#but I find it important to tag things consistently so that folks who want to avoid seeing any kind of reader insert stuff in tags can block

[your-phantomfield]

CARL = CLOVER

i .. ii .. iii circa 2198 for @tokufan400

An older-sibling-esque relationship...

I.

What Carl Clover has had to live through would change anyone. The things he’s seen are the kinds of things one usually can’t find outside of a war zone. In many ways, his experiences have made it impossible for him to relate to others his age.

And considering who was behind the horrors he’s faced, it’s even worse with those older than him.

He knows adults are smarter than him. They know things he doesn’t, they’re able to hide things and lie to your face in ways he never would have imagined two years ago. They can hurt you in ways he couldn’t have made up in his worst nightmares.

So Carl doesn’t take any risks with those older than him. He can’t afford to. Not now- not with Ada depending on him.

II.

Because of this, it isn't easy to get through to Carl. His trust is hard to earn. The walls he puts up get higher in proportion to the age difference between you, and the power difference that creates.

But that doesn’t mean he doesn’t need someone looking out for him. It doesn’t mean he doesn’t want to be able to trust again. But to build that relationship with him, you have to be patient.

He keeps his distance by presenting as unfalteringly polite. This chilling formality is how he’s learned to protect himself, how he keeps himself from being tricked or used- so don’t try to push past it. Let him set the pace if you want to get close to him.

Try to treat him like an equal early on. That kind of respect will do more to prove your good intent than anything else could.

III.

He’s had plenty of people start off expressing concern for him, only to turn around and treat Ada like a monster. You have to avoid that if you want to be in his life. Try to be compassionate toward Ada. She may not look it, anymore, but she’s just as much of a traumatized child as he is. She’s worse off, in his opinion- at least he still has his body.

Be honest with him, of course. You’re not going to be able to understand her. Don’t try to pretend to be able to- you’ll do just as much damage by ignoring her ‘condition’ as you would by ignoring her humanity. But do respect what she was, at least, and what she still is to him.

He says she speaks to him. So trust him on that. Ask him to translate for her so that she isn’t left entirely out of conversations, just like you would for a ‘normal’ child with a disabled or speech-impaired sibling.

IV.

Meet him on his own interests. Even before his life was torn apart, Carl was always a little different. Sheltered, shy, oddly mature- being born into aristocracy made him a little… stuffy.

If you want to foster a surrogate sibling relationship with him, keep that in mind. Even in a good mood with his walls down, he might not look like a stereotypical fourteen year old boy. He’s not up to date with memes and doesn’t ‘get’ a lot of them. There may be some video games he’s open to trying, but he is prone to regurgitating that “I was told they rot your mind, we should play a more stimulating game instead” rhetoric. He thinks music with cuss words is pedestrian. (Yeah, this is the kind of kid that calls things “pedestrian.”)

V.

He loves chess, and he’s had no one to play with for a long time. He used to play with Ada, but she’s lost the dexterity to move the pieces; when they’ve tried to play, she ends up knocking the chess board over on accident, drawing attention to just how much they’ve both lost and unfortunately ruining the mood. So play with him. Even if you don’t know how or aren’t very good at it, he likes to teach, and it’s nice to see him have a chance to be all smug about his win streak- a chance to be a normal, bratty kid about something inconsequential.

If you humor him enough, he might be willing to try out some of your ‘more simple’ interests. He’s no good at sports, but as long as you encourage him, he can have fun with things like basketball or volleyball, where movement speed and quick thinking is more important than brute strength.

As for games those ‘brain rotting’ video games, he might never really ‘get’ first person shooters, but story driven games might be up his alley. Get him hooked on some good visual novels or JRPGs, he’ll like them more than he expects to.

VI.

There are actually a lot of hobbies he used to have that he was forced to abandoned after what happened to Ada. He and his sister both played violin, once upon a time. The incident stopped them, each for their own reasons- Ada can’t hold an instrument properly anymore, and Carl doesn’t have the space to be carrying around anything superfluous while living on the road. He used to read a lot, too, but his books had to be abandoned for the same reason as his music; he can’t be carting around a library from city to city.

It would be great if you could help get him back into the things he used to love. Buy or rent a violin for him; he can play it all he wants while he’s in town, and leave it at your place while he’s gone. Keep some books for him, and on occasion, offer to read to him. His sister used to read to him all the time, and he loved it. It’s one of the million things he misses about his old life.

VII.

On that note, invite him into your home, if you can. Whether you’re able to offer him a whole room or only a couch, that stability represents the end of his loneliness. Give him a place to keep his things, a place to return to when he’s about to fall apart, a place where he knows someone is waiting for him.

He’ll never be able to stay; his work is not yet done. So don’t insist. Don’t try to be his parent, don’t try to set curfews or bed times- just be there for him. He’ll come and go as at his as he needs to, but as long as he can trust you to see him off with a smile, he’ll keep coming back.

Whether he’s staying for days and waking up to share breakfast, or showing up at your door unannounced in the middle of a rainy night; give him a place where he’s welcome.

A ‘home base,’ at least, if he’s not yet ready for to accept a ‘home.’

VIII.

Speaking of breakfast. Could you cook for him? Even early in your friendship, before he’s willing to trust you, he’s always open to food. No matter how much he insists on his independence he still needs to eat.

He’s a horrible cook himself, so he hasn’t done the best job keeping himself fed while on the road. When he has money, he can buy himself a meal, but there aren’t a lot of restaurants that will allow him to go in with Ada without making a scene. He’s gone hungry often, and he knows it’s a problem; it weakens him and slows him down as a vigilante, and it worries his sister.

A home-cooked will melt his heart. He’s missed his sister’s cooking so much- this may not be able to make up for that, but it still means the world to him.

[fireflysummers]

Final Thoughts on GO S2

I'm probably gonna pull back on discussing S2, at least publicly, after this. I did actually like a lot of the season, but it's triggering some of my religious trauma and also the fandom is already stressing me out. So here, let's have some final thoughts.

First and foremost: I am not a Gaiman simp. I've read a decent amount of his work: comics, short stories, essays, and novels. Aside from Good Omens, I've liked Coraline and The Graveyard Book the best by far, whereas American Gods just. Did Not Connect with me, even though it's should have, given the stuff I tend to enjoy.

However. Regardless of whether I like a given work (or even like how he adapted it, a la parts of The Sandman TV series), he is a veteran writer who has proven that he does, actually, know how to write a story with consistent characters.

Beyond that, I do actually believe that he's trying to do right by Pratchett, and loves and respects the story and characters they created together. He's generally shown up as an ally to a variety of social causes, and directly and respectfully responds to fans on Tumblr. While no saint, I feel that there is cause to give the benefit of the doubt that things will resolve satisfyingly in S3, and that there is Intention about some of the things in S2.

This, of course, does not absolve it of being "bad," but even here I think we need to articulate better the different types of "bad" that people are reacting to. There seems to roughly be three camps here: 1) People who thought it was "bad" because of how it ended, with the breakup and a lot of unresolved plot threads; 2) People who thought it was "bad" because it struggled on a technical level with its set, lighting, directorial choices, editing, etc; 3) People who thought it was "bad" because they felt the characterization was significantly off and that the internal logic of the series had been violated.

With regards to Point One, the only solution is to Wait and See. Judgement should be reserved until the story is properly finished--easier said than done, especially considering the current media landscape, and the number of series or franchises that fail to live up to their promises.

Point Two isn't something I understand well enough to contribute meaningfully, except that I suspect the pandemic affected this aspect the most and am willing to give it a bit more mercy. That aside, I for the most part I don't find it bad so much as not as good as S1. Except for the parts with epilepsy warnings, surely there could've been a better way to do that.

Point Three... that's the stumbling block for me, and I find it interesting that most of the folks who struggle with this point in particular are long time fans of the book.

I trust that instinct.

There are two different directions to go from here. The first is the assumption that these problems are a result of ego, carelessness, or lack of skill from the showrunners/writers/director. It's cynical but not unjustified. The second is the belief that the breaks in lore or characterization were intentional, building towards a much grander conspiracy. Of course, even in this case I don't think it forgives the lack of signposting that would indicate that this is a choice rather than an accident. It just makes it feel clumsy and poorly constructed, a major risk on a show that hasn't had its third season confirmed.*

However, regardless, it still feels salvageable. I've enjoyed reading a lot of meta on all this, and I've pulled some things from others (particularly That Theory by @ariaste), but I don't really want to put forth a single, defined theory myself. Instead, here's some questions I've got, why those questions are important (to me, at least). Actual theorizing comes after, and anybody who snidely mentions Sherlock in the comments or tags is going to get auto-blocked. Like seriously, I'm aware that some stuff is a stretch, but it's fun??? To theorize????? And I'm here for me and my peace of mind rather than trying to argue a point.

*I have some suspicions here, particularly with Gaiman stating that the decision from Amazon would come much faster than The Sandman's second season (which was four months). I don't know enough though to say if that's actually significant.

Questions

Who the fuck is telling this story?

This is the most important piece, in my opinion. There's this assumption when reading books (or research papers, newspapers, etc...) that the narrator who is writing the words is a non-presence, Neutral and objective. That's not the case, and an important part of literature critique is figuring out who the narrator is, and what their goals are. Oftentimes, the narrator and the author are the same person, but with Pratchett's work, particularly on Good Omens and Discworld, the Narrator was its own unique character.

This is why people struggle adapting Discworld to live action--that medium requires a Reason for having a Narrator, and especially in the age of method acting that's often considered immersion-breaking. Good Omens worked so well because they not only kept the Narrator, but they made Her God.

This added some really interesting new dimensions, such as the scene where Crowley speaks to God about his fall and the destruction of humanity. He doesn't receive an answer, but we're watching from God's perspective, so we as the audience know that She's listening.

Another advantage of making God the Narrator is that it justifies all the goofy little asides we get into the lives of minor characters (i.e. Leslie the Mailman), without losing focus. It helps the world feel like it’s full of people, rather than characters and plot contrivances, and the theme that individual people and their choices are important. The Narrator is such a central character of Good Omens that without it, the story struggles to stay focused.

It also highlights a key difference in the writing styles of the two authors. Pratchett’s work tends to introduce four or five totally unique plot threads that feel completely disjointed until the last act (if not even later), when it turns into a Chekhov’s Firing Squad. Plot twists around secret identities and backstabbing and schemes are relatively rare, as the omniscient Narrator doesn’t lie about the intentions of people or their actions.

Gaiman’s writing is typically not like that, to my knowledge. He buries characters in misdirection and hints, and you never know the true identity or motives until all the chips are down. It’s a perfectly valid way to approach storytelling, but it makes it jarring to see it in S2. The lack of a Narrator is a huge reason why S2 doesn’t feel like Good Omens to some folks.

My gut feeling is that the decision to shift from the original Narrator was highly intentional. It helps to obscure the thoughts and intentions of people, and it also muddles the insights that we’re supposed to take away. (I would have loved hearing God monologue about what’s going on in Jim’s head. I think it’d do a lot to make him seem less.... obnoxiously stupid.)

More than that, it brings up a reasonable potential plot point of: Where did God go? Why isn’t She present in the story? Even in her early appearance in the Job flashback, she doesn’t sound like the narrator for last season. After the first part of her speech (which Gabriel later quotes), her tone turns casual and condescending, which might line up with her being a bit of an asshole, it doesn’t line up with the whole “dealer of a mysterious card game who is always smiling”).

Also, I don’t think it’s safe to assume that nobody is telling the story either. Just because they’re not making their presence known doesn’t mean they aren’t there, and in a story like Good Omens, that’s concerning.

Wait, where's Satan?

Another person I saw while scrolling the tags pointed out that Satan is nowhere to be seen this season. He's really only mentioned in reference to a bet God made in Job, but then Crowley is the one on the ground causing mischief. There's no Hail Satan among demons (like Hastur and Ligur did at the start of S1).

That's might be because the writers didn't want us to think it was important (a la Hastur), but that feels off. Given that Satan speaks directly through the radio to Crowley in S1, complimenting him on his work, it's safe to say that he was at least aware of and involved in the goings-on in Hell. The fact that he wasn't even an worry for Beelzebub in abandoning their post? Feels weird.

(Also if you know where that post is, I'll happy credit + link)

What is Maggie?

Look, I love cute lesbians in love as much as the next queer, but I don't like Maggie. I don’t think she’s a person. Contextually, she’s a plot device, but I agree with That Essay that she might be an actual Plot Device.

Her characterization is simple and relatively shallow—a bit of an airhead, ray of sunshine that’s supposed to remind you of Aziraphale. When she describes her past to Nina, it’s almost robotic (also, her story implies it was Mr. Fell who first rented to her ancestor, not Mr. Fell’s great-grandfather like Nina implied). Her emotions are over-dramatic and seem to be turned on and off at random (scenes with her crying to Aziraphale about her woes had my “manipulator” senses going off for some reason).

When asked about a song, she not only IDs the song, its singer, and its year, but how and on what it was distributed. (Honestly thought this would’ve been something interesting, because she’s been pretty ditzy so far, it’d be interesting if she had like... an insane memory for music history.) And then she’s the one that sets Aziraphale on his little investigation by giving him the transformed records, while also planting the seed about her love troubles with Nina. Later, her advice to Crowley is... not awful, but feels insincere and a bit too forward, given her own self-proclaimed lack of relationship experience.

I don’t know what she is (a demon, hastur with amnesia in disguise, a literal plot device inserted by the current storyteller, etc...), but there’s something not right with her.

(Also the joke of “who listens to records anymore, it’s so old fashioned” just doesn’t land, lots of people buy records, and I’m saying this as somebody who has worked at a record store before.)

What's going on with Aziraphale?

There’s something Off about Aziraphale, and it’s not his choices at the end of the season. That makes total sense if you read him as somebody with severe religious trauma getting dragged back into the abusive system because other people need him and he’s been promised the ability to change things.

But I do think something is happening to his memory. Nearly all the flashbacks are from Aziraphale’s point of view and retelling, which means that they’re less reliable than God’s version of events in the previous season. Many of them don’t make logistical sense (post-church scene in 1941), depict Crowley as meaner or more sinister than we know he is, or frame events... weirdly. The scene with him trying food for the first time feels Really Bad, especially when the series has previously established that he’s a) prim and proper and b) his interest in food is one of the beautiful things that connect him to humanity, not some kind of gluttonous sin. Also he turns down alcohol.

Their meet-cute at the  start of the universe also doesn’t line up with their reactions to each other in Eden, or the fact that knowing each other Before has never come up or been hinted at anywhere ever. I don’t know what’s causing this to happen, only that Aziraphale repeatedly looks pensive when coming out of flashbacks, and Crowley is never there afterwards to corroborate said memories.

His actions also seem pretty inconsistent with what we know of him—i.e. I refuse to believe he would ever mistreat his books, even if they’re just old encyclopedias. Also, he feels a bit too...forceful in trying to get Nina and Maggie to fall in love? I mean, he didn’t exert that much direct influence on even Warlock, when he was actively hoping that the boy would turn out angelic rather than neutral.

I don’t think this removes his agency in that last decision, so much as explains how he was in such a vulnerable place at all. He still needs to apologize and fix things, because he messed up, and even if he hadn’t he still seriously hurt Crowley.

What's going on with Crowley?

There’s something Off about Crowley. The most obvious thing, of course, is his memories. At multiple points in the present day, characters state that they remember him or have met him before, only to be met with confusion. This is especially concerning given that he has a nigh photographic memory for faces (something mentioned in the book when he immediately IDs Mary Loquacious, 11 years after a 30 second conversation).

Overall, he seems to be better known by other supernatural entities this season, in ways that often tie him back to his angelic identity (i.e. saying they fought together in the war, Aziraphale stating he knew the angel he used to be, etc...). This doesn’t feel right, because S1 we see that Hell is largely apathetic towards his schemes, and definitely does not defer to him at any point in any capacity.

Then there’s the issue of his power level. It’s always been speculated that Crowley was a powerful angel prior to falling, when he mentions in S1 his involvement with star making, his seemingly unique ability to freeze time, and creating a pocket universe for Adam before the confrontation with Satan. He also has a tendency of breathing life into inanimate objects, like his plants or car. He also has the regular demonic skillset: miracles that can adjust physical appearance; the ability to change inanimate objects (like paintball guns into real guns); the ability to manifest clothing and similar items; and summon hellfire to his fingertips. This, plus the way he monologues to God with a degree of familiarity rather than reverence seems to indicate that he was Somebody Powerful and Important Before.

But in S2, his skills are significantly expanded upon. The miracle he and Aziraphale summon sets off alarms in heaven and hell, and it’s powerful enough to mask Gabriel from the Archangels. He summons a miniature sun to rain fire on Job, which is way bigger and flashier than anything we’ve seen him summon in S1. (If he needs fire, he alters the course of a dropping bomb, without creating one himself.)

Yet he’s able to cloak his presence so well he goes wholly unnoticed in heaven, or in front of heavenly agents on earth (i.e. the Job flashback). Muriel can’t clock him as a demon, or even as another supernatural being, despite their auras usually being pretty significant, such Aziraphale immediately sensing the archangels when they arrive.  He’s able to interfere with files that Muriel claimed required clearance (although I feel like that might just be a snark about Obeying Without Thinking? I would really need a Narrator to know.)

I might be misremembering, but I don’t think we’ve seen angels or demons transmogrify living beings before either. In the book, Crowley brings Aziraphale’s dove back to life after the failed magic show, and occasionally sinks ducks, but he doesn’t alter them? Not even Adam demonstrates that skill in S1. But he has no trouble turning Job’s children into lizards, however temporarily. Boy that would’ve been convenient during the flood. Or when the guard stopped then from getting to the air strip.

I might be misremembering, but I don’t think we’ve seen angels or demons transmogrify living beings before either. In the book, Crowley brings Aziraphale’s dove back to life after the failed magic show, and occasionally sinks ducks, but he doesn’t alter them? Not even Adam demonstrates that skill in S1. But he has no trouble turning Job’s children into lizards, however temporarily. Boy that would’ve been convenient during the flood. Or when the guard stopped then from getting to the air strip.

I don’t have any real issues with his characterization in the present day parts of S2, but there’s something weird happening with Crowley.

Where's all the people?

I really like a lot of the new characters, but how were there only like, 2.5 new humans named in the present day? Flashbacks don’t count bc the humans are all dead and can’t affect the story.

As much as I like Nina, she and Maggie don’t drive the story beyond being an occasional and awkwardly inserted plot contrivance? Both are actively robbed of their agency at several points, forced into situations that they could not have avoided or escaped. I’m not really sure what growth they’re expected to experience other than deciding not to date each other after everything. I literally can’t tell you anything about Nina other than that she remembers her regular’s orders, runs a coffee shop, and has a textbook abusive partner we never see. The only meaningful interactions they have are between those two, or in conversation with Aziraphale and Crowley.

Compare that to S1, where Anathema gets hit by Aziraphale and Crowley, but her primary relationships are with Newt, Adam, and Agnes Nutter (I think that counts as a relationship). We know that she’s got a wealthy family back in Puerto Rico, and that she was literally raised to save the world, and that she isn’t happy under all that pressure. Newt on the other hand is connected to not just Anathema, but Shadwell and Madame Tracy. He never even directly interacts with Aziraphale and Crowley. We know about his hobbies, his struggle to hold down a job, and his almost supernatural ability to destroy any electronics he touches. I don’t necessarily like how their relationship came together, but they were both very, very well fleshed out characters with unique backstories and goals. They weren’t just... waiting around to give Aziraphale and Crowley a new questline.

And while there’s no requirement to include a large cast of human characters that are exerting influence over the story, the lack of it is another aspect that makes this season feel not like Good Omens.

Also, it's just. Really weird to me that the events of S1 aren't really referenced at all? Like, Adam isn't mentioned, nor is Warlock. I don't expect them to keep track of the humans they met on the airfield for 20 minutes, but none of it is ever specifically referenced as far as I can tell, beyond Crowley threatening Gabriel. Like, I get that it's been a few years, but the pair caused a big enough disturbance that you'd expect some kind of ripples in their supernatural communities.

Promised by the Narrative (Obvious Chekhov's guns that I will be legitimately upset over if they do not go off)

A sincere apology from Aziraphale to Crowley that doesn't come with the expectation that Crowley will come back to him, but because he deserves an apology, even if the choices Aziraphale made were done with good intentions. Aziraphale does not expect forgiveness, and is shocked when Crowley grants it without hesitation.

A clear declaration of love from Aziraphale, which can't be rationalized away by either of them.

An "I'm Sorry" dance between Aziraphale and Crowley, but with greater sincerity and gravity. The most important piece is that they end up dancing together, which signifies a mutual apology and dedication to come together.

Since kissing is on the table, I expect an actual joyful, mutual kiss between these two assholes.

A shared cottage in South Downs.

Predictions/Theories (just some fun thoughts I've had)

When Adam declared that Satan was not his father, he didn't make himself not the antichrist, but accidentally crowned his human dad the King of Hell. Nobody knows this, because Adam doesn't have a good measure for "normal" supernatural situations, and Mr. Young because he's so "normal" that he explains away all the magical bullshit that's started going down.

When Adam declared that Satan was not his father, he erased Satan altogether. However, this left a vacuum in both power and reality. The defection of both Gabriel and Beelzebub only widens that crack. In an attempt to Fix things, reality is warping the story. Crowley has become leagues more powerful between S1 and S2, as the narrative is trying to force him into the role of his previous boss. Aziraphale is unknowingly being pulled into a similar version on the Other Side, perhaps to replace Gabriel or perhaps to replace God herself, who has been fairly absent in all this. The alterations to their memories or past have come about to keep the narrative running smoothly.

When the Metatron asks Nina whether anybody has ever asked for death, he was actually referring to Death, the sole remaining rider of the apocalypse.

If Maggie is indeed a Plot Device, it would be a fascinating exploration of Free Will to see her become aware of this (cue existential crisis), and then fall in love with Nina on her own terms, rather than because she was written that way.

Hastur will be back. Somehow.

The reason why S2 focuses so much on the supernatural characters is because S3 will be about how the events in S1 have changed the political landscape of heaven and hell. Angels are questioning their roles, demons are yearning for something more. It's scaring upper administration, and then the two most reliable folks in employment run away to alpha centauri. Recruiting Aziraphale and getting him back in line prevents him from becoming a martyr, control the range of his influence. The series reasserts its theme of choice and agency by highlighting that Aziraphale and Crowley aren't that special, they've just had the chance to live and grow, and that the others have free will too, if they want it.

The reason why they wanted to separate Aziraphale and Crowley, is not to get Aziraphale on his own, but to get Crowley on his own. He literally stopped time and made a pocket universe in front of Satan last season. He's powerful and dangerous and somebody wants to see that reigned in.

Wishlist (stuff I desperately want to see)

Crowley getting an audience with God and an opportunity to ask his questions, only to refuse to do so because he's found his own Answers and he no longer needs hers

Aziraphale and Crowley growing more into their book incarnations. Aziraphale becomes confident in his sense of morality, which he developed the hard way through millennia on earth besides humanity. He slowly learns what it means to be loved, unconditionally, but also is better at asserting and maintaining his boundaries. Crowley, still anxious and unwinding, works through his fear of abandonment, providing him opportunities to be kind and gentle and nurturing--all traits that he's aggressively hid since being a demon.

Hand holding. I know that Gaiman was referring to Ineffable Bureaucracy, but I still feel like we'd benefit from meaningful hand holding, especially since that got cut from the adaptation of the book.

Shifted focus away from the supernatural shenanigans, and back onto the humans that actually drive the story.

Cameos from S1 characters (if not a more substantial appearance).

The Four Other Riders of the Apocalypse.

Cursed Thoughts (why I shouldn't be allowed a social platform)

Ineffable Bureaucracy turns up in season 3 because Beelzebub got Gabriel pregnant somehow.

[taffywabbit]

On the topic of fursonas, do you have any advice for folks who are struggling to find something that fits them? I've tried for years but none of the ideas I've come up with ever really felt like "me".

I want to join in on the fun but I feel like everything I try is too cliche and impersonal or too difficult to make into an expressive, fursona-y design, and I'm sort of at a loss for what I'm missing to make it click

I did make a few follow-up additions to my original post that deal with some questions like this (I think it's all under the furry advice tag on my blog) so take a look through those first, since I'm pretty sure the earlier, less thorough versions of my post are often what gets shared around and the later additions are where I talked about the actual design process.

but as a more immediate and specific answer, I think firstly it's important to remember that there isn't really any right or wrong way to make a fursona, it's entirely personal and you don't have to worry about whether it could be seen as too "cliche" or "generic" or stuff like that compared to others (as long as you're not literally stealing someone else's existing character design outright). all that really matters is that YOU enjoy it.

secondly, a lot of the time a sona design isn't immediately going to click and you won't know if the character "fits" you until you use it a bit - try it out, doodle it a bunch doing various things and wearing different clothes and stuff, etc. it's a self-insert but it IS also (usually) a character too! only like 20-30% of the furries I know treat it like "my fursona is me and I'm them and you can refer to us interchangeably" while the rest consider it more like a personal OC that's used as a means of self-exploration. kinda like a personal mascot I guess? and like any other character, you get more attached to them as you get to know them, flesh them out, give them some depth and interests and personality quirks and stuff like that. think about their fears, think about their favorite foods, that sorta thing. they don't have to be 1:1 with your real self, so fill the gaps with stuff that feels interesting to you! as you proceed with that, you'll usually get inspiration for any changes or adjustments to the character design itself over time, and you can make those changes freely because character design is a process and it's never really set in stone (you're making this for yourself, not as a consumer product that needs a firmly established canonical design for consistent marketing lol). my fursona looked COMPLETELY different when I made her like 5+ years ago, and went through multiple awkward iterations of change within the first year or two before I settled on something that felt comfy. and I'm still changing details occasionally, even now!

anyways hope that helps somewhat! good luck!

[vampstel]

Hi! Welcome to my blog ໒꒰ ˃ ᵕ ˂ ꒱১ ₊˚⊹ ☆

Warning!! This pinned post is extremely lengthy but important to read if you’re specific about DNI and BYF lists. I heavily suggest reading everything before you freely interact with this page. Thank you in advance!

♡ About Me ♡

My name’s Nikolai and I have a variety of nicknames you can call me. The most common ones being:

Nick

Niko

V

Kai

I go by He/They pronouns and you can use one set to refer to me or use both interchangeably. I don’t mind either way! I prefer masculine and androgynous terms and am strictly against most feminine labels and sexual/romantic descriptors.

If you’d like the specifics, I have a pronouns page that lists all the words I’m comfy/uncomfy with. I also have a linkt.ree with all my social media accounts.

I am a Filipino-British artist, writer, and content creator that (currently) lives in the UK! I am chronically ill and have AuDHD as well as general anxiety, making it hard for me to post or do things consistently.

I’m constelic, meaning I (unintentionally) hoard identities and heavily relate with/identify with certain things such as bunnies, dolls, plushies, and vampires!! ໒꒰ྀི˶ᵔ ᗜ ᵔ˶ ꒱ྀི১ ˖⁺‧₊˚

These are all the flags I use to represent my identity:

♡ Loves ♡

My OCs, dolls, plushies, Bendy and the Ink Machine, indie horror in general, Cookie Run, anime, HermitCraft, and more ໒꒰ྀི ˃ ᵕ ˂ ꒱ྀི১

If you ever wanna ask me about my interests or talk to me about them, feel free to do so in my inbox! I love talking about things I’m passionate about and I also enjoy hearing people talk about their interests

♡ Hates ♡

Small talk, flashing lights, loud and sudden noises, being interrupted, and tons of food and fabric textures ໒꒰ྀི˃ ⌑ ˂ഃ ꒱ྀི১

(Also most of the people listed below in my DNI criteria but shhhh we don’t talk about that. Kinda…)

♡ Before You Follow ♡

I post very sporadically and I don’t have an upload schedule; sometimes I just disappear for months or spam my socials

There are times where I don’t respond to Tumblr asks or comments. I’m super sorry about that!

I cuss a lot and sometimes make sexual or unsavory jokes. I suggest only 16+ folks follow me

I use queer labels that can be considered problematic(?) by some. Such as bara, bear, twink, femboy, etc. If that makes you uncomfortable, don’t interact with me and don’t make a fuss about it because I won’t stop using them

My art has heavy queer themes and I often draw gender-nonconforming people that may cause dysphoria for some

I sometimes draw lingerie or artistic nudity that some people may find suggestive. I also draw revealing outfits that can be suggestive as well. Thus, I once again suggest only 16+ folks follow me (or people who aren’t sensitive to such media in general, since I know adults can be uncomfy as well)

There are times where I vent and rant, but I don’t overshare too much and I usually delete these posts after I’m fine

I sometimes use unicode symbols and kaomojis that are oftentimes incompatible with screen readers. I’m super sorry about that!

If you complain about any of the above, you’ll get an instant block from me. Curate your experience online and mute/block people you dislike. Don’t come into peoples spaces whining for them to change especially here on Tumblr. Thank you!

That being said: I will be tagging anything suggestive with #cw: suggestive just to make things easier!!

♡ Do Not Follow/Interact If ♡

You’re a bigot (racist, queerphobic, ableist, etc. this one should be obvious)

You’re a truscum/transmed and don’t support MOGAI identities

You endorse cringe culture, cancel culture, and ‘art lore’ (aka harassing artists for doing literally nothing but draw how they want to draw)

You fakeclaim other people and are against self-diagnosis

You think alterhuman, otherkin, or otherhearted identities aren’t valid or think they’re ‘weird’

You’re very discourse heavy and purposely pick fights with the intention to tear people down rather than help them improve

You support the Dream Team (I heavily dislike them and I don’t want to associate with their fans)

You support Astro Renaissance or are heavily tied to the Royale High community (both fandoms make me uncomfortable due to the treatment I’ve received from them in the past)

You dislike my content, my interests, or anything that has to do with me (AKA: do yourself a favor and block me if you detest me)

P.S: LGBT related discourse makes me uncomfortable, especially the exclusionary kind. Please do not rope me into those discussions or I’ll be forced to block you. I support any and all identities so long as they’re in good faith. This is a safe space and I won’t judge if your identity is complicated.

If you make man hating comments or are proud of being a man hater (whether seriously or not), I will most likely avoid you and block you. Those jokes make me extremely uncomfortable as a trans guy and I’ve had terrible experiences with people who’ve made such jokes.

I do not have any strong opinions on proship discourse. I am neither an ‘anti’ or a ‘proshipper’ but I do find lots (but not all) dead dove content to be extremely uncomfortable so I may block those who create such things. Please do not rope me into this discussion either or I’ll block you. Don’t try and label me as some sort of freak for this because I’m not. If you harass anyone over this discussion, I’ll also block you no matter what side you’re on.

My specific fandom DNI criterias can’t be changed. If you support anything I’m uncomfortable with, I have to block you for my own sake. I mean no harm and don’t want to cause any offense so please take this lightheartedly. However, Royale High specifically can be flexible and I do find a few of their players alright so long as they aren’t overly negative or bring up drama about the game to me.

Overall, just be chill. Respect my boundaries and I’ll respect yours ૮꒰ྀི⊃´ ꒳ `⊂ྀི꒱ა

♡ Blog Navigation ♡

#꒰ v’s art ꒱ → features all my finished art

#꒰ v’s wips ꒱ → features works in progress as well as unfinished sketches and doodles

#꒰ v’s rambling ꒱ → general talk tag where I discuss anything

#꒰ v’s answered asks ꒱ → where all my answered asks are

I have other minor tags indicating what topics and characters I’m talking about. There’s a lot of them though so it’s hard to list them down. I also have an exclusive tag for fanart!! You can check that and my main tags out below

[theqhreator42]

What should I know before starting disco elysium?

A great question! One initial remark is that you should play the Final Cut version, which is much better in every way than the original release and contains a series of new quests. (I believe that is the only version on Steam, but make sure you buy the Final Cut just in case.)

As for trigger warnings, be aware that it contains very frank depictions of substance use disorders, depression, and suicide, and racism, misogyny, sexual violence, and poverty are important themes.

As for the game itself: I can't stress enough the importance of seeking out minor characters throughout the game world—this game is all about dialogue and social interactions, and I think its greatest strength is its capacity to depict so many different kinds of people with unsparing realism and deep compassion at the same time. Although the game does record the passing of time, there is no hard time limit; it took me and my girlfriend several dozen hours to finish it. Take your time to savor the world!

There are four fundamental statistics in the character creation: intellect, psyche, physique (endurance and fitness), and motorics (skill with tools). Personally, on my first playthrough, I set psyche to the maximum (6) and chose Inland Empire, the skill that connects you to your imagination, as my tag skill. This skill is only moderately useful in solving problems, but it provides you a uniquely rich and intimate view of your protagonist's inner life. (Also, the "horrific necktie" in the starting room will have special significance if your Inland Empire is high enough—I believe around 4. It's bleak and hilarious and I don't want to spoil it for you!)

Don't be afraid to take a political stance in the game (well, as long as it's not a pro-fascist stance, which will alienate many characters). Disco Elysium is deeply, viscerally political, and some of the most profound moments in the game are political confrontations. (Importantly, if you consistently follow a particular ideology, you may be able to unlock a special quest in which your character explores it further—there are four broad ideologies represented in the game, and four such quests, although in a single playthrough you can only do one.)

Be nice to Kim Kitsuragi. He is a good man.

Last thing, and I can't stress this enough: you will meet a woman with a wheelchair. Help her find her husband, a man with an Australian accent who studies very dubious science. Play along with his theories and help him and his wife out; if he offers to spray you with a suspicious substance, do not wash it off. I don't want to tell you why just yet, but it is so so so so worth it.

Sorry for inundating you with boatloads of suspiciously vague advice about this game! I just get extremely excited when folks are willing to try it out, because I think it's one of the best games ever made.

[iamlivingmusic]

There are just an overwhelming number of posts under both the cyclothymia and quetiapine tags which bring me down. They're sad and hard, about medication not working, uncontrollable mood swings, depression, side effects, social deprivation.

So I thought I'd tell my story, for a little bit of hope.

To start - I am a 32 year old woman from Aotearoa New Zealand. The psych who diagnosed me with cyclothymia six months ago suggests that I've been experiencing symptoms for about 20 years - since puberty. I've been diagnosed with depression, anxiety, chronic fatigue and ADHD. None of these were correct.

Cyclothymia is a mood disorder in the same family as bi-polar. It means I experience depression and hypomania. My highs aren't as high and my lows aren't as low as bi-polar 1 or 2, and I'm on a shorter cycle - generally my depressive episodes last 2-4 weeks, and mania 2-5 days. There is nothing else, just the rollercoaster.

I take 250mg of quetiapine each evening for two reasons. First to even out those mood swings. My depression becomes closer to even keel, and on top of the medication can be managed by actions - fresh food, fresh air, time with people I love, routines to make it easier to get out of bed and maintain a hygiene routine. My mania is less effected, but the most important thing for me is that I'm aware that I'm manic - it makes it much easier to ensure I don't over-commit myself (which screws me over when the fog descends).

The second reason I medicate is the long term impact of unmanaged cyclothymia. In this sense, it can be thought of like pre-diabetes. Not a guarantee you'll develop the disease - in my case the much more harmful bi-polar 2 - but if you are careful you can squash that possibility. The more I actively manage my condition, the less likely disorder evolution is.

Sure, I experience some side effects. Orgasm is a little more difficult. I have such a dry mouth some morning it sounds like I'm slurring. Getting up in the morning is hard, but let's be honest, getting up in the morning when you're depressed isn't exactly a picnic.

Over all, after 6 months of medicating? My life is measurably better. I'm better able to spend time maintaining relationships. My overall sex drive is more consistent. I don't feel like I'm racing ahead and everyone round me are idiots who can't keep up with my train of thought. I don't over-commit one day, to under deliver the next. In 6 months, I haven't once thought I don't actively want to die, but wouldn't it be easier for everyone if I never existed?

I'm a better friend, partner, colleague. I'm more me. I play piano and sew dresses I'll never wear and read absolute trash romance novels. I collect vinyl - I order an album and anticipate it's arrival, not forget in a fog. I can budget, because I can find happiness in more than just consumerism and an endless cycle of couriers.

It's not for everyone, and it's not everything. I still need to take a walk, plan my week, make more of an effort than neurotypical folk. On recommendation, because 2023 is going to be a landmark year for me, I'm starting cognitive behavioral therapy so I have more tools when life gets more intense.

But I wouldn't go back.

[whatsthekink]

WE'RE STILL ALIVE!

Hey folks, Steve and Vex here

We just wanted to let you all know that we're actually still around!

We know it's been quite a while and we're sorry for kind of vanishing. We had a bunch of stuff going on in our lives and as most of you know, life ain't always all that streamlined and this little blog got a little lost along the way.

BUT, we're gonna try and get back to posting and answering your questions!

And we're not coming with empty hands, we got some new ideas for our blog. We are determined to give this space a little rework to provide you with the best quality education we can provide.

Let's not drag this out any more than needed, here's the spice for you guys:

1. Unfortunately, Vex's original account got sacked (which didn't help with getting things rolling but it is what it is) but now they are back as @angrytree !

2. For the sake of accessibility, visibility, consistency and navigation we have developed a few concepts for both your asks and our bigger posts. We'll be reworking the tags so you can find and filter stuff more easily, and our posts will be updated. For this reason we will be taking down our old posts, so you might see some things we've had covered again. (We will also be making a new pinned post so be on the lookout for that since it's gonna include some new stuff that may be important). Don't worry though, all of your asks will stay right where they are, as well as the stuff we reblogged.

3. We are promising a safe space for people in or around the kink/fetish community and considering the intimate nature of the things we address we felt it was necessary to protect people's privacy more than we used to, so we decided to use a new service for submitting post suggestions and asks that is completely anonymous and encrypted.

4. This one is not set in stone but we are toying with the idea of creating new graphics for this blog. We're not sure yet if that means completely changing the style of this place or just a few adjustments but keep an eye out, you may find some new visual touches here and there!

5. We quickly want to thank all of you who stuck around, read our posts, reblogged our stuff or sent us their kinky questions. This blog isn't just made for you but also with you. We hope you keep asking questions and we hope we can keep working on this blog for us all to enjoy.

I think that's all so far. We're pretty excited to start rolling out our new plans and hopefully you are too.

See you around!

[sanjarka]

let's say you've been put in charge of a new thg adaptation, whether it's a new film series, a miniseries, or a tv show. you get complete creative control. what's one scene you would definitely make sure to include that did NOT make it into the movie @anonymousinpanem

/thank you for tagging me 🌷/

so, if i were in control, it would definitely be a television show, with three seasons and nine episodes (three chapters per episode) in each. and the casting - poc for the seam and actual teenagers for katniss, peeta, gale... i'm deleting nothing and no one.

/also, in my hypothetical universe, i'm inviting literally everyone who worked on dark netflix, cause if they can make a tv show about time travel to somehow make perfect sense than i need them and i trust them/

now, to actually answer the question, it would have to be an everlark-related scene since i'm an everlark trash okay (and their love story is so crucial to the main narrative that you'd have to rewrite the book if you removed it, so showing how and why it's so special is important!)

It's difficult to choose only one because their love is idk, like so consistent? it's always there in some form, and even the small moments that may appear insignificant to others are still so necessary. anyway from thg it would be the cave scene in it's entirety idc i need it all, from cf stay with me - always (i'm sorry but where is katniss being in love with peeta's eyelashes?) and from mj, it'd be katniss's dream about that moment (i want all the dreams and flashbacks, especially the ones with her dad - he's so essential to her and so alive in her heart, and i want to see him).

/you can stop reading here cause i just can't stop and technically i an cheating cause this scene was in the movies but it.was.so.bad. and much much shorter than it was in the books/

the bread scene.it was like what? two minutes long? believe me, i understand the time constraint and my maybe unrealistic expectations, but it is so detailed and vivid in the books that if you haven't read them you get absolutely nothing from it in the movies. nothing.

and i want to see every single thing. i want to see katniss and prim in school, finding out that their father is dead. i want to see her mother's succumb to depression and how it affects her children. then i want to see them struggling and katniss attempting to hold it all together but falling cause she is only eleven years old! things continue to deteriorate as time passes, to the point that they are on the verge of dying.

then as her last choice katniss goes into town and knocks on people's doors, begging them to buy her and prim's old clothes, and no one does anything (then we could also see that folks who live in town have a different appearance than she does and are better off, and we can see and feel the class/racial divide in d12, and how, despite the fact that they are all oppressed, people of color still suffer more - so when peeta helps her we are actually surprised that a ”rich” white boy actually cares and notices).

and again, we can see how near she is to death - how skinny, tiny, fragile, and young she looks. she's hungry and desperate. she's searching through the bakery's trash when peeta's mother sees her, yells at her, and is just plain cruel. then behind, we see peeta and how healthy he looks compared to katniss. but he gets a determined look in his eyes cause he understands what's going on and that he just needs to help her.

then katniss, tired, and crying, and scared, falls underneath the apple tree and gives up. then we hear a crack, a hit and see that peeta's mom has hit him because he burned the bread and that she is also cruel to her own child. but while that's just another day for him katniss look at the scene shocked because her parents never did that (are we even aware how rare that is!) and then he is throwing the bread and we see her confused look like - you gave this to me? on purpose?

then she's running away in the rain and she get's home and makes prim, her and her mom(!) eat together like a family for the first time since her dad died.

the next day at school, katniss is staring at peeta, wanting to thank him, but he's surrounded by friends, he's a merchant, and he has a black eye because of her, and how do you even properly thank someone for not only saving your life but also the lives of your sister and mother? so she averts her gaze, embarrassed, but now peeta is the one staring, and then he sees her picking that dandelion. then her and prim are picking them and making a salad, things are slowly starting to change for the better and that's where it stops. that is the end of the bread scene.

i know it's too much, i get it, but this moment needs to be done right if we are to completely understand everything about katniss and peeta, and i want it all.

[tlbodine]

The Great Content Warning Debate

Horror Twitter has been aflame for a few days now with heated discourse about trigger/content warnings, and I keep seeing the same arguments and questions and points come up repeatedly so I wanted to collect all of it into one place because I feel like discourse can only get so far if people keep reinventing the wheel -- so perhaps having the full discussion laid out in one place could be helpful.

Of course, the folks arguing probably won’t see this post, but perhaps there can be some benefit from talking about it anyway. This is intended to be more of an overview of arguments and counter-arguments, collected and displayed as impartially as possible, but of course my own opinions are going to leak in and color some of this. 

NOTE: This is written specifically from the perspective of the horror book community, a genre that traditionally is associated with troubling, transgressive, risk-taking and shocking works. There are discussions to be had for content labels on other types of fiction, but as I’m unfamiliar with the norms and expectations of, say, romance, I’m not going to wade too deeply into that here. 

So without further ado, the arguments and counter-arguments and discussion points that I keep seeing hashed and rehashed and circled around when the issue of trigger warnings comes up! 

If you’re sensitive, you shouldn’t be reading horror 

“Horror is supposed to be horrifying! It’s not fluffy bunnies and kittens! You’re supposed to be made uncomfortable!” 

There are a few problems with this: 

“Uncomfortable” is not the same as “Sent into a panic attack/flashback/relapse” (ie, triggered) 

People with PTSD and other issues can and do engage with horror all the time and often love the genre for entertainment or therapeutic purposes

Many people are fine with some types of content but not others; blood and guts won’t affect them the same as rape, or they’re fine with adults dying but can’t handle child death, and so on and so forth 

Knowing what you’re getting into can help you prepare/brace yourself so you’re not taken unaware; people with the right warnings can mentally prepare themselves and enjoy a book that they would not have been able to read if they were confronted with it unexpectedly

Trigger warnings are censorship 

Some folks have an implicit/kneejerk reaction that “trigger = bad thing” and respond to the request to put warnings on a book as a moral value judgment on the book’s contents. I can see why they might fear that, especially because at a glance it’s easy to conflate the groups asking for warnings with the groups who say things like “if your characters have underage sex then you the writer are literally a pedophile.” But by and large the folks asking for warnings do not seem to be asking for folks to stop writing certain difficult themes, only to provide a heads up for readers about the type of experience those readers can expect from the book. 

There is an argument to be made that warnings could affect the sales of a book, in much the same way that an NC-17 film doesn’t get the same distribution opportunities as an R-rated or PG-13 film, and that authors/publishers will make marketing decisions to include or exclude certain types of content in order to avoid this. 

Trigger warnings will spoil the book 

While some readers will benefit from content warnings, others might have their reading experience ruined by knowing about major twists. This seems especially relevant with a warning like “child death.” It’s very important that people who have, for example, recently lost a child not be unexpectedly re-traumatized by reading about a child dying without warning. But it’s also important that people who want to enjoy the full, shocking impact of such a scene have the opportunity to do so without having it dulled by forewarning. 

Any kind of warning system needs to be opt-in for a reader. Some suggestions include: 

Placing warnings at the end of a book, where readers can flip to that page to look (not helpful if you’re ordering online) 

Placing warnings on the author’s website, where readers can search (not helpful if you’re buying in person)

Given the limitations, a combination of those strategies seems to make sense. It may also be unfortunately true that someone looking for one type of warning (ie, rape) will have their experience ruined if they spoiler themselves for another warning (child death). This may be unavoidable collateral damage. 

Authors/Publishers should be responsible for putting warnings in their books

There seems to be some debate over whether the onus of responsibility for providing warnings rests on the author or the publisher. It should be acknowledged that authors may not always have the power to make this choice -- and if the presence or absence of warnings becomes a factor for judging the quality/moral fiber of authors, those authors could be punished by the reader community for a choice that was largely out of their hands (although, there’s still nothing keeping the author from hosting those warnings externally - how successfully that is implemented is another matter). 

Additionally, the demand for warnings will be placed more consistently on small presses simply because those presses are more likely to heed the request. This could create a double standard where readers might be more forgiving of large pub works that forego warnings because there’s no expectation that they would have implemented them anyway. On the other hand, this could be a way for indie publishers to differentiate themselves on the market and appeal more to certain subsets of readers. 

External groups or communities should be responsible for warnings

There’s a line of reasoning that an author or publisher may not be sensitive to the potentially triggering/damaging things in their work, and some kind of external governing body should manage this work instead. This does sound a lot more like the censorship argument that people are worried about. 

Wiki-style sites and places where people can freely tag books (such as Storygraph) also fit this bill to an extent. They would presumably have less power over the market than a ratings board like the MPAA, but could still exert influence over how a book is received. 

Demanding warnings will negatively impact marginalized authors 

We’re already seeing some evidence that BIPOC and LGBTQ authors are affected more by user-generated trigger warnings on sites like Storygraph, and that these warnings can be weaponized against marginalized authors. Much like review-bombing a book before it comes out can affect its launch, labeling a book with inaccurate trigger warnings could damage its sales. 

Similarly, lists of “safe” and “unsafe” authors have already begun to circulate among some groups, and there seems to be a disproportionate number of marginalized creators on that “unsafe” list -- at least according to the anecdotal reports I’ve seen. 

Historically, it is true that any attempts at censorship or content moderation will be more harshly applied to marginalized groups (see: film ratings for gay sex vs straight sex). 

It’s impossible to warn for everything

One hesitancy that some authors have with tagging their work is they’re not sure what to tag for. Triggers are highly personal, and there’s no way you can possibly guess what might upset a reader. 

Here’s a list of commonly agreed-upon things that might make sense to tag for in a given work: 

Violence/gore 

Suicide/self-harm

Rape/sexual assault

Domestic violence

Child death/endangerment

Animal death/abuse

Drug use/substance abuse 

Racism/slurs 

That said, it’s still difficult to account for context. At what stage do you warn for something? If a character is drinking a beer, do you need to tag for that? Do you distinguish between the tone things are written in, such as being played for laughs vs seriously? If the rape scene is written artistically/metaphorically, does the same warning apply as if it were described act-by-act in a clinical sense? What if your blanket list of warnings gives readers a false sense of what the book will be like -- is it actually helpful at all, or is it just posturing/virtue signaling to include warnings that won’t actually be effective?  

Some would argue that this is dramatically overthinking it, but this does seem to cause a great deal of distress to authors who want to do the right thing but worry about getting it wrong. An argument could be made that trying and failing might be worse than doing nothing, especially if your attempts get you labeled as a “trustworthy” or “safe” author only for that trust to be “betrayed” by a warning you used incorrectly. 

On the other hand, many would argue that we all “pretty much know” what needs to be warned for, and that warnings are intuitive. These granular questions could be viewed as a distraction from more common sense issues. 

Readers are responsible for managing their own safety

Ultimately, because it’s impossible for every potential trigger to be identified and warned for, readers will need to remain vigilant. Of course, there are already ways to identify the content of a book without any kind of established warning system -- such as, for example, reading posted book reviews, asking a question on a book’s Goodreads page, reaching out to the author directly, asking about the book in a reading group online or having a friend/parent/spouse/trusted person read the book first and report back with their findings. 

This is the system we’ve pretty much used as readers for years, before “trigger warning” became part of the common vernacular, and it does have some distinct advantages just because you can get a lot more specific information this way. 

It is possible that if warnings become more commonplace for books that readers may become less vigilant about their own safety, which could paradoxically put them at greater risk of finding troubling content unexpectedly. 

There’s also the issue of “safe” and “unsafe” author lists. At the moment, while the discourse is hot, it’s perhaps more natural to pick sides and disregard some authors for reasons that may be unfair -- for example, marking an author as unsafe or boycotting her work because she doesn’t want to include warnings, but she wants to avoid warnings because she strongly believes they will be detrimental to a reader’s safety. A reader may or may not agree with that perspective, but it’s certainly not the same motive as an author who would do something actively malicious to a reader (like, idk, emailing a screamer to a reviewer or something. that’s a made up example.) 

In the end, trigger warnings are a good idea, but the issue is complex to implement and some people do still have reservations about their overall efficacy. 

We simply won’t know one way or another until we try to implement it. But in the meantime, I do think it’s valuable to continue talking about this, as long as everyone involved remains civil and engages in good faith. Once people’s perspectives start getting thrown out the window in the heat of the moment, or strawmen arguments are erected that don’t reflect what anyone involved actually believes, the discussion ceases to be helpful. 

[bacchicly]

Hi Tumblr Friends! Just a few updates...on Requests (I am going to try accepting some - see below for info), Tag Lists, Current Projects, and Future Luke Alvez/ Penelope Garcia Projects...

I. REQUESTS

I know I have said in the past that I am terrified of requests....I still am... because I just am soooo busy...

...BUT I have been thinking that I could experiment with taking requests for micro-fiction (which for me seems to be somewhere between 1 and 10 sentences)

So if you have any ideas for:

Criminal minds feel good micro fiction (I'll do any character combo in this format) - so far I've mostly done Luke and Penelope for samples see the LITTLE SHOTS OF HAPPINESS LIST

Moments to explore for the ALAYA MEANS HOME. It is a micro fiction series about Luke and Penelope as parents - prompts do not have to be totally happy - but generally the idea is to explore little moments in their life as a family from when Alaya is adopted when she is 6 years old onwards.

Let me know via ask or DM and I will see what I can do!

II. TAGLISTS

I am going to try to be more consistent in my use of taglists, and have updated my taglist form so that you can specify what you do and do not want to be tagged on. If you have already signed up I will assume you don't mind being tagged on everything.

IMPORTANT: If you were not tagged on this post and thought you signed up. Please try again there were a few folks who I was unable to find.

You may also DM me 🥰

III. DEEP AND CRISP AND EVEN aka BIG TROUBLE IN RIVER CITY

I am almost done chapter 13 / part 3 and hope to publish this weekend...but we'll see because taxes are also due. Anyways - it is coming! Thanks for your patience!!!

IV. AGAPE YEAR (GARVEZ GAP YEAR)

As I am moving towards tying up DCE - I am thinking about how I want to tackle the piece I want to do about the year or so during which Luke and Penelope are "just" friends/colleagues and he is dating Lisa. I am playing around with doing an audio project as part of it - maybe Penelope recording her thoughts - sort of an "in character pod cast"? I'd probably provide the transcripts as well for those who prefer reading - but all things being equal and imagining I might have a voice you'd be happy to listen to.. would that be interesting or cringe? I have some other thoughts too - but I thought I'd ask. I'd like to do Luke's perspective too - but that will probably be something different since my attempts at his voice have been horrid... so I'm still thinking... anyways if you have any thoughts about what you'd be interested in. Let me know.

Best Regards,

Bacchic

Master List | List of One Shots & Happy Versions

💕 Join or Leave my Taglist NEW - you can now specify which context you want to be tagged on!

Current Taglist:

@vangsdroidedroide @abelieverenjoyingeveryday @kalo-777

[perpetual-stories]

Different Types of Short Stories

hello, hello. it is i - you're yami yugi obsessed fav - back at it again with anew writing tips.

this post will talk about the different type of short stories. what? there are different types? yes there are, i learned about the various types of short stories in my ENG 364 Short Story class in college, and let me tell you. I was disappointed.

the class wasn't what i expected but i did learn a lot! so there is the bright side of that!

now, without further ado... let's dive right into it!

Heads Up: This post will be organized by the length of short stories. The least amount of words in a story to the greatest length. Of course not all of them will fit in one post!

Disclaimer: You might some type of short stories hard to believe but they are all real!

1. Six Word Short Story / Memoir:

a six word story is exactly what it sounds like - a story with six words.

these are the shortest short stories possible.

six words short stories are known to be very powerful and emotional.

these require the writer to get quickly to the point.

very well known example of a six word short story by our beloved drunk uncle Ernest Hemingway: For sale: baby shoes, never worn.

six word short stories can be difficult to write because writing structure is very important for impact.

pattern, punctuation, sequence, parallelism are all important factors when writing a six word story.

a six word memoir is the same as previous mentioned, but instead is written by the author's personal account of knowledge.

some six word short memoirs are: After cancer, I became a semicolon. - Anthony R. Cardno. Alzheimer's: meeting new people every day. - Phil Skversky

2. A Single Sentence Story:

is exactly what it is, a single sentence story.

a single sentence story: A cage went in search of a bird. ~by Franz Kafka

these stories can often have multiple punctuations to help expand the sentence such as semi-colons and commas.

the following is an example of a single sentence metaphysical story: The variety of views that one may have, say, of an apple: the view of the small boy who has to crane his neck for a glimpse of the apple on the table, and the view of the master of the house who picks up the apple and hands it to his guest. ~by Franz Kafka

the single sentence stories can be any type of genre.

3. Old School Twitterature: 140 characters

i know, when i first learned this is class i thought it wasn't a thing. but twitterature is in fact a thing.

twitterature does not have to consist of proper grammar and spelling.

you can shorten certain words to meet the 140 characters. ex: ur, bby, nvm, etc.

an example of old school twitterature: ur profile pic: happy – smiling & smoking. ur last post: "home!" ur hrt gave out @35. ur profile undeleted 6 months on. ur epitaph: "home!" ~by Patrick Neate

notice how the example how twitter syntax.

4. New School Twitterature: 280 characters

since twitter updated the amount of characters a tweet can have, this also brought in a new era of twitterature.

example: Our first night living together, we took in that puppy howling outside the door. An auspice, I thought. But we’d never done this before. We didn’t know how small things can grow, what little space we can be left to live in. We were not the sort to abandon something until we were. ~by Stephen Aubrey

another example: All the electronics above my hospital bed are gossiping about when, exactly, I’m going to die. It sounds like a concert I heard in Berlin many years ago. We were told to close our eyes and listen. Static. Beeping. Rain. My monitor is the principal violin. I am not dying alone. ~by Tamar Nachmany

5. Hint Fiction / 25 Word Story:

hint fiction is not really categorized by its length, but instead it is characterized by its genre.

hint fiction is known by its form to force readers to fill in the blanks.

these stories challenge the readers imagination. they "hint", but does not provide enough information for the reader to know the full details.

examples are: Broke and desperate, I kidnapped myself. Ransom notes were sent to interested parties. Later, I sent hair and fingernails, too. They insisted on an ear. "Ransom" (WC: 25) ~by Stuart Dybek

Dying planet. A boy, a rocket, a last hope. Kansas cornfield crash landing. Ma finds it sleeping in the crater. Pa fetches the shotgun. "The Man Of Tomorrow Or Maybe You've Heard This One Before, But You've Never Heard It Like This" (WC: 24) ~by Will Panzo

there you have it folks! this will definitely be a series because there are a lot of different types of short stories!

if you have an questions about any of these please feel free to ask me! i know it might be confusing, trust me i was confused when i learned about these in class, but i would be more than happy to explain these in details!

if you like the post please feel free to reblog, comment and like it! if you want to share it on instagram tag me perpetualstories!

Please follow my Tumblr and Instagram for more writing and grammar tips and more!

[panharmonium]

I would like to add Gwaine to the list of friends Merlin had. Especially in the 3/4 seasons he really was ride or die for Merlin, they shared intimate details with each other, they truly trusted each other. There were instances where the show alluded that Gwaine knows about Merlin's magic and is fine with it.

hi there!  i’m assuming this is in response to the post i reblogged about will and lancelot being merlin’s only “real” friends?  

i’m actually happy to write about this, now that the question has been posed - it’s been a while since i wrote anything long about gwaine!

fair warning in advance: i don’t personally classify gwaine the same way i do will and lancelot, and that’s what this piece will cover in more detail, but these are just my own thoughts, and it is totally cool for everybody else to have different opinions.  my take is my take, but it does not have to be everyone’s take - if people wanna scroll past because this isn’t their vibe, i don’t mind in the slightest. :)

so, without further ado - i LOVE gwaine, and i have written extensively about how amazing his relationship with merlin is (some examples here, here, here, and here, if anybody’s looking).  he is the most likely of all merlin’s living friends to ditch arthur in the name of addressing merlin’s needs, which is super important, and he also has a much healthier friendship with merlin than arthur does (in my own personal opinion, of course, which nobody is obligated to share).  he definitely does go ride or die for merlin in S3/S4, i agree.

but my own thoughts on this particular point are still the same as they were in that original post.  i tend to hide my clarifications/explanations in the tags, so they might have flown by, but i’ll just copy/paste the relevant bit here for ease of access, as some background for the rest of this post.

re: will and lancelot were merlin’s only ‘real’ friends:

#what this does not mean: merlin has no other friends!  merlin doesn't have meaningful and important relationships with other people!   #what it does mean:  #every single one of merlin's other relationships is undergirded by the sickening knowledge that those friendships are conditional   #every single one of his other relationships is accompanied by the constant undercurrent of 'they would hate me if they knew'   #merlin knows his friends 'care' about him   #except they don't really; because it's not truly him they're caring about   #they care deeply - about someone merlin made up   #about a facade.   #in the most basic sense   #those relationships aren't Real   #the love merlin feels for the people in them is real   #but you cannot truly be 'friends' with somebody who doesn't even know who you are   #you cannot be loved without being known   #you certainly cannot be loved without being safe

obviously i suppose a person’s thoughts on this would be different if they headcanoned that gwaine knew about merlin’s magic, and that’s fine.  i personally do not believe canon indicates or supports that, but i’m not out to convince people to abandon their own fanon interpretations of things; i’m happy just hanging out in my own space talking about my thoughts.  me writing meta is the virtual equivalent of me talking to myself in my room - if other people have different conversations with themselves, that’s fine :)  i don’t mind if other folks organize their thoughts about things differently.  

in accordance with that - everybody please feel free to continue on with your own interpretations, and ignore mine if mine do not appeal to you!  if people are interested about how i organize my ideas on this, though, they are essentially as follows:

1) a cage fighter, a class traitor, and a fake sorcerer walk into a tavern

ok, to start with - here’s a graph.

(...who tf starts a meta post with ‘here’s a graph’ lol i just drew a venn diagram for the first time since like...middle school...i LOVE fandom, man, this is RIDICULOUS)

anyway

this is a very rough interpretation of how i think about gwaine, lancelot, and will:

to address some of these elements individually:

lancelot and will give merlin something that gwaine can’t - safety, authenticity, the comfort of being known and seen for real, a respite from constantly qualifying every friendship with ‘they would hate me if they knew’

lancelot and gwaine, likewise, give merlin something merlin wouldn’t be as likely to get from will (if will were still alive, i mean) - an understanding of merlin’s devotion to the Crown, a supportive ally in the fight to promote arthur’s reign and keep arthur/camelot safe

will and gwaine, for their part, are more likely to tell arthur to go fuck himself, if it’s important for helping merlin, and that’s a different kind of support that merlin also really needs.

and will, on his own, gives merlin something that neither lancelot NOR gwaine can provide, which is a friend who isn’t connected to or even particularly interested in arthur pendragon (merlin has nobody in his life like this, not after will dies) - somebody who knew and cared about merlin before merlin had any proximity to arthur, before this whole ’destiny’ issue reared its merciless head.

everybody in merlin’s life matters to him and gives him something important.  gwaine is STUPIDLY important to merlin.  the love there is real.  but in canon, because gwaine is not in the know, gwaine is still one of the people from whom merlin feels compelled to hide himself.  gwaine is right up there alongside gwen, arthur, elyan, percival, etc - every other person who merlin loves, who merlin nonetheless constantly, back-of-his-mind fears, ‘they would reject me if they knew.’

the above is part of why i personally have never been too interested in ‘so-and-so knows about merlin’s magic’ canon-imaginings.  there’s absolutely nothing wrong with them, and i’m sure people must have tons of fun with them - and in an AU context maybe i would have fun with them too - but as hopeful interpretations of actual canon, they don’t appeal to me.  merlin’s near-total isolation and desperate, constantly-frustrated desire for real, honest love is an inalienable aspect of his character for me, one i can’t separate from who he is and why he does the things he does and why he eventually ends up in the place where we find him towards the end of the show.  

2) i just want someone to see me for who i am

i have seen a bit of sentiment out there along the lines of ‘merlin should have told (x person) about their magic’ or ‘(x person) obviously doesn’t have a problem with sorcerers,’ but i guess i personally don’t think it’s as clear as all that, and i think me saying it is would be doing merlin a disservice.

merlin’s desire to be seen/known/accepted is literally the most base urge he has.  if he truly thought he could tell somebody safely, he would.

i think merlin knows the people in his orbit well enough to know how they feel about sorcery, at least in a general sense.  and even if they aren’t bloodthirsty bigots like uther, they aren’t exactly welcoming magic with open arms, either.  at the most basic, elementary level, merlin understands something that we don’t like to think about: none of his friends ever challenge arthur on the sorcery ban or express any dissatisfaction with the political status quo, and, even absent outright bigotry, this fact speaks loudly enough in and of itself.  merlin’s friends might not be out clamoring for sorcerers’ blood, but they aren’t criticizing a society that criminalizes sorcery, either, and they are never shown to have a problem with the way things are, even though the way things are is wrong.

The Way Things Are is, in fact, unjust.  it’s oppressive.  and allowing that state of affairs to continue, unquestioned and unchallenged, when you have access to the king’s ear and aren’t personally in danger of being persecuted, indicates that you’re okay with the injustice.  that you’re comfortable with the oppression.  that you don’t see a problem with the status quo, and that you're unbothered enough by it to let it be.

it doesn’t matter that merlin’s friends have never straight-up said ‘boy, magic sure is evil’ onscreen.  they never say that camelot’s policies are wrong, and that delivers a clear enough message on its own.

3) it is not a crime to fight for your freedom

to bring this back to gwaine specifically, since that was originally the focus of this ask -

for me, for all that i adore gwaine, and for all that i think he was, for the most part, an INCREDIBLY sound, healthy relationship for merlin, the truth is that gwaine is as much a part of this problem as everyone else.  does that mean i personally think gwaine would have summarily dumped merlin if he’d found out merlin had magic?  no.  but i don’t think it’s as uncomplicated as maybe we wish it might be, and i think merlin has every right to be as uncertain of gwaine on this issue as he does of everyone else.

for one thing, like i said before, even gwaine, who used to have fewer qualms than any of the knights about pushing back on arthur’s BS, has never said a word about camelot’s injustices, or ever acknowledged that the laws of the land are unjust to begin with.  

for another, there are specific moments that kind of make you wonder.

5.05 (’the disir’) is a good example of this - when gwaine finds osgar in the woods, the two of them have this exchange:

you are a sorcerer, a heretic, and a murderer.  

the rhetoric of this sentence frames all three of these things as equivalent entities - criminal ones.  

to pick this apart more carefully:

a) sorcerer

it’s worth noting here that we’re never told osgar has done anything worse than evading arrest for the crime of being a known sorcerer.  when leon mentions him in the council meeting, the conversation consists solely of the following:

“as you know, a few days ago our garrison in the forest of breckfire intercepted the man who goes by the name of osgar.”

“the sorcerer.”

“the same.  they were trying to apprehend him when he used his powers to escape.”

and…that’s it.  osgar’s crime, as far as we know, was simply being a sorcerer (and then, after that, attempting to escape an unjust arrest, thereby killing a knight in the process).  there’s no mention of any other activities that would have warranted his arrest in the first place, other than the possession of magic.

but magic, even on its own, IS a crime in camelot - and gwaine levels the accusation at osgar as such.

b) heretic

that’s a hell of a word to throw around, if you think sorcery is chill.

“heretic” isn’t a mild accusation.  "heretic” has vitriolic severity behind it.  people are accused of heresy when they’re perceived to be in brazen defiance of what is (in the eyes of the accuser) unquestionably right and correct.  “heretic” is like…it’s like blasphemer.  the connotation is not just that something is bad, but that it’s sinful.

for gwaine, either osgar’s association with sorcery and/or his defiance of camelot’s army makes him a heretic.  and that’s not something a person who is down with sorcery or supportive of a magic-user’s struggle for freedom would say.

c) murderer

if gwaine were cool with sorcery, we would expect him to understand that a sorcerer who resisted arrest for the crime of being a sorcerer isn’t a murderer.  

it’s like kara said in 5.11 - it is not a crime to fight for the right to be who you are.

camelot has been killing sorcerers for decades.  osgar mortally wounded a soldier (not an innocent civilian, i might note) who was trying to imprison him.  he was resisting the armed forces of an oppressive state.  that’s not murder.

somebody who understands that camelot is an oppressive regime wouldn’t think of this as murder.  they would understand that it is not a crime to protect your own life when the state has literally been trying to exterminate your people for years.  and even if osgar had been engaged in rebellious activities against the state (which as far as we know is not the case - nothing like this is ever referenced!), they would understand that people with magic have long been overdue for a righteous uprising.  

but gwaine is a little more like arthur, in this moment - he sees the “wrong” that osgar has done (in the form of sir ranulf’s death) without seeing the thousands upon thousands of wrongs that camelot visited upon the magical community first.

4) you can’t go armed into a sacred place

the rest of this episode is similar.  gwaine pays just as little heed to merlin’s warnings as the rest of the knights, when merlin admonishes them that the disir’s cave is sacred.  gwaine doesn’t relinquish his sword or take special care upon entering the cave.  in fact, he is the one who outright interrupts the disir while they’re speaking - as they’re telling arthur a series of hard truths, that he’s persecuted magic-users, “even unto slaughter;” that he’s desecrated their space: “you come here, to the most sacred of the sacred, to the very heart of the Old Religion, with weapons drawn - trampling hallowed relics - treating our sacred space like you do your kingdom - with arrogance - with conceit - with insolence - ”

and gwaine cuts them off, pushing to the front of the group and shouting at them “enough!  you speak of the king!”  and that’s when the fight starts, when mordred gets stabbed.

someone who was fully accepting of magic, or who knew anything about it at all, would not have behaved this way.  they would not have bristled at hearing how arthur’s regime unfairly persecutes the magical community.  they would have known that it was true.

5) i just want to be myself

the above is just one example, but it’s a clear enough one to illustrate what i mean.  gwaine IS an amazing friend to merlin.  he does treat merlin well.  and merlin loves him to death.  but gwaine is NOT totally chill with magic.  i’m not saying he actively hates it, but he is not, from what merlin has witnessed, entirely safe.  merlin loves him, but he can’t be himself around him.

and i do think that pains merlin terribly.  all these people who he loves so much, and every time he’s with them there’s always that whisper: ‘this is a charade.  all the love in my life is a lie.  they only like me because they don’t know me.  if they knew who i really was, this would be over.’  

and we wonder why he never tells anyone.  we tell him he ‘should’ have told gwaine, gwen, morgana, arthur, like it would have been easy, or even possible, for him to ever consider putting himself in a position where he could lose what precarious, partially make-believe connections he has.

merlin, in the later seasons, when he worries about his magic being exposed, isn’t afraid of being executed.  he’s afraid of becoming even more alone than he is now.  and he has good reason to feel that way - even people who appear to put him first aren’t fully on board with the thing that makes him who he is.  and merlin knows this.  he’s seen it.  none of his friends are out fighting for people like him at court.  some of his friends shake their heads and assure arthur “you are a good and just king” when arthur expresses concern that maybe the disir are right, maybe he has indeed transgressed.  some of merlin’s friends used to buck the system in defense of the powerless, but now they defend the regime even when the accusations levelled against it by an oppressed population are true.

merlin knows that revealing himself is a kind of risk that could very plausibly end with him utterly disowned.  every single friendship he has is subject to this justified fear, this bitter knowledge.  merlin has every reason to doubt the soundness of his relationships.

and, circling back to the thing that started all these musings - the only friends who never made him feel that way were will and lancelot.

that’s all i mean when i say that will and lancelot were merlin’s only “real” friends.  i wish there were a better word to use than that, because i really don’t mean it like…as if merlin’s relationships with other people weren’t…valid, or important, or based on true love and care.  they were.  but there’s just not a better way to express that will and lancelot were the only people who ever even knew who they were friends with, who saw merlin for exactly who he was and said “i love you still.”  they were the only ones whose friendship was something merlin didn’t have to be afraid of losing solely for existing.

i always think of morgana’s line in 2.11 - ‘i don’t want to be brave.  i just want to be myself. i don’t want to be alone anymore.’

around everyone else, merlin has to be brave.  he has to keep up the pretense, which means even when he’s surrounded by friends, he’s completely isolated.

with will and lancelot, though, he could be himself.  with will and lancelot, he wasn’t alone.

6) post-script

i really appreciate being given the opportunity to muse to myself about this in more detail - i actually needed to think through some things regarding gwaine anyway, for writing purposes, and this was actually really helpful in organizing my brain.  so thanks, anon, for the prompt!  

i know my answer probably runs counter to your own interpretation of things, but as i said, this is just my own personal outlook.  i typed it up because the message got me thinking, and because i know i have a couple of friends who might find it interesting, but my thoughts apply only to me, and i do not mind at all if folks think about these things differently!  nobody is obligated to agree with anything i write, or give it any further thought, or even read it at all - we’re all going to engage with this story in different ways, so if anybody finds that this isn’t their cup of tea, please feel free to scroll on by, and keep having fun with this show in whatever way makes you happiest! :)

[starbuck]

The Tozer/Armitage Meta

I’ve taken a bit of a back-seat as of late but it’s amazed me to see how much Tozer/Armitage has taken off. Maybe not in a huge way but it’s really something seeing folks I don’t even know discussing it!

To commemorate, I thought I’d make a “masterpost” of sorts that gathers up the various things that I and my various partners in analytical crime (most notably my good friend Harvey @rhavewellyarnbag who is the better half of much of this analysis) have said about them. 

Note: Some of these posts are months old and contain certain ideas I’ve changed my mind on but I still think that they’re important overall and, as a whole, my thoughts have remained consistent.

Who IS Armitage, anyway? - as well as a recent summary of my thoughts on Armitage as a character, I also talk a lot about his relationship to Tozer, so it’s a good jumping-off point!

Armitage tried to help Tozer save Heather at Carnivale and, failing this, saved Tozer from himself by dragging him to safety against his will - this is easy to overlook because of how quick the shots are while it happens but it’s one of the most important moments of Tozer and Armitage’s relationship. It summarizes both of their characters perfectly: Tozer is full of love, loyal to a fault, and doesn’t want to leave anyone behind while Armitage will stop at nothing to keep Tozer safe, even if it means risking his own life in the process.

I suggest that Armitage may have grabbed Tozer’s slops for him when the mutiny left in ep 8 and then find potential evidence - this one’s a little goofy because there’s no way to definitively prove it and it doesn’t matter at all but I like it anyway.

The above suggestion about Tozer’s slops somehow leads to profound discussion about Armitage and Tozer’s relationship between Harvey and myself - yes there are two parts to this... We like to talk okay? Discussion of how Tozer views Armitage, Armitage saving Tozer from Little in ep 8, and Hickey being a little shit, in various contexts.

I confirm that Tozer’s slops pre- and post-mutiny are the same pair which leads to further discussion about how Armitage is in love with Tozer - this is really some downright beautiful stuff from Harvey... I got emotional rereading it. Discussions about shame, fear and how Armitage transcends those things.

Armitage looked personally distressed while standing in the crowd by the gallows - these just upset me. tfw the man you (secretly) love is about to be executed for something that is just as much your fault and there’s nothing you can do about it. 

Regarding Armitage’s relationship to Tozer and recurring motifs - yet more fun discussion between Harvey and I! Once again, Harvey sums it up better than I could ever dream to. Discussion about how Armitage only wants to save Tozer but is doomed to fail.

Regarding The Terror and gender roles... and Armitage being in love with Tozer - a post from another dear friend @fate-motif with further discussion from Harvey about... pretty much everything. Contains my favorite quote to come out of all of this: “Hickey’s calling Armitage ‘Private’ seems a kind of answer to Hickey referring to Gibson as his wife. Gibson, another steward, went outside of his class to be with Hickey. It’s more subtle, but more literal in Armitage’s case: Armitage took Tozer’s name.” (Bless you, Harvey - I think of this always.)

Some very basic thoughts on Armitage’s actions in ep 10 - this was pretty much just me getting my thoughts in order awhile back but I still subscribe to this understanding and I think it’s important. Alternate title: Why Armitage Didn’t Just Give Tozer His Goddamn Gun When He Asked.

Tozer and Armitage are both touchstarved and that’s enough justification to ship them all on its own - exactly what it says on the tin. Lovely tags from the lovely @henrycollins.

On that note, Armitage grabs Tozer around the waist as he joins the tackle-pile at Strong’s birthday party in ep 4 - literally cannot make this shit up.

Bamboozling Edward Little Together Is Something That Can Be So Personal - this has become somewhat of a meme at this point and I could not be more proud. I made this gifset just before I finally felt confident enough to start discussing Tozer/Armitage publicly so it means a lot to me.

There’s probably a lot more excellent stuff out there but this is all I can be bothered to dig up for the moment and I feel like this covers it pretty well! 

In summary:

[galacticnova3]

Ok I had thoughts in the shower that are kinda serious/about something mature and I felt compelled to share. CW for discussion of prosh/pp/ng. If you do that and somehow found this, not sorry, this post isn’t for you, also stop doing that and get help. Won’t tolerate any clowning either.

I think the main reason “proshippers” get away with That a lot is because in many cases they’re warping actual fair arguments. Like, yes, there is not necessarily something majorly wrong with portraying unhealthy relationships, because they exist in real life, and ultimately all art reflects aspects of real life. It’s in the same boat as the fact that it’s not bad to portray bad people or horrific events. However, all of that hinges on whether or not these things are being shown for what they are; if you keep saying/implying a character is good or cool or “relatable” and that character is in a situation like that– victim or perpetrator– you are automatically glorifying that thing. You can’t write it off as “just a character flaw” if it is not being portrayed as a flaw; that’s how character flaws work, because ultimately the vast majority of flaws can also be virtues under the right conditions, and vise versa.

Then people make the argument “well authors/artists/etc don’t have to spoon feed what is and isn’t ok to their audience”, and while that is true on some level, that does not mean they have no responsibility at all. Not just to people consuming that content, but to themselves. If you write something terrible and put it in a good light, or what can be reasonably interpreted as a good light, you can’t get mad if people assume you are supporting that thing. In that situation you have not given any true evidence that you don’t; “I’m not x” isn’t enough, because people can lie. Generally, most murderers don’t answer honestly if someone asks them if they killed someone or not. Actions speak louder than words, and if your action is writing, you are responsible for what that writing reflects on you and your views. If people come after you for it, that’s a sign that you should reflect on what you’ve written, and what message it is sending. Even if you had good intentions, people don’t see your intentions, they see what you produced, and sometimes the two don’t line up. Cancel culture is a pain in the ass, but so is the fact that the proship movement allows legitimately disgusting people to thrive under the cover of plausible deniability.

In the case of fan content, there’s the simple fact that not all franchises are safe mediums for making that stuff. It’s not censorship for someone to tell you not to make that content if you’re making it with the characters/the universe of a children’s franchise. Because ultimately, that franchise is going to be majorly consumed by children. It doesn’t matter how well you tag things or how many warnings you put on it, because ultimately the internet is going to put that thing in front of eyes that can be harmed by it. I am saying this as someone who’s first exposure to porn, before I was even in highschool, was Kirby fanart on Google images, despite having safe search on. In the grand scheme of the Internet, the only control you really have is whether you put something on it or not, and where you put that thing, and this is a situation where that is an incredibly important decision. Do you post it on social media where it could very easily be exposed to people who should not be exposed to that, whether because of algorithms or others being less responsible? Do you post it privately in a place where you know(or assume) the other people there are responsible and not going to circulate it? Or, do you keep that content to yourself?

That is not you being asked to be a “second parent”, this is not a “think of the children!” argument. Or, rather, it is a case of the latter, but one that is justified. If you’re making that content with original characters, or characters from a mature franchise, thinking of the children isn’t a priority because the children aren’t supposed to be there, just like you’re not responsible if you’ve been made to share a house with a kid that ends up finding your stash of Mature Things. Whether it was them snooping around without permission or you told them to stay away from that drawer and they didn’t listen, that’s the kid’s fault either way, and thus you bear basically no responsibility. However, if you make that content in a franchise that is consistently, obviously, and intentionally made to be consumed by children, even if it can also be enjoyed by adults? That’s different. That’s like walking into a playground with a porn magazine; it doesn’t matter if people your age can enjoy some of the things there, like the swings or basketball court. You need, and are expected, to take into account that kids are not only likely going to be there, but are encouraged to be there. You walking in with that magazine is you willingly choosing to expose or risk exposing minors to content they should not be exposed to, no matter how you spin it. You could read that magazine anywhere else, and you chose the area with kids in it.

Lastly, while I could make the argument of what reasoning there may be for wanting to make That Stuff with characters from a children’s series and then share it online in the first place, that’s been done by plenty of other people. Besides, I have a better argument: there is nothing stopping you from making that content with different characters anyways, be they your own or just from a franchise with a mature audience. You are not forced or limited to only portray a certain dynamic with certain specific characters. If the setting/universe is a factor, just make your own version with the relevant things in common, maybe change some terms and names, and there, problem solved. It’s not plagiarism if it is going to be utilized in a vastly different way, and as long as it does not just flat out copy every single aspect of the original. Something something a lot of fiction is derivative. Doing this could also allow a place for others to make similar content in what could eventually be your own “series”, without nearly the same level of risk of harm. If it is truly a case of just wanting to explore the dynamic, you can do so without having it be inherently tied to content made for young audiences, and if you have the skills and critical thinking necessary to understand both what makes it “special” with those characters, you should also be able to recreate the same thing in a safer environment.

I know I kinda focused a lot on “kid’s franchises” with this but the same things apply with other content. I.E. don’t make content that depicts mentally ill folks as dangerous where it could hurt/offend real mentally ill people and misinform those who don’t know the reality of mental illness. “Common sense” isn’t real; all “common sense” is learned, and not everyone has learned the same things you have at any given point. How else would ridiculous rumors and such spread, if everyone knew the truth?

TLDR:

-The issue isn’t you making the content, it’s you glorifying the content. Whether you intended to or not isn’t the point.

-You don’t have to spoon feed morals to your audience, but if people reasonably interpret unhealthy things shown in a light that isn’t explicitly or implicitly negative as your quiet support, that’s on you. You need to be sure that the message your content actually sends/how it reflects your views lines up with the message you intended to send and the views you actually have. Don’t blame others if you were the one who failed to communicate effectively.

-In the case of franchises specifically aimed at children, you posting that content is you saying you value sharing that content over the well-being of those likely to see that content. You had the choice to keep the risk of harm at 0%, but decided not to.

-That fact is not a “think of the children” argument, it is simply making the same point as someone telling you not to bring pornography into a kid’s playground, even if that playground has facilities others your age also enjoy. You are bringing adult content into a kid-oriented area, you cannot act like it is the fault of a kid for finding it when in some cases they weren’t even looking.

-There is ultimately no excuse for making that content within a children’s franchise, because there is nothing forcing you to remain in that setting and use those characters; if the dynamic is something you really want to explore, you can recreate it without ties that could lead minors to it.

-Though I used kid’s franchises as my main focus, this applies to any groups that your content could potentially harm or misinform. “It’s just common sense” is not a defense for the latter, because “common sense” has to be learned, and not everyone learns everything at the same time or by the same age.

[rpbetter]

Hey there, check out this pinned post first!

Thanks for visiting Roleplay Better, where I believe that you can fucking do better! That kind of language, however, is why it is important for you to read this post before proceeding.

This blog and its posts are meant for an adult RPing audience; be over legal, adult age in the USA, 18+. Do not interact by submitting, asking, reblogging, commenting, or liking unless you are over eighteen years of age. By interacting with RPB or me, Vespertine, you are assumed to be following this rule. If you are breaking this rule, you will be blocked.

I have that rule because this blog can/will/does address topics inappropriate for a younger audience. Those can include, but are not limited to:

not safe for work - violence, injury, sexual language, smut, substance use

“dark topics” and themes like violence, unhealthy relationships, mental illness, trauma, graphic injury, dubious consent, substance use, and so forth addressed realistically

foul, sexual, and otherwise “Adult” language

 unpopular opinions and approaches about writing, RP, fandoms

“negativity” since literally anything can be, and my whole point here isn’t about holding back; it is likely that, at some point, in some post or another, a shoe will fit you-you need to be mature enough to handle that without taking it as a personal attack on you

images and links that may contain things inappropriate for a younger audience

this blog is founded upon the idea that fiction has reflections in reality, but that fiction does not utterly equate to reality. You should write with realism, your characters should be people in their own right, and you should absolutely be addressing many popular topics responsibly, which is to say realistically. I do not support or otherwise condone purity culture, so while realism is a big deal here, fiction = reality arguments are a no

seriously, you have no idea how fucking salty I am! I try to be fair, reasonable, and mellow with everyone, but it can and does come out.

This blog tags for common, major triggers, but it is not for those easily triggered or particularly sensitive. By proceeding, you take responsibility for yourself...like a mature adult. I expect you to utilize blacklist, unfollow, and block. Tag format is simple, it is literally just the word in most cases, with “cw” and “tw” added to particularly common things. Example, a post containing a breakdown of forms of dubcon will be tagged #dubcon #dubious consent. If that was specifically of a sexual nature, since tumblr is unfriendly to using Not Safe For Work now, I will be using #notsafe for sexual topics. In the event that this needs to change, it will be posted about, the previous tag left intact, so that you may update your blacklist.

You are always welcome to send me an ask or private message requesting a particular trigger be tagged for you. I try to check blogs I see following, especially if I follow back, so that I can tag what you require. However, I’m a person, I’m an ND, ill, busy person though, I do make mistakes!

If you find yourself desirous of telling me to tag in a hateful way, don’t. You will not be responded to with an apology and kindness. Do not be rude, it’s uncalled for when informing someone of a problem or making a request.

I will run the blog largely on a queue, and will not be following many people back. This is not personal! I just like to try to provide content at many different times, have a life elsewhere, and I am so happy that you love your fandom, but it might not be something I’ve enough interest in to have on my dash.

Don’t tumblr message me. Use the inbox or submit.

Due to recent events, I am changing this rule. It’s hard for me to receive messages unexpectedly, and I hate to imply that I’ll be able to get to these quicker because it isn’t the truth. Quicker, better responses come from the inbox. However, there have been too many incidents lately in which people needed to speak privately and had to make that a request. If you’re having a problem and need to vent, request sensitive advice, etc.? It’s alright, go ahead and drop me a PM, y’all. I’ll get back to you as soon as I am able. Please, do not be angry with me if I respond to inbox things or my queue is running! You’re important to me, I just might not have the requisite social cognition and energy you deserve at that time.

Aggressive inbox messages will be responded to in kind. I don’t care if you are on anon or not, if you haven’t an ounce of polite communication skills, I won’t have them either. This is not a “we don’t publish anon hate” blog.

I highly encourage asks and submissions on any and all RP topics, and it’s perfectly alright to be salty as fuck in them, you can totally vent here, but don’t take out your frustration on me or be demanding of me. I am always happy to help with information, advice, or just a response to your venting-it’s important to know someone is listening. However, it may take me a few days to a week to get to you, be patient. 

If you are going to vent, leave out usernames. This isn’t a callout or burnbook blog. It’s fine to state characters and fandoms, but if this becomes a problem, it’ll have to change. I don’t want this becoming a salt blog for one or two fandoms I very likely can’t even stand. Practice the fine art of alluding to things, its good experience for your writing! Besides, RPC problems are RPC problems, I promise. It might feel like it’s just your fandom, but there is something relatable in all corners.

I will not overly police comments. Keep the slurs and shit out of it, though. If there is an issue going on pertaining to a serious instance of hate speech, or behavior I, personally, deem as too inappropriate and/or immature to be taking place on my post, I will step in. Otherwise, I expect everyone to be adults in the comments and reblogs too. If you want to argue with each other, that’s your business. If you want to argue with me, I’m not sorry in advance.

Addition to the above: this is not a blog in which it will be tolerated that commentators or those submitting with the URLS are targeted for callouts, shaming, or other instances of bullying. No, I cannot make those people stop bothering you by blocking them, but the least I can do is address that by shutting down their access to this blog and it’s posts by blocking on the URLs I have for them. And I will. Fuck that “we can’t be responsible for” shit. It’s my blog, it’s my content I’m putting out there, I’m not going to just ignore shit like what went down over on COAR, thanks. Not. Cool.

This is definitely not a place for:

people who think giving muses labels, including top/bottom “dynamics,” is a good substitute for character traits, personality, and development

those with no reading comprehension skills

folks dependent upon aesthetics and aesthetics-based purple prose as filler for actual writing

anti-original character/just wants to fuck a FC or canon character club, get the fuck out immediately

y’all who see writing as an obstacle to getting down to action, be that smut, drama, or fight scenes...it’s literally a writing hobby

politics, any manner of phobe or ism, violent/non-inclusive feminists, purity/rpc/fandom/content police of any manner, and exactly any manner of racism, sexism, or religious intolerance - I give not a shit if it’s popular to hate the straights, for example, I neither believe in nor tolerate reactionary classifying of any group as blanket-statement evil

people who are going to tack onto my posts shit like, “it’s okay, OP, you can say x character.” Trust me, if I were talking about one character, I fucking would name drop them, don’t bring me into your fandom drama, I doubt I know or want to know who that anime guy is who looks like 12 other anime guys to me.

About Vespertine

You can call me that, Vespertine. I’d rather you didn’t go with Vesper, but as it is unfortunately so likely to happen, I won’t feed you to the dogs over it either. RPB Mun is also acceptable.

I’m alright with either she/her or he/him, they/them is also fine. Apparently, that was big enough clue-in for the poor reading comp crowd, so while I feel it is not of importance, I’m nonbinary, yes.

Late 30′s, chronically ill but still working adult with neurodivergence. I’m both busy and Busy, and always sick. This limits my brain power and ability to be here. I have an active RP blog that I won’t be sharing to keep responsible distance. That is always going to be my priority, it is my primary hobby.

Please, don’t tumblr message me totally random things if we don’t have that kind of relationship! I’m too ill and busy, and it really fucks my nerves to have a bunch of messages/have to suddenly interact socially with people. Don’t do it. Use my inbox, use the submit, comment on posts. I cannot do random messages of “hey” and so forth.

I only do written RP, don’t expect me to understand much of anything from tabletop. I’ve RPed for the last 23 years consistently, on every platform from AOL chats to forums to messengers and here. I also don’t do RP in discord, so I’m sorry, but I can’t advise you much on anything with a word count, except to stop it for serious RP. Other than that, I promise you that I’ve seen the trends, the drama, the fandoms. I can give a lot of advice and perspective on a wide range of topics, situations, and characters! When I don’t have a clue at all, I’ll try to do enough research to give you an answer.

Do I come off as a horrible, strict asshole? I do! I’m not going to say that I am just a shy bean who is more scared of you than you are me. I’m not. I’m honestly feral, but have common decency, compassion, and sense. All of which are lacking in the general RPC. So, if you can inbox/common/otherwise interact with anyone else on this site, you can totally handle me!

Honesty and openness are policies.

And in the spirit of that, I repeat; you can fucking do better, tumblr RPC!

[heymacy]

what do you mean "one day" you write how mickey's the wild west outlaw archetype... write it now bitch!! (please i say this with love, i've been fascinated with that comparison- and agree with it- ever since i saw your tags!!)

bitch (affectionate) 👏🏼 and okay yes let’s get in to it! disclaimer: this is probably going to be long, i did study film in school for two and a half years before switching my major (which i deeply regret) and i study history now, so the pretentious film student vibes are probably gonna come out swinging and i apologize for that. full incoherent rambling below the cut!

so, the wild west outlaw archetype is one that most people are familiar with, since the "western” genre has existed for over a century in Hollywood. in fact, the first time someone described a film as a “western” was in 1912 in Motion Picture World Magazine, though the first acknowledged “western” film was made in 1899. these films are typically set in the late 1800s during the westward expansion in America (or as i like to call it, “white people stay displacing indigenous groups with their manifest destiny bullshit”). there are very clear and distinct archetypes present in this genre, as with most genres (one day i’ll talk about rom-com archetypes because i find them fascinating). traditionally, there are 8 archetypes aside from the “outlaw”:

The True Cowboy

The Gunslinger

The Gambler

The Preacher

The Doc

The Sheriff

The Drunk

The Tycoon

each of these character archetypes has unique characteristics and motivations. sometimes there are overlaps between archetypes, such as the The Drunk and The Gambler, or The Gunslinger and The Doc. 

what’s unique about The Outlaw (we are now using capital letters, ooooo) is that they don’t fall in to any one category from the list above. rather, they embody a sense of resistance or pushback against expansion and modernization of western territories. to The Outlaw and his ragtag gang of ruffians, the west is an infinitely better place when the colonizers aren’t there (even though they themselves are colonizers - we love a solid sense of self awareness lol). because of this, they often go to great lengths to upset the balance of whatever little town they’re in, in hopes that the settlers will abandon their homesteading and return to the east, allowing for the outlaws to exist free of their inherent oppression (aka, we wanna do crime and these assholes won’t let us)

now let’s get in to shameless. at its core, it’s a show about family, poverty, struggle, and love. there are, however, MANY parallels between the running storylines in the series and the classic western film. gentrification is this century’s westward expansion, with the wealthy and the privileged moving their families to “unknown lands” (the Southside) to buy up property and transform the landscape in to something reminiscent of where they were raised. enter stage left, coffee shops and yoga studios, the modern day saloons and haberdasheries. someone is always stealing something, tagging something with spray paint, intimidating the transplants and upper middle class yuppies, all in an attempt to prevent their home (for The Outlaw, the real “wild” west is his home) from becoming a watered-down version of itself, rife with hipsters, this century’s colonizers in many ways.

using this logic, we could see the entirety of the Southside population, the locals at least, as The Outlaw, but i think that would be short-sighted, since the archetype of The Outlaw is centered around the disruption and destruction of the transforming cultural landscape (see: Mickey’s actions in season 5, his animosity towards Lip, who he saw for a long time as a fellow outlaw, for siding with the enemy and going off to college). not everyone on the Southside is going to have the same central motivation and trajectory as the TRUE outlaw. in fact, i would argue that the majority of the Southside is made up of Gunslingers, which do often overlap with The Outlaw in westerns, specifically ones from the 30s and 40s where The Outlaw is also the guy with the “fastest draw in the west”

now in western films, The Outlaw is almost always the antagonist, the character that gets in the way of the True Cowboy’s journey to self-fulfillment and happiness, and we’re supposed to hate him for it. we’re SUPPOSED to think he’s crass and violent and out of line and a stain on the fabric of society. rarely did westerns delve in to The Outlaw as a fully-fleshed out character. however, the rising popularity of “sympathetic outlaws”, aka outlaws we don’t think are entirely terrible or who have motivations behind their actions that we can empathize with (see: Bonnie and Clyde) has led Hollywood to produce films in which The Outlaw is a sympathetic character, not just a tool used to further the central character’s storyline. it’s a very similar phenomenon to the rise of villain/anti-hero popularity. i think we see this most ostentatiously in the Star Wars universe, with the “light side vs. dark side” debate and so many people meta-ing the hell out of characters like Anakin Skywalker, Ben Solo, and other characters that we’re SUPPOSED to dislike for their heinous actions but we just...don’t? at least not as much as we’re supposed to. of course there are exceptions to the rule, and people who just hate “bad” characters blindly (pea brain energy right there folks).

Mickey Milkovich is the perfect encapsulation of The Sympathetic Outlaw. he is an instantly interesting, compelling character with unique motivations. our first impression of him is when he and his brothers are on their way to the Kash and Grab to beat up Ian for “assaulting” Mandy - like our VERY FIRST impression of him is this dirty, dangerous little gremlin who steals from the shop owner and terrorizes the neighborhood. if shameless were a western, mickey and his brothers would be the “Terrifying Milkoviches”, known and feared throughout the land, riding in to town on their horses, stopping at the general store to steal bread and beer before pistol whipping the store owner (Kash) and tormenting the shop boy (Ian).

The Outlaw is, at his core, a character that is resistant to change, who uses fear and violence to get his way, and who is well-known but not well-liked. sound like anybody we know? yeah, i thought it might!

even though The Outlaw is often feared by locals, settlers, and indigenous folks alike, there is also a unique dynamic between The Outlaw and the townspeople they torment, and it usually appears in the townspeople vs. Big Oil conflict that is prevalent in MANY westerns throughout history. in comes Mr. Handlebar-Mustache-Bolo-Tie-Oil-Tycoon ready to rip his way through the little town in the west so he can build his railroad or drill for oil. the townsfolk are taught to believe that this man is doing so for the betterment of their livelihoods, allowing the town to grow and expand and be an “important spot on the map” for travelers. however, when The Tycoon’s presence disrupts their lifestyles and stability, as it always does, the townspeople very quickly become pretty okay with The Outlaw fucking up Mr. Handlebar-Mustache-Bolo-Tie-Oil-Tycoon’s day. there is this unspoken alliance between The Outlaw (Mickey) and the townspeople (the Southside), where they acknowledge the potential damage The Outlaw could rain down on their little homestead, but usually decide to risk it to prevent more significant damage from Mr. Mustache. thus, a tense but consistent alliance is often formed, giving way to the “Revisionist Western” genre, or modern westerns with primarily sympathetic outlaws.

when everything is said and done, The Outlaw is a symbol of resistance, resourcefulness, and realism. The Outlaw doesn’t like change, and he fights it at every turn. he is thrifty and skilled, which contributes to his fearsome reputation. he is highly realistic, and will often clash with more idealistic characters (see: “do you have anything resembling an imagination in that fuckin’ skull of yours?” “...no. i like facts. things that are real. shit i can hold. like a gun!” / 11x04)

ultimately, Mickey Milkovich is a modern retelling of the classic Outlaw archetype, feared by many but loved by viewers. he is highly critical of the upper classes, grounded in realism, and sympathetic in his plight. he goes up against “the man” like it’s in his fucking DNA, which is why we love him so much. we all love The Outlaw, whether we want to admit it or not. we may not condone all of their actions, but we recognize where their motivations come from and are able to empathize, which only strengthens our love of the wildly misunderstood shit-stirrer that is Outlaw Mickey.