#*points to venn diagram XD*

[saltedcaramelchaos]

The fact that Chip and Price are about the same age is driving me insaaane bro

[sundogsandrainbows]

#Veilguard devs literally don't even know who Zevran is so what can you expect LOL

Who's gonna tell him

[scraplette]

This is random but I noticed you mention you were a big Rung/Skids shipper and I'm curious about something. I wasn't active in the fandom where MTMTE/LL were coming out and I feel like I missed huge discourse or something, because I'm really confused about why I have always seen Rung/Fort Max and Rung/Whirl and MegaRung everywhere but nobody seems to ship Rung with the guy he was super close with from the beginning and committed suicide thinking about and coughed up crystals over? I know it's not because it's wrong for therapists and patients to date because all of those people were Rung's patients. Do you know why this is?

Hello there! Sorry for the late response, I wanted to do this on desktop and just hadn't found the time.

You've sent a really interesting question but, I'm sorry, I'm not sure I have an answer for you. Heck, even at the time the comics were coming out I was always surprised by the lack of content for the ship. There was some discourse about Rung dating paitents but, funnily enough, Skids was never really a part of it. He wasn't really considered by the fandom as one of Rung's paitents so it wasn't an issue. The storyarc we the readers found out that Rung was treating Skids, was also the same arc where Rung quit. You did have some folks producing some excellent content for it(@littlestowl is still hands down my fave writer for this pair and @herzspalter did some hecking good fanart!) but never to the same extent as other ships. Not gonna blame people for that, we all have our preferences! Live and let ship and all that! So, since I had no anwers of my own I decided to counsult THE COUNCI(my friends who like Transformers) for their opinions and they came up with the excellent points. We even gathered DATA(we looked at Ao3 XD) Nothing definitive, of course, because obviously we're just a group of robot fans and can't speak for every TF fan on the net. These are just our thoughts and general vibes. 1) Rung is just so darn shippable. He potentially works well with a lot of characters and was pulled in lots of diff directions. Speaking as the main Rung/Skids shipper of the group I sort of get this(stupid sexy Rung) but even with all the diff ships sailing Rung/Skids still seemed oddly small in comparsion. 2)Another friend brought up a good point, Rung/Skids are a lovely ship but they're very wholesome and nice. Now, there is nothing wrong with that but you can't deny that spicy ships oozing with, as they put it, DRAMA just get folks excited. Lots of the other ships had this in spades. 3) Another friend had a lovely thought to add to this and I agree with it 100%. I'm just going to quote them directly "Which is kinda a shame because they have other kinds of cool drama - Rung basically compromised his position for Skids! Skids revived Rung's memory! The non-goodbye! But not conflict -drama." 4)Perhaps the venn diagram of Skids fan and Rungs fans didn't neccisarily crossover. Looking at the DATA, we can see that the most popular ships for Skids(in order) were SkidsSwerve, SkidsGetaway, and SkidsRung. I'm not sure if the Getaway fics were written pre or post betrayl.

5) Not really important but something I thought was a cool detail. Rung/Skids was really popular in the Japanese side of the fandom. I even own a physical doujin anthology for the pair! I can't remember any names of the top of my head, it's been years, but there were lots of lovely pieces of Rung/Skids fanart on the JP art sites.

I'm always a little sad about Rung/Skids. I always thought here were always lots of hooks throughtout the story that could lead the pair to more. Lots of little quiet personal moments just for the two of them. Like, Skids defending Rung against Getaway's snide comments. Ratchet sending Skids to Rung because he things the little chap is lonely. That final weirdly tense exchange between them will always sit a bit oddly with me. I know at the time there was a theory that Skids might've been into Nuatica at the time but nothing seemed to come of it, so I geuss we'll never know. I think I remember reading that Alex Milne didn't realise that would be their last interaction together, otherise he would've done the panel differently* Thank you for your ask! It was lovely to look back on old fandom memories ^_^ I hope I gave you some insights. As for myself, I'm hoping to get back into fic writing so no doubt I'll be adding to my collection of Rung/Skids drabbles.

*IMPORTANT UPDATE EDIT THING! I couldn't drop the final goodbye between them and the Alex Milne thing(it was nearly a decade ago so I was worried I'd misremembered) so I hunted down the original tweet and I've misremembered!

Sigh, what a shame that the final on-page interaction of my fave ship is forever off key and weird because of Writer/Artist miscomunucation :<

[voiceless-terror]

gerryagnes and the og..... jonmartin :)

GERRYAGNES

1.  What made you ship it?

This wasn’t even something I thought about until I saw a bunch of art with Jon, Gerry, and Agnes and a venn diagram...somewhere. it made a lot of good points, from what I remember. And I thought about how much they have in common, and how interesting the three of them together would be....but then you gave me a prompt for gerryagnes by themselves and i had a little oh moment that made me want to write a fic without jon for the first time xD and thats is NOT something i ever thought i would do!

2.  What are your favorite things about the ship?

They both have such fucked up childhoods and grew up fully immersed in the fears... i think about them connecting over their shared complicated relationship with Gertrude too. They just have so much potential for fun escapades as well, and I think they’d make a good book burning team. I want Agnes to get to know someone who’s in her world but doesn’t think of her as a distant, untouchable messiah! I have a very distinct idea in my head of Gerry looking at Agnes with heart eyes when she turns a Leitner into ash with her hand and just goes ‘that was the most badass thing ive ever seen please run away with me.’ 

I wish this was a popular enough ship that I could have an unpopular opinion about it xD

jonMARTIN

1.  What made you ship it?

I didn’t ship this until the end of season one- i got a little warm and fuzzy when jon offered to have Martin stay in the archives, but it wasn’t until they had their heart to heart in the penultimate ep of the first season, and then martin’s statement afterward when he’s so guilty about leaving them behind that I started to have real feelings about it. That’s what really nailed down Martin’s character for me, and I’ve been gone ever since.

2.  What are your favorite things about the ship?

It’s one of the best, romantic slow burns I’ve seen in media tbh! It didn’t really hit me until my second listen just how much foundation was laid for it in canon - the second season lunches, how Martin is so willing to fight for Jon and help him, Jon’s lowkey pining with Georgie, the slow fondness that creeps into Jon’s voice when he mentions Martin’s name (you can hear it early on and it gets me every time!!) While they have a lot of shared trauma, that’s not the only thing that bonds them (let me link Martin to a few dozen AUs on ao3, okay) and I think you can really see that at the end of the fourth season even with just the few interactions we’re given (the episode that launched a thousand ‘good cows’ posts). Anyway now I’m rambling and putting too many parentheses

3.  Is there an unpopular opinion you have on your ship?

Hmm...this is more of a fandom interpretation one, but I don’t like when people sand off the rough edges of the ship. They’re both profoundly damaged people and not all aspects of their relationship in canon are healthy, and I like when people actually address that in their fics! There’s a lot of ‘love fixes everything’ and very black and white thinking when it comes to who’s right and who’s wrong, and it makes me a bit uncomfortable when people simplify their relationship to fit a narrative. I’m not saying everything has to be an angst fest, of course, but if you’re going to write something that grapples with the tragic elements, you can’t just hand wave certain things away. There’s my two cents!

[lovenona]

alright.. my dearest author Adele,

first of all how ya doin?

second

i think we need to organise a bit here xD

soooooo

the artist au and commie ones exist in the same plane right? that's one universe

then theres house husband sukuna and his endless rivalry against cat gojo that is also one universe

and then we have dilf universe with dad toji and itadori jin.. not to confuse with househusband sukuna

but TECHNICALLY that dilf univers can co exist with artists universe especially if we are talking about their past

HOWEVER professor toji is then a universe that is COMPLETELY separate from artist au and dilf au right ? or not?

AND THEN THERE'S SKATER CHOSO were those he belong or is he his one au ?

we need like a graphic or something at this point

could you imagine tho house husband sukuna and artist sukuna existing in the same universe and artist sukuna is just mostly househusband sukunas retelling of his youth... househusband sukuna with an art degree?

tho with baby yuji it wouldn't work right? ... let's keep it with dilf au and artist au

i think i just confused myself

anyway that was a short ramble from moi

sincerely

-your very confused rambler 🌼

this did actually make me sit down n think i wld make a venn diagram if i wasn’t so lazy skjsaksj but here’s how everything sits in my head !!

COLLEGE/MODERN CINEMATIC UNIVERSE(S):

artist sukuna + commie gojo + skater choso all roughly exist in the same plane (give or take a few headcanons) and could arguably attend the same university – it’s sort of like a venn diagram where they are unique in their own ways but can meet up in the middle if you wanted them to 

professor toji (specifically office hours toji) exists on his own plane of existence because he is so god damn toxic <3 although if we were to consider a softer version of this he cld exist in the regular artist-verse but for now he’s just his own entity 

DILF CINEMATIC UNIVERSE: 

itadori + toji exist in the same dilf universe and are typically neighbors or family friends in my mind. itadori has two kids, yuuji and sukuna, and toji has megumi (see: soft toji sunday) 

househusband sukuna/gojo cat exists in his own thing separate from itadori because in the other dilf-verse he is one of itadori’s children. he’s more like a way of the househusband type and does his own thing, although dilf toji can exist in this universe too if u wanted him to

[atlasifyllm]

Please explain winter boys. They’re in your icon? Is Cobalt one of them?

The Winter Boys are my most iconic, "totally not favoritism", but very common character type of my main three stories XD

At this point I've accepted that they should be my iconic OCs, since my logo is already representative of the three stories they're from

They're all that One sad boy in my stories that get whumped the most, but also somehow they all have wintry powers, are blue, have long-ish hair, and are related to the moon

There's:

Cobalt Zaffre, the blue emotional rival of Ruby who's the fancy celebrity who hates being one, and also just so happens to be the ~BLUE PALADIN~, blah blah you know he's the meatiest character of DOTS

Ventus Fulmen, the guy-who-likes-blue guy who got involved in criminal activity and goes through hell because of his "sins" even though all he does is miss his gf

Nix Frostshard, the grumpy "rival" of Lux who forms a grudge against Firesun royalty (cough Lux) because there's some Avatar-ass war stuff and he's the Katara to Lux's Zuko except Lux did absolutely nothing and Nix just hates her because of his toxic masculine ass

I also just think it'd be hilarious for the Winter Boys to interact via multiverse shenanigans

Cobalt and Ventus are very similar in size/backstory but Cobalt is pretty sus of Ven's "King of Switchblade Fight" personality, but Ven also has fun pushing his buttons since Cobalt's the goody-two-shoes who's done no wrong, but also gushing over how cool their gfs are and how good they are on Those Nights ;D

Nix and Ventus are both absolute bastard characters who'd also join in picking at Cobalt because he technically has the "most safe" life

Cobalt and Nix are both icy boys who love the moon and have genuine relationship issues (while Ventus only has grief)

And everyone gets a kick out of poking fun at their dumbest mistakes, such as making fun of Cobalt for his dual identity, Ventus for being a manwhore obsessed w/ knives, and Nix because he has bad anger issues and also he's the youngest

I made a handy dandy venn diagram instead of doing homework gdi

Closeups just in case:

[livvywrites]

11/11/11

tagged by @aslanwrites, thanks so much~~~ this is one of my favorite tag games tbh xD

1. If your WIP got made into a movie, which actors/actresses would you cast for your main characters?

I’ve never been real good at fancasting, tbh. Probably because I really don’t watch a lot of movies. BUT, I do have some faceclaims that I’ve found through pinterest and other sites? 

Alinora Mynerva -- Tuba Buyukustun

Lyr Inerra -- Luke Pasqualino

Talitha Jade -- short haired Halsey

Haven’t found any other fc’s yet, but there’s a short list!! 

2. What is a story you’d like to write, but don’t know how to yet tackle?

There are a couple of different ones, actually.

The first is one I’ve talked about before on Tumblr. It’s called Heart Eater. (It’s a temporary title.) It’s a lot darker than my usual stories, though, so I have no idea where to even start. Not to mention I don’t know what kind of genre or setting to use... 

The second is temporarily titled Guardians/Overmorrow. It’s more of a sci-fi/fantasy story, with both high technology and a little magic. Or a lot of magic. It was one of the first novel ideas that I came up with and stuck with, though I didn’t finish it. I would love to tackle it one day, but for the moment, I don’t have much for it! Nor much faith in my ability to tackle any of the science that would be involved xD

3. How do you deal with writer’s block?

Crying, begging, pleading, making sacrifices to the writing gods... 

I kid, I kid. 

I don’t really handle writer’s block all that well, tbh. But there are a couple of different things that (occasionally) work for me.

The first is just leaving the story alone. Focusing on something else, if it’s a specific story block, or just taking a break from writing all together. I’ll do things like read and play games instead. 

The second is to stop writing the story, but still do things related to it. Create playlists--none of which I really like well enough to share, tbh, but I’m working on it! Make moodboards/aesthetics, do character questionnaires, revisit the plot with new templates... You know. Whatever I can do that’s still relevant to what I’m writing but isn’t actually writing. Or is, in the case of modern AU’s/pre-series drabbles. (Usually I’m too blocked up even for those, though.) 

4. Coffee, hot chocolate, or tea?

All of the above!

I wish I could tell you I had a specific preference, but I really don’t. It switches up on me a lot. I CAN tell you that I’m picky about all of the above, though.

Tea I like to be sweet and a little spicy. I’m a big fan of Chai lattes, but I also have this lovely Warm Fireside tea that I ADORE. Sadly, they’ve discontinued it, though, so I’ll be hunting around again soon. *sigh* I also really enjoy sweet tea! But I like it *really* sweet. 

Coffee I like with creamer. A lot of creamer. Like, two thirds coffee, one third creamer. Lattes are amazing, tbh. I mostly prefer vanilla flavoring, but sometimes I’ll go for caramel...

Hot chocolate is probably what I’m least picky about, tbh. I’ll drink it by itself, but I like it best with a bit of peppermint. (I keep peppermint creamer on hand, but I also usually have mints in my purse I can drop in.)

5. Do you believe in the death of the author?

Yes.

I think that an author’s interpretation and intention are still relevant to a work, but I also believe in a fan’s ability to disregard those things and do it their own way. And I don’t think that the author should interfere with that. Conversely, I don’t believe that fandom has the right to control how an author continues their work.

In short, while fandom and author overlap in the middle, there should also be some separation--much like a venn diagram ;)

6. What is a trope that needs more love?

You know, my first impulse was to say “found family” but like. That one is everywhere lately. (I am NOT complaining. I just don’t think it’s in the spirit of the question to answer that way xD)

So I don’t really know specific “tropes” necessarily, and I’m not falling into the void that is TV tropes to answer, so I’m just going to list some things that I, personally, would like to see more of?

male/female friendships that don’t end in romance, pls. AND, if either has a significant other, that SO doesn’t get jealous every time they’re in the vicinity of each other.

healthy M/F ships!!! no unnecessary miscommunication or jealousy please!! unless that miscomm is used for non relationship-threatening humor.

characters that don’t end in relationships??? it feels like in a lot of mainstream fiction lately all the characters end up with someone. i love a good romance as much as anyone, but as an ace and possibly aro person (questioning, majorly) it’s also a little disappointing???

the power of FRIENDSHIP. this probably goes hand-in-hand with the found family, but like. friendship/platonic love being the most important thing to a person??? yes pls.

I’ll stop there ‘cause I think that’s enough, but those are a few things!! :D

7. What is your biggest inspiration?

This question is actually really hard for me, because I don’t KNOW. 

Part of me wants to just boil it down to life, to living every day and finding something new about the world/about myself. And that IS a good answer, and true as well, but it doesn’t feel quite... right.

I could tell you that I feel inspired every time I pick up a new book, or poem, or fanfic to read. I could tell you that I feel inspired every time I see a commercial for a movie or a TV show. I could tell you that history articles/magazines inspire me. I could tell you that hearing about different identities and cultures inspires me. I could tell you that I find inspiration everywhere, in everything, and that none of it would qualify as my “biggest” inspiration, because I get little bits from everywhere.

But that still doesn’t feel right either.

I feel like maybe I’m missing the point of the question. 

8. Let’s go on a little adventure: One day, you end up in the same world as your characters–or if they’re in ours, you end up with your characters in some way, shape or form. What do you do?

I’m going to assume that either they don’t know who I am or think of me as some scribe meant to tell their story, instead of the person who created it. (Which is how I think of myself sometimes, tbh.) Because otherwise I feel like they would probably be maybe a little mad at me.

So, first things first, I probably give Alinora and Aishlynn a hug. Well. Okay. I don’t hug them because neither of them would be super comfortable with that. (Alinora doesn’t mind, and even appreciates, hugs from people she knows, but not so much people she doesn’t. Aishlynn just isn’t big on hugs in general.)

And then I probably fangirl a little. 

Just a little.

I mean. These are my BABIES, and yes they’re flawed and have their weak spots but. They’re also so STRONG and HEROIC and GOOD and I just LOVE THEM. 

9. If you had a magical power, what would that power be?

Probably something like empathy. tbh, but I would WANT like... the ability to not have to sleep. Though I guess that would probably get boring after a while. 

10. What is a genre that you feel is underrated? What about overrated?

So, I feel like every genre has the potential to be done really well, and I think I could probably enjoy something from pretty much any of them. HOWEVER. Lately I’ve been a little... uninterested in a lot of mainstream YA fiction. Not all of it, necessarily, but a lot of it. It’s not that I think YA as a whole is overrated, because I don’t. But at the same time, I do?? I dunno. I wanna read more about older people??? Not full-on “adult” fiction, but y’know. New Adult. And while I don’t think NA is “underrated” specifically, I do wish they had an actual section for it in bookstores. 

11. Have you accomplished anything that you’re proud of?

Yes. I finished my very first novel around 17. (I might have actually been 16 and a half.) I still have yet to complete the second draft/full rewrite, but I’m still really proud of actually FINISHING it.

I’m also really proud of how far I’ve made it into THE MARTYR QUEEN. I’ve started and re-started that story so many times, and actually being THIS close to the end, with a draft I don’t hate... It’s amazing. I mean, it definitely needs changes, but I’m really proud of how it’s shaping up. 

Now if I could just finish a short story.... X’D

MY QUESTIONS

Have you ever been so disappointed/unimpressed by a character’s concept/arc/etc. that you decided to take that concept and write it how you wished it had been told? Whether you’ve started the story or not is irrelevant, just if you’ve got an idea built up!

What do you feel are your biggest strengths in writing? What makes you look back over your writing and feel proud?

Are there any characters, themes, setting types, etc that you see popping up over and over again in your writing? Why do you think that is?

If you could give your past self any writing-related advice, what would you tell them?

When it comes to character creation, what are things you HAVE to know before you start writing, if anything?

Similarly, what are some things you HAVE to know about your plot before you start writing, if anything?

How often do find that your characters/plot surprise you? 

What do you find the most difficult/what is your weakest point when it comes to world-building?

What experiences do you feel have most shaped your writing? (It’s okay if you don’t want to share specifics, or don’t want to share at all! Or just don’t know. You can say something else that majorly shaped your writing :D)

Do you find it easier to work alone, or to have at least one other writer/person encouraging you?

Assuming you aren’t already, if you were ever to write a story based off of a mythology/fairytale/other, which one would you choose, and how would you do it?

(i won’t be tagging 11 people, i’m sorry! but if you see this and WANT to do it, PLEASE do so and tag me. if i’ve already tagged you in something like this recently, feel free to pick which one you do <3) 

tagging: @aslanwrites (yes, i’m tagging you back, but only do it if you want to! or save it for later, when you wanna have something to do. i don’t mind xD) @waterfallwritings, @diabhals, @matterovermindpodcast, @firesidefantasy, @klywrites

[joeys-piano]

Hope its ok to ask multiple numbers. 1, 4, 9 for the salty ask meme? XD

I’m fine with answering multi-numbers~((Sorry for making this so long! I had a lot to talk about))Salty Asks for a Salty Responses

1. What OTPs in your fandom(s) do you just not get?*For every fandom I’ve been in so far that I’ve contributed, I’ve understood why some pairings got a lot of publicity, despite some being strange to me. Collectively, what I’ve noticed is that people tend to ship characters together if they follow a shipping trend. Like pairing the hot-headed one with the serious one, black hair x white hair, the “dad” and “mom” of the group, and other little shipping trends that people seem to enjoy or resonate towards because the characters could complement each other.

Everyone has a ship that they consider OTP and while I might not get it, there are lots of people who do get it. And if you enjoy a ship and can find peeps to enjoy it with, I think that’s what matters. You’ve surrounded yourself with people that have a common ground with you and it’s easier to make friends.

4. Do you have a NoTP in your fandom? Are they a popular OTP?* You know that argument that people have on whether a ship is legal or not? I’ve tend to notice interactions like that are in the middle of the venn-diagram of NoTP and OTP. What’s left is that people harp and interrogate others on what side they’re on and there’s nothing worse than being caught in the crossfire between two evils.

So for me, personally, if there is a ship that I would prefer not to see or one that I’m uncomfortable with, I turn a blind eye. I know that I have some ships that might be NoTP to others, as well as them having ships that might be NoTP to me. So instead of getting worked up about it, I let bygones be bygones and we’re happy with what we, individually, enjoy.

But to answer your question somewhat explicitly, I do have NoTPs and though they may be popular, I don’t let something like that sour my experience in a fandom. That’s probably the biggest takeaway from this ask post. If there’s something you don’t like, shape your fandom experience to how you want it to be.

9. Most disliked character(s)? Why?I don’t think there is a character I truly dislike.

Many factors come into play on why a character is disliked – shipping reasons, how they’re written, how they’re not “perfect” enough to a fandom’s expectations, internal social issues in fandoms that people don’t talk about and they choose to voice it in character bashing like its a hunt, and that’s about as much as I’ve observed.

If there are characters that I disliked in the past, it’s mostly due to fanon portrayals of them where people will exaggerate one little detail about a character and it blows up and everyone’s doing it and they reduce a complex character into a caricature-version of themselves. Ooh, that gripes me.

Other than that, characters that may’ve been on my bad side initially began to grow on me over time as I analyzed their canon behavior and saw through the setting of the story of how key events would’ve contributed to what we, as viewers, see from them.

But if after all of that and I still find something I dislike about a character, I see it more as disappointment. I’m disappointed that canon material didn’t give a character justice and simply used the character as a scapegoat or for the sake conflict. At that point, I feel sorry for that character.

[stillness-in-green]

Please, you're not annoying me at all! Yeah, I've talked with some of my friends about it and researched in on my own as well; JP dictionary site jisho gives various meanings like fantastic, grotesque, strange-looking, suspicious-looking. You can easily see why Spinner wouldn't like it!

I can't blame Caleb Cook too much - it's not like he could have predicted the heteromorph discrimination plot in Chapter 14! - but it is a shame that the official translation is "heteromorph," which imo has a very clinical sound to the English-speaking ear. Minority groups have their own issues with overly clinical identity words, of course, but it's still not going to get the gut reaction from the English fanbase that igyou would from someone fluent in Japanese.

I do prefer "mutant" - it's obviously more charged than heteromorph, but to me it also evokes the X-Men, hated and feared, who of course have spent their entire publication history being one long discrimination metaphor. But of course BNHA also uses mutant/mutation to talk about quirks like Eri's, where there's a set scientific/biological meaning, so "mutant" isn't an ideal translation, either.

I think it's interesting, and somewhat telling, that Emitter-types are the only ones who don't have this issue at all. Igyou's as charged as it is, of course, but even the Japanese word for Transformation, henkei, while it certainly can mean "transformation" or "metamorphosis," it can also mean "deformity." Hatsudou, by contrast, just means "putting into operation" or "invocation."

Emitter, Transformation, and Heteromorphic just don't have the same distinct difference in feel - turns out, that's maybe intentional!

On a completely different note, I think the other thing that gets me about heteromorph is that it's really inexact as a descriptor. Like, there are loads of characters who have clear Emitter quirks but really obviously have heteromorphic bodies. Cementoss is an exemplar of the type; Tokoyami's another. Kamuy Woods is a Transformation-type but his resting body's state is, still, heteromorphic as all get-out.

So you have these characters with obviously heteromorphic bodies, but their quirks are not classed as heteromorphic. As far as I can tell, there's no word to make that distinction at all, with the possible exception of a mouthful of verbiage Tsukauchi uses at one point in Vigilantes, tokushuna taikaku no mochinushi, or "individuals with unique bodies."

Not exactly fit for a community label!

This kind of thing is why I think the heteromorph discrimination plotline boils down to bias against heteromorphic bodies more than bias against heteromorphic quirks. There's significant overlap in that Venn diagram, of course, but I think it makes a lot more sense than trying to e.g. explain to the CRC that Tokoyami doesn't count as a heteromorph because Dark Shadow isn't a heteromorphic quirk, or getting anyone to explain why Kamui Woods' Arbor is classed as a Transformation-type quirk while Shouji's Dupli-Arms is a Heteromorphic-type.

Anyway, thanks for the reply! Hope you enjoyed my rambling in response. XD

in chapter 271 dabi taunted both hawks and tokoyami by calling them chicken skewers — do you think that would count as microagression or just hori having fun with the dialogue and not thinking more about it?

I don’t know if I think Hori would call it a microaggression, but I probably would—though not as readily as I would if it weren’t in the context of Dabi doing his level best to kill Hawks and moments away from treating Tokoyami the same. Once you’re in that arena of open violence, I think you’re a bit past “micro” anything.(1) But I do think it’s using language that is coded in ways that have been explicitly demonstrated by the manga to be objectionable, yes.

More on this when I someday either finish my evidence gathering on the depiction of heteromorphobia in the series or decide how I want to start posting installments of it, but one thing that has thus far struck me as fairly consistent is that most animal-associated heteromorphs(2) don’t actually use animal language to talk about themselves. There are a few exceptions, Hawks himself most prominent among them, but by and large, if someone is 1:1 equating a heteromorph or their abilities with their associated animal and its traits, that someone is probably not the heteromorph themself. Also too, even the exceptions show a fairly consistent pattern.

Horikoshi may not have drawn a lot of attention to it, so I don’t know how much he’s really thinking about each and every deployment of the language. He is, however, an author who takes a lot of joy in language, one of his work’s more charming traits, and the fact that the way heteromorphs talk about themselves and are talked about by others is so consistent—along with an early comment of his that he likes to think about details of characterization and worldbuilding even if he’ll never get an opportunity to share them—inclines me to think that he knows what he’s doing. That still stands even if he may or may not be up on whatever kind of discourse (in the classical sense of the word) Japan is having about microaggressions.(3)

The thing about microaggressions is that they don’t have to be intentional on the part of the person committing them to count. Dabi doesn’t have to be consciously choosing animal terminology with the specific intention of being as hurtful as possible for him to be perpetuating heteromorphobia.

In Dabi’s case, given that he very explicitly had Spinner complain to him about exactly that sort of language, I do think he has cause to know better. But it’s not uncommon to see people who think their opponents (ideological or otherwise) are fair game for the kinds of dehumanizing or othering language that they otherwise agree should not be used—see e.g. fat jokes or misgendering of people on the other side of the political aisle. You see this even from otherwise quite liberal people, but it still counts as perpetuating whatever kind of -ism the language promotes. In that regard, I don’t let Dabi off the hook because he’s engaging in battle smack talk anymore than I would a character whose first impulse was to use sexist language to insult a woman opponent.

I’ve seen it said a thousand times on tumblr, but it stands for fictional characters as much as it does in real life: if you use language that denies your opponent of their humanity or identity, if you make your acceptance of those traits conditional, what you’re telling people on your own side is that they, too, can be denied in that way the moment they step out of line. If your acceptance is conditional, then it isn’t really acceptance.

Anyway, none of that is to say that I think Dabi is a horrible irredeemable bigot or anything. But I see little point in doing backflips to get out of saying that Dabi sometimes exhibits behaviors we could call heteromorphobic, just because that particular flaw is a little too close to the kinds of flaws that make a character Actually Problematic on tumblr rather than just a fun evil meow meow.

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1: I feel the same way about calling e.g. enemies trying to harm each other on the battlefield “abuse.” There are many kinds of relationships in the world, and many different kinds of terminology to talk about their dynamics. But using the terminology of one category of relationships in an attempt to discredit a completely different kind of relationship is one of my pet peeves.

2: I know Spinner doesn’t like the word, but as I will talk about more in that essay-yet-to-come, we don’t have any other words, so I do and will still use heteromorph until the canon gives us the more polite alternative. As it is, I think HeroAca!Japan just doesn’t actually have a more polite alternative, and Spinner doesn’t like the word they’re saddled with. I think his “don’t use that word in more polite settings” probably translates to “talk around it without acknowledging the obvious because you wouldn’t want to offend someone by using controversial language” rather than “use this convenient other word that academic circles have adopted that for some reason no one, including a number of self-identified heteromorphs, have seen fit to give us over the course of nearly 350 chapters”.

3: Some cursory research on my part suggests that Japan does have the concept, even called microaggression—an English loanword. I found some papers and articles that discussed the topic in a validating way, but also noticed that the Japanese wikipedia article has clearly been put together by someone who doesn’t much like the concept; it’s a brief explanation of the term and then the entire rest of the article is criticisms. A skim down the first ten or so hits on Twitter showed it mostly being used in the context for which it was intended—in particular I noticed someone using it to talk about bias against burakumin—and one person who was using an obvious-even-across-the-auto-translate-divide tone of, “Those dumb liberals today, making up words that don’t mean anything. Easily offended snowflakes, every one of them!”

[hyperfixation-hideout]

LMAO I was already gonna reblog and say that I agree but then I saw you’d tagged me and my video essays IN the post! But uh, I agree! XD It’s complicated, it’s confusing, it’s yet to be clarified. If after ALL this buildup surrounding the merge there’s just some way to stop it or it’s so slow that it takes until the end of the series to complete (by which point they’d have “won” and people say they want the souls to separate - which I really don’t think is possible at this point), it’d be anticlimactic. Oscar’s story isn’t about losing himself and magically getting himself back so he can be his own person - it’s about being and becoming himself both in spite of, and along with, the merging of his soul with another’s. 

It’s not a clean transfer, either, but a combination. We’ve already seen how their similarities are more and more prominent (not new, just spotlighted and developing). It’s about Oscar’s soul being his own even if the one he’s merging with once wasn’t, and so far, every step of the way, Oscar has been growing and developing, coming into his own -- not losing himself. They’re becoming each other, but like I mention in those “long boi videos,” who they become is essentially up to them. Souls in Remnant are what you make of them and how you identify yourself. Everyone gets to choose for themselves whom they’ll become. Oscar has asserted this time and again to the people around him, but seems to believe he’s the exception, that all he can choose is whom to be right now. It’ll be great to see him continue to take up the mantle he’s had thrust upon him as the newest iteration of Ozma. The Oz soul isn’t gone; it’s “never alone,” after all. It joins someone new and carries on with them throughout history as one. If Oscar were to die, his voice would be in the next guy’s head. 

Not a rg shipper, but I adore gngrbrd (their friendship) and agree that Ruby’s dynamic with Oscar vs her dynamic with Ozpin is very different and makes it a lot easier to tell how the merge is going. If only they got more screentime together lately to analyze, but it looks like another volume of separation for the two.

Also, @ those people who say they want the end of the series to separate the souls so Oz can rest without Oscar dying - the god of light said “until your task is complete, you will reincarnate.” So Oscar wouldn’t die, he’d just be the last incarnation, so when he dies, the cycle ends. The souls are already nearly-merged. I don’t think ripping them apart is possible anymore if it ever even was, because the line of who’s who is already blurred. Once a venn diagram becomes a circle, how do you make it into two again? It’s all just a really cool concept and I’m thrilled to see where it goes. Great post, OP! :D

Alright I'm about give one my unpopular opinions here!!! U Have Been Warned!!!

I want Oscar & Ozpin to fully merge. I've been thinking about a lot over volume 8 & I think it would be best for the show if the merge fully happen.

They've made it very confusing & the Fandom can't seem to agree on what happens once the merge is complete. The only way to put this augment to rest is by completing the merge & the fall out after.

When the merge happens I'm gonna cry. Cause it will be a tragic moment no matter what. Oscar scared of losing himself to the merge & not knowing what kind of person he'll be. And considering that we learn that useing magic makes the merge happen faster I think that's how it well complete.

Something bad happens & Oscar has to use all of his power for a long time. By long time I mean long enough for the merge to complete. And he stops/fixes whatever happens but everyone realize that the merge is complete & its just a sad moment.

This will probably happen in vacco. Because little prince.

Now here's my main reason why I want the merge to happen. @hyperfixation-hideout made 2 great long boi videos about the merge. Y'all should watch. In them Its argued that Oscar is inheriting Ozpin memorys, magic, & most importantly his soul. Ozpin soul isn't taking over Oscar's. Oscar soul is inheriting Ozpin. Oz is becoming a part of Oscar. Not be erased by him. I wanna Oscar realize that just because he's become Oz doesn't mean he still isn't little cute boy Oscar Pine.

I also wanna see how everyone would interact with a fully merge Oscar. It will tell us exactly how everyone sees him now. I mostly wanna see how Ruby would treat him. Because I'm a Rosegarden shipper!! But how Ruby treat Ozpin & Oscar is very different. She has a very different dynamic with each of them & whatever dynamic they have after the merge will set their relationship in stone. Or maybe they're have a whole new dynamic & my shipping heart won't know what to do with itself.