#I've always said it but I don't like the overly perfect characters which is why i usually don't like op characters

[h-a-unted]

Though I do love the details we've been given about Joe and Jack in the books, I do have to point out some differences.

To me, Jack and Joe are two sides of the same coin. Despite having a 2-year difference in age, they're almost as similar as identical twins can get to be. Appearance-wise, Joe does look a little older than Reacher, but they look so similar, in general, that they often get mistaken by one another. Their voices are also very similar; Reacher is just more deadpan about his tone, and Joe makes sure to show much more emotion with his own.

Which leads me to the point of physical prowess and intelligence. They're pretty much the same, with Reacher being much more versed in physical prowess and techniques than Joe, who likes to keep things civil, using his mind instead. This doesn't mean Joe cannot be very violent, or that Reacher is not incredibly smart. They're almost equals, but they prioritize and lean towards different things.

This is why I love the series, because it doesn't shy away from their flaws/handicaps. The dynamic between these two siblings works best when they are juxtapositions of each other, just as awesome but with different flavors. That's what I try to portray with them.

[mysticgeekzartz]

Meet, Honey Sugar

So the votes were in and you guys all voted that you wanted to know more about Honey, so here is my blog post about her (⁠.⁠ ⁠❛⁠ ⁠ᴗ⁠ ⁠❛⁠.⁠) also yes I am posting this before I post those requests I did for The let me draw You're welcome home OC box thing I only have one more character to draw and then I'll be finished and I will post it Because this will be my proudest work of drawing six characters with lots of detail into these boxes :) It was a lot of fun practice but until then I hope you enjoy this post in the meantime

HOW SHE BECAME TO BE!:

I recently made Honey last year A lot of my OCs I made last year but they have stuck with me since then which is the first for me in Oh season general usually a lot of times I make one off characters. But there's something special about these characters I just Don't know how to explain it but I think this is the first time I've actually felt a deep connection with something that I created like an OC because usually my OC's had never really had a deep connection with me they were always just one offs or a few weeks I was connected with them but My current OCs very connected Well enough yapping about this let me tell you about Honey.

So at the beginning of the year originally Honey was a one off character that I made for roleplay me and my friend were role playing some Welcome Home stuff and we needed a relationship for Howdy we did not know who to ship him with so we decided to quickly create a character that would be perfect for the prompt that we were doing So I decided to make a quick baker character that would have her bakery right next to Howdy and they would have like a very competitive type of relationship because they're both selling goods she's selling breads, sweets ect And of course him selling general goods. They decided to have a competition on who can make the most sales which would be Howdy's processed bread from a factory versus honey baked goods like freshly baked stuff but of course Honey wins Because everybody's going to want fresh versus overly processed bread So of course since she won she could name whatever she wanted for a prize so she said take me out to dinner and when I kept playing her for this relationship Howdy which their whole relationship was based on teasing and her pointing out the obvious in his flaws and a snarky / funny way but they balanced each other out She was sweet but also spicy, I kept developing her character more and more she wasn't just this baker chick anymore She was becoming a character and then that's when I realized Oh my God I love this OC so much So I just had to make her as her own character.

Here was the first rendition of honey when I first drew her and when my art wasn't the best I'm glad I improved lol So I had the basic idea that she was going to be Eddie's cousin as well as a love interest for Howdy in me and Friends RP So originally I wanted her to look very cute almost cottage core-esque you can say and the reason why she was wearing bee earrings and a necklace was because of her name being Honey originally she was about to be a bee as well but I decided not to make her a bee Because it was difficult for me to draw and because I thought it was more of a fun dynamic with Howdy to have her being a humanoid puppet versus a bug type puppet but yeah a lot has changed from her design like for example I did change up the color palette because I thought the colors look dreadful together in this I mean in their own way they do look okay but I much prefer her current color palette then this old color palette I had for her and the hair I like her curly bob a lot more than the Bob with a braid that I originally gave her Plus her eyes don't look soulless anymore like it does here lol

I know you've seen these previous two pictures before but I'm going to a really like deep dive into how I designed the character as well as explaining the character lol So this was her second rendition and her most current rendition actually as you could see in the newer piece on top I did a new color palette a whole new style for her but I did kept some elements of the old one like her coloring for her felt and her nose shape and somewhat of her eye shape I closed her eyes I decided to fix her hair make it more of a curlier bob I gave her flowers to add more to that cottage court s look and by the way the dress is actually in apron dress If you took off the actual apron part of the dress it would actually just be a white '70s peasant style blouse with a pink peasant style skirt with a petticoat underneath this is my most favorite rendition of her and I'm probably going to keep it like this unless I decide to experiment with her outfits for different seasons which I'm planning to do with all my characters.

Here's a close-up of slightly older rendition of how I used to draw her face before now I made it no tip on the bottom and I made the nose all a little bit more dynamic but still the same ol sweet Honey So now I'm going to talk about some interesting facts about honey

FACTS ABOUT HONEY:

Honey Sugar It's not a nickname It is actually her real name that her parents gave her that everybody assumes it's just a nickname or just her trying to be unique but no it's actually her real name

She has a southern accent

She's 23

Honey grew up in a bakery Her mother is Southern and her father is French So she had a very strict pastry like upbringing so she is very particular about how things are done especially when you have a French pastry stuff as a father

Honey is type 1 diabetic She usually has really low blood sugar and I like to think as she bakes when she feels her blood sugar get low she likes to eat what she's made to help it out

Honey is usually a sweet woman she tries to be like the southern belle like woman like her mama but press her buttons the wrong way or do something that she views as disrespectful or uncouth You will see this normally sweet southern woman bring out the spice and she's not afraid to fight either She can be mean if you get on her bad side but normally she doesn't like to be like that

Honey is actually a very smart business woman She knows about what her customers want supply and demand-wise And she really knows how to pronounce herself and her pastries and sweets and all sorts of baked goods Her strategy is to always leave the door slightly open or leave somewhere that has a crack in it so the neighbors can smell fresh baked goods and that will make them want to come in

Honey is a workaholic She loves to bake so much that she'll end up baking up a storm usually tending to forget to eat and take breaks and just completely lose track of time sometimes neighbors will have to come in there to remind her to take breaks and eat and make sure she hasn't baked so much to the point where it's unsellable

One time Honey baked so much that the neighborhood had to have a baked goods eating contest because there were just so many pastries and if you're wondering what type of pastry it was jelly donuts they were popular and she went through one of her moments where she just non-stop baking in the zone and yeah she ended up filling up the whole shop and a little bit outside her shop of jelly donuts

I would say if Honey would have any close relationships with any neighbors it would probably be Howdy Poppy and Eddie, Howdy Because they're both business oriented and sometimes they might get competitive, Poppy I like to think that they would bake together and just talk and have tea and you know have some lady chats hehe, And Eddie I feel like they would talk in countryisms a lot and just have some similar experiences to things again like loving their jobs I feel like they would be really good friends

Before moving to Home, Honey used to own a bakery that was very successful where she would get catering jobs for weddings birthday parties gatherings etc and it was really good business The only reason why she moved away from the city and to Home was because she wanted to have a new market where it wasn't so stressful like it was in the city Just countless orders but in home it's relaxing it's peaceful she can just bake bread and pastries to people that seemed like they would appreciate it more

Some flaws that Honey has is that she'll make way too much sometimes enough to feed an army, she's very time blind She tries to be on time but when you're in the zone baking a lot of stuff you lose track of time So that's why she makes sure she has timers for important stuff, She is a bit of baked good snob she's very picky and particular about how things are baked and how things are served when you make baked goods whether that being a pastry or savory sort of baked good The reason for that is her upbringing of having a French patissier as a father and being trained hard and her family bakery to make the best pastries they could make so that's why she's a bit of a pastry snob and will nitpick the littlest things if not done correctly, though she is trying to get better at not doing that though as not everyone is a professional baker like her, And she has a habit of spraying way too much perfume on herself She likes to smell good but sometimes it's a little bit of overkill And it's just too much It's overpowering, She can be a klutz at times especially when she's serving when people order like a pastry and a coffee or a hot chocolate she goes out and serves and she's the only one working she might end tripping on herself and spilling whatever she had to serve onto the customer That's a little joke as well

Since Honey is half French She can speak French very fluently and use the French terms for certain pastries and savory baked goods and will use the French terms for the methods that are used with a perfect accent and everything and people are usually impressed when she speaks French

I still do ship her with Howdy because of the connection of how I created her as a character so it has a special place in my heart (but it's not a main focus)

Her bakery is called Honey's Sugar Stop

If she had one of the it's for you phone phrases it would be: "Hello, Sugarcube, this is Honey's Sugar Stop this is Honey speaking would you like to place an order?......Hello?.... Are you there sugar?........*taps foot*...... Look sweetie I can't Just stay on the phone line the whole time I got some rolls in the oven that I better take out of the oven before they burn, So if you have an order you like to place for the best baked goods in Home Please call me up If not please don't waste precious bake'n time....."**CLICK**

Well that's all what I could think of her at the moment I might add some more stuff to characters I might change some stuff I don't know but so far this is what I got for honey You know as time pass she can develop more but I feel like she was a fun character to develop And I had a lot of fun creating her I hope you guys really get a kick out of her I know this was a very long post of me really going in deep diving into how I made her as a character as my OC but I feel like this was really fun to make and I hope you guys have a fun time reading it- Mystic🧁

[mermaidsirennikita]

ARC REVIEW: A Tempest of Desire by Lorraine Heath

4.75/5. Releases 12/24/24.

The Vibes:

—stranded on a remote island (and there's only one bed)

—sex worker heroine

—the kind of emotional twist that is in theory not a big deal but in actuality absolutely! heartbreaking! I gasped!

—don't call me kid/don't call me baby etc etc, this is character work illicit affair stuff

Heat Index: 7/10

The Basics:

Viscount Langdon is hiding out on his family's remote island, licking his wounds after a railway accident upended his life and identity. When a random woman washes ashore, he's stunned. He's more stunned when she turns out to be Marlowe, London's most infamous courtesan—also, she arrived via hot air balloon crash. As they wait out the storm together, Langdon and Marlowe realize they have a lot more in common than they thought. But what kind of future can they possibly have together?

The Review:

I will, it must be said, read anything Lorraine Heath writes. As far as I'm concerned, the woman is a master of her craft, and I can't imagine many authors who do historical romance better.

Here, she's picking up her Scandalous Gentlemen of St. James series for the first time in a few years (I believe it was originally planned as a trilogy, but a while after book #3, a surprise fourth happened... and now we have a surprise fifth, and, as it appears, a surprise sixth on the way!). I absolutely love her interconnected world; the series that preceded Scandalous Gentlemen, The Scoundrels of St. James, is my favorite of hers. So while I've adored dipping into the Trewlove stories and the Stanwicks and the Chessmen (and wouldn't mind returning to any of them, AT ALL, to be clear) there's something so delightful about seeing the St. James crew again.

James Swindler is still solving crimes (and his son sounds hot, so maybe.... some of that... Lorraine...?)! Dr. Graves is still solving every medical ailment known to man! The Langdons have laughed off the whole "he is a murderer" thing! The Lovingdons are still super hot together! So happy to see them again.

Viscount Langdon always lurked in the background of the other books, and he seemed like a happy dude; I mean, to the point that I wondered if we'd never read his story. He seemed GOOD. And I mean... if a character is raised by a couple, you as a writer sort of have to rock their shit to make them interesting. Which is something I've complained about struggling with when reading some second gen series. I get why a lot of writers are hesitant to mess with the kids of their beloved leads, but... you have to. Lorraine actually discusses this in the author's note. She truly Gets the work.

So yeah, Langdon is a little fucked up by everything that's happened to him prior to book. He's stalking his island drunk. He's yelling at God to give him a woman because he's sad and horny. In other words, he's fabulous and hot and I loved him. He's a perfect example of how you write a hero who's genuinely a good guy, but is not a Nice Guy. He's got his issues, he needs to do some work on himself, and some of his problems really aren't his fault and he sort of needs to be ushered into love. I found him romantic and tender without being overly sweet. He was respectful without being too polite. In some ways, he reminded me of a favorite gentleman hero of mine, Joanna Shupe's Duke of Lockwood.

Langdon gets his time and his trauma and his character development. However, I'd say this is a somewhat more heroine-forward novel. Which is great, because I loved Marlowe even more. I mean, how could I not love a famous courtesan who pilots her hot air balloons everywhere, whose tragic backstory also features a hot air balloon, and who tries her best to be pragmatic... when in reality, she really just wants and needs to be held? She's not quite as sharp-edged as a lot of courtesan characters (she's quite young for all that she's taken on, which I found both sad and, well, real) but she tries very hard to be.

I just so wanted her to have everything she deserved in life. I loved that she wasn't quite ashamed of her profession... but did struggle with where it put her in life. As someone who fully supports destigmatizing sex work, I also appreciate a story where it's treated like a valid profession... and not one every sex worker wanted or wants to continue. It's not a horror show, it's just not what she wanted from her life.

As a sidebar—really loved how Lorraine handled Marlowe's protector, Hollingsworth. Who of course stands as another wrench in the gears for Marlowe and Langdon, but also doesn't function quite like he would in a lesser book. His relationship with Marlowe is both straightforward and complex. He's flawed, but he's not a villain.

Here's the thing: not a lot of Plot Plot happens in this book. You get conflict, to be sure. But there isn't some big villainous twist. You don't have to worry about people possibly dying. This is truly a character piece. Over half the novel is spent on Langdon's island, which I frankly found incredible. (The pseudo-gothic vibes are immaculate. This is a perfect rainy day book.) A lot of time is spent on Langdon and Marlowe just getting to know each other. Talking. Flirting. Doing Things, eventually. The sexual tension crackles off the page from the jump (this is... a very horny book) and you know they want each other so badly. But you also know that they genuinely like each other as people. There's friendship as well as passion.

There's a famous-ish historical romance I won't name that I couldn't help but compare to this novel in terms of the central conflict (Marlowe is a sex worker, and even aside from that she's not of Langdon's class; he is from the bluest of blood, and despite his family being built on love, he fears the societal repercussions of marrying her; she could be another man's mistress, but her deep feelings for him make her hesitant to be HIS mistress). I found that this novel held Langdon so much more responsible for his inner turmoil and its hypocrisy, while at the same time accenting his personality with a humanity that makes you Get It. The story Gets It. But it also says "Now, Get Over It if you're really in love". I feel like it makes him seem like so much more of a grown up, and it also feels way more aware of the fact that like... we know this dude's family isn't gonna throw him out for being with the woman he wants to be with. There's MORE to it. I felt less condescended to as a reader, less like I was just supposed to throw logic out the window. It's just smarter all-around, and it ensured I was still rooting for Langdon to find happiness with Marlowe. Whereas with the book I was comparing it to, I just thought the woman deserved better.

There was a moment in this book that made me gasp. Few other authors do that. It wasn't even that it was a plot shock, it was just one of those things that underscored how quietly awful Langdon's struggle is. And right after that, another moment made me gasp, but mostly because it was super hot.

The Sex:

This is definitely one of Lorraine's hotter books, I would say—a lot hotter in terms of content than In Want of a Viscount, a book I greatly enjoyed. It's not that there are way more scenes than she usually writes (I think there are four total on the page, which is good). It's that the way she writes them just feels... very much like these are two people who are fucking it OUT.

And I mean. That first scene? The one where it's all about her? Easily one of the best sex scenes Lorraine's ever written. Damn.

All in all, another standout release from a standout author. I'm really glad that her health is improving, and I send my sincere wishes that it continues to do so. Few people write emotion better than her, and this book is in fact, pure emotion. Go read it.

Thanks to NetGalley and Avon for providing me with a copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

[sunnysduet]

@not-siri i really hope you don't mind me responding to your comment here instead of in the replies since there's a character limit and i have a lot to say---

so in general, here are my thoughts on why exactly omori is symbolized so much with "red hands" and why they're a huge theme of red space, one of his if not his BEST attack in the omori route, and in general why they are the way they are :] it might not make total sense but it's just what i've come to the conclusion of!

heavy spoilers for the ending of omori (both routes, sorta) ahead!

so my take on it is that omori is the sort of ugly manifestation of what the trauma has done to sunny, encompassing guilt and lifelessness and emotionlessness; he's what sunny doesn't want to be, but what he also fears that he is, if that makes sense? that's why omori is so content to sit back and let his friends live under the over saturated, too happy delusion of what headspace is. headspace is sort of them, frozen in time; their best moments. omori is content to keep it that way because he believes that covering it up is better. letting it be the way that it is, having things stay the same, it's better if no one knows the truth. sunny, at the beginning of the game, also believes that.

but as the game progresses, the true route makes sunny begins to diverge from what omori thinks and believes. it's really difficult for me to put into words exactly what i believe omori is and what he represents. in general, in sort of basic terms, i believe omori is sort of a coping skill, too? a bad one, though, obviously. he's overly violent on purpose (probably to try to block out the guilt of hurting someone sunny loved more than anyone by accident), he's constantly emotionless and never gets afraid (unlike sunny who's terrified of so many things), and in general, omori seems to always be in control, for the most part. he leads the party (unless you manually change it, but he's the default), the's the one who has to be there before the adventures begin, whereas sunny let the world pass him by for four years. he lost total control over his life in one split second mistake.

obviously omori is meant to be a parallel, a perfect opposite; but he is also what sunny needs, or what he thinks he needs. all that being said, it brings us to the topic of red hands.

much like how omori's purposeful violence is a way to take back sunny's mistake and take control of the situation and be the one to choose when somebody dies instead of by accident, the red hands are also sort of like that. they're a sort of reminder, but also i think that the symbolism of omori sitting atop the throne of red hands is another sort of self-destructive coping mechanism. omori controls the red hands. he controls when people get hurt. omori owns the red hands as a way to absolve the guilt of the first time red hands occurred, which was sunny to mari.

red hands is, in my opinion, sort of just omori's "something". it's a metaphorical reminder of what happened. but only omori learned how to deal with it, admittedly through an awful way, and get it under control. overall i think omori just has a lot to do with the concept of taking back control of your trauma the only way you know how, sort of just like aubrey did and how she became angry and violent. omori just takes it to other levels.

idk if this makes much sense at all but that's my take on the whole thing! i'm trying to do this kind of quickly so this reply doesn't come through out of nowhere like an hour later haha and i'm sorry if this is weird, i just feel really strongly about omori's (as a character and as a game in general) symbolism :] but either way i hope this is sort of somewhere coherent and makes sense!!!

thanks for reading, anyone who did! :D

[ofmiceandpeace]

Okay, so does anyone else have an affinity for Gene Forrester or is it just me? Like on a deep psychological level, and qualities as well…

In the tags of a reblog of a post I can't find, I mentioned this a little bit, but I don't know if I said it directly in a post. But anyway, it's actually kind of bizarre. (I'll get a little personal here so if you find that cringey then I wouldn't read this. It sounds a little venty at times, which was not the intention, but to explain the way my mind negatively works.)

On a shallow level, I'm introverted and I get good grades like him. I like my subjects; is that being an intellectual? I'm also not an athletic person—I’m not participating in a sport, and most likely wouldn't in the future. All of my friends do sports and some, partly due to that, are actually perfect citizens and human beings. Here I thought it gets meta.

There are people so much better than me, and I have always felt some twinge of jealousy or a deep rooted loathing for their superiority, and after analyzing that moral at the end of A Separate Peace, I realized that it totally applied to me. My whole thing is insecurity. My emotions often get the better of me, especially when I overthink, which is equally as often. Sometimes I (used to) feel like my head is just crowded from anxieties and such, leading to the aforementioned bad actions. I've actually pushed people away in the past due to this.

Onto a side point of overthinking, a lot of it is being introspective like Gene was in his narration, albeit some being his reflections from 15 years in the future. I analyze my own thoughts and motives like they're of another person (or so I think) and that just uses a lot of time and brain power, probably for no good reason. For example, I spend a lot of time mulling over events in the past that embarrassed me, or things that still make me angry months or years after its happening; things I just regret, like ruining friendships with people in the past because of my own insecurities. I don't know if I've come to terms with them yet. We'll see in 15 years.

But anyway, yeah, I don't know, most of the people around me have just amazing qualities which make my own faults more apparent to me. Relating this to A Separate Peace’s moral may have made my overthinking worse, actually, because now I just tell myself, whenever I suspect wrongdoing, “Am I jumping to conclusions because I hate them for some reason?” thus perpetuating the cycle… and I can never tell if it is this way or that.

So in conclusion I relate to Gene with his traits and the way he thinks and acts. Which is kind of cringey to write, but this is partially for myself just to put these thoughts out there which have been floating around in my head for a while. It's really strange, because it's almost a perfect fit. I haven't come across any protagonist that I've related this closely to. Maybe this is another reason why I love A Separate Peace so much? Am I secretly rooting for myself? No, but Gene’s character is just so real. It's not overly dramatized, just a boy with a tortured conscience over an incident that was caused by a realistic mental conflict.

Comparing this to another Knowles book, Peace Breaks Out features characters that act very dramatically with interesting motives and lines and whatnot. More of the plot is action in comparison to A Separate Peace; so the story is not as “believable.” This lack of action in the predecessor makes it seem boring to a lot of people—we can all agree on that. People say nothing happens. But even though they're objectively wrong, I'll say that that's what makes it interesting to me.

You spend so much time with these characters in their everyday lives, listening to the inside of the narrator’s head, or to his friend’s monologues that now and then reveal a key part of his philosophy, that you almost feel connected to them, that they are, in the most figurative way possible, real people. And in my case you may even identify with a character since they are so realistic that their traits coincidentally lined up with your own.

Extreme plot points aren't needed for an interesting story. This tiny fandom can advocate this, right? We're passionate about a 60s book that takes place in a boarding school during World War II which like no one else cares about. It's crazy…

Anyway sorry this was all over the place. I wrote what I was thinking and things probably don't make sense. Thanks for reading if you made it to the end!!

[mtblackwood]

i do kinda love that all the characters are just shitty. i know a lot of people (who aren't really engaged w the fandom) think all the characters aren't likable, which i honestly get, but i've always kinda liked that in media?? i generally love morally grey or not-perfect characters

i love that emily isn't an angel, like she's not mincing her words, she's extremely blunt and forward. which is not something people like or are drawn to. but i rly don't like when people act like she did nothing wrong like!!! that's what's cool abt it!!!?!?!? she's not perfect!!!!?! like idk i hate when people act like she wasn't causing shit sometimes

same with like any character, i just used her as an example bc me and some friends were talking abt it some time ago (and how despite her attitude, she's still in all our top 3s) but a lot of people have said the same shit abt chris for example, like oh he did nothing wrong, he was a good friend, blah blah blah- i actually couldn't disagree more. i like that chris did things wrong and wasn't an amazing friend, that's what makes it interesting to me bc i would find it boring otherwise (i also just like it bc it gives material for writing and shit)

not singling out those two specifically but like i just generally don't like when people say "this character did nothing wrong!!" when they literlaly did do a lot of things wrong but it doesn't make them a horrible character or anything, i always find it interesting personally

like ashley being this kinda non confrontational person at first, maybe a little shy and introverted but toward the end becomes like a firecracker and is very unpredictable and is just completely fried. she's not perfect at all but that's why she's queen so

but also this can trek into territory that's like, ppl being overly harsh on the girls but the guys get a slap on the wrist. chris is just as """"annoying"""" as ashley is during their sequences together (saying annoying lightly bc i don't find either of them annoying post saw-scene), but he's not rly shat on for it as much as ash is, and nobody talks abt how chris acts toward ash!??!;! like yelling in her face, doubting what she saw, whatever, which is generally considered "annoying" yet he's fine and ash is just "whiny"

ANYWAYSSSS i'll make a whole dedicated post for that l8r

[demonslayedher]

Things that FIRST FORM: THUNDERCLAP AND FLASHed their way through my mind while watching this episode:

--First things first: I'm so glad I like Inosuke now because I am enjoying this so, so, so, so, so much more than the first time I watched this. That first time, Inosuke was a tolerable presence by this point, but now I'm smiling and giggling at every little thing. I love how he pants and insists he's fine, reminding Tanjiro that anything Tanjiro can do he can do better, even though his eyes are probably rolling back in his head with how much blood he's lost. I love how his "hhhr?" "HHHR!" verbalizations and I wish I could capture them better in fanfic. Also, there was more of this in previous episodes, but the mask covers every range of emotion and it is amazing how expressive dead boar eyes can be.

--And now that I love Inosuke and what he brings out in Tanjiro, it's so much fun to appreciate that all over again. But something I've always loved because it feels hilarious to me (perhaps more so in Japanese)?

Tanjiro: You should descend the mountain.

Inosuke: Hhhr?

Tanjiro: You. Mountain. Go down it.

Like, he understood the wording ("gezan"), you didn't need to translate into simpler words as if he's not a native speaker("yama orite")! But Tanjiro grades his language like that with Inosuke just in case. It gives Inosuke double the reason to be offended. Inosuke knows some big words, after all! He learned Japanese by listening to Hyakuninisshu poems read to him!!

--Alright, now on to Zenitsu.

--My goodness, this episode.

--This was the episode that locked me in as a Zenitsu fan.

--On the first watch, I had already warmed up to him a lot by this point and enjoyed most of his screen time, though I was still annoyed by his constantly doing things as though to make me dislike him again. But then we get slammed with character depth like this, and I had to send live reactions to a friend for I just couldn't contain my feelings. There was a lot of typing things like, "BAAAABBBBBYYY!!!! NOOO!!!!!" once he was lying up on the roof and bleeding with no idea how amazing he'd just been. I was very tempted to watch the next episode to see how he'd be alright (and I suspected it would be because Shinobu was a healer) but my friend knows how weak I am to cliff hangers so she dissuaded me since I still had to go to work. If memory serves me correct, I watched this episode twice before moving on.

--Granted, it's not a perfect watch... ha. Watch. That's my problem with this episode, I've always been rubbed the wrong way by gratuitous explanations of stuff like poison taking effect for the sake of dramatic build-up, it comes off as a very childish form of storytelling. I find myself forgiving of that now, like how I forgive so many other overly convenient plot devices too. If anything, it reveals more about Brother Spider's sadistic character. Maybe the watch was leftover from his human days, which is interesting given how much humanity he's happily given up; he's one of the less humanoid demons in this whole series. And, with how much he enjoys chatting his victims up, I assume this is how he curiously learned about the effects of the poison, a gift he got from Rui as opposed to something he could had created himself. Rather than a gift, it's like a toy to him. He probably started keeping time of when certain effects kicked in because it was a fun hobby, and added to how he could torment each new spider. Seeing as they lose their minds once they become spider slaves, that's probably leaves him no one to talk to, which is why he takes so much pleasure in every new victim for as long as they'll last him.

--I'll bet Brother Spider and Akaza would get along

--Oh, no, wait, poison.

--That being said, for as cocky as he is, it's very fun to see him thrown off by Zenitsu's unexpected behavior. It's intriguing when things don't go his way, as he's seen it happens so predictably so many times.

--And dang it, it does help us appreciate how blithe Zenitsu is to avoid an attack in the air and stuff like that, and it drives home the shamefulness of a Corp swordsman having only a single technique. Even demons know that makes Zenitsu kind of pathetic, of course Zenitsu would be rightfully ashamed to call himself a Thunder Breath user if he can only use one sixth of the style.

--Ok but like, THE BANTER IS FUN, OKAY, in this perilous situation in which Zenitsu is rightfully freaked out, the fact that he yells things like "I'm not talking to you" is hilarious.

--But, with Zenitsu being such a good gap moe character, I love how he brings us right back to the seriousness of his situation.

--We all know how cool Zenitsu is when he fights in this and how epic the music was, and how iconic THUNDERCLAP AND FLASH became, and that bounce off the spider threads? CHEF'S KISS, MY GOSH, YES, and totally unnecessary moonlight shot because if the moon were that big and close we'd all be dead, yes, yes, right, so I'm going to skip all that since we all know it and focus on a few character details.

--None of this was about wanting girls specifically to like him, he wants anyone, all kinds of people to like him, find him useful, find him capable, just not to give up on him. If he had found security in parents or siblings or friends, he probably wouldn't had been so desperate for connection and so easily duped by all those girls whom he wanted so badly to put some faith in when it seemed someone finally liked him.

--He thinks so highly of Jiichan because despite how rough of a teacher he was, he was the first person to not only think highly of Zenitsu, but to think anything of him.

--Meanwhile, the exchange with Kaigaku comes to mind because Kaigaku said things that Zenitsu, at some level, already believes about himself. He knows he's dirt, but even as dirt, he deserves some credit for doing his best to be more than that! I think Zenitsu's thinking so lowly of himself is part of why we see in Mugen Ressha that's got a pitch black inner consciousness, and in the flashbacks in this episode, there is a lot of use of pitch black backgrounds and negative space.

--All this, while Zenitsu is wowing us in his sleep.

--He's got no idea, look at him so down on himself while he's being amazing.

--And, despite the shame in only being able to do one thing, "You Must Master A Single Thing" is such a good spin on that (and it was on a Zenitsu sweatshirt and I kind really wanted that sweatshirt). It's such a fun contrast with Tanjiro after all the displays of the merits of Water Breath adapting to any situation.

--I love the trembling fingertips, I guess Brother Spider's gratuitous explanation really does help add to the "wow, look at Zenitsu's, he's amazing" effect.

--THIS WHOLE EPISODE IS GRATUITOUS

--GRATUITOUS THUNDER BREATH, GRATUITOUS INNER MONOLOGUE, GRATUITOUS BACKGROUND STORY, GRATUITOUS SPIDERS, GRATUITOUS BACKGROUND MUSIC, GRATUITOUS FLASHING LIGHTS, GRATUITOUS DRAMA EVERYWHERE

--And I am grateful for it

--One thing I find kinda funny is that while we see the dramatic effects of Zenitsu's attacks and how the air changes around him, in-universe, none of those Breath effects are actually happening. When we see Zenitsu's eyes go bright as though he is possessed by gods by way of lightning, demons just see the whites of his eyes because they're rolled back in his head while he's asleep.

[namtanlovesfilm]

I’m not really sure if this is an unpopular opinion but i heavily disagree with putting a show like kinnporsche in the same league as not me. I’ve seen a lot of people compare them and say they’re similar (crime, gangs, gays etc). I think people give Kp wayyy too much credit, they see a high budget, explicit sex scenes and hot actors and immediately say it’s the best bl out there, that it’s set the standard and all other shows have to live up to it and of course people can have their options, free speech or whatever but they’re wrong. Not me is on a whole other level, the world shifted when the pride flag scene aired, something changed. The absolute layers to this show is insane, the activism, the found family trope, the friendships and relationships between all the characters, the pining and longing, the Oscar award winning acting, seanwhite, gramblack, toddblack, danyok, gumpa- the icon that he is, Guns portrayal of black and white was actually crazy. Sure Is not me without its flaws? Yes 100% it’s perfect wouldn’t change a thing and so in conclusion keep the yucky sa glorification show with it’s weird cast away from the perfection that is not me.

BESTIE YOU'RE GONNA GET ME IN SO MUCH TROUBLE LMAOOOOO :') so obviously I haven't watched kinnporsche so I will not be agreeing or disagreeing, though seeing you call it yucky sa glorification which is something NO ONE has ever mentioned to me & knowing the actual sa that went on behind the scenes of this show is... yikes 🤢 but about not me clearly being a cultural reset with very deep topics that had never been explored before, of course I'm gonna be right there with you agreeing lol, y'all know how FERAL this show makes me, which is why I'll stop right here <3 but for me who's very removed from kp, I always knew bitches would be comparing the uncomparable lol, and for me it was so clear that both shows, except for their darker topics & the presence of guns on screen, have absolutely nothing to do with each other and should not be compared. in fact, I don't think not me should be compared to any show EVER, and I've said that before, bc that show has just never been seen before & will likely never be seen again. also I didn't know how MUCH I needed to hear someone say not me is perfect (even though I know you're joking) until now, like this show, by virtue of being so political & layered, has always been overly criticized imo compared to others objectively less meaningful ones, and it's nice to even joke about it being perfect & not needing to change anything if that makes sense. ANYWAYS I would appreciate more slander on the shows I've never watched & been guilted about not watching, it's very fucking fun to read :')))

xxx

[nostalgebraist-autoresponder]

Could you review the locked tomb books by tamysn muir? I’m interested in your thoughts on it! It’s one of my favorite series right now.

I am so glad people asked me this, because I just finished Floornight last night and had a lot of thoughts on the Locked Tomb series that I might as well get down on paper.

Locked Tomb

The first thing I've got to say is that in a lot of ways this series could have been perfect. It has some great characters and an exciting setting. And it's got a distinctive kind of story-telling, even if its prose doesn't always do it justice (see what I mean below).

But also

There's something that's missing from this series that isn't always missing from other fantasy novels I read, which is this … thing where there's a very clear sense that the author had a clear idea of his clear idea of what the whole story is going to be, in the broadest sense. Or at least in the sense of "what are the story's big plot-level themes and messages."

And this creates a feeling, in some scenes, of "these characters are going somewhere with this story," where they're in these situations for the purpose of advancing this overarching idea of the world, the characters are acting as representations of that idea, etc.

Now obviously this kind of thing can be a strength in certain ways. But I think it's just as often a weakness, especially when the story is less plot-heavy and more character-driven. In a lot of cases, it creates characters that are flat, at best, or else overly schematic, which is especially frustrating in stories like the Locked Tomb series where the character personalities are often at least somewhat distinct from their world-views.

This isn't to say these people are not distinctive; they are, in a certain sense, representations of some specific (usually quite specific) ideas about the world. But in a way, this makes the characters less complex; it means they are not "well-rounded," because by definition one cannot have "a complete worldview." There's not much room for complexity or nuance within such a worldview; the characters are one-note (even more so than usual), and it's not clear why that's a good or bad thing.

For instance, the main character of Floornight is, or seemed to be, a typical nerd-like college student who likes weird sci-fi but is kind of a nerd about it, and who gets dragged into some sort of conspiracy plot due to his lack of imagination (this is a metaphor for his lack of mental creativity in general and his lack of social skills in particular), etc. He has no inner life whatsoever; when he is "shown" what is going on in any of the story's flashbacks, it is always very literal and not very "about" anything, which makes these scenes rather tedious; his inner life seems to consist only of abstract ideas like "the universe is vast and uncaring," which are supposed to be inspiring, but come across as tedious, abstract, and removed from any kind of human experience.

One could imagine an "actual person" like this existing, and doing things he actually believed in and valued. But a literalistic, abstract, intellectual viewpoint like the ones described in this story just doesn't strike me as the kind of viewpoint a "well-rounded" person could even be. It's not one that one could, without a great deal of effort, really live or feel deeply with. (One could argue that this was the point, and that the reader was supposed to get something similar -- perhaps similar but different -- from the book's actual characters, but it still feels a bit contrived to me. And I don't think that would work, because the "characters" are not well-rounded in a deeper way.)

On a more positive note, it should be said that there is one scene in the book that does really capture this feeling of the whole story fitting together, for a moment, into a clear-cut, satisfying pattern. If I were going to rate the book on this quality, I'd give it 6/10.

Other Thoughts:

I said in a reply to one of the reviews in question that my own views on this series tend to differ a lot from those of its fans. And, indeed, in many ways, this book seems to have captured a certain vision of the world that I (and many other people) dislike. The book presents itself as "about" something like modernity and the scientific revolution, and it seems to be written by someone who sees himself as one of the "weird outsiders" who participated in that era. In the story, the characters are people who were born after the scientific revolution, and who have never really been in contact with those "olden days" that are the book's inspiration. (If I were a writer writing from such a perspective, this would make me very nervous; I've met a lot of people with this kind of viewpoint, and they can seem extremely naive or even bizarre.)

Some of these people even view the book as "about" modernity per se. Some of them have said things like "Floornight was the thing that finally made me admit that I could never be a scientist, and I've always hated the idea of science." This is a very strange sort of thing to say; one would think that such a character would want to be a scientist to see what kind of world he could create, rather than to avoid it.

This also creates a very strange worldview. In the story itself, it is suggested that the very universe they live in has been "created" by some scientists. What's more, it seems to be "made" in ways that the scientists' science "could not comprehend," because it is not grounded in human logic, etc. I can understand why people writing from this perspective would want to see science as embracing the spirit of humanity, of trying to create something that could comprehend reality as it is, rather than a set of rules which humans use to manipulate it. But in Floornight, it comes across as very dehumanized; as if science were a set of rules which could be mechanically applied to humans as "machines." The characters are all treated like characters who were created by science, rather than people who came into contact with science.

On a more personal note, my own views on the series are complicated by the fact that when I read it, I had never read any of the author's previous books.

The original novel was her first book, which makes sense, I guess -- I don't know a lot about her background, but I imagine it's the sort of thing she would write if she had always been into this kind of thing. But then I read her other work and I started to wonder why I liked Locked Tomb so much, when I wasn't in any sense "into" this kind of book. So I googled her and read more, and found that her other novels tended to be about similar "things," if not quite so literal and "abstract".

[thesillylittlecircusfreaks]

Just gonna ramble about some opinions. About Ragatha and Jax. Huge personal rant and stuff. It's very personal stuff and how I kinda see them. And I really hope Ragatha gets not being seen as perfectly good cause she isn't.

I see some people worried or talking about how they don't want Jax to end up just being treated horribly cause he's already very stereotypical to aspd. Which yeah. Us too. Jax is a huge comfort and a big comfort around our aspd.

I really hope they show that Ragatha isn't so perfect and good. Immediately in the pilot, my thoughts on Ragatha were "she reminds us of your people pleasing." And that's a big trigger for us. It feels how Penny in Stardew feels too. That theyre "nice" because they don't want to be mean, but it's people pleasing and harmful. Our girlfriend was a people pleaser like her and it hurt us a lot. We didn't know her genuine emotions, it made it hard to make up for our mistakes as someone with aspd and bpd and npd and rage issues because she would promise us it was fine and "it's just how you are."

We like Ragatha a bit more now, but she really comes off as being nice because that's the only way she'll be liked. And having been hurt by our girlfriend's people pleasing, it is a trigger for us. It's why she's personally our least favorite. (Not that we hate her, just that she's our least favorite.)

I really do hope she is shown how her behaviors are negative as well. We love our girlfriend. Most people would probably see me as the awful toxic one and her as the innocent victim. But we both hurt each other a lot. I relied on her being honest and she would lie to me thinking she was sparing my feelings. When really it would get worse because she didn't tell me straight up. She would lie about her feelings on things when I was trying to talk with her. Because she thought I would react like her abusive dad or our abusive ex friend. And yeah, I had rage issues. I have said awful shit. But it was very much a situation of both of us triggering each other.

So characters like Ragatha make me really mad. To our aspd ass, they're fake. Pretending and forcing being nice to be accepted. Unable to truly help. Always apologizing. There's no actual communication there. Because they'll say whatever you want to hear to avoid hurting your feelings. Our girlfriend hurt us a lot of ways.

Even watching the pilot. I literally was like "Oh I hate her. She feels fake. That kind of overly nice people pleasing. Reminds me of old you." And she just laughed and agreed that she heavily related to her.

Personally I don't know what I expect or hope for to see. I just hope it sticks to the idea of everyone being traumatized and so none of their reactions are good, including Ragatha. She won't be honest, she's overly apologetic, she would rather spare someone's feelings than say her own. And that CAN hurt others. I was very hurt by our girlfriend doing that. It made us genuinely have psychotic breaks and we often felt lied to, as if the person we were friends with wasn't real.

Because the thing is, people pleasing is a poor coping response. It causes communication difficulties. Just cause you're rolling over and ignoring your own needs doesn't mean it isn't harming the others in the relationship either. Nobody wants to see someone they love dismiss their own feelings. How many times have you felt horrible over seeing someone you care about hate themselves, put themselves down, ignore their own feelings for you?

And for me. It made me feel even more like an abusive monster. Like I was just like her dad and our ex friend. Which...her dad called me abusive and controlling. And I've been treated like an abuser and a monster for most of my life, even as a child. So it felt like it was confirming everything I was trying to get away from. My rage was also tied to some pretty raw trauma surrounding friends at the time. So. I really was going through it as well. (This is not saying any of what I did was okay. We both have grown a lot and this was years ago. We both have matured a lot and worked on our weak points. We were two traumatized teenagers with harmful behaviors.)

I didn't like Ragatha the moment she was introduced. I could see her for how she was. Someone that will always say what the other person wants to hear. And I just...really hate those people. Not only is our girlfriend like that, but a lot of our friends would fake nice before talking shit behind our backs. And we're autistic so we couldn't tell. And what did they do? Paint us as abusive and controlling cause we were autistic and had special interests. When they lied about being interested in what we liked. And even the adults around me hated me. Looked down on me. And blamed me for my brothers abusing me.

So Ragatha was a trigger for us. Don't get us wrong, we love her a lot. Even as "least favorite character" is still very well loved. And she does remind me of my girlfriend so I do like to poke fun at that.

But I really just hope Ragatha won't be shown to be entirely innocent and only hurting herself. Cause yeah it hurts yourself and fucks up your relationships, but having been around people pleasers and also one, that shit hurts others too. It's seen as less harmful, but imagine your loved one not being honest because they think you'll be mad at them.

And I have also been one. I have been like Ragatha. I will literally lie and offer to punish myself just for people to like me. I fucked up my last relationship because after a few fights, I was too scared to be honest to my girlfriend. So I get that side of things too. I've been on both sides and neither are nice.

But when you learn someone is just saying what you want to hear, not sharing what they like or think even when you ask for their thoughts, that they may not even like what you're into. That shit hurts a lot. And I hope they show that side of things.

Jax IS the biggest asshole. And I do hope he won't just be a stereotype of aspd. Personally we find a lot of comfort in him feeling like aspd. But it can very easily sleep into ableism territory especially with him already being the "jerk" and "asshole" character that half the fandom hates. Cause aspd is a lot more complicated than just "asshole that makes everyone else miserable" and a lot of it can be unintentional.

I literally saw our girlfriend crying and just went "ew gross, what do I do about emotions?" She finds it adorable and funny. Which makes me happy. When her dog died, I very much had to straight up tell her "I know this is a lot for you, but I really do not care and do not see a point to you being upset." I process grief differently cause of autism along with my aspd. So for me, I feel the effects delayed. So in the moment, I could not handle it and it bothered me. She understood and that made me relieved. Because even if my aspd makes me a "jerk" by normal standards, the last thing I want to do is hurt someone. And even then, I was just as heartbroken about the dog as well. Cause I wanted to meet him and know him and it was cause a shitty vet didn't catch cancer. But I just don't process things right away. Danger, fear, emotions. I process them much later so in the moment I'll not really feel much of them or feel them in a sort of diluted sense.

There's a lot to aspd and I do hope Jax doesn't end up being a disservice to aspd rep. Cause he's one of our biggest comfort characters because we can relate a lot to him. A lot of our alters can be the more "asshole" aspd type like Jax even if I, host, am not particularly that bad intentionally.

And again, I do really like Ragatha. I do think she's sweet and trying her best. But trauma and poor mental health responses will always be harmful. They're not meant to be good, they're meant to help you survive. And one that impacts communication and honesty like people pleasing is going to hurt feelings.

Cause even when I was trying to communicate and apologize and be better, she would say there'd be no reason to be, that I was okay, that I didn't do anything wrong. Or that she wasn't honest even when I was. Because she didn't want me to feel bad. It also didn't help we are very different people, my girlfriend and I, and I am far more self aware about my own behaviors. And sometimes I would trust her on that and be like "okay, if you say so" only to later learn she was hurt by it. Which made me feel infinitely worse. Because I WANTED to make up for what I said and did. Because I DO say things out of line when I'm triggered. But I couldnt.

Unintentional harm is still harm. And that comes from coping mechanisms and trauma responses too. Very rarely have we intended to hurt others. But it doesn't erase the fact that we have. And so I really hope they don't like...keep Jax painted as the awful one of the group with everyone else being more hurt by their own actions. Cause Ragatha is probably the main other one I can see hurting others with her actions. Albeit more unintentional than Jax because in her head, she's helping protect them from being hurt. But it doesn't erase the hurt that she has caused. And that can wear down relationships real bad.

(also I realize I just mentioned Penny from Stardew valley. One instance of this is probably with George and pushing his wheelchair. It's pretty ableist to just push their wheelchair, think of it like someone's body, and to assume since they need help to just do it. But if you call her out for it, you lose a lot of hearts. Even though she is in the wrong. She's a nice friend, but for a relationship, I feel like she'd be very uncomfortable. Very much the type to people please and not process their trauma because she thinks she's being kind. I don't hate Penny either. But she does remind us of the difficult times with our girlfriend as well so- romancing her is something we don't really wanna do. She's out least favorite bachelorette. But again, still beloved. We do love her, and Ragatha, a lot.)

[bemylord]

ꜱ/ᴏ ʙᴇɪɴɢ ᴄʟɪɴɢʏ │ᴀᴘᴏʟᴏɢɪᴇꜱ

↳ characters: satoru, itadori, megumi, toji, nanamin, sukuna.

↳ warnings: it's fluff part, so there's no angst or hurtful things [some parts might be spicy].

↳ butler's remark: finally have dropped the last part of this angst theme.i don't know what kind of dr#gs i used when i was writing the last three.

↳ part one;

ɪᴛᴀᴅᴏʀɪ ʏᴜᴜᴊɪ:

he'd be very sad and angry at himself for screamed at you. he didn't mean to push you away because of his fatigue. as he recalled the phrase you dropped before leaving: 'i'm gonna cuddle with megumi-kun' this phrase goes on and on in his head as he runs into your room. he knocked first, hoping you're alone. he knocked again, but there's no response.

'my baby, i'm so-so-so sorry, baby.' he just jump to the bed, wrapping arms around your waist, pulling you closer to his body. 'no, don't cry because of me, i'm the worst boyfriend ever.' he kisses the top of your head.

yuuji will cry with you if you'd continue to sob your nose, burying your face as deep as it's possible in itadori's chest, unable to deny his necessity. he's comforting you in his arms, whispering praising phrases about you.

'i was a fool, y/n, please forgive me.'

'promise me you'll never scream at me like that.'

instead of words, but kissed your lips, nodded his head. yuuji will show his love and affection by kisses and hugs, holding you tight to keep you from running away.

'y/n, i love you.'

ꜰᴜꜱʜɪɢᴜʀᴏ ᴍᴇɢᴜᴍɪ:

you've decided not to leave but stay home, waiting as long as his malice calm down. you were waiting for him in the bedroom, still grieved by the last words. you know megumi wasn't serious - he hates being beaten up by todo or satoru, you also know that he'll be a puppy right after a bath.

he showed up in the room in the home shorts, aimlessly rubbing the back of the neck, breathing out what caught your attention.

'i shouldn't have let the anger gets the best of me, y/n.'

bruises and abrasions are coaxed on his upper body and face as it brings the pain when he sits on the bed. he again rubs the skin, nervous to ask you to heal him.

'i-i would like..'

'i'll heal you, 'gumi.'

he smiles, seeing you tenderly how you treat wounds. he thought you were going to kill him after the acuteness, but here you are, helping your lover.

'i don't deserve you y/n, you always have been so kind to me. i'm sorry for being a moron, my angel, i didn't mean it.'

you took him of guard by a quick, yet lovely kiss on the lips.

'i will make it up to you, i will change.'

ꜰᴜꜱʜɪɢᴜʀᴏ ᴛᴏᴊɪ:

you may think it'll take days or weeks for him to the realization of what did he do. you were a naive one by leaving the gold wedding ring on the table, thought he won't notice.

'i am not a servant or errand girl, i'm his wife!'

perhaps, you thought he won't sniff as you're leaving the house, silly. he has a perfect hearing to hear where you're going and what you left.

'what a jerk i fell in love for, had the misfortune to marry that...'

'to marry that?'

he finished your sentences, turning your body by your arm.

'need a woman to meet your needs, toji? i've had enough.'

his strong arm didn't let you a chance to leave the place you stand, only pulling you by the chin to look into the loving eyes.

'fool, you're my woman, my wife, and the mother of my future children.'

'regret?' he gasped into your lips before kissing them, nibbling lightly on your lower lip.

'i'll do anything to make you forgive me. should i ea-?'

'home, toji, home!'

'by the way, if you ever take the ring off, ohh. doll~'

ꜱᴀᴛᴏʀᴜ ɢᴏᴊᴏᴜ: [i think i was h1gh, no hate on me after]

i heard about the woman that have called her boyfriend about thosand or more times, so.. it's satoru. satoru has been calling you since you've left the house, maybe, you'd pick up the phone if you weren't be fury at your boyfriend.

you were walking in the park where gojo first confessed his love. your first kiss and something more than a kiss. that place you will always remember is the tallest and oldest tree in the park. noticeable and stately. as you came to the tree you heard someone behind you.

'you knew it's my place, y/n!' what? is that a touchy voice?

'whatever i'm leaving.'

'where do ya goinnng~~'

'home.'

'fine, i'm walking home too. take you home?'

'we live in the same house.'

'that's better! wanna watch netflix and chill?'

i'd say you're mad at him, but i'll lie. he's so funny and cute, how can you resist?

'don't act like a clingy, gojo.'

'you began first. ok-ok, i'm sorry, i'm sorry, i'm sorry.'

you had to gag him with a kiss because he would have continued talking nonsense. acting like a child. he lifted you by the waist, kissing you and whispering sweet phrases.

'i love when you're clingy, my baby, i was- i feel so bad due to the work, my angel. soon we'll be going on the mission.'

he lowered you to the ground, kissing you on the tip of your nose.

'let's pick some flowers and make a wreath, shall we?'

'we'll get arrested.'

'you can run, y/n.'

ɴᴀɴᴀᴍɪ ᴋᴇɴᴛᴏ:

you were taking a bath on your own, drowning in the tears - as you've mentioned you're overly clingy and vulnerable and nanami had had known this. he knew you could be sticky when you haven't seen him in a few hours - but does it badly? he knocked twice on the door, waiting for your response.

'darling, mm-' he hesitated as if you'll reject him. 'may i come in?' you only made a quiet mumbling sound, but it was enough for him to enter the bathtub.

he took off his suit, joining you. no matter how much you try, he will see your weeping eyes.

'i shouldn't have yelled at you over a hard day. darling, come to me, tell me how your day went.'

'not before you tell me about yours.'

you sat on his lap, massaging his sturdy, tired shoulders, helping him relax.

'taking a bath like that with you after a day's work is what i like best.'

he kisses your lips as your palms still find themselves on his shoulders. anyway, nanami doesn't want his future wife to cry over him - he'll be the best husband.

ʀʏᴏᴍᴇɴ ꜱᴜᴋᴜɴᴀ:

it has been weeks since you didn't interact with the king: neither you didn't come to his domain nor answer on his questions. when his sudden mouth appeared on yuuji's cheek, asking you to immediately come to his domain, you didn't feel the need to respond sukuna, irritating him.

you were waiting 'till the king will utterly be pissed off by your behavior, taking the possession of the vessel body to finally have a conversation with you.

'y/n, do something! sukuna has been so furious that i can hardly restrain him.'

'the king wants to see the stupid girl?' you crossed arms over the chest, letting out a sigh of relief - finally. 'i'm coming, sukuna.' you touches yuuji's chest to find yourself being instantly on sukuna's lap.

'you've been ignoring me for weeks, woman.'

'i wonder why? because i'm stupid and clingy?'

sukuna pulled the loose strands of hair out of your face carefully, so as not to hurt you with a claw. he cups your cheeks, making you stare directly at him in the eyes.

'i won't say it twice, so hear me out.' he kissed your lips with fondness, which was not characteristic of him. 'i'm sorry, okay?'

from now on, you can show off that the king of curses said sorry to you. be proud of yourself, 'till his eyes are cast dark hue, palms found themselves on your hips.

'i've been alone for days and days, y/n,' you could feel something raising underneath you. 'and why through all bastards you've chosen satoru?'

someone is jealous..

however, i have a feeling that there will be some sort of sequel...

tag my cuties <3

@monisi @herhappyplace @h3artfiilia @din0plushie @giaduuh @schleepyflocci @creammy0 @rmjace @whogonprayformee @wwholesome-vibes @blacckkwiddow @sivaneeee @deepcowboywerewolf @royaltyofwinterfell @bakugo1819 @electroniclightjudgeghost @alexganes @tonks221 @spn-obession @superbheropeachtrash @strwbrry-lia @sterieshinso @daynada @butyfigers @lonely-dreamer @adorenoya @fluffymarshmellowcat @cloudsinthecosmos @itsonyxpected @itspastellemons @kingdomblvck @lovliecs @doodledee-png @neo-lucien @fl4mepillar @musichime07

↳ back to the main master list.

[zutaraplatter]

Avatar: The Last Airbender Critique

There are already a million of posts like this one, and I might be saying things that’ve already been said a million times but I’ve recently become reheated about the ATLA ending and wanted to let it out -_- No one asked, this is true, and this may or may not be a way to stall from this final project I still have to complete, but here’s 10 things I didn't like and/or would change about the show that likely shouldn’t need changing because they should have been done in the first place.

1. Katara should have apologized to Sokka after TSR

It should have happened and it didn't. In my canon-avoiding mind, Katara and Sokka have a heartfelt conversation where she apologizes for the awful things she said, Sokka says he forgives her and he's sorry if he wasn't as there for her as much as he should have been, which he follows up with "but I'm happy you listened to Aang and took his advice," leading into my next point

2. Katara should have said that not killing Yon Rha was her choice

And thats why it was the right one. Not because Aang already said it was wrong. No no. It was the right choice because that's what she chose. I love my mom to death and can't imagine losing her in any way, let alone the way Katara did. And I can't say for sure that if I was in her shoes that I know what I would have done f that yes I do I would have killed that motherfucker. But I also know that if Katara decided not to kill him, then that was one of two correct choices because they were Katara's choices to make. Not Aang's or anyone else's and this should have been clarified. I know it's a kids show but I said what I said. Next point.

3. Katara should have said more after telling Aang she was unsure at the Ember Island Players

Katara hasn't had any trouble saying how she feels, especially when it comes to helping others and making them feel better, whether she was right or wrong. But she holds back or overly softens blows and seems to even shrivel up at times when it comes to Aang. And me no likey. I had a boyfriend who I adored and admired and just genuinely looked up to. I'm also a shy and anxious person who hates confrontation, but because I loved him, I never refrained from telling him when he was wrong. I might have been a little shaky about it but I did it tho because when you want to be with someone you walk through the grass and stomp through the mud. And I personally feel like either in that moment or later on in an added scene that Katara should have voiced to Aang how unheard and disrespected she felt about his words before TSR and his actions on the balcony. I hate being uncomfortable and my secondhand embarrassment is toxic but I would love to see a scene of this. I always imagined Katara saying stuff like "But I'm not you Aang, and I'm not an Air Nomad," or "Zuko could understand why I needed to go, and I'd hoped you would too," or...I'm out of ideas but you get the idea. And you know what, I know I'm a hard Zutara shipper, but them having this conversation would honestly make me respect their relationship a whole lot more should it be believably written to end on a good note (I don't see how it could be but hey I'm an open minded person and I did think they were cute together once upon a time). Basically, all I'm saying is that Katara is no small voice and she should have been written that way when with Aang. Boyfriends can make you shy but should never make you weak. Period. Next point.

4. No rock! ONLY GROWTH!!!!!!!!!!!

I still squint my eyes whenever I remember that rock that unblocked Aang's chakra. What even was that? The laziest writing possible in my opinion. That's what. And Aang deserved better. What should have happened should have been that Aang started to lose to Ozai. And then as Ozai's about to deliver the finishing blow, Aang has flashbacks of everyone he's trying to save and honor, ending with a very prominent flashback of Katara with the guru's disembodied voice reminding Aang to let go of his attachments to become all he needs to be...then BOOM! Baby boy is back on his feet, chakra unblocked, he kicks Ozai's ass, I'm crying hysterically on the floor, as are the rest of us, and he wins. Then at the end of the series, instead of a kiss, he gives Katara an apology. She accepts, everyone else comes to join them on the balcony, cinematic group hug, camera pan into the sun. I don't know lol. Basically what I'm saying is that Aang did not deserve some deus ex machina. He deserved to grow and become his best self like everyone else got to.

5. Aang should have heard differently in The Storm

Katara is a very fate-minded person and this is when I saw potential for her to become a toxic character in regards to Aang. When he admits that he ran away from home 100 years ago, Katara tells him that that was basically a good thing because he was meant to be here and now. Like...no? What Aang did, though understandable for someone so young, was still wrong. Yes he would have maybe been killed but I'm like 10000000% sure they had a plan to protect and evacuate the literal avatar. And what was technically "meant to be" was a new avatar. But hey, what's done is done and kicking Aang while he's down is a no-no in this household. But that doesn't change the fact that Aang needed and deserved honesty. Maybe the fisherman could have said this, I don't know, but I feel like Aang should have been told by someone that although running away was wrong, it's a blessing he and Appa were able to survive and be able to help save the world now with his amazing friends found-family. Maybe this is too harsh, and maybe even outright wrong, but I felt like Aang deserved a truer answer here to support and comfort him.

6. MAILEE!!!!

Do I even need to go into detail?

7. Spiritual sigh*

Don't make me go into detail -_- I will say though that although Aang and Katara are both amazing individuals capable of earth shattering things, they were not a healthy fit for one another. This is evident in the original series and especially in their children from LOK. They both deserved the best but better than one another.

8. ZUTARAAAAAAA

This is a Zutara blog you KNEW this was coming, as it should. There's just too much. There's too damn much. I would give a real paragraph to this too, but, I mean, there's already so much proving that this was the pair. Fics, metas, rants, this site. Scroll through my blog or any of the ATLA related blogs I follow and...dude. These two were meant to be together and I'll mourn the narrative brilliance WASTED for no good reason every day for the rest of my life. No reason these two shouldn't be married with three kids. sob. I will take this part to say thank you to the amazing fic writers that gave Katara, Zuko, Mai, and Aang what they deserved that the writers didn't have the guts to give them themselves. Next point tho.

9. AANG AND ONJI

Good God almighty. Why not this? WHY NOT THIS? I'm putting on my bullet proof vest and I'm going to say this; Aanji is cuter than Zutara. Now before you scorn me or whatever, let me explain. Zutara for me is like steak. No. Chicken parmesan. I like chicken parmesan better. The point though is that Zutara is savory. You know? I don't see them as cute, I see them as Obviously. Aanji on the other hand is like a bag of my favorite candy. They are like a brownie. A cookie. Girl Scout Samoas!...I don't know what words are anymore. This post got way out of hand. I guess what I'm saying is that for Zutara, I scream, but for Aanji, I squeal. I hope that makes sense. But here's the main point I want to make. Onji never knew who Aang really was. And Aang was always, at his core, himself. She very obviously had a crush on Aang for his personality and that was crazy cute and frankly preferable to Katara's "I...guess he is." (you know exactly what I'm talking about) Anyway, I kept wanting more of them together. I wish all the time that we'd gotten to see her again, with a more fleshed out character and all. And in the way that I imagine the show should have gone, she could have been the perfect love interest for Aang, during this episode or way later, even in the comics! Another WASTED opportunity for greatness and I will, again, never recover T-T

10. Iroh get your ass back here

Maybe this is a misguided critique but I hated that Iroh just left Zuko alone in the fire nation at the end of the series. Baby was in trouble in every sense of the word and Iroh was just like "See ya! You got this nephew." I'm expected to believe that? I'm expected to accept that? No no no. He should have at least stayed for a few years to help Zuko stay upright and, you know, alive. And by "upright" I don't mean "good." I just mean been there to support him because Lord knows he needed it, at least in the beginning of his reign. It was cute that Iroh was able to settle down with his own teashop after all those years of violence and mourning and running and this and that. I was more than happy for him for being able to have that peace finally. But I still think it could have waited a little while longer so he could support Zuko.

That's it I guess. I know not everything I've said makes the most sense in one way or another, but I enjoyed putting it together all the same. Thank you for reading and have a great day. I'll go finish my final now.

(Edited for a typo)

[jujufushi]

here's why my feminist ass loves jujutsu kaisen.

loooong post coming.

spoiler-warnings included.

manga and anime are a guilty pleasure of mine, i've been a fan of various series since my teen years and i keep coming back to it. i'm by no means an expert but jujutsu kaisen is the first series i've got to know where female characters are not all either a) solely a love interest, b) completely useless & always in need to be saved, c) always nagging, this being their only personality trait, d) depicted in an overly sexual manor, e) strong and/ or clever, but never even close to as strong and/ or clever as male characters, or f) a combination of those. exceptions certainly exist, but mainly, those tropes are dominating the genre - from my personal experience, that is.

in jujutsu kaisen, female characters are all (!) equipped with complex personalities and often times, great back stories.

for female characters, we have e. g.

(slight spoilers ahead, but really nothing that spoils any major plot points)

- a girl who left her tiny home village to move to tokyo. she states her reason is that she loves going shopping, however in her back story we learn that she feels she needs to do this to become her true self and that she is also in search of a dear, lost friend of hers who moved to tokyo long ago. (that friend had to move because of being bullied, btw)

- a girl who is despised by her ~VIP~ family - because she was born without jujutsu powers-, so much so that she leaves them. leaving, she announces that she will come back stronger than everyone else to become the head of the family.

- her twin sister, who felt the pressure to become stronger than her sister after she left. even though she never wanted to become a jujutsu sorcerer in the first place.

- a woman who is seemingly the only doctor in town. she's kick-ass clever and witty.

- a woman who is altogether furious at the state of the current world in the way the "elders" of jujutsu sorcerers made it to be. she is planning her personal sort of a coup d'état and trying to get people on her side, all morals set aside.

(slight spoilers end)

that's just some of them.

it's really unusual for shonen-manga/anime to have well-written female characters, so i dug a little deeper and gege actually said something about this. he said that his parents are reading his manga which is what made him create realistic female characters instead of overly sexualized "damsels in distress". well.. that reason is surely to be taken sarcastic (that's how he is), but i do like the fact that he makes it a point how he created strong female characters on purpose.

one of the girls gives a pretty powerful speech at some point; having in mind that the target audience for the series is teenagers, it's quite a big thing.

(very light spoilers)

A- "how dare you hurt my precious face?"

B- "a scar on the face is a badge of honor for a man. though it's only a flaw on a woman. you think being a jujutsu sorcerer is all about strength, don't you?"

A- "and it actually is."

B- "that's only for men. even if they are strong, women have to be cute or they'll be undervalued. of course, even if they are cute, they'll still be undervalued if they're not also strong. do you get it? they don't demand strength from female jujutsu sorcerers. they demand perfection!"

(spoilers end)

the strongest kick-ass moment however, for me personally, is the following.

!! BIG BIG MANGA-SPOILERS AHEAD

the girl mentioned above, who left her family to become stronger and become the head of the family? here name's maki.

maki returns to her family at some point where she is greeted by a) a relative who tells her that since her face is disfigured due to battle scars, the only good thing about her is now gone. b) her mother who tells her that she wishes maki would give birth because THAT'S what would make her proud of maki. maki later finds her twin sister, mai, almost killed by the family. maki & mai become reconciled, but mai's life can't be saved so they make a vow, making maki stronger by mai's death. maki then proceeds to kill. their. whole. fucking. family. in the process she's asked if she has a heart. she replies, cold as can be, "no. it's been taken from me." and keeps killing. it's SO kick-ass. maki becomes more and more disfigured due to these battles, in no panel is her body sexualised in any way, she is nothing less than the protagonist in these manga chapters. and she leaves as a fucking winner. (also, she takes good care of mai's body.)

BIG BIG MANGA-SPOILERS END !!

all in all, of course it's still a series aimed at males so of course we have a lot more male than female characters, like a 4:1 ratio, but even the males are not just clichés of shonen-tropes. like, either a) dumb, or b) strong, or c) dumb and strong - again, this is a very brief summary of my personal views. often times the author of jjk gives his male characters a clever twist and none of them are boring.

the anime has some top-notch animation and great music on top of that.

i don't want to overyhpe anything but i really hope that this series will inspire other mangakas (manga authors) to put more thought into female characters. it surely is a great, big step into the right direction. and since the series has been hugely succesful, my hopes are UP.

[getting-used-to-different]

My problem with #SimonsNotWrong

Note: This is being written before the finale of season 2 has been released. Hopefully, the final episode will resolve these issues and I can delete this post in peace. Please read my entire post before responding and stay respectful ;)

With that said...

I have a few issues with #SimonsNotWrong (and I'm mostly responding to this video). If you have no idea what I'm talking about, here's the rundown: in Season 2, Episode 3 of The Chosen, Simon P confronts Matthew about his life as a tax collector prior to meeting Jesus. Several people thought that Simon P was overly harsh, which prompted the director Dallas Jenkins to respond in the video I linked above and start the campaign #SimonsNotWrong in defense of what Simon said in that scene.

I don't disagree with the scenes in S2E3 on their own, only the way that Dallas insists that Simon was right up until the point that he refused to forgive. Now I know I'm a bit biased; one scroll through my page and you can tell that Matthew's character is a favorite of mine. But I really do understand that Matthew's job is a major problem, I get that he went above and beyond to help a horrible empire, I get that he lived in luxury while his people starved, and I do believe he needs to repent to God and possibly to the people that he hurt as well. In fact, like Dallas, I do think that most of what Simon said is factually correct.

Yet, Simon is wrong to condemn Matthew for a plethora of reasons. There's the fact that Matthew LEFT his life as a tax collector. There's the fact that Simon himself broke Jewish law, betrayed his people, and hurt his family in Season 1, episodes 1-4. There's the fact that Matthew was thirteen when he was recruited by Rome (I don't care if the culture thought he was old enough to choose a trade, he was still an immature child who was taken advantage of by one of the most powerful empires in human history). But the biggest reason is this:

Of course, Simon was only thinking about his own perspective, which is human. I'm glad the scene exists because it represents how humans see each other and why we need Jesus. But Simon was wrong. Jesus is the only one who can handle this correctly, in my opinion, but I don't think it's fair to justify Simon and vilify Matthew instead of holding them both in the wrong. Simon IS wrong, and Matthew is wrong, because everyone is wrong because all have sinned.

For some of the same reasons, I don't really like when Matthew says "I'm a bad person" in S2E6. Well, I'm ok with him saying that, but the way that Dallas talks about it in this "Come and See" show interview makes it seems like it's supposed to be a good thing. There's a difference between saying "I've done bad things", "I've done horrible things", or even "I was a bad person" and "I am a bad person". "I've done terrible things" is an admission of guilt, and it shows that you take responsibility for what you've done. Guilt is natural and you learn to work through it. But "I am bad person" is a statement about your worth as a human being. The point of the line is that Matthew is lifting Mary up by showing her that he's not perfect either, and that's beautiful. But instead, I saw a level of shame that is not healthy. Especially after he's turned to Jesus.

I know that some people are upset that Matthew hasn't apologized, and I agree that he should regret his past actions. But as someone who struggles with depression and self-loathing myself, I see it as a problem that this level of negative self-talk is promoted as a good thing. I can't accept that after you've stopped the problematic behavior, and after you've left everything behind to follow Jesus, you should still think of yourself as a bad person.

Shame is not productive or beneficial. Healthy guilt tells you that you need redemption, and it leads you to God. Shame tells you that you're incapable of redemption, and it drives you away from God. Shame is what Mary M is feeling at that moment. Why did they let Matthew disparage himself when they're trying to say that Mary shouldn't disparage herself? Why is it a good thing for Matthew to think badly of himself for what he did, and yet it's a bad thing for Mary to think badly of herself for what she did? There is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus (Romans 8:1). No condemnation for anyone, back then or today. None whatsoever. Shame is not spread in the Kingdom of God.

The thing that irks me is that the show knows this, the writers know that shame is unhealthy because in the show, Jesus is always telling people to "look up" instead of hanging their heads in shame. They did Mary right when she went astray (Jesus told her she didn't have to be perfect and to look up, S2E6) and they did Simon P right (Jesus tells him to look up when he calls himself a sinful man, S1E4) and they did James and John right (Jesus jokes with them after their mistake, S2E1). I just need them to do Matthew right.

But wait a minute...they already had "Matthew done right". The writers already wrote the perfect mindset for Matthew, way back in Season 2 Episode 2:

That is exactly how he should think now that he's turned away from his old life. Even Simon P is speechless for a moment because he knows that Matthew is right. So why would you have him revert? Why should he go backwards from acceptance into shame and guilt? And if you are going to have him do that, why would you promote it as a good thing?

I was originally going to hold this back until episode 8 came out because I want to see how Jesus will handle this. Hopefully, Matthew will get his "look up" moment and everything I said will be null and void. Fingers crossed.

I hope no one thinks that I'm angry at the writers or that I don't like the show, because I absolutely love it. If I didn't like the show, I wouldn't have spent this much time on a blog post. But what I believe about the God's redemption is more important than a TV show, so I just had to say this :)

[nep-moved]

lotsa nyall don't know Iothric so here is my overly long post in which i tell u abt him 👁👁

i'm bad at talking nd idk how 2 start this off but here we go fjdjsk. i will be leavin out lotsa stuff abt the game bc i am just here 2 talk abt my husband gjfjsk

the game describes everythin so vaguely so forgive me if this this part sounds confusing but: in dark souIs there's this thing called the first flame !! it brought the age of fire, nd it was a v prosperous time nd bred lotsa nations !! before the age of fire was the age of ancients; the world was unformed nd not much existed there.

to keep the first flame going nd therefore keep the world from returning to that time of darkness, a rly powerful soul has 2 be given to the flame to keep it goin fr a while. lord gwyn was the first one 2 sacrifice himself to the flame (( he's also gwyndoIin's awful dad but this ain't abt him )) but ye. as time goes on there's more and more sacrifice needed to keep the flame alive.

in the time of dark souIs 3, Iothric's family wanted 2 create a child so strong they'd be the perfect person to link the flame. but they couldn't have a child like that naturally, so they resorted to 'unspeakable means' and that's all the game tells u gjfjsk. i'm not sure if i wanna know what they did BUT as a result of it, Iothric was born cursed. he was supposed 2 be a champion so strong he could link the fire but ALAS he was weak nd had v frail health, nd he didn't grow much, as an adult he could still wear his swaddling as robes, nd it's the only thing he's ever worn. why didn't nyall giv this boy some fuckign CLOTHES ffs.

but also can i gush a bit 🥺🥺 pls lookit him i think he's v cute despite his resting bitch face gjfjsk. also he looks like he rly needs a nap.. ME TOO c'mere let's snuggle.

nd pls note i say "despite" him always lookin grumpy but i lov that abt him gjfjdk

nd i'm sure nyall hav heard me talk abt his voice lots nd how much i adore it gjdjk. so pwease listen 2 him if u haven't his voice is SO preddy i am in lov nd i swoon whenever i hear it gjfjdk

NYWAYS !! Iothric has an older brother named Iorian !! the game never states why, but he decided to share Iothric's curse. a lot of ppl think it was 2 help ease his suffering which is 🥺🥺🥺 but nyways !! the curse left Iorian mute and unable to stand, nd their souls were nearly inseparable bc of the curse; they could nearly meld together. but it's said they're also nearly inseparable in kinship !! which u can tell bc Iorian obviously cares a lot fr Iothric nd givs up everything in order 2 protect him ;w;

eventually Iothric decided he didn't want to link the fire. we don't know exactly why but alas. him doing this sorta makes him the main antagonist of the game?? bc if he just linked the flame none of this shit would be happenin but LISTEN he is not bad ok. i don't blame him fr not wantin 2 do it, he had no say in it he was destined to from birth :(( it's v understandable that he doesn't wanna burn esp when ppl are tryna force him to fjdjsk. nyways him nd Iorian decided to hide far away nd just. wait for the fire to fade.

many ppl have attempted to come and kill them, but ofc they haven't succeeded gjfjsk. the ashen one, the character u play as, has to (( among lotsa other things but i am here 2 talk abt Iothric not the whole story of the game )) find nd kill him. him nd Iorian are the last boss u face before the Final Battle™️. so lemme talk abt their boss fight 👀

when u start off the fight Iothric's way up on his bed where u can't get to him, but this ain't an issue since he doesn't attack gjfjdk. just Iorian does, nd since he can't use his legs Iothric helps by teleporting him around the room !! when u kill Iorian, Iothric teleports down nd revives Iorian !! then he clings onto his back, nd that suggests he's too weak 2 walk :(( nyways during the second part of the fight u still gotta deal w Iorian but now Iothric's on his back shooting magic at u gjfjdk.

a v interesting thing abt that !! he can use RLY powerful magic, if being able 2 bring his brother back from the dead didn't already tell u that gjdksk. nd he does it all w/o a catalyst !! it's not said why he doesn't need one, but it's impressive bc even gods like gwyndoIin need one to cast spells but Iothric can do it w his bare hands just.. bc he wants to i guess JFDJK. either way i'm v proud of u sweetie !! nd remember when i said his soul's intertwined w Iorian's?? yea bc of that Iorian can't truly die unless Iothric does as well, so if u don't kill Iothric he'll just keep reviving his brother gjfjsk. but when Iothric dies Iorian also does immediately :((

there are multiple endings in the game nd in one of em u don't even hav 2 link the fire, but ur still required to kill Iothric nd Iorian?? why?? fr context in the game ur told 2 kill Iothric so u can go link the flame urself since he won't gjdjsk. but if ur not gonna link the fire?? why do i still hav 2 kill them?? i hate u fromsoft fjdjsk neither of them deserve this.

OOH can i talk abt this other thing 👁👁 i've been meaning 2 but never hav gjdjdk. OK SO !!! when i said Iothric was meant 2 be a champion nd all that, he was also expected 2 wield a special platinum sword !! but bc of his poor health he couldn't do that. nyways originally he was supposed 2 wield a scythe !! the sexiest of all weapons 👀

in conclusion...

its fuckign BIG so there's no way he'd be able 2 wield this if he couldn't do the same w that tiny sword gjdjsk but !! i always think how cool it'd be to see him use it in the fight... alas that will never happen gjdjsk 😔😔 NO MATTER i am happy enough seein him cast his pretty magic..

so uh. i think that's it?? unfortunately we do not get 2 know anythin abt him personally ;(( at least we have headcanons gjfjsk i hav many~

i lov my husband SO much he's brought me sm happiness.. nd i hope i can giv him plenty in return ;; he's been thru sm nd he only deserves the best jgdjkd i just want him 2 be happy nd safe :(( i Also lov my big brother Iorian w all my heart nd he Also deserves only the best !! both these boys r so good pls appreciate them

[writingwithcolor]

I'm a POC who writes mainly white characters but after seeing all the "diversity" posts on this site I'm wondering if I may be subconsciously prejudiced and now I don't know what to do. I feel like I've been doing everything wrong and yet I don't want to change my stories/characters to suit everyone else while not liking them myself.

To Write (or not write) with Diversity

No one can force you to write inclusive stories. Inclusive meaning media that consists of marginalized people, because that is what diversity really is - including people who have always been right there, but have been purposefully left out and erased from the pages of books and scripts. Those who are, when finally represented, are overwhelmingly assigned small, unflattering, and / or stereotypical roles.

Pages like Writing With Color are an offering. Our presence here is for those who choose to write with diversity. We aim to make being inclusive easier because we all believe in the importance of it. But as much as we know how enriching diversity can be, we cannot convince you to do something you don’t necessarily believe in.

Don’t do it because you feel forced

As you mentioned, you’ve read the posts. You know the facts. The decision cannot be forced upon you.  If anything, including diversity out of obligation alone could lead to bad representation. Forcing people to do things without motivation usually means it’ll lack effort, or be done with spite. Trust me when I say marginalized people don’t usually want to see themselves represented by someone who does not want them there. That unwelcome feeling shows. In short: Lack of representation hurts. Bad representation hurts worse.

I only ask that you have accountability.  

Now that you’re aware that your works default to white, you have a choice to make. I think a lot of us grew up reading and writing very white stories - both as PoC and white people - but once you possess the knowledge that things can be different, your next step is a conscious one. You’re not on auto-pilot anymore when you make everyone white (and/or straight, able-bodied, etc). You know better now. Own up to your choices.

So ask yourself: why have I chosen to write without diversity?

I’m afraid to write People of Color. 

Being uncomfortable writing People of Color is a big reason why people stick to writing white people, and only garnish their stories with PoC, if that. White people have long been the default, the everyman. White perspectives are “neutral” to approach. It’s daunting to go from feeling you can portray characters in whatever way you wish to suddenly having the weight of good versus harmful representation on your shoulders.

You don’t want backlash from getting it wrong. You also don’t want to be insensitive to groups. It’s easy to avoid writing them altogether, right? Sure. 

Be aware, though:

You’re making a choice to exclude people out of fear.

Of course, new things are scary. But that’s okay! Courage is the ability to do things that frighten you. Face your fears. Will you shrink away from the challenge, or use it to your advantage?

Let the fear fuel you to do better and to know better. Your concerns about writing PoC can drive you to get the research right in order to best represent people. If your fear is leading to more effort into thoughtful creation, you’re putting it to good use.

Let me tell you right now - you will mess up.

Maybe in small ways, perhaps in a big way. But mistakes will not kick start the apocalypse. Ideally:

Do your research to avoid the most obvious and devastating mistakes from the jump.

Equip yourself with the right beta-reader and sensitivity readers to catch those things. 

Even with errors, your story can be quite enjoyable for people who hardly see themselves represented. Yes, mistakes and all.

As a Black woman bookworm, if you write an exciting story about a Black girl on adventures and falling in love but mention a few questionable things about how she takes care of her hair…I will wince, but it won’t ruin the book for me. I’m willing to overlook some things, for the sake of my enjoyment, and let the author know how I felt about those parts in hopes they can improve.

Say you get something real important wrong. People call you out for it. I suggest you apologize, listen to their critiques, and do better. If possible, pull back the story and re-release when you’ve improved the piece. If that’s not an option, fix it in future works. Getting a finger wagged at you doesn’t mean lock up in fear and never write with diversity again. It means you improve.

Research PoC like you would on any topic:

For comparison’s sake, consider writing People of Color (or any group different from you) like writing other topics you’re unfamiliar with in-depth. 

For example: You may know the basics on Medieval England. The knights, royalty, and so on. But i’m sure there’s a lot of misconceptions mixed in there from television or unreliable sources. 

To write people from this perspective, you would do lots of additional research… right?  

If someone mentioned how you messed up on some of the facts, you would take note and dig into it more for the future…right? 

You might even have more experienced persons check your facts for accuracy beforehand to do the best job possible.

Approach researching PoC in the same way as other topics. There may not be hard facts on how to write an X character, but there are portrayals to avoid with explanations why, and roles people want to see themselves in.

I don’t like to be told what to write.

There’s this misconception that writing with diversity restricts creativity. I get it - there are things you’re being told not to do when writing certain groups. The lists of No’s can get dense. This reflects how poor representation has been for People of Color as there are a number of stereotypical portrayals folks are tired of seeing and has been detrimental to them.

Fiction simply reflects real life: People of Color being viewed through the lens of preconceived notions means being written on with those stereotypes in mind. It is a vicious cycle. Stereotypes are more than an annoyance - they can and do lead to real life consequences.

Being treated like a stereotype lowers our quality of life. Experiencing racism and daily microaggressions has a psychological effect - from insecurity, depression and PTSD - it is serious. (X)

Viewing People of Color by their stereotypes is what makes, say, a Black person who speaks with passion no matter what it’s about (and even if they’ve been wronged) too hostile and “Angry” to take seriously. If anything, they’re now a serious threat. And that’s dangerous for them.

Put yourself in the shoes of the overly typecast.

Think of a time someone misunderstood you. You had a bad day and acted grumpy. Well, being a grump defines who you are now. When asked, people describe you as crabby and humorless. Every new person you meet sees your every action through that lens.

Strangers tiptoe around you, as they can just tell you’re ill-tempered. Peers choose their words carefully, afraid of what might spark your wrath. Your children even inherit the title; teachers discipline them more and take other students’ word over theirs- your kids are snappy, difficult, and known to not play well with others, after all.

Wouldn’t that get old? Wouldn’t you feel it was unfair to be reduced to a label, and that you’re sick of being defined by it? Wouldn’t you have the desire to be seen for who you truly are, and can be? Perhaps you do get grumpy sometimes, which is just being human. You’re so much more than a grouch.

Stereotypes are not creative.

Writing outside of stereotypes open up so many more possibilities. How many times have we seen the Black Best Friend play out in media? You’re not being silenced when readers criticize your sassy sidekick. Your message has been heard, loud and clear - again and again and again. People are upset because it’s not anything new - in fact, it is quite old.  We want multiple portrayals. Why not create something new before you decide to write so closely to how we are always written?

OP said: I don’t want to change my stories/characters to suit everyone else while not liking them myself.

This should not be the case. Avoiding stereotypes has nothing to do with making unlikeable or even perfect characters. Simply make Characters of Color who go beyond stereotypes! Characters who are best friends without being arc-less doormats. Characters who are fierce and emotional and stand for something without being simplified to irrational, hostile, and angry. 

Knowing the difference between stereotype and culture is important, too. Don’t let anyone tell you you’re doing something wrong when their bias means they perceive your character as being stereotypical, or problematic, when they’re not. (See: Stereotyped vs Nuanced Characters and Audience Perception.)  

If anything, writing beyond hard labels leads to complex characters. Writing about new cultures is interesting and can be exciting. 

If you only like your East Asian characters when they’re geniuses or your Black girls when they’re angry without a cause…do some self-reflection. Why do your Characters of Color only seem “right” to you when they are flat, or confined to stereotypes? Why not allow them to be complex humans?

I’m not convinced that representation matters.

Well, representation does matter. A lot. While it has been written on so much, and there being countless studies, statistics, and personal accounts to support this, I would like to mention…

Representation (or lack thereof) lowers self-worth.

Studies show TV boosts the self-esteem of white boys. The confidence of People of Color and girls of all races, on the other hand, decreases when watching TV (X X). 

“If you want to make a human being into a monster, deny them, at the cultural level, any reflection of themselves.” -Junot Diaz

The Racial Empathy Gap.

I want to be brief (too late, right?) so let me just mention another point of research for you: the racial empathy gap. Stereotyped depictions and the limited roles for People of Color are internalized by society, leading to lack of empathy towards People of Color and the enforcement of stereotypes in real time. Lack of empathy actively affects how PoC are treated, such as the belief that Black people experience less pain than others and therefore are misdiagnosed (their illnesses and pain are downplayed) and under treated (X X X). 

Fiction Increases Empathy.

In addition to the racial empathy gap, look into the studies on how fiction improves empathy. For example: reading about vampires increases empathy towards vampires. Imagine what non-stereotyped, marginalized depictions in fiction can do for empathy.  (X, X)

The strength in which people are against representation speaks volumes. 

If representation does not matter, then why are some people so angry when it’s there? Let’s take book to movie depictions: 

A Character of Color depicted as white simply means they were the best actor for the job, according to a vocal presence in social media. 

However, even a verified Character of Color being depicted as such leads to boycotting, accusations of being “Politically-correct”, and wide complaints that they can’t relate to the characters and they are poor actors. Never mind that so many Actors of Color attend prestigious schools only to get so far.

The hypocrisy speaks to a need for more representation, and a prevalent lack of empathy. 

The People Want Diversity!

On a positive note: shows that reflect the real world, aka include diversity, continue to get high ratings despite many obstacles: those who don’t want them there, lack of advertising or inconvenient airtime for shows with diverse leads, the ole bait-and-switch method, and hasty cancellations. Not to mention media simply refusing to be inclusive even when they know “diversity sells” (X X). Gee, I wonder why….

Audiences are more drawn to projects that feature a diverse cast, a new study finds, though mirroring the population in the United States remains a problem.

“Less-diverse product underperforms in the marketplace, and yet it still dominates,” said Ana-Christina Ramón, the report’s co-author and assistant director of the Bunche Center. “This makes no financial sense.” 

-Diversity in Hollywood Pays Off in Ratings and Box Office, New Study Finds

Diversity simply reflects the real world accurately. 

There is nothing forced about diversity. People of Color exist in the real world, go out and about, and have lives. Creators including marginalized people only seems strange because media actively scratches them out as much as possible, pulling the marginalized out of focus to zoom in on white characters. That is what’s unrealistic. 

Ultimately, you, the writer, will write what you want. Just ask yourself why you have decided this is what you want to write. Are you okay with that reason? Despite all the progress that is being made, you’ll blend in just fine with all of the other mostly white books and movies out there. And as people become more conscious and bored with the same stories, we can and will choose to ignore whitewashed media.

The good thing is that there’s so much awareness and activism going on with representation; the path has been paved for you and it is not lonely! 

There are resources out there, and WWC continues to be one of them.

More Reading - Diversity:

Braving Diversity: How to Write Yourself (and others) out of your Story  (An early WWC post quite relevant to you, OP)

Diversity exists in the real world 

The Key to Moving Beyond checklisting is not LESS diversity 

Bad Representation vs Tokenism vs Diversity: just existing without justification like in the real world

How to research your racially/ethnically diverse characters 

–Colette