#I am NOT tagging this as individual characters

[screaming-universe]

Bashing Fics in the 9-1-1 Fandom

Inspired by @beforeastorm‘s very neat look at 9-1-1 bashing fics in August and in September 2024, I took another look at the numbers yesterday (23rd January 2025) and… it’s been interesting.

Methods and materials:

For that I selected the 9-1-1 (TV) tag on ao3 while logged into my account and thereby ensuring I would see both public and locked fics; beforeastorm only considered public fics so by god I hope that some of the increases can be explained by that. Then I used the Include filter function to search for [Character Name] Bashing. Where this returned nothing I employed the Search within result function to search for “[character name] bashing”, trying out variations (last or first or nickname). To double-check I also did this search for characters with established bashing tags, using the Exclude filter to ensure that I would not count any fic twice.

Some characters have a bashing tag for themselves and a couple bashing tag. For example: if you search for Margaret Buckley Bashing, you will be offered two tag: Margaret Buckley Bashing and Margaret Buckley and Phillip Buckley Bashing. As far as I could tell, searching for the individual bashing tag also always counts the couple bashing tag, so the couple bashing tags could be disregarded. A list of the characters I looked at is under the cut.

The numbers were collected in an excel file and assigned the characters categories: main (meaning main adult character), family, love interest and other. I also took note of the gender. I did some analysis in excel before having the smart idea that I might as well use this as a training exercise for R (and I am very bad at R).

Disclaimer: this will not include all bashing fics because sadly some people are not familiar with tagging or love letting people run into a fic they will not enjoy. Also while I much prefer it when people tag bashing, some are overly careful and may use bashing tags when not really needed. Still, I much prefer that to people not tagging.

Results:

Disappointing but hardly surprising at this point: the extremely dubious honour of being the most bashed character goes to Tommy Kinard with 660 bashing fics to his name. That obviously makes him the most bashed character of the love interest category, followed by Ana Flores (241) and then Taylor Kelly (118 ^^). The most bashed characters of the family category are the Buckley parents (347 and 325) followed by the Diaz parents (238 and 176), with the mothers being given more bashing fics than the fathers. In the other category, Vincent Gerrard leads with the 66 times his bashing tag was used. Chase Mackey is in third place with 26 fics, and in second place is the Firehouse 118 Crew (45) which probably could be rather counted to the main character category.

Which brings us to that category. Chimney has been bashed in 317 fics, making him the most bashed main character. Followed by Maddie with 223 fics and Bobby with 163. Out of all the main adult characters, Buck is the only one without an established bashing tag. There are 7 fics out there that you can find if you employ a variation of queries with his name + bashing; that is if I have made no mistake. Because honestly? Finding Buck bashing fics is hard. Athena and Buck are the only main characters with less than 10 bashing fics to their name.

Fig. 1: This fucking barplot was a pain to make but here we are! Characters on the y-axis and number of fics that use respective bashing tag on the x-axis. The total number of respective fics are shown next to the bars; colour indicates the category the characters have been placed in. Top: continuous x-axis to allow for an easier overview of the proportions of the bars, bottom: x-axis with a break to allow a closer look.

Dishonourable mention: why the fuck would anybody write a fic with Christopher bashing?

Honourable mentions: Boeing and dolphin bashing. It did make the otherwise pretty depression task of data collection much better.

Gender-wise there are more bashing fics about men (54.3%) than there about women (44.3%) (of course I did not look at every character so I will have missed a few bashing fics). If nobody was writing Tommy bashing fics, that would be flipped (male: 43.0%, female: 55.3%).

Fig. 2: A lovely pie-chart showing the bashing fics per gender, with male subdivided into Tommy, and the other male characters.

Which brings us to the tragedy that is the hate this fandom has for Tommy Kinard. If you add up all the bashing tags I found (which does not equal fics, some people are happily bashing away in their fics), then his account for about 20%. Which is insane, wtf.

Discussion:

This was really depressing tbh. I showed the bar plot to my sister and she asked me what bashing is. She’s been in fandom for years; she was in the supernatural fandom and has read fics and somehow I still had to explain bashing to her. So really: yay for us, this fandom really is something.

 If you look at beforeastorm’s tally from August, you’ll see that Tommy bashing fics began popping up in April 2024 and since then he has become the most bashed character (out of those I looked at, I’m pretty sure that this holds true).

Now you may be wondering why these characters are being bashed. Warning: the following part is based on my opinions. I did not read the fics of all 3291 bashing tag instances that I found.

In some cases it seems pretty straight forward: Vincent Gerrard, Chase Mackey, Doug Kendall and Olivia Ortiz need no further explanation. Other “villains” such as Jeffrey Hudson and Jonah Greenway have no bashing fics that I could find though.

The Buckley and Diaz parents getting bashed is also not surprising. Can’t say that I’m wild about it since my experience with reading fics that tag bashing was usually “here’s a random evil person I made up and then gave the name of an existing character”, but I understand where people are coming from.

Now the main characters… I’m just gonna say it: it’s people who have wronged Buck – according to some of the fandom at least. Chimney’s crime: the punch (no, I’m not defending it, but some people really have run with this). Maddie’s crime: not telling Buck about Daniel and then wanting to talk to him about it when he didn’t want to. Bobby’s crime: not allowing Buck back to work. Hen’s crime: idk, being Chimney’s bestie?

As for Eddie: I guess he’s a misogynist now, if you ask some people? Idk, it’s not like I read the summaries of all the fics because there are too many and also just no.

The love interests – which yes, in this case all happen to be Buck and Eddie’s love interests, imagine my surprise – happen to be “in the way” of shipping I guess. I did look at other love interest or ex-relationships and could find nothing.

Tommy’s crime: loving Evan.

Conclusion:

If you write bashing please keep tagging it.

Appendix:

All the characters I looked at: characters with no bashing fics I could find, characters with an established bashing tag, characters with no established bashing tag but bashing fics can be found

Main adult characters:

Athena Grant, Bobby Nash, Hen Wilson, Chimney Han, Evan Buckley, Eddie Diaz, Maddie Buckley.

Recurring characters, family:

Michael Grant, David Hale, May Grant, Harry Grant, Beatrice and Samuel Carter, Emmett Washington;

Marcy Nash, Tim Nash;

Karen Wilson, Denny Wilson, Antonia Wilson, Nia and Mara;

Albert Han, Chimney’s father/Sang Han, The Lees, Jee-Yun Buckley-Han;

Margaret Buckley, Phillip Buckley, Daniel Buckley, Doug Kendall;

Christopher Diaz, Isabel Diaz, Helena Diaz, Ramon Diaz.

Recurring characters, love interests:

Tommy Kinard, Natalia Dollenmeyer, Taylor Kelly, Lucy Donato, Ali Martin, Abby Clark;

Kim, Marisol, Ana Flores, Shannon Diaz;

Eva Mathis;

Tatiana.

Recurring characters, others:

Firehouse 118 Crew Bashing;

Chase Mackey, Vincent Gerrard, Jonah Greenway, Jeffrey Hudson, Councilwoman Olivia Ortiz;

Josh Russo, Lena Bosko, Ravi Panikkar, Claudette Collins, Brad Torrance;

Boeing, Dolphin.

[emylilas]

Ladies of WOT - a potential community ?

Hello fellow WOT show enjoyers!

I am deliberately not tagging the show because I am aiming for a very specific demographic. Among those who watch WOT and are talking about it in different spaces (discord, twitter, here), I've noticed that people are having very different experiences watching the show, depending on what they want the focus to be on; to the point it might sometimes feel like we're in very different fandoms.

I realise the show is a book adaptation and I understand why people would expect more attention to be given to Rand, or Perin, or Mat, because those are the names who often come back, rather than some of the Aes Sedai who aren't as fleshed out in the book (I'm looking at you, my beloved Liandrin), but I have no interest in developing a sense of community with people who are watching the show for very different reasons than I.

I am absolutely not here for the men of the show, it's fine if you are, good for you but don't come at me. There are some men whose stories I enjoy following, but I'm here for the aes sedai, the forsakens (I can't wait to really meet Moghedien next season), the younger girls, the seanchans... and I would very much love to be able to share my love for the show and those characters, and to enjoy the show with people who share a similar enthusiasm.

Here's my issue, though, I find it hard to build a sense of community on Tumblr, interactions are limited by a very poor comment section, which is a shame.

I don't believe Twitter should be the main place for fandoms, because there's no room for in-depth conversations and everything has to be done quickly, It's more about posting and liking than engaging together.

I enjoy Dreamwidth and it would be, I think, a lovely place to build a community (besides, there is some WOT content over there) but I know it's not the most popular place, and it works more as a forum, which might lack the spontaneity of conversations.

Then there's Discord, and I am conflicted about Discord, on the one hand, it's convenient to chat and it can be well organised, on the other hand... I have wandered on quite a few fandom servers and they weren't for me, except for one. They're usually too crowded and I found that, in some places, the conversations are overwhelming in quantity but there aren't any real discussions.

As for that ONE server that worked for me, that one is quite special. You see, it's a small fandom of a show with a lot of wasted potential, but it's also the best fandom I've had the pleasure to join. People really interact, most of us know each other at least vaguely, we have a general idea of what are people's likes and dislikes, even when they aren't people we've chatted a lot with, and the mods always come up with fabulous events to keep the community living and it does keep on living, even after the show got cancelled in 2022. This discord doesn't have that many people in it, we talk a lot about the show, we also talk about specific characters, talk about ships in their dedicated channels, chat about our progress in our fic/gif/edits and support each other... people are interacting and we're all loving it. And those same people participate in fandom events because what unites us, even if we don't love the same characters or ships, is our love for that same show.

This is this sense of community built on the common love for a show and its potential that I would like to find for WOT, and more specifically in this case, about the women of WOT (but of course, talks about the show as a whole are always welcome and encouraged, it's just that watching with a preference for the female characters really change the conversations ones might have...) Especially with the new season coming in March, with all those new intriguing women that joined the cast, it would be lovely to have our little corner somewhere to chat together, as a small part of a bigger fandom, rather than individuals floating in the big WOT show tag and struggling to connect.

(And maybe those places already exist and I just haven't found them yet and I'm the only one struggling to connect. In this case, if you know places, please fill me in, I am dying to connect with fellow ladies of WOT lovers.)

So I guess that's it. I would love for us to get a chance to better connect, as show lovers (book readers are welcome, but please, be really mindful of spoilers, I am sick of being spoiled things even though I muted tags because people believe using emojis to talk is good enough to prevent spoilers, like we don't have functioning brains enough to put 2 and 2 together...).

To sum up my wish list: I wish we, those of us with similar interests (I don't care which women you enjoy in WOT, I love them all and they're all interesting, even if I have my own preferences I will gladly chat about any of them with you), could create a little corner in this big fandom so we can start acting as a community rather than separated individuals scrolling through tags. But a community who takes its time, to have nice little chats about the show and its women, to discuss our ideas and hypothesis, to share our thoughts and headcanons about our favourite ships (and yes, please, let it be plural and not just one ship) and characters, to support each other's in our writing, drawing, giffing, editing... all that, free of the drama that too often seem to happen in fandoms. A little place where we could always find someone who's up to chat a little about the show, and its women.

(Little place, because I really think once you're over 100 persons in a discord server (and probably less) it becomes nearly impossible to really get this feeling of a community).

So I'd love to know your interest in building such a place, and where you think it would be the most convenient for you!

[dadrielle]

I am sorry my tags about the fire came across as accusatory or weaponized; that was not my intention. I thought the middle tag which you left off, #maybe they kinda wanna just chill rn, made it clear that I was just acknowledging there was an extra reason they probably didn't want to get deep this time. I was not saying that you do not care about the fires, nor was I saying I think that's why people asked the less deep questions. The reason I didn't put it in the post itself was in fact because as you said, it's not really relevant to a general critic of the show format. It just felt weird to me not to nod to the fact that that happened and was affecting the crew quite a bit, so that was me doing that. Sorry.

I am glad to hear that the post wasn’t intended to be about Cole. I did read some of your other posts before replying to this one, and I did also find the kids question cringe and unfortunate, cuz like, why does the gender of their kids matter even slightly? Gross, really. It was not obvious to me that this post was intended to only be about that, though, and I do think some of my points stand here, because when you say this (bolded emphasis mine on the second bit):

"the bleed over of fanon is depressing"

and

"a lot of you are showing your asses in terms of how you don't actually gaf about the characters or the story the players have chosen to tell."

it implies that you are talking about many things that you consider to fall into that category of fanon bleedover. Given that the kids question isn't even a fanon thing (as fanon is usually a thing a lot of people subscribe to) so much as one person asking a cringe question (to validate their individual headcanon), it is not at all obvious to me that's what you meant in the OG post.

And logically when follow that up with this in the same post:

"that's what you wanna ask about? it's selfish, honestly."

it sounds like you are also applying that to everything that fits into the category of fanon bleed over.

This is what I meant by splash damage. I am glad my assumption that this was about the glasses question was wrong but I don't think it is unreasonable to look at it and think that's what you're talking about. I do not think I was the only person who read it and thought that. If you say something is lame and that lame questions are selfish, people who ask questions you find lame are going to think you are calling them selfish whether that is your intention or not.

I dunno man, I tried really really hard to make it clear that I understand your frustration and share much of it, that I think it's valid to not like that kind of stuff in Q & As, and I tried really hard to provide context for what I was saying and to avoid coming across as super accusatory. I straight up just hate live Q&As as a thing, personally. Con Q&As make me wanna sink into the floor. Maybe my wordiness here is part of the problem; I know I overdo it when I am trying to be precise about what I'm saying. That’s a me problem. But I commented because we are in the same community and this felt harsh and I wanted to talk it out because that feels healthy to me. And now I know you did not mean this to be about Cole, so I do think that is a worthwhile thing to get out of talking directly. I did not respond because I'm hating on you; I did not say you're a bully. But if you are consistently having people say that they feel like you're coming for them when that's not your intention, I would consider whether you should try temper that brashness for the sake of clarity and not hitting people in the crossfire.

Anyway, yeah, if we wanna talk further, I do think DMs makes sense. I didn't actually see this second reblog until I had written most of this and I did want to clarify wrt to the tags publicly which is why I am posting this despite the DM invitation above.

I hope you enjoyed last night's episode. Have a good one.

I shouldn't be surprised by the fireside chat being the state it was, seeing as I don't follow any CR themed blogs myself or really go into the tags because I find it frustrating but still, the bleed over of fanon is depressing and a lot of you are showing your asses in terms of how you don't actually gaf about the characters or the story the players have chosen to tell.

I love my au's, I love my headcanons, I love my not quite canon ships, but they're for me and the people who chose to enjoy them if they want to. and what makes creating those things more fulfilling is trying to really be true to the character it's about, otherwise just go play with OCs

this will be my last salty post on the matter (guess we'll see) but man, the timing? all of this crazy shit is going on, it is well established that the audience is frustrated with how little downtime we've had with these characters and getting to see those long rest bonds we got to enjoy with previous campaigns, 4SD is over, and that's what you wanna ask about? it's selfish, honestly.

[squeakyclamart]

ok hold on. Ok guys hang on wait listen hear me out. Ok listen guys hang on, wait, wait -- guys wait listen to me

actually I don't really have a way to explain myself here . Yes I turned the pizza guys into animals I'm sorry. You don't understand i'm having a moment here, this has been driving me insane for days

I CAN explain my design choices however

Pizzahead - fox - I think "triangle head," my brain goes immediately to fox. Foxes just got that Shape, yknow? I almost went for a hyena for funny laugh, but outside of hyenas having a bit too stocky of a build (and not quite the tail I wanted), I figured foxes also make silly little noises so hey. Whatever

Peppino - tasmanian devil - You already know why .I mean come on. But also the color scheme worked out rather nice, with the white patch being his 'shirt'

Gustavo - little owl - I wanted him to be small and relatively round but also some creachure that has a natural rivalry with rats/mice. I could have gone with cat, but decided Nahhh and went with funny little owl instead. Brick meanwhile is still a rat because I think that's funny

Pepperman - capybara - Ok listen. He looks awful here. He looks downright terrible. But also I want to keep him that way. The stem does not help but without it he looked bald . Anyway I had a rodent theme going for the tower gang initially, and even if that changed as Noise became a rabbit, I still liked Pepperman being a big fucking capybara because I think it's Silly. Also because capys are one of the few rodents that come in a reddish color in certain lights. So

Vigilante - guinea pig - He is small. He can tuck his legs in under himself and look like he's got none. He's not threatening in the slightest. The most he can do is squeak really loudly at you. And I think he should stay that way. He is a leftover from the tower gang having a rodent theme Also look up guinea pigs wearing cowboy hats. you will not be disappointed

Noise (and Noisette) - rabbit - Ok everyone listen. I know it's a popular thing to turn this man into a rat, and I'm totally on board and I agree, and I originally had him as a rat, however. It created a sorta Pluto and Goofy thing between him and Brick, which would be funny and fitting, but I just didn't vibe with it. Plus that one comic with Pepperman calling Noisette's hats "rabbit ears" has stuck in my head like some sort of parasite and I can't get rid of it

Fake Peppino - he is just peppino but his anatomy is fucked up and he's goopy!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Gerome - cat - there is no intrinsic value or reason for this I just wanted to turn him into a small cat

Mr. Stick - heron - It was beamed into my mind like a prophecy. Tall lanky ass bird (to fit with Gustavo also being a bird) with big long beak. what else could you ask for

anyway. um. Yes. Sorry . I can't really explain myself for this one outside of that . yea. ok. bye

[astrangeavenue]

drew some of alan beckers stick figures in keith harings style cause i thought it would be fun. and i was right

[bixels]

I'm not explaining why re-imagining characters as POC is not the same as white-washing, here of all places should fucking understand.

[ghost-of-morrowbright]

Actor Obsessions Get to Know Me

Thank you for the tags, @valar-did-me-wrong and @gauntletgirlie!

Unless it specifies otherwise, I mean the actor not the character.

Two Actors I Never Lost Obsession Over:

Two Nerdy Character Obsessions:

Character specific, but "nerdiness" applies in general to both, I think.

Two Age Appropriate Obsessions:

Hopefully the roughly age-appropriate iterations of my long term obsessions will suffice? Age-appropriate is relative, especially since I've followed the careers of several of my faves for years.

Two Obsessions Old Enough to Be a Parent:

Given that my father is just shy of 80, I had to get a little creative with this one. These gents are from my grandparents' generation, but I chose them because both Robert Mitchum and Burt Lancaster could absolutely Get It well into their grandfather years. Here they are in their respective vintage glory.

Two Obsessions That Made You Gay (or queer of any variety, as the case may be)

I was already kinda gay (I tend to fall in love with women I know and men I don't) but yes, please.

I love the following two actors both collectively in this film, as well as in their individual careers.

Tagging whoever wants to play, really, because I am terrible at remembering who has already done a certain game or who has already been tagged, and I am always worried about forgetting someone.

Thankyou @dragon-ashes1485 for tagging me! I'm posting my answers here so as to not make the previous post too long..

2 men/women I never lost obsession over:

2 nerdy character obsessions: he quotes Rumil, he's a nerd.. fight me!

2 age appropriate obsessions: if we are going very close in age then this one

If we allow a little wider age range then this one

2 obsessions old enough to be your dad/mom:

2 obsessions that made you gay:

No pressure tags: @greenleaf4stuff @gauntletgirlie @marshmellin @ghost-of-morrowbright @lodessa @gingeragenda @wowstrawberrycow @queenmeriadoc & anyone else who wants to join in!!

[rubberduckyrye]

Okay in all seriousness. There's something that I REALLY want to talk about as an open discussion with the fandom, but. This is not going to be a very nice thing to hear/talk about.

It's about how Gonta is treated by the fandom.

As a fan of all the V3 characters now, and as someone who has always been a fan of Gonta, and as someone who has many mental disabilities and two diagnosed neurodivergancies... I'm tired of playing nice about it.

You all need to stop being ableist towards Gonta.

I've mentioned in the past that I don't like shitting on personal interpretations. I don't like saying something is or is not canon because narration is just a big web of text that you try to decipher with your own personal biases, experiences, and thoughts. That's why two literary analysts analyzing the same text with the same literary criticism rules can come to wildly different conclusions--why people develop different headcanons from the same canonical information.

But one of the things that challenged my integrity is just how many people view Gonta as this innocent, naive, ignorant, baby boy who can do no harm/never has a complicated/dirty/violent/sexual thought in his life ever.

This incredibly ableist interpretation of the character bothered me for, well, obvious reasons (See: It's fucking ableist, need I say more?) but I never challenged it as harshly as I am now because to be frank, it's not my place to tell people how to HC a character. It still isn't. But I've pretty much given up on my integrity on the subject and have decided to go all in on discussing why this interpretation of Gonta is just. Really bad.

First of all, not to promote my own analyses here or anything, but I think this analysis I did of Gonta explains a LOT in regards to the ableism the cast gives him in canon. I also think that this subtle ableism is why the fandom is so bad with Gonta's characterization in headcanons and fanfic--because they've seen how the cast treats him, and they think it's normal. They don't see the microaggressions, they don't see the subtle ableism in the cast--they just see this big giant idiot who speaks like Tarzan in the English version (which... I don't actually know why people assume Tarzan (Thinking of Disney's version) is stupid. Like as a boy he had to reinvent the spear with no one to guide him on how to do it. He was able to strategize and outsmart "civilized" men in the final showdown. Still I digress) and don't see the literal genius behind his social awkwardness.

There is also another very important point I'm going to make in addition to this, and it's going to be very uncomfortable to Gonta fans who insist he's nothing but a sweet baby who only has pure thoughts. Especially to the fans who insist he "can't be sexual" or think it's weird to ship him with his peers.

Sorry to burst your bubble, but... Gonta blatantly has sexual desire and gets horny right in canon.

This is further clarified here:

It wasn't a matter of Gonta didn't want to touch her because touching someone in their underwear was inappropriate, or being flustered because she was in her underwear which is inappropriate...

It was literally a "weird feeling" that made him unable to approach her or touch her. A "weird feeling" that Miu makes pretty obvious as to what it was--sexual arousal.

He literally was sexually attracted to and felt sexual arousal from looking at Miu in her underwear. He had sexual feelings and thoughts about Miu. Why?

Because Gonta is a young man.

Gonta is a brilliant, talented young man who has normal human thoughts for someone his age--sexual desires, upsetting thoughts, complicated thoughts, ectect. He is not a child, he is not mentally stunted (I've been informed that people have literally said this on Ao3 for the NSFW Gonta fics, please for the love of god stop that)

I think the reason why Gonta fans typically want to keep him as a "pure baby child who can do no wrong" is because treating him like the young adult that he is makes it harder for them to justify Chapter 4. Every time I've seen a Gonta fan that hates Kokichi, it's always followed by the sentiment of "Kokichi manipulated and abused Gonta into killing Miu, so it's all Kokichi's fault." They're afraid of nuance and liking a character with the grey morality of genuinely thinking Mercy Killing the cast is a viable option, because it challenges their own morals about the character they adore.

To those people who read this and are upset: You can and should like Gonta! Gonta is a magnificent character who showcases the subtle way microaggressions can manifest and hurt people, he's a good-hearted person and a literal genius, he cares deeply for his friends and loves everyone with upmost sincerity.

But.

You need to re-evaluate your stance on Gonta if you think he's a stupid, naive fool who Kokichi manipulated. You need to re-evaluate why you think those thoughts, why you think Gonta being shipped with anyone is "Kinda weird" or "has weird consent problems" or "give you the ick." You have to challenge yourself and ask yourself uncomfortable questions in regards to why you treat Gonta like a child when canon has proven otherwise, why you think he cannot have violent or sexual thoughts, why he can't think mercy killing his class is the only way to save them.

This isn't an attack on you--but understand that these specific takes on Gonta? They are ableist in nature. They belittle and dismiss him, they treat him like a child, an idiot who can't think for himself--and you have to come to terms with the fact that Gonta is a far more complex character with complicated thoughts and feelings who is a young adult. Not a child. A young adult.

So again, ask yourself this: Why are you treating this young adult like he's a toddler?

[coketoons]

falls over and dies

[turtledotjpeg]

my piece for the @yorknewauction reverse bb! @hurtinghabits wrote a fic based on this which I am very excited to buckle down and read very shortly 👀

[idliketobeatree]

@dont-offend-the-bees okay my darling first of all

AND SECOND OF ALL. i am gobsmacked by your commentary, thank you for taking the time to write these tags despite the cold sickly weather day!! you picked up on so many things i usually only hope people will find, and it feels like the biggest prize that you scored so many!!

(we both agree on charles in the middle supremacy <3)

and the way you described their individual voices!! excuse me! plucked them out of my brain but better! absolutely brills detail cought that you can technically read them as separate and they will make sense, but you feel there's something lacking all the same, waiting on the sidelines, and that only when they're together there is true harmony.

i hope you don't mind me turning this reblog for the director's cut for the poem!!

so here are my scattered thoughts:

starting out, i had to think about how each character would feel about their developed relationship. how it makes their life more rich? what would change about their self-perception? what can they take for themselves?

trying to breach the gap between magical and time-suspended in centuries cat king, and quite young in terms of their afterlife edwin and charles. especially charles.

charles in the middle, because this is an equilateral triangle, not a love corner around edwin; not payneland + ck, not catwin + charles. nothing wrong with those! just not the vibes i wanted

the most challenging part is not even the melding, but balancing between (what i imagine to be) their inner voice and actual poetic phrases. i don't want to feel restrained by their vocabulary, but sometimes finding the sweet middleground means you need to take down a notch of poetics for their voices to be still believable.

charles finding the strength within himself to heal-- with their combined power and support. he always includes himself in the picture. "six arms to form / all the goo inside of me" or "three dimensional beings": he recognises himself as part of the trio and he knows he doesn't have to do this alone

there's a wondrous, analysing part of edwin's brain that's somehow pleasantly surprised by this situation; he can't help but wonder what he'd be missing out on.

this poem is basically a playground. i've shown you four games these kids like to play, and they're bound by rules, but there are about ten more hidden mini-games in there. for example:

hurray! you can pick and pluck the lines from each individual poem to make new meanings! i underlined just four options.

charles' poem makes similar sense, but takes on different personal priorities if you read it from the bottom to the top

AND technically you CAN pair them up, the poems. edwin's and charles' work together well. so do charles' and tck's. it's vital for them to have a dialogue, the partnership wouldn't last otherwise.

edwin's and tck strong connection is implied, but they're on opposite sides for a reason. tck already feels a bit on cloud nine about the whole arrangement and i feel like. charles grounds him? keeps him from seeing god in edwin's eyes, you know?

THE STRUCTURE: a bit silly, but it does looks like charles is reaching out to both of them. i'm emotional about it.

AND ALSO. the closest they ever get during the line "the moment of crowning / clarity on where you stand, double-adored / a chance i never stood", because it's REALLY something that brings them together. you can't argue with that. ghostcat to me only works if all puzzle pieces fall into place, there is clear communication, there is love from all sides, the humbling and mortifying realisation that you can't be loved and protect yourself at the same time-- and in order to do that, you must get uncomfortably close.

i think that's it! thanks for reading to the end, and see you in the next poems <3

dead boy detectives contrapuntal poems — 4 — (1) (2) (3) for @dont-offend-the-bees, @dear-monday and @tw0-ravens <3

(click for better quality ✳️)

[medi-bee]

isat pokemon au, my liege?

my rambling in tags

[blood-red-hummingbee]

I HAVE COMPOSED A LIST OF THE FANKIDS

IF YOU WANT TO BE PUT ON, OR I MISSED SOMEONE, LEMME KNOW!

I'M ORDERING THIS BY CANON CHARACTERS CUS THAT'S THE ONLY WAY I COULD KEEP TRACK

Riddle - @justm3di0cr3; Ivrine with Emory - @beneathsakurashade; Riliane with Kanae - @amethystjewel01; Thorn and Ruby with Yuuna

Ace - @4necdote; Draven with Whitney - @screamintoad; Jane with Rory - @ashipiko; Avila and Alex with Ashi

Deuce - @skibidibabygirl; Angel and Diana with Isa

Trey - @moonyasnow; Hilda, Julian, and Hazel with Junia

Azul - @oya-oya-okay; Azuma, ShiShi, Azusa, and Shou with Shuu - @taruruchi; (Aure)lia, Cass(ius), and Julian with Taruchi

Floyd - @angelwishess; Emelio, Marven, and Alora with Kyra - Barbs; Suzette and Summer with Grace

Jade - @gimmeurmoneyagh; Melusine, Lorelai, and J(esse) with Yumi

Leona - Also Moony; Nuru with Tomoe - Mah; Kinja with Isabelle - @h0neybane; Maya and Obuya with Evelyn

Jack - Me; Joey and Luna with Rose - Moony; Genevieve and Toby with Victor - Crow; Shiloh, Sasha, and Gemma with Rory

Ruggie - @midnightmah07; Maggie with Daisy - @twtysevapr; Mika and Lana with Mina - @cheerleaderman; Charlotte with Dion - Myz; Diana with Sam

Jamil - @bunniehunn; Claude and Hayat with Flori - Jan; Bella with Astrid - Addie; Zyran with Dranav - Barbs; Maron, Maeve, Jiya, and Ichaa

Kalim - @babyghoul138; Aisha, Daniyal (I don't know if I spelled that right, lemme know Myz!), and Arham (though that one's subject to change) - Mah; Yasmin, Bazel, and Daim with Jeanne

Vil - Barbs; Flora with Eislyn - Algy; Belladonna with Rosienne - AJ; Alois and Naomi with Yuuki

Epel - Addie; Binnie with Poppy

Rook - @offorestsongs; Rosemary with Lysander (I think there are a couple more on the way too)

Idia - Jan; Kore, Atlas, and Helene with Yuya - @amai-sakura-chan; Nova and Soleil with Ame - @buttholesparkles; Zagreon and Melinos with Maya

Sebek - @theolivetree123; Avery with Constance

Silver - Crow; Fleur and Alaric with Blanche - Jan; Alicia and Tristan with Airlea - Algy; Paloma with Jóvia - Kanae; Chrys(anthemum), Dahlia, Sage, and Edel(weiss) with Shion

Malleus - Moony; Malina, Malachi, Mallory, Malek, Maleah, Malcolm, Malindt, and Malissa with Irina - Barbs; Anthony, Rosa(lynn) - AJ; Malin and Malorie with Yuuto - Me; Aria with Emmelia

Niege - Moony; Roza with Spike

Che'nya - Barbs; Lucy, Louie, and Bennet with Anneliese

and last but not least: Olive's Nikohopper bebes; Daisy and Louis!

AND WITH THAT I TAKE MY BOW! THANK YOU, THANK YOU!

ONCE I HAVE A COMPLETE LIST, I SHALL COMPILE THE SCHOOL/DORM FANKID CHART! <3

[entouragelvr75]

i have no idea what im doing on here but more reallly miscellaneous pokemon pokespe whatever artdumping/reposting i keep forgetting about tumblr sorry guys LMAO

this time not solely sinnoh trio edition:

[warden-anders]

If the ride or die doesn't have a romance (like sten or varric or cole for example), still use them to cast your vote.

[inkyucu]

Alright I'm starting to lose track of all the roleplay blogs, so I'm making a list with all of them. Hopefully this helps some other people who are losing track too

I know I'm missing probably a lot of them, so please tell me if I missed you or if you know of someone I missed (or if I put someone in the wrong place- like I said it's hard to keep track)

Sun:

@sundropneedstherapy

Moon:

@the-old-moondrop

Lunar(s):

@lunarlikesbeanbags

@lunarthemexican

Earth:

@unlicensedtherapist

Solar:

@silly-solar

Eclipse:

@probably-eclipse

Jack:

@gremlininthedark

Dazzle:

@evelyn-dazzle

Bloodmoon(s):

@bloodmoon-da-idiot

@escapetheslaughter

@chaotic-bloodmoon

@blood-boi

Ruin:

@sociopathic-ruin

KC:

@monster-underdabed

Dark Sun(s):

@solstice-speaks

@dark-sundrop

Nexus:

@insane-nexus

Creator:

@ask-a-fatherly-creator

Solar Flare:

@solar-flar3

Frank/Forkface;

@frank-forkface

(I have no idea why some of the @ aren't working, so sorry about that-)