#because shes too disabled for the writers comfort

[yuridovewing]

im not reading briarlight's death scene but there is something so incredibly insidious to me about tree being announced for this Brand New Special Boy Role Made Just For Him because he wouldnt do warrior or medic work, and in the exact same paragraph on the wiki, briarlight dies because the authors basically thought she was too worthless to keep around

[lastoneout]

It's also like super fucking infuriating to see people continue to argue that generative AI is the best way for disabled and/or poor people to make art because like, you know what helps make art more accessible? Giving poor and disabled people money.

Like take me for instance, I'm disabled. I get severe migraines and intense leg/back pain if I sit at my computer for too long, my hEDS makes holding pens and pencils hard, my ADHD makes it hard for me to start certain tasks and/or stop them before I potentially hurt myself, my neck also hurts if I look down too much, my dyslexia AND my ADHD both make it difficult to keep track of a story as I write and use correct spelling and grammar, plus, I need to prioritize taking care of myself and going to appointments and keeping my house clean and that takes up a lot of my free time. All of these things make creating the kind of art I want to create difficult if not occasionally impossible.

So what do you think would solve my problems better? Giving me money so that I can have a drawing tablet and desk chair that won't hurt my neck or back, another tablet + pen and a lap table and comfortable body pillows for drawing in bed, easier transportation to my doctors appointments, effective treatment for my chronic pain and migraines, the ability hire someone to help me keep my house clean, a spelling/grammar checker that isn't complete ass, and a therapist and psychatrist who can help me manage my ADHD better?

Or an AI program that takes my input and spits out a drawing or story made of stolen content glued together that, in the case of the art, I cannot meaningfully edit without starting over, which also destroys the environment in the process?

Seems pretty obvious to me. I don't need AI, I need help to manage the things that are actually stopping me from being able to write and draw.

Or take my mom. She's had severe rhumatoid arthritis since she was a small child, her hands are deformed and she relies on her wheelchair to get around. She doesn't need AI to help her paint, she needs special paint brushes she can actually hold, a table her wheelchair will fit at, and someone to help her with personal hygiene/keep her house clean/take her to doctors appointments so she actually has free time to paint.

Does that poor kid growing up in public housing with parents who are too poor to afford art classes or supplies or to send them to college really need a computer program to draw for them, or do they need support to help them take those classes, buy drawing supplies, and money so they can go to college.

Blind people can paint, deaf musicians exist, people with missing limbs find all sorts of ways to make art, people with parkinson's paint with typewriters, my mother can't hold a normal paintbrush and she makes some of the most beautiful watercolor paintings I've ever seen, Van Gogh had bipolar disorder and only sold like one painting when he was alive, I mean for real how many different artists have you heard of who's biographies start with them being born into poverty?

This is not meant to be inspiration porn, these people are just ones who were able to find ways to make art despite their struggles. They shouldn't have had to struggle at all, but god imagine how many more artisrs and writers we could have had if none of them had to overcome those struggles. It breaks my heart to think of all the wonderful art that never got to exist because no one helped the people who could have made it actually have the time, money, support, and safety they needed to make it. AI would not have saved them because making art isn't the problem, being disadvantaged is the problem. Living in a world that refuses to make room for you is the problem. Being fucking poor is the problem. Humans have always found ways to make art despite huge barriers, the solution isn't a computer that makes art for them, it's SUPPORT AND MONEY SO THEY CAN OVERCOME THOSE BARRIERS AND MAKE THEIR OWN ART.

As a last example: I love watching dancing and I would love to be able to dance, but I'm terrible at it(I got kicked off a dance team for not being able to learn the dance at all despite spending weeks on it, idk my brain wasn't made for dancing) and my disabled body makes it more pain than pleasure if not actively dangerous, anyway. Having a robot dressed to look like me dance next to me while I get to watch would not make me feel like I'm getting to dance. It would actually be extremely fucking demoralizing and frustrating. I would hate that!!

Having an AI spit out a painting or book would not make me feel like I got to paint or write a book. It's a fucking anamatronic doll running on stolen ideas and it will never be the same as getting to actually expirience the joy of creating art first hand. AI is not the solution. Helping people who need it is the solution. And I am CONSTANTLY pissed to think about all the time and money that goes into these fucking AI programs that would be better spent helping disabled and poor people get the help they need so they can make art themselves, all while the people running the nightmare plagiarism pollution machines pretend that their horrible inventions exist to help people like me.

[pjofancalledbelle]

Leo Valdez x Apollo!reader

A/N: back on the fan fic grind. This isn’t based on any song just a thought. Requests are open but I might not get to them. The writing might be bad and short because I’m in the car and not a great writer anyway.

warnings: kissing, dyslexic writing.

this fic is gender neutral and doesn’t describe any features/skin colour!

Scrambling up a tree wasn’t your idea of a good time but you were on cabin 6’s side for capture the flag and annabeth gave you orders so you obviously followed them. It wasn’t your fault that she was scary when she was mad. It also wasn’t your fault that you boyfriend, Leo, was on cabins 5’s side. That was thanks to Will who decided being on his boyfriends side was more important than being on your boyfriends side. Stupid will.

Anyway, your task was to find Leo and figure out how to turn his traps off because if he caught you he’d probably just let you run free. You’d been trying to get him to spill the beans all week by asking him to tell you about his designs and sneaking into bunker nine to look at his blueprints but he hadn’t let anything slip.

After climbing through, trees with you bow in your hand and arrows on you back in case of attack, you finally found your fire boy. Watching carefully you saw him fiddling with a mettle trap though you couldn’t really see how it worked or what it did so you decided to pull a risky move.

“What’s cooking good looking?” You say with a giggle as you hang upside down from a branch. It was a good thing your shirt was tucked into your shorts or else it would’ve fell in your face. Leo instantly jumped but looked up and saw you letting out a sigh. He beamed back at you with his impish smile.

“Not much. Why you hanging there like a bat, mi sol?” He asked standing from his trap and instead moving over to you and looking at your smiling face which made his body tingle and feel so warm and comfortable he wanted to melt. He gently pressed a kiss to your forehead his hands reaching out to pull you out of the tree.

“Hey! Don’t pull me out the tree, you’re trying to trap me.” You said with a pout knowing it’d get him to do anything you wanted. You sat up and hoped down to a lower branch so you were in clear sight but not on the ground.

“Trap you? No, mi amour, I just want you in my arms.” He laughed watching you bounce down and following your movements and instantly walking over to the new branch to grin at you. “The only thing I’ll be trapping you in is my love.” He purred laughing even more at you cringing face.

“Tell me how to disable your traps and I’ll let you sweep me up in your love.” You tease back reaching a hand out to run it through his messy curls which you always offer to help fix. Leo tilted his head into your touch and let out a hum.

“Oh I see, you’re using me but fine I’m willing to be used if I get you in the end. Plus you’ll be too trapped in my love to tell anyone my secrets.” The boy said before wrapping his arms around your waist and bringing you off the tree and down onto the ground. You both leaned down as he guided your hands and whispered the instructions on how to turn the trap on and off. You were pretty sure he was this close so that you wouldn’t focus on his explanation and him instead.

Unfortunately for Leo you were playing close attention and smiled at him sweetly when he pulled back. You’d left the trap on and pulled Leo forward like you were going to kiss him before you pulled him forward and into the trap. He instantly got swiped off the ground and into a net. So that’s what that machine did.

“Thanks for the advice, lover boy.” You say to his pouting face and leaned in to give him a quick kiss though the rope before waving and running off to annabeth.

“I HATE YOU, embaucador soleado!” He yelled after you.

[eldritchamy]

Hi, its the former Feralist again.

The worldbuilding just really struck a raw nerve on first glance? On second glance it wasn't nearly as bad as I thought but it STILL infuriates me on a couple of points, mostly in implications that people failed to think through. I've calmed down about it, because it IS just kink, but there are parts of the worldbuilding that I still cannot touch without being viscerally upset.

(I could get into depth if you want, but once again, it is just kink; I don't expect kink writers to think about every last implication of their worldbuilding.)

Anyway, I am currently reading my way through Abscission, which is helping somewhat with certain things that upset me wrt disability and stuff. I'm really excited to read your suggestions!

Signed, A (Formerly) Committed Feralist

(P.S. *specific* things... What appeals to me wrt inevitability in D/s is less "I can MAKE you submit whether you want to or not" and more "We both know you'll submit, because we both know that you *want* me to dominate you", which is not always the vibe in HDG. Sometimes it is, though! And that's why I'm still here! Also that little bit near the end of Grand Folia where Celosia says something along the lines of "Its not that I'm an Affini and you're a terran and I'm better and you're lesser. Its that I would ALWAYS find you - in any time, in any place, in any form - because you ARE mine" really REALLY fucking got me.)

(P.P.S. I may have written a few hundred words of a fic about an Affini playing a convoluted game of cat and mouse with a cute, awkward, evasive little terran who may or may not be a feralist spy. The Affini can't make up her mind, because every time she catches her at something suspicious, there's always a perfectly plausible explanation! Its gonna drive her absolutely NUTS.)

It sounds like you're more into dubcon than noncon. On one hand, this is the noncon intox kink petplay bdsm scifi setting, so a certain amount of noncon is pretty baked into the world at a systematic level that you're either okay with or you aren't.

But on the bright side, there ARE fluffier options that skew more in the direction of what I think you're looking for, because the setting ALSO heavily features things like hurt/comfort, recovering from trauma, learning how to love yourself, and accepting that you deserve to BE loved and cared for by others.

Abscission is a really good one for a protagonist that consistently and very insistently reaffirms their consent at all times. Autumn is very sure about what she wants and frankly spends a lot of time bullying Solanum about not being afraid to give it to her.

From what you're saying, I think you would really like a newer story that's only 3 chapters in called Good Sensory. The tl;dr is that there's an independent human who's too ace and autistic to feel comfortable around most Affini (who tend to be very flirty and touchy and she can't stand a lot of their textures), and an Affini who is ALSO really ace and autistic instantly wants to give her the world. The Affini is VERY sensitive, patient, and accommodating with her neurodivergence and goes out of her way to be very direct about her feelings and intentions.

Marsha (the affini) literally has this internal monologue about Sally (the human): "I admittedly could twist her mind and dull her dislike of certain sensations, but it would be far more satisfying to simply alter her life such that she never experienced them in the first place."

The story was written basically in honor of how much the author (a very autistic woman) loves her very autistic partners, and the joy of giving them experiences that are comfortable for them.

In particular, I think you will REALLY like their first date in chapter 2, which is one of the most gentle and accommodating scenes I have read for all of HDG so far. It's SO sweet.

Someone in the server actually just collected a list of recommended fics that skew much more on the consensual side. NOTE THAT I HAVE NOT READ MOST OF THESE AND CANNOT PERSONALLY VOUCH FOR THEM.

Intake Interview Wild and Domestic Child of the Wilderness How To Tame A Polycule Fermata Art Exhibition Flotsam Heart Cross Pollination Surrogate Bloom Sycanthe Lantana Alone in the Dark, Together Germination Reading the Leaves Nurture and Acquisitions Perturbance A Normal Grocery Run During Which No Domestication Occurs No Gods No Masters (the primary storyline anyway) Hers to Have, Hers to Hold Petals and Vines Weeklong Stay at a J-Cafe (edited)

I AM currently about halfway through Petals and Vines and can absolutely confirm it's one of the cutest stories in the setting so far. I'm loving every minute of it. 500/10 adorable. Millie is everything, she is the light of my life and I would die for her. She's approaching DAWN levels of cute. DAWN LEVELS.

I would also add to this list:

Inosculate by SapphicSounds (the affini refuses to do ANYTHING with the protagonist until she explicitly asks for it)

Through The Looking Glass by PyxxieStyxx and TheMothCourt (the protagonist does get embarrassed/humiliated quite a bit, but she is VERY INTO IT and is given ample opportunity to back out or revoke her consent at any time, which she never does because she is having the time of her newly lesbian life right now)

I WOULD caution you against writing for the setting if you have mixed feelings about the worldbuilding, and especially if you haven't read some of the most foundational works of the setting like the original, Abscission, Divaricated, For A Better Universe, and a couple others. You should also familiarize yourself with the Rules and Axioms for the setting, as they're important for how the community functions as a creative space.

(The point is not taking things we like OUT of the sandbox to play with, it's bringing something of our own INTO the sandbox so we can play TOGETHER. But we play NICE in that sandbox, because we want the people who play in it after us to have that same joy we did. If your goal is to CHANGE something about the setting, then you're not playing the same game as everyone else in the sandbox.)

I'm pretty confident at this point that I have a good feel for the lore, vibe, and mechanics of the setting to comfortably start writing for it, but even I'm still holding off because there are some other Big Foundational Stories (Divaricated, Wellness Check, No Gods No Masters, probably Nurture and Acquisitions) that I want to experience and understand first, because when I'm ready to start contributing, I want to make sure I do it right.

Also, there actually IS a story literally CALLED Cat And Mouse, and it's one of the top 10 stories in the setting (sorted for Kudos on AO3). I cannot personally vouch for it because I haven't read it and don't know anything about it beyond that it's a Predator/Prey dynamic, but it has the same author as Good Sensory and her stories (though incredibly varied, tone wise) haven't let me down yet. Sheepwave is a very evocative writer and whatever kind of mood she's going for her in her stories, you're gonna REALLY feel that mood.

Sweet Poppy (one of her more famous stories) is a blood curdling psychological horror story. I am terrified of Poppy. She's easily the scariest Affini I've read yet. That's a HARD story to read if you can't stomach it, but it's very well done. It's the kind of story that you can't stop reading and ALSO it makes you sick to your stomach.

The only other story I've read from the setting so far that filled me with anywhere near that kind of nauseating dread was Independence Is Easy by SapphicSounds. If you're REALLY into doll kink, you might love it, but if you're not, it's absolutely a horror story. I don't regret reading it, but I was definitely way more into the first half than the second half. The protagonist DEFINITELY needed to be domesticated, but not by this specific Affini. I've seen lots of people be REALLY obsessed with it, but based on what I can gather from your tastes, I would NOT recommend this one to you.

In regards to the worldbuilding, the main thing to remember is that HDG is at its core a WILDLY SELF-INDULGENT kink setting where the most immutable aspect is that everyone deserves to be loved and cared for and given a better life. It was made by gay auDHD trans women FOR gay auDHD trans women, and the real fantasy is just that there will always be someone there who loves us unconditionally while accepting us for our truest selves and telling us that we deserve to not hurt anymore. All of the scifi worldbuilding exists to supplement that. The Affini are overpowered by design.

It's not intended to be realistic, it's intended to be wish fulfilment where inevitability is coming for you, and that inevitability is kind, and loving, and PROFOUNDLY horny.

[littlefankingdom]

~ Batgirl (2000)

They are sad and disappointed in themselves and they should be. What they did is not justice.

So, I'm mad about this issue, like really mad for personal reasons I will explain later. For context: a young girl has been kidnapped by a thief who escaped jail. It's not the first time said thief kidnapps this girl. This young girl, around 10 years old, is an artist and her mother exploits her, making money by selling her daughter's art. They are rich. This woman doesn't love her daughter, she loves the money she is making from her daughter. The man that keeps kidnapping this young girl? Her father. Her father that loves and cares for her, that turned to crime to take care of his daughter, and refuses to sell any art she makes because she made it for him, because she loves her father. And she pleads, she pleads Batgirl to let her with her father and not bring her back to her mother who doesn't love her, she pleads her to not put her father in jail. And what do Batgirl does? She stops the father, gives him to the cops and brings back the girl to her mother. On those panels, they are looking at a sad child with her abuser they brought her back to.

My mother doesn't love me. She will say she does to others, but it's not true and it has been the case for a long time, since I was very young. I wasn’t unwanted, I was just not what she wanted. My life was supposed to be centered, until my death, around taking care of my mother (she is not disabled or anything, she just wants people to do everything for her). Raised to make money I would gift to my mother, so she could have luxuries, but I was not successful in that. I grew up pleading for love, pleading for people to listen to my pain. Nobody did. I learnt that people prefer the comfort and peace of their lives over helping others. I learnt to distrust authority figures (teachers, doctors, any adults/people at least 5 years older than me in general), because either they were power hungry assholes who abuse kids, either they preferred to look away, who would tell me to be nice and listen to my mother. It's too much problem to help children. In the end, I could count on nobody but myself to get out. I can count on nobody but myself. I hate the system, and I promised myself I would never be like those who look away, I will defend any child that needs it.

So, to read a story where a little girl pleads a HERO to not bring them back to their abuser, only for said HERO to still bring her back to her abuser, to tell her to be nice and stay with her awful parent... I am furious. This issue is literally telling me that, if heroes existed, the heroes you adore since you are a child, they would not have saved you. They would have bring you back to your mother and told you to be nice, like everyone else. They would have let you go through those years of pain. Heroes would have looked away.

What is the logic here? Because it's neither justice or the good thing to do. That it is the law? Since when do they follow the law? I don't remember vigilantism being legal, or assault and battery, or owning all the weapons Bruce owns. Yes, it was still a kidnapping, her father is a criminal, it would not have been a good life for a child. But, the Bats could have tried to find a solution, instead of simply giving this child back to someone who will treat her like shit.

I know it's just a fiction, so it's not like a real child is being exploited and will be more abused later when she stops being good enough because her mental health deteriorated, nobody is going to become depressed and lose trust in heroes because the bats brought her back to her awful mother. And also, it's not the characters who are at fault, it's the writers. It's not about Cass and Bruce being bad people heroes, it's about who the fuck decided to write that. New entries in my list of enemies, Keller Puckett and Dylan Horrocks.

[authoralexharvey]

INTERVIEW WITH A WRITEBLR — @sleepyowlwrites

Who You Are:

M.J || She/her

I'm a relentlessly optimistic affectionate creative who will impart love to the world through whatever means possible, and this includes my writing. And it shows, because all my kids are either full of love or in desperate need of it.

What You Write:

What genres do you write in? What age ranges do you write for?

Action, Adventure, Contemporary, Fanfic, Fantasy, Poetry. Young and New Adult.

What genre would you write in for the rest of your life, if you could? What about that genre appeals to you?

Fantasy, it's always been fantasy. Even my contemporary pieces have trace elements of fantasy in them. I like having rules in my worlds, but ones that I made up instead of science or society.

What genre/s will you not write unless you HAVE to? What about that genre turns you off?

Romance. I sometimes think about trying it, but I quickly turn away. There's nothing about romance that is fulfilling in a way that I couldn't find elsewhere. It's just not enough for me. I want everything else, everything in the wider love spectrum, all the kinds I personally treasure in my own life.

Who is your target audience? Do you think anyone outside of that would get anything out of your works?

Anybody, but especially people who have emotions that refuse to be processed. I'm hoping to help them process those emotions through the lens of character. If a reader isn't ready for striking combinations of whimsy and weight, or unexpected feelings, then they might not jive with my stories.

What kind of themes do you tend to focus on? What kinds of tropes? What about them appeals to you?

Mental illness, friendship, hurt/comfort, the mortifying ordeal of being known, purpose, trauma, personal choices, siblings, raw depths of emotions, and shenanigans. One of these is not like the other. I like to put relatable qualities in fantastical realms and make it intimate. I want you to indulge, and I want you to think.

What themes or tropes can you not stand? What about them turn you off?

Romanticized abuse or toxic relationships, romanticized mental illness or disabilities, fake redemption arcs, poorly realized characters or cheap twists, and sex. I'm entirely uninterested in sex. There are too many things I dislike to think of them now that I've been asked, but they're just preference. Don't backtrack on character growth for the sake of drama, please.

What are you currently working on? How long have you been working on it?

That's a trick question. I work on multiple projects at once because that's what my brain prefers. My longest wip is 10 months old and my oldest is almost 7 years.

Why do you write? What keeps you writing?

I've always talked my thoughts aloud to make them make sense - my adhd doesn't think in sentences, so it can get very jumbled in my brain - and stories are an additional way of explaining the world or people to myself, or explaining myself to other people, or of explaining nothing but exploring the unnamed. I write because I feel these things anyway. Might as well share them.

How long have you been writing? What do you think first drew you to it?

Since I was 9, so 20 years ago. The same reason as above, and also my mom said I was talented. I was decidedly untalented in various other areas, so I jumped on that talent and went for it. I do still think I'm talented but I'm a good writer because I kept at it. I have the skills now to back up the talent. It’s very gratifying.

Where do you get your inspiration from? Is that how you got your inspiration for your current project? If not, where did the inspiration come from?

Anywhere, and I really mean it. I can't tell you how many times I've been sitting at a stoplight, or cleaning, or watch Chicago Med with my mom bemoaning the horrible writing and poof! Idea. It just comes to me. Little bit gift, little bit curse, really.

What work of yours are you most proud of? Why?

Hard to say. Everything. The ones that barely exist and the ones that don't make sense anymore. The poetry from 2010 that is simply terrible. The ones from 2020 that are full of grief. The stories that change form but won't leave me alone. The ones I just invented. I'm proud of of it for impacting me, the audience I write for first.

Have you published anything? Do you want to?

No. Yes? It's not the only end goal like when I was 14. It's an idea I like to entertain. I'm currently happy just to be writing along with work.

What part of the publishing process most appeals to you? What part least appeals to you?

I'd like to self-publish first, and that means learning and doing new things, which I hate. I'm 29 and I still hate it. The upside would be more control, the downside would be more control.

What part of the writing process most appeals to you? What part is least appealing?

Least appealing is finishing. Most appealing is starting and middling. I'm also afraid of worldbuilding because it tends to squash my writing drive for some reason? I'm working on it.

Do you have a writing process? Do you have an ideal setup? Do you write in pure chaos? Talk about your process a bit.

It's pure chaos. I rubber duck until sentences settle like dew in the morning, and then I sometimes collect it to make tea, and sometimes I just watch it evaporate. Both activities are important. I write until I find a plot, and if I cannot find one, I will let the tea sit and grow mold. Sometimes I have to throw it out. Sometimes I recycle, plant flowers, and grow new stories. It's chaos. I love it.

Your Thoughts on Writeblr:

How long have you been a writeblr? What inspired you to join the community?

2018 - I converted from a kpop blog - I wanted to get back into writing original fiction again, and I wanted my writeblr to be my main. So. I did that.

Shout out some of your favorite writeblrs. How did you find them and what made you want to follow them?

How. Am I supposed to pick. Some? I found everybody from following a few people and seeing who they followed. I usually follow on a whim, and then make friends after. @zmwrites, @akindofmagictoo, @blind-the-winds, @oh-no-another-idea, @ink-fireplace-coffee, @avrablake, @chayscribbles, @mel-writes-with-her-dragons, @artbyeloquent, @writing-is-a-martial-art, @ashen-crest, I have at least 80 more people I could mention

What is your favorite part about writeblr?

Making friends and adopting each other's blorbos! And reading some truly excellent stories, obviously.

What do you think writeblr could improve on? How do you think we can go about doing so?

Initiate interaction. If you want asks, send some, if you want tags, tag people, if you want readers, read stuff. There's no guarantee of reciprocity - I'm often too tired to respond enthusiastically even when I'm happy to see a post - but the more we engage, the more we are engaging. Wow, I'm a writer.

How do you contribute to the writeblr community? Do you think you could be doing more?

I try to send asks whenever I see people asking, I post prompts lists and invent tags. I start conversations and make friends that way. I could be doing more, but it’s a balance between doing more and not breaking my boundaries. I talk to people all day at work and expend social energy. As an introvert, I have to not overreach or I get anxiety and burnout. Life's a balancing act, and writeblr is no exception.

What kinds of posts do you most like to interact with?

Tag games? It liberally depends on the day. I struggle the most with reblogging others' writing. But I'm getting better!

What kind of posts do you most like to make?

Writing memes or relatability, or new tag games.

Finally, anywhere else online we may be able to find you?

Not anywhere that I use frequently.

[genderbinaryisforlosers]

i contain multitudes. the multitudes are being aware that logan is an objectively pretty terrible parent, if with very occasional bright spots, because his self-worth issues make him see his kids as a reflection of himself and therefore treat them like shit. and that the bar for him being seen as a "good parent" is in a lone-wolf-and-cub type dynamic which often frames violent protectiveness as a suitable substitute for parenting.

and also i enjoy fun (and a little silly, in snikt kit's case) stories where he gets his shit together and has a better relationship with his children.

there is something i find really interesting and compelling in his relationship with laura, where she finds some level of comfort in how similar they are, while logan cannot. he is chronically absent from her - but not the kids he mentors, which clearly frustrates and upsets her - because he's convinced he'll make her worse, and he ignores what she actually wants, which is to have a father (even if he fucks it up. maybe especially then, because then she knows she's not the only one who doesn't know how to be a human being). [X-23 (2010) #2]

there is also something really interesting in when he chooses to take responsibility for laura and when he doesn't. in Target X, he accepts the blame laura places on him, and attempts to absolve her of guilt by taking on hers, too. he does this in the face of his own death. and that's easier, isn't it, than sucking it up and trying to actually be a parent to this lost, angry, suicidal kid? if you can just take all the hurt into yourself and die with it. it's simpler than learning how to be better for her. (Logan 2017 does the same thing. he accepts laura as his daughter on his final breath because he cannot face the responsibility of actually caring for her while depressed and disabled.)

he is notoriously awful to her in X-Force (2007). what starts as being unable to figure out how to deter her from joining a kill-squad without denying her autonomy turns into demanding she sacrifice everything for the people more "innocent" than the two of them. and at the end of it all, she asks him what she should do, and he refuses to offer advice or direction of any kind. that is not responsibility. that is not parenting. he can't tell her what to do because he doesn't know how to live with himself or what to do with himself, either. he simultaneously believes that he and laura are already the same, and that he can spare her transforming into him by pushing her away.

i do think he genuinely cares about her. paradoxically it often causes him to be a more absent, worse parent. this only got more interesting since he died and she got so, so mad at him for "leaving", as well as starting to refer to logan as her father openly only after he was dead.

they have the potential to have a really solid, complex, good relationship. so i like seeing them get on and relate to each other positively. but i wish that writers would actually put the work into developing it instead of just putting logan in a panel with his kids a couple times a year and calling it a day.

[horizon-verizon]

The writers tried to walk back the ''Syrax is the mother of Dany's dragons'' already, it's not like we even know what happens to those eggs, they might as well sink to the bottom of the sea; but it's quite funny how the greens get so mad about it, they act like someone is taking away from Helaena, but... she has nothing to do with eggs? They were stolen from Rhaena, by her ex-lover, it has 0 to do with Helaena or the greens;

also, greens constantly complain that Helaena and Aegon were not given more scenes, and that Phia and Tom had to ask for them, but canonically did Aegon care that much for Helaena? Is there one sentence that he tried to comfort her or anything, why should the green actor's headcanons be made into canon? or how Tom didn't want Aegon to be a rapist, but Aegon is a rapist, is it far-fetched to believe the spoiled prince that gropes maids in public, might have raped one and got her pregnant? Mushroom doesn't always lie and it's clear when it's exaggerated bs and the truth + it was stated as a matter of fact in the Rogue Prince and the credit was not given to Mushroom.

Lastly, HotD did a horrible job of portraying that the Dance was about misogyny, most claim that the theme is about ''a family tearing each other apart'' - but does that work when those are 2 separate families who have been separated and hated each other for over 20 years? Maegor and Visenya usurping Aenys I can be seen as more of a ''family'' tragedy than the Dance of Dragons.

but does that work when those are 2 separate families who have been separated and hated each other for over 20 years?

no, it doesn't, bc these people would have to give some sort of a shit about each other. The tragedy is more the misogynist attacks against Rhaenyra leading up to her death, the loss of what could have been for women if she had rules, the dragons dying bec of said misogyny, and the devastation on the most vulnerable peoples (women, children, disabled, etc.) during this war. Not that these two sides couldn't "just be family", as there was no victimization we could ever argue for the greens' side. Except maybe Helaena and obviously her kids, but those kids fall under "most vulnerable" as did Luke, Joffrey, Aegon, Viserys, Visenya.

Maybe another part of why the misogyny in HotD is so diluted (unless its the physical violence, which actually ramped up, and pre-war!) is because people are so much less comfortable with having to be confronted with off-the-wall, blatant, non physical misogyny and verbal abuse than they are for physical violence. In an age of keyboarding and apathy/complacence (if you are one of those with such) towards physical violence also ramped up from Gaza and just more news about males killing/r*ping women AND people in general not taking nonphysical harm targeted against women seriously, that and the war's violence paired with those would make it "all too real". But also not "believeable", as people want to believe males can't be that insane and that it's not individuals per se, it's the system and what happened to Rhaenyra, in F&B, is so clearly displayed as coming from systematic pressures....

so males absolutely can, have, and will continue to be that "insane" bc they get away with it.

Anyway, when did the writers try to walk back the Syrax-egg thing? And yes, they are obsessed with Helaena giving more "meaning" or getting more meaning from Dreamfyre, so they'll lie to themselves and others.

[bonebabbles]

Reunion scene analysis

This scene in DOTC is fucking fascinating and such an interesting example of how the writer ableism gets in the way of their storytelling.

So this is right after the forest fire in Thunder Rising, when Proto-SkyClan is taking refuge in Proto-WindClan after they saved the aggressive forest group's lives. Bumble has already been exiled and Jagged Peak's only action during the entire ordeal was to agree that she was fat and useless.

Now, Clear Sky is buttering up to Thunder, seeing that he can hunt and has value as an able-bodied person and possible recruit. It's causing tension between Gray Wing and Thunder, though it's worth noting that the narration only uses "father" to refer to Clear Sky.

They have a tense meal where Proto-SkyClan sits at their little separate lunch tables and glares at their hosts. There's a Quiet Rainkin family reunion here-- Jagged Peak is hovering on the side working up the strength to talk to the brother that exiled him, Clear Sky compliments Thunder and then,

Clear Sky spotted his younger brother, too, and whipped around to face him. Jagged Peak jumped, startled. “And you? What have you done to prove yourself?” Clear Sky demanded, scorn in his voice and eyes. “Well,” he added sneeringly, “you survived. That’s as much as you can do, now.” Jagged Peak’s shoulder fur bristled. “Actually,” he began, “I was responsible for looking after the camp and the cats who—” “So you stayed behind, where it was safe,” Clear Sky interrupted. Gray Wing couldn’t ignore that. He sprang to his paws and padded up to the group. “Jagged Peak is being really useful,” he mewed sharply. “Injured leg or no injured leg. He protected the cats who stayed in the hollow, and in case you didn’t notice, he did an excellent job of welcoming your cats into our camp. We need him, Clear Sky.”

...he's not. DOTC can never refute this point, because it's constantly defining cats based on their ability to contribute, up until its very last book. Bumble was exiled for exactly this, sent back to an abuser, for the idea that she wouldn't be able to hunt and would be 'another hungry mouth.'

Jagged Peak can't do what he used to. He can't heroically lunge into a forest fire like his nephew Thunder. He is disabled. But the writer here DOES believe that everyone must do work for the Clan at large

And they express that by putting it into Gray Wing's mouth. "No no no! He IS helpful we swear! He... protected the cats who weren't in danger! He welcomed you into camp! We need him, really, promise"

It's hollow, and that makes this whole scene uncomfortable. Gray Wing does not actually refute Clear Sky's philosophy. He does fundamentally agree with it, he's only correcting Clear Sky on technicalities.

"It IS bad to not contribute, but actually, Jagged Peak does justify his existence."

So... what if he couldn't?

Turning toward Jagged Peak, Clear Sky gave him a long look from intense blue eyes. “I’m sorry,” he told the young cat. “I take back what I said.” But Jagged Peak’s gaze was still full of pain and anger. “It’s too late!” he spat, “You clearly think I’m a waste of space. Why else would you have thrown me out of the forest? And now that I’m beginning to prove myself, you need Gray Wing to tell you what I’ve done.” He shook his head. “Will I ever be good enough?”

What the scene is trying to get at is that Jagged Peak feels disrespected, and that his recovery isn't being acknowledged. That his self-esteem was destroyed by being exiled. But, instead, it reads like to me like Clear Sky very callously popped a comfortable bubble that Jagged Peak was living in

Jagged Peak ISN'T contributing like his Clanmates and THAT SHOULD BE OKAY. He is LOVED, He HAS innate worth, and that's the POINT of having a society in the first place.

Instead of challenging the notion of value being tied to contribution, this is about Clear Sky accepting Gray Wing's flimsy argument that Jagged Peak has 'proven' himself, and that he isn't acknowledging that 'progress.'

But why are we here? Why does Jagged Peak need to "prove" his life is worth living? Take note of this framing, and what sorts of values are treated as a given.

“I told you I’m sorry . . . ,” Clear Sky began. But Jagged Peak wasn’t listening. Turning his back on Clear Sky, he limped away to join Rainswept Flower. Clear Sky let out a sigh as he watched him, then turned to meet Gray Wing’s gaze. “I didn’t mean . . .” His voice trailed off. Gray Wing twitched his whiskers in exasperation. “You never do mean anything, do you, Clear Sky?” “I’m just trying to do my best for every cat!” Clear Sky protested, instantly defensive. “By humiliating your brother?” Thunder was watching the two of them, drinking in every word. Gray Wing couldn’t help feeling glad that the young cat was seeing firsthand that Clear Sky wasn’t perfect. But even thinking that made Gray Wing squirm with discomfort. Why do I care so much? Why shouldn’t Thunder be happily reunited with his father? “Well, I can’t help it!” Clear Sky snapped, his neck fur beginning to rise. “It’s not my fault Jagged Peak fell out of that tree. Every cat has to contribute, and weak cats just don’t count.” He gave a single lash of his tail. “It’s about survival!"

I drop the phrase, "Clear Sky's redemption arc was a mistake" a lot. What I mean by that is, the entire arc is built around the struggle for Clear Sky's family to help him become a better person. Instead of refuting what Clear Sky represents as a character, DOTC is stuck in a tar pit that can only focus on him as a person.

He doesn't mean to hurt anyone. He doesn't have any malice. Noo, he was a fundamentally good person the whole time, and Gray Wing is right to always always see The Good in him and fight against any nasty instincts to keep his family away from the eugenicist ghoul

But fuck, this arc could have been FANTASTIC if it didn't bother with trying to keep this character redeemable. If it was about toxic family, cutting off people that hurt you and continue to hurt you, recognizing and challenging the deep assumptions that you end up believing as a result of loving someone like this, breaking cycles of abuse and accepting that some people don't change no matter how hard you try...

But YOU can.

But instead, it's just the same trend we see every time that a male character hurts someone for a self-absorbed reason.

Sandgorse was a hero, actually, and that's why you should remember him uncritically Talltail.

Stormtail just wasn't present, Bluefur, but that's no big deal since he's here for you now.

Ashfur just loved your mom too much, Jayfeather, so him trying to murder you wasn't Hell-worthy

Bramblestar was just worried about ThunderClan, Squirrelflight, and you shouldn't have spoken over him at that meeting

Clear Sky actually loved his Clan all along and everything was hard choices, for survival and because he was so afraid, so you have to accept his apology (even though he never actually changes.)

[theravenflies]

I love the Young Justice Barbara Gordon

[Plain text: I love the Young Justice Barbara Gordon.]

(Keep in mind that I am not paraplegic, just a nerd)

I was never the biggest fan of the original Killing Joke storyline (and I will fight people on this,) but I think Young Justice managed to turn it into a plot that wasn't actually bad. In fact, they did a lot of things really well.

The original storyline, The Killing Joke, gave Barbara Gordon waist-down paralysis after the Joker shot her. The problem with that is that he shot her in the stomach at an extremely close range, the muzzle of the gun literally pressed to the middle of her stomach. At that close a range, depending on the gun and bullet, he probably shattered half of her spinal cord, if not more. The thing about shatter injuries to the spinal cord is that they cause more complications in upper-body mobility than other spinal injuries. If a significant portion of her spinal cord was shattered, Barbara wouldn't be as good as she is at fighting. The damage would cause problems in the rest of her body. And then, of course, everyone is grieving for her and so sad that she'll never walk again and have to retire and I'm pretty sure Batman does something drastic? And that's... really not a plot non-disabled writers should go for.

However, in Young Justice, it's completely different. Barbara saw Cassandra Cain, who was unidentifiable but very small so obviously a young child, going after Joker with a sword, so she chose to get between the child and her target to prevent Cass from doing something that could never be taken back. She took the slash, which hit her lower back, just above her tailbone, so that it didn't go to Joker's neck. And the other characters handled it well. Nightwing was a bit panicked, of course, but that's because Barabara had a severe injury that was life-threatening. Batman, knowing that Nightwing had called for a medical evacuation and that he was handling first aid, took the sword from a terrified Cassandra ever so gently, and put a comforting hand on her shoulder. Cassandra was horrified, of course, but it was because she'd just hurt someone who wasn't her target severely, not because Barbara was now disabled. And then Barbara tells her that she didn't do it to save Joker, she did it to save Cass. And Cass is horrified and probably hates herself in the moment, sure, but that memory later becomes something that strengthens her. Cass gets kidnapped in that episode and remembering that during her captivity helps her. It's a memory of the woman who would later become her older sister and one of her best friends. She knows that Barbara, the woman who has done so much for her, will help her. She won't rest until Cassandra is safe, even if it means coming after her herself.

I also really like how the plot handled this. Number one, we don't know off the bat why Barb is paralyzed, it doesn't come up until it's relevant, she's just paralyzed. And when it does come up, it's not a tragedy, it's Barbara risking her life to save the soul of a child who didn't understand the moral consequences of what she was about to do. She chose to do that and she would do it again. That's a really interesting way of subverting the exhausted "disabled by an accident" trope, because yes, it was an accident on Cass's part, but Barbara knew she was probably going to get badly hurt. It's similar to a character running into a burning building to save someone else. They accept the potential consequences because they couldn't live with themselves if they didn't help. She took the risk, she knew what could happen, which is so much better than her having no choice and being shot. It's far less tired an idea and a very interesting spin that I quite like.

Going back to the injury, let's get in-depth about that. I mentioned how a shatter would impact her upper body, too. But the way she was injured in Young Justice, which was probably severing the connection between two very low vertebrae or possibly cutting a vertebra itself if Cass put enough force behind it, makes sense. It wouldn't have as much a major impact on her upper body, so it makes sense that she can throw the person who snuck up on her like it's easy. Barbara can be an excellent hand-to-hand fighter and it's not unexplainable. We don't see her exercising in her chair, likely because she has the wrong chair for both exercising and her disability (she has a hospital-type wheelchair instead of a lightweight chair, which is, I think, just poor research,) but she clearly still does because she's still extremely good.

Also, I like how there's no cure plot. The show might still be ongoing so I don't know if that'll last, but for now, she hasn't been cured and shows no desire to be. The comics would occasionally have her paralysis cured and thank the gods they didn't go with that, even with a character (we won't get into the absolute disaster of Violet Harper here) who could, in theory, heal her, and I love that. For some reason writers are afraid of keeping their disabled characters disabled, so I'm surprised and glad they didn't take the easy out.

Finally, I love that Oracle is still able to do field work with special equipment. Does she go onto the actual field herself? No, not really. But she uses small drones and other things to help out, such as the tiny drone that gave Cass a lock pick or her hacking into systems to protect her allies from security measures. Babs doesn't need to stop being a superhero because she's disabled but also doesn't suddenly use a mech or something, she just finds ways to work with her new circumstances to keep doing what she wants to do, just in a different way. She's still a massive threat to her enemies, just in a different way, utilizing talents she already had (Barbara is extremely intelligent and very creative) to continue to help people.

TL;DR, I really, really like how Young Justice handled Barbara Gordon. If we must have more characters disabled in accidents, this is a very good way to do that.

[hollowknightinsanity]

Safety (Hollow Knight AU oneshot)

Rating: General Audiences

Archive Warning: No Archive Warnings Apply

Category: Gen

Fandom: Hollow Knight (Video Games)

Relationships: The Hollow Knight | Pure Vessel/Original Character(s) (Implied), The Hollow Knight | Pure Vessel & Hornet, The Hollow Knight | Pure Vessel & The Pale King, The Hollow Knight | Pure Vessel & Original Character(s), The Hollow Knight | Pure Vessel & Quirrel

Characters: The Hollow Knight | Pure Vessel, The Pale King (Hollow Knight), Hornet (Hollow Knight), Quirrel (Hollow Knight) (mentioned), Original Character(s)

Additional Tags: They/Them Pronouns for The Hollow Knight | Pure Vessel, Fluff, Implied/Referenced Character Death, The Pale King is a good dad for once, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, The Hollow Knight | Pure Vessel is named Holly, and i gave them a fankid because i love being cringe

Words: 1,587

Summary: The Hollow Knight (Holly) and The Pale King have some father-child bonding time.

Notes: This oneshot happened when I decided that the maladaptive daydream I was having was too good to not share on the internet.

And also, this was partially inspired by the song Rain Clouds by The Arcadian Wild.

Thank the Goddesses for blorbo thoughts. That writer's block was getting unbearable.

AO3 Link:

Calm and quiet air nestled in the room. They’d just gotten home after sparring with their sister, as some simple training — they’d felt the need to work on their talent as a knight, though retired and disabled as they were.

It escalated a little too far, though, and Father stepped in to prevent them from getting injured further by their own recklessness.

Strange, that he’d do that. Normally, he would allow them to get hurt, and learn from their mistakes. They could heal themself easily enough.

But, times have changed — they’re older, weaker. Not what they used to be. They no longer produced Soul at a pace steady enough to heal properly. They hurt when they moved. They’re old. They’re disabled. They’re tired. They’re not what they used to be.

“Sit, child. Let me remove your prosthetic,” Father spoke, his tone calm as usual, though with a new touch of… kindness? Tenderness? They couldn’t place an exact label on it. But to them, it felt like how a father should speak to his child.

When did he begin treating me like his kin, and not simply a tool?

When did he begin caring?

Holly sat on the couch in their modest Dirtmouth home. Their knees were weak from straining during the spar. It felt nice to sit down and rest.

They shouldered their cloak out of the way, letting it drape over the back of the couch, and removed their top, allowing Father to properly detach their complex prosthetic arm. This process always hurt, but they were used to it by now.

The pain, at least, was bearable. On the other hand, they certainly did not enjoy nor care for the feeling of having things placed or removed from inside their body, and that is exactly what had to happen in order for the arm to be connected or removed.

Holly sought comfort in another physical interaction. They angled their head to call for Hornet, standing in the kitchen.

“Little Hornet? Could you bring Somber for me?” they requested, mock voice rasping and tired. Their Void was acting up, as it did not like being anywhere near Father, and they struggled to use it for their speech.

“Yeah, sure,” she called back, setting down whatever she was holding with a glassy clink.

“Thank you.”

Holly could hear her claws tapping on the floor as she walked to the bedroom. A few moments later, she returned with the squeaking infant in her arms, and gently handed them to their parent, then returned to the kitchen. The child’s squeaks quieted when they felt the presence of their mother, and they grasped at Holly’s chest with small, clawless hands.

“Yes, hello, little one,” they spoke, voice barely above a whisper, rubbing the back of Somber’s head with their thumb. They squeaked quietly in response, purring against their chest, snuggling into their swaddle. Holly purred as well, glad to be with their child once more.

Of course, it hadn’t been that long since they held them, but still. Too much time away from this fragile little thing, and they’d panic.

I suppose this is the life of a new parent, though. Especially one that struggles to understand that they’re even alive.

“I could make you a baby carrier, if you need one,” Father said, still working with the pale prosthetic.

“I’ll take you up on that offer. Thank you in advance, Father,” they returned, flinching when he removed one of the connecting wires from within their torso. “Heavens above, that still feels so strange…”

“I know, Holly. Just a few more, then you’ll be good to rest. Should only take about a minute.”

…

Such a kind response gets them thinking again.

…When did he become so… gentle? they wonder. Has he been like this my whole life? Or did he just start now?

…

When did he decide he wanted to be my father?

They flinch again as he removes another wire. He is still kind with how he handles them. He’s aware that their scars are sensitive, and he’s aware of how the wires cause them discomfort when being put in or taken out.

Why is he so kind now? Why does he no longer hurt me?

Does he fear it? Fear that he might hurt me again?

Is he afraid of hurting me?

They decide to ask.

“...Father?” “Yes?”

“...Why are you so gentle all of a sudden?”

The old King pauses, stilling his hands, processing their question. He looks towards their face. They do not look back at him.

“What do you mean?” he questions, not fully understanding.

“When I was younger, if I had this same prosthetic, you would’ve removed the wires as fast as possible and not cared if I flinched, if I showed signs of pain or discomfort. Why is it that now, you take care to not injure me?” They look down at their child, sleeping peacefully in their hold. The Wyrm blinks.

“...I certainly would not do that to you, even if it were with a younger you,” he answers, keeping his gaze directed at their head. “Not then, and especially not now. You’re older, and I know that even at a slow pace, placing and removing the wires still hurts. Those scars certainly don’t help in the matter.” Momentarily, he looks back down to their prosthetic arm, and the connections sunken into their body. Holly’s scars are still only partially healed, and that makes them very sensitive to physical stimuli. The Wyrm does not wish to inflict any more pain on the child he’d already hurt so much. It really seemed to him that they’d been through every terrible thing in the world, and none of the good.

He looks back up at their face, still turned away from his own. “You deserve better. I’ve already hurt you enough in the past. I promise you, I will never do such things again. You have my word, child.”

Finally, they look down towards their father, their one remaining eye expressing confusion, shock, and… relief. Their father’s expression tells them that he means it. They look away again, returning their gaze to their sleeping child.

Had they had the facial mechanisms to smile, they would have.

“Thank you. I really needed to hear that.”

“Of course, my child.”

They don’t speak another word to each other until the King finishes removing Holly’s prosthetic. They sigh and roll their shoulder, forming a tendril to reach up and massage where they were sore. “Thank you again, Father,” they say, voice quiet and gentle so as not to disturb the infant sleeping in their hold. The King nods.

“No problem. Anything else you need?” he asks, standing from the couch and stretching his arms, one pair reaching above his head and the other behind his back.

Holly moves, twisting their form to lay down on the cushions. “Could you put on a record for me?” they request, yawning at the end of their sentence. “The one with the sailing ship and waves, please.”

The Wyrm hums in affirmation, and walks over to the little desk holding the record player and steadily growing collection of vinyls. He kneels down to the shelf beneath the tabletop, shuffling through the various records in search of the one the tired Vessel had requested. Lifting it carefully and removing the disc from its casing, he places it atop the player and turns it on. Soft acoustic begins to emit from the speaker, and Holly settles into a comfortable position, wrapping themself in their cloak, using it as a blanket.

“Oh, one more thing, Father,” they say, looking at him with a tired eye.

“Hm?” “...Could I have a hug?”

He seems surprised by the request. They genuinely wish for my affection?

“Oh, goodness, of course!” he responds, walking over to their spot on the sofa, reaching down to wrap his arms around them. They gladly accept the gesture, and they begin to purr, moving their head to rest their jaw atop his shoulder, simulating a return as best they can, still using their only arm to hold Somber.

And they’re purring. They’re being held by their father, and they’re purring. They’re content in his hold.

The thought that they’re finally getting comfortable with his presence brings tears to his eyes, which he blinks back harshly, nuzzling his face into one of Holly’s horns.

The last time they requested his affection was when Quirrel passed. They were sobbing then. They were still afraid of him. Afraid that he might hurt them. That he might kill them, as they so believed he would decades ago. Now, though, they know he won’t do such things. They know that, for the most part, they’re safe.

He knows that they’re still instinctively wary of him, and that they will be for a long time, but at least they can take comfort in his touch now, instead of fearing for their very life whenever he so much as got close.

He’s glad that Holly no longer cries themself to sleep every night. They don’t need to be afraid anymore. They’re finally safe.

Hesitantly, he releases them from his grasp, standing up once again. “You get some rest, now, okay? You need it after that session,” he says, running his hand through their hair before turning away. “If you’d like, I could make you some tea.”

“Please do,” they respond, wrapping their cloak tighter around themself and their hatchling.

They’re glad that they’re safe again. They missed being at peace.

[keldjinfae]

Fic authors self rec! When you get this, reply with your favorite five fics that you've written, then pass on to at least five other writers! Spread the self-love 💞

Okay, so first off, thanks to @dear-massacre for this one. I got to filter through a lot of things I wrote for other fandoms besides Teen Wolf, and while I won't be sharing them (purely because most of them fell victim to the Great Strikethrough Purge, and the "clean" versions I have up on the Pit that is fanfiction.net are... frankly, things I would delete if I could remember what the hell my log-in is), I did remember one I co-wrote with a friend of mine over a decade ago. And neither of us remembers how to log into that old account we created solely for the purpose of writing something together (let me just say, AO3 allowing for co-creators is a fucking godsend), so the link for that one will have to direct you there instead of AO3. I may be able to update this with an AO3 link, provided @caseyvalhalla (said cowriter) is able to find a full version of the fic in their backup drive (which would be outstanding, seeing as how my copy of the fic was lost at some point about three or four PCs/laptops ago).

I also left WIPs out of this list because I feel like that might be too cruel of a tease, seeing as how I haven't updated them since about 2011.

Freaks and Fools is a Halloween-themed fic that Casey and I brainstormed together in about two hours after the initial joke of mashing up Kingdom Hearts and Peanuts. One of us said "Axel is Snoopy, sleeping out on the lawn," and it suddenly turned into him also being Johnny from The Outsiders; what followed was a feverish brainstorming session of determining the perfect way to balance drama and humor. Then we wrote and edited the whole damn thing over the course of three coffee-laden weekends.

I'm Not Asking Questions, I'm Taking My Chances is the first fic I wrote for the Sterek Reverse Bang. I'd previously written a fic for the Sterek Reverse Quickie, and it was my very first Teen Wolf fic, period, while I fucked around and found out if I'd be able to write for the fandom. Turns out, I could. The minimum word count for the RB was 5k, so naturally I wrote something up in the 80k range because I have zero chill.

It's a fantasy AU that very loosely (seriously, so loose that you definitely don't want to be relying on this fic to catch you in a trustfall exercise) incorporates themes from the Merlin series. Writing it helped teach me how to better plan out scenes, in terms of "do I really need to write out this whole scene independently or could I just incorporate it briefly into this already-existing one?" It also gave me better practice at determining when I was going to have to let scenes go altogether, maybe with the notion that I might write them someday and add them on later.

You Gotta Promise Not to Stop When I Say When is a fic I wrote for the Sterek Reverse Quickie, during which I was paired up with the same artist who I'd written for during my very first RQ. She wanted comfort, made a moodboard about it (sadly, Discord stopped image hosting so the links to all of her previous artwork are all broken), and I decided I wanted to write comfort as well. I gave her two choices (Derek takes Stiles's pain, or Stiles is a vampire sharing a house with Derek, and both of them accuse the other of being a squatter--it's a long, stupid story that has gone off the rails in a meme prompt thread on Discord), and went with the one that both of us could sink into.

This one is probably my absolute favorite because I literally just wrote what I know. Stiles is disabled, Derek helps him cope with it. I can't really sell it any better than that, other than to say that I wrote my own personal experiences, but Sterekified.

We're Floating in the Moonlit Sky is a Sterek fic I wrote for a little something called the 1000 Cakes Challenge, which provided the writer and artist participants with a word, an action, and a setting, and had us all spin our own take on them. The word was "kumquat," the action was "pursuit" or "sleepwalk" (I incorporated both--again, zero chill), and the setting was a gorgeous painting of a snowy forest that one of the moderators made herself just for the challenge. Initially, I wasn't even going to participate because I'd literally just finished writing my latest Sterek RB fic and thought I was burned out. Then an idea smacked me in the face right as I was falling asleep.

I love this one because it's more or less just me allowing myself some pure self-indulgence. There's some angst, there's some drama, but most of it is just seeing how many Christmas carol references I can squeeze in as puns. Stiles is half-elf and half-frost sprite, Derek is still a werewolf, Peter is Krampus (thanks to @ice-mage, because "of course Peter is Krampus"), and Noah is Santa Claus.

My Echo, My Shadow, and Me is the Sterek Reverse Bang fic I wrote before I got started on Floating. I somehow managed to write 100k+ words in a bit under four months, and satisfied my desire to write a season 3a "fix-it" (of sorts--more like a revision) in the process. I don't know if the experience would be the same for @nerdherderette, who wound up beta-reading "the Beast in Blue" in the course of about 20 hours, but it was damn satisfying to write.

Essentially, all of season 3a still happens, but Jackson never leaves and Cora never arrives. I wanted to explore everyone's strengths and flaws, and I wanted to write an alternate take on the nogitsune without having to rewrite 3b as well.

[goldeneyedgirl]

do you have any more of deaf mary-alice? I love this kind of concept. I read a while ago an one shot where jasper is blind and I adore when writers explore the idea of imperfect creatures that were suppose to be perfect

Hi Anon!

I just love the idea that 'perfection' is in the eye of the beholder and that Bella really can't see beyond this 'glamour'. And really, what is perfect anyway? I know SalmonCenter started a blind Jasper fic, but I don't know if it's been posted yet.

Anyway, I'm recovering from Covid and dug two very disjointed pieces out for you. One day I will figure out the plot for this, but that day isn't today.

The last week of school, Mary-Alice makes a break for it. He thinks it’s funny because the Cullens have made the mistake of treating Mary-Alice like a child. She’s slight, and she’s been so isolated for so long, it’s easy to mistake her wonder and delight for innocence or childishness. There’s no human reference point for any of these new experiences, and he thinks that the Cullens forget that. And Mary-Alice has been very tolerant of their … supervision thus far.

So the fact that she’s waited til now to escape Esme’s watchful eye was very diplomatic.

She’s sitting on the picnic tables outside the school; she’s managed to put together an outfit that doesn’t look too out of place - a long black skirt and tank top with one of his jackets over the entire ensemble. She’s even remembered shoes.

“Esme’s losing her mind,” Edward says, as soon as they spot her. “She shouldn’t have left without telling her.”

Jasper ignores him because Mary-Alice is beaming at him.

“So this is school?” She asks, crossing her legs as he joins her.

“This is the school,” he says, setting down his bag to absently kiss her on the forehead. “Second last day, and I never have to set foot in this place again.”

Mary-Alice makes a face before she leans up for a real kiss, playfulness and lust sparking through her. “I think it looks …” she begins, before Edward and Bella walk up, some of Bella’s human friends trailing after them, clearly curious about the girl in black.

“Hello Mary-Alice,” Edward says verbally, his hand clasped in Bella’s. It’s a slight against her, mostly likely from a combination of worrying Esme and showing up at the school. Mary-Alice’s response is in Spanish, pointedly, more amused by Edward than annoyed.

“This is Bella,” Jasper says, since Edward is clearly disinclined to make introductions. “And Bella’s friends.” He honestly hasn’t been paying close enough attention to them to know who is who, and he’s hoping that Bella will jump in.

But of course not. Forks High is not a school that has a noticeable population of disabled students - there are less than ten in the whole school, and more than half of those students have invisible disabilities. And none of them are Deaf, so Mary-Alice’s very polite greeting is left awkwardly hanging, Bella looking at Edward mildly alarmed.

“I don’t…” Bella begins and Jasper rolls his eyes.

“She said hello to you,” he says firmly. “Mary-Alice also lipreads.”

“Jasper can translate,” Edward adds unhelpfully and Mary-Alice gives him an unimpressed look.

“We’ll walk home,” Jasper says and Mary-Alice brightens. She’s still not entirely trusting of the cars, and has kept a wide berth between her and Rosalie’s garage. And he really loves how calm and happy she is in the forest.

//

Jane doesn’t discriminate when she hits them with her gift - Emmett’s knees buckle and his eyes widen as he chokes, and Rosalie’s terror and rage curdles around him, as she moves to try and… comfort? her husband. Bree is curled so tightly and panting that he’s surprised she hasn’t cracked a limb.

Jasper’s moving to help Rose with Emmett when he feels it. He feels it before he hears it, and it makes his blood run cold.

The cry she lets out is high and thin, and he hates that. He hates that the pain ripping through her body is so bad she cried out, her body almost locked into position. The panic swirling underneath the surface is too much, and grabbing a hold of her magnifies it so much.

He can hear himself yelling, clutching her tighter, and she’s making these terrible, gasping cries like she’s being suffocated, and he’s going to kill Jane, he’s going to break her into tiny little pieces and scatter them where no one can find them.

(It’ll haunt him, that moment with Jane. Even moreso later, when they are tucked up in his study and she buries her face in his chest and tells him she wants to go home. It feels like failure when she says that.)

[thatonebirdwrites]

Thoughts about fandoms and Writing

I suppose this will be a ramble of sorts. I wanted to talk about a sad thing I noticed but also a good thing I noticed about fandoms. This is a ramble, and I hope it all connects into a coherent whole by the end.

I'll start with the question I leave at the end. The question that my writing silently asks all readers:

"Here is a story of a human being that may be different from you, so will you join me at this campfire and hear their tale? To join them on this great journey of wonder, pain, joy, sorrow, and hope?"

One of the things that drew me to various fandoms, and my current one was a sense of connection. A sense of community, but I've also learned that despite this strength, there is an underlying undercurrent of who is allowed to exist in that community.

Part of writing fanfiction is because we want to see more of our beloved characters. To dig deeper into them, to fulfill this need for connection.

Because that's the crux of most things about us human beings, right? We are social beings that live best when we have connections with other human beings. None of us can live in a perfect isolation with no contact with anyone else ever (in fact studies show this is very, very, very bad for our health and can slowly kill us).

Yet, as a disabled person, I find myself stuck in this weird liminal space of seeking connection but sometimes finding instead reminders of how conditional my existence in the space truly is.

I notice that the stories willing to push the envelope a little, to explore what it'd be like if one of our beloved characters was disabled, often get far more harsh comments and far less support.

I've sat back and observed, and the more I interact with fandoms, the more I wonder if there is room for people like me.

I've seen some pushback in various fandoms -- even TLOK -- against people who want to explore our beloved characters in settings that allow for a more diverse intersection of identities. That tackle themes related to disability, gender identity, race, and so forth. To tackle more nuanced Leftist thought (that isn't displayed like a bad thing which TLOK sadly does at times).

This saddens me because that sort of pushback breaks the connection and community of fandoms in a way.

The whole reason I'm writing fanfiction is because I couldn't quite find the story I wanted to read. There's a lot of flaws in Legend of Korra, and I wanted to tackle the stories inherent in it from a different angle. To explore themes left unexplored. But also to show the shared moments Korra and Asami have. (They are legit my favorite couple of all time).

But I just don't feel very comfortable writing smut. I never have, so I'm already an outlier in the fanfiction writer community.

But I've realized of late that I also because an outlier with how I explore disability in my fanfiction.

Honestly Book 3 of TLOK sets the disability theme up, and although it does an excellent job with the PTSD arc, the way the temporary physical disability was handled during Korra's long healing left me quite frustrated because it utilized verbiage that's often used to demonize or deny disabled people support. No, it's not all in Korra's head (we find out later, that she really did still have poison in her, so Korra was right THE WHOLE TIME). No, it's not a mind over matter (this is the most unhelpful thing to say to a disabled person, seriously). No physical therapy can't cure all things. *sighs* I wanted more nuance there, and since it failed to deliver, I decided to write my own.

I also wanted to dig deep into Asami's story too because sadly enough TLOK doesn't give her the attention her and her trauma deserves.

So I have two separate series. One canon-compliant to explore the ramifications of that.

One an AU where Korra and Asami are romantically together by middle of Book 2, where they must navigate Book 3 and the trauma of that together. How do they do it? Can they do it? What sort of disability will they face and how will they deal with that?

I recognize what I write is not what most folks want from the fandom, and I feel like sometimes there is this unspoken undercurrent in the fandom to not really dig into the disability themes inherent in TLOK.

I think this is why commenters literally had a fight in the comments of my Shared Moments: Book 3. I had taken the disability theme in Book 3 (and 4) and made it highly visible. I had foreshadowed this quite thoroughly in all honesty.

I had made it clear from the start of the series that I promised to be realistic about trauma, about physical injuries, and about healing. Sure, I took some liberties in fight scenes to play up some interesting martial art moves that actually exist, but there's always ramifications and consequences.

I think in a way the fight that happened in my Book 3 (at the final confrontation with Zaheer's group) exemplifies the hidden current of ableism within the fandom.

Asami had barely escaped the lavabender and had a fourth-degree burn on the sole of her right foot. Those are when the burn destroys the nerves and can go as deep as the bone. They are quick to become infected if not treated right away, and in Asami's case, there was no way for it to be treated until after the airbenders are rescued. TLOK is set in a technological and medical period similar to 1940s, so the typical solution in that time period is amputation.

I'd carefully laid out details like crumbs for readers to find that heavily hints that this could be one of the possible outcomes.

Nothing about it was surprising.

And yet, two commenters were angry that one of the characters would end up permanently disabled. They utilized a harmful ableist trope, ignored the story up to that point, and demanded I alter the story because they deemed Asami's injury "unnecessary for the narration" and "too much."

Truth is, as much as I tried not to let it hurt me, it did.

Why? Because I'm disabled. I've had injuries due to circumstances where I didn't receive the healthcare I needed in time to prevent the injury and illness from worsening. I've been in Asami and Korra's shoes in a way.

Being told that a story that mirrored my own, that mirrored the lives of so many disabled people is "too much" and "unnecessary for narration" is a vivid reminder of how deep ableism has fallen into the psyche of our society.

Most folks wouldn't consider that ableist, and yet, if the same words were said about queer identities? If someone said that Korra and Asami being bisexual is "unnecessary for the narration" or "too much" there would be riots in the TLOK fandom. (In fact, I sometimes still witness some between Makorra shippers versus Korrasami shippers, where it doesn't seem to matter that Korrasami is canon to the Makorra folks, they get incensed and fall back on biphobic language. Only to be rightly called out for the harm of it.)

So why aren't we standing up for disabled people?

The Legend of Korra is a survivor story. It's a disability story. Complex-PTSD that Korra has is a disability. Acute-PTSD, which is likely what Asami has, is also a disability.

Disability is not bad. It is not evil. It's not too much.

Disability is beautiful. It should be normalized as just part of who a person is. We, disabled people, can do great things despite our disability.

And yet, those commenters couldn't see that.

All they could see was their beloved character would be permanently disabled. Their unconscious bias reared its head, and they lashed out in a way that hurt. (And also angered several other commenters who kindly called them out).

They were angry at being forced to confront the fact that their beloved character was now in the category of "disabled." It required them to relate -- to connect -- to a disabled person as a human being.

That's the moment of truth isn't it?

When someone is forced to relate to another person as a human being worthy of respect and dignity, that is when we discover the true character of a person I think.

Disabled people like myself are often treated like we are sub-human. Like we don't matter, like it'd be better if we ceased to exist. (I can give dozens of examples, but I think how the pandemic is currently being handled is a blatant look at how ableism is structured in our society and how much it harms all of us.)

Society saturates our media with messages of how disabled people are less than, sub-human, unworthy of life, unworthy of being allowd to even participate in society. Often the only way we are allowed to exist at all is if we are displayed as an "inspiration," something for which abled-bodied people to oogle and feel good about themselves for "helping" us "get over" or "cure" our disability, as if our disability is a problem to be solved rather than something that can be both painful but also beautiful. (I often try to see the beauty in my ADHD, my APD, my autoimmune illness. And yes, for LongCovid in particular, I may wish for a cure for my LongCovid, but I can also recognize the beauty within my illness - I see the world differently and that lens allows me to connect in new ways and to show more kindness and love in different ways. That too is beauty).

The harmful messages about disabled people are everywhere, and we often unconsciously absorb them.

I try to do my best to respond with kindness. To even try to educate when I can, but I also have to have a firm boundary because I'm a human being.

I don't have enough energy to tackle educating people about this AND doing what I need to survive.

And for me, writing is survival.

I think the reason it hurt to see ableism at play in the fandom was because I had been thinking maybe I might actually belong to a group for once. That maybe I would be treated as a human being, who has a talent for something.

But seeing the words "too much" and "unnecessary for narration" in the comments, brought out not only my insecurities, but a reminder of just how fucking hard it is to write diverse characters.

I've never written fanfiction before 2021.

I'm a science fiction (and sometimes fantasy) author, though at the moment it's only short stories that have been published.

Do you know how many times I've heard those harmful phrases said while I trying to get my original stories published?

Editors would tell me:

"Your character being nonbinary is unnecessary for the narration." Or "It's too much to have a nonbinary character. You should just choose a gender and we'll consider it."

OR

"Why is this character disabled? It seems unnecessary for the narration. Just eliminate them and rewrite it."

It didn't matter that the disability was crucial to the character and her understanding of the world and how she navigated it. (Or that she was literally the protagonist.)

It didn't matter that the nonbinary person's identity was crucial to their character, their understanding of the world, and how others related to them.

It didn't matter even if it was crucial to the plot.

All that mattered was that the editors were uncomfortable with characters that didn't match the ideal human they decided was the only allowed protagonist.

In a way, they were saying that people like me didn't deserve to have our stories told. To be recognized and seen as protagonists, as human beings to which readers could connect.

Is fandom any different?

Maybe there are readers who enjoy what I write, but sometimes I see so much of the content of fandom, and this intense demand for an ideal form of human, and I don't see myself.

I don't see myself and those like me being accepted as we are. Where we are worthy of connection too.

So I create that representation; I carefully weave a story so everything is set up, foreshadowed, makes sense in the characterization and narration, and I come face to face with the blatant ableism, blatant transphobia, and sometimes even blatant biphobia.

And it's a reminder that even while I try to find comfort and solace and a safe place to recover from my own illness and from the world at large...

... in the end, it's hard to feel like there will ever be acceptance. It's hard to feel like the fandom is willing to treat people like me as a human worthy of respect and dignity.

Because that's the thing, isn't it?

When people see me in my wheelchair, they don't see a person. They see a thing. A sub-human to be pitied. I get touched in ways that would never happen if I was abled-bodied. My wheelchair gets moved in ways that would never happen if I was abled-bodied (that wheelchair is an extension of my body and touching it without my consent is touching me without consent). I get sneers sometimes. I get people staring at me like I'm some carnival show.

It's tiresome. It's hurtful. It isolates.

To have a beloved character end up in a wheelchair, or end up with a prosthetic?

People are forced to face their own ableism. They are forced to see the ugliness they display toward me and those like me. Because now their beloved character is one of my people.

And the anger that is hurled at me for doing this is honestly ridiculous. Exhausting too.

People don't like being uncomfortable, but we cannot grow if we're not uncomfortable. We cannot become better than we were unless we confront the things that break our ability to connect.

i write because I want people to connect. I want people to understand ways of being that is unlike their own, and to come to understand that we are all human beings. We all are worthy and deserving of respect and dignity. We all deserve to be seen and accepted where we are.

Those are the stories I love the most. The ones that build up and not tear down.

And perhaps that is why I will never truly fit in. Because I refuse to sit down and make myself small enough to fit in. Because I prefer to dig into the reality of our differences and how those differences are actually our similarities and our biggest strengths.

It is our diversity that is our strength. It's also how we connect, how we find our similarities, because even in our beautiful galaxy of identities, we all have similar human needs and qualities that shine through.

We are all made of stardust. We are all social beings. We all strive for some level of connection, and although the layers of that may differ for each of us, that human need to connect cannot be truly erased or ignored.

I'll end where I began, with the great question my writings always silently ask readers:

"Here is a story of a human being that may be different from you, so will you join me at this campfire and hear their tale? To join them on this great journey of wonder, pain, joy, sorrow, and hope?"

And honestly, that's why I write.

[that-disabled-princess]

Twenty Questions for Fic Writers

Thanks @bazzybelle for the tag!

1. How many works do you have on AO3?

Currently, eighty-three! There are a couple more I've orphaned, though.

2. What’s your total AO3 word count?

83,430. Damn, seeing a big number and my name in the same sentence is weird xD

3. What fandoms do you write for?

The Dragon Prince, Carry On, and Nimona! I've also written for Starkid and She-Ra in the past.

4. What are your top 5 fics by kudos?

The top three are Nimona haha. I jumped on the Nimona train pretty early, so I'm not surprised.

These scars that never fade [Nimona, G, 300] - 320 kudos

Bad Days [Nimona, T, 500] - 295 kudos

A Second Chance [Nimona, T, 1.6k] - 235 kudos

Kiss It Better [Carry On, T, 2.1k] - 186 kudos

Sexualities and Crises [Carry On, T, 1.5k] - 181 kudos

5. Do you respond to comments? Why or why not?

I do! I love interacting with my readers, especially because a good majority of them are also friends and people I've talked to before.

6. What is the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?

Ohoho, so I have been Living It Up in angst land over here! The first one that popped into my mind was a personal fic, so here's another very angsty hurt no comfort:

Lavender hearts [Carry On, M, 3.4k]

7. What’s the fic you wrote with the happiest ending?

I joked with @that-one-dingus last night that I write three kinds of fics: stupidly cute, horrifically angsty, and amazingly chaotic. In other words, I have posted lots of stupidly cute fics! 😂 This is one of my favorites with a happy/hopeful ending!

Hurting, Healing (Loving, Forgiving) [The Dragon Prince, T, 2.1k]

8. Do you get hate on fics?

Yuuup. I've gotten quite a bit of arophobia on my aro Baz fic. (I believe this is when I turned off guest commenting.) I've absolutely loved stepping into writing for The Dragon Prince because people took one look at this baby aplatonic writing aplatonic Ethari and jumped right on the train. I adore y'all <3

9. Do you write smut? If so, what kind?

Yes! I'll write almost anything as long as it's safe, sane, and consensual. My favorite kinds of smut to write is anything using non-human parts--which is basically all my snowbaz and ruthari smut! I love getting to use the wings and tail and horns.

10. Do you write crossovers? What’s the craziest one you’ve written?

Not yet, but I do have one in the works... and I'd say it's pretty chaotic. Lamb (Simon Snow)/Aaravos (The Dragon Prince) smutfic. The most top4top struggle to ever top4top struggle.

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen?

Not that I know of.

12. Have you ever had a fic translated?

...does translating my own fic count? I translated Worst seats known to musician-kind into Spanish!

Other than that, no.

13. Have you ever co-written a fic before?

Nope. I don't really want to, honestly. Knowing me, it won't be a good idea unless I trust the person I'm writing with really well.

14. What’s your all time favorite ship?

Well okay then, this question went for the throat. Snowbaz is great and all, but ruthari... I adore ruthari. They're murder husbands and fantastic parents. I just... adore them. *holds gently*

15. What’s a WIP you want to finish but doubt you ever will?

My disabled Baz fic. The passive--and explicit--ableism in these books is... certainly something. I really want to write a fic where Baz is disabled and has chronic leg pain, but it's just too personal. I don't know if I can continue.

16. What are your writing strengths?

I write short fics really well! I've been told I can hit people right in the feels in just a couple hundred words. I'm also good at flow and poetry-like writing.

17. What are your writing weaknesses?

Writing longfics, I guess. My writing is an escape, so I don't tend to look at weaknesses a lot.

18. Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language in fic?

Sure! I love reading it when authors write other languages into their fics.

19. First fandom you wrote for?

Harry Potter, I think.

20. Favorite fic you’ve written?

Mmm how about one from each fandom I'm active in? I love my writing, and rules are more like guidelines anyway.

Hurting, Healing (Loving, Forgiving) [The Dragon Prince, T, 2.1k] - Hurt/comfort, so much communication, aplatonic Ethari, and disabled Runaan! This one was supposed to be something much shorter and fluffier, but it turned into a longer fic with more feels. (Who gave you permission to have feelings, Runaan?) But that's fine because it was so much fun to write!

Mark of the Beast [Carry On, E, 1.5k] - Speaking of monsterfucking... I am so fucking proud of this lambden fic. It was sooo much fun to write.

Wave your flag high [Nimona, G, 300] - Supportive Ambrosius! Goldenheart doing menial household chores together! Bal gets a disability pride flag! This is one of my favorite things I've ever written. What I wouldn't give for my own disability pride flag...

Tagging @iamamythologicalcreature @hoothalcyon @legend-of-the-fandoms @youarenevertooold @stitchyqueer @cutestkilla @artsyunderstudy @yeonjunenby 💖💖

[horizon-verizon]

one of my strong disagreements with TG stans is their "jaehaera should stay alive in HOTD" and all that nonsense is that they want a character who will probably be black (Daenaera) to be excluded and replaced by the white character, daughter of the usurper (jaehaera) they are saying that a possible black character is not relevant or should not exist in favor of a white character who if we stop to think about it has NO relevance (unless of course for TG stans the relevance of jaehaera is a marriage, and her relevant because it is their only hope to say that the Greens also won)

Does Daenaera have no personality? Maybe. Neither does Jaehaera

Is Daenaera a plot device? Maybe, Jaehaera is too. Her plot device is to die and Aegon II's lineage ends.

but unlike Jaehaera, Daenaera stayed alive and was the wife and mother of Aegon III's children and TG stans want Jaehaera to have this relevance in their fanfic

That's exactly what it is, nothing more, nothing less. I bet you they will also try to say Jaehaera had more "personality" or was more interesting than Daenaera bc she had a huge disability...which brings us all back to the craziness that is how writers will try to exoticize mental disabilities or illnesses as accompanied by supernatural abilities in Helaena. The formula's tactic being that they were able to empower the usually-ignored/mistreated vulnerable disabled party when they didn't have much plans for them other than them being that "fascinating" material.

*EDIT 10/18/24*

Also, as some on Twitter say, Daenaera is under 10 years old when she's betrothed & married to Aegon AND the regency ends at the end of F&B vol 1....bc F&B vol 2 is supposed to go into more detail of the stories we know in AWoIaF. Daenaera might have more, undisclosed moments both for/with Aegon and coming from her own incentive, we don't know yet. Maybe what she did is underestimated and pushed under the rug in terms of "importance" by the next volume's writer and sources/witnesses? And then you have to add how it is after the Dance that female consorts and women in general immediately start suffering even more repressive abuses or are more actively/passively excluded from government or they are denied agency/choices--perhaps the new text will suggest she had some influence but the crown sought to hide it as much as possible to not "ruin" its image or receive censure?

AND (if i might add) it appears Aegon really loved and connected with her for them to have so many kids successively. in Aegon's case, the running "having lots of kids can't be saids to prove the arranged couple married each other" doesn't much work here b/c Aegon's mind was severely negatively impacted by his losses for the rest of his life AND we see in both texts that Daenaera was one of the only people to ever be able to bring him to spirits and comfort him as Gaemon Palehair and Viserys did. We have so much to use for the argument that for this case, their having so many kids and successively shows how much Aegon actually was...goo-goo over her.

*END OF EDIT*