#im probably just repeating the same thing other people have said

[drblacula]

:9 < ok so I can 't sleep wiith this on my mind so : I never understood why some people turn characters that are so obviously trans / non binary ( and everything under that umbrella ) and make them into hypersexualized boytoy bottom twinks . Like okay , I get femboys exist . I 've had femboy friends ! They're very nice ( all the ones I've met anyways . ) But that 's not the point , the point is usually when these characters , specifically the ones that are transfem / transwoman implied or coded are extremely fetishized and sexualized ( regardless if they are minors . ) It 's so baffling to me that these people simply CANNOT ACCEPT THE FACT that non cis people exist like it genuinely needs to be studied . Plus the fact that femboy is an extremely sexualized term , like you have femboys who don 't appeal to the people who fetishize them , they just like to dress up in cute dresses and thats cool ! You have terms that have been made just to try and replace the word which is insane to me . Like maybe I'm just overthinking it but I 've seen wayyy too many times that someone will go " ( insert character ) is trans and i 'm here 4 it !!! " and get fucking dogpiled like ??? it 's so fucked up it 's INSANE . Like I dunno , maybe like read into the lore of these characters and see WHY a lot of people see them as trans . Just a thought you know

[icewindandboringhorror]

Other Misc. Rambling Thoughts on the topic:

(~ !!!!!!!!! if you're just reblogging this post for the Poll section, please reblog the original post without this addition* lol. ~)

(*not that there's anything super personal or weird about the addition, just that it's meant to be kind of casual Side Commentary, not really part of the Main Point Of The Poll, so it would feel kind of weird for it to be emphasized by being included in reblogs unless the reblogs were explicitly about the side commentary, etc..... if that makes sense.. ANYWAY!)

It's neat to read the written descriptions that people are mentioning in the tags, since it's almost like I can see or conceptualize the idea as well, but it's just.. I'm not SEEING it.

Like for example: I can imagine a vase, it's a muted mint green and slightly translucent, elaborate golden birds sprawled down the side in streaks of thin rough watery paint, the base material shimmers gently in the light, there's a small chip where it's cracked on the handle, etc, etc. .. But as I'm thinking about this I see literally nothing.

It seems like perhaps some people can visualize an object first, and THEN describe what they see. But I sort of work backwards. I am building the object in my mind, I can never see it, but it's a collection of concepts. Rather than visualizing all details as a whole at once, I am adding each detail one by one, building onto the IDEA of the thing.

The vase doesn't have a crack on the handle because I just automatically visualized a vase with a crack. It was more that I cognitively understand the concept of a vase, what they tend to be made out of, how they tend to look and feel, the properties they have. So based purely on that knowledge, I can imagine "a chip is something that a vase could have, it would look this way and behave this way" - more like... I'm constructing a bullet point Fact List about the object rather than seeing it.

So if you tell me to imagine an object, I can, in a way, imagine that object in great detail, but it's just.. I'm not SEEING those details, more just knowing it's qualities in a purely conceptual way. Sometimes in the tags when people are like "yeah I can see the skin of the apple, texture, little dots on the surface" it's like… I can imagine that too, I can know it's there, but just with no visual attached.

I guess rather than SEEING something and going ''ah. I know what this looks like because I have seen it''. I more just skip that visual step entirely and go ''I know what this looks like, I just randomly have a list of information about the concept in my mind.'' etc. Maybe similar to how sometimes in dreams, even though a house may look completely different and be in an entirely fake 'dreamlike' environment, you just somehow KNOW intuitively that it's meant to be your childhood home or something. Even when it looks nothing like it in reality. There's a built-in base knowledge of the properties or information of some things within a dreaming mind, etc.

--

This also makes me wonder about like.. how storytelling and myth is so important to cultures all across time. Or how this could tie also into concepts of religion.. etc. etc. If so many people really can kind of conjure these vivid images in their mind, then maybe that's part of why certain things are so meaningful to them? Like a "religious experience" being something you can actually really SEE/feel/lingering with you in your head, rather than just abstract words on a page, detached purely theoretical ideas, etc... hmmm

.

Plus also just for average emotional stuff too, even outside of broader cultural conceptual attachments..

Like, I don't think there's a direct 1 to 1 link (obviously not all people with mental illnesses that significantly reduce their emotional or expressive capacity also MUST have aphantasia or vice versa), but it's interesting as someone who DOES also have a much more lessened emotional range/pretty flat affect/etc. etc. to think like.. Maybe I WOULD be more emotional, in a way, if I could have these vivid experiences..?

Perhaps memories would hold deeper significance if they could really stay with me vividly. Or storytelling would evoke more of a deep emotional reaction to me if I could really picture and feel the things that are going on. If things were more TANGIBLE in my brain, rather than always merely conceptual highly abstracted ideas.

Kind of like, it's probably easier to get over the death of a pet or something, if after not seeing them for an hour you already don't remember what they looked like (beyond just a vague fact list of traits), and you have no vivid memories or mental reminders of them (beyond just factual information stores). COGNTIVIELY you can appreciate the idea of their absence, of course, you still miss them, but there's just no remaining visceral sensory ties. A very "out of sight, out of mind" sort of thing in terms of attachments, memories, emotions, etc. Maybe certain things are easier to "get over", when you're not having constant mental sensory reminders that occasionally rekindle your feelings about the event or etc.??

(like for example, maybe someone could remain angry about an argument longer if they could vividly replay it in their head over and over again. VS just like.. 'Yes I can factually recall the fact I had an argument, and I do have knowledge stored about what precisely was said, but any sort of sensory data such as sights/smells/feelings, etc. from the actual moment of the event are long gone and can never be conjured again in my mind." etc.)

Which again, I think lessened emotional permanence and image permanence in the mind are NOT inherently linked, can all be caused by different things for different people. And, since I can't visualize anything in my head, maybe I'm misunderstanding how it happens and the effect it may have on stuff like remembering things you miss or replaying arguments, etc. etc. But it's still a little interesting to think about, if they could influence each other to some degree.... :0c --

Lastly, It's also weird because I'm actually pretty good at estimating distance and spaces? I can quickly assemble furniture without an instruction manual, pretty easily have a concept of how much space a chair may take up in a room, how two mechanical parts might fit together - BUT, I am literally not actually visualizing anything. I cannot see 3D objects in my mind at ALL. It's like.. just based on the pure List Of Facts About Things Which I Have Observed.. I can intuitively go "oh this works like this/this is this size" just because.. I know it's that size. I don't have to see anything to know..?

But then on the other hand, I'm terrible at directions without a map (I guess because a 3d outdoor environment has WAY more complexity than like.. "Will this square fit into another square?"etc. lol ).

BUT, I also draw/sculpt/etc. entirely without references, and seem to do mostly okay at that..? Like.. I can't even remember the last time I actually used a reference or looked at anything whilst drawing. It's all muscle memory, and me just adjusting as I go until something "looks right" on paper, I never have a set image in my head (or external reference) before hand.. Hrmm....

AND.. I used to say that I had a photographic memory when I was younger, which I know NOW is not true (I always thought it was just an expression, not that people could literally see things in a photographic way). But what I was describing is, I do often associate information with imagery, just... without imagery....

Like "Oh, I know that I took my medicine earlier today because I have a distinct memory, a snapshot of a moment in time, of me rattling the pill bottle in my hands as I looked up at a stop sign while in the back seat of a car". When I say this, I can't ACTUALLY see/feel/hear a pill bottle, or vividly picture a stop sign, but it's more just a factual recall, of. Even though I don't see these things, I know they happened, the information of them happening (me hearing a sound and also looking at a stop sign at the same time) has been stored in my brain as a memory, a collection of linked facts. --

As for other senses, I cannot taste or feel anything in my head AT ALL.. wild that some people mention that. I mean, again, I can have a purely factual recall as if reading a textbook, knowing the information of 'X item typically has X texture, therefore I can imagine what it may be like to feel it' or 'X usually has this taste' etc. - but I can never actually experience those senses in any capacity in my mind alone. I would say audio is my strongest mental sense (maybe a 2.5 or 3 (if it were translated onto the above scale where 1 is most vivid and 5 is nothing)), then visual (4.5 at most, usually 5), and then taste and smell and such are just complete 5, absolutely nothing, I didn't even know people could experience taste or feeling just in their mind alone.. lol...

I know this is just a silly bad quality random screencap of a screencap that I found on facebook lol, BUT it's a succinct enough image to easily describe the concept in a quick/accessible way hopefully :

-

(and of course, feel free to elaborate in tags, etc.! (especially elaborating about other senses as well.. can you "hear" in your mind just as well as you can "see"? taste? etc.) It's an interesting topic to me, as someone who's like a 4.5 at MOST lol. I'm curious what option will be the most common :0c )

[watermel0ns-dumb-cringe]

Okay SINCE I DID A YAP SESSION ANALYSIS ON CONNIE. IM DOING ONE FOR PENNY/JANE. buckle up this might be a tad longer since I'm obsessed with funky lil tragic girls that are doomed to the dramatic irony of their worst fears

Okay. So. Jane/Penny IMMEDIATELY sets up the overall undertone of the musical during Karnak's Dream Of Life. I was admittedly a tad confused upon first seeing it— especially with how it seemed to be brushed off for a good 15 first minutes of the musical. Then- woah. Holy shit. Jane appearing from behind the curtains out of basically nowhere as the "mystery contestant" gave me chills. Her tone as a character is so vastly contrast to the others in such a surreal and unnerving way that you can't help but be so intrigued but wary. Especially with how, like— so many characters similar to her that I've seen tend to be villianized a lot. But- no. She's- she feels more- human. To me, at least. That's the irony of it, huh? She doesn't know who she is. She walks with only the lingering regret & guilt of mourning a distant memory that she might never get back. Cursed to a fate that's admittedly horrifying when you think about it; all without knowing or remembering what she did to deserve such fate. Jane- DEFINITELY has some catholic guilt themeing going on, and it's fun to speculate all the religious undertones and details of her character!

She's just- so interesting to me. I deadass had to pause the musical and stare at my screen for a few minutes after TBOJD just so I could like- take it all in. Since it REALLY. REALLY. Hit close to home for me, as someone who's very much struggled and even temporarily lost their sense of identity, often being deemed forgettable by most— or just straight up cast out and alienated. Being formerly religious and deathly afraid of messing things up and ending up in the bad place was just the cherry on top!

Jane is. Such a complex character to me, ESPECIALLY if you bring (Legoland)Penny into the mix, viewing them as the same person. There's so much dramatic irony and slight foreshadowing in both shows that only deepens her as a character.

She's definitely not dumb or anything, that's for sure. She seems to be pretty damn smart! Guess it runs in the family, lol.

But like- being forgotten by almost everyone, well aware of the horrible fate you've been condemned to. Confused and lost, yet simultaneously an empty shell of someone who used to be "human." Now just. Only viewed as a creepy, unfeeling empty "doll." Not knowing how to properly express your emotions and desperately trying to connect with others, seeking that warmth of familiarity that deep down you know you'll NEVER get back. Nothing is waiting for you after the smoke clears. You've been abandoned by everything you currently know, including "god" itself. Swallowed up whole by time itself like you never even existed. You just want to go home. You just want to feel something— anything. You just want someone to treat you like a person and tell you who you are.

It's. So heartbreaking once you realize some of the implications and slight foreshadowing placed in Legoland. Penny says something about how she was afraid that nobody would notice if she died. There's multiple references to decapitation. Both Karnak & Ricky repeat lines that Penny’s said in the Legoland script. There's so many little details about her and it's just JRHRGSHAHAKJSEGGAJA/vvpos

SPEAKING OF LEGOLAND & PENNY!!

She. Probably harbors a lot of guilt, going off of all the implications & themeing around her in both LL AND RTC. Penny's shoved around a lot from what we know— even to the point of people burning her backpacks & having to avoid the stairs entirely just so she doesn't get shoved down them, risking breaking something. Yeah, she DEFINITELY has her flaws; but that's honestly what made me connect with her. Even without the flaws, I very deeply related to her as well, just as I did with her inevitable future "self." (If you believe in the LL! Penny = RTC! Penny/Jane Doe thing like I do!!) How she just- kinda attaches herself to her interests & the whole lashing out and fucking MAIMING A GROWN MAN reminded me of myself a lot. (I have not maimed anybody for the record. But I did lash out at other kids and have actually hurt them before. Not severely, but- I'm definitely not proud of it. I had BAD. anger & mood issues.)

OH. And then you discover Ezra's existence!! Which. Makes shit a LOT worse! Adds a lot more potential with how you see Jane Doe as well, along with a LOT of potential for Ezra's character as well. UUGauahah it's always the doomed siblings that get me I totally haven't cried over this damned trope before multiple times wdym

But yeah! There's. So many intricate details about everything— the themeing, the implications, hell- even in the character design & NAMES‼️‼️ (The last name being LAMB is just. Really ironic to me. Lamb to the slaughter,,)

RGRHJSSGHD THERES SO MUCH DRAMATIC IRONY ESPECIALLY WITH THE LUCKIEST GIRL IN TOWN THING IAAGKKFK AND ALL THE DETAILS WITH SYMBOLISM I AM NOT NORMAL ABOUT ALL THE DETAILS THEY PUT IN THIS GOD FORESAKEN SHOW SOMEBODYHELPM

so yeah uh I'm. Not normal about Jane/Penny in the slightest! You can definitely tell the Lambs are my favorites JSHSHSSHSJ (Connie's also one of my favorites if you can't tell sHES SO SILLY AND DESERVES SO MUCH LOVE TOO AIAYSGSUIAK)

Everyone in this fucking musical deserves better you can't change my mind (excluding the carnie. That fucker can go die in a ditch <3)

[phightingconfessions]

hey chat robot romancer here to give you your friendly reminding dose of reality!

robots are NOT NORMAL PEOPLE. robots do not have BLOOD RELATIONS robots do not have AGE

as usual, this is about the infantilization of biograft since i still see it sometimes, and even though im not as active in the phighting fandom and the world is HEALING and we have more ROBOT ENTHUSIASTS ALL AROUND THE PLACE, i know there are many people that see biograft as a child and, to be specific, subspaces child

this is your reminder that a biograft is a manufactured product made and designed for war, and while i personally dont see it as one and love to make it into more than it, a biograft is an OBJECT

biografts do not have feelings, biografts do not have age, and biografts do not have relationships

make biografts sentient all you want, i do it all the time, make them have relationships and organic thought processes and all of that, but by all means, do not just say that biografts are small children

id also like to say that while i am defending the shipping of biografts, if you see biografts as children AND ship them with other characters, go fuck yourself, or change your damn views on biograft as a character. id also like to say, on the topic of biograft ships, while i personally dont like the ship much, a subspace x biograft situation wouldnt necessarily be terrible. before you say im defending incest or anything, as ive already said in this take, biografts are not normal people, do not have blood relations, and dont have relationships. while subspace calls biografts his children, it doesnt necessarily mean that biografts feel the same way. its mostly just a "creator that really loves his near lifeless creations" situation in my eyes. im taking this analysis type thing from someone else i saw that said it a while back, but i felt like just a little more people should see it. i personally see it as subspace just really loves his creations, he wouldnt really do anything romantic with them to me, but im just saying i can slightly see it from others points of view. would also like to say like earlier if you see them as father and child and you still ship them get the fuck away from me please. basically if you see biograft as a child or subspaces child and still ship them, youre probably not the best to be around.

but yes id like to repeat what i said at the beginning

BIOGRAFTS are not NORMAL PEOPLE BIOGRAFTS do not have RELATIONSHIPS BIOGRAFTS do not have AGE

BIOGRAFTS are MANUFACTURED TOOLS MADE FOR WAR AND BATTLE.

dont dumb them down to a 3 year old child. fucks sake.

-- yours truly, returning robot romancer.

As a fellow robot enjoyer, I STAND BY THIS. THEY ARE NOT CHILDREN, AS MUCH AS THE COMMUNITY INFANTILIZES THEM. As a Biograft alter myself (apart of Scythe’s system.) I feel the pain of being infantilized despite being a literal killing machine. Biografts ARE NOT CHILDREN, THEY ARE ROBOTS. Now let me ship my biograft ass with other phighters, thank you very much.

[all-seems-no-well]

"Testing...Hello? Can you hear me?..."

------------

-Hello. AHEM... Regarding the past events of "Kalloway Kindergarten" , We have decided to hear from the victims 20 years later to get a better insight on what really happened. The following paragraphs will be from our latest interviews with each, separate person. - These will be repeated from what our subjects had said to the interviewers. - Sadly, some people hadn't come to the interview. So please bear with us on this unfortunate mishap. Thank you for listening, Thank you for your patience, and thank you for coming.

------------

-Subject no. 1 (???)

"Subject number one was unable to make it today.

-Subject no. 2 (Lilith (Lily) Prescott.)

"Slow and painful it was. At least, that's how it felt for me. But I can't imagine the more brutal things my brother had to go through. He was missing for a while, and...Nobody knew where he went. Until that very day, I and...someone else, had found him...... Under the school. The principal was doing experiments on him. It was all so... horrific. Too horrific for a child to see... If I could go back in time and give my younger self a hug, I wouldn't think twice. As for my brother, I would've done the same, even at the time. I wish In that moment I could've told him how much I loved him, how much he meant to me... But now I can't..."

-Subject no. 3 (???)

"Subject number three was unable to make it today."

-Subject no. 4 (Jerome Kennedy.)

"Hearing about the awful stuff my dad did after he died, broke me as a kid. If I had known what he was doing before, I would've told someone before it got so bad... Sometimes I still blame myself for everything that happened. I know I shouldn't, but he was MY dad. I can't get over it."

-Subject no. 5 (Buggs V. Mallory.)

"Shit sucked. Those other kids were awful to me. And yeahhh, I may or may not have been awful to them back. But YOU would be a dick too if YOU were constantly bullied! Oh, right...that... Well, I wasn't really a part of the whole thing. All I know is one day our principal died, and then another day our other principal died. A lot of principals died that week, man. So uh. I don't know.

-Subject no. 6 (Cynthia (Cindy) Louelle.)

"Okay, well. Kindergarten was kinda blehh... y'know? I met some decent people there, I guess. But I also met the most rudest girl in the world! Ugh... But yeah, like, I didn't really care about the whole "principal experimenting on us" jig. It was kinda just stupid... and annoying.... And I honestly don't even recall half of the teachers there, sooo...."

-Subject no. 7 (Monty Hyde.)

"I lost a lot at that damn school. I mean seriously, they didn't think to fire the janitor after day two?! I lost my legs because of him! And now I've just been stuck with these unflattering girl legs. But y'know what? Kindergarten was pretty fun at times. Cause' I was a little shit, and all the teachers knew it. I was even smarter than the science teacher, which says a lot about how smart I am now as an adult! ....are you recording this? Yeah? Good. YOU HEAR THAT DR. DANNER?! I'M BETTER NOW. IM A SUCCESSFUL MILLIONAIRE, AND WHERE ARE YOU? PROBABLY IN A RETIREMENT HOME...... Uh- Thank you for having me here..."

-Subject no. 8 (Felix K. Huxley.)

"I say... Kindergarten was certainly quite the experience. Younger me would've said it was horrible, but now that I've matured I see just how dramatic I was being. Though, there were some things I did that....I'm not quite proud of.... But! That aside, the experience looking back at it was quite swell. If not for that place, I wouldn't have met my lovely Cynthia...or what's his face- uh- Monty!... He's helped me a lot with my business, and I tip my metaphorical and imaginary hat to him."

-Subject no 9. (Theodore (Ted) K. Huxley)

"I believe they should've had much better funding, and staff. Because that place was just...awful. The teachers obviously despised their jobs, and the bathrooms... Oh the bathrooms were foul...! And even thinking about Kindergarten brings back horrible memories of what my brothe- actually nevermind... But anyway, thinking about the pain and suffering those poor students before me must've gone through...it makes me sick to my stomach. They could've done so much better for the students and the school itself."

-Subject no. 10 (???)

"Subject number ten was unable to make it today."

-Subject no. 11 (???)

"Subject number eleven was also unable to make it today."

-Subject no. 12 (Ozzy Harrison.)

"I don't have any good memories of that place. Not one. I'm sorry, but I don't even wanna talk about it anymore..."

-Subject no. 13 (Madison Bonneau.)

"It was like one second I was at recess, and then another I was in some sci-fi looking lab! But me and my friends got saved by some randos, so all was well after that I think! But in all seriousness, that mean lady got what she deserved. I'm glad nobody has to put up with her ever again... oh, oh! And also there was a girl there when it happened...and her head freakin' exploded!! I couldn't sleep for days because of the sight!"

-Subject no. 14 (Alison (Alice) M. Claire.)

"I heard Madi from the other room... I am incredibly sorry about her... excitement? She's never been interviewed before, and quite frankly, neither have i- o-oh, yes...my apologies... The whole situation had really put a negative toll on my well-being. I was scared to go back to school, I had a hard time trusting people, and I was overall terrified of everyone and everything around me. It felt like a bunch of eyes had been laid upon my person, and hands were out to hurt me at any moment. I and my friends were kidnapped by the other school's principal, and to say it was traumatizing would be an understatement..."

-Subject no. 15 (Ronaldo (Ron) Duncan.)

"hey do you have any cheese? No? Okay.. Well anyway. What I remember is like.. kinda crazy. So bear with me. I was just on the playground, swinging on the swings, okay? And then suddenly IM KNOCKED OUT, LIKE BLAM! And then, I woke up in some bunker with a bunch of sciencey stuff in it. And I'm like floating around in this giant tube thingy, right? And then these kids come into the bunker and they're like "well save you!!" And then the evil principle lady turns me into a monster and I'm all like "blehghh" and my friends are also like "blehghh." BUT THEN the principal lady also turns into a giant, ugly monster!! And then the kids kill her like superheroes. True story."

-Subject no 16 and 18 (???)

"These two subjects were unable to come in today due to their own plans together."

-Subject no. 17 (Austin Scarrow)

"I don't actually CARE about the stuff that happened in kindergarten! That stuff was a long time ago, and it doesn't matter to me anymore..."

------------

"By listening to our subject's stories, We hope you know how much this means to them, finally being able to speak up about their own experiences from the tragedy. These people are powerful, and strong, and we wish nothing but the best for them."

------

------

"...Jesus...these kids are gonna make me a killing. I've got to get in contact with those other subjects... If I don't, this whole jig is gonna go out of business..."

[forlornkiller]

I think this ending was so good for this show because it keeps everybody in a state of motion. We’re able to almost picture or envision what the future is going to be like for them because some cycles are destined to repeat but each character has such different destinies you know? this show is so amazing every scene has so much to unpack…. im only gonna choose a couple moments but I hope they resonate

comparing Kendall and roman……. I think we all knew that roman was abused by Kendall growing up but in previous contexts, it seemed like he had changed…. at least yelling at Logan for his direct abuse but to see Kendall do that to Rome was fucking heartbreaking man . tears in my fucking eyes like he does not. deserve this. nobody fucking deserves this and fuck Logan Roy and every fucking abuser that willingly and even gleefully chooses fucking abuse. kendall seemed resigned to his fate to abuse his brother but it’s just not true man. maybe there was more sorrow than glee in his abuse but only maybe. and either way it’s not fucking right. The acceptance of their nothingness is different yet the same…… so many things are different but the same do u know what I mean ?

Kendall, with protection, but never able to do anything again is a fate i can accept for him. It was really interesting to see how their relationships with other people were again and may I just say. I think it’s quite incredibly clear what Kendall and Stewy had and currently flirt with…… i love that but I hate that for them. As delulu it might be for Stewy to think he can save Kendall, he totally thinks that and who knows . maybe some cool fuck shit happens and Kendall’s able to keep one relationship in his life he cares about. but I guess we won’t see .

Oof going back to Roman’s dig about Rava and her kids…….. i think his relationship with them is so fucked and there isn’t enough time for repentance. He spent so long holding onto a dream that was never real and not even worth having in the end, and knowing that so much of his life was around this one thing. seven years old to now….. maybe some intense psychotherapy and retrospection for years is what he needs. it’s probably the only thing he’s gonna get

,, and in this sense I almost wonder if Connor and Kendall are closer than ever as eldest boys. Connor was never offered the dream, and he never became anything. Kendall is what happens when you offer it and it disappears, making u realize it was never really there in the first place. Might’ve been something, but definitely isn’t now. I also think reducing Connor to nothing is not a fair characterization but he’s not really something either.

Shiv……… i wish there was a way free for her. I’m not the greatest at imagining shiv futures but I somehow see purgatory yet nothing at all. She got the deal, she didn’t get CEO and her reputation got a bit fucked but she’s still married to the CEO. whose baby she’s pregnant with. And who she doesn’t like, i don’t think. Because hurting her has been the way she understands love, i think she’s more into Tom than ever and i think she needs him. He holds a lot of power but in the end he offers love one way, she doesn’t respond that way and they stay together but apart. I can’t tell anymore if it’s real or fake. I think Shiv believes what she said, that once you say all the worst shit to each other you can still be together but part of that is WANTING to be together. If you say all the worst shit and at the end don’t know if you want to come back, then I think you shouldn’t get back together. They just keep making bad decisions. Sometimes relationships are best when both people realize how close they are is not how close they actually want to be or should be. Tom offering his hand in the car…….. she called him a phony and I think I agree. There might’ve been love there.. an opportunity to win love but Shiv doesn’t fight for those things, she takes them as givens. A lot of the tragedy in succession is about timing. Bad things happening right when things were getting good, maybe. The consequences of their actions meet later actions and become perfectly destructive. Okay i got distracted back to shiv and Tom i can’t tell who is trapping who with this baby. I am incredibly sad for this future child and wish that Tom got out now, fuck waystar royco and take his piece of shit and go!!!! but they’re in too deep now.

Switching to tomgreg 🤩 sucking the dick of white supremacy, but maybe making changes internally about how things are done. Tom is better than Logan on most levels I think, and great at his fucking job. Will he be able to counter Logan’s legacy with his own consider his part in advancing Logan’s? Wash his hands free from sins?? i don’t really think so but I think he might want to…….. i always have hope like a dumbass hehe but yea I have been wanting Tom and Gerri team up since the beginning on season 4 and while it’s sad to not see that in action, im glad it’s a definite future. I think she’ll see that Tom can actually be competent. Okay sandwiching Tom and Gerri with Tom and Greg, that sticker shit was fucking cute and I totally thought they were gonna kiss before that. Their fight was so fucking funny LOL i did genuinely enjoy watching that. Fed my tomgreg soul for sure 😌

In regards to mattson (and then I’m going back to Gerri and then I’m gonna SLEEP!!) i think what he wanted with his numbers happened, them getting lost in the deal dazzle? It went through and now everybody’s fucking rich. The thing is idk all the legal business stuff so is this gonna fuck everybody over in a couple weeks to months? No clue but for now Mattson’s kinda on top of the world. I really don’t like him tho hehe i hope he gets smashed to death by a pile of his own blood bricks. I wonder if Tom will actually be his front man, or try to kill him at some point too? The urge to serve is so strong in him…… but do I firmly believe that with a healthy kinky relationship with somebody PERHAPS GREG. he would be able to fulfill that and also rule the world? Absolutely man it’s just abt balance 😌 my belief that the acceptance of bdsm would fix so many things in our society & in succession is unshakable okay don’t question me. ANYWAYS

Gerri….. a queen as always. Roman pining from afar is so sad so tragic reminding himself of her with every drink he drinks and thought he thinks. One of THE biggest regrets and him saying that he’s nothing, that all the sibs are nothing? I think in this moment it’s true. I can feel how that is truth for him. With Gerri’s brief flashes of emotion during the funeral ….. i have hope. Succession aside, i really believe have faith in love and its power to save lives & transcend death. I think what they had bw them was real, and with the scripts as well I don’t think that connection was faked. What makes my heart hurt is that in the past it seemed like Gerri was the only one in the room who cared if he was hurt. She can’t necessarily protect him but she sees him. He doesn’t have that, the three sibs don’t have anybody that really loves & knows them enough to be able to deal with this trauma but I don’t think hope is totally gone. I’m an optimist in the end

God this is fucking long I’m a wordy person but overall? GOD i love this show!!! I really think they ended it at a great spot in this way where things keep going. Nobody’s story ever really ends, it feels like it does and to the person living their story it might but being able to watch their lives? You realize that it doesn’t end. I think Jesse’s commentary on the fear behind ending Succession here is super valid though, because there is a message here that is ultimately anti capitalist. If we were able to really see, at length the way we’ve seen the first cycles, how their cycles continue I think it would really wake a lot of people up to how things operate in this society. The longer this nation goes on, the longer the abuse this nation was founded from goes on. I’m going to end here but wow this show has given me so much to think about when it comes to love, abuse, capitalism, society & American culture as a whole like goddamn. What a show man what a show

[corviiids]

it's been a while of this now but im increasingly frustrated about how difficult i find it these days to share my work and my thoughts. on the one hand it's something im desperate to do because i sincerely love to do it and if i can't share my thoughts and creations then the process doesn't feel complete to me. but on the other hand socmed feels so overexposed that every time i put something out there im so hyperaware that this thing that came from me and is often very close to me is now being dissected by strangers, and as my accounts started being viewed by more than a few hundred people at a time, the probability (and occurrence) increased that within that largely very kind demographic there were also bad actors, or people who insisted on playing devil's advocate, people who wilfully misinterpret, people who accidentally misinterpret but in ways that are frustrating, etc etc etc. that kind of repeated exposure and vulnerability gets exhausting after a while and im quite burnt out on it. i take every measure i can to prevent overexposure to every single passing person's thoughts (not that i don't want to hear from people, i love it, but it's different from seeing the same tags 5000 times by 5000 strangers who don't realise the things they're saying have been said to me already - this is no one's fault) which is why my notifications are off on twitter for people i don't follow etc and of course anon asks are off here, but it's just part of the reality and it's the downside of being lucky enough to have a group of people who are willing to look at what i have to say in the first place. that's something im very grateful for but you know, inevitable ups and downs, and it makes me really cautious about sharing meta and fic in the unreserved way i used to when i was younger

it's sad because again, part of the joy of creation for me is the joy of handing it to others in the hopes someone will find it interesting or it'll make them feel something. feeling like i can't do that without also exposing my flesh to being scratched up and stabbed by strangers is just a little too tiring. even making new quieter accounts doesn't necessarily ease that feeling because it's sort of an instinctive response at this point, the phenomenon you may have noticed where people start trying to cover themselves for potential arguments even bonkers ones that no reasonable person would make (im literally doing it right now). and also again im incredibly privileged to have lucked into finding enough people who give a shit about my silly little jokes that im reticent to give it up or take it for granted, even if it raises the chances of someone nasty latching onto me or being bombarded with exhausting commentary.

ultimately it is worth it to me whenever someone finds something i made worthwhile and especially if someone goes out of their way to tell me something i did meant something to them or made them laugh, so i wouldn't change anything. im very grateful to have that! just feeling low and having a sulk!!!

[perpetuallypottytraining]

(im the anon that said regression is not nsfw)

oh okay i get it kind of :thumbs_up:

do u talk abt potty training stuff on ur main age regression acc too or is it just this one? cuz if u do i might follow idk hehe

okay, I thiiiink these are the same person? Probably? Unclear. I'll answer both here, for clarity.

1 - No, I don't talk about potty training stuff on my main, not anymore. I moved those posts here a couple of years ago. The only content that's there are maybe some reblogs from other regressors.

2 - Okay, first of all, age regressors did NOT come up with those terms, nor do they have exclusive rights to use them. Those terms have been used by people for, like, ever. Parents calling their kids "little ones", family members calling out "littles, come over here!" to refer to any younger members, the obvious origins of "mom" and "dad" and their variants, and "caregivers" being tied to both people who care for babies, children, the elderly, and those with disabilities.

If anything, age players have more rights to the terms "littles" and "caregiver" in the context that we're using on this site. They're the ones who originated/popularized them. I know this because I was here, on this site, in 2016, when age regressors decided to split off from the sfw age play community, and there was legitimately tons of discourse about who had the "right" to those terms.

(who here remembers the chire and the other handful of communities that attempted to exclude anyone who liked the parental nicknames and the usage of the word "little" in their regression? I do. god, do I remember. this is the main reason that a lot of old regression blogs specify that they're "community free regression")

Second, I... don't? Tag anything here as ageplay? Everything here is just tagged with omo tags, then with assorted organizational tags - there is nothing here tagged with agere or ageplay - just posts that use the very vague term of "little" and the other term of "caregiver" within the post itself.

(which, I just feel the need to repeat, is a word that even normies use!! my own parents, aunts, and uncles call me and my cousins littles!!! Outside of that, "Littles" is a shared community term!! Littles and Caregivers, as we use them, originated from Dominant Daddy/Mommy and Little Boy/Little Girl - it's the gender neutral version!! Cg/L! Regressors are the ones who decided to keep it!! Because it's vague!! That's intentional!!)

But, yeah, you're allowed to feel your feelings, and, honestly, the fact that you're uncomfortable with the "playing grown-up" tag is something that I anticipated when I made that tag - that it might make people uncomfortable! But, I've been working on making my own boundaries and enforcing them, while not immediately catering to make other people comfortable at the detriment of my own comfort/space.

This is my blog. People didn't like when I put non-sexual omo on my agere blog because it helped me regress. That's okay, and even I became uncomfortable with it after a while, so! I made this blog! It's not my agere blog. It's my soft omo blog. It's nsfw and for adults only. And, only just recently, I decided to take advantage of those two facts and put some other nsfw posts here. I do not want to make yet another sideblog for the handful of "icky" posts I'd like to reblog, especially when this blog is already here.

A nice thing about Tumblr is that tags are now blockable, so if, for some reason, you wanted to follow me still, you'd still be able too view all my other posts while excluding that specific tag. Or you can block me, if you wanted to - you curate your own online experience, and I'll hold no ill will towards you for making sure that you're comfortable and safe.

As for saying thats someone can't be both an age regressor and an age player? Literally what are you talking out????? Huh???? Do you think that adults can't age regress and slip into the mindset of a child while also being capable of, while in adult headspace, in a consensual relationship, roleplay as a child for sexual gratification??? Those are two different things!!! Ageplay is roleplay, and as such, one is capable of adult things! Agere is someone slipping into the headspace of a child!! Healthy communication with one's partner makes it clear what's okay in one headspace and what's okay in the other!!!

I'm not even an ageplayer and even I know that it's possible to do both 😭😭😭 and I just read fanfiction and people's actual blogs!!

As for your sign off, um. Okay? I don't even interact with a.geredips posts and blogs.... even if they're very relevant to me and my regression! Not even with my main!! (I'm also very shy and timid and a bit scared to interact) And, on my main, if people who follow me start breaking people's DNI, I literally softblock or block them - if they can't follow people's boundaries, then they can't interact! I'm just one blog, and I doubt that if anyone wanted to demonize age regressors, they need any help from me - people who deliberately mistag are probably more than enough tbh.

Ageplay and age regression, like it or not, was cut from the same cloth - a cloth made out of a gradient from black to white, with shades of grey all in between. Like a baby blanket! Black/ageplay and ABDL on one side, white/agere on the other, with you and me and my friends and mutuals somewhere in the middle, all spread out across!

Plenty of adults don't think anyone should return to the comfort of childhood things, and look at the whole blanket with scorn and disgust. Cutting off more and more of the blanket, because you think that my grey isn't as palatable as your grey, is not going to change these people's minds. Both of us live in the grey zone, and I personally think that by accepting more of the grey, our baby blanket will be strong enough to handle anything - even and especially people who think our blanket should be torn to shreds.

[lostacelonnie]

Hi, don't know if you remember me but you recently rbed my post about how Siegfried reuniting w his daughters was a rushed scene and I wanted to hear your opinions on the matter? Sorry if it's overstepping but im just curious haha.

Have a nice day!

AH HI!!! right yes i did thank you for reminding me!!!! i have very strong opinions on the matter so ill be happy to share.

(for people who haven't seen the og post, here it is)

THE SHORT VERSION: i agree with you completely and am Extremely Angry at mihoyo because EVERYONE is mischaracterized in that scene. or rather, in the entirety of moon arc, but that's something for another post.

THE LONG VERSION:

I Am So Fucking Mad.

so first of all, im probs gonna focus on bianka a lot in this because im unbelievably obsessed with her. and goddamn was that scene so bad. and also repeat a lot of things you Already Said.

to begin. it's very rushed!!!!!! this scene in its Base Format is inherently flawed simply because... bianka would not reveal her origin that early. like obviously at that point she was already being written very ooc [LIKE EVERYONE ELSE IN THE ARC. SERIOUSLY. IM SO ANGRY ABOUT THAT] but arrrghgh. at least before this scene they at least pretended to preserve bianka's. how do i call it. General Cautiousness?

this is something that clearly means a lot to her and is shown before trying to figure out how to break the news in a gentle way. she is simply not a person who would say [in a very strangely spoken way] "oh im your daughter by the way". She Would Not. this is a woman who would awkwardly try to hang out with these two for a solid 2 months as she feels out how to Tell Them. while obviously, during moon arc she had already spent enough time with the rest of the main cast to Chill Out a bit, she's still just!! kind of emotionally and socially awkward!!! but in a completely different way than showcased in moon arc. does that make sense

also bianka does not speak like that istg if mhy doesn't learn the difference between a character that is Kind Of Serious and a character that sounds like they use a thesaurus for most their sentences-

but kiana and siegfried aren't safe from this either!!!!!! as you said. they departed on Not Great terms and have been separated for years. while they act as if its been maybe a couple of days. its very disappointing for me personally to see the complete lack of regard for the fact that yes, they do care about each other and this reunion is a very happy one, but still!! their bond was. a rocky one.

plus, there's a giant difference between a preteen and, at that point, an adult woman so. siegfried is not meeting the same person he lost. kiana has changed, and due to her experiences- probably even abnormally so, so they NEED to rebuild their relationship simply because even IF before their separation there was no conflict, it would change the fact its been far too long to treat each other as if they have never been apart.

AND the fact that kiana especially was so... unbothered? by the fact that DURANDAL IS HER SISTER. like. do i even have to elaborate. kiana kaslana, world's #1 identity crisis haver, someone who idolized, hated, and respected bianka [in that order], was just like. okay 💗 yay 💗? sighs so deeply. look at how they massacred my girls

theres much more i could say but i dont quite know how to put most of my dislike of this scene into words so like. arrggh. it was personally very very frustrating to me because, as i said, i am a big fan of both kiana's and bianka's. identity, and especially family heritage, is an extremely important part of both of their characters and it was physically painful for me to see a scene i looked forward to A Lot be dismissed like this.

which, unfortunately, is true for most of the moon arc, since it was the worst offender for characterization [or rather, lack thereof] in the entire game, with basically everyone being reduced to a mildly philosophical much so devoid of personality i probably couldn't tell their lines apart if presented with a couple. but alas.

at least salt snow holy city arc was amazing

[bravelittleocelot]

Honestly I wanna ramble some more cuz I'm so excited for vengeance and I heard love in paradise and gods games again, and I just,,,,,, I don't think I've actually rambled about my interpretation of love in paradise much outside of calling out the racism im noticing,,, so I'm going to do that now and then I'll stop posting for a bit cuz I need to lmao

this got long so I'm putting it under a cut, last chance to not read this. if you just want to argue with me about it just scroll by or block me. I'm not here to change anyones mind or argue I just want to talk about how I interpret the songs. Please don't bring up how you think she raped him on this post.

I think that both Calypso and Ody went through those seven years literally like, that bus meme LMAO. But I still think they developed in really interesting ways too (for better and worse). like,,, when we first meet Her we meet this goddess who has no idea how to exist with another person, she dismisses everything Ody says, she seems to view him closer to a pet than anything else (one way to interpret why she does this is because up until now she's had animals and inanimate objects to keep her company? If what I'm gathering from not sorry for loving you is right she was just fuckin left there) but by the end of the song she's pleading for him to listen to her. She's calling him Ody - he doesn't tell her his name in the start of the song (and as much as I like the theory that he repeats the things his friends have said to him in his sleep, I prefer the idea he did introduce himself at some point) and I think it really does feel like she's listening to what he's saying but she has no idea how to handle it. Like, even if we do use the "she still sees him as a pet" interpretation, your pet becomes suicidal, wtf are you gonna do? If my cat went to a cliff and started screaming about me not knowing what he's done and gone through I wouldn't know what the fuck to say either. I don't think she's trying to seduce him off the cliff (and I think it's super weird people make it out that's what happens!) I think she's literally on her knees begging the only person she's ever known to come back to her so that she can help him,,,, she doesn't help him, obviously, she triggers the fuck out of him but by god she's trying!!! lmfaooo.

....actually I guess Ody is more a golden retriever but you hear me.

Anyway

She's an antagonist for a reason, she literally cannot understand why keeping him captive there is wrong. I still don't think she rapes him, but I do think it took her a long time to understand he has boundaries. and I think "and if I pushed you/ came on too strong" etc in not sorry for loving you shows us, she, still, can't understand why what she did was bad after all this time, she was just trying to love him in the way she wanted to be loved. and that is, honestly, terrifying and heartbreaking all at the same time.

as a side tangent, Because we know Jorge loves to use wordplay (look how he used double meanings during Suffering) when she sings "Under my spell, we're stuck in paradise. No one can come or go, my island stays unknown" you can for sure take that to mean "under my Curse, we're stuck here Together", and tbh I feel like that's backed up in what I've heard of Not Sorry For Loving you? She's, for sure trapped him, im not arguing that, but she's stuck there too. I don't have a point here cuz imo it doesn't actually make her anything other than more tragic and more of an antagonist cuz girl you KNOW what it's like to be stuck there, it might be paradise but you said it yourself you're!! stuck!! Jorge uses his words so carefully (at least 98% of the time), she's not just casually saying stuck imo!! Actually maybe I do have a point cuz imo that makes it even more interesting!! Like, no wonder she doesn't want to let him go!! He's the only person she's ever met and probably the only person she ever will meet!! "My island stays unknown"!! Selfishly, there's no fucking way she'd let him go without divine intervention!! Scary!!! UGH I love this, it's so tasty and complicated and!! That makes a good antagonist!!! She's great I love her 10/10 mr jorge this is a GREAT version and I will marry her.

And Ody,,,,,,,

God where do I even begin with Ody. I said before that I think the worst part of this for him was to be reminded of Polites every fucking day for seven years. Because lets be real, she might be Coping but she calls her own prison a paradise, she greeted him with open arms and greets her world with open arms (lmao and he becomes her world.... im not crying much its fine) . And like, there are a few ways to view that last bit of the song cuz she IS repeating things from the people he loved most, he could've been talking in his sleep and she's trying to use familiar phrasing or she could just be, yknow, Like This. and personally I love the idea that Ody was faced with someone who reflected all the pieces of the people he loved back to him, everyone except!! his wife!! She reflects the words of his mom, the strength of Eury, the open arms of Polites.... and my GOD would that be torture on top of being trapped. I said it before, there's three people on that island, Ody, Caly, and the intense!! guilt!! Ody feels!! And she makes it worse!! He's trapped, and he can't even escape the people he failed because she constantly reminds him of them (accidentally but still, constant).

but like he says in not sorry for loving you ( and I do not want to hear a fucking word about Stockholm syndrome this is my post and I'm putting my foot down) he loves her. cuz again, of course he loves her, how could he not love someone who reminds him of all the best parts of the people he loves. It's not romantic, it's not in the way she wants to be loved, It's probably incredibly painful, he for sure also hates her, but they spent seven years together. Seven years of existing together isn't something to sneeze at!! No matter what happened, there had to be Moments. Moments that gave him some sort of peace because otherwise he would've been on that cliff before the year was up.

And speaking of that??? What did he say to her all these years. That's what I want to know. Cuz despite me calling bullshit on sir yaps a lot NOT telling her about what happened to him, can we talk about

You don't know what I've gone through You don't know what I've sacrificed Every comrade I long knew Every friend, I saw them die And all I hear are screams

cuz what if!! she doesn't know!!! what if this whole time he tried to just talk about them like they were still alive or focus in on getting home to his wife and as he lost hope he stopped speaking so much, kept seeing her act like the people he loved, kept watching her try and love him in all the wrong ways, and kept the demons and guilt at bay until he just broke???

Also? again, the pet thing, if we want to go there.... if your golden retriever burst out with "ALL MY FRIENDS DIED" what the fuck would YOU do.... sorry im coping with humour, ANYWAY.

idk like, I just feel like there's so much to unpack here and I hope we DO get a little backstory on their lives together, I want to see people explore this in more ways than what I've seen. Cuz I think he connected to her, I think he understands that she's trapped there too, I don't think this makes it better but I think it enriches the story and it gives them such a cool dynamic.

Anyway this is long enough, it's late and I'm having many thoughts. Again if you don't agree with me that's ok just scroll on, I'm just yelling at the void

[muskmelon-enjoyer-199x]

found my old douk-douk from many years ago! that carbon steel is looking a little rough. gonna give him a little TLC.

when I bought him, these were like 25 bucks. Now they're 36 bucks.

ramble under the cut

Douk-Douks have an interesting history. A French dude named Gaspard Cognet wanted to capture the pocket knife market in the French Pacific colonies (specifically in Melanesia). He needed a marketing draw that would boost brand recognition and catch local eyes, though. This was in 1929, so he went to the library and found this in an illustrated dictionary:

...and he was like "wow, this is a thing from an island in Melanesia so obviously all of Melanesia will love my knife if I put it on there. It must be important if it's one of the only Melanesian things in the dictionary, right? Even though my target market is mainly in New Caledonia, im sure they will will all recognize this niche figure from one culture from one peninsula on one island on the opposite end of Melanesia and that this isn't going to come off weird or cause misunderstandings--"

except he totally didn't say that. The dictionary probably just said "fierce melanesian spirit thing" and had a cool drawing, and that was good enough for Gaspard. He was, after all, a white guy trying to market products to black people he had never met who lived as his country's colonial subjects on the other side of the planet. I doubt he considered the differences in their respective experiences and cultures at all. If he did, he probably would've made some different choices.

Anyways, the product flopped. It did, however, succeed in French possessions in Africa. People seemed to like them as work knives, and apparently they were sharpened into razors as well.

One promotional photo shows hunters from an unspecified "pygmy" culture kneeling around a bongo carcass with knives and a sign reading "The Douk-Douk Among the Pygmies." Most of the men look a bit disinterested. They are all wearing the same shorts and t-shirts, and the knives are shiny and new. It's honestly a very strange and contrived picture. There's a lot going on here.

During the Algerian War of Independence, the FLN supposedly would hammer the lips of the handles together to convert them into fixed-blade knives. Some French guys online say that they would cut informers' noses off and stabbed soldiers in the Casbah with them. I'm sure the war was brutal, but I don't know if this story about the douk-douks is actually true. It gets repeated a lot online (especially by sellers), but the only actual source I can find is an untranslated memoir by a French guy.

(The title of this memoir is "Il était une fois mon Algérie à moi: Biographie," which translates to "Once Upon a Time There Was My Own Algeria: A Biography." It seems to be self-published. We are clearly dealing with some reliable stuff here!)

This is a consumer product that was made to sell to lower-income people in overseas colonies. How do you even tell where the history ends and the marketing and weird colonial mythology begin? I don't know what is really true except that people bought it and used it. I wonder if there are things written about it in languages I can't read or even struggle through. That would be the really interesting stuff!

It's a neat little knife, regardless.

[yourbookcouldbegayer]

Hiiiii!

To premise my ask, I am finding difficulty making my two male characters go from friends to dating subtly. Like in a way that makes the reader go ‘OH’ when it comes out. I'm mostly struggling because these are teenage boys who make gay jokes(nonoffensive, just basic stuff I see people do all the time like “that was a little fruity bro” or “if you like me like that just say it” also if that is offense let me know, I'm straight and struggling a bit😭) in friendly banter.

If that was hard to read let me attempt to summarize:

How to write two non main characters subtly start dating?

Idk. Im also new to romance so anything is helpful!

Thank you for reading my nonsense ramblings!!!!

Hey there! Disclaimer: this blog is fairly inactive now, sorry-- most of the mods got busy and and I lost the energy to run it.

However, this is primarily a writing question, and I like talking about writing, so I'll give my advice:

There are 2 questions here: 1 is if their gay jokes are okay, 2 is how to have a background romance.

1: The problem I see here is, if these characters are not out as queer to the reader (like if the reader knows they're queer but not that they're dating), this could definitely read offensive. I don't like hearing about straight people making jokes about us-- the reason gay people might call each other fruity or other terms is mainly ironic or to reclaim those terms. If I'm in a room of straight people making those jokes it makes me uncomfortable bc they're punching OUT, while amongst other queer people, the jokes are made funny because everyone there knows the others ARE queer. Context is important.

That said, there's definitely times where things like that seem to set up a ship (that we have a history of thinking will never be true, but is more and more common). For this I think the joking flirting is perfect. So I think joking flirting is fine.

"Fruity" and other terms, even queerr and gay-- or jokingly homophobic jokes (like, I say to my partner all the time, "that was gay, we don't do that here" and it's completely a joke), may come off wrong. Some things I just do not want to see as a joke period, no matter who says them, how out they are, even if the speaker is queer. Some things I find fine to joke about irl but don't think should be in books because it does reach a wider audience (there's nuance there, no hard and fast rules, but there definitely are things I wouldn't mind jokes about but wouldn't want repeated in books). And then there's plenty of lighthearted stuff that is perfectly fine for queer characters to joke about just like people do irl. I think "Fruity" as yourr example is probably okay when it's from queeer characters but might cause some discomfort if I think the people saying it are straight. (That said, fruity is usually used for gay men, I am not one, and will ultimately differ to those who have more experience with the term).

That said, I think your best move is: let it slip to the reader, or make it kind of obvious, that ONE of them might be into the others, or is queer. Some comment nearly in, some special focus on that character, flattering descriptions of men, or jokes about themselves being queer (or if you're up to it, they come right out and say it).

2. How to write a romance behind the scenes:

My advice? Write it.

I've seen a lot of advice that writeers first needed a warm-up. Before you geet into writing your main story, spend like 15 minutes writing the two of them interact. Have them flirt, have them confess, have them cuddle or do things for each other. Look up fluff and ship prompts, even AUs.

Then, or at the same time if it jives with you, plot out their romance alongside your regular plot. A few points to decide when they happened: when they each started to like each other, when they admitted it, when they went on a first date, when they had sex for the first time (or if, this is optional), other points in the world relationship-- using your fluff scenes as inspiration.

Then you know where they stand. You can add little moments into the main story now. You can have them have an inside joke that they reference because you actually know what happened! (Though, tell us later, after revealing it, even if it's quick). You can have them spending time together that the MC doesn't think that much of.

This romance will not be in the main story, so you don't have to be good at romance. It can be dumb and cringe, or lack real chemistry, bc no one will see it.

The way I describe this sounds like a lot, but my advice with sketching the beats out and writing small scenes can apply to any sub/background plot you have. Really you may only spend like 4-6 sessions doing a warm up with them, then switch to different characters or background scenes or just rewriting smth from a different character's POV, and then plot out the beats once before moving on to another background thing.

If anyone else has any ideas about writing a suble/background romance, feel free to chime in!

-Mod Emma

[slavhew]

Any advice for doing back grounds?? Shits mad confusing im tryna practice drawing like characters actually in them and im going insane

ouu i can't say im a good authority on this, because I never did much in lieu of backgrounds except painting some sunsets. I do have some theoretical knowledge but i struggle putting it into perspective, because depth is hard.

I feel like the hardest thing really is making the characters look like they belong in the environment, and that sounds like your problem too? I think ? So it's what I'm going to try and address here.

One that is in my opinion by far THE most important is to start a composition with the background in mind. It is always going to look somewhat wonky if you don't

(Rest under cut)

(exhibit A)

(this is the reason why I often don't do backgrounds, because a vast majority of my work starts as a doodle that i polish up later) (and also I used a game screenshot here, I didn't actually draw the walkway)

compare this to the drawing that was my inspiration, and the difference in flow and focus is astronomical

A good background can be either super simple, just a backdrop or something your characters actively participate in; in both these instances, it will be much easier to draw it if you start out with it in mind and being able to adjust early on is a massive lifesaver

Second, and most often repeated I think, is to think of the space as 3D, and use some geometry to help yourself out

the most useful part of this to keep in mind imo, when it comes to scaling characters, is that they will also follow roughly that line of perspective that in reality "runs parallel" to the rest of them, but in perspective looks as if it gets smaller

There's probably plenty of tutorials on getting a feel for this out there, but looking at other people's art (and the classics) and sketching over them can help

this is only linear perspective examples, but there's lots of them out there! point is, the character, and many lines of the environment are going to "flow" into a point. It's usually demonstrated with tiles and suchalike, but as you can see it has many applications, depending on how exaggarated you want to make the perspective.

You should also be mindful of the perspective of your character versus the environment. A few things to keep in mind are their lines, and their color/shading.

Colors are relatively simple; keep the source of light in mind so the shading feels in line for both the character and environment (perspective lines help with that too).

(this is definitely not to scale but just, to illustrate my point)

And keep in mind that with especially pieces that have great depth, like landscapes, the color of the environment changes the further you look. The lines blur, the details are lost, and it fades into more solid colors. A character and their palette will be affected by this environmental lighting

With keeping the characters consistent with backgrounds, lines-wise, it really helps to block them in first, because you can easier keep track of how they look in relation to backgrounds, and fix accordingly early on.

it's good (and painful, honestly) to keep in mind how bodies are 3D objects too. I had this great reference for this point, that I forgot where i saved, so we have to do with my amateurish recreation:

These lines are going to get distorted and effected by the perspective too. To avoid the characters looking flat against the backgrounds, try to keep them "on the same level" of exaggaration, so to speak..

And lastly. USE REFERENCES!! there is NOTHING more needlessly painful than drawing something as complex as environments out of your head.

All these things contribute to the complex thing that is. backgrounds. Now, please dont take my word as gospel, considering that even keeping all of this in mind, this is about the best i can do offhand to demonstrate my knowledge lol

I wouldn't be surprised if all the things I said here aren't anything new to you, in which case i genuinely apologize, because I'm also a huge beginner with this 😭 but i wish you a lot of luck on your journey practicing this!! It's a lot of work to be sure.

As sort of a PS, a few pieces with cool bgs showcasing some of my points *a lot* more competently, that I have saved in my bookmarks on twitter:

[x] [x] [x] [x] [x] [x]

[malusienki]

why does listening to classical music automatically make you “an old soul” “nerdy” “weird” “boring”

more under the cut (it’s long, sorry)

like? is it just me having a different standpoint or do i not get it? why is it that classical music is considered boring? what caused that? what???? im convinced the people saying these things have listened to like. vivaldi’s four seasons. boccherini’s minuet. offenbach’s can-can. and called it a day. these people probably don’t even know that it’s called “minuet” and only refer to the toreador march as the “fnaf song” <- (i don’t have anything against this per se, fnaf is a really cool thing i just never got into it fully and it only irks me just a little but that’s a whole other topic) without knowing what it’s from. now that goes to say i don’t expect everyone who criticizes and doesn’t like it to immediately go listen to the entire library of classical music and be enlightened but it’s a little offputting when you go out of your way to continuously remind someone that they’re weird for listening to and enjoying operas and/or classical music.

that last little bit was taken from what my friend— or i guess ex-friend now but the term still seems unfamiliar— would kind of do to me but to a lower degree i think. they said they found my interest in opera cool and would .. kind of listen to my rants and stuff and i appreciate it but then they’d go and make offhand comments about how weird i was and would use my interest in opera to sort of like.. “you can’t be talking you like OPERA” in a jokey manner i guess? that sort of thing. i thought that was normal and even though it hurt my feelings, it was all jokes, yeah? [i recognize now that thats not how that works and even though occasional jokes are okay your interests should never be the butt of the “joke” if it’s constantly repeated and hurts your feelings] and i think people don’t realize how much of a foundation classical music in itself is. i cannot tell you how many times i’ve recognized a piece to be a fragment from an opera or a mozart composition or like.. jeez i don’t fucking know, beethoven. out in the wild. in pop music, in movies, in shows, etc. even instagram reels/tiktok. if you frequent those you’ll come to find that there are a lot of trending “audios” using like.. lacrimosa or vivaldi’s four seasons or fuckin like prokofiev’s dance of the knights or act II of swan lake. i remember my mom was watching a netflix movie, a fucking cheesy ass romance or something, and there was a moment where the flower duet from lakmé played. the goddamn mario movie has a clip of carmen’s “l’amour est un oiseau rebelle”/the habanera within the first like, what. ten? fifteen minutes? i might be getting needlessly annoyed but it’s really fucking aggravating getting told i’m weird for liking something supposedly no one else under the age of 50 does. thanks guys. i really appreciate your supportiveness— but that’s besides the point.

my main reason that i’m even writing this is because my assumption (of course, this is most likely an incorrect assumption because i’m only 15 and only have so much life experience) is that the same people who often go around saying that classical music is boring and dull are the ones who are constantly wanting to push the arts to be funded. if you’re gonna fund the arts, fund ALL of them. not just “‘“‘“modern”””” stuff. not just musical theatre or plays. i think people forget that? maybe they ignore it. maybe they just don’t know. that’s why education is so important.

now that being said, i know seeing an opera or going to a concert can be expensive— and i wish that wasn’t the case. there’s always free livestreams, there’s always concerts, there’s albums, youtube videos, i know when i was in chicago i listened to the classical radio, etc. nothing beats seeing these things live in the theatre but it’s better than nothing i think?

also, i don’t mean to say classical is better than anything i mentioned above. no. i’m just sick and fucking tired of being told this and that about my interest when all i want to do is to be happy and consume something in peace without being hardcore judged for it and i really appreciate the small little operablr community.

there’s definitely more that i missed to this so if i think of anything more i’ll add on to it but i’m just… hrrrrgggg anger rage frustration. head in hands. so tired.

thank you for your time

[olli-online]

the second or third thing i do every morning after i wake up is check this blog so i can see if ive missed anything you've said. i want to pick ur brain apart. the way your mind works is so interesting to me. similarly to minamill in some ways i wish we'd grown up together because maybe we both would have been less lonely but at the same time i'm really grateful we know each other now- even though we're very far apart. if we'd drifted apart growing up i would have never forgiven myself. i miss you an embarrassing amount when we aren't talking. i think i'm probably a little unwell about you but im actively restraining myself from repeating the same mistakes. i think you're one of the most talented people i know from here and with a quick humour and creative spark to match. whenever you're upset or not feeling good it makes me feel kind of sick that i can't physically go comfort you about it- i don't know how to do it right with just words

im going to throw up u cant just say all of this on anon what the 🧎 WHO R U IM GONNA CRY SO HARD RN KISSING U ON UR FACE WHATT yeah im gonna be thinkinf abt this everyday now got me giggling kicking my feet the second i woke up. 'actively restraining myself' well stop it pretty pls 🥺

[hergrandplan]

Hey Nina 💜,

I was wondering about 🌀❄️🌩️ for the writer asks.

Hope you're having a beautiful day!

Hi Sophia, I hope you're having a wonderful day too!!

🌀Post the fic summary for a fic you haven't written/published yet. It can be hypothetical or something you really plan on releasing...

Simply because @bigalockwood shared her end of the deal... (like hers, I am writing summary right now, no other part of this fic exists yett but... it will. this summary is a lot less long though so i apologize if you expected more sakldgj)

If there's one thing you can be sure about when it comes to a Simon Eriksson music video, it's that Wille's going to be in it, one way or another.

Or: despite growing protests of directors and producers, Simon and Wille do everything in their power to get Wille a cameo in every. single. music video

❄️Share a snippet from a WIP of your choosing.

okay i took the longest time debating over what to share and mostly, whether im not plugging this fic that won't go up for months too much but.... have the first few passages of a fic that i'm way too excited about

“I’m going to the Oscars, of course I’m going to bring my best friend as a plus one.”

The video cut to a shot of Felice Ehrencrona, former-actress-turned-food-influencer, walking arm in arm with former Crown Prince Wilhelm, laughing at some joke the audience wasn’t privy to. Simon scrolled past it, onto the next video, the same trend but a different person. “I’m an older sibling, of course”. He closed the app, choosing to stare out the window, watching the LA skyline pass by instead.

Why the Oscars thought it a smart idea to also start inviting influencers, despite the backlash other award shows like the Grammy’s and even the MET gala had received over doing exactly that, was beyond him.

It’s not like anyone actually cared enough about them, and people would only complain about it online.

Plus, what right did they have to be there? It was an award show for actors and actresses. And sure, Felice had done some acting gigs in the beginning of her career, but that was years ago. Inviting influencers took the whole prestige out of it. And to bring the former crown prince with her on top of that? Ugh.

Simon already found it hard enough that he had to deal with actual celebrities who’d probably manage to complain about every minor detail, and now he had to deal with influencers as well? Who somehow had gotten the thought in their head that they were even better than anyone else?

And not to mention a former crown prince, who probably had everything that ever happened to him, every opportunity, just handed to him on a silver platter, and who had never been told no or what he could or couldn’t do.

Maybe Simon should also hop on the trend.

“I’m going to be working at the Oscars, of course someone is going to yell at me because I brought them a regular coke instead of a diet.”

What a glamourous life he had.

🌩️ Share something funny/cracky from your WIP.

Simon sat down on the couch next to Wille, the widest grin possible on his face and a sparkle in his eyes. “I met someone. And I’m pretty sure he’s the one.”

“You said that about the previous guy. And the guy before that. And the guy before that.”

“Yeah, but this time I’m sure of it.” Simon fell back against the couch cushions, and ran a hand through his black curls. “He’s sweet, and considerate, and incredible in bed. I mean the way he–“

“Okay, okay, I do not need to hear you go on about your sexual escapades again, please. Where did you meet him?”

Simon’s hand got stuck in his curls, and he blushed. Actually blushed, and that’s how Wille knew the answer.

“Please don’t say the club.”

Simon didn’t reply.

“Simon, we talked about this. Not every guy you fuck is the one.”

Come ask me about WIPs! (and i have too many so repeats are fine)