akinaezu

[akinaezu]

🔶📚

[akinaezu]

So I recently discovered that Childe will politely wait for you to make the first move in his domain... but I'm not sure this is exactly the "first move" he had in mind.

[akinaezu]

Tips On Writing About Mental Illness

– These are my personal tips based on personal experience when it comes to reading and writing about mental illness and mentally ill characters. This isn’t meant to offend anyone, so let this serve as a trigger warning to those who might find the subject matter of this post uncomfortable. That being said, I hope this is helpful to you!

Do Your Research

It is INCREDIBLY important to do your research on everything when it comes to mental illness. Know the difference between a story and a stereotype, know symptoms, read about and listen and talk to actual people with mental illness, hear their stories, know how people express mental illness, everything. There is more than one form of self harm. There are multiple mental illnesses under the umbrellas of anxiety and depression and obsessive compulsive disorder and post traumatic stress disorder. Also, I highly recommend, if you’re working on a larger piece of writing, that you talk to a licensed psychologist or specialist doctor about mental illness, because the internet has a ton of misinformation and false facts about it and it’s more reliable (obviously) to talk to a professional. When it comes to subjects like this, it’s imperative that you know what you’re talking about.

Use Primary (And Reliable) Sources

Like I mentioned previously, there are a ton of primary sources out there made by people and about people with mental illnesses, so utilize them. Even if you, yourself, suffer with mental illness, it’s always wise to explore the different ways people experience it and the different ways it affects their lives. It simply makes you more educated and that’s never a bad thing. Read people’s stories about their illnesses, read interviews, listen to podcasts made by professionals or read blogs by doctors or whatever. Tip that you probably already know, try to stick to .org, .edu, and .gov sites when doing internet research. There are obviously worthy exceptions but use your common sense to know an unreliable source when you see one.

Do Not Make Mental Illness The Character’s Only Identity

Your character should not only revolve around mental illness because in real life, mentally ill people still lead actual lives. A character can be depressed and still work hard in school. A character can have schizophrenia and really love their partner. Yes, mental illness does affect every part of a character’s life, but it doesn’t make those parts go away. Mentally ill people are not shells of human beings. Avoid giving your readers the impression that it’s reasonable to believe that they are.

Portray, Don’t Romanticize/Desensitize

Romanticization of mental illness has become incredibly common, especially on the internet. While there is a major stigma against people who actually have mental illness, there is also a stigma against people who fake it because it’s ‘trendy’ or whatever. You need to keep this in mind when even talking about mental illness, because this reaches further than only writing about it: mental illness is an illness, not a personality trait. Self harm is not something to be taken lightly. You aren’t “cute but psycho”. Mental illness is an illness, whether you can see it or not, and you wouldn’t buy a t-shirt that says “cute but a cancer patient��� on it. Portraying mental illness can and should be done in a respectful manner. Those horrid pro-ana or pro-mia or “screw neurotypical people” or self harm glorifying blogs and sites and stuff are ridiculous and harmful to people of all levels of mental illness. Do not be like these people when you’re writing characters with mental illness. You’re portraying an illness, not a fad.

Portray Symptoms Instead Stereotypes

People who suffer from depression are not constantly crying. Schizophrenic people don’t stand around seeing imaginary butterflies all day. People with bipolar do not have a mood swing every five minutes. Obviously, these are extreme examples of stereotypes associated with mental illnesses, and there are tons of less detectable one, but I think you get the point. Yes, delusions are one of many symptoms of schizophrenia, but most of the time, a symptom does not constantly affect a person with mental illness. This just kind of goes with the territory of do your research, so please educate yourself on how mental illness is actually displayed in a person’s life.

Make Your Mentally Ill Characters Ones Your Readers Can Identify With

Like I mentioned previously, mental illness should not be the only trait that your characters hold. Your characters are portraying people, which have interests and hobbies and things they like and dislike and feel and experiences that have shaped them. Use those to appeal to the reader. It’s no secret to readers or writers that most books are popular, in part, due to relatable characters and situations. If you’re writing a book that is telling about a character’s struggle with mental illness, you will probably be reaching an audience of people who have that illness, and you want to make a character that they can identify with. These characters are not only difficult to form, but imperative when it comes to literature about mental health. These characters and portrayals make the readers feel understood and less alone, which is a huge responsibility that you need to come to terms with and be prepared for.

Give Up On The “Crazed Killer”

Maybe this was acceptable 30 years ago, but the world has matured and educated itself a great deal (We aren’t there yet, though) about mental health and what it actually means when somebody is mentally ill. However, the stereotype that people with mental health issues are destined to become murderers or school shooters or whatnot is harmful and the literary world needs to start realizing that mental illness is not the all in one solution to the issue of “why is my villain doing this? Oh yeah, cause they’re crazy”. Taking that easy way out is lazy. Come up with a real arc for your villain. 

Mental illness can play a part in what makes people do horrible things, but it’s usually not the main cause. And if you’d like to justify making mental illness apart of your character, focus on the events that lead to the illness, not the symptoms themselves. It’s more interesting and doesn’t feed into the stigma when it comes to mental illness. Yes, mental illnesses can be linked to genetics, but in most cases, they’re caused by other factors– like psychological and environmental ones. Either way, it is better to develop a backstory for a character with mental illness. Not only because it makes your character more human, but it can educate people on mental illness and what causes it. 

Be Prepared For Criticism

There will be people who don’t identify your characters and therefore dismiss your understanding of mental illness, even if you suffer from it. It’s common sense that everyone with a mental illness experiences it differently, but it’s not as common sense as you may believe. Remember two things when it comes to writing about mental illness: 1.) You are starting a discussion, which is incredibly important and difficult, and you are responsible for however that discussion starts. 2.) You will never get it 100% right. Not all of your readers will identify with your characters. Your story will not reflect every reader’s truth. It is a sensitive subject and the world still hasn’t made up its mind on it, but starting the discussion is important and the more awareness this issue gets, the closer we are to solutions.

Know Your Mental Illnesses

I’ve made another post about mental illnesses that was made to educate and raise awareness about mental illness. It lists quite a few mental illnesses and details about them so you can check it out here. There are countless other resources out there for you to learn about the different types of mental illnesses and specific forms of mental illnesses. 

Be Truthful 

Be honest about how mental illness affects people’s relationships and careers and families and self-image. Stories about mental health don’t always have a happy ending and they definitely don’t have much of a happy middle either. Your mentally ill character’s partners, majority of the time, will probably be a bit uncomfortable if they learn your character is self-harming. Your character’s family will probably try to down-play your character’s illness because of common denial that comes with learning about anybody you love being sick. A character with depression will probably find it very difficult to get out of bed some days, let alone go into work and pretend everything is peachy keen. Be honest. Be realistic. Be raw about how mental illness can destroy people and, if your story is about a person recovering, how seeking help can be really really hard.

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[akinaezu]

I LOVE whenever Juza talks uwu

[akinaezu]

Kazunari: If you had ‘uwu’ to the end of a sentence, it makes it cuter.

Muku: You’re right uwu.

Taichi: I also agree uwu.

Banri: I’m going to fucking kill all of you uwu.

Taichi: Don’t uwu.

Banri: Fuck you uwu.

[akinaezu]

Hi! Once you get this, you have to say five things you like about yourself publicly, then send to ten of your favourite followers! ❤

Hrrmm I'm sorry this is so late but here it goes HAHAHAH

The shape of my eyes (≧▽≦) they look lovely~

How I'm constantly trying to improve myself

How I'm kind of independent

...my hands?¿?HAHAHHA

My fashion sense ┐(‘～`;)┌

[akinaezu]

A3! BLOOMING LIVE MASTERLIST

Note: "under construction" 📝Do tell me if the links are wrong

Loner

Sick Sick Sick

Traumerei and Void(トロイメライと空白)

Bonds Beyond the Viewfinder(ファインダー越しの絆)

Living the dream

To bloom…

Childish Treatment(餓鬼扱い)

SECOND SHOT

Gamer's High

BUZAMA

Sail Onwards! Pirates(進め！パイレーツ)

Spring has come!

It's Spring(春ですね)

One in a triangle(いちにっさんかく)

Wonderland A Go Go!!(ワンダーランド・ア・ゴーゴー‼︎)

The Melancholy of ES(esの憂鬱)

OneXOne

Precious to Us(Precious to us～僕らの季節 ~)

Don't cry

Clockwork of memory(思い出のねじ巻き)

Silver-lining Sinker(晴転のシンカー)

Charlatan's blues(ペテン師の憂鬱)

UNMASK

Super Ultra Easy Mode(スーパーウルトライージーモード)

MINORITY

Dandelion's Yawn(ダンデライオンのあくび)

A Summer's Dilemma(夏のジレンマ)

Haru Natsu Aki Fuyu☆BLOOMING(春夏秋冬☆BLOOMING

Respawn

Keyword

Do your best, nyan! Nyanyanyanya☆Cat's life!(にゃんばれ！にゃにゃにゃにゃにゃん生!)

Summer Time Love

Citron's proper Japanese lecture(シトロンの正しい日本語講座?)

Exciting Charmer

Paradise Oasis(楽園オアシス)

One Night Buddies(一夜限りの相棒)

Mankai☆Kaika Sengen "A3ders"(Mankai☆開花宣言)

Summer means☆Party Party(夏って☆パリパリ)

Our Bonds (僕らの絆)

Peculiar Poet(奇天烈ポエマー)

DEFRAGMENTATION

Monologue in the rain(雨のモノローグ)

Red-haired Cherry Blossoms(赤い髪のチェリーブロッサム)

Lies are the beginning of Magic(嘘つきは魔法のはじまり)

Beyond the wall

Mankai☆Kaika Sengen "All Troupe" (Mankai☆開花宣言)

Some Day, I Want To Become A Prince...(いつか王子様に…)

[akinaezu]

tenmarshmallow

[akinaezu]

Team Recommendations for A3! Nocturnality Event!

Hello, Directors! It’s time for the Winter’s Troupe third show: Nocturnality! This time I will provide recommendations for players who do not have the event gacha cards AND for players who do have the event gacha cards!

This chart is for players who DO NOT have the event gacha cards! As always, make sure you’re lead actor matches the type of the show and is the one with the highest skill level! 

This graph is for players who DO HAVE the event gacha cards! There are a lot more options to choose from here that I wasn’t able to fit into the graph but I will list them below! As example of what I would do, I place Hisoka as the lead actor for comedy shows, Homare for drama, and Tasuku for action! You should still borrow other player’s event cards for support as the bonus you get is still very big!

Additional team setups for players WITH the event gacha cards! These setups provide the same bonuses as the above teams unless stated otherwise! Comedy: Hisoka, Homare, Tasuku, Kazunari, Tsuzuru You can also use Itaru in place of either Kazunari or Tsuzuru! 

Action: Hisoka, Homare, Tasuku, Tsuzuru, Omi

Drama: Hisoka, Homare, Tasuku, Sakuya, Azuma Drama: Hisoka, Homare, Tasuku, Masumi, Taichi These drama teams only provide a 24% bonus to drama! The above drama team shown in the graph provides a whopping 48% so you should go with that team unless you don’t have the right cards!

I hope this helps and if you have further questions or need assistance choosing the right cards I’m always happy to help!  Remember to enjoy and have fun with the event!

[akinaezu]

be the change yourself

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[akinaezu]

[akinaezu]

i just realized zuko only has one eyebrow honestly i‘m 👁👄👁

[akinaezu]

itaru is such a good big bro djsjjfksjg

[akinaezu]

 say what you will about autumn troupe looking like a gang, we all know summer troupe is the one with the highest “ahahaha, kantoku-san, ummmmmm, we got arrested again for breaking and entering ahahaha can you bail us out please. please.” count

[akinaezu]

You and me both

heart break

[akinaezu]

Okay this a post I feel like I NEED to make because of all the misconceptions

MLQC, OBEY ME, A3! AND TWISTED WONDERLAND ARE NOT OTOME GAMES. THEY'RE JOSEIMUKE GAMES.

Otome games need to have routes. They can vary in terms of gameplay but at their core they need to have a route with a Female protagonist and male love interests. Male protagonist with male love interest is BL and female protagonist with female love interest is GL. Joseimuke games are games targeted towards women. So now knowing what they both mean I think it's easiwr to understand. All otome are Joseimuke, but not all joseimuke are otome.

MLQC Doesn't have routes, you unlock romantic stories through cards, and there is a general romance with all characters in the main story.

Obey me doesn't have routes as well (not that I know of at least)

A3! Doesn't have any romance with any of the characters (some of them are underage as well)

Twisted Wonderland doesn't feature any romance and there isn't any specific gender to the protagonist (aka gender neutral)

So you're gonna ask,

And why should we care what we call them? They're all similar anyways.

And my answer is that we spread misinformation

When I learn about a new cool otome game, I expect romance, routes, etc.

And when the game comes out only to find out its not an otome game me and MANY other fans get disappointed

Please learn to use the terms joseimuke (that otome games fit under, but games like the ones mentioned above do not fit into otome category, only joseimuke) and otome correctly

Here are some actual otome games :

Mystic messenger (with unique gameplay)

Ikemen series (revolution, vampire etc)

Hakuoki

Diabolik lovers

Uta no Prince-Sama (NOT the mobile game and music games. Only the visual novels)

The list goes on. For more information, there's a twt account called otomeobsessed. They have been talking about this issue WAY longer than me. Please go see their twitter account. (plus the mod is very nice :)

Thanks for coming to my TED talk *3*

Edit; I corrected some grammatical mistakes + added the terminology of what are Joseimuke games.