#// Also I think providing examples will help anyone else who wants to make a submission.

[pokejstor]

Excerpt from Story and Song: The Hisuian Yukar

Part of the Sinnoh Historical Society Digital Records.

Aulus Haruku

Journal of world music and cultures, vol. 43, no. 2

While the people of Hisui had very little traditional recorded history before the arrival of the Galaxy Team, it should not be said that they lacked any way of passing information from generation to generation. Most historical accounts are oral, and of these, the most highly honored is the yukar. Traditionally, these are songs sung by both men and women, although in the late Hisuian era, the duty of both creating and performing the yukar fell primarily to women.

While the contents and styles of these sagas can vary, all share a few common traits, the most unique of which being that they are performed from the point of view of some part of nature, often a Pokemon. For example, in "The Story of a Girl Who Forgot Her Life," much of the story is told from the perspective of Uxie, rather than the girl herself. There are many common themes in the yukar as well, such as the loss of family, the importance of trade, and the war between the Diamond and Pearl Clans. Typically, they involve either a god or a Noble Pokemon as well, who frequently serves as a secondary protagonist to the story.

An important thing to note about the yukar is that it is not a literal retelling of the story- many events are mythologized in the song, as can be seen with "The Story of a Warden Who Defended Her Noble's Son." When comparing the yukar to surviving historical records of its subject, Warden Garana of the Pearl Clan, it is clear that the yukar is not meant to be taken literally, such as when the Growlithe who would become Lord Arcanine describes her as turning into light to rescue his companion from shadows trying to consume him. This is a more poetic way of stating that Warden Garana thwarted an attempt at kidnapping the future Lord of the Isles- there are no historical documents implying that Warden Garana or any other Warden possessed magical abilities of any kind.

[dbh-bb]

Yet More Questions

As we come up to the final sign up deadline for Artists we've been receiving a lot of questions about how much we expect by June 1st, so we wanted clarify some information for both artists and writers

ARTISTS

Oh my god, how much do I have to have ready to submit by 01 June? What will the form ask for?

The form will ask you to submit the following things:

Identifying info (obvs), including whether you are a minor

Your willingness to be paired with a minor

A sketch, layout, or concept of your art

The premise of your concept for the story

Ratings you’d be happy with on the story

Things you really don’t want to see in the story

Let’s break down a few of those.

Sketch, layout, or concept of your art: 

This should be substantial enough to get your idea across to the writer. It does not have to be finished or near-finished (although it can be if you’re there). If you work in a medium that takes significant time to generate, or where the concept of a “sketch” is hard to apply (such as 3D render art, gifs, or fanvids), do your best to express what the idea is. This could include a storyboard, a rough sketch, stick figures, and/or references/examples to show what you mean. We want the writers to get the general idea of what the final art will look like.

We will ask these submissions to be in standard formats (i.e. .png, .jpg, .gif, etc) that can be accessed on anyone’s computer without the use of special software. Your final art can be in your preferred format.

There will also be a text box where you can describe what the final art will be, like you might for an alt-text.

Premise of your concept for the story:

Artists aren’t just sharing a sketch, they’re sharing the concept behind that sketch. The concept of your story should be enough to give your writer a good direction to head in, without being so limiting that you’re ‘ordering’ a story rather than planting an idea. Yes, you can give ideas for bits of dialogue, and scenes, and major story beats and character dynamics. We want you to be either providing a jumping off point that a writer can build from, or full on working with the writer to tell a story. You need to give them enough that they can write ten thousand words from it, so we want more than the idea for the scene you are depicting yourself and a pairing.

That being said, this isn’t an opportunity to demand a very specific story out of a writer; that’s called a commission. There should still be room for the author to help shape the story as well. As Atro said, you’re giving them the blueprints; they’re building the house.

Things you don’t want to see in the story:

This is where you can let writers know anything you really don’t want added to the story. Including your personal specific do-not-wants is a way to help writers pick which stories they want to bid for. For example: “No X/Y, I prefer X and Y as platonic,” or “Please no background A/B.”

Keep two things in mind: first, writers are not allowed to add any of the AO3 Big Four to a story unless the artist suggests it first. Second, we do expect writers to work with the artist’s concept. So you don’t need to list out every single possible thing you don’t want.

What if my idea is risque, or even extreme?

We’ll make sure you get into the version not provided to minors, and you’ll have the same space to explain your concept as everyone else. Sometimes having a more extreme concept makes it harder to find a writer …but sometimes, you find that one person who does see your vision! All we ask is that you remain flexible in case the idea has to evolve to find you a match.

I’m not a writer. How much do they need for 10,000 words?

In writing terms, 10k and up is a novelette or a novella — either way, a short novel. Significantly, this will introduce plot. Now sometimes people think “plot means an entire movie” and it might not — sometimes the plot is “X and Y on a date.” Sometimes the plot is porn. But 10,000 words gives you both room to play with moving pieces. 

Example for artists who don’t write: Let’s use a very generic concept: a heist fic. You want the Jericrew on a heist. THESE ARE ESTIMATES DONT COME AT ME based on mods being old enough to remember when a drabble was 100 words exactly, but in general:

~3000 words will get you a scene. A dramatic scene or a confrontation! Cool! But a single scene.

5000-7000 words is a bit of the plot. Maybe the heist itself. Or a bit after the heist. More details, some repercussions.

~10,000 words will cover… let’s say planning the heist, executing it, and a bit of what comes after. 

A full mystery novel is usually 70,000-90,000 words. 

I’ve seen heist fics that break 200K.

This is why the minimum is 10,000 words — we want to generate deeper works where things happen. And the artists get to start the process this year. For those of you who wanted to make multiple arts and are limited by our writer count: this is your chance to think of other artworks you’d like to make within this concept!

WRITERS

How much information / freedom am I going to have?

First: We ask that writers do not add any of the AO3 Big Four to a story unless the artist suggests it. 

Second, see above for the information artists are being invited to share, to get a feel for it.

Third: There will be a variety of offers to choose from. Some artists might have a much more vague concept, while others might have a lot of the story in their head already. Remember that writers get to pick in this scenario. So if you prefer jumping into a fully-formed idea, look for those. If you prefer a less-firm idea where you can really collaborate with your partner to flesh it out, look for those. 

Artists are expected to understand that their concept is a suggestion, not a commission. So even if an artist sounds like they have a narrow view of the story they want, they know that they need to work with their writer to make it belong to both of you. Even at low levels of collaboration, we’ve seen this work out so that both contributors can be happy. So if there’s an idea you love but/and have suggestions for, go for it — there’s a good chance your artist will be happy with all your enthusiasm.

[literaticat]

Do agents actually want feedback on submissions to editors? Maybe I'm too literal but when an agent says "looking forward to your thoughts", I always go out of my way to provide feedback and I've only twice received a response that wasn't catty, if I got one at all. Is this just something people say and you're not supposed to give your thoughts?

IMO when agents say "looking forward to your thoughts" we mean, "we're looking forward to a response from you, any response, please for the love of god, we're dying out here"... obviously ideally that response would be "I love this, and I want to make an offer!" -- but even a kind no-thank-you is also appreciated.

Truly, the number of no-responses I've gotten in recent times has grown exponentially and it's beyond frustrating, and I know for a fact I'm not the only one.

You don't need to feel compelled to give feedback, though I'm happy to hear it, particularly if it is helpful, either for me as I try to target the best possible mss for you, or for the author if they will potentially revise -- like if it is a "so close" situation, or you have kind words, that's AMAZING and delightful.

What is not really necessary or desired is a judgemental response.

For example: I've had editors talk about how "there are already too many books with X-theme", or "this won't sell", or basically write a letter about how terrible this book is, and all the things wrong with it -- but then it goes on to sell to somebody else and get starred reviews and win awards or whatever. (Truly -- this has happened more times than I could possibly count. Usually, editors who do send judgmental responses are on the younger/newer side. Most editors who have been around long enough KNOW that saying "this won't sell" is practically a guarantee that it will!)

I know everyone says this all the time, but this really is a very subjective industry, and just because YOU don't like it, doesn't mean NOBODY will. It's FINE if you don't want to publish it, it's fine if you don't like it, and it's fine if you have nothing to say about it at all -- you can just say it isn't for you, and I don't think anyone would be catty about that. (But yes, they might be a little catty if you seem to be insulting / judgmental about it).

(BY THE WAY -- I don't know who you are and I'm sure your responses are very nice and not at all judgmental, so the "you" here is "publishing in general" not LITERALLY YOU -- I'm just saying, this is ONE possibility, it's something I've seen before. Maybe you just have a hit a bad patch of agents! In any event, thank you for responding!)

[mental-health-advice]

Submission about suicidal ideation

Hi, I hope it's fine to talk about this here and it doesn't trigger anyone, but I don't know who to talk to about this and I'm not an immediate danger to myself I promise. I've had suicidal ideation for... I'd say years, I go to a therapist and since I was doing pretty good lately, we're working on being more in the moment and connecting to my emotions and I've been trying very hard to get better and take good habits, it works to a degree but I've been feeling very suicidal for 3 days now, (1/?)

it comes and goes, when it gets bad my brain feels like static and I can't focus, I was in a meeting yesterday and I felt split in two, a part taking notes, reacting, even smiling and making jokes and the other thinking about how to kill myself. When I came home yesterday I tried hanging myself to a doorknob, I stopped when my vision started greying out, mostly because I don't want to cause pain to my friends and family. I don't even know why I'm like that, I have a well-paying job, (2/?)

great friends, but I feel like I'll never achieve anything meaningful or provide the people in my life with something they can't get from literally anyone else close to them. I just loathe myself and feel like it would take a few months tops for everyone to realize that they don't miss me. I don't dare reach out to my friends in such blunt terms because I know it's irrationnal and it'll hurt them, so I sugar coat it and give 10 disclaimers about how I'm acutally fine before talking about (3/?)

these thoughts, so they don't really worry I think, sometimes I feel like they don't believe me but that must be just me thinking that. I don't know what the point of that message is I just needed this off my chest and to someone who wouldn't judge me or be hurt by it, so I googled for where to talk about mental health anonymously and yous blog came up. Thank you and sorry if this caused any distress. (4/4)

Hey there,

From past and also current personal experience I know that when starting to work on ourselves like for example being more in the moment and connecting more to your emotions, it can cause us to destabilise a bit mental health wise. This can happen for many reasons such as working on things too fast or something being discussed being triggering for us even though it may not seem like it at the time. Due to this and the fact you have been feeling more suicidal since beginning to work on this stuff, I would strongly to encourage you to speak to your therapist about what you have been experiencing suicidal wise, when it first started and how severe it has gotten than how it normally is. Your therapist will then be able to adjust your therapy as needed to help lessen the suicidality you have been experiencing as of late.

In regards to feeling as though your mind is being spilt into two, it may be helpful to try some different grounding techniques to help you to feel more in the here and now and focus more on what is happening around you and consequently slowing your thought process down. Is this something you could try to give a go?

It can also be really helpful to chat to your friends even if it’s just about stuff in general or about if you’re having a bad day. Chatting and keeping in contact with your friends can be helpful as just having that connection with someone can help you feel less alone and in a way like you matter and have a reason to keep being in their lives.

I want you to also know that if you are feeling actively suicidal then it is of upmost importance that you reach out to someone in real time, whether it be with your therapist if they are available, your local mental health team, or calling an ambulance or getting yourself to your local hospital. I know that reaching out in times that you need it most can be scary and hard and especially when you want to so badly act on your urges, but just try to remember how far you have come on your recovery journey and that you do not have to go through any of this alone!

I really hope that this has helped a bit and please do let us know if we can help to support you in any other way!

I’m thinking of you and hope that you are going well!

Take care,

Lauren

[thewritingmagician2022]

A/B/O - Brothers and Dateables

Lucifer

Lucifer is the typical alpha male. He’s dominating, strong, and makes his presence known. He’s not just an alpha, he’s the leader of his pack and Diavolo help you if you forget it. I wouldn’t say he’s a knothead because he is (usually) able to think rationally and he respects betas/omegas but he definitely is the definition of the alpha, including some of the negative aspects like his temper and trouble listening to those “below” his station.  

Mammon

Mammon is (surprisingly) also an alpha. I know Mammon has some serious sub traits but that’s a separate thing, okay? He’s very protective of his people and he would like to provide for them. He wants nothing more than to make his omega happy and ensure they’re well taken care of by him, no one else. He’s a very chill alpha and rarely uses his status unless he thinks it’ll benefit him in some kind of scheme. This means that omegas everywhere tend to trust him because they know he won’t take advantage of his designation. 

Levi

Levi is a beta. Again, I know people will argue he’s an omega because he’s so submissive and breedable but hear me out. Levi is also the Grand Admiral of hell's navy and the third most powerful brother. Levi is able to encapsulate aspects of both alphas and omegas while remaining mostly balanced (unless his envious temper flares up). He’s non-threatening to all designations and he’s not particularly influenced by them either. Levi is too chill and self involved to be anything but a beta.

Satan

Satan is an omega, which is a huge source of shame and contention for him in the beginning. Especially because Lucifer is an alpha and if he’s born from Lucifer (his rage of all things), he should also be an alpha. But Satan, despite his status as the avatar of wrath, is not an alpha. He is the pinnacle of the modern omega: he is smart and self-sufficient and fierce and god help anyone who tries to talk down to him or treat him differently due to his designation. He does have typical omega instincts like taking care of his brothers and children and animals, and that’s mainly when his wrath can come into play. As he’s gotten older, he’s gotten more comfortable with it and will even use his designation to get him out of trouble. 

Asmo

Asmo doesn’t have a set designation. This ties directly into his ability to alter his form. I see it as him being both gender fluid and designation fluid; he decides what feels right for him at the time. Of course this is Asmo and he will absolutely take advantage of this ability to match whatever his partner's preference is or choose the designation that will help him get what he wants. Typically, he is an omega who loves flaunting his superior scent and preening and being taken care of, and he fights hard for omega rights to protect them from injustice. If anyone tries to fuck with him or his people, he will absolutely whip out the alpha and that shit is terrifying AF. 

Beel and Belphie

The twins are both betas. Beel is built like an alpha and Belphie is built like an omega but both of them have conflicting mannerisms. Belphie couldn’t care less about his designation; he’s just glad he doesn’t deal with heats or ruts because they sound exhausting and no one asks much of betas. Beel, on the other hand, is the typical beta peacekeeper. He just wants harmony in his family. He doesn’t care at all about designation and frequently forgets it’s even a thing. 

Diavolo

Diavolo is obviously an alpha - he’s the demon prince. Like Lucifer, he is considered a prime example of an alpha. He has all of the best qualities without most of the downsides. However, he does definitely like to show off his status and he can be a knothead unintentionally sometimes. Diavolo needs to be reminded that not all omegas need babying or protecting and not all betas are unflappable and stable. He’s got thousands of years of prejudice wired into him but he’s doing his absolute best to learn and will sincerely apologize for any mistakes he makes. 

Barbatos

Barbatos is a beta, for sure. He’s exactly what one pictures: calm, dependable, willing to serve an alpha and take care of an omega. He’s part of the reason Diavolo struggles with particularly vocal/opinionated betas or chaotic ones who don’t look/act the part (like Solomon). Barbatos doesn’t care much about his designation except for the appreciation that it allows him to better fulfill his role as he’s not so affected by strong designation instincts or by other’s scents. (He does have a particularly keen nose for a beta but he keeps that as one of his little secrets so he can use it to his advantage)

Solomon

Solomon is a beta and the opposite of everything Barbatos is. He is an agent of chaos who follows basically no rules about designation. He’s thousands of years old and an immortal human; there are no rules for him. Solomon was actually born an alpha and it’s part of what helped his rule as king thousands of years ago. But he’s lived a very long time and, while he hasn’t aged, his designation has slowly shifted to something less intense. His designation means absolutely nothing to him. He does sometimes miss being an alpha but, mostly, he’s happy not to have to constantly deal with the posturing and competition that came with it. He doesn’t have time for these youngsters and their nonsense.

Simeon

Simeon is a surprise alpha. He keeps his designation to himself and doesn’t have a super strong scent to give him away. Most people assume he’s a beta because of his collected and kind nature and he never bothers to correct them because he quite likes the secret advantage, knowing that everyone underestimates him. Simeon may not display his alpha traits often but, when push comes to shove, he is a force to be reckoned with. He is resilient and curious and protective, and struggles with following orders he doesn’t agree with.

[thetravelingmaster]

Anonymity - Shield or Weapon?

The most common thing among us in this community is Anonymity. We all use it to some degree when indulging our Kinks. Our first and foremost reason to do it is, of course, to keep us safe as we explore this strange and for some, embarrassing kinky world of non conventional arousal. The internet is a heaven for everyone to learn and explore ANYTHING their hearts may find desirable.

Are identities aren't needed to indulge and discover new things about ourselves. You can call yourself Jack, Jill, Fran or Hornybabyslut. It doesn't matter. It helps create a sense of security that enables you to dive into what ever kink you feel you can't indulge in your every day life.

And even if you can indulge IRL and are fully accepted as the kinkster that you are, Anonymity affords you a a free shield for you to protect your wonderful life from the dark and ill intentioned predators constantly surfing the World Wide Web for prey.

Anonymity isn't bad at all. It's recommended.

Exploring and enjoying our different kinks can lead you to wonderful and emotional places. Places you may not go if you couldn't be someone else.

Anonymity is a perfect and accepted shield we all carry.

But it doesn't mean you can't be yourself. It doesn't mean you can't be honest and true with yourself and the people you engage with.

You can call yourself Gina64 and be a full on kinky bimbo slut that talks and acts so dumb and dirty that the people you engage with online think you are nothing more. If that is your way to explore and escape, there is nothing wrong with that. You can become anyone you wish once you fire up your phone or your computer.

That is the beauty of this wonderful and dark internet.

When all is said and done, Gina64 is just a persona you try on. She may or may not have the same beliefs as you promote in your every day life. That's perfectly fine.

Anonymity offers that possibility. That safety...

However...

Anonymity can also be a weapon.

That same safety can protect the bad people that are looking to take advantage of others.

Just like a sword, it can be used to defend and protect as well as divide and conquer. It all depends on who wields it and what they choose to do with the sword in their hands.

My point is very simple: Anonymity doesn't half to mean that you can be 100% yourself.

For the purpose of this post, I'm going to exclude the people that come here to become someone else. It can be a very therapeutic and I definitely not saying that being a completely different person online is wrong in anyway.

Well not in itself...

And that's what I mean. You can play at being fun and fluffy or dark and brooding, what ever fills your cup of tea. As long as you are being honest with yourself about why you are doing it.

The problem I have tonight as I write these lines is when the kink in question involves hypnosis. Not fun roleplaying, but REAL hypnosis and subsequent play.

You have to be very honest and open to engage in that sort of kink and Anonymity can offer you that safe space to indulge from.

BUT ANONYMITY DOESN'T MEAN YOU ARE BEING DISHONEST.

Being dishonest has nothing to do with anonymity and here is an example of what I mean. Say Our Gina64 is into hypnosis. Say she searches out potential erotic hypnotists online to explore and indulge that itch. She can call herself Gina64 and be a dude. It doesn't really matter as long as you are being honest and about the level of things you wish to reveal to the hypnotist.

If you are being honest with yourself and the person you are engaging with, no harm no foul.

But say that Gina64 doesn't want to reveal that he is in fact a guy. It could be fine if the hypnotist doesn't care. But what if the reason you are engaging in hypnosis is to experience erotic hypnosis? And that Gina64 leads the hypnotist on being saying again and again that they are a girl. For all of us, erotic hypnosis in our Kink community is arousing and erotic for both parties. So a hypnotist that decides to engage and offer erotic hypnosis to Gina64 while under the impression that he is a she when in fact they are a HE...

Well... That can create confusing and even dangerous things down the road. If the connection develops and more and more the hypnotist is made to believe in this falsehood, then it creates an invisible rift between them. A very dishonest rift...

A rift that can actually hurt... Especially if the hypnosis kink also includes flavours of Domination and submission. We all know and understand that D/s play can stir up incredibly powerful emotions. As the lies pile on to covert up more lies, the cycle becomes deeper and darker with every dishonest reply.

Until Gina64 finds himself in a position where the lies have boxed him in and he has to bail out instead of admitting to everything he led the hypnotist to believe and experience.

And I'm not even going to talk about people who create elaborate and complex fake personas to actively catfish people...

I'm not saying that all people who indulge in hypnokink and D/s play should always reveal everything about themselves, far from it.

What I'm saying is that you just have to be HONEST as to what type of person you are and what you want to experience. Our community can be very open minded. It's the very nature of our kink.

And anonymity provides the perfect way to be 100% true to yourself without fear or worries.

To properly demonstrate how one can be completely anonymous and still be incredibly honest, I'm going to talk about friend @qu1etsleep.

Theo is an incredible human being and hypnotist that is, like me, adamant about keeping his online life separate from his offline life. He doesn't shy away from telling anyone who contacts him that Theo isn't his real name and that there is no respectful way in hell that you'll ever get a glimpse or a clue as to who he really is.

His Anonymity is a shield meant to keep the lines clear between his hobby and his life. We all do that in some form or another.

I might not know Theo's true name and identity, but I do know that if I were to ever sit in a cafe somewhere and end up chatting with the man behind the blog, then those 2 persons would be identical.

I'd have the same exact conversations and learn about all the exact same opinions Theo and the man in front of me share.

Because even though his name has changed, he will still be the same person. he just changed out his name tag. Nothing else changed.

Theo is authentic with himself and with everyone that takes the time to talk with him. His Anonymity doesn't affect or change that at all. It just offers him the same safety we all crave.

This authenticity is what makes him, in my humble opinion, a terrific and accomplished 'amateur' hypnotist. Make no mistake, he is no rookie and he WILL drop you if the rapport is there. Authentic and Anonymous...

That is what this community needs above all else.

Some of you MIGHT just understand why I'm ranting about all this tonight, and you would be right. I've felt the sting of this double edged sword and it took others to help me see just how far down the fake rabbit hole I had been led into.

But now I'm out, dusting off the creepiness of the experience and moving on.

So by all means, soak yourselves in Anonymity until people in our kink community aren't even sure who you are...

But BE HONEST. And if you do, I think you'll find even more incredible people and exquisite experiences to be had. You'd be surprised how much someone can accept and understand.

As a point of fact, if the person you are trying to let into your mind isn't opened minded enough to accept your own authenticity, then perhaps you should seriously rethink the fact that you are giving them the keys to your mental palace.

There is no gain from being dishonest and stringing people along.

Unless that is the pleasure you are seeking here... If that is the case, then maybe you should start understanding that you are no better than a full blown predator.

And that is something our community needs the least of all.

We are all searching and indulging ourselves in our forbidden and delicious kinks, there is nothing wrong with that.

Enjoy your safe and secure anonymity, but do it responsibly and above all, do it while being honest with yourself and others.

[sketching-shark]

LMK fandom: Oh, what do we do about this guy who has nothing but hurt Xiaotian, tried to replace Sun Wukong and his crew, hurt Tripitaka and ordered servants to cannibalize a monkey? Oh I know! We’ll turn him into our little meow meow~ he’s so innocent and Sun Wukong is obviously the villain!

What doesn’t help is this idea is perpetuated by multiple fan fic writers and artists for some reason. Especially some aus they make that turn SWK into a bastard for the sake of the story rather than considering cultural context and thinking they should be respectful.

And almost everyone lets them get away with it just because the art or fanfic is good and they get so popular that no one can point what is actually wrong without feeling like they’re going to get attacked.

I'm starting to feel like my blog is the one anons go to specifically to vent their frustrations about the Six Eared Macaque in his lego monkey show form & the associated fandom lmao. But I guess this makes sense, as I’ve had fun quasi-dragging him before & will in fact use this anon submission as an opportunity to have my own, to put it academically, bitch fest about not just this fandom's favorite protagonist-traumatizing meow meow, but about the way villains are often treated in not just fanon, but increasingly in canon works as well. But same policy as with the last anon; I'll post my opinions below the cut, and as fandoms love to say, don’t like don't read if you don't want to see me dunking on the six eared simian & common fandom tendencies towards villains.

Oh man I would say where would you even begin with this but anon you’ve pretty much started yourself with my main gripe with a lot of ways that the Six-Eared Macaque is portrayed in fandom; there seems to be this unspoken agreement that his acts of violence towards Sun Wukong, Qi Xioatian, and Qi Xioatian’s loved ones are either to be framed as somewhat or totally justified, to be immediately forgiven/excused, or to simply & completely be ignored. Like friends maybe this is just me not seeing the proper posts but while the fandom is inundated with art and fanfics of Macaque as a generally decent individual & a true member of team good guy, I have yet to see one person address the fact that this monkey literally kidnapped & mind-controlled Xiaotian’s best friend and father figures & forced them to brutalize Xiaotian while ol’ Six Ear looked on and laughed (X_X). Like this kind of fandom villain treatment is definitely not something that’s solely at work for Monkie Kid, but it is kind of nutty how fandoms will swing between yelling that people should be allowed to like villains without even mild critique, and then will just flat-out not address the villainous behavior, and will even bend over backwards to frame even characters who committed genocide as just poor innocent widdle victims who need a hug. At its worst, I’ve even seen tons of people in a fandom get really angry at other people who don’t like a villain, and will even start accusing those people of hating real-life mentally disabled or abused individuals all because they don’t like the fandom’s favorite literal war criminal. The Monkie Kid fandom is FAR more chill & better than a lot of other fandoms I’ve come across in that regard, but that is an exceedingly low bar, & the tendency to woobify certain kinds of villains-- as with Macaque and the extreme emphasis on his bad boy/sad boy thing--is very much at work.  

 I’ve also talked before about a kind of monoculturalization of certain character interpretations and story beats in fandoms, and one of the more popular ones that seems to be applied to Macaque a lot is the “hero actually bad, villain actually good” cliche, as observable from the general fandom assumption that Mr. Six-Ears he wasn’t even slightly lying or remembering things through a rose-tinted or skewed lens when he gave his version of his and Sun Wukong’s past. Like at this point it seems the possibility that people WILL NOT even consider is that Sun Wukong never did & still doesn't care that much about the Six Eared Macaque (in JTTW they weren’t sworn brothers & in Monkie Kid the only thing the monkey king really said to Macaque before attacking him was a pretty contemptuous "Aren't you ever going to get sick of living under my shadow?," & responds to his "beloved friend" getting blown up with "You did good, bud" to Qi Xiaotian, who did the exploding), or that their original fight may in fact have mostly been instigated by Macaque. After all, to repeat what this anon summarized & what I've said before about their original JTTW context (& in an example of the things that do feel like it's often lost in translation) is that the Six Ear Macaque was a villain not just because he beat up the Tang Monk, but because he wanted to take over Sun Wukong's entire life and identity so he could have all that glory, prestige, and power for himself. To quote the macaque himself from the Anthony C. Yu translation, "I struck the T'ang monk and I took the luggage...precisely because I want to go to the West all by myself to ask Buddha for the scriptures. When I deliver them to the Land of the East, it will be my success and no one else's. Those people of the South Jambudvipa Continent will honor me then as their patriarch and my fame will last for all posterity." And in order to do this, the Six Eared Macaque had apparently made Sun Wukong's "little ones," his monkey family, his captives through either trickery or force, and gotten a number of them to take on the appearance of Tang Sanzang and the other pilgrims. It's also made clear that in very direct contrast to Sun Wukong, he doesn't care about these monkeys beyond how they might serve him. In fact, after Sha Wujing kills the monkey posing as him the Six Eared Macaque not only all but immediately replaces him with another, but also "told his little ones to have the dead monkey skinned. Then his meat was taken to be fried and served as food along with coconut and grape wines." So this monkey is not only willing to risk the lives of a lot of other monkeys for his own personal benefit, but is also a literal cannibal. And yes yes, I know a lot of people have argued that Monkie Kid shouldn't be considered a direct sequel to JTTW & that's fair enough (for example, Sun Wukong probably shouldn't be smashing anyone into a meat patty in a children's cartoon lol). And of course, it needs to be noted that there are a buttload of really out there & really cursed pieces of media based on JTTW & that were created in China. Yet the above description is the oft-ignored in the west original facet of the Six Eared Macaque's character. And it is this selfishness, entitlement, and treatment of other individuals as tools for his own self-serving ends  that is, from where I’m standing, still very much present in Monkie Kid. Like besides repeatedly going out of his way to physically and psychologically traumatize Xioatian, with the last episode Macaque seemed to be going right back to his manipulative ways. I’ve seen people frame their last conversation as Macaque softening to Xioatian a little bit, but personally that read a lot more like that common tactic among abusers where even after they’ve hurt you they’ll dangle something you want or need over your head (in Macaque’s case, the promise of desperately needed training and information about a serious looming threat), with the implication that you’ll only get it if you do what they want you to, such as, in this case, Xioatian going back to Macaque as his student even after having been so terribly hurt by this monkey, which would give Macaque power over Xiaotian and probably Sun Wukong as a result. And it is this violence and manipulation that it seems the fandom at large has tacitly decided shouldn’t even be addressed, instead leaning more towards a (and this is an exaggeration) “Six-Eared Macaque my poor meow meow Sun Wukong has always been bad & has always been wrong about literally everything” reading. 

And while it is the case that I am not Chinese and feel that as such it would be best left to someone who actually comes from that background to provide more context into how common interpretations of the Six Eared Macaque from China may clash really badly with the stuff the western fandom creates, it also must be noted that, as much as we all want to have fun in fandom & in spite of all the out-there versions of JTTW from China, we westerners should recognize that there is a very long and very ugly history of western countries stripping other cultures’ important religious and literary works for parts & mashing them into their own thing while implying or even insisting that what they present provides a true understanding of the original piece. And while I trust most individuals in regards to Monkie Kid are able to step back and think “this is a lego cartoon and not a set guide for how I should understand JTTW” (especially given the insistence that JTTW and Monkie Kid should be considered there own separate works) there does nevertheless seem to be something of a tendency to take the conclusions people come to, for example, about Sun Wukong’s characteristic in his lego form & then assume that’s just reflective to Sun Wukong as a totality. I imagine a good portion of this is due to people not reading JTTW & especially to not having easy access to solid information or answers about JTTW’s many different facets (like geez awhile ago I was trying to get a clear answer on what is considered the most accurate translation of the names of Sun Wukong’s six sworn brothers & got like 5 different responses lmao), but that tendency to take a western fandom interpretation & run with it instead of doing any background research or questioning said interpretation is still very much at play. As such, & as made prominent in the way people have been interpreting the dynamic between Sun Wukong and the Six Eared Macaque in the lego monkey show, tbh it does seem kind of shitty for western creators & audience to sometimes go really out of their way to ignore all of this original cultural & narrative context for the sake of Angst (TM) in Macaque's favor, demonizing Sun Wukong, and shipping the monkey king with his evil twin (X_X).

And speaking of which, even beyond the potential inherent creepiness & revulsion that can be inspired by this specific ship given common interpretations of the og classic's original meaning (again, it's my understanding, given both summaries of translated Chinese academic texts I've been kindly provided with, my own reading of the Anthony C. Yu translation of JTTW, & vents from a number of Chinese people I've seen on this site, that the Six-Eared Macaque is commonly interpreted in China as having originated from Sun Wukong himself as a living embodiment of his worst traits, hence why only Buddha can tell the difference between them & why the monkey king is much more slow to violence after he kills the macaque), I'd argue that in the face of all the uwu poor widdle meow meow portrayals lego show Macaque is, especially if you include JTTW's events, still in the role of “Sun Wukong but worse” as he is very much a violent & selfish creep. Like he was basically running around in JTTW wearing a Sun Wukong fursuit, but there he had the sole reason of wanting to replace Sun Wukong wholesale so he could have all the good things in the monkey king's life without actually having to work as hard for them. But if you combine that with Macaque now claiming that he used to be best friend with Sun Wukong in his pre-journey days (something that's made funny from a JTTW context given that that status actually belongs to the Demon Bull King lol), his original violence has now blown into this centuries long and really unhealthy obsession with the monkey king. Like he's apparently gone from wanting to literally be Sun Wukong to being so obsessed with getting revenge on Sun Wukong that he's got basically nothing else going on in his life. Like he's only appeared in two episodes but...does he have any friends? Any family? A career or even a hobby that DOESN'T center the monkey king? Anything at all outside of his "get revenge on and/or kill Sun Wukong/use his successor as my personal punching bag” thing? Like dude! That is extremely creepy and extremely bad for everyone all around! As I’ve said before, this seeming refusal to see beyond the past or to do something that doesn’t involve Sun Wukong in some capacity is a trait that makes Macaque an interesting and somewhat tragic villain--he even seems to be working as Sun Wukong’s reflection in a mirror darkly, with lego show Sun Wukong pretty clearly not being able to heal from his own past which is hinted to be defined by one loss after another, and with Monkie Kid even kind of having these two characters somewhat follow their JTTW characterizations in that in the latter half of the journey Sun Wukong often gets sad & starts crying in the face of what seems insurmountable odds (& Monkie Kid Sun Wukong does seem to be hiding some serious depression behind a cheerful facade), whereas the Six-Eared Macaque retains a worse version of Sun Wukong’s pre-journey characteristic of getting pissed and lashing out if things don’t go his way--but it’s also what would make any current friendship or romantic relationship between these monkeys horrific. Although to be fair even the fandom seems to recognize this in an unconscious way, in that a lot of the art & fanfic seems to swing erratically between them kissing & screaming at each other in yet another example of bog-standard fandom adulation of romanticized toxic relationships lol.  

At the end of the day, of course, this is nothing new. You'll find versions of this dynamic across a ton of fandoms and now even canonical work. And as such, I can only look at this kind of popularized relationship dynamic with a kind of resigned weariness whenever it pops up, & my frustrated question with the popularity of this kind of pairing is the exact same one that I have for a multitude of blatantly toxic villain/hero ships, given common fandom discourse & the tendency to either ignore or justify the villain's actions & demonize the hero: if you're THAT convinced that everything is the hero's fault, if you believe THAT much that the hero is the one in the wrong for the villain's pain and their subsequent actions, then why are you so set on them not only becoming a romantic pair, but framing this get-together as a good thing? Like I know we contain multitudes but that's waaay too many contradictions for me to wrap my head around. And it definitely doesn’t help that one branch of underlying reasoning behind this kind of pairing seems to be the ever-present “you break it, you fix it” mentality, where the assumption is that if you’re in a failing, abusive, and/or generally toxic relationship (platonically or romantically), if you put in enough time and effort & attempts to compromise, you’ll be able to restore/have the relationship you dreamed of, even with someone who hurt you really badly. And this assumption isn’t limited to fandom: I’d even argue that it’s everywhere in the culture, hence why a lot of people feel like they “failed” if they have to get a divorce or make the choice to leave an unhealthy friendship. Personally, I feel like people could really benefit from more stories about how it is not only the case that the people you hurt don’t owe you their forgiveness & you can still become a better and happier person without the one you hurt in your life, & that while it can be really hard it can also be a good thing to leave a relationship, even if it’s one that once meant a lot to you. 

  But in all honestly, from my own perspective this kind of pairing is starting to read far less like enemies to lovers and far more like a horrible fantasy where you can pull whatever shit you want, even on the people you "love," & never be held accountable for your terrible behavior or even have to consider that maybe you were in the wrong. It's another facet that makes me larf every time I see people insist that fandom is an inherently "transformative" or "progressive" form of storytelling like friends you are literally just taking status quo toxic monogamy & rebranding it as somehow beneficial & romantic (X_X).

But as to anon’s last frustration, it is hard to know what is the appropriate response with this kind of thing...like for my own part I’m keeping my frustrations to my blog & now increasingly to posts that you would have to click on the “read more” button to see what I have to say, but I totally get the hesitation to give even a mild critique to big names in a fandom. Like I've now seen it happen repeatedly where someone who has a big name in a fandom will make something that's kind of shitty for one reason or another, someone will message them with some version of "hey, that's kind of shitty, you shouldn't do that," and the typical response is either to blatantly ignore the issue completely, or more popularly to make a giant crying circus that seems deliberately geared towards stoking emotions on both sides of the, for example, fiction does/doesn't affect reality issue so that something that didn't even have to be that big a deal gets blown out of all proportion, with the big name often framing what often started out as a very mild critique into a long crying jag about how the initial response to their kind of shitty thing was so mean/cruel and they're just a poor innocent & that YOU'RE the true racist/sexist/bigot etc. if you don't agree with their opinion. It must of course be noted that there have also been numerous instances of people taking it too far the other way & sending not just big names but smaller creators literal deaths threats over stuff like innocuous ships which like holy hell bells people that’s a horrible thing to do. But for the big names at least, the end result of all this fighting is usually that once the dust has settled they have more attention/fame/money/power in the fandom than before, and with anyone who might have a problem with their stuff feeling afraid to voice their opinion lest they be swarmed by that person's fans. In that way fandom does often seem to increasingly be geared towards presenting an “official” fandom perspective about various facets of a piece of media instead of allowing for a multitude of interpretations, and with criticism, no matter its shape or form or how genuinely warranted it may be, being hounded out of existence. I feel like a lot of this could be made less bad if there wasn’t this constant assumption & even drive to think that a different interpretation of or criticism of your favorite work of fiction or your fanwork isn’t a direct claim that you are a thoroughly loathsome individual (& maybe also if people cultivated an enjoyment of learning things about important works from a culture outside their own, even if what you learn clashes with your own initial understandings), but I guess we’ll see if that ever happens. 

So these are my general thinks about the Six Eared Macaque’s current fandom meow meow status & some of my bigger gripes with fandom tendencies as a whole. I stand by my idea that the most interesting & beneficial route for Macaque moving forward would be a kind of “redemption without forgiveness from the ones you hurt” arc--as I think was done pretty excellently with the character Grace in Infinity Train--and if for no other reason than gosh dern this monkey really needs to cultivate some sort of identity beyond his “Sun Wukong but worse” persona. 

[mengyan]

Sooo i saw you review someones carulia fic befpre so uh heres mine, if i could have some pointers?🥺For context; its supposed to be an angst to fluff comcerning how Carmen & Jules make up following the ACME interruption..

Carmen POV:

The rain relented for no one, not even for those who were in mourning. It was a single drop and a million all at once, thundering down in sheets ftom a confident stormy sky. Carmen Sandiego shivered, the tiny droplets assaulting every shred of skin she had dared to leave exposed.

Her red-brunette hair was drenched a shade darker, now existing as a thick, sopping mass glued to the back of her feverish neck. Carmen’s cheeks were ice cold and slick with water, aside from two thin trails of tears with fading heat.

That was one plus side of being out in the storm, she supposed. It was easy to cry in the rain.

In Carmen’s hands were an arrangement of Peonies and Hydrangeas, the water hammering at their petals. They had been Shadowsan’s suggestion and she took it, because, how the hell would she know what kind of flowers Dexter Wolfe preferred?

The makeshift grave had been Shadowsan’s idea, too. Apparently it would give her closure. Carmen admitted it did, to some extent, help to have some way to mourn her late father. But the fact that she knew his body wasn’t anywhere near his headstone dulled any respite it might have provided.

They had chosen a grave in Poiters, France. It was the only place the team frequented aside from San Diego, and it held the only funeral home that agreed to not ask questions about birth and death records.

Team red hadn’t visited the place in months what with her falling out with Julia and ACME, until today. It was the anniversary of his death, after all.

Carmen’s hands quivered as she lowered the flowers to the wet earth. Tension pulsed in her veins with a thousand emotions flooding through her. She was so, so angry! At the world, at Shadowsan, at Chief, at everyone for taking away what could’ve been a beautiful life with family she now knew nothing of.

She wanted to hurt someone, to scream. And so she did. A guttural roar escaped Carmen’s rouged lips, disappearing into the night. She took a deep breath, trying to calm her erratic breathing. When she looked down, she realized she had crushed the flowers.

Not caring anymore, Carmen plopped down against the headstone, the mud squelching beneath her. Tears began to flow beyond her control and she let them, for once allowing herself to truly feel all the hurt she kept pent up inside in favor of her suave exterior.

Her fingers dug into the earth, and she flung a fistful of mud into the rain. Carmen was tired of running from everything, tired of chasing her past, tired of hiding from the people she cared about.

Maybe the earth’ll open up and swallow me, she mused. Or better yet, maybe I’ll get struck by lightning.

Carmen sighed, moving her back to rest against her father’s grave. “Oh, dad.” She whispered softly. “I’m so sorry.”

The lady in red began to relax despite the rain, curling up in a fetal position and feeling sorry for herself. It wasn’t like Zack, Ivy, Player, and Shadowsan were here to see her so vulnerable, after all.

The sound of two feet approaching caught her attention, their light tread a very familiar sound.

No. It couldn’t be-

The lady in red looked up, her hair strewn haphazardly and her eyes red from crying all while every inch of her body was drenched.

“Miss Sandiego?” There stood Julia Argent with a sky blue umbrella, a mix of horror and concern painted over her delicate features.

“How many times have I told you Carmen is fine?” Carmen whispered as usual, only this time the flirty playfulness was amiss. Her voice was hoarse and raspy, not a sliver of emotion present as she stared dead ahead, right through Julia.

“I’m.....sorry.” The petite woman replied, stressing the underlying meaning.

“What are you doing here, Agent Argent?” Carmen asked tiredly, refusing to call her Jules any longer.

Julia flinched, as if the missing nickname was like a blow to the gut. “Please, you don’t have to be so formal. But, um, I live here, remember? So I think I I should be ask you that.”

“I was just passing through.” The lady in red stood, refusing to meet the other woman’s eyss.

“Where are you going?”

“Anywhere but here.” Carmen said coldly. She couldn’t believe she had ever been stupid enough to begin to trust Julia, much less begin to fall for her. “It’s a long walk to the train station.”

For once, she thought she had someone who believed in her, someone who was on her side wholeheartedly.....and yet...

Stockholm.

“Carmen, you won’t be able to find your way in this weather.” Julia said tentatively, pity filling her beautiful doe eyes to the brim. “Please, um, my apartment isn’t far from here. You can stay until the rain calms down.”

A dark, humorless laugh escaped the Latina’s lips. “What, do all you ACME agents bunk in the same place or something?”

“Excuse me?“

“So they’re waiting for me then,” Carmen continued, her anger and feelings of betrayal peeking into a tirade. “I bet they all have they’re guns propped up at the door already in place. I think I’ll pass, Jules.“

Carmen spit her nickname out like some vile insult she was hurtling at an enemy.

Julia sucked in a sharp breath, sadness touching her features. “Carmen,“ The petite woman began, pleading “I know you won’t forgive me for what happened in Stockholm, but I promise you I didn’t know.“ She paused, waiting for some form of acknowledgement, no response. “I-I told Chief to back off and let me talk to you, she-she said it was okay! I had no idea they were moving in. Please, please Believe me.”

“Oh yeah?“ The woman in red whispered, her voice barely audible over the downpour. “And what if I don’t?“

...

And thats all i have sooo far---

AIJSIDKDKJDKFJDJJSJDFJ OKAY THIS IS LATE BC I WAS NOT IN THE EMOTIONAL HEADSPACE TO DECONSTRUCT THIS BUT. ANON HOW DARE YOU? I AM IN IMMEASURABLE PAIN

i’ll just add notes as i go, thank you for allowing me to read this and offer pointers :D

your descriptions are so good omg!! i love the first sentence SO much?? “the rain relented for no one, not even for those who were in mourning” PHEWWW that’s poetry

i’d say the only thing about the following descriptions is that you don’t have to describe everything, if that makes sense? like, you can leave it as just “a stormy sky” for example. descriptions are amazing, but too much of anything can be harder to read and get your point across!

“it was easy to cry in the rain” anon WHO let you hurt me like this!!!

i feel like if i look up those flowers i will cry so i’m not going to but. shadowsan knowing what flowers to bring is just.... help i’m in pain

NOT THE GRAVE BEING IN POITIERS GOD GIVE ME STRENGTH

instead of “so, so, angry” you can say furious, and replace the exclamation mark with a period. it makes it more solid (if that’s the right word...?)

it’s probably a tumblr formatting thing but italicize the words when it’s her inner thoughts for better distinction!

CARMEN RECOGNIZING JULIA’S FOOTSTEPS

“a mix of horror and concern painted over her delicate features” i’m in LOVE with this wording??

REFUSING TO CALL HER JULES ANY LONGER@,#)&()&)&&)&:&:; LORDDDD

NOT THE. NOT FUCKING STOCKHOLM ANON?? me: brings it up 24/7 and then me when anyone else brings it up: WHY WOULD YOU DO THIS

THE ANGST IS KILLING ME

side note, don’t refer to characters by their race/ethnicity, go with the thief, lady in red, the other girl etc

probably a typo but **their instead of they’re!

“AND WHAT IF I DON’T?” I AM INCONSOLABLE ANON I AM SO SCARED TO READ THE FULL THING WHEN YOU’RE DONE BUT I ALSO CAN’T WAIT AHHHHH THIS ANGST IS SOOO GOOD

thanks again for the submission 🥺💕 i hope my notes were okay!! this was such an emotional journey to read and now i’m going to be fueled by stockholm angst all day when writing <3

[rpbetter]

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y’all who see writing as an obstacle to getting down to action, be that smut, drama, or fight scenes...it’s literally a writing hobby

politics, any manner of phobe or ism, violent/non-inclusive feminists, purity/rpc/fandom/content police of any manner, and exactly any manner of racism, sexism, or religious intolerance - I give not a shit if it’s popular to hate the straights, for example, I neither believe in nor tolerate reactionary classifying of any group as blanket-statement evil

people who are going to tack onto my posts shit like, “it’s okay, OP, you can say x character.” Trust me, if I were talking about one character, I fucking would name drop them, don’t bring me into your fandom drama, I doubt I know or want to know who that anime guy is who looks like 12 other anime guys to me.

About Vespertine

You can call me that, Vespertine. I’d rather you didn’t go with Vesper, but as it is unfortunately so likely to happen, I won’t feed you to the dogs over it either. RPB Mun is also acceptable.

I’m alright with either she/her or he/him, they/them is also fine. Apparently, that was big enough clue-in for the poor reading comp crowd, so while I feel it is not of importance, I’m nonbinary, yes.

Late 30′s, chronically ill but still working adult with neurodivergence. I’m both busy and Busy, and always sick. This limits my brain power and ability to be here. I have an active RP blog that I won’t be sharing to keep responsible distance. That is always going to be my priority, it is my primary hobby.

Please, don’t tumblr message me totally random things if we don’t have that kind of relationship! I’m too ill and busy, and it really fucks my nerves to have a bunch of messages/have to suddenly interact socially with people. Don’t do it. Use my inbox, use the submit, comment on posts. I cannot do random messages of “hey” and so forth.

I only do written RP, don’t expect me to understand much of anything from tabletop. I’ve RPed for the last 23 years consistently, on every platform from AOL chats to forums to messengers and here. I also don’t do RP in discord, so I’m sorry, but I can’t advise you much on anything with a word count, except to stop it for serious RP. Other than that, I promise you that I’ve seen the trends, the drama, the fandoms. I can give a lot of advice and perspective on a wide range of topics, situations, and characters! When I don’t have a clue at all, I’ll try to do enough research to give you an answer.

Do I come off as a horrible, strict asshole? I do! I’m not going to say that I am just a shy bean who is more scared of you than you are me. I’m not. I’m honestly feral, but have common decency, compassion, and sense. All of which are lacking in the general RPC. So, if you can inbox/common/otherwise interact with anyone else on this site, you can totally handle me!

Honesty and openness are policies.

And in the spirit of that, I repeat; you can fucking do better, tumblr RPC!

[tonya-the-chicken]

"We need a field to write what kind of engagement we expect before posting"

I agree with that but also... I don't know, I don't really undestand why we can't post whatever the hell we want.

It's like... Internet. And fiction. Why do people care so much, omfg.

I mean, that post was mostly me rambling about nonsense but also I feel like expressing what kind of engagement we want and having more control over it is cool. We all on the Internet to have a fun time and I feel like such things would only help us. And just to be clear, this is only regarding REACTING to someone’s post or engaging with them like sending asks, writing DMs etc.

So from my perspective, it is a lot less about what you want to POST (which is regulated by the website’s ToS and laws of your country and nothing else) and a lot more about the etiquette of interacting with people. It’s about setting your boundaries beforehand

Some examples of regulating the way others engage with you are

Restricting replies/comments, blocking people you don’t like, setting your account private

Allowing/disallowing asks, DMs, submissions, setting if they can be anonymous or not

DNI/BYF also are ways of regulating your engagement (even though I have some criticism of DNI-stuff)

Outwards writing things like “Only mutuals interact with this post” or “Please, don’t send me any harsh criticism of this work” or “Feel free to block/unfollow”

A lot of those tools are provided for us by platforms we use and this is very cool and I want more regulations like this. Point 4 is what I was mostly thinking about in my post. I had in mind the way on one Russian fanfiction website I won’t advertise there is a field where you can choose how do you treat criticism in comments, allowing you to choose between “any criticism is fine”, “only gentle criticism is fine” and “No criticism I’m a baby” (to put it simply)

There is a lot of discussion about comments under fanfiction I see lately and I believe that despite the general rule “Any positive engagement is cool!” the only true answer would be “Every person is an individual and has their own preferences”. Maybe there are people who hate on key smashes in replies and they are valid in their feelings but... How would anyone know they hate key smashes if they haven’t said about this?

So, my idea is, we should make it more clear what feedback we expect and what feedback we don’t want. And then, we should be aware of the preferences of other people and act according to them and not because they must be rules set in sone but because it is a nice thing to do

What I want to say is that we must build the etiquette of the Internet on understanding that every person is an individual with their own boundaries and so, we must respect those boundaries the same way we would want our own boundaries to be respected. It’s not an obligation the same way being nice to people is not an obligation but... I think we all know being nice is a good thing

Hello, my name is Tonya and my answers are always a little bit too long

[kosmosguk]

Could I have BTS's reaction to having an emotional detached s/o for example like if they punish her by killing a loved one or something it doesn't really affect her? But it doesn't have to stay in just that particular situation you can explore and stuff >

[Of course! I relatively kept it close to what you requested, and I hope you enjoy it!

Warnings: Violence, Threats of Violence, Abuse, Death, Gorey Descriptions, Unhealthy Coping Mechanisms, Other Yandere Themes, Like really fucking toxic relationships that I hope none of you ever experience]

Seokjin:

It was the fifth person, an array of blood and bones and an image that should've sickened you to the core. Anyone would've felt sickened. But, standing here with eyes glued to the limp, neatly sliced up corpse of your best friend, you felt nothing. You felt nothing as Seokjin pressed you closer to him, his blood-soaked apron staining your beautiful white blouse. All you could think of was the material, how hard the bloodstain would be to get out, anything but the death that reeked in the room. You could see Seokjin get angrier, his voice louder as he told you to look, to look at the death. His words were like a haze, a watery blur of letters that your mind didn’t bother to interpret. He wanted to see you cry, to sob, to see you react with anything but the mute reality you were responding with. After all, Seokjin loved, just a little too much, to see you cry.

"I killed him, sliced each inch of his skin for being too close to him, and you won't even say anything? Do you not care about what I do for you? Look at him! Look at him. This is the extent I’ll go for you, what I’d risk for you, and yet you won’t even look at me!"

Yoongi:

You were used to Yoongi now, used to the way he would give you that stiff, chilling look as he gave you increasingly morbid gifts. Teeth, knocked out of your friend, tied in a twisted necklace, love letters with detailed descriptions of each kill, little souvenirs he'd snatch off their bodies that he knew you knew only they wore. You used to be so horrified, begging and screaming and kicking and hoping that someone would wake you up, but you adapted, you learned how to survive. And you stopped feeling. Yoongi got more desperate; were you growing tired of him, of his gifts that showed his devotion? Yoongi may be an unexpressive man, but he's also a desperate man. He'll do anything to make you feel something, to look at him with eyes that aren't so cold and blank, and if he has to dig out hearts as gifts to get you to do so, he will.

"I gave you all of these fucking gifts and you won't even acknowledge them. Don't be an ungrateful bitch because I'll figure something out to make you realize how grateful you should be. I always do."

Namjoon:

Namjoon was a smart man, a controlling man. He had melded you into the perfect lover, obedient, submissive, but he had never intended for you to end up so...detached. You were docile, silently curling up next to him whenever he came home, a warm dinner primed on the table. Sometimes, he liked to play around with you in those moments, pressing you further into his grip as he murmured softly, his face peaceful despite the malicious glaze over his eyes, exactly how he could hurt you, cut you open and mark you as his. You never blinked at the words, humming softly where you needed to as he spewed out ways he could brand you, how he could make sure you could never leave him. It had been frustrating for him at first how blank and unresponsive you were, but it was so much better than the bitter fight you used to put up before. Perhaps, he thought to himself, maybe it was better that you were so distant. That was the easiest alternative to a sick route, after all.

"I could carve my name into your back. Imagine how beautiful it would be, the word Namjoon, 7 letters that'll mark you as mine. Or I could burn a brand into you. But I won't as long as you'll be my good girl, right?"

Hoseok:

Hoseok was...unpredictable. His mood changed quickly, bounding from one leap to another. One moment, he'd be smiling, the curve of his lips radiantly lifted, and it was like he was on top of the world and nothing could bring him down. And then something would bring him down, and he'd change. It would be from the simplest of moments: your affection was just a second too little, your declaration of love lacked enough emotion, you accidentally forgot to wear the gift he gave you. You learned to detach yourself from the moment, blinking and nodding to acknowledge, and you wouldn't even notice when he had stopped hissing threats, angered that you didn't care. It was a never-ending cycle: you'd mess up, he'd get angry, he'd hurt you, and then he'd beg for your forgiveness. But sometimes you weren't even aware of the pain, of the fear that you should've been feeling; after all, a never-ending cycle gets boring quick, and you'd never really cared about it enough to complain.

‘‘You won’t even acknowledge me? Do I not mean anything to you? I’m your boyfriend, the one you should love the most, the sun of your dark, dull boring life, and you don’t even want to look at me? Do I have to show you who you belong to? Because I will if I have to teach you a lesson.’’ 

Jimin:

You were aware of the man clinging onto you, blood-stained and begging you, his eyes swelling in tears, to forgive him, that he didn't mean to kill them but they were asking too many questions and that he didn't want to look at you with those distant eyes. You couldn't help it, that numb feeling that swallowed you up and left you only aware that you were breathing and nothing else. Jimin was clinging harder to you now, crying so hard that he was hiccupping as he begged at you to look at him, to not be so distant. "It's okay," you said, voice hoarse from lack of use, even though anybody else would've said much otherwise," I don't really care." It was like a switch, those words would always make him happier and oh so much better. He'd let you have space, let you even brush your hair and tie your shoelaces all by yourself, maybe even let you choose your own clothes. And after a while, those words, repeated over and over, made you realize that perhaps, maybe you never really cared at all in the first place. And maybe it was good you did.

"I'm so, so sorry. He was just there and he was asking so much about you and he got too close to the truth that you loved me and wanted to go away with me forever and wanted to take you away from me. I had to kill him. Please don't hate me. I'll do anything, just, please, say you love me."

Taehyung:

You used to snap at him, fiery and bold and passionate. You were like a wild animal, one that had just too much freedom and needed a cage. He was kind enough to provide you that, but it took you so long to realize exactly why you needed to be grateful that he would take you, a masterpiece in a world of filth, and lock you away in a safe, pure place. Pure was subjective, warped in his own eyes, and it was definitely not with the way he brought you down, making you want to crumble and break, just like an animal trapped and wanting to curl up in a corner and sleep away, broken. That's why when he got angry at you for not looking into his eyes properly during a conversation, tightly gripping your jaw until you were sure there was blood under his nails, when he threatened to lock you up in a disgusting small room he had built for bad, misbehaving beasts, you were almost grateful. You wouldn't have to look at him, wouldn't have to give him kisses and be under that watchful, predatory stare. Your relief, instead of the fear he wanted, must've shown through because he noticed. He always noticed. And by God, you should hope that the small room with a blanket on the floor as a bed was all you got.

‘‘Not even looking at me while I’m talking to you? I raised you better than that. You best keep in mind everything I do for you: how I took you in when you were a miserable piece of shit, how I raised you; how I kept you well. If you forget, I’m sure a trip to the room will help. And if you don’t remember? By God, you’ll realize how much of a blessing that room is.’‘

Jungkook:

Jungkook pressed a kiss into your neck, your body perched uncomfortably on his lap and his arms, strong enough to crush your body, looped around your waist. "You know," his voice was muffled by your skin. His teeth was poking your flesh now, hard and sharp and threatening, as he sunk them into your skin, marking you brutally as you stared at the painting across from you, barely registering the pain as more of a numb sensation, even when he dragged his teeth out harshly. "I could mark you up like this, maybe," his fingers trailed up your bare arm, digging into it," maybe I can even write my name right here, tear you open." You barely blinked in response. "What do you think?" he asked you, tapping your shoulder," JK right here would be perfect. Should I do it?" You hummed in response. His grip tightened around you as he murmured," You didn't answer me properly." You blinked, once and twice, and then replied," Do whatever." Jungkook grinned boyishly, sweet and innocent before he turned angry, like the man you knew. He pushed you off his lap, causing you to sprawl to the floor, his voice loud and booming," don't fucking give me a vague answer. Answer me properly." "Yes. I don't care," you said, your voice steady despite the impact. "You don't fucking care," Jungkook spat out, his voice at a near yell," I'll give you a fucking reason to care."  

‘‘It’s bullshit that you don’t care. That you don’t give a fuck. Because you should, you should if you don’t want me to do something you’ll regret. If you keep saying that you don’t care, I’ll give you a reason to care, give you a reason to give up this fucking stupid ass game of yours.’‘

[iol247]

Opinionista • Ismail Lagardien • 15 March 2021

Fifteen years along the road to nowhere, and the worst is yet to come

We are at a point, now, where instead of pointing to the perversity of misguided distribution, corruption, theft, maladministration, tenderpreneurs, and State Capture, discussions are deflected – and the spectrum of opinion has been narrowed.

In 2015, Justice Malala published his book We Have Now Begun Our Descent. Without having read the book I sat down to consider South Africa’s future, and concluded that there was little to no hope for the country. I was in Bonn, Germany, at the time, after four or more years in the secretariat of the National Planning Commission. Although the Covid-19 pandemic has had a dreadful impact on South Africa’s political economy and society – as it has on almost every country in the world – the country’s problems took a turn for the worse at Nasrec at the end of 2017, and Malala’s “descent” gained momentum. 

I want to break with orthodoxy, and say that it is the politics, not “the economy,” as the old canard goes. Homo economicus might believe that the economy is everything, and everything is the economy, but “the economy” is those millions of transactions that humans make every minute of every day, and the personal and public political decisions that enable or disable those people (from making those transactions).

A collapse that preceded democracy

Before I continue, I want to share a passage I wrote between 1991 and 1993, when I was the southern African correspondent for the New Straits Times of Malaysia. I don’t have the exact date of publication, because the person who decided to make a “portfolio” of my work neatly trimmed my reports and columns but failed to include the date. I was going to save it for my memoir, but here it is – written at a time when the apartheid government was losing its grip on power and state institutions in the early 1990s:

“It is as if a villainous character had every day, over the years, gone to the Union Buildings, the seat of government in the capital, Pretoria, and methodologically and systematically undone every single screw, bolt, nut and nail of government. Every day, now, for months on end, a section of government in South Africa is coming apart. It is difficult, now, after a spate of scandalous exposes in recent months to say exactly when the disintegration first started, or when the first door, window or desk in the Union Buildings collapsed. What has become evident, however, is that the state is collapsing bit by bit, in slow motion, while its powers of rehabilitation [are] dissipating with its political might.”

It has been reported, over and again, that the democratic government inherited a state that was on its knees. As the Afrikaner historian Herman Giliomee wrote, a decade ago, March 1985 marked, “the day apartheid started dying”. 

Wrote Giliomee: “Pik Botha recalls: ‘I will never forget the night of July 31 when [Minister of Finance] Barend du Plessis phoned me… [He said]: ‘Pik, I must tell you that the country is facing inevitable bankruptcy … The process has started.’”

We had growth, and increased social spending, but the thieves saw opportunities

The first democratic government of South Africa, led by Nelson Mandela, was fully aware of the terrible state of the economy. They managed, within a decade or more, to provide utilities and access to public goods and services (including social grants) to millions of people across the country (all necessary for a stable, progressive social democracy), while managing the country’s finances, avoiding profligacy – and through it all, produced growth and a Budget surplus. 

This demonstrated that you can reduce poverty, provide social services, deliver public goods and services, as well as manage the country’s finances. The problem that emerged, after the first 12-15 years was not lack of growth, or a contraction of the economy, it was about distribution – much of the growth did, indeed go to social spending, but a lot more began to go into the wrong pockets. Corruption, maladministration, cronyism, nepotism and prebendalism took root – what good was the ANC-led state, if it did not line the pockets of its leaders, and members who were deployed to state agencies, and boards across the country?

Fast-forward to a few years later, and we are at a point, now, where instead of pointing to the perversity of misguided distribution, corruption, theft, maladministration, tenderpreneurs, and State Capture, discussions are deflected – and the spectrum of opinion has been narrowed. Somewhat simultaneously rose the politics of identity (the ugly version), and instead of policies focusing on social problems, they focused on contortions of language, the politics of revenge, populism, scapegoating, and the speeches and statements of leaders were increasingly laced with words like “bloodshed,” and all the while xenophobia, aimed mainly at Africans and Asians, has spread. 

A careful read of Carl Niehaus’s eight-page submission on likely policies of the ruling alliance, suggests we are expected to choose between Radical Economic Transformation by policy (ANC), or Radical Economic Transformation by force (EFF). At what point do the ANC’s radical forces join the EFF? Impossible, but not improbable. 

Are we there yet?

Let’s take stock, briefly, of where we are. We know that “the economy” is in the pits. But what makes an economy stable, expansive, progressive and able to secure social justice? Don’t ask an economist. To them it’s all cost-benefits, assumptions, laws and models which they mistake for truth. And anyway, people who are so sure of their own predictive powers belong on the beachfront with fortune tellers. What makes an economy work is everything else: the people, the institutions, the policies, ethics, food, water, shelter, clothing and, well, energy. If we start just with energy, consider the fact that we may have load shedding  for at least the next five years. 

This week, Eskom’s Chief Executive Officer, André de Ruyter, confirmed that “there will be a shortfall in supply of electricity of approximately 4,000 megawatts over the next five years as announced by President Cyril Ramaphosa. We welcome further interventions announced by the president, which will include a further request for proposals for a further 2,600 megawatts from wind and solar energy.” 

Using non-economic rationalist orthodoxy, us ordinary citizens know, intuitively, that you cannot run a shop, a workshop or any heavy industry without a stable source of electricity. We also know that you cannot get to work without commuter trains running. We also know that we place our lives in danger with every taxi ride. While us mere mortals don’t travel abroad much, if at all, we know that planes belong in the air; that the public broadcaster is meant to serve as, well, a public broadcaster; the police are meant to serve and protect; our military personnel should be able to march in straight lines, and its hardware has to be up to date (you can’t have stockpiles of ammunition that is outdated); along with the police and military, the state security system ought to make us sleep better at night, and criminals need to be prosecuted – even if they are among the highest office-bearers in the ruling alliance. 

A woman walking to work is not safe. A family sitting at home watching TV is not safe. A farmer working his or her fields is not safe. The driver stopping at a red light is not safe. Do we really expect someone to invest in an existing or new industry or fund innovation if a faction of the ruling party calls for “the mass nationalisation of industries including mines, insurance companies, steel and chemical companies”? The future of work is changing, but our major union leaders, supported by barbarous professors, want our workers to stay in the bondage of assembly lines – instead of retraining them for new, more innovative means of production.

All of these represent the life world of everyday people in South Africa. Every time anyone buys a loaf of bread or a bag of oranges they comprise “the economy”. Speaking of oranges, you can return the land to “its rightful owners” and (with the help of the former white owner) farm citrus products, but if individual oranges have a fungal disease you may not be able to export your produce. That’s not a racist conspiracy. (I use this one example because I have some insights into a related domestic issues case, and about the way the World Trade Organisation works.) 

This can go on and on if we can’t guarantee: the safety of investments; a reliable stream of energy; community and personal safety; trains that run; a reliable justice system – with judges who are unimpeachable; a postal service that is functional; public servants who do the jobs they’re paid to do; teachers who teach; nurses who are paid well, and don’t sign in for one another when they want to escape parts of night duty; and if we don’t play our part, as active citizens.

The government can build schools, but parents must make sure their children attend school, and show an interest in the child’s education. The government can provide trash cans, but people must use them. Visit downtown Johannesburg and you may get a sense of how filth has built up – it’s not quite at the levels of Naples, but give it time. While we hold the state and political parties to a high standard, we need to, also, report on citizens who refuse to pay or steal electricity and water, then cry foul if they are brought to book. That, is largely, the result of ANC promises. With another election in a couple of years, do we really think the ANC, or any political party is going to tell people to pay their electricity bills or get cut off? And so, it’s not “the economy” it’s everything we do, and say, every day, that makes the economy work. 

We may have started our descent, as Malala, wrote almost six years ago; my loss of hope has deepened – helped along by #statecapture revelations. But let me turn to the observations I made in the early 1990s, with regards to the National Party:

“What has become evident, however, is that the state is collapsing bit by bit, in slow motion, while its powers of rehabilitation [are] dissipating with its political might.” 

https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/opinionista/2021-03-15-fifteen-years-along-the-road-to-nowhere-and-the-worst-is-yet-to-come/

Submitted by TT

[narutsuart]

Updated Three Houses Top 10 Females List:

Just in time for International Women’s Day! I’ve been working on revising my list as much as possible in light of revisiting Three Houses, playing Ashen Wolves, and rethinking my love for each female character I put on my last list. I will this time do the my list from Tenth place to First place. Just a heads up my # 1 one spot has not changed so don’t expect some crazy surprise there.

Disclaimer: please don’t flame me or comment about how “WRONG” I am it’s just my personal opinion or preference. BE NICE! and maybe reblog or comment your favorite list if you’d like?

#10: Shamir:

My opinion Shamir literally has not changed. She is just a cool character, I love how despite her debt to Rhea she isn’t kissing Rhea’s ass like Catherine or Ciril. Did I mention I really don’t like them lol? She’s badass and she has an excellent character design. Perfect blend of sexy and badass.

#9. Bernadetta:

Bernie dropped another spot going from 8th to 9th. I still have an abundance of love for Bernie, and I want to protect her at all cost. I still hold the opinion that while she’s an absolutely hilarious character, she can still get repetitive and stale pretty fast upon replays. That being said when I was thinking of characters that might potentially drop to below my top ten I couldn’t reasonably see myself dropping her out of my top 10, as Bernie is still a genuinely enjoyable character, and I do have a soft spot for her.

#8. Sothis:

Unfortunately Sothis dropped down a bit no fault of her own, simply because I enjoy the ladies above her more. That being said I really do enjoy Sothis. Even though our time is brief with her, I really do love the snarky little goddess. It’s funny, last time I made this list I had gotten her Christmas altand expressed my excitement, but I didn’t have her Mythic version(aka original version). I just recently I finally got lucky, and pulled her Mythic version!

#7 Dorothea:

AHHH THE PITCH FORKS!! I’M SO SORRY!! I know! I know! WTF?! I honestly any think of a perfectly justifiable reason as to why Dorothea has dropped so low on my list. She went from 4th place to 7th place for those that don’t remember. I honestly feel disgusting for putting her so low....I absolutely adore her character, her design is absolutely stunning, and I still enjoy most of her supports, but honestly I can’t justify putting her any higher than the women above her on this list. Like many who have dropped lower in placement it’s of no fault of her own. I just happened to realize I love the women above her more. I still believe deserves all the happiness, love and care that she desires!

#6. Hapi:

Hapi is such a fucking gem, I don’t know if it’s just the dub but Hapi’s dialogue is just so ahead of its time period and I love it so much lol. She has some of the funniest quotes and her habit for nicknaming everyone is hilarious. I’m aware that it’s not a trait unique to her, but I’m of the opinion that her nicknames far surpasses Dorothea’s nicknames. Now if we we’re talking strictly design Hapi would place 4th out of entire female cast for me, and that’s impressive feat since Three Houses has an abundance of amazing designs. In fact if I was strictly talking design a lot of the placements on this list would actually change. For example Hapi would actually rank above Constance for me in terms of design, but is trumped by Constance in terms of character. I might do a separate list for “best” designs in the near future.

#5. Rhea:

I KNOW ITS BLASPHEMY I STILL have both Edelgard and Rhea in my top 5?!! As those who saw my last list can see Rhea’s placement has not changed. I love Rhea so much is because she’s the perfect foil to Edelgard. Rhea is an excellenty written character with a lot of emotional depth. She acts as a perfect foil for Edelgard’s character they are so similar yet so different. It also makes sense that she and Edelgard’s ideals would come to clash. I’m of the opinion that if Edelgard and Rhea just talked about their views it still would still not end well. Rhea sage guarded her fabricated history of Fódlan for a thousand years and would not just tell the truth because Edelgard called her out. She would’ve branded Edelgard a heretic and have her executed. That type of tranquil furry is honestly unsettling and I LOVE it. Btw the only reason she tells the truth in CS and VW is because in CS she doesn’t think she has much time left, and in VW she doesn’t have much time left and chaos is marching on Fódlan’s door. Likewise Edelgard would sympathize with Rhea’s past if she told the truth, but would insist that Rhea step down from power or tell the truth to the world which would still lead to conflict. I personally agree with Edelgard vision for Fodlan more, and personally think Rhea is unstable, and worst SOLE leader for Fodlan, but neither are evil people and I can empathize with their motives and reasons for doing the morally grey things they do. Neither of them “do nothing wrong” like people claim and in fact do a LOT wrong. It’s those wrong things they do that makes them intriguing characters, and more relatable. They also both have the potential to do so many good things for Fódlan depending on the route.

#4. Constance:

GOOD LORD Costance is truly a one of a kind. I was pro Constance since her design was first revealed in the Cindered Shadows DLC trailer. That being said never did I envision loving her THIS much! Her motivations are easily understandable, and her fall from grace makes even more sad when you realize that haughty attitude that she almost always has on display is due to her compensating for her lack of status. Constance is one of the funniest characters in the game to me and she came out AFTER the game lol. She’s an incredibly intelligent prodigy when it comes to all things magic yet she has this naivety that people are able to exploit like Yuri with the “bootlicking nobles” phrase. She takes it so literal that she tries it out for her self, and tries to make a way for the boots to taste better making it easier to lick their boots......I CANT EVEN!!... honestly Constance could top this list if it weren’t for her split personality..... don’t get me wrong her split personality when in sunlight can be funny every now and then, but honestly it does more harm to her character then helps it in my opinion. Her change in personality when in sunlight is implied that to be because of the trauma of the fall of House Nuevelle, but we never get any real explanation for it or anything implying she can overcome it. Its not expanded upon, and never treated seriously. In fact it’s played for laughs and it’s something people just accept as Constance just being Constance. I honestly felt Constance C rank support with Ferdinand was done so well. She calls him out for his usually insensitive comments about status and makes him regret his words immediately. I had so much respect for her in that moment, come the b-rank support she acts all submissive and praises the ground he walks on....which ruined the c-rank support for me tbh. That being said, as you can see based off her placement this trait of hers doesn’t ruin the character for me, just keeps her from being higher.

#3. Petra:

On a much lighter note, Petra is my 3rd favorite! If you notice she has dropped down from my second favorite spot. This is due to no fault of her own I, just happened to realize that I loved my number 2 spot more. With that being said Petra has still gotten the victory! Like I mentioned in my first list, Petra is just a delight. I love how she’s so dedicated, and always willing to learn. Funnily enough my initial expectation for Petra’s character pre-release was vastly different then what her actual character ended up being. She’s one of those character’s who’s design got revealed MUCH earlier than any details about her personality and her design gave me the impression that she was the aloof, intimidating, and serious type that doesn’t have time for making friends or fun. I don’t know if anyone else got this impression, but obviously I was wrong! Petra truly does remind me a lot of Starfire from the original 2003 Teen Titans tv show and kinda re-awakens that childhood cartoon crush in me lol. Petra is just awesome there’s not a single support I don’t like of her.

#2. Marianne

Now if you saw my old list you probably noticed that Marianne moved up a bit. Naturally I still love her design(I’m a sucker for light blue hair I think lol), but upon revisiting Three Houses I realized that leaving Marianne at 3rd place somehow didn’t feel adequate. Funnily enough she was technically the first person I S-ranked in Three Houses due to locking myself out of the Crimson Flower Route on accident. Honestly she has become my favorite character to S-rank in Three Houses even more so than my number one spot! Anyway my love for Marianne is very different for most character’s as she is one I feel can really relate to on very personal and emotional level. I’m gonna get real for a minute. I honestly I had been in bad place in my life recently. I had been feeling like the world has been crashing down on me. I have plenty of things to be happy for yet I often felt depressed. I’d often had “friends” call me out, saying I have no reason to be depressed, or that I have been blessed with so many things, and while I agree I’m very blessed, they couldn’t understand how I felt, as all they could provide was the view of an outsider looking in. While the action of suicide was something I never considered, I’d had been contemplating the value of my life or if it was really worth living. First want to clarify that I’m in MUCH better headspace than I was then. I definitely feel like I’m getting better. I have my ups and downs, but I’m currently making better friendships, I’m actively getting the help I need! I’ve always sympathized with Marianne, but now I can say that I really empathize with Marianne. When we take things at face value she seemingly had everything going for her, being brought up into the nobility, trained for success, and even having an extremely rare crest. By all means to an outsider looking in she had every reason to be happy. Of course while all these things sound nice especially in the context of the story they are in actuality a source for her depression. In her C-rank support with Ferdinand we see his confusion as to why Marianne dislikes being a part of the nobility. This support is one of the few times she expresses real anger, and is when expresses she never got to have what she saw as a normal life, she never wanted to be a part of the nobility and the weight and the expectations of being nobility was crushing her, as she had to adhere to standards of those around her. She was also taught to fear her crest as curse, so the blessing many commoners would be estatic to receive was thing she deemed as a curse. Over the course of the story and through her supports, Marianne begins to learn how to be more accepting of herself and gain more self-confidence. Naturally her timeskip appearance reflects this. She looks well-rested, expressive, and she genuinely seems more happy. I will never forget In her A-support with Byleth, that over the course of 5 years she had abandoned her depression and suicidal thoughts thanks to the genuine and long lasting friendship‘s she’s made and that she managed to uncover the truth of her heritage, and overcome the fear and hatred of her Crest. Her character arc is a very powerful thing to me, and is also example of what makes the 5 year timeskip so great. In addition to her character arc Marianne is just so cute, don’t get me stated on how adorable her habit of talking to animals is! Marianne is a fucking fantastic character and I love her so much.

EDIT: So I wanted to clarify that if I’m being honest Marianne and #1 spot are technically both tied as #1 me, and are so for very different reasons. For the sake of creating a Top 10 and to avoid a cop out list I chose to put her at second. To me Marianne is “BEST GIRL”. She’s my favorite female character to marry, she’s most endearing to me, she has like my third favorite female character design in all of Fire Emblem, and I relate to her on an emotional level. That being said this next character is “BEST CHARACTER” I like more for her role in the story, how her character is written, and how she was designed. Despite this I do not marry her NEARLY as often as Marianne. While I ship her with F! Byleth(OTP!) she’s not someone I personally would persue romantically. In other words Marianne is more my type and I tend to be biased with her while this next character is female character that I feel is the BEST WRITTEN and the female character I respect the most out of the cast.

#1. Edelgard:

Upon revisiting Fire Emblem Three Houses story as well as playing the Cindered Shadows DLC, nothing has changed, in fact my love and resolve for Edelgard has only been strengthened. I made a huge in depth posts for Edelgard a while back explaining her past, motives, and reasons for what she does. The posts had spanned multiple reblogs of details and clarification and I went over the typing limit in every single one. I won’t divulge further into all that. Like I mentioned last time I created my top ten list, aside from her being IN MY OPINION one of the best written female protagonists in Fire Emblem history, I absolutely love her design, its probably one of my favorite designs in all of Fire Emblem. That being said, If I had to say while she’s definitely close, she doesn’t have my all time number one favorite design, that spot goes to Azura from Fire Emblem Fates. Edelgard will always be my favorite Three Houses female character no matter what and I’m so happy she was brought into existence!

Well that’s my revised list, I had a lot of fun writing this list and I hope it was enjoyable for you guys to read as well! I would really love it if you guys comment or reblog with your own list of favorite Three House females! Y’know what?! Comment or reblog with your list of favorite females in the entire Fire Emblem franchise if you’d like! I’m very interested in seeing your lists Happy International Women’s Day!

[talldarkandroguesome]

30th of Morning Star, Loredas

It was not Nabine, but one of her acquaintances who came to get the girls. It was clear from the message, both in Nabine’s absence and verbally delivered words, that I am not in my dearest’s good graces. She holds a grudge as well as an Dunmer does and it was clear that my breaking my plans was more than a minor imposition upon her.

She said that she would not keep me from doing my share of the childcare, nor was she cruel enough to deprive the children of their father’s company, but that she did not wish to see me until I could give her assurances of what I was willing to do to make up for my broken words.

I hurried back to the Mages Guild and got back to my class. It was another infuriating day. Not only did we spend the whole of it attempting to master creating flame and build magickal stamina, the teacher refused to acknowledge me in any way for the first half of the lesson. In fact, I was not paired with anyone and when I was spoken to, it was to remind me that I was not, as of yet, a mage.

A Breton with an ego as inflated as an Altmer, a rare sight, though not one I had any celebration upon finding. This teacher is beyond a doubt the most arrogant I have met, and I know many a teacher at Shad Astula.

After a while of making flames in our hands, the teacher said everyone should rest and let their magicka replenish. I was not tired in the least. I had felt as though I expended nothing.

When I voiced that, the teacher decided to attempt to make a bit of an example out of me. A moment that I had foreseen coming, though hardly so soon.

I was told then that I should remain with the fire in my hand as long as possible and see how much I could truly do.

I thought of making an enormous flame to make it at least equal with that of the other’s as far as expenditure, but I knew this sort of person, who if you do not follow their instruction to the letter, they call you undisciplined and unable to control yourself. Instead, I decided to simply do exactly what was asked of me and let my talents speak for themselves. I did not complain, I simple stood there and held the fire.

Surely I was expected only to be able to do a little longer than the others, or even to hold it until the others were well recovered. Of course, it became a mark of pride for this teacher to try and shame me, so it was that even when the others were quite recovered, I was bid to stay. It was obvious, even as the other students were allowed to get back to things, that the teacher was keeping eyes upon me. Upon me and no one else.

A few times the other students asked for advice and they were told to just keep working at it. In the end, many of the other students stopped even trying, mesmerized by the standoff ensuing. I know that he was assuming I was somehow making this happen either through non-arcane means, or that I might attempt something to make it appear as though I was capable of more than I was.

Time after time I saw that glow in the eyes of the instructor, something I have come to learn is a sign of certain types of spell casting. 

I think it was when he realized the whole class had stopped to look at things, that he finally called the course over early so that everyone could go and independently work on their flames.

I did not know what the reaction from the others would be, when it was clear the teacher had no interest in talking to me, I made sure to be the first out of the room. I heard Nael calling after me, but I slipped around a corner and then drew the shadows to cloak me in invisibility.

Quickly, I made my way back to the Den and to Sera Mags, who told me I looked like... how did she put it? Complete and utter mammoth shite strung out on a line in the sun.

Hardly lacking in colorful expressions, the great Mama Mags. She asked what bottle I wanted and I indulged in some brandy and a little bit of rotmeth. I paid her the coin for whichever of her employees had been the most free and spent the next few hours with a Redguard who managed to engage me more than enough to allow me to escape the racing thoughts within my mind.

I had a meal and then offered to sell my services. Mama Mags begrudging allowed me to help with the music for the evening guests. Maglan, the centaur who I was so in awe of before, was performing, so I was more than excited to be able to help provide her musical accompaniment.

After an evening of entertaining patrons with my music, I was requested by, of all things, an Altmer woman. I was not eager to have caught the eye of an Altmer, but I also did not wish to cause a scene or arouse any suspicions turning down the coin.

As it turned out, I was easily able to look beyond her being an Altmer, she did not wish to have any lights on, save for one candle on the other side of the room. She wished also to be gagged and tied up, which certainly helped to ease my latent anxieties. I could image her being someone else and so could give myself almost entirely over to the night. Particularly knowing that, if nothing else, I was using an Altmer to make prayers to my Prince. If I had not been within the Den, I might have considered offering her life too. But it is best not to draw any unwanted attention to such a fine establishment.

At a point there was a knock in the door and I was informed that I had another client who was waiting on me and that my current client only had another 15 minutes worth of payment made and that extension could not be granted on my services tonight.

The woman started to protest, but I told her that, like she herself, my hands were tied in this matter.

I do not think she enjoyed my little play on words and she immediately gave sign that she wished to be ungagged. I complied and heard the string of complaints about not being allowed to fully enjoy the time she paid for. I said that I could only apologize that things were not to her satisfaction and asked what we could do to make the rest of her evening as pleasant as possible before time was up. And then I used my birthgift to make sure that she rid herself of her anger and concentrated on all the good that was to come her way.

She gave me some minor instructions and I made sure to keep her satisfied until I had to excuse myself. I left her to redress and took a quick washing before I went to the room I had been told to report to next. I was eager to be free from an Altmer and curious who it may have been who requested me.

I arrived to the room and knocked. I heard a male voice bid me enter.

Inside the room was wholly dark. The voice told me to come and kneel before the bed. I complied.

Then I was instructed a to the rules of the evening, my role as submissive, and the punishment for not being obedient. I agreed to it all once I heard the perimeters of the scenario. I was even more excited when I heard another two voices.

Needless to say, I enjoyed my role and made sure to give myself over to performing to the best of my ability.

Right in the crescendo of it all, the person behind me leaned in to my ear and I heard a familiar voice. She told me I was still just as desperate a rover and a shameless whore as she remembered.

I opened my mouth to speak and got a hard strike across my flank. I was told I had not been told I could speak. So I shut my mouth,

I smiled in the dark as Nabine told me to show her friends a good time and prove how much I was willing to make up for breaking my word.

Of course I was happy to do whatever it was that pleased her and her two friends. I used every part of my body and all the tricks that I knew to accommodate their desires. 

When at last they were tired, Nabine bid them farewell and told them she was going to leave me a tip so they should go on ahead and she would follow afterwards. And when they shut the door behind them, it was dark once again.

When it was just her and I in the dark room, so threw her arms round my neck and kissed me all over my face. I asked if I did not need to do more, for I wished to make it up to her.

She laughed and told me that of course there was. In fact, she had come up with a perfect solution, something that I had to agree to should I have any desire for us to ever do anything together again.

I told her to name it, for short of harming a loved one I was sure to do it.

Her hands ran across my chest as she explained that I had to make good on my earlier promise then. I asked her which one and she said, the one where we returned together to Mournhold. And when we did, we would kill Urtisa in the manner that she best deserved.

My mind raced. I told her that I of course was happy to do so, but that I would need time to figure out the best way to accomplish it without raising suspicions. Surely it would be too easy to trace back to us if we were to arrive and then she was found dead.

Nabine agreed. She also said that she knew with my background that I was more than capable of finding a way. She is not wrong. It just will take some time, which I told her.

I also said I had another matter of Mournhold to discuss with her, but she told me to shut my mouth and get in the bed with her. Who was I to argue with the woman I love best?

[winterhawkremix]

These can also be found by clicking on the FAQ link on the blog.

What is a ‘remix’?

This is a tough question to answer, because everyone’s definition is a little bit different. Basically, you can change the length, the mood, the POV character, whatever you want. The only two things you have to keep the same are the pairing and basic plotline – otherwise it’s a whole new fic, and not a remix.��

For some examples of remixing methods, please see the Fanlore page about them: https://fanlore.org/wiki/Remix

Do I need an AO3 account?

Yep – all remixes will be posted on AO3. If you don’t have an account, send us an ask with your email address and we’ll email you an invite to join.

What if my fic isn’t on AO3 at the moment?

That’s fine! There’s a place on the sign-up to let us know where to find your fic

What counts as an eligible fic?

A fic is eligible if it’s at least 1,000 words long and a completed work, not a WIP. It must also focus on Clint Barton and Bucky Barnes and their relationship.

What’s the difference between submission and posting?

Submission is when all remixes have to be uploaded onto AO3 by. These fic will not be public at this point, so you won’t see them in the tags. They’re essentially wrapped presents – they’re there but you don’t know what they are.

Posting is when all the fic go live, and they all become readable, aka the fun unwrapping of the present. However, all the writers will still be anonymous at this point.

Author reveals is when you find out who the actual writer is.

So how do I post my remixed fic onto AO3 anonymously?

More details on that nearer the time!

What do I call my remix?

The usual format is ‘Original Title (The _____ Remix)’ similar to song remixes. The blank depends entirely on how you changed the story. You can see examples of remix titles here.

What if I need to drop out?

Please tell us ASAP! We can make sure your assigned person still gets a fic by asking if anyone wants to pinch-hit (aka sub in and write something on short notice).

Fandom isn’t the most important thing in the world and we understand that, but if you drop out without telling us, things get a whole lot more messy and you may be excluded from future WinterHawk Remix Challenges.

What do I need to take part?

Because this challenge involves taking someone else’s existing fic and remixing it, you need to have some existing fic. And everyone likes a little choice, so we ask that you have at least five fics of 1000 words or more, OR three fics of 3000 words or more, all focused on Clint Barton and Bucky Barnes and the relationship between them. You can also have a 'safe’ work, which you nominate, which your remixer cannot remix, the 3/5 fics should be in addition to this fic.

To make things easier for your remixer, you’ll need to have a place - such as your AO3 profile, or a tumblr post - which contains links to all the fic available for this challenge. You will be asked to provide the URL of this list during sign up and one of the mods will check you meet the minimum requirements.

What is a safe fic?

You can nominate one fic of yours that you do not want someone to touch – that fic will not be eligible to be remixed. You still need at least 2/3 other eligible fic to sign up for the remix.

Are polyships allowed?

Short answer: yes. Long answer: this challenge is focused on Winterhawk, so ideally Bucky and Clint will be the main characters in your fics and in the fic you write as part of this challenge. However, we want this challenge to be accessible to as many people as possible, so you can enter with polyship fics, as long as that polyship includes Bucky and Clint as major characters and they are the main focus of the remix fic you write. The remix fic you write should only include a poly relationship if the original fic is a polyship fic. If you do not wish to write polyships, you can mention this in the Do Not Wants section of the sign-up form.

How much do I need to write?

This isn’t a big bang, so the minimum word count isn’t huge. All remixes should be a minimum of 1000 words. There is no maximum word count, but bear in mind that there is a deadline.

When is the deadline?

Important dates for this remix are:

March 27th - sign ups open April 15th - sign ups close May 1st - remix assignments go out June 20th - fic submission to AO3 June 25th - anonymous fic reveal! June 30th - Author reveals!

That gives you just under 2 months to write your fic!

I don’t like [insert trope here] can I stop my remixer from using it/can I not remix fics with that trope?

The primary focus of this challenge is not a gift exchange, so we’re not as focused on likes/dislikes as other challenges. That said, we don’t want anyone to be triggered or upset by this challenge, so there is a section in the sign-up form so you can indicate any tropes you do not want to write/read. We’ll match you up as best as possible, but it’s possible your remixee might have some fics with tropes you don’t like, they should have enough other fics that you can avoid those.

As far as stopping your remixer from using tropes you don’t like, you can list things you absolutely can’t stand, but remember that we don’t want to limit the remixers too much, so try to keep this as limited as you feel you can. You know your own limits best.

I don’t like any of my remixee’s fics, what do I do?

That sucks. Sorry. But take another look and see if there are any ideas in there that might inspire you. While we hope you find fics you love, a fic doesn’t need to be your favourite thing ever for you to remix, in fact, if it were your favourite fic ever, that might be worse. The whole point of this challenge is to retell someone else’s story in a new and interesting way, so try to find a fic that you can retell in your own way. If you really can’t manage it at all and you want to drop out, then contact the mods at winterhawk.remix@gmail.com.

This is so much fun! Can I remix more than one fic?

Sure! As long as they’re finished by the deadline, you can definitely do more than one. You can even sign up as a pinch-hitter to help out if someone needs to drop out (please do, pinch-hitters are the heroes of every fandom challenge). You can remix any of your remixee’s eligible fics apart from the fic they have designated as their 'safe’ fic (if they have one). No one’s going to say no to more fic!

This is a cool idea, where did you get it from?

Well, we’ve taken part in remix challenges before. For a more comprehensive look at the history of the remix in fandom, take a look at the Fanlore page: https://fanlore.org/wiki/Remix

My remixee has fics that aren’t WinterHawk, can I remix one of those/can I make one of those WinterHawk?

We’re glad you found so much fic that inspires you! However, this is a WinterHawk challenge, so we ask that all fics involved have Clint and Bucky as the main focus, and the relationship between them. There are other remix challenges out there that are more general, or if you can’t find exactly what you’re looking for, it would be great to start one of your own.

Why are the fics being posted anonymously?

Partly for fun, partly to make sure this challenge isn’t too daunting to people who don’t write much fic or aren’t ‘big names’ in the Winterhawk corner. This seems the fairest way to give every fic a chance to shine, and every author a chance to be seen. We hope you find new authors to love!

Isn’t this plagiarism?

No more than fanfic is plagiarism in and of itself. Almost all of Shakespeare’s plays are based on pre-existing stories, but he retold them in his own way. Disney’s Maleficent is a remix of Sleeping Beauty from the antagonist’s perspective and Thor knows how many versions of Cinderella are out there. Mostly a remix is an entirely different fic, although in some cases dialogue might be copied from one to another - for a POV retelling for example. Don’t think of the original fic as a blueprint, think of it as a jumping off point. Don’t copy it, reimagine it. Don’t be afraid to let your imagination loose!

[fictionadventurer]

OC asks: Sarah: 97-100; Lionel: 93-96; Jack: 89-92; Eliza: 85-88; Daniela: 79, 82-84; Alessando: 75-78; Floriano: 70-72, 74; Lucia: 66-69; Marata: 62-65; Jarrock: 58-61 ("crowed" meaning "crowded" presumably); Bastian Diriks: 54-57; Lady Diriks: 50-53; Lorenz Fortuin: 46-49; Anya: 42-45

Alright, here we go.

Sarah

97. Where do they live? Who do they live with?

She lives in an old house near the university. She technically has her own apartment (later gets Eliza as a roommate), but Lionel and Jack share a larger apartment downstairs and she’s basically allowed to come in and out as if it were hers.

98. How do they calm themselves down?

Go on long walks, rant to someone (or no one) and/or furiously write down everything she thinks about what’s bothering her.

99. Are they co-dependent?

She’d bristle at the suggestion that she’s anything less than entirely independent, but she relies heavily on Lionel.

100. Are they a day, or night person?

Mostly a day person, except for the occasional late-night intense writing/studying session.

Lionel

93. How do they deal with stress?

Ignore it and hope someone else figures out how to handle it. And play the piano a lot.

94. Do they have a more submissive or dominate personality type?

In a house with Sarah and Jack, almost anyone would be submissive by comparison, but even by normal standards, he’s a person who prefers to step back and let other people handle the problems in life.

95. Do they have a pet?

He had a bird for a few days until Sarah objected. He didn’t put up too much of a fight because he was starting to find it distracting.

96. Do they have a stash of weapons?

Nope. He wouldn’t have the first clue what to do with a weapon if you gave him one.

Jack

89. Can they remember a lot of information at once?

Yes. He remembers everything and it drives Sarah nuts. (Especially since the only things he can’t remember are when he needs to pay his portion of the rent or clean his part of the apartment).

90. What is their occupation?

Right now, a student of languages (which ones depends on the world I build around him).

91. Do other characters respect your OC, if so, is it out of fear? Or do they respect your OC because they like them?

Lots of people like him. Plenty of people are even impressed by him.  Few truly respect him. (Jack is not among those chosen few).

92. If they were given minutes to live, what would they do? Who would they want to see and say?

He’d try to figure out a way to get out of whatever situation leaves him with only minutes to live.

Eliza

85. Are they self motivated?

Extremely. Once she decides to accomplish something, there is nothing that will keep her from doing it.

86. How do they cope with anger?

Stabbing things. She tried taking up embroidery once to serve this purpose, but the holes were too tiny to provide a satisfying level of destruction. Now, she usually just takes a pen and goes to town on a poor innocent sheet of paper (and the desk/table beneath it) until her temper is satisfied.

On a less destructive level, she’ll step back and figure out a plan to overcome whatever’s making her angry.

87. Have they ever been in a situation where they were helpless?

She does not believe in being helpless. There’s always something that can be done, even if the something is impossible to accomplish by any normal standards.

88. Are they organized or messy?

Very organized about projects and plans. Slightly messy when it comes to organizing her living space. Very messy about tending her hair.

Daniela

79. Is there someone in their life that they care about more than themselves?

She cares a lot about her father.

82. Are they good at mental math?

She’s decent. She can usually compute basic math with a little bit of thought. If it gets too complicated she needs pen and paper.

83. Do they get along with others?

Yes. She makes a point of being pleasant, not standing out, and not offending people.

84  Are they lazy?

Not usually. A very solid work ethic, but some days you just need to relax.

Alessandro

75. What is their biggest fear?

Being useless.

76. What are their goals?

Keeping the kingdom from falling apart. (Though this is a hard question to answer when I still haven’t figured out the exact political situation in the revised imagining of the story).

77. How do they go about achieving their goals?

Advising Floriano from afar.

78. Do they have a fight or flight response?

If there’s any flight involved, it’s a strategic retreat so he can figure out the best way to fight.

Floriano

70. Do they like themselves?

Before he was crowned, yes. After he was crowned, it seemed like his every trait and tendency was something that made being king that much harder.

71. Who do they dislike?

People who disrespect Alessandro or their late father.

72. What is their motto?

Never give anyone reason to hate you. (This motto has been very difficult to live up to after being crowned).

74. Have they ever been abused?

After he becomes king, he deals with a lot of verbal abuse (behind his back, but done in ways that it’s impossible for him not to find out about it).

Lucia

66. What is their pet peeve(s)?

When people wear clashing colors. It drives her nuts and she can’t look away. 

67. Do they have a disability?

Not officially. Sometimes has trouble concentrating, but not to the level of disability.

68. How do they react to getting flowers?

She will spend the entire day making sure everyone sees her flowers and appreciates her flowers and knows how much she loves her flowers.

69. Would they ever wear a flower crown?

The problem would be getting to to take off the flower crown.

Mirata

62. How do they relax?

Sing. Swim. Pray. All things, unfortunately, that she’s not allowed to do openly on land.

63. Have they ever harmed anyone and regretted it? Verbally or physically?

She’s got a quick temper and a sharp tongue that get her in trouble frequently, and she almost always regrets it after a day or two.

64. Do they like to dance?

She loves it. Unfortunately, her style of dancing is also one of those things the land-dwellers frown upon.

65. How do they get around their environment? Examples - horses, bike, vehicle

She’s used to getting around by swimming or boating. On land, she will always choose walking over any form of transportation that involves horses.

Jarrock

58. How would they come across to other characters? Examples- messy, lazy, childish, caring etc.

He seems like the serious, dutiful son; an impressive soldier who’d never step out of line or have a thought or emotion of his own. Unless you happen to witness one of his bursts of temper that reveal his very passionate underlying emotions.

59. Do they have a phrase they use over and over?

Not really. (That’s the kind of thing that I’d have to figure out over the course of writing the story).

60. In a crowded room are they in the corners, sides, or in the middle?

On the sides, present and watching carefully, but not getting too deeply involved.

61. Are they comfortable being in a crowded room?

No. He’ll stay for just as long as he’s required and he’ll leave the second he’s able.

Bastian Diriks

54. How do they cope with sadness?

Find something to distract himself--before, it was working with stars, now it’s listening to music. It also helps to find someone who’s having a worse day than him and try to help them out.

55. What is something they care about?

Loves working with the stars. Loves the family business. Continues to care about both even after the stars took his sight and the family kicked him out of the business side of things.

56. Would they die for anyone/anything?

He’d die for his family. Half of his family would prefer it if he would.

57. What do they do when they are happy?

He can get, like, obnoxiously cheerful. Drives people nuts.

Lady Diriks

50.Do they enjoy the arts?

She’s a leading patroness of the arts, so yes.

51. Do they like science?

She likes being thought of as someone who likes science (because that’s almost as fashionable as supporting the arts) but she doesn’t really understand it, so she learns just enough to nod along and seem knowledgeable when someone else is talking about it.

52. Are they more emotional or logical?

She’d says she’s entirely logical, but there’s more emotion driving her than she realizes.

53. How do they deal with their emotions?

Bottle it up. Deny it ever existed. Then take it out on the people around her.

Lorenz Fortuin

46. When is their birthday?

Not a clue. I’m not 100% sure they even use Earth’s calendar (they probably do). The most I’ll commit to at this point is that his birthday is probably in the winter.

47. Are they quick to judge?

He’s very quick to latch onto his first impressions of people as being the correct ones, and it can skew his judgement, but he’s willing to change his mind if given enough contrary evidence.

48. Do they have anything they are trying to hide from others?

He’s always trying to hide his lower-class origins.

49. Do they act different around different people?

All the time. He’s a very different person when he’s hanging with the upper crust than when he’s only with fellow artists or people of lower classes.

Anya

42. Are they close with anyone who is going to screw them over?

How did you know this was the whole point of the story? (Okay, he doesn’t quite turn against her, but it’s a close thing at some points.)

43.How do they adapt to different situations? Do they adapt at all?

She’s pretty good at going with the flow--being observant, staying quiet when she’s not sure what the right response is. But when she comes up with a plan of action, she acts upon it, and doesn’t always think through the consequences.

44. How do they speak? Examples - Are they soft spoken, hot heated, vulgar

Has a strong lower-class accent marring an otherwise pleasant alto voice. Very strident voice when she has strong emotions.

45. Are they opposed to violence?

When it’s directed against her, yes. When she needs to defend herself or her people? Absolutely not.