#I just was surprised it was a dragon romance

[honeyhotteoks]

hi,

i recently saw a tiktok about like fanfic. i’m not sure if you have seen the trend where it goes like “when x does something” vs. “when y does something” where x is okay and y is not.

basically it was about how reading fanfiction about characters is okay but when it is about like real people it is weird. and everyone in the comments was like “that’s so weird” and other comments that weren’t so nice. like some were dissing x reader inserts as well and i was baffled likeee…

i’ve read fanfiction for years and i have never seen so much discourse about it being wrong until kpop and i never understood it. i wanted to hear your thoughts on it as a fanfiction writer. (although i am one too, you’ve been writing for a lot longer than i have)

— 🪻 anon

oh great question and i’d absolutely love to answer it.

so for context i have been involved in fandom spaces since i was a kid, i was reading fanfiction probably as young as eight or nine (not necessarily smutty fic, ofc, but like my little fandom brain needed to know what fanficition.net had to say about spyro the dragon even before i understood what fandom or fan works were). for many, many years i read and wrote only fanfic based on already fictional works, and i genuinely thought rpf (real person fiction) was weird. i use to be one of those people that would have been in those comments saying it was weird like i had some kind of moral superiority about it.

i say all that so that everyone understands where i’m coming from when i answer this question, but just as a note up top…… this conversation has been around for YEARS. i think it’s gotten worse in recent years because we’re having a very strange moral backslide globally and conversations about sex and sexuality have gotten even more conservative and laden with shame. it’s no surprise to me we’re seeing it heavily in the kpop space that has a lot of young fans, passionate fans, and parasocially committed fans. but the tension between rpf and non-rpf has been around for a while for sure.

kpop fanfiction changed my mind about writing rpf, but that being said i still have some personal boundaries about rpf as a genre in general. kpop is an interesting fandom to be involved in for so many reasons, but one of the reasons that i think i started to break down some of those internalized reservations about rpf is because of how clearly manufactured the parasocial elements of kpop are. there’s no other fandom experience in the world (that i am aware of) where famous celebrities do not have romantic partners intentionally, actively treat fans like romantic partners, have apps to text those fans with a y/n feature, and do literal relationship fan service. the culture of kpop in general fosters this level of parasocial connection that as a writer, i perceive as almost a stage play. basically what i mean by that is that the nature of the industry pushes a romantic real-person storyline for fans to either self insert into or ship members, and not only do i think the industry is aware of fanfiction, i think it benefits from it.

when i write RPF about kpop boys….. i’m writing about their characters that we’re allowed to see. i know we speculate and we have fun etc., but at this point I consider ateez and yunho for me in particular more like writing muses to play around with romance novel scenarios. I could easily sub out yunho’s name in across stardust and swap it out of second person and have a totally agnostic novel about a girl and a celebrity.

that being said, rpf still sometimes makes me uncomfortable in other scenarios. i’m not saying that i’m right or wrong in this, but i just don’t feel as comfortable reading rpf of like…… idk tom holland and zendaya let’s say, where they are a cute public couple but the industries and the fan relationships are completely different. again, that’s purely a personal preference, but just an example of what feels good and doesn’t feel as good to me as a writer and reader. that is not at all to say those readers and writers and doing anything wrong, i don’t think they are and would defend them, but it’s where my personal preferences with rpf lie.

the other thing i’ll say is this….. a lot of people have a problem with rpf for a few big reasons, and i just want to dig into those below -

the real person didn’t consent to this - I understand that, but I think this is a bit of a flawed argument when it comes to fanfiction. While I do believe RPF should never, ever be shared with the person being written about because that to me crosses boundary lines, I think the consent conversation is faulty logic. Firstly, if a famous person (or any person) needed to consent to be fantasized about romantically, platonically, sexually, etc. we’re very quickly running into weird thought-crime territory and I have a distinct problem with this. People have fantasized about people forever, that’s how romance and sexuality works, and there’s truly nothing wrong with that. I mean that truly in all senses of the word too, I don’t care of people dream about marrying someone or getting railed by someone, it’s their internal thoughts and that’s not my business. The line cross comes when those fantasies get pushed into the famous person’s real life. I am not at all okay with sexually explicit signs at concerts, sending fanfic to idols, or pushing them to do more ‘shipping’ content. THAT is where the parasocial lines blur and to me that tells me the person engaging in that content is not mature enough to understand fiction vs. reality. Muddling that with the argument that famous people need to ‘consent’ to being sexualized or written about is an oversimplification and frankly, pretty puritanical. People crossing those lines, to me anyways, are proving that they do not see the idols as people, they see them as objects. Whereas a lot of writers and artists, myself included, see them as people presenting a character and I am happy to keep my delulu fun with those characters fully separate and divorced from any interactions i may ever have with them as a real people.

shipping is wrong! you can’t assume their sexuality! - I know I write m/f rpf mostly, but you’ve seen m/m pairings in my work and i also love to read a quality m/m fic from time to time. I don’t write shipping fic because it’s not really in my arsenal to do that, I prefer writing female POVs, but I have absolutely no problem with that as a genre. People do though, and often it’s coming from a deep place of internalized homophobia. What I would say to this is…. one, why are you assuming someone’s sexuality is straight as the default? Two, while some rpf shippers are “truthers” who take it a bit too far and think that idols are actually coupled up….. most of the time these are people just writing a gay relationship. In the same way that my fic could be swapped out into a romcom, so could theirs if you changed the names. It’s truly not that serious. If you’re the type of person who can’t separate the characters of woosan or matz from the actual people, I would argue again that this is a maturity problem, if not a more insidious morality problem rooted in homophobia.

shipping yourself with a famous person is gross and weird! you must be a crazy fan/sad loser! - Yeah, no. Once again, if you’re able to separate person and character, then all you’re doing is writing imaginary scenarios with a character. Self insert as a genre is more just the flexibility to write second person present tense to me rather than coming up with an entire rich character with a name every time - it lends itself to quick scenarios, flexible readership, and feels better than writing “I” all the time. While yeah, some fans take things too far as they always do, this is the exception and not the rule. As far as if that means we’re ‘crazy fans’ or ‘sad losers’…….. I think you’ll find the crazy fans are the ones acting without boundaries at barricade or at fansigns, not the quiet writers playing in lovely little scenarios. I’ve never once had a fancall with Yunho, and I’m not sure if I would even be comfortable doing so after writing him as a character after all this time. Comparing that to the rabid serial fancall problem where I see fans saying things like “you don’t understand, he knows me” ….. I think I’ll stick on the side of rpf fiction versus that line cross every time.

The last thing I’ll say is this……….. look around in fandoms, particularly those creating works in fandom spaces like art, fiction, etc. and you will find a sea of neurodivergent people. Anecdotally, you’ll also find so many people dealing with things like depression, anxiety, traumatic events or childhoods, etc. Of course that’s not a rule by any means, and this is entirely based on my personal experience in fandoms over the years, but what I think is important to emphasize here is that a lot of people who fall into those buckets explore their internal selves through character and through creative expression. I think it’s important as people to stop labeling people as “weird” when they are doing something different to you, and start leading with empathy and curiosity.

I could talk for hours about unpacking trauma through the romance genre, or exploring sexuality in safe spaces through shipping, or even just learning how to write using characters in existing spaces……. but that’s probably best for another post if people are interested. At the end of the day, my take on RPF is that it’s no different to other forms of fanfiction, especially within a space as parasocial and crafted as kpop. People are free to disagree with me, just as they are free to scroll and not engage with my content, but to me there’s nothing inherently ‘wrong’ or shameful about it. And in my experience, people who need to shame others for their preferences in fandom often have a lot of internal shame they’ve yet to unpack.

[abigailspinach]

[vaguely-concerned]

on the one hand I think inner demons could stand to have a bit more romanced rook specific content, but on the other hand the underlying in-built implication that 'yours is the one true voice of comfort and safety in my inner world' is a sentiment and intimacy so way beyond the romantic or the platonic or any secret third thing you could care to name that it makes me lose my entire poor little mind a bit. it's so big and fundamental — near-existential — that in that exact moment at least the distinctions kind of seem irrelevant.

all the people lucanis' mind conjures up along the way are relationships he has that are unavoidably mixed and fraught in some ways even when they're also full of love (they are fraught BECAUSE they're full of love) — the good in them inseparable from things that hurt him at the same time. (it's about: the basic disorganized attachment patterns this poor guy is dragging around with him. careful with those, they're dellamorte heirlooms. what you love also inevitably hurts you and you won't be allowed to have one without the other, you have to surrender parts of your soul to hold on to what little you have left: this is the story up until now.) and the idea that rook isn't that to him — that beneath the fear of wanting them when romanced (which is more its own separate thing because within this psychology, actively wanting something and not just clinging on for dear life to even a meager status quo lest you lose it is in itself dangerous bordering on catastrophic), this is a relationship where there isn't resentment, or guilt, or shame, or dread, or rage, or self-hate, or any of the other emotions that keep him paralyzed, unable to move this way or that. no debts, nothing owed of yourself and your soul's substance except what you can freely and safely and happily give. love and freedom don't coexist — but, I mean, you're almost starting to make me think........... unless...👀👀👀. the unconditional and undramatic 'you are here and I am here with you, you can be exactly how you are right now with me and it's safe for us both even though you're afraid it won't be, I'm not going anywhere' acceptance rook shows him here that he returns to them in the big romance scene, when it's rook who needs it. the way he's just. standing there in the center of it all, like a child desperately helplessly waiting to be found, hiding in the place he hopes you'll know to look first. (rook does know. it's one of the first things they say in there.)

in short the most important room in his little mind palace for the romance is the very first room — the one where rook isn't. where, in fact, rook cannot be, because they disprove the entire structure of the place with their existence and presence in his life. with everyone else he's putting words in their mouths about what they think of him, and rook is the one who actually gets to come in to speak their own words to him — and have him listen. ('he'll listen to you, he always listens to you', 'your voice is a comfort'.) of course rook isn't present anywhere else in there — at the risk of stating the obvious to a tedious degree, they aren't one of the locks, they're bringing the key. in the very finest 'the messenger and the message' sort of way.

[waspgrave]

My big theory on Taash isn’t spoilery but I think they’re gonna transition in some manner in the story. My proof? She’s giving me vibes + devs not seeming to agree on pronouns + Taash not being too involved in promotions might be to prevent even further right wing raging. I’ll eat my words if I’m wrong but I’ve been sitting on this for weeks

[b4kuch1n]

yay! I drew these quite literally three years ago. dragonheart!milo and raihan! a knight on a doomed dragon hunt being lifted out of his station by a small village medicine man. together they become magic lawyers and overthrow the government

the main details in these do survive into the iterations I’ve drawn (instead of these actual designs I spent time to make el oh el): the “leaf” diamond quilt/gambeson and the plaited coattail for milo, the “atypical” weapons, long coat, and large number of scattered fake gold trims and accessories for raihan. I think I lost raihan the hat and added a cape for milo further down the line because like this their general silhouettes are too similar for my liking lol

[stop-breaking-my-heart-dragonage]

no listen you don't understand- I am obsessed with how differently Anders reacts to Hawke hitting on him after completing his Tranquility quest depending on gender.

He talks about how he hopes he didn't come off as selfish for keeping Justice a secret, and Hawke has the flirty option of "at least he got a nice body."

With a lady Hawke, his response is a dramatic, "Noooo, don't do that~ Don't go there, I don't want to hurt you~ That's not going to end well~ I'll break your heart~" like he's so serious about it, and when Hawke tells him to do it, that she doesn't mind a little pain, he gives a hard no; "I'll break your heart and that might kill me as surely as the templars."

But with male Hawke?? Anders is like, ".....So y'know, in the circle everything is about rules and order so we apprentices found ways to make it bearable, if you know what I mean, hint hint wink wink. Karl and I? Yeah, he was my first. I've always believed people fall in love with a whole person, not just a body. Why would you shy away from loving someone just because they're like you? Soooo.... does it bother you that I've been with other men??"

Like.... Anders, babe, it's so interesting that you're out here warning a lady Hawke against getting involved with you but then with male Hawke suddenly "nooo don't do that~" is tossed out the window in favor of making sure he knows you're interested.

[abyssal-ilk]

posting that sketch yesterday made me remember just how much i love my taashath so i did another doodle <3

[njori]

Here's my first Rook, Faust de Riva!

[masterskywalkers]

So I did Emmrich’s first companion quest today - the one where he shows Rook around the Necropolis gardens - and I ... am very pleasantly surprised at how much I am enjoying how his personality is not what I expected. I mean, I was already interested in his character because, well, necromancer (always will love anything tied to my gothic horror roots) for one and also Nevarran! But from when I first saw inklings of his character design pop up I expected him to be a sort of a nod to old classic horror movie actors in the vein of Vincent Price, Christopher Lee, Peter Cushing. And whie he definitely does still feel like a love letter to those people - I definitely see Peter Cushing inspiration in his design - Emmrich’s character is just so refreshing ... nice.

His backstory as to why he got into the occult in the first place is so real and yet something I haven't really seen in much media before. He has such a care and respect with the dead and their souls, and while there could have easily been a sense of lonlieness to his character ... there isn't. He seems content and happy to be around the dead, and with the history of his parents and his own fears of death, it's clear that he finds comfort whilst working with spirits. I mean, just with how he handles Manfred, how he treats him like a son almost with how he teaches and encourages his curiosity, you instantly get an image of how he cares.

I expect we'll see some of the usual tropes for necromancy and undead pop up in his story -- as soon as I saw the slide about the Hand of Glory my mind was instantly like 'oh, so that's the Hand of Vecna for Dragon Age universe. Alright then' - but please, no spoilers as I'm still exploring the game for myself. I've just been very surprised by his character so far and I'm really liking it.

[thecatelier]

Man, so I decided I’d go ahead and play DA Veilguard. I’ve got about 15hrs on it so far but already I have a lot of…mixed feelings about it for sure. I’m enjoying playing it but the writing honestly upsets me quite a lot at times and I can definitely see why so many people dislike it or have mixed feelings as well. Might make a long post eventually detailing some of my biggest things later on if I feel like it/remember but who knows.

Also: If anything fucking happens to Varric I’m uninstalling and will go feral.

[tokyopewpew]

writing my Rook's background out I'm finding the one true thread that connects all my protagonists together... the glue behind every hero Thedas has ever had...

This absolute Queen. My one true Maker

[msunitedstatesjames]

I've touched on this in a couple of other semi-related posts before, but I find it hilarious and I appreciate how much Johanna Hezenkoss thinks Emmrich is the protagonist of Veilguard. Like, this woman could not give less of a fuck about Rook. She almost always refers to Rook only by their relationship to Emmrich. She refers to Rook as "one of Volkarin's hangers-on," "that impudent whelp following [Emmrich] around," "Volkarin's companion," and as Emmrich's "paramour." None of these imply that she thinks Rook has much agency. Instead, she acts like Rook is just helplessly following Emmrich around like a puppy, helping him complete tasks (which I guess is partly true).

If Rook romances Emmrich, Hezenkoss assumes that Emmrich seduced Rook and not the other way around, even though Emmrich is noticeably older than Rook and has hardly left the Necropolis in years. She's seemingly amazed by it, and yet it never once crosses her mind that Rook might have initiated the relationship (which is actually the case).

She also refers to Emmrich as the one who destroyed her construct, which is technically true, but she ignores the major assistance he had from Rook, another companion, and most notably Manfred. He couldn't have pulled it off without their help, and had in fact given up, but Hezenkoss acts like Emmrich was her sole opponent in that battle.

I've said before that part of the reason for this is that Hezenkoss seems to think of herself as the main villain of the story, so Emmrich must be the main hero. Hezenkoss says that some of the other big bads of Dragon Age, the Venatori, were nothing more to her than slightly useful and genuinely annoying. She clearly thinks herself above an entire organization of some of the most powerful mages in the world. And she sees Emmrich as pretty close to her in terms of raw power, since she almost invited him to her Vengeance Party but ultimately decided he was too much of a danger to her plans. She also states that she tried to get him to join her in the past, which I don't think she would do for anyone she considered to be less than her equal. Emmrich is genuinely the only person in the game she shows any respect for. Though she mocks his age and finds him to be too sentimental, too moral, and too fearful, she shows signs of agreeing with him on some topics, and she obviously respects his abilities if nothing else. No one else in the game acknowledges his frankly ridiculous knowledge and skill level (except Solas in the end) as much as Hezenkoss does.

And really, Emmrich does have main character energy. Though he does have some age and mortality related fears, dude is overflowing with confidence. When you first meet him, looking for a Fade expert, he has absolutely no problem telling you he's the best possible person for the job. Though he apparently hasn't left the Necropolis in years, he's totally down to join the team and go anywhere you want him to go. If you romance him, he is initially surprised, but he quickly turns into the smoothest dude around, and throughout the game you can hear him comment on some of his many relationships through the years. He's well-dressed, well-spoken, charismatic, highly educated, unfailingly kind, extremely powerful, and he's done so well for himself that Harding mistakes the son of a butcher and a cook for a member of the Nevarran nobility. No wonder Hezenkoss thinks he's the protagonist. The real protagonist is just out here winging it on guts and good luck alone.

[asolitaryrose]

Rook getting slammed once again against a hard surface by Taash. i am loving this

**muffled screaming**

[stellarsecrets86]

Powerful Placements In Astrology

Other posts you might like:

Masterlist

{PS: These are my own interpretations. For entertainment purposes only. Have Fun💚.}

★Capricorn rising and the Capricorn Moon exudes power wherever they go doesn’t matter if they want it or not.

★Mars in the 1st house, you love "Imagine Dragons", don't you?😄

★North Node represents the karmic debt of this life, but that does not mean it’s bad or something. The sign of the north node represents where you are the most interested in and will work the hardest for.

Ex: Elon Musk has his north node in Aquarius. His life is all about the aquarian theme as it should be.

★If Pluto is in the same sign as your Sun or Jupiter or both, (doesn't have to be a conjunction) this specific sign becomes a very strong part of your identity.

Ex: Nelson Mandela has cancer Pluto with Sun and Jupiter. Mandela is loved the most because of his ability of forgiveness and bringing peace to his people.

★Taurus Stellium can make someone cold blooded.

★Lilith in the 1st house or conjunct asc is a strong/intimidating placement to have. Though these people will accumulate this undeniable confidence and dark aura later in life.

★Pluto in the 1st House creates an intense, transformative personality. These individuals have a magnetic presence and an innate ability to rise from challenges stronger, embodying resilience and personal power.

★Saturn in the 8th House is known for mastering fears and understanding life’s mysteries.

★Chiron in the 6th House is the "wounded healer". This placement emphasizes growth through overcoming health or work-related challenges. It often leads to a career in healing or helping others.

★Uranus in the 4th House can bring innovative changes to their homes or communities.

★Venus in 12th, people love you much more than you can imagine but they just can't show it or don’t want to show it.(Blame your 12th house for that.😄)

★If you have Mercury in the 9th, you are a natural philosopher and seeker of wisdom. You can have interests in foreign languages and cultures.

★ Sun conjunct MC individuals are naturally drawn to leadership roles and often leave a lasting legacy in their field.

★ Mars in Scorpio people is one of the specific placements, I have seen that make individuals(Men and Women) very strong physically.(You don’t have to have six packs for that 😂)

★Lilith or Pluto in the 5th individuals challenge societal norms in art, romance, or how they approach their passions.

★Mars in the 11th house creates natural leaders in social movements or innovators in technology and networking.

★Jupiter in the 12th house is under the hidden source of luck and divine protection. These individuals often find blessings in moments of solitude or helping others selflessly.

★Moon is in the 8th, you will never know their emotional depth and psychic sensitivity.

★Mercury/ Moon / Both in Pisces will read you like an X-ray machine.

★Jupiter in Sagittarius is such a powerful healer placement.

★Pluto in the 10th house is a placement for immense power and influence in the career.

★Mars in the 3rd House is a fiery and assertive business owner. They are afraid of nothing.

★ Moon is in Mars Sign (Aries, Scorpio), you are a brand yourself. (Am I surprised? 😃)

Ex: Kylie Jenner, Selena Gomez, Rihanna.

★ Whole chart is important to see if someone has a powerful screen presence. But boy, Cillian Murphy has Mercury in Taurus and North node in Scorpio. (If you know, you know😄)

[thedissonantverses]

I do want to shoutout the Veilguard team for giving us such a beautiful piece of art in what had to be the worst of circumstances. The game’s industry is in a bad way and has been for a long time. We are seeing what happens when you commodify artistry and unfortunately it’s not unique to gaming. The fandom consuming media quickly and greedily with no regard for the creators are just as susceptible to this attitude as the developers and that’s something we all have to reckon with. I’ll be honest I’m surprised we even got Veilguard at all.

Which is why I praise this game as hard as I do. They stood by marginalized fans harder than ever. They made a lore accurate game. They made something that ties so many more lore threads together and gave us more to chew on. They gave us wonderfully written story about processing trauma and letting go of regret. It’s gorgeous and fun to play. It has my favorite protagonist and my favorite group of companions. My favorite romances too.

If I’m not gonna let the broader fandom tell me how to enjoy Dragon Age, I’m sure not going to let corporations tell me how either. I will continue to support fanworks however I can. Not to mention write my own.

Whatever else happens I have four Dragon Age games that I love and a lot of cool friends in the fandom I’ve connected with. I’m writing again. That wouldn’t have happened without Veilguard and as a long-time fan, I know I’m sticking around. I’m not interested in an autopsy of something that isn’t dead yet.

[kityana]

there's an interesting moment in "sinsmas" that i think far too many people misunderstood.

it's this one.

Stolas is a sucker for romantic fantasies.

we know this from pretty early on. he referred to blitzo in fantastic romantic terms like "my knight in shining armor".

he crossed blitzo's boundaries again and again because he thought their relationship was more intimate than it actually was, and he was sure blitzo was on the same page.

and he's constantly shown consuming romantic media- romance novels, telenovelas and rom-coms.

and honestly? i was constantly surprised by how much the narrative didn't punish him for it. not to say he didn't experience heartbreak. not to say some illusions weren't shattered. but at no point was the narrative ever saying stolas was wrong for having those dreams.

no, not even in sinsmas. because you know what happens five minutes after stolas gets angry at himself for doing it all for a fantasy?

this.

blitzo, slaying a literal dragon with a literal sword to save stolas. it's a scene straight out of a fairytale. and just because subtlety is for losers they even call it out.

the narrative literally tells stolas, your fantasies weren't foolish. you were right to believe in them. they came true.

it's a reoccurring theme in a lot of hellaverse characters. because you know who else is a dreamer hanging on to impossibly grand fantasies?

this guy.

sure, they aren't romantic fantasies, but blitzo's business aspirations are not all that different in the level of grandness or delusion. the theme of blitzo aggrandizing himself as a boss and the success of his business have been present since the pilot. they've been hammered home several times, with him, much like stolas, steadfastly ignoring any bit of reality that doesn't settle with his fantasy.

will blitzo ever get to be the big boss of a circus business with clowns and horses? probably not. does blitzo make plenty of mistakes about the way he runs his business? of course, so many. does he have ridiculous notions about what being a boss means that he needs to unlearn? yes, definitely!

but despite everything, he pushes through. and slowly but surely, his business becomes more successful as time goes on.

charlie from "hazbin hotel" is actually another good example of that. she also has a ridiculous dream that no one believes in. she also has ridiculous notions inspired by that dream. and the narrative also rewards her for hanging on to it when no one else would believe in it but her.

the point that seems to repeat in those stories is that those fantasies are important. that the act of believing in them is important. it can inspire you. it can help you push through when the odds are stacked against you. it can provide you with the drive you need to achieve your goals.

if stolas hadn't clung on to his ridiculous romantic fantasies, he wouldn't have believed in what he and blitzo could (and did) eventually become. he wouldn't have persistently tried to reach blitzo for as long as he did, even after he realized blitzo views their relationship so differently from him. he wouldn't have jumped so readily at the chance of what they could be, and found the courage to break free from his miserable, abusive marriage. he wouldn't have let blitzo become his light, and he wouldn't have become blitzo's heart in turn.

and it's not that stolas' is completely blind to reality. he doesn't literally wants to live in a rom-com. it's actually spelled out for us in "apology tour".

stolas doesn't want to actually be chased in the rain every day, he just wants someone to show this level of care toward him, because no one ever has.

and he finally gets it. and i'm sorry to break this to you, if you're one of the people who seem to be chomping at the bits for the narrative to slap the dreams out of stolas until he gets over them, but he wouldn't have gotten all of this without his fantasies.