#and no one in reality deserves the shit this fandom actually puts on the character lena

[herharmonyenemy]

one of the things I love about warnette is how they're both so obsessed with each other. on one side, aaron keeps her diary because it helps him cope, he does things for her. later on, he's probably like "love, decorate the house how you want. no, I don't care that there are mindless pink bows everywhere." she's always on his mind, and he's always thinking, "oh juliette would love this flower/painting/food/etc."

Meanwhile, juliette is canonically ready to jump his bones and devour him the second she gets him alone.

you can really tell who grew up touch deprived and who wasted their time by bedding someone whose name starts with 'le' and ends with 'na'.

[threeacttragedy]

Entry 17: The One About All the Hot Air

Oh, hey, hey, hey – what is that over there?

No, not that –

That!

Ah, fuck.

Is that what I think it is?

Yeah, yeah, it looks like some sort of hot air balloon.

Ugh, it’s that fucking wannabe Wizard! Get that manipulative shit-fuck outta here!

Seriously, don’t let it set foot on land. It’s not welcome on this side of Oz.

Someone release the flying monkeys! Like, now. Knock it out of the sky.

Wait, I thought the Wizard liked green. This weirdo has a red balloon.

Bitch, I didn’t say it was the Wizard; I said it was a wannabe Wizard.

Oh, no wonder it’s steering that balloon like a fucking clown.

Hell, I don’t even think we need the monkeys. That idiot is going to crash and burn itself straight into the glass walls of the Emerald Palace.

Well, you know what they say when you start throwing stones in a glass house…

It is slightly amusing (and a tad concerning) to me that children are always led to believe that the villain of “The Wonderful Wizard of Oz” is that bitch of a Witch of the West when the worst character traits are actually portrayed by the Wizard himself. And, by “worst character traits,” I mean that he was a master manipulator who conned an entire city into believing he held some form of great power.

Did you know that in the original story the Emerald City wasn’t really that green? Sure, it was made from green glass and emeralds, but the Wizard required everyone to wear green-colored glasses so that everything appeared greener than it actually was. Weird, that. And, even more weird, people bought it! “Here, put these glasses on and you’ll see everything exactly the way I want you to see it.”

Yeah, yeah, yeah, I’m fully aware “The Wonderful Wizard of Oz” is a work of fiction, but the idea that people can be easily manipulated – especially by someone with “power” – is not fiction.

That’s what today’s piece of “hot air” is about – fandom manipulation and the power of suggestion. And who better to manipulate an entire fandom than the media? It’s unfortunate that I have to give the media power in this story – and even more unfortunate that I have to give it to rag-mags and social media – but the reality is information is power, regardless of whether it’s misinformation. In fact, MIT Sloan did a study in 2018 demonstrating how false information spreads through social media, namely, Twitter, six times faster than true information. Disturbing, right? I don’t even want to know what the going rate for misinformation is in 2025.

And, of course, since I opened today’s story with a visit to the Land of Oz, we may as well take a day trip over to Australia. Remember how I told you Australia deserved an entry of its own? Well, this is it. No, not really. I did say this was a day trip, not a sleep-over, so it’s not going to be chucked full of shiny bracelets or ways to “keep a good girl down.” It’s just our starting point today.

In my first entry, I briefly described what brought me into this fandom. It was something Luke said – and not really what he said, but how he said it – that left me intrigued. He was being interviewed on the Bowral red carpet by “Gretchen from the Philippines.” Yes, that’s literally how she introduced herself! Could I instead refer to the nice lady by her real name (Gretchen Fullido)? Sure, but “Gretchen from the Philippines” is far more fun. Plus, it sounds kind of whimsical. Any ways, Gretchen (from the Philippines) asked Luke if, “in real life,” he’d support friends-to-lovers. Luke’s response was, well, a bit jumbled, which was what sparked my curiosity because his previous answers that day were, for the most part, articulate: “I would – I would support friends – I feel like it’s not something that – that I have in my li – that I resonate with – that I’ve experienced. But, you know, if my – if my friends wanted to explore a relationship with one their friends, go for it. I’ll support it.”

Something in the way Luke answered that question was like suddenly being able to see the forest for the trees. At that moment, I was convinced Luke had always been in love with Nicola, and everything else that went on during that particular red-carpet event (and thereafter) simply christened the USS Lukola. However, that comment by Luke – and a subsequent one he made in New York – would result in the addition of a lot of trees to our enchanted forest.

Now – I apologize – we need to borrow a hot air balloon, preferably one that can travel through time, and jump forward to November 5, London-time. I promise, we will return to Oz momentarily.

Oh, fuck.

What now?

That ridiculous faux Wizard is right behind us. I thought I told you to send in the monkeys!

Dammit, you said we didn’t need them! I left those fuckers back in Oz.

Well, umm, I think we might need them now.

Why??

Uhh, do you see those four-legged beasts on the ground chasing our balloon?

Oh, you mean those coyote-like creatures?

Yeah, but we’re not in the Americas – and those ain’t coyotes…

Ah, here we are: November 5, Claridge’s, London. This was the evening Nicola attended the Harper’s Bazaar Women of the Year awards. We’re only stopping in real quick to steal a piece of the speech Nicola gave that evening. Okay, got it! Let’s get the fuck out of here!

The part of the speech I wanted to share was this: “I did a six-month press tour for Bridgerton, the show which I love, and I’m so proud of. The amount of inappropriate questions I got asked about my appearance, about my relationship…”

Hold up. Relationship? What relationship?

Did she say “relationship” or “relationships?”

Does it fucking matter?

Well, I guess not. But what does it mean?

I could tell you what I think it means… Wait a hot-air-balloon-minute – where the fuck have you taken us? I told you we needed to go back to April 21, Aussie-time. This looks like Soho in January.

Shit, sorry. Let me fix that. Here we go…

>>> 

Umm, hey, where’s that weird little red Wizard? I swear it was just behind us…

Eh, probably got stuck in Soho, hahaha. Guess it missed its exit.

Do you think that’s a good idea?

Yeah, sure. It’ll be fine…

We’ve returned to April 21, Bowral, Australia. Now, at this point in the timeline, World Tour interviews were already well underway. In fact, the first two parts of EmEdits on YouTube are entirely pre-Australia interviews, making up roughly 6 ½ hours of screen time. I’m not the least bit surprised that “Gretchen from the Philippines” asked Luke what his thoughts were on “real life” friends-to-lovers. The chemistry between Luke and Nicola was hard to ignore.

The Australian red carpet also introduced the hand holding, which – if we took another magical mystery tour over to May 9, Italy – Nicola and Luke agreed was a sign of “love.” I suppose I could buy the excuse that one or both had so much anxiety they needed the other’s hand to remain calm on the red carpet. But, nah, I wouldn’t buy that at all – for one very specific reason. When Luke and Nicola were seen leaving (I believe) the Milton Park Country House on April 23, Luke instinctively reached for Nicola’s hand as they were descending the steps. Why? This reflex by Cool Hand Luke was as natural as a pregnant woman touching her stomach. I ask again – why?

There’s only one answer.

It’s the answer that fits with the Claddagh ring. It’s the answer that fits with the side jaunt to Galway. It’s the answer that fits with their natural chemistry, the hand holding, the canned “shared experience” and “unique relationship” responses, the playful sexual innuendos. It’s the answer that fits with Luke’s “the best foundation for love is friendship” bracelet. It’s the answer that fits with Nicola’s remark about “[t]he amount of inappropriate questions I got asked…about my relationship…” It’s the only fucking answer that makes sense.

But, the real kicker is, why don’t people believe that is the answer?

Why is it so hard to believe that Luke and Nicola could be in a real-life relationship?

That’s easy – because the Man Behind the Curtain told us so.

Who is the Man Behind the Curtain? Well, that’s also easy. It’s collectively the rag-mags and the social media creators on the prowl for a following. It’s the spread of misinformation at its worst and it’s so incredibly easy to do with, say, a pair of green-colored glasses.

Like I said, “…put these glasses on and you’ll see everything exactly the way I want you to see it.”

There was one major plot twist that came out of the World Tour, and you already know what that is. The seed was planted with a New Year’s Eve kiss, fertilized with blurry pictures, a compulsory hallway hug, and copycat photos, and encouraged to grow with a bit of junk news and a lot of social media innuendo. Now, I’m not saying the video and photographic evidence that was presented was fabricated; I’m simply suggesting the narrative that came out that evidence was skewed. The media, namely, social media creators, pushed us to plant Lutonia trees while Luke’s actions (i.e., not acknowledging the existence of Lutonia) told us to “pay no attention to the Man Behind the Curtain.”

Uh, so, what you’re saying is we shouldn’t have left that wannabe Wizard in Soho?

Ah, shit! I forgot about that fucker!

The unfortunate thing about the Lutonia narrative was that it was bolstered by insinuation that Luke would never be interested in Nicola. Now, whether these remarks were deliberately planted, or they were simply seedpods carried away by a storm, they were not overlooked by Lukolas – or Nicola. In fact, Nicola herself brushed upon it in her Harper’s Bazaar speech: “The amount of inappropriate questions I got asked about my appearance…” Yes, I’m referring to the suggestion that Luke preferred “brunettes” over “blondes.” Somehow this narrative was conveniently supported by the existence of – lo and behold! – the brunette “friend of a friend” Antonia, who happened to be slender. Again, whether it was intentional or not, the push by, initially, social media creators (and later gossip rags) to link Luke to Antonia inadvertently called the blonde in our story – Nicola – fat. I refuse to dance around that word because it is exactly what this disgusting narrative implied when it chose to compare Antonia to Nicola. Regardless of whether these gossipmongers “corrected” themselves by replacing “thin” with “brunette” and “fat” with “blonde,” the implication was that Luke would never be interested in Nicola because she had thick blonde hair. This was incredibly upsetting and confusing to many Lukolas because it was contrary to Luke’s behavior towards Nicola throughout the World Tour (and in Bridgerton behind-the-scenes clips).

I decided months ago that Luke was incredibly transparent. And, by that, I mean he’s terrible at keeping secrets. Luke himself admitted his “tell” to this was pulling at his ear – now go watch the World Tour with that information in mind. It’ll give you something to do, at the very least. Luke’s sincerity is also why the blonde versus brunette nonsense just doesn’t take flight for me. Any ways, as I hinted at earlier, Luke’s comments on the Bowral red carpet and his later comments in New York City about friends-to-lovers would – again, unfortunately – give the Man Behind the Curtain ammunition to debunk any real-life relationship between Luke and Nicola. Luke was quickly labeled as being “…dismissive of something ever happening between him and Nicola…” Those are literally the words The Tab used in an article dated May 22 to explain Luke and Nicola’s differing commentary about real-life friends-to-lovers. In fact, the article is titled, “Luke Newton has revealed the reason he’d never date Bridgerton co-star Nicola Coughlan.” Oddly – but not really given the source – Luke never actually said he would never date Nicola. But that fact didn’t stop it from becoming a theme of the World Tour – Luke didn’t believe in friends-to-lovers therefore he would never date Nicola – even though, by the end of the tour, Luke’s stance on this had seemingly changed. That’s not to say the rag-mags misquoted Luke – they didn’t – but the narrative they coiled around his words attempted to shut down the idea that Luke and Nicola would ever date in real life because Luke wasn’t interested. But what Luke was saying was that he believed in love-at-first sight. “I actually don’t think friends-to-lovers is something that happens in my life. If I meet someone, I know immediately.” Now, take that statement with the fact that Luke has repeatedly stated he remembers everything about the moment he met Nicola.

The above examples of gossip and innuendo are simply par for the course. The media manipulates facts all the time – whether it be through social media chatter or rag-mags putting their own spin on ordinary commentary – but this type of manipulation is not what puts the fandom in danger of itself. In fact, most of the gossip and innuendo that took root during the World Tour would have dissipated almost immediately after it ended – if it hadn’t been for Papsmear.

Yeah. That was disastrous.

Come to think of it, it was awfully convenient, too, don’t you think?

Absolutely. And you know what else was convenient? That little wannabe Wizard was –

Oh, yeah, I heard that, too! That clown has been trying to hand out green-colored glasses ever since!

Yep. Tried to give me a pair and I told it to go fuck itself and its little glass cat, too. I mean, they weren’t even name brand glasses. Fake ass, bitch.

All jesting aside, if you haven’t noticed already, I do, on occasion, use my writing to call out the fandom, usually as a whole. I mean, we are in this together, right? Actually, no; we ceased being Collectively Delulu after a few unsavory characters were bitten by the Hunter’s Moon and followed Nicola through the streets of New York and London. There was a major – and rather unexpected – shift in the fandom when the rabid Jakolas appeared from the dark corners of our enchanted forest. And I’m sure you’ve realized at this point in my story that I have one particular – oh, shit, I just realized I don’t even know to which fandom our wannabe Wizard belongs. Ruh-roh. Regardless, that motherfucker is in my peep sight because it is a perfect example of how fandom manipulation has reached a new level of toxicity.

Typically, I don’t care what part of the fandom you’re on. My general attitude is, to each their own. If you’re a Jakola and you find yourself spending an average of 15 minutes each week reading my Lukola blog, I applaud you for peeking outside of the den hole. Best not let Alpha find out, though. It’s all in good fun, right? I often find myself getting a good laugh from Jakola stories, especially when they theorize on the Woman Behind the Curtain. Question, though – did you find her? In all seriousness, if I didn’t consider Jakola and Lutonia perspectives, I would be borderline Conscientiously Stupid, now, wouldn’t I? After all, the desire for knowledge is what ultimately gave our Scarecrow his brain.

However, what I don’t find “in good fun” is when social media creators prey on more than one side of the fandom under phony pretense, namely, that they “just want Nicola to be happy.” Oh, these Cowardly Lions may argue that they’re simply being “neutral” – and, yes, I’m sure some instances of this do exist – however, neutrality does not embrace openly ridiculing one fandom over another, especially on a platform that is touted by its owners as being a “safe space” for everyone. The problem with these so-called “neutral creators” is that they’re only here for social media engagement – the clicks and the giggles – and they defect to the other side when the going gets tough. If you, too, take issue with this kind of creator, be soothed in knowing that when you play two sides, you find yourself with two-times the number of enemies.

What makes these so-called “neutral creators” – actually, let’s just call them the “Defectors” – so poisonous to the fandom is that they are made from the grease drippings found at the bottom of the barrel of the Conscientiously Stupid. The Conscientiously Stupid are one thing – they are the ones using their platforms to spread misinformation because they choose to ignore exculpatory evidence (i.e., they’re headstrong in their beliefs) – but the Defectors are typically the ones creating the misinformation and feeding it to the Conscientiously Stupid and then hanging them out to dry when the information proves to be false. The Conscientiously Stupid who refuse to “lose the battle” then resort to bullying (more so than usual) the Sincerely Ignorant of an opposing fandom. And in defense of their Sincerely Ignorant comrades (or simply because they’re sick and tired of the Conscientiously Stupid preventing anyone from having nice things), the Fact Finders – unceremoniously, I might add – have taken their own place on the battlefield (oh, yes, they are absolutely your tactical commanders). Now, the entire fandom is at war with each other – all because some wannabe Wizard – a Defector – convinced people to look through a pair of shiny, green-colored glasses. More than once.

Is it appropriate – or perhaps a bit catty – to put “ceasefire” here?

Ah, yes, well, uh, we have found ourselves a bit far from Oz at this point, haven’t we?

I suppose – but we are trying to help Dorothy find her way back home, and at least we now have an idea as to how she got lost.

Maybe one day we will get her back to Kansas.

Yeah, maybe.

Oh, silly me! I forgot to sneak in a sly reference to Dorothy’s third companion – the Tin Man! He’s perfect for the end of our story. You know, in the book, the Wizard was just an ordinary man who stumbled into his Ozian existence on a magnificent hot air balloon and took advantage of the power that Emerald citizens bestowed upon him. Yeah, yeah, yeah, the Wizard preyed on the naïve using deception and the power of suggestion and invoked fear in anyone who dared to question his authority –

Uh, where are you going with this?

Give me a minute!

Like I said – shit, where was I? – Oh, yes, the Wizard was just an ordinary man, and ordinary people are flawed. We all make mistakes. This is where our Tin Man comes in as he represents love and empathy. Yes, empathy; the ability to put yourself in someone else’s shoes, to understand and forgive, to take into consideration someone’s redeeming qualities –

You know that Wizard defected in his hot air balloon before taking Dorothy home, right?

Wait, what?

Okay, okay. It was Toto’s fault but the Wizard sure as shit didn’t come back for her!

Hmm, you’d almost think Toto knew the Wizard’s true colors all along…

“Au revoir, Wiz.”

[puppiekit]

One thing about the warriors Mapleshade hate train era of the fandom that still pisses me off actually is how people swore up and down that Mapleshade MUST be an unreliable narrator and so therefore nothing she expirienced or thought could be in any way accurate.

When in reality it was just the fandom making up bullshit headcanons out of thin air and portraying it as canon just so they can excuse Thunderclans blatant hatred/xenophobia, assault of a mother, and banishment of literal babies. Nobody wants to admit the fact that Mapleshade was severely screwed over and had every right to be pissed the hell off! (and don't get me wrong murder is inexcusable but like.... you guys baby so many other murderers in this series please stop playing)

Because outright saying "Mapleshade lying is worthy of assault and/or death" will reasonably earn you a WTF response, so people exaggerate her aggressors victimhood by making up bullshit about Mapleshade being a "baby trapper" or an "overtly possessive toxic girlfriend", and/or crafting some make-believe soppy sad backstory for Frecklewish. All to make Maples decision to lie seem worse than it in actuality was, or actively malicious in nature, and deserving of the recieved "punishment" (assault and death of her children).

Like... I cannot state enough how much it pisses me off when people discredit *the literal POV expiriences of the book protagonist* just to make up random crap about her clanmates and craft some elaborate tale where Maple is the worst and has sucked all along. When we know literally nothing about them, and especially Frecklewish, except that she made a stupid assumption, is willing to beat a mother in front of their kids, and quiet frankly didn't actually give a shit about those kids the moment she realized they weren't blood related. LOL

Like completley out of nowhere people decided Mapleshade lying was the worst crime ever commited in the history of the series... UNLESS you're literally any other character in the series to do it like Bluestar Leafpool Squirrelflight Yellowfang etc etc etc.... When they get flack for lying it's unfair and they were doing what they thought was right! But also it's completely unacceptable for Mapleshade to lie about her children's half-clan heritage in an environment where her peers are violently hateful and xenophobic. Because it hurt their feelings ... LOL

And don't even get me started on the fact that, quiet frankly, Frecklewish and Oakstar were being unreasonable from the very beginning by being hateful and blaming Riverclan for their loved ones death. They literally sent their son/brother INTO BATTLE and are now mad that he DIED? What the hell do they think happens when you send people out to beat eachother up (often to the death)??

Battle and death is such a normal and accepted part of clan culture it genuinely baffles me people dont realize that, as understandable as their grief, their anger/hatred is pretty crazy, even if Appledusk *had* killed Birchface. They were wrong to assume Birchface was the father and they were wrong to project their hatred on Mapleshade and her kits. Not a single action made by them was reasonable or excusable. You don't put that kind of pressure on a single mother who *explicitly avoided stating her kits father* and get all mad when it isn't who you assumed it to be. Like it's next level stupidity

[scentedmiracleobject]

Oh, no shadow and bone, and the spin-off got canceled. So tragic. Let me act like I didn't see it coming since the release of S2.

The cast deserved better. Best wishes for them in their careers 😊

But

- The way they rushed through S&B plot, Y'all cheered for it because to you, it meant the quicker they wrap s&b, the quicker you get your crows spin off. Having 0 regard to s&b plot, fandom, and characters.

-When they ruined Darklina scenes, and Darklina fans complained about how they changed the tether and their relationship as whole in S2, Y'all enjoyed it at that time. Look who is laughing now 😂

The way the Crows fans disrespected s&b fans saying shit like "we are the ones carrying the show on our back" and "S&B is so boring, give us the crows" " I speed past s&b characters to see my babies "

-The way the writers disregarded S2 during its streaming and started talking about the spin off dialogs instead of promoting S2.

- The way they used darklina in every meeting to promote before the release when they actually fucked it in the actual show.

- The way they put an anti darkling/darklina in charge of their accounts in Social Media.

Again, the hate that darklina fans got for liking the ship, and the way they got pushed aside by the entire fandom ( even tho darklina is the most active with the most views in terms of: posts, fanfictions, fanarts, fanedits).

Now we know who carried the show for a S2 🫢

I guess watching multiple times on repeat didn't work out 😜

Y'all have been lying to yourselves saying S2 was great, but now you've got a reality check ✔️ rottentomatoes 🍅 says hi 👋

Also, this is officially the third time SoC gets rejected by Netflix 🤡 You hear that Eric??

[funhouse-mirror-barbie]

I’ve seen people on Twitter talk about how Hazbin Hotel was snubbed since it wasn’t nominated for an Emmy and talking about how people who don’t like the show are happy about it and like.

Idk I can only speak for myself, but tbh I’m kinda sad that the show, from the beginning, just…wasn’t good. Not Emmy good, at the very least. (more below)

There’s this weird expectation that, if you are at all critical or dissatisfied with what the Hazbin show ended up being, that you’re a horrible person who is obsessed with seeing everyone who worked on the project fail, and have just hated the show and its creator since the beginning of time and like…

I did not want the show to be bad!! I was really hoping that I’d be wrong, that I’d be pleasantly surprised, that the show would be entertaining and well written and paced. But, for me, it just wasn’t.

I have tried to be very forthcoming about the things I liked and what I wished the show would have focused on more. I wanted to like the show!!! I would have LOVED the show if its writing and animation were on par with other adult animated shows.

However when it came out, it had a LOT of problems, and it seems really clear to me that the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences picked up on them, just as I did.

It’s so odd to me that a lot of Hazbin “super-fans” think that if you’re critical of the show you must hate it, because the majority of people I’ve spoken to who are very critical of the series ARE fans of the series who felt disappointed by it when it actually came out.

Switching gears a bit—It’s genuinely kind of disheartening to see so many people prop the show up as if it was the best most perfect best show ever when, in reality, Hazbin is a perfectly serviceable and fun show, but is not as deep or as well-crafted as it claims to be, and as a lot of other adult animation that’s out right now.

Recently, I’ve seen this belief develop in some fandoms that what you love needs to be somehow validated or “proven” to be good by winning an award or receiving accolades.

And while I definitely understand the desire to see something you love be recognized for the artistry that’s put into it, the truth is that sometimes there are really really good pieces of art and media that don’t get the recognition they deserve, and there are really really bad pieces of art and media that are treated like holy grails.

Like I’m saying all of this as someone who’s favorite movie is fucking Tron: Legacy. I LOVE Tron Legacy. It’s so fun and I love the characters and environment. But it’s also bad!!! It’s a very convoluted plot, and characters don’t get a lot of development and it has the “born sexy yesterday” trope which I hate and it’s one of my favorite movies of all time!!! I love it!!

But it doesn’t have to be a perfect masterpiece for it to be a masterpiece to me personally. I can recognize that while I love it, it’s not particularly amazing by any means. It’s kind of a shit show. The story and writing and cinematography don’t deserve any big awards. But I love it and that’s all that matters!

I do not think that Hazbin Hotel deserves any awards for being an excellent television show, and I can also really see why the people who decide Emmy nominations did not nominate it.

But who cares what I think!! My favorite movie is Tron Legacy! And I completely unironically love the 1993 Super Mario Bros. Movie!!!

The point I’m trying to make is that, while yes, it can be disappointing when something you love isn’t recognized, but that shouldn’t take away the value the show has to you if you love it.

Hazbin Hotel can be a bad show, and it can still be your favorite show that you love more than anything. Tron Legacy can be a bad movie and I can still love it and think it’s peak cinema. It’s okay. It’s okay to like and love media that isn’t perfect. It’s okay to criticize the media you love.

[damnfandomproblems]

https://www.tumblr.com/damnfandomproblems/739064506502791168/fandom-problem-4499-i-think-sometimes-people-get

Thing is op

People like to use "coded" as an excuse to harrass others over a fictional character

"this character is minor-coded therefor if you like them or draw them sexy then you are a pedo"

"this character is gay-coded so if you ship them qith the opposite gender your homophobic"

"this character is autism-coded so if you dont see them that way you are ableist."

"this character is poc coded and if you dont portray them that way then you are racist"

And then they go and rip people to shreds over it. And most of the time they are actually "coded" as anything.

Ill give you a good example as to why coding should just fucking die in fandom.

In transformers (all of them afaik) there is a sentient ROBOT named Jazz. He is often voiced by a black voice actor, even in the early days of Generation 1 in 1984. Though it changes a few times Jazz is well known for his accented voice. Jazz (the music) is also known to be pioneered by black people.

In a way jazz is black coded. He is designed with all these elements related to black people.

The thing is. Jazz is a fucking robot. "Jazz" is the name he chose for himself because his cybertronian name does not translate or cannot be spoken by humans. Jazz is also a type of music he only heard when he arrived on earth and is something he loves, hence why he chose the name. He chooses to express himself in such a way because its what he enjoys.

It does not mean he is black. A white person can do all that because they have a love for jazz music. It isnt going to make them "black coded"

He is also again, a robot. Not human. Not even organic.

However of all the problems ive seen in the TF fandom the one about whether you should draw a human version of Jazz as black or white is probably the one thats sets people who give a shit off the most.

It doesn't matter what characteristics a character has. It doesnt matter if Jazz is drawn as black or white. Cuz he isn't human. Its literally up to fan interpretation and none of them are wrong but people want to shit fling, and react hostile over others not drawing him as black anyway.

Same could be said about a certain more popular pink skinned character (who is also human and japanese but when have people ever viewed japanese people as important.)

You can have your queer coded villains. Doesn't actually say they are queer. Hell in the past it would be done as a way to demonize queerness and traits. But queer people still loved those villains because they could relate to their tragedies.

What "coding" actually is, is a part of the design process to add depth and character. It's an inspiration born from reality. But it's not always that the character is meant to be that thing.

Theres a character from genshin impact i could say is "DID-coded" because when she falls alseep or is so stressed she passes out there is another version of her that takes her place that she doesnt know about.

In the same vein theres the game "At Dead of Night" (recommend it, its a horror game) where the main antagonist is possessed and murders people. They even had to put a disclaimer that the character didnt have DID and the game wasnt made to demonize people with DID or portray them as unstable serial killers. However despite the creators saying that, fans still "DID-code" the antagonist, not out of hatred for people with DID but because some people with DID still relate to the character. Not so much the killing people but the struggle the antagonist has with "being possessed". Having DID can be a frustrating and tiring experience and not many cope with it very well even when they do no harm. Feeling of loss of control is very relatable even without DID.

Regardless the rampant "coding everything trend" in fandom has caused a new "ship war" like wave of harrassment. If you dont view a character this was your a horrible person and you deserve *insert graphic content and threats of harm and suibaiting and more*

coding can be a cool thing to discover while analyzing a character or even creating one. But its become hated with good reason because people have no reason left in them. Coding is a cool way of adding depth and nuance to a character and would actually REALLY help beginners with their "bland" characters. Unfortunately even thats discouraged, since it can be seen as "baiting" or "stereotyping" and sometimes appropriating culture. (But a giant sentient robot making his entire personality about jazz music isn't? Lol)

Posting since this is a response to a previous problem.

[positivelybeastly]

Any concern that evil beast is still technically alive trapped within a pocket dimension or whatever the fuck his plan for arakko was?

"I hope not."

"Not because I wish death upon him. I never wished that. If nothing else, his actions at the end prove that there was still something - enough, of me, in him, that . . . I don't know. I wish it could have gone differently."

"No, I hope he isn't alive because I don't want to think about what that would be like. Trapped, in a pocket of reality all of your own. Just you. Floating, endlessly, in the void. No light, no passage of time. Just you, and the steady, inexorable drum of your heartbeat. Just you, and time to think. About your failures. About the world you can't be a part of anymore. About the people you left behind.

Norman Cousins once said, 'The eternal quest of the individual human being is to shatter his loneliness.' What would such an existence be, but purely lonely?

I hope he's dead because he doesn't deserve that. No-one does."

I mean, I guess it's technically still on the table since we didn't see a body, but I don't think there's anyone really interested in picking up that plot thread. Jed MacKay, the next confirmed writer for Hank, has expressed his love for 80s Beast on many an occasion, and even said he couldn't get Hank for his Avengers team because of X-Force.

Even if one assumes he isn't salty about that, then I certainly can't see him looking upon this era and this version of Beast with any real affection. Honestly, the people who express that they'll miss evil Beast just confuse me.

What is there to miss? His characterisation, as put to page, is dogwater. It's a load of soundbites with no substance. He doesn't contribute anything that Dark Beast doesn't, and Dark Beast is funnier, more entertaining, and more sympathetic than he is!

If they want to pull a Crossing, say that evil Beast got shunted into a pocket dimension, and they yank him out to merge the two, then I'd be down, but if it's not that exact storyline, I'm not interested. I'm just so very . . . sick, and tired of evil Beast. I can't even go on Twitter and enjoy X-Men '97 discourse without people harping on about it.

Like, look, I get it, gatekeeping is bad, but sometimes I think it's necessary. Sometimes I do just want to pull out a card that says, 'You aren't qualified to talk about Hank McCoy's characterisation unless you've read the following comic series and understand these basic tenets of his character.'

This is why I hate comic book fandom. Media literacy is startlingly low. Maybe it's all the pictures. People don't actually read the goddamn words.

Makes me just want to

But anyway, to your point. I guess the potential is there, and in, like, seven years, someone might pull out another Beast out of a fucking portal and I'll just groan because really, we're doing this again, but I doubt it just because there hasn't been a single writer all across Marvel who's been like, yeah, evil Beast, love that shit, gimme that guy!

Everyone from Kieron Gillen to Rainbow Rowell to Tom Brevoort is just like, "can we knock that shit off?" "I'm pretending it doesn't exist." "Can S.W.O.R.D come back?"

Jed MacKay, open your adjectiveless X-Men run with Hank and Simon cuddling and kissing on the sofa. It's what I, personally, deserve after five years of Ben Percy.

[andorerso]

A couple things re: this Maarva drama. Because apparently, it bears repeating again.

There have been numerous posts calling out Tony Gilroy for writing this storyline. No one's excusing him, believe me. In fact, I blame him the most obviously, since he's the real person who made the choice to write this. But we're also allowed to criticize Maarva in the context of the show's reality. The fact that she's a woman being written by a man doesn't absolve her if we're looking at it from an in-universe perspective. Every single character is just being written by someone. None of them are real. We can and often do still discuss their actions as if they're real though because we're looking at it from an in-universe perspective, this is not uncommon in any fandom. And in-universe, Maarva still kidnapped Cassian and treated him like shit.

Syril's mom is abusive too, yes. But everyone recognizes that. The difference is that she's written to be an antagonist, and Maarva's written to be a hero. That's why we're talking about her, and not Eedy. Because everyone knows Eedy sucks, but Maarva gets put on a pedestal both by the show and the fans time and time again. (Case in point.) And there's a large gap between emotional abuse and coddling. We didn't want Cassian to be coddled, we wanted him to be loved and supported, and not constantly berated and criticized and belittled and talked to like an object. Are we really the bad guys for wanting a good parent for Cassian? Doesn't he deserve that?

And for the last time, criticizing a female character for the shitty things they did is not misogyny. It's not about "hating women," it's about hating Maarva specifically. For very specific reasons. Like drugging and kidnapping a frightened child and separating him from his sister and his homeworld and everything and everyone he ever knew. If you don't think that's a legit reason to hate someone, regardless of their gender, then there's not much else to talk about here because it tells me everything I need to know. The thing is that being a woman doesn't mean you're a saint, idk if you know this but some women suck! In fiction and in real life too. It's genuinely insulting to imply that we hate her because of misogyny because it couldn't be further from the truth, especially when we provided multiple explanations time and time again of why we actually hate her.

And yes, Clem was absolutely guilty too. I even agree that some people are too forgiving on him. But that doesn't excuse Maarva from responsibility. "Actually Clem and Eedy suck too" is not a legit argument to defend this woman. Great, they all suck. Now what? Does that make Maarva's actions better? No, it doesn't.

[scoops404]

this is late! but i'm always curious with rpf writers: how do you consider the 'characters' you write about against the real person? as in, how do you personally manage the separation between the two? especially in regards to shipping as the fandom as a whole seems to veer more towards truthing and an assumption that we, as fans, are able to truly perceive these people.

i see you're very respectful of the creators boundaries in regards to personal information that hasn't been freely given. has this ever been a struggle for you? it's almost impossible not to learn things about creators that has been obtained by shady means as there's an obviously toxic community dedicated to stalking and doxing creators and then using that information to harass fans by shoving it in their face. hopefully this hasn't happened to you but if it has and you've been unwillingly shown personal information about the people you're writing about, how do you personally deal with that while writing to ensure you're respectful of their right to privacy?

sorry if this is a bit more esoteric than you were asking for! i won't be offended if you choose not to answer :) love your writing! you're definitely one of my go-to authors if people ask for recs!

It took me a while longer to get to this ask because I wanted to think on it, hope you don't mind :)

Also, this got super long so it's below the cut

I never for one second have thought I actually know the ccs, in any of the rpf fandoms I've been in. I was trying to think of how I've always felt that distinction, and honestly, I think it's because I've read so many AUs that it's easier to separate fic!cc from irl!cc - dunno if that helps, but for me it's like the written versions in stories are so different because they always have the tone of the author in the style of the piece, the "characters" are filtered through their eyes, no matter how grounded in their quirks and vernacular the author is, they can't 100% take themselves out of it. That's how I always see the distinction, i guess. No idea if this is making sense to anyone else.

Moreover, I've also always believed the ccs deserve their privacy, so for someone to write a story about them and think they haven't missed any nuances of who these people are as people, is like so dumb? We can't 100% know them, and we SHOULDN'T 100% know them. There should be a wall dividing us from them.

As far as writing them--some stories they are completely different but you have to reach at something true about them and expand on it. I'm talking mostly about AUs like thief and cop AU or king and knight AU because those obviously have dynamics that aren't inherent in our Dream and George. For the style of fic I like to write, which is mostly IRL or "reality" based with a twist, you can only guess at what you think is real and true to each one of them and focus on drawing that part of them out, in regards to whatever the plot needs. With "Fallen," George's mom's divorce is the catalyst that draws them together, so we needed the angst of George seeing that relationship fall apart and wondering if his relationship with Dream will inevitably go the same way. In "Deep in the Dream of Game" their lives are at stake and so the protective side of each of them comes out and the strategist side of Dream that works to get them home and keep everybody together and alive. I hope that makes sense. In "Shine Here to Us" George's jealousy of Dream having a child with someone else prompts him to rearrange his life (again) in order to be the closest person to Dream, to do it with him.

We've seen snippets of private George, of how he keeps information close to his chest, how he doesn't talk about past relationships, etc and I channeled that into Fallen. We've seen Dream be protective over George -- the cooking stream and telling him not to put his hand in hot oil, "Tiktok fix your shit", etc and I channeled that into Deep in Dream. Anytime Dream expresses interest in someone else, George gets jealous (I feel like this happened with Foolish) -- and thus a nugget for Shine here to us.

I do try to be respectful of their boundaries. Before George's last name was in his meet-up vlog, I'd seen it in lots of stories and that never sat right with me. Not in a way where I'm passing judgment on those writers, I wouldn't, it's just a line I myself wouldn't cross. I've made guesses at things based on stories they've freely told us, but I've been lucky enough to avoid doxxed info. I came into fandom twitter space (where most of it seemed to leak) after that seemed to die down--or I was lucky enough to avoid it, I dunno. My friends said there were times doxxed info would be in replies to cc'd tweets and I never saw that, which I'm grateful for. I've been on tumblr a LONG time, but on this account, I've never gotten critblur asks like most of the big blogs did (So I've been told after the fact, and also THIS IS NOT AN INVITATION TO SEND THEM TO ME, DO NOT). So, I don't go looking, and I don't incorporate private information into my stories.

I think if I had been shown private info, I'm pretty good at forgetting things. I have to double check stories with my friends and betas all the time, so I think I'd be okay at not using that info.

It's interesting to me to see the line of fandom moving as I've aged in fandom. A lot of people in this community are young (which is great!) but the "rules" of this fandom are a lot different from other fandoms. Though, I do think it's really cool to have the main three--dream team--cool with being shipped and written about. I think Dream made a really smart choice when he was blowing up. (not to say I think he played into queerbaiting--he's a person not a corporation and can't queerbait. I'm pretty sure he and George are just like that.)

I firmly believe he did a lot of research on cultivating a fandom when he started popping off and when he realized his audience was primarily LGBT and leaning female, he embraced it and encouraged them in things that female leaning people tend to do in fandom, which is, mostly transformative works. There's an interesting article that i can't find that talks about the traditional "roles" of men vs women in fandom spaces and men do more archiving and collecting ((think racecars, pokemon cards, mcc reddit spreadsheets, etc)) which is not to say women can't do that, but apparently women lean more towards writing fan fiction and drawing fan art. I think that article didn't talk about trans or nonbinary people but I see a LOT of them in this space, which is, again, amazing.

Anyway, Dream's growth in large part is tied to not only his creative videos and terrific editing skills, but the cultivation of a fandom that he allows full creative freedom--edits, tiktoks, analysis videos, fanfic, and fan art!! I don't know any other cc who encourages artists as much as Dream and I think that's really helped him.

But I do think that sometimes people confuse him being open with his fans to being open in the sense that they are owned information about him. They aren't. They never will be. He tells us way more than we deserve to know and way more than other ccs tell their fans. I block those people and keep it moving.

Sorry that this got way off track, lmao. Clearly I just needed to ramble about fandom stuff for a while. Sorry.

Thank you for reccing my fics, that's lovely to hear! I really love writing for this community :D

[heathscringecompilation]

6,7 and 8 for the character ask game

YAY THANK YOU!!!! I'll put my answers under the cut cuz I started yapping

6. What's something you have in common with this character?

welp, it's kinda embarrassing to admit:') honestly my ego can get so high I sometimes relate to the way he thinks he's hot shit (yay pun!) when in reality he's a clumsy dork that should have a danger sign ⚠️ following him around:p I also tend to have ppl laugh at me and god it feels good either way, attention is attention (im not even specially funny or anything, I'm just genuinely kinda socially dumb) I'm also really short and into tall girl who deserve better /j

7. What's something the fandom does when it comes to this character that you like?

I answered a bit more of this here but overall when ppl just take him as face value (am I using that expression right?) and insist about how he's just a misogynistic guy character, which for a lot of his screen time he IS reduced to exactly that and it irks me, tbh the way male characters are treated in monster high and other "girl" centred media is like this too, but yeah it's a whole thing, like not showing positive masculinity but instead pitting girls against boys in their narratives, it used to annoy me as a gender nonconforming kid and it still annoys me as a gender nonconforming adult:p

I personally love when in fanart ppl draw him with freckles or with piercings (even tho, I don't think he'd actually get piercings, probably just clip ons heheh) and the fact we all agree he's short and pan/bi cuz so true

8. What's something the fandom does when it comes to this character that you despise?

[ciaossu-imagines]

Numbers 7, 12, 16, and 21 for KHR from the choose violence ask game🔥🔥🔥? Don’t hold back

Ohh, thank you so much for popping into the ask box, though I fear you’re going to get me into some trouble, my lovely anon! I’ll do my best to answer honestly and hold nothing back though!

7. What character did you begin to hate, not because of canon, but because how the fandom acts about them?

Honestly, I have gone through phases with all of the super popular characters, save for Gokudera who I have always adored. It’s mostly because I’d end up getting so many requests to write for one specific character for so long that I’d just eventually grow to hate them because Jesus, if I had to write one more thing about them, explore the same idea with them one more time, I’d go mad. Nowadays, people are actually really good about balancing things out, and I just generally love all the characters.

12. The unpopular character that you actually like and why more people should like them?

Shamal. Iemitsu. Longchamp. Adelheid. Nana. Luce. Skull. Basically, hand me a hated character and I will tell you why they deserve love and how many interesting, fascinating aspects there are to the character. Seriously, I love all of them so much, especially Shamal and Iemitsu, who I think are really complex and interesting men underneath of these very deliberate facades that they throw on. Also, I’m just putting it out there, but I really hate it when females characters get nothing but hate thrown at them and all of KHR’s female character’s needed to be better utilized, most fucking definitely, but they weren’t bad characters in and of themselves and they deserve love too.

16. You can’t understand why so many people like this thing (characterization, trope, headcanon, etc.)

I don’t think it’s nearly as popular as it used to be, thank god, but there was a time when a really popular question in fandom, including KHR, was ‘if you could rewrite the canon, what would you fix?’ and the answer in the KHR-verse was honestly rarely ever things that needed to be fixed (all over the place pacing during the arcs, inconsistent characterization, retconning out of nowhere) and almost always was ‘well, I’d make it so that Tsuna was more bad-ass, stronger, and much more ruthless and that he wouldn’t be such a wimp about taking over’. And hey, cool, that’s an option but that’s what fanfiction is for, to explore those what if’s. If that was canon, we wouldn’t have anything at all like what we have for characters, story points, relationships between characters, etc, because our protagonist would be the exact opposite of what we had. We wouldn’t have KHR at all because someone like the ’dream Tsuna’ wouldn’t have made the friendships he did, wouldn’t have forged the bonds he did. The entire story would have been much darker, without much in the way of comedy, and would have been gritty seinen because I’ve read other manga with pretty much that premise. If we made those changes, we wouldn’t have KHR. We’d have an entirely different series and I honestly don’t know if it would have had the impact on all of us it did end up having. And I also don’t agree that Tsuna is weak or a bad character for being so reluctant to take over the Mafia, even after everything. I really enjoyed that part of his character. If I wanted something different, there are other stories for that – hell, if we’re talking about Mafia Bosses who were initially very reluctant to become a boss and really wish they had been able to do something else with their lives, but who stepped up and accepted their hand in life, we have Niccolo from Servamp. There, solid example of someone who’s wimpy and doesn’t want to fight, but will step up and be the leader of his Mafia family. That’s the dream Tsuna – an entirely different character. And again, I’m not shitting on the alternate reality type Tsuna idea, where he is that ruthless Mafia boss. It can be a fun AU, I see the appeal in it, the idea has a lot of merit, and it’s one I’ve seen fanfic do well but that’s exactly what it is – fanfic, which is made for that. Saying that the entire protagonist needs to be completely rewritten into his polar opposite to make the canon ‘good’ instead of just being like ‘wouldn’t it be cool if…’ kind of means that maybe this wasn’t the show and manga for you, or at least that’s my opinion on the whole thing.

21. Part of canon you think is overhyped

Hibari. Hibari Hibari Hibari. I love the character, I find him fascinating, I truly enjoy him so please don’t hate on me thinking that I don’t. It’s the way canon treated him. Hibari’s only really been defeated early on in the manga, and in canon he does come across as almost infallible as a fighter and that makes zero sense to me. Yes, I get a character being strong but Hibari comes across, at times, as almost overpowered and what I hate the most is that, for the most part, he really does remain largely stagnant. I get that, as the Cloud, he’s the least focused upon Guardian because he’s off and doing his own stuff, but I feel like every time he pops up in the story, I know exactly what to expect, what’s going to happen without fail, he never gets his own real arc, he seems to have zero struggles at all throughout the manga, and that bothers me. I feel like Hibari, had more time been spent on him or had he been more fleshed out as a character, could’ve been something truly spectacular, one of my favourite characters of all time, and I’ve seen fanon of him that almost reaches those levels but he just wasn’t utilized as well as he could have been. Another thing? Bel and Siel, the twins. Such a great build-up, such a great reveal showing Siel was alive and then…nothing. I wanted a show-down between Bel and his brother so bad but there was really nothing there and I still feel like both Siel and Bel were robbed of what could have been incredible moments for the both of them by the mangaka just trying to speed along an arc that had already dragged on for quite a while.

[carolingarts]

I have personal beef with William Afton taking care of his kids head canon and it's not because of the reason you'd think.

My reasons are twofold. There's a distinct lack of nuance in the FNAF fandom. It's very possible for William to care about his kids in a crappy way and still be a monster or have a nuanced relationship but my beef is not with that.

It's very possible for him to be a decent person motivated by personal demons and torture - but those who believe that need to gut check yourselves because when the actor calls him the "voldemort" of the series and there are some very obvious similarities between him and other characters my dude is not good.

Yet this is not my beef with the issue. This is not my personal borderline violent beef. My beef is twofold.

Anyone who wants to explore that sense of nuance (this is a guy who actually doesn't just eat puppies and shit evil and kick children down the street like bowling balls.) has to deal with people on both sides - the "this man can do no wrong" side and the "this man is the ultimate terror" side. Which if you don't have a strong constitution results in conversations like this.

Individual: I think this character has some nuance and maybe in another reality...-?

Second individual: I disagree with your opinion.

Individual: Ah. Well that's a shame-

Second individual: I don't just disagree with you. I despise you utterly. your very existence is a blight on mine. Everything wrong in this world is your fault. Everything wrong that has ever happened to humans is your fault. Don't just unalive yourself, do the world a favor. Unalive your entire bloodline, anyone who has ever had contact with you, and then go to God and beg the higher powers of the universe to erase your existence from reality. If you were on fire I'd put you out, then I'd get gasoline and set you on fire again so that I could watch you burn.

And I take issue with that mostly because of the idea that there are a lot of people who do that and then feel so constricted idea wise that they cancel their stuff and make it original works. Now I love that. That's the best thing. I keep seeing people talking about their fnaf fics however and how sad they are but how excited they are that they are now original and I don't like the idea that anybody's points of view (unless they are truly oppressive violent and evil) are cast aside. Funny bear game opinions and thoughts don't deserve people being yelled at because they think different.

2. I'm gonna get my ass handed to me for this. But it has to be done. It has to be put in bold letters so the world will see it. Seeing aside the ideas pertaining to work I want to say 2 things:

Scott Cawthorn is a great *great* game designer.

Scott Cawthorn is a *terrible fucking writer*.

That's not entirely his fault but I had an epiphany which led to this rant which has to do with my ultimate fucking beef with the humans of this series. How they are all really badly written, how they are all like so confusing it starts shit like my point in one...

Yeah, the pixelated characters. Who never really had an identity until like...5 years in?

It hit me the other day that they reminded me of something. Mario.

The original 1985 mario description in the instruction booklet is this:

<b>One day the kingdom of the peaceful mushroom people was invaded by the Koopa, a tribe of turtles famous for their black magic. The quiet, peace-loving Mushroom People were turned into mere stones, bricks and even field horsehair plants, and the Mushroom Kingdom fell into ruin.

The only one who can undo the magic spell on the Mushroom People and return them to their normal selves is the Princess Toadstool, the daughter of the Mushroom King. Unfortunately, she is presently in the hands of Bowser, the King of the Koopa.

Mario hears about the Mushroom People’s plight and sets out on a quest to free the Mushroom Princess from the evil Koopa and restore the fallen kingdom of the Mushroom People.

You are Mario! It’s up to you to save the Mushroom People from the black magic of the Koopa!</b>

Simple and to the point right? Not a lot of detailed backstory? Kid's game.

Then you get to sonic who was apparently modeled on <i>Bill Clinton</i> which if you are familiar with Sonic!lore and you know some of the more iconic...figures is <i>really kind of hilarious</i> in the worst fucking way.

And then it hits me.

Of course these guys don't have consistent and solid backstories. They are <i>eight bit pixel game characters who were never supposed to.</i> and the stuff that comes out after it <i>explains it</i>.

But Scott, in his effort to capitalize on his property and I cannot blame him at fucking all, tried to put in video game easter eggs that make the pixelated characters into something more human, in what is supposed to be a sonic and mario style game - a simple kids game - and <i>that's when shit clicked.</i>

So Scott is a <i>great</i> game designer, but he's a crappy writer. Not maliciously! He was making a triple A game story on a pixel character's budget. TBQH it would be super cool if he'd built a whole mario-esque studio and in a way he kind of finally has with the glamrock characters and steel wool. It's not <i>about</i> the humans and yeah - cause the humans <i>screwed up</i> which is why all the stuff with the games is vaguewashed in Help Wanted 1. "Well this is slander made up by a video game guy."

It's why the character who's the most obvious scott avatar - the video game creator guy - is genuinely panicked and ends up feeling trapped by his creations.

It's the reason why this dude is living like a fucking hermit and why he keeps making this jokes about disappointing people. if people figure it out - that his characters <i>were supposed to have very simple backstories that people like matpat kept making ridiculously complicated</i>. If people found out they were effectively just supposed to be mario-levels of simple. Bad guy defeats good guy - but no. No he had a triple A story in a pixel budget which makes sense. He was doing it himself.

"That's it! That's the connection!" - Eddie Valiant (who framed Roger Rabbit.)

All the lore's a sham that he tied himself into a knot over until he could get to the books...but how do you translate fucking <i>Doctor Robotnik</i> to a character like William Afton?

So yeah. He's a great game designer who made great characters but a bad writer ...because he tried to shoehorn in a triple A storyline into a pixel kids game on the level with Mario and Sonic.

"but kyle he's a good writer-"

One man - especially this dude with his politics - would not be happy with anyone considering his work like the bible. "But it's open to interpretation-" sure. <i>Because people are having cognitive dissonance over the story</i>.

It's not fucking complex and yet complex. It's simple and yet not simple. It's trying to introduce stuff in real time and...it's done badly because it seems like there's no real motive for the main characters and Scott hasn't set a firm boundary in that "this is what really happened" because - somehow despite his politics - he seems like a decent person who wants to make kids happy. and make his fans happy. Which I kinda get. I mean Miyamoto-san is supposed

Cause it's not about the humans it's about the robots.

"But he knows what's happening-"

Yeah he does *now* because he's accepting he wrote a triple A game story with Nintendo ideals and game design elements. Maybe - but again he's not gonna admit to it which is why there are <i>so many holes and reasons for the shit to be so confusing and cause so much fucking drama.</i> He's never come out and said <i>this is what happened</i> because he's <i>never conclusively been able to say this is what happened</i>. "Look to the books to explain some backstory...but also look to the other books to fill in the story going forward" The back half of that is the better written stuff cause he's course correcting but the front half and why it's so disconnected is the issue.

Also it's a serious issue but I'm gonna close with that.

Especially because, especially because so many people built their careers on all of this. It can be argued that FNAF launched a lot of current culture regarding youtube and lets plays. It shaped childhoods the same way Mario and Sonic and Zelda did his. And that's a lot of pressure for one person.

(does this mean I forgive him his politics fuck no I focus on paying my dues and trying to make donations to offset the karma for this fucking shit thing I love so much.)

The final part is the serious issue stuff and that's that <i>you can't do a nintendo style game with the kind of subject material that FNAF talks about.</i>

That's where my brain was trying to find the nugget of fuckery.

<i>That's</i> where I was losing it.

You can't write a kids game <i>about the kind of material that FNAF deals with</i> and that's what it started out as.

You can't have a funny Doctor Robotnik esque <i>child murderer</i>

In fact. <i>IN FACT</I> READING ABOUT ROBOTNIK HOLY FUCKING SHIT. AFTON IS FUCKING ROBOTNIK

Robotnik's whole goal is to turn the world into his perfect empire and make his perfect creations.

That's...effectively Afton's goal too but you know. With <i>kids</i>.

so that's it. Like. that's solving it to me and it explains my beef with it. and I'll argue - I don't know it's a weird visual depiction of an 8 bit game crossing into a triple A story?

Because it's a triple A story *for sure* one that I hope Steel Wool does something with. *But fucking Hell* that's it. I'm not out (Damn I'll never be out.) But suddenly a lot of things make sense.

I have absolutely no idea what to do with this information but holy shit.

[jade-curtiss]

I always find it hilariously bad, but really in a really funny way when people do gender bended version of characters who could very much be interpreted as anything, but is made "clear" only by the choice of pronouns and honorifics used in the narrative. Especially when the result is extremely carricatural. Even more if the clown under it all take themselves seriously and aren't exposing how stupid and limited the concept is.

disclaimer: doesn't apply to kids playing around with characters they care about since it's not exactly the kind of thing that usually take a big part of one's education as a default, so it's not exactly as if I could hold a 14 years old accountable. Or if by any chances I could, it wouldn't be the same way I could blame someone past 25 with a degree. What I mean is there are usually people who, between those posts, will still share posts implying the idea that they have a good understanding of gender theory which could usually be summed up as "terf begone" reiterated 50 times while maintaining binarist mindsets that will be shown the moment the issue requires more reflexion than what could be provided by labels, flags and enamel pins. As a general rule of thumb it is that if you don't "misgender" people but still cling to the "amab/afab" dichotomy to make bioessensialist assumptions...well, maybe it would be for the best to reevaluate a stance. I mean there's a serious red flag when a segment of self proclaimed allies do, maybe without realizing, promote exploitation for fun above an actual reflexion on the matter yet still claim that their contribution to the conversation is beneficial despite not even understanding the core of the problem. Because fun is more important. And, yes, that doesn't apply to cis people exclusively, anyone who have the privilege to be able to casually put that aside should realize that it doesn't mean it's the case for everyone and that if they do have that privilege maybe to think about that a bit before making claims that might come across as if they had any experimental authority on the matter. Just to make sure, it's about no one in particular especially since celebrities do that shit all the time, the rant is directed toward celebrity culture and its results (I always find it singularly odd that some people really bought in the teen vogue (for example) being actually "feminist" and "progressive", like, seriously? It doesn't take much to convince people, but ok) before any random stranger on the internet. Strangers in the internet (unless they're some fandom pedant with a degree, those deserve to re-live their middleschool years in a not very YA way while everyone write and jerk off on their experiences while everyone else call it artistic freedom, just to switch tables for once) only try to have fun the way they can and I don't know about it 95% of the time, but some random hasbeen reality tv person outing their child and promoting extremely archaic views in a progressive branding? No excuse.

[malicious-leporine]

THIS. I WILL FOREVER AND EVER AND EVER STAND BY ALL OF THIS.

I don't have much to add but i simply love talking about fnaf world in a positive light and hearing other people talk about it positively. I think its one of the biggest moments where I realized that the fnaf fandom is kind of silly goofy in a /neg way sometimes.

There was so soosossoso much good content in fnaf world that got completely overlooked. Becaue people just didn't like it? To think that we got so many interesting concepts and theory potential and people just. dont ever think about it because its the black sheep in the franchise. Theres so much to break down in this game that its so crazy to me that we dont have more people who are set on using it to theorize.

Adding onto the original reblog, it genuinely was such a good final game and a good silly way to end things off. When fnaf does eventually come to an end I want the last game to be just like fnaf world- something playful and silly as a way to see all of our favorite characters just one last time, and all together too. It would be such a good way to close things off and Irreally hope that its what they end up doing?? i think that as long as the fandom didnt know another hissy fit over it, it would be perfect??

The flipside was such an incredible concept. I will admit i am a fake fan as i never managed to get my hands on fnaf world when it was still public on steam and didn't have enough interest to seek it out elsewhere, and never saw any good gameplay videos on it or any good 'recaps' on what happened. I am mostly stumbiling through this blindly as i do not have the knowledge to discuss things from a purely theorizing point of view. i do not know the little details i am just a little guy have mercy on me. but from everything that i've seen the flipside is genuinely such a cool concept and i really really hope that we can see more of it in future games?? the concept of diving deeper and deeper into this whole new world, breaking your own reality further and further, venturing oh so close to a point of no return as you warp your way through. its so fascinating, really, and i just. HGHGHHH.. GIVE IT BACK. PLEASE. GRABBY HANDS.

And again, on top of all of this, the little details that can be found in things as small as movesets like the lore implications of Nightmarionnes 4th wall move is so cool. literally. I think that it really shows that Cawthon put a lot of care into it, to think about all of the small purposeful details like that. its sad that when it first came out you had so many people talking about how lazy it all was and how it was just a cheap cash grab that started the decline of the fandom. its really really sad. people deserve the right to make their silly little things if they want to and i still cant get over how we as a collective have lost so much cool shit because we recieved a game that we hated so much it basically might as well not have ever existed.

Its really exciting any time i get to hear someone talking positively about fnaf world. genuinely. it deserved so so so so much more than what it actually got and I can only hope that we'll return back to it someday n look back on all of the cool shit we could use for theories or even to just. have some silly little fun with all of these characters that we love

cmon. guys. btw. give us fnaf world 2. do it. you wont. cowards.

boop.

Tonight's hot take is that FNaF world was good and I'll fight people on that. (Its okay if you don't like it, that's a joke lol.)

LIKE ITS SO CUTE BUT SO RANDOM AND WHY HAVE WE NOT STOPPED TO FIGURE OUT WTF SOME OF THE LORE IN IT MENT?? WHAT ARE THE CLOCKS?? WHAT DO THEY MEAN?? WHOS THE GOLDEN EYED FUCKER IN THE DARK?? HAS THIS BEEN SOLVED AND IM JUST BEHIND LMAO?? Goofy RPG with scary robots go BR. I like it.

[leshyleaf]

No question, just wanna say you make the best Flowey content in this fandom, also I love his friendship with Papyrus especially in your work <3

wow no way!?! this is such a huge compliment and it means so much to me, gosh ty! They’re my favorites so I’m really really glad that I can do em justice hahahsd

Here r some unfinished floral sketches I never posted, just 4 u 💞

But yeah, I’ve always been really interested in papyrus’s and flowey’s friendship(?) dynamic, it just seems like they had something complicated but special, yk? I think a lot of ppl see papyrus as temperamental, but in reality I don’t think that’s actually true? He gets annoyed at extremely specific things, but you can make flowey SO MAD or so scared, and no matter what u say or do to papyrus he never gets offended, and never dislikes you. Your choices concerning papyrus almost never matter. I think the only true friend flowey could’ve had is someone like that really, because flowey has no empathy and no filter…he’s stuck in a childlike mindset, and is soulless to boot. I don’t think that makes him unable to feel…he helps toriel when she collapses in the ruins (see the alarm clock dialogue) and he seems sad and confused when you spare him.

I really just think he lacks empathy now, which would be something that I think monsters as a species would not be used to (they’re all so kind), especially bc he used to be one of the kindest. I think that abrupt, violent change in your empathetic capability would make anyone (especially a child) confused and hurt…I believe he thinks that he can’t feel anything about anyone, but that’s not actually true. I just think he’s traumatized. His life went so fucking wrong so fast, his best friend and sibling died, he died, and then was given godlike time powers. That’s not a good recipe for well-adjusted child.

In typical flowey fashion, he betrays papyrus in true pacifist, and aludes to messing around with him when he had the ability to reset, but names him as his favorite, and seems to know more about him than even his own brother (see the official undertale tumblr ask thingy) Papyrus is canonly really good with kids. He is the only character we battle that does not kill frisk. Every single one of his puzzles are harmless, and the ones that aren’t, he puts away or just uses on himself (still not sure that electric maze mishap was truly accidental…). he traps you in a cage that is totally 100% escapable, and praises you when you do…he goes on a funny little date with you…it just seems like he’s trying to get this kid to laugh and smile.

He even gives you his number so he can assist you in your journey through the underground…and answers in every single room where there is reception. I think flowey deserves/needs a friend like this. Someone patient (most of the time lol), understanding, and forgiving. Someone who’d see the sadness behind your emotional cactus exterior and start a fan club for you to cheer you up. Someone who believes you can do better, literally no matter what. Someone goofy and exuberant he can just be a kid with. Someone who can take any insult and turn it back around on the little shit who threw it at him.

Ok I could write about this forever lmao Im so sorry. I just think they’re neat.

[nonbinarykai]

Ok since two people asked

Why Lloyd is my least favorite ninja and how I rewrite him

Notes:// you know the rodeo by now, long post so it’s going to be under a read more, and I’m not gonna tag this with Lloyd because of the criticisms I have against his character, if you don’t want to hear Lloyd be critiqued then don’t reas the post

Why I don’t like Lloyd

Maybe it’s because I’m a Kai kinnie or maybe it’s because I have a bias agaisnt the younger sibling but Lloyd has never really been a favorite of mine

He was enjoyable in s1 but after that he kinda lost all personality for me and I stopped enjoying him

I think this is mostly for two reasons:

1. His screen time

2. His “character arcs”

I’ll go ahead and knock out his screentime here because it pretty much speaks for himself

Lloyd takes up so much screentime in the show that it’s actually jarring, he’s the character with the most seasons, having s1-2, s4, s8-11, and finally s14 ((the island special)). Which I think makes lloyds writing flaws all the more noticable

A big reason, albeit a bit of a petty one, for why I don’t like him is because he constant hyjacks other characters plots and makes them about him, this happened with Kai in both s4 and s11

Even if he’s not the main focus of a season, he always has a side plot focusing on him like in s3 and s12

The writers need to include Lloyd in other seasons is making it harder for the other main characters to actually have enough screentime to grow and develop on there own

And as a side effect of this, Lloyd gets to become the most important character in every season he is, taking roles from other characters who needed them

My best example is Cole being leader, he was set up and established as leader in the pilots and s1, and he did pretty good in it! Cole being a leader is a interesting concept that I would have loved to see been developed

But after Lloyd grew up they threw that plot point into the trash so they could have the mystical green ninja be leader even though throughout s1-7 he hardly actually talks to the main cast and him being leader doesn’t add any interesting dynamic like cole and kais rivalry despite Kai being a sort of right hand man to Coles leadership.

And in s1-s7 especially everything literally revolves around Lloyd to the point where his existence is more important than everyone else’s, and everyone’s motivations are to protect him.

Again I understand he is important, he’s the green ninja, but you have to let your other characters grow and develop, Lloyd is not the only main character in your show

Like for fuck sakes I don’t need 3 arcs about Lloyd and his dad, can I finally have another Kai season

Lloyds character arcs honestly kinda suck

Im going to be honest with you

Lloyds kinda an ass

The reason I like jay more then Lloyd even though jay has been way more mean spirited then Lloyd throughout the entire series is because you can atleast make the argument that jay doesn’t know when his jokes can hurt. And the show doesn’t portray jay as in the right, he gets what he deserves for some of the meanier things he says.

The same can’t be said about Lloyd

Lloyd says things to the other ninja that is honestly so mean spirited it’s jarring to hear it from him

Best example being when Lloyd told Kai to get over his shit when Kai was grieving in s4

But what makes it so frustrating is that the show always portrays Lloyd like he’s in the right which is why a lot of his character arcs feel flat or uninteresting

The only time this doesn’t apply is in s2 and in s3, in s2 the show paints Lloyd as being unfair to Misako when he RIGHTFULLY gets mad at her for abandoning him, I’ll get back to this later

The second time in s3 is when he’s traveling with Garmadon and having to be taught to balance his powers, which is actually one part of s3 I really liked, it was nice to see these two bond and have Garmadon teach Lloyd something that wu would other wise not teach him. And it’s a real shame the season cut it short AGAIN

The biggest example of the show making Lloyd seem in the right no matter what is in s4, Lloyds whole arc there was to learn how to view things from a different perspective and appreciate the things others have done for him. And this is would work if the show decided to do the same.

Again back to that scene with Lloyd and Kai in s4, the show treats Lloyd as if he’s in the right and it’s never addressed after this. Even though this is supposed to be the beginning of lloyds arc where he’s supposed to learn to view things from a different perspective

This scene would have worked if

1. The show didn’t paint him in the right for this, either by having Lloyd apologize or having the show acknowledged how it might have hurt Kai

2. If the plot Lloyd has remained a side plot instead of taking up the entire focus

Seriously, s4 could have been the ONE season where you can have a Lloyd side plot thats not forced and yet they fucked it up and made it the entire focus of the season thanks a lot.

To quote what I said in my Nya anayalsis awhile back

“I’m not upset that he has a flaw, just that it’s not recognized as one”

Lloyd would work way better as a character if the show just let him have consequences for his actions

Ever since he grew up and got the green ninja role he’s been treated like he can’t do no wrong which is clearly not true

But since we’re already on this topic

Hurting Lloyd doesn’t make him a good character

I feel like Tommy ((and sometimes the fandom)) really misunderstand what the use of suffering for in a story

There atleast 3 reasons writers make there characters suffer

1. To undergo a arc and realize where they have been wrong or to give a character a lot more depth to expand upon

2. If the story is a fallen hero one and the character suffers because of his Huberius

3. If the story is a tragedy

Ninjago is neither a fallen hero story or a tragedy and his pain doesn’t develop him as a character

A lot of writers don’t understand that suffering isn’t what makes a character good, it’s what pushes them to become good, you can’t just throw a character at the wall and expect them to instantly be a well written fleshed out character

A lot of the suffering Lloyd has to endure is mostly for no reason and it’s really mean spirited because it adds nothing to the plot, it’s just there to hurt him

Let’s bring up s11 as an example, Lloyd didn’t HAVE to fight the ice emperor from a writing standpoint, if anything it should have been kais battle because his lose of power and Zane going evil would have been a perfect reflection of s4 and tie it up after it ended kais character a bit open ended

But no let’s have Lloyd do it instead because haha isn’t trauma COOL and HIP

Now to be clear, I’m not saying that all of your stories have to end on a happy ending or anything like that, if your a writer then your allowed to do whatever you want with your personal writing

What I am saying is that ninjago is an actual SHOW made by PROFESSIONAL writers and they can’t understand the concept of a story structure

And the lack of actually addressing his trauma is really bringing down Lloyd as a character

Because it comes to a point where you understand why Lloyd is sometimes mean or distrustful of other people and it’s frustrating because you know that it’s flaws of him that are never going to be fixed because there writers want there trauma baby

How I would rewrite him

I’ve seen a lot of people suggest Lloyd become a villain in a future season and you know what, I sort of agree

But not in the way you think

I feel like it would be way more compelling if Lloyd was a villain but is still a ninja, instead of Lloyd switching sides, the show is switching perspectives

More or less I want Lloyd to be a reflection of the “true” villain, which is how wu ((and subsequently Lloyd)) put small Victories as more important then the ninjas life, passion, and desire, and how there black and white thinking of good and evil ends up to a lot of problems because there’s a lot of grey area there choosing to ignore

I want Lloyd to start of being loyal to wu’s philosophy and the protagonist, for random example let’s say Kai, sudden turn on these ideas in order to look outside the box to find if there truly is a better way to protect people without harming himself

I want Lloyd to be upset over what he thinks is a turn to the dark side when in reality, it would make his motivations make sense and not make his turn to “villainy” be out of character.

And over the course of the season he starts to realize how wus and subsequently his leadership has hurt the others and himself, and have him reflect on if all the pain they suffer through just to clean up wus mistakes is really worth it like wu says, or if there’s a better way like kai says

As for Lloyds actual character himself, I’d like for his flaws to be more noticeable

Have Lloyd be a gifted kid who gets praise when he doesn’t deserve it but still kinda acts like a brat because he’s still mentally like 10

Have him be a control freak who follows the rules way to strictly and is all serious when they have to do missions

Have his idealization of wu be realized and critiqued because honestly wu sucks ass

Would this make his character less like able? Maybe, but then he’d actually have depth and something to improve on

He can still have his s3 and s4 arcs, it’s just now they’re more important because he’s actually learning to be better

AND BEFORE ANYONE SAYS IM PURPOSEFULLY MAKING LLOYD WORSE SO THAT KAI LOOKS BETTER

ILL HAVE YOU KNOW AWHILE BACK I MADE A POST SAYING THE EXACT SAME THING ABOUT KAI AND HIS FLAWS SO THERE (/hj /lh)