#which is why I never take any criticism or hate on her character

[imthursdaysyme]

El Hopper

#stranger things #drawing #art #digital art #eleven hopper #eleven stranger things #el hopper #el hopper byers #i just think about how little she was often #how tiny #she was literally a baby #there was no reason #which is why I never take any criticism or hate on her character #I just want to bundle her up and hold her tight #pretty much I relate the most to Joyce byers

[shinidamachu]

Sid, why do you think people think Kagome is “so annoying” and “whiny?” How exactly did she earn this reputation among her (rather dumb) haters.

The world is not kind to 15 years old girls, and what is Kagome, if not the perfect representation of one?

People forgot they can dislike a character just because and then move on. They'd rather grasp at straws to try and justify themselves, that way they can pretend they're being rational about the constant hate they're spreading when, truthfully, they're just being miserable.

Kagome specifically is in even greater disadvantage because her critics are, mostly, people who haven't read the source material and are instead basing their takes on a biased adaptation – which they probably watched ages before developping any critical skills – or people who see her as a threat to their ship and therefore are already prone to hate her.

The first group won't ever bother going out of their way to try and get a better grasp of her character by reading a 558 chapters long manga and the second group won't change their minds either way.

That's why they call her out for using the beads of subjugation even if: it wasn't her idea in the first place, it served to balance her relationship with Inuyasha at the beginning – since he was powerful and violent while she wasn't –, the rosary became a symbol of their bond, it saved Inuyasha a couple of times and he was always more annoyed than hurt by it, not to mention Sunrise blowing it out of proportion compared to the manga.

You never see Inuyasha getting bashed for hitting Shippo every other episode or Sango getting any heat for constantly slapping Miroku, because funnily enough people seem to understand it was just dumb, outdated, slapstick comedy, a courtesy they refuse to extend to Kagome.

That's also the reason they call her “annoying” and “whiny”: Kagome’s most important lesson was that it's okay to have feelings, so naturally they twisted that into a bad thing in order to keep hating on her. It's not about how her character was written, it's about people using of bad faith and deliberately mischaracterizing Kagome to pass their internalized misogyny as valid criticism.

I know part of the issue is that audiences nowadays are under the impression that for a female character to be strong, she can't cry or be feminine, but you don't see anyone hating on Sango even though she does cry and she can be as feminine as Kagome depending on the circunstances and on her mood.

The truth is that Kagome is playing a game she can never win, because the refs have decided they want her to lose before the match even starts.

If she stands up and sets boundaries for herself, she's annoying. If she doesn't, she's a doormat. If she feels jealousy, she's a bitch. If she shows kindness, she's boring. If she fights, she's overpowered. If she doesn't, she's useless. If any other character cries, it's heartbreaking. If she cries, she's whiny.

If she goes back to her own world, she's selfish. If she leaves that world behind to live the life she wants for herself, she's a stupid girl who left her family for a boy. If she does something grand, that's only because she's someone else's reincarnation. If she messes something up, the fault is hers and hers alone. She is, somehow, simultaneously a Mary Sue and a toxic abuser.

I've personally seen people slut shaming her because she got hitted on by Koga. I've personally seen people call her a "pick me" girl. Kagome. A pick me girl. Kagome.

And none of this is fair, because she is the kind of character who does her best to see the good in others, to understand the reasons why they act the way they do and to offer them some grace, but she gets very little of that in return, be it in canon, be it in fandom.

They always hold her up to such an impossible standard, but they completely forget to ask themselves: would the characters I stan be able to match the expectations I set for Kagome? Scratch that: would the characters I stan even be able to deal with things the way Kagome managed to do? Would I? The answer is most likely no, so how about cutting her a slack?

You ask me how did she earn this reputation among her rather dumb haters, my answer is: she didn't. They're just incapable of understanding that if a particular nuanced, well written, female character is not their cup of tea, they can simply ignore her and focus their attention on the characters they do like instead of spreading their baseless, misogynistic takes on the internet.

#I also feel like there's this trend of disliking protagonists in general #But I won't elaborate because this is already longer than I wanted it to be #And it applies to most of protagonists so it isn't Kagome specific #It's a dicussion for another day #Inuyasha #Kagome #Kagome Higurashui #Thank you for the ask anon #Sidmailing

[booksandabeer]

Ramblings on Fandom: Peggy Carter, Steve Rogers, Delusional Shippers, and Alleged Misogyny

So with the release of Season 2 of What If…? emotions are once again running high, the outrage is outraging, and people are up in arms about the whole Captain Carter situation. While I do think that some reactions are a little overblown, even needlessly aggressive in tone to the unfortunate detriment of their otherwise convincing arguments, I share the confusion and frustration about the sudden centering of a long-dead & never excessively popular character, the sidelining of the Steve-Bucky friendship, and the as-inexplicable-as-it-is-total exclusion of Sam Wilson as Captain America. However, I’m not here to talk about the show because (1) I haven’t watched this season and have no plans to (why waste time torturing myself with something I know I’ll hate?) and (2) other people have already written dozens of metas about it, so what could I possibly add at this point.

What I do want need to talk about (lest I explode) is something that has irritated me for a long time and that is now happening again: Every time someone even mildly criticizes Peggy Carter, expresses doubts about her suitability as a heroine, or even just questions her disproportionate importance to the franchise post-EG, inevitably a certain section of fans will come out of the woodwork to immediately throw around accusations of misogyny and yell about how we’re all just a bunch of delusional Stuckies who are mad that she got "in the way" of our ship. Sigh.

This is gonna be a long one, so I’ll put it under a cut. Rant incoming. You've been warned. If you don't want to read, simply scroll on by.

First of all, let me state very clearly that I’m not debating the existence of misogyny and sexism in fandom spaces—or in the media from which these fandoms originate. At all. It exists, it’s a thing, I’m not denying that. Which is exactly why it frustrates me endlessly to see these accusations thrown around as a gotcha! argument to shut down any and all critical debate around a female character. All it does in the end is escalate rhetoric and radicalize attitudes.  

In the case of Peggy Carter, specifically her treatment by Stucky shippers, I’ve always found 'misogyny as a motive' to be a largely unsubstantiated accusation.¹ Now, I neither presume nor do I want to speak for the entirety of Stuckynation, so I will not claim that there aren't corners of the fandom where people discuss her in ways that I find off-putting and deeply unserious, but I will say this: If you genuinely believe that disliking one (1) fictional female character equals “hating all women” and wanting to suppress and marginalize their presence in fiction and real life alike—then I think we need to take that word away from you until you’ve learned its true meaning.

You might also want to ask yourself how exactly reducing a female character to a mute trophy wife or a heroine who has to act out her love interest’s recycled storylines helps your feminist fight.

As to the “standing in the way of your ship” part of the argument. Very simply put: No character can stand in the way of something if there never ever was “a way” to that something to begin with. “Being mad” implies that there was a reasonable expectation that wasn’t met, a substantive hope that was crushed. Now, I’ve said this before and I’ll gladly say it again a million more times: No Stucky shipper in their right mind ever truly thought that there was even the slightest chance that Marvel Studios owned by the Walt Disney Company would allow Steve “Captain America” Rogers and Bucky “Winter Soldier” Barnes to be canonized as an explicitly romantic pairing in their billion dollar franchise. Be serious. That was never in the cards. I wish we all lived in a world where it was, but we don’t, and it wasn’t. The best we could ever hope for was for Steve and Bucky to get a good, satisfying, in-character ending. And if, in Steve’s case, that would’ve included hints (or more) about a possible rekindling of his, uh, aborted romance with Sharon—then so be it. But we never got any of that. The characters never got any of that. Instead they sent Steve into 1950s suburban hell, literally trapped him behind a white picket fence, and condemned him to a life of passivity and lies, all so he could be married to a woman he barely knew a long time ago in a completely different world; who built and ran a top-to-bottom Hydra-infested organization, but apparently never noticed that there was anything wrong with her life's work. For decades. Great. As for Bucky—well, we’ve all seen the devastatingly grim-faced, utterly lonely, and deeply sad version of him that was presented to us in TFATWS. Happy endings all around, I guess.

So. Am I mad that Steve didn’t get to ride into the rainbow-colored sunset with Bucky at the end of EG? No. Because that was never going to happen anyway. Would I have been mad had he ended up with Sharon or another female character in the 21st century? Also no. Granted, I wouldn’t have been ecstatic about it, but mad? No. But am I mad that Steve ended up with this specific female character under these specific circumstances as presented in canon? Fuck yeah, I am.

The thing is: I personally believe Steve and Peggy to be fundamentally incompatible when it comes to the way they view the world and their respective places in it; their morals and values; their capacity for compassion and empathy; their ability and willingness to compartmentalize, compromise, and collaborate with people and institutions whose ethics and/or politics do not align with their own. I have a real hard time believing that a relationship between these two (or worse, a hasty marriage) could be either happy or long-lasting.

I don’t believe Peggy to be inherently evil, I don’t hate her, I simply think she operates within a different moral framework than Steve (and even genuinely believes it to be a righteous one).² Your mileage may vary, but I personally happen to find that framework reprehensible, even indecent, and ultimately dangerous. After all, over the course of the 20th century, we have seen exactly where that kind of “the ends justify the means” brand of pragmatism leads—over and over again. Not to mention that the people who use this line of argument to defend characters like Peggy (or real-life politicians for that matter) never seem to want to look too closely at who gets to define what "the ends" are in the first place and who decides when they've finally been met.

(Never. The answer is never.)

And to be clear, there is absolutely nothing wrong with depicting, and even centering a narrative around a morally (dark)gray character—oftentimes it’s actually the more interesting option—but you cannot at the same time claim that they are purely good and should be only admired as such when their actions literally tell an entirely different story.

So, no. I will not accept Peggy Carter as the shining aspirational heroine that the MCU so badly wants to sell her to me as—while simultaneously continuing to reveal things that paint an increasingly darker picture of her character. And I will certainly not celebrate seeing one of my favorite characters of all time—whose defining trait was that he couldn't ignore "a situation pointed south"; who used to fight for the little guy and against the establishment; who once said about the very organization that Peggy Carter helped build that it was so corrupt, it all needed to go—rendered morally inert for some hollow happy ending that may as well be a conservative’s wet dream full of false nostalgia for an America that never really existed. I cannot find it in me to be anything less but mad about that.

But that does not make me a misogynist. It does not make me a delusional shipper. It makes me someone who looks at what the MCU has been telling me about Peggy Carter for years now—over and over again—and takes it at its own word.

--------

¹ If you’ve actually read a a fair number of Stucky(!) fanfics you will have noticed that the reverence afforded to and "page time" devoted to her character and her relationship with Steve is somewhat disproportionate to anything that's backed up by canon—well, up until EG, where she was suddenly reanimated as The Great Love of Steve’s Life—and in my experience, it's highly unusual for any fandom to put so much (mostly) positive attention on another character, let alone a potential love interest that is not part of the endgame ship.

² I also want to emphasize that if you love Peggy and she's your fave: good for you! I genuinely have no beef with you. People can agree to disagree. All I ask for is that we maybe stop willfully ignoring the less savory aspects of her character. You don't need to pretend she's perfect to justify your affection for her. I LOVE Steve, and yet I have no problem conceding that he is FAR from perfect.

#*drops post & runs away* i may regret this but it's my blog and i rant if i want to #i know some people will roll their eyes & i debated posting this at all but i simply had to get it off my chest once and for all. #so there. now i can be free. or something. #also i have no idea what to tag this & i personally find 'anti' tags silly bc why is critical discussion automatically labeled as 'anti'? #but whatever i'll play nice. so i guess: #anti peggy carter #anti steggy #anti endgame #hope that covers it #wading into the dIsCoUrsE

[mageknight14]

I think the great thing about TWEWY as a series is that like any well-written teenage bildungsroman, it’s able to look past the bullshit teenagers project about themselves/others and call them out on it while at the same time, being completely understanding towards them. Teenagers in games tend to be incredibly annoying and difficult to withstand for a lot of players out there since teenagers, like you and me probably were/are at some point, are often incredibly annoying, hormonal balls of angst. TWEWY never lets these traits hang, and is always extremely critical of the characters, rather than just implying that they suck, and makes the characters come across as kids going through that awkward phase in their lives.

The other half is that the games are also aware that these characters are human, and these traits don’t just pop up out of nowhere. Neku is dealing with survivor guilt concerning the death of his best friend and feels overwhelmed by the world. Shiki is completely lost in who she wants to be and what to do, hence her imposter syndrome and self-esteem issues. Beat is terrified that his tough guy attitude will hurt the people he cares about but doesn’t know any other way to be, which he hates himself for.

Rindo is deathly afraid of taking responsibility for potentially life-changing decisions and tries to avoid it by clinging onto others for guidance so that if things do go wrong, he has a scapegoat to conveniently pass his responsibilities onto, hence why he lashes out whenever people try to force those choices onto him. Fret has PTSD over his best friend’s suicide and is trying to hide his true feelings out of fear of getting hurt again, hence his overly enthusiastic behavior and seemingly carefree attitude. Nagi is a hyperempath who struggles with trying to find an appropriate channel through which to express her feelings and suffers from social AND performance anxiety. And then there’s everything about Shoka.

When these characters act obnoxious, weird, etc, there’s always a reason, always an understandable way to trace these behaviors. It wants the characters (and by extension, you) to grow past their flaws and allows them to be flawed but nonetheless likable/interesting characters, which I think is really important for the demographic these games are mainly catered towards.

#twewy #the world ends with you #ntwewy #neo twewy #neo the world ends with you #neku sakuraba #shiki misaki #daisukenojo bito #beat bito #rindo kanade #tosai furesawa #fret furesawa #nagi usui #shoka sakurane #analysis post

[maryonaccross]

Hello. I know that team Black blames the Greens over why Rhaenyra's reign as queen was awful, however even in a AU world where Viserys never re-marries and Alicent doesn't exist.

Rhaenyra would have stil been a terrible queen.

Viserys never taught Rhaenyra how to rule. He should have been raising her in preparation for a leadership role by having her in the small concil, teaching her the art of politics and what she needed to do to maintain peace in the kingdom. Whoever Rhaenyra would marry would have to agree to live in King's Landing. So. Rhaenyra could remain by her father's side and learn her role as his heir.

2. Rhaenyra never took her role seriously. She believes firmly in the divine right of kings and that she as a Targaryen is claim enough for her to take the crown, despite her knowing that her cousin Rhaenys was denied and she would have been a more effective ruler then Viserys.

3. Rhaenyra's recklessness contributes to her downfall. She does whatever she likes and doesn't care about the consequences. She heavily relies upon her father and later Daemon to bail her out then not accept any personal responsibility for her getting herself into this meses.

4. All of Rhaenyra's children are illegitimate. Her eldest by Harwin Strong even by Daemon, because her first husband isn't dead. The real reason she sequestered herself on Dragonstone was to hide her children away because she cannot handle any criticism. Her answer to it is violence. That always ends well. LOL.. looking at you Maegor.

She has isolated herself political. Not trying to expand or gain influence outside of her very limited family circle. No allies means no help when she needs it.

People in the realm may not have been thrilled with the idea of a female ruler but they would rather have Rhaenyra as queen then see Daemon as king. His violent reputation was known to all. So. What does she do? Marry the very person the realm was against and make him consort.

5. Rhaenyra's ego and her vanity was her downfall. She never thought about her position from an idealistic standpoint. What she could do to improve the country and make the people's lives better. usher in a golden age. She wanted power for power's sake.

Rhaenyra's rule was always destined to end badly but with Daemon by her side, being her enabler and corrupting her with his nature. It is no wonder centuries after her death she was still despised in the country.

To me Aegon’s “I tRy sO haRD” attitude to being the kings firstborn son is the equivalent of Rhaenyra’s “ I learned that I have to earn my inheritance” mentality towards being the named heir.

I hate what the writers did with Aegon’s character (TGC is the only saving grace) but I fundamentally disagree with the common notion that show Aegon and Rhaenyra are polar opposites of each other because they are both equally unsuited for the role of the heir and share a equally unserious attitude towards the job. (At least Aegon is able to admit he’s ill suited while Rhaenyra gaslights the shit out of herself “earned my inheritance” my ass, you did nothing.) I agree 100% with all your points, I even made posts about some of them but this sums it up perfectly. Neither Aegon or Rhaenyra are aware of the responsibilities of their position (Nyra might have been in the first few episodes but got bored pretty quickly when she realized she’d actually have to stuff and make sacrifices for the realm), they don’t form good alliances (although at least Aegon did his duty in marrying Helaena and having legitimate heirs which Rhaenyra doesn’t have a single one of) or try to endear themselves to the people they will one day rule.

The advantage Aegon has is that he has advisors around him (Otto and Alicent and most of Viserys’ small council) that have ruled the realm peacefully for years in Viserys stead while Rhaenyra’s only source of political inspiration is Nepobaby Daemon who couldn’t hold any small council position for the life of him and who firmly believes that having a dragon and “being the blood of the dragon” is all it takes to rule.

About Viserys, there’s this really interesting post that explains how Viserys tied both fractions to him by never finalizing his decision of naming Nyra heir and always keeping his decision vague.

#pro team green #anti team black #anti team black stans #anti rhaenyra targaryen #anti daemon targaryen #pro alicent hightower #anti viserys i targaryen #pro aegon ii targaryen

[pessimisticpigeonsworld]

Watching this video essay about Yellowjackets and somehow HOTD came up and I saw the tweet and I roll my eyes so hard

Uh. Yeah. Bc she uses the faith (basically Catholicism or Christianity) to act as this pious queen when she is paying maids to keep their mouths shut about her own son raping them.

And she didn't just hang up some four pointed stars, if I remember, she REPLACED, the targs sygils with the faith of the seven stuff.

Alicent stans just love to forget her fanaticism until they can use it to make her look more pathetic. I have to say, accusing Rhaenyra of religious fanaticism is a new to me lmao. I've only ever seen people call her a godless whore, but I'm not on X, so maybe I've been spared.

Targaryen antis don't seem to grasp just how much of the Valyrian culture the Targaryens have given up for the sake of Westeros. Calling the Valyrian wedding ceremony an "arcane marriage ritual" is not only insulting to the Valyrian culture but also completely hypocritical.

Valyrian culture was steeped in magic, they themselves have magic in their blood. Is it any surprise their marriage customs would be the same? That's like expecting the Starks' ceremonies to happen separate from the Old Gods. The Targaryens have given up their gods, most of their magic, their language, and their marriage traditions. They never forced other people to follow their traditions, they never forbade following the Faith and the Old Gods, they fucking conformed as much as possible aside from the incest, which was the only way they know to preserve the last bit of Valyria's magic.

Alicent wouldn't be seen as a religious extremist if she didn't actively repress and hate other religions. She badmouths the Valyrian traditions, not just the incest, but also their love of dragons and their art. She removes all the Valyrian and Targaryen heraldry and artifacts and replaces them with the the symbols of a religion known for being intolerant and repressive.

As I said earlier, the Valyrian culture is dying out and the Targaryens have given up so much of their mother land. Removing the last pieces of someone's culture just because you follow a different religion is fucked up. Alicent isn't even the actual ruler or a Targaryen, it's not her place to choose to abandon their Valyrian heritage while her husband is too sick to interfere.

But the real issue of Alicent's actions are her motivation. She doesn't actually care about morality and her own religion, she cares about supporting Aegon and undermining Rhaenyra. That's why she criticizes Valyrian incest then turns around and forces Helaena to marry Aegon. That's why she calls Jace and Luke savages when her own son bullies his siblings constantly and later rapes women. That's why she harps on about honor and decency while actively protecting and covering up the actions of a rapist, a murderer, and a kinslayer. That's why she removes the Valyrian heraldry while Rhaenyra is gone and replaces them with the symbols of the Faith.

She's literally the definition of the hypocritical woman for Trump. She harps on and on about morals then turns around and does reprehensible things for her own gain. She complains constantly about a culture different from hers and actively tries to remove its influence. She hates people who don't conform to her ideas.

Alicent isn't a good person, period. She's a hypocrite, constantly upholds the patriarchy, sacrifices others for the sake of her interests, and is xenophobic. The efforts to take her flaws and project them on other characters, usually Rhaenyra, by her stans is ridiculous and really shows how little they actually like her character. They like her aesthetic and the idea of a perfect suffering victim.

#anti alicent hightower #anti alicent stans #anti team green #team black #house of the dragon #anti team green stans #anti rhaenyra antis #rhaenyra targaryen

[lightlycareless]

saw this and immediately thought of naoya after discovering y/n’s favorite pokemon.

Heya!!!

First of all, thank you so much for sending this adorable ask omg hahahahahaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa it's literally perfect because I always write that Y/N is like, obsessed with Gengar 😂 so it wouldn't be surprising that she had something like this.

And secondly, I apologize for taking a while to come back to you! I tend to reply to asks in the order they come, or which one is easier for me to write at the moment, either way, I'm still grateful for your ask ❤️❤️❤️

I hope what I wrote is enough to make up for the wait :> happy reading!

warnings: none. fluff. naoya is jealous OF A PLUSHIE.

Naoya absolutely hated getting you that Gengar.

He was all for it though, at first at least. Because to him, this represented nothing but an easy way to gain more of your affection, his mind envisioning something like this (let’s say he took you to a date to the fair):

“I win Y/N a plushie. It’s her favorite plushie. She’s happy I got her the plushie. She kisses me for winning her the plushie. She marries me because I got her the plushie. We have kids because I got her the plushie.”

A win-win situation, right?

Well, up to the kissing part it was—because as soon as you grab Gengar, it’s like Naoya completely disappeared from your life.

There’s not a single moment you’re not with it, whether keeping you company by the couch when watching a movie, in the backseat whenever driving to the city, waiting by the futon while you come out of a shower… or even dressing it up with silly hats and hair clips, because why not.

However, the worst part wouldn’t come from any of those things. No—as frustrating as they were, Naoya was still capable of tolerating them, to some degree at least.

The bane of his existence would appear the moment he realized that not even when laying next to you after a long day of work did that stupid Gengar leave you alone!

Breaking his heart when you’d cuddle the damn plushie instead of him.

That’s when Naoya really began to have issues with it.

It got so bad, that he even considered getting rid of it—have it magically disappear, imply that maybe one of the staff members accidentally threw it into the trash, or you forgot it somewhere, highly possible since you essentially take it everywhere you go!!

And Ranta, as always, would be the voice of reason, telling him that doing such a thing was nothing short of highly inappropriate, and if you get to know the truth, his relationship with you would be critically affected.

“So??? It’s not like she’s actually going to leave me if I do that, you know?!” Naoya would cry, genuinely believing his words… but Ranta’s worried face quickly made him reconsider. “…Right?”

Well, that’s something he doesn’t want to figure out.

Thus, proof of his devotion to you and commitment to the relationship, Naoya decides to handle things like adults and bring up the issues he’s been having with your precious Gengar to you.

Learning the innocent reason why you were so attached to it…

“—I always wanted one, since I was a child. But my parents said no, because I already had too many toys. And I never saw it again… until that day at the fair. It’s like I went back in time to being a kid.”

In other words, you were doing all the things you would’ve loved to do if your parents had gotten you the Gengar. Besides…

“You got this for me without even asking, how could I not cherish something so romantic?!”

Naoya naturally feels like absolute shit when you tell him the truth—internally scolding himself for even considering getting rid of it in the first place!!         

So, after giving you a thousand apologies in forms of kisses, Naoya, in true Naoya fashion decides to also make it up to you by gifting you even more plushies of the same character—different sizes, different models, it didn’t matter, he just wants you to have them all.

Leading you to put a stop to him, because it was straight up ridiculous at that point!

Either way, this happening would go down as a funny story you’d be more than happy to share with your children when the time comes, slightly embarrass him by showing off his highly protected softness, if he hadn’t demonstrated the same to them by then…

Or maybe set up that Gengar “shrine” you always wanted to do just to spite Gojo, show him which franchise is far superior through your devotion, and rub it in his face.

He’s no longer a competitor when it comes to overindulging anymore, and Naoya is more than happy to give you the upper hand.

I actually have a huge Gengar my cousin got for me last year in my birthday. was it worth it? yes. have people expressed their... consideration to steal it? yes. will I protect it with my life? I'm already training my cat to join me in this crusade. lmao

anyways, I hope you like this little snippet :> Naoya always has to take it to the extremes, but he's learning to be better, and it's safe to say that at one point, it's all well-intended 🤭

thank you so much for sending in this ask! take care, and hope to see you soon ❤️

#ask #naoya zenin #naoya zen'in #naoya x reader #naoya zenin x reader #naoya zenin x you #jjk naoya #naoya zen'in x reader #jjk x reader #jjk fluff #jjk x you #prompt series: jujutsu kaisen

[nebraska-is-a-myth]

Abuse in 'Runaway Max': A Stranger Things criticism

One thing I know to keep in mind is that the book is told from Max’s perspective, so it's her eyes we experience the world from, and her opinions that guide us through the story. For that we have to value her as a somewhat unreliable narrator, considering she is thirteen at the time and dosnt understand certain things.

A quick timeline to keep in mind because the book handles time very messily:

Billy has just turned 17 by the time Max and Billy first meet.

After Halloween in season 2, Max says she’s known Billy for 7 months, which takes us back to early May.

They move in together three weeks after the wedding in late June, meaning Max and Billy have lived together for a total of 5 months by the time they get to Hawkins.

Neil confiscates Billy's car keys for two months in June, so I’ve taken an educated guess that Max first witnesses Neil's abuse somewhere around august, then in September/October Billy breaks Max’s friends arm, leaving for Hawkins late October.

Now onto the deep dive:

In 'Runaway Max', we learn about the terrible Hargrove family dynamic, and how the Mayfield's learn to navigate that. Max gets a very graphic front row seat of Billy's abuse in chapter 10, and during that chapter Max responds to that situation as any 13 year old would, scared and confused. Despite this however, Billy's image doesn't change in Max’s mind. She has no visible compassion for Billy at any point of the book except from this chapter, and after that she states that she’s actively trying not to care about “his stupid life and his cruel dad”. 

From a writing standpoint, choosing this to be a part of Max’s character takes away from her complex experiences in an abusive household. Yes Max is a hardened character, but not exploring these difficult topics of disliking Billy while also feeling sorry for him makes her feel like just another pawn for the audience to make them dislike Billy. The writers could have made the step-siblings dynamic much more interesting to have them navigate this terrifying experience together. But I understand the duffers just wanted another one dimensional antagonist for season 2.

"I'd watched the Hargroves in action. Neil standing over billy with the belt - calling me a stupid little girl - making it clear that he thought I was weak and pointless. Knowing Neil believed that still wasnt as bad as the way Billy had hated me for trying to help him"

I have mixed feelings about this. I feel this description Max gives dutiful to anyone going through that situation, that they would feel disheartened by someone rejecting their help, and verbally berating them for it. However, it’s vitally important to understand the context of Why Billy reacts to Max this way.

During the assault on Billy that Max witnesses, Max calls out and interrupts Neil, trying to diffuse the situation. Neil responds not to Max, but to Billy “Is this the son I raised? A worthless loser who needs a little girl to fight his battles for him?” And then strikes billy again. 

Max assumes this to be an attack on her, however that's not what's happening at all. Neil is using Max against Billy. He takes Max’s intervention as a sign of Billy's own weakness, a softness. “Any hint of softness and he would never let me forget” In a way Billy had been trying to teach Max to harden herself so that Neil couldn't find anything to target her for, Billy had been making her more likeable for Neil. And now this softness that Max is showing for Billy, by standing up for him, is getting him punished. It’s been implied before that this was the case, but now we are seeing it explicitly that Billy is being punished for Max’s actions. This chain reaction forces Billy into a position where he cannot be on Maxes side, he cannot be friends with Max, because siding with anyone other than his father equals punishment.

After Neil leaves, we circle back round to the sentence “Sometimes Billy acted like we were in on some big, crucial secret together / like we were in some sort of secret club together - like we could be on the same team” Billy had been trying to tell her from the beginning, they were both members of a club trying to navigate life with Neil Hargrove, bonded by shared experience. They were supposed to be on the same team too, victims of Neil, but Neil has made that impossible by using Max against Billy. “I could see all the ways he hated me” Neil isolates one from the other, Billy resents Max for getting him hurt, and Max resents Billy for rejecting her.

During most of the sections of the book that happen in Hawkins, Max continues to call Billy a “Monster”. However, never Neil. It’s not untrue that Billy has a mean streak, he can be cruel and heartless, most notably when he breaks the arm of one of Max’s friends. The only time this level of violence is seen in Hawkins is during the fight with Steve.

Both of these big outbursts of rage are built up by attacks from Neil. Note: Billy is still an asshole, these are not excuses for his actions only explanations.

Yes, there are two occasions in which Billy grabs hold of Max’s arm, but there is an argument to be made that this is just normal sibling behaviour. Have you never pushed or shoved your sibling before, or been on the receiving end of that physicality. It’s not always pleasant, but it’s not uncommon for siblings to get physical during disagreements. Max is also only distressed by this on the first occasion, “He caught me by the arm, and it wasn't the first time he’s ever touched me, but other times had always been to push me out of the way in the kitchen or flick me on the end of my nose. This time, his fingers closed hard around my elbow” - however the second and last time goes like this “He reached out fast and caught me by the wrist”. Those are the only times Billy is ever physical with Max.

Despite this, Billy is still the monster. “Billy was the closest thing to one that I had ever known - this was what it meant to live with the monster.” Monster singular. Billy is the most terrible thing living in the Hargrove home, not the man who beats his son.

Personally I find something off putting with Max ranking Billy as a worse monster than Neil. During the night at the byers she says "I understood now that Neil was in his head, and that meant he was just as dangerous as his father. Worse because Neil was cruel and frightening but he cared how things looked on the outside. Billy was crazy" Max isn't stupid, she knows Neil is a bad person, and maybe from Maxes point of view Billy is worse than Neil because Neil hasn't ever physically hurt her. But from a writer's point of view, to say that the victim is worse than the abuser? That is both dangerous and honestly disgusting. To call Billy crazy, and insinuate that he’s acting like a ‘bad victim’ because he doesn't pretend that everything is normal is so hurtful to victims of abuse who see themselves in Billy. 

Continuing this thought, Max then goes on to compare Billy to a recently possessed Will. Which, first off, comparing abuse is never okay. But what Max says is almost worse, "Will had turned into something terrible and frightening, but even with the mind flayer working through him, he was trying not to let it. He'd almost gotten us killed, but you couldn't blame him because he didn't ask for this. He was trying so hard to stop it" Is the author trying to say that Billy should try harder to not let the abuse he has been experiencing at the hands of his father since before he was ten, affect him? Because if Brenna Yovanoff is using Will as a ‘good’ example of a victim of parental abuse, and using him to discount Billy's own experiences, then I’m sorry but who let this book go to print?

Obviously as a character Max choosing this comparison means very little to her because she doesn't know about Lonnie, but the writers do. Comparing Billy to will is a choice.

Billy and will have both experienced abuse from their fathers. Will is on one side of the spectrum of victims, quiet, timid and apologetic. Billy is on the opposite end of that spectrum, his experiences have hardened him, made him angry about what's happening to him. Billy isn't quiet, he’s an asshole and he has issues with authority, but the one thing that sets Billy and Will apart is the fact that Billy is still experiencing that abuse.

Will is a survivor, Billy isn't.

To imply that "you can't blame Will because he didn't ask for it", but it’s okay to blame Billy, does that mean we are supposed to think Billy is asking for it?

There are choices writers make in the information they reveal to their readers, the phrasing that is used and the comparisons they make. It speaks volumes that while Will is praised for his experiences and bravery with his dad, Billy is called a monster for acting out because of those same experiences.

I mean, tell me you're a writer who doesn't understand the complex reactions to abuse without telling me you only care about “good” reactions to abuse.

#stranger things #billy hargrove #max mayfield #runaway max #stranger things book #neil hargrove #abuse mention #stranger things meta #I have a lot of feelings about the way Billys abuse is portrayed and mostly forgotten about in the show #runaway max makes me physically sick with how it describes billy and max's indifferance to Billys abuse #I love when shows have no idea what theyre talking about when it comes to the spectrum of abuse #nebraska speaks

[pessimisticoptimistsblog]

A/N – So, here is chapter one! Lots of detail to flesh out  characters and whatnot. Plus, we see Charlie! Hopefully, I captured her character pretty well. I plan on this story mostly keeping the same pace as the show, but with a filler chapter to cover the 6 month gap. This chapter takes place before the extermination that’s in the pilot and we all know the stuff on Netflix moved pretty quickly after that.

Prologue Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Chapter 3 Chapter 4 Chapter 5 Chapter 6 Chapter 7 Chapter 8

I hope you guys like this! I plan on starting chapter 2 tomorrow. Depending on if my brain decides it likes me, I could have it out by Monday? Or, if you guys want a longer chapter, probably Thursday. Constructive criticism is always welcome! Enjoy! 😊

CW: Language again

Chapter One

Meeting With the Princess

~PRESENT DAY~

“Listen, Valentino, Madame C said no discounts, no exceptions. Doesn’t matter if you’re a fellow overlord, no means no. Accept that before we remove all security detail from all of your “actors”, okay?” Nia was beginning to lose what little patience she possessed; the moth demon always made her angry especially when he was trying to take advantage of her boss. Valentino knew Madame C charged the most for security details because she paid the hell hounds better than anyone else, which meant they tended to work harder and more efficiently than any other security group. And, despite wanting top-notch protection for the more profitable souls he owned, Val hated having to pay the shadowy mute so much. Every month he attempted to negotiate a lower price, and each time he would push until he was threatened with a rise in his rate or termination of their contract.

The moth demon was getting just as irritated, he was so used to getting his way with any demon he considered below him, yet the shadowed overlord in front of him never seemed phased by his tricks. Instead he glanced from the hell hound before him to Madame C, her unsettling eyes narrowed and gloved hands clasped in front of her. “Well, if there’s no convincing you, I suppose that’s that. Just know I will be exploring my options, you’re not the only one providing guards these days,” Valentino said nonchalantly before rising from his chair and crossing his arms; his last attempt to maintain some sort of superiority.

Madame C sat back in her chair, a smirk crossing her face briefly knowing Valentino was bluffing. She turned her smirk into a grin before beginning to sign for Nia to relay her message.

“My boss says, ‘I understand your frustration. If you find comparable security for a better price, please do not hesitate to cancel your service with us.’ Hope that’s clear enough for ya’ perv.” Nia’s distaste for Valentino was clear as she finished and began to move towards the closed office doors. Opening one she motioned towards a hell hound from outside, “Echo, please show Valentino here the exit. His bill has been paid and his meeting is over.”

The muscular hell hound that entered the office was one of the most intimidating Madame C employed, scars from his younger days covered his arms and most of his face and his mouth seemed set in a permanent scowl. He narrowed his eyes at the moth demon, before gesturing towards the door, “Time to go, sir.” The two men left, Valentino seething but doing his best to cling to his pride, with Nia closing the doors behind them.

Nia made her way to the shadow demons desk, flopping down into a chair with a heavy sigh. “I fuckin’ hate that bitch. Don’t know why you still do business with him, C. Prick always tries to cheat you somehow.”

*He’s a paying client. Not happily, but his money helps me make sure everyone I employ can live comfortably, including you.* Madame C gives Nia an exasperated look, she knows none of her employees truly like being assigned to Valentino in any way or even just being around the pimp, but she also knows that without his contracts the other Vees would also pull out and with them a decent percentage of her revenue would be gone.

The young hell hound threw her head back with an exaggerated groan, “I know! Doesn’t make it any easier to tolerate him.” Nia then glanced at her notebook to see who would be walking through the doors next, her red eyes widening seeing the name C. Morningstar. “Oh shit! I forgot that was today! Fuck! The princess is your last meeting, you need me to grab some tea or something? Dammit, what do royal demons like? I completely forgot, I am so sorry, ugh!” Nia was pulling at her fur, distressed she had forgotten such a big deal appointment.

White gloved hands grabbed the she wolf’s wrists and guided them to the younger girl's sides before pulling away to sign, *Breathe Nia. Go grab 3 mugs of cocoa for all of us. We have enough time before she should be here.* Madame C’s hands ceased signing and returned to the papers in front of her, sorting out what needed signed and what could be filed away. Meanwhile Nia rushed out of the office and downstairs to the kitchen, trying to make the aforementioned drinks as quickly as possible without making an obscenely large mess.

As she began to make her way up the stairs to the office, the hell hound caught sight of long blonde hair and a flash of red clothing turning the corner at the top of the stairs. Recognizing Charlie Morningstar from her recent news interview, Nia picked up her pace as carefully as possible hoping to catch up before the princess reached the office. With only a few drops of cocoa spilled, she met Charlie in front of Madame C’s doors only slightly out of breath. “Ms. Morningstar! It’s so nice to finally meet you, I’m Nia, Madame C’s assistant. I’m the one you talked to on the phone last week!”

Charlie’s grin widened, “It’s so nice to meet you! Thank you for getting Madame C to see me, I really think she’s gonna like what I have to talk to her about!” The blonde’s excitement was unrestrained, she was practically bouncing in place.

“I hope so, you made whatever it is sound like a great opportunity for us. Plus, boss lady loves working with royals. Says you all are her easiest and nicest clients!”

The two girls walked into the office, Nia making her way past Charlie to place the tray of cocoa on Madame C’s desk. The older woman looked up from organizing the remaining papers on her desk to the two girls before giving a small wave to the princess.

“Remember, Madame C can’t talk, so I’ll be interpreting for her. Usually first meetings like this are all about you pitching what you want or need, though. So whenever you’re ready, let’s hear it!” Nia smiled as she took a seat in one of the 2 chairs facing her boss, gesturing for Charlie to take the other.

The blonde took a deep breath before sitting down in the chair, pulling her own papers out of seemingly nowhere. She looked up at the demon in front of her, only seeing a shadowy outline with 2 bright green eyes already watching her. A gloved hand motioned for the princess to make her pitch. “Okay, so, I have a hotel for sinners to redeem themselves. I believe that if they work hard and do all the right things, heaven will have to let them in! And then the exorcist won’t have to come down and less sinners will have to die! It’s definitely going to work, I just have to talk to heaven… but I know they’ll say yes! They have to! But, anyway, I have the hotel and we have staff and our first resident too. The only problem is, since my interview on the news, some people haven’t exactly been open-minded or accepting and have kinda… destroyed several walls? Heh heh… but it’s totally not an issue! I know they’ll stop eventually and then they’ll all realize they want to be redeemed and come stay at the hotel!” The princess was out of breath when she paused to gauge Madame C’s reaction before moving on to what she really came for, unfortunately the shadow demon's eyes stared back almost blankly. Charlie took another deep breath and squared her shoulders, “What I’m getting at is, we could probably use a little help keeping people from blasting down our walls or breaking the door down. Plus! If sinners see that we have security to keep them safe from anyone that might want to hurt them, they’ll be even more likely to come stay! It'll a win-win!” Charlie finished with a grin, hoping the woman in front of her understood the vision she was trying to convey.

Madame C clasped her gloved hands together under her chin, the idea of redemption was intriguing to her even though she doubted many would actually want it. She began to sign while Nia translated, “Your idea is interesting. I can’t say I fully believe many sinners will want redemption, but I still would be more than happy to assign a couple of hell hounds to your hotel. The question then is, can you afford my fee? I believe Nia told you, I do not offer any discounts, not even for the princess of hell.”

At the mention of payment, Charlie cringed a little, she could afford it, but not without cutting costs elsewhere. “I was actually wondering if maybe we could make a compromise of sorts? You said you think it’s an interesting idea, so maybe you’d like to come stay at the hotel! You could stay for free, obviously, and work on redemption if you want, and then just knowing you’re there will deter people from breaking the hotel! No offense, but you have a scary reputation… But! That would work and then maybe we’d only need one hell hound that I would obviously pay for,” Charlie finished with a hopeful grin.

“No.”

One simple gesture made the princesses grin drop instantly. She glanced at the once smiling hell hound next to her to see Nia already looking apologetic. Both girls turned back to the shadow cloaked demon, Charlie ready to try again, but Madame C held her hand up to stop her. “My staying at the hotel would only put a larger target on you. And it would actually mean you would be paying for more hell hound security. I have at least 3 in this building and 2 outside at all times. Redemption is not for me either, heaven is full of hypocrisy and backstabbing. I have no interest in ever ascending to live with angels.” The last part of her explanation, Madame C’s hands and eyes expressed just how much she loathed heaven. “Unless you are willing to pay the fee you have been told, I’m afraid there is nothing more for us to talk about.”

Charlie was raking a hand through her hair, searching her brain for something, anything she could use to possibly make the older woman budge. “Isn’t there something you want or need that no one else might be able to get for you? Anything? I hate using my title, but I am the princess of hell, I can do a lot more than anyone else, except my dad of course…But please! I need this hotel to work, I have to do something to protect my people!”

Madame C smiled slightly, signing, “Unless you have some magic spell book that could give me a voice, I already have everything I could need or want. I’m sorry.” Nia seemed slightly confused as she translated, she never realized her boss might not enjoy being unable to speak. She had figured someone born with such a disability probably never cared for something they never had to begin with.

The blonde princess looked frustrated for a second, thinking over the fact she didn’t know of any such spell. Maybe her mom or dad did, but Lilith had been gone for 7 years and her dad… well.. maybe? She didn’t talk to her dad much, had no idea what he had even been doing recently. But, this hotel HAD to succeed! And she knew she’d need to ask him about a meeting with heaven anyway. There was no guarantee that such a spell existed or if Lucifer would even help a sinner, but it had to be worth a shot. Charlie’s head shot up, resolve clear on her face, “What if I can set up a meeting with my dad? Surely he’ll know how to give you a voice or if it can even be done. And then, would you make an exception on the contract? Even just a little?”

Madame C sat forward, surprised the girl in front of her would offer the one thing she had never been able to get. Schooling her features to not show just how elated her heart was for the first time in over 500 years. If anyone could break the chains her father had bound her in, it would be the king of hell. “Arrange the meeting. If he agrees, I will cover the cost of 1 hell hound so you will only be responsible for the 2nd. That is my final offer. If your father refuses to meet, no deal.”

Charlie jumped up, squealing and clapping her hands. “Don’t worry, I’m sure he’ll help! Thank you thank you thank you!!! I’ll call him when I leave and I’ll let Nia know what he says by tonight!” The princess couldn’t control herself, reaching for the shadow demon’s hands and shaking them vigorously before running out of the office, excited that her plans were all falling into place. Charlie popped her head back through the office door, “Thank you! I promise, you won’t regret this!” And with that, she was gone.

Meanwhile, Madame C shook her head softly while crossing her arms. Nia looked from the now closed office doors to her boss, chuckling lowly at the energetic princess. After a minute, though, her expression changed to one of contemplation. “I didn’t realize you might have an issue, not being able to talk. I’m sure Vox coulda’ made something to help, even if ya’ don’t like the guy,” she said softly.

Looking to her assistant, Madame C debated internally if she was ready to entrust the young woman with what she was about to divulge. Ultimately, she decided Nia would be smart enough to keep this secret once she knew. Stretching her fingers for the explanation she was about to give, the older woman debated how in depth she wanted to go. Finally, *When I came to hell, I had a voice. Unfortunately, a powerful man decided he didn’t like my existence. He used his power to seal part of my soul away and my voice so that I would never be able to tell anyone what he had done. He knew it would destroy him if anyone knew about me, so he hoped that by making me weak and vulnerable a sinner would kill me before I could ever find a way to break his chains.* A sad smile graced Madame C’s face, only noticeable by the sadness and tears her eyes barely held back.

Nia couldn’t believe her boss had held onto a secret like this for so long. That the woman before her had lived in hell as long as she had and become a powerful overlord with a portion of her sealed away. Madame C had had a voice at one point. The she wolf wondered what it sounded like. “I hope the king can and will help, I think I’d really like hearing you talk. And we could always still use sign when we need to talk shit about the Vees!” The two women looked at each other with big grins, Nia laughing a little.

*We should get back to our plans for the extermination coming up, I want to ensure everyone we’re protecting is secure this time – last year was a mess. I don’t want to lose a single sinner this time.* Madame C signed after a few moments, as giddy as she was with the possibility of getting her voice back, the extermination was in a week and she couldn’t afford another mishap like last year. It may have been the sinner’s fault for skirting their security detail, but Velvette had been particularly upset about losing one of her favorite girls.

Nia mock-saluted her boss with a grin, “Yes ma’am! I’ll go grab everything we’ve got and start making contact with each of our hounds that are on the ground. No slip-ups this year, only perfection!”

Madame C watched the she-wolf skip off to the file room with a small smile fading as she fell into her thoughts and relaxed back into her chair. A gloved hand reached up to the center of her chest, anytime she came close to spilling the whole truth, she could feel the chains around her soul tighten. The ache was one she hadn’t felt in so long, but she knew that if she gained this meeting with Lucifer she’d have to endure it again to hopefully sway him. The green-eyed woman felt so nervous but also hopeful, more so than she had since she was a small girl, running through trees with her mother. While she would never see the woman again, if she could get her voice back, she could finally get her revenge on the man who had ruined everything

A few short hours later, Nia and Madame C were wrapping up their last check-in calls and making notes of any sinners they suspected might try something stupid on extermination day. They both jumped slightly at the sound of Nia’s hell phone buzzing briefly on the table. The she-wolf put her pen down and checked the notification, her ears perking up at seeing the name C. Morningstar. She quickly unlocked her phone and clicked the text pop-up, red eyes scanning the message before a large grin split her face. Tail wagging, Nia looked at her boss, “She did it! You have a meeting with Lucifer 3 days after the extermination!”

~ A/N ~ likes and comments are appreciated and make me squeal a little every time!

#helluva boss #hazbin hotel #lucifer morningstar x reader #hazbin hotel x reader #hazbin x reader #lucifer x reader

[tinykonig]

John Price x reader headcannons

price’s turn and i am not holding back… reader is she/her pronouns. NSFW indicated in post!!!

this is the last of my intital headcannons series!! thanks for the support on all of them (königs has 700 notes like what the fuck)

Price is furiously loyal, and the second you join his team he takes you under his wing

Doesn’t let anyone give you any shit and pushes you hard to be the best you can be because he see so much potential in you

Always gives you tips and never makes you feel bad about making mistakes. He’s the first person you turn to for advice

You definitely have had a crush on him for the longest time because of how he treats you so well and you feel a little silly about it, after all he’s your captain and you think he sees you as an annoying little sister

He has noticed your crush, but doesn’t tease you. He sees how you always watch him when he’s around, and how you blush when he praises you in the field

Tells himself he is not going to cross that boundary, but he can’t deny that the knowledge of you liking him makes him feel on top of the world sometimes

Secretly he recognizes that he feels a little bit more than just friendly feelings towards you, and feels guilty about it because of the age gap and that fact that he is your superior

Until he sees you get injured during a mission, he doesn’t even know if its severe but the second he sees you go down he just blacks out and his only priority is saving you

Which is certainly out of character for him

You’re shot in a non-critical area. Hurts like a bitch but you’ll survive as long as you dont lose too much blood. He absolutely will not leave your side anyways

“Stay with me,” he murmured, dragging you to a safe area while everyone waits for evac

Soap, Ghost, and Gaz are all exchanging glances because they know something has changed but they don’t say a word

The days following you are drifting in and out of consciousness in the medbay, and he is always there when you wake up

You’re confused but it makes you feel kind of warm and light as well

Once you wake up in the dead of night because you feel like you are absolutely freezing and you look over to see him sleeping in the chair next to your bed

You try to reach over him to grab a blanket off the shelf over his head so you dont wake him, but the pain when you lift your arm causes you to let out a loud hiss

He wakes up and is like, “No, no love let me get it for you.”

Literally tucks you in and feels your head to make sure you don’t have a fever

When you ask him why he is here so late he just sits back down slowly and puts his face in his hands

“I think I love you, kid”

Shocked is an understatement and you try to ignore how loud your heart is pounding

“I think I love you, too, John,”

There is nooooo hiding this relationship. His eyes never wander very far from you and while he isn’t big on PDA sometimes the man cannot resist putting his arm around you

He hates anyone you hate. He is the ultimate shit talker and blindly takes your side in any argument

Gives you hand massages at the end of a long day

He is extremely lazy on his days off like it is near impossible to get this man off the couch and away from either the tv or a book

He likes just existing near you. A perfect day for him is cozied up with you, both reading your own books and drinking tea

He is one of the most organized and neat people you have ever met

Even his sock drawer is color coordinated

Buys you a toothbrush and toiletries for his place and is just like, “well you might as well just move in!” (smooth price)

Mornings waking up next to him are something to write poetry about. His voice is raspy and laced with sleep, he feels so rough and soft at the same time

Big on cuddles when sleeping. He runs so hot too you probably end up overheating but like, how could you say no to cuddles when he looks so cute?

Not afraid to pout to get his way

Makes you breakfast 90% of the time

Sends you voice memos on your phone instead of texting because he thinks its faster

Uses the 😄 emoji so excessively

Pats your head a lot?? Its endearing

Offers to drive you everywhere even if he doesn’t need to go with you

He really likes taking long drives with you. When he’s been having a hard time, it’s his favorite way to unwind and get his mind off of any bad thoughts

Fills up the ashtray in the car and just drives you to the most beautiful places

Loves trying new foods with you, and hes not picky at all this man loves flavor

When he holds your hand he runs his thumb back and forth over your hand. Its very soothing

Hums when he’s cooking. Throws in a whistle here and there

Dreams about marrying you all the time. When he does propose it’s going to be the most well thought out and beautiful experience

Very private, just you two. Takes you somewhere significant to you both and asks the question and you swear there are actual stars in his eyes

He’s just a guy full of love to give, alright

NSFW BELOW THIS POINT

He is. so. incredibly. passionate. Wants to feel every inch of you

Makes you say what you want before he gives it to you. “Gotta be specific, love. Just wanna give you exactly what you want.”

Obsessed with you on your knees, will put you in that position any chance he gets whether you be sucking him off in the shower or he has you on all fours taking you from behind

eye contact... he WILL grab your jaw and force you to look at him

He goes slack jaw when he cums

#call of duty #call of duty modern warfare 2 #captain john price #john price #price #price x reader #captain john price x reader #genie writes cod

[chaifootsteps]

You know as always people are trying to prove that Stella is worse than stolas and recently they were saying that stolas shouldn't be criticized cheating on her, because Stella probably has cheated on him before and even throughout the marriage and that Octavia probably isn't even his biological daughter and that reminded me that some time ago people used the same argument to paint stolas as “pure gay man” that could never touch a woman because they are gross and stuff and that Stella is lucky that such an amazing guy chooses to take care of her bastard child that definitely isn't ignoring the fact that she looks so much like him and I really hate when fandoms do that because this isn't the first time when i have seen this.

 The first time was when i was watching Our Flag Means Death where a lot of people were claiming that the main characters (Stede) children weren't his because ”he is so gay he would never touch a woman so his wife (Mary) has probably cheated” with the guy she only met after Stedes disappearance and when the kids were around 10 years old so it does not make any sense, but no you have to believe us that our precious gay white men are this pure angels that kept their virginity for their boyfriends.

I really hate people's obsession with this. 

Why can't we have complicated gay characters that didn't know that they were gay from the beginning, that had relationships with women, had kids with them, made mistakes and hurt people without being woobified by the creator or the fandom.

This is an excellent point. It really is all about maintaining that precious gay white man virginity, which also explains why they were so angry when Blitz slept with someone who wasn't Stolas even though they're not dating and he has zero feelings for Stolas.

Sometimes gay people have opposite sex relationships for all kinds of reasons. Sometimes they grow and make mistakes and change. For a fandom that's constantly screaming about "messy gay characters" and "complex relationships," you'd think they'd at least try to understand that.

#Anonymous #actual blog post #vivziepop fandom #viv stuff

[utilitycaster]

Hi I’m a new critter and I love your account and both your meta and your takes on “drama” I genuinely want to know (if you don’t mind saying of course) what you consider to be the most egregious, bad faith cr take that you’ve ever seen. I just like reading your criticism because it’s both incredibly articulate and smart but also very satisfying

Hi anon,

Thank you! I do have to say this is a difficult question with a boring answer but I'll give you a tangential one as well to make up for it.

Obviously, the misogyny and death threats in C1 are the worst! Anything that rises to the combination of structural oppression and literal death threats is going to be the worst, even before you factor in how utterly tiny the stakes were here (and, frankly, you shouldn't factor that in; doesn't matter what the cause is, big or small! Do not send death threats!)

The reason I tend not to talk about that is because there's very little to say. It's misogynistic death threats. That's awful, inexcusable, and dangerous in any context. But if someone doesn't understand how terrible this is, I don't think I can say anything to add to that.

Anyway because that was true, but obvious and not terribly revealing, I have been thinking a lot about mean-spiritedness in the fandom and I'll talk about that here. It's something I try to be cognizant of, because here's the thing: I talk a lot of shit. I'm aware I talk a lot of shit. There's many reasons why I talk a lot of shit. But I do try very hard not to be mean-spirited. I think there is a very clear distinction between criticism, even harsh criticism, of things you don't like, whether it's in execution, concept, or they just aren't to your taste; and mean-spiritedness, which is much more based in a desire to do harm to others.

I think again the example I've mentioned recently of people harassing Liam until he took a song off a Caleb character playlist is the pinnacle. This doesn't have any real goal re: criticism - it doesn't address an issue with the character nor the narrative and the only personal preference it reveals is "I, a random fan, don't like that this song was used in this context" which is not really relevant and you can skip it. Harassment is never justified, and even behavior that skirted harassment really served only to be a dick to Liam. It didn't have a single result other than "Liam takes the song off and feels kind of bad for a while," which I suspect was in fact the goal for most people, and that's pretty abhorrent.

Harsh criticism is not necessarily constructive, but it is with the intent to reveal - either a personal preference, or what you believe to be a flaw (structural, thematic, etc) within the story. It might not have a goal - personal preference really is just "I don't like this guy" and that's fine. Mean-spiritedness, however, exists just to spew bile and do harm.

So the following (most of which are paraphrased, but all are things I've personally seen on Tumblr alone, and nearly all are from the last year or so) aren't per se the most egregious or bad-faith takes, but they are absolutely mean-spirited. They have all destroyed my estimation of the people saying them for the most part beyond repair, and in many cases, if they have not hurt my estimation of the ship or character they were intending to support, they have certainly increased my estimation of the things they were intending to oppose. (And it goes without saying: any harassment - any - is automatically mean-spirited).

"I hope Fjord and Jester have divorced [author's note: they were not married] and I hope it hurt."

"I hope Caleb and that floaty fuck have broken up by the solstice."

"I hate Ashton, and Campaign 3 wouldn't be any different if they weren't there."

"My wishlist for this episode is that Chetney hits on Fearne and Ashton cockblocks him"

"I hope Fearne makes that robot eat his stupid coin"

"I'm not surprised that Yasha missed, because Yasha is bad at everything."

"Funny how Vex goes against her husband but does everything that Keyleth says" [Author's note: later proved to be hilariously untrue]

"No one cares about Travis's characters."

"Oh, Liam meant that Essek's own guilt would still exist by 'It won't help the inside?' I thought he was just being a fucking twat."

I think some people go into fandom not because they want to talk about characters, but because they see it as an opportunity to hit someone. I think some people believe they are entitled to a "win" (not normal to want nor possible to achieve and often less about the story and more about the fandom agreeing with them) and will engage in any tactic no matter how underhanded if they don't think they're getting it. That's what mean-spiritedness is in the end. It's not a single opinion, and often it goes under the radar compared to more stupid but less clearly unpleasant takes - a lot of the above didn't result in a ton of discourse because most people see these and rightfully go "oh that person is a tar pit" and block them - but it's certainly, outside of bigotry (which is also frequently also mean-spirited) - the most bad-faith approach to fandom on the whole.

#answered #Anonymous #cr discourse #cr tag

[robiniswriting]

I’m still amazed that the BBC let Chris “wrote the Cyberwoman episode of Torchwood” Chibnall anywhere near Jodie’s run, never mind putting him in charge of it

gonna be brutally honest here anon I have never seen torchwood so I cannot comment on that specifically, BUT!

chris chibnall isn’t as awful of a writer as people think. in my opinion, he was hindered by his love of classic who. he was writing for a completely different show in a completely different time, and a lot of his plot and lore decisions make more sense when you consider the classic show. not to mention his politics, many of which were stuck in the 1960s-1980s.

as a result, fans of new who didn’t like it — certain key elements of it didn’t really gel with the current show and upset their understanding of the doctor as a character.

chibnall also made the mistake of listening to fans during his first season: everyone was saying they wanted new monsters and a break from daleks and cybermen, so he had a season of totally brand-new monsters. people hated it, said the show was unrecognizable. when he wrote a few new episodes with daleks and cybermen and weeping angels, people wrote it off because they’d already made up their mind about it.

I’ll always be grateful to chibnall for pushing forward and having the first female doctor. the pushback he received for that at the time gets largely forgotten. it would have been easy to give in to the massive pressure and recast — nothing of the seasons had been filmed when jodie was initially announced — but he refused to budge and backed jodie all the way. for that, I’ll always respect him. he’s put up with a lot of shit from the fans.

that having been said, disliking chibnall’s era is so valid. even though I really enjoy thirteen’s run (she is my wife I love her dearly) I can like that era of the show and also have enough critical thinking skills to see the problems with it. I’m pretty sure i’ve said it before but the politics of the chibnall era are atrocious (see: the woman who fell to earth, rosa, arachnids in the uk, kerblam!, spyfall pt. 2, the vanquishers — feel free to ask me to elaborate on any of these) and sometimes he falls into the trap many writers do when writing women, which is to water them down a bit. thirteen is Not as weak as many people make her out to be, but there are a few moments that irk me (see: needing jack harkness to break her out of prison. I’d have been okay with it if maybe she’d managed to stall the judoon long enough to send him a distress signal or something? maybe use the sonic to get his attention? just give her a bit of agency).

anyway, long story short, chibnall’s era has issues. but nowhere near the number that people attribute to it. as for why the BBC handed the show over to him, he was extremely successful as showrunner on broadchurch, had written well-liked episodes of doctor who and been head writer at torchwood in the past, was a massive fan of the show, and vocally wanted to being some changes and mystery to the show, something fans had been clamoring for for ages. my guess is he applied for the job, interviewed like anybody else, and they decided he was the best possible candidate.

no writer is going to have no misses, especially not on a show with such demanding deadlines as doctor who, and every new showrunner is a risk the BBC have to take. at the time, it looked like he was the man for the job. sometimes, it’s all just business.

#ty for the ask anon I love talking about my doctor who brainworms #doctor who #the doctor #13th doctor #thirteenth doctor #chris chibnall #jodie whittaker #dw #dw ask #dw text #the tardis #chibnall era

[boyfridged]

this is perhaps completely obvious, but the comparison of pre-crisis vs post-crisis jason runs is such a poignant illustration of how the intentions of the writers make a world of difference.

pre-crisis jay was, ironically, at the beginning of his career much more of a thrill-seeker and much less serious about his motivations behind his desire to be a sidekick than post-crisis jay ever was. he was also much more reckless. he said, for instance, that studying crime was even worse than doing homework, and what interested him was going after "action." he didn't like the thought of not being credited for his actions. but he was still a character written with so much sympathy and enthusiasm – with so much open and continuous consideration for his youth, his past, his feelings. and the readers saw that! so many of them loved him! when you look at the back pages of these issues, issues in which jay often committed mistakes during patrols, in which he was at times petty and moody, you see with how much compassion they looked at him. there were letters that started with hate about the art or the storytelling, and ended with warm and attentive analyses of jay's character.

and the thing is, reactions to post-crisis might have been worse, but i don't think it was ever a matter of people disliking any iteration of jason todd from the start (even if some were certainly prejudiced as dick grayson fans. and as bigots); it's simply that post-crisis jay has never been written with a similar amount of care. o'neil saying that "people really hated jason" and that "he didn't know why" is absurd because (well, first of all, i don't think that he was ever that hated, and second of all) he was specifically written in a way that prevented a lot of casual readers to connect with him. pre-crisis, we see jay's perspective all the time, also beyond the patrols. he's much meaner than post-crisis jay a lot of times! for example, he tells julia (alfred's daughter), who is at the time staying at the manor, that he saw new flat listings, insinuating that she should move out because he is bothered by her presence. and that's rude. that's a reason why someone could think that he is a spoilt child (which imo pre-crisis jay actually very much is. i don't think it's a bad thing). but we also see him in his bed later, wondering "how could i have said something like that to her?" so naturally we see it from his side too.

on the contrary, when it comes to post-crisis jay, we have almost no insight into his head up until a death in the family. and of course, starlin admitted that he did want to make him unlikable; so suddenly everything jay does, including acting against orders, is written to make him seem like a difficult, unpleasant kid. but something you really have to understand is that the same attitude, when previously displayed by pre-crisis jay or even dick (!) was seen as endearing; a sign of bravery and an honest heart. in the first issues by collins, as well as barr's detective comics run, there's a semblance of recognition for that. beyond that, the whole narrative of his (very short) published history gets hostile. and starlin might not have written any of that outright, but you see that shift. all of a sudden a decision that would make you go "aww" if moench or barr wrote it, makes you displeased. i think one thing to take away from that is asking if it were depicted in the same tone if dick or tim did the same thing, for example. it's content that requires a much more critical attitude from the reader, that's for sure.

#i love saying things that are completely obvious for everyone. #pre-crisis #<- i have to start tagging. eh #i have not mentioned ntt because jay is written with much more love there which is quite obv because the titans office did care #about the mantle #and this was more about the batman office #also not mentioning the cult because frankly speaking while it has good plot #it doesn't really offer much in terms of jay's characterisation #anyway there's this one letter about pre-crisis jay that i adore #where the reader said that jay's “occasional brilliance” intertwined with horrible mistake can be explained by a sports analogy #where young talented players might have lower success rate than older mid players #bc they need to grow into their talent with experience #it was genuinely such a lovely comment. #and a piece of evidence showing that people were very much willing to sympathise with him #jay.zip #jay.txt #jason todd #core texts #robin days

[vounoura]

ok as promised. I had one of these years ago but it was unfortunately lost in a blog purge, but it's actually really important information ESO goes out of its way to hide at every turn, so dear new players:

despite what the game tells you, you should NOT start with any DLC zone, or at least not any DLC zone that was released before Murkmire. As far as I'm aware (and feel free to correct me if I'm wrong), every story DLC after that is fairly self-contained to its own series of chapters, but everything before that was part of a linear plot that spanned multiple years.

Furthermore, ESOs design has for some backwards reason made it so that you are not required to play through base game MSQ first and also skips the initial Coldharbour sequence, both of which are literally the entire setup for the game's plot and why your character is the way they are. This makes things incredibly confusing and everyone I know hates it with a passion.

Therefore, to clear things up a bit:

In all circumstances, you need to do the base game intro, which can be started from the Hooded Figure found in your alliance's starting city (Vukhel Guard -> AD, Daggerfall -> DC, Davon's Watch -> EP). This will have you go through the original tutorial meant for the base game, and will set up the main plot and explain why your character is the way that they are.

iirc, this should immediately plant you in your alliance's initial starting zone, which is where you'll find the start of your alliance's MSQ which will take you through 5 zones. You need to do one from start to finish to start the end Coldharbour sequence. In addition, you need to also do the Harborage quests which is also necessary to enter Coldharbour.

Coldharbour is the end zone for MSQ content, and is the base game's conclusion. You also need to do this entire zone from start to finish, trust me it's good.

It's not necessary but recommended that you play through the Ebonheart Pact MSQ, either as your first or through Cadwell's Silver / Gold (which basically allow you to play through the other Alliance's MSQs as if you started them). You do not need to, but there is a character introduced in EP who will become critically important later and she will recognize if you've met before, and knowing her beforehand helps. If you're wondering, that character is Naryu Virian.

iirc Imperial City is canonically right after Coldharbour, but as it's a DLC centred in Cyrodiil (a strict PvP zone) I never actually did it. If you're okay with missing some things you can skip it - I did, and was perfectly fine.

Orsinium needs to be done first after Coldharbour or Imperial City. It's plot directly sets up the Daedric War storyline, which is the main plot that runs for a while after base game MSQ. Do not play anything else until you've finished Orsinium.

Thieves Guild is for the most part inconsequential and can be played any time or skipped if you want. You cannot skip Dark Brotherhood - you need to play through enough of it to see the Sweet Roll Killer series of quests involving Naryu Virian and Razum-Dar, because this will directly foreshadow the plot going forward.

Morrowind comes after DBH. You need to do BOTH the MSQ AND the Balmora sidequests, which involve Naryu Virian and a character named Veya Releth. Balmora is CRITICALLY important for Summerset, you CANNOT skip it.

Clockwork City follows Morrowind, you need to do its MSQ. CwC sets up Summerset's plot, and leads directly into it.

Summerset is the Daedric War plot's conclusion, and you need to do its MSQ. If you have not done everything I have just told you IN THIS ORDER, you will be missing context. You will not know who the main villain is and why them being there is critically tragic. You will not know the threads that lead to this point. You will not know Summerset was the conclusion to literal years worth of storyline.

You need to play through everything in this order. Do not deviate. Every DLC after this (Murkmire to, as of the time of writing, Necrom) is as far as I'm aware it's own self-contained thing, but this isn't.

TOO LONG, DIDN'T READ: base game tutorial -> alliance MSQ/Harborage -> Coldharbour -> Imperial City if you want -> Orsinium -> Dark Brotherhood + The Sweet Roll Killer sidequests -> Morrowind + Balmora sidequests -> Clockwork City -> Summerset

DO NOT DEVIATE FROM THIS ORDER FOR ANY REASON!

#saint.txt #THE RETURN OF THE KING or whatever #anyways I hope this helps people I don't know why the game is designed this way either

[yuikomorii]

OMG HEAVY ONE THE "...continuing to say such stuff will only irritate them even more. >_<" There are several points in each of the diaboys routes were Yui could've left them alone and be good for that day but noooo ( ｡ •̀ ᴖ •́ ｡) for example in Kanatos HDB Dark prologue this man literally wanted to be left alone in peace to look at the rain but then Yui comes in trying to make conversation he keeps the conversation curt then she offers to make him a drink then he proceeds to pour the hot drink on her hands 😮‍💨. Also for clarification I understand it's for the plot and that those scenes are just to demonstrate that Yui is kind person who's always concerned for others but at the same time YUII THEY'RE VAMPIRES (also I dont condone victim blaming sorry if it came off like that!)

// I suppose they wrote her in HDB like that only for the sake of DO-S interactions, even if Yui ended up getting the short end of the stick. While it’s true that you have to leave people alone when they tell you to, most otome heroines have plot armor so no matter how bad their choices are, the players know that they can’t be killed outside of the bad endings.

I admire her strength and compassion in HDB and MB but I feel that her character has progressively devolved? Don't get me wrong, I still adore her, but the narrative continues forcing her to make really alarming statements or take concerning actions. It’s not necessarily Yui’s fault, she’s just a fictional character after all, but the writers are to blame.

LE Yui was… something else for sure. Ruki’s LE route could have been the perfect chance for the Mukamis to let go of the Karlheinz fanaticism and continue loving one another as a family but nooo, after finding out that Karl committed a Romanian genocide, Yui had to make him look like their savior instead.

Credit to: dialovers-translations on Tumblr

No girl, you’re not doing any good to the Mukami brothers like that, you’re just feeding into their delusions…. Karlheinz never felt bad for any of his actions (otherwise he would have rewinded time) and he merely used everyone for his plan. They deserved to know the truth about him.

Another scene is from Ayato’s LE route in which Yui goes to Ruki and Reiji, who are their ENEMIES there, and is like: “Ayato-kun is feeling lonely 🥺” but ends up getting made fun of and bitten by Reiji. I get that she was trying to help but not only did she put herself in danger but I also can’t believe she genuinely thought Reiji and Ruki would care about Ayato feeling down when she was supposed to know their personalities already. On top of that, the fact she went there all alone without telling Ayato, made him get mad at her, given that he felt abandoned and wasn’t expecting her to suddenly return bitten by someone else. Honestly, he absolutely ate when he told her this:

This one isn’t from LE and I defended her here at some point but this official short story takes place after the DF good ending and… why would you remind him that he got the cursed powers of the person who ruined his and everyone else’s life—?

Credit to: Koiiro on WP

Look, Yui is a wonderful person who never means any harm and she doesn’t deserve the hate, since she’s a victim too, but she (and everyone else) definitely deserves criticism or being scolded in certain situations. You can be kind but still be cautious with whom you share your kindness and when it is appropriate to do so.

#admin