#im struggling to think of ways for them to actually focus on their own stuff for a hot second

[a-dauntless-daffodil]

Angel Dust: "Ya know what your trouble is, toots?"

Vaggie: "You, currently. And usually."

Angel Dust: "Nah nah, I'm talkn' about ya lack of self love!"

Vaggie: "Angel Dust, so help me Charlie- if you tell me to go get myself off-"

Angel Dust: "I would NEVER!"

Vaggie: "Good."

Angel Dust: "That's like, step three on the loving yourself list. Step one for ya is walking around with ya wings out, like ya ain't ashamed of havin' them."

Vaggie: "I AM ashamed of having them?"

Angel Dust: "Well at least ya not in denial over it."

Vaggie: "Why should I love having murder wings. I don't like having murder wings. I fucking murdered people with my murder wings."

Angel Dust: "So? There's more than one way to slay with wings like those~"

Vaggie: "I'm leaving."

Angel Dust: "Did ya even SEE the look Charlie Puff gave ya?"

Vaggie: ".... what look."

Angel Dust: "That look, when you did that biiiiiiiiig stretch and throaty groan after getting beat up by Carmine an' walking home with a shit load of weapons. The look like Charlie was thinkin' about what to EAT that night, if ya know what I mean."

Vaggie: "...."

Angel Dust: "HA! Ya know EXACTLY what I mean, don'tcha!?"

Vaggie: ".... does just seeing someone stretch their wings... does that really do it for people?"

Angel Dust: "Ya ever caught me ogling old Whiskers when he yowls about back pain while actually straightenin' up for a change?"

Vaggie: "Yeah."

Angel Dust: "Yeah~"

Vaggie: "Huh. So, what's step two of the self love thing?"

Angel Dust: "Not haven' to use ya girlfriend as an excuse and reason to love yourself like a dumb lesbian."

Vaggie: "Okay well I give up-"

Angel Dust: "Step six is the BEST sex with said girlfriend that either of ya have EVER had. Like I'm talkn' the mind blown, legs go numb, no one is left standin' for DAYS afterwards kinda s-"

Vaggie: "Angel Dust, stop."

Vaggie: "Let me get a note pad and pen first."

[blueiight]

can i ask your thoughts on the fandom’s heavy focus on louis as an object of desire? it sometimes feels to me like people are more interested in other characters reacting to louis than they are in louis himself. i know the “helen of troy” stuff is a joke but it genuinely seems like he’s often rendered oddly passive in his desirability, like we’re looking at him through the eyes of the other characters even though it’s his story (to be clear: in the fandom, not the actual show). or am i being uncharitable? either way, you always have interesting things to say about fandom reception.

i think the focus of louis as an object of desire arose largely in response to a lot of racially-charged nonsense about show louis, namely, where a loud minority of fans tried to deny the abuse and horror of season 1 and frame louis as the primary antagonist/abuser of his own story. which in of itself had the potential to go somewhere, especially considering the feminized role louis occupies in parts of season 1. unfortunately its spiraled off into its own dead end at this point to where now people, a year and a half removed from the release of s1, can box louis's character arc into this tale of getting all the hot boys to look her way. when this is a horror and tragedy series. romance is part of that, but is a piece of the full picture. classic romance is very much horror tbh but thats just me

if we're discussing the show strictly, majority of louis's relationships are antagonistic. even with his lovers, they love him as much as they seek to control him. 'his love is a small box that he keeps you in', trailer louis saying 'i knew who i was without those pieces [of myself?]' . so on and so forth. the first three episodes of season 1 are about louis's struggle to maintain a link with his mortal community, in the midst of increasing racist tensions against the city leaders, all as he struggles to come to terms with his existence as a vampire and how his relationship to lestat fits in relation to all these pieces of himself. doubly so, there is also the nature of the second interview in present time, and the sort of antagonism between daniel + louis as louis eventually pushes daniel into burning the old tape. the latter half of season 1, episodes 4-7 is squarely about the triad of lestat, louis, and claudia, how lestat increasingly tightens his hold over them both, claudia breaking them free of it, and louis's response to such. doubly so, daniel becomes more hostile the less he knows, and the more louis's composed 'master of his instincts' personage collapses to show the broken man thats underneath. armand comes in at the end bc the interview has reached a breaking point once more [as it did in the 1970s]. i know, im looking too hard into the meme, but so much of where louis errs, where his memory falters, where history is completely revised, has to do with the question of claudia. even book interview foundationally was about this grief, though not nearly with the level of depth+ gravity the show has added to the story.

where focusing on louis as an 'object of desire' most impedes analysis has to do with claudia as well, bc if u see louis as that solely, then what is claudia to u if not a 'child interfering in [louis's] romantic affairs'? why are people already seeking to write claudia off as a wayward child unduly 'taking out her anger on louis', when it was louis at the end of season 1 who strangled her against the wall and refused to let her burn lestat? when its louis in the trailer thats throwing claudia's words from season 1 back at her, evading her questions in the cafe? when claudia is having to dress as a baby doll and advertise with a sandwich board for a theater + a coven-master that all want her dead?

i think this is by nature of the fact that iwtv is canonly gay and isnt afraid of showing that, and modern fandom is mainly interested in romance. claudia's relationship to louis is secondary, if not tertiary, to all 'camps' of this tiny tiny fandom bc she is clearly established in s1 as not being a viable romantic option for louis, despite claudia's perspective and her story taking up the second half of the first season, and will continue to be important in the second season. the 'helen of troy' fixation on his desirability in relation to romantically viable vampires [or even men] seems to be another means by which fans can ignore this part of the story, just as the mutual abuse nonsense about louis being clarence thomas the third self hating black man who stole lestat's lunchables and is 'just as bad as the rest' drowned out and continues to drown out any other conversation for the past year and a half. it is very difficult to have conversations on this character precisely bc of this state of fandom, where many people seek to crack the whip over a fictional character for not being mother teresa and having a complex response to trauma, then instead of discussing that, some seek to fixate on the fact that mother teresa can be sexy, actually. when thats not the point. why is modern louis so full of grief and all but suicidal in dubai, if not for the fact that claudia is permanently dead, he still lives, he regrets something, and wants to find the truth under it all? the jokes are cute and all, but lets put our thinking caps on.

[hazshit-hotel-hater]

Vox headcanon todayy ripped from my ramblings in a friends dms

Been going insane about this for days so please dont mind me.

Warning for discussions of seizures

So like Vox gets upgrades and maintenance on his body kind of often like how rich white moms buy the new iphone every other month but for him its for both public image and also processing stuff, also for like 3 days ive been going insane because I got some headcanon implanted into my head and I didnt know where it came from and then I figured it out but like Vox definitely has epilepsy so i tried to go pin pointing where I think my brain randomly came up with the epilepsy thing, I think in my head I listed these as some kind of mechanical seizure with the first one being vox having severely overloaded circuits and then the second being the actual seizure where he starts to shut off and falls back into his chair.

I think its kind of interesting that theres kinds of things that organic bodied sinners cant experience like technological sinners can, like a non technological sinner couldn’t experience a blackout/bluescreen kind of seizure like this where it literally shuts off all the electronics in the city for a solid 4-5 seconds. I don’t imagine an average tech sinner could experience this on as wide of a scale as Vox since the average person isnt really connected to basically every device in a 5 mile radius, but im sure they could experience some sort of bluescreen or circuit overload in a more contained way

Aside from this very rare occurrence that’s probably only happened once or twice, Vox probably has tonic and absence seizures specifically, not really caused by one specific thing but not charging properly or overheating increases the risk of having them as well as overloading circuits. He is usually able to tell when he is about to have one and will notify someone nearby and excuse himself if he’s in something like a meeting and find a place to lay down. At the moment I think both of the other’s are aware of this but only Velvette really helps at all when its needed

I dont see characters that struggle with seizures often at all and I dont think ive ever seen a villain with epilepsy and I find it very intriguing to have that

Since Vox is a technological sinner/being, his epilepsy now is relatively very different than when he was a person and like I said some of these things just cant really happen like this in organic brains or bodies so obviously don’t take my Vox headcanons as some way to study actual epilepsy. If you’re interested in it please do your own research and focus on humans rather than on robots, they are very different! I genuinely cannot stress enough please do not assume actual people dealing with epilepsy will behave how a cartoon character does—I doubt anyone will actually assume that but—just in case please🙏

[aetherceuse]

So.

It's been a few weeks since I announced taking a step back from Lusamine's blog, and, I think I'm at a point where I can put my struggles into words.

Before I get into my issue, I'm politely asking that this post is read and digested. In the past, whenever I post about something that I am struggling with in terms of roleplay and community interaction, my post has been used as a springboard for the dash to turn into "vent hour." That isn't what I want. I'm genuinely asking for people to read this, to digest it, and respect the fact that I am having a major issue with writing this character, which has been preventing me from actually being active-- and it is rooted in how the muse, and her information, has been treated.

I'm not tagging this as drama, because it is not drama. This isn't pointed at any individuals, because frankly, it's an issue I have had with writing villains my entire life, and it's only been amplified on Lusamine's blog in particular.

For starters: Lusamine is a beloved muse of mine. She is one of my favorites to sit down, dissect, and write about. It's important for people to understand that all of my canon muses are retellings in a way, but with Lusamine, that's ESPECIALLY important to understand. This Lusamine is not canon, she is a retelling, with her own backstory and world-relevant lore that is very important for people to read, grasp, and understand before proceeding forward with interactions.

However, it doesn't seem as though people really-- respect that, or even bother to read the bio and headcanons that I've written on her. I can tell, because a lot of the interactions I get are people reacting to canon events that haven't happened in my retelling. Mother Beast, for example, hasn't happened, and I've stated that multiple times over and over, yet that seems to be falling on deaf ears.

I really need my writing partners to actually read my content, and understand what I'm doing. I don't write headcanon posts and bios just because I wanna take up space on Tumblr dot com. I write them because they're a crucial part of what I'm doing.

And honestly-- that's not even the biggest issue I've had.

It is EXHAUSTING to open my ask box on a daily basis, and deal with asks sent in just calling her: bitch, cunt, 'Lusa-mean', 'Lusa-bitch', whatever. I don't think you guys understand how mentally taxing, and depressing that is for me. I get it. I'm writing the villain. Lusamine hasn't done great things. But I feel as though people are forgetting that there is an actual, human person sitting behind the inbox, who is writing a character that he loves-- and instead of getting thoughtful engagement, it's a barrage of "bitch." I've had to block people for doing this (IF you are reading this post on the dashboard, that means you're not guilty of doing this.).

But, this extends to the dashboard too. I feel as though I cannot write or do anything without someone dash comming or being automatically aggressive the moment Lusamine even so much as opens her mouth.

It's really, really not fun to be minding my business, and receive asks, IM's, or dash comms of this nature-- especially when I'm trying to write a complex character. I pour my heart and soul into what I write. And it's really sad that I have all of this stuff that people could be reading, interacting with, and reacting too-- and instead people just focus on all of the potential trauma that Lusamine could subject them to. It's not fun. At all. It really makes me feel like shit. I don't want to be used as the target of someone's parental trauma. Just because I am writing a villain, does not mean I am consenting to be nothing but an angst punching bag. I want to write stories, not just receive one-liners and zingers and "AH HAH, GOTCHAS!" in my ask box.

Frankly, I do not have nearly this much of a problem on any of my other antagonist blogs. Even though I'm still subject of whump at many times, it's not nearly as bad anywhere else, as it is on Lusamine's blog. It's really discouraging, and it makes me feel like I'm writing something that people don't really have any care or interest for. I get that my writing can be a little strange and off putting. I know that I dig into uncomfortable topics. It's not for everybody, but, I've never been the type of person to try and appeal to the greater audience. I'm very niche.

We talk about communication in this community a lot. We talk about wanting to interact. We talk about feeling as though engagement is down. And while I sit here and write this, I'm reflecting on that ongoing issue. I really feel as though we can improve the health of peoples' experience in this RPC if we-- y'know-- actually sat down, read what our partners are writing-- and ask questions/engage with it.

I don't know when I'll return to Lusamine's blog. I'm not deleting it obviously, I've put a lot of hard work into her character. But, until I feel as though there's a genuine interest in reading what I have going on, and engaging with it fairly, I'm going to keep my focus on Proton-- because, honestly, I feel really insecure on this account. At least over on Proton, it seems as though people are reading my glitch lore, respecting my muse/worldbuilding, and interacting with it. And it means the world to me. I hope to have that here one day too.

[twiixr4kidz]

one last request…. as a follow up 2 da evil exes + Scott finding out ur preg…. Them (minus Roxie) helping/comferting u when ur having da baby and their reactions when they r born!! Head cannons pls and u can cancel da 3rd Matthew x reader/headcanons … also how do u feel

i'd love too!! also, i'm doing okay now :3 i got a sudden burst of motivation so i feel a lot a better and im getting a lot of stuff done hehehehehe

the evil exes (minus roxie) + scott after the baby!!

scott pilgrim:

if you expected scott to be comforting, than you're expecting just a teensy bit too much from him

to be honest, bro is freaking out

his mind is screaming "OH MY GOD THIS IS HAPPENING OH MY GOD IM GONNA BE A DAD WHAT THE FUCK DO I DO OH GOD" and his heart is screaming "BRO CALM THE FUCK DOWN AND HOLD YOUR PARTNER'S HAND OR SOMETHING"

he doesn't let his anxiety show (or at least he tries not to) and does his best to attend to you through the entire process

when the baby is born, he's happy but also so relieved that you're not in pain anymore

also he cries

he just sits in the corner and sobs

he's so happy

matthew patel:

similarly to scott, he's freaking out

but not because he's anxious

he is so excited he's bouncing off the walls

you're going to have to get his attention if you need his comfort because he's gonna be in his own little world

but he snaps out of it as soon as he realizes you need him

he keeps your hair out of your face and rubs the back of your hands all while praising you for doing such a good job

when the baby is born, he also cries

literally cannot hold the baby because he's shaking from excitement

HE'S A DAD!!!!!

lucas lee:

bro is so responsible, he's by your side the entire time

hospitals make him queasy, but if it's for you, he's willing to put that all aside

he's practically a nurse's assistant with the way he's running around the room and getting you whatever you need

he definitely seems like a dad, but now that the two of you are actually going to have a little one running around, he FEELS like a dad

literally so excited when he holds the baby that you think he's going to pass out

todd ingram:

poor guy is having so much anxiety around everything, and he has been from the start

he struggles a lot and is so so SO worried he's not gonna be a good dad, but he knows now isn't the time to worry about that

he needs to focus on YOU

he runs his fingers through your hair and whispers into your ear about how you're almost there, how when this is all over, the three of you can come home and he'll tend to your every beck and call, how he'll make all of your favorite meals and make sure you have only the comfiest of clothes to wear, and when the baby goes to bed, you can sleep the entire night and he'll take care of them

he's in shock when it's all over

he finally gets to hold his flesh and blood child and he has to hold back the tears

he's so :')

kyle katayanagi:

you're in the most pain of your life and the entire time bro is like "FUCK YEAH BABE YOU'RE GIVING BIRTH SO HARD RIGHT NOW"

it's actually hilarious

he tackles comforting you with his incredible sense of humor

he tries to make you laugh as best he can, despite your conditions because he believes that laughter is the best medicine

and it's distracting you from the pain, so at least it's working!!

when he finally has the baby in his arms, his responsible side kicks in he's a lot calmer

but he is absolutely restraining the urge to shriek from excitement

ken katayanagi:

unlike his twin brother, he is NOT saying "fuck yeah babe you're giving birth so hard"

he's more like "every time you push, that's one night i make one of your favorite meals for dinner"

he's not the best at encouraging, but having him stand over you, rubbing your shoulders and wiping the sweat off your brow is comforting enough

he's so happy when the baby is finally born, and he looks at them with so much love it's overwhelming

gideon graves:

this man has so much composure it's kind of terrifying

there is no nervous bone in his body when you go into labor

he's able to help you through the whole process, almost as if he spent weeks researching it (spoiler warning, he totally did LMAO)

he offers you a bunch of things to help, but realizes it's HIM that you need

he holds that baby and immediately starts acting like a dad

he can finally break out those awful dad jokes he's been saving up for months and he's never been happier

[not-poignant]

salut pia!

ive been wondering? how do you handle/change modes when you’re writing across AUs/fics? i mean not only the personality/attribute changes (like role reversal with ef and gwyn) but also change in…oh how do i say this..when a character is a MC in one but side/minor in another? bc they are different devices to different stories, how do you keep an overview of how much you reveal, go into so as to not side track from the main story or change the “flow”. example: whenever theres mentions of gender identity and betas somethin somethin feeling like omegas somethin somethin comes up “casually” sirens go off in my head and then i realise wait faber is NOT the MC in this story this is not about him him but its a little bit about him him. and then i feel like im standing behind a glass wall looking from Utb/Utg to Utr screaming at faber but he is a NPC here so we dont know whats going on in his head. that scene with ef and him eating carrots?…. i would give my right foot and skin tone copic markers to be a fly on the wall in fabers POV (the timelines probably wont align for it to happen but would you ever consider sth like this?? a scene overlapp across stories i mean?)

i’ve mostly read within that universe but ive also read spoils where your characters have completely different..positions? roles? weight? than in rainbow. so yeah how do you keep it all “appropriate” or “fitting” for their roles in different stories. like a puppet master

cheers xx

Hi anon,

So this is going to be not very helpful, but I don't write this stuff down for the most part.

This is the stuff I find so easy that this is why this is my job, in a way. I don't have a list of 'different Efnisiens' to keep track of, or 'different Gwyns.' They become themselves within the story. If I read a chapter of the story I get back into it (actually often I just need to listen to a song or put on the right playlist). Every version of a character is kind of there right now. I know how each would respond to something, and how those things would be the same or vary based on life experiences and the question etc.

I don't do really much at all to change modes. I just...do. There is no overview. It's all in my head. I'd say some of this goes down to how long / how many years I've spent studying character and dialogue overall. But even when I was younger I found this pretty easy, and transplanting characters into different situations to see how they'd react similarly / differently was one of my favourite kinds of exercises even when I was a teenager.

Some of it is knowing focus. Faber's side story is interesting, for those who like Faber and/or Underline the Red, hints about his gender struggles are fascinating, but they can only ever be hints, because I'm mindful that many readers aren't interested in Faber except as a minor character, and haven't read Underline the Red.

The focus is always Efnisien and Gary. Other characters can have their own lives and motivations, but it won't be more than that in the main story. Though I can go into a bit more detail because of the length of the story which is really nice for building out side characters / ensemble cast.

As to crossover perspectives, I don't know! I know we'll see some of Faber's perspective of Efnisien arriving at Hillview in Underline the Red, but obviously things impact characters differently at different times, I don't know what will be most important by the time we get to Faber's side of things. I used to write alternative perspectives as side chapters for Fae Tales though, and that could be a lot of fun.

so yeah how do you keep it all “appropriate” or “fitting” for their roles in different stories.

I saw a video by Hank Green I think once where he said the reason sportspeople are so good at their sports is in part because they're physically often the best at that sport anyway. Like, ballerinas have a certain build, swimmers have a certain build, and any training they do works to support that and make them better, but they were 'built' out for those sports in the first place. Some people have yoga bodies. I have a swimming body and swimming shoulders.

And I feel like this is true sometimes with writing. I don't try to keep it appropriate or fitting, I just know that the ensemble characters can't matter as much as the main characters in the course of the story. That's what a story is. That's what a main character and an ensemble character is. I would say years of experience has made this part of writing mostly easy and fun for me, so I don't have to think or overthink about this stuff anymore. At worst I might think 'was that too much Faber? Eh, it's helping Efnisien, it's still important to the plot and his character arc.'

I'm 'built' for writing big worlds with big ensemble casts where all the characters are important but where the focus is only on a couple of main characters per story. I'm built for character-focused stories and seem to be very built for transplanting characters I love into different worlds (and different roles) to see how that changes things. I started wanting to write these kinds of worlds and characters when I was 10 years old, and had my first sprawling ensemble fantasy series started by the age of 11. By the age of 15 I had a 3 novel fantasy trilogy built out with about 20 significant characters, and it was ridiculous and silly but that was what I wanted to write.

And I guess you could say I haven't really changed, I've just gotten better at it. I hope to keep getting better at it! The challenge now is to figure out how to break down some of these skills so I can share them with others. But...I do think there's an element of 'this is just what I love, it's a special interest, I don't know how to convey that I have 30 years of special interest in reading, writing, and studying this thing across television, manga, manhwa, fanfiction, AUs, and fictional series.' There will be teachable skills in that, but I don't know how much osmosis / absorption / and being obsessed with entangled tapestries of stories makes up what I do.

In some ways it would be 'better' if I was built for more conventional storytelling. My bank account might like that more! BUT, I'm doing okay where I'm at, because I love it, and I try to share that with other people and see if I can tell stories that resonate with them too.

(There are aspects of what I do that are very hard for me - timelines, aspects of worldbuilding, pacing in the first arc, and so on, but the actual characterisation part, and creating multiple versions of the same character is as easy as breathing. I could give you four more different versions of Faber in an hour. Maybe even twenty minutes. It's not hyperbole, it's just...how I daydream, what I think about. And it's fun!)

I'm very very very lucky that other folks are willing to read the same characters across different narratives, because it's a very strange thing to do in writing outside of fanfiction, case in point being that we almost never see any other professional authors doing it with their original works. x.x

[oifaaa]

Please tell me how Roy’s characterisation was massacred for N52.

I understand how Jason and Roy’s relationship can be annoying where Roy never questions Jason and just follows him around blindly, never second guessing him. Roy is hard on himself and lacks self esteem and so thinks highly of Jason when really he should be angry, maybe even jealous of the power (all caste magic) Jason has. Then i get confused because I’d think someone going through a bout of depression and self hate and self medicating would have low self esteem and would think everyone is better than them and that they are a fuck up so isn’t that accurate portrayal of how awful Roy’s situation is?? Doesn’t that show the way Roy struggles just as he has pre N52?

Additionally Jason always compliments Roy on his greatness and abilities (Not in person which is annoying because grr he has to be manly and can’t compliment a friend) but in his little thought bubbles he’s always talking about how great Roy is and how grateful he is to have him.

Now this is where I get more confused because surely Roy respects Jason and through Jason’s monologues he clearly respects Roy though he may not say it out loud. The point is, people exaggerate so much how Roy is used as a crutch for Jason to look cool but Jason is constantly mentioning Roy and how important he is for the team. (Though I won’t deny there are times he may call him a goofball or undermine him but I mean cmon it’s literally ‘Red Hood’ and the outlaws, not ‘Titans’ where they’re equals, so it’s understandable that Jason would have swords and magic and stuff and save the day whilst Roy is not the main character). Idk I just haven’t noticed Roys character being MASSACRED when he’s with Jason.

People say Roy’s biggest trauma is having to be with Jason but I don’t know why that’s so bad like don’t just say it’s shit writing, fucking give me the evidence. (Sorry for the rant no offense to you what so ever). If the writing is so bad then blame the writer idk why Jason gets so much hate.

Anyway, please tell me how and why Rhato is the worst comics because I don’t think it’s that bad personally and I’d get shit for saying that.

Ps. This isn’t even about JayRoy or Lobdells disgusting history it’s literally just about why Rhato gets so much hate. I’m so confused so please explain /gen.

Thank you, have a nice day :)

Okay im gonna start this off by saying I think your looking at this the wrong way, your treating RHATO as just a stand alone story and if you want to know why people hate it you have to look at it in the broader context of it being a continuation of three different characters stories bc that is what it is - kory Roy and Jason are all pre established characters with rich backgrounds and personalities that have been building up for decades if you ignore these histories your gonna get push back from fans and Lobdell actually took it one step further

I'm gonna be short and sweet with this bc people more knowledgeable about roys character can put it way better then me but lets get straight to the point - the reason why people say Roy harper was massacred in RHATO is bc his whole character was changed- his back story, his relationships, his addiction, a lot of his personality and hell even his tattoos were changed and changed for the worse as a lot of it seemed to get done just to better suit Jason who was also changed a lot by lobdell but not to the extent that Roy was - a lot of it comes off like lobdell didn't even bother to read any comics with Roy in them before he decided to try and shove him into a role that wasn't suited for him which if your a long time Roy fan watching a character you adore get a complete overhaul just so he fits with the character the author uses as a self insert your gonna be a wee bit agitated

When your writing stories in the dc universe you have to be careful as a lot of these characters are main characters in their own right when they team up together sure you can focus on one more then the others but you have to be at least abit aware of each of the characters your including back stories motivations and personalities and what lobdell did was use the fact that the new 52 just happened as an excuse to create whole new characters with the same names as these much loved pre established characters and this rightfully pissed off a lot of people who loved these characters especially bc the things that happened in the n52 have had a lasting effect as these are the comics newer fans are reading and if your favourite character has been given a complete overhaul into a character you no longer recognise too bad a lot of people are gonna go forward only seeing Roy as Jason Todd's side character the guy in the baseball cap

[joocin-thebox]

what if my g5 headcanons that will ultimately influence the story progression in my "rewrite" of mym?

under cut ofc because bitch we really get into it!!! (aka, long post)

i am one autistic bitch who feels let down my g5 in some aspects but mostly in a sense that it's just... missing some things!

disclaimer? i realy like g5. i come back to watch mym and tyt and the movie because it brings me joy and i like seeing the characters do things!

HOWEVER i personally feel like the story and writing is a bit... lack luster? im not sure if its because we're just missing so much information that's going to be explained later, or if the writers just... are struggling to piece together this lowkey mess of a situation our favs are in!

i just want to make sense of it all, and im a storyteller not a theorist so im not doing that theory stuff :) im just going to spew headcanons and be happy abt what i think could be implied by the writers that we dont actually get expansion on

[4/28/2024 edit] i drafted this way back in december '23 or jan '24 so some of these might seem "duh ofc! Thats canon!" but yeah, i just had it in the drafts for a loonngg time

now another disclaimer uhm,... when i "rewrite" mym im... not exactly going to remove key details? i think my intent is to include some things into each chapter that will make it a bit more digestible to all demographics? i like the sillies, i like the serious, and mym hits some really strong points that i think were executed perfectly! there are some things that are just spot on!

but again i just think mym is missing some elements and my headcanons are a result of that (obv bc thats what a headcanon is omg).

only big different in my rewrite will be opaline because her character is just... i dont know but i dont enjoy her. and i love villains. i am a villain enjoyer, and as many others have pointed out, she just randmly decides to be evil for the sake of being evil which sometimes i get it but before then it seemed like more than that? so im going to stick to "its more than that" and she has an actual solid goal in mind :)

this is more of an autistic revelation turned writing exercise so YAY let's see how this goes!

HEADCANON TIME!

i love sunny!! since the movie she's been such a cutie and one of my favorites! in tyt and mym however, they have a habit of watering down her character to "naive protag who has flimsy and unbased morals" and that doesnt really sit right with me? sooooo headcanons for sunny? (and some others but mainly ones that focus on sunny)

Sunny likes history as a way to connect with her dad, and she collects things she thinks he might have liked, and continues his research partially because of her own ideals of friendship and spreading it, but also because part of her thinks she has to carry on his legacy

Sunny and Zipp have a "likeminded, different methods" leader rivalry

Sunny and Pipp love to spa day together! They're also late risers, and love healthy meals and afternoon strolls

Sunny lets Pipp style her mane and tail ALL the time for inspiration because she likes the pampering a little and bc she wants to help Pipp

Sunny does her best to assist her friends with their jobs from time to time. Mostly because of her admiration of Twilight and her idea of friendship meaning spending time doing things your friends love to do

Sunny invites them to help her make new smoothie ideas too

Sometimes Sunny spends time in the observatory, reminiscing her memories with her father. Typically on anniversaries and holidays. It's her form of quiet time

Sunny doesn't actually like help when she's cooking, not unless shes genuinely biting off more than she can chew. She'd rather her friends share the space with her while she cooks, and maybe grab an item or two for her when her hooves are full

Sunny considered looking to study magic after getting her alicorn powers, (zipp definitely encouraged it) but Sunny decided against it because 'she doesn't need magic if she has her friends'

Sunny isn't actually good at helping her friends emotionally. Her love language is acts of service, so kind words are all she can really offer.

Canonically (comics), Sunny likes to read! I like to think she has her own book nook and really likes books that are about overcoming odds and happy endings

(Based on the movie) Sunny's most noticable character flaw is believing every choice she makes is justified. A “ends justifies the means” type of character. She grows out of this when she learns she can rely on others to find a solution.

When given no option to explore, Sunny is a theorist more than a researcher

She was NOT immune to propaganda (but she knows what she truly believes in)

Sunny acts without forethought, and when there’s a kink in her quick plan, she forces herself to stop and reevaluate. All the same, she's sensitive to failure.

She is also quite intuitive, with her theories (even though help crafted by her dad) tend to be correct in one way or another!

Sunny was reluctant to rebuild the lighthouse because part of her felt like, starting over meant forgetting her father (as it tends to go, with grief of a parent.) [Her friends help her come around and work with her to give her father's stuff a safe space in the brighthouse]

oh man that's a lot! NEXT!! (any hc i have following posting this will be reblogged to here!!)

I care so much about Zipp and the ways she can grow as a character. She was deep from the beginning but we never really got into more of her rather than her detective side. which i appreciate of course, but you know :)

Zipp is a natural leader (which in my rewrite i want to subtly emphasize this difference with Sunny learning to be a leader)

[Sunny and Zipp eventually would learn to work as a team, rather than one person having a more important say]

Zipp would be the one to teach Sunny what it means to lead, mostly indirectly, but sometimes directly

She leans away from leadership entirely and it causes a disconnect between her and her mother :(

She's drawn to puzzles and mysteries (especially in fiction) but prefers them in really fantastical settings

Zipp loves history, and views it as clues to her research about many things. If it's unrelated to current problem or doesn't have one on hand, she's not likely to read any history books

Zipp loves for Hitch to play detective with her. They snoop out clues together, and he helps her loosen up to solve the mystery faster as well as be more open minded

Zipp is wary of new ponies, and isn't quick to welcome anypony she doesn't know already or anypony not already dedicated to a cause (evidence: misty)

Zipp thinks Sunny studying magic and becoming more powerful would just be awesome to see

Zipp has a "problem" of being right all the time (sagittarius things)

After she gets ignored enough times about something she knows is true, she kind of just stops contributing to any conversation unless she has everypony's attention or if they're all out of ideas

She isn't a big fan of change? She prefers not to do new things all the time

But she LOVES a challenge!

Zipp is uncomfortable with being royalty in general. I assume she’d detach from the whole royalty thing entirely, and agree with Sunny’s ideals of democracy and equality to the point of stepping down as heir. Or she grows into her role, and becomes more and more queenlike each passing day

Zipp seems like the type to always be thinking, even during conversation. She isolates when things get too rough for her, and she's very quick to come up with schemes

Zipp is not good at lying. She avoids responses or tells half truths

She's an adrenaline chaser

Zipp starts out especially sarcastic toward Hitch because he's a sheriff and she thinks that's silly. Also because they have different ideas of leadership when they first meet.

Zipp (as well as Izzy and Sunny) love adventure!

i was so iffy on izzy when they introduced her in the show... i feel like she went from being an actual character with thoughts, to... watered down pinkie pie which is not enjoyable lol but anyways i like her actual moments of personality (not implying her lol XD random!! moments ARENT personality, but there are time where she's actually pushing it to the point of it being genuinely irritating with no comedic payoff :/

I BELIEVE IZZY HAS A PHOTOGRAPHIC MEMORY!! it just makes sense!! [she remembers in complete detail, or doesnt remember at all until way later]

Izzy would rather lighten the mood than make serious decisions :) She doesn't avoid action, but she does avoid sole leadership

to me, she's Brave and Direct and will step in if nopony else will. the type of character who isn't the hero, but will get the job done

Izzy in my mind is prone to going off on her own and not running ideas by ponies before acting which :) has its issues but comes in handy!

Along with Pipp and Hitch, Izzy LOVES nature! She teaches them both about Bridlewood's flora and fauna :) eventually they start having plants in the brighthouse and wanna explore all flora and fauna in the 3 locations

Izzy likes plants and is curious to what types of plants there are outside of bridlewood

Izzy learns some kind of multitasking spell, where she can create many things at once if she is making things in bulk :D

she does feel out of place in the friend group (canon to canterlot comic) and has a hard time making friends with the unicorns in other places :( [this is up until Misty, who makes her feel better]

Izzy sees Misty as a best friend :) But also takes on a silly older sister role with her!

She helps Misty grow into herself, and feel more secure with her past bebcause Izzy passes on her "damaged doesn't mean useless" ideals she usually saves for her unicycling

Izzy inspires Misty to use creation to get out her feelings, like making tea or exploring with crafts, just to find peace. She also helps Misty get out of her comfort zone in smaller ways, helping her try new things

When Izzy went looking for Maretime bay, Bridlewood just thought she went missing

Izzy wants close unicorn friends :( someone to genuinely bond with [see: Misty]

Izzy’s creativity comes from being really resourceful, BUT as a unicorn that lives in trees i’d imagine she’d have more respect for the trees of any kind LMAOO

she’s always got a solution to a problem even if unconventional or… surprising... but quick thinker!

Izzy loves to create things she can share with her friends (even when she has none, its the future thought that counts)

Izzy is the tallest out of the 5 of them? At least she’s taller than Pipp and Sunny

Izzy believes in Sunny way more than the rest of them do :) When Sunny has a plan, Izzy is ready to back her up!

now i see so many mixed opinions on pipp, but its mostly bc she's social media pony and i can't lie.... i tire of it... but pipp is great on her own! i dont think there's too much wrong with her, but at the same time i havent picked up much of her character and personality outside of social media (aside from this list ofc)

Bc her sister loves mystery and being a detective, Pipp lowkey has a spy hobby :) it started when they were kids, but it came back once they moved to Maretime bay

Pipp plans extravagant fake cases for Zipp every birthday :)

Pipp got her love of mystery (and by extension: horror / spooky) from her sister

Pipp does not have an interest in being any type of leader! she likes to inspire, but not lead :)

Pipp loves to glamp, and takes Hitch with her! Sometimes she camps with him to "embrace nature"

She likes to hear Sunny's spooky stories of the Everfree Forest

Pipp is a speed reader >:3 Any book she reads she just zooms through it

She's a great liar, for acting purposes but also just to save her hide.

Pipp can also be max sneaky, or by being the younger sib with no real duty to fulfill, its much easier for her to slip under the radar. Could be a reason she adores fame so badly and chases it harder than Zipp or Haven do

Pipp knows the city streets like the back of her hoof

She doesnt take Hitch’s title of sheriff very seriously unless she’s in Maretime bay

Pipp is VERY good at being a hype pony [ She was so happy to hype up sunny i ship pipp x sunny call that star petals ]

ill be so honest, hitch was my favorite from the beginning :D he's my favorite g5 pony ever, he's so cute and i love him to no ends!! i really liked seeing him stand up for what he believed in, and then when sunny was like "look, i told you" he didnt try to make any excuse why any pony kinds couldnt be friends :) he accepted it and was ready to help! i loved his moral code, you dont see a lot of lawful good characters this day and age (as far as ive seen)

BUT they did... do something to change his character in mym and tyt, taking away his love for order and replacing it with "stupid cop" gags and him being extremely silly. I miss his overconfidence and ego :( i dont think it should have left with the movie's end, it would have been so funny is he was still such a hardass

When Hitch gets stressed, he tries to alieve the situation and then calm down

Hitch is a scaredy cat

He has an overwhelming love for Maretime Bay, and typically likes to stay there if he can

Hitch liked not having magic so he doesn't actually use the new magic he gains

Hitch is loved by everyone in Maretime Bay, and he loves to protect him as much as he can, but he doesn't baby them

He makes jokes about a holiday about him where everyone cleans up litter around town, but insists its a joke

He gives good advice!

Hitch wanted to protect Sunny from being alone, and often protected her from bullies

Hitch doesn't put his friends above the law, and insists on fair punishment

After he gets Sparky, Hitch doesn't get to work out as much

Adding onto that, Hitch and Pipp bond over mane care

He's a realist, and knows that he can be wrong. But he'd rather the proof be shown first before he switches his ideals

Hitch is always open to listen

so called "free thinkers" when misty brightdawn is the best character in make your mark by far, solely because she feels (to me) like the only 3 dimensional character in the series :/ otherwise i just love her range and how silly she can be :) she feels real and fleshed out and obv she's just cute

Misty's special talent is actually inspiring change within herself and in other ponies, but whatever mym said is fine too

She's a jack of all trades after being made to be basically a maid of Opaline

She's got an excellent sense of direction

Misty got magic with everyone else, but bc of being in Opaline's castle, it was delayed, and weaker + Opaline forbade her from using it

Misty is more willing to confide in Sunny if prompted, because of all the times Sunny's protected her from pressure + Sunny is just a nice beacon of hope to talk to

Misty and Sunny bond over having to find their place in the world on their own due to absence of parent

Misty likes exploring creative outlets with Izzy

Misty hangs out with Sparky and Hitch n they're like a little family (blatant Histy shipping...)

Misty knows a lot about ancient artifacts

Misty (should) have her own room in the Brighthouse specifically for her, that only she and Zipp know about bc they both like quiet time

Misty and Opaline have a similar was of thinking after being together for so long (even though they weren't close)

Her moral code isnt cyrstal clear, due to her conflicted ideals after meeting the mane 5

She doesn't see Opaline as anything more than a faulty mentor and boss, but Opaline does provide for her so Misty is fine to stay

Misty and Izzy bond over basically being outcasts of Bridlewood (for different reasons)

Misty does not scare easy (vs Hitch who does, and Pipp who loves to be scared)

[bingobongobonko]

Hi Bingo! I just wanted to say that I've been lurking and looking at your art for your lancer campaign for a while now and I think it's so cool! You've kinda inspired me to check out the system for myself too! I hope it's not too much trouble/making you retread anything you've talked about before, but I'd be really interested to hear your thoughts on the system and how it's worked out for your campaign! I really love mecha stuff, but I think the genre can be pretty rife with militarism that I'm not super into. I get the sense though that you've been able to find a good way to slot these really cool characters into the setting and focus on their interactions while also getting the fun of that sweet sweet mech combat. My inquiry is very low stakes haha, so nw if you don't have time to gather all your thoughts (I know that if I was tasked to talk about my own campaigns my head would burst into flames just trying to sift through what I'd want to say :P) Anyway, just a little friendly wave to you to say your art is very inspirational, and keep up the great work!

OH WOW this is . whuhh. WOW! sorry im like. wtff. i mean i ramble about my characters a lot but i didn't think anyone else actually gave a fuck which is completely ok, i just WHUHH..!!! holy shit. excitement aside, i get where you're coming from. honestly i was never into the mecha genre, but lancer rpg really made me realize how cool it is! like im not a really technical guy, and i feel like lancer is VERY strategy-heavy in combat; unless you know what you're doing and what everything does, you can easily get overwhelmed with all the features and all the things to consider in the math. for me its a lot because i struggle with spatial understanding and any sort of mathematics. that's my only real gripe on the system, but that might also just be every other system as well. it's more of a personal issue than that of the system, my friends all picked it up super quick. as for the genre, yeah, i find militaristic shit a drag and mecha has the same feel to me. its got a layer of professionalism and seriousness i don't enjoy, nor wish to play along with, so i get what you mean yeah. thankfully my friend who dms the campaign is just. Holy fuck; she just has a huuuge extra care for character stories and weaving them into the narrative she explores. so really, its her i've to thank for making mecha stuff FUN for me. lancer can certainly run hand-in-hand with militaristic-focused rp, i was in a oneshot with that sole focus and while it was interesting, without that interesting narrative stuff you kind of lose steam, but ive grown so fond of dog days cuz of how my friend lets our characters develop AND helps them do that. that and the way she sets up the story, just. FUUUUCK. the military is an afterthought in what is a fight against time and para-causality sinking its teeth into what little sanity we have. we fight against something that is a victim and a perpetrator. we're the worst people to be tasked to be saving an entire planet too, but here we are. as cheesy as it is, it's all about who you play with. thats the feel i get about most systems. honestly why im so ehhh about playing with strangers, when i'd rather play with people i like. all systems strike me as more of a tool; its the way you use em yk? the experience you get from them are more reflective of who you're telling a story with (or fighting alongside, there's no right way to play. i just really like narrative storytelling). so really, ive to thank my friends, especially @spaginithethird who introduced me to lancer in the first place as a dm!!!!!!!!!! TO A LOT OF SYSTEMS ACTUALLY shes rlly knowledgeable abt this stuff and very very very sweet too o7 so yeah really, its a really fun system BUT to me, i wouldnt be playing lancer if i didn't have a narrative to go by and follow with people i like. i am always sayin this but its my favorite thing when it comes to ttrpgs

[rontra]

holding your hand looking into your eyes is the exact energy I intended thank you for picking up on it

🤝

typeoneninja asked: Maybe though do say who powergirl is because I have actually less than zero idea

oh my god i get to talk about my blorbo...okay well you MUST understand i'm still a comics newbie and laser focus on only the stuff i directly care about so it's not like i've read everything about her or anything (and things do vary--sometimes A LOT depending on the character lol--from comic to comic as is DC's dark design). so take everything here as kinda loosy-goosy from someone who's Casually Acquainted. however (LONG POST)

^me.

you know Supergirl right. heard of her. kara zor-el (spelling may wary) she's superman's cousin (usually) and has the same power set. it's me supergirl and i have all your powers

power girl is Also kara zor-el (spelling may vary) from a Different Dimension. two of them.

the details about her backstory vary a little but the agreed upon IDEA for her is that her home dimension has like collapsed somehow or the earth in it is torn to shreds or whatever. she's either like the only survivor of a dimension that went poof or she's been isekai'd here from an earth that was getting blown up by demons or whatever.

and now there's two karas and theyre forced to coexist on the same earth and they can't both show up dressed like supergirl so now power girl has to do her own thing.

that's like generally the gist of whats going on w her conceptually. she got vooped over here and now she's stranded on an earth that isn't hers with castmates that aren't the same people she knew

like i said the specifics of her backstory vary but on top of being Dimension Displaced she usually shares Supergirl's whole "after their home planet exploded she arrived to earth much later than Superman did, due to Space Shenanigans" thing. she's usually older than supergirl. and she DOES have bigger boobs also. NOT sure why that's a dimensional difference between them but i'll take it (what were they feeding her on earth 2?)

sometimes they're drawn basically looking identical. i can understand the impulse (they are both kara zor-el after all.) but i think it's kind of a shame when power girl doesn't look Older than her because i like it when she's older than her. i guess sometimes they either ditch that part or just don't feel like it. F.

anyway when they look identical you can usually tell them apart by identifying which one DC has bequeathed the Boob Window upon and that one will be power girl. works every time

to me i became enamored with her when i was reading some green lantern comic (it was my first comic, they had launched a guy's coffin into the sun and had to go get it back it was wack) and i noticed a boob window girl (my beloved) had BEEN INVITED but didnt get to DO anything. she spent all her time standing in crowd shots while other people did the main stuff. and i thought "wow. now there's a character i need to put in my purse". and the rest is history

it was like this

i felt like bad for her i was like oh honey...you're coming with me... my girl in the ensemble

she kind of struggles in general because she doesn't get a lot of content coming her way. (and when she does it's not usually stuff that i love.) she shares this with supergirl too 🥰

anyway i hope that helps a little. she's supergirl from a different dimension and she's stuck here now. is the gist of it.

-

for a bonus side-elaboration on what IM doing over here in my AU, my main basis for CTDE power girl is her shenanigans in the n52 where she gets stuck here WITH another extremely normal girl (they get isekai'd together during like a big dumb demon war on their home earth). that's helena wayne she's batman's daughter in the other dimension and no such person exists on this earth. they're both stuck (together) (the only 2 people on earth who know and understand each other) (it's romance) (superbat for girls)

in that story power girl becomes like mildly obsessed for a bit with devising a way to get HOME to her own dimension and earth which is (as far as she knows) still under siege by Planet Fucking Hellmouth. shes building machines. shes using technology

(while helena believes there's nothing to go home to anymore and they should try to make a new life in this new dimension)

what gets me about it is that its SO FUNNY that this specific power girl's setup is basically a supervillain origin story that they just don't lean into because her name is on the book (obviously). (hey why do so many villains build a DimensionFucking Machine that's gonna Fuck Up the Dimensions because theyre obsessed with something on the other side anyway)

but i feel no such restraint obviously!!!!

so anyway my CTDE "Arc 1" is about Power Girl (now almost two decades deep in her desperate fixation) finishing building the ultimate DimensionFucker 9000 to get home. shes been working on this for years. she doesn't care very much about this earth and she needs to go back to her own one NOW

Helena is realizing with horror she's way too late to talk her babygirl out of this one because PG just isn't listening to her anymore (and as a human she would struggle to snap PG out of it by force). she feels she has no other recourse but to betray her most specialest girl and sell her out to supergirl, who's investigating the Weird Dimension Rift Shit that's been going on (and is strong enough to actually fight her)

And Supergirl has to stop PG because what that thing is doing to HER universe is NOT GOOD!!!!!

(Supergirl was like a teenager when her home planet krypton went kaboom--she Remembers it and feels detached from everything because she doesn't Have a home anymore + oh my god the trauma + also no one on earth even really needs her that much. but that doesn't mean PG can DESTROY THE DIMENSION!!!!)

(also in my AU the other earth is actually lost for good, so it's not only a Grief Quest but a FUTILE Grief Quest because there's no one alive and nothing to salvage on the other side of the portal anyway)

It's the "Power Girl As Villain In A Supergirl Book" arc. because i think women should have cute obsessions that endanger other people and i LOVE when the karas interact

this is why i drew pictures of them being very not nice to each other 😔

like it all works out. it's fine. they do some crying and screaming at each other, some kicking and punching, helena gets her piece in, and PG's brain fungus finally calms down enough for her to take the "Protagonist Kara" seat for Arc 2 (when Supergirl has her own issues to deal with)

theres just a lot of "kara zor el screaming At Herself that she can't go home because there is no such place anymore and she has to live with that forever in a place she doesn't belong". you know. girl talk

anyway that's like roughly power girl + what im doing with her in my first arc (helena is here too dont worry) hope that helps. shes my comic blorbo. hope she gets the main stage in a good comic someday. MDGHBJFGM

[starlazergazer]

Hii!! I’m the anon who asked if u had an ao3, and I’m sooo glad I can have all your fics in one PDF thank u so much 🙏 I can quickly pressed the download button so fast. youre genuinely one of my fav anakin fic writers in the entire galaxy (far far away). Your writing is so so gorgeous and complex, and it just feels soooo real—how each person has their own depth—so much thought is put into every word and how it’s framed.

I just read your latest fic, Separated, and my god I SOBBED. It was SO good. I was listening to sad songs too, to get more into the mood, and it made me cry even harder. My heart just dropped out of my body when Reader and Anakin were saying their last words towards each other through the call: they were so emotionally close but so physically far from each other. How they were imagining a different life where everything was more softer and happier, that living handle their souls more gently, when in reality one was killing her, and the other was walking towards a path of destruction? AARAAGGH IM GOING CRAZY WITH YOUR WRITING (COMPLIMENT). I can’t wait to see the second part and how you plan to execute the follow up.

Btw. Do you have any tips on how you can finish writing stories? You write so much and it’s all such high quality. How do you do it? I have so many ideas but I never actually commit to it. I have this idea where Reader is also on par with Anakin’s skills as a mechanic except she gets extreme motion sickness, which I think would be so funny considering she’s good at building ships but not flying them.

(I really hope you’re okay with me posting this I know your first message was sent anonymously so I wasn’t sure but if you’re not definitely just let me know and I’ll get rid of it) but Oh my god I sobbed reading this 😭. Genuinely this is the biggest compliment I’ve ever received and it means so much to me I’m positively overflowing right now and a little upset I cannot find the words to properly express how much this means to me. I already go back through some of the messages Ive received periodically as a little pick-me-up but I already know this one will be revisited weekly it just means so much to me the way you’ve picked up on everything I’ve tried so hard to do well in my writing making the dialog and situations and characters feel real and complex and messy ugghhhhh I love you so much this means the world 🫶🏻

As far as writing tips for finishing stories I have many cause it’s definitely something I struggle with all the time lol! I’d say the biggest thing for me is to focus on just getting something down rather than finishing a certain work. At any one time I have four or five word documents open on my computer because I’m regularly only writing a scene or a piece of dialog or literally just an idea. A lot of the time I get halfway through something and decide I hate it but keep it there anyways. What usually ends up happening though is I take ideas or scenes from all the different pieces and drop them into my “main story” if I think they fit well so it all works out in the end but just writing (even if it’s not related even remotely to what you feel like you “should” write) is ultimately what’s important.

I also regularly skip around when I’m writing. I find I like writing the big plot points or bits of dialogue the most so a lot of the time I write those first then fill in the gaps later. Finishing a story is a lot less daunting when you already have all of the big pieces in place and just need a few tiny bridges to bring everything together.

Lastly I would say again just get something down on the paper. I’ve written a lot of really bad stuff lol and sometimes I can feel it while I’m writing it and there’s a part of me that wants to just delete it and start over but having the ideas down on the page is always 100% better than having nothing and editing the crap out of what you already have is way easier than starting over from scratch.

Anyways that’s probably way more than what you wanted lol but I really hope it helps! I think just remember this is supposed to be fun, if you’re getting frustration or exasperation out of it more than anything totally feel free to take a step back. I’m known to go MIA for months at a time cause I have periods where I just am not feeling it and forcing myself through it does nothing for anyone.

Seriously though thank you thank you thank you I’m so absolutely overjoyed that you like my writing enough to want to keep it in any form it means the absolute world to me! Also good luck with your potential fic! Tag me if/when you finish it! I’ve been wanting to do a mechanic reader fic forever but never gotten far enough into actually planning it out to start writing anything so I’d love to see your take on it

[baroquespiral]

hello. i saw a video featuring aella then saw your twitter through it. i immediately stopped watching the video as i do not agree with many of their takes, but i would like to understand them without watching a video about kinks through the lens of the political compass. could you possibly explain what gender maximalizing is, what a gynocratic traditionalist is, and what the sphere you operate in is called? Thank you. (there was an article when i looked it up but im not going on medium)

wait what video with Aella am I in lol. anyway most of the things in my Twitter bio are at least partly a bit, do not represent any kind of relevant external movement or phenomenon, and you are not going to find explained anywhere else anyway so. "gender optimizationist" is a kind of contrarian response to the formerly popular position of "gender nihilism", a framework that tried to decentre the discourse of innate identity in justifying/accounting for gender fluidity, transition etc. by basically adopting the maximally deflationist position that gender is entirely an ideological construct covering material oppressive systems but letting people identify & do whatever they want with it is truer to the premise of its abolition than restricting specific behaviours and identities as actually existing "gender". I actually do find this useful to bring up when TERFs claim stuff like "trans people believe in innate gendered souls or what role you fit determines your gender" etc. but still think it concedes too much so my own position of "gender optimization" is like, gender is real at least insofar as something we consciously construct, people's identities aren't less objective than their historical origins and we can and should continue the project of shaping and rebuilding it until we make it something that can accommodate the maximum of everyone possible (and leave exits for people who don't want it)

"gynocratic traditionalism" is not entirely compatible with this and while I didn't take either completely seriously I used to struggle with this more before I got into Thelema and clarified my spirituality & ontology in a lot of ways. for completely personal poetic/psychosexual reasons I was simultaneously inclined to read gender as actually real in a metaphysical/spiritual sense, albeit one that doesn't map to biology or patriarchal gender roles and mostly derives from reading The White Goddess by Robert Graves way too young. almost nobody remembers it now but that book was part of the broader "matriarchal antiquity" trend, a huge influence on Wicca and the New Ageier side of second wave feminism, and argues that the original religious/magickal tradition was the essentially henotheistic worship of a Great Goddess of life, death and nature, who was self-sufficient but produced for her own pleasure a secondary male god who dies and resurrects with the agricultural cycle. human gender is then a reflection of this higher metaphysical order, with woman as the superior term in the hierarchy, and the "warrior" dimensions of masculinity being descended from a form of sacrificial kingship ritually representing the life-death cycle of the Goddess' lover. I'd basically argue the "gender optimizationist" position relative to left queer theory but this relative to right-wing mythopoeic traditionalist accounts of gender, which as an intensely capital-R Romantic personality I did at least get the appeal of and offered it as a "feminist" alternative to. people like RFH have kinda picked up the baton of that now although I have some obvious issues with her framings. I used "gynocratic" instead of matriarchal bc one of the interesting things about Graves' version of this hypothesis is it doesn't actually focus on motherhood and reproduction as much as the wombyn TERF stuff; for instance instead of the more famous Wiccan "maiden/mother/crone" formulation for the Goddess' three aspects he uses "maiden/nymph/crone", implying that the default adulthood stage wasn't necessarily settling down and popping out babies but a freewheeling sexuality where reproduction was an individual choice supported by the community, controlled by abortifacents etc. should probably clarify that, after quite a bit of going back and forth on it and my Twitter presence was designed to be plausibly deniable in either direction, I am pretty much a low-Kinsey bisexual cis guy who socialized into predominantly queer, especially trans spaces mostly just due to neurodivergence and general nonconformity. a lot of my weird gender politics is subtly in dialogue with MonetizeYourCat-era Tumblr stuff (imo the more honest version of today's mainstream heteropessimism) about whether it's even possible or ethical to exist as that you didn't mention them but just to have on record re: the other stuff in the bio, "presuppositional leftist" applies the idea of presuppositional apologetics to my left commitments in the sense that they're not premised on any descriptive claim about reality but rather presuppositions of why politics would even matter to me in the first place, and "Canadian materialist" is a joke on Canadian idealism. my Substack bio is more up to date with where I'm at now but I like keeping the Twitter one around bc every now and then someone has a really funny reaction to it I don't really have a "sphere I operate in" so much as I float around the edges of different subcultures, study them and make friends with people I find interesting. currently I feel like I'm kind of in tpot, kind of in the "irony left" and kind of in parapolitics/esoteric "schizoposting". and also trying to carve out a niche in the online subcultural arts scene: my major passion project rn is my indie press and in particular our serial fiction journal (new issue coming out this month!) featuring two of my novels

[reineydraws]

op. op pls i devoured your fic rec list. do you have. perchance. more to share. pls. (if you want ofc) jason requires All the hugs. esp when he gets to be Safe in bruce or dick's arms again like they're protecting him even though hes all grown up now and doesn't need protecting but that's his Family and they Love Him op im having emotions (tone lighthearted i just think you have good taste in fics and am wondering if you would want to rec some more? no pressure LOL)

anon, this has to be one of the best compliments ive ever received in my life lmao thank u for saying i have good taste in fics 😂

ive got 10 more recs for ya! i tried to centre it on jason with bruce and/or dick but there are a couple that have an even focus on other siblings too. those will still have the good jason stuff in it tho. 😌😌

also this time not all of them are h/c lol soz some of them are just fluff 🙏 but they do all have good family feels!!! and im pretty sure jason gets hugs in most of them too haha.

anyways, onto some (more) good jason todd family feels gen fic! once again: word count rounded to the nearest thousand, and listed in no particular order.

The Cave by lurkinglurkerwholurks | 4k

jason and dick get stranded on an island and dick is injured so jay goes to explore the island on his own and finds a sketchy cave he goes to explore. shit happens. as a younger sibling myself, i found it pretty accurately captures the complexity and the depth of sibling feelings and relationships (esp dick's older brother-ness) in a situation thats been dialed to 11.

through the valley of the shadow by Goldmonger | 10k

jason gets captured and tortured and inadvisably makes his way out of the building even though he's exacerbating his wounds bc he doesnt want to risk waiting for a father bat that will never come. bruce does get there in time and jay recovers at the manor, to his great annoyance and reluctant warmth.

Ornaments by haunt_the_stars | 2k

it's the holidays & bruce is counting kids (checking in on them) when he finds jason crying by the christmas tree bc bruce buys them all a new ornament every year and jason doesnt have any after his death and it's not fair he missed out on so much of his youth. i cried reading this but it was also cute. (tbf, literally any time jason contemplates the teenage years he missed out on due to his death etc., i cry lol.)

and if only i could make a deal with god by foreverstudent | 21k

one of the ones with a more even focus on everyone. id actually say it's about bruce. feels are good tho, and jason does get a hug. the bat boys get sent back in time and find a bruce that just started being batman standing in front of his parents' graves and wondering if he should stop being batman to find happiness in marriage. the boys unanimously decide to convince bruce to give up the bat so he can be happy, even though it majorly risks their own futures (and in dami's case, his actual life).

Tap Out by coyote_nebula | 8k

jay's at a gala and gets poisoned and as he struggles to breathe (and his family panics), he contemplates all the other times he felt like he was gonna die. focuses heavily on the concept of tapping out as a way to practice boundaries, esp in his relationship w bruce.

You, Me, and the Humanity in Between by JUBE514 | 66k

this is kind of fantasy realism? and this is another fic that focuses more evenly on everyone. bruce keeps finding these kids that arent really human, adopting them and giving them a childhood (and family!) anyways. it's sweet and my favourite thing about it is that the boys all pass around bruce's gotham knights sweater for comfort clothing. also there's a part where john constantine is like "h o w do you keep finding them?!?!" it's good lol. ah and i just love when stories explore what it means to be human.

The 70 Days After Groundhog Day by Ptelea | 44k

this is a dick pov fic that goes through the aftermath of a time loop only jason remembers. it's not often you get to read about the after effects instead of the time loop itself, which i thought was cool, and it goes into the way jason and his relationship to the family has changed bc of this thing only he remembers. focuses most heavily on dick & jay.

Commencement by ivy_and_ivory | 3k

jason invites bruce to his uni graduation :') what i like the most is that jason's not just thinking of how he feels now, he's thinking about how he'll feel in the future. he might still feel weird about bruce now but in the future he thinks he'll have wanted b to be there. it makes me so soft to read about this jason that's looking toward the future again, instead of focusing on his death and his past.

The Bedtime Chronicles by SillySunshine | 5k (series)

the rule is, as long as bruce can pick you up, he can still ground you. 😤 the first fic is robin jason and it's all v fluffy and adorable. the second fic is red hood jason so it's angsty and then hilarious (obvs b can still pick him up) and then fluffy. we love sappy father & son fic in this house!

pantry by envysparkler | 4k

one by one, jason's siblings congregate in his apartment to get away from bruce/seek refuge after a hard day/generally annoy him. jay-centric, tho all the siblings + bruce star pretty equally. fluff & humour! spoiler alert: eventually he escapes to the manor lmao.

[motifenjoyer]

❤️️❤️️❤️️ :3

i have multiple wips so i'll talk abt All of them

this may get long, so.

icdwd - aka i couldn't dance with death if i tried!! its a zero escape fic mostly exploring a potential (loveless) relationship between akane and mira. its abt a lot of things i realize i never rlly touched upon in my other works?? for context im aromantic and i like. Constantly talk abt it even to my allo friends esp abt the constant amatonormativity the world likes to throw at us. specfically how ppl feel pressured to be in a relationship. why? well, various reasons: to fit in, to be seen as "more mature" (aspecs tend to experience infantilization and this doubles if ur autistic), to be seen as human, bc u feel like itll make u whole, bc u dont realize theres another option!! ive always hced my favs as aro ever since i realized it, but i always used to focus on the ace part of my identity. so i never rlly got to write a fic that explores aromanticism, aside from a fic i wrote four years ago in which leorio and kurapika hxh r in a qpr

another thing is i have ocd and for that reason, i dont like to write abt sexual topics . but in this fic, ive been sorta delving into that (its literally nothing just a fade to black that immediately goes to like the character waking up in another character's bedroom) and idk i think it shows my growth in a way?? that im willing to finally write that stuff without my ocd trying to kill me??? idk its . smth

im also having a Lot of fun writing akane and miras dynamic. i think, with me hcing them as aro (akanes aroace and miras an aro lesbian), i feel itd stand out more compared to other mirakane fanworks and interpretations . like this isnt a relationship ur supposed to root for!!! its abusive, its messy, its Uncomfortable, gory, and both women have ulterior motives. idk i like writing abt two unabashedly flawed queer women and having them navigate a relationship when one has no experience while the other has experience but whose disability prevents them from connecting w others (akane has a similar struggle), idk!! its an interesting dynamic

queerpei - i like a lot of the descriptions i wrote. im so used to writing akane that its soooo weird writing in the headspace of anyone else. but junpeis introspection is fun, like he has a mind of his own... i have this experience when writing akane (im plural so. go figure) and even when writing diana

angelus custos - so im kinda in the planning stage for this one but . Wow. im so proud of myself and how far ive come with this project, and just in general?? i used to primarily be a fic writer until 2018, when i decided to dabble in making my own characters. its always been bittersweet, bc my friends (all artists, never writers) would tell me to just make ocs instead of fanfic and my 12-14 yr old self would always be upset by that. so my characters never rlly came into their own so to speak

until This Year. ive been watching this rlly awesome youtuber named local script man. he's a screenwriter but a lot of his advice can apply to writing as well. i dont remember which video it was, but he talked abt how a characters' motivations can serve as fuel for smth deeper, like an insecurity for example. which THEN can serve as a backstory. and idky but it all clicked in my head?? character work became so much easier when i applied this to my process. i no longer had trouble w coming up w things that seemed to come naturally to most. bc i Know im good at fleshing out characters, i just needed to know how to do it for original work, even tho ive had friends praise my characters in the past

but yeah thats prob the best part of the story rn . im still having trouble w what their voices would sound like, speech patterns and the like, but thatd prob come around when i actually write the damn thing lol

BtSoyT - the idea itself has me so excited!!! ive been watching some horror movies, specifically recs from my friend @zebatverse hehe, and idk i feel like ive been getting more inspo and knowing what i'd wanna do if i were to write horror . i have several other ideas besides this in my notebook but this is one i wanna write the most. i even made a moodboard for it ^_^

[chaoxfix]

I think your right about this site, and likely by extension most social media, actively being detrimental to many people's mental health. I feel like I've managed to curate my follows enough to not have an endless scroll of self fulfilling prophecies and unhelpful "relatable memes" these days, but there was definitely a time where I felt similar. Even now for the sack of my focus I'm only logged in on my phone, so my desktop stays a work and game space.

All that ramble to say that I really like the creative stuff you do, but your right that many people need to get better at soc-media life balance and training focus on physical things. If your in a rough place yourself don't feel bad if you need to step away. As though I like your fics and such, I'd hope you manage to be happier in a way you want to be more. That and being in a better place is probably more helpful for creativity, though I guess it's best to try being motivated by more than increasing your own productivity which is something I'm struggling to internalize myself.

Heck I need to get better at brevity. Don't feel like you have to reply to this ask if you don't want to, have a good day!

no, you're 100% right! i curate who i follow, too, but even just the act of being on social media to fulfil boredom... that's not great for anyone longterm, i think. i think it gets us in the habit of filling boredom without doing anything for ourselves. what we spend time doing is how we spend our lives. i get that no one *wants* to do the dishes or clean their room, and i get that when someone is in a dark place, they want to vent and they don't have the energy to do things that brought them joy.

but i mean, if venting *anger* is proven to just keep you angry longer, don't we think that on the site where we encourage a sort of numb contentment by endlessly scrolling and mildly engaging dopamine, that we're encouraging our minds and bodies not to put forth the effort to do harder, but more necessary and fulfilling, things?

and thanks, im glad you enjoy what i make! i enjoy it too. its been a rough year, but i'm really trying to get things turned around. i think a big part of that is just finding a way to fix my brain. and its not going to get any better on this site. it's only going to get better if and when i put effort in and take personal accountability for how i spend my time and energy. and because i've actually had that mindset shift, and recognize my own culpability in my mental health, its making me a bit frustrated with a lot of the majority of the userbase that hasn't had that thought.

[liam-zor-el]

If you’re okay with it, could you tell me any issues/problems you had or have with the Walking Dead comics? Asking because I always see TWD fans criticizing the show but never the comics (on Tumblr, at least), and while I understand why fans criticize the show more than the comics, the comics isn’t a 100% perfect either and definitely has some problems of it’s own too; especially during the early run of the comics.

oohh finally another chance to talk about this. i also never see criticism about the comics on tumblr for some reason. it's kinda crazy because, in my opinion, the show improved upon the comics in like many ways. i wont get into all that bc i havent watched it in a while but if you want i could some other time. i also have the opposite view on the comic where i think it started off really strong and most of my problems come by the latter part of the series.

Most of my critiques are focused on the characters being wasted, done badly, or ignored. most often in favour of rick and carl. i understand they're the main characters, but at a certain point the way characters like sophia and lydia (will get back to her in a bit) are so badly squandered and underdeveloped all because their motivations need to be centred around carl, it starts to feel a bit boring to read when it's pretty clear that kirkman cared so much more about carl's character than anyone else

on that topic, by the end of the run, there are so many random characters and that just have nothing really to them. remember kelly and connie? wouldn't blame you if you didn't, they are introduced with magna's group in issue 127 and after that are mostly just in background shots and stuff. they don't even show up in the last issue. magna's whole group has this problem actually, we get so little time with them that it feels like they were there for no reason. most of the stuff we get to know about them is through exposition because there's just not enough time spent with them to get to know them at all.

now back to lydia, i actually wrote an essay for my gender studies class about how lydia and her place in the story is so misogynistic. im not gunna share the whole essay because it's a lot, but it basically boils down to the fact that lydia's entire character revolves around carl. we barely get to see her relationships or thoughts about any other survivors (a rare exception is with sophia, where lydia is shown to be jealous of her relationship to carl.) even when she opens up about her struggles and problems they are still made about carl, where his reaction is the focus so he can tell her how wrong it is and we never look into how this affected her again. while fighting the whisperers she has a comment about how the hilltop is her home, but we havent exactly seen her grow here so it feels pretty hollow. finally, in issue 193, the finale of the series set 25 years later, we get to see Lydia one last time. The thrilling conclusion to her story? She and Carl broke up sometime in the timeskip and he got with Sophia. Lydia is married to a random background character who we see maybe once in the last page after she tries to seduce Carl so Kirkman can write another monologue about how “the world is different now and I know better than you!”. By the end of the series, it’s clear that, to Robert Kirkman, Lydia’s very promising character was never anything except background noise for Carl Grimes’ story. 

I think sophia's story also has a lot of similar problems to lydia's but this post has gotten really long so i might come back to that some other time.

i have more critiques (mostly about the misogyny and racism the story has) but it's been a while since ive read twd and this is really long so this is good for now. also to be clear, i dont think the walking dead comics are all bad, i just have had this series and my thoughts on it's flaws stewing in my brain for like over a year. hope this was a good answer.