#bc i connect them with a lot of their details of the real life

[atvbs]

To be completely honest I fell off of new Pokémon stuff a few months before Gen 8 so I know nothing about this Squawkabily guy or whatever his name is but I like him, I think he's neat, thank you

squawkabilly is my abs fave mon and am prob the only one who has that funny guy as an ult fave mon.

theyre based off of the quaker parrot - which are an invasive species to europe. most notably spain! aka the region paldea (gen 9) is based off of.

i also have a quaker parrot so thats where the soft spot comes from hehe :)

the four color variations are based off of the quaker parrots similar different colors in the most condensed categories - green (the natural color in the wild), blue, lutino (yellow), and albino (white)!

[cripplecharacters]

hi, I saw one of ur posts talking Abt things that shouldn't be done for vitiligo rep, and one thing u mentioned was the like connect to animals that r black and white. I was wondering about kinda like, the reverse of that? The reason is I have a character I was designing who's kind of similarish to a mermaid, and I wanted to base some of his design off an orca. I was considering doing the black/white coloration, but I was wondering if that would be too similar to vitiligo. Personally his design is very early with regard to animal motif stuff, so I can put the orca elements into his design in other ways, but I also wanted to ask what you feel might be preferable handling with similar cases (like zebra centaurs, panda or cow humans and other animals who naturally have black/white coloring or similar contrasting colors)-

The main question is if u think the characters actually bringing up that they don't have vitiligo, but rather have common patterns, like saying "most of us have skin/hair/etc color variation bc it's just how our pigment works by default, but ppl with vitiligo have it bc of autoimmune reasons + (giving details on it and maybe mentioning a diff character in story w vitiligo)"

having the variation only affect specific things, for example black/white hair (like an orca mermaid having white eyebrows that mimic orca eyespots) without the skin pigmentation being affected (potentially also bringing up vitiligo to make it specific they aren't connected)

Or just trying to avoid having any animal based color choices that evoke the image of vitiligo, which is totally understandable if u feel the prev examples are still linking vitiligo to animals in a way that's ultimately harmful ppl w vitiligo.

Mostly I wonder if explicitly stating it's a different thing would actually help to combat the idea, or if it's just one of those things that is better to completely avoid doing

Hello!

I think it depends on how far it goes is the determining factor. A zebra centaur who has the zebra coloration on their horse part isn't a problem and doesn't evoke a vitiligo connection, the same way that a gray horse part wouldn't evoke argyria. I would say that the same goes for hair coloration, in media the hair color is kinda "anything goes" either way.

But if you want to make a mermaid who has an orca bottom half, and vitiligo on the upper half, that is an issue. The problem is that readers, and people in general, just don't see the nuance and end up linking animal coloration with vitiligo anyway - I mean, it's not like cows in real life have it, but people still get compared to them. The visual is enough, even if there are in-universe explanations, in my opinion. Vitiligo is still dramatically misunderstood, and it's very much a case of "if it looks like vitiligo, it is vitiligo" when it comes to design choices like this.

In short; animal part with black/white coloration: cool, hair/eyebrows/etc: cool, skin: not cool. It just hits too close to the real life condition.

With that said, I don't think there's an issue having a character with vitiligo who's part animal if you're not trying to link the two. A catfish mermaid with vitiligo on her human part would be cool :-)

And for other ideas when it comes to mermaids and disability - a lot of people with limb differences that I know would enjoy a clownfish mermaid with an upper limb difference, the term "lucky fin" exists for a reason:-)!

I hope this helps!

mod Sasza

[rweoutofthewoods]

Hi ! I wanted to ask you what’s your opinion on peter’s betrayal? the only explanation we’re given is that he was a coward and while I do think that’s true, I can’t stop thinking that a coward with no ill intentions would just run away. So why? I mean he could have escaped both sides in his rat form and leave the country.

OH let me talk my shit on Peter!!

My thought process has always been that Peter was insecure and jealous. I honestly think it’s jkr not fleshing him out in the books because like… when u think about it Peter was a Gryffindor too? And who else was one who seemed cowardly at first and jkr made a point of highlighting his unique bravery? NEVILLE?? Like he had his own brand of bravery and she made it a theme to show him coming into himself and that not all forms of bravery mean you’re rash or bold, but what about Peter? If that’s what she was trying to show, Peter was a Gryffindor too… I don’t think he was simply a coward. He wasn’t just spineless bc that’s contradictory to the other points made in the book...

I think he spent years following the other marauders around, seeing James and Sirius especially who were popular and attractive and charming. Even Remus who may have seemed more like the odd one out was still obviously respected and cherished by James and Sirius. I mean they went through great lengths to help him during the full moons. But what do we know about their relationship with Peter? We never heard anything about the other marauders doing anything for him or valuing him to that extent. I think Peter was always more so along for the ride. And they all had their very close relationships and Peter often found himself excluded. Now I’m speaking strictly in canon terms, so I won’t cite Wolfstar but also say that relationship did exist that would be an added relationship in their friend group, and Wolfstar aside I do think Sirius and Remus still had a close and special connection and Peter?? He was always tagging along, trying to be involved but somehow still feeling excluded and like an outsider. There wasn’t anything particularly exciting or interesting about him, and I think I remember the books saying he wasn’t attractive? But idk if that’s simply bc he was in rat form for so long. Either way he was an insecure, odd one out of a teenage boy. And looking at real life, well it’s not unheard of for those kinds of people who don’t feel accepted or celebrated by society to become radicalized.

Also, keeping in mind how YOUNG they all were. Peter was barely an adult when he betrayed his friends. And I’m not sure how long he was involved with the DE before Lily and James died. He could have been recruited very young. And I have no idea HOW he came to be working with Voldemort, I don’t think JKR ever gave any details on how that came to be…

But I imagine a jealous, insecure, and probably scared young man could easily be turned. his envy could fester into hatred and bitterness towards his friends when times became more desperate and there was a war going on. Voldemort probably seemed like a chance for Peter to finally have his power and glory, to prove that he was better than his former friends who looked down on him. And look at Tom Riddle, he was a half blood who hated muggles because he was treated badly by them and abandoned, an outsider etc. there’s a kinship there, hatred spreads easily. And I don’t think we ever learn if Peter actually believed the Death Eater’s blood purity rhetoric. Was he a believer? Or did he just want power and vengeance and thought going to the opposite side of the friends that he thought mistreated him would give him that?

So in short: jkr left a lot of holes and uncertainty in Peter’s character, but I fully believe that it was his own insecurities and envy turned rotten that led him to that betrayal. Not just cowardice. Because he was a Gryffindor too!! And as terrible as it was, it takes some guts to sell your oldest friends out to Voldemort. Maybe he thought he had little choice and was saving himself by picking the winning side, but to kill and frame your own friends? That’s shows resentment and hatred.

(Also Remus initially got off easier, he wasn’t dead or in Azkaban so if he was the kindest to Peter out of all the marauders that tracks.)

[clambuoyance]

Do u want to talk abt ur ocs..... I actually followed you initially bc they seemed so interesting and silly and I want to know more if you feel like sharing :)

I still can’t believe some ppl follow me for my ocs bc it’s usually for my fanart so this is really nice to hear! I have a couple stories/universes but the main one I’ve been…developing (it’s on and off) since I was like 13/14 is about these two kids named Keiko and Rolin!! Im still doing a lot of world and lore building but the main gist is that Rolin is a teenage boy turning 16 who returns to his hometown to live with his aunt and meets a strange young girl named Keiko (debating on making her 10-12 idk she was originally 10). I won’t go too much into like Lore stuff but she has like..my own version of clairvoyance. They are kind of opposites, with Rolin being introverted and jaded, and Keiko being loud and optimistic but they are both silly.

I think it’s been said before but the whole driving relationship of the story is the two of them going on adventures throughout the city and solving mysteries while simultaneously becoming family and finding a real home within each other and the people they’ve met and learned to love 😚

Now the story is centered around Rolin and Keiko, but a big focus is on the cast of characters that fill mostly Rolins life. Mira and Artie were friends with Rolin when they were kids before Rolin left with his mom, and all three grew up and have been living their own lives, but when Rolin comes back they get a chance to reconnect (with Keiko’s help). Valoryn (Val) is also new in town, and befriends Rolin and Keiko. This is just a messy fast doodle of them I have better art in my oc tags🙏

Some old sketches

The other major cast is Rolin’s family, and Rolin has always been Asian so as I worked on the story his family kept getting more and more relevant especially with a major theme of the story being about the connections you have with people in your life so like I can’t leave them out. And I’ve never settled on an Asian ethnicity until recently where I was like I might as well make him Filipino so I can base his family off my own🫡 Cousins (both blood and not) that are years older than you but treat you like siblings and give u silly nicknames 🫶

Now Diana (or Deedee) is one of those characters I’ve had for a long time, and I made her because I liked those laidback mentor figures in anime (like Qrow from rwby) and wanted a laidback lady one 🤷🏻‍♀️ she also has some Misato from nge influence. She has always been written to be a mentor figure to Rolin and Keiko, and at one point I think I was going to make her his actual aunt but stuck to her being just a cousin so I could write about her relationship with her mom 🫶 Unlike her brother Darius, she does not live with her mom and Rolin has to go out of his way to meet her.

And Rolin’s parents’ story aren’t the main focus (they aren’t really present themselves in the main story) and it’s mostly just flashback stuff but they r silly and sad and I love drawing them 😼

I could go into more detail but that’s an overview of some of the characters

[determinate-negation]

hey i wanted to ask your thoughts on something -- i am a gentile and asked one of my jewish friends if she wanted to come with me to a palestine protest and she expressed that she was supportive of palestine but didn't want to go bc she'd had bad experiences with antisemitism at previous palestine protests she'd been to. i said i was sorry she'd had such experiences and just left it at that but i'm not really sure what to make of it. i've always seen a decent number of visibly jewish people at palestine protests (eg people with "not in my name" placards/banners etc) and ofc quite a few of the people i attend palestine protests with are jewish themselves, and i've not noticed anything particularly antisemitic at the protests i've been to but i'm not jewish myself so maybe i wouldn't have noticed it. wondering what you think about it, what your experiences have been, and if there's anything you think gentile anti-zionists should be doing to make anti-zionist spaces more welcoming to jewish people (or if you don't agree with my friend's assessment of palestine protests?). the sentiment i've heard my jewish anti-zionist comrades express is that while all racism within the anti-zionist movement must be combatted, at the end of the day it's about palestinians not about jews and that incidents of antisemitism shouldn't mean jews don't get involved with anti-zionism -- but i don't think that'd really be appropriate for me to tell my friend given that i'm not jewish?

sorry just answering this now. in my experience i havent seen antisemitism at palestine protests, i also live in a very jewish city rn and have grown up in places with big jewish communities my whole life, with family members and family friends who were left wing and generally disinterested in israel and zionism. depending on where you are, people might be more isolated and nervous about antisemitism (could totally be for good reason, idk the details of where you are). a lot of jewish institutional communities basically ingrain it into peoples heads that theyre potentially unsafe and the holocaust could happen again at any time (and also thats why we need israel) and that creates a really visceral emotional connection

honestly i would ask your friend what experiences shes had before saying anything else. it might make it clearer what shes talking about. it totally could be legit idk. but also, i dont mean to say this in a flippant way, but theres a difference between real antisemitism (as in enmity to jews in general not just israeli settlers) and things that might make someone from a more zionist background uncomfortable being around, or might set off an emotional reaction they have to years of people telling them theyre about to get rounded up.

i feel like ive seen palestine organizers and speakers in the u.s. generally be very clear that they dont tolerate antisemitism, and the few instances of antisemitism i have heard of got called out and denounced, and people trying to provoke getting kicked out of protests instantly. it would be stupid to say that it doesnt exist, but it is in my observation minor to the u.s. palestine movement and generally not tolerated when it appears. i think this is a good sign and shows that palestine organizers are committed to combatting antisemitism and our continued presence as anti zionist jews will probably do more to help also. maybe your friend should try to join jewish voice for peace or if not now though

[jackfrombaskinrobbins]

matt murdock as your legal guardian headcanons :)

type of writing: headcanons / scenario

word count: 1.15k

request: yes / no

dynamic: matt murdock x teen!reader

characters: reader, matt murdock, foggy nelson, karen page

a/n: ik this isn't a request, but it's something i think about a lot!! i had to get it out lol. i was originally gonna use a more aesthetic picture but then i found this & it was too cute not to include lol <3 also requests are still open! just send in an ask :)

taglist: @nutellani (fill out this form if you'd like to be included!)

-----------------------✰----------------------

first i’m gonna explain how matt murdock actually became your legal guardian.

because i just want to establish that lol

so your parents were involved with wilson fisk.

you had no idea about this of course, since you were very young when they were still involved in his business.

and btw when i say business i mean like his shady dealings

you were kind of left on your own a lot as a kid. you didn’t really mind it, and figured out how to entertain yourself.

however, when you were five years old, you returned home to find a truly awful crime scene.

you would learn much later in life that your parents had decided to report fisk, but before they were able to do so, he had them killed.

the perp was still there, and almost got you. however, a man with a black mask over his eyes was able to stop him for a second, yelling at you to run.

so you did. 

you ended up at an orphanage, but one day, a blind man came in looking to adopt.

you felt an immediate connection, and he adopted you when you were six. 

you’ve been inseparable ever since!!!

he told you all about your parents when you were older btw

anyways so now onto the fun stuff!!

one perk of living with matt is that your room is bomb.

bc his apartment is lowkey the coolest

if you like to visualise like i do, i imagine that your room is like next to the closet where he keeps the daredevil stuff

RANDOM LITTLE DETAIL LOL

anyways it’s super cosy

and you also can basically see in the dark because even though it doesn’t matter if the lights are on, matt tells you to keep them off because then the electric bill will stay low 

you called him a cheapskate but he said that was rude :(

you still did it though #rebel 🥶🥶🥶

you guys bully each other all the time

it’s the way you bond :)

you go to the nelson & murdock offices after school or during the summers.

you have your own little desk there!

one time you said it was too distracting and so foggy bought a privacy folder for you LMAO

needless to say it didn’t help at all

most of the clients are really nice and they’ll ask you about school and life and stuff

you kind of put them at ease

you tried to talk to matt about him being kind of intimidating but he didn’t want to hear it.

and then foggy kept asking why you didn’t think HE was intimidating.

“i mean come on y/n! have you SEEN this face? matt has a little baby face compared to mine!!”

you laughed so hard omg

matt calls you if he needs anything or if you need to tell him something, but you mostly just text foggy to keep them both updated

in my mind, foggy texts like five texts for one sentence

he uses every emoji twice

and every time he uses an abbreviation he always capitalizes it and puts the real meaning in parentheses next to it

here is an example

“hi y/n. hope your day is going well 😃😃 matt and i just won our case 😎😎 so we are going to go to josie’s tonight to celebrate!!!!!!! yay!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 🥳🥳 let me know if you need anything from the store 🏬🏬 ok TTYL (TALK TO YOU LATER) OMG (OH MY GOSH) matt just fell LOL (LAUGH OUT LOUD) 😱😱 gotta go ☹️☹️”

he’s so silly i love him

also matt collects records and cds.

he used to go with you to buy them and let you choose whatever you thought looked good

which is why you have everything from no doubt to frank sinatra to obscure french music

you always have music on at the apartment

like all the time

which brings me to my next point

matt never wanted you to have to see him as daredevil

but it wasn’t like the topic could be avoided.

so when he comes home with awful wounds and stuff, you help clean him up, just like he used to do for his father

and you’re damn good at it too. you have a very steady hand and no squeamish attitude at all. 

but similar to how the scotch used to help matt steady himself when he helped his father, music helps you steady yourself.

you’ll listen to soft & acoustic songs, and it helps ease you AND him.

usually you don’t talk about the things he does. but if he mentions something, you will

but usually it goes without any mention

in my mind, you and matt have a tradition of listening to baseball games on the radio together

you don’t really have a team you alaays root for, it changes year to year

but the two of you get really invested.

like you left the office early every time there’s a game so you can listen together.

or one time he and foggy were prepping a case and there was a game on so he wasn’t even focused HAH

i also think that even though josie’s is a bar, you’re allowed in

not only that, josie will let you behind the bar to make yourself a drink.

ok not like an alcoholic one but still

you have this one mixture of cranberry juice and ginger ale with a lime that you call the “y/n special” and foggy tried it and spit it out :(

josie and some of the regulars almost kicked him out LMAO it was so funny

ok also i have this very clear vision of something foggy does

so to preface this

it’s a rainy day

or just a generally gloomy day

and you and matt are home.

karen is over too.

maybe you’re reading a book and matt and karen are prepping a case or something

and then the door suddenly bursts open

matt isn’t surprised because he heard it coming obvi 

but it caught you off guard

you look over to the kitchen, where the perpetrator is completely covered by the GIGANTIC grocery bags he’s holding.

“oh no.” 

you say, and matt shakes his head. karen is already laughing

foggy drops the bags and exhales, a huge grin overtaking his face.

“WHO’S READY FOR FOGGY’S FAMOUS CHICKEN SOUP????!!!”

“we are” you and karen and matt say in unison, trying to hold back laughter

basically every time the littlest bit of winter rolls around, foggy will bring every ingredient known to man over to your and matt’s apartment and make chicken soup

you make fun of this tradition but it’s been going on since foggy and matt were in law school

and the soup is actually so good

you four always eat it together and it makes you so happy

your family, all together at one table :)

-----------------------✰----------------------

[time-is-restored]

okay like listen i know a lot of people have been talking abt this specific aspect of 3x3 already but. im just having a bit of a moment w the amount of lgbt ppl who saw trent's expression at the end there, and like. Knew.

like to be clear i am aware that at this point trent being gay is, at best, subtext + fanon. its incredibly beloved subtext, but its entirely possible that it could get blown out of the water in the coming episodes. but within the reading of trent being a gay man, seeing colin in that terrifying moment of exposure + vulnerability... that look says So much. its fear, its worry, its an instinctive protective response. its helplessness, its shame from feeling powerlessness, its the grim certainty that comes from knowing just how much is at stake.

(cw: discussion of homophobia + discrimination below. its long. i very much rambled.)

bc the thing that i personally keep coming back to is like. everyone on the team is colin's friend - his family, even, according to the themes of the show. the show is literally about the team + staff working together to break down their toxic/unhealthy behaviours and build up a culture of trust + respect. that's why i think it's so significant that while isaac is the one to use the word gay pejoratively, he's also the one checking in on colin when he gets moved to the bench. he's arguably colin's closest friend at the club! and that's not enough. the fact that the richmond club is made up of demonstrably good and well-intentioned people isn't enough.

don't get me wrong, its fucking terrifying + awful being closeted around ppl who are ACTIVELY bigoted and cruel and who u KNOW would be nothing less than awful to if u were out. but the uncertainty of being around people you love, and not knowing what would happen if you told them? of never truly being sure of your place in the dynamic, since there's always that risk hanging over your head? its exhausting, and terrifying.

because what if they aren't accepting? even avoiding the worst case scenario where his bosses (the coaches, higgins, rebecca - hell, even keely) don't outright cut his career short, he's obviously extremely aware of how being on the outs with the team could lead to his life being made miserable. he was harassing nate himself! and, again, putting aside the (very real! he's a football player! he spends half of his time in a locker room!!!) threat of physical violence, we JUST saw how quickly a member of the team can be shunned + labelled as an outsider (and in the context of this arc, i rlly don't think its a coincedence that trent, specifically, was the one to experience that treatment). and that's without even getting STARTED on the absolute nightmare britain's press + papparazi would be if they put a target on his back (the show has spared no gory detail for their treatment of rebecca + ted, after all).

this is the type of weight colin's been carrying around for the past three seasons. and trent, in that split second before he looked away and continued walking, must've felt it all right along with him. colin works for the fucking premier league in fucking britain. it's harder to think of a workplace LESS hospitable to anything other than the most cishetero, toxic, hyper conformist displays of masculinity.

and that's what fucking GETS me abt the reading where trent is gay! because in the exact same moment where trent would be feeling such a sudden sense of connection + solidarity w colin (you are not alone!!! im here too! i see you! i know you!), there comes the crushing weight of wanting to protect him, and not knowing if you can. trent may be a notoriously incisive + unflinching reporter, but w/ all of his power + armour stripped away now that he's no longer with the independent, it's damningly obvious that trent doesn't have anything close to real power at richmond. if they wanted to make colin's life hell, what could he really do to stop them? again: they're fucking footballers. he's only even allowed at the club on ted's word, a word which could presumably be revoked at any time.

i just. the fear. the guilt. the shame. and above all, the desperate, heart aching need to keep another member of the community safe, even with the odds so blatantly stacked against you both.

and like. idk. to me that is the point of this scene. i think whether you've been in trent's position, or colin's, or neither, the vast majority of us went through a very similar emotional journey when we saw colin exposed like that. love -> fear -> protectiveness. and its an urge so strong, ppl are (lightheartedly, for the most part) threatening the Literal Writers of the show! like, the fact that rn there are SO many people out there tweeting + liveblogging and threatening trent, threatening isaac, threatening the WRITERS - threatening literally anyone and everyone over the CHANCE that any of them will hurt colin/out him/expose him to homophobia in any way? like, yes, colin isn't real. but i'd like to hope that that solidarity is.

and just to be clear, ted lasso is ultimately a comedy show. while it has never shied away from frankly portraying dark subject matter, i don't think this story will have an unhappy ending. but if this arc comes with any takeaway at all, i just really fucking hope that its about how that solidarity is what we all need to embrace + run towards, rather than try and stifle. and that colin is fully + unconditionally supported by his community, whoever that may be.

[rise-my-angel]

wait did u had ideas or have ideas on how you would have wrote house of the dragon ( based on that prologue post u mentioned how got did a good job versus hotd telling really nothing)?? i sometimes think about it and someone once mentioned about writing it in the pov of the great houses and i just kept thinking bc i personally would have liked seeing something like; showing the targaryens just from afar, keeping them detached from everyone, really into that above all men, keeping the mystique and just showing them unreachable. it doesn’t make sense in a writing way, especially george’s world and the game of thrones world because even the villains were shown their complex sides. but idk it would have been lowkey interesting seeing them just like afar and the pov being the great houses. or even the smallfolk. i know that people joke all the time about hugh or ulf and that we don’t need their backstories but maybe even from a pov of them who in the future become dragonriders would have been a cool story. idk. something new and interesting and different but not too different. i mean writing about the privileged characters who are monarchy and trying to show the complex sides of even them it’s something that i like personally, but like it’s a hopeless story?! ofc seeing dragons and the politics are things that got people excited so idk how much would these ideas really make people watch but as i said it’s a hopeless story?! and not to be cliche but we do need the good guys or the “heroes” to root for or something good and real to root for.. even jace and sara could have been a good story?!?! but yeah hotd is disappointing

The thing is, they chose a very complicated story to tell. They had a lot to live up to, because the Dance of Dragons is one of the most pivitol wars in the history of the Targaryean dynasty and due to the nature of the book being framed as an in universe historical recounting, there is a lot of detail to consider.

They started off roughly, the narration flashback kills most of that interesting history. The details of the Great Council of 101 AC is very detailed, there was a lot going on and there is a lot of nuance to why they made the choices they made that go beyond "Viserys was a man". Yes that was part of why they overpassed Rhaenys, but they also passed on Laenor because he was a male heir through a female bloodline. So it isn't just women bad, men good. It's a very specifically structured system that is so dense it required near a thousand Lords to gather to discern how to handle Jaehaerys succession.

In truth, they had enough characters in the main show whom were there, that they needed to give the answers slowly. When Otto suggests Rhaenyra for heir to replace Daemon, that was the perfect opportunity to start exploring the history there. Say more then just that the Lords wont accept a female heir, explain why.

I think another issue is simply, they were bad at knowing when to hold back and when to cut things. I think they needed to focus in way more on the politics on the story then the details of the Targaryeans and their legacy or purpose. They needed to go in on the details about the politcs and why characters are doing what they are doing, instead of showing off the life around that.

Cut everything about the prophecy, it makes no sense and bogs down the pacing. Either make the plotline of Daemon fighting the Crab Feeder more relevant to the plot then just "this is what Daemons doing btw", or cut it entierly. It felt too disconnected from the politics of the story because they didn't really connect us to why that matters to this story. It felt like a side story for the wrong show.

They also made a very bad choice in framing. Fire and Blood presents as a historical texts, but with testimonies of different perspectives to explain that there is no affinitive prognosis on what is the full truth. The show made a bad choice by choosing what side was right, when in reality, it needed a mix. Show aspects of both sides, and for more, go in the middle. More often then not, when you have two vastly different descriptions of one incident, the actual truth is somewhere in the middle. The show needed to be that middle.

Also, a lot more focus needed to be on building up to Lucerys death. His death becomes the cataclyst for so much of the war, and they really needed to lean into the tension between the families before that. We needed to truly feel like these are two toxic sides of the same family, and peace was never going to be possible. By the time Viserys dies, we needed to feel that "oh shit". That moment of, he's done and nothing is in these families ways from starting their own ends.

I think the Green Council was their best episode, showing the time sensitive nature of crowning Aegon and all the details that went into that process. Now I think they should've stuck closer to the books events because it's simply the more ineteresting version, but thats personal opinion.

But the Black Queen, thus needed to be the true final nail in the coffin. They needed to the tension leading to his death, we know something bad is going to kick off this war, but we don't know what. Because when Lucerys sees Aemond at Storms End, it feels like things got tense out of nowhere when in reality, we needed that to be the climax of the episodes tension.

Season 2 though, is a mess. Fixing season 2 would require an episode by episode playthrough because I cannot elaborate here alone on why season 2s structure was so bad. It didn't need to be the book, but it still needed to be good, and it wasn't even on it's own merit.

Basically, I have ineterest in exploring how I'd fix hotd, but I'd really need to go in episode by episode because I think they had enough time to tell this story and they completely wasted it.

[suffarustuffaru]

What's your thoughts on Garfield

i really really like garfiel!! its been a while since ive read arc 5-6 though so like specific plot details get a little murky in my brain (....also arc 7-8's chaotic plotline sometimes too HAH), but yeah like. garfiel and his family add to like those familial relationship themes in rezero i think, and im Invested in their family drama. and yknow i do like garfiel a lot on his own. dudes like a shounen protagonist in the best way possible i think? like i like that hes introduced as a somewhat unpredictable minor antagonist in arc 4 - i remember being interested when reading arc 4 wn (this was before s2 came out HAH) bc it was like. whys garf acting like this from loop to loop. whats going on with him. AND THEN HIS BACKSTORY REVEAL AND THE TRIAL AND THE REVEAL THAT HES SO YOUNG HAH... its perfect. explains his behavior perfectly. and my fondness for him was cemented in that exact moment.

so like garfiel isnt a rezero character that i obsessively go insane over atm (......thats reserved for subaru emilia reinhard otto heinkel i suppose......) but i really like him a lot. i like how he has like. slight misogynistic moments that he gets called out for LMAO T^TT but hes such a sweetheart with the elderly in sanctuary - hes a mamas boy...... and hes pretty earnest and determined at heart. and he likes to READ... HES A BOOKWORM... hes. such a teenage boy. the teenage boy of all time. that i cannot help but feel fond of him, and hes grown even kinder by arc 8 with all the connections hes made... like i absolutely lovee his arc 8 development. its amazing, and i cant wait to see where he goes from here!!! garfiel's arc 8 chapter with the theatre dream is one of my favorite arc 8 moments of all time!!!! and im terrified of whatll happen thatll cause garfiel's line in emilia's third trial :,))))) but very excited. and also i like the garfiel-heinkel dynamic okay sue me (dont sue me literally im a college student). and i think its really fucking funny that they were both cats in garfiel's theatre dream okay.

also ofc i love the three idiots (subaru otto garfiel) dynamic. absolutely hilarious. and as an older sibling myself to a little brother its very relatable LMAO. but also that moment in gluttony if... where the three of them come to a head bc subarus Like That :(((( man............. but on a lighter note the three idiots ss were very fun reads for me!!! <3

AND OK i want to get more garfiel frederica stuff too. like ofc i want to learn more about frederica and im kind of disappointed that we have to wait so long for that if tappeis word of god stuff on that is true :,) and a tinyyy bit disappointed that frederica didnt get to experience the stuff in arc 5 about her and garfiel's mom and new extended family and stuff :<< but i did enjoy the post-arc 4 wn garfiel frederica bonding :,))) and i did actually consider making a fanfic about garfiel and frederica's mom bc her story is just really, really sad - and if i did do that, id do a lot of research into garfiel, frederica, and their family!! which id love to do i just have limited time bc Real Life HAH so maybe someday!!!

in conclusion i absolutely love garfiel. im on the garfiel defense squad. id die for garfiel. garfiel??? little brother material. absolutely great. spectacular. i love him. i support his endeavors. hes amazing hes soooooooo cool hes - *gets shot*

[timeausterrors]

hello! this is for the thoughts on homestuck! i think it's interesting how you can read the beta kids as the different troubles a kid could face growing up and, frankly in my opinion, john is no exception. i feel like his upbringing is emblematic of like... you can grow up in a good community in a happy household with a loving father and still not come out of it okay because it's not that simple. he reads SO clearly to me as that experience kids have with mental illness- you don't know what's going on other than there's something wrong with you, because nobody saw any reason to tell you anything else was a possibility. not to mention when you consider it in the transgender context. it's all the little unfortunate side effects of the classic suburban lifestyle that pile up on top of each other- by all means you should be happy, but here you are, just as discontent as all the rest of your friends. ...looks at the big textblock and starts sweating. john makes me feel a lot of emotions if you couldn't tell. i just think he's neat.

yes!! i hardly ever see true analysis of june, especially in early acts, which is wild because she is literally the Main Character. and there is really so much to explore with her, especially when it comes to her emotional struggles and connections with people.

SORRY I WENT OFF A BIT...

june has got to be one of the most heavily autistic coded characters in homestuck, which is saying something bc almost all of them can be read as some form of neurodivergent/mentally ill (or both). but june, specifically, is interesting because, as you said, she had the most "normal" upbringing of all of the kids, both alpha and beta, and by far has the hardest time making connections with people. she has a tendency to derail conversations towards her interests ('shitty' movies) and it often feels like making connections of events to her movies helps her process and relate to those events. she often takes people at their face value, and struggles to pick up on sarcasm or tone through text, and is very gullible because of it (terezi tricking alt june to fight her denizen early, then not taking dave or davesprite seriously until the last minute – she either believes everything someine tells her or nothing, depending on her pre-established notions of the person).

all of these make genuine relationships and connections difficult to build with june. the theme of loneliness with her is Extremely prevalent throughout the comic, even in the snapchat epilogues. she is like the manifestation of undiagnosed autism in children (especially young boys who are trans and dont know it yet). she has a caring dad and a 'good life' but her struggle to make irl connections and that feeling of knowing Something is different about you (or something is "wrong" with you) but not understanding what it is... i feel a lot of that is why june resonates with people.

this is not even going into detail about june's trans coding (be it intentional or not on hussie's end, a good portion of the kids have very real trans coding that i wish more people would appreciate cough cough jake, jane, eridan, the zahhaks.... cough cough cough) or her role in the narrative as both a breath player and a main character... it all paints and extremely compelling picture of this character and i really wish more people would appreciate her!!

sorry for da word wall... june also makes me feel a lot of emotions 🥹

[pynkhues]

Hi! I just read an extremely popular Brio fic and it was wonderfully well written but I found I kept losing interest. I realized it’s bc while Rio felt somewhat authentic for the AU, Beth seemed like a completely different character. There wasn’t really much background information on her so the changes didn’t really make sense to me, even in an AU setting.

How do you approach AU settings to make sure the characters feel connected to the originals? Like in your pornstars AU I can still see Beth in there, even if it’s not something I would have ever expected of her! So I’m curious as to how you approach that.

Also why do you think this seems to happen more to Beth versus Rio? Are people just projecting themselves onto her you think? Idk I just feel like she has such a strong personality that I’m curious why I seem to feel that way in some fics.

Anyways, love your work 🩷🩷🩷

Hi! Thanks for your lovely words, although I'm sorry for your experience with that other fic. It can be such a bummer when we're overall enjoying a story - whether fic, or books, or shows - but for whatever reason it's just not quite landing. I know the feeling pretty well, haha.

For me, I find that capturing a character in all writing is basically about distilling two things:

What they want

What they need

These two factors in so many ways embody the main narrative arc of a story. In fact, many author talks I've been to suggest that plot in its entirety is a matter of asking three questions - what does a character want? What's standing in their way stopping them from getting what they want? And how will they overcome this obstacle? I don't entirely agree with this, and it's not a method of plotting that I personally subscribe to these days (although I have used it in the past and still sometimes find it helpful when I'm stuck), but I do think it can be useful to think about in terms of the role character motivation contributes to story overall.

More to the point though, I find dividing a character's wants and needs to be super useful, both in terms of analysis and writing, as to me, it's those wants and needs that really feed into everything when it comes to characterisation.

Beth's actually a great example of this as her want vs need are both complimentary and frequently in conflict with each other:

What Beth wants is to earn enough to save her house, provide for her children and get herself, her sister and her best friend to a point of financial security that doesn't leave them in a state of constant free fall.

What Beth needs is to feel real self worth, to connect with the woman inside of herself beyond wifehood, motherhood and even sisterhood, and to be seen and acknowledged as that woman by people she respects (i.e. Rio, but not just him). She needs to be seen as capable, and to feel autonomous and in control of her future.

Both of these wants and needs have greater implications when filling in the details of a character. In Beth's case, her adultification as a child in raising her sister feeds her lack of identity as an adult at the start of the series and her need to find herself (she's been raising children her whole life!), Dean's cheating compounds those feelings of self-worth, and him losing the family house is what becomes the catalyst for Beth to act. Her wants are created due to the situation Dean forces her into, her needs have been there for a lot longer than that.

When writing fic in general, but especially AUs, I try not to change the wants or needs of the characters. Like I said, I tend to view them as pretty crucial to the character overall, but I also think those wants and needs are what makes me feel connected to them as opposed to other characters or other shows. Those are the things I like! Why would I want to change them?

And anyway, I tend to find it super fun figuring out how those wants and needs might guide characters in a different setting. In both the porn star AU and the pirate AU, I really wanted to use the time period, the industry and the context of those story worlds to see how Beth might navigate her needs and wants, and to see how those factors might influence the shape of her story arc. It was pretty interesting to realise that I didn't think much changed, even in the pirate AU which is set so far in the past. I hope that means I understand her as a character, or at least, I guess, my interpretation of her, haha.

As for other writers - - yeah! I mean, in some ways I do think Rio's probably easier to write because his own wants and needs are more ambiguous on the show and he's therefore a little more malleable in fic. A lot about him can be true when we ultimately saw so little of him, whereas Beth, as you said, has such a strong personality and defined character that to change elements of her voice or her background, or to make certain decisions for her, can leave us with the age old feeling of: 'she wouldn't do / say that'.

I do think that, especially by the end of the series, there was a not insignificant portion of the fandom who didn't like her so ultimately wrote her differently (I personally had issues with the fact that so many people wrote Rio as punishing and Beth as both taking and deserving that punishment, which is why some high profile fics in the fandom aren't of particular interest to me), but I think there are other factors as well.

Yes, some projection, yes, some who mostly wrote her to be able to write about Rio, yes, some who were simply disinterested in her interiority, but I also think GG was a lot of people's first fandom, and a lot of people's first time writing fic, and that ultimately, Beth was a complicated character who only got more complicated over the four seasons of the show. She's not easy to write, and I do think the fandom was chockfull of talented writers, but a lot of talented writers who were still ultimately pretty new to writing.

I've been writing for a long time (man, I think I worked out that I posted my first fic when I was about 13 which was like, twenty years ago now, haha, and I had my first short story published in a journal at 19 too), and ultimately writing is a skill like anything else - you get better the longer you do it. :-)

[bella-rose29]

episode 5 commentary - Death Is Coming

the usual warnings of swearing and lack of context, as well as a lot of comments on hands and arms and obviously spoilers for both the series and the books

girl has stare down with a skull in a jar

omg it's been so long since I watched and I forgot how pretty lockwood is

OMG HE ASKS IF SHE WANTS JUICE

WHAT IF THE JUICE IS ORANGE AND HAS BITS IN

lolllll George is shipping already and the episode only just started

Georgie needs more sleep

lockwood takes the Mum Stance

I always think that the DEPRAC van is a lego van bc it's yellow

ohhh you can really see how big the coat is on lockwood :(((

ooo nice detail with the lavender pin that he has

'wILL yOu cAN iT pAm'

hands

ugh Lockwood's so pretty

Georgie noo

'bobby Vernon will have been at it since dawn'

'alarming how quickly you got into character' (code for: I am completely in love with you')

careful Georgie that's a lot of blood

ew dead body

'I know him' YOU CAN SEE HOW UPSET HE IS BUT HE'S GONNA HIDE IT BC HE FEELS THE NEED TO BE STRONG ALL THE TIME

I JUST WANNA GIVE HIM A HUG

CAMERON CHAPMAN THE MAN YOU ARE HOW DO YOU DO THE MICRO EXPRESSIONS SO WELL

ohhh lockwood is trying so hard to not be upset and it breaks my heart :((( poor boy

✨swagger✨

I want an epic breakfast

'I hardly knew him' BOY DON'T-

wow she's a bitch let my boy do research

get away from Georgie you bitch

eeeeeee

'when am I not nice' Luce I hate to break it to you

Lucy that is very clearly a ghost and not a real baby

silly goose behaviour

'I did' QUEEN

'who's the latest slapper?' ICONIC

'oh wow, a female serial killer? aspirational, why don't you stick it on a t-shirt'

I love lockwood bc he makes sure the remains go to a good home AND Flo gets her money

ohhhh I just had a Thought! what if one of the reasons they made Joplin a woman was to draw parallels between her and Mary dulac??? one of the headlines on the papers is 'mystery madwoman: Bickerstaff connection?' so maybe they wanted to repeat the past but this time make the crazy one go too far and die? idk if that even makes sense but oh well

Georgie noooo

no leave him alone

let him go clean the oven and I'll be there to make him a tea

WIFE BEHAVIOUR

he can't even slice toast without being Extra

JONATHAN BESTIEEEEE

'a suicide note' Lucy honey have you noticed that your bf has a tendency for suicidal things

I really wish the bisto was in the background bc that would be hilarious

'I thought you'd be dead by now' NO LETS TAKE A MOMENT TO TALK ABOUT THIS

BECAUSE HE GOES FROM QUIRKING A LIL SMILE, TO LOOKING DOWN AND THE SMILE DISAPPEARING, TO INHALING AND SMILING EVEN WIDER BECAUSE HE KNOWS LUCY IS WATCHING HIM

give that boy some therapy for free

aw two nerds talking about mythology (I wish I was the other one)

also can we talk about the STAGING OF THIS SCENE??? BECAUSE JOPLIN HAS A MIRROR OVER HER LEFT SHOULDER AND GEORGE HAS ONE OVER HIS RIGHT

also George has the city lights behind him and Joplin just has the beige walls and I love that for some reason, maybe to show that George's life is bright and he's got life left in him whereas Joplin can only gain brightness from George bc she needs him for the mirror? idk if I'm explaining that right but oh well! also Joplin's mirror reflects the light behind George which is funky

just you wait for my next analysis of the show which is almost certainly gonna be on the use of mirrors lol

THE STAGING AGAIN

FILMING THEM IN THE MIRRORS

I LOVE THIS GHOST SHOW

'how did you meet Flo?' 'can't remember. ages ago' LOL HE'S HIDING THE FACT HE GOT HIS ASS BEATEN

ohhh the green lighting

'I'm not worried. are you?' well not when you say it like that

while I do love this show I am very sad we didn't see more of lockwood using disguises

of course he knows how to pick locks

I don't like it either Lucy dw

I love how jarringly innocent the stuffed bear is compared to the fact that they're in the warehouse of a family with a significantly traumatised boy

lockwood and kids <3

sack of potatoes

I cannot stop thinking about the fact that she must be dragging the Actual Cameron Chapman out by his feet

Georgie noooooo

idk why he's looking around bc he doesn't have his glasses on so he can't see shit

I shouldn't feel the way I do about lockwood regaining consciousness but the expressions- I just- hmm

'I'm a burglar, you should call the police' honey not one of your better lies

no bc why when I first watched this did I think that winkman was the same actor as Pekka Rollins

winkman: 'shall I draw some pretty pictures on your pretty little face'

lockwood: 'omg you think I'm pretty?? 🤭🥰'

ohhh I'm getting inspiration for a fic I started planning 👀

I can't imagine having to pretend you're being electrocuted like how do you know how to act that

I feel like something can be said about Leopold wearing red and mrs winkman (I forgot her first name WAIT ADELAIDE) also wearing red but idk what

omg hedgehogwood

winkman is actually so funny *points at lockwood* *puts hand over heart* 'ohhh' he's literally us

aw lockwood pls don't say that she's got more to live for than you :(((

omg Lucy tells Leopold to get out the way <333 she'll regret that :D

this couple loves setting fires

Georgie seriously how are you without your glasses rn

green light green light green light

funny looking bird you got there george

'total psychos' dude-

'I prefer to call it a noble sacrifice' NO I COULD WRITE AN ESSAY ABOUT IT

greeeeeeen lightssssss

'what is going on with you' Cameron Chapman Acts his Fucking Face Off

omg lockwood saw the knife and then looked out the door to see what was there

that's such an awful angle to be lying down

omg poor lockwood

the way he's sat in that final frame breaks my heart bc he's literally just had someone else die in his home :(((

wow what a depressing note to end on

[drifloonz]

Hey I love your writing I was wondering if you can do headcannons on Glitchy red finding a way out of his game too be with the reader?

hey remember when i actively did things here. i don't. Anyways [ tries to do that again bc i forgor and i feel bad abt staring at all of these asks for so long w/o doing anything ]

glitchy red finding a way out of his game to be w/ reader :]

headcanon style bc i am exhausted of writing and prob Will be for a while. at least w glitchy specifically. i hope this is good cuz' it's mostly me detailing my brainthoughts abt how glitchy could hypothetically escape in more detail.

♡ i like to think the reader in this case-scenario gives glitchy a much needed hope and desire to escape his game, which he didn't previously have bc he's definitely THOUGHT about it but he's like... too scared of change to actually try it despite how horrible his game is, i'd think. he's used to being constantly tormented and wouldn't know how to adapt. at least, that's the excuse he uses. he's also afraid that if he succeeded he'd literally glitch out of existence and "die" since yk, game glitches or characters aren't supposed to take physical form in real life because they're pieces of code.

♡ but once he meets you and you talk of everything in your world and you show him genuine care, you make glitchy realize he wants to be there and experience those things, and that maybe change wouldn't be so bad. after all, it'd definitely be better than the constant hellscape he's living in. even if he "died" in the way that he fears, it'd probably be better than living endlessly in his game. ...probably.

♡ as such, he tries to find a way to escape his game. the thing about that? way easier said than done. he has a lot of ideas, but a lot of them sound stupid.

♡ he still tries the stupid ideas because he knows full well that he himself is something that is not supposed to happen or exist, so he'd assume the games fucked up enough that the stupid ideas might also work. who knows. his existence isn't logical, him getting out of the game doesn't have to be either. that's his logic, anyways - it's not like he's supposed to be a physically existing being, either.

♡ some ideas he has consist of screwing with his weird dream powers, because he can usually affect peoples real bodies with them... so he can probably find a way to manifest through that, right?

♡ or maybe screwing around with the glitches in his game... a classic missingno to try and manipulate code, messing with the safari zones various quirks, hell, maybe he could break the game so bad that it somehow gives in to his desires and gives him an out through the broken mess of code while it collapses in on itself...

♡ he's afraid to try all of these because it'll probably make things way worse if it fails, and he never likes willingly interacting with the monstrous glitches in his game, but hey, you can't get much worse than the state the games already in. and if you can, he's almost definitely seen it, or seen worse.

♡ or maybe he could use a porygon...? but that'd be stupid, it's only code in a game, it couldn't possibly be Actually Able to do anything from being a pokemon said to be made from "programming code" could it...?

♡ ... which may or may not work. like i said, he isn't supposed to exist, but he does. any way he can exit the game can be similarly unlogical, barely explainable, and stupid, i feel.

♡ the most "logical" way to make glitchy a physical form is to make a robot that has a cartridge slot and slot it in and glitchys programming just takes it over and controls its autonomy and transfers his consciousness into it or something. but that requires you to have pretty deep knowledge of programming and AI and robotics for that to be executed well so. y'know.

♡ the other less logical way... but it still makes sense is like. him using someone as a vessel. he has dream powers. dreams are connected to consciousness, specifically your unconscious, and your thinking and your brain and stuff like that. if he cared enough, he could probably easily take over someone's entire - or most of - their body this way. although i do not think and also hope you don't have a human sacrifice laying around, and glitchy would not willingly take this from you either. even if it was someone who wronged him, he'd probably still feel too cruel abt it.

♡ it'd also probably have to have a very good antivirus bc i feel like inserting glitchys cartridge into anything has a possible chance to make said piece of technology fuck up real bad

♡ anyways.

♡ every time he fails or the method doesn't work out correctly, it pisses him off, but he's always been persistent. he treks forward even though it feels hopeless, sometimes.

♡ this quickly becomes a lesson in futility and he gets more and more frustrated every time he turns up with a failed attempt, and it sometimes makes his game even more glitchy and broken. but eventually. eventually he gets there.

♡ regardless of the way he gets out of the game, when he finally escapes and manifests in your world, he's probably just in your room or wherever you left the gameboy. or whatever you're playing his game on.

♡ he either crawls out through the screen, appears after a flash of convenient blinding light, or he forms out of glitching light from the cartridge or something like the cartridge is his gem from steven universe or something.

♡ maybe he'd still have to take a few days to gain an actual physical body in the real world, and he's basically a hologram or hallucination for a while. or maybe he can physically interact, but mostly just with your body and a few select items. he's also, as you can expect, still glitchy constantly IRL. maybe less when he's happy, but that never goes away. his glitches are like scars - they might get better and "heal" but they're always sort of there.

♡ i think it's also funny if before he gains the ability to physically interact he's basically only viewable to you for a while until he gains more physicality. he's using your subconscious to make him a form! by making you will his image into existence and into the collective unconscious!! or something!!! Nobody knows how the hell it works and it also depends on which way you think he would've escaped. highly interpretable and all that.

♡ regardless. he is mostly happy and safe and with you now. glitchy can be pretty smart and think quickly when he wants to, and this was a big example of it. he just really needs the hope and passion to drive himself forward, since he lost his hope and passion... prettttyy long ago, after his world got glitchy and broken. he didn't see a point to much anything and was very existential and all.

♡ so! you gave him that drive and motivation. not an easy thing to do. be proud of yourself. i hope you like him btw he's very clingy and won't leave your side for a good while.

[canis-dentem]

how/when did you know you were a therian? like- when did you make the connection; how did you know you were caninekin specifically?

I’m tryna figure stuff out for myself and don’t know where to start. I don’t think I’m a therian, but I’ve always done some kind of animal-ish things (used to have the urge to hiss/snarl/snap when due to annoyance when I was younger, I have the urge to make creature noises pretty often, sometimes my mental image of myself when doing something feels more different, like. tall and elegant?? like sometimes when I turn my head I like. imagine/feel kind of a sloping neck and longer face/muzzle and limbs, canine-y (imagine a maned wolf/african wild dog/other canine) I don’t know how to explain it— but I’m not sure if the noises and biting are some kind of stimming due to my ADHD or not). I also heard the term “otherhearted” as having a deep connection with something, which. mmmmaybe me? so I’m gonna look into that.

anyways woah I rambled a lot more than I intended to but. yeah! I just wanna know what others’ experiences are like so I can see if mine relate to them lol

hi anon!!

tbh, i only awakened of around march of this year. i had never entered therian or otherkin circles, although i knew about it. one of my friends telling me star was a feline otherkin was what got me thinking like.... oh, that's a thing we can do? it happened to me with being trans, too, LOL--it didn't click for me that i could be something until someone close to me was.

what got me thinking was my brain kept saying "ugh i wanna be otherkin. that'd be so cool" and then i looked back on things i've done my whole life and like. oh that was a wolf thing. oh that's a dog thing. oh huh. it has been here. something that helped me when i was researching being autistic/having adhd was i kept a list of my symptoms as i noticed them, so i did that for being a therian. i have my little list of canine "symptoms" that i either notice myself doing or have remembered doing, some of which include feeling the urge to chew a lot, feeling longer canine teeth/wanting longer canine teeth, the urge to bare my teeth and growl when angry, always playing the worgen race in world of warcraft, among others. some of these (like baring my teeth/growling) were things i taught myself not to do bc "it wasn't normal." (i connect that to the 17 years of autism masking i did, so much so that i didn't know i was autistic and nobody around me did either.)

about stimming: me feeling the urge to chew is a stim. it is also connected to me being caninekin. it can be both!! stimming doesn't cancel out being a therian. plus, for me at least, i dont think i'd be otherkin if i wasnt autistic. you only mentioned adhd, not autism, but keep in mind that neurodivergency can and does often interact with alterhumanity.

i don't typically label my alterhumanity as spiritual (as in past-life) or phsycological, because honestly, i don't really care to know. i have it, and that's what matters to me. but being otherkin does overlap with my spirituality in the sense that i feel some yet unexplained connection with the woods. i always have. it makes sense to connect that to being otherkin, even if that's not the only explanation for it.

you can absolutely consider yourself otherhearted, if that makes sense for you! my suggestion? don't worry too much about the label. the word isn't actually super important. there's a big emphasis in this community on figuring out the specific type of animal you are, the specific type of otherkin (or -hearted etc) you are, where it comes from, etc. i don't think that's worth stressing yourself out about, not at all. if it works for you, it works for you--by all means, go ahead. if the process of finding a really specific 'type or word to call yourself brings you meaning and fulfills you, please do it!! i'm all for it. but if it stresses you out to figure out the finer details, let them go. it's okay. in my opinion, the biggest question is not "am i really a therian?" and instead, is, "does it make sense/bring me joy/fulfill me to connect myself to an animal?" if it does, move on from there.

good luck, anon! sending all my love to you. feel free to send any updates about your experience, if you wish to! i hope ur having a wonderful day <3

[symptoms-syndrome]

Hi! I’m curious to hear (in a vague way) what the process was like uncovering the DID if you’re comfortable answering. Like how long did it take? Did your therapist(s)/treatment team first consider other diagnoses? And anything else you feel comfortable sharing.

Hihi! This is sort of a hard question to answer for me, but I can try!

What constitutes my "treatment team" is sort of hard to define in this sense, because IDK if you mean "the ppl over the course of my life" or like "the one who wrote it on paper."

I've been seeing a therapist since I was 6 years old. I started going to outpatient programs like when I was in my early teens for Behavioral Problems. In those I was diagnosed with everything in the book so like. In that sense other diagnoses were considered? I think by the time I was 18 and kicked out of the house/able to see a professional of my own volition not connected to my parents/disciplinary programs, I was mostly labeled as BPD, PTSD, depression + anxiety, OCD, maybe NPD or ODD. I don't really give a single shit about any of those because I don't define myself by diagnoses anymore, or try not to, and my therapists as an adult told me it was majorly fucked that I was diagnosed with all that as a teenager. Most of them weren't even legit they were just labels to try and pin down why I was a Bad Kid. Spoiler for that, the answer was that generally teenagers act out when they're subject to intense trauma basically all the time and aren't listened to and are institutionalized. Tends to fuck your brain up real bad. I'm a lot better now not bc I got over the laundry list of diagnoses, but because I'm in like. A stable and supportive and independent environment.

I was officially diagnosed as an adult, exact ages escape me but probably like 19? It came as a surprise to me but fit like a glove re: my experiences with memory loss, not remembering where I am, meeting people who have met me before but I didn't remember, people telling me I did things I don't think I would, etc. It was really upsetting to hear because it's such a. Permanent and perception-of-life altering disorder. I was definitely hoping it was something that could be like. Cured more easily. It was also definitely hard to come to terms with the fact my childhood was That Bad, when I didn't really think it was before.

My therapist at the time said it was almost stupidly obvious that was what I had, even tho I wasn't like. Aware of it.

So like. How long did it take is hard to answer. Overall, if you count all the time I was being seen by psychiatric "professionals?" Over 10 years. If you count just that therapist? Like one year.

I'm a lil scatterbrained RN, so I might add more detail later or if u send another ask. I guess the question is so open and vague it's hard to answer without a full autobiography LMAO.

But I guess it would be useful to know why you wanna know. Then I could probably give a better answer. Are you considering the diagnosis for yourself? Are you trying to see if ur experience is shared w others? But also keep in mind I'm a weird little anti-psych dog who in general rejects the idea of seeking diagnosis for treatment. RN in therapy I mostly talk about my day to day struggles with whatever (like "damn, I've been really fixated on [specific trauma] this week" or "I made a friend" or "I'm really stressed about this argument I had" or "later this week im going on a date and i don't wanna fuck it up") and occasionally parts stuff comes up. Therapy hasn't majorly changed I don't think. Then again I'm real shit brain right now and my memory sucks ass. Maybe I can answer better later I just know if I didn't answer at all I'd forget.

[coffeeandcalligraphy]

would u ever explain the circley levels of hell chapter/plot/theme structure bc i am very curious 👀👀👀

WELL NOW THAT I'VE FINISHED MY DEGREE!! yes absolutely!

I'll make a video explaining this too since it might be helpful to hear me explain it with... my face, but this circular story structure is something I'm calling orbital plot structure. Luckily for all of us, I wrote up a detailed memo for my workshop which I'll share below (with lots of expansion)!

Disclaimer: The following is all my original writing theory AKA I came up with all of this myself AKA this method is in early development. You're welcome to share it/use it wherever, just link back to me! This also means when I think more, there may be more to say, LOL.

TL;DR: the orbital plot structure consists of two elements: the thematic satellite and the "scene" rings that orbit the satellite. I've shared two versions (the original and the modified version) below!

Orbital plot structure

The orbital plot structure consists of two essential components: the thematic satellite and the scene rings. We have a core theme (the “satellite”) that every single scene “orbits” around. Every scene links back to the theme.

Plot progression/movement comes from the rings rippling outward (indicated by the outward pointing arrows). However, this movement is still deeply connected to the theme (indicated by the unfilled arrows pointed inward—we are pushed out by the theme like an exhale but naturally brought back toward the theme like an inhale). The amount of rings will differ for each work.

This plot structure may work well for theme-driven stories and chapters between 1500-3500 words.

Example:

Below is an example of the classic orbital plot structure for the first chapter of my novella, BODY BACK (chapter update HERE!). That chapter is called "Living Pictures."

The theme for this chapter of course is "life as a living picture." Every single scene is necessitated by this theme and therefore precipitates the next scene that is also necessitated by the theme.

Here is a breakdown of how each scene links back to that theme:

Scene 1:

Harrison floats fully-clothed in a pool that belongs to a wealthy couple. He is jaded and also thinking about God

Explanation: This scene quite literally IS a living picture. Harrison feels unreal/otherworldly and not like an actual human person.

Scene 2:

Harrison describes the couple who own the house/pool. The man is a realtor, and the woman stays at home mostly, but walks dogs on the side.

Explanation: Harrison projects the couple who owns this home into "living picture" mode. He doesn't see them as people, but merely as The Realtor and The Dog-Walker.

Scene 3:

Harrison contemplates his “easy” Las Vegas life since moving in with his mother, Suzanna.

Explanation: Harrison explains how HIS actual life in Las Vegas has felt like a living picture (he also resists this idea at the end).

Scene 4:

Flashback: Harrison recalls drawing his new sort-of boyfriend, Jeremiah.

Explanation: This flashback with Jeremiah is ALSO a living picture. Heightened language. Dreamy imagery. He doesn't feel present, but like a snapshot in a moment.

Scene 5:

Harrison describes his vices (smoking and his ex, Lonan lmao, comparable) which trickles into a recurring dream/nightmare of Lonan.

Explanation: This scene is AGAIN a living picture--more dreamy language (it's quite literally a dream too). Lonan is captured in this memory, even though this moment was once real and not a photo.

Scene 6:

Distracted by the dream, Harrison is caught by the couple. The man seems unimpressed by him, though the woman (Sadie), perhaps realizing how young he is, invites him inside for tea.

Explanation: We SHATTER the living picture (LP) here. Harrison isn't living in a dream state, he's actually very much in the real world where breaking into a stranger's pool is NOT okay. LOL.

Scene 7:

Harrison observes the couple’s “catalogue” home while Sadie makes tea.

Explanation: Sadie and her husband live in a home that is also picturesque. BUT, he quickly notices something is amiss--she doesn't actually seem to genuinely exist in its pristineness and niceties, just like Harrison doesn't exist in the niceties of his "new" life in Las Vegas. This is why I ended the chapter here--he's addressed the theme.

You'll notice I didn't include the arrows in the above diagram--I've only included those for demonstration purposes to show how movement in this type of structure works. You know how water ripples in a circular pattern when you drop a stone into it? That's how this story structure progresses--every scene revolves around that stone in the centre.

^^ A visual for you!

Typically, in western storytelling, we think of structure like this:

This diagram is known as Freytag's triangle/pyramid, and it's a useful way to understand stories (though... not my favourite for many reasons, but a great place to brainstorm your own writing theory). In diagrams like this, it's easier to see the movement of a story, since the line naturally moves left to right.

You could ABSOLUTELY map "Living Pictures" on the above structure, but I personally prefer the orbital plot structure for this particular series of books (Moth Work x Feeding Habits x BODY BACK) because of how deeply thematic they are. Because those projects are very internal and driven by complicated emotional exploration into central themes, it only made sense to map my own story structure that was reflective of that.

To clarify, I don't mean that other structures can't contain theme. Of course they can! But this plot structure is specifically built for thematically-driven work (this would NOT work if your work was not thematically-driven).

Funnily, the orbital plot structure is what my brain "sees" as I write chapters in this series (I don't follow this structure for every project). So while some people outline, brainstorm, etc, in advance of drafting, I start drafting with this in mind. Usually I don't figure out the theme until I'm through the first scene, or sometimes until I'm done the first draft, but when that theme is identified, it's very easy for me to either mould the rest of the chapter around the theme, or revise it around that theme.

If I'm stuck while drafting a chapter, it's usually because something about the theme isn't clear--consciously or subconsciously--to me.

Also: because of the nature of this structure being quite specific to a theme, this is probably not the best fit for very long works/chapters. But I'm sure you could try!

Speaking of longer works...

Orbital plot structure (modified)

The modified orbital plot structure follows the same principles of the orbital plot structure with two essential components: the thematic satellite and the scene rings. Scenes continue to orbit the “satellite.” However, a new element—fossae/dips—are introduced in the case of longer word counts (3500+).

The amount of rings and dips will differ depending on the project (there can be more or less than what is pictured above). These dips serve as scenes that may not be as closely related to the theme but that still move the work toward another thematic scene/“bump.”

Plot progression/movement comes from the rings rippling outward (indicated by the outward pointing arrows). However, this movement is still deeply connected to the theme (indicated by the unfilled arrows pointed inward—we are pushed out by the theme like an exhale but naturally brought back toward the theme like an inhale).

I'm not going to include a physical example of this because that would be... a teeny cumbersome, LOL, but this is just an option for people who like the orbital plot structure idea but don't feel like they want to write scenes that are extremely thematic every single time (or their work wouldn't fit that original model).

To note: The dips/bumps don't need to be uniform. Two dips can follow each other, just as three bumps could follow each other. This will depend on you and the work.

But good writers don't gatekeep <3 so here's a written version of chapter six of Feeding Habits that follows this structure quite nicely. For the sake of clarity, I'm going to call the fossae/dip scenes "dips" and the thematic scenes "bumps."

CW: Dead animals, blood, violence

THEME: Indissoluble bonds

Scene A:

DIP: Harrison gets back to the NYC apartment he shares with his mother after running errands to ward off either the spirit that haunts their walls or to rescue whatever is stuck in them. His mother preps for a dinner as Harrison has invited his old pal Reeve over.

Explanation: This scene MUST happen to get us to the following "bump," and that's because we get some critical exposition here: Harrison has had to go to a hardware store for supplies to cut open the drywall in his apartment as he and his mother can hear something in the walls, AND, Reeve is coming over for dinner at Harrison's request. We're not sure why.

Scene B:

BUMP: Harrison removes a litter of kittens from behind the drywall. One of the kittens is dead. Strangely, a German Shepherd puppy is also in the litter.

Explanation: What does it mean for Harrison to find a single dead kitten in a litter of live kittens? Does that kitten have a bond to its litter, despite now being gone?

Scene C:

DIP: Reeve appears in a glamorous blur and makes an interesting first impression on Suz who seems slightly stunned and endeared by her.

Explanation: We need this scene to get us to the next bump--this is Reeve's intro and also introduces the "bond" she'll later form with Suz. The entire chapter title, "Blood Sister," comes from the women's bond. What does it mean to feel connected to someone as if you had actually done a blood pact? And is that similar to the bond between the kittens? ...And the bond between Lonan and Harrison...?

Scene D:

BUMP (subtler): At dinner Reeve confronts Harrison about his “straight-edge” lifestyle since moving to NYC and he realizes her judgements about his life being monotonous are very true–he lacks purpose.

Explanation: This scene gets us to an important realization for Harrison: he feels like something is missing in his life. I wonder WHAT (the answer is Lonan lol).

Scene E:

BUMP: Harrison and his mother clear the dishes and Suzanna confronts him on the fact that he hasn’t told her that Reeve is in fact Lonan’s sister. Suz knows the boys’ relationship is complicated, and plays Devil’s advocate by outright asking Reeve how her brother is. Reeve, who hasn’t seen Lonan longer than Harrison, has assumed Lonan lives with them or is close by, and feels semi-betrayed that Harrison has kept his whereabouts a secret.

Explanation: This one is more explicit of a bump. Why hasn't Harrison told his mother Reeve's true identity? Is it because he's not ready to even think about Lonan who he still feels inextricably connected to??? Yes!

Scene F:

DIP & BUMP: Reeve and Harrison drive to a garden and he’s reminded of the event that lead to him and his mother’s return to the east. Harrison meets Winona outside a convenience store, the same woman Lonan meets in ch.6 of Moth Work. She takes him to her mansion where she’s hosting a party and introduces him to her husband. Harrison makes multiple bad decisions which you can probably figure out for yourself!

Explanation: This scene almost serves as both a dip AND bump as we slowly "dip" into exposition. But the relevance and "bump" of this scene becomes abundantly clear when we realize the woman Harrison follows home is the SAME woman Lonan follows him in Moth Work. Indissoluble bonds driving you to do the same thing?? LMAO I love them <3

Scene G:

BUMP: Harrison wakes up in Winona’s house and is confused to see her and her husband standing over his leather jacket. If we remember what happened in ch. 6 of Moth Work, Lonan gets beat up by Winona’s husband and has Harrison’s jacket & angel chain stolen. We can assume from this scene that Winona has a) recognized the jacket and b) chosen him to come back to her house for the purpose of also beating him up (which happens).

Explanation: Again, why do Harrison and Lonan make the SAME decisions and have the SAME thing happen to them? Is this because they have an indissoluble bond? That theme is actually dropped explicitly in this scene. (Also a tangent: in the MW version of this scene, Lonan loses the fight--black eye art is the aftermath of that--and therefore loses the jacket, but in FH, Harrison stumbles out of there with his jacket HAHA so he won. Lonan is a loser. <3)

Scene H:

BUMP: Reeve and Harrison jump a fence into a garden to give the dead kitten an unorthodox “water burial” in the garden’s fountain. Reeve confronts him on why no one has seemed to care about her whereabouts for the last year, and also suggests the only reason he wanted to see her now is because he misses Lonan. Harrison miserably drinks too much wine.

Explanation: In this scene, Harrison contemplates the indissoluble bond between the dead kitten and its litter--it's gone now, but was still a part of that collective, just like Lonan is gone now from his life but is still part of his collective. Harrison accepts that yes, he indeed still feels connected to Lonan, and actually, deeply misses Lonan (like the kittens--do they miss their sibling now that its gone?). He literally writes out Lonan's name in the snow as an expression of admittance to that truth (THAT'S GAY AS FUCK HARRISON, GAY AS FUCK).

Alright, I couldn't help myself, here's an illustration to show what that chapter looks like according to this structure. You can see I only used one ring because I don't have that many scenes. Now that I think of it, for this modified structure, a single ring would work well for one story/chapter (whereas in the original structure, one ring equals a scene), unless you have 60 million scenes (or you use act breaks within chapters). *High five!* we've made a development as I wrote this post.

A hint about orbital structures: some crime TV shows use this structure IMO, ESPECIALLY episodes that follow crimes that are geared at revealing something about one of the central characters. Look at many of the Criminal Minds specials OR at any Hannibal episode and you won't be able to unsee it LOL.

Let me know if you have any questions! For writers who have very visual brains like me (or writers who've described their processes as "sculpting" words like myself), I hope this is useful!