#because the quality of writing is just not the same

[werewolfmack]

I am going to lose it laughing over trying to diss on Ministry of Time. Building a big tower to try and look down on this bad book but every step in the tower you just built is also bad.

Ministry of Time (self-insert romancing real historic human Graham Gore) -> Rips off author-insert fanfic (thing that The Terror fandom dislikes as a whole especially if it's a fem self-insert) -> fanfic of The Terror, a book that also sucks, whose author does not deserve your money, and is fictionalizing real life events but making them supernatural (therefore it is Real-Person Fanfic which was published!) -> Or fanfic of the miniseries The Terror which course-corrected on the book and is even further removed from real life re:characterization, meaning it is RPF of a RPF adapted for the screen-> All of which is fictionalized supernatural AU of real life events where people died horribly -> those IRL people were actual colonizers and war criminals who died due to their own hubris.

I'm currently in the muddy sloppy gutters writing an embarrassing amount of The Terror fanfic, so I see where your fired shots are being aimed at, and it's misguided. That author had the same brainworms the rest of us have. Who is really at fault for spitting out book after book of trope garbage that actually makes money over being quality writing? Blame unchecked capitalism, it ruins every industry. Blame anti-intellectualism and lack of media literacy of all kinds being pushed by online platforms like Tik-Tok that focus on algorithm over real discussion. This system is designed to feed itself. You're seeing the worst of fandom writing getting publishing deals because the greedy system is prioritizing it. And if I could get big bucks publishing all this stuff I'm writing about men bleeding out and bouncing on it while their boats are stuck in the ice, or perhaps a self-insert where I time-travel-rescue John Irving just to chain him up in my basement and torture him (therefore ripping off Ministry of Time!), I would go for it. We live in a fuckin society. Publish my horrible boat yaoi so I can afford healthcare for me and my girl.

sad reality of the fanfic-to-published work economy is that the weirdest people are willing to do it. that's why there's now hundreds of shitty no plot cishet hate-to-love enemies-to-lovers books that are ex reylo fanfic. and it's not even good. that's because the people who wrote book-quality steve/bucky and kirk/spock fic are too normal to think to themselves "i should get this porn published". they're too busy working in local government offices

[verisette]

THE BIG THREE AND THEIR LOVE LANGUAGE.

synopsis: the new big three and their biggest love language. 

note: hey... how you doing? well, here’s my first post in a while, starting off strong with writing, i haven’t written in a bit so bare with me.

KATSUKI BAKUGOU.

It’s a well-known fact that Katsuki isn’t good with his words, nor is he that fond of being so close to someone intimately, especially early on into a relationship. For those reasons his biggest love language is acts of service, he’s more than willing to cook you a 5 course meal when you’ve had a bad day, fill up your tank with gas, or even tie your shoe when you’re feeling lazy. He absolutely loves it when you do the same for him. Whether that means you cook him something even if you’re not the best chef, you wash his skull t-shirt so he can wear it again, or you adjust one of his All Might figures.

IZUKU MIDORIYA.

Growing up, Izuku wasn’t often praised by people who weren't his mother. Especially with the bullying he endured from Bakugou and his other classmates, his self-esteem has always been low. Because of this, his love language is words of affirmation. It’s not that he enjoys being told he’s amazing, or attractive, or the strongest. He just likes to hear that you chose him and would always choose him. He will 100% return the favor telling you how good you look, how wonderful you did in training, or how much he loves you, even when he’s as red as a tomato giving you compliments. He wants you to feel as wanted as you do to him and will never let you forget that.

SHOTO TODOROKI.

Shoto never really got to spend much time outside as a kid due to Endeavor’s strict training regimen. He rarely spent time playing with his siblings, so he often felt isolated. The only time he did spend time with other children was at school. Even then, he found it hard to connect with the other kids since he didn’t know much about the games or things they liked. Due to this, his love language is quality time. You say you want to go to the aquarium next Tuesday? He’s clearing his schedule. The mall later today? He’s there. He genuinely loves it when you do things together he never got to do as a child. Those are the times you’ll see him smile the most.

© 𝐕𝐄𝐑𝐈𝐒𝐄𝐓𝐓𝐄 𝟐𝟓 — all rights reserved. please do not modify, repost, or translate, my work on any other sites. otherwise, the queens men may just have to execute you!

[therobotsarestuckinmyhead]

Hi! Could you write a headcanon for Transformers: Prime set during Season 2, where the Autobots discover another Transformer who’s been hiding in Brazil and can transform into a red Chevrolet Celta? And could the reader be a chill and funny guy, but a bit on the scaredy-cat side? Sorry if that’s too specific 😅

☆|♡ "NEW FRIEND & OLD MEMORIES"

OHHHHHH ANON… didnt mention whether platonic or romantic </3 so i went with a fine middle line. for plot reasons, there was an omega key in Brazil. i had to research on Brazil. forgive me for inaccuracies. also uhhh heads up for the Arcee part.

scenario: on a mission to recover one of the omega keys, the Autobots encounter another bot

including: Smokescreen, Optimus, Arcee, Bulkhead

note: reader is depicted to have an accent cause i <3 transformers with accents

BACKGROUND:

This dirt ball was where Optimus said he'd be at— You had the coordinates and everything! Yet your escape pod crashed right into Brazil, the coordinates for Jasper, Nevada must've been a few kliks off because you found yourself in the forest outskirts of Manaus, Amazonas all the way in Brazil. Not even the right country but you didn't realize that until much later.

You'd managed to set up a make-shift base within the forest; far, far away from any human settlements. The last thing you want is to catch anyone's attention before you find the rest of the Autobots, especially the natives.

No ship, no crew, no contact... nothing.

But hey! That's just a minor set-back. You're sure you can manage.

Of course you knew how to defend yourself. Not the best on the offensive but a good enough defensive, managing to stay undercover. You managed to build a low-quality but functioning radio transmitter, you're a bit of a techie— nothing big, just a few simple things you'd picked up after being stuck in this seemingly never ending war. You hoped your messages would reach where ever Prime and the rest of the Autobots are. Until then you're stuck all alone with many misadventures. Like living off of energon you manage to steal from Decepticon energon mines deeper into the forest.

Until you met a fellow Autobot.

Smokescreen:

— Smokescreen is the one who found you in the forest, the exact same forest where the third Omega Key just so happened to be located. He encountered you through a misunderstanding actually; you almost mistook him for a possible Decepticon when you managed to pick up a spark-signal. But once you saw him, you realized you were wrong and he debrief you on everything you missed out on (everything he was aware of at least). However, the two of you were knocked out cold by Starscream and that twat managed snatch the Omega Key right out of Smokescreen's servos!

— Smokescreen is relatively easy to get along with. He enjoys your company, even if you clearly are a bit of a scaredy-cat. In fact he actually likes that about you, it gives him a lot more ammo he could use to tease you with.

— He laughs the loudest at your jokes, you managed to cheer him up after losing the third Omega Key so Smokescreen does get a bit attached to you. He may or may not get attached a bit too easily... and quickly.

— Also he's definitely not really vibing with you alt mode of choice, I mean, a Chevrolet Celta? Why not a luxury sports car or a race car! Like his own Indy 500 race car alt mode? You're quick to retort with how much more noticeable a sports car or a race car is and how it beats the purpose of 'Robots in Disguise' but he pretends not to hear it... He doesn't want to admit that you may have a really good point there. Only because he is a race car.

— Smokescreen does like the red paint though and how you've managed to keep it relatively scratch-less given you're in a forest. But he does wish you'd add some more colour to it, you're a pretty vibrant bot so he thinks a few more streaks and colouring would really suit you.

— You can bet your spark that he's going to use the fact that he's a sport-car to his advantage because he is constantly challenging you to a race and you're clearly not able to keep up with him. He has a proud smug smile on his face. Finally! After cycles of losing to Bumblebee, he's farming race wins for once like Max Verstrappen does.

— Your accent throws him off a little but he's gets used to it quickly. Again, you crashed in Brazil, its only natural that you learnt Portuguese before you did English. He could easily learn Portuguese too, mostly cause of the existence of the internet. Well, not really learn per say but translate his way through conversation.

— Cue you and Smokes conversing in Portuguese while the rest of the team is incredibly confused as to what the two of you are saying. You have a secret language with him. The two of you are teasing the kids, especially Miko. It's driving her nuts how the two of you are talking and she can't make out a WORD. She wants to get into it as well, she's begging you to let her get into this 'secret language'. Then Raf tells her its Portuguese and not some secret alien language and her excitement dies down.

Optimus:

— Optimus is happy to have you onboard even if he is disheartened at not being able to get one of the keys because in the end of the day, its more Autobot to their mission and they need all the help they can get to gather all the four Omega Keys.

— Optimus is more reliable than Smokescreen when it comes to letting you know what's happening so he fills in any gaps Smokescreen may have left out. He also takes the liberty to introduce you to everyone.

— Optimus finds you interesting, mostly because you managed to survive on a completely different continent and managed to stay hidden so well that Ratchet’s detection systems couldn't pick up on your spark signature.

— Optimus is observant, a lot more than one would think and from all he's managed to understand from your story, you're a survivalist with the talent when it comes to staying hidden. He can see how resillant you are, managing to find fuel even in such a precarious situation. The attempts to hand-repair your frame by yourself is clear with poorly welding marks as well as remnants of blasterfire burns.

— Your tech-knowledge would definitely help them, its a massive advantage for their side. Ratchet is a medic, he's not exactly an engineer. Even the little engineering knowledge you have is useful to them, you could assist Ratchet and perhaps maybe even improve the ground bridge.

— Sometimes, you say Brazillian phrases/sayings and it confuses Optimus. He just nods his helm like he does with Agent Fowler's other Earth sayings in English. Yours just confuses him a bit more because its in a language he hasn't conversed in yet. He might get curious and try to learn some Portuguese himself.

— And since you seemed to have managed to pick up on Earth languages very well, along with their customes, Optimus thinks that theres a very high chance that you might be some sort of 'human expert' because he still finds himself struggling with a few sayings and such. Human lingo is just not for him.. Optimus thinks you'd be great to interact with humans.

— Your strong basic knowledge in tech is a huge service because now you're helping Ratchet improve his weapons systems. He's grateful to have you.

— Optimus does want to get to know you better but he isn't exactly sure on how to approach you, the Prime can be slightly awkward at times (evident with how he tried to talk to Wheeljack that one EP) so he's still figuring it out.

— You're getting most of the maintenance work now. Fixing the lights at the base, ground-bridge maintenance, tweaking systems, maximizing performance... You've slowly become an integral part of the team. Your tweaks to the systems have made it a lot easier to decrypt the coordinates of the fourth Omega Key.

Arcee:

— Oh Arcee, she's really going through with it the moment she saw you. You just remind her of Cliffjumper, its like you're a walking-talking replica of the bot. So similar yet so, so different. From the red paint to the sense of humour and light-heartedness, you're triggering a lot of memories for her.

— So, she does what she normally does when she has something which triggers the flashbacks. Avoid it. Arcee is avoiding you like you're the Rust Plague. She is cold to you, not exactly rude but incredibly silent when you're around and you can sense it: the way her frame seems to stiffen slightly, her EM field tucked to herself tightly as if she doesn't want you to know what she's feeling— her guard is constantly up when you're around.

— You notice this. At first you wonder if you're doing something wrong. Perhaps she's just skeptical about the credibility of your story? An understandable concern which could be talked out... or so you thought because when you try to confront her about it, she usually says something flat and cold, just leaving you there after giving some excuse to ditch the conversation. It annoys you because every time you try to talk to her, she shoots you down like you're a Vehicon.

— You come to the conclusion that there may not be anything wrong with you but instead, there could be something wrong with her. You're not sure. Does she just not like you for no reason? Your relationship with Arcee is strained.

— But it slowly does get better as time moves on and when she does, she feels bad about how she was like towards you.

Bulkhead:

— You know him! You two have met before back on Cybertron during the war so he's someone you're a lot more comfortable with and its relatively easy to get along with him too. He's a chill guy and you're a chill guy. It was bound to be like that.

— But you and Smokescreen have doomed him into having to learn Japanese because Miko is adamantly trying to make sure she and Bulkhead have a secret language no one else can understand! When Bulkhead asked why she couldn't just do that with Jack and Raf, she said that it'd be much easier teaching him than them. So now his databanks have files on all three different Japanese writing systems and over three thounsand Kanji. Now he's gotten better than Miko at Japanese.

— Cue Miko dragging him in when you are Smokescreen are talking in Portuguese so that Bulkhead can show off his Japanese. He's got a big frown on his face; he's very embarrassed, evident from his EM field and you're trying not to laugh as Smokescreen is trying his hardest to hold it back.

— Considering he used to work in construction, he's usually the one doing most of the maintenance work but then you came along so now he's helping you out with most them. He's like your assistant, he can't stay committed to keeping the base alright when he's usually out on the field.

— But other than that, he likes having you around. You're funny, you've managed to get multiple snickers out of him.

— If you get even closer to him, he'll have some crazy Wrecker stories to tell you. The more tame ones that aren't extremely traumatic for him to say, Miko is secretly listening in the background.

— He likes talking to you and will start striking up more casual chats with you, you make the heavy atmosphere of the room a lot lighter and bearable. Something he really needs with how hectic its been trying to locate these Omega Keys.

— Bulkhead knows Arcee wouldn't like it but when you keep asking him about why Arcee doesn't like you, he's going to be the one to tell you what's wrong.

— Bulkhead is the main reason why your relationship with Arcee improves because he's trying to talk to her, trying to reach out to her though its mainly Optimus who's confronting her after noticing something off. He knew immediately why Arcee was avoiding you because he felt the same way, you were just like Cliff.

— Also one time, Miko dressed herself up in a very convincing Scraplet costume. You and Bulkhead were talking and the lights flickered off, you were not very happy about that cause the two of you just finished maintenance work. Then the lights flicker on and the two of you see this scraplet and immediately scream together, holding onto each other for a moment. You were about to shoot with your cannon until Miko removed the costumes head and began hysterically laughing while the two of you are holding onto each other for life.

— Neither of you were pleased and took her straight to Optimus so she could have a "chat" with the boss bot. Miko is your and Bulkhead's adopted child at this point.

the description you gave me reminded me too much of Cliffjumper and idk if it were intention but it gave me ideas :3

[fitchersvogel]

Remember that insanely arrogant and anti-intellectual screed about how "enthusiasm is indistinguishable from academic rigor"? For all their rhetorical posturing (of which @carriesthewind did a fantastic analysis), that writer clearly doesn't know what "academic rigor" actually means. It's not just that they're wrong, it's that they're wrong in a way that perfectly demonstrates exactly how wrong they are.

So, Ariaste seems to think that "academic rigor" is about YOUR passion, YOUR enthusiasm, YOUR hyperfixation, YOU YOU YOU, it's all YOU AND YOUR FEELINGS. But the baseline for calling something "academic" is that it passes peer review. All publishing (fiction or nonfiction) goes through editors, but academic publishing has one necessary extra step: it gets sent out to other experts in the field, who evaluate whether the work is following the right disciplinary protocols, is using evidence reasonably and responsibly, and is meeting the professional standards of that field. Academic work is a very specific conversation, and if you want to participate, you have to prove--and keep proving--to other experts that your work is up to snuff. That's because academic texts are speaking with a particular weight and authority, which is a serious responsibility. Peer review is quality control.

You can't practice as a master electrician or a lawyer or a rabbi unless you've fulfilled the requirements specific to those jobs, as determined by credentialed experts in those fields. It is simply not your call: "academic rigor" is something academics get to define, because it is our term for our professional standards. Unlike Ariaste's self-centered FEELINGS, real academic rigor is a collaborative process that requires formal input from other experts.

So, some people on my dash are reading John Green's book Everything is Tuberculosis, and are enjoying it and learning a lot; all the reviews I've seen, including from professional epidemiologists, are very positive. But no one--including Green--is using the term "academic rigor," because this book is not being presented as an academic work! It is, by all accounts, very well-researched, thoughtful, and conscientious, and an excellent and accessible discussion for a general audience. Green doesn't need to meet academic protocols, because he's not writing for academics. That is not the conversation he is having, and it is unfair to apply that model of evaluation. Explaining specialized material to a wide audience is important and necessary work, and creative writers and journalists often excel at it; many academics... do not. They're different skill sets, that follow different rules, for different conversations. Correct labeling is what matters here.

You can't call an Italian sparkling wine "champagne," and you can't claim "enthusiasm" is the same as "academic rigor." They are different things. Champagne, like academic work, must adhere to particular standards in order to get that label. To someone who knows nothing about wine, champagne and prosecco might seem identical. They might be equally delicious, and can be appreciated as such! But taste is subjective; "this wine is/is not from the Champagne region" or "this did/did not go through peer review" is not subjective. And anyone selling Italian wine as "champagne," or saying "my PASSION is equivalent to professional expertise," is making a fraudulent claim. They are mislabeling their work to claim an authority to which they are not entitled. It might be out of ignorance, not a malicious attempt to deceive, but the effect is the same.

Now, in my field (folklore), we place a high value on "tradition (or culture) bearers": people from a folk community with a great deal of specialized knowledge of that community, like, say, a longtime participant in a fandom. This "vernacular knowledge" is specifically sought out and respected within folkloristics--we literally cannot do our jobs without it! But when I publish an academic piece, my work will have to be sent out for review by other folklorists, to make sure that it is engaging appropriately with the discipline. If I want my work to be taken as a serious entry into that conversation, I have to follow that set of rules.

Succeeding under that rule set is extremely difficult without high-level training. It's not impossible to acquire knowledge, especially if you have access to a university library, but engaging with that knowledge on par with our professional norms requires a lot of guidance from people in the field. And the best way to get that is through a formal graduate program. Of course, access to those programs is limited in all kinds of unfair socioeconomic ways, and there are lots of passionate, talented people who would make great scholars, but never had the opportunity, which sucks. But that is a different conversation.

It's uh, interesting, that so many people who spout this line are whining about humanities academia. Like, I'd imagine that even Ariaste understands that a "passion for medicine" doesn't entitle you to perform heart surgery. Reading lots of books is necessary for professional expertise, but it is not the only thing: you need immersion in the community of other experts, to agree to a specific and enforceable set of standards, and to have your work formally approved, to claim that level of authority. Not seeing literature or history or folklore as deserving that level of professional analysis sure says... something about how much you value them.

[kinghimst]

As an artist and a writer this just feels extremely hurtful to be honest. I fully understand that getting recognition for writing is hard and that people should be appreciative of art in all its forms. However backing up that argument by putting down another art form is really not the way to go about it.

Also who are you to say what is or isn't good writing getting attention? "Good" is subjective, just because You did not think something was quality work but many other people did doesn't give you the right to dismiss it as "well people only like it because there's art to go with it."

I genuinely do not understand how you can preach about how people with other skills should be uplifted and shown love for their work while putting down said work in the same breath.

"You can be a wonderful artist but a learning writer and gets loads of attention, but if it’s the opposite? If you’re an incredible writer who can just sorta draw? Good luck getting noticed for your talents."

Do you not see how that's directly putting down both artists and writers just because You don't think their work is of a worthy enough quality?

Recognition for work that you put your heart and soul into will always feel amazing, I am not denying that. However I think the larger problem at hand with All fandoms is that people put far too much weight into the numbers game. Your worth is not defined by how many digital thumbs up you get, nor is anyone else's, nor is it okay to try and discredit a whole art form just because it tends to get more digital thumbs up than your medium of choice.

It comes off very shallow and entitled.

If you want to show love to all art you also need to show love to all skill levels. No one is going to improve their skills if they're constantly seeing things like this where it belittles and shames them for getting attention for things that you, random person on the internet, has deemed low grade content.

Sometimes people do things for fun instead of a popularity contest. Maybe you should try it sometime.

Before I start this, I love TROD. Fantastic fanfiction, beautiful art, wonderful story. Absolutely no hate to the AU or the creator because I love both.

This fandom also loves TROD… and nothing but TROD. The favoritism is getting really annoying. I’m sick of looking for fic recs just to see TROD every other comment. It’s like being recommended Percy Jackson over and over. Everyone’s read it, everyone loves it. PLEASE recommend something else.

Tied with that: please share fics that don’t have art. This fandom (and every fandom but especially this one) has such a suffocating preference for fanart and I’m sick of it. You can be a wonderful artist but a learning writer and gets loads of attention, but if it’s the opposite? If you’re an incredible writer who can just sorta draw? Good luck getting noticed for your talents. Doesn’t help that Ao3 doesn’t have an algorithm but art-based platforms do and will, by default, flush out all the pure writing content/creators.

All art is art. Please show it the love it deserves, and don’t toss aside a story just because there aren’t visuals accompany it.

.

[3hks]

How to Write A DESPERATE (But NOT Annoying) Character

We all love a good yearning character. It's refreshing to see a person love someone else so much that it becomes a form of desperation or obsession. However, it's no secret that these kinds of characters can easily seem irritating when overdone.

So, in this post, I'll give you some advice on how to balance out that excessive desperation while still maintaining that trademark cute, loser-like (for lack of a better term) pining! I'm actually very excited for this, so let's get to it!

1. They Acknowledge Flaws

Have you ever seen a character who's so down-bad that they REFUSE to think that their crush is anything but perfect? That's not exactly a bad thing, but the truth is, their crush is not objectively perfect.

No matter how delusional your character is, if they can comfortably and openly admit that their loved one is flawed, it shows that they truly adore them--not an idealized image of them--no matter what.

They can think that their crush is perfect, but not because they're flawless, it's instead because of those flaws.

2. Actions Beyond Words

A character screaming their crush's name ("NEZUKO-CHAN!! NEZUKO-CHAN!!") does not do anything besides letting the world know how infatuated they are. We are better than that.

Many desperately-in-love characters are characterized by their often extreme and slightly unhinged dialogue. However, words are just words. If they truly love someone, they'll do much more than simply repeat it over and over.

It's imperative to also show their love through physical, caring actions that reveal how well they treat their loved one. This could be helping them clean up, offering them snacks, or simply lending an ear.

3. In Love with the Simple Things

When your character wants their crush, what do they want with them? Does your character want to hug them? Kiss them? Hold hands? Or is it something more?

It's only human to want those things. There's nothing wrong with that, but they should also cherish the smaller things. I'm talking about making breakfast for them in the morning. Going grocery shopping with them on a Wednesday. Picking them up from work.

The small moments are what makes up everyday life, not the big ones. If your character isn't looking forward to those minute things with their partner, can you say they love them?

4. A Priority, But Not Everything

For some of y'all, I might have to hold your hand when I say this: while your character's crush should be a priority of theirs, it shouldn't be everything.

If your character also has friends and family they care about, they can't discard all of that away for a crush. So yes, it's important that your character gives their hopefully-partner-to-be their attention, but that applies to all of their loved ones too.

5. Not A Pushover

Just because your character might be unhealthily infatuated with another, they shouldn't simply follow what the other says because they're that affected.

Communication is crucial in any relationship, so if your character can't speak up when they think their crush is making a bad decision, then their relationship is likely not going to work out. It's the same as not having a voice in making group choices.

Like I said in the first point, your character can't be so blinded by love that they ignore all the flaws, red flags, and mistakes.

Final Notes

Here's the thing: a desperate character often comes off as annoying because they lack complexity and depth. Desperation and obsession can be an all-consuming feeling, but that's not the only notable trait for your character.

Highlight other qualities. Don't forget that there are still people outside of their crush. Remember that yes, they're trying to woo their love, but they're also trying to prove that they'd make a good partner and that they are still an individual character.

Don't throw their reason and logic out of the window just because they're in love.

Hope this helped!

Happy writing~

3hks <3

[viviansturns]

𝒑𝒆𝒏 𝒑𝒂𝒍𝒔 - part 3

... you find yourself falling for your university pen pal

cw (whole series): flirting, fluff, very sad angst

May 23rd, 2025

Matt,

You’re really sweet, and that means a lot to me. Your letters bring me a lot of comfort too. I can kind of sense something going on, you seem to be writing with a certain weight recently. I’m not going to dig or anything, just saying.

Thanks for the flowers again. These ones fared far better, and they’re eventually going to be pressed like the other ones. They have a certain quality. This is kinda crazy but I wonder if they smell a bit like you

Some nights I still try to write without saying anything important, just to fill the space. I think that’s what this is. I don’t really have updates, just thoughts. 

I hope things are good where you are. I’m always here if you need to talk, however corny that is.

Also those photos of you are actually so adorable! I wish we were in the same place so we could have fun together.

—Y/N

[Polaroid of y/n]

_______________

June 7th, 2025

Hey,

Sorry this took longer than usual. Things got busy—too much to do and not enough energy to do it. I didn’t mean to go quiet.

I’m glad you liked the flowers. And the photo. I always feel kind of ridiculous smiling for one, but I figured you deserved that version of me.

I’ve been… I don’t know. Thinking a lot lately. About where I’m at, about people. My ex has been around more—nothing serious, just... familiar. It’s complicated. I didn’t want to say anything because I didn’t want to make this weird. I’m still figuring things out. There’s a lot to figure out.

But your letters are a constant, and I like that. Anyways the pen pals thing is coming to an end. I assume you still want to keep sending letters, I can definitely do that.

—Matt

_______________

June 18th, 2025

Matt,

I didn’t really know how to react when I first read your letter. I sat with it for a while. I’m still sitting with it.

I think what makes it hard isn’t what you said—it’s how it felt. Distant. Like I was getting the version of you that already started stepping back.

I know this was always meant to be temporary. I just didn’t expect it to start fading while I still cared this much.

I don’t want to make things complicated either. But pretending I’m fine with “figuring things out” when I can feel you slipping away. This is dumb and corny, I’m sorry. But I don’t understand. Please make me understand.

This really meant and still does mean a lot to me. Like it’s been half a year, and I could never stop thinking of you. Please, if I can get your contacts we can work this out.

You say my letters are a constant. But you didn’t say if you still want them. Not really.

—Y/N

Here’s a doodle.

_______________

July 5th, 2025

Y/N,

I’ve read your letter more times than I can count. I’ve had it on my desk for over a week. Every time I went to write back, I didn’t know how. Still don’t, really. But I owe you something more than silence.

You’re not corny. You’re honest. That’s something I’ve always admired about you, even when it’s hard, you don’t hide. I wish I was more like that.

You’re right. I have been distant.

I didn’t think this would go past the first letter. I didn’t think someone I’ve never met could make me feel like I was being seen. But you did. You still do.

I’m sorry for making you feel like you were the only one holding this up. That wasn’t fair. I’m not good at choosing what matters when life gets loud. But you matter.

As for contact stuff… I don’t know. I still feel like if we turn this into something else, we lose the version that felt so rare. I know that might sound selfish. I think I’m selfish. I’m sorry for bringing it up again, but my ex is back. I don’t know. I’m sorry.

I don’t want to let it go just yet. 

—Matt P.S. I kept the doodle. It’s in a little shoe box of letters. They used to be on the wall but my roommate said I was weird. I don't know anymore. I'm sorry, y/n.

_______________

July 15th, 2025

Matt,

Thank you for writing back. I didn’t know if you would, and it’s okay that it took time. I think I needed time too.

I’m not mad. Just tired of wanting something that keeps slipping further away every time I reach for it.

And I get it—things change, people come back, feelings get confusing. I’m not trying to fight for something that doesn’t want to be fought for. I just wish you’d been clearer sooner.

I miss the version of you before, and its so fucking stupid because I don’t even know you. We’re pen pals for gods sake.

But part of me still hopes you’ll write again. I know how stupid that sounds.

If this is ending, I wish I knew how to end it right. But nothing about this has ever been simple.

—Y/N P.S. Tell your roommate they’re right. Putting pictures of a girl you don’t care about on your wall is weird. I think you should focus on your relationship instead.

_______________

July 27th, 2025

Returned Letter — no return address

Hi,

I just moved into this dorm and found a bunch of old letters addressed to a Matt in my mailbox. Like a ton, I counted 30. I don’t know who you are, but this seemed personal and important, so I figured I’d try sending it back.

Sorry if this is weird. Hope it reaches the right person.

a/n — sorry. matts a bitch.

*THESE POSTS ARE SCHEDULED AS I AM AWAY CURRENTLY, TO FIND OTHER PARTS YOU NEED TO SCROLL DOWN ON MY BLOG*

[thehorsemafioso]

*She nods to him again, not really wanting to say much. Instead, she simply follows him quietly. She’s not entirely sure why, but she realizes that he is right. She has subconsciously begun to trust him. What a step from this young man who was once her opponent!*

And no, unlucky, it turns out that they are fake. How is disappointing: (

[lost-seal]

We are Studying Ramb Again

I am once again putting his design under a microscope because something occurred to me while I was designing an AU. His face is so...strange. Now, we will be heavily discussing plug and outlet anatomy, so here is your last warning to take everything with a grain of salt.

Let's look at regular plugboys first.

Ignoring the cartoon-ish expression that comes with being spared, their faces generally fall under the shapes D= , =D , and o= . They fall under type B plugs. Fun Fact: these are found in Japan, Canada, Mexico, and USAmerica. Japan's and the latter's plug Type A & B are slightly different, which affects their compatibility.

"But the grounding hole (that circle under the lines) is way too round to match!" Well you see, this chart is not a hard and fast rule. They are a type of plug Type B called a NEMA 5-15 120 vac. Also known as a 3-prong 15A, 120 volt outlet. It is the most common type found in the homes of those countries as the grounding hole makes it safer than type A and its compatibility list is longer. Yes, type Bs are compatible with laptops.

Fun Fact: If Toriel was tech smart she'd have installed tamper-resistant outlets so that the kids didn't stick anything in them. This wouldn't affect any plugboys we know, because none of them are from the house. They're all from the library. Isn't it strange though, that the only plug character who shows up in the TV World, essentially Kris's house, is a power strip? You'd still need to plug Ramb into an outlet in order for him to be of any use.

Ramb... let's slowly ease into Ramb.

Ramb is a British power strip, which means he should be a Type G. They're found in the UK, Ireland, Cyprus, Malta, Malaysia, Singapore, and Hong Kong. They look like this:

I hope you can see the issue here.

Tye Gs also have over 100 more volts than Type Bs, so Type G plugs are generally considered stronger and the best plug in the world. (I think this is a matter of opinion though. For example, some people like the rotation that Type F provides more.) You'd probably need an adapter to get the most out of a Type G outlet if you don't live there. Same for the other way around.

Back to our boi, Ramb's mouth is. Well. The shape I can best describe it as is the Nike logo, which funny enough is supposed to represent the wings of the Greek goddess Nike. We cannot escape mentions of religion.

Now, here's the problem chat. If he doesn't look like a Type B or a Type G, what is he?

I don't know.

The curve of his mouth is technically possible though. Look at NEMA L6-20, NEMA L6-30, and NEMA L6-50.

Two vertical lines with a curve. That's all we need for a match.

Yet

I just

Couldn't

Find

One

No matter where

I looked.

We're now on day 2 of writing this. Now that we can all see that he doesn't match any sort of outlet, the next step is to figure out why. Is this some sort of Red Cross copyright issue? Can't find anything that implies it. That leaves me with two options.

Ramb has a construction defect

This idea came from my good friend @kayuripax while I was trying to wrap my head around this situation. It's possible that the machines in the factory messed up and the quality check didn't catch it. Neither did the people running the library. (Maybe it's just the outlet that makes up his face that's defected and the other outlets of the power strip are fine.)

2. Ramb had a malfunction and the plastic melted

Ramb being a British plug and being used in a place incompatible is a bad sign already. Sure, an adapter can be used, but that has never been mentioned yet. It'd be so easy to just misuse Ramb and it all goes wrong. Maybe they're just kept because of nostalgia.

Hold on post canceled what the-

If Eram could have connections to Ramb... And have connections to the amalgamates... Both Dump and Amalgam sound like EarthBound... Ramb's strange mouth... The way his left ear/piece of hair is so mismatched with the right side... Random Access Memory... Memory... Bad Memory... Sword Route shows a lot of that...taps into Kris's violent past (more like the affinity for it) Random Access Memory (Bad)... Listen, I'm spit balling here. I'm not gonna say he's some sort of Amalgamate. But it sure is. Strange.

[imsorryimlate]

i will often roll my eyes at certain fanon things, but overall, in my opinion, what makes a “good” fandom is that you can get a bit silly with it, that it’s not always that serious. i see more and more people push back on things like aus and fics focused on background characters, etc., and even the sentiment of “if a person outside of the fandom enjoys your fic it means it’s a bad fic because it’s too generic”, which annoys the hell out of me. everyone being free to do their own thing is such an important part of fandom.

the thing too about people losing their shit because people wrote a fic about a minor character and embroider their backstory etc., and then saying “just make an oc!!” like??? what’s the difference then?? if it’s all gonna be “made up” anyway? why shouldn’t someone use a stand-in that already has a name and a place in the story, instead of making an oc with the same place and the same face but a different name? it’s just so stupid. same with “if you ever write an au that’s automatically different characters altogether, just make ocs instead” like god 🙄 maybe you don’t have the imagination required to figure out how characters and their stories and relationships would work out in an alternative setting but i do 🤷🏼‍♂️

and honestly. i don’t have a habit of reading outside of my fandoms but sometimes i’m looking for a specific trope and then i can enjoy a fic from a fandom i’m not in, even if it’s obvious that there are some things i’m not picking up on. that doesn’t reflect in any way on the quality of the fic or writer. saying a fic is automatically bad because ~an outsider~ enjoyed it is weird as hell.

what i liked about that sandcastle post was that it at least acknowledged that people had fun while doing it, and that there are some connections made in the moment that are lost later on and maybe they then seem very taken out of thin air, even if it originally had some reasoning behind it.

anyway. i’ve been in fandoms where the fanon annoys me but i’ve been able to carve out my own spot and do my thing, and i’ve been in fandoms filled with scrutiny and vagueposting the moment someone gets a bit silly with it, and you can guess which one is the more enjoyable experience.

[sokkastyles]

Is it just me or have there been a whole new wave of "Ozai actually wasn't so bad" people and Urzai shippers ? (Or at the very least write good-Ozai in their fics. Don't get me wrong, they have every right to do that, I just need to ask why) Or were they always there ? Or is it just a tiny minority and I'm imagining things ?

I'm truly sorry for this being so unrelated but I thought the one thing we all agreed on is that Ozai is a horrible person/husband/father and now Im both confused and a little disturbed.

I've seen them. Some of them are Azula apologists who take it to its logical extreme. I mean, Ozai and Azula are very much alike, so it's not surprising that if you excuse one, you excuse the other. Some of them also seem to be doing it for the sake of "realism" and "nuance" which is...very gross to me. In general I think people mistake nuance for moral ambiguity, which is ironic because often that kind of thinking eschews nuance in favor of pretending everything is relative. And a lot of that kind of thinking veers into abuse apologism as well.

And some of the people who do this also seem to be doing it in the name of "feminism," under some misguided idea that it makes Ursa more complex if we pretend she was just as bad Ozai or that they were truly in love. Which, again, makes me itchy because why do you feel the need to erase a woman's victimhood in order for her to be "realistic" or "complex"? The show implies that Ozai felt some attachment to Ursa but he also blamed her for his own crimes, two things that aren't contradictory because people like that absolutely exist, and because Ozai treats his son in much the same way. Feeling narcissistic attachment to others isn't a redeeming quality, though, it just makes the abuse worse.

The attempts to make Ursa seem just as bad as / having a toxic relationship with Ozai also feel a lot like the myth of mutual abuse that abusers often perpetuate to make themselves seem better. I don't like it and it doesn't add nuance, just makes it harder to identify abuse.

[rrayaton]

(black rabbit brotherhood) Youngest x reader headcanons

I'm trying to write for characters that I wouldn't normally write for (before I go into a writing block because we wouldn't want that 😭) Please someone request something before I go back into the shadows lurking instead of posting

It is truly a mystery on how her brother's haven't killed you yet

Honestly, how did you manage to date her without being killed??

Anyways, she'll be all over you. Hugging you, kissing you, dragging you away to dance with you, ect.

You're her new dress up toy, every time you see her, she'll have a new dress, shirt, stalker's outfit for you to try

Now she definitely isn't a gold digger or anything BUT she might expect some sort of gift from time to time. Like jewellery, trinkets, ornaments, a new piece of clothing. Things like that.

She would love to dance with you, all the time. If you can waltz her around the room then she'd be beaming from ear to ear

She has all the nicknames for you: handsome/beautiful, cutie, darling, sweetie, and if you're annoying her, weirdo, idiot, meanie, douchebag

She loves pranking you! Even gets her brothers (especially Eccentric) to help out (also probably payback for dating their sister)

If you were to prank her back though.. oh gosh don't let her brothers find out

She'll do her best to not let her brothers kill you, mainly because she doesn't want to get rid of her lover

Once you get past the hatred that the brothers have against you then you'll fit right in! If the eldest likes you, then the rest will like you. (Or more they'll feel obligated to like you)

If the brothers do see you treating their sister right, then nope! They didn't see it at all. They really can't see anyone being good enough for their sister 😭

If you were to break her heart then you aren't seeing daylight ever again, even if you let her down gently. Her brothers will be out for blood

She'll show you around Malum District and be very proud of it (so you better like it)

You gift her flowers, she'll keep them forever, even when they start to wilt

She is very very clingy, she never wants to leave your side (she will give you space don't worry)

She doesn't want to screw up this relationship, she knows she comes across as possessive and clingy but she is so afraid of losing you, she hopes she can be the best girlfriend you've ever had so you won't ever find someone else

Her love languages are definitely gift giving (receiving), physical touch and quality time

She gives you gifts too! Like a teddy bear that lost an eye or arm, or a matching necklace, a cute little ornament

Your room is now her room, if you have any cute things in your room, they're now hers, that cute little cat ornament you have? That's hers now. And no you can't have it back (unless it's a family heirloom)

If you ever sleep in the same bed then expect to be cuddled till you can't breathe, too bad if you need to go to the toilet, she ain't letting go!

In saying that, at least she doesn't hog the blankets and she has hundreds of blankets so you won't ever get cold. But you will be sleeping with a bunch on plushies that she WON'T let you push off

She will sometimes make a dance with you to show to her brothers, and she will be taking the lead

Her brothers do come off as harsh but they just care about their sister, they don't want to see her getting hurt by an asshole, deep down I have a feeling that they know you'll be an amazing partner for her but they're too stubborn, so it'll take a lot of time to get on their good sides

She loves doing you hair and she loves it when you do her hair. She puts matching bows in both of your hair and shows her brothers

Wherever you sit, she's sits. You sit on a chair? Then she's sitting on your lap, you sit at the table, then she's putting a chair right next to you.

If you guys are cuddled up on the couch then I see her brothers squeezing in between the two of you. You've got Eccentric in the middle of you two, the Eldest by the Youngest and Maniac next to you, most definitely sending daggers your way

Her brothers will crash your dates together. They'll start sitting at your table and order the most EXPENSIVE food in Krat and expect YOU to pay for it all. And will make comments if you even TRY and start talking about the price

One of her brothers: "So you take OUR sister out and can't even AFFORD to PAY for HER MEAL!"

Like it totally wasn't them that made you go broke 🙄

So if you ever strike her fancy then either run far far away or accept it and never let her go. Whatever you choose is up to you

I just find it funny that I had to keep adding her brothers into the mix, I really don't see them being happy if she were to EVER get a partner. They'll have to be up to their standards (which you'll never be able to reach, I'm so sorry.)

There's so much to write for her, I just can't seem to find the right ways to write it well so this is definitely not the end of her. I hope you enjoyed this piece of writing :)

[ilikekidsshows]

Lately I've seen there's... a trend(?) of how people claimed/write a "girlboss" character. a lot of "girlboss" character in media I've seen nowadays are tend to be arrogant, self-centered, low empathy and entitled and I'm just completely baffled. Because I've also seen people posting about how girls nowadays just want power with no accountability, demand to be treated like a queen but has nothing to offer back, etc. like, these character portrayal in media really didn't beat the allegation at all and instead seems to be validating these real girl behavior.

It's intereting though, since this feel very backward for me. Winx (early season), Kim Possible and W.I.T.C.H, are what I'd call a girl power cartoon. Those girls are so badass without needing the narrative use the buzzword every so often or putting down the boys just to prop the girls. Which is funny because I know Astruc also work on W.I.T.C.H before and I hear most of the writers also not the first timer and yet Miraculous is the most horrible thing I've ever watch and a disgrace to superhero and magical girl genre.

---

I think wires got crossed somewhere, and now people think “girlboss” is the same thing as progressive female character writing. This happens about every five years when a new female character archetype is really successful in one thing and every hack who can’t actually write women tries to copy the archetype with no understanding. Still, I think Marinette Astruc-Cheng just gets favorite child favoritism from the writers.

I tried to look into the writing teams behind these shows and they were also written by older men, so Astruc being an old, out of touch man with sexist ideas about young girls could be a factor, but probably not the only one. But, I did find a similarity that these older shows share that Miraculous lacked. Kim Possible W.I.T.C.H. and Winx Club all had experienced head writers and directors behind them. Kim Possible was created and written by people who knew what they were making and for whom and then put their best foot forward with a long career of TV writing behind them. W.I.T.C.H.’s animated adaptation was written by an experienced writing team who had experience writing for TV and with each other. W.I.T.C.H.’s concept and course comic was also created by a trio of comic book writers with women in it. The original Winx Club was created and directed by an experienced comic book writer.

When you really think about it, a lot of the bigger issues with Miraculous’ writing are very similar to the kinds of problems you’d see in the fanfic of someone writing their first fanfics. The main character of the story is an attention black hole, the morality and sympathy follows the main character to such a degree that it just seems like the protagonist decides the morality, the continuity is out of whack and new ideas get introduced and dropped constantly like a beginner writer drops fics after the second chapter. A lack of balance and consistency are common beginner writer issues, because you need to practise those things. Miraculous, in a novel format, would not be out of place being posted on Wattpad.

However, the thing about this is that Miraculous’ writing has gotten worse the longer it’s gone on. Instead of the writers getting more experienced and becoming better at writing, they’ve become stuck on the specific points that make the writing so weak to begin with. This is probably because they’re stuck writing the same characters and the same formula instead of expanding their creativity. The original series used a lot of guest writers who’d come in to write one or a few episodes before dipping and the latest season, which has been praised for individual episodes, has also brought new people in. These people were most likely the ones with actual writing experience and that’s where the better quality came from.

People who have experience in writing just write better stuff.

[orangerainforest]

x

[uniiiquehecrt]

Voice actors are NOT the same as actors.

It takes a specific kind of skill-set and training to be able to warp and meld the voice. It takes a certain kind of talent and dedication to hone that talent into the ability to meld the voice and invoke emotion with one's voice alone. Actors are used to using their voice secondarily to their body language and their facial expressions. It's all mirrored back on camera. They do have nuance. But it's a different kind of nuance and a different kind of training to produce that nuance.

Voice actors might get their likeness transposed on their character's design, and maybe their mannerisms might seep into the character's animation. But when it's all said and done: their presence is in their voice. They are bringing a character to life, showing that emotion in their voice, trying to keep a specific accent, drawl, pitch, tone in that voice and keep it consistent for their recording sessions.

The voice actor is like a classically trained musician who can play first chair in a competitive, world-renown orchestra. The actor (who fills the voice actor's role) is like a moot who played violin in beginner and intermediate high school orchestra and thinks they can get into Juilliard with that 2-4 years of experience.

This doesn't mean that the HS orchestra moot can't play. They can even be really good at it. Maybe they won competitions and sat first chair. But they are not in the same league as the person who's been training their whole lives and lives and breathes to hone their craft using the instrument and all of the training they've ever acquired to perfect it. They are not meant for the same roles. They are not in the same caliber. You do not hire the HS equivalent when you want to play complex music in a competitive orchestra.

Actors are not the same as voice actors.

And furthermore, actors - especially big name actors - taking the roles of animated characters for big budget films or TV pilots makes no sense anyways when - at least in the case of TV pilots - there's not a point to hiring a big budget actors anyways. That money could be used elsewhere (like paying your animators), and the talent that is brought onto the screen for X character could then be hired on to voice said character no recasting required.

I wouldn't say voice acting as a profession is in danger exactly, but it's certainly being disrespected and overlooked for celebrity clout, and this has ALWAYS been an issue. Shoot, even Robin Williams knew that much - which is why he tried so hard not to be used as a marketing chess piece for Aladdin and got royally pissed off when it happened anyways. People shouldn't go to any movie (but especially not animated films) because "oh famous actor is in it". People should go because it's a good movie and the voice acting is good.

People who honest to god think that voice actors are replaceable because "oh well anyone can voice act" or "I like xyz celebrity so naturally it'll be good" ... Honestly I just wish you'd reassess your priorities because you're missing the point and are part of the problem.

Voice Actors ≠ Actors.

[komsomolka]

propaganda i am not falling for:

sw prequels script haterism