#how i learned to stop worrying and love mary sue

[dean23456]

Sue headcannons (or something close to that) Long read

this is my favorite papa louie character, so I must have headcannons. Ok let's start.

Also If you see any other existing headcannons of either Mary or Sue, I may believe in them. Some parts may be similar.

This part will mainly be like how she got here and love related stuff and during -----. So if you're not interested in that just keep scrolling down to not those parts.

. The reason why she and Cooper (I think) were trapped together is cause she was borrowing some cooking stuff. (This will appear again later) but she decided to try to save Penny but got captured agian.

.Before papas pizzeria she barley knew Mary. All she knew I that she lives in the apartments.

.She started working at fluffmart around a year before papa louie: when pizzas attack began.

. She met Mary during papas pizzeria, Mary bumped into Sue, Sue got a little mad but calmed down. When Mary pointed out that they kinda order the same they talked. They didn't officially become friends till like when sarge fan becomes unlocked in the game. (Either rank 30 or 45)

. When she got transported into munchmore (I think that's the name) she wasn't all that scared. She believes that some are overreacting to their danger. But if this were to ever happen again she's prepared. (I hope on the next pl: when ---- attack she's the main/playable character)

. Mitch did hit on Sue by giving her a taco filled with sour cream but then she was like "I think I like Mary, you see her coming here don't you" and he was shocked like hell (it didn't matter really cause he got disinterested after that) also during like the very end of Tacomia she realized like hey maybe I like Mary (not as a lot till freeziria tho).

. During like the middle of frezzeria she could not stop thinking about Mary, it would sometimes slow down her work completely to a halt. Her fellow workers were getting worried of her. But tne final thing before she decided to ask Mary out is when she thought of "other things" but then she was like "wait wtf, maybe I should ask her out, I think I REALLY like her".

. While going to calypso Island with Mary she personally asked Penny to make sure on a certain date when people don't go to the beach as much in exchange for free napoleon ice cream for a year card. Penny told her it's best for the end of the day. Sue was like saying thank you a lot even tho that's kinda obvious. Even Penny was like "Damm I thought Sue was the mean one, maybe not as much as it seems to be". Also Penny thanked Sue for attempting to save her.

. She and Mary were both happy asf when Sue asked Mary out. But then they were stuck on calypso Island for like under 7 or less months. (I kinda don't like the Canon that they're stuck for a year) Sue's heart was beating really fast when she was going to ask her to be her gf.

.don't worry she didn't get fired.

. during like the beginning of tacomia Sue met Mary's older brother James and their adopted father skip. Then Sue learned Mary's backstory (will be explained in a Mary headcannon post) this made them closer friends.

.so to explain. she started working at fluffmart at 18, met Mary around 19, and started dating at 20. Or 20, 21 and 22. This is why I'm not entirely sure of my headcannon age for her.

This is now just kinda like random stuff and maybe her backstory

. they're both the same age (around 23-26) but Sue is younger by like 3 months. (I don't see her being like 40 or something)

. Her birthday is March 23, (either 2000 or 1997)

. She is 5,7 and weighs 132 lbs.

. She was born in a smaller area of tastyville, her parents now live in tacodale tho.

. Im not entirely sure yet but i think she may have either 1 or 2 younger siblings.

.I don't see the either of them being parents (yet????????) I mean Mary or Sue.

.her friend group (or people she usually sees a lot and is fine with) consists of Mary (gf) Mindy, Vicky, Whiff, Quinn, Penny, Alberto, James, Skip, Allan, Akari, Roy, Joy, Chuck, Taylor, Leizel, Nye, Treble and Scooter. Remember is that she may just see them a lot and is fine with.

. She, Mary, the other Canon lgtbq characters, Chuck, Taylor and Scooter are in a group. It takes place every month.

. In high school she often beaten up the asshole popular kids who bullied people. I'm not sure if she used her fists or something else.

. She believed she was either straight or aroace. Guess she's not anymore. Also she didn't date anyone before Mary.

. She is very smart and very on plan. But when thinking of Mary gets clumsy and such.

. She's sarcastic sometimes. But will act passive aggressive at times.

. When people hear of Sue dating Mary, they think its abusive or something along those lines. But it's the complete opposite. They get along very well, genuinely love each other, all very positive. But she does feel like people shouldn't know about them dating. But they eventually learns about it anyways. People think that one of them will eventually propose.

. Her pokemon team would be kadabra, alcreamie, garchomp, nidoking, lopbunny and either between exploud, machoke

. She's a really good baker. This is why she keeps on getting put into papas next chefs. (I hope she wins the next one, or just wins or gets something good)

. Her backstory isn't that deep or anything, she was usually like the very angry kid that kinda calmed down, but still needs fixing. Other than that there's nothing else to say about her backstory.

.Very interesting thing is that Sue beat up some bullies who were coincidentally were bullying Mary. They both don't know about this encounter in high school.

. The mocharia movie plot was kinda wild for Sue, I'll just say that. (This is when more people learned about she and Mary dating tho)

. She's the type of person to hype someone up but disappoint them (never something serious tho)

. No one knows except for Mary but on each and every papa louie when ---- attack game cabinet in his restaurants she secretly has the highest score and goes by use. Somehow no one but Mary knows this (torhu was very close to beating one of the scores but died anyways however tohru does have a high score in the arcade).

. She's really good at games with guns, swords and combat.

. One time while playing stomp stomp institution she got so pissed (she was very close but messed up the end part) that she was stomping on one of the arrow pads that she broke it (she did apologize a lot and payed back) and the funny thing is that stomp stomp institution is a Dance dance revolution reference and I happen to like ddr.

. She calls people stupid over small things and sometimes doesn't feel bad for it.

. She and Mary didn't move in till like scooperia, there was some problems moving in, this is why she appears very late in the game (Rank 62). the problems were like where does this go and is this big enough and other stuff like that.

. She's a great singer. She has a sultry voice, it's very clear and doesn't stutter or mess up words a lot.

. Probably sounds like this or something close to that.

. Her favorite color is either red or pink.

. She's kinda strong and can lift heavy things. She can only hold Mary for like 5 seconds before either getting tired or failing.

. Her favorite foods are red velvet cake, pomegranate, strawberries, watermelon and mushrooms.

. Her least favorite foods are broccoli and sour candies.

. When angry, she will raise her voice, but when very angry she'll start swearing a lot.

. She had anger issues since like 5.

. She has great reflexes.

. She really likes Mary's Saint Patrick's costume.

. When someone mentioned that she and cynthia from pokemon look kinda similar she wasn't like stfu she was more like uhh ok. (They're right)

. In my head she looks really hot and (mostly) men and sometimes even women would ask her out but she always rejects.

.She is always careful around men she doesn't know/trust (she doesn't hate men or had a bad experience in the past but she knows that someone will hit on her or worse.)

. She may nearly had a bad experience when she rejected a guy but the next day while watching nowtime news (I think thats the name) there was a guy arrested on serious charges and she swore it looked exactly like him. This was during the ending of burgeria and while she and Mary were just friends.

. The reason she dressed up as Ghostface is that that was the only option and she wanted to be a devil (to match with Mary's angel costume) and this is when they are dating now.

. People have confused her and Maggie of being related (they're not)

. She doesn't have a favorite type of genre, she just likes whatever.

. This is more so Mindy but she was the first one to learn Sue was a lesbian. She was like "I called it". When Sue and Mary announced that they were dating. (she started to notice during the beginning of tacomia.

. The reason she works at fluffmart is cause she kinda doesn't know what to do yet.

. If Mary were to die, she would not date anyone ever agian but if it made her extremely depressed, she would kill herself.

. If the workers admitted that they respect her saud that they relate to her struggles for respect, she would be less mad.

. She didn't appear in pancakeria till like the very end is cause of being stuck on calypso Island and all the work she missed.

. Ngl this is Sue to Mary. Very affectionate towards her.

. She doesn't drink too much alcohol. When she is drunk tho she's just kinda chill.

. She's interested in mystery type shows and crime shows. Also game shows.

. She once showed Mary how fluffmart works. Then one of the new hires sat on a box. She yelled "GET OFF THE BOX!" "or else.........." then Mary told her to calm down and she said "the new hires are dumb as fuck, and I don't feel bad for saying that."

And that's kinda it for my headcannons for Sue. Sorry for this being so long and I will do Mary headcannon post. I may edit this if I think of more things.

[recolourrhys]

1 and 14 for the ask game please!

1. Show your most recent wip

Well. That would be a redraw I'm doing of a piece from the summer bc Rory's design has changed a lot LMAO I haven't started anything "new" yet!!

OC art gets posted to @digirhys bc I keep this acct just for fanworks!✌🏻 so that's where the final for this will go (a cropped version at least. The full will go on cohost)

14. How has your art changed over the years?

Oh boy. In almost every way possible, I think!! Save that I am still keenly focused on character art, from my love of storytelling :0

From a technical aspect my art has of course changed and improved tremendously from when I started drawing when I was still single digits lol the inevitable outcome of never really Stopping Drawing :V

I don't have records of old traditional art as much, so the oldest art I have that isn't toddler art was from when I was around 11-12 – those aren't these lol but I started using dA when I was a young teen, so I have those as archives of what I was doing digitally (the left group of drawings are from that first dA acct, as far back as when I was 14 :Y

I think on the more con/critical side of things, my creativity has been severely stunted. In part I think that's a natural progression of thinking as I've aged, but one I know can be combated! It just takes an active effort and approach to work creativity and whimsy like a muscle, and that's something I know I haven't done a great job of :'3

It's bittersweet looking at old art where I can see how much fun I was having and how there were no inhibitions, no worrying about things being OP or cringe or "Mary sue". It's heartwarming being able to see that passion in my own art, and simultaneously i feel a bit guilty n ashamed that I've let a lot of it get worn out of me by Life, in part by things out of my control;;;;;

It is DIFFICULT to throw those cares aside again! Almost all of the storytelling I used to do was in collaboration with friends I fell out with, and it was a bit of a slap in the face to realize last year/during 2023 that I never really told stories or built characters on my own, and it's been hard for me to find that joy and passion. I loved what I was doing with friends and miss that feeling of community, but I think it's important and I want to learn how to create and tell stories primarily for myself now, too. What's been most difficult initially is fighting against a feeling of embarrassment just while simply brainstorming – it was a lot easier to throw caution to the wind and just revel in the Fun of Creating Whatever when surrounded by ppl making things with me with the same abandon!! TTwTT when we're all having a good time who cares if anyone else thinks it's silly, yanno?

I haven't quite figured it out, but that's one of my goals this year. I love doing fan stuff too when the inspiration strikes but I definitely want to put more energy into working on My Art, and figuring out what stories I want to tell and the characters involved. I think it'll be a big step, making the effort to make that shift, in helping to further heal my relationship w art in general and continuing to relearn how to love it and the messy, sometimes frustrating processes :'3

[ursie]

I posted 6,592 times in 2022

1,750 posts created (27%)

4,842 posts reblogged (73%)

Blogs I reblogged the most:

@dykemas

@magnetickid

@shatterstar

@furiousfinnstan

@vampwidogast

I tagged 6,418 of my posts in 2022

Only 3% of my posts had no tags

#q - 3,279 posts

#asks - 1,091 posts

#anon - 763 posts

#cr - 645 posts

#i babble - 533 posts

#disabled tag - 383 posts

#cr3 - 335 posts

#ableism tw - 240 posts

#tw ableism - 198 posts

#lgbt+ - 182 posts

Longest Tag: 140 characters

#he’s not incompetent he’s manipulative he has a handle on the situation until there’s information he’s not privy to and that’s where he fail

My Top Posts in 2022:

#5

TT isn’t ableist it’s DC/the editors/ect stop blaming him ok but he wrote these scenes he wrote this dialogue and this is just off the top of my head not even touching the “subtle” ableism woven throughout the run :

⚠️

Major tw for ableism :

See the full post

565 notes - Posted July 2, 2022

#4

Fanon Dick is sm like...I'm not saying Dick needs to be hypercompetent at everything but like a huge point of his character is trying to be because he's incapable of relying on other people a huge thing for him is being able to take care of himself in whatever way he needs to -be that blending in/playing the Wayne game for B, cooking for himself, cleaning up after himself, ect. like it's ooc to act like he can't do any of those things (or that he wouldn't of tried to learn) and no ones saying he's the best at them but fanon needs to learn there's a huge gap between being the best and being incompetent at something. I know everyone's worried about making him a mary sue but genuinely him being perceived as one in universe is an ongoing source of tension to him and his relationships like...main point is like he can cook and doesn't live in a dumpster guys pls read a comic

718 notes - Posted March 11, 2022

#3

Ok so like my thing w Dickbabs/Tom Taylor’s Nightwing is like knowing DC has been under scrutiny for years for ableism specifically surrounding Babs writing-that its hard not to see this book for what it is-It’s literally so insidious they’re literally both physically disabled and not only is it either ignored/brushed aside but they’re actively placating ableists and using this ship to do it like?? Aren’t y’all DickBabs mad for being used like that?? Y’all don’t have standards?? Like it could not be more obvious that it’s a constant here’s DickBabs ignore the fact she’s walking 😭 and the fact it’s coming right after a book where Dick had a reasonably popular new (Black!) love interest whom got written out for DickBabs makes it even worse. The fact that in the book Dick is barely competent and TT consistently relies on cameos and fan service in place of plot..like it’s just a very obvious pattern of appealing to fandom to avoid criticism (and effort tbh) and it’s working it is which is infuriating tbh. Like genuinely this book is the most obvious written from a pure marketing perspective I’ve seen in a while 😭

719 notes - Posted April 22, 2022

#2

See the full post

750 notes - Posted January 26, 2022

My #1 post of 2022

I’m not a Depp apologist (I stand w Amber) I would personally kill him if given the chance but I do think pro Amber people need to be careful how they talk about his drug history. He’s not a bad man for being an addict, he’s not a bad man for being sick, he’s a bad man for being a wife beater and otherwise violent bigot of a man-and whilst his consumption of drugs and alcohol is undeniably linked to the abuse it’s important not to link addicts in general to being abusers/aggressors when more often then not people self medicate for reason’s yknow. Idk just watch your phrasing that is all. Other addicts do see how you view and talk about them. (Again I’m not pro Depp again I think he should die)

*ok to reblog no clowning

2,035 notes - Posted June 5, 2022

Get your Tumblr 2022 Year in Review →

[typewriter83]

I've read last chapter of LTW again and I have to ask for it: how is tommy feeling about all of this now that everything was revealed? What are the things he's worried about and what does he think of joel? Or of ellie?

I'm asking because he seemed so conflicted sometimes and it felt like he wanted to say some things but didn't have chance yet (specially when maria is around).

But if my question leads to a spoiler, you don't need to answer.

Tommy and Joel - at some point - will have a conversation, and it will all come together. Ellie and Dina have to have a similar conversation (which will come first). Maria and Ellie… Maria and everyone. I know, I’m so hard on Maria, but not everyone can love this, not everyone can be okay with this - then we’re playing fast and loose with some Mary Sue shit. Deep at the heart of Maria, she’s a Mama Bear - she’s very protective of Ellie in every universe, even in game canon, she’s quick to protect the girl.

But Tommy - I love Tommy so much, I love analyzing him, I love discussing him, dissecting his character. I think - maybe this is just me? - sometimes it can be easy to forget just how broken Tommy is. It’s easy to see how broken Joel is, how broken Ellie is, but sometimes Tommy can be overlooked because he made it out, he found a way to start living again. “Just because life stopped for you, doesn’t mean it has to stop for me” - but there’s still so much pain there.

What was your question? Did you ask for a Tommy analysis? No? You wanted to know how Tommy is doing with this revelation?

When Tommy sent Joel to Elk Mountain, he did it because he couldn’t go himself, he knew his brother could get the job done. Even though he wants his brother to learn how to live again, he never thought he would let that girl in, never thought she could get through to him. So imagine his shock when he puts it together that his brother loves this girl. It’s gonna take time for him to absorb that.

🫶🏻

[the-kestrels-feather]

Get To Know Me Tag Game

I was tagged by the lovely @gyokujyn, thank you friendo!!

1. How did you get your nickname (or url)?

There's nothing especially deep to it tbh, my name is Kestrel and my go-to username is kestrelfeather (yes I know its a Warrior Cats name it haunts me every day) but it was taken already

2. What's the last thing that made you cry?

Not to trauma dump on this here Tumblr post but tbh I need to get better at actually feeling my feelings, because I don't remember the last time I cried, and it's not because I'm living my best life or anything it's because I bottle my feelings like a fine wine 😅🙃

3. What's your latest guilty pleasure?

I try not to feel guilty about things that being me joy but it is absolutely my shameless Self-insert OC created to date Bucky Barnes and is almost definitely the Nonbinary equivalent of a Mary Sue but they make me happy GOD DAMMIT Cringe culture is DEAD

4. What sports do you play/have you played?

So despite not being a sporty kid I've actually played a few! Itty bitty baby Kes played soccer, Tee Ball, and Softball at varying times, and did Ballet, jazz, and tap for like a year or two. But that all stopped when I turned 7 and FINALLY talked my parents into letting me take horseback riding lessons, and I did that for 11.5 years. I absolutely LOVED riding, and would ABSOLUTELY still be doing it, but unfortunately it's time and money I don't have so I just stare longingly.

5. What are your pet peeves?

People who don't chew with their mouth closed talk with their mouth full my mother even though she denies it, kids who come into the textbook distribution room I work in and go "I need a book" but when i ask them for a title, class, teacher, literally any information that woukd help me get them the correct book they just say "I don't know".

6. What is the first thing you notice about people?

Eyes. I suck at eye contact but if someone has pretty eyes I take notice

7. What is your eye color?

Great question tbh. Somewhere between blue and green, like a sort of teal-y color.

8. What super specific trope or genre is your kryptonite?

In non-fanciction settings: Gothic and Cosmic horror, action is fun, the fact that Librivox audiobooks of novels in the public domain are easy to find and extremely accessible, it's given me a strong love for classical literature, Picture of Dorian Gray is my favorite.

In Fanfiction settings: inject that Hurt/Comfort directly into my VEINS--. I'm also a big fan of any and all forms of Nonsexual intimacy.

9. What is your superpower?

As a Props Artisan I can make anything out of anything. I love making props from found objects, especially weapons. I was on a production of Romeo and Juliet and got to make all sorts of fun found object weapons because it was a post-apocalyptitc world

Some examples:

10. Which fictional world would you be happy to call home?

I know I would like. Instantly die. But I would love to live as a half-blood in the Percy Jackson world tbh.

11. What are your hobbies?

Listening to audiobooks and video essays, writing, learning to draw, video games, and crafting.

12. Do you have any pets?

I have one Dog, an 11 year old rat terrier mix named Peanut who owns my heart ❤️ I used to have pet land snails too, but unfortunately they have all passed on.

Bonus Peanut. Look at this little face how could you see this and NOT want to hand over all your worldly possessions to her:

13. What is your biggest toxic trait?

Oh jeez. I have a stubborn streak, but can also be really selfish.

14. Is there anything you're afraid you won't accomplish?

Oh BOY is there. My dream is to work Props for a Marvel movie and I worry I'll never get there. Also I'm just in general worried I'm never going to get a job in theatre/film which is my dream because it's the job I want, what I love, and what I went to school for and I'm scared I'll never get there.

15. What's number one on your bucket list?

The aforementioned dream of working on a Marvel movie!

Tags:

@bucky-bucky-bucky-bucky @navybrat817 @feraljazzpunk @buckybuckyboo and anyone else who wants to!

[littleyukki5033]

STRAIGHT UP SOBBING- LIKE I WASN'T EXPECTING YOU TO SAY SO MUCH ABOUT IT. I laughed alot in what you said and oh my goodness-you analyze so much, I literally was waving my hands around when you noticed some important things.

THANK YOU!!! I was extremely worried people would dislike my AU and especially Yukki since she an OC u know? But your words help alot (I'm happy your interested in her and her story. Her backstory actually sad tbh 😞)

I will answer your questions!!! Because it's fun! I'll try not to reveal too much of course

Information about Yukki:

Yukki was actually portaled above the hole in mt.ebott, she has extreme adrenaline so she forced herself up and she actually did go through the ruins and once she pass the gate, she made it to snowdin and just clasp due to blood loss. The reason she had so much adrenaline was because of what was happening before she was portaled. She was unconscious the entire time when taken to Asgore. She woke up tired up and Asgore getting ready to kill her (she was weak due to injuries)

Yukki is from another Universe which was revealed when her and Frisk were talking since Frisk was so shock to even see another human. Yukki actually has magic but she doesn't know how to control it. She can do small things. (She does learn how to use it better during the next arc after the underground)

I really had to revamp her because..like I said I made her middle school and she was a 💖Mary Sue💖. I will say her magic is Chaos magic. So for example, think of like Discord and Scarlet Witch. I gave her power a name which is 'Ultima Disorder'.

Yukki at first did have bad feelings towards monsters because once she was fully healed, the Royal gaurds always attack her. Especially Papyrus and Undyne. She was also 100% suspicious when Sans offered her to stay with them and Papyrus just...stopped attacking her but she was desperate and had no where to go...and she didn't know if she had a home to go to anymore (hint to her backstory)

Her feelings do change because her relationship with Sans and of course Sans towards Yukki which makes Papyrus annoyed by how close there getting.

Yukki is 24 years old, same age as Sans.

Information on Toriel:

I have to say, Toriel is honestly a sad depressed mother in my AU. Toriel left Yukki behind a waterfall because she didn't want Yukki getting captured again plus she knew Yukki wouldn't be able to run due to her injuries so she didn't want to risk it.

For the Soul of Kindness, it was pure coincidence because Toriel just snatch whatever was closest, as long it prevented Asgore plan.

Toriel does meet Yukki again since the final battle. Toriel does end up crying in seeing Yukki alive and well.

When Toriel met Frisk, she literally look afraid and actually try to make Frisk afraid of her but it didn't work. Actually, Toriel believed Yukki was dead since a whole year last during that whole event with Her and Yukki escape so she didn't know so she didn't bring up Yukki to Frisk which explains why Frisk was shook in seeing Yukki lol

Information on Asgore:

Asgore is..uh..he is very unhinged in my AU which is the whole point for 'Sacred'. Asgore and Toriel relationship is very toxic and he often gaslight her when it came before Frisk and Yukki falling which I'll talk about later.

Asgore was very PISSED when Toriel stole a soul but he needs the last soul so yeah no killing plus a part of him deep down loves Tori, the obsession with the soul is just greater than his love.

Information on Sans and Papyrus:

Sans does actually have the jokes at the gate! He did find out it was her due to the fact she asks about a certain human girl (Yukki). Sans didn't tell anyone though.

Sans and Papyrus do Falter when it comes to Yukki presence. Especially Sans, since he spends the most time with her which was revealed in the small story when Sans was questioning in why she wasn't dead yet and he just couldn't kill her. Papyrus is just stubborn, he has his duty but deep down he does care for Yukki. He just defies that feeling.

Information on Soul Protectors:

They do gain benefits when it comes to the souls which I actually listed out on my master doc for the story but those perks are revealed when Frisk gets the souls and gets those benefits.

Okay so like-if you look closely through out all my drawings, you'll see those 4 lines around the souls on each Royal Guard bandana. Those are actually magic capsules that W.D Gaster made. It basically a more fancy looking container unlike the container in Undertale looked like.

SacredFell Containers are filled with magic and can be embedded into well anything as long the soul stays in that container (I should make a design sheet tbh...lol). Undyne actually thought about consuming on but her loyalty won over that thought.

SF BARRIER IS DIFFERENT!!!!!. So for SacredFell, the war has 7 leaders. The 7 leaders were mages and of course locked them down there. 7 souls are required to break the barrier including a monster soul.

Whole reason Yukki couldn't do it with her magic is because the 7 makes magic straight conflicted with Yukkis and she got electrocuted....yeah she did attempt to break it....

Information on the key and heart locket:

My mouth dropped when you ask this question LOL. Goooosh, so like, the key on Sans is actually the key to unlock Yukki heart locket. Yeah them two dummies start dating. There actually married and have kids in like...future from this story timeline.

Information on Mettaton and Alphys and Muffet:

It wad Alphys idea to make Mettaton a decoy and yes he is famous! He sings and dances and everything! Alphys in my AU is extremely brave and yes she very sly. She acts like she extremely weak around Frisk with rude remarks but that's just part of her plan.

Mettaton and Muffet battles are actually fun..well in my head. It well..different than Undertale. For Mettaton, it basically like singing/dancing battle like..imagine like a Rythem game but undertale style lol. Muffet battle is actually with music and dancing gracefully. Muffet talks about how since Frisk loves spiders, she needs help in her bakery and it becomes a battle.

"Catch the desserts and serve the right costumer!" And if Frisk misses a dessert or serves the wrong order Muffet will attack and Frisk needs to dodge like in the Game. When Frisk wins Muffet does talk to Frisk.

Yes you fight Alphys regardless in pacifest or genocide. Alphys battle...woman uses machinery so um..Frisk run. Advance technology. (I was planning on doing full drawings if the battles since the webcomic in all so one day it get there!)

That's it!

I hope that answers majority of your questions! ALSO YOU CAN LIKE AND QUESTION ALL U WANT BTW, YOUR NOT BOMBBARING ME. I love answering questions! It just so fun!

Honestly, your response made me extremely happy and I'm glad your interested in my au! 🥺🥺🥺🙏 thank you so much for giving your opinion!

(Sorry for any typos lol)

I wanna have opinions so uh, what do you think of my SacredFell AU? (So far anyway haha)

Hello, my mutual compadre, @littleyukki5033 , I have traveled down to the depths of your blog and will now commence judgment.

Kehehehe. ψ(｀∇´)ψ

[Gonna be long, I like/wanted to try making my responses worthwhile and attentive, to show you I went in on your AU and posts.]

(And you can laugh at me or with me on this, but I may not be the best at giving opinions, 😖 I think. Just know I'm typing this with my miniscule overthinkin’ brain and hurt wrist.)

START!

Feb 4: Don’t be afraid to post your AU and talk about it, beautiful or not, unique or not, complicated or not, similar or not, cringe or not, demented or not, eh or not. 

Share your mind, you’ll find people who share it with you. And if you get hate, show them San’s ass or something. It tells others how nonexistent they are to you. (though I’ve seen someone draw Sans very beautifully thicc, we will keep in mind he is bones, which we indeed simp for). 

Observe Exhibit A:

(I found this silly image saved on my desktop, so I thought it'd be cool to share it with you.)

So never let a negative comment change your love and view of your au and undertale. 

Undertale is amazing, it’s good to ramble, even if others don’t talk about it, even if you’ll never get reciprocated. There’s other people there reading it, like me sometimes I read and forget to heart, or I don’t heart a post because I don’t wanna bombard their notifications and all that. 

Yes, post your art, even if you’ve got no idea what to post, doodle, ask for ideas, or even take a break. I think it’s beautiful to share your mind’s eye. Show no fear, you’ve got this!

Everyone starts where you were once. 

Feb 12: Your Introduction of your own Underfell AU called SacredFell

I am interested. I am in fact one of many who are and will be interested for days to come, for as long as you build and love your AU, as it becomes whatever completion you dreamt of it to be, so on and so forth, even if one day you stop.

I’m finna be there bruh, late or on time.  

And imma let you know that right now as you reading this. You actually asked me first about your AU and lemme tell you, you beat me to it. I actually have fanart for you. AND was gonna find a time to ask you first.

(~(>_<。)＼ Usually I'm ready to send art cause I plan before hand, but someone used a wrist twist move on me for fun recently. ಥ_ಥ)

Anyway, moving forward.

Frisk and Chara of SacredFell: I enjoy teh designs. And me personally, I like Frisks design, the fact Frisk went through multiple design phases is nice to know. Would you ever show Frisk's previous designs?

Oof, you changed SacredFell Sans height from 5’2 to 6ft, damn what a stretch. And he part of the Royal Guard, whoa! 😆hotsome big skeleman.

Also, I love the art style of @/melikitinas, too. 💖

Feb 14: … ScaredFell Papyrus…. I-... 11ft height, yeah, we gonna need a height chart. I short, so they a fucking tree at this point, imagine Paps just bending at the waist towards a shorty like me, he’s gotta be prone on the ground or something. AND his fine ass a 2nd in Command Royal Guard, too. ○( ＾皿＾)っ AWWHEHESJDHWU ✨

Feb 21: LORE Ah, so the beginning is different, interesting. *reads through it with glasses* (I was recently working on my other OCs at the time as well :D.) 

Yukki sounds like a good character! And portaled? Oooooh, portaled, I wanna know backstory! 

Did Yukki not go through the ruins? She just collapsed in Snowdin? Was she unconscious the entire time she was taken to Asgore, up until Toriel saved her?

And usually humans, are strong, is Yukki weak due to something? (you don’t have to reveal too much lore unless you wanna) How much power does Yukki have? Why does it drain so quickly? 

Also, love Toriel, to save one instead of all, what a mother. Even if Yukki wasn’t her own, that was such a big sacrifice for the price of saving one child over freedom. I would love to see how you draw that part out.

And Toriel left Yukki behind the waterfalls, why not take Yukki with her? 

Why out of all the souls, Kindness was taken, would this serve as a significant plot point in the AU?

Would Yukki grow to harbor bad intent or negative emotions towards the monster or would she end up sacrificing herself after understanding the monster’s want for freedom, would she find another way, would she resort to genocide at some point(despite her being weak)? 

Would Toriel come in clutch next time Yukki is in grave danger? 

And what plans would Asgore have after he gets Toriel, I would’ve expected that he wanted Toriel dead, not with a bounty on her head to be returned ALIVE to his home. I'm probably just thinking to the extremes. 😂

I like this plot. I’d love to know how Frisk and Yukki will come together. And if within the one or two years, Yukki stayed with Sans and Papyrus, would the brothers falter when they need to get their jobs done for Asgore when the time comes? Would Sans and Papyrus eventually come to value Yukki as their own friend? Does Yukki know Sans and Papyrus are working to gain her trust to betray her in the end? 

Also is Toriel and Sans doing the knock knock joke through the gate in this AU too? What’s Toriel’s relationship with the characters so far? Within the time Yukki was living in the Underground, does she come to meet Toriel again?

Feb 23: YUKKI I agree Yukki is a main focal point in the beginning of this AU, I really like this. I can’t wait to see how you build this lore up. Would Toriel act again when Frisk comes? Would Toriel talk to Frisk about Yukki? How old is Yukki again? To me, Yukki looks like she has a strong presence, tongue sticking out, seems playful. ✨

Feb 27: Comic Heh. Middle school art is always nostalgic to look back on. I wish I still had some of mine. I threw most out due to the fact, I didn’t want physical evidence of my cringe art tying back to me, but looking back on it now. I was stupid and paranoid. 

Now cringe art is one of my favorite art pieces to discover, it brings a certain emotion outta you, am I right? Yeaahh.  

Anyway, I admire you for sharing your old art and comic. 

An AU, especially when a creator is lovingly dedicated to it, can become hectic and mentally crowded and out of order, or as you say “all over the place.” Good luck on that journey, creating comlex stories is hard! I was overwhelmed by my own ideas and burned out at some point and stopped entirely. You make me wanna go back to my little world.

And Yukki and SacredFell Sans look like they get along noicely. yukki hand on her hip, confidence and power ✨👌 makin' Sansy sweat.

Mar 7: Yay Toriel Character Sheet Me like tall woman. She taller than Sans, haha. I gotta learn how to draw a goat at some point. And she looks good in my opinion. Do SOUL Protectors gain power from the souls? Wouldn't they accidentally at some point absorb the soul? Has any of the protectors even thought of doing that? Doesn't the barrier need one monster soul and one human soul to break the barrier, or is that different in this AU?

Mar 11: Another comic redraw, SacredFell Asgore WIP

Aw SacredFell Sans and Yukki smiling together, your old drawing of them is cute. ANd that’s a jump, good to know they're out of the underground. Hope you eventually find the right design for Yukki, that you’re gonna be satisfied with. I’m excited to find out how they got out of the underground, too.

What's the key on Sans? And the heart necklace on Yukki?

And yes, I think Tumblr does something with the quality of an image when posted, because compared to my computer view, my phone view of some posts are different a bit.

Yass, show off the Goat man. 

ANd I also saw your Avatar DTIYS, looks awesome! I love the coloring, shading, and perspective! 

Mar 15: Update Eh, it didn’t take a while for me to gather info on your AU, it was spread out a little yes, but not so much, for me the pacing was alright. 

Ah and the ask blogs, yeah I dunno how I’m doing this tbh. 

And a webtoon would be great! But I hear it’s a lot of work to put into it, take small steps, so you won’t stress or burn yourself out. But I would definitely read teh webtoon if you were to make one. 

Mar 16: SacredFell Undyne WIP I love Undyne, I just dunno how to draw her yet. Love the art! She pretty. 

Mar 16: SacredFell Flowey Flowey in a bag, hahahahaha. I like how annoyed he looks in the drawing.  

Mar 17: SacredFell Monster Kid Another main character, you developing a lot of lore right now I bet. I wonder how MK will play out in your AU. 

Mar 18,22 : It’s UNDYNE >.< Fangirling. Another Tall strong woman. And missing parents during gaster’s disappearance, is this what I think it is, a lore hint?!?!   

Mar 23: Alphys Alphys is gonna be somewhat of a sly character in the plot huh, wow! And she fights, you gotta make art of that at some point! Alphys having bravery is interesting! 

Pfft, you spelled “Bavery” I didn’t even notice until you mentioned it. 

Mar 23: Gaster I love how you drew Sans and Papyrus in at Gaster’s “You’re in Trouble” expression.

And me like the tinted glasses as well.

Mar 24: Mettaton! He a Bravery SOUL Decoy! Was that Alphy’s idea to make him like that? Is he famous in the underground as well? He’s a looker. And he got four arms! Yuuusss! 

Mar 26?: Muffet Indeed a 5’7 lady spider is a cutie patootie, the arms are good, multiple is betta. Good design!  And she is also part of the Royal Guard, what will the fight be like? I’m curious! 

Mar 26?: That Sacredfell Mini Comic/Story was nicely put together! The end where SacredFell Sans responds with, “I don’t know.” I enjoyed reading this conversation! And Undyne in her royal armor MWUAH!  

So from all this, hopefully I did something good for you, most are just questions and comments, but I hope it served as an answer. *ahem*

A new character was added. [Yukki] = Will lead to more plot. *Check*

There’s a different backstory before the arrival of Frisk. *Check*

Toriel makes an act against Asgore before leaving, Asgore ordering Sans and papyrus to gain Yukki’s trust until the “time” comes = Complicated relationships *Check* 

I can fangirl, which means I can simp, which means, I’m invested. ✨ *CHECK CHECK CHECK*

The concept is really good! (The fact Asgore would entrust the souls to another and make them SOUL Protectors, and you still fight Alphys even in the pacifist route, and I sense "things" though not sure what, but it makes me look forward to your lore.) *ChecK* 

It’s a Fell type Universe. (I love Underfell) *CHECK* 

The art is noice!!!! *CHecK* 

I find interest in how characters will interact or encounter each other. *Check* 

I can see the work put into this AU! I see their dedication based from the dates you posted things about your AU. I really look forward to seeing how you continue to develop and make art for your SacredFell AU! With what you’ve shown at this time, I can happily tell you, for me this AU is interesting, there’s potential in many areas, character development, choice of dialogue, different relationship dynamics, personality, world building, plot changes, etc.

I wish I had more to say, I think most of my response here sounded... I think repetitive, maybe some questions were even answered already and I didn't catch it? Though hopefully I conveyed to you that I think you're doing well for what've you've shown thus far!

That's my grand opinion. 😁✨

Also, I found you through graphictale au. 💕💖👌✨

😙 Both ya'll wonderful.

[shenanigans-and-imagines]

How are you so brave to share OCs? What’s your secret? Aside from the obvious talent you have.

Honestly? Just knowing in my heart of hearts that fanfiction is first and foremost fun.

It should be for fun. And OCs were always my favorite part of fandom. Those were the stories I actively looked for, and at the time, I was made to feel guilty.

I went on the Mary Sue litmus test to make sure my OC couldn’t be classified as such.  I kept everything in a secure file on my computer and didn’t share it with anyone.  And I wasn’t having fun.

But, then, I got older.  I got better as a writer and I realized that all the people that made me feel guilty about what I liked were fundamentally wrong.  The Mary Sue label is bullshit.  Your fanfic is not going to be noticed by the creator and become canon.  Shut up and let people live their bliss.

So, once I got a good foothold in the community and more confident in my writing, I thought; fuck it.  Cringe culture is dead, long live Mary Sue!

[meduarts]

Secretary!Marinette Part 9 (Idea Dump)

I don't know how many of these I'll do but I'm having so much fun coming up with ideas! Anyways this dump is going to explore Marinette's and Bruce's relationship! Let's start!! Bruce is kinda OOC but... I want a soft Dad-daughter relationship ok. SUE ME.

Bruce is confused most of the time when Mari showed him how much of an overly competent secretary she is.

She somehow knows when he was faking over meetings because he doesn't want to deal with investors and when he doesn't want to go to meetings because of a serious problem.

He's also kinda confused about how a small woman like her hides the strength of a million strong men. He often watches her pick up the largest boxes that probably weigh thrice her weight. She could manhandle him if the situation went awry from rogue, attacks, and lastly, he saw her punch through thick wooden doors before because one of his younger sons was kidnapped for ransom. That was scary, and he had never felt so safe before in his life.

He is also quite confused as to how she could give so much kindness to strangers and expect nothing from it. She often bakes him pastries and made sure that he has enough snacks during his working hour. She often made sure that his outfit is warm enough and he even got a knitted scarf as a gift from her that she knits herself.

He wanted to adopt her after learning about her past. So, he sometimes slips a paper adoption in the files that she was supposed to work on that day and it has become a game for them of some sort.

Bruce is awkward with his feelings and Marinette finds it hilarious. Marinette teaches him a secret handshake and at first, he did it awkwardly, and then it became a habit. Marinette likes to give him huge bear hugs and at first, Bruce did not know what to do. Like the secret handshake, it became a habit.

They both love to troll the Wayne Staff, at first, Bruce tries to stop her from creating chaos, but then he joins in and they made sure to team up to troll pesky business partners, reporters, and even investors alike.

Bruce doesn't know this but it was he who got adopted first by Marinette before he got the chance to adopt her.

The girl treats her like her father that needs help to manage his life. She worries about him when he gets no sleep. She constantly deals with difficult investors or potential business partners to make sure that her dad boss doesn't have to deal with headaches often. She even made sure that those pesky tabloid reporters left him and his family alone.

Like a cub trying to protect her parents, people often pegged her as a ferocious little kitten (because of her small posture) trying to claw away anyone that feels like a threat to her cat dad. Bruce found this amusing.

She knows that Bruce can handle himself but that doesn't mean he has to. If she can do it for him, then she would!

Once, she mistakenly called her dad out of office hours and Bruce had a permanent grin for the rest of the week.

Bruce invited her often for family dinners, which elates Dick because he would make sure to rope her to hang out with him as often as he could, sometimes Marinette would join him in his sitting area quietly gossiping or hearing each other's stories.

She became fast friends with Alfred and would often team up to bully Bruce to take care of himself more. They would inform one another when Bruce is skipping dinners and take turns scolding Bruce.

She ropes Bruce into taking yoga classes and even asked him to garden with her. It became a weekend father-daughter bonding time. Bruce is especially proud of his zucchini and tomato garden. She even helps Bruce with gift shopping for his kids and helps arrange a private family time for him as well. As usual, he would extend the invitation to Mari and sometimes she joins.

When Mari gets very sleepy during winter, he became full-on dad mode. Worrying his daughter secretary every time he noticed how sluggish she became during the cold weather. When Mari unexpectedly hibernates, he panics. ohnomydaughtersuddenlystopsrespondingandbecamereallycoldwhatshouldido???

When Bruce finally realizes that he had been unofficially adopted by Marinette Jason teases him nonstop. When Dick and Marinette start dating, he is elated. When they got engaged he is stoked. When Marinette asked for him to walk her down the aisle, he tears up. When they give him his first grandchild, he cries again.

[spectral-kitkat]

Miraculous Rant.

Where the hell do I begin…

Season 1:

The show was decent in season 1. Some episodes were just mindless filler and probably weren’t needed in the grand scheme of things but they helped us get introduced to the characters, we got to know the plot and the world our characters inhabit. It was good. The love story between Adrien and Marinette was cute and off to a touching and fluffy start.

Season 2:

This season was immediately better than season 1. It had character development, it went more into detail about the lore surrounding the Miraculous and we got to learn more about our characters and their families and the villian’s motives. (HM really went from “I wanna destroy the world” to “I wanna wake my wife from the coma she’s in”).

We got to see new heroes which was fun! We got new characters like Luka and Kagami.

The season finale was epic! The Miraculous team all taking down all the previous villains in the show was awesome. At the end we even got Mari kissing Adrien on the cheek. It was great! (Even though it clearly reset itself in season 3 cause it’s never mentioned again)

I really enjoyed season 2 and it’s probably my favourite out of the 4.

Season 3:

Season 3 was kinda good and kinda bad. We had some great episodes but this is where the show took the wrong turn.

Marinette lost some of her character in season 3. This was the start of her descent into being the Queen of Mary Sues. It’s also where she was crowned the Queen of Stalkers! Her character took a fucking nose dive in this season. We had so many moments that just creeped me the fuck out.

1. The ENTIRETY of Puppeteer 2 🤢���🤢 I could not stand that episode. When we reached the dreaded statue scene I physically had to pause it like 10 times. That scene takes about 3 minutes to watch… it took me about 20. I cringed so fucking hard because of the secondhand embarrassment I was feeling. That was not sweet, it wasn’t romantic, it wasn’t the least bit cute… it was a train wreck! It was creepy and stalkerish and it’s a wonder Adrien even spoke to her again after that atrocity!

2. LB delivering the present in Chat Blanc. Two words: STALKER BEHAVIOUR!!! I genuinely could not believe my eyes when I saw LB run her hand across everything in his room and then actually SNIFF Adrien’s pillow. Like WTF!!! 🤮 I’m pretty sure whoever was responsible for that scene clearly thought it was the equivalent of when someone gets their S/O’s jumper or something and it still smells like them. But this turned it up to the nth degree and way passed the line of sanity.

Adrien was extremely under-utilised in this season. He didn’t really do anything. The only episodes we got about him didn’t really focus on him. ‘Felix’ whilst focusing on Adrien’s family didn’t really feature him. ‘Party Crasher’ while a beautiful mess was more about Mari trying to get into the party than the party itself. ‘Chat Blanc’ again focused more on Mari trying to fix her mistake.

We got even more heroes in season 3, not in the right order but they were there. It was fun seeing everyone’s transformations.

Season 3 was also the season of destroying redemptions. The big one obviously being Chloe. Season 2 was setting up this amazing redemption for her and before it could go anywhere it was wiped off the face of the earth during the finale (and don’t worry we’ll get to that dumpster fire later). Gabriel also had any remaining sympathy ripped away from him. How did the guy who stopped Gorizilla from letting Adrien die when he only thought he was CN go from that to using his son like fucking baseball in Chat Blanc when he knew his son was CN. Like I knew you were a shit father but you still cared about Adrien in some way shape or form but after that episode I can see I was clearly mistaken!

Before we get to the finale I want to talk about probably my 2 least favourite episodes from this season: Desperada and Reflekdoll

Desperada:

I fucking hated this episode! The only good thing was Luka getting to be Viperion, other than that this episode was awful!

Marinette was a selfish cringey bitch. Completely ignoring Luka to gush about Adrien to Jagged. Brushing Luka off as soon as Adrien turns up. Immediately cuddling up to Aspik and flirting with him when she needed to focus on the akuma (something which she has told CN not to do many times before)

Adrien, I love you kid but Jesus Christ you were a dumbass in this episode! Aspik’s design was terrible! Aspik himself was awful. I know Adrien tried his best but dude you were given the Black Cat miraculous for a reason! He shouldn’t have tried to be Aspik but even when he did he should’ve called it quits after like 5 resets not 25,913 times.

The only person with a brain this episode was Luka. So well done guitar boy, gold star!

Reflekdoll:

This episode was annoying! It was basically the start of the Marinette can do no wrong streak! When they have to swap miraculous I was happy cause it meant we got to see new outfits and see how they each handle the different powers. It would also serve as a way to get LB and CN to see what their partners role is first hand. Until we actually get to it…

LadyNoire is of course amazing and needs no introduction to using this new miraculous that she’s never used before. She’s cocky and confident and basically just LB in Chat’s costume with his powers.

Mister Bug on the other hand is just useless. He struggles with this new miraculous (like anyone would!) and is stupid and goofy. He has to rely on LadyNoire to solve the lucky charm. They swapped miraculous so shouldn’t that mean that Mister Bug should get the lucky vision and the creative powers that the earrings give him.

Overall Reflekdoll is awful. It was shitty writing and the start of Adrien getting the short end of the stick.

And now the season 3 finale… Just what the fuck. That is my only reaction: what the fuck!

Chloe you poor fucking child! What did they do to you!!! So much potential SQUANDERED!!!!

What was the point in bringing in all these different superheros with unique skill sets, costumes and transformations if you were just going to immediately reveal them to the main villian so they can’t be used again. That’s stupid! If you wanted the shock value that is “Oh no HM knows some of the heroes identities!” Then keep it as only some. Have like Max, Kim and Kagami outside trying to find somewhere to hide but unfortunately they get hit. Or Nino and Alya are hiding but the windows open and they get hit. Have some of the heroes hide so they’re fine! Taking away every ally of LB and CN’s was a stupid move! (Even if they wanted Alya to become a spy have her as part of the like 4 that get revealed or something, it’s not that difficult)

Season 3 was 50/50 for me

Season 4:

So I know season 4 isn’t even halfway through yet but so much is wrong with this season already that I need to vent!

So my biggest problem with this season of Miraculous: Tales of Ladybitch and Rena Rouge, I mean Rena Furtive… shit, Chat Noir! Is that CN is basically pointless! Adrien has been flung over a rainbow and is only remembered when he’s needed as

1. Marinette’s love interest

2. Someone for LB to shout at

3. A plot device

He has basically been sidelined. Partners my ASS!!!

Adrien is being blown off by pretty much EVERYONE! It’s coming to a point where this poor sweet summer child is going to crack! And it is not gonna be pretty… I definitely feel like the writers are leading up to a big fight between CN and LB which will probably end with Chat Blanc 2.0.

I REALLY HATE MARINETTE/LADYBUG!!!! In Season 3 I said it was the beginning of her descent, well in season 4 she’s done it. She’s descended, she has hit rock fucking bottom. She is so unlikable I don’t actually care about her as a person. She has entered full blown stalker territory it’s only a matter of time before she starts killing people for even looking at Adrien! Not to mention that Miss Mary Sue here can’t do anything wrong! She never has to suffer the consequences of her actions, she is always perfect no matter what she does… it pisses me off!)

She’s the Guardian now big whoop. I know what it feels like to be stressed and under pressure so I do understand why she needed to tell someone about it all. I just don’t see why that person had to Alya! Especially considering she has someone by her side every akuma attack going through pretty much the exact same thing. I know she’s worried about CB happening again but as I said before the more she leaves him out the more she is actually pushing that to become a possibility! Plus it makes sense for them to reveal their identities now since LB is now the guardian it’s probably a good idea to know who holds the cat miraculous, she knows everyone else’s identities!

Even if she didn’t want to tell CN her identity she could still explain the situation to him. If she didn’t want to tell him anything (which she doesn’t anyway) then instead of Alya she should’ve talked to Luka! Her boyfriend for all of half an episode (thanks writers…). He’s so sweet and caring and clearly loves her so much! If she wanted someone to confide in then why not choose the person you clearly wanted to date but couldn’t because of that very reason! (Yeah I know it’s kinda a moot point now since Luka knows both identities but still). He wanted to try and comfort her so it would’ve been the perfect moment for it. That way you could still date him and he’d know why you had to suddenly leave dates halfway through! But no break the boys heart instead!

Adrien and Marinette were both such fucking idiots in the first 2 episodes. Like why would you start a relationship with someone when you know your heart isn’t in it! That’s called leading someone on and is a really shitty thing to do to someone! No wonder Kagami and Luka ended up akumatized!

Another aspect of season 4 I don’t like is Rena Furtive. Yes ok having a spy for your side is a good strategy but when said spy basically tells an important member of a duo that the 2 person job doesn’t involve them… it just really ticks me off! Alya you are the sidekick to LB and CN! Chat isn’t!

Miraculous specials:

The Miraculous World specials suck! Shanghai is better than NY but still has its problems. Both specials add nothing to the overall plot/lore of the show apart from trying to set up some weird cinematic universe…

NY special:

One of the worst things I’ve ever had to sit through! The plane scene alone I paused a few times. I want to say well done to Mari for trying to move on from Adrien (especially considering I’m pretty sure she’s dating Luka at this point) but I can’t help but think it’s just to give her character some pointless development that goes nowhere and doesn’t actually develop anything!

LB can pretty much fuck off at this point! I hate her! She put all this shit on CN (like she doesn’t know exactly how that feels). It’s like why does she get to go off on holiday but CN can’t. LB should’ve stayed in Paris for 3 reasons:

1. She’s recently become the guardian meaning it would probably be best that she stayed with the Mircle Box

2. She’s the only one who can purity the akumas

3. If she’s so sure about being the boss then she should take responsibility of Paris and the citizens.

What really pisses me off about her is what she says to CN during the big fight. “I can’t trust you”… surely you could have this conversation afterwards since you’re supposed to be focusing on taking down the villian! Plus everyone bashes Adrien for giving his miraculous up in this episode but look at it from his point of view: His partner and best friend just said she couldn’t trust him which in turn caused him to cataclysm someone and essentially kill them. That’s gonna take a toll on anyone, especially a 14 year old! He probably thought in that moment. “Ladybug needs a partner she can trust and someone who won’t mess up and kill someone. She needs a better partner.” It makes sense he renounces his miraculous! I’m just upset that in doing so he loses Plagg who is pretty much his only friend who actually understands what Adrien goes through at home.

When Uncanny gets CN to come back, LB acts like it’s not her fault in the first place that he feels inadequate! She didn’t even apologise for saying what she did! He apologised for lying about not being in Paris but nope LB wasn’t in the wrong at all and didn’t have anything to apologise for 🙄… (yes the LadyNoir hug was amazing but I just wish it was under different circumstances!)

Also are we not gonna mention Gabriel Agreste almost starting WW3??? He wanted to launch a fucking missile!!!

Shanghai:

As I said before, this special is way better for several reasons.

We got MariChat! (Best side to the love square imo). This special actually had some semblance on a plot. Fei, whilst a bit op, was a cool character. It was nice to see Wang Cheng again.

However once again there were many problems.

A big one being Marinette yet again! (What a shock! 😒 I’ll come back to this). Another was that once again HM’s motivation has changed. How is getting the Prodigious gonna help bring back Emilie??

Back to Marinette… The fact that the words “Huh?! There must be some kind of mistake! I always know what's up with Adrien! … His 5 first names and every corresponding name date, his yearly schedule, even his shoe size! If there were anything to know about him, I would know it!” come out of her mouth whilst she is flipping through his schedule that she keeps in her pocketbook is a hugh red flag!!! That is not cute or adorable! That’s messed up and Adrien needs to fucking run and maybe possibly go into witness protection… Marinette is a full blown stalker! Not to mention the GPS she has (that could just be the find my friends app on iphone but still).

It also is extremely rude of her to use not only her great uncle’s birthday but also a lie about wanting to know her Chinese heritage in order to go to Shanghai to stalk her obsession, I mean crush. This could’ve been avoided if the Dupain-Chengs were going to Shanghai for the purpose of celebrating Wang Cheng’s bday and then Adrien just so happened to be in Shanghai.

Also this means LB left Paris without telling CN! I know CN did the same but again he can’t purify the akumas. Plus he has a reason he couldn’t stay in Paris, Mari just went cause her crush did. Great guardianship there Marinette.

This was also the last time CN actually did something. Even if it was for a short while before LB and her female partner took over (the beginning of a theme…)

Other things:

There are 2 other things that I wanna say but felt they needed a separate bit.

In Furious Fu, Su-Han has a rule book that he uses to tell Marinette which rules she has broken. At the end of the episode he tells her that is she breaks 1 more rule that he will take the Miraculous and the Miracle Box off her, which fair enough but wouldn’t it be helpful to leave the rule book with her?! How can she be wary of not breaking anymore rules when she doesn’t even know what the rules are??

Now the big one: Master Fu…

Where do I even start with him. He is so fucking manipulative!! He is Asian Dumbledore!

He decides to leave these extremely powerful jewels in the hands of 13 year olds! Surely leaving the miraculous to someone in their 20s would’ve been better!

He clearly favours LB over CN even though the Ladybug and Black Cat are supposed to be partners! Wouldn’t it make sense for them both to be in contact with the guardian from the start?? He randomly started introducing rules such as if LB and CN find out each other’s identities they would lose their miraculous… what kind of bullshit rule is that? It also came out of fucking nowhere!

Final Thoughts:

But to summarise all of that: Miraculous is on quite a steep decline but I’m invested at this point and I am genuinely curious as to where the fuck this will go.

Marinette needs professional fucking help before the writers even consider canonising Adrienette cause at the moment she is not what Adrien needs!

Adrien needs to stand up for himself! He needs to pull LB to the side and tell her what he feels and what he’s going through cause he is on the precipice of a breakdown!

(Small point that’s more to do with the fandom: when searching for fanfics it’s really annoying that Adrien Agreste/Chat Noir Bashing is a tag but Marinette Dupain-Cheng/Ladybug Bashing isn’t. Why does everyone think Marinette can do no wrong???)

[theladyofspaceandtime]

My Advice for Fanfiction Writers

This is advice I wish I would have gotten from other writers when I was first starting out 8 years ago, but it’s just something I’ve learned along the way on my own from personal experience. 

𝗗𝗢𝗡'𝗧 𝗗𝗘𝗟𝗘𝗧𝗘 𝗬𝗢𝗨𝗥 𝗪𝗢𝗥𝗞, 𝗘𝗩𝗘𝗡 𝗜𝗙 𝗬𝗢𝗨 𝗗𝗢𝗡'𝗧 𝗙𝗘𝗘𝗟 𝗚𝗢𝗢𝗗 𝗔𝗕𝗢𝗨𝗧 𝗜𝗧!

Don’t worry about not getting reviews/comments. I know you’d love feedback or just something to know others are reading your work, but if you think about this too much, it will discourage you, which is the worst thing to happen.

Write when you feel inspired. There is nothing worse than forcing it and not having it turn out like you want it. You gotta let the ideas and words flow to you at times. 

Do things that make you feel inspired. Studies show that going on a walk in nature, exercising or listening to music usually helps kick that writers block. Sometimes, however, you might just have to take a break entirely. 

Plot! Plot! Plot! I cannot stress this enough. Most of my writers block stems from trying to go off of the things in my head instead of writing it down and structuring it out first. In fact, I’ve found that just taking down notes helps too. 

𝗗𝗢𝗡'𝗧 𝗟𝗘𝗧 𝗧𝗥𝗢𝗟𝗟 𝗥𝗘𝗩𝗜𝗘𝗪𝗘𝗥𝗦 𝗚𝗘𝗧 𝗬𝗢𝗨 𝗗𝗢𝗪𝗡! I’ve had quite a few of these type of people in my time of writing fanfiction. They are the ones who don’t leave constructive criticism (though they may call it that), and instead leave comments like: “Wow, your OC is a Mary-sue.” “This is terrible, fuck off.” It’s easier said then done, but disregard them. They usually either: 1. want you to delete your story, 2. are jealous they can’t write, or 3. don’t understand your story. 

Be open to constructive criticism (not the troll’s.) Every review/comment leaves you open for this opportunity, but that doesn’t mean it will always happen. However, there is that occasional reader who ACTUALLY takes the time to give you some proper feedback. BLESS THEM! They will tell you what could need improving, ask questions and even offer helpful tips. This is usually from fellow writers like yourself. Don’t turn down an opportunity to learn and grow. 

𝗗𝗢𝗡'𝗧 𝗗𝗘𝗟𝗘𝗧𝗘 𝗬𝗢𝗨𝗥 𝗪𝗢𝗥𝗞, 𝗘𝗦𝗣𝗘𝗖𝗜𝗔𝗟𝗟𝗬 𝗜𝗙 𝗬𝗢𝗨'𝗩𝗘 𝗟𝗢𝗦𝗧 𝗜𝗡𝗧𝗘𝗥𝗘𝗦𝗧 𝗜𝗡 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗪𝗜𝗣! Chances are there are some readers out there who really love it and come back and visit it from time to time. Also...you’re gonna regret deleting it, especially if you ever wanna come back and finish it. (Trust me...I know it all too well.) 

𝗙𝗘𝗠𝗔𝗟𝗘 𝗢𝗖'𝗦 𝗔𝗥𝗘 𝗡𝗢𝗧 𝗜𝗡𝗦𝗧𝗔𝗡𝗧𝗟𝗬 𝗠𝗔𝗥𝗬-𝗦𝗨𝗘'𝗦!

Say it with me again: NOT ALL FEMALE OC’S ARE MARY-SUE’S! This is a mentality in general that needs to break. Seriously, female OC’s get the most hate for just existing sometimes. It’s gotta stop. No, I will not be taking comments for it. Thank you!

Everyone perceives things differently. It’s all about POV. That’s the beauty of life, but it’s also the beauty of being a reader and writer too. You may mean for story to be interpreted one way, but one of the readers may perceive things another way. Sometimes what you write may not click with someone....and THAT’S OKAY! 

You’ll find your audience...it will just take time. I know some fandom’s are more active than others, but it also just depends on the reader too. Honestly, I can’t get any of my in-person friends to read my stuff, but I have friends online who check it out, and some who even share it around. Don’t worry, you’ll find your audience. They are probably already there, just lurking. 

Fanfiction is all about exploring ideas and being creative. If someone doesn’t like your idea, they don’t have to read it. It’s not hurting anyone. Fanfiction also helps other people escape certain things or to just relax. Just write your story and keep going at it. Someone out there will enjoy it. 

𝗗𝗢𝗡'𝗧 𝗗𝗘𝗟𝗘𝗧𝗘 𝗬𝗢𝗨𝗥 𝗪𝗢𝗥𝗞! 𝗬𝗢𝗨'𝗥𝗘 𝗚𝗢𝗜𝗡𝗚 𝗧𝗢 𝗥𝗘𝗚𝗥𝗘𝗧 𝗜𝗧! 

Writers Support Writers! Seriously, we are a community who loves to create things we are passionate about, collaborate on ideas, fan over them and cheer each other on. It also helps you find friends and more of an audience. So, what’s the best way to help an author/creator? SHARE THEIR WORK! REBLOG! One simple click is all it takes. 

Fanfiction is sometimes where most writers begin.  You’d be surprised by this answer I got from professional writers, some working for certain companies too. Fanfiction is sometimes where the journey to being a writer begins. It’s a learning process. It’s a growing process. It’s where I began 8 years ago and discovered my passion for writing. Now I’m working on becoming a professional writer. 

This brings me back to the fact: DON’T DELETE YOUR WORK! I cannot stress this enough. You can look back on your old projects and see how far you’ve grown as a writer. 

𝗖𝗘𝗟𝗘𝗕𝗥𝗔𝗧𝗘 𝗬𝗢𝗨𝗥 𝗣𝗥𝗢𝗚𝗥𝗘𝗦𝗦! Throw a party! Brag about it! Seriously, be proud of yourself and how far you’ve come. Take joy in that new chapter you just posted. You’re amazing for just taking the time to sit down and write something you’re passionate about!

𝗜𝗧'𝗦 𝗬𝗢𝗨𝗥 𝗦𝗧𝗢𝗥𝗬! 𝗪𝗥𝗜𝗧𝗘 𝗜𝗧 𝗙𝗢𝗥 𝗬𝗢𝗨𝗥𝗦𝗘𝗟𝗙! It’s the reason you began in the first place, right? You wanted to write something you thought would be cool to explore. Don’t minimize your ideas or yourself because of others. (See Don’t Let Troll Reviewers Get You Down above) At the end of the day, it’s your story. You wrote it. The only opinion that truly matters concerning your story is your own. 

HAVE FUN EXPLORING IDEAS AND KEEP AT IT YOU AMAZING HUMAN BEING! 

[mrs-immortal]

Hi can I request a match up for my crk oc? (They're kind of a Mary Sue hope you don't mind/lh) They have brown long hair with a pink tulip in it, a green top with long puffy and fancy sleeves, pink belt and white skirt, pink shoes. She's the child of an ancient (which is none of the pre existing ones, it's another oc of mine-) but was chased out of their kingdom by her own mother. They have a cake wolf and is very kind and friendly. (Pure Vanilla and White Lily vibes) Thank you! ^^

’*•.¸♡ ˚ ༘ ˚ ◌༘♡ ⋆｡˚ ꕥ ♡ ⋆｡˚ ·˚ ༘₊· ͟͟͞͞꒰➳ love suits you-!i♡¸.•*’ ⋆.ೃ࿔* ˚ ◌༘♡ ⋆｡˚ ꕥ :match up ! <33 ♡

˚₊· ͟͟͞͞➳❥Tulip cookie, a respectful and easy going friend who wanders the world with her companion: a great co-pilot to tag along and decide for future adventures? Sure, sure..i match you with: ˚₊· ͟͟͞͞➳❥Dark choco ( acquaintances ): This bittersweet boy remembers the day you parted for good from your own kingdom, he relates to your story, he sees parts of himself yet he feels remorse for the way how he had fallen from grace yet your departure only made you stronger . it makes him think had he been more like you..could he be much better than he ever can be now? He does not talk about that though, you shouldn’t need to worry about where your old friend had ended up with his mistakes, and you must not know of what he pledged himself to either. ˚₊· ͟͟͞͞➳❥And for love..? Red velvet ( Admirer ) This boy right here admires the way you have treated your companions, he has yet to see someone else who cares for the hounds like you do and it makes him feel some sort of hope he had not wished for before. He sees you around what remains of your home, silently looking at the ruins of what was once there as your hound would try to comfort you with her actions: He adores you.Had anyone gotten out of this war with no scars it will be you, and that’s the one oath he cares to keep. He wants you to be by his side! Yet he cannot think of any reason why you would ever want to stand by the enchantress who had directly or indirectly destroyed your home and people. As he learns more and more about you he starts to fall fast, unable to stop daydreaming of love, love, love. He is a headstrong commander who reigns with an iron fist! He can not simply give up so easily when he had finally found someone who knew that this world belonged to everyone and he swore that he would be with you soon, one way, or another. Red velvet would make for a caring and genuine lover, involving yourselves in each others way of life just to have 5 more minutes side by side: he would take your hounds on a walk had you gotten sick, make food for you and even care for you at the sweet tower of chaos he had reign over..his admiration never dimmed with time, he had already fall so far for you, when he looked at the tulips he would find, he had always wished to grow some for you himself, when he saw you play with his cake hounds he had wished he could say you are their mama and he’s their dad. He had wished he could live a normal life with you in a world that accepted what he stood for, only because you deserve the best this life could give you. Maybe then you could play with his hair and hang on his arm going out on dates: but for now, he will plan for a perfect confession because his world only stands for you. Had you accepted his confession? Then you have my word that this relationship will be sung for eons, and maybe, just maybe you will be his light that guides him to a different path: for the better of everything he stands for.

[mkstrigidae]

Current WIPs and Fic Concepts

I promised I would do this yesterday, and then I forgot!!! (I was very sleep deprived). Anyways, here are a bunch of the WIP premises that I have in my 'unfinished drafts' folder. Most have at least a few pages written for them, but I love them all! ☺️💕

- A Santa Clarita Diet AU (Jonsa) Takes place in sunny southern California, where a shitty dinner at a mediocre restaurant turns into a huge problem for Jon and Sansa when Sansa's heart stops beating. Although she seems fine, Jon is flabbergasted several days later as he watches his wife- who alphabetizes their pantry and refuses to let anyone wear shoes in the house- rip the throat out of one of the sleazy new partners at their law firm, eating half of him before anyone processes what's going on. Hilarity ensues as Sansa's inhibitions and filter disappear, Arya ropes an extremely confused Gendry into helping figure out what the hell is going on just because he moderates the zombie forum on reddit, and Jon tries to deal with the fact that the woman he loves more than anything is now a humanitarian. He really could use a drink. (This one is actually mostly complete, but i need to refine a few things- i really love it. It's as gory and irreverent as the show, so viewer discretion advised, but it's a BLAST to write).

- A Thor/MCU AU (Jonsa, Steve Rogers/Sansa)- Asgardian prince Aegon is banished to Midgard after one too many arrogant decisions, and is promptly hit by a van containing Dr. Sansa Stark, Dr. Barristan Selmy, and Margaery Tyrell- two astrophysicists studying wormholes and Sansa's best friend and pseudo-intern. Marg yells at him, he yells back, Sansa tases him, and Barristan didn't sign up for the kind of heavy lifting that getting a 200+ pound slab of muscle into the back of a van takes. And then Aegon's younger brother, Jon, shows up, in the middle of an identity crisis because, apparently, he's adopted. He wasn't intending to stay, but he's rather drawn to Dr. Stark and her brilliance, and against her better judgement, she starts to trust him, and maybe even like him. This story is in about three parts so far- the first is based on 'Thor' and the second on 'The Avengers' and are fully Jonsa, and the third started as a family bonding story between the Stark kids and Tony (Ned and Tony are second cousins, and Ned was really supportive of Tony in rehab without expecting anything in return), and accidentally turned into a Steve Rogers/Sansa Stark story, which is a pairing i am HERE for. A lot of this one is written, but it needs some fill in before publishing, although it's one of my favorites that i've written to go back and actually read.

- A Star Wars AU (Jonsa) where Sansa and Arya are Alderaanian princesses who are off planet when Alderaan is destroyed- Sansa as a senator and Arya as a pilot, both working for the rebellion, and jon is a smuggler who does not know how all of these people got on his ship and why two princesses are sassing him. His copilot, Tormund (yes he's a wookie), thinks it is hilarious. I started this one just the other day, and it's already thirty pages long, most of them involving Sansa and Arya sassing people. Dany is a leader in the rebellion, Roose Bolton is the emperor, and Barbrey Dustin is a disgruntled former jedi trying to live in peace on a remote planet until another Stark crashes into her life and harangues her into teaching again.

- A witches/magic AU (Jonsa) where the Starks run an apothecary and spellcasting supplies shop. Jon had been completely in the dark about magic before his mother confessed to being born into a family of witches. He finds himself traveling to her hometown, trying to understand her world more clearly, and what it means for him. On the way, he develops something of a crush on the red-headed shop clerk who brews the best headache potions in town. Featuring lots of magical shenanigans, this is one of my favorites in the folder :)

- A 24 hour diner AU (Jonsa) where Jon is a local mob boss, and Sansa works the late shift at Seaworth's diner to buy textbooks for the PhD she's working on in botany. Sansa's running from memories, and Jon has a soft spot for the red-headed waitress who always remembers how he likes his coffee.

- An East of the Sun, West of the Moon AU!!! (Jonsa) This is one of my fav fairy tales, and of course i couldn't resist Jon as a direwolf striking a deal with the starks!

- A Roomates AU (Jonsa)- Arya, Jon, Tormund, and Sam have been renting the same house together off Winterfell's campus for years- but when Sam moves in with his girlfriend, they need one more person on the lease. Sansa, about to relocate to Winterfell for grad school, finds out that her boyfriend has been cheating on her and that her housing plans have fallen through, all on the same day. Needless to say, she's a bit upset when she calls Arya to relay the news. There's a simple solution here, if Arya and Tormund can stop teasing Jon about his crush for five minutes. (any excuse to write tormund and arya roasting jon, tbh).

- A Fae AU (Jonsa)- When Sansa, a baker living in the city, washes her face in an enchanted spring on a camping trip, she gains the sight as a result. Suddenly able to see the fae underworld all around her is disorienting and terrifying. Sansa tries to conceal it- afraid of what might happen if the fae around her know that she can see them- but slips up, and catches the attention of Jon Snow- one of the lords of the unseelie court.

- A nuclear winter wasteland AU (Jonsa)- (?? I don't even know how to describe this premise, haha) where the Starks are living and running the Free Winterfell settlement in Siberia after a worldwide nuclear meltdown. Before the fallout, Sansa was one of the world's preeminent researchers in plant genetics and pathology, and works at the settlement to create newer, disease and radiation resistant crops to distribute for free to other settlements, aiming to break up the monopoly that Lannister Corp has on the market. Jon is a scavenger, searching throughout Siberia for his sister Rhae who disappeared several years previously. When he runs across Arya Starkovna, helping her fight off another band of radiation ravaged scavengers is just instinct- he doesn't think twice about it. In thanks, she brings him to the Winterfell settlement, where her brother Robb offers Jon sanctuary and resources, in exchange for serving as a bodyguard for Sansa when she travels to other settlements. Sansa is not particularly thrilled by this arrangement, but given that multiple parties seem to want her dead, she doesn't have much of a choice but to accept his company.

- A reincarnation AU (Jonsa)- of sorts. Robb is an archaeologist who finds a strange set of runes at a site up north, and immediately calls in Jon Snow- a historian and expert in said ancient language, as well as an old university friend of Robb's. When he arrives though, Robb shows him their most valuable finds- two mysterious ice blocks, with what appear to be perfectly preserved bodies from over a thousand years ago. No one could ever have imagined that either of them were still alive, but when the ice melts, revealing two very alive girls, the entire crew is instantly buried in NDAs, and given an assignment from the Westerosi government to figure out what the hell was going on. Sansa and Arya wake up, extremely confused about the world they live in, trying to adapt and mourning all that they've lost, even as the people around them wear familiar faces.

- Soulmates AU (Jonsa)- (Yes, another one, I love this dumb trope) Trauma surgeon and medical resident Sansa Stark is having a very bad day, and ends up meeting her soulmate during what she thinks is a mugging gone wrong. Fortunately, he’s not the one mugging her, just an intervening bystander, but she ends up slightly shot nonetheless. Sansa’s fretting about bleeding on the upholstery in his car, but Jon is a bit more worried about her injuries than the blood stains. He’s a bit confused when she threatens him if he takes her to a specific hospital, nearly has a nervous breakdown when she insists on doing her own triage, and is very charmed when she insists on ice cream after taking pain meds at the hospital. On Sansa’s part, she’s a little less concerned about being shot, and a bit more concerned about whatever weird first impression she’s making to her soulmate while high as a kite on pain pills. (this one just needs some tweaking to be postable- I'm not sure if it's going to be a oneshot or a series, but i love what I have already)

- A Demon/Archivist AU (Jonsa)- where Sansa works in the university's historical archives in Oldtown, and is learning to restore old texts with her fellow student and friend, Alleras (Trans Sarella is an amazing concept). When Joffrey Baratheon shows up with a pile of old books from his family's library to donate, Sansa is eager to get away from his sleaze, and accidentally takes one of the books home with her in her rush to leave. Unbeknownst to her, it's more than it appears, and when she leaves it open overnight, she accidentally summons forth Jon- an ancient, powerful, and extremely annoyed demon who is under a curse, and now hers to command. As Jon and Sansa try to get used to this new normal, the Lannisters (unaware that Joffrey had donated the tome) try desperately to find the book and it's owner, wanting Jon's power for themselves, and putting Sansa in considerable danger unless she can figure out how to break Jon's curse. Fortunately, she's a pretty good researcher, even if Jon is initially a bit of a grump. (This is based on a total wish-fulfillment mary-sue type premise for something I wrote when I was thirteen, and I revisited it and wanted to see what it would look like if i took it very seriously, and i am really enjoying it so far. It's a love letter to the terrible, heartfelt writing i was doing in middle school that created the foundations for my writing today, and so much fun).

The one that I am MOST excited about though:

- A Pacific Rim AU!!!! (Ned/Cat, Gendrya, Braime, Sansa/Jon Umber)-Twins Sansa and Robb Stark have always been completely in tune with each other, and when your parents are Jaeger pilots and your mother invented the neural handshake, what option is there but the Jaeger academy? Sansa studies to be an engineer, but ends up copiloting the Jaeger 'Winter Wolf' with her twin brother, after they lose Ned Stark to cancer. When Robb is ripped out of the conn-pod and killed by a kaiju while he's still connected to Sansa, she barely manages to kill the creature before stumbling back to shore, traumatized, grieving, and swearing that she'll never pilot again.

Unfortunately, the Kaiju don't stop just because Sansa does, and when the end of the world is imminent, Marshall Catelyn Stark orders both her daughter and former pilot Jaime Lannister (who lost his twin and copilot, Cersei, several years previously) back to Hong Kong for one final stand. Forced to face both her demons and an irate Arya, furious that Sansa had abandoned the rest of them after Robb's death, Sansa and Arya have to figure out how to pilot Winter Wolf together before the apocalypse comes for them all.

Featuring Marshall Catelyn Stark (commander of the Hong Kong Shatterdome, inventor of the neural handshake, former Jaeger pilot, and BAMF), Sansa x Jon Umber (Yes i know it's a rare pair but i've always kind of loved the idea of them, even though we know so little about him), Kaiju parts dealer and smuggler Petyr Baelish, bickering kaiju biologist Dany and theoretical mathematician Jon Snow, LOCCENT officer Theon, lots of snark, lots of angst and heartfelt conversations, and a weird friendship between snarky-grieving-asshole Jaime Lannister and kind-quiet-grieving Sansa Stark, who are the only two people in the world who know what it's like to lose a copilot and a twin in the drift.

Thanks for reading guys!! There are more, but some of them I just don't know how to explain quite yet, haha. I'd love to hear what you guys think about these!

[cheri-translates]

Headcanon - woes of your children

This work, 小朋友的碎碎念, was originally written by 君兮耶君兮 on Weibo, and she has given me permission to translate it 🌸

[ VICTOR’S SON ]

Sometimes, I suspect that I’m not my dad’s child.

It’s common knowledge (well, maybe not), that my dad is the manager and chef of Souvenir. Anyone who has eaten the pudding my dad makes will agree that his skills are superb, and I think so too. My friends at kindergarten are envious that I have such a gentle mum and a dad who’s incredible at making desserts. 

But I think they have misunderstood the meaning of "gentle” and what my dad is really like.

I shan’t start with how my mum is always bursting with energy. Let’s start with my dad. He makes desserts frequently, and the house is often filled with the fragrance of pudding, souffles, cookies and little cakes. 

But... they’re all for my mum. 

Indeed, I’m unworthy of dad’s desserts. 

“It’s not good for your teeth if you eat too many desserts,” says my mum while she eats one of dad’s desserts.

“As a man, you have to work hard to get what you want,” says my dad when I ask him for pudding. I admit that what he says isn’t wrong, but I just had my fourth birthday... 🙃

Normally, dad is very stern with me. He doesn’t let me sleep beside mum, doesn’t let me cry, doesn’t let me lose my temper at mum... It’s as though mum is dad’s child instead.

Actually, I think my mum is the true king of the house. She can get dad’s pudding, can openly challenge him, can act coquettishly with him, and has much more pocket money than I do...

Forget it, the more I think about it, the more I feel like crying. Looks like I should squat next to the dustbin and see if anyone would pick me up. I might be am definitely the most miserable kid in the world. 

[ GAVIN’S SON ]

Dad says that boys will naturally want to protect the girl they like.

My dad is the Commander of Loveland City’s Special Task Force. He’s normally the type who’s cold-hearted and merciless, not even letting plants off. Sounds cool, right? But what his subordinates don't know is that at home, my dad is a henpecked husband.

Even the slightest frown from my mum causes him to worry for the entire day. Sometimes, when mum discovers that dad is injured, she’d cry until her eyes are red. Dad would repeatedly promise that he wouldn’t conceal any injuries from her the next time, and would kiss and hug her, oblivious that there’s a child at the scene.

Oh, I forgot to mention something. In my dad’s eyes, I have no standing at all.

The most precious treasure is always my mum. I don’t disagree though. After all, mum loves me very much, and I love her very much too. It’s only right that I protect her.

“When you have someone you want to protect, you’ll think of ways to make yourself strong,” dad once said to me. “First, you need to learn to sleep on your own, and not stick to mum.”

Although it does make logical sense, I suspect my dad has his own selfish reasons. But I have no guts to say it aloud.

Dad and I have agreed that next time, we’ll protect mum together. I said that when I’m all grown up, I’ll ensure mum can walk on the streets without worrying about getting disturbed by anyone or anything, just like what dad used to do.

After hearing this, dad asked where I heard it from - of course it was Uncle Minor. I watched dad make a call, arranging to meet up with Uncle Minor. After telling mum that he’d be gone for a while but will be back for dinner, he left. 

So what exactly are dad and Uncle Minor planning to do?

[ LUCIEN’S SON ]

In my dad’s eyes, I might have always been an accident.

According to what I heard from the professor uncles in Loveland University, when my mum did a check when having me, the doctor said that I might be a girl. Back then, my dad had grinned so widely. 

When he saw that I was a boy, his face was just as dark as how happy he was back then. I heard that before I was born, everything prepared was pink. Sigh, I didn’t realise that that was just the beginning of my route to more accidents.

Normally, dad looks refined and cultivated, and sometimes dotes on mum a lot. Why do I say “sometimes”? Because I’ve seen dad bullying mum, pressing her down on the bed. Mum even cried. 

Then again, dad is a 180m man, and is so heavy. If he presses down on me too, I’d definitely cry too. Furthermore, mum is a girl.

Dad seems to turn a blind eye to my existence. For example, when we eat dumplings, he’d hold onto mum’s hand, and occasionally hug her and kiss her and things like that. I also want mum’s hugs and kisses...

He can’t even fold a dumpling properly. Even till now, he hasn’t learnt how to make a nice-looking one.

Normally, other people’s parents would address each other by name, or words like “wife” or “husband”. But my dad always calls mum “Little Butterfly”, “Silly Girl”, “Little Sweetheart,” “Greedy Cat”... It’s even more unbearable than how Torvald calls Nora “my little skylark” in “A Doll’s House”.

Despite my complaints, my dad is very incredible. He’s a university professor at such a young age, and even has a research centre named after him. Dad says that in the future, I have to do equally well or even better. I think so too. After all, I need to take care of mum in the future.

It’s pretty late, and I haven’t finished the test paper Dad prepared for me. I’ll stop here.

[ KIRO’S SON ]

My dad treats me pretty well. That is, if you ignore how he often makes me a scapegoat.

My dad is a widely known celebrity, so it’s necessary for him to manage his weight strictly. But my dad fails in this aspect. Quoting what Uncle Savin says, “Kiro, the only thing you know how to do is eat, eat, and eat!”

He doesn't eat alone though. He brings my mum along. That’s right, only my mum.

If Uncle Savin does a sudden check and finds snacks in the house, my dad would lack a conscience and assert that they belong to me. Although I’d feel maligned, I won’t rat him out.

Dad likes calling mum “Miss Chips”, and he says chips are a symbol to their love. But I’ve never seen other married couples eat the symbols of their love.

Apart from snatching snacks from me, he likes snatching toys as well. He’s always the one to open the presents mum gives me. He says it’s because he’s afraid I can’t open it given my young age. If that’s the case, why doesn’t he give it to me once he has opened it?! What a liar. 🙃

Everyone says that I look cute, and I think so too hehe~ My mum enjoys kneading my face and ruffling my hair. I think the only time I’ve won against my dad in my four years of existence is when my mum commented that I’m cuter than he is.

Every time my dad bullies me and doesn’t let me get close to mum, I’ll think of what my mum said. A man has a magnanimous heart, so I won’t hold it against him. When he’s 70 or 80 and balding, while I’m in my wise 40s or 50s, mum will definitely like me more. 

Forget it, I shan’t hold it against him. Apple Box is barking at me to take him out for a walk. His golden hair really reminds me of a certain someone!!

[ SHAW’S SON ]

I think my dad and I get along pretty well.

He likes taking me out skateboarding, and I like it too. But if I were to accidentally fall and injure myself, my dad would be scolded by my mum, and I won’t be able to escape her wrath either.

My mum looks really fierce when she scolds us. Every sentence from her is stabbing. According to her, it was a skill she developed from bickering with my dad when they were younger. Thinking about my dad’s sharp tongue, I do agree that it’s a possibility.

Although my dad looks like a bad citizen, he’s really good academically. According to my mum, he was the only graduate student in Loveland University archaeology department at the age of twenty. He’s the teacher’s pet, a model for his male juniors, and the target of females... I digress. But back then, it was true that many people tried to woo him, but he was only interested in mum.

He loves giving mum nicknames, like “Liu Chun Mei or “Guo Xiaoyu", and "Qing Tingyan". I’m so glad my mum threatened my dad for the privilege to name me. I can’t begin to imagine if my name was coined by my dad, I’d probably be too embarrassed to meet anyone.

[Note] These are the fake pseudonyms Shaw calls her in the Chinese version. In EN, the pseudonym he gives her is “Mary Sue”.

My dad has a unique way of drinking beverages. According to the uncles in his band, my mum used to love drinking bubble tea. But eventually, her tastes got strung along with his strange ones. They’re both pretty compatible hahaha.

His taste buds aren’t the only strange things. His aesthetics are strange as well. Wearing Buddha beads with leathers gloves, a jacket with rivets... My mum says she kept his leather jacket when she was pregnant with me. But once I was born, he took it out again.

It’s 11pm, and dad and I have planned to sneak out to do spray painting on the streets behind my mum’s back. We’ll continue next time.

--

More translated and original works: here

--

[ Permission to translate ]

君兮耶君兮: You can - just note the source of the author

[nbrook29]

love you to the moon and to saturn

This is part 4 of my Sander in NYC ‘verse. I posted it on ao3, but recently I’ve also been posting my fics on tumblr so here it is 😌

Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 

Warnings: mild sexual content

* * *

Saturday, 10:00

His sleep was anxious, mind too preoccupied with stress to allow him to get a proper rest. The wake up was even worse as mere seconds after he blinked the sleep away from his tired eyes the memories of last night crept back in, flooding him with worry and making his brain replay the argument over and over again like a broken cassette. And then he checked his phone only to find a string of messages and missed calls, all from Sander, causing his stomach to twist with nerves at what they were going to say. 

His abrupt leaving had been a dick move and if Sander was pissed, Robbe knew he couldn’t blame him. So he stalled, finger barely swiping at the screen as he was unsure whether to unlock it and face the consequences or maybe throw the phone back on his bedside table and bury himself under the covers to wait for his courage to come back and for his nerves to settle.

Heaving a sigh, he chose option number one because it was the only rational one. 

He tapped Sander’s photo, holding his breath without even registering it.

Two seconds later he knew.

He didn’t need to worry.

 Sunday 13:00

Robbe hides another smile into his glass at the thought of yesterday’s evening, trying to focus on what Marie is saying. She’s talking animatedly about a guy she met at her new internship, hearts almost flowing out of her eyes as she swoons on the wooden stool and sips her black coffee. She’s the kind of girl who falls in love quickly and falls out of love just as quick. Across from where he’s sitting, he sees Fien and Lucas rolling their eyes at her exaggerated lovesick sighes making him snort in his marshmallow latte.

“Weren’t you obsessed with that lanky guy from Starbucks last week? What happened to him?”

Marie shrugs, tossing her long brown hair back from her shoulders. “I decided he was too old for me.”

“Didn’t you say he was 21?” Robbe interjects with amusement, remembering their group messenger chat he caught up with this morning.

“Exactly!” 

They all start bickering about the appropriate age difference in relationships, Robbe watching them as he munches happily on one of the soggy marshmallows he fished out from his cup, trying not to giggle at Lucas’ scandalized face at Marie calling 21 old. Robbe knows from the many stories Lucas has shared so far that his own boyfriend is a senior at college so his reaction is even more entertaining because of that.

It feels good to be around them again, Robbe thinks to himself. He’s been canceling on them way too often those last few weeks and he still feels guilty about it. They’re a fun bunch, their bantery dynamic established since day one when they all chose the middle row to sit in during their morning classes, and then promptly spent half of it bonding over the outrageous occurrence that was the absence of a coffee shop on the campus. Not long after, Robbe also discovered that apart from the passion for filmmaking, they all also like skateboarding. After that, the rest was history.

They were for sure a nice distraction from Robbe’s intrusive thoughts in the beginning of the semester. He lucked out, finding his group, his people, so early on in his college journey. But at some point even their goofiness and honest attempts at cheering him up weren’t enough. Not since the news from Sander came that he’s staying in New York until February and since the thing with Jens.

Now, observing them from over his half-drunk coffee, lips twitching at some of the more creative but still lowkey insults Marie and Lucas throw at each other, he realizes he has really missed them. They’re like siblings, the two of them, constantly bickering and teasing one another, but it’s all good-natured and amusing to watch. 

“Oh my god, let it go, children, for the love of god,” Fien cuts in abruptly, before turning her big expectant eyes on Robbe, twirling a lock of her hair around her finger and adding innocently, “I’d finally like to hear about Sobbe’s makeup.”

Heat rushes to Robbe’s cheeks and he scratches at the back of his neck, bashful all of a sudden. She’s the number one fangirl of his relationship, he has learned recently, but in a cute way, not creepy like Aaron sometimes used to be with his invasive questions. She always moans about being forever single, pouting at Robbe for some fluffy snippets and claiming in faux-seriousness that he owes it to the world to share them with others for being lucky enough to have a fairytale-like love story. 

Robbe has never disclosed to them how unfairytale-like some of the details are because it’s not his story to tell. But he really likes her so he always indulges her, usually after a bit of teasing. And, sue him, but he’s proud of his relationship and the fact that he of all people can call Sander his boyfriend, so even if he brags a little, he thinks he has good reasons for it. 

(He’s still kinda smug when he thinks about the time when he showed the three of them a photo of Sander, a pleased little smile on his face at their reactions and playful threats of stealing him for themselves.)

“Oh yeah, I wanna know too,” Marie agrees excitedly, scooting her chair closer to him. “You’ve been all smiley ever since you came over here so I’m guessing that hottie of yours did something right,” she ends on a teasing note, her waggling eyebrows leaving Robbe no doubts she expects some saucy details.

“Oh my god, stop,” he groans as he hides his face in his hands, his friends giggling at his embarrassment. “It wasn’t like that! We just… finally talked things out.”

 Saturday, 18:00 (flashback to last night)

Robbe’s been gnawing on his bottom lip relentlessly, completely unaware, to the point it’s a few bites away from drawing blood. He can’t help but feel nervous, the cursor hovering over the 'accept' button as he's rolling his eyes on himself internally, telling himself to stop making a bigger deal out of this that it needs to be. There is a bit of embarrassment clouding his logical reasoning to be honest, embarrassment about his overreaction last night.

Was it an overreaction? He's still not completely sure, but it's not like avoiding the situation is going to magically fix everything between them. Even though he'd really like that. It feels so awkward to be in this position. Robbe doesn't know what the protocol here is. They bicker, quite often even. Fight a little too, stomping off out of each other’s room grumpily but only over stupid stuff, nothing like this.

He's walking on an unknown ground just hoping he's not going to make things worse. He desperately needs their dynamic back because he's already over it. 

Not being able to share the most mundane every day stuff with each other over texts to joke about it, rile the other up or just vent about something stupid like their coffees not being hot enough on a given rainy morning sucks.

So he takes a deep breath and clicks on the button before he works himself into a never-ending second-guessing.

When Sander says a soft hi and smiles at him with the usual warmth in his eyes, something akin to relief courses through him from head to toe. 

He gives him his own tentative smile and a short hi, pushing himself higher against the pillows. Before Sander can say anything more, he lets go of what has been weighing down on him the entire day.

“I’m sorry,” he starts, contrite. “About yesterday. I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have just logged off like that without explanation. And then ignore your messages,” he adds after a pause because that’s what he feels most guilty about. He knows he’d freak out if Sander just cut him off without giving him an opportunity to talk things out, would worry himself sick. 

Sander looks conflicted, brows knitted together, like a part of him wants to reassure Robbe because it's in his nature, but the other part is genuinely hurt. Robbe doesn't want compassion. Not for that, because he knows he doesn’t deserve it. Causing Sander distress is the last thing he wants.

"Yeah, it did suck," he finally admits after a moment passes, and Robbe finds comfort in his honesty. It’s a good start. They won’t get anywhere with false niceties and pretending everything’s fine. Robbe tried pretending, yesterday and most of their calls before that, and it got them where they are now.

“I mean, I know you didn’t want to talk about your problems yesterday,” pausing, he scrunches up his nose a bit, “but maybe next time just don’t log off so abruptly so I know you’re okay?” his voice tilts on a hopeful note.

Robbe just nods, feeling shameful, hating that there’s not much more that he can do when he’s talking to him through his computer, and can’t exactly reach out to cuddle up to Sander’s side or kiss the underside of his jaw as a silent apology to then stay close for the rest of the evening as they heal together. 

It’s frustrating and disheartening, but it affects them both the same amount and Robbe needs to remember that. Because the truth is, Sander didn’t exactly give him a legitimate reason to doubt him or to think he didn’t miss him. Those full of hurt eyes Sander gave him yesterday at the suggestion have been eating away at him all day.

Robbe just got swallowed by his own insecurities and let the little things that bothered him consume him all instead of, well. Communicating.

Sander was right yesterday. Of course he was.

He knows he has some more apologies to give.

“I’m also sorry for not telling you earlier how I felt,” he keeps pouring his heart out, “and for, you know, assuming you don’t miss me much, and-”

“Woah, hey,” Sander stops him before he can get himself deeper into the spiral. “Robbe, I fucked up too, don’t take it all on yourself.” He adjusts his laptop and Robbe can see his face clearer now, his eyes bloodshot and tired, a clear sign of a sleepless night, and the guilt clogs his throat even more now.

“I should have seen something wasn’t right.” When Robbe shakes his head and goes back to apologizing, Sander shoots him a pointed look that makes him shut up. “I should have, don’t deny it. You know, I took a long walk yesterday after you hung up, to clear my head, but also to get a perspective on our latest talks. And I felt so dumb for not realizing you were not doing okay.”

“Sander, I don’t expect you to read my mind,” Robbe tries to joke, but it falls flat even in his own ears. But he can’t bear those big regretful eyes on him. He doesn't deserve them.

“Baby, I’m sorry I haven’t been there for you the way you needed me to. Please tell me now? What’s been bothering you, hmm?” 

Robbe scrubs his face trying to collect his thoughts, to find a concise way to get everything out of his chest, but he doesn’t know where to start.

“It may take a while.”

Sander makes a show of fluffing the pillow he placed against his back and getting himself more comfortable on his bed, sighing with contentment for a better effect. 

“Look, I’m in my comfy clothes, got an energy drink on my nightstand, the computer battery is full and I told everyone I’m busy so they won’t nag me with anything. I’m all yours today.” He gives him an encouraging smile, fondness etched into every crevice of his face.

Robbe’s heart does a little skip at his words, Sander’s demeanor so comforting that he feels the last pieces of apprehension ebbing away, the need to vent overpowering the hesitation of showing his vulnerability. 

“I think I just found myself overwhelmed with some things,” he admits quietly, picking at his nail, an absent-minded habit when he’s nervous, as he’s trying to find the right words. “A lot has changed in those last few months, almost all at once, and I kinda have trouble coping. And like,” he scoffs at himself, “I’m angry with myself ‘cause I should be enjoying most of it, being in college and majoring in something that I actually like, and it’s great, but I can’t help but focus on all the things that are different now, things that are not so great.”

Before continuing, he flicks his gaze to Sander for a second, only to then cast his eyes back to his lap. “The last two years with you were the happiest of my life, you know? After years of bullshit and constant misery and pretending to be somebody I wasn’t I-,” he sighs, bittersweet smile on his lips,”I finally found my person, you know?”

Sander mirrors his smile, but he’s frowning a little. “But you still have me,” he reminds him softly.

“I know, but it sucks when I can’t just, I don’t know, snuggle up you and forget about stuff. It’s all your fault, by the way, you’ve been too good to me and now I have withdrawal symptoms,” he pouts, and hears Sander chuckling on the other side of the screen.

“You have no idea how much I wish virtual hugs were a thing. And kisses, oh my god, kisses too. I’m so kiss-deprived. Once I finally get my hands on you, I won’t let you go for a week.”

“Promise?”

“I promise.”

For a short moment, Sander manages to bring a genuine smile on his face, but it quickly disappears when the reality sets back in. There are still almost four long months to get through. He watches Sander’s smile slipping off his face slowly and he knows they’re both thinking about it.

The boy sighs deeply. “You know, sometimes I feel like it was a mistake to-”

Robbe’s eyes snap to him. “No, no, no, don’t think that, it wasn’t a mistake. Please don’t feel guilty or something, that’s the last thing I want you to do,” he stresses. Sander still looks conflicted, and fuck, this is exactly what Robbe wanted to avoid.

“Hey, I’m serious. Look, you not being here is tough, but like I said, it’s just things piling up, changing. Shit like school work that has been piling up and me getting so stressed about the end-of-the-semester project because I still haven’t figured out the details. Plus people moving away, all of that makes it difficult for me to adjust. So don’t go thinking it’s because you’re the center of my universe or something,” he ends his rambling with a feigned-offended huff and Sander easily lets them slip into their usual banter.

“I’m not?! Wow, the things a guy finds out after being such a devoted and doting and loving boyfriend.” He wipes the imaginary tear, letting out a long-suffering sigh. “Such a menace, breaking my heart in half on this lovely Saturday afternoon.” He purses his lips in offence and Robbe is grateful for Sander’s attempt to lift the mood, trying to be upbeat.

He feels a tug in his chest thinking about how if Sander was here, he’d be tackling him to the nearest surface to shut him up with tickles and loud smooches and playful jabs in the sides and how they would make much more noise than necessary, acting like the rambunctious teens they are.

That’s going to have to wait too. But he discovers this thought doesn’t hurt as much as it would have yesterday because their conversation right now, this opportunity to vent and Sander’s texts last night, all of it makes him feel better, helps him see he’s not alone.

“I love you,” he blurts out all of a sudden, and it’s something he’s wanted to say since he read his heartfelt texts this morning that almost made him cry in relief.

Sander blinks a couple times, surprised, but then his previously playful face melts into such a fond look it makes Robbe blush like it was the first time he said it.

The I love you too comes right away, soft and quiet, like he’s telling a secret, and it’s heart-stoppingly precious.

To keep himself from drowning in fuzzy feelings, he shoots him a private little smile and steers the conversation back to his friends, telling him how it sucks that it’s they all now live away and how unexpectedly difficult it is to meet up. Robbe’s used to basically having everyone at arm-reach.

“We do video call, obviously, but you know, Milan is all loved up with Ralph in Amsterdam and not that keen on leaving their love nest and Zoe and Senne keep traveling between Genk and Ghent, which with Zoe’s coursework and internship is already a struggle. I don’t think they’re doing that well, actually,” he winces, remembering their last conversation.

If during freshman year somebody had told Robbe who his best friends were going to be, he’d looked at them as if they had grown two heads. Because for real, Jana’s new friend and her roommate? And school’s fuckboy? 

But life’s funny like that sometimes. Moving into their apartment in his sophomore year has been one of the best decisions he’s ever made. His number one best decision is currently frowning at him from his dirty screen.

“Oh, that sucks. Do you think they’ll work it out?” 

Robbe sighs deeply, propping his chin on the heel of his palm. “Senne has been thinking about finding a job in Genk so I hope so.”

Sander huffs a laugh suddenly, shaking his head. “Wow, I wish I was in his place and there were only 2 hours between us, instead of a whole ass ocean.”

“Yeah, I think once you’re back we’re gonna have a master's degree in that long distance bullshit,” Robbe smiles at him wistfully. 

“Ugh, never again though. You’re not getting rid of me, it sucks without you, Robin.” He sounds so grumpy Robbe can’t help the short giggle that escapes him, but deep down he’s happy they both share that sentiment.

They’re staring at each other now, enjoying the moment before Sander shoots him a knowing look. “You haven’t mentioned Jens.”

That sobers him up enough for the fuzzy feelings to disappear from his stomach. 

Jens. There’s not much to talk about really. And isn’t that a punch-in-a gut kind of truth considering it was his best friend? Isn’t it heartbreaking that Robbe didn’t even feel like fighting for that relationship and there’s a nagging voice in his head telling him that Jens didn’t either? Just a regular heated argument was enough to finally cut that last string, to put a stop to a friendship that had been hanging by a thread long before. Not that they had noticed.

He felt awful, afterwards. More alone than ever before. But deep down he knew it had only been a matter of time. He just wished Sander had been there to pick up the pieces.

“Sorry I didn’t tell you sooner,” Robbe winces, going back to apologizing once he translates his feelings to words the best he can, hoping he made Sander understand.

The boy pulls a face at him, eyes narrowed as he pretends to give him a stern look. “Enough with apologizing today, okay?” He waits until Robbe nods, albeit begrudgingly, because it’s in his second nature to keep saying sorry when he knows he messed up.

He nestles against his pillows to get more comfortable as he glances to the window, registering that sometime during their call it got completely dark outside, November days getting shorter still. He can feel tiredness starting to creep into his bones, the nervous anticipation before their call he had endured all day wearing him down significantly. 

There are still some things he needs to get out of his chest and Sander coaxes them gently one by one, listening to him moaning and groaning about his school course load and how he thinks he’s not skilled enough to come up with interesting ideas and being quick to cut him off and reassure him when Robbe’s words get self-deprecating. He’s so attentive and so patient with him, not even an ounce of judgement in his eyes that Robbe feels the pressure and stress that have accumulated over the last few weeks finally letting go with each word he pours out.

When the conversation eventually steers to Robbe’s uni friends and he admits sheepishly that he kinda ghosted them lately, feeling too blue to go out and have fun, Sander interrupts him mid-sentence.

“You should reach out to them, tonight.”

At Robbe’s unsure look, he continues, “If they’re as cool as you made them out to be, I’m sure they’re gonna understand you needed some time to figure things out.”

He then proceeds to cover his ears and whistle, refusing to talk more until Robbe caves and shoots a text to the group chat, trying to keep it short, but explaining things along the way and making amends. Sander’s very pleased with his persuasion skills, beaming at him when Robbe reads him the replies he gets from Lucas, Marie and Fien, wearing a small smile himself as he rolls his eyes at Sander’s smug face. 

Sander then asks about his mom and it’s so sweet because he always makes sure to ask, and Robbe falls for him even more each time he does. He’s a bit reluctant when Robbe tries to make him talk about his recent days, keeps saying this call is not about him, but he gives in before Robbe gets upset about it.

Watching his eyes light up with excitement when he talks about his classes works like a balm for Robbe’s yearning heart, Sander’s genuine happiness making his own struggles worth it. It’s a nice reminder that he’s there to make his dreams come true and that it’s everything Robbe has wished for him.

When Sander talks about shenanigans with his friends, Robbe recalls the TikTok video he watched some days ago.

“Nice Michael Jackson moves, by the way,” he comments, trying to sound innocent, but it ends up coming out a little coyishly as he bites at his finger to hide his smirk. 

Confusion clouds Sander’s face but only for a second. Then, his lips stretch in a wide grin and he looks very pleased with the confession. “Have you been stalking me, Robin?”

Robbe shrugs, a picture of innocence as he keeps peeking at him from under his lashes. “I might’ve seen a video or two. They’re all so thirsty for you in the comments though,” he adds, putting a note of faux-jealousy in his voice. He quickly noticed that Sander’s new uni friend is semi-popular on the app so his videos always get a fair share of comments. Ever since Sander appeared in them, the hoard of the guy’s fans has been declaring their love for Robbe’s boyfriend under every video. They mostly make him laugh, but sometimes he’ll roll his eyes at some of the raunchier ones, possessiveness that he didn’t know he had activating in his brain.

He waits for Sander’s cocky comment, but to his utter delight, he blushes deep red and scoffs.

“Shut up, it’s so embarrassing,” hiding his face in his hands, he adds, “All of my friends have been teasing me about it constantly.”

“Aww, poor you, being fawned over must be such a hardship, how do you cope?”

“Oh I don’t know, smartass, you can tell me from experience ‘cause I saw those comments under your old vlogs.” 

Robbe huffs a laugh. “They were nowhere near as detailed as yours!”

“What can I say, I’m irresistible,” Sander quips back and yeah, there he is, Robbe’s favorite (cocky) dork. “If I’d known you’re my TikTok fan, I’d have sent you those videos right away so you wouldn’t have to waste your time searching for them."

Robbe sighs. “They are a nice window to your life there,” he replies offhandedly, not even registering the implied double meaning to his words, but the immediate change in Sander’s amused expression makes him aware of the slip.

Fuck. 

“So you noticed. That I’ve been texting you less.”

Robbe drops his gaze, pulling the cover further up his body, feeling awkward again. He doesn’t want to make a big deal out of this.

Sander shifts on his bed, scratching at his head. “I felt like I was too much, you know? I wanted to share every silly thing with you, but then, well, it was something Josh said that I should,” he waves vaguely trying to find the right words, “cut back on my ‘running commentary’ ‘cause it’s probably annoying.”

“Tell Josh he’s stupid,” Robbe cuts in with a huff, grumpily beating his pillow into submission to make it more comfortable. 

The corners of Sander’s mouth twitch at his comment, but his face remains sheepish. “I think he was mostly joking, but it got stuck in my mind and made me question every message. In the end, I didn’t send like half of them,” he explains softly, voice colored with poorly hidden self-consciousness. “I didn’t want to give you the impression I don't have time for you, I’m sorry.”

And, fuck. They’re both idiots.

Sander’s brows shoot up when Robbe bursts into giggles out of the blue, clearly surprised with the reaction. But at this point, it feels like the only proper thing to do.

“So basically we could have avoided this whole bullshit if we just talk about all this sooner,” he groans at the realization, burying half on his face in his pillow to hide his heated face because he’s a little embarrassed he blew things out of proportion.

There’s a visible relief on Sander’s face too, eyes crinkling as he regards him with a dopey grin, and Robbe knows.

They’re gonna be fine. 

“Here I thought we were masters of communication,” Sander sighs with a faux-disappointment, leaning back to smile at the ceiling. “Fuck, no more of assuming shit, what do you think?”

And that sounds like something Robbe can get behind one hundred percent, more than ready to leave their misunderstandings in the past and just do better. So he nods, chin digging into his collarbone uncomfortably with the position he’s lying in, but it doesn’t matter, he’s too preoccupied with staring at his happy face and swimming in his fuzzy feelings.

“Prepare yourself for an onslaught of photos and messages, I’m not messing around,” Sander warns, smiling at Robbe’s soft okay. “You know, just a few days ago I ended up at Pebble Beach, it was cold as all fucks, but the view was just,” he imitates an explosion over his head and Robbe giggles at his childlike enthusiasm. Then, Sander’s face softens and becomes a little sad. “That place is so romantic that it made me feel like shit without you there,” he sighs, and Robbe can relate. “I’ll take you there one day.”

“You’re gonna take me to New York?” Robbe asks, doubt lacing his voice as he cocks his brow which makes Sander scoff in indignance.

“Hell yeah! You don’t believe me? What do you think I’m doing here everyday? I’m scouting the best places for dates, finding the best skateparks and checking out all the museums so I can be the perfect guide for you!” Sander throws his hands, a duh expression on his face, but there’s a wide smile brewing on his lips letting Robbe know he’s not really offended or anything. And, honestly, Robbe just melts with his words.

“I can’t wait, baby,” he sighs dreamily, rubbing his cheek against his pillow as he gazes at him with what he’s sure is the softest look. 

Sander narrows his eyes playfully from above the can of Redbull he’s been sipping on. “Don’t ever doubt I’m gonna go out of my way to impress you.” 

Robbe blows him a kiss that morphs into a huge yawn, eyelids growing heavy, forcing him to blink repeatedly to stay away which prompts Sander to tease him a little about boring him, but it quickly dies out and he’s just looking at him fondly.

“You should go to sleep.” He ignores Robbe’s melodic neeees, giving him a stern look that was probably supposed to be intimidating, but he looks too amused to keep it up. Once Robbe gets his promise they will see each other tomorrow, Sander sends him several virtual kisses and goodnights before logging off.

Robbe falls asleep with Sander’s beaming face flowing through his mind.

The sleep that comes is unsurprisingly the calmest he’s had in weeks.

 Sunday, 18:00

Sander: And?

Robbe: And what?

Sander: Was I right?

Robbe: About?

Sander: About your friends

Robbe: Kinda

Sander: So it means I was 😎

Robbe: :):):) yes

Sander: Thank you sander

Robbe: Thank you sander 

Sander: See, you're so precious everybody's in love with you and forgive you in seconds 

Robbe: 🙄 

Robbe: Precious srsly?

Sander: So precious 🥰

Robbe: Omg

Sander: Haha

Robbe: We're good 😊

Robbe: But I don't think they are in love with me 😂

Sander: They better not be 🤨 I'll fight them all! 🗡💀🧟🤺

Robbe: Dork ❤

Robbe: I think they a little bit in love with u though 🤔 

Robbe: They've been babbling all afternoon about how cute you are 🙄

Robbe: A g a i n *yawn*

Sander: They have good taste 🤷♂️

Robbe: Nah they just don't know your annoying habits so that's why

Sander: 😮 I don't have any how dare you badmouthing me like that

Robbe: 🥴

Robbe: You never wash your coffee cups right away so they lay around

Robbe: You always tickle me when you want sth

Robbe: You're full of corny jokes

Robbe: You eat my fries when I don't look 

Robbe: You hog the covers

Robbe: And I still remember that Wednesday when you ate my last bag of chips 💔

Sander: Okay first of all

Sander: Wow

Sander: Don't hold back 🥺

Sander: Second of all

Sander: I THOUGHT THOSE CHIPS WERE MILAN'S I TOLD YOU!!!

Robbe: That's what they all say 💔

Sander: You're unfair, I thought I made up for that lil mistake 🍆

Robbe: Well you did 🙈 but I still remember 😝

Sander: Also you love my jokes

Sander: They're awesome 🤧

Robbe: I'm just messing around 😘😘

Sander: 🥰

Robbe: But I swear to god if I have to listen one more time to Marie waxing lyricals about your 'perfect moles' I'm gonna 🤮

Sander: What haha 😂

Robbe: I mean they are but like

Robbe: Chill girl he's not your man 🤨

Sander: That's right cause I'm your man 😏

Robbe: And don't you forget that

Thursday, 3:48

Soft knuckles brush his skin, body arching into the touch that turns his muscles into jelly and sends liquid fire rushing through him. He’s overheated in the best way possible, seeking out Sander’s tongue, but the boy denies him access, smirk well in place as he pulls back, green eyes cloudy from lust. He’s staring at him like he wants to eat him whole and Robbe almost whimpers, bones melting and lids closing when Sander takes the tender flesh of his neck between his teeth and bites at it ever so gently, but just enough to make Robbe see stars. 

He sighs as he feels a ghost of touch on his nipple, Sander leaving a trail of kisses down his sternum as he’s moving so teasingly slow to his final destination, and he doesn’t even hesitate, spreading his legs wider around Sander’s hips in a blatant invitation, blushing hot pink when Sander sends him a fox-like grin, mouthing at his inner thigh.

The details get fuzzy for a few seconds, Robbe blinking rapidly to get his surroundings and finding himself on top of Sander, and there’s an inkling at the back of his brain telling him something’s messed up about the logistics here. He decides to ignore it, focusing back on the moment and Sander’s glistening, kiss-swollen lips, on his eyes transfixed on the place where they’re connected, and he leans down, his tongue sweeping over his Sander’s bottom lip before he starts pressing soft, spit-slick kisses into his mouth. He pushes Sander’s hands up over his head and intertwines their fingers, arching his back as he takes over, the rush of pleasure almost overwhelming him.

“Ohmygod, Sander,” Robbe breathes into his mouth. His hands are trailing all over Sander’s chest and stomach now, squeezing and rubbing almost like he’s his personal plaything.

It’s not long before Sander’s warm hands draw him back towards his chest, lips ghosting along Robbe’s, teasing, always teasing, but not granting permission to properly meet, making Robbe impatient and whine in desperation only for Sander to grin wickedly at him. He feels nails dragging along his spine, leaving goosebumps in their wake, stopping at his cheeks, massaging them to his heart content while Robbe can only pant, rocking back and forth and biting his bottom lip to keep from coming.

He’s an oversensitive, blissed out mess, trying to keep his eyes open to take a mental snapshot of Sander’s lust-blown pupils as they watch each other, Sander fucking him slowly and punching the prettiest sounds out of Robbe’s mouth.

Hips stuttering, he drops back down on his elbows to crash his lips against Sander’s, feeling his body tensing he’s so close and-

Eyes shot wide open, blinking harshly against the darkness of the room. His first instinct is to reach out to the other side of the bed, snuggle closer to the source of heat lying next to him, but his brain catches up with his hands quickly and he stops himself mid-reach, groaning as he flops back on the bed, disappointed. He kicks his covers down grumpily, letting cold air hit his overheated skin, frustrated and too awake to go to sleep now.

Fuck.

 Thursday, 13:08

*photo attached*

Sander: Good morning x

Robbe: Heeyy sleepyhead 😘

Robbe: You look cute

Sander: I had very interesting dreams last night 

Robbe: Oh yeah? 

Sander: Yeah I'm still affected by them 😏

Robbe: Stop it I'm at a coffee shop with the guys!

Sander: I'll have to tell you about it tonight then 😈

Robbe: Can't wait 😘

Sander: Today at 16 my time right? 

Robbe: Yep :) 

Robbe: You know

Sander: Hmm?

Robbe: I might have some of those dreams too last night

Sander: 🥵🥵🥵

Sander: Do tell

Robbe: 🙈

Sander: Now I’m super intrigued 😈

Robbe: How about I tell you tonight 

Robbe: With details

Robbe: Lots of them

Sander: Tonight can't come fast enough 😩

Sander: Looks like I will though 😏

Robbe: Omg you're such a dork 😂

Sander: Did it get u hot

Robbe: No wtf 😂

Sander: ☹🥺

Sander: Kay

Sander: I have to get up now

Sander: I'm late 🙄

Sander: Robin it's raining I don't wanna go out 😩

Robbe: Haha get your pretty ass out of bed and go be a good student!

Sander: Ugh fine 🙄

Sander: I love you ❤

Robbe: ❤

Sander: Hey no, not an emoji, tell me you love me ☹

Robbe: Haha

Sander: Come on

Robbe: 🤐

Sander: Robbe

Robbe: Gotta go 😌

Sander: Okay then 😔💔

Robbe: I love you too idiot ❤❤❤💯

Sander: Yesss 🥰

Sander: Hey that's my emoji 😏 so you like it after all

Robbe: 😂 go to class!!! 

Sander: I'm going I'm going

Friday, 19:00

Robbe checks his phone for time again, not wanting to be late for his call with Sander, but there’s still about half an hour until he should get going. It’s been a pleasant evening and a while ago he would have never called any time of the day spent with his father ‘pleasant’, but there he is. Enjoying his dinner not only with him but also with his girlfriend of six months that he met in July when the first attempts to salvage the relationship with his dad have been made. 

And it’s all because of Sander. The fact that he’s even here speaks volumes about his skill of persuasion. If it hadn’t been for his boyfriend, Robbe would have continued to stew in his own juices and ignored his dad. 

“How is Sander doing? New York is a jungle.”

Robbe huffs a laugh. “He’s good, he fits in well in the city vibe. But, um, he needs to stay a bit longer, till February actually ‘cause the school postponed the art show.”

He goes for another bite, frown on his face at the mere reminder of the change of plans. 

“You probably hate it, huh?” his father questions. 

His only response is to throw him a duuuh look, making his dad snort.

“You should visit him.”

Robbe looks up from over his spaghetti, expecting to see his dad laughing or winking at him, but both him and Margaux are looking at him with unsuspecting smiles, like the suggestion is the most obvious thing in the world.

He exhales a short dad in a laugh, glancing at them back and forth. “I don’t have a spare several thousand euros lying around waiting to be spent on a trip to New York,” he explains, slight exasperation in his voice. 

“Oh I don’t think you’d need that much, Robbe,” Margaux smiles at him as she puts away her fork and reaches for her phone. “A few months ago I was actually backpacking with my friend through the East Coast and, wait, let me check, I have everything saved on my AirBnB account.”

Robbe gets back to his dinner as she scrolls on her phone, trying to squish the building hope in his chest away because even if it’s cheaper than he thinks, there’s still no way he can afford it; his equipment and books for school have eaten all of his savings.

“There it is! Look,” she scoots her chair closer to him, his dad peeking at the phone from the other side. “We stayed in Brooklyn for 98$ a day for a double bed, in Bedford to be exact and the conditions were really nice, plus the train station was close by. I’m sure you could find something half as cheap since it’s just you and the room can be tiny, just to sleep really.”

“That’s a reasonable price, I think,” his dad joins in, and then proceeds to ask her questions about her other expenditures while in the city and the flight prices, debating whether it’s better to drive to Frankfurt and take a direct flight from there or maybe decide on a layover flight from Brussels. 

They are so into the planning and discussing the best options that they both jump slightly when Robbe speaks again, clearly forgetting he’s sitting right next to them, a picture of confusion. 

“Guys, guys, wait. It doesn’t matter if it’s 1500 euros, or even 1000 euros because that’s still a 1000 euros more than I have to spend on a trip anywhere.” 

His dad is so enthralled into checking different flights that he barely raises his head from above his phone, replying offhandedly, “I’ll pay for it.”

And, okay, no. Robbe gapes at him like he grew two heads, spluttering, because hell no.

“No way, I won’t take your money, dad.”

His vehement tone finally makes his father properly regard him and he sighs after a second. “Robbe, please don’t treat it as an attempt to buy you or your feelings.”

Straight to the point, his dad, always has been. It definitely is one the reasons for his refusal, but it’s not only that.

Robbe takes a deep breath to calm down. “Look, dad, it’s still lots of money. I can’t-”

“I’m many things, but irresponsible with money I’m definitely not. So if I say that I can pay for it, it means that I can afford it and it won’t affect me.” He gives him a pointed look. Before Robbe can argue again, he continues. “We can treat it as your Christmas gift. And next year’s birthday gift. And last two Christmases gifts as well.”

Robbe thinks about the packages he received from his father those holidays, and how he sent them back without even opening. Then, it definitely felt like buying his affection.

“You’ve been doing good at school, got into the university you wanted, you’ve been more responsible those last few years that I could’ve ever asked from you. Then you worked during the summer because you were adamant about paying for school stuff yourself. I think you earn it, Robbe. If you don’t want to go for other reasons, then that’s fine, but if it’s just about the money, please let me give you this.”

“New York is the kind of place everyone should visit at least one,” Margaux says gently. She has a warm smile that immediately made Robbe like her, despite really trying not to for obvious reasons. “And I think Sander would love for you to come visit too.”

Robbe has been torn before she spoke, but the mention of Sander reminds him of their videocall a while back, Sander telling him about places he was going to show him one day, being his guide and taking him to his favorite spots in the city. He can see it all vividly now when the opportunity is at his fingertips, can’t stop the excitement filling his body at the thought of seeing Sander before that dreadful February, even though he’s still now sure what to do.

While he’s been lost in his thoughts, trying to come to some conclusion, Margaux has been typing away at her phone. “Dates around Christmas are very expensive, but what would you say about, let’s say, December 8th? Til December 17th?”

Robbe wouldn’t even consider Christmas because there’s no way he would leave his mom alone for the holidays, but… the dates Margaux offered seem kinda perfect. His main project is due on December 4th so he wouldn’t have to worry about that and it’d be fine if he missed classes for those several days. Completely unaware, he finds himself making plans in his head before he even made a decision to accept his father’s money, but when his eyes snap to his dad’s, the small smile he gives him lets him know he already knows Robbe’s answer.

 December 7th, 22:00

His excitement has been uncontainable the entire day, making him so giddy he had to cancel his regular call with Sander because his boyfriend would figure him out in seconds. And that’s the last thing he wants. 

He’s still in shock that he somehow managed to keep it from him, planning a surprise in his head ever since he agreed to his dad’s help and working extra hard at uni to afford missing those 8 days of school. There’s apparently been one close call when Younes almost spilled the beans to Sander during their Zoom, but thank god for Yasmina who managed to effortlessly salvage the secret, improvising and coming up with an easy lie, leaving him unsuspicious of any ploy going on.

And Robbe just. He just can’t wait. He’s been counting hours since last week, his lips yearning to be kissed by his favorite person, body pining for touch and caress. 

Lost in the dreams of their reunion, Robbe’s startled by a ping from his phone, lips stretching in a wide smile when he sees a notification from Sander’s instagram. He opens it, curious, melting when he’s greeted with a graffiti sign saying ENKEL LIEFDE, Sander’s style easily recognizable to him. Underneath, there’s a heart and his own handle and that shit never fails to make Robbe heart stutter. There’s a DM from Sander waiting for him as well, the same photo, but Sander’s caption says The High Line needed its own version of my love declaration for you, but unfortunately I couldn’t find enough space for a redo of your gorgeous face Robin :( So I did this :) You like it?

He replies with a bunch of red hearts, likes the post and adds another heart in a comment because there’s never too many of those. Then he flops back on his bed, a smile glued to his face.

Nineteen hours.

[where-theres-smoak-2]

With the way antis have taken advantage of Alina being half Shu on the show in order to use it against Darklina I’m wondering would more people take the Grisha persecution and really discuss it rather than parroting the same “Ohh,they did such a good job with Mal on the show and the Darkling is so evil”if Aleksander was a POC on the show since Demon in the Woods heavily implies that he probably has some Shu blood since he can pass as one. I mean personally I think it feels super forced to insert 21st century (mostly American centric) racism where you already have a fantasy group as representation for discrimination and persecution but there’s no doubt in my mind that if he has been played by a POC actor those fake some fans would immediately start defending him. I think in general there should def be more discussions online about the way Grisha as a minority group has been presented and how the narrative represents them because yes Alina keeping her powers and the Darkling getting some sort of redemption would be amazing but that doesn’t solve the bigger issue of how Aleksander is vilified for doing everything he can to protect his people against a system that’s been abusing and enslaving them for centuries while Alina is so anti Grisha and spends half of her life hiding who she is(hello assimilation and co dependency so she can be the perfect “normal”girl her jerk of a “best friend”could love)and then it ends up being permanently stripped from her because the story can’t have a powerful woman learning of the unjust system that’s been commuting genocide on her people and deciding to put a stop to it. Instead we need someone like Zoya who has no leadership or political abilities to be queen and is very much pro monarchy(aka the system that oppresses her people)and her becoming a queen has to be because of her white saviour boyfriends decided she’s the best fit for it because characters like Daenerys from GOT and Aleksandr are deemed “too extreme/dangerous /ambitious”when they try to change the status quo because they’re “too violent”.But if you make another character a WOC(then change her to white passing scree you capitalised on POC buying your books)and give her how many powers basically turning her into a Mary Sue and make her a queen without her doing anything to gain it or even wanting to be one (because they would make her greedy and violent/evil)people will so not notice and root for her because performative diversity/activism solves everything. Anyway sorry for the rant I just had to vent for a bit,lol.

That's ok rant away, I think having a good rant is healthy sometimes. You've raised an interesting question in if Aleks was played by a POC would antis have actually defended him and would that have made people discuss the oppression of the grisha more. I mean I don't know the answer to it. I do feel like antis will use pretty much anything to paint darklinas as bad people. I actually talked a bit about the fact that in the books m*l is white and Aleks is the one that is presented as potentially being a POC when some antis started accusing darklinas of being racist for not shipping m*lina making the claim that they only ship darklina because archie is a MOC and Ben is white. Considering most darklinas have openly admitted that show m*l is 100% better than book m*l and how alot of people liked him in the show but just prefer the chemistry between darklina, the argument that we are all racist doesn't make much sense. Unfortunately I do think that antis use racism as a weapon in ship wars far too often and this I find worrying because if the subject of racism comes up in a more serious discussion are people just going to shrug and say its just antis being antis instead of engaging in what needs to be an important and educational discussion.

The fact that Aleks as a leader of a oppressed minority group is villainised the way he is in the books is something that has always frustrated me and made me kind of angry too. I honestly don't feel like the show villainised this character even with the bad things he does in the show. They did a very good job, in my opinion, of showing that he was a man who had spent hundreds of years watching his people suffer and was now committing these dark acts out of desperation, he feels like he has tried every other way and now fear is the only weapon he has left to use. They go to great lengths to show you why he is doing these things making him more of a morally grey character than an outright villain, which is why I think the character has even more support post release of the show. I mean I wasn't part of the fandom when it was just a book fandom but from what I've seen others saying the darklina fandom has grown bigger as people are watching the show and are just being drawn to Aleks' character and the darklina ship. This isn't something that happens in the books where he is just depicted as being evil to his core pretty much and its very hard to understand his motives and I also don't feel like he gets much development as a character he's just kind of there in the background doing villain things. Most of his development in my opinion is in demon in the woods and I kind of wish she had actually written that into the actual book trilogy.

As for Zoya I don't know much about her character past the grisha trilogy so I can't really form a personal opinion on how her character is developed past that point. But from what others have said I get the impression that LB tried to fix the mistakes she made with Alina with Zoya in that people didn't like that Alina lost her powers so she makes Zoya really powerful, they wanted Alina more involved in politics and maybe even as a grisha queen so she made Zoya a grisha queen. In some ways this is good because it shows growth and that she took on criticism and tried to fix it. Unfortunately it does make Alina's fate an even more bitter pill to swallow because Zoya's journey really should have been Alina's. In my opinion Alina should have ended the series with her powers and in a position of power so that she can help better her people's situation. Whether that position of power is as the new queen or whether they decide to get rid of the monarchy altogether and form a council or government instead that includes both otkazat'sya and grisha working together.

[mimzy-writing-online]

Hi! I'm currently writhing a book about people with superpowers and there's one character that is blind. Since I'm not visually impaired, I'm reading a lot about how to avoid cliche and write a good, realistic blind character. I read your text about blind people in books and it helped me a lot, but Im still thinking of what superpower I should give my blind character. I was thinking of super hearing, but now Im thinking is not a good idea anymore. Can you give me some advice? Thanks in advance!

Anonymous’ next ask said, [Hi, I just sent a question for you a couple of minutes ago (I'm the one writing a story about people with superpowers and stuff). I read some more of what you posted and I'm almost certain I'll change my blind characters superpower, but I'd still like your opinion on it. I'm sorry if my english is kinda bad (it's not my first language) and also if I said something offensive somehow. I'm very eager to learn and make a very cool and realist character! Thanks btw, your posts are helping me a lot!]

First, your English is lovely and the fact that it’s your second language makes you awesome in my book. Nobody needs to worry about how good their English is on this blog. If I don’t fully understand something I will ask for clarification, but that’s a situation I find myself in with native English speakers and asking them to clarify.

Also, nothing you have said offended me, no worries.

I took a while to get to this because I wasn’t sure what insight I could give.

There are a lot of superpowers out there in the fictional world that have nothing to do with sight, whether it improves or worsens it. Reading minds wouldn’t be much different from eavesdropping on conversations nearby, so long as what they’re experiencing is the audio of thoughts and not the visual.

(Although that means that some people would be harder to read because they think in images and abstract concepts with little internal dialogue. Some think only in dialogue. Some with a mix, like myself. Which means the superpower isn’t all-powerful, which is better actually, because all-powerful is boring)

Being able to stop time or teleport to familiar places (without any visuals they don’t naturally have with their normal vision, since lots of blind people have some vision) could work. Feeling emotions. Controlling the weather. Charming animals. 

I think it’s worth looking at the Mary Sue principle: 

Does this power make the blind character over-powered for what they’re working against in the plot? 

Does the superpower make everything for the character more convenient, or does it come with as many downsides as it does upsides? 

Does the character take time to learn it like you do any other skill, such as learning to use a cane or read Braille? 

Does the character still need everything a non-superpowered blind person would need to function? (cane, guide dog, Braille, magnifiers, screen-reader, special light settings in their living environment)

Was the superpower made to explain away a plothole that could be fixed with some clever writing or plot reworking instead?

Mary Sue’s are something that’s been written and theorized and debated to death, and they are very different from a disabled original character or a fanfiction AU disabled character, but it’s easy to fall into the flaws of Mary Sue writing and make them too perfect or too capable.

This is just my personal theory, and I’m basing it off the way I see fandoms react to diverse characters, but there seems to be a pattern in which writers make their disabled character too perfect and too capable as a way of justifying their character decisions to a reader before the reader has even read it.

To which I say, disabled characters don’t need a reason to exist any more than abled characters need a reason to exist. Do you want to write this character and do they have a place in your story? Great, do it.

(It makes more sense to have disabled characters in a book than it does an android or dragon or demigod if you ask me. They exist everywhere, whereas dragons and androids and demigods only exist in specific fictional universes... that’s me running on a tangent)

Anyway, thank you for the ask anon. Every time someone sends me an ask on the subject and I sit down to answer I learn more about the subject in question. Arguing for or against a decision, or trying to work around a hypothetical problem, gives me the chance to reevaluate all the complexities of the issue and learn more rather than having an off-the-bat response to everyone.

That’s why every ask I get (even if it’s almost always the same situation) gets a unique response because by then I’ve learned something new about blindness that I didn’t have for the last ask, or I will rewrite my argument and almost always I inadvertently find a reason that contradicts my opinion and holds things in a new light and I love that.

There are millions of ways to be blind (fact: no blind person sees exactly the same as another, it’s all unique) and there are millions of ways to write blind characters.