#i know this is a normal fandom experience

[redwryvernwrites]

How do I get better at writing?

It's simple really. You write. And you Read.

...Okay maybe not that simple but here's a few pointers.

Stop planning and Talking about your AU's and actually write! This one I feel like is the most important for tumblr users. I've had a lot of people Ask, DM or message me with their ideas which is good but you know what would be even better? If I could read about your world, if I could get immersed in it. I do not want to read an essay about your world, I want to partake in it. I want to feel it. Allow me to experience the world you're creating. You've been showing profiles and detailed world building essays for months now but you're not writing your story. WRITE YOUR STORY!

Don't worry if your writing is bad. When you first start writing, it's going to be bad. It's going to suck. It's like drawing. You're going to suck at first. That's okay. That's how you get better. You need to start somewhere. So start and don't stop.

Don't get precious about ideas or first drafts. They will change over time. First drafts, story pitches and production bibles are just that, they're a rough sketch, an idea to be improved. There's a reason that concept art and characters can change so drastically from pilots and pitches. They lay out an idea for you to work off of. As you write, things will change. People like betas/editors will challenge and thus strengthen ideas. Never be satisfied with a first draft when it could be better. Your writing can always get better. Don't be afraid to change.

Create solid realistic characters. Solid characters that feel and interact realistically will engage your audience, your readers regardless of their intentions or their personality. A character that a reader can empathize and relate to can do a lot of heavy lifting if you're not confident in your world building as a beginner.

DO NOT USE AI like CHAT GPT. Self explanatory this one. Just don't. It'll make your skill regress if you become reliant on it.

READ. Read books. Read GOOD Fanfiction. Read BAD fanfiction. Writing is one of the skills that you can get better at by simply engaging with other author's work. Take in what your reading even if you didn't like it. Ask yourself why you didn't like it and try to avoid it in your own work. Ask why something you read was good and see if you can emulate it in your own work.

Restrict yourself. Restrictions can be good for you. Set a story in a single room or a set piece, like a factory or a quarry (like classic Dr Who!). Force your characters to interact with characters that they normally wouldn't have, see what happens! They might kill each other, they might not! Write and find out.

Talk with other writers. Talk to people who will challenge your ideas, who will point out flaws in your work. They don't even have to be apart of the same fandom, a story should stand on it's own . One of the best groups I've been a part of was one where we tore each others work apart.

I could go on but basically if there's anything you take from this, it should be: Write. Write even if you're bad. Have fun with it and don't be precious about ideas.

[tcoaal]

I know you like TCOAAR and stand up for mods in the fandom, so I wanted to ask, is that new Andrew and Julia mod good? Just curious if it's worth trying out.

alrighty i'm praying you saw my panicked posts while i was half asleep but also like. you know, normally i have a lot of respect for TCOAAL modmaking. i don't actually really play mods for TCOAAL really (i sometimes watch fropamine's walkthroughs of them), it's just TCOAAR has a really soft spot in my heart and even that one i've fallen out of love with (but i still wanna play chapter 2) but in general i will say i actually don't have a lot of opinions on TCOAAL mods. that being said, i do kind of respect (usually) even the most dogshit OOC mods and fanfics as products of fan love and fan labor, which is something i highly value.

so i cannot stress. the Coffin of Andy and July (lol) mod is like. actively malicious.

the TCOAAJ mod is written by a transphobe. they were permabanned from the subreddit for this. they are also an anti that rants on-and-on about how gravecest is disgusting and gross and Andrew/Julia is the TRUE healthy ship and reduces Julia to being incredibly OOC to serve as her mouthpiece. fun fact: that incident they said got them permabanned (which you see here, saying she's "not a real woman") involves a friend i've had long before TCOAAL so i'm especially. bitter lol

and the just being an anti shit (there's a lot more if you go through the page. this is just a quick skim if you search "incest"):

this post would be like 50 million miles long if i got screenshots of everything (and also shoutout to @woodchipp for liveblogging this disaster of a mod to me watching fropamine we had fun laughing at it and also got a lot of good screenshots from it, we didn't learn later until how vile the author was) but here's like a few key choice moments that really stand out to me

(the last retort is funny to me it's one of the closest moments Andrew has to being IC in this mess. saying something like this SPECIFICALLY to Julia to make Ashley look better and get under her skin)

like.

the mod has a pretty specific agenda. both Andrew and Julia are horribly OOC, but instead of that OOC just being the result of a fanfic author who just can't nail the characterization but is still writing their AU fanfic because they love it, TCOAAJ is pretty clearly born from a place of spite. it is born from the author's personal genuine hatred for the fandom at large and gravecest and it uses Julia as it's vehicle to be able to rant against the ship and fandom. the author is a bigot who rubs elbows with pro-life conservatives and even outright said to one of my friends in that screenshot that you'll "never be a woman," which may not exactly correlate to this mod, but proves her to be a fucking rancid human being in general even if this mod was better.

i cannot unrecommend it enough. only time a mod has made me like actually angry in hindsight. if you really want to experience the trainwreck where even people in the comments have called out the author, watch fropamine's walkthrough of it on youtube instead. if you are an Andrew/Julia shipper and want fan content please just go read some fanfics instead of playing this, it's not worth it.

[wisteriasymphony]

General thoughts on sentitwins, please?

Felix seems like the kind of character I would normally have as my favorite (i.e.: smarmy dramatic bitch boy), but for some reason he's not? I don't know. Could never really get into him as a character, not to the extent I'd expect viewing the cast in a vacuum and/or in comparison to other people in the fandom. Leah / grammedevanille / myladynoire's take on him is the one that I like the most, though, since that leans as far into the smarminess as possible and explores how it plays off of other people. I don't want to see him be a redeemed tragic figure. I want him to be Cocomelon Malfoy.

Similarly, when I finally got around to watching S5 I was kind of flabbergasted that a lot of Felix's lore is... well, what I wanted for Adrien and what I thought would give nice depth to him. I think I mean this mostly in the "Gabriel is outright acknowledged as abusive by the story in the most explicit language they are allowed"/"Adrien is outright acknowledged to have a very complex relationship with his father (just as was hinted in earlier seasons)(that, unlike Felix's case, he often keeps hidden for civility's sake)"/"Adrien is allowed to react to his abuse in imperfect ways". This might be a factor in why, as the above states, I found it hard to meet Felix where he's at as some moody Byronic hero. It would've been more compelling coming from someone else!

Any further thoughts on Adrien need only be found by scrolling through my blog.

I think the general fandom thread with sentitwins is to lean very hard into them having a strained yet ultimately loving relationship. Felix did everything he did because he cared for Adrien, the two hold some fondness for each other from childhood that has since deteriorated and may soon be rectified, so on and so forth. I think this is the most vocal thread on tumblr, and I don't think any other platform I've acquainted myself with really even cares about sentitwins to begin with. ...Now, I am a twin (surprise!), with two younger siblings, and while my experience is not nor will ever be universal, I've always had trouble really subscribing to the aforementioned sentitwins reading? I don't know if it simply feels too gratuitously forgiving or puts more weight onto their relationship than I would find believable. And that's not to say platonic/familial relationships are never as emotionally intense if not more so than other types, I know that not to be the case! My personal preference for their dynamic just isn't that.

And. Well. Idk about you but my personal preference is that they bicker all the time. Felix's attempts at "helping" Adrien are always incredibly bizarre, way too entrenched in his own misguided world views to really help, and are sometimes often outright harmful to Adrien themselves. His care for his cousin as someone "like him" is constantly at odds with a jealousy and a disgust at Adrien's choices, so much of Felix's attempts to guide his cousin on the "correct path" are either Felix *forcing* Adrien to be something worthy of being "above Felix" or Felix trying to assert power over him instead. (See A Crack That Travels Up The Spine). Adrien is, of course, incredibly resistant to Felix's attempts to save him from himself, and enjoys taunting his cousin because Adrien is and will always be someone who wakes up at the bottom of a hole and gleefully keeps digging. (Again, see A Crack That Travels Up The Spine)

I do think there's too for them to be nice to each other and even bond over common interests, but the very nature of who and what they are (perfect children, sentihumans, prodigies if you're willing to indulge me) and the toxic environment they were both raised in will put them at odds. And I think this is true for their entire childhood and something that can coexist with them also being playmates.

If you're interested in nuance, that is. I have no hesitation the show will refuse to explore any character complexity it doesn't absolutely need to because that can take up a whole lot of runtime.

Anyway yeah they should scowl at each other and get in fights that's just ping-ponging the same vitriolic insults each others' way. I like when they're snarky to each other, it makes me laugh.

[blacklegsanjienthusiast]

Have you read Taz Skylar’s Gamesradar interview about Sanji? He rarely talks about him as a character since interviewers would constantly ask him about his general experience on filming the live action and his stunt work on the show most of the time. But when he is given the opportunity to talk or have a deep dive discussion about Sanji, it’s just beautiful. It’s just so beautiful the way Taz articulates his thoughts about Sanji as a character and it’s very clear that he truly understands him.

When the OPLA Season 1 was weeks away from officially being released in 2023, I was still on the fence and unsure of it. I actually liked the casting of the Strawhat crew but I was not sure on the writing and acting aspect for each character, especially the acting for Luffy and Sanji since I was unfamiliar with Inaki and Taz at that time. Then I read an interview where Taz talked and had a deep dive discussion about Sanji and it was such a huge turning point for me. It quickly changed my mind and made me have faith in Taz’s portrayal of Sanji. It’s an interview that made me go “OMG HE GETS IT! HE GETS THIS CHARACTER!” And then I watched the Live Action, and was quickly amazed by Taz’s acting because he had little screen time compared to the other Strawhats but he made the most of it. He had a few scenes but he was able to portray this character with such great depth and layers. I can tell that he was considering Sanji’s origin when he was portraying him. I am actually quite excited for Season 2 and hope that there’s more seasons.

This is the interview that I was talking about btw: https://www.gamesradar.com/taz-skylar-one-piece-netflix-sanji-interview/

i had not read this interview before so thank you for sharing it!!

you’re so right though, every time taz is given the opportunity to talk about sanji as a character all i can think is that he just gets him in every way. one of my favourite things about opla, especially when it comes to sanji, is that it’s the first time we’re seeing the earlier arcs whilst also knowing the rest of the story and, in sanjis case, backstory that didn’t exist at the time the east blue saga was written and it’s so interesting to have a version of the character where we know all of that context is being taken into account when it comes to portraying him. hindsight really is a wonderful thing and it allows taz’s version of sanji to be so incredibly and purposefully layered, rather than the retcons and often accidental callbacks from earlier anime arcs we’re used to. this answer from the article you linked is a perfect example:

i genuinely gasped when i read this earlier because sanji’s relationship with and views of women stemming from how he was treated as child by sora and reiju compared to his male family members is such an extremely important part of his character to me, and basically all of his fans and the fact that taz picked up on that as well and the fact that that is what was in his head whilst filming is huge to me, because while it’s pretty agreed upon by the fandom it’s not something that’s ever explicitly stated in the manga and was certainly not a thing nor the intended reasoning behind sanji’s views on women when oda was first writing the east blue (he was just a simp). the fact that in opla that is very explicitly the reason and what taz intended is, as i said, huge to me because not only is it just such a perfect interpretation of sanji but it also shows just how much time taz put into his portrayal of him.

another small moment when i thought oh he gets him is in the interview below and his answer to the question of what devil fruit would you have if you could have one was none because sanji is the only person in his family who is normal and has no special abilities and that in itself is what makes him special and i just thought yes! exactly! you get it!

on top of the extensive physical training taz did for the role and the fact he learned to cook for it, the time put into simply thinking about sanji as a person and his past and origins, and how it shaped him into the man who we are introduced to in baratie means opla sanji is just so wonderful to watch. the stand out line to me in season 1 is “all i see is back”. the bitterness of it is so good and if you know sanji’s full backstory you can immediately tell that he is not just thinking about the rock when he says that.

this ended up being a longer ramble than i intended but to round it off there’s a lot of opportunity in season 2 for hints to sanji’s past (those being for example the fact that it’s mr 3 he’s mistaken for because isn’t that a crazy coincidence) and i’m so interested to see if taz takes them.

[generalluxun]

You know one thing I dislike about this fandom is how they blow things out of proportion e.g Max was angry at losing in the gamer but instead of thinking it was because he practiced for it all along apparently it was because he's sexist, Bustier put a student who claimed they have a disease at the front so let's add that as a reason to salt on her, apparently because Chloe is racist so that means she's always doomed to be Satan forever, Adrien told Marinette to leave Lila alone so let's make him a doormat and abuser ( mind you Adrien was not there when Lila threatened Marinette).

Like I understand salt at times but majority of the times Character salt in this fandom is just let's salt on a character for the most stupid of things.

It's worth remembering the target audience for ML. I'm not trying to be patronizing here, but it is a factor. The bulk of what comes up falls under 'Baby's first discourse.'

THIS IS NORMAL. Everyone has to cut their teeth somewhere. Teens have to feel out their perceptions, form their stances, and develop their ideologies. It will be messy. They will make mistakes. This has always been the case. Even with the internet, your perception of the world as a teen is most likely extremely limited. Experience and growth can't really be shortcut.

Is all of it good? No, definitely not. Is some of it toxic? Absolutely. We have toxic 40+ somethings running things in various countries, so it's not like there is an age limit on this stuff.

The show itself doesn't help matters, with a very 'light switch' good/bad morality and 'good' being defined entirely by 'On Marinette's side'.

People will grow, and change. New blood will being in old arguments they haven't had yet, but that you already have. The best to do is navigate with patience, and remember to come up for air when you need to.

[sleepysundial]

"Aw, quit your belly-aching. Hands grow back!"

something about mad scientists and their big strong boyfriends idk.

[ndnbutch]

I really wanna find and follow more people on here with shared interests so if u like DnDads, Hey Riddle Riddle, Droupout, Drag Race, Survivor or Drawfee please interact with this post I beg

[yanguazalie]

These dolls were mailed to me with no return address. They feel very... warm.

[hadesknockedupintheunderworld]

The world if people stopped applying their understanding of "conservatism" and "religion/christianity" through a very modern, deeply American view onto Death Note (a manga from the Early-mid 2000s which is very much set in the cultural and societal context of early-mid 2000s Japan and all that entails):

[sainteclectic]

and btw since I'm posting a lot of wholesoul content (intended as platonic but still), i do want to make it clear: my analysis of whole as a character is purely within the narrative of the story! while i am aware that behind the metaphors is whole is cj himself, that's never what i'm writing whole as in my work. basically I'm using the internal logic of the fiction (whole as viewed by the characters in the album) rather than the reason for the fiction existing (as a fictionalized version of chonny's mental state), just like i do with all the other characters. it's important to make that distinction when you're dealing with a piece of fiction so heavily based on the creator i think. I'll never use cj as a basis for how I write whole because I find that a little off putting tbh ^^;

basically I'm playing with touys. ok? play touys with me

[biblically-accurate-dca]

KILL!!!!!!!!!

[kayvsworld]

i cant believe there was a time in my life where i was IN THE MCU MARVEL FANDOM i was INTO THE MCU i was considering catws one of the best movies in the mcu and yet. i was not interested in bucky barnes

[hadesknockedupintheunderworld]

One day

One day I hope people realize that Kitsunami already "broke through his programming" back by issue #56 of Idw Sonic

He had an entire mini arc where he dealt with being without Surge for the first time, and in the real world. He met Sonic and his friends directly, tried to work out what his purpose would be without Surge in his life (gave it a shot trying to devote himself to Sonic, seeing him as the next best thing after Surge). And when it was all said and done, he decided after experiencing more that at Surge's side is where he wanted to be.

As of the recent IDW issues, Kit isn't sticking with Surge "because of programming" and "because he just needs for other characters to friend him and turn him into a better person". He is at her side because he wants to be. He protects her and aids her because he cares about her, not just because he's serving the strongest guy in the room. And he's not interacting with others because he's decided not to give a shit about anyone else other than Surge (because from his pov, even the "good guys" are fake. From his pov, everyone is someone trying to lie and manipulate their way into pulling him and Surge to their side)

Kit already has decided what he wants to do with his life. And he decided it on his own. Not because of anyone else's wants or wishes. That's the whole point of his speech at the end of #56.

He's burying whatever his and Surge's past is and moving forward with his conviction to be with Surge because it's what he wants.

[tkbrokkoli]

cant believe that after driving the car, riding the train, booking a hotel room, having a nightmare, visiting the father in law, visiting a hospital, making a friend, and escaping an assassin, the incomprehensible Horrors™ are back at it again and harder to bear than ever 🐻

[teh-nos]

today's overthinking of the marvel cinematic universe and its fandom is that while there is a strong thread of classism in the CEO Loki/Blue Collar Thor trends, it has not arisen entirely or even primarily from the fandom itself, which is to some extent just casting the two leading men in terms of what archetype they'd be modelling for on the cover of a romance novel. which is largely built - i suspect - from the visual presentation of the characters in the original movie(s). whether there's classism in those choices by the filmmakers i will leave as homework a thought experiment for the reader, because there clearly is but i don't want to say that i wouldn't want to take this baseless theory too far.