#in the past i always avoided writing black people as the main character because as a white girl who’s 97% surrounded by other white people..

[arijackz]

PICK A CARD: Who You'll Be In 10 Years

☣︎ "“The only limit to our realization of tomorrow will be our doubts of today.” – Franklin D. Roosevelt

Disclaimer: This is a general reading, take what resonates. This is a gender-neutral reading, change any pronouns to apply to you. Also, the tense changes from past to present to future, I hope this doesn't make the reading difficult.

Also! Thank you so much to everyone who put in a paid reading request, when my life stabilizes, those will be on the top of my priority list. <3

p1 → p2 ↙︎ p3 → p4

⚠︎ Pile One ⚠︎ (5oS rev., 5oP, 8oS)

You a decade from now (or less 👀) is not afraid to walk away from a motherfucker. Kudos to you!!! POP A BOTTLE. REJOICE! 🍾🍾

You have mastered prioritizing yourself and letting go of connections that violate your boundaries.  

I’m getting cat energy. Your self-concept is resolute, so you don’t care about others' perception of you. You’re willing to be seen as the “bitch” or selfish in situations because you refuse to become someone you’re not, to please another. 

Your young self would consider this a nightmare. Your upbringing has groomed you to put the interests and needs of others before your own. Disharmony and people disliking you cause you so much inner turmoil (I want to throw up channeling this energy, I’m getting it makes you physically ill) that you try to avoid those dark emotions by suppressing your own needs and desires to keep the group happy.

Being subservient and sacrificing parts of you became a survival tactic. It was so deeply ingrained in your self-concept; you desperately wanted to detach from it but feared hurting anyone or being seen as selfish in the process. 

This hesitancy to step on a few toes, which is an inherent requirement for elevating your own voice, gives you an illusion of being trapped and powerless against the will of others.

But baby… you ten years from now don't have time for the bullshit.

The energy here is refined; a quiet strength forged in darkness. This was not always your energy, you have some battle scars due to people-pleasing and learning the hard way that you can never satiate hunger in people who can never be full. 

This pile has seen their fair share of energy demons. I meant to write “vampires” but demons came out, this could be about energetic attacks (commonly manifesting as anxious thoughts and mental blocks that did not occur before you met them) and jealous energies around you that benefitted from you thinking less of yourself.

It took you some time to find the power in your “No” and staunchly protect it. There have been times when people have disrespected your no and remained in your energy for longer than they deserved to. That’s okay, forgive yourself. I promise it’s all a part of a greater journey for you to reclaim your power. 

The energy you call home ten years from now is a force to be reckoned with. The first card flip gave me chills, I was intimidated at first. 

You are becoming someone whom the world makes space for. By walking away from people who want to continuously fight and provoke you or drain your resources and energy, you are telling life, “I won’t put up with people who are trying to convince me to be the backseat passenger of my own life.”

You won’t feel like a suffering supporting character anymore, you’ll be the main character people are in awe of. 

Aries Northnode, Saturn, Pluto, Chiron 1st house, Mars or moon 7th house, Libra risings, Libra Mars, Libra Moon, Cancer Saturn, Cancer Mars, 6th house placements. 

Your dominant colors will be black, white, and grey. For my colorful folk, you’ll stay bright and eccentric but have stark contrasts of black either with your accessories, hair, or makeup (if you do it). Regardless of your height, you’ll appear taller with perfect posture. Your collarbone/shoulder area is accentuated and eye-catching. Your head is held high and your neck acts as your lion’s mane. 

Your words reverberate in the consciousness of others, you are unforgettable and your impact changes the course of the lives you interact with. You speak clearly (and at times bluntly), making your boundaries and identity unequivocal. Your voice deepens and honies with time, you are like a violin luring people to your cause. People will most compliment you on your aura and intimidating, yet magnetic presence.

I really want to emphasize the dark appearance here, it’s the classic dark feminine aesthetic with a mystical-witchy flair. I even see big hats, high boots, and round or oval glasses for some. 

The strength you cultivate is admirable and is your magnum opus. Keep creating your dream you, my love! MUAH 💋

A Vixen Born in the Shadows

⚠︎ Pile Two ⚠︎ (The Hermit, 4oW, Ace of Cups)

Ex-Factor by Ms. Lauryn Hill came on, the Angels aren’t playing. Sit down, I’m about to talk your ear off (lovingly <3)

Baby, you’ve been put through the emotional wringer. Mostly in your interpersonal connections and romantic relationships.

You’ve had a cycle of emotionally immature karmic partners that were meant to reflect the insecurities within you that blocked healthy unions from forming. You subconsciously did not feel worthy of a loving partner so you settled for people who were unable to love you more than their own self-interests. Most of your old connections were made through trauma bonds and fear of abandonment. 

(For some, I’m getting that your partners threatened to harm themselves or you threatened to harm yourself in case of a breakup)

Most people can’t relate to your depth. You crave a raw, soul-merging connection that can withstand you at your lowest, most difficult energy. There were moments when you either glorified or begrudgingly allowed “struggle love” because you believed that fighting, heartbreak, and being misunderstood were all a part of the “ride or die” package.

I’m giving a lil forehead kiss to my Scorpios and 8th Housers. And a winky wink to the Rohini and Jyeshta natives in the back. 

However, I’m getting a tinge of envy here. You believed that “kinks” (emotional abuse) in the relationship were natural and happened in every relationship, but when you saw couples online or in your environment, they seemed a lot healthier than yours. 

You weren’t in a clear headspace, so instead of realizing that your partner dynamic is unhealthy and harming you mentally and emotionally, you internalized it and bore the fault on your shoulders. Oh, those people have healthy relationships because they’re better than me and more attractive, I need to be better.

Listen to me when I say this, your love and devotion are worth more than struggle love, and toxic cycles. The best thing you could have done for yourself is exit these relationships stage left, IMMEDIATELY. 

And guess what Pile 2 in 10 years is doing??? EXITING THE MF STAGE AND ENTERING RELATIONSHIPS THAT SERVE THEM! YURR!

If you are currently in this cycle and fear that you aren’t capable of change and healthier connections, trust me you boss up and tell those doubts to shut the fuck up.

Love, you complete all the hard healing. You go through long periods of solitude, introspection, therapy, forgiveness (of yourself), and learning to be your own soul partner and it pays off!!! YOU turn into the one giving self-love and healthy relationship advice.

You’ve been through the ugly and the beautiful and know the trials of the self-hate to forgiveness journey like no other. You could have significant Jupiter placements, you got the guru card. The young grasshopper turns into the wise crane.

If you have dark circles under your eyes, your body language is sluggish, and you just look like life is whooping your ass, a decade from now you will look like… do you know those pictures of those really gorgeous cows?

Like??? Please tell me you get where I’m coming from. You’ll look well-nourished, taken care of, plump (explained briefly), and sitting pretty in your energy of known worth and inner fulfillment.

In Vedic astrology (I’m explaining this very plainly), Rohini natives represent the people whose life path is to obtain inner security and believe everything they desire can be birthed from the resources that come from them (plump). Their opposite, Jyestha represents inner emptiness and insecurity and the insatiable desire to fill that hole (hollow). 

Your hole is filled (pause) and you have turned your insecurities into strengths (which is very Jyesthan). This is confidence that can’t be faked or imitated and it’s beyond your wildest dreams. It’s well deserved! You birthed your ideal self-concept all by yourself, and that is no easy feat.

Maybe you have been jaded and swore off marriage, but “bad” news babe you’re marrying someone who adores, respects, and treats you like the soft, yet powerful force you are. 

You are very fucking happy, I’ve been cheesing and cracking jokes this entire reading. You are going to live a joyous, easygoing life full of reciprocal love and admiration. 

Physically, I’m not getting anything specific besides the clear image that you will look visibly abundant. A bright smile from ear to ear, cheek creases from happiness, clear skin, watery eyes, and you’ll smell like a rich bitch (that was a random message but it felt important).

I’ll close off with a tweet that I have been thinking about since the first card flip,

MUAH 💋

Her Heart is a Blossom of Flowers

⚠︎ Pile Three ⚠︎ (The Tower, 6oP, 10oC)

Staring at the blank page before you

Open up the dirty window

Let the sun illuminate the words that you could not find

Reaching for something in the distance

So close you can almost taste it

Release your inhibitions

FEEELLL THE RAAAINNN ON YOOOUURRR SKIIINNNNNN\!!!

Babe, you escaped from somewhere. Ran like the wind to your freedom. Similar to Pile One and a bit of Pile Two, you were enslaved to energies that were draining you. However, this energy is more restrictive. Some people had their autonomy stripped away and others had to sacrifice their desires for another’s sake.

I’m sensing a wound in how you perceive yourself, your skills, and your capabilities. The way you express yourself through your passions, your style, and how you speak feels restricted out of fear and overly controlled. A buried piece of you yearns for expression and attention, which you are well deserving of and more than capable of gaining fame for. Fear and anxiety had deluded you into thinking they were more powerful than you.

Yea, that shit is dead 10 years from now. LMAO. 

If you have big traveling plans or wish to permanently pack up and move to your dream location, it's happening. Have no doubt, you will not be stuck where you are forever. 

You were experiencing a debilitating mental feedback loop of wanting to live your life the way you desire and then halting those desires to help others. Buuuutttt, at some point from when you’re reading this to ten years from now, deception will be revealed to you and you’ll realize the people you are sacrificing your dreams for are undeserving of it. 

This will wake you up, breaking the loop and invigorating you to take the reigns of your own life because you’ll know that you can’t stop your motion so others don’t feel left behind.

You’ll reclaim your power over self-doubt and anxiety by choosing faith over fear. Faith in your ability to improve the skills you love and to strive for your dreams even if it scares you. With every fear you face, you’ll realize just how strong you are and get a rush from proving your old self wrong. All the things you believed you couldn’t do, you’re now breezing through and showing the public how its done.

Capricorns, Sagittarius, 2nd and 3rd housers (chiron counts), are getting a special shoutout here.

You will be recognized and adored. You are a star, through and through. Whatever empire you build will be so abundant that you will still be able to help people, but not at the expense of your own success.

Your biggest lesson is learning that you cannot help yourself or anyone for that matter if you are inhibitious and your own biggest naysayer. What do you gain from believing you can’t do something? Not a damn thing. Just frustration and regret. Start affirming that you can become everything you want to be until that self-concept replaces your thought patterns. You are a magnificent being capable of change and there is nothing between you and the life you want to live but your beliefs. 

You feel so complete and whole ten years from now. You literally got the ten of cups AND the completion-360 oracle. It must be emphasized that the life behind the veil of fear is one of prosperity, abundance, and unwavering joy. Just go for it, my love! You cannot lose. You only lose if you stay where you are (which you won’t). 

Puff your chest out with pride and tell those bitchass fears and doubts to go play with gnats their own size. They don’t want to fight a big dawg like you, pookie 😩😩.

In ten years, I’m getting an office-vixen aesthetic or business chic. Women will always have heels on and men will always find an occasion to wear dress shoes that boost their height a bit. Tight pencil skirts. Suits. Blazers. Capes. Watches. Trench Coats. All that jazz.

MUAH💋

Fear Crumbles at The Feet of A Bad Bitch

⚠︎ Pile Four ⚠︎ (Ace of Wands, The Hermit, 5oW)

Initial Impression: In ten years, you are not afraid to whoop somebody’s ass. I Bet U Won’t by LeVel and Mouse on da track started playing. 

I’m sensing tense home energy here. You did not have to do much to be blamed or antagonized for something. You were treated like a black sheep, scapegoated, abused, and expected to take it. If you lashed out in defense, your attackers would take that as an opportunity to paint you as aggressive, a difficult child, or “unsafe”. This could’ve been with friendships too. 

My heart is racing right now, in the middle of channeling, a helicopter flew over the neighborhood and told everyone to lock all their entrances and stay inside. I feel like you have spent a huge chunk of your life on edge? Your environment prevented you from safely regulating your nerves and you were never able to feel comfortable anywhere. If your home was not explicitly violent, there was mental warfare that prevented your home from ever feeling like home.  

Half the people in this pile experienced the opposite. Everyone else in the house was constantly fighting and belligerent and you stayed meek, quiet, and in your room to create some sense of safety.

For some, it's a mix of both. 

Any power that could have been used to stand up or protect yourself was diffused by parental figures or fake friends. The global lockdown was especially difficult for you and trapped you within the tension of the house. For others, I see that this hermit phase lasted beyond the pandemic and maybe even prior. 

This is the only pile where I know the transition is happening before the 10-year mark. With all of this fire and solar plexus energy, one day (soon) you will be sparked with the bravery to become your own hero. 

You’re removing yourself from a toxic environment and you’re going out SWINGING. Windmilling, even!

That’s not to say that this is all on a whim and impulsive. Oh no no no. You are calculated and pushing forward with careful preparation and a solid plan. If you want to move out, you’ll have the place planned out, your transportation, your food for the next 6 months, and a job lined up.

If this is simply about pursuing your dreams in an environment that wants to squash them, you’re moving in silence and getting all of your ducks in a row so when the time comes, you can chuck the deuces up and never see those people again.

(if you feel guilty about wanting to cut off family members, don't. You must feel confident in the decision to prioritize your health and safety.)

YOU’RE ‘BOUT BIG MF BUSINESS.

In a world where you have never known peace, you will be creating a life of harmony and ease for yourself, and you have every right to be proud of that. That is a generational weight that you let go of, your spirit team and ancestors celebrate your strength and vitality. 

You got some crazy repetition with my Oracle deck. You got “Golden Gift”, “Golden Retriever”, the cards fell in a white-orange color pattern, and you have all this wand (fire) energy. You are a firing supernova, the flame within is what will pioneer you to victory. 

This is another tale for the ages—your story will be told far and wide, inspiring boys and girls who dream of a savior to become their own saving grace.

You’ll definitely have a long-lasting red hair phase or you’ll have an affinity for the colors red and gold in ten years. 

You’ll be healthily competitive. You will have an established workout regimen and do at least one recreational active hobby (soccer, hiking, MMA and swimming were of note). You’ll even be competitive at karaoke night.  

There are some bodybuilders in this collective. If you’re a woman and want to lift but fear looking “bulky”, you’ll overcome it and fall in love with your muscular physique. There is an accentuation of your butt, shoulders, back, and abs. You’ll look physically imposing and command respect and attention, but welcoming to all. I see children running to your side for safety. 

Go and be great my lil firecracker!! MUAH 💋

God's Golden Gift is a Brave Woman

[blackbird-brewster]

Meta: Jemily Queerbaiting

With the huge influx of posts saying 'Jemily is gonna be canon', I really appreciated seeing this post because OP was completely correct. I didn't want to write an entire dissertation as a reply, so I'm making my own post with my personal opinion on this. (All sources are noted in footnotes)

Before I began this rant, for anyone who thinks this is anti-Jemily. It is not. I have shipped Jemily for 18 friggin years and that's never going to change. This post is specifically my thoughts about queer baiting.

First off, I need to note that the showrunners (and the cast members who use social media) KNOW what a huge queer following this show has and that's why we got pansexual Tara Lewis in S16 [1]. Which, in itself, was SOOOOOOO important!!! Our first canonically queer main in SIXTEEN seasons was a middle-aged Black woman!!! That's phenomenal. (The fact it was horrible rep, because they instantly ruined her relationships once her queerness served it's plot point is a whole other post entirely)

In my opinion, the 'big Jemily moment' Paget posted about on Twitter [2] (and AJ hinted at during a recent IG live) is simply queerbaiting to get people to watch S17. I know a lot of you are newer to the fandom and I love your enthusiasm, I really do, ship and let ship, but listen, let's be real, Jemily is not going to be made canon. The showrunners aren't going to suddenly say (after 17 seasons) 'Surprise, Jemily is endgame'. This show has never cared about queer rep and now that CBS/Paramount have already ticked their queer rep box with Tara, they won't be in any rush to add any other characters to it.

Please buckle in, I've got a lot of thoughts on this matter --

What is Queerbaiting?

If you aren't aware of what queerbaiting is, here's a good definition:

Historically, queerbaiting has carried two meanings: the first is an act of aggressive heterosexuality to shut down queer subtext on screen while still teasing and catering to the queer audience in advertising, public relations, and fan engagement strategies; the second is an existing homoerotic tension between two characters played up on screen while met with derision by the professionals behind the scenes. [3]

The Medium article quoted here is from 2017, a time when parasocial relationships were really starting to take over social media. In 2024, actors are now only a mention or tag away online, they have direct conversations with fans, and this process has allowed for an even deeper form of queerbaiting.

Oftentimes online, actors are asked directly about certain ships and while some ignore these questions (usually to avoid breaking their contracts or other repercussions), others (looking at you, Paget) choose to instead tease fans about queer ships. She's done this for years upon years and if I've learned anything in the past twenty-years of existing in fandom spaces it's this -- don't hold your breath. In it's original meaning, for something to be deemed as queerbaiting there had to be malicious, or at least, purposeful intent to string queer fans along by teasing them with suggestive content about the ship in question, while knowing this ship will never come to fruition in canon.

The thing to remember is, Paget and AJ aren't the only ones who know about Jemily shippers -- the network and showrunners are well aware of this ship too. When networks/showrunners figure out they have a strong sapphic fanbase, they love to use that to their advantage to get more viewers and higher ratings. Queerbaiting is a goldmine to keep fans watching long running shows, look at Rizzoli and Isles, Supergirl, and OUAT for examples of this.

Jemily and Queerbaiting:

Ever since Emily joined the BAU in S2 (2006), there have always been fans who ship JJ/Emily (shoutout to the old LJ forums!). Way before celebs were just a tweet away from fans, back when all our fics began with disclaimers so we wouldn't get sued by networks, we went to great lengths to keep our fanworks far removed from actors/showrunners attention.

As far as Jemily goes, this reply from Paget in a 2009 interview with TVGuide.com [4] (which has now been deleted from their site unfortunately, but there are quotes on Tumblr still [4.a]) confirmed some fans' worst fear -- the actors had found our fanworks online.

TVGuide.com: Of course, a band of fans want her to hook up with Hotch.

Brewster: I know! I didn't realize that fans make these videos on YouTube? A.J. Cook sent me a hilarious one that made it look like Prentiss and J.J. were having a secret lesbian affair. You know, when Hotch was blown up in the SUV, we shot this scene where he's in the hospital and I'm standing next to him, looking at his bleeding ear. Our director came in and said, "Paget, you're looking at Hotch like you're in love with him. It looks really weird." So now, every day, Thomas [Gibson] and I flutter our eyelids at each other.

This was the first time I recall anyone acknowledging Jemily shippers publicly and at the time (Jan 2009), the show was still in Season Four (just before CBS fired both AJ and Paget [5]). Paget genuinely said it's 'hilarious' that fans shipped JJ/Emily. Even now, I'll see people say 'We know Paget and AJ have seen Jemily fanvids, so they obviously ship it too' -- but those same people rarely acknowledge the full context of the original answer. Paget not only thought JJ/Emily were 'hilarious', but then she doubled down and turned her reply back to how she and Thomas liked to play up the chemistry between Emily/Hotch.

While no one can say for sure which video it was that AJ sent Paget, just knowing they were watching JJ/Emily fanvids sent a bit of a shockwave through the femslash side of the fandom. To some it felt like an invasion of privacy, fanworks are by fans for fans -- knowing the cast were poking around in fandom spaces added an extra layer of worry around what we fans were posting online. Fifteen years ago, it used to be quite taboo for actors to outwardly discuss shipping or other fanon for whatever show they were in, and we fans were usually comfortably removed from the actors altogether.

Of course, now it's the norm for fans and actors/showrunners to co-exist online and interact with one another. This connection has opened new ways for shows to queerbait their fans. Pretty much every show has some form of social media account now and there is no doubt that the people running those accounts keep up with the most popular ships and hashtags. Not to mention that actors are constantly barraged with questions about whether they ship their character with x,y,z, or whether they think a ship should be made canon, etc. These interactions only serve to benefit the shows themselves, because whether the conversation is for or against a certain ship, it's all just free publicity (Why do you think CM now has a TikTok account?)

Every time AJ or Paget say anything about Jemily, the queer side of the fandom loses their minds. But this has been going on for YEARS now and every single time, it turns out to be nothing but social media hype and queerbaiting. Remember this AJ post? [6] Or what about the notorious reply by Paget to a fan, where she talks about how she and AJ held hands under the table 'for the shippers' [7] I've seen this cycle over and over again, so perhaps I am cynical, but I'm not getting my hopes up that Jemily will ever seriously be canon.

It's widely known now, after both Kirsten [8] and Paget [9] have talked about it, that there was an early idea where Prentiss was supposed to be queer, but that was ultimately scraped before it ever made it on screen. For context, please remember, this show has been airing for nearly twenty years. It began in 2005, during the highly conservative Bush administration. Queer people didn't have rights in the US, we couldn't get married, we were rarely protected under discrimination laws, and we could even be fired for simply being queer (in some states). Diverse queer representation on screen was extremely limited to things like 'The L Word' and 'Queer as Folk' (both aired on Showtime, so they were behind a paywall. And as far as tLw goes, that show was extremely male-gaze focused and is horrible in nearly all regards if you try to rewatch it now). As far as prime time shows went, queer rep was even more rare. Which is why Emily wasn't queer from the get-go.

Yes, things have changed since 2006 in terms of queer rep on TV. We have a myriad of queer identities represented in TV and film nowadays, which is why I think it's so easy for newer fans to say 'lf she was supposed to be gay anyway, they should just make Emily queer in canon!' I know this is what fuels most fans' demands for Emily being confirmed queer, and I get it, I DO. I would be all for it! However, I do not, in one hundred years, actually believe that is going to happen after they already canonically queer confirmed Tara in S16. The fact we even got ONE queer character is ground-breaking for this show.

It's also worth noting, that in the time between Paget's departure in 2012 and her return in 2016, she became very active on Twitter. This was when more and more fans began asking her about Jemily and after Kirsten's AfterEllen interview, fans also pushed for Paget to address the possibility of Emily being gay. 'Pushed' is actually an understatement for some of the outright harassment she would receive. (AJ received some of this harassment too, but less so because she doesn't use social media ass often) Back then, neither of them replied to these things directly. Yet, no matter what either woman posted, the replies were full of Jemily stans begging for her acknowledgement. (Did you know 'stan' is literally a term coined for stalker fans?) I remember one time AJ's friend was missing and she posted info on her IG about it, you know what the replies were? People asking her about Jemily. It was genuinely sickening.

Within this context, it was no surprise to fans when Emily came back in S12 , she and JJ's friendship was seemingly erased. The two women were rarely on screen together in the late seasons, plus the writers saw fit to even give Emily not only one (Mark in London, but two, on-screen boyfriends for the first time in the entire series. I personally do not think these changes to Emily's character were coincidence, I saw the hellscape of what people would say to AJ and Paget online and I fully believe that upon Paget's return to the show, the showrunners purposely tried to distance JJ and Emily to dissuade the more abusive side of the fanbase.

Can I prove that, no. But it is the only reason I can think of as to why Emily S12+ seemingly didn't care about JJ anymore, despite their deep and meaningful friendship. I mean, they both CROSSED THE WORLD to go rescue each other in prior canon -- but when Emily comes back, they acted like they barely knew each other. This was even more prevalent in S16, when JJ's main storylines all revolved around Will, and Emily barely looked at JJ in the entirety of ten episodes. (Remember how Prentiss didn't even hug JJ after bomb, but she did go hug Luke?)

So, do Paget and AJ earnestly ship Jemily, or are they continuing the long tradition of queerbaiting us? Who fucking knows, not me. But based on the history of this fandom, I think I can make a safe bet. (Interestingly, if you search all of Paget's twitter for the word 'Jemily' [10] she only has 3 direct tweets mentioning the ship. I don't think it's a coincidence that two are within the past few months since they started filming S17 (the other one was a RT of Kirsten (who tagged something Jemily)

This is all to say --

Just because Paget and AJ have publicly talked about Jemily,, this doesn't mean it's ever going to happen on screen. And you know what, THAT'S OKAY!! There has been this constant outcry (after Tara became queer confirmed) of 'Do Emily next' or 'Why wasn't it Emily with a girlfriend!?' and 'Jemily needs to be canon in S17!' -- as if people believe their ships aren't worth anything unless they are canon.

That couldn't be further from the truth! Fandom is built on headcanons and fan interpretations and rare pairs and all types of shippers. Your ship does NOT need to be canon for you to enjoy it. I will ship Jemily forever, no matter what. I don't think there will be some magical queer plot in S17, at best, we might actually get to see Emily/JJ on screen together again and after the train wreck that was S16 -- I'll take whatever I can get.

And hey -- if I am completely wrong, if Erica Messer pulls a Korrasami out of her hat, I will be ecstatic. I will be happy to be proved wrong, but at the same time, I'm not going to lose sleep over it and I'm DEFINITELY not going to go hound the actors about it on social media.

Sources:

[1] 2022 Digital Spy article about the importance of Tara's coming out

[2] 04/18/24 Paget Tweet

[3] 2017 Queerbaiting article from medium.com

[4] 2009 Broken TVGuide link

[4.a] Tumblr quote from the above TVGuide Interview

[5] 2010 Kirsten interview screenrant.com

[6] 2019 AJ Instagram Post

[7] 2020 Paget video on Twitter (via @karasluthqr)

[8] 2015 Kirsten interview AfterEllen.com

[9] 2016 Paget Interview CriminalMindsFans.com

[10] @PagetPaget search 'Jemily'

[2busyatchb4urshist-alt]

Alastor & Lucifer x gn!Reader Comfort

I’m trying to get back into writing, this is probably not the best thing ever. I’ll avoid y/n (personal preference), and try for heavy comfort/fluff. It’s some of my favourite stuff to write, so this should be good for me to write. Pardon my French (please).

Prompt: “I'm having a really hard day, could I please request a little comfort one shot or artwork where the reader has a health issue with their heart and just had an attack and Alastor and/or Lucifer are comforting and caring for them and are worried about them too (can be female or GN I don't mind, can have any character traits/ animalistic traits, but basically reader is feeling emotional and vulnerable and needy and in pain, can't get up because nearly collapsing, weak/ dizzy/ pain/ feeling nauseated when they try) (not projecting at all here lol) 🥺 it can go/ appear anyway you want, I'd just really like that included because I could cry rn with my struggles and I've got no-one...”

For @nyx-umbrakinesis

Word Count: 774 words

Black clouds my vision as I attempt to stand up, another sharp pang reverberating from my chest through my arms and torso. It’s a mistake I regret almost immediately, the heavy feeling of not being able to breathe properly weighing down on me.

“Sit back down, chérie,” the familiar static indicating Alastor’s presence returns to the room, enveloping those within it. It wouldn’t be described as warmth, per se, but there’s a comfort in it nonetheless.

The feeling of a strong hand against my shoulder pushes me back down onto the bed, which I had much too quickly tried to leave. Whose hand? Good question.

“What do you need, darling?” Ah, it was Lucifer.

The fog that had clouded my vision has finally fully evaporated, and I look over my shoulder to the King of Hell, somehow him and Alastor have managed to forget their “little” disagreements and not be at each other’s throats. Interesting.

“A drink, that’s all,” I lay back down, regretting trying to get up. Of all things that could be wrong, it’s the heart. Always. Always. Always.

“I’ll get you something, stay laying down,” he’s so gentle for someone ruling over who knows how many people.

The creak of the bed is the main indicator that he left it, the dip in the mattress from where he was sitting suddenly gone. My eyes follow him as he leaves the room, Alastor soon taking his place by my side. I reach to take his hand, tears burning behind my eyes.

"Don't cry, amour, it'll be okay. I'm here for you," he speech is laden with static, like usual, but it seems more comforting than times past. Despite his aversion to touch, he doesn't recoil from my grasp on his hand. His other hand comes up to brush hair from my face, his smile visibly strained. I've got the Radio Demon and the King of Hell worried, lucky me.

"Mhm..." Should I try to sleep? Would that even be a good idea?

I pull his hand closer to me, holding it against my cheek as a means of seeking comfort. The creak of the door opening again alerts the both of us of Lucifer's return, and he comes back to bed, kneeling beside where Alastor is sitting, and helps me sit up. He places the glass in my hands, watching as I take a drink.

"Thank you, Lucifer," I set the glass on my nightstand after I finish taking a drink.

"You're welcome, doll. Do you need anything else?" How the hell is he so sweet?

"Not right now, but thank you," I quickly wipe the tears away as a few slip down my face.

Two lovely individuals, what could I have ever done to deserve them in my (un)life? I pull Alastor's hand into my lap, staring down at it while forcing the tears back to their hiding place deep down.

"No hug? Do you want to lay down?" His voice is soft, almost as if someone had taken a remote and turned him down.

"A quick one, yeah," I let the king pull me into a hug, holding onto him like a lifeline. Once I pull away I have to wipe away another stray tear away as I lay back down, taking Alastor's hand once more.

"Thank you both. What did I do to deserve you two?"

"What did you do? Why, I can't think of anyone more deserving of care and affection than you, chérie," the hum of static continues to fill the room, practically lulling me to sleep. I hold Alastor's hand closer to my face, laying my head against it as I try to fall asleep.

"Oh, darling," Lucifer whispers, running a hand up and down my arm as I drift away, an unnaturally upset look on his face.

"Don't leave," I mutter, grabbing onto Lucifer's hand with my free one. I pull it up to my chest, nuzzling my face against it a bit while holding it up to my forehead.

"I won't, I promise," I swear I can hear his voice crack a bit as he speaks, lacing his fingers in mine.

I crunch myself up a bit, knees curled up to my chest as I attempt to fall asleep. The feeling of having each of them by the hand, however, does a bit to ease my nerves. The feeling of being grounded to not only one, but two of my favourite people helps me to fall asleep.

"Sleep well, chérie." Is the last thing I fully hear as I drift off, Alastor's free hand pulling the comforter further onto me to cover me properly.

Not as long as I hoped, but I felt that to be a decent ending. Hope you like it @nyx-umbrakinesis. Lots of love, hope you feel better <3

[creatingblackcharacters]

Hi! One of my main characters is a Back girl (a child) and probably my favourite. She's got a really traumatic past and she had to live on her own as a thief. I make it pretty clear that she is just child who had to survive. the mc tries to dislike her because she tried to steal from them but ends up becoming friends with her. She is generally very sweet, tries to be happy and optimistic despite her past and is one of the most caring characters. later she has some trouble with *plot * and loses her sunshine-ness a bit (thats when her friends stand with her to help her overcome her struggles). I try to develop three dimensional characters but sometimes i fail and i worry that with characters of colour i might reinforce stereotypes by doing so. Any thoughts on her or what i might have to be careful with?

Stereotypes- pt 2

There are extra resources on there in the reblogged portion as well that you can take a look at for extra reading!

This is a very general question, but as I've said before, the stereotypes will show up during the writing, not always from a description alone. Just bc it's not stereotypical right now (and it sounded a little Strong Black Woman™, but you said she goes through hardship and has community so that sounds avoided) doesn't mean it won't turn into it. You have to stay aware while you write.

As always, watch out for how the people in the story (and how the narrative) are treating the Black girl character vs other characters who might have similar traits or perform similar actions. It's mentioned in the lesson as well, but this is part of adultification, in your case. Especially if your character is a little girl who has to mature quickly due to the harshness of her life circumstances. You said you're focused on that, so that's good. Um, when you're writing her background, make sure it's traumatic bc of the traumatizing events, not bc you think what you've researched on Black parenting or Black childhood is "mean" or something. 👍🏾

[chiriwritesstuff]

The Impossible Man ✨ 1. The Deathwatch Beetle ✨

Modern Day Detective! Din Djarin x Witch! Reader (Soulmates AU)

Series Masterlist

Summary: For someone being born into a magical family, a curse placed on the women of your bloodline means you have mostly avoided witchcraft and its calling for the majority of your life. After a life-altering tragedy, you turn your back on your family and your gift and seek out a more normal, boring existence, devoid of magic, and mostly, of love. What happens when the ghosts of your past threaten your peaceful existence and you are forced to reconcile all that you have lost? Will you let the people you have abandoned in your past life back into your heart? Will the appearance of an impossible man you have unknowingly cursed yourself break the chains of love? Will you let him?

Chapter Rating: M? (for now)

Chapter Warnings: Magical realism, implied mention of suicide, reader and her family are cursed, implied (minor) character death, (some) men are the worst, mentions of violence

A/N: Oh, Hello there.

For Halloween this year, I decided that I wanted to write a little 3-part story featuring my favorite Pedro boy, ✨Din Djarin✨. Inspired by my favorite Halloween-ish movie, Practical Magic, the story follows a Modern Day Detective Din, and our (reluctant) Witchy Reader. This story is not a complete retelling of PM, but a mishmash of other films that I love and cherish. If you're able to spot some of these films, I'll gift you a virtual Halloween candy treat! Happy Halloween, everyone!

Peep the (main canon storyline) Star Wars cameo!

Banner by @chiriwritesstuff ✨ Dividers by @saradika

Word Count: 3.2K

The first time you heard of the deathwatch beetle, you were eight years old.

The Victorian-style house that sat along the edge of Puget Sound was a whimsical sort, with its white picket fence adorned with creeping ivy, its single turret, a spire with the shape of a star on top of it, like a star on a Christmas tree. It had belonged to your family for decades - and was always kept in the same manner as when it was built. It was the home that your mother was raised in, and her mother before her, the house being passed down through each generation. You remember the summers you spent with your Aunt Fennic and Omera, taking the ferry from the port at Capitol Hill to Bainbridge Island, your sister Violet - Vi, for short - with her hands intertwined with yours. Three hundred and sixty-seven days younger than you, and every bit your opposite - if you were the match, then she was the flame; she was light, embodied to your infinite darkness. You would wear braids in your hair and fairy wings as you ran down the corridors of the house, playing hide-and-seek and hoping that you wouldn't get lost in the vastness of it. It was your beacon of light and solace, always welcoming. Now, as you hold your sister's hand while walking up to the porch, dressed in black, eyes still puffy and swollen and lined with tears, your aunts standing side by side, already expecting you both - it had finally become home.

"In this house," your aunt Fennic starts, grabbing the suitcase out of your hands as your aunt Omera bends to pick up Vi, "We will eat chocolate cake for breakfast and not worry about silly little things like bedtimes and brushing our teeth." You chuckle as she winks and leads the two of you inside.

Later that night, as Omera tucked you into bed, Vi having fallen asleep only moments before, she smiled as she kissed your forehead. "We're so happy you're with us, Starshine."

You silently nod, your fingers fidgeting nervously as you try to hide the discomfort of being in a new place, despite having been here so many times before. You look down at your hands, blinking away the tears that were begging to come out. "Aunt Omera, did Daddy die because of the curse?"

She gives you a sad smile. "Yes, Baby, he did." She strokes your cheek with her thumb, wiping away your tears.

"Your mother knew the moment she heard the click, click, click of the deathwatch beetle beckoning for your father's life... she knew that day that he was doomed to die. Every person who falls in love with any of the women of our bloodline is resigned to the same fate."

"Is that why Mommy died? Because of a broken heart?"

Omera's face softens as she brushes your hair away from your eyes. "Yes, my darling girl, she did. She couldn't imagine life without your father..." She pulls the covers over you. "…but that's how you came to live with us, and we will raise you the best way we know how."

You smile sadly, settling yourself deeper into the covers. "Why is our family cursed, Auntie?"

"It was because of your ancestor, Maria."

"Was she a witch?"

"Yes, the first in our family. And you are the most recent in a long and distinguished line."

"What happened to her?"

"Well, my Starshine, she fell in love. She fell in love with a man, her soulmate... but not everyone was happy about it. There was another man, an evil man, who had loved Maria from afar. He demanded that she be with him, and when she refused, he killed her lover in cold blood."

You bite your lip, nodding to yourself as you try to understand. "… but how does that make us cursed?"

"Well," Omera says, "Maria didn't take her lover's death kindly. With her powers, she managed to encase the evil man in a tomb full of beetles, eating him alive. However, before he died, he cursed the entirety of our female bloodline. This curse dooms any being who dares to love us, but it also ensures that we will always find our soulmate. Throughout the years, the appearance of the deathwatch beetle - the same one that consumed the man - is seen as a warning bell. The moment you hear the click, click, click of the beetle, there is nothing you can do to stop the curse. We have carried the weight of this burden for hundreds of years."

"I wish that I never find my soulmate," you whisper, determination etched on your 8-year-old face. "I don't want anyone to die because of me, and I don't want to die of a broken heart!"

Omera looks at you sadly as she kisses your forehead. "Oh, my sweet Starshine." She reaches over to turn off your bedside lamp, then kisses Vi before walking to your door, locking eyes with you, nodding as she turns away, leaving you in complete darkness.

"You will."

“He will hear my call a mile away. He will whistle my favorite song. He can ride a horse backwards.”  You gather the petals of the flower and place it in the bowl, reading the words you have written in your diary aloud, your fingers grazing the page.

“What are you doing, Starshine?” Vi asks from behind you, walking into the greenhouse as she pets Boba the house cat.

“I’m summoning a true love spell. Amas Veritas. Also known as a Soulmates calling.” You pull a rose petal, inspecting it as you turn to your sister. “He can flip pancakes in the air. He will be marvelously kind… and his favorite shape will be a star… and he’ll have a birthmark on him, the shape of a… bullseye.”

“… I thought you didn’t want to find your soulmate? I heard you, last night. When you were talking to Aunt Omera.” She picks up your diary and flips through the pages, her hip resting on the table as you finish gathering the rest of the ingredients, stirring it gently with your hands.

“That’s the point, Vi. The guy I dreamed of? My soulmate? He doesn’t exist… and if he doesn’t exist, I won’t die of a broken heart.”

You walk out and your sister follows, making your way to the balcony as you hold the bowl out into the night sky. Vi gasps as the petals start to float out of the bowl, flowing out like a waft of smoke, fluttering in the air, flying out into the distance, a small smile forming as you look out into the sky.

"Goodnight, Impossible Man." 

The first time you heard the ominous click, click, click of the deathwatch beetle, you were 28 years old.

It was in the dead of night, the clicking noise faint and almost unnoticeable, its distinctive chirps being drowned out by the idle sounds of the crickets and the gently blowing wind.

Click, click, click.

Your eyes open at that, suddenly alert. You shoot up from where you lay, Ben's still form beside you still in deep sleep. You breathe deeply, pushing your hair out of your face as you scan the room, looking for the source of the subtle clicking sound that roused you from your sleep. "Baby," Ben murmurs into his pillow, his eyes half open. "What are you doing up? It's late. Go back to sleep." He whispers, his arm pulling yours gently as you ease yourself back onto his chest, the deep thump, thump, thump of his heartbeat reverberating throughout your body, a reminder that he’s still very much alive. You sigh, pressing a chase kiss on his sternum. "I thought I heard something," you reply, his body shifting as he cages you in, his chin resting on the top of your head. "It's just the wind, Starshine. Go back to sleep," he continues, his fingers gently drawing small circles on your back. "I love you," he finally whispers before his breathing evens, his soft snores lulling you back to sleep.

A few hours later, you’re roused from your sleep once more as Ben's phone starts to chime. You feel his arm reaching out blindly for his phone on the nightstand, a slight groan rumbling from his chest as he squints at the screen.

"Good Morning, baby," Ben whispers in your ear, his voice heavy with sleep. "I have to get up, but you go back to sleep." You feel his breath on your cheeks as he presses a kiss to them, a faint smile forming as he embraces you, the feeling of his body stretching against yours as he wakes. He kisses your sleepy head as he rises out of bed, sitting on the edge of it as he caresses your half-sleeping form. He cracks his neck and silently pads himself into the bathroom, the sound of the shower starting as you burrow yourself deeper into the covers, your body slowly shifting to where his body was only a moment ago, relishing in the residual warmth of your lover it still contains. You wedge your nose into the indent of his pillow, smiling as you inhale his scent. You lay there until you hear the tell-tale sound of the shower shutting off. Your eyes adjust to the warm orange light of the bathroom as he walks out, a towel half slung onto his form as he walks into the closet, pulling on his suit as he dresses for the day, his faint silhouette shuffling in the light of early dawn.

"Ben," you say softly as he’s beginning to pull on his socks. "It’s early. Come back to bed." You plead with him, your arms outstretched, making grabby hands, beckoning out for him.

"Djarin messaged me saying he has a lead. I’m heading over to meet with him now," He walks over to you, sitting on the edge of the bed as he puts his wingtip loafers on. "We’ve been at a stalemate for months now, baby. I’ll make it up to you, maybe we could go back to Montauk after I close this case. Gideon is so close, I’m finally closing in on him, I can feel it."

You nod as you reach out to rub his back. "Okay. You owe me, though."

He chuckles at that, the corners of his cheeks lifting as he gives you a rare smile. "No, Djarin owes me because I must be insane to leave my beautiful wife all alone. It’s criminal." He smirks as he bends over to kiss you, his lips tracing the side of your jaw.

"I have to go," he whispers into your ear as he kisses your head. "I’ll see you after work, ok? Might be a late night, this case has been killing me," he continues, grabbing his briefcase perched against his nightstand. He hovers by the doorframe, smiling as he turns to leave.

"I love you, Starshine."

He’s gone by the time you whisper those three little words back out into the ether.

Click, click, click. Click, click, CLICK.

Your eyes shoot open once again, the room now bathed in the mid-morning light. You scramble out of bed.

No, you think. No, no, no, NO.

You pace around your room nervously, the clicking sound from the night echoing into the recesses of your brain. You scan the room for the source of your dread, your body shivering in fear. You run to the opposite side of the room, scanning every nook and cranny, every crevice and surface. "Where are you, fucker?" you think to yourself.

Click, click, click.

You realize the sound is coming from beneath you, your eyes quickly shifting to where your feet are planted on the old floorboards of your shared apartment. It’s an old apartment in the heart of Queen Anne, one of those charming wartime-era duplexes painted in pink with its charming crown molding and black and white checkered tiles in the kitchen. Your dream home, you once thought to yourself, Vi’s unit on the other side, her bedroom wall sharing your own - an inheritance you both shared after your mother died all those years ago.

Your mother.

Your heart shudders at her memory, the tears forming as you take another deep breath. You forcibly repress and push those memories aside, centering yourself as you remind yourself of the current problem on your hands. You look below you once again, the gaps of the aged wood showing the earth below. You focus on the gaps, your eyes scanning frantically until you see it - the silhouette of the deathwatch beetle, its obsidian shiny armor scampering away from you, as if it finally acknowledges your presence. You dive onto the floor in its direction, your eyes inspecting the gaps of the floorboards, your line of sight aligning with the death beetle once more.

You scamper back onto your feet hurriedly, running out of your bedroom into the hallway, your feet pounding heavily on the floor as you make your way to the hallway closet, wrenching the door open with hurried force as you scan for the ancient toolbox on the shelf. You yank the rusted toolbox out, spilling its contents onto the floor, not caring one bit about the mess that you’re making. Grabbing a flathead screwdriver, you hurry back into the bedroom, following the now-insistent clicking of the beetle. It managed to make its way above ground, scampering away as you furiously head towards it. It hurriedly makes its way across the way of the floorboards, you diving once again towards it, your hand stretched out as you try to slam onto it. The beetle is quicker and more agile than you, shimmying away from your hand as it falls through the crack of the floorboard. You lay your cheek on the cold floor as you pound on it furiously, willing the beetle to click as you listen intently for it. "This can’t be!" You whisper to yourself, your breath choking out in a panic.

"FUCK!" You scream in agony, grabbing the screwdriver that lay beside you. You wedge it against the edge of the floorboards, prying it open as you scan for the beetle. You start to pry off the boards around you until you make a sizeable gap for you to jump into, throwing the screwdriver aside and forcibly pry more floorboards until they lay haphazardly amongst each other in piles, completely surrounding you as you breathe heavily, the tears flowing freely on your face.

"Don’t do this to me!" You cry out, gasping for air as you crawl into the earth below, your nightgown now soiled as you frantically search around you. The clicking sound is becoming more frequent and louder, its eerie cadence becoming the only thing you can hear in your mind. "Come on!" You scream. "Please, don’t do this to me, not now, not him…. PLEASE! Haven’t you taken enough from me?! Haven’t we shed enough blood? Oh god…" You plead, your voice croaking out in desperation. You suddenly sit in a daze, your hair disheveled, the tears refusing to cease as your heart feels like it’s about to explode in your chest from pure exhaustion, from sheer adrenaline. It's then you realize that you’re suddenly surrounded by silence. You blink, scanning the room once more, the clicks having stopped and the deathwatch beetle nowhere to be found. You breathe a sigh of relief until suddenly the clicks ring out fast and furiously, a crescendo of fear and pain building within you until it ceases once more. You suddenly shudder, your body jolting violently, a single tear falling down the slopes of your face.

You’re still sitting there hours later, as the day has turned into night when your phone suddenly rings in the distance. You slowly climb out of the floor as you make your way to your dresser, silently picking up the phone and answering it, not bothering to check who it is, your hands trembling in fear.

"Ben?" You whisper shakily.

"Hey Starshine, it’s me, Din. Din Djarin?" You hear a deep sigh on the line. "...Are you there?"

"Listen. I’m going to need you to come down to the station… I’m sorry… it’s… it’s Ben." You hear him take a harsh breath as he speaks again. "I’m so sorry, Starshine…." His voice fades as your phone slips out of your grasp, the Seattle Police contact illuminating the screen as it hits the ground, his voice cutting through the silence as the sob you’ve been holding in erupts deep within your chest, you begin to wail and scream, falling to your knees.

"It was the curse, wasn’t it?" You scream as you storm into your aunt's house later that night, pacing frantically in the kitchen. “Because I loved him so much!”

Your aunts slowly walk into the room hesitantly, looking at your shaking frame nervously.

It’s your aunt Fennic who speaks first.

“We had no idea… when we cast that spell…”

“What spell?” You ask as your eyes shift between your two aunts, Omera’s eyes downcast in shame. “What are you talking about?!" She finally looks at you, her eyes filled with tears as she glances at her sister.

“Oh…” you shudder. “You didn’t. Please tell me you didn’t… my own flesh and blood...”

“You were so lonely, Starshine… we just… wanted to give you a little push… we didn’t expect you to fall in love.”

“WELL, I DID!” You gasp, grasping your chest as you walk out, grabbing the spell book from the other room, slamming it onto the kitchen counter as you frantically flip through the pages. “And I want him back!”

“You brought him into my life, and I want you to bring him back!” You say as you continue to flip through the pages. “I’ve never asked you for anything, I’ve never asked you for spells but do this! I know you can, I know you can bring him back!”

“We won’t do this” Omera speaks up as she approaches you. “We can’t do this” Fennic adds, crossing her arms.

“I know you can! I remember I found it here…” your fingers reading through the spell “I found the spell when… when mommy and daddy died.”

“Even if we did bring him back” Fennic starts, looking at Omera “… it wouldn’t be Ben.”

“… it would be something else, something dark and unnatural” Omera adds, reaching out to you.

“I DONT CARE WHAT HE COMES BACK AS, AS LONG AS HE COMES BACK… as long as he comes back” your voice breaks as you suddenly start to sob. “Please! Please do this for me!” You sob as you collapse onto the spell book, looking at your aunts pleadingly. “Please? PLEASE?!” You cover your mouth as you fall to your knees, Omera catching you as you cry onto her chest.

“I’m so sorry, Starshine.” She whispers as she strokes your back, looking at her sister as she turns to walk away.

The first time you hear the ominous click, click, click of the deathwatch beetle is the day you swear to yourself that you will never, ever fall in love again.

Authors Bits:

If you guessed that Ben was Ben Solo, you were right. I admit that I was once a Reylo - not so much now, but back in the day, so including him in this story was a treat... also, because Adam Driver <3.

Speaking about Ben, it's safe to say he's alluded to his death several times to Starshine, and there's several hints that I try to convey throughout. I'll miss our Benji, but we all know what we want, and he's definitely coming...

Taglist: @strawberri-blonde

[nesonkin]

Cassie Rose, the Old Builders and aging

We've all heard by now that MCSM doesn't have ages. It's why Eric refuses to spill them ages headcanons about the gang. Some characters look young, while others look old. I vaguely remember Eric (or someone else) say that characters in MCSM look the age that they feel they are. Hence, the Old Builders+the Old Order of the Stone look old.

The characters in this universe don't age the way we do. But they do age by appearance, as in this painting Harper looks much younger.

So, the concept of aging is not foreign to this world. It's just different from how we experience it.

Now, onto the White Crow*. I'm pretty sure it's common knowledge that Cassie Rose was likely one of the Old Builders, right? As suggested by the dialogue in the 8th episode:

If she really was one, it leaves us with a huge room for imagination as to why she's left and what her relationship with other old builders might have been like.

Cassie has always been one of my favorite non-main characters to dissect because there's always this feeling that she has more going on than she lets on. She's extremely paranoid. She's cruel and violent. She has serious trust issues, but knows too well how to exploit others' trust. And she's a trap master.

When you ask her to share the Flint and Steel, she assumes you're just going to stab her in the back. When Stampy says that everything could have been avoided if Cassie had just asked for help, it becomes clear how deep-rooted her issues actually are.

Knowing the Old Builders, I'm not even surprised she turned out this way in the end. If we go off Mevia's words, Cassie has always been a bit of a weirdo (not as bad as her current self). Growing White Pumpkins and making traps. Possibly scaring the shit out of others for fun.

Entering the speculation area, I have a feeling she was forced to leave by the Old Slimeballs when her unconventional behavior was no longer tolerated. Otto may have not even known about the real reasons Cassie left. Had Cassie left on her own accord, there's no way she wouldn't have brought a couple of enchanted Flint n Steel with her. It makes more sense that she was forced into leaving, trapping her in a world with two moons.

I can imagine it went something like this: a group of Old Builders went to the YouTuber world (no clue how to name it), during the ordeal Cassie was left alone while the rest of the OB left for the Portal Hallway ditching Cassie and closing the portal from outside (dunno if that's actually possible without breaking the portal in the hallway). Cassie realizes she was stabbed in the back by the people she trusted and spent the rest of her life trying to get back.

While the rest of the Old Builders continued to live and to thrive to the point of getting bored out of their minds, Cassie got stuck in a metaphorical limbo. She's obsessed with her past and can't move on. That's why she looks so much younger than other Old Builders. She can't age if she's mentally stuck in the past.

And with Jesse and co crashing her little murder party, I'm afraid her state has gotten even worse.

* White Crow - Russian idiom for a misfit. English analogue of a black sheep.

I hope you enjoyed this little writing piece I made. I was rewatching my ep6 playthrough, and it made me think about things. Furthermore, I don't claim that I've discovered anything with this post. I just wanted to ramble a bit.

[cursedvibes]

i see what you’re saying but in the end this did way more harm than good. most non-black people are either 1) praising gege for the way the chapter was written which again, shouldn’t be happening bc gege is anti-black himself or 2) making fun of it altogether. and again, the harassment toward black people has been exponentially worse than it already was, and part of it is *because* of how gege wrote it. i think non-black people in the fandom need to be a lot more honest because this is all really vile. also you all know damn well that gege was never going to talk to black people before writing this chapter because again. he’s anti-black. and also, i doubt that the majority of the non-black people in the fandom actually support black people’s art and writing. let’s please be serious

I think Gege had good intentions with the scene even if the execution was lacking, but I can absolutely understand the argument that the reaction from the fandom (at least in the English-speaking circles, I haven't seen much from the Japanese side) outweighs any good that might've come from it. The fandom does have an extreme problem with racism that already rears its head any time Miguel shows up. From the mocking of his fight against Gojo to those "strongest sorcerer in history vs darkest sorcerer in history" catchphrases... Unfortunately, that happens no matter what Gege or the characters do and it only seems to have increased with jjks popularity. Just how there's always a resurgence of harassment for trans fans any time Uraume or Kirara's pronouns or gender or simply their character is brought up.

You can also see in the reactions to the scene that whatever Gege tried to achieve slips past many fans, even the talk about stereotyping. That's also where using Gojo in particular can work against the message I think, despite his previous behaviour and an apology being therefore good in that regard. There is the argument that seeing him apologize makes for a bigger impact because of his popularity, but on the other side you also have the people who say it's ooc and dismiss the entire topic for that reason, the people who can only focus on "omg he looks so cute when he apologizes for being racist uwu", the ones who somehow...seemed to have missed this page entirely? And then of course the ones who go after others for saying that Gojo acting this way towards Miguel is in line with his character or talking about the real world implications.

To avoid that you would have needed to introduce Miguel or black characters in general completely differently. Because I mean, you have this problem far less with the fandoms of Cowboy Bebop or Black Lagoon for example. But there the most prominent black characters are also part of the main protagonist group and not a side character and (former) antagonist. Now in jjk you have one snappy line that changes nothing about the overall story or characters (because I mean Gojo is dead anyway and he never interacted with Miguel again). Also, the jjk fandom, particularly on twt and reddit, isn't the best environment to talk about racism in-universe or in real life either. You have these battle shonen powerscalers who only care about Gojo punching Miguel and I think the leaks didn't make it any better. I mean, the majority of this went down before the chapter or full fantranslations were even out. You have pages with half-hearted translations or summaries ripped out of context that fans then slap each other in the face and fight over despite not even having read the full context. Leaks always cause easy misunderstandings and make everything only worse. Some only heard "Gojo was being racist" and were ready to attack others to defend their faves honour. Or same thing with people making fun of Miguel's cursed technique. I think leaks contribute a lot to the harassment that gets so casually thrown at black people and made the jjk fandom so toxic in general.

So...yeah, overall, not a great situation. For one, I don't think that non-black people should be barred on principle to write black characters because having no black characters in anime/manga isn't the solution I think and we know it can be done well or better, but then you also have to consider the wider impact of how you portray black characters.

[ranticore]

hello... 5-15 of those asks if you'd like for John (any iteration!) and Nico... hehe

yay 🧡

5. Is there any significance behind their hair color? 

not really lol. john's hair is brown because it's the most common hair colour, nico [pascal's object of obsession from 2017 inver] has black hair because i wanted to further visually distinguish him from bowman. both have visible grey streaks because it's an easy way to help define the shape of the hair when drawing it

6. Is there any significance behind their eye color? 

yes but only in that they (and all my characters) have brown eyes because i got tired of ppl seemingly on purpose avoiding brown eyes for their interesting characters. so i only make brown-eyed characters on purpose. the only exception is cuinn (harpy) because he has albinism but typical members of his species have dark brown eyes.

7. Is there any significance behind their height? 

yes, john is my height on purpose (5'4") and nico is 5'3" because i'd unintentionally made my previous trans man characters pretty tall so i thought well let's make one who is short hashtag representation

8. What (if anything) do you relate to within their character/story? 

i relate to john because i'm also a beautiful brunette who sucks so much. nico is unrelatable to me because he's a cop (he's not really but the plot does follow a buddy cop format)

9. Are they based off of you, in some way? 

john from long long ago (2011, my first major setting) was a direct self insert thus the similarities in appearance. he has some parts of me in him because he's my main dnd character and it's hard not to project when doing 5 hour improv sessions once a week but he has never been less like me tbh. nico ehhh not really, we don't align personality-wise because i would not tolerate pascal for more than 5 seconds without wanting to hit him with my car

10. If they have an LI, how much of their character is tailored to be compatible to that person? 

for john yeah 100%, they were made for each other. the angle i'm going with for their arc is a "perfectly synchronous" relationship being no protection for some bad shit going down between them, showing that if two people are SOO perfectly made for one another, it can often lead to one person taking the other for granted, assuming they can predict how the other person will react in any given situation, and ultimately it all results in a messy breakdown of communication.

for nico i meannnnnnnn he is a horse trainer and pascal is a horse so there is that, but in terms of personality they are intentionally very opposed and clash frequently, get on each other's nerves, fight, and not always smooth over those incidences. they are not very compatible.

11. Did you know what the OC’s sexuality would be at the time of their creation? 

yep

12. What have you found to be most difficult about creating art for your OC (any form of art: writing, drawing, edits, etc.)? 

I'm going to be real with u I could draw and write John in my sleep. Nico i find difficult to write, I have a hard time finding his voice. The ranger uniform also annoys me.

13. How far past the canon events that take place in their world have you extended their story, if at all? 

john as a dnd character has no future whatsoever aside from a planned multiclass, he could fall off a cliff next session and die idk. Nico is one of the few characters i haven't thought much about post-canon, i don't feel like it's relevant.

14. If you had to narrow it down to 2 things that you MUST keep in mind while working with your OC, what would those things be? 

john: 1. literally just say the first thing that comes to mind, always. 2. keep em guessing

nico: 1. hes scared of boats and this is surprisingly relevant, i keep forgetting it lol. 2. i try to keep in mind my studies of horse trainers & their work, how they interact with their animals and what subtle body language they might use; these are people who frequently have to convince giant frightened animals that they are in charge here, this translates into how they hold themselves, how they speak, how they approach conflict etc.

15. What is something about your OC can make you laugh? 

john's secret fear which we have discussed in dms (iykyk)

nico let himself get tricked into going on a theme park date with pascal while on duty and didn't even realise until afterwards that it was an elaborate setup of fabricated evidence all so that pascal could get him in the tunnel of love

[yombleflobber-mobile-emporium]

If mirrors aren't real, how can character appearances be portrayed?

A pet peeve of mine in a lot of writing is character physical descriptions. I hate them enough that I try to avoid them unless I feel like it directly furthers the story.

I'm kidding, I only do it if the character I'm describing looks cool.

Why do I hate physical description? Well, aside from the general attitude people have about Men Writing Women and the like — which really just makes me feel self conscious, as a man writing a female lead character — it feels cheap. It feels like when you're at a book sale at your local used bookstore and they put a price sticker in the middle of the cover art on an antique book, and you try to take it off, and the adhesive rips away the art you were trying to see.

I don't know how many times a main character has been rushing to get ready, and stopped to look in the mirror, and then just...examined themselves like some sort of narcissistic douchebag. Their inky black curls tumble down their pixie-shaped face past almond-shaped eyes, a little button nose with a story, invitingly full, luscious lips that rhymes with hips, and what bangable hips those are...

I know not everyone is like me, but I look in the mirror, and I look at my eyes, then maybe fix my hair.

Again, maybe a lot of people just can't help but think about their honest-looking eyes, and their forehead furrowed in a crinkle as they think about their friend. They force themselves to relax, and chuckle a little. They've really filled out since they were a newborn baby screaming after just being delivered, and it is impossible to deny the rugged handsomeness of that chiseled jawline, that five-o'clock shadow that they've been chasing halfheartedly for years, or that delicate, almost feminine curve to their lips that they inherited from their dead mother because we have to cram as much character development as we can into this character looking at the mirror casually.

It's not even just the, like, overly sensual descriptions, it's the idea in general (it's just funnier to me to write the overly sensual descriptions), because it's always a massive immersion break.

I'm pretty sure that's usually why the "mirror scene" happens fairly early on in the story, or in a lull in the action, to signify that "things have changed" and they've lost that childlike innocence they've been holding onto for forty years. It still manages to feel like an immersion break early on because the exposition at the beginning of a story is only about immersion. I get you had a vision for what the character looks like and wanted to tell us, but...

Am I wrong? Are normal people going around constantly thinking in detail what they, and the people they associate with, look like? Again, leaving aside the gratuitous nature of MWW, what's weird about it isn't just that some guys have apparently never seen a woman in their life, it's that they suddenly turn to the camera and say, "That's my old friend over there. Her appearance is basically pre-loaded into my brain because we're friends and I'm maybe into her romantically, but for your benefit, I'm going to talk about her thighs."

I think "mirror scenes" can work really well in movies, because often it can have the opposite effect of making me sympathize with a character when they do something relatable in the mirror.

Female character gets out of the shower in a towel, while brushing her teeth. She dries her hair off a little, listlessly regarding her reflection for a moment. She spits, makes some faces in the mirror, maybe plucks at some strands of hair, and leaves. Maybe she pops a zit, I dunno.

Hey, I do that! Imagine if a character in a movie did the book thing.

Female character on the way out the door stops and looks at herself in the mirror. She looks her body up and down, smiling wistfully, then chuckles ruefully, shakes her head and leaves.

No, really. That's basically what happens in books. I get that it can be an easy way to establish what a character looks like, and how they feel about it, but, again, it feels cheap.

Anyway.

Rant over.

[spirit-of-a-kiger]

Any ideas on what the Empires SMP Season 2 characters’ worst fears are?

You know that fun trope where some demon or whatever brings the main cast’s worst fears to life? I wanna write a fanfiction where that happens to the ESMP season 2 characters, but there are very few that I’m actually sure what to do with. Even some of the content creators I do watch I’m not 100% sure about.

I’m going to go ahead and put what ideas I do have under the cut, but I’d appreciate suggestions for any of ‘em!

Pixlriffs - I always forget he exists. That alone should say how much I know about him. I’ll probably watch some of his videos before writing this fic so that if nothing else, I can at least get a feel for his personality and the way he talks and stuff.

Joey - I remember seeing a Tumblr post saying he was afraid of skeletons, but that might’ve been a joke.

fWhip - I’ll be honest, I’ve got next to nothing on this one. Maybe a cacophony blaring in his ears?

Gem - I’ve only seen her first episode so far, but I’ve heard people point out that she sleeps more than anyone else on the server. So, maybe she’s afraid of the dark. I was thinking this can manifest with her vision getting darker and darker until everywhere she looks is pitch-black.

Lizzie - Everyone finding out she’s a cat.

Jimmy - Becoming a toy that can barely even move on his own. So, kind of crossing the whole “toy” thing over with helplessness/loss of control.

Joel - Uhhhh... make him short? Weak? I don’t know.

Oli - Put him in a cage, maybe?

False - People being mad at her (and maybe attention in general). I initially thought of the demon making everyone’s tempers flare up every time they interact with her, but I’m not sure if I want it to be able to directly interfere with people’s minds. Instead, maybe it can shoot arrows at the group or something and try to frame her for it.

The thing is, though, I’m not sure if I genuinely wanted that limitation on the demon’s powers or if I just thought of it because people being magically compelled to yell at her every time they notice her makes me uncomfortable. Chickening out is for the characters, not the author! /hj

Scott - I was thinking the demon could pluck out both his eyes, but then the idea of blindness went to Gem, so unless Gem actually fears something more than the dark, I’ve got literally nothing. I want to avoid repeats if at all possible to keep things interesting.

But then, I really like this idea still because a lot of the changes I’ve thought of happen gradually (for example, Jimmy turning into a toy, assuming it’s the wooden dummy kind, is foreshadowed by his jaw aching slightly, while Gem starts off merely squinting), and Scott might be able to see the magic at work, so I like the idea of the demon plucking out his eyes to prevent any spoilers from him.

Sausage - The assassins from his kingdom of origin finding him.

Shubble - The witch academy finding her? Like I said, I want to avoid repeats, so if we’re going with something like that, I will give it to either Sausage or Shubble rather than both. I think Shubble is more likely to have more variety in what I can choose - for example, maybe she can fear her magic either not working at all or getting waaay out of control, and I can give the “scary people from their past finding them” thing to Sausage?

Katherine - The idea that maybe she is, in fact, cursed? Don’t know how this would manifest, though, since as far as I’m aware, her curse pretty much only affects her own kingdom.

[outrunningthedark]

The way I can tell the strikes have been delaying things to long for some of the buddie bloggers who can’t separate the characters from the actors is by how they recently have handled this wedding and Ryan and can clearly tell they need some to spec about. Acting like everything is a big puzzle with hidden meaning. I saw one person say Ryan wore dark glasses outside to hide the sadness behind his eyes. Someone else pointed out it was probably just because they were outside and the sun was bright and not that deep and then got immediately attacked and mocked because if it’s not that deep why do they need to say it’s because of the sun and not to hide his sadness . Another person said he was wearing black at the wedding to symbolizing (yes they actually used the word symbolizing) the death of his and c’s marriage ☠️ just today I saw someone say Oliver got the actress who played Natalia her job and C started following the 911abc page so the two events are related and now Ryan is getting C a job on the show as Eddie’s love interest because Oliver did it. Like blows my mind a little. Like they see clues everywhere ☠️

I- What. I'm not gonna call anyone names because I'm sure I can guess where these comments originate and op is just posting other people's opinions - opinions that they won't own on main, at that. Let's break it all down. o1. Unless someone discloses information about the *actual* dynamic between themselves and their partner who is not a good fit, they are making a CHOICE to stay. R is not a victim in any of this. Pointing out faults or bad behavior reflects on him and his choice to start a family with her. Trying to spread rumors about the behind the scenes happenings won't change what's led up to this point to make many of us realize where his ideals and priorities lie.

It's not on the same level because he's no where near as famous, but the R apologists sound just like Captain America's followers who pick on his new bride in order to avoid addressing what committing to a much younger white woman means re: separating fact from fiction. o2. There is zero evidence to support the claim that Oliver got anybody a job, and if there had been we'd know about it because those stans are always waiting around for content. Now, if you want to say he maybe got her into the audition process? Maybe offered her name as a suggestion? Fine. But she still had to audition. And they still chose her. As far as a "lack of chemistry" is concerned...I'm withholding judgement because, lbr, you can't build or find chemistry when one of your appearances is about your boyfriend's past relationships. Also, #unpopularopinion, but if the show wasn't gonna go with Buddie, I don't care who Buck ends up with 'cause he's never been my favorite. If working with Annelise makes for a more pleasant experience compared to completely ignoring BT as season five got going...good on Oliver for having fun this time around. o3. What is the obsession with writing the wife into the show? In five seasons all he got her was a background role for one of Eddie's fights. They did the same last season when we heard about filming the bodybuilding comp - "Do you think C is gonna have a guest spot since she's been doing that irl???" It's like people WANT something else to happen so they can twist the truth and say she "forced" her way onto set rather than him *asking* if there's something for her to do. And btw, she doesn't need to be in an episode to stay close. "Take wifey to work day", remember? I may not care for the wife, but if he truly were the "better person" as fandom as declared, he's the one looking dumb for forgetting who he is as soon as he found her on ig. She hasn't lost anything yet because he won't leave.

[queenofravens01]

Time travel AU: Weeping Angels and Harry Potter

No one will ever see it, probably, but it's 5 a.m. somewhere, and I'm fandom crazy 🤷🏼‍♀️

So, I really love time-travel AU in almost any form and flavor, but being as obsessed with Marauders as I’m, you can imagine my favorite setting for such AU🐺🐶🦌🐭

I also live by Doctor Who 👨‍⚕️❓ — it's something about charismatic British (wo)men, you know — so it should give context for how this idea came to me.

Anyway, the idea itself. Weeping Angels 🗽 in Harry Potter universe. I consider Weeping angels to be one of THE BEST creations in fictional universe, and I believe the potential for their use is infinite.

Imagine a Main Character (up to you which one: canon characters, OC all the way, or I also really like to interconnect Marauders era and The next generation aka the kids). Imagine Hogwarts defenses get triggered; no one is found, everyone thinks it's false alarm or some ghost/boggart/something harmless, and no one notices an extra statue in the halls. Imagine people start missing. Imagine your character just walking the halls and noticing over time that statues change, that there's more of them. Imagine your MC not being quick enough one day, so an Angel gets them. Imagine them appearing in the same hall in 1970s. Imagine drama and angst, and romance, and found family (maybe even literal one, depending on the character). Imagine opportunities for plots and ships.

I love the idea that MC would  go to Potters or Blacks for help and protection, depending on who they are.

(And I get it, Blacks do not seem to be a logical choice, but I imagine MC going to Arcturus and Melania Black (aka Lord & Lady of Black), and being like: 'I'm f*cking Black, I'm stuck in the past, Angels are evil, so you will help me, or Morgana help me!'. Something similar with Potters, but much more cordial and wholesome)

MC becoming part of the family and sibling to one of the Marauders. Them coming to Hogwarts and integrating in. Living, breathing, learning, making friends and falling in love.

Also, MC not telling the truth to Marauders until much later or at all, and the only person that they would trust with the truth aside the family is McGonagall (let's be honest. this Queen✨ would be objectively the only one to handle such shit, with grace)

Imagine MC starting to become part of history, maybe trying to change it, but maybe ending up only causing it to happen. Imagine them starting to suspect that Angels were not so random in the first place. Imagine an Angel appearing in the 1970s...

As I said, potential is infinite. There may be more time jumps, there may be time loops, there may be evil plans and strategies, there may be even the Doctor themself (multiverse IS real, after all).

To conclude:

No one will ever see it, probably, but if YOU did, and have read it all trough, then it must be either 5 a.m. at yours or you're fandom crazy ❤️‍🔥. In any case, thank you for reading this and kudos for being fandom enthusiast, I love you just for that already. Share your ideas and opinions, and please let me know if I'm not the only one who thinks it would be ingenious 💡

Also, please share it with anyone who you'd think could make this idea come to life, and I'm always open to help (I do not have a patience to write a whole story by myself, but I work great in tandem. Or I can just drown you in ideas and headcanons for this AU universe I just dreamt up 🔮)

AO3: DevilishRaven (contact me there please if you can, tumbler is kind of a foreign shadow zone to me)

P. S. If You don't know about Weeping Angels, please go and watch Doctor Who 03x10 (remember: DO NOT BLINK), or read about them online. Basics here:

The Weeping Angels are an extremely powerful species of quantum-locked humanoids, meaning they cannot move if they are being watched. They got their name because of their need to cover their faces to avoid trapping each other in stone-state. They are known for being "kind" murderous psychopaths, eradicating their victims "mercifully" by dropping them into the past and letting them live out their full lives, just in a different time period. This, in turn, allows them to live off the remaining time energy of the victim's life.

[single-malt-scotch]

me and my controversial topics will stay under the cut lol.

i know i blabbed lightly of this probably but obviously one of the things that put me off from mcyt for a few years was when the "rpf is bad" opinion started circling the internet more frequently, in tumblr's 2014-2016 toxic callout culture era. i think that era shifted YT fandoms as a whole and turned loads of ppl to presenting creators with their "characters" specifically (like i recall this early on w markiplier and jacksepticeye) and clarifying it often. but i find this all very amusing when 80% of the ppl dont actually play characters at all, and ppl are either just writing "rpf" or theyre just turned a creator into their own OCs. i think its sometimes just a way to not associate with the idea of rpf even if its like, right there.

like, the problem i think is that the majority of fans, namely the young teens that are the main audience, are very consumed by purity culture and being free of problematic interests in such a black and white way. i get it, i understand why you dont want to be associated with rpf. when i think of weird and uncomfortable rpf i think of.... fan fiction of the Beatles, or something. a band or a movie actor is someone we can easily define as "not a character" but... when it comes to mcyt, its a little more grey, because i know some of them goof around in games and do bits and exaggerate themselves.

and yet i still think its counter productive to get caught up in these woes, and to deny what exactly it means for something to be rpf, or have rpf elements. ironically i think the indulgence people have with making them characters worsens the parasocial/obsessive/skewed lens people have on creators these days. how? well its bc of how ppl get super attached to characters... comfort characters, kinning, etc. i love characters just an intensely, but when you apply this to a youtuber who like, doesnt actually play a character? even tho you wanna act like they do? .....there can definitely be issues in that and its def what makes me not get into the fandom as it is. you elevate them with your view of them as a character by being able to indulge in them way further bc they are kind of "yours" now. but also theyre not really.

but specifically back to the rpf vs not rpf topic- basically what i really intend to say is that like. there is harm in becoming too concerned over what youre writing bc you can fall into that mindset of being far too aware in a way thats just gonna make you feel terrible all the time (i experienced this myself when i was like 15 on tumblr and wanted to avoid any potential of touching something "problematic"). this post isnt to declare you are writing rpf, or you arent, or whatever the"rules" are about when it is or isnt, but just that theres always time to just accept shit as it is when the blurry lines arent actually doing any harm in this case. and that even trying to force yourself into the seemingly right direction doesnt exactly solve all the other problems either.

cuz i did all the things ppl would wanna call me out for and i dont care at this point. i wrote fan fiction where the guys where more characters than themselves, in a fantasy world for the server. but i also wrote fan fiction that was irl and based during minecon! and it was smut. and all i can say to that now is...ok. im not even gonna sit around and vehemently condemn it either? even if i never plan to do it again. cuz i dont see the need to punish my past self, nor do i see the reason to continue questioning the nuances of where the line between hard rpf and hard fiction lies with this bc its a never ending conversation. its just not worth my time to worry anymore. i know how to not be weird about it, i know my boundaries between creator and fan, i dont even get near the extent that some people do... i feel like im aware enough to feel like im not causing harm/can make logical choices when issues arise. i was a niave teenager before, and wrote such things with little thought, and had a much less healthy mindset about it! but the way the internet laid on the pressure of these strict definitions was the moment i felt shame, and as if i couldnt ever redeem myself from actions i understand far better now. its really not worth the stress and heartache to get so caught up in it.

[uncircumcisedgirlboss]

In recent times, I have had a reckoning with how stifled my creativity is. Almost nothing about my life has personality to it. My bedroom is a featureless wasteland, most of my clothes are bland, I can't even think of a third thing to put here.

I wish I had nurtured my creative spirit more growing up. I wish I had written cringy fanfics, I wish I had drawn cringy art. I remember this self-insert character I had as child, Zach. The name may have been inspired by The Suite Life of Zack and Cody, but I'm not sure. The main thing about Zach is that he had natural black and white hair, a characteristic inspired by that Cartoon Network show about a cryptid-hunting family (The Secret Saturdays).

I would imagine Zach inserted into basically all media I consumed, from Percy Jackson to Family Guy. I would fantasize about being friends with Brian and Stewie Griffin via Zach.

Several times throughout my childhood, I came close to writing a story about Zach but Executive Dysfunction would beat my ass every time. As an adult, I desperately wish I had been more resilient.

I spend a lot of my time on the internet. I spend a lot of my time on YouTube specifically. The platform has such a grip on me that I can confidently say that if I quit watching it forever tomorrow, it would continue to be the form of media I have consumed the most five years from now. The reason for this is simple: YouTube is easy. Too easy, actually. YouTube is so easy, it has had a massively negative impact on my life.

For most of my time online, I have been a lurker. I didn't post. I didn't try to talk to people or make friends. I only passively consumed content.

Being a lurker on YouTube has given me the ability to get a simulacrum of social interaction without having to put myself out there. I don't need to develop a personality because I never have to speak. I can just sit back, relax, and form a parasocial bond with a stranger as they talk at me.

I have definitely avoided the most egregious and socially harmful ways parasocial relationships can affect your brain. I never felt like creators I followed should treat me like I'm their friend, for example. However, I still have some weird brainworms from my time on the website.

My entire life, I have tried to detach myself from reality in a myriad of ways, and one of them is by always living in the future and never the present. I would imagine a better life in some vague future where I had accomplished my dreams, and one of my dreams was to become friends with the youtubers I watched. Even nowadays, I sometimes still want that.

I have gotten about all of these things recently. I'm reading books again. I'm starting to talk to people more often (only online, though. Touching grass is scary. There are BUGS!).

I think Tumblr has been a good influence on me these past few months. It's relatively healthier and less toxic when compared to the social media sites I have used in the past. It's mainly text-based like Twitter, meaning it has a low barrier of entry. However, unlike Twitter, it doesn't have a 280-character limit, meaning I can write out my thoughts in full without having to make a thread. It also feels easier to get people to see my posts. Prior to my blog being labeled as spam because of a glitch, if I posted in popular tags, my posts would get a handful of notes. All in all, this site has been better for me than others of its kind.

Yeah, I have sunken so deep into the depths of social media brainpoisoning that frequenting a different app is an improvement for me. I see posts about touching grass and getting hobbies that involve consuming media all the time, and I am over here wishing I had the willpower to watch a movie.

[crypticmedici]

a very mean rebuttal to the mary sue post

So in a desperate attempt to avoid looking my finals in the eye, I was scrolling through twitter and found out that “Mary Sue” was trending over the weekend. And came upon this gold nugget.

I should have left this well enough alone. Honestly. It’s already absurd that this man starts off a thread implying that Bo motherfuckin’ Peep is a Mary Sue. Halfway through reading it, I realized this dude switched the plot up on me to advertise his shitty ghostwriting services, so yeah, I guess he can be happy that this thread was enough for me to write some bullshit about nothing. But meh, I’ve been spending the last week writing in AP style about voter apathy in young voters from my state and how overwhelmingly depressing it is in the current political climate so maybe this was a sign. 

For me to absolutely wreck this man’s shit. I need a laugh.

Some caveats for this post: 

First, sans Rings of Power when it first released, it’s been a minute since I’ve seen any of the media he’s discussing so if there’s anything I got wrong, let me know. Like this man, I also left my brain cells at home. Even playing ground! 

Second, I’ll be sticking to screenwriting since he's focusing on characters from tv and film. 

Third, I’m only putting this on tumblr because I know it won’t get any notes and that way, I don’t give this moron any more attention past my rebuttal here.

I’m leaving his whole thread here in case anyone does has 5 minutes to read a redundant, barely put together frankenstein of an “advice column”. There’s some tweets here and there that I missed but honestly, most of the tweets he has are garbage anyway. But hey, I went through the headache and came out fine, right? He photoshopped the gigachad over his face when I took these screenshots but surprise surprise, it's a white boy with a receding hairline. It’s always the white boys with receding hairlines. Jester! A rendition of “gangsta’s paradise” on your smallest violin!

First, the irony isn’t lost on me from this idiot hijacking a term that originated in fandom and specifically fanfiction writing. 

Jesus, I’m about to date myself. Anyone remember Quizilla? That website was my introduction to fanfic. I wasn’t introduced to shipping though. I was introduced to OC x Canon Characters. Right after, I was introduced to Mary Sues. 

If you read fanfiction in the early 2000’s, you definitely read lots of Mary Sues stories. They’re pretty easy to spot. Mary Sue is perfect, she’s an angel (no really she’s got wings), she volunteers at the animal shelter every thursday, she’s beautiful, she looks like Linda Evangelista, she’s a model- 

What was annoying about seeing Mary Sues in stories though, was how much they took away from either the main plot of whatever show/movie they were inserted in, or made each and every character (whether or not they were in love with said Mary Sue depended on the author) act like completely different people. I would describe inserting a Mary Sue into a fanfic the way I would describe death by black hole. 

Sure, they were annoying to read but like, look, listen. Everyone wants to be or feel powerful. Everyone wants to feel love, to be praised. We’re human beings. And I think a lot of these fanfiction authors that did write Mary Sue stories were pretty harmless. They were writing what they wanted, how they wanted, and exploring the art of writing. What’s not to love about that?

Leave it to dickheads though, to hijack a term from fanfic and turn it into “my peen doesn’t work so I have to resort to insulting fictional women :(”. 

But it’s interesting when we look to the other side of the spectrum, when we look at male writers and what we call male characters that are perfect, strong, dependable, have a 10 inch dick flaccid, the whole nine yards, right. Gary Stus is a thing, yeah, but you know what most people call these male characters? Power fantasies. Just look at this idiot’s next tweets.

I’ll never get this obsession with the Hero’s Journey. You know there’s other structures in place, right? Most film schools teach you other methods because guess what? Some stories won’t fall into the hero’s journey. Wow! What a concept! 

Also, what textbook is telling us the protag has to be weaker than the villain? Where’s this fundamental rule I missed while attending screenwriting class? (I love that he doesn’t use the term antagonist in this comparison either. Who says a story has to have a villain?)

This is a funny comparison to me. Rey’s establishing scene is literally her scavenging on a desert planet and being on her own. Yeah, she might not have technical training on how to wield a lightsaber, but you know what she does know how to swing? A fucking staff.

It’s believable to me that a woman who has spent her entire life fighting for survival can beat the absolute shit out of the entitled pissbaby that is Kylo Ren in the first movie. (Edit 1: a friend reminded me that Kylo also got shot by a goddamn WOOKIE BOWCASTER before this scene too. COme the fuck on guy.) 

Yeah, the fucking writing takes a nose dive in subsequent films because adult ass men can’t be bothered to write a fucking outline for their movie trilogy but that’s just me. Jfc I hate the sequel trilogy (Finn and Rose my loves they did you dirty) but I hate this dude more for making me defend them.

I hate the tone of this tweet. I’m sorry, random dude on the internet, you somehow became the leading authority on how any story starts now? If everyone used this convention, you have to understand how oversaturated the market would become? Hello???

Don’t get it twisted, Rings of Power is a HOT mess. I wouldn’t touch that show with a fucking suspension crane. But like. Look. Listen. 

This moron doesn’t know how to write.

I don’t want to be mean but come the fuck on. You’re seriously not going to look at this scene, of Galadriel (who has spent fuckall trying to find Sauron to avenge her brother’s stolen hairline) with a squad of elves she knows don’t wanna be there, who aren’t on her side, and see that she’s willing to sacrifice whatever it takes (her fellow countrymen or access to literal Heaven) to kill Sauron fucking dead, I don’t know. I don’t know what to tell you. You might actually have rocks for brains. 

Hell, I’ll put my money where my mouth is. I’ve got a screenplay that deals with a similar introduction of the main characters to that of Galadriel. Three necromancers in a graveyard in a post-apocalyptic world get attacked by chimeric monsters and you know how the scene goes down? They wipe the floor with the chimera. Cause you know. Necromancers. 

Adrian the character puts it aptly: 

There’s blood, guts, and death magic everywhere. It’s fucking sick. There’s no risk here to them but guess what I’m trying to do here: the scene is meant to show that the three mcs are both 1) young/immature and 2) deadly. You know what else I’m doing? I’m establishing the world the characters are in is a dangerous, violent place. Contrasting their ease in this first fight to their fights in later “episodes” with alchemists and literal avatars of gods, where they only get out of those situations alive due to intervention from their absent minded mentor, the chimera actually prove to be the least of the main trio’s problems.

Now, I have no idea if the scene from Rings of Power had any kind of thought put into it the way I’ve thought about my introduction scene (I stopped after the second episode) but idk, these types of scenes have merit if you just used your fucking brain, I think. Just because a fight scene doesn’t have any “risk” involved for a character in it doesn’t make it worthless.  

Also I don’t know about you but I would not run straight into a fucking troll. I’d let the bitch gnaw on Henry’s leg too if it meant not having it take a bite out of my ass. 

Don’t they mention that they haven’t seen a troll in centuries during that scene too? I’m sorry, encountering a fucking creature that hasn’t been seen in hundreds of years? And you’re expecting me not to shit my pants? I’m supposed to strike a pose and tell the short haired bitches behind me to squad up? They complained the whole climb up here! Of course I’m going to get my fucking bearings first! 

Anyone in any kind of military occupation (ew) will also likely never suggest you going Leeroy Jenkins on a troll when more often than not, hm, yeah, you’re gonna get eaten. 

You’re never seen combat. Pray you never do. STUPID POINT. MOVING ON. 

Further down the thread, this dude makes more reductive points about storytelling that is probably dryer than the women that have to deal with him on a regular basis. These women are in my thoughts. 

TO MY ABSOLUTE FAVORITE PART OF THIS THREAD. This dude’s weird obsession with femininity. 

So this is a segway but this dude’s really weird feminine talk reminds me of a character from my aforementioned screenplay that is the exact thing this guy is looking for in a female character. 

Maria the character (lol) is kind, brave, she wears really cute accessories in her hair, she always gives her support and aid to any that need it, her main priority is her family and she’s the deadliest antagonist in the screenplay. The whole time she’s been playing on the mcs’ (and the "audience"’s) assumptions that she’s a soft cottagecore uwu dream girl and manipulating them, reading the characters’ minds without them knowing to make sure she is always saying the things they want to hear from her. And that’s before she unveils how fucking good she is with spacial magic (basically a portal gun made into a spell) and beating one of the mcs to near death for “picking up the wrong spoon” during tea time. 

At one point I made it so in her backstory, Maria led three separate planets to fucking ruin because she’s the leader of hundreds of cults. These cults are all the same: they believe in only ever being kind and generous and loving your fellow man, but they also believe the same thing Maria does: if you’re not 100% of the time being kind and giving then you’re better off dead. She was killing children for not wanting to share candy with each other before the main antagonist showed up and “redeemed” her. (She was a girl ♪♪ he was a frankenstein human with a god complex ♪♪) Love this journey of a fellow Piscean going, “wait, maybe I can be fixed” and then being made worse. Now she wants to meld the entire universe together into a fucked up hivemind to achieve true understanding amongst mortals. I had to include the “killing children” part because I know some of you mfs would look at this small Mexican woman, with her baby face and flowing skirts and kind voice, and take her side, even as she led you to your demise. Actually, hell, some of you might even excuse the “killing children” part! In my heart I know this fucking dude would fall for Maria’s whole schtick immediately.

(That’s how you write villains btw.)

Anyway, my main point: Femininity is not soft. 

My favorite scene that I’ve written with Maria the character so far is when the main cast realize she’s been orchestrating the end of the world behind their backs alongside the main antagonist. As she’s leaving the scene with one third of the main trio with her (Cora, the one beat to near death over a fucking spoon) and the main antagonist (who is also near death because we like symmetry in this house!), the other two necromancers (Adrian + Maxwell) obviously try to stop her. The way she gets them to let her leave with their companion is masterful. 

Because she doesn’t threaten them with violence, doesn’t hoist their friend up in front of her like a shield. 

No.

She tells them she’s pregnant.

At this moment in the screenplay, Maxwell the character has been heavily relying on religion to grant him comfort from a world where the end of humanity is in sight and he has to see people stop looking like people the more desperate they get. I explore the concept of survival a lot in this screenplay. At the end of the world, what are you willing to lose? How far are you willing to go before you stop acting like a person?

Maxwell, at this point, doesn’t know. He’s terrified about the prospect of it. 

And here? Maria doesn’t even mock him for it. But the way she asks him, forces him to realize he has to decide between the love of a God (because they both know it’s to the death if combat is introduced) and his friend, well, it breaks him.

What an evil bitch. I love her so fucking much.

Femininity is not soft.

And that’s how I know this stupid motherfucker can’t write. Because women aren’t a monolith, the same fucking way men aren’t a monolith. He’s putting very clear misogynist ideals onto these fictional women because what? He has a narrow view of the world and if a woman in a movie or tv show somehow manages to get a sniff of agency (and that’s if the writers somehow manage to rub two brain cells together to even get to that point), suddenly she’s a Mary Sue? 

At this point, what the fuck does this dude want? 

This is literally Galadriel. All these traits and ideals can be attributed to Galadriel too LMAOOOOO

Kinda telling in this freudian slip here, where instead of referring to them as protagonists (which they are in their respective stories), this dude would refer to Galandriel… as the antagonist? The mislabeling, bruv. Muddling terms used as foundation for storytelling just to dunk on female characters isn’t a good look.

Patrick Bateman is an investment banker that kills people. He stabs a homeless man and kills his dog because his colleague’s business card was nicer than his. He is still the protagonist because he is the central character of American Psycho and we are following his story.

I also refuse to believe that the mislabeling is intentional on his part. I don’t think this man has the brain cells to understand themes. Or irony, if that’s his angle here.

Great advice, guy. Riveting. I love that he’s saying this when his occupation is literally a ghostwriter lmao. Think about your job security, guy!

I love the extra heap of irony that he's instead pivoted to writing... a memoir? Why the fuck is a memoir ghostwriter trying to give me advice on how to write a story lol

Hopefully these people are cool with the fact that this dude admitted that he ghost writes for them. I really hope they were told he was going to admit that. Ghostwriting is a fine occupation but people lose a lot of credibility when it’s revealed they have a ghostwriter. Lord knows I’m not gonna trust their advice when they went to this guy to write for them. Oof.

(What the fuck is a memoir mashup. I’m not being facetious here, I actually don’t know what this is. Help?) 

I love that this dude just randomly talks about getting the “strongest possible emotional” response from readers. Then. Shares this screenshot. Of a guy being like, “yeah i bought three copies from you. And a book from a separate author. The separate author mention is the most interesting part of this tweet.”

(EDIT 2: I JUST REALIZED THIS TWEET ISN’T EVEN DIRECTED AT HIM??? I’M SCREAMING, WHY DID HE SHARE THIS IF IT’S NOT DIRECTED AT HIM????????)

Like. My guy. You really think I’m opening my wallet up and… getting advice from you? I’d rather redo coverage of an old classmate’s fantasy screenplay with characters that didn’t have names and instead were referred to as “KNIGHT” or “THIEF” the entire time. They all talked the same. He sent the screenplay as a google doc.

I’d rather do that. 

God, I love when idiots need to advertise their shitty services. 

This added with a gross transphobic tweet that he liked from someone dumb enough to reply in agreement with him, I mean. You know this. I know this. This guy has a receding hairline, can’t get bitches, can’t write, and is releasing youtube videos on how he utilized “cancel culture” and turned it into profit. 

(Yeah, cause getting 10M impressions and less than 10k likes on the start of your thread is really sticking it to the mob.)

He’s a goddamned loser. And not even like… a sexy loser. Like me. I’m a loser. You can say, “Mars don’t say that'', but I literally almost got kidnapped a month ago and the only reason I didn’t is because I told the dudes telling me to look at the back of their car for “cheap designer clothes” that I was actually late for work so I couldn't but “thanks for offering”! Also this rebuttal is over 3k words long. Trust me. I’m a loser. I still get bitches though. They let me hit it cause I’m goofy and forklift certified. 😎 (I have the glasses on because i cry every time I have to use a forklift.)

Writing conventions are conventions for a reason. They’re an establishment. So please, don’t take my proverbial beatdown to heart. (Unless you’re OP of the thread, I hope this makes you cry. <3) For all my bitching, there’s a reason why the Hero’s Journey is still taught in school. But do you have to necessarily follow long established conventions? Nah. 

I would get constant notes from my professors about needing to stick to conventions because it was a good way to tell a good story. And yeah, I semi-agree. But when I would get coverage from my peers, the other students in my classes? They loved the shit out of my stories. They loved the fact that I subverted conventions. Because that’s the type of writer I am. And there’s plenty of writers out there that only write conventional stories, but it’s through their execution that the story still ends up becoming a fulfilling experience. 

For all of my bitching of the writing for these female characters, people still enjoy all the media discussed here. There will always be someone that looks at something you wrote and think, “this is amazing”. I promise you. Even if you’re writing the most cliche story in the world or the most ridiculous out of control story in the world, there will always be someone willing to love your work, exactly the way it is.

There is no right way to tell a story. Don’t let dickheads tell you that there’s a clear cut way to write a story. Not even dickheads like me!

Now go write some Mary Sues, bitch. 

[aro-aizawa]

it’s weird how im completely scrapping the main character for my original work i’ve been working on haltingly for the last 4-5 years. but here i am, doing exactly that. and not regretting it in the slightest.