#anyone who thinks otherwise is obviously incorrect

[holy--milk]

as much as i respect mxtx's word of god and generally include it into my personal interpretations of her novels and into my headcanons, if one day she decides to explicitly confirm SJ's soul being gone with no chance of retrieval post-transmigration, i'll just go.

nope.

never happened.

[doberbutts]

(Some other guy entirely here) I do think there's not much of a reason to be so against the terms tma/tme though, and I don't really understand why some people are? Like, in the same way we want a word to describe our experiences so do transfems, and while I do believe that all trans people are affected by transphobia and misogyny, it's obviously also true that we're affected by it differently depending on how we present, cause otherwise we'd all be satisfied with just the term transphobia (not saying anything new here so far)

So, since it just so happened that the term transmisogyny was coined to mean specifically the oppression transfems face (regardless of what anyone might feel on the matter, that is what it means in practice), what's really so wrong with having terminology to specify whether you're affected by it or not in online discussions of specifically transmisogyny? I'd think that would be relevant enough information, and you're not obligated to share it unless you want to.

I think what's really bothering a lot of people is that these terms exist for half of our community but there's no acceptable equivalent for the other half, and there's constant backlash against attempts to fill that void in the language. But that's not the fault of anyone who advocates for the use of tme/tma, or rather, they are separate issues that I don't believe should be conflated even if the proponents of tme/tma are the same people who are against specific terms for transmasc oppression.

When we do this, from the pov of trans women we are the ones rejecting their terminology and trying to silence them when they talk about their discrimination, and since we know exactly how that feels, I think we as a community should take a step back on the matter and just let it be.

Just because we feel dismissed when it comes to a similar matter doesn't mean we should dismiss in turn.

Not that anyone needs my permission or anything for this but:

I don't really have any problem with the words transmisogyny or trans-misogyny, as I think they are valuable labels to discuss a specific intersection of transphobia and misogyny.

I am not sure I necessarily have a problem with the terms TMA or TME themselves, outside of that I think it is not possible to be exempt from oppression because it will apply to you even if the label itself is wrong. This is also how hate crime and discrimination law works in this country- it is both your label and what the offender thinks of you, not just one or the other.

In other words, the guy who screamed at me about how I'm a Mexican is incorrect because I'm not Mexican, but it is still considered to be discrimination against Mexicans because it was his hatred of Mexicans that fueled the attack. It doesn't mean that actual Mexicans aren't the actual targets or this, but it does mean that it's not possible for me to be exempt from anti-Mexican sentiment. It doesn't mean that hatred of Mexicans doesn't exist, it does mean that if I want to stop getting screamed at for saying non-English words while visibly brown (I said pate, which is FRENCH and not Spanish, in reference to a can of dog food he was buying), then I need to ally myself with Mexicans and see what I can do to help decrease this hatred of Mexicans within my country.

What I do have a problem with is how these words are used and applied.

Caster Semenya is a "TME" intersex woman who was caught by transmisogynist Olympic rulings intended to hurt trans women, and to this day is still not recognized as a woman. How is this exempt from transmisogyny? She is literally being affected by transmisogyny- and interphobia, and misogynoir, and lesbophobia. And there are more examples than that, but this will already be a long enough post.

Moreover, I'm finding a lot of hypocrisy in the theory itself, labeling certain instances of oppression as things only TMA people experience and then refusing to listen when TME people say that they experience it too. I don't really care what or how people talk about their own experiences, but I do think it's a little ridiculous to be told that someone else who is not me can tell me what I experience better than I can. And then refuse to listen when I say that I have felt the hurts they're saying don't apply to me.

If TMA/TME had stayed within the limits you've set, being about descriptors of your own personal experience rather than trying to apply theory to entire demographics in a way that very little other theorycrafting does, I wouldn't have cared. Unfortunately that's not how it's being used and I don't like that.

[butchsophiewalten]

I'm annoyed by some of Martin's hypocrisy regarding Felix Kranken. He claims that there're no clearly evil or clearly good characters in twf, the show has a gray morality, etc. But at the same time, he refutes the fact that Felix was abusive towards Linda and makes their conflict much less dramatic and far-fetched. Like, abandoning a sick person who needs you simply because he said a few harsh words to you while drunk? Sorry, but in this situation the last thing I want to do is empathize with Linda.

And I understand why Martin did it: Felix is obviously one of the main characters, if not the main one, and the audience should sympathize with him. Martin probably doesn't feel comfortable making the wife-beater likable to anyone in any way, it probably violates his moral principles. But then why does he write a story with a GRAY and AMBIGUOUS morality with a child murderer antagonist at the center of the plot, if he can’t stand the everyday dirt that exists in real life?

I answered this ask with a lot of text. I've put it all under a cut, because it's long.

I really want to seem levelheaded and thoughtful in my response to this, because I never want to assume more than is absolutely necessary from a careless message on the internet. Y'know, It's just nice to be thoughtful when talking to people. It's good manners. I don't want to say anything needlessly incendiary. But before I respond to any of this, I really can't ignore just the legitimately vile misogyny in this message.

You think Linda is in the wrong for "abandoning" her husband over "a few harsh words" after she tried for TEN YEARS to salvage their marriage? And she only left for her own sake after a relationship-defining argument that made her realize she couldn't emotionally contend with the way he was treating her anymore? I'll get this very clear right out of the way: activism for addicts is something that I take incredibly seriously. People who are suffering with life-ruining addiction absolutely deserve networks of support, and they deserve respect and kindness, and they deserve easy access to social programs that are equipped to provide those things. Even the worst addict in the world, who's done the most terrible shit a person could imagine, deserves such a level of care that should be afforded to any human being. What none of that means, is that you, as in individual, in an interpersonal relationship with a person suffering from addiction, need to submit yourself to a life of flagellation for the sake of that person. Because that person is sick, and you aren't. No man's downward spiral is the fault of the woman who left him because he took it out on her.

Okay. With that out of the way, I can respond to the walten files part of this ask now. I'm not sure if you read my recap for the twitter space where he talks about Felix and Linda's relationship, and I don't remember exactly how I did or didn't summarize what he said, but my opinion of what he talked about there was that he personally doesn't think of Felix and Linda's relationship being abusive, but that he doesn't think it would be necessarily incorrect to interpret Felix's behavior as emotionally abusive or neglectful, (he says this much almost verbatim,) which makes a lot of sense to me. To him, the problem with their relationship was that they were kind of fundamentally romantically incompatible beyond the point of reconciliation, but that they (primarily Felix,) weren't willing to recognize that and dial back their relationship to just being friends (because they are, he says, incredibly important to each other. It's not like their relationship was completely torrid and loveless. They loved each other.) He compares that to Charles' relationship with his (ex)wife, where they came to a mutual understanding that they weren't right for each other as husband and wife, but they stayed friends, because they cared about each other and otherwise their relationship was good.

I don't understand how that's less realistic or nuanced than. Felix beating his wife? So much of The Walten Files is about mourning things that could have been. It's about peering into times when things were good, and watching those gears turn and those mechanisms of tragedy fall into place, and seeing it come apart in a way that makes you ache. I think it's much more in-keeping with the narrative interests of The Walten Files that Felix's relationship with his wife wasn't some trite misogynist horror story, where he beat her and she left him and now he has Manpain about it, but as this much more human (as in, humanizing) sort of thing wherein there was such a clear path to improvement, but Felix sabotaged it in his lack of willingness to adopt agency within his own life. It rings alike to every other time he was has been and will be faced with the opportunity to do the right thing, and how he rejects it every single time, in his own unwillingness to help himself.

I don't know how any of that is in any way ignoring or sidestepping the consequences of real-world tragedy. Just because Felix isn't the terrible violent misogynist you seemingly want him to be, doesn't mean that he, as a character, doesn't reflect any aspects of reality. I think, in fact, Felix is meant to embody a lot of the worst tendencies you see in a lot of people, even you or I, who fail to help themselves out of situations they are objectively capable of improving. Out of a fear of action or consequence or upsetting the status quo. But in a way that is exaggerated and more suited to a narrative.

That, and I feel that Martin means more specifically that there are no "completely good" or "completely evil" characters in The Walten Files, which I feel is self-evidently true. Nobody is Evil Incarnate, and nobody is a messiah, or a perfect victim. Felix is terrible and his actions are condemnable, but you feel for him when you see his flaws as a human being, and there's meant to be a part of you that always hopes he'll eventually do the right thing. even if he doesn't and never will.

We're already seeing the reverse of that in characters like Charles and Susan, where they gossip amongst themselves about their friends' tragedies and thus far refuse to be proactive about Felix's shitty behavior, with Susan even saying outright that she wants nothing to do with it. It's really easy for me to imagine a version of these characters who see something like Felix trying to hide Rocket from Jack and Rose, and who immediately go "This is wrong! I'm going to tell them right away!" and I really do like that they don't do that. There's a degree of complicity. They're just done with getting wrapped up in Felix's shit, even if it means they end up a bystander to something really shady, and I like that it makes them more nuanced as people, instead of being so perfectly virtuous. There's a balance of this. The Walten Files' interest in the morally gray doesn't just mean that the villains get off easy, but rather that the people in it behave as people do, and are sometimes flawed or self-interested. And I think this sort of thinking is going to become a clearer pattern as the series goes on.

[ayitsbilly]

hi, im the madara and kanata anon from es-confessional! i wanted to say i appreciate your explanation, i guess to me kanata's bluntness towards madara always felt different than his usual one with others because he also has sweet moments with them, and because i always feel like madara is actually quite hurt by it and constantly trying to make amends and get kanata to like him again, so to me it always read as more actual resentment over something (even though kanata does obviously care about madara a lot, just never to his face lol) than just regular bluntness and teasing than kanata otherwise does. but thank you again i do appreciate it!

Oh oh, hi again!! :-)!!!

I'm glad you could appreciate it!! I am actually very glad that someone asked, so thank you very much for letting me talk about it and reading what I wrote, hehe!!

Kanata's treatment of Mama is definitely something unique to the two of them, so you're not wrong for thinking that!!! Dialogue like this comes to my mind:

It is different than with others, more intense and almost intentional, and that's what makes it special. It's a quirk of Enstars writing for the cruelness to be indicative of intimacy, which is kind of funny? I blame Akira.... And, you're right, it also doesn't help that these two have less tender interactions between them than others, which makes me feel sad too!! They do have their moments--the Dolphin Song idol story is one of my favorites to reread all of the time. In that story, they're really just hanging out, bantering with each other, and it ends up with one of my favorite ever exchanges between them:

Just look at the fondness in their eyes!!!!

But, overall, their interactions have always had this lingering, melancholy atmosphere to them, in addition to tension... It's really not the same as with other pairs, so, I understand your thoughts!!

Oh, and it's exactly as you point out, it does mess with Mama's self esteem, it does hurt, and I've always wondered if part of it is intentional. I say that because Mama's probably the biggest self-fulfilling prophecy in Enstars. Being mistreated so often in life will do that to you! It's a common thing for people who survived abuse, falling for the cycle of self-sabotage. It kind of goes like this: Madara struggles to believe anyone cares about her or likes her, so she will avoid her friends or even pester and provoke them, which makes them get upset at her, which then validates her own internalization that no one likes being around her. This happens most obviously with Kanata, considering the two and their insane circumstances (The Cult). It is very painful, and it can be super sad to read... but, on occasion, Kanata will verbalize that there isn't actual resentment there, which is reassuring, at least!! Here's a part from Purple Wisterias of May

The nature of Kanata's disparaging I think is less rooted in hatred, and more frustration ... but that doesn't really get communicated well sometimes. Myriad of Colors and Flowers (or, I think it's officially translated as Technicolor Flowers) portrays that dynamic pretty well, though...

I'm sorry, this is me going on a tangent, because I liked your questions so much, I hope that's okay! An interesting facet of their relationship is that it's originally (from a chronological perspective, not serial) Madara who is the mean one between the two!

From ABYSS, when they are both children. Kanata as a little kid was actually very sweet and loving towards Madara, who was, by contrast, more rude. The flip-flop in their behavior from childhood to high school is kind of interesting to me, huh? Um, but that's enough getting off topic!

TL;DR (because I talked so much, I'm really sorry!!!), your read isn't incorrect at all! These two have a lot of complicated things going on between them. Kanata is mean to Madara, and it does hurt, but it's not out of dislike, really its... a desire for Mama to stop being difficult, for once.

[eldritch-nightmare]

Mk, so, how about Liu, and any other characters of your choice with an S/O who has selective-mutism, but one day they just randomly decide to say something, but it’s in a completely different language. Idk where I got the idea from.

a/n: i saw liu's name and i couldn't restrain myself. i'm monolingual so i had to use various translation sites so if these are incorrect then i am so sorry. nd i opted to just have the reader randomly say 'i love you' because that seemed like an easy phrase to not butcher. except for liu. with what i wrote, i did have to give a full phrase other than 'i love you' and i put it through multiple translation sites so uhm fingers crossed that it's accurate uhm if you speak danish and it isn't then first off i am so sorry and second off can you please tell me what the actual translation is anyways this is a long note sorry fdhjfh hope you enjoy!!

with a selectively mute s/o that speaks in a different language.

includes: homicidal liu, the doll maker, nurse ann, and clockwork.

warnings: gn reader, it's honestly mostly just sappy, liu downplays a stab wound but that's really it.

HOMICIDAL LIU.

Liu doesn't really think about your selective mutism. You'll talk to him whenever you're comfortable, and if that's never then that's fine with him. All he cares about is your comfort.

Besides, if you ask him, he does enough talking for the both of you. At least... he thinks he talks a lot. It definitely feels like it. And who knows, he probably just teaches you morse code so you two can communicate like that.

And little did either of you know, today was the day you'd speak to him for the first time. And not for good reason, sadly. You see, Liu... isn't necessarily a careful person when it comes to his own safety.

So he may or may not have gotten hurt. But it's not like it's a life-threatening injury or anything like that! Besides, he's taught himself how to treat minor wounds like this. Really, it isn't that big of a deal.

You think otherwise, because, uh, he was fucking stabbed. Who the hell considers a stab wound a 'minor' injury?!

So when you saw him cleaning and stitching up a stab wound, this obviously led to some bickering between the two of you. Liu is telling you that he's okay, while you're aggressively telling him via morse code that he's been stabbed and that he needs to get professional medical attention. But Liu was fine. He's gone through way worse than this, so you really don't have to worry.

But him saying that just leads to you throwing up your hands in frustration as you say, "Dammit, kan du ikke se, at jeg er bekymret, fordi jeg elsker dig?!"

And... well... Liu doesn't really know what you just said but he feels really bad knowing that this is what made you speak to him for the first time.

He'll sigh and apologize for not taking his injuries seriously, and he promises to get professional help rather than just treating it himself. He... is legally classified as dead, so he can't go to a hospital but... I mean... he knows a guy who was studying medicine. And a very suspicious doctor.

THE DOLL MAKER.

Vine's native tongue is Russian, so more often than not he'll mutter to himself in his mother tongue rather than any other language.

He doesn't really care if you speak or not, mostly because he feels more comfortable in the silence. He's not the best at holding conversations.

He was busy making a doll with non-human parts this time around. And you were roaming around his little workshop, inspecting all his half-finished projects and sketches of future dolls he planned on making.

Vine trusts you to be around his work, so he's not worried about you accidentally making a mess or breaking anything but he does find himself feeling a little nervous.

Dollmaking is his passion, it's something he loves doing. And he loves you as well and values your opinion more than anyone else's. What if you think he's not doing a good job? What if you think he could make something better?

You've never given him the impression that you dislike dolls or find his creations and passion to be 'childish' but it's still a thought that lingers in his mind nonetheless. Thoughts like this constantly plague his mind.

But when he glances away from the doll he's working on to see you gently straightening out the dress of another one that's on display, a small smile gracing your lips as you admire his creation...

"Я тебя люблю." The words just sorta slipped out of his mouth, and it took him a moment before he went to repeat what he said in English but you spoke before he could even open his mouth.

"Я тебя тоже люблю." And oh. That's the first time he's ever heard you speak, he thinks.

NURSE ANN.

She too is selectively mute, though she doesn't speak because it physically hurts to more often than not, and also... she sees no real reason to talk, to be honest.

You two probably communicate via sign language or writing, though she'll quietly whisper to you if she has to.

Ann doesn't care if you talk or not. She gets it, even if you two have vastly different reasons for your selective mutism.

She's not going to have that big a reaction when you do talk, though she will tilt her head to the side a bit when you speak in an entirely different language.

It'll probably happen while the two of you are spending time together in silence, Ann doing her own thing while you're sitting nearby.

She was caught up in her own little task, mind empty. She was vaguely aware of your gaze on her, but she only really came back to reality when she heard you sigh and softly murmur to yourself.

"Ich liebe dich."

She blinks, taking a moment to process your words. She... doesn't understand German, but the way you softly spoke the words, and the way you were looking at her with such fondness... well, she had a vague idea of what you said.

And very quietly, she whispers back, "Love you too."

CLOCKWORK.

Natalie seems like the type of person who wants to learn a new language, and even begins starting to, but her motivation for it just evaporates two days after starting and she stops trying to learn. And it's just a cycle that rinses, washes, and repeats itself.

Anyways, she overthinks a lot and needs constant reassurance more than she would like, so at the beginning of your relationship, communication was probably a little rocky.

But you guys manage to come up with other ways to communicate rather than vocally.

She'll catch herself wondering what your voice sounds like, and she'll sometimes wonder if you'll ever feel comfortable enough around her to speak but she doesn't push you to talk.

She understands, trust me.

But she's definitely surprised when you wake her up from her nap just to look her in the eye and bluntly say, "Anh yêu em." and you don't even give her a chance to process it before you walk away.

She's just baffled and confused. What the hell did you just say to her? You just spoke. What the hell did you say? Is she dreaming? She feels awake. She's definitely awake.

Natalie has to dig around for her phone to try and search for the translation of what you said, and it takes her a few tries before she finally manages to type it out correctly. She definitely buries her face in a pillow when she reads the translation. And she ends up falling back asleep.

It's only when she wakes up again that she'll go and find you. She'll wrap her arms around your waist and rest her forehead on your shoulder before placing a gentle kiss there and tiredly murmuring, "I love you too."

[bratbarzal]

Hey, sorry for bringing this up but I was wondering if you could give any advice on how to spot AI in fic or writing? It makes me feel weird to think I'm reading or enjoying fics on here and the content is AI generated :(

I'm not necessarily the one to be policing this but I'll do my best to help bc I understand how disheartening it is to think you're unintentionally consuming AI generated content when it doesn't align with your own morals. I'll do my best to be helpful, but if anyone has any other advice, please feel free to add on if you can!

I'll also preface these points by saying, I'm talking about using AI to write a fic. I'm not talking about AI to translate, I'm not talking about AI to generate a prompt, or any other ~innocent use of AI within this sort of space. I don't intentionally use it at all as a personal decision/dislike, but I can understand it's place and the fact that it can be unavoidable for certain things that there is no ~easy alternative to.

Imperfection! I don't want to sit here and say perfection in writing is anything to be alarmed by - people proof read their work, or have people who do so for them, to make sure it flows or reads as well as it can, and obviously no one wants to be putting out anything that isn't their very best - but if I see any sort of mistake in writing, I feel safe enough to assume it wasn't generated by AI. Spelling errors, grammar mistakes, this boy doesn't even know the difference between there, their, and they are sort of thing. Imperfections are human. Ramblings are human - does a sentence go on way too long (me)? Does it seem like the writer is running out of ways to avoid overuse of the same word and are getting a migraine from scrolling through power thesaurus (me)? All indicators of someone who doesn't know when to stop, and isn't interested in keeping things looking perfect, therefore most likely not AI. The same can also be said about imperfections in written speech. Stutters, hums (uhms, ah's, ehh's, uhh's etc), saying phrases that are incorrect (like "could care less" which should always be "couldn't care less" lmao) are all human, and would not be replicated in speech generated by AI.

Personality! I think it's impossible to write something without inserting a little bit of yourself into it, and often you can see a consistency between someone's personal posts, and their writing. I acknowledge I'm saying this as someone who signs every sentence off with lmao like it's a period, and then writes 81k word fics with excessive use of the oxford comma and that often read like unhinged ramblings, but what I'm saying is, you will see their personality in their writing. I'm admittedly and to a fault sarcastic, and a raging idiot, and the shit I say on here reflects that, but my writing, and the people I write specifically, reflect that, also, and do so in a way that shows there is a human being behind it. I've never read an AI text that isn't robotic, or monotone, or lifeless. It doesn't matter how many prompts you give it, or how many times you run it through the mill, it cannot manipulate the essence of a person. I also recognise that not everybody shitposts in the way I personally do, but if you can get a good read on a person through their blog, through posts they make otherwise, or tags they add, or asks they answer, you should be able to tell if their writing is their own.

Language! Similar to the above, is the language used throughout consistent with the kind of language that writer uses elsewhere. Is any of it unnecessarily formal? Does the fiction that you are reading, read like fiction, does it read like there is thought and intention behind every word as there would be behind something a real person wrote?

Emotion! Again, tying into the above few points, is there more to the story than just action? I see a lot of AI that is - this happens, this happens, this happens, speech, movement, telling and rarely showing. It's all very specific, and again, robotic. Shoutout katie @nol-pat bc we were just discussing examples and she brought up a valid point which is that there is never anything beyond the action of it all, because the bot isn't capable of the emotion or explanation that goes along with any of it. There is little thought, there is little feeling, there is little grit, if that makes sense? And sometimes, people write this way, but if they have the power to be writing a story, they usually have the power to add beyond the bare minimum of basic human movement. And in a similar vein, does what you are reading make YOU feel something? Beyond a description of flushed cheeks and heart hammering, can you really relate to what you are reading, to how the characters are reacting and responding to what is happening? Do you feel immersed in what you are reading, and do you feel that way throughout?

Consistency! Chances are if you are reading anything multi-chapter or that is a continuation of a previous work, it won't be AI generated. If there is a story you can follow through each chapter, if there are call-backs and references and repeated traits and characteristics, that make the story flow, there is someone putting a whole lot of pain-staking thought behind it. I think the same goes for generally longer fics. From what I've seen of AI in other works, the longer it is, the more likely it is to go off the beaten path. There will be inconsistencies later down the line in an AI fic because of the way it is set up - it usually takes more and more prompts to make it longer, and the more you instruct it to expand, the more it forgets what it originally gave you.

This last one I was hesitant to bring up because I see it all over, and I see people pointing the finger at it's use, and I don't generally agree that the EM-dash is the devil, but in looking at a few proven and assumed AI works while I've been thinking about this, I feel like it's something I want to raise for you to look into yourself, because it is very much something that keeps cropping up.

I'll preface what I'm about to say with I don't think the use of an em-dash necessarily an outright indicator, but bare with me on this whole thing, because there is something to say about its overuse.

-, a dash, is typed outright, and a part of most regular keyboards, certain writing tools will autocorrect this to a longer version, which is an EN-dash (e.g. I use pages, when I type a -, it will often elongate it to an – within the app. - vs –) when it is used to signify an "up to" or a "until" like you'd see on opening hours or something, but when works are copied into Tumblr, it will usually just revert to it's regular dash size. An EM-dash is a longer dash and the correct use of this would be to indicate a break/change in sentence structure —. So that is - vs —.

- which is a dash/hyphen (eg. book-end, co-worker, etc.)

– which is an EN-dash (eg. 9am – 5pm, pages 4 – 5, etc.)

— which is an EM-dash (I'll use an example from merriam-webster here, because as I will go onto say, I would usually just use a regular dash “That is—I suppose it is concerning.”)

If you type in a DOUBLE hyphen into most tools, it will correct to an EM-dash, and I don't know if it's the tool I'm using, but when I have then copied this into Tumblr, or written straight into Tumblr if you're the kind of live-life-on-the-edge maniac insane enough to rely on doing that, it usually ends up coming out as a double hyphen (--, so that's -- vs —). Again, I'm not saying em-dashes are a certain indicator, but something to consider if the rest of the text seems off. There's a lot of research and debate around this, but in my personal experience, as a creative writer, as a reader, as a general enjoyer of fiction, when I see an EM-dash outside of a corporate email or an essay, it feels generally misplaced, and you'll notice it replacing commas, colons, semi-colons, etc and you will be able to see what I mean for yourself. I (again, PERSONALLY) have always just written a hyphen, never even a double that would auto-correct, which is why it's shifty to ME. An em-dash, despite it's definition and it's place in grammar and punctuation as a whole, reads more like a personal or professional function, and not something I would see or use in creative writing. I'll attach some reading on this, I've tried to find anything not behind a paywall, and a few different opinions on the matter. (1) (2) (3) (4)

Something I will say to look out for specifically when it comes to the EM-dash, is how it is being used. If you think it's being used to cover up where a human imperfection may be, especially in speech, like a stutter, or a pause to think, or fillers like "uhh" or "erm" you have your answer.

Overall, AI is a complex and ever-evolving beast, and it's borderline impossible at the end of the day to ever know for sure, but I can tell you as someone who has been on this site a long time, there are a lot more creatives on here than there are those who are fraudulently posting AI works as their own. Sometimes it can feel like a plague, and sometimes the tags are riddled, but if you're ever unsure, ask around. People will direct you to fics that made them feel something - fics that made them laugh or cry or think, and you'll find the authentic writers behind them 💕

All we can do as a community here is continue to push for authenticity and honesty - and encourage people to post their own works, no matter how rough they believe them to be. I'll make more of an effort to reblog fics I love if it helps, and celebrate the thriving creativity that still remains in this space.

I've said it a million times by now, I'd rather sit here and read bullet pointed thoughts/fragments of a story than the same regurgitated nonsense I keep seeing people paste from chatgpt.

Also, the obvious would be running it through an AI detector, although this can be subject to error as with everything else, my above points are kind of to make you think without having to copy and paste fics into the below, but they're always useful too!!

UndetectableAI, Grammarly, ZeroGPT, QuillBot

And I’ll follow on by saying, if you’re using one of the above, use a couple. I ran a text that I knew to be AI through QuillBot, and it said 0% was AI generated, but ZeroGPT said 94% of it was.

[luckyladylily]

So a bit ago there was a post going around saying Tumblr were scabs for advertising One Piece. That post now has reblogs off, but from that there is something I think still needs to be addressed. To summarize, I made a reblog saying that is incorrect and the strike did not call for tumblr to not advertise, to which someone responded this:

I think this kind of thinking needs to be addressed, because it is happening a lot and its a bit of a problem. This is the response I wrote but was unable to post, it illustrates my point:

So, near the start of the strikes some people who were not the leadership of either union started calling for boycotts of netflix, disney plus, etc. The leadership of the guilds actually had to come out and say that this is not what they wanted, that boycotting these companies was not part of their strategy and could hurt their strategy depending on how things developed. They left the possibility of boycotts in the future, but not now.

Obviously, this is not directly applicable. But it does demonstrate a point: We should look to the leadership of the strike for direction on what action should be taken, not our own guesswork as to what is best for the strike, because we may inadvertently hinder the strategy currently in play.

Now, I can see why you assumed the position you are taking. It seems obvious at first glance that if they don't want actors or writers creating advertisements, then they probably don't want anyone creating advertisements.

Except that might not be the case. I can think of one major possibility off the top of my head, that they want to show that actors and writers specifically are invaluable to the advertising effort. If Netflix tries to advertise without guild members and they can see how badly that effort fails, that gives them leverage in negotiations. If we prevent Netflix advertising at all, they don't get that leverage.

Of course, both of us are purely working off of gut feelings and guess work. We don't know the details of their strategy and frankly there is little reason for them to give it to us, especially since that would tip their hand to the studios. Our part in this strike is to follow the guidelines they have given us, not second guess those guidelines, extrapolate from them, or otherwise come up with our own ideas about what is best.

Now I know we are all really excited about this strike, we all want it to succeed. Because we are excited we want to do things about it. But our part in this strike has been very clearly laid out. So the second they call for a boycott, I'll be canceling my subs. The second they want me to give shit to tumblr for advertising One Piece I will be writing some very strong feedback messages. But until then I am going to assume that the leadership of the strike are making certain moves (and not making certain moves) for a reason.

[ai-the-broccoli]

hmmm. tbh I wanna talk a bit about why I see misa as having bpd and how it ties into her comphet (or, even through an interpretation where she is not a lesbian, how it strongly affects her attachment to light), but I know that some people understandably don't like personality disorder hcs, so. I wonder if I should do it?

(some thoughts about nd hcs under the cut)

alright ofc I do know why personality disorder headcanons for characters - especially if they are villains or antagonists - are controversial. since, if it's someone without those doing this based on entirely incorrect, stereotypical conceptions of what the disorders entail, that would be very ableist and demonizing. (and then obviously there are also people who are either under the conscious impression that or hold the unconscious prejudice according to which PDs make you inhumane and evil, which they don't want to hear about their favourite characters)

but personally, speaking as someone who is cluster b themselves and has indeed done a decent amount of actual research on this, I wanna say that (aside from light, who def has cluster b traits imho but is more controversial in this regard. maybe I'll talk about it some other time) misa does def read as having bpd to me, even though I'm sure it's not the authorial intention, and I do think that's a point worth considering when we are analyzing her character.

... anyway. I strongly disagree with the idea that this kind of character hcs (especially when it's about, for instance, a disorder that is often formed and/or triggered through a person's experience and/or trauma to begin with, like personality disorders are) automatically make for reductive interpretations of a character, or in any sense automatically take away from other intriguing aspects or angles of analyzing the character.

those things do not have to conflict with each other at all, and sometimes may even complement each other; it's only a problem if someone does do it in a reductive way (like, it's bad if someone slaps reductive, inaccurate ableist stereotypes on a character and call it a day. and then also, if someone's hc that a character has X neurodivergence prevents them from analyzing the character in any meaningful sense that is not just a plain "they have X" and nothing else beyond that, not even about how having X influences the character and connects to their behaviour or themes etc., then I see the problem. but if they're able to analyze the character while having the nd hc then I don't think there's anything wrong with it at all).

e.g. "Light has OCD, autism, and/or a PD" and "Light initially became Kira because he simply can't otherwise accept the fact that he has killed two people" and "Light's story is a cautionary tale about xxx and how this can happen to anyone under his circumstances" are three interpretations can very well coexist, imo. see, I don't vibe with the idea that's like 'no he has to be neurotypical because the point of Light's character is that this can happen to anyone under his circumstances bc he is "normal" for someone in his circumstances', because... see, I don't think it's NOT normal to have one or more of the disorders mentioned above, when you're in the circumstances he is in?? like, that IS very much an 'anyone can be like that' thing to me. idk. anyway. pls tell me if you'll be interested if anyone's still here lol

[dragon-of-grandeur]

Clearly, I didn't put enough thought into my recent post. It was worded very poorly as a result, so I will apologize for that specifically. I will also apologize for whatever reason my brain decided to use cluster b and npd interchangeably. That was extremely incorrect. Finally, I will also apologize for using the word empathy at all. I feel my brain made the connection with hierarchal thinking and lack of empathy, but failed to realize that using the word empathy was like comparing cluster b and npd. It's too broad of a term. I was speaking specifically about hierarchal thinking, not just any form of lack in empathy. I also seem to have accidentally implied that lack of empathy towards endogenics specifically was the issue when what I meant was that the nature of the lack of empathy towards endogenics reminds me a lot of hierarchal thinking. I also happened to notice that there IS a good chunk of overlap with people having npd and being anti endogenic. That doesn't mean all antis have npd. Again, no one said that was the case. Some antis probably have something else wrong with them, or perhaps they just like whatever it is they're doing. To be entirely honest, I'm not actually convinced that the majority of "assholes" choose to be assholes knowing that they are assholes, or that they genuinely enjoy the results and are completely happy to live that way. I feel like you aren't just that way without something being wrong. That's a personal perception, though.

I have bpd and I am currently being evaluated for npd. So, no, I don't think people with cluster b disorders are evil, inheritantly assholes, or that all of them lack empathy. And I never said they were. They are certainly capable of it, though. Npd isn't asshole disorder, but it certainly makes you prone to thought patterns that can make it it difficult not to be an asshole. You're also far more likely to give into impulses and be an asshole if you aren't aware of the disorder. I'm getting the impression that some people are so defensive and sensitive about others throwing around "narcissistic abuse" that they are inclined to take things personally and assume any mention of the connection between npd and problematic behaviors is just someone trying to be mean. Unfortunately, npd does put a lot of strain on personal relationships specifically because it can and does make it difficult to 1: think of others before yourself and 2: understand them. It also contributes to extreme emotional states and outbursts. Otherwise, it wouldn't really be a disorder, right? Not that everyone with npd has no control or awareness, but that's my point, some people are not AWARE that this is a legitimate thing people can struggle with and that's fine. So let's bring it to attention instead of hiding it because we're all ashamed of it. Start with admitting that yeah it can lead down some dark path. Has anyone ever considered that some people are assholes because they genuinely feel that they are correct and that it was not a concious choice to grow up with a toxic mindset?

Also, suggesting someone see a doctor to be evaluated for something isn't armchair diagnosing. Obviously? Not sure how anyone made that conclusion.

Hierarchal thinking is literally one of those mindsets/thought patterns. It's also a legitimate symptom of npd. And it's not even just me who personally struggled with this btw. There is literally a diagnosed narcissist that speaks SPECIFICALLY about how npd CAN, NOT WILL, lead to bigoted beliefs. He also interviews licensed clinical professionals on cluster b disorders. I'm relatively inclined to think he knows a little something and what he's talking about. Here's a youtube video where he talks about it.

Finally, no one said a damn word about "if you don't agree with me, you're probably a narcissist". I'm sorry, but this is just. Not well thought out. I don't give a shit if you AGREE that endos are valid. I'm specifically pointing out how you TREAT them despite it. For instance, sending death threats (don't you dare lie and act like "kys" isn't a common thought for pwnpd who feel offended by others' because it's on every npd confession blog at some point), telling people they aren't valid or worth anything because of YOUR perception of them, belittling them as if you're somehow superior for having "real trauma", making an entire sub reddit to make fun of them because it makes you feel better about yourself. If you disagree with someone, fine, but it's how you react to that that actually speaks volumes about your cognitive empathy.

Last little afterthought: you all fucking failed. Even if my post did have anything to do with cluster b disorders making people assholes, you would have accomplished literally nothing. It's like you aren't even trying and you don't actually care about change, you just want to be angry. I know it's tempting. But had more people spoken to me with genuine intention and tried to explain to me what exactly the issue was, this could have been cleared up easily. Narcing out on people isn't going to make them listen to you. (EDIT: I do realize I should have avoided this term. My reasoning was that 1: I've heard other pwnpd use it and 2: I was using it specifically in reference to the pwnpd that did infact lash out at me seemingly due to something I am aware pwnpd struggle with. That's not an excuse, but I'm mentioning it to give everyone clearer context.) Especially if they're also a sensitive narcissist. I'm sure plenty of you perceived me as being ingenuine, but that is a lack of control and perspective on your part, not mine. If there's still an issue, I am happy to have a conversation, but that's what it will be, a conversation. If you have to resort to being nasty to either try and bully me into submission or to use me as a sounding board because you have not yet learn to control your impulses, then you aren't worth talking to.

I realize that may be a bit curt... but I am allowing myself a small bit of anger and sarcasm as I feel a bit justified in not appreciating the blatant disrespect over a miscommunication.

[transgenderpolls]

I also want to say this as a transmasculine nonbinary person that I’ve seen a LOT of trans men be uncomfortable with the term being universalised to include them. Transmasculine started out as a nonbinary label (I think, I could be mixed up) that described enben who were transitioning to a more masculine point instead of a neutral one. Obviously trans men can use transmasculine if they feel like it fits, but still I think it’s best to not just lump us together with the label because there are so many trans men who aren’t comfortable with it (I’ve actually seen a lot of people saying that it straight up makes them dysphoric because they take it as being seen as less of a man)

Same goes for non-transmasculine afab nonbinary people— there’s actually a lot of people calling to just get rid of the terms because they see it as just an indicator of agab. I’ve actually encountered more transneutral afab enben who hate being called transmasculine than I have trans men who hate it. It makes sense, the entire point for transneutral enben is transitioning to some sort of complete middle, or outside of gender alltogether, and aligning them with a specific gender is not only just incorrect but also very uncomfortable and dysphoria inducing for a lot of them. A lot of people also really don’t like the idea of t being ‘transmasculine transition’, which I totally get because I feel the same way when someone says that t is inherently ‘male transition’

(btw this is all stuff I’ve heard from these groups, I’m not just saying what I think goes through their heads or anything)

On a personal note, I also don’t like the universalisation of it because it feels like aligned enben can’t really have a term to describe ourselves— like, being a transmasc or transfem nonbinary person is a very complicated experience, most of us really struggle with this sort of balancing act of androgyny and maleness/femaleness, we’re like an in-beteeen of an in-between and it’s really fucking hard to deal with. It would just be nice if we could have our own label and space to discuss it and help each other with it. But I also get that now a lot of trans men resonate with the term and it would very much be a dick move to just say ‘nope, you can’t use this anymore, fuck you lol’, like, no

idk, I think about this a lot and the topic comes up quite frequently so I have a lot to say on it, but I can’t exactly articulate it, so I hope this made sense sorry

if anyone has sources to show otherwise i'd be happy to see them but i've always been under the impression that "transmasc(uline)" and "transfem(inine)" were umbrella terms first and foremost, with origins in the world of medical transitioning, particularly HRT, that sought specifically to include non-binary people and therefore not imply that everyone going through [medical] masculinization or feminization necessarily identifies as a man or a woman. whether the end goal is conceptualized by the individual as a masc/fem role, it's just a matter of having useful, succinct language to describe shared experience. i really don't see it as denoting agab any more than the term "trans man/woman" does. like if you really are not comfortable denoting your agab at all, it sounds like you're not comfortable talking about being trans period.

as for the binary trans men who hate it i'm gonna be real, i cannot comprehend being mad about someone using an umbrella term simply to address you and others who have significant things in common with you in one breath. i'm a binary trans man and i won't lie, i have had my phase of whining about being "lumped in with non binary people," but like... that's what it was. it was a phase that i'm over because i've grown up and now realize that it doesn't actually dilute my identity to simply have things in common with other people. it would be like a square being mad about being called a rectangle because "you're erasing the fact that i am SPECIFICALLY a square!" literally no, no one is erasing anything. especially not in the context of a poll that's just trying to not draw really arbitrary lines, and which you also literally don't have to answer.

i think it's completely valid to be made dysphoric or uncomfortable by any terminology, but there's a point at which you kind of have to accept that that is a you thing? if a term's literal function is to be inclusive and you feel excluded somehow bc you don't like that you're not being acknowledged as fundamentally different than the others who that term applies to... like i'm sorry, that's kind of ridiculous. you have to accept that it's ridiculous and not anyone else's problem.

also i truly think that if it's coming to contentions such as "just because i'm a man doesn't mean i'm masculine" or ppl otherwise trying to draw hard lines between masc and man/male as definitions... i truly think you are just trying to make this more complicated than it is. like we do need words to describe things, lol.

in any case my thing - at least on this blog - is always gonna be in the context of making polls. firstly i'm working with a character and option limit. secondly, the questions being asked make it sometimes relevant to use some terms that lump groups together, denote agab, etc. the more i think about it, i don't think there's going to be a solution that satisfies everyone, and i also don't think that there's a huge problem with that.

(btw none of this is directed at anon, you articulated yourself fine, i'm just jumping off of your talking points)

edit: irt anon not liking the universalization of "transmasc" - it just occurred to me, would "transmasc nonbinary" not simply work? like it seems to me that you just need to add the word nonbinary and now you're gucci

[perrysaurolophus]

FIRE AND ICE SUCKS PT 1!

Woo hoo! First Tumblr post! Finally got the courage to post something 😭. Anyway, I had an epiphany a couple months ago regarding Dino Squad’s Season 2 Episode 5 “Fire and Ice” and its treatment of Max, and now I’m kinda mad cause it’s used a lot to characterize him (cuz it’s abt him duh) but bc of the way it’s written I genuinely don’t believe it should be referenced when talking abt his character anymore because, drum roll please!

*drum roll*

Fire and Ice is a gaslighting bitch of an episode! Allow me to explain 🤓:

The episode starts out with a basketball game, and we see that Max is at the center of the attention as he’s making all the shots. Ok, cool 👍. But thhheennn we cut to the aftermath of the game and everything quickly starts to fall apart!

You see, this episode is all abt Max being a “control freak/glory-hog” and how he has this “one man army” mentality of wanting to do everything himself cause he thinks others can’t and that is his fatal flaw for the episode as it leads him to contracting a virus and getting captured by Veloci, risking not only his life but the team’s as well as they have to save him. Doesn’t sound too bad, right? Actually a bit of a fun time? Wrong! Because this whole episode’s narrative is gaslighting you into thinking that’s what’s going on, but the actual events say otherwise.

While Max is getting scolded by his basketball team and the coach for taking over the game, the episode wants you to think that Max did this bc he got overbearing, but actually paying attention to his attitude, facial expressions, and dialogue, it’s clear this is not what was happening at all! Max is smiling like a little kid the entire time and obviously riding an adrenaline rush (which is why he’s not really listening to anybody lol) and he’s not talking like he thought the rest of the team sucked and he had to take control and win it himself. Very far from that! He never says anything like “I won the game”, “It’s because of me.” He actually says “We won the game.” WE. WE won it, together, bc he’s still thinking in terms of the team, bc Max is a team player, and literally any other episode will tell you this. He does talk abt him shooting the baskets and playing the game, but really listen to how he’s talking abt it. He’s saying it like someone explaining something they’re very passionate abt, not like someone who wanted to control a situation bc they thought others couldn’t handle it/they don’t need anyone and can do things all by themselves bc things get done better when you do it yourself.

Now don’t get me wrong. I understand that, even though Max wasn’t actually being controlling, he still did hog the ball and made the rest of the team feel obsolete, so of course it’s still very valid for them to voice this gripe to Max. That’s not my problem. MY problem lies with the blatantly incorrect explanation of his actions. They’re labeling him a control freak: someone who wants to take control of other people. But that’s not true! He’s not controlling, he’s just a sports nerd who loves basketball and got a little too carried away during the game and ended up taking over, but completely unintentionally! Because calling him a straight up control freak implies awareness of himself actively thinking less of his teammates and wanting to domineeringly control the game, but he didn’t mean to! Again, that doesn’t mean he didn’t cause harm, and that should be addressed, but misrepresenting his behavior as someone who actively thought this way when it’s clearly not what he actually thought is honestly a bit malicious and I will not stand for it! Because Max ISNT a control freak: he’s a very sweet, wise, hardworking guy with a heart of gold who loves sports and can sometimes get too into them but ultimately intends no ill will and just wants to do good in the world. But control freak is the theme this episode runs with and once you realize how wrong it is you literally can’t watch this episode the same way ever again. Like it’s so depressing how they treat him! Man is getting disrespected so hard 😣. #Justice for Max!

I could continue on as this was only the beginning of the episode and there is a lot more to dive into as it goes on, but this is already kinda long so I’ll save that for another post and make this a little series of sorts. But until then, thank you for reading and I hope I’ve opened your eyes a little to this hidden conspiracy! Lol.

😁👋

(Edit) Also, video of scene for reference:

[fromtenthousandfeet]

"...[Jimin's success] which makes everyone's peaches burn..."

Well, what a lovely--and satisfying--image.

Thank you for sharing posts like these from Twitter for those of us who don't use/avoid it. (like me!)

I don't know about other platforms, but I've noticed this is how the discussions go down on Reddit:

A. Person brags about JK's dominance. Everywhere, including SK and the U.S. Shades Jimin's success, because of the freefall after the #1 or because Spotify isn't a reliable indicator or because JK has gp name recognition.

B. 2nd person points out that JK did receive a lot more promo than anyone else, particularly Jimin. Lists all the things Jimin did NOT receive.

A. 1st person (pre-SGMB) That was Jimin's CHOICE. He wanted a traditional SK roll-out. He was on Beat Coin, so that proves they received the same amount of promotion!

1st person (post-SGMB) But it got more promotion than NGL! And Scooter had NOTHING to do with Seven! (He has a BB award that says otherwise.) Taylor Swift gets SO MUCH more promotion! (huh?) OMG, you are an akgae!

I think the scandal surrounding NJ, the company mismanaging the launch of RM's album, and then obviously doing next to nothing to promote MUSE has broken a dam. No BTS fan or solo needs to take this sh*t anymore. I can guarantee you that I won't.

The enemy here is not any single member. The enemy is the guy who built a freaking empire off their hard work, their sacrifice, and their talent. The petty little man who uses them as a cash cow to fund his projects and thinks they can be easily replicated with the right "formula."

Furthermore, we need to ask ourselves why Jungkook fans are so insistent that we disbelieve the evidence of our own eyes and instead parrot their claims that JK didn't receive any special help from anyone--least of all Scooter! Why do they defend the company so hard? Why are they so dismissive of the other members--particularly Jimin--as to deny them a fair shot?

We get accused of being akgaes against one member. But aren't they akgaes against ALL the members?

#JiminStrong #Jimin

It's a pity the term gaslighting is used so frequently and freely, to the point of being meaningless. But what's going on with pushing JK's solo career so hard, combined with the absolute insistence by JJKs that he hasn't received every possible advantage to succeed is gaslighting. And the fact that both the company and fans engage in this gaslighting with equal glee is enough to make a person mad. If you've ever been on the receiving end of gaslighting/narcissistic abuse, then you know what I'm talking about.

This is a good video about gaslighting, even though it's a bit long. Recognizing the signs of gaslighting can save you so much pain (don't ask me how I know!), Many of the behaviors she describes will sound familiar.

There's tons of evidence to show that Jimin has stood out from the start - Gallup polls, brand reputation rankings, solo songs charting on US Spotify charts, and so on. The proof is everywhere, and yet fans are told that it was and always will be Jungkook who is the superstar. Gaslighting is a tactic used by narcissists and cult leaders to control people. Usually the best and only true solution to this abuse is to have no contact with the abuser. The second best thing, as she mentions in the video, is to find supportive people who haven't been swayed by the abuser - people who still understand reality.

This platform is a place to find people who haven't fallen for the lies. And increasingly, as we see on Twitter and other platforms, more people are waking up to Jimin's unequal treatment and saying so publicly. I think you're right that we're seeing a critical mass of PJMs and few ARMYs standing up for what's right. Or maybe I'm delusional because I've got damn near every JJK blocked on Twitter.

If anyone feels compelled to engage with JJK gaslighters, the less said the better because no amount of evidence will sway them. One word response like "incorrect" or "no" are more effective than long explanations.

We know HYBE uses a number of techniques to gaslight fans into believing Jungkook is miles above the other six members, but it's strange how many fans are equally committed to denying reality and tearing solo fans of the others members down. The armchair psychologist in me thinks this has to do with a group of people who have low self esteem and get a vicarious boost of confidence from Jungkook's supposed success/dominance. People with a good self image/mental health aren't going to spend their days on the internet trolling others and insisting that Jungkook is second coming of Michael Jackson.

At some point we need to talk about how Big Hit has actively cultivated codependency within the fan base and how they use that to milk fans out of their time and money. I really want to dig into this more, because it's unfair to BTS fans and to the members themselves.

[interlink-au]

New update on Ao3

Read it here: Living History

We have Wild's POV this time! What does he think about with this whole meeting previous heroes thing?

It's kind of like a bonus chapter, and it's short enough that I'll include it below the cut, but might not make the most sense if you haven't read this.

When Link had first touched down after getting a lay of the land (and finding himself no less lost,) he hadn’t given much thought to the appearance of the boys who had gathered below him. There was a lot of green, but perhaps it was just a common style in this area. He was no stranger to entire towns sharing fashion choices, with the mushroom-filled Hateno being only the latest example. So he’d hardly given it a thought, with the small exception of a feeling of familiarity as his eyes quickly passed by a child in a blue shirt. It wasn’t until he spotted the boy who, frankly, stood out in the group of Hylians like a sheep in a cucco pen that he truly took note of these strangers. Link could hardly be more familiar with that red hair, tufted tail, oddly-shaped legs, and intense blue eyes. This man was, without a doubt, the hero of 10,000 years ago. Link had worn that shape like a second skin, enjoying the novelty that came from having a tail for extra balance, pointed nails on both hands instead of just one – perfect for climbing – and a strange affinity for sword beams. 

Receiving that “armor set” had been exciting at the time, but now the knowledge just made him uncomfortable. He had not only the man’s clothes, but his entire likeness stored in the Purah Pad, even while the man himself walked the very same path he was on – both the literal one he now traveled and the metaphorical path he had followed in his quest to defeat the Calamity.

Now that he was paying more attention to the others, he recognized quite a few of them by their clothes. There was the one whose clothes had the label of “Twilight.” The stitching on the cap and tunic was easily recognizable. One was wearing the Island Lobster Shirt. There was one who had the clothes either of “Awakening” or the otherwise unlabeled “Hero.” It was hard to say because, unlike the Armor of the Hero, this diminutive brunette had pants, but unlike the Armor of Awakening, these pants were brown. Both the quadruplet dressed in green and the smallest member of the group wore outfits identical to the Armor of the Wind. Were they also sailors along with the island kid? The Armor of the Sky must have belonged to the hero who could hear the Master Sword, since he had stated he was from the sky, though he was currently wearing clothes of a style somewhat similar to his Hylian set.  And then there was the child with the face of the Fierce Deity affixed to his belt. The cap and tunic he wore resembled the set labeled “Time,” though the child wore no layers under the tunic. The Purah Pad had stated that the cap and tunic were somehow fitted for both a child and an adult. Link still didn’t know what exactly that implied.

He had thought the clothes he had found in the depths were perhaps symbolic of past heroes. But that was obviously incorrect, considering he was now walking alongside these very same heroes. Some were so young. What kinds of challenges did they have to face at such a young age? He hoped they had experienced nothing similar to the defeat that led to his 100-year slumber or the events he faced after his awakening. What feats did someone need to accomplish to be called a hero? For the sake of the crowd of heroes with him, he hoped it was very little.

Link was dying to hear their stories. What stories were only legends? What was true? Was there truly a time the moon threatened to fall? What was meant by “a hero who wielded the wind”? Why did the Twilight Hero have wolf hair all over his clothes? Who is the hero who traveled the wilderness in the Armor of the Wild? He didn’t see anyone wearing brown shorts or sleeves with that specific pattern. It was a gift from the monks on his first adventure, but surely it belonged to someone else first. Perhaps the pink or green-haired hero? They were of similar size to him.

All of these were things he wanted to know, but looking at the Ancient Hero whose Aspect he sometimes wore, what right did he have to ask such questions? Wasn’t his ownership of their possessions already a breach of privacy? A feeling of discomfort crawled up his spine every time he glanced at the hero 10,000 years his senior.

Zelda would have loved the chance to learn more about the lives of these heroes of legend. She loved history more than anyone Link had ever met. Once upon a time, he would have learned all there was to know so he could tell her all about them. But what did it matter when she was mindlessly flying above the expanse of Hyrule? Who could appreciate it as much as her? Was there any point in knowing?

[feastingonchrist]

this is actually insane 😭 so because i don’t support progressive Christianity (is what i’m assuming what this is about) and actually follow the bible i’m not actually following the One True God? Even though it’s Jesus Christ i follow. And i acknowledge that He is the Son of God, the Messiah, who died for our sins & reconciliation back to God who was buried and rose again and is seated at the right hand of the Father who will come back to judge the living and the dead one day? Jesus IS LOVE but He isn’t ever going to accept sin because that wouldn’t be loving. He has set boundaries for all of us BECAUSE He loves us. But because i don’t fit your definition of who Jesus is, you assume i’m following the devil? Yeah um no! I know exactly who i follow and as a matter of fact, i wouldn’t have been transformed or have been experiencing so much of God’s goodness and grace upon me for the last 4 years and particularly right now as He’s been blessing me greatly in this season i’m in. I respect people’s opinions but i don’t appreciate these weak and false accusations. I really don’t respect people using an incorrect, made up identity of who Jesus is to further their political agenda to promote lawlessness without any boundaries or means of authority. Radicalization is dangerous for our country. I have explained myself in the tags on my previous post and my opinion is a fair one at that. Also: i think people can live their lives however they see fit. It’s not my place to impose my beliefs on anyone nor do i think that’s appropriate. I don’t hate anybody. But i do think we all need Christ because He is the way, the truth, and the life. I believe in the Bible and recognize it’s authority and truth. Being “open minded” is not Biblical. Jesus is not “open minded”. He is Holy. He is the Lord. He doesn’t compromise. We are to follow Him with reverence, respect, love, and die to ourselves daily. But again, you have every right to think however you want. As do i. I think that’s fair. Jesus has changed my life and i have never felt more at peace than i do now. It’s just so beyond frustrating to me when people see what i have written and twist it into something else and accuse me of not actually knowing Christ because “God is love” or “love thy neighbor”. I agree with that TOO, obviously. But love, something God created, is defined by HIS STANDARDS, not the world’s. People don’t understand that and misinterpret the Bible and don’t get the fullness of the truth, who God is, Jesus’ identity or the fullness of the Gospel. These are the fundamentals of Christianity. They are NOT secondary or tertiary issues. These are step 1. They are serious. We cannot redefine what Christianity is to suit our desires/thoughts. We must be transformed by the Gospel. Otherwise, it’s not Christianity. And that’s just the truth. You can’t deconstruct and reconstruct a 2000+ year old (and older than that pre-Christ) religion full of history and the character and miracles and of God because God is the same today, yesterday and forever. You either choose Him, follow the Truth, the Word or you don’t. You can’t even do that with any other major world religion. It’s way less accepted, promoted or encouraged. I wish people would stop doing it to Christianity. I also decided not to respond to the person bc i don’t want any back and forth drama nor do i think it’s worth addressing because they’ve already made their mind up about me. With that being said: i encourage everyone to pray for this person. I have done so myself. I did want to share this though and i may delete it soon.

[brionysea]

Question for you: How do you think a one-on-one convo between madwheeler pre-s4 would go from Mike's pov?--like how do you think he would treat/talk with Max, who's isolating herself/depressed? Because I've seen a lot of fics with that premise, but it always seems to be them only talking about their relationships (whether it be Byler or Mileven in Mike's case, or Lumax with Max. Which I don't have an issue with, it's just not always the main focus I want on Madwheeler), but rather how Mike perceives Max post s-4. Sorry if this is rambly and doesn't make sense, I'm struggling with getting in Mike's head, and you're obviously very good at interpreting his character.

answer for you: according to the one (1) season 4 episode where max and mike were both in hawkins, the dynamics with max and the party pre-s4 seem to be as follows:

lucas chases after her at school and tries to get her to talk about her feelings and/or go to his basketball games. she's not into it, but she listens to the games on the radio at home anyway

dustin chases after her at school and tries to get her to hang out with the group (hellfire) (max doesn't seem to like eddie) (it's a d&d group - a game she had no interest in before she lost all capability to care about the things she previously enjoyed). she's not into it, makes fun of him for missing her sarcasm, and skates away

and mike, instead of doing any of that and making her feel cornered (or worse, pitied) when high school is already bad enough, leaves her the hell alone.

some people (non-madwheeler understanders) would think that means that mike just doesn't care or their friendship isn't Like That. those people would be incorrect. bothering each other and cheering each other up while they're in the Mental Health Trenches is what max and mike do. just look at the skateboard scene

madwheeler always have their Friendship Moments when no one else is around. the gym scene, the conversation in the byers kitchen, when mike called max's house and nobody else could hear both sides, when max radioed mike at the sauna, watching el get a coke can out of the bin together, after they both got knocked out by billy. it's a very private friendship, so playing into the "there's more here than meets the eye" concept and having them possibly share things with each other that they otherwise wouldn't share with anyone makes a lot of cohesive sense - even if it's just in a "distracts you from The Horrors until you blurt it out in a fit of annoyance" way, like what happened when max first heard about el from mike

people just think it's all fighting because that's all they see, but even that is always in an attempt to make each other better. and it always works eventually (although if we're being technical, the dynamic is max trying to make mike better, while mike tries to keep max safe). mike wouldn't fight with max when she's depressed though, i believe that's only a yearly occasion for the single week we jump back into these people's lives when tensions are high as a kite. if he was around during season 4 he would have fought with max over her willingness to self sacrifice (you know, like a hypocrite)

simply put, mike doesn't push because he gets it, which is exactly why max tolerates him more than the other two - she pushed through the crowd to stand next to mike at the pep rally while she ran away from the others when they seeked her out later - and might even open up a little. s2 mike and s4 max, both dealing with the trauma of witnessing a death (where the person's last words were directed at them) and feeling responsible for it while the world moves on and nobody else seems to care, are the same. mike knows that max doesn't want to hang out like everything's normal or talk about her feelings and admit that it's not. especially not with lucas, who has plenty of reasons to hate billy, and max is selfless enough to not want to add her own messiness into it. max's mother's distance would resonate with mike too

the thing about mike interacting with any of his friends is that he's the most persistent person who's ever lived. he called el every day for a year; he probably did the same for will after the byers moved; he wouldn't stop radioing lucas in season 1 until he answered; he would not shut up about trying to get in contact with dustin in season 3. mike doesn't give up. what this means for max, is that once he's sure she won't mind him being there (and even if she does, a little bit, but that might just be the Performatively Hating Each Other part before they get back to enjoying each other's company, so he's gonna stick it out regardless), he'd kinda just... be there. and continue to be there. they might talk, they might not, but he knows that it sucks to be alone like this and he's not gonna let that happen to max if he can help it

this last bit is kind of just a headcanon of mine, but i like to imagine that if mike ever searched for an Activity that max actually enjoyed (dustin's got the right idea, but at the same time the wrong idea), he would try to bug her into teaching him how to skateboard. their conversation in the gym was heading in that direction before el interrupted, so there's the connection to the Mental Health Trenches and implicitly returning the favour of that kindness and moment of connection (even though mike really wasn't doing great pre-s4 either, but whatever), and something about the "bambi on ice" line in lenora makes me think it could be something max said to him when he fell over once

[cynthicism]

cole and gwen’s relationship is so unique because, in their world, people measure morality by whether you have a set of horns or a halo.

halos are commonly associated with children, as with growing up comes a loss of innocence and people become more self-serving. while not impossible, it’s quite rare for an adult to have a halo.

horns ( around 2-3 inches ) are incredibly common and associated with almost all adults. they aren’t “bad people” in the way that everyone is committing egregious crimes and what not, but the general self absorption and lack of care for others is enough.

halos are lost around the ages of 16-19, and horns grow in during a painful process lasting about a week, almost as punishment. there are painkillers strong enough to suppress this pain, but they’re only used around the time horns grow in, or for the very rich and famous; there are procedures to remove horns, but they are incredibly expensive and the public generally treats anybody without them with wary. horns are an understandable science - a sort of bone compound that is strong enough to exist outside the protection of the body. halos are something else entirely- basically pure light, with anyone besides the halos owner touching it getting burned.

cole and gwen’s situation is unique because gwen is an adult with a halo, which while rare wouldn’t be too out of the unordinary, except for her profession (SW, mainly dancing. this is something she does before the start of the comic and for a little while during, but ultimately is able to pursue a job in the arts). in public she’s usually assumed to be a child, and constantly has to prove her ID is real. people talk down to her, thinking that she’s naive or stupid. she also takes advantage of this in her job, as the juxtaposition of what she does vs how she looks is enticing.

cole, on the other hand, was born with an extremely rare (condition? disorder? i don’t know medically what it should be referred to) that caused him to never have a halo, instead growing long, gnarled horns a few days after birth. this rarely ever happens, and in the past has been seen as a “sign from above” that the baby would become a catastrophic monster, with the assumption that the baby should not be allowed to get that far. with there being the same tragedies in their world as in ours, this is obviously incorrect. cole’s mother fought furiously for her son, knowing that’s not something he would become, and if it was what he was supposed to be, then she would teach him otherwise. through this, cole was able to grow up, learning that his horns are actually attempting to destroy themselves, very slowly, due to the fact that they just shouldn’t be there. cole strives to be the best person he can be everyday, and although he sticks with it it’s unrewarding due to how people see him. he’s beat down and ostracized from basically everybody. this, combined with a horrible bullying incident, is why his horns are sheltered in adulthood than they are when he was a kid.

cole and gwen are on the opposite ends of the same spectrum, and are drawn to each other due to being the only people who can ( and are willing ) to understand the others situation. gwen has no reason to trust cole, but does so anyways because she believes it’s right to give him that chance. cole doesn’t necessarily understand how gwen’s halo could be a problem, as it’s something he’s wished for his whole life, but listens to her troubles and realizes it’s not all it’s cut out to be if it sticks around.

anyways. they kiss a lot and i love that for them