#Not sure if I'll use it in the animatic

[mennany]

What if Gem with tentacle hair?

[mikodrawnnarratives]

The long awaited Marriage Material animatic, is here. The final version that is. Feel free to compare with the very very very much wip version from- ...that was- that was more than a year ago i did not realize its been that long..

huh. Anyway, I'm sure you already notice many changes haha

The Sleuth Jesters fics are written by @naffeclipse and the detective au belongs to @sunnys-aesthetic

Youtube link and thumbnail below cuz I like how the thumbnail turned out + a bit more talking

Check out This post and This post for a lil closer look at some parts that I liked making a lot and one you only get to see a little bit of

I don't know if I'll make it public just yet so for now it's gonna be an unlisted vid

Edit: It's public now :3

(There is a dance earlier in the animatic and i used this vid as heavy ref and Im gonna link it just in case its too similar. idk just in case)

i DEEPLY encourage watching multiple times cuz i added a whole lot of details in some sections (some hard to catch hehe) and im curious to see ppl react to some :3c

Feel free to lmk which section was ur favorite cuz there were some parts that I definitely loved making the most.

[hoodedjelly]

Sleep walk BTS post!

will go in depth with my process and put better quality drawings in here!

Before any of this i was listening to several fiddauthor/ford playlists to hear a song that really got my brain moving. Funny enough i didn't get Sleep walk from one of the 100+ song playlists i was listening to, it was in my oc playlist (thats a mad scientist who would've thought). Originally i wanted to make a fiddauthor animatic (who knows maybe i will), but THIS SONG just caught my brain in a way i couldn't refuse.

So i technically started working on it the late night of September 27, exactly a week ago! which yes yes i hear you all in unison go "WHAT???" to that, and all I have to say to that is.... I have untreated adhd and lots of caffeine in my system! (honestly felt like ford sometimes while workin on that animatic)

Started it off with some notes, then thumbnails. I had my tbob AND J3 open next to me stood up with clips for reference (prob looked a little insane looking back but its fine)

now for the rough animatic! i did this in Adobe animate 2022 (i'll get back to that later) the only thing that really got changed was i wanted to add the diner scene from j3. i realize now that it messed up the timeline i was going for with the animatic but i like to think things are out of order because of the state ford is in, things start to merge together.

After i sat with this rough animatic for a bit, i wasn't sure if i was going to make it in Adobe animate (what i usually do) or make it all in Clip Studio Paint. I wanted this animatic to be way more visually interesting then i usually do, so CSP it is. But! i only have CSP Pro, so i had to draw and export every single new frame from this animatic.

it was a little tedious at first (again never done an animatic like this before) but i got used to it! I edited it all together in CapCut and thats really it!

The missing J3 pages from TBOB spoke to me in a way that im not fully comfortable talking about to my followers. I put a lot of myself in this animatic then i'd want to realize, it's very important to me. The night when i uploaded it i was literally shaking with anxiety (and caffeine-) but the overwhelming support for it is really amazing, thank you so much! if you have any more questions please ask away i love talking about the art process.

Below im going to talk about the code and put HD backgrounds!

thank you for dyemro on here for cracking the code first! now i can talk about my insane little thought process about it

So i never planned to add a code until halfway through with the animatic. i was watching ThatGFFan videos and him talking about gravity falls codes got my brain cooking. i wanted something sweet and simple (i realize with dyemro's post it wasn't as simple as i thought, give me some slack it's my first time). like what you should with making codes you start at the end. And i wanted something that was a nice send off for drawing ford be fucking miserable for 1 minute and 30 seconds.

so i got this. (honestly every time i look at this drawing after finishing the animatic it makes me real emotional)

There are 4 codes in this whole animatic 0:02, 0:15, 0:30, and 0:58

wanted the first one to be REAL noticeable so people can stop and be like "wait... theres stuff in here". people usually think to use the bill symbols, but no! from the description theres a little hint to use the Author symbols

doing that code it leads to: imgu r.com /a/uZa iVfu (and if you know that double line a under a letter means capitalization + im a dumb dumb that used a code image that didn't have a Z so thats just a normal Z)

it makes a LINK! > imgur.com/a/uZaiVfu <

now enough of that boring stuff, heres some HD screenshots and backgrounds of my fav parts

[anniflamma]

Time for Apollo and Hephaestus!

Both of these two gods were very tricky for me to put on the table.

Apollo has essentially always been portrayed as either a pale/blond/twunk with a bandana or dark-skinned/abs/manly shoulder with beautiful golden locks. It's either one of these two types that I see everyone portray him. So... well... I leaned into the pale/skinny option, and I got this.

I think that I leaned more into his musical aspect in his design. Like he is a singer/dancer and is very gracious in how he moves, kind of similar to Aphrodite! I can imagine that I will update his design for his other aspects, like medicine or archery! But this is fan art for a musical first, so he should be the musician for now!

I also wanted to add references of his three most well-known lovers, Daphne, Hyacinthus, and Cyparissus. Due to me wanting to use Apollo's sacred floras of laurel, larkspur, and cypress. However, I noticed pretty fast that larkspur isn't related at all to Hyacinthus.... The flowers do look alike but are different, so I just added the larkspur flower to the sides of Apollo's lyre! The laurel crown is actually a nod to the raven. That idea I got from a commenter on TikTok on my Zeus design! Couldn't help but use that idea! So it's raven feathers instead of the regular leaves.

I am also thinking about if I'll ever design other forms for Apollo, then, I think it would be pretty neat as well to portray him as a god of disease. Maybe his dress becomes all black?

Then we have Hephaestus!

GOSH! I WAS THIS CLOSE TO GIVE HIM THE MOST SLUTTY WAIST THERE EVER WAS. It's not me who drew him with a small waist and wide hips in ancient pottery art!

But I ended up giving him a more rectangular shape, which is nice! He looks very warm and cuddly! He was also a very hard character to make him stand out. Right now, I am actually not that happy with his design overall. I do really like the idea of him using prosthetics, but I am not sure about his clothing. My first idea was that he would have a big reminiscence of Hera, that his clothes were flowy and airy like her dress. But it didn't really fit the aesthetics of him being a blacksmith. Then I tried to play around with implementing the Donkey in his design, and he just ended up looking like a troll... So right now, he kind of has this regular everyday blacksmith look.

I will probably set him on fire in the animatic once his song comes out. But only if it fits the audio, of course! And the red stuff on his face? Yeah, that's a nod to the Crane, his sacred bird!

[strange0-0storm]

Because of my recent complications with procreate I would like too share the sketch of the COMIC COVER‼️‼️

I truly do want to finish this, and if it means I have to use ibispaint again to do it, SO BE IT

IF worse comes to worse, I'll be moving my animatic work to ibispaint as well because I have all the previous images that I DID post about. No bald SMG3 though😔 but it will be okay. I'm sure I'll be able to continue my work, even if it's not on my preferred program :]

[forgettable-au]

Just so you all know

I'm probably going to take a break from the comic this week, because I'm gonna be busy anyways and I'm not sure if I would finish on time

So I'll take this week and continue the next one! :D

This doesn't mean you're not getting anything! I'm almost finished with a short animatic I'm working on! and I'll use my time to work on the FAQ post <33

[gigizetz]

Hi! Do you plan on making another big animatic with a Circe Saga song like with Keep Your Friends Close? If so, what song do you intend to use?

I actually want to work on the full length of all songs! Not sure which I'll start, but I'll probably follow the order of songs :D

[auuwmk]

hey i think we should all theorize how the webtoon team is gonna design demon king kdj before the chapter drops and see how close we can get it i think that would be fun, I'll start under the cut (I'll add more once i get more ideas lmao):

i haven't reread the arc yet so i might be missing a few novel descriptions

they'll probably do the "his body is 3 or 4 times larger than usual" or something

using the dead demon king as reference, is kdj gonna have big ass horns???? They'll probably be thinner, either red or black hmm not sure

are the whites of his eyes gonna be black...the million dollar question (for me) His irises are most likely gonna be red <- WAIT since the jade is purple what if his irises are purplish

okok what if webtoon gives him claws...and also his hands are like arlecchino from genshin impact with the black soot (cursed demon stuff??) growing on his arms or something

the wings will probably be the normal big black wings, his skin color might also turn greyish? I don't think his hair will change and does the color of his blood change?? Or would he not bleed at all, just stories

Might just be my wishful thinking but i hope they do the crack on his face like a porcelain doll as he is withering away after getting stabbed by yjh like in the "we're screwed" animatic by manadreams

From 1-10, how likely is it for Kdj's shirt to be ripped half open after the transformation <- actually should we consider the possibility that his shirt will be entirely torn up altogether + if they're extra, his entire chest will be covered in the black demon soot thing

Also!! I'm 87% sure they're gonna scorch his coat black (at least from the bottom) <- they might change the design of his coat like when his coat looked like fluttering wings when he used 41st sys' "beast king's sensitivity" skill

Since this design is gonna be reused a bunch of time they'll either make the design simple or they just go over the top for this arc specifically and then tone it down for other moments, unless sleepy-c is crazy enough to make the design complicated for the rest of the serialization

OR. Im entirely wrong and they're just gonna use bb-nim's demon king design and i did all this for nothing lmao <- lie its just for fun (also i realized i could be completely off the mark here lmao)

[kinoselynn]

here's a quick pinned post since people have been asking the same questions again and again. I believe it's best to answer most of their common questions before more come flooding in. I will certainly update this post if anything were to change in the near future.

Introduction > I'm a self-taught artist who draws for a hobby as of now. I unfortunately do not do public commissions at the moment, but I do plan on starting those someday in the future when I'm ready. I'll be sure to update my followers when I decide to open them.

Fandoms > I tend to draw whatever interests me at the moment. You'll most commonly find artworks of Spiderverse, Bendy, Fnaf, and Sonic under my profile.

Programs > Most if not all of my works are done on ibis Paint X. The brush I commonly use on that program is Blurring Marker 2. For animations and animatics, I use CapCut.

Permissions > I do NOT allow my works to be reposted anywhere with or without credit unless I have given you full permission to do so. However, I DO allow my artworks to be used as profile pictures + my comics to be dubbed WITH proper credit.

Social media > Instagram - Twitter - Blue sky - YouTube

Thank you for all your support, it means a lot to me since I'm still working on building my art career. I hope this post helps. ♥️

[garbagechocolate]

Hi, did you ever share what is "eye for an eye" au is about? saw your desing for a while now and I think its reeeaaally cool! the animatic is also really funny! so can we know more about it? :D

Yeah sure! Basically a long time ago there were many gods, and two of them (BM twins, Caedis and Morbus). Caedis was in charge of Peace and Morbus was in charge of Prosperity (and the opposite of)

One day they went rogue and the higher ups decided to strip them of their powers and lock them up. The two were sewn together, Morbus had his eyes blinded and Caedis and his mouth muted.

Fast forward a couple thousand years. A town has been built near the cave that imprisons them. The towns people spread rumors about the cave and speak about an ancient God and such but no one really believes it, they just think it's a silly story. M/C (Who I'll be referring to as Micah) lives in this town with their sibling, Remy.

Micah and Remy are getting targeted by neighbors for being from out of town, and Micah being. A little weird. Remy's bullied by proxy but they're grown adults! They can deal with it maturely!

Wrong! Micah goes into the cave for shiggles, finds out how to OPEN the cave, and approaches a stone pedestal with a handprint on it. They place their hand onto it and a needle stabs through their hand, and they watch the prison light up.

The walls are covered in engravings and chains and eerie lights illuminate a figure chained in front of Micah.

"Little mortal came to make a wish? Silly child. There's no use to pray. Even if we would grant it, our powers are locked away."

And Micah goes "Okay and"

They exchange talking back and forth until Micah goes "Okay just hmo"

And Bloodmoon's hears him out, expecting some wish to fix her town or whatever

Naur he wants a family dead

A family and their extended bloodline

So bloodmoon's obviously intrigued by this, and agrees to kill them for her if hhe'll return his powers to him

Bloodmoon tells them,

"If you free us and our powers, we'll answer your prayer. Go to each lock and temple, destroy each layer."

So yeah deal with the devil type thing. This is sealed and Bloodmoon IS freed from his shackles but new ones connect them to Micah, who's. Kind of going through smth rn.

[spiralsublime]

G13 with an innocent reader? Or maybe a reader who seems innocent but who won’t fall for his presumably manipulative behavior AT ALL.

(ps I’m really happy you’re doing dimension 20 x reader you made my day!)

(of course this is so fun for me, i'm glad that other people seem excited for it lol, i could probably do this for so many of their seasons lol)

but i love the idea of G13 and someone who matches him in not being played by his dumb shit! look, this lanky, greasy tech nerd is terrifying conceptually to these government organizations and these big realms of space. but to a normie who is not involved in the underground and has a basic job?? oh, this is just a dweeb, who is handy with fixing things.

The Beginning

G13 is so invested in the underground that I think he forgets that he is actually a person existing. So he is just locked into his laptop, headphones on, typing away. People are assholes, he is an asshole, this is how the world works.

I think he would have an immediate issue with people he thinks are attractive, assuming that everyone thinks they are attractive and thus they must be assholes who get everything for free.

But obviously, that's not fair. I think kindness would be the beginning and end of it.

Imagining those goofy animatic of you smiling and his glasses fogging over as he blushes.

G13 solves some (painfully basic to him) tech issue for you and after he deep dives on how sweet you are.

The Not So Good Middle

Look, this motherfucker is a hacker bad guy who owes nothing to no one. He jumps through tech hoops to learn your schedule and more information about you to try and make sure to set up a good meeting situation.

I do think you notice, but it is normal to see people around the city. Likely a joke or two about a small world or maybe you thank your lucky stars that a tech wiz happens to be around because your dog shit tech is always breaking.

He is focused on trying to just be in your presence. Maybe he is talking around trying to basically take you on a date without ever asking.

I think the first show that his manipulation bits won't work, will be in this moment where you call him out. ("You know, you could just ask me out instead of trying to make me ask you or hoping we cross paths.")

Boundaries Made By Flat Acknowledgements

Look G13 is used to talking in code and dancing around realities. This is not how normal people expect to have to interact. I think he isn't used to hearing simply "No".

Just him pushing for you to hang out alone with him more instead of previously made plans. "Aw, baby, thank you for wanting to hang out with me, but let's do that tomorrow." A kiss to the forehead and the man is SPUTTERING.

He tries to be shitty and you grab your bag and stand. "Sorry, it looks like you are pissed with work and taking it out on me. I'll let you cool down."

Just deftly keeping your own space and boundaries. But also you are expicit with helping to find his own boundaries to make sure you are doing right by him and it is INSANE for him.

Miscellaneous HCs

His other hacker friends do Not believe that you are real. For sure they think that G13 made you up.

G13 may understand tech to an insane degree but this man is helpless at basic games. He does not understand how to do crosswords or solitaire and he gets pissed when he tries.

The first time you kiss him he literally panicked and dropped his glasses with how fast he moved back. He then fumbled when you apologized for scaring him. (The second kiss was better.)

He does know how to cook the bare minimum, but only in his own kitchen because he modded all his appliances. (Your microwave was never the same after the first time he slept over.)

Even after dating for years, he blushes when you kiss his cheek in public. He is overly smug about holding your hand in public.

He does bitch about you not having enough security measures in place.

He is always super cold (this man is anemic, I just know it) so he is always shoving his cold ass hands under you to warm up. Big cuddler unless he is focused on a job.

Only you are able to coax him from work so he can remember to eat during projects.

I think I'll pause here, but GOD, I have so much more with more specific things. -- see my other x-reader things

[moshieee]

Hello! Sorry to bother you, but I'd just like to see if you have a ref sheet for your sona? I'm thinking of making you, Rabid, Dia, and Bun a little animatic. Actually, if I'm gonna be honest, there are a whole lot of ideas for you four in my head rn. Especially when Rabid and Dia posted something about the song "Anything you can do, I can do better." Sorry, I'm rambling. Also, since I think at least Rabid showed something about a mob au for their sona, I've had an idea for more animatics. But anyways, sorry for this ask being really long. Thank you for at least reading this, You make me actually remember to eat, drink, and take my meds when you remind your mutuals, so thx! Also, love your art, very very unique and all I think about when I see your doodles or pieces is ". . . . . smol"

Okie, I'll be taking my leave! Gotta shape-shift back into a rat to go to the vents and continue my endless cycle of ideas and au's. Okay, Bye Bye!!!!!

(Remember to take care of yourself, drink, eat, sleep, [take meds if you need/are prescribed them], and know that you are loved!)

And- *is literally being dragged out bye an Anon* oh! Oki Nighty Night *disappears behind a door and a laundry shoot is heared opening and something is heard being but in* (muffled) Thank you, WEEEEEEEEE-

I thought a little ending that I hope made you laugh would help :]

(I was giggling the whole way though the story, a lovely ending!! Bravo 👏 🌹!!! thank you for the kind words about my style it's something I was insecure about for a long time, and I'm glad I have a positive effect on people's health hehe)

dont ever apologize for asking something, I love getting asks and long asks just means I add the tag #long post

Also oh my goodness that sounds amazing and I would be honored

as for a reference I uhhh I've been trying to make a reference but I keep getting distracted

the only best references I have I have right now is this hair guide I made for Bunsowo that I kept forgetting to share It's a bit out dated now but still close enough

And the l eyes guide I made for Rabid that is now also outdated...

If you just need an image to go off id recommended this one sense it's the most recent

Jeeze I really need to make a reference for my sona. I guess I never expected people to try and draw my stuff so I'm not used to this...

wait what's this?

Those are my lines silly/j

I wish you luck in your creations and make sure to pace yourself so you don't get hurt

Also wait nighty night? Are you supposed to be sleeping? 👁️ 👁️

[lintuwaterfall]

I am sorry folks, but she is dead.

Penny died. Please let her rest. "I'll be a part of you." That is Penny making a callback to V7's finale after Fria passed the power to Penny and Winter said something similar. It is not Penny she is literally part of Winter. Neither Raven nor Cinder show signs of having a previous Maiden in them. This is not the Oz Soul situation. And if there was a way to seperate a conscience from a body, don't you think it would be more important to use such a trick on Oz/Oscar at this point? Look, I get it. We all loved the adorkable ginger Pinnochio, but she gave her life much like Pyrrha did. "It will be just like Beacon again!" She said in Volume 7. And the Atlas Arc did end up like the Beacon Arc. The area is attacked by Salem's forces, Team RWBY fails to stop The Fall but manages to prevent things from being even worse, and someone close to them dies fighting Cinder (Pyrrha/Penny), but Cinder is prevented from fully basking in victory (Ruby awakening her eyes for the first time/Jaune mercy killing Penny to keep the Winter Maiden powers from going to Cinder). In the end one of the main things about RWBY is coming to terms with Death. Destruction is as much a part of Life as Creation is. Clear away the old so something new can grow. It hurts, but that's life, as unfair as it may seem. Pretty much every major death, every major loss, that the show has had has had some kind of purpose, be it negative or positive, and that comes down to how characters handle and process it. Be it the death of a lover, the death of an abuser, a mother's promise, or a promise to a fallen friend and mentor, each has driven the characters we have followed all these years. Penny is another death on the list, and if/when RWBY continues one thing I am sure we will cover is how those close to Penny act. Do they remain in the quagmire of their grief and sorrow (as we see Winter seemingly doing in the epilogue animatic and how Jaune was during the journey to Haven) or do we see people move forward (like Team JRN made a choice to do in front of Pyrrha's Statue) for the sake of the world and people that Penny loved and gave her life to protect.

[autisticlancemcclain]

fic rec friday 46

hello and welcome to fic rec friday! where, on friday, i rec five of my favourite fics.

habits of my heart by tusslee

Keith swallowed nervously, afraid to ask what it was Lance wanted, but his mouth was ahead of his brain, “What do you want then?” “You. All the time. In every sense. It’s insane.” Lance said with a laugh that sounded a little manic. “I want to hold your hand and shit. I want to just be near you, like some love-sick girl, but I think that’s what I am. I think I fucking love you, holy shit.”

no bc i need yall to understand how batshit insane i went when reading this specific piece of dialgue in-story the first time. im pretty sure i actually gasped out loud. the easy immediate and pained you oh i did not recover for a long ass time

2. falling by tusslee

Lance was also not entirely the idiot everyone thought him to be. Oblivious in some aspects, yes. Naïve to an extent, also yes. But Lance knew a little bit of the psychology behind dreams and how they were basically your subconscious projecting your fears, or whatever. Okay so he didn’t know the exact details, but he knew enough to piece together why his fear of falling was quickly becoming the main focus of his dreams night after night. And of course like everything else that went wrong in Lance’s life, it was Keith’s fault.

I LOVE ME SOME GAY METAPHORS ‼️‼️‼️ like i wonder why you are afraid of falling lance!! and i wonder what is going to soothe that fear!! hm!!! what mystery!!! what intrigue!! HM!!!!!!!!!!!!!

3. curing space blues by tusslee

The weightlessness of zero gravity doesn’t apply to feelings, Lance learns.

i'll read homesick lance and awkward but determined to help keith a thousand times in a thousand different ways idc. it never ever gets old. bc it's just so true that is what happened is it not. this is them

4. wherever you will go by tusslee

“I want to be someone you count on and come to when you’re upset. I want to be important to you, Lance, because you’re really important to me.” Silence stretched between them when Keith lost the nerve to continue. He kept his eyes on their hands, noticed the color contrast between them and wondered if it’d look so profound if it was more than just their fingers twined together.

first of all. lance calling keith red and keith calling lance pretty. send tweet. second of all. choked up by his own difficulty expressing emotions but so deeply loving that he tries anyway keith makes me actually sob with my real tears every single time. without fail. keith i love you keith you are so everything keith you do all that you do with everything you have to give

5. Guy That I'd Kinda be Into by spirkylurkey

Lotor thinks Lance is cute. So does Keith. They're all in a floating space-castle together. This is going to be a problem. i miss the good old days!! when messy dumb comedic gay love triangles were abundant!! they were so much fun!! and so for you i present a messy dumb comedic gay love triangle. i also miss the animatic that used to exist with the song from the title. old voltron you were a mess and a half and i miss you truly

that’s it for today!! i’ll see y’all back next friday for the next fic rec post!!!

[curseofsergei]

Hey all! Cutting in on zine-posting news, I wanted to share an interest check for another project I would like to try out! I know our little fanbase loves those animatics we see people upload on youtube, and I wanted to organize one! I always have so many ideas for animatics, but I hardly have the energy to create one myself. I used to LOVE doing MAP(multi animator projects) back when I was a kid, and have always wanted to do them again someday....

This form has a bunch of song suggestions I've come up with, but also a section for you to suggest your own. I'm not sure how long I'll run this form--just until I get enough responses to be happy I think.

You do not need experience creating an animatic to participate once I get the ball rolling! Ideally, I would love to run multiple of these as to give everyone a chance to participate. (that being said feel free to steal this idea!)

I've also created a playlist with song ideas, incase you want to listen to any!

[oneeyedoctogod]

Disclaimer: long, extremely personal rant. Yes, it's also about mdzs and Jiang Cheng but mainly, it's about me trying to deal with my own trauma when I'm being hit in the face (metaphorically) with it by putting my feelings into words. The posting is so I don't erase it and force myself to forget about it.

You know it's funny, but as I was trying to sleep (and failing. Badly. It's 2:38 am.) I kept on finding myself thinking about why I didn't like Jiang Cheng. Because you see, it's rare for me to dislike a character that much, to the point I actually have blacklisted all his tags and avoid any fics that talk about him positively.

(Again, this is an extremely personal post about my own feelings. This is not meant as a rebuke if you love him. On the contrary. Keep doing what sparks joy. Just, you know, far away from me.)

I have a funny history with the mdzs fandom. I first started watching the donghua when it started airing back in... 2018? 2019? Can't remember for sure. Then I was left hungry for more because only the first season had aired, and it ended on a big cliffhanger. I saw it was an adaptation, so I went looking for the source material... and found the manhua (I was used to japanese animation at that point and thought that was it). The manhua was also being fan translated, and despite being extremely different (and confusing for poor past me), ALSO left me on a cliffhanger. I was desperate and saw someone pointing out there was a novel! I finally found it, read it in a few nights, and loved it. I read a bunch of fics, enjoyed myself, met and befriended people. Then I moved on after a while. I remember, distinctly, that I wasn't a big fan of Jiang Cheng but that I could at least stomach him in fics.

Last December, I felt the urge to reread some mdzs fics. I read some popular ones and, after falling into the animatics and amvs rabbit hole, decided to rewatch the donghua. Except for some reason, Jiang Cheng's character rubbed me wrong. I remembered not liking him much but he wasn't that bad in the fics so I couldn't see why he was so distasteful in the donghua. I'd been warned that the donghua wasn't that faithful (my own memory was extremely hazy), so I just shrugged it off. Maybe the people behind the donghua weren't fans of jc?

I saw there was an official translation of the novel and, by that point, DEEP into the hyper fixation, I bought all four available volumes and read them. At the same time, I was still reading fics. It was fine after all, I already knew the story.

By then, I had realized something was a little wrong with the characteristization. Some of the tropes given to Wei Wuxian rubbed me the wrong way. I looked it up a little (remade a tumblr, found amazing meta, the rest is history) and figured "Ah that must be cql fics. That's the problem."

And yes, that's true. In part.

The other problem lies with the particular way some people write Jiang Cheng. I'll be clear again: I have nothing against those people. Most of them I don't know and I'm aware this is very much a, shall we say, "me" problem. It's why I avoid the positive Jiang Cheng content. I don't care if you keep writing it so long as you keep it away from the canon jc tag.

But whenever people write Jiang Cheng and completely erase his crimes and abuse of both Wei Wuxian and Jin Ling, I feel it like a slap on the face.

Last Monday, I saw a therapist and talked about her about many things (I did warn this would be a very personal post). Part of it was my mother and her treatment of me and my brothers. And after barely a few words, she said, very simply "Oh so your mother abused you."

I already knew that. I use those words myself to describe my history with her. But the validation is always nice to hear, you know? Especially because so many people try or have tried to brush it off as "nothing." My own mother did, both about her own behaviour and when I was being abused by other people and tried to seek her help. Hell, even I still do it sometimes.

And I think that's why I hate Jiang Cheng so damn much now. His canon self is... Well, I'm not a fan, but he's a well-written antagonist. But dear gods, I've seen so many people brush off his canon characteristics to make him into a more palatable character, the loving uncle, the funny tsundere brother, the ace guy who hates mushy romance (let me tell you, as an ace person I am also real fucking tired of homophobic characters being hc as ace)... Even the ones who mention his bad parts feel the need to immediately add his achievements, as if they don't dare speak badly of their fave. "Yes, he tortured Wei Wuxian, but he also sacrificed his core to save him!" "Yes, he hit and verbally abused Jin Ling, but he also lovingly raised him!" "Yes, he tortured and killed innocent people but he also has trauma and had to lead a sect when he was so young!"

And this feels familiar, every time. This feels like the people telling me "Yes but it's not that bad" or saying "Yes your mother gave you panic attacks but she made sure you didn't fail at school" or "Yes but she made you love reading" or "Yes but she gave you so much, don't be selfish" or "Yes but she was here for you when you were depressed" or "Yes but she has it hard too" until I fell in the habit of saying "Sure, my mother insulted me and threatened me financially and there was a long, long time I was convinced she didn't love me... but."

Always that damn BUT.

So you might be able to understand why I have a hard time with Jiang Cheng when people pull the same shit all thenfucking time. I'm working on it because I'd rather not be stuck feeling anxious about a silly purple grape just because he happens to be fandom fave in my current hyperfixation but in the meantime, I have to deal with it and it's... annoying. To say the least.

(I'm going to insist here: I know that Jiang Cheng isn't my mother. That's not the point here. I am fully aware he's a fictional character and that me feeling that way is something I should be working on. I am. And I'm not telling people to stop writing positive content for him. This is just me trying to put into words my complicated feelings for a complicated character. And ranting, a little bit, about badly tagged fics I admit.)

It's easier on social media. You just block the characters tag and, if people bother you about it, you block them. Friends being friends, I just need to tell them "I don't feel comfortable talking about this character" or "let's agree to disagree on this interpretation" and because my friends are the best, they agree and we move on.

Fanfiction is where the problem lies.

I know why people erase the 'hard' parts, or at least I have a good guess. It's easier that way. Fanfiction is about having fun! It's about writing about your blorbos the way you want to! I don't want to police anyone's content. I'd just like it if people tagged their OOC and stopped trying to make me feel as if I'm the one who misread the book because I don't feel like erasing the canonical abuse this character did or because I don't like that they keep putting down my favorite character to uplift theirs.

I'm not sure how to conclude this. I should be sleeping honestly.

Let's try this: if you read this to the end, congrats I guess. I want to reiterate I don't care if you make Jiang Cheng into the most loving, best brother and uncle ever. Just be aware of what you're erasing first. And tag your goddamn fics.