#i should clarify that ‘i like the fanon better for this one’

[beguilingcorpse]

character bingo: cristabel oct

I NEED TO LEARN MORE ABOUT CRISTABEL IN ALECTO….. she intrigues me so bad. the mercy/cris implications absolutely kill me. i love that she was besties with alfred. and the way that her devotion was twisted and distorted into the fucked up cavalier breeding system of the modern eighth house…. where would colum asht be if not for cristabel oct a myriad ago……. tamsyn muir PLEASE tell us more about this dead gay nun!!!!

(source!)

[xjackjackx]

An Analysis of Chosen and Dark's "Friendship" (And Why I Don't Like ChoDark)

This is frankly something I've felt and wanted to talk about for a long time, so here it is: my ramblings about Cho and Dark's relationship (based off pure canon on-screen) and why ChoDark is, in my opinion, a pretty bad and uncomfortable ship.

The biggest issue with ChoDark is that a lot of the foundation for their relationship is either outdated or straight-up false. Whether it be that they were friends rampaging for seven full years before Chosen got remorse halfway through, or that Dark wanted to impress Chosen or anything.

AVA 11 kinda threw that out of the window by revealing Newgrounds was in 2011. At most two months since they met.

The first thing to note is that Cho and Dark's friendship was formed strictly out of Chosen's sympathy and Dark's opportunism. Chosen has always held more mercy for stick figures (except AIM cause fuck that guy apparently), so when he saw Dark begging for mercy he gave him a chance at friendship. Dark - who, as we see later, is a coward prioritizing himself above others - immediately jumps at the opportunity without a second thought (which, in hindsight, should've warned Chosen about the man's loyalty to others). Their whole relationship began with Dark using Chosen's kindness for himself. The first thing they do together is to start destroying everything in their sight; whether it was Chosen or Dark who started it, it doesn't matter.

That's where most of us thought they spent all the seven years rampaging together with Cho taking a while before he grew a conscience. But then AVA 11 revealed that Newground was in 2011. In what was at most two months, Dark became a maniac focused on destruction while Cho began to feel sorry for what he was done and wanted to stop. It's implied he mostly stuck around and didn't stop Dark because he had poor social skills/was afraid of Dark, as he seems pretty uncomfortable around him (Flashback implies he tried to plead and reason with Dark, but that was most likely Cho twisting around his memories to make himself look better; not the first time he would've been selfish). Meaning it was seven years of Chosen alone with a guy he didn't actually like who, as we learn later, never knew the real Chosen.

Then comes S2, where Dark plans to destroy everything and everyone with the ViraBots. This is what finally gets Chosen to stand up to Dark and try to stop him. While he has to get physical, nothing seems to imply he wants to outright harm Dark until he gets an entire fireball thrown at him. Which is another thing I want to point out: I've seen many people accuse Chosen of "betraying" Dark, but... he tried to talk things down, used small physical action (when you take in the fact both of these guys are gods, being thrown on the ground is basically nothing) and didn't even seem to actively hurt Dark, just make him stop. Dark tried to fucking kill Chosen with that fireball, or at least heavily injure him. Dark was clearly the traitor between the two and I frankly won't be hearing otherwise, especially since this lines up with his earlier characterization of immediately selling out Alan and later info about his wristband, we get to that in a minute. Cho is a morally gray person but he's fully in the right and the victim in this specific moment.

But regardless, the two continue to throw hands. The big thing here is the Vira-Band. It's not just a generic power-up, it specifically grants Dark immunity to laser beams.

This is way too specific of an ability to be brushed off. Dark specifically created a weapon against Chosen. And unless we're arguing he made something so powerful in the 10-ish minutes that Chosen was gone, he had it made in advance. Combine that with Dark quickly turning on Alan and how he easily he decided Chosen needs to go, it becomes clear that Dark was actively planning to betray and kill Chosen. Or that, at the bare minimum, he was ready to kill Chosen if they ever turn on each other.

So, combining all their screentime and knowledge together, we get this:

Chosen spared Dark out of the genuine kindness in heart, but very quickly changed his mind upon calming down following his post-Alan rage and realising Dark's fucking demented. Despite this, he never made any attempts to stop Dark, the implication being that he either still saw good in Dark or was too afraid of him to stand up. And when he did, he put in all he had to stop him, and currently little implies he misses the guy.,

Dark first joined Chosen out of personal convenience, and thought of him as an ally he can destroy with... while apparently planning to betray and kill him. This is admittedly a bit contradictory, but given all the information we have, it's safe to say Dark saw Chosen as more of an extension of himself, someone who shares all his beliefs, and when Chosen proved independent he got angry and tried to remove him from the equation to continue uninterrupted.

And this is where my main issue with ChoDark lays (ignoring the possibility they're siblings since hollowhead relationships are confusing af). To clarify, I'm far from being against Foe Yay/shipping enemies together together. The issue is that a lot of what I heard about ChoDark just... isn't there. It's, for me, a ship built primarily out of outdated interpretations that are contradicted by the release of AVA 11, and fanon moreso than canon. They didn't spend seven years destroying as friends, Chosen spent seven years together with a man he was uncomfortable around and couldn't stand up to despite seemingly wanting to, to the point his likely-false memories show him pleading with an ignorant Dark. Dark didn't want what's best to Chosen/to help him, he wanted to spread personal destruction for himself and tried to kill Cho the moment he stepped out of line; hell, he was seemingly planning this for a while given the Viraband's existence. Chosen, at least from the very limited information of his post-Showdown, doesn't seem to miss Dark all that much. And why would he? It seems like he never liked the guy, at least not anymore. There is nothing to miss, at least from the actual canon content.

A lot of the content for ChoDark revolves around ignoring what's seemingly their canonical characterizations and dynamic for a fan-made one, which also involves frankly ignoring Dark's canon personality for a fan-made one... at which point are you shipping Chosen with Dark, or an OC with Dark's name and face? That's moving past the argument ChoDark is glorifying a toxic relationship, as there really is no other way to describe "Guy hangs around with friend he's uncomfortable around because he can't stand up/has no one else, and said friend is only using him".

So yeah. This is my personal analysis of Chosen and Dark's relationship/"friendship" and why I'm personally very uncomfortable with ChoDark as a pairing, platonic and especially romantic. Their canon friendship, based off what I see at least, was based off Chosen being too kind/submissive for his own good and Dark exploiting that while preparing for the moment Chosen stops being fun. Something that makes for an awful and fake friendship, let alone romance.

KingCho is superior anyway and deserves its own post btw

[xiaokuer-schmetterling]

i have a hot take to share

re: drama vs novel 'canon' events (this is specifically about the danmei novel módào zǔshī (aka mdzs) and the live action drama inspired by it, the untamed/chén qíng lìng (aka cql)

context: haven't seen anybody in my corner of tumblr or discord say this before and it has been cooking in the back of my mind for quite some time now

hot take: the untamed/cql and founder of diabolism (the donghua) are fanworks of mdzs the original novel. [as are all movie/tv/animation/audiodrama & etc adaptations of any intellectual property that was originally published as a written work imho] and thus is in itself fanon.

so why do we see the mdzs fandom community eating itself up with infighting about drama canon vs novel canon? especially in fanfic tagging. while i do enjoy the concept of "frankencanon" bc i think it's a fun word to say...why do we have to clarify/jusify that at all? i mean. except to give ppl a heads up which plot devices to expect or not.

(i suspect this has something to do with which version ppl interacted with first & their emotional attachment to its "correctness" ???)

why should fic authors have to justify their exposition, characterization and plot choices as if one is inherently better or morally superior to the other? it's all works inspired by mdzs. that doesn't mean matching mdzs exactly. and. frankly. if you don't like how a particular author is handling some detail of your beloved blorbos. then just nope out. no need to get nasty about it in the comments

let's just play nicely together in the sandbox mxtx made for us ???

[brucewaynehater101]

"If it's closer to fanon Tim, he would feel guilty for Jason. Closer to canon Tim would either be indifferent to Jason's troubles or he'd feel glad (maybe even a little spiteful) that Jason is facing the consequences of his actions. He would, however, feel guilty for how the revelation affects the street kids."

I have to say I disagree with this. Firstly; with the whole post you're framing this as though Jason beat up a child... which like, true, but also Jason is hardly two years older than Tim. I know comics make him seem aged up, but its simply not the case. (dont @ me if u know this cuz u probably do know this already)

Secondly, Canon Tim.... doesn't hate Jason?? Like, really not at all. If there is any dislike, I'd see it as when Jason is acting particularly villainous, he treats him like any other rogue. Though they don't necessarily interact a lot when Jason is in his villain moments. It's other bats who take care of that, so there's really no beef there.

When Jason isn't having an evil moment, honestly a good word for what Tim feels for him is either pity at worst, admiration at best. With the admiration, I'm not talking about Tim liking him as Robin 'cause that's honestly pretty fanon, I'm talking about how Tim admires his tenacity and determination to keep going even when he feels like everyone is against him. And Tim wants to support him! He sees Jason struggling a lot and wishes Jason would accept help- hence the pity.

I sincerely doubt that Tim would ever feel glad or spiteful towards Jason. He's gotten him back for the whole 'beating the shit out of him' thing. Which really, wasn't really about Tim? Plus its far in the past at this point.

Not to mention Tim is one hell of a badass, he doesn't wallow in self-pity, and I don't think he'd want to interfere with RH's stuff and would probably stop the information leak himself, or even deny the rumors with something like "Oh that? It was just a disagreement/misunderstanding lol the rumors got out of hand,"

Sorry if this was too much, I like ur blog and the things u say, this one just felt really misinformed.

Thank you for letting me know. Reading the post back, I can see how I worded it wrong. I appreciate you giving me the chance to correct that and clarify.

Yes, Jason and Tim are close in age. However, Jason's age (as far as I'm aware) isn't known to civilians. Because of his helmet and bulkiness, a kid would view Jason as an Adult. If they knew his age and then the fight with Robin, that would probably be an acceptable level of violence for them. That's just two kids beating each other up, then. From their perspective, though, Robin is a Kid and Jason is an Adult. A possible solution to gain back their trust could be to disclose how old they were at the time (they might not even need to disclose any details or reasoning with that).

Later in canon, Jason and Tim start getting along. If the reveal happened at that point, Tim would not feel gleeful and spiteful. He'd feel bad for Jason. That is entirely my bad for not making that distinction.

Tim is, undeniably, an asshole at times. He wants to do good, tries to help people, and overall is kind. He's badass and I love him, but he can be an asshole (particularly to Steph). He, especially his inner dialog, sometimes makes asshole comments. This includes Jason. To add on, when Jason was beating him up and demanding Tim to answer if he thought he was good (skill wise), Tim answered yes twice. To me, this seems like a petty/spiteful response. That or Tim is just being honest af about his feelings, not giving a shit he's taking a beating.

However, Tim would not hold this grudge against Jason. One of his better qualities is to not hold grudges against most people (even those that he arguably should). It's why some villains/rogues/enemies become his allies or end up becoming fond of him.

Tim may feel glad that Jason is experiencing the consequences of his actions, but not for himself. This would be during his time as Robin exclusively. Red Robin would not feel this way.

Spiteful, though, was the wrong word to use. Tim, as the loveable asshole that he can sometimes be, might be sort of happy that Jason, in his villain era, is being shown the effects of his actions and possible wrongs in his ways. Happy also seems to not match, but the emotions wheel isn't really giving me an alternative.

Tim would, despite his feelings, hate the effect of this on everyone. The street kids, Jason, and the batfam would be negatively impacted by this, and Tim would try everything he could to stop or mitigate the outcomes. He would never release this information willingly nor stand aside to let it happen. Robin may internally say some shit about Jason and the situation if it blew up in their faces, but you're right that he wouldn't purposefully make shit worse. He would actively work to fix the entire mess.

I really am thankful that you helped me articulate this.

It's 100% my bad that I dropped the ball so hard. If y'all see me fuck up like that again, feel free to let me know. As long as you're not mean about it, I appreciate constructive criticism.

Imma edit the previous post this is about and link it to this one so that I fix the mischaracterization

[dseval]

What are your thoughts of CrossDust? What dynamic you think they have?

Permission to yap about CrossDust??

Short answer: funny i like both of them they should kiss

...Long yapping ahead (there's yapping about my Murder Sans interpretation, then there's also CrossDust. It's long.)

I'd like to first clarify that my interpretation of Dust may be different compared to many (I think, at least). Since I base his character on the canon information from Ask-Dusttale and fangames— particularly Evan Streblow's Dusttale (if you don't know, it's the one with the psychotic HAHAHAHAHAHAHA and "We're gonna have a MAD time!")

I also slot in some headcanons (and self-projections, can't help it) and some character adjustments because I think canon Murder is extremely difficult to work with, especially in the context of shipping and anything else this fandom does with him in general.

But just the gist of it so you all don't have to read that much (I can go on for ten more paragraphs. I'm obsessed with this guy):

I'll use the names Murder and Dust interchangeably and within different contexts. I like to think Murder is a front that Dust puts on— an apathetic murderer who finds emotions difficult to feel, someone who always lies to get his way, a sociopath. While Dust is quiet, honest, and more contemplative. It's mostly Murder who interacts with others.

Murder and Dust aren't necessarily two different people. Ultimately, Dust directly influences Murder's choices, and Murder may disappear one day once Dust feels content.

His hallucinations aren't only Papyrus, he also hallucinates about others although Papyrus is the most often. And these hallucinations speak different things according to the state he's in. Murder's hallucinations would encourage him to hurt more. While Dust's would induce guilt.

Murder is a very focused person, not afraid to take the lead, and he hates it when nothing happens. Dust on the other hand is content just doing nothing.

Murder finds love absurd. Dust too, but he entertains the thought of it.

Murder and Dust both think words are silly, insincere, and can change meanings, so they are more action-oriented.

He's demisexual. That's a headcanon.

And if anyone has any different interpretation of Murder/Dust Sans, that is absolutely okay and amazing. Dusttale is a very hard AU to actually get into (all the informations are scattered). Plus, there is nothing wrong with fanon. I think it's great, I like fanon. I sometimes like fanon more than canon.

Now CrossDust.

For their general dynamic, I think it's very difficult for them to get together. They just go back and forth between something and nothing. They have like... The slowest of slow burns.

I'd like to implement the entire Underverse thing. Remember how Cross stole Classic's soul? Apparently, Sanses across different alternate timelines can share a memory. So Geno knows Cross stole 'his' soul. Killer also acknowledges this and says to XChara that they stole 'his' soul.

So technically to Murder/Dust— Cross also had stolen 'his' soul (And Murder would've had felt all Cross's pain while at it, too). I think Murder would find it hilarious that Cross brought literally every single innocent AU into his problem. Dust would feel like Cross's plans are ridiculous, but since it's XChara's plan, and XChara is the human, Dust wouldn't even question it.

In a way, they share SOULs once, even if indirectly. Murder/Dust knows probably a lot about Cross. But Cross didn't know who the hell this guy is. Either way, with that in mind. Murder probably didn't have a good first impression of Cross. Dust might empathize with him, since Cross also committed a genocide in order to 'make things better' which is also Dust's reasoning. Cross might learn about Murder's actions later— but cannot judge Murder/Dust for it.

They are very similar. Kindred souls in a way. They went through similar struggles but they turned out to be completely different people. Because Cross in his entire life is under control, while Murder acts on choice. Because Cross knows what he did is horrible and he'll carry that sin to the grave, while Murder justifies his actions.

Cross is too trusting (he doesn't trust easily now), too seeking for approval, he doesn't know what to do if no one orders him. Murder thinks he himself is enough, Murder thinks he is the hero, he doesn't need anyone else.

Cross thinks Murder is a bad person, an absolute jerk. Murder likes to toy with him, probably also uses Cross to his advantage. Murder can either try to hurt Cross, or will try to win his favour. But can Cross judge him? Not really, hell, I don't think Cross even noticed if Murder did manipulate him. Low-key toxic these two.

But then there's the private moments, the intimate moments where Dust shed the front that is Murder. Where Dust is sincere; he doesn't talk, but the way he gazes and acts towards Cross is honest. And although reluctant, maybe Cross desires to bring that side out of him more.

It's both difficult for them to trust. But eventually Dust will learn that Cross cannot lie— Dust will trust words again. Eventually Cross realizes that he's not the only one hurt, and he can find a home in others, he can choose to find a home.

Cross will find it frustrating how Dust shuts himself down. Dust would find it frustrating how hard Cross tries for him. But eventually, Dust would learn to no longer front himself up with Murder. Cross would need a signal from Dust that what he's doing is okay and perfect before they can advance further.

They'll care about one another.

Eventually, they'll trust each other.

In a relationship sense where they're both happy and recovered, though. I think both of them like cuddling. Dust still had a hard time with words, but he knows how much it means for Cross to have words of affirmations, so he would praise Cross a lot. Cross knows Dust is as restless as he is, so he makes sure they both have a full schedule with a lot of things to do.

All in all, they're comfortable with each other. And that's enough, really.

(i almost yapped for ten more paragraphs but I think this is enough for now sksksksk)

Dust Sans by Ask-Dusttale

Cross Sans, Underverse, & XTale by Jakei

Mentioned characters: Killer Sans (by Rahafwabas), Geno (by loverofpiggies/CrayonQueen)

[swordfright]

https://www.tumblr.com/swordfright/756502816281018368/what-do-you-think-is-your-most-controversial-dsmp?source=share

I remember sending this to a bunch of dsmp blogs (starting with elmhat I think ?) bc I like when people share ideas/opinions who diverge from the main consensus because I find it the most efficient way for people to stick to canon and not fanon since people can have different interpretations of event

And it was super interesting to see the one about the experimentation being after prison rather than before (loved the two LN and Q ones too but as you said they were a bit more common. Would love to see your take on c!slime though now)

(And I wouldn't have a problem with you giving unpopular opinion about the fandom either but to be clear I was not trying to start anything with my first question, I just like seeing uncommon takes)

Don't worry lol I didn't assume you were trying to start shit. Ok, so c!Slime is pretty interesting in that he's the closest thing we have to an NPC in what is otherwise a roleplay, which implies certain things about how he can be used in the narrative.

A little bit of quick background: I spent a LOT of time as a kid doing RP online (it was an original story set in the Death Note universe and it happened on a website that went bankrupt in like 2017 and no longer exists lmfao don't worry about it) and idk what RP etiquette is like in other communities, but in the community I was a part of, it was sort of frowned upon for players to outsource heavy plot/character development material to NPCs. It was allowed and people did it, but it was seen as sort of a cop-out. The underlying idea being that if you're gonna bother to do RP, your character's most important interactions should be with other PCs, in part because it helps build/strengthen the RP community and in part because it better entrenches your character's storyline in the storylines of other PCs, which in turn encourages other players to keep RPing and keeps the story going. Again, creating NPCs was very common, but players were discouraged from having entire arcs or character trajectories be highly dependent on NPCs. It was seen as sort of a cheap, low-effort way of progressing your character's development without having to coordinate plot beats with other players, and doing it too often was seen as sort of antithetical to what RP is trying to achieve as a form of gaming-storytelling. To me, c!Slime is a classic example of when an RPer outsources a little too much narrative weight onto an NPC.

First of all, I wanna clarify that it's kinda difficult to define what an NPC is or isn't on this server, but I'd say c!Slime is more of an NPC because even though he's played by a CC with some degree of improv, we know that cc!Quackity specifically wrote c!Slime's character to fulfill a narrative role and asked cc!Slime to play that character - as opposed to alternate characters played by CCs of their own accord (Sam Nook, Dream XD, Sam Bucket, Mexican Dream, etc.) So, for example, I don't see Sam Bucket as an NPC but I do see c!Slime as an NPC. c!Slime wasn't an original creation on the part of the player, he's a narrative tool (which is fine, but it does mean that what he can and can't do in the story is limited to what cc!Q needed him to do.)

There are some things I think the addition of c!Slime did accomplish. For one, Q's interactions with him provide a platform for more introspective character work on Q's part. And while I that character work could've been done by having Q interact with a PC instead, I do think Slime is better positioned to act as an apprentice figure because he had almost no lore prior to Las Nevadas and didn't enter the story with baggage or ties to any other major characters. He's a blank slate, which makes him really easy to use as a narrative device. Q voices thoughts and ideas to Slime that he can't voice to other characters (usually because it would be OOC for him to do so, or wouldn't make sense in context), which means that Slime is sort of a vehicle for delivering Q characterization to the audience.

This is all fine and I think a lot of it was done fairly well. I like cc!Slime's acting and I think the character is a fun addition to the LN crew. That said, I don't think the payoff was great. Slime being an NPC really undermined what I assume cc!Q was going for with End of Las Nevadas, in large part because he doesn't have well-established relationships with other characters. Aside from Q, Slime basically only ever interacts with Tommy, Foolish and Ranboo, and even those interactions are limited to a really tiny handful of streams. Punz capturing and manipulating him, Slime helping c!Dream confront Quackity...all that stuff could have been a lot more interesting if it had more time to marinate. Like, I love the IDEA of Slime and c!Dream interacting, but we don't really get any meaningful interactions between them outside of Slime's function as a storytelling tool. He's there when he needs to be, and only ever when he needs to be.

For instance, I would've loved to see what Slime thinks about Q's slime army. It's really weird to model your mindlessly obedient slave army after your friend. That was a weird ass thing for Q to do, and it would've been cool to see Slime react to that. But because he's more NPC than PC, and because highly scripted lore like the LN series doesn't really encourage deviation, we never get to find that out. Slime doesn't ever really get to be his own character, which in the end kinda undermines a lot of the character development he triggers for c!Quackity because at the end of the day, it's really transparent that Slime only exists to be a prop. It's a kind of one-sided relationship that's unique to RP.

I think End of Las Nevadas was weak for other reasons too, but uhhhh yeah the Slime stuff bothered me a bit. Would've liked to see him do more. And he disappears after pushing Q off the ledge and, to my knowledge, we never see him again! If he had been more PC and less storytelling tool, presumably other characters would've had opportunities to react to Slime's role in the events of that stream, or notice that he's missing/back again/missing. But instead, he's able to just vanish from the story after he's fulfilled his role because that's all he was ever supposed to do.

[henrysglock]

fklsjadf; sorry feeling awkward and just wanted to clarify all that's for the sake of discussion, i dont want to be one of those people that's leaping at the opportunity to prove you wrong or make it seem like you can't criticize the byers and i hope it's not coming off that way<3

really appreciate that you actually tackle the canon will/el dynamic rather than the idealized version that gets pushed a lot of the time, it's all perfectly imperfect imo

Omg no not at all!! The last thing I see this as is an attack, I swear. In fact, this whole conversation has been so awesome 😭 I love being able to discuss this stuff in a way where everyone’s respectful, even if we hold slightly different opinions on things. So many conversations either don’t happen or devolve into fighting immediately, and I’ve really really enjoyed going back and forth about it.

Ghe Byers family is such a touchy subject because so many people are attached to them being pure good/perfect people. (Even when those same fans can acknowledge that the Byers are not perfect, they’re still put on this pedestal of being the “perfect” loving family…the double standard is really weird. Not to be dramatic, but it reminds me of doublethink from 1984). So to even be able to talk about their canon selves at all, to be able to criticize them at all, especially in defense of El…that’s really special to me.

And I don’t want it to seem like I’m just dunking on the Byers, or that I don’t understand that they’re al struggling/they can’t be perfect people/things are hard. In fact, most of the time I think they’re doing the best they can. It’s just that caring for and supporting El was no one’s priority, and it’s sad to think about given all she’s done and all she’s been through. That’s all.

Like if anyone looks at my older analyses, many of which I still stand by, I do position the Byers as a “better”/more cohesive family than the others. El just didn’t have a place there, unfortunately.

And also—a bit off topic, but I was talking to Wilbur (reikunrei) last night about all this, and we both agreed that El might have been “better off” staying with the Wheelers instead of going to Cali. I say this specifically because Joyce was so busy as a single mother, whereas Karen has a little more time to actually engage with her kids, should she choose to. We see that in st1 with her telling Mike he can talk to her, and we see it in her supportive interactions with Nancy. I think Karen could have been a good presence for El in the realm of “being a normal girl”. (Do you know how much I would have paid to see El being all sad and then Karen coming in like “Do you want to come to the salon with me? It makes me feel better when I’m sad.” and them having a real girl-to-girl bonding moment? Especially when the stylists said they did Nancy and Karen up to look like they went to the same salon…and especially after El was originally almost given the option to be a Wheeler…anyway, that’s all just fanon lol and I’m sad again now.)

That’s not to say Joyce wasn’t doing A Lot to juggle her own grief and her own struggles, like I do see it and appreciate it, but it just really wasn’t a good fit for El, it seems.

[fevers-and-emeto-oh-my]

but it comes off a little weird that people are claiming those are dates when Eddie didn't even know Tommy was gay? like, don't get me wrong, I agree with the chemistry between the two and I'm down for it entirely, but the way it's been framed by certain people is that Tommy took Eddie on dates without telling Eddie, and that read is a little weird, because both sides should know it's a date if it is, in fact, a date. Eddie didn't even know about Tommy's interest and there's nothing wrong with that! but the way it's being framed is just again trying to say Tommy's a predator, when we've been shown that that's not the case - he checks in repeatedly with Buck. If he'd been wanting a date with Eddie, Eddie woulda known about it. he may have been putting out feelers while hanging out with Eddie (there's obviously nothing wrong with that, either), but it hadn't progressed past that. which is honestly kind of a shame, because as much as I love bucktommy, eddietommy would've been interesting as hell

Well then the post I saw should have been better worded 🤷‍♀️ yes, it's wrong if it's BoBs with that viewpoint specifically as a predatory thing. That's as always BoB brand homophobia.

But the post I saw was just SO hostile in a way that came across as directly against eddietommy itself, including in replies and reblogs by other people. they're not wrong for making a post on their own blog, but I'm also not wrong for being hurt by it.

Canon and fanon are different. In canon, Tommy didn't take Eddie on dates. But in fanon, and reading subtext? Anything goes. I read the subtext of 7x04 as Tommy ABSOLUTELY having interest in BOTH Eddie and Buck. Even if their outings weren't legit dates, I totally think Tommy was smitten with Eddie. In my heart 7x04 begins buddietommy endgame. Canon, obviously, Tommy and Eddie are friends and Tommy was always interested in Buck.

(I DO love Lou for saying it was nearly eddietommy in canon. thanks for fueling my fanon dreams babe <3)

The point of MY post is that when you attack people without clarifying, in this case specific BoBs, it can come across as attacking other people, in this case eddietommy shippers. The post I saw did not clarify whether they were talking about a canon viewing or a fanon viewing. I'm well within my rights to feel hurt that I'm potentially being called homophobic for my fanon reading of an episode.

Is it fucking terrible that this fandom labels Tommy as a predator because they hate him for no reason other than him not being Eddie? Yes. The buddie side of the fandom is rife with horrifically homophobic and disgusting behavior.

But you also can't generalize viewpoints like that. Seeing the eddietommy outings as dates isn't inherently homophobic. It's homophobic IF you claim it was predatory on Tommy's part. It's being a fanon shipper IF you can see the outings as dates that Eddie did not disclose to Buck or dates that eddietommy went on while agreeing to be poly.

Making a generalized statement that "if you see the eddietommy outings as dates you're homophobic" is NOT helpful. All that post succeeded in doing for me as a multishipper is making me feel even more alienated. Intent and impact are different, and that post likely didn't land as intended with any eddietommy shippers. All that was needed to avoid unnecessary hurt was to SAY "i'm talking about BoBs who see Tommy as predatory."

(And, in general, I don't care what canon does. I don't care that Eddie was shocked Tommy's gay. I don't care that canon obviously meant them as platonic hang outs. Canon simply hands me Barbies and a sandbox and then I do what I want.)

And for what it's worth, I have read multiple buddietommy fics where Eddie suddenly realizes on like date four or five that bucktommy are wooing him by taking him on dates and he was not informed that they were dates. People are messy. It's not inherently weird or wrong if people accidentally have two different perceptions of the same event, where one party thinks it's a date and the other doesn't. That happens within any combo of genders in fiction all the time. Not everything is automatically "weird" if it goes against the typical status quo.

[snorlaxlovesme]

HI HELLO MAY I ASK MORE

38. What is your most self-indulgent posted story?

55. Have you noticed any patterns in your fics?  Words/expressions that appear a lot, themes, common settings, etc?

72. What’s your favorite writing compliment you’ve gotten?

79. Do you have any writing advice you want to share?

i'm greedy

38. What is your most self-indulgent posted story?

i'm glad it clarified "posted" story (i literally have a unpublished wip titled "self-indulgent wes and soul BS" because it's a sequel to ANOTHER wip, also not finished. that fic is my personal playground). ANYWAY. ignoring the fact that ALL my fics are self indulgent, More Confused Than Usual [x] is probably the best example of one. for starters, it's Pokemon, a fandom i rarely write for. it's also contestshipping (May x Drew), a couple i have only absorbed through fanon because I never actually...watched Advanced Generation? i've seen clips but i've watched maybe ONE episode feature May and Drew from start to finish. and thirdly it's tropey as hell. who doesn't love a good amnesia shenanigans fic? the writer i mentioned in your previous ask, Bittersweet Romanticide? she'd write something like this. THAT's probably why i love it.

55. Have you noticed any patterns in your fic?

the last two fics i've posted both have the tag "food as a metaphor for love" which i found very funny in hindsight. is this my niche? i also love writing that gray area of love where 2 characters would die for each other but also have never come close to confessing their feelings or even admitting they HAVE feelings. my aroasexuality loves putting a lid on ANY concrete evidence of romance in my fics. YES these characters share a love that's strong enough to move mountains, to traverse oceans, to wage wars. no, they probably won't kiss.

72. What's your favorite writing compliment you've gotten?

any time someone tells me that my writing has like, existed somehow outside of their phone or laptop i lose my mind a little. like my baseline assumption is that people read my writing, then solemnly nod their head, think "hm.", and click the kudos button. so when someone tells me that my writing made them cry??? made them laugh out loud in class?? that they talked about my story with another human person? idk, it makes it feel more real. a real human person read something i wrote and somehow it caused a physical reaction out there in the world somewhere. isn't that weird?

79. Do you have any writing advice you'd like to share?

i think my favorite piece of writing advice is that "write what you know" is terrible advice. or terribly reductive advice. whenever professors at my college would trot around that piece of advice with no follow-up i'd get so mad. like you want me to write what i know?? my day-job is Maid and my night-job is Couch Potato. i clean toilets and go home and watch TV. what the hell do i know? and who'd want to read that? it felt like i wasn't allowed to go beyond that in my writing because i didn't have experience with it. then i took those Stief courses and got BETTER writing advice. when writing what you know, you should be writing the EMOTIONAL TRUTHS you know. you don't need every character or situation to be 1 to 1 comparable to your life, but if you want what you write to believable then try to find the emotional truths within that situation that are. ex: an original concept i've toyed with is a story where the world fast-forwards a whole year in the blink of an eye. as in, the entire world FORGOT what happened in the past year, and now is struggling to pick up the pieces of their new lives. people have moved, gotten new jobs, broken up, had children etc. and have to grapple with these changes they have no context for. the main character? a woman who works at the penguin emporium at the zoo. she puts on a scuba suit and sucks up fish guts and penguin shit from the bottom of the tank. she teaches little kids about penguin gestation periods. the conflict? all of her co-workers and loved ones have dramatic Leap Year conflicts except for her, because her life doesn't appear to have changed at all. i have never experienced long or short term amnesia. i have not and never will work as a penguin shit vacuumer at a zoo. this is very outside the realm of my expertise and has required a lot of youtube video research about penguin care. it SHOULD fall outside of my WWYK bubble, but that doesn't matter! the emotional truth is something that resonates with me deeply, as a late 20s woman who had felt stagnant in her life while other people were changing rapidly around her. are the readers going to get caught up in the penguin details, or are they going to relate that the book shelf they've been planning to build for months is STILL sitting in its box a year later, while their neighbor just got engaged AND promoted? that they STILL leave their clean laundry on the chair in their room instead of folding it, but their favorite co-worker doesn't actually work with them anymore because they transferred to the department they've always wanted to work in? i could have my character be space alien. a deepwater fish. a Vegas showgirl. that stuff is all window dressing if i can still get THAT emotional truth across. THAT'S writing what you know. and i can know all of that from my night job sitting on my couch.

[dimdiamond]

do you have any headcanons about chang and tintin's relationship? platonic and/or romantic? their relationship is pretty cute and i'm looking for someone to talk about tintin with! is that alright with you?

HELLO 👋

YES!!!! I WOULD LOVE TO TALK ABOUT THEM!

However I have to clarify that my interpretation of them and their relationship may differ a lot from the one most fans have or the general fanon (if there's one). It also may seem OOC but a) I don't care if it is and b) I take into consideration the canon material about Chang (although it barely exists) but I try to see between the lines and beyond them. Lastly, I don't ship them (I'll get more into details about the romantic side of their relationship) but I don't hate the ship, if anything I do get it and it's cute. If you are ok with these then let's go!

Chang and Tintin met when they were young (Chang around 14 and Tintin around 18-19) and they were both alone and lonely, thus being each other's first and only best friend. This, actually, is the basis of their relationship and affects everything that happens later on. If Tintin hadn't met Chang, he wouldn't accept people coming to his life because he wouldn't believe that anyone could keep up with him and he would think that he doesn't need anyone. If Chang hadn't met Tintin, he would be even more distrustful and without any regard of his actions. They're each other's reason for finding their own family, Chang, by meeting Tintin, met the Wang family and got adopted, and Tintin, by befriending Chang, learnt to be more open to the possibility of having friends, partners even, and some stories forward befriends Haddock and gradually gets more and more people close to him.

Exactly because of being so young and lonely, Chang (at least until Tibet incident) idolises Tintin and considers him to be the prime example of what he should aim to be- brave, clever, persistent and most of all a good person. Tintin's values and ethos are close to Chang's heart and inspire him, as much as his family's beliefs, to be better and do better.

The perfect image he has for Tintin, ironically, breaks after Tibet. It's not because Tintin disappointed him or because Chang is ungrateful. It's because Tintin isn't the same Tintin he knew (take into consideration that they haven't seen each other since the first meeting, about 4 years or so). Chang realizes Tintin is a human and not an invulnerable hero and this makes him feel guilty for putting all this weight on him (yeah Chang is a whole mess after Tibet). If anything, this makes Chang reconsider their friendship (and actually everything in his life) and decides to rebuild it in new foundations. Yes, Tintin is his saviour but it's cruel to be only that and from now on the only fair thing is to be equals. And that's another motivation for him to take the plane again and see the world outside his secured home (he had already wanted that but now it's more about finding himself and be himself than finding Tintin and be like Tintin).

Meanwhile, Tintin also has had the same image for Chang as the first time they met, a kind, goodhearted kid (as he pacifies Haddock that Chang isn't like Abdullah) and after Tibet he realizes that Chang isn't just that. The image he had for his friend is true but not whole. Chang is more than just the good kid that helped him and, with this traumatic experience, isn't the same. He is a human too, with his good sides and his faults. Tintin really sees Chang and now their friendship can be more honest and direct.

After all this, Tintin and Chang communicate more regularly and try to meet more often. This is because they get to know each other all over again and, although in different phases in their lives (Tintin gradually settles down and Chang now starts his life), they still consider each other their best friend and equals.

With the new foundation of their friendship, they bicker more often. This is because they are more open and honest to each other and their attitude is like that, if they have a common target they're unstoppable but if they don't this energy will aim to each other. Of course this doesn't ruin their relationship, on the contrary it strengthens it and their trust. If someone knows Tintin well and can tell him the truth to his face that will be Chang and vice versa. Although they always considered that no one understands them more than each other, in reality this isn't true. Tintin doesn't understand Chang and Chang doesn't understand Tintin either. They want to, though, and that's why they keep in touch and talk to each other. (If anyone understands Chang is Haddock and vice versa but this is a different topic that deserves a different post- in my mind, from the Marlinspike gang, Chang has unique relationships with Haddock and Nestor).

They have common interests like languages, theatre, philosophy and so on but they have many differences in general. Tintin is more into art, literature, likes opera and Chang is more into history, supernatural, doesn't like opera. Tintin is more sociable and likes big gatherings and parties and doesn't mind interacting with politics and generals and cops (as we can see from his acquaintances and friends) while Chang isn't that sociable, can't stand parties for long and doesn't want to have anything with authority figures. Most of all Tintin is an idealist and Chang is a romantic. However, they're both still nerds and still highly respect each other so they continue talk about their interests, their adventures, and whenever they spend time together they will either spend all day in library or outside exploring (more than once they got lost and Haddock had to bring them back, Tintin knowing well that wherever he goes Haddock will find him and if not he's confident he will find a solution and Chang thinking he has an internal GPS but stubbornly ignores that it only works in his homeland).

Tintin gets drunk after the first glass while Chang gets drunk after many more glasses and the only reason they would go out drinking together would be to have Tintin drive them back. Contrary to Tintin that has a bet with himself to drive anything that exists, Chang can't drive anything except bicycle and motorcycle some years later. Tintin is a sweet tooth and he and kitchen are a dangerous combination. Chang knows to cook very well thanks to his mother and learns to bake later thanks to his uncle Victor (just one of my headcanons that his uncle in London, Yin, has a relationship for years with Victor, an Irishman). So Tintin is a big fan of Chang's cooking and it's hard for him to choose between his and Nestor's cooking skills.

Tintin and Chang are kinda competitive with each other and they easily get into challenges and bets and games. No one has any idea what's the score and if you ask them they will both say "I win".

They have a similar taste of humour and you don't want to be their common target for bullying jokes. When Martine joins their group it only becomes worse for the others. They wouldn't call what they do gossiping but they definitely do that. If they go out all three for drinking they affect Tintin and make him try one of these fancy and pretty cocktails. They end up calling a taxi or Haddock.

Milou and the cat love Chang A LOT and so he does love them. Tintin and Haddock don't get that much jealous of that but mostly it feels like they got a willing babysitter.

In a serious note, Tintin and Chang don't force each other to talk about their trauma or their past but in their own pace they do open up to each other (tremendously slow pace because Tintin needs more time to open up than Chang). Even after opening up, they never refer to them and if a word is mentioned, at least it feels less and less awkward.

About the romantic side (and sexuality):

If I add the romantic element, it is more possible to apply it as one sided unrequited love from Chang's pov. Tintin is his first love and eventually his first heartbreak. Probably is the one that makes him realize he likes boys and, with Tintin being the same as him, the bond is unavoidable. Of course he would cling to Tintin, especially since after Tintin he didn't have any other to form a bond like that in his environment, and the idolisation only makes it harder for him to get over his crush. It weighs him for the years to come and only after meeting Tintin again in Tibet he starts to get over it. So it's not much of a hurtful heartbreak as more of a sense of freedom and starting all over without any weights. He is ready to see Tintin for who he really is. He understands that they are both in different phases and have different needs, that they can't be together but at the same time he realises that he doesn't want this kind of relationship with him, that their friendship is so important and meaningful and worthy of treasuring it. Also getting to know more queer people helps him understand himself better and live his life open to any possibilities.

Tintin knew that deep down already, even if he couldn't word it. He knows that the bond he has with Chang is unique and their love doesn't follow rules, as they don't. He cherishes it even after making new friends and even after not seeing his friend for a long time. That's how Tintin is. He doesn't think that it's necessary to see someone all the time or talk about them to consider them important to him. And most of all, he knows what Chang needs and what himself needs (from a partner) and knows that they can't be this person for each other and doesn't deem it necessary to make their relationship like that. They are each other's first and best friend and they don't owe any explanation of their bond and feelings to anyone.

Chang and Tintin aren't the kind of people that will deem romantic feelings above other ones. For them a friend is as important as a lover and they would give their lives for any person they care about. The difference is with whom they would like to share their lives and be next to them and this isn't Tintin for Chang and neither is Chang for Tintin. Because they already have lives far from the other.

[namimikan]

okay, i think i’ve figured out the issue with knb gom moe couplets issue

(to clarify: kagakuro, aomomo, midatakao, kikasa, murahimu, and if there’s one for akashi, i don’t recall)

like i think for most part sans aomomo, we’re supposed to believe that something similar to kagakuro is happening to midatakao, kikasa, murahimu. aomomo are kinda different bc they’ve been a package deal from pre-gom days, but there’s no one on touou to balance aomine on the court. bc they all have someone to keep them in check, to whatever degree, and this helps them have a healthier and more enjoyable way to play basketball with everyone else. they get paired off, neat like a bow.

the thing that bothers me is that we don’t really get to see that development that much besides kagakuro, which makes sense bc kagakuro is what the whole premise is based upon: their partnership is crucial for kuroko to figure out how to like basketball again. they’re front and centre, as they should be.

but it all takes place offpage for the rest? like we get glimpses when a match is playing. we can compare the then and now, and see how they changed

but honestly, i really wish i could have had a flashback episode or something interspersed within a match, to see the impact and motivation change way more clearly—that would have got me to invest way more clearly tbh. in the new team. in the moe couplets.

so, for me, aomomo do get the next most focus. but they’ve been different from the start. we know that they knew each other from childhood. that momoi couldn’t choose kuroko over aomine. but i also don’t think momoi pushes aomine to play better on the court like kagakuro do? i mean, she partly does bc it’s her job. but she’s not a fresh start and someone new the way everyone is in the moe couplets, she’s known aomine down to his bones bc she’s so entwined with him since they were young. with everyone else they have to reestablish and reflect upon themselves to mesh with strangers.

and i just. i think the animanga expects me to do the work and fill in the blanks… and i want to shown the foundation slightly more for it to feel more like canon than fanon to me, tbh.

so: the gom separated are still the heart of the show, what matters most is their impact on each other (and kagami), that not enough is focused on their teamplay, and while i wouldn’t call the new teams one note, they’re still too peripheral for me to care. unless i am captivated by design or voice (which is imahana, their hinted backstory, and my affection for dirty rotten cheats)… it’s kinda hard to care as much.

[ghosts-and-blue-sweaters]

❤, 👿, 💐, 😍, 🤝, 🔥, 🧨, 🙈, 🐰, ❤️‍🩹

DUDEEEEEE YOU LITERALLY ASKED FOR ALL OF THEM LET’S GO >:D

Favorite character

…

You already know this one don’t you?

Hehe it’s Ghostbur <3 He is my most favorite character in any piece of media ever he is lovely and sweet and funny and amazing and just. the best. Ever. I love him so much.

Least favorite character

Ooh… hm.

Perhaps… Ponk? Don’t really know why; I just don’t like him very much and find myself getting annoyed whenever he shows up in DSMP streams 😅

Comfort character

Once again, Ghostbur <3

Literally one night I watched through everything in my Ghostbur playlist on YouTube (animatics and fan-songs) before I went to bed and it was yes. I mean, I nearly broke down sobbing but YES!!!

Character you have the biggest crush on

No one? 😅

I don’t really have—and haven’t ever had—crushes on fictional characters/celebrities. I just… don’t get it. Y’know?

I can still find people attractive, but I won’t be attracted to them… if that makes sense?

That being said Wilbur looks pretty fine I’m just saying-

Character you relate to the most

Ghostbur again XD

LIKEEEEE HE’S HIGHLY EMOTIONAL AND WANTS OTHERS TO BE HAPPY AND PUTS OTHER’S HAPPINESS OVER HIS OWN OFTEN TO THE POINT OF HURTING HIMSELF AND HE’S WEIRD AND WHIMSICAL AND CHILDISH (childish in some aspects, I should clarify) AND AND AND AND AJSGAKSGWOSGOWG

ME!!!

Character you think is overrated

Hmm… I feel like most of the characters are pretty good and should be popular, and I don’t find myself getting annoyed when I see a ton of content for them, even if I’m not personally a fan of ‘em.

I do think that a lot of people justify Dream when they most definitely shouldn’t—he is a bad man—so I guess that can be a little annoying.

But I don’t think his actual character is overrated; just that weird fanon interpretation of him.

Character you love to hate

Dream lol. Obviously. That man abused Many, and was stupid, and was immature, and hurt people, and freaking murdered Ghostbur *anger rage shaking fury rage screaming*

Character you always forget exists

Maybe Hannah or that… other lady character. I forgot her name. What is her name.

She was on the first few episodes of DSMP and then left, so she didn’t really do lore.

Favorite non-human character

Mmm… Ghostbur’s technically not fully human because he’s ghost, so… him XD

OOOH OR PHIL!!! I REALLY LIKE PHIL!!!

Character who deserved better

FREAKING GHOSTBUR

HE DESERVES SO MUCH BETTER

ARE YOU KIDDING ME

HIS WHOLE SHORT GHOST-LIFE HE WAS TREATED AS LESS THAN OR AS A VERSION OF WILBUR WHEN, IN FACT, GHOSTBUR WAS HIS VERY OWN PERSON WITH HIS OWN UNIQUE PERSONALITY AND SHOULD HAVE BEEN TREATED AS SUCH

AND HE HAD A VERY HARD LIFE FILLED WITH PAIN

AND HE DIED SCARED

HE DIED SCARED

I WILL NOT GET OVER THAT

AND EVEN NOW HE IS TRAPPED IN SOMEONE ELSE’S LIMBO AND HE SHOULD NOT BE THERE

LIKE. AT ALL. GET HIM THE HECK OUTTTTT

[elbiotipo]

Some points that I want to clarify because my head is nagging at me:

When I said that multicultural societies were the norm for most of history, this does not mean they were egalitarian or democratic. The Roman or Inca empires were multicultural, but they were indeed empires based on conquest. The Islamic caliphates were a lot more tolerant in many ways that other contemporaries, but there were still religious laws in place. However, the idea of 'one state with a single nation and land' is indeed modern. Most past societies incorporated people of many different cultures as part of the same society in one form or other. Nationalism is a very modern phenomenon, and ethnostates even more so.

The cases of descolonization can vary from country to country. South Africa, as some have commented, has dismantled legal apartheid, but economic inequality remains high. The triumph of the ANC has not been accompanied by the socialist reforms that should have been implemented. Yet, the quality of life of all people in South Africa, yes, EVEN whites, has increased markedly since the end of apartheid, this is statistically comfirmed.

These are ongoing processes shaped by global politics. Bolivia, for example, has faced coups and attempts at destablization. It remains poor with many issues. Yet it has set seeds and examples for the rest of América to follow.

(this is why I believe decolonization has to be approached from a socialist perspective, marxist thought has analyzed these issues better than me. Consider Frantz Fanon, just to cite the most well known author, not necessarily the end of it all)

The process of colonization and settlement is complex. People, real life people, not rethorical constructs, belong to families of multiple cultural and ethnic origins. This is more evident in the Americas but you can find this in every colonized nation. Displacement and separation of families is not a realistic or desirable goal. As I said, you can't go with a skin tone chart to separate people, that's what colonists do. The construction of multicultural societies is complex and needs the construction of a framework for each case, especially when there have been new countries and nations born from decolonization processes.

Keep in mind that I did not say this was only a process of apology and words. It's not just a change on 'mindset'. It needs actual political and material change. This does involve some people losing privileges and changes to society to accomodate those who have been oppressed. The goal is not revenge or imposition of a new national elite but the construction of a better society.

Should this happen through incremental change or revolution? This is something I have no answer for and it depends on many things. What can I say is that the more oppressors choose to maintain their rule with violence and the more the world ignores or supports them, the less likely a peaceful solution is.

I was going to talk about Israel and Palestine here, since clearly this is a post referencing that, even if I don't mention them. But anything of value I can say is covered in the website Decolonize Palestine already. I suggest you read it.

When South Africa dismantled apartheid, it did not end with the expulsion of all white South Africans. They became part of the new South Africa, just without the criminal discriminatory oligarchic powers the apartheid goverment had. When Bolivia recognized its indigenous heritage and became a plurinational state, it did not mean that people of European descent were expelled in masse. It meant the recognition of the previously discriminated indigenous and mestizo people of Bolivia and the beginning of a path of integration and revalidation.

What I mean is that it's ridiculous to think that decolonization inherently means mass suffering and relocation, that's what colonization does. Decolonization is recognizing the crimes of colonization, but more importantly, material, political and social steps to give power and self-determination to the exploited native people who were victims of colonialism and imperialism.

In multicultural societies, you don't go like in that Peter Griffin meme with a skin tone chart and saying 'well, you go back to Europe, you go back to Africa, you stay here'. You build a new society on the paradigm of dignity for exploited people and equality under the law. People are acting like this is some sort of fantastic utopia instead of real initiatives that were done in living memory, with successes and failures, as all such initiatives have. One must ask why are some so insistent that multicultural societies can't thrive, especially when for most of history, societies were indeed like that. Consider why you think like that.

[misqnon]

What media with straight-laced and responsible female characters would you recommend?

you know this wording sounded so familiar i'm going to assume this is in relation to this post i made a couple months back?

and in that case i should clarify real quick that i dont think straight-laced responsible female characters are a problem, just that i wish it wasn't the standard against more boisterous/stupid/irresponsible male characters. it's the tendency for female characters to always be the "mother" or "the exasperated one" dealing with everyone elses nonsense. it's okay to have these characters, it's just that

i wish it wasn't done so often

if they are gonna be that way i wish they still had more intense/interesting character traits Aside from that

and in that case, to get to your question- here are some characters that I think do it well!

maka albarn from soul eater

princess bubblegum from adventure time

Lots of women from FMA- winry, riza hawkeye, olivier armstrong

katara from atla

diane from bojack horseman

pearl from steven universe

and the reason i think it works better with these characters is that they get to have traits outside that. or just be irresponsible sometimes themselves. maka goes insane. PB is kind of very deranged and also a mess. winry and riza have emotional depth, calm moments, backstories that add to who they are, olivier is kind of just a badass but she does it with FLAIR and THAT'S what i think sets her apart. etc. etc.

it's also defintiely a Fanon issue...like even when characters are more than that in the source material they get boiled down to certain traits in fandom material- i see it a lot with the one female character who's exasperated with the mlm ship (and i myself am guilty of this- think nami from one piece or meryl from trigun) or characters who get relegated to mothering the other characters (i've seen this with elita-1 from transformers one, hermoine from harry potter (like that series doesnt have enough issues lmao)

it happens a lot when there's a lot of male characters and then just one (1) token female character, especially in a trio

and again, not that this mold is bad....it just gets used too often imo so i'd prefer to see more zany/stupid/gross female characters

and i have some examples of those too!!

like

power from chainsaw man

midna from legend of zelda: twilight princess

hajime ichinose from gatchaman crowds

eda clawthorne from the owl house

harley quinn (depending heavily on which media you're talking about from that franchise)

and more i know i'm forgetting.

i just want more girls that get to break the mold of femininity without being Boring about it. not just in physical strength/battle ability but not socially fitting into being smart, polite, well-behaved, nurturing, etc.

[drdemonprince]

I'm the anon with the friend doing a psychology major, thank you for your answer! Especially when you compared it to transness because even though I've read texts by you with this comparison before for some reason it clicked better this time.

To clarify a bit: the friend does think unfortunately that the diagnosis themselves are valid when done by an authority figure, and it's creating a lot of tension between us since I'm a self diagnosed autistic. But I actually think what you said about if the system becomes more demanding we see more and more normal human responses as a pathology could be really helpful to get her to understand my point. To be honest her whole thing is weird though because when someone self diagnoses for whatever reasons she complains about people "pathologizing normal stuff" but when a psychiatrist does it it's fine. Not to be bitchy but it's just half-baked anti-capitalism at this point. I might passively aggressively lend her your books.

Yeah, her viewpoint that only self-diagnosis distracts from the role capitalism plays in mental health challenges makes no sense in light of the fact that actual psychiatric diagnosis was very much designed to do exactly that. Like. She should read some Fanon or Andrew Scull or Roy Richard Grinker (or me maybe) forreal. One of the core determinants of if something is a psychopathology, according to both the DSM and the ICD, is whether or not a person's symptoms impede their ability to work. So if you create more and more unlivable working conditions... you will have more people defined as mentally ill. By definition. Because mental illness labels are ever shifting, social categories that are assigned based on psych's subjective view of the patient and what limited information they receive either from the patient's self report or from like the court system.

Also since she's a psych major send her my way, honestly, I'd love to talk to her. I think she is slightly on the verge of figuring certain things out but in other ways is completely confused and her viewpoints are self contradictory

[write-baby-write]

How To Write Smut: Characterization

I don't know about you, but I'm one of those writers who takes writing very seriously and writing erotica isn't an exception to me. If you think writing is hard, try writing a sex scene with the right pace, flow, making it sexy and at times romantic without forgetting the anatomy, the setting, avoiding clichés and cringy words, giving life-like actions to every single character involved... And yes, you have to do all that without getting distracted.

I tend to research and read a lot about it (hence the many writing advices, sexy thesaurus, how to write smut posts I reblogged in here). But there's one thing I rarely see in any of these writing advices about smut that I'd like to talk about in this post.

Every author has their own way to plan their scenes when they're writing erotica. As for me, I tend to envision two aspects when I plan a sex scene: setting and characters. When I think about the characters, I like to picture what they will do, how they will do it and their reactions. But not just physical ones. I'm talking about how each character experiences and expresses their sexuality during a sexual activity.

Think about your favorite fictional character. If they have a sex scene in canon, you're probably know if they're shy or not, serious or playful, adventurous, creative, passionate. If you know these details about them, you know how they behave during sex. And that's exactly what we should aim when writing that character in a sex scene.

I've briefly mentioned this in an ask, but as I watched Jenna Moreci's video about Ten Worst Tropes In Erotic Fiction, her video made me realize how important it is to follow the characterization previously established for a character when writing a sex scene. The main reason to do it is to make your reader can recognize each character in the story. Otherwise, it will look like you forgot to do your proper research on the character and they'll look OOC.

On that note, let me give you a personal example to clarify my opinion. When I started writing fanfiction, I got caught up in a sea of so many awesome fanfics that a fanon concept about a character I love ended up showing on my many of my first fanworks, even though it was completely OOC. Yes, I was newbie, I didn't understand much about characterization and let myself be influenced by these fanfics and headcanons I read back then, but I already knew how that character was like during a sex scene in canon. And I also knew most of these fanfic authors wrote this character OOC in order to fit their plot. When I look back at those stories of mine, I cringe at the thought that I knew how that character was like in canon, that I liked how they were written, but on a whim, I wrote something that doesn't fit their characterization in my stories.

But as I mentioned before, there are characterizations that might fit better the plot of your story, so there's no reason why a character can't be written a little kinkier or more vanilla once in a while. It's just important to keep a consistency in your writing in a way that it won't make it look like you wrote a character with multiple personalities disorder instead of making them more playful or raunchy 😁

To help fellow fanfic writers, I created my own sexual character sheet, so use it wisely:

Character Sexual Profile

Name:

Age:

Gender:

Sexuality (in as many details as possible):

Overall personality traits:

Sex Deets

First sexual experience:

Sensitive spot(s):

How sexually experienced are they?

What are their preferences on potential sex partners (physical or psychological)?

What are their turn ons?

What are their turn offs?

Do they initiate or wait for someone to do it?

Personality traits that stand out during sex (in as many details as possible):

Vanilla or kinky?

Top or bottom? (I mean the position!)

Do they prefer to stay in control, to give control to their partner or are they versatile?

Favorite position(s):

Sex fantasies:

Are they open to new ideas or stick to what they know?

On a scale of 1-10, what's their sex drive like?

What's their opinion on casual sex?

What's their opinion on group sex/sharing/switching partners?

Is there anything they would never do?

Random headcanon about them: