

Some stares, second-glances and curiousity, but little to no blatant hostility.

Strong "celebrity-status" othering, to the point of being touched, pictures snapped of you, asked to poise for photos if asked at all, given free gifts, etc. (Note: this can be quite uncomfortable)

Stares and standoffish behavior from locals, but no incidents of violence.

Bold-faced hostility, such as intimidating glares, recording, taunts, yelling, and possible physical encounters like spitting.

Explicit threats, violence, being warned to leave, high risks of bodily harm.

Note that this doesn't mean everyone in a place would all act this way. I've traveled where there were stares of curiosity in one city or standoffish behavior in others, but it didn't extent to everyone in those places, staff, and so on. It also didn't sum up every single encounter. I've even heard tales of the very hostile places where a person warns the traveler that they should leave to avoid trouble from others in the town, usually out of kind warning. One can travel anywhere, really, and come across hostile people, and in that same town experience kindness.

Applying these travel experiences your story

The characters just mentioning that they've done their research and will avoid these kinds of places with known negative experiences should be enough. You don't need an actual experience of discrimination to play out, if you'd rather avoid that.

If you did want to include something without including an active experience, you could bring up the matter by mentioning the history of a place. For example, they learn some info and tell their partner that "Blank, Tennessee was once a sundown town and would've been unsafe for us ninety years ago." Or they mention some historical event that happened at a certain place, possibly even visiting a historic monument or museum.

I hope this helps; your story sounds fun!

~Mod Colette

#Bwww #interracial romance #lgbtqia #aliens #racism #discrimination #sundown towns #traveling while black #asks

269 notes · View notes

bellabrady · 1 month

Note

Hey! I want to say absolutely no hate here, you can think whatever you want about characters, I just want to make some points for you to consider! If it makes you change your mind, cool! If it doesn’t, well that follow button doesn’t need my finger on it since we clearly have different views :)

I am not going to be commenting on Chim begins since I haven’t watched it in a while, but I just finished rewatching Hen Begins and was discussing Bobby Begins Again with someone, so here we go.

In Hen Begins, Tommy is never hostile towards her. He doesn’t defend her from the captain, but he’s also a young gay man who is probably terrified of that same hate being turned to him. When Hen is doing her speech on the fire truck most of the crew has tightened jaws and seems mad, but Tommy seems relaxed and thoughtful. And at the end of the episode he tells Hen: “We would’ve done a sweep of the area eventually, but eventually would’ve been too late. Good job.” with a smile and then proceeds to shake her hand and pat her on the shoulder. It is also heavily implied that he was one of the people who left a complaint about the captain and his treatment. Everything about this episode screams a man who was keeping his head low and trying to slip under the radar, not a man trying to be hateful.

In Bobby Begins Again, they throw him a nice going away party. I don’t know about you, but I don’t tend to buy assholes who are rude to me a cake.

Then later Chimney is able to call him up and ask a favor that Tommy does without complaint, which makes it seem like they’re on good terms.

And in the most recent episodes, he steals a helicopter and lies to higher-ups, something that could easily get him fired and cause him to lose everything. Once again, I don’t know about you, but I wouldn’t risk my job and my life (they were on a dangerous mission after all) for people I’m not good friends with.

Lastly, Buck does not strike me as the type to date someone who doesn’t like his friends, his family

Again, no hate, just giving you my observations

thank you for being so nice about this!

i do disagree, however. tommy was 100% hostile to hen in hen begins. ('new york bitchiness is a compliment?' for example, or him throwing gear at her feet so she'll tidy it up and barely sparing her a glance)

i also am simply not a fan of giving characters' past actions depth when it's very clear that back then, they weren't written with that depth in mind. i can promise you the writers did not write hen begins & chimney begins while thinking of tommy as a gay, closeted man. (yes, i'm aware there was that one jacob twilight joke but personally i think you might be giving the writers a little too much credit if you think that was planned forshadowing or something. it was just a silly scene)

furthermore, even if we do run with the whole 'tommy was afraid to speak up because he was afraid and closeted'...standing up against misogyny and racism has nothing to do with being closeted, since neither of those things are related to sexuality, so standing up against those things won't make anyone assume that you're gay. tommy being closeted isn't an excuse, in my opinion.

i'm also aware that the characters have forgiven tommy but i just...don't really care about that because in this show, everyone forgives everyone, constantly. buck forgave his parents and they have a good relationship now — that doesn't mean i have to forgive the buckley parents now too.

as for your last point, i'd argue taylor definitely wasn't the biggest fan of buck's friends and family and they weren't a huge fan of her either. but i also don't think that really matters here, since it's been established that tommy is good with hen and chim, so buck has no reason to assume there's bad blood. it once again boils down to the simple fact that i, as a viewer, do not have to forgive a character's actions simply because other characters did.

anyway, once again thank you for not being rude about this and i hope you have a nice day :)

(i hope my response doesn't come across as rude either)

#911 fox #anti tommy kinard #anti bucktommy #evan buckley #9-1-1

26 notes · View notes

cyborg-squid · 1 month

Text

I'm thinking about the moment with Meursault in Canto 6, when he talks about ensuring Heathcliff's safety even if it means forsaking the Golden Bough, as well as Heathcliff stabbing himself with the Bough which I couldn't help but think was inspired by when Yi Sang was stabbed with one, and what I love about it, more than just Sinners becoming friends, 'found family' sort of stuff, is that it comes after this period where. Dante really has a lot of doubts about the Sinners relationships with each other and themself, the fact that the Sinners, and even Vergilius, are all in this for their own reasons and goals. And there's Ishmael pushing everyone away in SEA and her Canto, and even back at the very beginning with the Sinners just murdering each other at 1st meeting.

It'd be one thing if it was like "Oh, they're friends now because they've been fighting alongside each other and have good chemistry" or whatever, but because this improvement in Sinner (and Vergilius!) relations comes after Dantes understandable doubts, and moments of downright unfriendliness and hostility between some of them, makes it so much better.

And of course, it also makes sense after the experiences we've had with the Golden Boughs so far, them showing and reflecting the past of the Sinners, as well as going up against people from their pasts; the characters with the most 'successful' Bough acquisitions, with them more fully confronting their pasts and manifesting EGOs (Yi Sang, Ishmael, Heathcliff), they come to better understand themselves, and of course, the others Sinners (and Dante) who witness it would come to understand and empathize with them as well, at least to an extent!

In a way, it mirrors the Floor Realizations of Library of Ruina; Angela's relationship with Patron Librarians starts in a much worse spot than the Sinner relationships, but it's through these Floor Realizations that the pasts of Angela, and then Roland, and the Sephirot themselves are put on display, are shown truly to one another, where motives and intentions can be understood, even if not agreed with. And of fucking course, doing all the Floor Realizations is the only way to get the true ending, understanding and acknowledgement and change is not only beneficial, it is necessary, not only to the individuals themselves, but to the City as a whole.

It is somewhat of a glib simplification to call the Floor Realizations and then the Golden Bough encounters 'therapy', but it's really not all that wrong.

I'm sure other posters have expressed it better before, but the way the Golden Bough successes have been helping their Sinners, makes me think of the end of LoR, how Angela and the Library can and will change the City and the people of it, for the better, contrary to the apathy expressed by Roland and others earlier in the story. "That's that, and this is this." That's just the way things are. But things don't have to be that way, and structural change begins at the individual level, starting with people being more honest with themselves, an overlapping belief of both Carmen and Angela (which is part of why there's this fine line between Distorting and manifesting EGO, two sides of the same coin).

So what I'm getting to is that I think the Golden Boughs have, in some way, been intentionally released from the Library in an attempt to bring about change to the people of the City, to have people go through positive changes like those some Sinners have had so far. From 'Lament', "stolen from the tree's hand", as well as Dante's new ability having the text "Sapling of Light" (iirc), you have these connections to trees and nature, specifically the Seed of Light project, as well as the 'boughs' of Golden Boughs.

Now, I do think things might not be going exactly as 'planned', the Limbus Company swooping in and taking the Golden Boughs; this attempt at mass self-help being caught up within the corporate gears of the City. Faust, Vergilius, others might have the proper idea of what the Boughs are all about, but you get the feeling that who (Dias???) or whatever is backing the Limbus Company has different motives.

I feel like all this, this idea of what the Golden Boughs might be and their intent, is kind of old news at this point and it's probably already been figured out by a lot of players, I've had it in my head for a while but was only able to properly articulate it now.

#this is like. my cornerstone.#limbus company #my posts #limbus company meta

34 notes · View notes

hoverboards-and-dragons · 4 days

Note

Do you think ppl in this fandom infantilize Lucifer? I often see some fans (Cough Lilith Haters cough) treat him like he’s nothing but a helpless uwu baby. Like dude he fought against Adam (The only one who should be calling him baby is Lilith-)

Throws chair holy fu cking shit yes

'Lucifer would be horrified to discover ducks' corkscrew dicks but also he designed them' Pee your Pants now, your fav has weird little girl picking up worms energy and you should be grateful for that

Honestly this issue annoys me most in discussions around the Eden incident because I think the potential is downright fascinating only for the actual rebellion of their actions to be overlooked

Like, shippers have been making the Short One a weak little submissive twink cause they don't know how to write interesting relationships since the dawn of time, Adamsapple fans just found out about being tall and a bottom at the same time and they have yet to shut up about it. If thats what gets them off whatever

but in other contexts? like come on, someone engage with the text with me

He tried to break humans free from heaven's control, regardless of the introduction of evil, that was a direct confrontation

No, Lucifer hasn't deconstructed his bias properly but that doesn't mean he likes Heaven, there should be more hostility, that man is a wet blanket for exclusively Charlie(and not even always) and is so very irritating sometimes on purpose sometimes on accident to everyone else and he is very unapologetic about it

He's a cunt! He's an almost entirely self focused annoying cunt and was a dismissive father for years, My Beloved

I get really turned off by any depiction of Lucifer as a younger sibling/ apprentice/etc figure now just cause like, the actual issue is never tackled in those, he just cries and is hugged better

There's a lot misrepresentations of mental illness too, like he has stimulation seeking depression its weird when hes morose and apathetic, i miss my overly dramatic attention whore performer hurling around ducks that displease him, also the suicidal thoughts tend to be written poorly which is offputting when you've dealt with them before

the Adam scene is interesting cause Lucifer clearly knows his power, it makes sense Char doesn't have a grasp on her rank but Lucifer knew Adam didn't have a shot against him

Lucilith fans aren't even that much better, like how many are just 'Lucifer is sooo cute and sweet and innocence and childlike wonder and Lilith wants to fuck him so bad about it'

ive seen a lot of Lilith taking care of drunk Lucifer, I have yet to see any drunk Lilith just saying

Maybe i'm just too invested my tarnished divinity dynamic but im bored of that shit, let's cracks them open and see whats wrong with them already

I've really come to appreciate Lucifer writing in the show after all the caricatures he's spawned, only a truly interesting and nuanced character could be interpreted this badly in this many different ways

#im feeling mean tonight apparently #this was ramble too #I usually try to be a little coherent in my point #but im not confidence this is going to even comprehendible by morning #hazbin hotel #hazbin hotel lucifer #it's metaphor for leaving the church please think about that slightly sometimes #well being excommunicated #same thing

17 notes · View notes

ewesless · 4 months

Text

I have nothing nice to say tonight.

Edit: this was a quick rant with a brief explanation. It's not meant to go into depth on any subject matter and has a hostile tone throughout, including the notes. I ignore men and politics in real life, I have no desire to learn about them or explain anything beyond the post's scope. This is drawn from when I had a passing interest in learning about the diseased male thoughts. I've clarified and expanded the original post.

Barbatos does have the admirable Sigma traits, but he is just as hopelessly in love with the player character and panders just as much as the other males in the game which is only one of many ways that negates a self-respecting Sigma 😂

I honestly hate that words like Simp made it into Obey Me. In a sexual context it has been appropriated from incels and MGTOW language. It's 'reclaimed', redefined and is used unironically again everywhere, but it is still completely sexist bullshit. Women can't even get basic respect and sympathy from a man without this type of men degrading, jeering at and insulting both.

It's a term heavily used in this fandom so I can't really fault the writers. They use catchy slang to stay hip and contemporary, especially with Levi and his jargon. It's in awful taste to use a misogynistic term FROM a character who is identifiable as an incel, towards a character meant to represent anyone, in a game and genre specifically intended for women.

I doubt that anyone who uses the term on themself cares about the implications or origin of trendy labels. The term Simp, used in a sexual context such as this, is from the Manosphere (Far Right, Masculinist, Anti-Feminist, Anti-Woman and LGBT-phobic "Movement".) It is an acronym that means "Simpletons into Mediocre P*ssy". For Levi to call himself a Simp is to specifically refer to MC mediocre pvssy. These are characters meant to represent idealized fantasy men and yet the writers decided to invite concepts from men who violently oppose, objectify and hate Women and LGBT?

While it's believable that Levi could operate out of this belief system, they shouldn't have actually done it. 🙁 OM runs absolutely counter to Masculinism, the character are PROUD "SIMPS" that aggressively pursue, "paypig"/throw money, gifts, fawn over, pander to and compete against one another in hopes of getting attention from someone who can be interpreted as a woman. The characters are "pathetically" obsessed with gaining favor, monopoly over and a romantic and/or sexual relationship with the player. It is ANATHEMA TO THE MASCULINIST CONCEPT. Masculinism is, in other words, male supremacism and a call to arms for "oppressed men" to reject progress towards equality, retake full patriarchal control and force everyone else to submit to their ideology and social order and accept the "inherent worthlessness" of equality, the female sex, non-whiteness, LGBT, Liberal/Left and those that disagree with them.

OM promotes a progressive and LGBT friendly stance while remaining solidly as the otome genre's woman oriented escapism + power fantasy, romance game. That isn't to say OM players/Otome/Joseimuke players aren't also literally Simps who paypig for mediocre prick, but this game is supposed to be about "good men" and romantic fulfillment.

It's ridiculous 😂

There will be no tolerance for "Not All Men" or "Not Just Women/Female Players" on my post. This is about specific men and their ideology that specifically attack women, their lives, safety and futures in horrific, vile, life ruining ways.

Edit: you know the trendy phrase of "death of the author" and how viewer interpretation trumps creator intention? Yeah, this is that.

Edit 2: I know I'm acting "butthurt" and being "sensitive about no big deal, it's just a localized, foreign, gacha game" but that's just part and parcel with any form of protest and activism. Why else is anger the primary, force driving, motivation?

#obey me #obey me nightbringer #obey me barbatos #obey me leviathan #sexism #useless writing

23 notes · View notes

demonsfate · 2 days

Text

maybe somewhat controversial but saw somethin on a confessions blog saying this and i guess i do kinda miss when rping felt... sillier at times? like with both the existence of magic anons & dash commentaries. things just feel Stricter or More Serious now? not sure how to put it. dash commentaries do still happen, but not as frequently as i used to. like GOSH, i remember 5+ years ago, i'd have my character saying something bizarre and it would BLOW the entire dashboard up. like almost all my mutuals would be commenting on it, a lot of "silly drama" would happen because of it. some would agree with my muse, some would prosecute them. that doesn't really happen anymore. though, i also understand. i get that ppl have boundaries, but sometimes it really feels like you have to walk on eggshells lest you upset somebody.

i recalled one time this character was just being AWFUL to mine (mine who has done nothing wrong lol) just hurling insults, mistreating them, whateves. so y'know, there were dash commentaries about this and it eventually lead to the other mun getting very upset that their character was being "villainized". and it's like ... don't ... write an antagonistic muse if you don't want that? or the very least, don't write them BEING antagonistic toward innocent people? i mean, when ppl's muses & anons used to bully abaddon, i actually loved it. because indeed deserved it, he's a horrible horrible person who mistreats and kills the innocents. and plus it's just fun ok? i love conflict - regardless if it's angsty, serious, or silly conflict.

and magic anons... i get it can be a flawed concept. (ppl can send their Thinly Disguised Fetishes in it - not that i care but obvs other ppl would rightfully care) but i still thought it was very fun because it's like temporary or mini aus. it plunges characters into otherwise impossible scenarios and then give you new thread concepts based on those scenarios. i'd say even to this day, i still accept magic anons. but that feels pointless to say because they're virtually nonexistent anymore.

this was all i was gonna discuss in this post, but i can also understand why the rpc is often... less engaging anymore? why we have a problem with communication, why we have a problem with less anons being sent out. this isn't a generalization, of course - there are other reasons why this happens. but this is something i've personally experienced in the past, and it makes me think it could be the same for other people. it's just the fear of being blown up at, again - upsetting somebody.

i've seen people be legit hateful towards the anons they get A LOT. like an old rper i've stopped writing with would literally call the anons "assholes" and trying to "ruin fun" because the anons would just comment on the threads or ask questions regarding the threads? and it's like i thought that was supposed to be a common thing... anons like that just help add insight to how the muse is feeling regarding a thread or somethin. but the way they reacted was so unnecessary hostile? when they could've politely told anons to stop or just... fucking deleted the anons like lmao. and it's not just this too but i've seen other people just react bitterly to certain anons they get. or this one time where somebody REQUESTED for CONSTRUCTIVE CRITICISM and i sent an anon giving my criticism, can't remember quite what it was but obvs i said nothing mean or insulting - i just told them a problem i noticed and gave tips on how they could possibly improve (AGAIN, THEY ASKED FOR THIS) and they later went on their blog talking about how they got ANON HATE???? HELLO????? so yeah, i understand not liking certain anons you get or whatever. but ppl react to them with so much hostility, that it makes everyone else afraid to send anons anymore because they'd rather say nothing than upset the user, especially if they're gonna be potentially villainized for something that is virtually harmless.

then there is just talking to people ooc. hell, i've had somebody who followed one of my old blogs (this was like a few years ago iirc?) and their rules had that blood was one of their triggers. so i told them that i tag that so they don't have to worry and they literally said something like "I didn't ask you to :/" and that's it??? and then they were just rude to me the entire convo until we eventually unfollowed lol. not to mention all the skype & discord contacts i add over the years and then we just stop talking in no time...

anyway, i'm not saying everyone is like this at all! there are MANY super cool people in the rpc, many people i have a lotta fun writing with here. but when you look back at all the bad experiences, or even looking at the bad experiences at are currently unfolding, it makes more and more sense why a lotta the "silly" rp aspects that ceased to exist. why there are no more magic anons, and why dash commentary & anons in general are becoming more and more scarce.

it was this post that inspired me to talk about this. which i actually don't agree with everything op said. in fact, i wouldn't even say the primary issue of current threads is romance or smut. more so, i noticed that fluff / slice of life threads with no conflict is what makes up for most threads nowadays it seems lmao. which is also understandable, because again - it's a popular known issue within the rpc that it's hard to have conflict in threads, lest somebody legit gets their feelings hurt OOC!!! hell, this has happened to me a few times because i often play antagonistic muses. which again, is another issue that makes people feel like they're constantly walking on eggshells. but anyway, it just inspired me to think about and discuss this.

#✏️ - ᴛʜᴇ ʜᴏsᴛ ᴡɪᴛʜ ᴛʜᴇ ᴍᴏsᴛ // (ooc)

14 notes · View notes

olderthannetfic · 3 months

Note

https://www.tumblr.com/olderthannetfic/743319917329367040/

This made me laugh. It's so cute that people think you ever have to look at anoncomms on DWRP. I got chased out of DWRP by insane, obsessive people who think I'm secretly someone from 10 years ago returning to DWRP. The DMs, the constant angry responses my characters would get, the links to the anoncomms people would send me - I went in not knowing those wank communities even existed, but because I had a "suspicious" first name, I was unable to escape it. I never had to look for them. They bring this shit to your inbox.

A lot of DWRPers get defensive and say "oh, just avoid the anoncomms", even as it's getting DM'd to you or their character is being OOC and hostile and openly hating your character on sight. But the reality is, if you pelt people with shit, "just don't get hit" is bad advice.

If you don't have the time or patience for "your first name means you're secretly someone I hate from a decade ago under the same name returning" or "my character, a sweet loving heroine, spits on yours, because I assume you're a wanker", eventually you end up with almost no one to play with.

And if you're thinking, "Well, just go through all of DWRP history, pick a name no one can freak out about, close your DMs and avoid the drama" - nope. If you don't have Discord and Plurk and DMs open, people will talk amongst themselves, decide you're either a shitty person, a nonserious player, or both, and never interact with your characters.

There's a reason why games have to have such lenient activity checks, why games are closing that had previously lasted a decade, and why you see so many posts with zero replies.

Yeah, dumbass, most of us DO avoid petty shit - that's why we left.

If anything the original anon undersold just how toxic DWRP is. They didn't mention the endless freakouts about headcanons not matching canon, the people who come up with excuses not to play for months but lose their shit if your character does things without theirs, the panic about someone using a CW or TW meaning the antis have invaded while also viewing people who play or watch too much animation as sus, the "heads up" DMs letting you know so and so is upset about this thing you did but then when you check with so and so they aren't, the scathing remarks about anyone who tags "too much" with a character from one medium to characters from another, the people who ostracize someone for tagging them because "he should have known I ONLY play with MCUs! I didn't say everyone could tag me! he doesn't respect my boundaries!", the refusal to tag with or even acknowledge nonbinary characters and players, the people who'll slide into your DMs to tell you your writing style is suspiciously similar to that of someone who they saw playing some lolicon and they're not saying you're them they're just saying you should know and if you play any girls you're sus, the people who tell you not to play with anyone who has a female live action OC because the only reason someone has one of those is if it's a self-insert...

"You're telling on yourself! Just magically avoid all DMs, comments replying to yours telling you shit, people behaving in dumbass ways, and anon comms!"

Tell me you've never been in a toxic fandom without telling me. This is like saying, "Just avoid every alligator and mosquito in the swamp. It's your fault for not enjoying the swamp. Just go to the parts without the alligators and mosquitos who are actively following you."

If you're a DWRPer salty your hobby is dying: it deserves to die if it's this dysfunctional.

If you're not: Go play there if you think it's so easy to avoid the toxicity. Have fun! You'll enjoy yourself and make lots of stable, well-adjusted friends, I'm sure.

18 notes · View notes

modmamono · 5 months

Text

Fun Puyo Puyo Fact for you power scalers out there.

The more Ls one takes one after the other the stronger they are. Because in general, the loser gets exhausted after losing, meaning they don't have it in them for a rematch. So getting back on their feet is impressive.

Lemres, Possessed Klug, Satan, Ecolo, Ex, Marle, and Squares all operate(d) on this.

Squares in particular was on steroids, like 8 losses so close to each other. The one time he did one Marle was holding back.

To be fair the last few weren't hostile but he's still outdoing Satan.

Satan's highest losing streak was either 4 or 5 in 20th's final story. It's legit nothing to him. He can keep on playing until you're exhausted at winning. (Someone turn that into a comedy fanfic, please... or a dramatic one.)

Doppelganger Arle I guess is a glass cannon retroactively. She took one defeat and bolted out of there. Which is a little amusing.

And Rafisol perhaps shouldn't be judged by the same standards. She's a final boss in an RPG. The numbers she has should speak for her. Though it was 3-v-1.

The point of this post is I just find it funny that you can tell who's strong overpowered if they lose and go "That didn't count, let's go again!" It's inherently oxymoronic.

But in most if not all cases it does show it shows those guys are decent people.

Satan usually just leaves it at one match. Despite him being the one most capable of abusing it, it is often casually implied he is the strongest there is after all. Nobody comes close, even steroid Squares.

Possessed Klug loses one after the other, it's just Sig and Raffina bolt out of there before he can get up and rechallenge them. And maybe PKlug could have another go if Amitie didn't go:

He is brought down on his knees 3 times though. But that could mean anything.

I think Lemres reached more than his limit after all of the Fever 2 Waku Waku Courses because he's absolutely wrecked. He Puyo'd too much in the sun.

The Squares gauntlet is more about trying to de-escalate him than actually fighting Squares. But also demonstrates the BS "that didn't count" thing to its logical extreme. Satan could be that if he wanted too, but unlike Squares he isn't attempting to do something evil.

Only about 5 or 6 matches Squares partakes in are actually serious. He is successfully convinced he did a bad eventually, and the final few matches aren't antagonistic as a result.

Honestly, now that I think about it. The fact losers are kinda drained by a losing a Puyo match, and Squares almost exploding because he had too much power, would imply the final battle, a skill battle, is everyone Puyo-ing him at once to curb his powerful tummy ache. (I mean that's always stated, just I have more clarity now I think.)

Besides maybe Tee I think everyone else just doesn't rematch after a loss. They are consistent about this.

I'm not into power scaling persé, I don't like rating things like that and deciding who or what is only worth my time. That's reductive and dumb taking things with personalities, experiences, stories, and lore into account especially.

But I think it says something about these strong characters that's more than "Satan could beat Goku".

Ecolo and Satan, the two most recurring ones that can pull the "That didn't count" but usually don't tells us a lot about them.

That and as I said I find it funny. This is like so funny, flies in the face of logic. The more you lose in quick succession the stronger you are.

Also it's a Puzzle game, Satan may have the highest AI, but that still put him on equal grounds with Onion Pixie.

#puyo puyo #power scaling #satan #dark prince #ecolo #doppelganger arle #lemres #possessed klug #strange klug #ex #rafisol #marle #squares

36 notes · View notes

bluebunnyears-08 · 1 year

Text

How Prime Has The Potential To Be A Great Psychological/Lovecraft Horror

I know, I know, all of you are probably looking at this thinking I lost my mind.

But let me explain and show you how it could be a horrifying experience.

First, all of you are probably commenting on how Sonic is a family friendly franchise, but that doesn't necessarily mean EVERY media of Sonic SHOULD be this way. There are some family friendly franchises with mature and more serious spin-offs or adaptations.

So Prime can be a good start to deviating from it's other media's. But I'll get to that later, I should probably explain how it can be, and in a way is, a psychological and Lovecraft horror, more than just another cartoon. At least to me.

1. (Psychological) Exploring The Character's Emotional Trauma and Internal Conflicts Is a Different Approach to Most Sonic Medias

While most Sonic media's focus on action and saving the day, Prime takes a different approach. Instead of just being action and "Sonic saving the day", Sonic completely breaks his home, unintentionally shattering everything, including his friends. Shadow is also inadvertently dragged along, using a Chaos Emerald to save himself from the blast, but ending up trapped in the void.

If the variants being shards of the main characters is true, then Prime is working to deconstruct the characters, but some variants caught my eyes. There's Rusty, a robotized Amy, which sure, that's cool, but remember Amy's first known introduction in the Sonic CD? I only remember some parts, but wasn't Amy kidnapped by metal Sonic to be robotized or something? Another obvious variant is Nine, who was basically abused for being different, only this time Sonic wasn't there to help him? And Dread, a greedy Knuckles, kinda reminding me of how Knuckles was tricked by Eggman so the Doc could steal the master emerald?

Something just seems a bit more about these variants.

1. (Lovecraft) The Variants Situation if The Shard Theory Is True

If the Shard theory is true, then the variants existence is a nightmare.

Imagine having flesh and bone, imagine having thoughts of your own, imagine having a backstory of your own; only for it to be revealed that everything, your body, your thoughts, your experiences; your existence, to be a mistake. You weren't supposed to exist, and if the putting it back together = Shattered Space disappears is true, then you're doomed to die.

Doomed be mashed together with other shards, to be pieced together into someone you don't know, and will never meet. Your very existence is a lie, something that needs to be fixed with your death.

Yeah...not a pretty picture, is it?

2. (Psychological) Sonic's Emotional Turmoil

Sonic suffers a lot in this show. No, I don't mean the physical pain, that's a gag, I'm referring to the emotional suffering, which is very much there.

Sonic is horrified by these events; breaking his home, shattering everyone he loved and cared for, having to experience hatred, scorn, and hostility from those who look so much like his friends; from people who don't recognize him, and having to witness or hear about his friends suffering, being unable to really do anything about it without being met with apprehension.

He's clearly not enjoying any of this, or having any fun, at all.

2. (Lovecraft) The Paradox Prism Is Unsettling Itself

What is the Prism?

We know it's powerful as hell, being able to rip apart reality, and possibly time, and is capable of creating new spaces. But what else is it capable of? Where did it come from? Why is it here beneath the Green Hills Bedrock?

Whatever it is, it's the one in control after Sonic breaks it, ripping apart the world, throwing Sonic through dimensions, trapping Shadow in the void, and even responding to certain contacts.

It's glow almost seems like it calling, beckoning for someone to find it, to use it, to break it.

3. (Psychological) Shadow In The Void

How is Shadow doing in this void?

All memes aside, it's clear he isn't taking everything so well. As when he first makes contact with Sonic, he sounds despondent and absolutely devastated, stating: "It's broken! It's all broken!". His voice is slightly shaky when he does so too. But in his final contact with Sonic, is him furious and violent.

From his first contact to his last furious one, Shadow's mental state isn't exactly stable. Being stuck in the void doesn't help anything either. Some development happened to Shadow off screen, one I really hope we'll see.

Yeah, Shadow is not having a great time either. But development can never be fast, it takes time, which brings my next theory in mind below.

3. (Lovecraft) The Void

Ending up in the void is something I'd choose death over. Mainly because, when thinking about it, it's something nobody would wish on their worst enemy. Which makes Shadow being there so much harsher.

The void is an empty space, nothing but shards surrounding you, you're alone, with nobody to talk to. You're alone with your thoughts. But the scariest thing would be how long it must seem.

From what we've seen so far, time runs differently in the Shattered Space, the void can't be any different. It could've been years to Shadow, but time doesn't seem to run in the void, only in the Shattered Spaces. If anything time seems to pause, or just stop working in the void. It doesn't exist there.

Shadow definitely isn't having fun, especially when you consider his alliance with Rouge and Omega, and even worse, his promise to Maria to keep the world safe.

4. (Psychological) Nine Being A Part Of Tails Says Something About All Of Us

One of the things talked about a lot is how Nine, if the shard theory is true, was a part of Tails to begin with. This bitter, jaded, violent, desperate, traumatized, in pain child was a part of the happy, jolly fox we all know and love.

But, if the theory is true, Nine having been a part of Tails all along speaks about how there's a hidden side in all of us. All of that bitterness, cruelty, selfishness, trauma, denial, desperateness, and love/touch starved hope is in all of us. But we try to deny, to hide, to avoid acknowledging it, which only makes it never go away, or makes it worse.

It isn't just Tails that denies it though, which is a whole other thing of itself...

4. (Lovecraft) They Can't Be By Each Other's Side, Both Are Doomed To Be Alone In Some Way

One of the saddest truths about Prime is that Nine and Sonic can't be by each other's side, they can't be there for each other: no matter how much they don't want to be, they have to be alone. Sonic is from a universe that's now destroyed, thrust into the remains of his actions face-first, he can't connect with these variants of his friends, and is emotionally alone.

Nine is just a part of the universe Sonic can't stay in, so there's no chance of them ever staying by each other's side, he's alone in both ways.

The universe, the shards won't allow it, thrusting Sonic from Nine via shard or by Sonic himself. Not to mention the inevitable fate that Nine has to face along with his fellow variants.

Their entire relationship is a world of inevitable pain.

5. (Psychological) The Dark Matter, Symbolism, And Complex Themes Of Prime

There's no denying it, at its core, with the sprinkled moments of unease and signs of deeper depths in the first batch, so far Prime's setting up a dark story, one filled with harsh tragedy. Pretty much every character suffers and is going to suffer even more in the second batch, the aspects of Sonic that save the day, Friendship and Hope is actually deconstructed in this show, showing how friendship can become a means of escapism and can't really save the day, and how hope can instead damage someone to denial.

Sonic is without his friends here and the friends he made out of the variants is going to be shattered once they find out the truth, so friendship can't be used, and his hopes to fix the world are...almost desperate, like he doesn't want to acknowledge that maybe it can't be fixed.

Another thing is that Prime actually has a lot of symbolism hidden in it. The Grim being a literal landscape of escapism, Nine's nine tails, the variants themselves being representations of different traits, the palm tree being a symbol of desperate hope, and more.

The final thing is the early complex themes in the show.

The inevitable fact that the variants has to die to restore the world is a very grim one, but it shows how painfully insignificant and meaningless they are in the grand scheme of things. They’re just shards that need to come together. That’s the universe for ya.

The use of "Man vs. Self" in this show instead of having Sonic just save the day and defeat bad guys

The exploration that there's a dark, sad, traumatized part in all of us

The need for balance in everything

The exploration of desire vs need, and most importantly:

Selfishness vs selflessness.

5. (Lovecraft) The Grim Is A Lovecraftian Horror Of Itself

The Grim is hauntingly beautiful. The sky is every color of blue, filled with stars, the ground is orange and endless, and silver crystals jut out of it, some partly buried.

Look at how small and insignificant Nine and Sonic looks here, how vast the Grim is that you can't see where it ends. It's truly an unsettling wonder. It looks unsettling and it is unsettling, not at all an ideal place to live in.

There are no trees, no water, no signs of any life. Nothing. You're alone, surrounded by absolutely nothing. The only thing there is you and your imagination.

Why isn't there any variants here? Why is it so empty? Why doesn't it end?

There's no answer except your own thoughts, speaking much louder now that there's nothing to distract you from them. You're alone, an insignificant speck in a vast world of beauty and isolation.

Paranoia would kick in, you'd think you heard something, but there's nothing there.

That's what the Grim is, it's nothing but you, there's nobody here, there's nothing here, this place never ends, it's the physical representation of isolation, of perfect escapism.

And that couldn’t be more terrifying…

#sonic prime #sonic the hedgehog #nine the fox #miles nine prower #dark #more sonic prime!#nine needs a hug #sonic needs a hug #everyone needs a hug #sonic prime analysis #horror #very long post #but worth it

90 notes · View notes

ijuststareatstuffhereok89 · 1 year

Note

I see you hate Sylvie so much and the Loki TV show too. why?

Okay, lemme break it down into a final, once-and-for-all peace speaking on the issue of the series and Sylvie. I'll try to make this as painless as possible.

1- Looking at it beyond the surface, she's not really interesting. The term 'Mary Sue' gets thrown around a lot with Sylvie, and I kind of have to agree. She seems to be little more than a trope checklist. -Sad background that motivates her actions? Check. -Deep down she just wants to be loved? Check. -Inexplicable instant "chemistry" with the male lead? Check. -She's just so super special and important? Check.

But even so, there have been others with similar Sue-ish backgrounds that the MCU has managed to make into pretty decent characters, like Scarlet Witch in WandaVision. Arguably, both characters share some traits, but the writers of Wanda (at least before Multiverse of Mehhness) clearly knew how to bring those ideas into a twisted story of learning how to confront the past and to mourn with a character who still had something to learn.

In contrast, Sylvie really doesn't have any flaws to turn into a deep character study, does she? I think that's her second-biggest detriment (see below for the biggest). A good character is never perfect. A good character had flaws, wants, drives, and other things that make them imperfect but relatable. Sylvie is incredibly unrelatable.

Truly I believe she was written for the stans as a self-insert. She isn't even a decent one. I read fanfics on here with amazing examples of a good insert character, so it clearly can be done. Again, Sylvie ain't it.

2- Sylvie's existence both mocks the comics as well as Norse mythology as a whole. Most of us anti-sylkis know this already, but in Norse mythology AND the Marvel canon that goes beyond the MCU, Loki has had several lovers and wives. Loki married and had three children with Angreboda, and then went on to have twins with wife Sigyn. In the comics, he also had a lover named Amora the Enchantress (which we ALMOST got in the MCU before her cameo was cut). Any one of these three would've made a fantastic romantic plot for Loki if the MCU *really* had the compulsion to go that route.

Alas, instead, the MCU kind of bastardized Amora, Sigyn, as well as another character from the comics named Sylvie, and combined them into TV!Sylvie. This not only means we will likely never see Amora or Sigyn in the MCU, it means they were replaced by an inferior on the same level as Randy from That 70s Show, who was also a sucky character created for the fans as an amalgamation of pre-existing characters.

3- She's just another in a long line of Loki-abusers. Like, does she ever comfort him after all he does for her? Does she even really listen to him? Because from what I saw there was just a lot of this happening between them:

Jesus, lady. What has he done to make you such a jerk to him? I get you're supposed to be a #GuuurlBoss but that doesn't mean "be a total cunt to a man whenever you feel like it."

After all this time, if we really had to have a Loki character study series, why doesn't he get some respite from the fact that basically everyone he knows has either been cryptic and mysterious to him at best, and hostile/violent/malicious to him at worst?

THIS is probably the single biggest reason I loathe Sylvie. We're suppose to believe she's just being Miss Independent when she's really just bringing the poor god down even more than most. I feel like if she met Thor, he'd get upset at seeing how she treats him, and he'd be confused by how easily Loki just accepts it all.

4- I'm becoming more convinced Tom's only doing the show out of obligation, and that his creativity is being tossed aside for the sake of the series. I normally don't like to speculate like some others do, but with more people (like Zoe Saldana) coming out and saying they felt repeatedly stifled by the MCU's yuckity-yucks in terms of character development, I definitely believe they're telling Tom to shut up and read the script. I mean, the guy probably knows as much Norse/Loki mythology as any scholar by this time, and he seems to be a really creative person by nature. They're tossing out a whole trove of potential.

I get he's got a family now and he needs to bring in some bacon, but 1- he and his fiancee are both prolific actors who could probably get any roles they wanted. Hell, Zawe's about to enter the MCU herself when The Marvels come out later this year. If she has a larger role in the next few phases, I hope to god they treat her better than they've treated Tom and Zoe and other actors. But I doubt it. 2- he's probably already richer than God

He's almost certainly trapped by contractual obligations at this point, and that fucking sucks, and yes, I blame the tv show for this.

So, in conclusion: this really is a train wreck of a show hidden behind a lot of smoke and mirrors. I'm not sorry to say it. Sylvie lacks any kind of genuine depth, and the writers seem both lost on where to take Loki's character arcs, and not interested.

#anti sylvie #anti sylki #anti loki series #tom hiddleston #zawe ashton

176 notes · View notes